Chapter 2.4 - The Magician Reveals His Secrets

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"You lost the moment you decided to challenge me."

"What a- what are you talking about?"

"Since your expulsion is already set in stone, I might as well let you in on the truth."

Everyone was silent, including the President. I began telling them my secrets.

"Nagumo, did you really think I didn't notice you stalking me? I knew you were stalking me ever since you started doing so, four days ago. Not long after that, the President called me to the Student Council Room, offering me the position of Second Vice-President. He told me you left the room before I even arrived, which made me realize that you had a grudge against me. That was when I decided to make a contract that I kept in my pocket. I assumed you wanted to face off against me, and I was right. Since I needed your approval to become Second Vice-President, I decided to accidentally bump into you when you were stalking me on my way to the mall.

We then made a deal, or at least what you thought was a deal. All you had to do was give the President your approval of me, and we would fight. If we were to not fight, then I'd be expelled. That's what was written on the contract, and you signed it without even double checking. The truth is, I cut out this fake contract, and attached it perfectly on top of the real one. The one you signed that day, was actually the real one that was hidden under the fake contract. Since you were so fired up, you didn't even bother checking twice, which was your first mistake. Therefore, you had signed the real contract, which stated that if you were to be expelled, I'd be the one to receive all of the your private points. Of course, that was only a hypothetical scenario, but I made sure to make it happen.

After you agreed to accept me, I sent President Manabu a message, saying I accepted the position of Second Vice-President. I then asked him to come right here, at 8:00 PM, same for Ichinose, and as for you, 7:45 PM. You were lured into my trap, Nagumo, and Ichinose was the bait. Ichinose told me that you offered to accept her application, as long as she accepted to be your girlfriend, so I knew she could come in handy in my plan to expel you. I had you arrive earlier than her, so that you could build up your frustration while waiting for me, and, upon seeing her, you let out your frustration on her, sexually harassing her, even attempting to rape her. This happened for a couple minutes while I was hiding in the bushes, filming you, until President Horikita arrived. Now, he already warned me that he would be a couple minutes late, and I factored that into my plan.

You were then cornered. You tried to make your way out, by saying there was no proof, but in truth, the proof was already here, right in my hands. I finally decided to make my appearance. With this proof, your expulsion was inevitable, you could go home and pack your things. In your last moment of desperation, you remembered the contract we signed. You thought that I would get expelled with you. Guess what, you're the only one that will be expelled, and thanks to the real contract you signed, you'll be handing me all of your private points. Not only that, I'll be taking your spot as the Student Council Vice-President, as I already became the Second Vice-President before all of this happened. The school confirmed my position before this happened. Therefore, I will become Vice-President without having to run a campaign, effortlessly taking the spot you worked so hard to earn and keep. What's more, next year, I'll take the spot of Student Council President, without even having to lift a single finger.

I'll tell you this, Nagumo, you're a fool. Since the very beginning, since the very moment you decided to challenge me, since the very moment you learned my identity, your loss was inevitable. Challenging me was your biggest mistake, Nagumo,

Because you never stood a chance."

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The next day, news spread around campus about how the Vice-President got expelled. I asked President Horikita to keep my position as the new Vice-President under wraps for now, to which he agreed. The school administration knows about it, but I told him not to tell any students yet.

Manabu recently told me that I'm the first Second Vice-President that the school had seen for a long time, or more like I was. It was rare for Presidents and Vice-Presidents to have the same opinion.

Next year, when Manabu leaves, I'll be replacing him as the new Student Council President.

Nagumo left the school yesterday night, after being taken away by the security guards. Before leaving, he transferred all of his private points to me, as was written in the contract. I now have over 5 million private points. I haven't found a use for that many points yet, but having that many will certainly be handy for the future.

Things have also been awkward between Ichinose and me. She's still a bit traumatized by what happened last night and hasn't come to school today. Although I did expel Nagumo, I must admit I used her for my plan, making her suffer in the process.

Class ended so I went to the Student Council Room.

"Hey, President."

"Hey, Ayanokouji. I must say, you sure are a unique boy. What happened yesterday was... extraordinary to say the least. But let me get this out of the way. I don't support such unorthodox methods. Although I'm grateful that you have succeeded in taking care of Nagumo, don't do something like this ever again. I am willing to let this slide just this once. Understood?"

"I understand, President. I apologize for my behavior."

"I'll believe your words for now. Have a seat, Ayanokouji."

Manabu then went on to tell me about my role as Vice-President. Basically, the President and Vice-President have control over the student associations, student activity events and planning, budget allocation, and all kinds of things.

After Manabu told me everything about the role of the student council and of the Vice-President, we bid farewell and I head towards the dormitory, finding Ichinose on the same bench like always, alone in her thoughts.

She noticed me, but it was after a few seconds that she started talking.

"Oh... hey... Ayanokouji-kun..."

"Hey, Ichinose."

I really don't know what to say to her.

"Ichi-"

"Let me just say this... Ayanokouji-kun. I don't like you for what you did to me. I don't plan on forgiving you anytime soon. But... you did say that you would deal with Nagumo... and you did... but you used me... ahhh... I'm feeling all kinds of mixed emotions right now."

"You don't have to forgive me, Ichinose. I selfishly used you for my own plan, I made you suffer from Nagumo's sexual assault. I don't seek forgiveness for my actions."

"Well... I guess... I should thank you for dealing with Nagumo... but don't you do that to me ever again!!" Ichinose raised her voice, "Do you know how traumatizing that was? But I guess... in a way... you helped me realize how weak I am. There was nothing I could do to stop him... I was hopeless. I was too naive... I saw your message... and I brainlessly came here without thinking twice... There's no way someone like me can... lead a class..."

"Ichinose, I will tell you this. People aren't always what they seem. People wear masks, have hidden intentions, people lie. The world is not just sunshine and rainbows, Ichinose. There is darkness in this world deeper than you even know. This is just the tip of the iceberg."

"W-what are you trying to say?"

"Team up with me. I'll protect you from now on. You don't have to trust me, but know that I will do so to the best of my abilities."

"You... I don't... How can I possibly believe you?"

"Like I said, you don't have to. But I promise I will protect you. In exchange, I want you to help me with anything I might need. You help me, I help you. In other words, let's team up. Let Class B and Class D form an alliance."

"W-what are you even saying..."

"It's your choice, Ichinose, but you've seen with your own eyes only a small glimpse of abilities. I can protect you much more securely than you can imagine. You won't have to go through that ever again. In exchange for that protection, I simply want you to help me out with anything I might need."

"I... That doesn't sound too bad... I guess... with you on my side... nothing can go wrong... Are you sure you won't betray me?!"

"I won't."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

"You pinky promise?"

A pinky promise. A gesture like all other, but a gesture that carries more meaning than any other. A traditional gesture most commonly practiced among children which involved the locking of the pinkies of the two people to signify that a promise has been made. Initially, the gesture was taken signify that the person can break the finger of the one who broke the promise.

A promise. A declaration, an assurance that one will do something or that a particular thing will or will not happen. For someone to believe in someone else's promise, that person has to trust the other. Doesn't the world revolve around this one thing we call trust? Trust is like a telepathic bond between two people. A bond that may or may not be hard to break. One might be able to keep trust someone, no matter what. Trust is a bond that may or may not be easy to form, in the sense that it may be hard to earn someone's trust. Trust is central to our social lives. To know is to trust what someone else says. To cooperate is to trust each other's promises. To trust is to firmly believe in the character, strength, or truth of someone or something.

How do you make someone rely on you? When they're at their lowest, make them believe you are their glimpse of hope.

"Pinky promise," I said to Ichinose as we locked our pinkies.

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The next week of school was rather uneventful. As usual, most students decided to use their phones, talk, or even sleep during class. They couldn't be bothered if they were late. The teachers always said nothing to them about their behavior. Students like Ike even started coming up with nicknames for the teachers, and calling them by their nicknames. For example, they started calling Chabashira-sensei Sae-chan-sensei.

Ike, Yamauchi and Sudou became known as the 'Idiot Trio'. Based on personal experience though, I like to think that Sudou is somewhat more mature than those two airheads.

"Ha ha ha ha! God, you're so dumb. You're hilarious, man!"

Ike chatted loudly with Yamauchi during second-period math. It'd been a little more than three weeks since the entrance ceremony. In that time, Ike and Yamauchi wasted no efforts in letting everyone know they're the biggest idiots on the planet.

"Whaddup?" Halfway through class, Sudou barged into the classroom and clearly couldn't care less about his attitude. He slumped in his seat with a yawn, rested his head on his arms and started sleeping.

"Oh, hey, Sudou. Wanna get lunch later?" Ike called out to Sudou from across the room.

The math teacher continued the lesson without even paying attention. One would expect the teacher to have reacted, but they all tolerated this kind of behavior, for reasons to complicated for simpletons to understand. Either it was coming late to class, using poor language, dozing off or using phones, the teachers didn't show a single bit of reaction.

Next month, we'll definitely have 0 class points, which was all part of my plan. I even made sure to play my part by obviously using my phone during class, noticing there was a camera right behind me.

For the third period, we had history class with Chabashira-sensei. When the bell rang, she walked into the noisy classroom. Her entrance didn't alter the students' behavior though.

"Quiet down a little, please. Today's lesson will be a bit serious."

"What do you mean, Sae-chan-sensei?"

"It's almost the end of the month, so we're going to have a short test. Please pass these to the back."

The test contained questions from the five main subjects. With only a few questions per subject, it was really short.

"Huh? I wasn't listening, though. This is so unfair!" a student cried as many other started complaining as well.

"Don't say that. This test is just for future reference. It won't be reflected in your report cards. There is no risk involved, so don't worry. Of course, cheating is prohibited."

That's one weird way of phrasing it. The way she said it made me think that the grade could be reflected in some other way. And "for future reference"? What's that supposed to mean?

As the quiz began, I scanned the questions. There were four questions per subject, making a total of twenty questions. Each question was worth five points. Most of the questions were extraordinarily easy, to the point where it was a huge letdown. The final three questions were way more difficult though. They couldn't be geared toward a first-year high school student. The final three questions were clearly of a different quality than the rest.

There's no way this was an accident.

Anyway, I decided to score full marks.

The quiz ended, and the teacher collected our papers.

"Those questions were way too hard..."

"What the hell was that?"

Most of the students let their complaints be known as Chabashira-sensei left the chaotic classroom.

After the fourth period, the bell rang and it was time for lunch. Just as I was wondering where I should eat, I heard someone call my name.

"Kiyotaka."

Most of the students haven't left the classroom yet, so many turned their attention to the classroom entrance, where a girl with lilac colored hair and violet eyes entered the classroom. Of course, everyone knew about her. Sakayanagi Arisu, one of, if not the most academically gifted student in Class A.

"KIYOTAKA?"

"Did she just call him by his first name?"

"Hey, Arisu. What's the matter?" I asked her.

"ARISU?"

"They're on first name basis?" a girl said soon before fainting.

I didn't know first names were such a big deal.

"Why don't you join me for lunch? I want to talk to you about something," Arisu said.

"Sure," I calmed responded. I could feel the deadly stares I was getting from some of the boys in around class.

As Arisu and I left the classroom, I could hear some boys shouting at me. By some, I mean Ike and Yamauchi.

"You lucky bastard!"

"Don't you flex on us by calling her by her first name!"

Sigh.

Arisu took me to a café, where she apparently reserved a table for two.

We both ordered our lunches, and sat down. I noticed some students looking at the two of us, clearly talking about us.

"What did you want to talk about?" I asked Arisu.

"Fufu... I see you're in a rush as always, Kiyotaka. First, I must say your classmates are quite troublesome. How do you plan on dealing with them?"

"I have my own plan. Don't worry about it."

"What are you going to do when your class gets 0 class points next month?"

"So you've figured it out too, huh?"

"Fufufu why of course. I'm a natural genius, after all. More importantly, why didn't you tell your classmates about the truth? You'll get 0 private points next month."

"I want them to face the truth themselves when the time comes. Also, I have more than enough points to last the next month."

"I see, you're as cold as I imagined you would be, Kiyotaka. I guess I won't interfere in your class's problems then. Now then, I wanted to ask you this, were you involved in Nagumo's expulsion?"

She's sharp. I suppose I have no reason to lie to her.

"Yes, I won't tell you the details but I was the one behind his expulsion. I'll tell you this too, I took his place as Vice-President, although nobody knows about this yet."

"Oh, so you're getting involved in the student council as well?"

"Yes."

"Fufufu, I see. When do you plan on joining Class A."

"I'm not sure yet. I could probably easily find a way to transfer to your class in the upcoming week, but I don't think I'll do that. I've been thinking about it, but recently that felt rather... boring to me, don't you think? I was never the type to mess around and all, but, maybe, just maybe, this time...

I'll try my best to have a little fun."

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