บท 28: Chapter 28
Ayanokōji's POV
"Make sure that you also do some work on your own, otherwise you'll still probably fail."
Walking back to the dorms was our small study group minus Kushida, who had split off from us earlier. I hadn't paid much attention to anyone else, but my session with Sudō had gone surprisingly well – his foundation knowledge was, to put it bluntly, terrible. Even a middle schooler would probably know more than him. Despite this, he still made a respectable effort to try and learn. It seems like, if anything, Sudō was desperate to stay in this school, so he would study even if he didn't like it.
"But you guys are going to make sure we don't fail, even if we don't, right?" Yamauchi said, walking with his hands in his pockets.
"Don't get the wrong idea," Lelouch said over his shoulder to the trailing Yamauchi. "We're tutoring you three because we are obliged to, not because we want to. We're merely fulfilling our end of the negotiations, nothing more. As such, none of us will go the extra mile for you if you decide to neglect your own studies."
Lelouch gave them an extremely blunt take on the situation. It was true that none us in Class D actually care whether some Class E students get expelled or not, though. We are merely doing what we signed on a contract to do – there was no reason for us to get personally invested and try to save them if they're beyond saving.
In other words, the relationship between Class D and E was purely a business one, it was not like forming an alliance. In the future, I had no doubt that my classmates would have no qualms about letting Class E drop into a hole of despair which they can never climb out of if they're still unable to fend for themselves.
After all, if they're so desperate for help and to be saved, there's only so much they can give us before we raise the price to something they could never afford. As it stands, a favour from Class E could be a very powerful weapon if used right, but what will Class E have to offer if they sink into ruin? A favour can only be as strong as the party giving the favour, and a class in such a perilous situation would never be able to offer anything material like points either.
"W-what? Would you guys really let us get expelled?!" Ike cried.
"Yes." Lelouch, Light and I all replied in unison.
"That's why I told you to make sure you do work on your own, too. If you don't put in any effort towards passing yourselves, then we won't be putting in that extra effort for you." I warned them.
The Idiot Trio each adopted an unexpectedly serious face. It seems like even these three won't mess around when expulsion is on the line. We walked a bit more in silence, and soon we came upon the boys' dorms.
"Hey, you guys go on ahead. I'm going to go and get a drink." I said.
"I'll come with you," Sudō said, turning around.
"No, there's no need. It's been a fairly long day, so I'd rather just take a quick detour, grab a drink, and return quietly. You can just go back to your room; I don't mind walking a bit by myself."
"Is that really ok?"
"Yeah."
With that, I split off from the group and took a turn, heading around the corner of the dorm building where there was a vending machine.
I arrived at my destination vending machine a couple of minutes later. There, I was about to input the code for a water bottle when I noticed something peculiar out of the corner of my eye.
I might be mistaken, but is that... Kushida? She was heading in the opposite direction to the main campus, towards the school.
She said she was going back to the girls' dorm, so why the hell is she going the completely opposite direction?
I forgot about the drink I had planned to get and, cloaking my presence as best as I could, decided to tail Kushida. If I had to say why, my best answer would be curiosity – I had no other reason.
Kushida went all the way to the school building directly, seemingly not planning to be accompanied by anyone. If she was, then she must be meeting them at her destination. But who could it be? A boyfriend, perhaps?
You have to be wearing your uniform to enter the school, and by now pretty much nobody would still be in them. Kushida and I were exceptions, because we had gone straight to the library after school and didn't have time to change. What this meant was that Kushida had clearly chosen a place and time in advance that she knew would be extremely secluded.
For what reason was Kushida purposefully going to such a deserted area? I guessed I would find out soon enough, so didn't pay it much thought. Kushida eventually reached the school and entered into the main building. I discreetly shadowed her, taking care not to fall too far behind but also not get too close.
I took out a pair of indoor shoes from the cubicles in the hallway, but didn't see Kushida. Had I lost her? I thought I had, until I heard the faint clack of shoes.
I followed her up the stairs to the second floor. The sound of footsteps continued up to the third floor. The next level after that is the roof – students were free to use the roof during lunchtime, but it should've been locked after class. While I thought it strange, I went up the stairs, hiding my presence in case she was meeting with someone.
I stopped partway up the stairs and gently leaned against the handrail, peeking through a crack in the rooftop door. Through the opening, I glimpsed Kushida. No one else was with her. Was she waiting for someone?
A rendezvous at such an isolated place... Maybe she is meeting her boyfriend after all. If that were the case, I could end up cornered on all sides. While I agonized over how to sneak away, Kushida slowly set her bag down on the ground.
And then...
"Ahhh, so annoying!"
Her voice was so low that it didn't sound at all like Kushida.
"He's seriously annoying! God, how irritating. It'd be better if he just died..."
She grumbled to herself, as if chanting the words to some kind of spell or curse.
"Ugh, I hate people like him. He's just like that Horikita bitch. Who does he think he is, looking down on everyone while putting on that stupid fake smile? Someone like him couldn't possibly be a good tutor."
Was Kushida annoyed with someone from Class D? She mentioned tutor and also 'fake smile,' I was pretty certain my facial expression had never changed the whole time, so she was probably talking about either Lelouch or Light.
"All people like you are the same, damn self-important bastards that look down on everyone else. You're the worst, the worst, the worst! Ahhh, you're so damn annoying!"
I felt like I'd caught a glimpse of another side of this gentle girl, one of the most popular students in the first year. She probably didn't want anyone else to this darker side of her, which is why she had came all the way here.
In that case...
I pulled out my phone and, making sure that Kushida couldn't catch sight of the bright screen, opened the camera app. This could provide some very useful leverage for when we need to destroy Class E. Having someone like Kushida being forced to work for me would be beneficial indeed.
I pointed the front camera through the crack in the door. The recording would be a lot more incriminating if the audio was also accompanied by video proof of Kushida's diatribe. I moved my thumb over the screen and hit the start recording button.
Ding!
I had taken such care in making sure I wasn't spotted that I completely forgot to turn down the volume of the phone. As a result, a high pitch sound was emitted when I started the recording. Kushida tensed and stopped breathing. I'd instantly become her enemy. Turning, Kushida set her sights on me. I'd been seen.
My top priority now was to make sure that Kushida didn't catch on to the fact that I had my phone out. I quickly slipped it back into my uniform pocket, leaving it still recording audio.
After a brief silence, Kushida coldly asked, "What... are you... doing here?"
"I got a little lost. Sorry. My bad, my bad. I'll be going now."
Kushida looked straight at me, clearly seeing through my obvious lie. I'd never seen such an intense gaze before.
"Did you hear?" she asked.
"Would you believe me if I said I didn't?" I replied.
"I see..."
Kushida briskly walked down the stairs. She placed her forearm against the base of my throat, and pushed me up against the wall. Her tone of voice, her actions, everything about her was completely unlike the Kushida I knew. This new Kushida wore a terrifying expression, one that I could almost compare to Horikita's.
"If you tell anyone what you just heard, I won't forgive you."
Her words were ice, and I didn't think they were an idle threat.
"And if I did tell?"
"In that case, I would tell everyone that you raped me."
"That's a false accusation, you know."
"That's okay. It wouldn't be false."
Her words had heft and power, which gave off a deadly aura. As she spoke, Kushida grabbed my right wrist and slowly opened my hand. She pushed my palm up against her soft breast.
"What are you doing?" I asked calmly, offering zero resistance.
"Your fingerprints are on my clothes. That's evidence of my claim. I'm being serious. Understand?"
"Are you going to release my hand?"
"I said do you understand?" Kushida asked aggressively.
She made no movements to free me, and we stayed there staring at each other for a while as she kept my hand pressed against her. Eventually, I decided to make my move.
"I think you're enjoying that a bit too much." I said.
"Huh?"
For the first time since Kushida had pinned me, I moved of my own accord. I added some force behind my right hand and applied pressure to my grip.
"Mnn--!"
Kushida desperately tried to stifle any noises, but couldn't stop a surprised moan from escaping her lips. I took advantage of her confusion by grabbing the arm that pinned me with my free hand. I spun us around and shoved Kushida against the wall, reversing our positions. I held her arm above her head, holding it to the wall, and placed my right leg in between both of hers, restricting her movements even further.
"Certainly, to do something like framing me with rape would need you to come down to the stairwell here, where there are no surveillance cameras. But that works both ways around, doesn't it?" I said in a cold voice, completely different from my everyday persona.
"W-What the hell are you talking about?" Kushida's ice cold expression that she had worn until a moment ago vanished, and was replaced by one of anxiety and worry.
"You don't understand? There are no cameras viewing this stairwell, and this entire building is deserted at this time. All the teachers have retired for the day, and no students have any reason to come here this late. In other words, nobody will be around to see whatever happens here."
I felt Kushida's body begin to tremble, and she averted her eyes, frantically trying to escape from my glare. Using my other hand, I grabbed her chin and forced her to look at me. If her eyes were ice, then mine right now were even colder than the winter that created said ice.
"What do you want from me?" Kushida let out a barely audible whisper
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