A Monster's Influence: Route B

Volume 2 - Chapter 16

Ayanokouji's POV

Yuki and I enjoyed the buttery baguettes along with our soups. Even though I ordered the soupe de poisson, I preferred the bisque that Yuki chose, while she was the opposite. Needless to say, we swapped soups while we were halfway finished. Yuki had told me she was starting to get along with the other girls such as Kobashi and Ninomiya. While they, too, got along with Ichinose, they honestly felt like it was troubling to keep up with her near-constant state of blitheness. However, she softened a little more towards her, understanding that she wasn't as she seemed. Ichinose was not just a goody-two-shoes with no care in the world, brimming with naïveté; she had her own troubles as well, selflessly caring for others more than herself.

That being said, I had my own concerns about Ichinose as well. What I gathered these past couple of months was Ichinose's lack of decisiveness even in trifling matters. This could pose some trouble during the competition against the other classes, her being vulnerable to underhanded tactics like Trojan horses. Games of deception definitely weren't her forte. As for her selflessness... her overly-altruistic nature didn't just come from nowhere.

"Haa..." I sighed. It wasn't like me to be concerned about others. Ichinose would likely learn her lesson after being deceived in the next competition by Ryuuen or maybe someone from Class A and properly build up her own defenses.

"Kiyotaka, is there something wrong?" I was brought out of my contemplation by my partner, who had momentarily paused the consumption of her soup, "You're frowning. Perhaps you're tired of the soup? See, the fish soup is much better than that overly rich bisque."

I shook my head, "No, I just keep thinking about dreary matters while I should be enjoying this instead,"

"Well then, let's talk about something different. I remember that you said you could play piano at the beginning of the semester, but you always seem to be too preoccupied with your club or never really get the chance to play because of people frequenting the music store, like Nishikawa from Class A or our senpais from the upper years. When will you find the chance to play? I've been dying to hear your music so I could sing while you play sometime,"

"Maybe during summer vacation? I'm sure everyone would be busy enjoying their vacation at the pool and facilities temporarily converted for estival services. I'd say classical music is my specialty, but Puppy-chan got me into uh... pop."

"...Who exactly is this puppy? I've heard you reference them here and there."

"Puppy-chan is my junior from the outside. I call them that name because they follow me around everywhere." Nanase, while a capable academic and an adept fighter, is a bit of an airhead and gets into trouble a lot of time by getting involved with the shenanigans Matsuo's son cocks up. Her lack of pattern recognition is surprisingly adorable. She wouldn't last in that place.

"If she manages to get accepted to, you'll get to meet Puppy-chan next year. I have a feeling you two will get along. Think of Puppy-chan to be a little like... Amikura."

"Do you mean to say that she's a hyperactive gremlin who plays pranks on others?"

"Eh? What did Amikura do to you?" As far as I knew, Amikura couldn't hurt a fly. She just has no sense of personal space, especially with Ichinose.

"N-Never mind that," Yuki looked away before changing the subject, "Care to explain who exactly Kiyone-tan is?"

"I have no idea who Kiyone is," I replied coolly. Impossible. There is no way she could have known. I checked the forums and I didn't see Ikari-senpai post anything. If I pretend to be indifferent, she'll never know what Ikari-senpai made me do in exchange for the midterms, "Is that some idol that you're into?"