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...
After the discussion with Ryuuen and Shiina, Kiyotaka walked over to Keyaki Mall. He had a goal he wanted to complete today, which was related to the cultural festival and more specifically the maid cafe plan they were going with. He sent a quick text to Kei, asking for her to meet him at Keyaki mall as quickly as she could.
As he entered the mall, intending to take a seat by the sprawling fountain, Kiyotaka saw a familiar someone staring at the mall map with a grim look. It was an expression Kiyotaka never saw on the person, so he decided to go talk to them.
"You've been doing really well lately, Sudou," Kiyotaka remarked.
Sudou Ken, a tall boy with buzzed fiery red hair, orange eyes and a very muscular physique. He was Class B's athletic and sports prodigy, and was a star in the school's basketball club. It seemed that he hadn't noticed Kiyotaka until his name was called out, in which he reacted with a bit of a start.
"Huh!? Oh, it's you, Ayanokouji. Whaddya referring to there?"
"Your recent midterm score was better than anyone expected. You almost made it to the top ten, which is a huge achievement for you. Plus, with you and Yousuke currently leading the construction and design team, the cultural festival plans also seem to be going well." Kiyotaka clarified.
It was true Sudou had experienced huge growth. He had placed 11th place overall in the recent midterms, which didn't mean much since he wasn't in the top ten. However, when one compared this result to Sudou's scores from the start of first year, it was a huge achievement. Back towards the start of first year, not only was Sudou at the complete bottom of the academic table in their class, he was also almost expelled for failing a test.
"Oh, that." Sudou started. "I mean, yeah, I'm happy I got a good score on the midterms, but... I think I pretty much did as well as I thought I did, with how much effort I put into it and all. It's just... I dunno, I guess the best way to put it is that it felt the same as when you just grade your own test."
All the classes were given the midterm papers back after seeing the results. It seemed that Sudou had thoroughly checked his own when he got his back from Chabashira.
"I bet if the old you, from before you came to this school, saw the new you, he'd be pretty surprised."
Sudou chuckled, imagining his past self. "Haha. Yeah, definitely, dude. I bet he'd be yellin' at me all angry, like 'What're you studyin' and learnin' words and formulas for!? Don't waste your time on that stuff! Go and practice basketball more!' or somethin'."
"If your old self did tell you something like 'Don't waste your time!' how would the new you respond?" Kiyotaka couldn't help but ask.
"Huh? Hmm..." After stopping to think for a moment, Sudou put his answer into words. "I'd probably say... 'If you can't remember words and formulas, what are you gonna even amount to?' or something, I guess?"
