Chapter 40 - Freak

'Ah, my eyes!'

The dazzling light bouncing off Katsuragi's glossy scalp was blinding. I squinted my eyes to fend off the unexpected assault from the sun.

Fifth deck, on my way to Sakura's meeting place, I spotted a small gathering of students marching towards somewhere. Looking at the person leading the squad, it was a no brainer which faction the students belonged to.

Naturally, I didn't see Kamuro, or Kito amongst the faces, as they were openly part of the Sakayanagi camp. Hashimoto being there didn't really surprise me as I knew, at the time he was a spy working for Sakayanagi. In reality though, he was just an opportunist who'd jump boats whenever it benefited him.

But, someone did catch my attention a little bit, and it was a certain person from my own zodiac group.

Shimizu Naoki, he really was part of the Katsuragi faction, huh?

Even before this, I could tell more or less, based on how passionately he carried out Katsuragi's orders on his first meeting.

"....."

While passing by, Shimizu threw me a sharp glance. I bowed, paying respect to our temporary acquaintanceship as fellow group mates. But he simply turned his gaze away in apathy. Wow..

At any rate, I was getting late for my appointment, so I footed it. This time, I had told Sakura to meet up on the pool side on the fifth deck near the bow. When I arrived at the spot..

..she was not there?

"Is she late or...?" I muttered to myself.

It was unlikely. Sakura was never late when I personally called her. There was only one possibility..

I pulled out my phone and dialed her number to inquire her whereabouts. As expected, I heard a ringtone somewhere nearby. Tracking the source of the sound, I twirled around to see the pink head rummaging through her trouser pockets, eventually picking up the phone.

「H-hello?」 a soft voice came from the speakers.

I raised my hand above my head, waving at her.

"Sakura-san, I'm right here, near the pool. I can see you."

「Ah... Aaa! Levent-kun!」

When she turned around and saw me, her expression beamed.

There she was, a cheerful Sakura Airi, clad in her gym uniform, waving back at me.

I also can't help but mention that some serious laws of physics were at work in her chest area (namely gravity, shear torsion, moment of inertia etc). I forcefully redirected my eyes toward her face.

"Quite early today, aren't you?"

「Y-yes, I, just happened to be nearby... It's good to see you.」 She greeted with a slight bow.

"It's good to see you too, Sakura-san." I bobbed my head up and down, "You wanted to talk about something, yes?"

「R-right. yes, I wanted to tell you something, but...」

Sakura inclined her head, and a cloud of confusion formed on her face before she finished her sentence.

「Shouldn't we, um... shouldn't we get close to each other first?」

"Hmhm..." I hummed.

That's right. I did not move an inch from the spot during this entire conversation. The phone was pressed against our ears the whole time. We were literally standing twenty-something feet away from each other; yet I was keeping the conversation running through the phone.

"It's more interesting this way, isn't it?" I raised an eyebrow.

「Ah! Uhm....」 Sakura fidgeted.

Everything about it was supposed to feel odd, but it was a bit amusing as well. It was almost as if we were whispering in each other's ears even though we were physically about six meters away from each other. 'So close, and yet so far' as they say.

Also, for humanity's sake, please don't mention the fact that I text a certain ice cream dispenser, even though I could literally strangle him from where I sleep.

「No, it's just that... There's too many people here.」 she said.

"Is that so?"

「Un..」 she nodded.

Sakura usually sought comfort in secluded areas with less people. It would be lying if said I also didn't prefer that. But this time, I'd purposefully set our meeting place on this deck that's always brimming with people. There was a good reason for both that, and my weird behavior.

"Look at me."

「Huh?」

As soon as I said that, she frantically looked at me, while I never took my gaze off from her. My azure eyes made contact with her pinks.

"Just look me in the eyes, and forget that anyone even exists around you."

「Ah...」 Sakura, who's eyes would always dart around when we talk closely, were now only focused on me. 「O-okay.」

"Good."

This arrangement was for the purpose of force her into getting used to conversations near a crowd. I was on the process of slowly pushing the child towards the pool to make it learn how to swim. If the child resists, then I'd simply have to forcefully 'yeet the child'.

On an unrelated note, my uncle definitely did not throw me in the pool when I was a kid, and I definitely did not drown and get a trauma that day.

If I say it's the truth, it's the truth. Don't you dare question it!

"Let's start with... what you wanted to talk about." I said.

「R-right. Did you see the announcement from the school this morning?」

"Is it related to the zodiac exam?"

「Yes, that one.」

"If I remember correctly, Cow group retired from the exams, correct?"

「Mhm..」 she hummed in affirmation, but it sounded a bit muffled for some reason.

「It was the group that I was also a part of.」 she said with a tinge of sadness in her tone.

"I see..."

It wasn't exactly what you'd call a 'good news', but at the same time, it wasn't a bad news either. Kanzaki, you really have done it now.

「Uhm.. Did I do something wrong?」

"I don't think so." I assured.

「But the exam...」

Sakura muttered under her voice. Even though she didn't do anything, she must've been feeling guilty about the results.

"By any chance, were you the VIP?"

「N-no.. I was not.」 she replied with a bit of fluster.

"And the others?"

「I, I don't think Sudou-kun and the others were the VIP either. Matsushita-san told me not to worry.」 Sakura replied.

"Then, there's no reason to blame yourself, Sakura-san. It was probably someone else who triggered this." I pinched my lips a few times in contemplation. "By the way, did you really ask Matsushita-san?"

「Uhm... Y-you asked me to,」 Sakura stammered. 「Should I not have done that?」

"No, That's a great thing, actually. What did she do?"

「Uh.. well, she was nice to me.. And she told me not to worry too much about the exam.」

"See? I told you she would help."

「Yes, she did.」

I'm glad Matsushita was considerate toward her. And to see Sakura actually gathering some courage to ask her..

"Really proud of you though."

「Er... ehehe..」 Sakura chuckled from the other side of the call. I could even see her smile from where I was at.

I took a seat on one of the vacant seats next to me. Sakura was still standing by the lobby.

"So, basically someone from your group reported to the school who they think the VIP was. That's why the exams for your group ended today." I explained.

「Oh, was it because of that the traitor rule?」 she inquired.

"Yes, the traitor rule. You know that, right?"

「Humm.. The others kept mentioning it during the meetings.」

Hm?

"Which class were the most persistent about it?" I asked.

「I don't really know.. I couldn't remember everyone's names..」 she mumbled, feeling a bit guilty about it.

"Is that so? Then I guess it can't helped."

「But...!」 Sakura said, slightly raising her voice trying to stop me from shifting topics. 「I think Kobashi-san was more vocal about this.」

"Kobashi..?"

Kobashi... Kobashi... Have I seen it somewhere?

Oh, Right..

Kobashi Yume, was one of the four class B members of the Cow Group. I saw it when Sakura gave me her slip. But more importantly, she's the VIP of the group. It'd make sense if she was being a bit vigilant about it.

"At any rate, it's as they'd feared; someone from the group betrayed. If he or she were correct in their assumption, their class would receive fifty class points, whereas the VIP's class would lose points as penalty. The reverse is also true in case they're wrong." I furher added..

「I see.」

Most likely the latter happened to this group for a certain reason. The deal must've happened either, during the nighttime, or early morning. Either way, the transactions for both parties were likely done by now.

"How are things with Class A? I heard rumors that none of them are participating in the discussions." I asked.

「Yeah, it's just like what the others have been saying. None of them have talked at all,」 said Sakura.

Katsuragi's approach to exams were straightforward, much like his bald scalp devoid of a single hair strand. He had been rather thorough in carrying out his plan.

Even so, after Kouenji, Class D were the ones to trigger this new turn of events. Many students were probably feeling perplexed, as the groups began facing mysterious outcomes nearing the end of this exam.

"It's a shame you wouldn't receive the 500,000 private points, though." I sympathized.

「It's fine. I don't really mind it.」 she mumbled.

「Ike-kun and Sudou-kun must be sad about this, though. They seemed like they really wanted those points.」

Yeah, let's not talk about them.

"On the bright side, we didn't lose class points by letting them guess. It's not like we lost, we just didn't gain anything. And that's totally fine; so don't overthink it."

「Un..」 she nodded.

A few things to take away from this conversation. Ryuen is most likely done with his preparations. It is only a matter of time when he shows up and flexes his findings.

Meanwhile, I have to take care of the things in the lower level. I left it up to Ayanokouji to make his moves on Manabe. The dirty works will be left for me to do.

This will be no cakewalk.

「As expected.. Hearing it from Levent-kun is a bit reassuring...」

"Did you say something?"

「Ah, no no. Not at all.」

....Though she muttered it to herself, I clearly heard it. But I did not proceed.

"By the way, did you have breakfast yet?" I asked.

「Breakfast, oh? I-it's embarrassing but, I haven't, yet.」

"Look at the time. It's almost noon now."

「Ah! I-I'm, I'm so sorry about that?!」

"...You have reason to apologize to me." I deadpanned. "Also, this is my next order. Stop saying sorry over things like this. It only ruins the mood.

「I, I understand. Sorry for ruining the mood.」

I facepalmed.

"Sakura-san..."

「Ah! Sorr– I mean, I'll try my best.」 Sakura replied with squeezed eyes.

"Good." I cut the call, and looked at her.

Most of the time she'd turtle down and be quite in crowded places, but today, she was at least able to express herself more, even after being surrounded by a crowd.

I stood up from the chair, and toddled toward the fidgeting Sakura. The phone call conversation was a considerable success, but the training was far from over.

"I have a confession to make..." I walked over. "I didn't have a breakfast either."

"O-oh, is that so?"

"Yeah... This guy's really mad at me." I said while patting my stomach.

"Oh.. hehehe.." she slightly chuckled. But then..

"T-then, would you like to have breakfast together?"

"...."

Her eyes were darting around. Her face was a blushing mess. And the question itself was hazy as usual.

But the fact that she actually managed to say this...

I actually came her to ask her out. But it seems she really beat me to it this time.

"Sure. Lead the way."

"A-ah! Yes! I will." the tomato speedily walked in front of me, trying her best to hide her embarrassment. It was truly a cute scene.

I was glad.

"Hm.."

But if we're going to a restaurant, then..

...

...

Hehe....

"By they way, Sakura-san. How much do you like pizzas?"

🄾🅄🅃🅂🄸🄳🄴🅁

「Manabe and her friends left.」

A lone message from the 'Secret' platform, followed by a few image files attached to it.

That was the signal.

After downloading the images, I closed my phone and prepared for what was about to come next.

*Thuk *Thuk

The sound of my heavy steps reverberated throughout the empty staircase. When I landed on the second lowest level of the ship, I was met with a pair of hazel eyes peering upwards. We momentarily stopped.

"...."

I silently looked down at Ayanokouji who inanimatly stood there, blankly staring back. Not a single words were exchanged. There was no need to. The both of us knew what was about to happen in the future.

*Thuk *Thuk

The descent resumed.

Mimicking my movements, Ayanokouji ascended. We crossed each other's paths and went our own ways. However, just before he vanished from my peripheral vision, he said this one last thing...

"Best of luck."

....

I sank to the lowest level of the ship, making sure sure to be vigilant about the staff or any other people passing by who could see me.

Before engaging with the plan, I had already surveyed this area once, trying to get familiar with my working field. The corridors were narrower no l compared to the one's in the upper levels. There wasn't a single camera along the way. And it was unlikely that someone would come here at this hour.

Clang!

Sometimes a deep, heavy noise echoed throughout the dark level.

Perhaps it was the sound of the ship changing course, or maybe it was because the ship had bumped into something. I wasn't entirely sure. But through the door panels, I could see a blurry figure sitting on the floor, in a place where all you could hear was the sound of metals clashing against metals.

I stood in front of the door.

Kiiiieeek!

With a piercing noise, the door creaked open, revealing a large dimly lit maintenance room.

Karuizawa should've heard the door open, but she continued to cower and cry on the ground. Perhaps she didn't notice me coming in because she was so overcome by fear.

I stepped inside. With careful silent strides, I treaded toward her.

Perhaps thanks to Ayanokouji's advice, Manabe and her friends didn't cause any visible damage to her appearance. Though her cheeks were reddened from being slapped, the marks would probably fade by tomorrow. If her uniform had been ripped, or if they'd cut her hair, it would've been difficult for them to go unpunished.

"Karuizawa-san."

When she finally noticed me, she lifted her head.

"Wh-why are…" she stammered.

I wasn't supposed to be here, so she panicked at being seen like that. Regardless, she couldn't stop crying and act as if nothing had happened.

I silently stood in front of her. After some time passed, Karuizawa gradually stopped bawling, and she started to calm down.

"Have you calmed down?" I asked.

"A little."

Karuizawa still didn't stand. She wiped her tears away with her uniform sleeve. I silently stared at her from a distance, calmly scrutinizing the psychologically distressed bullied girl.

"Where's Hirata-kun?" she asked.

"He was called away by a teacher. I just happened to be there, that's why I'm here. You also wanted to meet me before.."

In the morning after waking up, I had received a message from her asking to meet up. I could only guess that she wanted me to do something about her situation with Manabe and the girls. I don't know how she got my number, but that just showed how desperate she was, and the amount of trust she had on me.

"You're a mess. What happened?" I asked.

"Manabe and her friends… I absolutely will not let them get away with that."

Karuizawa started trembling as she recalled what they'd done to her. Even if she didn't want to reveal this pathetic side of herself, the trauma was buried so deep that her pain wasn't easily hidden.

"Levent-kun, you have to keep this a secret. If anyone finds out, I'll never forgive you," she warned me.

She was trying to hide her weakness. If people found out that she was bullied by Manabe and her friends, that'd tarnish her hard earned social standing. Ridiculous, but unfortunately that's just how it is.

"Can I ask you something?" suddenly she softened her tone, as if pleading.

"Is that related to why you wanted to talk?"

Karuizawa gave me a pained expression, "Please! You have to help me, Levent-kun!!"

I guess unlike Ayanokouji, or the other boys, she has the bare minimum amount of respect for me.

"How do you want me to help you?"

"Get back at Manabe and the others for me! You're a guy, you should be able to do it!"

But even then, she was asking for something utterly outrageous.

"That's insane. You know that, right?" I answered flatly.

"What? Are you scared of getting even with Manabe and her friends?" her earlier polite tone grew a bit irritated. "And you're supposed to be a guy,"

"Don't you remember what happened with Sudou?" I calmly reminded. "If you mindlessly attack them, forget about getting revenge; you'll be the one getting expelled."

"But-!"

"Things will only get further out of hand. The school will carry out a thorough investigation and conduct interviews. Do you want that?"

She was about to say something, but her words got stuck on her throat because of my flawless logic. She gnashed her teeth in frustration.

She whimpered, "Do I have to just lie down and take it?"

Not necessarily.

There was a time, back in the orphanage where I was in the same position as her. I naturally knew the perfect way to respond. But staying silent was the best thing to do, objective-wise.

"But they would… They'll continue to do awful things to me," muttered Karuizawa.

She started shaking again. In truth, there was no guarantee that Manabe and her friends would stop. Karuizawa could find many ways to escape back at school, but she couldn't continue playing hide-and-seek with Manabe forever. Her classmates would eventually notice a change in Karuizawa's behavior.

Karuizawa desperately wanted to fix this situation.

And, I'd been waiting for that desperation.

"You know, despite all the mess, I do have a way of helping you..."

When I pretended to assure Karuizawa, her swollen face brightened.

"R-Really? You will help me?"

Yet again, it was one those moments when the wasp willingly flew toward the light trap.

"Depends."

"Huh?"

"I can help you. But currently, I don't see a reason why I should." I answered.

Karuizawa's expression stiffened at that bizarre revelation, betrayal sketched in to her face as my words defied the 'kind' image she had of me...

"What do you mean? Shouldn't you help me as a friend?!"

"We're classmates."

"You!" she glared and was about to yell at me, but I cut her off.

"Think about it this way. If I helped you, I'd be helping someone who was the original bully. After all, it was your fault to begin with." I said.

"H-huh?" she softly stammered.

Karuizawa's face was now a mixture of confusion, and desperation. She realized what I was hinting at, and her glare lost it's sharp edge. She feigned ignorance, "Wh-what the hell are you on about?"

"Rika." One word. That's all I needed to attack her.

"U-uh.." She stammered visibly frustrated by that revelation. Things didn't seem to be on her favour anymore.

"You, yourself are the reason why you're here. Involving someone completely harmless landed you in this mess." I added to the accusation.

"No! How many times do I have to say it? It was an accident! I didn't mean to push her in the cafeteria. If anything she–"

"Don't escape from the truth." I responded in a glacial tone. "It was absolutely 'not' an accident."

Karuizawa, who had calm down previously began to breath heavily in irritation. In a desperate attempt of defending herself, she shouted, "You weren't there! What do you know?!"

"Your actions speak for themselves." I said.

"Now you're just spouting bullshit."

Then, listen to my 'bullshit'.

"I've been classmates with you for months now. Who do you think you're trying to fool?" I said, my voice now detached from the faintest hint of emotion.

"You denied the claims and didn't apologize when they gave you the chance. Instead, you threw tantrums, and even tried shifting the blame back at them. You picked meaningless fights with them. Quite the defensive act for the virgin Mary you are.." I added.

"O-of.. of course I'm gonna defend myself! I didn't do anything!" Still keeping up the act, Karuizawa sputtered some nonsense refusals.

"You can't even look me in the eye when talking. And you expect me to believe you?" I narrowed my gaze on her.

She gnashed her teeth against each other in frustration, her hands clutched into a tight fist. She looked at me, clearly defeated by my presence, but didn't give up.

"Look, Levent, are you going to help me, or not?"

Karuizawa addressed me without honorific this time. I must've been utterly hated by her. All because I pointed out the truth.

People hate the truth more than anything. You can't point out your professor's shit jokes, lest you want to fail his subject. You can't call out on that popular girls' narcissism, lest you want to be targeted by her fanboys. And you absolutely can't tell the woman in grocery store that her makeup looks weird...

Seriously, don't do that, you'll be gaslit out of existence within seconds.

That's why honest ones who can speak the unhinged truth are the most hated and avoided in society.

"What if I say no?"

"Then why the hell are you still here?! Just leave..!" she yelled in a cold deep tone, trying to intimidate me.

....

Who do you think you're playing?

"It must've felt quite refreshing, to experience your old days again.." I coldly muttered.

"What?" Karuizawa looked at me with a confused expression. She didn't understand what I was trying to imply; or didn't try to understand. So I decided to be more specific...

...To jog her 'happy' memories a little bit.

"Even after getting admitted to a school where bullying is intolerable, things haven't really changed at all, have they...?"

"H-huh? Wh-what are you...you..." she stammered.

"Earlier, you were being bullied by Manabe, weren't you? 'Bullied', Karuizawa. The same way 'they' did back in the days. They slapped you, punched you, kicked you, yelled at you; all sorts of unpleasant things.

But that's nothing new to you, is it?"

"Wh-what are you talking about?!" she shouted.

With gentle fluid movements, I pulled my index in front of her forehead and pointed directly at her.

"...You, Karuizawa."

"Huh? H-how did you..."

She must've been confused, questioning how the hell did I get to know all that. By now, she should be able to put the two and two together. Even though it was obvious how I knew that she was bullied by the girls, it was unnatural for me to know about her past.

"Hirata-kun told you this, didn't he?" she asked.

"Who else...?" I replied. "Hirata is genuinely a nice guy, almost to a fault. He would help everyone, just like he helped you. What can you expect him to do in this situation...?

Beat up those girls? Threaten them? You think he'd do stuff like that? Stop pigeonholing, you greedy bitch."

I swore with piercing coolness. Karuizawa's gasped after listening to my merciless pouncing, her eyes widened. She couldn't believe what was happening. The polite, soft-spoken image she previously had of me, must've shattered completely.

"Even if you got your position in Class C thanks to being his girlfriend, he won't be of any use to you in situations like this. He isn't a good enough host for a parasite like you." I added.

Karuizawa gave me mixed facial expressions, but the most predominant ones fear and rage.

"T-this is the real you, huh? So, you finally decided to show your true face..?!"

"I may or may not be like this. But what about you, Karuizawa..?"

"Wha—"

"From the very beginning of high school, you tried maintaining a 'mean', 'tough girl' façade to make yourself appear superior. But in truth, you're still that bullied little girl, crying on the ground like a miserable, pathetic worm."

Our eyes met. Her tear-filled eyes a great contrast to my dark lifeless ones. I locked in, trying to read every single change of her expression.

"You, are afraid, Karuizawa.. of what the future may have in store for you... Do you have any hope..? Or is it despair..? You don't know that. That's why you're afraid."

"What are you… Why are you doing this, huh?!" she spat sharply.

"What I'm trying to do is to make you 'see'." I took a deep breath and exhaled. "Take a few seconds and think. Where do you stand? What's your position in this situation?"

I slowly crouched down to eye level, scrutinizing the fear in her eyes. Her eyes contorted in discomfort from the unpleasant reminiscence. With chilling calm voice, I mused,

"What if happened again? Multiple times a week. They call you somewhere isolated, threatening to expose you, and then start bullying you mindlessly, while all you can do is to only absorb their torture again, and again, and again."

Terror quickly filled her face as I worded out my imagination.

"No! No no no! Stop it, you bastard jerk! Just you wait I'll tell everyone about this!" To distract herself from despair, she placed her insecurities toward me, and began shouting again.

Good.

"Is that so? Then let me remind you." I calmly responded. My deep calm voice a great contrast to her high pitched loud one.

She wouldn't be shouting at me after this, though.

"Your past, your fake relationship, you being bullied by Manabe. I know everything this tough girl 'Karuizawa Kei' wants to hide." I summarized.

"D-don't screw with me! Who the hell do you think you are?!" she shouted again."

"Someone who you will regret making an enemy of." I coldly replied..

Her soul was placed in my hands. If I wanted to, I could crush her, then and there. Karuizawa understood better than anyone how terrifying that was.

"Y-you wouldn't dare!" with a shaky trembling voice Karuizawa stammered.

There were many different ways I could've responded to this question. But I chose to answer it like this.

"You see, it'd be much efficient to directly report this to the school, instead. After a thorough investigation, the whole incident will be covered, and the details of what had happened and why will be exposed. As a by product, Karuizawa Kei, the bully victim, will be 'famous', in a way."

"N-no. No, y-you can't!" Karuizawa let out a horrified scream understanding what could happen because of this. "You can't do this without my permission!"

"I, one hundred percent, can." I replied. "I witnessed something that could put a huge question mark over the integrity of the school's highly boasted anti-bullying system. You think they'd risk me spreading the word?"

Yes, it was all bullshit.

They'd never release the name of the victim, or the involved party without their consent. It would be kept within the documents, under the wraps if the victim wished for it.

But for now, Karuizawa couldn't figure it out. Her mental state was too exhausted for critical thinking.

Boy, am I glad that I made Manabe bully her~

"It will get four obstacles from class D expelled, and also strip you out of your reputation in front of the whole school. Two birds, one stone." I added.

After seeing me explaining this horrifying outcome with such a nonchalant tone, Karuizawa's eyes widened in terror. She finally understood just what kind of person I was, and what I was truly capable of.

"Actions have consequences. And your actions, might have led to somewhere where you were before. This is the reality."

"Y-you...!"

Karuizawa couldn't say anything more than that, and went silent. Averting her eyes, she gazed at the floor with a blank frown.

I grabbed her chin and forced her to look at me. She wanted to look away, but with a man's strength bearing down on her, she couldn't move. I moved in so close to her that our faces almost touched. My aquamarine reflected on her crystal blue..

I could see the fear of uncertainty blossoming in her eyes. She was scared, she was despairing.

With an eerily calm voice, these words parted my lips...

「Welcome back, Karuizawa, to your personal hell.」

🄾🅄🅃🅂🄸🄳🄴🅁

Real manipulation can go in many different ways.

For example, the one Ayanokouji used was blackmailing and intimidation. This involved holding a piece information as hostage, planting fear into the hearts of the target to make him/her do specific tasks.

A rather common method you'd see on your everyday life. I'm sure even you've experienced times when someone manipulated you like this.

Ayanokouji originally used that method on Karuizawa to initiate their twisted relationship. Karuizawa's middle school trauma was something not to be underestimated. Experiencing that again, and the phobia of history repeating itself must've put extreme psychological strain on her. That's why when Ayanokouji tried to test the limits by asking her to oil up, she mindlessly submitted.

Even after he ensured Karuizawa's safety, the fear of exposure still lingered on her mind, so she couldn't afford to disobey him, and at some point, she started developing Stockholm Syndrome for him.

While I did use something similar, my principles were a bit different.

I was gaslighting her into submission; appearing superior and making her feel inferior; and finally, only letting her see the worst outcome possible to fill her mind with negative thoughts. Her escape route was blocked by the possibility of me turning on her, only if she went ahead, and provoked me.

Intimidation to some extent was needed to make mineself appear as someone superior to her, and not the pushover she initially thought of me. I wanted to be someone of higher position. But the main objective was, to make her feel indebted to me.

Why?

In blackmailing, there's a good chance of the manipulation failing and the plan coming back to bite you. Even if it does work, it's inefficient. Your victim will always harbor a deep rooted hatred for you. They may even do things halfheartedly, wishing for your damnation.

On the other hand, indebtedness makes you want to go above and beyond to repay for the debt you owe. In this method, victim is still being forced by you, but would feel relatively less negative compared to the former. They'd try their best to abide by your orders, to repay the debt.

Of course, everything has it's pros and cons, but for the moment, I had decided this to be the optimal method.

「E: Look... I'm not going to stop you from trying. But I will not take responsibility if your friends leave you because of this (if you ever had any hahaha!! *laughs at this user...)」

And that's why I pretty much forced her into doing this..

"Y-you said you can help me. Is.. is that really... true?" she weakly asked.

"That's right." I responded.

"Can you really get rid of Manabe and the girls for me?"

Letting go of Karuizawa's chin, I stood up and turned my face toward the door before replying...

"If you don't believe me, then there's nothing more to say."

"W-wait!" When Karuizawa sensed that the conversation was about end, she became desperate. With pleading, weak voice, she spoke, "H-help me.. pease, Levent-kun! I- I'll do anything!"

Raising an eyebrow I stoically replied, "Really? You do realize how large the scale of 'anything' is, right?"

"I-I know what it is. But if you... if you really can save me, I'll do anything, as long as it's something I can do! I promise!"

Well, this is interesting.

"Are you sure...?"

Karuizawa silently nodded this time, confirming it..

I walked back from the spot and tucked my hands inside my pockets, fishing for my smartphone. Few clicks later, I showed her the display of my smartphone. With a weak gaze, Karuizawa tried to scrutinize the details of the screen, only for her eyes to be widened in shock and disbelief.

"Th-this...W-when did.. How did you–?"

It was the pictures of Karuizawa being directly being abused. A sadistic Manabe was seen pulling a distressed Karuizawa's hair and another girl kicking her in the back. That was only one of the many pictures I had. They were all definitive evidences of Karuizawa being bullied by Manabe and her gang. I can blindly say this, they will get expelled immediately, no questions asked.

"Do you believe me now?" I said. "I will send these to Manabe and the girls. They'll think at least a thousand times before stepping near your shadow anymore. But if they ever try to harass you, whether it's by spreading rumors, or using someone else.... At any rate, you wouldn't have to worry about it."

For the first time since I entered this room, relief washed over at Karuizawa's face. She was still sobbing, but her face was arching a little upwards.

"Thank you! Thank you, thank you so much, Levent-kun! Without you, I–"

I offered my hand at Karuizawa who was leaning against the steel wall.

"If you want me to send these pictures, you will have to do what I ask of you to do in the future, unquestioned. If you're okay with this arrangement, I will proceed."

"Ah..."

The relief in her face was quickly swapped with a complicated one. She knew what it would mean to take my hand.

From being bullied by Manabe and the others, to being ordered around me. It may seem like an obvious choice from your perspective,  but for her, it was a difficult decision.

I gave her a few seconds to silently contemplate the options...

"I..will do it." she placed her hand on mine.

"Good."

After tightly grabbing her wrist, I pulled her up from the ground. On a side note, while pulling, her head was dangerously close to clashing against my chin. It would've been painstakingly awkward if we'd actually clashed after such a serious moment.

I pulled down the notification bar of my phone and stopped recording. It didn't take me a minute to send the pictures afterwards. The problem was solved.

But there was this one thing left to do... In order to completely own her, I needed to to let her know that I know everything. Even the things she'd kill herself to hide.

"What happened to you?" I asked.

"What... do you mean by that?" Again, Karuizawa's expression morphed into a confused one.

"Your phobia, your despair.. Where does that come from exactly? Tell me with your own lips.. what happened to you in you old days?"

"What happened?" She spoke, her voice hardening at each syllables. "All sorts of things. Everything and anything."

She clutched her eyes shut and shook her head trying to shake away the uncomfortable thoughts of reminiscence.

"They'd put tacks in my shoes or stuff my desk full of roadkill. When I went to the bathroom, I'd get splashed with dirty water. They wrote words like 'whore' on my uniform. They pulled my hair and punched and kicked me. Anything you could imagine, basically. I was bullied in every way. Countless times."

She opened her eyes and looked at me, dead expression.

"What I've just told you was just a fraction of what I've experienced. Those were the 'gentler' ways I've been bullied, too. It makes me want to laugh. So, why aren't you laughing? Why don't you laugh at the pitiful loser who's been bullied all her life?"

Even after everything she'd suffered, she still got back up. She seemed ready to fight again. Her resilience had motivated her to enroll in this school.

Still…the experiences she'd recounted weren't enough to explain everything.

"What else have you suffered?" I asked.

"Huh?"

"You haven't told me the whole truth, have you?"

Something much more critical had shattered her spirit before this. Her abnormal fearfulness wasn't the result of mere bullying. It was something much more sensitive. Something that Karuizawa wanted to hide so much that it was worth giving up her body to Ayanokouji.

"What are you hiding?"

"Wh-what?"

Karuizawa turned her head from me and lowered her eyes to look down at her left side. I noticed that, of course. I reached over and touched that part of her body, over her uniform.

"S-stop!" she shouted.

Her shouts echoed within the enclosed walls of the room. She had grabbed my hand that was tugging uniform.

"..." I stopped pulling and locked eyes with her again. She flinched when my eyes were pointed at her.

I needed to be dominant here, if I wanted full control of her. That's why...

"Back then, you said you'd do anything, right?"

Karuizawa's body shuddered after hearing my statement.

"Y-yeah.." she hesitantly replied.

I took my hands off her body and backed off; not breaking eye contact for even a second. I know Karuizawa wanted to escape from me now, but couldn't avoid my gaze no matter what. She wouldn't dare to. I knew everything and I had the evidence too.

I had her perfectly wrapped around my fingers.

"Let's put that into a test..."

After all, I am a power-control scumbag.. just like him.

"Take off your shirt."

🄾🅄🅃🅂🄸🄳🄴🅁

「E: Chapter 1.9 flashbacks lol... Maybe a bit of his actual past too?

Herkese Merhaba! 「Howdy people!」Glad to see you all here. Well, can't see who's 'actually' reading this shit fic, but you know what I meant?

How am I? Glad that you asked. I'm doing...fine.

...

I'm not okay...

Anyways, more importantly, about the story.

About 6.5k words this time.. Damn, I've been slacking off. Writing this shit at 5:14 AM. (I didn't sleep a blink tonight!)

Basically, one of you pointed out (yes, I'm talking to you doc. You're the G!) that Ayanokouji was not getting enough interaction with women. I'm painfully aware of how much I've nerfed my boy Ayanokouji. Fuck! Seriously, what the hell was I writing all this time?  He could potentially be bitchless in this universe, and I hate that.

I need opinions on this and how should I deal with this problem (aka sucking on viewers ideas khekhek).

BTW, I sometimes update about my progress, or my life stories in my profile conversations. (Wattpad followers know what I'm talking about 😏..)

For example, there are posts like that one time I cut chillies when cooking food and after everything was done, I forgot use use hand wash.. and uh... scratched my nuts.. with spicy hands..

Yeah...

Welp, that's enough weirdness today. Just to let y'all know, this was hella rushed in the end. Sorry to disappoint you. Lately I feel like I've been disappointing literally everyone.

Have a good day... Ciao.

E, out 🤞:|