Chapter 15: Old Friend

Ayanokoji POV

"So a cruise? This school really does things over the top...." I heard Horikita say beside me

The school's summer vacation had started and they had given us the "pleasure" of a cruise vacation.

Yea, I don't think anyone except my classmates are really buying it, Horikita has the same feeling as I do.

I had a small suit case with me, having my clothes and essentials as I boarded the cruise. I spotted many of the other classes and even my own class mates already there.

"Hey! Ayanokoji!" I heard Yamauchi call out to me as he came towards me running

"I wanted to ask you... do you think this is a vacation?" He asked me as I internally widened my eyes in shock...

Could it be.....

"No, why do you ask" I ask him as he sighed

"So it wasn't just me! It's too suspicious! This school is so hell bent on making life hell for us, giving us a cruise vacation seems out of their lane" he said as I was internally questioning my whole life

Is Yamauchi seriously looking beyond the surface? Was this feat possible?

I looked at Horikita besides me and even she was shocked, I guess I'm proud-

"Im pretty sure a lot of us expect that, keep your eyes peeled and if you get any good information, tell me, Suzune, Kikyou or Hirata" I said as he nodded in determination

It seems he was happy he could be something that isn't useless, honestly? That's good, I didn't expect anything from him for a while

I looked around the cruise as I saw Sudo sitting while a few class A students surrounded him

"Hey! Get up! We're class A and we need the spot you class D TRASH!" I heard some guy yell in a stupid manner, a green haired boy

"Dude, my class is class C now, get it right atleast. You call yourself a class A elite yet don't even know how to get basic knowledge right?" Sudo said in a condescending way as the green haired boy gritted his teeth and was going to continue to yell

"Yahiko, don't make a scene" I saw a bald guy say as the green haired guy was embarrassed and recoiled a bit

"B-but Katsuragi! Look at him!" He said as Sudo raised his eyebrow

"Whaddya mean by that? Oh, Ayanokoji!" He said as he noticed me coming towards him, the class A boys notice my presence as they look towards me

"Thanks for holding a place Sudo, we needed to a place to hang out, I'm sorry if we inconvenienced you all" I said as Katsuragi began before anyone else could

"It's no problem, we were out of line here. Come, we are leaving" he said as the class A boys begrudgingly left

"Ah! We will be on the sea now! Better enjoy this while we can!" Sudo said as I nodded, better relax for the upcoming disaster

"Don't get too comfy, we could be thrown into a troublesome situation at anytime" Suzune said to which I nodded, I agreed to that sentiment

"You're right, this school is not that easy going to allow us a vacation like this for free, you hear anything interesting?" I ask Sudo as he nodded

"You won't believe it! I heard those dumbasses give me a gold mine! Class A has two factions! So we can use that to our advantage!" He said as I nodded, two factions? How interesting

Horikita looked at the information in interest as I asked

"Any information on them?" I ask as he nodded

"Yep, that bald guy is the leader of one of them, the other is apparently a loli girl" he said as I nodded, Horikita besides me absorbed the information to

"Good job Sudo, I will try to gather more information on it as well" I said as he nodded

"Sure! See you both around" he said as me and Horikita moved away, still walking together

"Kikyou is busy with her friend group and networking, Hirata is also doing that. I'll connect with them later for the information that they would've gathered. Let's split up for now and see if we can find anything." I said as she nodded at my orders

"Alright, let's meet up later for dinner" she said as I nodded, it was around 4 pm so we had plenty of time to move around and find things

I send a message to the class group chat to be careful and to tell any useful information about the other classes or what we could be brought to the cruise for

Class D group chat

Ayanokoji: be careful about the cruise, this is mostly a set up by the school for something troublesome, keep your eyes open and gather as much intel that you can, make sure you get information about the other classes discreetly and about our situation, I trust you all, goodluck

Hondo: wait this isn't just a vacation?

Ike: I mean, I would be happy if it was-

Kushida: Nope! I don't think it will be, this school is too suspicious!

Hirata: let's listen to Ayanokoji and report our findings here later

I looked at the message Hirata sent and closed my phone, I suppose that's enough for now, I made my way across the cruise as I looked at familiar and unfamiliar faces as I almost bumped into someone crossing the corner

I suddenly stop, preventing myself from colliding but it seems I startled the girl so she fell back

I immediately grab her from her waist as I pull her up, she had a petite physique with lilac hair, she was carrying a cane with her, it seems she was disabled

"Are you okay?" I asked her calmly as she opened her eyes and started to say something to thank me

She looked at my face and her eyes widened, am I that ugly-

"A-Ayanokoji?" She said as my eyes widened

I've never met this girl in my life ever, I help her up as I look at her coldly, she seemed to have collected herself as she coughed into her hands

"How do you know me." I ask flatly, it was a narrow space with her and I present there

"Whiteroom." She said with a smirk as that word broke my composure

How. Who?

I thought as I remember, her description is akin to the other leader of class A

"It's quite bad isn't it? When your enemy knows your secret" said her as she was smiling at how she got the upper hand

"I don't know what you are talking about, may I know your name?" I asked her as she replied curtly in a teasing tone

"Oh? So eager to know me so early?" She said with a teasing grin as I shrugged

"It's only natural to ask the name of a beautiful lady infront of me" I said as she gained a light blush, she giggled at my response as she replied

"My~ I didn't expect you to be so direct, my name is Sakayanagi Arisu" she said as I nodded

"Would you like to go somewhere more private? I believe we could use some time to discuss things" I said as she nodded, smiling ever so creepily

We made our way and we find ourselves in a library, an extremely empty place as most of the other people were exploring the vast cruise, we sat infront of eachother as I begin

"May I get an explanation?" I ask as she nods

"8 year and 154 days ago, I had seen you in that place, you were much more calmer than all the other students and you intrigued me a lot" she said simply as I nodded

She and I both knew that she can't exactly talk about that place freely, if the information were to get out, her life might be put in danger.

"I see, to think someone who knows about me is here. How's things in class A?" I ask her as she laughed a bit

"Scouting the scene that straightforwardly? I expected more from you Masterpiece" she said with a teasing smirk as i shrugged

"I honestly was just asking but ok. What do you want to talk about?" I ask her as she smiles and asks

"Would it be alright if we talked over a game of chess? I find it most appetising" she said as I nodded, not minding the idea

I will hold back just enough to make the game interesting

"Sure, I don't mind. Which pieces do you want to play?" I ask as she curtly replies that she wishes to play black

We begin our moves, i move to move the kings pawn as the early game develops

It seems we are playing classical as neither of us suggested a clock

"So, what do you want to talk about?" I ask her as she simply says

"I was surprised when class D rose to class C so suddenly, but when I saw you here, it made all the sense. Why choose to participate in the class conflict?" She asked me as I simply replied, making my move

" I want to help my class a little, there are people with feelings and personalities, they have their motivations and past. I simply wish to give them a chance, to learn things myself" I said as she hummed at my response as she started playing the Scandinavian defence

"I am surprised, I didn't expect you to say things like that, not after knowing who you are." She said as I shrugged

"You are free to believe whatever, I am who I am and that's all that I am" I said simply, taking her bishop with my knight as she asks me again

"You seem..... more expressive than how you were back then." She said as I nodded

"It's true, I've had developments since coming here that I could have never foreseen" I said as she nodded

"Yet I can still see that you are as cold as ever, I hope you can learn human warmth someday" she said with a sad tone as I nodded

"As do I, human emotions are truly intriguing and I wish to learn about them more and more" I said as she smiled a little when I said that

"They truly are, I'm glad you are learning them" she said as I nodded

"Yes, what're your hobbies?" I ask her as she raises and eyebrow but replies nonetheless

"I like chess a lot, I also like reading and brewing tea is a particular hobby I love" she says as I nodded

" any friends in your class?" I ask as he shook her head as I stare at her in a manner that conveyed pity

"Hey, why are you giving me that look, it isn't like you have any either" she said I tilted my head in confusion

"You don't know me, and I have a lot of friends actually, they are really nice and fun to be with" I said flatly as her eyes widened

"You mean friends as in, real friends?" She asks, unnerved as I nod

"Yep, friends." I said flatly as she fell back a bit

"Ahhh, I don't exactly have any. No one in my class is at my level or is worth being close to, it's a pain" she says in a dramatic manner as she slumps back, looking at me with one eye closed

"Well, I could be your friend" I said as she got back up into the seat in surprise

"Y-you would!?" She asks as I nod

"Yea, you know me since we were kids and it's nice to have someone to play chess or just talk to freely" I said as her eyes continue to widen

"I don't know what I expected when I originally talked to you but... it certainly wasn't this" she says with a sweat drop as I shrug at her response

"Yes..... I would like that. Im basically your childhood friend now aren't I Ayanokoji?" She says with a smile as I nod

"I guess you could be my childhood friend, I don't exactly have any other candidates for it" I say as she laughs a bit at my response and looks at me with a soft smile

"I was originally going to challenge you to a fight, but I am not sure if it's a possibility anymore" she says a in a joking manner

"Fight? Why is that?" I ask her as she looked down

"I want to prove that man wrong, that inhumane place isn't the way to make a genius filled society..... I wanted to bury you and your ideals with you" she said as I nodded

"I would appreciate that actually, I want to see that man lose more than anything" I said as she smiled and nods

"The more I talk to you, the more different you are from my expectations, Kiyotaka" she says with a smile as I ask her

"You're going to use my first name?" I ask her as she giggled and replied

"Yes, we are childhood friends afterall" she said as I sighed

"Alright, Ari-su" I said while taking a pause in saying her name as her face flushed

During this entire conversation, she has never once broken her focus away from me, as much as it was unnerving, I didn't mind it

We continued to play for hours, our one game lasting a long time as we both thought for each move and executed the best one we could conjure

We chatted and got to know eachother better over the course of the time and we had actually gotten much closer

" Knight c7, checkmate" i say blankly as she slumped back into her chair

"Ahhhh, that was a thrilling game" she said with a bright smile as I nodded

"It's a pity I lost but... I've wanted this game for a long time...." She said as I hummed

"You are the best human player that I have ever had a match with, you have truly impressed me today arisu" I say as she smiles at my declaration and says

"I am thankful for your compliment, it's a pity it's getting late..... I wish we could've played all night and more" she said with a smile as I replied

"We could play again some other time, here. My number, call me if you want to talk or hang out, as childhood friends, we should be there for eachother right?" I said as she nodded and smiled

"Ofcourse..." she said with a smile as she got up and slowly stood

"Oh no..... my legs are numb from sitting for hours, I can't walk for a while... I need to lay down" she said as I sighed

I should've seen this coming but I was too focused on the game

I carried her bridal style as she screams at me in shock

"K-KIYOTAKA!?" She asks as her face flushed completely red and I started walking

"On which floor is your room?" I ask her as she tells me her room number, it was only a bit but we reached her room

She was clenching my shirt and had stayed silent the whole time, her face completely red and it seemed that her brain wasnt functioning

"We are here, let's lay you down and then we can be done with." I say as I knock on the door and I hear a come in as I use the key card in Arisu's hand to open the door

"Where were you lo-" I hear a purple haired girl say as she looks at me and Arisu in our current position

"W-what the fuck." She says flatly as I lay arisu down on the unoccupied bed

"Her legs got numb so I carried her here, I'll be going now, take care" I said as arisu dumbfoundedly nodded

I went to my room as I checked my phone

Class D group chat

Kushida: so class A has two factions, one lead by Katsuragi Kohei and Sakayanagi Arisu, they both aren't friendly and it has created a schism in class A

Class B's leader is Ichinose and they are super friendly and supportive to everyone

Class D's leader is Ryuen Kakeru who used a lot of brutal methods to get his way, he is very dangerous

Ike: we beat Ryuen's ass once! We can do it again!

Horikita: never get cocky, if Ryuen hadn't made an oversight, we would have been in major trouble

Ayanokoji: that is true, so everyone be careful

Hirata: Ayanokoji! Did you find anything?

Ayanokoji: I got a little caught up so I couldn't exactly scout much

Horikita: caught up by what?

Ayanokoji: I met a childhood friend of mine and it took us a while to catch up, the last four hours actually

Yamauchi: Ayanokoji has a childhood friend!? That's cool!

Hasebe: I also found out from a teacher that we are going to an island, we will be stopping there for a while they said

Ayanokoji: thanks a lot hasebe, that's important to know

Ike: an island? Is it going to be a resort?

Ayanokoji: most probably not, a waste of money and facilities. It's a hunch but we might be made to do what "bear grylls" does

Ike: that's perfect for me! I love camping!

Sudo: I guess Ike's time to shine has come

Ike: hehe, LESS GOOOOO

Ayanokoji: lol

Horikita: ...

Kushida: ...

Sudo: ...

Hirata: ...

Ayanokoji: ok I get it, stop now.

Hirata: no, just..... it was unexpected

Horikita: for the sake of our eyes and sanity, don't ever do that again

Horikita that hurt me in a way that a Chinese man on the internet described as " EMOTIONAL DAMAGE'

Ayanokoji: anyway, good job everyone. Search up survival videos and how to do some basic survival things in an island. They will be essential if our information and theory is correct

👍 was the reply my majority of the people and it seems that we are going to be ready for what the school with throw at us

Now it's only a wait to see what happens...