The puppeteer of the elites (CoTE) ON HIATUS

Deception, lies, and the ugly truth

"Kei...ko..." A boy with dark hair and fogging blue eyes choked out to the girl before him. She was towering over him, her long brown locks covered in crimson. She looked dully at him, quirking her head in his direction. "Yes?" She asked inquisitively. He chuckled, clearly in pain, yet he smiled. "It was a pleasure to... be with you, all... this time. Can you do me... one final favour?" His eyes were closing. The girl's nod was unseen by him, but he could sense it. "What do you require me to do?"

He felt for her hand and grasped it loosely. "You're warm, Keiko... You've always been... and always will be... warm. So, I want you to never forget what warmth feels like." The girl was confused. She looked at him oddly. "I, who has understood many things, cannot understand you. Why is that?" He laughed, the sweet sound tickling her ears for the last time. "I wonder. Perhaps... on the rest of your journey on this earth, you will... find out. All I ever wanted... was for you to smile. So... As the seasons change, from summer... to autumn, to winter... and finally to spring... I want you to learn. I'm sorry my journey with you ended so soon, but... I don't hate you for it. In fact... I love you, so... so, much. I guess this is goodbye... until our next life."

His arm fell to the cold, sterile ground. The girl placed it gently down as the warmth he had granted her for the last time, as the warmth he had given through his kindness, his smiles, slowly seeped out of his body and back into the cruel world. So this... is what happens to kind people... This is what all his kind acts, gentleness, cheerfulness amounted to? What a waste... "000, please proceed to the cleaning room." The monotonous voice sounded out. She obeyed. She walked out of the room, soaked in crimson liquid, but soon felt warmth seeping down her cheeks. "Huh? Are these... tears?" She touched her face, rubbing them away harshly. He gifted me with so many things... and finally... She softly smiled, a small, barely noticeable smile. "I guess he broke down my shields, huh..." she whispered, before sighing and returning to her monotonous self.

Inura Haru, or subject 014. A male of the age of seven. Died on the seventh of March, in xxxx year. Was born on an unknown date. He was a kind and sweet boy, and wanted, above all else, to be remembered. To remember and be remembered. I will remember you, Haru. No matter what, you did earn a special place in my heart. You even gifted me with things I didn't deserve, and a phrase unknown to me. 'I love you' So, I will learn how to smile one day. I will learn everything all over again when I get the chance. I will remember you, so if you are watching me... know that every spring, I will be wishing you a happy birthday, since it is your namesake.

Thank you so much, Haru. I only wish I could pay you back. However, it is impossible to turn the wheels of time back, so... I will try to smile. Just like you did constantly.

Is that enough?

Keiko POV

Finally, the tug of war concluded. Since class D and C had an incident, and class A won against class B, class A won first place, and the other two got the third prize shared equally. Next will be chess. I studied my opponent, Horikita Suzune. This will prove difficult, since she is smart, although not all acknowledge this, those in class D, B and a few in C and A do. This means that... I look at Sakayanagi who gives me a sinister, yet innocent looking smile. Theres no way out of this, huh... I sigh, nodding subtly to her, making her look rather satisfied. I guess I have to win by the skin of my teeth...

Kiyotaka POV

Horikita and I sat on a bed near the entrance of the infirmary, waiting for Ryuen to come. He will definitely try to blackmail us with this. Ibuki is in the bed next to us, a curtain hiding her from view. Finally, as Horikita was impatiently drumming her fingers on her arm, arms crossed, the man himself arrived to grace us with his presence. He must have been setting something up... Well, thats beside the point. It's been about fifteen minutes since the accident. The other classes would have finished up the event in five minutes, so after 'checking' if his classmates were alright, he would have taken about three minutes to come here. So, he should have been here about five minutes ago. Yet, he decided to take his sweet time to come here over this trivial affair. He smirked at us. He must be fairly confident. However, I wonder why he is looking at me specifically. Did I do anything to arouse his suspiscion, or disrupt the peace in this environment? Or did somebody pull the strings to allow him to be privy to information I would rather not let others know? Did I slip up, or make myself seem better than average?

I doubt I made the first or last mistakes. I have become rather adept at being average these past few months, so since most think of me as a gloomy, unsocial person, they will not even begin to suspect my full capabilities. However, there is presently a problem. Keiko. She is not the best at holding back, and I know she couldn't care less about my facade. She may have shown her superiority to others, which may have reached Ryuen's ears, or he might have been handed a ticket to seeing her do so firsthand. Either way, she may be the liability in this situation. I might have to talk with her later...

But, for now, lets continue with this incident. He cockily grinned as Horikita glared at him and I stared blankly at him. Is there really a need to glare at him? Wouldn't he just use that to provoke you, Horikita? He laughed, throwing his head back. "No need to be so angry, Suzune. Like a little dog trying to stand up to a lion without considering the one behind her." There it is. Along with a clue. He is suspecting me, so I should lower his opinion of me somehow. Horikita frowned, coldly rebutting him. "Don't try to talk your way out of this, you make no sense. It's obvious this was rigged. Ibuki purposefully pulled the rope harder around the end of this, which caused the balance to falter, which is why Sakura is now injured."

He smirked wider, if that was even possible. "What evidence do you have of this? Could one of your own not have done the same thing? And even so, Mio might have been reserving her strength to be able to win. You have no evidence of this. So, you can't do anything. I, however, can." He held out his phone, a video playing on it. "Kushida. Do not bother me." Horikita's voice sounded out from the phone. She glared at the girl opposite her who was looking at her sadly. "But... I just want to-" "Stay away from me. I have no need for your presence." Then she walked off.

"How... did you get that video!?!" Horikita gasped, clenching her fist in indignation. He smirked. "I had some help." He motioned to the girl behind him. She smirked victoriously, arms folded confidently, her eyes full of deep seated hatred. "Kushida!" Horikita glowered. The girl in question glared at her. "You know, I always hated you, you stuck up bitch. Always thinking you're the best, because of that damn superiority complex of yours. That ends today." She smirked, pointing to the video. "How do you think our classmates will react to this? Will you be spared? I don't care. I just want you to keep quiet about this part of me."

I looked blankly at the two. Ah, so she wants to use this to bury Horikita and boost her popularity? How dull. All this could be achieved without partnering with Ryuen. She knows I use Horikita as a scapegoat, so this is also a way to make me keep my mouth shut. I sigh, then ask, "What do we have to do?" Ryuen laughed cockily. "You don't have to do anything. Suzune, though... if you want me to delete this video, then you have to kneel down in front of me, pretend like this whole incident never happened, and pay me 100000 points. You have until five today to think of what you will do. We will meet at the special annex building. Well, see you." Then he and Kushida walked off.

My, what a mess we've gotten into. Looks like I'll need some help from 'her', should I wish to keep my pawn. Is it worth the risk? Who knows? But I can just bury her later.

The day she becomes useless to me.