Youkoso Jitsuryoku s.h.i.+jou Shugi no Kyous.h.i.+tsu e vol.7 Rooftop scene
Ibuki approached Karuizawa while clicking her tongue. "What, what are you doing?" said Karuizawa. "I"m sorry but I"ve got my own circ.u.mstances to consider, too". Ibuki then quickly spun around to Karuizawa"s back and restrained both her hands from the back. "Aaah!". Karuizawa screamed a painful scream. Even though Ibuki herself hated doing this, she dutifully suppressed all resistance from Karuizawa by twisting her hands. Due to the experienced Ibuki holding her down, there was no way for Karuizawa to escape this hold. "Is.h.i.+zaki, fill that bucket with some cold water, for now I have two such buckets, there"s one more bucket downstairs in the toilet" said Ryuuen. "Water? What are you going to use it for?" said Is.h.i.+zaki. "Don"t rebel against me". "O-of course not, I-I"ll go get the water". "Until Is.h.i.+zaki comes back with the water, why don"t you and I chat some more?" said Ryuuen to Karuizawa. "P-please, let me go" begged Karuizawa. Karuizawa began to struggle against Ibuki"s grip, but failed to escape. She struggled so fiercely because she knew what was going to happen next, and was terrified of it.
It was either because she predicted or felt what was coming next, her desperate resistance continued and she flailed around trying to escape but in the end, all resistance stopped. "If you lay even one finger on me, I"m going to scream and tell on you" Karuizawa said. "Kukuku, you say that after coming all the way out here? That"s quite courageous of you" replied Ryuuen. "Do you honestly still think X will protect you even now? Let me guess, did the X that rules D-cla.s.s from the shadows promise to protect you in a situation like this?". Karuizawa"s eyes teared up. She tried her best to hide her feelings yet Ryuuen still saw through that. "It"s got to be that, otherwise the situation doesn"t add up" said Ryuuen. "You"re hated by females from the other cla.s.ses and Manabe and her friends once even beat you up". Ibuki quickly s.h.i.+fted her gaze from Karuizawa to Ryuuen.
"I"m sure you haven"t forgotten the feeling of anxiety towards the people who know about your past and yet you live your days now without fearing anything and without worrying about your past being revealed, why is that? I"m sure it"s because there is a powerful presence that protects and supports you". "Is that presence supposed to be X?" Ibuki asks a question. "Yeah, but that wasn"t the case from the start, I"m sure it only happened recently, X made contact with Karuizawa after Manabe"s contact with her and that"s when his protection of her started". "Before it was Hirata protecting you as your boyfriend, wasn"t it?". Karuizawa"s pupil widened. "N-no". "I"m spot on, right" Ryuuen told Karuizawa. "Don"t underestimate me, Karuizawa". By doing this, Ryuuen dragged out the darkness deep inside Karuizawa. I"m sure X did it to her the same way (Ryuuen"s thoughts).
"Ryuuen, why do you know all that?". It was not only Karuizawa, but even Ibuki was not able to understand how Ryuuen knew. "It"s intuition, up until now I"ve met a mountain load of rotten and broken people after all" replied Ryuuen. "I-I"m so-sorry for keeping you waiting". Is.h.i.+zaki scrambled back up to the rooftop carrying buckets of water.
He was carrying 8 buckets full of cold water and was stumbling while trying to carry it all. "Do you guys know how the security cameras in this school are set up and how many? Of course not. But, I took the time to investigate all of them and I was able to learn exactly where the cameras are not present". It was just like how I (Ryuuen) knew there were additional buckets in the toilet below. No matter how hard the board tries to hide this, it was an easy fact for Ryuuen to learn. "I always aim for the boundary between consent and violation" said Ryuuen. "What I"m about to do now to Karuizawa is one of those experiences". Ryuuen then dumped the bucket of water onto Karuizawa. Karuizawa"s body began to shake and tremble from the cold. "A trauma is better invoked through one"s actions than just with words alone" said Ryuuen. If Manabe"s words can be trusted, by doing this, Karuizawa"s spirit should soon instantly break (Ryuuen"s thoughts).
Just by locking eyes briefly with Is.h.i.+zaki he instantly knew what I wanted him to do. Ibuki released Karuizawa from the hold and she collapsed onto the floor. And Is.h.i.+zaki, as I commanded him to, threw another bucket of water onto Karuizawa"s head. Having received a tremendous shock, Karuizawa broke down on the floor and started trembling, not just from the cold anymore. She put her arms around her own body and held herself tight. Her confidence and headstrong nature just now all vanished the instant the water hit her.
"Do you remember now? The memories of the things done to you in your previous school?". "N-no..." Karuizawa weakly tried to cover her ears. Almost like a little girl frightened by a ghost, her body just kept on trembling. "I"m not going to stop with just this, I"m going to thoroughly break you" said Ryuuen. Tears were coming out of Karuizawa"s eyes. Ryuuen knew, at that point, that Karuizawa must be having flashbacks to her past experiences of being bullied. "Now if you don"t tell me what I want to know, I"m going to reveal your past of being bullied to the whole school".
Of course that was a complete lie. I did not know the details of her past. But for Karuizawa, she"s long since lost her rational sense of judgment and could not call my bluff. "Now, cry, scream and beg me for my forgiveness" said Ryuuen. "N-no, n-no" Karuizawa kept repeating. It seems the deeper the wounds of your heart, the better it feels to drag them all out (Ryuuen"s thoughts). "I can"t watch this, as I thought, I should have never agreed to help with this" Ibuki said as she diverted her eyes as if to escape this scene in front of her.
It seems she was only able to reach her current status by using Hirata and relying on X"s protection. "You won"t be able to do that so easily, you know?" Ryuuen said to Karuizawa. Once the bullied get broken, the wounds run so deep you"re unable to go back to the way you once were. But that"s the point of bullying from the start so there"s no helping it. This time, after Is.h.i.+zaki, I poured another bucket of cold water onto Karuizawa. Karuizawa tried to let out a voice but could no longer even do so. Karuizawa tried to curl up her body as if to shrink away from the situation. "Is.h.i.+zaki, get some more water". "O-ok". Picking up the buckets that were now lying around, Is.h.i.+zaki once again left the rooftop to fetch more water.
"I heard from Manabe, someone protected you, who?" demanded Ryuuen. "There"s no such person, no such person, no such person, no such person" desperately shaking her head Karuizawa tried to protect her secret.
"You still refuse to tell me? Looks like your loyalty is something else, or is it that you"re just accustomed to getting tormented like this? Does this mean something like this isn"t even considered bullying to you?". Grabbing Karuizawa by her arms, Ryuuen suddenly yanked her up. "I can"t watch this" Ibuki muttered as Ryuuen said "The fun part starts here". "This is just disgusting to watch" Ibuki said as she stepped away not off the rooftop but just far enough so she won"t see the bullying. "Don"t worry I"ll leave once I confirm the ident.i.ty of X" Ryuuen said and Ibuki responded "Then that"s fine". I"m not doing this to entertain you guys anyways, I"m just purely enjoying breaking Karuizawa down completely (Ryuuen"s thoughts).
Her body was cold to the core. Water was dripping from her hair soaking through her clothes and even drenching her underwear. Four times consecutively buckets of cold water was mercilessly poured on her head. But it was not just from the cold that her body was trembling. It was also her heart, trembling with a "darkness" that wanted to lash out and curse at the whole world that was making her tremble.
Why am I being bullied? Feelings like that start welling up inside her and turning her towards certain thoughts. Why am I still even alive? What went wrong? She began to look towards herself with those eyes. Her frozen heart began to corrode her thoughts. "I think you"ve suffered enough, Karuizawa. Let"s give up already shall we?" said Ryuuen. Ryuuen was laughing while approaching me slowly (Karuizawa"s POV) but this is a dead end street, I cannot reply to anything he asks. If, just if, I told them about Kiyotaka in less than one hour I could be completely free of this...but...that road does not lead to my salvation.
It"s just like the situations you often see in dramas, where an evil dragon attacks the damsel. If so, I can only continue to hold onto my last hope, the hope that Kiyotaka promised to protect me. I will just continue to believe in his words. Those words are the last and only things left supporting my crumbling heart.
"I understand what you"re thinking, Karuizawa. If you reveal X"s invisible ident.i.ty here, you will lose the protection you once had from him and lose all hope". Her mouth was already s.h.i.+vering from both cold and fear. She desperately tried to stop herself from trembling but her heart won"t listen to what she says dredging up terrible memories of her past constantly s.h.i.+fting between the past and the present. "Do you want to die while embracing hope, do you really want to return to those days? Are you really ok with that?" asked Ryuuen. A unilateral violent a.s.sault of tempting words attacked her.
"But you see Karuizawa, the one who"s going to save you isn"t X who"s not even here. But me who"s standing right now, I"m the only one who can save you from this situation" said Ryuuen.
I"m scared (Karuizawa"s internal monologue)
"But as long as you and I are enemies, I can do nothing but attack your weakness repeatedly" Ryuuen kept saying.
Save me (Karuizawa"s internal monologue)
"Everything that has happened to you up until now, I will reveal everything all of it to this school"
I"m scared (Karuizawa"s internal monologue)
"If that happens will you be able to remain as the central figure in your cla.s.s?" Ryuuen kept taunting her.
Save me (Karuizawa"s internal monologue)
The memories of my past torment flashed back in my head very strongly. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no". I don"t want to return to such a miserable world where I would rather die than live. "Then let it end, Karuizawa, protect yourself" Ryuuen told her. "Please forgive me, I beg you, I beg you please forgive me already" Karuizawa weakly replied. At that point her pride was shattered. No that"s not it, her pride was simply st.i.tched together with a cellophane tape. What"s originally broken is easily scattered again.
"I"m not going to go easy on you like Manabe did, Karuizawa. Remember we know your secret, even if you succeed in expelling me from this school it"s not just one or two people that know this secret. Soon the whole school will know about you" continued Ryuuen. "Soon even your own cla.s.smates will join in the bullying". "No, no, no....". "Then remember how painful that past is and how much you don"t want to go back to it". And Karuizawa could not help but remember that past again. A white landscape spreading out before her eyes and the darkness that appears right after.
Middle School Years.
From a very trivial thing, the h.e.l.l of my middle school life started. I was always a headstrong type of girl. From the moment I started middle school, I somehow made enemies of girls from the same year as me. That was when a new middle school life started for me. I had my school notes painted over with graffiti. When I used the toilet I would get dumped wih dirty water from the toilet. Beaten and kicked. Photos were taken of that and spread around the cla.s.s for cheap laughs. Carca.s.ses of dead animals and tacks were shoved into my desk and into my shoes. I remember it all. Having my skirt flipped up in public by my own cla.s.smates. My underwear also got hidden after swimming cla.s.s leaving me with none. Once, my uniform itself was hidden.
Sometimes I was forced to confess to boys I didn"t even like. Sometimes food scattered on the floor like trash, I was ordered to pick it up and eat it. Once I was even forced to lick my own shoes. I am very used to the feeling known as humiliation. Yes. Yes I know.
Yes. I remember all of it. In times like this, the last defense humans use to protect themselves. I should just accept it. The reality that I am in fact being bullied by Ryuuen and his men. If I can accept that fact, it"ll be easier on me. Aah, am I really going to go back to those days? If I do I know my heart will surely be unable to endure it. If the only thread of salvation I had, the fact that n.o.body here knew my past, is gone. If that last thread of salvation is gone, then I...
She looked up at the sky.
The tears she"s been trying her hardest to hold in all fell out at once. Why? Why me? Why am I in this situation right now?......I don"t want it. Such feelings of hatred unexpectedly were born in my heart.
If I just tell Ryuuen who"s in front of me, the person he"s looking for. In other words, if I just tell them Kiyotaka"s name now. Everything will be over. But even then, there"s no guarantee that I"ll be freed from this. He may still reveal my secret the next day. If that happens it"ll be the same thing even if I betray Kiyotaka now.
If that happens, not only will I lose all my precious friends but I will also forever lose Kiyotaka"s trust. But there"s still a way I can get out of this. If I just spit out Kiyotaka"s name than all this suffering will end, I will be freed. Yes. There"s no other way. It can"t be helped. "I will protect you". Kiyotaka, who promised me this, is not coming to save me. Even if I wait for him, he won"t come and this situation won"t change.
Has he not seen the mail I sent him? I sent him a signal with my eyes even so. Our eyes met and he certainly acknowledged me. "I"ll protect you don"t worry" he seemed to be saying. I thought he would. Was I just being delusional? I don"t understand anymore. There"s no longer any way for me to confirm this. After all, me and Kiyotaka"s relations.h.i.+p was too shallow from the start. So once I"m no longer useful, I"m simply being thrown aside in such a selfish burial. I was always the secondary priority.
I was betrayed in the end. "Albert. Did someone come?....I see, I"ll contact you again" said Ryuuen. "I"m sure you were also expecting someone to come and save you, but it seems like no one is coming after all". Ahh, I see, I really was thrown away after all (Karuizawa"s internal monologue). Oh well, believing in something is still better than nothing. Kiyotaka said he"ll come and save me. And it is a fact that he protected me from Manabe.
"It seems like you trust in X quite a bit, Karuizawa". Ryuuen looked at me with an exasperated face. "You"re just being deceived by him". "N-no...". "Even on the s.h.i.+pboard test, there is a truth you were not told by X". "T-truth?". The smile from Ryuuen"s face disappeared. "Of course while Manabe was just planning on bullying you for the sake of petty revenge, she was not able to obtain the opportunity to lure you to a place with few people and yet you yourself went down to the bottom of the s.h.i.+p. Why was that?" Ryuuen asks her. "T-that is". That was because Yousuke-kun was supposedly the one who called me down there.
"Do you really think it was just a coincidence?". Ryuuen spoke once again as if looking into my mind. "On a large s.h.i.+p like that it"s obviously impossible for lock you in there. Leaving only the option to appear themselves to Manabe and her group." Then does that mean Yousuke-kun was the one who betrayed me? No....I already knew the answer...I just didn"t want to believe it. "I"m sure you understand now, X was the one who helped engineer the situation with Manabe and the others and you on that s.h.i.+p" Ryuuen told her. "So you see now, X was just using you, the person known as Karuizawa Kei, from the start". No. It can"t be. I was fooled by Kiyotaka from the very beginning?
I...wasn"t able to be of use to him. Even though I"m suffering like this now, even though I fell into the trap Kiyotaka set, I still wanted to be of use to him. I helped him with various things and yet he threw me away at such a critical time. It"s almost like I...
"I"m sure you"ve realized it too. Yes. This is also you being "tormented"." The darkness starts clouding up and covering my mind. That"s right I was unable to escape, even at the very end, from the Moebius ring known as "bullying".
It. It can"t be. I...really won"t be saved by him. I fell into the enemy"s trap and now I won"t be saved anymore. Even though I helped him with a lot of various things, I"m simply thrown away like trash at this critical moment. "I"m sure you"ve realized it too, Karuizawa. All of it was one big joke to him." said Ryuuen. The darkness threatened to consume me again. "It"s fine then, there"s only one way left to escape this situation" said Karuizawa. The name. If only I tell Ryuuen the name Kiyotaka. "Yes, good, free yourself from this" plodded Ryuuen. The only name I need to name, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. Once that name leaves my lips, I will be freed. I don"t care about believing and not believing anymore.
But even if I scream that name from the bottom of my heart, things won"t go according to what the man in front of me is saying. I only had that one conviction. But against my wills, my lips were moving to form that name. Hate and despair and anger. And the genuine wish for someone to save me. But still my lips were struggling to form words. I must be so cold my lips cannot even form a word. "Its ok, take it easy, I just need that one name from you Karuizawa" said Ryuuen. "ta...". "Ta?". Ryuuen was struggling to hear the name from her lips. "ta....ka". "It"s ok, take it slowly, try and give me the name slowly" Ryuuen kept encouraging. If I name him, I can be free. "One more time, let"s hear it now" said Ryuuen.
Ryuuen approaches his ear to my lips struggling to listen to the words I was forming. "No...matter". The words were coming out more clearly now. No. That wasn"t true. From the start, I should"ve done this from the start. Yes, this should"ve been my response from the start. After all I"m.......
"No matter how many times you ask me...I will NEVER....EVER...tell you his name"
Suddenly, Ryuuen, in shock, stopped smiling instantly.
A ray of light parted the cloudy sky at last. In a world where in reality, nothing has changed, I found my answer. Even if tomorrow I lose my place at this school, even if tomorrow, my suffering begins anew. "The name, I will NEVER say it" she repeated again. I feel a warm light coming into my chest. "Are you sure about this, Karuizawa?" Ryuuen finally said. Yes. I"m definitely sure about this.
I may come to regret this later. But even so, I"m completely fine with this. "You know X is just using you, why do you insist on covering for him?" Ryuuen finally said. "I don"t know". That"s what I want to ask myself too. But now I understand at least one thing. "Even I have something I want to follow up to the very end". The blurred vision I had until now cleared up for that one moment. "I see, how unfortunate, Karuizawa. You will lose your place at this school starting from tomorrow" Ryuuen said. "I did not want to do this to you but I really have no choice anymore".
"But I will admit it, you truly are worthy of respect. Even after being exposed to your trauma, after being betrayed by the person you trusted most. You still remain loyal to him".
Yes I know. It"s fine. This is fine (Karuizawa"s internal monologue).
I repeat this to myself many times over. I"m going to broken after this. But even so, surprisingy, I was proud of myself for saying this.
Even though I was betrayed by him, I did not betray him in the end. If this act helps him out even a little, if this helps him get the peaceful life he always wanted, if I was of use to him. I have no regrets. Somehow...aren"t I cool? Even though my life was boring and uninteresting, the time I spent with Kiyotaka was always exciting and never a bad thing. I had fun. Somehow aren"t I like a heroine who quietly supports her hero from the shadows?
Even though he did a lot of things I never really understood, it was always unusual and fun for me. And even so, in whatever form it may be, he"s still saved me. That"s why I have no regrets. No regrets at all. But...But somehow, from the bottom of my heart, the truth is, a small hope still existed. That Kiyotaka will still come and save me after all this. I was surprised I still held out hope...aah...that"s just stupidity. There"s no way he"ll come. I was only a p.a.w.n dancing in the palm of his hand.
I guess what goes around comes around after all. I had Hiratkun protect me. Then I had Kiyotaka protect me. The truth is, I may be a girl incapable of doing anything on her own. Under the cold winter sky, somewhere inside my heart I felt warm. Farewell, to the me who always lied to herself. And welcome back, to the me of the past.
=====
(Kiyotaka"s POV)
About 2 hours before Ryuuen invited Karuizawa out to the rooftop. Precautions for the winter vacations were provided to D cla.s.s by Chabas.h.i.+ra sensei. While I was packing my textbooks in my bag, I turned my line of sight to Karuizawa. As it happens, she was also looking at me at the moment and our eyes met for a moment. It seems Karuizawa has sent me an emergency message to my mobile. Just one message. It seems she"s been called to the rooftop in 2 hours. I did not look at the message again and I did not reply to it.
I"m going up the stairs now. Slowly going up step by step, but there was a giant black shadow blocking my way. It"s Albert Yamada of Cla.s.s C. It doesn"t seem like he"s noticed me yet. Perfect. He seems to be a lookout. I don"t know the details but, there"s no mistaking the fact that he"s also one of Ryuuen"s henchmen. I look at him like I"m looking at a prey.
"Can you let me pa.s.s please?" I ask him politely in j.a.panese but I"m not sure I can even communicate with him in this language. Albert didn"t even move a muscle. At that moment I immediately had a feeling that words alone will no longer work. I try calling out to him in English.
Don"t panic I"m the one you"re seeking for.
Today I"ll solve the trouble by myself, and no one interferes.
I said to him. But he doesn"t seem to be moving. So I once again said in j.a.panese "I"m going to crush Ryuuen into pieces now, if I take you out, without you he has no chance of victory against me". This seemed to provoke Albert and now he"s looking at me.
Albert then quickly put his hand on the doork.n.o.b to the rooftop and went out to the rooftop. I quickly followed him. It looked like it would be raining soon. Near the fence of the rooftop I could see a glimpse of Karuizawa. And the ones opening and shutting the door to the rooftop were Ibuki and Is.h.i.+zaki. And then Ryuuen was also there and he finally turned his gaze towards me. I make sure to check the surveillance cameras front, back, left and right to make sure whatever happens, we were completely un.o.bserved.
Now that I have ascertained there are no surveillance cameras watching us, I calmly turn my eyes back to Ryuuen. "A...yano...kou...ji?". Ibuki was the first one who uttered my name in complete surprise. After hearing that name, Karuizawa also immediately turns to look at me but she wasn"t able to speak immediately. But our eyes met, and her eyes seem to ask me in surprise why I was here. "I"m sorry I"m late, Karuizawa" I said. "Why....why...why did you come?" Karuizawa asked me with a weak voice while gazing at me.
"Why am I here? Why are you even asking me that? I made a promise to you, didn"t I? Whenever you"re in trouble, I"ll definitely save you" I told her. "Ryuuen-san? Is this Ayanokouji guy X?" "Of course not, this guy definitely isn"t the one we"re looking for" Ibuki quickly rebukes Is.h.i.+zaki who asked that question. "Ryuuen, X is definitely just trying to use Ayanokouji he"s definitely not X don"t be deceived" Ibuki tells Ryuuen. "Karuizawa must have asked him to come help her". "Shut up, Ibuki" Ryuuen firmly tells her. Now laughing Ryuuen distances himself from Karuizawa and slowly approaches me. "Well well well, if it isn"t Ayanokouji, the guy who always...o...b..ts Suzune. What are you doing here at such a place in the winter holidays?" Ryuuen asks me.
"I came because I received a mail from Karuizawa. I came here to save her" I said. "Hou". "Its impossible, somebody clearly sent you orders, right? Telling you to save Karuizawa" Ibuki quickly tried to defend me to Ryuuen. She seemed to refuse to believe I was the one they were looking for. "What"s wrong, Ibuki? Do you really not believe Ayanokouji is the X we"re looking for?" Ryuuen asks her. "It"s not about believing or anything, this guy is, this guy is, he"s definitely not X. He"s actually a very kindhearted person. I"m sure X or Karuizawa asked him to do this" Ibuki kept saying. "Ryuuen-san, do you really believe Ayanokouji is X?" "I always thought it was strange that he would always stick to the more capable Horikita like that". "Perhaps I was just blind, to not see something hidden in plain sight" Ryuuen says.
It seems like even C Cla.s.s has their own disagreements here and there. Admittedly the situation must seem bizarre to them, I don"t blame Ibuki for her denial. "I always stuck to Horikita because otherwise I would appear suspicious to you guys. Leaving me with no choice but to stick with the more capable Horikita to hide myself". "B-but!" "Don"t worry, I am the man you"re all looking for" I calmly said. "S-see, it is doubtful after all. Do you really think the man himself would admit this? Something is suspicious" Ibuki was still trying to reject the truth.
"I feel the same way. I feel like he"s meant to be the decoy to the real one" Is.h.i.+zaki said. "Either way it looks like you"ve been dealt a bad hand, Ayanokouji" Ryuuen says. "The logical decision you should have made was to sacrifice Karuizawa to seal your victory over me". "Instead you came recklessly charging in, I can"t speak for Ibuki and the others but I want you to show me how you"ll survive this" Ryuuen kept saying. "I don"t have any ulterior motives, I can here purely because Karuizawa asked me for my help that"s all" I replied.
"But if you still need proof that I"m X, then all you need to do is survive against me" I said. "That"s not it, the fact that your ident.i.ty is now revealed to us does not change" Ryuuen retorted. "Not only that, we also have Karuizawa"s secret now, if you just take her and leave now without doing anything we won"t spread her secret all over the school". "Now make your choice". "Choice? I don"t really have to make any choice here" I said. "Ryuuen-san, I"m sure Sudou and the others are hiding nearby ready to help him if needed" Is.h.i.+zaki interjected. "Nope. They"re not here" I swiftly replied. "That"s enough right, Ryuuen. By now it should be clear that he clearly isn"t X. There"s no way someone like X would come here alone" Ibuki was still trying to defend me to this point.
"Good grief, it looks like Is.h.i.+zaki and Ibuki just won"t admit that you"re X" Ryuuen said. Ryuuen shrugged his shoulders looking exasperated at Ibuki and Is.h.i.+zaki who were in denial. "But still, even if you won"t do anything, I need to personally confirm to myself that you"re X so you"re fine with that right?" Ryuuen said with a smile while looking at me. "Ibuki, if you need more proof that I"m X, I"m willing to give you more proof" I called out to Ibuki who is still denying I"m X. "On the island test, you were trying to snap a photo of the leader"s key card using your digital camera right? But for some reason, that digital camera broke halfway into the test. It was me. I poured water into the camera to break it" I calmly explained to her. "H-how did you know about that?" Ibuki is still somewhat in denial. "Also when I saw you in the forest your fingernails were dirty with dirt. You were digging to hide the radio you used for communication with Ryuuen" I continued on.
If I give them all these details only I could have known, even they will have to acknowledge the fact that I"m X because only me, Yamauchi and Airi were watching Ibuki then and X couldn"t have been either of them. "Just admit it, Ibuki, Ayanokouji is X" Ryuuen finally said. "W-wait. Please wait. I"m a bit confused. You can"t say for sure that X is just one person, right?" Ibuki still defended me. "No, there"s no need to doubt anymore" Ryuuen said at last. Ryuuen"s face was finally filled with a threatening expression which showed hostile intentions towards me.
"But something is still wrong, if Ayanokouji really were X pulling the strings why would he show himself like this to us and make all his efforts to hide himself go to waste?" Ibuki still defended me. "You have prepared yourself for this, haven"t you? You"ve clearly performed a miracle that exceeded our expectations, if not you would"ve just looked like an idiot during the island test" Ryuuen said to me. Normally using violence on school grounds is rewarded with an expulsion, but it"s not always the case, you"d have to prove the damage taken in said violence too.
"X should have been the type of person to cruelly abandon Karuizawa or save Karuizawa without revealing his ident.i.ty to us". Much to Ryuuen"s gloom, Ibuki continued to defend me. "However, I do agree with her a.s.sessment on that, the fact that you couldn"t do either of those things is the reason you were driven out before us" Ryuuen countered. "I could have easily done this, like you said, if I had decided to sacrifice Karuizawa" I replied. "I"m sure you originally thought I would sacrifice Karuizawa for sure, but you were all thrown into disarray because I suddenly decided to appear in front of you like this. Either way, with just the 4 of you here, there"s no way you can stop me".
"...its ok...If they know about you now, Kiyotaka, I don"t mind my secret being revealed as well" Karuizawa said weakly while fraily trying to push her fallen body up. I pay her no attention and refocus instantly on Ryuuen. "There you have it, whether you believe or not is up to you now" I told him. "See. That seems to be Ayanokouji"s final word on the matter, you need to show him that you can rule with violence, show me that confidence of yours Is.h.i.+zaki" Ryuuen said. "are you sure?" Is.h.i.+zaki replied. He was indecisive on the matter of using violence on me. It can"t be helped. Dealing with savages like Sudou that fight constantly is one thing, but to him, I must look like an ordinary student. Even if instructed, using violence is something Is.h.i.+zaki would hesitate to do.
"Hurry up and do it". "But...". "If you can thoroughly beat Ayanokouji to a pulp, I a.s.sure you there"s nothing to be worried about" Ryuuen rea.s.sured Is.h.i.+zaki. "Wait". Karuizawa screamed at Is.h.i.+zaki to stop. "There"s nothing you guys will gain even if you hurt Kiyotaka, there"s no meaning, please don"t". "Oi oi, don"t suddenly b.u.t.t into this Karuizawa, your purpose is already over" Ryuuen told her. "There"s no need to worry about your past being revealed now, since Ayanokouji here was kind enough to reveal himself for us, just sit still there".
Ryuuen then grabs Karuizawa"s hair and yanks her up and casually tossed Karuizawa to the back of the rooftop. "Like I said, don"t b.u.t.t in, Karuizawa" Ryuuen told her. However, even after that, Karuizawa still gets back up and pulls on Ryuuen"s feet to keep him from hurting me. "Don"t worry, Karuizawa". I try to rea.s.sure her and make her stop. "B-but..."
"You don"t need to worry about me at all" I tell her. "That"s right, you need to worry about yourself" Ryuuen tells me as Is.h.i.+zaki charges forward at me. "Please don"t think badly of me, Ayanokouji. I"m just following Ryuuen-san"s orders" he tells me. "I don"t care either way" I tell him. Everything so far has gone exactly according to my plan. Is.h.i.+zaki softly raises his fists to hit him as if he"s. .h.i.tting a naughty baby. It was a slow motion even a middle school kid or an elementary school kid could easily avoid.
His right fist taking a big swing at me was easily blocked by my right hand. "W-What?" Is.h.i.+zaki was surprised. "Is.h.i.+zaki, if you"re going to fight me I suggest taking it seriously" I told him. I"m only going to warn him once. But. Even though I stopped his fist he still moved forward towards me from his own momentum. This is movement even he himself cannot control. I then grasp Is.h.i.+zaki"s right fist in my right hand with the force of my left hand. "AAAAAH!!!". Is.h.i.+zaki"s facial expressions contort and his knees begin shaking in pain.
"Is.h.i.+zaki? What"s wrong". Having realized that something is very wrong, Ibuki calls out to Is.h.i.+zaki. "N-n-n-n-o p-p-please s-stop". Unable to even correct his stance and now howling in pain, Is.h.i.+zaki desperately tries to use his left hand to grab my arm. But such maneuvers are now useless. Out of these 4, the biggest threat I was able to a.s.sess so far is Albert. Ryuuen, Ibuki and Is.h.i.+zaki can easily be dispatched after I take down Albert.
Albert flexes his arms like an electric current and charges at me from the left side. While I blocked him, it allowed Is.h.i.+zaki to escape. I could have taken a proper defensive stance in time to block Albert while keeping Is.h.i.+zaki restrained. But the result will be the same either way so I don"t even need to bother. I could have dodged the following attack he launched at me, but I chose to get into his blind spot and block his attack with the palm of my left hand instead.
BACHA! With a huge, resounding sound like that. My left palm caught Albert"s fist. I absorb the shock of the impact into my elbow and redirect it into my shoulder. "It doesn"t hurt me at all" I tell Albert. Even though he was wearing sungla.s.ses, I could see the confusion and fear on Albert"s face when I said those words.
Now with this, Albert should know the situation that he is hopelessly outmatched. "This-this is impossible. This can"t be happening. You guys are just playing around, right? Albert? Is.h.i.+zaki" Ibuki started worriedly calling their names. Is.h.i.+zaki was still clutching his hand and seemed to be in serious pain. This was probably a scene Ibuki didn"t want to believe as reality. It seemed that when I released his right hand from my grip, I may have seriously hurt him.
"Finish him, Albert" Ryuuen started desperately shouting out orders. Albert then toughens his stance and charges again swinging that powerful fist of his. He continues to repeatedly attack me with the destructive power of his fists. I intentionally allowed him to hit me for the first time. But from now on, don"t expect to hit me again.
After avoiding Albert"s left fist swing, I prepare to take corrective action against him. Aiming for a counterattack, I arbitrarily bury my fist in Albert"s abdomen and drive my strength into it. I still keep my guard up, even I cannot afford to let my guard down against an unknown quant.i.ty. For a brief moment I noticed a pained expression on Albert"s face as I drove my fist into his abdomen.
From the toughness I felt when my fist drove into his abdomen, the damage I dealt is still a bit shallow. Albert is clearly different from your average j.a.panese person, his body is well trained and I understand that now. Then, it"s just a matter of time, I can simply increase my strength until I can put him down for good although it"s a bit troublesome. Every human has a weakness without exception.
Albert tries to use this opportunity while I"m in close quarters with him to drive his fist towards me. Of course, even I cannot afford to let damage acc.u.mulate too much. Still even if he"s trained his entire body, there is still one location in humans that will still prove vulnerable. In antic.i.p.ation of his attack, I simply landed a knifehand strike on his throat. "Grrrrglll". Painful gurgling noises came forth from Albert"s mouth.
"Ayanokouji!" Is.h.i.+zaki screeched from behind him as he charged at him. "If you"re going to attack me don"t shout" I replied. Is.h.i.+zaki braced his legs for a tackle but I managed to avoid it. He was running straight at me without thinking at all after all. I kicked him in the knee. Once he fell, I gave him a good kick in the face. Then followed it up with another kick to the cheek, knocking him out.
Looking at this unbelievable sight unfolding before them with Albert and Is.h.i.+zaki completely beaten, Ryuuen and Ibuki, and also Karuizawa, stared breathlessly at it. "It looks like he proved to be beyond our imaginations, he is this strong after all. This explains why he was so confident in his skills. It"s a completely unexpected outcome" Ryuuen said at last. "The stage we specially prepared was completely conquered by Ayanokouji, is that it? What"s this supposed to mean?". "Are you serious, Ibuki?". "What?".
Ibuki, now irritated, charges at me with the intention to fight. She launches a kick at me. I could"ve peaked at her panties if I wanted to then, but I chose not to. Instead I simply stepped back, avoided the kick calmly. It looks like Ibuki"s fight switch has finally been activated. Suddenly, she took three steps towards me and instantly closed the distance between us. She landed a kick which I blocked. But the power of the kick was strong. I can understand now why she beat Horikita.
Then, after I blocked her kick, I grabbed her leg and without even giving her time to react which smashed her back flat on the floor. The force of the impact instantly knocked Ibuki out and she laid still without getting back up. "Violence isn"t something you can monopolize, Ryuuen, I hope you remember that" I told him after beating all three of his henchmen: Ibuki, Is.h.i.+zaki and Albert.
Now that the people that could be called Ryuuen"s right hand men are down for good. It"s only him and me left standing. Karuizawa, who witnessed that fight go down, could barely speak at this point. "I must applaud her though, after seeing something like this, being able to remain calm" I said. "I never expected that you"d not only be sharp mentally but also physically you"re first cla.s.s. It"s truly the last thing I expected" Ryuuen admits. "Now do you know what I want to tell you on top of that, Ayanokouji?" said Ryuuen.
"Solving conflicts and deciding right and wrong is not only because using violence, it"s also about how strong your heart is" said Ryuuen. He continued "It"s not over, I will rebuild all of this from the start". No, Ryuuen, I thought, I"ve had enough of this. "If your intention is to rebuild this all from the beginning, I"m going to crush you into pieces until there"s nothing left to rebuild" I declared to him. I grabbed Ryuuen"s left arm, twisted it around and landed a knee kick to his face.
Ryuuen dropped slightly and started to raise his left fist. He"s not aiming for my face but rather for my abdomen. I jump backwards to avoid the attack. Ryuuen immediately closes the distance as if in pursuit, however, his right fist of his dominant arm is raised. "Sorry but I have no intention of letting you hit me like this" I said. Having dodged that attack too, now it was my turn to counterattack.
I extend my right arm towards Ryuuen"s bangs, but Ryuuen reacted quickly and blocked it with his left hand. But at that very same moment, my kick hits Ryuuen directly in his sides. "....kkkh" he grunts. And while he was still held up by my right fist I quickly followed it up with another attack. Ryuuen quickly takes his distance to avoid a direct hit. "Not bad, Ryuuen". Of course it goes without saying that his strength exceeds that of Is.h.i.+zaki, I was honestly impressed by that. Even though I had landed a heavy direct hit, he still showed no signs of collapsing. "This is interesting..." he said while laughing.
But, I still know he"s not as difficult to beat as Albert was. "Your counterattack despite being attacked first is amazing, Ayanokouji". And with a smile even bigger than before, he attacks without holding back at all. But his movements were not of someone who"s been trained in martial arts. This is a self-taught style he learned through overcoming many fights. I cannot avoid all of his attacks. It would be extremely easy to hit back but I received several hits from him while keeping up my guard. And when I blocked his 4th punch, Ryuuen spoke. "Why don"t you come out and fight? If it"s you, it should be easy" he said. "I"ve got my own circ.u.mstances" I replied. "I see, then I"ll have you tell me after I beat you" Ryuuen said. "Do you really think you can win?" I asked. "Kuku. Do you think you cannot lose?" he asks in response.
"...I"m sorry, but I cannot even imagine losing" I told Ryuuen. That was something Ryuuen could see, but I could not. "You might win here today, but what about tomorrow? What about the day after tomorrow?". "You think if you repeat this enough times, you"ll win?" I asked. "I can attack you upfront, or even while you"re busy s.h.i.+tting. I"ll keep on targeting you everywhere" he replied. "Aren"t you afraid of losing?" I asked. "I have no fear. I have never felt fear even once" Ryuuen replied. "You don"t feel fear, huh?".
He"s saying some interesting things. This is probably the source of Ryuuen"s confidence. "Once you feel enough pain, you"ll understand. The individual will change after that to feel fear" I told him. "Then let me feel that pain!" Ryuuen replied. "If you wish for it, I"ll give you as much as you want" I told him. Ryuuen then grabs both my shoulders and launches himself and knocks me down with a high speed kick to the abdomen.
"Kiyotaka!!!" Karuizawa shouts in worry. But it"s nothing to worry about. It was an attack I expected and I allowed him to hit me. "If I hit you twice, or thrice, you"ll understand. Huh...Oi!" Ryuuen shouts at me while raising his left foot as if to kick me in the same place. He closes his distance with me while I guard my face with my left hand. I then extend my right arm and then grabbed his left foot with it. His kick was the hardest attack I received today. While lying on my back, I felt pain around my body. "How about now? You understand now?" Ryuuen said.
"...sorry but I"m not feeling anything in particular. It"s just the pain" I replied. "Are you saying you also don"t feel fear just like me?" he asked. "That"s not it, Ryuuen. That"s not it". I already know fear that"s caused by pain. I already know how pathetic and terrifying it is to be a "loser". I"ve seen many people break down like that in front of me before. But along the way that stopped being fear to me, I just felt cold. No matter how many times I saw others suffer and despair, I stopped being hurt by it. As long as I know the techniques to protect myself that"s more than enough. As long as I"m fine, that makes me the winner.
"Let"s play some more!" Ryuuen shouted at me as he concentrated his attacks on my abdomen. I bend my knees slightly as Ryuuen"s kick flies towards me. "Tch...you already saw through me huh?" he said. I planned to patiently receive his attack while absolutely making sure I receive no injuries. "Are you messing with me, Ayanokouji? Why are you not avoiding the attacks you could easily avoid?" he asked. "I was just trying to see if I could feel the fear you told me about" I replied.
"How much will you look down on me, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d" he said. Even though he already knew the difference in power between us, Ryuuen still kept up his determination. If this were just a reckless brawl the story would have been different. But the more confident you are in a fight, you will despair all the more once you realize the difference in power between you and your opponent. But I didn"t sense that despair from Ryuuen. From the start my calculations were slightly off, I thought my overturning all his prior beliefs his heart would break. In that sense, my calculations were slightly off.
Naturally, I just misread the situation a bit and this is not something I need to be worried about at all. That just means it will take longer for me to break his spirit. That just means Ryuuen will suffer a lot more pain than expected. "You...where did you get all this power from? This isn"t normal, Ayanokouji?" he asks me. It seems he"s realized my power is not just the result of being in fights many times before. I didn"t answer him, and Ryuuen slowly closed the distance between us. He then stared at me with sharp eyes.
"Even though you have such incredible power, you"ve just been sneaking around in the shadows huh? How does it feel to live your life being underestimated everyday? It must have felt good enough for you to e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.e huh?" Ryuuen asks me. "I don"t care about people underestimating me or not, I"ve never even thought of it once. Because whether others succeed or fail, has nothing to do with me" I replied. Perhaps he didn"t like the answer I gave, but Ryuuen just laughed while brus.h.i.+ng his hair. "That"s impossible, because humans are just lumps of greed after all" he said.
There are no selfless people, that"s how strongly he rejected my statement. Of course I also have many things that can be described as "greed". But that"s a different story. Even if I play more with him, nothing"s likely to change. I quickly take my stance again. "Then I"ll keep on beating you down until you feel fear!" he said. That"s enough, Ryuuen. As he prepared to kick my face with his left foot, I quickly grabbed left arm and grabbed his body and then delivered a right hook punch to his face without mercy.
"Ghhh...". The punch I gave him was powerful enough to blow his consciousness away, and Ryuuen flew away. But one punch won"t end it, it just stops him for that one hit. As Ryuuen laid sprawled out on the concrete floor, I got on top of Ryuuen like riding a horse. Then I started raining down punches left and right onto him. "You told me you never felt fear before, right Ryuuen?" I asked. "Ha....ha...ha...kuku. That"s right, I don"t know the meaning of fear. Not even once" he replied.
Even though half his field of vision should already be blacked out, Ryuuen still tried fighting back from below. But his strength is no longer there, and the attack just swings powerlessly at me. On the other hand, I responded with a precise and powerful blow from above. Ryuuen"s expression changes into a sharp, pained one.
Not even giving Ryuuen"s body time to rest, I kept hitting him repeatedly with right hook punches. "Gaa--" Ryuuen started gurgling in pain. The punches were powerful enough to blow away Ryuuen"s consciousness for several brief moments. But I made sure to not end it with a single punch. I keep holding back my punches so I can keep punching him without knocking him unconscious in one hit.
Ryuuen tries to fight back with a punch of his own from below, but I shut him down quickly by returning a precise and intense blow to his face from the top. Ryuuen"s face became b.l.o.o.d.y and mangled. "Gaaaaa.....I have confidence in my fighting skills...I have never lost before in a fight. This is the first time" Ryuuen seemed like he was struggling to get his words out. Perhaps I broke his jaw. He seems to be spitting out blood and vomit with each word he tries to get out.
Ryuuen then closed his eyes and laughed. He was provoking me to hit him as many times as I want without stopping. "Ha...ha...ha....kukuku.....It"s fun isn"t it? Ayanokouji? That strong-minded att.i.tude and going on a rampage like this. It"s fun isn"t it? Show me that side of yours more, Ayanokouji". Finally Ryuuen opens his eyes again and was greeted by my fists raining down again on his face. "Have you had enough yet, Ryuuen?" I softly ask. "Kukuku....what"s the matter Ayanokouji? I still haven"t lost yet. Why don"t you stop me from breathing first?" At this point Ryuuen was offering to sacrifice his life in exchange for provoking him further. In response to that, I begin punching him again. "It hurts...it hurts...it hurts...but...this is it". "Are you laughing over dominating me? Are you angry? enjoying yourself? Or are you frustrated? Tell me!"
What has he been saying all this time? I can"t, unfortunately, see my own face nor my expression. But there"s one thing I am sure of: my heart is certainly not wavering from this petty thing. That"s all. There shouldn"t be any emotions leaking through.
It was just more of the same and didn"t stop. Left, right, left, right, left, right. The punches of the same strength just kept on coming. Ryuuen"s face finally broke into an expression of fear.
Yes Ryuuen, that"s good. You were also able to experience fear now. The last blow blew Ryuuen"s consciousness away.
"I"m sorry Ryuuen, I know you probably tried to manipulate me into giving into my violent urges by controlling my heart. Unfortunately, I don"t have a heart that"s easily swayed" I said. I slowly got off the beaten form of Ryuuen below me. I need to hurry, I can"t leave Karuizawa out here under the cold winter sky like this. "I"m sorry, I kept you waiting in this terrible situation" I apologized to Karuizawa. "Are you injured anywhere?" I worriedly ask her. "I"m....fine. It"s just a bit too cold and I seem to have lost feeling in my body". I hold out my hand to Karuizawa who was just sitting there looking up at me. When I held her hand in mine, I realized her hands were as cold as ice.
"Are you disillusioned with me now?" I asked her. "Of course...I am" she softly replied to me. "You betrayed me from the very beginning did you?". "Yeah, I did, but then why didn"t you sell me out to Ryuuen?" I returned the question. "It was for me, yes....it was just for my own sake" she replied. After saying that, she collapsed into my chest and hugged me.
"It was scary...I was so scared.....so scared" she kept telling me. "Its ok, you don"t have to worry about anything anymore today" I rea.s.sure her. "Everything that happened here today, you don"t need to worry about it anymore, these are topics for another day" I keep telling her that. "Only one thing is for certain, today you are finally freed of the curse of your past. You no longer have to live your life worrying about Manabe...no you no longer have to worry about any phantoms from your past". I tell her that.
"From now on, hold your head high and live your life as you always have, and put your phantoms to rest" I said to her. It seems she no longer has the strength to stand, she s.h.i.+fts her body weight and collapses deeper into my chest. Looking at it from Karuizawa"s perspective, it must have been a rough couple of months for her considering the bullying she got from Manabe"s group as well. Yet she still came here knowing she would be inevitably tormented. Ryuuen dredged up the wounds of her past, I understand that this is all my fault that she"s suffering now.
Her mental state must be very unstable right now. "But you"ve successfully overcome your past and you"ve made it through the darkness. So starting from tomorrow, you can go about life as you always have" I keep repeating that to soothe her. But I know you"ll be fine, because you"re Karuizawa Kei after all.
I was convinced of it from the moment I saw you again today on this rooftop. "I"m the one who hurt you, I won"t ask you to forgive me. But please, just remember one thing. If anything like what happened today ever happens again, if anything bad ever happens to you, please remember that I will definitely come and save you" I tell her. "Ki...yo...ta....ka" she softly whispered my name.
Even after being tormented this badly and betrayed by me, Karuizawa still snuggled into my chest and refused to leave. It seems Karuizawa can no longer survive in this school without me being beside her. As long as I can provide her with support, her heart will never again crumble. How different would things have turned out if I had stepped in to save her earlier I wonder?
I did technically fulfil the promise to protect her and it seems Karuizawa depends on me very strongly. I observed her disappointment when she believed I would not show up to save her too. Of course by pus.h.i.+ng her this far, I was able to instill in her the desire to follow me wherever to the very end.
At the same time, I did know that Karuizawa is not the type of person who would easily betray me like that. In any case, even if she did betray me to Ryuuen on this rooftop, I could have simply used the feelings of "guilt" that would inevitably be born in her heart to make her a completely obedient p.a.w.n to me.
Either way I can move forward in a favourable strategic position. That"s why I decided on saving her. It would be a shame to lose a p.a.w.n as efficient and valuable as Karuizawa Kei. But the truth is, her being useful or not is a secondary concern. All that"s important is that she remains mine.
"If you down the stairs, Chabas.h.i.+ra sensei is waiting for you. I"ve already explained the situation to her, so she should be able to provide you a change of clothes to get out of these wet clothes" I told her. "I...I understand...how about you Kiyotaka?" she asked me. "I still have some business to take care of. Besides, I think it would be better if you went back first" I replied. After saying that, I patted her lightly on the back and safely saw her off the rooftop.
I can"t just leave four people like this on the rooftop. Leaving aside Chabas.h.i.+rsensei, if other teachers were to find this it would become a big problem. Starting with Is.h.i.+zaki, I slap their faces softly in order to wake them up. I saved Ryuuen for last to wake up. "....khh". "Are you awake?". "This fight...do you think it"ll be over with this Ayanokouji?" Ryuuen says to me. "Yes it"s over. Surely you won"t tell me you still want to keep going" I said in response.
It doesn"t matter who sees this fight, they would have to inevitably conclude that the fight has been clearly settled. "I"ll use any means I have available to win" Ryuuen says while pus.h.i.+ng himself up off the ground slowly. "I"ll even wage a war if necessary" he continues. "Then are you going to complain that you got beaten by me?" I ask him. "Kuku...I really can"t admit that now can I?" Ryuuen said. No matter how pathetic it may seem, he seems intent on figuring out a way to win against me. "I"ll just have to say you forced this fight on us" Ryuuen tells me.
"This is just my advice, but I don"t recommend doing that. On the way down the rooftop, the former student council president is waiting for you. Even if he doesn"t know the details, he"ll get the general idea of the problem. At least he"ll know that it was Ryuuen that started the fight, and the fact that you destroyed the surveillance cameras on the rooftop. As it happens, at that time I was at Keyaki Mall. So that way, I already have a solid alibi" I tell Ryuuen in response to that.
Naturally, I"ve already prepared several insurances against this. "Didn"t you...set it up so that a third party would have seen it all from the start?" Ryuuen asks. "Once I hit you once, I won"t be able to stop attacking after all" I replied. "Do you really think I"ll stop after this defeat?".
"At the very least I think so. There"s only one reason you lost, Ryuuen. You got the order wrong. That"s all. If you had the experience of fighting Ichinose and Sakayanagi before me, you might have stood a chance against me. You got in over your head" I told Ryuuen. When I said that, Ryuuen just smiled bitterly and said "At least you"re honest about it".
"If you want a revenge match, I"d like to say I"ll accept it anytime. But I don"t intend on standing out anymore after this. Please find another enemy" I tell Ryuuen. I had expected a Ryuuen-like reply to come back immediately, but he seemed to be silently thinking about it.
"By carefully making the witnesses keep their distance, if in the future, I need to use you. Even if I have to reveal my ident.i.ty and Karuizawa"s past, I will hunt you down...is what you"re trying to say huh?" Ryuuen asked me. "I"d like to avoid that as much as I can, but if it comes down to that, I have no choice but to do that" I said in reply. "And not only me, but all the people here, Is.h.i.+zaki and Ibuki. And also Albert. Will be dragged into it as well huh?" he asks. I"m not certain about their expulsion yet but it seems likely they will all be heavily punished as well.
"Your mistake was overestimating that knowing my ident.i.ty and Karuizawa"s past was absolute and enough. If you wanted to preemptively prevent this from happening, you should have done it on a larger scale, or brought a lot more guards with you" I told Ryuuen.
In this school area, the difficulty of Ryuuen"s means is definitely high. "In other words, as long as I exist. Cla.s.s C will continue to be targeted, is that it?" he asks. "Not really. As long as you don"t attack us first, I don"t intend on using this incident as a tool against you either" I told Ryuuen.
"I"m not so naive as to believe your word of mouth. If one day Cla.s.s C drives you into a corner, you will surely notify the school of this incident. Am I wrong?" Ryuuen asks. "Perhaps" I admit. I cannot give him an absolute promise that I won"t do that. Can Cla.s.s C even function in a situation where it"s constantly forced to keep its head bowed. "But what will you do? You cannot erase an event that has already happened, Ryuuen" I tell him.
"Shut up. My conflict with you is over. And my own fight is over as well". After looking at Ibuki and the others, Ryuuen took out his phone and entered something into it. And on the rooftop floor, he slided his phone over to Ibuki. "What...". Having been silently listening to me and Ryuuen"s conversation until now, Ibuki glares at him, and me as well. "I will be taking all responsibility for this. And as such, I will also be transferring all my points over to you" Ryuuen says.
"Huh?...Ryuuen...what? Are you an idiot?" Ibuki says. "T-that"s right, Ryuuen-san. What happened here today won"t be disclosed anyways, there"s no need for you to take responsibility!". Neither side can disclose the events of today. We are both equal in that regard. But Ryuuen has realized that right now, Cla.s.s D is in an overwhelmingly dominant position. And there"s only one way to counter it. "Ayanokouji, this is something I did on my own. Only I need to be expelled right?" he asks me.
"You sound very serious. Talking about taking responsibility for what you did and all that" I said. Ryuuen spat out the words "This is stupid" along with the blood that pooled in his mouth. "The tyrant only holds influence for as long as he holds power. Now with a defeat like this, there will be no one to follow a tyrant". The domineering att.i.tude and actions Ryuuen had taken so far were only permitted because he could bring about results. Involving other cla.s.ses in the hunt for X caused large ripples.
After having used brute force until now, he seemed to have realized this himself. He seems to be more perceptive than expected. Having been able to answer correctly to this extent, I was right in creating an environment where Ryuuen could do his best after all. "Don"t joke around...why are you trusting me with this?" Ibuki asked Ryuuen. "Because you hate me. That"s why when I get expelled, share my private points with everyone else. Once I get expelled, Sakayanagi will surely invalidate my contract with them but that can"t be helped" he replied to her. If the contractor himself is expelled, that would surely be the result.
"Ryuuen-san, are you seriously saying that?" Is.h.i.+zaki stood up and shouted those words at Ryuuen with a sad voice. "Don"t shout. I can hear you just fine" he told Is.h.i.+zaki while laughing. "You can handle it yourselves later" he added. It seems he"s made up his mind about getting expelled, as he stood up without even looking at his phone. "See you" he told them as he moved to leave the rooftop. Neither Ibuki"s words nor Is.h.i.+zaki"s words reached that back. "Are you ok with that? Quitting school? I think you"ll regret it" I told him and stopped him.
"Why do you care?" Ryuuen asked. "If you leave school now without knowing the meaning of "why" you lost here, I think your development will end there" I said. "Huh?". "Without knowing "why" I lost, huh? Spare me, there"s no meaning in saving me in the first place. There"s no advantage in keeping me around after I know about you and about Karuizawa" Ryuuen said. "That"s right...but if you want a reason, let"s just say if you beat Ichinose and Sakayanagi for us, Cla.s.s D will have an easier time even without me" I told him.
"And besides, if your contract with Cla.s.s A remains, they will surely continue to suffer a loss of points. And most importantly, if you were to suddenly drop out without warning, Sakayanagi and Ichinose will immediately realize that "Ryuuen was taken down by X". If that happens, things will surely become troublesome" I added. Basically that"s the whole story, I informed him.
"Even if this case escalates beyond expectation in an unexpected way, fortunately I have not suffered any injuries. No matter who looks at me where, they won"t think anything of it but an intrcla.s.s problem, wrong?".
"...if that"s true the situation goes like this. I punished you guys for your poor work, and you tried to get back at me for it. But I decided to retreat with that. Let"s leave it at that". If it goes like that this incident won"t inconvenience me as well. "You...why are you ok with that?".
"Everyone here was completely beaten and humiliated by Ayanokouji alone. There"s no point in keeping our dignity and appearances after something like this. And besides, my quitting school alone minimizes the damages" Ryuuen said.
"Let me just say this one thing, and you leaving school or not is your own choice, and you"re free to doubt me if you wish, but I sincerely do not intend on revealing what happened here today to anyone else. And the former student council president waiting below also shares the same opinion. Everything that happened here will be tightly kept under wraps. That means, you wouldn"t have done anything worthy of expulsion. But if you want to drop out even after that, I won"t stop you" I told Ryuuen.
"Then don"t stop me. I don"t trust people so easily" he replied. And with that, he left the rooftop. Is.h.i.+zaki and Ibuki who were left behind, also did not seem to be satisfied with Ryuuen"s actions.