Prison School: No More Prison

Chapter 20: Point Break

19th of July, Thursday. (1 day until the festival)

Kiyoshi's POV:

So…

It's pretty much over.

My parents are coming to the festival…

In the best case scenario, they learn about what happened to me during my time at Hachimitsu, get angry and leave before anything else happens…

Yes… That would be the best scenario… 

No… I don't want them to talk to any of my friends or acquaintances…

…

"shit…"

"What's that?" Meiko-san suddenly looked at me with an angrier face.

"N-Nothing, ma'am! I'm just… worried about tomorrow…"

"Hmm!... Is it about the play?"

"Erhm…" I don't really want to mention my parents… And specially to people from the councils. "Y-Yes… I'm worried about my performance…"

"Well, you guys made a really short version of Rapunzel so, it shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"Y-Yes… I'm still surprised about you joining us so suddenly. What made you join us?"

"What made me join us?" She looked angrily at me while holding some papers. "YOU IDIOTS ARE THE ONE WHO MADE ME A PART OF THIS SHITTY PLAY!"

"A-Ah! S-Sorry! I haven't really read the new script and Gakuto has been ignoring me s-so…"

I wasn't lying, Gakuto has been ignoring all my opportunities to talk to him… I wonder if something wrong happened… 

"Hmm? You haven't read your script?" She looked at me both angry and a bit let down to my actions. "For god's sake, it was your idea to do this, so you better work your ass off or there won't be a summer trip!" 

"Y-Yes!" Lately talking to her feels like a businessman talking to its boss. I understand she's the president but… I don't believe Mari treated her secretary like this…

And speaking of the devil…

*Door opening*

Hana suddenly entered the room. She quickly scanned it as she set her first steps in, and as soon as she set her eyes on me, she quickly looked in another direction.

Man… What did I do now?

"Ah, Vice-president, you're finally here"

"Y-Yes Meik- I mean, President. I brought in the receipt and the list of the paint you asked for"

Mmm? Paint?

Ah… Yeah, Meiko-san decided to paint the stage in order for it to look better, as well as painting some of the walls outside the school so it looks a bit better. I can't say it's not important, those walls are on their last breath, it took me half an hour using a fork to drill a hole into one of them.

"Ah, that's perfect, I suppose Kate got in charge of getting people to do it, right?"

"Yes, ma'am. She has already taken care of it"

Mmm… I gotta say… Both councils do work pretty well together… After all this time fighting, being finally united by Mari's departure did change the panorama of things… Even if they work in the shadows, I can feel them both being glad about having each other's help. 

I could sense a dumb smile forming on my face.

"Hey! What the hell are you smiling at?! You better practice that script like your life depends on it!"

"A-Ah, yes!"

As soon as Meiko mentioned that, Hana turned a bit red and turned her back to us.

"W-Well… I have to go see how the dress and the props are doing s-so… S-See you two…"

"Alright… Take care, Hana"

"Y-Yeah, bye Hana-san"

And so she left… Leaving us both a bit intrigued by her reactions.

As of lately, she has been acting weird… Weirder than usual that is.

"S-So umm… How's the costume and stuff going?"

"It's going well, to say the least, probably because you guys are not the one's in charge of it"

"Well, that's for sure"

Apparently, both props and costumes were being made by different clubs. We definitely couldn't have done it without help so it's a good thing we have Kate's help to get their aid.

Sadly, I didn't have the chance to see the costumes. Not that I really care about it, but I would rather not have an incredibly embarrassing costume.

"From what I heard, both stage props and item props are done. I heard they're fragile, so you better be careful with them. Not to mention the equipment from the stage"

"Y-Yeah of course, we'll be as careful as possible!... B-By the way… Who's in charge of doing the costumes?"

"Hmm? Didn't Hana tell you? She's been doing them for the most part"

…

"H-Huh?"

"Yes… She has been doing most of your dumb costumes, so you better be grateful towards her"

It suddenly hit me. 

Hana, the one who has been at least as anxious with everything that happened with Chiyo, the same person who has been not only preparing herself for two expositions on the festival and has suddenly ranked up on her council…

That Hana, has been doing most of the costumes we had planned…

"D-Damn…"

I should really thank her after the festival… What did she ask for? An icecream?... 

I'll pay her back with the best ice cream I can! I swear Hana-san! I'll be a man about this too!

"Well, to be honest, both her and the sewing club have been doing it, but I'd thank her specially for taking into account your body measurements"

"Mmm? A sewing club?... Our…Body measurements?"

"Weren't you with me when we literally visited every single club?!" She lashed out at me. "The sewing club is the one in care of the harder costumes, like Kate's and Hana's"

"A-Ah! I remember!" A small and awkward smile formed on my face. "S-So who's in this club? So I can thank them for their effort as well, I mean"

"Well… The one you probably know is Chiyo-chan… But there's also Kagam…" While she continued to speak, my mind slightly drifted away as I heard a name in particular.

"W-WAIT, WHAT?"

End of Kiyoshi's POV.

Chiyo's POV:

Four whole days have passed… Well, almost four days…

I thought that to myself as I sewed a princess costume. I've been helping with the last set of costumes and accessories for the festival for the last few days.

"Chiyo-chan… Don't push yourself will you?" A clubmate came to me as everyone else left the club.

"No no! I've been missing while you guys had so much work to do! Let me finish this and I'll go to my room, okay?"

"... Okay okay, just take a rest after this okay? You earned it a long time ago!"

"...Y-Yeah… Thanks"

As she left the room, I stared at the sewing kit in front of me. For as long as I remember, I did my best to learn how to sew. 

Maybe it was for me to do something a bit more effeminate, or maybe it was just a way to connect with me, but my sister Mari did her best to teach me how to do so.

To be honest, I remember hating it as a little girl, I always had trouble with the needles and I used to pinch my fingers a lot… But now, I find it pretty relaxing.

I don't really look at it as something life changing for me, or anything more than a hobby, but I feel like it helped me a lot through the years.

This year I sewed a lot of memories, to say so:

After Kiyoshi's breakout, I had to sew my uniform. For what I understand, he used it to escape prison and accidentally tore it apart… Well, it wasn't that difficult to fix, it just took some time.

I also made some custom headbands for the sports festival, nothing amazing, just something so both the boys and the USC could feel a bit more motivated.

And now… Here I am…

Sewing a costume so the summer trip is saved…

For what I know… This pretty dress is going to be Hana's to use… The same Hana I haven't seen since last sunday… 

…

I wonder… How should I feel about this? Doing something someone could say it's an act of love or kindness to someone who damaged me so much…

Well… Maybe I'm exaggerating a bit but… I wish I didn't have this feeling…

This feeling of ripping this dress apart with my own hands. I must say it makes me feel guilty but…

My feelings… My thoughts about this whole situation… Are just so weird…

Everything I do… Everyone I talk to… It all tells me that I should just forgive them and move on… But…

Can one just move on so fast? Are these feelings wrong? Am I wrong for… Not wanting to forget something so crucial?

The guy I liked not only lied about almost all of our relationship, but he hid almost everything from me…

And the girl I suddenly felt close to, almost calling her a best friend of mine, used me to get closer to the person she liked, not even worrying about how I felt…

… Maybe I-

"A-Auch!"

My thoughts were blown away by the painful sting of my needle going slightly through my finger.

Ah… It hurts…

…

Hmm…

This stinging pain made me remember the first time I sewed something on my own…

It was almost a month or two after Mari joined Hachimitsu, leaving dad and I alone in our house. I remember feeling a bit depressed, so I tried doing things we used to do together… And one day, after finding a slightly torn up dress of mine, I tried sewing it.

To be blunt, it ended up looking horrible. I hurt my hand a lot while doing so, not to mention the terrible asymmetry of my sews. 

But in the end, if I didn't do it back then, maybe I wouldn't have become as good as I am now. Through trial and error, it took me a lot of time to become this good at it…

Maybe time and effort can fix everything… 

But is there enough time for everything to get fixed? Or are their efforts enough for me to forgive them?

… Maybe I mixed things a bit… But I should really think better about what I'm going to do from now on… To forgive them from everything and move on… They have to show me they deserve this second chance of mine…

…

Only time can tell I guess…

*Door sliding*

"...U-Uhm… Excuse me"

As I looked at the door, my eyes became wide.

"O-Oh, hey Hana-san, how are you doing?"

"I-I'm doing good… How abou-" Suddenly, a big gasp filled the room. "Y-You're bleeding, here, have a bandage!"

[...]

"s-sorry for making you worry about it, I just got a bit distracted"

"N-No! Don't worry about it, I just got a bit worried about it!" Hana offered a kind smile as she waved off my apology.

"So uhm… What brings you here, Hana?"

"O-Oh, well… I wanted to see the dress… Is it… Done?"

I took a glance at it… It looked pretty much prepared for the act… Yet a weird taste stayed in my mouth.

"Yes… I guess you can take it already…"

"O-Okay! I guess I'll just take it and leave, haha!" Hana looked a bit perplexed at first by my words, but quickly took words into action and dashed to the door.

"... W-Wait"

"Hmm? Y-Yes?"

…

"W-Would you like to try it out, now?"

"H-Huh?"

"S-Sorry, I thought that I could find if anythings missing if I look it while you use it"

"O-Oh! That's not a bad idea, right? S-Sure!"

W-What am I even saying? 

Why am I inventing excuses so we can talk a bit more?

Before I could notice, Hana took her jacket with a slight blush, preparing herself to wear the dress.

I could just stand there… Looking at the work I spent hours on being put by my…

"Am I putting it on correctly?" 

"A-Ah, y-yes! Let me help you"

"S-Sure…"

As I got closer to her, I could see her slim arms trembling. Was it by my presence? Is she… scared of me?

I softly grabbed one of the sleeves of the dress, trying to help her get on it. As my hand touched her body through the cloth, Hana's body slowly calmed down. I helped her get her arm through.

"Is it comfy?"

"Y-Yeah… I feel like it fits me good"

"Here, let me help you with this…" I grabbed the small tiara I had made with help from the other club members.

"Ah~, It's really pretty!" She said with her eyes glued to the small crown. "... Do you know the difference between a tiara and a crown?"

"Hmm? Uhmm… No, I don't think so…"

"A tiara is normally semicircular and only takes the front half of the head, while a crown is fully circular and takes the whole head. Not to mention that crown's can only be worn by royalty, while noblemen or special people can use tiaras…"

"W-Wow… I didn't know you knew all of that, Hana-san"

"U-Uhm… I used to really like fairy tales so…" She said as she blushed. "I really liked the detail that Rapunzel had a tiara. During the whole tale she uses a tiara, showing that she doesn't know she's part of the royal family… s-sorry, I'm saying random stuff-"

"N-No no! It's actually interesting…" I said while adjusting the dress to her back and slowly accommodating the tiara. "I think it's really… cute of you to know about that" A smile appeared on my face.

"T-Thanks…"

After we finished talking, Hana's dress was fully worn. The only thing missing would be a bit of makeup and the large wig, but otherwise she was ready…

"S-So? How do I look?" Hana asked a bit awkwardly…

The purpled dress contrasted with her almost golden hair. The tiara highlighted her hair cut. To be blunt…

"Y-You look really good, Hana-san" I said with a small blush. "You look like a real princess"

"T-Thanks… This wouldn't be possible without you"

"N-No no, if anything, it's all thanks to this club, not me. But you look really good! I'm a bit jealous of how good it looks on you!" I said with a smile and a small giggle… 

But to be honest… I had a weird feeling in my throat… A small knot almost filled it.

"T-That's not true! If anything, it's because of your amazing dress!"

"N-No no, I'm sure if I wore it, it wouldn't look half as good as it does on you!" I said with a shy smile. Maybe I'm trying to be too humble, but I don't know how to interact with her anymore.

…

She suddenly looked at me with wide eyes and a shy face.

"W-Want to… try it out?"

"... E-Eh?"

And so, I put on the dress.

End of Chiyo's POV.

Gakuto's POV:

"Y-Yours truly still can't believe it, Bitch-dono… To think you would help me after everything… Yours is such a caring soul…"

After yesterday's talk, it was none other than Bitch-dono who decided to aid me with Mitsuko-dono's situation.

"Hehe, I know I know~" She said with a cheeky smile. "But remember, I do this for her"

"O-Of course! I'm more than glad with your doings. Please, if there's any way I can pay back this, I'll gladly do so!"

She looked at me with a serious face, slowly turning into a smile.

"Hehe, sure! If everything goes well… I'll ask you for a small favor…"

For a second, a small shiver ran through my body.

"S-So… What's your plan Bitch-dono?"

"Easy! All you have to do is… Apologize"

"E-Eh? Haven't I done that already?"

"Come on, dummy" She said with a slightly angry face. "You have to apologize properly. Say what you did wrong, tell her how you want to fix things and prove to her that you will, you know?"

"A-Ah… Yours truly understands… Indeed, I need to fix my ways and show her my true intentions…"

"Mhmmm… You show that to her, alright? And while you get ready to tell her what you really want, I'll do my best to calm her down for the next time you two talk, okay?"

…

To think Bitch-dono would be kind enough to be Mitsuko-dono's and I cupid… I'm speechless… But I must say… I thought she had developed feelings for me. Maybe I misunderstood them… Or maybe she's just doing this for her friend… But to be honest…

This just makes me like her even more! Damn it all!

"I-Is it truly okay, Bitch-dono?"

"... Hey" She grabbed the back of my uniform after she stopped walking a second before. "Don't make me doubt about it, okay? I do this because I find her really amusing, plus I know you wouldn't like someone like me at the end of the day"

"W-What? Nonsense! Who wouldn't like someone as reliable and kind as you!"

"…" She stared at me with a surprised expression.

A-Ah… It seems I talked a bit too much… I got carried away by the situation…

"D-Don't push yourself too much, Gakuto-kun, just do your best with her" She said while turning away from me. "I'll be going now, see ya…"

"A-Ah! S-See you later, Bitch-dono!"

[...]

After walking for a bit… My mind got a bit frustrated again. Dodging girls because of my popularity, being sad about Mitsuko-dono and having to hide from my closest friend… I feel like a traitor!

If only I had a Gongsun Zan to put me in my place, just like Zhao Yun did!...

At this moment… I'm alone in my own war…

"Gakuto!"

Suddenly I found a familiar voice behind me.

"P-Please let me speak to you!" It was Kiyoshi-dono, who seemed tired of running… Did he run all the way towards here just to talk to me?

"I-I'm sorry, Kiyoshi-dono, yours truly is extremely occupied rig-"

"Please! I just want to know if something wrong happened, I'm worried man!"

"... y-you really do?"

"Of course dude! We are practically best friends! What happened?"

Ah… Even at my lowest… Even after betraying him… He still worries about this ugly traitor…

"... I'm surrounded by kind people…"

"Huh?"

"What I mean is that… Sorry I've been avoiding you, Kiyoshi-dono, Yours truly was worried you would hate me for the modifications I added to the script…"

He simply stared at me with a confused face.

"Huh? That's it?"

…

"W-What?"

"Aw man, I thought I had done something bad to you! I'm glad it's just that!"

"H-Huh? S-So you truly don't despise me for the changes I added?"

"Nah man! I know you really care about this going just as well as I! And if it's for the WTC… I can't decline any changes you add, right?" He said as he bumped my shoulder.

"K-Kiyoshi-dono! You truly are the greatest man I've ever seen!"

"N-Nah, don't say that! You're the one who came up with this idea, right?"

"O-Of course!" 

We both continued talking as we walked back to our rooms together… But my mind drifted on a small question…

Was Kiyoshi-dono really okay about having to kiss Hana-dono?

After my conversation with Kate-dono I started doubting my knowledge about my friend's relationships, but… I can't believe he could possibly like Hana-dono…

After all, he has been trying his best to go out with Chiyo-dono, right? The kindred spirit that helped us all escape the prison so many months ago, the same girl that helped him get back on his feet after the incident in the cavalry battle… I couldn't find a reason why he wouldn't want to be with her… Was it because she rejected him?

Maybe I should…

"Kiyoshi-dono, sorry to uhm… Question but…Are you perhaps in love with someone other than Chiyo-dono?"

"... Huh? W-What do you mean?"

"You know… If you uhm… Like somebody else than her, I mean"

"U-Uhm… N-Not really, I guess… Y-You're not going to confess to me or something, right?"

"N-Nay! Don't joke about things like that, Kiyoshi-dono!"

"Come on! It's just a silly joke! I know you wouldn't date a guy even if Mitsuko-san asked you!"

"... Don't question my determination, Kiyoshi-dono!"

"U-Uhm… Sure dude…"

End of Gakuto's POV.

As the two boys went to their room, two girls remained in a clubroom.

"W-Wow… It looks amazing on you, Chiyo-chan! You look like a real princess!"

"D-Don't say that! It's a bit big for me, I almost forgot you're taller than me"

Hana could only remain silent as she watched Chiyo wearing the dress that she's supposed to wear tomorrow.

"You'd make a great Rapunzel too…" Hana said with a slight blush on her face.

"..." Chiyo could only remain silent.

In an almost natural move, Chiyo put her tiara into Hana's head.

"Even if I wanted to, that tiara is too big for me, you know?"

"... Don't lie to me, you'd make great Rapunzel too, I was there before you to take the place"

Suddenly… The room was filled with silence, as one of them secretly thought about another situation in which their words could apply.

'... Maybe in another world… I could be a princess… One like Snow White… Where a prince would come and save me…'

While the other, could only think about the situation in which she was going to be tomorrow.

'T-To think I'll have to… k-kiss that dumbass tomorrow… in front of everyone… I'm starting to panic a bit…'

What the girl didn't know is that… Even with only one day remaining before the festival…

Kiyoshi had not read the modified script.

To be continued…

---