Kushida Kikyou S.S - The Puppet

".. I was wrong.. I shouldn't have.." Kushida mumbled quietly to herself, her expression a guilty one.

Right now, she's atop her dorm unit's rooftop. Every single unit had one.

But, well, no one goes up in that place at all. That was exactly why Kushida liked to hang around in that place.

That's one of Kushida's mistakes. She was too carefree in her actions, that she absolutely forgot that there was someone far more dangerous than her.

Despite the balance within Kushida, she wasn't a perfect person. She, too, makes mistakes like normal people.

And right now, she was well confident that she had made the worst mistake she could have ever made.

Kushida was a person that had a huge influence in not just her class, but also her grade. This whole month had given her a huge opportunity to be able to connect properly with the other first years.

She was well confident in her power in the first years.

Why wouldn't she be? She even had friends in that renowned Class A. If she got into trouble, they'd save her easily.

It's the inevitable effect of Kushida Kiykou in her peers.

Their relationship, built within trust, allowed Kushida to peer inside the conditions of the other classes.

Now that competitions between classes are on, that type of a relationship would surely, give her a huge advantage.

However, she forgot that there were people far better than her in that one department she specialized in.

First was Ichinose Honami from Class C. That girl's connections far outmatched Kushida's.

Not only does she have connections even in that renowned Class E, now known as Class B, but she even had more connections than Kushida in Class A.

Plus, she was also pretty well known in the second years due to the fact that she's in the Student Council.

Ichinose was a person Kushida knew she couldn't beat, no matter what she did.

But above Ichinose was an another person she knew she couldn't beat. Not anymore..

".. Damn it.. I.. I thought..." She thought she could beat them. She thought she could beat that class.

Amongst the first years, only a single class rose from the bottom. And that class, was Class B.

A class meant to be hidden, at all costs.

Come to think of it, Kushida found it odd. Kaori had once introduced herself as a Class A student. And yet, no Class A student knew her.

And so, she thought that Kaori might be an upperclassman.

It was yet another mistake on Kushida's part.

However, May 1 had been quite the huge awakening to her.

Kushida had absolute power in all classes, but Class B. She knew she had to get something. A leverage over her class.

Not a single Class B student had shown their faces to her, but Kaori. And so, she knew that these people were cautious, and wouldn't bother even talking to her, nor anybody else.

If such was the case, then they had probably figured out how the S-system worked, giving them a huge advantage.

However, their 220 point decrease spoke a lot. Despite their advantage, they failed to overtake Class A.

She knew that she still had a chance.

If there was one person she could control, it would be the only girl she knew from that class, Kaori.

So seeing her in Pallet with her friends was a godsend. She had never seen their faces before, so she knew they came from Class B.

She'd destroy Kaori's name in front of them, and make her own friends guilty towards Kushida.

It'd be hard, but if she played her cards right, it might actually work because these people had a heart, right?

Oh, how wrong she was..

"I'm sorry, Kushida-san. If you want to talk to Kaori, can you please do it on some other day instead?"

"Please leave."

"Just leave." Such words struck Kushida hard. She was being pushed away.

But, there was no way she'd give up immediately. She'd use Kaori's guilt, and implant the seed of doubt in her friends.

As long as these people doubted her, there's a chance that Kaori might fall from her grace, and even destroy her own Class.

She knew well that such a thing was possible. After all, she too, had destroyed her own class when she was pushed into a corner.

It didn't matter if the people around her were talking about her. She could just twist those rumors, after all.

But what stopped her was the gaze of the man seated beside the red-haired named Akabane Karma.

His gaze felt... Terrifying.

It was nothing compared to Shinomiya, who seemed like she was looking at Kushida like she was a damn insect.

She felt the animosity. The rage. The bloodlust.

All directed towards Kushida Kikyou.

Her heart began pounding in her chest, and her breathing became uneven.

At that point, only one thought ran across Kushida's mind.

Run.

And she did. She ran away from the fight that she, herself had started.

She felt utterly humiliated. Why wouldn't she be? Kaori had just easuly turned the tables on her, and made her look like the damn villain.

On top of that, Class B would become wary of her.

It was annoying. She played her cards right, didn't she? So why did that have to happen?

But, that wasn't even the problem right now.

Because.. Way after that, something way worse happened.

♕✾—✾♔

"Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you!!" Such foul words slipped from Kushida's lips. Her foul language became accompanied by the loud banging of the railings.

Well, she was kicking it as hard as she could, so no wonder it'd make such a loud sound.

The unit's rooftops was such a fine place for venting like this. There were zero CCTV cameras, and no one goes up the rooftop because of the agonizing amount of stairs you'd have to climb.

This was the perfect place for Kushida to shout as much as she'd like.

"I hate you, I hate you!! Seriously!! Destroying my fucking image like that in front of the first years!!

Couldn't you have just went along?!? Did you really have to embarrass me like that?!

Argh!! Just die already, you stupid bitch." Such words, all directed at that one person.

The fact that things were not going her way had truly annoyed her. Why did it have to go wrong now?

It was all that girl's fault. If only she hadn't played the victim card, Kushida could've destroyed her image right then and there, while getting a few thousand points as a plus.

She might've started it, but she doesn't care. All that mattered was the end result, after all.

"Fuck you!! I hope you die, Hironaka Kaori!!"

"My, shouting my name that loud, Kushida-san? Aren't you ashamed of yourself already?"

"...!" Kushida's head whipped around, hearing a voice that shouldn't belong in this place. And to her terror, she saw Kaori, standing by the door with a smile.

But her smile wasn't something that Kushida had seen before.

"K-kaori.." She mumbled, somewhat nervous at the fact that a fellow student had found her.

There was no way she could allow Kaori to spread word about her. She had to keep her secret at all costs.

It was right then and there, that Kushida got an idea.

It was quite the ideal one. After all, she won't just be able to keep her secret, but also have a lapdog from that so-renowned Class B.

At first, she thought that her luck had run out. But now, it seemed like it was far from that. After all, this shit was a fucking godsend for her.

Right now, she had the opportunity to not just gain Kaori's connections, but also control this girl.

And so, with an evil smirk on her face, she began to close the distance between her and her target.

"Kaori.. You're quite unlucky, aren't you?"

"Whatever could you mean by that, Kushida-san?" Kaori asked. However, Kushida didn't reply with words.

"Did you hear?" Kaori blinked, tilting her head sideways in an oblivious manner, before giving a Kushida a mocking smirk.

"Whatever could you mean?"

"If you spread what you've heard, I'll make sure that I'll destroy everything that you love." Kushida threatened, her usual, innocent facade disappearing into the darkness.

Despite being faced with a blatant threat, Kaori remained unfazed.

"Like that worked well for you earlier, Kushida-san." Kushida froze, Kiyotaka's face flashing in her mind.

Almost unconsciously, her body shivered, remembering that horrible gaze that Kiyotaka gave her.

But it didn't matter. Right now, before her was Kaori, not Kiyotaka.

"You saw how Kiyotaka looked at you earlier, didn't you? If you hurt me, then you might as well just give up because he'll be there to defend me."

"Then I'll destroy him myself first!!" Kushida roared. And then, she was met with a small brief of silence.

At first, Kushida thought that she got through Kaori. She thought that finally, she had found a weakness that she can exploit over this girl.

"Hooh..?" Kaori hummed, her voice laced with disinterest.

She knew well enough that Kiyotaka could handle himself very well.

Kaori was nothing compared to the monster known as Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. And she knew that fact very well.

That's why she didn't care. Because if Kushida did harm Kiyotaka, she'd just be digging her own grave.

However, Kaori's silence and disintetest was misinterpreted by Kushida.

Kushida mistakenly thought that Kaori was trying her best to seem like she didn't care, while hiding her panic and worry deep inside.

It was a weakness that showed itself in front of Kushida's eyes. An advantage she has over the girl that she hated, and knows her secret.

And so, she began to poke at it even further in order to mock the girl's weakness, hoping it'll make Kaori do something rash that she can use against her.

"But, hey, that dude was such a good looker, wasn't he?" Kaori's expression faltered. And her fists began to ball up.

It was a movement that of course, was very unnoticeable to Kushida. However, that small reaction spoke volumes of what was going on inside Kaori's mind.

"Maybe I'd seduce him first, and make him forget you. I'll take him right before your very eyes." Kushida went on, being too blinded by her own emotions and hatred.

"Boys like him chase after girls who act like angels. And clearly, you aren't one. He'll leave you in a heartbeat!" Kushida laughed, trying to push Kaori over the edge.

However, Kushida was going too far, and Kaori's smile began to turn colder and colder.

"And you're saying that you are? Kushida?" Kaori asked, tilting her head slightly downwards, making Kushida freeze in her spot.

There was still a smile on her lips. However, Kaori's expression mirrored the cold gaze filled with bloodlust that Kiyotaka had given Kushida before.

The very gaze that made her shiver in terror.

"You say things like that, but you're not even like that, Kushida. You know that better than anyone."

"You... You bitch..!" Unable to take Kaori's words, Kushida immediately lunged towards Kaori, and aimed to punch her in the face.

However, Kaori quickly caught her fist, and smiled coldly.

With one hand, she slipped her hand in the pocket of her skirt, and brought out her phone.

At that moment, Kushida froze once more. She knew very well what Kaori was indicating at.

"You.. You didn't.."

"Want me to play it, Kushida?" Kushida shut her mouth after that.

Seeing Kushida's silence, Kaori took it as an opportunity to grip her collar, and forcefully pulled her closer.

"Talk shit about me all you want. But never dare to talk about Kiyotaka like that. If you spread even a single word that'll ruin his life, I'll bring you down and expell you." Kaori whispered in her ear.

Kushida, hearing Kaori's words, couldn't help but feel more disgust and hatred. However, atop of it all remained the terror and fear of Kaori.

".. I.. I'll bring you—"

"Down with you? I dare you try. But I guarantee you, it'll fail." Kaori giggled, before forcefully pushing Kushida away from her.

Her force caused Kushida to fall down the ground with a thud. However, she didn't bother standing up.

She's frustrated, yes. Very much so, to be honest.

However, there was no way she could defeat Kaori. Not now.

Her influence and power far outweighs hers. And on top of that, she's protected by Kiyotaka.

She cannot take them one that easily..

"Just be a good girl, and follow what I say, Kushida. In exchange, I'll keep your secret." Kaori then left as soon as she said that, allowing the silence of the night to envelop Kushida.

♕✾—✾♔

Kushida knew well enough what Kaori meant with those words.

After all, what Kaori was telling her to do was exactly what Kushida wanted Kaori to do.

Kushida sighed, and ruffled her hair, turning it into a mess.

"Looks like.. I'm a fucking puppet now.." She said in a frustrated manner.

She didn't want it to turn out this way. But, seeing Kaori's expression, she knew there was nothing she could do.

She knew she had to wait before she could strike. That's why, for now, she'll act like normal, while feeding the Kaori information that she wanted.

However, there was something that Kushida was quite curious about.

Why did Kaori want her to be her puppet? Kaori had better influence than her in everything. So, what's the point?

It would've been easier to destroy her, which would make Class E fall. So why?

Somehow, that thought just made Kushida feel even more dread. It felt like there was something far bigger going on..

It felt like this was just the first step for some sort of disaster..

And Kushida didn't like that feeling..

♕✾—✾♔

『 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. 』