A Zen Story (4,500 words)

"I feel like we should be considered friends now."

Before Ayanokoji Kiyotaka could answer, Kitagawa Ryo added without hesitation.

Despite their current competitive stance, the scope of their rivalry has tacitly been limited to the Special Exam on the Ayanokoji Kiyotaka Uninhabited Island Special Exam last year. In everyday situations, they maintain a fairly peaceful relationship, completely unlike the underhanded tactics they used to employ during their first month at school.

In Kitagawa Ryo's eyes, if he really had to pinpoint a specific and definite point in time, he would probably choose that night during the preparations for last year's Cultural Festival. From the moment he first stepped into Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's dormitory room and they drank water together, chatting about the various arrangements for the Cultural Festival, their relationship might have already begun to change.

However, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka clearly disagreed with this view. After all, if that were the case, his earliest friends would be Totsuka Yahiko and Katsuragi Kohei, and Hashimoto Masayoshi could also be considered as such. But in Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's own eyes, he could not be considered a true friend to any of these three, because in reality, they had not even achieved the most basic mutual understanding.

Your enemies may know you better than your friends.

But if you think about it the other way around, your greatest enemy is more likely to become your best friend.

For Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, his biggest and most unspeakable secret is his experience in the White Room during his first fifteen years, which has been almost his entire life so far.

In other words, any student who doesn't know this secret or what kind of facilities the White Room actually is cannot be truly included in Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's circle of friends; this is a natural, thick barrier.

But Kitagawa Ryo clearly, so clearly that even Ayanokoji Kiyotaka suspected that the other party might have been trained in the White Room.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's psychological issues have never changed. Even now, he always deceives himself by telling himself to experience life outside the school as a normal high school student, to learn new knowledge, and to experience emotions he has never felt before. Just as he is convinced that his future will be to return there as a new instructor, the White Room has always been a constant presence in most of his life so far. This is a fact that has already happened and cannot be changed.

"I mean..."

Faced with Kitagawa Ryo's answer, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka continued to carefully consider his tone. He was indeed not good at expressing his complex thoughts accurately through words, but fortunately, he had been given several extra 'speech' classes by the school in the past few days, which was much better than a year ago, and he was able to convey his thoughts fairly completely.

"It's the kind of friendship where, if one day, Hirata Yosuke and I were in a similar predicament, you would still be willing to say these things to someone else for my sake."

To be honest, the instant Ayanokoji Kiyotaka uttered those words, Kitagawa Ryo, thinking to himself that the people coming out of the White Room were all mysterious gravity black holes. He himself had rolled around in it once and didn't end up like that.

On the bright side, at least Ayanokoji Kiyotaka didn't say anything more subtle like, "Teach me about love, Kitagawa-sensei!"

"I can't guarantee you anything, because once you bring this up, it feels like a transaction, but I also know that what you're after, Ayanokoji, is a purer kind of relationship... The education in the White Room definitely has serious problems."

Looking at Ayanokoji Kiyotaka standing in front of him, seemingly confused by his answer, Kitagawa Ryo couldn't help but think back to their cruise vacation last summer. Back then, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka would always deliberately create chance encounters with him, using those stereotypical greetings to extend various invitations. He practically exuded a mysterious aura that seemed to say, "I really want to be human."

Wait, how did we seamlessly transition to yet another Mygo set next door?

Pushing these chaotic thoughts out of his mind, Kitagawa Ryo felt that he couldn't explain this already esoteric topic in a short time, especially since they were sneaking into the girls' Girls' Dormitory in the middle of the night. They couldn't possibly stay there and chat until dawn.

"Let me think about it."

After searching through his many past Sims, Kitagawa Ryo quickly found a Horikita girl by keyword and came up with a seemingly decent solution:

"Ayanokoji, are you interested in cooking?"

"Cook?"

Kitagawa Ryo's question involuntarily reminded Ayanokoji Kiyotaka of the yogurt maker he had wanted to buy for his dorm room since last year, but which had yet to materialize. The magical ability to turn milk into yogurt seemed to be something that could be achieved through cooking.

After all, this was knowledge he hadn't learned in the White Room.

"Yeah, the food in the White Room is all perfectly nutritious. After eating that kind of food for over ten years, we need to learn to let our stomachs enjoy a few more years."

"For example, on our first day here, when we made breakfast, there were carrots among the ingredients. Did you like them? Or, to put Ayanokoji, what does a carrot mean to you, Ayanokouji?"

Before Ayanokoji Kiyotaka could speak, Kitagawa Ryo answered for him:

"If I were to guess, you're probably thinking of a vegetable whose main component is beta-carotene, which is converted into vitamin A in the body. Vitamin A can effectively prevent cell aging, maintain the health of the skin and mucous membranes, and also has outstanding effects on viral immunity."

"... almost."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka nodded in agreement, which also confirmed once again that Kitagawa Ryo was very familiar with the operation and internal workings of the White Room.

"So what I need to do now is to help you see and understand these things in their most authentic form, like an ordinary person. If you can do that, you can probably try to make real friends."

"Let's get up early tomorrow morning. I'm going to make a final, celebratory meal for our group. The past few days, it's been the upperclassmen or Hamaguchi, Hashimoto, and Yamada helping out. Ayanokoji can give it a try; I'll teach you."

After giving Ayanokoji Kiyotaka this instruction, Kitagawa Ryo seemed to suddenly realize something, pointed to the road outside the forest, and gestured for the other party to leave quickly, as if someone was approaching.

Knowing full well the consequences of being discovered here, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had no doubts. He and Kitagawa Ryo, one after the other, used the cover of night to conceal themselves and quickly climbed over the Girls' Dormitory, their movements as coordinated as best friends sneaking out of school in the middle of the night to go online and then sneaking back.

"Go back to sleep, it's getting late."

"Um."

"By the way, how much multiplier have you accumulated these past few days?"

"2.6."

"You're not as lucky as me. I got a 0.5 chance on my first try today, and now the multiplier is 2.7. You even had to do two more pulls than me."

"Maybe. Do you remember that fortune teller who came to the Keyaki Mall last summer? I actually went there once afterward, and that fortune teller also said that I was a person with the Void of Destiny, which means I'm not very lucky."

"That fortune teller, her reading for me was quite mysterious, but it didn't seem very good. Suzune, who went with me, was quite worried, saying she wanted to share some of her good luck with me."

"You went with Horikita? I thought Shiina would be more interested in this kind of thing."

As Kitagawa Ryo's legendary observer, after a year and a half of observation, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka has gained a basic understanding of the girls around him.

"Oh, I went again with Hiyori later."

"I see."

"Actually, Asahina Nazuna invited me before, but I felt that if I went again, I would be embarrassed even if the fortune teller wasn't, so I declined. In fact, Asahina Nazuna is the one who believes the most in these mysterious, fate-like things."

"As a result, Asahina Nazuna, who believed in this kind of thing the most, had her views completely changed by you, and you even managed to steal her away from her childhood friend, Nagumo."

"... Say this in such a flat, monotone tone, I don't even know Ayanokoji you're praising me or belittling me, Ayanokouji."

Somewhat amused, he shook his head. Just then, the two of them arrived at the dormitory door of the Third Group, and Kitagawa Ryo gently pushed the door open:

"Time for bed. Remember to get up early tomorrow."

"I see."

And so, Kitagawa Ryo took off his shoes and coat and lay down on the lower bunk. Ayanokoji Kiyotaka stepped on the edge of his bed and used the momentum to climb up to the upper bunk in a few quick steps. After a rustling sound of blankets being turned over and pulled up, both bunks fell silent at the same time.

After a while, Kitagawa Ryo suddenly heard a deliberately low-pitched, very faint sound coming from the gap in the upper bunk:

"Hey, Kitagawa."

"Get to the point."

"It's just to keep an eye on whether you're leaving again."

Is it really that exaggerated?

"Didn't you go out for several hours last night?"

"That was last night. You've been missing for long periods of time on several nights before, haven't you?"

Kitagawa Ryo buried his head under the covers. Perhaps the experience he had with Yuki in the White Room was too profound, still haunting him to this day. Chatting with someone across the upper and lower bunks made him feel strange, so he decisively ended the conversation.

"I slept."

He had reason to be suspicious.

The other person is using him to practice interpersonal skills.

A long-awaited day off.

With no classes scheduled, all the students at the Forest School slept soundly. Although Kitagawa Ryo was supposed to get up early to make breakfast, time wasn't so tight, so he didn't have to get up at four o'clock to work like before. Instead, he slept until about six o'clock before opening his eyes in bed.

Day 1 without Amasawa Ichika's " Good Morning".

As for why it's 1, it's mainly because it was reset the night before last, or rather yesterday morning. Three or four in the morning is definitely considered morning.

Whether they had woken up earlier or it was just a coincidence, Kitagawa Ryo had just gotten out of bed when Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who was on the upper bunk, had already come down the escalator at the same time.

Good morning.

As Kitagawa Ryo stood up and stretched, he casually greeted Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

"Morning."

And so, the two of them got dressed, opened the dormitory door, grabbed their toiletries in the cold winter morning air, and began their morning preparations in the designated area.

"Hey, Ayanokoji, do you find brushing your teeth more interesting, or washing your face?"

Spitting out a mouthful of toothpaste foam, Kitagawa Ryo his mouth and suddenly asked Ayanokoji Kiyotaka a question that seemed to strike him as an idea.

"... I hadn't thought about that kind of question."

"I actually think these kinds of casual, everyday topics are quite suitable as conversation starters. By the way, I really enjoy brushing my teeth."

As he spoke, Kitagawa Ryo gave Ayanokoji Kiyotaka a slight smile, revealing his teeth. Although he didn't have the dramatic contrast of Yamada Albert's skin tone to make his teeth appear exceptionally bright and white, his teeth were indeed quite beautiful. Combined with his refreshing smile, they exuded the confidence and charm of being ranked number one on the list of handsome men in the grade and even the entire school. This made Ayanokoji Kiyotaka feel once again the foresight that led him to not choose a single girl during last year's Cultural Festival.

After brushing their teeth and washing their faces, Kitagawa Ryo and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka started walking towards the Outdoor Cooking Area. Although it was a rest day, the school cafeteria still did not provide breakfast for students, who still had to fend for themselves.

Of course, if you really don't want to or don't want to move, going to the Student Cafeteria for lunch when you're hungry seems like a good idea. In fact, a considerable number of students might even be thinking the same thing. At least when Kitagawa Ryo and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka arrived at the Outdoor Cooking Area, they could only see a handful of students, and it seemed that none of them had actually started cooking.

But believe it or not, they were all acquaintances.

"Suzune, and Asahina Nazuna -senpai, you're up so early today too."

Since it was a day off, the school's supervision wasn't as strict as it had been in the previous days, and Kitagawa Ryo simply walked over and greeted them with a good morning.

"Hmm, good morning... But why is Ryo with Ayanokoji?"

Horikita Suzune frowned in confusion, then suddenly remembered what she had seen in the Student Cafeteria the night before. It seemed that Kitagawa Ryo and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had come to eat together.

"What's going on with you two right now?"

In that instant, a very peculiar train of thought suddenly occurred to her.

Could this so-called Mixed Training Camp really be that toxic?

Chapter 433: Zen Stories (4k5)

"What Ibuki you thinking? I just plan to teach Ayanokoji how to cook, just like your relationship with Suzune."

Seeing Horikita Suzune's slightly changed expression and her pointed question, Kitagawa Ryo immediately defended his reputation and explained his relationship with Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

"... As long as you know your limits when it comes to being cool."

Knowing that Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and Kitagawa Ryo were entangled in something deeper, and with Asahina Nazuna nearby, Horikita Suzune didn't press further. Instead, she continued selecting the ingredients provided by the school. Arriving early did have its advantages; at least she could get good quality ingredients first.

Asahina Nazuna seemed to have originally planned to come over and say a few words to Kitagawa Ryo, but within two minutes, several second-year girls came and surrounded her. However, they didn't seem to have any Malice; rather, they were there to curry favor. Kitagawa Ryo could vaguely hear things like, "Asahina Nazuna, you should just rest in your dorm," and "We'll help you with that."

Seeing Kitagawa Ryo thoughtfully glancing towards Asahina Nazuna, Horikita Suzune, while weighing the cabbage in her hand, quietly explained to him:

"It started yesterday afternoon, or rather, after Nagumo's incident. The second-year students are in complete chaos right now, and quite a few students do want Asahina Nazuna to take over the second-year affairs."

"Did their attitude change so quickly?"

"There's nothing we can do. After all, someone spread the news that Nagumo had injured his face and was likely disfigured. Then, at night, another rumor surfaced that Nagumo didn't have many points left. Not only had he barely recovered the 24 million Private Points he lent to the First Year, including interest, but he also lost a large sum of money during the Sports Festival."

Kitagawa Ryo nodded in agreement. These kinds of things were relatively easy to confirm. Just ask around among the First Year, and you'd find out that the debt contract for Class D had now fallen into Ryuen Kakeru's hands, and the portion for Class C had been generously given to Ayanokoji Kiyotaka by Miyabi Nagumo Masaru as a favor, allowing him to take charge of the class.

To put it simply, these points are both Miyabi Nagumo's lifeline and his death knell, because the core of this special system in the second year is this huge number of Private Points that were obtained by the entire grade through countless exploits of the school.

As long as Miyabi Nagumo remains still, this is his life-saving tool. As long as these Private Points exist, it will be meaningless for the second-year students to resist him. After all, the other party can readily take out 20 million of them, which is the price of a Transfer Ticket, to offset a demotion penalty. Alternatively, they can simply withdraw from school on the spot with these Private Points, leaving the second-year students with nothing to show for their efforts.

But conversely, this is also Miyabi Nagumo's death warrant.

Just like that famous line, "My money!", why are so many second-year students so dissatisfied yet still willing to accept this system, handing over most of their Private Points every month? Isn't it all for the bright future that Miyabi Nagumo Miyako promised—the chance to draw Transfer Ticket before graduation?

Once the use of these Private Points was defined within this system, it acquired Schrödinger -like dual nature. On one hand, it could be considered Miyabi Nagumo's private property, but on the other hand, it could also be considered the public property of all the second-year students who signed that contract.

Everyone was hoping that you could make a big cake and leave a couple extra slices for everyone at the end. Goodness, the cake is only half finished, and the chef has already almost eaten it all.

Furthermore, due to her violation of school rules, Miyabi Nagumo will most likely be removed from her position Student Council President by the school. With these three measures combined, the situation in the second year is naturally chaotic, with students everywhere harboring their own agendas.

"Yes, I know, and I also talked about this with Asahina Nazuna at the restaurant last night. I also hope that she can try to take over from Nagumo and become the new Leader of the second year."

"... I saw it last night too."

As she spoke, Horikita Suzune's tone suddenly became somewhat strange:

"So, the reason she cried in Liang's arms afterwards was because she was too moved by Liang's suggestion?"

"Well, that's another matter. But in a sense, I made Asahina Nazuna- senpai take the position for Suzune's sake. After all, it'll be easier for you to get votes from the second-year students when it comes to the Student Council President election."

"... I said I couldn't argue with Liang, okay?"

Faced with Kitagawa Ryo, who seemed to have a point no matter what he said, Horikita Suzune simply looked away. But regardless of whether what he said was true or false, it at least showed that he was genuinely thinking about helping her run for Student Council President, and that was enough.

"Alright, I'm going back now. We can talk again later when we have time."

Feeling that if he didn't go back soon, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka would have to change the class schedule, turning cooking class into a love lecture, Kitagawa Ryo skillfully weighed out a sufficient amount of various ingredients. After saying goodbye to Horikita Suzune, he returned to his own side. Looking back, he saw Asahina Nazuna still surrounded by second-year girls. However, perhaps because of what he said last night, she seemed to have really made up her mind, and was now patiently explaining something to the students.

With a hint of relief, Kitagawa Ryo turned back and patted the cabbage in his hand at Ayanokoji Kiyotaka:

"I don't think I need to teach you the basics of food preparation, right?"

"Yes, I cook for myself sometimes."