40 #40 Stargazing

-----(Karuizawa's POV)-----

"Karuizawa-san, I can't always be there to protect you"

"I deem you unworthy of my protection"

When I heard his words I didn't know what to do. I started violently shaking in fear from the coldness he showed towards me.

I used to blame him for the bullying I had to suffer but later I discovered that it was just me blaming him for leaving me without any notice. He was a smartass who liked to tease me and I hated it yet it made me feel somehow happy. I didn't know what I actually felt before because I was only 7 years old back then but I think I understand now at least a little bit.

When I saw his back slowly distancing from me I couldn't take it anymore and thought to myself

Will I let him disappear from my life once again?!

I quickly ran to him and hugged him which wasn't the best idea since we were still in public and I was still "dating" Hirata but I couldn't care any less at that time.

Fortunately, I was able to convince him somehow but I am not sure if I am ready to fight against my past. What I was certain of was that I will become stronger just for him, he doesn't like to be around weak-willed people so I will become strong for the sake of being with him. It might sound weird...Why am I not trying to become strong for my own sake? I am sure that I wouldn't be able to fight my past on my own but I might have some confidence if I can be with him. As long as he doesn't abandon me again, I will try my best.

-----(Karuizawa's POV END)-----

That day, I also received mail from the school saying that the "Monkey" group already completed the exam.

Isn't that the group where Koenji is? I was starting to have a headache just thinking about that arrogant and spoilt brat but he indeed has some ability to back his arrogance. Although I still don't know if this has something to do with him, something tells me that nobody would be so crazy to make a move so quickly. And of course, he probably doesn't even care about this exam. But with that said, I am not thinking that he just threw random guess to end the exam. He might be arrogant but he is very observant and this is what you need during this exam.

Some people react in a different way than normally when given great responsibility or in other terms being the "target". Of course, he can't be sure of how they normally behave if he doesn't know them personally but he can still observe their tone of voice, body language, how they cooperate with others and lastly, observing their classmates.

One of the many reasons why I didn't tell anyone about me being the "leader" is that it's not just about my acting. It's about the acting of the entire Class and even Ichinose herself wants to first figure out "where" is the target instead of "who". If I revealed myself to my classmates they might try too hard to cooperate with others or they might have slightly lazy expressions or aura since they wouldn't be able to do anything at that moment. There is only a handful of people who could actually act like they don't know anything while being aware of who is the "target". Other people would just be too obvious. I myself am not totally confident in staying hidden during the entire exam.

I was slowly realizing that trying to gather a lot of class points during this exam is almost impossible. I would have to be part of all groups to actually find out the targets.

I am no god, esper or even genius to find out who is the target from other groups with just a bit of information...I might have a photographic memory and slightly supernatural strength but that doesn't mean I can use the information I memorized in the right way. I never thought of myself as a genius and I never will. I am only slightly more experienced in life than other students, which makes me only slightly more intelligent. I will have to try harder if I actually want to overcome some students of my age who are actually "geniuses". I clenched my fist while lying on the bed and thinking about the future.

Tch, I need some fresh air. I clicked my tongue and prepared to leave my room but I was stopped by my roommate.

"Walker-kun? Why are you leaving when it's already so late at night?" Ike-kun asked me while playing some games on his phone.

"I need to get some fresh air and why are you still awake playing the games?" I stopped right in front of the door and turned at him while gripping the handle.

"Haaa? What do you mean WHY? This is the newest RPG game and it's truly addictive. I am already playing it for numerous hours, I even wanted to stop and get some sleep but I just can't beat this dungeon!!! It's too frustrating to stop right now without beating it" Ike enthusiastically

showed the screen of his phone to me and I saw a few mobs with a red name.

Ghosts, demons, and undead?

"Open your character menu and show me your gear" I said casually.

"Oh? Are you thinking about playing this game too?" Ike asked me with a happy expression, seeing that there is yet another gamer.

He showed me his gear and I noticed most of them were resistant to water or increased water-based attacks. I threw him a weird look and opened the door to leave.

"Hey! Wait, why did you want to see my gear?" He quickly asked when he saw me leaving.

I just looked at him and smirked.

"Use fire or light-based equipment you dumbass" With that I closed the door and left him there alone with a bewildered expression on his face.

I am not really a "gamer" but these facts are pretty obvious even to people without any experience with games. It seems that he isn't an idiot only in real life.

I was taking a walk on the ship's deck for a while until I came across something really interesting.

"Chie, how about you? What happened to your last boyfriend?" Mashima-sensei asked Class B's homeroom teacher, Hoshinomiya-sensei.

What a great first thing to hear while eavesdropping on your teachers... I thought sarcastically.

Class A's Mashima-sensei, Class B's Hoshinomiya-sensei, and even my Sae-chan is there. I joked inside my head while observing who actually was standing near the vending machine.

"Haha, I broke up with him after 2 weeks. You know, I am that type of girl who does it with a man and end it before the relationship gets serious" Hoshinomiya-sensei laughed a bit after replying.

...This woman makes me want to leave. Does she perhaps know that I am here and this is her strategy to get rid of me? I thought while looking at her weirdly.

"That's usually the man's line, you know..." Mashima-sensei replied with a strange expression.

"Haha, but I am not doing it with Mashima-kun. I would hate to ruin our friendship" Hoshinomiya-sensei again stupidly laughed, I guess she is a bit drunk.

"And speaking of the relationships. Sae-chan, what do you have to say to your defense?" Hoshinomiya-sensei quickly changed her target.

"What do you mean?" Chabashira-sensei replied with a frown while slowly sipping some kind of alcohol.

"About that date of yours~"

Chabashira-sensei looked a bit surprised after hearing her words but she quickly returned to her normal plain expression.

"Haha, you can't hide anything that happens on this ship. Both of us already know about your date. I am really happy for you as your friend but isn't this forbidden love? Kiyaa~ it sounds even more romantic since it's forbidden" Hoshinomiya-sensei placed both of her hands on her red cheeks as if her friend did something scandalous.

*sigh* Chabashira-sensei just sighed and shook her head, seeing her drunk friend's acting.

What kind of fetishes does that woman have? Alright, I won't listen to this rubbish and only pay attention when they say something actually interesting.

..

"More importantly, what are you thinking, Chie? Generally, the policy was to put all the representatives of each class in the "Dragon" group" Mashima-sensei asked a pretty interesting question so I paid attention to this part of their conversation.

"In terms of attitude and grades, Ichinose-san is definitely the top of my class but that doesn't necessarily mean success in society..." Hoshinomiya-sensei then continued speaking how Ichinose belongs to the Rabbit group just based on cuteness but I wasn't buying it.

"Is that really the only reason?" Chabashira-sensei asked her friend with a suspicious look.

"I genuinely thought Ichinose-san shouldn't be in the Dragon group. By the way, why wasn't Walker from your class placed there, Sae-chan? I don't really know what exactly happened during the Survival test but I know that at least portion of it was his work" Hoshinomiya-sensei responded with an attack.

"Did you forget that only representatives of class are sent there? Walker-kun is by no means representative of my class" Chabashira-sensei said with a calm expression

"Ohhhh!" Hoshinomiya-sensei gasped aloud with a shocked expression that surprised both of her friends.

"What is it?"

"You are still on second-name basis with him?!" Hoshinomiya-sensei asked with a shocked face, it was really hard to tell if she was joking or she was genuinely surprised.

...

I waited until they split up and I followed after Chabashira-sensei and when she finally stopped on the deck, I came to her and greeted her.

"Oh? Are you here to stargaze too? What a coincidence, teach" I said lightly with a grin.

She turned at me and showed a bit surprised expression but then frowned and asked me.

"How much have you heard?"

Hehe, I guess she isn't stupid.

"What do you mean, teach?" I asked with a confused expression.

She narrowed her eyes but after a while, she threw me a small smile.

"Heh, whatever. It doesn't matter even if you have heard everything. You probably knew most of the things already"

"Well, you indeed have a very interesting friend. I wonder how many fetishes she has" I said with a wide grin.

"Watch it...you are still talking about your teacher" She reprimanded me with a light smile.

"Yes, yes. Did she place Ichinose in the Rabbit group to observe only me or even Ayanokoji?" I asked her with a serious expression.

*sigh* "...Probably both, I am not sure" She took out a cigarette to ease her nerves but when she lighted it up, I took it from her hands before she could put it in her mouth.

"What are you doing?" She raised her brow while expecting my reply.

"Smoking cigarettes isn't healthy you know, teach?"

"What is it to you?" She frowned upon hearing my words, she probably already heard it many times.

"I care about my sensei's health. If you need to ease your nerves then how about watching the stars with me and if you will need it even after that, I might reconsider giving you half of it" I said with a playful smile.

"What do you mean 'half'?"

Without replying to her question, I put the cigarette into my mouth and started to inhale.

"Wait! You can't smoke!" Chabashira-sensei tried to take it away but I easily evaded her hand.

"Calm down, no one is around here to see me and I also have a hood on" I reassured her.

"Haven't you said that smoking isn't healthy?"

"Well, if you ain't gonna stop smoking I might as well help you a bit by sharing the suffering" I said with a chuckle.

She threw me a suspicious look when she saw me smoking without any problems or coughing.

"What can I say? I am a bit of hypocrite, haha" I awkwardly laughed at her suspicion.

I used to smoke a bit in my past life when I was having a hard time so I still remember the sensation.

"How nice it would be to just fly freely through space without any goals or worries" I mumbled while observing the Milky Way on the sky with a nostalgic face.

"...How old are you?" Chabashira-sensei asked me with a serious look which surprised me a bit.

"I will turn 16 very soon. Are you perhaps planning to buy me a present, teach?" I joked a bit.

"...sure" She looked like she was deep in thoughts and answered without even thinking.

We spent a big part of the night watching the stars visible on a clear night sky while chatting from time to time.