I went to bed till it was 12 AM in the morning. I went outside the dorms, clad in the same pyjamas I wore when I went to meet Satou—a black shirt with black pants with red polka dots.
I waited beside the vending machine for Yoshida and Kato to come out but only Yoshida came.
"Where is she?" Yoshida asked no one in particular.
She (we) stayed there for over 10 minutes before she realised that Kato wasn't coming.
"Telling me to come and still not even coming. Screw this. I'm going back to my room," Yoshida swore, going back to her room.
I followed her silently to her room. Yes, it was creepy but needed. I also put my hand in my pocket to start a voice recording on my phone.
This is not really what I wanted but oh well.
I didn't want her to be angry but instead needed her to be a bit volatile but oh well.
Yoshida opened her door and was about to slam it in anger when I slipped in and locked the door behind me.
"Huh?! What are you doing?!"
I took a deep breath before keeping a calm expression and suddenly pinning Yoshida by her hands to the wall facing towards her kitchen.
"I'm here to talk," I said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Weird way to talk! Ever heard of a phone?! Let me go!!!"
I narrowed my eyes slightly in exasperation because of her voice. It was quite annoying when she screamed like that.
"Could you shut up?"
"S-Shut up?!" Yoshida was a bit shaken by my expression. I must have looked a bit scary. "I won't take this lying down."
"Just fucking shut up," I tightened the grip on her hands.
[There's an illustration here, arguably one of the best. Nakamura is using his left hand to hold Yoshida's hand above her head and his right index finger to gesture to her to keep shut.
His face is indifferent, with his eyes looking slightly annoyed, and Yoshida is looking visibly shaken and guess what? I have the illustration for this one—well, I don't one it and it's of pinterest and you need to look at each of them to understand what Eiya was doing.]
"Y-You can't do this to me," she squirmed; she was scared but also confused.
She didn't know why I was doing this to her yet.
"I can't? Who said so?" I asked hysterically, my tone as cool as ice. "You know I've had a very bad day and honestly, I want to let off some steam. So tell me again what I can't do and I'll show you that I can do it quite easily."
"...?!"
Of course, I wasn't acting in anger or anything. I made sure to debunk my emotions so I wouldn't succumb to anything of the sort.
However, I had to make her believe that. She had to believe that I was acting in rage because of what Honda did to me. She mustn't know that I was quite calm and in control.
It was so she believed that I was tired and stressed. Oh so tired indeed.
It was necessary so that even after this she wouldn't see me as a monster. That being said, the role of monster that I was playing wouldn't get physical.
It was just simple, unadulterated intimidation. It helped that she didn't know the details because she could have laughed at how shameful I was and maybe even not have been scared.
"Why are you doing this?" she asked, averting her eyes from mine.
I turned her head to look at me before speaking.
"Just listen and say nothing."
She nodded in affirmation.
"I want to help you," I said. "But first you'll help me. You and Kato are the ones who stole the class records, right?"
"...!" Yoshida was shocked but this will be the first of many shocking things.
"Yumemiya told you to do it, I presume."
Yoshida's eyes widened in shock; she really didn't know how to put her emotions in check. Perhaps if she did, then I wouldn't be able to do this but precisely because she was like this was why I was doing this to her.
I knew it was Yumemiya even before I even got expelled—I caught her basically mentioning it when I got dumped.
I knew it was her but what I didn't know was how Takagaki connected into all this so because of that I made a resolution to investigate him but before that Ito said the traitor was in our class and from there I more or less knew there were more possible other traitors.
The expressions I noticed were as follows:
Suzuki looked tense.
Arakawa grinned silently.
Matsumoto stared blankly.
Yoshida looked calm.
Miyamura looked disinterested.
Kato looked nervous.
Kagura looked anxious.
Yumemiya looked outside the window.
Inoue looked angry.
Ito looked calm.
The people who stood out to me were Kato and Yoshida; they didn't act like they normally acted, especially Yoshida, who even acted out of character before that.
They acted like the complete opposite, in fact, though that wasn't the only clue I had.
I still investigated Takagaki but nothing came of it that would motivate me to continue investigating him; however, something solidified Yoshida and Kato's part.
It was when I happened to overhear Yoshida and Kato and while they didn't finish mentioning the person's name, it was obvious that it was Yumemiya.
The question was why Yoshida and Kato were working for her.
"No need to nod; I'm quite sure about what I said."
"...Nakamura, can I speak?"
Well, you're already speaking but oh well.
"Go on," I said.
"How do you know all this?"
"It was quite obvious, wasn't it? I know everything going on."
A very blatant lie.
"I-I see," Yoshida believed me for a second before going back to doubt. "So, what do you want?"
"Do not ask me questions."
"..." she nodded—she still seemed a little scared of me.
"Now tell me. Why would you help her for that reason? Even dragging Kato into it."
I was bluffing—or rather, I was bullshitting. I had no idea what I was saying but maybe I could get the answer through Yoshida.
It was bait, to see if she would reveal more information
"It's not that. I may have lied to Kato to make her join but it was for her own good."
Yoshida fell for the bait.
80% of the time people say it was for someone else's good; it was actually for their own good, especially in the case of a confession—it was because most people hated to be seen as bad people.
"Why are you still lying?"
"But didn't she still enjoy it?! She got 50,000 Rp, didn't she?! She should be happy."
Hmm.
Yoshida frantically and utterly believed what she did was good; well, not completely but she at least wanted to force me to believe it.
Of course I knew that Kato didn't quite enjoy this; it was evident when I overheard their conversation.
"Is that right?" I asked sarcastically. "You lied to your friend and put them in a compromising position because of your selfish wish."
"That's not fair. What else could I have done? I've been friends with Aiya-chan for over 5 months yet I'm still not close in popularity. It's not fair when bitches like Honochi get it with no work while I bust my ass off," Yoshida narrowed her eyes but not at me—she glared toward the ground.
She's really angry about this, huh.
Well, this was interesting but it brought my mind toward her file.
This would lead me back to what I came here for but for now I had to understand everything that happened.
"Did you even ask Yumemiya why she wanted the class's records?"
"N-No."
I didn't even need to ask to know that—it was obvious that someone as brash as her was just lured with just the prospect of being above Honda, though I thought Yoshida was popular enough.
I'm useless at that too so maybe that's why.
"Yet you used your own aunt. You do know that she could get fired."
"I had no choice! What else could I do? How else could I fulfill the job?"
"That's really selfish…and stupid."
At any rate, I got the basic gist of what had happened—Yumemiya needed to get the student records and allied with Yoshida but needed someone else so Yoshida got Kato into the mix.
The thing that worried me was why Yumemiya chose Yoshida specifically.
It meant she knew that Yoshida was someone close to Jackson-sensei.
That was the only reason she would choose her because Yoshida wasn't exactly the most intelligent.
It meant she had access to Yoshida's information—it also explained how she could manipulate her into joining her side.
Though maybe it was just because she knew her for a term.
I couldn't tell.
Yet.
Anyway, it was time to get what I really came here for; what I did before this was just to lay a foundation.
I planned this just for this, for step 1 of my plan—I checked the walls to check if they were soundproof.
They were but some sound still travelled so I met her by 12 AM because it was when she would leave her room. I knew it would affect her psyche when she would meet Kato, and everyone would have entered REM sleep—meaning they wouldn't hear us even if some sound travelled.
I could have waited for her in her room but then I wouldn't have known how things went when she met Kato; moreover, the camera would see me sneak into her room.
Yes, I was breaking the rules by entering her room but I would most likely face a reduction of Rp or a lecture in the morning.
Well, that was just a guess anyway.
And when I entered after her, I made sure to do it naturally and not like a creep—it was hard to do but they would still ask Yoshida in the morning, though I had a plan for that too.
As for the intimidation, I was just doing what would most likely work because people could lie under pressure and I was working on theories.
Moreover, this only works because it's Yoshida. Anyway, it's time for negotiation.
"It's not selfish… I—"
"I'll tell the class," I said, my voice still calm. "I recorded what you said. And if you're wondering, yes, I will edit my parts out."
"Huh?"
Yoshida was shocked but regained her composure.
"Like they'd believe you."
She must have thought that would work because she had a nervous smirk on her face.
"You're right, they won't."
"Yes, so let me g—"
"But they'll believe Ito, who is on my side?"
"On your side?"
"Precisely."
"What are you talking about?"
"Think Yoshida. It was us that solved the class debacle."
"So? That doesn't mean you're close."
"Really? Haven't you heard? I walk with Ito to school every day. Moreover, didn't we leave during that study session?"
Damn, I'm so grateful that Ito walked with me to school.
"...!"
"Didn't you wonder why Honda is bullying me? It's because I'm close to Ito."
"B-But what about when you got expelled?"
"What about it? Ito was supporting me, wasn't he?"
"Shit."
"So, then I'll report you tomorrow."
"If you do, I'll get in trouble; moreover, isn't it Yumemiya who is at fault?"
"She is, but you won't go unpunished. Unless…"
"Unless what?"
"Unless you follow my conditions."
"W-W-What do you want?" Yoshida squirmed; she probably thought I wanted to defile her but I wanted to do no such thing. I wanted something much more important.
I let go of her hands and walked over to her couch and sat down with a heavy sigh.
She could run but I knew she wouldn't so I gestured for her to come, which she did reluctantly.
"All I want is the bullying to stop but that's not possible, is it?"
This was the main part of everything—why I didn't present myself as a monster.
I wanted her to sympathize with me.
"..."
Of course it wouldn't happen at once.
"All I want is for you to help me increase my reputation so more people will be on my side."
"...On your side? The side of a rapist?"
It seemed she still thought I was a rapist. Well, of course she did; it was one of the reasons I could intimidate her.
"You still believe I did that?"
"Yes, why would Aiya—"
"She lied. She lied! She lied!! She lied!!!" I frantically screamed as if I were frustrated.
"Hey, relax."
"...Sorry, I just really had a bad day," I whispered.
Good, she's slowly opening up her heart to me.
"So all you want is for me to help you with your Rp? Is that why you threatened me?"
"N-No, that's not all. I also want to help you."
"Help me?"
"Yes, I can increase your Rp by the end of next week."
"What?" she asked. "What kind of phony-ass deal is that? Moreover, it's not like I can refuse, right? So what's the point of this?"
"I understand not trusting me. Fine, let's do it like this. Let's draft a contract."
"Hmm? What's that?"
"It's in the rules," I showed her on my phone. It basically said that contracts were irrevocable unless both parties agreed to revoke it or the contract was destroyed.
"So let's make one," I added. "So that you can believe me."
"We can't do that. I can't really understand the mumbo jumbo in a contract."
"I see, then let's make one with our voices."
I happened to plan a backup because I kind of expected her to say that.
"Ok then. But what are the conditions again?"
"I need your cooperation to help me increase my Rp and I'll help you with your popularity."
"But if you can do that, can't you do that for yourself too?"
"I can't. No one believes what I say."
"What of Ito?"
"Honda blackmailed me; I can't involve him."
"Oh, then if you can't do it, you'll get expelled, right?"
"Yes, I'll give you a copy so that I can't alter mine."
"Alright then."
We made the contract with both of us saying our full name and "I agree" after I mentioned the conditions of the contract.
When I was done, I collected Yoshida's account name and sent it to her.
"Now I guess we're partners."
"...I guess we are."
She wasn't thrilled because I was still technically threatening her but at least if I failed, I would get expelled.
"Wait a minute, didn't you survive expulsion already?"
"Huh? No, I wasn't expelled last time."
"Oh," Yoshida was briefly scared—of course I was lying. "Also, why are you so desperate that you even threatened me?"
I desperately waited for that question; now I could tell her and make her sympathize with her even better.
I took a deep breath and told her all the bullying I had endured.
"It's because I-I-I can't handle another day. I'm so fucking scared to even go to school tomorrow," I shivered a bit.
Yoshida looked a bit shaken and was about to comfort me when I suddenly stood up.
"Ah, would you look at the time? Thank you for today; I'll be on my way."
I immediately left without looking back because now I had completely encompassed a tragic person—not a monster but someone hurt.
Perfect. Step 1 is complete.
I got what I wanted and swore off using such a method again.
Seems I've become useless at yet another thing.
***
Author's Note:
Yes, I was listening to Strategy by twice when writing this chapter.
I saw an edit of the song by this person on TikTok. Her name is Nammgyu; it was peak—it was a light and L one.
Also, yup, I can't beat the allegations on this one—I'm defs gonna get called a copycat after the scenes in this chapter.
But nothing I heard yet, right?
Anyway, time for thanks.
Firstly, I'd like to say thanks to my editor for this chapter, Degreat.
Secondly, I'd like to say thanks to the writer, me.
And finally, thanks to you, my wonderful readers.
See you in the next one.