The puppeteer of the elites (CoTE) ON HIATUS

Incident and truths

"Kei!"
"Yes, Kiyo?"
"Look, this book is so pretty..."
"Oh, the illustrations are amazing... is the story good?"
"Yeah! The spy is so unpredictable! It's so exciting!"
"Is that so? Maybe I'll read it later."
"Kei..."
"?"
"Even if you were the enemy, or a spy from another country, if you could be outside, would you be alright with it?"
"Hm... maybe, maybe not. I do still have my loyalties toward our country, even if I want to see the outside world."
"I see... What do want to be when you grow up?"
"I honestly have no idea. I like drawing, so maybe an artist, or a designer? What about you?"
"A business man! I can make money and visit different places!"
"Oh, sounds fun! Bring me along too!"
"Alright, pinky promise! I saw it in a book! You take your pinky and latch it on mine! There!"
The boy gently put his finger around the girl's one. She smiled a warm smile, which could be likened to a summer's day. She patted his head fondly as the excited child bounced around.
"Alright, it's a promise! We'll go out and see the world together!"

If only those days had lasted...

Keiko POV

So after the exams which I decided to hold back a bit on, we found out the truth about the point system, which I was honestly not surprised about. It's been a while since then, and I heard that recently class D and class C got into a fight. This could be interesting, perhaps I could find out more details about this. However, I do not wish for Kiyotaka to know of my existence in this school yet, so I suppose I'll have to back out.

"Troubled about something? How unusual." Sakayanagi smirked, pulling me back to reality. "Good afternoon, Sakayanagi San. I am not troubled, simply contemplating some decisions I have yet to make. I assume you did not engage in conversation for no reason?" I reply without skipping a beat. She smirked. "Perceptive as always, Ayanokoji Chan. Indeed, I was wondering if you heard about how an incident broke out between classes C and D, and how one of their classmates are awaiting trial." I nodded, signaling I had heard of these happenings.

I suspect class C set up these incidents as experiments. It was stated that only class A would reap benefits after graduation from this school, so all the other classes are desperately trying to get into this class. There must be a certain criteria the class must achieve to switch classes, so class C may be playing with it to see if expelling a student in a class will affect that class's chances of getting into class A. And since nobody would believe the word of defects, class D was the best to test the theory on.

I doubt that that would affect the chances, considering how extreme this school is. I have a feeling an event which forces someone in each class to be expelled might happen. Of course this is all speculation, but I will keep it in mind.

I decided to do a little digging on each class. Discreetly, of course. By using justified means of course. I simply went to places that all classes can access and observed them.

And it appears that much like class A, class C has a leader. I believe his name is Ryuen. Their class is quite noisy, so it wasn't hard to find out their leader. Looks like I'll need to take drastic measures soon... and give them a lesson they won't soon forget.

My opinion on class B is that they're what I believe are called goody two shoes. Their leader is Ichinose Honami, one of the nicest people you would ever meet. She approached me the other day since she wanted to maintain good relations with class A. Although I was a bit skeptical about the whole ordeal, I somehow emerged out of it with her contact information and a clear idea of her class dynamic. She is quite a friendly and nice girl, and probably could be useful in the future.

Class D is a mess at the moment. However, I see a few promising individuals who could potentially lead the class. Especially after the study session I witnessed while in the library. The first is a boy called Hirata Yousuke. He is sociable, popular, athletic, and many girl's dream man. I do not share the same sentiments, but I cannot deny that he is well liked. The second is Kushida Kikyo, a girl much like Ichinose, but I can feel something off about her. I have a feeling that she is faking her personality to be well liked, unlike the naturally sweet Ichinose. She is also quite popular, and apparently wants to make friends with everyone in the school. I avoided her since she is in the same class as Kiyotaka and after hearing of my last name, would probably tell him about me, which would ruin my plan. She has quite an admirable and friendly disposition I suppose, and her goal is quite... cute? I'm not sure.

The third is Horikita Suzune. She seems cold and stand-off ish, though I can't blame her, I get the feeling that she has a hidden motivation driving her, and also confusing her method of doing things. She is incredibly smart, I will give her that, but there's a reason why she is there. It was made abundantly clear to me as a child what makes someone great. It is not just intellect, it is adaptability, mental strength, physical strength, observation skills, social skills and... knowledge of your personal standing. She seems a little full of herself, and although I'm not sure about the other qualities besides intellect, I'd guess that's the main thing weighing her down. She isolates herself, thinking it's the right thing to do and friends are unnecessary, and she's not wrong to a certain extent. Friends are necessary. But only as tools, pawns to use to your advantage.

When we are first brought to this world, we start at the same starting point. However, as we grow and learn, we get different lessons and benefits based on our social standing and our physical ability. Of course, there's more, but those are the main things for children growing up. We must use these as weapons, use our skills to not only survive, but thrive. At least, that's my perspective on things. In conclusion, I believe she simply needs to learn more before she becomes a powerful adversary.

Finally, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. My brother. I doubt he will willingly step up to lead the class, but I doubt he will simply do nothing. He will most likely do the same as me, manipulate others from the shadows to victory. Unless something happens. He only lacks social skills, namely, he is terrible at interacting with people. Even with me in the past he couldn't do much. However, in this competitive environment where it's not based on individual standing but class standing, he will be forced to adapt and learn, so he will definitely be able to oppose us. Sakayanagi already knows about this, so we should be safe. However, if we are intimidated, I will have no choice but to step up and lend her a hand. Kiyotaka, in my opinion, is equal to me in every way. Nothing more, nothing less. We are siblings in name only. I do not acknowledge him as my brother, and he does not acknowledge me as his sister. That is simply the flow of things. He is a person who might dethrone me. That is all that matters to me.

I closed my bag, zipping it up. I waved goodbye to Sakayanagi, who had become increasingly friendly with me these past few weeks. I decided to see what was going on in class D.

I hope you entertain me, advanced nurturing high school.