Act 14: Scene 6

After their afternoon homeroom was over, everyone was getting ready to leave. Another day had passed and while the students of Class D were still waiting for their monthly allowance to be sent to their accounts, they didn't ask about it again after their homeroom teacher made her statement clear regarding the issue earlier this morning.

But before anyone could step out of the room (except for Koenji, the guy was already out of the place as soon as the bell rang), Chabashira-sensei's voice boomed throughout the whole classroom.

"Miyake. I have to talk to you about something. Come with me to the faculty room," she called out to Akito, causing everyone else to turn towards the person she mentioned.

The magenta-haired teen was just finished checking his stuff when Sae called out his name. "For what reason, sensei?" Akito asked their teacher, looking confused on why he was being summoned to the faculty lounge.

"You'll know when you get there. Now, if you don't want to come with me, that's fine. However, you will face the consequences later." Chabashira-sensei folded her arms and sent a dead-serious expression to the young man, which sent him a little on edge for a moment.

"I'll go," he quickly said as he followed Chabashira-sensei out of the classroom. Before he could truly leave though, Miyake sent a quick nod in Hasebe's direction, as if he was silently telling her that he'll be fine and she should go on ahead.

"I thought Miyake was cool, but I guess he's just going to drag the class down. Wonder what he did to land himself a suspension?"

"That's kinda harsh. Maybe Sae-chan-sensei just wanted to talk to him. Plus, she didn't say anything about suspending him."

"Of course she wouldn't tell us that he got suspended! That would just be humiliating Miyake."

"Chabashira-sensei wouldn't hold back if she's just going to humiliate one of us, you know. Remember how she chewed us out last month when we almost lost all our points?"

"Oh yeah, she did... but what exactly did Miyake do, then?"

"Let's just wait until either he or sensei say something. Hasebe-san, you two are friends, right? I always see you two hanging out together."

"Yeah, why?"

"Would you mind telling us what happened with Miyake-kun if he tells you what's happening to him right now?

"I'll try, but if it's something private, I'm not going to say anything."

Kiyotaka watched the interaction between some of his classmates who were concerned with Akito's sudden departure with their homeroom teacher. At this point, they had no idea what could be the reason why he was summoned to the faculty lounge, but it wouldn't be crazy to say that he's being punished for something he did wrong. In fact, it was the most likely conclusion that everyone else was thinking.

"Do you think Miyake-kun did something wrong, Ayanokouji-kun?" Suzune asked, gaining Kiyotaka's attention as she placed her textbooks into her bag.

The young man shrugged. "I have no idea. I'm not even close to him to know what he does in his free time. But what about you, Horikita? This will require your concern if Miyake really did do something wrong and is in danger of being suspended."

"Hmm. I suppose it will." she replied, now thinking of that possible outcome and what they can do to handle it. "However, I'm a little more worried about what Chabashira-sensei said this morning."

"About our points being delayed?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. She said that there was trouble, but what exactly did she mean by it? Was she saying that there's a problem with the application that the school uses to send our points? Or did she mean that there's a problem with us, the students? If it's the latter..."

Kiyotaka shook his head. "You're overthinking things. Chabashira-sensei even said so herself, didn't she? We all worked hard to earn points for our class and even the school thinks the same. I doubt our class would be the only ones not to get any points. It's definitely the school having an issue."

"I hope you're right. Trouble directly affects our points. However, it still doesn't explain why we were given more than 100 points to our total class points for this month. "

"She can't get it out of her mind, huh? Well, I suppose the more you hide the answer from her, the more she gets curious about the issue," Kiyotaka thought to himself. "I do wonder if Horikita can figure it out on her own, though... if not, I suppose she would need a hint of sorts that can point her in the right direction."

Suzune eyed her neighbor up and down, like she was inspecting him for something. "You know, you've been quite talkative lately, Ayanokouji-kun."

"What are you talking about?" he replied, snapping out of his thoughts to look at the girl in confusion.

"You've changed. You're not the same as you were in the past."

"Would you mind elaborating?"

"When we first met, I could tell that you were quite unnerved whenever we talked, as if you were nervous about something I don't know. Even during our first weeks in this school, you were the same. However, you started to change after that. You no longer look unnerved when we talk, and you're even more talkative around other people now, whether it's our classmates or people from other classes," she explained, before a blush appeared across her face. "You've even gone as far as to... flirt with girls and kiss them..."

"Oi, in case you didn't hear it, I'll say it again. Everyone else has been kissing me, not the other way around," he deadpanned, as his thoughts shifted to a different direction. "Taking those into account, maybe I really have changed. But it's not because I wanted to. It's because of the system that I had to get used to all the crazy stuff that it can do, even if it meant wooing my supposed heroines. Then again, I can't say I regret all of this... as frustrating as this can be most of the time, I've come too far to give up on what I have. What better thing to do than to see through this until the end?"

Kiyotaka then thought about the start of his high school life, when he wished for something that could interest him in this school. Somehow, this was that 'something' and looking back on everything that has happened to him, it did make his life here interesting, even if it was at the cost of his sleep hours and his sanity... that last one was just an exaggeration, by the way.

"Did something make you change?" asked Suzune, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Well, if I had to think of a reason, I guess it's because I got used to attending this school while making some friends along the way. Before, I thought I would have a hard time making friends but so far, I think I'm managing well," he said, quickly fabricating an answer that doesn't involve what he was thinking just now.

"Your friends are mostly girls, though. I wonder why you don't have any more male friends other than Sudo-kun."

"It's not my fault that only girls have been approaching me. And it's not my fault that my dorm's located on a floor whose residents are mostly girls," he argued calmly before letting out a deep sigh. "And I can't tell you how much I wish to be friends with another guy. I can't talk to Sudo all the time, you know."

"Then maybe you possess some kind of magnet, Ayanokouji-kun. A magnet that attracts girls to you," she remarked sarcastically. "Perhaps I should warn Kushida-san and our other classmates about the possibility of you becoming a player who only plays with the feelings of the females around him."

Kiyotaka flashed her a smirk. "That includes you, right? Does this mean you actually like me, Horikita? I never would have guessed, considering how serious you are about pursuing your goal of reaching Class A."

Instead of getting angry with him as she usually would have, Suzune only blushed and hid her face from the young man, which was beginning to grow red.

"Never mind," the girl muttered, all while she was fighting an internal battle from within her mind. She thought about what Amasawa told her earlier in the morning before their homeroom began.

"Don't tell me you haven't realized it yourself, Horikita-senpai. It's quite obvious that you also harbor feelings for Ayanokouji-senpai."

"I cannot be having feelings for Ayanokouji-kun... no, I have to focus on my goal! I have to reach Class A, no matter what. These things cannot take priority! Ayanokouji-kun is a friend to me, my first friend even, but that's it! I do not have feelings for him. I do not... even if it felt wrong to see Kushida-san and the others kiss him...!" Suzune thought in an attempt to convince herself that she did not have any romantic feelings for Kiyotaka.

Meanwhile, all the way over to the office of the student council, Horikita Manabu felt the urge to smirk victoriously while he was signing some papers.

"I have a feeling that things are going well between Suzune and Ayanokouji-kun," he thought to himself in satisfaction.