"Ken, how'd your practice go yesterday? You finally met with Komiya and Kondou again, right?" asked Akito.
The Ayanokouji Group was having lunch in the cafeteria, as usual. Wednesday noons are just as effervescent as the two preceding days. Everyone around us vigorously chatted with their friends while eating.
"Heh, all they could do was glare at me. Those two won't be able to beat me in a fight anyway, even if that Ishizaki guy backs them up," Ken scoffed with confidence.
"Just don't fall for their provocations again. Things would've been bad if Airi didn't call out to you," I said.
"Yeah," Ken said before turning to Airi, who was beside him. "Thanks for that, Airi."
"I-It's fine, Ken-kun. I didn't think that my actions would have such an impact, anyway. I just panicked when I saw one of them punch you," replied Airi.
"But still, I owe you one," Ken smiled with a thumbs-up.
"How about not getting into fights in the first place, idiot Kencchin?" Haruka snickered.
"B-But what if they pick on me first? Of course, I'll strike back if they start the fight!" Ken tried to justify his hypothetical course of action.
Haruka looked at him like he was scolding a child.
"You know, Kencchin, you'd be so much cooler if you were as calm as Miyacchi or Kiyopon," she said.
"Wha-?!"
Haruka teased Ken a bit more before we went back to the classroom.
"Is this it, Haruki?! Is our moment finally coming?" Ike asked Yamauchi with overwhelming excitement."
"Yeah, Kanji! This is our time!" Yamauchi responded with the same vigor.
They were hanging out with Miyamoto, Professor, and Hondou.
"Are you really sure, Kanji? They might just be baiting you." Miyamoto asked with a skeptical expression.
"Hahaha, I wouldn't imagine Haruki, of all people, getting a message like that." Hondou chuckled haughtily.
"Shut up, you two! You're just jealous!" Yamauchi snapped angrily.
"Hmph. Don't lump us in the same group just because no one's interested in you two," added Ike.
"But gentlemen, as much as I couldn't care less about your 3D-Girl business, didn't Hirata-dono and Ayanokouji-dono warn us? According to my Neo-Akashic records, Kinoshita-san and Manabe-san are both from Class D," Professor stated using his strange way of speaking.
"Yeah, the timing is too convenient. Isn't Class D's plan obvious at this point?" Hondou shrugged.
"The hell?! There's no way. How dare you think ill of someone's feelings just because they're from another class?" rebutted Ike. "And I'm sure their timing is just a coincidence. I would reconsider it if the two of them are close friends, but they're not even in the same friend group."
"Yeah! And besides, they only told us to be careful. It's not like we weren't allowed to interact with them, right? It'll be fine if we just keep our guard up." Yamauchi snorted as if he just sealed the deal on a debate.
Someone who thought up that plan regarding Ken shouldn't be this impatient. Is it desperation, after all? Was I overestimating him? Is that the kind of person Ryuuen Kakeru is? He's not even being subtle at this point. It's like he's sending us a message.
Airi's interruption to his plan should've been accidental. He wouldn't think that someone is going up against him. He must be testing us.
I approached the five of them while waving my hand lightly.
"Hey, I heard you two talking about some girls," I said.
"Oh, Ayanokouji. These two idiots are getting all worked up just because some Class D girls started chatting them up," said Miyamoto.
"Yeah, it's obviously just Class D switching targets. These two are easy, after all." Hondou raised an eyebrow.
"What? You're here to talk smack about us too, Ayanokouji?" Ike wore a displeased expression.
"Yeah, we still haven't forgiven your betrayal last Saturday! You don't plan to get in our way now too, do you?" said Yamauchi.
I remember the commotion last Thursday morning, before class. It was right before Chabashira-sensei announced our points for July. Kikyou instantly greeted me as soon as she arrived in the classroom. That much was normal for everyone. However, since Kikyou started calling me by my given name, most of the boys were instantly irked, especially Ike and Yamauchi. They only shut up their mouths after Kikyou told them that it was her idea.
Well, the fact that they instantly shifted their attention to other girls the moment they got noticed by them was amazing, to say the least.
"Nah, I was just curious. Miyamoto, Hondou, Professor, I don't think it's nice to berate Ike and Yamauchi just because they're getting close with the girls from Class D. In fact, it could even work in our favor," I said.
"Huh? In our favor? What do you mean, Ayanokouji?" asked the confused Yamauchi.
"Kinoshita-san and Manabe-san, right? Once the two of you start going out with them, you can start extracting some information. Of course, I'm not saying that you two should go out with them solely for that reason. No need to share anything personal. Just be sure to tell me or Hirata anything that you think would be helpful to the class. "
"Oh! That did not even cross my mind, Ayanokouji-dono. It seems like we have been focusing too much on the danger, wouldn't you say?" said Professor.
"Well... I guess that could work?" Miyamoto and Hondou were still skeptical.
"G-Go out with them?"
"That would be nice..."
The two of them were on cloud nine while thinking about that outcome.
"Yeah, Yamauchi is right. You can mingle with them all you want as long as you're being careful."
"Heh! Hear that, you three? Even Ayanokouji supports us!" Yamauchi faced them with a smug smirk.
"Dude, they just started chatting with you last Sunday. They might lose interest after a week or so," said Miyamoto.
"We kept them interested for such a long time. That's a good sign!" Ike protested.
"Well, whatever your progress is, I'm looking forward to it, Ike, Yamauchi. You're smart enough to avoid trouble, right?" I said.
"Of course, leave it to us." Ike patted his chest.
"Yeah!" Yamauchi followed with a thumbs-up.
Well, these two might be easy targets for Class D, but that would also make them a flexible asset for me. They're not really significant to the class at the moment, so I can always just choose to abandon them if necessary. I also don't have to be careful about offending them because of my position in the class hierarchy. To be honest, I don't mind burning a few hundred points if I can get rid of the setbacks.
That night, Kikyou visited my room. After venting her frustrations, she seemed exhausted as usual.
"Sigh... Why can't some people just die or something...?" Kikyou whispered with a tired expression.
Like most times, Kikyou leaned on my shoulders while I patted her head, which was a bit strange given the content of her words. She also started to not mind my actions after a while.
"You need to stop spoiling me like this, Kiyotaka-kun. I'll start getting dependent," she said.
"I thought doing this puts you at ease."
"It does, that's why it's pretty addicting."
"Oh... That would be bad, I guess." I tried to lift my hand off of her hair but...
"Keep patting me," she demanded. Her tone was scary so I just complied.
"Okay..."
After Kikyou was satisfied, she sat straight before facing me.
"Alright, I'm fine now!" I will never stop being impressed by how she switches her personality with such finesse.
"Kikyou, can I ask you about some girls from Class D?"
"Oh? If my guess is correct, it would be Manabe-san and Kinoshita-san, right?" she smiled.
"Ah... As expected of you, huh?"
"I'm friends with Ike-kun and Yamauchi-kun too, you know?" Kikyou's expression suddenly turned grim. "They're trying to show off those girls to me more so than they're doing to their male friends, probably with the goal of making me jealous or something. It's honestly so pathetic and gross."
So they haven't given up on Kikyou yet? They're trying to gauge her reactions and decide from there? I don't know if that's their mindset, but at the very least, Kikyou didn't seem happy about it.
"It's so obvious that they're the ones getting targeted by Class D this time around. But of course, those virgins are too delusional to actually use their brains."
"That's why I'm trying to gather information. Forcing them to cut off ties with those girls would probably yield a bad result. I'll make my own plans for this."
"I see... Well, if it's you, then everything will probably work out in the end." Kikyou looked at me with a shrug.
Kikyou told me everything she knew about Kinoshita Minori and Manabe Shiho. As Ike said earlier, they're not in the same friend group. Apparently, Kinoshita is a spirited and athletic girl. She has a few friends in Class D, like Yajima Mariko, who's also sporty. Meanwhile, Manabe Shiho is somewhat of a gyaru, much like Karuizawa and her friends. Of course, Manabe's friends are similar to her in that regard.
Hmm... This is pretty tricky. I always intended to catch two fishes in one place and in one go, but I don't think it'll be possible at this point. Since Plan A won't work, then I guess it'll be Plan B. But as a result, I won't be able to use Kikyou.
"Well, that's pretty much it. I'm not that close to them yet, so I don't know if my knowledge would help much."
"No, it helped a lot. Thanks, Kikyou," I said.
"Is that all?"
"Yeah."
"What do you plan to do?" she asked.
"Hmm... I'm not sure yet. I'll ask for your help once I finish coming up with one," I said.
Kikyou stared into my eyes for a brief second before standing up.
"Alright," nodded Kikyou.
She thanked me before bidding farewell.
My plan is already complete. Sorry, Kikyou. I can't use you this time.