Chapter 104 :: Karuizawa Kei

Chapter 104 :: Karuizawa Kei

Sora's POV

Standing before me was an extremely angry boy by the name of Hirata Yōsuke. And the cause of said anger is, of course, me.

While I was ninety-nine percent sure that this fuming individual wouldn't raise his hand against me, it still didn't help to settle my jittery nerves. I'd gone all out on that performance, and a lot of explaining would have to be done to diffuse this situation.

"Sora-kun... I was under the impression that you were a good, civil person. That was the vibe you gave during that lunch we had together."

Hirata spoke in a tone edged with disappointment. The lunch which he was referring to was, of course, the one in which his classmates were talking about bullying their classmate whom they didn't like, Horikita.

Hirata seemed angry, but he didn't launch into an offensive attack toward me, be it physical or verbally. I suppose this was the kind of man he was. I decided not to respond directly to his statement, and seized control of the conversation immediately.

"Hmm... Hirata, do you realise that, at this rate, the problem with Karuizawa will never go away?" I said.

Hirata appeared bewildered by my blatant disregard for his words. His anger, however, was clearly more evident still.

"I don't appreciate you dodging my statement right now, Sora-kun."

Damn. He was serious about this. Looks like I can't just do whatever I want in this conversation, huh.

"To be blunt, I'm helping both you and Karuizawa. You just don't see it yet." I retorted.

"I don't believe that a verbal attack could constitute to helping this situation," he replied firmly.

Well, to him, me barging into his private one-on-one with Karuizawa was plainly disrespectful and unhelpful. Unfortunately, though, it was a necessary evil.

Actually, why was it necessary, again? I believed that Kiyotaka had a plan, but now that he has Karuizawa alone, what exactly is he planning to do?

In any case, it's best just to trust in him and do the job on my end here.

"I mean, it was the best way to achieve the objective," I said.

Hirata raised his eyebrow, wordlessly responding to me.

"I needed to separate you from Karuizawa. That was the easiest way," I elaborated.

"There were definitely more tactful ways for you to do that," Hirata said, his eyes hardened. "Regardless, that's not the point. Why do you need to separate the two of us after intruding on our private affairs?"

Hirata was rightfully wary. I'd heard everything, from Karuizawa's situation with Manabe to their relationship being fake. It would be a big problem if I revealed this to the rest of the students.

"In actuality, I already knew most of what you discussed," I said.

"Ah, that's right. Sora-kun was there when Karuizawa had her run-in with Manabe-san and her friends, right? That doesn't explain much, though."

"The truth is that I can relate to Karuizawa's situation," I said, before lowering my voice to speak the next part. "If I'm not mistaken, she's a bullying victim."

Hirata's eyes widened in surprise. Looks like I was right on the money.

"H-how did you..." he mumbled in shock.

"I told you, didn't I? I can relate to her situation. That's how, along with my reading abilities, I was able to deduce it from her behaviour." I explained.

Hirata closed his eyes and thought for a moment, presumably choosing his next words carefully. Then, I noticed his fist tighten ever so slightly.

"Then, knowing that, you should've avoided saying such horrible things to her even more so. No matter yours or anyone else's circumstances, such actions cannot be excused."

Hirata was correct on this one, in my opinion. I had no right to say those things to Karuizawa, other than it being the easiest and fastest way to do what needed to be done.

I also felt like Hirata was subtly referring to Karuizawa, too. Although her paranoia and scaredness due to her past bullying was understandable, that didn't give her the right to throw her weight around now, like with that Rika girl.

During their conversation, Karuizawa said that she 'had' to push Rika because of the presence of Shinohara and the others. While it seemed nonsensical at first, if you really deconstruct it knowing all the facts, you can trace Karuizawa's behaviour even down to the very roots.

Karuizawa was not always the popular, gyaru type of girl. In fact, it was more accurate to say that she never was.

Karuizawa's strong-headed, overbearing attitude is just a façade donned when in the presence of the other girls. Why? Because, from her past bullying experience, Karuizawa has realised that the strong prey on the weak.

And so, at her new school, she'd concluded that the most sure-fire way to avoid being the targeted weak again was for her to become the strong, who in turn preyed on the weak.

The weak like Morifuji Rika.

That's also why she'd most likely sought out Hirata to be her fake boyfriend. It was to cement her status in the hierarchy even further, which would decrease the chance of her becoming a target even more.

Now, here's where opinions will differ depending on who you ask – does this justify her current behaviour, of taking acts like shoving Rika, and perhaps verbally taunting less popular girls?

If you asked me, her past certainly did not excuse her actions, however I think that any person with at least a bit of human empathy should be able to sympathise with Karuizawa.

The hellish torment and suffering of having no goals or aspirations, and only wishing for the day to end so it'll all be over. And the fear and paranoia of this torturous cycle repeating all over again. Karuizawa must've lived a horrible life at her previous school, and she was terrified of it happening again.

Hirata had said it in their conversation – 'you aren't that type of person'. Karuizawa understood that it was wrong to target others, most of all because she'd experienced it all herself. However, her fear of becoming the target again outweighed her empathy for those she harassed.

Unless you'd experienced serious bullying yourself, you weren't in any position to criticise the survival methods adopted by victims. It was impossible to understand the paranoia and fear that these people feel.

And speaking from a purely logical perspective doesn't work here, either. Nobody in Karuizawa's shoes would be capable of completely rational thought. All that'd be on their mind would be the overwhelming need to avoid becoming a target.

As well as a person's IQ, there was also EQ; emotional quotient. A metric which represents how attuned you are to the emotions of people. You could be the most intelligent person on the planet, but if you were unable to understand the feelings of people, your opinion on this matter was as good as weightless.

To put it short, while Karuizawa's past does not excuse her behaviour, a bit of thought could certainly justify why she acts like she does. And, at heart, it was clear that she wasn't a bad person. That's what I think.

"You're right. My words and actions back there were definitely out of line. I'm sorry," I bowed my head as I spoke.

Hirata appeared to calm down a bit, and he let out an exasperated sigh, his fist loosening.

"Would you mind expanding on your intentions here?"

"Sure. I can sympathise with Karuizawa, which is why I want to help. And, to be frank, I don't think you are of much use in this scenario, Hirata. You want to be everyone's ally, but that's not what she needs at the moment."

"You don't think it's possible to solve this through civil discussion? That's rather pessimistic." Hirata rebutted.

"Girls are much more vicious than us boys. While men tend to just have a physical fight and have that be the end of it, grudges between girls turn into a long battle of nasty attacks on one another. From hair pulling to spreading rumours to throwing their drinks and much more, which can last for months and months without ever being resolved. You understand this, don't you? They won't just hug and make up, even if you're there as a mediator with all your popularity."

Hirata closed his eyes, a storm of thoughts assailing his mind. This would be a true test for Hirata – will he be able to reflect on the situation without bias, and on his own way of doing things? Or will he insist that peace through dialogue is always the answer?

Eventually, he started talking.

"You're right. That is most likely the case. But, then, what would you suggest as an alternative?"

I looked him dead in the eye.

"A fight ends when someone wins."

Hirata seemed shocked by my immediate response, as his eyes widened a little.

"This applies to all battles, be it physical, mental or emotional. In this case, the best way to win is, of course..." I continued.

"... Expulsion."

Hirata paled and his eyes widened even more. Anyone would think I just suggested murdering them.

"Absolutely not! While it's arguable that you cannot be on everyone's side, that doesn't mean anybody needs to be expelled!" Hirata shook his head violently.

"Oh really? This school takes bullying very seriously. Manabe and her friends have already used violence on Karuizawa, and it will escalate even more from here. One could even go as far as to say they deserve to be expelled." I retorted.

Hirata stared at me like I'd completely lost my mind. It was as if he thought my logic was completely nonsensical, like some kind of alien language was being spoken.

"Why would you ever freely choose to expel one of your peers when there are clearly other solutions?" he exclaimed in alarm.

"I never said I would," I rebutted. "All I said was that it was the best way to win."

Hirata's panic dissipated as he heard my words. He was evidently glad to hear that I didn't intend to expel anybody.

"However, there must be a reason for bringing it up, right? Do you think that Ayanokōji-kun would choose to expel them?"

If I knew Ayanokōji, I'd say it was far more likely that he'd force Manabe to become subservient to him. Having a sleeper agent embedded in Class C would be very powerful.

"Hmm... who can say? Although I don't agree with resorting to expulsion myself, what I will say is that, for people like Karuizawa, people like Manabe and her friends ought to be... deleted."

Hirata stiffened up at my deliberately ominous wording. However, what I said was true; nobody can argue that the world would be better for everyone if all bullies disappeared.

When you think of the word 'bully', you typically relate it to a certain type of asshole you'd find at a school, but unfortunately, reality is not that kind.

The truth is that there are bullies throughout all stages of life, such as a boss who likes to throw his weight around. Or a landlord who thinks he has the right to control everything you do, and makes threats when you don't conform to his exact wishes. Or a customer who thinks he's 'always correct' and acts like the most self-entitled guy you'll ever meet.

Contrary to popular belief, these kinds of people don't change, grow or mature after they graduate school – they just act the same way all over again, usually developing some sort of power-complex along the way.

These kinds of characters are a sad but inevitable constant in modern society. However, if there was a way to just erase them all, I'm sure that most of the general population would do so.

"While it is true that most people would be better off at this school without characters like Manabe, I still firmly stand by a philosophy of rehabilitation over retribution." Hirata said.

Unfortunately, Hirata, capital punishment is legal in Japan, which means that the country disagrees with you.

"I agree with you for the most part. However..." I could almost feel my crimson eyes gleam as I looked into Hirata's. "Some ships are doomed to sink."

Hirata shivered slightly, before shaking his head and turning his back to me and facing down the corridor. He started to walk, but I stopped him with my voice.

"Where are you going?" I called out.

"To find Karuizawa-san and Ayanokōji-kun." Hirata answered over his shoulder.

"There's no point in that. Do you know how big this ship is, how many levels it has? And since it's the middle of the night, they could've gone literally anywhere since everywhere is deserted. Even I would have no hope of finding them now."

Out of an itching curiosity, I pulled out my phone and scrolled to Ayanokōji's contact. By default, you were able to check somebody's GPS location this way, but as expected, Ayanokōji had the feature disabled.

"You may be right, but wouldn't you agree that it's still best to try? I'm worried about Karuizawa."

"Just let us handle the Karuizawa situation now, Hirata. To be blunt, you can't do anything for her now with your civil, peaceful way of doing things."

Hirata appeared hesitant, and torn between the two choices he had in his mind. After agonising over his answer for a brief moment, he turned back to fully face me.

"Can I trust you, Sora-kun?"

"Of course. As I said, I sympathise with her, being able to relate to her problem myself. I promise that I'll do my best to help her," I said. "The system of this school breeds a mentality of viewing everybody who's not your classmates as an enemy with ulterior motives, and I think that that's a great downside."

In the real world, it's not like everybody you meet that's outside of your immediate circle is an enemy. As long as you're suspicious of the creepy dude offering you candy, you'll be fine out there. This school is kinda extremist when it comes to this sort of thing.

"I see... Well, in that case, I'll reluctantly leave Karuizawa-san in your and Ayanokōji-kun's care." Hirata said.

He made a point of saying 'reluctantly', presumably to indirectly emphasise that he still doesn't fully trust us, and that he won't be happy if we do something other than help her here.

"I understand. We'll try our best to meet your expectations." I said.

Hirata nodded, before turning around again. "Right. Goodnight, Sora-kun."

With that, the back of Hirata Yōsuke faded into the darkness of the dim corridor, and eventually, the repetitive sound of his footsteps echoing through this level of the ship faded away, too.

Ayanokōji's POV

As soon as I shut the door behind me, I spun around and pinned Karuizawa against it. I looked silently into her frightened eyes for a moment, before speaking.

"Don't try anything. Even if you call out for help, the chances of somebody hearing it, locating where the source is and actually coming all the way here is slim to none. I assume you won't do something as stupid as getting yourself in trouble for such a small probability."

Karuizawa glared at me with clear hostility, but nonetheless, eventually gave in and nodded in understanding.

I slowly removed my hand from her mouth, and backed away to give her a bit of space, opting to lean against a pool table standing behind me.

Karuizawa simply stared at me with a strange mixture of anger, bewilderment and anxiety, but I could still make out the wetness around her eyes.

"You aren't going to try to run away?" I asked.

"You'd just catch up easily anyway," Karuizawa answered coldly.

"I see,"

"Anyway, what do you want with me?" she asked, almost in a commanding tone.

I found myself genuinely impressed. Despite just crying and running away, and being forcefully pulled into a desolate room by a boy she doesn't know, Karuizawa kept up her tough exterior. There are not many with that kind of mental grit.

"First of all, I need to say, there's no need for you to keep that up any longer," I told her.

Even though I'd just revealed that I know some dangerous information, this girl didn't look surprised. She'd probably deduced already that Sora and I had heard their whole conversation at least.

"Do you think it's that easy for a girl to just open up her heart to a boy she's barely spoken to?" Karuizawa responded, but this time, without the cold and aggressive edge to her tone.

"Probably not," I said. "But we'll need to be honest with one another to move forward, no?"

"Move... forward? What do you mean?"

"You don't think I pulled you all the way here for nothing, do you?"

"You didn't pull me anywhere. I left of my own free will," Karuizawa retorted.

While it may have seemed like her free decision to her, Karuizawa running away from the previous scene was as good as set in stone as soon as Sora and I formed a plan. When it came to manipulating others into doing what he wants, Sora was second to none.

"Well, that's not completely true. Sora didn't just say all of that stuff for the sake of being mean, you know?" I said.

"You're saying he only said it to make me run away? Well, it does kinda make sense when I remember Sora-kun's words from lunch that one time, but why would he go to such lengths? Just to get me here?"

Karuizawa wasn't doubtful, but rather fully accepted my reasoning. Due to this apparent lunch that I hadn't heard of, she was probably already doubtful that Sora had meant what he said.

"While getting you here was the end result, it wasn't our primary objective. What we were really trying to do was get you away from Hirata."

Karuizawa's eyes widened in confusion. "Hirata-kun? He's the only one who's on my side. Why would you want to separate me from him?"

"That's exactly the problem," I countered. "The only one who's on your side is a person who tries to be on everyone's side."

I turned my voice slightly dark before speaking the next part, which made Karuizawa visibly tremble again.

"Which means, for somebody like you, Karuizawa, he's not a good ally."

"Somebody like me? What does that mean?" she questioned with a puzzled look

Karuizawa tried playing dumb. Well, it was actually quite clever of her – her past, which Sora speculated to involve bullying, wasn't mentioned in her dialogue with Hirata, which means that if we'd just bumped into them by chance tonight, we'd have no way to know about

Despite being cornered like this, before a stranger who knew much more than he should, Karuizawa was using her sharp wits to do her best to restrict any more information from leaking out, and to try and throw me off.

However, unfortunately for Karuizawa, the world was oftentimes much crueler than that.

"Isn't it obvious?" I asked, looking her straight in the eye. "I'm talking about a bullying victim."

Her eyes widened in utter shock and disbelief, her gaze adopting a tinge of fear.

"What are you... talking about?" she stammered.

"Don't worry," I said. "I don't intend to tell anyone. In fact, I wish to assist you, in this specific instance."

She eyed me with scepticism and confusion. Karuizawa briefly looked like she was going to carry on playing the fool, but she abandoned that idea after seeing the knowing look in my eyes.

And then, unexpectedly, she let out a dry laugh of self-deprecation.

"Hah... so my secret was found out, huh?"

Despite the fact that I'd told her that I didn't intend to tell anyone her secret, Karuizawa still wore a dismayed expression, as if she thought her peaceful life at this school had reached its sunset.

"Like I said, I'm not going to use it against you in any way," I reassured her.

If I wanted to, I could've put Karuizawa into a deep despair right here. Considering how far she's gone already to keep it a secret, she'd likely do anything to make me keep it a secret, too.

If I so chose, I could have Karuizawa working as a pawn for me by threatening to release her secret to the school.

However, there's no need for that.

Having a pawn under your complete control within another class is a very powerful weapon, but as it stands, Kushida already fills that role perfectly.

And, as an asset, Kushida is much, much better than Karuizawa is. Kushida is far more trusted by not only people in her own class but the others as well, and nobody would suspect her of doing something underhanded behind the scenes.

Karuizawa, on the other hand, has a headstrong attitude which has, like in this instance, resulted in her being rather disliked by some of the other girls in the school.

She's less flexible because there are less people that would actually let her get close to them compared to Kushida, and she also doesn't have as much influence as Kushida does.

In other words, making Karuizawa into my pawn here would be pretty... well, pointless.

If I didn't do anything to help Karuizawa right now, however, Sora's high opinion of me would definitely deteriorate, which is something I cannot afford to let happen right now.

"I promise, I just want to help you right now." I reiterated.

Karuizawa's expression didn't ease at all.

"Why would you want to do that, huh? Why would I believe you?"

"Well, actually, it's not me that wants to help you, but Sora. He can probably relate to your situation, so he empathises with you." I explained.

Karuizawa looked at me with a pitiful expression. "What are you, his dog?"

I suppose, from her perspective, it does look as if I'm just following Sora around, doing his errands for him. However, there were more layers to our relationship beneath the surface.

I briefly pondered how Sora thought of me. So far, I had been nothing but friendly and supportive of him, so it would make sense for him to view me as a close and trusted companion.

However, Sora was no normal high-school student. Even though he'd began calling me 'Kiyotaka', it wouldn't surprise me if he secretly doubted my intentions deep down.

"'Dog', huh?" I murmured in response. "That's a harsh term. I'm merely someone looking to help out a good friend."

Karuizawa narrowed her eyes at me for a few seconds, before loosening up and letting out a huff of impatience.

"Ah mou, what a pain. Well, you pretty much know e-everything about me now, so you might as well help me. Do you have a plan, or something?"

"The current conflict is between yourself and Manabe and her friends, correct? A fire should always be extinguished before it spreads to the entire forest. We'll deal with this quickly, before the end of this cruise." I said.

When there is conflict between two boys, it is typically resolved in the end with a physical fight. They hit each other a bit and either they settle their differences this way, or one of the sides submits to the other. It is not a long-lasting affair.

However, compared to males, girls' fights rarely devolve to violence. And, even when they do, it is often not the end of it. Grudges between girls are a long and arduous problem, and if left unchecked, even just a single difference between two girls can escalate to a wide-scale conflict between entire groups.

"Before the end of the cruise..? You plan to do something?" Karuizawa hesitantly queried.

"That's right. Of course, I will need your cooperation too, but I promise that I won't put you in danger." I answered.

Karuizawa fidgeted, intertwining and running her hands across each other as she lowered her gaze to the ground.

Eventually, she raised her head, and looked at me with an almost desperate expression.

"Are you trustworthy...? Ayanokōji-kun...?"

"I can't really comment on that myself, can I? However, what I can say is that you don't really have a choice. Unless you'd rather continue relying on Hirata, who won't even take your side over anyone else's?" I replied, meeting her gaze with my own.

"I see... then, I suppose I'll have to trust that you'll help me," Karuizawa said after a slight silence, finally resolving her spirit.

"Good," I said. "Give me your phone number."

Karuizawa glared at me incredulously.

I let out a sigh. "Not for that. So that I can text you the details of my plan later. Of course, you'll have to delete any records of our messages after you've read them."

Karuizawa reluctantly gave in, and handed me her phone, a phone number displayed on the screen.

She was probably expecting me to enter her number into my phone, and so she looked at me confused when I simply looked at the number for a few seconds and then handed her phone back.

"You aren't going to save it?"

"I've memorised it." I told her.

"Huh? Nobody can memorise an entire phone number that fast."

Along with myself, I could think of at least one other person who could. The image of a small girl with white hair flashed into my mind.

"I can. I'll text you tomorrow, we should head back to our rooms for now," I said, moving the topic of conversation along.

"Wow. You're alone with a cute girl during the night and all you want to do is go back to your room and sleep?" Karuizawa pouted.

I paused to stare at her for a few beats.

"Hm? Are you trying to get me to seduce you?" I asked.

"N-no! Idiot!" she cried, her face becoming flushed. "It's just that, most other boys would've tried to do something by now."

Well, it's certainly not difficult to imagine somebody like Ike attempting that kind of advancement in a situation like this. It must be tough being a popular high-school girl, I thought.

"Well, I'm not most other boys. Come on," I stepped over to the door and opened it, motioning for Karuizawa to walk through.

"Oh, so now you're being courteous, after forcefully bundling me in here in the first place," she complained as she shuffled to the door.

I shrugged my shoulders as I stepped through and shut the door behind us.

"A bit of courtesy never hurt anyone," I said.

I began walking back to where we came from, inwardly hoping that Sora had led Hirata away from there by now. Karuizawa swiftly fell into step beside me.

"So, is this the 'real' Karuizawa Kei?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

Karuizawa gave me a look of bewilderment.

"You're acting nothing like the gal attitude you usually have."

"Oh. I, um... that's not how I really am, normally..." she spoke uncertainly.

Karuizawa confirmed my suspicions.

"So, it's just an act? Why bother going to such lengths?"

"In this world, especially in high-school, it's kill or be killed. The strong prey on the weak. Those who aren't involved end up siding with the strong out of fear of becoming their next prey.

Karuizawa knew all of that better than anyone, after having lived through years of bullying. How the hierarchy, especially between vicious high-schoolers, is built on popularity and status.

"The best way to avoid ever becoming the weak is to be the strong yourself. By becoming Hirata-kun's girlfriend, I gained status that cannot be ignored. After a bit of acting all headstrong and combative, all the other girls just sort of started to view me as their leader, someone they should follow.

This girl was a lot more perceptive and intelligent than she first appeared. While her academic performance had probably been stunted by her bullying at her previous schools, it was clear to see that Karuizawa had a good understanding and perception of how things worked, and was able to come up with a way to climb to the top of that system while also shouldering her past. You couldn't help but commend her, no matter how you viewed her actions.

"However, do you not feel any guilt? You've become the same kind of person that tortured you so much before." I said bluntly, causing Karuizawa to flinch slightly.

"It... it's not like I go as far as people did with me. The most I've done is like, shove people, and stuff..." she said quietly.

"And you don't feel any remorse for the people you push?"

"Of course, I feel bad about it! But, it's something I have to do, to make sure I never go through that hell again!" Karuizawa said, a fire burning in her eyes.

It was unlikely that Karuizawa's behaviour had a noticeable impact on the lives of even the students that hated her. She was probably seen as more of a distasteful inconvenience rather than an imposing bully that ruined your day.

Despite this, it was obvious that her actions were wrong - you can't be in the right throwing your weight around and picking on those weaker than you.

That being said, whether Karuizawa's behaviour was justified is a matter of personal opinion. However, unless you'd endure severe bullying for years yourself, it was extremely difficult to imagine the desperation a person who has would have to escape from it.

We passed by the area where Sora and I had encountered Hirata and Karuizawa initially, which was now empty. After a bit more walking, we eventually reached the split-off point where Karuizawa and I would have to go different ways to the girls and boys rooms respectively.

Before we separated, Karuizawa turned to me and looked at me with an adamant expression.

"Ayanokōji, if you betray me, I won't forgive you,"

While it was impossible for someone like Karuizawa to harm me, she was probably more referring to how my betrayal would make her feel. Most people would feel guilt, after all.

"Relax. What would I gain by telling everyone your secret anyway?"

"I don't know, okay? I'm just... a little paranoid..." Karuizawa trailed off.

I reached my hand out, and gently patted her on the head, to her surprise.

"I can guarantee that this situation with Manabe will turn out okay. You don't have to worry,"

"Right," Karuizawa mumbled. "We aren't in a shoujo manga, you know! You'd better not be expecting me to start blushing and acting all flustered just from a head pat!"

I took my hand back. "Right, right, I get it."

With that, I turned my back to her and began to walk away toward my guest room. I threw a hand up over my shoulder as a departing wave.

"Goodnight, Karuizawa," I said without turning around.

She seemed to acknowledge me, but didn't reply, and just began to walk away herself.

Once Karuizawa was out of sight, I pulled out my phone and opened a certain girl's contact. She would be asleep right now, so she won't reply straight away, but she'll hopefully see my message when she wakes up.

I opened the messenger function, and wrote a quick text to her.

[I need you to do something. Meet me at the lowest ship level at 10am.]

I returned my phone to my pocket, and walked down the corridor towards the guest room I shared with Sora and Shiro.

This situation with Karuizawa was perfect for me. While I didn't particularly care about Karuizawa, her conflict with Manabe had come around and just the right time for me.

Sora's involvement meant that, by helping, I could improve my image in Sora's eyes, and gain his trust a little more. Within this school where I'm not guaranteed to be allied with my classmates forever, being highly trusted by at least one of them was a priority.

Not only that, but then there was also Manabe. It was obvious that what Manabe and her friends are doing to Karuizawa is a seriously punishable offense, and if they're found out, they, as well as the entirety of Class C, could take some serious damage.

Consequently, obtaining evidence of Manabe's actions here would be extremely valuable.

With a plan arranged in my mind, I used my key card to unlock my room's door, and quietly stepped inside, where Sora was likely waiting for me.