A Monster's Influence: Route C

Chapter 11

Ayanokouji's POV

The classroom was oddly more barren than usual, many of the seats in the classroom being vacant. Most of the girls were in class or hanging outside chatting while waiting for Sakagami-sensei to come. It seemed like many of my male classmates were playing truant once again. It was a little expected given the trend set last week, but fifteen students being absent or late in one day? Tokitou was one of the fifteen missing. As far as I knew, he was just lounging in his dorm. He assured Nishino and me in the group chat that he was fine, but was busy with something.

"Kiyotaka, what do you think Hiroya's up to?" Nishino asked anxiously, repeatedly bouncing her leg, "Do you think..." Right, there was that hierarchy affair he was involved in. I wondered how that went down. If my suspicions were correct, that sneaky magenta-haired kid somehow schemed his way to the top. I did notice him add a little something to the food Oda and his friends ate, but I didn't stick around to see the results. It wasn't any of my business, so I left them be.

I rubbed my chin while I considered Nishino's question. Hiroya's likely to be injured, but how injured was the question. He could be anything from lightly scuffed or severely injured, though the latter is unlikely. Should be unlikely.

"I dunno, he might be dead or something," I shrugged before Nishino slugged my arm.

"Ouch!" she yelped before she whispered, "Why are you so hard? I know you did that the other day, but still, I didn't expect you to be this developed."

"I started exercising a few years ago," I decided to reveal, "The results of those activities gave me that. I'll probably regress without the daily exercise,"

"Are you going to buy a gym membership?"

"I'll consider it," I said before I rose an eyebrow, "You want a trainer?"

"Nah, I don't think going to the gym is for me. I could use a weekly plan with light exercises to keep off some of the pudge, though," she said, pinching her sides.

"I could write a general one and show you the basic exercises, if you want,"

"Yeah, that would be nice. I won't commit every day, though."

I sighed, "He'll probably be injured. I doubt this was all a coincidence. Given that fifteen of them are gone, I'd imagine there was a battle royale of sorts,"

"Hey, Kiyotaka-kun," another voice called out, "Let's, like, hang out again sometime this week."

We turned our heads and saw Manabe walking towards us. Manabe Shiho, a rather audacious girl. She led a clique of girls in Class C that's more or less fluctuating in size. She has a rather off-putting and abrasive personality that rubbed other girls the wrong way, which is why her group is more or less growing. She's already made some of the weaker-willed girls submit, but she clashes constantly with girls that "won't take her crap", or so what Nishino says, like that indigo-haired girl or that other athletic girl. For some reason, she hadn't targeted the silver-haired bookworm; I believe she said something along the lines of "light-hair connection".

"Yeah, is there anywhere you'd like to go?" I asked.

"I remember you like sweets, so would you like to go to a chocolaterie, ice cream parlor, or a bubble tea shop?" she asked as she sat on her desk.

I interlaced my fingers and pondered on what place to choose. This decision was absolutely consequential for my future decisions henceforth. What will happen to me, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka? What will happen if I make the wrong choice? I transcended time and erased any notion of the existence of anyone else. All that mattered was this very decision.