POV: Torikachi

The midterms of our third semester had finished, and no one in my class got expelled yet.

This could lead to the Class Poll exam coming up soon, which was my intention because I could get rid of them easier.

Speaking of which, the announcement will be here in today's homeroom.

As soon as the homeroom starts, Sae-sensei expressed a vulnerable expression on her face while looking at me.

'So I was right, huh...?' I thought as I turned my gaze towards the podium to hear the announcement.

"I am here for a special announcement..." Sae-sensei stuttered, as she still could not believe this moment to happen in front of her eyes.

Even though I warned her beforehand, she still could not believe that this day will come.

(Time skip the Class Poll exam explanation)

POV: Kiyotaka

"W-WHAT?!! THIS IS NONSENSE, SENSEI!" Shouted Hirata, as this new special exam specifically for the first year is cruel just because no one has ever been expelled yet in this batch.

However, I knew that this is from that man's doing.

I could not do anything against it but comply, and our class's feelings were mutual.

"This special exam has concluded from the higherups. I could not do anything against it." Replied Chabashira-sensei.

Without a doubt, the most useless will be disposed of, and seems like Torikachi did not warn the class about this as I looked at them shocked like it is nearly the end of the world for them.

It is relatable, considering attending this school is already a blessing for all students, but this is too much for them.

From afar, I could see Torikachi's grin while mumbling about something regarding this exam. He looked serious about this, but I am fully aware of he did not care about this in the slightest.

'I guess the Chairman has been suspended.' I thought as I remember what Torikachi told me about this special exam.

"You will be fine." He told me.

From the sentence, I assumed that there will be threats for me to get expelled, but it failed eventually.

*timeskip to dismissal

POV: Torikachi

The important moment is finally here, and I know what I must do exactly at the moment.

I am currently waiting for the person who I wanted to meet on the floor below the rooftop, to discuss our current situation in this school, and to do what I must do.

I could've let Kiyopon do it after the exam, but I wanted to do it as soon as possible.

Five minutes later, the fated person came to the destination and waved at me.

"What is it that you wanted to talk to me about, Torikachi-kun?" He asked as soon as my figure enters his vision.

"Even though I could let someone else do this job, later on, it bugs me when I'm unable to act in this kind of situation," I answered.

"What are you talking about, Torikachi-kun?" He replied. "What are you implying about the test?"

"It's nothing significant, Yousuke. I just wanted to check on you often. You looked restless when you heard the announcement, didn't you?" I asked.

Hirata soon flinched after I told him how vulnerable he was earlier, and a minute passed by without any response from him.

"Well... it was quite noticeable from your point of view I supposed..." he said with a sigh.

"It's normal for me to mind such things, Yousuke." I said. "I guess I should tell you about this in private so that you can feel more relief when the time comes."

"What is it that you wanted to talk about, Torikachi-kun?"

"Sugimura. Isn't that name sounded familiar to you, Yousuke?" I triggered his past experience, as much as I'm fully aware of this.

"W-What...?" Hirata flinched as I said his childhood friend's name. "How did you know about him?"

"I told you many times, Yousuke?" I refuted. "I knew everything. I had Kushida's past information, so it could be the same case goes for you."

"But that's an invasion of student's privacy." He said.

"I did not have the previous information of all students in the school, Yousuke. I only kept in mind those I wanted to care about." I replied. "You happened to be one of those people, Hirata Yousuke. I've been watching you from afar, noticing every single action you've made in the past and coming through the news of someone's suicide. I thought you might involve with such a thing, Yousuke."

As I stated, Hirata could not say any word. Unable to reply to any of my statements.

"Tell me, Hirata. Throughout our year, I tried to trigger your trauma through words and I've noticed you fell for it but regain yourself right after." I continued. "However, I have good news for you."

"W-what is it?" He asked.

"He is still alive, Yousuke. He woke up from his consciousness a few days ago." I answered. "If you don't believe me, check on the Tokyo News after this."

"Alright. But what do you mean by 'tried to trigger' my trauma?" He asked while expressing a vulnerable expression on his face.

"I tried to drop a lot of hints for you to notice. You might notice that a few of my sentences were off-topic in the past." I said while grabbing his shoulder.

"I see..."

"Your trauma, your actions in the past... I knew it all, Yousuke. As the co-leader of this class, it is normal that you will have weight on your shoulders. You felt stressed, you felt like your actions were not worth it.

And the worst of all, you could not let any of that out of your head."

"S...Shut up, Torikachi." Yousuke turned gloomy, as expected considering I tried to activate his trauma at the maximum level.

"And it is completely fine." I said.

"H-huh...?" Yousuke pondered. "W-what do you mean?"

"Don't you get it, Yousuke? I'm trying to help you go through everything. Why would I tell you about Sugimura when I was supposed not to get you went through the pain of the past?" I said while grabbing his collar.

"I... I... couldn't... do... anything about it...?" He replied slowly, which is understandable. His trauma, his way of thinking, I knew it all from the light novel.

"That's possible. What I am trying to imply here, is that you don't have to take all the responsibility all by yourself." I said. "You have your classmate who will support you at any cost. Even though you don't see it with your plain eye, they will be there to help you. And I will support that."

"If you ever feel down like this again, you could talk to me any time you wanted. I am always free to listen to your feelings. If you can't talk to anyone, I will always be ready to lend my ears for you." I continued.

As I finished speaking, tears started to fall through his cheeks and dropped to the ground, little by little.

"I... I'm so happy that he's alive... I did not know what to do back then... If I gave him enough care back then... I wouldn't have been like this." Yousuke stated.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it. Things tend to happen, Yousuke." I calmly comforted him. "It's not all your fault, and neither him. But you should be happy about such things that happened to you." I stated.

"T-thank you, Torikachi-kun... I'm... grateful about it... I just wanted to protect everyone, and this cursed exam will be set in place soon... I could not do anything against it..." he said.

"I understand your feelings. That's why I called you here today, Yousuke." I said as I showed him the person that was on dialing on my phone this whole time.

"So, I assumed that you put him on target, aren't you?" I asked the person on the phone.

"Fufu~ It will be my pleasure to do such things, Torikachi-kun. Considering you were from that place, I supposed you knew who I'm aiming for." The person on the other side of the call speaks.

"W-wait... what are you trying to do, Torikachi-kun?" Yousuke asked while being dumbfounded.

"It's nothing about you, Yousuke. I tried to do this for your own sake for not breaking down when you knew one of our classmates will be expelled." I replied. "If I didn't meet you today, you will burst out of chaos and put yourself on the line of expulsion instead. You are an important figure in our class, so bear with it."

"I... I supposed..." He said. "I'm sorry... I'm unable to solve such things... Could you do anything about this, Torikachi-kun?"

"I'm afraid not, Yousuke..." I replied calmly. "There's nothing I can do about it but to discard the one who did the least contribution in our class... It has to be done, Yousuke."

"Is it Yamauchi-kun...?" He asked. I'm surprised that he considered him an option. "W-What are you going to do with him?"

"That's up to our class to decide." I replied. "Our conversation is over. You have things to do after this, haven't you?"

"Y-yeah... I'm sorry about this... Torikachi-kun..." He apologies. "I couldn't do anything against this..."

"Glad to hear it, Yousuke. I will lend you a hand in this. For now, don't say anything about this exam." I told him. "This will help out my plan in the future."

"T-thank you for your kind advice, Torikachi-kun..." he replied as he left the location, leaving me alone in the empty hallway.

'I don't have anything else at the moment, other than just wait and the miracle happens as it should be.' I thought as I leave the location, as I felt a presence nearby.

A presence that is so familiar, that I thought I could get familiar with it after a while.

"What are you doing here...

Karuizawa Kei?"

*time skip to the end of the exam. (Yeah... I haven't read Vol 10)

POV: Yousuke

As I thought things will happen as Torikachi-kun told me, I tried to hold myself back... unable to speak any words about such punishment that happened to our year...

"No... no... How could this happen to me...?" Said Yamauchi-kun.

Yamauchi-kun is the person who received the most criticized votes in our class, resulting in 32 votes.

He screamed in agony and desperation, but as the leader of the class, I couldn't do anything to help...

Torikachi told me that it is inevitable that such things could happen, but...

It's hard to believe such cruelty in society...

"AGGHHHHHH!!!!" Screamed Yamauchi-kun.

He screamed in agony, enraged as he tried to cover himself.

"T-that's right... Sakayanagi-chan in class A told me that she will vote... for me..." he said.

"There is no basis to claim that to be true." Said Chabashira-sensei. "There is no proven evidence just from mere words from you. Pack up your things and come to the faculty office."

As Sensei leaves the room, a few of my classmates sympathize with Yamauchi-kun being expelled. Even though I knew this will happen, I could not do anything against it...

*timeskip to the special annex meeting

POV: 3rd Person

Inside the special annex, two students were discussing the recent special exam they participated recently.

Kiyopon: "So, was it you, who set up the lies for a classmate of mine?"

Arisu: "Fufu...~ I do have grudges for him ever since that filthy bumped into me without even regret of doing it back then."

Kiyopon: "I guess that's kind of a person you are then."

Arisu: "You know... before the exam takes place, someone called me, told me that the purpose of this exam is to expel you. 'Expel Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.' He said as he offered a tremendous amount of private points.

Private points were not much of an issue for me, but I need to do it carefully to not cause any suspicions from that third party. After all, I would like you to stay in this school as much as you wanted.

Moreover, my father had been suspended from this school due to false charges. I wondered what could it be..."

Kiyopon: "It seems like he will be here."

Arisu: It sounds like it.

Moments later, a male silhouette came into the vision of both students.

???: "Hello there. I would like to ask about the location of the faculty office in the school. I've been recently employed, so I am a little bit lost here."

POV: Torikachi

I am currently hiding at the end of the hallway of the special annex, waiting for my chance to take place as Tsukishiro will be here anytime soon.

As I prepared my equipment to prepare for this moment, I could not help myself but be nervous about things about to occur in this building.

I became too conscious about these kinds of things, to the point that I even set up the hidden camera below the dummy camera that is currently recording the scene.

???: "Hello there. I would like to ask about the location of the faculty office in the school. I've been recently employed, so I am a little bit lost here."

Said a deep and different tone compared to both Kiyotaka and Arisu.

'It sounds like he's here.' I thought as I prepared for the perfect moment to come

*timeskip the small conversation

POV: Kiyotaka

As he walked past Sakayanagi, he kicked her cane, causing her to fall.

As my instinct, I rushed to hold her, not letting her fall down.

As soon as I did that, a strong kick fell onto my abdomen, and I felt pain and was unable to do anything against it.

Unable to fight back, the man strangled me as he speaks.

"You've gone weaker compared to yourself back in that pla-..."

As soon as he tried to finish his sentence, a figure approached the man.

"Now will you look at that? A man who is currently assaulting two students out of the blue." Said the figure.

"T-Torikachi-kun?" Asked Sakayanagi.

"Since now I have the recording, why don't you leave them be and...-"

As he tried to finish his sentence, the man released my neck as he tried to charge Torikachi.

From that man's grab, I could tell he is very strong, and I don't know if Torikachi could handle his blows.

However, what is unexpected here, is that Torikachi managed to block his blow while grabbing the man's wrist...

POV: Torikachi

To be blunt, I did not expect my physical strength is able to block Tsukishiro's first blow, but he is indeed strong as the light novel described him.

I could not fight against him in a 1v1, so I prepared countermeasures for this situation.

As I grabbed his wrist tightly, unnoticeable drips of blood flowed from his arm.

He noticed it and tried to back off from my view.

"It is indeed hurt, isn't it, Tsukishiro?" I asked the man who attempted to assault me.

"Torikachi Kizutsu, huh... Sensei warned me about your existence beforehand, so I am fully aware about you could injure me in certain ways, but not this much." He answered while grabbing his injured wrist. "You knew that you could get expelled for this, didn't you?"

"I have alibis, even though you are the acting director at the moment, doesn't mean that you could always file a charge against me, old man," I replied as I remove my human-made gloves and threw them onto the ground. "You see what I mean, Tsukishiro?"

"The camera is recording, haven't you noticed it?" He asked.

"It's nothing but a dummy. I knew that you put dummy footage on the camera so that your one-sided assault won't be in effect, isn't that right?" I answered with a grin on my face.

"It sounds like you are a person who knew it all, Kizutsu." Said Tsukishiro with an irritating expression.

"Moreover, it was an act of self-defense, so it was you who put yourself in danger here." I said. "You will backstab yourself if you do so."

"So Sensei was right all along... your existence is nothing but a nuisance, Kizutsu." He said. "I supposed I should discard you as soon as possible."

"There's nothing you could do about it, Tsukishiro." I stated. "I'm fully aware of he got sentence as life imprisonment."

"Tch..." Tsukishiro displayed an irritating expression while leaving the scene.

"I will be the acting director from the start of the next school year, so please do look forward to it." He said.

"Kizutsu Torikachi, I hope you regret of your actions in the future." He continued as he disappeared from our vision.

Moments later, the silent atmosphere of the special annex returned as it should be.

Chill and quiet.

"Are you guys okay?" I asked the injured duo while helping Arisu stand up.

"It hurts a bit... but we are both fine." Replied Arisu while Kiyotaka adjusted his collar.

"I didn't expect you could handle a blow from Tsukishiro, considering he's one of that man's subordinates." Continued by Kiyotaka.

It was unexpected that I had the courage to fight against him, and even managed to injure him in one way or another.

"I don't know. Maybe it's just that I'm strong and I will use any method that is considered necessary." I replied while picking up my gloves.

"Those gloves... they have needles on it." Stated Arisu while looking at the gloves intentively. "It's not visible from the plain eye, so that's how he had his wrist bleeding the moment you grab it."

"Moreover, the texture..." she continued as she attempted to grab the glove.

However, I quickly grabbed the glove before she could even touch it in the first place.

"There's nothing special about the gloves, Arisu." I nervously stated. "They're just normal gloves you could find anywhere."

"But still... the appearance looks... human?" She asked.

"Now that I looked at it... it looks like human hands, isn't it?" Kiyotaka jumped in the conversation.

"This... is a secret that I could not let you guys know at the moment. I'm sorry." I said calmly while wearing the gloves.

"Then we won't pry into it any further then."

The emptiness of the special annex started to get through the back of mine, and perhaps the duo's.

They haven't finished their conversation yet. And I knew what is the main content of the rest of their conversation.

"So, Ayanokouji-kun." Arisu engaged the topic. "Since there won't be much time for us to compete, why won't we set up for our final confrontation?"

"Indeed. Tsukishiro is here, so there will be only the special exam at the end of the semester that we are able to compete in." Replied Kiyotaka. "How about that?"

"Fufu~ I should say that it is settled, then."

"Then I shall hope you guys enjoy the moment while it lasts," I said while attempting to leave the scene. "I will ensure that you guys will have the best battle ever in your lifetime, especially for you, Kiyotaka."

POV: Kiyotaka

"Then I would like to thank you beforehand." I replied to his statement.

"You sounded like you are becoming more 'human' lately. Am I right, Arisu?" Torikachi asked with a small grin while glancing at Sakayanagi.

"As far as I could notice, then yes, I noticed that Ayanokouji-kun had been more self-inserted as well."

It sounds like they both noticed the change within me, about how I could grow as a human being.

"It all thanks to Torikachi-kun, he did help me after all." I responded with an accidental small smile that might not be noticeable on my face.

Eventually, both Torikachi and Sakayanagi noticed it, while leaving shocked expressions.

"It seems like you can express yourself naturally now, I am not surprised." Torikachi said.

"Fufu~... it sounded like you have returned to your normal self, Ayanokouji-kun." Continued Sakayanagi, leaving with a red tint on her cheeks. "I could not help myself at the moment... Pardon me."

She said as she leaves the scene, leaving both of us behind in the special annex.

After a moment of silence, one raised his voice.

"So... You want some ice cream today, Kiyotaka?" he initiates the conversation.

"Sure. I'm up for it." I replied while walking alongside Torikachi.

As we leave the special annex, I spoke.

"Torikachi." I called his name.

"Yes, Kiyotaka?" he responded. "You called me for something?"

The moment I have changed, not chained up from the past anymore as Torikachi will ensure my safety from 'that place', and help me grow as a human being, which is the desire I wanted to achieve in this school.

"Thank you... for everything you've done to me." I am grateful for him being here, even though he came from another world in other to help me.

I leave myself a smile, a genuine smile that I thought I would never show before.

"No problem." He replied. "That's what friends are supposed to do, Kiyotaka. We help each other grow and share memories so we will not forget about whatever happened between us and our relationship."

"And again... I'm just acting as a catalyst for you to achieve your goals in life, which is living in peace." He continued.

"Thank you." I said.

Again, throughout the year, Torikachi helped me a lot more than I have anticipated, as he would ever care for me.

'And I hope for you, my friend. You will have a good life in this world compared to you in the past.'

================================================================================

Sheesh...

That sure took me a lot of time to think for the last 1k words in this chapter.

I mean... I could have written more, but I haven't read Vol 10, so Idk what happened in the middle of the Vol.

So... how's everyone doing? Y'all missed me?

Anyways... I'm back with some good news.

1. I'm back to writing again, as I got motivated after watching the second season (anime) What do y'all think about it?

2. I got accepted to study the Philosophy program at another college, so Yayyy, I guess.

Apparently, I have a lot of free time, as my first day at school will be in Spring 2023.

And yea. I'm back to writing again.

Anyway, I left my draft for Vol 11 before I take my break, so I just need some more adjustments for that, and that's pretty much it for Y1.

And also, the conversation between Tori and Kei will be in the next SS.

Until the next chapter.

PEACE!!!!!!