Cote: The Unseen Ties

The Girl Who Walked on the Edge

Elder Horikita did kept his promise, ensuring that no one else was around at the time of their meeting.

"I have something to confirm, I also want you to answer me as a parting gift." he requested but it came out as a demand, it was his own greed to know about the man, who made him feel inferior.

He wasn't arrogant to believe that nobady is better than him but he never considered that he will encounter a wall, a talent, too vast all consuming that outshine him without even try.

After a brief moment of consideration, Ayanokoji nodded slowly. He had already concluded that this would likely be the last time he'd speak with Elder Horikita, and so, answering his question didn't feel burdensome.

"It's fine if you can't answer this fully," Elder eye's narrowed as he continue esteadily yet probing and after paused he questioned "Why do you hide your abilities?"

Though the question was direct, it wasn't something he didn't expect "I simply don't like attracting attention." he replied as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Even if you truly want to conceal your true self, is this something you can stick by?"

Ayanokoji paused briefly, it's wasn't doubt or reconsideration of his own action that hold him but uncertainty of his own.

"how I put this,um..I haven't thought that far ahead," he decided to admit what he was aware of now "I decided to live the life of an ordinary high school student-someone you could find anywhere."

"Do you plan to continue this in the future?"

"It's hard to say," Ayanokouji replied, "Lately, more things have been catching my attention. I don't have to take most of them seriously, but it's still more than before." Perhaps he was being too honest and he knew it.

"Do you think this path will matter in the long run, even to yourself?"

Ayanokouji’s response came swiftly, yet with the same understated simplicity he'd always carried. "If you look at it from my perspective, wanting to live a comfortable life, I’d say that has meaning."

He didn’t dismiss his own view as an idealistic delusion, the sort of thinking one might attribute to someone who sought to leave a lasting mark on the world for to give their life a meaning.

He couldn’t relate to that kind of need—

For him, such desires held no appeal. Those who seek greatness for sake of being great one day, Those who are motivated only by desire, for the fruits of action are miserable.

"Maybe so," the Elder said thoughtfully. "But don't you want to leave something behind while you're at this school? If that's the case, then the question remains: 'Do you really think that continuing like this will have any meaning in the future?' It's something worth reflecting on."

"Leave something behind... that's only something someone as notable as you can do," he replied, dismissing it with a quiet certainty.

The Elder shook his head in quiet disagreement. "If you can't leave a legacy at the school, leave it in the minds of the students. Let the name 'Ayanokouji Kiyotaka' be etched into their memory."

Carving his existence into memories of other was foreign to Ayanokouji. It was a path he had never considered, nor did he feel inclined to start now.

"If you truly made up your mind to pursue your own path," the Elder continued after pause, "then in these three years, you will inevitably become someone unforgettable."

"An unforgettable existence..." Ayanokouji murmured aloud, "But it's still possible for me to be expelled during my second or third year."

"Even if that were to happen," the Elder countered, "your presence in these three years would still remains. As long as students look back and think, 'The existence of Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was remarkable,' then that in itself, is a kind of success."