5.6
It was difficult to locate a particular person at a festival where many people, young and old, were present. And if you can't predict where someone was going, it was even more difficult to find them.
While operating my cell phone, I sighed in admiration at the overwhelming network of information. I was amazed at how fast and accurate it was. Within a few minutes of making the call, I was able to get their location information.
Not in the direction of the Keyaki Mall or the dormitories, but behind the indoor pool facility. When I arrived there, I found Kushida's back facing me, dressed in an out-of-place maid's outfit.
“So don't make me say it again…”
Kushida, who was probably having a heated conversation with her friend, was shouting at her.
“Wow…”
Meanwhile, the other person immediately noticed me and told Kushida to stop talking.
“What? Why is... Ayanokōji-kun here..?”
“Of course he’s going to look for the ace when you’ve disappeared.”
That’s true. Although I let the substitute maid take over the queueing example set by Kushida, I'm not sure how much longer she can maintain the same pace as Kushida.
“I thought I had taken her to a secretive location, but I'm surprised you found this place, senpai.”
I was actually keeping an eye on her the moment she stepped out into the line.
“Unfortunately for you, I’ve created an alliance with someone I can rely on now. No matter where anyone goes, I’ll be sure to know where they are.”
Even Amasawa doesn't seem to have any idea who it was, but she didn’t inquire any further
“She was going to go right back after this, right senpai~?”
“Yeah. She's right. I'm sorry I slipped out without telling you, but I also wanted to talk to Amasawa-san for a minute.”
“Then you could have just stood there and talked, that's no reason to leave for 10 or 20 minutes.”
“That's…”
Kushida knew that the first priority was to keep the line moving and the customers happy. That's why Kushida was working on abandoning her customer service duties. She wouldn’t have left her seat unless it was something serious.
“Whatever there is between the two of you, we’re busy with the festival. Can you talk about it some other time?”
There was no need to go to the trouble of choosing today as the day for the exchange.
“You are not the least bit surprised to see me and Kushida-senpai together, are you? Did you know about our history?”
“No.” I really didn't know that they had ever had any deep connection before. “But today, with this timely contact, I understand everything.” Even information that seemed unnecessary was derived in my head on its own.
Why was Kushida so adamant about expelling me from the school in a unanimous special exam, and why did she take a reckless gamble?
If a student from the white room was behind it and forced her to do it, it was not unreasonable.
I also began to see why she was acting as she was at the festival, where she would be easily traced. Kushida's behavior also matched up with her behaviour after school, when she headed somewhere after declining invitations from her classmates to join them.
“Kushida-senpai will pay you back later, so can you give me a little time?”
Amasawa in front of me still didn't realize that I was vague about my answer.
“Sorry Ayanokōji-kun, could you please excuse me. I'll be back as soon as I can. I also really need to talk to Amasawa-san.”
“I see what you mean, but it's not going to happen. This is enough, Amasawa.”
“Senpai's eyes are so naughty, aren't they? You’re looking at me like I’m naked or something~”
Amasawa pressed the tip of her finger against her lips in a seductive manner, but the tone wasn’t sexual. It was an action to hide her wariness that I can see right through her.
“Kushida, you have a weakness regarding your past with Amasawa and one other person. That's why you forced the class to get into an uproar so that Horikita and I would be expelled from the unanimous special exam. Or maybe they were working on something before that.”
“Eh?”
I must have been right on target; unable to confirm or deny, Kushida simply looked surprised.
“Let's stop now, senpai. This is a time for me and Kushida-senpai.”
“I'm sorry, but it doesn't work that way. Kushida is a necessary part of the class, even before her work as a maid.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“You may be right, but I'm not so sure about the other one.” As she replied, Amasawa's demeanor changed for the first time. Without warning, Amasawa, with an eerie smile on her face, grabbed Kushida's wrist tightly.
“What?!”
She then pulled her close and stood behind Kushida with her right hand locked in place and forcefully closed Kushida's mouth with her left hand.
“Perhaps you have an idea who the other student is, senpai?”
Kushida's words were silenced before she could ask the question since Kushida knew that person firsthand.
In other words, she knew who the other white room student was. So, Amasawa anticipated Kushida's reaction and took measures to ensure she didn’t unexpectedly utter that person's name.
“You know, Kushida-senpai, if you say anything bad, I'll have you expelled, okay?”
Kushida's face contorted in pain, probably due to the tight grip on her right arm.
“This isn’t like you, Amasawa. You seem like you’ve been cornered pretty hard.”
“Wait, senpai, I didn't say anything, did I?”
“Every single action speaks for itself.”
Kushida, enduring the pain, would not understand the nature of this conversation. And Amasawa herself didn't know how much I understood.
“Let’s talk about it again later, just the two of us next time. Please pretend you didn’t see this and leave, Ayanokōji-senpai. If you do that, I’ll let her go in about ten minutes.
“What if I don't say yes?”
“If you don't say yes, I might cripple Kushida-senpai here.” She said and squeezed her right arm even tighter.
“Nngh!”
“I'm a pretty girl, but I can easily break an arm or two.”
“Then let's give it a try. Let's see if you break Kushida's arm first, or if I can stop you.
The distance between me and Amasawa was about 5 meters.
“Are you serious?”
“Are you serious about breaking her arm? Or are you saying that you don't think I can stop you?”
“Both.”
“Then you're wrong about both. You really shouldn’t forget who I am.”
Laughing, Amasawa loosened her grip on Kushida's right hand, even if only slightly. At that moment I kicked the ground and dove in just as Amasawa switched to a motion to break her arm.
My right hand slid down Kushida's arm and reached her wrist as my left hand went around her mouth to her back, I grabbed Amasawa's right hand.
“No way...”
It must be a defensive instinct. In an instant, she abandoned the action of breaking Kushida's arm and shifted her attention to me, and tried to make a left fist with a tight grip.
However, I didn’t give Amasawa any chance to make any further movements, and caught her, blocking her from moving towards Kushida.
Just as Amasawa had done to Kushida earlier, I went behind her and twisted her body to the ground with her arm behind her back.
“Fuu~!”
The forceful hold on the ground caused Amasawa to lose her breath for a moment and gasp for air. Her breath caused a slight dust cloud to rise.
“Oh my, that was... a little unexpected.”
“Did you think there wasn't much difference between you and me?”
I could tell by the look in her eyes. Amasawa's pride, which was always high, was deeply wounded.
“You mean I was wrong about your abilities?”
“Probably.”
Amasawa's fighting skills, which she had learned in the white room, are real. The fact that she and the other student had been in the white room for a long time and had learned to fight in the white room was a real advantage. However, whether they can compete with me on equal terms was a completely different matter.
Even if the opponent's skill had increased from 5 to 20, or even 30, it meant nothing because my score was still 100.
“Since when did you know you could beat me?”
“From the moment we met.”
“If that wasn't a line from Ayanokōji-senpai, you'd be rubbing salt in my wounds.”
“I'll tell you this, you seem to think that the other student might push me out of school, but did you ever wonder why I never asked for the other student’s name?”
The smile slowly faded from Amasawa.
Up until now, I had never willingly sought out a white room student on my own.
“That's because I didn't think they would be a match for me from the start.”
“You're serious, aren't you, senpai?”
“It's not you who doesn't understand that, right, Amasawa?”
If you had only half-heartedly practiced martial arts, you would not have had any real feeling for it yet. But Amasawa was different. Even so, in less than 10 seconds of total movement, the match had already been decided by a wide margin.
“You and the other student should have challenged me at an early stage. You shouldn't have gone around and involved the people around you in the fun.”
“So, you understood why I contacted Kushida-senpai...”
“It all connected just now. And now the unexpected is about to happen.”
“The unexpected?”
“After 3 p.m., keep an eye on the student council chambers. You are not to be seen in front of anyone. Then you'll have all the answers.”
Seeing Amasawa's strength slowly slipping away, I released the restraints. There was no need for any more forceful techniques.
“We've wasted a lot of time. Let's go back to the maid cafe.”
“Is it okay leaving her?”
Amasawa stood up, but there was no emotion in her face.
“It's okay. You don't have to worry about your past being exposed.”
I started to walk away and Kushida rushed after me.
“How could Ayanokōji-kun know that?”
“Don’t worry about it, but you can trust me.”
“Who is Ayanokōji-kun?”
That question would be inevitable if you had witnessed the conversation and fight with Amasawa earlier.
“I don't know anything about fighting, but I can tell you’re not normal.”
“It's not uncommon for classmates to learn martial arts. Horikita and Ibuki, even Ryūen and Akito should be strong in fights, even if they are self-taught. It's not like boys and girls can compete with each other from the start.”
I would explain that it was only overwhelming due to the gender difference. Whether Kushida would be convinced by that is another matter.
“I'll have to get back soon and help them get in line. Please go back yourself.”
“Yeah, sure.” Kushida replied, bowing her head as if she had made up her mind to do something. “Thank you for helping me.”
An unexpected thank you from Kushida. Of course, Kushida was easily more down-to-earth than most people on the external front. She was the type of person for whom expressing gratitude itself was easy enough to do.
“You don't think I'm sincerely grateful, but that's fine. I just felt like saying so, even if it's a lie.”
“It's not a big deal. It's more of a natural behaviour for a classmate.”
“Then you don't have to consider this as a debt, right?”
She emphasised that part, and I thought about it for a moment, but I didn’t feel like indebting her.
“Of course.”
If I did consider her to be in my debt because of what happened, she wouldn’t really be able to repay me.
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