PDV Hishida

Ryuen -So here you all are, I must confess I doubted you would all come, but who really thought I'd be working with two such pretty girls?

Ichinose -Thanks for the compliment.....I guess

Ichinose seemed embarrassed by Ryuen's sudden remarks, while Horikita was totally indifferent.

Ryuen seemed to be someone who was at ease, who didn't give a damn what others thought of him. He was dressed in the same uniform as us, but the differences were that he didn't wear a tie and had several buttons detached on his shirt. Add to that his face and hair color, and he had the perfect portrait of a thug.

Hiyori just told me how the scene unfolded, but I only needed to know how the event unfolded to guess Ryuen's strategy and method.

We could even speculate on his personality, as someone very analytical, favoring low blows and cheating. Violence is a very useful weapon for him, and the fact that he thinks so also suggests that he had a childhood filled with this style, a childhood that would lead him to have such an ideology.

Horikita -Why did you call us Ryuen?

Horikita - She only told me the main points, and as far as I know, you're in a very bad position in your class.

Ryuen - And what makes you say that, hmmm?

Horikita -Why did you call us then?

Ryuen was silent, but his stifled laugh betrayed a hidden intention. As for Ichinose, he just stared at the ground, his gaze shifting uneasily. He knew Ryuen never acted without reason, and every move seemed carefully calculated. There was always a strategy behind his behavior, a precise goal he was trying to achieve, even if it still eluded our comprehension.

Ryuen was playing with us, but at what cost? This encounter probably wasn't just an exchange of idle words. He was testing our limits, analyzing our reactions like a scientist observing laboratory subjects. Every word, every look, seemed weighed and measured. But something was wrong. Ryuen was there to negotiate, after all. Why play at stirring up trouble and manipulating emotions, if not to see how far he could push us?

If his priority was really negotiation, he should have concentrated on building a relationship of trust, on establishing common ground. Yet everything he was doing seemed to run counter to just that. Maybe he was completely nonsensical in his approach, or... maybe his intentions were far more subtle and complex than we thought.

But what if they were? What if what he had planned was far more complicated than a simple negotiation meeting? Then we risked falling into a trap from which we wouldn't know how to extricate ourselves.

Perhaps we were already caught in his net, without even realizing it.

I couldn't help but laugh inside myself, an almost childish laugh at the thought.

Wait, am I the one laughing?

Who's laughing inside me?

Yes, it's me, I'm laughing inside, I don't have a double personality, otherwise Tokito would have noticed.

Why am I laughing inside?

Frankly, I don't understand

Ryuen - Not much, I just want you to understand the threat posed by Akira.

Kanzaki-So you're not here to form an alliance?

Ryuen -If that's what you want

Kanzaki seemed calm in front of Ryuen, he was Ichinose's right-hand man and you could see he had a certain self-control: well-dressed, self-controlled, a thoughtful and serious boy. 

Kanzaki - Ryuen, you've tricked several of our comrades and now you've invented a meeting, passing it off as a negotiation .... Frankly, I don't understand. Explain it to us or I'll leave.

Kanzaki wanted to set up the negotiation that was supposed to take place, and he tried to manipulate the situation by pretending to be someone Ryuen desperately needed, in order to panic him and ask him what he really wanted.

Ryuen -Shut up, Kanzaki, we don't even need you here, you're not the leader of class B as far as I know!

Kanzaki squinted, his gaze more serious.

This kind of maneuver doesn't work with Ryuen. Ryuen seems to be familiar with this kind of method, so he won't be fooled.

Ryuen -You seem to be very intelligent, Kanzaki, but I don't think you quite understand who Akira is.

Kanzaki -I just see that both you and Akira are just crazy, in both cases you're talking about danger.

Ichinose -Come on, Kanzaki .....

Kanzaki -Ichinose I know what Akira is doing is against your principles and I'm willing to help you remove the threat. However, trying to form an alliance with Ryuen in order to have spies in the C class is a serious mistake; Ryuen can't be trusted.

In short, he was absolutely right.

Ichinose -I never wanted to send spies, but if it's necessary to prevent Akira from doing what he wanted, then I must collaborate with him. The influence of what Akira is doing has even affected our class ....

Class C, headed by Akira Ryuji, had a system that attracted certain students, particularly those who sought to avoid conflict or who were less successful. On the surface, this model, based on manipulation and exploitation of weaknesses, seemed to offer a means of gaining power and security, without the need to abide by conventional rules. Seeing this model work, some of Ichinose's classmates proposed copying the C-class method to strengthen their own class's position.

However, Ichinose, far more aware of the dangers, knew that this model was risky. Class C was gaining in power, but through underhand, immoral methods. If Class B adopted these behaviors, it would undermine the values of cooperation and respect they had established. Ichinose had a duty to prevent this from happening. She tried to convince her classmates that imitating the C class would only weaken their own class in the long term.

The challenge for Ichinose was to make this clear without causing division. Those who were attracted to the C class might feel rejected or misunderstood, which risked creating tensions within the B class. If she didn't resolve the situation quickly, these tensions could spiral out of control, threatening the unity and stability of the class.

Ichinose had to act with caution and subtlety to maintain the cohesion of the B class. By refusing to imitate the C class, she risked losing certain allies, but by persisting in defending her principles, she hoped to preserve the harmony and values of the B class in the face of the growing threat from the C class.

Horikita finally came to her own conclusion, and sighed heavily

Horikita -I see the debate is pointless

I finally sighed.

Yes, the debate here is pointless.

And Horikita has only half understood that.

Horikita naively thought she could establish an alliance with Ryuen. In her way of thinking, she believed she could use this alliance to bring down the C class by infiltrating spies. But the problem is always the same: Ryuen won't be fooled by this method.

Quite simply, he never wanted to negotiate, that was not his basic intention. In fact, it was only a plan that was considered under certain circumstances. The others took this meeting as a sign that Ryuen had agreed to be their spy. But he didn't like it. He didn't like being the other classes' spy, it implied he was in their pocket.

For this, he had another plan in mind. All he had to do was sell his services, in a position where he himself would decide whether the action should be carried out or not. In other words, he was the seller, and we were the buyers.

Ryuen was well aware of Horikita and Ichinose's weaknesses. He knew he could beat them seriously. His early provocations proved it: he wanted to study the class leaders. But his primary objective was to take power in his own class. And, like me, he knew the method.

He simply had to show that Akira wasn't competent by making his class fail. Challenge Akira's leadership skills in front of the class. All he had to do was make the class fail several times.

The negotiation would come later, when Ryuen sold his services to the other classes. In other words, he made it seem as if he wanted to negotiate or provoke, but in reality, he was preparing the ground even before confronting Akira.

Ryuen wasn't the type to act without thinking. Every move, every word, every gesture had a precise purpose. He left nothing to chance. At this very moment, he knew perfectly well that the situation was in his favor. He had a much deeper plan than others could imagine. And, more than anything, he knew he was in a position of strength, ready to manipulate everyone to serve his interests.

So, while Horikita and the others thought they were playing a classic game of strategy, Ryuen was playing an entirely different game, that of the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Ichinose and Horikita are undeniably weaker, but Ryuen is a true fox.

Ryuen looked at me

Hishida -Horikita if you ask me, Ryuen will be nothing more than an enemy to us, I don't really like him.

Horikita invited me here because she knows my abilities, at least up to a point. To her, I'm someone you can count on for advice and, from the start, she's just been waiting for my opinion. She knows that I don't like to expose my skills, and so when I expressed that I didn't appreciate it, she understood that it was a falsely invoked argument. It was actually a subtle way of telling her that I could beat the C class, with or without Ryuen's help. Although I wasn't sure I could beat them, I certainly didn't want to fall into Ryuen's trap.

There are two possible outcomes to this situation, and either way, it's going to work to my advantage. Either Ryuen gives up and leaves us alone, or he tries to negotiate with us. In reality, what he's after is simply to have some fun. But Akira is blocking his way, so he needs our help. However, to admit this would be to show weakness, and weakness must always be concealed. That's why he set up this scene: he's trying to manipulate the situation while trying not to show that he needs us. It only confirms the idea that, whatever the outcome, we'll come out on top.

Horikita -I see this meeting is pointless then

She got up and started to leave

Ryuen said nothing and I did the same.

Ryuen Kakeru ......

I think Ryuen would be a great help in any case, but there were still unknown variables and there was no guarantee that he'd do what I'd planned to do. In any case, I'd need a plan B. I might even go so far as to say that he'd just be a back-up solution.

In the meantime, concentrating on the C class isn't the priority.

Especially since it's more likely that the C class will attack us during a special examination.

In other words, we could just prepare for battle.

The fact that I urged Horikita to stop the meeting went a long way too. 

She couldn't depend on Ryuen; if she tried to use his services, she wouldn't want to do without them and would fall into his trap.

I wouldn't do anything for class B, even if it was a trap set by Ryuen, class C threatened to push them down the rankings.

It was a complicated situation for them to analyze, but for my part I was indifferent if they lost, because on the contrary, it would be good for us.

Ichinose watched me leave and couldn't stop talking.

Ichinose -Hishida, I know you're a crucial element in the class. I've heard that you're doing this for your sister Tokito, and I think it's admirable. There are lots of people who think you're nice, so carry on, but please don't do anything to tarnish your image.

That's why she seemed so perceptive about me.

My situation is a vision of her past

As for her words

Ichinose's words had no value and no interest

They were the equivalent of an insignificant stone on the side of the road that I'd step on without even paying attention.

Men are pitiful, they believe that their rules are a virtue to be respected, and that respecting them makes us admirable beings. 

They denigrate those who don't respect them and those who are different from us, then they impose society's rules on us, who dictate them and think it's the right thing to do.

They firmly wave their collars as if it were an honor to be a slave of society.

I've got to guarantee my image in the eyes of others, but what's the point?

Because I risk ending up alone? for admiration? respect? to show that I love and protect my sister?

Either .... I don't care about loneliness

And I don't care what other people think

I can be called a monster

I'm used to it and her words have no value

What do I have to gain from others? Do I give Tokito a normal life for others?

I don't like Tokito

The only reason I'm doing this is because I've been asked to.

To love someone is to have weaknesses

Being dependent on feelings of love, on the gaze of others would only lead to my destruction

Too many people want me dead

And they'll exploit my weaknesses

So loving someone is useless to me too

Those who fulfill a goal for the eyes of others are not totally determined.

There's nothing to be gained from others, to pay attention to them is a useless waste of time and emotion.

After all, who are they to judge me? They're free to hate me, to want to kill me or to want to hurt me. 

After all, who am I to judge their desires?

They will simply have to pay the price, just as I have had to pay it countless times.

Those who are truly determined do it for themselves, not for their family, friends or loved ones.

Without it, how can great men accomplish the wonders of the world?

Means know no bounds, a truly determined person doesn't mind using cruel methods if necessary.

Killing is a natural act

Everything is only as good as the attention you give it

That's why for others killing is wrong.

I understand that killing someone, another will try to take revenge

It's the natural consequence of having killed someone dear to you

But even with this example, death is natural

That's true perseverance

Ignoring the gaze of others, refusing to lose, employing the necessary methods and with no regrets

Even if I consider death to be natural, killing someone isn't a big deal to me.

I consider each person as unique.

Each person is insignificant

But each person is a protagonist, and we are the secondary characters in his or her life.

That's what makes each of us unique.

Our story and our actions make us different every time. 

Tokito -If to love someone is to be weak, then I accept weakness. Hishida, you say that but you don't feel any pleasure in fulfilling this objective.

Yes, I don't.

Why am I fulfilling this goal

If it's only to find a reason to live.

As soon as Tokito becomes a normal person and lives a normal life

And I can't find any other purpose in life

I'll kill myself and put an end to this pointless life

In the meantime I'll stay alive to do what I've been asked to do