4 days till the IPOW
Kibe was at school. He was in class, it just ended. As Kibe walked down the hall thats when the intercom of the school came on. "Nori Kibe, please report to the Council room immediately. Thank you." Said the voice on the intercom. Kibe stopped as he looked up at the speaker. Other students pass him by in the hallway.
"Bato undoubtedly." Kibe thought as he then turned around and made his way there. He eventually made it to the hallway. As he walked to the door he could hear voices talking on the other side of the door.
"Just because you're new blood here, doesn't mean you suddenly can start swaying your ego around like a Sociopath!" Shouted Rin on the other side. "Honestly, could you be any more pitiful. The IPOW is for people show a glow to their mind like no other. We can't allow rich students who "think" their bright just speaking nonsense." Said Piko. The debate between the pale palace students and the student council looked like it was more and more heated the more Kibe listened. Eventually though he had to enter the room. As he did he'd see the whole scene.
Bato and Hideaki were both sitting in chairs facing one another. The rooms window facing the street and the school field. There they had their main players, Junna, and Piko beside Bato and Rin, Cho and Kawano by Hideaki. The large forces both now facing each other and who else to be in the middle then Kibe. He looked at them as he closed the door. Setting his bag down.
Bato looked at Kibe with a unamused expression. His hands together, he then looked back at Hideaki. "What do you think you're doing? Bringing him here." Bato asked.
"I believe he will be a good deciding factor on the matter." Hideaki answered. "Is that right?" Bato said
"If you don't mind my intrusion, but what exactly am I deciding on? If I may inquire." Kibe asked. "Thr IPOW is coming in 4 days. Each school bound to offer up a representative for their school.
Me and Bato here we're just having a decision on who that should be. He believes it should be himself, I said otherwise." Hideaki said. "Foolishness." Hiroe said however Bato would put his hand up, gesturing for her to keep her comments to herself. For now.
"You honestly believe that this, nobody, will do you any good in this affair? Bato asked "He is the perfect candidate. I know Nori." Hideaki said.
"Clearly not well enough. He is a average student. With average capabilities." Bato said as he quickly side-eyed Kibe. "He hasn't failed a single exam, test and quiz since his being here." Hideaki announced.
"A feat I'm sure the top brass at this school can all acclaim to too." Bato said
"He is my choice. Rather you agree or not. Don't forget, you are coming to me. Not the other way around." Hideaki said as his voice rang and bulldozed through Bato's previous statements. "You think I require you? One word with the headmaster and-"
"I'm perfectly aware of your relationship with our headmaster Mizuki. Mr.Ojima." Hideaki said. Bato was infact a bit speechless there. Even Hiroe and Junna looked in slight amazement at Hideaki's reach.
"My great-great grandfather founded the school board of Japan. My great-grandfather modernized it, and my grandfather currently runs it.
While my father continues his studies and publications on the student mind, and the mathematical analysis of what school truly provides for students. I am here, formulating connections, making partnerships and solidifying my place as the most influential and most important student in Japan.
So Ojima, if you honestly feel like you can challenge me in a game of influence. I promise you. It will not boad well." Hideaki said. Cho was eating her usual snacks and candies as she watched from her seat. With Kawano still wearing a bag on his head and seemingly paging attention. Kibe watched this battle of titans, their aura and presence, the pressure was intense. It was like standing infront of two massive tidal waves. Kibe felt like he was going to be swooped away any second. However he kept his composure and stood firm.
"You understand, there are requirements to be met. Test that will really decide which student is best up to the task. And once done, the student body will decide." Hideaki said. Bato looked at him with a face of disgust and mild frustration.
"I have a feeling I'm coming up in just a few moments." Kibe thought. "Alright then, Me and Nori will battle it out. A test to see who can will be the best choice for Sawa High." Bato said. "Excellent, glad we could come to this agreement." Hideaki said.
"Is that you call this?" Bato asked.
"Its what I always call anything when it goes my way." Hideaki said as he stood up and fixed his uniform with Bato doing the same. The two shook hands. "Well, I assume you two have a bit to talk about." Hideaki said as he walked to Kibe and stopped next to him. "I'll text you a place to meet." Hideaki whispered before he and the rest of the council left the room. Kibe looked back before facing Bato.
"Well, what a drag that was. And here I was hoping I could drag you through the mud without any conflict." Bato said as he walked over to a table near the back wall. It had refreshments and a bowl of sweets. He poured himself some ice tea. He momentarily turned around to look at Kibe who as usual, had no reaction to his words.
"Hmp, nothing as usual." Bato thought. Kibe just stared at Bato for a moment before he spoke.
"The time that game has lasted is over Bato. Its been interesting." Kibe said. "Is that right? And what makes you say that? How did you come to that conclusion Nori?" Bato asked.
"I had my eyes opened, by someone you may know. Well they at least know you. Faust." Kibe said. Bato's entire body froze. Still facing away from Kibe, he immediately began to get flashes back to the pale palace. He remembered a time where he was alone.
Students of the pale palace, around 20 or so were standing around him. His arm broken, tears rushing down his face. He was young. There amongst the crowd he saw him, hidden in the back. The devil in the crowd.
Bato would be brought back to reality. To the present. He looked back at Kibe.
"Faust is a snake. Do not let him slither his way around you and drag you into delusion." Bato said with a seething and aggressive tone. "No Bato, its you whose delusion. You came here thinking you could get the best of me when the pale palace clearly wants me still alive.
Do you think they'd willingly let me get exposed? No, they'd turn the media and world upside-down to keep my secret. I realized that the moment I went on that island. I realized even later that what I was doing wasn't what I thought. I always wanted their eyes one me. A part me wants to know the answers, know the truth. So you stopping me and crushing me impedes on this." Kibe said
Bato looked at him with a face full of curiosity and shock at his words. His statements more then what he's ever heard from Kibe in years.
"...Do you honestly think, that I care what you want? I'm here to prove to them exactly what you are! A blasted failure whose only good contribution to this floatong blue ROCK. Is table manners and a delicate good sense of tea!
And the fact they are as invested into you, as they are absolutely..." Bato took a breath. He rubbed his face and composed himself. He then looked at Kibe with a calm and relaxed face.
"Boils me to my core." Bato said with relaxed expression, as he put his hands into his pockets. Kibe put his hands behind his back, as the two stared at one another.
"..."
"Alright then. You want to beat me? You want to prove something? Fine. Let's go at it. You and me. Once I win the IPOW, they'll finally understand just what you are." Bato said as he extended his hand. "Let the best man win." Kibe said as he shook Bato's hand.
"Theres only one man here Kibe." Bato said "For once, we agree." Kibe said as he then went to leave the room.
Elsewhere in school later on, Kenji was getting ready to leave school. As he walked down the hallway towards the exit. Memories of his past flooded his mind, Kibe's previous words ringing loud to him.
He remembered a time when he was walking down the hallways he always did. Those pale halls which spoke nothing, had nothing and meant nothing.
As he walked down them he would see Kiko surrounded by a few boys. Kiko looked up at them as one of them moved a strand of her hair away from her face. Her eyes briefly looking over to Kenji's direction.
"In that place I had nothing but the cards, the endless games and test. When I was adopted by my parents all they told me was to win. You seem so, distant from all of that.
The problems of this world and my problems too.
When I look at you, I see something. Is it a reward? Is it some tantalizing fruit that I just can't have? What is it? Did they rip the concept of love from me?" Kenji thought. His went to her eyes, her lips, her neck and more. "I want you, I've always eyed you yet never acted on it. Because I was afraid of losing.
Losing you." Kenji thought. Thats when he'd return to the present. He was near the entrance to school when he saw something. It was the gym teacher. Kenji saw him, but the man clearly wasn't paying attention to him. He was looking at something else until he walked away down the hall. Kenji stood where he was standing before and looked to see a girl standing at her shoe locker. Just standing there. Kenji looked at her and then to the gym teacher. He saw him fix his pants for a moment.
Kenji then walked over to the girl, standing behind her as other students passed by, going out into the rain day. He looked back and forth before he spoke. "I don't look at me and keep doing what your doing." Kenji said. The girl continued. Kenji noticed her outfit and hair, her hair was a bit messy which contradicted with her straight hair look she seemed to be going with and noticed her outfit was a torn in a few places. Mainly near the lower end where her skirt was.
"I know something bad has happened to you, tell me what it is. I can help you." Kenji said as he put his hand on her shoulder. She quivered a bit, her eyes getting teary as she muttered those terrible words. "...I was raped." She said, Kenji's eyes widened. Kenji's grip tightened as he got pissed. The thought stirred like an inferno in his head.
"THIS IS-"
Kenji's mind flashed back to that hallway, where he saw those guys and Kiko before. He returned to the present, his eyes burning with anger as he got ready to speak. However thats when someone would grab his wrist. Kenji and the girl would look over and see nonother than student council member Kawano Katsumi and Ido Cho. Ido was on Kawano's shoulders playing on a sort of portable gaming device. No bigger then a phone.
"...You." Kenji said. A little while later Kenji, the girl, Kawano and Ido would all be in a office room. The girl sniffling while Kawano leaned aginst the door and tugged on the bag on his head while Ido sat on the table between them. "Sexual assault eh? Sounds serious. And it's aginst Ichika, our gym teacher and gymnastics advisor.
Sounds very serious." Ido said as she ate some hard chewy candy. Her voice was very childlike and almost squeaky. Yet she almost had a seriousness to her demeanor, even if she wore the most childish hoodies and goof shoes.
"Whats your name?" Ido asked as she ate some more candy. "Uhh, I'm Oka Ottawa." Said Oka.
"Ah, from class 4-A. I heard about you. You're the gymnast who beat those other schools before yea? Almost went national?" Asked Ido. Oka nodded. "So what happened? Tell me everything." Ido said. Thats Kawano would look up and get his phone out.
"He...he invited me for some after school lessons. He said my forms had been getting rusty...s-s-so I said yes.
I didn't notice it at first, but he was staring quite a lot at me. Always taking second glances. I was feeling uncomfortable so I went to the locker room. I hadn't notice him following me...so before I knew it. He...h-..." thats when Oka would freeze during her words and begin to cry. Kenji looked at her, his arms across as he sat next to her. Ido watched her. "Did you get that Kawano?" Asked Ido. As Kawano nodded. Ido looked back to Kenji and Oka.
"Alright then, Oka. You focus on going home today. Get some rest and then we'll make moves to get this mended tomorrow. Ok?" Ido said with a wide smile. Oka nodded as she got up and bowed to everyone before leaving. Kenji however wasn't going to wait, he got up and went for the door only for Kawano to block him.
"Eh? What are you stopping me for? You have some sort of problem?" He asked. "Where do you think you're going Moriyama?" Ido asked as she jumped from the table to the floor. Kenji looked back at her, as she was looking at him. Kenji closed his eyes.
"Just heading back home. I don't know where else you'd think I be going." Kenji said
"Oh is that right? I thought you for sure were going to find and beat up the gym teacher." Ido said. Kenji's eyes reopened. "Did she somehow read that off of me? Or is that just her Intuition? Either way. Theres no way she could have guessed that." Kenji thought.
"Why would I-"
"I'm not saying you can't. Just that you better not be caught is all. Would be suspicious if we just let you go and suddenly a teacher wounds up getting beaten up. Wouldn't you say?" Ido said. Kenji looked at her with an unamused look. He knew what she was playing at.
"Yea. Right. I'll keep a low profile then." Kenji said as he waved them goodbye and left the room closing it. The two looked as Kenji walked down the hallway. Kawano closed his phone and put his hands in his pockets while Ido smiled widely. "Seems we can utilize this one. Huh Kawano?" Ido said with Kawano still remaking silent.
Kenji wondered around the school for a moment, looking out windows at parking lots and in offices. "Did he leave already? No, if he just did this he'd be around somewhere. No doubt he'd be sticking around. Thats criminal behavior 101." Kenji thought. He looked out one of the windows of class 8-F. Some students were still cleaning as he did. He looked out there for a moment, the rain pouring down like hail. He stared at the cars for a few moments. He looked at their windows and the backseats. Even with the rain his perception and vision was perfect. "Damn this rain, I can see just fine, but God. I didn't even bring an umbrella." Kenji thought as he fixed his uniform.
"Thats what I get for not checking the forecast- eh?" Kenji thought as he looked and saw him, the gym teacher and a another faculty member walking to a brown car. Kenji's face twisted as he looked at them. "Gotcha." Kenji said as he walked out of the classroom.
The gym teacher and the faculty member were sitting together in the car. The gym teacher got out his phone showed him the pictures of Oka he had taken while he assaulted her.
However they didn't notice Kenji walking towards their car. Kenji took off his jacket and wrapped it around his right hand. The two mennin the car were looking at the photos with big sadistic smiles on their faces. "Hehe, and here look. You get a full look in this one." Said the faculty member. "Yea, what a slut right? Damn she sure is-" however thats when Kenji would send his fist through the window punching the gym teacher straight in the face. Nearly busting his jaw while the faculty member looked in shock at the event.
Kenji grabbed the gym teacher's head and slamned it aginst the dashboard so hard the airbags in the car went off. He then opened the door and threw the gym teacher onto the ground before he then began to crubstomp his face. "BASTARD! BASTARD! BASTARD! BASTARD! BASTARD!
WHY DID YOU DO IT HUH!?" Kenji shouted in his head. His mind flashing to the scene in the hallway. "WHY DO YOU NEVER TRY! WHY DO YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO HALF-ASS EVERYTHING!
WHY!
WHY!
WHY!
WWHHHYY!!!" Kenji shouted in his thoughts. Thats when he remembered.
"Oh..thats right."
In his memories he would see those other students dead, a small spat of blood on Kiko's face. Kenji however was covered in it. He bent over and wiped it off. Kiko just staring at him.
"I killed them." Kenji said. He found himself back in the present, standing at the entrance of the school with his shoes in his hands and siaking wet.
"..."
"Why is it I can't learn to win the things that really matter. All the shit I have is just...superficial isn't it? Nothing I have in my life really matters to me. Not even...their love for me." Kenji said. He took a step into the rain it went down his hair and his face.
"They say you can wash away a lot while just standing in the rain. Maybe this way I can finally wash away some of this superficial bullshit.
Ughhh what am I saying...I'm not him. I can't be profound or methodical like him.
...I'm just..." Kenji sighed as he looked down, however thats when the rain would stop falling on him. He looked up and saw it was still raining, he then looked straight up and saw he was under an umbrella. He looked next to him and saw Kibe. He and him were under an umbrella.
"Oh..."
"Its you." Kenji said.