Seen Through the Eyes of Goodwill

Chapter -12 (Ordeal)

Chapter-12

(This chapter, I will be trying to write two scenes in parallel with the third POV narration, trying my best not to mess up. One scene will be from the present time, and the other will be from the time this trip began, in the bus.)

Climbing the mountains, the bus carried a group of youth to their next trial. Even on their own they were a hostile bunch, however, the one leading them was malicious enough to tame them all.

The bus had entered the tunnel a few minutes ago, and at last Sakagami-sensei's long, drawn out description was coming to an end. In the dim darkness he went silent, announcing the end of his speech. No one asked any questions, waiting for one man to speak.

When the bus came out of the tunnel, the light revealed Ryuuen sitting in front of the bus where Sakagami-sensei was standing a few moments ago.

"You heard sensei. Switch off and pass on all your mobile phones here." He pointed towards the tray kept beside his seat.

Starting from the front they deposited their cellphones. Once they were done, a total of thirty-nine cell phones were present there.

"You lot, get lost." Ryuuen signalled the first two rows to surrender their seats, which they did.

He signalled a few individuals to come forth. After a few moments Ishizaki, Albert, Kaneda, Ibuki, Manabe, Nishino, and Yabu stood there in front of him.

However, there was one figure missing from this meeting, a figure immersed in a different world. Ryuuen looked at her in silence waiting for her to notice but to no avail.

The silence made everyone uncomfortable; everyone looked at her. Making Ryuuen angry was the last thing one would like to do.

Shiina Hiyori was busy reading her book. She didn't realize she was the center of attention in this silence. The girl sitting beside her panickedly elbowed her.

"Hey, Hiyori. Ryuuen's calling you!" She whispered sharply.

"Oh..." Finishing the page, she peacefully closed the book and walked up to Ryuuen.

"Is there anything I can help you with, Ryuuen-kun?"

"Yes, come here." He invited her to his inner circle.

Now, the members for the meeting were complete.

"Is it about 'X', Ryuuen-shi?"

"Hmm, in this exam we will smoke him out."

"Huh, what's going on, why am I here?" Nishino asked, not understanding the situation.

"Hmm." He looked at Kaneda, signaling him to answer her questions. It wasn't just for her. Hiyori also needed to learn what was happening, and more importantly, what was going to happen.

Hiyori silently heard all of the story, not missing out 0n a single detail. She felt disgusted. She understood how she was caught in the zodiac sign exam and how Ryuuen's action backfired in the Sports festival.

Once Kaneda was done, Ryuuen resumed his plan to catch 'X'.

"Ryuuen-san, I want to help you in this, I will do anything. I just want to get revenge." Manabe offered her complete devotion. More than revenge, she wanted to prove herself of use to Ryuuen.

"Yes, you will be the center of this plan."

"O-Oh, what do I have to do?"

"Beat up Karuizawa."

"Huh?! Aren't we in all this trouble because you thought beating up Karuizawa was a good idea?" Ibuki interrupted. Since she received the explanation of the recent events from Kaneda, she had been furious. It was hard for her to contain herself anymore.