The Sequel to The White Room Troubles is finally here! Follow Kiyotaka on his journey for freedom, peace of mind and the protection of the people he considers closest to him. It's All or Nothing for him. It is recommended to read The White Room Trou...
As the Monster left the karaoke room I had rented, I couldn't help but laugh maniacally.
"Ryuuen... You're being really creepy!" I heard Ibuki say to me in disgust.
"Oh come on Ibuki. You cannot say you don't find this amusing. Ayanokouji making such a deal with me and allowing freedom to do whatever I want when the time comes, I can't not laugh at it!"
Earlier, I had broken Suzune's shell to bring her back to her original feisty self. When she left, Ayanokouji stayed to talk and then discussed something with me. It was related to the Student Council elections and beyond.
I had to say, the bastard had been likely planning this since the Sports Festival, because he had proposed the same thing back then too. Today was just confirming whether I was still up to it.
Whether he actually beats Ichinose in the voting period or not, I don't know. But he says he will still keep his end of the bargain whether he wins or not.
"Speaking of, Ryuuen-san," Ishizaki began as he closed the door after leading Ayanokouji out. "What are we going to do about Yagami Takuya? We still need to get revenge for what he did to Komiya and Kinoshita, right?"
Ah, yes. My investigations into that incident put me through to Utomiya Riku, with the help of that first year Nanase Tsubasa. But further investigations finally drew me to the real culprit - Yagami Takuya.
My original goal was to destroy him in an act of revenge before getting him expelled. But, even I could tell of a strength that surpassed my own after my defeat at the hands of Ayanokouji. Beating Yagami through pure strength alone would end up in my defeat again and I was not ready to take that risk.
From there, I learned that Yagami was heavily interested in beating Ayanokouji, so I used Ayanokouji to force Yagami to hit rock bottom during the sports festival. Now, he was in a slump, the perfect position for me to fully destroy him before I expelled him. Now was the perfect opportunity to crush him!
"Not yet Ishizaki. It may look like the perfect time to take him out, but I'm still biding my time before I strike. He's still not yet at rock bottom, so we'll need to somehow push him down further. Only after that, I will finally be able to crush him."
It was the perfect way to attain victory. The perfect Ryuuen way to win!
"So what is our next plan to put him down?"
"We wait," Albert, who had been silent for a while, answered.
"As Albert has said, we play the waiting game. Once Ayanokouji puts us in the position we need, we'll be ready to conduct the next part of our plan. And I know who exactly to go for to put him down further."
My reports mentioned there was a girl in Yagami's class that was infatuated with him. Kaneko Eimi was her name.
I wasn't going to harm her or anything, at least not yet maybe, but she was definitely going to be useful in riling Yagami up when the time came. When the time to use her comes, I'll put the plan into motion.
"But that's unrelated right now. How are we doing with the mixtape?" I turned to Shiina.
"We have 3 songs right now. A full mixtape should consist of 6 or more, so we need 3 more at a minimum."
"Heh. Then we should continue to make more. Let's call it here today and head back. I'll ring you about what other ones we should do, Shiina."
So we packed our belongings and got ready to vacate the karaoke room. We were reaching the end of our arranged slot anyway. Ishizaki. Albert and Ibuki left first. But I noticed Shiina was still here, and she was specifically staring at me.
"What is it, Shiina?"
"Ryuuen-kun. I've been thinking about this for a while, so I want to ask you about it now."
"Go ahead."
"Kiyotaka-kun's abilities are greater than anyone else's in this school. Since bringing Katsuragi-kun into our class, have you ever thought of bringing Kiyotaka-kun in?"
What an interesting question, and one I've heard many times from Ishizaki before.
As much as I hate to admit it, Ayanokouji's abilities far outweighed my own. It was why I had set myself a goal of becoming stronger than ever before so I could take him on again.
But I've been asked many times, "what if Ayanokouji was in our class and we teamed up?" The monster that he was, it was true that if we teamed up, our class would be unstoppable. We would reach Class A in no time at all.
"It doesn't feel right to have Ayanokouji in our class. I'd much better have him as a rival that I can beat. It feels more fun that way," I gave my true and honest feelings to Shiina.
Normally I would avoid the question and force the person asking to not ask such a stupid question. But because this was Shiina I was talking to, I decided to be honest with her.
"That makes sense. But, Kiyotaka-kun and I are friends. It doesn't feel right to be fighting friends so often, don't you think? You consider him a friend as well, don't you Ryuuen-kun?"
Friend?
There ain't no way I consider that bastard a friend. He had beaten me to a pulp, destroyed my pride and made a mockery of my tactics. How could I consider anyone like that a friend?
But... When I thought about it more, I felt like I was lying to myself.
How did I really see Ayanokouji?
I definitely saw him as a bastard, he beat me up for god's sake!
I saw him as my rival, someone I intended to crush! Someone I intended to get my revenge on when the time came!
Did I see him as a friend?
"You shouldn't try to see him as a very close friend too often. You know what he's like, and we'll eventually have to fight him. He's an obstacle for us getting what we want."
The answer never came to me and I didn't know what to think.
"You're right. Sorry for the weird question, Ryuuen-kun."
The smile Shiina gave was so precious. This girl was too pure for her own good, but that was specifically why I kept her close. She was an important asset.
"Let's head back."
As we left, I still continued to think about what she asked.
Ayanokouji as a friend...
Perhaps that didn't sound too bad, but I wasn't ready to admit that out loud.
End of Ryuuen Kakeru Short Story...
A/N:
Honestly, Hiyori's spitting facts. Ryuuen and Kiyotaka would be real good friends. I'm sure Ryuuen, deep down, feels that way too and so does Kiyotaka. Perhaps a friendship route between the two of them could happen in this story? Who knows?
