14 Chapter 14 - Alone

---Notice---

We are doing well on power ranking. Please donate powerstones if you enjoy. I want to see how high up we can get!

**Please let me know what you think with comments and reviews!**

--------------------------------

"Loneliness is not lack of company, loneliness is lack of purpose." ~Guillermo Maldonado

"I have something important to ask you. Would you mind accompanying me outside for a moment?" I say to Kamuro, ignoring the curious glances from the class.

She frowns and shakes her head. "No, thank you. I don't have anything to say to you." She replies firmly.

"I see. That's unfortunate," I say, feigning disappointment. "But I suppose it can't be helped. Maybe it's better this way." I say, getting off the seat I was crouching on. Kamuro was stubborn, but she was valuable. I had observed her closely with Sakayanagi, and she was a convenient link to one of class A's representatives.

I scan the class and notice the white-haired girl who caught my eye earlier Arisu Sakayanagi. She is looking at me with a hint of curiosity, but also boredom. I wonder if she has any idea what I am planning, or if she is just hoping for some entertainment.

Kamuro was the most convenient and reliable option to achieve my goal, but not the only one. I will have to adapt and improvise. I don't want to make my connection to the Sakayanagi faction too obvious, after all. Talking to Kamuro was less suspicious than talking to Sakayanagi herself in class, but some people might still get suspicious if I did it too often. Not that they could guess my true intentions.

I search the room for another target. "Perfect," I mutter to myself when I spot one. I walk out of class A and wait. The students leave in groups, but after a few minutes, a lone girl comes out, her eyes fixed on her phone.

She is the perfect target. I had seen her before, but I wasn't sure which class she belonged to. She was clearly a loner, though. I doubted she had any affiliation with the Katsuragi faction, since they tended to be more vocal and proud of their association. The Sakayanagi faction was more subtle and quiet, but I didn't see much evidence of the girl's affiliation with them either.

This girl was either ignored by her class, or preferred it that way. She reminded me of Ayanokoji, but not quite. Ayanokoji, despite his average appearance, had something distinctive about him. This girl was just bad at socializing and had a weak presence. That's why she seemed like an outsider in class A. Even now, she was walking through the hallway, absorbed in her phone, indifferent to the world around her. And the world was indifferent to her.

But it's those kind of people who crave connection the most.

"Hello there, do you have a minute?" I ask the girl as she walks down the hall, her black ponytail swaying from side to side. But she ignores me.

"Didn't you hear me?" I ask the girl, but she continues walking at the same pace.

I decided to tap her on the shoulder. "Sorry, can you hear me? Or are you just not interested in talking to me?" I ask the girl.

She looks surprised by my touch and questions, and she turns to face me with her blue eyes. She glances around to see if there was anyone else in the hallway. "I'm sorry… are you talking to me?" She asks, still confused.

"Yes, who else?"

She stays silent for a moment, then puts her phone in her pocket. "Sorry, I just didn't expect you to talk to me. What do you want from me?" She asks.

"I wanted to know if you had some time. I wanted to talk to you." The girl seems hesitant. "What's your name?" I ask.

"My name? It's Miki Yamamura." She answers quickly.

<Image >

"Yamamura, well, it's nice to meet you. As you heard, I'm Eru. I just wanted to talk to you for a bit. I promise I have no bad intentions for you or your class. I'll even pay for your food."

Yamamura slowly nods her head. "Uhmm, okay, I guess." She doesn't seem very sociable, but she doesn't seem to mind the attention either.

"Well then, do you have a favorite spot or anywhere you want to go?"

She stays silent for a second, then says, "There's a cafe I've been wanting to go to, but the atmosphere doesn't suit me."

"Oh, you probably mean the pallet cafe, right? I understand what you mean. I rarely eat there alone, at most I'll get some sweets to go."

Yamamura has a bland expression and tone, and she doesn't show much interest in the conversation. But I don't think she is completely uninterested since she agreed to go with me and told me about the cafe. She probably just doesn't express herself much or isn't sure how to.

"Why did you come to class A? You talked to Kamuro for a bit, but you didn't stay long."

"I didn't stay for long or talk to many people because I didn't want to get involved in the class conflict. And I talked to Kamuro because I needed her help with something." I answer her as we exit the school together.

"Oh, I see. Is that why you are talking to me too?"

"Partly. I noticed you in the class and I found you interesting."

"Me? Interesting?"

"Yes, you are a pretty girl in class A and I saw that while most of the class was chatting, you were on your phone, packing your things, ready to leave. It's quite unusual, especially considering the power struggle in class A."

"Not everyone cares about that kind of thing." She says.

"That's true, but that doesn't explain why you isolate yourself from the rest of the class. You don't have to side with either of the two representatives, but you could still make some friends, right? It seems a bit extreme to avoid everyone."

She looks at me with her blank face, then looks ahead. "I'm just easy to overlook." She says after a second.

"I don't agree."

"What do you mean?"

"Maybe you think you are bland, boring, or invisible to others, but those qualities make you stand out from the crowd. You are special, in your own way. It's a quality unique to you." Yamamura stays silent as I speak.

"We are here." She says as we arrive at the cafe.

"Let's go then." I tell her, opening the door for her and then sitting at a table.

"What will you have?"

"I have a sweet tooth, so I think I'll have some cake with some tea. I usually go for the strawberry sponge cake, I recommend it, it's very good. And maybe some macarons too." I tell her as I look over the menu.

She nods her head. "Maybe I'll try it then." We place our order and then we stare at each other from our respective sides of the table.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"I actually wanted you to give this to Arisu Sakayanagi." I say to her as I take a letter out of my vest pocket and slide it across the table, making her eyes focus on the letter.

"I understand." She said as she weakly reached for the letter.

"I don't think you do. It's not a love letter if that's what you think." I tell her, making her look up at me. "It's more like a letter proposing an alliance between classes A and C for the time being. I believe Sakayanagi will find it interesting, at least."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I don't see any real danger in telling you. I don't think you are a gossip, and even if you were, the information I have given you would not ruin my plans if you leaked it."

She looks down at the letter and says "Ok." as our desserts arrive.

"Yamamura, have you ever had a friend?"

She stares into space for a bit. "When I was young, I thought I did."

"Can you explain?"

"I can't."

"I see. I guess human relations are quite complex. Well, Yamamura, if you want, I'll be your friend." I say, making her look up at me again. "As I said, I find you interesting, and I like interesting things. So, if you want, I'll be your friend. But having me as your friend will come at a hefty price."

"A price?" She looks at me with curiosity.

"Nothing monetary or of physical value, of course. What I want from you may not be valuable in material terms, but it is valuable to me." I say, before picking up my fork and eating some of my cake. Seeing me enjoy the sponge cake, Yamamura reaches for her fork and does the same.

"It's sweet." I keep looking at her. "It tastes good," she says looking at the cake.

"That's why it's my favorite," I reply. "Anyway, as I was saying, what I want from you is your loyalty, honesty, and trust. I don't like to associate with anyone who can't give me those three things, whether willingly or by force." To any normal person on the street, my words would sound like they came from the mouth of a heartless bastard, but value is derived from the perception of the beholder. To Yamamura, a single friendship could be worth giving up a part of herself and risking other possible friendships.

Take, for example, when people fall in love. It is often said that people will do crazy things for love, but that is an understatement. For love, some people are willing to throw away lifelong friendships, change themselves, and even give their lives away. These are all extreme cases, but Yamamura is not a regular girl. She said she never had a friend, but I can tell she truly desires one. So she might be one of those extreme cases. In the end, she has to answer the question of if what im asking for is indeed that extreme. But I don't think she will see it as such all relationships should be built on trust, that is a widely accepted idea so what I'm asking for should sound natural, what matters will be that she will not want to lose that trust if it will be the foundation of our association.

"Isn't it too one-sided?" She asks, but she doesn't refuse my offer.

"That's for you to decide." I say, wondering if she is okay with a friendship based solely on her trust.

She fiddles with her fork, then nods her head. "I want to belong somewhere, or to someone. It's not fun being alone. So, can I be your friend?" She asks, sounding emotionless and plain, despite the emotional nature of her question. It's almost comical, but I can sense the sincerity behind her words.

"Of course," I reply, noticing a faint smile on Yamamura's face.

"I'll remember this," she says, puzzling me with her meaning, but she doesn't seem to have any ill intentions, judging by her expression. "So, you want me to give this letter to Sakayanagi, right?"

"Yes, just give it to her in the morning."

It's quiet for a bit, but Yamamura decides to speak up. "Can you really help the Sakayanagi faction take control?"

"Yes, I can. But I would prefer if you remained neutral, if possible. I assume you don't care much about which faction wins, but for my plan, it would be best if someone who is not rejected by the Katsuragi faction can provide me with intel."

"Why?"

"You'll understand soon enough. Just be patient." I say, making her nod her head and take out her phone, pointing it at me.

"…" She stares at me for a bit, then says, "Your number." Hearing that, I take out my phone and transfer the information, and she just stares at her phone after receiving it.

Soon, it's time to pay the bill, and I take out my phone, but Yamamura does the same.

"Isn't class D low on points? I'll pay."

"The fools in my class are, but I probably have more points than you do."

"Are you sure? I don't mind paying. I wanted to come here, after all."

"Yes, but I also needed a favor from you. Though I'm not one to turn down a free meal, if you want to pay next time, be my guest."

"Next time?" She says, thinking to herself. "Alright." And with that, I pay for the meal, and we walk out of the pallet cafe.

"I'm surprised someone like you is in class D."

"Elaborate." I say, taking out some candy from my bag to enjoy on the walk to the dorms.

"Class A is obviously better than Class D. It was proven after the first month. Most people thought Class D was full of dumb or useless people after getting zero class points in the first month, but you don't seem like either of those things. You don't seem to be like me either, and you don't look like you're avoiding attention."

"I'm not sure if you are curious about why I was placed in Class D, or why it doesn't seem like I'm helping them. Oh, I see. You must suspect that the reason I was placed in Class D is the same reason I'm not helping them. That's smart of you. But you're wrong." I reply, and Yamamura looks at me.

"As you've probably figured out, the criteria for class placements has nothing to do with ability. You should've already suspected that, given that the representatives of Classes B and C are probably more exceptional than most of the students in your class. So, one can assume that the school believes there is a factor that bars me from achieving Class A. I am definitely helping Class D. It wouldn't be wrong to say that I'm their main contributor. I'm just helping in my own way."

"I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions."

"It's alright. I don't mind." I say as we enter the dorm elevator.

"Let's go out again soon." She says, and I nod my head, as I exit to my floor and enter my room.

Just a little more, and everything will be ready.

--------------------------------

**IMPORTANT NOTICE: I lied last chapter my plans for this week have been canceled last minute so you can expect some chapters this week! I will be going out one of these weeks though I will give a notice beforehand though.**

I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you all think.