Would You Stand By Me? [On Break]

Chapter 7: Lies and Deception

"I would but I have to explain to Kei about our relationship after school today. It might take a while."

As the words left Kiyotaka's mouth, Arisu smiles smugly as she leans forward, "Hm? That's odd~ you usually keep her in the dark~ Did you have a sudden change of heart and decide to be more transparent?"

Kiyotaka sighs as he knew from the way she spoke, and the way she conducted herself was obviously sarcastic yet he couldn't understand why there was a hint of anger in her voice.

"You, of all people know that isn't possible with me at least." Kiyotaka responded listlessly.

Arisu nods as she maintains her smug smile. She leans back seemingly having calmed down. "I wouldn't say that Kiyotaka. You should have a little faith in your ability to change~."Despite her outward appearance she felt conflicted. She was relieved that Kiyotaka wasn't as close to Karuizawa, however she also felt disappointed with what Kiyotaka said. She took a deep breath and steeled her resolve to be the one to teach the white room's masterpiece emotions.

"I see. I shall take it under advicements." Kiyotaka responded listlessly.

"Anyway I'll tell you why I'm communicating to Kei our relationship but in exchange will you play along to what I have planned after school?" Kiyotaka extends his hand to which Arisu takes and shakes on it.

"Interesting~ you better not disappoint~" Arisu responded.

Hours later, Karuizawa Kei, one of the girls that had an influence in the class showed up behind a hidden corner of the school which Kiyotaka had told her to meet.

Her hands were shaking with anxiety, her mind was filled with thoughts of abandonment, but most importantly her heart was filled with jealousy towards Arisu.

Her anxiety and thoughts was interrupted when a tall, well built figure entered the dimm alleyway located at the back of the school. It was the man who had saved her from her past. Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

Karuizawa calmed herself by taking a deep breath and puts on a front by crossing her arms. She said with a small pout on her face, "You're late."

"No we agreed to meet at 15:00 hrs and it's 15:00 hrs now. You simply arrived too early." Kiyotaka replied.

Karuizawa's pout gets bigger as she gently hits Kiyotaka on the shoulder. "Whatever... Can you just tell me your relationship with her already?"

Kiyotaka nods as he walks out of the hidden corner and towards the park to which Karuizawa followed.

Kiyotaka sighs as Karuizawa stares at him with an intense focus.

"It was a warm beautiful day. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, the flowers in the school garden were all in full bloom. Yet despite all the beauty and colour in the surrounding environment, a lone child stands in the middle of it all.

The child had short orange hair that could be spotted from miles away, a slim yet well built figure for his age, and was merely observing his environment.

In contrast to everyday kids, that would play tag, hide and seek, board games, or video games. The kid in the middle of the park simply observed everyone from the kids to the adults for one hour each time he was allowed to go out.

Countless kids approached the young child, yet he never said a word. He simply nodded. Almost as if he was living in a world in which he could not see any colour.

His presence was unnerving at first but people get used to their surroundings and just like that in a few days, the small kid that merely observes disappeared from everyone's peripheral vision.

Yet there was always one person there, that could lighten his mood, that could inject the colour missing into his life.

It was a small girl with short lilac hair and a smile that could light even the coldest of hearts. Although she was disabled and had to use a walking cane, it never stopped her from being happy and uplifting the moods of everyone around her.

Even if it was a mere hour out of the 24 hours in a day, the small orange boy could see colour. He could feel something. It scares the boy but yet also intrigues him. He slowly approaches the girl but was pulled away as his time was up.

"I wonder what type of life I would have, if I could see things from her perspective." The boy thought. "I must get closer to her day by day."

The boy never got to see her again because the boy was taken away by his father to be home schooled in isolation."

After listening to the story, Karuizawa couldn't help but to stop in her tracks. "Kiyotaka could you possibly be talking about yourself...? You did tell your friends you were home schooled and that girl..." Karuizawa said meekly.

Kiyotaka sighs, "Once you get attached to a person, you really do try to find every little information about them. I am impressed Kei." Kiyotaka pats Kei for knowing what he told his group of "friends". He continues, "Yes, I finally got to see her again. Her name was Sakayanagi Arisu. The same girl I saw on that very garden. As a result, I hope you understand why I would want to spend time with her."

Karuizawa looks down and nods. She didn't had the heart to question Kiyotaka anymore and decides to help him rather than getting in his way due to her selfish emotions. "I understand. I am sorry for doubting you Kiyotaka. From now on, I'll give you two more space and even help you out with Sakayanagi-san!" Kei smiles brightly as Kiyotaka nods.

"Thank you Kei, I'll be relying on you." Kiyotaka bows causing Kei to blush.

"Ah mou...! You don't have to be so formal! We're friends after all! You helped me and I'll help you out too!" Kei responded. Before Kiyotaka could respond, Kei started pushing him to Arisu as she saw Arisu slowly walking through the park.

"Now quick, go spend time with her already~!" Kei shouts.

Kiyotaka nods as he runs towards Arisu. Once far enough, Kei fell to her knees and cried as she thought that the boy she loved already had his heart taken by another.

"So~ how was the test?" Arisu asked.

"Well I can confirm her loyalty." Kiyotaka responded coldly. The two of them slowly walk towards the dorms as silence fills the air.

"Tell me Kiyotaka, how did you come up with such a story?" Arisu asked in her smug tone.

"Read enough stories, use a bit of personal experience and it's easy to touch the heart strings of people who don't think critically." Kiyotaka replied.

Arisu giggles as they part ways to their separate dorms.

"Ayanokoji, you truly are an interesting anomaly. A monster some would say, but to others a kid that never got the chance to grow and I will personally ensure you grow~" Arisu giggles to herself softly before entering her room.

Author Note:
Hey while writing this series I noticed one of the things that really discouraged from writing the series is the pressure I put on myself to try and maintain the cannon personalities as much as possible. The more I write, the more I second guess myself whether this would be what the characters would do as I keep engaging with other creator's content which over exaggerate character traits like the side characters. I am still debating on how to tackle the issue I am facing but as a writer I thought I would be transparent in the writing process in case if one of you ever decide to write for yourselves. It's a tricky fine balance I would say.

Image Source:https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/108904435