COTE: Behind the Mask

𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇 4

a/n: I'm sorry for not posting so long. i didn't have the motivation for a while and i still needed to edit this. anyways hope u enjoy this chapter.

I woke up to the sound of birds chirping. The sun hadn't risen yet, and I looked at the clock. It was 4:59 a.m. I guess I still wake up around 5:00 a.m.

**Beep**

**Beep**

**Beep**

I turned the alarm off and stood up. On the way to the bathroom to get ready, I checked my phone for any new messages. Oh, there's one from Karuizawa.

✉️: わかりました、そこで会いましょう！
(Sure, I'll meet you there!)

I brushed my teeth, changed into some sports clothes, and went out to jog for a while. My goal was to at least run 10 miles a day to stay in shape.

When I got back from my run, it was 6:08 a.m. I hopped in the shower so my uniform wouldn't be drenched in sweat. It was 6:24 a.m. when I was on my way to Arisu's dorm. I arrived at her room and knocked, waiting for her to open the door. Then I heard some noises from the inside.

"Good morning, Kiyo!" she greeted me, opening the door, slightly panting.

"Good morning, Arisu. Did you sleep well?" I asked, walking into her room.

"Yes, I did. What about you?"

"Same here."

We both sat down on her bed. She then hugged me, and I hugged her back.

"I missed you!"

"It was only one night," I said, genuinely smiling at her.

"What do you want for breakfast, Arisu?"

"Whatever you can cook."

"Alright."

I let go of the hug and went into her kitchen. Since there weren't many ingredients, I cooked something simple, like miso soup. It was 7:32 a.m. when we finished eating. Arisu changed into her uniform, and we were on our way to our classroom.

It was 20 minutes before school started when we arrived, and only a few of our classmates were present. Arisu and I talked about the most random things until someone came up to us.

"Good morning, Ayanokoji-kun and Sakayanagi-san."

We both greeted him back.

"You wanted to be the leader of the class, right, Sakayanagi-san?"

"Yes, that's what I said."

"Well, I wanted to make a proposal."

With that sentence, he piqued my interest. What kind of proposal will it be?

"How about I'll lead the class, and you will help me? Because in athletics, you can't even participate unlike me."

"I decline, Katsuragi-san."

Arisu didn't hesitate for a second. This shocked him, and he gave us a short glance before retreating to his seat. It was clear that Arisu would decline; there were no advantages in that proposal for her. Slowly, the classroom started to fill, and the door opened as Mashima-sensei came in. With that, school started.

---

**Timeskip [4 lessons later]**

Now it was finally lunch break. Arisu and I packed our bags and made our way to Class D. We got weird looks as we passed by Class C.

"Did their lesson already finish?"

"Probably."

If not, that would be weird since the lesson should already be over since 10 minutes ago. As I was about to finish that thought, the door opened, and a woman with long brown hair tied in a ponytail and brown eyes came out. She didn't even care to look at us and walked right past us. We walked into the classroom and stayed by the door. Most of the students who saw us were shocked.