The Ayanokouji Twins

Chapter 3: The Twins, Giving a Reality Check

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka POV:

Today is the day I will present my findings to the class.

Honestly, it was quite impressive how many suspicious things I could find out just by taking the time to look.

I met and talked with senpais, teachers, and nearly everyone else I could get my hands on, but in total it only took one school day. I suppose the difficulty lies not in discovery, but in having the awareness to and preventing your temptations from clouding judgement.

In conclusion, with a calm mind and half a brain, you can easily notice something's off.

And the thing is, I have a calm mind and a whole brain.

Which, based on what Kiyone gathered during her socializing session, is unfortunately more than can be said for a majority of our class. Well, it's very unfair to evaluate them on our standards, but I wish they weren't so lackadaisical.

So, let me give them a wake-up call early, before we could devolve into stupidity and potentially shoot ourselves in the foot.

It's only the third day. I would be surprised and impressed if anyone managed to spend more than 20,000, even accounting for necessities, whimsicality and stupidity. Well, human stupidity is often said to be unmeasurable...

Either way, as we approach the school gates around 8:15, I find myself knocking marks off a mental checklist. One might take that as a sign of nervousness, but for me it's more... assurance. Rather than fearing failure, the White Room traffics your mind into insuring success. I have time right now, and making sure I have everything is not exactly taxing nor mentally distracting, so why wouldn't I do it?

Well, though I'm saying that, this plan doesn't require that much caution: it's not like death is on the line.

"Hey, can I clap for you at the end?"

And Kiyone, who understands this more of a low-stakes presentation than an executed plan, asks me in a light tone of voice. There's nothing to be worried about here, unlike with yesterday.

"Sure, clap when you feel its appropriate. You can even cheer, if you want."

"Maybe. If I can think of a fitting cheer."

"Don't overwork yourself thinking about it."

As we arrive at the half-filled class, I make eye contact with Horikita who looks like she's been waiting for a bus that should've been hear an hour ago: that is to say, tense and dissatisfied.

Well, there's only a few minutes left before class starts, so its perhaps understandable.

As her scowl turns into a full-on death glare, Horikita jumps out of her seat—silently, because she's a good student—and marches towards me with veiled anger. Kiyone, seeing the oncoming storm, simply gives me a pat on the back and sneaks off to her desk.

Horikita comes right up to me. "You're late." She whispers.

"I'm just on time." I answer her.

"Barely on time, more like." As she talks, we step out into the halls, closing the class door behind us.

"But we both know what to do, right?"

"Well I have memorized the evidence, if that's what you're asking, but isn't this an important event you were almost late for?"

"Not exactly." I say. "It's only the third day of school. We have plenty of time to follow up after this, so it's not as if this presentation is the be-all-end-all. In terms of exams, this would be on the level of an in-class quiz rather than midterms or finals."