COTE Year 2 Reimagined

Volume 6:Part 1

I decided to avoid going to school the next day in order to lay low after everything that happened in the special exam. Unfortunately, I did stand out quite a bit, which means more and more people will begin to notice me.

I wanted to take it easy the entire day, but of course, Kei had other plans. She came to my room and started knocking as soon as she left school.

"What is it?"

She gave me a smile and ran into the room as soon as I opened the door.

"Why didn't you come to school today?"

I sat on my chair while she was sleeping on my bed like she was in her room.

"I didn't feel like it. I won't be coming in all week either. I'll be back Monday."

She got up and glared at me.

"Why is that? You know Kushida-san,Mii-chan, and Hasebe-san were all absent too, right? That makes four people."

I sighed and closed my eyes.

"I'll deal with all that. Just tell Horikita to focus on calming the rest of the class."

She got up in my face and looked at me.

"Fine. But you're coming out with me tonight."

She was persistent.

"Why?"

"We're going on a date."

"A date?"

"Yes. A date. We're dating, aren't we? If you want me to pretend to be your girlfriend, then at least act like a boyfriend and take me out."

She wasn't wrong. If I were to experience anything from this relationship, then I needed to play my role as well.

"Sure. Where are we going?"

"Figure it out, Mr. boyfriend. That's your job."

How cruel. I'll probably just have to do some research to make sure our date goes well.

"And no Internet. At all. You'll make all your choices on your own, got that?"

That was unfair.

"And no asking either. You can't call up someone else for advice!"

She was taking away all my options.

"Fine. I'll come to your room during the weekend and we'll go somewhere."

She nodded at me while crossing her arms.

"And don't forget to record the rules for the sports festival. I don't want to miss out on that."

"Sensei said she'll explain it next week anyway, so don't worry."

I nodded at her and got up to make some coffee. Instead of leaving, she went to sleep in my bed again.

"Please don't actually doze off this time. I'm not sleeping on the floor again."

She giggled when she remembered what had happened yesterday.

"I was tired, okay? A girl needs her beauty sleep."

She crossed her arms and started pouting. I made myself a coffee and opted for a different option for Kei since she hated coffee, as I discovered recently.

"So Kiyotaka. What's up with what Kushida-san said? Did you really touch her?"

Kei was glaring daggers at me. It seems this was the real reason she was here.

"I did."

She choked on her drink and got completely flustered.

"It was soon after we enrolled here. I saw Kushida break character, and she threatened me."

I got closer to Kei and grabbed her arm, and moved it to my chest.

"She moved my arm like this and then held it tight with both hands. She said that my fingerprints would be there to prove that I tried to rape her."

I squeezed Kei's hand with both of mine while she was touching my chest and watched her face turn as red as it could possibly get.

The best defence against Kei is to attack her head on.

"I-I see...y-yeah...s-so...um...y-yeah ok."

Kei kept drinking and couldn't even argue anymore. My plan had worked.

"You should go now. It's getting late."

She nodded at me and got up. I walked her to the door, and she kissed my cheek before leaving. Ever since the second semester, she's been doing this every time she was in my room. I had gotten used to it by now.

I checked my phone to see if I received anything important and saw a text from Horikita.

<Why didn't you make it today? Are you okay?>

It was unusual for Horikita to be concerned about me, but I couldn't blame her after what happened.

<I'm fine. I'll be back by Monday.>

It took her almost ten minutes, but she finally got back to me.

<Good to hear. I've tried to calm the class down as best as I could. I also tried to deal with the other students who are missing but got no response from any of them.>

I decided to respond immediately.

<I see. Just take care of the class. Leave the rest to me.>

<You're unusually cooperative. What are you planning?>

<Nothing. I just want to help.>

<Liar.>

Horikita is always a slow texter. She reads carefully and takes her time deciding what to say. Yet she didn't even hesitate to call me a liar.

The truth is I was lying. The best course regarding Haruka is to leave her alone for now. Mii-chan was easy to help, so I decided to try and help her in order to regain some of Yousuke's trust. He is still a valuable ally. Kushida, on the other hand, was the one I needed. I needed to know everything she knew about Yagami and use her as a pawn moving forward.

<I'll take care of it.>

I decided to reassure her.

<I won't give up just yet. I'll help anyway I can.>

Horikita knew she failed during the last exam. She was doing her best to make up for that mistake now and bring this class together.

<Okay.>

I shut my phone off and decided to ignore her reply.

Tomorrow, I'll take care of Mii-chan, then i have a date with Kei on the weekend, and then I'll deal with Kushida on Monday.

I also needed to meet Nagumo.