The puppeteer of the elites (CoTE) ON HIATUS

Sports festival? What's that?

Humans are weak. Unbearably so.

We come in many shapes and forms, and we have different sets of abilities, different mentalities... are these all formed from birth? No, these are all developed by our own work and observation. During the time when we are still unable to speak, about a few months old and even a little after we learn to speak, all we can do is observe. Observe our surroundings, and most importantly, the people in them. As we observe their actions and behaviors, we learn how we ourselves should act when we become able to.

This is why it is important for babies and toddlers to grow up in good environments that will expand their knowledge on this world. How they will act in the future, who they become, their social standing, confidence, manners, language skills... all depend on that period in time. Then, is it because I grew up in an environment desolate of love and affection, full of competition and hard work, violence...

That I became so twisted?

Keiko POV

Soon after returning to the school, we are now back to having normal classes. More students in class A are in Sakayanagi's faction now, so we are overall much stronger. And today, they announced a new development. "Sports festival? What is that?" I mumbled, looking at the book in my hands. It was a book about civil wars in Europe. "So as I suspected, you have no idea, fufufu." Sakayanagi smirked at me. Why do I have to sit so near her of all people? I nodded soundlessly, acknowledging her suspicions and confirming them.

My entire life, I've only known sports as something I must excel in, so I was surprised when I saw the sports clubs. They were really friendly. I never did enjoy sports, nor do I now, since I always had to watch the others fall behind, down onto their feet, since their stamina and speed couldn't match mine. It made me feel like they were bowing to me, which was honestly a pain, an annoyance, and an embarrassment. Was what I would have said, eleven years ago. But now I simply do sports to maintain my physical condition, but I have yet to master control over my strength. I never realized bones were so brittle. I guess those people really were strong.

"A sports festival is an event almost every school starting from middle school has. they have class competitions using sports events to gather points to win. Most schools even hand out prizes to the winning class. However, it is likely that this school will do something different. What do you think?" She explained and asked for my opinion.

That just sounds normal... I couldn't help but think that. "Perhaps the prizes will be individual or class points, depending on the event and overall score. And this school tends to do things differently, as you said. They might have mind sports as well, for people with physical conditions or weak physiques. Perhaps chess, othello, checkers and other board games might be included. You might enjoy that if it's true." She nodded, not flinching at my 'people with physical conditions or weak physiques' comment. She has a pretty good temper.

It was now the time right after class ended, and Sakayanagi tends to talk to me during this period of time. Perhaps she likes engaging in an intellectual conversation with someone closer to her level of intelligence? Or maybe she is trying to use my observation skills to decipher what she wants more explanation on, or trying to find out how I think. Either way, it doesn't matter. As long as she doesn't get in my way or pry too much into my past, I will leave her be. Should she do so... it will not end well.

I suppose she is the closest person I have to a 'friend' in this school. After him, I never thought I'd think this way again. I wonder if he was a psychic. He told me that something like this might happen one day, but I never did believe him... Ah, I haven't thought of him in a while. He was too kind for this world. Far, far too gentle, kind, soft spoken and his smile... was like the sun in a clear blue spring sky. Much like his namesake.

Flash back

When I was four years old, most of the people around me, including myself, were studying hard or training to survive. However, in his leisure time, there was a boy who did neither of these things. He would take some paper, a pen, a pencil, an eraser, and draw and ink, every time he got the chance. One day, my curiosity got the better of me. "What are you doing?" I approached him, tapping his shoulder. He flinched at the physical contact, and was brought back to reality through that.

He looked over to me and chuckled sheepishly. "Haha... sorry. I'm drawing everyone here." He pointed to his papers, which had rough sketches of all of us toddlers, and some notes on what features to add on later. "Shouldn't you be studying? Aren't you worried you will fail?" I asked, still not sure of the reasoning behind his decision. He looked up at me, and smiled as bright as the sun said in the books. "Don't worry! I believe! I believe that if I do my best, I can pass! However, it's important to relax and unwind, so I enjoy drawing these to lighten my mood." He gestured to the papers behind him.

This concept intrigued me. Will he truly survive? Will these hours he spends doing useless activities really amount to something? Is relaxing that important? I don't understand. After that conversation, I had an interest in him. I wanted to understand his methods and his reasoning, so after I studied and trained, I would always inevitably walk to his side and talk with him. He never minded, even though I sometimes got in his way, and instead laughed it off. He seemed to have infinite patience. No, he definitely had infinite patience.

As the days passed, neither of us failed in completing our tasks, thus we could continue with these sessions. "By the way, what's your name? I never did ask." He smiled at me, gently and comfortingly, as if inviting me to share his warmth. My face never did change in expression, so I suppose he never did know what I was thinking. "I'm Ayanokoji Keiko. And you?" He chuckled. "As monotone as always, Keiko. I heard your father is the professor?" I nodded in response. "Don't mind! I'm sure he loves you! Even if it's really deep, deep down his heart..." he traced the left part of both our chests down.

"No matter what, love never dies. Familial love, motherly love, fatherly love, sibling love, romantic love, friendship love... No matter what, you can't lose it. And that's my guarantee.

Oh, and my name is Haru. Inura Haru, nice to know you!"

Flash back end

I left the classroom soon after my conversation with Sakayanagi. It's getting cold again, since it's nearing the end of summer. I suppose this is an adequate time to engage in physical activities. Will this competition be used to change class rankings? Definitely. Many will take this opportunity to earn more points for their class to overtake the next class. We still have a medium sized gap between us and class B, so we can use this chance to widen the gap so that it will be impossible to overtake us.

I walk to the supermarket to buy some things to cook. Maybe... soba? Haven't tried that before. When I cooked previously, I never got to taste my own food, since it would ruin my diet, since all I got to eat was nutritional, yet bland food. Is it supposed to be better for development? I think so. However, because of that, by coming to this school, the effect of having a worse experience than the bad experience I'm having right now made this current situation seem much better. I can eat so many different kinds of food, I can sleep in my own room, I can wear clothes that aren't just plain robes...

I sure set the bar low. This must be quite a normal experience for average people, except for the part about independence and living alone, with no contact with the outside world. Many seem to distract themselves from it, but I like to think about that rule as a safety net. This way, I don't have to return until graduation or report back to that man, and am free to do as I wish. He cannot forcefully remove me for a while yet. He wants me to do something here, after all. That's why I was sent here.

This is an institution that produces fine graduates every year without fail. The place I came from barely even has graduates. Most don't make it out of there, some will be there for a while yet. That man wants to find out how they manage to produce such fine graduates in a way different from his. Of course, they pale in comparison to the graduates from that place, but the end result is still suspiciously close to those who are stuck in that place. Although it might be thinking too much to say that graduates from class A are of nearly the same level as undergraduates of that place, they are still at least half of the level of those undergraduates, which is more than exceptional in normal human society.

So, the sports festival. I wonder what will happen then?