♛

"SO IT WAS KENZO all this time. I should have known, considering how he was so persistent to get Antonio expelled. He must have been afraid that Antonio would rat him out," Max explains, and Keigo couldn't help but nod his head in agreement.

     "It would make sense that he was the brains of it all, especially when he's the leader of Beta Society," Keigo then adds. "What now? We know it's Kenzo, and everything just points to his involvement. But like Antonio, we don't have evidence to prove that."

     "And we don't have enough time to fabricate one either," Max reminds him, and Keigo could only sigh and massage his temple.

     The two became quiet for a while, thinking of a plan that will help them expose Kenzo. Max couldn't really think of anything at the moment, but then Keigo suddenly looked back at Max, almost like he thought of something that might just work.

     "You mentioned some sort of master list, right?" Keigo asks, and Max nods his head in reply.

     "T-That's it," Keigo then says, standing from his seat to approach Max. "Kenzo has the master list, and I'm a hundred percent sure that he has that hidden somewhere, maybe something like his phone or computer."

     "That could be. Are you telling me you can hack it?" Max then asks, but Keigo shakes his head and scratches his chin. "Considering how no one has found out about the auction, I'm already guessing that his electronic documents are well kept and hella secured. I won't be able to hack into his data with a different computer," Keigo stated, but before Max could even comment about it, Keigo immediately adds, "But I can if I get a hold of his personal gadgets. It could be his laptop, his phone, or even his tablet. As long as it's connected to something like his emails or log-ins, I'll be able to travel through all his devices to check."

     "Are you serious?" Max asks in disbelief. He has been with Keigo for the past few days so he knows his skills, but at the same time, he still gets surprised that he's able to do all these things.

     "It's going to be difficult, but I think it can work," Keigo explains as he looks back at the screen of his computer. "It's going to be a race against time though because as soon as I hack into his system, it might send out an alarm. He'll be able to notice before I could even do anything."

     "So you only need any of his personal devices right?" Max asks, and Keigo nods his head to agree to it.

     Max takes a deep breath and remembers that Kenzo has a laptop in the office where the other top 10 are. The problem was, that Justin and the others are always hanging out there. The room's surrounded by CCTV cameras too, and to top it all off, the Elites are right next door. If Max tries to steal that, he'll definitely get caught.

     The only thing that Max can think of is the phone that Kenzo has with him. Kenzo always has it inside his pocket wherever he goes. It's difficult, but a phone is still smaller, and one can easily steal it away from him in a split second with the right sleight of hand.

     "We'll take his phone," Max finally decides.

     "Alright, that will do. And it's something that holds a lot more of his personal data so that's going to be a win for us too," Keigo answers. "So how are you going to take it? Or am I even going to ask because I'm pretty sure you already have a plan for that?"

     Max smirks and pulls out his own phone from his pocket. He dials a familiar number, and after just two rings, the man on the other line answers the call with no hesitation.

     "You've been wanting to see me, Max, I'm starting to see a pattern," the man manages to joke, making Max chuckle. He then walks back to the whiteboard and stares at Kenzo Furukawa's name before saying, "I'm calling because I need your help with something."

     "Again? My service isn't getting cheaper Max. You're asking way too much from me," the man on the other line says, and Max smirks and takes a marker before writing something down on the board.

     "It's not like you have a choice. Believe me, this will benefit you as much as it will benefit me," Max says, and the man becomes quiet. But after a couple of seconds, he started laughing. "Of course, how can I say no to my protector?" He finally reveals, and a smile appears on Max's face. "What can I do for you my little toy?" The man—who was actually Krist Hyusen—asks as Max wrote down the word Jokers on the board.

     "You're good at distracting someone, right?" Max asks, and Krist grins at the question before saying, "What kind of distraction?"

...

The bell rings and everyone starts running out of their classroom to have their lunch. Kenzo, who was putting his things bag inside his bag, was approached by Vijay Devgan, a white uniform who was previously one of the rank 10 and is now in rank 11.

     "Kenzo!" He calls out, making Kenzo look at him. "Sir Barron talked to me earlier. He told me that I might be able to enter the top 10 again after what happened to Thomas and Antonio. Not really thrilled to be back because of that reason, but that's just fair, considering what they did," Vijay tells him, and Kenzo could only nod his head in understanding.

     "Anyway, who would have known those two would do such a thing, especially Thomas? He's the leader of Alpha Society and a Rose to top it all off. He should have known that keeping his brother's illegal points would cause him problems," Vijay then explains, and Kenzo takes a deep breath and looks at him seriously.

     "Let's stop talking about this. It leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, and I don't want to lose my appetite," Kenzo then says.

     "Oh yeah, you were close with Thomas and Antonio. I apologize," Vijay answers, and the two finally walked out of the room so they could head to the Great Hall to grab lunch.

     Kenzo and Vijay walked to the hall, talking about other things that would get their mind off of the two demoted gaffers. When they arrived, the two were surprised to see that the supposed rowdy cafeteria was completely dead silent.

     "What's going on?" Kenzo asks with furrowed brows, walking towards their usual table, Vijay walking right behind him.

    "I don't want you to overthink, but aren't they looking at you?" Vijay then asks when he noticed everyone staring at his friend as the two of them continue walking down the aisle.

     Kenzo and Vijay arrive at their usual table that was being surrounded by a group of other white uniforms. The two didn't know what it was about, but as they pushed the others away, Kenzo and Vijay were left speechless. Because on top of their table was the infamous jack-in-the-box that had the word KENZO written on the top of it.

     Vijay covered his mouth in shock as Kenzo walked toward the box. As soon as he got closer, the box started to play the familiar tune that even made the other white uniform shiver, even though they weren't the ones who received the box.

     As the song continues to play, the Jacks started stomping their feet. And right after, the terrifying tune finally ends, and Jack jumps out of the box, holding a piece of paper.

     Kenzo gulps and looks around the Great Hall before finally taking the note. He didn't really want to read it, but deep down he knew that he had no choice, so Kenzo unfolds the paper and looked at what was written on it. Kenzo was expecting a long letter, but his entire body completely froze when he saw what was actually written on it.

     Run.

     That single word made everything around Kenzo stop in an instant. He didn't know what was happening, but when he crumpled the paper, Kenzo suddenly heard a ticking sound. He wasn't sure where it was coming from at first, but after a while, he realized that the ticking actually came from the box itself.

     Kenzo's eyes widened from shock as he slowly backed away. Vijay and the other white uniforms noticed it too, so without any hesitation, someone shouted...

     "Run!"

     Kenzo finally snapped out of his senses as he immediately ran with the rest of the students. The ticking got louder and louder as everyone tried their best to get away from the box. And after a couple more seconds, the box finally explodes, splattering red paint all over. The students who weren't able to run fast enough got caught, staining their perfectly white uniform with red, almost making it seem like they were shot.

     "W-what the fuck..." was the only thing that Kenzo could say about the situation as he looked at the scattered red paint in shock. At first, he didn't know why he suddenly received the box, but after a while, Kenzo clenched his fist and mumbled the words, "Max."

     With how things are going, Kenzo could only curse at himself. He was too careless. Knowing that Max was involved with Antonio's case, he should have been more careful around him. But despite that, Kenzo was still surprised that Max was able to find out about his real identity in a short amount of time.

     Kenzo doesn't exactly know what Max was trying to do, but now isn't the time to wait around and find out. Max already knows who he is, but at the same time, Kenzo is confident that Max doesn't have any evidence against him, and that's going to put him the upper hand. As long as he doesn't give anything away, then Kenzo will be alright.

     Well, barely...

     "Good afternoon Jacks!" A voice suddenly announced throughout the speakers in the hall, making everyone look up to see what it was about.

     "This is your master, Master Joker. I've noticed that we've been feeling a little down lately. Our house has been quiet ever since the second term started, so to spice things up, we're going to do a little game," Krist says over the speakers, making the Jacks—Jokers' underling—start standing from their seats in excitement.

     "By now, you might already know that someone received a jack-in-a-box. We're planning a lot of new pranks on him today, but before that, let's help him warm up. So the game is...whoever gets to catch him first wins a special surprise!" Krist then explains, and Kenzo's eyes immediately widened in complete shock.

     "Let the games begin Jacks!"

    A buzzer sound was suddenly heard. Kenzo didn't move for a couple of seconds, but when he saw the Jacks running toward him at full speed, Kenzo's instincts finally kicked in as the gaffer ran out of the Great Hall.

     The rest of the Jacks ran after Kenzo like he was some sort of criminal. They chased after the target, hoping to get the special prize that Master Joker mentioned. But little did Kenzo know that one of the Jacks didn't chase after him.

     It was Krist's most trusted underling, Ervin Walker. Ervin smirked and casually stepped out of the hall. When he was alone, Ervin pulls a phone out of his pocket. It wasn't his phone, but Kenzo's.

     During the commotion earlier when the jack-in-the-box was ticking, a Jack discreetly approached Kenzo. While he was preoccupied with the red paint that easily distracted him, the Jack took the phone before passing it over to Ervin.

     "I gotta give this to Max," Ervin then whispers to himself before running to the room that Max sent him earlier.

     When Ervin got there, Max was already waiting for him outside. "Ervin!" Max calls out, and Ervin runs to his side and quickly hands over his phone.

     "Thank you," Max says, and Ervin replies, "Don't mention it. The other Jacks are chasing after Kenzo, while the Jesters are setting up the traps. Hopefully, they'll be enough to distract him so he wouldn't notice that his phone's missing. I'll keep you updated if anything happens."

    "Alright, I'm counting on you guys."

     Ervin nods his head and pats Max's shoulder before finally running off. Max then heads inside the room where Keigo was and quickly gives him his phone. "Your time starts now Keigo," Max says, and Keigo grabs the phone from Max's hand and connects it to his computer. He then looks back at the screen and starts unlocking the phone.

     Max doesn't say anything and just watched as Keigo did his work. The room was completely quiet, and the only thing you could hear is the keyboard sound that Keigo was making.

    "I'm in!" Keigo announced, making Max sigh in relief.

     "All I have to do now is scan his phone, get everything I can take, use the information found in this one, and hack into his other gadgets. It will take a while though because I have to scan each file so I won't miss out on anything relatively important," Keigo explains.

     "How long would that take?" Max asks.

     "Uhm...10 to 15 minutes, maybe?" Keigo answers, and Max immediately looked at his phone, checking if Ervin sent him a message that would alert them of what happened to Kenzo.

     When the coast was clear, Max takes a deep breath and says, "Alright, we'll give you as much time as you need. Just do what you gotta do."

     Keigo nods his head and cracks his knuckles before finally looking back at the screen of his computer. While he was hacking through Kenzo's system, Max's phone suddenly rings a few minutes after, immediately making Max pull out his phone to check it.

     "It's Ervin," Max announces, answering the call and putting it on speaker so Keigo would be able to hear it too. "Ervin, what's happening?"

     "Kenzo went to the Keep where the Elites were. President Ian and vice president Gavriil saw the Jacks chasing after Kenzo and stopped them. Kenzo already knows he lost his phone and is heading back to the hall to look for it. Before he finds out what you're planning, you gotta finish whatever you're doing," Ervin warns, making Max and Keigo curse.

     "We need at least 10 minutes. You think you can stall him? Make sure he doesn't get a hold of any type of gadget or electronic," Max says, and Ervin pauses for a second, thinking of a way to do just that.

     "I don't know if I'll be able to stall him but—" Ervin suddenly pauses for a couple of seconds. And then there was noise coming from the other line, almost like he was hiding from something.

     "My phone's missing!" Kenzo's voice suddenly says, surprising the two. "You can at least do something, right? Those Jacks were chasing after me! For all I know, Jokers must have taken it too!"

     "We can do something about the white uniforms, but I can't do much about the barons. I have no power over them," a new voice then answers, which belonged to the vice president himself, Gavriil Alexeev.

     "Then let me at least check the CCTVs to see where I could have dropped it or if someone took it," Kenzo says, and there was a long pause.

     "You need permission for that first."

     "Bullshit!"

     "Mr. Furukawa, you better calm down," another voice says, and this time it was from president Ian. Judging by the sound of his voice, Max could tell that he just arrived and he was approaching them.

     "We'll work on finding your missing belonging, but as for now, I suggest you don't accuse anyone. I just talked to the Jacks and Jokers, they said that they have nothing to do with your phone, and have agreed to a search. The guards are also looking for it now," Ian answers with such seriousness, showing how much authority he has.

     "Then how about Max? I know he's involved with this too," Kenzo then says back.

     "Max? Why Max all of a sudden?" Ian confusingly asks, making Kenzo quiet. If he revealed anything about Max, it would lead to them finding out that he's connected to Antonio and the auction.

     "W-well, he's protected by Jokers, right? He must know something about it," Kenzo tries to explain, and before he could even hear the reply, Ervin runs away from the scene.

     "Looks like vice president Gavriil is already doing the job of stalling him," Ervin answers, and Keigo suddenly looked back at Max and mouthed the words "boyfie to the rescue." Max hits him, and Keigo laughs and just went back to hacking Kenzo's account.

     "I don't know how much time you have left, but I bet Kenzo's going to try and force them to show him the CCTV cameras. If he finds out we really took his phone, it'll be over for us," Ervin says, and this time max massages his temple, looking back at Keigo who was still not done scanning Kenzo's documents.

     "Don't worry, we'll make things work. We just need a little more time. We just need to find at least one document that proves to us that Kenzo is involved in that auction," Max says.

     "Alright, we'll try blocking them from the security room if anything happens," Ervin answers before finally ending the call.

     As soon as Max placed his phone back in his pocket, Max looks back at Keigo and asked, "How's it gng Keigo?"

     "I'm at 50 percent. Just a little bit more," Keigo answers, making Max gulp, his anxiety growing with each passing second.

     Keigo puts all of his concentration on the computer, his eyes glued on the screen, almost like if he looked away, something bad would happen. He needed this to be done perfectly. He needed to do this because he wanted to be useful. He wanted Max to know that he wasn't some sort of failure.

     "Why weren't you able to do it?!" Keigo suddenly remembered.

     "You only had one job you brat! you can't make mistakes at times like these!"

     "Honey! Stop! He's just a child!"

     Keigo clenched his mouse as a memory of his father suddenly appeared in front of him. He was a genius; he had a gift. Keigo thought that with his gift, he'll be able to help his family. But as he grew older, he realized that what he thought was his father's love and appreciation, slowly turned into anger and greed.

     "Keigo! You're not allowed to leave your room until you get this right! Stop being—"

     Keigo's thoughts suddenly got disrupted when a warm hand touched his shoulder. Keigo blinked and quickly looked back, surprised to see that Max was actually looking down at him with a worried expression.

     "Keigo, are you alright?" Max asks.

     "W-What? Yeah, I'm fine," Keigo answers as he slowly relaxed his grip on the mouse.

     "Keigo, you don't have to push yourself. If we can't do it now, then we'll think of another way. We're a team, aren't we?" Max asks, and something inside Keigo suddenly sparked.

     The thought of his father and his past vanished right in front of him, and Keigo instantly realized that he was wrong to think that he was doing this because he didn't want Max to see him as a failure. Max wasn't that type of person. Keigo was doing this...because he wanted max to succeed. This was his resolve. It wasn't to prove anything to anyone.

     "Scanning complete," a robotic voice suddenly says, making both Max and Keigo look back at the screen.

     "What just happened?" Max asks, and Keigo immediately started typing something down. After a while, a document pops on the screen. The document was a list, a list of names that participated in the auction.

     "K-Keigo..." Max says, his mouth wide from shock. "You...you did it."

     Keigo stares at the screen before grabbing his chest and sighing in relief.

     "This is the list. There's also past conversation and emails that Kenzo made in regards to the transaction in the auction," Max continues to say before looking back at Keigo and grabbing him. Keigo was surprised for a second, but then Max hugged him tightly.

     "Thank you," Max says, and that single appreciation made a tear fall from Kenzo's eyes because those exact words were the words that he was hoping to hear from his father.

     Max noticed that Keigo was crying, so he smiles and pats his head before letting go of him. "No time to celebrate now," Max then says before taking a seat on Keigo's chair so he could check the list. With this, Max could expose Kenzo, and at the same time find the other white uniform who participated in the auction.

     Max's eyes were glued to the screen while Keigo stood behind him. He was scrolling through the names, names that even came from the other brotherhood houses. There were at least a hundred of them, and Max wasn't familiar with any of them.

     "Nothing?" Keigo asks as Max continued to read the names one by one.

     The page scrolls down, and Max was starting to worry. He was starting to think that maybe they were wrong about the third task after all.

     Max almost gave up on it, but when he reached the last part of the list, Max's finger instantly stopped scrolling. He looked at the name in disbelief. Even Keigo was surprised to see that the name written on the list of students who participated in the auction to buy illegal merit points was actually rank 9 gaffer...

     Justin Griffiths.

- END -