Another Like Me - Part II (CoTE x OC)

𝕊𝕊.𝟘𝟛 - 𝔸𝕡𝕠𝕝𝕠𝕘𝕚𝕖𝕤 (𝕂𝕖𝕚 𝕂𝕒𝕣𝕦𝕚𝕫𝕒𝕨𝕒)

The evening sun shone brightly into the Special Building. The tiled floor reflected the rays, causing a glare to occur at certain areas.

"T-that's enough, Keisuke," I said meekly. "I think they've learnt their lesson, haven't they?"

"....."

I didn't get a response. I looked up at him, and he simply stood there, with his lips pursed in anticipation.

"You want to let them go?" he asked finally.

"Yes," I breathed out. "I..... I think they repent for what they did. It's enough. Let bygones remain bygones."

"I see..... if that's how you feel, then I'm fine."

I nodded hesitantly. Keisuke immediately ordered Nanami and Yamashita to scamper away, and he stared at Manabe for a few more silent seconds after that.

"Kei."

I blinked. "Y-yeah?"

"You should leave now. I have some things I need to speak about with Manabe here. In private."

"Huh?! We've got nothing to talk about, you freak!" Manabe seethed. Keisuke ignored the girl almost comically.

"Oh please. I'm the one who decides that."

Keisuke sent me one last look, and I immediately figured that it was my cue to leave.

I nodded, and immediately turned to walk away. I didn't want to spend another moment in there. The air had become suffocating.

I ran down the stairs of the Special Building. But just as I was about to push the exit door open, a sudden thought occurred to me.

Maybe it was curiosity that got the best of me, but I really wanted to know what Keisuke and Manabe were talking about.

I slowed down until I came to stop. I turned around and looked back up the stairs.

I had climbed down three flights of stairs already, but I was more than ready to walk right back up.

But he asked for privacy.....

My mind was torn between the two options. On one hand, I was dying to know what Keisuke even needed to say to Manabe. And on the other, I wanted to give him that little space that he had asked me for. Choosing an option was becoming hard.

I steeled my resolve.

He's..... he's not going to do anything bad, right?

Keisuke..... he isn't going to, you know.....?

I pushed the unnecessary intrusive thoughts out of my head. No way. Keisuke isn't heartless. He would never do something that derogatory.

But then, I thought the same of Kiyotaka when I first met him, didn't I.....?

I thought Kiyotaka was just another lazy and incompetent fool, who would lounge around in the class with no contribution to it whatsoever. But after the Zodiac Exam, he revealed his true self to me, and I was once again forced to reevaluate my initial impression.

Keisuke and Manabe..... they're right there. Just three floors above where I stand, within arm's reach.

I'm curious.

I'm extremely curious.

I want to know what they're talking about.

I hesitantly turned my back to the door, and took my first few steps up the stairwell instead. I would have to climb up to the Third Floor.

As I slowly climbed up the steps, I began to reminisce and think about all the memories I had of Keisuke. His charming personality, his quiet-but-funny and witty comebacks, and how he helped me get over my damaged past.

And most recently, how I had accidentally gotten to know a little bit about his past, too.

I wasn't intending on eavesdropping outside his door in the first place. All I heard were voices behind the door, and I was positive that Keisuke was speaking to someone else. I just wasn't expecting to catch on to something that serious.

I still remember the words I had heard clearly - about him being homeschooled, not attending any middle school, being raised by people who didn't care for him.....

I tightened my fists. At first glance, there's no way you can tell that Keisuke is hiding something. He looks and acts like the person who's got everything in life sorted out.

But maybe that's what it all is - just an act.

Beneath that tough exterior, and beneath man we all know, Keisuke is a victim. But he doesn't allow anyone to know that. Nobody knows anything about this.

He's a victim, just like me.

And that is why I can relate to him.

He's a person who knows the dark depths of what I've been through. He knows the pain of reliving the horrors of your past, so he does his best to bottle it all up, just like me.

What Keisuke did for me today..... it made me happy.

To be honest, I didn't ask for retribution. Even though Manabe and her gang had given me a really hard time on the ship, it was a long time ago. And seeing that Kiyotaka had everything under control, I didn't think much of it. I pushed it away into the deeper depths of my mind.

But today, Keisuke let me taste..... revenge.

He made Manabe grovel in front of me, and apologize to me. He made her entire gang bow down to me on their knees, with their heads on the floor.

And for that little bit of time that I was up there, I felt relieved.

I felt liberated, and free. I felt sweet.

Does that make me a bad person? Does that make me as despicable as them?

I don't have the answers to these questions, to be fair. I have no idea whether what Keisuke did for me was going to have any lasting repercussions. But for now, I didn't think about it.

I reached the Second Floor. I could hear their voices, but they were quite soft and muffled. I needed to get closer.

"Kei."

I almost jumped out of my skin when I heard that voice. I turned around to see Kiyotaka right behind me, with his usual stoic expression.

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

"Come on," he said, and he raised his left hand for me to clutch. "Let's go."

"....."

I couldn't really say no to him. I wordlessly nodded, and latched onto his hand. Kiyotaka led me down, and outside the building.

"How did you know..... that I was in here?" I asked slowly.

"..... Keisuke told me."

"He told you that I was here?"

"Yes," Kiyotaka replied. "And he told me to make sure that you left the building, and did not travel upstairs to eavesdrop on their conversation."

I bit my lips harshly. I didn't have a response, after all.

Keisuke..... he already knew what I was going to try and do, and he devised a foolproof way to avoid that from happening.

Keisuke's goals..... I don't understand what he wants. I really don't understand what he's going to get out of doing this.

But to me, maybe all of that is just meaningless. He did, after all, help me get my revenge.

Maybe after all of this, maybe after everything gets over, I owe him a little apology.

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Word Count : 1108 words