Classroom of the Revenge

V1 - Chapter 12: Pretending

Asahina found herself in a dilemma. Currently her friend, Nagumo Miyabi was in a rut. Ever since X annihilated him on the final day, he has struggled to find motivation to do anything. Despite promising X to continue hunting him and competing with him, Nagumo couldn't bring himself to feel motivated. Having faced a truly unstoppable force for the first time in his life, he had no clue on how to continue.

Asahina found herself watching her friend drown in his directionless lifestyle. To her, Nagumo had always pushed forward no matter how much got in his way. He always pursued the next competition hoping to find someone better than himself. But now, he had finally encountered such an individual. Asahina couldn't help but be worried for him because of the results. He had lost. X had won. She had thought that maybe he would recover, but after a few days with no signs of change, she grew increasingly worried. His motivation had truly been damaged. Of course, all of Nagumo's classmates consoled him over his loss. They all said that it was only one time and he had won 9 of the total 25, therefore he could make a comeback. However, they didn't know what happened in those competitions. Nagumo had lost completely. The only match that he could win after X trains is in soccer. One match.

Nagumo of course hid his unenergetic self, but Asahina knew he was faking it. After being dragged along in his antics for over a year, she began to pick up on the subtleties of his acting. And right now he was acting. His acting seemed to fool the world around them except for herself. In fact, none of the student council members had noticed. So she was left alone with the knowledge that Nagumo felt truly lost. She didn't know what to do.

When Asahina first arrived at ANHS she made friends easily. One of those friends included Nagumo. She remembered that her initial impression of him was that he was just an arrogant and narcissistic pretty boy who overestimated his own abilities. However, she quickly learned that wasn't the case. Nagumo didn't overestimate his abilities, he was a true genius. Furthermore, he was no narcissist. In fact, Asahina noticed that Nagumo hated the praise he received. If asked, Asahina would say that this is the moment that she truly began becoming interested in Nagumo. She wished to find out who he truly was.

Thus, Asahina began getting more involved in class decisions more often and became a more central role in the class. Eventually, Nagumo could no longer ignore her. He decided that she would be perfect for the role of his secretary. Asahina accepted, thinking this would be the perfect chance to find out who Nagumo really was. Although she thought this, Nagumo was much more secretive than she could have ever imagined. Even now, she couldn't say she truly knew anything about him. It seemed that Nagumo had something he wished to hide. Asahina theorized that whatever he was hiding inside himself was probably the reason he was put in Class B initially.

Ultimately, Asahina knew something had to happen to bring Nagumo out of his slump. Otherwise, he may implode the class. At least that was what she told herself. Of course she knew she was just putting on airs. The truth was that Asahina enjoyed the conversations she had with Nagumo. She saw him as a friend and hoped Nagumo saw her as the same. This hope is what carried her into finding a way to bring Nagumo back to his senses. While she didn't know what to do, she knew she must do something. So Asahina resolved that she would bring life back to Nagumo.

* * *

Nagumo's life since the competition seemed to turn a bleak gray. He had thought that if he lost he would still maintain those colorful highs, but now the world returned to its depressing gray. He had lost completely. That was undeniable to anyone who viewed all the competitions. The difference in abilities between himself and X were made abundantly clear.

He still remembered the last performance by X. His purple hair swayed as he climbed the steps to the stage and he sat at the piano. He played a song so spectacular, so brilliant, he wouldn't have been surprised if it was the best piece of music ever created. The notes were brilliant. Despite this, it felt like each note blotted his world into his previous colorless world. Each note killed every bit of hope within him. X was clearly someone far beyond the reaches of himself. He had always thought that this is what he wished for. But once he got it, it seemed to only destroy him.