Chapter 3 - Preparations

".. An.. Experiment Class..?" Someone parroted. It was someone whom had kept quiet, all this time, since Kiyotaka didn't recognize the voice.

Looks like the quiet ones finally decided to talk. For now.

"Yes, that's right. This is a class that was never meant to exist. Well, until several geniuses began to apply, all at once." At that word 'several', Kiyotaka's eyes narrowed.

He knew he wasn't just seeing things. Ellen definitely eyed him specifically at that word. It made suspicions grow in his heart.

Could it possibly be..?

"️S̴̨̛͇̺͇͕̟̘͎̗͖̙͍̭̞͇̒͆̀͝ȟ̸̨̯̲̝̳͓͎̭͖͊̄̔̽̓̂̋̇̋̀̕̚͜ẹ̷͓̺̰̽̍͛̉̐̔͋̓̚͜ k̵̨̪̖͇͙͎̜͊̌͘͜️ṉ̵͓̬͈̞̥̭̥̇̓̔͋o̶̯͎̱͐̇͋̅̃̈́͋̽̊̀̓͊̃́͋̓ŵ̵̨̢̳̞̤̝̖̠̘̩̞̘̭͍̘̐́̈͑̈́̐̂̔̽̓͋̂̔ͅ️ş̵̛̳̍̃̏͆̏̂̎͌͘͝͝͝͝.."

"️S̴̨̛͇̺͇͕̟̘͎̗͖̙͍̭̞͇̒͆̀͝ȟ̸̨̯̲̝̳͓͎̭͖͊̄̔̽̓̂̋̇̋̀̕̚͜ẹ̷͓̺̰̽̍͛̉̐̔͋̓̚͜ k̵̨̪̖͇͙͎̜͊̌͘͜️ṉ̵͓̬͈̞̥̭̥̇̓̔͋o̶̯͎̱͐̇͋̅̃̈́͋̽̊̀̓͊̃́͋̓ŵ̵̨̢̳̞̤̝̖̠̘̩̞̘̭͍̘̐́̈͑̈́̐̂̔̽̓͋̂̔ͅ️ş̵̛̳̍̃̏͆̏̂̎͌͘͝͝͝͝ ŵ̵̨̢̳̞̤̝̖̠̘̩̞̘̭͍̘̐́̈͑̈́̐̂̔̽̓͋̂̔ͅȟ̸̨̯̲̝̳͓͎̭͖͊̄̔̽̓̂̋̇̋̀̕̚͜o̶̯͎̱͐̇͋̅̃̈́͋̽̊̀̓͊̃́͋̓ y̷̧̰̲͍̝̘̗̩̑̇͐̾̽̏͊͑̇̃̉͜o̶̯͎̱͐̇͋̅̃̈́͋̽̊̀̓͊̃́͋̓u̴̢̠͎̲̗̮̤̥̪̖̦͈͕͛̈́̀̒̒̄̚͠ t̵̏͛̃̍́̈̚͜͝ŕ̶̛̰̱̈́̀́̑̿̾͛͂̈́͗̓̈́̒͘͝️u̴̢̠͎̲̗̮̤̥̪̖̦͈͕͛̈́̀̒̒̄̚͠l̷̢̨̨̫̼͙̞͉̗͉̖̲̖̞̿̉y̷̧̰̲͍̝̘̗̩̑̇͐̾̽̏͊͑̇̃̉͜ â̸̙͐͑̌̿͛̽ŕ̶̛̰̱̈́̀́̑̿̾͛͂̈́͗̓̈́̒͘͝️ẹ̷͓̺̰̽̍͛̉̐̔͋̓̚͜.."

Kiyotaka shrugged. It was probably nothing. He must be overthinking things once more.

Lately, it had been happening a lot. So, this time, maybe he shouldn't trust his guts and thinking.

"Everyone here is a genius at what they do. From engineering, electronics, sports, to academics. To add to that, there is a balance in all of you. A balance which most students in this school lack.

Some just excel in Academics. And some just excel in sports. Thus, you have been regarded as someone who is not as well as the Class A students, nor are you far worse than Class B students.

With this, since this class is a secret for now, everyone must work together to hide the fact that they came from this class." Ellen finished, earning silence from the whole class.

No one expected her answer. A class, full of geniuses in their own right.. It was the answer they were least expecting.

But, they were grateful that at least, they weren't the worst class.

'Class full of Geniuses, huh? This has to be my old man's doing..' Kiyotaka thought, his face morphing into an annoyed expression.

Unlike Kaori, who didn't really try to hide her talents, Kiyotaka flunked some questions on his entrance exams. After all, he didn't want to stand out as much.

And so, he knew had scored at just around Eighty to Ninety points. It wasn't too high, nor too low to what he assumed Kaori's score would be, so he'd still be classmates with her.

So, by that, he knew it wasn't due to his Entrance exams. But rather, it was because someone from the outside knew about his talents, and past.

And no, he didn't appreciate that fact.

'And here I am hoping for a life free from my White Room past.' He sighed hopelessly.

For now, Kiyotaka prayed that, the people who knew about his past in this place can just be counted with a single hand.

Because if not, his peaceful life away from that hell might be over.

"Are there any more questions?" Ellen asked, seemingly noticing the silence enveloping the classroom.

Kiyotaka knew that his classmates still had a lot of questions. Their skeptical faces really said a lot.

However, he also knew that no one would bother speaking up. He doesn't really understand why, but he supposed it must be because of the tense atmosphere.

He guessed that his classmates were feeling really pressured by this tense atmosphere brought upon by this topic, and couldn't bring themselves to speak further.

Well, he was already satisfied, anyways. So he didn't care any longer.

"Your Second Entrance Ceremony will begin im Fifteen Minutes. Make sure everyone is already by the Gymnasium by then." Taking everyone's silence as a sign that no one had anymore questions, Ellen finished her discussion, and left the room.

The moment she left, the classroom became eerily quiet. It was like everyone was having an existential crisis, all at this single moment.

Kiyotaka knew it wasn't just him, but everyone else, that was waiting for someone, anyone, to cut this tense atmosphere within the room.

And thankfully, someone did.

"Erm- Everyone, if I could have your attentions, please." Kaori asked, earning the Class' undivided attention.

Noticing this, Kaori stood up from her seat, and stationed herself at the teacher's podium.

Kaori exuded an aura of leadership, and charisma. It wash almost like, everyone was being pulled towards her.

And, without even noticing it, everyone focused on her, and her alone.

'Perfect. As expected of Kaori.'

"Normally, I'd take this chance to make everyone introduce themselves. But honestly, we have a better use of our time than doing that.

Logically speaking, introductions can be done online, anyways. So, let's focus at the bigger matter at hand.

If what Ellen-sensei said is true, then, there would be an obvious fight between classes in the near future. As such, I'd like to ask everyone how we'll tackle this. Shall we take on a defensive stance, or an offensive stance?" Kaori's words woke everyone up, bringing them back to the reality.

It was the moment when everyone realize that this was truly real. They were actually in such a competition, right now.

"Knowing this piece of information is a very big advantage for us. We already know what will happen next, and what might make us lose our points. But, that's not the same for the other classes.

This month could be our only chance to get as ahead from the other as much as possible. As such, I want to ask everyone if we wait until they eventually know this information, or if we attack, right now." The class grew silent at Kaori's point.

They knew they have to make a choice. If they want to get ahead, Kaori was right. This was their only chance.

"In that case, Hironaka-san, would you be willing to lead this class to achieve that?" Shinomiya asked, her empty gaze drilling unto Kaori's determined ones.

Shinomiya didn't ask it because she wanted Kaori to lead. She asked it because she wanted to know if this girl would really be willing to be the scapegoat of this class.

She didn't want to be lead. However, the risks of leading this secret class wasn't something she wanted to carry. It was such a huge burden, after all.

She herself knew that Kaori had hidden intentions behind her stepping up. But it didn't matter to her. Shinomiya would use Kaori, and in return, Kaori would use her, too.

That was fine. Because as long as Shinomiya wouldn't take the fall, it wouldn't matter.

Kaori herself knew what Shinomiya was implying. But, it was the plan from the very start, anyways.

This was one of her greatest talents. And she'll use it to its full potential.

"If that's what everyone wants, then I'll do it. I'm quite confident in what I can do, after all." That was all what Shinomiya needed to hear.

She just needed someone that can take the fall. To be her scapegoat. All to protect herself to what may come their way.

"In that case, let us go offensive."

"If we're going offensive, then we shouldn't be too obvious. I believe that we should first start-" And so, their discussion went on, and on.

Of course, I wouldn't spoil it. Keep reading to eventually find out what they talked about, eh?

♕✾—✾♔

The 2nd Entrance Ceremony went by in a flash. It was already afternoon when our characters had finished. And by this time, around 70-80% of the students are going to their dormitories.

"I live on the Eight Floor. What about you?" Of course, we're following Kaori and Kiyotaka, whom were walking towards a nearby convenience store.

While they had already visited the unit they'll stay in, so they already got their Keycards for their dorms, they both wanted to buy necessities first. And so, they had settled on going to the store first.

But somewhere along the way, a new addition came onto their group.

"I'm on the 4th floor."

"Woah, same!" Akabane, Kiyotaka's seatmate, exclaimed with excitement.

Somehow, this hyper boy had made it into Kiyotaka's currently small circle of friends. And now, he had nothing better to do, but to "Third wheel between yonods in agreement. ding to him.

"All of us are in the same unit, right?" Akabane asks, to which Kaori nods in agreement.

"Then that means we'll see each other every day, eh? Imagine if we're roomates, Ayanokouji-kun!! That'll be really hilarious isn't it?!" Akabane excitedly proposed. However, rather than seeming excited in a good way, he seemed excited in a devious manner.

Kiyotaka knew that this wasn't good. Akabane was definitely up to no good.

And so, he prayed to some god out there that hopefully, Karma isn't his neighbor by some chance.

"Man, are you his Girlfriend, Akabane-kun?" Kiyotaka face palmed at Kaori's words. At this point, with how Akabane was acting, he wouldn't even be surprised by those words.

"Well, I mean, Ayanokouji-kun IS pretty good looking."

"Woah, do you actually swing that way?"

"Yeah, no. I'm into girls, unfortunately." The word unfortunately somewhat ticked Kiyotaka off.

He had sincerely wished once more that if, at any point in time, this man called Akabane Karma becomes gay, he wouldn't be attracted to him.

"I'm on room 401." Akabane's eyes widened at Kiyotaka's answer. And slowly, dread began to fill Kiyotaka's heart as he saw Akabane's signature devious look.

There was no way, right..?

"... I'm in room 402, Ayanokouji-kun.."

"ARGH DANG IT!" Kaori laughed at Kiyotaka's comedic response, and at Akabane's evil face.

These two seemed like a pretty iconic duo, she thought. They get along really well, too.

'I'm glad you're finding more people you can have fun with, Kiyotaka-kun..' She thought to herself with a smile.

All in all, she was just glad that her friend finally has someone other than her than he can depend on.

Eventually, time passed, and they arrive at the Convenience store. Since Karma had a totally different plan for buying stuff(he wanted to buy more 'exciting' things, according to him), he split up with Kaori and Kiyotaka.

Leaving the two of them alone once more.

"He's so full of energy, isn't he?"

"Geez, you sound like an old man, Kiyo." Kiyotaka laughed at Kaori's pout.

Somehow, even though they're just shopping, moments like these were precious in Kiyotaka's heart.

Soon enough, he knew these peaceful moments would end. That's why for now, he wants to enjoy all of these.

"Let's see. Look, this milk is cheaper than the most."

"It's a single point difference.."

"And your point being?" Kiyotaka face-palmed. Was this the so-called poor-thinking mindset that he hears online?

It was just a single yen difference, so he didn't really see the point to that.

And yet, Kaori insisted in something else entirely.

"You're weird."

"You're just figuring that out now?" Kaori giggled, making Kiyotaka sigh in exasperation.

Just when he thought he had escaped Akabane's teasing tendency, he ended up with a silly girl instead.

But, their friendly exchange were interrupted when they saw something nearby.

No, it wasn't anything serious. There's no fights, nor anything. But, what caught their attention was the stack of meals that said, 'free meals'.

Of course, only second and third year students were getting stuff from these free meal bundles. And, they just assumed that these Senpais belonged to Class D.

"So running out of Private Points was actually possible, huh..?" As Kaori's words echoed in Kiyotaka's mind, endless possibilities began to form in his head.

These poor senpais..

If they're eating out of these Free Meals that probably weren't even good, He could use them for as long as he offers him money. After all, people would do anything to have money.

"Well, that's quite useful to know."

"What's quite useful to know?" Kiyotaka froze, recognizing a voice that neither belonged to Kaori, nor any girl he knew.

Whipping his head around, he saw a beautiful girl with gradient-red eyes, and dark hair. She was the same person Kiyotaka saw on the bus.

Her cold look somewhat mirrored Shinomiya, now that he thought about it. However..

'Shinomiya seemed more... Regal, and humble. Her aura is of elegance and nobility. She knows her limits. But this girl feels like she's just overconfident..' Man, if only I could tell you just how right you are, Kiyotaka.

"Sorry, do I know you?" Kiyotaka asled, feigning ignorance at the fact that he knew her, somewhat. But, this girl didn't seem like she was taking it.

"You were staring at me in the bus this morning. I wanted to ask you why, but you disappeared immediately after." Kiyotaka's brows raised at her answer.

Kiyotaka found it odd how this girl remembered him staring from something so little, and something that had already passed for hours.

Who was this girl?

"I'm sorry, I was just looking around, really. What's your name?" Kiyotaka asked with a charming smile, trying to act approachable towards the cold woman.

It was odd that this girl talked to her, but it goes along with Class E's current plan.

So for now, he'll tolerate her.

"Why should I tell my name to a stranger?" But this girl got creeped out from Kiyotaka's question, making him wonder if for the first time, his research was inaccurate.

He thought this was how he should interact with girls. Was he wrong?

"But you're the one that started talking to me."

"It's because you said about something being useful. If possible, I'd like to inquire all about it." Kiyoyaka felt his expression falter slightly at this woma- no, girl's response.

So, in short, she talked to him, because she wanted to know what he meant by his words earlier, even though he doesn't even know her name?

'Is she doing this on purpose to annoy me? Is this a prank? Or is she actually fucking serious about this? I barely even know her..' Kiyotaka argued in his mind.

For the sake of his sanity, however, he chose to remain quiet about the thoughts in his head.

"Kiyoo, what are you doing there? I'm already finished shopping, you know?" Kiyotaka's attention shifted from the girl before him, towards Kaori's familiar voice.

"Kaori..!" He cannot be more happy to see her. Finally, he can escape the girl that was throwing weird questions at him.

"Woah, you're acting weird. Are you okay?" Kaori teased while laughing, and while Kiyotaka felt abit annoyed, his gratefulness was far more than that.

Seeing that Kiyotaka's companion had returned, the girl huffed, almost as if Kiyotaka was the one bothering her.

"I'll take my leave, then. Goodbye." And she left, to which, Kiyotaka couldn't be more happy at.

He wondered who she was, and which class she came from.

She looked intelligent, and her body build seemed well maintained. Kiyotaka was confident that the girl was quite talented.

However, the way she carried herself told a whole different story. And so, he guessed that the girl must've belonged to Class D.

"You've had it hard, eh? That's Horikita Suzune from Class 1-D. Even her classmates dislike her, you know? They said she's got such a stingy attitude." At Kaori's words, Kiyotaka found himself in shock.

It hasn't even been a whole day ever since they had arrived at this school. And yet, she already had information from an another class.

"You sure work fast, huh?"

"I'm still not quite there. But, I've been working hard too, you know? I don't want to lose at the thing I'm the best at." Kaori winked, waving her phone around which showed a new contact.

The contact name wasn't familiar to Kiyotaka. However, Kiyotaka knew the glint in Kaori's eyes.

It hasn't even been a week since they came here. And yet, Kaori already found her new toy to play with.

Kiyotaka felt bad, but he knew that it'll eventually become useful for him. That's how Kaori always worked, after all.

Even as she enjoys herself, she always finds a way to make it useful for him. That's what makes her really useful.

"I̸̡̛̳͌̉͋͐͒̍️ş̵̛̳̍̃̏͆̏̂̎͌͘͝͝͝͝ t̵̏͛̃̍́̈̚͜͝ȟ̸̨̯̲̝̳͓͎̭͖͊̄̔̽̓̂̋̇̋̀̕̚͜â̸̙͐͑̌̿͛̽t̵̏͛̃̍́̈̚͜͝ ŕ̶̛̰̱̈́̀́̑̿̾͛͂̈́͗̓̈́̒͘͝️ẹ̷͓̺̰̽̍͛̉̐̔͋̓̚͜â̸̙͐͑̌̿͛̽l̷̢̨̨̫̼͙̞͉̗͉̖̲̖̞̿̉l̷̢̨̨̫̼͙̞͉̗͉̖̲̖̞̿̉y̷̧̰̲͍̝̘̗̩̑̇͐̾̽̏͊͑̇̃̉͜ â̸̙͐͑̌̿͛̽l̷̢̨̨̫̼͙̞͉̗͉̖̲̖̞̿̉l̷̢̨̨̫̼͙̞͉̗͉̖̲̖̞̿̉ t̵̏͛̃̍́̈̚͜͝ȟ̸̨̯̲̝̳͓͎̭͖͊̄̔̽̓̂̋̇̋̀̕̚͜ẹ̷͓̺̰̽̍͛̉̐̔͋̓̚͜ŕ̶̛̰̱̈́̀́̑̿̾͛͂̈́͗̓̈́̒͘͝️ i̵̢̢̡͚̩̞̥͕̜̻̫̩̐̈͘͜️ş̵̛̳̍̃̏͆̏̂̎͌͘͝͝͝͝ t̵̏͛̃̍́̈̚͜͝o̶̯͎̱͐̇͋̅̃̈́͋̽̊̀̓͊̃́͋̓ i̵̢̢̡͚̩̞̥͕̜̻̫̩̐̈͘͜t̵̏͛̃̍́̈̚͜͝?"

"

Have fun, then. Don't break her too much, though."

"I won't, I assure you." Kaori grinned, knowing Kiyotaka doesn't really care as much as he claims to be.

But, if that's what he wanted, she'll obey. After all, this was how their relationship had always been..

"Shut it! Just wait for a moment, damnit! I'm looking for it right now!" Kaori and Kiyotaka both stopped their conversations, and turned towards the commotion.

There was a red-haired guy, looking for something in his school bag, in the cashier, holding up the long line of students behind him.

"Come on, man. There are other people behind you."

"Yeah, just move, man."

"Oh yeah? If they have complaints, tell them to me upfront!!" The red haired shouted, focusing on the other students ushering him to hurry up, rather than on looking for seemingly his ID.

"Do all Class D students seek commotion, or what? Why is it that every time there's drama, it's caused by a Class D student." Kaori mumbled under her breath with an exasperated expression.

It must be hard, being surrounded by negativity and bad luck all of the time.

But, Kiyotaka had other thoughts in his mind.

"Kaori, can you go on without me? Just place my share of the groceries in my room." Kiyotaka said, slipping the green key-card to his room in Kaori's room, before leaving a bewildered Kaori behind.

Of course, Kaori wasn't weak by any normal means. And, it's not like their groceries were a lot. But, still..

"Geez.. Some man that you are, Kiyotaka-kun.." She pouted, unamused.

She knew well enough what Kiyotaka was planning to do. But, sometimes, her friend can become just a bit too much.

And so, with an annoyed expression on her face, Kaori went on ahead and lined up at the cashier with the least people, and went on ahead.

With Kiyotaka, he walked towards the violent red-haired guy, and gave his now signature, charismatic smile.

"Sorry for disturbing. But if you'd like, I'll pay for this.

I mean, it'd be a huge bother to go to the dorms and back, right?" The red-haired seemed shocked that someone he didn't know offered to pay for his things.

It was suspicious, after all. Who would offer someone to pay for their things when they barely know them?

"Oh, uh, thanks.." But Kiyotaka knew that this person wasn't the type to use his brains.

He was the type that's the easiest to manipulate.

In a swift move, Kiyotaka swiped his ID over the scanner, and paid for the red-haired man's items.

It wasn't much, just a few thousand points. So, Kiyotaka didn't really bother with it much.

As they walked outside together, Kiyotaka's mind began to think of ways to use this man.

Obviously, he belonged in Class D. That attitude wouldn't get him anywhere, after all. He seemed athletic, too, so he probably played sports. If Kiyotaka had to guess, though, it'd probably be basketball.

"So uh, thank you, uh...?"

"Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, Class 1-A." Kiyotaka smiled, lying through his teeth in the most natural way possible.

Despite not knowing each other, kindness will eventually make the other relax. And that was what Kiyotaka was doing right now.

It was a method Kaori had taught him before. It was a method for 'The Simpletons with a small mindset', according to her. And right now, that seemed highly applicable for this person.

"Sudou Ken. Thank you for helping me, Ayanokouji." Sudou grinned, seemingly somewhat happy at Kiyotaka's help.

But, Kiyotaka thought otherwise.

His eye gave off an ominous glint, almost like a spoiled child getting a new toy to play with.

With a smile that hid the evil glint in his eyes, he began talking to Sudou as kindly as he possibly could, trying not to piss this ticking time bomb off.

'You'll be a useful toy, Sudou Ken..'

♕✾—✾♔

『 𝙿𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚍𝚘 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚕, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚖𝚢 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔. 𝚆𝚑𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚝 𝚋𝚎 𝚖𝚢 𝚊𝚛𝚝, 𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚊𝚗𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗. 𝙸𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜, 𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚍𝚘 𝚒𝚗𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚖 𝚖𝚎 𝚒𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚢. 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔 𝚢𝚘𝚞. 』