~{ 8.1 - Humiliation }~

"You're selfish, Nagumo-senpai" The girl on the other side of the phone yelled at me, 

"Can't you find someone else?!" No. The best woman should be with me. 

"Do you know how much Kiyotaka means to me?!" Yes, which is why I must get rid of him, so that I can take advantage of your depressed state.

"I'll never get together with the likes of you!" ...

"You might as well give up on me!" What is this feeling... It feels so familliar.

"Honami, please listen to me—" She cut me off.

"No." she replied bluntly.

"Honam—" She cut me off again.

"No! Stop it, Nagumo-senpai! You already did enough damage!"

I dropped down to my knees out of pain.

Ah I remember now... It's this feeling that I'm feeling... The feeling of rejection, the feeling of... Hatred.

But it's different this time... This hatred... This feeling is not towards Honami... It's towards Ayanokouji.

"N-not this pain again..." I muttered.

Ayanokouji lowered himself down, he kneeled in front of my sorry state. He grabbed me by the hair and pulled my head up.

"G-go to hell, Ayanokouji!" As I threw my fist at him, as he hung up the call. He caught my hand within an instant, it was so fast that if you blinked, you would have missed it.

He applied pressure down on my hand, causing an immense pain.

"You're weak. Nagumo. You're weak, and pathetic." He said, staring into my eyes with his own. Eyes that reflected no light, and would cause even the toughest of men to flinch. "The Student Council President, in this sorry state, over a girl who rejected him. How weak." 

"..." I was to afraid to speak.

"... Did you just piss your pants?" I looked down towards my pants, and it was wet. "What do you think would happen if..." He paused and the silence felt... deafening. "The entire school saw this?" He took his phone out of his pocket and took a picture of me.

"W-what the fuck are you doing..." I could only say quietly.

"Your popularity far exceeds the majority of the average student, your influence allowed you to lead the entire third year. But what do you think everyone would think if they saw it?"

"Y-you wouldn't dare... The school would track you down and you will be punished." I said.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that. I led you guys here for a reason. It's not a popular location and there are no security cameras in this area." He said. But there is flaws within that plan.

"They would track the post to your phone number. There's no way you can get away with it." I said with a little bit of confidence.

"Really? We'll see about that." He said. He picked up his grocery bag and then started walking away.

Tonokawa and Mizowaki came back and looked at me.

"Ahh jeez... Honami's probably not in the mood for ice cream now..." Ayanokouji exclaimed.

"N-Nagumo-san?" Mizowaki muttered.

Fuck...

~{ 8.2 - Resignation }~

I used to consider myself an advocate for equality, and while I would like things to be as equal as possible... Love really makes things complicated.

I used to want things to be fair, I thought that people should treat each other fairly. That everybody should be treated the same way, and with kindness.

But before I get to where I'm going at with my thoughts, I'd like to ask you a question.

Why do you love the people that you love?

I'm not sure if this applies to everybody, but, I'm sure that a common answer would be that you love a person for who they are.

I love Kiyotaka for everything that he is, and everything that he isn't.

His modesty, his kindness, his strong body, his beautiful golden eyes, his silky brown hair, his apathetic face... Everything... Everything about him I love. 

But with love... Things cannot be fair and equal.

If everyone was treated the same way, our individualities would be stripped from ourselves.

Then as a result, we could not love people for who they are.

A world without my love for Kiyotaka seems... Dull.

Our love for other people places them over other people, and therefore we can't treat people the same.

My ideals have changed a lot within the past few months.

From a naive girl who wishes for everyone to be equal, and to be treated fairly.

To a naive girl who wishes to be at Kiyotaka's side, and defend his peace here.

Even though I trust Kiyotaka to be able to protect himself, and even though I will proritize protecting my classmates... There is still a fact that is yet to be said.

An enemy of Kiyotaka is now an enemy of mine. That is the result of me dating him. 

I will be a target to his enemies. Whether it's the White Room Students, or the President of the Student Council.

The White Room fight is one that is beyond me. If my suspicions on the White Room are correct, then this fight is beyond my capabilities. A fight that may be even beyond geniuses. 

Based on the facts that I know, I believe that the White Room is a place to bring geniuses to their fullest potential.

So this fight is beyond me... The only thing that I could do to support him is stand by his side.

But that's only one of the conflicts that are going on right now.

There is three main conflicts that Kiyotaka is going through right now...

There is the Class Battles, The White Room Students, and finally...

"I'd like to leave the Student Council."

The President, Vice-President Kiriyama-senpai, Tonokawa-senpai, Mizowaki-senpai, and Horikita-san looked at me with confusion.

"Ichi... nose-san?" Kiriyama-senpai muttered.

"Wait, Honami what do you mean?" The President asked me.

"Don't call me by my given name." I told him.

"Hon- Ichinose what do you mean?" He asked me again.

"Didn't I say? I want to leave the Student Council." I responded.

"Ichinose-san. Why do you want to leave the Student Council?" Kiriyama-senpai asked me.

"... I don't really want to say why..." I responded.

"Look, I'm sorry but I need to know why you're quitting." He said.

"... It's because of him..." I said quietly.

"Him?" He questioned.

I pointed at the president, "Yes, it's because of him."

"I-Ichinose what do you mean it's because of me?" He asked me.

"... I told you yesterday... Didn't I?" I said.

"Y-you didn't mean that did you? I mean, why would you mean that, you were probably just angry at the moment." He responded.

"... You disgust me, senpai."

Everyone present in the room had their mouths dropped.

"Oi... Y-you serious?" He said.

"Why do you want to expel Kiyotaka anyways?! He humiliated you, and proved that he was better than you?!" I yelled.

"Hey... I told you I was joking..."

"I know you weren't! You're full of yourself, senpai! You honestly think I wouldn't dislike you?! I forgave you for telling Sakayanagi-san my secret, but I absolutely won't forgive those who want to harm Kiyotaka!"

"W-why do you love that gloomy bastard anyways?!" He yelled.

"I love him for who he is, that's all that matters to me! Even if he is considered gloomy, I'd still chose the one I love over you!"

The rest of the student council couldn't speak a word. They did not interfere.

That is until, Tonokawa-senpai recieved a notification.

Ding

"O-oi..." He muttered.

"What is it, Tonokawa-san?" Kiriyama-senpai asked.

"Oi... Nagumo-san... Ayanokouji posted it..." Kiyotaka...? What did he do?

The presdient's face turned pale.

"... Fucking bastard. Everybody except Tonokawa and Mizowaki, get the fuck out of here." He responded.

"Why?" Kiriyama-senpai asked.

"Just get the fuck out of here!" He yelled.

Horikita-san and Kiriyama-senpai packed their bags and left the student council room with me.

"Ichinose-san. Is he really the reason you want to leave the student council?" Kiriyama-senpai asked me.

"Yeah..."

"I see. Would you mind if I wrote that as your reason for leaving?" Kiriyama-senpai asked me.

"I'm not sure why you would do that, wouldn't that put an investigation under him?" I asked.

"Yes it would." He responded.

Kiriyama-senpai didn't seem to be conflicted at all when I said that. Furthur more, he responded with it would, instead of correcting himself and taking the statement back.

I consider myself to be able to get a good read on people's motives and actions, and if my intuition is right, then, there may be a lot more behind the scenes than I initally thought, and stronger allies to Kiyotaka than I've thought before.

"Ichinose-san... Did you perhaps figure out what I meant by that?" Kiriyama-senpai asked me.

"I think I get the bare minimum of it..." I said.

"Then, would you like to help me?" He asked.

"Ehm... If it helps ensure Kiyotaka's safety, I will absolutely help." I responded.

"Glad to have you help us. So far, it's Ayanokouji, Horikita-san and you. Along with a few others, but won't name to protect their privacy. However I'm not sure what Ayanokouji is doing, he has not told me anything, but it seems that he made a move just now."

Kiyotaka made a move... But judging from the fact that Tonokawa-senpai knew it was Kiyotaka who made a move, it either means that everyone could know if he did it, or it is related to an event they were involved in.

The most likely one, is the latter, as Kiyotaka avoids attention and moves behind the scenes. So it is most likely an event that involved Kiyotaka, the president, Tonokawa-senpai and Mizowaki-senpai.

"Ayanokouji-kun never tells me his plans until after. That's just him." Horikita-san said.

"I see, so he works on his own?" Kiriyama-senpai asked her.

"I'm sure he already did something behind the scenes to make Ichinose-san speak like that."

"Um... I-I don't think it's like that, right? I-I just don't like what he's trying to do to Kiyotaka..."

He wouldn't manipulate me like that, right?

"..." Horikita-san stayed quiet.

"Ahaha... Um... I'm going to go see Kiyotaka right now, Kiriyama-senpai, I'll text you if I find something useful."

"Okay." He responded.

Kiyotaka isn't really... Active... So I don't think he would be out right now, and the chances of him being in his dorm is pretty high, so hopefully he'll be there...

~{ 8.3 - Pawns }~

Okitani walked out of the door and waited outside. In the meantime, I was going to do a pro-gamer move.

I asked Kei to show me the ways of the internet a few weeks ago. She taught me subjects like emoji's, acronyms and memes.

She told me to download an application called "Reddit." It consisted of various groups called "Subreddits", and were all dedicated to different topics.

I wanted to look at these so called "memes", and I went on r/memes, and I did not understand a single thing.

She told me I was using the wrong subreddit, and to use r/dankmemes, and I still did not understand the jokes or what made them funny to other people.

Instead, I found a subreddit called r/funny, which was much more entertaining to me. But when Kei caught me using it, she called me a lost cause.

But over the past week, I have finished her "internet courses" and have successfully learnt the ways of the dank memes.

So, about my pro gamer move, I intended to post Nagumo's picture on the school fourms in order to shatter his pride and dignity. 

I logged in on Okitani's account on the school board, and went to create a new post.

Time to use the lessons that Kei gave me.

I titled the post:

"Nagumo-paisen pissed his pants lmfaooo"

I attached the photo of Nagumo with wet pants, and uploaded the post.

This post was a masterpiece.

As expected of the Masterpiece of the White Room.

In order to defeat a man with power and influence, you would have to destroy the basis of what made him powerful.

You would think that what made him powerful was his position. But, the basis of his power is his pride and influence.

Without his pride and influence, he would have never gotten to this position in the first place.

How do you take away one's pride and influence?

You take away what means most to them.

In Nagumo's case, you would take away their dignity. Nagumo is a man who thinks too highly of himself, in his eyes, he is viewed as the best, a man that never loses, and that his popularity and position is a result of that.

But by destroying his dignity, it will shatter the public's view on him. 

That is the first step to his downfall.

Just as I finished up and putting away the toolset, I was interrupted by knocks at the door.

Did Okitani need something?

I walked over to the door and opened it.

"What do you wan-" Instead of Okitani, I was greeted by the smell of citrus perfume and strawberry-blonde hair.

"Good afternoon, Kiyotaka." She greeted me with a small smile, but with eyes full of worry.

"Oh. Honami. Hello." I greeted, "Okitani you could have your phone back." I took his phone and handed it to him. He then nodded and started heading off.

"Um... Kiyotaka... Can I talk to you?" She asked.

"Come in." I opened the door fully and let Honami inside.

She walked inside and took off her shoes at the entrance. 

However, compared to usual, where she would sit on my bed, she instead sat at the dinner table.

"Honami?" I asked. I sat at the table, facing her.

"You are fighting the student council president, aren't you?" She said.

"... Did Kiriyama recruit you as well?" I responded with another question.

"So you are... Yes, I agreed to help..." She responded.

"That's a bit out of character for you, isn't it?" I asked.

Honami would be considered naive by all of the class leaders. In a chess game, she would be the type to play defensively, never attacking, and focusing on protecting her pawns.

In a situation where she is backed into a corner, she would sacrifice her queen, in order to save the many pawns. 

There are times where you have to attack in order to win. Playing defensively has been shown to be her weakness, as her enemies have learned to adapt to her strategies.

"... I still want to protect everyone. I thought I could think of everyone as equals... But I can't do that anymore." She said weakly, she took a deep breath before talking again.
"But... If there's someone who wants to expel you, I will help you with the best of my abilities." She finished her statement with confidence.

But, in the end, sacrifices have to be made. Pawns are nothing but tools that you use to advance yourself furthur. In the end, she would be forced to sacrifice, in order to protect the king.

"Hey... Kiyotaka..." She called out to me.

"What is it?"

"Did you... Manipulate me?" She asked.

"... No, I simply showed you that Nagumo is not the person you thought he was." I responded.

"The timing of your phone call, I don't think it's a coincidence that he approached you at that exact time... Along with the fact that you didn't hang up before talking to him... I don't think it's a coincidence."

"I don't think that counts as manipulating." I retorted.

"That's... fair... But I would like for you not to manipulate me. I want us to be equals in this relationship... Not for you to be simply using me..." She said. She suddenly tensed up for a second before speaking, "Although... I guess you are using me to learn love..."

"Don't worry. I don't intend to manipulate you." I said.

That wasn't a lie. I don't intend on manipulating Honami for now. The one I intend on manipulating is Nagumo himself.

"Okay... Um... So do you mind telling me what you did just now?"

"I intend to destroy Nagumo's dignity, you can check the school fourms." I said.

Her face showed a look of confusion as she pulled out her phone.

As she pulled up the school fourms, her face became one of shock as she saw the post.

"K-Kiyotaka, y-you posted this?!" She yelled.

"Yeah." I responded with a short answer.

"W-won't they track down your phone number though?!" 

"Don't worry. Everything is planned out already. I know what I'm doing."

"A-are you sure?" She asked hesitantly. I stood up from my seat and walked over to Honami's side.

"Yeah... I won't let myself get in trouble, you know I dislike attention." I kneeled down to match her eye level and pulled her in for an embrace. I put my hand on her head and started stroking it, creating a sense of comfort.

"... But still! Why did you do this?" She yelled.

"In order to shatter his pride." I responded.

~{ 8.4 - Frustration }~

It was lunch, and for the past week, I've been practicing cooking.

Kiyotaka wanted to try my food, and see what I meant by cooking with love.

Although it was just a figurative speech, saying that his cooking lacked motivation and effort, I really did cook this meal with love.

I just hope that the last week of practice was enough to satisfy his tastes.

I got up from my seat and started walking down the hall towards Kiyotaka's classroom.

Yesterday, a picture of the president, with um... Wet pants, was posted by Kiyotaka on the school fourm.

Kiyotaka didn't tell me how he would get out of this, but he assured me that he won't get caught.

I arrived at Class C's classroom and slided the door open.

"Kiyotaka, I'm here!" I looked towards his seat where he just stared at me with a dead expression.

I walked over to his desk and put my bag on top of it.

Everyone in the room looked at us in silence.

I took the bento box out of my bag and put it on top of the desk.

Some of the boys, consisting of Miyake-kun, Sudo-kun and Ike-kun were giving him thumbs up.

Meanwhile I saw some of the girls with a bitter smile on their faces, including Karuizawa-san and Satou-san.

Hirata-kun was pouting.

Sakura-san was... Being Sakura-san. Basically crying her eyes out after falling down into a defeated pose.

"Kiyotaka, I'm not sure how this tastes, but I put a lot of effort into it." I said while puffing out my chest.

"I see. I hope it tastes good." I do too.

He opened the box and took a bite out of it with his chopsticks.

I was worried that the food wasn't good enough for him. Even though I started from scratch a week ago. But my expectations were betrayed.

"This is... Good." He said as he went for another bite.

"E-eh? Really?!" I yelled in excitement.

"Yeah... You put a lot of effort into making this taste good." He replied.

"A-ah... Yeah... Um... I didn't have any cooking experience prior, but I'm glad you like it!"

"Maybe you should do the cooking from now on." He said.

"Eh?!" I-it's that good?!

"You would make an excellent housewife." EHHHHH?!

"K-Kiyotaka! S-stop saying stuff like that!" 

"No, why should I stop myself from saying the truth?"

"B-but! Kiyotaka, its so embarassing when you say it out loud!"

The rest of Class C watched us as I got flustered from his teasing.

"I've never seen him like that before, I'm kind of jealous of Ichinose-san..."

"What