Class C: Civil War

"Hey Ayanokouji-kun. Want to join us for lunch? Ibuki could join us as well." As soon as her name was mentioned Ibuki immediately stood from her desk and collected her things. Without a single look towards us she walked towards the door and subsequently left the room. Despite the snow queen departing, the cool breeze still remained. I shouldn't be drawing conclusions too soon, but it seems Ibuki is in fact human.

"Wow, cold. Is everything good with you two? Or was it my fault for asking?" Tokitou showed a bit of concern, apparently not taking her dismissal too personally. It was good that he understood Ibuki's actions fundamentally. She'd likely have the same response to anyone asking, especially if it meant I was coming along for the ride. I noticed Manabe tracking her with her eyes out of my peripheries. A contented smile lingering on her face as soon as she witnessed Ibuki's escaping figure.

"Nothing to worry about. I appreciate the offer, let me just collect my books." Ever since that day in her room she's been giving me the cold shoulder. Not that she wasn't doing that before… Now it just feels more merciless. For the life of me I couldn't think of any reason as to why. I couldn't think of an action I had taken that would cause Ibuki to be this obstinate. I'll just give her some time, she'll come around eventually. Although she is exceptionally stubborn…

"Cool. Okabe-kun and Takumi will be joining us. I assume that's fine?" Admittedly I wasn't ecstatic about sharing the same table with Oda, given his proclivities for being a nuisance. But I was at least somewhat interested in getting to know Okabe and Tokitou better. Seeing as my first choice for company was already indisposed, I would just have to settle with this.

Each sentence that escaped Tokitou's mouth indicated a peculiar speech pattern. At times he would use slang and contractions that fit someone like Oda more. But then as if he were rewinding a tape by hand, he'd retroactively attempt to talk more politely. From his frequent use of Oda's given name and lack of honorifics, I assumed they knew each other for a lengthy amount of time. Raising from my seat, I silently send a prayer Tokitou's way.

Not that they were trying particularly hard to hide their connection. I wondered if there were many more in the school that had acquaintances following from their previous school.

"Of course, no problem." Quickly filling my bag with the books used in our last class we set off for the cafeteria.

"Ibuki, huh?" He asked whilst giving a sinister grin. "I was gonna ask if you guys ended up doin' anything. But I think it's pretty clear that nothin' happened, eh?" Oda jabbed at me. No, like he physically punched me in the arm whilst saying that. On the same spot multiple times. It wasn't like it hurt, but it was still bothersome. Was he trying to get along? I had heard of prospects like this, roughhousing between friends. It was one of the many aspects of camaraderie between men. They could argue, fight, settle the misgiving and develop even stronger bonds after it. I wasn't terribly thrilled about the prospect of having a stronger bond with Oda, in fact I think I'd pick just about anyone else other than my next-door neighbour in class for that privilege. (Even the titanic wall that was Yamada Albert.) That being said I couldn't very well give up the opportunity presented to myself.

"I was just looking after her, Oda." Punctuating the sentence with a quick jab back at his own arm. The smug glow of satisfaction was immediately replaced with a growing irritation.

"Haha. Should've known, ball-boy got no game, huh?" He said slightly increasing the force as he jabbed in the same spot once again.

"Game? I'm not sure what you mean. Are you qualified enough to tell me about the rules or how it's played?" I asked whilst matching his force and aiming for his arm once again.

"I'm afraid telling you wouldn't change anything, born to fail buddy." Putting a little more strength behind the fist he stared at me.

"Genetics, huh? What is it you have that I don't?" Bending imperceptibly to accentuate the difference in stature between us. Posing the question to him I sent a final jab to the same place. The dam was bursting.

"Fuc-!" Oda's eyes were blazing. Despite this being his own fault, he felt an injustice done against him. I guess we weren't just roughhousing.

My bad, honest.

"Takumi, give it a rest." Tokitou got between the two of us before the last threads of Oda's calm snapped. "Don't start acting like a punk." Tokitou was surprisingly reliable, he was prepared to get in the way even if fists were to go flying. Not that I thought it would progress that far.

"…Tch." Oda turned away cursing under his breath.

"Stop dishing it out if you can't take it." Tokitou accosted him further. While I thought it might've had a negative effect it seemed to have calmed him down somewhat.

During that little outburst Okabe just looked on the scene with satisfaction in his eyes. I wasn't the only one that found Oda's behaviour displeasing.

"Yeah, yeah. Got it." He was still looking off to the side, ensuring no eye contact was made between us. I already have one person giving me the cold shoulder I didn't need another one. Oh well, it's Oda. I'm actually fine with this. With the other two coming between us we walked down the corridor separated by a human shield.

"Got more of a backbone than I thought. Were you not worried a fight might break out?" Asked Tokitou. I would've promptly fled with my tail between my legs if that were the case. That or be brutally beaten up by Napoleon syndrome over there.

"Fight? I thought we were just playing around. Isn't that what friends do?" I didn't have the intimate knowledge of what friends actually got up to. I had my ideas, but that was it. The only thing I could contrast with were the few interactions I had with Kushida and Ibuki. But those didn't feel the same for some reason. Was it the simple fact of the gender differences? Do friendships formed between men and women work differently than those of same sex relations? I couldn't conclusively say at this time. I guessed that relationships between men and women became more muddied because of the possibility of attraction, the possibility of misunderstanding feelings and the possibility of rejection. Same sex friendships had less barriers in that case, as the population romantically interested in those same people is exponentially smaller.

"You aren't wrong. That didn't strike me as rhetoric, though." The monotony of my drawling voice drew Tokitou to that conclusion.

"I haven't had many friends before. I was homeschooled prior to coming here." I still had acquaintances I remembered; I mean it was harder for me to forget. But they weren't people I was expecting to see again anytime soon, if ever again.

It was quite the coincidence when I thought about it now. Their names were associated with white. My entire childhood was blanketed in it. From the rooms to the sky to the very people I lived with. Just one large blank canvas. The only difference was these three years. For these three years, I would be the one to hold the brush.

"The sheltered rich boy title does kind of suit you." Okabe said from the other side of Tokitou. I was taken aback, was he calling me spoiled?

"I wouldn't say that. For one my grades don't exactly reflect that. Plus, there wouldn't be much reason picking this school if that were the case." Rich families had innumerable options. Not that ANHS is a bad pick even for them. In a nepotism riddled system like ours; if the family was connected enough, they could succeed through recommendation and favours alone. Their expenses made it possible to attend any school for the simple fact they could try as many times as they want.

"True! Leave some employment for the rest of us!" Okabe suddenly spoke up, with a bit more vigour in his voice than earlier.

"Sounding a little cynical there, Okabe-kun." Tokitou said whilst snickering to himself.

"It's just a waste, isn't it? This school is basically a living treasure for low-income families. State-funded tuition, state of the art facilities, 100% guaranteed employment following graduation. Rich families can take their kids anywhere, can't they? Why not leave this for the less fortunate?" If you looked at it from a purely humanitarian and philanthropic perspective, it was a nice goal. Unfortunately, life isn't so simple. The higher income families and institutes would be contributing heavily to the funding, by weighing the contributions it's entirely possible for someone to argue that the rich have more of a claim to this place than others. Where did I stand on this? As usual in the balance of things. I could see both sides of the argument and agreed partially with the points raised. It was up to the school to pick the qualified candidates ensuring they consider both sides. What qualities did they look for?

"Well, you aren't wrong…" Tokitou replied, dropping the subject somewhat.

In all honesty, I wasn't sure of what these mysterious qualities were. If it was simply the students with the greatest grades and physical attributes, then I wouldn't be here. It wasn't behavioural. I struggled to find a reality that accepted characters like; Ryuuen, Oda and Ibuki as 'well-behaved students'. So that left, what? Personality, gender, life experiences etc. etc. So many that it made my head swim with the possibilities. I was sure that it must be some sort of mix. Restrictions placed atop one another, creating a layered network of interlocking variables.

What was clear however, was that the classes were set distinctly. From what I gathered in the assembly the gender ratio was completely even in every class. A school might attempt to keep an even playing field for representation purposes. They might even approach that middle ground. But… All of them? Exact? In a school meant for the elite, with thousands of applicants nationwide. The chance of them getting completely even representation without sacrificing aptitude was questionable. Too much coincidence can be conflated to conspiracy.

Finally entering the cafeteria, we joined a line to queue for tickets which were corresponding to different meal sets, all with varying prices and values respectively. Interestingly, they even had free options, though the all-vegetable meal set did not look particularly appetising. Peering at the benches spread around the huge cafeteria revealed a few interesting things. The penultimate variable in that was a certain cerulean haired girl sat, void of any companionship, eating uncharacteristically graciously.

The next oddity to occur was the presence of students begrudgingly eating the free vegetable set. Our monthly stipend came through just a few days ago, so why bother? It's possible they could've immediately spent their entire allowance, unlikely but possible. Pair this information with the free items available in the shops, no need to pay for facilities in the dorms. Every aspect of this school is skewed too far in favour of the students with very little asked of them in return. Demeanour in class isn't proactively corrected, instead the teacher will completely ignore flagrant misbehaviour so long as a line isn't crossed. I imagine physical violence or disrupting the progress of the lesson for other students would result in immediate consequences.

Pressing a button and waiting for the dispensed ticket I stood in line, no need for the expense.

"What'd you get? The free meal? Running short on money already?" Okabe asked incredulously from behind.

"There's a few people eating it, maybe it's better than we think." Those students didn't look happy to say the least, but it was there.

"Oh! Keeping a place for me, don't mind if I do." The sadistic neighbour is here as well. The snake trained its eyes on me as he stood in front of me in the line, pushing in.

"Ryuuen, go to the back of the line." Tokitou glared from beside me.

"But my seating buddy was just saving me a space, right Ayanokouji?" If I say yes, this'll come to an end quicker. I had gathered enough from his behaviour that resisting against this was pointless.

"Yeah."

"Ayanokouji-kun you don't need to let him push in like that!" Tokitou added with a bit more emphasis. He had a penchant for acting in favour of justice or what was right. But what was right wasn't always easy. I usually followed the path of least resistance.

"I don't really mind." More trouble than it's worth.

"Ayanokouji-kun…" Tokitou responded with the same tone one might expect from a parent after they had done something wrong. 'I'm not angry I'm just disappointed.' My father in contrast was always either angry or disappointed or perhaps both, at the same time, so it wasn't an unfamiliar feeling.

"Oh hey, look Ibuki's over there as well. She must've been saving us seats." That's absolutely not the case. I bet my life on it. I still remember that she's the reason I lost my seat on the bus. "How sweet of her, it would be rude not to take the invitation. C'mon, let's go." Grabbing his lunch set, the trouble causer moved towards the unsuspecting girl before setting his tray down with a clunk. The rest of our group followed. I could feel a headache coming.

"Mio, how's it going?" He asked in a sing-song voice whilst digging into one of the premium meal sets in front of her.

"Since when did I tell you to use my first name? Also, why the hell are you all sitting down like you own those seats?" Barely restrained hatred burned in her eyes. I was frightened. Should've just stayed in the classroom.

"Free cafeteria. I was just interested in what was going on between you two. Y'know as seatmates I really wanted to get along more with him. Then I hear Ayanokouji here is just distraught that you're avoiding him. Something about impotence? Unfortunate." The sigh naturally flowed out from my mouth. Ryuuen's fun when I'm not the target of his ploys. Right now, I found him to be a nuisance.

"Keep talking and I'll make you impotent, right now." Believe me, she tried on the bus.

"But then how are we supposed to get more acquainted, my dear Mio?" He was looking at either a stretcher or an arrest warrant. Unless he was prepared to hit a girl… Probably shouldn't even question that, he looks capable of it. Does this not constitute as sexual harassment? I guess it's subtle enough to pass by.

"Stop calling me by my first name!" Ibuki's voice was raising dangerously close to attracting attention.

"Tell me why you're ignoring my dear friend here. He's just been bawling constantly since you left him. What was it? Is it small? Is that it?" He asked with snickers between the words 'dear friend'. Sarcasm was dripping from his voice all the while. He was clearly enjoying whatever this was.

Ibuki muttered something in anger, something which none of us could understand.

"You'll have to speak up, Mio dearest." Haughtily bringing a hand up to his ear and turning towards her.

"I said… It's probably bigger than yours! Limp-dick!" Shifting weight into her hands and pushing onto the table she leaned into his ear and shouted. Those words came out at a volume that surprised even me. Obviously, that meant that quite a few other students turned and burst out laughing at our group.

Ibuki quickly grabbed her tray and stormed out of the building, a tinge of red on her face. Attempting to lose any of the attention she had just gathered. The rest of the students had a hearty laugh at our expense and turned back to their previous conversations, sensing that no more drama was taking place.

Rather than any anger or embarrassment on his face, just amusement remained etched in the eerie smile he held. Just as his mouth was about to open once again, I decided to interrupt. I raised my hand whilst I was at the table. The others looked at me bemused.

"I'll just say that I'm not impotent. The size is just as average as anyone else's. Now may I eat without you talking about this?" In return Tokitou and Okabe looked at me as if I had lost all sense. Oda looked at me with obvious displeasure and Ryuuen continued to chuckle to himself, clutching his stomach all the while.

"Not gonna chase after her?" Ryuuen asked with his eyes trained on me.

"I doubt she wants anyone following her." Least of all me. I was the object of her repulsion for now.

"To think there's trouble in paradise already…" He said whilst chuckling.

"This school hasn't been a paradise ever since I arrived." There's nothing free in life, after all. That which is free is likely even more costly. An English poet regarded as one of the greatest poets of the 20th century Edward James Hughes' once had an adage much to that effect; 'Nothing is free. Everything has to be paid for. For every profit in one thing, payment in some other thing. For every life, a death.'

"In which case I might follow after her y'know. You sure you want that?" The embers of conflict sparking in his eyes. Please go. Maybe I'd actually be able to eat in peace.

"Go for it. Don't blame me if you end up in the Nurse's office." Ibuki didn't need any protection, certainly not mine. Not like she'd accept it even if I offered.

"A bitch shouldn't be all bark. I find it much more enjoyable if she has just the right amount of bite." He said whilst baring his fangs at me. Oda snickered at Ryuuen after that statement.

"Something funny to you, tiny?" A cocksure smile remained on Ryuuen's face as he accosted Oda from across the table.

"Originally, I was laughing with you. Now, I'm definitely laughing at you."

"That so?" He looked impassively at Oda.

"They might excuse a fight between us, but I can't wait to see you get expelled when you no doubt fail in 'taming' her. I'll make sure to witness your self-destruction with my own eyes. I'll bring some popcorn." The actions of violence between two males students and those in a gender disparity were obviously going to be viewed differently. I couldn't help but agree with Oda's judgement. Ryuuen didn't appear the type to actually discuss things when having 'discussions'.

"Whoever brought violence into it? I'll just charm her; I can be very persuasive." Remember persuasion, not coercion. They aren't the same thing.

"Charm. Sure. I've met people like you before, fit to say they were all scum. It isn't even the first time I've heard your name before. I doubt I'm wrong in my estimation of you." Word of mouth, they must've lived in a similar area. That must mean… I looked towards Tokitou, who sure enough was staring at Ryuuen disapprovingly.

"I have a fan. Sorry to tell you, but I've never heard of you." Ryuuen rests his head on his fist, looking down at Oda. Shaking his head and glancing once at his food then back at me.

"You're more infamous than well-renowned, remember that." Tokitou said from beside Ryuuen. In response Ryuuen didn't even glance in his direction, instead staring right through me.

"It's all the same in the end. The fact anyone knows my name, and no one knows who any of you are says it all." Results no matter the method, the ends justify the means. It was certainly a way to live, however, reputation was a double-edged sword. It came with its own drawbacks and expectations.

"Everyone has a line they won't cross; I'd rather keep that integrity than exchange it for some hollow victories." Tokitou said beside him. His chopsticks suspended in the air as he was just about to point them at Ryuuen. Catching himself just before.

"Hollow victories, eh? Kukuku, in my experience the ones that drone on about virtue and integrity are the real disgusting ones. You lack any sort of drive or spine to have your victory, so you just lament those able to achieve something. What drivel, it's a joke. If you want to see where I draw the line, I'll gladly show you." He stood from the table; his half-eaten scraps lay in its tray. The desecrated meal staring at the entire group. "Clean that up whilst you're at it!" He shouted, walking away after gingerly placing his hands in his trouser pockets.

"Little fucker… Treat me like a gofer?"

"Don't rise to it Takumi. Whatever he plans on doing will just come back to bite him. Best leave him be."

"How is it you guys know him?" Okabe spoke up once again, trying his best not to devolve the conversation earlier. He was considerate, though I don't think that was a time for consideration.

"Just rumours. He was a big name in middle school. Went looking for fights, wasn't a single month that went by without hearing him do something like that."

"How wasn't he expelled?"

"The middle school he went to was pretty well known for that type of thing. Plus, most of the time he was fighting older students in the area. Probably why they let him off the hook." It wasn't all hot air then. He was fighting on battlefield with a disadvantage for years, the maturity a student can gain in both physicality and mentality over a year was anything but insignificant. At an age where the body and mind rapidly develop, he was fighting a losing arms race with good results. It was a testament of his dedication and desire. The only question was, why?

Ruminating those thoughts, my eyes glanced once again at the tray left in his wake. Desecrated remains of a meal once whole. The scraps left in the presence of others. It really was like a little dragon had eaten its fill and flew off, leaving the vultures to clean the remains. I wondered if it was a vision of the future.

---

Word count: 3749

First off, been a while. It wasn't my intention to leave this story for so long, I'm still on track for the chapter a month but it still felt like an eternity since I added to this particular fic. For anyone looking forward to it, as presumptuous as it sounds, I apologise for the wait.

For anyone thinking that Ayanokouji's actions were slightly off or OOC it isn't my intention. My thought process was the events of previous chapters and the company he has in class. Class C is essentially a school from a delinquent manga, at some point he's going to think that physical altercations, jabbing, banter, slapstick humour etc. Is way more prevalent than he assumed.

Honestly, the reason this chapter had taken so long was the range of ways the story could go. I have ideas but then trying to execute them in a satisfying way is harder than one expects. Then trying to make dialogue engaging using subtext and keeping the characters, well in character whilst ensuring clarity whilst reading is challenging.

All that to say I'll try my best going forward.

As always feel free to share your thoughts and considerations on the story so far. Hopefully, you enjoyed.

Until next time