Seen Through the Eyes of Goodwill

Chapter- 16 (Discredited)

Chapter- 16

Discredited

(Third person POV)

(Fifth day in cafeteria)

Once Ryuuen sat down with Karuizawa, Hirata decided to confront the situation with a diplomatic approach.

But before he could reach them, Kaneda latched on to him.

"Get aside." Hirata warned him.

Kaneda reduced the distance between them and whispered:

"You see, Ryuuen-shi is in a foul mood. Who knows if you might make things worse. He might end up saying something about Karuizawa that you don't want others to know."

"Tch, what do you want?"

"Don't fret. We mean no harm to Karuizawa. Our target is someone else. We just want her to lead the way." Kaneda tactfully subdued Hirata, even though he had to lie for it.

Meanwhile, Ryuuen had just placed himself near Karuizawa.

"Guys, I have something to talk about with him. Leave already." Karuizawa commanded them in a shaky voice.

The moment the window of opportunity opened: Nene Mori and Kokoro Inogashira jumped out of it and left the table.

The two students sat at the centre of attention of the whole cafeteria.

"It's been an arduous week, hasn't it?" Ryuuen said in a low voice, taking a spoonful of food from her plate.

"Why're you doing this? I will make sure Manabe pays for this."

She acted tough, to the best of her abilities. However, a sense of loss resonated in her words.

Ryuuen didn't smile. Usually, he enjoyed himself to the fullest at times like these. But it felt distasteful that this matter had come so far.

"You're tired of all this, right?"

"Yes, please stop."

"I will stop, just help me with one thing." Ryuuen promised, as he picked up a spoon and placed it on the centre of the table.

"What's that?" She saw a ray of hope.

"Someone has promised you that they will protect you from all your enemies — let's say 'X'. My fight is with 'X'."

Hearing his words her eyes darted around the cafeteria, searching for her promised protector. Before she could lay her gaze on him, she stopped.

It was too late to hide his existence; Ryuuen had deduced a lot. But how? She recalled the events of the past. Was it her daily life that gave away the information?

"'X' promised you that he will fight for you, right? Now let him do that. Just tell me who they are, and I will leave you out of this shitfest."

"I won't. Once this test is over, I will make sure I report Manabe to the school." Karuizawa steeled her resolve. She kept repeating the same thing as if reciting an affirmation of a good future.

"That's cute," he said, a faint smile plucking at his lips. "Do you have the evidence to do so?"

"I... I will have it soon." She convinced herself.

"Kukuku, you see, 'X' never trusted you enough to give you the evidence, so that when time comes 'X' can backoff if it gets too dangerous. 'X' will abandon you without a second thought."

He planted a seed of doubt in Karuizawa.

"He abandoned Suzune in the sports festival too, didn't he? When even Ichinose wasn't saved, what makes you think he will save you?"

The past few days had chipped away her defences. Karuizawa was more vulnerable than ever.

She knew very little about the reasons behind Ayanokouji's actions. Moreover, she had seen him desert his classmates at times of chaos.