Chaoskouji

Arc 3 Chapter 10 - Completing the Puzzle

I looked down at the body of Horikita. She was out cold, and probably would be for a few hours after the blows I'd given her. I'd taken care not to hit her in any way that would be obvious and made sure there wouldn't be any lasting injuries. If the school did a proper check-up, as they should when I bring them a second student with a head injury, all they should find was a blow to the temple, and nothing more.

I sighed. It was cruel what I had done to her. It would have been far easier to simply steal the card, or to take her down instantly, but unfortunately, they weren't options. Kikyou was expecting me to target Horikita somehow, and this was an effective method of doing so. I was confident she would approve of my actions here.

The other benefit was that I still had a use for Horikita, and this was a way to break her out of her shell. I still thought she had potential, if only she could break out of her isolationist shell. This was my final wake up call to her. Demonstrating the difference between us would hopefully trigger her competitive nature, while also making her aware of all the mistakes she had made. I needed her to take up the mantle of leader, but if this didn't work then nothing would.

I raised my head, looking over to the bushes where the third observer had been hiding.

"You can come out now."

Kikyou made her way out of the jungle and into the clearing, a psychotic grin on her face, although I could see in her eyes a hint of fear. Interesting. It seemed my actions may have been too much for her, even when I was targeting her greatest danger. Perhaps I had overstated how much she hated everyone, at least to the point of brutalising them. She seemed to have a little sympathy for Sakura even, so I would have to recalculate how much I could get away with before driving Kikyou away.

"I assume you're satisfied?"

"Oh, you definitely came through. You fucked the bitch right up!"

I looked closely at Kikyou, trying to analyse her emotional state based on her body, but it was for naught. The hidden fear I'd seen in her eyes had been quickly swallowed up behind her façade, or perhaps she had gotten over it now that our fight had ended. There was no way to know for sure.

That aside, I still had to deal with winning the exam. We weren't in the clear yet, as if I gave up now our class would probably dead last, so even if I didn't bother to do any of the other steps, I still had to deal with Horikita.

I knelt down and hoisted her onto my shoulder, before standing again and making my way along the path in the direction of the boat.

"We still have things to do, and I'll need you with me. Come on."

Kikyou moved to follow me, matching me by my side, but giving an inquisitive look towards my actions.

"What're we doing now? Can't we just leave Horikita where she was?"

I could see small bags beneath Kikyou's crimson eyes, detracting slightly from her cute face. She was also moving with sluggish actions, and her mind didn't seem to be running as fast as normal. If she had been operating at top performance, this would seem like an obvious move, even if she didn't figure out the added benefits, but currently she couldn't. The stifled yawn she gave was the final piece of evidence.

Kikyou was tired.

It was late at night, as my watch informed me we had just missed midnight, but even so I'd seen her stay awake for much longer periods of time back at school. No, this week had been incredibly draining on her, and I wasn't doing her any favours by keeping her up any longer.

"I know you're tired, so I won't explain too much. But if we left her behind, injured as she was, it would be incredibly suspicious. I wouldn't count out Horikita informing a teacher of what I did, and while there isn't any evidence, Ryuuen would probably corroborate the story in order to get me punished."