Elysian's Monogatari

Chapter 88: Kaname's Progress(?)

𝗔 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿
𝗢𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺

"...Only him...Only Tojo was different from those bastards or so I thought." Jun said. "I told you to stop calling me by that name." Kaname said scaring Ren. "Woah?! That scared me!!" But he calmed down immediately upon seeing his brother with him. "Ah Nii-san. You're done talking?" He asked.

"...Yeah." Shiro simply replied. "...And Tojo. Oh I mean HiMERU. Man I still can't get used to this thing about stage names kinda embarrassing to call that out loud you know?" Jun said. "Don't get me wrong Sazanami." Kaname said confusing Jun. "Ah?" He asked.

"I just don't want you to repeat the same foolishness again. Please do not barge into the honored students' classroom again. It is annoying." Kaname said. "...What's with you all of a sudden?" Jun asked.

"There was something you wanted to tell me wasn't there? Besides Older Hanagaki asked me to come out and listen while waiting for the other honoured students to come back to the classroom." Kaname said.

"Nii-san you asked him to do that?" Ren asked. "...." Shiro didn't say anything but he did not deny it as well. "..I will lend an ear. Come on, say it." Kaname said. "I see you are still that arrogant bastard." Jun said with a sigh.

"You helped me before, like that time you and Older Hanagaki took me to the Catacombe. I'll repay you that favor since I don't want to be ungrateful." Kaname said. "...Ahhh I did hear about it from Tatsumi-senpai. About you three sneaking out at night to go there. You could've wake me up." Ren said.

"iiya about that Shiro-senpai said that he rather not because of our first impression of the Catacombe." Jun said with a sweatdrop. "Although I guess I really just can't bring myself to hate you, HiMERU." He then said. "Honestly I don't really care if you like or dislike me. Older Hanagaki has already expressed his hate for me." Kaname said.

"Eh? Is that so?" Ren asked. Again Shiro did not say anything. "Umm hello? Earth to Nii-san? Are you still alive?" Ren asked. "...Haaaa can you not assume I'm dead just because I want to be silent?" Shiro said with a sigh. "Ah you're alive that's great." Ren said.

"...I won't deny that HiMERU changed. On the surface at least." Shiro said. "...Still don't trust me i suppose?" Kaname asked. "...Don't misunderstand. Not trusting people easily is just part of who I am as a person. And mind you I still hate you." Shiro said. "...Of course the mistrust is the reason for the hate why am I not surprised?" Ren said with a sigh.

"...Haha as always you two have great chemistry. But anyways why did you suddenly decide to listen to me?" Jun asked curious. "I wouldn't have minded listening to you earlier if we were alone. But that's the classroom only for honored students. We were surrounded by honored students who hate non-honored students like the three of you." Kaname said.

"Remember. They used to just look down at you. However due to Tatsumi's actions that prejudice has turned into hatred. Although I could have asked you to come in instead I thought it'll be better if I hear it outside." He then said. "...Are you also blaming Kazehaya-san for all this?" Jun asked with a sad sigh. "He is the one to be blamed though. The group led by Tatsumi has most of work to themselves." Kaname said.

"It's probably the results of only the 'capable ones' receiving opportunities in a recession-hit idol industry. As the group named 'Kazehaya Tatsumi' excelled in handling tasks, fewer opportunities were left for the 'others'." He then said.

"Originally at Reimei Academy only the honored students had the chance to work as idols and they were granted the right to debut and accept jobs. But Tatsumi ignored that premise, monopolizing most of the work opportunities through his 'company' which mostly consisted of non-honored students." He added.

"To the honored students it's like the non-honored students whom they usually look down on, robbed them of their work. And that frustration and resentment eventually turned into hatred. Humans tend to treat anyone who takes away profits an an enemy, as someone to hate." He then said.

"Shouldn't they just blame themselves? That's just their karma for looking down upon and bullying us." Ren said with a sigh. "No one really thinks that way. All the honored students believe they've been righteously and doing things properly. Their glamorous life is built on trampling on the non-honored students." Shiro said.

"Because they have been recognized as honored students they believe they are superior to the non-honored students, a distinction based on their entrance exams scores. I bet they're thinking what's wrong with the superior ones trampling on the inferior ones? That's how the honored students see it. How annoying it makes me sick." He then said with a sigh.

"Older Hanagaki is right. Most of us don't feel guilty when we eat meat right? We're not usually losing sleep over the animals. There's a handful of people who do, but let's be honest they're not the norm. Normally most people eat meat without much thought without feeling guilty since they've already paid for it." Kaname said.

"There's nothing wrong with eating the meat we purchase. It is a right we've earned righteously. And the honored students think discriminating against the non-honored students is just another 'right they naturally have'. Unfortunately they are not even acting with malice. They view it as something as natural as breathing." He then said.

"If someone told you to 'stop breathing right now' would you comply? Or if someone tried to forcibly stop you from breathing what would you do? Naturally you'd get angry and yell things like 'Are you kidding me?!' right? This is how the honored students perceive things." He added.

"To the honored students the group of non-honored students led by Tatsumi is the enemy that robbed them of their 'natural rights'." He then said. "...I haven't seen you for a while but did you seriously get smarter HiMERU?" Jun asked. "What do you mean? I've always been smart." Kaname said.

"...Well I can't take all the credit though. I learned these from someone else." He then said. "Someone else? From whom?" Ren asked. "From someone I respect and see as a guiding compass in my life." Kaname proudly stated. "So who's that? You're not referring to Tatsumi-senpai are you?" Ren asked.

"Come to think of it you visited the Catacombe very often after I first showed you the way there. There were even rumors that you were more eager than anyone else to listen to Kazehaya-san. Up until then you had been an honored student and you later reclaimed that identity." Jun said.

"However during that period of time you seemed to be more enthusiastic and devoted than any other non-honored student." He then said. "Those are all facts so I won't deny them. But please don't confuse me with the other 'devotees'. I didn't frequently go to Catacombe because I was a devotee of Tatsumi's." Kaname said.

"I was merely following orders to achieve my goals through the best course of action." He then said. "...And whose orders were they from?" Ren asked. "I can't tell you. It's part of my agreement with that person. I have to follow 'his' instructions so I won't end up hitting rock bottom again." Kaname said.

"In fact I managed to crawl back up from the abyss thanks to 'him'. I couldn't thank 'him' enough." He then said. "...Har? Who is he then?" Jun asked. "Haha. To me well...he's like a god." Kaname said with a chuckle. "Oi~ Not to be rude but can you guys like move? You're blocking the hallways." A voice suddenly said.