"The very ink with which history was written, is merely fluid prejudice" - Mark Twain

"History never looks like history when you are living through it." - John W. Gardner

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Guess who's back?

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After countless weird encounters on the weekend, I was lying on my bed, my lovely wife was sleeping like a brake on the left side of my chest, and my back hurt like hell.

Trying to somehow get her off my chest was impossible. I tried as much as I could without having her wake up and fail.

"Не двигайтесь." [Don't move.]

Seems like I am going to stay here for several more minutes. And there is realistically nothing I can do against it, except wake her up. But this might be dangerous or might be very dangerous.

However, I have a very good reason to do so. It's 06:58 a.m. Now I have a fine reason to wake up, I could say that I just wanted to study, do some workouts, have breakfast, or whatever is needed.

"Alya. Wake up."

"Shut up..."

Suddenly, she laid her entire body on mine, hugging me very strongly, applying further pressure, and resuming to rest.

"I guess I really should..."

Why you may ask, it's just something I grew to like a lot more. Human warmth is a lot nicer to have than I originally thought.

It began when I finally left the white room era after my father had been imprisoned, my mom had given herself all the fault and my sister was traumatized.

I understood back then already how important it was to have somebody, somebody that you can rely on. As independent and superior as I seem to be, there are still some things that I can't beat by myself.

No. I can beat everything possible to beat. But, I came to understand that one day, I won't be capable of doing so anymore, or when I am going to be forced to rely on people like her.

For example, what if I ever get children with her? Would I be able to be a good father? Just how much would I fail in doing so? Will my children hate me as much as I hated my father?

I think it will just be a cycle. I don't know the relationship between my grandfather and my father, but I think the old man was also not surprised that I hated him.

Recently, my life had ups and downs. A lot of ideas went through my head, and a lot of things happened. I have not only myself to care for, I have a wife now.

I cannot afford to do stupid and risky things anymore. It's very hard to do such things now, her future depends on mine, and the same goes the other way around.

Now, I think I should play the safe route, one that is far safer than before. One that doesn't put anyone at risk anymore. I have no reason to play childish games anymore.

Whilst she was sleeping, I was going through a roller coaster of weird thoughts. Simulating my life over and over again.

However, those simulations always end up the same. Some take longer, and some are shorter, but the result is the same. The chance of my success as a parenting figure is zero.

I just don't have the quality for that right now. The abilities I've been rewarded by the white room are great and useful. However, I am not taught to handle children or less, an entire family.

Beep

Suddenly my phone next to my pillow vibrated and a notification was displayed on the lock screen.

A chat message.

[Sender: Unknown]

'Suou-kun, or rather should I say, brother-in-law? What are you doing right now? And do you know what Alya-chan is doing right now? I am sorry to message you at this hour.'

Sounds like it's Maria, her sister. It looks like I am not the only 'weird' person to wake up at such an hour. Even though I assume it's due to her duties as the vice president, she was still an early bird like me.

[To Maria]

'Nothing at all, just lying on my bed, staring at the roof. Your little sister is sleeping and molesting me at the same time. You? Where did you even get my phone number from?'

[Sender: Maria]

'That's nothing for your knowledge :3. Right, uhm. Well, I just showered and I am going to get myself some clothes on. Do you have time today?'

[To Maria]

'I don't think so. You know, lately, I've been caught up in a lot of things. I doubt Alya is going to let me ruin another date by not showing up. But why?'

Not only that but also I got to go to the hospital to check my wound again. Tomorrow means if I choose to postpone my date once again, I not only would have no time for her today but also for tomorrow.

So I guess I should go the safer route, sometimes there are more important things in life than business.

[Sender: Maria]

'Well, I thought about giving you some help regarding Nagumo-kun. He is getting a pain in the ass. Can we meet up at night in the park in front of the dorms? Like 3 a.m.? Alya falls asleep pretty quickly, so don't worry about her.'

Nagumo? It seems like she didn't like him that much either. I doubt that it's going to be anything hard to do, but he seems to be a serious threat to the nostalgic specialties of this school.

Manabu also told me to do something about it and that I am probably his only hope in doing so, but right now, I can wait. I have no reason to interfere yet, but still, I want to hear her out.

[To Maria]

'Alright. But aren't you two in the same class? Why would you want to get rid of him?'

[Sender: Maria]

'Who said I would get rid of him? We will meet later.'

She suddenly went offline and now it was clear whose job it was to get rid of Nagumo.

Why does it have to be me? Sakayanagi or Ryueen would have probably executed it as well, but well, it looks like she wants to test my capabilities.

Whatever, I don't mind that minor side-quest of dealing with some second-year.

"Mhm...Good...morning..." she woke up, looking around with sleepy eyes, until she began to stare right at my face.

"Morning. Slept well?"

It looked like she did after this very weird creature came to love sleeping a lot more than I'd thought, and was smiling straight into my face.

"...Yeah. Have I woken you up?"

She didn't, but now I came to realize that she was close. Way too close...

Usually, I am not the guy who is somehow uncomfortable with close-body contact, yet sometimes some kind of realization hits me.

As if it feels unreal, like a never-ending dream. Sometimes, even the worst situation which seems to have no exit will show you a way out.

Every time one door closes, the other opens. And I am glad I opened this door in life.

"No, not at all. I have been awake some time ago. Also, Uhm excuse me for a few minutes. I have some obvious things to do. Once you are fully awake, the bathroom is free to use."

I left the bed and rushed to the bathroom.

"Huh? Okay?"

Even she was confused as to my sudden distance, but I guess that's because I am not used to this type of contact with people outside my family.

But...

She is my family now, isn't she? I have no other choice left, my life is now somewhat completed, and I don't plan on doing anything after graduation. Maybe some kind of university that doesn't stretch itself too long.

Let's leave that aside, right now and stare into the mirror. My face looked the same since I entered that place. Nothing majorly changed.

What kind of impression does my face give off? Especially in front of her and the others? Haven't I still learned about fear, passion, affection, family, or socializing in general?

Staring at the mirror, I have also realized something...

"(Seems like you are still stuck in that place. It's coming to bite you back, Ayanokouji.)"

Even though my past has already happened, I am still thinking about it, I am still giving myself some type of fault for the 'failure' aka. Deaths of several other white roomers.

I could have prevented a lot of things, I could have even left that place, and I always could have told my mother or everyone else. But...

Why have I chosen to keep quiet? And why do I still do that? Why am I not telling anybody? They know, either way, the information is publicly available.

"Kiyotaka? What are you taking so long for?"

Quickly washing my face and emptying my nose, I then brushed my teeth and got a shirt on, I surely do look a lot fresher than earlier, but I am yet to see the rest of the day.

"Just a second."

I then made sure everything was fine with my appearance and left the bathroom, opening the door and getting into the kitchen.

"It's open now, Alya."

"Thanks."

I guess that was that, now, I was curious about what else to do until 3 a.m. Of course, I could entertain myself with my freshly collected wife or annoy Yuki.

Or do something productive, however, that doesn't sound as fun though. But there was something that I set up yesterday, right after the student council stuff with Manabu, Maria, and Tachibana, I thought of discussing things with Ryueen.

After all, I doubt that he has recovered from that humiliation. One versus eight... That's for sure somewhat traumatizing for him, but well, that means I can clown him for the first time.

And I do think we should talk a little, I am not only curious about the next moves that are going to happen, but also about him specifically. It's something that I wanted to do a lot earlier.

But I also think it's time to introduce Alya to the cruel world of the two sides of Winner and Loser.

She hasn't faced a single defeat yet, she doesn't know how it feels like to let your entire class depend on you and then lose.

So I went on and wrote Ryueen an SMS.

[To Ryueen Kakeru]

'Ryueen, I don't think that I need to hide anything, it's me, Suou. Do you have time right now?'

Just not long after, to be precise, around 3 minutes later, I then received a reply. A very funny one, to be honest, it's the typical Ryueen answer, and it feels great to receive such things at this hour.

'Who the fuck wants to meet me at 9 a.m. During summer break?! Don't you have some fucking life to maintain?'

Good question, but no. I would even let the entire world burn to talk with him right now. I have been fairly interested in him since days, and he could be useful after all.

'No. You wanna meet or not? Of course, if you want I could allow a rematch if you are still butthurt about that.'

'About what? You've knocked yourself out as well, I won but at a high cost.'

Well, if that lets him sleep at night, I am fine saying that this is my first defeat ever, but in reality, he is in deep denial, after he had higher manpower, was a lot better prepared, and yet still has been defeated.

'Dunno. Want to meet up or not?'

'Yes, but fuck you.'

'See u in 20mins at the park behind the dorms'

It's kinda funny how childish his replies are, yet he still does them. It just is a somewhat funny encounter each time he is there, he for sure mastered the 'entertainment' skill.

However, before I do that, I am going to certainly do something very important to start the day.

And that's breakfast. I still have roughly 19 minutes and 26 seconds until I meet up with that guy, and I need to plan in 10 minutes for those on explaining things to the woman.

So, I thought of a proper men's breakfast. Cereals, and apple juice afterward.

So take a bowl, milk, cereals, and a spoon I began to prepare my food as quickly as possible. Of course, the woman was still in my bathroom, preparing herself for the long day that was about to come.

And well, I wasn't that motivated either to be honest. Yet I am quite interested in what her older sister wanted to talk about with me.

A lot is going on lately inside my head, so starting to slowly blend into the background of this class is my primary goal. I don't want too much attention anymore, once this class grows strong enough, we will eventually conclude.

One that will permanently retire me from the Class Competitions, where I do not have to interfere to save them from further disasters anymore.

Eating my cereals made me realize that I was still actively doing the complete opposite, I was directly revealing myself to Ryueen, I have been doing business across the years, and some even involve the student council and other classes.

It's insane, to be honest, however, I somehow do understand why I am doing it. I always wanted to win and dominate. There is no fun doing that without any challenge.

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As I finished eating.

The timing was pretty much perfect, that certain lady came out of the bathroom with a hairdryer in her hand and a warm smile plastered on her face.

"Kiyotaka, is something the matter?"

Alya said, standing right next to me, as I washed the bowl that I'd just used. She was pulling on my sleeve slightly, turning my attention towards her.

"How did you know?"

"You are terrible at hiding your curiosity. Just ask, after all, you are the first person to always ask me about random things, so just go ahead."

It feels like we are naturally adapting to the personalities of each other. She is a calm and cool beauty, I am the curious one.

Slowly but surely, we are starting to exchange some characteristics, Alisa has begun to be a lot more cautious and interested in things, which isn't necessarily bad.

"It's not a question, but I will let you know that I am going to meet somebody at the park down there. It won't take long, so get some rest."

"Oh really? Who are you going to meet? A girl?"

Even though Alya showed some hints of jealousy, she will let me go eventually. After all, does she have any other choice?

"I would be thankful if it was a girl. It's him."

"Him?"

"Ryueen Kakeru, Class C leader if you remember correctly. He invited me for some chit-chat."

"If you die there, just remember that it's not my problem. You can die, I wouldn't care at all."

If I were blind and had no ears, I would still know that this is a lie. We both know we partially care for each other.

"Your lies are terrible. Step up your game regarding that."

"B-Baka! I will wait here, now go and do your business, if you cheat on me...Just know that you won't live to see another day."

"That's one of the few reasons why I wouldn't cheat on you."

"One of the few huh? What's the main reason?"

"If I were to ever cheat on you, it would be a downgrade, regardless of their looks. I am loyal, don't worry. See you then."

"Before you go..."

Suddenly she hurried to me, stood on her toes, and...

Kissed me on the cheek. Just like that, I rarely experience such things, but I guess I have to prepare for this to turn into normality, I shouldn't act surprised anymore.

It's my wife now, and I have no other choice than to adapt to such things...

"Now, you can go. And don't let me wait for too long."

"Alright."

Opening the door and looking back once again, I made sure that she was fine. I still have a weird feeling about all this...

Nonetheless, I resumed my operation and went on to leave my room, aka. My new comfort zone. Getting to the elevator and choosing the lobby as the destination.

Of course, I made sure that nobody was following me. The least I want right now is someone following me around, or someone intercepting me.

However, let's stay on topic. The elevator stopped randomly, not where my destination was.

It opened the elevator door and it stopped for Etage 3, precisely where the girls of the first years' rooms were located.

A girl I was oddly familiar with stepped into the elevator. Her brown hair just told me that it couldn't be anyone else, but...

"Good Morning, Suou-kun. Where are you heading at this time? It's rather unusual seeing you around alone, especially in the morning."

Speaking of which, I rarely see her around at these hours myself, so it's kinda stupid to say such a thing. I could go ahead and tell her the same, can't I?"

"I will just go ahead and meet an old friend of mine. What about you? Any meeting you will attend at this hour?"

"A-Ah, no not really. Just gonna do some shopping as the summer sale ends. We will see each other around, yeah?"

As the elevator door slid open, she hurried away, waving at me and leaving me there.

"Sure..."

This encounter was very weird, to be honest, but I guess this is my daily life here. Nothing to be worked up for I guess.

So I then proceeded to leave the building and head to the back of the dorms. It was a rather cool day, with a fresh breeze of wind and a lot of clouds up in the sky.

Also, it rained yesterday night, and well, I like it. Rain is something that I like a lot, maybe not during special exams where you slip thousands of times, but during normal daily life.

The aesthetic of a wet environment is water dripping from the leaves. Not to forget during the night, the reflections on the wet ground...

The park was very pleasant to look at, it was empty, yet it gave off a very nice feeling of peace. But... Knowing how weird types of stuff and deals have been created here, it rather gave me a very weird feeling.

As I was barely waiting for some seconds, almost a minute, I heard some steps behind me. It looks like he came all on his own this time, without anybody or anything watching over the two of us.

"..."

Holding eye contact with him was very awkward, it was always awkward to talk to someone that you have just beaten up roughly. He is no exception to that.

I leaned on the railing, looking out at the wide ocean. Birds were flying, and some speed boats watching the coats over there, it all felt very nice to watch.

And now, Ryueen leaned on the railing as well, he wasn't far, barely a few decimeters separating us, he looked out to the ocean, we aren't that different after all.

"You wanted to talk?"

His voice wasn't as forceful as he is with Horikita or Alisa, but very calm right now, after all, it was barely 9 a.m. In the morning...

"Ryueen, may I ask this question? What have you learned from that island?"

"Huh...?"

He looked at me, in confusion, but before asking me something regarding the question, he looked at the ocean again and took a deep breath in and out.

"What I've learned from the exam? There are a lot of things that we all have learned. It was our very first special exam and we directly faced each other. Suou, Kukuku! I take it back, you weren't lucky at all. I have done research on you, even before the exam I knew who you were."

"I doubt that you have only learned that much."

Research alone wasn't enough, the fact that he didn't proceed to do some actions based on that...

"I have understood something. Kukuku... It was a 'Fuck around and Find out' situation. I pushed it on the island, used dirty tricks on you and your class, and then I eventually found out. As shit as it sounds, but you played me there."

He knew that he could've even won that exam overall if he just decided to leave me alone to mind my own business.

But that wasn't sadly the case, he decided to still do it, it was a checkmate for not only him but for every single person on the island. It was a moment that happened before