COTE: Ayanokoji Socially Capable

Chapter 7: Opportunity to Change

As I approached them, the tension in the room was palpable. Taking a deep breath, I asked, "If it's not too much, tell me what happened?"

He hesitated at first, but eventually, the weight of his pain pushed him to share. However, I knew the truth about Amasawa's fate – she had been sent to the white room, a place of ominous significance. It was how some of us ended up there; she had been sold off, much like Yuki.

Crafting my response with caution, I stated, "You're right, it is your fault."

The unexpected assertion hung in the air, surprising both of them. It was a deliberate move, a calculated step to gain control over Amasawa. I needed to be careful, dancing on the edge of revealing the white room while ensuring I seized this opportunity to manipulate the situation to my advantage

As I dropped the bombshell, a stunned "W-What?" escaped his lips. 

I continued, unyielding, "You made a promise and you failed to keep it."

"Hey Ayanokoji.."

Interrupting Kiryuin's attempt to intervene, I asserted, "Quiet, you're irrelevant," fixing them both with a cold, unyielding gaze. Kiryuin took a step back, cowed by the force behind my words, while Amasawa remained speechless.

"You're weak, pathetic," I continued, my tone cutting through the air. "Surely, those are the words your sister would be calling you."

A heavy silence enveloped the room as my words hung in the air, leaving an indelible mark on the dynamics of the conversation. The power shift was palpable, and I seized the opportunity to tighten my control over the unfolding situation.

"You chose self-preservation over your promise," I uttered with a biting edge, my words laden with accusation. "And here you are, weeping like a pathetic boy instead of facing your own cowardice, refusing to be a man who owns up to his decisions and accepts the grim reality."

The heaviness of my words lingered in the air, casting a shadow over the room. Amasawa's silence grew more profound, and Kiryuin, subdued by the weight of the accusations, dared not challenge the intensity of my gaze

"Not only that, but your selfish actions have plunged your entire class to fall," I hissed, my tone carrying a sinister weight. "Tell me, as you wallow in your pathetic state, do you think she would be proud, looking down on the ruin you've become?"

"You arrived here with grand declarations of a fresh start, yet what I see before me is nothing but the pathetic whimpering of a little boy. Crying, pleading, and utterly unchanged," I sneered, my voice threaded with a menacing tone.

I then turned to walk, this was a gamble but I had a feeling it would work. 

"If genuine change is what you seek, refrain from breaking your second promise – a modest step in the right direction. Acknowledging that your sister is gone, and understanding your role in it, will be another. If I find you at school, only then will I consider that you mean it," I stated firmly as I made my exit.

Leaving those words hanging in the air, I walked away, the gravity of the ultimatum lingering, a testament to the expectations set for his path toward transformation. 

The weight of my words hung heavily in the air, and neither of them uttered a word. A stunned silence enveloped the room, their expressions frozen in shock at the unexpected fierceness and transformation they witnessed in me. The departure left them with a version of me that was unfamiliar, a force to be reckoned with, and the room echoed with the lingering resonance of the confrontation that had just unfolded.

As I exited the dorm, I pulled out my phone to check the time – 5:33 pm. The confrontation had taken its time, but if the results were fruitful, the investment was worth it. With a determined mindset, I headed towards Chiaki's dorm to assess if she had changed as well.