/// PAST ///
It was the first time that the director of the facility came to see me.
"Kizutaka, I see you're developing well."
I looked up at the old man.
"I suppose so."
He stared at me with a sense of glee. It was unsettling.
"You know, seeing someone like you… I want to see you break. I want to see you cry out in pain. I want you to beg and scream. Your lack of emotion, it's… incredible."
Unsettling.
"How are you going to do that to me."
He laughed.
"That's the big question. I've got quite a lot of resources under my belt. You know, the only thing I ever cared about was being the best."
He walked closer to me.
"Kurosawa-kun was the first person to ever beat me at my own game. He created someone beyond my greatest imagination."
"I don't know who he is."
"It doesn't matter. All that matters is that no one beats me at my own game. He might be ahead with an incomprehensible stroke of luck, but I'll find a way. Remember that, Kizuataka Rin."
—Don't forget who I am, Kizutaka Rin—was what he said to me.
/// Past END ///
• ───────────────── •
It was late at night.
There was a knock on my door. It was unexpected at this time, but I made my way over to answer it. Gently, I slid it open.
"How are you doing, Kizutaka~?"
Tobiichi stood on the other side of the door, holding her phone in her hand.
"What are you doing here."
"I wanted to tell you something. It's our first matter of business as class representatives."
"Was it so important that you had to show up at my room?"
She giggled a little before forcing her way into my room.
She took a seat on the small, playfully-coloured couch by the corner of my dorm.
"It's pretty important."
I sighed.
"What is it then."
She pulled up a picture on her phone.
"You're pretty anti-social, but I assume you know about Fujimiya, right?"
"She's an actor, similar to you, right?"
Sinking down a little into the couch, she ran her fingers over the ledge.
"That's right. She has her own posse of boys following her at all times. They're like her own personal bodyguards."
"Sure."
"Turns out they're causing just about as many issues as you'd expect."
This didn't sound like something that was very interesting.
I could hear the soft whistling of the wind from outside the dorm building. It seemed that the weather wasn't very nice outside. It sounded like the rain had just started to come down.
"Why was this so important that you had to take it up with me?"
She got up and tiptoed toward me.
"The teachers are doing a very poor job of keeping them in order. We're going to take care of this issue together. Our way."
She had a mischievous smile on her face.
What a pain.
"I don't have any feelings on this matter. I'm sure you can just take care of it yourself."
She wiggled her finger.
"Aaa~, there's something in it for you as well."
Someone like Tobiichi wouldn't say that without a good reason.
She knew that I didn't care about very many things.
…
"What do you mean by that."
Twirling around, she turned her back to me.
"She might have the first clue to unravelling the secret of what happened back then."
There was one thing that I never found out.
It was the one thing that That Man had to combat me. It was my only weakness.
Tobiichi leaned down.
"You know, I'm interested in finding out what the secret is~. The secret that even you care about."
I guess it was worth the effort.
"Fine, I'll help you deal with Fujimiya, what do you even want us to do?"
She made her way closer to me.
"We'll break her, obviously."
"Are you sure that's what you want to do."
"Of course I'm sure. She's annoying, you know?"
I took a seat on my bed. Putting some distance between Tobiichi and I.
"What does she even do?"
She followed me over to my bed.
"She's just a bit of a princess. She's someone who's never suffered hardship in her life. Her looks have allowed her to cruise through."
"Isn't that a bit like you though?"
"Aah~ don't group me in with her. I have clear boundaries between myself and other people. Unlike me, she acts spoilt. Instead of trying to make boundaries, she just takes advantage of everyone else."
"I don't see how that's a bad thing."
"Well, I suppose it's not that bad. But the student council president told me to take care of this, and… I just enjoy making people like suffer some pain for once."
I looked up at her.
"Is that the same with me?"
"You're the complete opposite. Honestly, I can't even comprehend my feelings for you. The only way I can interpret it is love. Love is the only explanation I can think of."
"That's a very fantastical way of putting it."
All of suddenly, she lunged toward me, embracing me across the shoulders.
She squeezed tight, pressing her face into my neck.
"Get off."
Grabbing her arm, I swung her off of my body.
Despite using a significant amount of force, she was able to withstand it.
"That's not going to be enough to get rid of me~."
It was getting annoying.
…
I stood up from the bed. With both my arms, I pushed her off of me. She fell backwards. There was a loud thump as she crashed into the wall.
"Ow…"
"What was the point of that."
She giggled.
"Haa, you're just as much of a brute as always. Not even sparing a frail little girl like me."
"You should've expected that."
Slowly pulling herself up, she made her way toward the door.
"I look forward to working with you, Kizutaka~."
"I'm having second thoughts."
She laughed.
"You know, Kizutaka, I have a secret that I'm hiding—it's something that even you would never be able to discover."
***