Another Like Me - Part I (CoTE x OC) ?

Chapter 24 - The Zodiac Exam, Part 3

I was sure that Ryuuen talking to Horikita was just an act, a façade, to actually watch and observe Takeyama from up close. However, from what I've seen, he's unusually good at maintaining a respectful poker face, so he doesn't give off any information via expressions.

What I really was thinking about was that how the 2 of us were slowly becoming close. It was gradual, and there was no talk about it, but I'm sure that we were slowly opening up to each other, and were comfortable to showcase a fraction of our abilities around each other.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Karuizawa-san leave the Room, and the Class C girls follow suit after her, in a bad mood. I sensed the abnormality in the situation, and so did Yukimura, who exited the Room after me. We looked at each other for a second, and knew that something was not right. We kept our distance, and trailed the Class C students, who seemed to be obviously following Karuizawa around.

Karuizawa quickened her pace, sensing their stalking. She quickly stopped by a vending machine, and bought a drink. She then turned left around the stairwell, and entered the emergency exit door, and the 3 Class C girls, except Ibuki, followed suit and entered the exit.

"...?"

"Damn that Karuizawa, always getting us into trouble!" Yukimura seethed. "And here I wanted to find out the identity of the VIP, and she always makes things so hard for everyone!"

"Calm down, Yukimura. I think we must investigate what is happening. It might not end in violence, but it could cause quite an uproar," I said.

"Mph.... fine."

We turned the corner, and slowly opened the door a crack. Karuizawa's voice clearly filled the corridor.

"Hey, why are you 3 following me?"

"Don't play dumb with us, you pushed Rika right? Start talking."

"W-W-Why are you accusing me? You've g-got the wrong person."

The 3 girls then pushed Karuizawa against the wall, cutting off any escape routes. Even after being pinned, Karuizawa vehemently continued to deny the accusations. Was it really not her then?

"Fine then. I'll call Rika here and confirm whether it really was you."

"W-Wait a minute. I think I m-might have bumped into h-her," Karuizawa changed her tone.

"You filthy liar, you remembered that from the very beginning, didn't you? I don't care either way, but you're going to apologize to Rika."

"She's an airheaded girl, she's the one who bumped into me," Karuizawa remained headstrong. As the Leader of the Class D girls, she needs to show her authority.

"Seriously, she's starting to piss me off," Manabe said. "Let's seriously bully her this time, yeah?"

Manabe pushed her palm against Karuizawa's shoulder, and pinned her hands to the the wall. She did it again, but harder this time. Karuizawa breaths started to get ragged, and she held her head in her arms, shaking it from side to side. Instead of evoking sympathy from the girl group, they grew angrier than before.

"Even if you act all feminine anymore I won't forgive you this time," saying so, she pulled Karuizawa's hair, and forcefully raised her head.

"I've always hated Karuizawa's face, don't you think she's really ugly?"

"Yeah. Do you want to cut up that face of hers?"

It seems Yukimura's sense of justice had kicked in, and he quickly opened the door, surprising the 3 girls inside. Karuizawa on the other hand, looked at Yukimura with a face of relief.