Classroom of the Elite: Checkmate 11

Chapter 11 - Queen (Part 3)

It took some time, but every single piece of her wardrobe dropped to the ground with a light, dull sound.

First was her blazer, which had some darker spots around her chest area due to the tears she had shed.

Only moments later, her white skirt, which was still far too short, followed suit.

The shirt she was wearing underneath was rather long in comparison, which is why it covered around half of her underwear, which was pink instead of blue this time around.

Her body kept trembling while she began to unbutton her blouse until the last remaining none underwear article of clothing dropped to the ground. The pink-ribboned bra with frills fit rather nicely with the rest of her undergarments.

If she had done this willingly, I would have certainly gotten excited over this magnificent sight in front of me.

But I was aware what horrible atrocities I was committing right now.

Without hesitation, without an inkling of remorse or compassion, I destroyed her life to make her subservient to me. Even though I knew that she would never forget these days in her entire life, I was prepared to traumatize Kushida until death freed her of this terrible curse.

I knew very well that I was, am and always will be, a horrible human being.

There was no doubt in my mind that I will someday face the consequences for my actions. Even though I behaved like him, I wasn't the devil.

Only a mortal man.

If it had been any other girl than Kushida, I might have stopped her, even before she was done undressing. The first action alone would have been more than enough proof that she would act according to my instructions. But this girl, in particular, needed to face a deeper layer of despair.

She had to be thoroughly crushed and rebuild, otherwise a strong character like her would get disobedient.

Her movements faltered upon touching her bra, but she eventually grit her teeth and disconnected the ends. Kushida's eyes were shut, unwilling to look at me or anything that would confirm that these actions were real.

Together with her tears, the thin fabric dropped on the ground, revealing two voluptuous, impeccably shaped breasts.

After this dull sound rang through the room, she hung her head, whereupon her tears travelled further down her cheeks towards her chin, before dropping onto her smooth thighs.

Kushida Kikyou would do anything to keep the life she had built for herself, and she had realized that there was no escape from my vicious, malevolent grasp. Even if she dropped out and decided to attend another school, I would be out of here in three years.

To her knowledge, this was the truth.

This meant that even if she left the school and tried to start anew once again, I could find her and rip apart everything she had established during the time we were separated. There was no way to escape anymore. For her to survive, she needed to obey me.

Kushida accepted that fact with a heavy and hemorrhaging heart.

After I had repelled the first attempt of her pitiful retaliation, she had realized that I wasn't someone she could contend against. She knew that, if she screamed now, I would be fast enough to silence her and would immediately release everything in my possession.

But what if she had made arrangements with another person beforehand to lure me into a false sense of security before striking again?

Even that was covered.

The shuddering, crying, naked girl took a deep breath and bend forward while sliding her panties down her alluring legs. Her soft breasts began to jiggle around as she revealed herself in front of me, which was a sight multiple students in this school would kill for.

If Ike were here, he would probably murder me for traumatizing Kushida like this. Or maybe he would be too occupied with ogling her body and burning such a scene into his mind. I doubted that he, or anyone in this school, would look favorably upon what I was doing to this poor girl.

Would Fuka be mad at me if she were to see this? Would she think that this situation was cruel? That I was pushing her too far? Would she try to stop me? Or would she have helped me, by chance?

I honestly couldn't tell, despite learning a lot about her, throughout the time we had spent together.

Even though Kushida knew what would inevitably follow, she covered both her breasts and crotch with one hand each. A pitiful last ditch effort to keep something that resembled dignity.

But I wouldn't allow such luxury.

"Your hands are in the way."

Her eyes shot open and contorted in fear and resignation as she let her arms drop to her sides.

This was my first time seeing a naked girl, and such a beautiful one at that.

It would be a lie if I said that I wasn't somewhat excited by her appearance, but this was neither the time nor the place to get distracted by mere physical stimuli. I could understand people that were drawn to her body and wanted to conquer her, but this wasn't why I was tormenting this beloved classmate of mine.

Kushida made herself 'comfortable' on the bed and shut her eyes.

"Spread your legs."

A tremor moved through her perfect frame as she listened to those three simple yet dreadful words.

Tears streaked down her face, trickling onto and soaking my bed sheets as she revealed her most prized treasure before me. The shivers of her body increased in intensity as I began to rattle on my belt and let my clothes drop onto the ground.

Kushida's closed eyelids quivered with every single one of these appalling sounds that reverberated through the room.

It was impossible to fathom what must have been going through her head during that time, but I was sure that it had been nothing short of mortifying and sickening. These pains she must have had to endure, as she imagined what would happen to her in just a moment.

No person should ever have to go through something like this.

I kneeled onto the bed and propped myself up over her.

My head cast a shadow over her eyes, which she must have noticed since she turned hers away from me. There was also the natural heat my body emanated, which made her recoil into the bed as she began to sob.

My hand cupped her right breast, or tried to, since she was rather big in that department.

Her soft skin felt unbelievable, even if her whole body trembled in fear.

Just caressing over her smooth and warm breasts felt different from anything I had ever felt before. I've seen the anatomy and everything about the human body in books, of course, but those depictions couldn't be compared to what my palms were experiencing just now.

I began to squeeze and massage her breasts until she unwillingly let out a few light whimpers.

Not out of pleasure, but pure and unfiltered terror of what would happen in the next minutes.

After I had finished playing around with her breasts, my hand ran down her plump thighs. The way her arousing, soft skin felt on my palm was captivating, irresistible, even. I slid my finger across her inner thigh and gently pressured the side.

Kushida understood this wordless command and spread her legs even wider open as a lone, pain-devouring tear rolled down her cheek. Her eyes squeezed even further as she sniveled and accepted her fate.

If my goal had been her innocence, her first time, then right now I could have had my way with her.

But this had never been the objective.

I distanced myself from her and rustled around with my trousers, shirt and the belt, all of which I was still wearing. She heard these unexpected movements and opened her eyes in astonishment and relief.

This comfort was brief, however, as she realized that she hadn't escaped her precarious situation.

I sat down on a nearby chair after picking up the change of clothes I had dropped and locked eyes with the naked girl on my bed.

"Get dressed."

"W-why? No... p-please... D-id I do something w-wrong? I'm sorry, I swear I'll be —"

"What did I tell you?"

She clenched her fists, frightened that I might do something even worse to her after not doing what I had intimidated her with. Kushida didn't know what to expect from me, due to my impulsive and abrupt changes in behavior. But she was ready to experience such horrors to save her current position and keep the information I had buried forever, which is why she couldn't help but dread what else I was going to do to her instead.

"Yes..."

Again, she did as told and put her uniform back on.

Her movements were slow throughout the whole process, because she feared what might come next even more than before. She closed the final two buttons on her blazer, before throwing an apprehensive gaze into my direction.

"You passed, congratulations."

Her eyes grew confused.

Before she could process the meaning behind my words with her mind, a sliver of hope reignited in her. The single desire to keep this last fragment of her grace, as well as her life as it had been before, flared up in the girl known as Kushida Kikyou.

"Then —"

"Not so fast. Have you already forgotten what you tried yesterday? Why you are here in the first place?"

She stared down and bit her lips in frustration. Her pupils trembled in despair.

"Your disobedience will not go unpunished. Since you ignored my previous warning, I will have to use some of those pictures. But I'll make sure that there is no way that they will inconvenience you for now, since you've seen reason in the end."

My classmate opened her mouth, but I cut her off before she could form a single word.

"Don't misunderstand. I'm not being merciful. You are very useful for me the way you are now, but I need you to realize that your actions have consequences. If I deem you unnecessary or a liability to my goals, I will release everything in my possession, including the videos and recordings, without a second thought. I'm not a pervert and I'm not after your body. All I want is someone who obediently listens to my commands and gets this class out of the ditch they have maneuvered themselves in. And you, with your large social circle, are perfect for this task."

"I understand..."

Kushida nodded, somewhat relieved but still unsure of my intentions.

"That being said, these pictures will prove helpful to both you and me as well. Chabashira-sensei and at least one investigator will soon find you because of the anonymous report you have filed to get me expelled. Because of the false accusation, your expulsion will be on the table. We both don't want you to leave this school yet, which is why you will answer their questions exactly as I tell you to once you get taken to the examination."

"Okay... I'll do anything you say. I promise."

After our 'business', I returned to my room and plugged my phone into the charger before starting cleaning up the mess I had made.

I still couldn't remember when or how I got back in the first place, but I believed that these memories would return in time. Aside from that, I hoped that the recollections I still had of last night and today would vanish and never resurface again.

But this was nothing but a wish that would never be granted.

I might have escaped him for today, but I couldn't be sure that he won't someday use my body to —

My hair fluttered as I shook my head left and right.

There was no use in thinking about such what if's at the moment, since I had other, more pressing complications to attend to. I didn't know what kind of person he was or why he did those awful things to me, but I needed to listen to him now.

A deep breath later, I began to clean my room, as I didn't know when my expected visitors would arrive.

I readied a garbage bag and put my ripped clothes, which still stank of vomit and urine, inside before I began to wipe the floor in the bathroom. My whole apartment was disgusting as I had stepped inside the pool of my stomach contents and spread them all over my place when I lost it and threw my tableware and other such things around.

It took quite a while, but I eventually finished with my cleanup.

Just as I stashed the garbage bag under the kitchen sink, three knocks echoed through my room.

I walked in front of the mirror and checked my appearance one last time to make sure that I hadn't dirtied myself before taking a deep, calming breath to center myself for this upcoming play.

"I'm coming, just a moment."

With artificial vigor and high spirits, I strolled towards the door and peeked through the crack. Just like that monster had said, our homeroom teacher and a man I didn't know sought me out today.

"Chabashira-sensei? Can I do something for you?"

I tilted my head and feigned surprise as I undid the chain for them.

"Follow me."

"Uhm, okay...?"

I nodded and walked after her with a hesitant, somewhat puzzled demeanor.

That monster had already prepared me for what was about to happen, so I had nothing to fear. No matter who the investigator was, he couldn't be as dreadful as the demon who supplied me with the story I needed to portray.

That boy was cruel, cold and an unvarnished devil in human skin.

But as long as I was on his side, he would not hurt me. He would not defile me. As long as I was obediently following his commands, I could continue to live my life like before. That was what he had promised me, and what I chose to believe in.

Because there was no other hope I could latch onto.

Just as described, the three of us walked through the school building into a room next to the faculty offices. An old man with a laptop sat on a chair in front of me and nodded towards the seat opposite of him with a disinterested look on his face.

"Sit."

Concise, as expected.

I sat down and glanced at Chabashira-sensei, who made herself comfortable on a nearby chair. As much as this was possible on those wooden death traps, at least. She seemed to be in a terrible mood, so I decided not to talk to her if I didn't need to.

"Kushida Kikyou. Student-ID: S01T004721. Class 1-D. Homeroom teacher: Chabashira Sae. Is that correct so far?"

My fingers moved around each other on their own.

This wasn't a ploy. I was nervous, since one wrong step would end me. But I should have no problems to convince this man and the other investigators of my innocence. That monster thought the same, or he wouldn't have sent me here with these instructions.

This ever-observant guy noticed my movements, which was a perfect start for me. These emotions that were spiraling through my chaotic mind were half truth and half lies. It would be difficult for anyone to keep them apart.

"Yes. That's correct, Sir."

My voice was quiet and humble.

This would be the easiest way to convince these people that my claim this time around was truthful. I began to work on my tears as it took a moment for them to take form after I had involuntarily spent all of them because of a certain devil that called Class D his home.

The investigator kept typing around on his laptop for a few seconds before his stern gaze landed on my figure.

"Do you know why you are here?"

"Yes, Sir. It's because of the anonymous complaint I issued to the school."

I lowered my head and stared at the ground.

This was a clear indication that I was feeling both remorse for what I did and guilty of the crime I would be accused of in a few seconds. A seasoned investigator would pick up on such obvious behavior, of course, which I could use to my advantage later on.

"So you admit that you falsely accused a fellow student at this school of a serious crime?"

"Y-yes, Sir. I do..."

Tears bobbled down my face and dripped down on my thighs.

Since that monster had mentioned that these investigators were skilled, I needed to be aware of every move I made throughout this interview.

Nothing could go wrong.

"What were the contents of this complaint?"

I broke out into tears, unable to hold the pain I felt for hurting my classmate any longer. I sobbed and sniveled while I buried my head into my palms and shook it in denial, as I was thinking about this unforgivable act I had committed.

"I accused my classmate of... b-blackmail and ordering me to... to..."

Without finishing the sentence, I continued crying and whimpering. I rubbed my eyes with the sleeve of my uniform, since I had trouble seeing from all the tears that obstructed my vision.

The man handed me a handkerchief and resumed his questioning in an apathetic tone of voice.

"Continue."

After this simple word reached my ears, I began to bawl my eyes out even more than before. This time, however, it wasn't part of my ploy, nor had it been a part of his instructions.

I simply broke, because that bastard forced me to relive the last twenty-four hours of pure terror, even though he didn't intend to.

As far as he was concerned, I had lied and was now crying for sympathy points.

But this conclusion couldn't have been any further from the truth.

My plan was for him to resume his questioning after skipping the accusation. I thought that it would have been enough to inform him of some things I had said, which would confirm that I was indeed the person who made the complaint.

If I said these words out loud, then I couldn't pretend that this never happened anymore. I would have to live with what this monster did to me for my entire life. But I didn't want this.

Even though my logical mind knew that it was already far too late, my emotional one didn't want me to succumb to the realization that I was sexually assaulted and almost raped.

It tried its best to stop me from realizing that I could never have a normal life from this day onwards because of the things this devil did to me. I could never feel at ease with men around after what he had put me through.

I could still pretend, but that was all I would ever be capable of.

In truth, I was broken, shattered beyond repair.

" I... I... a-accused him of o-ordering me to... to... take my... clothes off and..." Once again, the dam broke. If he was really as good of an investigator as that demon said, then he should have realized that this was my trauma speaking. "... and to... t-touch myself."

Without giving me any sign or indication of his thoughts, he kept typing on his notebook before facing me again.

"What is the name of said student?"

His apathetic, cruel expression flashed in front of my eyes as my mind began to retrieve the name in question. This was a normal, subconscious action I would take dozens, if not hundreds, of times a day when I talked to people.

But this name hit different.

"A-ayanokouji Kiyotaka-kun..."

Tears streamed down my face as I blew into the handkerchief the man had given me to free up my stuffy nose.

"Why did you accuse your classmate of such serious crimes?"

"B-because I was forced to."

Chabashira-sensei's abnormal reaction didn't escape my eyes, and I realized that she must have had something to do with the reason that this demon walked away scot-free.

Was she aware what this monster had done to me?

"Who forced you to make the wrongful complaint?"

"I can't tell you. They said that they will spread the pictures they took if I do. If these pictures get out..."

The handkerchief didn't do its job very well, as I was soon back to sobbing and sniveling, barely holding myself together as the events of the last twenty-four hours replayed in my head over and over.

Those tears should have been fake, but they were as real as they could have been.

"We promise that no one will hear a word of what is being said in here. If you want our help, then you need to trust the school and its systems. We can't blindly trust your words, since you already lied once before, but we will investigate everything about this case before drawing a conclusion."

The man handed me a second handkerchief and prompted me to continue.

At that point in time, I had already lost track of which emotions I played and which of them were real because they weren't too far apart. I took a deep breath and struggled for a moment before giving him an answer.

"On that day, we held a study session with a few classmates. It turned sour rather fast, so we soon split up. I ran into some... other students I knew. They noticed that I was feeling sad and invited me to... to have some f-fun for a bit to distract me from what happened. I agreed, but soon realized that I couldn't enjoy myself because of what transpired in the study group before. I excused myself as to not ruin their mood, but they said that they would accompany me home since I wasn't looking so well. On our way to the dorms, one of them pushed me into an alley where they attacked me. I wanted to scream but..."

It was hard to understand the words I said, since I couldn't stop weeping. The man did his best to note down everything, which once again reminded me of that demon who had orchestrated all of this.

Because he was just as apathetic and dead inside.

Chabashira-sensei as well, just stared at me without saying another word.

Even if I wasn't puzzled and impaired by today's events, it would have been hard to gauge whether they believed me. But those tears were real and I could only hope that these two saw that I was truly terrified.

Because something like this really happened to me.

Upon realizing this once again, I bowed into my legs and cried as loud as I never did before.

That monster made me relive what he did to me, so that it seemed like the truth to all the involved investigators. Even if the words were lies, the emotions, scars and memories were real. They would have a hard time keeping these two conflicting stories apart, since they were too similar to each other.

At this moment, it finally hit me.

That demon was using me and my pain to his advantage. He knew what they were going to ask, and he realized that I would cave in under the pressure and bawl my eyes out for real. He did all those things to me, which is why they would never realize that I lied when I claimed that others did.

What kind of devil does a person need to be, to be this cruel and calculating in his actions?

This was nothing but pure evil.

"I know that it is hard to talk about something like this. Please take your time and continue whenever you feel ready."

While I was bawling my eyes out in front of a stranger and my homeroom teacher, my mind kept reminding me how this monster used me with every teardrop I had shed in here.

There was no escape and no mercy.

This was my punishment for going against him.

"... but they covered my mouth... and o-one of them began... he began to take p-pictures while g-grabbing my b-brea..."

Again and again, the devil's yellow eyes flashed before me as I was forced to relive today.

The tears kept pouring out uninterrupted, staining the floor in my snot and saliva while I just wanted the pain to stop.

"... they said that they would show everyone if I were to tell and ordered me to walk with them to the school building's rooftop. They f-forced me to u-undress and touched... they touched... and... and I couldn't... My body was frozen... and heavy... I was so afraid. I couldn't think... or scream... or..."

Those words were nothing but the truth. I felt these dreadful emotions, just in a different context. I was terrified what that monster would do to me when he told me to undress. I was horrified when he told me to spread my legs.

Because I had seen his eyes on that rooftop when he squeezed the life out of me.

He didn't think I was worth anything. This devil wouldn't have felt guilty, just like a human wouldn't feel remorse after stepping on an insect. Yes, I Kushida Kikyou, was nothing but disgusting vermin in his eyes.

And that made him so fucking terrifying.

The worst things that could have happened to a girl, or anyone... had partly happened to me.

I escaped the rest on a simple whim.

The man who sat in front of me still hadn't reacted to anything I had said and kept prodding me to continue when I felt ready to share more. I could only wonder if any man was this cold and disgusting when they took off their mask.

First that demon in my class, and now this person before me.

"One of them said that they should use me for 'that'. I thought... I really thought that they would..."

The devil's whisper echoed through my head.

The threats, the apathy and those fucking dreadful eyes flashed through my mind again and again while I was bending and twisting the truth to his liking as his emissary of deceit.

"Another one said that someone named Nagumo wanted to hurt the Student Council President, and that I would be perfect because of my large social circle. I understood little, but they ordered me to frame one of my classmates and that they would take care of the rest. If I did all of this, they would keep the pictures and such to themselves."

"And that's how you ended up framing your classmate, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka?"

"Yes... I didn't mean to... but... I had no choice..."

He nodded in understanding. "Those students... who were they?"

"Nagata Kazushi, Date Katsuhiko, Noya Shihei and Uzumaki Rai from Class 2-B."

The interview went on for a while afterwards where I had to explain my whole day from start to finish. Then in reverse order and sometimes jumbled up. The man in front of me wasn't much less cruel than the demon in my class, since he also made me relive these horrible twenty-four hours over and over.

I cried, sobbed and broke down in front of him and Chabashira-sensei multiple times, but he didn't care and resumed his questioning, anyway. The devil had mentioned that it would be like this in order to find any holes in the story since I had lied before, which is why he briefly 'trained' me.

This 'study session' must have been a playbook straight out of hell.

Every time I messed up one of the details, the light would flash and the shutter would echo through his eerie apartment. I didn't have to undress like the first time, but he would tell me what he wanted a picture of and take it before continuing his interrogation in his usual apathetic demeanor.

That was the first time I realized that he wasn't excited when he saw my breasts or other private parts of my body. His terrifying gaze never changed, no matter which poses he wanted me to make. He wouldn't use these pictures to sate his weird sexual urges like I had thought.

No...

He simply wanted to torment me.

Because he knew what damages such cruel actions would cause.

After the things this devil did, the person in front of me right now wasn't the least bit scary. It was only uncomfortable because he made me go through this horrible day over and over.

The man pulled out a general map of the school and spread it on the table.

This was yet another technique that this maniac had predicted.

"This is the layout of the school grounds. Could you mark the way you walked with them? Since the area is filled with cameras for public security, your steps are easily retractable, but we still need your statement for the sake of completeness."

He handed me his pen, and I began to mark a certain path through the school grounds.

'Since you already lied once, they will make extra sure that you are telling the truth this time around. That being said, you will probably have to mark down the path you supposedly walked with those students. The route you will be marking will be this one. Don't worry about the cameras if he says that there are any. I already made sure that the footage doesn't exist anymore. It's just a bluff to shake you up.'

His frigid, yellow eyes and sickening voice still messed with my mind.

But if I could count on one thing, and one thing only, it was that he had everything mapped out. He hadn't been wrong a single time until now, so I believed that this whole incident would work out the way he intended it to.

After what felt like several hours, the interview ended and the security personnel was instructed to escort me back to my dorm room. I thanked the man for listening to me and apologized that I had lied in the first report due to the threats I had received.

I could only hope that the devils games were done after this, because my body and mind were already exhausted and shattered beyond recognition and wouldn't be able to handle much more.

"Good morning!"

"Ohh! Kushida-chan is back!"

"Are you feeling better, Kushida-san?"

"..."

"Thank you, everyone. Yes, I'm..."

Class D was in an especially great mood first thing in the morning, because our angel was back and seemed healthy again. She would also be 'happy', since she came to accept the new status quo that she would have to live with from today onwards without the need to worry about what I might do next.

Her body trembled whenever a boy closed in on her, but we could train to suppress these reflexes in time. After what I had done to her, she was understandably terrified of men, but she was quite adept at hiding her feelings until now, so she just needed to hide a few more.

Kushida's usual meet-ups with her friends would act as some sort of exposure therapy.

Her logical side knew that something like this wouldn't happen to her with most guys, but her emotional one still hadn't moved past the trauma I had inflicted on her and wouldn't do so for a while, maybe ever.

As long as she was doing her job, I didn't mind if she was terrified and broken inside. But I would act accordingly if her usefulness slipped because of the things I did to her.

Class D's queen finally belonged to me, and I couldn't have been happier about this outcome.

Since Kushida knew how cruel I could be, she would never betray me. Before she exposed me to danger, which I could take revenge for, she would protect me on her own volition.

"You are in a good mood, Ayanokouji-kun. That's strange."

I tilted my head to the side.

"And how would you know that, Horikita?"

"I might imagine things, but I was sure that I saw a thin smile on your face for just a second."

"That's probably impossible."

"Mh."

Silence descended between the two of us for a while. I observed my classmates, and she read through her book.

"Ayanokouji-kun?" Her voice sounded hesitant and uncertain. "About Sudou and Ike, are they studying now?"

I turned my head towards her, somewhat surprised.

Maybe it was possible for her to change after all. I was prepared to level with her until the start of the second year, since she could still be useful. If she disappointed me, however, her time here would end.

"Ike went to yesterday's study session to make Kushida proud or something along those lines. Sudou left for his club activities as always."

"Do you think we could get them together again?"

"Do you really believe that's a good idea?"

She glanced down at her hands, which were fidgeting around.

It must have taken her a lot of courage to ask me to help her again after what she did the last time, so I was inclined to support her to the best of my abilities. Something her brother said pushed her in the right direction, which was more than I could have asked for.

But before that, I was still curious.

"I'm astonished, honestly. I thought you were done with them. What changed your mind?"

She was silent for a moment, before she eventually opened her mouth.

"I still want to reach Class A, under any circumstances. But it's come to my attention that those two might not be as useless as they seem. So please, Ayanokouji-kun."

This 'please' differed from the ones I had heard before. It was her genuine goal to help them this time, because of what her brother had said. It must've been hard to squeeze this word out of her mesmerizing lips, and I began to have some hope for our future.

Her future.

What the hell?

"I'd like to help you, but I believe that it will be impossible without Kushida. Even the first meeting was only possible because of her help. If you want them to join, talk to her."

I was prepared to ask her myself, but with the steps forward Horikita had made today, I was curious if she would try to appeal to Kushida on her own volition without sending me in first. Even if I didn't order her to, our angel would jump in excitement because of the opportunity to help her friends again.

"You are right. I will ask her after class."

Wait, wait, wait a minute. Was that character development? Horikita?

I placed my hand on her forehead.

"Ayanokouji-kun! What are you doing?"

After checking her temperature, I moved my hand away with a somewhat puzzled expression.

"Just confirming that you didn't catch a fever. The things you said just now were too out of character for you."

My lovely neighbor was about to stab me with her compass, but the teacher walked in at that moment. Horikita had difficulties holding herself back as she glared at me with ice-cold eyes during the whole lesson, but she managed to contain herself.

The day passed in a flash and my grumpy neighbor seemed to have forgotten her previous grudge. She stood and went to Kushida's desk first thing after the bell signaled the end of class.

"Kushida-san. I'd like to discuss something with you. Would you care to have lunch with me?"

Why am I so annoyed that she was asking her out in a much nicer fashion compared to the last time she asked me to have lunch with her?

The cute girl tried to hide her astonishment, but failed miserably. She threw a peek at me as if asking, 'What the hell did you do to her?', before smiling at my neighbor in her usual amicable attitude.

"It's unusual to get an invitation from you, Horikita-san. But yes, I'd love to."

Thus, the three of us wandered to the most prosperous and popular cafe on the school grounds; the Palate. We found a seat for three and ordered our sweets and drinks.

To my surprise, Horikita paid for all of us, myself included.

This unexpected development was driving me crazy.

I was dreaming, right?

Even though I squeezed the skin on my hand with increasing force, I hadn't woken up from my expected slumber.

"What in the world are you doing, Ayanokouji-kun?"

"Huh? I —"

"On second thought, don't answer. I don't even want to know."

Then why did you ask...?

A cute, adorable giggle escaped our additional companion, which overplayed her fear of me. Kushida's body quivered every time I opened my mouth, and she felt uneasy whenever our eyes met. But she could manage these instinctive responses when others were around.

"So, what did you want to discuss with me, Horikita-san?"

"I'd like to start another study group for Sudou and Ike... even Okitani, if he wants to join again. Will you help me one more time?"

"Knowing you, this study group won't be for Sudou-kun's or Ike-kun's sake, right?"

Kushida took a sip of her drink while waiting for Horikita's answer. Her smile was bright as usual, and she was happy that her enemy came to her for help. She seemed to think that I had something to do with Horikita's change of heart, but I wouldn't correct her mistake since she was being rather cheerful.

It's been a while since I'd seen her smile, after all.

"You are correct. I'm doing this for me, not them. Is that a problem for you?"

"No, I'm just glad that you are honest about your intentions. If your study group is helping my classmates in the end, I will assist you to the best of my abilities."

Kushida had an additional question.

I believed that she wanted to know the real reason that Horikita decided to help them, what her true goal in all of this was. But I didn't want her to ask, which is why I shook my head while grabbing my drink.

My raven-haired neighbor didn't notice these subtle hints for Kushida, who refrained from making any further inquiries. Instead, she mimed her usual cheery persona.

"Alright. The study group is back together!"

She jumped up and didn't care in the slightest that some customers turned towards us. It was surreal to see her delighted and happy after everything I had done to her, but I was glad that she managed to keep herself in check in front of people.

"I look forward to working with you again, Horikita-san! Ayanokouji-kun!"

Kushida extended her arms towards us with a beaming expression. My neighbor and I glanced at each other, somewhat caught off-guard. I didn't think that this was a good idea, due to our circumstances, but since my victim took the first step, I wasn't opposed to it.

Horikita and I returned her gesture, which resulted in the exact reaction I had feared. While she shook Horikita's hands with a kind smile, she instinctively recoiled upon touching mine. Since I had anticipated her subliminal feedback to this traumatizing trigger, I gripped her hand tighter and pulled it towards me, which balanced out her initial response but led to a small frown on her face which she corrected momentarily.

"I'm sorry. It's just residue from the milkshake. The server spilled a little."

"Ah, mh. It's... alright Ayanokouji-kun."

Kushida picked up on my cue and wiped her palm with a napkin before crumpling it into a sphere and stashing it in one of the pockets in her blazer. Horikita glared at me as if I was an idiot and shook her head.

"Well then. With that being said, how are we going to get Sudou-kun and the others back on board?"

According to her question, she accepted our pretext for her expression as a fact and moved on with the conversation. Since Kushida was here, I stayed silent and let her handle things from hereon out. She knew how to play her part and didn't need me to tell her what to do. Even if I wasn't here right now, the two would have been able to work things out.

"Leave it to me, Horikita-san!"

Kushida grabbed her phone and tapped around on it.

Barely one minute later, Ike raced into the establishment, wearing a grin that was out of this world. He looked around the cafe and his eyes gleamed for a millisecond after catching sight of Kushida before immediately dying afterwards when he noticed Horikita at the table.

He crept closer while trembling and stopped at least one meter away from either of them.

After noting my existence, he glared at me, as if asking, 'Did you tell them about the chat?!'

I ignored his plea and took a sip of my drink.

It was a chocolate flavoured one and tasted fantastic.

This was the first time I had this milkshake in particular, since I've been working my way through the menu whenever my friends and I visited the Palate.

Having friends was nice...

"I'm sorry for calling you over so suddenly. We wanted to ask you something."

Ike's lips formed a thin smile, probably thinking about something indecent before shaking his head in a panic. After he realized that Horikita was glaring at him, he backed away another step and stared at the girl in fright.

"W-what is it?"

"Are you joining Hirata-kun's study group?"

The boy trembled.

"I-I went yesterday...?"

"That was not my question, Ike-kun."

"Ah, I- no...? Um... it really sucked, honestly. I didn't understand a thing, and he is annoyingly popular. I only went there for Kushida-chan's sake, anyway. Sudou and I decided to cram the night before the midterms. It'll be fine."

Horikita lowered her head before pinching her brows. It was undeniable that she was struggling to hold back on the snide remarks she wanted to throw at him.

"That certainly sounds like an idea the two of you would come up with. It's highly likely that you will be expelled if you stay on that course."

"Of course it's you again. You haven't changed, have you?"

Sudou's annoyed voice echoed through the Palate.

Kushida had an insane amount of sway over the people in our class, especially the guys. She could probably honey-trap half the school without breaking a sweat. I should thank Horikita for gifting me such a beautiful piece to play with, since it was only thanks to their weird relationship that I could tame her this early without revealing too much of myself to her.

"Sudou-kun! Ike-kun! Please, can you listen to her just for a moment? She really wants to help you guys."

Both of them had neither the intention nor the psychological strength to resist Kushida's upturned puppy eyes.

Ike agreed with a beaming smile, while Sudou just nodded and averted his gaze with a conflicted expression.

"Sudou-kun, won't you try studying with us one more time? You might manage to pass barely if you pull an all-nighter, but if that fails, you won't be able to play basketball here anymore. You are aware of this, right?"

The Horikita of that day managed to surprise me again and again.

After all this time, she had used the strongest card she had against Sudou: his love for basketball.

If she worded and twisted her sentences in the right way, it would be easier to convince him to study for the sake of his dream. I laid the groundwork yesterday, not knowing that Horikita had something similar in mind.

"I want to play basketball, and I will reach my dream." He glanced at me for a moment before turning back to her. "But I haven't forgotten the shitty way you spoke to me the other day. If you want me to join, I want an apology first. An honest one."

Sudou raised a fair point.

It was difficult for someone as short-fused as him to look past something like this. Even if his temper weren't an issue, her words would still leave a bitter and unpleasant taste in a normal person. This made me wonder how Horikita would handle this situation. She wasn't one to apologize, but she kept surprising me today, which is why I had high hopes for her plan going forward.

"I hate you Sudou-kun."

Huh?

As if the last few hours of character development didn't exist in the first place, she threw everything in front of the bus.

How could a person consistently take two steps forward before jumping four backwards? I couldn't fathom what was going through her head, and felt sorry for her brother, who had to deal with this for so long.

No wonder he punched his sister as soon as he laid his eyes on her.

Back then, even though she was right, she spoke to Sudou in a condescending and disrespectful manner. I understood her hesitance in apologizing for being correct, since no one would want or should need to do that. But this was never what Sudou had asked for.

He simply wanted an apology for her contemptuous words about him and the sport he loved above all else. Sudou knew that Horikita's conclusions about the relevance of studying weren't false, but the way she made her point rubbed him the wrong way.

"What?!"

Before Sudou could explode any further, Horikita's calm and aloof voice rang through our immediate surroundings.

"Our mutual hate is trivial right now. I will teach you for my sake. And you will study and do your best for your sake. Am I wrong?"

"So you are really aiming for Class A. Even if that means dragging along someone you hate?"

She nodded, as if this was the most normal thing to do.

"Yes. Why else would I willingly involve you?"

Sudou clenched his fists after Horikita spat at him once again. He must have understood her line of reasoning, however.

If she would teach someone she hated, he could also learn under someone he despised. In a different manner than expected, Horikita managed to convince Sudou in her own twisted way. She was harsh and blunt as usual, but she understood Sudou's feelings towards her, because she felt a similar form of contempt.

"I'm still busy with basketball. The other guys never take a break from club activities for tests. I can't fall behind everyone."

Horikita opened her binder and turned the page to face him. Written on the paper on top was a detailed schedule leading up to the exam. She already predicted his unwillingness to study because of his club and came up with an appropriate solution for the problem.

"During the last session, I noticed that this style of studying didn't suit you. The two of you don't understand the fundamentals, meaning we have to start there. I've come up with a plan that won't jeopardise your club activities or your place at this school."

She sounded somewhat proud of herself, but Sudou didn't seem to buy this too-good-to-be-true solution.

"I doubt that it's possible, but sure. Tell me your plan, then."

"The test is about two weeks from now, so you will study during the lessons like your life depends on it." Everybody involved blinked in disbelief after listening to her foolproof plan. "The two of you don't work seriously in class. Sudou-kun, you mostly sleep, while you, Ike-kun, do nothing but daydream."

""That's...""

Both of them were about to object, but noticed that there wasn't anything they could say to defend themselves.

"In other words, you waste six hours a day doing nothing. We need to use this time to cut down on after-class studies, which will benefit your class activities and free time."

"This could work, theoretically. But isn't it practically unreasonable? If they can't keep up with class, how are they supposed to study and keep up with class at the same time?"

Kushida voiced her concerns on behalf of Sudou and Ike. Both boys nodded in unison, agreeing with the problems that she saw with this plan.

Horikita had already seen this coming, however, and turned to the next page.

There was a detailed plan on how each day would be tackled by the group. They were to study during classes and we would meet up in the short breaks after every period. Horikita would then answer and explain every question and problem they had faced during the previous hour. This process would repeat through the next periods, and would take place until the day of the midterms.

"There is no way this is going to work."

"Yeah, Sudou's right. Isn't it impossible to understand everything in ten minutes of break time?"

Once again, Horikita anticipated their negative views on her plan and had prepared a counter argument.

"I'll compile answers to every question and make them easy to understand. After that, Kushida-san and I will teach you individually, one-on-one. This way, we don't have to divide our attention if one of you runs into problems."

It was so beautiful...

My name was nowhere to be found.

It was rather obvious, since I didn't have good scores, but it was nice not being included in such troublesome affairs. I could spend my time by pretending to study while observing them without being bothered by anyone.

"I think we should try! It's better than doing nothing and Horikita-san spent so much time coming up with a plan for you, Sudou-kun! Ike-kun! I will also give it my all for the two of you! Let's all study together! Yay!"

"YAAAAAY."

"Y-yaay."

Ike was convinced, probably daydreaming about his one-on-one lessons with Kikyou-chan-sensei, while Sudou was scared to death of his new teacher, Suzune-cha —

No... I shouldn't go there.

I was once again surprised by my queen's persuasive abilities. We'd have to see how things would turn out during this week and I still had an ace up my sleeve, but it would be a waste to play it this soon.

With a loud thud, my bag dropped onto the ground after I shut the door behind me. I locked it and slid down with a heavy breath. My hands and fingers trembled as I still felt that devils touch on my skin.

Before I knew it, tears dropped onto my skirt and I began to cry my eyes out.

I thought that I could do it. Believed that I would be fine just pushing everything that happened aside.

But it was impossible to forget...

Whenever he opened his mouth to speak, a chill crawled down my spin. It didn't matter whether he was answering a question in class or talked to Matsushita and the other girls. I could only hear these three dreadful words.

"Spread your legs."

Then, a moment later, his terrifying yellow eyes flashed in front of me.

There was no escape.

If I closed my eyes, turned away or tried to distract myself, it didn't matter.

Those horrible orbs followed me everywhere I went.

My heartbeat began to accelerate, and I shot up towards the kitchen area.

I barely made it in time as the disgusting retching sounds echoed through the otherwise silent room. I wiped the threads away with the back of my hand before rinsing my mouth to get rid of this sickening taste that had lingered for the whole time.

Others wouldn't smell it after I had brushed my teeth three or four times, depending on the amount of vomit.

But I could still taste it... always.

I trudged into the bathroom and began to undress.

With every piece of clothing that dropped onto the floor, there was a click and a flash, as if he was still taking pictures of me. My body trembled in response to these hallucinations and I once again felt sick and disgusted by myself.

After stashing my uniform and underwear in the basket, I readied my wardrobe for tomorrow and turned on the shower before heading inside. The warm and gentle rippling sounds of the water were calming, but this brief tranquility wouldn't last long.

I began to wash my hair and neck before my hands ran over my shoulders, breasts and the rest of my body. As soon as I reached certain parts of myself, a second set of illusory hands began to caress over me.

They were cold and void of love or emotion.

Their arctic grasp squeezed my throat and played with my body until I threw up again.

When I was done cleansing myself, I turned off the shower and put on my nightwear. My stomach churned and twisted as I glanced at my bed, but I lied down on it and felt the warm and gentle embrace of my sheets.

For just a moment.

Because when I opened my eyes again, I was back in his room, naked, waiting for him to have his way with me. The things I was seeing weren't real, but the emotions these illusions triggered were absolute.

I rolled off the bed to escape these phantoms that were haunting me.

A loud, pain-filled groan rang through my dorm room as I crashed into the ground. My heart felt as if it was beating out of my chest as I began to hyperventilate. I managed to calm my breathing by reading the nice messages I had received and tried my best not to puke again.

It was already late, so I wasn't looking forward to cleaning my bile off the floor.

I curled myself up, since the ground was quite cold. There were blankets in my room, of course, but they triggered the phantoms as well. But maybe this wouldn't be much worse since they'd show up anyway once I closed my eyes.

And thus, my nightly terrors began anew.

Sudou and Ike studied with zeal during the upcoming lessons. They didn't take great joy in it, but they did their best for their own sakes, and Kushida's.

It was amazing how simple men were.

One light smile, a kind word, or even just an innocent brush from a cute girl changed their entire behavior. Even though Sudou seemed like he was dying from time to time, he kept on doing his best to achieve his dream of becoming a pro basketball player.

The lunch bell rang and everyone hurried to the cafeteria. We agreed to meet up in the library after lunch, as not to run into Hirata's study groups that were still taking place in the classroom.

Chiaki and the others were bummed when I excused myself for today as well, since I spent little time with them at the moment, but they understood my reasons after Hirata explained my involvement in Sudou and Ike's genuine attempts to better themselves for this class.

"Ayanokouji-kun! Do you want to have lunch together?"

Kushida hopped in front of me after my talk with Hirata and the others. He flashed me a kind, genuine smile, happy that I managed to make connections outside our group as well.

"Sure. I'd love to."

The adorable girl jumped to the next person in line, even though both of us already knew how that would turn out.

"What about you, Horikita-san?"

"I already have plans. Please excuse me."

With those words as a passing gift, Horikita left the classroom as haughty as always.

Since Sudou and Ike were already gone, Kushida and I went to the cafe to get lunch.

Once again, the building was overrun by girls and couples. I couldn't catch sight of anything but bouncing chests wherever my gaze went.

I'm not a pervert, but this was the truth...

"What's going on here?"

"This isn't really a place where boys come to eat."

"Then what the hell are we doing here?"

Kushida's giggle was hard to pick up on as she dragged me over to one of the empty tables with trembling hands.

I didn't like this situation, since I was standing out like a sore thumb in such an environment. There were a handful of other guys, either coupled up or with a whole cluster of girls around them.

Like Kouenji, for example.

I never saw him during lunch, and this would explain why. This wasn't one of the places I frequented, because Chiaki and the others were considerate enough not to drag me into cafes that were only filled with girls and a handful of guys. We also visited the Palate a few times, of course, but not that frequently, especially after we had received no points for this month since most of us began to run low on points.

Kushida and I sat down and ordered our meals before I glanced around the area with interest.

"Do you know those girls with Kouenji?"

"Yeah, why? Are you interested in our senpai's Ayanokouji-kun?"

Her smile was kind, yet teasing, but not at all genuine.

I wondered how she managed to wear this mask after everything I had put her through, because I knew that the things I did would leave deep and cruel scars. She should have trouble sleeping, even in her own bed, which should have been a safe space.

Kushida chuckled after I stared at her for a few seconds without reacting to her question. She turned towards them with a faint smirk on her beautiful face.

"All of them are third-years."

So that's how he was going to reach Class A. It was really a Kouenji-esque way to just buy out the points of every third-year student, since they couldn't do anything with their savings after leaving the school. Kouenji was rich, so his plan was foolproof. He not only got ahold of the points he needed but also the attention of beautiful girls.

Talk about win-win...

"His name was going around lately and everyone's been talking about him."

"What a sad world."

I felt nothing but pity for these women, but it wasn't my place to judge them. The weak did what they deemed necessary to survive, and that's that.

"In the end, they are just realists. You can't afford to eat on hopes and dreams."

I leaned forward and supported my head with my palm.

"What about you?"

"I'm a bit of a dreamer, I think. Something like a knight in shining armor would be nice."

"Hmm? Do you think such a person will come and save you from me?"

The surroundings were so loud that it was impossible to hear the conversations on other tables, which is why I had no qualms about making such a statement in a building full of people.

Kushida leaned forward, mirroring my actions.

She tried to stay calm, but the light quivering in her eyes didn't go unnoticed.

"I don't think he would survive." A forlorn smile surfaced on her otherwise usual cheery expression. "What about you, Ayanokouji-kun? Are you interested in girls like Horikita?"

"Horikita? Not really, I guess. But let's talk about her later."

I knew what she was after, but I had no intention of talking about their little dispute here.

"Hmm... you've caught the girl's eyes for a little while now, you know that, Ayanokouji-kun? You are on the first-year student's ranking charts."

Were those similar to Ike's breast size, cuteness and other such rankings? It felt weird to know that I was being ranked without my knowledge, which must've been the same for the girls. I apologized to them in my mind and turned my attention back to Kushida.

"Really? What sort of rankings are there?"

I was genuinely curious about this.

Would they also have such disrespectful rankings like we had for them?

"There are lots. The hot guy rankings. Rich guy rankings. Creeper rankings. Just-die rankings. The big d —"

"Okay, that's enough. You girls are scary."

And at least as bad as the boys with such things...

"Don't worry too much. You are ranked third in the hot guy rankings. Satonaka-kun from Class A and Hirata-kun are first and second place, respectively. Even though I think you could outrank Hirata if you weren't so gloomy all the time. You are also ranked pretty high in that ranking..."

Kushida's teasing laughter rang through our vicinity.

This time I couldn't tell whether she wore her mask. The trembling lessened during the time we conversed but wouldn't die down this easily. I didn't doubt that it would return in full once we were alone somewhere and not behaving as if we were having fun with each other.

She also wanted to gather information from me, which might have helped to improve her mask for this occasion.

But my third place rank in hotness was really weird. Would someone feel proud of that? If I was third, there must've been a ton of votes, right? Did Fuka discover a way to vote more than once?

I should ask her the next time I run into her. It's been a while since we've had a chat...

"You don't seem happy about it. You are ranked third, you know? Third!"

"Mh, it might be different if I cared about such things, but I don't really feel anything." I shrugged and took a sip of the drink the server had brought some time ago. "What would the girls think if the boys had rankings for you?"

"They'd probably be considered the lowest of the low."

The cute smile on her lips didn't reach her eyes.

That was fast...

"Well, you ranked second in cuteness and seventh in breast size, if you are interested."

"Eh?"

My sudden statement had caught her off-guard, but I didn't understand why. Did she really believe that guys wouldn't do something like that when the girls were doing the same? What a bunch of hypocrites.

She kicked my shin with a somewhat flustered expression.

"Don't just say that out loud."

Kushida's face paled upon realizing what she had just done.

Her eyes began to quiver, and she pulled her trembling hands off the table and hid them underneath. She gazed out of the window and bit her lip, scared of what I might do to her once we were alone.

This girl had an unexpectedly cute side to her. She felt so embarrassed about what I had said that she forgot her place.

"It's fine. I don't mind."

She peered at me with a surprised expression, as I hadn't acted like she had anticipated. But there was no need for me to torture her any further. She knew her place, and that was enough. Now it was important that she began to realize that I had a whole other side to me.

"W-who's first?"

Her words were hard to understand since she covered her mouth.

I didn't know of such rankings and there was a pretty good chance that she might even be first in the cuteness ranking, if it really existed, but I wanted to verify a theory of mine. For that, Kushida needed to lose against someone in a topic she thought herself superior to anyone.

"Ichinose is first. And second, in the breast department."

A sliver of anger crossed her charming face before she regained her cool and transformed her expression back to wearing her usual adorable smile.

She was incredibly talented to keep her mask on despite talking to me as if we were friends. Some of her usual quick reactions would naturally suffer, because she needed to expend her efforts into not crying in front of all those people. She might have been able to lead everyone else astray, but not me, the one who had ripped apart the persona she created for herself.

"Ahh, Ichinose-san, huh? She's really cute after all. I can totally understand losing to her."

She hated Horikita for presumably knowing her from their previous school and despised others that were better than her in certain matters. Thus, my conclusion so far. I could just ask her, of course, but that would have to wait. It was also always good to have some initial information, which made it easier to ascertain if she was being dishonest or not.

I was sure that she wouldn't retaliate against me or hide information due to the horrors she had gone through because of me, but it was always wise to have a backup plan in hand, just in case the unforeseen happened.

"Hey... Ayanokouji-kun...?

Her voice was even weaker than before as she lowered her head and blew bubbles into her drink.

"If... if Horikita and I ever... clashed... Who would you side with?"

Was that her reason for bringing me here all along?

She must have ruminated about this question ever since she came to know my hidden side, because it was apparent that Horikita didn't know about the mysteries I sheltered, which made her wonder why I was going along with anything she did. If my feelings towards her were something in line with love, it would be dangerous for Kushida to clash with her.

This would explain the flow of our conversation till now.

My hands embraced hers, which she held her drink with. Her body shook, but she didn't resist, as there were too many people around. If she made a scene, I would be inconvenienced, which she didn't want to have on her conscience.

I gazed into her eyes, and she peered back into mine.

"You are my queen, Kushida. I'd do anything to protect you."

She averted her gaze while I let go of her hand. It wouldn't be good if weird rumours about us spread, after all. The current sequence of actions just looked like a friend supporting another one, which wasn't out of place with someone like Kushida.

"Did you want to have lunch with me to ask that question?"

"Yes... but not only that."

"What else?"

"I figured that we should spend more time together. Because, you know... otherwise, it might look weird when we are suddenly hanging out more often."

As expected of my queen.

She saw a problem I couldn't perceive due to my limited knowledge in that field and took care of it. If we were ever seen together, then the excuse that we were good friends would have more weight if there was a time which led up to it beforehand. This would also work in favor with her exposure therapy towards me, since I needed her to return to normal eventually.

The waitress brought our meals, which we ate while discussing some trivial, borderline useless topics. Even though we were chatting about whatever came to mind, I could get a better read on her, as well as the amount of knowledge she possessed regarding certain topics.

Kushida wasn't only beautiful, but also academically and emotionally gifted. Her general intelligence was yet to be seen, but I figured that she would prove herself as an excellent all-rounder.

After finishing our meals, we ambled over to the library, where we promised to meet up with the others. Horikita and, to our surprise, Sudou and Ike as well, were already waiting with their materials, ready to begin.

"You're late."

My neighbor was rather prickly, but I didn't understand why since everything was fine this morning.

"Sorry, the crowds were tough..."

Kushida bowed in apology for our late arrival.

"Hey! You two didn't eat lunch together, did you?"

Ike's eyes contained suspicion and pure malice. If either of us answered, I was sure that he would learn how to sew in order to stitch a voodoo doll that resembled me and murder it to his heart's content.

"Yes, we ate lunch together."

She stabbed me in the back...

Even though Kushida's bright smile could drive away the darkness itself, I couldn't help but be afraid of what Ike might do after realizing that I had a one-on-one 'date' with Kikyou-chan-sensei while he waited for her to arrive.

"Hurry."

Horikita's cold voice rang through the library. She didn't even look up at us, so she was in a terrible mood as well.

"Okay, okay..."

I sat and took out my notebook.

Sudou and Ike began chatting since they were glad that Horikita's plan wasn't as hard as they initially thought. My neighbor kept them back on topic, but they started drifting off again just moments later. She seemed about to explode, which is why I acted before she could say anything.

"Shouldn't we hurry and concentrate on studying?"

"Yes, I agree. We've been wasting precious time because someone was late."

Wow, speak about hostile...

"We were barely a minute too late..."

"Here's a question for everyone. Who came up with inductive reasoning?"

Thank you so much, Kushida...

The following conversation turned off-topic rather quick as we somehow swayed from the Baconian method towards talking about actual bacon, which was in no shape or form related to Sir Francis Bacon. The group, meaning Sudou and Ike, then began chatting about useless topics yet again.

Horikita was about to admonish them, but the voice of a student on a nearby table reached us before she could.

"Quiet down. Your blabbering is annoying."

"Sorry, I got carried away because I got something right." Ike gave the newcomer a thumbs up. "Did you know that Francis Bacon was the guy who came up with inductive reasoning?"

"Huh?! Wait. Are you Class D students?"

The whole group from the table adjacent to ours looked up, scrutinizing us.

Sudou was irritated by their behavior, since he was already looked down upon at the beginning of school for his placement in Class D by some upperclassmen. Even back then, he hadn't handled this situation very well.

"So, what's the big deal? You got any problems with that?"

"Not a problem at all. I'm just glad that I don't have to study with morons like you. It's clear how far superior we, Class C, are compared to you cavemen."

Since I was interested in their general conduct, I glanced over towards them.

I had little to do with Class C students and only rarely ran into them when I was hanging out with Ichinose and the other Class B students. Few people decided to address someone in such a large group, which wasn't out of the ordinary.

This batch didn't seem too bright, but I could use this confrontation to gather some intel, at least.

"What did you say?!"

Sudou shot up and glared at the boy with a threatening gaze.

"Don't get mad. I'm only telling the truth. I wonder what would happen if you start a fight with us now. Since you can't lose points, maybe you'll get expelled?"

The group began to laugh, which provoked Sudou even more.

"Fine with me, bring it!"

Before he could walk around the table and get physical, Horikita's annoyed voice rang through the library.

"I don't particularly mind that you are bad-mouthing us, but you are in Class C? You shouldn't be proud of barely escaping the floor of the barrel."

"Clearly there were errors of calculation in placing Class C and A. But you guys in D are on another level."

The boy's tone differed to before, as he seemed to have taken Horikita's words personal. His condescending attitude was gone, and he got more defensive about his position in the hierarchy.

"That's an inconsistent standard of measurement. Are you also comparing apples and pears? Everyone not in Class A is lumped together. Haven't you received the memo?"

The table got quiet as the student glared at Horikita.

"You are pretty sassy for a defective product. Do you think you can say anything because you have a cute face?"

"Please don't compliment me, rather stop looking. It feels uncomfortable."

The Class C student smacked the table and stood up.

He was about to walk over to our table when one of his classmates stopped him in his tracks.

"Relax. If we're the ones starting the fight, we'll be in trouble. Let it go." The boy turned towards us after calming down his friend. "I'm looking forward to seeing how many Class D students will be expelled this time around. If I remember correctly, you already lost one, didn't you? That guy was gone so fast no one even knows his name."

The guy sneered, which was the breaking point for Sudou's already fragile temper.

"Okay, that's enough."

He dashed forward and grabbed the Class C student by the collar. Everything, including his body language, told me that the other guy would soon spit blood on the library floor. I decided to intervene this time around, since I couldn't get Sudou expelled for being short-fused.

"Okay, stop. Stop!"

Before I could move, a serious yet sweet sound reached my ears. I recognized her voice, and so did Kushida.

I was rather happy that she interfered since I could sit by and watch, whereas Kushida didn't seem all too excited about her appearance, which confirmed my previous assumption.

Sudou stopped and turned towards the beautiful new arrival.

"What? This doesn't involve you. Stay out of it."

Even though he was quite irritable, Ichinose only smiled.

"It doesn't? I'm using the library to study in silence, so it does involve me. If you want to get violent, do it outside."

"Tch."

Sudou pushed the guy he grabbed aside and stomped back to his seat. The Class C student wanted to retaliate but was stopped by Class B's leader as well.

"And you. Why were you provoking him? If things continue like this, I'd have to report you to the school. Do you want that?"

"S-sorry... Ichinose."

The Class C students hurried off with their tails between their legs after Ichinose took the center stage.

Similar to Kushida, no one wanted to be on her bad side, which was understandable. Both of them were kind and just overall nice to be around. If someone managed to mess up their relationship with them, half of the school would follow.

"If you guys are going to study here, please act like proper adults. Thank you."

With those words, Ichinose spun around and strode back to her class.

"Excuse me for a minute. I'll be right back."

Horikita glanced at me with a startled expression as I went after Class B's leader.

"Hey! You are going after Ichinose-chan, aren't you? You bastard!"

Ike wanted to follow me, but was held back by both Kushida and Sudou. They forced him back down on his seat and began to study again after the commotion died down.

Ichinose gifted me with a dazzling smile as I neared Class B's table.

"Ayanokouji-kun! I was pretty cool just now, don't you think?"

She pushed her little fists forward as if shadow boxing and let out a light chuckle. Shibata and Kanzaki just shook their heads while Amikura and a few other girls cheered her on.

"Sorry about that, and thanks for stepping in, Ichinose. You really saved us there."

"No worries. If you guys want to study with us, we could make some space?"

Her gaze went around the table as she made sure that this proposal was alright with her classmates. They all agreed and had no qualms about us joining their study group. Shibata, Kanzaki and Amikura also prompted me to come over with them, since it would be more fun.

I still didn't understand why studying needed to be 'fun', but I hoped that I would learn their reasoning in time.

"That's really kind of you, but our tutor isn't the group type. Just the four of us are already draining her."

"Oh, that's totally fine. If you ever want to join, you know where to find us. Or you can just call me."

"Yeah, I'll keep..."

My thoughts drifted off, after I noticed the topics that Amikura was reviewing since they weren't the ones Chabashira-sensei had notified us about. The confusing part was that the contents Kanzaki was going over were in the test, since I had already seen the solutions. We were learning those as well, but the ones Amikura was occupied with were neither in Horikita's and my notes nor in the solutions I had received from Kiryuin.

Why had they received a different set of problems?

"Ayanokouji-kun?"

Ichinose tilted her head and rested her index finger on her supple lips.

This was too adorable...

"Hey, you guys received the topics for the midterms as well, right? Could you show them to me?"

"Oh yeah, of course. Where did I put the papers..."

While Ichinose was occupied with combing through her materials, Kanzaki handed me some of Shibata's notes since they were lying around nearby.

"Here, those were the topics Hoshinomiya-sensei gave us."

I compared his notes with mine, but they only partially overlapped. Some topics they had noted down weren't in Class D's notes and vice versa, meaning that Chabashira-sensei must have given us a few wrong topics. It wasn't a problem since none of the topics that were missing would be present in the midterms, but it was still a weird fact.

Was this her way of testing me?

It made little sense, though. If she wanted to analyze me, she would have given us completely wrong topics, not only the ones that wouldn't show up in the midterms, anyway.

Did she just want to see how I'd react? No...

Was this a ploy by the school?

There was a large assortment of topics that could be chosen for the midterms. The students wouldn't know that the contents had already been decided. Class B got different wrong topics than we did, but what about Class A or C? If they also got a different selection of bait-topics, we could narrow the true topics down without a reasonable doubt.

Essentially, we would have an easier time in the midterms if all classes worked together and not against each other.

As of now, there was still a chance that Chabashira-sensei gave us the wrong topics because she tried to mess with me, and that Hoshinomiya-sensei got them wrong for whatever reason. If we could confirm with at least one more class, then we could establish my assumption and all students would know the topics for the midterms for certain.

But why would the school do something like this?

"Is something the matter, Ayanokouji-kun?"

Ichinose had noticed that something was off, and glanced at me with a mystified expression.

"I'm not sure just yet." I borrowed Ichinose's pen and circled certain topics on Shibata's notes. "But you should focus on these for now."

The whole table looked at me, rather perplexed.

"Are you sure, Ayanokouji-kun?"

"I'm not saying that you should solely focus on them, but I believe those to be the most likely topics for the midterms."

"May we know why?"

While Ichinose seemed to trust me even without knowing the reason, Kanzaki raised a valid question. Since I've already helped them narrow down the topics, there was no need to keep them in the dark. If I helped them, it would only strengthen the relationship I had with Class B.

"I could be wrong, but..."

I revealed my reasoning for circling these specific topics, how their notes differed from ours, and how we could narrow my assumption down for sure if we had another class's topic list to cross-examine.

"Hmm, so we just have to confirm your hunch, correct?"

Ichinose pulled out her phone and tapped around on it.

Not even a minute later, she laid the device on the table and turned it around for everyone to see. It showed a picture of Class C's list of topics, which, as expected, only differed slightly from ours.

She was as skilled in these things as Kushida. It was almost scary...

"Wow, Ayanokouji-sensei. You are super smart!"

Amikura gave me a thumbs up and stuck her tongue out in a teasing manner. The other Class B students nodded in agreement, which made me somewhat uncomfortable.

"Not really. I mean, anyone would have seen this if they had known the list of at least one other class, right?"

"Mhh, but I think you —"

Amikura received a light smack on the head from a pouting Ichinose.

"Stop it Mako-chan! Can't you see that he's uncomfortable?"

I had to thank Ichinose for her timely intervention, but she shouldn't think for a second that this glimpse of goodwill would change anything in our ongoing war.

"Well, since this confirms our assumption, I should let my class know as well."

The list of wrong Class A topics was still missing, but that didn't bother me much as I could cut down on the topics everyone needed to learn without being too suspicious. This would make it even easier to score higher on the upcoming exams.

We said our farewells before I headed back to Kushida and the others. After a 'warm' welcome by both Horikita and Ike, I shared what I learned from Ichinose's group.

"Mh, that's an interesting find there, Ayanokouji-kun."

My ill-tempered neighbor eyed me with suspicion.

"Oh yeah, for sure. I only wondered why we had different topics and the rest was a group effort..."

"That's amazing news, though! Since we narrowed down the list of subjects to learn, it will be far easier for everyone to learn them! Right, guys?"

Kushida's overwhelming, bright smile increased our mood even further. Ike began to cheer her name with zeal, not even thanking me for discussing things with the Class B students. In his version of the story, this was Kushida's doing all along.

How this twisted logic worked, however, I couldn't tell.

"Wait. Wasn't today's lesson completely useless, then?"

Sudou's bitter, yet truthful words put a damper on our heightened mood with that single question.

After our lunch break, Kushida conveyed the exciting news to the rest of our classmates.

Everyone was glad that the list of topics could be narrowed down further, as they cheered her name in unison, since I told her not to mention my involvement in figuring this out. Even though we lost some time learning a few unnecessary topics, we made more headway in total because we didn't need to learn and remember as much as before.

I let Kushida know that I wanted to see her this evening before leaving the classroom and ambling back to my apartment.

[07:21:35 PM][Unkown] Meet me in the park where I asked you for help with Sudou and Ike.

This was the message I received from an unknown number some time after class.

After breaking the good news about the upcoming midterms, we decided to hang out for a bit before going home. Even though I wanted to stay with them a while longer, I excused myself for the day and made my way over to the specified location.

I didn't know why the devil wanted to meet, since we had already made plans for later, but maybe something came up which forced him to a change of plans. It didn't really matter though, because I was sure that it wouldn't be wise to keep him waiting.

When I reached the offside park area, the demon was nowhere to be found. On the bench we were supposed to meet sat a woman with long, platinum-blonde hair and gazed at the rising moon.

The upperclassmen turned her head as she heard my footsteps.

"Oh, hello little Kouhai."

"Um, sorry for the intrusion, senpai. I was looking for a friend of mine, but it seems I got lost." I forced a light laugh and scratched my chin as if I was embarrassed. "I'll be taking my leave then."

I bowed and was about to turn around when the woman opened her mouth yet again.

"Ahh, right. Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, correct?" Her gentle smile turned into a vicious sneer. "I know what he did to you."

With no warning, these sickening yellow eyes flashed through my field of view.

My heartbeat sped up as my breathing grew laboured.

I wanted to calm down and think, but my body stopped responding.

"A-ayanokouji-kun? W-what did he do to me?"

I tilted my head and let out a light, nervous chuckle.

Even though such actions would give away the knowledge I possessed, I was unable to control my expressions the way I usually could due to the shock.

A devious, evil grin flashed over the girl's lips.

"Almost kill you, for starters."

The words 'kill you' reverberated through my head as the phantoms brought me back to that moment in time. That horrifying occasion where I had thought that I would die.

My airways were tied up, as if he was still holding onto my throat, still putting pressure on my windpipe. I felt cold and weak as I stared at the woman in front of me with nothing but fear in my eyes.

Someone was actually crazy enough to just watch while something like this played out before her?

There was no other way that this woman could have known about this. And if she knew this much, there was no point in playing dumb, either. The most important course of action right now was to buy myself some time to calm down and think of a way out.

Since thinking was pretty fucking hard right now...

"What do you want, senpai?"

With this simple question, the illusions intensified.

The devil leaned against the railing, analyzing me with his cold and damned frightening eyes. Another phantom crept closer to me, grasping my throat from behind.

W͍ͫ̀h̬ͭ͟a̷̼͂t̪̽́ ͌͋͏͓i̞̗ͨ̃͞s̛̠̤ͦ ̧͓̲̊ỉ̵̗͔͘ţ̛̃̀ͅ,̡̦͉ͨͥͪ͞ ͭͪ͏̷̰̯̟K̍͂҉̢̧͈͕͈u̶̱̺̥̼ͧ̒̄s̛ͫ̄҉̹͡h̛̗̬͔͇͂̍i̸̶̝ͭ̔͒ͥ̑ḍ̷̴̡̲̙̮͂̾̓̒̈́͘ā͎̲̟͢?̵̙̥̳̮̉̓͗ͥ̔ ̢̖̣̹͖ͦ̏̔̏̀͢͢ͅD̲̊͊̊͠ǫ̛̝͔͓ͫͪ̈́ͪ͢͢ ̮̤̆́y̡̭͛̒ͬ͠o̹̝̞̔͂͜ȕ̴͓̜̐̿́ͬ̇̀̀͘͟ ̵̡̲͍̠̭͇͒ͥ͘t̢̡̜̖̠̫̩ͨͧ́̕h̵̪̏̅̋̓͊͘͘͢͜i̸̧̢̟͈̣̻̊̀̓̓͡n̸͚̻͇̋k̵̈͗͞͏͕ ͪ̓̀ͣ͏̡̡̙̺͜y̨̢̨͙͍̓ͭ͟o̷̳͚̙͙͒͑u̴̢̢̥͖͗̒ ̴̲͊͘a̽̐͏̹͓̥͝r̶͕̣̼̉̓͝ë̎͠͏͍̯̺ ͙̆ͧ͊̕d̵̨̰́y̶̬͎͑̃͟i̴̖͑n̤̅͟g̷̖͓ͯ?̥ͭ̕͡

His frigid, distorted voice rang through my ears.

I nodded.

A̝̐͢n͌͏͕͓d͚͒̀͢ ̦̓͜wͯ̇͏̰h̷̝ͥ́ỳ̵̹̦͞ ̟̐̈́͘͝s̵̢̪̆̐ͬ͜h͊҉͉͚ơ̋͋҉̫u̵̱̻̱͒l͓͌͝d̡̝̠ͭ͑̍̀͟ ̧̲ͣ̑ͧ͡͡I͕̪̊̀ ̗͖̐̂́c̶̹̄̊ȧ̷͏͎r̞̐͡e̝ͫ͞?̛̺̺̄

"My class lost four people today, thanks to his little scheme. Nagumo was furious that some of his biggest supporters in Class B were expelled and I had to listen to his shitty speech the whole day. It was funny... honestly, but Ayanokouji betrayed me because I kept my distance after what he did to you. He must have realized that I would move against him, which is why he attacked me first. We only talked briefly after the incident on the roof, but it seemed he had picked up on the subtle changes in my behavior despite my best efforts. I'll take revenge on him for screwing with me, and you will help this beautiful, charming senpai."

The woman stood up. Her crimson eyes were as cold as the devils.

With every step she took towards me, I took one away from her.

The ghastly hand around my throat increased its pressure.

Y̜ͤ͜ȏ̝ͬ͜ū̫̗̾́͢ ̴͚͇̇ͤ͡b̧͚̄̆͠ě̈́͏͎l̫̫̽̋͡o͒҉҉̦̩͠n̖̙̈́̀ͅg̢̛̙͊ͮ͞ ͑ͭ̅҉̷̳̣͠t̵̩ͪ̾̚͜͠o̢̩ͬ ̴͙ͤͮͮ̄͞m̵̶̴͎͖͚̹ͨ͋̍e͍̰̪̒͌ͥ͠ ̸̷̸͓͔̦̂͡n̎ͧ͊̇͟҉̵̧҉̖õ̻̌̔͘͡w̵̡͈̫̼͈̻ͥ́́͝.̨̣ͮ̉ͯ̄̿ ̶̷̗̮̫͓̪ͪͯ͌͂̚͝Y̛̽̓̈́͡͝͏̰̤̩͎o̴̰͌̇ͪ̒́u̙̬̿ͭͪͦ̎̀ ͌̇ͬ҉̧̦̱̹̼̀w̿̕̕҉̫̯̦̕i̡͍̮̓̕͡͠l̸̢̧̛͉͍̼̇ͦ͜l̴͍̝̫͉͊̃ͭ̐̔̂̐̀̕ ̢̡̮̭̥̏ͯ̔́̕͢͡͠ͅd̡̨͍̲͖̦̗ͦͥ̎̋̅͢ơ̷̧̧̓͞͞҉͉̘̦̭̙ ̶̷̨̛̛̦̮̾͐̇͟ā̶̼͎̣̟̘̲͉́͜͟ş̵̛̞͚̺͇ͭͥ̌͂͋͢ ̷̶̵͒͟͜҉̦͎̜̪͍ͅͅĬ̧̨̖̻̠̟̲̪̖̉͂̋͒́̕ ̵̷̥̲̞ͮͮ͜͞s̵̤̣̪̿ͮ̈́ͮ̊͝͞a̛̝̗̖͗̕͢͞͞͞y̳͛̈ͨ̌̓ͣ͘,̼ͤ̄ͦͩ̍ͮ̕͜͝ ̶̢̧̞̓ͣ̋̊ͩ͘͡͡ô̢̫̦̞ͯ͆̕͝r̮̗̱͎̪͐̚͟͜͠ͅ ̬̳͛͠y̨̦͒́́͞ͅo̶̢̥̾̐̀ȗ̵̼͇͂̐̄͑ ̵̸̡̛̳͖̲̤͑ͬͧw̧̡̲̟͙͋̇ͫ͢͢i̧̨̲̺͇ͩ̾̔̀l̷̨̨͚̠̻͂lͭ́͜͏̞ ͉̭̂̾͡r̴͉̺͍̈́e̱͌̓ͪ́͢͟g̡̗ͪ̅̍͝r̮̥͑̐ͦ́͢͝ê̲͚̼͢t̳̍͞ ̢͖ͨ͘i̡̠̓t̴̩̀.̹̾͘

His voice ripped through my thoughts as I bumped into the railing with nowhere left to run.

"You will work for me now, as a double agent, of sorts. Whatever he plans, you will tell me. If he closes in on me, you will also tell me." Her hand flashed towards my collar. "Is that understood, little Kouhai?"

Her arctic voice, her apathetic facial expression, as if she was looking at an insect, and even her gestures... they were carbon copies of him.

I felt like I was drowning as I kept gasping for air.

"There shouldn't be much to think about after what he has done to you. You want revenge too, right? So don't worry, little girl. As soon as I got rid of him, I will set you free. There will be no one breathing down on your neck anymore. I'll need two weeks. Tops. In that time, be a good little follower to him and an even better informant for me. Or else..."

"Ahhh, so annoying!"

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

"Why can't she just die!"

My face turned ashen.

"Well, you know where this is going, right? If you fuck me over, I'll release my copy of your conversation. It was fun watching him. He gave me inspiration."

.̳̅͢.̬ͨ́͜.̸̹ͩ͢ ̛̙̎t̺͖ͩ͜͠h̵̤̒̊ͅi͇͊̐͞s̸̯̫ͬ̐͜͠ ̸̴̪̠ͦ̌͞ŵ̹̝̹̓̕͝oͫ͂ͦ͟͏̫̬u̸͔͉ͪ͑l͈̭̲͐̕d̷̢̙͛́̕ ̩͙͗̔ͩ͞h̸̶͙̩͕͊͊̍́ä̢̲̲̦́ͦ͢͡͡ͅͅv̩̮̜̝ͯ͟ê͛͛͗͆͏͏̡͍̫ ̵͆͏̵̛̬̥̜̙ẹ̶̢̣̮͊͌̈̒̄ņ̶̝̪̱̬̉̎͛̀̀̀͜d̢̡͗ͨͧ͡͏̨̼͖̦̞̬e̸ͩͭ͋̈͏̷̶̻̟̙̗̠̕d̷̴̀̃́͝͏͇͖͍̬ ̴̢̨̣̼͈͉̤̿̓͛͛ţ̸̗͉͉͙ͮ̽̈̾͝e̸̛͍̠̩̓̓̇r̞͚̗͌ͤͪ͢͞r̖̈̂ͨ͜͞i̬̗̇͘b̺͊̒̌͟͞lͩ҉̹͢ē̍̈҉͓͚ ̶͔̓ͅf̞̃͟͡͡o͔̯̐̕͢r̸̝͗̄ ̴͕̯͂͗͞yͯ͌͏̘̺o̧̳̔̀ǘ͉͡.̷̨̬ͦ

I bit my lip with clenched fists.

What the fuck did I do wrong to be threatened by two crazy psychos?

No matter how hard I tried to claw my way out of this, I would end up in even more shambles than I already was.

"If I help you... to get rid of him... I want out. As soon as that monster is gone, I'm done being your follower, informant or whatever. I just want my life back."

"Deal, little Kouhai."

She extended her hand towards me, and I made the mistake of reciprocating her gesture.

The moment our hands met, she pulled me closer to her and closed in on my ear. Her free hand flashed forward and gripped my throat, just like he had done.

Her fingers coiled around my neck as she began to strangle me.

"If you dare to tell him about our meeting, I will destroy you. You still remember the story he spun up for you, right? I'll make sure it becomes reality if you betray me." Her grip tightened as she put more pressure on my windpipe. "Just. Far. Worse."

This maniac in front of me, whatever her name was, wasn't joking around.

Tears spilled from my eyes, which seemed to be the new norm for me after all the ones I had shed during the last few days. My body felt cold and lifeless, since there was nothing I could do to defend myself against these two monsters.

I was nothing but an insignificant insect in their schemes.

"I understand..."

Ỵͯ͜o̴̰̚u͇ͬ͜ ͆͞ͅa̸̰ͧr̵͚͑e̷͓ͦ ̵̝͗m̸͙̌y̹̑͜ ͖̐̀q͊҉͈u̟͋́ȩ̩̅ȩ̯ͮn͋҉̩,̥ͨ͞ ̳ͦ͜Kͨ͏͕ų̟ͭš̵̞h̵̗̃i̲ͣ͝d̵̝̉ḁ̿́.̠̊͝ ͖̈́͞I̢͇͆'̸̼ͤd̮̉͜ ̭͒́d͓͒͢o̝ͩ́ ̡̦̽a͓̽͠ṇ͊͜y̸͛ͅt̷͗ͅh̺̊́ȉ̧̱n̥ͤ͢ģ̦ͭ ̶̱ͧt̰̾͟o̢̩ͤ ͙͐̕p̵̪̊ṟ̢̀ỏ͍͝t̴͙͋ẻ͏̱c͇̔͢t̴͍͂ ̦ͣ͢y̩͒͢ơ͍ͤủ͓̀.̸̱̎