Chapter 8

After Ayanokouji's explanation they had their class.

After an hour, the class ended and they had their final class for the day.

Some students of Class A were regretting not going to the cafeteria and ate during lunch as they were listening to Ayanokouji's revelation as X and his works behind Class C (formerly D).

*Some time later*

Random teacher: That's all for today study for tomorrow because a have a test. That's all thank you.

After the teacher said that, the teacher left.

Some of the students of Class A were going to approach Ayanokouji and to ask him some questions but Ayanokouji had already disappeared before they even looked at him.

*Outside of Class 1-A classroom*

Ayanokouji can be seen walking outside of school looking for someone.

After a walking for a while Ayanokouji spots someone sitting on a bench.

Ayanokouji:( There he is.)

Ayanokouji goes to that person and sits next to him but not too close.

Ayanokouji: Hirata...

Hirata looks at Ayanokouji and responds.

Hirata: Ayanokouji-kun...

When Hirata said that slowly as he turned his head to Ayanokouji, dark circles can be seen around his eyes.

Ayanokouji:(I've never seen Hirata in this state, most likely the guilt got him to the point where he's having sleep problems...)

Ayanokouji: Can you spare me some time?

Upon hearing Ayanokouji's request Hirata's eyes opened more slightly. 

Hirata: I'm sick and tires of all of this. Of everyone coming after me over and over again. I thought you understood me, Ayanokouji-kun. I thought you'd know to just leave me alone. I'm disappointed.

Ayanokouji: (I'm not surprised if the people who came after Hirata were the girls(Hirata's classmates).

Ayanokouji: Sorry. If you don't like it, why don't you push me away like you did to Mei-yu Wang and run away?

Hirata's eyes opened more but went back to it looking lifeless.

Hirata: Where did you heard that from? Wait, never mind it might have spread to the entire school by now.

Ayanokouji: (Your right Hirata, even though I didn't see Mei-yu Wang's confession to you I heard it from rumors and from some forums.)

Ayanokouji:(Even though I took a risk at provoking him yet, he still didn't stood up. How brave of him.)

Hirata: Spare some time, was it? It doesn't matter. I don't have anywhere to hide at this school anyway. I'm so tired today that I don't even have the energy to run away. But... I don't think I'll be able to meet your expectations either.

Ayanokouji: (In just this short period of time, quite a few other students must have tried reaching out to him. Regardless of whether they were expressing their concern, or offering him their encouragement, it must have been unbearable for him. Although I didn't know 'who' exactly had reached out to him, I could imagine 'what'  they would have said. I was sure they had all attempted to gently comfort him and heal his broken heart)

There, on a bench on the outskirts of campus, two students sat together.

Hirata sighs and says.

Hirata: So... you had something to say, right?

Ayanokouji:(I already knew how Hirata was going to handle this conversation. He was going to sit there and listen, letting my words go in one ear and out the other.)

Ayanokouji: I want to tell me your story.

Hirata: Eh?

It was quite natural for Hirata to be surprised as he didn't expect Ayanokouji to ask him a question like that. He probably expected Ayanokouji to offer him words of sympathy.

Ayanokouji: What you were like as a kid, what kind of thoughts you had. I'd like to hear about it.

Hirata: Why?

Ayanokouji: Who knows. I guess I just want to know for some reason. I'm having a hard time giving you a reason for it.

Hirata let out a deep sigh before slowly shaking his head.

Hirata: I don't have the energy to reminisce about my past right now. There's nothing to talk about.

Ayanokouji: You don't have the energy? Why?

Hirata: Why..? That's...

He turned and looked at Ayanokouji, as if to question why he didn't already know the answer to that.

Ayanokouji: What is it?

Ayanokouji repeated question, ignoring the look Hirata gave to him.

Hirata: It's because Yamauchi-kun got expelled.

Hirata was being forced to say things that he didn't want to say.

Hirata said those words as if he had been greatly offended, as he was aware of Ayanokouji's intentions.

Hirata: You're just making me say some horrible things.

Ayanokouji: I was just curious. I apologize if I offended you.

Hirata: It's fine.

Hirata sighs after saying that, lacking the motivation to continue the conversation.

Hirata sat with his back hunched over, listlessly shaking his head from side to side.

Pleading Ayanokouji to leave him alone, pleading Ayanokouji to stop caring.

But Ayanokouji still continues the conversation.

Ayanokouji: What does Yamauchi's expulsion have to do with not talking about your past?

Confronted with my obstinate request for an answer, Hirata let show a dumbfounded expression for the second time.

Hirata: My past doesn't matter right now, does it?

Ayanokouji: Not necessarily.

Ayanokouji continued immediately, denying Hirata a chance to shut down the conversation.

Ayanokouji: Having one of your classmates expelled is certainly unpleasant. Pretty much anyone would agree with that. But, we don't have the luxury to regret it forever. We might have another Special Exam. Not just Horikita and Kushida, but even Ike and Sudō are trying to buckle down and fight. But what about you, Hirata? You're so hung up on Yamauchi's expulsion, and even if you tried to cooperate...

Ayanokouji purposefully stopped talking for a moment.

And then Ayanokouji changed the topic to show Hirata that he didn't really want to talk about what had happened anymore.

Ayanokouji: What I want to know is, what happened in your past that instilled this sense of values in you?

Hirata: What's the point in asking that? Do you really think I'm going to tell you?

Ayanokouji: You tell me. Because as of now, you desperately want other people to know about to you.

Ayanokouji:(In truth, he probably does want to get everything off his chest. He has ended up like this because he couldn't find a way to do it.)

This time Ayanokouji spoke to Hirata with his eyes. He looks at Hirata forcefully, almost as if he was threatening him to speak.

Upon seeing Ayanokouji's eyes,  a sense of fear welled up in Hirata's heart.

Hirata: So this is the true you Ayanokouji-kun... Those eyes of yours, that deep, eerie darkness diffused within...

Ayanokouji:(I slowly ate away the darkness held within Hirata. This man wasn't simply waiting to die. Day by day, he had been praying for someone to come and save him. All he could do was reach for the black spider's silk that dangled before him in order to crawl up from the depths of hell.)

Hirata finally spoke.

Hirata: I had a friend that I was close since childhood, his name was Sugimura. And once we got to middle school he got bullied.

Ayanokouji: Let me guess, you wanted to help him but were afraid that you were also going to get bullied right?

Hirata: You're right, as a result I simply watched the bullying happen from the sidelines without doing one thing.

Hirata paused for a while before continuing.

Hirata: And then, my friend committed suicide by jumping off a building.

Ayanokouji: He was probably beginning to recollect what had happened back then.

Little by little, Hirata began opening up about it to Ayanokouji.

Hirata: He managed to just barely hang onto his life, but he's been in a coma ever since.

Hirata tightly clasped his hands together.

Hirata: My decisions caused him to take his own life. The weight of my sins will never go away.

Ayanokouji: (So that's why Hirata was so hung up when Yamauchi got expelled. So in a sense Hirata has a similar past to mine but for my case I actually helped that person kill herself. Directly and never have I felt guilty about helping her kill herself. Mostly likely death was her salvation.)

Ayanokouji: This isn't entirely your fault. In fact, the blame mainly falls on the bullies.

Hirata: Sure, but I think being a bystander makes me equally guilty.

Ayanokouji: (Hirata had said something similar back when we were on the cruise ship. This was the reason why he was always striving to save those around him. In face, every time the class, no his class ran into problems, Hirata would always be the first on to intervene. He was the type of man who's spare no effort to search for a solution. For example, when Sudo got into a fight with those guys from Class D (formerly Class C). However,  there were still a few things that hadn't been explained yet.)

Hirata: I understand that you still have doubts.

Hirata said that as he noticed Ayanokouji's confusion on what he said.

Without turning to look at Ayanokouji, Hirata continued.

Hirata: Back when my friend attempted to commit suicide. There's actually more to the story...

Hirata: Back when he attempted to commit suicide by jumping from a building, I thought that the whole mess would be finally over. That, after making such a heavy sacrifice, there wouldn't be anymore bullying in our school. But I was naïve. From that day onwards, I saw for myself the unfathomable darkness of human nature.

Ayanokouji: (So in other words, the bullying continued.)

Hirata's body trembled, something could be seen akin to a murderous impulse flash across his eyes.

Hirata: The bullies chose a new target, and this time it was one of my own classmates.

As Hirata took a deep breath in order to suppress his emotions, Hirata began speaking to himself in a hushed tone. 

Hirata: I couldn't believe it. Something horrific had literally just happened, and yet the bullying had already started up again. One of my classmates, who had been nothing more that an innocent bystander,  began suffering the same treatment as my friend. And what's more is that some of our classmates who previously hadn't been involved with the bullying began joining in on it.

Ayanokouji: (The scope of bullying had expanded indefinitely.)

Hirata: If the person at the bottom of the caste system is gone, it's only natural that somebody will have to take their place. In a way, it's part of the natural order of things.

Hirata paused before continuing.

Hirata: I knew I couldn't allow history to repeat itself. I knew I absolutely had to stop it.

Ayanokouji: So... you took action?

Hirata nodded his head several time over.

Hirata: I did it in a certain way in order to avoid repeating the same mistakes.

Hirata slowly lifted his head and stared out in to the distance in front of him.

Hirata: Well, to put it simply, I tried to control the class through fear-mongering.

Ayanokouji: ( I'm actually surprised that Hirata had used this method, as the Hirata that I knew was not the type to use this kind if methods.)

Ayanokouji: You did that?

Hirata: Yes. I'm not particularly good at fighting like Sudō-kun and Ryūen-kun. However, there aren't very many people who can seriously hit someone. Even if I were serious enough to throw a punch, nobody would be willing to hit me back. I alone stood at the top while the rest of the class sat the bottom. By doing so, I was looking to get rid of the bullying. Whenever things started getting out of hand, I'd step in. I gave both sides an equal punishment, equal amounts of pain. My actions were no different than bullying. But, there was at least a brief moment of peace.

Ayanokouji: (Hirata was probably aware that his actions were by no means justice. That what he had done was wrong. But even so, he didn't want to acknowledge a world where the people around him were being abused.)

Hirata: Based on what happened... I find myself wondering if I ended up ruining that year for everyone. They just trudged through each day like lifeless robots who never smiled anymore. At the time, it was the talk of the town back where I lived... It was pretty much treated like a scandal.

Ayanokouji: How did the school end up dealing with it?

Hirata: Their response was fairly unprecedented. They forcefully broke up all of the classes for a while, and then redistributed everyone, including me. We were also placed under strict observation until the day we graduated.

Ayanokouji: (It's weird that I just remembered the White Room when he said the last part)

Ayanokouji: I'm not really surprised that, that was the action/s that the school took in your class's case.

Ayanokouji: (With a scandal that famous, it's only natural that it'd end up getting a lot of attention. In which case, there was no way that this high school hadn't caught wind of it, right?

Ayanokouji: Right.

Ayanokouji: (No, they may actually have chosen to enroll Hirata here precisely because they knew about the scandal. Either way, I could finally see the reason why Hirata had been placed in Class D.)

Ayanokouji: You can't forgive yourself for letting Yamauchi get expelled and me getting targeted right?

Hirata: Yes... Back then, I thought that as long as it didn't come to my attention, I could just pretend not to know about it. I had wanted to just keep quiet about it until the day of the vote.

Ayanokouji:(Ultimately, Horikita's(Younger) actions back then led him being marked as unnecessary.)

Hirata: I'm just useless. I never should've tried to keep the class together in the first place. Despite doing everything I could, I still couldn't protect Yamauchi-kun and you Ayanokouji-kun... You probably knew that, Ayanokouji-kun. I just can't do it anymore. In order to protect someone, I've even thought about using fear tactics again. I get that I should know better. That it'd be a mistake, and yet...

Hirata's voice trembled. 

His heart was on the brink of collapsing.

Ayanokouji: (He felt like the entire class should share the load, through both the good times and the bad times.)

Ayanokouji:(He couldn't bear the thought of somebody suffering. Of somebody disappearing.)

Ayanokouji:(Yes, he had probably always been questioning himself each time something happened. And he probably always will.)

Ayanokouji:(It wasn't clear if he had confided in Mei-yu Wand and the other students and if he had, just to what extent. However, I could easily imagine what sort of things they'd end up saying to him.

'There's nothing that you could've done'

'It's not your fault, Hirata-kun'

'Yamauchi only has himself to blame for betraying the class'

or 'It's Ayanokouji's fault for getting Yamauchi expelled' if they knew how I got Yamauchi expelled or more specifically how I was connected in Yamauchi's expulsion.)

Ayanokouji:(No matter who it was, they would end up saying that Hirata was in the right and somebody else was in the wrong. That simply wasn't going to change. And because of this, it's unlikely that the problem would ever be solved.)

Ayanokouji:(There was no point in telling Hirata to blame the very person he had set out to protect. Instead, that would only end up making him retreat back into his shell even more.)

Ayanokouji: There's something I want to make clear to you. It's not Horikita fault that Yamauchi got expelled from school, and, of course, it's not my fault either. You know that right?

Hirata: Yes. It was unavoidable. There was nothing we could've have done about it especially for you Ayanokouji-kun as Yamauchi and the others had targeted you and you had to expel Yamauchi in order to protect yourself so, I don't blame you either.

Hirata quietly added in that last part.

Ayanokouji:(To Hirata, it probably sounded like I was emphasizing that it wasn't my fault. It would've sounded like I was asking him if he had some sort of grudge held against me.)

Ayanokouji: Who do you think is responsible for Yamauchi's departure from Class C(formerly Class D)? From this school?

Hirata: I think... he has nobody to blame but himself.

Ayanokouji:(This was the conclusion Hirata had come to, though he didn't want to admit to it. Yamauchi had suffered the consequences of his action. Expulsion was the natural consequence of his lack of ability and lazy lifestyle.)

Ayanokouji: That's not true.

Ayanokouji denied it. He straight up kicked Hirata's idea to the curb.

Ayanokouji: It's your fault that Yamauchi got expelled, Hirata.

Hirata: ...!

Hirata raised his head and looked at Ayanokouji.

The expression on his face was telling Ayanokouji that he couldn't understand what Ayanokouji had said.

Ayanokouji:  If you really wanted to save Yamauchi, you should've done everything in your power to make it happen.

Hirata: B-but I tried my best! There was nothing more I could've done!

Ayanokouji: Ichinose's Class B didn't lose a single person.

Hirata: That' But that's because she was a special case. We didn't have a huge amount of private points like she did!

Ayanokouji: In which case, the problem is that you failed to lead the class like that. You should've been saving points for the past year like Ichinose so you could save somebody when they're about to be expelled.

Ayanokouji: As a result, Yamauchi wouldn't have been expelled,  I wouldn't have to change classes and there would still be forty people in your class.

Hirata: Impossible. We lost all of our Class Points just after we enrolled here. And, even if we hadn't, there's no way that our classmates would have agreed to hand over their points. You do know that, right?

Ayanokouji: Between ending up with zero Class Points and failing to lead the class, either way, it's still your responsibility.

Ayanokouji:(No matter how much Hirata may try to escape, the fact that it was his fault wouldn't change.)

Hirata: Unreasonable. That's unreasonable.

Ayanokouji: Yeah, it's unreasonable. But it can't be helped. You chose to walk down that path. You should've kept this fantasy you have of wanting to save everyone to yourself. That way, no matter who ends up expelled from school, the blame wouldn't fall on you. But, if you keep projecting your feelings on the people around you, you have to bear the full responsibility when it doesn't end up working out. You should be resolved for at least that much.

Hirata: I-I'm-!

Ayanokouji: I had the wrong idea about you. I thought you were an honor student, a man of character who was well respected by many of our classmates. But, I guess you're not. You're just a shallow, incompetent student who boasts about things you can't even do. That, Hirata Yōsuke, is the type of person you are.

Ayanokouji:( This was an excessively extreme argument followed through to it's logical conclusion. He was by no means an incompetent person. Hirata was such an exceptionally talented person that his capabilities went well beyond what's expected of a first year high school student. There was nothing wrong with him saying he wanted to protect everyone, and just because he failed to do so doesn't mean that he's responsible. )

Ayanokouji: (But even so, I still blamed  him. I forced the blame on him until the bitter end. I put him under heavy pressure, relentlessly driving him into a corner until he was about to break. Was I doing this for Hirata's sake? No. Was I looking to empower him so that he could better protect his classmates? No. There's was no way he could protect everyone. And, there would definitely be even more expulsions at some point later on as well. I was doing this because, when that time comes, Hirata would be necessary to keep the class operating smoothly.)

Ayanokouji: Just how long are you going to keep dreaming?

Ayanokouji:(Hirata simply hadn't moved on from how things were back in middle school. He hadn't moved on from doing only what was required of him. It was up to you to decide whether or not you'd continue your education into high school, and it was up to you to decide whether or not you'd stay there.)

Hirata: This... This is your true nature, isn't it? Your words are so terrible, ruthless, cold...

There could be tears seen welling up in Hirata's right eye.

And before long, he sat there crying in front of Ayanokouji.

Ayanokouji: You're free to wish for whatever you want. But if you really want to see your wishes come true, you at least need to fight for it until the very end. Strive to do whatever you can. There's no other way. If there end up being expulsions along the way, you have no other choice but to accept it. Even so, you still have to keep moving forward.

Hirata: How cruel...

Ayanokouji: If you stop now, the students around you are going to fall behind and disappear one after another. That's why, if you keep walking forward, if you keep your eyes on your goal, then there will surely still be people standing behind you after everything is over.

Ayanokouji:(It takes an awful lot of courage to lead others. You never know what kind of obstacle you may face, and you could always fall down at any moment.)

Hirata: But... Then... How do I vent frustrations...? Do I have to keep moving forward all alone? Bottling up everything deep inside?

Ayanokouji: Not at all. When you're feeling troubled, you can rely on your classmates. Horikita, Kushida, Sudō and Ike, Mii-chan and Shinohara, it doesn't matter who. You can vent your frustrations to whoever it is that you rely on. All of your classmate in this together. Plus if want, you can even vent your frustrations out on me.

Ayanokouji: (There's no such thing as a rule stating that leaders aren't allowed to show weakness. The people who stand behind them can always be there to lend a hand in case they're about to fall. His classmates should be more than willing to listen to Hirata vent his frustrations.

Hirata: I... I... I wonder... if it's okay for someone like me to lead everyone...?

Ayanokouji: It's alright. As you are now, it's okay for you to take the lead.

Ayanokouji placed his hand on his shoulder.

With that small gesture, even more tears began to pour.

Ayanokouji: ( To bury the past. To get rid of the huge, cumbersome burden that Hirata had been carrying once and for all. He, who had been stuck and unable to move, could once again stand up on his own two feet.

Hirata: Thank you... Thank you, Ayanokouji-kun...

Hirata hung his head, countless tears falling from his eyes.

Ayanokouji: (Men are troublesome, difficult creatures who can't cry in front of others very easily. That's why I also wanted a friendship where nobody was forced to hide their tears from one another. As for this, no more words needed to be said. All that he needed was a friend at his side, somebody who would lend him their ear and hear out his frustration. As long as he did- he could start walking forward once again..)

Just then, suddenly Ayanokouji wipes his left eye with his finger.

Ayanokouji: ( Tears huh... Hirata is quite strong to make me tear up but not enough to make me cry. I wonder if I'm learning more about emotions and are regaining those non existent emotions of mine...)

After a while Hirata stopped crying and looked at Ayanokouji.

Hirata: Ayanokouji-kun let's go back to the dorms.

Ayanokouji nods, both of them stands and starts walking back to the dorms.

Hirata: Say Ayanokouji-kun your now in a different class, does that mean we're going to be enemies now?

Ayanokouji: In special exams, most likely but for usual scenarios we're not.

Hirata: I see, if I need help Ayanokouji-kun can you lend me a hand?

Ayanokouji: I don't mind.

Hirata: Also Ayanokouji-kun, can I call you by your first name?

Ayanokouji: Go ahead, I'll also call you by your first name.

Hirata: I don't mind Kiyotaka-kun.

The two of them talked about random things while walking back to the dormitories.

Both of them said their goodbye's when they arrived the dorms and went to their rooms.

Ayanokouji: Hirata's case is done, next is Horikita(Younger) and Sakura's case. Also I have to confront the person who listened to our conversation earlier though I don't know if that person knows that I knew that she was stalking me and eavesdropping in my conversation with Hirata. Well they probably didn't know since I acted like I didn't know. If I don't confront her, she might report me to Sakayanagi though Sakayanagi might understand but if it spreads to the class (Class A), they might think I'm just a traitor and that's going to cause some trouble for me.

Author's Notes: Sorry for not putting an update because I have a school work to do and still have a lot of school work to do so please be patient for update in all of my fanfics.

Sorry if there is not like development between Kamuro and Ayanokouji as I'm still planning their development.

Hope you like this chapter and Thanks for reading.

And also if there are any mistakes or confusions comment or message me so I can address to it as soon as possible.