CHAPTER 8
If you can’t beat ’em, break ’em.
Taiki Kaji was the son of a home appliance manufacturer’s CEO and had been the student council president three years before during middle school. Sayaka, Nonoa, Yuushou, Sumire, Yuki, and Masachika ran the student council under his leadership, and if he didn’t lose to Touya in the most recent presidential race, then Yuki would still be calling him President Kaji.
“You purposely left a gap in security in order to let those intruders inside, didn’t you?”
Taiki lowered his gaze in response, but that was enough for Yuki.
“Why would you do such a thing?”
“…‘Why?’ You, of all people, should know why. Am I wrong?”
He returned Yuki’s question with a question of his own.
“Kirika?” replied Yuki without even blinking.
“…Yes, exactly. I have to get Kirika back…and in order to do that…I have to become a member of the First Light Committee, no matter what it takes!” Taiki cried out emotionally and somewhat off-key. Kirika Asama was not only Taiki’s partner during the presidential race but his fiancée as well. Although it was an arranged marriage for the sake of their parents’ businesses, they didn’t have a bad relationship at all. Taiki especially took a liking to Kirika, but after he lost to Touya in the presidential race, the door leading to the First Light Committee had seemingly shut, so the Asama family apparently backed out of the arrangement.
“They told me they didn’t need a son-in-law that’d lose to a commoner, and they tossed me aside like trash! If I don’t do something, then Kirika is going to be married off to some other powerful family… That’s why I’m willing to do anything to stop that and why I need the First Light Committee’s approval!”
His voice was intemperate and wavering, and his pupils constricted behind his glasses. He was far different from the Taiki that Yuki used to know.
“Yeah… It never made any sense… He wanted to become the student council president so he could ask the girl he likes out? How original. Kiss my ass. They have no idea how I feel about Kirika, and yet…they all voted for that commoner like he’s special. They messed up. This isn’t right. I am far more fit to be president than him…” Taiki continuously mumbled this while chewing on his fingernails, causing Yuki to soften her gaze as if she almost felt sorry for him.
“Who put you up to this?” she asked softly, making Taiki suddenly freeze before slowly lifting his chin. Yuki stared back at him with unclouded eyes and added frankly:
“The Taiki I knew was neither this arrogant nor selfish, so let me ask you this one more time. Who put you up to this?”
The eyes of a girl who wanted to believe someone she respected made him hesitant…but eventually he snorted with a grim grin.
“You don’t know me.”
After Taiki pushed her away, as if to tell her to mind her own business, Yuki narrowed her eyes and barked:
“Shut the hell up.”
“…What?”
She was the model gentlewoman and a lady of the Suou family, so there was no way such crude language would escape those lips. Taiki’s jaw dropped in bewilderment, as if he thought he was hearing things, but of course, he wasn’t.
“‘You don’t know me’? Who do you think you are? Of course I don’t know your dumb ass! I don’t even really care to get to know you, either! You didn’t have what it takes to win. That’s all there is to it. Her family broke off your engagement, so you joined the dark side? That’s all it took? Pathetic! You’re an insult to all the villainesses who were framed, had their engagements called off, and were exiled from the country! Apologize to them this instant!”
“…?!?!”
This was the most flustered Taiki had been in years. The gentlewoman had removed her mask and was now hurling insults and demanding apologies for who knows what. He was having trouble keeping up with what was happening, but Yuki didn’t seem to care in the least as she continued at full throttle.
“Listen, the only guys allowed to join the dark side are the ones who have already wooed the heroine! Because you need a heroine who will walk through the darkness with you to trigger an event that will take your relationship to the next level! When it comes to love, there is absolutely no value in joining the dark side when you’re single! If you want to go fight windmills, then go do so somewhere else! I mean, you’re on track to become some gross stalker obsessed with his ex at this rate.”
“Wh-what?! I would never stalk anyone!”
“Then stop being a pansy and go talk to her! Her parents are the ones who broke off the engagement, so this situation might actually turn in your favor if you play your cards right! Your masculinity is being tested, so stop using that passion of yours in all the wrong ways, dammit!”
As Yuki yelled, all color gradually faded from Taiki’s face…but by the time he came back to his senses, he was emotionally stable again. The only emotion he felt now was depression as he listlessly asked:
“What should I do now…?”
Yuki quickly pointed behind him.
“First! You need to go see Kirika, get on all fours, and apologize. Tell her everything you did, then tell her you just couldn’t give her up and were willing to do anything to get her back. Now go. I already told her to wait behind the school building.”
When she jerked her thumb to the side, Ayano, who had actually been there the entire time, suddenly took a step forward and held up Yuki’s smartphone. Taiki jumped in genuine surprise, since it looked like she had just appeared out of nowhere, but after a few moments went by, he smiled, as if a load had been taken off his shoulders.
“Ha-ha… Yeah… I should have just tried talking to her about it…,” muttered Taiki before he swiftly bowed, with his usual calm expression.
“Thank you so much. I’ll try talking to Kirika one more time.”
“Good. Oh, hey! I honestly already think I know the answer, but Yuushou Kiryuuin’s the one who put you up to all this, wasn’t he?”
“Yeah… He wants to ruin the Autumn Heights Festival so that the current student council falls and loses its authority. Incidentally, he also plans on using this as an opportunity to have Sumire resolve all the disputes to improve their standing at school. He apparently got anyone he could find to ruin the festival, from delinquents and people with grudges to magazine journalists and kids who do prank videos online. I don’t really know the details, though, since I was probably nothing more than a sacrificial pawn to him in the end…”
“Interesting. I suppose that means this is going to be over very soon, then. Masachika will make short work of that wannabe evildoing ‘prince,’ too,” Yuki mocked with a laugh, which made Taiki smile ruefully.
“You really trust Kuze, don’t you?”
“Of course I do. He’s the best.”
Yuki placed a hand on her hip while puffing out her chest, which only made Taiki smile even more uncomfortably as he shook his head in a self-deprecating manner.
“He is, huh? Ha-ha-ha… I thought you two had a falling-out or something… You think you know it all one day; then you realize you know absolutely nothing the next.”
He glanced up at Yuki one last time before descending the stairs, and the moment his footsteps faded into nothingness, Yuki immediately relaxed her shoulders.
“Sigh… What a pain in the ass that was. He really made things far more complicated than he needed to. I get that she’s his first love, but I’m exhausted. Then again, I guess he owes me now, so it’s not all bad.”
“I agree. Having a former student council president who’s also the current disciplinary committee president on our side could help us in the presidential race. At any rate, your excellent performance brought a tear to my eye, Lady Yuki. I’m sure it wasn’t easy persuading him.”
“Yeah, I don’t know if I was that persuasive. I kind of just tore down his whole argument. But, well, I’m lucky he’s actually a good person deep down inside,” replied Yuki, waving her hand before Ayano’s adoring gaze before directing her gaze down the hallway in her brother’s direction.
“I’m sure it’s not going to be that easy over there, though.”
Over there. Hidden behind the smiles of Masachika and Yuushou were knives pointed at the other’s throat.
“We have some VIP members waiting in the room up ahead, and nobody is allowed near them except for the president and vice president.”
“Which you’re neither, right? Being a member of the student council doesn’t make you an exception, right?”
“That’s right, so how about you turn around and we head back together?”
They wore fake smiles while they exchanged shallow pleasantries. Despite realizing the other’s true intention, they continued to probe the other as if this were an art. However…
“Sorry, but I can’t do that.”
The instant Yuushou firmly rejected his offer, Masachika decided to erase his fake smile, then lifted his chin up with a serious expression while glaring down at Yuushou with contempt in his eyes.
“Wow, you’re not even going to try to hide it anymore.”
“Hide what?”
“You think you can do whatever you want, and it’ll all be forgiven as long as a few powerful people in that room over there take a liking to you, right? You’re naive. Even if the First Light Committee gave you a pass for the stunt you pulled today, do you really think the school will let you get away with this?”
But Masachika’s taunt didn’t break his smile.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, but the only one naive here is you. Do you really think this school will disobey the will of the First Light Committee?”
“The police are going to get involved after what happened today. The public’s not going to let this whole thing get swept under the rug.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that. This school has extraterritorial rights, you could say. Besides, even if what happened today was an issue, wouldn’t the hosts of the Autumn Heights Festival be responsible? Namely, the current and previous student council presidents and vice presidents?” said Yuushou with a shameless chuckle, making Masachika click his tongue. Yuushou must have been worried about being recorded, so he was making sure not to tell on himself. Furthermore, seeing how smug he was being must have meant that he didn’t leave a single shred of evidence that connected him to what had happened today. Even Masachika didn’t have any proof that Yuushou was behind this disturbance.
Eh. Even if I did find proof, the First Light Committee would have no problem making it disappear, since winning the presidential race is considered a just cause in their eyes.
And from what Masachika’s grandfather Gensei told him as a kid, the First Light Committee didn’t seem to care what students did during the presidential race, no matter how dirty things got. That was also why he knew that Yuushou was planning on paying them a visit in an attempt to get off scot-free.
“Why are you even doing this…would be a stupid question to ask, huh? Obviously, you’ve got to attack from the rear to ruin the current student council’s reputation, since there’s no way you’d be able to win a popularity contest. This is a very on-brand thing for you to do, too.”
“I told you already. I have no idea what you’re talking about.” There was a subtle change in his expression, even though it was clear he wasn’t planning on coming clean. “But… Hmm… Generally, elections are all about winning, whether you attack from the rear or not, right? Don’t tell me that you truly believe these struggles for power around the world are always settled peacefully and fairly?” Yuushou ridiculed Masachika with an unapologetically ambitious grin. “Money, power, violence—this is what makes winners in the real world, and I plan on using all of these things to win. Only those who have the strength, will, and determination to do so are fit to join the First Light Committee. Conversely, the weak and scared have no place among them.”
“Cute. Save the rest of your speech for the First Light Committee after you make it to the student council room, though.”
“Good idea. So…I think it’s time you move.”
Yuushou smirked, brimming with confidence once more as he took something from his school jacket pocket. Masachika’s eyebrow immediately rose, since like most people, Masachika had only seen that something on TV before.
“Whoa. Seriously? Bringing a stun gun to school? Is it really that dangerous out there for rich kids like you?”
“I usually don’t have it on me, but I knew a lot of strangers were visiting our school today, so I brought it just in case. And hey, look what happened. A lot of bad strangers did end up showing up.”
“Wow, what a coincidence,” Masachika replied blandly with a shrug. Yuushou then narrowed his gaze and held out his stun gun while the smile faded from his face.
“So do you think you could move? As I mentioned a minute ago, I will not hesitate to use violence if I have to.”
“Good. Because I don’t plan on holding back, either,” replied Masachika in a carefree manner as his demeanor instantly changed. But even though his gaze was piercing, his voice remained calm.
“Everyone in the student council worked their ass off to make this school festival happen…”
Even though there were cries that they were short on manpower, rivals set aside their differences as the student council became one.
“Takeshi and Hikaru put their hearts into preparing for their performance, despite being hurt…”
The band breaking up destroyed them, but even then, they decided to keep pushing forward with their instruments in hand.
“Alya finally mustered up the courage to face the weakness in her heart…”
The girl who never showed weakness finally opened up to Masachika backstage.
“Do you really think I’m going to let you ruin everything?” Masachika’s quiet yet seething rage could be felt in each of his words, making Yuushou gulp. His palm holding the stun gun began to sweat while he took a step back with his left leg, assuming a diagonal stance. The tension rapidly grew, filling the five-meter gap between them. “By the way, do you like big boobs or huge boobs?”
“…What?”
It was an absurd, nonsensical question ill-suited for the situation, which caught Yuushou off guard, leaving an opening that Masachika immediately capitalized on. Masachika used to practice karate when he was younger; he took kendo in middle school; and he was learning judo now in high school. He’d received his black belt in karate while he had the skill set of someone with their third dan in both kendo and judo, thanks to his inherent ability to rapidly absorb everything like a sponge. That said, what he ended up doing was a good ol’ fashioned shukuchi—aka a “godspeed”—a move loved by all nerds. His masters were 2D, and his textbooks were comic books.
“…?!”
Only when his right wrist was grabbed did Yuushou even realize that Masachika had moved. His eyes opened wide in surprise as a sharp pain shot down his wrist while his collar was simultaneously grabbed and his legs were swept from beneath him. The world violently spun before him until his back slammed against the ground, knocking the wind right out of him as he saw stars. However, before he could even process what had happened, he had already been flipped over onto his stomach as his right arm was being twisted behind his back.
“G-gah…!”
There was no way he was going to be able to get up, with a knee on his left shoulder and with his right arm twisted. The most he managed was turning his head as far as he could to glare at Masachika, who easily pulled the stun gun from his hand.
“Using money, power, and violence to win, was it? So? If using violence is okay, then what are you going to do now?” replied Masachika in a flat tone, glaring just as coldly back at Yuushou. But even though Yuushou’s brow was furrowed in agony, he still smirked audaciously.
“What about you? Do you really think you’re going to get away with injuring me like this? More importantly, what if someone happens to see you on top of me like this—?”
“I don’t care who sees this. I’m sure I can break a few bones before they can even get close to stopping me. I told you. I’m not going to hesitate to use violence, either.”
Masachika then grabbed Yuushou’s right index finger and began to slowly bend it backward.
“Ah!” cried Yuushou with a soft grunt, but Masachika paid no heed to his cries and emotionlessly added:
“I’m going to break your fingers one by one until you admit that you were behind all of this. Once we’re done with your right hand, we’ll move on to your left. You’ll probably never be able to play piano again, or at least not as well as you play now. But don’t worry. Once you admit what you’ve done, I’ll take you to see the First Light Committee. We’ll show them how you used cheap tricks and still lost like the loser you are,” he vowed, tightening his grip around Yuushou’s index finger. It was the first time that every last bit of confidence vanished from Yuushou’s face.
“D-don’t! Stop! Do you really think they’d be willing to overlook something like that?!”
“Probably. Anything goes when it comes to the presidential race, right? Didn’t you say something like that? Besides, I honestly don’t even care what they decide.”
“Wh-what?”
Masachika peered into Yuushou’s skeptical eyes while a cold-blooded sneer curled his lips.
“If we’re forced out of the race, then Yuki and Alya could just join forces. They’d win, and Alya would get to be the student council president while Yuki would get to join the First Light Committee. Hell, I’d even be able to make Alya the student council president without having to betray Yuki this way, to boot. It’d be a happy ending for everyone. In fact, I couldn’t think of a better ending.”
“Mnnn…! D-don’t tell me you were planning on doing this from the start?!”
Masachika silently smiled back at his panicking schoolmate, then pressed his left knee heavily onto Yuushou’s back, applying pressure on his lungs so that he wouldn’t be able to scream.
“As you can see, unlike you, I have nothing to lose. In other words, you should probably start admitting what you did before it’s too late.”
“…! N-no! Stop! Stoppp!”
He desperately struggled, straining his voice as he tried to yell as loudly as he could, but Masachika continued to bend his finger back until—
“But, well, I guess we don’t have to settle this with violence. Unlike you, I can play by the rules. I’ll give you a choice.”
“What…?” panted Yuushou.
“You decide. I break your fingers or we settle this at a debate while following the rules.”
“A debate…?”
“If I win, then I want you to confess to the entire school that you were behind what happened here today. But if you win, then I’ll look the other way and let you off the hook.”
Masachika’s one-sided conditions made Yuushou’s lips twist in an odd smile.
“That sounds like a pretty lopsided deal to me. You’re not really risking any—”
“All right, no deal, then.”
“What?! Stop! W-wait! How would we even make sure the other keeps their promise?!”
“That’s simple. We’ll have Sumire act as our mediator and witness.”
“…! That’s…”
Yuushou seemed visually upset by his suggestion, and it was that reaction that told Masachika everything he needed to know about Sumire: She knew nothing of Yuushou’s scheme. It also helped him discover one of Yuushou’s weaknesses, bringing this all to an end.
“Don’t worry. We won’t tell Sumire why we’re fighting each other until after the match. In other words, you have to beat me if you want to keep this a secret from her. Hmm… Hey. If these are going to be the conditions, then I guess we can give you a little bit of a handicap and do something you’re good at.”
“…What do you mean?”
Masachika leaned in closer to Yuushou’s furrowed brow, grinned scornfully, and whispered:
“I’m saying let’s settle this doing what you’re best at: piano, Mr. Runner-Up.”
Yuushou’s eyes instantly widened and he practically growled.
“I knew it…! Suou…!”
Masachika was all too familiar with that competitive glare as he recalled a similar look that a boy used to give him long ago at piano competitions and recitals, eliciting a haughty snort.
“So that was you. My bad. I was hardly even aware of your existence back then, so I had no idea that was you until Nonoa brought it up again.”
“You little…!”
“So? What’s it going to be? By the way, I haven’t even touched a piano in over five years, so you definitely have the advantage here. But, well, I still really doubt I’d lose to Little Runner-Up here.”
Despite obviously just trying to get a rise out of him, Yuushou couldn’t even pretend to be calm as he emphatically replied:
“Don’t you dare underestimate me… I’ll do it…! This time, you’re going down…!”
“Masachika’s still not back.”
Takeshi looked up at the school building with a slightly worried gaze from backstage. Around forty minutes had gone by since the firecrackers incident, and things had finally started to settle down in the schoolyard, thanks to Alisa reaching out and the hard work of everyone on staff. Therefore, they decided to resume the stage performances. Furthermore, not only did they make an announcement on the school’s PA system that all the intruders had been caught, but they also announced that they were going to keep the school festival open for an extra thirty minutes as well, which really helped with everyone’s anxiety.
Yet in spite of all that, Masachika was still missing.
“They may have caught all of the intruders, but he might be dealing with the aftermath,” suggested Hikaru, and Alisa’s expression clouded over. She had exerted herself in a bid to calm the crowd, just like Masachika had asked her to, and she’d helped deal with the aftermath of the fireworks incident as well, but that was the extent of it. Deep down inside, she felt like there had to be something else she could do as a member of the student council and as Masachika’s partner. She began wondering if it really was okay for her to wait around like this until her anxiety and impatience gradually transformed into agony and doubt.
“You seem restless. A leader needs to be calm and strong,” Sayaka suddenly said while pushing up her glasses.
“Yeah, for real. Like, be a little more laid-back, Alisa.”
“…You’re a little too laid-back, Nonoa,” sassed Sayaka as Nonoa only continued to take selfies in her stage outfit. Regardless, seeing these two act so normally brought smiles to Takeshi’s and Hikaru’s faces.
“Yeah, worrying isn’t gonna help anything. Besides, I think you’d be wasting your time worrying about Masachika, of all people!”
“Ha-ha! Yes, you can say that again. Alya, we need to trust Masachika, because what we need to focus on right now is putting on the best performance we can. Let’s not give those intruders what they want. We will not cower. We’re ‘Fortitude,’ after all, right?”
Hikaru’s encouragement suddenly reminded Alisa of the words Masachika left her with.
“So trust me…and wait for me. I’ll make sure this performance happens.”
Masachika kept his promise, so what Alisa needed to do…was crystal clear. She closed her eyes briefly before opening them to make eye contact with each of her bandmates, conveying that her doubt was no more.
“Thank you. Everyone.”
All of a sudden, her phone started to vibrate, so she slipped her hand into her pocket to promptly check the message, as if this were fate, and displayed on the screen was a brief message from Masachika:
You’ve got this.
That message alone lit a passionate fire in Alisa’s heart.
“<Thank you, too,>” she whispered with her smartphone touching her lips, quickly followed by a strong, confident grin.
“All right, everyone. Let’s make sure our first performance is a great one! Is everybody ready?!”
“Y-yeahhh!”
“Yeahhh?”
“…Yeah.”
“Sure.”
“Are you even trying?!” joked Alisa, making the other four laugh, which made her start laughing as well.
“Now, give it up for Fortitude!” announced a member on staff suddenly, so after each band member exchanged gazes and shared a nod, they took the stage.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login