raoal

by vamer

ok

Revelation Of An Ordinary Life
megadonkeykong

Published: 2023
Source: https/

Prologue

(reaction fic, will try to keep characters as close to the LN as possible (no kei masochist and Shinohara and ike being bitchy) it takes place after Y2 V4.5 so there will be no spoilers past that point, all 3 years are present that's about it, enjoy!)

I walked to my class as usual, but found there to be a paper on my desk that I hadn't placed there, no, it was on everyone's desks. I looked at the cover and saw that it had a title called 'Tape Viewing'. I see, so it's probably a type of special exam. I went to the first page and found something that disproved my previous theory.

Schedule:

Monday: video

Tuesday: normal classes

Wednesday: video

Thursday: normal classes

Friday: free period

Well, this is unprecedented. How would this work into special exams? If this was something that only included our year then it must be a new form of examination such as the zodiac exam where we used information to get on top, but if this is a multi-year exam then it's far too extravagant for an information collecting exam.

As I finished reading through the timetable, Chabashira strode into the classroom. She had her usual indifferent face and when everyone was seated she began to speak.

"I get you're all probably confused, so I'll explain it to you. This is something that the school has been tasked with and we have to make sure that all of the students watch these tapes. The content is unknown to you and us teachers, so we are all going in blind to this," Chabashira explained.

Horkita raised her hand and asked a question, "Sensei since it takes up so much of our time does this mean that other classes will see these videos at the same time as us?"

"You are correct Horikita. We will be in the gymnasium that has been remodelled for video viewing and other classes will also be joining us," Chabashira answered

Something even the teachers are unaware of? This might be something 'that man' ordered, if it is then I have to be proactive. Although it may be something I can't escape, in that case I must do as much damage control as possible.

"There is a private viewing booth, but only accessible before the session begins. During the session, students aren't allowed to leave unless it's for a medical emergency," Chabashira continued

Private viewing huh? What would be the need for private viewing and what content could the schools even be showing to have students want to leave the room? It may contain something violent perhaps something like an anti-bullying video that I've heard schools show students, but if that's the case why can't teachers access this information?

The possibility that this could be set up by 'him' is there, but since I don't have all of the information I can't make any assumptions.

"That is all, in 15 minutes I expect you all to be in the gymnasium," Chabashira said as she grabbed her materials and walked out of the classroom

As chabashira left the class grew quiet... for a total of 5 seconds as it erupted.

"What's going on?"

"Private videos? What the hell is that about?"

These were the main questions being asked, the students mainly crowded around Hirata and Horikitas desk and yet, Horkita just sat there with an apathetic expression on her face, she was probably trying to analyse the situation in her head and figure out what could possibly be shown in the videos.

Getting up from her chair she walked to the podium at the front of the room and stared at her classmates until there wasn't a sound in the class.

"Everyone, may I please have your attention? These videos must have content that may be sensitive for students to react to, but it can't be something similar to bullying as the teachers would've known that information, so I believe that these videos may contain sensitive information on students," Horikita explained.

I could see Kushida flinch out of the corner of my eye, after all, the one who's most damaged to sensitive videos about students would be the 2 faced liar, "Um... Horikita, what type of content do you think could be shown?" Kushida said quietly.

Kushida said this while keeping up her persona but the voice she used was definitely more meek and weak than before.

"I have no idea, but it could be something about students or maybe something about special exams as a whole, so I'm asking you all to tread carefully," Horikita finished off her speech with a little warning to her class.

What a Horikita way to do things.

"Yeah guys if we listen to Suzune everything will be fine," Horikitas number one supporter, Sudo is boosting team morale as usual.

"Guys, shouldn't we head to the gym? We're gonna be late at this rate," Kushida said in a more cheerful voice than before, I guess she must have composed herself in the last few minutes.

Packing up my things I walked out of the classroom. I wondered that if this is a ploy by that man, my life would become a lot more troublesome, and I would end up having to let go of the life I've cultivated over the last year.

The big question:Whats in the videos?

All of the students were slowly gathering in the gymnasium. They really did assemble this whole place into a theatre although I noticed something odd. There are 3 years each consisting of at least 140 students if you include expulsions, so in total there should be at least 420 seats and yet, there were over 500. Even if you include the 12 chairs for the teachers across all 3 homeroom levels there are still too many, some of them may just be spare chairs, but a school that organises everything to such a perfect extent shouldn't have a problem with broken or missing chairs.

I looked around and found kei similarly looking for me as well, I approached her, but I had to do it discreetly to make the other students think we were just classmates walking to each other by chance. As I walked up to her we started speaking.

"Hey Kiyotaka, what do you think is gonna be in the videos?" A reasonable question most students probably have on their minds.

"I don't really know, but Horikita assumed that it's about students, so it might be about me or just students in general" Kei was taken aback by my statement.

"K-Kiyotaka that could be bad what if they show 'that scene'," If she's referring to the cruise exam then that may very well be a problem, but she's gained enough of a reputation in the class to deal with this situation.

"You're right that may be a problem, but don't worry, no matter what happens I trust that you're good enough to handle it," Kei was blushing, but since most students were here we had to go to the teachers we could get our seat number.

I got in line and I noticed that horikita was in front of me, "Ayanokouji, what do you think could be shown on the videos?" As usual she got straight down to business.

"That's not a way to say good morning," She was completely unfazed.

"Good morning, what do you think could be shown on the videos, do you think your actions may be shown?" Horikita said promptly.

"Anythings a possibility currently, but that's probably a big contender," I could've asked Chabashira to investigate the content of the videos, but she was completely non-existent after homeroom.

"I see. I guess you're right, but I'll do my best to back you up," I didn't really expect that coming from her mouth, but it was a surprise that I could deal with. I simply nodded and she did the same. A few minutes passed and eventually, I got to the front of the line.

Oh it's chabashira.

"Hi there Sensei, so do you know-" I was cut off by a cold glare as if to say " Not again, I can't answer that question again," I listened, took my seat number and I found my seat next to a familiar face.

"Kiyotaka! I didn't expect to sit next to you," Kei whispered after she saw me.

"I didn't expect this either, but I don't mind it," Kei blushed, but before she could respond a voice came from a speaker on the massive projector in the front of the room.

"Good, all of you are here."

Confusion was swept across the face of all the classmates since they expected a teacher to explain things and not a voice from a screen.

" Now then, I can have my fun."

Some students were confused, others were scared but the most notable reactions were intrigue and excitement from Ryuen and Sakayanagi

" You see I've been quite bored recently, so I thought I would cure it by doing this."

Most students were laughing at this clown show, they couldn't expect that some godlike being would mess with a school and a high school at that.

" Yes, yes, I know this is all very amusing, but what I will show you today will show you the minds and thoughts of your fellow students."

The laughs were getting even louder and honestly, I can see why. Imagine if a god said he was bored and wanted to mess with some high school students.

" You can laugh all you want. They'll stop soon anyway and I don't really care, after all, this is just a game to cure my boredom."

The students started to get more interested by the voices bold statement and the jeers and laughter turned into suspense.

" Now then, let us begin."

Author notes:
Finished the opening honestly a lot harder than I was expecting. I plan to take this slow and build on the events but I wont go so slow that it takes like 10 chapters for 1 volume if you have any suggestions or critiques for me I would I appreciate if you could share since this is my first fic and I'm not the best at grammar and punctuation. Updates will usually be at least once a week as I have school. With all that boring stuff out of the way lets begin with the bus scene.

The Bus Scene

(A/N I saw another fic do this, so I'm also just gonna use the anime monologue instead of the LN one since its easier to use)

"So then, I believe that all of you wonder whose life you'll be reacting to!"

I would expect most students to have that thought, but I feel like I already know the answer.

"The persons life you are reacting to is Ayanokouji Kiyotaka from Class D!"

(A/N I'm using Y1 class rankings since its easier)

"who?"

"Why is it a class D student?"

These were the questions most students were asking, and even the ones who weren't asking were probably thinking it.

"I guess it is you Ayanokouji," Horikita whispered to me.

I had a thought about where these videos could start. If they started at the beginning of the year then the part where I met Horikita on the bus is a possible candidate, but that's if the tapes go in chronological order. If they go in something like an order of importance, we could have any videos from any point of the year.

"Yes. It seems like it is." I sighed deeply.

"So then let's begin, all of you will be reacting to a scene with Ayanokouji on the bus on the first day of school."

"Hey guys, look, It's Ayanokouji and Horikita!" Ike yelled out, but I feel like that was kind of obvious considering what the voice just said.

If I may, I'd like to pose an interesting question: "Are all human beings truly equal?" These days everywhere you go there's a talk about a fight for equality.

"What interesting thoughts you are having ayanokouji," Sakayanagi was giggling as she said this almost as if she saw an animal at a zoo do something funny.

"Kiyopon, is this the kind of stuff you think about?" Haruka asked this with an eyebrow raised.

I could lie and say no, but considering hearing a human beings thoughts being recorded is possible it must be in my best interest for me to say the truth.

"Yes. It is," I told her bluntly.

"Woah, I didn't know you think of this stuff Kiyopon. Looks like my friend is a philosopher, we might have to change your nickname to Kiyosopher."

What a weird name, but I've accepted that she's usually the type of person to say what's on her mind.

"As a wise man once said, "Heaven does not create one person above or below another." People like to throw these words around. That's not the whole quote. It goes on to say that "... while we are all equal at birth, pretty soon, things begin to change. The academic effort is what sets some people apart to rise above the others."

"Kiyotaka, why are you thinking of stuff like this on a bus?" Yosuke asked with a warm smile.

"I've been alone by myself a lot, so I just have discussions within my mind I guess."

"I see. Well your thoughts are very interesting, also I'm sorr-," before Yousuke could continue with his sentence the video kept playing.

"At any rate, humans change over time based on their actions. Truth be told, at the end of the day, equality is just a fantasy. And most of us go through life denying the fact that we live in a meritocracy."

"What an interesting thought process you have, Ayanokouji," Horikita said this in her normal voice, but it almost felt like she was mocking me.

(A/N back to LN now)

"Excuse me, but shouldn't you offer up your seat?"

My eyes, which were about to close, snapped back open. Huh? Could this person be angry with me? But I realized that it was someone else being scolded.

A young, well-built blond man of high school age had sat down in one of the priority seats. The elderly woman stood right next to him, and another woman beside her. This second, younger lady appeared to be an office worker.

"Oh Ayanokouji, you were there as well," Kushida was the one to break the silence first, "But why didn't you give up your seat if you heard the lady say it?"

Kushida knows that her true nature will be exposed sometime in the future, so she must be trying to antagonise me as much as possible. If it helps her to minimise the damage to herself then she would do anything.

"I'm sorry, Kushida. I heard her, but I wanted to see if anyone else would give up their seats first. I understand that what I did was selfish now." Admitting what you did in the past was wrong is a good way to get people to easily see past your negative action.

"O-oh no problem then" Kushida's voice is getting quieter with every interaction it seems.

"Hey, you there. Can't you see that this elderly woman is having trouble?" the office lady said.

She seemed to want the young man to offer up his seat.

Her voice carried quite well throughout the quiet bus, attracting several people's attention.

"That's a crazy question, lady," the boy said.

"Good to know that my past self is also a perfect existence just like I am," Koenji looking up from his reflection in the mirror made a passing comment on the situation.

I wondered whether this boy was angry, unobservant, or just painfully honest. In any case, he grinned broadly and crossed his legs. "Why should I offer up my seat? There's no reason for me to do so."

"Huh? Of course there's a reason. You do a good action and give a seat to an elderly person," Sato said angrily, and most other people shared the same sentiment.

"You're sitting in a priority seat. It's natural to offer up those seats to the elderly."

"I don't understand. Priority seats are just that: priority seats. I have no legal obligation to move. Since I'm currently occupying this seat, I should be the one who determines whether or not I move. Am I supposed to give up this seat just because I am young? Ha! That reasoning is nonsense."

He didn't speak like a normal high school student. His hair was dyed blond, which made him stand out.

Sato and the other people in the hall also had some frustrations with Koenji, but they weren't able to argue with his logic.

"I'm a healthy young person who certainly wouldn't find standing inconvenient. However, I'd expend more energy by standing than I would by sitting. I have no intention of doing such a pointless thing. Or are you suggesting I should act a bit livelier, I wonder?"

"Wh-what kind of attitude is that to take with your superiors?" she demanded.

"Superiors? Well, it's obvious that both you and the old woman there have been alive longer than I have. There is no doubt about that. However, the word 'superior' implies that you're referring to someone of a higher position. In addition, we have another problem. Even though ages are different, wouldn't you agree that you have an impertinent attitude and are being extremely rude?"

Most students were in shock at Koenji's rudeness to his elders. Some were in shock due to his boldness and others were in shock as to how someone could speak like that to their elders, but a select few people had different reactions. Ryueen saw this as an amusing spectacle and was laughing while Ichinose Honami was sad for the elderly lady in question.

"Wha- You're a high schooler, aren't you?! You should be quiet and listen to what adults tell you!"

"It's f-fine, whatever..." the elderly woman mumbled

Koenji was the target of most students ire, but he seemed completely unaffected by this. I salute you Koenji, you are truly a brave soul.

She apparently didn't want any further commotion and tried to calm the office lady. But after being insulted by the high school student, the young woman still seemed very upset.

"Apparently, this elderly woman is more perceptive than you, which is nice. Also, I haven't given up on Japanese society yet. Please enjoy your remaining years."

After flashing a pointlessly vigorous smile, the boy slid his earphones in and began listening to rather cacophonous music. The office lady now clenched her teeth in frustration Though she tried needling the boy by arguing further, his smug, self-important attitude remained fixed.

At any rate, I had to at least partly agree with this boy.

Most of the students saw me as the same as Koenji even if I said that I only partly agreed with his words.

"I said partly agreed," I replied with no hesitation.

If you ignored the question of moral imperative, it was true that he wasn't legally obligated to give up his seat.

The looks were gone and the students daggers weren't piercing me anymore.

"I'm sorry..." Desperately fighting back her tears, the office lady apologized to the elderly woman.

Well, it was all just a minor incident on the bus. I was relieved that I hadn't been caught up in the situation. Honestly, I couldn't care less about giving up my seat for an elderly person.

Clearly, the egotistical boy had won. At least, everyone secretly thought so.

"You don't seem like you care," Ryueen snickered when he said this. He was clearly having fun being my opponent in the open if everything was going to be revealed.

"I just want to avoid trouble if I can."

"So if you could avoid trouble by not participating, would you take it?" This time Sakayanagi was interrogating me and although she wasn't laughing she was definitely enjoying herself.

"Sure, I guess."

"That doesn't sound like you really care about your class."

"If I can help, I will, but if I don't need to, I won't. It's as simple as that."

"I see. So if someone were to force you to do something you would try your best," Ryueen was back again with his interrogation.

"Ryueen, Sakayangi, I think we should stop asking Ayanokouji these questions. I'm sure he tries his best," Ichinose chimed in to stop the double rammed attack. The 2 leaders didn't explicitly look satisfied, but they stopped with the questions.

"Um... I think that the lady is right."

It seems it's Kushidas time in the spotlight. If she wasn't worried about being exposed she would probably enjoy this.

The woman received unexpected support from someone standing alongside her. The helper, a girl wearing my high school's uniform, gave her brave and frank opinion to the boy.

"And the new challenger is a pretty girl, eh? It would seem that I'm rather lucky with the fairer sex," the boy said.

Most girls were disgusted when Koenji said this while the rest simply ignored him.

"This poor woman appears to have been suffering for quite some time now. Won't you offer up your seat? While you might consider such courtesy unnecessary, I think it would contribute greatly to society."

Crack! The boy snapped his fingers.

"A contribution to society, you say? Well, that is a rather interesting opinion. It's certainly true that offering up one's seat to the elderly could be viewed in such a positive light. Unfortunately, I have no interest in contributing to society. I care only for my own satisfaction. Oh, and one more thing. You're asking me, the one in the priority seat, to give up his spot, but couldn't you simply ask one of the other people seated on this crowded bus? If you truly cared for the elderly, then something like priority seating would be a rather trivial concern, wouldn't you agree?"

The boy's haughty attitude remained unchanged. Both the office lady and the elderly woman simply wore bitter smiles in response. However, the girl didn't back down.

"Everyone, please listen to me for just a moment. Won't someone give up their seat for this woman? It doesn't matter who. Please."

How could someone pour so much courage, determination, and compassion into so few words? That was no simple feat. The girl might have seemed like a nuisance to those around her, but she appealed to the other passengers earnestly and without fear.

It seems my comment on kushida earned me a few glares from the boys.

"Kushida is never a nuisance, Ayanokouji," a boy called Hondo said. He seemed to be friends with Ike, so he also probably has a crush on Kushida. Honestly, I almost feel bad for him.

"This was my first time meeting her, and I didn't call her a nuisance to myself. I just thought some people might find it disruptive," this seemed to quiet down everyone.

Though not in a priority seat, I was near the elderly woman. I imagined if I raised my hand and offered my spot, then the matter would be settled.

However, like everyone else, I didn't move. None of us had thought it necessary to move. The boy's attitude and remarks aside, everyone on the bus had, for the most part, agreed with him.

Now, of course, the elderly have undeniable worth to Japan. But we, the youth, will continue to support Japan into the future. Also, considering that our society ages more and more every year, you could say that our youthful value only increases. So, if you were to examine both the elderly and the young and ask yourself which group is more valuable, the answer should be obvious. That's really the perfect argument, wouldn't you say?

"I guess that is logical and accurate, but I still don't like it," Shinohara sighed.

But still, I wondered what the others would do. As I looked around, I saw two kinds of people: those who had pretended not to have heard anything and those who looked hesitant.

However, the girl sitting next to me was different. She alone wasn't swept up by the confusion. Her face remained expressionless.

While I unintentionally stared at her, our eyes met for an instant. Even without speaking a word, I could tell that we shared the same opinion. Neither of us considered it necessary to give up our seats.

"Oh, it's Suzune. So you met her on the bus, Ayanokouji," Sudo didn't say this in the excitement of seeing Horikita as I expected him to, but he said it in a surprised tone.

"E-excuse me. You can have mine." Shortly after the girl's appeal, a working woman stood, unable to bear the guilt any longer, and offered up her seat.

"Thank you very much!" the elderly woman said.

The working woman smiled, lowered her head, and guided the elderly woman to the now-vacant seat.

The elderly woman expressed her gratitude repeatedly and slowly sat. Watching the scene unfold from my peripheral vision, I crossed my arms and closed my eyes. Soon, we arrived at our destination, and all the high school students began to disembark.

"So then how did you like the first viewing,"

There isn't anything that I can do to stop these. It's a situation completely out of my control, so all I can do is watch as my life gets destroyed in front of my eyes. However, it isn't all bad. It's an opportunity to get a new perspective on life.

"There will be plenty more videos, so the fun's just beginning"

Left with that ominous statement, the screen faded to black. The teachers asked us to head back to our dormitories. I was asked to do some stuff, but they all believed my excuse of me being tired after what just happened. I got back to my dorm and started thinking about how I could get out of this situation.

"What a mess."

Authors notes:

Bus scene done with almost 2.6k words, I'm honestly impressed with myself. As you can see I like going into detail so expect to get some fairly long chapters after I get the hang of this whole writer thing.

Student introductions/meeting horikita

After our day of normal classes, we were then asked to relocate to the gym. I had realised something over the past 2 days; my act can't work anymore. Most students, even the slow ones, would eventually be able to realise that I do a lot more for the class than I let on, so I have to change my behaviour.

After going to the seat the video started playing again.

"Alright then, how was the first video just so you know there will be plenty more that will show what the people around you think like."

If this was yesterday, most students would proceed to laugh and ridicule the voice, but now it was different. Doubt and suspicion among students are rising.

"Although this won't be that video . M ainly , this video is for fun because I felt like it ."

Some students were relieved, but others realised that this video is just biding time until the inevitable 'trust breaking' video comes.

"In this video, we will be seeing the first meeting of Ayanokouji and horikita."

"This video seems pretty boring if that's all that happens," Ike complained, and it seemed everyone else agreed.

I was happy this video wouldn't be bad. I'm assuming that most people would simply lose interest while the rest would laugh at me for how socially inept I was.

As I got off the bus, I saw a gate formed from the natural rock waiting just ahead. All the young boys and girls dressed in school uniforms were passing through this gate.

The Japanese government had created the Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School with the express purpose of developing future leaders. This would be my school from now on.

Okay, stop for a moment. Take a deep breath. All right, here we go!

"Wait!"

The instant I tried to take my first courageous step, someone called out to me. It was the girl who'd sat next to me on the bus.

"Horikita, why did you call out Ayanokouji randomly?" Matsuhita quizzically inquired.

"I simply wanted to ask him a question," Horikita said in a somewhat quieter voice. She was probably remembering our conversation and how she acted previously.

"You were looking at me. Why?" she asked.

She narrowed her eyes while we spoke.

"Sorry. I guess I was just interested, is all. I mean, you didn't think about giving up your seat to the old woman, did you?"

"That's right. I didn't consider giving it up. Is there something wrong with that?"

Some Class D students probably wanted to argue, but since it was Horikita and because it was over a year ago they probably thought it was pointless trying to argue. I guess that even if people have gripes and complaints if someone else has a higher position, they can't say and share their true thoughts.

Although sakayangi didn't see it that way.

"Wow. I thought a class leader would have more respect for the elderly," Sakayanagi taunted wearing her normal smug expression, wait, did it get even more smug?

"At the time I simply didn't want to give up my seat and this event happened over a year ago. I now know that what I did was rude," Horikita seemed to copy my strategy of taking the blame and moving on. Sakayangi seemingly lost interest and continued to watch the video.

"Suzune, you would certainly give your seat if it was me there, right?" Ruyeen now had his crossairs on Horikita.

"I'd rather stab myself with a compass," Horikita replied bluntly.

"Oh, no, not at all. I didn't intend to give up my seat, either. In fact, I firmly abide by the philosophy of letting sleeping dogs lie. I dislike trouble."

"You dislike trouble? Then I don't think you and I are anything alike. I didn't give up my seat because I thought it would be pointless. That's all."

"But doesn't that seem worse than just not liking trouble?"

It appears that I got a few laughs from my classmates out of that, even sakayanagi was giggling. Honestly, I just said what was on my mind at the time.

"Perhaps. I'm simply acting according to my own beliefs. That's different from someone who just dislikes trouble, like you. I don't want to spend any time around people like you."

"I feel the same way," I muttered.

I had only wanted to share my opinion, but I wasn't too keen on going back and forth with her like this. We both sighed and proceeded to walk in the same direction.

"I thought that you guys were good friends, but I guess this was just your first time meeting, so I shouldn't expect you to hit it off or anything," Yousuke pointed out.

"Well back then me and Horikita only really talked since we sat next to each other, but after a while we became friends," I responded for both of us. This seemed to take away all of the questions.

"Well, that was their first interaction what are your thoughts. Wait just hold them for a moment I have 1 more video to show you."

As someone who dislikes trouble, I decided I'd like to establish proper relationships. Unfamiliar with the notion, I'd spent the day before in preparation, running through different scenarios.

"Ayanokouji, are we gonna see your perspective for the year? that's gonna get kinda boring after a while," Ike exclaimed.

It makes sense why he thought that way, after all, I'm just horikitas first ally in their mind.

"Oh, I don't think Ayanokouji-Senpai's perspective will be boring at all," It seems a little pink-haired girl with a devilish smile had spoken up to deny Ikes claim.

"Um... who are you?" Ike nervously said.

"Ichika Amasawa," She responded with a smile similar to Sakayanagi's.

"Hey Ayanokouji, do you know who that girl is?" Sato asked.

"Yeah, I know her. She was Sudo's partner for the special exam, we had at the beginning of the year. She had a condition for joining which was that I had to cook for her," I explained.

"Woah. You can cook Kiyopon?" Haruka exclaimed with amazement.

"It's only the basics. I don't know how to do anything complicated," I told her the truth.

"You seem really modest Ayanokouji," Kanzaki pointed out. Well, this was annoying. When I tell people the truth they perceive my abilities higher than they are.

"Kanzaki, I really only know how to do the basics. To be honest, I only learned how to do those things through online videos," I told him.

It wasn't technically a lie. I had to cook some things before the exam and I used the internet for it, but this seemed to take away his questions.

For instance, should I burst into the classroom and actively start talking to people? Should I secretly pass around a slip of paper with my email address, so as to better befriend someone? Someone like me needed to practice, because this environment was so different from what I'd experienced thus far. I was completely isolated. I had ventured alone into a battlefield, and it was do or die.

Looking around the classroom, I walked toward the seat that bore my nameplate. It was at the back of the room, near the window. A good place to sit, generally.

As I looked around, I saw that the room was already halfway filled with students. The others were either immersed in their class materials or already talking with other people.

Perhaps they'd all been friends beforehand or had only recently gotten acquainted. Well then, what should I do? Take action during this free time and try to meet someone? In front of me, a rather rotund boy sat at his desk, hunching over. Perhaps it was my imagination, but he appeared lonely.

"Aren't you both in the same position though? It seems kind of hypocritical for you to judge them," Nagumo stated.

"I wasn't judging them I was just pointing it out," I responded.

"I agree with kohai here. Nagumo it seems like you just want to make him look bad," Kiryuin said. This seemed to shut Nagumo up.

The boy exuded an aura that seemed to shout, "Please, someone be my friend!" However, if you just went up to someone and started talking, you might be bothering them. Should you wait for the right time? But then you might wait too long and be left friendless. I just had to... No, no, wait, I couldn't be hasty. If I started a thoughtless conversation with someone I didn't know, I ran the risk of making a serious social gaffe.

"T- This isn't being socially inept, this is borderline inability to communicate," Katsuragi said.

"This is just sad," Thank you Ryuuen for your input.

"Ayanokouji, didn't you say that this was a completely different environment than what you're used to? What did you mean by that?" It seems Ichinose was the one who asked the question this time.

"I was homeschooled for most of my life and this was the first time I came to a normal school, so I didn't really know how to act like a normal high schooler," I got some sympathetic stares and all of the proceeding questions about why I'm so bad socially would be resolved.

Before I knew it, the rotund, bespectacled boy in front of me had started to talk with another classmate.

Wearing a bitter smile, I realized that there was no new friendship to be cultivated there. I'm happy for you, Glasses-Kun. It looks like you made your first friend.

"I got beaten to the punch!"

"God, I almost feel bad for you now," Apparently ryueen didn't care about my circumstances.

I was at my wit's end, stuck in useless navel-gazing. Reflexively, I let out a deep sigh. My high school experience seemed poised to be exceptionally dour. Then, someone sat down beside me.

"That's quite a heavy sigh, considering the school year has only begun. Meeting you again makes me want to sigh."

It was the girl who'd fought with me at the bus stop and then walked off. "So, we were placed in the same class, huh?" I mumbled.

Well, there were only four classes for all of the first-year students, after all. Statistically, it wasn't impossible for us to be together.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Ayanokouji Kiyotaka."

"You just went ahead and introduced yourself?" she said.

"Well, this is the second time that we've spoken. Isn't it fine for me to do so?"

I had wanted to introduce myself to someone anyway, so it wasn't as though I could just keep quiet. Besides, in order to become familiar with my class, I had to at least know my neighbour's name...even if she was this audacious girl.

"Do you mind if I refuse?" she asked.

"I don't think sitting next to someone for an entire year without knowing their name would be comfortable."

"I disagree."

"I agree with Ayanokouji here. I think it would be uncomfortable to sit next to someone without knowing their name for 3 years," said Mori.

"I agree with you, but I was fairly unsociable back then," Horikita replied quickly.

Shooting me a glance, she placed her bag on her desk. Apparently, she wasn't going to tell me her name. Lacking any interest in the classroom, the girl simply sat upright in her chair like a model student.

"Do you have a friend in another class? Or did you enroll here all on your lonesome?" I asked.

"You're a curious one, aren't you? You won't find talking to me very interesting, though."

"If I'm bothering you, you can just tell me to be quiet."

I wouldn't introduce myself if it made her angry. I thought that the conversation was over, but then the girl sighed. Apparently, she'd changed her mind. She turned her gaze on me and introduced herself.

"I'm Horikita Suzune."

For the first time, I got a good look at her face.

Wow. She was cute. Or rather, she was beautiful. Even though we were in the same grade, I'd have believed it if you told me she was a year or two older.

Such a calm, cool beauty.

Kei seemed to be pouting that I said that, but she didn't say anything about it.

"Hey, Kiyopon did I just hear what I think I heard?" Although Haruka was more than curious.

"Yes, you did. Also, I was just pointing it out, so don't get any weird ideas," this statement made her quiet.

I had also noticed that Sudo had a look of an agreement. If this was a year ago, he would probably said something, but he's mellowed out now and knows better than to say unnecessary things.

"Let me tell you about myself," I said. "I have no particular hobbies, but I'm interested in just about anything. I don't need many friends, but I think it would be nice to have at least a few. And, well, that's about it."

"Spoken just like someone who avoids trouble. I don't think I could ever like such a person," she said.

"Jeez, I feel like you trashed my entire existence in one second," I muttered.

"Wow. I knew she wasn't the most sociable person, but this is just plain mean," said Amikura from class B.

I got a few pity looks from the people around me.

"I pray this will be my only upset."

"I sympathize, but, unfortunately, I don't think your prayers will be answered." I pointed to the classroom entrance. Standing there was—

"This seems like a rather well-equipped classroom. It would appear to live up to people's expectations, hmm?"

Yes. The boy who'd quarrelled with those women on the bus.

"I see. This certainly is bad luck," she said.

"Oh my Horikita girl, how could it be bad luck if you were around me?" Koenji said.

he had also changed from looking at a mirror to filing his nails. I wonder what he would have next time.

"Everyone, can you please listen to me for a moment?"

Well, this is going to be great.

A student with the air of an upstanding young man quickly raised his hand. His hair wasn't dyed. He looked like an honours student. Based on his appearance, I got the impression he wasn't a delinquent.

"Starting today, we're all going to be classmates. Therefore, I think it'd be good for us to introduce ourselves and become friends as soon as possible. We still have some time until the entrance ceremony. What do you say?"

He'd just done something incredible. The majority of students were lost in thought, unable to speak up.

"I don't think it was that incredible, but thank you for the praise Ayanokouji," Yousuke said with his beaming smile.

"No. I think it was quite amazing that you could do that," Ichinose said with a similar smile.

These 2 people probably only interacted due to their high social standing, but they would probably get along well due to their similar mindset.

"Agreed! After all, we still don't know a thing about each other, not even our names," someone shouted.

After the ice had broken, the previously hesitant students began to speak.

"My name's Hirata Yousuke. Back in junior high, lots of people called me Yousuke. Feel free to use my first name! I guess my hobby is sports in general, but I especially like soccer. I'm planning on playing soccer here, too. Nice to meet you!"

Hirata had effortlessly introduced himself to the class. He seemed exceptionally brave. And he'd talked about his love for soccer, too! His level of popularity must've increased two, no, maybe four times. Why the girl seated next to Hirata had hearts in her eyes! If someone like Hirata became our class's linchpin, I wondered if he'd keep everyone honest and motivated until graduation.

Some girls were blushing due to my thoughts but none of them said anything.

"Thanks for the praise Ayanokouji," said Yosuke.

Someone like him would probably end up dating the cutest girl in class. That was how these things typically went.

"Weird that you said something like that, but you weren't exactly wrong," said Onodera.

"Hey Kiyotaka, doesn't that mean you thought I was the cutest girl in class?" Kei whispered in my ear.

"I guess it does," Kei was blushing, but she was doing her best to hide it to keep up appearances.

"Well then, I'd like everyone to introduce themselves, starting from the front. Is that okay?"

Although the girl at the head of the class looked a little bewildered, she quickly made up her mind and stood. Or rather, she'd been pressured, in response to Hirata's words.

I saw Yosuke look over at Inogashira with a look that said 'I'm sorry'.

"M-my name is...Inogashira Ko-Ko..."

The girl, last name Inogashira, seemed to freeze during her introduction. Was she drawing a blank, or had she not considered what she was going to say beforehand? As her words halted, she paled. It was rare to see someone get so incredibly nervous.

"Do your best!"

"Don't panic! It's okay!"

Kind words poured out of our classmates. But it seemed to have the opposite effect on the girl; the words stuck in the back of her throat. The silence continued for five seconds. Ten seconds. You could've cut the tension with a knife. Some of the girls started giggling. Inogashira was paralyzed with fear. She couldn't move a muscle. Another girl spoke up.

"It's okay to go slowly. Don't rush."

Although it might seem kind, saying, "Do your best!" and, "It's okay!" it actually conveys a completely different meaning. To someone who is extremely nervous, "Do your best!" and, "It's okay!" can actually seem forceful, as if indicating she needs to match her classmates. On the other hand, saying, "Just take things slowly. Don't rush," allows her to take things at her own pace.

"This is a contradiction," said katsuragi.

"What do you mean?" I responded.

"Well, you said that you didn't know how to act like a normal high schooler and yet, you also seem to be making insightful comments on social interactions," explained katsuragi.

"That's mainly because I've read a bunch of books on psychology. I was just trying to take the information from the books I read and apply them in real life," I explained.

"I see. I guess that makes sense," katsuragi said

After that, the girl calmed down and regained her composure. She took a few small breaths and tried again.

"My name is Inogashira...Kokoro. Um, my hobby is sewing. I'm pretty good at knitting. I-It's nice to meet you all."

She was able to finish without stopping. Looking alternately relieved, delighted, and embarrassed, Inogashira sat down. Other introductions followed hers.

"I'm Yamauchi Haruki. I competed in table tennis during elementary school, and in junior high I was the ace player on our baseball team. I was number four. I got hurt during the inter-high school championships, though, and I'm undergoing rehab now. Nice to meet you."

Ike was turning into a ball probably remembering that his introduction was next. The students of class D had cloudy faces remembering this interaction with the expelled Yamauchi.

I didn't think that the number of his baseball uniform was essential information...

Besides, I'd thought the inter-high championship was a national sports competition for high school students. Junior high school kids were supposed to be ineligible.

Was he trying to crack a joke? He seemed like a talkative guy who got carried away pretty easily.

"Well then, I'm next, aren't I?"

The cloudy faces turned into relief and happiness when they heard Kushida's voice.

The cheerful girl who stood up was the same one who'd told Inogashira to go slowly and calm down. She was also the same girl who'd helped out the elderly woman on the bus that morning.

"My name is Kushida Kikyou. None of my friends from junior high made it to this school, so I'm alone here. I'd like to get to know all of your names and faces right away and become friends as soon as possible!"

While most of the students had only said a few words of introduction, Kushida continued to talk.

"My first goal is to become friends with everyone. So, after we're finished with introductions, I'd love for you to share your contact information with me!"

She wasn't just saying that. I could tell right away that this girl was the type to open up her heart to anyone.

Her encouraging words to Inogashira hadn't been platitudes, but a genuine reflection of her feelings.

"Wow Kushida. You were so friendly even from the beginning of the year," said Ichinose with a warm smile.

"Hehe thanks, Ichinose. Also, thanks Ayanokouji for your nice words," Kushida responded with her usual cheerfulness, however, I wished she didn't say that as now I had several holes in my body due to the glares I was getting from the boys.

"So, after school or during vacations, I want to make all sorts of memories with lots of people. Please feel free to invite me to lots and lots of events! Anyway, I've talked for a long time, so I'll end my introduction here."

She said it as though she knew I'd been critiquing everyone's introductions. I felt strangely uncomfortable, and I wasn't sure why.

"Yeah Kiyopon, that was kinda weird," said Haruka.

"I don't really know why I did. I guess it was just a habit."

"You seem fairly perceptive here," Keisei praised me.

What should I say when my turn came? Should I make a joke? Should I go into it with really high energy in order to get some laughs? No, that wouldn't work. Going out of control would just ruin the atmosphere. Besides, that didn't really fit my personality anyway.

The introductions continued while I wrestled with my anxiety.

"A high energy anything from you would probably get a lot of laughs. I can't wait for that scene" said ryueen snickering.

"Ryueen, what scene are you talking about?" asked Hiyori.

"It doesn't matter, we'll see it eventually anyway," Ryuuen dismissed Hiyori.

"Well then, next up is..."

As Hirata looked encouragingly toward the next student, that student glared back. His hair was dyed a fiery red. He both looked and sounded like a delinquent.

"What, are we a bunch of little kids or something? I don't need to introduce myself. People who want to do that can go ahead. Just leave me out of it."

Sudo was following Ikes example and recoiled at the thought of his past self.

"S- Sorry Hirata for how I acted back then," apologised Sudo. He really didn't need to because Yosuke had probably already forgiven him.

The red-haired guy scowled at Hirata. He had quite a presence, his attitude intense and overpowering.

"I can't force you to introduce yourself, of course. However, I don't think that getting along with your classmates is a bad thing. If I've made you uncomfortable, I apologize."

When Hirata bowed his head, some of the girls glared at the guy with red hair.

"Isn't it fine to introduce yourself?" one of them snapped.

"Yeah, yeah!"

As I'd expected, the pretty-boy soccer star had captured most of the girls' hearts in the blink of an eye. However, half of the male students started to look angry, probably out of jealousy.

"Are you saying you were different?" Akito who was behind me whispered.

"I didn't say I wasn't part of that, but I wasn't wrong."

"I guess so," Akito responded before the video started playing.

"Shut it. I don't care. I didn't come here to make friends."

The guy with red hair got up from his seat. It seemed he had no intention of getting to know anyone. Several other students followed suit and left the classroom together. Horikita got up and briefly glanced my way. When she realized I wasn't moving, she started to walk out the door. Hirata looked a little lonely when he saw Horikita head out.

"They're not a bad bunch. It's my fault. I was being selfish and made people do this."

"No way. You didn't do anything wrong, Hirata-Kun. Let's just leave those guys be, okay?"

Although some people had rebelled at the idea of introductions, the students who remained were happy to continue. In the end, things wrapped up in a rather ordinary fashion.

Ikes condition was bad now; I was worried if he could come back from this.

"I'm Ike Kanji. I love girls, and I hate pretty boys. I'm currently in the market for a new girlfriend. It's nice to meet you! All the better if you're a cutie or a beauty!"

It was difficult to tell if he was joking or not. At the very least, the girls looked at him with revulsion.

"Unfortunately, he wasn't," said Shinohara.

"Wow. You are so cool, Ike-Kun," one girl said, in a completely emotionless voice. Of course, her statement was 1000 per cent false.

"Seriously? Seriously? Oh, man. I mean, I thought that I wasn't bad or anything, but...heh heh."

Apparently, Ike thought that she was being serious. He blushed. Instantly, the girls started to laugh.

"Oh, wow. He's cute, huh, everyone? He's looking for a girlfriend!"

Dude, they're making fun of you . Ike continued to jovially go along with the teasing. He didn't seem like a bad guy, though.

Ike let out a sound that was akin to a dog on its last legs.

"UGH, why did I say that?" Well at least he knows how dumb the thing he said was.

Next up was the combative boy from the bus, Kouenji. While inspecting his bangs in a hand mirror, he combed his hair.

"Excuse me, can you introduce yourself?" Hirata asked.

"Hmph. Fine."

He smirked like an aristocrat, displaying his impudent attitude. As he shifted in his seat, I thought he might leave, but Kouenji placed both of his legs on his desk and introduced himself.

"My name is Kouenji Rokusuke. As the sole male heir to the Kouenji conglomerate group, I will soon be tasked with carrying Japan into the future. I sincerely look forward to making your acquaintance, ladies."

He aimed his introduction solely at the opposite s.ε ﾒ , rather than the entire class. After hearing that he was rich, some of the girls looked at him with sparkling eyes, while others regarded Kouenji as if he were nothing more than a weirdo. That was only natural.

"Ayanokouji-boy isn't that rude of someone like you to say?" said koenji grinning.

He knew of my abilities, but I take it that he just wanted to get a reaction out of me because he felt like it. I ignored him and continued to let the video play.

"Starting today, I will mercilessly punish anyone who makes me uncomfortable. Please exercise proper precaution so that you may avoid that."

"Um, Kouenji-kun. What exactly do you mean when you say, 'anyone who makes me uncomfortable?" asked Hirata, who looked uneasy at the word "punish."

Koenji got a few more looks but unlike anger from before it was amusement that a class D student could say that so boldly

"I meant exactly what I said. If asked to give an example, well... I would say I hate ugly things, for instance. So, if I saw something ugly, I would do just as I said."

Fwish! He flipped his long, flowing bangs.

"What are you, a 2-bit writer or something? Why are you doing sound effects in your head?" Ryueen chuckled.

"I just like to describe stuff," I responded.

"Ah, thank you. I will be careful then."

There was the guy with red hair, Horikita, Kouenji, Yamauchi, and Ike. Apparently, this class was full of people with bizarre idiosyncrasies.

"What does that even mean?" said Sato curiously.

"He just means he thought we were weird," admitted horikita bluntly.

"What? Ayanokouji, it's not like you were any different," said Shinohara defensively.

"I don't recall ever saying I was excluded from this group of odd people," I retorted.

I, too, was especially peculiar, in that there was nothing peculiar about me. I had wanted to be free, free as a bird, but prior to this, I'd languished in a cage. I had wanted to fly into the expansive open skies. If you looked out the window, you could watch birds gracefully soaring... Well, not right now, but in general. Anyway, that's the kind of guy I was.

"A cage, was homeschooling that bad?" asked Airi.

"I was just being dramatic, it wasn't as bad as I was making it out to be."

"O-oh I see. Well, if you're ever having trouble you can talk to any of your friends," responded sakura timidly.

"Sure, if I ever need to do that I will," I responded.

Haruka started to tease sakura and she started blushing, kei was pouting but she stopped after a few seconds

"Well then, time for the next person. Can you please introduce yourself?"

"Huh?"

Oh, shoot. My turn had come while I'd been daydreaming. Students turned, waiting for my introduction. Hey, hey! Don't look at me with so much anticipation. Oh well, I might as well try my best.

Clack! The chair rattled as I stood.

"Um. Well, my name is Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. And, uh, I don't really have any special skills or anything. I'll do my best to get along with all of you. It's, uh, nice to meet you."

Well? Was that my introduction?

I'd failed!

Even after my sob story; the laughter at my inability to communicate rang through the room.

"Wow, that's pathetic," snickered Ryuuen.

"Honestly, it wasn't flashy, but it was all you really needed to do," Ichinose reassured.

"I agree with her. And it wasn't even that bad compared to others," said Sato and others seemed to agree with her.

"Thanks then," I said.

"Alright, then that's all it is for this video, now that the fun ones are out of the way something interesting can finally come up."

authors notes:

the chap is done and it is almost 2 times longer than the previous one. This was mainly for fun the next one will be for our '50% mc' and I also wanted to do some scenes that most people won't for future volumes so that's gonna be fun. Honestly, the first 2 volumes are extremely boring but it gives us an idea of ayanokouji and other characters so ill still does them. The next update might take a little longer since it's school test week.

Perfectly Average

"Now then, Have any of you ever thought of how the person sitting next to you seems?"

This video may concern Kushida, but if this voice was truly bored they would have a build-up of minor events and then have some larger earthshattering events take place. Simply put, Kushida's time hasn't come yet.

"I will now show you the truth about some of your classmates."

The smarter students had already realised that since all the videos had been about me and due to my somewhat impressive academic and physical showing this may reveal more of my abilities. But the less smart students, my classmates, had this news shatter them.

"What? Why are we seeing this unless it's something bad? This seems far too personal to pry into the lives of someone else like this," Kushida worriedly blurted out.

"Hey kushida, you're looking a little pale are you okay?" asked some of her friends.

"It seems like the faker is being exposed," Ryueen snickered.

Most students ignored his passing comments since they believed he was just trying to rile them up.

"So then, let's begin!"

The loudspeaker came alive with a soothing sound effect, and a robotic voice issued an announcement.

"Ayanokouji-Kun, from first-year Class D. Please come see Chabashira-sensei in the faculty office."

"Kiyotaka, I don't remember this. It wasn't anything bad right?" asked Akito

"Don't ask questions that will be answered, it's pointless," said Horikita.

Akito listened and let the video continue playing.

I was sure I hadn't done anything to get me called to the office. Exiting the classroom, I could feel my classmates' stares drilling a hole into the back of my head. Timid as a rabbit, I found the faculty office and entered. I looked all around, but I didn't find Chabashira-sensei anywhere. Baffled, I called out to a teacher inspecting her appearance in a mirror.

"OH. Ayanokouji, it's from that day," Hoshinomiya said like an excited child

"Excuse me, is Chabashira-sensei here?"

"Hmm? Sae-chan? Oh, she was just here a moment ago."

The teacher had wavy, shoulder-length hair, which made her look mature. The way she said Chabashira-sensei's name made them sound close. They were near in age and probably friends.

"She must have stepped away for a minute. Do you want to wait here?"

"No, thank you. I'll wait in the hall."

I didn't like being in the faculty office. I hated attention, so the hall would do just as well. However, the young teacher unexpectedly followed me.

"Ayanokouji, you hate attention? I don't love it either, but I guess coming from someone in your position it makes sense since you haven't interacted with many people," Matsushita surmised.

"Well, it's not like I hate it. I just don't prefer it and I like to keep to myself," I responded.

This is going to be frustrating. Matsushita already has an interest in me and it's only going to get worse from here on out. I need to be proactive if this video is showing up that means that her interest will skyrocket I have to explain it in a way that doesn't make me seem bad, but still have no one continue to question me.

"I'm Hoshinomiya Chie, in charge of Class B. Sae and I have been best friends since high school. That's why we call each other Sae-chan and Chie-chan."

That information seemed kind of superfluous.

"Hey, why did Sae-chan call you? Huh? Huh? Why?" she asked.

"No idea."

"I don't understand. You were called to the office without a reason? Hmm? What's your name?"

An onslaught of questions. She scanned me from top to bottom, as if sizing me up.

"Hoshinomiya, please refrain from being so informal and childish with students," explained Mashima.

"Sorry, Sorry, I will refrain from doing that. But hey, look at you commanding the room, you're so assertive here," Hoshinomiya retorted.

Mashima didn't retort and left that statement to wander the room.

"My name's Ayanokouji," I said.

"Ayanokouji-Kun, huh? Oh, wow, that's a cool name. You're pretty popular, aren't you?"

Giggles sang around the hall.

"I didn't even know who he was before this, how did a teacher even think that?"

"Wow, what a bad guess."

I heard various statements about my popularity, but I didn't really care about them.

What was with this overly friendly teacher? She acted more like a student. If this were an all-boy school, she would have immediately captured every student's heart.

"Hey, do you already have a girlfriend?" she asked.

"No... I'm, uh, not especially popular."

I tried to seem reluctant, but Hoshinomiya-sensei kept pushing herself onto me. She grabbed my arms with slender, delicate hands.

"Hmm? How unexpected. If we were in the same class, I'd never leave you alone. Perhaps because you're so innocent? Or do you like playing hard to get?"

Ryueen began borderline cackling and class B seemed to be depressed due to their teacher's actions. Mashima just sighed and probably realised that Hoshinomiya was just an agent of chaos.

She caressed my cheeks. I had no idea what to do. She'd probably stop if I licked her fingers, but I had a feeling that'd get me expelled.

"What amazing thoughts you have Ayanokouji. I wonder what other things you'll think of soon," Ryueen said with a smile on his face.

"Ayanokouji, I know your circumstances and all but I don't think you should be thinking those things," said Shinohara.

"Yes, I know that," I said.

"What are you doing, Hoshinomiya?"

Chabashira-sensei appeared out of nowhere. With a loud thud, she smacked Hoshinomiya-sensei on the head with her clipboard. Hoshinomiya-sensei crouched and gripped her skull in apparent pain.

"Ouch! What was that for?" she cried.

"Forgetting involved with one of my students."

"I was only keeping him company while he waited for you, Sai-chan."

"It would have been better if you just left him alone. Thanks for waiting, Ayanokouji. Let's go into the office."

"The guidance office?" I asked. "Did I do something wrong? I've been trying to keep a low profile here."

"A good answer. Come."

While I wondered what this was all about, I followed Chabashira-sensei. Hoshinomiya-sensei remained by my side, smiling widely. Chabashira-sensei noticed and turned her face much like a demon's.

Students started laughing at my thoughts and probably this interaction.

"You stay," she ordered.

"Come on, don't be so cold! It won't be the end of the world if I listen, right? Besides Sae-chan, you're definitely not the type to give one-on-one guidance. Pulling a new student like Ayanokouji-Kun into the guidance room out of nowhere... Are you after something, I wonder?"

Grinning, Hoshinomiya-sensei scooted behind me and placed her hands on my shoulders. I sensed a storm brewing.

"So, Sae-chan, are you looking to be dominated by a younger man?"

"Oh Ayanokouji, I see you're the dominating type. I wonder if we'll see an example of that anytime soon," Ryuuen couldn't even hide his joy anymore.

"Sensei, don't say such inane crude things," Ichinose berated her teacher.

"Yeah, this is just unprofessional," Kanzaki and several other class B students joined in on the berating.

"Kay, Kay, I''m sorry," Hoshinomiya apologised.

Dominated by a younger man? What did that mean?

"What, you don't know what that means?"

"I thought that was simple to get."

"Ayanokouji, did none of your time around me influence your thinking?" Ike exclaimed.

"I didn't know what it meant back then. My parents were fairly locke and key around those kinds of topics," I responded.

This seemed to make all of the other classes understand what was going on.

"Don't say such stupid things. That wouldn't be possible."

"Hee, you're certainly right. It wouldn't be possible for you, Sae-chan," Hoshinomiya-sensei muttered, her words laced with a double meaning.

"Why are you following us? This is a Class D matter."

"Huh? I can't go to the guidance room? That's not okay? Come on, I can give advice, too."

As Hoshinomiya-sensei continued to follow, a female student came up to us, a beautiful girl with light-pink hair. I'd never seen her before.

After realising what I had said, Ichinose became noticeably more reserved.

"Ayanokouji, thanks for the compliment," Ichinose said quietly.

Some of her classmates began to lean in and tease her about what I had said.

"Hey Kiyotaka, don't think about getting any funny ideas," kei whispered to me. I simply nodded and let the video play.

"Hoshinomiya-sensei, do you have a moment? The student council wishes to discuss something with you."

She glanced at me, but quickly returned her attention to Hoshinomiya-sensei.

"All right, you have someone who needs you. Get to it." Slap! Chabashira-sensei smacked Hoshinomiya-sensei on the butt with her clipboard.

"Aw! She'll get mad at me if I hang around any longer. See you later, Ayanokouji-kun! All right, Ichinose-san. Let's go to the faculty office."

With that, she turned on her heel and left with the beautiful Ichinose.

Chabashira-sensei lightly scratched her head while she watched Hoshinomiya-sensei leave. Soon after, we entered the guidance room, which stood beside the faculty office.

"So. Why did you call me here?" I asked.

"Well, about that... Before we begin, please come here."

She briefly glanced at a clock hanging on the wall, which gave the time as nine o'clock and opened the door. Inside was a small office kitchenette. She placed a kettle on top of a stove.

"I'm going to make tea. Is roasted green okay?" she asked.

I picked up the container with the tea powder.

"Don't make any unnecessary moves. Shut up and get in here. Understand? Don't make a sound and stay until I tell you it's okay to come out. If you don't do as I say, you'll be expelled," she said.

The cheerful atmosphere from a moment ago vanished and surprise was all that was left.

"What? You shouldn't use expulsion as a threat like that," said Mori.

Chabashira didn't respond. She probably knows that her image will worsen much more at a later date, so she thinks it's pointless to defend herself anymore.

"Sensei, that was pointless. Most students aren't able to refuse any teachers words anyways and making expulsion a threat isn't beneficial or useful," said Yosuke.

"Huh? What do you mean by—"

She closed the door to the kitchenette without explanation, leaving me in there. What in the world was she scheming? I did as I was told and waited. Soon after, I heard the outer door to the guidance room open.

"Ah, come in. So, what did you want to talk to me about, Horikita?" I heard Chabashira-sensei say.

Apparently, Horikita was in need of guidance.

"It seems cruel to breach into someone's life like this, and it's even worse you made Ayanokouji listen to this," said Ichinose.

Chabashira broke her vow of silence and responded to Ichinose, "She didn't ask for it to be alone. I had the choice to do whatever I wanted and I already knew what she was going to talk about, so I felt like it wasn't bad for Ayanokouji to listen in," seeing her point Ichinose backed down.

"I will be frank. Why was I sorted into Class D?"

"That's quite frank."

"Today, you told us that the school sorted superior students into Class A. You said that Class D was filled with the leftovers, the last bastion of delinquents."

"That's true. You must consider yourself to be a superior person."

I wondered how Horikita would respond. I'd bet she'd confidently object.

"I solved nearly every problem on the entrance examination. I made no substantial mistakes in the interview, either. At the very least, I shouldn't have been sorted into Class D."

Looks like I would have won that bet. Horikita was definitely the type to think of herself as superior. She wasn't excessively self-conscious, either. She'd tied for first place on the test, as shown in the morning's results.

"Ayanokouji, that's fairly mean. I didn't think the class leaders followers would hold so much resentment to their leader, after all, she won you the island exam, didn't she?" Sakayanagi said with a worried expression.

"It's maybe indeed rude, but then again you're ignoring the context and simply using present facts to make me look bad. Horikita wasn't the leader back then, so I wasn't being rude to a leader, I was simply being rude to a person I barely knew. I didn't think the class A leader should hold such hostility to someone for their past thoughts and actions. It's fairly illogical coming from you," I retorted.

I didn't see a point in trying to drag this out, so I blocked her claims from the beginning.

"I see. I didn't think you could make good arguments like that, I'm impressed," she said taking off her fake worried face and going back to her usual expression.

The other students were looking at me weirdly now that I was successfully able to hold off an argument against the class A leader. A few girls were looking at me intently and some class A students regarded me as an enemy. Ryuuen has a look of joy on his face. This was all planned by Sakayanagi, however. She purposefully put those holes in her argument for me to exploit. Sakayanagi would never be that illogical. The only reason why she would do that is because she wanted to gauge my reaction to the situation.

"You solved nearly all of the problems on the entrance examination, hmm? Normally I couldn't show the examination results to individual students, but I'll make an exception in this case. I just so happen to have your answer sheet here."

"You're incredibly prepared. It's...almost as if you knew I'd come here to protest."

"I'm an instructor. I understand the mind of a student, at least to some degree, Horikita Suzune. Just as you said, you did well on the entrance examination. You had the third-highest test score among the first-year students and were close to the highest- and second-highest-scoring students. You did exceedingly well. And you're right: We found no particular problems in your interview. On the contrary, we evaluated you quite highly."

Horikita's face was cloudy thinking on her past actions. Seeing this Yousuke tried to give her a compliment and Sudo followed suit trying to raise morale.

"Thank you very much. So then...why?"

"Before I answer, why are you dissatisfied with Class D?"

"Who could be happy with an incorrect evaluation? Furthermore, the class rankings greatly impact our future prospects. Of course, I'm dissatisfied."

"Incorrect evaluation? Perhaps your self-evaluation is far too high." Chabashira-sensei snickered, or rather, laughed outright. "I acknowledge that your academic ability is excellent. You're certainly very smart. However, who decided that smart people are categorically superior? We never said that."

"But...that's just common sense."

"Common sense? Didn't common sense create our current, flawed society? Before, Japan relied solely on test scores to separate the superior and inferior. As a result, the incompetents at the top tried desperately to kick down the truly superior students. In the end, we settled on a system of hereditary succession."

A system of hereditary succession meant that things like social standing, prestige, and employment were passed down to future generations. At those words, I groaned unintentionally. My chest hurt.

"Oh ,so you don't believe this system is good," Katsuragi inquired.

I shook my head and Ichinose chimed in, "I agree with him. Far too many people who aren't good in academics aren't able to pursue their real talents because of the focus placed on school and tests."

Many students seemed to agree with her statement and they let the video keep playing.

"You're a capable student. I don't deny that. However, this school's goal is to produce superior people. If you believe academics alone place you into a higher class, you are mistaken. That was the very first thing we explained to you. Besides, think rationally. Would we have admitted someone like Sudou if we decided superiority based solely on academic merit?"

"Tch..."

Despite the fact that this was one of the country's leading preparatory schools, this place allowed students to enrol for purposes other than academics.

"Furthermore, you may be too hasty in proclaiming that no one would be happy to be incorrectly evaluated. Take Class A, for instance. They are under incredible pressure from the school, and also the target of extreme envy from the lower classes. Competing every day with that kind of pressure bearing down upon you is far more difficult than you might imagine. There are some students who are happy to be incorrectly evaluated at a lower level."

"You're joking, right? I can't understand such a person."

"Is that so? I think that Class D boasts some of those people. Strange students who would happily be set at a low level."

"I couldn't imagine someone like that," Ike exclaimed.

"I could imagine someone," Thought Horikita.

It was almost as if she were talking to me.

"What?" ike yelled.

I examined the faces of my classmates, but they weren't angry but more intrigued by my thought process.

"Before anyone asks, I believed that Class A had a massive bullseye on them. Sensei even said that they had to deal with an immense amount of pressure, so I didn't think it was worth it."

"My, Ayanokouji so you're saying that your class isn't worth working for," said Ryuuen.

"I didn't say that, I just said starting in class A was hard since everyone was your enemy," I retorted.

Most classmates and students probably agreed with my statement and I'm sure Class A agreed with my assessment as well.

"You still haven't given me an explanation. Was I honestly sorted into Class D? Did anything go wrong with the grading? Please double-check," Horikita said.

"I'm sorry, but you weren't sorted by mistake. You are definitely in Class D. You are at that level."

"Is that so? Then I will ask the school again, at another time."

Apparently, she wasn't going to give up. Horikita had merely determined that her homeroom teacher was the wrong person to ask.

"You'll get the same answer from anyone in a higher position. Besides, there's no need to be disappointed. As I told you this morning, it's possible for one class to overtake another. You could conceivably reach Class A before you graduate."

"I can't imagine it will be easy, though. Forget overtaking Class A; how in the world could those immature Class D misfits gain more points? I can't see how it's possible." Horikita spoke the truth. The difference in points was overwhelming.

Most of class D looked saddened by their own leader's words but they realised that this was over a year ago so they felt a little relieved.

"I don't know. You alone get to decide how you head down that path. At any rate, Horikita, do you need to be in Class A for any special reason?"

"Well...I suppose that's enough for now. Excuse me. But know that I'm not yet convinced I was sorted correctly."

"Understood. I will keep that in mind."

A chair squeaked against the floor, signalling that the discussion was over.

"Oh, that reminds me. I've summoned another person to the guidance room. It's someone relevant to you."

"Relevant to me? No, you can't mean... bro—"

"Come on out, Ayanokouji," the teacher said.

This was a bad time to reveal myself. Maybe I just wouldn't go.

"If you don't come out, I'll have you expelled."

Jeez. A teacher shouldn't casually wield expulsion like a weapon.

Most students agreed.

"How long do you intend to keep me waiting?"

With a sigh, I entered the room. Naturally, Horikita appeared surprised and perplexed.

"Were you listening to our conversation?" she asked me.

"Listening? I know you guys were talking, but I didn't really hear anything. The walls are surprisingly thick."

"What a crappy lie. you didn't really think you would get away with that, did you?" Kanzaki exclaimed.

"It was just a last-minute attempt."

"That's not true. Voices carry pretty well into the kitchen." Apparently, Chabashira-sensei wanted to drag me into the action.

"Sensei, why would you do this?" Horikita noticed that this had all been planned and was clearly angry.

"Because I deemed it necessary. Now then, Ayanokouji, I'll explain why I called you here." Chabashira-sensei dismissed Horikita's concerns and shifted her attention to me.

"Well then, if you'll excuse me..." Horikita muttered.

"Wait, Horikita. It would be in your best interest to stay and listen. It may provide you with a hint on how to reach Class A."

Horikita stopped dead in her tracks and sat back down.

"Please keep it brief," she said.

"Incredible, I thought Sudo was your dog but I guess he just learned that from you, after all, dogs act with the things they see," said Ryueen laughing.

"OI, don't say stu-," Sudo tried to argue but was cut off by Horikita.

"Sudo, it's fine don't worry about it," Horikita responded.

Ryuuen kept antagonising, but Sudo ignored it as best he could. Ryueen got bored and let the video play.

Chabashira-sensei chuckled as she glanced over her clipboard. "You're an interesting student, Ayanokouji."

"Not at all. I'm certainly not as interesting as a teacher with a strange surname like Chabashira."

Shock and laughter filled the room at how I could be so bold to say that to a teacher.

"Kiyopon, do you make fun of everyone like that in your thoughts?" Haruka said while laughing.

"I don't think so."

"Would you speak like that to every Chabashira in the nation? Hmm?"

If you looked all over the country for another person with the surname of Chabashira, you probably wouldn't find one.

The laughter that was just quieting down was just amplified 10 fold.

"Wow, you really are mean in your head," said Kei whispering in my ear.

"I don't really think I'm that bad," I responded.

"I'm just messing with you, you're really nice in your own twisted way," Kei said.

"Well, when I read over the entrance exam's results, your scores piqued my interest. I was shocked."

On her clipboard, I saw a rather familiar answer sheet.

"Fifty points in Japanese. Fifty points in mathematics. Fifty points in English. Fifty points in social studies. Fifty points in science. You even scored Fifty points on the recent short test. Do you know what this means?"

Kei looked unfazed probably expecting this. She was similar to Sakayanagi and Ryuuen who weren't surprised, but unlike kei, they were intrigued at the reactions of my classmates.

"What? Ayanokouji aren't you supposed to be good at math, how did you get 50?" Hondo exclaimed in shock.

"That's not possible without manipulation. Kiyotaka I understand that you didn't want to stand out, but if the results weren't going to be released, why didn't you just try your best?" asked Keisei.

"Well, I probably could have gotten a hundred on everything, but I didn't see a point in doing so," I responded vaguely.

Most students were shocked by my somewhat arrogant statement and Horikita was looking at me; puzzled at my actions.

"In Japan, a country that's so obsessed with its academic success had I gotten a hundred on every test on the entrance exam the teachers would consider me an excellent student and push me to do better, so if I got bad results from the start, they wouldn't push me," I explained.

Students were contemplating my explanation and while most students accepted it, there were some that didn't see my point. None of them risked going against the majority, so they kept quiet.

A stunned Horikita looked over my test paper and then shifted her focus to me. "This is a rather frightening coincidence," she said.

"Oh? Do you believe that getting 50s all across the board was a coincidence? He did it intentionally."

"It's a coincidence. There's no evidence that it's not. Besides, what would I gain by manipulating my scores in the first place? If I were intelligent enough to achieve high marks, I would've tried to get perfect scores."

As I feigned innocence, Chabashira-sensei sighed in exasperation.

"You really do seem like an odious student. Listen. Only 3 percent of students solved the fifth math problem successfully. However, you solved it perfectly, and used a complex formula to do so. However, the tenth problem on the test had a completion rate of 76 percent. Did you make a mistake on it? Is that normal?"

"I don't know what normal is. It was a coincidence, I tell you. A coincidence."

"Ayanokouji, you may be homeschooled, but saying that you don't know what the average is is incomprehensible," said Kanzaki.

"I didn't know what the normal or average is because I was always competing with other people above the average. My parents always made me be the best in whatever it was so the other people I competed with were also above average leaving me without knowledge on what the normal was," I explained.

Some students looked at me sympathetically and kei held my hand when no one was paying attention. Horikita had a disappointed expression. Most likely she believed that she thought she was incredibly self-centred forcing me to help her.

"For crying out loud! I respect your frank attitude, but it'll cause problems for you in the future," the teacher said.

"I'll think about that when the time comes."

Chabashira-sensei shot Horikita a glance that seemed to say, What do you think?

"Why do you pretend not to know?" she asked.

"As I said, it was a coincidence. It's not like I'm hiding that I'm a genius or anything."

Sakayangi and Ryuuen started laughing, even Amasawa from the first years was giggling,

"I wonder. He may be even more intelligent than you, Horikita."

This was causing some looks towards me, but due to my explanation,e no one questioned the teacher's statement. The screen began to fade to black and the voice came back.

"How did you like that video? Personally, it's one of my favourites."

"Are you all questioning the people around you? If you are, good, I meant for that to happen."

"I have a great video next up and it's filled with action so I hope you have fun but for now let's take a break."

Authors notes: Testing week is over so I could finally do this chapter. Honestly while reading through v1 there were lots of lines dedicated to ayanokoujis past that I never picked up on before. I think you can expect what the next video will be about that'll be out in a few days as for now I'm gonna die due the shitty weather that I'm experiencing

Piano and calligraphy

"This video is from the beginning of the year near the midterms when Horikita was tutoring a gang of failures."

If I was correct in my assumption, then this was our first study session right before Sudo marched off.

"A, B, and C have 2150 yen collectively. A has 120 yen more than B does. After C gives B 2/5ths of his money, B now has 220 yen more than A. How much money did A originally have?"

A problem involving a system of equations. For a high school student, it should be a free point.

Most students agreed.

"Try using your brain. If you give up from the very beginning, you won't get anywhere."

"'Try using your brain', it never ceases to amaze me at how you can be so brainless Horikita," Sakayanagi mocked.

"What do you mean?" said Sudo in a louder than usual voice.

"It's simple. Horikita isn't a good tutor as she just believes that studying fixes every problem. She's not accounting for the fact that different people learn in different ways." Sakayanagi explained.

I had to agree with her. Someone who's naturally good at studying and academics could never understand what Sudo and other weak academic students feel. saying things like 'just use your brain' is the same as saying 'why can't you just do it?'

"Even if you say that... I don't even know how to study."

"Everyone else in the school passed."

The school doesn't decide on admissions solely based on scores. Sudou was probably accepted because of his high physical ability. If you think about it, wouldn't he get kicked out immediately because of his bad grades?

"That's a little weird, isn't it? Since the school would have to look pretty deep to find out everyone's abilities and what they're good at," pointed out Ichinose.

"I have to agree with you there. It may be just a guess, but the school's test and interview are might even be just a formality," said Horikita in dissatisfaction.

Some of the slower students looked taken aback that their efforts to get into the school didn't matter, but they didn't want to go be seen complaining so they kept their opinions to themselves.

"Ugh, I don't know either..." Ike was also puzzled as he scratched his head.

"Okitani-Kun, do you know how to do this question?"

"Um... ABC equals 2150 yen, and A equals B120..."

Okitani, who somehow avoided failing the last test, started writing down the equations. Kushida was looking over his shoulder.

"Un un, that's right, that's right. And then?"

Kushida is certainly bold. Even though she said she was worried about getting a failing mark, she was teaching Okitani.

"Of course Ayanokouji. Kikyo-chan is an angel who's puts others above herself!" Ike said with joy.

I almost feel bad for him considering what's right after this.

"Uh yeah. Thanks Kushida for helping me out there," said Okitani timidly.

"It was nothing, hehheh. Don't worry about it," Kushida said while scratching her cheek probably trying to look cute for the boys. And it worked since Okitani was embarrassed averting his eyes.

"Honestly speaking, this problem can be easily solved by first-year and second-year middle school students. If you fail here, you won't be able to do anything.

"Are we elementary school students then...?"

"As Horikita-san said, it's pretty bad if you can't solve these problems. The first few math problems on the test were about this hard, but even I didn't know how to do the last problem."

"I can teach you how to do systems of equations if you want."

Horikita picked up her pen without hesitating. It's pitiful, but the only ones who understood how to do the problem were Kushida and Okitani.

"Fairly condescending, aren't we Ayanokouji?" Ryuuen chuckled,

"Oh no, I admit it. It was fairly condescending, but I wasn't wrong. Those 3 weren't even trying to understand and gave up from the very beginning," I retorted.

"I see. I humbly apologise then, Ayanokouji," Ryuuen said, wiping fake tears from his eyes.

"In the first place, what even is this 'system of equations' thing...?"

"... Are you serious?"

Wow, these guys really live without studying at all. Sudou threw his mechanical pencil at his desk.

More and more people were looking at those three wondering how they could even survive in such a place. All with the exception of Yamauchi who couldn't survive.

"No, stop. This isn't going to work."

Before even starting, Sudou already gave up. Looking at his pitiful state, Horikita was fuming.

"E-everyone, wait. Let's try our best. If you learn how to solve these problems, you can apply your knowledge to the questions on the test. Ok?"

"... Well, if Kushida-chan says so, we'll try our best, but... If Kushida-chan taught it to us, I would probably work even harder."

"U-um..."

Horikita stayed silent when Kushida was about to ask her. It was troubling that she didn't say anything. However, if she stayed silent, the others might give up on studying. Kushida made up her mind and picked up the mechanical pencil.

"This is, as Horikita-san said, a problem that uses systems of equations. I'll write down what I said as expressions."

As she said that, she wrote down the three equations. It looks like they're trying their best, but even if she wrote down the equations and showed it to them, they probably don't understand. Rather than a study group, this is more like detention. They don't get her explanation.

"So, the answer is 710 yen. Do you get it?" Feeling satisfied, Kushida smiled and looked at Sudou.

"... Uh, then can you answer this question? Why?"

"Uu..."

She finally realized. They didn't follow her explanation.

"I'm not trying to deny you, but you guys are way too stupid and incompetent."

"For once in my life, I agree with you," Sakayanagi said while giggling.

Horikita didn't respond to the provocation and rather turned to Sudo and Ike.

"I don't believe I was exactly wrong, but I was way too harsh on you guys. And I wasn't giving it my best effort either trying to teach you. So for that, I'm sorry," Horikita apologised while bowing her head.

She probably meant it. Even if she wasn't completely wrong she probably realised that it was just idiotic to teach someone like that.

"N-No Suzune, it's alright. We weren't really the best students either,' said Sudo and Ike was nodding as well.

The silent Horikita spoke up.

"I'm scared for the future if you can't solve this problem."

"So what. This has nothing to do with you."

Feeling irritated at Horikita's words, Sudou hit the desk.

A few students jumped from the loud sound.

"It has nothing to do with me. No matter how much you suffer, it doesn't affect me. It's just that I feel pity for you. I guess I've been running away from painful things all my life."

"Say what you want to say clearly. Studying's useless in the

future anyway."

"Studying is useless in the future? An interesting argument. What makes you say that?"

"Even if I don't know how to solve this kind of problem, I won't have any trouble. Studying is unnecessary. Rather than sticking to a textbook, aiming to become a basketball pro is much more useful for the future."

"That's wrong. If you learn how to solve that problem, your whole life will be changed. In other words, if you study, you'll have less trouble. It's the same thing for basketball. I wonder if you've been playing basketball to your own convenient rules. Do you run away from difficult things just like you do while studying? From the looks of it, it doesn't seem like you practice seriously. That's the kind of personality you have. If I was the advisor of the club, I wouldn't let you be a regular."

The class knew how bad horikita was in the beginning but not even they knew that this was the extent of how cruel she was. Now, she wasn't exactly wrong with this explanation, but even if she was honest it doesn't really matter if it's hidden under a guise of insults and cruelty.

"Horikita, that's just mean. It's not honesty when it lacks empathy," complained Ichinose.

"I agree with Ichinose. Horikita, that's just cruel and it doesn't even help since they would probably just leave. Most people would leave so they couldn't hear you spout your insults," said Kanzaki and most of class B and D agreed with him.

"You're completely right. It was foolish and cruel and I see that I was wrong," Horikita stated.

"Yeah. Guys, how about we just cut Horikita some slack. She obviously realises what she did wrong so there's no point ridiculing her for it," Yosuke stated trying to help lighten the mood.

The class understood what happened and they kept quiet even if they had to keep their complaints locked away in their chest.

"Tsu!"

Sudou stood up and grabbed Horikita by her collar.

"Sudou-Kun!"

Even faster than I could react, Kushida stood up and grabbed Sudou's arm.

Sudo was looking down at his past actions, probably regretting them. From an objective and logical standpoint, both sides are in the wrong. Horikita shouldn't have escalated the situation by being antagonistic towards Sudo, and Sudo should have tried more.

Most students at least flinched and Ryuuen was laughing.

"Oh Suzune, it seems that the dog was fairly rebellious in his early years," provoked Ryuuen.

"OI why don't ya just shaddup," said Sudo with a more fierce tone in his voice, it seems he learnt that ryueen was just provoking him, but it was still in his nature to be defensive over anyone insulting him

"Sudo, that's enough. You know what he's trying to do, right?" Horikita said calmly.

Sudo looked at Horikita, nodded and let the video play.

Horikita raised her eyebrows and stayed calm.

"I have no interest in you, but I can understand what kind of person you are. You want to become a basketball pro? Do you think that kind of childish wish can simply become true in this society? A half-hearted person like you who gives up easily can never become a pro. Furthermore, even if you become a pro, I don't think you'd be able to get a sufficient annual income. You're a fool for setting your sights on such a idealized job."

"You...!"

It's clear that Sudou is on the brink of losing his control. If he raised his fist, I'll also have to jump out and hold him back.

"My Ayanokouji-boy, you seem to be quite confident in your abilities," Koenji said holding a, wait, is that a bottle of hair gel? Honestly, at this point I'm not surprised.

"I could hold him back even if he was angry, but I may have gotten hurt in the process," I responded vaguely.

Koenji lost interest and went back to applying his gel. Sudo was looking at me with a surprised expression.

"That guy is seriously underestimating himself. He was able to take on that Hosen dude, I'm lucky that I didn't take things too far," Sudo thought.

"Kiyotaka, are you good at fighting?" asked Akito.

"I would say I'm above average. I learned some from a few personal trainers," I explained.

He understood and nodded. Akito I've found is the type of person to keep to himself and only do what he needs to. In other words, he's one of my people.

"Can you just give up on studying, no, school? And then you can give up on your dreams to become a basketball pro and live a pitiful life working a part-time job."

"Ha... that's just fine. I'm giving up. It's not because it's too difficult for me. I took a day off from my club activities, but it was a complete waste of time. Bye!"

"You're saying some strange things. Studying is difficult."

Horikita shot him a final blow. If Kushida weren't there, Sudou probably would've hit Horikita. Not hiding his irritation, he stuffed his textbook into his bag.

"Hey, is this ok?"

"Doesn't matter. For someone who's indifferent... it's pointless to care about someone like that. Even though expulsion is at stake. He doesn't have an ounce of determination to stay in school."

"I thought it was strange for someone like you who has no friends to invite people to a study group. At best, you brought us over here to call us stupid. If you weren't a girl, I'd hit you."

"You just don't have the courage to hit me, right? Don't use my gender as a reason."

The study group started moments ago, but it was already crumbling.

"God, that was so pathetic. Watching Ayanokouji's introduction was less painful than watching that." Ryuuen snickered.

"I have to agree. Horikita certainly is pathetic," joined Sakayanagi.

"Honestly, you two are idiots if you are just judging people by their past actions," retaliated Horikita.

"I also quit. Even though a small part of it is because I can't study... most of it's because I'm irritated. Horikita-san may be smart, but that doesn't mean you're above us."

Losing his patience, Ike also gave up.

"Wow, Horikita. Your own follower even has better self-awareness than you do. Maybe let him be the leader," Sakayanagi giggled.

"I don't care whether or not you drop out of school, so do as you like."

"Well, I'll pull an all-nighter for that."

"Interesting. Aren't you here because you can't study?"

"Tsu..."

Even for the usually upbeat Ike, Horikita's thorny words made him stiffen. And then Yamauchi also started packing up. Finally, the worried Okitani also stood up, unable to go against the flow.

"E-everyone... Is this really ok?"

"Let's go, Okitani."

Ike left the library with the hesitant Okitani. The only ones remaining were me and Kushida. Even Kushida would probably leave soon.

"... Horikita-san, why didn't you stop anyone from leaving...?"

"I was mistaken. Even if I got these guys to barely pass, this situation would repeat. And then they'd give up again. I finally realized that this was a waste of time and effort.

"What do you mean by that...?"

"I'm saying that it's good to throw away all unnecessary trash now."

If the students with low grades weren't here, then there would be no labour needed to teach them, and the average would also increase. She came to that conclusion.

"So that was it... H-hey, Ayanokouji-Kun. Do you also think the same way?"

"If Horikita concluded that, then isn't it fine?"

"A-ayanokouji-kun, do you think that?'

"Well, I don't want them to quit, but since I'm not the one teaching them, I can't do anything about it. In the end, I have a similar opinion to Horikita."

"Ayanokouji, that's cruel. Even if you didn't want to stand out you could have helped them," Shinohara said angrily.

"Yeah. You're probably right," She seemed satisfied that she got through to me.

"That would be the normal way to think," I responded.

Shinohara looked taken aback at my statement.

"How about we wait until after the midterms are over before judging me?" I said a little louder so other classes could hear.

"... I see."

With a dark expression, Kushida got her bag and stood up.

"I'm going to do something about this. I don't want everyone to separate so quickly."

"Kushida-san. Are those your true intentions?"

"... Is that bad? I can't just abandon Sudou-Kun, Ike-Kun, and Yamauchi-Kun."

"It doesn't matter whether or not you say those are your true intentions. I don't think that you truly want to help them."

"What are you talking about? I don't know what you mean. Why do you make enemies with your cold words without hesitation? That's... That's sad."

Kushida hung her head.

"... See you two tomorrow."

After those short words, Kushida also left. In a flash, we were back to the two of us. The library was completely silent.

"That was troubling. With that, the study group is over."

"Looks that way."

The library's silence felt ominous.

"Only you understood me. I guess you're a bit better than those worthless fools. If you need me to teach you something right now, I can do it."

"I'll decline."

"Are you returning home?"

"Sudou and the others are heading there. I'll go chat with them."

"There's no worth in talking to people who will drop out soon like them."

"I'm just simply trying to talk to my friends."

"How selfish. Call them friends while you sit back and watch them get kicked out. From my point of view, that looks like the cruelest thing you can do."

Well, I can't deny that. She didn't say anything wrong.

In the end, studying is all about how well someone can motivate themselves.

Most people would probably agree with me.

"I'm not going to say you're wrong. I also understand why you'd call someone who doesn't like to study like Sudou stupid. But Horikita, isn't it also important to imagine Sudou's circumstances? If he was only aiming to become a basketball pro, then there's not much for him at this school. Don't you want to see why he chose this school?"

"... Not interested."

Brushing away my words, Horikita continued to look down at her textbook.

"Fufu how cruel," sakayangi said giggling

The scene faded to black and the voice came back

"Well, how did you like that. was it fun?"

I doubt anyone except ryueen thought that

"I have a video that takes place a little later in time and it's very interesting,"

"Oh Ayanokouji, I wonder if it's in your perspective again," Nagumo chuckled.

"Who knows?"

I couldn't get to sleep, so I got up and left. I bought some juice from the lobby's vending machine and headed back for the elevator.

"Looks like I was right. Ayanokouji, you seem to be in some very interesting situations," Nagumo kept trying to probe me.

"It's just luck, really. If someone else wants to be in my place then they're more than welcome to," I said.

"Hmm?"

I could see that the elevator had stopped on the seventh floor. Curious, I decided to check out the CCTV, which showed what was happening inside the elevator car. I saw Horikita, still dressed in her school uniform.

"Why are you in your school uniform?" asked Matsushita.

"I had to meet someone," said Horikita.

Most of the people could assume that it was probably something important or something personal so they kept their questions to themselves. Everyone except Ryueen that is

"Suzune, have you gotten a boyfriend? I feel bad for them considering they have to deal with a sorry excuse for a person like you," Ryuuen provoked.

"It wasn't that. I was meeting my brother, that was it," Horikita said while sighing.

"Well, I don't really need to hide, but..."

Seeing her might be awkward right now, so I hid behind the vending machine. Horikita arrived on the first floor.

"Quite adept are following people, aren't we Ayanokouji?" said Nagumo.

"It's really just hiding behind a vending machine. Not that impressive," I replied bluntly.

Nagumo looked a little surprised by my response and Manabu had a little smile.

Looking wary of her surroundings, she exited the building. After she'd vanished into the night, I decided to follow after her. However, I instinctively hid again after I turned the corner.

Horikita stopped in her tracks. I sensed another person was with her.

"Suzune. I didn't think you'd follow me this far," he said.

Had she left in the dead of night to rendezvous with some guy?

"Hmph. I'm far different from the useless girl you once knew, niisan. I came here to catch you."

"See? that was it," Horikita stated.

"Isn't your brother the student council president?" Ike asked

"Yes, he is," Horikita replied proudly.

"Catch me, hmm?"

Niisan? In the dark, I couldn't see the person she was talking to. Was she meeting her older brother?

"I heard you were placed in Class D. I suppose nothing has really changed in the last three years. You've always been fixated on following me, and as a result, you don't notice your own flaws. Choosing to come to this school was a mistake."

"Wow, quite harsh."

"I know he's her older brother but that's pretty mean."

Were the thoughts of several students in the hall.

"Senpai, it seems you don't really like your little sister," Nagumo said with a crooked smile.

"Don't put words into my mouth. I was just disappointed that she was chasing after me after 3 years so I spoke harshly," retorted Manabu.

"I guess that's fair. She may have stopped chasing after you, but that doesn't really change anything considering she's still at the bottom and is much weaker compared to everyone else," Nagumo said with venom in his voice.

His goal was probably just to make Manabu say the wrong thing so he could antagonise him and probably make himself seem better in the process. Unfortunately, that wouldn't work considering their relationship is fine now.

"True. She still may be at the bottom, but comparing the Suzune from then and now shows that she had potential. I believe she still has much more that can be achieved," Horikita stated.

Nagumo, no, everyone couldn't reply because, what right did they have to budge into a seemingly fixed relationship?

"That's... You're wrong about that. I'll show you. I'll reach Class A right away, then—"

"It's pointless. You will never reach Class A. In fact, your class will fall apart soon enough. Things at this school aren't as simple as you think."

"I will definitely, definitely reach—"

"I told you, it's pointless. You really are a disobedient little sister."

Horikita's brother stepped closer to her. From my hiding spot, I could see him plainly.

It was Student Council President Horikita. He displayed no hint of emotion. It was like he was staring at an uninteresting object. He grabbed his younger sister by the wrist—she offered no resistance—and pushed her against the wall.

"Senpai, that's a little too much," said Ichinose.

"Yeah. Even if you're siblings that don't give you the right to do whatever you want," said Amikura.

Manabu got a lot more hate and criticisms from everyone in class B and even some other classes, but he didn't falter once and just stared at the screen.

"All of you, quiet down," Mashima yelled.

This shut everyone up letting the video play.

"No matter how I try to avoid you, the fact remains that you're my little sister. If people around here learned the truth, I would be humiliated. Leave this school immediately."

"I-I can't do that... I will definitely reach Class A. I'll show you!"

"Yeah Suzune, we'll help you," cried out Sudo.

"Yeah Horikita, you can count on us we'll help you reach class A," Yosuke soon followed suit.

While this cheery little atmosphere was in the class, Ryuuen put a stop to all of that, "Shut up, we already have one happy, friendship class. We don't need another," he said boldly.

Class B and D were glaring at him but stopped when it was clear they they weren't affecting him.

"How incredibly stupid. Do you want to relive the pain of the past?"

"Niisan, I..."

"You possess neither the abilities nor the qualities needed to reach Class A. Get that through your head."

"Quite a fair assessment, Senpai," stated Sakayanagi.

He moved forward as if about to act. The situation looked fraught with danger. Resigned to facing Horikita's anger, I leapt out from my hiding space and went after her brother.

Before he knew I was there, I grabbed his right arm, which he was using to pin his sister.

"WOAH!"

"That was fast!"

"How did he do that so quickly?" These were most of the thoughts and sounds that rang around the room.

"I wonder what you're gonna do. Are you gonna toy with him? play dumb? Or give it your all? You really are an enigma," hought Ryuuen while his eyes were glued to the screen.

"Ah, So this is when they met. I wonder how good he is in a fight," thought Nagumo.

"He took on 4 people so even if this SCP guy is good, Kiyotaka is better," Kei thought.

"I really do look splendid today. Well I guess that makes sense for a perfect existence like me," Koenji thought.

"Kiyopon, you're like a different person. When did you get so daring?" Haruka questioned.

"I just did it without thinking. No big deal," I said.

"No, really Kiyotaka. I couldn't do something like that," Airi jumped in.

"What? You..." He stared at his arm and slowly turned to me with a sharp gleam in his eye.

"A-Ayanokouji-kun?!" Horikita cried.

"You were about to throw your sister to the ground, weren't you? You do realize the floor here is concrete, right? You might be siblings, but you should know the difference between right and wrong."

"Ayanokouji, what right do you have to jump into a sibling feud? What right do you have to judge what is right and wrong for other people?" Said Nagumo trying to provoke me.

"I think kohai is right here, after all, when did this turn into a debate of what's right and wrong? Kohai just happened to stop someone he knew getting hurt. I'd say that's morally right for most people," retorted kiryuiin.

"Nagumo-senpai, stop trying to antagonize me," I said.

He looked a little taken aback and the rest of the hall was silent.

"You're trying to antagonise me by saying that I'm budging into a sibling relationship, yet you did the exact same thing a few minutes ago. Your words are just an attempt to make me look bad," I said.

No one said a wor. No one could say a word because I had just directly insulted the student council president. He had already started to look into me, so there was no point in trying to drag this out any further. Nagumo stared at me as someone would stare at a stray dog or a spider.

"Eavesdropping is not an admirable quality," he said.

"Fine. Then let go."

"That's my line."

We glared at each other in complete silence.

The silence from a few seconds ago couldn't even be compared to this. That silence was quiet enough to hear a pin drop, whereas this was silent enough to suffocate in. Almost as if the world had been muted and only suspense remained.

"Stop it, Ayanokouji-kun," said Horikita, her voice strained. I'd never heard her voice like that before.

The world was then unmuted and mumbles came throughout the hall. Many people were staring at Horikita and her vulnerable self.

Reluctantly, I released her brother. Instantly, he tried to backhand me in the face. I instinctively took a step back to avoid it. For such a lightly built guy, he was a nasty attacker. He then aimed a sharp kick at my unguarded spot.

"Watch it!"

He had enough power to knock me out with one blow. Looking slightly confused, he exhaled deeply, extended his right arm, and opened his hand.

If I grabbed his hand, he'd probably throw me to the ground. Instead, I slapped his hand away.

The silence was completely removed and the childish excitement you would expect to see from someone watching an action movie came into the room.

"Kiyotaka, you were able to analyse someone's attack that fast. Are you a supercomputer or something?" asked Akito jokingly.

"I just dodged it wasn't that great. If I actually tried to fight back, I would get hurt."

"Wow. That's impressive Ayanokouji, even if you were just dodging he seems experienced," said Katsuragi.

"King. Although you're probably good ,couldn't it also just be that horikita senpai is inexperienced?," said Hashimoto questioningly.

(a/n snek Kun has made his appearance)

"To answer your question, Nii is experienced in aikido and karate so his dodges were impressive," said Horikita.

Every student knew that I was able to do martial arts, so they weren't all that surprised anymore.

"Good reflexes. I didn't imagine you could evade all of my blows so quickly. Also, you seemed to understand quite well what I was trying to do. Have you been taught?"

After the attacks stopped, the questions began.

"Yes, I was taught piano and calligraphy. Also, when I was in elementary school, I won a national music competition," I said.

"HA! You have a career in comedy senpai, how did you expect to get away with that?" Ichika cackled.

"I wasn't technically lying considering he asked if I was taught anything ever. I just told him 2 things I was taught."

"Kiyopon, you can play the piano?" Haruka asked excitedly.

"Yeah, I can. I guess it's one of the things I'm really good at."

"Well, from now on you have to play us a song every day!"

"I'll make sure to do that."

"You're in Class D, too, aren't you? What a unique boy, Suzune."

After he let go of his younger sister, he turned to face me.

"No. Unlike Horikita, I'm pretty incompetent."

"Suzune, is this boy your friend? I'm honestly surprised."

"He's...not my friend. Just my classmate."

Horikita faced her brother fully as if denying him.

"You continue to confuse independence with solitude. And you, Ayanokouji. With you around, things might get interesting."

"I was right. This was when he started to get interested with Ayanokouji," Nagumo thought.

"What a crappy fight; he just dodged. I guess he's still keeping up his goody-two-shoes act, but it's getting pretty annoying," thought Ryuuen.

"That monster was so pathetic in that fight. He had to be holding back. If he wasn't, he might just die when I get to him," Hosen thought.

He walked past me and disappeared into the night. So, that was the distinguished student council president. His presence explained some of Horikita's weird behavior.

"I'm going to drag myself up to Class A even if it kills me," she said.

With that, the scene faded to black.

"Exciting wasn't it? I got goosebumps just watching it."

Most people were nodding.

"The next video will be a little calmer so get a little relaxed."

Authors notes:

That's the piano and calligraphy episode done. ngl I'm getting pretty impatient since I really want to get to the trial but there will probably only be 2 more chapters for vol 1 after this so that's gonna be nice. ty for reading I'll see you later

What it means to be human

I've been trying to theorise what the next video is going to be shown. I'd guessed it would be in chronological order, but that's not the case because Kushida's nature hasn't been revealed yet. It isn't in order of importance either, as the video before my fight with Manabu would have been shown much later. There wasn't a logical way to predict what the next video would be so I can't protect myself to any questions that people have about me beforehand.

"It's a new day and a time for a new video. Wake up people/"

The voice came back having an unusually cheerful voice. He seemed to be excited.

"The next 2 videos are some of my favourites. I won't spoil anything but just so you know it will be exciting. The second one will, the first one is much more entertaining to laugh at."

I don't really see how we were going to laugh at any of these videos unless it's me being socially inept. Is this voice a sadist?

With her brother gone, the night was silent once more. Horikita sat up against the wall, her head hanging low. Maybe I'd made things worse by getting involved. I was about to return to the dorms when Horikita called out to me.

"Did you hear everything? Or was it just a coincidence?"

"Oh. Uh, it was half coincidence, I'd say. I saw you when I bought some juice from the vending machine. I was kind of curious, so I followed you. However, I really didn't mean to meddle in your business."

Horikita fell silent once again.

"Your older brother is really strong. He doesn't lack ferocity."

"He's ranked fifth dan in karate and fourth dan in aikido."

"Shit that's amazing," said Sudo looking at Manabu with a look of awe.

"Is that good?" Wang asked.

(A/N what does ayanokouji call her? Does he call her wang or by her nickname 'mii-chan'?)

"Well, he's highly ranked in 2 different martial arts. Kiyotaka had some impressive dodges," said Yosuke with a smile. due to this, Wang shrunk in her seat and got fidgety.

"Hey, Hirata, why do you call Ayanokouji by his first name? Is he your friend or something?" asked Shinohara.

"Yes. He's one of my friends," said Yosuke with a smile that could rival Kushidas.

Whew, he was really strong. If I hadn't pulled away, it would've ended badly for me.

"Oh God, just shut up. Be like what you were on the rooftop. You were so much more interesting. If he hit you with as much power as he could, I doubt it wouldn't even faze you," Ryuuen thought with a sour face.

"Now, I'm sure that horikita-senpai is strong, but Ayanokouji is on a level most people can't reach. I doubt it would hurt him that much let alone make him lose the fight," Analysed Sakayanagi.

"Phew, I'm glad he didn't get hurt. Horikita-senpai seems strong," though t Ichinose.

"You also practice martial arts, don't you, Ayanokouji-Kun? You must hold a dan rank."

"I told you, didn't I? Just piano and tea ceremony."

"You said calligraphy before."

"I...did calligraphy in addition to those, yes."

"Hey kohai, since you have such a high opinion of yourself. Can I ask why you were lying to someone like Horikita? I expected you to be a little more humble," Nagumo tried to get information out of me again.

He seems to have learned his lesson and made it so if I insulted him again I would be the one in the wrong.

"Horikita and I had not been very close then, so I didn't feel the need to tell her about my abilities," I responded in a way that was closed for questions but still vague.

"You purposefully get lower test scores, and you say that you studied piano and calligraphy. I really don't understand you."

"My scores were a coincidence. I really did do piano, tea ceremony, and calligraphy. If there were a piano here, I could at least have performed "Für Elise."

"You saw a strange side of me."

"On the contrary, I always thought of you like a normal girl. Well, not really."

Laughs rang around the halls again, why are people laughing at my thoughts It's really just the truth? I saw Horikita sighing and a few classmates nodding their heads at my statement.

Horikita glared at me.

"Let's go back. If anyone saw us out here, they'd probably get ideas."

She was certainly right about that. Rumours about a boy and a girl hanging out alone in the dark would be bound to circulate. Not to mention the fact that our relationship seemed to be intensifying.

"Yeah, this is the type of stuff that makes us think you guys were dating," said Onodera.

"That's just a coincidence. These videos are more than proof," said Horikita

"Ayanokouji, there are some very interesting coincidences around you," Ryuuen said while smirking.

"You don't seem to really care about any of this," claimed Kanzaki.

'Why should I care? This shit doesn't matter. It's just entertainment."

"Being able to hold back one's abilities to this extent is dangerous."

"Well, they're all just defects, aren't they? Ayanokouji is just the same as they are," he said with a sly grin.

"I see you don't really care about the class battle. Looks like you weren't someone worth being wary of."

"Oh Kanzaki, you were worried about me?" he said with a smirk.

Kanzaki clicked his tongue and let the video play.

Horikita got up slowly and walked toward the dorm.

"Hey. Were you really okay with how the study group went?" I asked.

If I didn't broach the subject now, I'd likely never get the chance again.

"Why are you asking me? I was the one who proposed holding the study group in the first place. Besides, I got the feeling that you considered it a hassle. Am I wrong?"

"It just left a bad taste in my mouth. Look, I think things are going to get worse with the others."

"I don't care. I'm used to it. Besides, Hirata-Kun picked up most of the failing students. He knows how to study, he seems to get along with others, and, unlike me, he'll be a good tutor. At the very least, they should all pass. It was pointless to try teaching the failing students myself. We would go through this same scenario for every test until graduation. It would be pointless to try making up for their failure every single time."

Class D physically recoiled at this comment, but they've gotten used to Horikitas statements and know better than to attack the classes unity due to their own grievances.

"Sudou and the others don't much like Hirata. I doubt they'll participate in his study group."

Well, Sudo and Ike, have fun.

"What? you don't like Hirata," Said Shinohara with a bewildered expression.

"N-N-NO, it's not like that at all. Ayanokouji's just lying. Yeah he's lying!" said Ike almost as if he was trying to convince himself.

It was a bad play. If he just said that they didn't like him back then but changed their opinion later on, they would be forgiven just as Horikita was. But taking the stance of blaming me who was put in a station as someone with high abilities, they ultimately sealed their own grave.

"Kanji, don't lie. Hirata, we didn't like you back then due to some immature reasons. We've changed our opinions now and we apologise," Sudo said through the noise of Ike's attempts to appeal to the class.

"Don't worry about it. As long as there's no problem now we're good," said Yosuke with a smile.

"That's their decision, which has nothing to do with me. Besides, if they're facing expulsion, they shouldn't grumble about trivial nonsense. If they don't get closer to Hirata-Kun, then they'll be expelled. Of course, my goal is to have Class D reach Class A status. However, that's for my own sake and no one else's. I don't care about anyone else. Really, if we dump the failures on this next midterm, then the better students will be left. That's what I need, correct? In that case, attaining a higher rank will be simple. Everything will work out perfectly."

She wasn't wrong about that. Our conversation continued; Horikita was strangely talkative tonight.

"Horikita, isn't that way of thinking flawed?"

"I agree with you, Ayanokouji. In terms that I don't think her opinion is right, but logically it makes sense, doesn't it?" said Matsushita.

"It doesn't. I know that now," responded Horikita before I could.

"Flawed? What's flawed? You're not going to give me some gibberish about how there's no future for someone who would abandon her classmates, are you?

"Relax. I understand you well enough to know that you don't really understand me. "

"Then what is it? There's no strategic advantage to helping failures."

"There are probably very few advantages, certainly. However, it does help prevent a setback."

"Demerit?"

"Do you really think that the school hasn't considered this? They've deducted points for students arriving late or playing around during the class time. Let's say these students are expelled because no one helped them. How many points do you think they'll deduct from us then?"

"Impossible," I heard Mashima mutter.

"That's—" she began.

"Of course, we don't have any proof that's how it works. However, isn't it possible? 100 points? 1,000 points? They might even deduct 10,000 or 100,000 points. If that happens, it'll be very difficult for you to reach Class A."

"We've gone down to zero points because of our infractions. We can't go any lower. If we're currently at zero, don't you think it's best to eliminate the dead weight? That would be the same as taking no damage."

"There's no guarantee that'd be the case. There could be penalties we just don't see yet. Do you really think it's okay to take such a dangerous risk? Well. I'm sure that someone as smart as you must have thought about that already. Otherwise, you would never have suggested creating a study group in the first place. You would've just abandoned the failures from the very beginning."

"No way!"

"This is fake, right?"

"Ayanikouji, that's some impressive analysis," Katsuragi praised me.

"It's just the conclusion you come to when you think of it in the most logical terms. This school isn't transparent with anything, so you have to make lots of analytical guesses," I said.

"Ayanokouji, if you were guessing then that's incredible," this time it was Keisei who praised me.

"Maybe, but I'm sure some seniors probably came to the same solution," I looked over at Manabu.

I was starting to sound worked up, or perhaps I was actually feeling worked up. Maybe because I'd started to, rather selfishly, consider her a friend. I didn't want Horikita to come to regret her decision.

"Ayanokouji, you were so desperate for friends, you had to deal with someone like her for your first one. I feel nothing but pity for you," Ryuuen snickered.

"How could he have thought of me as a friend? I thought of him as a pawn and treated him terribly and with nothing but violence," thought Horikita.

"Even if there are potential unknown negatives, it's better for the future of our class to abandon the failing students. Wouldn't you regret not abandoning them when we do finally increase our points? Right now, it's a risk that we should take."

"Do you really think so?" I asked.

"Yes. Really. I'm at a complete loss as to why you're so desperate to save them."

As Horikita was about to board the elevator, I grabbed her wrist.

"What? Do you have a rebuttal?" she said. "The problem's bigger than the two of us. In the end, the school has all the answers. All we can do is argue back and forth. I'm free to interpret the situation as I see fit, and you may do the same. That's all there is to it, right?"

"You're quite talkative. I never thought you'd be so loquacious."

"Yeah. That's for both of you," Shibata butted in.

"I have to agree with you. These two rarely speak for long in class. Especially Ayanokouji, he barely ever talks," said Onodera.

The two classes were now talking about my talking habits and how social I was. Was I a shy child?

"What... That's just because you were being insistent."

If she were acting like her normal self, there was no way she would have allowed me to keep talking. Normally, stopping her in this way would earn me a sharp strike. However, her refusal to hit me indicated that Horikita felt the way I did. Of course, she probably didn't even realize it herself.

Manabu had a smile on his face

"The day we met, do you remember what happened on the bus?"

"You mean when we refused to give up our seats to an elderly woman?"

"Yeah. Back then, I thought about the meaning behind giving up my seat. Should I give it up or not? Which was the correct answer?"

"I already told you my own answer. I thought it'd be meaningless, so I didn't give up my seat. No matter what reward it might bring, there was no real merit. It was a waste of time and effort."

"Merit, huh? I suppose that you think only in terms of gain and loss."

"Is that bad? People are calculating creatures, for the most part. If you sell goods, you receive money. If you do someone a favour, that debt of gratitude will be repaid. By giving up a seat, you gain the joy of contributing to society. Am I wrong?"

Some were nodding and some were disagreeing. The rest were trying to wrap their heads around what horikita said.

"No, I don't think you're wrong. I think the same thing," I replied.

"So then—"

"If you keep to that belief, you'll need to maintain a broad perspective on life. You're so angry and dissatisfied, you can't see what's in front of you."

"Ayanokouji, you may be smart, but that doesn't give you the right to look down on horikita when she's contributed so much to the class," scolded Shinohara.

"Yeah, Ayanokouji, no matter how good you may be, you shouldn't look down on others like that," joined Mori.

Now a little over half of the class was looking at me with contempt.

I signalled to Kei to make them all be quiet so that I could explain myself.

"All of you, stop berating him and at least let him speak. This is ridiculous," she said.

"Thank you. Now, whether what I said was arrogant or me being full of myself. That doesn't really matter now, does it?"

I stood up and stared at my class.

"After all, wasn't it Horikita who did the exact same thing back then and yet, here you are berating me for doing the same? And although Horikita has contributed to the class more than I have, back then she was the one who was advocating for two students to get expelled," I explained.

They had hostile faces at me for berating them but none of them could argue with me. Everything I just said was based on fact and whatever counterarguments they came up with I had already thought of and had prepared a countermeasure.

"Who do you think you are? Do you even have the ability to find fault with me?"

"I don't know what abilities I have, but I see what you don't. It's the one flaw of the seemingly perfect person known as Horikita Suzune."

Horikita gave an amused snort. It was as if she was saying, "If you think I have a flaw, say it."

"Your flaw is that you think of everyone else as a burden, and so you detach yourself and never let anyone come close. Isn't it possible they placed you in Class D because you consider yourself superior to everyone?"

The hall was silent. They focused on every word I said from now on.

"It's almost as if you're saying I'm the same as Sudou-Kun and his group," she muttered.

"Are you saying that you aren't equal?"

"Yes. It's obvious if you look at our test scores. That's proof enough that they're mere baggage for our class to carry."

"If we're talking about studying, then Sudou and the others are certainly two or three steps behind you, Horikita. No matter how hard they worked, they likely couldn't overtake you. However, we know that this school doesn't only focus on intelligence. Suppose that the next exam was related to sports. The results would be different then. Am I wrong?"

"Woah, are you a fortune teller?" said Ike in amazement.

"Ayanokouji, thanks for sticking up for us," Sudo said with a smile.

I nodded and let the video play.

"That's—"

"You're physically capable. From your swimming, I can tell you're one of the most capable girls in the class. Superior. However, we both know that Sudou's physical abilities far exceed yours. Ike has better communication skills than you. If the test took the form of a discussion, Ike would certainly be useful. Really, you'd most likely bring the class average down. So, does that make you incompetent? No. Every individual has his or her own strengths and weaknesses. That's what it means to be human."

The first one to break the silence was Ryuuen.

"HA! You guys have a philosopher in your class. Incredible, maybe you guys have someone that can actually think, too bad it's not he's lecturing your leader," Ryuuen said with a sly grin.

"fufu, 'what it means to be human.' You certainly are an interesting one, Ayanokouji," said Sakayanagi chuckling to herself.

"I completely agree with you, Ayanokouji. It's impossible to be the best at everything since everyone has their weaknesses," Yosuke praised me.

The rest of my class had their opinion risen due to Yousuke's kind words. I guess they forgot how I ridiculed them before. Everyone in this class thinks short term and in the moment. And while that isn't a bad thing in and of itself, if they only think with short-term gain they'll be susceptible to an attack that comes out of their expectations.

"He was able to reform suzune this quickly and after only a month after knowing her. Was he just unbiased or was I being too hard on her?" Manabu thought.

"This is all pure conjecture. It's nothing more than armchair speculation," she said.

"Think back on what Chabashira-sensei said. When she called us into the guidance room, she said, 'Who exactly decided that smart people are categorically superior?' From that, we can draw the conclusion that academic ability doesn't solely determine the rankings."

"The fact that you could analyse the school system so quickly is incredible," Nanase praised me.

"Are you braindead or something? This guy has been doing incredible stuff like this from the beginning. Holding back his abilities it shouldn't surprise you," Ryueen roared.

Most people were used to his comments. He didn't care whether they were a girl or a boy. He ridiculed them without discrimination.

"You said you wouldn't regret abandoning the students who failed, but you would. You would feel a great deal of regret if Sudou and the others are expelled."

Horikita looked into my eyes. She still didn't seem to grasp our current situation. At least, that was the impression I got.

"You're rather talkative today, too. It's odd for someone who likes to avoid trouble to talk so much."

"You're probably right about that."

"It's frustrating, but what you said was basically correct. You've persuaded me; I have to concede that point. However, I still don't understand you. What do you want? What is this school to you? Why did you work so hard to convince me?"

Plenty of students was intrigued by Horikita's question. They've seen some of my abilities but they've never seen my motive.

(A/N motive and goals are different things. Kiyo's goal is to have a peaceful life but a motive is why they want their goal)

"I see. So that's what you think."

"If someone lacks persuasiveness, he or she won't be able to make others believe in their cunning theories." She clearly wanted to know why I was so desperate to persuade her that Sudou and the others' expulsion was bad. "Cut the crap. I want to know the real reason. Is it for points? To rise up, even by one class level? Or is it to save your friends?"

The intrigue is only growing now. They've seen me fight the SCP and teach a class leader. Furthermore, holding back my abilities to an impressive extent. The rest of the year is wary of me and my class is intrigued by me as a special existence in the defect hall of Class D students.

"Because I want to know what a person with true merit looks like. What is equality?"

"Wha-," Ike muttered in confusion he shared the opinions of many students.

"What a stupid reason. It's obvious, isn't it? This 'true merit' you speak of is just accomplishments," Nagumo appeared to find my reasoning flawed.

Many other students shared his sentiment. There were definitely some who disagreed, notably, Ichinose. But she didn't argue with him due to his position. She knows that if she angers him, her class may be in trouble.

The reason I came to this school was because of an expectation I had. I thought that if I could observe humans, their urges, abilities and desires, I may be able to find an answer to my question. I thought it might satisfy me in some way. I believed it may have been proof that the system of the White Room was flawed because it wasn't able to teach me something. But even if it's not flawed, I want to find that answer. Maybe if I do so, I might achieve something worthwhile on the outside.

"Merit, equality..."

"I came to this school to find answers to those questions." The words freely spilled out of me before I could collect my thoughts.

Could you let me go?" Horikita asked.

"Oh, sorry." I released my grip. She turned around and looked directly at me.

"There's no way that you could fool me into believing you, Ayanokouji-kun," she said.

After she said that, Horikita extended her arm. "I'll look after Sudou-Kun and the others, but for my own sake. I'll make sure that they don't get left behind, but only as a strategic means of securing advantage for our future. Okay?"

"Don't worry. I didn't think you'd do it any differently. That's just like you, Horikita."

"We've come to an arrangement, then."

I took Horikita's hand. However, I would soon realize that I'd just made a deal with the devil.

My thoughts were interrupted by laughter in the hall.

"What did you mean by that, Kiyopon?" Haruka said trying to stifle her giggles.

"She just made me do a lot of work."

"Exciting video, wasn't It? Well, this next one is gonna break your expectations of another one of your classmates!"

Authors notes: I know that i said that there were gonna be 2 more chaps for volume one but the kushida chapter was too long and i wanted to make it good so I will upload that 2 days after this one, honestly idk what to say here anymore

Broken Mask

While the rest of my classmates were excited, I saw Kushida's mask break. It was just for a moment, but I could tell that there was fear in her eyes. Private viewing used to be an option but you're not allowed to go during the session. You have to go before or after the session. This means that Kushida has to sit here, unable to run away as her mask gets shattered in front of the whole year.

I left the library and chased after Kushida. I wanted to thank for her working so hard to get the study group together and to apologize. Besides, I wanted to do everything possible to get along with such a cute girl, you know?

"You seem like a different person in these videos," Kei whispered to me.

"Kiyopon, why were you going to apologise to her?" Haruka asked.

"Hasebe, this was after our study session where sudo, Ike and Yamauchi and I had a falling out," Horikita responded and left Haruka to fill in the blanks herself.

Haruka nodded and let the video continue.

Whipping out my cell phone, I pulled up Kushida's contact information. Although it was my second time calling, I felt nervous about contacting her. The phone rang twice, then three times. However, she didn't pick up. Did she not notice me calling? Or was she refusing to answer it?

"You say you were unpopular, yet you have the most popular girl's phone number," Nagumo said trying to incite a response from me.

"She was just generous, that's all."

"Yeah. She was she gave her number to almost anyone whether they asked for it or not. Right Kushida?" Kobashi said.

"Hehe, yeah. You're right," Kushida said in a quiet voice.

"Kushida, you look a little pale, are you okay?" Her friend seemed concerned and leaned in to talk to her.

Kushida wasn't around campus, so I continued to search for her. When I got inside the school, I glimpsed someone who looked like Kushida from behind. It was already around six PM, so the only people here should've been involved in club activities. Well, this was Kushida we were talking about. She was probably waiting for one of her good friends to finish club stuff.

I decided to keep up the chase. If she were busy, I'd talk to her again later. Bearing that in mind, I pressed on. I took out a pair of indoor shoes from the cubicles in the hallway but didn't see Kushida. Had I lost her? I thought I had until I heard the faint clack of shoes.

"Hey kushida, why were you out so late at night?" Mori asked.

"Oh, I just wanted to clear my head that's all," Kushidas voice was comparable to a whisper at this point.

I followed her up the stairs to the second floor. The sound of footsteps continued up to the third floor. The next level after that was the roof, wasn't it? Students were free to use the roof during lunchtime, but it should've been locked after class. While I thought it strange, I went up the stairs, trying to hide my presence as best I could in case she was meeting someone. Then, I stopped partway.

"This is twice you've been following people. Are you a stalker Ayanokouji?" Matsushita said in a teasing tone.

"I was just interested to see why she was out so alone at night. That's all."

"That makes sense," she seemed to be satisfied with my answer.

Someone was up there.

I gently leaned against the handrail and peeked through a crack in the rooftop door. Through the opening, I glimpsed Kushida. No one else was with her. Was she waiting for someone?

A rendezvous at such a secluded place... Could she possibly be waiting for her boyfriend? If that were the case, I could end up cornered on all sides. While I agonized over how to sneak away, Kushida slowly set her bag down on the ground.

"Did you have a boyfriend or something?" Sato wondered.

"She would've said something, wouldn't she?" Hondo stated.

"I doubt she would say something to you," Sato shot down Hondo's thought that Kushida thought of him as anything more than a classmate.

And then...

"Ahhh, so annoying!"

Her voice was so low that it didn't sound at all like Kushida.

"W-What? Kushida, were you that annoyed at Horikita?" Mori asked a little shocked.

"Yeah, I was pretty frustrated. But I didn't want to seem rude so I voiced my thoughts up there," Kushida wasn't technically lying here. She just worded her statement so she seemed like the one in the right.

"She's seriously annoying! God, how irritating. It'd be better if she just died..."

"Kuku, I finally get to see her angelic facade be destroyed. This is going to be fun," Ryuuen thought.

"This is bad. I won't be able to use her abilities anymore. She's a liability from now on I must expel her," Yagami thought.

"Kushida, that's a little much, don't you think?" Ichinose said with a weak smile probably trying to lighten the situation.

She grumbled to herself as if chanting the words to some kind of spell or curse.

"Ugh, I hate stuck-up, snobby girls who think they're so cute. Why is she such a harpy? A rotten girl like her couldn't possibly tutor me."

Was Kushida annoyed with...Horikita?

Kushida was a pillar and essentially a social hub for the entirety of the second year and maybe some of the other years as well. Having her entire character be changed at an instant must be quite a shock to them since none of them were able to say a single word.

"Ah, she's the worst! She's just the worst, the worst, the worst! Horikita, you're so annoying! You're so damn annoying!"

"T-This has to be fake, right? No way Kikyo-chan would think like this," Ike apparently couldn't come to terms with the situation in front of him.

"I thought she might just be frustrated, but is this how she thinks all the time?" Ichinose thought with a frown on her face.

I felt like I'd glimpsed another side of this gentle girl, the most popular person in our class. She probably didn't want anyone else to see this darker side. A voice in my head whispered that it was dangerous to stay here.

"What the hell are you even doing there? Just get out," Ibuki seemed to disagree with me staying there.

However, an odd question arose. Why had she agreed to work with me if she felt such hatred toward Horikita? Kushida should have understood Horikita's personality and behaviour perfectly well by now. She could have refused to help, or just left the study group to Horikita, or otherwise washed her hands of involvement.

Why force herself into the study group? Did she want to get along with Horikita? Or did she want to become closer to another participant?

"Don't assess the situation like that. That's dumb.Jjust go," Hashimoto seemed to agree with Ibukis's statement

"Oi, Kushida. How does it feel to have everything you've worked so hard over the past year be destroyed in a few minutes?" Ryueen provoked Kushida.

Kushida was staring in shock blankly, and with that same look she stared at Ryuuen.

"Oh? I've never seen you so shocked before. It suits you," Ryuuen seemed to be enjoying this.

None of it made sense. I couldn't explain her reasoning.

No. She may have shown signs of this from the very beginning. I hadn't really thought about it before, but considering the state she was in right now, I had a hunch. Perhaps, Kushida and Horikita were...

"I don't like this, Ayanokouji. Just get out of there. You're being an idiot by staying there," this time Shinohara was ridiculing me for staying there.

"What hunch did you have?" Matsushita asked.

"It was just a guess I had when I met Kushida."

"Who cares? Just leave," Haruka was looking at the screen in exasperation.

"I can't exactly do that now."

"I don't care. Just leave from there."

At any rate, I needed to get away from there. Kushida probably didn't want anyone else to hear her diatribe. Still hiding, I quickly tried to leave.

Thump!

"You're so stupid. I can't believe you were so clumsy here" Haruka was berating me.

"My bad."

"The white room masterpiece making a simple mistake like that? No way that's possible. He did this on purpose," Yagami analysed.

I'd kicked the door much louder than I'd anticipated. It'd been unexpectedly loud, really. Kushida tensed and stopped breathing. I'd instantly become her enemy. Turning, Kushida set her sights on me. I'd been seen.

After a brief silence, Kushida coldly asked, "What...are you...doing here?"

No one could even talk to the Kushida here even though they had plenty of questions to ask her. And even if they did ask, she wasn't in the headspace to answer them.

"I got a little lost. Sorry. My bad, my bad. I'll be going now."

"Seriously dude, you make some crappy excuses," Sudo said.

"It was the best I could think of."

Kushida looked straight at me, clearly seeing through my obvious lie. I'd never seen such an intense gaze before.

"Did you hear?" she asked.

"Would you believe me if I said I didn't?" I replied.

"I see..."

Kushida briskly walked down the stairs. She placed her left forearm against the base of my throat and pushed me up against the wall.

"Woah. That's too much. He can't even fight back," Akito looked at the screen in disgust.

"That's true. If he fought back, he would be the aggressor and because of Kushida's high social standing, everyone would believe her," Horikita assessed.

Her tone of voice, her actions, everything about her was completely unlike the Kushida I knew. This new Kushida wore a terrifying expression, one that I could almost compare to Horikita's.

"Wait, what?" She seemed baffled that I had said something like that.

"Just what I observed, that's all."

"If you tell anyone what you just heard, I won't forgive you."

Her words were ice, and I didn't think they were an idle threat.

"And if I did tell?"

"Stop trying to provoke her," Kanzaki said in annoyance.

"In that case, I would tell everyone that you raped me," she said.

The entire hall erupted.

"What the hell?!"

"How could you?"

"That's not right!"

"Is this why you didn't tell anyone?" Wang asked.

I nodded. The rest of the class began to glare at Kushida.

Kushida was starting to lose every ounce of respect she ever had. Since it was gone, she was placed in a position of powerlessness. Well, there was one thing she had left up her sleeve.

"That's a false charge, you know."

"That's okay. It wouldn't be false."

Her words had heft and power, leaving me unable to reply. As she spoke, Kushida grabbed my right wrist and slowly opened my hand. She pushed my palm up against her soft breast.

"WHY, WHY, WHY, WHY?" Kushida was the first to roar at this video.

"Why did you have to be the one to see it? My life would've been perfect without you!" Kushida started to have tears in her eyes, but at this point, the rest of the class only looked in pity and disgust.

Ike was completely silent. He was the one who opened up to Kushida the fastest so he was hit with this especially hard.

Kushida got up from her seat and grabbed my collar and stared at me with her fist raised. I stared at her like I always have.

Horikita got up and stopped her before she could swing and the rest of the year just stared in disgust at what Kushida had become.

With no choice, she only had one option. To tell the truth about her classmates.

"Hey, Shinohara, remember when someone spread that rumour about how you used to be a whore? That was me. Hey, Sato, remember when I told everyone you had a crush on an ugly guy once?" She spat.

"Mii-chan. Honestly, I don't think I even have to tell Hirata this," She coldly remarked.

Kushida wouldn't stop and the class couldn't stop her attack.

You can rob humans of almost anything. Their clothes, their house, even their own life, but one of the things you cant rob a human of is their imagination. The imagination of what Kushida could say that could put the entire school into chaos. The idea of what terrible things a student's classmates have said about them.

"What are you doing?" I asked. I hurriedly tried to pull away, but she pushed on the back of my hand.

Even though the video was playing, Kushida wouldn't stop spewing her secrets.

"Hey, Kushida, can you stop the act? You've already done this before," I broke through her rabid statements.

"What do you mean, Ayanokouji? It's your fault I'm here. If you weren't here, none of this would've happened," Her face was boiling in anger.

"I'm not the one that betrayed the class multiple times."

The rest of the class was especially shocked by my words. Ichinose looked in sorrow at what Kushida has become, no, it wasn't just Ichinose, the entire year looked at her in either pity or disgust.

'Don't you have a recording on your phone? The one where you said you wouldn't expel me if I gave you half my points every month. You know, the one where you threatened to reveal your classmate's secrets."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she seemed overwhelmed by my attack, yet she persisted in not knowing anything.

"If you forgot, that's a shame. Don't worry about it, I took one as well."

I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone, but I didn't play the video.

"Kushida, it doesn't really matter what I do. Either way, your life is over. Even if i don't press charges, the rest of the school will despise you and ostracise you. I doubt someone who thrived off of affection could survive, so if you stop this act I won't press charges. You can live out your life as nothing but a traitor, but if you continue this, I'll destroy your life," I told her.

"I see. You've been showing your true colours, Monster. I guess there's no point in hiding out after your entire life is on display for the entire school to see. I hope that I get to destroy you in the next exam," Thought Ryuuen with a grin on his face.

"It seems that you aren't hiding anymore. I'm glad that you're showcasing at least an extent of your true abilities. When the next exam comes, I'll battle you and defeat you. I can't wait," Sakayanagi thought.

"Oh Senpai~ I see that you aren't hiding anymore. I wonder what you're gonna do from now on" Ichika thought with a sly smile.

"I see, so you're not hiding anymore. I guess I would do the same in your position. Now that you're in the open, I can challenge you freely," Yagami thought.

There was no emotion in my voice, I was simply stating the truth of the matter. I looked around and saw Ichinose in fear, Kei seemed surprised when Kushida showed her true nature, but she seemed unaffected by my words unlike the rest of the class who were to scared to say anything. She understood that I would do something like this. Ryuuen and Sakayanagi seemed to just be enjoying the show and their classmates looked in pity at Kushida. I was seen as a threat from now on. Kushida sat down after my threat and the entire hall was silent. It was silent enough for a claustrophobic person to feel scared.

"Your fingerprints are on my clothes. That's evidence of my claim. I'm being serious. Understand?"

"I understand. I really do. So let go of my hand."

"I'm going to leave this uniform in my room without washing it. If you betray me, I'll hand it over to the police."

"So you've been blackmailed because of that deal?" Kanzaki asked.

I nodded.

I glared at Kushida for a while as she kept my hand pressed against her.

"It's a promise," she said.

Kushida stepped away from me. Even though this was the first time I had felt a girl's breasts, I found I couldn't remember the sensation.

"Why would anyone make a comment like that in that sort of situation?" Shibata asked with an expression of both respect and shock.

"I couldn't think straight so I just thought of everything that happened back to back."

"Hey, Kushida. Which is the real you?"

"That's none of your business."

"Wouldn't this side be her real self?" Keisei asked

"That's usually the case, but I wasn't 100% sure."

"Ayanokouji, tell me the truth, was Kushida talking about all of us like this all along?" Ike seemed to be shaken at everything that just happened, but still asked this with a clear gaze.

"I don't exactly know for sure, but I assume that's the case," there was little point in trying to deny it.

"I see. Well, I was wondering something. If you hate Horikita, then you don't need to involve yourself with her, right?"

I knew she probably wouldn't like that question, but I was curious about her motivation.

"You seem calm," Katsuragi said.

"I'm just like that normally."

"I see."

"I don't think you cared."

This voice was from a first-year known as Utomiya Riku.

"What? Of course he cares. He got threatened and blackmailed," Shinohara said in an agitated voice.

"I'm just saying that it might not be all as it seems" he said.

"Is it bad to want everyone to like you? Do you understand how difficult it is to accomplish that? You can't know, can you?" she asked.

"Well, I don't have that many friends, so I guess not."

Ever since the first day of school, Kushida had made an effort to exchange contact information with, invite out, and, of course, talk with the pessimistic Horikita. One could easily imagine how difficult and time-consuming that would be.

"At least on the surface, I wanted to appear to get along with Horikita."

"But the stress of that just kept building, huh?"

"Yeah. That's what I want out of life, though. That way, my existence has meaning." She answered without hesitation. Kushida had a singular way of thinking. Her own internal rules demanded she gets close to Horikita.

"That isn't wanting to be liked. That's a borderline mental illness," Kanzaki stated.

"I have to agree. I don't see the point in doing something like that," Ichinose agreed.

Most students were trying to figure out Kushida's motives and what made her tick.

"Let me tell you something, while I have the chance. I absolutely despise gloomy, ordinary guys like you."

"Brutal!"

"That's mean."

"I can't believe this is from kushida's mouth," Mori said still quite shocked at the previous events.

"Did she think stuff like this about everyone?" Inogashira said.

The fantasy of a cute Kushida that I'd carried until now had been shattered, but I wasn't actually that shocked. Most people possessed both a public face and a private, inner self, after all. However, I felt like Kushida was both telling the truth and lying right now.

"I'm just speculating, but did you and Horikita know each other before this year? Maybe you both attended the same school in the past?"

"They did?" Sato stated, surprised.

The instant I said it, Kushida shuddered in response.

"What the... I don't know what you mean. Did Horikita-san say something about me?" she snapped.

"It's that easy to break her act? Hey, Kushida, if I say the words 'horikita' right now, are you gonna wet your pants?" Ryuuen snickered.

"No, I had the impression that this was the first time you'd met. But something seemed strange."

"Strange?"

I recalled the first time Kushida had spoken to me.

"You learned my name only when I first introduced myself, right?"

"So what?" Kushida responded flatly.

"Well, where did you learn Horikita's name? Back then, she hadn't introduced herself to anyone yet. The only person who knew was Sudou, but I doubt you'd met him by then."

In other words, Kushida wouldn't have had the chance to learn Horikita's name.

"Damn, you pick up on the smallest of details," Sudo said.

"I would never have guessed that," said Sato.

"I swear. Even if I did, it's not like anyone would believe me. Right?"

The entire class trusted and loved Kushida. The difference between us was like night and day.

"Ayanokouji, I would've believed you," Yosuke stated.

If I had said this now he would have believed me. But back then, the most he would've done was hear me out and then try to solve the problem by trying to help both parties. The second he would try to negotiate with Kushida, she would release rumours about me and make any claim I said useless.

"Okay. I believe you, Ayanokouji-kun."

Kushida closed her eyes and slowly exhaled. "Horikita-san is rather unusual, isn't she?"

"Yes, I'd say she's really unusual."

"Other people don't influence her, or rather, she keeps her distance from everyone else. She's the complete opposite of me."

Kushida and Horikita really were polar opposites.

"Thank you," Horikita said.

"I don't know about that. I see some similarities," sakayanagi said.

"You know, Ayanokouji-kun, you're the only one that Horikita-san opens up to."

"Wait a minute. She doesn't open up to me. Absolutely not."

"Even so, she seems to trust you more than anyone else. Out of all the people I've ever met, Horikita seems the wariest of others and yet also the most self-confident. She certainly wouldn't trust anyone worthless, even if they were unbelievably kind."

"So, you think she has good instincts for people?"

"That's why I said I believed you. Ayanokouji-kun, you're fundamentally indifferent to other people, aren't you?"

"What does that mean?" Sudo said while scratching his head.

"It means that he sees people as neither good nor bad," Keisei explained.

"Ayanokouji, you don't actually think that, right," Akito asked.

"Obviously, I don't. This was just a bad guess by Kushida."

I didn't remember doing anything that would make her think so, but Kushida seemed confident in her assessment.

"It's not an out-of-place judgment. Back on the bus, you didn't show any interest in giving up your seat to the elderly woman."

Ah, so that's what she was talking about. She'd picked up on what was happening that first day. She had understood that I'd no intention of giving up my seat.

"If you believe I'm telling the truth, then you won't spread pointless rumours," I said.

"If you were really so confident, you wouldn't have felt up my breasts."

"He didn't get a choice," Haruka yelled.

"Well, that's... I was really flustered. I panicked for a second."

"'Flustered,' right. I believe you totally," Ryuuen thought.

Her stern expression melted into one of impatience.

"So, Kushida, would I be right to think of you as the kind of girl who lets guys touch her breasts?"

There were several gasps around the room as to how I could say something so bold.

"You are a psycho," Hashimoto said laughing.

She kicked my thigh as hard she could. Panicking, I grabbed the railing.

"Can't say I blame her," Yosuke said with a weak smile.

"Hey, watch it! I could've fallen and gotten seriously hurt!"

"I kicked you because you said something stupid!" Kushida snapped, her face flushed from anger.

"Hey, wait a minute."

She still looked furious. Kushida tromped back up the stairs, grabbed her bag, then returned wearing a huge grin.

"Let's head back together," she said brightly.

The switch from Kushidas's bright personality to her dark one was shocking. She could do it on command almost as if blinking. The video turned to black and the class was asked to go back to their respective classrooms.

The second we got back Horikita went up to the podium and asked a question to the class.

"I understand that what you have all seen is shocking and you may want to expel someone. But I think the person who suffered the most from this should answer that."

She looked at me, the rest of the class looked at me, and even Kushida looked at me.

"I don't particularly care. If she wants to stay, she can. As long as she doesn't cause any chaos I don't really care. However, if she causes trouble, we cut her off," I coldly remarked.

Horikita seemed to understand and left the class to their thoughts. Kushida was left alone at her desk. A stark contrast compared to when she was laughing with her friends this morning.

No king can reign the world forever.

Those who rise come down eventually.

Authors notes: ik this was edgy as hell, but it was so much fun to write. I tried to base my reaction off canon so please, I want to know if I did it well. The new volume has come out so there's gonna be a bunch of spoilers and I heard that it is an overall good volume.

Saving Sudo

(Final chapter of vol 1 let's go)

"This video took place right after midterms when a student almost got expelled."

The first-year students were surprised that someone could be expelled only after a month in school. The student in question, Sudo, looked down remembering his previous failures.

Chabashira-sensei strode into the classroom, looking around at the students in surprise. Everyone was clearly anxious, holding their breath in anticipation of the test results.

"Sensei. We were told that the results would be announced today, but when?"

"There's no need for you to get so worked up, Hirata. You should have passed quite easily."

"I don't think that's what he was worried about," Sato pointed out.

I had realised that now that this video was going to be shown. My and Horikita's lie would be exposed. I needed to create a similar situation to when my test scores were revealed and make some time for me to explain myself.

"So, when will the results be released?"

"Well, if you'd like, now is as good a time as any. If we waited to do it after class, we wouldn't have enough time for other procedures."

Some of the students visibly reacted to the words "other procedures."

"What...do you mean by that?"

"Don't get flustered. I'll tell you now."

As usual, she revealed the details simultaneously and collectively. She stuck a large, white sheet of paper with everyone's names and test scores onto the blackboard.

"Honestly, I'm impressed. I didn't think that you'd score so well. Many students tied with perfect scores in mathematics, Japanese, and social studies. More than ten of you, actually."

The class believes that Kushida was the one who gave the results, but due to the previous video, no one paid attention to her.

"Hey, Kiyotaka, this video is in your perspective and since most of the videos in your perspective reveal something interesting, would it be safe to assume that it's also the case here? Keisei asked.

"Yes. I don't really want anyone to see this, but I don't really have a choice in the matter," there was no point lying to him if he was going to see what I did anyway.

"I feel kinda bad for you," Sudo surprisingly said.

"What do you mean?" Matsushita asked.

"I mean, isn't it kinda obvious? Imagine if your entire life and all your thoughts were on display for the entire school to see. That sounds like it would suck."

Most students nodded and others were surprised that Sudo could make such a logical observation.

Some of the students shouted in joy and delight when they saw the 100s lined up on the results sheet. However, some weren't smiling. The only grade that truly mattered was Sudou's score in English.

Then— We saw Sudou's test scores.

He had scored sixty points in four of the five main subjects, which was considerably high. He'd scored thirty-nine points in English.

"Yes!" Sudou leapt up and shouted with joy. Ike and Yamauchi stood and cheered, too. There was no red line to be found on the results sheet. Kushida and I shared a glance and sighed in relief. Horikita didn't smile or cheer, but she did appear relieved.

"It's depressing that you all were all this happy over passing one test," Kanzaki said.

"This was the first test before we had gotten used to everything. It's logical that they would think this way," Ichinose rebutted.

"We showed you, sensei! When we really try our best, we can do anything!" Ike wore a smug, confident look.

"Yes, I recognize that. You all did very well. However—"

Chabashira-sensei held a red pen in her hand.

Sudou unintentionally let out a "Huh?"

She drew a red line right above Sudou's name.

"Wh-what is that? What does that mean?"

"You failed, Sudou."

"HAH! This is amazing. You were all celebrating and then your teacher broke you guys by telling you someone failed. Honestly, your teacher sounds like someone I could get along with," Ryuuen Laughed.

Chabashira-sensei had heartlessly announced Sudou's expulsion without offering him a second chance or the faintest bit of sympathy. Ike and Yamauchi, knowing that words of comfort would probably have the opposite effect, stayed silent. Hirata remained quiet, too. Sadly, some of the students appeared relieved by this. Were they happy that a nuisance like Sudou was being removed from the class?

Some students in the class looked down. Sudo saw this and decided to ease their worries, "You guys don't have to feel bad. If I was in your position I would do the exact same thing."

Most students looked relieved that Sudo didn't hold any grudge against them. It seems that Sudo was one of the students that matured the most over the last year.

"I'm going to skip the reasoning for Sudos expulsion and we can go to what happened after the teacher left the classroom,"

I slowly got up from my seat.

"Wh-where are you going, Ayanokouji?"

"Bathroom."

"Doesn't seem like you care," Ryueen stated.

"I had my reasons."

With that, I exited and quickly made my way toward the faculty room. I wondered if Chabashira-sensei had already arrived. As I thought that, I caught her staring out the window into the first-floor hallway, almost as if she were waiting for someone.

"It looks like you learned how to lie a little," Ryueen smirked.

"Hey, Ayanokouji, why did you see the teacher?" Hiyori inquired.

"I wanted to negotiate Sudos expulsio."

"Wait, wasn't it Horikita that did that?" Shinohara asked.

"Yeah, she did. Ayanokouji said tha-," Sudo started saying, but the video played before he could continue.

I would assume that he had his doubts about me. If this situation was a puzzle then Sudo has probably at least figured out the border pieces.

"Ayanokouji, hmm? Class will begin any minute, you know," she said.

"Sensei. Would it be all right if I asked you one question?"

"One question? Is that why you went to the trouble of chasing after me?"

"I'm curious about something."

"First it was Horikita, now you. What in the world is it?"

"Do you think that today's Japanese society is fair?"

"That's random."

"Haven't we heard something like this before?"

"Looks like Kiyosophers back," Haruka said with her hand on her chin trying to resemble a philosopher.

"What a sudden change in topic," Katsuragi said.

"What an incredible change in topic. So sudden, too. Is there some special meaning behind this question?"

"It's very important. I would like your opinion."

"If you're asking for my personal opinion, then, no, of course not. The world isn't fair, not even the slightest bit."

"I see. I feel the same way. I think that equality is a fiction."

"So, did you chase after me merely to ask that question? If that's all, then I'll be going."

"One week ago, when you told us that the test's material had changed, you also said something like 'I forgot to inform you.' Because of that forgetfulness, we were notified of the change one week after the other classes had already been informed."

"What? That's so unfair!" Ichinose furiously said.

"Is this true?" Kanzaki said.

All eyes were on Chabashira now.

"Yes. It is."

The classes were outraged at the commotion. While some students scolded Chabashira, others were thankful that their teachers didn't do something like that.

"ALL OF YOU, QUIET!" Mashima yelled, cutting through the noise.

"While it's a problem that she didn't delve important information like that, she isn't obligated by any rules to do so," Mashima explained.

"Yes, I said as much back in the faculty room. What of it?"

"Every class got the same questions, the points were reflected in the same way for everyone, and every class faced the same threat of expulsion. However, Class D was compelled to test under unfair conditions."

"Are you saying that you can't accept what happened? But it's an excellent example of how unfair the world is. In fact, you could call it a microcosm of our unfair society."

"Certainly, society is not equal, no matter how idealistic you try to be. However, we are human beings, living things that can think."

"Seriously Kiyopon, you should write a book. I probably wont understand it, but I'll buy it in support," Haruka said to me.

"I guess I understand what you're saying, but all of this is arbitrary since none of this helps your goal of negotiating with the teacher," Matsushita said.

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying that we should strive for equality. At least a little."

"Yep. I agree with you," Ichinose was the first to say something.

"Shut up. I couldn't care less about what some wannabe philosopher has to say," Ryuuen snarked.

"I see."

"Whether or not you truly forgot to tell us, or if it was an intentional slip, isn't really the issue. The fact remains that one person is now being expelled from this school because of those unfair conditions."

"So, did she do it on purpose?" Hondo asked.

I didn't pay attention to his question and let the video play. But it was most likely intentional.

"So, what do you want me to do?"

"That's why I'm here. I would like to undertake the appropriate steps to meet with the school, the direct cause of this inequality."

"To tell them you disagree?"

"I just want to confirm with the appropriate people that they believe the school made the correct judgment."

"That's unfortunate. What you've said isn't wrong, but I can't allow you to do that. Sudou will be expelled. That decision would be extremely difficult to overturn at this stage. Give up."

"I can't think of anything," Keisei said looking confused.

"Don't worry about it. You just have to think a little more outside the box," I told him.

She'd ignored my point, but her words remained logical. As I'd anticipated, her words always held some hidden meaning.

"You said it 'would be extremely difficult at this stage.' Which means there may be a way to overturn the decision."

"Is this what you meant by more outside the box?" Keisei asked.

I nodded. But now that this video was playing, more students from my class were looking at me for answers.

"Wait, so you saved Sudo? Not Horikita?" Inogashira asked.

I looked over to Horikita to see what she would do.

"Yes. Ayanokouji had the original idea, but I helped him finish it."

Lots of the students were looking at me weird. All of this staring over the past few days was getting tiring.

"Ayanokouji, I personally hold you in rather high regard. I've thought so since assigning this test. Obtaining the old test problems was certainly one correct solution. Such a notion goes beyond the range of what many would have considered. Furthermore, you distributed the old test problems to everyone in the class and raised the average scores. I have to praise such a logical decision. Honestly, you did very well."

"What?"

"Wasn't it Kushida who gave us the materials?" Okitani said, scratching his head.

Normally, Kushida would use this as an excuse to say something along the lines of, 'oh, it was Ayanokouji who came up with it but I helped him. I didn't really do that much.'

This would make herself seem like a small part and then having all of her friends respond to her with compliments and praise. Since Kushida can't do that anymore, I would have to explain myself from now on.

"I came up with the idea of buying the exam from the seniors. Kushida just helped me get in contact with one."

The class was looking at me with gratitude.

"Kushida was the one who obtained the problems and distributed them. I didn't really do anything."

"Lying to a teacher isn't a good thing," Shinohara said.

"I had my reasons."

"I understand why you don't want word to get out, but don't forget that there are senior students, too. I already know that you contacted a third-year student."

Apparently, my actions were more conspicuous than I'd thought.

"Did you give it to Kushida because you dislike attention?" Sato asked.

I nodded.

"Saving a student from getting expelled, high academic and athletic abilities, and giving advice to Horikita without ever getting a single bit of acknowledgement. Was he really the leader all along?" Matsushita thought.

Sato and the rest of my class expressed their gratitude to me. I would guess that by the end of this most would fear me, hate me or look at me in pity and this gratitude would just be a temporary thing that I would be able to look back on.

"However, despite your bold move in obtaining those questions, you made a mistake in the end. That's why your plan failed. If Sudou had memorized the material more thoroughly, he wouldn't have failed in any subject, right? Honestly, why don't you just give up and let Sudou get tossed out? Wouldn't things be easier in the future?"

"Honestly, you're probably right. However, I decided to lend a hand. I suppose it's too early for me to give up. I've one thing left to try."

I took my student ID card out of my pocket.

"What are you planning?"

"Please sell me one point that I can add to Sudou's English test."

The hall was silent. Sakayanagi looked my way and smirked, Ryuuen clicked his tongue and Ichinose was looking at me in total amazement. This silence was short-lived as the hall erupted into a mess of questions and bewilderment.

"That's possible?!"

"Why have we been studying all this time then?"

"Who the hell could imagine that?" Ike yelled.

"Someone who could analyse the school extremely quickly," Manabu said.

"What? But there's nothing that could make someone think that. No matter how much analysing you would do," Ike said.

"Watch the video. It'll make sense soon," Manabu decided to stop the pointless argument and let the video play.

"..."

Chabashira-sensei's eyes widened, and then she laughed loudly.

"Ha ha ha haha! That's a rather interesting idea. You really are a different kind of student. I never imagined you'd try to buy points."

"You said so the day we were admitted, didn't you, sensei? You said that we can buy anything with our points. The midterm test is just one more 'thing' at this school, after all."

"OH! That's what you meant. I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions Senpai," Ike bowed his head

"He seems to have the admiration of the ex-SCP. Maybe he was more conspicuous than everyone thought," Matshushita thought.

"I see, I see. You certainly could view it that way. However, do you even have enough money on hand to afford it?"

"Well, how much does one test point cost?"

"Now, that's a rather difficult question, isn't it? I've never been asked to sell test points before. Let's see... Seeing as how this is a special occasion, I'll sell a test point for the exceptional price of 100,000 points."

"It looks like we're still gonna have to study," Ike said in disappointment.

"That's cruel, Sensei. You would have to know that he couldn't have had that much," Shinohara said.

"You're cruel, sensei."

Everyone at this school had spent at least some of their points. Absolutely no one had 100,000 to spare.

"I'll pay, too," someone said behind me. When I turned, I found Horikita standing there.

Sudo's face lit up seeing how his crush helped him when he was struggling.

"Horikita..."

I said. "Heh. Just as I thought. You two are interesting."

"Horikita, how did you know that Ayanokouji would go up to the roof?" Matsushita asked.

"I was just watching him to make sure what he would do."

Chabashira-sensei took my student ID card. Then she took Horikita's.

"Fine. I accept your deal. I'll sell you one point to apply to Sudou's test, taking a combined total of 100,000 points from you both. As for the matter of Sudou's expulsion, you can inform the class that's no longer the case."

"Thanks, Ayanokouji, Suzune. I'll pay you back eventually," Sudo said embarrassedly.

"Don't worry about that. You've already been working hard at sport so your debt has been paid," Horikita said easing his worries.

"Ayanokouji, have you done other stuff like this?" Kanzaki asked.

"Well, here and there I've helped out."

"Is that okay?"

"You promised to pay me 100,000 points. There's nothing more to be done." Chabashira-sensei seemed simultaneously exasperated and amused. "Horikita, do you understand how talented Ayanokouji is? At least somewhat?

"Sensei, how do you know that Ayanokouji is good enough to do something like this? At most, wouldn't it just seem like he was good academically?" Keisei asked.

"Well, teachers just know these things sometimes," She said quickly. It was a bad excuse but when they find out what she did it doesn't really matter.

"I wonder. When I look at him, all I see is a disagreeable student."

A few giggles could be heard from around the room.

"You get low scores on purpose when you could easily score higher. You were the one who came up with the idea of getting the old test problems, but you gave Kushida-san the credit. You were even crazy enough to buy test points. I don't think that you're special or just deviate from the norm. I think you're disagreeable."

"I think that's wrong," Yosuke was the first to criticise Horikita, "He just helped out and saved a classmate. You shouldn't really be insulting him like that."

"Maybe I was wrong, but that's what I thought back then."

So, she'd heard how I got the old test questions, too.

"Perhaps the pair of you really can reach the higher-level classes," Chabashira-sensei said.

"She wasn't wrong," Inogashira said.

"I wouldn't really call moving up to class C much of an achievement," Nagumo cut through the pride of the class and crushed it.

"I don't know about him, but I most definitely will."

"No one from Class D has ever been promoted before. The school has already labelled you defective and will coldly toss you aside. How will you accomplish your goal?"

"If I may, sensei?" Horikita unwaveringly returned Chabashira-sensei's gaze. "Honestly, maybe the students in Class D are defective. However, that doesn't mean they're trash."

"What's the difference between a defective product and trash?"

"The difference is paper-thin. However, with repairs, a defective product may become a superior article."

"I like that way of thinking," Ichinose remarked.

"I do too. Class D isn't as bad as we thought they were," Kanzaki agreed.

"I see. When you say it like that, Horikita, I admit it sounds oddly persuasive."

I shared that opinion and found Horikita's words to be quite meaningful. Horikita, who had previously looked down upon others and thought of them as baggage, was changing. Of course, nothing was that simple. Though you could just barely glimpse the change from the outside, it was actually a major transformation. A faint smile appeared on Chabashira-sensei's lips as if she also had noticed it.

"Ah, this is where the babysitter was born," Ryuuen smirked.

"What do you mean?" Ishizaki said.

"Oh nothing. Just a little inside joke."

"Well, I look forward to seeing what you do next. As your homeroom teacher, I'll be sure to watch over you with great attention and care."

With that, Chiyabashira-sensei headed toward the faculty room, leaving the two of us in the hall.

"Well, let's head back. class will be starting soon," I said.

"Ayanokouji-Kun."

"Hmm? Oof!"

Horikita chopped me in the side.

This action earned many laughs from the audience.

"What was that for?"

"For whatever."

"Now you're just bullying," Ichinose yelled.

She left me as I clutched my sides in agony. Jeez, what a bothersome class...bothersome person. With that thought, I decided to chase after her.

The video is over and the year knew more of my actions. If I assume correctly then the next big event was Sudos trial. The teachers told us that it was now time for a 10-minute break.

Authors Notes: Vol 1 is finally over. Honestly, not as bad as I thought it would was when I was rereading it. Next up is vol 2 and imo it is the worst volume in the entirety of cote. It's so boring and the only interesting thing that happens is when the Ayanokouji calls himself horrible. I genuinely think that the anime was more interesting than the volume. And because of that, I will only do the important parts of the volume and go straight to the island exam after that.

Investigating Sudo

"Well, now that your break is over, let us begin. For context, this is right after Class D found their witness from Sudo's trial known as Sakura Airi."

"Who's that?"

"I don't know, I've ever heard of her before."

It wasn't surprising that most students didn't know that Airi existed. She was practically invisible to the school much like I was a few days ago.

"Who's Sakura?" asked Amikura.

"She's a student in our class," Horikita answered.

"It's pretty bad that you guys had a class D student as your witness," It was a voice unknown to the school. It was a girl known as Tsubaki from class C of the first years.

"What do you mean?" Mori asked

"Well, she was a class D student in a situation that involved a Class D student. Wouldn't most people believe that she was lying to help her classmate?" She explained.

"I guess you're right. If I was in a different class, I would think like that," Mori pondered.

"Sakura-san."

"...W-What...?"

The girl with the glasses and the hunched back looked up listlessly. It looked like she didn't expect someone to call out to her, since she was panicking

"Do you have time, Sakura-san? I want to ask you something about Sudou-Kun's case..."

"S-Sorry, I... have plans, so..."

She averted her eyes; it was obvious that she was feeling uncomfortable. Talking to other people does not seem to be her strong point. Or rather, it felt like she didn't like talking to other people.

"Kiyopon, don't you think that you were stretching your logic a little?" Haruka said.

"A-Actually, he wasn't that far off," Airi said quietly.

"You don't like talking to people?" Haruka asked.

"It's not like that. It's more like I just wasn't used to it, so I didn't like it," Airi said a little flustered.

Airi wasn't like Haruka who stayed alone out of choice. She was afraid of others. She couldn't interact with people and that led to her being isolated. Most people would probably just think that Airi was someone socially inept and while they weren't wrong Airi's fear of what others might do or say was what caused her to develop that inability to communicate.

"Can you take some time? I really want to talk because this is important. During Sudou-kun's incident, were you nearby by any chance..."

"I-I don't know. I already said this to Horikita-san, but I don't know anything..."

Her words were frail, but she denied it strongly. Kushida, also seeing how unwilling she was, probably didn't want to push it too far. Although she looked confused at first, she immediately went back to smiling. But even then, she wasn't willing to withdraw so easily. After all, this person will greatly affect Sudou's case.

"Is... it fine if I go back now..."

Kushida was once again glared at. This time, it was mostly by Haruka. The resentment stemmed from the fact that Kushida was being fake to a asocial person like Airi.

"What do you mean 'hiding something'?" Keisei asked.

"It was just something I noticed about her behaviour."

Keisei looked confused so I continued.

"She wasn't behaving like a normal socially anxious person."

"I guess she may have been, but wouldn't it be impossible to tell the difference between a socially anxious person and someone who was hiding something."

"In most cases, you would be right. But there is a subtle difference here."

But something feels strange. She's not simply bad at talking to people, but rather, it looks like she's trying to hide something. That much is obvious from the way she's acting. She was hiding her dominant hand and wasn't making eye contact with her. Even if she may be uncomfortable with looking at her eyes, Sakura refused to look at Kushida's face. If it was either me or Ike talking to her instead of Kushida, it would make more sense. After all, Kushida was able to get her to exchange contact addresses. Interacting with Kushida is a completely different experience. I don't think Horikita was wrong in sensing that something was off. I also felt the same way.

"Can't you just give me a few minutes?"

"W-Why? I don't know anything..."

If Kushida failed here, their conversation would amount to nothing.

The awkward conversation naturally gathered more attention as it dragged on and on. But this situation seems like a complete miscalculation from Kushida. Since they were acquaintances that had exchanged contact addresses, she expected this conversation to go much smoother. If she wasn't expecting to be rejected, then this situation would make sense.

"I knew you lost that bet but I didn't think you were that bad at maths," Ryuuen remarked.

Kushida flinched at his statement. Most people wouldn't notice it but it was definitely there. I would assume the bet he was referring to was the bet Kushida and Horikita made during the paper shuffle exam. Ryuuen would probably be one of the only people in the school currently who knew of it.

My neighbour looked over the situation attentively, then looked at me with a slightly smug expression. It seemed like she was saying, "I know that your powers of perception are exceptional"...

There were a few giggles at my remark.

"Did he think other stuff like this, but it was just skipped? I don't know why, but I feel like more jokes will be cracked at my expense," Horikita thought.

"Did you really think that?" Ichinose asked.

"I don't really remember," Horikita said quickly and without much explanation.

"...I'm bad at talking to people... sorry."

She was speaking in a strained voice, trying to keep Kushida away from her. When we were talking about Sakura earlier, Kushida said that she was an ordinary girl, despite being shy. Looking at her current behaviour, she's clearly not normal. Kushida probably thought the same thing, because she looked completely confused. Even though she's good at getting people to open up, she couldn't do it this time. Horikita, also watching the situation, came to a conclusion.

"Too bad. Looks like she couldn't persuade her."

It was as Horikita said. If Kushida wasn't able to do it, I don't think anyone in the class would be able to start and maintain a conversation with Sakura.

Kushida is good at creating an atmosphere where unsocial people can easily socialize.

However, everyone has a "personal space".

The anthropologist and cultural researcher Edward Hall further categorized this idea of "personal space" into four parts. One such part is the idea of an "intimate zone". The "close phase" is about hugging distance—if an outsider tries to enter this area, they will be strongly rejected. However, if it was a significant other or a close friend, the person wouldn't feel uncomfortable. If an acquaintance entered Kushida's "close phase", she normally wouldn't mind it. That is to say, she doesn't use this idea of "personal space".

The room was contemplating my thoughts.

"Are you a psychologist as well as a philosopher?" Hashimoto asked.

"Think whatever you want."

"King, what are you good at exactly?," Hashimoto questioned, "Are you good at everything? It's almost as if you're perfect in most things like academics and athletics as well as analysing."

Putting my strengths out for the room to ponder; Hashimoto questioned my abilities.

"I'm not good at everything. There are things I'm worse at than others, but I'm mostly good at these kinds of things since I had nothing else to do. I was able to improve myself because I had no distractions," I answered vaguely.

I wasn't completely lying when I said these words. I didn't have anything else to do and I did focus on improving myself. That is true, even if you take into account the fact that I had no choice but to do those things.

"I can't wrap my head around half the stuff you say, Ayanokoji," Ike said shaking his head.

"Oh, I heard about that book. I didn't know you were interested in books like that, Kiyotaka," Hiyori commented.

"It was just something I was researching when I was new to the school."

However, Sakura clearly rejected her. No... rather, it looked like she was running away. The first time around, she said that she "had plans", but she didn't say it the second time. If she really had somewhere to go to, she would've said it again.

Sakura stood up and took a few steps away from Kushida.

"G-Goodbye."

"I'm sorry that I lied to you back then K-Kiyotaka," said Airi meekly.

"Don't worry about it. I don't hold any grudges against you and I didn't really think of that as lying anyways," She seemed relieved by my answer.

"That was a calm video, right? Nothing big or extravagant, that will be the case for the next few, until the end of this anyway something interesting will happen in that one,"

The voice came back. It looks like the next few videos won't be too revealing for me, but near the end of Sudo's trial may account for some problem.

Kushida and the others might talk about looking for another witness. It'll be a bother to get involved in that.

"Wow. You really aren't motivated," commented Amikura.

I can't really deny her. I wasn't motivated in the slightest.

"Ayanokouji-kun, want to go home together?"

"..."

Hearing Horikita's invitation, I reflexively put my hand on her forehead. Her forehead felt cool, but her skin was still warm and soft.

After a few seconds when the students collectively realised why I had done what I did, the room began to echo in laughter.

"Did you have such little trust in her?" giggled Mori.

I wanted to say the words 'yes' without hesitation, but the words were stuck in my throat because I feel like Horikita would burn a hole into my body with a glare if I were to utter them.

"...I don't have a cold, you know? I just wanted to ask you about something."

"O-Oh. Well, I guess it's fine."

It was strange for Horikita to invite me. I wonder if it'll rain tomorrow.

Apparently, it didn't matter whether I said yes or not because she was glaring at me with a look in her eyes that said, "I don't know why you're thinking these sarcastic things, but please stop."

At least, that's what I hoped she thought. Her actual thoughts would've been more like, "When you die, I will play Jenga with your bones."

"As I thought, haven't you two gotten closer? Yesterday, you looked like you would kill me when I only touched your shoulder..."

Ike looked a bit dissatisfied as he gazed at my hand on her forehead.

Horikita's facial expression didn't particularly change.

"Can you take it off? Your hand."

"Oh, my bad, my bad."

I was relieved that Horikita didn't counterattack, and drew back my hand. The two of us walked out into the hallway. I think I know the general gist, but I wonder what she wants to talk about.

"Oh, right. I want to go somewhere before we go back; is that fine?"

"Well, as long as it doesn't take too much time."

"Yeah, it'll take about ten minutes."

"Where do you want to go?" Matsushita inquired.

"I wanted to check something in the special building," Horikita answered.

It was hot and humid after school. I made my way towards the club building where the incident happened a few days ago. The area didn't look any different; after all, it wasn't like it had to be taped off because there was a murder case. Now that classes were over, I couldn't see anyone around since the home economics and the audiovisual rooms were rarely used in the first place. This would be one of the most ideal places in the school to call out Sudou.

"Yeah. No one ever goes there unless it's for the club," Ishizaki said.

"Man, it's hot..."

This weather is pretty abnormal. I guess this is how summer should usually feel, but I didn't think it'd be this hot and humid inside the building.

Well, this is the effect of getting used to air conditioning every day. It felt even hotter because I was so used to the cold air of the A/C.

The air conditioning was probably on during classes, but I couldn't tell from how hot it was.

"Sorry for bringing you over here."

Horikita, who was standing next to me, didn't look like she was feeling the heat as she looked down the hallway.

"How strange of you to stick out your own neck for this case. Since we've already found the witness, there's nothing that can be done anymore. What more are you trying to do?"

"I wonder that as well. Why did you help them if you seem to be the most unmotivated person?" Asahina asked.

"I just wanted to help in any way I could."

"What garbage. You have no intention of giving anything close to your 'best'" Kiryuiin jumped in and said.

"I guess I just wanted to see if Horikita could do it without me," I didn't directly respond to her provocation but I gave her some form of answer.

I doubt she would be satisfied by my answer, but she shut her mouth for now.

"Sudou's the first friend I made. I want to help him out a bit."

"Do you think there's a way to prove he's innocent then?"

"Hmm, I don't know. I can't really say anything yet. I'm just acting by myself because I'm not very good at interacting with a larger group of people. It seemed like some responsibilities would be pushed onto me if I stayed, so I ran instead. After all, I like to avoid trouble."

"So what you're saying is that if you had no reason to help Red-Kohai, you wouldn't have," that vow of silence was short-lived by Kiryuiin

"Maybe, maybe not. I'll leave that to your imagination."

"Wait, so if you thought Sudo was unsavable, you wouldn't do anything?" Shinohara was shocked.

"It's fine if he didn't help out. We would still have Horikita and Hirata. No offence, Ayanokouji," Ike said.

"I can see why you had to hide for so long, Ayanokouji. If I was there I would do the same thing as you," sakayanagi said with a smug smirk.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Ike said.

"I don't know. Maybe it's the fact that your amazing leader doesn't seem to have a single ounce of a clue of what to do and even gave up from the beginning whereas the person who you say doesn't benefit seems to be doing most of the work while being unmotivated to do so," Sakayanagi explained.

"Are you saying that Ayanokouji is helping and not Horikita?" Mori asked.

"Who knows?" Sakayangi said.

"Yeah, clearly. But even then, it's contradictory for you to say that you want to help because he's a friend."

"Well, human beings are mutually interdependent creatures."

I've talked about this subject to Horikita before, but she seems pretty open-minded about my way of thinking. Horikita usually acts by herself, so as long as it doesn't affect her negatively, she's fine with it.

"It's kinda creepy how well you're analysing her," Shinohara said.

"Just a habit of mine."

"I may be the type of person to show my heart on my sleeve, but he's read me and my mental state so easily," Horikita thought.

"Well, your way of thinking doesn't really matter to me, so you're free to do whatever you want. Also, I think it's fine to avoid those two."

"I mean, that's just because you hate them."

"What did Hirata do that was so annoying to you guys?" Mii-chan asked.

"Having common enemies leads to cooperation after all."

"No, just because I'm bad at dealing with them doesn't mean I hate them. I'm not like you."

By all means, I do want to get closer to Kushida and Hirata.

"No problem, Ayanokouji. Whenever you want to hang out I'll be there," Yosuke said.

"I would like to apologise for my old statement, Hirata. I don't feel any unjustified resentment against you anymore," Horikita bowed her head.

Yosuke probably already forgave her after her first apology at the beginning. However, even if he had forgiven her, he would still criticise her old actions, but he wouldn't hold any grudges against her. It was normal to criticise people whether they would hear it or not. Humans criticising things is in their nature. No amount of personality or willpower will stop their primitive desires to talk about people and judge them for their faults. It's simply part of their being.

But Horikita has a broad interpretation of my thoughts and is trying to say that we are similar.

"I did not think we were similar," Horikita has an exasperated expression.

"Sure, I believe you."

I walked down the hallway, scanning the corner between the wall and the ceiling.

Horikita suddenly noticed something and started looking around.

"Hmm, there aren't any here. That's too bad."

"Huh? What isn't here?"

"Cameras like the ones in the classroom. We would have solid evidence if those cameras were in the hallways, but there aren't any."

"Oh, right. Those cameras. The case would be solved instantly if they were here."

There were outlets near the ceiling, but weren't being used. The hallway doesn't have any obstacles, so if there was a camera, it would've been able to record the whole incident.

"This seems like a hopeless situation," Shibata said.

"I have to agree. There doesn't seem to be a way that they could get out of this situation without a penalty," Kanzaki said.

"Well, they got out of this situation somehow, so there has to be some way," Amikura said.

"Maybe there was a lack of evidence so they threw the case," Chihiro said.

"Not possible. If there was a lack of evidence, it wouldn't get this far and they did have evidence since there was Injuries on the Class C students so it was definitely essential that they find evidence for Sudo-Senpai's side," Utomiya said.

"O-Oh right yeah you're right," Chihiro said, defeated.

"In the first place, does the school usually have cameras in the hallways?"

The other buildings probably don't have cameras in the hallways as well.

"I mean, they probably wouldn't be in the bathrooms or the changing rooms, right?"

"Yeah, probably not."

"...It's not something to be sad about now though. If there were cameras, the school would've checked them first and this wouldn't be a problem."

I shook my head, feeling ashamed that I got my hopes up for a split second. For a short while, we wandered around aimlessly without getting anything done.

"Did you think of a plan to save Sudou-kun?"

"Of course not. It's your job to come up with a plan. I won't ask you to save Sudou, but it would be nice if you could put us in the right direction."

Horikita shrugged her shoulders in exasperation. She's probably trying to find a way to respond to that. However, she found the witness, so at least she's considering helping out.

"You want me to help? Right now?"

"The witness doesn't really help the situation because she's in class D. I think it's better to go look for something else."

Horikita probably told the others even though it wouldn't help much. If she didn't want to tell them at all, she probably wouldn't have listened nor replied to their request. However, she was calmly wandering around as if she didn't have a care in the world.

Scary. Horikita seems to dislike my last statement about her being indifferent. she seems like she could kill me without hesitation.

"I quite like these descriptions of Horikita that you have, Ayanokouji," Sakayanagi giggled.

"Hey, Senpai, you seem to help but you also don't care about it. Are you really just doing it to pretend to be contributing to the class?" Amasawa giggled.

"I'm not answering that," Horikita said.

"There are a lot of unpleasant things about Sudou. However, I want him to take less responsibility for the incident. Having a few points left over is the best possible outcome, even though it's a loss if the impression of class D gets worse."

I think she's saying her honest feelings, even though she's not usually upfront. That's not a bad thing. However, most people are weak to loneliness. That's why some people hypocritically act to stick together. That isn't the case for Horikita, though. And unlike Kushida and the others, she definitely gave up on trying to prove Sudou's innocence.

"As I said earlier unless a perfect witness shows up, it will be impossible to prove that Sudou-Kun is innocent. Well, it might happen if class C admits that they lied. Do you think that'll happen?"

"Definitely not. Class C won't do that."

Since the other class also doesn't have any evidence, the lie won't go anywhere. We also don't have anything to believe other than Sudou's words. The whole situation is in the dark.

"There's no one here after school."

"Obviously, since this building isn't used for anything other than clubs."

One party called out the other to the roof. Afterwards, as if by fate, the two quarrelling parties fought. In the end, Sudou injured the other party, and they complained about it. I wouldn't bother coming to this hot place unless someone else called me out here. The humidity is oppressive. I feel like I'm going insane in this heat.

"Hey, Kiyopon, I think this is the first time I've ever seen you this annoyed," Haruka said stifling her giggles.

"I just dislike the heat a lot."

"Pretty crappy weakness for a monster," Ryueen snickered.

"Monster? That's a bit rude, isn't it, Ryuuen?" Hiyori told him.

"Don't worry, Hiyori. He doesn't take any offence from it. It's a little inside joke we have and if Ayanokouji wants, he can always explain the meaning behind it," Ryuuen looked at me with a big grin and then the rest of the room looked at me.

"Ryuuen and I competed in an eating competition and I beat him so he has that nickname for me because of that."

I said a total lie but I really just wanted to see how Ryueen wanted to respond to this.

"See, Hiyori? That's all. It is just a fun competition between friends," Ryueen looked at me with an annoyed grin, but kept the lie going.

"I see then," Hiyori looked blankly at him and accepted it immediately.

" Is it not hot for you, Horikita?"

As my body was suffering from the heat, Horikita was looking around with a cool expression.

"I'm pretty good against the heat and the cold. You look... not so good."

I was out of it from the heat and moved towards the window in search of some cool air. I opened the window to save myself from the heat... but I immediately shut the window right after.

"...That was dangerous."

As soon as I opened the window, the hot wind burst into the room. It would be an even bigger disaster if I kept the window open.

When I think about the fact that it'll get even hotter until August, I feel depressed.

"I feel depressed that this is the masterpiece that I've spent my entire life trying to face," Yagami thought.

"So he's bad in the heat, huh? Maybe I should trap him in a room full of space heaters in the summer until he cries for the aircon," Ryueen grinned at this thought.

(A/N I have no idea what I'm writing for this chapter but I think it's funny so I'm gonna keep going)

"Ayanokouji, are you that bad in the heat?" Akito asked.

"I grew up in the city with the aircon on most of the time so I hadn't felt heat like that in my entire life."

However, there were results from coming here today. It's not impossible—

"What are you thinking about right now?"

"No, nothing much. Just that it's hot... I've reached my limit already."

It looked like nothing more could be done right now, so the two of us started heading back.

"Ah."

"Oops."

As I turned the corner of the hallway, I accidentally bumped into another student.

"My bad, are you okay?"

It wasn't that strong of an impact, so neither of us fell over.

"Yes. Sorry, I was careless."

"Me too. Oh wait, are you Sakura?"

As the girl apologized, I recognized who she was.

"...Ah, um...?"

From her flustered response, it seems like she doesn't know who I am.

After she looked at my face for a few seconds, she recognized that I was one of her classmates. Then again, it's kind of pointless if you can only recognize someone by looking at them carefully.

Sakura was holding her phone tightly in her hand.

"Ah, um. My hobby is taking pictures..."

"You were so flustered that you explained the first thing he looked at," Haruka looked a little sad that her friend wasn't able to communicate at all one year ago.

"Yeah, I guess. But I think I'm getting better now," Airi said with a confident smile.

Sakuras growth wasn't big and fast like Kei's or Horikita's. It was more like Sudo's which developed slowly over time. Yet, she hasn't tried to better herself nearly as much as he has over the past year.

She showed me the screen of her phone. I wasn't really planning on asking in the first place.

After all, it's not unnatural to use a phone while walking.

Sakura was probably wondering why we were in this building.

"What pictures were you taking?"

"Things like the hallway... and the view out the window."

As she finished her explanation, she saw Horikita nearby and cast down her eyes.

"Ah, um..."

"I have something I want to ask you, Sakura-san."

Sakura looked uncomfortable, but Horikita took a step forward.

She stepped back in fright. I held back Horikita lightly, gesturing for her to back off.

"G-Goodbye."

"Sakura."

I quickly called out to Sakura, who was already running away.

"You don't have to push yourself."

"What?" Ike exclaimed.

"Yeah. I don't really get it either," Miyamoto said.

I didn't have to call out to her, but I did. Sakura stopped walking but didn't look back.

"You don't have to come out as the witness. There's no meaning to forcing a testimony out of you. However, if there's someone scary trying to threaten you, you can talk to us. I don't know how much I can help, but I will help the best I can."

"Are you talking about me?" Horikita muttered

Let's just ignore the possibility that a scary person exists and let her go.

Horikita was probably tired of glaring and she simply sighed at my jab. But the rest of the hall was swept up in laughter again.

"Were you trying to protect Airi, Kiyopon?" Haruka said trying her best not to smile.

"I was just saying what I thought she should do. If Horikita interrogated her, she may be even more reserved than she was then."

"That was probably a good idea," Akito commented.

"I didn't see anything. I'm the wrong person..."

She kept insisting that she wasn't the witness. After all, we are only working off Horikita's insight, and nothing else. There is a possibility that the actual witness maybe someone else.

"Then that's fine. If someone else tries to press you, though, tell me."

Sakura gave a small reply and headed down the stairs.

"That was a once in a lifetime chance right now, you know? She probably walked away because she knew something was going to happen."

"Since she denies it herself, there's nothing more we can do. Also, you know that a witness from class D is pretty weak."

"Well, I guess."

Most students agreed.

She'll act based on her thoughts. Then again, I don't know what she's thinking.

That's why we're not really investigating right now.

"Hey you guys, what are you doing here?"

Both of us turned around, not having expected someone to call out to us. A strawberry-blonde haired girl was looking towards us. I've seen her face before. She's Ichinose from class B, but I've never talked to her before. Also, I've heard that she's an amazing student from the rumours floating around.

"Hey, Honami, he knew who you were back then. maybe you should talk to him," Amikura teased.

Ichinose gave her an annoyed glance and ignored her, but she did get noticeable more fidgety and reserved from a few seconds ago. Was she feeling bad that she didn't know my name?

"Sorry to call you out so suddenly. Do you have some time? Oh, but if you're here on a date, please get out quickly."

"It's nothing like that."

Horikita immediately denied it. It's only times like these when she's fast to respond.

"Woah! Honami you're completely different here," Amikura looked bewildered at Ichinose saying something like that.

"Ahaha, I see. This place is too hot to be a date spot anyway."

Ichinose and I have never talked before. I'm saying this without any proof, but she probably doesn't know my name. After all, I'm only one of the many students she sees every day.

Is she Horikita's acquaintance or friend? ...Nah.

Laughter rang around the halls again, was I really that funny? I was just thinking about what I felt? Even Ichinose and Sudo were giggling

If they suddenly went, "Hey, long time no see~ How are you doing~?" "I'm doing well~!", I'm sure I would collapse while foaming at the mouth.

"Ayanokouji, who knew you were such a comedian?" Sato said while giggling

"Kiyopon, do you think stuff like this all the time? I might die of laughter because of you," Haruka said with her hands crossed on her chest imitating a dead person.

I had also noticed that Horikita today showed more expressions than I've ever seen her have before. She went from angry to surprised to bewildered to acceptance. Aren't these some of the 5 stages of grief? was she going through an internal battle because of what I had said? I couldn't tell.

"Do you have some business with us?"

Of course it probably wasn't something like that, but Horikita became immediately wary of Ichinose, who had just appeared. She probably thinks that this isn't coincidence.

"Business... well, something like 'what are you doing here?'"

"Nothing much. We're somewhat wandering around."

It would've been fine to answer honestly, but the pressure from

Horikita's gaze made me answer differently.

"Somewhat, huh? You two are in class D, right?"

"...You know us?"

"I've met you two times before, even though we haven't talked. Also, I remember seeing him in the library before."

Somehow, it seems that she remembered my figure.

"I have a good memory, after all."

Are you trying to say that you wouldn't have remembered me if your memory wasn't good? I was a bit happy, but my good mood disappeared from that jab.

"I-I didn't mean anything like that. You just read into it a little too much," said Ichinose frantically trying to defend my comment.

"I know. I was just overthinking it."

"Hey, Kiyotaka, what other stuff have you overthought about other people?" Kei asked with a weird look in her eyes.

"Nothing much," I probably shouldn't mention the stuff about Ichinoses thighs on the cruise ship.

"I feel like you're lying, but I can never tell with you," She said sighing.

"I thought that there would be something here that would be related to the fight. When I wasn't at school yesterday, it seems like some information about the witness had reached class B. I only heard later that the students of class D were trying to prove him innocent."

"If we're doing investigating here because of the incident, then how does that affect you?"

"Hmm, how does it affect me? ...well, it doesn't. But, I had a few doubts when I heard about the story, and so I decided to come here to check things out. If it's fine with you, would you tell me about the circumstances?"

Is it fine to chalk it up as "curiosity" then?

After a few moments of silence, Ichinose spoke apologetically.

"Does that mean no? If other classes were interested..."

"No, it's nothing like that, but..."

"I can only think there's something else to this."

I tried to go about things peacefully, but Horikita immediately shot down that plan. Ichinose tilted her neck and smiled, interpreting the meaning behind Horikita's words.

"Something else? Do you feel like we're going to make a secret move to interfere with class C and D?"

She looked like she wanted to say, "Oh, that's disappointing".

"I don't think you have to be that wary, though. I'm really just curious."

"I don't want to answer someone who's 'just curious'. Just do as you please."

Horikita answered, trying to get her to back off, and looked out the window.

"Please tell me something. All I heard from my friends and the teachers were that there was a fight."

"Honami, don't you think that you were being a little pushy? Don't you think it's a little rude to budge into other classes matters? You're seriously way too nice," Amikura said looking disappointed.

"I just wanted to help out," Ichinose claimed.

Although I hesitated for a bit, I knew that there wasn't much information out there and decided to explain how the three class C students called out Sudou, got beat up, turned it around on him, and how two versions of the story were reported to the school. Ichinose listened to the whole store seriously.

"I see, so that's what happened. That news hasn't come to class B yet. I see, I see... Hey, isn't this a huge problem? It doesn't matter who lied, since it's a case of violence anyway. Shouldn't you discover the truth?"

"That's why we're here in the first place, but we haven't discovered much."

It's not a murder scene, so I didn't think there were any hints left over, but we did get some results, contrary to our expectations.

"So, you're believing Sudou-Kun because he's your friend and your classmate. And therefore this case has become a case of false accusation to class D."

It would be hard for Ichinose, a third party, to understand that it wasn't because he was our friend or because he was our classmate. But I'm not going to explain that much.

"What would you do if Sudou-Kun was the one lying? For example, what if there was evidence that clearly proved he was guilty?"

"I would honestly report it. After all, such a lie would only bite us in the back later."

"Yea, I agree."

It's not like Ichinose would be affected anyway.

"Then we're good, right? Since you got what you wanted."

She spoke quickly, as if she wanted to turn her away as fast as possible.

"Mmm. Hey, is it fine if I help? I can help look for the witness. It's faster if there's more people, right?"

Obviously, the more people the better. That's true. But it's not like we're saying, "Please listen to our story, it's a disaster!".

"I wonder why a class B student is offering to help."

"Are class B and class D completely unrelated? We don't know when and where these kind of cases will pop up. Since the classes are competing against each other, there's always of a risk that these troubles appear. This time was just the first such case. It'll also be a huge issue if the party that lied wins. Also, I personally can't overlook this after hearing what happened."

I couldn't tell if she was being serious or if she was joking.

"Why would you think that she was joking? She just talked about helping you. Don't you think you should take her proposal into account?" Shinohara said.

"Well, if a class leader came up to you and asked if they could help you save a student right after a competition was announced, would you believe them?" I told her.

"W-Well, no I wouldn't. I guess I can see your point," Shinohara said quietly.

"If class B helps in finding a witness, don't you guys have more credibility? Well, it's possible that class D is the one that suffers damage after the truth is revealed..."

If Sudou's words are proven to be a lie, that means class C's claim is the correct one. Sudou would be suspended, and class D would take some heavy damage, perhaps fatal.

"What do you think? I think it's a pretty good proposal."

I looked over at Horikita. However, she was still facing out the window with her back turned to me. I wonder what she thinks about her proposal. Naturally, we were most worried about our merit. If the students of class D tried to prove Sudou's innocence by ourselves, the credibility of our proof would be low unless the evidence completely solved the case.

If an unrelated class B student got involved, the situation would be completely different.

"You may think I'm being a hypocrite, but I also don't intend to carry such a heavy responsibility."

I weighed the positives and the negatives of her proposal. Obviously, we still couldn't trust Ichinose yet. After all, she's a student from class B, and there's no clear benefit for her in choosing to help. If helping other people repeatedly was related to the class and private points, then her actions are understandable. She probably won't give up such valuable information so easily... but there's no other way but to ask.

"Let's accept the help, Ayanokouji-kun."

Horikita must have determined that the merits were greater than the risks. I was thankful that she came to a decision quickly. In the first place, I didn't really have any power to decide; it was all up to Horikita.

Ichinose Brightly Smiled at her acceptance

"So, this is how you guys started to work together," Hirata said.

"Yes. This was the beginning of our alliance," Horikita said, but she was noticeably lacking the usual conviction her words had.

The most probable guess would be that she is reevaluating her thoughts on the alliance. It made sense considering that Class B is usually the defensive team and doesn't take any measures in winning. But also the original reason that Class B and D were aligned was due to the fact that Class D wasn't strong enough on its own and needed something to help it stand. Now that class D can stand the need for class B is no longer there.

"Then it's decided. Um..."

"Horikita."

Horikita readily gave her name; it looks like she approves of this cooperative relationship.

"Nice to meet you, Horikita-san. And Ayanokouji-kun as well."

By an unexpected turn of events, we became acquainted with Ichinose and formed a cooperative relationship, but it's still up to chance whether or not this is a good thing. Either way, it'll bring change.

"We already found the witness, but sadly, they're in class D."

Ichinose let out a sigh, facepalming.

"Well, that means a witness isn't in any other class, right? At least, the probability would be low."

A very low chance, but a chance is a chance.

"Even then, your friend is being considered as a regular, right? That's awesome! Even if he's holding you guys back right now, he'll be a great asset later on. If he goes out and does great, he'll get points and so will the class. Wait... did you not know? Did your teacher not tell you?"

We were only told that our private points were affected.

"It's my first time hearing that it affects our class points... I'll have to bring up a complaint with Chiyabashira-sensei later on."

Horikita mumbled in dissatisfaction.

Either way, Sensei omitted something once again. I wonder if it was their teacher that told class B about the class points... As usual, Sensei doesn't even try to pretend that we're all equal. I'm feeling the extreme discrimination.

The first time Chabashira decided to withhold information from the students was most likely overlooked due to the fact that teachers are allowed leeway with students. I can even remember multiple examples of this like when Hoshinomiya put Ichinose in my group on the cruise ship. But Hoshinomiya didn't do anything past that, and there was no large change in the Zodiac exam as the surrounding members won't change the VIP. But Chabashira has willingly withheld information that is vital for the class. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a penalty for her actions.

"Chabashira, there may be a need for you to go into the headmaster's office this evening," Mashima said.

Chabashira has already resigned herself to this fate. She probably knew the repercussions of her actions would grant her more punishment than a pay cut.

"Poor Ayanokouji. Sae-chan, Ayanokouji seems to dislike your methods," Hoshinomiya said with a downcast look but I could tell that she was enjoying this.

"My homeroom teacher, Hoshinomiya-sensei, says it like it's her favourite phrase. She always says that she has to do her best because the teacher in charge of class A will get a bonus at the end. It seems like it's different for you guys."

"I'm envious of your homeroom teacher and your class."

"This sucks. If it was possible to change homeroom teachers I would be at class A by now," Hoshinomiya thought while she had a fake smile on her face.

It feels like our homeroom teacher has no sense of ambition and no desire for money.

Rather, it feels like she would say, "You guys are failing—great!".

Ryueen was cackling at this thought and most of class D looked unable to defend their teacher

"I think it would be great to meet up and discuss things sometimes."

"I wasn't expecting to be helped by the enemy."

"I mean, it feels like this is a problem before we can compete. After all, we're not on even playing ground."

We were being pitied, even by the other classes. It shows the lack of enthusiasm Chiyabashira-sensei has for her students.

"I wish we could switch teachers."

"No, I think there are other problems with that."

I thought back on the time I met Hoshinomiya-sensei. She seems like a whole different set of troubles.

Most of class B weren't able to defend their teacher.

"I'm deeply saddened that you feel that way, Ayanokouji. I might need to take a week off for bed rest," Hoshinomiya said while wiping fake tears.

"Ah, it's so hot here."

Ichinose took out a handkerchief with a cute panda on it and wiped the sweat from her forehead. Our thick uniforms trap the heat well.

"A school that turns on the air conditioning 24/7 even when the whole building is empty is bad for the environment and is detestable."

"Ahahaha, I guess. You're an interesting one."

Ichinose laughed even though the line wasn't meant to be funny.

"She's just an overly happy person," some class B student said.

"I don't think there was anything to laugh at..."

"How about we exchange contact addresses to make sure things go smoothly in the future?"

Horikita sent me a look of, "I don't want to, so you give her yours".

"If you're fine with mine. I'll reply when you contact me."

"Okay, I got it."

I only realized after we exchanged addresses, but wow, I have a lot of girls' contact addresses. Granted, I only have seven addresses, three of which are girls, even though it's the beginning of July. Somehow... I may have been enjoying my youth without even knowing it.

A few boys were looking at me with jealousy, but there was nothing to be jealous of since this was just a business negotiation.

"Not as unpopular as you thought," Hashimoto smirked.

"I didn't really get it out of popularity. It was mostly because Horikita wouldn't give hers."

This is unrelated, but Ichinose's first name is Honami.

"I don't think it's that unrelated," Kobashi said.

"I wasn't expecting to become friends with her so I thought it didn't really matter."

"Well that was a nice video, right? How about we get some Love advice before the big stuff,"

"Love Advice?"

"Who from?"

"It's from Ayanokoujis's perspective probably, but the real question is who it's gonna be to," Ike said

"Oh? Suzune, having some love trouble? After all, Ayanokouji is the only guy you talk to," Ryueen provoked.

"It's not me. I'm more surprised by the fact that Ayanokouji is capable of giving love advice," Horikita answered.

I don't really think that last part was necessary.

Authors notes:

New word counts record 7.4k words. This chapter and the next is basically just the build-up for the last 3 of volume 2. There is one part of volume 2 that I completely forgot about and that's the fact that it's absolutely hilarious. If the author kept up this Hyouka slice of life mystery style I don't think I would have minded. Not to say current cote isn't good

Love Advice

It was a new day and we were put back into the gymnasium. The voice told us that this would be about some love advice, so I would assume this is with me, Ichinose and Chihiro.

"Alright, now that we're back I'll show you this video. You don't really need context as I'll show you the entire ordeal from beginning to end."

So we're gonna see me and Ichnose talk about the school as well.

"Tch. Why do we have to watch some boring shit like this? Where was the interesting stuff from the beginning?" Ryuuen complained and I had noticed that some other people surprisingly agreed with him. I guess they preferred my fights and strategies over some romantic advice.

"Ayanokouji, you seem to be quite amazing. Are you also a couples counsellor?" Hashimoto smirked.

"Nope. He's as dense as a rock," Kei thought.

"Nope. I refuse to believe that he's good at relationship stuff," Haruka answered.

"Well, let's see. Maybe he's been hiding his love guru techniques from the school all along," Hashimoto said and a few students chuckled at his joke.

On this campus, there are four dorms. Three of them are for the students; the students stay in the same dorm they were assigned to in their first year for all of high school. In other words, this dorm was used by last year's third-years. The last dorm is for the teachers, and for all the live-in employees that work at the shopping mall.

In other words, since all the first years were in the same building, it was inevitable that people from different classes would get to meet.

I locked eyes with a person who had been a complete stranger until now.

"Thank you very much."

The girl who said her thanks to the dorm manager noticed me and called out to me.

"Yahoo, Ayanokouji-Kun. Good morning. You're early."

Long, wavy hair and wide eyes. Chest straining the second button of her blazer. Her posture matches her personality, and what charms me is how cool she is, rather than her looks. It was class 1-B's Ichinose Honami.

"Quite the descriptive one, aren't we, Ayanokouji?" Amikura said.

"It's just a habit of mine."

This was probably one of the last times that my comments on a girl would be shown, but it doesn't help my current situation.

"I woke up earlier than I expected. What were you talking about with the manager?"

"A few people from my class wanted to make a request to the dorm. So, I gathered all the opinions and relayed them to the manager. Things like water usage and noise."

"You did?"

Usually, complaints or issues about the rooms were handled individually. I wonder why Ichinose collected their opinions.

"We offered to do it ourselves, but Ichinose refused and did it all on her own. She's seriously way too nice!" Amikura said.

"Seriously, it's no problem. I was happy to do it," Ichinose reassured her that she was happy doing it.

Ichinose was telling the truth. She's happy to help people and do nice things for others, but if she does everything for them, she won't be leading them, but rather, she'll be babying them. They would be completely reliant on her and have them conform to whatever thoughts she may have due to them blindly accepting whatever she says.

"Good morning class rep~"

Ichinose replied to the two girls who walked out of the elevator.

"Class rep? Why class rep?"

I've never heard of that before. There are no positions like that here.

It doesn't look like they call her 'class rep' because she studies too much.

"I'm the class rep for my class."

"Class rep... do all the other classes have one?"

Normally I'd be surprised, but our homeroom teacher would've probably decided to leave that out.

"It's kinda sad that you're not surprised anymore that your teacher is hiding stuff from you," Kanzaki said in pity.

"We just got used to it," Horikita said.

"But isn't that worse?" Kanzaki looked at us with pity

"No, we just made it on our own. I think it's good to assign a few roles."

I understood what she was saying, but it's not like we were going to assign a class rep anyway.

"By any chance, do you have any positions other than class rep?"

"Pretty much. Whether or not they're useful is a different question, but we do have other roles like vice class rep and secretary. It'll be useful whenever we have some kind of festival. It would be fine to decide things on the spot, but that might become troublesome."

I remembered that Ichinose was studying with a group of boys and girls at the library some time ago. She was probably fulfilling her role as class rep back then as well. Usually, most people wouldn't want to be part of a class committee. They're forced to do troublesome things and have to participate in discussions from time to time. However, with Ichinose taking the initiative, things probably went a lot smoother.

"Don't you think you're generalising a bit? Most people wouldn't be opposed to do some work from time to time," Shibata said.

"I guess I was a little. But I guess that I had assumed that most people wouldn't want to do extra work than they had at school," I explained.

Shibata nodded in understanding, but that just let Ryueen begin his insults and mockery.

"Hey, that's not bad. Maybe you guys aren't as useless as I had thought. Although I guess you just had some beginners luck since you had students who are blind sheep," Ryueen provoked.

The class B students were angry, but class D was contemplating 'The Ichinose system'.

"Why don't we try something like that and give roles to the students in our class?" surprisingly Ike was the first to agree to this.

"We don't need to emulate Ichinose and it wouldn't matter anyway since most students understand what their role is even if it isn't named," Horikita shot down Ike's proposal.

"I guess you're like the leader of class B then."

My honest feelings leaked out.

"Are you thinking of something strange? Everyone's doing this for fun. Also, there are a surprising amount of people who cause trouble. There are a lot of issues."

As she said "There are a lot of issues", she laughed in delight. Taking advantage of the current situation, we were walking to school together.

A few boys looked at me with jealousy and some casual banter started in class B.

"Who are the troublemakers and am I part of them?" Shibata said.

"The only troublemaker is you. She probably didn't want you to feel bad, so she said there were multiple," Amikura teased.

Shibata chuckled at her remark and let the chatter continue with their classmates.

Ichinose asked a harmless question as if she was following a template. I felt somewhat accomplished when I heard those words. My relationship with Ichinose will surely grow with small talk like this.

"There's no need to leave so early, so I usually stay in my room for 20 minutes."

"Then I guess you get there just on time."

As we got closer to the school, the number of students multiplied.

Oddly enough, a number of girls turned towards us with jealous looks. Is this my popularity phase that's rumoured to come three times in a lifetime? Since it's never happened to me, I feel like this is just about the right time for it to come.

"Do you have the self-awareness of a pineapple?" Ryueen remarked.

"You know they weren't looking at you right? It was just because Honami was with you," Amikura said in a monotone voice that could rival my own.

It was a dumb thought with no rational reasoning whatsoever so I guess these comments are fair.

"Good morning, Ichinose!"

"Good morning, Ichinose-san!"

Ichinose monopolized all of the gazes of the girls.

"Wow, you're popular."

"Since I'm the class rep, I just stand out more. That's all."

Instead of being humble, it seems like that's what she truly believed.

"Are you completely oblivious?" Asahina said.

Ichinose completely ignored her.

Instead of being humble, it seems like that's what she truly believed. It seems like she naturally attracts the attention of nearby people.

"Oh, right. Did you hear about summer break?"

"Summer break? No... isn't summer break just summer break?"

"There are rumours that our vacation will be on a tropical island."

I could see the light fade away from the class 2 C students' eyes.

"Please. No one ever mention Islands again," Komiya said.

"Which part? The part where you lost to us, or is there one that I'm forgetting?" Hondo said.

Speaking of which, something else crossed my mind. I forget when, but Chiyabashira-sensei said something about a vacation.

"I can't really believe it, but do we really have a vacation?"

It probably isn't just a trip... Look around and seriously think about it.

It isn't an exaggeration to say that this school goes all out. Going to a tropical island during summer vacation and an onsen during the winter.

...It's very suspicious. I don't think the school is that nice. There's definitely something else lurking around. I wonder what Ichinose thinks.

Without having to ask, I could tell from the bitter smile on her face.

My class was looking at me strangely since I had realised that the Island exam from the first year wasn't just a vacation.

I could see that they wanted to ask several questions about how I knew that or about why I didn't tell the rest of the class. I acted before they could open their mouth's.

"Before you all ask how I suspected the trip was something more than a vacation I'll answer you," I said addressing the whole class "Wasn't it pretty obvious? This school is unorthodox in every sense of the word. Did you have no suspicions about the fact that they gave us a whole luxury island vacation on an island after just one term."

The entire class was in contemplation at my words.

"Yeah, you're right. We should have been more prepared," Surprisingly, it was Ike that said that.

I guess Ike had at least matured enough to consider my explanations and think about them.

"It's suspicious. I think that's one of the turning points."

"In other words, this might cause a huge change in the class points?"

"Yea, yea. This might have more influence than the midterms and the finals. Otherwise, the only difference between the classes would be these test scores. This trip is so that the school could separate us."

It wouldn't be strange for a big event to happen soon...

"y-you predicted the exam?" said Shinohara in awe.

"I wouldn't say predicted. These were just speculations. We had no way to know what the school might do."

"maybe we should have thought about this more," said Onodera.

"It's alright, Onodera. Most people didn't know about the exam," Horikita eased her worries.

It wasn't a stretch to assume that most students were still dealing with the current state of the school. Thinking that nothing more could come that would make their lives harder and even if they thought something like that, they had no way to prove it.

"What is the gap between class A and B?"

"We have about 660 points, so around 350."

It was a given that the number would've dropped since the beginning of the year, but it's amazing how many points they held on to.

"Not really, you guys are just garbage," Ryueen snickered.

I didn't completely agree with his assessment, but I didn't disagree with him either.

I think that the first part of that statement is correct. However, that's only possible because they have a solid foundation. We've only got 87 points. We're not close to even competing with the other classes.

"I wonder how much this event will change things."

It probably won't be a measly 10 or 20 points. However, it's also difficult to imagine that the totals would change by 500 or 1000 points.

The students agreed with my analysis, but there was an exception that let you gain up to 600 class points. It was the zodiac exam. Now, whether you were able to secure that number or not depends, but it is possible.

"We're also in a pinch. If the gap widens, we might not be able to catch up anymore."

"I guess we both have to work hard."

Actually, it's Horikita, Hirata, and Kushida that have to work hard.

"You don't really care about this, huh?" Matsushita said to me.

"I didn't think the class was worth trying for at the time. But I've changed my opinion since then and I would assume most people who had that previous thought would agree," Matsushita seemed satisfied and dropped the discussion.

"At any rate, it doesn't look like the situation will get much worse."

I don't want to start complaining already, but it seems like a troublesome event will happen soon.

"But if it's actually a vacation on a tropical island, that would be super amazing!"

"Yeah that would be possible if the school weren't sadists," Ike joked.

"I wonder..."

"Huh, not looking forward to it?"

Only people who have friends and interact with others can enjoy their break. There's nothing that feels as uncomfortable as travelling without people you're close to. Even more so if travelling with a group. Just thinking about it makes me feel sick.

"I guess I could understand that thought process. Travelling with people you don't know well would be uncomfortable, but I wouldn't know how I would feel since I only ever went with family," Amikura pondered.

"Do you hate travelling by any chance?"

"I don't hate travelling. I think, at least..."

While talking about this and that, I imagined what it would feel like. After all, I've never travelled with a friend. Speaking of travel, I've been to New York with my parents when I was very young. None of it was fun. I felt weary by the bitter flashback I had.

"Why wouldn't that be fun? I've always wanted to go to America," Asahina said.

"Well, it was more like a business trip that I went on. I didn't really get to do anything fun and was just dragged around a lot."

"What's wrong?"

"I just recalled a certain traumatic memory."

"Was it really that bad?" Shinohara asked.

I could see many students look at me with questioning eyes. I didn't understand why they thought they were allowed to ask about my life and past.

"Let's not ask questions he's not comfortable answering," Yosuke said.

I mouthed out a thank you and he nodded. It seems that yosuke was my saviour for the time being.

My dry laughter echoed along the hot road.

No, no. If I spread my negative aura, then Ichinose would be troubled as well.

However, my worries were for naught, and Ichinose continued to talk, looking like she didn't mind.

"Can I ask you some questions?"

Ichinose was a dazzling existence, though different from Kushida.

It seems like she's acting sincerely for her own satisfaction.

Even when she's talking to me, it seems like she's giving it her all.

"That's just because Ichinose is a hard worker," Kobashi said.

"The whole grade is separated into four classes, right? I wonder if that's actually by ability."

"I know that the results of the entrance exam don't directly correspond to the results. There are people that deserve to be in the top class based on test scores, so I figured about that much."

Horikita, Koenji, and Yukimura would definitely rank highly in the grade.

"Isn't it something like 'overall ability'?"

I gave a vague reply. I've also thought about it many times, but couldn't come up with an answer.

"But I always wondered. People might be good at studying and bad at sports, or vice versa. But if the students are ranked by overall ability, doesn't that mean that the lower classes are at a severe disadvantage?"

"That's true. If the lower ability students were all at the bottom, there would be no chance to move up. It would be far too cruel for the entire school to make a class stay at the bottom for 3 years," Horikita analysed.

Horikita seemed to understand this better than anyone because she always thought about why she was in class D and how she was sorted with the other classmates.

"Isn't that how societal competition works? I don't think it's strange."

Ichinose crossed her arms and paused. It looked like she didn't understand.

"If it was an individual match, then maybe. But this is a class competition. If you put all the good people in class A, isn't there absolutely no chance of winning?"

I mean, that's pretty much the current state of the class points.

However, it seemed like Ichinose's thoughts were different.

"I'm glad that you acknowledge the fact that class A is the strongest," Sakayanagi giggled.

"Ichinose, he does have a point. The students in class A are much better than students in class C or D," Kanzaki seemed to take my thought seriously.

"Ahahaha, nothing much. It just came to me for some reason. If that wasn't true, it would be accurate to call this situation harsh. I think that there are people who can study and do well in sports in class D for a reason."

Is that different from the usual system?

If the classes were separated using only our academic ability, there would be no way to beat the other classes, no matter how hard we tried.

An important factor to this system is being an expert in many fields.

"...Shouldn't you keep quiet about this?"

I advised Ichinose, feeling slightly worried.

"Hmm? About what?"

"About your thoughts right now. Horikita said it early, but you're helping out the enemy."

I might get some new ideas and try to do something with it.

"I don't think that's true. It's important that a lot of ideas are circulated. Also, since we're in a cooperative relationship, it's completely fine."

It wasn't the complacency of being in class B... but rather, it was a characteristic of Ichinose. Somehow, I could understand what she was thinking. Anyway, she's actually a good person—and doesn't have two sides to her.

"My brain isn't good enough to exchange ideas and such. I can only say 'I'm sorry' to that."

"You can lie without remorse, huh?" Himeno said.

"Yuki, it's fine. If he didn't say his thoughts, I don't really mind," Ichinose tried to stop Hiemno's blunt insults on me. Himeno rolled her eyes and looked away from me.

"It's fine even it's just me talking. If you think it's useful information, you can use it."

Ichinose seemed to remember something and stopped in her tracks.

As I wondered what it was about, I turned my head and saw her serious expression.

"You know... I wanted to ask you something. Is that okay?"

I could hardly imagine the cheerful Ichinose from a few seconds ago. My body stiffened up.

"Woah! you're so different here," Amikura said.

Even ryueen who was lacking interest was staring at the screen.

"I'll answer to the best of my ability."

There's nothing I can answer with my brain that has the knowledge of a hundred million books (a big lie).

"Are you making jokes in your own head?" Shinohara said.

"Yes. Is there anything wrong with that?" I don't think Shinohara's goal was to be mean. She was just genuinely curious, but since she didn't have any ill intent, my statement which seemed to take offence to her remark made her reevaluate her words and make her second guess herself which made her not say any more questions that she believes I may take offence to.

"Have you ever been confessed to by a girl?"

Um... That wasn't in the millions of books I read...

"Do I look like a person who has been confessed to before...?"

"Yes you do," Sato thought

Is this when she calls me disgusting, a virgin, or makes fun of me? I'll cry, you know? I'm only a first-year high school student! It's way too early for that. Hey, hey. Don't you think so too? I'm pretty sure that the proportion of people who have confessed to those who haven't is very small. I have no proof to back it up, however. The number of people who die in solitude, hidden away from the rest of humanity, cannot be counted.

"What?"

"I would have never said those things," Ichinose yelled out at me.

"Do you think self-deprecating stuff like this all the time?" Akito asked

"Not usually."

I had thoughts that people may consider deprecating, but I don't think any of them reached the height of this.

I guess since they didn't know me that well, no one said anything since being self-deprecating turns things awkward and makes most people want to move on with the conversation.

"No, no. Sorry, it's nothing."

That's not a face that says "it's nothing". However, it looks like she's more worried than anything else.

"Did someone confess to you?"

"Huh? Oh, yea. Something like that."

"Woah, really? I guess that's not that surprising since it's you Honami," Amikura gasped.

Somehow, it seems like a lot of people are trying to become a couple just like Hirata and Karuizawa.

"If you have time after school, I want to talk to you about confessions. I know you're busy and all about the current issue, but if you have time..."

"It's fine. I don't really have much to do."

"Don't have much to do?"

"I don't think there's any use to find evidence or look for a witness. It'd be troublesome to waste my time doing something like that."

"But you went to the scene of the incident yesterday, right?"

"That was for something else. Anyway, it's fine."

"It was?" Ike asked.

"I wanted to check something," I wanted to drop some hints, but they'll know that eventually so I didn't think it was that important.

"Thanks."

But I wonder what this has to do with me.

Is this the pattern where she makes up a lie and says "This is my boyfriend"? However, I immediately pushed that thought away since it would be better to use a more reliable pretty boy instead.

"That's just wishful thinking if you think that she really thought that," Miyamoto said.

"After school... I'll be waiting at the entrance."

"A-Alright."

"Did he just stutter," ryuuen and Sakayanagi thought.

It's natural that I felt somewhat excited, even though I knew nothing was going to happen.

The front entrance of the school was overflowing with students on their way home for the day. I was a little worried about how I would meet up with Ichinose, but my worries were immediately resolved. She managed to stand out, even among so many other students.

Although her cute appearance could have been part of the reason, it also felt like she had a presence that controlled the area.

"What do you mean, Kiyopon?" Haruka asked.

"Well, I just thought that seemed to be having a commanding presence."

"Oh, okay. That makes sense."

"That did not make sense," Haruka thought.

Honestly, I didn't know how to describe it. I could only vaguely describe it as a gentle, yet powerful feeling. Something that was amplified by the attention she received from the surrounding first-year students.

It was similar to the attention Kushida received, if not more so. She was popular with everyone, constantly being called out to by the other students one after the other. As a result, I wasted about 5 minutes trying to find the right time to call out to her.

"It's my bad that I didn't find you sooner," Ichinose apologised.

She really didn't need to since I was practically invisible and standing in 1 space for 5 minutes.

"You should be a writer. You describe stuff well," Akito said.

"Ah! Ayanokouji-kun, over here!"

Ichinose eventually noticed and called out to me.

I pretended as if I had just arrived as I raised my hand and joined up with her.

"So, what should I do next?"

"I intend to wrap this up as quickly as possible, so follow me."

I put on my shoes and followed Ichinose to the other side of the school.

We eventually arrived behind the gymnasium. It seemed like an ideal place to make a confession.

The tension and suspense rose since Ichinose went to a place ideal for a confession and then was acting quiet and reserved.

"Well..."

After taking a moment to prepare herself, Ichinose turned around to face me. There's no way... Ichinose, to me!?

"No way, right?"

"Did you really do it, Honami?" Amikura asked.

"Confess-"

No, something like that–

"Ayanokouji, did that happen?" Ike asked.

"Kiyopon, you were confessed to?" Haruka looked surprised.

Ichinose and I both didn't answer the question as the answer will appear soon anyways.

"I... I think someone's going to confess to me here."

"...Huh?"

Ichinose then showed me a letter. It was a sweet love letter sealed with a cute little heart sticker. Although it would be rude for me to look inside, I took the letter out as I was prompted to. It didn't seem like the letter was written by a boy at all. Instead, the handwriting on the inside was pretty and clean, no different from the envelope's appearance.

"Phew," Kanzaki sighed.

"Yeah. We thought you might actually do it for a second," Shibata said.

I then noticed what I had been feeling curious about ever since coming to this school.

The meeting information written in the letter was Friday evening at four o'clock, behind the gymnasium. It was about ten minutes away.'

"Wouldn't it be better if I wasn't here?"

"I... I don't know much about love. I don't know how to respond without hurting their feelings, and I don't know if I can stay close friends with them after this as well. So I want you to help me."

"Why did you ask, Ayanokouji," Kanzaki asked.

"He was completely disconnected so I asked him. He seemed like the type that wouldn't blab about it," Ichinose explained.

"I don't think I'm the guy you should be asking since I don't have any experience with confessions either. I'm sure there are plenty of other people you could depend on in Class B."

"Yeah, I'm always here," Amikura said.

"The person confessing to me... is in Class B."

Class B looked at each other and the girl who's going to be revealed soon looked pale.

I see so that's how it is. I was somewhat able to understand why she asked for my company.

"I'd like this to be kept a secret as much as possible. Otherwise, things would become rather awkward in the future. If it's you, Ayanokouji-kun, I think it's unlikely that you'll go around spreading rumours."

"But Ichinose, aren't you used to confessions by now?"

"Eh?! No, not at all. Of course not. I've never been confessed to before."

"No way!"

"I didn't think that was possible."

These and various other statements rang around the room. Ichinose was being teased by her friends. I had noticed that the person that was most surprised by this development was Shiromani.

"I was the first to confess my feelings, huh? I didn't expect that," Shiranami thought.

If she hadn't called me out here to help, I would've never believed it.

"So, really, I just don't understand why this is happening."

I could only think that it was to be expected since Ichinose is cute after all. Moreover, considering the way she had interacted with others since this morning, her personality seems to be pretty good as well.

"See, Honami? Ayanokouji knows all your good traits. That's why it's so surprising that you said that," Amikura said.

"You comment on peoples looks a lot," Kei whispered to me.

"Isn't that the first thing most people do?".

"I mean, yeah. But you do it a lot and it's weird for me since I always assumed you would think differently in your head," Kei seemed to be analysing me or trying to at least.

"Hey, Kiyotaka, did you do the same for me?" Kei was probably leading up to this question from the beginning.

"Here and there."

"It's annoying that you aren't direct," Her words conveyed anger but it didn't help that she was blushing.

"That's why... can you please pretend to be my boyfriend?"

Whoa, is this seriously turning into such a cliche situation?!''

"Looks like you were right, King," Hashimoto leaned on his chair and said.

"Lying to help others is still a lie and lying to get out a situation that didn't need lying is even worse," Sakayanagi ridiculed Ichinose.

"I agree with you," Ichinose said.

"Oh, you've realised what you did wrong. I wonder who made you realise that," Sakayanagi lost interest and looked away.

"I did some research and found out that if the person being confessed to is already in a relationship, it will hurt the other person less..."

"I understand that you want to avoid hurting the other person's feelings, but it will only hurt them more if they realise you lied about it, you know?"

"I could say that we broke up, or that you dumped me later on."

"That's kinda cruel," Sato said.

"Yeah. I know that now."

I don't think that's the problem here...

"Honestly, I think it would be much better to meet and talk together with him one on one."

"But- Ah!"

Ichinose noticed something and awkwardly raised her hand.

It looks like the confessor came earlier than expected. What kind of glam rock appearance is he sporting? When I gazed upon his face, the visage of a boyish androgynous male was in my presence. He was even donned in a neat skirt.

No, she was definitely a girl no matter which way I looked at her.

"Andro- what?" Ike looked confused.

"It means that they looked both male and female," Horikita sighed and answered.

I had some doubts after seeing the letter's handwriting, but it really was a girl after all.

Unlike a confession between boys, it felt like this confession would look a bit better. Then again, that might only be because I'm a guy myself.

"Well, girls do tend to be a little more gracious with their problems," Shinohara said.

"Um, Ichinose-san... who is that person?"

The girl who had come to confess seemed to be wary of my presence.

"He's Ayanokouji-Kun from Class D. I'm sorry Chihiro-chan, for bringing somebody along that you don't know."

"Is he possibly... Ichinose-san's boyfriend?"

"Ah, uh..."

Ichinose tried to speak, but she paused. She probably intended to say "that's right" but the words got stuck in her throat due to the guilt she felt for lying.

"Tch. It's annoying that someone called a class leader like me can't follow her plans," Ryueen said in annoyance.

"Why is this Ayanokouji-kun person here?"

Confused by the unexpected situation, tears began to form in Chihiro's eyes. 'Is he her boyfriend? Why would he be here if he wasn't?'; these were thoughts that were most likely going through her head as she seemed unable to understand the situation.

Noticing her tear up, Ichinose quickly began to panic, not knowing what to do. I had expected her to be a fairly reliable person, but it seems like she has some unexpected weaknesses.

"Something as easy to manipulate as romance is your weakness. Unlucky," Sakayanagi's words sounded sincere, but she was giggling right after she said them so the sincerity was an act.

"Um, could you please go somewhere else? There's something important I'd like to talk about with Ichinose-san."

"W-Wait a minute, Chihiro-san. That's, uh- To be honest, Ayanokouji-kun is..."

It seemed that Ichinose intended to turn her down first.

She probably thought it would have made things harder for her if Chihiro actually confessed her feelings.

"...What is it?"

"Ayanokouji-kun? He's, you know, my-"

There was almost nothing I could do in this situation. If there was, it would have to be this...

"I'm just a friend."

I could hear a few sighs of relief from class B due to my actions.

"That was a good choice, Ayanokouji," Kanzaki praised me.

"I just did what most people would do."

"Wouldn't it have been better if you went along with the lie?" Ike said.

"No. It wouldn't have because that just hurts both parties," Ichinose explained.

I cut in before Ichinose could say the word.

"Ichinose, it may not be convincing for me to say this since I've never been confessed to before, but I think calling me out here was a mistake."

I spoke honestly for their sake.

"Confessing to someone isn't such an easy thing. Every day, you spend your time in endless worry, simulating the situation over and over again in your head. Yet, you still can't confess. Even when you gather the courage to do it, the actual words get stuck in your throat and can't come out. I think that's just how it works. Don't you think that these desperate feelings deserve a proper response? If you give a vague answer in a situation like yours, both of you will only come to regret it afterwards."

None of them could say a word. It was almost like they were in a trance.

"Weird. I thought he was clueless about this stuff, but he seems weirdly good at explaining it logically and understandably. He knows about Airi's feelings too, yet he hasn't said anything. What's taking you so long, Kiyopon?" Haruka thought.

"No way. He's actually good at this stuff. I didn't think that was possible, he was so dense. But then again, he was just using common sense and logic to explain it to her which is something he excels at so it's not that weird," Kei thought while looking proud.

"I guess you're a love guru then," Hashimoto broke the silence.

"I was just using logic and common sense. It's not that weird."

"I guess you're right, but you would speak more like a robot reciting a speech if that's all you did. Here, you sounded like someone with experience. Were you heartbroken once Ayanokouji?" Hashimoto said with a downcast expression

"I wasn't heartbroken. I just watched some movies as well as read books before coming to school."

(A/N do you think Ayanokouji was allowed movies in his 1-year stay with Matsuo. I think that he would want to watch them to understand the world)

"Ugh..."

It's likely that Ichinose has never seriously fallen for someone before.

Therefore, she didn't know the right thing to do, or if she was making a mistake.

Trying to prevent somebody from having their feelings hurt is a fruitless effort. When refusing a confession, hurting the other person's feelings is unavoidable. If you muster your wisdom and come up with a decent excuse, it's true that you can somewhat smooth it over.

An excuse like: 'I want to concentrate on my studies right now', 'There's somebody else that I like', or, as what occurred here, 'I'm already dating someone else'. No matter which excuses you give, the other person is still bound to get hurt.

Lots of students agreed with me and it looked like the class started to treat me on the level of someone like Hirata.

"You seem very mature, Ayanokouji," Katsuragi praised me.

"Yeah. I had never noticed you were so mature and logical," this time, Mori praised me.

I saw Kei looking proud with her cheeks puffed. It looks like she enjoys her boyfriend being praised.

Not to mention that if that excuse is built upon a lie, the other person would only be hurt more if they ever find out the truth. I left the area without waiting for Ichinose to reply. Instead of heading back to the dormitory, I stopped and waited along the tree-lined pathway.

I leaned against the handrailing and sighed as I looked up towards the green leaves. After about 5 minutes, a girl rushed past me from behind the gymnasium.

There were faint traces of tears in her eyes. Despite that, I continued to kill some time without moving from the spot. Around the time the sun began to set, Ichinose wearily walked back from behind the gym.

"Ah..."

Upon seeing me, she hung her head a little awkwardly. However, she looked back up immediately.

"I was wrong. I was trying to avoid hurting her. I didn't even think about properly responding to her feelings, and instead tried so desperately to run away from them. That was my mistake."

Ichinose mumbled, "Love sure is difficult..." as she sat down on the handrail next to me.

"I asked if things could go on as they always have tomorrow, but I wonder if that's possible."

"That will be up to the two of you."

"I think you guys handled it very maturely and you hid it up pretty well. I don't think anyone noticed what happened with you guys," Amikura said.

"Yeah, and we also managed to stay friends. Isn't that right, Chihiro," Chihiro nodded in agreeance and Ichinoses bright and upbeat attitude was back after the confession.

"Yeah..." She trailed off.

"Thank you for today. Coming with me on such a strange request."

"It's fine. There are days like this from time to time."

"Our positions reversed huh? I came to you because I intended on lending you a hand, but I ended up relying on you instead."

"I'm sorry for speaking like a know-it-all back there."

"You didn't seem like a know-it-all," Sato said.

"you seem to think that everything you do is negative. You know, I'm here to talk whenever you need right, Kiyotaka," Yosuke said with a bright smile.

"That was just how I thought back then you don't have to worry."

Ichinose looked at me and blinked a couple of times as if I had said something peculiar.

"There's no need for you to apologize. None at all."

Stretching her hands up towards the sky, she then hopped down onto the ground.

"This time, it's my turn to help you. I'll try to do all that I can."

I wonder what Class B's Ichinose Honami intends to do to confront this difficult situation.

I was looking forward to it a little bit.

"See, Honami? Ayanokouji was looking forward to hanging out with you," Amikura muttered this and various other things that I couldn't hear to tease Ichinose.

"That was nice, right? Who would have thought that Kiyotaka had it in him."

When did we go onto a first-name basis?

"Now that the context is out of the way. How about seeing the trial next?"

"Finally. the boring shit is out of the way," Ryueen said in annoyance.

Authors noted: Honestly, this isn't the best chapter from me although that makes sense since I rushed it. I started writing this chapter a day after the previous one and halfway through I got tested positive for Covid so I speedran this chapter. So, no chapter for at least a week or two.

The trial

"Let us look at the trial, shall we?"

"Oh, finally something interesting," Ryueen took a glance at the attending parties.

"Why did they have to show this?" Horikita thought.

"Sorry we're late," our sensei said.

"It's before the scheduled start time. There's no need for apologies."

"Have you already met?"

Sudou, Horikita, and I did not know the teacher.

"This is Sakagami-sensei, the homeroom teacher for Class C. Now then."

One lone male student seated in the back of the room attracted everyone's attention.

"This is the student council president."

"I've always found it interesting that the student council oversees these and not a teacher," Kanzaki pointed out.

"The reason for that is because the student council president is forced to be non-bias. The teacher wants obviously wants the best for their class, so they may not be fully impartial," Manabu explained.

It made sense. Three of the four homeroom teachers in our year are heavily biased towards their students. Out of the four teachers, Mashima would be the only one who wouldn't be partial towards his class. Besides, the student council president is always in charge and he's tasked with not having any bias whatsoever.

Horikita's older brother, without so much as even a glance at his sister, pored over the documents on his desk. Horikita directed her gaze at her brother for a short time, but when she realized that she wasn't his focus, she lowered her eyes and sat down in front of the Class C students.

"Well then, I would now like to discuss the violent incident that occurred last Tuesday with the members of the student council, the involved parties, and their homeroom teachers. You may begin the proceedings, student council secretary Tachibana."

Secretary Tachibana, a woman with short hair, gave a slight bow.

"Of course, considering the magnitude of this dispute, there are times when the student council president will take over. There are several unusual things about this incident. Other than that, the bulk of the proceedings will be handled solely by Tachibana, as usual."

"Because I am quite busy, there are certain agenda topics upon which I will defer. As a general rule, though, I would prefer to attend to these issues, as I'm entrusted to lead this student council."

"So, this is all by chance?" Chabashira-sensei smiled as she said that, but Horikita's older brother never wavered. On the contrary though, Horikita-Horikita the younger sister, I mean-couldn't hide her trembling. Considering they were brother and sister, the odds were not in our favour. In fact, I couldn't help but think that this situation was extremely disadvantageous, as Horikita couldn't demonstrate her usual prowess here. Our expectations had been thoroughly shattered.

"While I'm not surprised at the turn of events, aren't you at least a little bit sad at seeing your sister in that state?" Nagumo provoked.

Manabu didn't answer him. I believe it's because Nagumo just wanted to get a reaction from him and attack him. It's the wise choice not to give a reaction in that case.

If the student council president acted, there'd be nothing we could do, even if we didn't like it. He'd enrolled in Class A and immediately taken office as secretary for the student council. In December of his first year, he became the student council president after receiving an overwhelming amount of support in the election. Although some senior students had naturally voiced their displeasure, our current, hopeless situation spoke to his incredible abilities.

This information didn't surprise anyone since even the current first-years knew of the 'greatest student council president the school had ever known,' but they also saw his skill in his fight with me.

Secretary Tachibana summarized the situation from both sides in an easy-to-understand manner. There wasn't any need for further explanation.

"Based on the aforementioned facts, we would like for you to identify which version of events is true." After completing her explanation and the preface to the proceedings, Secretary Tachibana turned her eyes toward us in Class D. "Komiya-Kun and two other members of the basketball club went to the special building after Sudou-Kun called them there. There, they claim to have been beaten up in a one-sided brawl. Is this true?"

"What those guys said was a lie. I was the one that got called over to the special building," Sudou said. "That day, after practice, Komiya and Kondou asked me to go to the special building. Honestly, I thought it was kind of annoying, but I also thought it might've been because they were always hostile towards me. So, I went to meet them."

"You should know that talking it out in a situation like this would never work," Sakayanagi commented.

She's right. This entire trial was nothing more than a means to stall for time and no amount of talking would have ever worked. The only way to get out of this was to make class C withdraw. Sakayanagi must have figured this out by now so she seems more interested in the screen than before.

"That's true. If the witness came out, any rational opposition would just say that they're a false witness and was made as a means to help their classmate," Hashimoto stated.

Sudou wasn't one to mince words. Normally, Horikita would have been disgusted by his casual way of speaking, but judging from her trembling she didn't hear him at all. Sakagami-sensei, Class C's homeroom teacher, stared in wide-eyed amazement.

"How have you lived your entire life if just standing close to your brother made you tremble? I feel pity for your family," Sakayanagi provoked.

Horikita and Manabu didn't respond. Their relationship was fixed and this was just something that they'll have to deal with for a while.

"That's a lie. Sudou-Kun called us over to the special building."

"Don't screw with me, Komiya! You were the one who called me, you jerk!"

"You don't seem to remember your position here."

Sudou, irritated, impulsively struck his desk. Immediate silence followed.

"Your year certainly seems to have a lot of monkeys," Kiryuuin stated.

I don't think any of the 4 boys could deny it.

"Please calm down, Sudou-Kun. Right now, we're merely listening to what both parties have to say. Komiya-Kun, we ask that you too please show some restraint, and not interrupt."

"Puh, fine..."

"Both parties insist that the other called them over, so the accounts conflict. However, the stories share some commonalities. There was a dispute between Sudou-Kun, Komiya-Kun, and Kondou-Kun, correct?"

"I wouldn't call it a dispute. Sudou-Kun's always picking fights with us."

"'Picking fights'?"

"Sudou's better at basketball than we are, so he's always bragging about it. We practice with everything we've got, but it doesn't exactly feel good when he makes fools out of us. So we often butt heads."

I didn't really know the details of Sudou's club activities, but when I saw the veins popping on his forehead, it was rather obvious that they were lying. Next, Secretary Tachibana spoke to Sudou.

"Well, since you are in his class you believe him," Kobashi said.

"That line of thinking doesn't work since Ayanokouji here is simply observing," Katsuragi stated, "Ayanokouji knows that just talking and believing it's possible to save him won't work."

"I've got a question. If Ayanokouji knew they were lying, why didn't the student council?" Ike asked.

"Well, let me put it to you this way," Manabu spoke up, "Let's say a murder happened, and a person who didn't witness the murder, but knows the alleged murder said that they could tell that the murderer wasn't lying because of an observation not based on fact. Would the judge pardon the killer?" Manabu explained.

I could see the smarter students nodding but the somewhat slower students were lost in contemplation.

"Not one bit of what Komiya said was true. Those guys are just jealous of my talent. When I practice, they constantly get in my way. That's the truth."

Naturally, both sides claimed that the other party was at fault.

"Both sides have given their grievances, but now we have to come to a judgment with the collected evidence."

"Sudou-kun beat us senseless. It was a one-sided fight."

Class C seemed intent on focusing the discussion on their injuries. The three students did seem to have black-and-blue faces. That was undeniable.

"Realistically, that's all they need to do. If they can keep the focus on the injuries they sustained, then they can control the situation entirely," Nagumo observed.

"That's a lie. They attacked first. It was self-defence."

"Hey, Horikita," I whispered to Horikita, who remained mute and kept her head down. Clearly, this situation was really bad. If we wanted to stop Sudou from getting carried away, we had to take action sooner rather than later. However, she showed no reaction. It was as if her mind was gone. Did her brother's mere presence truly have this much of an effect?

Lots of whispers were going around the class, most of them were about Horikitas attitude and nature in this trial.

"She's never like this..." Onodera whispered.

Horkita didn't pay heed to any of this, but I could tell that she was somewhat nervous about my past actions.

I flashed back to those two talking behind the dormitory. I didn't really understand the depth of the situation, but I suspected that Horikita had chased after her extremely talented brother, enrolling in the same school to make him recognize her abilities. But regardless of her hopes and talents, the younger sister in Class D was still very far away from her brother, the Class A student council president. To prove herself, she'd have to rise up to the same arena as him.

"Ah, so she has a superiority complex towards everyone but her brother. I guess it was the idolising towards her sibling that made her develop this," Nagumo stated loudly.

Nagumo wasn't wrong.

Horikita developed her superiority complex because she idolised her brother and thought that if she emulated his cold nature she could be closer to him. Her idealised conception of him which was far too high for her to ever reach. Ultimately, that meant she was never able to reach her goal unless her brother was knocked down from the pedestal she put him on. The only other option, and the one she ended up choosing, was for her to break out of her chains and go down her own path.

"She may be troubled here, but she's still a tough opponent," Ichinose said.

"As expected from the idealist and optimistic girl. Ichinose, just like you, Horikita hasn't shown anything exceptional and I would argue that any potential she has, was reached already," Sakayanagi stated swaying her head with an expression that had full confidence in her words.

"If Class D has no further proof to offer, would you mind if we continued the proceedings?"

If the student council and the teachers continued to sit in complete silence, their judgment would almost certainly be merciless. To prevent that, we needed Horikita to rouse herself into action. However, our team's most crucial member withered and shrank before her older brother.

"It would seem there's no objection, given the arguments we've heard thus far." The student council president finally spoke. Horikita's older brother seemed as though he wanted to draw a conclusion as soon as possible.

"Regardless of which party called the other over, the fact remains that it was a one-sided fight between Sudou and the other students. We can clearly see that from the injuries they sustained. We have no choice but to come up with a conclusion based on that."

"W-wait! I can't accept that! It's just because those guys were a bunch of wimps!"

"Oh this is gonna be good," Nagumo thought.

The moment that Sudou uttered those words, I saw Sakagami-sensei smile.

"Then can it really be considered self-defence when fighting against opponents of such unequal strength?"

I saw Matsushita with a worried expression when she realised the true weight of Sudo's words.

"B-but, hey. I was fighting against three people! Three people!"

"But only the Class C students were hurt."

"This is so much fun," Ryueen was laughing at how Sudo was being cornered by every angle.

This was getting worse. I resigned myself to the fact that I might be killed later for doing this, but I got up slowly from my folding chair and stood behind Horikita.

"Are you gonna kill the teacher or something?" Ike joked.

I stretched my arms out and grasped her sides as hard as I could.

"Woah, what are you doing dude!" Ike yelled in shock.

Most of the hall was bewildered at my actions.

"Hyah?!" Horikita cried out in an abnormally girlish voice. However, this was not the time or place for me to focus on that. Since she hadn't yet regained her sanity, I grabbed her more forcefully and tickled her.

The shock was gone and the atmosphere changed to that of laughter and amusement.

"You knew what you were doing and you still did it, are you deranged Kiyopon?" Haruka said between her giggles.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures."

"W-wait. S-stop, stop!"

No matter how upset or dazed a person was, if you stimulated the body enough, they'd come back to her senses. Even if they didn't like it.

"I guess it works, but couldn't you have just poured water on her?" Katsuragi pointed out.

"It wouldn't have been enough and this caused less of a mess."

"That seems like a complete invasion of privacy, though," Shinohara said.

"It may be a complete invasion, but it was better than losing a student in the class," I responded logically.

"But.." Shinohara wasn't able to refute this point.

The teachers seemed somewhat taken aback by my actions, but right then I didn't care. When I believed I'd roused her enough, I let go. Horikita, looking like she was about to cry, glared at me with startling intensity. I'd had to force her, but I knew it was essential to return Horikita to her usual self.

"I was certainly surprised by your actions Ayanokouji, but it was impressive that you were able to turn a hopeless situation into something that gave you the best results," Sakagami praised me.

"Sakagami, you seem to be quite biased to your class, not the best etiquette for a teacher," Sakayanagi provoked.

"Sakayanagi, don't provoke a teacher," Mashima reprimanded.

"Well, he has the same authority as you. Can't he just reprimand me? Unless there's something wrong with what I said. Isn't being biased and not working for the truth bad by most people's standards? Unless you think differently sensei," Sakayanagi was relentless in her approach.

"Don't make me repeat myself," Mashima said coldly.

"I see. if you're that serious I guess that I must apologise," Sakayanagi said this but the words 'sorry' never left her mouth.

"Get a grip on yourself, Horikita. We're going to lose at this rate. You have to fight!"

"Tch..."

Horikita looked at Class C, then the teacher, and then her brother as if finally understanding our situation. It seemed to dawn on her just how desperate our situation was.

"Looks like the babysitter stepped in again," Ryueen grinned.

"Excuse me. May I ask a question?" she said.

"Do you mind, president?"

"I'll allow it. However, please answer more quickly next time."

Horikita slowly rose out of her chair.

"Earlier, you said that Sudou-kun called you over to the special building. But who exactly did Sudou call, and why?"

"Why does that matter?"

"So you're trying to look for discrepancies in their stories and then exploit them and extrapolate the problems and stall the trial," Hashimoto claimed.

"Nice pawn, Sakayanagi, mind if I borrow them? I already have one," Ryueen provoked.

"Fufu. Sure, if you really want to spend another 20 million on a student be my guest," She responded with amusement.

Komiya and the other Class C students looked at one another as if saying, Why is she asking that question now?

"Please answer," Horikita added those last two words to reinforce her aggressive style of questioning. Secretary Tachibana allowed it.

"Kondou and I don't know why he called us over. When we'd just

finished up for the day and were changing, he said he wanted to talk to us for a minute. Wasn't the reason just that he didn't like us?"

"So then, why exactly were you in the special building, Ishizaki-kun?

You're not on the basketball team, so you have no connection to this case. I'd think your presence there would be rather odd."

"That's... I came as a precaution. There were rumours that Sudou was violent. He's also in better shape than we are, physically. I had to go, didn't I?"

"So in other words, you felt the situation might turn violent?"

"Yeah." They answered in unison, almost as if they'd expected these questions. It appeared that the Class C students had thoroughly rehearsed for this conference.

"Your soldiers aren't terrible either, they seem to be obedient," Sakayanagi said.

"I have no idea what you mean by obedien. These guys had an uprising, you know," most people would say that with sadness, but ryuuen said it with joy in his eyes..

"I see. So you brought along Ishizaki-kun as your bodyguard, since he was reputed to be rather good at fighting. Just in case there was an emergency."

"It was to protect ourselves. That was it. Besides, we didn't know that Ishizaki-kun was known for being good in a fight. We just considered him a reliable friend."

Horikita quietly listened to their responses, as if running various simulations in her head. Then she immediately made her next move.

"I do have some knowledge of martial arts, if only to a certain extent. I understand that when you're fighting against multiple enemies, victory becomes exponentially more difficult. So I don't understand how you were defeated so handily, how the fight could be so one-sided when you had a skilled fighter like Ishizaki-kun with you."

"Ken's good enough to take 3 on at the same time," Ike said.

"Don't say such stupid things. This entire situation was caused by him. If he didn't fight, this would have saved us so much trouble," Horikita said coldly.

Ike might actually pee his pants.

"Because we didn't intend to fight."

"The primary factor in triggering a fight is the collision of the 'energy' between opponents. In the event that you don't have any intention of fighting, or that you're nonviolent, the probability that you'll be hurt should be very low. Especially when there are three of you."

"Huh? I don't get it," Amikura said.

"Let me say it this way," Horikita said "In a fight, if the 3 opponents didn't have a reason to fight Sudo then they wouldn't have needed a reason to bring Ishizaki or for them to have even fought in the first place since they would do everything possible to steer away from that outcome," Horikita explained.

"Oh, that makes sense," Amikura nodded.

Horikita's opinion was very objective, grounded in evidence, rules, and her own logic. On the other end, Komiya fought back with his own weapon, real evidence.

"That way of thinking doesn't apply to Sudou-kun. He's exceptionally violent. Even if we were nonviolent, he'd still be mercilessly violent. That's what happened."

He peeled off the gauze that covered his cheek, exposing the scrapes underneath. No matter how many reasonable arguments Horikita made, his injury gave powerful evidence.

"Are you finished with your claims now, Class D?" said Horikita's older brother coolly. After staying silent while Horikita gave her argument, his words were few and icy. His look seemed to suggest that if that was all we had to say, it would've been better not to say anything at all.

"It's true that Sudou injured the other students. However, Class C started the fight. There is one student witness who saw the entire incident and can attest to this."

"Well then, Class D-if Class D's witness would please enter?"

Sakura, looking worried and restless, walked into the student council room. She looked down at her feet as if scared of danger.

"1-D, Sakura Airi-san."

Haruka was giving words of encouragement towards Airi and the same could be said for the other members of the Ayanokouji group.

"I thought I'd heard something or other about a witness, but you're a Class D student?" Sakagami, the Class C's homeroom instructor, snickered while wiping his glasses.

I could see Haruka start to have pitchforks in her eyes and I wonder if Sakagami could survive the coming attack by the students.

"Is there a problem, Sakagami-sensei?

"No, no, please. Go ahead."

Sakagami-sensei and Chabashira-sensei exchanged looks.

"You may begin your testimony, if you wouldn't mind, Sakura-san."

"Y-yes, okay... Well... I..."

She stopped speaking. A period of silence followed. Ten seconds. Twenty seconds. Sakura steadily looked further downward, and her face became increasingly pale.

"Well, this is a mess and it only wastes time," Nagumo sighed and most people agreed with him, but Haruka's face getting filled with anger every passing second at the thought of anyone discouraging her best friend.

"Sakura-san..." Horikita, unable to take any more, addressed Sakura. Unlike before, the words didn't seem to reach her.

"Apparently she didn't witness anything. More of this would just be a waste of our time."

"Why are you in such a hurry, Sakagami-sensei?"

"I want to speed this along. If we waste time, my students will suffer. These students are the joyful heart of their class, so I do not doubt that their many friends are worried about them. Also, they're striving to improve their basketball skills, and we're depriving them of valuable practice time. As a teacher, I can't overlook this."

"What an obvious lie," Ryueent thought.

"I see. You're probably right about that."

You'd think that Chabashira-sensei would ally herself with Class D, but that didn't seem to be the case. Instead, she nodded in apparent agreement with Sakagami-sensei.

"Sensei, why didn't you help us?" Yelled Ike.

"Well, to answer your question, Ike," She said "I was testing someone."

Most students took that as testing Horikita, but students like Sakayanagi and Ryuuen could determine the real meaning behind her words.

"You're certainly right that this is a waste of time, so I suppose we have no choice. You can come down now, Sakura."

Chabashira-sensei ordered Sakura to leave, almost as if she'd lost interest. The student council members didn't ask for a delay or anything. The writing was clearly on the student council room wall, and it spelled Class D's defeat. Sakura closed her eyes tightly as if she couldn't bear it anymore, as if she regretted her own weakness. Even Sudou, Horikita, and I felt like this was impossible for Sakura, and mentally resigned herself.

Then, it happened. An unexpected voice reverberated throughout the room.

"I definitely saw what happened!"

The sudden outburst from Airi made everyone in the room awake, even Haruka was surprised at how loud Airis's voice was.

It was certainly Sakura's voice, though it took me several seconds to recognize it. What most struck me was the volume of her voice.

"The students in Class C threw the first punch. There's no mistake about that!"

"Ah, so she can speak," Nagumo was ignored promptly.

"Great job, Sakura," This and other words of encouragement were thrown towards Airi by our class and even some others which left her feeling overwhelmed.

Sakura's words had a force that belied the image she'd presented at first. She spoke so desperately that you wanted to believe she was telling the truth. She certainly made me believe it. However, much like a magical spell, the effect lasted for only a few minutes. If the audience remained calm, it wouldn't be difficult for them to see through it.

"That's true, if they just went back to their normal thoughts afterwards nothing would really change," Horikita said.

Luckily for the Class C students, Airi's desperation wasn't enough to overrule their overwhelming advantage.

"Excuse me, but may I say something?" asked Sakagami-sensei, raising his hand. "Normally, teachers are asked to speak as little as possible, but this situation is just too pitiful. Student council president, do you mind?"

"I'll allow it."

"In regards to what you've said, Sakura-kun, I do not necessarily doubt you. However, I have one thing to ask. You've stepped forward to testify as a witness, but you were rather late in doing so. May I ask why? I would think if you really did see something, you would have come forward much earlier."

Sakagami-sensei harped on the same point that Chabashira-sensei had.

"That's... Well, that's... I didn't want to get involved..."

"Why didn't you want to get involved?"

"Because I'm not very good at talking with other people..."

"I see. I understand that. However, I'd like to say something else. You're not good at talking with others, and yet when the week was nearly out you stepped forward as a witness. Doesn't that seem rather odd? To my mind, it seems Class D secretly put a story together and are having you act as a false witness to give phony testimony."

After conferring together, the Class C students answered that they'd thought so, too.

"That's the logical outcome after thinking about it for a while," Katsuragi said.

"That may be so, but it was definitely a little harsh and trying to corner someone who's shy," Ichinose said.

"I have to agree with you there. This was cruel and something a student would do, not a teacher," Katsuragi agreed.

Sakagami's image in the eyes of the students was deteriorating at a rapid pace.

"That's... I'm just...telling the truth..."

"No matter how poor your communication skills might be, I can see you haven't testified with much confidence. Is that because you're tormented with guilt because you know what you're saying is actually a lie?"

"N-no, that's not it..."

"I'm not blaming you. You were probably forced to lie for your class's sake, to save Sudou-kun. Weren't you? If you come forward and confess honestly to us now, you won't be punished."

The teacher's relentless psychological attacks just kept coming. Of course, Horikita raised her hand.

Haruka had reached her boiling point and started to go after Sakagami, "This is way too harsh for a teacher, even if they were trying to be fair they were being cruel."

Several other students started to ridicule and judge him.

"Hasebe, you are right. But at the end of the day, these attacks wouldn't change anything in the outcome and if some words from a teacher were enough for a student to withdraw their claim, it would end up looking worse for the class the witness is from," Mashima explained.

Haruka wasn't able to refute his point about how it didn't change the outcome, but her eyes were pointing daggers at Sakagami every few seconds.

"That is not the case. It is certainly true that Sakura-san is not good at speaking before others. However, it is precise because she witnessed the incident that she is standing here today. Otherwise, she most likely would not, even if we'd asked her. Don't you think that if we needed someone who could speak boldly, we would have found a replacement?"

Many students agreed with Horikita's logical argument.

"I don't think so. There are excellent students in Class D, students such as yourself, Horikita-san. By setting up a person like Sakura-san as your witness, it would establish a sense of realism that you yourself could not."

Sakagami-sensei probably didn't actually believe this. However, no matter what response we volleyed back, I was convinced that he'd do anything to block us. Just as I'd felt from the start, a Class D witness did not carry enough weight. No matter how many times we stressed the truth, they would say that we were lying. If the testimony came from someone on your side, they wouldn't accept it.

Had we run out of options?

Sakagami-sensei gave a hostile grin as he began to sit back down.

Sato and Haruka glared at Sakagami for his harsh words and cruel actions towards Airi, yet he didn't falter and steeled his eyes towards the screen even when the majority of the students saw him as cruel and cold.

"If you want proof... I'll give it to you!"

"Wait, there was proof and you waited this long to present it?" Hashimoto exclaimed.

"This proof was in Sakura's hands so we needed her permission to use it. And... the evidence was slightly personal so we wanted to go through every avenue before using it," Horikita explained.

Sakagami-sensei froze in response to Sakura's words.

I could tell that even without voicing her happiness, this was the happiest Haruka has been all-day.

"Please, let's not force this situation to continue. If there really was evidence, you would have presented it at an earlier stage-"

Sakura loudly slammed her hand on the desk and threw down what looked to be a few small, rectangular pieces of paper.

"What are those?"

Because she'd produced something other than words, Sakagami-sensei's expression stiffened for the first time.

"This is proof that I was in the special building that day!"

Secretary Tachibana walked over to Sakura. Though she hesitated at first, she then reached for the paper. No, those weren't pieces of paper like I'd thought. They were photos.

"My hobby is taking photos."

"Oh no, my camera."

Most students realised what this meant, this was definitive proof of the events of that day.

"So this proves she was there," Amikura stated.

"Well they were photos, but why were photos so personal that they couldn't be shown?" Hashimoto said.

"President."

After looking at the photographs, Secretary Tachibana handed them over to the student council president. Horikita's older brother, after looking at the pictures for some time, laid them out on the desk so that we could see. We saw Sakura in those pictures, but this Sakura wore a lovely expression that looked both similar and dissimilar to the Sakura with us now. It was the idol, Shizuku.

It looks like my past thoughts caused a few problems for Airi.

"What?"

"We have an Idol at this school?"

Questions were being thrown at Airi from every direction about if this was the truth or not. Normally Haruka would help ease Airi out of the mosh pit, but she was still surprised at my thoughts. All of these statements continued, but the video won't stop playing.

"I'm...I was looking for places where no one was around so I could take pictures of myself. The pictures also show the date and time, which proves that I was there when I said."

The date on the pictures definitely showed that they'd been taken in the evening one week ago. That would've been around the time that Sudou and the others finished their club activities for the day. Horikita and I unintentionally gasped in response to this new evidence. We began to see changes in the three Class C students, who up until now had been playing the part of victims. They were visibly shaking.

"HA! Take that," was most of class Ds reaction.

"Don't get ahead of yourselves all of you. This just shows that she was there this doesn't prove who started the fight," Horikita's explanation brought the noise levels of class D down.

Although this doesn't mean that Airis questioning stopped.

"Airi, you're an Idol?" Haruka could barely speak.

"It's not like I'm a big name or anything it's just something. I did for fun until I got hired by a small magazine," Airi said meekly.

"All of you, can you please calm down?" Ichinose addressed the class.

"Can't you see that this is personal?Just calm down and get through the video and ask the questions in a more civilised manner," She yelled and I could tell that Haruka and Airi felt gratitude towards her.

"What did you use to take these photos?" asked Sakagami-sensei.

"A digital...camera."

"You can alter the date rather easily with a digital camera, though. If you manipulated these photos on a computer, you could effectively set them at the time and date of the incident. These are inadequate evidence."

"But Sakagami-sensei, don't you think this photo is different?" Horikita's older brother slid out one of the photos we hadn't yet seen and handed it to the teacher.

"Th-this?!"

The photo showed the fight itself; clearly there was no need to nitpick the time. The setting sun bathed the hallway in dusky light. The picture seemed to show what had happened immediately after Sudou hit Ishizaki.

Horikita's explanation was still fresh in class D's minds so they refrained from asking obvious questions.

"I think that you'll believe I was thereafter seeing...this."

"Thank you, Sakura-san."

This picture had absolutely saved Horikita as well. To rescue such an overwhelmingly disadvantageous situation...

Airi earned words of encouragement from the class and lots of praise.

"I see. Well, you do seem to be telling the truth about witnessing the incident. That much I simply must accept. However, I can't ascertain how the situation started from this picture. This doesn't prove that you saw the entire incident."

It was certainly true that this picture made it look like the fight had already ended. We couldn't call this definitive evidence.

"So, what do you think, Chabashira-sensei? Why not look for a compromise here?" Sakagami-sensei asked.

"After all that nonsense, here you are talking about a compromise, pretty pathetic," Hosen mocked.

"Hosen, I am a teacher and I can reprimand you," Sakagami defended himself against Hosen, but not against Sakayanagi, was she scarier in his eyes?

"Try it," He continued.

"Alright then, 3 detentions don't forget that along with those detentions you'll lose points for bad behaviour," Sakagami said coldly.

losing interest, Hosen didn't say a word.

"Compromise?"

"I'm convinced that Sudou-kun lied in his testimony."

"You jerk!" Sudou stood up, looking ready to fly out of his chair, but finally grabbed hold of his own arms and pinned himself down.

"No matter how long we go back and forth, we'll never reach an agreement. We won't change our testimony, and your side won't give up or admit that you conspired with the witness. In other words, you won't stop. It'll be an endless cycle of saying that the other side is lying. In addition, the picture is too inconclusive to be considered definitive proof. Therefore, I suggest we compromise. I do think that the students from Class C are responsible for some of the blame here. There were three students up against Sudou, and one of them has a history of fighting, which is a problem. So how about two weeks of suspension for Sudou-kun, and one week of suspension for my students? What do you think of that? The weight of the punishment is different, of course, but I think that matches the difference in sustained injuries."

Horikita's older brother stayed silent as he listened to Sakagami-sensei. It seemed that Class C was willing to compromise only halfway. If we hadn't had Sakura's testimony or evidence, Sudou-kun probably would have been suspended for over a month. Asking for less than half of that made this a considerable concession.

"Yeah, this is a much better outcome than an expulsion, so why didn't you accept it?" Matsushita inquired.

"I explain my reasoning," Horikita answered.

"Don't screw around! This isn't a joke!" Sudou raged.

"Chabashira-sensei. What do you think?" Sakagami-sensei didn't even glance at Sudou.

"We seem to have already reached a logical conclusion. There's no reason to refuse Sakagami-sensei's proposal," Chabashira-sensei said.

His proposal was certainly a reasonable compromise. Horikita looked up at the ceiling, as if quietly mulling over everything that had gone on so far. No matter how much we resisted, Sudou wouldn't be acquitted entirely without conclusive evidence. Horikita had known this from the very beginning.

She had concluded that we needed to reach a compromise. For a Class D student, Horikita was quite impressive.

The class had learned of my beliefs on Horkita and her capabilities, but this didn't stop other classes.

"Why do you sound like she's impressive for that level and make it sound like you're above her?" said Sakonata.

"Think whatever you want. I see it as me praising her capabilities for being classified as someone who's defective," I said.

However, if she was aiming to make it to Class A, she couldn't give up here. I hadn't intended to speak out until the very end, but I decided to lend a helping hand, perhaps out of respect for Sakura's earlier courage.

"What does Class A and her goals have to do with her current situation?" Miyamoto asked.

"It means that I think she had to do better to achieve class A," I said vaguely.

"Horikita, are we really out of options?" I asked.

"..." Horikita did not respond. Well, did she even have any words left?

"I'm not very smart, so I can't really come up with a solution. I do, however, think that we probably should accept the compromise that you have offered us, Sakagami-sensei," I said.

"I think that would be the wise option," Keisei pointed out.

"Right," Sakagami-sensei replied with a smile, pushing his glasses back up his nose.

"We have no definitive proof of Sudou's innocence. I suppose I should say such evidence just doesn't exist. If this event had occurred in a classroom or the convenience store, a greater number of students would have been around to see it, and there probably would have been sound evidence. There's no record of anyone watching this scene unfold. Since this event took place in the special building, where there weren't any people around, there's nothing we can do."

I sighed deeply and shook my head. I looked straight into Horikita's eyes, and she gazed back at me. I spoke as if we were accepting defeat.

"Ayanokouji, don't give up yet," Miyamoto said.

"I didn't say 'we should give up' I said 'as if we were accepting defeat,' there's a difference."

"Well... what are you doing then?" He said a little more reserved.

"Just watch."

"Right," Sakagami-sensei replied with a smile, pushing his glasses back up his nose.

"We have no definitive proof of Sudou's innocence. I suppose I should say such evidence just doesn't exist. If this event had occurred in a classroom or the convenience store, a greater number of students would have been around to see it, and there probably would have been sound evidence. There's no record of anyone watching this scene unfold. Since this event took place in the special building, where there weren't any people around, there's nothing we can do."

I sighed deeply and shook my head. I looked straight into Horikita's eyes, and she gazed back at me. I spoke as if we were accepting defeat.

I could see lots of contemplating faces as they were trying to decipher what my words meant.

"Ah, so that's what you meant, Ayanokouji. You never cease to amaze me," Manabu praised me.

"So that's what you meant at that point in time," Horikita said.

"Wait, so, Ayanokouji. Here it seems you're giving her a hint, but if you had no intention of helping, why didn't you do everything and take credit? You only did something small," Hashimoto surmised.

"I just wanted to guide Horikita in the right direction," I vaguely told him.

"I see. Well, we'll find out eventually," Hashimoto lost interest and glued his eyes to the screen.

"So, that's it, yes? Well, Class D representative Horikita-san. Please give your opinion on the matter." Sakagami-sensei had taken what I'd said literally. In other words, as a declaration of defeat. For Class C, victory meant not allowing Sudou to be acquitted. The teacher's expression indicated that he had won this match.

"Pretty quick to jump to conclusion aren't we, Sakagami?" Hoshinomiya teased.

"I understand..." Horikita answered, slowly looking back up.

"Horikita!" Sudou cried. It was the roar of a man who, more than anyone else, did not want to admit defeat. He couldn't. However, Horikita did not stop there. She continued with her closing remarks.

"I think that Sudou, who caused the incident, has a problem. He doesn't ever stop to consider his actions, which inconveniences everyone around him. He has a history of getting in fights. He's the type to raise his voice and fists right away whenever something displeases him. In the event of an uproar such as this, well, it should be obvious who caused it."

"H-hey!"

"You need to understand, Sudou. Your attitude caused all of this." Horikita glared intensely over at Sudou, almost as if to outdo Sudou's own ferocity. "This is why I wasn't motivated at all to help Sudou-kun in the beginning. I knew that even if I forced myself to lend a hand, he would just repeat the same mistakes again and again."

If this was a year ago Sudo would've most likely denied Horikita and defended himself, but right now he's reflecting on his actions and Horikitas words.

"A very honest answer. The matter seems settled now, wouldn't you say?"

"Thank you very much. Please take your seat now," Secretary Tachibana said to Horikita.

A period of silence followed. After that came Sudou's clearly irritated bellow. And then, even after five, then ten seconds of waiting, Horikita did not sit back down.

"Will you take your seat now?" Secretary Tachibana asked Horikita to sit once again as if she suspected that Horikita couldn't hear her. Yet Horikita still did not sit. She fixated on the teachers, continuing to stare right at them.

"I wonder why she waited so long was she trying to imitate me again?"Manabu thought.

"What kind of weird intimidation tactic is this?" Ryueen thought.

"He should reflect on his actions. However, not in this particular case. When I say he should reflect, I mean that he should look back on his past actions. In regards to this particular incident, however, I don't think Sudou-kun did anything wrong. This was not an unfortunate event that occurred merely by chance. I'm convinced that this was a deliberate move made by Class C. I have absolutely no intention of meekly accepting defeat."

The classes spirits were raised at Horikita's determination and willpower.

Horikita broke the long silence with these haughty words.

"So then...what do you mean?" Horikita's older brother looked at his younger sister for the first time. Horikita did not shrink under his gaze. She probably felt that this wasn't the time to be frightened, that she had to be brave in front of Sakura. Or perhaps she could see the path to a final resolution?

"It must be a novel idea, I wonder how you got the inspiration for it," mused Sakayanagi.

"So it was you who achieved it. For a second there, I thought Ayanokouji gave it to you using hints or something," Amikura joked.

Scary. she got it right.

"If you did not understand, I will say it once again. We claim that Sudou-kun is completely innocent. Therefore, we cannot accept his suspension from school, even for just one day."

"Haha... What can I even say? We did this intentionally? What a bizarre claim. Apparently, the student council president's younger sister can't help but spew nonsense."

"Sudou-kun is the victim, just as the witness testified. Please do not make any errors in your judgment."

The Class C students began to shout insistently.

"Don't screw around! I'm the victim here!"

Sudou, compelled by the shouting, raised his own voice again. The objections came fast and furious. Everyone understood that we would not find a solution this way.

"That's enough. Continuing this discussion would just be a waste of time." Horikita Manabu looked at us as if we were just swapping lies in a giant mudslinging match.

"What I've learned today is that each side has an exact opposite claim. In that case, one side is propagating an extremely malicious falsehood."

D or C? Which class was lying to the school? If this fact became known, the consequences would be greater than suspension.

"I'll ask you, Class C. Have you lied to us today?"

"Of...of course not!"

"Well, what about you, Class D?"

"I haven't lied. Everything we've said has been the truth."

"Then we will regroup here for a retrial tomorrow at 4:00 PM. If by then it hasn't been clearly established which party has lied, or in the event, no one admits that they were at fault, we will pass judgment based on the evidence we've collected thus far. Of course, in that case, we may have to consider the possibility of expulsion from this school. That is all."

I get that this is a special school and all, but a student council president being able to decide whether a student is expelled or not is a case of too much power," Kobashi said.

"Well, it's not like we can walk up to a teacher and say that we want to expel a student. Even a teacher can't do that, but this was a special case so we considered it," Manabu explained.

After offering that statement, Horikita's older brother ended the proceedings. If the trial was set to reopen at 4:00 tomorrow, that was a very small window of time in which to uncover new evidence.

"Would it be possible to have a little more time before we reconvene?" Horikita asked, raising her hand. She hadn't protested, but she had made an offer.

"If this matter required some extra time before retrial, then the student council president would have offered a sufficient grace period. In other words, the amount of time granted should be enough for this case. Extensions are only offered under special circumstances," answered Chabashira-sensei, folding her arms. It appeared she'd taken the student council's intentions into consideration.

"I'm impressed, Horikita. You were able to make excuses to get an extension by 1 day. Truly impressive," Said Sakayanagi sarcastically.

"Well, it actually was since this was really just a formality before Sudo was reprimanded so just using some conversation and a testimony she was able to turn a situation with their class only being reprimanded to both classes being reprimanded," explained Manabu.

"How would both classes be punished?" asked Amikura.

"Before the trial, there was no evidence to back up class D's claim so only they would go through a punishment. However, due to the testimony and distortion of class Cs' statement it turned a situation of which only Sudo was punished to one where both of them were," explained Sakayanagi.

We were told to leave. Everyone looked dissatisfied as they exited the student council office. Sakagami-sensei approached Sakura, who seemed to be on the verge of tears. He said something very cold to her.

"I want you to reflect on the fact that many students will be involved in this due to your lies. Also, if you think that we'll go easy on you if you start crying, then I am afraid you are being foolish. You should be ashamed of yourself."

"Sakagami, that was unnecessary and needlessly cruel," Mashima scolded.

It seems that even the ever so impartial class A teacher had reached his limit and it wasn't just him most students saw Sakagami worthy of the delinquent class known as class C.

Haruka gave some more kind words to Airi trying to make her feel better.

Sakagami-sensei and his students left, leaving those words hanging in the air. The Class C students repeatedly complained that the witness's lies were far too much on their way out, almost as if they wanted Sakura to hear them. Silence enveloped the student council room immediately afterwards. Sakura, trying to stifle her voice as best she could, burst into tears.

"I tried my absolute hardest to speak up during the discussion, but do we even have a chance? Horikita?"

"I won't give up. I will keep fighting to support your testimony until the end," Horikita said.

Although she didn't say anything, I could tell that Haruka's opinion of Horikita grew due to her words and actions.

"You understand that we won't solve this problem just by being stubborn. Won't that just hurt more people in the process?"

"I have no intention of losing. Well then, I must excuse myself."

"I can't wait to hear about this plan, it better be as incredible and original as your island strategy," Ryueen smirked.

With that, Horikita turned and left. Sudou followed. I left the student council room alongside Sakura.

"I'm sorry, Ayanokouji-kun... If I'd only stepped forward in the very beginning, everything would have been fine, but... Everything turned out this way because I didn't have the courage."

"It would've ended the same even if you had stepped forward at the beginning. They would've fought to discredit your testimony simply

because the witness came from Class D. The result would be the same."

"He's right, Airi. You don't have to worry about how well you did because just coming forward is good enough," Sato said with a warm smile

"But!"

If they suspected Sakura to be a liar, she probably wouldn't be able to save Sudou by herself. Overcome with emotion, Sakura started crying, large tears rolling down her cheeks. If Hirata were here, he probably would've kindly offered her a handkerchief. Strangely enough, this scene seemed to mimic the time Horikita had collapsed briefly when reunited with her brother. It was a moment of deep déjà vu.

Why was this world divided into winners and losers? I'd already witnessed many victories and defeats and had seen how closely joy and sorrow seemed to be linked to those outcomes. I couldn't just abandon Sakura, so I decided to wait until she could move.

(A/N there's so much wr foreshadowing that I never noticed before)

The other students knew of my circumstances and how I was forced to compete against others so they refrained from asking questions. It seems that my early plans were paying off although I will have to start laying more foundations for when the video where I meet my father comes.

"You're still here?"

Horikita's older brother and Secretary Tachibana came out of the student council room. Secretary Tachibana began locking the door with a key.

"What are you planning to do?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I thought that when you came here with Suzune, you'd unveil some kind of master plan."

"You seriously have a lot of faith in him," Nagumo remarked.

"He hadn't shown anything impressive at the time except a few odd exam scores and some martial arts ability. Why did you have such high faith in him?" Hashimoto asked.

"It was just a hunch, there was no logical reasoning, I just thought he was more than he seemed," Manabu said with a small smile.

"I'm not exactly Zhuge Liang or Kuroda Kanbei. I don't have any plans."

"Who are those guys? Are they video game characters or something?" Ike asked.

"They're both war strategists, not video game characters. Seriously, Ike, we did the Sengoku period in History recently. He was fairly important in that, how did you forget already?" Horikita sighed.

"So does that mean when Suzune claimed Sudou was completely innocent, she was merely getting carried away?"

"Hyperbole, you mean? I don't think so."

"I see."

Strangely enough, though my exchanges with Horikita's brother up to now had been short, our conversation continued. Though he'd left a bad impression on me during our first meeting, I found him easy to talk to now. Perhaps this was to be expected of someone who had climbed the ranks to become student council president. He had a superior understanding of human nature.

"You guys seem to understand each other very well," remarked Hiyori.

It wasn't that we were best friends or we could both analyse each other on an exceptional level, but rather we could talk to each other because we understood the wall that stood between us. We both could understand that. Both of us could talk freely on either side of the wall. I wonder if the time will ever come when I can talk to someone when there is no wall between us.

"Not really the right word, but I guess it's close enough," I said

"Then there's what you said, Sakura." Horikita's brother turned to Sakura, who'd stifled her crying. "Eyewitness testimony and pictorial evidence certainly carry weight during deliberation. However, please keep in mind that how much we value the evidence is determined by how much we trust in its believability. No matter what you do, the evidence's legitimacy is reduced because you are a student from Class D. No matter how detailed your account, we cannot accept it as one hundred per cent true."

Basically, he was calling Sakura a liar.

"They're all ganging up on her," Haruka said quietly.

"It's not that they're doing this for fun or anything. They have to deal with a serious situation and Airi's testimony wasn't enough to believe her. Don't think that they're all that cruel," Akito explained kindly.

"I know, but let me believe my flawed logic for a little bit."

"If you can't prove it, then it's little more than nonsense."

Sakura hung her head low in frustration, crying once again.

"I believe her. I believe Sakura's testimony," I said.

"Since she's a Class D student, it's only natural that you would want to believe her."

"I didn't say that I want to believe her. I said I believe her. Those mean different things."

I saw Haruka smile at me with gratitude.

"So can you prove it? Can you prove she's not lying?"

"That's not up to me. Your sister will prove it. If Sakura isn't lying, then she will find a way to convince everyone."

"Kohai, you are something else. Most students would shrivel away and whimper in front of the student council president, but you don't feel anything" Kiryuiin exclaimed.

Horikita's brother chuckled softly, then smiled, as if to suggest such a thing couldn't be done.

"Why does he look down on her so much?" asked Miyamoto.

"I don't know. Maybe he just has higher standards for family, although I would be a little disappointed too if I was able to get into class A but my sibling was only able to get into class D," Matsushita commented.

From an outsider's perspective, these options were the logical ones, but without knowing their family dynamic beforehand I doubt that they could figure out the true reason for his coldness.

After Horikita's brother and Tachibana left, I approached Sakura, who still was not able to move.

"Come on. Chin up, Sakura. There's no use in crying forever."

"But...it's all my fault... Hic."

"You didn't do anything wrong. You just told the truth. Right?"

"But... I..."

"I'll say it one more time. You didn't do anything wrong."

I crouched slightly so I could meet Sakura's eyes. She lowered her head once more like she didn't want anyone to see her tears.

"I believe in you. I'm grateful that you came here today. Thanks to you, we now have a chance to save Sudou and our classmates."

"But... I... Wasn't I completely useless?"

Just how little confidence did this girl have in herself?

"I believe you because you're my friend."

I put my hand on her shoulder. Turning her around somewhat forcibly, I tried to make her look me in the eye.

I repeated it with conviction. I told her, "Do it for yourself."

"Kiyopon, you really are a good person," Haruka said with 2 thumbs up.

"Quite a video with the entire package. There was action, comedy there was even some antagonists. This may win an oscar, y'know."

The voice came back and continued to spout his exaggerated jokes.

"Well now that this is done all of you can witness Horikita's plan that saved class D next time and maybe a little something extra,"

I could see ryueen smiling when the words 'Horikitas plan" were said.

"So we finally see this wonderful plan, it better be worth the wait," said Hashimoto.

Authors notes:

I'm alive after not uploading for nearly 2 weeks. Not a lot to say. This was the longest and hardest chapter to do by far and since this focuses mainly on sakura this is like torture having to write about her. Back to normal once a week uploads from now on. Next times video seems pretty obvious so there's that. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Fake Cameras/ Saving Sakura

"Well, all of you have been patient, so I'll give you a treat and show you all this plan that Horikita has concocted."

So it's time to reveal the plan, but he said that there was something extra that he's going to show. Could it be related to Airi and that store worker?

This time it was Ichinose who took a glance at Airi. It seems that she was worried about whether that would be shown as well

It took approximately 30 minutes for the discussion to start. I stood and began to leave the classroom, heading to meet someone at a certain rendezvous spot. Before I left, I decided to have a word with Sakura.

"Sakura. Are you heading back now?" I asked as she prepared to leave.

"Ayanokouji-kun... We're having the trial today."

"I'm not participating," I told her that I had to do some trivial work behind the scenes.

"Kiyotaka, was that 'trivial work' something to do with the scheme?" Airi timidly asked.

I nodded.

"I'm interested to see this trivial work, after all, The great miracle Leader of class D made it," giggled Sakayanagi while giving Horikita a ridiculous name.

"I see..." she murmured.

Sakura cast her eyes down as if she had something on her mind. She looked a little odd like she was nervous. It was as if she couldn't settle down.

"Airi, was something wrong?" Haruka asked her friend.

"Oh well, there was a problem, but don't worry, Kiyotaka helped me out," Airi said while giving her bravest face to ease her friend's worries, but it was in vain since Haruka looked like she didn't believe it.

"What's wrong?"

"Huh?"

"Sakura, you don't really need to testify today. There's no need for you to be so worked up, right?"

Sakura looked like she was sweating.

"It's because everyone's doing their best. I thought I'd do my best, too." It felt like she was saying that to herself, rather than to me.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked.

"Well, if there's something I need to move forward... I'll do it."

Even though I'd asked what she was thinking, Sakura wouldn't give a clear answer. I wanted to ask why she looked uneasy, but the cell phone in my pocket vibrated. My alarm told me the time. I couldn't stay any longer.

"See you later, Ayanokouji-kun."

Sakura's words and bright smile seemed so unlike her. They left me with an unpleasant feeling.

"She seems more timid, but it wasn't too out of the norm," Katsuragi said.

"This was just a hunch, it wasn't something I knew for sure," I told him.

"I see."

"Hey, Sakura. Do you have any time later? I wanted to talk to you about something."

The words felt like they were being squeezed out of me. Sakura gently shook her head.

"I have plans today. Maybe tomorrow?"

If she assured me that she was fine, I couldn't exactly keep contradicting her. I really had to be going. I turned my back on Sakura and headed off.

"I was glad that he noticed these signs early on. I had no idea that any of that could happen in a school like this," Ichinose thought.

"Kiyopon may be negative, but I trust his gut feeling. Something bad definitely happened to Airi, but she seems fine now so it must have been resolved, yet I still want to help her in any way I can," Haruka worriedly thought.

It was past 3:40. With classes over for the day, I went to the special building. This place had become increasingly hot and humid as the summer wore on. If things proceeded as planned, then the person I was expecting should arrive soon. Shortly thereafter, three guys showed up, all grumbling about how unbearably hot it was. They appeared happy, though, wearing optimistic expressions.

That was because the three of them had received emails from the class sweetheart, Kushida. Had the message contained an invitation to go on a date? Or perhaps, even more insane, a romantic confession? They were probably dreaming of such things. When they saw me, their fantasies were crushed.

"Oh, so it seems that you withdrew this complaint because of a potential date," Ryueen smirked.

"Y'know, I could have gotten Ibuki to do it if you were so desperate," Ryuuen glanced at the girl. Ibuki promptly sent a punch to his head, but Ryuuen grabbed her wrist before it made contact with his face.

"Now, now, Ibuki, you shouldn't attack people unprovoked. All I did was say a little joke between friends," Ryueens smile grew wider, but Ibuki knew that she would get in even more trouble than she already was if she continued so she stopped and sat back down."

"What's going on? Why are you here?"

Apparently, they remembered me from the student council room.

Ishizaki, the group's leader, stepped forward as if to intimidate me. He was rather forceful when no one was around to see.

"Kushida won't be here. I asked her to send an email to compel you all to come."

Ishizaki looked incredibly ill-tempered as he closed the distance between us. "This isn't funny. What did you do this for, huh?"

"Quite mad when you're fake date didn't come, huh?" Kaneda mocked.

"I can't believe I got all up in his face when he could've pummeled all of us in one punch," Ishizaki thought in embarrassment.

"If I hadn't used an underhanded method, you would've just ignored me, right? I wanted to talk to you."

"Talk to us? Why would we want to do that? Has the heat scrambled your brain or something?"

Ishizaki, who clearly was affected by the heat, grabbed his shirt and flapped it.

"No matter what you do, you can't hide the truth. Sudou called us over here and beat us up. That's our answer. Now he needs to quietly accept his punishment."

"I have no intention of arguing. That would be a waste of time. I fully understand that neither Class C nor Class D will retract what they claimed yesterday."

"So why do this? Are you going to abduct us so we miss the trial? Or are you going to have a bunch of people surround us and threaten us with violence? It'll be just like that time with Sudou."

"Hey, that's not a bad idea," Ike thought.

"Don't be an idiot. That would only get us in more trouble than before," Horikita shut him down fast.

Oh. That was a rather interesting idea

"See? Ayanokouji agrees with me," Ike said with pride.

Horikita looked a little shocked that I agreed with the opposition's idea.

"Why did you say that?" She asked me.

"I just thought that it was interesting. My thoughts didn't clearly say whether it was good or not," beaten by this loophole, Horikita stayed quiet.

But it would only work as a stopgap measure. Such threats wouldn't work against these people. Quite the contrary; they looked like they'd welcome it. If they were the victims of another attack, they'd probably find a way to make their situation even more favourable.

"It was wise that you didn't agree with their proposal, it could have ended terribly for you," Keisei said.

"That's right. They would just spin the story in a way that Ayanokouji threatened them to protect his friend and with even more injuries and no new evidence, it was easy for Ayanokouji and Sudo to have been expelled," Katuragi surmised.

These 2 had most likely never talked to each other, but if they were in the same class I feel like they would get along due to their same way of thinking.

"Just give up. See ya later."

Understanding that Kushida would not be coming, the three turned and tried to leave, but one other person stood in their way.

"I think you guys might want to consider that idea, actually."

"So that's where the favour went," Amikura said in surprise.

Ichinose, who'd been waiting for all of the players in this drama to appear, quietly stepped forward.

"I-Ichinose?! What are you doing here?!"

The Class C boys were shocked. Given the unexpected appearance of someone from Class B, their shock was reasonable.

"What do you mean? What if I said that I'm here because I'm involved in this case?"

"Ichinose, you're a celebrity."

"You guys have no tact at all," Asahina sighed.

The 3 of them were unable to refute the claim.

"They're not wrong. Honami is a celebrity in the school," Amikura teased her friend who didn't like the attention.

Ichinose gave her a little push, one that you would give to a friend when they were being dumb or annoying.

"Haha. Well, I guess I'm well known among the members of Class C."

Since the Class C students hadn't expected her to be involved, it looked like tension was rising between them. They were clearly starting to lose their composure.

"It's like going to a high-level area in a game and getting worried when your gear isn't good enough to beat the boss. While you try, you still end up dying," The professor exclaimed joyfully and I have to say, it wasn't a bad analogy.

"This incident had nothing to do with Class B, right? So butt out..."

The hall was starting to fill in the border pieces of the puzzle and figure out what the plan was about.

But unlike when they'd spoken to me, their threats sounded weak.

They sounded desperate to getaway.

"You're certainly right that Class B has nothing to do with this. But how do you feel about involving so many people in your lies?"

"We didn't lie. We're the victims. We are. Sudou called us out here and beat us up. That's the truth."

"So evildoers remain obstinate until the very end. It's about time for you to pay the piper!" Ichinose declared, making a wide-sweeping gesture with her right arm as she did so. "You lied. We can all see through you. You got violent in the end. If you don't want that fact to become public knowledge, withdraw your claim right away."

"If your plan was just to use Ichinose to intimidate them into withdrawing, then I feel like it has a particularly low chance of working," said Kanzaki.

He was right. This plan wouldn't work with just these tools, we needed something that could put fear into them.

Even though I hadn't explained every detail, I felt that things would be fine in Ichinose's capable hands.

Ichinose got a little more reserved when I praised her abilities, but made sure to keep the change in outward appearance as minimal as possible.

"Huh? Withdraw? Don't make me laugh. What, were you half asleep when you came up with that argument? You can't just claim something and make it true. Sudou started the fight. Right?"

Ishizaki looked to his two accomplices, who immediately answered, "That's right! That's right!"

"Did you know that this school is one of the leading government- sanctioned institutions in Japan?"

"Of course we do. That's why we tried to enrol here."

"In that case, you should try using your heads a bit more. Your aims were obvious right from the start, wouldn't you say?" Ichinose grinned and talked with greater animation as if relishing this. She walked slowly towards the three as she spoke like she was a famous detective revealing the true culprit in an investigation.

"Honami, are you a sadist?" I think this question from Amikura broke Ichinose.

"W-what?" She sputtered out.

"Nothing. Anyways, you seem to be really assertive here. I thought you would just intimidate them and have Ayanokouji talk about this, but it seems you're doing all the work," Amikura pointed out. I don't believe she had any negative intention of saying that Ichinose did all the work, but she was rather blunt.

"Didn't you think that the school's response to this incident was rather strange?"

"Huh?"

"When you raised the issue with the school, why wasn't Sudou punished immediately? Why give an opportunity to escape by granting a grace period of several days? What do you think was the reason?"

"Because he lied to the school and cried for mercy. If they hadn't given him the time as a formality, we, the victims, would have won."

"That's a really crappy argument," It seems that even Ryuuen was criticising his troops.

The hall was getting a lot quieter and there were only a few quiet murmurs between seatmates and people in front or behind you. The suspense of how this would all play out to its eventual crescendo left the hall speechless

"Is that really true? I wonder if you had a different aim, a different purpose."

The windows in the hallway were all closed. The sun, still high in the sky, glared down upon us, increasing the heat and humidity.

"This is like a movie, it's so intense," Haruka said while on the edge of her seat.

"I've got no idea what you're talking about. Ah, damn it. It's so hot!"

One's ability to think, that is to say, to concentrate, decreases as heat increases. One cannot exhibit sufficient logical, creative thinking outside of a comfortable environment. The more content you cram into your head, the more your brain will overload.

"That wasn't a terrible idea, Horikita. Using the heat to rush their decision without letting them think rationally was smart," Matsushita praised.

Horikita nodded, but I could tell that there was a hook clawing at her for having to lie to the class directly to their faces about these events rather than simply brushing it off as she always does.

"Whatever, I'm out of here. I'm going to boil alive if I stay."

"Is that really okay, though? If you leave this place, you might regret it for the rest of your life."

"What do you want, Ichinose?"

They didn't seem to understand what she was getting at.

"Don't you understand? The school knows that you're lying, Class C. They've known from the beginning."

This statement probably came as a surprise to them. None of them had imagined such an outcome. Ishizaki and the others looked at each other for a few seconds, then snorted with laughter.

"Honestly, an ape was thinking rationally they could call your bluff," Kiryuiin said.

"Don't make me laugh. We lied? And the school knows it?"

"Ha hahaha. You guys are so funny," Ichinose said. "You've been dancing to my tune all this time."

"That's a nice try, Ichinose. But we're calling your bluff!"

"I have actual evidence," Ichinose continued, unfazed by Ishizaki's threats.

"Oh? Well, let's see it. Show me what evidence you—"

They thought there was no way we had any evidence, of course. Even after what Ichinose had said, they weren't shaking. However, when she began to speak, their defeat was decided.

At my ominous words, the hall was silent. Not a single word could escape this place and that familiar feeling of having the world muted came back.

"Did you know that there are security cameras installed everywhere do every day?"

"Yeah. So what?"

They seemed to have already known about the security cameras. Ishizaki and the others appeared unconcerned.

"Well, then. Did you not see that?"

Ichinose looked to a spot near the ceiling a little further down the hall. Ishizaki and the others tracked her gaze.

I could hear Ryuuen click his tongue and stare angrily at his classmates, but he didn't berate them or scold them for failing. If this was the Ryuuen from a year ago, he would have cast them aside and likely would have them put in the scapegoat category for whenever a new voting exam came up, but this time was different. He was angry at his subordinates, but also he knew that this plan was poorly planned out and relied purely on the luck and assumption that his enemies weren't smart enough to figure out the loophole.

"So that's what you did," Sakayanagi seemed satisfied with the plan and quickly glanced at me when no one was looking.

"Huh?"

They voiced complete disbelief. A security camera hung in the hallway and occasionally swung from left to right, capturing everything.

"That's too bad, isn't it? If you want to set a trap for someone, you'd need to do it in a place without any cameras."

"Buh, wh-what camera?! You're lying! But, there weren't any cameras in the other hallways, were there?! It's weird that there's only one installed here! Right?!"

Ishizaki looked back at his two accomplices, seeking their opinion.

They nodded, confirming that yes, Ishizaki was right. They wiped the sweat off their faces as they answered.

"You can't trick us like that. You guys installed that camera yourselves!"

"Ah, the oafs have learnt how to think," Nagumo shared his crude statement.

"You're right that, by and large, cameras aren't installed in most of this building's hallways. However, there are exceptions, and several places in which security cameras have been installed, like in front of the faculty room and the science lab. Obviously, there are many valuables stored in the faculty room, you know? Additionally, the science lab has many chemical products. Since the science lab is on this level, it's only natural that a camera would be installed here."

For the first time, Ishizaki and the other seemed to be at a loss for words. Ichinose did not fail to notice how they faltered.

"Have you looked back there, behind you? There's one there too, right?"

Ishizaki and the others looked down the hall as instructed, and saw a camera. Of course, that camera was monitoring the hall's opposite end.

The hall was in shock and bewilderment, but they had no idea how this would finish so they kept their outburst suppressed for now.

"So if we'd installed a camera, as you said, would we have prepared one on that side, too? Besides, how exactly would we have prepared surveillance cameras when we can't even leave campus in the first place?"

We were cutting off their escape routes one by one.

"Th-that's impossible... That... I mean, we...checked back then... We should have..."

"Oh no, total accident," Nagumo said sarcastically.

"So you installed the cameras, put them into a situation where they couldn't think rationally and then are trying to make them incriminate themselves," Keisei summarised.

"Something like this goes far beyond the capabilities of a class D student. I doubt that even most class A students could pull something like this off," Matsushita said that quietly so the other class couldn't hear her.

I could see Sudo was staring at the screen with gratitude, but there was a sense of doubt on his face. He knows of my abilities the most in class D if you exclude Horikita, Kei and Hirata, so he seems to be fairly aware that I had some part in all this.

"This is the third floor, but did you really check? Maybe you only looked at the second or the fourth? Perhaps the cameras were truly set up here as a trap?"

The three were holding their heads and sweating far more than normal.

"Also, you realize that you just destroyed yourselves, right? Normal people wouldn't think to check whether there were security cameras, right? That's basically admitting your guilt." Ichinose delivered the finishing blow.

"So, so... That time... No way..."

I could see that Manabu had a slight smile on his face, even though his sister hadn't been the one to come up with the plan, he was still proud of her ability to execute it.

Horikita got lots of praise for her scheme and even Ichinose got some praise for her acting and here I was, sitting alone.

"The security cameras couldn't record the sounds of your voices, but they definitely captured the decisive moment you threw the first punch."

The cuffs of their uniforms were completely drenched with sweat. Ichinose passed the baton to me. My my, they probably would've been better off just talking to me, huh?

"Looking down on us even in your own head and it wasn't even you who came up with this plan. Ichinose did most of the work," Kaneda from class C ridiculed me, I was planning on ignoring him, but Ishizaki came to my defence,

"Dude, stop it. If it was you in that situation, you wouldn't have been able to organise half of this and it was him who brought Ichinose to work on the thing," Ishizaki said in a calm voice that was arguably more scary than his usually loud annoying tone.

"The school's waiting, right? Go ahead and tell us the truth. After giving you a grace period, the student council president himself asked if you had lied. If you think back, don't you realize that the student council saw through everything?"

The three of them were probably frantically wracking their brains to recall what happened at the meeting. Of course, the student council had not seen through their lies at all. However, the student council had their doubts about who was telling the truth. If the Class C students interpreted that question to be focused squarely on them, it lent itself a certain credence.

"That's... I didn't hear about anything like that! It's all over!"

Komiya buckled. Leaning against the wall, he slid down to his knees.

Kondou held his head in his hands. They all seemed to recognize what was happening. Or so I thought, but Ishizaki wasn't buying it.

"For once the stubborn quality of class C might have come in handy, too bad it didn't work," Kanzaki scoffed.

"W-wait a minute. I'm still not convinced. Okay, let's say the security cameras did capture some footage. You should've been able to prove Sudou's innocence without having to really do anything, right? You didn't need to call us out here to tell us this. You could have just presented it at the trial. But you guys called us here, right?"

"Is this a special ability you guys have? That whenever you're in a tough spot you can just think and make logical points," Hashimoto smirked.

"Innocence? That depends on what you're innocent of. We know that both parties took damage during the incident. No matter the circumstances, Sudou hit the three of you. That's undeniable. Of course, if the security footage can prove that Sudou wasn't the one who called you three over here, he'd probably receive the lightest possible punishment. However, his position as a regular would still be threatened. He might not be allowed to participate in tournaments."

Sweat poured down Ishizaki's forehead like a waterfall. We were hot as well, but comparatively much better off than these three. Their temperatures kept rising as we cornered them.

"What the hell? Well then, if it's like you people say, the security footage shouldn't be any trouble at all, right? We'll be fine as long as we can get Sudou suspended for even one day."

"Were you just that desperate or was there something else?" Nagumo shone a light on class C.

"I just didn't want all of these efforts to go to waste" Komiya, who was a little more quiet and softspoken than the other two, spoke for the all of them.

"Hmm. I see, how noble."

"If that happens, you might be expelled. Are you fine with that?"

Clearly, they hadn't thought that part through and didn't notice the dilemma they faced.

"If someone checked the security camera footage, it would expose your lies. If that were to happen, chances are good you'd be expelled. Anyone could see that."

"Wha—!"

"W-wait, why expelled? You didn't say that we lied!" Kondou was trying to save himself, his voice weak and strained.

"The school is testing us. They're testing to see if we can solve problems, and what kind of conclusions we draw. Don't you think that's consistent with everything else in this case?"

Although they knew that Ichinose was bluffing, this started to get them to theorise about the school.

"Would this place test us and threaten to have a student expelled just to observe stuff?" A first-year asked.

"I doubt it, this place may be cruel, but they aren't evil. There's so much stress that goes with expulsion that I doubt that they would put students in there for their own reasons," Katsuragi calmly explained.

"Why would... I-I definitely don't want to get expelled!"

"H-hey, Ishizaki. It's not too late to tell them we lied! If we do, the school might forgive us!"

The boys had cloudy expressions and could only watch as everyone around them saw their desperation to save themselves.

"Damn it. This is ridiculous. Admit that we lied? Well, fine. As long as Sudou's punished, I'll prepare myself for the worst punishment possible, an honourable sacrifice! It'll all be over for Sudou!"

In other words, Ishizaki wouldn't withdraw. Instead, he'd press forward.

"There's being stubborn and then there's having a borderline mental illness," Nagumo ridiculed.

Sudo had a somewhat blank expression on his face I guess he had expected something like this to happen.

"It's rather early to draw a conclusion. We'll give you one last chance. There's only one way to save both Class C and Class D."

"Like hell, we'd do that!"

If the incident existed, it would be impossible to save everyone. In that case, it would be better if the incident didn't exist at all.

The students who weren't able to understand my hidden meaning at the trial had finally been enlightened to what I had meant.

"Woah. Kiyopon, is this what you were trying to hint towards Horikita," Haruka said in awe.

"Pretty much," I didn't see a point in lying.

"You're some kind of genius, I never would have thought of that," she continued to praise me.

"There's only one way to resolve this issue. Tell the school that you

wish to withdraw your complaint. If you do that, the school will not bring forward the security camera footage. If there's no complaint, no one can be punished. Additionally, if the security footage is never brought up, Class D benefits, too. As we already know, if the security footage were brought produced, Sudou would still face some degree of punishment. In other words, Class C and Class D can come to a compromise together. The school can't investigate if they can't watch the video and see that you lied, right?"

"Ahh, ahh... Just...let me call..."

A shattered-looking Ishizaki took out his cell phone. However,

Ichinose sternly told him no. She wouldn't give him time to think. We had to finish this now.

"Well, you're not being very cooperative. Therefore, we have no choice but to prepare. We'll have the school confirm the security footage right away, and you'll be expelled."

I nodded in agreement. Kondou and Komiya grabbed Ishizaki's arms.

"Come on. Let's just accept Ichinose's idea, Ishizaki!"

"W-wait. If I don't check with that person, it'll be bad," he murmured.

Ryuuen didn't yell at them, but Sakayanagi took this as an opportunity to expose his weakness.

"After being dethroned it seems like the mad dictator has grown a heart for his class. Maybe you'll be doing cheerleading exercises for them, Ryuuen," She provoked.

The thought of Ryuuen wearing a cheerleading outfit cheering for his class in something like the sports festival was fairly amusing.

"Whatever you say, at least I can grow a heart. If you had the chance, you would throw away your class if you felt like it," Ryueen mocked.

It was fairly obvious that Sakayanagi didn't have any strong feelings about class A because she could graduate and go anywhere due to connections and talent. She was similar to Koenji in that sense.

"We've already lost! I don't wanna get expelled! Please, Ishizaki!"

"Damn! Fine... We'll withdraw. It'll be fine if we withdraw!"

Ishizaki fell to his knees.

"Well, let's head to the student council room right away. We'll go together."

We went to the student council room, the three C students sandwiched between us. If we took our eyes off them for even one second, they might contact someone for advice. When we finally reached the student council room, we pushed the three inside. Horikita had put everything together really well.

"It's obvious you put it together, so why are you lying in your own thoughts and acting like this? Are you simply trying to reject the personality the white room gave you or are you trying to fit in? I don't understand you," Sakayanagi thought.

"Pretty exciting, right? This next video is not for the faint of heart, so be prepared."

So it looks like Airis's video was going to be shown, after all. I noticed Airi going out the door and into the private viewing room. She was rather discreet about it, I guess those years of being invisible paid off.

"Kiyopon, what's wrong with Airi?" Haruka asked worriedly.

"It was something a little traumatic that happened earlier in the year, but don't worry, she was completely fine," I explained to ease her worries.

It didn't work, however. Her eyes were darting around everywhere.

"Whew! I feel so much better! Thanks so much! Thanks for giving me such a huge role! I was so happy!" Ichinose cried.

"Well, it was more like you just did as you pleased, Ichinose."

"Ha ha ha, yeah. I guess so. But the case is closed, eh?"

Yeah, it really was.

Now that the aftermath of the plan was revealed, the students were calming down and returning to their normal selves.

"I was wondering what you were up to when you asked me to lend you some points yesterday."

We returned to the hot and humid special building and set up a stepladder.

"I couldn't believe you wanted to install security cameras."

I could see the professor's face light up when he realised that his part of the plan was coming up.

Yes, that's right. The school hadn't actually installed those security cameras. Ichinose and Kanzaki bought them, and together with the Professor, installed them during our lunch break. Ishizaki and the other two students were terrified of leaked footage from the cameras, but those cameras were fakes.

Sudo had realised what a friend of his did without him knowing, so he thanked him for it.

"Hey man, thanks for the stuff you did," He said quietly.

"No problem, I just wanted to do something in the shadows," After his few seconds of humbleness, he goes back to talking about animanga tropes.

I was surprised at first that the school sold such equipment. Then again, while you wouldn't think of using them for crime prevention, they could be useful in measurement and recording. In other words, study tools. Perhaps calling them network rather than security cameras would make it easier to comprehend.

The heat had compromised the Class C students' ability to think.

They'd been in crisis mode, without a chance to relax. In addition, they'd felt psychologically threatened during that standoff. There was no way that they would have figured out we were bluffing. Even if they'd doubted it, they had no time to investigate.

The students from class C were wearing darkened expressions now that they were reliving their past experiences and how they were tricked so easily.

"God, you guys are morons," Ibuki said.

They wanted to disagree, but they couldn't find the words for it.

"When the day comes, you guys will probably become formidable rivals for Class C, Ayanokouji-kun."

"If such a day ever comes, I guess."

However, Ichinose might well be in Class A by then.

"What a shitty guess from both of you," Ryueen snickered.

"Didn't class D overtake you under Horikitas leadership? Doesn't that prove that they were good enough to rival you?" Kanzaki scoffed.

"That doesn't mean they were good, it just means that one person was good enough to do something. The class is useless, but even defects have some form of strength no matter how useless it is in the real world," Ryueen said with a grin on his face and took a quick glance at me.

"If Horikita-san were in Class B, we might have gotten to Class A right away."

"Well, it is nice for the weak to have dreams, but Ichinose, just to let you know..." Sakayanagi began.

"...You'll never reach class A, I can assure you of that," She said coldly.

Ichinose wasn't taken aback in the slightest, rather, she probably expected something like this to come out of Sakayanagi's mouth.

"Who knows where all of us will end up at the end of the year. Beginning at class A doesn't really matter, you know," Ichinose said with a gentle voice.

"You can keep up with your delusions and denial as long as you want, but you'll fall to the bottom eventually," Sakayanagi said without even looking at Ichinose.

I guess she thought that Ichinose wasn't even worth her time.

"Probably."

I removed the camera and handed it down to Ichinose, who steadied the stepladder.

"I'll definitely return the points I borrowed. Just tell me when you want them."

"Sure. As long as you pay me back by graduation, it's fine. So what are you going to do now? Wait in front of the student council room?"

"Probably..."

I suddenly remembered seeing Sakura. She'd said that she had plans today, but what in the world was she doing? Earlier, when she'd been waiting for me after class, what had she wanted to tell me? She seemed like she'd resolved to do something, judging by her expression. Right? She'd said she had courage. But what for?

The feeling plagued me, as if the back of my head were going numb while my thoughts swirled.

"Yeah, Sakura wouldn't have had anything to do since she wasn't attending the trial or anything," Sato said scratching her head.

"I've never seen you so worried," Akito said with a worried expression.

"Oh, yeah, that reminds me. There was one thing I wanted to tell you, Ayanokouji-kun."

Before Ichinose could say anything, though, I was already running away. Whatever she wanted to tell me, it was going to have to wait.

Most students weren't surprised at how fast I was running since they had already witnessed my speed at the sports festival.

"Huh?! W-wait a minute!"

Even though she couldn't understand what was happening, for some reason Ichinose followed me.

My phone's tracking data displayed the entrance of the electronics store. Not to be put off, Ichinose came running after me and stuck close. As we approached our destination, I was incredibly winded. I had to stop and catch my breath. Just as a precaution, I signalled Ichinose to be quiet.

The room was quiet and waiting to see what would unfold.

"Please don't contact me anymore!"

"This is bad," Asahina commented with a hand over her mouth.

"What's so bad?" Ike hadn't picked up on it yet.

"Why would you say something like that? You're my treasure... Ever since I first saw you in a magazine, I've loved you. Meeting you again here, I felt like it was destiny. I love you... I can't stop feeling this way about you!"

"Ew. Just who is this creep?" Kei insulted with a disgusted expression.

"Kiyopon," Haruka was clearly not feeling well since her face was pale.

"N-Nothing happened, right?" she was shocked to her core that something like this could have happened to her friend.

"Nothing happened," I reassured her.

Haruka was sitting idly on her chair, but her hands were clamped to the seat and her eyes were glued to the screen.

"Stop... Please, stop it!" Sakura shouted. She took something out of her bag. Letters. It looked like dozens...no, hundreds of letters. I wondered how many this man had sent.

"An idol may get fan mail, but that's an obsession," Amikura said.

"Yes. I'm surprised that someone like this could have ever been hired into the school," Kanzaki said with a disgusted face.

Kanzaki was right to be surprised, but if you think logically, the school would have no way of knowing what this man was like since this was something that could easily be hidden away or deleted thanks to the internet.

"How do you know my room number? Why do you keep sending these?"

"Why? Of course, I would know your room number and send you letters. It's because our hearts are connected."

Many girls were scared to their core and Haruka's face was extremely pale. No one would say something or crack a joke in this sort of situation.

Sakura had probably been suffering ever since she started school here.

Her fan knew her identity, and she had to deal with his attention every day. However, Sakura had had enough and, thanks to her newfound courage, was going to break away. She'd decided to free herself from him here and now. Her resolve made sense now.

"That takes a lot of courage," Yosuke said trying to ease the situation a bit.

"Yeah, I don't know many people who could do that," Mii-chan indistinctly said.

Lots of people were starting to understand the girl known as Sakura Airi.

"Please stop it. It's bothering me!"

She tossed the bundle of letters to the floors, rejecting the man's unrequited love.

"Why... Why would you do something like that? Even after I wrote out my feelings to you!"

"D-don't come any closer!"

The man closed the distance between him and Sakura. He walked with an intensity that made it look as though he were about to attack. Latching onto Sakura's arm, he shoved her up against the store's shuttered door.

Haruka was quietly sobbing at the events.

"Please tell me you did something," Shibata said with a worried face.

Ichinose was someone who was helpful in these situations. Her calm and benevolent nature were helpful in reassuring the students.

"I'll show you just how much I love you now... If I do that, then you'll understand, Sakura."

"No, let me go!"

Ichinose tugged on my sleeve. Apparently, we couldn't leave things alone any longer. I'd wanted to wait until we could catch him in the act with something definitive, but it looks like I had no choice.

"You should have stepped in at the first second," Shinohara said with contempt.

"I had my reasons and my methods were grounded in logic," I told her.

"Kiyopon I think you're wrong. Even if it's the logical option, you should still step in at early as possible," Haruka disagreed with my approach.

My methods indeed takes the most logical approach, but it's still something that most people would consider an immoral option even if the ends were positive. The world works differently and people think in different ways. That was something that was drilled into me during my time at this school. In the white room, however, there was only one way to think and survive..

Taking Ichinose's arm, we strutted out like a delinquent couple. While walking by, we took pictures with our phones, our cameras clicking repeatedly.

"W-what?" Ike spat.

This action broke the suspense and tension that was there previously and everyone was relieved that we decided to step in.

"What a weird approach to solving your problem," Katsuragi said.

I agreed with him, but it's was the first thing that we thought of.

"Ah, looks like we caught them! That old guy's doing something naughty!"

"Huh?!"

Sakura was completely dumbfounded after hearing me speak in the unfamiliar tone of a delinquent. It was incredibly embarrassing, but I dealt with it.

"You spoke like that?" Kei had an exasperated expression.

"I didn't want to."

"If you spoke how you normally do, it would probably be scarier," Kei advised/

Was she giving me suggestions?

"I'll take that into account the next time I have to do something like this," I sighed.

"Ooh, 'Adult harasses high school girl.' I can just see the headlines tomorrow; it'll be a huge scandal!"

"N-no! That's wrong. You're wrong!"

"Hmm, it certainly doesn't sound wrong. Does it? It kind of looks that way, don't you think?"

Ichinose tried to match my performance, but her tone was cruel. The man, now flustered, hurriedly pulled away from Sakura. But we were prepared with our cameras.

The hall was glad to see the man being put into a corner.

"That creep deserves to get his ass beat," Ibuki said with venom in her voice.

Haruka wasn't saying a word, but she was starting to go back to her normal self after realising that Airi was completely safe.

"Wrong? I don't think so. Whoa, look at all those letters! Gross. Are you a stalker?"

She pinched her nose as she picked up the letters as if grabbing someone else's socks. She picked them up by their corners, using only her index finger and thumb.

"You're wrong. It's just...yeah, that. She said she wanted someone to teach her how to use a digital camera, so I said I'd teach her one-on-one. That's all."

"Hmmm."

I drew closer to the man, pressing him up against the shutter.

Some people were glad that I did this.

"You should beat the shit outta him," said Sudo

Others were surprised at my more... physical approach.

"You're kinda scary, Kiyopon," Haruka said with a quiet voice.

"Ah I didn't mean it in a bad way, I just mean that I'm happy that you were there for her," She quickly tried to dispel any bad intentions that she thought I may have taken away from her comment

"Me and my girlfriend saw everything. So we took pictures. If you show your face to that girl again or send her any more disgusting letters, we'll expose you. Got it?"

"Ha hahaha! What are you talking about? I really don't...know what you're talking about."

"You don't know what I'm talking about? You're not weaselling out of this, old man. If you so much as raise a hand at or even just ogle this idol, that'll be the end for you. I'll beat the shit out of you. Got it?"

"I can't take you seriously with that apathetic face," Ryueen stated.

"I'm not a good actor."

"Sure sure I believe you."

"Bullshit. You just fooled 99% of the student body into believing you're a normal person," Ryueen thought.

"Eek!"

After he completely lost his will to fight, I deliberately gave him some time to escape.

"G-goodbye! I won't do that ever again!"

"What a pathetic excuse of a human being," Kiryuuin ridiculed with a revolted expression.

The store clerk raced back inside the store to get away from us. With the source of her terror gone, Sakura suddenly looked exhausted. She looked like she was going to topple over and collapse, so I hurriedly grabbed her arms and held her up.

"You did really well."

I'd preached at her a lot, but that was probably unnecessary now. She'd been trying to vanquish the suffering she'd faced on her own. I had to consider her feelings.

"What do you mean?" Kobashi wasn't able to understand.

"I meant that she wanted to escape her pain, so I didn't have to preach to her because she was already better after she took a stand," I explained.

"Ayanokouji... kun. Why are you here?"

"I'm really glad that I exchanged contact information with you." I took out my phone, which showed Sakura's location.

"Woah. We have that on our phones?" Ike said in awe. I didn't think that was the correct thing to focus on, but whatever.

"Yes, we do. But most people turned the feature off when they discovered it because it was a breach of privacy for them," Horikita said.

The feature was probably for the school to locate the student's whereabouts and I figured that even if the students turned the feature off the school would still be able to see it.

"I guess I'm no good after all... I couldn't do anything by myself in the end."

"That's not true. It was really cool when you threw those letters to the ground." I pointed to the mess of multicoloured paper scattered everywhere.

"Hey, hey. Who's this mystery person you mentioned? Some idol?"

Ichinose tossed one of the disgusting letters to the ground, tilting her head in confusion.

"So Ichinose also knew about this," Kanzaki eyed his leader with a curious glance.

"I got told by Ayanokouji about it," Ichinose wryly chukled.

Perhaps she was trying to deny that she got the knowledge through anything bad, but I don't think anyone would think that anyway.

"That's..."

Although I didn't want to hide anything from Ichinose, I hesitated to speak without Sakura's permission. However, Sakura met my eyes and gave me a slight nod.

"Sakura over here was an idol when she was in junior high. Her name was Shizuku."

"Huh?! Idol?! That's amazing! She's an entertainer! Ooh, shake my hand, shake my hand!" Ichinose was filled with childlike excitement.

Ichinose's head was buried in her hands as she tried to get over the embarrassment of her past self being caught up in the moment.

"Honami, it's okay. At least you know it was bad," Amikura tried to console her.

It's true that if you are able to reflect on your actions and recognise your wrongdoings it's a positive thing. It means that you've grown as a person. Although this certainly depends on the weight of the situation. Any realisations of something negative a person has done in the past is an overall positive thing, but acknowledging something doesn't mean a lot, it's the action an individual take that can change something.

"But I never appeared on TV or anything..."

"Even so, that's so amazing! I've never thought about becoming an idol or anything."

I didn't know about that. I thought that Ichinose had the face and figure for it... No, rather, I thought she had the necessary qualities.

"What qualities do you mean, Kiyotaka?" Kei said those words gently and calmly, but her eyes were eerily threatening.

"I think you would make a good idol, Kei."

"W-Wait, what?" Kei's expression was flushed and she wasn't looking at me anymore.

"I think you have the necessary qualities to make a good idol," I told her bluntly.

"Kiyotaka, why do you have to say something so nice when I'm mad?" Kei was blushing.

"I didn't consider it nice, I just consider it the truth."

"You just... I don't know, be quiet," She looked defeated and unable to respond.

"When did you realize, Ayanokouji-kun?" Sakura asked.

"A little while ago. Sorry. Several other people in the class realized, too."

Since she was going to find out eventually, I decided to just tell her.

"I think I'm actually glad about this, though... It's been hard to lie."

If this situation had given Sakura the ability to finally remove her mask, then it was a good thing.

"I think so, too," Haruka was somewhat back to her normal self.

"Yeah. It would be hard to lie and fake everything for so long," Shinohara was being positive, but she unknowingly described Kushida and the awkward atmosphere among our classmates came back.

"At any rate, you were way too brave. I was going to have to step in if something happened."

"Haha... Yeah, you're probably right. I was so scared."

The girl who had openly cried in front of me yesterday was now laughing in a rather peculiar way. She laughed while seemingly on the verge of tears.

"Ayanokouji-kun... Don't look at me with such strange eyes."

"Strange eyes?"

"I had to get my ass kicked to see those eyes and all she does to see them is be a girl. Double standards, Ayanokouji." Ryueen thought.

"Never mind, it's nothing." Sakura didn't clarify, but she wore a slightly happy smile on her face. "Do you think everyone would notice if I came to class without my glasses, and changed my hairstyle?"

"I think there's a possibility that people at school might panic when they notice...but I think it'll be fine."

A few people chuckled at my joke.

I suddenly pictured a beautiful girl, with tons of spectators rushing forward to catch a glimpse of her. She had a gentle disposition and qualities that would make boys naturally crowd around her.

"Hey Kiyopon, quite a serious description you have there," Haruka nudged me in the arm.

"I just felt it was the truth."

"Whoa... You're so amazingly cute! You make a completely different impression without your glasses!"

It seemed as though Ichinose had looked up Shizuku on her phone. She seemed excited by what she found. Even though the incident with Sudou might have endangered our class and highlighted our lack of unity, at least it had given Sakura a chance to grow. Maybe it was all worth it, in the end.

"She's on the list," Ryueen muttered.

"List for what?" Hiyori asked.

"The list for people being babysat by Ayanokouji," Ryuuen sighed.

Wait. I really wasn't the type of person to think like that. Or, perhaps, I should say that I didn't know what kind of person I was in the first place. Was this the real me? I felt a bit confused.

"Are you having an identity crisis?" Ike joked.

"I was just a little confused."

I think that what I thought then were my true feelings. I didn't know who I was, so I tried to replicate something which I thought was the norm. All I did was feign an innocent optimism, but in the end, that just made me feel emptier and more confused than before.

"Sorry. For being quiet for so long."

"It's nothing you have to apologize for. We don't have to talk about it.

However, I think that now we have the type of relationship where we can talk about things. If you're suffering or if you feel lost, you can talk to me. You should consult Horikita and Kushida, too."

Behind me, Ichinose purposefully flopped over in an exaggerated manner.

"So, you're telling her 'You can talk to me.' I wonder what you mean?"

I had no answer for that.

"Okay. I understand," Sakura murmured.

"Ah, I'll help out too." Though Ichinose didn't know her too well, she still smiled at Sakura.

"I'm Ichinose, from Class B. It's nice to meet you, Sakura-san."

Most students were feeling better now and the sobbing and tension from before had all but disappeared.

Sakura looked a little hesitant but shook Ichinose's outstretched hand.

"By the way, didn't you want to tell me something in the special building a little while ago?" I asked, thinking back to my conversation with Ichinose.

"Ah yeah, that's right. There was something important I wanted to talk to you about."

Ichinose took a moment to catch her breath, and then adopted a serious look

The students who weren't paying attention had their backs straight and eyes glued to the screen.

"I probably shouldn't be saying this right now, but...there was someone pulling the strings behind this whole Sudou incident."

"Pulling the strings?"

"Looks like it's my time to shine," Ryueen laughed.

Because Ichinose looked so deadly serious, I didn't think this was just a hunch of hers.

"To tell the truth, there was a dispute between Class B and Class C

students before. That time, though, the school didn't get involved. Someone named Ryuuen-kun masterminded that one."

"Ah, I'm a mastermind according to you Ichinose. I greatly appreciate the kind words," Ryueen mocked.

"Ryuuen? I don't recognize the name."

"That's because he hasn't seen any reason to reveal himself just yet. There's no reason that you'd know him."

Ichinose, who always looked so bright, now appeared somber and grim.

"I'm the most vigilant of all the first-years here. I think he set up Sudou-kun to look like a liar, and instigated the dispute with Class B. This was all his handiwork. He doesn't hesitate to hurt other people for the sake of his own interests. He's a formidable opponent."

"The most vigilant first year, don't say such nonsense," Sakayanagi attacked.

"What did you do in the first few months except for ally with class D that didn't amount to virtually anythin? Even the tyrant was experimenting with the school rules," She said coldly.

"Well, it may be true that the class actions were lacking in the first few months, but I don't see you being much better yourself either," Kanzaki countered.

"Well, it was because we had a bit of a dispute. But weren't you all so organised and were able to decide a leader without any resistance? You should've been much more proactive than us" Sakayanagi had just destroyed the pride of class B in a few sentences and they were unable to respond.

"When Class B had trouble, did you manage a peaceful resolution?"

"Somehow, yeah. However, if you looked at it like a game, I can't say whether I won or lost... Anyway, I think because what he devised was easier to see through this time, I've started to understand how this school is structured. You should be careful."

I didn't know who this Ryuuen was, but he was undoubtedly a very dangerous opponent. Someone who developed merciless strategies that could lead to our expulsion if we missed a single step.

"So you're wary of me, Ayanokouji," Ryueen grinned.

"Somewhat."

"Oh, I must have not lived up to your expectations then. I apologise, Ayanokouji," Ryueen snickered.

"So if anything ever happens, you can come to me for help. Talk to me whenever you need it."

"Yeah. I'll keep that in mind."

With that, the screen turned to black and the voice came back.

"That is the end of the day's tapes. Well, next video will be the finale of this little situation, we even get to see a new perspective on this."

Did he mean that we will be seeing someone else's thoughts apart from mine? The only person who I could think of is Horikita, Manabu or Chabashira. Horikita seems to be the most likely candidate due to her interactions with me.

We were all escorted back to our classrooms where we found Airi sitting there in her usual spot.

Haruka ran up to her and hugged her the second she saw her and the rest of the class went up to her to give her some encouragement and praise for her actions.

Sakura Airi seemed to be turning into a student of the class rather than just being part of it.

Authors notes:

1 more chapter of vol 2 and it's probably the most interesting one. This one wasn't hard to write, but it was a little longer than usual.

A little more elaboration on the note at the beginning of the chapter; currently the story is set in vol 4.5 and after the end of the year when vol 7.5 comes out I'll update the setting to that point in time, as for how I'm gonna do that and keep the contents of the canon and fic same is bordering on some plot convenience.

Whenever the switch from each .5 happens the character's memories are reset to where the fic didn't take place and then the canon events happen and then they come back and they get their memories back. Not the best explanation, but it's a fic and I'll have to bend the rules a little.

Anyways that was it hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Defective Human Being

"Now then, let's see some thoughts of a different person."

Many students were curious about whose thoughts they were going to witness, but I was just happy that my thoughts weren't being shown for once.

"May I leave now, Chabashira-sensei?"

"Wait just a moment. There's something I want to talk to you about Horikita. You two leave first, though."

Chabashira-sensei urged my older brother and Tachibana-san to leave.

so my first guess was right and we were going to see Horikita's thoughts with Chabashira. If she is going to talk about my past I should be fine, but if my thoughts when me and Horikita are shown that may be a slight problem .

The students were instantly captivated by what chabashira had to say to Horikita

"I'm quite curious about what you are going to talk about," Nagumo grinned

Once they were gone, she looked deeply interested, crossing her arms before her on the table.

"So. What methods did you use, Horikita?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't try to dodge the question. They wouldn't withdraw their a complaint without a reason, would they?"

"I'll leave that to your imagination."

"Why couldn't you just tell her what you did?" Shinohara asked

"Our method was basically just forcing them to withdraw and if there were cameras or listening devices in there then it would be possible for the trial to be open again due to class C claiming that the withdrawal of the complaint was under unfair rules," Horikita explained

The class was starting to understand the negatives of such a plan

We'd fabricated a lie because we were backed into a corner.

"So it's a secret, hmm? Well, allow me to change the question. Who came up with the strategy that defeated Class C?

"Why do you care about that?"

"Ayanokouji isn't here, so I'm a little curious."

"Now I'm curious why you would ask a question like that sensei," Sakayanagi directed her question to chabashira

"Well he was at the first trial and now he wasn't here and class C had magically withdrawn their complaint. Shouldn't it be kind of obvious?" She responded

"Yes you are right I asked an unnecessary question," Sakayanagi focused her attention back on the screen

Chabashira-sensei had been rather preoccupied with Ayanokouji-kun ever since we started school. I could somewhat understand why now.

"I don't want to admit this, but Ayanokouji-kun...might have something exceptional to him."

I surprised myself by saying this, which could be taken as an admission of defeat. However, our victory would not have been as decisive without him.

"I was right, wasn't I? Ayanokouji has been helping the class from behind the scenes this entire time," Matsushita thought .

"What did you mean?" Ike asked.

"How about we let her explain later? The videos barely started, y'know?" Sudo said.

He most likely has figured out my involvement and trying to shield Horikita from the relentless questioning at the end of this particular video.

"I see. So you recognize that hmm?"

"Is that surprising? You were the one who first put me together with Ayanokouji-kun, Chabashira-sensei. You did it because you couldn't overlook Ayanokouji-kun's potential, right?"

"His potential, hmm?"

"Though he does try to hide his ability by pretending to be an idiot, for some mysterious reason."

Horikita looked at the screen with a contemplating face. I wonder what she was thinking about?

"The person known as Ayanokouji is something like a foreign concept to me, but I feel like reflecting on my thoughts and his thoughts help me understand him more . Though, I wonder why he helps me when he wants a peaceful life," Horikita contemplated .

Yes, he was truly incomprehensible. I could not find meaning in such behaviour. It was likely that he was simply being absurd.

"There are various things to consider. But if you want to reach Class A, I'll give you one bit of advice."

"Advice?"

"The students in Class D all have some kind of defect, more or less. To borrow an expression used by others in this school, Class D is an assemblage of people that could be called 'defective products.' You already understand this quite well though, don't you?"

The class had darkened expressions at their teacher's words, but they couldn't refute her claims.

"I don't intend to admit that I have a defect. But I do understand."

"Well, what do you think is Ayanokouji's defect?"

Oh no, the class was thinking about me again.

"Kiyopon, your defect seems to be a lack of social skills," Haruka came to a conclusion most people would come to after thinking on it for a while, but although she was accurate that doesn't mean that you would be placed in class D for only that.

"I think that your defect is just that you are uncomfortable in situations outside your comfort zones and that you don't want to put in the effort to do something worthwhile," Keisei looked a little deeper.

"I am human, you know? Discussing my flaws in front of my face is kind of annoying," I said giving my best attempt at an annoyed voice.

"Yeah guys it's a little rude to say these things," Yosuke tried to distract the class.

Ayanokouji-Kun's defect...One thing immediately came to mind.

"We've already established it. He already knows what his own defect is."

"Oh? And what is it?"

"He 'dislikes trouble,'" I answered, with confidence. However, I felt a a strange sense of discomfort that I couldn't explain.

"I don't think anyone likes trouble."

Good job Yosuke, continue distracting the class from my defect.

"Yeah Horikita here also doesn't think she's right," Sato agreed.

"He dislikes trouble, hmm? Is that what you perceive when you look at Ayanokouji?"

"No... It's because he said it himself."

Chabashira-sensei snorted and chuckled. She spoke again, her tone firm.

"Can we switch teachers? I think I would get along with yours," Ryueen snickered.

"If it was possible I may consider it," Chabashira practically implied that she would give up the class.

"Sensei, why would you switch classes?" Ike cried.

"I didn't say I would, I just considered it. There's a difference," Chabashira said coldly.

"Well, Horikita. Let's try to learn as much as we possibly can about the boy called Ayanokouji, without delay, shall we? Otherwise, it'll be too late. You already seem to have fallen into Ayanokouji's trap."

The class recoiled at my teacher's words.

"What, there's no way that's possible, right? Sensei, that's not funny," Sato said hurriedly.

"Yeah, while he doesn't try his hardest it's not like he's betraying the class or anything," Hondo agreed.

"What do you mean?" Fallen into his trap? That was nonsense.

"Why do you think Ayanokouji purposefully got scores of 50 points across the board on his entrance examination? Why do you think Ayanokouji is helping you? Why do you think that Ayanokouji doesn't put himself forward as a superior student, despite having superior ability? Is Ayanokouji Kiyotaka really someone who 'dislikes trouble'?"

Chabashira really has a habit of ruining my life.

"That's true," miyamoto said.

"Yeah, he seems like a walking contradiction," some girls were discussing.

"Um guys, don't you all think that you're jumping to conclusions a little too fast?" Kei said trying to bring the classes discussion down.

"But you have to admit it's a little weird, isn't it?" Shinohara claimed.

"Well, it's not like he has a presence in class and he doesn't do anything exceptionally worthwhile, but he doesn't betray the class and helps out more than most of the people here, so who cares what he wants or does," Keisei analysed.

"That's..."

If he truly wanted to prioritize peace and tranquillity, then why score 50 points in all subjects and allow himself to draw this much attention? Had he deliberately poked his nose into this incident as well? I wondered if he ought to have been carefully monitored, like many other students. As Chabashira- sensei said, his behaviour didn't fit the pattern of someone who "disliked trouble." That unconscious realization must have been the cause of my earlier discomfort.

"In my personal opinion, Ayanokouji is the most defective student in Class D."

"Sensei, that's mean," Sato said.

"Yeah, just because his actions didn't make sense doesn't mean he's the most defective," Haruka agreed with Sato.

It seems that the class was coming to my defence without my intervention, I guess my little sob story and actions made their opinion of me improve.

"He's the most defective?"

"Higher functioning products are more difficult to handle. If you misunderstand how to handle him, the class might be completely destroyed in short order."

"Now you're just being mean, why would you think Ayanokouji would destroy the class anyway?" Ichinose came to my defence.

"I don't know, the guy is pretty weird there's no telling what the monster might do. Maybe he'll mix a bar of chocolate and tea or do something as heinous as diluting his coffee 8 times. I shudder just to think about it," Ryueen said sarcastically.

"Wait 'Higher functioning' does she mean like a sociopath or something?" Ike pondered.

I don't believe I would consider myself a sociopath. I may have similar traits, but having a cough could mean a common cold or cancer. Simply put, having traits that can apply to one thing doesn't mean that the combination of the traits applies to you.

"Hey Ike, shut up that's mean," Haruka came to my defence.

"Chabashira-sensei, do you really understand what about him can be considered defective?"

"Get to know the person called Ayanokouji. What is he thinking? What focal point does he base his actions around? What is his fatal flaw? There's definitely an answer there."

"Using your own students as a spy to understand their classmates, are you my long lost mother or something?" Ryueen joked.

Why was Chabashira-sensei telling me such things? As our homeroom teacher, she usually appeared unaware of and unconcerned with her class. But, if someone so disinterested thought this way, then... Chabashira-sensei said nothing more.

The students were all in contemplation at Chabashiras words, but also at her actions. Why would the indifferent and cold teacher want to understand her students? Why would she care if her class was destroyed? I would assume these questions are floating around their minds.

"Compared to the action-packed previous videos this one had much more tension didn't it?"

I would say that's accurate.

"This next one is the last video we'll be seeing on the trial matter so enjoy yourselves,"

I waited outside the student council room until the meeting had concluded. The students from Class C and Sakagami-sensei left first, with Sudou following a little while later. He wore a bright, cheerful expression.

"Looks like it went well," I said.

"Man, I don't understand what happened, but Horikita did something for me. Right?"

I nodded.

"I knew it. I knew she'd come through for my sake. Heh heh heh." He looked incredibly happy. "Well, I gotta head to my club. We should have a party tonight."

"I don't understand why you would have such faith in me?" Horikita questioned Sudo.

"Well, you were trying ya best here and workin' hard, so I had faith in you," Sudo said while scratching his nape.

"I see, thank you for putting your trust in me then," Horikita stared at him blankly and I felt like Sudo's face was becoming similar to his hair colour.

"Uh uh s-sure no problem," Sudo said quickly.

"Yeah."

The next people to exit were the student council president and Secretary Tachibana.

"Excellent work." I thought we'd just exchange a light greeting, but the president stopped in his tracks to address me. "I have approved Class C's request to withdraw their complaint."

"Is that so?" I said. "Well, I guess miracles do happen."

Horikita's brother remained still and looked me in the eyes. I couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"So this was all to prove that Sakura wasn't a liar, as you said? I suppose if Class C withdrew their complaint, then talk would spread quite naturally. If Sudou or Sakura weren't the liars, then Class C was."

"Playing the knight in shining armour huh?" Haruka looked at me with a sly grin.

"T-Thanks for doing that, Kiyotaka," Airi blurted out.

"No problem."

"Your little sister handled things well. I didn't do anything."

"This guy has balls of steel to willingly bullshit someone who sees through his act," Ryueen thought amused .

"Why did you do that Ayanokouji? The me back then could've never figured that out on my own," Horikita thought .

"If that's your answer, then I'm impressed. Even though it's a simple story." The unflappable Secretary Tachibana clapped her hands.

"Tachibana. Do you still have one seat open for the secretary?"

"Yes. A first-year Class A student applied the other day, but was rejected after the first interview."

"How pitiful, Katsuragi, but look on the bright side, you're with the delinquents now and you seem more at home with them than when you were here," Sakayanagi mercilessly berated Katsuragi.

He knew better than to respond, but his stoic expression tightened a bit at her harsh words.

"Ayanokouji. If you wanted it, I would appoint you to the position."

The people in my class were shocked.

"Woah, you were allowed a position in the student council," Ike said in awe.

"Of course he was. He was noticed by the mentor character and was given an offer to learn under him, but since this isn't a shonen he refused since he already has all the training he needs," The professor stated proudly.

I was surprised, but Secretary Tachibana appeared even more shocked than me. "S-student council president... Do you really mean that?"

"Do you disapprove?"

"N-no. If you say so, I have no objections. But..."

"Nah, I hate troublesome stuff. Besides, being in the student council is no joke. I want to lead an ordinary student life at this school," I replied.

"You're foolish, most people would do anything for a position on the student council," Nagumo said in shock and most people agreed with him.

"I guess I understand your reasoning. Also, if you joined, but didn't care about the position you would just be wasted space," Horikita analysed.

This brought the shock of the students down a little bit since they could understand my reasoning.

Secretary Tachibana was even more shocked by my response.

"Huh? Are you refusing an invitation from the student council president?!"

"Well, I'd just never do anything that I'm not interested in..."

I didn't do what I didn't want to do. Besides, there was no reason to invite me onto the student council in the first place.

"Well, he clearly had a reason if he asked you to join," Akito said.

"Let's go, Tachibana."

"Y-yes."

Their interest in me had apparently run out with my refusal, so they left. A short time later, Horikita and Chabashira-sensei appeared. Chabashira-sensei just gave me a slight glance, leaving without saying anything in particular.

"Yo." I raised my hand as I greeted Horikita, but was met with an intense glare the likes of which I'd never seen from her before. She quickly returned to her neutral expression, though.

"That was kinda weird," Shinohara said.

"What were the results?" I asked.

"You'd already know, right?" she replied.

"I'm glad to hear that. Looks like your strategy worked well."

"Hey, Ayanokouji-kun. Am I just your puppet?

"What?" Ike said in shock.

"How could Horikita be Ayanokouji's puppet?" Shinohara said.

"Finally, something worthwhile is gonna happen," Ryueen laughed.

"My puppet? What are you talking about?"

"Ayanokouji-kun, you brought up the idea of surveillance cameras in the classrooms. Next, you took me to the special building and made me realize that there were no cameras. Then, you guided me to the idea of inventing false evidence, so that we could parse the truth from lies... When I look back on it now, that's all I can think of."

"You did that?" Matsushita asked shocked.

It would be detrimental for me to lie to her so I told her the truth.

"Yes, I did."

"But why couldn't you just tell Horikita the plan and then have her take the credit," Matsushita asked a question that was on the minds of most people.

"She wouldn't have accepted if I asked her to, so I gave her hints and then made her come to her conclusion," I explained my methods.

I'm sure that if I asked the Horikita from a year ago to willingly take my plan and receive the credit she would reciprocate her feelings with a chop in my side.

"Isn't that just manipulation?" Shinohara asked.

If you use the dictionary terms then yes, it fits the criteria, and I admit that what I did was manipulation, but if I didn't do that then this class would have lost one of its most valuable assets.

"it's up to you to decide what you thought of my actions, but if you consider it manipulation then all I have to say to you is that it was the only way to revoke any expulsions this early on."

If I hadn't intervened then Sudo would be expelled and the next few exams would be exponentially harder. I may have had the ability to conduct the operation by myself, but that undermines the goal of staying low profile. The method I chose was the only suitable option for the criteria and limits I had placed upon myself.

"You're overthinking it. It's just a coincidence."

"Who are you?"

"What do you think he's gonna say, 'my full name is Mario Mario'?" Ryueen joked.

"What do you mean, who am I? I'm just a guy who dislikes trouble, right?"

I realized that I had gotten involved a little too much this time. I'd need to reflect on that. The always-sharp Horikita probably guessed my thoughts, to some extent.

"Looks like you were caught, King," Hashimoto said an obvious statement.

I had to dial it back a little. I just wanted my life here to be peaceful.

"Someone who dislikes trouble. If that's—"

As Horikita started to speak, a male student walked toward us. This was not a conversation that we wanted overheard, so both Horikita and I fell silent. We waited for him to pass, but the guy stopped in front of us.

It wasn't on accident. He had black hair, styled so it was worn long. He appeared to be around the same height as me, maybe a little taller. I glanced at his profile and noted that he wore a wide grin. His smile looked ominous.

"BOSS, LOOK IT'S YOU," Albert graciously pointed out.

"Hehe. Yeah, looks like I made a declaration of war a little too early," Ryueen snickered.

"Obviously, you lost to us because of you being overconfident," Sudo boldly said, but I'm sure that if he was in a place where he could get in trouble he wouldn't say this.

"Yeah, I lost to your leader," Ryueen looked at me when he said the last word.

"Setting up a camera? You really did something funny, huh?" The boy didn't even turn to face us entirely as he spoke.

"And you are?" Horikita asked the mystery student, seemingly perturbed.

"Next time, I'll be your opponent. I look forward to it."

The boy walked on without answering Horikita's question. We never got a clear look at him. We were only able to watch in silence as he walked away.

"Well. I'll be heading back now." I had the feeling it would be better for us not to be seen together, and turned my back on Horikita.

"Did you not want people to think you were dating or did you just want people to not question your involvement in the situation?" Sakayanagi questioned.

"A bit of both."

"Wait. We're not done talking, Ayanokouji-kun."

"I'm done talking." I kept going without looking back.

"You promised, right? You promised you'd help me reach Class A."

"You sort of forced me to. You helped Sudou in this case, too. Right?"

"So you're able to get annoyed," Haruka pointed out.

"I don't think I've ever seen Kiyotaka be angry or annoyed before now," Keisei said.

"That's not what I meant. I want to know what you're thinking."

"I'm thinking 'This is annoying,' and 'I don't have any motivation to do this.' Stuff like that. That's what I'm thinking. Even if you took back what you said just now, Horikita, I do intend to live my life quietly. Whether we aim for Class A or whatever, that's it."

"God, quit your bitchin'. No one gives a shit about your peaceful life," Hosen received a death glare from kei soon after that comment.

I'd hoped that answer would satisfy her, but Horikita didn't listen.

"If you really hated drawing attention, you wouldn't make all this effort to get involved. You say you're someone who 'dislikes trouble,' after all. Yet you act all evasive and non-committal even while you help me. Why?"

"Wow, you're annoying," Amasawa said.

"Yeah, she seems really bossy and forceful," Another first year agreed.

Horikita was a little bothered by Amasawa's comment, but it was unlike her to be bothered by a throwaway comment like that. Did something happen between them recently?

I assumed that this change in Horikita's behaviour was Chabashira-sensei's doing. She was probably pulling the strings here. I wouldn't be surprised if she knew about my past.

"Why wouldn't a teacher know something like that?" Shinohara asked.

"Well, the teachers probably probably have some knowledge of a students background, but if the school disclosed everything it would be a problem considering the right of privacy that the students have would be gone," Manabu explained.

An example of this would be Kei's past. The teachers would know that she didn't come to school because of her personal life, but they wouldn't know about the extent of her bullying.

"I thought that I should help the first friends I've ever made. Probably. "

If I kept talking, I might say something unnecessary. I walked faster. By now, I had reached one absolute conclusion. If Horikita were truly aiming for Class A, it would be impossible under our present circumstances.

"I agree with you there," Sakayanagi giggled.

"You're not optimistic, are you?" Mori said.

"Well I don't think anyone back then had any high hopes," I told her.

We'd received a declaration of war from some guy apparently known as Ryuuen. This could be just the start of a cunning, audacious, and brutal attack. He would probably stand in our way as a vigilant enemy in the future.

Then there were Ichinose and Kanzaki from Class B. They were two capable people who took only small, indirect steps. Ichinose probably had more plans lined up in her ambition to reach the top than I could imagine. It was impossible to fully understand how we'd landed in this situation, or her methods and process.

I didn't understand what she wanted, but her goals would most likely prove a huge obstacle for us. In other words, it was fair to say that trying to reach Class A in three years was hopeless. Even if we tried to tackle this situation head-on, then...

"You're contradicting yourself again," Sakayanagi stated.

"What do you mean?" I has an idea of what she was going to say, but I was still curious as to what her full reasoning was.

"You say that you want a peaceful life, but here you are trying to analyse the best way to reach the other classes as well as analyse every leader's future plans and ambition," She analysed.

"I guess I got a little excited meeting the leaders," I wasn't lying when I said this. I truly did enjoy meeting the other leaders and seeing how they thought and worked.

"I see. I hope that excitement turns out to be something worthwhile," She giggled.

"Ugh!"

I unintentionally let out a small noise.

I really was an idiot.

"Hey! I don't think you're an idiot," Haruka said.

What was I getting worked up for? I had arbitrarily started analyzing Class D and considering the options. I didn't want to. I mean, she was the one who chose this school, right? Horikita and Ichinose were aiming for the top, not me. All I wanted was an ordinary, regular life where nothing ever happened. Otherwise? I couldn't do this.

I knew more about me than anyone else. I knew just how defective, just how foolish I was. I was a horrible human being.

"Hey, Kiyopon, don't be so hard on yourself. You're a great person," Haruka told me.

"Yeah, that's absolutely not true in the slightest," Ichinose also yelled out.

"Yeah, Kiyotaka, don't think that you're a horrible person because you've helped me out more times than I can count," Yosuke said with a sad smile.

It should make me feel better than all these people that I could consider friends are treating me with such warmth and friendship, but I don't feel that different. Did I feel happy that they were saying these things? I didn't know the answer.

"I don't feel that way about myself anymore. You all don't have to worry about me any longer," I told them gently and their faces seemed to ease up a little.

The contradiction within myself is something I i know better than anyone else. It's been with me for a long time, and I don't think it will go away for a long time, if it ever goes away.

Authors notes:

And we're done with this volume. Finally after like over a month due to covid I was able to finish this volume and now we are so close to that blessed monologue. This volume's only positive parts were its comedy and its ending, apart from that it was a slog to get through and the twist if you could even call it that was fairly predictable and boring.

I think I use ryueen a little too much, but it's just so much fun to write with his character.

anyway I hope you enjoyed the chapter the next one will be chabashiras threat on kiyo

Throwing away freedom to protect it

"Here we are at the long-awaited first special exam. Are you all excited? Because I sure am ."

No, I was not excited. This wasn't going to be fun at all..

"So then, let's begin, shall we?"

How about we don't begin; that would be great. I prefer my life of being the mysterious guy who doesn't like attention.

The endless summer sea. The infinite blue skies. The perfectly clear air.

Here, in the midst of the Pacific Ocean, we didn't feel the intense midsummer heat, and the gentle sea breeze kissed our bodies. Yes, this really was an oceanic paradise.

"Whoa! This is the beeeeeeesssssst!" shouted Ike Kenji, both hands raised high in the air. His voice echoed across the deck of the luxury liner.

Normally, someone would have grumbled or shouted "shut up" I response. But just for today, no one minded, instead enjoying this moment of bliss. The view from the "special seats" on the deck was exceptionally gorgeous.

"If only that could have continued longer," Ishizaki muttered.

"This view is incredible! I'm honestly super moved right now!"

A group of girls led by Karuizawa came out from the ship's cabin. Karuizawa pointed out to the expansive ocean, wearing a radiant smile.

"Seriously, the scenery here is just amazing!"

Kushida Kikyou was also present among the group of girls. It looked like the extraordinary view had stolen her breath away.

After overcoming numerous hardships, midterms, and the final exam we welcomed summer vacation with open arms. The Advanced Nurturing High School had arranged for an extravagant two-week trip—a cruise on a luxury liner.

"Wow, Ken, you must be happy you didn't get expelled. I mean, if this were a normal trip, it would've been impossible for us to go. Hey, how did it feel to be on the verge of expulsion, since you had the lowest score on the final? Come on, tell me. How did it feel?"

The blissful and almost perfect atmosphere that was there a moment ago disappeared at the voice of Yamauchi Haruki.

Even though Yamauchi Haruki was insulting him, Sudou Ken was far from being in a foul mood. In fact, he howled with laughter in response, sounding more like the baying of a lone wolf than a high schooler.

"Don't you get tired of being that loud all the time?" Horikita sighed.

"I guess I got a little carried away," Sudo scratched his nape in embarrassment.

"With my skills, there was nothing to worry about. Didn't I tell you I'd prove myself, and it'd be easy?"

We had faced oblivion just a short while ago, but this trip completely blew those feelings away. Perhaps the blue seas had washed away our everyday troubles.

"I never dreamed that high schoolers could go on such a luxurious cruise. And it's for two whole weeks. Two weeks! When my mom and dad hear about this, they're gonna be so shocked they'll wet themselves!"

As Sudou had bluntly stated, this was certainly no ordinary trip. At our government-sponsored school, there was absolutely no need for us to pay for tuition or other miscellaneous expenses—which, of course, included this trip.

We received the best of special treatment. The cruise liner and its facilities were of the highest possible quality. This ship was fully equipped with everything from prestigious restaurants to a theater, and even an upscale spa. On my own, this would probably have cost me about 100,000 yen, even in the offseason.

Our trip, which promised the pinnacle of luxury, had finally started today. According to the schedule, we would spend our first week staying at a fancy summer lodge on a deserted island. After that, we would enjoy the cruise ship for another week.

At 5 AM today, the first-year students had boarded buses and departed for Tokyo Bay. The passenger ships departed from the port once the students arrived. After eating breakfast in the lounge, students were permitted to move freely throughout the entire vessel. Best of all, we were able to use any of the ship's facilities free of charge. For those of us who'd suffered daily due to a lack of points, this ship was heaven-sent.

"I wish my thoughts were that organised," Ike muttered.

"Yeah, like, seriously dude, it's almost like you're narrating a book or something," Sudo agreed.

"I guess It's just a habit I picked up from reading books a lot," I didn't really have a reason to think like that, I just did.

Suddenly, Kushida turned toward me. I could tell that something wason her mind. With the vast ocean and the endless blue sky behind her, Kushida looked even more radiant than usual. Even though I didn't want it to, my heart started to pound. Could it be...?

"Do you have memory loss or something?" Kanzaki said in shock.

A few of the girls looked at me in disgust and some of the boys looked at me with extreme confusion.

"You have some weird interests in girls, King," Hashimoto said in amusement.

"Who the fuck is the poser? This is the same shithead that ruined my fucking life? No, I refuse to believe this horny and socially awkward moron is the same guy from a few days ago. Is he lying in his own thoughts? My act goes far, but it would never reach that extent." Kushida thought with a look of repulsion on her face .

There were plenty of looks of disgust, however, for the future, I won't do anything.

The students looked confused why I wasn't saying anything.

"Huh? Come to think of it, I wonder where Horikita-san is? Weren't you two together?" Kushida asked.

Apparently I wasn't even allowed to indulge in a mere fantasy. Kushida had Horikita on her mind.

"I can't blame her for thinking like that. I always thought that you two were just with each other 24/7," Amikura said.

Apparently, the school owned a small island to the south. Our destination.

"Attention, students. Please assemble on the deck. You will be able to see the island soon. This is a good time to take in some rather significant scenery."

"So they gave us hints from the beginning," Kanzaki stated in surprise, but some of the slower students didn't understand.

"Why wouldn't they just say something like 'have a look around' or 'The Island is really beautiful today' why did they say 'significant scenery' specifically" Ichinose explained.

"I wonder what other types of hints they've given us," Shibata wondered.

"The school seems to although be secretive give plenty of hints and other similar types of messages to increase the competition and it also rewards the smartest of the year is for noticing the hints," Horikita analysed.

She had probably come to this conclusion after I told her that both Katsuragi and I had realised it. Come to think of it, Sudo's little stunt with me was coming up soon.

"Since the next little bit is just meaningless dialogue , let's skip to a particularly interesting interaction."

It seems the voice is being sarcastic, but I can never really tell.

"I've decided, Haruki. I...will confess my feelings to Kushida-chan on this trip!" Ike proclaimed.

"A-are you serious? If she rejects you, it's gonna be crazy awkward, though. You gonna be okay?"

"This is just my own selfish reasoning. Kushida-chan is really cute, right? That's why most of the boys want to ask her out. But she's just on a whole other level, so no one can get the courage to confess to her. That means she's not used to being confessed to, right? I think Kushida-chan's heart could be shaken by my declaration of love. It's like, you know, not entirely hopeless."

"ugh, you really are hopeless," Shinohara sighed.

I would have expected her to get mad, but rather she seems to be forgiving of her boyfriend's rather... stupid decisions.

"I see. So, you've already made up your mind."

"Yeah!"

Normally Yamauchi would have gotten fired up and opposed Ike, but this time he didn't. Instead, he looked out over the deck as if searching for something.

"What's the matter?" Ike asked.

"Ah, nothing really," Yamauchi responded absent-mindedly. In the end, he never brought up the subject of Kushida.

"Hey, hey, Kushida-chan. Can I talk to you for a minute?" Ike asked.

"Hmm? What is it?"

Ike immediately approached Kushida, who had been looking at the sea.

This was obviously a suspicious move.

"So, it's like this... It's been about four months since we met, right? So...I was wondering if it might be okay for me to call you by your first name now. I mean, it makes me feel like we're strangers when I call you by your last name."

"Come to think of it, I guess you and Yamauchi have been calling each other by your first names for a while now, huh?" Kushida said.

"So... I can't, huh? C-call you Kikyou-chan, I mean?"

In response to Ike's inquiry, Kushida simply smiled.

"Of course it's okay for you to call me that. Should I call you Kanji-kun, then?"

"Whooooaaaaa! Kikyou-chaaaaaaan!" Ike cried out and posed like he was reaching out to heaven, kind of like the guy on the poster for the movie Platoon. Kushida chuckled.

"She must have hated this entire thing inside," Ryueen chuckled.

Kushida had Isolated herself from the class for the past few days and seldom spoke a word. For what reasons I still don't know.

"First names, huh? Hey, speaking of, I wonder what Horikita's first name is? Huh?" Sudou asked me as if I was the one who'd know.

Looks like I was right.

"Can't blame him you guys are basically always together," Mori said.

"Tomiko. Horikita Tomiko."

"Tomiko, huh? That's a cute name. Just like I'd expect. It feels perfect for her."

"Oh, sorry, I was wrong. It's Suzune."

"Hey, don't make mistakes like that! Suzune, huh? It feels like Tomiko, but it's 100 times better."

In the end, even if Horikita's first name were Sadako or Sam or whatever, he probably would have felt it was perfect.

The room chuckled at my teasing and Sudo's interaction.

"Why do you care so much about my name?" Horikita seemed completely dumbfounded at Sudo's words.

Sudo stayed quiet probably in fear of what was to come.

"I'm going to call her by her first name during our summer vacation, too. Suzune. Suzune..."

Well, it seemed the boys wanted to bridge the gap between themselves and the girls. It should be noted that none of the guys called me by my first name, and I didn't call them by theirs.

"Oh, hey. Let me practice with you, Ayanokouji. Practice saying Suzune's name, I mean."

"Practice? What do you mean, practice? That's not a normal thing to do."

It was pointless to practice saying someone's name unless you were saying it to the person in question. Sudou glared at me intently. He wasn't planning to make me his imaginary Horikita, was he? It was probably because he was imagining me as someone of the opposite sex, but the look in his eyes really creeped me out. In my mind, I started breathing heavily.

The atmosphere in the hall soon became a lot more awkward and quiet.

"Hey, Horikita, do you have a minute? There's something I want to talk to you about..." Sudou murmured.

"I'm not Horikita." Disgusted, I averted my eyes.

"God, this is so fucking weird to watch," Ryueen said in genuine annoyance.

"Sudo, I think we need to have a little talk after this is done," Horikita's words and tone conveyed nothing, but her eyes conveyed that fear was going to be put into Sudo.

"You freakin' moron! It's practice! I don't wanna do it, either, but I got to practice, you know? It's like I have to practice basketball if I want to get good. In either case, I need to take my shot."

I really didn't want to listen to this, but I didn't have much of a choice. I had to grin and bear it.

"Horikita. Isn't it weird that we talk to each other like we're strangers?

We've known each other for a while now. Other people are calling each other by their first names. Isn't it time we did, too?"

"..."

I wanted to hit Sudou on the head, but I tried to endure it like an adult.

"God , if only I could beat the shit out of myself from the past," Sudo thought.

"Say something! Why aren't you practising?!"

"What do you want me to say?"

"Answer like how Horikita would. You've known her for a long time, so you'd know how she'd answer, right?"

We had only known each other for four months, so I wouldn't necessarily know that. Even so, Sudou had asked me to play his imaginary Horikita. I clenched my fist in a somewhat threatening manner.

"I mean you're probably good at fighting, but I doubt you could beat Ken," Ike said with pride for his friend.

"I'm one step ahead on the path to adulthood. Do you want me to practice this with you instead of Horikita? Feel free to practice by yourself."

Ike jumped in to substitute for me instead. Sudou seemed kind of weird when he started talking.

"Horikita...is it okay for me to call you by your first name now?"

"Huh? Well, you're not exactly a hottie, are you, Sudou-kun? And you don't seem to have any money, so, like, you're not my type at all, are you? Or it's, like, sorry, sorry, but no thanks, you know?!"

"I am so happy that I didn't transfer to your class," Katsuragi said in relief.

From what I've read there is a certain feeling of embarrassment when remembering a bad thing a person has done in the past, I feel as though Ike and Sudo have both felt this 10 fold in the last few minutes.

Horikita simply sighed at this situation. I guess that she was annoyed, but there she knew that there was no use berating them for their actions currently.

"Well, that's pretty much the end of that little interaction. Wanna see something really worth getting excited over?"

The voices ominous statements started to tire us out as they became all the more common.

I was feeling elated, because I was savoring the joy of being able to fully enjoy summer vacation for the first time in my life. However, the Grim Reaper appeared before me with scythe in hand to snatch away my happiness.

I am dramatic.

"Ayanokouji. I have to talk to you before you leave. Come to the faculty room." Chabashira-sensei said immediately after homeroom had ended, before she left the classroom.

"What did you do that was so terrible, Sae-chan? Ayanokouji think of you like this. Was it rejecti-," Hoshnomiya teased but stopped at the glare of the demon.

"Why? Did you do something?" asked Sudou, who was ready to leave with his bag slung over his shoulder.

"I don't remember doing anything."

"Yeah. You're not good or bad. You live a plain, boring, steady life."

How I wish that was true.

"Why did you sound all sarcastic?"

"Sarcastic? I didn't mean to. Did it feel like it?"

What an awful person... My wounded heart wept bitter tears. I heard someone call out to me, and supposed it was Sudou, worried about how he'd hurt me. He was a good guy.

"I'm sorry Ayanokouji if I made you a little uncomfortable," Sudo apologised, but he really didn't need to.

"You don't really need to, I was being sarcastic," He seemed a little too relaxed and soft spoken.

"Hey, Sudou!"

"Hey, Horikita. Um, well, since it's summer vacation...are you free? Maybe we can hang out a little."

Sudou was crazy about Horikita, my desk neighbor. He wasn't worried about me at all.

"Why?" she asked.

"Well, because it's summer vacation, you know? It'd be too bad if you didn't have fun. We can watch movies or go shopping."

"How stupid. It doesn't matter at all that it's summer vacation. Why are you even inviting me out in the first place?"

"'Wh-why'? Why are you being so obtuse?"

Sudou scratched his head. He didn't understand Horikita's feelings, but then it was like a switch flipped.

"This is like a bad comedy," Himeno said.

"Well, it's just like that, you know? Right? Guys invite girls out when it's a holiday..."

Although I wanted to see Sudou's efforts bear fruit with Horikita, Chabashira-sensei had called for me. It was best to get unpleasant things over with as soon as possible.

Chabashira stayed silent, but she had a bewildered face. It's a shame I can't take a random photo without getting in trouble.

"Where do you think? I got called over by the teacher, so I don't really have a choice."

"Can you wait just a little? Just a bit?" That expression grossed me out. He grabbed my wrists with his thick, meaty hands and didn't let go.

"You're gonna watch me do battle. Be my wingman."

"Don't say such nonsense—"

"Bye."

While we bickered, Horikita finished getting ready to go and stood up from her seat. She left the classroom without any hesitation. Sudou simply watched her go, completely dumbfounded.

"Damn. Guess it was useless after all. Well, guess I'll go do club stuff."

Horikita's absence meant I wasn't needed, so I left. As I arrived at the faculty room, I saw Chabashira-sensei waiting in the doorway.

"Come in."

"I don't understand why you called me over."

"We'll talk inside."

My "incoming depression" meter rose steadily as she met my questions with such short answers. I'd hoped she'd called me here as a joke.

"Honestly Ayanokouji, it seems like you would rather drop out of school than stand 5 feet close to sensei," Ike said confused.

"You might expect bad things when you're asked to come to the faculty room, but contrary to your expectations, it's a fine place. There aren't eyes all around in here. Many things are better said with some personal privacy."

"I guess God owed me a favour. This is going to be so much fun," Hoshinomiya thought .

"What's this private conversation right before a special exam about Sae-chan? Are you using your power as an authority figure to cheat?" Hoshinomiya teased.

She was probably just teasing her and trying to annoy Chabashira, but she hit the nail on the head with her remark.

I noticed that the security camera, which should've been installed in a room like this was missing.

"So what did you want to talk to me about? I'm busy planning my summer vacation right now."

"That's funny. I thought you didn't have any friends?"

Ryueen laughed at this and Haruka was a little annoyed that another teacher could say such mean things.

"No, no, I was exaggerating when I said that. I have at least a few friends."

Although I could count the number of friends on two hands, the quantity wasn't important. Or at least that's what they say. Besides, wouldn't it have been just fine if I spent summer vacation by myself?

"I've called you here today because I wanted to tell you my personal story."

Chabashira-sensei's story? This was headed in a very different direction. I didn't understand why she'd called me over by name and wanted to tell me her story. Nor did I have any interest.

I think this may be the first time where hoshinomiya has shown such genuine joy.

"Personal story? What does that mean?"

A few students asked.

"It's something I haven't talked to anyone about since I had become a homeroom teacher. It's silly, but please listen."

"Before that, should we have tea? You must be thirsty," I said.

I stood up from my pipe chair and opened the kitchenette's door. No one was inside, right?

"Don't tell this story to anyone else. If you can do that, please return to your seat."

"Okay."

I closed the door and returned to sit with Chabashira-sensei.

"How do I appear to you as Class D's homeroom teacher?"

"Another abstract question, I see. Is it okay if I say I think you're beautiful?"

"Man, Ayanokouji, you are bold. I like chasing skirts as much as the next guy, but going after a teacher is a little far, don't you think?" Ryueen chuckled.

"Now, when did you get so bold with women Ayanokouji?" Haruka gave me a smug grin, but I knew better than to answer that snide remark.

She didn't even twitch an eyebrow when I made that joke. But I could feel her bloodlust rising.

"Umm... Well, if you don't mind being compared to other teachers, I think you don't care at all about Class D's future, and that you're a cold teacher with no interest in her students. That's my answer."

She wasn't as friendly as Class B's homeroom teacher, Hoshinomiya- sensei, nor was she as willing to help out her students like Class C's homeroom teacher, Sakagami-sensei.

"I'd say that's accurate," Horikita agreed.

"Yeah, she doesn't seem to really care about the class or its problems," Shinohara and many other people in the class agreed.

"Man I wish we had class Bs teacher," Ike whined.

No, you really don't Ike.

"I'm just so attached to my class right now, so even if it was possible I'd have to decline," Hosnimoya said with a sorrowful expression.

"Am I wrong?"

"No, it's as you say. I won't deny it. However, the truth is different." Chabashira-sensei paused and looked up to the ceiling, as if she'd just remembered something.

"I was once a student at this school. I was in Class D, just like you."

"You would think that a previous student as a teacher would raise suspicions of cheating," Matsushita pointed out.

"While that is true, it is also true that a previous teacher would be best suited to deal with students at this school," Horikita retorted.

"I must say that's surprising. I would've thought you were more capable, Chabashira-sensei."

"Huh... Well, in my time, the class difference wasn't as extreme. You could say that we were in a four-way battle, not a three-way one. Up until we approached graduation in the third semester of our third year, the difference between A and D wasn't even 100 points. It was a close battle, where even one trivial mistake could knock you off balance."

The students listened intently to her explanation.

I didn't feel as though she were bragging. Rather, her story felt like one of regret.

"I'm guessing someone made a trivial mistake, right?"

"Yes. It happened rather unexpectedly. Class C went to hell because of my mistake. In the end, my goal of reaching Class A and my dreams were shattered."

I felt really sorry for her, but having her bring up her past was really troublesome. If anything, it felt uncomfortable.

"Yeah, listening to anyones hardship's would be hard," Yosuke said with a comforting smile.

"I'm not catching your drift. What does this have to do with me?"

"I feel that your presence will be vital to reach Class A."

"He's smart and can hold back his abilities, but vital to class A? I think that's giving him a little too much credit," Miyamoto said.

I didn't really have any intention to refute his claim so I ignored it.

"What am I supposed to say to that? You're joking, right?"

I felt happy to have been praised so unexpectedly, but I didn't know how to answer.

"A few days ago, a certain man contacted the school directly. He said 'expel Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.'"

In this school, there's a certain stigma both within and outside of it. Someone outside of the school knows of the school as an elite private school that cuts off students from the outside world, but students from the inside know it as a much more difficult and tiresome place. If a person was able to reach into the school from the outside and ask to expel someone; the person in question is either someone who is part of both worlds such as a parent or someone with power higher than the government themselves.

My father was both.

"No way someone contacted the school and asked that," Kanzaki said shocked.

"That's not possible, right? They can't just expel anyone because someone asked them to," Kamuro said .

"Yes, the school will protect the students no matter the request," the students calmed down at Mashimas words.

Chabashira-sensei made a complete change of topic. She was getting to the true issue.

"He said to expel me? Well, that's nonsense. I don't know who it was, but you ignored his request and won't have me expelled. Right?"

"Of course. We can't just expel someone on a third party's whim. As long as you are a student at this school, you are protected by the rules. However...if you cause any problems, that's a different story. Smoking, bullying, stealing, cheating... If you cause any scandal, expulsion is unavoidable."

"Are you blackmailing him?" Horikita said surprised.

No response.

"That's not right, why would you do that?" Another student said.

No response again.

The number of complaints towards chabashira only increased. There was no talking she could do to get out of this one.

"I'm sorry, but I don't intend to do anything."

"It has nothing to do with your intentions. If I determine that somethingvseems like an issue, it will become reality."

"Are you threatening me?" I found her wording suspicious.

"Here's the deal, Ayanokouji. You are going to aim for Class A for me. I will follow up as extensively as I can in order to protect you. Don't you think that sounds like a good offer?"

I'd thought she had changed a lot from when I first met her, but I never could've imagined she would blackmail a student. I laughed.

"That was barely a chuckle," Shibata said.

"Can I go now? I won't listen to any more of this."

"That's too bad, Ayanokouji. You will be expelled, and once again, Class D won't reach Class A."

I've already made my choice on Chabashira. I simply won't do anything and see how things play out.

"What a terrible teacher," Katsurgai said

"She seems to be more my style than our current one," Ryueen said smugly.

"How mean Sae-chan," Hoshinomiya said with a sad smile, but her smile was probably much more elated on the inside.

Her speech and behaviour weren't just for show. She seriously intended to cut me. She was placing her unachieved dreams on my shoulders.

"Let me ask you once more. Will you aim for Class A? Or be expelled? You choose."

With my left hand, I reached over the desk and grabbed Chabashira-sensei's collar.

Some of the more meek students jumped in shock from my move.

"Kiyopon, this is the first time I think you've been scary," Haruka said quietly.

"Why would you go that against a teacher? You could have gotten in a lot of trouble even if you didn't get expelled," Shinohara remarked.

"God, have you not been listening to a thing they've said this entire time," Ryueen facepalmed.

"What does that mean?" Shinohara said offended.

"It means that you're dumb, I thought that was simple to understand. If you idiots don't get I'll tell you, the manipulative sensei said that there are no cameras in the building meaning that no one would see or hear what happened," Ryueen explained condescendingly .

Shinohara looked disgusted at the sight of ryueen, but she didn't retort.

"I remember when Horikita said you made her feel uncomfortable. I wonder if she felt like this. It's like entering someone's home with shoes on."

"Right." Chabashira-sensei, who'd behaved with confidence until then, laughed in self-deprecation. "I surprised myself. I realize now that I still haven't given up on reaching Class A."

"What an interesting cliche. The cold and indifferent teacher has more determination to rise than any of her peers," Hashimoto remarked.

Her eyes had gotten slightly misty. Her usual cold indifference was gone. When she grabbed my left arm, my hand still grasping her collar, I saw the forceful determination had returned to her eyes.

"I'd thought you would lead Class D voluntarily, but we don't have any time to waste. You have to decide here and now. Will you help me or not?"

"Whether or not he helps is his choice, you don't get to make that for him," Ichinose berated.

"So she's the one that caused him to act and she has information about his father maybe I can use her," Yagami thought .

"You're entirely right, Ichinose," Chabashira said with words that no one would have thought.

"My actions then were unfair and borderline evil, but I can't change them so you'll have to put up with them," Chabashira said with similar determination in her eyes from when she threatened me; I guess her determination for class A outweighed the hatred from her students.

Luke, Star Wars' protagonist, originally chose to return to his uncle's farm and reject the call to adventure. However, he was eventually dragged into the horrors of war. That was his destiny. You might say I should've taken this woman's story with a grain of salt. I didn't know how much of it was true.

"Ayanokouji, I didn't pick you for a star wars fan," Akito said surprised.

"That's your takeaway from all this?" Keisei said.

"I don't know. I guess I related and understood that part more than the others," Akito shrugged.

"You'll probably regret trying to use me."

"Relax. My life is already full of regrets."

That was the troublesome event that launched my summer vacation. It was something I didn't like to think about. At any rate, I couldn't lose my current school life. Throwing away your freedom in order to protect it... How ridiculous.

"That's certainly a juxtaposing dilemma," Sakayanagi sighed.

And now the video screen faded to black.

"Interesting video huh? Now then , w e'll really get into the exam next time I hope you enjoy it."

He seems excited.

"A certain person's thoughts at the end are very interesting,"

So that was going to be shown, not good.

We were all brought back to classrooms, but we had a substitute teacher because Chabashira wasn't here.

3rd person POV:

Chabashira Sae had just been asked to go to the newly returned Chairman Sakayanagis's office. After she opened the door she saw the man in his 40s sitting there with a more tired complexion than a few months ago.

"Why don't you have a seat, Chabashira," Sakayanagi said almost as if he was instructing a robot, but Chabashira sat nonetheless.

"So it's my first day back and I've been watching all these videos by myself at home because I am still part of this school, but today's video was interesting. I saw that you blackmailed a student due to your selfish reasons," The chairman's gaze was cold now.

Chabashira couldn't say anything, no, she wasn't able to say anything to the chairman because she had no idea what to say.

"I see that you're confused about what happens from here on out, so let me tell you. Obviously, you're getting a pay cut and for the next week you will be suspended without pay; this is normal for these situations."

Chabashira couldn't believe what she heard.

"I-I'm not fired?" She sputtered out.

"Normally, you would be, but you know far too much about Ayanokouji and his past currently, so if I let you go now there may be unknown trouble for both you and me," Sakayanagi rubbed his forehead with a defeated expression on his face.

"You know that the man who came to this school was Ayanokoujis's father, but that person was also my teacher a while back. He had far too much political power and he's incredibly cold and heartless. If he saw fit he wouldn't hesitate to ruin your life if he knew about your knowledge about Ayanokoujis existence."

Chabashira was shocked at the turn of events, but since this was the best-case scenario she could only nod at the chairman's words.

"Since you understand you may leave."

Chabashira stood up to leave with sweat on her lips and face, but with a blank expression to mask her nervousness.

"Oh, and Chabashira," Sakayanagi called out.

"I'm asking this of you as an acquaintance and not as a boss, so you're not required to listen, but please listen to my request. I heard from Mashima and my daughter about your alliance," Chabashira tensed up at those words.

"Please be safe, I can't really have my staff teach if they're in prison you know," The chairman said with a warm smile.

"Understood," Chabashira said and walked out.

The chairman was now alone in his office.

"Ayanokouji, I really hope you can find your freedom here," He said to himself.

Authors notes

Ok, that ending wasn't exactly planned, but the idea suddenly came to my head to add the chairman to the plotline, so this is how I worked it in.

The next chapter will just be stuff like the class interaction on the island so not too plot-heavy, but since barely anyone reacts to these I thought it would be fun to do.

I finished y2v6 and it was mostly good apart from a few scenes, but it was pretty much just a build-up volume and tbh this is the first time where I have no idea what's going to happen in the next exam.

Anyways hope you enjoyed the chapter.

A Problematic Situation

We weren't shown any videos for a week due to chabashira's absence, but when she came back today, the class was hostile and untrusting of her. Homeroom went as normal and we were then escorted into the gymnasium where I saw someone I haven't seen for the last 9 months. Tsukishiro had already informed me of his departure before the videos started, but I hadn't expected the chairman to also be watching these videos.

I gave him a slight glance and he met my eyes and gave me a nod. After finding my seat the screen came on .

"Well, due to some errors, it took a while. How about we begin?"

He seriously needs a new hobby. I'd recommend gardening, it's much more peaceful than tormenting high schoolers.

"We won't have anything too heavy today, but since I thought these would be fun to react to I might as well show them ."

The voice went away and the screen played a video.

After the morning roll call, we began to explore. Hirata provided roles to the more reliable students, starting his plan to save us points. Meanwhile, the less helpful students and the more independently-minded like Horikita and I did as we pleased.

"I think you were plenty helpful, Kiyotaka," Yosuke said kindly.

"I appreciate you saying that, but I didn't really help that much," I sighed.

"What the hell, you guys?!"

Ike's angry voice boomed throughout the campsite. I looked in his direction, and saw two male students wearing wide, smug grins. A pained expression flashed across Ibuki's face for a moment, but then she quickly ducked behind the tent to hide herself.

"Komiya and Kondou, huh?"

Like Ibuki, I recognized those guys. They were from Class C.

"Wow, you Class D rejects are really living frugal, eh? I guess that's what I'd expect from a class of defectives."

They were stuffing their faces with potato chips and drinking bottles of soda. Not water. Soda.

"I still don't understand why would you do that in an exam where you have to prioritise resources," Kanzaki looked confused.

"That's incorrect. The point in the exam is to do whatever you want and achieve the best results," Ryueen said smugly.

"Although I hate to admit it, he was right," Horikita thought .

"The teachers told us that the theme of the exam was freedom, so I'm free to do whatever the hell I want. I just happened to choose to spend it on snacks and having fun," Ryueen gloated.

"Looks like you're living the high life, Class C."

"Do you know Ryuuen?" Ibuki asked.

"He's a Class C student. I've heard various rumours about him. He's pretty crazy, I hear."

"Not just 'pretty' crazy. Everything that guy does is crazy." Ibuki sounded irritated, as if she were discussing a family enemy.

"So you consider me family, Ibuki? My cold and jaded heart is touched by such familial affection," Ryueen said with a smirk.

"Yep, next time I see this fucker outside of school I'm gouging his eye out," Ibuki thought .

"Those two are Ryuuen's friends. I'd say they're more like his underlings, though."

I recalled the time those two had fought with Sudou. It'd seemed like they were acting on orders from Ryuuen, rather than just looking for a fight.

"What did you even eat for breakfast? Grass? Or maybe bugs? Here, you can have some snacks."

They took a bag of potato chips and tossed it near Ike's feet as he drew nearer. Though it was obvious that they were trying to start something, we couldn't help getting irritated.

"You really love to provoke people," Katsuragi said.

"I have to give the real credit to my stellar actors here y'know. They were so good I actually wanted to reach into the screen and punch them," Ryueen chuckled, but the actors in question were sweating at Ryuuen's words.

"We have a message from Ryuuen-san. If you want to enjoy your summer vacation to the fullest, come to the beach right now. Don't hang back. If you're sick of living like idiots, then we're happy to share our luxuries."

They didn't leave, but continued snacking as if trying to harass us. Ike snapped at them, but they didn't seem to care. The provocation continued for at least ten more minutes, until Hirata's group returned and Class C decided to call it quits. They headed back toward their campsite.

"I don't think they were looking for me," Ibuki said.

"Yeah. Guess they wanted to harass us."

Their bizarre visit aside, we'd obtained valuable information about Class C: they had luxury items, snacks and soda and so on. They'd been burning through points. In a test like this, where frugality was crucial, what in the world were they thinking?

"They were being dumb. Even if they weren't breaking the core theme it's still unproductive to waste all of the points given because you wanted to have fun," Kanzaki berated.

"They said something about sharing their luxuries. Any idea what they were talking about?" I asked.

"I wonder if things are heading toward that worst-case scenario I imagined..." Ibuki said nothing more, but headed toward a tree on the camp's periphery. The worst-case scenario she'd imagined, huh? Telling Horikita about this seemed like a good idea.

"Hey, Horikita, you around?"

After breakfast, Horikita had immediately returned to the tent, and I saw no sign of her. I called for her in front of the girls' tent. Although she didn't reply, the tent shook slightly, and I heard the sounds of cloth rubbing together. Horikita slowly stepped outside.

"Did you hear those voices earlier?" I asked.

"The cheap provocation coming from Class C? Yes, I heard."

"I'm a little worried. I want to check out the situation. Care to come?"

"It's rather unusual to see you taking initiative. Are you feeling well?"

I'd have loved to throw those words back in her face.

"What did you mean?" Mii-chan asked.

"I was sick during the exam," Horikita answered bluntly.

"What? You should have retired if you were sick," Mori said shocked.

"If I did that it would have a similar reaction to Koenji," Horikita sighed.

The class wanted to retort, but they were unable to because they know that no matter what excuse Horikita had for dropping out, she would be seen as selfish for prioritising herself over the class.

Humans are quick to judge others and boast, but when it comes to their own flaws they can't retort. They usually judge someone even if they don't mean to because that's etched in their nature, so if Horikita dropped out she would be seen as selfish and would be judged by the class.

Things like 'She didn't even do anything and she's dropping out?' or 'What right does she have to drop out? We're all tired, but just because she's sick she's allowed to?'

These comments and other negative things would be spread around the class because humans band together under a common enemy or dislike and judge others so that their own flaws aren't discovered.

"Well, I'm free for a week. I don't have anything to do today, so I've just been killing time."

"I don't want to move too much. Since I'm the leader, if I stand out too much, we'll be in a bad spot."

"That's a definite risk." Even if someone didn't know a leader's identity for certain, they might guess correctly if they noticed suspicious behaviour. The more conspicuous a person, the more attention they would draw.

"I understand how you feel, but even if you stay in here, the situation probably won't change, right? You've got eyes on Ryuuen, and you've even been observing Ichinose. People will remember that you're the student council president's younger sister. No matter what you do, you'll be a target."

At any rate, the penalty for a wrong guess was fifty points. When we'd appointed someone as a leader, we'd taken a gamble, and precautions were necessary.

"You're right. I suppose I can't say what's correct. Fine. I'm rather concerned about the state of the other classes. Let's go."

Horikita and I set out for the beach, where Class C awaited. Her heavy footsteps seemed to belie her casual indifference.

As we neared the edge of the forest, we saw the beach, and the large group of Class C students on that beach. Horikita and I could never have imagined the situation we beheld.

"No way... All this stuff... Is it even possible?"

Even beholding the very real spectacle, Horikita kept repeating the word "impossible." I felt the same. They had installed temporary toilets and shower rooms. But they also had a tarp to protect against sunlight, a barbecue, chairs, and a parasol. They had snacks and drinks. Everything required for a good, relaxing time was here. We smelled the smoke of cooking meat, and heard laughter. Jet skis whizzed past the shoreline. Students were enjoying themselves in the ocean, screaming with joy. Based on a rough calculation, they'd likely spent 150 points or more.

"You guys actually lived like this in a special exam? I wish I was in your year," Amasawa said.

"Damn, you are good at maths," Sudo said.

"Not the thing to focus on dude," Ike said.

"What in the world is Class C doing? Do they not plan to save points?"

That was the sole explanation. This went beyond splurging.

"Let's check things out. I wonder what Class C is thinking?"

We came out from the bushes and walked to the beach. One of the male students noticed us, and called out to another male student nearby. We couldn't see his face too well, since he was leaning over in his chair. One of the boys rushed over to us.

"Um, Ryuuen-san has requested your presence," he said. Judging fromthe timidity of his voice, he was either frightened or naturally listless.

"It's like a welcoming ceremony for a king," Shinohara said in awe.

"He rules his classmates like a king. It's like a royal welcome. What should we do?"

"It's up to you, Horikita."

"Fine. I'm interested in learning his intentions. Let's go."

We accompanied the boy. As we approached the ocean, the delicious smell of cooked meat wafted by our noses.

"This is absolutely outrageous."

Our class didn't seem to know how to have a vacation. We approached the man in command of this hedonistic paradise.

"I thought someone was sniffing around. It's you, huh? What business do you have with me?"

"You seem to be doing well for yourself. This looks like quite the extravagant party."

Ryuuen, tanned and clad in his swimwear, laid back in his chair. He flashed his white teeth at us.

"Just as you see. We're enjoying our summer vacation."

The students weren't able to believe that such a thing could happen in a special exam..

Class D stared on in jealousy at what class C was doing while they had to have river water and shoddy tents.

He spread his arms wide, proudly showing off the extravaganza.

"This is a test. Do you understand what that means? You don't seem to understand the rules..."

Ryuuen didn't seem happy being told about his apparent ineptitude. Actually, he looked disappointed. "I'm shocked. Does that mean you're offering help even to an enemy like me?"

"If the person on top is incompetent, those below him will suffer. This is pitiful," Horikita said.

Ryuuen simply smiled, grabbing the bottle of water placed next to the radio.

"Why do you need a radio?" Amikura inquired.

"I simply wanted to play hyper-realistic cops and robbers. What else would I use a radio for?" Ryueen said as if it was obvious.

"Wait, did he need the radio to communicate with the class C people who were exiled," Matsushita remarked.

"Wait, so he communicated with the spies?" Ike said dumbfounded.

"Yes, he was," Horikita said.

Class D proceeded to glare at Ibuki for betraying their trust. I thought class B would at least have a few people glare or even a shady glance, but they seemed to be a little more mature about it.

"How many points did you use? To be able to enjoy this level of entertainment, I mean."

"Hmm. Well, I didn't make a precise calculation," Ryuuen responded guilelessly. "Tch. Already getting warm. Hey, Ishizaki. Bring me some cold water, right away."

Ryuuen poured out his remaining water on the sand, almost in provocation. Ishizaki, who'd been playing volleyball nearly, panicked and rushed to get Ryuuen another water. A mountain of cardboard boxes were piled up inside the tent, likely filled with food and water. Sakazaki peered into a cooler beside the boxes.

"As you can see, we're enjoying our summer vacation. We're not your enemies. Do you understand?"

Horikita, finding his behaviour incomprehensible, pressed her fingers against her forehead and wrinkled her brows as if she had a headache.

"We're trying to warn you. You're an idiot."

"Which one of us is the idiot? Me? You?"

"Clearly you," Shinohara said.

"Oh, I guess you're right. After all, I lost to your genius leader," Ryueen said.

Ryuuen would accept no insults and threw them back at Horikita.

"You want to try surviving on this deserted island in this shitty heat? Don't joke. Class D, the lowest of all, has to put up with starvation, heat, and futility just to save a measly 100 or 200 class points. It makes me laugh."

Ishizaki ran over, dripping with sweat as he brought the water. He handed a cold bottle of water to Ryuuen. However, Ryuuen threw it back at Ishizaki.

"I said to bring me cold water. This water's warm."

"I... B-but..."

"Hmm?"

Ryuuen's pupils were just like those of a snake. Ishizaki's body stiffened. He picked up the bottle and ran back toward the tent.

"This test is about perseverance, ingenuity, and cooperation. It would likely have been impossible for you from the start. You can't even establish a satisfactory plan."

"The teachers said at the beginning that the theme is freedom, do you have memory loss Horikita? We can get you a doctor if you need it," Sakayanagi said.

Horikita ignored it, but I feel like she would get a lot angrier later on.

They couldn't possibly hold on for a week after having spent points so lavishly. Eventually, their lives would become hell. The tarps, parasols, chairs and other things would become obstacles.

"Cooperation? Don't make me laugh. People betray each other with ease. People lie. Relationships built on trust just aren't viable. You can only trust yourself. If you've finished your reconnaissance, leave. But if you wish, we'd welcome you here. You're free to enjoy yourself, whether it's to eat meat or play on jet skis. Or perhaps you would prefer to have a different kind of fun with me? I can prepare a tent for personal use."

The girls stared at him in disgust.

Ryueen's belief of the world is that humans aren't fundamentally able to work together and that the world is filled with desensitised. People are just apathetic, self-serving machines in his eyes. In my time at that place this held true, but outside humans can cooperate.

The concept of game theory states that humans who work together can get a higher payoff. Say there were 2 rabbits and 1 stronger animal and the rabbits didn't work together to beat the stronger animal, the rabbits would die, but game theory states that the rabbits who work together can reach a higher payoff because they have a higher chance to survive as well as taking down a predator.

Throughout history, it is always shown that two opposing sides who want something or have a common goal can work together. Cooperation on trust is debatable, but Ryueens's belief that cooperation is impossible was his ultimate weakness.

"That's not the kind of answer I'd expect to hear from someone who declared war on us."

"I absolutely loathe hard work. Patience? Saving? You must be joking."

Ishizaki returned once again and handed over another bottle of water.

Ryuuen opened the cap and chugged.

"This is the way I do things. No more, no less."

"Right. Well then, do as you please. It's convenient for us, anyway." Horikita had changed her mind. Class C wasn't going to be our enemy here, so they weren't a problem.

"Working up a sweat in order to evaluate other classes is such a pain."

Horikita turned on her heel to walk away but paused. "There is one more piece of business. You know Ibuki, of course?"

"Oh great, the person I despise and the person I want to beat the most talking about me," Ibuki thought .

"Yeah. She's a member of our class. What about her?"

"Her face is swollen. Who did that to her?"

While Horikita was nearly convinced he was the culprit, she purposefully asked in a roundabout way.

"Ah. She ran out of here rather suddenly. She went looking for help from another class in the end? Pathetic girl."

Ryuuen snorted in disgust, then laid back in his chair.

"There are helpless idiots in this world. A ruler doesn't need subordinates who disobey orders. We determined that I would use our class points to my liking. That's the fact of the matter. Besides, it's pointless to raise the banner of revolution against the ruling class."

"How cruel. I truly feel pity for your classmates," Sakayanagi chuckled.

"In other words, Ibuki-san clashed with you when you wanted to spend points."

"Well, you could say that. That's why she got a light punishment."

He made a gesture like slapping someone's cheek. Ryuuen had indeed hit her.

"Another boy defied me as well, so I had him driven out. I heard he didn't die, so he's probably off somewhere eating grass and insects to survive."

I couldn't imagine that was something you could say about a friend. But now I fully understood. Even if Ibuki were absent during roll call, Class C wouldn't care. That's why Ryuuen didn't care about his classmates or trying to find them.

"So that's why you retired," Hashimoto said surprised.

"What?" Ike said.

"You'll see at the end," Horikita said.

"You...used up all your points on the first day, didn't you?" Horikita asked.

Even if you used all of the 300 points you were given, there wouldn't be any penalties. The effect was nonexistent.

"Yes, as you said. I used all of our points."

His strategy was to be at zero points to negate negative elements. It was certainly unexpected, but it came at a high price. With no points, Class C would have the lowest rank. Even if they managed to guess every other class leader's identity, they could only achieve a maximum of 150 points.

"If Ibuki is with you, you're better off chasing her away. If you shower her with your awkward sympathies, you'll have one extra person to prepare water, food, and bedding for. Anyway, if you can't deal with it, she can return here. If she grovels on the ground, I'll forgive her. I've a tolerant heart."

"You're nothing but a dictator," Kanzaki ridiculed.

"I guess you're right," Ryuuen responded with no remorse whatsoever.

He'd forgive her defiance if she returned to being under his control. He seemed pretty sure that she would. It would be difficult for Ibuki to live alone on a deserted island for one week.

"What short-sighted thinking. You're happy right now using your

points, but what are you planning to do after the party's over?"

"Ha haha. What should I do, I wonder? Well, I suppose that plain,

ordinary people can only engage in plain, ordinary thinking. You're desperate to protect the points you were given. Looking around for the leaders, desperately holding spots, working up a sweat running through the forest. Absolutely worthless."

Even though we'd confronted him with facts, Ryuuen laughed and s howed no sign of panic.

"Fine. Let's head back, Ayanokouji-kun. If we stay here any longer,

I'm only going to start to feel ill."

"See you later, Suzune."

"Hey, how'd he know that ? I didn't even know that until a few days before the exam," Sudo thought .

"I don't know where exactly you found that out, but do not call me by my first name so casually."

Ryuuen had clearly done some investigating.

"Well, I rather like forceful women. I'll make you submit to me eventually. When that time comes, it will be the ultimate pleasure."

When he said that, Ryuuen touched his crotch under his bathing suit, clearly to provoke Horikita. Horikita, eyes full of contempt, turned her back and walked away. As I started running after her, I stopped to look at a passenger boat anchored by the pier. I saw students swimming in the ocean, playing volleyball and beach flags on the shore, and celebrating with barbecues. Also, I saw the tent where they were stockpiling food.

Ryuuen seemed content to mock the school rules, apparently.

"Class C is irrelevant. Their self-destruction will help us."

"Your year really is something,"Kiryuuin smirked.

"I have to agree. There are plenty more capable people in that year compared to mine," Nagumo said.

You expelled every capable person.

"Seems that way. They've used up all their points, anyway."

Even if they had some saved, it could only be a few dozen at most. The two students' absence at roll call would swallow those.

"I can't wait to see what they'll do once trouble hits."

"Unfortunately, Class C probably won't face any trouble during this test."

"Huh?" Ike exclaimed.

"I don't get you either, even if they retired and had fun in the short term, the long term is detrimental for them," Kanzaki sighed.

"I guess you'll have to see what I meant."

"Why wouldn't they? How can they endure this test without any points?"

"That was Ryuuen's original goal. We were given 300 points as funds to enjoy our vacation for one week, which is not at all impossible. No matter how much we economize on our food, we have to give up on luxury items. The school made these rules accordingly."

Horikita nodded.

"So, we should try to save where we can," she said.

"Yeah. But Ryuuen's different. He can't see past the end of his nose, much less a week."

"He can't see past what now?"

"Suppose the test ended today. What then? Do you think this trip would transform into a perfect vacation?"

"You're talking about possibilities that would never happen. I don't see what you're talking about," Kiriyama mocked.

"That's... Well, okay. So what? If you have zero points—"

"That's simple. He'd just do what Kouenji did."

"Huh?"

"His physical condition was poor and he was mentally unstable. In that case, it's better to just retire. If everyone did that, they could return to the passenger boat and go about their lives. That's what they meant by fully enjoying their summer vacation: without hardship."

Granted, the school might turn us away if we feigned sickness. 300 points were enough to use freely for a one-night, two-day vacation. But sooner or later, the bill would arrive.

"So he really gave up on the test from the very beginning?" Horikita murmured.

"So they retire because they had no intention of winning," Matsushita surmised.

Maybe this was just a theory. Perhaps Ryuuen simply hated troublesome things, or perhaps he wanted to avoid mental exhaustion and preserve his physical strength. Or perhaps he wanted to improve morale.

"The test is literally about freedom. Ryuuen's way of thinking is one way to approach it. It seems like Ibuki and another student rebelled, and because of that Class C will lose twenty points a day. Since he knew he'd be losing that many points every day no matter what, he came up with a drastic strategy."

Since I didn't know when Ryuuen had decided to spend all of Class C's points, I could only guess.

"We ought to think of a way to get points back without giving up. Ryuuen is most definitely wrong. I cannot possibly understand him," Horikita said.

I suppose that was true. It was certainly true that we couldn't predict the actions of Ryuuen, whose plans were likely geared to a very unusual purpose if his words earlier were true. Any rational person would regard Ryuuen's bizarre schemes with some anxiety. After we passed the beach, I turned back and scanned the shore once more.

"Are you saying you see something logical in it?" Mori asked.

"I guess you could say that."

"A zero-point strategy, huh? I see. That's really interesting."

If we could simply shut down dissenting views from our classmates, it'd be a rather interesting method. After all, this test wasn't just about saving points within our own group. We had to strategize if we wanted to win.

The screen faded to black.

"That was a little boring, but I want to see some chaos now so let's have some fun,"

There was only 1 form of chaos this early on in the island exam and that was the underwear incident.

(A/N I'm skipping Ichinoses interaction since it's boring and nothing interesting happens)

While I was sleeping, I could hear girls' voices from outside the tent. They sounded like they were in a bad mood.

"Hey, boys. Can you all gather around?"

The voice sounded rough, like she'd meant to say, "Hurry and wake already!" I'd just gotten to sleep at dawn, so I rose slowly and rubbed my eyes.

"What the hell? God, I'm so goddamn tired..." An irritated Sudou appeared from the tent and looked around.

"I'd be pretty annoyed if I was woken up with no warning so early in the morning," Shibata said.

"What's wrong?" Hirata asked.

"Ah, Hirata-kun. I'm sorry, but can you please wake all of the boys? It's serious," said Shinohara, sounding apologetic.

Whether she was flustered or angry, the issue didn't seem to be hers alone. A little further away, the girls glared at us.

"They really seem to hate you guys," Kondou said.

Shinohara got quiet remembering her past actions.

"I understand. I think if I shout, they'll come."

Within two minutes, the boys came out of the tent rubbing their sleepy eyes. When the half-asleep boys looked around, they inferred that this situation was especially alarming. The girls all looked unusually scared.

"What's going on? Why did you wake us up so early?"

"Sorry, Hirata-kun. This doesn't involve you, but...we've gathered everyone to confirm something."

Shinohara gave everyone except Hirata a look of complete contempt.

"Well, this morning...Karuizawa-san's underwear went missing. Do you know what this means?"

"U-underwear?"

Karuizawa was currently looking at the screen, but she had a grimaced expression remembering this.

"That was so much worse than I was expecting," Ishizaki said.

"Did a boy steal it or was it a girl trying to play a prank?" Amikura asked.

"You'll find out eventually," Horikita said.

Even Hirata, usually calm and collected, appeared visibly shaken. Speaking of Karuizawa, she was missing, along with some of her friends.

"Karuizawa-san is crying inside the tent right now. Kushida-san and others are comforting her right now, but..." Shinohara looked over to the girls' tent.

"Huh? Huh? What? Why are you glaring at us over her underwear being missing?"

"Isn't that obvious? Someone went through her bag in the middle of the night and stole them. Our luggage was outside the tent, so if someone wanted to steal something, they easily could have!"

The boys, still in a state of drowsiness, all exchanged looks.

"No, no, no, no! Huh?! Huh?!"

Ike, in a complete panic, looked back and forth between the boys and girls. One of the boys who'd been observing all this grumbled calmly.

"Come to think of it, Ike, you were pretty late getting back from the toilet yesterday. You took a really long time."

"Great unity you guys have there," Ryueen said with a thumbs up.

Normally, the boys would have banded together to oppose this, but since they had all just woken up and weren't able to think properly, they resorted to their natural instincts and tried to save themselves.

"No, no, no! That was just, well...I was struggling because it was dark!"

"Is that so? You stole Karuizawa's underwear, didn't you?"

"Y-you're wrong! I didn't do it!"

The boys started blaming one another for this particularly nasty crime.

"Anyway. This is a huge problem, don't you agree? It's impossible for us to camp alongside a bunch of underwear thieves," said Shinohara, her arms crossed. She looked as though she was going to lose her temper.

"Hirata-kun, can you find the culprit?"

"Well, there's no evidence that the boys stole it. Maybe Karuizawa lost it."

"Yeah, that's right! We have nothing to do with this!" The boys shouted behind Hirata, proclaiming their innocence.

"He has a point. I understand why you would think the boys would do this, but there really isn't any evidence to support it," Asahina said.

"I don't want to think there's a criminal among us." Doubting our classmates seemed wrong.

"I know that you're not the culprit, Hirata-kun. But for the time being, let's check the boys' luggage."

"That seems unfair."

"Yeah, they're just insisting a boy did it when there is no evidence."

"Why is he excluded just because he's trustworthy? They all need to be under suspicion."

There were several complaints about Shinohara's actions, but they were mostly from the boy's side.

Apparently, the girls weren't changing their minds on this. They had decided that the culprit was on the boys' side. Well, I supposed that it was only natural to think that.

"Huh? Don't give us that crap. We don't need to do that. Hirata, tell them no."

"For now, we'll try gathering the guys together and talking it out. Can you please give us a little time?" Hirata asked.

"If you say so, Hirata-kun. I understand. I'll try talking to Karuizawa-san. But if the culprit can't be found, we have some ideas."

"You're acting like a spoiled brat," Hashimoto said.

"Excuse me?" Shinohara was taken aback.

"Well, you have no evidence to accuse the boys, but you insist on them anyway and try to search their bags without permission. It just seems like you're trying to push your own narrative and it's completely unfair," Hashimoto said calmly and most people agreed with him including me.

With that, everyone scattered. Hirata quickly gathered all the boys in front of the tent.

"Let's just ignore what the girls said. I hate being treated like a suspect. I'll fight it!"

Ike had managed to get some degree of trust from the girls on the first day, but apparently it wasn't meant to last. It was only natural that the boys would be unhappy about being unjustly accused.

"Exactly. It's not like we stole Karuizawa's underwear or anything."

Yamauchi exchanged looks with everyone individually. It wasn't as though Karuizawa wasn't cute or anything, but since Karuizawa was Hirata's girlfriend, it would've been a much better idea to go after Kushida and Sakura.

"I guess it would be dumb even for him," Ishizaki said.

Kushida looked disgusted and Sakura was a little pale thinking about what would have happened if Yamauchi acted on his desires.

"I don't doubt you guys, but we won't solve the problem like this."

The girls, who were talking together in their cliques, looked like they were about to jump on us.

"It might be better to just accept the baggage inspection with dignity and prove your innocence." With that, Hirata brought out his own bag.

"As miserable as this might be, I think you guys'll have to do it. Are you okay with that?"

"B-but..."

"Of course. I'll open up my luggage first," Hirata said.

In order to get us all to move, he had no choice but to take action. Still, there probably wasn't even one person here who thought Hirata was the culprit. Besides, you could say that stealing his own girlfriend's underwear made no sense. However, if one person opened his luggage, then the rest of us couldn't help but follow. Inevitably, the students who wouldn't open their bags would be suspected. Hirata's bag naturally didn't have the underwear.

"I didn't think about it like that. I'm sorry guys if I pressured you all into doing something you didn't want to do," Yosuke bowed his head slightly.

The guys awkwardly said it was okay. I suppose it was because most of them hadn't interacted with Yosuke that much.

"Guess we don't have any choice..."

All the other boys began pulling bags out, one after another. Ike and Yamauchi hated it, but couldn't resist being pulled in. The three of us were the last to go. I reluctantly headed into the tent, following after Ike andYamauchi.

"Damn, I'm so pissed. Men are always being suspected of stuff. It's way too unreasonable."

Most people, even girls agreed with him.

"Well, let's prove our innocence." Ike grabbed his bag, but suddenly froze.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing..."

He turned his back on Hirata and the others, checked the inside of his bag, and frantically closed it back up.

"Kanji?"

Ike's face was pale, his body stiff. He was completely paralyzed. "Hey, come on. Let's hurry and get going."

The people in class D who knew which person the real culprit was weren't surprised.

"What, you're the one that really stole them?" said Yamauchi, half-jokingly.

"Th-that's crazy talk!"

Ike frantically denied it, shaking his head while clutching his bag. What a blatant overreaction. We weren't dumb enough to believe nothing was wrong.

"Wait, don't tell me..." Yamauchi said.

"What? You don't believe me?!"

"No, I'm not saying that. Show me what's in your bag."

"Ah, wait!"

Yamauchi snatched Ike's bag to check inside. When he did, he saw... white underwear, definitely not a man's, balled up and hidden.

"Th-that's not mine! Someone put it in my bag or something, somehow!"

"Come on, don't give me that excuse..."

Yamauchi looked at Ike with pity.

"I'm telling you, I don't know how it got there! Why would there be underwear in my bag?!"

"This is shameful. Let's go explain things to Hirata and the others."

"Huh?! But if I do that, they'll make me out to be the culprit!"

"There was no culprit...right?"

Why was Yamauchi asking Ike? Ike had Karuizawa's underwear in his bag, making Ike the culprit, right? Putting aside when and how he stole the underwear, the thief likely wouldn't have hidden the stolen goods in his own bag. It was obvious that in the case of an uproar, a search for the criminal would begin. If Ike was really guilty, he should've been panicking when he was told to open his luggage. But I hadn't seen the slightest hint of that.

I concluded that someone other than Ike was the culprit, and that person had planted evidence to frame Ike. Unless Ike really was that stupid and simple...but he couldn't be, right?

"If you thought that, why didn't you just vouch for him?" Onodera asked.

"Well, the girls were deadset on the boys being the culprit and since Ike and I were friends I would just be seen as sticking up for my friend," I explained.

"I'm uh- sorry that I accused you guys without any evidence," Shinohara had been very quiet this entire time and it seems like she was mustering the courage to apologise.

Most of the guys nodded since although her actions were wrong, they weren't deeply affected by them, so they had no problems with forgiving her.

"Ayanokouji, you believe me, right? That I didn't steal them?!"

"Well, if I think calmly, no solid evidence suggests you're the culprit, Ike."

"Ayanokouji!" he cried.

"It's unlikely that Ike is the culprit. If he were, this would be far too stupid of him."

"Well, that sounds right, but... Wait, what? You mean someone put the underwear in Kanji's bag?"

"We just have to figure out who!" Ike cried.

"Hey, hurry up!" one of the boys by Hirata cried.

"Wh-wh-wh-wh-what am I gonna do? I'm in serious trouble!"

If the stolen item were found here, the girls would probably determine that Ike was the culprit.

"We have no choice but to hide them. Now."

"Hide them? Where?! We can't hide them!"

It was certainly true that we currently lacked storage options. If the girls saw us hurry to the toilet or into the tents, they'd become suspicious and demand to search that area. Most importantly, we were spending too much time in here. It wouldn't be surprising if we were already under suspicion.

"We have no other choice. You have to put it in your pocket."

That was the only advice I could give. There wasn't any time to hide the underwear anyplace else, and we didn't want to draw attention to ourselves.

"I-I can't do it! I-I'm already panicking!" Still, hiding the underwear was our only option.

"I'll leave it to you, Ayanokouji!" Ike removed quickly thrust the balled-up underwear into my hands.

"Ha! You're the only one believing him and he tries to put the blame on you," Nagumo chuckled.

Ike had an annoyed expression, but he didn't say anything because he probably knew that he couldn't go against the student council president.

"Huh?"

"If you think it's better to hide them, you can do it. Right?"

"Well, that's..."

"Hey, hurry up!" someone called.

"I'm coming now!"

Ike muttered, "I'm counting on you," and scurried off. Yamauchi, not wanting to get dragged into it, quickly apologized and hurried away.

"Hey, are you serious?"

I broke out into a cold sweat. The longer I stayed, the worse this would get. If I'd had a minute, I'd have hidden it someplace difficult to find, but there was no time. Impulsively, I stuffed the underwear into my back pocket, took my bag, and headed back to the others.

"Sorry, sorry. My bag got a little dirty, so I cleaned it off." With that excuse, Ike tossed over his luggage.

"Search it if you gotta. I'm innocent. Right, Yamauchi?"

"Y-yeah."

The two proudly placed their bags down. Hirata, after lightly declining the duty, inspected the inside of the bags. I also set my bag down and moved away. After everyone's luggage had been inspected, Ike called over Shinohara, who was waiting with her arms crossed.

"We searched everyone's bags. None of us did it."

"Really?"

"Yeah. There's no doubt. None of the boys are the culprit."

"Wait a moment."

Shinohara drew nearer and checked the inside of the tent. She seemed suspicious, as though we'd hidden something. Of course, there wasn't anything there. After inspecting the two tents, Shinohara went back to the girls once again and discussed the situation.

There were plenty of annoyed and disapproving faces, but because Shinohara had already apologised no one said anything.

"Hey, Hirata-kun. Could they have hidden it in their pockets? Ike-kun and Yamauchi-kun, and even Ayanokouji-kun were whispering a little earlier. It's got me curious."

Of course we were being sneaky. The girls had demanded to check every nook and cranny.

"Jeez, enough is enough!" Ike cried.

The girls began to attack him.

"Wasn't Ike-kun acting all suspicious earlier? Maybe he is hiding something after all?"

"Huh?! I-I'm not hiding anything! Search me if you gotta!" He spread his arms wide as he proclaimed his innocence. Hey, Ike... Ifyou tell them to do that, then...

"Aw shit, sorry about that Ayanokouji," Ike bowed his head.

"It's fine."

"Let's search him. Hirata-kun, can you do it?"

"Okay. If it convinces the girls, fine. However, if I don't find anything, I want you to stop investigating the boys."

This was the worst possible outcome. While the girls watched Ike, Yamauchi, and me, the pat-down commenced. Of course, they wouldn't find the underwear on either Ike or Yamauchi. They kept still throughout Hirata's careful search, and he checked them thoroughly. Finally, it was my turn.

"Wait, Hirata said that he didn't find the underwear on anyone, did he just miss it?" Matsushita said. It appears that she was trying to gauge my relationship with Hirata.

It was already too late to escape. Perhaps it was better that it was me. No, that wasn't true. There wasn't anything I could do now. Hopefully Hirata might overlook it, even if there was only a one percent chance he would. I decided to be perfectly still, like a dead fish.

"I'm sorry. It'll be over soon," Hirata said.

Hirata, who didn't doubt me whatsoever, slowly started to search me, starting with my upper body. Then, Hirata put his hand into my back pocket, where I'd stuffed the underwear.

It was all over, wasn't it?

"So he didn't miss it," Miyamoto said.

"Hirata, why didn't you say anything?" Sato asked.

"I didn't believe that Ayanokouji did it," Yosuke said.

"You place a lot of trust in classmates who you barely interact with," Himeno said.

"Yeah, I trust them all not to do something as bad as this, but I also didn't want to divide the class if the culprit came out because the students would be more distrustful of each other," Yosuke proclaimed.

"If you found it in one of the perverted boy's pockets would you still have said nothing," Himeno pushed further.

"It wouldn't matter who it was, I would still do the same thing," Yosuke steeled his resolve.

Yosuke was confident that he would defend whoever had the item. I believe him simply because he wouldn't risk breaking the class over the dispute, his mindset wouldn't allow him to do something like that.

I resigned myself. I felt Hirata's hand touching the underwear. Well, I couldn't be completely sure Hirata was touching was the underwear, but I suspected he was touching that rolled-up piece of cloth in my pocket. Hirata's body stiffened, and he looked me in the eyes. After a brief glance, Hirata examined my jersey without taking the underwear out of my pocket. Finished, he turned back toward the girls.

"Ayanokouji-kun doesn't have them either."

He walked toward Shinohara. Ike and Yamauchi exchanged shocked looks.

"Those three didn't take them."

"That's weird... I thought for sure it was one of them. But if you say so, Hirata-kun..."

If the overwhelmingly honest Hirata said something, Shinohara had no choice but to believe him.

"It should be fine once I tidy up the luggage. We can discuss it more after."

After the inspection had come to an end, I hurried back inside the tent. Hirata followed me.

"Hirata. Why didn't you tell them?" I asked, straight out.

"That was the underwear in your pocket, right?"

"Yeah."

"Did you...take Karuizawa's underwear, Ayanokouji-kun?"

"No. I didn't."

How would this fine young man respond to my denial?

"It's like you're testing him," Akito remarked.

"I believe you. You're not that kind of person. But why did you have them in your pocket?"

There was no way I couldn't tell him the truth after he said that he believed me. I told him they came from Ike's bag. Hirata looked momentarily lost in thought.

"You quite underestimate how easy it is to lie towards overly trusting people," Sakayanagi sighed.

"That may be true, but there's no reason to lie here," I said.

"So you would lie if there was a reason too," Sakayanagi stated.

"Yeah, I guess I would."

My statement got me a few shady glances from the people around me, but I didn't pay them any attention..

I'm not the type to make any unnecessary actions, so if I lied when there's no positive for me, it would be detrimental.

"I see. So it definitely wasn't you. But I don't think Ike-kun or

Yamauchi-kun did it, either. If they were the culprits, they probably wouldn't put the underwear in their own bags. They would have hidden it in another place." Hirata's usual quick-wittedness had saved me. I didn't need to go to the bother of trying to explain.

"If it's all right with you, may I hold onto the underwear?" he asked.

"That underwear is like a trading card," Ryueen chuckled.

"Sure, but...is that really all right?"

Holding the underwear was exactly like holding the Joker in a deck of cards. They were both trouble to deal with.

"In the worst-case scenario, if I'm made out to be the culprit, I would take the least amount of damage. I am her boyfriend, more or less."

After saying that, he took one of the vinyl toilet bags and put the underwear inside. I wondered if it would be painful for Karuizawa to know people were touching her underwear with their bare hands.

"It's not like any of you did anything bad with it," Kei seemed quick to try to move past this situation.

"But we did find out one piece of bad news here. If the underwear came out of Ike-kun's bag, then there's a high chance that the culprit is someone in our class."

"Yeah..."

No matter how you looked at it, if a student from another class had been loitering around, we would've seen them. After exiting the tent, I scanned my surroundings. Our bags were individually wrapped in vinyl and placed in front of our tent. The girls' tent was a few meters away, where Karuizawa and the others slept. Until this whole incident, the girls' luggage had been piled up out front, unprotected, like ours. If you wanted to steal something, you easily could do so. I was easily able to rifle through Ibuki's bag on the first day.

When had the underwear been stolen? Since there were no problems up until it was time to take a shower, the crime had happened sometime between eight o'clock last night and seven o'clock this morning. If that were the case, anyone in our class could have done it. However, I doubted that the crime had been carried out in the middle of the night. If the culprit were rifling through luggage with a flashlight, someone would have noticed.

In that case, it was very likely that the crime had been carried out around sunrise, after five o'clock in the morning. Even if I'd narrowed down the crime's timeframe, it was still difficult to narrow down the list of culprits. What if I tried changing my perspective? Say Karuizawa stole her own underwear and hid it in Ike's bag. But what reason would she have for doing that?

"There isn't a reason to do that," Okitani said.

Plenty of boys nodded, but I could see a few reasons why someone would do something like that. It may be a way for Yosuke and Kei's relationship to appear stronger on the front because he played the role of the comforting boyfriend or it could be simply for attention and sympathy.

"It's like you're a detective Kiyopon," Haruka said

"I believe you're not the culprit, Ayanokouji-kun. That's why I saved you."

"O-oh. Thank you."

"But that's not all I want to say. I want you to help me find the real culprit, Ayanokouji-kun."

Plenty of sceptical looks came toward Yosuke for trusting me to help find the real culprit just because he believed me. It was an irrational decision because he essentially let the prime suspect go into the crime scene with no restrictions and let them do whatever they wanted.

Hirata took my hand as he made his request.

"You want me to find the culprit?"

"I think people, both guys and girls, will be uneasy until the thief's found. To be honest, it would probably be best if I found the culprit, but it looks like it'll be difficult to get everyone together..." A class star like Hirata had certain restrictions.

"I don't think it'll be easy to find someone who would hide things in Ike's bag."

Hirata should have known that finding the criminal would be difficult.

"Well, I'll do what I can. Just don't expect too much of me."

"Thank you! Thank you, Ayanokouji-kun!" said Hirata, almost hugging me and bowing his head deeply. I understood Hirata was thankful but felt his reaction was a bit excessive. Perhaps the underwear theft was really bothering him, in particular. As a leader, he had to respond seriously to the crisis and try to find a resolution for the class.

"Working as a leader is hard because they have to appear trustworthy and strong on the front. If he had help from someone who didn't need to appear trustworthy to the class, it makes sense why he was happy." Horikita seemed to understand Yosukes worries and actions.

"If you do happen to find the culprit, I want you to tell me first. I definitely do not want you to tell anyone else."

His ability to widen his eyes while making such a sincere appeal pretty much destroyed my ability to say no. He looked almost too calm. It was a little eerie.

"If that information becomes public knowledge, our class will suffer a huge blow. I want to avoid that. That's why I want to find a peaceful method of settling things with the culprit. If it's coming from me, I think that we'll be able to resolve the issue through talking."

"So, in other words, you're going to hide the truth?"

"Maybe you and I are more similar than I thought," Ryueen grinned.

"Why would you hide the truth? Every classmate might have been with a pervert who could steal people's belongings without them knowing," Kamuro disagreed.

"That's why I wanted to talk it out with the culprit and reach a peaceful solution. If I displayed the culprit out to the whole class the class would be divided simply because there's a mutual distrust between them. If the girls realised that there was a boy who stole their belongings they would be skeptical of other boys even if they had no intention of doing something as bad," Yosuke defended himself and Kamuro backed down.

"Hide it? That's a poor choice of words, but there's nothing I can do about it if people take it that way. Even if one of the guys turns out to be the culprit, I think it's better that the truth be concealed."

He focused on me. It was almost as if he meant to protect the culprit.

"I understand. I'll report to you first. Is that good?"

"Thank you. Well then, I'll be getting back to work."

Upon exiting the tent, Hirata called out to the other students. I saw multiple silhouettes on the other side of the sheet begin to recede.

"Hirata Yousuke. Are you Class D's hero?"

"What?" Yosuke himself was questioning this.

There was one contradiction in Hirata's story. Right after he said he believed in me, he immediately said the truth ought to be concealed even if the culprit was one of the guys. In other words, even if someone had the underwear, we'd hide it from the girls.

Hirata didn't have complete trust in me. He probably assumed there was a high chance I was the culprit. That was only natural, of course. From an outsider's perspective, I was the one holding the underwear, and I'd offered up Ike's name as the culprit. Hirata assigned me, a potential suspect, the role of detective to offer me a lifeline. At the same time, he'd issued a warning not to commit the offense a second time.

"I guess you weren't lying. You would do anything to protect the classes unity even if it meant concealing the truth," Himeno said as she crossed her arms.

Thinking this way, I was able to get a grasp on the story. I was certain that he just wanted to cover up the truth. I had also tentatively considered that Hirata might be the culprit, but...well, I supposed we would know soon enough.

The video faded to black.

"Well that was interesting. We had some interesting revelations happen,"

That was one way to put it.

"Next time we'll show the end of the island exam,"

The voice's words were selective. He used 'show' which would mean that perhaps the literal end of the exam is shown which meant the results.

Or maybe I'm looking too deep into it.

Authors notes:

Nothing too big this time, but the next chapter will be Horikita and Ibukis's fight, the island exam results and Chabashiras's talk with Ayanokouji on the ship after the island.

Anyways hope you enjoyed the chapter

The boy who'll sacrifice anything for his freedom

(I think the titles are a little dramatic, but I'll roll with it)

"Well then, we get to see something fun today. F or context, so that you guys aren't looking at stuff with stupid faces , t his video takes place after Ibuki stole the keycard from Horikita and then she chased after her,"

I doubt this video would be from my perspective since whenever Horikita is alone with someone and I'm not there the only person's thoughts shown is her.

I forced my heavy, sluggish body to chase after Ibuki-san while the hard rain fell. The sky was covered with rain clouds that blocked out the sun, so visibility was poor. Even though I couldn't see Ibuki-san, she'd left footprints in the muddy ground. If I just followed them, they'd lead me right to her.

She'd walked about a hundred meters from the base camp, sometimes veering off to the right or left. Rather unexpectedly, I found her waiting, as if expecting me. I instinctively hid myself, though there probably wasn't any point.

"What are you doing, Horikita?"

"Woah, that's kinda scary," Ishizaki murmured, he was promptly kicked in the leg.

"This is gonna be fun~ I wonder how this played out," Amasawa giggled.

I saw Ibuki open her mouth to shout at her, but she shut it when she realised that it would only cause more damage.

"I agree with you,Pinky," Kiryuiin smirked.

Ibuki spoke without even turning around. Her calm voice cut right through the sounds of the falling rain.

"I noticed you following me. Why don't you just come on out?"

"When did you notice me?" I asked.

"Right from the start."

Her short answer felt ominous. My impression of her as being quiet and taciturn didn't change, but something was different.

"Why were you following me?"

The hall grew quiet and there was nothing but a few murmurs between students.

"Do you really not know?"

"No, I don't know."

It was almost like I was the villain here.

"You clearly know why I was following you, don't you?"

"I really have no idea what you're talking about."

Ibuki-san faced me, looking me straight in the eye. I saw no deception in her eyes whatsoever. It almost made me want to apologize. After all, I had no proof. I only had my intuition.

"So you only chased her because of a gut feeling? This could get your class disqualified if it got violent," Nagumo said casting a gaze at Manabu, but his words had a vicious meaning to them.

He was essentially comparing her to Manabu and saying that he would do something as irrational as this. Once again, he affirmed that Horikita was inferior compared to Manabu.

"Why should I lie?" she pressed further as if she noticed my hesitation.

"I'd at least like to hear why you followed me, from your own lips."

"The underwear theft and the fire. Misfortune continues to befall Class D."

"So what?"

"You caused the fire too? That could've put us in danger," Sato said angrily.

Ibuki didn't respond. It would all be shown anyway, so she didn't see a point.

"Do you realize that some people suspect you?"

"Ah. I suppose since I'm an outsider, there's not much I can do about that."

"That's what I'm talking about."

"You're saying I'm the culprit? Do you have any proof?"

"Unfortunately, I don't have a single shred of evidence related to the underwear theft. But I think it was you."

"That's a pretty terrible thing to say. You don't have any evidence, yet you suspect me?"

I had to admit, I was impressed by how she was handling this. She'd laid low until day five, and she'd kept her distance from Class D. Contrary to normal expectations, she wasn't suspected.

"I suspect you because of today. You don't need me to explain that, do you?"

I wanted to hear it from Ibuki-san herself. If I explained all of the

reasons for my doubts, that would almost be the same as admitting my identity as the leader. Even if I was 99% confident, so long as there was a 1% chance of her being innocent, I needed to avoid being direct.

Several students were confused.

"Huh? I don't understand. If the only thing you talked about was that she was the thief, how would you be discovered as the leader?" Kobashi asked.

"She had been observing the class, so she had known how we acted and that I wouldn't show the card to anyone. If she was innocent and figured out that I was the leader it would be all over for the class," Horikita explained.

"Let me cut to the chase. I want you to return something you took from me," I said to Ibuki-san, while I stood and stared her in the eye.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

After giving that short answer, she walked away quickly. I followed, matching her speed. Ibuki-san changed course and headed toward the center of the forest.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"Who knows?"

Hey, that's my line.

It was difficult to walk straight. I'd realized this over the past several days. That was even truer in this weather, which impaired visibility.

However, Ibuki-san didn't seem to care. I couldn't pull back, though, not after coming this far to find the truth. Since I'd made the mistake, I had to take responsibility and solve the problem.

I have to make up for my mistake. I have to make up for my mistake. I repeated those same words over and over again in my head. I couldn't fail here. Besides, I also needed to take responsibility for my mistakes with Karuizawa-san, with whom I had been really aggressive. My heart beat fast. I was breathless. Little by little, I closed the distance between Ibuki-san and myself. Depending on the situation, I might need to retrieve the keycard by force. Considering my considerable skills, I could handle it well. I can handle it well. I can do it. I can do it.'

"You were under way more pressure than I was, don't worry about it," Kei said.

It wouldn't be beneficial to insult Horikita or do anything similar since it would just show that she was a horrible person against someone who showed regret for their actions.

I understood all too well that I wasn't calm, but I had to do something.

I didn't have anyone else to rely on. I'd handled things on my own up until this point, and I could continue just the same. The rain and winds were a bit easier to deal with in the middle of the forest than on an open road. But the visibility had become that much worse, and the footing even more terrible. Also, as I went right and then left, I lost my sense of direction.

But my biggest problem was my physical condition. With every second that passed, I grew worse. Up until now I'd only had a slight fever, but as the rain came down I reached my limits. My sickness grew steadily worse.

The class D students looked severely guilty and Horikita had noticed this.

"You all don't have to feel bad, I wasn't in a good state, but it's not like you could have helped with that," Horikita tried to give some reassuring words.

"Just rely on us next time," Yosuke said firmly, I guess he wasn't hoping for Horikita to be pushed to her limits again.

"Yeah, we'll assist you," Sudo said trying to raise morale.

"God I wanna barf," Hosen snickered.

Ibuki-san stopped, and then unexpectedly looked up at a tree. She gazed at a single handkerchief, wet from the rain and tied to the tree.

"How long are you going to follow me? Don't you think enough is enough?"

"Once you return what you stole from me."

"Why don't you calm down and try thinking? If I stole the keycard, would I have held onto it? If someone saw me with it, that would mean immediate disqualification. I'd only end up losing points myself, right?"

I had only asked she return what she stole. I never once said anything about a keycard. Ibuki-san had just confessed. As I was about to press her on that point, Ibuki-san gave a thin smile that showed her white teeth.

"You thought I confessed to something, didn't you? You're wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm tired of talking with you."

Ibuki-san crouched, and started digging in the ground using both hands.

"Well, that's random," Ike said.

"Why would you do that?" Ishizaki looked genuinely confused.

"God you're dumb, didn't you understand anything?" Ibuki said.

"I understood it, I just forgot," Ishizaki tried to save face.

"Ah, agh..."

Wracked by intense dizziness and nausea, I leaned my back against a nearby tree.

"Your condition has gotten a lot worse, hasn't it?"

Ibuki-san turned to look at me. However, she quickly returned to work.

"Ah... Ah... Ugh..."

Although I was trying to manage my breathing, I couldn't anymore.

My jersey, soaked from the downpour, leached my body heat away. I'd tried to resist wanting to lie down and rest, but I could no longer hold my head up. As I thought about my physical strength, I had no choice but to fight.

"Ibuki-san. I'm going to investigate you with everything I've got. You don't mind?"

Ibuki-san stopped digging, stood up, and approached me.

"With everything you've got? Could you be a bit more specific? You mean you're going to resort to violence?"

"This is your last warning. Return it..."

I'd wanted to avoid coercive methods, but there was no other way. I didn't want to show this side of myself to anyone...

"Do you have a split personality or something?" Ryueen grinned.

"Obviously not," Horikita said.

Ryuuen was relentless, however.

"Well, you say that you don't want to resort to violence, yet you attack poor, defenceless Ayanokouji with no warning whatsoever."

Horikita wanted to retort, but she was unable to come up with a response.

The situation was getting a little tense and since I don't get the chance to tease Horikita often I took this opportunity.

"I agree with you, Ryuuen. It was very hard during the beginning of the year and I had lived in constant fear that this person would stab me with a compass at any given moment."

I saw Kei stifling her laughter and several other class D students doing the same. Horikita, however, was staring bulletholes into me. If this was a Tv show I would most likely be punched across the room with no regard for my wellbeing, but thankfully this is real life.

I remembered the incident before, with Sudou-kun, where he'd punched some students from Class C. It had led to a trial, with the school getting involved. Back then I'd condemned Sudou, who had dealt with many unexpected difficulties. I'd abandoned him then, and was getting my just desserts now. That I would consider solving things with violence was ridiculously funny.

"Violence is the way the world works, but Suzune, you have to be stronger than your opponent to use it effectively," Ryueen said.

"That's ironic coming from you," Sakayanagi said.

"I guess you might be right," Ryueen said no more.

"My last warning, huh? Oh, I get it. I get it. Why don't you get your wish?"

She dropped the bag to the ground and raised her arms in the air, posing as if surrendering. She was obedient, but I saw no resignation in her face. Still, I couldn't let this opportunity pass. I reached to check the bag.

Instantly, Ibuki-san's slender leg went right toward my face. What little alertness I had left saved me. I flew backwards, avoiding her kick. Mud splashed me, and I struck a defensive posture with both arms raised.

I saw Manabu crack a small smile at her sister's efforts. And there were several students captivated by the fight at the climax of this exam.

"Oh, you're good," she said.

"An act of violence means immediate disqualification..."

"Someone might see us here, you mean? Weren't you willing to use violence, too?"

While I wondered why she had such a sly grin on her face, she suddenly grabbed my shoulders and threw me down. I wasn't able to react in the face of such an unexpected action, and collapsed onto the muddy ground.

"Would you like a moment to rest?" she asked.

This is quite fun when I'm not being looked at, I can see why the other students are enjoying this.

As I was on the ground, already wounded, she sneered at me from above. Her face looked all blurry. Ibuki-san grabbed my collar and yanked me up. If she hit me, I would definitely lose consciousness. I slipped out of her grip and rolled, escaping from her. I desperately tried to raise myself out of the mud. That was the first time I was really thankful that I practiced martial arts.

"Oh? You can really move, surprisingly. You practice or something?"

Ibuki-san, without panicking whatsoever, seemed genuinely impressed as she sized me up. She'd perceived my knowledge of martial arts, and probably wasn't an average practitioner herself. How could I respond without telling her that I was in the worst condition?

"I have to say that this isn't nearly as interesting as the fight from before," Sakayanagi sighed.

"I agree with you, this is just a fight between a sick girl and a loose cannon," Ryueen said.

"Isn't it your fault that she had to fight someone to win? Can't you take the slightest amount of responsibility?" Kanzaki sighed, tired at Ryuuen's antics.

"I didn't think you harboured such intense hatred for me. I never said this was bad, it's amazing entertainment, but the fight before was just better," Ryueen said.

"I've...been nothing but a complete and utter failure in this test."

I hadn't contributed a single thing to Class D. If anything, I was probably a hindrance. The rest of them, all trying their hardest, were held back because of my poor physical condition. I wished I'd told them from the start. I could have requested that another person become the leader since I wasn't feeling well. It would have been fine had I just refused. But my pride got the better of me, which was unforgivable.

I mocked people. I hated useless things, labeling them incompetent, while I was useless myself. Ha ha... I laughed dryly in my mind. Was I really still making excuses for myself?

The class wanted to help Horikita, yet when staring at the quiet and cool faced Horikita present now, they stayed quiet. Why should they help someone who didn't need it?

Ryueen didn't care, though.

"I guess the babysitter opened your eyes a little."

"Who's this babysitter?" Hiyori pondered.

"You'll see. I doubt they're finished with remodelling their pet project," Ryueen said ominously.

"It was you, wasn't it? You stole the keycard."

Ibuki-san stopped moving. I shortened the distance between us. She pretended like she was going to strike with her right arm, only to instead go with a high, fast kick. I avoided her attack, and then stretched out my arm as a counterattack. Ibuki-san was aware of the danger and avoided my strike. She then switched into her next attack, a dizzying back-and-forth of offense and defense.

The footing around here was bad, but she wasn't worried about her footwork. Clearly, she had a degree of skill. In addition, she showed no hesitation in hurting people. Ibuki-san smiled, flashing her white teeth as if she were enjoying this. I never thought I'd see such a big smile on her face.

"It looks like you two bring out the best in each other, they could make a love story out of this. Although even the best isn't enough to outmatch a perfect existence," Koenji said while applying some newly acquired lotion.

I remember Kei telling me about that brand. She said that it was only bought by girls, so I wonder how he got it?

The 2 girls in sync gave a look of disgust at each other and Koenji.

Because I'd been moving around so much, I was wracked by intense cold and nausea. I was barely able to stand.

"You've been trying really hard until now. I'll tell you the truth, as a reward. I stole the card."

"What a kind and benevolent gesture," Hashimoto chuckled.

Ibuki-san thrust her hand into her pocket and slowly took the card out. She showed me the side with my name engraved upon it.

"You gave up the truth pretty easily."

"It doesn't matter if I admit it or not now. There's no evidence I used violence against you. It's not as though the school can make a judgment here. Isn't that right?"

Ibuki-san had the right read of the situation. Nothing could conclusively make the school perceive this as it really was. Even if I was the only one who got hurt, Ibuki-san could say whatever she liked to get out of it. Even if I complained, we'd both be punished. And Class D had points to lose.

But if I managed to get the keycard back, we might be saved. If we got our hands on such reliable evidence, Class C would be forced to admit what they'd done.

"That was wishful thinking in your state," Nagumo said.

"I agree that it was wishful thinking, but even if there was a small chance of success, shouldn't the risk be worth it? If she didn't take the risk and accepted the consequences their class would have lost completely, so if there's a chance to save their class and destroy the other one, why shouldn't she try?" Manabu retorted.

Her fingerprints were on the card. Maybe we could assert that it was legitimately stolen. If we brought the truth to light, the school might investigate the matter thoroughly. I couldn't abandon that hope.

However, I couldn't get the keycard back unless I bested Ibuki-san. But I doubted she was stupid enough to make bold actions. If she got away, the card probably wouldn't ever be found. If that happened, we couldn't prove it had been stolen.

I didn't have enough energy to run after her any longer. On top of that, I lacked the strength to even clench my fists. But I had to make use of all the strength I had left.

"You're seriously incredible, Horikita. You never lost hope and tried to save your class even if they didn't know that you helped," Ichinose praised Horikita.

"I have to agree with her, most people couldn't do that," Yosuke joined in.

Horikita was a little shocked that someone was praising her this much, so she had a somewhat rushed response, "Uh n-no problem."

I wasn't sure if Ibuki-san had a reason to hurry or if she was underestimating me, but she rushed over and attacked, a hunter enjoying an easy kill. Her eyes glanced at my feet, but it was a fake-out. While she was concentrating on the lower half of my body, she instantly swung at my face. I narrowly avoided getting hit, but it got so incredibly close that it grazed my hair.

I took advantage of her momentum and applied a little force. Ibuki-san lost her balance, but not enough to make her fall over. I tried to grab onto her arm, but she understood what was going on and slipped through my grasp. She probably realized I was trying to use her power and speed against her. I mustered up the last of my strength and drove my left fist into her solar plexus.

A few students winced at the brutality on the screen while others were simply ravished by the excitement that the screen was emitting.

"Ah!"

Ibuki-san couldn't breathe, and fell to her knees in apparent agony. At the same time, my physical strength had reached its limits, and my field of vision grew distorted. I couldn't chase after her, so I kept her pinned down.

"This is the worst... I'm already... At my limit..."

My condition was bad before, but pushing myself so intensely had made things hopeless. But I couldn't collapse here. My attack was superficial, not enough to knock her down.

"I don't understand... I thought you were involved." Ibuki-san stood, wiping mud off her face.

"Involved? In what?" I asked.

Ibuki-san seemed to hesitate, but then muttered, "I didn't burn the manual."

Several class D students were confused.

"What? Then who did?" Inogashira wondered.

"Wait, so someone in our class did it?" Ike asked.

I wonder who would do something so horrible.

"You intend to keep lying even now?"

"What would I gain by burning it? It was inevitable that people would begin searching for the criminal after the uproar. Besides, people would suspect me rather strongly. There was nothing to gain and a lot to lose."

"That's..."

I certainly agreed with what Ibuki-san said. She'd stolen the keycard before the fire broke out. There wasn't enough time for her to deliberately burn the manual and fan the flames. But then, who did? What did burning the manual mean?

"Could it have been a student from a different class?" Sato pondered.

"That's not possible since they wouldn't know where it was," Matsushita shut down the theory.

"I talked to you in a roundabout way to confirm something. You seem different. But I suppose this is probably really hard for you to swallow. Do you think he's in Class D? There's a guy who figured me out before you did."

"So there was someone who figured something out, but didn't say it to the rest of the class?" Matsushita questioned.

Her words were simple, but they made everyone realise that I was the one that fit that description.

"Ayanokouji, that seems like something you would do," Onodera said.

"I guess you'll have to wait and see," I had responded vaguely.

Students were annoyed, but they kept their mouths shut. It'll only be a matter of time until my ordinary life will be revealed, so I prefer to keep it going a little longer.

Ibuki-san sighed as if exasperated.

"So. You can't mean..."

Right after I conjured the image of that person, I noticed that Ibuki-san had disappeared. In the next instant, a blunt instrument slammed me in the head, knocking me down hard.

"This conversation is over."

I had to get up, so I started to push myself. Ibuki-san lightly swept my hand with her right foot, causing me to fall back down. Ibuki-san grabbed my bangs and yanked me up.

"L-Let me go..."

"Sorry. I've got a lot to do."

She lightly slapped my cheek with her right hand. My mind and body were at their limit, my movements clumsy, and it was impossible for me to stop her. I shook off the hand grasping my bangs. I tried to stand and close the distance between us. But my feet got all tangled up and my strength was exhausted, causing me to collapse again.

"Do you think they'll permit such coercive methods?" I muttered.

"Come on, now. I don't feel like answering that."

When I drew nearer, she raised her leg high and kicked me in the face. How many times would I repeat this same sentence? I...made a huge mistake. By attempting to fix that mistake myself, I ended up turning it into a situation that couldn't be fixed.

Ibuki had a satisfied face after witnessing her first victory against her rival and the scene faded to black on that grim and disheartening finale.

"Why are you all so tense? Well, whatever I have 1 more video to show you for today,"

Mashima-sensei's voice sounded through the megaphone.

"Now, we will announce the rankings. The lowest class is Class C, with zero points."

"Bwah ha ha ha! Hey, check it out! You guys have zero points after all!"

When Sudou heard the results, he clutched his stomach in mocking laughter.

"Zero?"

Ryuuen didn't seem to understand the situation. Mashima-sensei continued the announcements matter-of-factly.

The class C students looked depressed remembering their first defeat.

"Why were you so surprised?" Asahina looked confused.

"I guess you could say that something got in the way of my plans," Ryueen stated bluntly.

"So you were expecting a better result?" Asahina continued.

"I did, unfortunately, I underestimated someone a great deal," Ryueen said something that most people would say with some form of regret, but there was no hint of that in his voice. He was simply having fun watching these videos.

The class D students looked proud that their enemy had admitted defeat to losing to their leader in the past, but Horikita had a tense expression.

"In third place is Class A, with 120 points. Coming in second place is Class B, with 140 points."

A commotion broke out. No one had expected the rankings or the point totals.

The class A students looked at Katsuragi in disgust that their competent class was forced down to 3rd place.

"Well .second place for a first attempt isn't that bad," Ichinose remarked.

"Yeah, we didn't have the same strategies as the other classes," Kanzaki agreed.

Class B is always at a disadvantage no matter what. They simply can't force themselves to use the underhanded tactics that the other classes use, and due to these self-placed limitations, they always end up harbouring average results.

Those who put limitations on themselves can never hope to compete with those who can run without any form of shackles on.

All of the students in Class D, save Hirata, were probably more confused than anyone else. Even Hirata, who was the only one in the know, was still almost unable to believe it. He wore an exuberant smile.

"What's the meaning of this, Katsuragi?!"

Voices saying such things echoed from one end of the rest area to the other. Class A students circled around Katsuragi.

"Something is strange... What does this mean?" he muttered.

"Yahoo! We did it! In your face!"

As Sudou shouted for joy, all of the Class D students gathered together.

"Hey, hey, hey, what's going on?! Hey, hey!!"

Ike, filled with both excitement and confusion, asked Hirata for an explanation.

"I'll explain everything. Well, Ryuuen-kun, if you'll excuse us."

"Come to think of it, nobody apart from you guys actually had an in-depth knowledge about what happened," Amikura said.

"Huh? We don't know everything that went down either," Shinohara's comment caused a lot of gazes to be cast at Horikita.

"It will all be shown anyway, there's no point explaining currently," Horikita said after taking a deep breath. She had made everyone quiet down and focus on the screen.

With those final words, Hirata walked toward the boat alongside Ike and Sudou. Sudou raised his middle finger while sticking out his tongue. Ryuuen could do nothing but watch in silence.

The exam was over, and the first-year students scattered. The ship was going to depart in two hours, and although we were free to play in the sea, we were also free to go onto the ship. I walked aboard.

"Hello, ladies and gentlemen. How was your week on the deserted island?" Kouenji, on the ship's deck with a drink in hand, greeted Class D.

"Ah, my beautiful self is on the screen once again, now this thing is worth listening to," Koenji said.

"You jerk, Kouenji! We lost thirty points because of you. You know what I'm talking about, don't you?"

"Calm down, little boy Ike. I was in poor health, and was resting. I had no other choice."

His skin looked smooth and glossy, so it was easy to tell that he had spent the week tanning. Also, his evidently perfect health made him sound not the least bit credible. While the guys joined forces to yell at Kouenji as one, Horikita appeared. She was still pale, not in good health yet. The students noticed her presence, and naturally gathered around her.

"S-Suzune. Are you feeling better now?"

Sudou tripped over his words a bit, but he approached Horikita and called her by her first name, just as he'd practiced.

"I'm not too bad. I can't say that I'm back to full health. More than anything else, retiring was a big mistake on my part."

"Don't worry about it."

Horikita had accepted being called by her first name rather naturally. That was unexpected.

"By the way, Sudou-kun. Don't just go around calling me by my first name without permission. Understand?"

"Seeing a monkey's affections not bearing any fruits is quite amusing," Koenji remarked. Sudo looked angry, but he kept it to himself, while Horikita stayed captivated by the screen.

"Y-y-yeah."

Or not. Sudou couldn't offer resistance. All he could do was nod.

"But...what happened? Why was Class D ranked first?" Our leader's identity had been exposed, so I'd made Horikita retire.

Calculating, I supposed that would have gotten us incredibly close to zero points.

"Th-that's right. What happened, Hirata?! I don't get it at all!" Karuizawa asked.

Before Hirata could answer, something needed to be resolved.

"Well, Karuizawa-san, I think you should talk to Horikita-san first, don't you agree?"

Karuizawa drew closer to Horikita.

"Horikita-san, do you have a minute?" he asked.

"Yes. There's something that we're supposed to talk about. Right?"

Horikita, seeing Karuizawa nod, closed her eyes. She was thinking of the underwear theft, and how she'd accused Karuizawa of spending points selfishly while her own identity as the leader had been discovered and she'd retired. She had no choice but to eat some humble pie now.

"I'm sorry."

Karuizawa said it somewhat bluntly, but with sincerity.

"Ibuki-san stole my underwear. Ayanokouji-kun told us everything."

"Huh?"

Horikita had prepared herself for abuse, so she was puzzled when she received an apology.

"Why would you be surprised? If you didn't get the exact amount of results you were expecting then you don't have to be so hard on yourself," Mii-chan said.

"It wasn't anything like that... it was something else," Horikita said in almost a whisper. The class was surprised that she was so reserved.

"Horikita-san, when you noticed that Ibuki-san was the culprit, she tried to run because you questioned her, right? That's why you ended up collapsing and getting sick..."

Horikita suddenly turned toward me, shocked by Karuizawa's words. I felt kind of awkward for some reason, and averted my eyes.

"I heard about it from Hirata-kun first. He said that you found out the leaders of Class A and C. That's why we had so many points. So, I'm...sorry for everything I said."

Several girls were confused that Kei was acting sincere and apologetic, but they had all kept their mouths quiet so as to not make a scene.

Karuizawa immediately returned to the other girls.

"Wait a minute. I... You said I found out the leaders' identities? But I retired"

"There's no need for you to be humble, Horikita-san. We won because your answers were absolutely correct."

Doubts seemed to swirl in Horikita's head. It seemed like the mysterious test results made sense to everyone except her.

The hall was quiet. They just didn't understand what was going on. The confusion from Horikita and several other things had everyone baffled. They all wanted to ask something, but they were more intrigued as to what happens next.

"Wait. Ayanokouji-kun, what did you..."

Horikita called to me in the midst of all the joy and confusion. However, being the key player in our victory, she was now surrounded by a great number of classmates.

"Horikita-san, you were so incredibly awesome! You're seriously a genius, you know that?!"

"When I heard that you'd retired I wondered what was going to happen, but everything turned out okay!"

"W-wait a second!"

"Horikita, what happened?" Shinohara was completely dumbfounded as to what was happening.

Sudo, seeing the hesitation on Horikita's face, jumped in to try and help her, "Hey guys, she doesn't feel ready to answer, so I don't think we need to interrogate her."

"But... this is important to the class," Shinohara said almost in a whisper.

"Let's just give her the benefit of the doubt for now," Yosuke said.

She was bombarded with questions from boys and girls alike. I clasped my hands and prayed for her safety while I made my retreat. Whew, I was sure glad how things ended up. Our class took first place and Horikita gained in popularity. Considering her natural poise, she'd probably get through it just fine. I wanted to avoid getting caught up in the rejoicing, so I went to my room to rest. As I walked away, I was confronted by a goddess of death yet again.

"May I have a word with you?"

"I don't really feel sociable. Is it okay if I refuse, Chabashira-sensei?"

The tense atmosphere was broken by my casual ridicule of Chabashira.

"If you really don't want to, I can just start talking here. You don't mind if we stand outside, do you?"

"It's hot, so please keep it brief."

I had walked to the other side of the ship, so Chabashira-sensei took the lead. We found a place where there weren't any people around and it was completely quiet before we started talking.

"I'm confused. Did you do something Kiyopon?" Haruka asked.

"I guess you could say that."

"Stop being so freaking vague," Haruka voiced her annoyance.

"Is it safe to say that for the time being, you're satisfied?" I asked.

"Yes. First, I'd like to say that you did wonderfully. I'm honestly impressed."

"Well, tell me something. Is it really true? Did he demand I be expelled from school?"

The mood got quiet again. They all believed that this was a moment that shouldn't be intruded or pried into.

Chabashira-sensei leaned against the railing and looked toward the sky.

"Do you have any basis for saying that the story is true?"

"I know quite a lot about you. Might not that be the reason, more than anything else? Other teachers don't know about your true abilities. But I have no doubts."

"Not anymore," Hoshinomiya thought .

"So he won us this exam after all. I wonder if this is the correct choice, but if it will drag him into the spotlight it won't be a waste," Matsushita thought

"Ayanokouji, you were the one who won us the exam, weren't you?" Matsushita had no problem exposing me in front of the class.

"Yes, I did."

There's no point being vague anymore. The existence of Ayanokouji Kiyotaka will be engraved in this school from this point forward. The ordinary life that I've cultivated over the last year and a half has crumbled down, and I have a new existence compared to before.

Would my life be different from now on? Would I get a new perspective on the humans in this world? I didn't know the answer, but I was excited. Maybe even if this leads to nothing new, the fact that I can be excited about something I didn't even know is enough to make me even somewhat happy.

"Kiyotaka, are you being serious?" Keisei asked

"I'm not the one to joke in this sort of situation, am I?"

"I guess that may be so, but I'm just so lost trying to figure this out," He said scratching his head.

Case examples of people like Horikita, Sudo, Yosuke and Kei weren't surprised, however, many people were still just digesting this information and couldn't formulate proper thoughts on what happens coming forward.

I certainly had my doubts. It was true that I stood out because of the entrance examination, but it shouldn't have been something all the teachers had inside knowledge of. But still, the sequence of events was rather odd. Chabashira-sensei had said that man had contacted the school directly. As expected, this person was hiding something.

"I'm sure that you've heard of this rather famous myth, the wings of Icarus."

The silence that was there before from my revelation was now over.

"Ayanokouji, you've gotta be joking right?" Ike asked.

"Why did you use Horikita as a cover?" Onodera wondered.

"Did you know about this Horikita?" Miyamoto frantically said.

An entire barrage of questions were directed at me and Horikita and even when I had thought of an answer another question had already been asked. I signalled to Kei to make them calm down.

"Don't you guys think that you're asking questions too fast? You're not even giving them time to answer," Kei said cutting through the cacophony of questions.

"Thank you, Karuizawa. I'm sure you're all confused, so I'll tell you. I won the exam because I was asked to and I used Horikita as a cover for my methods because I didn't want the attention and people looking to me for answers," My explanation was cutthroat and somewhat condescending, but they all paid attention.

"Nevertheless, Horikita is your leader. All I did was win, so don't think that I'll ever be your leader because that will never change," I ended on a cold note, but my main message was carried across.

"It seems that you listened to my words after all," Manabu thought with a slight smile .

"Ayanokouji-boy you sure are an interesting existence compared to everyone around you, but an inferior existence nonetheless," Koenji thought while brushing his hair .

"So you won't be the leader huh? That's fine. I'll drag you out of your cave of neutrality and force you to fight me," Nagumo thought .

"So this is the person I've been catching up to my entire life. You seem benevolent and almost kind here compared to the cold and heartless image I had of you in that place. But that doesn't matter now. As long as I destroy you, I'll be satisfied" Yagami thought .

The class couldn't speak. I guess my message had made the room a little more tense than I had initially planned, but it's fine.

"Why do you bring that up?" I asked.

"Icarus flew out of the tower where he was imprisoned in order to gain

his freedom. However, that wasn't achieved through one person's abilities alone. It was because his father, Daedalus, had constructed wings and instructed him to fly. He didn't fly because of his own intentions. Don't you think that sounds exactly like your current predicament?"

"Sadly that's true," Sakayanagi thought .

"So she's saying that it wasn't his own choice?" Matsushita thought.

"I think it's a little rude to be saying these things out loud," Yosuke said.

"I can't understand."

"That man—no, your father—said this: 'Sooner or later, Kiyotaka will gladly chase the means of his expulsion from school.' You're welcoming your end, much like how Icarus fell into the sea and died after his wings were burned, because he'd flown too close to the sun."

"Why would someone's own father want that?" Okitani said.

"It's simple. He didn't want me coming to this school, so I came without his permission," I said bluntly.

This was a tactical response, I had been sure not to say too much, but still give enough information so that there was no room for any follow-up questions that anyone could ask without sounding too insensitive or nosy.

The wings of Icarus, huh?

"So, what do you plan to do?" she asked.

"You should know, Sensei. Icarus won't heed Daedalus' warnings."

Even though his wings burned, Icarus flew as high as he could in search of his freedom.

"So you'll search for your freedom even if it destroys you. I think you have a much more reckless side of you than I once thought," Sakayanagi giggled to herself .

The video and audio shut out and the voice came back

"What a wonderful conclusion to this exam. I know you're all curious about this miracle strategy so it will be shown next time,"

So far he's been going in chronological order for the island exam, but this is almost too easy for me. He wants to torment us, yet he skipped over an important interaction. It's not possible that he forgot, so they might show it after the next one.

Authors notes:

I should've mentioned this last chapter. I'm not skipping the tool monologue I'm just not doing it in chronological order. I'm doing the tool monologue after the next chapter. This chapter was quite fun to write since it focused a little more on Kiyo's character than his actions. I think I'm a lot better at writing Kiyo's monologue than actually writing what he says. Hope you enjoyed the chapter

The miracle strategy

This morning when I walked into class I saw plenty more faces looking my way compared to a few weeks ago. The eyes from when I got perfect scores on the math exam can't even compare to the judging and analysing happening today.

As usual, we walked to the gymnasium and got in our respective seats.

"I think you all know what's happening today, so I'll let the video speak for itself,"

After I returned to the ship, I went back to my room right away. An exhausted Hirata was there, asleep on his side. I changed my clothes quietly so I wouldn't wake him and headed into the hall. When I turned my phone back on, the ringer started buzzing repeatedly. My call history had filled up. They were all from Horikita. Scary. For the time being, I just answered emails and relaxed in the lounge while I waited.

"Thanks for being considerate Ayanokouji," Yosuke said.

"I don't think that was scary, that was just reasonable information gathering," Horikita tried to defend herself.

"Sure, whatever you say," I meant to dismiss her statement, but it came off as more sarcastic than what I planned.

She probably wouldn't be convinced unless I explained things. Soon, a quite angry Horikita met up with me, radiating a silent pressure.

"What do these test results mean? What in the world happened?"

"You look like you don't have any idea at all."

"I just can't imagine it. I don't understand it at all. I have a mountain of questions."

"So it is true that you won," Onodera said.

It's understandable why some people are still unable to accept that I had won the exam since I was just above average to them, but Horikitas's inability to understand the results confirmed their preconceptions.

Horikita ordered a drink from an attendant. I started talking.

"I'll tell you everything. However, my one condition is that you stay quiet on this matter. I won't compromise on this."

I'd assumed it would come to this, considering Horikita hadn't retired of her own will. This story was for Horikita's ears only.

Ryueen let out a chuckle, "I guess it was for Horikita's ears only."

"I can't predict the future," I responded, but he ignored me.

"What would you like to ask?"

"What were you doing during the test? Tell me," she said.

That was a much better question than I'd expected. She wanted to hear everything at once.

"Of course it's a good question," Sudo said.

Although most people ignored him and rather were captivated by the screen.

"When the special test was announced, I didn't focus on anything except for the additional rules. I roughly understood how to manage the 300 points, but you couldn't manipulate them as an individual."

"If you can't do it as an individual, that's when you have to work together," Shibata said.

"I disagree, this guy won singlehandedly, didn't he? That debunks your whole ideology," Ryueen provoked.

"But wouldn't it be more effective to win with more points? If he worked with his class then they would have managed the points better," Kanzaki said.

"I didn't want attention, so it wouldn't make sense for me to do something like that," I stopped their pointless conversation and they both stared at the screen.

"But the additional rules were really difficult to understand. If you did things normally, you wouldn't have been able to identify the leaders. Right?"

"Yeah. First of all, I volunteered to join the search for the base camp. Able to move freely, I planned to search out spot locations ahead of everyone else."

"You make it sound simple, but no one should have known the spot locations."

"That's not true. You didn't understand because you were ill and holed up inside the ship, but the school already gave us hints about the locations when we were sailing around the island."

Katsuragi had also noticed this when the ship circled the island at an unusually fast speed. Horikita fell silent. The ship had been travelling nearly three times faster than a usual cruise ship. Besides, if it were just for sightseeing, it wasn't normal to use a strange expression like "significant scenery."

Class A students had contemplating faces when looking at Katsuragi. Whereas my class was in awe that I noticed something so minute and irrelevant.

"Ayanokouji, you're incredible," Akito had a genuine look of amazement on his face.

"Seriously dude, that's awesome," Ike joined in.

Soon plenty of people were complimenting, but it felt eerily uncomfortable. Maybe it's because I'm not used to having people compliment me or maybe because it reminded me of that place, but it was far outside the norm of what I usually experienced.

Kouenji had noticed this hint, too. Well, it was probably a waste of time thinking about Kouenji, anyway.

"Incorrect," Koenji remarked, but most people ignored him.

"Then, I reached the cave. I thought it was the most important base."

"The cave was the most important base? Don't you think that the river and the well would have been more convenient, though?"

"The spot itself wasn't what was important. Its location was."

"Isn't that the same thing?" Sato asked.

"Stop asking needless questions that will be answered," Horikita made them quiet.

There were no spots close to the river or the well. However, there were two spots near the cave: the hut and the tower. It was the perfect place to exercise control. Horikita looked like she understood once I explained.

"But what advantage is there in going into the cave if you don't have a keycard?"

"Well, I'd intended to explore various things, but in the end I discovered the leader's identity."

Presence.

It's a simple word with a simple meaning, but its effects were incomprehensible. It can allow people to do great things even if they don't have the abilities to back it up.

A famed business, a world leader, and other things with this presence can do things that can change the world.

My presence here was similar. My actions slowly built up over time, but now, they had borne fruit and I was seen as a threat compared to my irrelevant existence from a short time ago.

"Well, I suppose that Katsuragi-kun was careless."

No, that wasn't it.

"There was that guy, Yahiko, remember? The one following Katsuragi around? He was the leader. I saw Katsuragi and Yahiko at the cave, but I didn't see the moment they occupied it. After the two of them walked away, I checked if the cave was occupied or not."

"See Katsuragi, that existence wasn't needed in this class, isn't it good that we cut him out?" Sakayanagi maintained her eerie voice.

"I disagree. What right do we have to play judge, jury and executioner and decide the life of another student?" Katsuragi responded logically.

"The school have us that right. If we have the ability to cut out useless existences then, why shouldn't we? Society is a meritocracy, so we adhere to the rules and keep the strong at the top and discard the weak," Sakayanagi retorted.

This might go on forever.

"You both are judging an abstract question, all I meant was that he was irresponsible," I stopped them.

Why did I have to become a mediator all of a sudden?

I explained the situation. When I saw them, Katsuragi had been standing near the entrance with the card in his hand. Yahiko came out of the cave, and they left together.

"Wouldn't you have mistaken Katsuragi-kun as the leader?" she asked.

"Do you think that the leader would have shown off the card so carelessly in front of people?"

Horikita should have known how unbelievably stupid that was, precisely because she'd been appointed as the leader.

"But why? Why bother deliberately holding onto the card, then?"

"Because he didn't have any other choice. As far as I can tell, Katsuragi is a calm and collected man, excessively cautious. There's no way he didn't understand the high risk of occupying a spot immediately after finding it. In other words, the person who occupied it was enticed by short-sighted greed."

"That's...why there was another person."

"Yes." When Katsuragi found the cave, he didn't intend to occupy it.

Nevertheless, he was holding the space down, probably because Yahiko had been careless. Even though he thought no one would be watching them, he'd probably wanted insurance. By holding onto the card and displaying it, even in the unlikely event that a witness was present, he could mislead them into thinking that he was the leader.

"So, aside from their base, Class A held down at least two spots, but we didn't confirm how many they were occupying by the end of the test. If I correctly guessed the identity of their leader, though, I could invalidate all of their points."

After I'd narrowed it down to Yahiko, putting effort into anything else would've been a waste of time.

"So class A was taken out at the start," Katsuragi surmised.

"It's okay, Baldy, it happens to the best of us," Ryueen told him.

"We were taken out effortlessly. Although the princess is incredible, Ayanokouji might be something better," Hashimoto thought .

"You certainly are interesting. I see where the praise comes from," Nagumo chuckled, but it wasn't his usual condescending one.

Perhaps he considered me a genuine enemy to beat? No this is too early for that, at best he thought of me as someone of paying more attention to.

"I'm still not convinced. If he figured out the spot's location at such an early stage, and if he were acting alongside a lot of other people, shouldn't he have avoided trouble? Even if he just had someone standing watch by the cave, it should have been a sufficient claim of ownership. Why would they occupy it?"

"That was probably Class A's disadvantage."

Their overall points on the test were high, and they didn't receive a negative assessment due to behaviour in class like Class D. However, their class was divided internally. In other words, there was a reason why Katsuragi couldn't rely on other people.

"Their class appears perfect at first glance, but it actually has a huge schism in it."

"So they were at their weakest. That was quite lucky for us," Keisei examined.

"Although there is luck involved, it isn't the only factor. If class A was left alone they would have most likely gotten a much better result because they would keep to themselves, however, since he exploited that glaring hole in their unity, it left them destroyed and unable to rebuild their walls," Manabu explained.

That was why my methods had revealed Class A so easily. Well, that was simple luck. It was like getting a good score by exploiting a mistake. Class A wasn't vigilantly watching for a surprise attack from overhead, so there was nothing to be done.

"That's why I excluded Class A at that stage and turned my attention toward Class C. Katsuragi was easy to understand, but with Ryuuen, there were many unknown variables. To tell you the truth, he was gathering more information than I was. He'd found out the identities of all of the leaders."

"Woah you're awesome boss," Ishizaki praised.

"I AGREE," Albert indeed agreed.

"It didn't matter if I did, we had still lost," Ryueen bluntly stated.

"W-wait, he found out the identities of all of the leaders... So not only Class D, but also the leaders for Classes B and A? But that's strange. We were far from being penalized; we ended up getting first place by a widemargin. How do you intend to explain that?"

"This is a little difficult to explain, but the reason I made you retire is the answer."

"You made her retire?" Tokito asked.

"Yes, he did. It was a necessary measure," Horikita defended my questionable actions.

The class was severely confused, but they stayed quiet.

"Wait, the answer is you made me retire? What in the world did you do?"

"Oh, that reminds me. I didn't return it to the school yet."

I took a single card out of my pocket and handed it over to Horikita.

"This is a keycard. Why do you...?!"

Horikita was astonished when she saw the letters engraved on the card.

"Wait, why does...?"

The name read "Ayanokouji Kiyotaka."

Silence. There were no words, nobody knew what had happened, but there was a sound of laughter

"I didn't expect anyone to figure out the loophole," Chairman Sakayanagi chuckled.

Most students had never met this man before, but they could tell that his presence was special.

"Ayanokouji, I certainly am impressed. That thought process was far above what most people would ever consider unless they had analysed it deeply," the chairman praised.

His existence at this school was certainly special. In essence, he was the true ruler of the school, the student council's decisions had to go through him, but his being here may be beneficial for damage control.

"The test had to be fair. The rules were fundamentally created to be fair."

That was quite natural, something you would have seen if you'd carefully confirmed the additional rules. Only one person could be chosen as a leader. The leader could not be changed. Only the leader held the rights of exclusive possession.

"What do you think would happen if the leader retired because of poor health?"

"That's... The leader would be absent. So the rights of exclusive possession would disappear..."

"Wrong. In the manual, it says, 'It is impossible to change the leader without suitable justification.' Don't you think that retirement is suitable enough justification?"

"I had suspicions of the method of leaders, but I hadn't thought about it like that," Matsushita thought .

It seemed like the additional rules had been made to be broken if someone were absent due to poor health or injury. I could predict setting up a new leader. I was able to figure this out by looking at the other rules. For example, we couldn't change the base camp without suitable justification after we'd first decided where it would be, but there were suitable reasons.

We'd occupied the riverside area, but if we were careless and it was taken by another class, then that would have counted as "suitable justification." You couldn't stay in the base itself, so if there wasn't a system where you could search for a new base camp, everything would collapse.

"So then, you made me...?"

Horikita Suzune had retired, and I was appointed in her place. Of course, that meant that I was the leader they were supposed to guess at the end of the test. There can only be one.

"That's why even though Class C knew you were the leader, we avoided penalties."

"But wait. Ibuki-san stole my card, but what if I'd protected it really thoroughly?"

Horikita recalled the day of the accident.

"Did you drop the card on purpose back then? Well, I suppose that Yamauchi-Kun's actions might have provided Ibuki-san the opportunity to hatch a plan to steal the keycard..."

"Wait, you got the keycard stolen?" Several students had this question.

"It was a necessary measure."

"What if Horikita had beaten her in a fight or what if Ibuki didn't steal the card?" Matsushita looked baffled that I would make a move with so many unpredictable variables.

"I had my methods, the video shows it," I ended the discussion.

I'd been holding onto the muddy Horikita, so in that sense, I had no choice but to give up the keycard.

"Unless I knew what Ibuki-san was aiming for right at the start, I couldn't have done anything..."

Right. Ibuki had been picked up by Class D purely by chance. I'd been almost convinced until I heard about the guy named Kaneda in Class B. He'd been sent as a spy by Ryuuen. I wasn't so good-natured as to believe that two people just happened to be saved by two separate classes completely by chance.

"Besides, Ibuki has a habit of looking people in the eye when she's lying."

"That's quite useful information, Ayanokouji. I greatly appreciate it," Ryueen said.

"No problem, Ryuuen. I'm happy to help," I never planned on telling Ryuuen that, but it was quite amusing seeing Ibuki maintain her composure.

You could say that the bigger the lie, the more obvious the habit.

"Wait, when she lied she would look the person in the eye? Isn't it usually the opposite?"

"Generally speaking, you avoid eye contact if you have a guilty conscience. However, it was the opposite for her. I think that she made eye contact to make the person think that the lie was the truth. She probably didn't even notice it herself."

Even when we were talking about the underwear theft, she looked at me straight in the eye.

"Her goal was probably to find the keycard, but she might have intended to disrupt Class D at the same time."

What had happened to Karuizawa, and the underwear in Ike's bag, might have otherwise been seen as mere coincidence.

"But I have to wonder why Ibuki-san specifically stole my keycard. All she needed was to check my name."

"That was likely Ibuki's intention from the start. However, she ran into unexpected trouble."

That was the catalyst that led to verifying the leader of Class C.

"Ibuki had a digital camera in her bag to take a picture of the keycard."

"To take a picture...with the camera? Why would she go so far?"

"If she had a picture, then the leader's identity would have been clear for anyone to see, right? If she had convincing evidence, she would have profited."

"I don't quite understand... Did Ryuuen-kun not trust Ibuki-san?"

"That wasn't it. If the discussion only stayed within Class C, then there shouldn't have been any need for her to take a picture with the camera or steal the card." In other words, that meant there had been people involved who didn't trust Ibuki's words alone; they'd wanted reliable evidence.

"So you had seen through that," Katsuragi stated.

"It seems you were caught out, Katsuragi," Sakayanagi chuckled at seeing her former rival being defeated a second time.

"From here on out, I don't have any evidence of what I'm saying. Think of it as my intuition, which I derived from the test results. At the end of the test, Class A had 270 points."

In other words, they hadn't used a single point during the test.

"Classes A and C were connected, working together behind the scenes. Class C sacrificed their own points and bought whatever Class A needed. Also, by taking all of C's tools, Class A was able to spend the week without using any points."

"So what you're saying is that class A used class C, but since their results ultimately depended on class C being correct and not having their leader guessed, but since you figured them out they were destroyed," Keisei summarised.

"That's right."

"Ayanokouji also... I'm sorry, I thought that you were a liar, but I didn't take into account your personal reasons and you were the sole factor that helped the class grow," Keisei averted his eyes, but I could tell that his apology was genuine.

"It's fine, Keisei. I accept your apology, but you didn't have to do it in the first place," I responded.

Ibuki had obtained evidence and given it to someone in A Class.

"By the way, I became aware of Class C's leader after half of the students retired. It was certain that the leader would have remained on the island, right?"

"Even so, we weren't supposed to know who was left."

"No, I was almost one hundred percent sure that Ryuuen was still on the island."

I figured it out when I saw Ibuki hiding a wireless transceiver in the ground. Ibuki had used it to stay in contact with Ryuuen. Retired students shouldn't have been able to use a transceiver. In other words, someone was left on the island for her to communicate with.

He'd casually set the transceiver on top of a table while enjoying his vacation. No one else was controlling it, just him. His mistake was that he didn't trust anyone.

"Tch, that won't happen again," Ryueen glared at the screen remembering his past failures.

"Yeah, next time I'll be the one to destroy you," Sakayanagi challenged him.

"I doubt it, you're just a practice opponent," Ryueen responded.

"My god... I don't even have the words," Horikita answered, facing the truth.

If I were to summarize this test, I'd say that Class A's first mistake carried through to the end. They didn't function well due to an internal rift. Class B went through the test with a thoroughly defense-oriented strategy, which did neither harm nor good. Their only mistake was that, because there were so many good-natured people in Class B, they'd permitted Kaneda to stay, and they'd believed him.

"I guess that was naive," Kanzaki said.

Out of all the people in class B, he was one of the very few capable of changing the class. The class's main strength is their unity and collaborative skills, but they don't mean anything if they fall to every simple underhanded trick an opponent uses.

I don't know how Kaneda got the evidence, but he'd obtained something, and probably told Ryuuen. If you looked at the fact that Class A didn't get any points, you might think it was because they hadn't obtained any physical evidence. Then there was Class C. We were able to avoid damage because I'd been appointed as the leader. In addition to sending people off as spies to find out the identities of the other leaders, Class C had profited from some kind of negotiations with Class A. Ryuuen might be our number one enemy.

"So I'm on the top of your hit list, I'm glad. I'll face you again and win," Ryueen had no fear, but that was because he had experienced defeat. He knew what to expect and was able to move past it.

"Wow. You guys are really obsessed with him, especially you, legal dwarf," Amasawa said and Sakayanagi had trouble responding.

After a few seconds, she regained her composure.

"You're inclined to believe whatever you want," she simply dodged the question.

"I don't like this. You completely used me, like a pawn."

"Yeah. I can't deny that. I wouldn't be surprised if you never want to speak to me ever again."

I was aware of what I'd done.

"You have no remorse, huh?" Tsubaki said.

"I guess I thought that the ends justified the means here," I responded.

"Well, I'll be heading back to my room now. I'm really tired," I said.

"Wait. We're not done talking."

"What? I just want to relax in my room, if possible."

"After you explain everything. There are still some things we need to talk about, right?"

"Well...like what?"

"The reason why you participated in this special test. Was it to fight alone? I don't care that you used me this time. I want to know why you put in the effort when you dislike trouble."

"I wonder."

Perhaps the explanation I had given so far had been less important to Horikita.

"Dwarfie isn't the only one obsessed, I guess you're more understandable, though, senpai," Amasawa continued.

"I have my answer now to that question, but does it really mean anything? He only helped because he was forced to, and presumably, he isn't in the same position anymore, so would he help us again?" Horikita thought anxiously .

"I don't have any room for doubt. I understand your talents now. If you help me, aiming for Class A seems a realistic enough goal. But what are your principles? Why did you do this?"

Of course, I didn't want to talk to Horikita about my personal problems. I'd only participated because of a commitment I made to Chabashira-sensei.

"Because I was touched that you tried to fight all alone when you were ill."

"Kiyopon don't joke in a situation like that," Haruka reprimanded me, I guess her opinion of Horikita grew or she just wanted to tease me.

"I promise that I probably won't do it again," I responded, but she looked like she had given up.

"You wouldn't normally say that kind of thing. It's easy to spot the lie."

"Well, what I mean is I don't feel like explaining it."

I stood up and stretched out my hand.

"I don't mind helping you get up to Class A. However, I have one condition. Do not investigate me. If you promise not to touch on this subject ever again, I will help you."

"It's almost like you're speaking to everyone here," Ike dryly chuckled.

"I just thought that it was reasonable that she shouldn't pry into my life."

"You're kinda scary when you wanna be," Akito said.

"If you don't want to talk, there's nothing I can really do about that. If you'll help, I have no reason to refuse you. I'm not interested in digging things up that are better left buried. After all, you dislike trouble."

Horikita's handshake was firm. I work for me. You do things for yourself. The battle to raise our class up from the very bottom was about to begin.

"Unfortunately, that will never happen," Sakayanagi said.

"You only say that because you're arrogant," Horikita retorted.

"I know that there are people out there much better than me, but the fact is that you aren't one of those people," Sakayanagi's eerie voice sent chills down the spine of the students in the hall.

"Now then, we have one more video focusing on the island exam and we'll move on after that,"

One more, huh? I get the feeling that he saved his favourite until the end.

"I hope you'll enjoy it, that video sent chills down my spine when I read it,"

Authors notes:

I think we all know that the next chapter is about The tool monologue. I've been waiting to write a little monologue since chapter 1 and now I can finally do it.

Also, I really appreciate having 20k views that means a lot to me. I hope you enjoyed the chapter

All people are nothing but tools to me

This morning when I walked into the class, many students greeted me. A girl even came up to me and even gave me her number, but I fear what Kei will do to her if I don't throw it away.

"You're so-called ordinary life is over, so how does it feel?" Horikita asked me.

"It's a lot more exhausting than I thought it would be," people like Yosuke and Ichinose are monsters for being able to deal with people constantly.

"Although there's one problem, why is another video being shown? If all the important events have been shown, then what more is there to see?" Horikita mulled over this thought, of course, I knew the answer, but I wasn't going to tell her that.

"I don't know, but I guess we'll find out now," I said as we got up from our seats and moved towards the gymnasium

There's no need for the private room.

"Let's begin, shall we?"

The voice was chilling with no emotion or quippy sarcastic remarks, it was simply an ominous statement that put the room in a tense mood.

Near a large tree lay a muddy Horikita. She'd collapsed, unconscious. A single keycard lay on the ground near her hand. On her injured body were traces of excavated soil. After examining the situation, I confirmed that more people than Ibuki had discovered Horikita's position as leader. After picking up the keycard, I lifted Horikita into my arms.

Nobody was surprised by this, rather, they were confused that we were seeing this.

"Why are we seeing this? We already know everything that's happened," Ike asked and most people has the same thought.

"Ngh..."

Horikita let out a small sound. Slowly but surely, her eyes fluttered open.

"Are you awake?" I asked.

"Ayano...kouji-kun?"

She sounded dazed, as if she couldn't understand the situation.

"Agh... My head...hurts..."

"You have a high fever. Don't push yourself."

"I see... I-Ibuki-san... But, why are you here?"

Even if I told her to sleep, Horikita wouldn't listen, all while her fever grew worse. She started to understand the situation little by little.

"I knew it...Ibuki-san stole my card."

"I see."

"I can't be dumber than Sudou-kun and the others."

I saw Manabu frown that his sister's first instinct when she realised that she failed was to belittle herself and others. But it was just a reminder of what Horikita used to be. There's no point in being angry or disappointed currently.

She chastised herself and closed her eyes, as if lamenting a situation in which she was powerless.

"This isn't a test where you can just hide for twenty-four hours a day, right? No matter what you do, you can be open to attack."

I'd intended to keep going, but it seemed like anything more would just make the heartbroken Horikita even more depressed.

"I could've avoided this if I knew how to rely on someone..."

Everyone here felt at least some form of basic sympathy for Horikita. Realising that you failed and repenting your actions is a common reaction for a human and everyone has felt it at least once in their lives.

To seriously protect the leader's identity, it was necessary to depend on allies that you trusted from the bottom of your heart. If you did that, you could protect the card twenty-four hours a day. However, Horikita hadn't made a single friend.

She kept muttering, "I'm so pathetic" to herself quietly over and over.

"When I was losing consciousness, I felt like I could hear Ryuuen's voice... It's strange, I thought he'd already retired..."

"You were losing consciousness. Maybe you had a dream?"

"If it was a dream, it was a nightmare..."

"So you thought of me in your sleep; I'm quite flattered, Suzune. But, unfortunately, I can't reciprocate your feelings," Ryueen grinned.

"What a sad life you must live if you think that a nightmare can mean anything good," Horikita sighed.

"Is that what you tell yourself every night before you go to sleep and dream of me?" Ryueen's grin grew wider, but Horikita didn't entertain his idea with a response.

I wondered if she really had heard Ryuuen's voice. Even if she were asleep or losing consciousness, her brain had probably heard something. It wouldn't have been strange if she picked up Ryuuen's voice when unconscious.

"I'm sorry..."

"Ladies and gentlemen, here you see a once in a lifetime moment of Horikita Suzune apologising," Hashimoto chuckled.

While I was silently lost in thought, Horikita apologized.

"Why are you apologizing to me?" I asked.

"There's no one I can apologize to except for you..."

Hmm. That made me think pretty hard.

"If you think things are bad, then make some reliable friends. Start there first."

"That's difficult advice... No one would want to be with me."

It sounded like she'd resigned herself to unhappiness. Perhaps there was a trace of masochism in her. I laughed.

"That's kinda mean, Kiyopon," Haruka berated me.

"I didn't mean any harm with it."

"It's unpleasant to be made fun of, though..."

"No, no, that's not it," I said. "It's just that you've started to sound like you need allies."

"Nobody would say that..."

Normally, Horikita would have been insulting me, but right now her words carried a different weight. She was blaming herself, or she wouldn't have said something like that. Still, it wasn't going to be easy. Horikita's hollow eyes seemed to look through rather than at me.

"I should have understood this a long time ago..."

You can't live alone in the world. School and society are composed of a great many people.

"Don't talk. You're sick."

I tried to convince her to be quiet, but Horikita didn't stop. For Horikita, there had never been any choice but to rely on herself. She could have chosen no other option.

"I'm going to try to get up to Class A using my abilities. I'll recover from this failure..." Horikita weakly grabbed my sleeve as she appealed to me. "I'm prepared to be hated by everyone else... This was all my mistake."

"According to this school's system, if you fight by yourself, you won't reach Class A. We need to cooperate with our classmates. It's unavoidable."

Horikita closed her eyes, as if lacking the strength to keep them open. Her grasp might have been weak, but I still felt it.

"I can't accept that. No matter how hard it is, I'm still...alone."

"Ah, shut up already! Stop talking. Right now, you won't be able to convince anyone."

"I wasn't expecting something like this, is this part of the act?" The chairman thought.

"I agree with you, Ayanokouji. If someone thinks that they can't do something then they've already failed," Yosuke agreed with me.

I embraced Horikita tightly.

"You can't bear every responsibility. You're not that strong, unfortunately."

"So you're telling me to give up? I have a dream to reach Class A, a dream for my brother to acknowledge me."

"No one said you have to give up."

I looked down at Horikita, who lightly groaned against my chest.

"If you can't fight by yourself, it's better to fight with a partner. I'll lend you a hand."

"Why? You're not the kind of person who would say such things..."

"Well, why then? I wonder."

Shortly afterward, her energy was spent, and Horikita lost consciousness again. I had to carry her without anyone noticing. It would be easy to have her retire, but I didn't know which button on the wristwatch was for emergencies. Besides, if the helicopter were suddenly dispatched, the sound would reverberate in the area.

Oh no... a certain blond girl sitting next to me was exceptionally angry. I needed to get ahead of this fast, so I did what I thought was the most effective method to calm someone down which was to pat her head when no one was noticing.

"Y-you... uh stop t-that," It doesn't help that your blushing when saying those words.

"I can stop if you want."

"N-no I do... I give up," She admitted defeat and I took my hand away after a few seconds.

"I see that your strategy is to play the role of a white knight. Am I gonna be swept off my feet sometime soon?" Haruka teased, but I didn't want to respond.

"Hmm... Did I pick the wrong path? Oh no, oh no!"

My route had ended in a steep, sheer slope. If I took one step further, I would fall. I tried shining a light below to see what it looked like about ten meters down. Unfortunately, I'd been walking in the wrong direction. Should I go back to the original route?

I tried to change direction slowly, so as not to burden Horikita, but then right after...

The soil underneath me collapsed, and I lost my balance. Alone, I could have braced my legs and grasped the tree, but unfortunately, both of my hands were occupied. I couldn't avoid falling. I curled up into a ball so I could protect Horikita as we went tumbling down the slope. For several seconds, it was like flying. I don't remember very clearly what happened afterward.

Several students winced at my fall and some of the more meek students looked pale even though they weren't the ones in that situation.

"I didn't expect you to be so clumsy in such a precarious situation," Nagumo sighed.

"I guess I miscalculated."

"God, you have crazy durability. My legs would have probably been broken," Sudo grimaced at the screen when he saw my fall.

"I just have good genes I guess."

At least Horikita hadn't been hurt, somehow. I looked up the slope, but with the way things were now, it didn't seem like I could crawl back up while carrying Horikita.

"Well, I sure messed up."

However, this wasn't the time to accept defeat and die. Carrying the unconscious Horikita on my back, I ventured into the pitch-dark forest with a single flashlight. The rain poured down on us, mercilessly robbing me of my physical strength. More than anything else, the heat radiating from Horikita wasn't normal. If she were exposed to the rain for any longer, it would become dangerous.

However, we were deep in the forest. There were no caves or man- made shelters. We had no choice but to rely on the power of nature. Fortunately, the trees were lush and overgrown, and their branches might keep our bodies relatively dry. I looked around the area, found a remarkably big tree, and moved right under it. Of course, it didn't block the rain completely, but the overgrown leaves did stop a lot of the rainfall.

I gently laid Horikita down. Her jersey was probably going to get dirty, but we had bigger problems now. I sat there, with Horikita's head in my lap. If only the area were cool... But the temperature was so high, hot and humid. Horikita occasionally trembled, like she was trying to curl into a ball.

Trying to lessen her burden even a little, I held Horikita close to my chest. After some time had passed, Horikita woke up, sputtering out ragged breaths. Still, in a daze, Horikita wasn't able to understand our situation.

"Why are you? I...?"

She didn't seem to remember what had happened. I explained the whole sequence of events. I had some doubts about whether she understood everything.

"I see... I remember."

"That's good."

"I remember my mistake, so it's probably awful."

Well, if she was able to crack self-deprecating jokes, then I could probably relax.

"It's already almost six o'clock, Horikita. You might think this will sound harsh, but you should retire. Your body is probably at its limit."

She had made it this far by pretending to be okay, but it wasn't possible for her to carry on.

"I agree with him, it may save some points short term, but it would be terrible in the long term," Matsushita analysed

"I can't do that. We can't afford to lose thirty points because of me... I was the one who confronted Karuizawa-san and the others about using points, right? It would make me look like such an idiot..."

"Points? What are you talking about?" Ike asked puzzled.

"We... kind of spent some points and didn't tell the boys," Shinohara said quietly, but it didn't matter since there was outrage amongst the boys.

"What the hell? You guys can live comfortably, but we had to stick it out in the cold tents. Hirata, did you know about this?" Keisei complained.

"I apologise, Yukimura. I used the points without checking in with you first," Yosuke bowed his head.

"I understand your positions, Hirata. I know that you just want to keep the peace even If I don't agree with your approach, but the girls have no excuse," Keisei continued to berate them.

"On behalf of the girls, we apologise. I know it's unfair for us to do that and I think we all know that we did that wrong," Kei spoke out and looked to the other girls for approval.

"We promise that we won't do something like that again," Kei said in a sincere voice.

Since she is the leader and her apology came first, the other girls followed suit and apologised. It's common for followers to do this and agree with the leader no matter what they say. Some of these people are just people pleasers and don't care about the leader, but unlike those leaders, Kei had genuine pull with the girls.

The penalty for poor physical condition was severe. In points alone, it was more than what Karuizawa had used herself. Horikita covered her eyes with her arm, probably to hide her tears.

"Not just that... The keycard was stolen from me, too. You understand what that means?"

"Class D will lose another fifty points."

Horikita gave a slight nod. Class D would only be left with a few points.

"Just leave me here and head back. If you do, I'll be the only one absent from roll call."

"What are you planning to do?"

"By tomorrow morning, I'll...try to return by myself, somehow. If I can deal with my poor health during roll call, then I'll do something about retirement."

"What an outrageously stupid idea. If you thought that had any chance of working then you're nothing but a fool," Kanzaki scoffed.

"I get what you mean, Kanzaki. But isn't that a little harsh?" Ichinose advised.

"Maybe it was a little overboard. I apologise, Horikita," Kanzaki apologised

That way, we would be left with a five-point loss.

"Things aren't that easy. You're feeling really weak now, and our teacher isn't kind enough to let you act your way past her. It will be impossible for you to get back to camp on your own."

"Still, there's nothing else I can do... This is so Class D will have some points left."

Putting aside the keycard incident, we might retain some points for roll call and retirement. That certainly wasn't a small number.

"Go."

Although Horikita was weak, I felt her indomitable will behind her words. She could bear whatever burden she placed on herself, but couldn't seem to bear involving others. I rose, and rested her head against the tree. She wanted me to leave her.

"Well then, I'll leave. But if things continue like this, our classmates will blame you."

"Yes. That's the correct decision. Everything was my responsibility."

Horikita praised my cold, calculating decision. She was ashamed of herself for being weak. Trembling, she forced herself to endure the cold. This was the kind of hardship that solitary people faced. The weather was still stormy, with no signs that the rains and winds would stop.

"Ayanokouji, don't tell me you agreed to her idea?" Sudo asked, worried about Horikitas's health.

"I didn't leave her there in the end," I answered.

Several people's worries were lifted by my words.

I saw Horikita with a disappointed expression, but when she looked into my eyes she tried her best to make it normal.

"I really am such an idiot. Why did I think that a stupid idea like that would work? I might have caused so many injuries that it might've not even been treatable," Horikita thought with a grimaced expression.

"'a struggle solitary people face' You sound like you're speaking from experience," Keisei said. but it came across as a little insensitive.

"I guess I understood how she felt since I've usually been alone," I guess that trend continues from today onward.

"Can you really make it back alone by tomorrow morning?"

"Yeah... I'll be fine."

"Horikita. Do you really think that not retiring is the right decision?" I couldn't help blurting those words out.

"Of course I do. Retiring isn't an option for me."

She was free to exercise her indomitable will as much as she liked, but it didn't mean anything if she lost in the end.

"I agree. People who use nothing but willpower are nothing but losers," Sakayanagi said.

"I agree that willpower won't take you anywhere, but it's still better than being without any willpower in the first place," Ichinose disagreed.

"You're free to believe whatever you want," Sakayanagi grew bored of the conversation and ignored Ichinose's response.

"Hey. Why do you think that we've been backed into such a corner?" I a sked.

"I failed due to my negligence. That's all."

"You're wrong. You're completely wrong."

Horikita Suzune had fought as hard as she could, and had tried to get to the end of the test without making mistakes.

"Go... Because I think of you as my friend, please listen to my request..."

After Horikita said that, she covered her mouth in surprise.

"I'm sorry for saying this, Suzune. But that was quite amusing," Manabu chuckled, but Horikita grew quite embarrassed.

"S-since it's you, I don't really mind," Horikita averted her eyes, but I could tell that she was quite happy.

"I'm going to make this right... As if it didn't happen at all."

"No, this is the wrong choice."

"It's fine. I can... By myself... Ugh..."

Horikita suddenly stood, but the burden was too much. She closed her eyes in pain.

"Go, please..."

She lost consciousness again. I gently took Horikita into my arms and shifted my position to make her a little more comfortable. Standing, I looked up at the boundless darkness and let out a sigh.

"It would have been easier if you'd just retired of your own free will."

"I suppose it would be a hassle to pick up someone and take them to the beach," Shinohara thought she understood the meaning behind my words.

The stubborn princess didn't seem like she was going to throw in the towel. Wonderful. Yes, I thought it was wonderful. You were almost right. But unfortunately, Horikita, you were wrong about one thing. Right now, just for this moment, I'll tell you.

I have never thought of you as my friend.

It was like a storm, and this was the beginning.

I've never cared about you as a classmate.

In this world, winning is everything.

Your methods don't matter. I don't care what I have to sacrifice.

As long as I have my victory in the end, I'll be fine.

You, Hirata—no, all other people are nothing more than tools.

I was complicit in what drove you to this. So, don't blame yourself, Horikita.

You were useful to me.

Silence.

Everyone was speechless and was thinking of my actions. 10 seconds. 15 seconds and then a minute passed and no one said a word. An instant was an eternity and an eternity was instantaneous as the room fell into deeper silence, until, it all shattered.

Confusion.

"Does he really think like that?"

Anger.

"What the hell, dude!?"

repulsion

"What a disgusting person."

Fear.

All of these emotions branched off from that source. Someone once said that the greatest type of fear is fear of the unknown and this holds true for many things. Humans feared the dark because they don't know what was lurking inside, similarly, humans feared things like death because they had no way of knowing what happened afterwards.

Although this was slightly different. They could understand my actions and my mindset, yet they still feared me. Although there's a simple answer to that.

They feared me because they couldn't understand me completely.

The class was constantly throwing insults at me and they didn't stop. I also had no intention to stop them. My plan was quite simple, I had no desire of improving their impression of me simply because I want to see what they think of my time at this school once it's all open and out to see.

I want to see how humans perceive my existence. Whether they would accept me no matter how twisted I am. I suppose it was my way of testing the meaning of equality. If they accept me then it proves that humans can accept the demerits along with their merits, but if they exile me then it shows that horrible people don't deserve a second chance and that they don't deserve to be on the same standard as normal human beings. Horrible people are simply inferior and unequal compared to normal humans.

"He says that he is a horrible person and then he says something like this. It seems that he's self-aware, but he's also keeping up an act inside even his own mind. Coupled with his family problems leads me to believe that his upbringing led him to be this way," Hiyori analysed.

"I guess that I expected this, but his eyes are still cold me even though I'm so close to him every day," Kei thought.

"Do you think of me as just a tool to you? I don't particularly care if you do, but the thought that my perception in someone else's mind is that of a tool is quite unnerving," the chairman thought.

"This is the man I've been catching up to my entire life. The cold monster that survived the harshest things a human could endure. It doesn't matter if I feel fear towards you, I've lost too much to care about something as trivial as that anymore," Yagami thought.

"You really are scary, those eyes are that of something inhuman. I feel bad for your upbringing, but it doesn't matter to me. If I win against you then I'll be satisfied," Ryueen thought.

"Fear is quite interesting, isn't it?"

He was quite happy with the events that took place

After that statement, the screen turned off and there was silence

"Everyone please return to your dorms for today as the day is over," Mashima said after a few seconds of silence

I went out first to go back to my dorm, but Kei called out to me a hundred metres from the dorm.

"Hey! Wait up," She said after a good distance away from the gym.

"Can we talk in the dorms?" I advised. Talking in person wasn't the best idea.

Kei nodded and we started walking in silence. The sun was setting early, but it was quite unusual since it was still summer. As we arrived in the dorms I went in first and Kei went in five minutes after to not show suspicion. As she walked into the room, she sat on the bed and there was a silence until she started speaking.

"I already knew that you thought of me as a tool and all, this isn't much of a surprise," Kei's voice was sincere but quiet.

"I know, and I apologise," I could only say sorry.

The room grew quiet again.

"Kiyotaka, I know that this is hypocritical coming from me, but your view of life is distorted,"Kei said in almost a whisper probably because it was immensely hard for her.

I've been through this endless cliche countless times and exhausted this conversation several times in my head. I know my perspective is flawed and that it's inhuman.

"I know."

"Kiyotaka, everyone hates you right now," She raised her head for the first time and her expression was that of a sad smile, "But it doesn't matter to me since I'll be by your side even if they all despise you."

There was no sense of doubt in her words, she believed that she could stick by my side no matter what. If she did that then she would destroy the life she built in this school and her position would be lost. It certainly wasn't a rational decision by any means, but I wanted to see how far she would go.

"Then prove it."

She looked a little taken aback, but continued to speak.

"How would I do that?"

"Until these videos end, no matter how much everyone hates me or becomes my enemy, you have to remain on my side."

This certainly wasn't an easy task for her since her position is destroyed.

"My usefulness would be destroyed."

"It will, but do you accept my proposal?"

Her eyes had fierce determination and she took out her hand.

"I accept, but there's something I want before we form the deal."

She wanted something?

"What do yo-" Before I could finish my sentence she took my hand and leaned in to kiss me.

"Now that we have that over and done with, I'll accept," Her face was flushed, but she endured it and shook my hand seriously this time.

I wish my life could stay like this a little longer. I want to be free of the restrictions and my tainted past, but even if that is what I feel, I know that it's just an idea that I'm clinging to.

Authors notes:

God this chapter was hard as fuck to write. How did I do? I originally wanted kiyo to reveal his past and make everyone feel bad for him, but other fics did that, so I made Kiyo want to observe the people around him and to see people's true reaction to him without his influence.

Part of my reason to do this is so that I can make people insult him, but it's for a logical reason rather than him just being an unpopular guy. I might do a 3-4k word chapter where other characters react to his mindset more probably with Ayanokouji group, Horikita and Hirata, Ryueen, Sakayanagi and Ichinose.

I also intend to speed up a little so only like 3 chaps per volume now.

Interlude: A New Perspective

(MAJOR spoilers in this chap for year 2 volume 6 so just read the next chapter whenever it comes out if you don't want to get spoiled. You have been warned)

My life has changed plenty in the last few days. I went from being an above-average person to a genius to a monster in the span of a few days. Although while people are more aware of me, my daily life hasn't changed much in terms of my routine. The only change is that there are fewer people who speak to me, but today I got a message from Horikita. I had a small idea as to what she was going to talk about, but as to what her thoughts were I had no idea.

Today was Saturday, so I slept in a little and I went to the spot Horikita told me to go to. I had arrived at our scheduled spot a few minutes before the appointed time of 8 am and I waited there until I saw a familiar black haired girl show her face. Her face was quite distraught as she was walking towards me and when she finally arrived, there was an awkward silence.

She was looking uneasy so I had broken the ice first.

"Your brother is staying at school for the next few weeks, have you chatted with him a little?"

"After I first saw him I had a light conversation, but nothing more than that," She said somewhat reserved and the conversation fizzled out again.

"Ayanokouji, am I a tool to you?" Horikita asked after a few seconds, looking uneasy.

If I had to describe what Horikita meant to me then it was something like that of a student that I was helping grow until it reaches its potential.

"I don't consider you a tool," I said bluntly.

"I don't believe you, but it's not like I can tell if you're telling the truth or not by your expression," Horikita sighed.

"Horikita, why exactly did you call me out here?" If this was her only reason then it could have taken place in her room and not at the school entrance.

"I don't know, to be honest," she had a downcast expression.

"I just wanted to talk to you, but I don't know why."

"I see, this is just a guess from me, so you don't have to answer, but did you want to know my motivations?" I said bluntly.

Although she was taken by surprise, she was not able to speak or I suppose it was rather that she wasn't able to formulate her thoughts.

"Well, since you're not speaking, I'll continue. I have no intentions of giving up on class A and I'll get there even without your help."

"You're quite unusual today or maybe I suppose this is how you've always been," Horikita paused for a moment and looked me in the eye.

"If I'm not a tool to you, then am I a project? I'm asking because from all of your thoughts I've seen so far, you've been fixated on other people's growth, so am I your magnum opus?"

I have to admit, I wasn't expecting those words to come out of her mouth, no, I was just fooling myself. Anyone could see what I've been fixated on.

"I guess I may think of you in that way, but is there something wrong with that?" I was wondering what her answer was going to be.

"Ayanokouji, if I'm just a project to you then this is nothing but a case of mutual interests. I want you to help me go to class A and you want what you want, nothing has changed," She said, but there was no conviction or resolve in her words.

"I see then. I guess nothing really has cha- ," While I was speaking I got a message on my phone. The message was from the Ayanokouji Group. After a little bit of contemplation, I decided that I should deal with this now

"Sorry about that, but is there anything else you wanted to talk about?" If she had nothing else to say then I could go.

"Well, there's nothing more I want to say to you currently," Horikita looked off to the side and said in a more stiff voice.

"Well I have to do something important, so I'll be heading off now," I saw Horikita slightly nod and then I started to walk away, but I could tell that she wasn't doing well.

I could tell from the bags on her eyes that she wasn't sleeping well and this conversation made her all the more uneasy. The connection between Horikita Suzune and Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was on a tightrope that may topple and break at any moment.

Horikita, there is something that you should always keep in the back of your mind.

I am not a good person.

If an empire is destroyed from the outside it can rebuild, but that can't be said for the opposite situation. Will you realise and attempt to stop me or will you falter in a crucial moment and fall into a pit of defeat?

I reached my dorm where the Ayanokouji group said they wanted to talk and waited for the rest of them. A few minutes after I got into the room I heard a knock on the door, as I opened it the person that was there was the obvious first arrival.

"Hey, Kiyotaka," Akito said, but I didn't say anything and let him come into the room.

"The other few haven't shown up yet," I told him as he made his way into the room

"I see, that's good. There's something I want to talk to you about," He glanced at me as he sat down.

"Kiyotaka, I was really confused when you suddenly switched up like that, and I really hated you for it."

I wasn't surprised that he did.

"But you're not like that, right? Your friends aren't tools to you, are they?" His eyes were that of pure desperation. I guess he really wanted that to be true.

(Probably ooc, but Akito hasn't had enough screentime for me to get an accurate portrayal of him being angry)

"I think we should talk about this when everyone is here," I wanted them all here before we started to talk. Akito nodded, but he was fairly annoyed.

A few minutes later I heard a knock on the door and when I went to open it I saw every remaining member there. I let them in and they all sat around the table. The mood was awkward and silent with a tense pressure emanating from the room.

"Kiyotaka, I think you should speak first," Keisei said in a stiff tone

"I guess that's fair, you all wanted to talk to me and I assume it's because of the last video," they all nodded.

"If that's the case then I don't have anything to say."

They all had clear objections.

"Kiyotaka, we're friends, aren't we? That video wasn't real, right?" Keisei said in a near pleading tone.

"All the other videos were real, so why would this be any different?" I replied bluntly.

"It's like you're trying to make us hate you," Keisei said in an annoyed voice.

"If I may, I'd like to pose a question," I said dismissing Keisei's statement.

"Fine," Haruka said, seemingly giving up.

"Do you all hate me?"

My question took them all by surprise, but the first to speak was surprisingly Airi.

"I don't hate you, but I'm just so confused," Airi looked as if she could cry at any moment.

"Kiyotaka, we don't want to hate you. We want to be friends again, so can you just help us understand?" Haruka asked quietly.

"I guess I could answer that. I want you to form your own opinions on me."

"What the hell? Stop dodging the question again," Keisei stood up and pounded the table with his right fist.

"Then let me explain. If I say anything right now I doubt you would all believe me, so after these videos are done, we'll come back here and decide what happens next," I explained my proposal.

They all considered my idea and after a few seconds of silence, Akito opened his mouth, "I don't speak for everyone, but I'll accept your proposal. These videos are the only objective things we have to go off, so this seems logical."

It's common for humans to take action when they see someone else go first, so the other members followed and voiced their approval.

"I'm glad you all agree," After we finished with the proceedings they all got up and left my dorm, so I sat at the table alone and thought to myself.

What would happen after these tapes? Would I go back to my previous life of being feared and alone or would there be something new? I sighed. This was just an arbitrary thought experiment since I would get the answer soon enough.

All this took place in an hour, so it was around 9 am now which was my breakfast time on the weekend. I went to the fridge to look for some food, but found all the food I was expecting to find to be nonexistent.

If I close it and open it again, it would appear like in a comedy skit? No, I'll just go to the convenience store like a normal person.

I stepped outside my room and walked towards the elevator, pressed the ground floor, but when I got to the lobby I found Ryuuen waiting there.

Please ignore me, I've talked to so many people today.

"Oi Ayanokouji, how's it goin'?" Ryuuen, unfortunately, noticed me and started to walk up to me just as I had exited the building.

"Why are you talking to me?" Unlike the members of my class, I didn't know any reason for Ryueen to talk to me.

"Oh I'm just wondering how it's going with my good friend Ayanokouji. Aren't friends supposed to talk to each other?" Apart from my lie previously, Ryuuen had never thought of us as friends.

"Honestly, I'm just really hungry. If I talk to you on my way to the convenience store and back, will you leave me alone?"

"I guess that's fine."

We started to walk in silence for about 10 seconds until Ryueen started to talk. Those 10 seconds have been the most peaceful moments with Ryueen, I will miss you greatly.

"You're probably being hounded everywhere being asked to explain yourself, aren't you?"

"You're not wrong,"

"Y'know I thought you would be a little more proactive in this situation," He looked a little dissatisfied.

"I can't really do anything against objective evidence."

"I guess you're right, although Ayanokouji, you're way more fucked up than I thought you were. And I love it. Going up against you was so entertaining, I hope you won't disappoint in the future," Ryueen smirked.

I sighed, this guy called me screwed up, but then says that he loves it. I wonder who the worse of the two of us is.

Ryueen stopped talking for a while when I got into the convenience store and he even beat his record of 10 seconds of silence and upped it with his new personal record of 10 minutes. They grow up so fast.

"Ayanokouji, know what I think would be awesome? If you battled my class with yours while you're the leader," Ryuuen's constant proposal of me being the leader was getting quite tiresome.

"I don't currently have any intention to do that."

"Currently, huh?"

"Think whatever you want,"

After a few seconds of silence, Ryueen burst out laughing, "Ha! Ayanokouji, you're a lunatic, I didn't think you would do anything like that,."

"What's so funny?"

"Well, you said the words 'currently' didn't you? And now that everything about you is being shown there isn't any logical reason to hide and pretend to be normal, so you're gonna become a class leader, aren't you?"

"Your wording is weird, why did you say ' a class leader'?"

He looked at me baffled, "Well so far from your thoughts you're making everyone in your class grow right? And with my previous reasoning you said that you would become the leader of a class eventually, but even if you become a leader of a class it doesn't necessarily mean that you're the leader of class D," Ryueen explained his logic.

His idea of whether I would switch classes or not was still a guess. He didn't believe I actually would change.

"You certainly do overthink things."

As I said those words, we returned to the dorms and Ryuuen left me to my food.

I had nothing planned, so I just laid in my bed and read some books for the rest of the day, and I went to sleep having done nothing after the morning.

Today was Sunday. I had nothing planned apart from a date with Kei in our room near the end of the day, so I resigned myself to my room and began to live my dream life of a hermit crab, or at least, that's what I had planned to do, but I ran out of soap and toothpaste, so I went to the convenience store.

I wore my short-sleeved white hoodie, a basic green shirt, some denim pants and walked down into the elevator, but I had found a short lilac haired girl waiting in there.

"What a coincidence, Ayanokouji," She giggled as I walked in and saw the ground floor button already pressed, so she wasn't going to any person's room.

"Why are you in the elevator so early in the morning, Sakayanagi?" It was only around 8:15 so not too early, but since it was a weekend I thought it was early.

"Oh nothing big, I didn't have the ingredients to prepare my breakfast, so I decided that I would get some."

She could probably make things with ingredients I could only dream of considering my low point balance.

"I was in that situation yesterday, although my journey for breakfast took much more energy than anticipated," I sighed.

Dealing with Ryueen is more tiresome than any amount of exercise that I've ever done.

"I see. Well, since you also are awake this early, I assume that you also need something from the store," She looked up at me.

"Yeah, you're right. I ran out of some soap and toothpaste, although I am confused why you aren't with Kamuro," I pointed out.

They both were practically twins detached at birth, I found it odd that they weren't together.

"She had caught a cold so I decided to go on my own," Sakayanagi said that and the elevator doors opened and we started walking to the corner store. I matched my pace with hers.

"Ayanokouji, what are you planning to do if that place is revealed?" After a few seconds of silence, Sakayanagi delved straight into the main topic.

"I don't really have a lot I can do," I answered honestly.

It was true that in terms of effective counter-strategies I was left without any options.

"I see, then in terms of your class, what are you planning to do?" She continued to interrogate me.

"I will just let nature do what it wants," I have to admit the future tapes that may be shown will be interesting with their new perspective of me.

"I thought you would do something a little more exciting, but this little plan you've been putting into place has certainly been quite a nice experience to watch."

Ryuuen simply considers some aspects of my plan a possibility, but Sakayanagi seems confident in her words.

"My plan?" I feigned ignorance.

"The science experiment that you've been nurturing for a while by growing your class, it's quite an interesting experiment. You get full marks from me," Sakayanagi giggled.

So she understands it to that level. It's not like I can silence her. If I was able to I would have blackmailed her, but that option isn't available anymore due to it being easily exploited by those tapes.

"How long have you known?" I asked outside the corner store before I walked in.

"That's my own personal secret."

After that abrupt end to the conversation, we went different ways and since all I needed was some minor bathroom items I finished much quicker than her. Sakayanagi didn't seem all that interested in me, so I decided to leave. To be honest, I felt quite disgusted being outside and talking to people without having brushed my teeth or showered.

I got back into the dorm building and saw Yosuke there looking quite distressed.

"Are you okay, Yosuke?" I approached him and asked.

"I want to say yes, but honestly I'm extremely stressed," Yosuke sighed.

I was surprised that he was able to converse with me so casually, but I came to the conclusion that he was most likely too tired to care.

"Why are you so stressed?" I asked.

Even if the events in those tapes freaked him out there shouldn't be a reason for him to be as exhausted as he is now.

"The class has been constantly telling their worries to me and since Kushida isn't there to carry the load, I've had to do it all singlehandedly."

I heard about some similar problems that Kei had, but since Yosuke is a boy and not a girl like Horikita or Kei, it would probably be easier for a boy to approach him.

"I'm sorry about that, Yosuke," I apologised.

It was my fault that he was going through this..

"In all honesty, Ayanokouji, listening to their worries helped me quite a bit."

"I don't follow."

"At first after that tape, I was confused and thought that it was fake, but after listening to everyone's issues, I thought through it logically," Yosuke looked me in the eye.

"What did you come up with?"

"I think that you're a bad person, currently at least."

"Currently?"

"Right now, with the evidence I have, the only conclusion I've come to is that you're a terrible manipulative person, but I'm deciding to give that horrible person the benefit of the doubt. I won't destroy the class protecting anyone, even if it's you, but I'll hold my own opinions and come to a conclusion after the tapes are over," Yosuke didn't have much trust in me, but he gave me the benefit of the doubt. That's certainly something Yosuke would do.

"I'm glad."

I genuinely thought that. He had come to the same conclusion I wanted people to go to.

"Honestly, I don't even know if this is the right choice," Yosuke looked lost.

"Yosuke, can this horrible person give you some advice?"

"Sure, why not?"

"I think you should take a shower," Yosuke looked a little taken aback at my remark.

"Hehe, I think you're right. Well, I'll go do that. See you, Kiyotaka," Yosuke chuckled.

Although his voice lacked conviction, he did his best to laugh it off and go back to his room.

I walked back to my room and since I had nothing to do for the rest of the day because I'm not invited anywhere, I decided to do some light exercise and clean my room. 1 hour later when I finished that, I had nothing to do so I decided to take a nap until Kei arrived which was 3 hours from now.

As I lay in my bed, I thought about what had happened in the last 2 days. The entire life that I was building crumbled apart and every relationship was now broken or on the verge of breaking, yet I'm not disappointed.

Horikita, Hirata, you should be more careful. When I leave your class you, no, everyone in the school will know my presence. I hope you can come to the realisation before your endeavours and relationships you've been building for the past year will be crushed by the hand that orchestrated them.

Authors notes:

Damn this chapter was hard to write, but also pretty fun. Since I usually just rely on the canon story with my chapters having to write a completely original chapter was a nice change of pace.

I didn't get through everyone I wanted to, like Nagumo, ichika and Manabu so I'll probably do those whenever the next time I take a break from the reactions.

With this chapter, I started tense with Horikita and the AG, went a little comedic with ryuuen and sakayanagi and ended off on a more tense note. I wondered whether or not I should spoil the switching classes thing, but thought that it was fine since it's been 3 months since the volume came out.

Every relationship Ayanokouji had in class D apart from Kei is currently either broken or about to break, that's what I hoped to convey through this chapter.

Will be going back to normal reactions next chapter. Hope you enjoyed.

Conversation over coffee

I walked into the classroom and found nobody looking at me. I suppose they preferred to ignore my existence rather than confront it. Chabashira came in and we walked to the gym, as usual, and sat in our usual seats near the usual people, but the atmosphere was anything but. It was tense, suffocating and uncomfortable for almost everyone.

I was observing peoples expressions when they looked at me. Ryueen and Sakayanagi glanced at me, but ignored me soon after and Ishizaki waved at me along with albert, but the person who I was most interested in observing wasn't here. Ichinose Honami hadn't attended today's tape viewing, but as to why she didn't show wasn't to hard too figure out.

"It's a brand new day people. Stop with those gloomy faces come on we have new things to see."

The voice and his antics weren't helping even slightly.

"Wow, the energy was so exciting the other day, whatever. For context, this video is going be just after the rules for the Zodiac exam were revealed."

"Well, it's just about time," said Horikita.

Once the clock struck 8:00, both of our phones beeped simultaneously.

We immediately checked our phones. After we'd finished reading the contents of the message at almost the exact same time, Horikita turned her phone to show me the message. I did the same. We compared what was on each other's phones, confirming the finer details.

"After thorough consideration, you have not been chosen to be the VIP. Please remember to be a team player as your group tackles the challenges of this test. The exam begins today and will be held over a period of three days. Members of the Dragon group should gather in the Dragon room located on the second deck."

My message was almost the same as Horikita's. Of course, the name of the group differed, but everything else matched up perfectly.

"I suppose neither of us was chosen, then."

While putting our phones away, we shifted in our seats.

"No, we weren't chosen. I'm not sure if we should be happy or sad."

"I guess being the one most people are looking for, it might be scary," Ishizaki stated and broke the silence encapsulating the room.

"Yeah, I agree. It's way too much effort," Kaneda said.

"Yeah. If you're chosen, then you could lead your group to any of the outcomes," I reasoned.

Being the VIP in this test placed you at an overwhelming advantage. If you kept up a good poker face, you could easily obtain 500,000 points.

"Even so, I don't like how they wrote it. It's like they're saying I'm not qualified to be the VIP."

Even though she was on the dream team, Horikita still thought of herself as working alone. That was just like her.

They're all looking at me with disapproving eyes or rather, that's their default reaction to looking at me now, but Manabu didn't seem to care.

"I agree, it's a very Suzune like thing to do," Manabu commented.

"I don't want to agree with that opinion," Horikita muttered.

"In this test, there's a huge difference between the chosen students and the rest. Everyone who wasn't chosen will need to struggle to find the VIP. The school said there were no disadvantages, but that was a lie. Unless the VIP is in your class, there's a high probability that the point difference between classes will widen even further."

That was certainly true. Depending on how things went, the gap we'd managed to close after the first test might widen again.

"The leaders of each group should be coming up with a number of strategies already. If we don't decide early on how we're going to conduct ourselves, we probably won't recover."

"I understand," Horikita responded.

She gave me a slightly frustrated look. I was trying to figure out how to fight this battle. As I considered the members of my group, and the underlying mechanics of this test, the goal began to take shape.

"Are you thinking about the results?" asked Horikita, observing my expression. She sounded hesitant.

"There are some things I can't yet see, like how some of the students Idon't know will react. I won't know until I meet with them directly. But I thought of a way to lead us to victory."

The shock was already here.

"Already?!"

"That's a bluff, it has to be."

These and other various statements were being tossed everywhere.

"Quite impressive, Ayanokouji. I wonder what strategy you came up with," Ryuuen seemed to be excited.

"It doesn't really matter since it's not like we won anyway," Shinohara muttered.

The quiet atmosphere are the beginning was gone and the classmates that had treated me kindly a few days ago were now muttering their grievances with me. The complaints currently were small, but I have no doubt that they would increase with time.

Of course, we couldn't behave recklessly. I'd need to time my move properly, and everything would need to be set up beforehand.

"I look forward to your results," said Horikita.

"Me too. Can't wait to see what you do with your group," I answered. But something about that message still nagged at me. "After thorough consideration," it had said. That odd choice of words wasn't by chance.

Mashima-sensei had said something to the same effect. The VIP had been chosen based on certain considerations. There was something about the chosen that set them apart. I couldn't get too hung up on phrasing right now. I knew that one person had been selected from each group. That meant there were twelve VIPs.

"For the sake of reference, who are you most wary of? Based on how things have been going, I wanted your thoughts," said Horikita.

Horikita's attention had shifted slightly. Since she was assigned to the most intense group, that wasn't surprising.

"Ryuuen," I answered.

"That was fast."

"There's no one else I'd choose," I replied.

"My, Ayanokouji I'm so happy you think that way. It looks like you were just itching to say my name," Ryuuen said smugly.

"I didn't know anyone else at the time, so you were just the default option," I shut his delusion down.

If I keep letting him go on these tangents, then I might be here forever.

"What about Katsuragi-kun? It's because of him that Class A managed to quickly hold down that prime spot on the island. Isn't he someone worth watching?"

"Of course. Considering he's only a first-year student, he's excellent. If you'd asked me who the most excellent student was, then Katsuragi would've been my answer. But if you're asking who I'm wary of, then it's Ryuuen, by a mile," I answered.

Katsuragi was surprised at the sudden praise.

"Thank you, Ayanokouji."

Although he seemed to dislike me, he had some form of respect remaining.

Class D had been victorious during the test on the island, without a doubt. Ryuuen had come up short in several ways. He'd telegraphed his intentions, so it ended up easy to get a read on him. However, it was highly likely that Ryuuen had read my intentions, too. I wanted to avoid him finding out that I was the one responsible for Horikita's success on the island.

Ryueen indeed came up short on the island, but that's because he went up against me. If Ryueen was left to his own devices on the island without my interference then he would come out on top with little to no resistance and class D would stay at the bottom with a similar result to when the class points were first revealed.

"Tch, that won't happen again," Ryueen looked annoyed that I called him easy to read.

"I agree with him, Ryueen. You're so predictable I can tell every emotion on your face right now," Sakayanagi provoked.

"Hehe, then tell me what I'm feeling right now," He challenged her.

"You're acting all tough on the outside, but on the inside, you know that you'll never beat me," Sakayanagi giggled.

"You are deluded," Ryuuen denied the possibility of something like that ever existing.

"Fucking toddlers," Hosen scoffed.

"I'm curious about some things concerning the VIP's identity. Even after reading the message and thinking about it, did you notice any unnatural-sounding phrases in the school's email? And the strict—" Horikita said.

I silenced her by pressing my finger to her lips. Speak of the devil—a shadow appeared before us.

Although they were confused by my sudden reaction, they could instantly tell who the devil in question was.

"Nice weather, eh Suzune? You having breakfast with this clingy beta male?"

Two people approached us, each wearing an unsettling grin. One of them was Ryuuen, the very subject of our discussion. The other person was...

"I've warned you not to call me by my first name, Ryuuen-kun. Also,considering you were a turncoat who only pretended to be our friend, it's odd you'd show your face, Ibuki-san." Beside Ryuuen stood a female student, Ibuki Mio. She had a somewhat cocksure gleam in her eyes. She also happened to be in the Rabbit group with me.

"..."

Ibuki seemed slightly disapproving of Horikita's light provocation, but didn't snap back. Instead, she bit down lightly on her lower lip. Ryuuen, watching things unfold out of the corner of his eye, flashed a satisfied smile. During the test on the island, Ibuki had infiltrated Class D as a spy. Eventually, Horikita had caught Ibuki red-handed, but ended up catching Ibuki's fist during their ensuing confrontation. Horikita firmly insisted that if she hadn't been ill at the time, she wouldn't have lost the fight, but right now, I wasn't really concerned about who was stronger.

"Obviously, I am," They both said in unison.

I didn't want to incite a fight, so I ignored them.

"Calling you a clingy beta male, so freaking stupid," Kei started muttering all sorts of insults and gave him a death glare.

"I think you've cursed him out enough."

If she kept going she might unknowingly summon a demon with all those curses.

"Fine. I'll stop this time," she pouted and looked at the screen.

Ryuuen silenced Ibuki. He appeared to be mocking us. "You should have received the message already. What were the results? Were you chosen as the VIP?"

"As if I would tell you. Perhaps you'd like to tell us about your message?" Horikita responded.

"If you wish." Ryuuen straddled one of the two vacant seats. "But before that, I want to ask you something. How did you wrangle those results on the island test?"

"I have nothing to tell you," Horikita responded.

Horikita looked completely calm; she didn't shake or waver in the slightest. There was nothing false about her attitude, either. She had incredible acting ability. She probably didn't think she was acting, though. Even though she didn't show any weakness, Ryuuen wasn't convinced.

Although Horikitas's acting ability was incredible, it was nothing compared to Kushida who was looking quite cheerfully at her being looked down by Ryueen.

"Do you think so lowly of me that I would be fooled by such shitty excuse for acting? You have cut me to my core," Ryueen somehow belittled me and pretended to be sad. An effect only Ryueen can achieve.

"I'm surprised you're so offended that easily," I retorted.

"Oh, this really is fun. You being out in the open is so much more interesting," Ryuuen thought.

"I suppose you wouldn't give anything away, but that doesn't matter. According to my information, there's no way that your farcical bumbling on the island should've led to victory," said Ryuuen.

"I'm not so stupid that I'd let someone like her see through me. Things were simply more difficult because of my fever."

In response to that more blatant provocation, Ibuki could no longer hide her irritation. "In that case, let's have a rematch," she challenged.

Horikita kept her cool as Ibuki became more and more riled up.

"Regrettably, I must decline your offer. Violent actions are considered a violation of the test rules. If you do happen to strike me, I will not hesitate to report it to the school. At any rate, please feel free to do whatever you please," she said flatly.

"Tch!"

"So, Horikita, how about that rematch?" Ibuki grinned

"I have to decline, my past self put it pretty clearly," Horikita dismissed her statement.

"Then, how about at the sports festival? Or are you just too afraid that your class will see that your victories are just flukes?" Ibuki provoked.

Horikita sighed.

"Can we not deal with this now and when the sports festival comes?"

Ibuki clicked her tongue and looked away.

Ibuki closed the distance between herself and Horikita, looking ready to lunge, but she stopped herself. If you thoughtlessly went on a rampage here, you wouldn't escape punishment. More than anything else, though, Ibuki was working beneath Ryuuen. She didn't have the right to act freely. While Ibuki clearly detested Ryuuen, she was also exceptionally talented. That was likely the precise reason why Ryuuen had chosen her as the spy to infiltrate Class D.

"Since we're all together, how about we have some coffee? It seems a good time to enjoy a nice cup," Horikita offered.

She seemed in a strangely good mood as she ordered her morning coffee. I ordered the same thing. Ryuuen showed no signs of leaving, apparently wanting to continue the conversation. He continued to observe the silent Horikita and opened his mouth once again when the coffee arrived.

"Yesterday, it seemed Katsuragi was rather cautious of you," he said.

"Well, that's understandable. He couldn't have guessed that someone from Class D would do so well. Isn't that why you and Ibuki-san are here? You came to check on me. Am I wrong?" asked Horikita.

That was Katsuragi's reason for downfall. He believed the class A superiority and dismissed any possibility of the lower classes being a threat to him. He certainly is a cautious person, but there was still a hint of arrogance within him. It's comparable to the effect someone has when they get good results on an entrance exam, so they get a little too confident and are then humbled by others' superiority.

The Katsuragi now is still cautious, but there is a sense of humility rather than the cautious and arrogant from the last year.

"Heh. Well, I won't deny that. I came here to measure your abilities for myself," he answered.

"Of course," Horikita answered, sipping her coffee. She seemed at ease, which was unusual.

"Katsuragi and I think differently. When I'm dealing with someone, I like to keep an eye on them."

"You're free to do as you please, but what exactly are you thinking?" asked Horikita.

"I'm remembering the test on the island. The result. The process that led to it. There are only certain types of people who would've been able to conceptualize and execute a plan like that. A girl like you is far too serious-minded to have come up with it," reasoned Ryuuen.

"I have to agree with him, Suzune is a straight-forward thinker rather than an outside-the-box thinker," Manabu said.

Thinking outside the box is simply rejecting the accepted ideas and creating a new and creative solution, but most people don't have that ability to make a genius idea and even if they do, the chances are still slim for the idea to become successful.

To be effective at thinking outside the box, you need to have a perspective of the world that is unconventional, but Horikita is the definition of a conventional student, so that method won't work for her.

"Think whatever you like. Though I wonder...how did you figure out my strategy? You only saw the results of the test. How do you know the way in which points were gained and lost? Those details are supposed to be unknown," countered Horikita.

In response to Horikita's calm demeanor, Ryuuen flashed his teeth in curious amusement. "Katsuragi probably didn't know." Based on how he'd said it, Ryuuen most likely did know.

"Well, why don't you explain it to me? If you're correct, I'll give you an answer. If you can answer, that is," Horikita added. Ryuuen just laughed unnervingly.

"At the end of the test, I wrote down your name as leader, but that was wrong. There's just one reason why that was wrong: Your class leader changed right before the test ended. The only explanation" mused Ryuuen.

Some people who were unfamiliar with Ryueen were surprised at his deduction while others scoffed at saying something so obvious.

"Do you think that was hard to deduce? Any idiot could have figured that out if they thought about it for a minute. Even Katsuragi-kun, who you've been making fun of," answered Horikita.

"Ah. However, Katsuragi thinks you planned the whole thing. But was that really the case? In my opinion, you becoming the leader and then retiring were both unexpected. Besides, I had my own strategy in place. I had Ibuki infiltrate your class to find out the leader's identity. You did nothing to counter that strategy at first," said Ryuuen.

"He had suspicions this early?" Matsushita muttered in a whisper.

"I guess he's right. From his perspective it would be fairly obvious that Horikita wasn't the one who devised any plans," Hashimoto said.

From Ryueen's perspective as someone who infiltrated and observed the class, it would be clear that something wasn't right if the leader was sluggish and not performing nearly as well as the others. And then that leader won through an unprecedented method. In Ryueen's mind, Horikita wasn't the real victor and there was someone pulling the strings.

"Is it possible that I'd simply taken the proper precautions? Preparing for the unknown is absolutely basic logic. The moment Ibuki-san met Class D, I took all possibilities into account. You were so confident, but your argument ended up being flimsy. You've said nothing surprising," responded Horikita.

"Isn't your argument the flimsy one? All you've said is that you've made precautions and took possibilities into account. That doesn't mean anything," Nagumo argued.

"I suppose you're right, but there really isn't much to say in that situation, so the only option is to be vague and dismissive," Horikita retorted.

"I guess that logic makes sense," Nagumo said.

"The key question is who replaced you as leader. Personally, I think the second leader was pulling your strings from behind the scenes during the entire test." It was exactly as Ryuuen had said. Though he spoke to Horikita, he observed me quietly. If I appeared shaken for even an instant, he'd pounce.

"I guess that apathetic face of yours came in handy," Ryueen joked.

"I bet he was too nervous to even move," Onodera whispered.

"I'm afraid I can't understand you at all. I have no close friends. The closest I have would be Ayanokouji-kun here, and he's always dragging me down. I'd be hard-pressed to say that he's working with me. Sad, but true," answered Horikita.

By specifically drawing attention to me, Horikita had managed to make me seem useless. Well done.

"He's not useless, but he's still a horrible guy."

"He sounds so arrogant in his thoughts."

Class D was whispering several negative things about me. There were only a few before, but due to the atmosphere having shifted, they felt it was fine for them to speak and voice all their complaints.

I glanced over to Yosuke and Horikita, but none of them said a word to defend me. Kei was restricted by her own status. She was tasked to stay by my side it doesn't mean that she should jeopradise her position this early.

The class's collective hatred for me was growing and if a certain video is coming soon, they'll begin to ostracise me and consider me someone similar to Kushida. This was expected currently. I wasn't fooling myself into thinking they would have anything but grievances when it came to me, but whether this could change or not depended on them; I had no intention of influencing them.

" However, if we did change leaders, he wouldn't be the most likely candidate."

"I see." Ryuuen glanced at me but quickly looked away. "Well, I suppose that's expected of a clingy tagalong."

"So now you understand. Though I wonder what basis you had for your hypothesis," said Horikita.

"That guy with you is considerably smart. Despite that, he hasn't achieved anything significant or gotten high grades. He has some excellent qualities, though I have my doubts," said Ryuuen.

"I don't get it, Ryueen. He hadn't done anything at that point to make you think that," Ishizaki looked baffled.

"He was with Suzune since the beginning and stayed by her until she wonthe island exam, but since Suzune didn't have the ability to do anything, he would be the most likely suspect. Even if he wasn't the only suspect for the island exam, he was capable enough to manipulate people during that dog's trial," Ryueen explained.

"You've investigated Class D rather thoroughly, it seems. Ayanokouji- kun, we've been putting you down mercilessly. Aren't you going to defend yourself?" asked Horikita.

"I would if I had anything to defend," I responded. My lazy façade had become the perfect counterattack. I'm not exactly sure how he figured that out, but Ryuuen appeared to understand me. Maybe he'd spent time measuring my academic abilities, physical abilities, and even communication skills. Grades were objective and reliable. You couldn't deceive others with that information.

"That's where you're wrong, Kohai. It's completely possible to fool people with grades, after all, you've done it this whole time haven't you?" Kiryuiin smugly smirked.

"I guess you're right," I said.

"Well, I'm sorry, but what you're saying is complete nonsense. It's a child's excuse, used because he's upset that he lost and needs to resort to fantasy. Does it embarrass you that a girl managed to see through your schemes?" asked Horikita.

"I see your point. I never imagined you'd trip me up. I'll admit it. The results of the test shocked me," answered Ryuuen.

Even though he'd admitted weakness, Ryuuen laughed. If anything, he acted like our actions had been almost irrational.

"Well, that's too bad. I love surprise attacks, foul play, and subterfuge. That level of strategy was totally unexpected, but your victory high will soon come to an end. Whether it's you, Suzune, or someone pulling the strings behind the scenes, you're stupid. You've already made your best move. Class D is one or two steps behind the other classes in points. The challenge will only heat up from here. You already played your trump card during the survival test, when the game was just getting started. You couldn't see what was in front of or behind you. I don't think you'll find this round as easy as last time. Tell that to whoever helped you ace the test," warned Ryuuen.

"I didn't think that such level of arrogance was possible," Sakayanagi said.

"Although you're right, you're not much better in that regard," Ryueen provoked.

"There's a simple difference between confidence and arrogance. If you want an example you could look at us two, your arrogance cost you your class while I'm in charge," Sakayanagi mercilessly retorted.

"It's must be depressing to think that arrogance just means being in charge. What a flawed view," Ryueen dismissed her and stared at the screen.

"My goodness, that was rather thoughtful," said Horikita.

"What can I say? I'm quite merciful."

"It sounds like you really want to believe that we have a secret weapon in our class," observed Horikita.

Ryuuen didn't answer. Even though he didn't have any evidence, he couldn't restrain from doubting Horikita. Ryuuen believed in himself more than anyone else. He refused to accept even the slightest hint of advice from others. He didn't appear to want to confirm anything during this encounter, only to chat with Horikita and pass the time amusing himself.

Ryuuen took out his phone and pointed it toward Horikita. He snapped a single picture, the shutter from his camera making a clicking sound.

"Don't take my photo without permission!" snapped Horikita.

"Relax. Here, I'll show you," said Ryuuen.

Ryuuen looked at the picture he'd taken of Horikita, which showed her wearing a particularly sour expression. He put his phone away, looking satisfied.

"Ryueen, why are you so childish?" Katsuragi sighed.

"I was born like that, blame genetics," Ryueen said blankly.

"Someone in Class D other than you is quite clever. There's no mistake about that," he said.

"Well, isn't that a good thing? I don't particularly care. Besides, if you just arbitrarily jump to conclusions, why bother badgering me to confirm them?" asked Horikita.

"A conversation reveals many subtle things. I'm glad I could talk with you, Suzune. It's a game to me. I'll discover who among you is making moves behind the scenes. Everyone, including your clingy friend here, is a target," said Ryuuen.

"Let me ask you something. I know it hurts that I saw through you, but why are you so fixated on me? Aren't you concerned about anyone else? Like Ichinose-san, or Katsuragi-kun? Going by the rumours, there's someone named Sakayanagi, too. Shouldn't the people in the classes above C be your concern? You should be able to at least answer that, I think," said Horikita.

"I've got a question for you, Suzune. Do you still think that I should go after the upper classes rather than those below me?" Ryuuen asked.

He was probably provoking her, but there was a sense of sincerity in his words.

After some thinking Horikita, had an answer.

"I somewhat agree with you. Going after a class with hidden potential and crushing them early is smarter than going after upper classes when you can deal with them later, but you were pretty much obsessed with defeating us."

"I'm glad we see eye-to-eye for once," Ryueen chuckled.

Horikita was right to question him. Ryuuen's focus was downright obsessive.

"I already know their abilities, to some extent. Neither Katsuragi nor Ichinose is my enemy. If I wanted to crush them, I could do it any time."

"So what about Sakayanagi?"

Ibuki asked that, not Horikita. She wanted to confirm that information herself, apparently. Ryuuen, who'd been unflappable until now, was silent before responding.

"I'm saving her for the final course. It'd be a waste to eat her now. Let's go, Ibuki." Ryuuen stood and left with his lackey.

Sakayanagi was trying to stifle her laughter which was out of character for her.

"You said that so seriously that it was quite funny. You could be a standup comedian with that level of absurdity," She said after calming down.

Ryueen didn't seem to want to respond. Kanzaki seemed to have a disheartened expression, he had probably realised how easily his class lost to Ryueen at the end of year exam. He wanted to disagree, but he knew that if they were to face each other again that class B would lose.

"You're a person of interest, Horikita," I mused.

"And who's responsible for that, hmm?"

"Are you upset?"

"Not really. It's just that I hate your sarcastic way of speaking. I've always aimed to reach Class A, so I assumed I'd be attracting a lot of attention," she answered.

"I'm glad to hear that. Well, at any rate, this doesn't seem good. Ryuuen isn't an ordinary opponent."

"Really? I think he just doesn't like that I found him out, and wanted to trick me into revealing the truth. I can't imagine he narrowed down the list of potential candidates to you. Besides, even if he knew your identity, you'd be the only one in trouble," replied Horikita.

"I guess we were both wrong on that one," Ryueen thought.

I knew he suspected me, but that wasn't important. I didn't know what Ryuuen was thinking, but the fact that he showed up here was dangerous.

"I think we were being spied on. Him suddenly meeting up with us is too convenient," I said.

"Are you talking about Ibuki-san?"

"Maybe she was forced to keep an eye on us, or maybe she just happened to see us by chance. If that's the case, it would help us," I said.

Ibuki hadn't looked tired. Someone else may have been keeping watch, but Ibuki was likely involved, considering she was walking with Ryuuen. If I had to guess, Ryuuen was already implementing his new strategy and using this test to do so. I was the first person to join up with Horikita. There probably weren't many people he'd suspect, to begin with.

"A mistake," I muttered.

He'd seemingly meant to say that there was someone smart here, someone just like him, but that was a little easy. Our encounter may have given Ryuuen an even bigger hint than I'd imagined. Was I just being overly concerned about the test?

"I guess even geniuses overthink their own actions," Ryueen thought.

Ryueen's actual list of suspects was limited to a very small amount. He had probably discarded the people who were bottom of the barrel and not sociable like Sudo or Ike and since this had to do with Horikita, someone like me who had been with her from the start was already a large suspect.

"You're overthinking things. No one thinks you're involved. Despite what he said, he thinks you're an ordinary person, considering your lacklustre achievements in the first semester," said Horikita.

I didn't know if that was a compliment or not, but she certainly had a point. No matter how much Ryuuen investigated me, he would find nothing. Even so, because I was close to Horikita, I was undoubtedly being watched. At any rate, since Ibuki was in my group, she'd be an obstacle. It was going to be very difficult to maneuver.

Students started popping up here and there around us, and I stood up. "I think we're done for the time being. I'm still sleepy, so I'm going to head back to my room," I muttered. Horikita appeared fine with that like she didn't need any advice.

"Discussion is likely useless from here on out. We'll go our separate ways. Anyway, excellent work. If you make any progress, give me a report."

Despite being surrounded by powerful foes, Horikita was indomitable. Well, Hirata and Kushida would hopefully keep her in check. I'd head back to my room and sleep until the afternoon. Even though the test had started, I'd be useless until the time came.

The scene faded to black.

"To the people who were disappointed, next time might be the best video yet."

The voice was speaking with utter confidence. I had an idea as to what the next one could be, but it's certainly a troubling reality.

The class was taken back to the classrooms and they didn't say anything, but I knew that the second I left they would speak badly about me. In the beginning, they had incomplete and unformed opinions of me and now their views of me were collectively negative.

Authors notes:

This chapter wasn't that important in terms of the story, but I just wanted to show the classes reaction to him in a reaction before the big events.

Next time we have the legendary 'spreaed your legs' scene. These words are holy and divine to every cote fan.

Not much to say so I hope you enjoyed

Spread your legs

Today was a new day and another day of tape viewing. I got ready as usual, but while having breakfast Kei called me.

"Hey, Kiyotaka," her voice was unusually reserved.

"What is it?"

"They're going to show that today, aren't they?" She was definitely nervous about what was going to come.

"Probably," I replied nonchalantly.

Whether the tape cuts straight to the action or builds it up for context is the unknown in this scenario.

I heard a sigh.

"I guess I should've expected this from the beginning, do you want me to stick up for you?"

I wasn't too surprised that she was nervous about what was going to happen but having her stick up for me was a possibility that I had already accounted for and crossed out. If she sticks up for me then it's just my influence changing their opinions; I can't have their views of me to be clouded.

"That won't be necessary, Although I am curious about what you're gonna do," Kei's handling of this situation is what I'm looking forward to.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. You're gonna get a front-row seat to my amazing acting skills again. You better be prepared," Although I couldn't see her expression I have the feeling that she had a proud look on her face.

"I'm looking forward to it then."

I talked with Kei about trivial things for the next few minutes until I finished breakfast. As I left my room and got into the elevator I saw the number going down instead of up. This isn't that unusual, but the number stopped on the girl's floor and then kept moving until it got to mine. As the doors opened I found a familiar strawberry haired girl with blue eyes, but there wasn't the familiar aura emanating from them as there usually was.

I got in and an awkward silence ensued until the girl next to me began to speak.

"H-hey Ayanokouji, how are you?" She was practically forcing herself to say anything.

"I'm not doing terrible, how are you?" It's common courtesy to ask how someone else is if they asked you.

"Well I was feeling really sick yesterday, but I'm doing all better now," Ichinose did a thumbs up.

Anybody could tell that she was lying. Her baggy eyes, dishevelled hair and lack of conviction in her words all conveyed how she was feeling. She was completely shattered.

We got to the ground floor and started walking to school, but Ichinose was walking slightly behind me and there was complete silence as we made our way to the building. I went to my classroom and Ichinose went to hers. Similar to the last time, I got a nonexistent reaction to my entrance. We were all taken to the hall and sat in our seats as the voice came back.

"Have any of you wondered if the person next to you was suffering?"

What a dark opening, but it certainly made me wonder. During my time at that place, suffering was a constant in every person's daily life, so I got used to people around me feeling like that. It's similar to a person's voice that you've never heard before. Over time you get used to it and ignore it.

"I have multiple tapes to show you today and I don't even have to give any of you context since you can see it play from the beginning,"

I glanced over at Kei and I could tell she was nervous but was still hoping to give her best. Whether the willpower she has is enough to get her through this is questionable, but I'm intrigued by the uncertainty of the outcome.

"Now then, what should we do?" Ichinose faced the other three classes, who were still sitting around in a circle. "I wanted to avoid excluding anyone, but there's nothing we can do if that's your class policy. If you want to participate, just let me know," she said gently.

However, the Class A students had already lost interest.

"Isn't it going to be impossible to find the VIP without their help?" asked Yukimura, flustered by the sudden change. It sounded like he was complaining to Ichinose.

"I wasn't complaining. All I meant was that it's important that they cooperate," Keisei hurried to defend himself.

"Why did all the class A people not agree to cooperate?" A first-year unfamiliar with the exam asked.

"If nobody in class A talked then it isn't possible to get any idea on if they were the VIP or not. Nobody wants to make a wrong guess and risk losing points class A would have all of their VIPs escape suspicion," Katsuragi explained.

It was certainly a good strategy, but the problem with it was that it had an easy to see loophole and a major drawback. If all of the class A students didn't say anything then no one would be willing to cooperate with them, so if other classes cooperated to take down class A and figured out the pattern then they would lose with no resistance.

His attitude had changed from a few moments ago, when he was ready to go along with the more convenient Class A plan. Even Yukimura had wanted to avoid Class D getting the short end of the stick.

"Yes. If Rabbit's VIP is in Class A, trying to narrow down the list of suspects won't be easy. But in terms of sheer probability, there's a three in four chance that the VIP's in one of the other classes. Besides, even if we don't know who the VIP is, if we at least know where that person is, we'll have some options. Right?" asked Ichinose.

She didn't seem focused on finding the VIP right off the bat. Instead, she wanted to first narrow down which class the VIP was in. At least, she wanted to know for sure if he or she was in Class A.

Most people thought that it was a solid strategy.

"I didn't think you had it in you to make an underhanded strategy like this," Sakayanagi said, but Ichinose didn't respond. she barely even looked at her, so Kanzaki stepped in.

"What you're thinking about isn't something that Ichinose would do, even if she was given the opportunity," he retorted

Ichinose's goal of finding out which class the VIP is in certainly gave everyone in the group the advantage, but there was also a hidden perk that came with it. If they excluded the other classes as suspects then class B would narrow down which group had which classes VIP by process of elimination.

Although everyone in the group would also have this information, Ichinose's class has people with astounding social ability so it isn't too farfetched to think that they could do this in all the other groups as well.

"Well, since they won't talk to us, this is going to be difficult.

However, if the VIP does happen to be in one of the other three classes, I think everything should be fine even if they don't out themselves. However, if the VIP's in Class A, what do you think we should do?" Ichinose was boldly striking back against Katsuragi's strategy. She was trying to form an alliance.

"I can't trust you," muttered Yukimura.

After Yukimura rejected the offer, Manabe from Class C spoke up and also refused Ichinose's plan. "Even if the VIP's in Class A, would we be able to identify them? Wouldn't that be difficult?" she asked.

"I don't think it's necessary for us to think that far ahead. Let's just start by finding out which class the VIP is in," replied Ichinose.

From the VIP's perspective, three classes coming together to find you was probably terrifying. If they were on their own, or if they had a friend from another class, they really should consider the idea of cooperating with the search in order to blend in.

"This is just a spur-of-the-moment idea. If we work together, we'll come up with even better ideas later. The test's only just begun. I think it might be better to wait a bit and take our time before deciding whose plan we'll move forward with," Ichinose added.

Those who'd rejected both Machida's and Ichinose's plans had no third option. As Hamaguchi had said, it wasn't fair for people to complain without first suggesting a plan themselves. At any rate, I decided to lay low until I saw how others acted. People with low communication skills tended to be highly reactive; they'd act before thinking. I couldn't afford to get impatient.

"Hey, you're Karuizawa-san, right? There's something I wanted to ask you," said Manabe.

"Who's that? She looks familiar," Ishizaki pondered.

"I don't know whether to be worried that you forgot a student we expelled or happy that you were able to move on so quickly," Ryueen sighed.

Karuizawa quickly looked up from her phone screen. She hadn't expected anyone to talk to her. "What?" she asked.

"I might be mistaken, but...did you have a fight with Rika earlier in the summer?"

"Huh? What are you talking about? Who's Rika?" asked Karuizawa.

"She's a girl from our class who wears glasses. She has her hair up in a bun, like a dango. Remember her?"

"I don't know her. Maybe you're thinking of someone else."

Karuizawa lowered her eyes back to her phone, as if deciding this conversation had nothing to do with her. However, the next words out of Manabe's mouth changed things.

"Isn't that strange, though? I'm sure we heard about it. We heard that Rika was bulled by a Class D girl named Karuizawa. Rika told us you cut in line and pushed her aside when she was waiting at the café."

Most girls weren't that surprised at Kei's actions, but they still abhorred them. The teachers also didn't seem to care about the light bullying since it was over a year ago. The girl Rika had a distraught face remembering her actions over a year ago.

"That doesn't seem that bad, what's the big deal?" Ike asked.

From a boy's perspective, although they could recognise it as something bad, they didn't see much of a big problem.

"Well, if someone a lot more popular than you with her group pushed you then it would be pretty bad, wouldn't it?" Amikura said.

Ike had an embarrassed look on his face, "I guess you're right."

"I don't know what you're talking about. Like, do you have some kind of problem with me?" asked Karuizawa.

"No, not really. I'm just checking to see if it's true. If it is true, though, I'd like you to apologize. Rika is the kind of girl to bottle everything up and stay quiet, so it's up to us to help her deal with situations like this."

Apparently Karuizawa had a reputation as a troublemaker outside our class as well. Class C was hard to deal with as a whole, so this made for big trouble ahead. Karuizawa decided to ignore Manabe. Manabe, looking frustrated, turned her phone's camera toward Karuizawa.

"You won't mind if we check with Rika then, will you? I mean, if it wasn't you, Karuizawa-san, then there won't be any problem, right?" asked Manabe.

"What's even the point of dragging this out for so fucking long? Just apologise and get it over with," Ibuki groaned.

I and most people agreed with her. But there is a slight problem with her reasoning, humans have pride. If not for one's pride then plenty of problems throughout history could be solved, but unfortunately, the world doesn't work that way. A person like Kei who masqueraded as a prideful person wasn't able to apologise due to her fake pride.

"I agree with you for once. Just lie and say sorry, not that hard," Ishizaki said.

Karuizawa looked up and knocked the phone out of Manabe's hands. She must have done it more forcefully than she thought, because Manabe's phone tumbled to the ground, spinning as it fell.

"What the hell?!" shouted Manabe.

"That's what I should be saying! Don't just take pictures of me without permission. I already told you that you had the wrong person," Karuizawa snapped.

Both sides claimed the other was wrong. The conflict was heating up. Ichinose watched it unfold, a bystander. It was as if she was trying to determine who was right and wrong.

"That escalated so much faster than I was expecting," Hashimoto said.

" What'll you do if my phone's broken?" shouted Manabe.

"I don't know! Just ask the school for a new one," answered Karuizawa.

"I have some really precious photos stored on that phone, though."

After hurriedly picking up her phone, Manabe glared at Karuizawa with resentment. Two of the other Class C students, who'd been watching the situation unfold, came to help Manabe stare Karuizawa down.

"What? Are you saying I'm the bad guy here?" asked Karuizawa.

"If it wasn't you, you wouldn't get all angry and deny it like that, right? Let us take your picture," said Manabe.

"But I don't want you to."

I thought that Karuizawa would've answered Manabe more forcefully, but her words were surprisingly weak. Or rather, there was some fear mixed in with her "tough girl" act. It might've been my imagination, though.

"I think that most people would be a little scared if a bunch of people were glaring at you," Yosuke stated, trying to help Kei a little.

The disapproving stares from my classmates came back. I guess I shouldn't have insulted Kei in my mind.

"Perhaps the reason you're denying it so much is because it's true?" asked Manabe.

Manabe pointed her phone's camera at Karuizawa, as if intending to forcefully take her picture. The other two girls from Class C laughed like they were enjoying it. However, Ibuki didn't share their sentiment. She looked scornfully over at Manabe, showing her contempt.

"Stupid," said Ibuki.

"'Stupid'? What? This has nothing to do with you, Ibuki-san. You're not friends with Rika, after all."

"That's right. This absolutely has nothing to do with me. So I said what I thought as an outsider."

Ibuki crossed her arms and looked away. Manabe didn't appear to care for Ibuki's attitude at all, but did not confront her. There was probably a clearly established hierarchy in Class C, and Ibuki was above Manabe.

"What high praise, I'm disgusted," Ibuki stated.

"Yeah, Ayanokouji. You should've called her bottom of the barrel," Ishizaki remarked, but he got a punch to the back of his head.

It's not difficult to see whether someone is above in rank above another. In the real world, there are things like social status and financial status that make it easy to determine, but for smaller and more mundane situations like this, all you have to see is the objective facts. Ibuki was trusted to be a spy for class C and was also strong enough to beat Horikita. Her status would be much higher even if her social status wasn't the same.

"Anyway, just let me take your picture!" shouted Manabe.

"No, I don't want you to! Come on. Please, say something to her,"

Karuizawa pleaded. For some reason, she turned to Machida, begging him to intervene. "I won't forgive you if you take my picture without permission. What do you think, Machida-kun?"

"I agree. Manabe, Karuizawa has told you that she doesn't want you to take her picture. Stop it," Machida added.

"M-Machida-kun, this has nothing to do with you," answered Manabe.

"From what I've heard just now, I think you're the one in the wrong here, Manabe. Karuizawa told you she doesn't know what you're talking about, so it's wrong for you to forcefully take her picture. Don't you agree? I think it's best to talk to your friend again and confirm if the story is true."

"I agree with you in the logical sense, but we all know that wouldn't have amounted to anything," Kanzaki said.

Kanzaki was right. If Manabe left she would just come back later with a lot more force which is exactly what happened.

Since the girls thought that Kei was dating Hirata at this point in time they were all appalled by her actions.

"What a slut."

"How much of a horrible person do you have to be to do that?"

Many statements were tossed around left and right about Kei. I agreed with some of them, but the majority of the complaints were made out of pure jealousy while others were made out of hatred for Kei herself. The very minor logical ones were also just fairly obvious.

Yosuke opted not to say anything even if many people looked over to him for an answer to Kei's actions. It seems he prefers to just let things play out, so he focused his attention on the screen.

Judging this situation fairly, Machida was correct. I certainly understood Manabe's feelings in wanting to take the picture to ascertain the truth, but if the person tells you no, taking a picture without permission is rude. Confronted with that argument, Manabe and the other girls had no choice but to back down, though Manabe didn't seem wholly convinced.

"Come on, lay off me. Thank you, Machida-kun," said Karuizawa.

Karuizawa looked up at him, her eyes full of gratitude. Even though the Class A students had distanced themselves from the rest of the group, they weren't bad guys at all. Takemoto and the others didn't appear to be too interested, though.

"All I did was the right thing." Machida blushed slightly.

Perhaps this was the beginning of a new love? Karuizawa already had Hirata, though. Regardless, I got the feeling that the friction between Karuizawa and those Class C students would spark some real problems down the road.

"Real problems, huh?" Ryuuen thought.

The scene faded to black and most people had an even higher contempt for Kei than before.

"Okay, next video."

With that non-existent break, we proceeded onwards.

"Well, this is the second time we've gathered like this. Don't you think we should start having open, honest conversation? We'll only meet so many times," reasoned Ichinose.

Of course, Ichinose had taken the lead and got things moving. As expected, she wished for peace. Hamaguchi and the other Class B students were exactly like that, too. They were ready to make alliances without hesitation. It was like how Hirata operated. They were similar, but still fundamentally different. Ichinose and her friends should have been striving for a Class B victory.

Last time, people were flippant, but now things had changed. The atmosphere was oppressively gloomy. Everyone was jumping at shadows and incredibly wary. However, the three Class A students weren't bothered by anything, freely tapping away on their phones. There wasn't any rule against contacting other groups, after all. They could even talk on the phone.

Well, the old saying was true: the rich are rich, and the poor, poor. Class A was winning the interclass competition by a landslide, so they had no reason to be worried. I thought their loss during the test on the island would've changed them, but Katsuragi had them maintaining their calm image. It was an exceptionally effective strategy.

Anyway, it wasn't going to be easy for a lone wolf like me to break down Class A's walls.

"True, someone alone can't destroy an empire, but who's to say they can't destroy it from the inside," Sakayanagi glanced at me.

"I guess you may be right, but unfortunately I don't know anyone from your class," I responded.

"He doesn't have any contacts in this class huh?" Hashimoto thought.

Hashimoto eyed me very weirdly. Honestly, I felt very uncomfortable.

"I don't think we need a breakthrough right now, but we do need a discussion. Class A might be breaking away from this test, but I think we need to pinpoint the VIP," said Yukimura.

Yukimura's words helped motivate us somewhat. If the VIP was in another class, we couldn't afford to let this chance slip by. Or perhaps he was the target, and Yukimura was suggesting this as an attempt at camouflage.

"Why would I do that without any backup plan? If I was the VIP and I was caught it would all be over" Keisei said.

"I didn't have any knowledge of you, why would I think anything about your actions without knowing more about you?" I seemed to have struck a nerve and made him quiet.

"But can we really find the VIP by talking? I just don't think we can. It's just, like, this test is so unfair. It's too hard. The VIP has way too much of an advantage," said Karuizawa.

"I understand, Karuizawa-san. But doesn't that just depend on your point of view? I mean, the test on the island was also a surprise to the students," said Yukimura.

"Sunrise?" Karuizawa looked puzzled.

"I heard sunrise too."

"No, he definitely said surprised."

The students were fairly divided on Keisei's words. Why don't they just wait before debating? It makes things a lot easier.

"If it's Sunrise, leave it to me! That's my specialty. I'm fired up!" shouted the Professor.

No, I thought. No, they said "surprise," not "Sunrise."

"You know, life on a ship's not bad. It's really fun, right? Even though we have to get together twice a day, we're still free to chat and use our phones. It's not like class," said Ichinose.

"Yeah, but I guess the school gave a bit of leniency after making us get on an island for a week," Shibata said.

"This school doesn't give leniency, they equally fuck over everyone in the worst way," Ryueen disagreed.

"What makes you think that? This exam was fairly easygoing," Kanzaki debated.

"Easygoing? Every part of the cruise ship forced people to be on guard at every moment possible. They just gave you some luxuries to separate the weak from the strong," Ryueen explained.

I glanced over at Ichinose while Kanzaki and Ryueen were arguing and found her to be in a better condition than before, but it's nowhere near her best.

"You know, life on a ship's not bad. It's really fun, right? Even though we have to get together twice a day, we're still free to chat and use our phones. It's not like class," said Ichinose.

"Well, yeah. It is pretty fun," said Karuizawa.

"Right? So, that's why we need to get more comfortable. We need to talk like we're all friends. Don't you think it's hard, putting up walls like that? Machida-kun and the others always look so stern, you know?"

Ichinose had a point. This was all an issue of perception. If you stayed positive, the test would be easier. Machida, who'd been listening to Ichinose's optimism, let out a snicker. "You're free to do whatever you want, but you probably won't find the VIP. I don't know who the VIP of our group is, but if the VIP doesn't share information, they may be devising a way to gain points for themselves.

They're probably staying hidden on purpose. Besides, the VIP might be in Class B, right? How can you trust these guys?" he asked.

He was trying to shake us all up.

"But couldn't I say the same thing of you, Machida-kun? Can you really trust your allies?" asked Ichinose.

"Of course I can."

Machida looked at the student next to him, named Morishige. However, he quickly focused again on Ichinose, projecting the usual calm, Class A image.

"We have no reason to fuss over finding the VIP. We have more than 100,000 points deposited into our accounts every month. No one in our class would lie just to get a mere 500,000."

"Really? You know what they say: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Are you trying to tell me that no one in your class would want even one extra point? It's not like the school will be bothered if you get more," replied Ichinose.

"That's stupid. Go ahead and keep being delusional. You're just grasping at straws."

"Ha! He couldn't argue so he just started insulting her. What an idiot," Amasawa said.

"Her logic was clearly flawed," Machida said without thinking. Unfortunately, that would be his downfall.

"Tell me then," Amasawa said with no remorse.

"What?"

"Explain your point Machida-senpai. Explain it in front of all your peers. You said she was flawed with so little hesitation, so you must already know why, right?" Amasawa said with a voice akin to a devil.

"So, basically..." He had no response.

Machida couldn't trust his classmates unconditionally since only Katsuragi had all the information. He can't argue that his classmates wouldn't opt to get points since there is greed in everyone. All of his escape routes were closed and his reputation will most likely fade into obscurity after today.

Ichinose smiled at Machida. She'd certainly gotten a response out of him. Even though Machida said he wouldn't participate in the discussion, he'd taken Ichinose's bait. If he started talking, we might pull information out of him. By using Yukimura and Karuizawa, Ichinose had started collecting information. The only problem was, when would Machida notice her ploy?

Karuizawa sighed and went back to fiddling with her phone. While there wasn't any rule prohibiting phone use during the test, doing so while we were trying to find the VIP was a little rude. Or maybe she was like the CIA or FBI, communicating with Hirata in real-time so he could listen to our conversation? I'd respect her if that were true, but it probably wasn't the case.

"So you don't respect me?" Kei said with a sad expression.

"No, I respect you, I just didn't back then," I hurried to explain myself.

"Hehe, It's fine. I just wanted to hear you say it," She said with a smug expression.

What a troublesome person.

Of course, knowing that Karuizawa didn't usually put serious effort into anything, this wasn't out of character. But something felt off. It felt like something had been off ever since the test started. Karuizawa; the reunion with Ibuki; confronting Manabe.

I realized that none of the things she'd been doing lately seemed like the "usual" Karuizawa. She was a strong presence in Class D. Whatever her reputation, she and Hirata often brought the class together. But here, she was practically a background character. She had the potential to motivate others, and she wasn't using it. When someone spoke to her, she would answer and then immediately shrink away. Hirata was always Hirata, no matter the situation, and Kushida was always Kushida. However, that didn't seem to be true for Karuizawa.

If I were to create a hierarchy for the group, she'd be below Manabe and the other Class C girls. Maybe that's why she was acting strangely. My doubts and suspicions slowly grew.

"What a creep. It's like you're obsessed," Shinohara said.

While students like Shinohara instantly resorted to dismissing what I said, the more capable students looked at my analysis more logically.

"Couldn't it just be that she was uncomfortable in a new environment?" Hiyori guessed.

"I don't think so, she pushed a girl without remorse, so it's strange that she is uncomfortable here. Maybe it's the lack of any friends?" Kaneda responded.

Plenty of students kept arguing and discussing Kei's behaviour until it all died down when no one could reach a unanimous conclusion.

For Class D to reach a higher position, we didn't just need to increase our points. We needed to create a system in which we could increase points. In comparison to Classes A and B, Class D lacked cohesion. And for that exact reason, Karuizawa Kei was irreplaceable. She controlled the rest of the Class D girls. That's why I was worried about her behaviour. I'd thought she'd be more aggressive and dominate the field.

I needed to determine if she was useful or not. Considering that the test period was rather short, I couldn't afford to take things slow. I needed to stir the pot, even if it meant being forceful.

The mood got tense. It was like a switch that changed everyone's emotions on command. I looked over to the girl called Rika and found her exceptionally confused at my words.

"He didn't do that much though, was it a secret between Shiho and him?" Rika thought.

The Class A students immediately left the room at the hour's end. They were sticking to their class plan and staying quiet for the remaining four discussions. As Ichinose watched the students leave, she gave a heavy sigh.

"Hmm. I suppose this is going to be tough. What do you think, Ayanokouji-kun?"

Ichinose turned to me. She was even calmer, wittier, and clear-headed than I had previously thought. She noticed that I kept quiet during these discussions, but didn't put me on the spot. If I had been her classmate, I would've had a crush on her. She was just that charming. The Class B guys probably weren't alone in falling for her; she had to have admirers from other classes, too. She probably rivalled Kushida in terms of popularity.

A few guys from class B averted their eyes and Ichinose looked incredibly reserved, but she didn't look embarrassed rather, she was surprised.

"I don't see Kushida as a rival of any kind," Ichinose said.

"Probably because she hasn't been a rival for weeks," Ryueen chuckled much to Kushidas annoyance.

"Well, even if we keep having these discussions, I don't think anyone will come out and say they're the VIP. The benefits of staying hidden are just too great, same as the downsides for being discovered. At this rate, Class A's worst-case scenario prediction will probably come true," said Ichinose.

Though her comments sounded negative, she looked fearless. Whatever I felt about her, she was clearly always ready for a challenge.

"At any rate, we're done for today. Good work, you two."

"No, we didn't do much of anything. Well, shall we?" said Hamaguchi.

The change was immediate. The three Class B students relaxed, almost as if someone had flipped their switches to OFF. I still didn't really know what the deal with them was. I didn't understand what Ichinose's and her group's aims were yet.

"It's bold of you to assume that they had any aims," Sakayanagi provoked, but Ichinose didn't respond to her. I guess she either didn't think it was worth it to argue or she lacked the energy to do so.

Of course, she might have some kind of strategy that she couldn't tell anyone outside of her group. When Manabe and the others from Class C got up to leave, I trailed after them. Once they reached the elevator, I meekly called out.

"Hey. Do you have a minute?"

Manabe looked slightly on her guard, probably because she hadn't expected me to come after her.

"I heard about your problem with Karuizawa. Something about her pushing someone at the café, right?"

"Yeah. Why do you ask?" snapped Manabe.

These girls wouldn't normally want to chat with me, but that topic seemed to interest them. All three focused on me, like they were checking me out.

"I'm not 100% sure, but I think I saw Karuizawa fight with a girl from another class," I said.

"That's... Are you sure?" asked Manabe. Her voice was stiff, and she drew nearer. I shrunk slightly and nodded.

"I think so. Well, I just kind of got this bad vibe, you know? I felt like she was acting like a jerk, so I thought I'd go ahead and tell you."

I kept it vague to set things in motion, and then turned and went back the way I came. Honestly, I hadn't actually seen anything. If I'd kept talking, I would have probably been exposed as a liar. Now that the fuse was lit, Manabe and the others would react. How would the newly docile Karuizawa respond? I wanted to find out.

"Is this what you meant by forceful?" Matsushita asked looking uneasy.

"Depends on your definition of forceful," I responded vaguely.

"Karuizawa did something bad happen to you?" Shinohara said.

Many of Kei's friends came over to her. It didn't help that I was sitting next to her so all Kei could say was that she was fine and brushed off their questions. They all stopped talking and began to walk back to their seats, but not before glaring at me in resentment.

The scene faded again.

"I know you're all curious about what Ayanokouji here did, right?"

Plenty of people agreed.

"I hope you enjoy this then,"

I headed toward the ship's lower levels. I proceeded down to the lowest level, where people didn't generally go. Although we were prohibited from going there, the area wasn't locked. The crew was probably using it. Although people could enter areas like the switchboard room if it was necessary, generally speaking, no one went in there.

There was no one to come if you called, no matter how loud you shouted. Including the regular entrance, there were only two ways in or out of the room. The other way was a door that led to the emergency staircase, but the workers didn't appear to use that. Judging from the dust, I knew that it hadn't been used in a long time. If I just kept an eye on the regular entrance, I could monitor the situation completely.

Another convenient thing was that phones had almost no reception here. Though you could occasionally get a little signal, sending emails or chatting was a pain in the neck, and it was next to impossible to make a call.

"All the pieces are in place," I muttered.

The people could understand my actions. They knew that I'm causing a situation that was bad for Kei. It was clear from my words 'There was no one to come if you called'. The fear was beginning to set in and the atmosphere was ice cold.

All I had to do was make sure everything happened in the proper order. First, I would contact Hirata, and then he would call Karuizawa. Since I wanted to postpone things a little bit, I'd probably need to have him call Karuizawa an hour or so earlier. I returned to the upper decks to make the call.

After our conversation last night, I thought Hirata might be especially on his guard. But I knew if Hirata called Karuizawa and said he wanted to speak with her alone, she'd respond. Karuizawa had said she was breaking up with Hirata, but she'd be the one to suffer if that happened. With Manabe and her friends on the attack, Karuizawa absolutely needed Hirata to protect her at school.

Kei was silent at this point. People were confused why she needed Yosuke to protect her when she was so headstrong on the surface. But I know that was nothing but a farce, and I know that everybody's hate for me will grow exponentially after today.

I got a message from Hirata.

I've promised to meet Karuizawa-san at 4:00 p.m. I'll send you Manabe-san's info.

As expected, Hirata had fulfilled his role admirably. As a bonus, he even had Manabe's contact information, never mind that she was from another class. If he hadn't known it, I would've had to risk asking Kushida. That saved me an extraordinary amount of trouble.

"Why would I have given it to you anyway? There's nothing in it for me," Kushida said confused.

"Don't you get another secret? If I had asked for a girl's phone number your mind would probably go to the only logical outcome, and since I know about your two-faced persona, there's complete merit in you gaining any information on me as possible," I explained logically.

"I guess so, but having a crush isn't that big, so what's the point?"

"You'll take anything possible, won't you? If you got any form of information on me then it would be a positive for you," I retorted.

With an unsatisfied expression, Kushida stared at the screen.

He sent me another message. I have to tell you, I don't want to make Karuizawa-san sad.

Many girls were once again impressed by Yosuke's kindness.

"You don't want to make her sad, huh?" If he knew what I was about to do, Hirata would've been furious. But that wasn't my problem. Even if she were to break here, I'd be fine so long as he didn't find out. This is a rather extreme example, but even if you committed murder, you couldn't be convicted without proof.

"Kiyotaka what lengths did you go to?" Yosuke's tone wasn't angry, he knew my mentality so this was probably in his expectations, but his tone was still annoyed and cold.

"You'll see," I said bluntly.

My statement caused dissatisfaction among my class, but they didn't argue. They knew that they wouldn't get anything out of me anyway.

"So it's essentially, it's fine as long as you don't get caught," Hiyori tilted her head.

I quickly typed a message and hit send.

Hey, you got a minute?

The message was short and sweet, completely harmless. As a rule, chat apps are one account per phone. However, there was a way around that. By creating another primary SNS account, your device could hold another. Of course, not many students split their account into a main and a sub. The benefits of switching between accounts were marginal at best. However, by creating a new account, I was able to contact a third party without revealing my identity.

My methods got everyone to begin thinking of what my approach would be and with my previous statements, what length I would go to.

I needed to proceed delicately. If I didn't mess up, everything should be fine. Despite the fact that Manabe had received an anonymous message, she immediately responded.

Who is this?

Only natural she'd ask that question.

Is there anyone with you right now?

I'm alone, but who are you?

Don't show this to anyone. For your own sake.

Look, who are you?

Let's just say that I hate the same person you do.

The small back and forth was simple and short, but it was incredibly captivating to every person in the gym.

Although I saw that she'd read my message, Manabe took some time to respond. Do you have the wrong number?

This isn't a mistake, Manabe-san. I want to talk about Karuizawa-san, the person you hate. I thought I might be able to talk to you about it.

I don't know what you're talking about. Please stop sending me messages.

She seemed wary, as if she imagined I might be an enemy. That was natural. First, I needed to win her trust.

I'm a classmate of hers, and it's been difficult dealing with her for a long time now. I want to get revenge on her, so I thought we could work together. Since I'm in Class D with her, I can't go after Karuizawa-san directly. That's why I want your help.

"So this was all because of a personal grudge?" Shinohara questioned.

"I guess it makes sense, it's not a good thing, but it's understandable at least," Miyamoto reasoned.

Several class D students, mainly the boys had a negative opinion of Kei, so my actions here weren't far beyond what they had already been imagining.

It's human to have grievances. After all, we steal, use and betray like it's child's play. Humans are able to commit horrible acts, but they can also understand why a person can commit such atrocities. If ones loved one has been killed then it's completely understandable if the individual wants revenge. It wasn't a good thing, but it was understandable and made sense.

I don't know what you're talking about. I'm going to ignore you.

Even though she was suspicious, she still hadn't cut off contact. That proved how much Karuizawa made her blood boil. That was why she wanted revenge on behalf of her friend, Rika. From the way Manabe had dragged Karuizawa into the emergency stairwell, her hatred was clear.

The students were confused by what I meant.

"What incident?"

"Did she do something?"

The thoughts raced around the people's minds yet, they couldn't come to understand what had happened. I wonder why the voice omitted this information, it seemed crucial or did it consider it not necessary because all of the key knowledge will be filled in in the future.

"Karuizawa, did something happen? Did those girls do something to you?" Her friends asked her trying to comfort her.

"It's all fine, I don't need any help. I already dealt with it," She said in her usual tone.

Kei was lying through her teeth, but this wasn't something she was unused to, so she said it without a second thought and made every person talking to her listen. Whether they believed her or not didn't matter because it's common to doubt others, but she was able to make them listen with a few words and make them quiet down.

Rika-chan is still scared of Karuizawa-san, even now. Don't you want to help her? Your desire for revenge is written all over your face. But you couldn't do it even if you wanted to, right? Karuizawa-san is really cautious after what happened yesterday. I'm sure she won't leave Hirata-kun's or Machida-kun's side for a while. And she'll always be with other girls, so she won't be alone.

I don't need your help. I just need Karuizawa-san to talk to Rika. Then we'll know the truth.

"Giving her some hope and manipulating her, what a terrible thing to do," Ryueen said, but it was ironic considering he'd done the same.

If the Kei back then talked to Rika then it wouldn't have amounted to anything. Kei would refuse and Rika wouldn't be able to say anything even with her friends around her when she's up against the class D girls leader. All of Manabe's efforts wouldn't mean anything and her frustration would eventually fizzle out and dissipate, but I made use of the burning hatred and let it sort itself out through retribution.

I wonder if it'll be that simple, though? I can't imagine she'll admit that she lied. On the contrary, it would probably just hurt Rika-chan if Karuizawa-san says something awful. Oh, and that's not all. If Karuizawa- san's holding a grudge, she might bully Rika further.

What should I do? Are you saying there's a way?

"They did something?" Many students thought.

Manabe's switch from being hostile to wanting ways to conduct her revenge was comparable to Kushida's personality.

Manabe's intense desire to settle things was evident.

If you and I work together, we can safely get our revenge.

What guarantee do I have? It feels like you're trying to lure me into a trap, and then you'll tattle to the school. This smells like a sub-account.

If you think I'm trying to sell you out, Manabe-san, then go ahead and show this chat log to the teachers. You can only register accounts on school phones. I'm risking being identified by saying I want revenge on Karuizawa-san. I'm the one risking my neck here. Am I wrong?

"I don't condone your actions, but he's certainly right. If the girl showed the log he would at best get suspended or expelled," Nagumo said.

I'm sure Manabe understood. Even a sub-account wasn't perfectly safe. If I were exposed, I would obviously receive the harshest punishment.

So if I show this chat log to the school, what then? It'll be all over for you.

I don't think you're the kind of person to do that, Manabe-san. You have to show trust to be trusted.

I understand. I'll hear you out, at least.

"I have to commend you Ayanokouji, that's certainly some impressive manipulation," Sakayanagi praised me.

"Why would you do something like that? What's there for you to gain?" Ichinose couldn't understand my actions.

"I have my reasons."

"Well, whatever they are, they're wrong," Ichinose said matter-of-factly.

"What right do you have to decide whether my actions are good or bad? Are you just being morally righteous and flaunting your high ground or do you genuinely believe that?" I retorted.

She wasn't able to respond, but there was a disapproving stare in her eyes.

After that, I repeated some familiar-sounding stories. Stuff about how much I hated Karuizawa. How I wanted to do something about it but couldn't. How I'd heard about Manabe's confrontation with Karuizawa by chance, and that I'd tried to make contact. I played the victim thoroughly.

Once we returned to land, it would be difficult for me to contact Karuizawa directly. The school buildings and dorms were equipped with security cameras. Even if you tried to bring her into a private area, it was still highly likely that someone would spot you. This ship gave Manabe the perfect opportunity. I made her understand that revenge was only possible while they were here. I slowly but surely roused her anger.

My rationale and length I would go to was one something the people in this room had a slight insight on, but from this point forward their mentality towards me would be a lot more cold and fearful.

So, what should I do?

Now that Manabe understood, I finally started to reveal my plan. I'll call Karuizawa-san. Then, you take your time talking with her, and settle things.

After I sent that message, I followed it up by sending a map of the ship's lowest level.

Since you can't get any reception down there, she can't call for help. No one comes down there.

I see, I see. So since you're her classmate, you can call Karuizawa- san?

Eyes of pity were being placed on Kei by her friends and glares of resentment were being placed on me.

"So the pieces are all being set, I wonder if you had a much bigger role in this than I had once thought," Ryuuen thought

I'd like you to tell me right now if you're going along with my plan. After I call Karuizawa-san, you can decide whether you'll take your revenge. There won't be any problems that way, right?

She took a long time to respond, the longest for any response thus far.

Finally, I saw her response, and was sure that my plan would succeed. If my attempts to convince her via chat had failed, I had another plan prepared, just in case.

It would have been dangerous, but I would've made direct contact with Manabe in person. I had taken pictures when she was threatening Karuizawa in the emergency stairwell; I could've blackmailed her with those. However, the risks were great. I wanted to avoid drawing attention to myself as much as humanly possible.

"Now. Let's see what Manabe and her friends are capable of."

Everything was set at this point. All of my actions had led to my desired outcome and even if some things went off track I would have been able to fix them. Kei had no escape from my actions and I was able to reach my desired result.

The room was left in complete shock, they couldn't say a word. They had a negative opinion of me, but they think that even if I had a grudge against Kei that I had gone too far and my added manipulation didn't help improve their opinion of me. Everybody here had a newfound sense of hatred for me, and I could understand why. I would hate myself as well if I was in their position, every action I took was morally wrong by society's standards.

"I have one more video to show you, now that you have all the context and setting up, how about we see the climax of this scheme?"

With no break, the voice thrust us into another tape.

There were still over ten minutes left before her arranged meeting with Hirata. Maybe she'd arrived a little early to calm herself down. After she realized that she couldn't use her phone, she put it back in her pocket and leaned against the wall, apparently bored. She closed her eyes and opened her mouth slightly, muttering something to herself.

With how quietly she was muttering, I couldn't hear her at all. What was she talking about? Unfortunately, Hirata wasn't going to hear it. Once four o'clock rolled around, the door opened. I heard the dull sound of it. Three girls from Class C stepped through—Manabe and her friends. Wait... there was one other person with them.

The fated meeting had begun. All my pieces were set and everyone here knew that everything that happened in this room was set up by me.

"Oh? There was someone you weren't expecting?" Yagami said innocently.

"I can't predict for everything, unfortunately."

"I don't know senpai, from what you've shown here you seem more than capable of predicting something as easy as this. Her desire for revenge was clear and she wanted retribution for her friend, it isn't unusual that she would bring her friend unless you thought differently?" He asked sincerely.

"No, you're right," I ended the conversation abruptly.

I was surprised by Yagami. I didn't think a first-year could see something like that. Was I just underestimating the first-year leaders? If I have then I must fix this miscalculation.

She seemed meek, rather like Sakura. This was probably Rika. "It's all right," said Manabe. Then she saw Karuizawa. Naturally, Karuizawa noticed them, too.

"Wh-what are you doing here?!" she asked, trembling.

The passageways inside the ship were narrow, so there weren't many escape routes. Running away would be difficult.

"I just happened to see you come in here, that's all. Well, I suppose this is the perfect opportunity. Let me introduce you. This is Rika. Do you remember her, Karuizawa-san?" asked Manabe.

Manabe grabbed Rika, who was hiding behind her, and pulled her forward. She and Karuizawa were now facing each other. Karuizawa averted her eyes, pretending like she didn't know her, but judging from her behaviour it was obvious she remembered.

"It looks like Rika didn't even want this to happen. This is just a personal grudge," Sato said angrily.

"Manabe did say that Rika was shy, so if Manabe thought it was necessary to force her to confront Karuizawa then it would make sense, but that doesn't change the fact that this whole situation is overblown in the first place," Horikita voiced her dissatisfaction.

"Hey, Rika. Karuizawa-san was the one who shoved you, right?" asked Manabe.

"Yeah, she's the one," said Rika.

After hearing such a clear answer, Manabe smiled, looking happy as could be. Karuizawa, on the other hand, appeared increasingly anxious and confused. All I could do now was stay quiet and observe the miserable events that were about to unfold. Even if Karuizawa were subjected to an even more wretched ordeal than I could imagine, I had no intention of saving her.

Nobody here was surprised. At this point, this was just par for the course and I got many disapproving glares. Manabu gave me a dissatisfied glance, but he still stared at the screen before voicing anything he ever thought.

"Apologize to Rika," demanded Manabe.

"H-huh? Who's apologizing? I haven't done anything wrong," said Karuizawa.

"Still acting tough. You're a real piece of work, aren't you? But I think I understand now, more or less," snapped Manabe.

"Understand what?" asked Karuizawa.

"Your behavior. You're unusually fearful. Karuizawa-san, you were bullied, weren't you?"

"Wha—?!"

The revelation shocked everyone. Karuizawa Kei the headstrong girl's leader of class D was a bullied. Now, no one had any proof of the claims at this point, but they could easily tell from Kei's actions whether or not the claim held merit.

"Y-You were bullied?" Sato couldn't hide her shock.

"Yeah, pretty pathetic, right?" Kei said nonchalantly.

The shock was clear on the faces of every student. But no one said anything, all they did was pity her and hold their thoughts to be voiced at a later date.

She had been trying to hide the truth, but her past had caught up with her.

"I hit the nail on the head, didn't I? I knew it. I could feel it right from the start," Manabe continued.

"No, you're wrong!" Karuizawa denied it, but her words were weak. Even if she'd been an excellent actress, there wasn't any point. It wasn't as though Manabe was highly perceptive or anything. She knew because I'd told her everything beforehand. I'd told her that Karuizawa had been cruelly bullied ever since childhood. That she harboured deep trauma.

"So that's how she knew," Hirata said and sighed.

He probably feels partly guilty since he gave me the necessary ammunition to break Kei, but he didn't have to feel like that. I could've gotten it from Kei herself and even if I didn't have the necessary proof, I could always lie and make an estimated guess based on my previous observations.

"If you get down on your knees and beg right now, I might forgive you. How about it? I mean, you're good at groveling, right? Being on your knees?" Manabe mocked Karuizawa.

"N-no, I won't! I've never done that kind of thing before!" Karuizawa shouted.

Karuizawa tried to slip past Manabe, but Manabe snatched her long hair and pulled her back, slamming her into the wall. Manabe was assured that the stage had been set for her revenge, so I couldn't control her here. I'd only promised that she would "meet" with Karuizawa, after all.

The loud noise from the screen reverberated around the hall and it echoed inside everyone's minds. The escalation to violence was much faster than people expected, but it wasn't something that people didn't expect. Humans naturally lash out with violence as a defence mechanism or to gain something, it's in their nature.

She should have agonized over whether to use violence. However, when she finally had the chance to be alone with Karuizawa, she let go of all other concerns. Because her friends were expecting her to get back at Karuizawa, I couldn't imagine that this would end until Manabe had dished out a great deal of punishment. That's what I'd been aiming for, anyway.

It was like the Milgram experiment, a psychological study conducted in the 1960s. The test, also referred to as the Eichmann experiment, had been conducted by two groups of people in an isolated facility. Members of these two groups played the role of either the teacher or the student. First, the person playing the role of teacher—the subject of the experiment—would administer a low electric shock to the student so that they would remember the pain and fear associated with it. The student would be separated from the teacher and placed on the other side of the glass. Then a device was installed on the student's side, one that would transmit the electric shock, while the switch to administer the shock was entrusted to the teacher.

At that point, the proctor overseeing the experiment instructed the teacher to give the student a series of problems. If the student made a mistake, the teacher was instructed to turn on the electric current. The teacher was told to increase the voltage every time the student answered incorrectly. The switch could administer shocks exceeding 450 volts, powerful enough to prove fatal. On the other hand, though, the shock administered for the first wrong question was only forty-five volts, which amounted to mild itching.

The subject could hear the student's voice, which meant every time a shock was administered, the teacher could hear the student's agonizing screams. However, unknown to the subject, the electric shock device installed on the student's side was a fake. The student only pretended to be electrocuted. The teacher could hear the student's suffering, though. At first, there wasn't much of a reaction. As the voltage increased, the agonizing screams of the student grew louder. Eventually, the student fell silent.

The subject, the teacher, wasn't threatened. They were only told they'd be rewarded and were free to do as they liked. In other words, even if the teacher asked to quit the test, they would be fine. Despite that, nearly 66% of subjects increased the voltage until they administered electric shocks powerful enough to kill someone. The experiment demonstrated that, depending on the circumstances, anyone was capable of incredible cruelty and brutality.

To add to this, the Milgram experiment also proved the effect that status had on the decision making of a person. For example, imagine if there was a piece of trash and a bin a little further away. Imagine if a student asked another student to pick up the trash, no obligation or consequence comes with not picking up the trash since the 2 people are of the same status. But if a teacher asked the student to pick up the trash, there is now an added consequence and since the teacher's status is higher than that of the student, the student will obey.

"You are quite well informed, I was thinking the exact same thing," Sakayanagi giggled.

"Ow, ow! It hurts! Let me go!" screamed Karuizawa.

Karuizawa wept at having her hair pulled, and pleaded, but Manabe only laughed like she was enjoying it. Right now, they were on the lowest level of the ship, a closed environment. Manabe was the subject, and Karuizawa the student. I'd successfully set the stage for a situation like the Milgram experiment. Even though you could say the conditions weren't exactly the same, considering the relationship these two had cultivated, the situation was rather like the original experiment. Seeing Karuizawa suffer, especially after her proud behaviour, probably felt great to them.

"Agh!" Karuizawa shouted.

"Whoa, Shiho. Don't you think you're hitting her a little too much? Wow, you're harsh."

Manabe continued to drive her knee into Karuizawa's stomach. Of course, Manabe wasn't used to hitting someone like that, so her movements were sluggish. It shouldn't have hurt much. But Karuizawa's pain was Manabe's greatest reward.

The sheer brutality on the screen moved the attention of the cohort to the group of girls who witnessed the incident. The pity on Kei had also increased, but seeing her at her weakest moment had some gratification for those who didn't like her. The social circle that Kei had meticulously crafted from the beginning of the year was forming to crack now that there was weakness in their leader.

This also took their attention off of me even if I was the one who was mainly to blame for this. It's similar to a person employing a mercenary to assassinate someone. Although the mercenary killed someone the person who hired them was even more to blame as the murder would have never happened if not for the individual's actions. In this case, I was the individual and Manabe was the mercenary.

Seemingly in a great mood, she invited Rika to join in. Rika had been standing some distance away, watching anxiously.

"Come on Rika. You give it a try, too," urged Manabe.

"N-no. I'm okay," answered Rika.

"We're doing this for your sake, right? Come on, there's no one around," replied Manabe.

Rika wanted to refuse taking revenge, but that wasn't allowed right now. If your friend coaxed and cajoled you to join in the fun, it'd be difficult to keep refusing. Rika knew that if Manabe's anger were redirected at her, she could become the next victim.

"What's the point of being around them if they would turn on you the second you refused to do something?" Ichinose ridiculed Rika.

"I-I'm sorry," Rika rushed to apologise.

"N-no you don't have to apologise, I didn't mean it in a bad way," Ichinose seemed to have been a little too harsh that it made Rika think that she was blaming her.

Peer pressure is a common thing to happen and it isn't even exclusive to teenagers; adults and even the elderly will probably experience this. A boss telling you to do something unethical or someone telling you to sell your shop because everyone else has been doing so. Though these are a little more on the extreme side of the spectrum, they still happen.

"O-okay. I'll try."

There was the sound of a pathetically light slap. Pap.

"L-Like that?" asked Rika.

"No, no, that's no good at all. You need to put more force into it, like this."

Whap! The sound echoed through the room. Karuizawa looked like she was in pain after that hit. Rika slapped Karuizawa again and again, just as she was instructed. Her slaps gradually grew more forceful.

"S-s-s-stop it!" pleaded Karuizawa.

"Ha ha. This is fun! Haha!"

Well, maybe it was more appropriate to think of Rika as the subject of the Milgram experiment.

"Please, forgive me!" Karuizawa pleaded.

All the pity that was once there for Rika for being bullied was erased as they saw how easily she gave in to her true and vicious self. Of course, having the ability to take out all your frustration on the person who caused it must be the ultimate vindication, and the added bonus of not being in trouble would greatly motivate a person. Many people would do the same in her situation, but that doesn't excuse her actions.

Seeing her like that must have felt euphoric for Manabe and the others. Rika started to punch and kick rather strongly, to the point where I couldn't believe she'd ever been scared. Also, even though she left some marks on easy-to-spot places like Karuizawa's cheeks, Rika focused on hitting places you wouldn't be able to see normally, like under her uniform or beneath her hair.

Karuizawa collapsed in fear, tears streaming down her face. I moved without making a sound. I quietly opened the door, taking care that Manabe and her friends wouldn't see. They would all continue to take out their frustrations on Karuizawa a little longer. I didn't particularly mind.

After all, if something has been thoroughly destroyed, it saves me time and effort when I need to build it back up. I quietly closed the door and was no longer able to hear Karuizawa's screams.

"You didn't even care?" Ichinose was exasperated.

"He's helped me so many times. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, I wanted to reserve my final judgements until this ended, but there's no justification for this. This was cruel and was far too excessive. Ayanokouji, maybe my opinion will change, but right now I can't support you. Every part of my body is screaming in fear and my heart wants to burst out of my ribcage," Ichinose thought

I ignored Ichinose. She probably despises me at this point or at the very least considers me an enemy. Even she has her limits when it came to other people and how much she was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. I glanced over to Kei who was doing her best trying to maintain her expression, it was probably taking every single bit of focus she had, but she was definitely still distressed and anxious about her lowest moments being shown.

After I confirmed that Manabe and her friends were gone, I entered the room. Karuizawa should've heard the door open, but she continued to cower and cry on the ground. Perhaps she didn't notice me coming in because she was so overcome by fear. So this was how the leader of the girls, so arrogant and headstrong, really was?

"It doesn't matter how headstrong someone is because everyone would break under that type of situation," Onodera ridiculed my reasoning.

"What the hell's wrong with you? You did this and now you're insulting her, what is with you?" Ike agreed.

The Ayanokouji group's former members had downcast expressions. Keisei averted his eyes from the screen while Airi was sobbing and Haruka was comforting her Akito however, was just in shock, he stared blankly at the screen as if he couldn't process what was going on.

Perhaps thanks to the advice I'd given to Manabe and her friends, Karuizawa's uniform and the parts of her body that you could normally see appeared undamaged. If her uniform had been ripped, or if they'd cut her hair, it would've been difficult for the Class C girls to go unpunished. While bullying is common, our school's unique setup made bullying much more difficult to get away with.

If anything might have been a cause for concern, it was her cheeks, reddened from being slapped over and over. The marks would fade by tomorrow, though.

"So everything that was done wouldn't be punishable due to lack of evidence. Did you get this idea with the trial before the island exam?" Manabu asked

I was surprised he had asked me so nonchalantly, "While I did get some inspiration from that incident, I just got it with some logical reasoning. If a big incident like this happened then there would need to be some evidence to decide who would be punished."

"I see."

"Karuizawa."

When I called her, she finally noticed me. She lifted her head. "Wh- why are..." she stammered.

I wasn't supposed to be here. She panicked at being seen like that, but couldn't just stop crying and act as though nothing had happened.

She would eventually stop crying. She would eventually calm down. If I left right now, what I wanted to happen wouldn't take place. I continued to wait quietly, without trying to talk to her. After some time passed, Karuizawa gradually stopped bawling, and she started to calm down.

If two people were alone together in a dark, closed room, a sort of natural intimacy occurred. Even if the people normally hated each other, the psychological distance between them would lessen.

"Have you calmed down a bit?"

"A little."

Karuizawa still didn't stand. She wiped the tears away with her uniform sleeve. I reached out to help her up, but she didn't move to take my hand.

"Where's Hirata-kun?" she asked.

"Sounds like he was supposed to meet you here. I would guess that a teacher called him away. I just happened to be with him when he mentioned you, so I came here in his place."

"You really stepped up your game when it came to lying to others," Ryueen praised me.

"Was that a compliment?" I asked him.

"It can be whatever you think," He dodged the question.

That explanation should have been enough to satisfy her and save me the trouble of further questions. There wasn't any need to tell her the truth right now. First, I needed to get her to relax, and then fill in the cracks of her heart.

"Why were you crying?" I asked.

"Manabe and her friends... I absolutely will not let them get away with that."

Karuizawa started trembling as she recalled what they'd done to her. Even if she didn't want to reveal this pathetic side of herself, the trauma was buried so deep that her pain wasn't easily hidden.

Everyone here could understand how she was feeling. There are 3 stages of thinking, the first is no thinking at all and that led to instinctual reactions such as crying and trembling.

"You have to keep this a secret. If anyone finds out, I'll never forgive you," she warned me.

Karuizawa's weakness was that she couldn't stand being seen as a victim by the rest of the school. If people found out that Manabe and her friends had used violence, then the school would inevitably expose the details of what had happened and why. To protect her social standing, Karuizawa couldn't afford to let that happen. That was why she'd planned to use Hirata to stop Manabe and her friends.

This news was something new to everyone here. The previous attempts were just guesses and they had all assumed that Kei had pushed that girl because of her attitude and personality. Her being bullied was something surprising for them as well, but plenty of people may have been bullied, but they can always build themselves back up. This connection is what everyone just realised. Karuizawa Kei built herself up by making becoming someone else.

"You know, you could get back at Manabe and the others. Since they're girls, even someone like you could win," she suggested to me.

"That's an insane request," I answered flatly.

"What, are you scared of getting even with Manabe and her friends? And you're supposed to be a guy," she chided.

"If you attack them, it'll all be over. You should know from what happened with Sudou that this isn't a simple matter. Don't you get it? An eye for an eye won't solve anything. Things will only get further out of hand. The school will carry out an investigation and conduct interviews. You don't want that, right, Karuizawa?"

"Did you really want to protect your status that bad Karuizawa?" Shinohara asked worriedly for her friend.

"I really wanted to back then, although I guess it doesn't mean anything anymore though," I'm starting to see what Kei is doing now.

She doesn't care about the consequences of losing her status, so for now she's pretending to be pitiful and is trying to stall for as long as possible. I could read her intentions, they were predictable and easy to understand from every viewpoint, but at the same time, she surprised me by giving up her social status so easily.

"So you'll just lie down and take it?" she asked.

I knew how to respond, but decided to stay silent.

"But they would... They'll continue to do awful things to me," muttered Karuizawa.

She started shaking again. In truth, there was no guarantee that Manabe and her friends would stop. Karuizawa could find many ways to escape back at school, but she couldn't continue playing hide-and-seek with Manabe forever. Her classmates would eventually notice a change in Karuizawa's behavior.

Karuizawa desperately wanted to fix this situation. I'd been waiting for that desperation.

It was like a car crash, they all knew how horrible and disgusting what I did was, but no one was able to look away from what I had orchestrated.

"It would be terrible if things went back to how they were back in the old days. I understand that you want to prevent it," I told her.

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

Karuizawa should be putting things together by now. Even if it was clear how I knew that Manabe and her friends had bullied her, she should wonder how I knew about her past.

"I meant exactly what I said. You've managed to escape by getting into this prestigious school and rising through the ranks to reign supreme at the head of Class D. But in the end, you haven't really changed at all. You're still that bullied little girl."

"Wh-who are you talking about?!" she shouted.

"You, Karuizawa."

I grabbed her arm and forced her up.

Even the slower students understood now that I spelled it out for them. Kei was a girl who wanted to escape her past. The cracks in her social circle had formed, but even if there are cracks in a mirror, parts stay intact.

All of Kei's friends gave her encouraging words, talked about how mentally strong he was and some even talked about their own stories of bullying in the past. What would happen if Kei decides to stay by me? I'm excited to find out.

"H-hey, what are you doing?!"

I pinned her up against the wall and forced her to look me in the eye.

"Manabe tormented you just now, yes? She and her friends pulled your hair and slapped your face. They kicked you in the chest, in your stomach, didn't they? That's why you ended up like this: miserable, pathetic, crying on the ground."

Kei was a girl trying to run from her past. I guess it might be hypocritical for me to insult her for that since I'm doing the exact same thing she did. I made a fake persona, I tried to hide behind a mask; the only difference between the both of us is that I can protect myself and survive on my own whereas Kei doesn't have that ability, or maybe that was just what it was like in the past.

"Wha—"

Our eyes met. We stared as if we were being sucked into one another. Of course, there wasn't any hint of love there. Only darkness.

"You were bullied ever since you were little. You were a victim throughout elementary school and junior high. You wanted to act tough so you could stop being bullied. Am I right?"

"D-did you hear this...from Hirata-kun?"

"Hirata is everyone's ally, for better or worse. He'll help you, like he'll help anyone. Even if you got your position in Class D by pretending to be Hirata's girlfriend, he won't be of any use to you in situations like this. He isn't a good enough host for a parasite like you."

"Wait, pretending?" Ike said out of shock.

"So it was just a fake relationship?"

The students put 2 and 2 together fairly quickly.

"So she used Hirata to cement her social status in the class to protect herself. I might have underestimated her," Matsushita thought.

"This isn't too unusual. They showed no affection and didn't even call each other by their first names during the time they were dating," Horikita analysed.

"What's wrong with you guys? How many of you have some sort of dark past? It's practically a trend," Ishizaki said.

Although some people glared at me for calling Kei a parasite, the eyes that stared at me were in fewer numbers than usual. This is probably because they had realised that there was some merit to my words.

Karuizawa was much smarter than other people thought. She had taken care not to overdo it in the Rabbit group precisely because she understood Hirata's neutral stance. That was probably why she was so reserved at first. However, as a display of her status, she'd started trouble with Rika, which led to this current predicament.

"What are you... Why are you doing this, huh?!"

"Why? It's obvious, isn't it? You need to understand your situation. Don't you know who's standing in front of you right now? It's not Hirata; it's me. I know everything. I know about your past. I know about your fake relationship with Hirata. I even know that Manabe and her friends tortured you to the point where you started bawling."

I knew everything that Karuizawa Kei wanted to hide. I had her heart in my hands. Right now, I would decide whether she lived or died.

Some people recoiled from my harsh and grim words. Most people don't think about how easily they can deal with another's mortality with such ease.

"These were said with such ease like words someone would say when they need to get milk or need to get the mail," Horikita thought

"If you don't do as I say, I can expose you," I added.

Karuizawa understood better than anyone how terrifying that was. "D- don't screw with me! Who the hell do you think you are?!" she shouted.

"Someone who knows the truth. Nothing more, nothing less."

I moved in so close to her that our faces almost touched. When she turned her face away and tried to avert her eyes, I grabbed her chin and forced her to look at me. She wanted to look away, but with a man's strength bearing down on her, she couldn't move. She closed her eyes, as if trying to escape my gaze.

Similarly, no one could avert their eyes from the spectacle on the screen either. They were just entranced by my horrific actions. But they couldn't tell what my intentions at this point were.

"What, what do you want with me?! You're just after my body, aren't you?" she screamed.

"Your body, huh? You know, that doesn't sound too bad."

"What the fuck man?" Sudo roared.

"He's just like Kushida," Okitani said. It seems that he had amounted a lot of hatred for Kushida even if she helped him.

I ran my fingertips across Karuizawa's thighs. She felt so incredibly soft that I couldn't even imagine that she was a person like me. Her skin was silky smooth. The feel of it was incredibly different from my own.

"Eek!"

She tried to escape my touch. I held her tighter and forced her to look straight at me. "Don't run. If you try it again, I'll tell everyone at school what I know about you."

Those words were like a magic spell. She stiffened.

"You... Grr..." She sputtered.

Rage, panic, fear, despair: How many negative feelings had Karuizawa been carrying? She now realized that I was completely different from the meek person she knew from school. She probably found it terrifying.

"Spread your legs," I commanded.

"We have to expel that monster."

"What the hell? He calls everyone tools and now he does something as horrible as this?"

"He's a fucking psychopath."

All of my hatred cultivated at this point. And now all eyes were on Kei. Now then Kei, show me how you're going to respond to the eyes staring at you.

"Sensei, I'm pretty sure that if anything illegal happens then the student in charge of the crime gets expelled right?" Hondo asked.

Chabashira was exasperated at the events happening on screen but quickly regained her composure, "Yes. You're right, but the only problem is that the victim of a crime has to ask for the student to be expelled. The school certainly will do it, but only if the person asks," She explained.

Chabashira's explanation tracks with what the school has done so far. For example, Sudo's trial got prevented by the alleged victims withdrawing their complaints. Although what I did was a much more serious crime, Kushida had done the same by threatening to tell lies about me and even recently, Hosen's knife punctured me in my hand.

In Kushida's situation, all the evidence was there to get her expelled, but since I advocated for her not to be expelled, she got off scot-free, or in legal terms at least. If Kei decides not to do anything then I'll be hated, but won't get in trouble. Although that isn't much different from what I'm currently experiencing.

"Kei, you can just get him expelled," Shinohara advised her friend, and it seems that most people backed her.

Every decision right now was up to Kei, in fact, my entire life would change in this situation. But I'm sure that I didn't miscalculate.

"Nah," Kei said bluntly.

The shock was even clear on the teacher's faces. The room went quiet, the gears were turning in everyone's heads. Even Sakayanagi didn't expect this although, since she didn't have the same knowledge about Kei that Ryueen had it makes sense. A few seconds passed and a burst of sudden laughter came from the room.

"I knew you weren't normal but this is just amusing. I underestimated you Karuizawa, I thought you would expel him after everything he did to you," Sakayanagi laughed.

Ryueen had expected this since he saw her resolve on the rooftop and Horikita and Hirata probably had predictions since they had some knowledge about my relationship with Kei.

"Karuizawa, are you really sure about that?" Chabashira asked again.

"I'm sure, you don't need to worry," Kei shot down her question.

The room was in confusion. They didn't expect this outcome from Kei. They weren't able to make the choice for her, but they certainly didn't understand anything. So they distanced themselves from her.

If humans don't understand something then they have 2 options. The first is the more brave and that is to try and understand the unknown phenomenon, but the more common solution is to run away and avoid it. Kei's friends had begun to distance themselves from her. While they didn't show it, you could feel the broken connection with ease.

Karuizawa slowly opened her legs, tears streaming down her face as she did so. Even if she knew that she was about to be violated, she still wanted to protect her position. The pain she felt from her years of being

bullied had won out. I placed my hand on my belt buckle and pretended to rattle it. Even so, Karuizawa didn't run. She was trying to accept this. She looked at me with empty eyes.

The room was in shock and anticipation. They all feared what was going to happen.

There was no doubt about it. Karuizawa Kei had become a perfect tool for me. I didn't actually care about her body; I just needed to threaten her to see how far she was willing to go, how much she would do. She probably understood that.

The immersion from the auditorium was broken. But there was a metaphorical sigh of relief from everyone in the room now that Kei's safety was secured. I glanced over at Airi and saw that she was the most relieved with what had happened. She had a similar situation happen to her so she could relate to Kei and understand the despair and lack of hope that one would have in this situation.

Revealing my true self to her was a big risk. If Karuizawa reported me to the school, I'd be in enormous trouble. However, she feared her past and losing her current social status more than anything else. That was why she'd go so far as to offer up her body if someone requested it, if it would protect her secret.

Suddenly, a possible logical solution to Kei's refusal became clear, but unfortunately, that wasn't the correct answer.

"Before you all ask, It's not because of that," Kei was ahead of everyone else and answered.

Once again everyone was left confused, but there was still a conclusion that they came to that would make everything align. The only logical solution was that I forced Kei to vouch for me and that was only partly true. I did ask Kei to stay by me no matter what which may be considered forcing someone, but my proposal was based completely on Kei's own words.

"I'll never bow to you. I won't be bullied by the likes of you. You just want to mess with me! You think you can do whatever you want, you pervert?!" she shouted.

Karuizawa roared with anger, as if it was welling up from deep within her heart.

"Well, whatever. It's not like this is the first time someone's used force against me. So. Did you know about that, too? How do you think I should act in an impossible situation?" she asked. Still trembling, she gave a thin smile and looked at me with an intense darkness in her eyes.

"After a while, I gave up trying to resist. That's right; I was everyone's victim. I became cold, robotic. I could cry, scream, or thrash around, but it didn't matter. I couldn't do anything. All I could do was take it."

Kei's main strength was her mental fortitude, while she had other skills as well none of them could be possible without the necessary mental strength. Everyone here apart from the expected parties were astounded by the impressive mental strength that Kei displayed.

Karuizawa, as if accepting it all, lifted her skirt and touched her panties. I grabbed her slender arm and pushed her up against the wall.

Thankfully, the screen was censored for the necessary moments.

"Hey wait for a second, did he do that to stop my hand from going there? I never noticed that before," Kei thought.

"What happened to you?" I asked.

"What happened? All sorts of things. Everything and anything. They'd put tacks in my shoes or stuff my desk full of roadkill. When I went to the bathroom, I'd get splashed with dirty water. They wrote words like 'whore' on my uniform. They pulled my hair and punched and kicked me. Anything you could imagine, basically. I was bullied in every way. Countless times. What I've just told you was just a fraction of what I've experienced. Those were the 'gentler' ways I've been bullied, too. It makes me want to laugh. So, why aren't you laughing? Why don't you laugh at the pitiful loser who's been bullied all her life?"

Those words were out of pure sadness and lack of hope. Many people had sympathy for kei, but in this world, there are still those who may not feel anything from those words. It may be because someone has experienced worse or someone was simply apathetic to another's suffering.

No one said anything. It was either due to them not knowing what to say or because they just felt that it was better to say nothing.

Even after everything she'd suffered, she still got back up. She seemed ready to fight again. Her resilience had motivated her to enroll in this school. Still...the experiences she'd recounted weren't enough to explain everything.

"What's worse than that?" Kanzaki questioned.

"That level of bullying is certainly extreme, but in a school like this where bullying is much harder to do, why would there be a need to go so far?" I explained.

"What else have you suffered?" I asked.

"Huh?"

"Have you told me the whole truth?"

I believed that something critical had shattered her spirit before this. There had to be some other reason behind her abnormal fearfulness, something that Karuizawa wanted to hide so much that it was worth giving up her body.

"What are you hiding?"

"Wh-what?"

Karuizawa turned her head from me and lowered her eyes to look down at her left side. I noticed that, of course. I reached over and touched that part of her body, over her uniform.

"S-stop!" she shouted.

Her shouts echoed within the enclosed walls of the room. I grabbed her uniform and pulled it up. There, on her beautiful skin, was an ugly scar. A deep scar, one that had been created by a sharp blade.

Some people winced at the gruesomeness and sheer length of the scar. Not even bullying is this extreme, this is life-threatening that would have anyone go to jail. This is one of the aspects of Kei that is still unknown to me.

"Kei, are you okay?" Sato asked quietly.

Sato was exceptionally quiet during this time. Whether it be because she was conflicted because of her feelings for me or because she was surprised by what Kei had gone through, it was most likely a mix of both.

"Yeah, I'm good now," Kei eased her worries.

Sato asked over and over again and every time, Kei just emphasised that she was okay. Sato eventually stopped, but she kept on glancing over at Kei every minute.

"This is it? This is your darkness?"

"U-ugh!"

This wasn't the result of simple bullying. A serious scar like this had come from a life-threatening attack. Even though she was burdened with that horrible past, she remained tough. She got back on her feet.

Over the past few days, I'd keenly observed Karuizawa Kei. To protect herself, she forced people to become her allies. She protected her status, even if that meant being disliked.

"Despair comes in many forms. And you've experienced despair. Haven't you?" I asked.

Karuizawa's dark eyes met with mine. People who carry darkness within are attracted to one another. Slowly, they erode each other. Those who conceal a deep darkness will readily embrace the darkness of others.

Some people were uncomfortable with the situation and others just averted their eyes.

"Certainly, your eyes are immensely dark. I don't think I would match the sheer emptiness of them, but my hatred is enough to make me keep up with you and one day I will surpass you," Yagami thought.

"That indifference is what I idolise, it's incredible to see it multiple times," Amasawa thought.

"Wh-what are you...you..." she stammered.

If her past held her captive, then I had to forcefully free her from her shackles. Even if we weren't close, I could feel the darkness from her, through her skin. Yes. There were profoundly dark things left in this world that even Karuizawa didn't yet know about.

"I agree. wWhat Karuizawa dealt with was certainly harsh, but that can't be compared to your suffering," Sakayanagi thought

"True. It isn't just exclusive to Karuizwa either, you've gone through things worse than what most people may experience in their lives," Chairmain Sakayanagi thought

The tolerance of the room was slowly becoming too much to handle as some just wanted to leave and they made an excuse for the bathroom, but since there was only a little bit left they were refused.

"I promise you one thing. From now on, I will protect you from bullying. I will be much more reliable than Hirata or Machida," I told her.

Now, this was something that everybody expected. It was from my words before 'a perfect tool for me'. It clearly meant that I wanted to make use of Kei and not just break her for no reason.

"Right now, you should understand what I'm saying. If the wind blows, a tiny flame goes out. However, a larger flame only grows bigger. It becomes so strong that it won't go out, not even in the face of wild winds or pouring rain. You will help me, and I will help you. Kindness has nothing to do with it. Do you have any problems with this arrangement?"

"First things first. I'll get rid of your anxieties for you," I added.

I pulled out my phone.

"I have a way to stop Manabe and her friends."

I showed her my phone. On the screen was a photo of Karuizawa being bullied in the emergency stairway.

"That's—" she began.

"If I send this picture to them, they won't get carried away anymore. If they still decide to harass you, perhaps by spreading rumors, then I will step in and put a stop to it. With this."

As far as Manabe and her friends were concerned, this incident should have been enough to satisfy them. If they got carried away and tried to hurt Karuizawa further, they would end up causing trouble for Ryuuen. Then they would be in jeopardy themselves. I let go of Karuizawa's chin, and spoke in a flat, emotionless tone.

Machiavellism. Also commonly known as the ends justified the means. Several military strategists adopted this ideology due to the sheer ruthlessness and brutality of war. That's what my actions were. I caused lots of harm for Kei, I destroyed her mentally and Manabe destroyed her friends physically. But due to this, I was able to help class D greatly in the future.

Whether the ends justify the means is an ethical issue which means that there is no right or wrong answer as both options have their pros and cons.

"All I want is for people to cooperate with me. I want you to assist me in the future, doing whatever I need."

"What? Assist? What do you want me to do?"

"If things continue as they are, Class D will never overtake Class A. While the individual students within Class D certainly aren't incapable, we lack a sense of unity. Our class is scattered. However, if you control the girls for me, the situation will gradually improve."

Her social pull made her an even more valuable ally than Horikita.

"What makes you say that?" Horikita inquired.

"Because while Karuizawa doesn't have the strengths you do, I make up for them. But what she does have is something neither you nor I have which is social status," I explained and used Kei's last name since there was no reason to reveal our true relationship just yet.

"What are you trying to..."

Up until now, she'd only ever seen as me as a lowly, unobtrusive guy. Seeing my true self must've terrified her. But I was done explaining. Besides, the less I talked, the more terrifying I would appear. The less she would resist.

"Now, the first thing I need. We must guide our group to victory in this exam."

Now, this was something no one expected, they had all just thought that my plans ended there and that the rabbit group won because of the class D VIP winning due to luck. They didn't expect my part in it.

"How am I supposed to help lead them to—"

"You can, because you're... Right?"

Though I didn't articulate the keyword in that sentence, Karuizawa seemed to know what it was. She looked me in the eyes. The truth resonated deep within her, in her heart.

She tried to look puzzled, but that was just an act. After all, a parasite couldn't live without a host. By finding a new host, Karuizawa only had one way to go on living: with me.

"Kiyotaka, do you mean that you weren't the VIP?" Keisei said shocked.

"Yeah, I lied to you."

He wanted to respond, but Keisei already knows what I would say to any counterargument he came up with. So he stayed quiet.

The scene faded to black.

"What a masterpiece, don't you think?"

Some people may be entertained, but I doubt anyone here found any enjoyment from that.

I had looked over at everyone I knew. The Ayannokouji Group all looked sad and disheartened at the events. They're all thinking that they can't be associated with me anymore, there's no doubt in my mind. Although that decision isn't set in stone, it may stay the same or change sometime down the line.

Ryueen and Sakayanagi looked unfazed and simply got up from their seats as their class was called to leave and walked out with a complete aura of nonchalance.

Ichinose looked blank, a blank mask from which I couldn't make out any intention. She whispered something to Shibata which I couldn't make out, but he glanced over at me so I had an idea of what it was about.

Kei was surrounded by her friends and they were all showering her with positive messages and voices of encouragement. Honestly, they were just repeating what they've already said, but the thought is what counts. The immense number of people that were encouraging there before was mostly gone, so only the people who actually thought of Kei as a friend remained.

Horikita looked annoyed. I suppose it makes sense since she thought of me as a friend and I did all these horrible things for her to see. Hirata looked disheartened similar to when the class went into chaos in the island exam, but he wasn't allowed to falter now. He needed to pull his class together.

Our class was called and I got out of my seat last since I doubt anyone wants me to be between them in the first place. After they all left I walked outside and when I walked outside the gym I found Shibata leaning against the wall.

When he noticed me he walked up to me and gave me a note and walked away with his hands in his pockets; I guess he just doesn't want to talk to me, so this was his only option. I unfolded the note and found some nice handwriting that was either made by a masterful calligrapher or a girl with nice handwriting. The handwriting asked me to go behind the second year dorms in 30 minutes.

This was probably Ichinoses way of contacting me in private. I walked back to my dorm, got ready and walked out to the backside of the dormitories and found Ichinose already waiting there.

"Hey Ichinose," I said as I walked up to her, we were around 10 metres away from each other.

"I made up my mind," She said blankly

"Your mind about what?" I feigned ignorance

"My thoughts about you. It took a while, but now I think my head is clear enough," Ichinose indistinctly said.

"I wouldn't mind hearing them," I told her.

I had an idea about what she would say.

"I despise you. How could you do anything like that? I trusted you and you're such a horrible person. You manipulated everyone in the island exam and when you helped me when Sakayanagi revealed my past, that was all just because you wanted to make me help you. You manipulated me at every turn," Ichinose voiced out every complaint she had with me.

Ichinose's emotions are probably stronger than some others because she liked me until some time ago. Although Sato and Airi were in the same position, they hadn't been around me and so they simply made delusions and expectations about who I was. Ichinose was more realistic with her feelings, although, unlike Kei, she had only seen my positives.

"What impressive inference and it's exactly right, I have nothing to correct you on."

I cut her off for the first time

"You're right, I'm a sinful and horrible person, but what's wrong with that?"

"..." She didn't have any words

"What will you do about me then? Will you expel me even if it requires putting your classmates in harm's way? I have the ability to defend myself against whatever you do, but unfortunately, I can't say the same for your classmates," I provoked.

I continued, "Ichinose, you don't know what it means to be a leader."

"Why would you say that? It's not like you've been leading your classmates. You're just winning by yourself," She pointed out the flaw in my logic

"That's true and that's why I'm speaking from an outsider's perspective. To be the leader is to be at the top of the organisation, but you're also a slave to it as a whole. No matter what you do, no matter what the cost, you have to do anything to survive. In order to do that you need to get your hands dirty,"

"That's just being a tyrant."

"Maybe it is, but if I wish to be a tyrant, then I'm asking you, what is it that you want Ichinose? Is it to graduate with all your classmates and be able to do anything to keep them safe? Is that the ideal you're trying to achieve?"

"Yes. I'll try my best to get through this without losing anyone. If I can do that, I'll be fine," Ichinose said her true thoughts.

"What a righteous ideal, but that's unfortunately all it is, an ideal. Righteousness is nothing but a weapon that people wield. It can hurt people, but it can't save anyone."

People who believe that there is an objective right and wrong- are the people who end up resenting the world when the things they want don't go their way.

Ichinose took a few seconds to respond, "So what you're saying is that to protect anyone, I have to harm others to save them."

"Isn't that what you're already doing? Having your class be at the top makes everyone below you lose out on any hope of having a successful life," I told her.

Ichinose didn't respond, but there's no doubt in my mind that I'm her enemy now. Ichinose needed a wakeup call, and this served as one. Her opinion of me isn't set in stone, and it will likely change down the track. Whether she will stick to her ideals or will change is for time to tell.

"Do your best to protect those around you."

After that, I turned the corner and went back to my dorm. Everyone despises me now. The white room students are still at large, but they'll be revealed eventually, so my worries about that are alleviated. I wonder what would happen to Ichinose from now on, will she try and expel me or fall into a pit of despair?

Authors notes:

Words: 15975

This is gonna be a long authors notes.

First.

I apologise for the late upload. This chapter was really long and kinda hard to write. I promise that it won't happen again.

Second.

So, when I was making the original plan for what scenes to react to for vol 4 I kind of forgot about the Ichinose thigh scene. I'm probably going to skip it since it would just be awkward and out of place if I reacted to it right now.

Third.

I made Ichinose hate Ayanokouji. I think that even Ichinose has her limits for how much she can tolerate a person and for Ichinose the feeling of betrayal is greater than everyone else, so I thought it would make sense.

That's all for the chapter, I hope you enjoyed.

Double-layered trap

Today was so hot I felt like my skin was going to evaporate. I was considering taking an ice-cold shower but ended up deciding to keep with my usual routine. The school forces us to wear our coats even in the summer.

Is this a new form of torture? Is this a psychological attack for a special exam in the future? I was spiralling until the elevator doors rang and I got out into the ground floor.

I walked to the school. It was at an increased pace since I would get out of the heat faster, but unfortunately, that also caused me to warm up more because of my increased energy expenditure. I finally got into the school just shy of heatstroke.

We were taken to the gym and I sat in my seat, but the usual glares constantly staring holes into me were fewer in number. I looked at the people who would usually glance at me, but they would all do their best to not look in my direction. It seems that the last few events made them all fear me to an extent where they couldn't even look at me.

"Today's the final video of this little exam and it's a fun one, hope you enjoy it."

It sounded like a host now.

"This tape is during the final session of the rabbit group."

"Good evening. Nice to see you all," Ichinose said warmly.

She was smiling, just like always. I set the trap immediately. We didn't know who else had a hidden agenda, after all. I'd been waiting for Ichinose to talk, and decided to cut in before she spoke up again.

It really is jumping straight into the action.

"But I don't remember you doing shit," Ibuki stated

"There were unfortunately some obstacles," I said

"Um, excuse me. If everyone's okay with it—"

"I have something I'd like to ask—"

Both Hamaguchi and I started talking at the same time.

"Oh, sorry. Go ahead, Ayanokouji-kun."

"Oh, no. You can go first. I don't mind," I said.

How annoying. Well, this didn't get in the way of my plan, but any unexpected trouble could make things unstable. I decided to let Hamaguchi speak first. I'd chime in after thinking things through. Then, Hamaguchi shattered my plans in an unexpected way.

Now it had everyone's attention. Although this jumped right to the point, people weren't that interested, but now they saw something new that captured their attention; class B taking action.

"For the past three days, I've been thinking of how we could achieve Outcome #1," he said.

Hamaguchi launched into an explanation of his plan which, surprisingly, was quite like mine.

"There is a way for everyone here to achieve Outcome #1," he continued.

A faint glimmer of hope shone in everyone's eyes. "Is that really true, Hamaguchi?"

"Yes. I came up with this idea after listening to everyone here, including Ichinose-san and Machida-kun."

"I can't believe it. There's no way we can arrive at Outcome #1 without discussion," Machida huffed.

"Hey Machida, wanna tell me why you thought that?" Ichika pricked his psyche even further

"I... don't have anything to say," Machida said defeated, it seems that he knew not to interact with Ichika in a debate

"Let's hear him out first. Hamaguchi-kun isn't the sort to speak without thinking," offered Ichinose.

"I'm going to show you all my phone. Of course, the school sent us all an email. I think you all understand what I'm getting at? Because we're prohibited from tampering with or misrepresenting the emails we've received in any way, there's no way to deceive one another. That's why the answer is simple. We show each other our emails, and then we find out who the VIP is. That's how we'll discover the truth."

"This is dumb. Why would anyone show their phone just because you told us to? Someone could betray us all the moment we show our emails. No one would do this," answered Machida flatly.

It was a hopeless plan. Naturally, Machida-kun was flabbergasted.

"It's certainly true that if the VIP knows they could be betrayed, they wouldn't show their phone. However, from the perspective of someone who isn't the VIP, there's no risk in exposing your identity. The test will be over soon. If we don't make a move, we lose our chance of winning. Suppose there's a class working together to cover for the VIP. It's true that none of them would show their phones. But this way, it's possible to narrow down the list of candidates."

The strategy was well reasoned and completely sound. If addressed to people who weren't trying to win for only their class then outcome 1 was in sight, but that isn't the case.

"If I remember correctly, wasn't it outcome 3 that the group achieved?" Keisei asked and was met with a few nods.

He glanced over to me at an instant and also towards Kei. He didn't say anything, but he had a sceptical look in his eye.

"Even if you find out the VIP's identity or the class they belong to, the moment someone decides to betray you, it's over. The problem hasn't been resolved. Or are you suggesting that the first to betray us wins?" countered Machida.

Through Hamaguchi's strategy, it was possible to successfully weed out the VIP. But that was it. In the end, people weren't going to play nice.

"In that case, please be quiet and just watch. If you don't participate, Machida-kun, it'll still be fine," Hamaguchi answered.

Hamaguchi showed everyone the email that he'd received.

"I agree with Hamaguchi-kun. I'll show mine, too."

"What a nice rehearsed response," Sakayanagi chuckled

"We put a lot of work into it, after all, it had to be perfect," Ichinose unexpectedly responded

"Oh you've broken your vow of silence, I thought you were training to become a monk," Sakayanagi chuckled

"Monkly activities aren't for me, sorry if I made your hypothesis incorrect," Ichinose warmly smiled

"This is unusual, but I don't dislike it," Sakayanagi looked away

After Hamaguchi showed his phone, Beppu from Class B followed suit. This didn't seem like some spur-of-the-moment idea. This seemed like a strategy Ichinose had come up with. Strangely enough, her plan was exactly the same as mine. However, I didn't know how far she'd thought this through, or what her moves were. If she simply believed everyone would go along with this, then it was quite simply reckless.

"I think it's a surprisingly good strategy. I don't have any objections," said Ichinose.

Smiling, Ichinose reached for her cell phone in her skirt's left pocket.

"I've been agonizing over this for a long time now, but after hearing Hamaguchi's plan, I get it."

Ichinose pulled out her phone. I decided to step in and interrupt before she could execute her strategy.

"You're serious about this, huh? Well, if you're all going to bet on that, I think I'll join in, too," I said.

"So you had a similar plan I assume Ayanokouji?" Ichinose asked

"I did. In fact, it was almost identical to yours, but there were still some differences."

If you told me that the Ichinose today and yesterday were the same person, I wouldn't have believed you. Although my guess is that this is nothing but an act. I have no proof of these claims, but people can't recover that fast and treat someone they used to be friends with and turn them into enemy number one overnight. It's simply far too drastic of a change.

Before Ichinose could show everyone the contents of her email, I took out my own phone and offered it up. But it wasn't actually my phone; I'd switched it with someone else's.

"Ayanokouji-kun...are you okay with this?" Ichinose asked.

"Sure. After hearing Hamaguchi out, I honestly don't think we have another option. I'm really bad at communicating, so all I can do is show you the truth," I answered.

"Wait, Ayanokouji. There's no way this kind of strategy is going to work," said Yukimura.

He tried to stop me, but I showed everyone the email on my phone.

Everyone saw that I wasn't the VIP. An incredible amount of water was building behind this unseen dam. If even the tiniest hole opened up, the dam would collapse, and we'd be left with a muddy stream of water. My actions opened that hole.

Keisei was the one that was most affected by this video. His previous hypothesis was most likely that we won due to luck or some other factor, but now that he had seen what I had done with Kei and her identity he had most likely had a better idea of what I had done compared to everyone else.

"It pisses me off that you manipulated me, but whatever plan you pulled off worked," Keisei thought

"Yukimura, but isn't that the most logical option, why did you refuse it so quickly? Weren't there advantages even if it was risky?" Matsushita asked

"I... had reasons," Keisei said quietly

"Yeah. Okay. So you're not the VIP, Ayanokouji-kun."

"Okay. I'll show mine, too."

Among the large number of people still scoffing at Hamaguchi's strategy, a lone girl agreed. It was the person I'd least expected: Ibuki Mio.

"Wow Ibuki, I didn't think you could listen to reason," Ryueen smirked

"I can listen to reason, but listening to shit spewed by a lunatic isn't something I enjoy," Ibuki retorted

"No wonder you always second-guess yourself," Ryueen provoked

Ibuki raised her fist but brought it down after realising that everyone was staring at her. I guess Ryueen's comment about her second-guessing herself brought out her hyper-awareness.

"Are you nuts? We don't get anything out of this!" shouted Manabe.

However, Ibuki's response was well-reasoned. "Anyone who isn't the VIP or who's not in the same class as a VIP gains nothing if things keep going like this. Class B understands that. If we sit around, we won't catch up to the classes above us. That's why they're showing everyone their phones. I agree with their idea," she answered.

"That's—"

"Or maybe you're the VIP," said Ibuki.

Ibuki didn't talk to Manabe as if she were an ally. She spoke like addressing an enemy.

"N-no. I..."

"In that case, show everyone your phone."

Ibuki's words threatened her classmates. Manabe and her friends, as if accepting Ibuki's order, showed everyone their phones. The hunt for the VIP had begun. Karuizawa took out her phone, which had a strap attached, and handed it over.

If not for the previous video, everyone would be surprised at Kei for risking private points so easily. Most people would think that she wasn't smart enough to realise the consequences of her actions, but now that they had seen my plan, they had an idea of her intentions.

"You're the VIP though, unless Ayanokouji didn't mean what he said," Miyamoto stated

"I was the VIP," Kei responded

"But... then why?"

"That's the reason why we're here," Kei said

Miyamoto didn't say anything, but he looked so confused that his brain might short circuit.

"Wait. It's not just Ayanokouji-kun? You're going along with this, Karuizawa? You agree with this?" Yukimura was puzzled.

"I'm doing this for my own sake. I want those private points," said Karuizawa.

Her email said she wasn't the VIP. Karuizawa was in the clear.

Everybody was confused now. They all had the thought that Kei was the VIP, but now that they saw that it wasn't the case they had no grasp of the situation.

Keisei knew that you could switch phones and replicate almost everything, but the only thing that he didn't know was how Kei was worked into all this. I glanced over to him and saw him staring at the screen almost as if staring at it hard enough would give him the answers.

"Um, so what should I do?" muttered the Professor.

"Think for yourself, Sotomura. This is voluntary."

"Uh...well, I don't want to get wrapped up in this, so I'll just get it over with."

The Professor, seeing how the tide had turned, reached for his phone.

Yukimura grabbed his arm and stopped him. "Do you really think that showing everyone your phone is the right move?" he asked.

"You know, you've been really jumpy. You're not the VIP, are you?" Ibuki asked.

"Hehe, this is gonna be fun," Ryueen chuckled

Yukimura's expression stiffened.

"Whoa, seriously?"

"Yukimura isn't the VIP. I heard as much earlier," I said.

However, some of the students burst out laughing.

"You expect us to believe that? You could be lying." Manabe cast a doubting look over at Yukimura.

If I continued denying that he was the VIP, it would only invite further suspicion. But I couldn't make my move yet. That's because Yukimura was...

"It's too early to draw any conclusions. Yukimura-kun has a point,"

Ichinose said. Once again, she reached into her pocket and took out her phone. "I got a little caught up and missed my chance earlier, but I'll show you now," she said.

Ichinose proved that she was not the VIP.

"Wait, Ichinose. Earlier, you said you'd been keeping quiet about something until now?" Machida clearly hadn't forgotten.

"Ah, that? I had the same thing Hamaguchi said on my mind earlier and wanted to talk about it. That's it."

"The same thing?"

"As Class B's representative, I'm a little jealous that Hamaguchi-kun beat me to the punch."

"Is your entire class just one big circlejerk? It's just complimenting each other over and over again. There's not a single piece of diversity," Ryueen criticised

"You're class nearly voted to expel you, didn't it? I think having unity and being together is better than working on your own," Ichinose glanced over to me as she said the last words

"I should've expected this from you. You're the cause for your class becoming just a bunch of sycophants," Ryueen provoked

"Whatever you say," Ichinose smiled

"How did Kushida manage to do this for over a year? Just being assertive and commanding is hard, it's the exact opposite of my nature. I already feel somewhat tired and it's not even been that long," Ichinose thought

By now, everyone except the Class A students and Yukimura had proven themselves to not be the VIP.

"..."

Everyone understood the meaning behind Yukimura's long silence. Machida and the other Class A students stared at him inquisitively.

"Fine. I'll show you. All I have to do is show you, right?" he muttered.

Yukimura, no longer able to deal with the pressure, pulled out his phone.

"Before I do so, I want you to promise me one thing," he said.

"So you're just tryna win by getting some pity? Pretty pathetic," Hosen antagonised

Keisei looked a little worried about responding to Hosen, after all, Hosen has Keisei's natural weakness. Strength. It's something that he wasn't born with, so he focused on something he could hone which was academics, but he still responded even if it was fairly meek, "I don't have much of a choice, but you're free to believe that,"

"Promise? What do you mean, Yukimura-kun?"

"I don't want anyone here to turn traitor. Especially you, Class A. I want you to take out your phones and put them in front of you. That goes for everybody. Everyone, put your phones where I can see them," he demanded.

He directed his statement at Machida, who responded with a snort.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Exactly what I said. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Well, fine. Whatever. If you want to see my phone, here."

The Class A students, who'd been sitting some distance away, calmly came over and placed their phones on the table. After they did that, Yukimura made his move, looking downcast. He pulled his phone out and turned it on. He entered the six-digit password, and logged in. Yukimura opened the school's email and lifted it up so we all could see.

"I'm sorry for lying to you, Ayanokouji," he muttered.

Class D was the most surprised by the revelation.

"I'm the VIP."

"What? Then nothing is making sense,"

"Wasn't it Karuizawa that was the VIP?"

"What did they do?"

Questions swirled around and nobody was able to understand what I had done except the usual people.

"Yukimu, what happened? What did you do?" Haruka asked confused

"I switched my phones with Kiyotaka," Keisei said after a few seconds of silence

There were some questions left still, mainly about Kei and what she did, but Keisei put a stop to all the demanding questions quickly, "Watch the video and find out. The only person here who knows all the answers probably won't respond, so just watch the tape,"

A different email from everyone else's was displayed on the screen.

"Wha— Y-Yukimura-dono, you're the VIP?!" the Professor

stammered. He looked astonished, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. This basically meant we'd given up the 500,000 points that Class D had gained. However, I'd exchanged phones with Yukimura in secret.

"If I'd known things would turn out like this, I would've talked from the start..."

Karuizawa looked genuinely shocked and uneasy. To look at her and the Professor, you'd think the two of them could never have imagined that Yukimura was the VIP. Machida stood and peered at Yukimura's phone.

"Your acting was quite impressive here," I told Kei

"Of course it was. I give nothing but the highest quality," She proudly remarked

"The email seems authentic. All of the other personal emails are Yukimura's, so there's no room for error."

Machida, after checking Yukimura's private email and chat logs, confirmed the truth. He still appeared doubtful, and Ichinose tried to explain the situation calmly.

"There's no way it could be fake. After all, the school explained the rules, right? Copying and transferring the email is forbidden. As long as the email was sent from the school's email address, there's a 0% chance it's a fake."

She was right. Creating false information was strictly prohibited. If you broke that rule, expulsion awaited you. Therefore, everything laid out here had to be the truth.

"So that means it's definitely Yukimura-kun."

Unlike the people on the screen who believed it was Keisei that was the VIP, the people here were completely in the dark. Nothing made sense to them and they were turned into nothing but ignorant spectators or maybe that's what they were all along.

Manabe nodded. The important thing here was the process that had led to Yukimura's revelation. Whether the person holding that phone was actually the true owner of that phone was irrelevant. In other words, judging whether or not that phone belonged to Yukimura was a surprisingly difficult task. The idea that someone had switched phones wasn't outside the realm of possibility.

However, showing everyone the process of entering the six-digit password and unlocking the phone was a different story entirely. There was no way a student could know someone else's phone password. Everyone unconsciously acknowledged that Yukimura must be the owner of the phone. This wasn't the result of deduction, but rather of preconceived notions.

"I'm sorry, Yukimura-kun. This happened because I came up with this idea at the very last minute," I muttered.

"No, it's okay. It's probably for the best. I thought I could lie my way out of this, but I was wrong. I'm sure you, Sotomura, and Karuizawa would agree this was for the best," said Yukimura.

Everyone now thought of him as the sort of person who wanted to secure points for only himself.

"I don't think that at all," Haruka said and Airi and Akito nodded

"You don't have to say that, it's just a thought," Keisei said embarrassed

It was odd. I could hear them and see them, but it felt like I wasn't there. I was just a viewer looking through a glass wall. It's felt like this since the day I made the proposal with them about wanting their opinion of me to be decided on in the future, but in doing so I've isolated myself from them.

"It's certainly an impressive strategy, but it had a high reliance on luck," Yagami stated

"This is a double-layered trap. Of course, just using this to make Yukimura be the VIP in everyone's eyes was good, but the problem with it was that it was easy to see through and depended on the people around him. That can't be it, if it was then he's not the man I want to defeat," Yagami thought

"Well, now everyone knows the answer. It's me," Yukimura said.

If we all cleared the test together, everyone in our group would receive 500,000 points. Outcome #1, which at first had seemed impossible to achieve, now appeared to be in our grasp. Ichinose nodded, and pleaded with Class A more strongly than before.

"Please. Cooperate with us. Don't let Yukimura-kun's courage go to waste. I don't want you to betray us."

"We've been acting on Katsuragi-san's instructions from the very beginning. We won't do anything on our own," answered Machida.

He said that, but the group would disperse right before the test ended. During that thirty-minute window of time, we had to trust not only in our own classmates, but in students from other classes.

"I want to believe... No, I do believe in everyone." Yukimura begged fervently.

He begged everyone, from every class. I wondered if the students who'd spent so much time together over these past few days had started to form bonds of friendship. I wondered if they would accept Yukimura's wishes, an if everyone would work together.

No, they wouldn't. I was sure of that.

Someone would turn traitor. I had no doubt.

Humans are logical and calculating creatures. They wouldn't throw away a victory because of a person who they have only known for a few days. It's illogical and didn't favour them.

And if that happened, then the ones who had switched phones—Class D—would take the victory.

Yukimura must have believed that, too. I imagined that he was practically dying from holding back his laughter. However, his joy disappeared when the phone started vibrating with an incoming call.

Panicking, Yukimura lunged forward to snatch the phone, but dropped it. By sheer coincidence, the phone fell face-up.

"Why's that so bad?" Shinohara asked

"You can switch phones, but it's not possible to switch the sim card. It means that a simple call would make us lose," Keisei explained

Since the phone was on silent, the table shook as it continued to vibrate. The caller ID said "Ichinose." Ichinose, holding her phone to her ear, looked at Yukimura and me.

"What are you doing, Ichinose? There's no point in calling Yukimura's phone at a time like this," said Machida, looking suspicious. Only Yukimura and I understood what was going on. She quietly hung up the phone.

"The school said that altering or copying the emails is forbidden, that's true. That's why the email we saw was the real thing. However, there's no rule saying that you can't trick people with the phone itself. Do you understand what I'm getting at?"

Ichinose picked up the phone and handed it to me.

"The person this phone belongs to, the real VIP...that's you, isn't it? Ayanokouji-kun? I called you just now, not Yukimura-kun."

I'd exchanged numbers with Ichinose some time ago. And even in the event she hadn't known it, she would've done her research just to be safe.

"Ichinose is a pretty cautious person when she wants to be," Kanzaki complimented

"I'm disappointed. I thought you would have something a little more fun senpai. This is so not fun," Amasawa whined

"I don't care."

"You're mean," She had fake tears in her eyes

"B-but isn't that odd? Yukimura unlocked the phone right in front of us. I checked his private email history just to be sure," said Machida.

"That was all fake. He could've easily gotten the password ahead of time by simply asking Ayanokouji-kun. Besides, it's possible to replicate call history, email, apps, and so on, though it would take a bit of effort," said Ichinose.

Machida's face flashed a different, angry colour. He snatched the phone out of my hands.

"It's not easy for people to lie like that, especially when the goal is within reach. In those last moments, either through negligence or nervousness, they'll leave some kind of opening. Yukimura-kun lied, and his gestures and behaviour seemed different from the way he normally acts."

Ichinose had completely seen through my attempts at subterfuge. Yukimura turned pale as she spoke. It was doubtful that he even heard her.

"We've been thinking about this for a while now, too. If the VIP was in your class, one option would be to swap phones. You could mislead people by showing off the password to unlock the phone."

Apparently, Ichinose and the others had come up with the same strategy that I had.

"But you see, there's a weak point to that strategy: a phone number. Even if you perfectly duplicate everything from call history to apps, you can't change the number. Hamaguchi and I had tried swapping SIM cards once to see what would happen, but the SIM cards are locked to their designated phones. If you'd swapped them, I wouldn't have been able to call you. It doesn't matter who switches with whom: Once I hear the phone ring, I can find the owner. If I couldn't do that, I wouldn't have proposed this idea in the first place," said Ichinose.

Ichinose and Hamaguchi had been two steps ahead. They'd probably orchestrated everything, agreeing that Hamaguchi should be the one to broach the topic. In one second, the truth had come to light.

Everyone understood what was happening now, even my classmates. I told Keisei I was the VIP, switched phones and made a big scene. It's simple but extremely effective.

The look in their eyes was similar to when the island exam was revealed. One of awe and wariness. I was seen as helpful but also feared.

They all glanced over at me almost as if it was a collection of eyeballs moving in unison. The wariness was the dominating emotion, but the awe of seeing something like that in action was there even if it was minuscule to the careful gaze.

"You did everything almost perfectly. But you didn't anticipate that our SIM cards are locked to specific devices, did you?" Ichinose gloated.

An announcement came through the speakers, telling us we had five minutes left before the discussion period was over. We were told to break in the next five minutes and return to our rooms.

"Damn it!" shouted Yukimura.

"Too bad, Yukimura. It was a surprisingly good try, though," said Machida. He and the others laughed, furthering the mockery.

They glanced over at me, the one also complicit in this plan. Yukimura was still visibly upset and shaking, and so was the rest of Class C. Classes C and A appeared shocked. I'm sure they had many questions, but the rules prohibited us from talking any further.

"Anyway, we've confirmed that Ayanokouji-kun is the VIP. Machida- kun, promise me that we'll aim for Outcome #1, and no one will betray anyone else," urged Ichinose.

"Yes, of course. You can trust me. Let's go," Machida said.

The three Class A students left the room right away, before anyone else.

"There's so much to gain by working together. That's why we'll never turn traitor. That's why I want you in Class C to do the same. Please, just bear with it for thirty minutes," Ichinose pleaded.

Manabe and the others nodded and left the room. Yukimura looked at the phone I was clutching.

"I was wrong to go along with your plan. This sucks," he fumed.

One by one, everyone left the room, leaving me alone with Ichinose.

If this was a while ago then there would just be some light teasing going around, but everyone could tell that Ichinose was different today. Although it was an act, it was played to perfection. Ichinose glanced at me every now and then with a gaze of contempt.

"Now all we can do is to trust everyone," she said.

"Yeah. Guess so," I answered.

"You're really calm, Ayanokouji-kun. Aren't you worried?"

Not especially. I can't do anything but believe, anyway. I'm heading to my room."

There was nothing to gain by staying here.

"Hey, wait a sec."

Ichinose placed a hand on my shoulder. In that instant, I felt the tension between us.

"Who came up with the idea of swapping phones?" she asked.

"Horikita, of course."

"Why are you like this? Just take credit for something," Horikita grew annoyed at my refusal to take credit

"I'm good, don't really feel like it."

Horikita sighed and looked away.

"I see. Please tell Horikita-san something for me. Tell her that her plan was a huge success."

"A huge success? Don't you mean a crushing defeat? We failed, hard. You saw through everything."

"Ha ha ha. You didn't expect us to have come up with the same plan, did you?"

"I'm sorry. Sorry for trying to deceive you like that, especially after I agreed to be your ally. Are you angry?"

"Of course not. We went ahead with our own plan without telling you, so we're even."

"I see. If you mean it, I'm sure Horikita will be relieved." I grabbed my phone and headed for the exit.

"W-wait, wait a second. We still haven't gotten to the critical part yet," she said.

"The critical part?"

Everyone here had the same confusion that I once did.

"Come on. You're surprisingly bad at dealing with people, Ayanokouji-kun. It's true that the SIM cards are locked to their respective devices. But there is a way to release that lock. Isn't that right? I checked with Hoshinomiya-sensei to confirm. She said that with enough points, you can unlock the device right away," said Ichinose.

In that instant, I felt a faint electric current run down my spine.

"You got electrocuted? Are you stupid? That isn't possible," Ike looked baffled

"I wasn't serious, it's a figure of speech."

"What? Is that what you did? Wait, now it makes sense," Keisei started thinking and fitting all the pieces in his head together

"Did I shock you Ayanokouji? I'm glad," Ichinose giggled

Most people would assume that this was just some light banter between rivals, but I know that Ichinose was truly happy that she pulled one over me.

"After a falsehood comes to light, most people will take the answer that comes after it to be the truth. Yukimura-kun was determined not to be the VIP, even after he showed everyone how he unlocked your phone using the password. The moment that lie was revealed, the truth that you're the VIP came to the surface. The SIM card was the deciding factor. No one would suspect anyone else as the VIP now. But that was the trap. I said the idea of swapping phones was an imperfect strategy, but that was a lie. That's because swapping phones is extremely effective. Of course, it must be a double-layered trap in order to work. In that case, the truth will remain in the darkness. There wouldn't be any way for anyone to determine, with 100% accuracy, the real VIP's identity."

Ichinose had seen through my plan. She'd seen through the plan behind the plan. She realized the truth I'd kept hidden even from Yukimura. First, she knew I was not the VIP, but that I'd approached Yukimura under the pretense of being exactly that. As proof, I used the real VIP's phone to contact him. But the real target—the real VIP and the owner of that phone— was Karuizawa. She'd hidden that fact very well. The only person she'd secretly told was Hirata. Hirata kept that from both me and Yukimura at first. That's why he pretended not to know who the VIP was when we spoke about it. However, after I learned about his and Karuizawa's pasts, Hirata told me the truth. Then, after I used Manabe to bully Karuizawa, I took the opportunity to swap our phones.

Of course, I replicated the email and call history, just as I did with Yukimura. Naturally, I then used my points to do a SIM lock release. Doing so wasn't illegal and could be done free of charge at any major retailer. We may have been on a ship at sea, but I'd been positive that the school would have something prepared to replace or repair our phones should they be damaged. That's why, while using Karuizawa's phone, I was able to transfer over my number as well.

Then, I swapped that phone with Yukimura's. Of course, I had told him it was my phone, and he believed me. If my deception were revealed, he'd be extremely angry.

A simple person would have never noticed that Yukimura and I switched phones. A clever person would have noticed the swap and accused me of being the VIP. But they never would have come to the conclusion that Karuizawa was the real VIP.

"You could say that a genius would have noticed everything," Chairman Sakayanagi thought

It was a double-layered trap. A simple thing in thought, but incredibly difficult to pull off in execution and even more difficult to see through.

Ichinose beat me here. Certainly, I could have won if I had tried harder and was more involved in the conversation, but with what I had done, Ichinose completely had the potential to make our class lose in that part. In the zodiac exam, class D was at the mercy of everyone around them.

I heard a light chuckle, "That scheme was ingenious. The former first years have to be the most evenly matched in terms of abilities that I've ever seen," Chairman Sakayanagi chuckled

While you could say that he should have been more professional and not indirectly belittled the other years, he wasn't wrong. Manabu and Nagumo completely dominated their respective years and Nagumo has even begun to monopolise some key players from the lower years.

My class looked at me again in awe. The one most surprised was Horikita, after all, she was the one I had interacted with least in this exam and she was left completely in the dark about my group and actions. Everything she saw was completely new.

"He's a terrible person, but his abilities outclass everyone else in the class by far," Matsushita thought

"Who cares if he's good? He's a terrible person, it doesn't change anything," Ike thought

"If the VIP wasn't in Class D, what would you have done?" asked Ichinose.

"The same as you. I would've tried to find out who the VIP was, borrowed that person's phone, and had another one ready. Then, I'd step forward and claim to be the VIP myself."

If the real VIP then came forward to point out the lie, the writing would be on the wall. Simply believing that Ichinose was the VIP meant that the test would end with the traitor making a mistake. In the latter situation, Class B would be awarded no points, and the gap would either decrease or increase between the classes.

"So I've been found out, huh?"

Ichinose started pulling phones from both pockets. One belonged to the VIP from a Class B student's other group, and the other was a phone from a different student who, most likely, wasn't a VIP.

No one said anything. They were just wrapping their heads around what happened. The people looked as if they were just impressed and were unable to comprehend the people on the screen. The depths that they went to win and pull their class out on top was incredible is probably what they thought.

Although, this was a moment where Ichinose won and that's because it didn't require any underhanded strategies.

Ichinose scraped a victory out in the sports festival due to no one targetting her class. She was unable to win in the paper shuffle due to her reluctance to do anything and her intention to battle with her wits. She lost at the end of the year due to Ryueen exploiting her main weakness. Although she didn't lose any classmates in the class poll, she still lost the economic battle.

Ichinose's strength was unity and she would compromise that unity if she fought underhandedly, but that restricted her from reaching her true strength. If I was to describe class B then it would just be a more individually capable class D.

"This is just my prediction, but based on how today's discussion went..."

Ichinose quickly typed a short message on her own phone.

"The real VIP is Karuizawa Kei-san. Am I right?"

She showed me her phone. That was the betrayal message she was going to send to the school. However, before anything could happen, both my phone and Ichinose's rang at the same time.

"The test has now ended for the Rabbit group. Please wait for the results announcement."

"Ahh, I guess someone turned traitor, huh? I wonder, was it Class A or Class C?"

"Why did you think it was Karuizawa?" I asked.

"The same reason as Yukimura-kun. She's been behaving unusually.

She normally doesn't seem to care much about you, Ayanokouji-kun, but she kept looking over at you, and her face tightened. But there's still the possibility that she isn't the VIP, so I couldn't have sent that email."

Apparently, Ichinose had completely seen through my plan.

"My bad Kiyotaka," Kei apologised

"It doesn't really matter now."

"Maybe, but it's still my fault. I was being all proud before about my acting ability but she completely saw through me," She said with a downcast expression

She really felt bad about letting Ichinose see through my plan, but it didn't matter since it wouldn't affect Ichinose's plan in any way, shape or form.

"So you didn't do anything?" Sato asked

"Yep. I was just a bystander to this whole situation," Kei said putting on her best normal voice

All pieces were now filled. Everything was unravelled and everyone was up to date. Keisei looked nervous and when I looked at him he turned his eyes away from my direction. Akito noticed this and asked him if he was okay, but all Keisei responded with was a halfhearted 'I'm fine'.

"I'm impressed by you Ayanokouji, and that pisses me off. You're incredible. I wish I was that great, but you're something that I can't approve of. Maybe if these tapes weren't shown we would have stayed friends, but I still don't think that's the case. Someone like you would keep to yourself and our group would inevitably be dissolved no matter what," Keisei thought

"Why didn't you say anything? At the very least, you could have exposed my lie," I said.

Ichinose smiled. The smile she wore now was perhaps the most genuine I had ever seen from her. "That's obvious. If either Class A or Class C makes a mistake, that's a win for us. From the very beginning, I never intended to clear Outcome #1, or to turn traitor and get Outcome #3. The moment I knew the VIP wasn't in Class B, I knew I would let another class betray us. I think the traitor was probably from Class A," she said.

"Machida?"

"No, no. Morishige-kun. He's a member of Sakayanagi's faction. I doubt he'd just quietly go along with Katsuragi's plan. He probably figured that, if anything, it was better for him to betray the group and take the points. Don't you think?"

"What? It was you?" Machida was bewildered

"Yes. It seems I was fooled, unfortunately," Morishige sighed

Machida also transferred to Sakayanagi's faction after Katsuragi was dethroned, so he knew why Morishige did what he did, but it was still a move that made him lose.

Ichinose laughed and turned her back to me.

"Ayanokouji-kun, you're amazing. You know that? Our conversation just now proves how cunning you really are, doesn't it?"

"You ought to praise Horikita. She just gave me directions, that's all."

It seemed I needed to re-evaluate Ichinose Honami. She'd managed to thoroughly avoid risks while devising a strategy that led her to victory.

"Well, I'll be leaving then. It would be bad if we broke the rules, wouldn't you say?"

The scene faded to black.

Everyone was escorted out as usual. The atmosphere was nowhere as tense and suffocating as yesterday. Everyone rather left with a newfound respect for Ichinose and her cleverness. Nothing greatly changed for me, but Ichinose's new attitude was slightly unnerving.

Authors notes:

Not a big chapter with plot development or anything, but I really like this scene. Not only is it one of Ichinose's best moments, it's also one of the first times that Ayanokouji did something out in the open for everyone to see.

Hope you enjoyed.

Bottle Woman

(I love how all the other chapter titles have something simple about the chapter and then there's this)

I ran out of cereal.

This is a problem, how am I going to go through the day without breakfast? Many people say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I generally agree with this as the energy from the food will let a person's brain function at its maximum capabilities, but it seems that today I will have to get through the day with a cup of tea.

I walked to school and today I found that Ichinose wasn't notably leaving at her usual time. She usually walks a couple of metres behind me every day, but today I found that she wasn't there. It could be possible that she was sick, but Ichinose knows that if she misses too many days that there will be penalties, so she wouldn't risk the class suffering for her health.

The only logical explanation I have left is that she left earlier than me to avoid me. I can understand why, but it's a little odd walking without anyone around me. The usual students that hang around and get to class just before the bell goes have also disappeared. It seems that most people are avoiding me now.

I sat in my usual seat in the theatre and the voice came back.

"I ask you, people of the theatre, if you found a turtle lying on its back what would you do?"

I saw Horikita's heart sink for a moment. She knew what was going to be shown. This was going to be amusing.

Most people had the answer of flipping the turtle over, they had the same thought process that I had. There isn't a reason to save a turtle from its predicament, but there isn't a reason to abandon it and leave it to fend for itself.

"Thank you for humouring my question. There is no context, so enjoy."

It was odd hearing a sincere thank you.

I saw that Horikita Suzune had called. It was unusual for her to reach out. Even if Horikita had some business with me, she generally texted. Curious, I decided to call her back. However, no matter how many times the phone rang, Horikita didn't answer.

I did think it was strange, but I decided to give up. I placed my phone on the table and went back to making dinner. Since I already had rice on hand, I settled on fried rice as a simple option. Once I added the egg, the finishing touches were all that remained.

If this was a while ago, Haruka would probably respond with a cheerful and surprised expression about me cooking and then force me to cook for all of them. Although, there was no response from her. She just stared at the screen with a blank expression.

"Oh? Suzune were you having a little trouble?" Ryueen grinned.

He wasn't even able to hold his excitement. Horikita ignored him, but I have no doubt the teasing and insulting would ramp up from here.

Suddenly, my phone rang again.

By the time I turned off the burner and went to my phone, the ringing stopped. Another call from Horikita. I tried calling back again, but she didn't answer. This was getting suspicious.

Maybe Horikita just happened to become busy right after she tried calling? Considering her personality, it was hard to imagine that was the case. She was the type of person who called only when calm. Even if something had happened, ending the call twice in a row, and not picking up afterward, was strange. I concluded that Horikita had probably been caught off guard by something unexpected.

"Yeah, right," I muttered.

Exasperated at myself for reading too deeply into Horikita's call, I decided to stop cooking for a bit and send her a text.

Hey, looks like you tried calling me twice. Did you want something?

The read receipt instantly popped up, but no reply came. I waited for quite a while, but there was nothing.

I'm cooking right now, so I might not respond right away. Just text me, and I'll get back to you.

Once again, the read receipt popped up, but she didn't reply. I went back to my dinner.

Manabu looked a little confused at his sister's actions, no, everyone was confused by her actions. Some people had the thought that she might be nervous to talk to me for whatever reason, but took the thought out of their mind when they thought about her personality and pride. At that point, Horikita would force herself to talk to me if it meant keeping her pride.

By the time I finished eating, I still hadn't heard from Horikita. As I drank the last of my barley tea, I started feeling like something was wrong.

"She couldn't be... She's not really in danger, is she?"

Could she have collapsed somewhere? This whole thing was atypical of Horikita, without a doubt. Was her phone malfunctioning? If so, she could just have contacted the school.

If I knew someone close enough to Horikita to go to her room and check on her, this would have been over quickly. Sadly, I couldn't think of anyone who fit the bill.

"The disadvantages of being a loner huh?" Ryueen smugly stated.

"I guess it's one of the problems, but it has its fair share of advantages too," I said.

"What are these amazing advantages you're talking about?" Ryueen continued.

Unexpectedly, Sakayanagi joined the conversation as well, "I agree with him, what are the advantages of being alone?"

Now everyone was staring at me. I can't exactly dismiss the question now because if I did then everyone would think even lower of me than before, so I opted to tell the truth, "You don't get bothered by anyone if you don't want to."

My answer was founded in reason and logic, it also accompanied the perception of me that people had.

"You don't get bothered if you don't want to huh? I guess that's accurate," Ryueen thought.

Are you okay? I texted.

I had to find out what was going on.

"Oh..."

The read notification didn't appear. The situation had changed. Maybe her phone's battery had run out, or her phone had automatically shut off. What other possibilities existed, though? The fact that Horikita called in the first place still weighed on me. Why? It was also strange that she hadn't said what was going on.

Logically, my first thought was that Horikita had some business with me, but had been interrupted by something else. A teacher might've called her, or a classmate. But that theory was very shaky. It was hard to imagine someone from the school calling Horikita in the middle of the summer, especially at night. She didn't have any friends who'd contact her that way.

"I completely agree with you Ayanokouji. Horikita isn't the type of person who makes friends," Kushida said in a delighted tone.

I looked at Horikita and found her to be a tad annoyed, but she didn't say anything.

"Horikita-Senpai, what did you end up doing during your summers?" Nagumo asked.

On the surface, it was just an innocent question, but knowing him, I doubt it would be so simple. My estimated guess would be that it was to contrast Manabu's actions during summer and Horikita's. I guess it was meant to make Horikita look inferior to Manabu, but if Manabu said that he did something similar to Horikita during his summer vacation then both of them would be seen as the asocial type.

"I did some student council work most times, but every now and then I would take a break and go to the pool," Manabu said.

It was modest, but still, not a bad way to spend summer. Compared to Horikita, Manabu was getting things done while she was just waiting until it ends. Although, neither are a bad way to spend summer.

The people who say that summer needs objective criteria to be good are just fools, there are plenty of ways a person can spend the holidays and none of them are better or worse than the other.

The only thing that matters is if the time was valuable to the individual, granted the activities don't harm or impact anyone else negatively.

Maybe some accident had stopped the call. Or she just fell asleep and forgot to call me back. That might have been it.

"That doesn't fit."

Horikita was a gifted and focused student. I couldn't see her forgetting to reply.

"I'm worried."

In the end, my options were limited, but I was too concerned to just let things be. For the time being, I decided to try calling Horikita again. I dialed her number. On the fourth try, I finally managed to connect.

"Hello?" Horikita didn't seem surprised. If anything, she actually sounded tired.

"Hey. Sorry for calling a bunch of times. I was worried, since you tried calling me. Were you sleeping?" I asked.

"No, I wasn't. I'm sorry for not replying."

I didn't hear any hint of panic, nor did I get the feeling she'd had an accident.

"I'm kind of in the middle of something right now," she continued.

I heard a metallic thunk over the phone.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Nothing to worry about. Goodbye."

She abruptly ended the call. Well, at least I managed to get in touch with her, and she said that everything was fine. I decided to forget about this for the time being.

"Horikita, were you in any trouble?" Ichinose asked worried.

"Well... no, but it was still something a little problematic," Horikita said a little reserved.

It was quite a contrast from the usual cool-headed Horikita and the expectations for her little situation grew even higher.

I thought that was that, but around 9:00 P.M., my phone lit up. A new message.

Are you awake?read Horikita's text.

I'm awake.

I'd like to talk to you. Do you have time? It was roughly two hours after we'd last talked.

"Was your situation that bad? It lasted for two whole hours," Himeno looked surprised

Horikita didn't respond. It was Horikita's pride and reluctance to owe anyone that led her to do something like this. If she asked someone like Hirata or Kushida, she would have been free a long time ago, but due to the pride and dignity she carried like a badge, she wouldn't make herself rely on someone else for help.

I'll call you.

Horikita picked up on the first ring.

"What's up?" I asked.

"There's something I wanted to ask you."

As before, Horikita sounded tired. She paused before speaking again.

"Let's say that there was a turtle," she began.

"Huh?"

"I-Is this why the stupid voice asked us that question?" Kamuro asked

"It would seem so," Sakayanagi said

Horikita launched into a completely crazy story.

"It's an extremely smart and talented turtle. If I accidentally hit it, and flipped it onto its back, that would be terrible, wouldn't you agree? It couldn't right itself under its own steam."

Most people agreed, but they didn't see a point to this discussion.

"I suppose. But actually, in most cases, turtles can extend their necks and use their legs to flip over. The only turtles that absolutely can't right themselves are giant tortoises and sea turtles," I explained.

"What a random piece of information," Akito said blankly

"..."

Horikita fell silent at my unnecessary explanation.

"This would have been easier if you'd just assumed that turtles can't get up on their own and listened to me," she said after a moment.

Yeah. That made sense.

"Okay. So, they can't get up on their own. Is something wrong with that?"

"In such a situation, what would you do?"

"I'd probably flip the turtle over. It's not that much trouble."

I wouldn't have any reason to save the turtle, but I wouldn't have any reason to abandon it, either. I thought I might as well extend a helping hand. However, I wondered what exactly Horikita was getting at. Maybe she was in trouble, like the turtle that couldn't get up on its own?

"What an excessive analogy. Did your pride not let you admit that you needed help?" Sakayanagi sighed

"Yes. It's unfortunate since I would be out of the problematic situation much earlier," Horikita reflected on her actions

I didn't get the impression that she was panicking, though. She seemed calm. That probably meant this wasn't a pressing issue.

"So, what's wrong?" I asked.

"Well, I'm not upset or anything," she replied.

"Well, it sure sounds like that's where this is headed."

"I was just talking about a turtle on its back. It had nothing to do with me."

"Okay. Then why are we talking about a turtle?"

"I just...wanted to talk to you about a turtle that flipped over," she insisted.

Okay, this was getting weird.

"Modern days Socrates and Plato right here everyone. Everything that they say is so profound and meaningful. Future generations might even study this conversation," Hashimoto said sarcastically

I admit, our conversation probably looked like a circus act to an outsider.

"This isn't like you," I said. "Well, I guess asking for help isn't like you, either, but... You called me because you don't have anyone else to go to, right? If that's the case, then just come out and say why."

Horikita paused.

"If you say that you can't prevent wanting to help people, then perhaps I can't go to you for advice," she said.

"Huh? It's fine. Talk to me," I told her.

Horikita finally opened up. "I'm just having a little trouble."

"I'm so proud of you Suzune. You finally learned how to ask for help. I think pre-schoolers know how to do that," Ryueen teased.

I get the feeling that Horikita is not going to have a good day.

At least she'd finally admitted it. "Where are you now?"

"I'm in my room."

"Wait. Are there bugs?"

If that were the case, I understood why Horikita didn't want to talk about it. I was probably right on the money, although the dormitories were generally kept clean, and Horikita lived on an upper floor—actually, that made the likelihood of bugs rather low.

"That's not it. I could deal with a bug myself."

"How would you deal with it? Detergent? Hot water? Slippers?" No matter how good my powers of deductive reasoning were, I couldn't imagine Horikita's current situation.

"I don't think deduction would help anyone here Senpai," Yagami chuckled

It's a little weird that out of all the first years, this person I've only spoken to a few times is the most casual and easy to talk to. I guess Amasawa could be included as well, but I don't find her easy to deal with in the slightest.

"Well, I'm in trouble because... No, it's fine after all. I'll take care of it."

"You say you'll take care of it yourself, but it's been more than two hours, and you haven't done anything yet, right?" I shot back. If she'd called with this problem earlier, then she'd been struggling for quite some time.

"Well. Well... It's true that I'm just about at my physical limit. I'll tell you everything."

Finally.

Instead of explaining, however, Horikita suddenly made a request.

"Could you come to my room?"

She sounded both embarrassed and disgusted.

I expected Sudo to be a little annoyed, or at least have some form of expression that was different to his usual one, but he showed no signs of even acknowledging Horikita's proposal.

I saw a few boys look at me in jealousy, but I'll take that over the collective glaring from everyone that I've been having lately.

"Now? But it's already past nine," I protested.

"I understand, but...to deal with this, you need to be here." Horikita spoke as though she was frustrated or in pain.

"Well, I might get in trouble for going to the girls' floor at this time of night," I said.

"I know, but I can't do this unless you're here," she replied.

With that, Horikita abruptly hung up.

"This is kinda scary. But I guess I have to go," I muttered.

Grabbing only my phone and room key, I hurried out. Wouldn't want to keep her waiting.

"Hey, Kei. How about I go to your room sometimes?" I asked her

Usually, she always goes to mine since it's easier for a girl to go to a boy's room compared to a boy going to a girl's room.

"It doesn't really matter, but if you want to go we can. Although, I like what we're doing now," Kei shrugged

I guess we can have the conversation at a later date.

I didn't want to run into any other girls, so I waited until no one else was using the elevator. Sneaking around like that was pathetic, but hey. That was me.

I saw a considerable number of people nod.

I managed to reach the thirteenth floor undetected. When I got to Horikita's room, I rang the doorbell. After waiting a while, I tried to slowly open the door myself. It wasn't locked.

"Horikita?"

Horikita's place was a one-bedroom and kitchen model, but I couldn't see into the bedroom area. It was hidden behind a closed door. There was no sign of Horikita in the kitchen or hallway. Like me, she'd barely decorated since moving in.

"You're alone, right?" I heard her voice from behind the bedroom door.

" You're being way too loud," I told her.

"It's okay. Even if someone came in right now, I'd conk them with my right hand," she replied.

What in the world was that supposed to mean? Cautiously, I entered Horikita's bedroom. She had her back to me, so I couldn't see her expression. The room was decorated simply. Nothing seemed particularly strange.

Now the suspense was increasing rapidly. It was on a ramp accelerating and it would just keep going, but it would probably turn into a burning car crash as it reaches its end.

"Okay, I'm here. What's the problem?" I asked.

"Once you see, you'll understand."

Horikita slowly stood and turned to face me. Two radically different emotions coursed through me at the exact same time.

"I see. So. That's it, huh?"

"That's it, yes."

I felt some secondhand embarrassment as I looked at her right hand, which was completely stuck inside a small water bottle.

There was only one thing that went across everyone's minds. It was one word, but it encapsulates everyone's feelings on the current matter at hand.

"Huh?" Everyone thought

"This... is what you left the white room for? I don't really see the appeal," Yagami thought

"What the fuck? This is amazing, I didn't think this day would be anything special, but it's so much better than anything I could have dreamed of," Ryueen thought

Ryueen looked like a child on Christmas morning. He could freely torment Horikita using her worst memory and she had no way of stopping him.

"Hey, Suzune-" Ryueen instantly got cut off

"Finish that sentence. I dare you," Horikita glared

Ryueen didn't say anything, but he whispered something to Ishizaki.

"What happened to lead you into that situation, Horikita?" Ishizaki finished Ryueen's sentence for him.

Horikita's glare looked as if it could melt steel at record speed. I wondered if glaring affected your sight. If you strain your eye it hurts right? So if you strain your eye continuously on something far away then wouldn't your eye be damaged after a while?

Maybe if this happened every now and then it wouldn't damage it, but Horikita glared so often it was practically second nature to her, so... Wait, what was happening again?

I looked over at Kushida and found her to be giggling at Horikita's suffering. I think that's the most joy she's shown in the past few weeks.

"How do I say this? This is completely unlike you. Don't tell me you were just playing around."

"Don't be dumb."

"This is like when you challenge yourself to use your fingers to pick up a single piece of corn, right?"

That must've irritated her, because she swung her right arm at me.

"Suzune, you manage to make everything into a weapon. What an odd ability," Manabu mused

Horikita averted her eyes due to her brother's comment.

"Horikita, you could be a warrior with that technique. Where did you learn it?" Sakayanagi rubbed her despair in even further.

"I-It's just a joke."

"There's no point telling an unfunny joke. You failed."

"It wasn't funny because I was teasing you, right?"

Manabu chuckled at me calling Horikita out.

"This water bottle got stuck because I tried to wash my hand. Can you help me get it off?"

So, that was what happened. I grabbed the water bottle and pulled, but only ended up pulling Horikita toward me.

"Come on. If you don't pull back yourself, you're gonna stay stuck. At least give it a little elbow grease," I said. If she didn't offer a resisting force, I'd get nowhere.

"I already know that. It's just that I'm tired. Let's get this over with quickly," she replied.

After trying to free herself on her own for more than two hours, Horikita was exhausted. I grabbed the water bottle again, put a little more strength into it, and pulled. Horikita pulled back as I did so, enduring the pain. However, her arm remained stuck.

"It's no use. At this rate, the bottle will never come off," I told her.

"I see. I suppose I expected as much." Horikita appeared to have

resigned herself to being trapped.

Hiyori slightly giggled, "This is like a circus act. Oh Kiyotaka, I didn't mean it in a bad way I just thought that this was amusing."

Well, I can't deny that this was funny. If I was an outsider then I would be having fun too.

Class D looked like they were having some fun as well since they've never seen Horikita's vulnerable side. I wonder if my class may become closer with their leader from now on because currently, Horikita is just a means to an end for the people in the class.

If given the chance for expulsion, I'm sure that there would be multiple people that would opt for it even if it was wrong. Horikita doesn't have the command of her class like Ryueen or even the complete respect from every student in class like Sakayanagi, and Horikita is minuscule in terms of the popularity that Ichinose has.

Horikita isn't on the same level of respect that the other leaders had. It was one of her biggest faults when it came to being a leader.

"Guess we have to rub your arm down with soap and slowly pull the bottle off. Let's head to the kitchen," I said.

"Did you forget that there's a water outage right now?"

That was right. We wouldn't have water until twelve. The only usable water was in the toilet, but Horikita probably wouldn't like that.

"I'll go to the cafeteria."

We were low on options, but as long as I could get some water, we could remove the bottle. I left Horikita's room and headed straight for the cafeteria. However, an unfortunate surprise awaited me there.

"I'm very sorry. So many students came that we're all out," said the cafeteria lady.

Apparently, those who'd needed water for dinner had taken all of it. Well then, I'd just go buy some at the vending machine. I didn't need a lot of water to free someone's arm from a bottle. About two drinking glasses' worth would be enough.

I walked toward the vending machines, and discovered that our misfortune was just beginning. All the water, tea, and juice were sold out.

"I've never seen a completely sold-out vending machine before," I muttered.

"That day really sucked. At first, I thought I would be fine, but after a couple of hours it was unbearable," Sato said and many people agreed with her.

"Honestly, I am a little happy about that. Having my hands be drenched in juice or tea for hours wouldn't have been fun," Horikita sighed

"You're empty-handed?"

Horikita, the water-bottle woman, glared at me, but it didn't matter. There was nothing I could do.

"I quite like that nickname. Horikita, how about we make that your official title in the student council?" Nagumo chuckled

"I'd rather not," Horikita said instantly

"Oh well, maybe we might get other amazing names for you in the future," Nagumo stared at the screen.

"I wanted to fetch some from my room, but I've already used all of my water."

This tragedy was born of multiple misfortunes.

"So, what are we going to do now?"

"If you're okay with it, we could ask Ike or Sudou for water."

"Pass," she replied.

I'd thought that was how she'd reply.

"I could lie and say it's for me."

"I'm opposed to using any water they might have. Who knows what they've put in it?" she muttered.

She was treating them like harmful germs or something. I wanted to disagree, but lacked the confidence. Those guys did tend to leave uncovered tea and water lying around. They'd probably try to rustle up clean water for Horikita's sake, but they might be a lot less considerate if I said I wanted water. Friendly malice was a diabolical thing.

I looked over at Ike and found that he opened his mouth to defend himself, but instantly shut it after he had processed what I said. This guy really likes to say things before he can understand them.

"Okay. Want to try one more time?"

"Yes. Even if it hurts," she replied.

Horikita offered her right arm, bracing herself. She wanted her freedom as soon as possible. I saw sweat trickle down her arm.

"Okay, I'm going to get a really good grip on it."

I wanted to free Horikita and return to my own room, so I grabbed the water bottle tightly, putting myself in a ridiculous pose. I pulled twice as hard as I had the last time. Horikita looked as though she was in agony, but endured it without complaint. However, the bottle didn't budge.

"Did you superglue it or something?" Sudo joked but went quiet when he saw Horikita glare at him

"I guess we really do need water," I said.

The bottle probably wasn't going to come off unless we made Horikita's arm slippery. If it was stuck after that, we might need to contact emergency services.

"I'm a little disappointed that our first emergency services call from hospitals wasn't from a girl getting her hand stuck in a water bottle," Hoshinomiya teased

Jeez, now even the teachers are getting involved. I wonder if the chairman might too. Although it did surprise me that at that point of the year, nobody had gotten an emergency service call considering that scorching heat and school making us wear blazers in the summer, it just goes to show the quality of the nursing at the school.

"You're telling me to wait until twelve? Like this?"

"Well, the only reliable guy left is Hirata," I said.

"I wouldn't have any concerns about the quality of Hirata's water, but...I dislike the idea of owing him a debt," replied Horikita.

"Horikita, I wouldn't think of asking for water a debt," Yosuke said

"I know that now, but back then I didn't have the highest opinion of you," Horikita responded

I suppose from Horikita's perspective, Yosuke was a person who helped everyone, but since Horikita was an extremely distrusting and closed-off person she may not believe in Yosuke and think that he had ulterior motives. I guess she didn't consider the fact that his saving everyone act was something dialled up to the extreme.

"Well, I'll say I'm the one who needs water, for appearance's sake. It won't be your problem," I told her.

"I suppose that's true," she answered.

Horikita still sounded somewhat dissatisfied, but appeared to accept the fact that you can't make an omelet without breaking eggs. I tried to call Hirata. No matter how many times the phone rang, however, he didn't pick up. Even when I tried to send him a chat message, it went unread.

"Maybe he's asleep. I'm not getting a response."

"I see. My emotions are a mixture of joy and despair," she replied.

"Well, we probably don't have any other options. I think we can only rely on Kushida or Sakura."

"Please ask Sakura-san," replied Horikita immediately.

"Aww, Horikita, did you think I might poison your water?" Kushida said with a twisted smile.

"Not at all, being near you longer than I have to was the main problem," Horikita responded instantly.

"Are you still on bad terms with Kushida?"

"There's no reason for us to get along. Besides, there are still quite a few things about her that I can't accept," she said.

"What do you mean, 'can't accept'?"

"The test on the ship. She abandoned the idea of trying to win right from the start. She wanted the Dragon group to end with a draw."

Horikita crossed her arms as she recalled the events of the previous test. Unfortunately, she still had her hand stuck in the bottle, so her declaration lacked impact.

After the usual chuckles at Horikita's despair, the students began to think about Kushida's approach.

"I don't think that's a bad thing. There's no incorrect way to win, so if she sought that method it isn't necessarily bad," Ichinose reasoned

I don't completely agree with her, but her argument had some merit. It's true that there isn't an incorrect way to win, some methods may be frowned and looked down upon, but as long as you win, no method is wrong. The problem is that the method that Kushida used did not give her individual class the best victory and it rather catered to her pacifist nature.

Her method wasn't incorrect, it just wasn't the one that brought the most benefits.

"That's because she's a pacifist. She was probably choosing the option where everyone ended up happy," I reasoned.

"I had no intention of completely rejecting Outcome #1. But it was something entirely different for the VIP herself to steer us toward it," Horikita answered sharply.

During the test, students had been separated into twelve groups. We'd played a game where we had to discover the hidden identity of a chosen VIP within each group, with four possible outcomes in total. The most difficult outcome to achieve was Outcome #1, which required everyone in the group to discover the VIP's identity and wait till the assigned time to submit their answers, without anyone betraying the group by turning in an answer early. The group that achieved Outcome #1 would have 500,000 private points awarded to each member, and a million private points awarded to its VIP.

The only drawback to Outcome #1 was that the VIP's class wasn't awarded any class points. That had caused some discord. Kushida hadn't taken advantage of the privileges that came with being a VIP, and Horikita hated that.

"Kushida being our group's VIP gave Class D the advantage. All we had to do was keep the VIP's identity hidden, but everyone found out that Kushida-san was the VIP. I think that Kushida herself had something to do with that."

"But that's just speculation on your part."

"Yes. The possibility remains, though. Therefore, I assume she's guilty."

"While I agree that it isn't the best strategy for our class, it's still ultimately the VIP's decision to move the game however they want," Matsushita reasoned

The consensus among the students was that Kushida's strategy wasn't the best, but it still ended up in class D gaining plenty of points.

"It's a little unfair to assume that someone would betray because of a simple goal," Ryueen was practically dripping in irony.

I noticed that Kushida slightly flinched, it was small, but still noticeable to anyone paying attention. Kushida's betrayals haven't been shown yet, but I assume that the first one will be during the sports festival

Horikita's words grew forceful. I understood how she felt, but the seriousness was lessened, since Horikita's arm was still stuck in that water bottle. I needed to tread carefully.

"I understand how you feel, but that won't do," I said.

"You mean, me saying all this without any evidence?"

"I'm saying that situation was your responsibility, too. Let's assume that, yes, Kushida betrayed us. If so, then you're at fault for allowing her to betray us. You have to win at all costs. Am I wrong?"

Horikita seemed to understand what I meant. Nevertheless, she objected. "Don't be absurd. Don't you understand how unrealistic that is?"

"Unrealistic? I can't imagine why it would be. If Kushida did manipulate you all into Outcome #1, that's honestly amazing. In other words, she completely outdid you in the exam."

Of course, this was all assuming that Kushida had truly betrayed the Dragon group. Honestly, it'd probably been Ryuuen or Katsuragi. I didn't know which. Either way, someone with more power had forced everyone in the Dragon group into a certain outcome. Still, the fact remained that Horikita had been outsmarted.

"The VIP was in your class. If you didn't act because you were confident in your victory, then the responsibility lies with the people on your team. If you're aiming for Class A, you need to be able to manage people better," I added.

"You're talking about very complicated things," Horikita countered.

"I understand that you're frustrated. But this is the path you chose. Besides, you're maturing. If I'd said the same thing to you when we first met, you wouldn't have listened to me at all."

That was true. Slowly, Horikita was beginning to think like an adult. She was no longer a girl who rejected everything around her on instinct.

"I understand. I accept the test results. Perhaps I was too optimistic. But, right now, my main objective is getting my arm free," she huffed.

It was a little odd. I was looked at in a more positive light in my class's eyes compared to a little while ago. I wasn't seen as a good person or anything even close to that, but I sense that their opinion of me may have slightly improved. Although this is just pure conjecture and probably me just overthinking everything.

What has probably happened is that their opinion of me improved for a short amount of time before they remembered my previous actions. It won't take such a small interaction like this for their opinion of me to improve, it needs to be multiple positive things over a consistent period of time.

"Thank you for the kind words Ayanokouji, I'm glad to see that you know who the better of us two is," Kushida laughed

"I suppose I'll see if Sakura can help."

Since it was getting late, I decided to reach out to Sakura using chat.

Sakura, my room is out of drinking water. The vending machine is soldout, too. Would you mind sharing with me?

I waited for a while after sending the message, but saw no indication that Sakura had read it.

"No good. I don't know if she's asleep or what."

"Honestly, today is just not my day," Horikita sighed.

"I take it you want the bottle off right now?"

"If I planned to wait, I wouldn't have called you."

"Then you have to take a risk, too," I said.

"Risk?" Horikita was instantly wary.

"We'll head to Keyaki Mall for water. There's no other way."

"So, that's our final option." Horikita put her hand to her forehead.

Honestly, no matter what tragic pose she assumed, she still looked ridiculous.

Normally Sakura would say something positive like a 'Thank you for relying on me' or something similar, but she didn't do anything. Maybe she was nervous, didn't know what to say or a mix of both, but the fact of the matter is that Sakura isn't even on speaking terms with me.

Akito and Keisei at least responded to my thoughts about them and Haruka ignored me on purpose, but I assume that Sakura was so nervous that she chose to isolate herself from me.

"I need to take a photo of this," Ryueen snickered and pulled out his phone much to Horikita's annoyance

"Most people are eating right now, so this is our chance." As a matter of fact, I hadn't bumped into any of our classmates this evening.

"I can't take the risk. Can't you ask one of your friends?" she urged.

"Unfortunately, I can't. I think they made plans to go out for karaoke. They're not here."

"This is not my day," she sighed.

"Let's get this over with, then."

"W-wait. I really can't go outside like this," said Horikita.

"In that case, do you want to hide your hand? I guess it's already hidden in a water bottle," I joked.

"That was completely unnecessary," she snapped, and raised her hand as if to strike.

"O-okay, I get it. Please put your hand down. Do you have a cloth or something?"

"Cloth? If a handkerchief counts, I have one." Horikita pulled a white handkerchief off the shelf. I placed it over the water bottle.

"This looks painfully suspicious. It's not large enough to cover everything."

"Don't you have anything bigger?" I asked.

"Will a bath towel do?"

I placed the towel over her arm. "Well, I guess this works."

Honestly, I suspected the bath towel might make her stand out even more.

"If the towel's even a little lopsided, it'll fall off," said Horikita.

"Well, can't you hold it with your free hand?"

Horikita folded the bath towel and held it to her body, giving the impression that she was about to take a bath. Yeah, that looked way better.

"If someone were to see me, what kind of impression would they get?" she asked.

I wonder if anyone is brave enough to say anything.

"I also take baths in the mall. it's my weekly activity," Koenji said

I genuinely can't tell if he's joking. Koenji is unpredictability incarnate, it's not possible to take anything he says with anything but a grain of salt. Every commitment he has is out of self-interest and may be cancelled whenever he feels like it.

"Although you might get some weird looks, no one would say anything," Amikura reasoned

"I was worried about encountering one specific person," Horikita sighed

It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who she was talking about. Ryueen is practically Horikita's personal demon that takes every liberty to make her life hell.

"Hmm..."

No one would normally walk around the dorms with a bath towel, nor take one outside. People would be suspicious.

"Depending on the situation, I suppose they might think you were going to use my bathtub," I suggested. That might have been a leap of logic, but that was the way I saw it.

"Rejected."

Horikita took the towel off. I supposed that I didn't really want anyone to think that about us, either.

"How about putting your hand inside your bag?"

"Rejected. Can't you think of anything better?" She was peerless when it came to complaining.

"Why don't we just go there as we are? We'll avoid worrying about a towel or handkerchief falling down."

"I suppose so."

All that was left for us was to act. I peeked into the hallway, taking a slightly hesitant Horikita with me.

"It's like taking a nervous pet on a walk," Ibuki teased

"Horikita-senpai, I found a great new water bottle brand recently, It even had a 2 for 1 deal when I went to the store, I could lend it to you if you really want it," Amasawa pricked

"I'll pass, give it to Ayanokouji instead," She kindly passed the question over to me

"No thanks," I said before Amasawa could say anything

"Okay, no sign of anyone. Let's go," I said.

"W-wait a minute. I still haven't put my shoes on."

Because Horikita could only use one hand, putting on her shoes took quite a bit of time. Finally, the two of us stepped out into the hallway.

"Wait. There's a faucet on the path to school, right? If we make it there, we'll be okay."

If we walked at a normal pace, we'd arrive at the faucet in about five

minutes. We'd be fine under the cover of darkness, as long as we got out of the dormitory. We reached the elevators, but—

"It's no use, Ayanokouji-kun. We can't use them," Horikita said.

"What?"

"There's a surveillance monitor in the first-floor lobby, right? I don't know who can see us on that."

A monitor on the first floor did display whatever the elevator cameras captured. Horikita was concerned about being seen. Even if she managed to hide her arm, she couldn't avoid looking mysterious.

"Should we take the stairs?"

That would probably take quite a bit of time. Also, the fact that Horikita couldn't use one hand made it a little riskier.

"I'd rather take the stairs than let someone see me," she confessed.

"I feel like both options are pretty bad," Shinohara said

"There's no winning in this situation," Horikita sighed deeply

She really was getting tired of this huh?

Horikita chose pride over safety. Two emergency stairwells were each located an equal distance from the elevators. No matter which we took, we'd have to pass students' rooms again. There was no getting around that.

I brought Horikita toward the stairwell. She stayed behind me, as if hiding herself from view. I was starting to agree with her words earlier. "This is not my day," indeed.

I heard a door open about three rooms behind us.

"Th-this is bad. That's Maezono-san's room."

Maezono from Class D, huh? There was no way for us to escape. However, Maezono didn't leave the room. Instead, her friend Kushida stepped out. Another piece of bad luck for Horikita.

"Did you piss off God somehow? There's no way one person can have this much bad luck," Ike said

"Apparently, it is possible since it happened," Horkita said in an annoyed tone

Luck is certainly a weird thing. I sat by Horikita by mere chance and due to that little friendship at the beginning of the year, I got to follow her trying to get a bottle off her hand.

"Thank you, Kushida-san. I'll return the favour next time!"

"Oh no, it's okay. Don't worry about it. Good night, Maezono-san."

I didn't see Maezono's face. As the door closed with a ka-chak, Kushida headed toward the elevator without noticing me or Horikita.

"That was close," Horikita said.

"Yeah."

If Kushida had looked back, she would've noticed us. I was sweating an uncomfortable amount. We were far too conspicuous like this. We headed to the emergency exit as quickly as possible, but I heard Maezono's door open once again.

"Kushida-san, you forgot something!" Maezono shouted as she stepped outside. Kushida turned.

"Ah, Ayanokouji-kun. Horikita-san. Good evening."

"Y-yeah."

Our exchange was brief. It seemed as though Kushida wanted to check on what she forgot. She headed back toward Maezono, and Maezono inevitably noticed us as well. Horikita froze.

"You forgot your phone!"

"Ah, sorry. Thanks! You're a lifesaver."

"Let's get going, Ayanokouji-kun. There's no need for us to linger," said Horikita. She pushed the water bottle against my back, emphasizing that this was our chance. If Horikita were seen in this state, her pride would be utterly demolished. We reached the emergency exit, and I tried to open the door.

Whatever pride Horikita has left is probably just a fragile thing that could be destroyed at any moment. Although this might be a moment that she might be able to laugh over in the future, right now it was an embarrassing moment where she was seen as a clown.

It was probably quite hurtful for Kushida's previous friends to look at her playing the part of a perfect friend just because it was something that made her feel good. Although, it could also be just as hurtful for Kushida to see the near-perfect life she had before.

"It won't open."

"You're joking, right? There's no way an emergency exit door wouldn't open, is there?"

"I'm serious. It won't open." Locking an emergency exit was normally prohibited, which meant...

"Where are you going?"

Oh no. Kushida approached us.

"Oh, uh. We were just thinking of taking the stairs."

That was the best answer I could give.

"Oh? But the power's out in the east emergency stairwell right now. I'm pretty sure it isn't usable. It'd be really dangerous to go downstairs in pitch darkness. I think the west stairs are okay, though."

"So, that's why it's locked. Huh," I said.

Horikita said nothing, continuing to hide behind my back.

"Horikita seems to be acting differently than usual. Is something the matter?" asked Kushida. She kept moving toward us, overshooting her room.

Horikita raised her voice. "Nothing's wrong!" she replied curtly.

Her bluntness worked. Kushida stopped.

"I see. Well, if something's troubling you, please tell me. Okay? Maezono-san was in trouble earlier because she had no water. I have more than enough," said Kushida.

"Oh Horikita, someone is kindly offering you what you need most, you're going to take it right?" Sakayanagi said smugly

She knew full well what she was doing, but Horikita couldn't respond. After all, it was obvious what the prideful Horikita would do in this situation.

Kushida had what we wanted most of all. If Horikita could only ask for her help, she'd get water quite easily. However, Horikita pushed the water bottle into my back like the muzzle of a gun. She didn't want Kushida's help.

"Well then, good night to you both," Kushida said sweetly.

"Yeah, 'night."

It took us quite a while to get to the first floor from the thirteenth. We were worried that the lobby might be crowded, but fortunately, no one was around.

"We can go right now," I said.

"Okay."

I made my way toward the exit, Horikita trailing closely behind me.

Then, several male and female students emerged from the darkness, chatting as they walked. They didn't appear to be Class D students, but from Horikita's perspective, it didn't make any difference who they were. We couldn't get out of the dormitory in time. Horikita turned on her heel and started to head back, as if returning to her room.

"At this rate, they're going to see us," she said.

The students drew nearer, their presence hard to ignore. Flustered, Horikita and I opened the door to the west emergency stairs. How unlucky could we be? I heard a voice directly above us. It sounded like a male student on the third or fourth floor, heading downstairs. Students who lived on the lower levels often didn't use the elevators.

Horikita was just a walking circus act now.

"I agree with you Ayanokouji, just how unlucky could one person be?" Okitani said through his laughs.

It was certainly refreshing hearing someone talk to me without any form of hatred, but the second he said that he realised who he said it to and averted his eyes. It seems that I'm just someone that must be ignored all costs though having them say anything positive even if it was only for a short period was a big improvement compared to recent.

"It's like you're being cornered from all sides," Ichinose giggled

No longer able to go upstairs, Horikita and I were forced to return to the lobby.

"We have no choice now but to use the elevator!" Horikita said.

"Is that okay? You'll be seen on the monitors," I said.

"I'll have to use you as cover. Since we know the camera's position, we should be able to do that," replied Horikita.

"This is like a zero-budget spy movie," Ishizaki joked

"No, it's a student-made zero-budget spy movie filmed on a 3-year-old phone," Ibuki continued

I almost felt pity for Horikita now.

That suggestion was bizarre, but not impossible. I would rather have avoided it, but since we lacked an escape route, there was no other choice. We hurried to the left elevator and got on. I positioned myself directly in front of the camera, and Horikita stood behind me, making sure to hide her arm. She was like a ghost clinging to my back.

I hoped observers wouldn't notice anything. At any rate, we needed to get away from the first floor. I pushed a button at random.

"Well, we're safe for now, but...this is just the beginning," I muttered.

"Let's give up. I can't go outside like this. I'll just endure this bottle until the water comes back," said Horikita.

In hindsight, this was something far too overly complicated, but in Horikita's perspective, this was probably a life or death situation.

"I really want to laugh. I know this was probably terrible for Horikita, but it's just so dramatic," Kei thought.

"This isn't a zombie movie, you guys just need water," Kiriyama stated.

That had to be a tough pill for her to swallow, but if it was what she wanted, we just needed to return to the thirteenth floor. I cancelled the request for a random floor, and pushed the button for the thirteenth.

Hopefully our trials were over for tonight.

Then, just as we relaxed, the elevator suddenly slowed. I was having terrible luck with elevators lately. At least it wasn't breaking down, and I hadn't pressed the wrong button.

"You were? I'm interested in this," Ryueen looked like a predator eyeing down his prey

I noticed that Ibuki was staring at me in pure desperation, pride really is a troublesome thing huh?

"I got some ice cream from the store, but the elevator broke down and it all melted," I lied.

I know that Ryueen wouldn't believe something like this, but it would probably keep him guessing until he gives up.

We had stopped on the fifth floor. That meant that someone had pressed the call button. No matter who got on, they'd see Horikita in this bizarre state. She might've gone undetected in a big crowd of people, but fate continued to be cruel, and the elevator doors opened to reveal a single male student.

Unbelievable. Of all the people we could have encountered... Kouenji Rokusuke, a Class D student, waltzed into the elevator with his usual haughty air. He went straight to the mirrored wall, not even giving us a passing glance. As he gazed at his reflection, he pulled out a comb he always carried, and started to style his hair.

"Elevator boy. Top floor," he said.

"Oh my god, my past self has such a way with words," Koenji looked dazzled by the screen

"What's with your nicknaming? All you say is an obscure adjective and boy or girl," Hashimoto pointed out

"Simplicity is beautiful," Koenji said something that surprisingly made sense.

Horikita appeared stunned by Kouenji's incredible display of narcissism. I wanted to say a bunch of things right back at him, but it was probably best to just stay quiet. I pressed the button for the top floor, the elevator doors closed, and we started our ascent once again.

Kouenji showed no sign of paying attention to us. I would've thought that he'd spare us a glance, considering that we were his classmates, but at least that meant he probably wouldn't notice the water bottle.

While Horikita hovered in the camera's blind spot, the elevator passed the tenth floor. I wondered what business Kouenji had on the top floor, but couldn't ask. Maybe he had no real reason for going.

In a way, Koenji was the best person to run into because he's so obsessed with himself that he won't notice Horikita. Even if that's the case, I can't thank him because he won't take it genuinely in the first place. He would probably say something like 'Oh? You just found out?'.

When the elevator doors slowly opened, Horikita and I stepped out simultaneously. Kouenji never once moved his eyes from the mirror. Things had ended without incident.

Horikita rushed straight to her room.

"It's impossible. Walking around outside is completely out of the question," she muttered as she went inside.

I was about to follow her when my phone vibrated.

Sorry for the late reply. I was researching something, so I didn't notice your text, read the message from Sakura.

"Sakura-san?" asked Horikita.

"Yeah." I texted Sakura back.

You wanted water, right? Of course that's okay. Would one bottle be enough? said her message.

That's plenty, thank you. Can I come get it now?

Sure. I'll wait for you, Sakura replied.

It was difficult to hold a conversation with Sakura in person, but when we texted, it went smoothly.

I suppose an extrovert's natural method of communicating would be in person, but someone far more introverted like Airi would be in their natural element when it came to communicating online.

"I have to thank you deeply for that Sakura. I know that Ayanokouji didn't tell you that the water was for me," Horikita slightly bowed her head

The change was definitely noticeable. The Horikita a year ago would just assume that the water was something she needed and something that didn't need gratitude as it was expected. Horikita had learned how to see things from a different perspective. Although. I guess it isn't much of a big victory since many people learn that when they grow up.

Airi meekly nodded to Horikita's apology, she looked over at me and when we both locked eyes she averted them at an instance.

"Good news, Horikita. Apparently, Sakura has water. She just gave me the okay to borrow some, so I'll be going now."

"Thank you. However, please don't tell Sakura-san about me,"

Horikita replied.

"Well, since you won't be stuck like this anymore, how about we take a commemorative photo?" I joked.

"I see that great minds think alike," Ryueen unexpectedly praised me

"I don't think it's called being great, I think it's called being obnoxious and unbearable," Horikita complained

Horikita seemed to be about to start swinging the water bottle at me, so I ran into the hall.

"What a terrifying woman. Considering her physical prowess, if she hit me on the head with that bottle, I'd probably die," I muttered.

If a high school girl with her arm stuck in a water bottle killed me, my name would live on in infamy.

"It would be pretty funny if the masterpiece died because of a water bottle conk to the head," Ichika giggled

"There—it's off," I said.

After a long, arduous struggle, we'd finally succeeded in freeing Horikita from the water bottle.

"Wow, that took so much more effort than it needed," Hashimoto sighed deeply, I assume that he was a little tired of seeing such incompetence.

"Honestly, this day was a complete disaster," she muttered. If my hand had been trapped in a water bottle, I would've felt the same. "Ayanokouji- kun. Please don't speak a word of this to anyone."

"Before you go issuing warnings, isn't there something else you'd like to say first?"

"Thank you."

It wasn't sincere, but at least it sounded like an approximation of gratitude.

I saw Manabu slightly smile. He really brought out the proud brother act whenever it was applicable.

"I have to say, getting trapped in a water bottle? That's just so unlike you, Horikita."

"Shut up," she snapped. "I don't go looking for trouble."

I decided that I'd outstayed my welcome, so I headed back to my own room.

Really, though, was it even possible for someone's arm to get stuck in a water bottle? I took a bottle out of a box, rinsed it, and then inserted my hand as a test. It was an exact fit. The bottle felt surprisingly snug.

"Rocket punch! Eh, just kidding."

"That was so cute," Kei blushed as she thought

I saw some people, mainly the boys, eye me weirdly while some girls thought I was too childish. Kei looked happy, so I must have done something right.

I gave in to silliness for a moment. When I tried to get my hand out of the water bottle, though...

"I-I think I'm trapped!"

"Oh... the beautiful irony," Ryueen looked so happy at mine and Horikita's suffering.

The scene faded to black and we were told to go home. Nobody's opinion of me improved, but it didn't go down either. I know that the change wouldn't come quickly, but I was still a little surprised about how there are slight changes already even if they weren't for long.

Authors Notes:

What was the point of this chapter? I don't really know, I just found it funny.

I see a bunch of people asking me about a white room reaction and I do have plans for it, but I'm going to do that when I've caught up to the main LN material.

It was also nice to not have to talk about how Ayanokouji is the worst person in existence for once. Volume 4.5 will probably be the beginning of when some people's opinion of Ayanokouji may change or at least be conflicted.

Next time I'll do 'Operation Delta' and after that, I'll do the fortune-telling scene to finish the volume off.

See you next time.

Operation Delta

It was weird, but I got to school with no problems for once.

Murphy's law, was it? Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. It feels far too nice and comfortable right now, and it's very unnerving. I got to my seat in the theatre as usual, but I noticed that Ike looked nervous today.

This isn't unusual since, for the past few days, he's often been jumpy and alert. I guess that he might be nervous about the incredibly immoral operation he conducted during the summer. I guess that was bound to be shown eventually, so I can't say that I'm surprised.

"Today's video is titled' operation delta', enjoy."

I think Ike lost part of his lifespan after hearing that.

"Hey, Ike," I whispered to him.

"What?" He sounds uneasy.

"Why didn't you go to the private room?" It was the logical choice currently.

Although Ike looked like I just told him something that ended his life, "Fuck, I forgot about that. Aww man, I have to sit through this now," Ike whined.

I couldn't really make him feel better, so I turned my eyes to the projector.

What should a man aim for in life? If you asked men from all over the world, you'd probably see a pattern emerge: find a partner and make love, produce offspring, raise those offspring. Amusement parks, movies, and video games are all very well. However, the plethora of entertainment options available to us these days is just a blip in the grand scheme of human history. Nearly all living beings have sought to pass the torch on to the next generation since ancient times.

"Don't you think you're generalising a bit?" Kanzaki wondered

Obviously, I didn't mean that all men wanted a hedonistic life, but I'm sure that if given the option, many would take it.

"I guess so, but I don't think it's something that people would be opposed to doing," I explained.

He grumbled an "I guess you're not wrong."

However, young high school boys have no understanding of what it means to bring forth the next generation. Instead, they simply seek any and all immediate available sexual gratification.

The sudden shift in tone made everyone confused.

"Now then, I'd like to hold a strategy meeting regarding Operation Delta."

I saw that Ike looked very concerned, but Sudo wasn't like that. It's not as if he wasn't nervous at all, he was darting his eyes around and his leg was quickly going up and down in the same spot. Although on a scale of 1 to 10, Sudo would be a 5 while Ike would be an 11.

A few people noticed the feverish Ike and asked him the usual 'are you okay?' He brushed it off casually, but it was not at all believable. The students in the room thought it was probably something perverted due to my wording and Ike's... existence.

Ike, from Class D, knelt on the floor. He used his clenched fist to wipe the sweat that began to trickle down his forehead. "I'd lay my life on the line for Operation Delta. Haruki, how about you?"

"I feel the same as you, Kanji. If this operation is a success, I won'teven mind dying!" Yamauchi shouted.

Sudou, who'd silently observed so far, chimed in. "Honestly, I'm against it. I'll make a decision after I hear you out."

"So then, Ayanokouji, you're joining in too, right?"

"Is it okay if I turn on the air conditioner?" I asked. No good would come of the room reeking of sweat.

"Sure. It's hot."

They'd denied my first request to switch it on—something about "setting the mood"—but since we were meeting in my room, I'd had enough.

"Why is it always, always my room?"

"Didn't I tell you before? It's because you have the neatest, cleanest place. Other people's rooms have tissues and shed hair and junk everywhere, and they're dirty. There ain't even enough room to put a foot down in Yamauchi's place."

Most people were glaring at them now. It was weird not being glared at for once, but I don't dislike it.

"Shed hair? Are you guys dogs or something?" Matsushita looked disgusted.

Most people looked over that detail, the main thing that they were all annoyed about was the tissue comment.

"Not even a foot? How do you guys live?" Hashimoto looked genuinely baffled.

Ike wasn't able to answer.

I wished they'd think about tidying up, rather than comparing their levels of filthiness.

"You know, no matter how much time passes, this room still doesn't feel lived in. Nothing's changed since enrollment, y'know? How about, when you get some points, you go out and buy something?"

"The next thing you buy should be carpet, dude. Carpet. My ass hurts," said Sudou, sitting on the floor. He'd made similar statements in the past.

"Man, talk about entitlement," Keisei said.

"I agree with you glasses, just go to your own tissue dumpster or stop bitching," Hosen looked disgusted by Sudo's actions.

I was surprised by him, but he was still methodical and careful when he wants to be. Maybe he just likes his environment to be clean.

"I can't just go out and spend precious points."

For some reason, Sudou kept hounding me. "We got points for the island test, thanks to Suzune. Someone as useless as you shouldn't hoard points," he shot back.

"That's definitely true. Actually, with Horikita on our side, it's just a matter of time until we get up to Class C's point total, right?"

Things had changed since our hopeless situation back in May. Now, with a fresh new surge of points, we were closing the gap between us and the upper-level classes.

Sudo would probably apologise with his new attitude, but he won't even speak to me. I guess it makes sense. His light comment about me being useless isn't comparable to the things I did.

"I don't think you guys will get up to the top though. Your class doesn't have the collective abilities to do so," Ichinose commented.

The Ichinose now and a few days ago were very different. It was an act, and nowhere near as refined and meticulous as Kushida's but she was able to make herself sound more like a threat. The relations that class D has with class B were also dwindling due to the mutual use that we once had being non-existent. Ichinose also doesn't want to be anywhere near me, so it was inevitable that we would become her enemies.

Horikita wanted to respond, but the video kept playing before she was able to get the words out.

"Come on, guys. Let's think about the tough stuff when we're in second semester. Right now, it's Operation Delta."

That was why the three idiots were gathered in my room—to discuss Operation Delta, a plan that originated over chat the night before.

"Are you guys seriously doing this?"

"Very seriously. I mean, this is the prime of our youth, right? Or are you saying you don't like Operation Delta?!"

"Call it whatever you want, but it's basically just peeping. Right?"

It was like a mine had gone off. At first, the students weren't able to understand what they just heard, but as the gears in their minds turned and they understood the situation, they erupted.

"That's a crime right?"

"That's such an invasion of privacy."

These and various other statements went around the room. There were daggers from every corner being stared at them and if looks could kill then they would probably be dead a hundred times over.

"So this is why you guys were acting so weird that day," Horikita voiced her thoughts.

She looked very mad, and so did the class. The entire class was in collective hatred of those two and by extension me. Since their actions were criminal acts, there were grounds for them to be expelled, but since the act was never carried out and they didn't receive anything from it one could argue that this was an ethical problem. '

Certainly what they did was a criminal act, but if nothing came of it then should they still be punished? Attempted murder is still a crime and the culprit is still charged with the same prison sentence as one who did commit murder. I believe that they should be punished, but my opinion doesn't really matter in this situation.

If I had to guess, the chairman was the one who held the most power in this situation and he had the authority to decide what was going to happen.

The strategic operation with the serious name was indeed all about peeping. It was a stupid plan, born out of the guys' desire to see women naked. However, only Ike had the details.

"To peep at girls' naked bodies... What's wrong with that?! That's youth!" Ike shouted.

"Do you hear yourself?" Shinohara looked disgusted.

She was in a bit of a predicament currently. Her boyfriend is trying to peep on girls and she's on the side of the majority. Ike probably knows that what he did was wrong, he's not as stupid as he was a year ago, but it didn't change the fact that he had the ability to make a better judgement and chose not to.

Actually, it was a crime, and a horrible one at that. It was the kind of thing that would land Ike on the news if he were ever caught in the act.

"What'll you do if the girls find out? They'll be worse than angry, you know." I tried to discourage the three.

I heard a few sighs of relief when they heard my words, but the logical outcome in their minds eventually caught up with them and they were left with dissatisfaction. If nothing really happened in this situation then why were we witnessing it?

Sudou seemed to sense my doubts, because he voiced the same concerns. "It's dangerous, like Ayanokouji says. This isn't the same as changing into our gym clothes in the classroom, back in elementary school, or peeping at the bath in some old-fashioned inn during a junior high field trip."

"Don't worry. The supercomputer known as Ike Kanji-sama devised this plan," said Ike. He got up and confidently, arrogantly, began to explain it.

"When will we be peeping, and from where? Those are your questions, right? Don't worry. I've thought everything out. Please calm down, and just listen to what I'm about to say. First, we will carefully select our target. It would be a complete waste of energy if we ended up half-assing the operation and peeping on some uggo. Also, we'll choose from the girls in Class D. You can only achieve maximum arousal by seeing the naked body of a cute girl you know in everyday life," said Ike.

"He's grown more mature since then, right? There's no way he would do something like this now, right? I really hope that's the case," Shinohara thought

Ike and Sudo probably couldn't get themselves out of this situation to begin with. Maybe if they apologised now and said sorry then they might be forgiven, but it could also be that they would be seen as people apologising to save themselves. Either way, they don't have many options to look good here.

"I agree, but none of us have really taken things to the next level with any of the girls, right?"

I guess it depends on what they mean by next level. If they mean intercourse then I haven't gotten to that level, but knowing Ike he probably wouldn't have thought about the next level being that far.

Ike considers being in a relationship or a kiss as the next level since back then, that was the only thing in his sight.

"It's okay. We'll just get ourselves to the next level. You must achieve these kinds of milestones yourself," replied Ike. He tapped his phone and turned the screen toward us. "Did you forget? The pool's been open since yesterday!"

"R-really? Okay then, yeah. If that's true, we can peep! Right? I've never been there before. The pool, I mean," Haruki yammered.

Looking at Ike's phone, I saw a notification saying that the pool was open for public use for the last three days of summer vacation. Operating hours were from 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.

"I get that inviting the girls to the pool means they'll have to change into swimsuits. But I don't see how that's going to give you an opportunity to peep," I said.

I'd never gone to the special swimming facilities before, but there would likely be surveillance cameras. Not inside the locker rooms, of course, but in the hallways. If a suspicious man approached the women's locker rooms, staff would confront him.

Ike remained calm, arms crossed. His expression didn't change. "Damn, dude. That makes me sad. Do you really think I'm so stupid that I wouldn't think of something like that? I've been making preparations for a long while now, dreaming of this day."

"Simpletons brag about the worst things," Kiryuiin said with a disgusted expression.

Ike learned that his best way out was probably to just stay quiet and hope for the best or apologise. Although, apologising still has its demerits..

"A long while? Okay, then, tell me this crucial peeping method," snapped Yamauchi, unable to stomach more of Ike's boasting.

"Oh, you want me to show my hand, eh? All right. Feast your eyes on this," said Ike.

He'd actually drawn up a map of the facility. Seeing the depths of his resolve, Sudou and Yamauchi gasped in apparent wonder.

"Whoa. You even prepared something like this?!"

I was surprised, too. The map was even pretty detailed. But something was odd. The handwriting on the map was different from Ike's.

I noticed that the professor was quivering. Although, I can't say that he doesn't deserve it. If not for him Ike wouldn't have been able to carry out his plan. Ike may have been the ringleader, but the professor contributed the most to the plan.

Check it out. The special pool is at least twice as big as the one we use for our classes. As you would guess, there are surveillance cameras."

The pool was a large-scale facility with locker rooms for men and women. Naturally, the locker rooms were on opposite ends of the hallway. The surveillance cameras' locations were marked on the map.

"Hmm. Looking at this, there's definitely no way for us to peep."

Diverging paths separated the locker rooms, similar to men's and women's baths. Even if we took a single step toward the girls' locker room, we'd be noticed. On top of that, since it'd be the last day of summer vacation, there'd probably be a lot of people around. Our chances of success were slim to none.

"I mean, I don't think we're gonna be able to just stroll over and peep. Here's the crucial point: the ventilation route that runs along the floor. That vent connects the men's and women's locker rooms. What's more, they divide the lockers by year, from first-year to third-year students. The men's and women's lockers rooms are connected by their respective year, which means the first-year men's room is connected to the first-year women's. It's a miracle!"

"Being horny has its limits y'know?" Ryueen said.

"We need to fix that," Matsushita protested.

I can see why. The girls' entire livelihood and privacy was being invaded by that small vent. I guess the school might have wanted to save money instead of keeping them separate from each other or they just hadn't thought that students would do something like this. But the chairman doesn't strike me as the man who would overlook something as easy to predict as peeping.

The girls had all stared at the chairman for an answer.

He wasn't obligated to say anything, but he decided to anyway. I guess he's the type of person to alleviate another's worries, "Now that this has come to our attention we plan to resolve this issue as quickly as possible," He said warmly

The girls were a little less restless, but the matter of the fact is that an incident like this still happened and that the people who committed the crime are still here.

I understood. If things went according to plan, we'd be able to see the girls change through the vent.

However, could the vent fit a person?

"The vent's fifteen centimeters high and forty centimeters wide."

"No one could pass through that." In the worst-case scenario, you'd get stuck and be unable to get back out.

"Heh heh. I took everything into account. We also have this!"

Ike pulled out a small toy car out of his bag. An antenna stuck out the top.

"RC!"

A radio-controlled car that you could move freely via remote control. A camera was installed on the car's roof. It was linked to a small display on the remote control. After Ike put in some batteries and started it up, the camera feed appeared on the remote. It wasn't high-resolution, but it was enough.

Ike really had been preparing for a while.

"Your work ethic is incredible, but it's so abhorrent," Hiyori said with a rare annoyed expression

If only Ike was able to put this much work into his studies. His conversational skills could be comparable to an average student in class B, but his mindset is what holds him back.

"This should fit into the vent. After that, all we need to do is move the car while watching what's on the camera. We can even save the images on the memory card!"

Ike had concocted this lust-filled plan in the depths of deepest darkness. I wondered just what terrifying things he imagined on a regular basis. This was a criminal act, thank you very much. Not even Yamauchi could be okay with this.

"Oh! Awesome! Dude, this is perfect! Right, Ken?!" So, Yamauchi agreed. He was happily, gleefully going along with it.

Well, we don't have to feel bad about expelling him anymore. Not like anyone besides Yosuke had any shred of sympathy for him. And then again, Yosuke only felt bad because of his mindset. He didn't feel bad that Yamauchi got expelled, he felt bad that a student got expelled.

Yamauchi only got the sympathy for Yosuke that he would give to any student that was expelled.

"God, how disgusting can some people be?" Asahina remarked.

"Guess so. Kinda feels over the top, doesn't it?" asked Sudou.

"What do you mean?! This is perfect!"

It was certainly true that we could probably get away with this without being noticed. Really, Ike had taken meticulous care in his preparations. I hazarded a guess.

"Did the Professor have a hand in this peeping operation, by any chance?" I asked.

"I am so sorry," The professor exclaimed.

Unfortunately, he wasn't going to get any sympathy in the future when everyone learns the lengths that he went to.

Yosuke had a weak smile, "I think you've learned from your previous actions, right?"

The professor nodded furiously.

The Yosuke previously would go to hell and back to make the class united and protect the culprits with his full spirit, but the Yosuke now knows his limits. He knows that the 3 will most likely be punished and that the class may very well get a harsh private point deduction.

"I can't do anything to help you, unfortunately. I wish you the best of luck," Yosuke said with a solemn expression.

The professor was left to the wrath of the girls.

I could hardly imagine that Ike came up with this all by himself. An RC car wasn't cheap.

"H-how did you—?!"

None of this was Ike's forte. Besides, only someone who knew the locations of the surveillance cameras and ventilation routes could dream this up.

"Damn it. Guess there's no hiding it. You've found me out. You're right, I asked the Professor. Shit, dude, and after all the trouble I took to make you think I planned the whole thing." Ike groaned.

"So, what's the plan?"

Booted back to square one, Ike started explaining again.

"First, we'll invite the girls we want to peep on to the pool tomorrow. Then, we'll enter the locker rooms at almost the exact same time they do. Got it? Inside, we immediately go to the vent in the back. If someone is using that spot, Sudou will threaten them, and make them move. After that, we pull out towels, act like we're going to change, and form a human wall around the vent so that no one else can see. Then I'll remove the hatch and insert the RC car. I'll operate it, so I need you guys to hide me. I'll stop the car right in front of the girls' locker room, and start recording. Once we've determined that they're done changing, we'll get the car back out," explained Ike.

The steps were relatively simple and easy to understand. However, some parts felt a little iffy. I couldn't just ignore them.

"So, I threaten people who get in our way, and make them move. I also need to make sure people don't get close to us, right?" That role was appropriate for Sudou. Given his reputation, other students probably wouldn't approach us casually.

"You guys see just how incredible Operation Delta is?" asked Ike.

"B-but, Kanji. This is a crime, dude. Like, the sin is gonna weigh heavier on me than the actual peeping."

Many were surprised that Yamauchi could say something so moral and expected of a normal human in society. I can't blame them, every time he's ever interacted with me is when he wants a girl's number or he just wants to belittle me.

"You're certainly right. It's a crime. Strictly speaking, that is. However, think about your past. You've committed crimes before, right?" Ike gloated.

"Huh? The hell does that mean? What crime did I ever commit?" Sudou snapped.

"Let me ask you this, Ken. If you're aggressive, and hurt someone, that's a crime. Right? If an adult punched someone, the news would report it, wouldn't they? And you've used violence before, haven't you?"

"That's... Fightin' and violence are two different things," answered Sudou.

"Well, I've never been violent in my life," said Yamauchi.

"But, Haruki, back in elementary school, didn't you once lick that girl's recorder? The girl you had a crush on? And you sniffed her gym clothes, too. Or did you not do those things?" pressed Ike.

The students were in shock. They could assume from class D's reactions that Yamauchi wasn't an upstanding citizen, but they had no idea of what he was capable of.

Although Ike's question does beg some answering. If one was asked 'what is crime?' Most people would respond with anything that the law prohibits. Although there are things that are legal which shouldn't be and the same could be said for the opposite.

If a crime is committed by a minor then the punishment is lighter as one could argue that the individual is younger and isn't as mature as an adult, but a crime is still a crime. Even if it was committed by a minor it is still a crime.

"Ugh..." Yamauchi seemed to be recalling an unpleasant memory.

"If an adult did those same things? Crime!" shouted Ike.

"Th-that's true."

"In other words, it's different when it's another minor peeping on, and secretly photographing, girls without their knowledge. If we don't do this now, when can we?!"

His convincing rhetoric pierced Yamauchi and Sudou's hearts. It was enough to cleanse them of guilt over committing a criminal act.

"What stupid logic. A crime is still a crime, the law just offers some liberty when it comes to minors," Horikita berated them

"That flawed logic was able to make you do something like that? Did you actually not want to do it or were you just looking for an excuse?" Ichinose ridiculed.

(Never thought I'd put the words 'Ichinose' and 'ridiculed' next to each other but here we are)

"It doesn't matter what a person does, crime is still crime. I know full well about the consequences of crime. I know that they have probably learnt their lesson and won't do it again, but that doesn't change the fact that they did this with the full intent of following through with it," Ichinose thought.

"You in, Haruki? Let the chips fall where they may," asked Ike.

"Y-yeah. Okay, I'm on board," said Yamauchi.

"You guys sure about this? Seriously, it is illegal," I repeated.

No matter how much Ike tried to sugarcoat it, a crime was still a crime.

Many people agreed.

"Look, I've been saying this for a while now, Ayanokouji. Licking a flute is a crime, and directly peeping on someone changing clothes is also a crime. Secretly photographing someone without their knowledge is a crime. But this is what youth is for! Boys peeping on girls getting changed don't go to jail; we only get a warning. That's what I mean! You get it?" Ike repeated.

"Well, I'm not convinced. Technology aside, experiences like these turn boys into men, all across the world. Shoplifting when you're in elementary school and shoplifting when you're in high school both carry the same weight. They're the same crime."

This wasn't even about wanting to see the girls changing anymore. Ike was aggressively trying to justify his actions.

"The denial is so strong, you could cut it," Hashimoto said.

"If you're gonna peep, just accept it. Don't make excuses, just admit you're horny and want to see girls because you can't get any of your own," Ryueen mercilessly destroyed them.

"I think that's a little harsh," Yosuke said. He wasn't able to protect them, but he still won't stand for people harassing his classmates.

"Oh really? I was going for extremely harsh, thank's for telling me that I should step it up," Ryueen retorted.

"If we keep this to our current modern, high-tech era for argument's sake, peeping like this is still secretly photographing without consent. If you get found out, you might not be arrested, but you could get expelled. Right?"

"I'm terrified of getting expelled. Like hell am I gonna peep!"

Sudou and Yamauchi threw their arms up in the air as if in terror.

"All that's left is you, Ayanokouji. You'll be cooperating, of course. Right?"

"I'm not interested," I replied.

Some people were surprised. I assume they thought that I was someone who was materialistic. Most people just thought of me in a better light. One could argue that this was expected from most people, but humans are unpredictable creatures.

"Still, you're cooperating. If you three form a wall, we definitely won't be spotted," said Ike.

He was really going to do this, even if I backed out.

"All right. I'll cooperate. But promise me one thing, Ike. This plan is risky. If we're caught, we're going to get more than just a slap on the wrist. So, success or failure, promise me that Operation Delta is the only time you'll try this. If you don't, I won't cooperate, and I might report it to the school, too."

If I just flat-out objected, Ike and the others would carry out the crime regardless. By placing a condition on my offer to cooperate, I could ensure that this was a one-time event.

"A necessary sacrifice I suppose," Nagumo sighed

I doubt Ike would do this again. He still has his limits and he would have probably assumed that once was enough of a risk.

Now, something interesting was happening.

Conflict.

Some people agree that I should do that since it was the best way to make this event not happen again while others think that I'm just an accessory to the crime.

Once again this is a 'means justify the end' question. I reduce the chance of the event happening again, but I aided the crime. While a person could argue that someone should just report the planning, it isn't that simple. Everything that is reported at this school affects everyone. The sudo incident affected the private point addition for not only our class but other classes as well.

If I reported it then other people would be affected negatively, but if I went along with it then the people who were victims would be negatively affected, but it won't happen again and the victims have no idea of the crime.

Although this debate is pointless as the actions I took are very different from what I had stated.

If we were discovered, Class D might actually come apart at the seams. We needed to understand that.

"All right already. I get it. I don't think it's good to try doing something like this multiple times, anyway," Ike whined.

"That's fortunate, because you'll be staking your future high school career on this," I replied. Then I added, "Let me suggest one thing. If the pool opens up at 9:00 A.M., then it'd be best to arrive right on time. If we get there first, nabbing the spot in the back of the locker room will be simple."

"I see! Let's go with that!" Ike agreed. "A red-blooded young man's just gotta peep! Let's do this, fellas!"

And that was the story behind Operation Delta.

"What a horrible idea," Sakayanagi sighed deeply

The culprits in question were all practically ostracised from the rest of the class. I assume that the chairman will talk to them in private about this later.

On the day we went to the pool, we were the first people to enter the locker room. We went all the way to the back and spread out our towels. The boys who entered afterward were lost in their own conversations and paid us no attention.

"Hurry up, Ike," urged Sudou.

Sudou spread his towel and pretended to change while Ike crouched in front of the vent. Ike took out the RC car and screwdriver set that he'd wrapped in the towel and removed floor vent's metal fittings. He immediately put the RC car inside the vent and started operating it.

The RC car came equipped with a pen light. It rolled forward, transmitting footage of the path ahead, which the monitor displayed faintly.

"D-damn it! Just like I thought, it's dark!"

With only the pen light for illumination, the visibility on the monitor was getting worse. Even so, the RC car moved forward, little by little, toward the light that lay ahead. Even if we went too far, there were metal bars in place that would stop the car, so we weren't worried about it falling.

"All right, just a little farther!"

The monitor now displayed the locker room. Although the image quality was terrible, we could see Horikita and the others clearly.

"How disgusting."

"We need to get them expelled."

"No normal person does this."

Now that the plan was in motion, the acting party was being berated from all sides.

"We're sorry," Sudo bowed his head and then Ike followed suit

It didn't matter however, the damage was done. Their reputation was already not great and this just made it worse. They were simply apologising to a party that had already made up its mind. The students once again looked to the teachers and by proxy, the chairman.

He sighed deeply, "Sudo, Ike, Sotomura and Ayanokouji. After this please head to my office,"

The last time I was in his office I didn't have the best time.

"Wh-whoa!"

Ike's (or rather, the Professor's) plan had succeeded brilliantly. Class D students, as well as Ichinose, were visible. If we watched, we'd be able to see them changing in real time.

"Hey, show me too, Kanji. I can't see it at all, dude!"

"You idiot! Show me, too!"

Sudou and Yamauchi kept up their demands. At this rate, there was no way we'd avoid drawing suspicion.

"You can record this, right? Isn't it better not to push your luck? People are gonna get suspicious," I warned.

"D-damn, you're right. I guess, right now, it's better for us to just get changed," muttered Yamauchi. He clicked his tongue and grimaced in frustration. Even if we didn't peep through the monitor, the memory card was recording and storing everything.

Ike manfully endured the temptation. He put the remote control in his locker and focused on changing.

"H-how many minutes should I wait, I wonder?" he asked.

"I'd like to keep it there for twenty minutes, at the very least."

The number shocked everyone. The reputation they had was dwindling even further. For me, however, people were conflicted still.

I avoided saying anything because this was the first change I could see in the cohort's opinion. The conflict and ambiguity of my actions were new and I assume that it would only get more morally grey in the future.

People like Ichinose know that I'm not the type to just sit around while this happens, so she had no problems with this and was rather appalled by the people who had the intent to go through with this. Others who aren't in the know simply are on opposing sides.

If we pulled the car too quickly, we wouldn't see the girls changing. On the other hand, if we took too long changing, that might arouse suspicion. This would undoubtedly be the longest twenty minutes of these guys' entire lives.

"I'll go on ahead," I told them.

"W-wait a minute, Ayanokouji! Are you betraying us?! If you ask us to show you afterward, we're not going to!" snapped Ike.

"That's not it at all. If twenty minutes pass without a single guy coming out of the locker room, the girls will get suspicious."

"Ugh. Yeah, I guess you're probably right. Okay, do a good job out there."

"Got it."

Leaving the other three guys to recover the RC car, I went ahead toward the pool.

(I'm skipping the first part of the girl's conversation since it's really cringe and horny)

All of a sudden the screen turned black and there was only audio left. If I'm correct in guessing that the girl's locker will be shown then it would make sense.

For Kei's situation, there was only something small that could be easily censored and it didn't last for a long time, but viewing something in the girl's locker room where there are plenty of girls nude it would make sense that all of it would be censored.

"Oh, Karuizawa-san? Good morning! You came here to hang out?" asked Ichinose.

I could hear Ichinose's bubbly voice and since it indicated that Kei was the one coming inside the room then it would make sense that this is the part where she removed the memory card.

"What a coincidence! We're here to swim, too." Kushida couldn't hide her surprise. Karuizawa almost never swam during class.

This was also in 3rd person and narrated, which was interesting.

No one said anything about Kei. They all know why she didn't swim in class and it would just be cruel and insensitive to bring it up.

"Heh."

With that brief response, Karuizawa and the two girls who entered with her headed toward the lockers all the way in the back of the room. She touched the grating across the vent, and it came off without much effort. That wasn't due to her superhuman strength. Someone had entered the locker room yesterday and carefully unfastened all the screws with a Philips screwdriver.

"Ugh. They're seriously doing it. These guys are the lowest of the low —complete perverts," Karuizawa muttered.

There was confusion on many people's faces, but after they thought about it they could understand what my part in all of this was.

I was the only one of the 5 people in the plan who objected to it and the only one of the 5 who could make Kei do something like this when she would normally not even know what was going on.

"I'm glad that there are some sane people in your class," Sakayanagi smiled, most people at first had thought of Kei, but when she looked at me they had realised who orchestrated this.

"W-was it y-you who told Karuizawa to do this," Airi asked meekly

This was the first time in a while that she had spoken to me. Airi may be weak in terms of her abilities but she isn't naive enough to think that I would willingly o along with this.

"Yeah, it was."

She slightly smiled at me. It was definitely new but I got a few thank yous from the girls.

She found the RC car up against the vent opening. Its camera's gleaming lens captured the girls' locker room at an excellent angle. The light next to the monitor glowed a faint red, which meant the camera was in the middle of recording.

Doing as Ayanokouji had instructed her ahead of time, Karuizawa removed the memory card. She replaced it with a new memory card with no data, and put the car back in the vent.

"That takes care of that." Soon, the RC car would return to its owner.

"He's the only one who really..."

As exasperated as Karuizawa was by the guys' grossness, her thoughts turned to the only person who acted to stop them from carrying the plan out: Ayanokouji. If Ayanokouji hadn't done something, her classmates, and even girls from other classes, would've had their naked bodies seen without their knowledge. Even worse, those images would've been saved forever.

The students looked at me with gratitude. This is what is known in psychology as an observational study, a study in which an independent variable are left in an environment for the dependent variables to react to. In this case, I was the independent variable and also the researcher observing everything while the students are the dependent variable as they react to me.

"This was the first time when I thought of him in a good light. I wonder, was that a part of your plan too?" Kei thought

"Kei-chan, is everything okay?"

Sonada, Karuizawa's classmate, spoke behind her. Ishikura, the third girl, also looked at Karuizawa with an uneasy expression.

"Ah, yeah. Thanks. I'm good now."

Karuizawa had used her friends to shield herself from view as she bent down to the vent, just like the guys had done in the other locker room. She'd even procured the keys to all the nearby lockers beforehand, so people would see them marked as full, and not use them. Now, Karuizawa calmly and carefully returned those keys one by one, taking care not to look too nervous.

She didn't explain what she was doing to her friends. They were people who obediently followed instructions without requiring explanations. They were not strong-willed, and they feared being ostracized. Karuizawa kept such people around on purpose.

Now it was Kei who was being seen in a bad light. Although it was something that is common among leaders. World politicians keep sycophants around so that they can do whatever they want without trouble, but Kei kept them around so that she could control and maintain her position.

The girls who were just called weak-willed didn't say anything. I suppose it was hard to say anything to Kei when she's treated as a sympathetic figure. Sympathy is a powerful tool and it works on almost everyone, it can stop people from talking negatively about you.

The mood was awkward now.

After she finished changing, and confirmed that no other Class D students were around, Karuizawa thanked the girls she was with.

"I have a little business to take care of later. Will you two be here?"

"Ah, yeah. We were thinking of swimming. Right?"

The two girls nodded to each other. Karuizawa said nothing in response.

After this, the screen went back to normal and we had both visual and audio returned.

After swimming to the point of exhaustion, I left the pool and went back to my room. When I arrived, three excited guys were waiting in front of my door.

The awkward mood was no more as the bitter mood for the 3 guys returned. I wonder what Yamauchi would do if he was still in the school, would he lie to make himself seem better or would he throw the other two under the bus?

A jester certainly has many options.

"You're late, Ayanokouji! Hurry up and let us in!" Sudou, his patience gone, kicked my door. That would only annoy my neighbors and draw the dorm manager's attention.

"Hurry up, Ayanokouji!"

I opened the door. A bunch of guys unable to contain their arousal pushed it from behind. Ike held the memory card he'd recovered from the RC car. On that memory card were images of the girls changing—or so the guys thought, anyway.

Pushing ahead of me, they turned on my computer without permission.

"I-If there are some incredible pictures, let me copy them."

"Wait, guys. First, I need to confirm somethin'. You guys don't got any right to see Suzune's naked body."

"You have no right to say anything like that. How dare you?" Horikita's tone sounded like it could crush metal

Sudo and Ike had already apologised for their actions, so Horikita was screaming to people who acknowledged what they did was wrong.

Horikita sighed, "I guess this is pointless since you already apologised."

She rubbed her eyes looking frustrated. She didn't speak a word to them, and neither did anyone else. They were completely invisible.

"Calm down, you two. We're all in this together. Heh heh heh!"

They no longer paid any mind to me, impatiently waiting for the computer to turn on. Since it'd been an exhausting day, I sat down on my bed.

"If you could give that back to me after checking the contents, it would be a big help," I told them.

"The hell, Ayanokouji? What are you trying to be all mature for? You want to see, too, right?"

"If you want to turn back, now's the time," I warned them.

"Ah, I get it. Well, if you're going to act like a good little boy, you definitely shouldn't look. Heh. Or maybe I'm just not going to show you," said Ike. He stood in front of the computer screen, arms outstretched as if to block it from view.

I was once again seen in a more positive light. The difference today from a couple days ago was astronomical. Unlike last time, however, this was permanent. Giving advice to someone is certainly a good thing, but stopping an event like this is monumental compared to the simple act of advice-giving.

It's always possible for it to go down again, but for now, I was seen as an unknown. The people are still confused as to my contradicting actions and words, but maybe they can get a better understanding in the future or maybe it may get worse.

"Ain't no guy alive who's not excited about seeing a naked woman. Be honest," said Sudou, already relaxing, as if this were his room. I didn't really feel any need to go to such lengths to look at a naked woman, however. It wasn't worth risking expulsion, at the very least.

The internet solves the problem that they were having, but in their minds, they might believe that seeing a naked woman who was close to them was much better. I don't think that risk is worth the reward anyway.

"Huh?! Wh-why-why is nothing there?!" screamed Ike.

The computer loaded the data from the Professor's memory card—only there wasn't any data saved on it. The RC car had never recorded properly.

"N-nothing. The data..."

"Wait, that can't be true. I-I mean, it was recording, right? Right?"

The three clicked on the folder, opening it over and over in a panic. There was no data, though. Karuizawa had taken out the real memory card, and replaced it with an empty one. No matter how hard the guys looked, they couldn't find a file that didn't exist.

"Why isn't it there?!" shouted Ike.

And with that, an act of sabotage annihilated the ambitions of those three idiots.

It doesn't matter how much planning they had done, it was fairly easy to stop.

The boys were seen as perverts on a level that even perverts would be creeped out by them.

"2 more videos to go,"

While everyone got changed, I slipped away and waited for my visitor by the pool.

"Ah, I'm so drained," I muttered.

Soon Karuizawa appeared, slapping my back as she walked up behind me.

"Good work. How'd it go?" I asked.

"It's just like you said. Honestly repulsive," she replied.

"Come on, don't say that. It's just youth run amok, right?"

"I wouldn't call it that," Mori said

"Ayanokouji, you certainly have an interesting definition of what people in their youth do," Horikita said

I was just trying to sugarcoat it. I wasn't being all that serious.

Karuizawa gestured as though she was going to vomit, then scanned her surroundings.

"How was it? Being at the pool, I mean," I asked.

"Whatever. I don't feel much of anything, but..." Karuizawa looked around once more, as if worried about prying eyes. "Even though it's fake, I'm still supposed to be going out with Hirata-kun. If I'm seen alone with you, weird rumors might spring up."

"Really? Well, maybe they would if I were a pretty boy like Hirata. Sadly, I'm completely lacking in hotness. At best, people will think you're part of our group," I told her.

This was an innocuous place to be alone with a girl. It would have been a different story at night, on a secluded park bench, but not here.

I am seen in a better light, but I'm probably not going to be seen as boyfriend material anytime soon. Although no one nodded at my self-deprecating statement, no one disagreed with it either.

Hirata, Karuizawa's fake boyfriend, was nowhere to be seen. He was probably busy with club activities. I didn't know much about the soccer club's schedule, but he seemed like an active guy.

"We were allowed to wear rash guards today. You saw them, right?" I asked.

"Well, yeah. But are you really okay with spending money on a rash guard? They're pretty expensive."

"It was a necessary expense."

Karuizawa held out her hand, and I grabbed it. I felt something hard against my palm.

"What are you planning, anyway?" asked Karuizawa.

"What do you mean?"

"Why are you different from the others? You could just sit back and enjoy the show," she said. Ah, so we were discussing what I held in my hand.

"It could have ended up fracturing the class. I want to avoid that." That was why I'd called Karuizawa to meet me, although getting her to enjoy the pool had been another of my goals. "Did you invite anyone else?"

"So you just wanted to spend time with me huh?" Kei had a smug expression

"You're free to interpret it however you want."

"Nonono, you definitely meant it like that," Kei seemed determined to get me to admit it

"I guess that was a small goal of mine."

Kei had a satisfied expression.

"I'm alone. I was with two others, but I told them to go off on their own and have fun."

"A wise decision."

I started walking slowly along the side of the pool. Karuizawa trailed me.

"Are you aiming for Class A, then?" she asked.

"You're not interested?"

"Hmm, I dunno. I do want points, and I'd be happy to get a job anywhere, but..." She kicked the air, hands in her pockets. "I don't really feel like duking it out with those Class C students, I guess."

Karuizawa was referring to a specific group of Class C girls. Even though I'd managed to contain things to a degree, Karuizawa couldn't face the girls directly without triggering the past trauma of them bullying her. Until that mental prison released her, Karuizawa could never demonstrate her true talents.

It's unfortunate, but there are plenty of people who can't reach the potential they were born without due to their mental health.

Arrogance, narcissism, and lack of confidence are just a few of the reasons why people don't reach the potential they could have.

There are also environmental factors that could lead to this. A person with the potential to be a sports all-star could be born in a place where they can't play sports. An academic genius may be born in a place where the education they receive isn't suitable enough to challenge them.

"I want to talk to you about something. Just you," I said.

"What is it?"

"I don't know what our next test will be, but I was thinking about preparing a certain trick."

"A trick?"

As we walked, blending into all the hustle and bustle, we discussed extremely important things. Things I hadn't even talked to Horikita about.

"I guess I should've expected this. He said himself that she has things that I don't. It's a simple matter of trust with him and it seems that he trusts Karuizawa more than me," Horikita thought

"To have someone expelled."

A shift. The mood switch was like a gear shift on a formula 1 car. No one said anything, but they could all tell that something big was coming. Although nothing really happened, so they're just being paranoid for nothing. I

"Huh?"

Karuizawa stopped dead in her tracks, as though she didn't understand what I meant. When I continued walking, she hurriedly chased after me.

"W-wait a minute. What do you mean?!"

"Exactly what I said. I'm going to have a first-year student expelled. The ideal candidates would be those three girls who know about your past. If we can't get to them, then perhaps someone else. If that doesn't work, then —" I began.

"Th-then what?"

"Probably some unnecessary human being from Class D."

The class D students all looked at each other. Yosuke didn't say anything. He isn't that short-sighted since if I had acted on this then someone like Yamauchi or a student from another class would have been expelled much sooner.

"You really like to play judge, jury and executioner, huh?" Ichinose glanced at me

"I think there are plenty of people that could be expelled in the right case. It's a natural cycle in this world. The animal who can't protect themselves ends up someone else's lunch," I provoked her

Now, how are you going to respond? Will you be a coward and be quiet or will you disagree with me at full force?

"That may be so, but the fact that someone like you judges who's the most valuable to society annoys me," Ichinose retorted

She had a logical point in that one person shouldn't decide everything and who brings the most value to a community. If that happens then it's just a dictatorship.

"This school values abilities over anything else and now with the OAA system we can determine who brings the most value to each class, it's certainly a fair estimate without needing biased human opinions."

"The OAA system can be easily seen as flawed. You're a case example of this, you said that you could get 100s on every subject in the entrance exam before, did you not? The fact that a person like you was so misjudged means that the system isn't an objective source of information," She responded

"Senpais, I think we can all agree that this is a pointless argument. Both of you have your differing opinions on this and sometimes it's better to just disagree," Yagami said calmly

I guess my initial provoking worked. I simply wanted to see what Ichinose would respond to me saying that I should expel a student. She wasn't illogical with her statements either.

"You do understand what you're saying, don't you? Getting someone expelled isn't that easy," Karuizawa replied.

"You don't think so? That's not really true. I actually have the option available right now." Fingers wrapped tight around the object Karuizawa had handed me, I drew her attention to my hand.

"Wait, don't tell me. Is that what it's for?" she asked, incredulous.

"Depending on the situation, I could get someone expelled in a single stroke. Right?"

"B-but wait. Why are you talking about this? You went all out trying to save Sudou-kun earlier, right?"

It was true that I'd rescued Sudou from the threat of expulsion. However, that was before I was forced to commit to reaching Class A. As Horikita once said, I had to prepare for the eventuality of cutting off people who dragged us down.

Sudo has immense value to the class. Even Ike and his conversational skills as well as the professor and his tech knowledge could be useful. I was interested to see how they could develop with the new hatred cast on them by the other students.

"Even though you saved Sudou-kun, you're going to kick him out?" Karuizawa asked.

"Oh no. I have no intention of getting rid of Sudou. His physical skill will be quite valuable to Class D," I replied. There weren't many other students in the whole school with comparable abilities, including Kouenji.

"Ayanokoji, you don't have to sugarcoat things so that your friend feels better. I know that you understand the true depth of my capabilities," Koenji said while brushing his hair.

It's true that Koenji is probably better than sudo in terms of athletic prowess, Sudo doesn't have the stamina to go all out for multiple days on an island.

"But what will happen to our class points if someone is expelled?" wondered Karuizawa apprehensively.

"The best option would be to expel someone from another class, of course." However, if a student from our class was expelled, fear would motivate the survivors to struggle mightily. That wouldn't be the worst thing.

Fear is certainly a good motivator. It keeps people in line and also pushes them to do better so that the same doesn't happen to them. Whether it should be used to educate is a different matter for a different day.

"I guess that some of the students that were worse in terms of academics did try a lot harder after Yamauchi was expelled," Sato said

Sato knows this very well since she is now on the bottom side in terms of her academics. It isn't as if she wasn't able to understand the material, it was that she didn't have the motivation to try harder than she needed.

"You're awful, you know that?" said Karuizawa.

"Surely you already realized that about me?"

"I guess."

I'd threatened Karuizawa. My actions had verged on assault. I couldn't imagine that she considered me a good person.

"How about consulting Hirata-kun?" she asked.

"I have concerns about that. Hirata still isn't someone I can fully trust," I replied.

"I can't really blame you for that," Yosuke sighed

Trusting someone else unconditionally is a very hard thing to do. Yosuke just didn't show me enough back then of his true self to get me to trust him.

"Huh?"

"You know about his past?"

"Oh, yeah. He told me about it when I told him what happened to me. His friend tried to commit suicide by jumping, right?"

"Man, you guys have no tact at all," Hashimoto winced at how nonchalantly Kei said it

No one said anything to Yosuke. They knew better than to interfere in something as private as this.

That was right. Hirata had told me that he still carried that regret around with him, which was probably true.

"Do you really believe that his friend's suicide attempt turned him into a student who'd be placed in Class D?" I asked.

"Huh?"

"That can't be the only reason for the school to assign a highly intelligent and immensely popular student to our class. Don't you agree?"

Placement in Class D would have been understandable if Hirata had poor attendance, or low grades like Karuizawa, but that didn't appear to be the case.

"Wait. You asked about my past because..."

"I wanted to understand Hirata's situation. Past trauma doesn't equate to getting placed in Class D," I replied.

"The class placements certainly are a confusing thing to figure out. I guess we shouldn't waste time thinking about them," Utomiya said

Confirming things with Karuizawa had convinced me that she was someone I could trust. However, Hirata wouldn't be easy to deal with. I'd need to discreetly figure out whether he was telling the truth or lying.

"You keep trying to gather information by poking and prodding, but you're not telling me anything," grumbled Karuizawa.

"Hmm?"

"You're not normal, like, at all. Something definitely happened to you."

"Nothing really happened to me," I replied.

"That's a lie."

Nothing had happened. I wasn't bullied in the past like Karuizawa, and I hadn't had a beloved friend attempt suicide like Hirata, either.

"I can tell just from your eyes. You look like you could kill someone without hesitation."

Come to think of it, Kei was pretty dramatic when it came to my past.

"Nothing that dramatic took place in my past."

There really was nothing. So little had happened to me that I had nothing to talk about. My life was a blank slate.

That's right. I was nothing but an individual who was placed in special conditions. I didn't have anyone I was close with, and no family to talk to. I was a person who simply did what I was told.

"I think that's pretty accurate," Sakayanagi thought

"You're probably just numb to it, but I can't say that your life isn't a blank slate," Chairman Sakayanagi thought

Karuizawa's eyes locked onto me. She probably couldn't help but wonder what her future contained. Holding onto that fear could most certainly prove useful.

However, she'd asked me what I intended to do. Almost as if answering that question, I clenched my fist tighter. As I did so, I heard the plastic in my hand bend and crack.

"H-hey!"

I walked to the garbage bin and tossed away the bits of plastic.

"I won't expel anyone from Class D. It's about time for me to get back to the group. Thanks for today," I said.

"Okay..."

"Let's head back, then."

Since no one was actually expelled this was the conclusion that everyone had come to, the other one was that I kept the memory card in case I needed to expel someone. Maybe I should've kept it but having something that could determine an entire person's future livelihood seemed like it could lead to some future problems

As the pool closed, students started to flood into the locker rooms. Which group you belonged to seemed to determine when you headed back. There were groups that left before closing, like Ichinose's, groups that left just when the closing call came, and groups that remained in the pool until the very last second. I wondered which groups would make it back the fastest.

We quietly watched the other students as they walked away. After some time, the area was deserted, except for some lifeguards.

"You're still not heading back?" I asked.

"You already know the answer, so why even ask?" Karuizawa lightly patted the spot on her rash guard right above her scar. She looked desperate. Still, it wasn't like she could go home without changing. She had to wait until she was the last person in the locker room.

"It would be fine if you just wore a school-issued swimsuit, right?" I asked. No one would notice her scar.

I saw a few girls sigh at my naivete. I really don't understand the world of girls.

"Ugh, swim with one of those on? No way. They're too lame. I already hate having to wear one during lessons."

Apparently, the world of girls was crueler than I thought. Even an unfashionable bathing suit could demote you on the social ladder.

I saw a few boys surprised at how something so meaningless could affect people that much.

"Do you like swimming?"

"Huh? Well, I don't hate it," she said.

"How about taking a little swim now? There aren't any students around. The only people here are lifeguards, and they look busy cleaning up."

Karuizawa pondered the idea. After all, it was better than the crowded locker rooms.

"I'm okay," she muttered.

"Come on."

"No, I won't 'come on.' I told you, I don't want to."

"Even if someone sees you, you'll be fine, as long as you're wearing the school swimsuit."

"That's not the problem. Why do I have to show you my swimsuit?" she huffed.

So, that was what held her back. In that case, I thought perhaps I should use a slightly more aggressive method.

"That's an order."

"You really are evil," Ryueen chuckled

The irony of that statement is left for the room to understand in the future.

Karuizawa glared at me.

"You seriously are the worst. I absolutely hate you." She scowled.

"You decide whether to obey me or not. So, what'll it be?"

"I understand," she replied.

Karuizawa reluctantly did as instructed, pouting with dissatisfaction. She removed her rash guard and left it on a chair. I inspected her in her swimsuit. Karuizawa stood with her back to me, not turning around.

"Maybe this will be the only thing I can wear swimming for the rest of my life," she muttered. She was still terrified that her scar would draw people's attention.

I closed the distance between us and grabbed her arm.

"Wh-what are you—?!"

I shoved Karuizawa into the pool.

A few giggles from my actions resounded in the hall

Splash!

She crashed into the water. When a lifeguard heard the noise, she shouted at us with a megaphone.

"We're closed! Please leave right now!"

"Pwah! What'd you do that for?!" Karuizawa shouted.

As she peeked angrily out from the water, I offered her my hand.

"I get the feeling that I know exactly what's going to happen," Horikita thought

"Did you have fun?" I asked.

"Being pushed in isn't exactly fun, you know."

Karuizawa took hold of my outstretched hand. Then, without warning, she pulled me into the water. I didn't resist at all, taking care not to crash into her when I fell. The resulting splash, even bigger than before, would certainly anger the lifeguards. Karuizawa laughed as they rushed over to us.

When I tried to surface, she held my head down and pushed me deeper underwater. Even though the situation was childish, seeing Karuizawa enjoy something ended up making it worthwhile.

"That was a fun moment to end on," Kei thought

This was the first time that Karuizawa thought of me in a good light and now it also holds the title of being the first video to get the student's opinion of me improved.

"Time for the final video."

"It's so hot today."

How many times had I said that this summer? Still, it really was hot, no way around it. Even if saying so out loud made you feel hotter, you couldn't stop yourself. Just thinking the words didn't help. Cicadas were probably the only creatures who preferred this sweltering heat.

Heat aside, I'd gotten caught up in yet another unusual incident. If the other guys knew about this situation, they probably wouldn't be happy with me at all. It was a very nasty problem.

Well, let's start from the beginning.

A tree-lined path a short distance from the dormitory led to the school. If you went off that path, you'd find a rest area. That's where I was. It was a popular spot to sit down and chat. There were several benches and vending machines, the view was great, and many students frequented it in the early spring.

The heat made this a rare off-season period for the rest area. It was completely deserted, which turned it into a perfect spot for a clandestine meeting.

"That's still pretty risky, if there are a bunch of vending machines then there are plenty of people who might go there," Matsushita said

"Why would they go to a large no shade area when there are plenty of spaces with shade or even an air-conditioned store?" I responded

"Sorry to have kept you waiting."

As I sat on the bench, Karuizawa Kei walked toward me. She shaded her eyes from the blinding sunlight with a hand and looked at the sky.

"So hot," she muttered. Apparently, we were of one mind on the subject.

Karuizawa's long ponytail bobbed as she sat down next to me. She wore an unusually casual outfit: jeans and a simple shirt. Even so, the outfit looked coordinated and stylish. I supposed girls had to prioritize fashion no matter how hot it was, which had to be tough.

"I have an image to keep up as a leader," Kei said

"Jeans in over 40 degrees Celcius weather seems a little excessive," I said

"Maybe so, but having it look stylish trumped comfortability," Kei sighed

"I know you're busy right now. Sorry for dragging you out like this," I said.

"Are you being sarcastic? I played around too much this summer. I don't have any points to spend, so I've just been hanging out in my room."

"Do you have plans tomorrow?" I asked.

"I can't really do anything without money. I'll probably be sleeping." It sounded like Karuizawa really was indulging herself this summer.

"You should get a lot of points next month, though. I mean, after the last test."

During the exam on the cruise ship, Karuizawa—who'd been the VIP —had worked together with me. We managed to keep her identity secret until the test ended. Because of that, Karuizawa would receive 500,000 points as a reward come September.

I guess that I may have let Kei indulge herself because of my methods. No one said anything as they already knew what happened, but the mood did get awkward considering the tense relationship between me and Ichinose now.

"Yeah, I guess. I've picked out the clothes and accessories and stuff I want to get. But is it really okay to use all the points like that? Isn't it better to save some?"

"You can hold yourself back?" I asked, teasing her a little. She puffed out her cheeks and glared at me.

"Well, it's not that simple. When I have points, they seem to last less than a week," she muttered.

Karuizawa mimed counting all the things she wanted on her fingers. She was out of fingers in no time. Just how many things did she plan to get anyway?

"But, like, even I know how important private points are. The school system's really weird, right? You get, like, this ridiculously huge amount of points during special exams and stuff. Everyone else is wondering about that, too," she observed.

The regular student body was finally starting to suspect that something was up, apparently. I supposed that was natural. If you suddenly received a large sum of money, you'd question the school's motives. You'd consider the possibility that private points weren't just meant for use on one's private desires.

"That's true. Some students might get as many as 1,000,000 or 2,000,000 points," I said.

"Yeah. Is it really okay to give high schoolers that much money? It's definitely not normal."

"When it comes from a shopaholic, you know that it's excessive," Sato teased

This school gives privileges that most schools would never think to offer. I guess it shows that students can learn money management and self-control when it comes to their money, but once you get to the severe level of points that someone like Nagumo might get then it's kind of pointless.

The points were sort of necessary for us to "survive" at school, which was probably why Karuizawa was unsure how best to use them. For example, if you made a blunder that could result in your expulsion, you could make the problem go away with enough private points. Having a few million points on hand as insurance probably was a good idea.

"There's no reason to think about it too much. Looking too far ahead can drive you insane. If you retain ten to twenty percent of your monthly points, that should be enough," I said.

You had to maintain a balance between your wants and needs. For Karuizawa, who'd always been a shopaholic, curbing her desires was hard. Besides, if a former spendthrift suddenly became miserly, students in our class might get suspicious. I didn't want anyone to connect her change in circumstances to me. I still wanted to avoid notice as much as possible.

"I want to ask you for a favor," I said.

"What, you're not even going to apologize first for calling me out here on such a hot day?"

"Want this?" I handed her a bottle of tea I hadn't drunk from yet. She hesitated, then reluctantly accepted it.

"It's a little warm," she muttered.

"That's the weather's fault. Nothing I can do."

Some places nearby had recorded temperatures of forty degrees Celsius or higher. Just thinking the number made me feel hot.

"Shut the fuck up. You use that word so goddamn much, quit your freaking bitchin'," Hosen yelled.

Responding to him would only make it worse so I remained quiet.

Karuizawa struggled to uncap her drink. "Hmph. Guess I got a loser."

"A loser? You don't usually get prizes in tea bottle caps."

"That's not funny, you know. I'm talking about how hard this is to open," she grumbled.

Well, it had been a poor joke. I reached over, took the drink, twisted the cap, and returned it.

"Thanks."

After what'd happened on the boat, the distance between Karuizawa and I had diminished. Before summer vacation, it would've been impossible for us to have this kind of conversation. She probably still didn't trust me, but she showed no sign of that.

Karuizawa really understood self-control. To protect herself and her status, she could adapt to any environment.

Self-preservation and adaptability to any given situation is something that is even more valued than raw abilities. A person who is good in academics may be good but if they don't have the adaptability needed to problem solve something that they haven't encountered before then it is pointless.

"Tomorrow's the last day of summer vacation. One of my friends invited me to make some fun summer memories."

"What do you mean, summer memories? We don't have fireworks or a festival or anything like that here, do we?" asked Karuizawa.

"The school has a big pool, right? It's normally reserved for the swim club. Did you know that the restriction was lifted for today?"

That pool was even bigger than the one we used during swim class. For the last three days of summer vacation, it was open for communal use. When a huge crowd of students flooded the pool on the first day, the school put additional restrictions in place. Students could only use the pool once during those last three days. Apparently, the second day was really busy, too.

"Ah. Now that you mention it, though, I'm not that interested in swimming," muttered Karuizawa.

She always skipped swim class by claiming she didn't feel well. Even though it was difficult to cut class due to the point system, the school

couldn't really question a student's poor physical condition, especially not woman-specific problems. There were girls other than Karuizawa who refused to participate, probably for a variety of reasons. They might feel ill, not want other people to know they couldn't swim well, or even hate swimming in the first place. Maybe they didn't want to show that much skin around boys. And so on.

However, Karuizawa's circumstances were different. A while ago, Karuizawa had been viciously bullied by her classmates. As a result, she had a terrible scar on her side, a mark that pained her to this day. If someone saw it, it would definitely cause a stir.

"Do you like swimming?" I asked her.

"Hmm. Well, I don't hate it, I guess. I haven't gone swimming for years now, so I've probably forgotten how." Karuizawa drank her tea and stared ahead as she replied. I could tell that wasn't how she really felt.

"So, what, the guys want to make memories at the pool? You're obviously just planning to be perverts."

The relevance of this scene was clouded previously, but now that they had known what I Kei knew at this point in time they understood what the point was.

I couldn't deny that, actually. That was probably exactly their reasoning.

"So, what does this have to do with me?" asked Karuizawa.

"Before I answer that, let me ask you one thing. Does the school really not know that you were bullied before?"

The atmosphere got tense as I reopened the old wounds that the students had just gotten past.

"Huh?"

Karuizawa looked puzzled for a moment, then turned to glare at me. Her polite façade was gone. I returned her stare.

"You know I don't want to talk about that, right?" she growled.

"I'm not reopening old wounds for no reason. I'm asking because it's relevant," I replied.

"But..." This had to be a serious topic for Karuizawa. She seemed to come to a decision. "All right. I'm sure you must have a reason for this."

She tried to swallow her anxieties.

"I definitely don't think they know the truth about me being bullied. They might know about my leave of absence from school, or how many days off I took during junior high, but they probably think those were due to me being sick or skipping class, you know? Or they might just think I'm stupid. That's probably why they put me in Class D."

Karuizawa sounded self-deprecating, but she was likely right. The school must've had a poor impression of her bad attendance record and low grades. The bullying certainly explained her current arrogance.

"Even if the school investigates the matter, they probably won't find any evidence of the bullying," she added.

"So you were trying to find the lengths that the school had gone to research about the student's pasts?" Manabu asked

"Knowing that the extent that the school goes to for these things seems quite important, don't you think?"

"I can't say anything about the length the school went to, but they do an extreme amount of background research. If they can't find anything then it's something the teachers from your school also don't know or don't intend to share," Manabu said

Kei said herself that the teachers knew of the bullying, if they didn't know of the true extent then it would make sense why the school might have not known, but this is still under the assumption that the school doesn't know of Kei's past. They knew about plenty of things in a student's past so unless they were particularly uninterested when it comes to Kei's past then they must have found something out.

"You realize that the world is magnificently rotten, don't you?"

The world can be cruel. It can be heartless without remorse for the people it harms. Desires, abilities and dreams are all well and good, but they're just things that humans want to obtain. It's all frivolous and hedonistic.

I've seen it time and time again. The cruelty and heartlessness that the people in the world inflicted on each other. It could be a will to survive or even the will to live. It's why I did everything to not go through that.

"Yeah," Karuizawa muttered. "I suffered for many years. I asked my teachers and classmates for help, but that only made it worse. There was no escape."

Human nature included a strong tendency to fall into vicious cycles. Bullying was deeply rooted in the human psyche. People might not like to confront that truth too closely, but they should be aware of what a pernicious problem it was. There was no simple solution to bullying. If a victim pushed back, it might only result in them being attacked more fiercely the next time.

"Why'd you tattle? What're you trying to pull?" the bullies might demand as they increased their attacks.

"No matter how often they beat me up, the school ignored the bullying, and wouldn't do anything. They gave the bullies light warnings, at most. Of course, it got worse, you know?"

Even if a school acknowledged bullying, they usually wanted to deal with it in secret, so as not to risk damaging their reputation. There were schools that would stubbornly refuse to admit the truth even after a bullied student killed themselves, leaving behind a note.

Worse, death might bring no salvation. The bullied student might be insulted even after they died. People could mock them, or share their story on social media for entertainment. What a terrifying era it was, when you could be bullied even after death.

These are dark thoughts. No one said anything for the sake of not breaking the suffocating and intoxicating atmosphere.

"The school, the people who bullied me, even myself... No one

admitted the truth. My friends spouted the same lies. That was the only way they could answer, no matter how unjust it was."

Karuizawa spoke almost as if she were talking about someone else. To her, the past was unchangeable. It wouldn't be strange for someone to cry, looking back on such a painful past, but her eyes were only looking forward.

In truth, this school had probably investigated her case thoroughly. Had they concluded that she was an airhead, didn't take school seriously, and cut class? If everyone believed that to be true, then the real truth wouldn't matter. It would be buried forever under all the lies.

If you find a solution that makes sense in the beginning then all other possibilities are rendered pointless. It's the reason why something like a double-layered trap works so well.

People like to think that the first outcome they get is correct, but in science and even most things, trial and error is what makes progress in the world. Scientists didn't develop the optimal rocket on the first attempt and architects didn't develop the ultimate design on their first attempt.

"But I'm grateful to the people who bullied me, and the school that covered it up," Karuizawa added. "No one here knows about my past. That's why I was able to become a new me. I couldn't have done that if everyone here had heard of the bullying."

She'd turned her situation around by obtaining the exceptionally popular Hirata's support and protection.

"Karuizawa, I think you deserve praise, but I should tell you something first. From now on, you're forbidden to do anything that supports bullying others."

"Huh? Are you saying that I'm bullying someone?"

"It's one thing to be headstrong, but you've been going after Sakura. She clearly isn't the kind of girl who'd bully you. Even if you're doing it to prevent yourself from becoming a victim, stop." Despite Karuizawa's past suffering, there were things I couldn't tolerate.

Airi was a little surprised about how I defended her. She was probably just going through this while trying to make sense of everything.

"Sakura-san, huh? You want me to help her because she's so attached to you?"

"Do I need a reason? You should understand how it feels to be bullied."

"My social status is my lifeline. It's not something I'm ready to just discard. I do feel sorry for Sakura-san, but the weak exist as prey for the strong. Especially those pretending to be strong, like me." She was resolute.

"I'm asking for Sakura's sake. She's helped me quite a few times, after all."

"Hmph. You openly admit it," Karuizawa huffed. There was no dissatisfaction or discontent in her eyes. Only wariness. "You're not convincing, but...fine. I'll be careful from now on. Okay?"

"Being reasonable is helpful. Besides, Hirata's already established your current popularity. You shouldn't be in any danger."

The girls were still a little annoyed by why Yosuke would go to such lengths to help a person that he barely knew. It might have just been jealousy that led to this but it was a valid question.

If not for Hirata's hyper-protectiveness then I doubt he would have helped Kei by being her boyfriend. He would most likely make her a close friend of his and that also increases her social status.

"I suppose you're right. Maybe I've been overdoing it a little,"

Karuizawa replied softly. As long as she could see herself objectively, we were good. "But, if my position does appear to be in danger, then—"

"When that happens, I'll back you. If necessary, I'll bring in Hirata and even Chabashira-sensei to eliminate your enemies. That's a promise."

The support of a teacher is a big claim. Although they know why Chabashira would go to these lengths. She wants to satisfy her own desires and while it's just a way to not deal with her past, she still went through with her blackmail.

"Hmm. Okay then. Deal."

Karuizawa never struck me as the sort of person who'd resort to violence or intimidation in the first place. She could pretend all she liked, but she was just playing that part to protect herself. People who'd been bullied for years usually couldn't socialize easily, but she had a strong heart, and had overcome that trauma. When she didn't yield to my threats, I was convinced.

"I wonder why?" she muttered.

"What?"

"It's just that I don't really like bringing up my past. I thought I'd never tell anyone about it. But I ended up telling you, and it felt so surprisingly fine that it's kind of odd, you know?"

Maybe a while ago, Ichinose would happily agree with Kei, but as of now, she wants to refrain from speaking positively about me.

Apparently, even Karuizawa didn't know why she'd told me about the bullying. I wasn't sure of the reason, either.

"Can I ask you something? Is the way you're acting now the real you?" She sounded somewhat guarded. Karuizawa was the only person in our class who'd seen both my sides. I crossed my arms and racked my brain for how to respond.

"I'm always like this, I guess."

"You're completely different, though."

Well, strictly speaking, this wasn't really me. However, it wasn't the same as faking a personality.

I don't know whether I had a personality in my entire life, or if I was simply building it from scratch. I doubt I was rediscovering some sort of hidden personality that I used to have since I know for a fact that I never had the chance to develop a personality in the first place.

Everyone here was confused, but they didn't say anything. When it came to matters of my personality they all refrained from saying anything whether it was out of fear or something else I did not know.

"I want to ask you something. What would you say is the specific difference between me right now, and the usual me?"

"Usually, you're this gloomy guy. You don't talk at all. But now, you're assertive. You're being direct. Those traits are polar opposites. The way you talk is different, too. What's your deal, anyway?"

"What do you mean? Don't people simply act differently depending on who they're with? Don't you do the same thing?"

That was probably the best possible rebuttal, although it didn't fit exactly. The truth was that it felt like I'd just been born as an individual. When I enrolled in this school, I wasn't fully formed. I was like liquid, or moldable clay. Developing into a full person took time, and I had yet to completely understand how to interact, or the correct way to express myself.

"I guess I can understand that," Horikita muttered

Horikita wasn't similar in the beginning as she developed her own personality but took it away for a new one. She was returning to her roots while I was on the path of discovery, but we can both understand the act of developing into a fully formed person. How to talk with people and how to live.

"Anyway, I plan on just being my usual self," I said.

"You don't sound like anything like your usual self," Karuizawa replied. She narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips.

"Let's get back to the topic at hand. You can keep an eye on me from now on, and determine what kind of person I am."

"I kinda get the feeling you're dodging the question. Well, all right. Let's go back to talking about the school. What's up with it?"

"Tomorrow, four of us guys—me, Ike, Yamauchi, and Sudou—are planning to go out, along with Horikita, Sakura, and Kushida."

"Talk about a bizarre combination. I can't imagine Horikita-san and Sakura-san hanging out with those guys. I guess they're both friendly with you, but the other three are just going to end up ogling them, right? They have my sincerest condolences."

True. The girls would normally never come out with us if we invited them to. I understood why Karuizawa felt the way she did.

The matter with the other 3 boys was already dealt with as we were planning to have a talk with the chairman in a short while.

"I want you to join us," I said.

"Huh?! Are you serious?!" Karuizawa shouted.

She had no connection to the group. If anything, there was tension between her and them.

"You can put on your swimsuit at the dorm, wear your clothes over it, and come along. It'll probably be unpleasant, but if you return to the dorm dressed the same way, everything should be fine," I said.

"No, no. That's not the problem. I really, really don't want to do this."

"I sympathize, but you basically can't refuse, can you?"

"You rule with an iron fist," Hiyori said

"You rule under an iron fist," I responded

"I guess so," Hiyori giggled

We hadn't interacted all that much over the last few weeks. I did miss the peaceful time in the library. It was nice to get away from all the exams and looming threats and just relax in a calm and peaceful environment.

"Wow. You're the worst."

"My decision's final. You'll do as instructed." I pushed a handwritten note toward her, adding, "I've shown you some consideration."

"What the hell? You're using up my whole day, aren't you? And it's the last day of summer, too!"

"You said you planned to spend the day sleeping, right?" I countered.

"I want you to join us at the pool. But I'm not telling you to participate." Karuizawa read my note closely.

"Wait, what's the difference between 'join' and 'participate'?" she asked.

I explained in detail why I'd called her. Karuizawa heard me out, then cradled her head in her hands.

"What's the matter?" I asked her. "Got a headache?"

"Of course my head hurts! It hurts because you... No, forget it. It's meaningless. Can't you just ask Horikita-san? Aren't you close?"

"I can't rely on her. She doesn't know how I operate from the shadows."

"I really don't. It doesn't really matter now I suppose," Horikita thought

"Huh? Why?" Karuizawa sounded incredulous. Her disbelief was to be expected, but reassuring her would be tricky. The correct plan of action would be to evade her question and mislead her, but instead, I decided to take things a step further.

"This entire time, even back when I contacted you on the ship, I've acted entirely on my own. I haven't spoken with Horikita about this, because I still can't trust her." That was all true; I spoke no lies.

"What? You don't trust her, even after all the time you've spent together? That's weird."

"She makes an excellent cover for me, like a magic cloak of invisibility. She's conspicuous," I replied.

That was the most of her relationship with me. Even if I consider her something like a student I'm trying to grow it's still a fact that she's an incredible cover. We have a mutual partnership. She wants to reach class A and I want to observe how she leads.

"So, you're just using her, then?"

"Not exactly, but in this particular situation, I'd say that's about it."

"Hmm? I don't get what you're saying. Seriously, can you knock off the vagueness?" Karuizawa flashed me a smile, though. "Still, your schemes have been successful so far, huh? I really thought that Horikita-san was the mastermind. Seriously, who are you?"

I heard lots of talk around me. Horikita tried to pay it no mind, but I could tell that it was straining to not confront it.

To her, my existence was shrouded in mystery. I didn't respond. "Well, whatever. I guess being more trustworthy than Horikita-san is a good thing," she added.

That was right. Karuizawa was infinitely superior to Horikita in some ways, although I couldn't explain that to her.

"I can't deny that. Even if I'm far superior in terms of raw talent and abilities, it doesn't matter if I can't apply it and adapt to the situation around me," Horikita thought

"So, I just need to carry out your orders?" she asked.

"Yes. Now that that's settled, would you come with me for a little while? We need to take care of something in advance."

"Well, I don't exactly have the right to refuse." Karuizawa stood and brushed dirt from her skirt, demonstrating just how quickly she wanted to end this. As for me, I didn't want to waste any precious time, either. Together, we made our way toward the pool.

The scene faded to black which meant that I along with 3 other people were now going to be taken to the chairman's office.

"You four head to my office after everyone has gone," The chairman said

So as I said bye to Kei, I waited for a good few minutes until everyone was gone and me, Sudo, Ike and The professor made our way to the chairman's office.

I had already been there once before so they had all followed me. Although on the way there, Sudo had a few questions for me.

"Why do you know the way to the chairman's office?" Sudo grumbled

He wasn't happy.

"I went there once a while back. And it really isn't the chairman's office, it's actually the principles which he's using," The chairman's actual office was probably somewhere not connected to the school.

We had arrived at the door and once we entered we found the man we were all expecting to see there. The tension was already at its peak now.

"Boys! Have a seat, wait, there are only 3 chairs," He looked a little confused

Maybe he just got to the room a short while before us, or he just wanted one of us to stand? I don't picture him as someone who would do that, so he must have forgotten an extra chair. I calculated several other possibilities for this missing chair...

Maybe it could be this...

"Ayanokouji, why are you standing there? Go take a seat," Ike broke me from my trance

He was offering me the empty seat so that he could stand. I guess he must think he deserves to stand since he's the ringleader.

After I sat down we had actually begun this meeting.

"You all did something heinous. It's punishable by law and if I decide to, could ruin your futures," The chairman coldly stated

He really wasn't sugarcoating anything.

"If not for Ayanokouji's intervention I would have had you all expelled and probably had you reported to the police."

There was a sense of hope on the other three boy's faces. Although I doubt that they're going to get an easy punishment like a point deduction.

"Tell me then, if you do something like peeping, what exactly are you disregarding?"

The boys had no answer.

"You're all disregarding the privacy of the girls and degrading them," He looked like he was enjoying giving this lecture

"We're ready to accept any punishment. It's not like I can lie or get out of it now," Ike said calmly

If given the option, I get the feeling that he would definitely try and lie his way out of this.

Ike continued, "It may be stupid of me to request this, but could you not give Ayanokouji any punishment? He's the only reason we didn't do it so he shouldn't get in trouble for it,"

I hadn't expected Ike to stick up for me. Maybe he considers it payback for the help I offered him on the island, but I can't really say.

"I wasn't planning to punish him anyway, but sure. The punishment I'm giving to you is manual labour as well as a loss of all private points. This includes the private points you are going to receive next month,"

Sudo looked excited. Manual labour for him was practically just training for his body after all.

"Sudo, manual labour isn't for you. It's for Ike and Sotomura since they aren't accustomed to it. I'm going to have you help me with all the delicate work that I need help with. As you know I was on leave recently, so there's plenty of work I need to catch up on, so I need you to help me," The chairman explained.

Essentially, he had just created the perfect punishment for all three boys. People who are athletically weak like Ike and professor would have trouble with manual labour while someone with a short temper who's rough and brash would have trouble with delicate work.

He's given the 3 boys the thing they're weakest with and also turned it into an opportunity for them to get better at them. Just what you'd expect from a chairman of a school.

The chairman dismissed us and after we walked outside, there was a breath of relief from the 3 boys.

"Manual labour sucks, but I'll take that over being expelled," Ike sighed

"I'm a little annoyed at having to do all this boring work, but it's better than getting tossed outta this place," Sudo said

It seems that they were being optimistic. I left them to their

own devices, but I had realised something today.

It's possible for me to be accepted in this world. I doubt it would be with everyone and it's not even guaranteed, but it's something that my existence could change. It was malleable and the impression that everyone had of me could grow and change.

Authors Notes:

This chapter took a lot longer than expected. Like it's the second-longest chapter in this fic being only a hundred words behind the spread your legs chapter.

This week has been crazy

-y2v7 release (enough on its own)

- vol 0 announced about Kiyo's past

- new anime PV

- new anime Key illustration

Well, I heard that vol 0 will be released in October (Not confirmed) so I probably won't make a reaction to my take on the wr since I have canon material to work with instead. Maybe if I ever do it it would be in like an alternate timeline sort of thing or I would just post the writing for my take on the wr and not have any reactions.

Also, how did you like the new cover? The silhouettes were probably the hardest part.

Fortune-telling

I had to miss a day of school yesterday and it's probably the first official blemish on my record. I prided myself on my perfect attendance rate and now it's ruined. I didn't really care after a few minutes since I could just read books all day after that.

This new routine seems like it's been going on forever. After the ship I expected us to go back into special exams but now due to this being so prominent in our daily lives, special exams have been pushed back until this is done. Whatever happens after the students have watched every video available is something that I don't know.

I was taken away from my thoughts when I saw an exhausted Ike and Sudo. I considered walking up to them, but when they saw me they actually walked up to me.

"Hey... Ayanokouji, how's it goin'?" Ike asked somewhat casually.

"I'm good, you guys seem exhausted though."

"Man, the chairman worked me to the bone. At one point he made me get coffee for all the teachers and staff in the school," Sudo complained.

At first, you think that there are only 12 teachers and a couple more staff to get coffee for, but in actuality, there are several staff members in the many stores as well the security guards all around the school. Getting the coffee is one thing, but delivering it to them across long distances as well as memorising each and every order would put a toll on even me.

Sudo was rightfully exhausted, but I had no clue what manual labour Ike had done.

"What did you end up doing for your punishment Ike?" I asked him directly.

"I had to clean the pool, every single goddamn pool. And even after I had cleaned them, they would end up getting dirty the next day because of club training and lessons," Ike looked even more exhausted than Sudo.

A small question was nagging me, however. Why were they interacting with me so casually? I had assumed that Ike's gesture of asking to not get me in trouble was just to make himself seem better, but he's acting perfectly normal with me even now.

After some contemplation, I decided to ask them, "Why are you guys being so normal with me? The entire school hates me, so it would be better for you guys not to interact with me."

I posed my question with an extra warning. If it was just the original question then they would just give me an answer but because of my warning, they would be even less reluctant since it seems that I'm looking out for their wellbeing.

The two, however, looked baffled.

"Did I ask something weird?"

"Of course man, you saved our asses back then," Sudo immediately responded.

"I only did what I thought was necessary, and it doesn't make up for the other bad stuff I did," I picked their brains even further.

Although contrary to my belief, Ike looked a little embarrassed, "Honestly, I think what you did was bad, but I can't just make fun of you when you helped me out."

These were all emotional points. Logically speaking, I had committed crimes and broken people all for my own selfish reasons. I shouldn't be forgiven.

"What about the stuff with Karuizawa?" This was the last question I had for them.

If they were fine with what I had done with Kei then I knew that they were lying or they were delusional.

"What you did was really bad, but she didn't kick you out, right? So I don't really know what to think about it," Sudo grumbled.

It seems that they disagreed with my methods with Karuizawa judging by Sudo's disapproving words, but they seem to have looked past that. I wondered if this was the beginning of when people might accept me. But it's also undeniable that there is some bias because I had helped them out a little.

From what I have seen so far, the first summer vacation of the year seems to have been a turning point. It may go down, but it may grow higher, only time will tell.

I walked and talked with them as I had gone to school, I found my seat in the theatre as usual, but the atmosphere here was calm and more serene.

"Final video for this vacation. Enjoy!"

"Special test." Those words would normally mean a written exam, or some kind of athletic trial. However, at the Advanced Nurturing High

School, special tests weren't trivial affairs. A contest of survival on an uninhabited island. A battle of wits aboard a cruise ship. Those outlandish tests came one after another during our summer vacation.

Between the two tests, I, a mere first-year student, had only seven days of actual rest. That included today. Soon, the second semester would begin. I'd spent the days off rather simply. I didn't call anyone, and no one called me. In other words, it had been lonely.

"Well, I don't really care," I said aloud.

The freedom was enough. I wouldn't ask for more. Having too many friends wasn't necessarily a good thing.

"I can see your point," Kanzaki stated.

"I disagree, what's wrong with having a lot of friends?" Ichinose disagreed.

"Of course, there isn't anything wrong with having lots of friends, but the problem is having too many. Once you reach a certain point they aren't really your friends which you're spending time with, but rather acquaintances that you know better than others since you can't have enough time to maintain relationships," Kanzaki explained.

His reason was sound and logical, I don't think anyone in the room could find a fault in his logic.

The more people I connected with, the more troublesome it would become to manage all those relationships. If a friend called me, I might have been thoroughly overjoyed. But there was also a chance that I wouldn't have been.

Even alone, there were many things for me to do. I was doing one of those things today: using my phone to check my remaining point balance.

I transferred 100,000 of those points to someone from my class— Sudou Ken. Soon afterwards, Sudou called me.

The choice of person that I had transferred points to was not expected.

"Why the large expense?" Shinohara asked

"Are you going to believe anything I say to you?" I answered a question with another question.

She didn't answer right away and rather thought for a little before responding, "I can't believe everything you say, but if you didn't want to answer me then you could have just said so."

"I don't think that's a fair argument," I responded.

She didn't see what I meant, so I continued, "You're saying that I could have just said no, but that hasn't stopped anyone in this room from continuing to ask prying questions."

She understood my logic and backed down, although she did have an annoyed expression.

"Yo, Ayanokouji. What are you doing right now?" he asked.

"Nothing much. Was just thinking about what to have for dinner."

"Gotcha. I just ate some chicken tenders a little while ago. Pretty basic stuff. Tastes all right, but I'd definitely get tired of them if I ate them too often, so I try to change things up a bit. I can fry 'em, boil 'em... Wait, what the hell am I talking about? I wanted to talk to you about fortune-telling."

Fortune-telling? I never expected those words to come out of Sudou's mouth. He was the sort of guy who saw the world in black and white. He liked simplicity, like the chicken he just ate.

"I think... yeah, nevermind you're right," Sudo accepted defeat quickly.

This caused a few laughs among my classmates. It was odd considering the video that had just played before, but they were acting like normal. What could have possibly happened that made things better in the span of a few days?

Normally I would have asked Kei already, but due to her taking my side on the cruise ship, her influence has gone down. Unlike before, Kei doesn't have an iron grip on her classmate and now there's some wiggle room for the girls. I decided to observe and ask her after this.

"Truth is, I've heard there's this crazy-accurate fortune-teller over at the Keyaki Mall, but they're only gonna be there during summer vacation. I guess it's big among the seniors. Even when I'm doing club stuff, all anyone talks about is that fortune-teller. I got some extra cash, so I felt like having some fun, you know? Let's check it out together. My treat, of course."

The Keyaki Mall was a complex on the school grounds that students often went to. Because students were forced to live on the school grounds, the school was equipped with all sorts of facilities, although it couldn't give us all the options of the outside world. We didn't have idol concerts, amusement parks, or zoos. Our world was small. When something new cropped up, it naturally became a hot topic among the students.

Even so, fortune-telling was unexpected.

"I didn't think you were interested in something like that, why the sudden interest?" Horikita pondered.

Horikita probably knows about Sudo's feelings. She may be naive when it comes to romance but she isn't disabled. Although what she may not know is the lengths that Sudo went to and all the signs that she might have missed. This was going to be amusing.

"Once a bunch of people start talkin' about crap, you get kinda hyped up for it, y'know?" Sudo tried his best to explain it.

"I suppose I can understand," Horikita muttered.

The fact that she was able to ask him something so casually was also a problem. Horikita doesn't forgive people, she holds grudges and only let's go when the opposing party has been through an equal amount of punishment.

I wanted to see if this extended just to the class or maybe even the other classes.

Since no one had invited me to hang out in a long, long time, I couldn't hide my happiness.

"When are we going?"

"Tomorrow morning. Sounds like it starts at ten, but apparently, if you don't get in line early, you'll be waiting forever. I wanted to get there around 9:30," said Sudou. Apparently, he'd already planned out a schedule.

"I'm fine with that, since I don't have plans. But will your club be cool with it?"

"Yeah. Tomorrow's my day off. The tournament ended, so it's fine. Besides, we've done nothing but train our butts off. If they don't let us rest a little, our bodies will fall apart," he told me matter-of-factly. Sudou had just played in a basketball tournament. Even though I saw him quietly practising day after day in preparation, I was admittedly kind of curious about the tournament's results. One more thing to think about.

"Did you have any trouble at all?" I asked.

I made sure to stress the word "trouble." Sudou understood what I was referring to.

"Yeah. It was pretty tough. I mean, they supervise you way more—you have the team captain and the coach watching you. It's nothing like playing in junior high. I can't open my mouth at all, except when we need to talk during a game. The school puts a ton of restrictions on us, even on bathroom breaks. I thought it was going to be impossible," Sudou said.

"I have to thank you for that again, Sudo and... Ayanokouji," Katsuragi said but grumbled my name to the end.

"Oh no problem man, I got my stuff and you got yours. This was pretty equal," Sudo gracefully accepted his thanks.

Several questions arose from this small interaction. Ryueen was the obvious first to ask.

"What are you talking about?" Ryueen seemed confused

Now, there's a problem. Katsuragi broke the rules, and he could very well get his class in trouble for it. If he admits it he may get in trouble, but if he lies and stays quiet then there may be a possibility that our scheme is shown and he might get in even bigger trouble.

"I wanted to deliver something, so I used the liberties of going outside the school for tournaments and delivered it," Katsuragi stated after some thinking.

Katsuragi is the type of person who wouldn't lie even if it meant protecting himself. He likes to keep his integrity and he would rather be on the safe side and incur a smaller punishment than lie and get a larger punishment.

None of the teachers appeared to care, however. If I had to guess, the teachers probably all thought that it was too minor and that it happened far too long ago to make him get a punishment.

Even though club activities were separate from coursework, the school rules were still strict.

"Anyway, it all worked out. I did pretty well, 'cause I got the chops," he added.

"I see. Well, that's a relief. What about Yamauchi?" I asked.

"I made sure to delete the data before heading back," Sudou said, once again referring to our secret business. "I wouldn't worry. I mean, even I'm not that dumb."

Sudou's school life rode on this. He probably wouldn't do anything reckless. Even so, it might be a good idea to get in touch with Yamauchi later, to confirm that the data was successfully deleted. Just in case.

Although the students were still confused, their mood bittered at the sheer thought of Yamauchi. He must have harassed a lot of people because even girls from other years look disgusted. I thought he would have just kept to himself, but it appears that he took his obsession to the people in the school. How unnerving that this person was in this school for nearly a year.

"By the way, did you actually get to play in the big game?" I asked.

"Yeah. I was the only one out of all the first years to play. I even scored. We still lost in the end, though, so I'm not exactly that proud."

I didn't really understand the intricacies, but a first-year student playing in a game like that seemed like a pretty big deal. I sensed acceptance, rather than frustration, from Sudou. He'd probably practiced hard for the tournament, and saw this as steadily making progress.

He had to have practiced hard, since the first-year students left the school grounds to participate in those special exams. That meant Sudou had had less time to practice than the older students.

"Thanks, man," Sudo said slightly embarrassed.

"How's your basketball been going recently?" I asked.

"It's been pretty much the same, but there have been fewer problems with other club members which is kinda weird but I'm not complaining," Sudo said with excitement.

It seems that Sudo himself also doesn't realise that his new attitude has caused fewer problems. I can imagine him getting angry over bad calls and fouls to the point of physical aggression.

Sudo certainly is a valuable member of the class. In the future when he may increase his academic abilities, he'll probably be on the level of Yosuke in terms of worth. His physical ability is already the best in our class and if he gets his OAA rating up to a B then he'll surely be the most improved and maybe even the most beneficial in the class.

I know that I beat Sudo in all raw areas such as academic and physical ability, but he always contributes with his hard work and effort, but I don't give it my best or help every time.

"So, what are you gonna do? Fortune-telling—you gonna go or not?"

"Well, I don't really have anything planned. So, sure, I'll go."

Now that I'd agreed, Sudou cut straight to the chase. "Definitely invite Suzune out, too. Definitely. Understand?" he said.

"I see," I answered.

Apparently, Sudou didn't actually want to go see the fortune teller with me, but rather, with Horikita. He probably knew that, if he invited her himself, his chances of success were rather slim.

"Well, it's just... I can't imagine that she's interested in fortune- telling," I added.

"Even so, invite her. This is like your one special skill, right?"

What kind of special skill? I really wish he'd quit trying to use me as some kind of Horikita Invitation Machine.

"You're like the only person in the school who can get her to do anything," Asahina teased.

I don't think it's me having a special skill, it's more like Horikita wants opportunities to make me suffer.

"I admit that I was unsociable back then, but I believe that I'm much more open to new things now," Horikita explained, but it came off as trying to defend herself.

"Well, I'll give it a shot. But don't expect anything," I said.

"Giving it a shot isn't good enough," he answered.

"Not good enough?"

Sudou's emphatic words contained traces of anger. He seemed to plan on Horikita definitely being there tomorrow.

"You absolutely need to do it. If you don't invite Horikita out, there's no point," he told me.

Sudo was already about to apologise, but I stopped him before he could begin. "Don't say anything, it's not that I don't appreciate your apologies it's just that you don't have to apologise for everything you did."

This was seriously getting tiresome. I've been through several endurance tests and I've scored much higher than even trained adults, but dealing with Sudo affects my mental endurance which unfortunately isn't as high as my physical endurance.

"Look, I don't know what plans she might have tomorrow. And I don't know if she even has any interest in fortune-telling. Wouldn't it be easier to invite her to go shopping or check out a film festival?"

"There's nothing to worry about. All girls love fortune-telling," he answered.

That was an extremely broad generalization. I couldn't really imagine Horikita showing any curiosity about things that ordinary girls liked.

"Suzune isn't an ordinary girl, honestly the fact that you considered her a girl really blows my mind," Ryueen chuckled.

"Attacking my womanhood now? Did you run out of all other material to use?" Horikita sighed.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, no one considered you a woman in their entire life," Ryueen continued.

"What a childish argument," Sakayanagi sighed.

"Coming from the elementary schoolgirl that doesn't mean a lot," Ryueen switched to Sakayanagi.

"These petty squabbles get tiring for you eventually, don't they? It seems a lot like you're making a joke of this," Sakayanagi said.

"This entire thing is a joke. That guy gets to sit there and have his entire scheme exposed. This hidden mastermind lost to a few videos." Ryueen chuckled.

"It just seems like you're mad that your schemes have been exposed and seen through."

"At least my schemes have charm to them. All you have is exposing a girls hair clip scandal," Ryueen now attacked Ichinose.

"Got it? Later, after you invite her, get in touch with me. Okay? You gotta."

With that, Sudou abruptly ended the call. I'd thought it was strange for Sudou to invite me to check out a fortune-teller. Well, it seemed as though he was really after Horikita. While I did feel a little disappointed, I needed to call Horikita right away. If Sudou found out later that I ignored his request, it would be a huge headache.

Horikita answered her phone immediately.

"Hey, Horikita. Do you like fortune-telling?" I asked.

If there was one woman in the whole world capable of destroying anyone's preconceived notion that all girls liked fortune-telling, it was Horikita.

"You open conversations in the strangest way," she answered.

"Starting a conversation with you in any way is strange since the recipient is you," Sakayanagi giggled.

I wondered if Horikita was going to turn into another circus act for today.

True. But I didn't really have anything else to say. "You'll be saving me if you give me an answer."

"So, if I don't answer you, there's a possibility that you won't be saved?" she asked.

That was certainly a possibility. The image of Sudou putting me in a headlock stuck in my mind.

Sudo opened his mouth to say sorry but stopped before he got a word out. I'm glad that he took my words to heart or maybe he was just scared of getting on my bad side.

"So, are you going to save me?" I asked.

"If you're comfortable owing me one," she answered.

I'd have to owe her one just for answering a question? I was filled with the urge to hit the "end call" button, but I pictured Sudou's angry face and resisted.

"Fine. If you answer me, I'll owe you," I told her.

Horikita, realizing her answer's value, paused for a moment. "I see. Well, I'm not exactly an enthusiast or anything, but it would be a lie to say I dislike fortune-telling."

"Did you have to act evasive Suzune? Just admit that you would like to go with Ayanokouji here," Ryueen said, much to Kei's annoyance.

I'm guessing that he said that on purpose.

"I wouldn't like to go with him since it would just end up being an obnoxious time filled with unfunny jokes and dead conversations," Horikita certainly had grown and become more open, but she clearly seemed to dislike the idea of being in any form of relationship with me.

"I don't think it's fair for you to say that it's going to be filled with unfunny jokes, they'll be plenty funny. You just don't like them since they're about you," I responded to Horikita.

"I understand your point of view, but I think you're wrong," Horikita seemed adamant to say that my jokes about her weren't funny.

"Humour is subjective, you just have soft skin."

"What makes you make that outrageous claim?" Horikita had unknowingly fallen into my trap.

"It was just a couple seconds ago."

Horikita's gears inside her head seemed to be clogged.

This was unexpected. "Have you ever had your fortune told before?" I asked.

"Of course I haven't. I've simply noticed horoscopes and such in the morning news."

She was probably talking about the daily horoscope things that were usually based on your birth month. I had a hard time picturing Horikita as the type of girl who would go change her clothes, or buy new accessories, if someone on TV said her lucky colors were red and white.

"I think anyone who does that simply wants an excuse to do irresponsible things," Sakayanagi criticised

I think many people agreed with her. I've noticed that astrology as a whole is based on generalised statements that could apply to anyone. Things like a birth month or date don't determine who a person is.

Humans grow and evolve due to the environment they're born with. Genes may have a part in it but a core of a person is based on how they're raised. If a person from happy parents is raised in a gloomy environment then they have a higher chance of being a more gloomy person which is unlike their parents.

"Are you addicted to getting your fortune told, by chance?" she asked.

"No, that's not it. There've been some rumors going around lately about a fortune-teller. Have you heard?"

"A fortune-teller?" Horikita fell silent for a while, then eventually answered in a tone that sounded as though she understood. "Yes, there does seem to be quite the uproar. I've heard about it."

"Well, I was a little curious. They say that the fortunes are really accurate, so I was wondering how accurate. But I can't honestly imagine that something like fortune-telling would be so spot-on."

I expected her to agree with me, but she apparently held a different opinion.

"Indeed? I think that someone with real power could be accurate."

"I didn't think you would believe in psychic revelations Horikita," Nagumo remarked.

"I explain it further, but cold-reading is what makes fortune-telling so accurate. With that you can make accurate predictions that aren't based on luck," Horikita explained.

"I see, but even with cold-reading you can't make spot-on predictions. Even someone who is experienced may get it wrong," Nagumo retorted.

Certainly, he had a point. Predictions will not be accurate all the time, and it won't be something like one person gets their fortunes and they're all wrong while everyone else is correct, but it will be an average of wrong fortunes per person. Surely it may reduce the reputation of the fortune-teller.

"Tha may be true, but high-schoolers can be predictable. And considering that all of it was catered to couples it would make sense if the couples just wanted to hear good revelations. Some accurate predictions of their past and pleasing fortunes about the future would surely be enough," Horikita responded.

"No way. You'd have to be psychic," I replied. The power to predict the future by reading a person's face or hands, or based on their birthdate? That was ridiculous, and I didn't believe it existed.

"No, that's not what I mean. Fortune-tellers don't have the power to divine the future. That's obvious, isn't it? That would be as foolish as someone saying that they believe in ghosts. However, the big difference between fortune-tellers and psychics is that fortune-tellers give readings based on a massive amount of past data. In other words, they interpret patterns to understand people."

Horikita wasn't a fanciful girl. Her answer was grounded in logic and reason.

"In other words, you're talking about fortune-tellers' ability to cold read, right?" I asked.

"You're rather cheeky, but I guess you do know some things." Horikita sounded slightly amused. "We can't evaluate ourselves objectively. However, a good fortune-teller can extract information from the person they're reading through a short conversation. They can pick up on things that the person themselves hasn't noticed. Don't you think so?"

Cold reading. Quite literally, that term meant reading someone's mind without prior preparation. It referred to a technique which extracted information through casual conversation, and thus, gave the person being read the impression that you knew more than you did. You used observation and deduction to obtain information about your target, then made the person believe that you could see their past and future. It sounded simple, but actually, being able to extract information without the mark noticing was incredibly difficult. It required a high degree of skill.

"This is cool and all, but next time when they do this thing do you wanna come with me? It sounds fun," Kei said excitedly.

"If we're discreet about it then there shouldn't be any major problems," The fortune teller wasn't on the ship so the next possible time that they may come was in the winter. By that time me and Kei may well have revealed our relationship.

Kei started to have an excited grin almost as if she had already planned how it would go in her head.

"I'm a little interested," I admitted.

"That's good. I think you should go," Horikita said.

"How about you come along?"

"Are you joking?"

"No, I'm quite serious."

"I refuse," she answered.

She'd shot me down instantly, but I couldn't just accept that. "I'm a total novice when it comes to fortune-telling. I thought it'd be good to have you along, Horikita, so I understand better."

"Sorry, but I'll pass. You know I don't enjoy dealing with crowds, right?"

"Don't worry Ayanokouji, Horikita doesn't enjoy dealing with anything," Kushida grinned.

"You just aren't high on my priority list, nothing more nothing less," Horikita responded with a chill comment.

That was certainly true. Fortune-telling was so popular, a lot of very excited students were bound to be there. Some adults from campus might go, too. I certainly couldn't imagine Horikita wanting to enter a crowded place like that.

If I pushed any further, I'd probably just end up souring Horikita's mood. As far as I was concerned, I'd received her message loud and clear. Sudou probably wouldn't be that big a problem, anyway. Probably.

After I ended the call, I shot him a brief message. I immediately noticed the "read" marker pop up. Shortly afterward, I received a disgruntled reply.

"Then forget about it," the message read.

I existed only as a means for Sudou to invite Horikita. Since I'd failed to invite her, Sudou had no further use for me. Well, it probably would've been a little weird for two dudes to see a fortune-teller together.

"So you were just a tool for him, huh? How the tables have turned," Ryueen chuckled at my failure.

I guess I can't say that he was wrong.

"Even so... A fortune-teller, huh?" I murmured aloud.

After that conversation with Horikita, my interest was piqued. I decided to head over tomorrow and check the fortune-teller out.

Who in their right mind thought it'd be a good idea to go see a fortune-teller?

"If you're curious then I don't see any problems with it," Asahina said.

"I think you misunderstood him. The fortune teller was only there in the summer, so he would have to go there and stand in line during the august heat," Manabu answered for me.

"You seem to be quite friendly with Ayanokouji-senpai, pardon me if this is rude, but why is that?" Yagami asked kindly.

This is the first time to my knowledge that Yagami and Manabu have spoken to each other. It isn't unusual since they both wouldn't have ever spoken to the other due to their ages.

"It's because no one in class D is capable of pulling off the things that happened at the beginning of the year. He also was the first friend Suzune ever made," Manabu gave 2 completely different answers.

"So you became interested in him because of his relationship with your sister and his abilities further piqued your interest, am I getting that right?"

"That's an oversimplified version but yes," Manabu said.

"Thank you for answering my question senpai," Yagami said with a warm smile.

"I don't know what's with him, but he seems far too polite and approachable. He reminds me of Ayanokouji in a way, but I might be overthinking it," Manabu thought.

"I might have messed up," I muttered.

The intense late-August heat blazed down upon me. I saw a shimmering heat haze ahead, above the concrete, and through the roadside trees. The dorm rooms came equipped with air conditioning, so we didn't feel the heat much indoors. However, it was summer, and in direct sunlight, you instantly started sweating buckets.

The heat reduced people to complete lumps. I desperately sought out shade. Fortunately, the school boasted a rather expansive campus littered with tons of trees.

It was 9:30 A.M., well before most student activities, as I made my way towards the fabled fortune-teller. Fortune-telling services were supposed to begin at ten, but I didn't plan to stick around for long. I'd quickly get my fortune read, then leave just as quickly. That was my plan.

But, as I neared my destination, I realized that my plans were about to be shattered.

I expected Keyaki Mall to be nearly empty. Instead, numerous students lounged around in their summer clothes. I prayed that they weren't all there for the same reason I was, but I suspected they were. I decided to at least escape the blazing hellscape by entering the building, and started looking for the elevator, since the fortune-teller was on the fifth floor.

"Geh."

I let out a grumble. Nearly ten students were hanging around in front of the elevator. I wondered if any of them would understand my plight.

Whenever I took elevators alone, I was the sort to push the "close" button repeatedly. I wasn't good at riding elevators with large groups of people my age. I'd need a great deal of courage to mingle with that crowd.

Although it'd be inconvenient, I decided to take a detour and get on a different elevator. Another elevator, across the way, was far less crowded.

"I find it weird that you can do some morally bad things, but still get afraid of a bunch of people in an elevator," Ichinose commented

I shrugged. I don't have the courage to interact with people I don't know, so I'd rather take the inconvenient route.

"Calm down," I muttered.

Getting to the other elevator took more time and effort, but the peace of mind it brought me was a lifesaver. After I reached the fifth floor, I made my way toward the fortune-teller. However, an even more uncomfortable situation awaited me.

"There are couples everywhere."

Boys and girls stood in pairs all over. A number of them seemed to be in relationships. Of course, there were groups of only boys and only girls, but those were far fewer.

Seeing a fortune-teller about a couple's future and romantic compatibility was common, I supposed. However, it made this visit significantly more awkward than I'd anticipated. Not many people had come alone to have their fortune told. Single guys were fewer still.

"I don't really get the point of that, wouldn't it be more beneficial for the business to allow everyone to do it?" Matsushita inquired.

If the goal of the school was just to get students to spend their points and gain some knowledge then Matsushita's idea was the optimal one. If you deny certain people from spending their points then you won't get the highest amount of points expenditure.

The only people who could answer that question were the teachers or the chairman, but unlike with the pool incident he wasn't obligated to do anything. He could simply brush off Matsushita's comment and be done with it.

"Having only couples do it reduced the length of the line and made it condensed into that one spot. Having students spend their points didn't really matter since they aren't worth anything to the people working here at the school," The chairman summarised.

Since people didn't have any problem with his explanation they simply stared at the screen.

In any case, a line was forming. I decided to queue up. When I did so, a woman scanning the area called out to me.

"Good morning. Will your partner be joining you later?" she asked.

"Partner? Uh, no, it's just me."

Of course, it wasn't exactly odd for her to ask me that question, but she'd put it rather strangely. I wished she'd be more sensitive to single people.

"Umm..." The line attendant looked at me with a sheepish expression.

"I'm sorry. I'm afraid that, in order to have your fortune read today, you need a partner. So..."

"I can't have my fortune read if I'm alone?"

She gave a small nod and pointed at a written notice.

"Guidance is for couples only. We humbly ask for your understanding."

I now saw why Sudou had insisted on inviting Horikita. He and Horikita would've had to line up together and talk to each other.

"What a sad plan. You should know that I wouldn't have talked to you and just gotten my fortune taken," Horikita ridiculed

Although her words were cold she was still partly berating herself for not going out of her comfort zone.

"That means he never wanted me along, from the very start," I muttered.

Sudou's behavior took on an entirely different meaning, now. He'd never really wanted to invite me. He probably would've found some excuse to send me packing once he had Horikita to himself. That was pretty sad.

"Out of curiosity, is the rule the same for the line next to me?" I asked.

"Yes. Ukon-sensei is only reading fortunes for couples," the woman answered.

"I understand."

I bowed my head and slipped out of the line. The students behind me advanced one step forward.

I couldn't believe I'd fallen for something like this. I'd pictured a lone woman sitting on a street corner, being paid in small coins, but reality had other plans. Apparently, this sort of romantic divination was all the rage right now. I would've liked to try the fortune-teller's services, but there was nothing I could really do. Trying to invite Horikita again would have been a waste of time.

I decided to just slink away quietly.

The students stared at my pitiful state. They didn't really say anything so I was confused about what they were thinking

"Huh? So, I can't have my fortune read alone?"

I heard an angry voice. Another victim of singleness was apparently standing in the next line. Feeling somewhat sympathetic, I glanced over. Unfortunately, I caught that person's eye.

"Ah."

It was Ibuki Mio, a Class C student. When I pretended I hadn't seen her, she chased after me. I quickened my pace.

"Wait!" Perhaps Ibuki thought that I was trying to run away (which I certainly was). She grabbed me by the shoulder.

"Do you want something?" I asked.

"Where's Horikita?"

She looked around as she asked this. Ibuki was sort of like Sudou; she saw me as little more than a Horikita whisperer. I wished she'd just go see Horikita directly and not involve me.

"You seem quite popular with both sexes Horikita-girl," Koenji said while applying hair gel.

Horikita promptly ignored that comment and rather focused on Ibuki, "Why were you asking for me?"

"I didn't have any business for you, I just wanted to know if you were there," Ibuki's response was flimsy at best.

Horikita probably realised that understanding Ibuki's interest in her was a waste of time so she focused on the screen.

"It's not like I'm with her all the time or anything. I'm alone today," I said.

"Ah, I see."

During the deserted island test, Ibuki had been sent to infiltrate Class D. Her mission was to spy on us and stir up chaos, and she and Horikita ended up trading blows in a fistfight. Since then, Ibuki had been rather hostile toward Horikita. She probably considered them archenemies.

Although Ibuki was her usual crabby, unsociable self, she had pretty good fashion sense. She looked great. With a slightly different attitude, she could have been popular.

"I don't think this mushroom could have ever been popular," Ishizaki said half-jokingly but received a sucker punch to his head.

"Call me a mushroom again and I will end you," Ibuki threatened.

Albert stared at this interaction with his usual stoic face. I don't know if he was just used to their antics or if he was always like that.

"Fortune-telling is usually something you do one-on-one, isn't it? I really didn't expect this at all. Don't you agree?" she asked.

"Yeah. That's what I thought, anyway."

"So, are you going to invite Horikita or something?"

First Sudou, now Ibuki. It seemed like Horikita was the sole topic of conversation whenever I was involved.

"No, I'm not. If you want to talk to Horikita, why don't you reach out to her yourself? Try telling her that you want to go have your fortunes read together."

"Huh? Absolutely not. It's not like I have anything to talk to her about."

If that's true, then I really wish you'd stop bringing her up.

"I see that you have a talent for attracting annoying meatheads to you, Horikita," Kushida giggled

Kushida is an interesting existence in this class right now. She has leverage, but since I can ruin her life she's been kept in check. However, the information she has is still valuable, and if used correctly it can be very beneficial.

If this was in a normal situation I would leave this to Horikita, but Kushida is in her situation because of me. Horikita has no obligation to do anything about Kushida and since she's afraid about losing her future she's been quiet and not causing any problems for the class.

All of her betrayals and being even further ostracised in the class may make an opportunity for me. If I can make Kushida someone who would work for the class then that removes one of the biggest problems that is there currently.

"I wasn't really that interested in having my fortune read in the first place, so I'm fine. How about you?" I asked.

"I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't annoyed, but..." Ibuki shook her head in frustration. "Well, I don't really have any choice but to give up. I'm bad at making conversation, anyway."

That answer sounded fishy. Ibuki said she was bad at conversation, but unlike Sakura, she had never struck me as a person who struggled with that kind of thing. In fact, she seemed comfortable talking to me on equal terms— or comfortable being condescending, at least.

"You could invite Ryuuen," I offered.

I said that half-jokingly, but Ibuki shot me a scornful glare packed with disgust. "You're joking, right? I hate seeing his face, even when I have to. I'd rather avoid him during my holidays."

"Quite harsh treatment. My self-esteem is crushed, I might need therapy for this," Ryueen said with a wide smile.

"It's like seeing your boss on holiday," Albert said in beginner Japanese.

Ibuki looked at both of them in disgust. I didn't understand what Albert had done wrong so this seems unfair to me.

"But you were always together back on the ship, weren't you? Isn't it normal to think that you two might be close?" I pointed out.

Ibuki looked away. "That was because it was my fault that I didn't discover Class D's leader," she answered quietly.

If that were true, Ibuki had only been working with Ryuuen to atone for her failure. That didn't explain everything, but I supposed only Class C knew the real reason. That said, Ibuki had learned our leader's identity during the survival challenge on the island. She discovered that Horikita was the leader, and she hadn't been wrong. She would have contributed significantly to her class if I hadn't thwarted her.

"I wanted to ask. During the survival test, who was Class D's leader?"

"Who knows?" I shrugged.

"'Who knows?' It's not like you don't know."

"Even if I did, I couldn't tell you. Honestly, I don't know. Most of us in Class D have no idea. I think Horikita acted in secret, and somehow managed to pull everything off on her own. That's the only way I can explain what happened."

Ibuki seemed to look right through me. However, I wasn't the sort of person to be easily exposed.

"I guess if this wouldn't have happened then none of us would have known about who really won that exam," Sato surmised.

"I can't tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing. It's kind of hard to trust people unconditionally now," Matsushita sighed.

This event essentially created a sense of alertness among the students and by proxy, it also decreased the trustworthiness of everyone. Although I am partly to blame for that. In this school, I was the one who caused the biggest upset in class rankings while staying hidden.

"If Ryuuen's not an option, why don't you invite a girl from your class? I'm sure you must have a friend or two," I said.

"If I did, I wouldn't be in this situation. I absolutely despise the girls in my class," she answered.

Ibuki was just like Horikita. Actually, she was probably even more antisocial than Horikita. With the right opportunity, the two might get along.

"Nobody could get along with her," They both said in unison.

The girls in Ibuki's class looked somewhat nervous. They've seen Ibuki's fighting skills and since they know that she can protect herself, they're much warier of her now.

"I think it would be nice for you to make some friends in another class," Hiyori commented.

"I'll pass," Ibuki said quickly.

Hiyori probably thought that it wasn't worth wasting time on a fools errand so she gave up. Although if another exam like the class poll came up then Ibuki would be in trouble.

In this world, the people at the top are those with allies and connections. Sakayanagi is smart, and her classmates trust her to the fullest extent possible allowing her to have complete freedom with her actions. Ryueens may have once advocated to expel him, but they trust him now and Ichinose's class trusts her but it doesn't mean anything when Ichinose herself has placed restrictions on herself.

"You know, you're making conversation with me just fine right now. Shouldn't you be able to talk to anyone else, too? I don't think you're bad at dealing with people," I said.

"That's not true. When you talk to me, you feel something, don't you? I'm all prickly."

"Well, yeah. I guess so." Interacting with Ibuki always made me feel like meat being sliced by a sharp knife. That was the closest I could come to describing her desire for isolation. I'm sure other students felt the same way.

"No matter what I do, the mood always seems to turn sour. Understand?" she asked.

I still had my doubts about Ibuki actually being bad at making conversation, but she was undoubtedly standoffish, even with her own classmates. I could imagine her headstrong attitude challenging the fortune-teller.

"I don't think you're bad at making conversation, I just think that you don't want conversation. You're an isolationist, just like me," Kiryuuin chuckled.

Ibuki and Kiryuuin are similar in some ways but I don't consider them anywhere near close to being alike. Kiryuuin doesn't do any work and constantly slacks off while Ibuki tried for her class even if she doesn't like it.

"If you're bad at communicating, I'm surprised you'd want to get your fortune read."

"That's the problem. I'm like someone who loves cats, but has an allergy," she answered.

That certainly sounded frustrating. "But you did really well spying on Class D," I replied.

Crabby and unsociable as she might be, Ibuki hadn't seemed at all disagreeable while she was working as a spy. Our class had accepted her without suspicion.

"That's different. In any case, talking to people makes me anxious. And when I'm anxious, it puts me on edge. I hate it. It's not like I want to be this way—wait, why am I even telling you this? People might get the wrong impression about us!"

"Nobody would ever assume that you have a boyfriend," Ryueen smirked at Ibuki's struggles.

Ryueen's antagonising of everyone had practically become a gat at this point, but Ibuki usually reacts in the most explosive manner compared to everyone else.

Flustered, Ibuki abruptly turned away. Really, that should've been my line. Everyone who'd been queueing near us had moved ahead, and it was just the two of us. The other students might easily have misinterpreted that.

So, talking to people made Ibuki anxious, huh? If that were true, the solution might be unexpectedly easy. Even if I didn't know the root cause of her anxiety, I could work with this.

"Earlier, you said that being a spy was different, didn't you?" I asked.

"Yeah. Because it's a fact."

"What's the difference between then and now?"

Ibuki fell silent for a little while. "I don't know. It's just different," she said finally. It seemed like she'd given up on trying to articulate the difference.

"You haven't given it much thought," I said.

"Well, it's not like I can explain why they're different. I was just acting."

"No, I think it's simple. The difference between you now, and you then, is awareness."

"Awareness, huh? I guess if you're playing a part then you're more aware and can be better," Katsuragi said, but he got the meaning switched around

"You're on the right track, but it's not quite there," I told him

He looked confused but looked at the screen.

"Awareness?" Ibuki turned toward me, her interest slightly piqued.

"Your anxiety comes from being hyper-aware of situations. You project your insecurities onto others, so you freeze up when you meet someone for the first time," I explained.

"What are you talking about? I mean, maybe it's different for people who are good at communicating, but pretty much everyone gets nervous when they meet someone for the first time, don't they?"

"Of course. I'm the same way. But would you still feel nervous if you were talking to the clerk at a convenience store?" I asked.

"Huh?"

"The clerk at a convenience store you visit often. 'Do you have a point card? Would you like that warmed up?' You don't get anxious when the clerk asks you those questions, right?"

"Well, th-that's..." she stammered.

If you thought of communication as a skill, like athleticism, it was simple. You had to train your talents. Ibuki got nervous because she was acutely aware of who she was talking to. I wonder what they think of me. I want them to like me. I hope they're a good person.

When Ibuki infiltrated Class D, she probably didn't have time to consider those things. She was playing a part, not thinking about how people would react to her real self. And she usually gave off an outcast vibe anyway, which worked as the perfect disguise.

In a way, I was similar. I played a part, but I knew how they would react to my true seld. Hatred and scorn. If I keep on going with my metaphor of communication being like athleticism then I would be like the professor.

"I see then, it appears that I had gotten them mixed up," Katsuragi sighed.

"Don't worry baldie, loners have this special ability to observe things," Ryueen insulted.

I can't say he was wrong, however. A person who is constantly alone would observe the world since they don't have anyone to talk to. They would make observations about people or things simply because it's the only thing that they can do. These observations may not be good or accurate, but they would still constantly make them nonetheless.

"I suppose, when you put it that way, you have a point," she muttered.

"You were ready to talk to the fortune-teller face-to-face. It's natural to feel anxious, but there's no reason to. If you don't think about communication too hard, that should relieve some of the tension."

"I see. Wait, why the hell are you lecturing me?" Ibuki glared, looking ready to pounce.

"When you've been a loner for a long time, you understand these kinds of things. You wonder why you can't make friends, and you think about the differences between the people who make you nervous and those who don't. Finally, you think about where people come from and where they're going."

"You're creepy. You seem like the sort who'll turn out to be a mass murderer later in life. Were you always like this?" Ibuki asked.

"More or less."

Things had veered into rather awkward territory. I probably came across as a weirdo.

"Don't feel bad, if you're too observant then you look creepy," Kei told me.

"But wouldn't someone who's observant and helpful be seen in a good light?" I thought what I said was logical.

"Sure, from a logical perspective it would make sense, but to an average person they don't really care about how logical it was and just want their frustrations to be heard," Kei said but she seemed a little dissatisfied with her reasoning.

I didn't see many faults in it, however. People like to be comforted and sometimes don't want actual help but rather just want their frustrations to be heard rather than seeing an active solution to the problem.

"You have more knowledge about this sort of stuff compared to me so you're probably right," I told her.

"Well, I'm heading back. How about you?" I asked.

"I'll probably head back, too. I can have my fortune read alone, anyway. I was really interested in tenchuusatsu, though," she said.

"Tenchuusatsu?"

That wasn't exactly the kind of word you heard all that often.

"Wait. You came without even knowing what that is?" Ibuki sighed in exasperation. "Put simply, it's a type of fortune-telling that tells you what times are unlucky for you."

Was it really possible to pinpoint an aspect of someone's destiny like that? My knowledge of fortune-telling was limited to superstitions like "wear the colour red," and "be careful not to lose something this month." However, Ibuki made it sound like there was far more to fortune-telling.

"That's why I came. Fortune-telling isn't all about romance and such." Ibuki sounded disappointed as she looked back at the long line.

"Maybe some of them came here to check out tenchuusatsu, or whatever it's called," I replied.

"Even so, I get the feeling that the romance stuff is what they're after, since the fortune-teller is forcing us to visit in pairs," she replied.

And with that, Ibuki left.

"There's lots to fortune-telling, some of it might be superstition and stupid general stuff, but it's still a lot broader than horoscopes," Ibuki explained.

"Do you happen to believe in fate, Ayanokoji-senpai," Yagami asked.

"Why do you ask?"

"It just seems like from your thoughts you're either ignorant or think that it's all superstition," Yagami explained the need for his question.

"I think that what people call fate is mostly the cause of their own stupidity."

I don't believe in the prospect of fate. Humans grow and change due to their own individual identities. If fate is the cause for everything then humans simply live a path of predisposed notions. It could hardly be called life.

"I can see your point," Yagami said.

After I returned to my dorm room, I did some research into tenchuusatsu. It was an incredibly deep subject. Before 1980, tenchuusatsu had been something of a hot topic worldwide. However, as its popularity boomed, people started to doubt its credibility. There was a news story about a famous fortune-teller who was forced to retire after he dropped tenchuusatsu.

Fortune-telling might have some value, even if depending too much on it was bad. From a true believer's perspective, it probably seemed fairly accurate.

With that thought in mind, curiosity overcame me. Yet I couldn't believe what I read online. It was impossible to divine the future. I wanted to try tenchuusatsu out for myself, to see if it was a lie. I wanted what the fortune-teller was doing to be simply an extension of cold reading.

"I wonder if tenchuusatsu is only being offered this month?" I muttered.

Apparently, the fortune-teller's crew was leaving when summer vacation ended. There was no information on whether they'd return. A fortune-teller might never visit this school again.

The students started to talk about if it would return..

"That sounds like fun, senpai wanna go with me?" Amasawa asked.

"No thanks," I shot her down.

This small interaction lasted less than ten seconds but the cohort seemed shellshocked. I didn't really understand why since this was common for her at this point.

I didn't have anyone to invite. I was completely out of options.

Horikita would just turn me down if I asked, and I didn't have the courage to invite Kushida. I felt like Sakura would probably come with me, but if I brought her to a place positively teeming with couples, it'd make her uncomfortable. After that were the guys, like Sudou, Ike, and Yamauchi, but they probably didn't want to spend their few precious remaining days of summer vacation getting their fortunes read with another dude.

The thought of going with Yamauchi to get my fortunes read was an interesting idea, but it would end in disaster.

When I gottenchuusatsuhe would probably say something along the lines of "You must have bribed the fortune teller to get it" or something like that. It would probably be a bad day overall.

"I'm stuck, huh?"

Besides, I didn't like this couples-only requirement. Ibuki and I agreed on that. It seemed like a huge turn-off for people with a genuine interest in fortune-telling. I gave up and stopped my online research.

The day after I'd given up, though, I found myself moving toward the fortune-teller again.

"You seem like a walking contradiction," Kanzaki said.

"My curiosity got the better of me."

"So it was by chance that you got your fortune read, huh?" Ibuki reflected on the day.

"How did you get your fortune read if you had no one to go with?" Shinohara asked.

"Isn't it obvious that something should actually happen for it to be seen? Trivial things and missed opportunities are boring and monotonous, so only times when things happen are shown," Nagumo said.

"O-oh r-right," Shinohara blurted out.

Being talked down to as an average student was probably overwhelming for her. Nagumo controls his entire year and is practically invincible, he can do practically whatever he wants and can get away with it as long as it isn't illegal. Students probably fear getting on his bad side.

"Ah."

Yet another bizarre meeting; fate had reunited me with Ibuki. We happened upon the same place at the exact same time.

"Why did you come here again? And by yourself?" Ibuki looked disgusted. I got the impression that I thoroughly repulsed her.

"You're right Ayanokouji, I thoroughly despise you."

"You sure seem very articulate when it comes to how much you hate me," She's normally brash and a simpleton in terms of her vocabulary but when it comes to me she's practically a professional writer.

"I could ask you the same question," I countered.

"Well, I said that I like fortune-telling, didn't I? I thought maybe I could have my fortune read, even if I'm alone," she replied.

So, Ibuki came here hoping the rules had changed since yesterday. I wondered if she really did like fortune-telling that much, and if so, which part.

"I'm going to ask you something directly. Ibuki, do you believe in fortune-telling?" I asked.

"Are you saying I shouldn't?"

"No. But it's generally not something people start to believe in all of a sudden, right?"

Not everyone understood that fortune-telling was the mere application of techniques such as cold reading. Many genuinely believed in divination's mysterious power.

"I suppose a lot of people start out thinking that way. But if you can't move past that, fortune-telling's probably not for you," Ibuki said.

"So, you're saying that nonbelievers aren't qualified to have their fortunes read?"

"No, that's not it. Let me put it this way. It's not like I believe in fortune-telling unconditionally. However, people who are overly skeptical from the very start won't get anything out of it. People who make fun of fortune-telling often lead lives riddled with contradictions themselves. They'll say they don't believe in kami or in Buddha, for instance—but when they're in trouble, they call on a higher power for help, don't they?"

That was a good argument. Gods didn't exist, and neither did things like ghosts. Yet many who made caustic statements like "God doesn't exist" would still visit shrines to bring in good fortune for the New Year. They'd pray for freedom from disease, success in business, or fulfillment in love. They'd clasp their hands and say, "Please, Kami-sama, listen to my prayers."

What you believed in and what you wished for were infinitely different, and no one could deny that.

"Humans are contradictory, not a big revelation," Sakayanagi sighed.

"I guess it's part being contradictory but it's also just being hypocritical, if you make fun of divine power and then pray to it in dire circumstances then you're nothing but a hypocrite," I explained.

"We're simply splitting hairs then, being a hypocrite is part of being contradictory," Sakayanagi continued.

"You're right, but who's to say that being contradictory isn't part of being a hypocrite?"

This discussion was pointless in the first place. We can't decide something like hypocrisy and contradictions and decide which was part of which since they're both parts of each other.

That said, fortune-telling wasn't the same as the existence of a higher power. Fortune-tellers were just people, like you or me. Really, I couldn't help but be skeptical.

"Do you understand?" Ibuki asked.

"Yeah."

I still had lingering doubts, but I got the gist. I decided to make a suggestion.

"The fortune-teller only offers readings to pairs, but they're not only reading for romance, right?" I asked.

"Yes, obviously."

"In that case, why don't we go together? We're both genuinely interested in fortune-telling. If we're not in a relationship that might have future complications, I don't think we have anything to worry about."

I honestly felt absolutely nothing for Ibuki. My emotions were a flat line, neither good nor bad. It was like dealing with a first-time customer in a store.

I heard Ibuki sigh deeply, "Yes, I'm so glad."

If I grew feelings for her then my heart would be crushed right now, or it should have been anyway.

"Well, I don't mind. I would like to have my fortune read, after all. Are you okay with this?" she asked.

"Even if Horikita were here, she's only a friend."

"That's not what I meant. Some students still hold a bit of a grudge toward me because of what happened on the island."

Ibuki was looking out for me, in a way. She was worried that, if my classmates saw us together, they might resent me.

"I don't think you really need to worry about that."

Ibuki craned her neck like she was puzzled. "I don't understand."

"If everyone at this school got along, then yes, what you did would be considered a massive moral violation. However, the school believes that ability is everything. Besides, the classes were competing against one another. Spying and sabotage were natural tactics to employ under the circumstances. Am I wrong?"

"But a lot of people operate based on feelings, rather than logic, and they won't be convinced of that. Not everyone's quite as mentally flexible."

"I don't think people like that would be admitted to this school in the first place."

"People who stick to their ideology and disregard anyone else's opinions are the types you're talking about, right?" Sakayanagi said while looking at Ichinose.

I nodded. She was probably trying to rile Ichinose up.

"I have to agree with you there, Ayanokouji. It's just idealism at that point, thinking that underhanded tactics are bad and shouldn't be used simply jeopardises yourself," unexpectedly, Kanzaki was the one who said this.

Ichinose was able to ignore Sakayanagi's comment, but her own teammate seemed to call her play foolish.

"Kanzaki, what do you mean?" Ichinose asked confused.

"I don't think I said anything confusing Ichinose. It's idealism to think that subterfuge and betrayals shouldn't be used and that we can still win," Kanzaki said.

This had turned into a debate into a class politics problem.

"But... it's still possible," Ichinose said but lacked strength in her words.

"Then tell me, why are we losing?" Kanzaki's words were simple but brutal.

"This is just a rough patch, we can still win if we try," Ichinose retorted.

Now, all of Kanzaki's classmates were saying naive and positive statements. "Yeah, just believe in Ichinose" or "We can still do it" Were the types of things being thrown around.

The statements turned into a form of echo chamber for Kanzaki, he looked disheartened. I could tell that this was the end of his revolution if he stopped now.

"I see. I apologise," Kanzaki's words were sincere but he looked hollow and demoralised.

No one said anything. The other classes in our year simply observed and the classes in the other year believed that it wasn't worth intervening in another year's problems.

Why intervene and risk things when it's not your problem? Was probably what went through their mind.

Ibuki crossed her arms and looked deep in thought for a moment.

"You're surprisingly shameless, aren't you?"

"All I am is an unremarkable student. I have no interest in either trying to crawl my way up the ladder or being kicked off it. If working with a student like Horikita lets me coast by, then I'm lucky."

"That's not uncommon, though. Every student in this school has their eye on the special privileges that come with graduation. But no one foresaw that the school would make us compete like this, so I'm sure most students are bewildered."

Apparently, Class C students weren't really that different from Class D. That probably meant that Ibuki, who'd caught Ryuuen's eye early on, must be formidable. In fact, after her identity as the spy was discovered, Ibuki was at Ryuuen's side on several occasions. She said that she was only helping him to make up for her failure, but it seemed like he trusted her, at least to some degree.

Ibuki and I both got in line. The clerk I'd run into the other day came by once again to confirm that we were a pair, then handed us tickets. There were eight couples ahead of us.

"Looks like we'll be waiting for a while," I sighed.

If only one fortune-teller was available, Ibuki and I would have to wait longer than an hour, even if they managed the time efficiently. How would the two of us endure that? I probably couldn't carry on a conversation for that long.

"We're only together to have our fortunes read, so we don't really need to make pointless chit-chat, right?" Ibuki asked me.

"I guess you have a point," I answered.

She'd picked up on what I was thinking. Good. I'd been saved a lot of hassle.

"Next, please."

"Finally, all that whining before was entertaining, but this shit has been boring as fuck," Hosen complained.

"What kinds of movies do you like Hosen?" Yagami asked randomly.

"What a random fucking question, but I like action movies," Hosen stated while glaring down at Yagami.

"I can tell," Yagami said with a smile and turned his attention to the screen.

It was the middle of the afternoon when I heard that small voice come out of the temporary tent.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting."

In the end, fortune-telling for each pair took approximately fifteen minutes, which forced Ibuki and me to stand in line for even longer than anticipated. Just as I started to wonder if I even cared about fortune-telling anymore, I passed through a curtain and entered the room where the fortune-teller waited.

When I entered, I found a chamber that looked like something out of a television show. It was dark inside, probably around 30 lux. The fortune-teller appeared to be an elderly woman, but a hood obscured her face, so I couldn't make out her expression. She sat with a thick book, the contents of which I couldn't guess, and some kind of crystal ball. It looked like one of those balls you chuck around in the hammer throw in track and field.

This was excellent atmosphere.

The crystal ball immediately began to glow, as if it would reflect my and Ibuki's futures. There were two backless seats in front of the fortune-teller. When we sat down, the fortune-teller chuckled lightly and moved her right hand.

"First...you must pay," she commanded.

"God really is a cheapskate huh?" Ryueen said.

His comment broke the tension immediately.

She pulled out a small card reader from under the table and placed it before us. Such a product of modern civilization felt out of place, especially in contrast to the scene around me. Not that I expected the reading to be free, of course.

"What kind of fortune are you going to read?" asked Ibuki, presenting her student ID card.

"It can be about your academics, career, love life, or anything you like," the fortune-teller answered with an unsettling grin. The expression lent itself nicely to the atmosphere, but she seemed less like a fortune-teller, and more like a witch.

The list of prices she showed us seemed oddly mismatched. They were separated into several categories. The "Basic Plan" package seemed to include the services the fortune-teller had already mentioned. There were several packages, one of which seemed to be related to tenchuusatsu. There were even options that let you see the end of your life. Of course, since this was a couples' activity, many options were related to romance.

I wondered what a couple would do if the fortune-teller divined that they had poor romantic compatibility. Regardless, every option was rather expensive. We'd be spending well over 5,000 points.

"It's a lot of money," I sighed.

For a Class D student like me, who struggled with points daily, this was a tough pill to swallow. Even so, it probably would've been pointless to go home without finding out more about tenchuusatsu. I could just listen to Ibuki's fortune and head back, but then I wouldn't know how reliable the fortune-teller was.

Just in case, I checked my private points balance on my phone. I had roughly 6,000 points remaining: barely enough.

"We really were been struggling with points back then," Horikita sighed.

"Now all of you pathetic instances don't have to live frugal lives due to me," Koenji said much to the dislike of the people around him.

However, he wasn't wrong. Without Koenji and his extreme point gain in the island exam, our class would still be with a tiny amount of points to live on.

"I'll do the Basic Plan," said Ibuki.

Despite her unexpected interest in fortune-telling, she didn't seem to want a detailed fortune.

"And you?" asked the fortune-teller.

"I'll take the same," I replied.

It felt as though I was placing an order at a restaurant. I presented my student ID card, and the card reader beeped, indicating that it had deducted points.

"Very well, let's start with the young lady. What's your name?"

"Ibuki. Ibuki Mio," she answered flatly.

"When I tell fortunes, I see the face, the hand, and then the heart of the person I'm reading. I may see something that you won't like. Are you prepared for that?" asked the fortune-teller.

This was probably to make the person getting the fortune more conscious about what they were getting. If they receive something bad then they would be prepared for it and much more alert if it comes. It's surprisingly nice.

"Do whatever you want," Ibuki replied.

I saw a bit of the fortune-teller's wrinkled skin under her hood, along with the sharp gleam in her eye. She instructed Ibuki to extend both hands, then revealed her fortune.

"First, a palm reading. You have a long lifeline. You have a long, long life to look forward to. I cannot see you suffering any major illness so far," the fortune-teller began.

A typical start. I couldn't imagine that a person could divine such things just by looking at the lines on someone's palm. Maybe the fortune-teller based her readings off personal experiences?

If it were me, I'd simply base my answer on the customer's apparent health. I'd come to a conclusion based on their complexion, build, and so on.

Although some people were annoyed by my scepticism, they didn't find any faults in my argument.

But the fortune-teller continued her reading at length, carefully providing Ibuki with predictions about academics, financial success, love, and so on. The predictions sounded ordinary and innocuous to me, but Ibuki listened with seeming satisfaction. The fortune-teller didn't have anything particularly negative to say. Most of her predictions were of a bright future. She occasionally issued warnings, but they didn't seem to pose a significant threat.

"Thank you very much," said Ibuki. She bowed her head gratefully. It now seemed to be my turn, a chance for me to understand this fortune-telling business.

The fortune-teller followed the same process she'd used with Ibuki, and the answers I received were largely indistinguishable from Ibuki's.

Things seemed fundamentally good, but the fortune-teller said that there would be a future time when I would need to be careful to avoid disaster.

"Pretty generic, plenty of people have a couple major problems in their lives," Horikita was also sceptical of fortune-telling places.

"I see... It seems that you had a harsh childhood," she continued.

This statement brought the mood down. I had told them some truths about my past such as competing and being forced to do things above my level but I had made sure to make it sound normal for the time being.

Ichinose looked slightly sympathetic. She may be my enemy currently, but she still has her excessive human empathy. Sakayanagi sighed as if this was expected and the rest just looked at me in pity.

"Harsh would be an understatement," Yagami thought.

A rather broad statement. Most people would claim to have gone through one or two harsh experiences during their youth, especially boys. I wanted her to give me more concrete answers. More importantly, I found it mysterious that a fortune-teller, who should have been divining the future, was instead talking about the past.

Ibuki sat without once interrupting, or even yawning, and listened intently. Perhaps this was what fortune-telling was supposed to be like. Or perhaps this was a necessary ritual? Maybe the fortune-teller needed to visit the past first.

Humans were creatures of convenience. Once people got the idea into their heads that they'd been promised "good luck," they freely interpreted the next thing that went their way as a sign of their fortune coming true. Ah, so my fortune was right, they would think. However, the reality was that everyone had "good luck" at some point, because life delivered both happiness and unhappiness in great and small amounts.

Everyone listened to my explanation in silence. They had no problems with my reasoning at all.

"This is..." The fortune-teller stopped moving her hands. "You're the holder of the fate tenchuusatsu!" she exclaimed.

"Wha—? Seriously?" Ibuki balked.

The students in the hall also had the same reaction as Ibuki although to a milder extent

"Isn't that super rare?"

"That's a bad thing right?"

"That's gotta suck."

Such statements resounded around the room.

Even though it was my fortune, I was the least surprised person there. Tenchuusatsu wasn't a word I'd even been aware of until the day before. The fortune-teller and Ibuki seemed way more shocked by this revelation.

"To put it simply, you've lived a life of constant misfortune since you were born," Ibuki explained.

"This is incredible!" the fortune-teller exclaimed.

It might have been pure coincidence, but that claim was accurate. Still vague, though. Besides, from a cynical viewpoint, more than a few people would call themselves constantly unlucky. I supposed it was risky for the fortune-teller to make an unhappy prediction, though.

"A-accurate?" Ichinose was the one who wasn't able to stay silent.

I didn't say anything and stared at the screen. Kei was holding my hand and was slowly gripping it tighter and tighter. I could understand why but she really didn't need to.

Before I came to this school I was in a simple routine. The year before Matsuo was the same, the year before that was the same and the year before that. My life has been nothing but a routine, I couldn't imagine living like a human being.

"So, is this fate tenchuusatsu going to apply to me from here on out?" I asked.

"The little girl wasn't quite right when she said that the tenchuusatsu meant you lived a life of misfortune," the fortune-teller replied.

"Little girl?" Ibuki repeated, annoyed.

"Fate tenchuusatsu is certainly rare. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that your entire life will be marked by misfortune. It's true that the overall outlook is bad. There are negatives: you won't have the blessing of your parents, or your family. However, the rest is up to you, individually. You alone decide what you can do and can't do," the fortune-teller explained.

"So essentially, fate is meaningless when it comes to you," Yagami said blankly

"What a nice thing that must be, to be able to decide your future. I can't even fathom myself ever doing that, but maybe this is the one opportunity where I might be able to," Yagami thought.

She had a grim expression on her face, but I could see compassion in her eyes.

"You don't need to be pessimistic, and you don't need to act like you're starring in a comedy, either," she continued.

Pretending doesn't work. It's never helped me, I just felt even more cold than before. Maybe if I acted like my true self from the beginning then things would have been a lot more different but... this is arbitrary. Nothing changes through meaningless thoughts.

I noticed that I was in my own thoughts for a while, but no one was staring at me. The former Ayanokouji Group seemed sad and sympathetic. Horikita had her usual expression, but it wasn't that she was apathetic it was just that she was thinking.

Ryueen and Sakayanagi didn't really seem to care, Ryueen didn't care because he was well... Ryueen, and Sakayanagi didn't care because she knew of my past already. The most interesting, however, was ichinose.

She was conflicted. Most people were on one side or another but Ichinose was in the middle of the fence. I can't really tell what she's thinking in the exact words, but it was probably between being against my methods and what lead to the person committing those actions.

I'd heard some interesting things today, but in the end, it was just fortune-telling. I wasn't on the edge of my seat with anticipation. When I tried to get up, though, the fortune-teller stopped me.

"I have one more piece of advice for you. Go straight home, without taking any detours. If you stray, you might be stuck for quite a long time. Even if you do get stuck, don't panic. If you stay calm and work together, you should be able to overcome it," she told me.

What prophetic words.

"What a weird note to end on," Hosen yawned.

In the end, the only things that changed were the students feeling more sympathy for me and Ichinose being conflicted. The only worthwhile thing I could use today was Kanzaki's willpower. Ichinose has him trapped, no, she has her whole class trapped in an echo chamber of positivity and friendship where those methods have cost them nearly every exam so far.

We were escorted out and on the walk back to the dorms there was one thing that I was curious about, why was the class fine with the 3 perverts? I got back to my room and I called Kei with my question.

"Hey Kiyotaka, what did you need?"

"Why is the class so normal?"

"What are you talking about?" Kei asked confused.

It appears that my question was too vague.

"Okay, then let me rephrase it this way, why is the class being casual with the 3 perverts?" If she didn't understand from this then I ran out of options.

What I heard on the phone was unexpected, however, there was some laughter, "Kei, what's so funny?"

"The fact that you didn't hear. The 3 guys went around to everyone in the class and asked for forgiveness," Kei said through her laughs.

So they sold their dignity, I can't say that I expected any better.

"So what ended up happening?"

Kei told me that the boys went around asking for forgiveness from every student in the class. And it turns out that the students collectively decided for a favour from each of them.

I heard some interesting things such as Ike becoming a makeup testing canvas for some girls and the professor turning into a cinema worker by giving the students free movies. The students in my class sure are brutal.

Kei kept on telling me about all the things, but I was curious on why I was the only one that didn't hear about it I could tell that this was on the one day that I wasn't at school but the fact that Sudo and Ike didn't ell me was confusing. So I turned to the main source instead. I got off the phone with Kei and called up Sudo since he was probably the most reliable.

"Yo, Ayanokouji, I don't get a call from you often, what's up?" He said casually.

"I was wondering about my favour, why wasn't I told about it?"

Sudo seemed genuinely surprised, "Didn't Ike tell you?"

"No, and neither did the professor," I responded bluntly.

"Aw man, sorry dude we forgot."

This had a lot of curiosity from me but it ended up being a mundane answer. I then realised that I had a favour from each of them, I could ask them to do whatever I want and they couldn't refuse. This might be beneficial.

"Hey Sudo, can I hold off on my favour for now? Tell the others that it's the same for them," I said after some silence

"Oh sure man, no problem," I knew Sudo was the easiest to deal with.

I got off the phone with him. I can't say for sure but it seems that all the major events for the summer have been shown, so the next logical course is the sports festival. The only thing I can predict is my conversation with Sakayanagi and Kushida's betrayal but other than that I'm completely in the dark.

I wonder what's in store for me in the future.

Authors notes:

I didn't do the Ibuki elevator scene since the chapter would be too long and then the overall quality would suffer. I'm sorry if any of you were really looking forward to it but this is the best I could do.

Anyway, this scene is probably my favourite in vol 4.5 since it pretty much shows Ayanokouji's false persona and tells him to be his true self.

I read the new volume and I have to say that it's actually pretty good and probably my favourite in y2. The new anime episode was decent, but it was expected that there would be skipped content and changes made, so I'm not too annoyed.

Would you guys like it if I did a short oneshot chapter every now and then? It wouldn't mess up the usual reaction schedule since they would be short but it would be fun to write them every now and then.

Things I'm planning to react to for vol 5:

- Ayanokouji asking Kei to disagree with Horikita for what method to use for the sports festival and Kiyo verbally destroying Horikita

- Horikita's tal with Sudo and Kushida's betrayal

- The race with Manabu

- Talking with Sakayanagi and Horikita almost kneeling to Ryueen

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Oneshot: Psychological tests

I was strolling through the library when a book in the new releases aisle caught my eye. After closer inspection, it was titled 'Psychological tests'. It had a purple spine with the title on it and the cover had the inside of a brain supposedly showing that the tests reach into the depths of a person's mind.

"It's kind of tacky," I muttered.

Psychological tests such as this often rely on the Barnum effect. It's a cognitive bias in which people naturally gravitate to general statements and make it relate to them. It's not surprising that this happens since people like to hear things about themselves and it also may show a desirable future outcome.

I say this but I've already booked this and am now walking out of the library with the book in my hand. I suppose that my curiosity got the better of me.

I heard the bell ring so I wasn't even able to open the book, so I reluctantly put it in my bag and headed to class.

2 hours later, school is now over. Japanese history is a pretty boring subject when I've learnt all of it already, but I could say that about all subjects. Since the bell rang students were naturally walking out of the classroom but I couldn't wait so I pulled the book out.

"Ayanokouji, what are you reading?" Horikita said to me as she walked past.

"A book."

"Yes. I can tell, but what is it called?" Horikita might leave if I keep teasing her like this.

"It's just a book about psychological tests," I said.

Horikita was a little surprised but she sat down in the empty seat next to me with a look of intrigue, "These books are purely for entertainment but since you're actually reading something in the class it must be worth looking at."

She seemed to have some expectations now, but I hadn't even opened the book yet.

"I guess I'll just go to a random one then," I said as I flicked through the pages.

The page I chose was random but the way it was formatted was interesting. There were some questions on the page but next to the page number there was another number in brackets with the words 'answer page' next to them. It seems that once you read the question you can go to the assigned page and find out the answer.

I began reading the question out, "An old man was walking through the forest. While walking something appeared before him, what was it? The answers are a rabbit, a wolf or a candle."

"Hmm," Horikita looked like she was in intense thought, honestly this is the most focused I may have ever seen her.

"I'll choose the candle," Horikita said with determination.

"I guess I'll choose the rabbit then," I said as I flicked through the pages for an answer.

Upon arriving on the answer page I located the question number I picked and read out the answer, "If you chose the rabbit then you wish for the warmth and purity of the rabbit, but you are prone to loneliness."

I guess it's not wrong.

"If you chose the wolf then you seek the strength and ferociousness of the wolf, but you are also prone to loneliness," Horikita's choice was now next.

Horikita was now hanging onto every word I said, "If you chose the candle then, seriously, you're really prone to loneliness," It seems that they didn't even try for that one.

Horikita looked outraged, "What a garbage book! They didn't even try for me," Horikita said loudly, "I don't think you should listen to that book, Ayanokouji."

"You think so?"

"If you want to keep reading that garbage then go ahead."

"I just think you're mad at you're result."

"I am not! Fine. Do whatever you want," Horikita said as she walked out of the room with a frustrated expression.

"I guess that I should head back too," I said as I picked up my bag and walked out.

I had a small date with Kei in the afternoon, but since I had nothing to do I just cleaned my room until she got here.

I heard a knock on the door after 15 minutes and when I opened the door Kei was there. I didn't even allow her to go in, she just went in as if it was her home. I guess I should expect that though. We talked about trivial things and even did some studying although Kei was very reluctant and asked for help from me for almost every question.

"Ugh. This is torture, a new type of torture! Can I have a break Kiyotaka, please?" She complained.

"I guess so, there's no point in continuing if you can't focus," I sighed.

Kei looked delighted but as she put her pen down her eyes turned to the book I had, "Hey Kiyotaka, wanna do one of these?" She said thrilled.

"It's your break so if you want to then we can," I picked up the book and flipped to another random page.

"You have the ability to take one thing to a deserted island where no one can reach you. There isn't any cellphone service or technology and you aren't allowed to take anything fictional, what do you bring?"

A place where no one can reach me, huh? I would already be content with that.

"I guess that I would take... OH I'll take a tent," Kei's response was basic but practical.

"I guess I'll take ice cream," Kei looked bewildered.

"Why would you take that out of everything?" Kei giggled

"I like ice cream," I wanted ice cream, nothing more, nothing less.

"Whatever. What's the answer anyway?"

I looked through the answer and read it out, "The item you brought shows the first impression you give to your loved ones."

Kei had chosen a tent. A tent is a piece of shelter and shelter is something that humans need to protect themselves from harm. I guess it just shows that Kei is wanting to protect herself which is the first impression that I got from her.

"I don't think you gave off the impression of ice cream at first," Kei laughed.

"Ok. Breaks over, back to studies," If I had ever complained about wanting a break then my punishment would wary from a simple 'no' to physical pain.

"You're relentless, Sensei," Kei pouted.

We completed our study session and Kei went on her way. It was getting to be time for dinner, so I made some food and kept on reading through some more tests.

After waking up the next morning I went to the library to finish the last question there and then I could return it with no worry in the future. I chose a nice couch and flipped over to the final query.

'You walk outside in the night and look up to the sky. How many stars do you see?"

What a simple question. It didn't even need any thought.

The answer was zero. The sky was pitch black and empty. There was no light at all.

I found the answer on the last page.

'The number you chose is the number of happy memories you'll make with your friends,'

"I see," I muttered.

Although it's just a test, I couldn't help but think about it. I'm here simply by chance, there's nothing more to my existence at this school. I might not even be in this school tomorrow. The only reason I'm here is because that's what I desire, if not for luck then I would be stuck in my own white prison.

"I'm probably reading too much into it," I mumbled.

Authors Note:

Just a small oneshot chapter. These don't really have any effect on the plot and are just here because I'm bored. The chapters that don't have reactions but do affect the plot are the interludes, I have plans for some more but the next interlude won't come out until after vol 7.

Ouroboros: Death and Rebirth

I had two things planned to do today before I got to schooland because of this I had woken up earlier than usual. The first I could get done on the way there but the second needed a little more careful planning. I decided to use one of the 3 favours that I had acquired and the person I needed to call was the professor also known as Sotomura.

"I don't really call him that much, huh?" I muttered as I dug through my contacts for his number.

"Ah Ayanokouji, what can I do for you?" He said excitedly.

"I want something from you, could it be possible for you to give it to me today before school starts? Think of this as repaying your debt."

"It depends on what you want but if it's in my ability then, of course, I can give you what you desire," He may have gotten over his weird speech style but he's still fairly dramatic.

I told him the thing that I wanted and he listened intently. Considering that the professor was well versed with technology I believed that what I wanted being in his possession was probable. If he didn't have what I wanted then I would have to get it from the store instead which would work but it's a needless point expenditure that I would hope to avoid.

"Of course Ayanokouji. You came to the right place for such a request. I can give it to you at school today," He said thrilled.

"All right, thanks."

I got off the phone with him and started to write a letter. There are many types of letters that one might write such as a love letter or a fan letter, but the one I'm writing is a letter to meet somewhere. The person receiving this might think of it as a love letter but they'll come to their senses when they see who sent it.

After writing it, I slid it under the door of the receiver and walked to school. As I got into class I found Horikita waiting there as cold as ever.

"How's it goin'," I said as I walked in as a joke.

"Please refrain from speaking like that. It's beneath you," She said, annoyed by my unusual greeting.

"I didn't think that the class D leader had it in her to compliment someone else," I joked.

"Are you always like this in the morning? You might be sick Ayanokouji, I can take you to the nurse's office if needed," Horikita responded.

I sat down next to her and we sat in silence as she read her book and I stared out the window. This wasn't because we didn't want to talk to each other it was just that it's more peaceful and regular for us to be this way. But there was something I was curious about.

"Horikita, are you alright with me being in your class?" I asked her out of the blue.

She seemed rather taken aback, but she closed her book, put it down and locked eyes with me, "I have no problems with you being in my class. If I did then I would be nothing but a hypocrite."

"Why would you be a hypocrite?" I didn't expect those words to come out of her mouth.

"Well, I think of it like this. You called me a tool, and I got angry and felt betrayed but after a while, I realised that I tried to do the exact same thing to you. The thing with Karuizawa caused some problems with me, but since she chose to protect your school life I figured that it was fine," Horikita looked kind of embarrassed but explained till the end.

"Thank you Horikita."

"I didn't think the class D mastermind could be grateful for something," Horikita teased.

After this, the conversation fizzled out and we went back to what we do usually. I stared at the window and gazed at everything going past. I didn't care what it was, I just wanted to ingrain the memory into my mind so that I wouldn't forget it.

It took about 5 minutes but the professor walked in looking exhilarated as he eyed me from the door. It was honestly kind of creepy. Since it would be weird for him to walk up to me out of the blue I walked up to him instead.

"Ayanokouji, here's what you wanted. It's pretty small so just be careful with it," He said with stars in his eyes as if this was a spy mission.

I nodded and we waited for the bell to ring. It was quiet for a moment but the students all eventually walked in as usual in the regular order and the bell finally rang as we walked to the gym.

"Welcome to the sports festival. Let's begin!"

With no time to collect ourselves, we were thrust into another tape.

We began making comprehensive preparations for the sports festival, which was only one month away. The teachers said we could use the weekly two-hour homeroom period as we wished, and Hirata, who was the closest person we had to a leader, took the initiative. Chabashira-sensei moved toward the back of the classroom and didn't say a word. She probably intended to watch.

"Before we start practicing, we need to decide the order we'll participate in, and who will enter the recommended-participant competitions. I've been thinking about this for a while," said Hirata.

"Okay, but when you say 'decide,' how exactly are we going to decide?"

"Good question. For example, in the events for all participants, we—"

Hirata took a piece of chalk and began writing on the blackboad as he spoke. He seemed to be good at this sort of thing. He put two headings on the board, "Raising Hands," and "Ability," then explained what those meant as he wrote down supplemental information.

"This is a rough outline, but I think that everything boils down to these two approaches. The 'raising-hands' system lets people nominate themselves to participate in competitions. The 'ability' system identifies everyone's individual talents, and seeks to assign them to maximize efficiency."

"Wouldn't it be obvious to go with the ability route? I don't think there's much discussion to be had here," Sakayanagi said.

"Some people won't do anything until they're forced into it. If you go by the ability route then this eliminates that problem," Hashimoto continued his leaders train of thought.

"Your logic does make sense but we simply wanted to be fair. It just gives us more choices to work with," Yosuke said. He knew his logic was flimsy but Yosuke's appeal for maximum fairness was the cause of this and he knows that.

Hirata continued, "Both approaches have their pros and cons, of course. The strength of the raising-hands system is, naturally, that everyone gets to voice their wishes. The downside is that, if people's choices contradict each other, well, not everyone is going to get what they want. The strength of the ability system is that we can expect a higher chance of victory than we would with the raising-hands system. However, because the ability system favors the most athletic people in the class, it reduces the other students' chances of winning at something. That's the gist of what I've come up with so far, but if you happen to have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them."

Even the least intelligent among us could understand each system's pros and cons. Most everyone was ready to go along with Hirata, especially since no other proposals had been made.

"We should obviously decide based on ability, shouldn't we? I mean, the only one who knows a person best is himself, right?" said Sudou. "If I win, then it's more likely our class wins. That puts us way ahead."

His words were confusing, but true. Sudou's athletic ability would be integral to winning the sports festival.

"I wanna race you next time Ayanokouji," Sudo said randomly.

"I'll think about it."

Sudo would know if I was holding back so my only choice would be to go faster than I did with Manabu, but then Sudo would be defeated no doubt. He could handle a little loss I think.

"Well, it makes me kinda mad, but I suppose you're right," a girl muttered.

The boys also murmured in agreement with Sudou. "I'm really not that great at sports. If Sudou's okay handling the recommended-participant events single-handedly, I'm fine with that."

"Then it's decided, right? I'll do all the events for recommended participants," Sudou declared.

"If everyone's okay with that strategy, then I suppose the recommended participant in every category will be—"

"Wait." Horikita cut in just before Hirata approved the proposal. "I've got a supplementary proposal."

The other students turned to look at her.

"If we have to choose between these two approaches, then I agree that we should go with the ability system. However, that single tactic isn't guaranteed to carry us to victory," explained Horikita.

"Sure, that's true," said Hirata.

"I agree that the most athletic students should take part in events for recommended participants. But, even in events for all participants, we should group the people who have the best chance of winning. That way, we maximize everyone's potential. Put simply, the strongest, fastest students should be grouped together," said Horikita.

"So you took a Darwinist approach to this," Kanzaki muttered.

Charles Darwin is most famous for his theory of natural selection. It could also be described as the survival of the fittest where the strong rule and the weak serve or die out. It was originally based on how animals evolved and it's backed up with lots of genetic proof and evidence that supports his theory so his idea is what's commonly treated as fact today.

"It leaves some people with little hope to gain anything but it gives us the best possible odds," Horikita explained.

Her reasoning was grounded in logic but still, some people want benefits even if it is illogical.

"Hold on a minute. Won't that leave slower people high and dry?" Shinohara was the first to object. "Privileges only go down to third place. I don't want to throw away my shot."

"Your personal feelings are irrelevant. It's for the sake of the class," replied Horikita.

"I know it's for the class's sake, but I don't want to lose out on private points."

"If the class wins, the reward will be ample—easy to divide among us. Is that not enough for you?"

"I don't want to miss out on individual rewards, like earning test points!"

"I understand your desire. However, your logic confuses me. If you just studied ahead of time, before an exam, you wouldn't need to rely on those privileges," said Horikita.

"Besides, you probably wouldn't win anything anyway. I mean, with your lackluster athletic ability, it's not as though you'll place in the top three."

"Man, you're cold. Not wrong but still cold," Ishizaki looked kind of scared of Horikita.

"I apologise Horikita, I was only looking out for my best interests," Shinohara apologised, come to think of it she's been doing that a lot recently.

Horikita nodded.

"Not everyone is as smart as you, Horikita-san. Don't just lump all of us together," snapped Shinohara.

"Then just study longer every day. I don't want to hear your excuses anymore."

Supporting voices rose throughout the classroom, all in favor of Horikita's logic. The athletes, like Sudou, were particularly on board with her plan. However, Shinohara still looked annoyed, and she probably wasn't the only one.

"Enough already, Shinohara. If we lose because of you, will you take responsibility? Huh?" Sudou, normally the worst in terms of academic ability, now beamed with hope and a sense of leadership.

"That's...ugh."

"I was agreeing with you until there. Some people just can't study, there's nothing wrong with that but telling them to 'just study' is a flawed way of thinking," Ichinose commented.

Ichinose was right. Case examples like Sudo and Ike simply can't study and the only way they were able to keep their grades up was through the help of someone else. And some people study better with diagrams and pictures while others work better with words, if someone can't study or doesn't know what methods the best for them then it's pointless to study as you won't get anywhere.

"Yes. You're correct, just studying without help or any knowledge of what to start on isn't beneficial at all," Horikita muttered.

"I feel like when the person who's weakest in academics is advocating for the method that's worst for him then it would be an obvious sign that you should probably listen to them," Asahina muttered.

"Sudo may have been the worst in academics but he had the highest chance to get test points, so it equals out for him," Nagumo rebuked

"Sudo's argument was flawed but the overall argument was grounded in reasoning and logic. This didn't need a big debate," Manabu sighed.

"Honestly, what a pain," Horikita muttered in my direction. "It's like you're not even paying attention. Instead of messing around on your phone, how about you try coming up with ways for us to win?"

"Well, if I just leave it to you and Hirata, you'll sort out our problems, right?" I replied. Still, I turned my phone off and placed it in my pocket.

The discussion appeared to be over—or so I thought.

"Hey, excuse me? I object to this, too. You're okay with sentencing the unathletic students to lose, like Shinohara said? You think we can all come together in a situation like this?" Karuizawa spoke up, supporting Shinohara.

She glared at Horikita.

"I've said as much. Do you understand my logic?"

"No. I don't get it at all. Hey, what do you think, Kushida-san?" asked Karuizawa.

Kushida had been strangely quiet during the meeting. She seemed slightly surprised, but spoke after a moment. "It's tough. I've been thinking about how both sides feel. Like Horikita-san, I want us to succeed as a class. But, just like Shinohara-san said, everyone should have a chance to win. If there were some kind of middle-ground solution, that would be ideal. A strategy we could all get behind."

"That's idealism, isn't it? It's not always possible to reach a middle ground strategy," Himeno said.

"You are right, but Kushida simply wanted to play both sides. A middle ground would be the first thing we did if it was possible, but she simply wanted to play the part of an angel," Matsushita ridiculed.

"Quite harsh words from a background character," Kushida insulted.

"So common insults are all you're using, you've fallen lower than I thought."

I could've stepped in and kept Kushida in check but there was no reason to. Kushida has no power or influence in the school, all of her insults are just that, insults. They don't mean anything and won't result in anything and Kushida knows this. From her perspective, there is no point in being nice so she'll just bring others down to her level.

Once Kushida was done, there were a lot of noises of assent. Horikita seemed to have anticipated this idea.

"Of course. I have a compromise that should be agreeable to both sides. Students who place at the top, and don't need to boost their test scores, will use the private points they win to boost the test scores of students who place at the bottom. The entire class will share in the gains and losses of private points from the festival. I trust there will be no complaints?" asked Horikita.

So, in exchange for lowering our chances of victory across the board, we less-athletic students would also offset the risks in case we were defeated. The bottom ten students across each grade level would still be in trouble, though.

"You say that as if you're on the same level as those morons," Yagami thought.

"Oh, yeah, that'd be fine," said Sudou with a disdainful snort, as if he were calling the opposition pathetic whiners.

"But that's just for points. We're still losing out on chances to win the big prize. What does everyone think about that?" Karuizawa wasn't letting this go. She looked over to her group of girls.

"If Karuizawa-san objects, then so do I, I guess." One after another, the girls followed her lead.

"You're objecting just because she objected? That's completely illogical. This is an exam. It's only natural that we focus on a winning strategy. The other class definitely isn't weighed down by morons like you," grumbled Horikita.

"You just don't get it, do you, Horikita-san? I hate this plan, and the other girls hate it, too. So, you need to take our opinions into account. We have to make these competitions fair," said Karuizawa.

"Why were you so adamant on this proposal? It doesn't make any sense," Sato inquired.

"I had my reasons."

"Karuizawa isn't so much of an idiot that she can't see pure reasoning. It may be a leap of logic but Ayanokouji might have put her up to this," Matsushita thought.

"Quite a sad showing considering you're supposed to be their leader," Ryueen chuckled.

"I wasn't their leader back then," Horikita responded.

"So class D was just anarchy then? Not much better," Ryuuen grinned.

"Ayanokouji put her up to this, no doubt in my mind," Ryuuen thought.

"Calm down, both of you," said Hirata. "If we can't agree, then we've got to have a majority vote."

This had probably been inevitable.

"I think we should vote," continued Hirata.

"If Yousuke-kun says so, then I agree," said Karuizawa.

"Fine. This isn't the time to fight amongst ourselves. At any rate, I've offered my opinion. I hope you'll all make the right decision," said Horikita.

She sat down in frustration and glared at me. "Ayanokouji-kun, can't you tell Karuizawa-san to shut up?" she huffed.

"Uh, no. There's no way I could do that," I said.

"You've been talking to her lately, though. Haven't you? Isn't that why she's getting carried away?"

"No. Karuizawa's always been like that," I replied.

"That's certainly true," Horikita muttered. She couldn't hide her irritation with Karuizawa, whose opinion lacked logic, or with the girls who let someone else lead them around.

"Wow. Class D takes a millennium to get to the obvious solution, what a surprise," Hashimoto groaned.

"I guess I know why you're talking with her now," Horikita muttered.

"You made her disagree, didn't you Ayanokouji?" Sakayanagi coldly smiled at me.

"I did. I explain so just watch," I responded and left no opening for questions.

"I knew it. Karuizawa essentially is his cover to act with the opinions of the class while Horikita is his cover to act with his schemes," Matsushita thought.

Horikita was a little surprised by this but got over it quickly.

"Now then," said Hirata. "We have Horikita's proposal, which focuses on ability, and Karuizawa-san's, which prioritizes the individual. How about we decide which plan we prefer by a show of hands? If anyone finds choosing a side difficult, they can abstain."

Horikita wanted to win, while Karuizawa wanted everyone to feel valued. The class's future would depend on whether people used their heads or their hearts. Of course, I myself had zero interest in the outcome.

"All right. All those in favor of Horikita-san's plan?"

"Yeah. I agree with Horikita's plan, of course," said Sudou. "It's about winning. When winners win, we all win. Ain't that a good thing?"

Sudou raised his hand. Those who had no confidence whatsoever in their athletic abilities, like Yukimura and Sakura, followed his lead. But the more capable students, along with Karuizawa's group, didn't raise their hands.

"Sixteen votes, then. Thank you. You can put your hands down."

"Wait a minute, Ayanokouji-kun. Don't tell me you agree with Karuizawa-san's plan?" said Horikita, who realized that I hadn't raised my hand.

"Relax. It's my policy to abstain from voting."

"In that case, you could just have voted for my plan," she growled.

"Your plan isn't necessarily right, is it?" I asked.

"I can't understand you. Giving the class the best-possible chance of winning will ultimately result in netting a lot of private points. Even if we only won a few matches here and there, the points would be significant. If you say that's wrong, perhaps you can give me a clear reason why?"

"I didn't say you were wrong. I'm just saying it's not the only answer," I replied.

The students used as sacrificial lambs, sent out to be destroyed by strong opponents, would finish the sports festival without earning any points at all. Horikita did understand that much, at least. But she also thought it was a necessary sacrifice in order to win.

"The other students aren't all as ambitious as you," I told her.

"Is there a better solution that would have worked?" Yosuke asked with a curious gaze.

"I didn't mean there was a better solution, I meant that there isn't a right or wrong choice here," my answer was somewhat vague but it got my point across.

"I guess it may not be so black and white but I still believe that my choice was the best one," Horikita responded.

"Don't get me wrong, I think you had the best proposal but if the students wanted to compete as individuals compared to the class then the opposing idea would be better," I told her.

"All right. Next, we have Karuizawa-san's plan. Anyone in favor of this plan, to win when we need to and have fun when we want to, please raise your hand," said Hirata.

Along with Karuizawa's group, other students began raising their hands.

"And the results of the majority vote are...sixteen votes for Horikita-san's plan, and thirteen votes for Karuizawa-san's. It's safe to say that everyone else abstained from voting?"

Karuizawa hadn't won votes with a well-articulated plan. Rather, she relied on her installed support base to do what it could. Apparently, most students believed that Horikita's plan was realistic and efficient.

"So eleven didn't do anything and you only won because some more people believed in logic," Hiyori criticised.

"I admit, this was a close call. The class could have been doing something completely different if the votes were just slightly different," Horikita sighed.

Class D's strategy would be, not to participate as individuals, but to win as a class.

"..." Since Karuizawa had approved a majority vote, she couldn't complain now.

"Then it's decided," said Horikita. "Now, Hirata-kun, I'll leave the rest to you."

I didn't think we'd necessarily made a bad choice. Unathletic students wouldn't be taking the initiative in the first place. Inevitably, those asked to fill the recommended-participant positions would be jocks like Sudou and Hirata.

"So, regarding the number of participants for recommended-participant events..." Hirata continued.

"I'll participate in every competition. If anyone's got something to say about that, then they can meet me outside, and we'll talk face-to-face," Sudou declared. He had one card, and he was playing it all the way. Furthermore, he apparently intended to force anyone who complained to surrender. Too aggressive, but the strategy seemed effective, since no dissatisfied grumbling could be heard.

"I will also compete in as many events as possible." As expected, Horikita volunteered herself. Karuizawa's face stiffened slightly. The girls around her quietly whispered in one another's ears, and I wondered if they were badmouthing Horikita.

The self-nominations and recommendations began pouring in, one after another, and soon the recommended participants were decided. Sudou would compete in every competition, just as he'd declared. Other students who were good at sports, like Kushida and Onodera, also offered to participate, in addition to Horikita and Hirata. However, we had only filled about a third of the events for all participants. The rest of the spots remained open.

"Hey, Kouenji. Ain't you gonna cooperate?" asked Sudou, glaring daggers at him. Even Sudou recognized that Kouenji possessed potential equal to, if not greater than, his own. "You didn't raise your hand earlier."

"Ah, something worth watching is finally here. I was awfully bored," Koenji looked dazzled by the screen.

"Koenji, I hate to admit it but you're better than me," Sudo grimaced at his own words.

"I'm glad you realised, you've come so far red-hair," Koenji didn't even look at him.

"God, you're so goddamn infuriating," Sudo was fuming.

"I have no interest in this. You people do what you like."

"Stop screwing around, you jerk."

"I assure you, I am not 'screwing around.' I have no reason to let you bully me into anything," replied Kouenji. Yep, he was never going to change.

"We don't need to decide everything right here and now, Sudou-kun. Kouenji-kun must have his reasons." Hirata tried to deescalate the situation.

"At the very least, we've decided what the class's strategy will be, and who wants to participate in individual competitions. I think that it would be best to take our time with the rest."

With that, the discussion came to an end.

"Can't your class ever agree on anything? Even hairclip's class over there does a better job," Ryuuen complained.

Ichinose and Kanzaki didn't respond. It would just be hypocritical of both of them to do that after what happened recently. Kanzaki looks a lot more distant from his class than usual and Ichinose looks a lot more worried. She hasn't come to talk to me even after she looked worried for me previously, but she can take her time.

"Our class at least has the ability to voice out their opinions, whereas yours lives under tyrannical rule," Horikita scoffed at him.

"A dictatorship is better than complete anarchy," Ryuuen retorted.

After class, I had some free time. I decided to contact a certain person before heading back to the dorm. As I rose, I exchanged looks with Karuizawa.

She must not have understood my intentions, because she left the classroom with two of her friends. Giving up, I grabbed my bag and started to head back to my dorm alone, like always. I left roughly one minute after Karuizawa.

Upon descending the stairs, however, I found her seemingly waiting for me, standing alone by the main entrance. "Wait," she said.

"I thought you left."

"I thought you had something you wanted to talk about, so I waited. Was I wrong?"

I couldn't help my surprise. "I do, I suppose."

"Well, I have something to talk to you about, too. Mind hearing me out?"

"Go ahead."

"That message you sent me... What are your real intentions?"

She showed me her phone. The text displayed on the screen read, "No matter what, object to Horikita's plan. Then ask Kushida for her opinion."

Horikita looked surprised, but her expression turned into one of annoyance, "So you were on your phone trying to make things difficult for me."

"I had my reasons."

"Did you have to include Kushida?" Horikita asked

Kushida's involvement here was crucial. It took away any suspicion she had of me when Kei threw water on her which resulted in her nearly getting expelled. From Kushida's perspective I am on Horikita's side, so if Kei opposes me then it crosses out the possibility of me and Kei being connected. Asking Kushida here was essential.

"I had to do it. You'll see later," that was all I said.

I'd instructed Karuizawa to do that in the middle of class.

"When it comes to improvising, you're quite fast on your feet. You did very well," I told her.

"Really? You know, I actually agreed with Horikita-san's plan. I don't understand why you had me call on Kushida-san, either. What are you playing at?" she asked.

"If you worry over each and every thing I do, you'll never know peace. Besides, I'm under no compunction to answer your questions. Understand?" I asked.

"So, I should just do as I'm told, like a loyal dog, and never ask why. Got it."

"Exactly."

"We had a pretty stagnant relationship back then, I'm happy it's better now," Kei said happily.

I nodded. Our relationship has grown exponentially since then but there are still things we both don't know about each other. I don't her who caused her scar and she doesn't know my past. Neither of us wants to bring up the past, it simply just wastes energy.

Karuizawa didn't seem pleased, but didn't object further. "One more thing. You didn't raise your hand. Which choice did you think was right?" she asked.

"They could both be right, I guess. Everything depends on the individual, anyway."

"That's not an answer."

"I have a policy of ignoring questions trapped in the limited 'either-or' binary," I said.

"Huh? I don't get you. What do you even want, anyway? Are you just trying to wreak havoc on everyone? Or are you seriously thinking about getting from Class D to Class A?"

"Horikita seems to believe I'm fighting for the latter, at the very least."

Karuizawa glared, as if to say, That's not what I asked. "I wasn't asking what Horikita-san thinks. I want you to knock off the space-cadet act and just tell me what you're after."

"I see. Well, I'm not personally interested in reaching Class A. It's just that I think it might benefit me if our class rises to the top," I said.

"Wait, what does that mean? What's the difference?" I decided not to mention my bargain with Chabashira-sensei.

Chabashira had taken a large backseat recently when it comes to class affairs, but her blackmailing of a student still brings her lots of disdain in the eyes of the students.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you. So, I'm taking several precautions to make you believe down the line. One of our classmates will betray us during this sports festival. They'll leak internal information from our class," I said.

It was as if a bomb was dropped on the class. Essentially everyone besides the main leaders were suspects. Someone like Ike who was low on points or someone with a big mouth who accidentally leaked it were possible causes, but the eventual suspects were listed down to a couple of people.

I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Kushida looked slightly more pale than usual. If her betrayal was revealed then the other students would actively try and expel her. As of now, they don't do anything as it's a deadlock with Kushida having power over the students and them not being able to do anything, but if she became a candidate for expulsion from here onwards then her secrets would all be gone with her.

"Ayanokouji, this seems like something you might do as part of a big scheme," Keisei said.

"What makes you think that?"

"You already know there's a leak and you do things that most people would find stupid," Keisei explained.

"Unfortunately, I can't reach your expectations. I had no part in this," I told the truth. Keisei was surprised but nodded and watched the screen.

"Wait, what?! Are you being serious right now?!" Karuizawa was incredulous.

"When the time comes, you'll understand...what I'm seeing, what I can see," I told her.

"Huh?! Tell me what's going on!"

"I can't right now. But when the time comes, I will. Right now, you should go. We're drawing too much attention here."

"You don't need to tell me that. If I were seen hanging out with a weirdo like you, my social cred would plummet. But...even if someone does betray the class, we'll be okay. Right?" she asked.

"Yes. I've prepared."

Looking dissatisfied, Karuizawa turned and left. I watched her walk away and sighed to myself. Class D's strategy was in motion, as was my own personal plan. Now then, I wonder what Class A has in mind? Considering Katsuragi's personality, their strategy would be solid. But Sakayanagi would be good for the White Team, of course, and also for Class D.

Imagine a hypothetical situation with two people and only one life- saving apparatus—let's say a life jacket, meaning that only one of the two people can live. One person is able-bodied, and one disabled. If the able-bodied person chose to save themselves, they could probably take the life jacket by force with relative ease, due to the other person's disability. The world is cruel. A crisis tends to bring out the worst in us.

"A person's true colours are shown when faced with adversity," Horikita said.

"You said that to seem cool, didn't you?" I teased.

"No. Not at all, it's all in your head," She said.

"What a grim example, you have some screws loose," Ryuuen scoffed.

"Didn't you just lie then? You said that you prepared for a betrayal but we ended up losing pretty badly," Matsushita implored.

"When did I say that I planned to win the festival?"

My somewhat cocky statement surprised the rest of the class, so much so that they didn't say anything afterwards.

That said, just because Sakayanagi wasn't physically active didn't mean she was harmless.

"Even so..."

Karuizawa was better at reading people than I'd imagined, probably because of her past. Satisfied with the completion of some rather unexpected business, I decided to head back.

"Oh, I'm a perfectly harmless person Ayanokouji," Sakayanagi giggled.

"Time for some physical evaluations, enjoy!"

Oh no... my general knowledge gap is going to be shown.

There was a lot to do before the sports festival. Our physical education classes would be free periods from here on out, granting students permission to practice however they wanted to.

Hirata submitted a request to the school and obtained a device for measuring grip strength, which he brought to our P.E. period the next day. In line with Horikita's plan, we would prioritize ability. Hirata's device was simple, but should help. Quite a few of the boys' competitions would require pure power.

"Okay, let's line up. How about we measure the grip strength of our dominant hand? I'll record the results. I borrowed two of these, so we can split up to save time."

Hirata handed the devices to the people standing at his left and right: Hondou and Yukimura. Sudou, who apparently didn't like that, snatched one device for himself.

"Let's start with me, Hirata. That'll set a high standard," he said. His logic didn't track, so he probably just wanted to showcase his own strength.

"How does he see through me so easily?" Sudo thought.

It's been a while since I've tested my maximum grip strength but the human body grows exponentially during puberty and that also includes body mass and strength. While grip strength mainly needed to train a few specific muscles, having the strength to train them better would yield a better result.

"Um... Well then, let's have Sotomura-kun stand next to you and take his measurement simultaneously, Sudou-kun," replied Hirata.

"Check it out, Ayanokouji. This is what a real man looks like. Uraaah!" said Sudou, with a suitable bellow.

His shoulders shook while he tightly gripped the device in his right hand. The numbers on the digital readout shot up rapidly. In an instant they climbed to 50, then 60, then over 70. In the end, the number on the digital display was 82.4 kilograms. Everyone around us went crazy.

"What the heck, dude? You're stupidly strong!"

"That's an insanely high number, what type of freak are you?" Ishizaki said with awe.

"You just need to... train... specific muscles," Albert said while holding a Japanese dictionary.

"Heh. It's just 'cause I train all the time. Only natural. Hey, come on. You do it, Kouenji." Sudou displayed his score to Kouenji, almost as if trying to provoke the other boy.

"I'll pass. Ignore me." Kouenji polished his fingernails and blew on them.

"What? You scared of losing to me or something? Guess that's understandable. Heh!" It was an obvious jab, but Kouenji didn't respond.

"I wanted you to keep some semblance of pride red-hair," Koenji laughed.

"Tch. Next sports festival you're doing this or are you just all talk?" Sudo provoked Koenji with a challenge.

"My, red-hair what a sad attempt at manipulation. Who's to say that we even get a sports festival this year?" Koenji smirked.

"Tch. Oh, hey. Ayanokouji."

Sudou shoved the device into my hand.

"No thanks. I'll do it later."

"Huh? Come on, don't mess around. We gotta do it in order."

Coming from Sudou, that was rich—82.4 kilograms was a considerably high number. But it was also true that I was next in line. I wondered what the average value was for a first-year high school student. I'd used grip strength measurement devices hundreds of times before, but never once had I heard the average for people my age. I only had my own personal records.

"Hey, Sudou. What do you think the average would be for a high school student?" I asked.

"Huh? I dunno. Maybe, like, around 60?"

"Around 60, huh?"

"Isn't it closer to like 50?"

"Yeah, that's around what most people in my class got."

Various remarks about my lack of general knowledge and how 60 is fairly high for a high schooler.

"Did you train grip strength a lot before, Senpai?" Yagami asked.

"I did do it a lot, but I haven't done it since the sports festival last year."

Although my body has gotten stronger, my general training and technique would have worsened after such a long time. Just like any skill, you have to practice to keep it.

I grasped the grip strength measurement device so that I could see the monitor. Grip strength wasn't simply proportional to your arm's thickness, though of course, it wasn't completely unrelated, either. A bunch of muscles known as the "flexor carpi radialis" and the "brachioradialis" in your forearm were most important. The forearm muscles contracted, pulling on the tendons, and thus bending the fingers. The idea was to improve grip strength by training those muscles.

If you had a certain amount of muscle mass, depending on your degree of training, you could exceed a grip strength of 100 kilograms. Of course, you would need to spend a lot of time training to achieve that.

I gripped the lever, slowly applying force. Once I passed 44, I started to make minute adjustments to my grip strength. Once I passed 55, I further adjusted my grip, and once my grip strength reached just slightly over 60, I stopped adding any more force.

"You could have clearly gone higher. Man, I was excited for a second," Hashimoto heckled.

"I didn't really want to go higher."

"Out of curiosity, what's your personal record Ayanokouji?" Nagumo asked with daggers in his eyes.

Now I was dealing with inner turmoil. If I refused to answer then the most likely possibility to happen would be Nagumo being more interested in me or even worse would be Amasawa revealing my score which would surely cause many needless questions. If I did tell him then I'd get out of here with little questions currently but more people would be afraid of me.

"It was around 100.7kg," I opted to tell the truth.

"Wait, you said you hadn't practised since the sports festival but we never saw you do anything before the festival either, was this before you entered the school?" Sudo looked shocked.

"I'd rather not say more than I have to," The big thing was revealed, there's no point in making this go further.

"Although the numerical difference between us wasn't huge, the effort needed to even reach there was much more than I could do," Yagami sighed as he thought.

"That's it. I can't go any further."

I released my grip on the device and handed it over to Ike, who stood next to me. Then I went to give Hirata my result.

"My grip strength was 60.6." I delivered my report casually.

"Heh. You're pretty strong, Ayanokouji-kun," replied Hirata. He gave me a smile, as though he were impressed.

"Huh? Wait, isn't that around average?"

"I think the average is lower than that, actually. 45 or 50?" mused Hirata.

"Hirataaaa. I got a 42.6. Can you give me a few tiny bonus points and make it 50?" asked Ike. That wasn't a tiny bonus.

Hirata, smiling wryly, wrote down 42.6 in his notebook. Sotomura got 42, and Miyamoto, who went afterwards, got a 48. There were certainly a lot of people scoring under 50.

"I see. So, 60 was high, then."

"You don't have a lot of general knowledge, do you?" Nagumo chuckled.

Unfortunately, he was right. "Yes. You're correct."

When I was in the white room, general and miscellaneous knowledge such as this was treated as pointless and thus was removed from the list of things that I needed to learn. But judging from Amasawa, the white room has changed to accommodate things that it previously believed was meaningless.

"Now for the final video of the day."

"There's a little over an hour left until Sudou's turn, huh?"

This was quite a big jump ahead in time.

"Hey Ken, where'd you go?" Ike asked casually.

Although, Sudo looked disheartened, "I guess you could consider it a temper tantrum."

"I think you're completely right Sudo, it was nothing but a child's tantrum," Horikita coldly said to him. "But it's not like I'm much better," She added.

The dash continued for the second-and third-year students, followed by a fifty-minute break. If Sudou didn't return before the break ended, it'd be checkmate. With our ace in the hole gone, we'd never win. Only one person in our class could get to him.

I wondered if Horikita understood just how vital her role was. After I placed third in the 200-meter dash, I waited for her to finish her own race.

"Horikita, do you know what happened with Sudou?"

"I saw it. He realized what a disappointment he was, then ran away."

"Well...yeah, I guess that's true."

"Why are you here? You're not going to request that I bring Sudou-kun back, are you?"

"If you already know, then don't ask. Do you understand you're the only one who can help?" I inquired.

"I don't think so. There are other people who can do something. There's no way I possibly could," she said.

Was she serious? Yeah, she probably was. She had no idea that Sudou had a crush on her.

Horikita already knew of Sudo's feelings and hadn't said anything about them which would probably be considered a no. I doubt he'd realised that right now but he might in the future.

"Besides, I'm not exactly in a position to worry about other people right now," Horikita added.

She was indeed suffering. She had a lot to deal with on her own. I understood her feelings. Besides, pretty much no one wanted to go find Sudou. They'd abandoned him, although they knew that he could save us in the sports festival. Everyone's trust in him had evaporated. If Hirata or Kushida had stormed off, the entire class would've gone looking for them.

"Here's how I see it," I said. "You can't take care of your classmates, and you can't control yourself. What's the point of you, then? You're nothing but a burden."

My words brought upon a sudden shift among my classmates. My reputation could be described as a person climbing a mountain. It was slow but would eventually get to the top, however, with one wrong move it would fall into the abyss. Right now this is a moment where the rock I'm supporting myself with isn't secure. I could fall or I could continue higher.

"I don't think she's a burden," Sudo said somewhat agitated.

"Horikita did a lot for us."

"Yeah, you can't just say shit like that."

Currently, it seems that I'm back to where I started. Although I know that this will be temporary, and it's a good thing that they're defending Horikita with such haste. If they actually agreed with me I would have thought that my actions throughout the last year would have been pointless.

"That's an awful thing to say. I'm sorry I got hurt, but I had bad luck. Some things you can't control, right?"

"Bad luck, huh? You see your injury as just that—an injury. You haven't realized a thing."

"Don't make fun of me. I understand the seriousness of the situation. Clearly, we have a traitor who leaked our participation table to Ryuuen-kun. I never thought that someone in our class would want to destroy us, but there's nothing I can do about that right now," said Horikita.

The uneasiness is back and the distrust between my class rose once again. Although through the process of elimination it wouldn't be too hard to find who would be the most likely culprit in this situation.

"Hey, Horikita. You know who the traitor is, right?" Shinohara asked.

I could tell that Horikita was hesitating to answer. If she told the truth then Kushida would turn into a scapegoat for expulsion but that wasn't the problem here. It provided an idea in the student's minds. Kushida was able to get away with multiple sabotages, so who's to say that there won't be any more in the future? For a few points, people would do anything.

"Your leader knows herself and she won't even tell you guys. She's probably afraid that more people might jump to subterfuge for a quick buck. When your own fucking leader herself has so little faith in you is pretty fucking sad," Hosen said with a snort.

"I think we should let Horikita te-," Yosuke started but was cut off.

"It's alright, Hirata. Kushida was the one who betrayed us. Just so you all know, she was caught out extremely fast so don't think you can get away with this," Horikita ended her confession with a small warning. Kushida looked agitated and glared at Horikita once again while the class glared at her.

If things continued like this then Kushida would be expelled very soon.

"What else have you noticed?"

"What else? I know that Ryuuen-kun provoked Sudou-kun."

"That's right. Even with all the information in the world on Ryuuen's side, Sudou—our class's MVP—was still nearly undefeatable. So, Ryuuen needled and provoked him on purpose, until he got Sudou to drop out."

"Yeah, and that's why our class is in shambles right now."

"Have you noticed anything else?"

"Wait, you can't mean... You want to speculate?" asked Horikita. "Do I think that Ryuuen-kun set a trap for me? Yes, I certainly do. I guess he told Kinoshita-san to trip me. But it's hard to blatantly, deliberately cause injury when we're under such heavy scrutiny. I can't imagine Ryuuen and his team would intentionally injure me so badly I couldn't satisfactorily continue with the competition."

Ryueen just laughed at Horikita's reasoning.

"I'm surprised that you thought that Ryuuen here wouldn't do sabotage. It's his forte after all," Sakayanagi giggled.

Kinoshita looked uncomfortable at the situation. She probably didn't want to injure Horikita but was either bribed or forced by Ryuuen.

If I had wanted to, I could have offered her evidence that the injury was certainly intentional. But that wasn't really important. Instead I said," How long do you plan to be useless, Horikita?"

Now, the class C students looked uncomfortable. I had practically said that I had a mole in their class.

"So we had a mole in the class," Kaneda sighed.

"It didn't affect us anyway, so it's not that bad," Ishizaki said.

Ishizaki was with Ibuki when she advocated for Manabe's expulsion and also when Ryuuen was searching for me. It wouldn't be surprising if he knew who it was.

Unless I took drastic measures, Horikita Suzune would never wake up.

"On what grounds do you call me useless?"

"I'm calling you useless because you are useless."

"How dare you? I'm a highly capable student and athlete. I have the utmost confidence that I can triumph over any of these good-for-nothings. Besides, since the information on our class already leaked, isn't it too late for us to do anything? It's not just me—we're all powerless here. So, why label me useless?"

"If you were an ordinary student, it would be fine for you to say that. But that's not the case, is it? If you're aiming for Class A, and want to lift your classmates up with you, then it's about time that you develop an ability to see the big picture."

Manabu had a slight smile at my words. My words here were what he wanted to convey but wasn't able to due to Horikita's expectations of him.

"I admit that you were right," Horikita grumbled.

"You grew up so fast," I borrowed Koenji's words from earlier.

"I take back what I said previously," Horikita said in annoyance.

"That's why I asked you for evidence!" Horikita shouted.

Our classmates turned toward us to see what was going on.

"'We have a traitor who leaked our participation table.'" I repeated Horikita's words back at her. "'Ryuuen-kun provoked Sudou-kun,' 'I guess he told Kinoshita-san to trip me.' It's certainly true that you can't do anything about those things—because you didn't do anything about them. And, as long as you continue to do nothing, nothing is going to change. Do you plan on whining like this when Ryuuen pulls off another brilliant scheme? You don't, do you?"

Ryuuen looked smug. He had that expression a lot recently.

"Being a leader means being able to ensure that you can look out for everyone below you. I hope you understand that now, Suzune," Manabu said calmly.

"I don't completely agree with you there, Senpai," Yagami said.

"Then what do you believe a leader is?" Manabu inquired.

"What you've said is true, a leader is at the top of the organisation and has to look out for everyone below them, but the leader is also a slave to it as a whole," Yagami's words made everyone listen to him.

Yagami continued, "You have to do anything to make sure it stays afloat. Depleting your enemy, maximising your allies worth and anything possible to keep surviving."

"I'll be revealed eventually. I don't really want to switch up all of a sudden so I'll show my true self slowly," Yagami thought.

"His words... are awfully similar to Ayanokouji's," Ichinose thought.

"So a Machiavellian approach," Manabu muttered.

"That's... But, what could I possibly...?"

"You can either prioritize improving your own ranking while Sudou remains absent, or you can let your ranking plummet while Sudou returns and helps pull the class forward. Which of those best serves Class D?" I asked.

"There's no need to answer that, is there? You aren't nearly as valuable as Sudou right now. It's time you get the fact that you're completely useless through your skull. Sudou's methods are clumsy, sure, but he's contributed more to our class than anyone else in this festival. And he's been trying his absolute hardest to win. Is it really okay for you to give up on him just because you claim you can't afford to care about other people? You're going to let him sit this out?"

Horikita had to understand that much. Even if what I said hurt her, she needed to wake up. I wanted her to acknowledge exactly what she had to do from this point on.

"This is so obvious that even an elementary school kid should get it. There's only one thing we can do to prepare a counterattack." Ryuuen had strategically taken out Sudou, which meant that we had to strategically get Sudou back.

"You're throwing away a chance to obtain a weapon that belongs to you, and you alone," I said.

"A weapon for me alone?"

"If you're aiming for Class A, there's a limit to how much you can do on your own. Right now, you're in a situation where you can't do much of anything. You're going to face more and more exams like this in the future. When those take place, Sudou will definitely become a valuable asset. For you to make use of that asset, what should you do right now? Pray that your injured leg heals miraculously?"

Just as I used Hirata and Karuizawa as my weapons, Horikita had the opportunity to obtain a weapon of her own. It would be foolish for her to let that chance go by.

"I can't say that I didn't expect that," Yosuke said quietly.

My relationship with Yosuke had been fairly strained recently. He said that he won't go against me and see how this develops. He never antagonised me but he isn't as easy to interact with recently.

"I..."

"I'll let you think about it. That's my only advice."

There was nothing more for me to tell her. Right now, Horikita needed defeat and rebirth.

The scene faded to black.

"I know that Suzune only went there because of Ayanokouji, but she still spoke her true thoughts," Sudo thought.

We were asked to leave and I went back to my room and got changed for my meetup that I had setup this morning. I have no doubt in my mind that the person I sent the letter to will show up simply because of curiosity. I headed to the back of the dorm where I told them to go and waited.

A good 5 minutes passed until he showed up.

"Ayanokouji? Was it you who sent this?" Kanzaki said as he locked eyes with mine. He had the letter in his hand.

Kanzaki seemed shocked but continued, "Why did you call me out here?"

This was the obvious question of course, "What do you think about your class?"

"Why would I tell you that?" Kanzaki was reasonably cold towards me. He never had the best relationship with me in the first place and now that this had happened he was extremely wary.

"You don't have anyone else to tell, do you?"

"That may be so, but so what?"

"Because I know that you want to leave the class, and I'm here to tell you why it's a wrong choice," He looked bewildered by my words.

After a few seconds of silence, Kanzaki sighed deeply, "You really like to meddle in other people's lives, don't you? Fine, I'll hear you out but take out your phone first."

If I took it out immediately and gave it to him then it would be suspicious, "Why do I have to do that?"

A simple question with a simple answer.

"I can't have you record something like this."

Kanzaki's wariness was justified so I pulled out my phone from my right pocket and gave it to him. After inspecting it to make sure no one was on a call he put it in his pocket and then turned his gaze onto me.

"So, why should I stay in Ichinose's class when there's nothing for me there?"

"No reason really," He was once again shocked. "But Kanzaki, you can change the class."

"You saw what happened, didn't you? It's like an echo chamber. The opinions of the class won't change," Kanzaki was speaking with intense frustration.

"The opinion of the class changes when Ichinose changes."

If the leader changes then the subjects have no choice but to follow, but if the opinions of the subjects change with a majority then the leader must be forced to follow the trend or they may be dethroned.

"Ichinose won't change. I have no disdain for her but her ideals simply don't align with what the school requires. She's resigned herself to not reaching class A, I don't know whether the class feels the same but they seem to be following Ichinose for now," Kanzaki was speaking from his heart. His inner turmoil, his frustrations, all of it was right here and laid bare.

Kanzaki was quietly fuming, "It's nothing but a dictatorship."

"In history, how do you think that dictatorships were taken down? Was it by the help of other nations? No. It was because the people wanted it. To change Ichinose you need allies, after that Ichinose will be forced to change with the class."

"What if she doesn't?"

"She'll be dethroned, it's customary for that to happen in revolutions after all," I said.

Kanzaki looked surprised at my blunt words, but I could tell that I was getting through to him. Kanzaki was lost, he needed a guiding hand to get out of the dark and I gave it to him. If I let him change class then he would be seen as a traitor. Kanzaki would never join my or Ryuuen's class but if he joined Sakayanagi's then he would always be seen as a traitor and would be in a state of uneasiness for the next year and a half,

"I don't have allies in the first place. And everyone is happy with Ichinose's way of doing things, what right do I have to mess that up?" Kanzaki was looking out for his classmates while simultaneously looking out for himself.

"Wasn't it you who said that you don't know what your class's feelings are? Although I'll give you a jumpstart," I told him.

He eyed me curiously, "Talk to Yuki Himeno. The girl with black hair in your class, she'll agree with you. And if she doesn't at first just tell her that I sent you."

Himeno already has interacted with me. If I did make a good impression on her then this would be easier but due to the videos about my abilities and mindset, she would follow. She would know my reputation and if she knew that Kanzaki was asking her because I told him to, she would listen since it aligns with her own views but also because she understands that I'm doing this for a reason.

"I've got one question for you," Kanzaki looked straight at my cold eyes. "Why are you helping me? Ichinose is your enemy so if she destroys herself and loses then wouldn't it be a good thing for you?"

"I am Ichinose's enemy but she isn't my enemy. I would gain nothing from her losing and falling to the bottom. The only reason I talked to you is that you're the only one capable enough to pull this off," I said.

"I see," the gears inside Kanzaki's head were turning, "I'll try it."

I'm glad he sees that way.

"Well I'll be heading back then Kanzaki, this is all I wanted to talk to you about." I walked to him and gestured to my phone.

"Oh Ayanokouji, you wrote this right? It's amazing handwriting," Kanzaki complimented me as he pulled the phone out and gave it to me.

The distance between us had shrunk today, so I wouldn't be surprised in the future but this is a lot faster than I was expecting.

"I was the best at calligraphy in my home," I bragged as I turned the corner.

I walked up the stairs, got into my room and took off my blazer. I put my hands on the collar of my white school shirt and took out a 3-centimetre device. I got the box that the professor gave to me and pulled out the wire that connected the device to the computer. After plugging in the device I clicked the play button.

"Ichinose won't change. I have no disdain for her but her ideals simply don't align with what the school requires."

I skipped a little further.

"It's nothing but a dictatorship."

I had no intention to use this ammunition against Kanzaki currently. What happens in the future could change that but for now all this is insurance.

Kanzaki's revolt. Ichinose's mindset. The reveal of the White Room. All of these things were swirling around my mind.

"This is starting to get complicated," I muttered.

Author's Notes:

So this is the beginning of volume 5.

The one thing that annoyed me about the grip strength scene was that the average for a 15-year-old was more so in the mid-30s to early 40s while something like 57 which Hirata got would be for a 29-year-old.

Anyway, Kanzaki's revolt has begun. He's going to get allies and hope to change his class. Whether he succeeds or not is up to the future.

Next time it will be the reveal of Kushida's betrayal and Horikita talking to Sudo. And if I have time then I'll add the scavenger hunt which kiyo did.

Also the first oneshot will probably be out in a day or two

That's all for this one.

A Traitors Desire

Chabashira was talking as usual about the day's plans which was the tape viewing. But I had to ask something for once.

I raised my hand, "Yes. Ayanokouji, what is it?"

"I have a question about the storing of these tapes."

I got many weird looks from my classmates.

I continued, "After a tape has been watched, what happens to it?"

Chabashira stayed silent for a moment but then answered, "All of these videos are simply just a file that the school has been given, so we just play the file and once it's done we just go on to the next one. The files are kept there even after we've viewed them."

I wondered if that was something that the teachers were actually allowed to disclose or if it was Chabashira giving me special treatment. Whatever, I got my answer.

"Thank you, Sensei."

We were asked to make a line and walk to the gym. The order of these lines doesn't matter since our seats are assigned anyway so I chose to stand behind Ike. I tapped him on his shoulder.

"Ayanokouji, what's up?" Ike asked.

"I need a favour."

After telling Ike my request, we stayed silent as the class walked into the hall.

"Let's begin."

"Ugh. Well, that was unfortunate. Just a bit more, and we might've beaten Class B."

"Yeah."

Even with a substitute for Sudou, our opponents crushed us in the four way tug-of-war. As a result, we'd been knocked down to the bottom ranking. We tried to coordinate better as a class, but Hirata got hit the hardest.

He'd shouldered the burden of paying for the substitutes, which cost him a lot of points. We were in a desperate situation, and Sudou—our ace—was still absent.

"I guess that you had a little incident," Ryueen chuckled.

I heard Sudo mutter something harsh under his breath but I couldn't make out what it was. This was his lowest point, after all, anyone would feel uncomfortable when their biggest low points are shown for everyone to witness and judge.

"I don't think Sudou-kun's coming back."

"Hirata, are you going to pay for the next competition, too?"

"Yeah, I am. We need it," he replied.

Hirata had paid three times so far, twice for Sudou and once for Horikita, who'd also planned to participate in the four-way tug-of-war. That was no small expense. If he had to pay for the next competition, the total would be 500,000 points. No matter how many private points he said he had, that was still far too much.

"Well, Sudou aside, Horikita should be able to repay you," I said.

Fortunately, Horikita had obtained a ton of points from the last exam, much like Hirata.

"Shouldn't you just let them bear the point burden this time? The participants, I mean."

"You might be right, but 100,000 points is a lot, and it's hard to save that many. Also, I'm the one who gave the go-ahead to use substitutes, so I can't exactly go asking for points," he replied.

"Don't you think the people who withdrew are the ones to blame?"

Besides, Sudou had punched Hirata. But Hirata didn't really dwell on that.

"You're seriously way too nice. If that was anyone else then a fight would have broken out," Sudo sighed.

"I don't think i'm really all that great, I just want to keep the peace," Yosuke chuckled embarrassedly.

"Keeping the peace, huh? It's admirable but stupid," Tsubaki from the first years said.

"I'm not naive enough to think that it isn't forced. It's selfish I know, but that's what I thought," Yosuke had a blank expression.

It was a selfish move on his part, but that's just how Yosuke used to lead. His selfishness is his way of being a leader. It may be wrong in some people's eyes or righteous in another's, but the thing that won't change is the fact that Yosuke himself has tried to steer away from that path.

"I suppose there's the class's victory to think about, but if we place well here, our winnings will give us an advantage on future tests. It's better if people participate. But if they have to pay their own way, a lot of students will probably pass on subbing for Sudou."

The students who most needed points for tests also suffered frequent financial troubles. They couldn't risk losing both money and test scores. The only competitions that remained were the mixed-gender three-legged race and the last event, the 1200-meter relay. Hirata was going to see if anyone wanted to participate, but at that moment, Kushida came running over to him.

"Um, Hirata-kun, would you mind if I helped, too? I'd like to participate in the three-legged race. Of course, I'll pay the points for it. Is that okay?"

"Huh?"

"I can't let you bear this burden alone. Besides, I want to try my best for the class, and for Horikita-san and Sudou-kun's sake."

The students of class D have disheartened faces. The Kushida there was nothing but a farce, the one there was just someone pretending to play the angel.

"She was probably cursing me out in her mind. Man, maybe she was even happy since she would be seen in a good light," Sudo thought with a frustrated expression.

"Try your best for their sake while you're loving their despair. And here I thought that Ayanokouji was the only walking contradiction," Ryuuen chuckled.

Kushida didn't respond. She simply bore it and tried to move past it. Kushida may have looked like she was fine and maybe even enjoying the freedom of not being tied to her other side, but she looked rather stressed. Her hair was unkempt and some people said that they haven't even seen her go outside in the past few days.

"Since you're pretty good at sports, Kushida-san, your offer is welcome."

"Thank you. I'll go tell Chabashira-sensei that I'll participate in Horikita-san's place, then," said Kushida. With that, she ran off.

"Now for a guy. I'll ask around," said Hirata.

"Hey, Hirata. Could I go in as Sudou's substitute? I'll pay the points. I can't guarantee I'll be much help, but I'll try," I said.

"Well... Yeah, sure. I don't mind, of course, but...are you okay with that?" asked Hirata.

"I don't feel right making you shoulder this alone. Besides, I'm a little anxious about the next test. I'd like to get at least one extra point."

With Hirata's permission granted, I chased after Kushida, interrupting the conversation she was already having with Chabashira-sensei.

"So, you're going to be Sudou's substitute, Ayanokouji?" Chabashira- sensei asked.

"Yes."

"Rather unusual, since you tend to prefer watching on the sidelines."

"I'm quite curious why you suddenly decided to do something right now. I doubt you were really struggling for test points or felt truly sorry for Hirata over there," Nagumo smirked.

"I just felt like it was the right moment," whatever moment I was talking about was kept vague to them for now.

"You're taking Sudou-kun's place, then, Ayanokouji-kun? I'm looking forward to racing with you!" said Kushida.

"Yeah, same. I'm not all that fast, though, so you'll have to forgive me," I replied.

"In the three-legged race, coordination's more important than simple speed," said Kushida.

"Yoo-hoo! Ayanokouji-kun! Oh, Kikyou-chan, too. Looks like we're competing in the same group, huh?" said Ichinose, walking up to us. Beside her was her partner, Shibata.

"Oh, wow, real tough opponents!" Kushida said. "To think the two of you are teaming up..."

Ichinose's class had been in a state of constant tension the past couple of days but right now they seemed fine, on the surface at least. Kanzaki was the key figure, I had advised him to contact Himeno, but so far I don't have any clue whether he had or not. I had no intention to halt or speed up his process so I stuck to my usual neutral policy.

"It's ironic that the sports festival was the only exam you guys had ever won," Ryuuen smirked.

Several class B students were confused, "What do you mean by that?" Kobashi asked.

"The sports festival was one of the only exams where you didn't need brains to win, all it required was some athleticism and you were already in a good position," Ryueen subtly insulted them.

"Well, Shibata-kun might be tough, but I'm really not all that special, you know? I haven't gotten first place in anything yet," said Ichinose.

"Really? Wow, that's unexpected," replied Kushida.

"I placed second one time, but I got fourth or fifth for all the rest of my events. To tell you the truth, someone else was supposed to participate in this three-legged race, but I guess she sprained her ankle before lunch. Quite a few people got injured this year," said Ichinose.

Apparently, Class B had some absentees of their own.

"Hey, Shibata-kun," Ichinose said to her partner. "Is it okay if I tie the cord now?"

"Okay."

The Class B pair cheerily tied their legs together.

"Well then, I suppose we should... Um, would it be okay if you tied us up? It'd be weird for a guy to do that," I told Kushida.

"Sure. But isn't that strange? I mean, you tied the cord when you practiced with Horikita-san, didn't you, Ayanokouji-kun?" Wow, she really had been observing the class like a hawk.

"She's...well, an exception. I can't act the same way around other girls."

"Are you saying Horikita's special, then?"

It'd be more accurate to say she was someone with special status, but that would be difficult to explain.

"I'm all ears Ayanokouji, please explain," Horikita asked.

"I apologise, but I don't really want to," I said bluntly.

"Watching us all like a hawk, huh? I guess that makes sense for someone like her," Matsushita surmised.

"Anyway, I can't believe Horikita-san went off looking for Sudou-kun like that," Kushida commented. "It's just that, well, she absolutely never cuts class. She's very conscientious. Don't you think it's odd?"

"Yeah, I was surprised."

"You didn't really look all that surprised, though." As Kushida said that, she crouched down and pulled the cord around my leg.

"I suppose it's hard for people to read my face. Always has been."

"You mean, you have a good poker face?"

"Kushida."

"Hold on just a little longer, okay? I'll be finished soon," Kushida said sweetly while she expertly tied the cord around our legs. I decided to cut to the chase.

"It's you. You're the traitor who leaked Class D's participation table to Class C."

The ship carrying Kushida was stuck in harsh tides. She could very well capsise today, but I can't help her just yet.

"What the fuck, it was you? Our entire day was fucked up," Sudo yelled.

"It may have been like that, but in all actuality, the class could have very well have gone better if you kept control a little more," Kushida calmly responded.

"You planned according to that, didn't you?" Matsushita accused.

"Of course I did, it's not that hard to predict. I guess the only question you guys are wondering now is why I did it," Kushida's eyes were cold, "Just watch and find out, I can't do everything for you."

Kushida had decided to antagonise herself. It left her isolated from the class, but I'll simply stand by and watch as I always do.

"Come on, Ayanokouji-kun. What's the matter with you? Even as a joke, that's a cruel thing to say," she replied.

"I saw you. You took a picture with your phone of the participation table we drew on the blackboard."

"I did that to record the information, so I would remember."

"Didn't we all decide to write down our turns by hand, though?"

"Oh, really? Sorry, I forgot." As Kushida finished tying us together, she slowly stood, beaming her usual smile. "Is that all that made you suspect me?"

"Sorry, but I'm sure I'm right. If it weren't true, Class C couldn't have massacred us like this," I replied.

It was rare for me to be standing this close to Kushida, just the two of us. This was the perfect opportunity for a chat.

"You're quite an opportunist, Ayanokouji," Nagumo chuckled at the events on the screen. Maybe he just enjoyed our class losing or perhaps it was just seeing a traitor be caught that kept him captivated.

"Um, but even if someone leaked Class D's participation table, that doesn't necessarily mean Class C could crush us, right?" Kushida asked.

"That's right." Class C hadn't been completely unmatched in every competition, which made it difficult to level any accusations. Even if they'd figured out Class D's entire order, they still wouldn't have known everything about Classes A and B. However, the leak would've significantly raised Class C's chances of winning.

"Hey, Ayanokouji-kun. Assuming that I am responsible for leaking Class D's information... If my taking a picture led you to determine that, it must mean you knew the participation table was leaked, right? In that case, why didn't you change the table after I took the picture? Couldn't you have submitted a new participation table later as a countermeasure? If you did that, the picture I took would've been useless, don't you think?"

"Pointless. That wouldn't matter if the traitor was a Class D student."

"What do you mean?"

"Say we altered the participation table just like you said, Kushida. Even if we submitted the new table secretly, as long as the traitor was from Class D, they could inspect the new list at any time. Anyone in our class had the right to see it," I replied.

"But if you hid the table until the last possible minute before submitting it, even if someone did happen to see it, they wouldn't have had time to meddle."

"That's true enough, I suppose."

"Ah, but doing something like that might end up throwing the rest of the class into chaos later. That wouldn't be good, either."

Kushida was right. If we'd waited to submit the table just before the deadline, like she said, we'd have reduced the likelihood of traitors—but also severely confused our classmates. Likewise, the other students would've resented us if we secretly changed the roster without consulting them. The ideal countermeasure would have been to consider the possibility of a leak from the very beginning, come up with multiple versions of the participation table as a class, and submit one at random.

"You're a lot smarter than I gave you credit for, or maybe someone told you to act like that. Acting so irrationally and destroying your class must have given you something important," Sakayanagi calmly examined Kushida.

"Ryuuen called her a 'faker' before. It suggests that he knew about her past," Sakayanagi surmised.

"Do you really think that Kushida here could trust anyone else and act with someone else? I thought you were smarter than that," Ryuuen's words conveyed disappointment but his tone was sarcastic.

"There was no chance of us winning anyway, all we could do was damage control," Horikita sighed.

Kushida cut the rope and made us fall to our doom but our class was already on a breaking bridge. Ryuuen would be his usual self and Sudo would still get angry, he would run off and leave the class high and dry. It may have taken longer since there was a lower chance of Ryuuen being in the events that Sudo was in but it would still be inevitable.

"I understand what you're getting at, but I'm not the culprit, okay? I don't want to suspect any of my classmates, either," said Kushida.

"In that case, how about we check with Chabashira-sensei? I'm sure she can tell us whether any students specifically asked to see the participation table after we submitted it," I replied.

"..."

Kushida shut her mouth. For the first time that day, her smile disappeared. She'd just implicitly confirmed my suspicions. However, a thin smile crept back onto her lips right away.

"Hee hee. You really aren't an ordinary person, are you, Ayanokouji- kun?"

She laughed. This was a face I'd seen before. The face of the secret Kushida.

The students were still shocked at how easy she could change her persona. They were so taken aback that they couldn't say anything.

"I suppose there's nothing I can do, now that I've been found out. Yes. I leaked the participation table," she told me.

"You admit it?"

"Yes. If you asked Chabashira-sensei, you would've found me out anyway. It was just a matter of time. Besides, even if I tell you the truth, Ayanokouji-kun, I'm confident I won't be exposed. You haven't forgotten, have you? About my uniform, which you touched?"

She was threatening me. "No. I can't expose you as the culprit. That's certainly true. Incidentally, this reminds me—during the exam on the cruise ship, we ended up with the results we did because you had Ryuuen tell all of the students that you were the VIP, right? Then you asked Ryuuen for a favor in exchange for that information."

"And what would such a favor be? What could I want enough to betray the whole class?"

"It's what you asked me about before, isn't it?"

"Ah ha ha! Yes, that's it. You really figured it out, Ayanokouji-kun."

"I'd like to hear it from your own lips," I told her.

"I wanted to expel her. Expel Horikita Suzune. That's what," she replied.

"What an irrational and flawed decision. You want her gone but you should know that the class would be in a state of constant unhappiness for the next 3 years. There would be no hope of class A," Keisei criticised.

"I don't think it would be long at all. The class got over Yamauchi's expulsion quickly, so with a tad bit of lying it wouldn't be hard," Kushida gloated.

"You're pathetic," Keisei scoffed.

"Your only use in this class is to get good grades, if someone better came along then you would have no use," Kushida mocked.

"If the class expels me then I can just leave, and there's nothing he can do to stop it," Kushida thought.

"I just don't understand why you're going after Horikita so relentlessly." I'd hoped for the two of them to resolve their issues before the sports festival, but it hadn't worked out that way.

"I'm going to get Horikita-san expelled, no matter what you say. I won't change my mind," said Kushida.

"And you're okay with sabotaging Class D to do that?"

"That's right. I don't care if I never make it to Class A, if it means Horikita-san gets expelled. Oh, but don't misunderstand me—once she's gone, I'll unite everyone, and we'll work toward reaching Class A together. I promise," said Kushida.

Apparently, there was no changing her mind. She was entirely focused on her goal. If she had to, she'd probably rope in people like Katsuragi, Ichinose, or Sakayanagi to aid her.

"Oh, but I reconsidered one thing. I added you to the list of people I want expelled, Ayanokouji-kun. After you and Horikita have been eliminated, then I'll aim for Class A," said Kushida.

I heard Amasawa let out a loud laugh. Sakayanagi and Ryuuen also looked quite amused.

"How's that genius plan of your going?" Amasawa said with a grin.

"It doesn't really exist anymore," Kushida sighed.

She still wore that gorgeous smile. Her expression was almost dazzling.

"Have you considered that Ryuuen might expose you?"

"I'm not an idiot. I obviously wouldn't do anything that left any evidence behind. Ryuuen-kun is a liar who entraps people without batting an eyelash. Well, I gambled on whether or not he would betray me," said Kushida.

I wanted to tell her that there were plenty of ways to deceive someone. A real mastermind would have found a way to make someone else the traitor in their stead. A pawn to help them achieve victory.

"It seems that you aren't a mastermind, Kushida-senpai," Yagami chuckled.

This was uncharacteristic of him. He always looked meek and harmless, yet now he's being assertive and condescending. It was like he was a different person. Maybe he grew disdain for Kushida after her other side was revealed but he was like this even with matters that didn't concern her. Right now he was an enigma to me.

"'A traitor in their stead' that sounds like something you would do, Ayanokouji," Nagumo said.

"I guess that applies to you as well," I responded.

Nagumo chuckled, "I guess that's true."

"Horikita-san's taken a real beating in this sports festival," Kushida added. "It's too bad you couldn't save her, isn't it?" I wasn't so sure about that.

With that conversation done, we ran the three-legged race, silent hostility in the air between us.

Kushida had become once again the most hated person in the class. When it came to me, I had benefited the class but my methods were immoral, but Kushida actively betrayed the class for her own selfish goals.

"What wonderful hostility, now let's see something else."

The afternoon competitions would be starting right about now. At least I'd found the red-haired student I was looking for sitting on a sofa in the dormitory lobby.

Horikita's point of view, eh. I guess this is her trying to bring Sudo back. Sudo looked strangely embarrassed, but I didn't know why. I'm just happy that I don't have to be in the spotlight for once.

"Sudou-kun." I called out gently, so as not to startle him. He turned to look at me.

"Horikita." He appeared surprised. He probably simply hadn't expected me to show up.

"Why are you here? Don't tell me you came to persuade me to go back?"

"Do I look like the type to come all the way here to persuade you?"

"That... No, you don't. So, did you come here just to scold me or somethin'?"

"I don't know about that. I must admit that I'm not sure what to say at all."

"Oh man, this is some of the best nogitating I've ever seen. Telling the person that you have no idea what you're doing," Hashimoto smirked.

"Thanks, Suzune. I know that it wasn't your choice but I'm still glad you helped me," Sudo said quietly and Horikita nodded.

"Huh?" Sudou-kun tilted his head like he didn't quite understand. I wondered why that was. I'd finally found Sudou-kun, and I felt as though I couldn't really say anything. I tried to remember why I'd tried so hard to find him.

"If you stay out of the competitions, Class D has no hope of winning."

"Probably not. Guess we're in a lot of trouble right now, huh?"

"Yes. We're at the very bottom of the rankings. To turn things around, we need to take first place in all the recommended-participant events. Even then, we won't make the top spot."

Despite having excellent athletes like Sudou-kun, Class D as a whole was clearly inferior in this sports festival.

"And after I carried everyone on my back. That Hirata," Sudou-kun huffed.

"He did nothing wrong by stopping you from going on a rampage. On the contrary, you should be grateful to him. If you'd hit Ryuuen-kun, you might have been disqualified," I replied.

"I just couldn't stand being on the receiving end of that. What Ryuuen did was foul play."

"Once again, you fail to see the point of this school. Foul play is what it's all about," Ryueen grinned.

"Shut up, you just say that because you want to screw with people," Sudo yelled.

"Okay, and?" Ryuuen mocked him in return.

"The school like fairness yet still is unfair," Manabu said.

It's true, that the school tried to make things fair for every class in a special exam yet it's unfair because they give the most capable to class A and give the least capable to class D.

The chairman didn't say anything. He just ignored Manabu's comment and continued to stare at the screen.

"You may be a bit of a problem child, but you certainly gave it your all today," I said.

Sudou hadn't acted like himself. That alone was a miracle. For his classmates' sake, he'd been as good a leader as he knew how to be. He was hot-headed, as usual, but at the root of that was a desire to win. He'd performed excellently in the group events, and I needed to acknowledge his worth.

"That said, there's still a lot you need to work on," I continued. "The fact that you're here alone right now is proof."

"The heck does that mean?"

"If people could truly rely on and trust you, you'd have a lot of classmates coming after you, not just me. People who wanted to convince you to come back, I mean."

The Sudo now would probably have at least a few people to come and bring him back. Although, Sudo would have never let it get this bad in the first place.

Sudou-kun kicked the table in irritation.

"That's the problem right there," I continued. "You try to bully your way through Class D. It happened during the midterm exams, and during the dispute with Class C. Now you've snapped and flipped out."

"You're seriously tryin' to preach to me? Give me a break, Horikita. I'm really pissed," Sudou grumbled. "Look, I messed up, but I just can't stop myself from doin' it. Nothing to do in that case, right?"

"I thought you said you were going to carry everyone in the class?"

"I never said that. The other guys were asking me to, remember?" he replied.

"Even so, you have a certain degree of responsibility."

"God. Shut up, already. I don't care about that," he huffed.

"So you just wanted the good parts and ran away when things got tough? What a bitch," Hosen laughed.

"Bitch," Sudo muttered under his breath.

"You know it's bad when Suzune is preaching to you," Ryuuen grinned.

"I guess we could have helped a little more," Ike said.

"Blaming youselves right now won't do anything. Just hope that in the next sports festival that something like this won't happen again," Horikita told them.

Horikita probably wants to make up for her mistakes in the past. The upcoming sports festival is the best way to do that so she'll probably push the class even harder than last time.

"You're as childish as always. That's not going to work in the real world, is it?"

"Shut up!" He shot me a fierce glare, as if trying to intimidate me into being quiet. But I wasn't going to give up. If anyone else had been here, they probably would have caved. Seeing that I didn't waver, Sudou-kun lost his patience and looked away.

"Your weakness is completely obvious," I said. "What will happen if you don't study? What will happen if you lash out? You lack the foresight to think ahead."

"Ah, enough already. Come on! Just leave me alone and knock it off! Your preaching is gonna make me puke!"

I believed that Sudou-kun wanted to stay at this school and do well. There had to be a reason he was the way he was. Unless I found the source of that problem, he would be trapped in an endless cycle.

Even if he wanted to be alone, I couldn't leave him. Right here and now, I would make myself understand him.

"If you don't like it, feel free to hit me," I said.

"Huh? What? You... There ain't no way I could do somethin' like that!"

"Because I'm a woman? I've said this before, but I am quite strong. I'll knock you to the ground before your fist reaches me."

"That's quite arrogant. The size difference and biological difference makes up for every type of skill you may have," Sakayanagi insulted.

In a fight, skill isn't usually what matters most. Sure, it helps but having the experience and knowledge on what to do in a fight is the best. Horikita doesn't have that, she can fight but that doesn't mean anything when Sudo would have been in more fights than her overall.

"I probably would have lost but I knew that he wasn't going to hit me," Horikita countered.

"You'll fight me? Man, you really are a weird lady. Well, like you said, no one else came after me. But you did. Just you."

Ayanokouji-kun had pushed me into it, but I didn't feel the need to tell Sudou-kun that. Perhaps Sudou-kun was tiring. He mumbled in a low voice now, as though his anger was leaking away.

"I took the leader job because I thought the sports festival would be easy as pie. I haven't lost to anyone from the other classes. If we did the individual competitions again, I wouldn't lose to anybody. But when people are draggin' ya down in the team contests, there's nothin' you can do. We lost capture the flag and the cavalry battle 'cause of those useless guys. I couldn't stand that."

"I can tell just by looking at you that you hate losing when you're good at something. But is that all there is to it?" Something else was going on here.

Sudou-kun appeared lost in thought for a moment, then replied, "Maybe I just wanted to see how it felt for people to pay attention to me and give me some respect. I guess I wanted to show all the people who made fun of me. Pretty lame, right?"

As he admitted his desires, and that he'd abandoned his goals, he scratched his red-dyed hair.

"Wanting people to pay attention to you, huh? I guess I can relate to that," Yagami thought.

The Sudo in the video looked distraught and lost yet, the Sudo right now looked determined.

"So, now I'm completely alone, huh? Well, that's fine. Things'll go back to exactly how they were in junior high," he added.

"..."

I wondered if my words would reach his heart. Ayanokouji-kun had verbally destroyed me in an argument, Ryuuen-kun had defeated me, and my brother had abandoned me. I couldn't believe for an instant that I had any right to reprimand Sudou. I'd always considered him beneath me, but now I felt as though that wasn't true.

Sudou-kun was clumsy, the type of person to act impulsively. He had a volatile personality. But, if I changed my perspective, I could see that he had also been fighting all alone. The fact that he'd had the courage to confront his loneliness meant he was far superior to me.

I awkwardly continued our conversation. "You know, it's strange. My feelings are basically the same as yours."

"Huh? Whaddya mean?"

"I can see his hopes crushed, this is awesome," Hosen snarled.

"What foolish feelings. The desire to fight alone? What a joke. Humans are social creatures, they aren't hardwired to be alone," Manabu said in annoyance at his sister's actions.

"I... know that now," Horikita looked slightly disheartened at her brother's harsh words.

"He's right, it's nothing but a fool's desire to do that," Horikita thought as she reprimanded herself.

"The feeling of wanting to be respected. The desire to fight alone. I understand those," I told him. "When I think back, there were signs. During the midterm exams, I felt irritated at the students who couldn't study, you included. I got angry when they couldn't do something so obvious. I didn't want to work with them at all. But in the sports festival, you performed impeccably. You did a lot to carry our unathletic classmates."

Academics and sports. Different as they were, the principles at the heart of both were the same. What I'd felt toward Sudou-kun and the others during the midterms was probably what Sudou-kun was feeling quite strongly right now.

"Then you understand how I feel. Right now, I wanna be alone," he replied.

"And I truly, truly want to leave you be. But if we lose you now, Class D's defeat will be set in stone." This wasn't just Sudou-kun's problem. It would impact our whole class.

"That's implying that the class would have any chance of winning even with him there," Sakayanagi insulted.

"Having more people guarantees an increase in chance, right?" Kobashi asked.

"Yes, but Horikita there was implying that their class may have a chance of not being defeated if she were to bring red-hair back, but their defeat was already set in stone," Sakayanagi explained.

"You abandoned the class, though, just like me. Right? So, you don't got any right to lecture me," he replied.

"No, I suppose not."

That was why my words held no weight. Until this very moment, I'd thought the same thing as Sudou-kun.

"You're disappointed in me, right? I'm used to it," he said, dejected. "I was born to worthless people. That's why I'm worthless, too. I came here because I definitely didn't wanna end up like my parents, but I'm turning out just like them."

Now, the atmosphere was awkward. Bringing up a person's negative life experience is personal, but having it brought up here for everyone to see would feel invasive and uncomfortable. In a way, I could relate to Sudo's feelings here since it would only be a short amount of time until the white room was revealed.

Although, this was new information to me that I hadn't known before. Someone like Sudo who had been born to 'worthless' people as he said was one of the most talented people in the school when it came to athletics.

Ability is what rules the school and talent helps ability, so if Sudo got to his state through hard work alone then it would be an incredible feat, but I have my doubts that it was purely hard work. Genetics such as height would have greatly influenced his skill.

"It's incorrect to conclude that someone with worthless parents will inevitably turn out worthless themselves. You can't blame other people for how you are or will be. I reject your hypothesis."

"What do you mean?"

"You're still a nobody. Who you will become, though, depends on you and only you. At the very least, you possess incredible athletic ability. You have a rough manner of speaking, but you helped advise a lot of students during practice. That shows me you're not a worthless person. Right now, though, you're trying to run away. If you keep doing that, then you will be worthless."

"Fine. Then just brand me worthless, already. Go ahead. I don't even care anymore," he replied.

"So, you're going to throw in the towel because things aren't going your way?"

No matter what I said to him, he wouldn't respond. Perhaps I was incapable of getting him to open up. The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. The afternoon competitions were about to begin. Sudou-kun definitely wouldn't make it back in time for the scavenger hunt.

"Go back, Horikita."

"No. Not unless I bring you with me."

"Fine, do what you want." Sudou-kun headed toward the elevator.

"I'll wait here. Forever."

"Do what you want."

I didn't take my eyes off him until the elevator doors closed.

"I'm assuming that he eventually came back," Yosuke surmised.

"He did, thankfully," Horikita sighed. It was probably a little tiring going through such a personal moment.

"Parents and their genetics can influence people greatly. For a basketball player, something like height would be crucial to inherit when they were born. I have my doubts that he got to his position through hard work alone, talent would have been crucial," Sakayanagi deduced.

"How gripping! Time for some comedy to end the day."

I don't think anything comedic happened to me on that day. It must be another student.

The bell rang, and the second half of the sports festival began. It was time for the recommended participants' events. Only elite students from each class would take part in the remaining four competitions.

It seems I was wrong.

"You're participating in the scavenger hunt, right, Ayanokouji-kun?"

"I'd rather not, if possible." There was nothing I could do about it, though. I'd lost at rock-paper-scissors.

"The problem is that Sudou-kun's not here."

Since Sudou was gone, he'd simply be marked absent. Had we prepared a substitute competitor? Horikita also had yet to return to our camp.

Hopefully, that meant that things were proceeding well.

"If it's all right with you, I'd like your opinion on something, Ayanokouji-kun. I would've asked Horikita-san as well, but she's not here."

"Hirata, you don't need my opinion to make a sound decision, right?"

"I think we need a substitute. In the individual competitions, our class ranks right at the bottom. To win in overall points, we need to win the next events," he replied.

"What were the end results of the exam actually? I don't remember," Miyamoto inquired.

"Every class in our year had lost. It's just that ours might have lost most," Horikita sighed.

"God, what a bad day. After all that, nobody won," Ishizaki complained.

It was true that on the records class B was the winner in our year, but they had still lost simply because of the fact that their overall team lost.

"An exam where no one won, eh? Sounds terrible," Utomiya said.

"Even the class which had won in the year still lost," Ishizaki groaned. He was probably on the more athletic side of people in the class so all that work would have probably ended up seeming a lot worse compared to someone like me who didn't try hard at all for it.

"In that case, who do we choose as the substitute?"

"We need 100,000 points to put in a substitute. I'll figure something out with the points. I think we'd do well substituting Ike-kun or Yamauchi- kun," said Hirata.

"That's because, if they do happen to take first place, they'll be able to put points toward their tests. Right?"

"Yeah. We can use that to our advantage."

That was a good plan for the scavenger hunt, in which luck had a significant part in the outcome. Ike and Yamauchi played a round of rock- paper-scissors. In the end, Ike won, and triumphantly joined the scavenger hunt team.

"All right. I'll do my best, for Sudou's sake!" He seemed to have fighting spirit to spare, at least.

The referees explained the competition before it started. "Some items in the scavenger hunt are quite difficult to procure. To pick a new item, you can request a redraw, but there will be a thirty-second waiting period. You must make your redraw request to the referee when you draw your lot during the competition. The game ends when three players reach the goal. That's all."

I wouldn't be surprised if Ryuuen would have somehow rigged this. But maybe I'm just trying to rationalise my horrible luck.

After that explanation, we started getting ready for the second-round scavenger hunt, which I was participating in.

"Hey." Someone called to me. I didn't even need to look to know that it was Ryuuen.

"So, that muscle-headed moron won't be participating in the scavenger hunt, huh? I thought he'd take part for sure. Suzune's not here, either. They couldn't be doing each other backstage, right?"

"No idea. That has nothing to do with me," I replied.

"What a shitty answer." Losing interest in me, Ryuuen left. It looked as though he would be running in the second race, too.

A few giggles from my nonchalance resounded in the hall.

"I didn't think it was possible for Ryuuen to leave so soon. You truly are incredible, Ayanokouji," Sakayanagi giggled.

Pretty soon, the first race started. The other classes had put forward their more athletic students, so Ike was overtaken right at the start. But speed wasn't all that counted in the scavenger hunt—the real deciding factor was which item you drew. Ike chose his lot and checked the contents.

The students in the lead searched this way and that way, leaving the field to find their items.

"Whoooooooa!" Ike struck a victory pose and took off running back toward the starting point. "Ayanokouji! Lend me your left foot! Your left foot!"

"My left foot?"

"Your shoe, dude! Your shoe! That's my item!"

Ike showed me a slip of paper with the words "Your classmate's left foot (shoe)" written on it.

"If I give it to you, I can't run anymore, though."

"Geh?!"

He couldn't use a competitor's shoe. Ike panicked and rushed toward the camp. However, it looked as though the other students were also having a hard time with the scavenger hunt, since no one was heading toward the goal.

Many laughs were there because of Ike's incompetence.

"Honestly, how do you forget that?" Shinohara reprimanded.

"I got carried away, okay!" Ike exclaimed.

"Ayanokouji, didn't you end up last?" Akito asked.

Akito hadn't spoken to me much recently which was expected. Keisei was more open to the idea but still didn't do much, so I took the time to acknowledge his question.

"I did. Lady luck seems to have a grudge with me," I sighed.

Thanks to his luck during the draw, Ike—somehow—ultimately found his way into first place. "Not bad, not bad at all," he said.

Moments later, Class A came in second, followed by Class B, and then Class C in last place. Soon afterward came the signal for the start of the second race. I went to draw a lot, lagging slightly behind the other students. I reached inside the box, touching several slips of paper in turn.

Carefully, I took one out and unfolded it. "Now then, what will mine say?"

"Ten friends."

It was so weird, but I heard Horikita actually laugh.

"Lady luck really does hate you," Horikita said through her laughs.

It was an odd reaction from her, but it was nice that she was a lot more relaxed, although I guess that it's kind of bad that she's laughing at my turmoil.

"You're kidding, right?" I felt myself blacking out. Just one friend would have been bad enough, but ten? They had to be screwing with me, right? I couldn't even think of ten people I was on speaking terms with.

"Dude, why are you spacing out? Hurry up, Ayanokouji!" Ike sounded a little full of himself, still on a high from taking first place. But there was nothing I could do. Two of the only classmates I could count as friends, Horikita and Sudou, were absent. Since Ichinose and Kanzaki were currently my enemies, I couldn't count them, either.

"You know that you won because of luck, right?" Sudo criticised.

"God, I get it! I was cocky, just let me have my win for once," Ike complained.

Ike looked slightly pathetic in the eyes of the class right now so they refrained from making fun of him for now.

"I'd like to request a change."

The other students were already running off to find their items. In accordance with the rules, I waited thirty seconds, then redrew my lot.

"A person you love."

Horikita was being weird now, but Kei was also laughing. I didn't think it was this funny.

"Kiyo- I mean, Ayanokouji, you have the crappiest luck," Kei said loudly since she couldn't control her laughter.

It's been a year since then but I still find it hard to think back on these moments. I read on the internet that this was called 'cringing'. I didn't really understand what that meant for a while but now I suppose that I know.

"No, no, no. No, no, no, no."

What in the world was up with the slips I had drawn? They were screwing with me.

"Ch-change, please."

I could sense Class D's confusion, but there really was nothing I could do. If I showed that slip of paper to a member of the opposite sex, it would have been the same as confessing romantic feelings for them. Even if I lied and asked them to play along, it would have been incredibly embarrassing.

So, before I could even start looking for my item, I had to take on a one- minute handicap.

"A table clock."

"That's not much better, honestly," Nagumo chuckled.

"Luck doesn't seem to favour me," I sighed deeply.

My third draw finally produced something I could actually obtain, but I'd have to go inside the school to find a table clock. I checked the teachers' tent, just in case, but came up empty-handed. While I did that, the other three contestants reached the goal.

"This isn't good."

Lady Luck had snubbed me, and I came in last.

What a sad way to end that off.

We were asked to leave and when it was our turn, I walked out as usual. I usually go straight to my dorm but today I had a different agenda in mind. I decided to stay in the school building and walk up the stairs until I reach my destination.

The rooftop.

It wasn't as warm as it was in the morning but it was still quite pleasant. The way the rooftop was formatted made it so that a person can stay on the side of the big box that had the door and not be seen by the person who walked up here for a short amount of time. I waited on the side of that cube until the person I was waiting for arrived.

"God, what the fuck does he want?" I heard a girl's voice that grew louder until I heard the sound of a door handle being turned.

"What? There's no one he-," I saw her figure walk out of the door a couple meters ahead, so I moved from my position and shut the door.

"Ayano...kouji, what do you want?" Kushida's voice was a lot quieter than her agitated one a few moments ago.

"What you did today was quite interesting. I thought you would try to make yourself seem like a better person, but you actually went ahead and did the opposite thing," I told her.

"Why... are you here? I thought it was Ike who was supposed to be here." She said moving a few steps back.

"I asked him to call you up here, but seriously, Kushida what are you doing?" I asked.

Ike was one of Kushida's biggest supporters so him asking kushida to come to a secluded place would have surely made her curious enough to go.

"I'm doing whatever I want. Their opinions are all meaningless anyway and if they get me out of the school then it's all good for me," Kushida said almost in an act of rebellion.

She knows that there's no use in lying to me since I can just figure it out, but what's more is that I have the power to ruin her life if I ever found out.

"'Meaningless' is an exaggeration, don't you think?"

"They're just shallow gawkers. It doesn't matter what they say," Kushida glared at me.

"Yeah, true. They say things, spread rumours and antagonise you. That's just what they do, but isn't that just because you attacked first?" I told her calmly.

"It's their own fault for telling their precious secrets to me."

Kushida's point was flawed here. True they told their secrets but they did that under the pretence that they won't be harmed for them.

"I guess so," I replied disinterestedly.

"You don't believe me?"

"I'm just saying that I don't really think that you believe that deep down."

"I believe it in my core, I know it!" Kushida's voice was louder than before, "Their opinions don't matter. It's all just insignificant to me since it doesn't affect me. If I get expelled by them then it's a win-win. People lie and spread rumours everyday, so what if I did it?"

Kushida was speaking illogically. She probably wasn't in the best state of mind in the first place so that probably contributed to it, but I think that she was lying to herself.

"Yeah. People lie, spread rumours, secrets and everything else personal about another and they do it all on their own, but the point is that you used that as a weapon. You practically kept the class hostage, and you didn't even act on it. Honestly, that's much more pathetic than anything else," I insulted her.

"What are you-." She started but I continued first.

"You made all these big threats to expel me and Horkita, you even sold yourself out to Ryuuen, but it didn't even result in anything. And now, the secrets you have are all useless since you prefer your own safety over destroying the class. All those threats were just statements that a child made to seem strong," I mocked her.

"No! I did those to protect myself and I did act on them. Don't fuck with m-" Kushida yelled.

I moved slightly closer, "A gawker just enjoys the scene, but I get the feeling that you enjoyed having that power. You want to be seen as a hero, but you also want to be in control. Shallow humans? The shallowness is all your own," I ridiculed her.

Kushida was trying to live a lie. She told herself that she was fine with being expelled and yet even after my threat to ruin her life, she continued to get her best results on quizzes and sports. She could have gone down to the bare minimum but she did her best still. It told me that she wanted to remain in this school.

"Then what the fuck do I do?" Kushida's voice was breaking.

"Work for the class, unconditionally. Do whatever they tell you, it's likely that they won't accept you, but don't try to leave the school," I told her.

"Why do you care?"

"It's because I want the class to be as strong as possible. Having it be in a constant state of uneasiness isn't benificial," I told the truth, but I omitted some information.

I could threaten Kushida to do this, but then it wouldn't be meaningful and she would eventually implode. Having her do this of her own volition is much better.

"How do you know that it would be better?"

"I don't, I just know that you would be happier doing this rather than leaving to be in a constant state of agony," I reassured her.

"It would be fine if I left the school, right? Make a new name for myself and do this again. Be in fear of people finding about my other self. I could do it again. No, I can't. I'm too weak to do it again," Kushida thought.

"Fine. Whatever," Kushida said as she walked past me quickly and went down the staircase.

I didn't say anything and just watched her walk away. Kushida won't be a classmate that people can rely on, at best she'll be treated as an untrustworthy person and at worst she'll be treated as a candidate for expulsion. With those thoughts in my head, I also headed back.

Authors Notes:

Manabu's race is the next chapter. Spread your legs anime ep met my expectations and really set the mood so the anime has been adapting everything fairly well for now imo.

Not a lot to say so see you next time.

A Suspenseful Race

This really was an uneventful morning. No schemes I had to enact or favours I needed to use. I guess this was the normal life that I wanted with nothing eventful happening and I simply live a mundane routine. The freedom that I desire is simply uneventful in reality, but I don't mind that. I like the mundane activities in my day-to-day life and all of the small interactions I have every day.

I quite like the way I live now.

I got to my seat in the theatre and the video started.

"The relay was the final major event in the sports festival and now we get to witness it."

My race with Manabu, huh? I can't say that I didn't expect this eventually.

The last event of the sports festival, the 1200-meter relay, was about to begin. Everyone other than Class D—was amped.

"The final event, huh? I guess we need to choose a substitute for this one, too."

"Huh...! Puh...! Hey, sorry to keep you all waiting! What's going on?"

Sudou, completely out of breath, returned with Horikita lagging slightly behind him.

"Sudou-kun, you came back!"

"Yeah, sorry. My bad. It took way longer to take a dump than I thought."

"W-Wha..." Ishizaki was shocked.

"Ryueen, did you poison him too?" Ishizaki asked Ryuuen.

"Shut the fuck up," Ryuuen groaned.

Ishizaki braced himself for impact since he had expected Ryuuen to resort to violence for his incompetence, I have to admit that even I was partly surprised at Ryuuen's lack of force. I doubt that Ryuuen just cared for Ishizaki more than his other students but it was more like he won't use force at the first sign of trouble.

"My impression of you was a person who would attack another at any inconvenience, I didn't think it was possible for you to mature," Sakayanagi chuckled.

"And yet, while I have matured your chest hasn't fared the same," Ryuuen crudely said.

Even Sakayanagi was a little taken aback but recollected herself quickly. The chairman was also quite amused even if he didn't make any outward motion to cover his mouth but he had a warm smile plastered on his face. I knew he was unbiased but I feel like it's a little too cruel to be amused by his daughter's own humiliation.

Sudou looked as if he was in a bright, cheerful mood—all smiles.

However, many students glared at him icily. He didn't flinch from their stares.

"Sorry. I punched Hirata and crashed our morale because I lost my temper. It's my fault that Class D is about to lose," he continued.

Sudou bowed deeply. The Sudou of an hour ago couldn't have done that, even if it were an act. Something must have happened. After a stunned moment, Hirata laughed happily. His cheek was slightly swollen, and looked painful, but he didn't seem to care about that.

"The heck, Ken? This isn't like you," said Ike.

"I gotta admit, I did somethin' wrong after doing somethin' wrong. I want to apologize to you, too, Kanji," Sudou replied.

"It's not like it's your fault I lost or anything. I'm just no good at sports, really. Sorry I wasn't useful," said Ike.

"If you haven't decided on a sub for the relay, please let me run," said Sudou.

"You're the only person we'd want doing this, Sudou-kun. Right, everyone?" said Hirata.

Both guys and girls would run the final 1200-meter relay. Three guys and three girls from each class had to participate.

"Can I ask for a substitute? I wouldn't run very well with my leg like this," said Horikita. She sounded apologetic.

"Are you okay with that, Horikita?" Hirata asked. "You really wanted to be in this relay."

"There's nothing I can do about it. In the state I'm in right now, I'm not sure I could even win against Ike-kun. Sorry," Horikita replied.

"Who is this person on the screen? That isn't Horikita," Nagumo chuckled.

"You seem to be quite cheerful today, Senpai," Horikita said politely.

"I get to see the only eventful part of the sports festival again, why wouldn't I be excited?" Nagumo grinned deviously.

This was the moment where Nagumo boldly spoke about his desire to change the school. He would probably like to see his ideological confrontation with Manabu again.

She bowed deeply, as Sudou had done earlier. I wondered if she'd ever been that honest before. Ryuuen had crushed Horikita's body and spirit.

She'd craved the anchor position, reached for it, because she envisioned herself running alongside her brother. Now—though her hands trembled in apparent frustration—she accepted the reality that, if she forced herself to compete, then Class D would lose the relay.

Hirata nodded, and decided that Kushida would take Horikita's place.

Our list included Hirata, Miyake, Maezono, and Onodera, with Sudou at the top. With Kushida as Horikita's replacement, that made six people. There really weren't any other sprinters in Class D who stood a chance.

After confirming the team members, Hirata opened his mouth to speak.

"Um, I apologize for the suddenness of this, but..."

However, someone else cut Hirata off. "Sorry, but...would you please let me withdraw, too?"

Miyake was speaking. He looked as though he was dragging his right leg a little.

"To tell you the truth, I twisted my ankle before lunch during the 200- meter dash. I thought it would feel better after I rested, but it still hurts."

"In that case, it looks like we'll need a replacement from the boys as well." Hirata looked around, but no volunteers came forward.

I decided to speak up. "In that case, would it be okay if I ran? I'll pay the points to go in as a substitute, of course."

"You will, Ayanokouji?" Miyake asked. "Wait, though. Are you that fast?"

"Ayanokouji, are you really fast? I haven't seen your physical ability but everyone seems to think highly of them," Yagami asked politely.

"I'd say I'm pretty fast," No point in lying since they would see it anyway.

"In that case, if we get another sports festival this year, would you race me? I'm quite intersted to see how we would fare against each other," Yagami said awkwardly.

"Isn't his physical rating a 51? Is he just being arrogant?" A first-year whispered to someone else.

Yagami was a lot more talkative recently compared to the beginning of these tapes. I have my suspicions but nothing concrete yet. If he is who I think he is then that physical rating is nothing but a farce similar to mine. If I choose to race against him then it leaves me liable to an attack but if I refuse then I won't gain any confirmation of his abilities.

"If there's a chance this year then I wouldn't mind it," the ability to gain information about a potential enemy is better than a potential loss.

I have 2 options, one of them would provide a finite loss and it is only a potential loss, but the other gives me a guaranteed chance of a profit. If I weigh the pros and cons then racing him would be the best choice. If Yagami is who I think he is, he would definitely show his full potential.

"I look forward to it then," He said happily.

"A physical confrontation isn't what I want. I want a battle and with the race I can finally propose it in a grand setting," Yagami thought.

"I support him. I've been watching everyone, and I think Ayanokouji will do well," said Hirata.

That was all it took to shut down dissenting voices. Hirata's words had weight.

"However, we can't really say that Class D is putting forward its best runners," Hirata said. "That's why getting a head start on the competition should be our strategy. What do you think, Sudou-kun? If you get us off to a good start and overtake the other runners, I think we might be able to put some distance between us and the other classes. I'll maintain that lead and make sure the next student keeps things going."

Lanes couldn't be prepared for each of the twelve competing students, so we had to start side-by-side. The rules stated that you could take an inner lane from an opponent after you overtook them. In other words, your initial position was the most important one. If you could get ahead of the others during the starting dash, you wouldn't end up in a chaotic free-for-all.

"Well, guess we don't got much choice. There ain't any other way for us to win," said Sudou.

He would go first. Hirata, sufficiently speedy himself, was second. After that the three girls—Kushida included—would have their turns, and then I'd go last. Class D must have been counting on me more than I expected, to have made me the anchor.

The chosen elites assembled in the middle of the field. Horikita's older brother, and that second-year student Nagumo, were among them.

Nagumo's attention towards the screen went up a thousandfold.

"We're leaving it all to you, Sudou-kun!" shouted Hirata.

Kushida and the other runners also cheered. Sudou, looking motivated, got into his lane. The first-year students appeared to be in a slightly advantageous position, since Class D had the innermost lane. They'd arranged it so that the third-year Class A students were in the outermost lane.

Class D didn't have any chance of winning the festival, but if we were victorious here, it might help us down the line. Supportive cheers came roaring from our camp.

"Man, that was close. A couple seconds more, and I would have withdrawn," said Hirata.

"Yeah. Miyake's injury was unexpected," I replied.

The plan from the start had been for me to participate in the final relay as Hirata's substitute. Of course, only Hirata and I knew about that.

"This is okay, right, Ayanokouji-kun?"

"Yeah. Sorry that you had to make all the arrangements."

"It's only natural for me. Besides, I'd hate it if Ryuuen-kun beat us again. Think he'll be surprised that you're running?"

"I'll do my best not to disappoint you. More importantly, though, let's cheer Sudou on."

"You were always going to race? I didn't expect that," Akito said surprised.

"I apologise for not telling you, but it was something that I was requested," Yosuke awkwardly smiled.

"So this wasn't random, huh? You really planned out everything," Ryuuen smirked while looking at me.

"Huh? What are you saying?" Kaneda asked.

"You'll see," Ryuuen reassured him.

The instant the signal sounded, Sudou got off to a strong start. His starting dash had the best time of any I'd seen thus far. He launched himself forward with such momentum that, after his first stride, he managed to pass eleven people.

"Whoa!" the racers shouted.

"Dude, he's so fast!"

The second-year guys and girls were left to struggle desperately for a position, and got caught up in a chaotic free-for-all. Sudou, taking advantage of that opening, continued to leave the others in the dust. When he finished his leg of the relay, he'd secured an advantage of at least fifteen meters.

The familiar feeling of watching an action movie was once again floating in the room as the place was filled with childlike excitement.

"It's up to you, Hirata!"

Class D brimmed with excitement. Sudou passed the baton to the next runner, Hirata. As a man who excelled in both studies and sports, he was glorious. The racers chased Hirata, one after another, but they couldn't reduce the gap we'd created. We maintained our lead as we transitioned to the third runner, Onodera.

This was where problems might start. For a girl, Onodera was fast, but the guys chasing her were starting to close in. A guy from the second-year Class A overtook her as she ran.

New students ran one after another. One third-year Class A guy also passed Onodera, and other third- and second-year Class A students after that. By the time Onodera passed the baton to our fourth runner, Maezono, our lead was almost gone.

However, the race was full of surprises. A girl from the third-year Class A, who was her team's fourth runner, took a spill and fell about fifty meters behind the runner she was supposed to pass the baton to. Panicking, the girl tried to get back in the race, but a Class A second year took advantage of that opening and created a significant gap. By the time Maezono passed the baton to Kushida, our fifth runner, Class A had overtaken Class D, and we'd fallen to seventh place.

"Oh come on!"

"That sucks."

"I was betting on her!"

It seems that the first years had organised a form of betting system. I looked over to the first-year area and found that Hosen was particularly happy. I get the feeling that he did this to make a small profit out of the childlike excitement in the room.

It was something that I would expect Ryuuen to do, but since Ryuuen doesn't have the same connections with the first years that Hosen would have, Hosen would have the advantage.

The first-year students just couldn't compete at the same level as the seniors. Only Class B's first-year students had managed to get into third place, and their ace, Shibata, had apparently received the role of anchor. He was waiting his turn, just like me.

As the fourth runner from the third-year Class A tumbled, the situation between the guys in the anchor positions changed.

"Looks like victory is ours this time, President Horikita. I would've liked to run against you directly, if possible." Nagumo laughed as the second-year Class A's top runner approached him. There was a thirty-meter gap between him and the third-year Class A student in second place.

The excitement and exhilaration slowly winded down and a small feeling of dread and tension arose.

"Looks like we're going to win in overall points, too. Guess this is the dawn of a new era, eh?"

"Do you seriously plan to change this school?" the student council president asked.

"You're too traditional. And even though you're strict, you're weak. Your rules are too generous, and they stop people from getting expelled. All I'm going to do is help make this school the ultimate meritocracy," said Nagumo.

"You've been at this school recently for a little while, senpai. How do you like the renovations?" Nagumo chuckled.

"It seems like you're overcompensating. All of these big and flashy things aren't needed for efficiency. It seems hollow," Manabu criticised.

"That's the difference between the new and old. A legacy. Your tradition is ingrained in the school, but even though your own term as president was good; it still didn't bring anything new."

"If something is good and efficient then why would we take the possibility of destroying it?" Manabu responded logically.

Nagumo was a little annoyed about his ideology destroying the school.

"The only way humans progress is to take risks. People took the risk to put man on the moon and it resulted in a breaking of human limitations. All because of the one risk, we were able to progress. Tradition doesn't have that, it's old, boring and unoriginal," he spat.

"I see that you simply want the future without caring about if it's good or bad. It's careless," Manabu pointed out a flaw in his argument.

"Maybe I am careless, but I'll be careless if it brings progress," Nagumo ended the argument.

Both sides have their pros and cons. The individual competition vs the group competition. It's simply an unanswerable question about which is better.

He walked forward as he spoke, getting in position to receive the baton as it came his way. Not too long after Nagumo nabbed it, Shibata also received his baton. "All right! Nice! Leave the rest to me!"

Fire blazing in his eyes, Shibata chased down Nagumo. My eyes met Horikita's brother's for an instant. I could tell this man was fighting some internal struggle.

"To think that you're the anchor," he said.

"I'm just a substitute. Originally, your sister planned to be in this position," I replied.

"I see. I suppose she's struggling to make it through," he responded.

Horikita had probably dreamed of having a conversation with him, or at least telling him what she felt.

"N-Not at all, I didn't think about that. Not one bit..." Horikita denied but her words lacked strength.

"I've observed your class," the student council president told me. "Up until a short while ago, I thought there was no hope for you. However, I don't get that impression from you at all in this relay. What happened?"

"You don't really need to pay attention to first-year Class D, though. Right?"

"I keep an eye on every class. No exceptions," he replied.

"I suppose, if anything's changed, it would be your sister."

"I see." No look of surprise. He looked as composed as always.

"What about you? I can't feel any excitement from you."

"I'm not interested in the sports festival. I already know the outcome."

The class's feelings.

Sudou's feelings.

Horikita's feelings.

I had no interest in any of those. All I had was a single premonition.

"Oh? This is something I didn't expect," Amasawa grinned.

"You probably won't be around to see this, but our class will become stronger," I told him.

"I'm not interested in such a fanciful future," Horikita's older brother replied.

As he shifted his gaze toward his teammate, I spoke. "In that case, would you be interested in learning exactly what kind of person I am?"

"What?"

"If you'd like, I'll race against you seriously," I added.

"You requested it? I didn't expect that," Sakayanagi was shocked.

"From what I know of you, you would never ask to do anything that would make you expend energy," Kanzaki mused.

"I can do it when I want to."

"You really say some interesting things. I thought you hated standing out or getting involved. Why change that now?" he asked.

"If you give up your chance at second place in order to race me, I'll accept your challenge. It's not often that a first-year and third-year have the opportunity to compete like this, is it?"

Horikita's brother stood still and turned to face me. "Interesting."

He didn't seem as though he was going to move at all. His team's fifth runner passed him the baton, looking perplexed, but the older Horikita took it and stood completely still. "You did well. Great work," he said.

"Uh, thanks. Hah..." The third-year student left in a mild state of shock.

Everyone in the audience noticed this bizarre spectacle. One after another, other runners passed the third-year Class A, and Horikita just stood there. Finally, Kushida approached me at full speed. She'd be here in seconds.

It was like a speedometer. Rising rapidly until it would eventually reach its climax.

"I'll say one thing to you before we race."

"What?" Horikita's brother asked.

As the two of us got ready, I said only, "Run as fast as you can."

"This is what I want. The thrill, the battle, the win. I would do anything to get it and humiliate him. I will become number 1 even if it kills me," Yagami thought.

I got the feeling that the older Horikita, whose face was in my peripheral vision, wore a slight smile. Finally, the baton passed to me.

"Ayanokouji-kun!" Kushida cried.

I bolted down the track at full throttle.

I'd never, ever run that seriously in my entire school life. Until then. It was as different as could be from all the times I'd run in that cold, sterile room. It was still only the beginning of October, but the cold wind washed over me.

(I edited the text a bit to make it more accurate to the Japanese version)

"Cold room? Did you run in a freezer or something?" Ike asked, confused.

"He said that he competed a lot in his past. Does that mean this 'cold, sterile room' was that place? If he came from a well off family then having a facility where he could train wouldn't be too unusual, but even if this is logical, a part of me thinks it's wrong," Horikita thought.

"He sounds so bored when recalling that place. It pisses me off. I had to do anything to stay alive and yet, he thinks of that time so apathetically like it doesn't mean anything to him," Yagami thought.

"Fastest you've run in your school life, huh? It seems that you didn't even go all out. No matter, it was a good race," Manabu calmly stated.

I didn't really care about overtaking the runner in front of me. All that mattered right now was competing against the man next to me.

We ran at full speed, almost as though we were cutting through the wind, and closed the distance between us and the frontrunners.

"Whoa! No way!"

We passed a shocked student and left him in our dust. I could no longer hear the cheers. Strategies and resourcefulness were irrelevant. There was only this one-on-one battle against Horikita Manabu, who ran next to me. Beyond the first curve, beyond the straight line that followed, and then to the last curve. All right. I'm going to go even faster. Cheers that sounded like angry bellows resounded across the grounds.

I could imagine it still. The wind passed through me and the adrenaline pumped through every crevice in my body. The competitiveness that I had long since not felt and the feeling of excitement was in my body.

It was true freedom.

The feeling of reaching a goal, and having someone race you to get there couldn't be more exciting and the room felt that as well.

"You were super fast." Karuizawa averted her eyes as she spoke to me.

"Wasn't it just that my opponent was slow?"

"No, no. No way! Can you really say that after seeing everyone's reactions?"

"Jokes aside, I still didn't beat the student council president in the end, did I?"

"W-Wait, you lost?" Yagami spit out.

"Yes. A person fell down in front of me so I ended up losing," it was an unfortunate twist of fate.

"I-I just didn't think that would happen," Yagami stated.

"Well, there wasn't really anything you could've done about that. The runner in front of you fell down, after all."

True. That runner ended up blocking my path. I'd avoided hitting him, but the slight delay was a significant loss, and Horikita's older brother had pulled ahead. I didn't know what would've happened without that accident, but I didn't really care.

At the very least, I was certain that I'd probably gathered the whole school's attention during the final competition. Many students looked at me with puzzled expressions.

I did end up gaining the attention of everyone around me, but I still partly lost the attention of one person. Ryuuen was looking for me and he was expecting a mastermind who would be hidden and perfectly average in every way on the surface, so if I showed my skills then he would be thrown off the trail even partially. And even if Ryuuen still thinks of me as an accomplice to the so-called mastermind, he will just think that I am a pawn.

I walked out of the building and felt the fresh wind on my face.

"It isn't the same," I mumbled to myself.

Authors Notes:

Pretty chill chapter. The next chap will be the final chapter of volume 5 which is the sakayanagi meet, and ryuuen almost making horikita knee. It will probably be the hardest and longest in this vol of reactions so don't be surprised if it takes a little longer than usual to come out.

The official translation had Ayanokouji think "this is the fastest I've run in my entire life" But that's a mistranslation and it's actually something on the lines of "This is the fastest I've run outside of that place" So I just made it say that it was the fastest he had run in the school.

That's all so see you next time.

8 Years and 243 Days

Nothing in life matters. All humans are placed into existence out of their control and the concept of free will is unknown to us. Life is nothing but a walking shadow -- a poor actor-- who goes through all emotions on the stage and then bows out, as he fades into obscurity. It is nothing but a story of futility and rage told by an idiot. Signifying nothing.

The fact that my white school shirts have turned pink is proof of this.

I don't say this often, but I made a mistake. I never put my school clothes with my regular clothes but it seems that I made a careless error when a red shirt was found buried under the white shirts and now I only have one shirt that I can wear to school. If there is a god, then it seems that I have gotten on its bad side.

The remaining shirt was a little smaller in size as, just like any teenager during puberty, my height has grown. It feels a little uncomfortable, but imagining the eternal torment I would get from Horikita and Ryuuen for wearing a pink shirt to school was enough to ruin my day.

I walked to school and then the auditorium in this moody and brooding state.

"The final 2 videos of the sports festival, lets begin."

The only events after the race with Manabu were my meeting with Sakayanagi, but since the voice has said that there are 2 videos might mean that it isn't in chronological order. However, it could be in chronological order but just from a different person's point of view.

If I continue with the point of view theory then Horikita or Ryuuen would be the most likely candidates with their situation at the end of the festival. Now, if we continue with this then we have to weigh which video would come first. While these 2 are separate occurrences, the message I sent to Ryuuen linked them, and if it follows the other pattern of videos with a smaller event leading to a bigger one then the video of Horikita or Ryuuen would come first.

"2 more? I thought this thing was done," Ike whined.

"Ayanokouji, wasn't there a girl who confessed to you? All of these are about you so it's probably that," Sudo said confidently, and I admit that what he said was quite logical.

"You got confessed to? I thought it was just Sato," Kei eyed me curiously.

"It wasn't a confession," I said bluntly.

"You probably aren't lying, but I feel like something big is coming," Kei said after some thinking.

"That's the fun of this, isn't it?"

"I guess so, but the suspense is killing me," Kei pouted.

"If the suspense is good then the build-up might satisfy you. Be patient," I told her.

"Whatever you say, Sensei," Kei grumbled.

"So, you didn't run away, Suzune. You came," said Ryuuen.

"If I had run away, I truly would've been hopeless. I'm going to face my problems," I told him.

So it seems that my theory was right.

"What's this about?" Sato asked.

Kushida looked somewhat uneasy remembering the things she did. She may have committed herself to helping the class, but it is a lot easier said than done. They won't accept her no matter what, if the way she was exposed was different then there may be a possibility, but with the way she threatened me, there's no hope for her to be trusted again.

At best, she would be seen as an untrustworthy classmate.

"I had sustained an injury and Ryuuen had asked me for a favour, the favour was rather... humiliating," Horikita said cautiously as to save some face, but it would matter in the future since she would be humiliated.

I heard Ryuuen snort as he listened to Horikita's explanation, "Trying to save face, are we? Whatever, we'll see your pathetic face anyway."

Horikita's face tightened a bit but she chose not to respond.

"You've got a good heart. You've become a finer woman than before," said Ryuuen.

I wasn't exactly pleased to hear that from him. "Before we talk, why don't we put an end to this ridiculous charade, Kushida-san?" I asked.

"Huh? Charade? What in the world do you mean?" she replied. As the setting sun coloured the school building, I stared directly at her.

"If you want to pretend to be a good person, I don't particularly care. But you're not, are you? You leaked the information. That's how Class C was able to pull off what they did. That's why I'm here right now, like this, with Ryuuen-kun. Am I wrong?"

Kushida was once again targeted by the glares of the class, but she didn't respond and chose to stoically face the screen. The difference here and the Kushida from a few days ago was quite big. Kushida's hair was well kept and her clothes were ironed out and tidy.

"Kushida-Senpai, looks like you got caught by your targets. You said that you weren't an idiot to trust Ryuuen-senpai, do you still believe that?" Amasawa gloated.

Kushida gave off a slight chuckle, "It was naive, but at the end of the day, that doesn't matter now."

"What a calm response, you don't seem to be a ball of chaos anymore either. Did you get some sense slapped into you?" Amasawa said as if she could see through Kushida.

"Slapped into me? Nothing as barbaric as that, but I suppose that you could say that my goals have shifted," Kushida eyed Horikita for a moment.

"You aren't any fun now. Maybe on a certain island you might get more interesting~," Amasawa said with a grin.

The people in the class were very surprised at this interaction, but they didn't say anything and just kept watching.

"Come on, now. Who did you hear that from? Hirata-kun? Ayanokouji-kun?"

"Neither. These are my own feelings on the matter. I couldn't shake off my uneasiness. Ryuuen-kun's the only one here right now. Don't you think it's time we cut to the chase and confront each other?" I asked.

"Confront each other? What do you mean?"

"Way back at the start of our first semester, I saw you trying to convince Kouenji-kun to give up his seat on the bus. To be completely honest, I didn't recognize you. But immediately afterward, I remembered."

I looked Kushida-san square in the eye as I spoke. If she was working with Ryuuen-kun, she'd continue to conspire against me. The only reason she hadn't yet acted more directly was that she thought she didn't have to.

"Kushida Kikyou-san, you attended my junior high," I said.

For the first time ever, I saw her expression change, but then another smile crept onto her face.

"Of course you remember. I was quite the problem child, I suppose," Kushida-san replied. She lowered her eyes in silence.

"I don't think that's entirely accurate. You weren't a problem child. Everyone trusted you, just like everyone in Class D now trusts you. But—"

"Can you please stop? Stop bringing up the past."

"Everyone trusted you, huh? This has probably happened before then," Matsushita posed the question in an interesting way.

She asserted the fact that this has happened before which would give her an answer to her query. If Kushida responds and says this hasn't happened, depending on her reaction, it wouldn't be hard to determine if she was lying or not. However, Kushida is an amazing actor. Faking a reaction wouldn't be something hard for her.

"Yes. This has happened before," Kushida admitted bluntly.

Even Matsushita was surprised by Kushida's honesty, "You're suddenly honest. Is there a reason for that?"

Kushida wasn't fazed by Matsushita's information extraction. "I want what everyone else wants in the school."

"What could that be? I don't think our goals would ever align," Horikita stated.

Kushida eyed her with a smug look, "Class A, of course. Isn't that what everybody else wants? You've stated it yourself multiple times."

The class was quite shocked at Kushida's new attitude. I could understand why. There was no more insulting and Kushida was much more transparent about her goals.

"Ayanokouji, just like before, it is your choice. She's in her current situation because of your early incident, so what is it that you wish to do?" Horikita asked me.

I suspect that she's asking me not only out of her earlier reasoning but also because she wants to know my opinion on Kushida's new attitude. I admit that it was quite crafty.

"I said it before, didn't I? If she causes trouble then we expel her, but if she wants to help then it's your choice as leader to decide what to do," I explained.

"The ball is in my court again then. I can't trust Kushida. Maybe if her true self was exposed to the class in a different way then I might, but with the lengths she went to stop Ayanokouji from leaking her true self is something I can't accept. At the end of the day, I can't trust her right now," Horikita thought

"I can't trust her currently," Horikita stated bluntly.

The fact that she used the word 'currently' states that this could change. Horikita's thought process is that this could be similar to what happened to me where they see my merits and demerits. However, the student's opinions were changed due to the videos while Kushida's will have to change with her own actions in real-time. It is a much higher disadvantage for her.

One could argue that all of the videos were me with nothing to gain from the current situation whereas Kushida is simply trying to change because of her own selfish goals.

"I suppose. It's meaningless to talk about what's already been done," I replied. Ryuuen-kun smiled while he listened to our conversation, looking as though he was enjoying himself.

"Well then, you understand what I'm after, right? You know what I want to do?" Kushida-san asked.

"Yes. I've already realized what you want. You want to chase me out of this school. Aren't you taking quite a large risk, though? If I exposed the truth, you'd lose your popularity."

"Me or Horikita-san? It's obvious which of us is more loved. I suppose you could say I'm someone who hedges her bets," Kushida-san replied.

"Even if no one believed what I said, there'd still be lingering doubts. You can't deny the fact that we attended the same junior high," I told her.

"I suppose you're right. But if you do happen to tell anyone about me, I will drag the brother you so love and respect into this," she said.

"Guerilla warfare tactics, huh? Nasty, but they do work," Nagumo chuckled.

"Stupid social standing. People just ignore everything even if it's true because someone has more friends," Ibuki grumbled.

I can't say that I disagree with her. Imagine if there was a crime committed and there were only two suspects; a murderer and an upstanding citizen. It would be obvious who most people would suspect. Similarly, Kushida's high social standing would allow her to gain large support by simply doing nothing.

"That's just the way the world works. Hierarchies are always in place no matter where you are. You just have to adapt no matter what," Kiryuuin stated.

I heard a small chuckle from Manabu, "Quite ironic, coming from you."

"Maybe so, but I'm adapting in my own way," Kiryuuin said with a smug grin.

From what I've observed from Kiryuuin, she doesn't adapt to anything with the rules that are already set. All she does is try and make the hierarchies adapt to her own wishes.

"Adapting to preset hierarchies? What a foolish notion. Why be a meaningless person conforming to rules when you have the ability to do as you wish?" Koenji stated with a grin.

"An attitude like that could get you expelled," Onodera warned.

"I'm not so barbaric to go on a rampage. I have standards," Koenji stated as if it was obvious.

I reflexively stiffened in response. That was the perfect defense against me. There wasn't a single opening I could exploit.

However, Kushida-san couldn't take action easily, either. If she were to openly involve my brother in all this, she'd know that I had nothing left to lose, and be afraid that I'd do anything in my desperation. That was precisely why she came up with this strategy to chase me out instead.

"Can't you simply ignore me?" I asked. "You know I don't involve myself with other people or stick my nose where it doesn't belong, right?"

"For now. But there's no guarantee for the future. I want anyone who knows about my past to disappear, so that I can be me. Otherwise, I'll be in trouble," she replied.

"Hey, doesn't that mean that she has no desire to expel you guys now?" Kei whispered.

It's true that she was doing all of this because we knew of her other side. And now that everyone knows, there's no point in expelling us since then she would have to expel everyone in the school.

"Logic dictates that she wouldn't since she only did it because we were the only ones to know about her other side. If everyone knows then there's no point," I explained.

"Since Ryuuen's seen your true face, does that make him your prey, too?" I asked.

"Yes, I suppose so, depending on the circumstances," she answered. It was a bold move, since she and Ryuuen-kun were supposed to be allies.

"Heh heh. What a shrewd woman. Well, I guess I decided to work with you because I like this side of your personality." Ryuuen-kun snickered.

"Let me tell you one thing, Horikita-san. I will have the school expel you. If I need to make a deal with the devil to do so, so be it," Kushida-san said. She walked past me and stood next to Ryuuen-kun.

"That's really a shame, Suzune," he told me. "Betrayed by such a trustworthy ally."

"You were a step ahead of me this time, Ryuuen-kun. No...I suppose you've been a step ahead for a while. The test on the cruise ship, the one on the island, and the incident with Sudou-kun... I've just kept on losing and losing," I told them. The words poured out of my mouth easily, without pause.

"It's odd that you're comparing him to a devil when you're the angel that fell from heaven," Sakayanagi eyed Kushida as a predator would look at its prey.

"Huh, what does that have to do with anything?" Ike asked confused.

"Lucifer was an angel that fell from heaven after he caused some trouble. It fits very well to Kushida since she was everyone's favourite just like Lucifer was God's favourite," Sakayanagi giggled.

"What does that have to do with the devil?" Ike was still confused.

"Lucifer became the devil after falling from heaven," Sakayanagi remarked.

"Comparing me to the devil, huh? I guess you aren't wrong. I don't think anyone could look at me as any kind of good person," Kushida responded to Sakayanagi's analogy.

Ichinose was an interesting case today. Kushida in the past could have been seen as a kindred spirit to her, but now she's upfront and transparent about her true colours. Ichinose isn't so much of a coward to try and deny it, but she couldn't say anything. Kanzaki was also interesting, he kept on eyeing Himeno every few minutes in a look of contemplation.

I get the feeling that he'll start his crusade soon.

"Then I think the time for talk is over," he replied. "I'll tell you this, though: Kinoshita running into you earlier was a total accident. She didn't have any ulterior motive or ill intent. That's just the way the world is."

"Perhaps so. There's no evidence, so it was obvious that I'd be framed as the aggressor," I replied. "But let me say this, in turn. You were behind that incident. You ordered Kinoshita-san to make sure I took a fall. I'm sure of it."

"You're delusional," he answered.

"I don't care if I'm being delusional. But I'd like to ask you why you did it."

"It's quite a long process just to get you to kneel." Ryuuen-kun

laughed as if he was enjoying himself. "Before the sports festival, I had Kushida get her hands on Class D's complete participation table. I put the right people in the right places to ensure good match-ups, and took the wins. Of course, that's not all. I thoroughly researched Class A as well," he added.

"Brilliant leadership. You beat us both," I replied. Although they'd fallen short of Class B in terms of overall strength, there was no doubt that Class C had fought well. "But couldn't you have won more effectively? To crush me, you pitted two of your aces against me, and even had one of them withdraw after she was injured. That's incomprehensible."

"I wanted to crush you. That was reason enough. I had no interest in winning the sports festival," he replied.

Something now dawned on class B. Class D was targetted by Ryuuen and because class D was targeted; class A was negatively affected. In a way, they were able to win because there was no big focus placed on them.

"Ichinose, doesn't this mean that we won only because no one focused on us?" Kanzaki remarked in a worried tone.

In the state Ichinose was in, she couldn't tell whether he was lying.

Ichinose was thinking for a few seconds trying to formulate her response, "Yes. It seems that you're right. We won simply because Ryuuen didn't focus on us," Ichinose stated in dissatisfaction.

"Oh? Ichinose, it seems that you can accept reality, after all. I thought you would deny everything that didn't fit your own childish views," Sakayanagi mocked, but Ichinose didn't say anything.

The class was quiet. All of them were thinking and looking to Ichinose for a motivational response about how they should use this defeat as a lesson, but it never came. Ichinose remained silent and in thought. What she was thinking; I would never know, but what I do know is that that statement was very beneficial to Kanzaki.

Sometimes in history when a leader shows weakness the subjects go to a newer and more reliable leader. This could also just be recency bias since the leader offers new things and it seems better than the old one because it's flashy and recent. What would happen to Ichinose's class was something that would cause a big uproar.

Whether it would be a big bang or just a hollowed-out and superficial disagreement with nothing changing is for time to tell.

"But your strategy also relied on luck. Good for you. When you ordered Kinoshita-san to knock me over, two coincidences saved you. One, that I just so happened to be unable to continue participating, and two, that Kinoshita-san injured herself. You couldn't plan for either of those factors," I told him.

That was where my world had fallen apart. If Kinoshita had only been slightly injured, the situation wouldn't have gotten this serious.

"Your injury was coincidental, yes. If Kinoshita deliberately aimed to injure you, that would've been obvious. That's why I had her carefully practice hitting an opponent and making the fall look completely natural," said Ryuuen-kun.

What had he done to make her obey him to that extent?

"Actually, about Kinoshita's injury," Ryuuen said. "Do you really think it was an accident?"

"Huh?"

"She certainly did fall, yes. But injuries that serious don't just happen at the drop of a hat. That's why I had her pretend to be in pain and then drop out of the sports festival. Before she got medical treatment, I injured her myself. Like this."

He stomped on the floor with all his strength. BAM! The sound echoed unnervingly through the hall.

The students who weren't paying attention and just spacing out were suddenly brought back to reality with the loud stomp.

"Injuring your own classmate? That's despicable behaviour," Ichinose fumed.

"I've always fought using underhanded tactics, what's the problem for this incident?" Ryuuen chuckled.

"Ichinose, don't let him get to you. He's just trying to get on your skin," Shibata reassured her.

Ryuuen let out a snort, "Looks like you still have some people supporting you. Honestly, I thought everyone would've jumped ship by now."

Ichinose did her best to ignore him and continued to watch the video.

"You injured...her?" I asked.

"She agreed when I told her that I'd pay her 500,000 points. Man, the power of money is a terrifying thing, isn't it?"

So, he'd decided from the very beginning that Kinoshita-san would sustain a serious injury. His schemes, and his ability to execute them, were both terrifying. He'd do anything for the sake of winning, but I was shocked that he'd speak of that so openly.

"Is it really okay for you to just blab on and on?" I asked him.

"What?"

"If I happened to be recording your confession, what would you do?"

As I asked that question, I pulled out my phone.

"Why would you show that?" Keisei said completely shocked.

"I didn't want to kneel," Horikita said.

"Even if you did kneel, you could've just got him in trouble since he wouldn't know that you were recording," Keisei complained.

What he said was logical with the information he had. The problem was that he didn't have all of the information. For argument's sake, let's say that the other leaders were in a situation where they would have to kneel to someone else.

Sakayanagi has her pride but she also has the wits to get her opponent humiliated and disposed of. Ryuuen has violence on his side, but Horikita's wits aren't enough to expel someone and she isn't strong enough to take on someone on the level of Ryuuen.

"Yukimura, let's stop jumping to conclusions. You don't have all of the information so I'll kindly ask you to remain quiet," Horikita said coldly.

Keisei was a little taken aback but listened. One of his big problems is that while he is analytical and smart, he is prone to reacting before all of the information has been given.

"Did you come up with that bluff just now?"

"I bet everything on it. Still, I'm surprised you told me so much." I pushed a button on my phone and played back the recording from a specific point.

"Before the sports festival, I had Kushida get her hands on Class D's complete—"

"If you complain about me, or demand that I pay you points or bow before you, I'll use the evidence I now hold in my hands. If I do, which of us will be in trouble?" I asked.

"Wha—?!" Ryuuen-kun's smile disappeared for the first time. His words failed him. "Suzune...you..."

Some class D students looked satisfied at Ryuuen losing, or so they thought.

"I don't want to cause any panic. That's why I'd like to settle things."

"Heh heh! Ha ha ha ha!" Ryuuen-kun suddenly burst out in laughter.

"You really are an entertaining woman, you know that? I said so from the very beginning, didn't I? The contents of our current conversation are, at best, complete fiction. I was just humouring your delusions. All I did was anticipate the story you conjured up inside your own head," he replied.

"I could delete the part where you said it was a delusion and edit the recording, couldn't I?" I asked.

"Well, in that case, I'd just have to hand over the original recording. Then there would be no problem at all." Ryuuen, smiling boldly, took his own phone from his pocket. "Do you know what this is? The full audio recording, from beginning to end. In fact, I actually took video."

"You really finessed everyone in that exam, Ryuuen-Senpai," Yagami chuckled.

Class C looked proud at their complete victory. Even if they had lost the sports festival battle, they had succeeded in destroying the other classes.

"I see. So it wouldn't have mattered either way. I apologise for jumping to conclusions then," Keisei apologised.

Class D was sad at their leader's complete humiliation. They didn't say anything and just watched the screen with cloudy expressions.

As he said that, he aimed his phone camera at me. It was a kind of insurance more reliable than audio. Ryuuen-kun had already imagined that I'd try betting everything on one final move...which meant that I was between a rock and a hard place.

"So, do you admit it, Suzune? The reality of your defeat, I mean."

Kushida-san also smiled boldly now. I fully understood what a fool I was. Ryuuen-kun wasn't the kind of opponent that my strategies could take down. My last hope had ended up misfiring.

"No!"

"This sucks."

"Abandon your pride and get on your knees, Suzune."

The moment of humiliation was getting closer and closer.

I quietly knelt. "I understand... I admit..."

The class D students looked pitifully at Horikita.

Ding! A strange sound came from Ryuuen-kun's phone, which was right in front of me. I thought he wouldn't pay much attention, but for some reason, he looked at the screen.

Sakayanagi glanced at me with a look as if she expected this.

"A message?" Some students said, confused.

Ryuuen-kun's face stiffened for a moment. He started fiddling with his phone without even so much as glancing at me. Mixed together with a variety of other sounds, I heard a recording.

"Listen up, you guys. We're going to set a trap for Horikita Suzune. I don't care what it takes to completely crush her. I have a plan in mind. I'll show you something interesting."

"The arrogant tyrant lost his prey because of his own subject. Quite poetic, don't you think?" Hashimoto smirked.

"I couldn't agree more. Nothing like someone losing because of their own mistakes," Ryuuen agreed.

"A person in the class, huh? The likely suspect would be Manabe. Ryuuen lead his class with an iron fist so for someone to betray him would mean that they would get something worse than just Ryuuen's anger. Manabe could be expelled because of the videos Ayanokouji took so she would be the likely candidate to fit these criteria," Matsushita thought.

That was Ryuuen-kun's voice. Was it from a previous conversation? In the recording, he went into detail about what he'd so proudly explained to me just moments ago. I heard Ibuki-san's voice. It sounded like she interrupted Ryuuen-kun.

"Look, I'm not discounting your strategy or whatever, but give me a chance to fight Horikita."

Ryuuen-kun's voice again. "Run against Suzune during the obstacle course, and collide with her. Do whatever it takes to knock her over. Afterward, I'll injure you myself and get you some money from her."

I didn't know what in the world was happening right now.

"What's going on, Ryuuen-kun? What's with that recording?"

Kushida-san seemed puzzled.

"I see. I see, I see. I see now! Heh heh! Isn't that interesting? Do you know what this means, Kikyou? There's a traitor in Class C, too. They made not just you and Suzune dance in the palm of their hand, but me as well. This person predicted everything, including your betrayal and Suzune's debasement. Ha ha ha ha! Interesting! So interesting! The person pulling the strings is incredible! The best!"

"You really see this as a game, don't you?" Sakayanagi chuckled.

"What else could this be? The game I was playing was simply one that I couldn't handle. This applies to you also, or are just too arrogant to admit it?" Ryuuen retorted.

"Talking about my arrogance when you were completely outmatched in every mindgame but still persisted on is quite childish. I know that I was outclassed from the second I lost, but I can't say the same for you," Sakayanagi responded.

It was like a game of insults to the two of them.

"The end result is still the same, but at least I matured from my defeat. You're still the same arrogant child as before," Ryuuen mocked.

"Ugh. Could you both shut up? All of this back and forth is putting wrinkles on my skin because of your pathetic squabbles. You are both losers, so just accept it," Koenji sighed as he examined his face in the mirror.

"Your face already looks disgusting, nothing else could change it," Ryuuen mocked.

"Of course, mere beings like you couldn't comprehend the intricacies of my body," Koenji said without looking at Ryuuen.

Ryuuen-kun swept his hair back, giving a deep belly laugh.

"You were used, Kikyou. They predicted that you'd betray your class and leak the participation table. They read us like a book."

"Who could be responsible for this? Could it be Ayanokouji-kun? I mean, I didn't think he was that fast, either," said Kushida-san.

"Well, he's one candidate, but I'm not drawing any conclusions yet. Someone managed to get this recording without leaving a trace behind. Suzune, Ayanokouji, and—depending on the circumstances—even Hirata might have been positioned where they were because someone was puppeteering them. I'm going to investigate this thoroughly. I've failed to get points from Suzune or have her kneel, but I'm happy with all that I procured," said Ryuuen-kun.

There was no doubting it. I didn't know how he'd done it, but he'dused someone from Class C to record Ryuuen-kun's strategy. What I saw him do in the relay against my brother was completely incomprehensible, too. It was unlike him to draw attention to himself that way, but that was how I knew it had to be true.

The mastermind had to be Ayanokouji Kiyotaka-kun.

"How did you get the message of the timing right?" Matsushita asked.

"It was just luck," I said bluntly.

"But Horikita would have knelt if you were a little late, what if that happened?" Matsushita said shocked at my nonchalance.

"Then she would have knelt. Not a lot that I could have done about it."

My goal was to crush Horikita. If she knelt then it may have been overkill, but it would still be fine in the grand scheme of things.

"You could have stopped it before it got this bad by just sending it earlier in the day," Matsushita pointed out.

"Then Horikita would have never confirmed Kushida's betrayal. What I do is cruel, but there's a logical reason for it," I explained

At the end of the day, this is a problem with mindsets. Putting away morals and principles aside for calculated decision-making is what I would do, but I know that others won't agree with that line of thinking. The proof of this is the fact that the outlook that everyone has of me is divided. Some believe that my methods are cruel but they still work, so they don't mind them while others deny the machiavellian mindset.

Matsushita looked taken aback for a moment but collected herself quickly.

"Why am I surprised at this? He's done this many times before, there's no difference now," Matsushita thought.

"Well, this is over for now," Ryuuen-kun said. "Whoever sent this email probably won't hound me further."

"Is that really okay, though? What if they threaten you with the recording?" Kushida-san asked.

"If they intended to submit it to the school, they already would've. I couldn't get Suzune on her knees, but I accomplished half of what I wanted to. A good show."

The scene faded to black.

"I agree with you, Senpai. That certainly was a good show," Yagami said with a smile.

"Time for the final video of the sports festival."

I glanced over to the Sakayanagi and she did the same to me. It seems that the same thing is on both of our minds.

'White Room'

At the end of the day, I can't stop this information from coming out. It would go against my plan of seeing everyone observe me. If I were to do that; it would just be akin to letting people make a choice without them knowing all of the information.

After I changed into my uniform, I went to the front gate as promised. Just as she'd said, the girl was waiting for me.

"It isn't surprising after that showing," Haruka said.

"What do you mean?" Keisei said, confused.

"A girl was probably confessing to him. It's the obvious thing after his running, right?" Haruka stated after it was obvious.

I glanced at Kamuro and saw her disgusted at Haruka's reasoning.

"You wanted to talk to me about something?" I asked.

"Follow me," she said.

"Follow you where?"

"The special building."

The girl started walking without any further explanation. We arrived at the special building's third floor, one of the few places where no surveillance cameras were installed.

"What exactly—"

The girl just told me to wait and walked off on her own. She headed around the corner and quietly whispered, "Can I go back now?"

"Yes. Excellent work, Masumi-san. I'll count on you again in future."

"Yes." Masumi quietly nodded and left. The voice's owner slowly came into view. Carrying a cane in one hand, she looked at me with a cold smile.

First-year Class A Sakayanagi.

"Oh? This should be interesting," Ryuuen put his attention on the screen.

"Were you to shy to confess your feelings by yourself, Senpai? It looks like there's a shy person under that cold exterior," Amasawa teased.

"Nothing as rose-tinted as you are imagining," Sakayanagi sighed.

"You wanted to see me?"

Sakayanagi didn't answer. For a silent moment, she and I just stared at each other. The school building began to get dark.

"You drew quite a lot of attention in that final relay, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka-kun." That was all she said.

"Oh, sorry. Can I send one little message? I've got someone waiting," I replied.

"It really was luck that you did it at that time," Matsushita muttered.

"Points would have taken too long to transfer, right Senpai?" Yagami asked politely.

"Yes. The only thing that would change because of the timing was whether Horikita would kneel or not," I said.

"Go ahead." Sakayanagi smiled, not appearing displeased at all. I sent off the message I'd prepared via my phone. "So, can I assume you're the one who called me here?"

"Yes."

"What do you want? I'd like to wrap this up quickly, if possible."

"After seeing you run, I remembered something. I called you here because I wanted to share the shock I felt with you. It's almost like the buildup toward a romantic confession, don't you think?"

"That would be a strong force," Hashimoto said.

"Yeah, but I hope it never happens," Kei mumbled.

"Are you jealous?" I asked.

"Not at all. What would make you think that?"

"You aren't looking in my face. Whenever we talk before, you always look directly into my eyes," I explained.

"Stop being so observant. It's too hard to be mad at you when you notice all of it," Kei sighed in defeat.

"Then let's pretend that I'm not observant," I said.

"What?" Kei said, bewildered.

"I don't know why you're mad, but to make it up to you; I'll cook you dinner tonight," I continued. It was a little embarrassing.

"Y-You don't have to do that. But if you insist then I will agree," Kei sputtered out.

"I really have no idea what you're talking about."

Clack.

Clack.

Sakayanagi, still gripping her cane, moved right next to me.

"It's been quite a long time, Ayanokouji-kun. Eight years and 243 days, actually."

"Creepy. The fuck is wrong with you?" Hosen looked confused.

"I agree with you, Gorilla. The fuck is wrong with her?" Ryuuen exclaimed in shock.

"She knows...? Her family is powerful, so it wouldn't be surprising," Yagami thought.

"You're joking, right? I don't even know who you are."

"Heh. No, I suppose not. It's just me who knows you, after all."

Clack.

Clack.

Her cane's tapping gradually grew quieter. What in the world was this about? I decided I was done here, and turned to walk away from Sakayanagi.

"White Room," Sakayanagi said.

The room was silent. It was different from the other times, however. It was silent because no one knew what was going on. The two words uttered were something that nobody knew.

I looked over at the corner of my eye and saw Ichika grinning. It seems that she knows about Sakayanagi's knowledge beforehand.

With the atmosphere of the room filled with confusion; the video played onward.

I stopped dead in my tracks at those two simple words. They cracked my composure.

I saw Nagumo and Ryuuen both intrigued by this thought. They were probably thinking how something as little as this could be so detrimental to me.

"Something like that made you so serious? It must be really important...," Kei looked at me worryingly.

"Don't worry about it," I patted her head, "I don't mind whatever will happen because of this."

"I guess if you're so confident about it, I shouldn't worry," Kei sighed.

"It's unpleasant, isn't it? When only your opponent knows your secrets."

"You..."

"This is a reunion. I just wanted to come give you a proper greeting."

Reunion? Though I kept my back to Sakayanagi, I turned my head to look at her. I had never seen her before. I didn't remember this girl, and I wasn't missing any memories of my past. I had met Sakayanagi for the first time at school. There was no arguing with that fact.

"Oh, it's quite all right that you don't know me. But I know you. We have a strange sort of bond, you could say. To reunite with you in a place like this... To be honest, I never thought I'd see you again. But now, all the mysteries have been cleared away. The island, the cruise ship, and Class D's expulsion uproar. I couldn't imagine that everything was on account of Horikita Suzune. So, you were the one pulling the strings."

"What are you talking about? There are lots of smart people in my class," I retorted. I needed to be calm. I needed to get through this without panicking. I'd have time to think later.

"You're so unsettled here, Senpai," Yagami stated.

"I really enjoy this, Ayanokouji. I completely boggled your mind," Sakayanagi giggled.

"If I say white room a few times, will you scream out in fear?" Ryuuen chuckled.

I glanced over to the chairman and saw him staring at the screen with an apathetic expression.

"It seems that this was inevitable. Arisu's competitive nature wouldn't let her keep this sort of information to herself for long. It isn't like I can stop this video from playing even if I am the chairman. Ayanokouji will have to deal with this on his own," Chairman Sakayanagi thought.

"When you say 'smart people,' are you referring to Horikita Suzune-san? Or perhaps Hirata Yousuke-kun? Either way, now that I know who you are, I suppose it doesn't really matter who anyone else is," she replied.

Apparently, she wasn't lying. She really did know me.

"Please, relax," she added. "I've no intention of telling anyone about you at present."

"Wouldn't things be easier if you did?"

"I don't want anything to get in my way. I'm the perfect person to bury false genius."

"False genius? His methods are cruel, but he would definetly be considered a genius," Matsushita stated.

"I mean false as in fake. You're thinking that he isn't a genius, it isn't a true or false question," Sakayanagi said.

Things like false imprisonment exist in which people are placed in jail even if they aren't supposed to. If I'm a false genius then I wasn't supposed to become the person I am now.

"'It doesn't matter who anyone else is.' Quite obsessive," Ichika said, fully knowing the irony within her statement.

"You're practically dripping with irony," Sakayanagi chuckled.

Clack. Her thin cane clattered against the floor. "I've found little pleasure in this boring school life."

"Can I ask you something else?"

"Please, go ahead. I'm honored to have you ask me a question. If you'd like to know, I'm even happy to tell you how I know about you."

"No, I'm not interested in that. There's just one thing I want to know." My eyes met Sakayanagi's.

"Can you bury me?"

"Was that a challenge?" Yagami asked.

"No. I was simply requesting my desire," I said bluntly.

"You really are a master at looking down on people," Ryuuen clicked his tongue.

"I simply wanted something. And asked the suitable person to give me what I want," I vaguely explained.

"Sure. Keep living in your delusions," Ryuuen muttered.

"Hee hee!"

Sakayanagi chuckled softly to herself, and smiled once more.

"Sorry for laughing. I don't intend to insult you. I know quite well how incredible you are. I've been looking forward to this. I'll be able to realize my dearest wish by destroying the greatest masterpiece that your father ever made."

No one said anything about my father. I assume it was because they simply didn't know what to say. The students had no idea about the white room or about my family. They could have used my vague explanations at the beginning of the tape viewing, but that could have been a lie for all they know.

"You said that your father was pretty locke and key, but Sakayanagi-Senpai knows about you. I don't get that," Yagami voiced his confusion.

Sakayanagi glanced at him, "Our fathers knew each other." Sakayanagi responded.

Yagami looked surprised, "I-I see then."

I wanted that, too.

My destruction—my defeat—would mean that the old man would lose. I wanted the sad contradiction that I carried within me to be destroyed. I wished for that from the bottom of my heart.

Nagumo glanced at me as if he saw a sort of kindred spirit, "So you want defeat? I guess that's a little different from me, but at the end of the day, we both want a challenge."

I didn't want to talk about this. It's something that I want to put past me. The contradiction within me can't be achieved right now.

The video was over, so I walked out and back to my dorm. There was a thought that repeated in my head as I walked there.

Unhappiness.

There are many unhappy people. I suppose that it wouldn't be an exagerration to say that a large percentage of the world is filled with unhappy people. But there are many unhappy people that can fight against their unhappiness fairly and squarly.

I had no way of doing that.

All of my problems stemmed from my own vices. I had nobody that I could fight.

Authors notes:

That concludes the vol 5 part of this fic and now I have an announcment to make.

Fic is going on hiatus.

I have been burnt out recently and haven't had the motivation to write. I don't want to have the most important chaps of this fic be merdiocore so I thought it would be better to take a break. It won't be long and probably be only 2-4 weeks.

I also want to thank everyone for reading. I may not respond but I do read every comment and all of the positive feedback is wonderful. I hope that when I come back, I can do the best continuing this story.

A Saintly Liar's Past

Kanzaki POV:

I am an above-average student in most areas. I have good academics and decent physical ability.

But I am not a leader.

I learnt this the day that Ayanokouji Kiyotaka convinced me not to switch classes. How could I, an easily swayed person, lead 39 people? Ichinose is smart, certainly. But she is naive. If all students in this school were to be assigned a defect then hers would be naivete.

However, Ichinose is the end goal. I must get others on my side before ever interacting with her about this. I turned my sights to Himeno Yuki. If I were to do this alone then I wouldn't have ever thought of her name until near the end, but Ayanokouji told me to go to her specifically.

I am not a leader, but I want to make a difference. In my own way, I am also naive.

Ayanokouji POV:

What an uneventful morning.

No interesting things happened and I was left to go through the motions. I know I said that I liked a mundane life, but I don't want to be a robot repeating code over and over again.

I got to my seat in the theatre, and the voice came back.

"Welcome back, everyone. Today, I will show the past of Kushida Kikyo. Enjoy!"

Surprisingly, Kushida looked unfazed. I don't know whether or not she was putting on an act like before, or if this was a genuine reflection of her true feelings. It would be nice to say that she had gotten over the fear of people knowing her past, but people don't change that fast.

Kushida was waiting for us out in the hallway. When she saw Horikita and I, she gave a small wave and smiled brightly. Horikita, however, was anything but surprised.

"Kushida-san. Sorry to have kept you waiting," Horikita said.

"It's all right. There's still a little time left before we were scheduled to meet. What were you talking about with Honami-chan?" asked Kushida.

"Nothing important."

"I'd still like to know. Is it something you can tell me?" Kushida's tone of voice and smile remained unchanged, but the tension rose.

"Sure. After all, it's completely unrelated to you," said Horikita.

After being deliberately prompted to share what happened, Horikita began telling Kushida about her conversation with Ichinose, albeit with some changes.

"I asked her how I could talk to people equally, without showing distinction or favoritism."

"Wouldn't Hirata be better for something like that?" Sudo said while scratching his nape.

"Maybe she wasn't comfortable talking to me about something like this. I don't really care whether or not she consulted me or someone else, as long as she gets her answer," Yosuke explained graciously.

"'Distinction', huh? You wanted to know how to talk to Kushida, right?" Sakayanagi glanced at Horikita.

"I won't lie. That was the main reason," Horikita confessed.

"Oh?"

"I'm not going to lie. I was asking about you, Kushida-san," said Horikita.

"Listen here, Horikita-san. While you and I may not get along, I'd much rather talk about this without Ayanokouji-kun," said Kushida. In other words, she didn't want any more people to know her secret. "Or could it be... that Ayanokouji-kun and Ichinose-san now know something?"

She glared at us. Horikita, however, didn't flinch.

"Sorry, Ayanokouji-kun, but could you head back without me?" said Horikita.

"Looks like I'm getting in the way," I muttered. "I'll get going." I left them and made my way toward the exit. After changing my shoes, I headed to the dormitory. En route, I got a call from Horikita and answered it.

The hall was a little stunned that Horikita would risk her conversation with Kushida.

I heard Horikita's muffled voice through the phone's speaker. "We attended the same junior high. Because I know about your past, you want to get me expelled. Do I have the facts correct?"

Apparently, Horikita had called me with her phone in her pocket. She was letting me listen in.

"Well, this is certainly sudden. Why bring up the past? I don't like talking about that."

"I don't like it, either. But we can't avoid it."

"Well, we've rarely had the chance to be alone like this. But you're certainly right—I do want you to disappear from this school, Horikita-san. And, yes, it's because we were in junior high together, and you know about that incident."

"I thought about this many times over. Although it's true that I heard about an incident, I didn't care. I didn't have any friends back then anyway. All I heard were rumors. I don't know what the truth really is."

"But there's no guarantee you don't know, is there?"

"You're right. That's why you can't let it go. No matter how much I deny it, you can't be sure I'm not lying. I imagine that you'd like to have me kicked out of school because you can't forgive me for knowing that there was an incident at all."

Kushida didn't deny it.

"What a childish squabble. Just a meaningless exchange of meaningless pasts," Koenji chucked.

Kushida had been quiet. She was laser-focused on paying attention to the screen.

"What a stupid thought," I heard Kushida mutter quietly.

"What was stupid?" Keisei seems to have heard it as well.

"Horikita wasn't even going to do anything. And it's not like anyone would believe her anyway. I wasted so much time on something so useless," Kushida vented.

"I am so stupid. All of the betrayings were so pointless," Kushida thought.

"True. Horikita wouldn't have enough credibility to make anyone believe the truth," Katsuragi agreed.

"I don't know about that. Sure, 99% of people won't believe Horikita-Senpai, but the one percent is enough to set things in motion," Amasawa interjected.

"Set what in motion?" Ike asked looking confused.

"Rumours, theories about why a random, no social skills student was saying things about the angel. Cracks would start to set in the facade," Amasawa chuckled.

"How about we place a bet, Kushida-san?"

"A bet? What are you talking about?"

All went quiet for a moment. I couldn't imagine that this was something Horikita had come up with on the fly. She'd most likely planned it.

"You don't like that I'm here. I can't do anything about that, right?"

"Right. As long as you're here, Horikita-san, I can't rest easy."

"But we're both in Class D. If we don't work together, we can't advance to Class A."

"Actually, I think expelling you will solve the problem."

"Do you plan on dropping out, too?"

"Of course not. Only you'll drop out, Horikita-san."

While their voices were muffled, and I couldn't catch everything, both of them sounded very calm.

"I have no intention of dropping out," said Horikita.

"Then there's nothing we can do. I don't think we can get along."

"You might be right about that. I've been trying to come up with a way we can coexist."

A solution didn't come to mind for me, either. Not even now.

"Then. But I concluded that, no matter what I do, it's impossible."

"I think so too, Horikita-san. This won't be over until one of us is gone."

"We aren't children. We can't just fight. But you don't trust me."

There was a brief silence. Then Kushida spoke.

"What did you mean when you said 'place a bet'?"

"What a big pissing contest. All of that was so worthless. Just get to the interesting bet shit already," Hosen yelled.

"I know you have problems with patience, but last longer than 2 minutes, will you?" Yagami said calmly.

"The fuck did you say, babyface?" Hosen glared down at him.

"It appears you have a hearing problem as well. I don't take pleasure in teasing the disabled, so I humbly apologise," Yagami stated calmly but his voice was still stiff due to Hosen's childish remark.

"I'm gonna kill you when I'm outta here," Hosen chuckled.

I doubt he would actually get into a physical altercation with Yagami simply because Yagami has been irregular lately. It's dumb to take on an enemy in anything if they are being different, especially if they are being more assertive and aggressive.

"If I score higher than you on the upcoming final exam, you'll cooperate with me from now on without any hostility. I'm not expecting us to be best friends; I just want you to stop trying to hurt me. That's all."

"Are you challenging me personally, regardless of how many points we end up with in our pairs?"

"Yes."

"That's ridiculous, Horikita-san. I didn't beat your midterm score. Even if we based this bet on our total scores, it would still be hard for me to win. Besides, I'd gain nothing from winning."

"Yes. That's true. So..." Horikita's voice was barely above a whisper now. "Let's determine the winner based on one of the eight subjects. You're free to choose whichever subject you're best in. If your score is higher than mine, I'll drop out of school. That's my offer."

I couldn't believe this. This was no normal contest between two people of differing skill levels. Horikita was taking a huge gamble by putting her own expulsion on the table, and she gave Kushida rather favorable conditions to boot by allowing her to choose her best subject. If Kushida lost, she wouldn't need to drop out. She'd just have to stop getting in Horikita's way. On the other hand, if Kushida won, Horikita was done for.

"It was a desperate measure. Beggars can't be choosers," Horikita sighed.

Manabu had a blank expression even if he had overseen all of this.

"This is a verbal agreement, is it not? You would need a reliable witness or maybe even a contract to do anything that's binding," Nagumo said while glancing at Manabu.

"Why would you need a witness? A witness can't really do anything," Matsushita remarked.

She has a point. Most witnesses won't be able to do anything if one party doesn't hold up their end of the deal, but Manabu Horikita isn't most.

"But this is just a verbal agreement, Horikita-san. If you lose, you could act like the bet never happened. Of course, I might not uphold my part of the arrangement, either. Can we both really trust what the other person says?"

"To make things official, I intend to involve a reliable witness."

"A reliable witness?"

"If you would, please...niisan."

"Wha—?!"

Kushida seemed honestly shocked when he showed up. I was, too.

Horikita was so deadly serious about this agreement, she'd brought her older brother to act as witness.

Nagumo clicked his tongue, "I guess that you're the only one who was able to make this anything worthwhile."

"You were so serious about dealing with her, but she's still in the class. What are you going to do?" Hashimoto said.

Horikita looked lost. She probably had some idea of what to do, but she couldn't do that until she was able to talk to Kushida herself. Horikita wouldn't just expel Kushida without even giving her a second to explain her new attitude.

Philosophers are always talking about the endless human curiosity. In this case, Horikita's curiosity won't let her end the connection between herself and Kushida.

"I'll have to cross that bridge when I get there," Horikita gave a vague answer.

"I'm terribly sorry to ask this of you, niisan. But I absolutely need your help."

That's right. She'd actually summoned Horikita Manabu, the former student council president and her older brother, to the spot.

"It's been a long time, Kushida," I heard him say. "Do you remember me?"

"I don't forget people."

The Horikita siblings had attended the same junior high as Kushida. But Horikita's older brother graduated before the incident involving Kushida happened, so he couldn't know that she'd caused it.

"I trust my brother the most in this school. You can trust him as well, Kushida-san. Don't worry, I didn't tell him any details."

"I was called to act as witness, nothing more. I'm not interested in anything else."

"Are you okay with this, Horikita-senpai? If your little sister loses, then—"

"She made the bet. It has nothing to do with me."

"I also swear that I won't say a word to anyone if I lose, Kushida-san. I'd bring shame on my brother's name if I went around breaking promises. I would never do that."

The deal couldn't possibly get any better for Kushida.

"You're serious, aren't you, Horikita-san?"

"I'm not the kind to wait around for people to strike."

"Fine. I accept your challenge. And I'm all right with the terms of the bet. I choose mathematics. Can I assume that if we end up getting the same score, neither one of us wins?"

Horikita must have nodded. They'd agreed to terms right in front of Horikita's brother. There was no way to back out now.

"I will fulfill my role as witness. Should either of you violate the bet, you'd best be prepared for the consequences."

Even after retiring as student council president, Horikita's brother still held a great deal of authority. Kushida would honor the arrangement until he graduated, at the very least.

"That doesn't apply anymore, huh? Kikyo! Wanna have another partnership?" Ryuuen said sarcastically.

I don't think Kushida would ever trust him again.

"Well, considering that Horikita is still here. She won, right?" Mii-chan asked for confirmation.

"So that's it, huh?" The professor said.

"Did you forget? We have my past to see," Kushida said with a wry smile.

Even if the voice didn't state we were seeing Kushida's past, the video would have to be longer than this. If this was all there is to it then there's no point since this would just be mentioned later on.

"If I can get the jumpstart, then I'll be done with this faster," Kushida thought.

"You reached the acceptance stage quite fast," Tsubaki said in a bored voice.

"I reached that quite a while ago," Kushida said.

"I doubt it. If you did then you would've been like this for a while. But you were acting like a petty child for a while when reacting to these tapes," Tsubaki retorted.

She was right. Kushida was on a self-destructive path with her mental state getting worse and worse day by day. I didn't change her mindset or anything big like that. All I did was make her see things objectively.

Kushida didn't entertain her with a response.

"Thank you very much, niisan."

The conversation went silent. Kushida and Horikita were probably waiting for Horikita's brother to leave.

"I'm looking forward to the final exam, Horikita-san."

"Let's give it everything we've got. Both of us."

"Yes. Give my regards to Ayanokouji-kun, too."

"Why him?"

"Because you told him, didn't you? About my past."

"I can't blame you for thinking like that. Ayanokouji would be the only person that Horikita might tell," Ichinose remarked.

"That's—"

"Ah, you don't really need to answer that. I don't trust you, Horikita- san, so it doesn't matter. I won't violate our bet's terms, so you can relax. Besides, Ayanokouji-kun has seen a little of my bad side."

I felt Horikita's panic through the phone. "Yes. I told Ayanokouji-kun."

"I knew it. By the way, are you using your phone right now? You see, I've tried calling you over and over for the last few minutes, Horikita-san, but it seems like you've been on a call."

It wasn't just intuition. Kushida had some guts.

"Care to join us, Ayanokouji-kun?"

I heard Kushida calling me. It was probably best for me to obey.

"So you got caught. I can't say that this wasn't to be expected," Nagumo said.

"How can you guys do this without looking at your phones? Whenever I even try to type without looking, it just ends up looking like alphabet soup," Ishizaki whined.

"It wouldn't be too hard if they already had the contact screen open," Hiyori told him.

If you have that contact of the person you want to contact then you just have to make the placement of your finger on the call button accurate.

I headed back to Kushida and Horikita.

"Yoo-hoo!" said Kushida. Although she had a cheery expression, I couldn't tell what her true feelings were.

"You really got me, Kushida-san. Your insightfulness and your ability to take action are truly incredible," said Horikita.

"Thank you. But, really, I'm merely observant," replied Kushida.

"Why did you call for Ayanokouji-kun?" Horikita asked. "I thought our conversation was over. If you're angry that I had him listen in, just say so."

"I'm not particularly displeased. It's just that I'd rather speak to you both face-to-face. I was wondering whether you would mind me adding another condition to the bet," said Kushida.

"A condition?"

"If I beat your score, Horikita-san, I want Ayanokouji-kun to drop out, too." I'd thought that Kushida might propose this.

Chabashira had a bewildered look on her face.

"A 2-for-1 deal? That's just a bad bet. Ayanokouji, you didn't accept this, right?" Matsushita inquired.

"I did accept it. I got something in return anyway, so it isn't as if I got the short end of the stick," I said.

"Kiyotaka, you asked for her past, didn't you?" Yosuke asked.

I haven't interacted with Yosuke much recently. What his current opinion of me might be is something I have no knowledge of.

"Yes. I did."

"Getting information on an enemy was a smart decision," Sakayanagi agreed.

"I know that you wanted me to help you with Kushida, but why get involved?" Kei asked me quietly.

"I had my reasons for getting involved."

"It says later, doesn't it?" Kei looked annoyed.

"What makes you say that?"

"Whenever something is shown later you always give me a vague answer. If it isn't shown later, then you just tell me," Kei seemed to be observing my answers.

I can't really deny it. She completely saw through me.

"You're observant," I sighed.

"When it comes to you, I have to be. You always do these things to get a reaction from me," Kei groaned.

"Fine, fine. I'll tease you a little bit less," I told her.

Kei, looking satisfied, turned her attention to the screen.

"No," replied Horikita.

"I want to make everyone who knows about my past disappear. Even if you're no longer here, Horikita-san, if Ayanokouji-kun remains, so will my troubles."

"Maybe. But this is my gamble, so I can't involve him."

Before I could even answer, Horikita denied Kushida's request, as if she had already come to a conclusion well ahead of time. That must've been why she hadn't told me about the bet in the first place. She'd wanted to avoid doing something that would have made me an accomplice.

"Well, that's too bad. I could've killed two birds with one stone."

"So, you want me expelled too, huh?" I asked, incredibly disappointed.

"Ha ha ha! There's no need to look so disappointed. It's not your fault, Ayanokouji-kun. It's just bad luck that you learned about my true nature."

"'Bad luck,' huh? I thought that for a long time that it was just my unluckiness that caused Ayanokouji to be involved with me, but now I'm not so sure. Making such a clumsy mistake wasn't like him," Kushida thought.

"There's no problem if he doesn't tell anyone, though," said Horikita.

"If that were all it took, Horikita-san, you wouldn't have challenged me to this bet."

"Well, you're vital to Class D, after all."

Kushida certainly was very observant of other people. It was only natural that Horikita would want such talent on her side.

"You've changed. You wouldn't have said that before."

"If I'm always fighting with my peers, then I'll never make it to the higher classes. I'll be stuck in a vicious circle," said Horikita.

Had the two of them ever talked this openly before? Yet they couldn't see eye to eye. Such a tragic fate. If they hadn't attended the same junior high, Kushida probably would have cooperated with Horikita. In that case, Kushida would've influenced the classmates Hirata and Karuizawa couldn't reach, and Class D might have united much sooner.

"That's true. We probably would've got our shit together way faster," Sudo surmised.

"I'm glad that we got there in the end, though," Keisei sighed.

"Can I join this wager? I bet that Horikita will win," I said.

"Wait a minute," said Horikita. "What are you saying, Ayanokouji- kun? This has nothing to do with you."

"It started out that way. But now it does have something to do with me. Besides, I eavesdropped on your conversation. You can't just ignore that."

Horikita seemed as though she wanted to avoid taking on an even bigger responsibility, but I selfishly interpreted this as a convenient move.

Even if Horikita won the bet and was temporarily free from Kushida's attacks, Kushida could just focus her offensive on me instead. If I protected myself now, it would make things easier in the long run.

"I guess the bet did say that Kushida was only supposed to stop attacking Horikita. It never said anything about attacking Ayanokouji," Shinohara said.

"How does asking for her past protect you in the long run?" Matsushita asked.

"Kushida would have had to develop this personality somewhere. And if I could figure out why she made it and why she protects it to such an extent, I could figure out a potential weakness," I explained.

This isn't something big that I explained. Most people when thinking it through would do something similar.

"I'd be happy to have you join," said Kushida.

"But I also have a condition."

"Hmm?"

"I want you to tell me the specifics of this junior high incident." I was entering dangerous territory.

"That's—"

I didn't hold back, even if Kushida was visibly shaken. I'd be forcibly dragged into their bet. If I acted swiftly now, I could secure an advantage.

"It's my right to ask for this much. I don't know any details, and yet you're trying to get me expelled. You're acting on the belief that Horikita knows about the incident, right? So, just explain it to us right now. As long as you beat Horikita on the test, the school will kick us both out, and you won't have to worry."

"I'm not interested in her past," said Horikita.

"Well, I am. I can't accept that Kushida's threatening my whole life here on a selfish whim," I replied, disregarding Horikita's response.

"It's true that you're now involved, Ayanokouji-kun. I can't deny that. If Horikita-san really hasn't told you the details, I understand your feelings. But if I do tell you, there'll be no turning back. Understand?" asked Kushida.

"Haven't I already passed the point of no return? Are you saying you'll spare me if I don't know anything? Can you say for sure that you won't treat me as your enemy?" I asked. Kushida had designated me her enemy, a target to be dealt with.

"No way."

"In that case, tell me why it's worth taking this gamble."

Horikita probably wondered why I was going this far—why I would risk being expelled. Her eyes said as much, but she wouldn't question anything in front of Kushida.

Sorry, but I can't do what you want, Horikita. I finally have the chance to expose Kushida Kikyou's past.

The tension was rising now.

"You must've had some intense faith if you were risking the school life that you value so much, or did you already knew that Kushida would lose?" Nagumo asked speculatively.

I didn't give him a response. He would find out eventually, anyway.

However, his words opened a thought that most students didn't think of.

"You went so far as to be physical with a teacher when they threatened your life at the school. I guess that you wouldn't risk being expelled for such a minor reason," Matsushita analysed.

Whether Nagumo did this intentionally or not, he opened a box that couldn't be closed. The students were all now hyper-focused on my every action.

"Ayanokouji-kun, is there something that you're the best at? Better than anyone else?" asked Kushida.

"I'm just an average person. What you'd call a jack of all trades, master of none. If I had to pick something, I guess I'm a little faster than average."

Nobody questioned the lie. They were all used to it at this point.

"Then I wonder if you can understand what I'm feeling. Don't you think that the best thing in the world is feeling valued in some special way? When you get the highest score on a test, or win first place in a race, everyone's eyes are on you. You know those moments when people shower you with attention?" asked Kushida. "They'll call you amazing, cool, cute, and so on."

Of course I understood. People naturally desired the approval of others. Working hard enough to earn praise for accomplishments was fundamental to how human society functioned. It was perfectly legitimate.

Did I feel that way in the White Room? I didn't particularly feel happy when I got perfect results on a test. I was simply just there. Like computer code repeating the same thing without any thought. I just went through the motions.

"Of course people value those. Society places value on results, effort comes second," Nagumo sighed.

"The best thing in the world is attention? What a sad thing to want," Ryuuen criticised.

"Why do you say that?" Kushida asked.

"It would get tiring after a while. The constant eyes tracking your every move, or the people waiting for your fall if you grow to high," Ryuuen explained.

I knew exactly what he was talking about.

"It has it's negatives, I won't deny that. But I feel like the positives outweigh the negatives," Kushida retorted.

Kushida may want to stay in the school, but that doesn't change the fact that she still likes attention. A person's core doesn't change that fast.

"It just relies on the opinions of other people. If you desire attention so much and then lose it, you end up in a shitty place," Ryuuen replied with a slight smirk.

He was right. I'm sure that Kushida knew this as well since she's exactly what he's talking about.

"I think that I'm probably addicted to that feeling," Kushida said.

"More so than normal people. I can't help wanting to show off. I can't help wanting to stand out. I can't help wanting to be praised. When I am, I truly feel how wonderful it is to be alive. But I know my own limits. No matter how hard I try, I won't be number one in school or in sports—and coming second or third won't satisfy my cravings. So, I thought I'd do something that no one else could—be nicer and kinder than everyone else."

This was a severe case of narcissism. It wasn't like Koenji's, but it still went under the same term. Koenji's is what you would call Grandiose Narcissism. Where you already accept the fact that you were the best and you wouldn't concern yourself with others.

Kushida's was the opposite. Hers was known as Vulnerable Narcissism. She would desire the validation of others and she cares exceptionally for the opinion of other people.

That was the root of Kushida's kindness? It was better to be a genuinely kind, helpful person who made mistakes than someone two-faced who just bragged about being perfectly good. A kind but flawed individual was more honest than a saintly liar. What Kushida was doing wasn't nearly as simple as she made it sound. Even if you wanted to be the kindest, gentlest soul, it didn't automatically mean you would get along with everyone.

"I agree. There would be someone out there who would dislike you," Ichinose said.

Ichinose was also someone who I hadn't interacted with much recently. I didn't know how she felt about me or if I was still considered an enemy.

"I know that. There may be someone who would dislike me, but the praise from most people would be enough," Kushida said. "Even if you're the best at studies in the school, you could always lose a few marks, right?"

"Thanks to that, I became popular with both boys and girls. I took pleasure in being trusted and relied upon. Elementary school and junior high were really fun," said Kushida.

"Isn't it agonizing, though? Doing things that you don't want to do? If it were me, I couldn't take it. I think I'd break down," said Horikita.

No wonder she'd ask that. Kushida had been doing things that others would consider impossible.

"Of course it's agonizing. Day after day, I'm under so much stress I feel like I'm going to go bald. I've pulled my hair out and vomited from anxiety. But I can't let anyone see that side of me. That's why I continued to endure, and endure, and endure. But my heart couldn't take it anymore," said Kushida.

The students looked at Kushida completely baffled at how some attention could be worth all this agony.

Clearly, the stress had been insane. How had she kept this act up for so long?

"My blog saved me. It was the only place where I dumped out this hidden stress. I could tell it all my most painful secrets. Of course, I posted everything anonymously, you know? But I wrote the facts just as they were, and it made me so happy when I received encouragement from people I didn't even know. Then, one day, a classmate discovered my blog. Even though I hadn't named anyone, it was clear my posts were all based on real events. I'd badmouthed everyone so much that they were obviously going to hate me for it."

"10,000 points for anyone who can find the blog," Hosen announced.

The school doesn't allow contact with the outside world so I doubt anybody could find it.

"How'd they even figure out it was you?" Ike asked.

"Ike, think for just a moment. If everyone gave their secrets to me and I shared everyone's secrets, then what would happen?" Kushida looked as if she was boiling due to Ike's stupidity.

"If everyone gave it to you then you would be the only one who could share them?" Ike said hesitantly.

"Think before you ask anyone, Ike," Kushida chuckled.

Ike looked as if death was glaring at him, "S-Sure... No problem."

"That's how this incident started?"

"The next day, my posts were shared with the entire class. Everyone condemned me. I'd helped them so much, and yet they all turned on me. Selfish, right? The boy who'd told me that he liked me actually shoved me. It was understandable, though, since I'd posted that his romantic confession grossed me out and I wanted him to die. One girl I'd comforted after she was dumped even kicked my desk. I'd posted in detail about why she was dumped and made fun of her. Over thirty students decided I was their mortal enemy that day."

She could have never won that fight to begin with. I could only see it ending with the class forcing Kushida out.

"Deserved," Ryuuen said.

"I think physical violence is too much, boss," Albert said in broken Japanese.

Wait, that was much more fluent than before even if it was a mess. Could someone be teaching him? The only people in the class who would spend their time teaching someone another language would be someone like Kaneda. Hiyori also has lots of free time so I can't rule her out either. Ryuuen doesn't have many friends and he doesn't go to a club, either.

My potential subjects are Ryuuen, Hiyori and Kaneda. Kaneda is certainly smart enough but I doubt he would spend his time teaching someone else. Hiyori is smart and kind enough, but she's far too shy and may even feel threatened and awkward with Albert due to them not being able to communicate. The only potential subject left is Ryuuen.

I might be overthinking this...

"I doubt you could overthrow that many people. Lies could also work but to make believable lies on the spot would be difficult, even for you. The only option left would be to spill every remaining secret," Yagami surmised.

"So, how did you make it through? Violence? Or lies?" That was the mystery that Horikita and I still didn't know the answer to.

"Neither. All I did was tell the truth. I revealed all my classmates' secrets. Who hated whom, who thought whom was a disgusting creep. I exposed truths I hadn't even written on my blog."

We hadn't anticipated this. Truth was a weapon that you could only obtain through trust. Horikita and I didn't have that. Although truth might seem harmless, it was actually a powerful double-edged sword, only usable at the cost of more trust.

"At that point, my classmates stopped being angry at me and started hating each other. The boys got into fistfights, the girls pulled each other's hair and shoved each other over. The entire classroom descended into complete chaos. It was honestly incredible."

"So, that's how it happened."

"Because of everything I exposed, the class could no longer function. The school rebuked me, but my blog was anonymous, and all I technically did was tell my classmates the truth. They weren't really sure how to punish me." Kushida spoke indifferently, but every word she uttered carried weight.

"I still don't know that much about my fellow Class D students. However, I know enough to destroy a few people. That's my only weapon."

Kushida already spilled a few minor ones during her meltdown when she was first exposed. She was kept in check and would most likely stay in check. This is not only because she feared the criminal charges that could be placed on her at any moment, but also because of her own desire. She wants to get through school without any more trouble. In a way, I could understand her.

Many students' faces paled at the thought of what Kushida could do. Kushida paid them no mind and simply had an indifferent expression.

A threat. If we told anyone about her, we should prepare for the consequences. If Kushida felt it was necessary, she would tear a rift in Class D right after we'd finally started bringing everyone together. If that happened, the harmony we'd established would disappear.

"It was a mistake to use the internet to vent my feelings. Everything you put up there is saved forever. That's why I stopped blogging. Now, I blow off steam by saying what's on my mind out loud when I'm alone."

Like the first time I'd seen that other side of her. She was probably spewing all the cruel insults she could muster.

"Do you want to remain as you are right now?" I asked.

"This is my reason for being. More than I love anything else in the world, I love everyone respecting and noticing me. When people trust me with their secrets, I feel joy that surpasses my wildest imaginings."

"A random roof seems like a bad place to vent," Ike said.

"I fucking know that. I was the one who got fucked over because of it," Kushida insulted.

"More than anything else? Have you always been like this?" Ichinose couldn't understand why Kushida had done what she had done.

"I guess I have. As for why I love it so much, I haven't really thought much about it. If I had to say something, I love the feeling of being trusted. One becomes very human-like when you get ahold of their secrets. They're completely vulnerable around you. And I love that," Kushida coldly said.

The students had only seen this side of her in the tapes. The only other side was the outbursts, but this cold and calculated side was much more terrifying to them.

Knowing the anxiety, suffering, embarrassment, and hopes that people held deep within their hearts was Kushida's forbidden fruit.

"Boring, isn't it? But to me, it's everything." Kushida's smile disappeared. Now that she'd told us about her past, we became true enemies in her eyes. From this point onward, she wouldn't show us the slightest compassion. "Don't forget. If I score higher in math, both you and Ayanokouji-kun will drop out."

"Yes," said Horikita.

And that was that. Satisfied, Kushida left to return to her dorm. I turned to Horikita. "Are you sure about this? Kushida's involved with Ryuuen. She could get all of our questions and answers."

"If you knew it was dangerous, why did you join? Because you believe I won't lose?" Horikita countered.

"Well, yeah." Truthfully, I went along with the bet because I had some ideas of my own.

"Knew it," Nagumo muttered.

"I guess you always have your reasons" Kei sighed.

"Is that a bad thing?" I thought that everybody does something because they have a reason to.

"Not really. It's just that most people don't always have ulterior motives whenever they do something," Kei said.

I wanted to deny it, but she had a point. I often do things because of another reason.

"I guess you're right," I said.

"Even though Kushida might be able to help Ryuuen-kun, I really have to wonder whether it'll come to that," said Horikita.

"What do you mean?"

"What do you mean?"

"Certainly, if she gets ahold of the test questions, victory will be within Kushida-san's grasp. In which case, I would definitely have to drop out. But do you think that Ryuuen-kun really wants me to drop out?" she asked.

"It's doubtful."

Ryuuen wanted to entrap Horikita, but he wasn't trying to get her kicked out of school. He hoped to see her brought low, and her expulsion would end those aspirations. Besides, would he really let Horikita go without finding out who was working with her in secret? Would he let her get expelled without exposing me first?

"Why take away the thrill of the game? It's just stupid to do that," Ryuuen laughed.

"But what if Kushida lies to get the questions from him? She might say that she wants to improve her personal score, and keep our bet's details secret," I said.

"Ryuuen-kun would see through something like that. If Kushida-san asked for the math answers, he'd want to know why," said Horikita.

"You're probably right. But this is dangerous."

There were no guarantees. Kushida might successfully convince Ryuuen to help her. I hoped Horikita would consider that, but harping on it would be too harsh.

"There'll always be danger, no matter the challenge at hand. It helps to have things you're willing to put on the line."

Horikita hadn't expected me to actively take part in the bet. However, she was resolute in her conclusion. She'd made her offer sound more credible to Kushida by promising to keep her past a secret, swearing to drop out if she lost, and having the former student council president stand as a witness.

"There's no turning back from this. We definitely need to win."

"Of course."

Horikita was making her biggest gamble yet.

"Losing your life at this school or gain an ally. Temporarily, at most. I can't say that it was a wonderful deal, but it does last at least for a little while if you win," Yagami said.

The screen faded to black and we were all allowed back to the dorms. As I was getting up from my seat, I saw Kanzaki with a determined expression. I didn't know what he was thinking about so I just walked outside. As I was walking home, I had a thought.

How long has it been since I was able to go home without any trouble?

Even if I don't have to talk to anyone, I still have thoughts swirling inside my mind. For once, I can go home without anything troubling. I can't even tell if this is a dream.

Kanzaki POV:

I looked eyes with Ayanokouji as he was walking out. He had the same expression as usual, but it was almost as if he was seeing right through me.

I sent a message to the person I wanted to meet and I waited in the special building for them.

The backside of the dorms was my first choice but students have recently begun to frequent there for whatever reason, so the special building where only people who do clubs visit was the second best option. I didn't go back to my dorm since school uniform is mandatory to go to the building.

It only took around 15 minutes before they showed up.

"How did you get here so fast?" Himeno asked as she walked in front of me. There was only a distance of a few metres between us.

"I went straight here. Why were you so slow?" If she read the message and came straight here then she should've been just a couple of minutes behind me.

"I was hungry," She replied.

I'm trying to have a serious discussion and she ignored it for a snack.

Himeno looked at me curiously, "Why did you ask me to come here?"

"I want your help," I stated bluntly.

I couldn't turn back now. If she told Ichinose this then I would have failed before I even began.

"Huh? Do you not have enough points or something? Ask one of your friends," Himeno assumed that bad finances were why I called her here.

"Seriously, hear me out for a second."

"Fine, fine. Say whatever you wanted to say."

Himeno stopped talking and the mood grew tense.

"Do you like the class, Himeno?"

She looked confused, "I don't hate it. There are some problems but I'll take whatever I can get."

"Then let me rephrase the question. What do you think about the classes attitude?" I said.

"I don't get what you mean. I don't particularly love it, but I can't do anything about it," She said after a little bit of thinking.

So it appears that Ayanokouji was right.

I took a deep breath and finally got to the point, "I want to change the class. And I need your help."

The casual conversation we were having was no more.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not interested with whatever plans you have. It's useless anyway," Himeno said and began to turn around.

I can't do something like Ayanokouji and make people listen to my demands. And I'm not someone like Ryuuen who would force someone with violence and fear.

"You're just going to end up being dissapointed after a year," I said coldly.

Himeno stopped and turned her head slightly, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"High school, at best, is a place where you can have fun for a little while. Sure, you can make friendships that can last for years. But, at the end of the day, it's a blink of an eye compared to the decades of your life," I explained.

I know that I was condescending, but it got her to stop.

"Whether that's true or not doesn't really matter. If you fail to change the class then the only strong part of the class would weaken. If it turns out that a trusted person was trying to convince people to betray Ichinose, there would be problems," Himeno commented.

"And if I don't do anything, are you satisfied living the rest of your school life at the bottom? Even if we have some points, there would be a lot more problems because of the treatment that other students cause," Class D has always been ridiculed at this school.

Himeno didn't respond immediately, so I used the silence to continue my point.

"Do you want to know why I want to change the class? I like the people in it. They can all be hard to deal with, and sometimes infuriating, but I still like them. Besides, if you join up with me, you get a chance to change the things you dislike about it," I continued.

Ayanokouji helped me. Before that, I despised him. I still don't think he is a good person in any regard, but I know that people aren't born like that. A personality is always based on nurture rather than nature.

"I really want to help you, Kanzaki. But I have two questions," Himeno said quietly.

It appears that I had gotten somewhere.

"First, what's your plan moving forward? Second, why ask me and not any of the people who you know better? Surely, it would be easier getting them on board," She had asked two logical questions.

"I guess you are entitled to those answers. For your first question, I have a few goals. I don't believe everyone besides you and I thinks like Ichinose. I just think that they're afraid of going against the majority, so they stay complacent. You would be a case example of this, right?"

Himeno looked a little shocked, "You're a lot more observant than I thought."

"As for your second questions, I asked you because someone reccommended you."

Himeno was baffled, "What? Who did that?" She said as she took a step towards me.

"Ayanokouji Kiyotaka."

Himeno wasn't nearly as shocked as I expected her to be. Did she expect this? Just what happened between the two of them?

"I'm not really surprised," Himeno sighed.

The conversation got awkward again, but I was close to the end.

"I've answered your questions. So, will you help me?" I shook out my hand.

I wonder what would happen to me if Ayanokouji hadn't stepped in that day. I doubt I would go through with the class-changing plan. That was just something I thought of in annoyance. If not for him, I would've spent the next year of my life completely miserable.

"This is gonna take a lot of effort," Himeno sighed as she shook my hand.

It seems that I had taken my first move in this game.

"I'm glad to be working with you, Himeno," I said.

Now that this was done, we had no more business together. We both began to walk towards the exit, but there was a question that was weighing on my mind.

"Hey, uh, Himeno."

"Hmm, yeah?" She said without looking at me.

"How did you and Ayanokouji meet?" I was curious. It would be shown in the tapes eventually but I just had to ask.

"I'm taking that to the grave," Himeno replied coldly.

"It might be shown, thought."

"Wait, really?"

I nodded.

"I wanna die," She said in a deadpan voice.

Authors notes:

I'm back. Breaks are nice but it's nice to write again.

So I have 2 more chapters planned for vol 6.

The last two chapters:

-- Ryuuen confronting Manabe about being the traitor. And the juice scene with Kushida.

-- The scene where Ryuuen and Horikita both hand in the test sheets for the paper shuffle. The Kushida POV at the end of the volume with Ryuuen.

For this chapter, it was Kushida's past and Kanzaki's first move. Kanzaki, just like in canon, got Himeno as his first ally.

I don't think that everyone in class B fully believes in Ichinose. There would definitely be more people like Himeno who just don't want to go against the majority.

I'll be going back to weekly uploads, so I'll see you next week.

A Tyrant's Methods

Ayanokouji POV:

I arrived at school at the usual time and we went to the gymnasium just as usual as well. When walking in, I noticed Kanzaki sitting with a blank expression. I wonder what happened to the determined look that was there the day before yesterday. But whatever actions he takes are his own. I'm simply an observer.

"For today's video, I have something new instored."

I didn't think that there would be something new so randomly. I was intrigued by what video we were going to watch today, but now I'm paying full attention.

"We will have 2 videos today. The first will be narrated by me. The second will go back to normal with Ayanokouji's point of view."

I see. So certain videos may not have any first-person point of view and we may get a third-person instead.

One may think that this doesn't matter, but a first-person narration isn't as reliable. It's a person's emotions and true thoughts that could be biased and irrational, while a third person is detached from the situation and can look at thing objective.

However, this is in more literal terms. If we think of this like a book then it would be the author narrating themselves. The author would be much more truthful in the scenario rather than a character who could be thinking irrationally due to fear or other emotions.

Meanwhile, in a different classroom, the atmosphere was quite cold and strained. The assembled Class C students appeared greatly intimidated by the person standing at the podium before them.

"It seems that your class has finally made a debut," Hosen chuckled.

The class C students, however, were experiencing a form of PTSD at Ryuuen's cruel and scary nature.

"There've been many unnatural goings-on, wouldn't you say?" he asked.

Ryuuen Kakeru was Class C's leader and dictator. Yamada Albert, Ishizaki, and other students adept in martial arts stood next to him. They were willing to dispense punishment with their fists, should someone oppose him.

"There's no way any of this could have been a coincidence." He spoke as if he were talking to himself, but his ambiguous words seemed to be directed at someone.

"First there was that test on the uninhabited island, and then the sports festival. Someone lurking in Class D knows how to think like me."

"Someone thinks like you, Ryuuen-san? I can't imagine someone like that in Class D, though," blurted Ishizaki. To him, Ryuuen was a strange, incomprehensible being who commanded both respect and contempt.

"It aligns with Machiavelli's philosophy," Sakayanagi stated.

As Machiavelli once said, 'it's better to be feared rather than loved, if one cannot have both.'

"I guess some of that guy's ideas could be like mine. But, at the end of the day, ideas are cheap. What I wanted was completely something I came up with. That guy did not influence me," Ryuuen retorted.

"I guess we can both agree on something for once," Kanzaki remarked.

"Oh? Have you finally finished your pity party?" Ryuuen insulted with a cocky smirk.

"Were you worried about me?" Kanzaki retorted with something I, no, most didn't expect him to say.

Kanzaki was a right-hand man type of person. He didn't have the abilities to be a leader but he wasn't someone who would be a follower. However, he took the right-hand position as someone who has to obediently follow the leader's orders without question. The job of a right-hand man is to act as an advisor.

Even Ichinose was surprised by his unusual comment.

Ryuuen responded with a chuckle, "Not at all. Besides, it seems that pity party did something intersting."

"What did you agree with him on?" Himeno asked.

Kanzaki responded with ease, "Ideas are cheap, aren't they? It's nothing but a starting point that anyone can come up with. The ability to turn that idea into something is the real impressive thing."

I agreed with him. At the end of the day, an idea is nothing but a thought. A human being's imagination is endless. Thoughts come and go just like the tides on a beach, but the ability to take a thought and mould it into something real is something that lots of people can't do.

Ryuuen smiled at Ishizaki. "I thought so, too. But not anymore."

"So, are the events on the island and at the sports festival connected somehow?"

"Yes, exactly. But don't worry. I'm starting to see how this person handles things. Listen up, all of you! From here on out, we're going to hit Class D with everything we've got. We'll put Classes A and B aside for the time being. I'll smoke out the person working in Class D's shadows," said Ryuuen.

No one objected to his plan. Even if they wanted to, they couldn't. They'd already made a deal with the devil himself.

"A dictator is only valuable when their power has meaning. You may be the smartest person in the room, but that doesn't mean anything if you can't deliver," Horikita criticised.

There are many case examples of this throughout history. The Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu was a corrupt tyrant that couldn't make good on his promises. So, naturally, his people turned on him.

"That's true. Though, every student already knew what would happen when they chose to follow him," Hiyori logically responded.

It was a case of Ryuuen being the only one capable enough to lead the class.

"Ryuuen-san, is there really anyone competent in Class D, besides Horikita or Hirata?"

"Yes. And someone in Class C can expose the puppet master's true identity." Ryuuen turned away from Ishizaki and gazed upon the rest of the class once more.

"What are you trying to say, Ryuuen?" asked Ibuki, crossing her arms. She stood near the window, her posture defiant.

"Heh. Ibuki, can't you even listen quietly?" asked Ryuuen.

"I don't have that luxury. Besides, you're just trying to intimidate the entire class. I gain nothing from silence, right?"

"You know, someone with no authority shouldn't be talking. Besides, you made a rather disgraceful blunder, didn't you?" said Ryuuen.

"That's..." She was forced to swallow her words.

Ibuki's failure in the sports festival had been significant. Ryuuen had wanted nothing more than to crush Horikita. Ibuki had requested to challenge Horikita directly, but had been narrowly defeated.

"Like you, then?" said Ibuki, glaring at Ryuuen. This was her only opportunity for rebuttal. "I mean, you also failed to crush Horikita in the sports festival, or to get the private points you expected. You're the same as me."

"The same as you? Don't make me laugh. My strategy was perfect," said Ryuuen.

"That's just a logical fallacy, isn't it? It can't have been perfect if it was thwarted," Tsubaki pointed out.

"I guess we're just debating over semantics. It was perfect against a normal person. That guy over there is just weird," Ryuuen smoothly insulted me while also defending himself.

Truly, it was a characteristic unique to Ryuuen.

"At the end of the day, you both failed," Sakayanagi innocently giggled.

It was Katsuragi who was in charge of the class during the first 3 special exams. In all three, class A got either mediocre results or were completely destroyed.

"So, how do you explain the results? You never explain anything. You seriously expect to convince us that Class D has some master strategist?" said Ibuki.

Hearing Ibuki's comeback, the other students trembled in fear. They wanted to avoid incurring Ryuuen's wrath.

However, Ryuuen only smiled thinly. "Don't you think that a perfect strategy is meaningless if someone leaks information?"

"Leaks information?"

"Class D's success is due to the maneuverings of a mysterious person I'll refer to as 'X.' X has an ally in Class C—my class. There's a spy among us," said Ryuuen.

The so-called spy was no longer there. It's unfortunate for them but most people would do something similar.

"It's exactly why you need trusted allies," Horikita pointed out the flaw in Ryuuen's logic.

Ryuuen glanced over to me, "I guess the no trusting thing did come to bite me in the ass."

Everyone looked slightly confused.

Ibuki's eyes widened in shock. "Wait, are you serious?" she asked.

"It's true. It seems that my control over you isn't strong enough. It's extremely unfortunate," said Ryuuen.

He smiled as if he enjoyed the possibility of being spied upon. Everyone in the room started praying that this would be over quickly. They all yearned to scurry back to their dorms or rush off to their club activities.

"This nonsense is coming to an end right this instant," said Ryuuen. He slammed the top of the podium, silencing everyone. Without hesitation, he declared, "First, I'll ask directly. The person who betrayed me, raise your hand."

Of course, none of his classmates put up their hands. Some averted their eyes and feigned ignorance, while others looked around to see whether anyone came forward. Some stayed completely still to avoid drawing attention to themselves.

This is the advantage of having a third-person perspective. Unless the point of view is from a logical and observing person, the tape wouldn't show how most people would be reacting.

Things like 'please don't look at me' or 'I just want to get out of here' would be flooding an average person's mind, but a third-person perspective would show what most people were feeling through their body language and expressions.

"It sucks that they didn't raise their hand. I got chewed out by my coach for being late," Kondou sighed.

"I find it worrying that you think a traitor admitting to betraying was ever a possibility," Kiriyama said.

"I never said that. I just wanted to get out of there," Kondou replied.

Kondou's opinion is probably what most people in his class shared.

"If you just step forward now, I'll forgive you," said Ryuuen. The continuing silence seemed to delight him. "Yes. I knew that a spy would plan to stay hidden. Don't come forward. In fact, stay hidden at all costs."

"I doubt any sane person would believe you," Kanzaki said.

"I'm quite the forgiving dictator," Ryuuen chuckled.

"Class D had a spy and class C also had a spy. I'd say that Ryuuen-Senpai's was better, though," Yagami analysed.

"Why do you say that?" Matsushita asked.

"It's a matter of trust and also the environment the two spies are in. Kushida-Senpai was trusted by nearly everyone and she didn't have the cold and cruel environment that Manabe-Senpai was in," Yagami explained.

He was right. There was also the added component of Manabe potentially getting irrational because Ryuuen was unpredictable. Kushida knew that no one in class D would ever pull a punch or throw a kick at her.

No one could have imagined that he would tell their class spy to stay concealed.

"Wait, what? You're not seriously going to accept that Class C has a traitor, are you?"

"Shut up, Ibuki. Don't get in the way of my fun. I'll bury you if you do." Ryuuen had been all smiles before, but his face twisted as he glared at Ibuki. He was completely serious.

Ryuuen treated men and women equally. If he determined someone to be a nuisance, he would do whatever it took to remove them, regardless of their gender.

Everyone already knew this about Ryuuen.

"I've actually tried not to get too violent so far. You may think I'm lying, but it's true. I've taken it easy on my opponents."

He slammed the podium twice. BAM! BAM! It was the class's death knell.

"But maybe that was foolish. I mean, now we have a traitor among us."

Ryuuen struck the podium once more. BAM! The sound reverberated through the room. The timid students shook.

"So, we're going to play a little game. A silly, childish little game where we try to find the spy. For most students, there's really no need to be afraid. This shouldn't take long at all; just thirty minutes," said Ryuuen.

Despite his insistence that everyone should have fun, it was obvious that everyone was terrified. Even Ibuki started to feel apprehensive.

"First things first. Take your phones out, and place them on your desks. I'll come by and check personally. Are there any idiots who didn't bring their phones? They should step forward immediately. One of them is the culprit," said Ryuuen.

The students immediately put their phones on their desks.

"I guess your fear does have its uses," Nagumo said.

"It works just like clockwork, doesn't it?" Ryuuen smirked.

"I doubt anyone would ever leave their phone in the dorm. Well, except if you forget it," Ike said.

"The school is only a little bit of a walk from the dorms. Most people would just realise that they left their phone on the way and go back," Ryuuen retorted.

"'A childish game.' It was more like a horror game," Ishizaki looked like he experienced war flashbacks.

"Great job listening," he told them. "That helps a lot."

Ishizaki went around the room and collected them, attaching a label with the owner's name to each phone. The labels seemed to have been prepared ahead of time. Ibuki handed her phone over to Ishizaki, looking dissatisfied.

"Ryuuen-san, I collected everyone's phones," said Ishizaki. "Ours too."

"Good work. Well, I think it's time for a thorough investigation, don't you?"

"What should we check? The call histories?"

"Come now, as if someone trying to hide their identity would make an incriminating call! Look at the email histories. Then look at the texts. Read all of them, even if it's just a minor conversation. The traitor might have used an alias."

"W-wait a minute! There are lots of really private messages on my phone, though!" shouted one girl, her desire not to have Ryuuen see her personal information outweighing the risk of him suspecting her.

"I can't blame them. I wouldn't want anyone to look through mine either," Asahina said.

"It's risky, though. It would raise suspicion," Utomiya remarked.

"Actually, it had the opposite effect," Ryuuen stated matter-of-factly.

"What? I don't understand," Utomiya was confused.

"Then just keep watching. Where's the fun if I explain it to you now?" Ryuuen smirked.

"You really don't want me to read what's on your phone, Nishino?"

"Of course I don't! Even if it's just you, Ryuuen-kun!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Nishino. You gave Ryuuen your phone on the cruise ship, didn't you?" said Ishizaki. "Why are you so—?"

"Th-this is different from back then! All he did on the cruise ship was check the email I received from the school!"

Ryuuen listened to Nishino's appeal with cold indifference. During our summer vacation, Ryuuen had gone through all of his classmates' phones on the cruise ship. However, as Nishino had said, he didn't go through any private information; he only confirmed the correspondence they had received from the school.

This situation seemed similar, but it really wasn't. If someone were to go through and read through their entire phones, word of people's crushes or who disliked who would spread like wildfire. This kind of private information had to be kept under wraps.

"You know that this will make you a prime suspect, Nishino?"

"I-I will obey you, Ryuuen-kun, but there are some things I can't accept!"

Nishino wasn't the type to argue, but in this case, it looked like she was dead serious. She'd loudly announced that she had something on her phone that she didn't want other people to see.

"Are you the spy, Nishino?" asked Oda, who was just one of the students beginning to suspect Nishino.

"No, I'm not the spy!"

"But the fact that you're hiding something is pretty suspicious."

"I just want to protect my privacy!"

Ryuuen showed no interest at all in the current conversation. He grabbed one of the phones. "This is your phone, Nishino?"

"Hey!" Nishino panicked, sure that he'd start reading her messages.

However, Ryuuen handed Nishino's phone to Ishizaki. "Give this back to her."

"I-Is that okay? You didn't check the contents."

"I told you to give it to her."

Ishizaki quietly returned Nishino's phone. She and the other students shook.

Now plenty of people were confused.

"She would be a prime suspect, right?" Ike looked to Sudo.

"Yeah. If I was in charge, she would be number one on the list," Sudo replied.

"Good thing you aren't leader then," Ryuuen mocked.

"I thought that information could be valuable, though. If you have that sort of stuff, you could make them do whatever you want without violence," Shibata pointed out.

"If the person doesn't care about stuff like that, it would just cause an opening. Violence is a universal language," Ryuuen countered.

"Really, it's not such a mystery. I confirmed your innocence, so I returned your phone. That's only natural, right? If it's not the traitor's phone, then looking at it would be a waste of time and effort," said Ryuuen. He disregarded the bewildered Nishino, then continued on with no change in his effect.

"If anyone here thinks that what I'm doing is unacceptable, like Nishino said, raise your hand. However, prepare to come under even more suspicion than she did."

Nishino didn't have her phone inspected, but she had been deemed innocent. Anyone else who followed probably wouldn't be so fortunate.

Basically, Ryuuen was telling them to choose between being becoming a suspect or keeping their privacy. Faced with those two options, four girls and two boys raised their hands, despite their fear.

"Six people are standing up to Ryuuen-san. The spy is definitely among them, I'm sure of it! Nomura-san, you were the last one to raise your hand. You're not jumping on the bandwagon to save your own skin, are you?" said Ishizaki.

"N-no, that's not it! I'm not doing that!" shouted Nomura.

While Ishizaki hurled accusations, Ryuuen wore an eerie smile.

"Gather their phones."

"Yes, sir."

Ishizaki collected six phones and immediately handed them to Ryuuen.

"So, you're okay with being my prime suspects as long as I don't look through your phones?" asked Ryuuen.

All six students agreed, though their responses were all slightly different.

"You took quite a bit of time before you raised your hand, Nomura. Were you just biding your time?"

"Huh? No, I didn't—"

"You've been looking around all shifty-eyed. And you're sweating, hmm?"

"Huh?!"

Nomura had a very timid personality, and he seemed on the verge of fainting. Ryuuen let out an amused chuckle before turning to Ishizaki once more. "Ishizaki. These six are all innocent. Return their phones," he ordered.

The students grew more confused by the second.

"This is just for show, isn't it?" Horikita said.

She had been fairly quiet today. I assume that she was thinking through Ryuuen's strategy.

"Oh? Why would I put my class through so much stress if it didn't matter?" Ryuuen asked.

"A traitor wouldn't leave a message or call history that could easily be tracked. That's why this whole thing is pointless," Horikita began.

"I thought this was just to make sure that something like that wasn't on there," Ike was baffled.

"Not at all. The traitor wouldn't risk something that could get them caught. They feared what Ayanokouji would do rather than Ryueen's violence, right? They wouldn't leave something like that because it's too much of a risk," Horikita explained.

Even the slower students could understand Horikita's explanation.

"Suzune, why do you have to ruin the fun? It's so much interesting if they were to figure it out themselves," Ryuuen feigned a frown.

"Giving you any form of satisfaction isn't on my agenda."

"Could I ask you to leave the last part?" Ryuuen asked.

"Wait, there's more?" Sudo said almost as if he was a character in a cleaning commercial.

Horikita sighed, "It's a little depressing how this means so much to you. I'm not that cruel."

A second shock. No one other than Ryuuen himself could understand this reasoning.

"Will you explain what's going on here?" asked Ibuki.

"Later." Ryuuen ran his hand through his hair and picked up Ibuki's phone. "Well then, let's investigate the rest of the phones. I'll start with yours, Ibuki."

"Do whatever you want."

Ryuuen checked everyone's phones himself. The whole process took about twenty minutes, no more than one minute per phone. He couldn't have checked all of them thoroughly. Even though the students had their doubts, no one said anything.

For the spy, every second must have been agonizingly stressful.

"You reap what you sow," Shinohara said.

The spy had bullied her friend. I doubt she cared that much for their feelings.

"I see. No information seems to be recorded on these phones."

"So, one of the people you thought were innocent—like Nishino—is a traitor after all," said Ibuki.

"No," said Ryuuen.

"What are you doing here? Is there really even a spy?" asked Ibuki.

Her agitation had yet to subside. In her heart of hearts, she wondered whether Ryuuen had come up with a story about a traitor to hide his own failure. Ryuuen had believed some shadowy figure was puppeteering Horikita since the island test. So far, however, there hadn't been one shred of evidence that this mastermind even existed. In fact, everyone else had focused on Horikita Suzune.

"Evidence trumps theory," said Ryuuen. "Listen. I assume this is something you all know quite well, hmm?"

He replayed an audio file that X had sent. The voice on the recording was Ryuuen's, explaining his strategy to Class C.

"I received this recording when I was about to force Suzune to kneel," Ryuuen continued. "Never mind the points—because of this, I didn't get to see Suzune beg. Do you understand now?"

"It's interesting. You have tunnel vision to crush Horikita," Sakayanagi pointed out.

"It's natural to want to crush your enemies, is it not?" Ryuuen responded.

"That's a hypocritical statement, wouldn't you say, Little girl?," Koenji proclaimed.

It appears that the 'little girl' did not like that.

"What makes you say that?" Sakayanagi said innocently.

"Obviously, all leaders have tunnel vision. Including you," Koenji didn't target Sakayanagi specifically, but every second-year leader all at once.

"Horikita-girl wants class A, Dragon boy wants to crush her, Ichinose-girl wants to protect her ideals, and Little girl wants to crush Ayanokouji," Koenji chuckled.

There were a few things that stuck out to me, besides the overuse of nicknames. He had said that Ichinose wants to protect her ideals, rather than her classmates. In a way, I agreed with him. Ichinose wants to protect her ideal to win without subterfuge, but a byproduct of that is protecting her classmates.

He had also used my name properly. I don't really know why, however.

"Wouldn't it be correct to assume that you're tunnel visioned on yourself?" Sakayanagi dismissed Koenji's comment.

"Not at all. Tunnel vision implies not accepting any other alternatives. I am already superior to those alternatives so I pay no attention to them. Simply put, those alternative don't apply to me," Koenji arrogantly stated.

"Wait a minute. Even if we assume that you didn't just record that file yourself, there are still questions that you need to answer. We never discussed the details of getting Horikita to kneel before you. This other person managed to anticipate everything, including the time you were meeting her? That's impossible," said Ibuki.

Her conclusion was a given. Not only had his strategy been leaked, but the time he had been planning to meet with Horikita had been found out, as well.

"It was a coincidence. A mere matter of probability. The best time for this other person to strike was immediately after the festival ended. Besides, I don't think he was interested in saving Suzune," said Ryuuen.

"What's going on...?"

Ryuuen had analyzed the blank message that he had received.

"X, Class D's mastermind, had this audio file. X clearly understood the details of the strategy I came up with. If he knew all my plans, including leaking the participation table, he could have foiled my attacks on Suzune at the sports festival. He could have prevented Suzune from being crushed and having to beg for forgiveness. But he didn't. Even though X knew about my strategy, he allowed me to go about my business and let Suzune suffer. She was injured, unable to keep competing, and she had to suffer the guilt of injuring someone else as well."

Of course, the students knew this already when I showed my apathy towards Horikita kneeling. The view that everyone has of me is constantly changing. What one might think of me today could be wildly different from the next. It's why every opinion that people have of me is just a form of status update.

"She didn't suffer the guilt of injuring someone else. She knew that she didn't injure Kinoshita," Ichinose commented.

"So, by letting you get that far, this person turned the audio file into incriminating material?" Kaneda asked. He was a bespectacled boy with a mushroom cut. Although Ryuuen's plan was full of risks, if it had come to a dead end, the audio file wouldn't have been credible evidence.

"How very clever you are, Kaneda. If my strategy succeeded, the audio file would have had meaning. That is, it would be undeniable evidence," said Ryuuen.

"This X person's thought process is so cruel. I mean, he just let his friend get hurt."

"Yes. X wasn't bothered by me having Suzune kneel. That's why there wasn't any text in his message. I think he couldn't have cared less whether Suzune's pride was hurt or not," said Ryuuen.

"I can't understand that," said Ibuki. "If they're from the same class, shouldn't he have protected Horikita from the start?"

"Just being in the same class doesn't mean that you have to protect each other. It just means that you'll have to work together," Amikura said.

"I don't get it. Why wouldn't the file have meaning if Horikita didn't kneel?" Miyamoto said, confused.

"Think of it like this," Manabu addressed his question.

Even if he had said nothing so far, he commanded the attention of every student.

Manabu continued. "Let's say that a person is planning to commit a crime. Armed robbery, let's say. They announce it to someone, and there was video evidence of their plans, but the person didn't actually go through with the crime. Now, why wouldn't the case hold up in court?"

Plenty of people were thinking about the scenario that Manabu had engineered.

"It's because the law system operates on the action rather than the idea. The crime never actually happened, so no foul was done. Similarly, Suzune never kneeled and never gave the points. She may have lost her pride, but that's not something the school particularly cares about. The video just shows and idea, but the action never happened. Therefore, it holds no meaning," Manabu calmly explained.

Manabu expertly explained the situation. It was almost like a teacher explaining their students' complicated concepts in a simple and easy-to-understand way.

"It isn't also possible to do anything about the injury, since the person willingly agreed to it," Ryuuen continued.

That video holds little to no meaning. In a legal sense, anyway. What it did hold value for was the traitor in class C.

Other students probably shared Ibuki's feelings. X had had several options available, including altering Class D's participation table to prepare for Class C's strategy, or sending the audio file to Ryuuen in advance to stop him. If X had done that, then Horikita wouldn't have been hurt.

"Wouldn't X have thought to submit the audio file to the school?"

If you knew the details of the enemy's plans beforehand, then normally you would consider using the information to save your classmates. If X had given the audio file to the school after Class C carried out their plans, it would've hurt Class C badly. If the school found out that Class C had intentionally targeted Horikita and tried to extort points from her, it probably would've kicked Ryuuen out.

With October already half over, however, that possibility had practically vanished. Even if someone dug up the old news, the investigation would be time-consuming, allowing the Class C students to start destroying evidence and planning their escape. Why would X do all this?

"X's naivete accidentally saved us. Or perhaps he isn't taking full advantage of his assets. If Horikita-shi had finished transferring private points over to Ryuuen-shi, then X would've been defeated," concluded Kaneda.

If X had obtained the audio data, which contained information about Class C's strategy, before the sports festival, then he should have achieved total victory.

"No, that's not quite right," said Ryuuen. "Even if Suzune had given up her private points, X probably could've recovered them by presenting the audio. He could have threatened us with exposure, and that would've been it."

"So, he deliberately chose not to threaten us?"

"Yes. X allowed me to make Suzune kneel. That's different from winning or losing points. It's not something a person can undo, right? I'm saying that X is letting me torment Suzune."

In other words, that was what X was aiming for. He had used precious information he received from a spy for that purpose alone.

"I don't get it. So, X has been helping Class C?" Ibuki said.

Unlike Ibuki, Ryuuen understood what X had done. "Heh. So, you really don't intend to reveal yourself, all the way to the bitter end, eh?" he said to Class C.

If Ryuuen kept digging for the audio file's source, he'd eventually force X to reveal himself. He could even contact the school and request that they provide him with email and call records. After thorough investigation, he'd probably arrive at X's identity.

In addition, Ryuuen didn't get the feeling that X was fixated on moving up to Class A at all. Gaining assets didn't matter to X.

"All of this just to make someone else grow? What's the point? I can't see any satisfaction from helping another person get their full potential. I doubt you care for any form of atonement, so why are you doing this?" Yagami thought.

Horikita knows this already. From the moment she learned of my connection with Manabe, she could start filling in some of the pieces.

"Well, we've gotten a little off track here, so I'll bring things back on topic. I'm not sure what method X employed, but I'm certain that he thinks like me, and that someone here is spying for him. Otherwise, he'd never have gotten his hands on that audio file. Even if I discover the spy, though, X's identity will remain hidden. If the spy knew X's identity, it'd be game over for X the moment I found them out. They could've sent each other handwritten letters, sure, but those are way too old-fashioned and inefficient. Therefore, I'm certain that X used email or similar tactics to remain anonymous," said Ryuuen.

"But there wasn't any proof on anyone's phone," said Ibuki. "You didn't even look at them carefully."

"Of course I didn't. That was just for show."

The attention of every person went up to 11. After all, they knew most of the key information already. The thing they didn't know was why the people who showed their phones were innocent.

"Huh? But you said you'd know the spy's identity if you looked at our phones."

"Apply some common sense here. If you were the spy, would you intentionally leave a suspicious email on your phone?"

"Well, no, I wouldn't. That's why I thought that checking our phones was a waste of time."

"Right. It was obvious how investigating everyone's phones would turn out. It wouldn't have been odd for someone to destroy evidence. Even if we suppose that the spy didn't think to do that, X would have probably instructed them to do so. The spy is someone who thought that they could look innocent just by giving me their phone. Therefore, those who didn't show me their phones are innocent, whereas the spy wouldn't have taken that chance," said Ryuuen.

"It's too big of an assumption to make, though," Ichinose said.

"What part of it?" Ishizaki asked.

"If X thought like you, then wouldn't they have already made pre-emptive measures in case something like this happened? It wouldn't be difficult to predict that a phone check would come up," Ichinose explained.

She was mostly right. But there was one flaw in her thinking.

I decided to answer this time.

"Ichinose, you're completely right. However, after I gave Ryuuen the file, Manabe's use a spy ceased. If Ryuuen knows that there's a spy, he would never give out information on his plans for the whole class to see."

I don't usually explain things like this, but it would be obvious after a while anyway. It would be better to get this out of the now.

That was precisely why Nishino and the others who had refused to show Ryuuen their phones were inevitably freed from suspicion. If they weren't spies, it didn't matter even if they were suspected. It had all been a stunt made possible by the ones who would protest. Ryuuen could've gone ahead and checked their phones anyway, but that would've antagonized the rest of his class.

He had only briefly glanced through each phone, and he had basically told his classmates that he wasn't snooping in their private lives. In other words, Ryuuen hadn't actually been looking for an incriminating message on Class C's phones. He was evaluating how much the class feared him, and how much influence X had over the spy. And his conclusion was...

"I'm going to ask the spy to show himself again."

Ryuuen looked at each individual in the class, studying their body language.

"Are you scared of this mysterious X? Or are you scared of me? Which one should you truly fear? Are you sure you're not making a big mistake? Remember what happened after the entrance ceremony? You saw what terrible fate befalls those who oppose me. Right, Ishizaki?"

"Y-yes..."

Ishizaki started trembling. Albert, who stood quietly by Ryuuen's side, also reacted slightly. Both Ishizaki and Albert had resisted Ryuuen at first. In fact, Ishizaki had been in more fights than Ryuuen, and Albert's physique far surpassed his. However, the violence Ryuuen wielded had ultimately brought them to their knees.

"Violence is the most powerful force in the world. I will not yield to authority. Even if the school tries to expel me, I'll kill the traitor before they kick me out. Do you understand? If I end up getting expelled because of this, I will stomp the life out of the spy, like crushing a bug."

Ryuuen's harsh words brought down the mood. His death threat obviously wouldn't come to fruition, but the traitor would most likely be beaten. No matter who they were.

Until now, everyone thought of Ryuuen as a person who just used cheap tricks and violence. This had warped their opinions of him.

"I don't agree with the way you lead, but it certainly brings results," Sakayanagi smirked.

The Ryuuen currently doesn't use the same intense level of fear that he once did. He was able to use fear as a weapon because Ryuuen himself had never experienced fear. He could use it against others, but others couldn't use it against him.

"Your class follows you out of respect, right? If someone better comes along, you would be tossed away, am I right?" Ryuuen criticised Sakayanagi's method of leading.

"That would just be normal, right? If there was a person who was stronger and could impose more fear than you, then people would follow them, correct?" Sakayanagi countered.

Ryuuen took a glance over to me for just a moment, "I guess you're right. This is hypothetical, anyway. It's human to follow the strong rather than the weak."

Humans always gravitate to something powerful and effective.

This wasn't former president Horikita or current president Nagumo's style of authority. Ryuuen wielded his insane violence like a sword.

"I'll welcome the traitor's confession even now. However, this is your last chance. If you step forward and honestly admit what you've done, I promise to forgive and forget. I also swear that I won't let your classmates harass you. As I said from the very start, if you believe in me, I'll raise us all to Class A. As long as you follow me, I will protect you."

Ryuuen stepped down from the podium, gazing over every one of his classmates. Rather than speaking to one person in particular, he seemed to direct this speech to everyone.

"Do you understand what it means to make me angry?"

He looked them in the eye, one by one. This was by far the easiest way for him to discover the traitor. Ryuuen stopped beside a female student, standing right in front of her. Of course, it wasn't random. He'd been targeting her since the start.

"What's wrong? Can't look me in the eye?"

"Ah...ah...I..." Her breathing was ragged. She appeared so terrified that she seemed on the verge of tears.

"Heh. It's you, isn't it, Manabe? You're the traitor."

"It seems that the game ended," Horikita sighed.

"Didn't you enjoy it, Suzune?" Ryuuen chuckled.

"Not particularly. You probably knew from the beginning," Horikita responded.

"Oh, so you think that too? No way an average person wouldn't give it away," Kushida seemed to agree with Horikita.

Most of the students were dumbfounded.

"Don't be afraid, Manabe. Although you didn't come forward and tell me, I knew you were the spy from the very beginning. You've looked sick, like it was written on your face. There was no way you could hide."

Ryuuen brushed aside Manabe's hair and caressed her face. Manabe began trembling.

"I-I'm...I'm sorry. I-I—"

"Don't worry. I forgive you. I will handle this with tolerance and magnanimity. Tell me about it, hmm? Tell me about who this X really is."

Ryuuen turned from Manabe Shiho, fixing his sharp gaze upon her friends, Yabu Nanami and Yamashita Saki.

Kei had a completely blank expression for most of this. Whether it was because of her strength or just a mask didn't matter. She knew that this would happen from the beginning. The only way for Ryuuen to connect Kei and me was through Manabe.

"There's something interesting I've noticed. The only way that they could connect Karuizawa and Ayanokouji was through Manabe," Nagumo stated almost as if he could read my mind.

Kei also knows this. It won't change her opinion of me anyway.

Kei's friends began to look coldly at me once again. I can understand why. This action turned Kei into something that Ryuuen could exploit. It just means that my opinion has gone down today. It could increase the next and decline right after that. As I've said before, until the final video, these are all just status updates.

Once the final video arrives, everyone's opinion of me is fixed and most likely won't change.

After Ryuuen finished grilling everyone, he released Class C and cleared the room. Only Ryuuen himself, Ishizaki, Kaneda, Ibuki, and the three spies remained.

"Do you know who gave you instructions?"

Manabe and her friends denied it.

"Next question. Why did you betray Class C? Tell me."

"That's—"

"There's no point in hiding. If you choose to stay quiet right now, then tomorrow I won't treat you as classmates anymore. You'll all be treated like worms, forever."

Manabe and her friends had no choice but to tell the truth. "Do...do you know a girl named Karuizawa Kei, from Class D?"

"Just her name and face. She's Hirata's girl, isn't she?"

"She, um, well, she acts all tough, but...it seems she was bullied long ago."

"Oh?"

"Well, Karuizawa treated Rika horribly, so we thought we'd give her some payback..."

I heard a slight chuckle which was unexpected considering the content which was just covered.

"I'm sorry. It's just that they make it seem like the bullying was on the same level," Yagami said after a giggle.

Kei pushed Rika, so Manabe pushed back harder. It was just their excuse to bully Kei, anyway.

This information would lower the view everyone has of me in the future once again. It isn't as if they're wrong or the hatred is unfounded. The actions I committed were cruel. They had good results, but they went against most people's morals. They have the complete right to hate and antagonise me.

Manabe explained to Ryuuen what'd happened on the cruise ship. She told him the truth about everything, including how they were in the same group as Karuizawa, and about Karuizawa's past. The spies even told Ryuuen about what they'd done to Karuizawa.

Manabe said that she began spying because she'd received threats promising to expose her and her friends for what they did. If the truth came to light, Manabe and her friends would be suspended, or worse. Naturally, they had received quite the scolding from Ryuuen as well. Manabe said that she had done what she did out of necessity, so she could avoid facing the school and Ryuuen himself.

"I see. Well, it sounds like you've been having quite a wild time."

"The heck? Are you a moron?" said Ibuki. "If they're being threatened by someone they don't know, things might get even worse."

"Come on, Ibuki. When humans are cornered, they become such weak creatures." Ryuuen didn't chastise the spies any further. "Here's the big question. Was anyone else there while you were bullying Karuizawa?"

Manabe and her friends nodded. "At the time, Yukimura-kun and Ayanokouji-kun from Class D saw us."

They were able to supply two names.

"So this is why they suspected me," Keisei said.

"Someone sent us a picture after. It was a photo of us with Karuizawa."

"I see," said Ryuuen. "I expected that there was some kind of blackmail. So, someone took your picture, huh? Where is it?"

"I-I deleted it. If someone saw it, then we..."

"I understand completely."

"So, that means it's either Yukimura-shi or Ayanokouji-shi, right?" said Kaneda, who'd been quietly listening. He was one of the few people that Ryuuen thought could be of use to him in his class.

"Not necessarily. While those two are definitely suspects, you can't take away the fact that they may have told the mastermind what happened. In that case, they would just be a messenger meant to throw you off," Matsushita analysed.

Matsushita had also become increasingly talkative. I don't know whether or not her friends have started to take note of her new behaviour, though. Matsushita isn't dumb. She knows that if she keeps this up then she'll eventually be shown as holding her abilities back. Even if they don't take notice, it will be shown on a tape eventually.

"It seems that some of you are smart enough to be considered a person," Ryuuen chuckled.

"Hold on, Ryuuen. I don't know much about this Yukimura guy, but I can't really imagine that Ayanokouji is the one pulling the strings. Can you? I've met him, and I don't see him as the type."

"Well, I suppose that Yukimura does look a little suspicious. He seems pretty smart," added Ishizaki, trying to contribute to the conversation.

"Can we really say that for sure, though? Ayanokouji-shi is always with Horikita-shi, isn't he? Moreover, Ayanokouji-shi hid his athletic abilities until the sports festival. I think he's the more suspicious of the two," said Kaneda.

"I think they're both irrelevant. Ayanokouji is just quick on his feet, and Yukimura is only good at studying, right? The mastermind would need more than that."

"Who else could it be?"

"There are other capable people in Class D. People like Hirata."

"Him? I can't imagine he's this type of person."

Ryuuen wore a thin smile while his classmates talked on and on. Then, SLAM! He pounded his fist against the podium, then let out an ominous chuckle.

"Shut up."

"This is the flaw in your tyrannical attitude. You simply can't accept that anyone else could say something of value," Sakayanagi sighed.

"I couldn't agree more," Ryuuen said.

"It seems that Ayanokouji did change you in some way," Sakayanagi thought.

A terrified silence enveloped the entire room.

"Did I ask for your opinions? I will find Class D's puppet master. You are nothing more than my pawns. Right now, the facts state that only Yukimura or Ayanokouji could have taken that picture. However, concluding that one of them is the mastermind merely because of that? No. They, too, might be mere pawns acting under someone else's orders," said Ryuuen.

That was where things got complicated. One of them, or perhaps both of them, could have taken a picture with the intent of blackmailing Class C and then asked for the mastermind's opinion on the matter.

"But, Ryuuen-shi, shouldn't we be especially suspicious of Ayanokouji-shi?" Kaneda, fully prepared to earn Ryuuen's ire, dared to speak up.

"I agree," said Ryuuen.

With regard to Ayanokouji, he had felt something was fishy from the beginning, primarily because of Ayanokouji's connection to Horikita Suzune. However, if Ayanokouji were the mastermind, and had been close to Horikita Suzune from the beginning, he would never have let her be hurt.

"So, you're saying that the real mastermind's hiding right under our noses? I find that hard to swallow."

The situation felt hopeless.

"How about we try using him?" said Ryuuen.

They'd come this far; it made sense to go further. Ryuuen made his next move and sent a text message.

The screen faded once again.

"What an ominious ending," Hashimoto sighed.

"Now that we're finished that, I have a 2 new videos to finish the day off. They aren't particularly long, so I thought you all could get through it."

It's been a while since we've had three in a day. Maybe this is just the need to get through as much as possible in one sitting.

"So, I'm going to the movies with a group, huh?" I muttered to myself. It seemed I was somehow developing a social life. This'd be normal for anyone else, but I trembled with a kind of excitement I'd never experienced before.

This was the day before the movie and the juice incident with Kushida. I doubt the movie is that important, so the juice part must be the second of the two.

"I'd better hit the sack early so I'm not sluggish tomorrow."

My phone rang, and I glanced at the caller—Horikita Suzune—before answering. "Seems like you're awake," said Horikita.

"It's still only ten o'clock. Do you need something?"

"The library study groups are just about finished. After tomorrow's session, I'd like to make some final preparations for the exam. Can you come along with me? If you could tell Yukimura-kun as well, that'd be a big help."

"Tomorrow, huh?"

"Is there a problem?"

That was the day I'd just agreed to see a movie.

I hadn't interacted at all with the Ayanokouji Group for the last few weeks. Of course, this is because of my own doing. I told them that they should choose to be friends with me after the videos are over. However, I don't know how long these will go for. If it goes longer than expected, we'll have to change the deal.

"If that's inconvenient, the day after tomorrow is fine. But Thursday is the limit. The questions are almost complete, but I think we need to change some of them."

It seemed as though she had wanted to make a decision as quickly as possible. Even now though, I didn't want to completely disregard her expectations out of hand. She'd probably discussed matters at length with Hirata and the others, but I figured she wanted to keep checking on things until the very last minute.

"I'll talk it over with Keisei. Is it okay if we're late? We should also get in touch with Hirata and Karuizawa ahead of time, if we need to," I told Horikita.

"Keisei? It seems like you and Yukimura-kun have gotten quite close. You don't need to worry about the other two. I already talked to them," said Horikita. "I'll let everyone know the date and time, then."

I wasn't the only one who'd gotten closer to others, evidently. Horikita seemed to have successfully bridged the divide between herself and the students in her study sessions. I'd be delighted if she got on good terms with Hirata and Karuizawa, at the very least.

Just as I hung up, I received another text. Apparently, I was popular tonight. This time the message wasn't from Airi, though, but from Karuizawa.

I confirmed that a girl was walking around today asking whether people saw how much sugar Hasebe-san puts in her coffee. Apparently, Hasebe puts a ton in, so people had noticed.

"Did you ask about me?" Hiyori slightly tilted her head.

"Yeah. I was just curious," I responded.

"I see," Hiyori didn't seem to think much of it.

Just as I thought. Rather than being incredibly perceptive, Hiyori was quick-witted. She'd pretended to display remarkable powers of observation to shake us up. I figured this was the perfect opportunity to fill Karuizawa in.

I think that Horikita's going to contact you about tomorrow, but we plan to meet around 8 p.m.

Isn't that pretty late? Karuizawa asked.

I'm busy before that. I'm going to a movie with my study group.

A movie? Are you seeing that new one, by any chance?

Seems like you know it. Anyway, I have a favour I'd like to ask of you.

In an instant, Kushida, Yosuke and Horikita all knew what was going on. Well, they knew a part of it. I suspect that Yosuke already suspected some form of external involvement on that day. Kushida, however, wouldn't have a single idea.

Kushida thinks that Kei and I aren't connected because of Kei's vehement refusal of Horikita's idea during the sports festival. Kushida correlated Horikita with me and because Horikita isn't with Kei, Kushida believes that I am not with Kei.

I gave Karuizawa detailed instructions. I had no choice but to use tomorrow's meeting for this. Once she finished reading everything, she sent me an irritated reply.

This is another super-annoying errand. What are you even after?

I'll explain when it's done. It's for your own sake.

"It's almost like that's your catchphrase," Hashimoto smirked.

Yeah, sure. See ya tomorrow.

I thought that was it from her. However, immediately afterwards, I received another message. There wasn't any text, but there was a little sticker. It was a cute strawberry shortcake with a bunch of candles in it.

Happy belated.

That additional message popped up after the cake. Karuizawa didn't text me again.

"She noticed that it was my birthday? But how?"

I hadn't told anyone about my birthday. Then I recalled that our chat app had a field for your birthdate, in addition to the fields for your name and email address. I hadn't chosen to keep that information private.

I'd thought that no one would notice my birthday this year. Karuizawa was the first.

A few people looked guilty. Airi especially. She was probably beating hersef up because she knew me longer than Kei, but she didn't remember. It isn't really her fault, though. I didn't tell anyone.

After finishing my conversation with her, I deleted all the texts. Though I hesitated, I also deleted the birthday sticker she sent. Afterwards, I accessed Karuizawa's profile and saw that her birthday was March 8.

"Guess I'll remember that."

These videos started a little past the summer vacation's end. It's been a little over a month and a half since then. My birthday should be coming up in a little while.

"Hey, Kiyotaka. Has there been anything that you've been interested in recently?" Kei said.

"Are you trying to get ideas for a birthday gift?" It was painfully obvious.

"Fine, fine. I'll be direct. What do you want?" Kei pouted.

Whenever I've been asked what I wanted my first impulse was to answer "Nothing." The thought went through my mind that it didn't make any difference, that nothing was going to make me happy.

"Nothing."

"What a boring answer. You're going to make me think about this a lot," Kei sighed.

"Now it's time for the final video of the day. Enjoy!"

It seems that the students are also getting tired.

There were many shops in the Keyaki Mall. Most were establishments people frequented daily, like supermarkets, but there were specialty shops as well. For example, there were stations that helped deal with any electric, gas, or water utilities problems you might have, and a delivery service that brought items from the convenience store to your room. There was also a dry cleaner's that a salaryman would probably use frequently, but students at this school didn't need as often. Unless you happened to get a blazer dirty, of course.

It was past eight o'clock on Thursday night, and our test was next week. It was closing time for the shops, so everyone from Class D gathered in a karaoke room. You could hold a meeting there without having to worry about anyone overhearing. Although it probably would have been best to do this in someone's room, none of us wanted to. Incidentally, Hirata and the others were also participating for a change. He and Horikita had acted quickly, adding him into their group at the start of preparations for the final exam, and now here he was at this final meeting.

"Hey, is it okay if I sing?"

"Wait, Karuizawa-san. We didn't meet here to have fun," said Hirata.

"Even though we came all this way, and there's karaoke right here?"

"We came because you said that you didn't want to use the dorms to study."

We didn't know where people might be listening or watching from when we were in the café or in the cafeteria on campus.

"Yeah, fine. But, come on, isn't it kinda stupid to go all the way out to a place that has karaoke and not sing?"

"Just enjoy the food and drinks and deal with it," said Horikita.

Karuizawa had already put in an order. There was a bunch of junk food on the table, like French fries, plus the drink she'd gotten for herself.

"Then let's sing a duet together after the meeting's over, Yousuke- kun."

"Sure," said Hirata. "It'll be nice to relax afterward."

"I agree," replied Karuizawa. "I do want to make sure we discuss this test, but it's been quite a while since I could do karaoke."

Hirata and Kushida had agreed with Horikita and Karuizawa, respectively, in order to find a point of compromise.

"Okay, I'm going to start," said Horikita, ignoring Karuizawa. "First, our study sessions. To be perfectly honest, I think the results have been fantastic. The boys were imbeciles at first, so I was worried, but fortunately, they studied hard. Thanks to that, they should be able to manage during the final exam."

"Oh? Did he grow from a pre-schoolers level to a second-graders?" Ryuuen insulted.

"It's like an English dictionary is just flying out of my mouth all the time, dude!" said Sudou. He was trying to show off, but the way he expressed it was way too abstract.

"Sudou-kun has improved significantly compared to where he started. His concentration, in particular, got better by leaps and bounds. However, Sudou, don't forget that your basic abilities are still inferior to a first-year junior high school student's," said Horikita.

"By improving exponentially, I assumed you meant getting average grades for a high schooler," Kanzaki said.

"That's a little mean, Kanzaki," Ichinose said.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not denying his efforts. I just thought out loud," Kanzaki responded.

"I studied this hard, and I'm still only at a first-year junior high level?" replied Sudou despairingly.

"Considering that you began at an elementary school level, that's amazing," said Horikita.

"H-Horikita-san, don't you think that's going a little too far?" Hirata asked.

"He didn't even know that the mathematical constant pi existed until recently," Horikita countered.

Dang. To think Sudou had lived this long without knowing what pi was.

"See? Even Ayanokouji is surprised," Kanzaki brought me into the conversation.

"To think, my academics are on a level where I could compete with geniuses in their fields. And a person older than me doesn't know what pi is. I have to treat him with respect just because he's older?" Yagami thought with a frown.

"Huh? That's so stupid!" said Karuizawa. Even though Karuizawa wasn't very studious herself, she was certainly better than that.

"Shut up, Karuizawa. You probably don't even know it either," said Sudou.

"No, no, no, I do. Even I know pi is 3.14," said Karuizawa. Our conversation was rapidly devolving. Everyone involved would end up with a headache.

"Please stop," Yukimura said. "I can see exactly where you're all at academically. Horikita, is Sudou really going to be okay?"

"Like I said, his fundamental scholastic abilities are low. But if we just focus on the things a first-year, second-semester high school student needs to know, then I think so. He definitely shouldn't expect to fail this exam. What about you, Yukimura-kun? Did you manage to resolve Hasebe-san and Miyake-kun's issues?" asked Horikita.

"Of course. Ayanokouji watched everything closely, so he can back me up on that. Right?" Keisei asked me.

"I don't think there was a better method we could've gone with. I'm not worried about anyone," I replied.

"I'm glad. I'd absolutely hate to lose anybody from Class D," said Kushida.

Everyone is aware of Kushida's true nature. This is no surprise.

"Yeah. But are we really going to do okay?" said Karuizawa. She still seemed unsettled. "Look, I hate the idea of having fewer classmates. But this test always gets someone kicked out, right? So, like, there's no guarantee Sudou-kun and I won't fail, right?"

"Well, I can't guarantee that," Kushida said. "But..."

"Then don't act like it's a done deal."

The somewhat relaxed atmosphere became tense.

Similarly, the atmosphere in the present time also became tense.

"You know, Kushida-san, I kinda feel as if you've been paying us lip service for a while now," said Karuizawa.

"R-really? But I just want everyone to pass," said Kushida.

"Man, it sure must be nice. Being smart, I mean. You don't have any idea what's gonna happen to me," snapped Karuizawa.

"It's okay, Karuizawa-san. You studied hard in your group," Hirata reassured her. She still didn't seem convinced, however.

"Kushida-san, I've wanted to say this to you for a while now. Don't you think you're taking this goody two-shoes act a bit too far?"

"I wish I brought popcorn," Hosen said with a frown.

"I agree. Watching this without any form of refreshments feels wrong," Sakayanagi said.

"Uh...r-really?" stammered Kushida.

"Can you please calm down, Karuizawa-san? We're in the middle of discussing our final exam. Don't waste our time," said Horikita.

"Be quiet, Horikita-san. Hey, Kushida-san. Are you making fun of me in your head right now? Thinking about how stupid I am?" asked Karuizawa.

Even the slower students were starting to understand. My favour was for Kei to make a scene. For what purpose? They have no idea.

"Probably," Sato said.

Sato seems to have broken off ties with Kushida just like the class.

"I wouldn't do something like that," said Kushida.

"Then don't patronize me. Tests are always hard for me, no matter how many I take. Are you going to be responsible if I fail?" asked Karuizawa.

This was getting absurd. Karuizawa's inexplicable anger baffled not just Kushida, but everyone else. It seemed Karuizawa found her outward virtues insulting. Then, in a move no one saw coming, Karuizawa picked up her glass of grape juice and dumped it over Kushida. The juice soaked into Kushida's blazer.

"I don't get the point."

"Yeah. Like, it's just making a fool out of yourself."

These and various other comments floated around the gym. Of course, they don't have the necessary information to understand why this was necessary.

No one insulted Kei. Maybe if the previous video wasn't shown, she would have been seen in a poor light. However, now that they have the necessary context there's no problem.

"Why are you thinking like this if you were the one who started it?" Ike asked.

"Yeah. You seem really surprised," Okitani agreed.

"I used the word 'seemed,' didn't I?"

"Yeah, but that's just for Karuizawa's opinion on Kushida. You said 'in a move no one saw coming,'" Ike continued.

He really has grown a lot more observant. Additionally, he used the word 'Kushida' instead of 'Kikyo.' It looks like he has also cut off ties with Kushida.

"I was just surprised by how fast she did it," I said.

Ike, who had grown more observant, took my answer as truth. Well, he still has areas to work on anyway.

"Karuizawa-san!" Hirata grabbed Karuizawa's hand, which still held the cup. "You can't do this. That's not okay."

"B-but... Are you saying I'm in the wrong here?" asked Karuizawa.

"Sorry, but yes, Karuizawa-san. Kushida-san hasn't done anything bad to you," said Horikita. Even she, locked in a cold war with Kushida, couldn't defend this.

"I'm fine, really. I don't mind. Please don't blame Karuizawa-san, okay?" said Kushida.

"No. That's unacceptable. Karuizawa is at fault here," said Keisei matter-of-factly.

Naturally, everyone here was treating Karuizawa as the villain. Anyone would think that Karuizawa was in the wrong because of her self-absorbed comments. Her actions weren't exactly out of character, though.

"Oh, sure. I'm the bad guy. Kushida-san is the class's favorite, after all," said Karuizawa. She turned toward me, as if I were her last hope. "Hey, Ayanokouji-kun. Whose side are you on?"

"Whose side am I on? There are no sides. You're in the wrong, Karuizawa," I told her.

"I knew it. Everyone is my enemy," said Karuizawa. She got up and grabbed her bag without a word of apology.

This incident had probably brought down the opinion of Kei in the attending people's eyes. Keisei especially. He had never liked her from the beginning and while his opinion changed partly when he found out about her past, this incident is something he would continue to dislike her for.

"Karuizawa-san. If you leave now, you'll regret it later. I don't want that," said Hirata.

"So, what do you want me to do, then?" barked Karuizawa.

"First, apologize to Kushida-san. That's the most important thing," said Hirata.

Karuizawa wouldn't even listen to her supposed boyfriend. She stood her ground. "So, even though I don't think I did anything wrong, I have to apologize?" she asked.

"You have to talk to her," said Hirata.

Karuizawa stood completely still and silent for a moment. Then, slowly, she spoke. "Sorry."

"No, it's completely all right. I should've been more understanding of how you felt, Karuizawa-san," said Kushida. She could have been angry, under the circumstances, but forgiveness came easily from her lips.

"She was probably pissed off. It's more like she was forced to forgive her," Kamuro said.

Kushida has stayed quiet throughout this whole ordeal.

"If I don't say anything, then I can't say anything wrong. Silence is the best way to protect yourself from verbal attacks," Kushida thought.

Maybe she's thinking that if she sits still enough everyone wouldn't notice her.

Karuizawa looked guilty as she sat back down next to Hirata. "I guess I lost my cool. Sorry," she said again. Kushida responded with a gracious smile.

"Thank you." Hirata patted his chest and let out a sigh of relief.

However, this didn't necessarily mean that everything was settled.

"Kushida-san, do you have a spare blazer to wear tomorrow? Will you be okay?" asked Horikita.

"Ah, no. My first blazer got damaged, so this was the only one I had left," said Kushida.

The school had provided us with two blazers each when we first arrived, but accidents happened, and students could simply outgrow their uniforms. A store in the Keyaki Mall specialized in student uniforms. However, it took time and cost many points to tailor clothing.

I heard another laugh.

"I guess that was a real fucked up accident," Hosen laughed.

"I don't get it," Nanase said.

"The other blazer is for the fingerprints. What had it been? 6 months since then? I doubt they would do anything," Hosen said through his laughs.

"Ain't there a dry cleaner and a laundromat? I could bring your blazer in with some of my sweaty basketball clothes. If I take them in today, you should get the blazer back first thing tomorrow morning," said Sudou.

"I didn't know there was a dry cleaner," replied Kushida. "That sounds like a good solution."

Thanks to Sudou, we were on our way to resolving the issue. Then, Karuizawa contributed in her own way.

"Well, it's not exactly an apology, but at least let me cover your cleaning fee," said Karuizawa.

"Really, don't worry about it," said Kushida.

"I'd feel too guilty if I didn't."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Please let me do this much," said Karuizawa, and so, she paid the fee.

The scene once again faded to black.

The last video probably seems meaningless currently, however, it was a major part to defeat Kushida.

We were taken out of the gym and after the dismissal at homeroom, we were allowed to go back to the dorms.

The prerequisites are nearly over. It seems that every tape is getting closer to the White Room. What would they think about me then? Would it be pity or fear? Maybe even a mix of both. A part of me is simply just curious about the impact, but another part is something different.

Could this be anticipation?

Authors notes:

Every chapter is closer and closer to the rooftop. Volume 7 is gonna be hard to react to, but also something I'm excited for.

The next chapter of this will be the finale of volume 6. It wil be the scene where Horikita and Ryuuen give the paper for the test to the teacher, Kushida's final talk with Ryuuen and Ayanokouji's challenge to Ryuuen.

That's all, so see you next time.

I'll battle you on the stage of your choosing

Time is an interesting thing. Time is objective and the rate can't change, but it always feels like it changes depending on the person. When a person has fun time goes by fast, when a person is in school time goes by slowly. I suppose it's a little cruel because the way humans are designed means that joy goes by fast but boredom and anxiety go by slowly.

Time has always felt linear to me. Even with Matsuo, the rate didn't change. But recently, it feels different. Days go by faster and faster. I first felt this during the days when I met up with the Ayanokouji Group, but it seems to be the norm now.

However, I don't know why. If time goes by faster when a person is doing something enjoyable then the days must all be enjoyable. Though, that isn't the case. My days have the same amount of feeling as the rest of them.

"Today will be the finale of the Paper Shuffle exam. There will be 3 videos but the 3rd video is very short and lasts only a few minutes."

I was snapped from my thoughts due to the voice's announcement.

Time ticked away as we continued to cram for the upcoming exams.

Students' spirits dipped under the onslaught of grueling, endless work they had to do. December arrived, and the final exam was less than three days away. Tomorrow, we'd be off for the weekend, the final exam waiting for us on Monday.

To be honest, the exam itself wasn't too dangerous. As far as the Class D students were concerned, we were more united than ever. The study groups were producing amazing results. Even Sudou and the other slackers did their best. The issues were Ryuuen and Kushida. They'd been making their moves behind the scenes, without a doubt. However, I could read them pretty easily.

"Looking down on me even in your mind, huh? I guess you have the ability to do that," Ryuuen clicked his tongue.

If I responded with something along the lines of 'I was just being objective' he would probably be even more annoyed.

"I guess it wouldn't be dangerous as long as you did the work. The exam would just be the end of the process," Matsushita said.

"I agree with that, to an extent. The exam doesn't only mean the test. The creation of the exam questions would be even more important than the test you would have to do," Sakayanagi countered.

While the test you take is important the opposing class would be studying just as had. The test allows for more freedom and it's even possible to make deals with other classes.

"Kushida, I'm assuming that whether or not there was a bet, you would betray the still betray your class," Nagumo probed.

"Yeah. The bet didn't really have much benefit since all it did was give me a specific opening," Kushida responded.

This candid Kushida seems to be staying for a while. I suppose that's because the class has left her alone for now.

Ryuuen's two goals were to beat Class D, and to smoke out the puppet master hiding behind Horikita. If he wanted to win in overall points, that limited his tactics. The best he could do was get Class C to study extra hard, or come up with extremely difficult test problems, both of which were relatively ordinary strategies.

I didn't know how fully Class C had united, or if they'd studied extensively. We hadn't seen them in the café, the library, the classrooms, or anywhere else. Was it simple coincidence? Or were the Class C students working somewhere in secret? Even if they did study extra hard, as long as they didn't surpass Class D, we'd be fine. At any rate, though, I had no idea what their strategy was. I'd be able to figure it out if I thought about it from a different perspective.

"Thinking about something?" asked Horikita.

"Oh, sorry," I replied.

Horikita looked up at me from the base of the stairs. I hurried down after her. She held a large manila envelope stuffed full of the questions she and Hirata had slaved over for the past month. That envelope held Class D's fate, which was exactly why Horikita kept it as confidential as possible. She wouldn't even let me see the questions. Ultimately, she was the only one who knew all of them.

"Don't trust your one and only partner?" Amasawa snickered.

"As Ayanokouji himself thought, these held the fate of class D. Even if the risk was astronomically small, I couldn't afford to show them to anyone else," Horikita responded logically.

"What if there was a mistake in your questions? Having a second-opinion would have been handy," Amasawa continued.

Horikita responded without missing a beat, "He would say that it was too much work."

I wanted to respond, but she was entirely correct.

"What are our chances?" I asked.

"Hard to say. Don't expect too much. The school made many adjustments. However, there's no doubt that we've completed the most difficult part of the exam so far," said Horikita.

She exuded confidence, so she'd probably done a solid job. The issue was what came next. How would we protect these questions?

While making our way to the staff room, Horikita and I bumped into Ryuuen in the hallway.

"Yo, Suzune." Ryuuen wore a bold smile on his face. He also held a manila envelope.

"Is this a coincidence? Or an ambush, perhaps?" asked Horikita.

"It's inevitable. I was waiting for you."

"An ambush, then." Horikita let out an exasperated sigh and walked past Ryuuen.

"You're submitting your test problems at the last minute too, huh? Let's go together," said Ryuuen, holding out his manila envelope. "Anyone might try and sneak a peek at this, so I understand your caution."

"You're not worried about any traitors in your own class?" asked Horikita somewhat mockingly.

"Ha. There's no way anyone would be stupid enough to betray me," said Ryuuen.

"Yet you waited until the last minute to submit your questions," countered Horikita.

Ryuuen probably couldn't help but enjoy her ire. Horikita and I walked on, and he followed us.

"I really hope that whatever intelligence you squeezed out of those defective pieces of garbage in your class works in Class C's favor," he said.

The class D students looked at him with contempt.

"Did I strike a nerve?" Ryuuen nonchalantly addressed them.

Horikita ignored him. "Ayanokouji-kun, have you been studying properly? How are things with you and your partner?" she asked me.

"I think we should be safe," I replied.

"Thinking isn't enough. We can't afford to have a single student drop out. Don't get complacent, even though I'm sure we can handle whatever Class C throws at us," said Horikita.

Not one to be silenced, Ryuuen responded to that verbal jab. "Oh ho! That's an interesting remark. You sound pretty arrogant."

"Hmm, who knows? Maybe it was simply cheap provocation? Just your style," said Horikita.

"Maybe so," Ryuuen replied.

As soon as we arrived at the staff room, Horikita called Chabashira- sensei. Similarly, Ryuuen called Sakagami-sensei, who appeared first and took the manila envelope from Ryuuen.

"Would you please accept this?"

"Yes. I'll talk to you later."

After their short exchange, Chabashira-sensei showed up and took Sakagami-sensei's place. She already seemed to know what we were there for, and her gaze was focused only on the manila envelope.

"So, there it is," she said. She paid no attention to Ryuuen, off to the side.

"These are the final questions, Chabashira-sensei," said Horikita.

"I'll hold on to them," said Chabashira-sensei.

Ryuuen watched with a creepy smile. As Chabashira-sensei reached for the envelope, Horikita paused.

"How do the rules of these exams actually work?" A first-year asked.

Obviously, the first years are clueless as to how this exam runs because they've never experienced it before.

"In simple terms, two classes face off in an academic battle and each class prepares a test for the other class to take," Sakayanagi explained.

"I'd like to ask you one thing, if I may," Horikita said to Chabashira- sensei.

"Yes?"

"These questions are linked to either Class D's victory or defeat. They're two sides of the same coin. We must avoid a leak at all costs. After I hand these papers over to you, could you please not show them to anyone else? Myself included."

Horikita had negotiated those terms based on her failure at the sports festival. I didn't know if Chabashira-sensei would understand, though.

"You want me to turn down absolutely anyone who asks to see them?" Chabashira-sensei asked.

"Would that be a problem?"

"That's not the issue. I understand that you're afraid of information leaking, and the school has no right to refuse your request. However, there are conditions," said Chabashira-sensei.

"Conditions, you say?"

"The entire class needs to agree to this. Has everyone approved this measure?"

"It's surprising that a school which is so obsessed with betrayal and deception cares about something like this," Tsubaki analysed.

"I didn't receive permission from every individual student, but...I don't think they'd object. No one wants their class to lose," said Horikita.

"You can't say that for sure. As I may have mentioned before, people are full of surprises. Some students might very well want to lose," said Chabashira-sensei.

"That's—"

Chabashira-sensei continued. "On that note, can you guarantee that these are the exam questions your class wishes to use? Not everyone in class saw and agreed to all of them, right?"

"Are you asking me to prove that? You want me to show the questions to everyone in class and confirm that they're okay with them?"

"Not quite. I'm saying that it's not that simple. I can't be entirely sure that you, Horikita Suzune, are acting for your class's sake. That said, I'll honor your request. If any student asks, I absolutely won't disclose the questions and answers you created," said Chabashira-sensei.

"What a quick switch-up. Does that mean that this was just for show? Or was it something that teachers are required to say?" Nagumo said.

"What's the difference?" Asahina inquired.

"Chaashira-sensei has said that she won't give answers to any other class. However, who's to say that a different student couldn't have done the same thing and sensei is simply saying what the other student wants them to say," Nagumo explained.

"It's almost like the school is enouraging betrayal," Asahina sighed.

"Good job. You figured out the school's intentions. It only took you three years," Kiryuuin said.

"Thank you very much. Now I can face the exam in peace."

"However, I will say this—generally, it's not ideal to restrict information in this manner. It proves that the class isn't united," said Chabashira-sensei.

She wasn't wrong. If everyone on our class was on the up-and-up, then we wouldn't have had to worry about protecting the information from leaks. Selfishly, I thought that this kind of thing would've never happened with Class B.

"A painful lesson to learn. I'll work harder to bring the class together," answered Horikita confidently.

Chabashira-sensei smiled a bit. "You've changed, Horikita."

"Some things can't stay the same."

"As I said, I'll honor your request. In case of unforeseen circumstances, though, I'd like to add one provision to our arrangement. As long as they have your permission, Horikita, I'll disclose information to those asking to see the questions. Is that okay? If I didn't show them to absolutely anyone, that could be a problem for you too, right?" asked Chabashira-sensei.

In short, 100 percent confidentiality wasn't really possible. Our teacher wanted at least some means of disclosing it if necessary.

"Yes, as long as I'm present at the time," said Horikita.

"Of course. Someone might lie about having your permission, after all. In the event that someone comes looking for the questions, well, I'll tell them everything you said. As a teacher, I can't lie," said Chabashira-sensei.

I heard Hoshinomiya give a slight chuckle.

"What you just said is a lie," Shibata said.

"I can lie, of course. But the only way to lie and not break the rules is different," Chabashira once again left some hidden meaning in her words.

It gives a hint to the true scheme behind the front currently on display. Essentially, Chabashira is able to lie and not break the rules, but that's only if conditions enable her to.

"That's all right." Horikita breathed a sigh of relief. Something had finally gone right. This plan was foolproof, and should've precluded the possibility of underhanded tricks like the kind we saw in the sports festival. Even if someone tried to pay to see the questions, it wouldn't be allowed.

However, something still felt off to me, though I couldn't put my finger on what.

Everything was going smoothly. The test questions that Horikita and Hirata had devised were undoubtedly very difficult, and Horikita had put preventative measures in place to ensure that they didn't leak. So far, so good. Even if Kushida tried to obtain the answers for Ryuuen, she'd need Horikita's presence and approval. Everything was rock solid. No holes anywhere. I see, I see.

Horikita had negotiated flawlessly, but there was definitely something up with our homeroom teacher. You wouldn't have been able to tell by her body language, though. Chabashira-sensei solemnly accepted the test questions and motioned for us to leave. Still, Ryuuen's resolute attitude felt off—something about the fact that he didn't seem flustered at all.

"Let's head on back, Ayanokouji-kun. Our business here is finished."

I ignored Horikita and looked into Chabashira-sensei's eyes instead.

She stared at me in return.

See it, Horikita. Before it's too late.

"I'm not that bad," Horikita said.

"I suppose I jumped to conclusions," I responded.

There were a few key factors that made the audience themselves some things were wrong.

The first was Kushida's involvement. It was obvious that the most likely method of attack she would use is doing something with the exam questions. The second thing was Nagumo's earlier comment combined with Chabashira's comment. Put together it meant that the teacher can lie and put on a show if specifically asked.

The final factor was Ryuuen's nonchalance in the whole situation. While one could argue that he simply didn't care, it could also be argued that Ryuuen was so calm because he knew what had happened.

I couldn't say anything in front of Ryuuen, nor could I stare for too long. Even if we made it through this, our hands might be tied afterward. Horikita started to walk away from the staff room, then immediately stopped dead in her tracks.

"Chabashira-sensei. You said that you wouldn't lie, didn't you?"

"That's right. That's required of me, as a teacher," she replied.

"In that case, will the school accept the questions I just submitted to you?"

Horikita had noticed after all. She'd figured it out herself.

"Not until we confirm that there isn't anything abnormal about them," replied Chabashira-sensei.

"What's the matter, Horikita?" I asked.

Horikita didn't pay any attention to me. "Let me rephrase that. Have you already accepted other test questions?"

Our teacher became quiet. "What do you mean by that?"

"I'd like to hear the answer from your own lips, Chabashira-sensei."

"My response is that the school already accepted and finished reviewing questions from Class D."

Our reality imploded.

"That was the only effective method of attack, of course," Nagumo grinned at his correct deduction.

"How'd you notice it, Horikita?" Onodera asked.

"It wasn't some deduction that Ayanokouji had used here. I had a different way of noticing," Horikita had dismissed Onodera's question.

"That doesn't really answer it, though," Mii-chan said.

Horikita sighed, "Yes. You're right. You'll see the answer so just keep watching."

"So...does that mean someone else already submitted test questions and answers?" asked Horikita. She couldn't seem to process what was happening.

"Correct. The school won't use the questions you just handed me," said Chabashira-sensei.

"Please cancel acceptance of the previously submitted test questions. I have the correct ones here," said Horikita, pointing to the manila envelope.

However, from my understanding of the conversation so far, I knew that wasn't going to be a simple matter.

"Unfortunately, Horikita, I cannot indulge your ego. I already finished reviewing another student's questions. That student shared similar concerns. They wanted me to keep the questions secret, too. This student said that, in the event that another student selfishly showed up and asked to change the problems, I should merely accept the new questions and hold on to them. They also wanted me to tell them who asked to swap those questions afterward," said Chabashira-sensei.

"What in the world?" The fight drained out of Horikita, and she slumped over. This was far too cruel. "What student? Please tell me."

"Kushida Kikyou."

The answer was obvious. Horikita had thought that she would prevent Kushida's betrayal. However, Kushida had struck first. Our knowledge of her past made her take bold, drastic measures.

"But under the right circumstances, Class D can change the questions the school already accepted, yes?"

"Yes. However, the deadline is the end of today. If you wish to change the test questions, please bring Kushida here," said Chabashira-sensei.

"It seems like the exact thing you wanted to happen is now happening to you," Yagami said.

Most people didn't take notice of his words but one thing stuck out to me. He used the word 'seemed.' If this was just his way of speaking then this is pointless to analyse, but Yagami has shown to have good deductions before. If we take the latter scenario then this would be on purpose. However, I don't know what intention he has.

The audience was simply watching this entire thing unfold.

"That's some nice acting," Kushida thought.

"That..."

It was hopeless. Kushida wouldn't agree to that. Even if we started looking for her now, there was a 100 percent chance that she'd turned her phone off and holed up in her dorm room—or somewhere else, even. We couldn't possibly get a hold of her before the end of the day.

"I can only speculate about which one of you is lying, Horikita. I don't know the truth. I also acknowledge that an unknown third party might be pulling the strings here. If you don't resolve this dispute within your class, it'll be bad," said Chabashira-sensei.

"How much time do we have left to correct the questions?"

"Until 6 p.m."

I checked my phone. It was a little before four. We only had about two hours left.

"Ha ha ha ha ha! What are you even doing, Suzune?" Ryuuen sneered.

The guy had undoubtedly known about this situation from the very start; he laughed raucously at our despair. "This is already checkmate, don't you see? The questions that you struggled so hard to come up with are completely meaningless!"

"Were you behind this? Did you instruct Kushida-san to do this?" asked Horikita.

"Hmm, who can say? I mean, it's not like I know anything about Class D, right?"

Horikita raised her voice. "I'm not going to tolerate this outsider eavesdropping on the conversation any further!"

"Oh ho, how scary. Guess I'll just head back to my dorm like a good boy. I sure am looking forward to the exam's results," said Ryuuen.

"Who ended up winning again?" Ishizaki asked.

"Class D pretty much destroyed us," Ibuki said while glancing at me.

"Aren't you going to look for Kushida, Horikita?" Chabashira-sensei asked.

"I dislike futile gestures." Even if we did manage to find Kushida, there was no way she'd comply. The game was already over. "Did Kushida-san instruct you not to show the questions to anyone?"

"No, I received no such instructions," said Chabashira-sensei.

That was hardly surprising; it only confirmed our suspicions.

"Please show them to me, then."

Chabashira-sensei showed Horikita the test questions that Kushida submitted. After only a brief glance, one thing became apparent.

"These are incredibly difficult," Horikita said.

"Yeah. They definitely are," I replied.

"What's the point of making it so difficult if you're not able to change the anyway?" Amikura asked.

"No reason, really," Kushida said.

There wasn't a reason to make these questions difficult. It's not as if Horikita would suspect anyone else of handing in exam questions. It could be a matter of self-preservation since Kaneda's main use in the class is his academic skills. He could show how much knowledge he has by making the questions seem so difficult. However, this is all conjecture.

Kushida's questions didn't appear any easier than those Horikita and Hirata had prepared. These were excellently constructed problems. In fact, they were so well-structured that you'd never guess that Horikita herself didn't come up with them. Since Ryuuen was involved, chances were high that Kaneda made them. While Kushida had attended the study sessions and accepted Horikita's challenge, she had slipped through with a terribly clever plan.

No third parties would know the truth. If Kushida's problems had been so easy that even Sudou could have solved them, she would have been suspected of sabotage. However, if they were similar enough, then she would fly under the radar. These questions made things much, much more complicated. If you knew the answers ahead of time, it didn't matter how difficult the problems were. As long as all of Class C shared the answers with one another, they would get high scores.

Horikita had promised that she wouldn't expose Kushida's past. Hirata, afraid of internal class conflict, probably wouldn't say anything. That meant that the student who struck first won the day. If Class D lost, Horikita, who'd assumed leadership, would unavoidably take the blame. Kushida would siphon away Horikita's power while simultaneously using Ryuuen to drive her into a corner.

None of this was as dire, however, as Horikita's bet with Kushida. If Kushida and Ryuuen had colluded, there was no doubt that Kushida received Class C's test questions in exchange for her cooperation. If that had happened, Kushida would most likely score a perfect one hundred points on her math exam. If Horikita answered even one question incorrectly, she would have to drop out of school. Horikita wouldn't dare break her promise.

The people in the audience only know Ryuuen for his intimidating and bold strategies, however, this showed how he could make an incredible strategy that would outsmart most people. If Horikita was just a little slow and I wasn't there then she was done for.

"That's a masterful strategy, Ryuuen," Yagami praised.

Hosen gave a mocking snort.

"Do you think differently, Hosen?" Yagami asked with a curious gaze.

"I'm just saying that if you look through the trap, he's done for," Hosen said.

"That's a flawed point. If you look through any trap then the plan is over," Yagami countered.

"Suck his dick if you like his strategy so much," Hosen glared down on Yagami once again.

"I always thought that you two have much better chemistry together rather than Yagami. You both even have those cute nicknames," Amasawa teased.

"Who asked you to join in?" Hosen glared on Amasawa now.

Amasawa chose not to respond and that seemed to tick Hosen off even more. But he didn't say anything and just chose to stay quiet.

"So, is there nothing more to be done?" asked Horikita.

Kushida's preemptive strike had put Horikita between a rock and a hard place. It looked as if she was out of options. This all came down to the naivete of her plans. If it'd been me, then...

"It's all right, Horikita. Ryuuen left," said Chabashira-sensei to Horikita, who still hung her head. What was going on? Chabashira-sensei didn't look shaken in the least.

"Sorry. I wanted to take extra precautions just in case, so I kept up the act," said Horikita, lifting her head. She didn't look depressed at all. Then, I understood.

This wasn't surprising anymore. There were simply too many factors that led to this. There's also the added fact that Horikita remains in the school which means that she would have at least tied on the maths test.

"You knew this was coming?" I asked.

"Yes. I couldn't allow myself to be defeated the same way I was at the sports festival. When the final exam's details were announced, I immediately consulted Chabashira-sensei. I had two requests. One, that I alone submit Class D's usable test questions, and two, that Chabashira-sensei pretend to accept any other questions submitted," said Horikita.

In other words, Horikita had tricked Kushida into thinking that her test questions were accepted.

"Now that they definitely believe that Kushida's test problems were used, if any Class C students aren't studying for the test, they may just fail," said Horikita. I would never have imagined that she'd devise such a wonderful counterattack. I couldn't even have come up with anything like this myself. Ryuuen had to be completely unaware of the damage Horikita was about to do.

"I doubt that. You seem more than capable of making such a strategy," Yagami said.

"I guess I should've worded it differently then."

"Then, how would you word it?"

"I suppose that the proper wording was that this strategy wasn't something that I would do. I would rather go through a different method," I explained.

"I guess that you would have no fear in terms of losing a bet in terms of academics," Yagami sighed in agreeance.

"At any rate, this is a difficult situation," said Chabashira-sensei, a rare look of genuine concern on her face. "I've never had a request like this in all the time I've managed Class D. I didn't expect such caution and deception. However, you won't always take the day, Horikita. If there are traitors like this among your classmates, you're doomed to fail."

Chabashira-sensei was right. Even Class A, currently divided between Sakayanagi's and Katsuragi's factions, would never have done something like this.

This meant we needed to be careful in dealing with Kushida.

"I understand. However, this ends with the final exam." I felt Horikita's determination to put a stop to our infighting.

"Really? In that case, I look forward to it."

Horikita sighed in relief as she watched Chabashira-sensei go back inside with the manila envelope. Once the two of us were alone, she bowed her head and apologized to me.

"Sorry for keeping quiet about this."

"No, that's all right. To be honest, I had no idea." I'd underestimated Horikita.

"Ryuuen's knocked me down so many times now. I thought that it was about time I learned," said Horikita.

This had not only crushed Class C's decisive victory, it had put Class D a step in the lead. However, Horikita's final challenge remained.

"All that's left now is to beat Kushida-san's exam score. With that, we can come out on the other side unscathed."

Right. Horikita had no future unless she beat score. In order to make sure she didn't lose, she needed to get a perfect score in math.

Manabu had a look of approval.

"I guess that you got one pulled over on you," Sakayanagi chuckled.

"You shouldn't speak without having all the information, you know," Ryuuen responded.

The scene had faded to black and the voice came back on.

"On to the second video."

Normally I would complain about the lack of a break, but I'm used to it at this point.

"You're late, Kikyou. What, couldn't slip past your classmates?" asked Ryuuen.

"What are you plotting, Ryuuen-kun?" Kushida demanded. She drew closer to Ryuuen on the isolated rooftop.

"Huh?" said Ryuuen.

"The questions and answers you gave me were completely different than the ones on the exam."

"What?"

"Isn't it only supposed to be class C's question which are different?"

Many statements of confusion and disbelief were passed around.

"Oh, yeah. I switched 'em out before the deadline. What about it?" Ryuuen snorted derisively, then took a sip of bottled water.

"I told you, didn't I? I will get Horikita expelled, no matter what. I betrayed my classmates and switched out our questions on the condition that you gave me the math test answers. If you kept your promise, Horikita would've dropped out of school. But you betrayed me," said Kushida.

"What? You mad about something so trivial?"

"Trivial? You want to win against Class D and give us nothing in return?"

"You're mistaken, Kikyou. Your questions weren't used on the exam," replied Ryuuen.

"Huh? What are you even talking about? I turned them in right away, just as you instructed me to. I even confirmed everything with Chabashira-sensei."

Some students were enjoying Kushida being completely bested. But others were more interested in Ryuuen's actions.

"He must've asked Ryuuen to change the test answers. I don't get his reasoning, though," Horikita thought.

"If I had to guess, Ryuuen-senpai changed the test on Ayanokouji-senpai's request," Yagami thought.

"You really haven't noticed? Suzune acted ahead of time to stop the school from formally accepting your questions. Thanks to that, not only didwe lose, we just barely avoided catastrophe. Everyone in my class depended on that strategy," said Ryuuen.

"Wait. Ahead of time? That's... No way."

"Go ahead and wait for the results if you doubt me. In all likelihood, Class C lost to Class D. That rendered our agreement invalid. I'm not giving you the correct test questions if I get nothing in return," said Ryuuen.

"Grrr!"

"Listen, Kikyou. There's no room for grudges here. How about showing me some gratitude instead?"

"The bet didn't put Kushida in any harms way in terms of expulsion. What benefit would there even be?" Keisei commented.

"I don't know. Maybe I just wanted someone to thank me," Ryuuen joked.

"Gratitude? I just lost to Horikita! What should I be grateful for?!" Kushida recalled the humiliation she'd felt at admitting defeat in front of Horikita. She was so enraged that she felt her blood boiling.

"So trusting, to get snared without even knowing it," taunted Ryuuen.

Grabbing Kushida's uniform, he forcefully unfastened a button on her blazer and reached inside.

Some people looked at Ryuuen with a revolted expression.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" shouted Kushida, backing away to put some distance between herself and Ryuuen. Ryuuen smiled.

"Come on. I'm not doing anything. Go ahead, look in your pocket," he said.

"In my pocket?" Still on her guard, Kushida slowly reached into her blazer. She felt paper, which she didn't expect. "What is this?"

Ryuuen couldn't have had enough time to put something in her pocket just then. That meant he'd placed the paper there beforehand. When Kushida unfolded it, she found a list of questions and answers for the math test.

However, they weren't the questions that were actually on the exam in the end. They were the ones Ryuuen had supposedly given her.

"This would have dire consequences for Kushida. If the test that Ryuuen gave wasn't changed then Kushida would be expelled," Keisei was shocked.

"Come on. Don't I deserve some gratitude for saving your precious classmate?" Ryuuen smirked.

"Ayanokouji, it seems that I almost got expelled because of you," Kushida smiled.

"That isn't a new discovery for you, right?" I responded.

"No, I suppose not. If you really wanted to, you could expel me right now," Kushida said.

"I thought you didn't like to bring up the past," I said.

"I guess that I just wanted to confirm it from you directly. A closure sort of thing," Kushida's smiled was still there almost as if it was plastered onto her face.

"Why were these in my uniform?"

"That's probably not all there is. I assume that several pieces of evidence of cheating are scattered throughout your belongings. I'm sure you'll see them if you go digging later," said Ryuuen.

"I don't understand," said Kushida.

"Someone in Class D was prepared to go for the kill. What if I had still given you the right questions? Come on. Say you scored really high on the exam and then someone accused you of cheating, and they found those papers? What do you think would happen then?"

"Wait, you mean I'd be expelled?! Even though I didn't cheat? That's stupid!" Kushida balked.

"If you were innocent, it would be stupid. But you got your hands on the questions beforehand by working with me. There'd be nothing you could do about it," said Ryuuen.

"That doesn't really seem fair," Nanase said.

"You sound like a child. We were even shown how evidence can be fabricated and how destructive it can be," Sakayanagi coldly belittled Nanase.

Of course, Kushida could have claimed she was framed. Even if she pulled through, however, it would've tainted her reputation. She had received the questions and answers from Ryuuen, after all. It wasn't against the rules for someone to offer their class's questions to another class, but it was considered disgraceful. That probably would've invalidated Kushida's test results and threatened her position in Class D, even if she avoided expulsion. Class C would have been in grave danger, too.

"When did this cheat sheet get in my—?"

"You really don't have any clue? Have you noticed any strange people around?"

"No way, it can't... No, wait. I went to our final test meeting at a karaoke room last week with Horikita and the others. I suppose something weird did happen back then. A girl got angry and poured her juice on me for some reason. Afterward, she asked if she could take my blazer to the cleaners. It was understandable, given that situation, but...for some reason, it keeps nagging at me," said Kushida.

"Let me guess who that girl was. Karuizawa Kei," said Ryuuen.

The importance of the juice in karaoke began to be known to the students.

"Was your original goal just to expel Kushida?" Horikita asked. She didn't seem mad or annoyed, it seemed like she just wanted confirmation.

"It was. However, once you made that pre-emptive measure, I had to change plans," I responded.

"I see," Horikita, satisfied by my answer, turned her attention to the screen.

"H-how did you know? Don't tell me you saw?"

"How could I have seen? It's simple deduction," said Ryuuen. He tapped his finger against the side of his head for emphasis. "Explain what happened from the beginning."

Though Kushida felt disoriented, she told Ryuuen everything that had transpired in the karaoke room. She explained that Horikita and Hirata had invited everyone, and that Ayanokouji, Sudou, and Karuizawa all sat together. In the middle of their meeting, Karuizawa started a fight and poured juice on her.

After quietly listening, Ryuuen took his deduction a step further. "No doubt in my mind. Someone set a trap for you."

"That's not possible. It's true that my blazer went to the cleaners, but I checked my pockets when I got it back. Besides, the clerk would've told me if there was something inside it!" she said. "So even if she did try to trick me back then, it would've been futile."

"Sure, it would've been almost unfeasible. But that's not what Karuizawa was going for. Did someone want to know whether you had a spare uniform?"

"A spare? That's impossible," said Kushida.

"What makes you say that with such certainty?"

"Are you trying to say that everyone there set a trap for me, and I couldn't see right through it? I'm not an idiot. I observe everyone's behavior. If they were lying to me, I definitely would've noticed."

"Well, you're probably right about that. However, only one or two people at most lied to you," said Ryuuen.

"Huh? How would—"

"If someone there read the situation perfectly, then it's likely that person deceived you. Someone who could figure out everyone's thought processes, behavioral tics, and habits. Someone who guessed what kind of remarks they'd make. Someone who could read all those things perfectly. Someone who wrote the script, so that you'd act your part in their play," said Ryuuen.

My strategies aren't like Ryuuen's or Sakayanagi's. If Ryuuen and Sakayanagi use nested traps and treat every situation like rats in a maze then I look at things with each person being a gear in a machine. Once you get through each nested trap, Ryuuen and Sakayanagi are done for. That's why having each person's mental state and habits in each situation used to their full potential is the optimal route.

My long-term strategies are akin to a large machine and every person would be a cog. Put the correct gear in the correct spot then the machine runs. Ryuuen's and Sakayanagi's traps are like entangling everyone in a web. If their nested traps fall through, the web breaks.

"So that scenario was orchestrated to ensure Kushida's expulsion," Yosuke said.

If the Yosuke back then knew about this then a switch would flip in his mind. Right now, however, he simply accepts these things.

Kushida denied it, but then thought back on what had happened. Hirata was consistently a pacifist. He would worry about Kushida's blazer being stained, and would want to placate Karuizawa's unreasonable anger. And, because the meeting took place right before the test, he would definitely ask how many blazers Kushida had.

"Once they learned that you had one blazer, the only thing left to do was plant the cheat sheet on you during gym class. Besides, it would be pretty normal if you didn't touch your pockets until a day or two after you got your blazer back from the cleaners. There were probably lots of other times they could have done their handiwork. The real question is, who came up with the idea? It wasn't Suzune or Karuizawa. They aren't the kind of girls who could do something like that," said Ryuuen.

"So, you're saying I was tricked? By who?"

"Shortly before the test, a letter accusing Ichinose of doing something illegal went out, right?"

"Yeah, the letter you tried to trap her with, Ryuuen. Why did you do that? She didn't even do anything."

"It was part of the mastermind's strategy," said Ryuuen.

"Huh?"

"I wasn't the one who sent that letter. The person from Class D who set you up did it."

"What?" Ichinose was the first to speak.

"I guess that is in line with something you would do if it served a purpose. But I still don't get it," Kanzaki was the next.

Ichinose was growing more and more conflicted every passing day. If there was a breaking point for her, then it would ultimately be when her past comes to light. What would happen after then? Would she implode? Or would she continue to move forward? I had no idea, but I anticipate the result.

"I don't know what to think anymore. It's almost like every one of his actions flips whatever opinion people have of him. If I had to describe him in one word then it would be 'neutral.' It's like he's neutral in every situation. The word indifferent would also apply. Though, there must be some reason for him to do this, no matter how twisted it may be," Ichinose thought.

"I don't understand."

"Do you really think I'd put a letter accusing Ichinose of fraud in every single first-year student's mailbox and deliberately add my own name to it? Well, putting my own personality aside, it was only natural that everyone thought that I did it," said Ryuuen.

"If it wasn't you, then you should've just denied it."

"Do you really think I would do that?"

"No." Kushida understood immediately. Ryuuen tended to pursue things that excited him. If someone sent out letters and put Ryuuen's name on them, Ryuuen would find it tantalizing. Furthermore, because he hadn't heard any rumors of Ichinose's supposed fraudulent activities before, he'd be tempted to learn more.

Then why had someone deliberately put down Ryuuen's name as the sender? Because an anonymous message had less credibility. The allegations might've been disregarded entirely.

"I guess that no one was shocked when they found that Ryuuen sent this message," Kanzaki sighed.

"But what was the letter's point? To put you on your guard?" said Kushida.

"Who knows? I've thought about it at length, but it's still unclear. Did the culprit simply want to know whether Ichinose had a lot of points? Or maybe... No, that's impossible. Couldn't be something that stupid," said Ryuuen. Whatever he'd considered was just far too removed from reality.

Either way, the strategy had been well prepared and flawlessly executed. Ryuuen's interest in the person he called "X" had only increased.

"It almost feels like it's reaching the end-game," Hashimoto chuckled.

"Hey, Kikyou. I don't know anything about your past, and I'm not interested. However, if you keep trying to get Horikita kicked out of school, you're going to disappear. Get it?"

"You're in a dangerous position yourself, aren't you? If Class C loses collective points for this exam, isn't that bad?"

"Yep. With this stroke of luck, your class probably has a chance of being promoted to C," said Ryuuen.

"How does it feel to be knocked down a peg by the 'defectives' in Class D?"

Ryuuen seemed completely indifferent, even after being hit with Kushida's tenacious instigation. He'd never cared about that from the beginning.

"I feel like I don't have a care in the world right now. Whether it's Class A or D, they're all just letters in the end. We're only scratching the surface of our battle," said Ryuuen.

"What do you mean?"

Of course, Ryuuen couldn't answer her. However, his objective hadn't changed one bit since he'd started at the school. While there had been moments when he stumbled, his preparations to reach Class A were still progressing smoothly.

"Your objective won't change no matter how long you will remain in the school," Sakayanagi giggled at Ryuuen's thought.

"See? That's the problem with you. You're so arrogant that you can't accept the possibility of someone other than that freak being better than you," Ryuuen smirked.

"I admit that there are people better than me. There are billions of people in the world, after all. However, apart from him, I don't think I would lose to anyone," Sakayanagi exuded confidence.

"I challenge you to a race then," Amasawa joked.

Even Sakayanagi was surprised at the suddenness of her proposal, "What?"

"No, no. I agree. I challenge you to a race as well," Ryuuen laughed.

Sakayanagi realised that the conversation had lost substance and let out a deep sigh.

"Do your absolute best, and reach for the upper classes," said Ryuuen, turning and starting to walk away.

"Wait—the cheat sheet! Something's not right here!"

"Heh."

"What's this all about? Tell me, Ryuuen!"

"You noticed?"

The contradiction that dawned on her had her reeling with doubt. A new problem was growing.

"Why did someone in Class D have these test questions? Only you and I should have them. I just can't figure it out."

"Because I gave them to X, I suppose," said Ryuuen.

"So, you betrayed me?"

"No. It was a necessary deal."

Ryuuen's eyes lowered to his cell phone. On it were pictures of the questions and answers before he'd changed them. He had sent those pictures to an unidentified email address.

"Huh? But why would you give that to them? You may find it interesting, but wouldn't the desire of winning be even better?" Matsushita wasn't able to understand.

"However, X understands me very well," he added.

He'd received a message from X with the word "Transaction" in the subject line. The message read as follows: Provide me with the questions and answers that Class C devised for our final exam, or make significant changes to the questions you gave Kushida Kikyou.

Normally, Ryuuen wouldn't dignify that with a response. However, moments earlier, X had freely given him information beneficial to Class C with no strings attached, by warning him that Horikita Suzune had seen through Ryuuen's plans and taken preemptive action to get her questions approved instead of Kushida's. That had come as quite the shock to Ryuuen, whose whole strategy depended on the questions he thought Kushida had submitted. Without X's warning, the Class C students who didn't study enough might've failed.

Knowing that, Ryuuen had had three options.

The first was to defy X and give Kushida the correct questions for the math test, letting her win her bet against Horikita. However, Ryuuen wanted to avoid Horikita being expelled at all costs.

The second was to leave the test questions as they were and let Kushida's cheating be exposed, so she'd get kicked out of school. However, Ryuuen didn't want to give X exactly what he wanted. Playing into X's ideal scenario was no fun.

The final option, and the one Ryuuen eventually chose, was to give Kushida the wrong questions and let Horikita win.

"I don't know whether to thank you or not," Horikita said.

"He had let me win the bet and put Kushida at a disadvantage, but Ryuuen would have never let me get expelled anyway. Even if it was to destroy me, Ryuuen wouldn't want to win in that sort of way," Horikita thought.

"I don't really mind either way," I said.

"So, X protected Suzune while managing to keep you in check, Kikyou," said Ryuuen. Suzune was fighting on the front lines, but this person was doing some adept work behind the scenes. When Ryuuen had realized that X turned his strategy to use Kushida against him, he'd barely held back his laughter. "But I'm about to drive him into a corner. If he doesn't reveal his identity—"

Ryuuen pulled up an image on his phone—the same image he'd sent the mysterious mastermind. The person in the photograph would be instrumental to discovering X's identity.

"Then I'm going to destroy her."

The image on Ryuuen's phone increased the tension. The atmosphere was much darker and heavier rather than the intrigued mood from before.

No one had asked Kei anything because they didn't want to come off as tactless. However, they all stared at her with the same exact question in mind.

"What did Ryuuen do?"

Of course, this would be answered shortly. When that happens... No, it's pointless to think about things like that. It'll only be a short while anyway.

The scene faded once again.

"As I said before, this video is extremely short."

I really wonder how short it is.

After Horikita headed back to the dorm, I thought about what was to come. Ryuuen Kakeru wasn't the type to leave unfinished business.

Horikita had certainly handled things well this time around, containing Ryuuen and manipulating Kushida with a preemptive strike. In a healthy class, her strategy probably wouldn't have been very useful, but it was effective for dealing with a traitor. However, it wasn't as though it could be used anywhere, anytime. It was limited to situations like the final exam and the sports festival.

That was precisely why Horikita had invited her brother to act as a witness; it was a golden opportunity. Class D had held tons of study sessions over the last month, so we shouldn't have lost to Class C. You could say it was a total victory.

Class D looked proudly at what their leader had accomplished.

My phone vibrated.

What are you planning? the message read.

I wasn't the only schemer here. You're planning something too, aren't you, Ryuuen?

Another message showed up. I'm definitely going to make you pay.

An image file was attached to the last message. When I opened it, I found a single photograph that spoke a thousand words.

"So, Manabe and her friends spilled the beans, huh?" I muttered.

Now eyes were on me. This moment would be important in the future. It shows that I know who Ryuuen is targetting.

Of course, I'd known that when I ran into Ryuuen and Hiyori. Ryuuen had probably threatened the girls to reveal who might've seen them attack Karuizawa, and now my name and Keisei's name were running through his mind. However, he had no evidence. That was why he was trying to corner me. That was what he was thinking by sending me this photograph.

The fact that Ryuuen had the photo meant that he knew the circumstances surrounding it. Depending how things played out, Ryuuen would probably go after the person in the picture. If anything, this was a declaration of war.

"I should've just stayed quiet," I muttered aloud.

To think he would just show his hand like that... Did he enjoy the hunt that much?

"I thought you knew me better than that Ayanokouji," Ryuuen chuckled.

Enough.

I was fed up with his obsessive persistence.

I closed my phone and steeled myself. Half-measures wouldn't do

here. If Ryuuen was dead serious about picking a fight, I'd return the favor in kind.

"Come at me with everything you've got. No regrets. I'll play your

game," I said aloud.

Despite myself, I couldn't help but feel a little excited.

The scene faded to black and the room was left speechless.

The climax of Ryuuen and I's battle was coming closer. I realised something about my thoughts earlier. Time passes no matter what. However, most of the time is spent waiting.

In every person's life, they experience a multitude of emotions. Happiness, sorrow, delight, and pleasure, but those emotions are far and few and represent a bare one percent of a person's life. Most of the time, every person is left waiting. But even when waiting, time moves onward at different rates for different people. I've come to realise that it may be how a person feels in general that determines this rate.

I like the current pace time is going. It just means that I'm feeling better at school.

I know it probably isn't possible, but I wish for it to go slower. Even a little bit would be enough.

Author's notes:

Vol 6 is over which means that vol 7 is next. I feel like I could recite the volume word by word because of how much I've read it. As for this chap, not as many reactions as usual but that's because everyone was trying to understand what was going on.

Plan for the next volume reactions:

-- Family reunion and talk with papayanagi

--Talk with chabashira and leaving kei

-- Torture from Ryuuen and Kei's perspective

-- Ayanokouji talking with chabashira at the bottom then the fight

--Epilogue

That's all for this chap.

Family Reunion

(A/N I will be using the fan translation as the official has messed things up)

Since the second I woke up there's only been one thing on my mind.

What video will be shown today?

It's like a chant that's been repeating in my head over and over again. I suppose that there's the obvious choice and the not-so-obvious choice. The obvious choice is my meeting with my father, but the not-so-obvious choice could be me leaving Kei. Kei's scene could be shown first because it allows mystery and will act as a sort of buildup for future events.

Occam's Razor, was it? The most obvious solution is usually the correct one. I suppose if we go by that logic then meeting with my father is first.

I could ask Chabashira to contact the chairman and ask him to issue a warning of sorts to the students. It would detail that they weren't able to ask or research about the White Room, but it isn't as if they could do anything anyway with this information.

I will just go with what I have always done. Whatever happens due to the reveal of the White Room will happen. It isn't as if the students are in any danger, anyway. My father can't reach the school and even if he could, he can't mess with hundreds of families because they found out some information.

Well then, I guess it's time.

Whatever happens, happens.

I can't change anything.

So I'll simply watch as I always have.

I opened my eyes as I heard the metallic door opening, signifying Chabashira's arrival. She went through her usual briefing and we were escorted to the gym.

"It's time for some new videos. Let's continue, shall we?"

The voice said as the screen lit up.

Since the crowd has thinned, Chabashira closed the distance and called out to me.

"Do you have business with me?"

"Yeah. Follow me. There's something I need to tell you."

"That's a tall order. I've got an appointment with Horikita now."

I made up an excuse to get out of this situation.

Horikita looked annoyed.

"It's a very convenient excuse, I really recommend it," I told her.

"That's not the problem. Stop using me to get out of every inconvenient situation," Horikita scoffed.

"That didn't seem to be a problem until now," I said.

Horikita clicked her tongue. "Fair enough."

"I don't want to act carelessly as a teacher either, but circumstances are circumstances."

Chabashira-sensei, who often doesn't show emotion, now has an unusually vulnerable expression on her face.

"I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Unfortunately for you, you don't have the right to refuse. It's an extremely urgent matter."

I don't really want to follow her but I can't afford to disobey a teacher either, I suppose. What little resistance I put up proved futile, so I ended up following Chabashira-sensei.

We left the student area and finally arrived at this place.

"The reception office? What do you need to talk about that you brought me all the way here? It's still too early for career consultation, right?"

The students all had many curious expressions.

"Sae~ What are yo-" Hoshinomiya began but stopped due to Chabashira's glare.

"Stop being so scary! I was just playing around," Hoshinomiya said as she shrunk into her chair.

"You'll understand soon enough."

I tried making a joke but it doesn't appear like she's going to answer a student's question. But rather than what's beyond the door, I'm more curious about Chabashira-sensei.

Forget calmness, she seems almost agitated. Even if the person behind that door is the person I think it is, her acting strange this blatantly is still strange.

"Did you meet with the principal or something?" Ike said almost as if he was spouting random things on the top of his head.

"You only meet the principal if you did something worth getting in trouble for. And that's only in serious cases," Manabu explained.

"I assume that everything else goes through the student council?" Kanzaki asked.

"You are correct," Nagumo answered.

It'd be a different story if it's a teacher who's usually like this but Chabashira-sensei doesn't belong in that category. And without even realizing the doubts I'm harboring, Chabashira-sensei knocked on the door to the room.

"Headmaster. I've brought Ayanokouji Kiyotaka-kun."

"Holy shit, I was right?! I was just talking out of my ass," Ike exclaimed in excitement.

"You do know that he got sent to the headmaster, right?" Keisei said.

It was like a trance broke. "O-of course I know that. I have full sympathy for Ayanokouji to be in such a predicament," Ike tried defending himself.

If this was the beginning then there would most likely be many questions asking why I was interacting with the headmaster. Thankfully, these situations have become normal and the students know that they will eventually get their answer.

Headmaster, huh? It should be someone a student like me would have no reason to interact with from enrollment until graduation.

"Please enter."

I heard a gentle voice, but a dignified one befitting his age. And Chabashira-sensei opened the door to the reception office.

A man roughly in his 60s sat on a sofa. I've seen him several times both at the entrance ceremony and the end-of-semester ceremony but this man is, without a doubt, this school's headmaster. But his expression is not a laidback one but rather, I could see beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

And there's one more person opposite him. I'm sure of it now. Of why I was called all the way out here.

"Now then, the two of you can have your conversation...you don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not."

"I'll be taking my leave so please feel free to take your time. If you'll excuse me."

The man sitting opposite the headmaster is in his 40s. Despite the fact that he's clearly twice this man's age, the headmaster acted in an extremely and thoroughly polite manner and left his territory as though he were fleeing.

"Woah. That guy must be some bigshot," Sudo remarked.

"What do you mean?" Sato asked.

"This 40-something guy is younger, but he seems to be more respected and stuff, right? Isn't it kinda the other way around usually?" Sudo explained.

I was surprised at his observation.

"Maybe he just had somewhere to be. I doubt he was really running away," Shibata commented.

"I would like that to be the case, but I don't think so," Chairman Sakayanagi thought.

"Then I'll also excuse myself..."

Chabashira-sensei also bowed before the man and left alongside the headmaster.

I didn't overlook the fact that in the last look she gave me, she seemed worried.

As the door closed, the only sound I can hear is the faint sound of the heating system. As I stood still without saying anything, the man quietly said.

"How about you sit down. I'm meeting up with you of my own accord after all."

It's been one ye-, no...one and a half years since I've heard this man's voice.

"You've met him before? That's weird," Ishizaki said as if wasn't a big deal.

"You say that like it's odd. Something like this shouldn't be happening according to the school's rules," Ryuuen said while gazing at me.

"Maybe Ayanokouji met him once by chance. Like he bumped into him on the way to school, right?" Ishizaki stated his outlandish fantasies.

"Is your head on straight?" That was all Ryuuen had to say.

"It's weird how you two were left along. If you were in trouble, then wouldn't the teacher and especially the headmaster be involved?" Himeno pointed out.

"Where did you get the idea that he was in trouble? The videos have never shown anything like that, have they? Something that would warrant meeting the headmaster would be shown before. The fact that it isn't must mean that something different has taken place," Kanzaki countered.

Now all eyes were on me. Of course, I had no intention of saying anything.

His way of speaking and tone hasn't changed at all. Not that I specifically wanted him to anyway.

"I'm not planning on holding a long conversation that requires me to sit down, I have planned on meeting some friends later."

"Friends? Don't make me laugh. You aren't capable of such things."

He hasn't even seen how I live, yet still judges his statement to be true. Believing he is absolutely right, that's typical of him.

"That's mean," Haruka said sadly.

Currently, I may not be on the best of terms with her, but it isn't as if she despises me. The other Ayanokouji Group members probably felt the same.

The person who I was observing most had a blank expression. Ichinose didn't have this out of apathy, however, she simply didn't know what to feel. She didn't have enough information on this man to know whether he was good or bad, in her eyes at least.

"Whether we talk together now or not will amount to nothing."

"So I can assume that I got a favourable answer? If that's so, there's no need to talk anymore. I'm also busy and just got some time in between to come after all."

He didn't pay me any attention while arriving at his conclusion.

"I don't know what the answer you want is."

"I have prepared the papers for you to drop out. I was talking about it with the headmaster earlier. You just have to say "yes", then we can be done with it."

He saw my intention to gloss it over and went directly to the main topic.

"I see no reason why I should."

"That may be so for you, but I do have some on my own." He looked at me for the first time.

That sharp glance hasn't withered, in fact, it has seemingly increased with his age. Pupils like sharpened blade edges, like he could see through into the core. Many people have probably felt being assaulted by them. I took them right on.

"It can't be, right? No way he himself showed up to meet him. I wasn't a hundered percent sure before, but the physical features are similar. The hair colour and eye colour most of all, but the main thing was the man's eyes. It was the look this man had. The feeling that it gave off," Yagami thought.

"Hey, didn't that teacher say that Ayanokouji's father wanted to expel him?" Hosen announced.

Maybe he was just trying to be annoying, but it certainly had a completely different effect. The atmosphere instantly turned dense and heavy.

"The physical features are similar. Also, the fact that Ayanokouji has met this man before certainly leads something like this to be the truth. It annoys me. Ayanokouji is twisted and cruel, but he has briefly mentioned a difficult childhood a few times during these tapes. Whatever he became may be because of this person, and it infuriates me," Ichinose thought.

"You mean a parent, for now, plans on twisting the child's wishes on his own accord?"

"Parent you say? You have never recognised me as a parent."

"Indeed."

It's suspicious whether this man has ever considered me his child in the first place. It's likely we only recognised ourselves as father and son on paper only. Doesn't matter whether there is a blood relation or not.

"That's quite an estranged relationship you have there, Ayanokouji," Yagami said with a stiff voice.

It's happened a few times before, but this time he emphasised my name without the honorific. The first few times I thought it could be a slip of the tongue, but this may turn into something more permanent.

"Hey, Kiyotaka. You're doing alright, right?" Kei looked worried.

"I'm fine, Kei. If I was really not doing well then I would have gone to the private room," I reassured her.

"Yeah, but you would have never known what this video was going to be ab-," Kei began but stopped soon after.

I assume it's because she realised that I had already expected something like this.

Kei stopped to cultivate her thoughts then continued, "If you say you're good, then you're good. If I could tell if you were feeling bad then I would do something, but I can't. I can't make your choices for you, so do whatever you think feels right," Kei said with a smile.

"It's nice that you care so much, but I promise that I'm fine," I said.

"I guess that only a person who doesn't even consider themself a parent could be so cold to their own son," Ichinose thought.

"The point is, you were acting on your own accord. I ordered you to remain on standby."

He threw out, forgetting to urge me to sit. Then he continued.

"You defied my orders and entered this school. I'm ordering you to drop out immediately as a matter of fact."

"Your orders were only valid inside the White Room only. Right now, I don't need to listen to them anymore."

It was simple logic. But of course, he wouldn't be satisfied with that.

"White Room this, White room that, what is that place? It's almost like he's being treated like a prisoner with all this shit about orders," Ryuuen claimed.

Most people would keep such thoughts to themselves, but Ryuuen isn't like that.

"Can I request something of you all?"

This dignified voice was Horikita Suzune's.

"I ask of you all to not ask any needless questions to Ayanokouji. I don't really care what reasoning you may have, but I'm asking you all to keep these to yourself. I can't force you, so I just hope that you can indulge my proposal," Horikita elegantly proposed.

Normally, I expected Yosuke to do something like this.

"I guess the direct approach may have been better. He's done horrible things, I know that. I planned to make the class stop after one or two questions, but stopping any coming up in the first place is probably better. I was conflicted since I told him that I won't destroy the class protecting even him, but it's not as if Horikita is destroying anything," Yosuke thought.

"I agree with Horikita. Could you just keep these thoughts to yourself, please?" Yosuke soon followed suit with Horikita's idea.

"I may have not been the first to propose this, but I can still help. Ayanokouji, I don't know what to think of you. You seem so indifferent to everything. I don't think I have the ability to ostracise you, even if I wanted to, so I'll simply keep watching," Yosuke thought.

"You have become quite talkative since last time I saw you. Influenced by this worthless school I see."

Resting his cheek on his hand, the man looked at me like watching excrements.

"Anyway, let me hear your reply to my last question."

"The meaningless one about you not requiring to listen to me anymore? You are my property. The owner has every right to use it as he fits. I don't need to tell you this. Whether you live or die is for me to decide."

To honestly being able say that in this country in which law rule prevails, what a wicked person.

"It's that tool shit all over again," Hosen said.

"I theorised that Ayanokouji began to think of these things due to his childhood and it seems I was right. I suppose that's just how we was raised, no matter how much I dislike it," Hiyori thought with a frown.

"This place isn't worthless! I learned so much shit here," Sudo criticised and many agreed with him.

The Chairman had a slight smile at Sudo's words.

"No matter how much you are stuck on it, I don't plan on leaving this school."

Doesn't matter what I say, we are just going in circles. He hates wasting time on useless talk so he should know this. Then what is next?

Of course he will strike his next card.

"Aren't you curious what became of Matsuo who told you about this school and gave you the idea to enroll?"

The next person I had my eye on was put on centre stage. Nanase looked a little nervous but continued to pay her full attention. She looked to be gripping her seat tightly. Maybe it was to stop shaking or it was simply a reflex, I don't know.

"Not really."

That's a name I remember, his face pops up in my mind.

"He was managing you as a butler for a year. In the end, he went against his employer's orders."

He was talking non-stop, then suddenly stopped. By doing this, he could carve the contents and make the listener conscious of the grave matter this conversation contained. Using a heavy tone and a deep glance, the listener would assume the conversation was about to go in a negative direction, wondering how bad it may have went.

"Teach you how flee from me, about this school's existence, and then ignoring me, your real parent's intentions by sending the papers for your enrolment. Truly a foolish thing to do."

He picked up the teacup the school prepared for him and took a slurp.

"That is an inexcusable, unforgivable act. Of course he had to be punished."

"He may have done the morally right thing, but no one ever said that the right thing didn't have consequences," Sakayanagi sighed.

"She's right. Matsuo did the brave thing, but he still disobeyed his employer. However, that doesn't change that this man is the personification of cruelty," Nanase thought.

"It sucks that he got fired, but I guess it's warranted," Kanzaki agreed.

"Do you think getting fired was the end of it?" Ichinose asked.

"What do you mean? What else could have happened?" Kanzaki was confused.

"I mean, think about it. This guy seems so cold, does betraying him only mean that you get fired? I'm just guessing, but something worse might have happened," Ichinose explained her thoughts.

Ichinose has always been incredibly perceptive, so this isn't a shock at all. Of course, she was completely right. Most people would simply fire the disobedient employee and be finished with the matter, but that man is different. He wants to make the other person feel like they should have never gone against him in the first place.

It was not a threat, he was just stating the facts without mixing in his feelings on the matter.

"You may have imagined it already. He was fired by me."

"Since you are his employer, that's a valid reason."

The man who was my butler was close to 60 years old. He was outstandingly good at looking after people, and was easy to like. A man well liked by all children.

He married young, but was not blessed with children. He got his first child when he was over 40 years old, but he sadly lost his wife in exchange.

His child was about the same age as me. I remember him bragging about his son all the time. I have never met his son, but Matsuo told be he was studying really hard as to repay his father. The smile he had is still burnt inside my memories.

These thoughts tugged on the student's heartstrings. And it also had the effect of making them more contempt for that man. How could he do something like that to such a good person? That's what most people probably thought.

"You must have known about him. Matsuo's beloved son."

He must've seen me remembering about them, before he added.

"As you enrolled into this school, Matsuo's son also managed to pass the difficult entrance exam and enrolled into a famous private high school. He surely worked really hard."

He added a pause, then continued.

"But, he has now been expelled."

His words were simple, the meaning clear. He was avoiding to say it directly, but he had made sure the school retracted his son's enrolment to punish him. Because this man had power to do so.

"The fuck did his son have to do with anything?" Sudo said angrily.

"The parent's actions don't affect the son's. Who gives a shit what his dad did? The guy is his own person, he doesn't have to be treated the same way," Sudo thought with a frown.

Sudo was largely affected by his own parent's image and he feared that he would grow up the same as them. In a way, I could understand him.

"What an evil person," Nanase muttered.

"I guess that only someone as cold as that could create someone as cold as him," Yagami thought.

"I guess you were right, Ichinose," Kanzaki said with a disheartened expression.

I suppose that he didn't want Ichinose's theory to be right. I doubt Ichinose did either. While people are happy that they guessed or deduced something correctly, there's no joy in it if the deduction was negative.

"I guess so," Ichinose said sadly.

"And so? Did a man such as you only end it with this? So kind you are."

"His son is a strong child. Even after expulsion from his desired school, he didn't falter. He began enrolment into other schools. But I played my hand with them all. I stopped all his attempt at entering high school and made him give up. Same for Matsuo. Spreading his bad reputation resulted in him not finding any new work. The result, his son lost his course and became unemployed."

It was a speech about how my acts had resulted in Matsuo and his son losing everything. A made-up story it is not, but the truth. If he only meant to report about this petty thing, it was a letdown.

"You are probably not surprised at this point. Since they went against their employer's orders, some form of compensation must be made. But it seems he didn't expect one to such a degree. He was responsible, kind man from the very beginning. Losing his wife early, raising his son alone, grieving over that his careless actions had led to him robbing his son of his future. He found only one way to save his son. For reparations he pleaded me to not touch his son anymore, then last month he burned himself to death."

This was the point he wanted to say after his long speak. That my selfish actions was connected to the tragedy of others.

The mood turned dark. It's comparable to the scene with Kei, but this is life and death. The people were disgusted, especially the fainter of heart, but they couldn't keep their attention off the screen. Humans fear tragedy, but they are also intrigued and drawn to it.

"What?" Ryuuen said with a surprised expression.

I guess even he didn't expect something as dark as this to take place.

"It seems that you expected it to go much further than simple employment termination. Although I guess that's to be expected since he's your father," Yagami had a blank expression.

His voice was almost detached. It's like he didn't care or he expected something as unfortunate as this to happen.

"I guess I can't really be surprised. I may want to be the best in the White Room, but I'm not so naive to think that it is anything but cruel. Certainly, It's filled with the best people in their respective fields, but that doesn't change what it really is — A place devoid of humanity. The person who created it must be just as inhumane," Yagami thought.

"How cruel," Mashimo muttered.

"I-i didn't expect something this bad," Ichinose looked visibly shaken.

Kei also looked worried, but she trusted that I would do something if I was really not feeling well, so she refrained from doing anything.

"His son is now working part-time without any guarantee to if he can

survive to the next day. No dreams. no hope."

"His family falling into ruins is all your fault. His son must hate you."

"No forgiveness even after death."

As I was about to ask "And then", the corners of his mouth curved slightly.

"The man who took care of you, the man who saved you has died and you don't seem to by paying any attention. Matsuo would have turned in his grave seeing your attitude. The one he bet his own life."

Right or wrong, the reason for Matsuo and his son's fall to ruins lies with this man. There is no need to feel remorse for dead people. But this man wasn't trying to stir my feelings of guilt. Nor did he want me to show empathy. He just wanted to state it. That we would show no mercy to those who enraged him. Nothing more than that.

"I'm glad you know that something as tragic as that wasn't your fault," Horikita quietly told me.

She also seemed worried for me, but she simply doesn't know what to say.

"I guess you don't need to feel remorse, but sometimes it does help people grieve," Ichinose said sadly.

"How needlessly petty. He just wants to show how much power he has," Sakayanagi scoffed.

"For the first, I don't have any evidence that what you told me is true."

"Matsuo's report of death has been confirmed. If necessary, I will bring you his records." So ask me anytime, he strongly implied.

"If he really is dead, then all the more the reason for me not to leave this school. As Matsuo helped me enrol despite knowing the consequences, I have to succeed his will."

A joke of a reply to bullshit like this.

"You sure have changed, Kiyotaka."

I can understand why he wanted to say that. I had always followed his... No, more precisely, the White Room's orders. That was the whole world to me. His greatest failure was probably this blank unknown one-year period of mine.

"From what I can tell, this White Room place is some sort of facility that Ayanokouji's father owns. I assume that Ayanokouji had lived there his whole life," Horikita thought.

"What happened to you during this one year? What made you decide for

this school in the first place?"

And since he already knew, he pursued the topic.

"Certainly, you have provided us with the best education possible. You may have used methods which the public won't ever acknowledge, but still, I won't reject the White Room itself. Which is why I'm not planning on speaking about the past to anyone, nor try to put you in a difficult position. However, you are excessively chasing an ideal. The result of that is me, that's all."

I am a first-year high schooler. 16 years old. However, my knowledge far exceeds the amount learnt in a lifetime. I realised it, was made to realise it. That humans have an endless amount of curiosity.

"Anyone else and I would have laughed at them," Ryuuen grinned.

"'Us?' There were more people than Ayanokouji? He did say that he competed with other people, but I didn't really believe it. So that must mean that Ayanokouji is the best thing that the White Room had made. It's annoying. How can you boil down a person's worth to just their abilities?" Ichinose thought.

"An endless amount of curiosity, eh? I suppose that's especially true for you," Nagumo sighed.

"You taught us a a lot of things. Not only the usual arts and sciences, martial arts and self-defence, wisdom and much more. It is because of that I wanted to learn about the "world" you threw away."

"Does the conclusion, the answer to that have anything to do with why you ran away?"

"Will I be able to learn the same things at this school as staying in the

White Room? What freedom is, how is feels to not be bound by anything. I couldn't have learned that in that place."

This is a fact even he can't deny. The White Room was perhaps the most efficient place in the whole world to raise a human, but you couldn't learn everything. It was an institution that threw away anything unnecessary to the extremes.

"Matsuo told me, the only place in Japan where you couldn't reach was this school."

If I didn't choose this school instead of waiting on standby as per orders, or if I had made a different decision, I would most likely have been returned back to the White Room.

Thus I strongly reject withdrawing from the school.

"I don't think so. Humans need emotions, stable relationships and many other social factors to make them grow. Just giving them the opportunity to get good at many things doesn't mean that you raise them well, it just means that they're good at multiple things. Ayanokouji, you're the smartest person I've ever seen, but you're lacking in things that truly make a human, a human," Kanzaki thought.

"Maybe it's the best way to raise a person whose sole purpose is to serve for others, but they will never have autonomy," Manabu strongly disagreed.

He was right. If I stayed at that place then I would simply remain something akin to computer code that does the tasks it's assigned. The emotions I have would be suppressed further and further. Whatever desires I have would dissolve like salt in water.

"There are some parts I can't understand, but it seems I just have to accept that's how the situation is. Now I see how temporarily shutting down the institution that time before the completion of the plan was a mistake. To think just one year could set back a plan which had been ongoing for over 16 years. And annoyingly you managed to escape to this school away from my reach."

I know that this temporary shutdown was a heartbreaking memory to him. That is why he so strongly wanted me back. But to make contact after half a year, there must be something else happening behind my back. Is there someone big behind this school?

"I now understand why you came here, but don't think this is the end of it. As with Matsuo's son, I can make you quit this school by force you know."

"What a meaningless bluff. If he desires for you to leave so badly then he would have done so already if he had the ability," Horikita analysed.

"This is a government school, after all. I doubt you could affect anything unless you possessed the peak of government influence," Matsushita pointed out.

"This guy seems like he has plenty," Amasawa said.

"He may have enough to enter the school and command the people, but that isn't enough. Unless you have the ability to command the people who run the school you won't be able to do anything," Horikita retorted.

"That's true, but that isn't what I meant. This guy has enough to command the headmaster, who's to say that he couldn't affect the school in different ways? Commanding staff to do things wouldn't seem to difficult, right?" Amasawa condescendingly smirked.

"I don't believe you can interfere with this school as you are right now since it's backed by the government."

"What makes you think so? That's a statement without any proofs to back it up."

"The first one, the bodyguards you always surround yourself with are nowhere to be seen. You are making grudges all around so you shouldn't be so willing to separate from them. But they are not in this room nor in the hallway as far as I can see."

The man grabbed the cup and drank the now lukewarm tea.

"Why should I need bodyguards just to visit a high school?"

"That's sloppy considering you always have them guard when you go to the toilet. It seems to me you couldn't take them with you even if you wanted to. The authorities behind this school didn't permit it, is what I think."

And if he didn't adhere, he wouldn't be allowed to enter.

"You are still lacking evidence."

"Next, If you had the power to make me quit, you would have done so before even counting to 3. But you didn't do that, instead going out of your way to talk to me face to face and convince me to quit. Something is weird."

For Matsuo's son, he didn't need to meet personally, he simply brought down the judgment I believe.

"And there's another thing. If you made your move in an enemy territory like this school and it becomes public, your ambitions... your comeback would forever be a faint dream, isn't that so?"

Everyone was following clearly until I mentioned that man's comeback. They wouldn't know his desires yet, but I am curious to see how they would feel.

"... Is that what Matsuo put inside your head? So even after death he still pesters me."

"I can't know that just from his mumblings."

I didn't hear anything detailed from him in the first place, but I can infer the details on my own. This man cannot be stopped halfheartedly, and Matsuo should have known this too.

"Leaving aside the shutdown and its influence, I noticed one more problem. No matter how perfect the discipline is, the so fitting rebellion period will occur in all humans."

A mere 15 years of education cannot possibly win over the DNA, carved from ancient times.

The rebellious phase is essential for the development and growth of a person. It allows the ability to push previously set boundaries so that an individual can create their own. It's part of the process of becoming your own person.

"Running away from that place is some rebellious phase," Ryuuen sighed.

"In other words, isn't that just running from home? It seems much more normal that way," Sakayanagi chuckled.

"Let's put why an individual as you has gone off the paved road as the premise. You know fully well that there is no meaning behind learning about these unnecessary things so why?"

"The satiable curiosity, and to decide my own path. That's all."

"Nonsense. There is no other path in life other than the one I planned for you. You are the one that one day will exceed myself and rule Japan. Why can't you realise that?"

I guess this was the straw that broke the camel's back.

"Rule Japan, huh? Say what you will, that seems interesting," Ryuuen had a cocky grin.

Even Sakayanagi who knew parts of my past didn't know this.

"If it was anybody else then it seems like some fabricated tale. But if you really wanted to then you undoubtedly could," Sakayanagi agreed.

"Those are certainly ambitious goals that your father has," Yagami dryly chuckled.

"Ruling Japan, eh? That certainly is something big, but it's also a strategic move. If Ayanokouji showed good results as the leader then it would show brightly on the White Room. Increased funding whether it be shown to the public or not would be bound to happen. I wonder, is that because of your abilities or is it nepotism?" Yagami thought.

"That would be an interesting world, but judging from your words, I assume you don't want that," Horikita sighed.

The silent majority was too shell-shocked to say anything.

"A Japan ruled by you would surely be interesting. Honestly, I don't really know if it's good or bad," Manabu thought.

"That's just your own fabricated tale."

"Seems I can't get through you after all."

"Guess we have the same opinion."

No matter how far, we are always in parallel. We can never compromise on our understanding.

"The White Room has been restarted. This time, it will be perfect. I have also made preparations to make up for lost time."

"This White Room place can't be good. The man who runs it is cruel and apparently, the public may not accept the White Room's methods. But the fact that they produced Ayanokouji and raised him in a way to think like that is the worst. They raised him in a way that he treats humans like pieces on a board," Ichinose thought.

"A place like that is running as we speak huh?" Ichinose said with a disappointed expression.

Ichinose doesn't know about what really goes on there just like almost everyone else in the room. However, they know that it can't be good. They don't have any evidence but they connect the facility to that man. They've seen his cold and calculated cruelty. The fact that the public disapproves is also a major factor. These things would turn the image of the White Room into something dark.

"In that case you should have several successors who will succeed your will. Why bother with me?"

"Certainly, it is as you say, but there is nobody with the same talent as you yet."

"You cannot lie even to your children, is what you want to say?"

"You think such a worthless lie would reverberate with you?"

That's true.

"This is my last words, Kiyotaka. Consider your answer carefully before answering. What do you wish for? Leaving this school of your own free will or letting your parent forcibly make you leave?"

Seems he really wants to drag me back no matter what. I don't know what cards we will use for that sake, but it's simply not worth listening to.

"... I have no plans to return."

As if slicing through the silence, I quickly gave him my conclusion.

"I don't know whether there is salvation for you or not, but I have no plans to give up learning. The methods may be different, but it's true that this school is raising talents. That's where my expectations are."

"What gibberish. You don't understand what kind of place this school is. This is nothing more than a shack for the mobs. There should be some in your own class I'm sure. Lowlifes without any chance for salvation."

"I'm deeply conflicted. I want to make fun of them, but I don't want to agree with this guy," Ryuuen thought.

"Judging people without ever witnessing them. Truly, it is behaviour fit for lesser beings," Koenji scoffed.

"For once, you're saying something correctly," Ike said, still in anger at that man's words.

"No. Rather, this is the first time you are able to comprehend my words," Koenji chuckled.

I doubt Koenji intended it, but he made the mood a little lighter.

"Sakayanagi, you met this guy?" Hashimoto asked.

Sakayanagi was the first to talk about the White Room. Back then, no one knew what she was talking about. She had mentioned my father and me being the greatest thing he created, but that's all that she said which is relevant currently.

"I didn't meet him, per se. However, I have heard of him and Ayanokouji's abilities," Sakayanagi said dismissively.

No one was particularly surprised when Sakayanagi said this. They have all known for quite some time that her father was the chairman and therefore, very influential. Though, they didn't know of his connection with my father,

"Lowlifes? That's not true. This is a place where I can find out whether people are equal or not. It's a pretty interesting policy I think."

"So you think even worthless people can grow up to stand in the same ring as geniuses?"

"That's my wish."

"How much are you going to stray away from my policies?"

"We should end this conversation, you know this won't go anywhere."

"I thought you already wrote off equality as a fantasy," Horikita said.

"The thoughts I had were six months apart," I responded.

I can confidently say that in terms of status, humans will never be equal ever again. There are those who are born into wealth and others who are born into poverty. However, many famous athletes came from poverty-filled areas. Similarly, there are many academic geniuses who can rival those with a proper education through their own hard work. At the end of the day, status doesn't determine what a person's individual peak is.

However, even though people can have similar education and general life experiences like many people in the room currently, there will always be differences in terms of abilities. Some students may be more naturally fit or some may have a better memory and are, therefore, better at academics. Does this mean that those people who aren't born with the same gifts aren't able to challenge those with those inherited gifts? I have my doubts.

I wish to find the answers to these questions at this school.

As I was showing him my will to finish up, a knocking sound reverberated inside the reception room.

"Excuse me."

After the door was opened, a man, seemingly in his 40s, appeared from the door. His expression became somewhat wary as he noticed the unexpected visitor.

The students immediately knew who the man was.

"It has been a long time, Ayanokouji-sensei."

The man bowed deeply. The scene was like that of a subordinate and his boss.

"...Sakayanagi. What a nostalgic face. It's been 7, 8 years I presume."

"I guess it has been that long since I succeeded my father's position as the board chairman. Time sure does fly."

"Hey, Creep. What was that number you had commited to memory?" Hosen insulted.

"You seem to be the first to mention it," Sakayanagi retorted.

"Only because I've never seen someone as stalkerish as you," Hosen chuckled.

"It was 8 years and a hundred and something days," Yagami told Hosen.

Yagami had just set off a bomb, however, the room stayed silent. It was interesting. They all knew that Sakayanagi had seen my father and potentially even been to the White Room, but they didn't say anything. It may have been out of them not knowing what to say, or it could have been due to them not wanting to ask Sakayanagi such questions.

Sakayanagi? I got a little sense of incongruity from the name the board chairman presented himself as. It can't be helped that I associated that name with Sakayanagi Arisu from Class A.

"You must be Ayanokouji-sensei's... Kiyotaka-kun I assume? It is nice to meet you."

As he was talking to the standing me, he tilted his head slightly to the side.

"Thanks for everything. We are done speaking so I'm excusing myself."

"Ah, Could you wait for a bit? I just want to talk a bit to both of you."

I couldn't possibly refuse that from the third person, at least not from the board chairman of this school.

"Well then, have a seat."

I took my seat following his invitation. The board chairman then sat down beside me.

"I have heard from the principal. It seems you want to make him withdraw from the school?"

If the board chairman yielded in authority, I would perhaps be cornered.

"That's right. Since his parent is stating so, you should promptly set it into action."

I wonder how the board chairman Sakayanagi would return those words. Having his worries elsewhere, Sakayanagi met the man's eyes and replied.

"You are mistaken. True, the parents have much to say regarding their child. If the parents strongly desires for it, there are cases where we don't have to consider the student's own wishes. Still, that is by considering all facts and reasons. As an example, if they were subjected to vicious bullying etc, it would be worth considering. Does this hold true to you, Kiyotaka-kun?"

"Not at all."

"It's almost like a tagteam duo," Ryuuen chuckled.

"I'm impressed how you were able to deny him so vehemently," Mashima praised.

"Oh, please. I just had the best interests of one of my students. If any other person was in the same situation I would have done the exact same thing," Chairman Sakayanagi warmly smiled.

Similarly, if a student broke the rules, he would show them no mercy. He was the personification of strict but fair. I have no doubt that even if Sudo or Ike were in that position, he would say the same thing.

"What a farce. That's not my problem. I just want him to quit the school he enrolled at without my permission."

"Going to high school isn't mandatory. Which school to enrol at is up to the student. Naturally, if the parents paid the expenses like tuition or similar, it would be another story. This school has all the expenses covered by the government so money and the materials are not a problem. Thus we will put the students' autonomy as our first priority."

It was expected but I felt grateful for those words.

And at the same time, I understood. Matsuo once said 'this school will allow you to escape the White Room'. He made that declaration because of this man's existence. He's conversing with my father without the slightest hint of fear. And it's also proving effective. Completely unlike the headmaster who bowed immediately before authority, this man seemed dependable.

"I'm glad you think so highly of me," Chairman Sakayanagi warmly said.

"You've also changed. What happened to the you who used to agree with me?"

"Even now, I admire you, Ayanokouji-sensei. But it's precisely because I agree with the ideals of this school that my father founded that I intend to succeed him. I'm sure you know that best, Ayanokouji-sensei? None of the policies have changed since my father's time."

"I'm not going to reject your way of doing things. You're free to succeed your father's will. But if you're going to do that then why did you even allow Kiyotaka to enroll at this school?"

That man seems to harbor some doubts and so he started interrogating Chairman Sakayanagi.

"Why, you ask? After assessing the results of his interview and exams, I concluded that he qualifies for enrollment."

"Don't dodge the question. I am aware this school operates differently from an ordinary one. In the first place, Kiyotaka should not have even be a candidate for admission. I know the interviews and the exams are a farce."

"I was right, huh?" Horikita was surprised.

"I mean, it's not that surprising when you think about it. If academics were all that mattered then a good portion of the athletic, but not as book-smart students wouldn't be here. I don't really know what the criteria is, but those things are certainly not enough to judge a student's worth," Hiyori analysed.

"Were you talking about me?" Ibuki looked slightly annoyed.

"You would fall under that category, so yes. That isn't a bad thing, though. It means that the school found you worthy for candidacy rather than the really academic students," Hiyori praised.

Ibuki was taken aback. "Y-yeah! Obviously."

At those words, the expression of Chairman Sakayanagi changed even though he had a pleasant smile on his face up until now.

"...even though you've already retired from the frontlines, that's very impressive, Ayanokouji-sensei. You're well informed."

"His recommendation to this school should have been submitted in secret. And the moment that was done, his admission to this school had already been decided. Put simply, without a recommendation, even the most excellent student would have been disqualified for entry. Am I wrong?"

It does seem to be a fact that they're talking about things a student like me would never hear otherwise.

"There's no way Kiyotaka could've been a part of the selection. In other

words, it's strange that he wasn't disqualified."

"Yes. That's correct. His name wasn't on the list of students we intend to admit. Normally, when there's an unforeseen application from a student who is not on the list, they are all rejected. As a camouflage for that, we've implemented the interviews and exams. But he's the only one whose admission I approved of based on my own judgement. You may be here to take him back with you but for now, he's a precious student entrusted to us. I have an obligation to protect the students of this school. Even if it's your request, Sensei, there are things I must refuse. As long as he himself does not wish to quit."

"I feel kinda bad for the other student that got rejected," Shibata sighed.

"I knew this guy was a bigshot, but that's information that nearly everyone shouldn't know," Ike said.

"You understand that everyone in this room now knows, right?" Sudo said.

"Oh, right. Still, we weren't supposed to know this, right?" Ike responded logically.

'Don't fool around.' That man spat those words out and turned away from Chairman Sakayanagi to face me.

However, Chairman Sakayanagi continued.

"We will not, of course, disregard the parent's opinion. If you wish for his expulsion then along with Kiyotaka-kun and the school, we will conduct a three way discussion until we reach a consensus."

Which is another way of saying no to expulsion. It's safe to assume that man no longer has any cards up his sleeve here.

"I certainly cannot force the impossible on your field. However, if that's your answer then all I have to do is change my approach."

"What are you planning on doing? If you intend on doing something extreme--"

"I understand. I have no intention of putting pressure on you."

The fact that this man, who specializes in that aspect, is not going to do so shows that he cannot do so here.

"There should be no problem if Kiyotaka's expulsion occurs using the school's own rules as its basis."

"I guess that would be the only plan of attack," Yagami pointed out.

"What could you do anyway? At best, you could try and bribe the staff. It isn't like you can put in your own teachers or students," Amikura disagreed.

"You're probably right. I guess we'll just have to wait and see," Yagami sighed.

"Yes, I can promise you that. I will not give him special treatment just because he's your son, Sensei."

"Then that'll be all. I'm leaving."

That man stood up from the sofa.

"When shall we meet again?"

"At the very least, we'll never meet again here."

"I'll see you off then."

"Unnecessary."

As that man refused to be sent off, I spoke to him.

"If you call yourself a parent, why not come visit this school a couple of times?"

"A place like this? Once is more than enough."

Leaving those words behind, that man left the reception office.

"Once is enough, eh? Then, how could this guy have told that teacher that he wants the freak expelled? He could have done it over the phone, but that leaves a record. I guess that no one would check something like that, but the freak did say that the man has plenty of enemies. One of them could have checked phone records," Ryuuen thought.

"You pretty much embody the tough but fair thing," Hashimoto chuckled.

"I think I'm fairly lenient with most things," Chairman Sakayanagi chuckled.

"Hey, Chairman."

This voice was Ryuuen's.

"Why isn't the headmaster watching these things?" Ryuuen asked.

That... was a good question.

"The headmaster and me have switched places for this. Originally, it was him that was meant to watch these, but I requested him to switch places with me. Right now, he is probably doing some paperwork or in a meeting somewhere," Chairman Sakayanagi responded quickly.

"So he's doing your work while you watch a bunch of videos? That's a pretty sweet deal," Ryuuen said with a smirk.

"Whew. As usual, whenever Sensei's around it's always tense, isn't it? You must've had a tough time too, right?"

"No. Not really."

The only thing that came out was that it's 'as usual'. Since we're now alone, Chairman Sakayanagi calmed down a bit and looked at me warmly.

"You see, I've known you for a long time now. We've never spoken directly but I've always been watching over you from behind the glass. Sensei always praised you, you know?"

"Glass? Is he like a lab subject?" Ichinose thought.

"Is that so? So that's how it is."

"What is?...what do you mean by that."

"No. More importantly, Chairman Sakayanagi, about the student allocated to Class A--"

"You're talking about Arisu? She's my daughter."

"So that's how it is."

"Ahh, but it's not because she's my daughter that she's in Class A, ok? I play fair."

"That's not it. I just wanted to ask you."

And with this, the mystery behind how she knows me has been solved. It's not strange if she's this man's daughter.

"Oh? I'm interested as to why you think that," Sakayanagi smiled.

"I suppose it's the way you both speak. There's also the physical features," I said.

It's a little weird that there are 4 people with the same white hair colour in this room. I know this school takes in people from different areas, but this seems like a statistical miracle.

"I'm fine with only what you're able to explain but--I'm curious about what that man said earlier."

"Could it be about the story behind your admission?"

"Yes."

"Yeah. Like Ayanokouji-sensei said, this school only admits middle school students nationwide who it has already conducted a preliminary survey of and have marked as being qualified. Every year, we work alongside the administrators of each middle school. And the result of that would be the students who have gathered here. The interviews and exams are only a formality. Even if you fool around during the interview or score zero on your exams, your admission has already been determined. Of course, students from all over the country apply for admission so the exams are there as an excuse to cull them."

So even if you get 100% on your exam or ace the interview, you'd still be rejected. There's no way a rejected student could discover the truth either.

This is convincing enough. Students like Sudou, Ike and the others who aren't academically the brightest as well as students like Hirata and Karuizawa who carry problems in their past were able to enroll because of it.

Things like common sense and academic ability are secondary concerns for this school.

"Hey, that's not..." Ike started but stopped immediately.

I guess that old habits do die hard.

"I guess that isn't too surprising. This is a government school, after all. The fact that they work with schools across the country is par for the course," Matsushita remarked.

"In your case, the moment I decided to admit you, whatever you do will no longer have any effect. Scoring 50% on all written exams won't influence your chances of success or failure any either."

This is truly a unique school. In all likelihood, this is the first school of its kind in Japan.

"Both you and Ayanokouji-sensei must be wondering. Why this school, regulated by the government, does not admit students based on their overall capability. But that is something you will surely come to understand in the future. What the nurturing policies we hope to achieve are as well as the results of it."

Chairman Sakayanagi is brimming with confidence.

"...I ended up saying too much. But I can't tell you any more than that. Because you're a student enrolled here at this school and I'm the one running it after all."

The fact that he still told me all this must be because I'm in the special position of being targeted by that man.

"What happened to your judicial fairness?" Ryuuen inquired.

"I guess that's deserved. If any other student was in a similar situation to Ayanokouji then I would reveal the same thing," Chairman Sakayanagi sighed.

"As the person in charge of this school, I will protect its students as far as the rules allow. You understand what I'm getting at?"

If I don't follow the rules then he won't be able to help me either.

"Of course, I can imagine what that man will do from this point onwards as well."

His options are very limited if he wants to get me out of this school.

"Then please excuse me."

"Alright. Hang in there."

The scene faded once again.

"Well, then. That's all I have for today, so you can all go now."

If I had to place importance on each video played then this one would be the highest. It provides the most information about me to anyone. Even just seeing this singular video provides a good amount of knowledge.

We were taken to the classrooms and then dismissed.

Everyone acted as they normally did, but Ichinose was the one who is affected most. She knows of me as I am now, and she also knows that there was a reason for me to be this way. I could tell that she grew to dislike my father as the video went on. Especially when it came to matters regarding Matsuo.

Matsuo, huh?

The reason I gave to stay in this school was to succeed Matsuo's will, but that isn't true. The dead don't feel anything, everything is done for the sake of the living. Funerals, prayers and even revenge, all of it is done to make the living feel better. Time has stopped for the dead and nothing can give them joy.

Matsuo will never know if I'm even still in the school, however, I will remain here. Not for his will or because that's what he wished, but because that is what I desire. I'm grateful to him, but I won't say something foolish such as remaining at this school for someone else's sake.

Author's Notes:

The first chap of v7.

I have used the Fan TL as it is much more accurate, so if the text doesn't seem to flow as well or if there are grammatical errors, it is due to that. I may only use the fan translation for v7 or I could use it for multiple volumes, but that's future me's decision.

See you next time.

Cast off

"It sure is starting to get cold, huh?"

My voice was drowned out by the gusts of wind. Each breath that I took was accompanied by the visible air. It's the 15th of October and the weather took a sudden change. The weather 2 days ago and today were incomparable.

Many students were with coats and gloves trying to beat the cold, but the only thing they were supposed to do is get to the school as quickly as possible.

I got into class and simply waited while looking through my phone until Chabashira arrived. As we were taken to the gym I could feel the heat from the many well-placed heaters in every corner of the hall.

"Another 2 videos today, let's begin."

When I left the reception office, I saw Chabashira-sensei waiting a slight distance away for the conversation to be over.

I gave her a bow and tried to walk past her but she started walking while matching my stride.

"How was your confrontation with your father?"

"It's pointless to try investigating so clumsily. I already understand everything."

"...What do you mean by you have realized everything?"

"Chabashira-sensei. I'm saying that everything you've told me are basically lies."

"Oh ho, this is good already," Ryuuen chuckled.

"What are you talking about?"

"You mean be trying to hide your unrest but it's not very subtle."

The way she's looking at me, her speech and the way she's choosing her words. It's only slightly off but still different from the usual her. She's trying to hide her emotions to the best of her ability but it doesn't look like she can hide her unrest entirely.

"That man never contacted you, Chabashira-sensei. Of course, he also didn't force you to make me quit school."

"I quite like this side of you, Sae," Hoshinmiya giggled.

"I didn't think you would enjoy your good friends worry so much," Sakayanagi smirked.

"I'm not happy at all. All that interests me is that this is a side that she never brings out. I like seeing a new side to my friend," Hoshinomiya warmly smiled.

A sudden laugh grabbed the attention of the room.

"Oh, my god. You're serious? Bullshit," Kushida laughed.

"What's so funny?" Hoshinomiya was still smiling but that smile didn't reach her eyes.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. Honestly, your little feud is just pathetically funny to me, but this is just sad," Kushida chuckled.

Hoshinomiya's face tightened, "I'm sorry. I didn't think you disliked me that much."

"Wait. If his father didn't convince Sensei to convince the school, then what happens?" Ike asked.

All eyes were on Chabashira now, but she didn't say anything. She looked completely stone-faced when facing the cumulative stares of the student cohort.

"No, your father asked me for help. In fact, just like what I told you, I've been constantly trying to get you expelled."

My father certainly is giving me pressure to drop out. But judging from his attitude, it's clearly the first time he's set foot in this school. Since I have no solid evidence I can't offer a refutation either but him making contact with a teacher is just a laughable story.

"Stop trying to deceive both of us. Chairman Sakayanagi has told me everything – he told my situation to you the instant my enrolment was decided."

"...the chairman told you everything?"

I laughed thinly.

"If he never contacted the school, then does that mean you threateaned him of your own volition?" Yagami asked.

"I think we should give her the benefit of the doubt fo-" Yosuke began but was cut off.

Chabashira looked over at Yagami with the same cold look in her eye, "I did. It was completely out of my own selfish desires."

"That teacher is more twisted than I thought," Ryuuen thought.

"Sensei, why would you do that?" Horikita was also shocked.

Both Horikita and Chabashira have the same goals. Their entire reason for remaining in this school is the goal of class A, one is haunted by the past while the other doesn't want to lose in the present.

"I had a goal and I did what I had to do to reach it," Chabashira spoke in a detached tone.

"That was awesome," Kei looked at me.

"What was so amazing?" I didn't know what she was so excited about.

"You laughed! I've never seen you do that," Kei's eyes glistened with childlike excitement.

"I don't think it's that incredible. You laugh all the time," I know what I am saying is illogical, but I wanted to hear her response.

"Yeah, but I laugh all the time for anything. If someone laughs for anything then laughing isn't really all that special, but you never laugh, so this is much more important," Kei proudly explained.

"That does make sense."

At that very moment, Chabashira-sensei realized she had made a blunder.

"Ayanokouji, were you probing me...?"

"Yes. The chairman never told me anything about Chabashira-sensei. But I was certain it was related to you, and now this has become very clear."

After seeing Chairman Sakayanagi, who knew about me scoring 50% on all tests, I became convinced of it.

"I'll explain my reasoning now. First I applied for admission to this school and Chairman Sakayanagi, who knew me from way back, acted on his own. And the moment my admission was confirmed, my allocation to Class D was also confirmed. The reason why Class D and not another class is because you, Chabashira-sensei, are a teacher who didn't show much interest in the class conflict. The class teachers I've seen so far have all shown a strong ambition to get their classes promoted, you see."

If I'm allocated to a class where I'd stand out, then the chances of me attracting attention would increase proportionately.

"By the way, Chairman Sakayanagi also made a single miscalculation. It's that the teacher of Class D who holds no love for her class and no drive is the one who secretly wants to rise up to Class A the most."

"..."

Chabashira-sensei was unable to reply at all and remained silent. Probably because she knew that my arguing back carelessly, she'd end up revealing it instead. That's why I didn't hold back and went all out with my words. In order to confirm one more thing.

"This is fun. You're certainly a wordsmith, Ayanokouji," Sakayanagi giggled.

"You care so much about class A, but you messed things up and didn't help anyone with anything. It's so counterintuitive," Keisei criticised

"Yukimura, I'm not much better. In fact, plenty of students, not even just from class D are like that. They'll talk about wanting something, but never do anything to get it," Horikita retorted.

"I personally disagree. You at least help and try your best," Keisei responded.

"I don't think that's true. A large percentage of my accomplishments weren't achieved purely by me. Even my first so-called accomplishment on the island was all due to Ayanokouji's efforts. Sensei did a horrible thing, I'm not denying that. It's completely reprehensible, but it is also counterintuitive to work against and resent our very own teacher," Horikita calmly explained.

Keisei sighed, "I guess that you raise a good argument."

"You're stubbornly hung up on the idea of rising to Class A. But you had no such luck with the students you had so far. That's why you weren't able to bring those feelings to the fore and indifferently spent your days. Am I wrong?"

Unlike before, Chabashira-sensei no longer even looked me in the eye.

"That's just your theory, Ayanokouji."

Chabashira-sensei's words of denial no longer hold any power but rather, they sounded weak.

"By chance, the irregularity that is my existence showed up this year and the situation became different from your usual year. Although there are many students with problematic personalities, the cream of the crop did gather too. Horikita and Kouenji as well as Hirata and Kushida. They're all students who, if properly guided, can aim for the upper classes. That's why you'd end up having expectations. In that case, it wouldn't be strange if the ambition you kept bottled up came surging back out. It's very easy to tell if you think back on the words Hoshinomiya said to you not too long after enrollment."

Hoshinomiya, who was an old friend of hers, knew about her desire to

rise to Class A.

'You're aiming to supplant them'. Those words of hers were very telling.

The students listened carefully and hung on to every word.

"Finally, I get confirmation that all your results are due to a simple accident. If Ayanokouji never showed up then your class would remain a normal class D," Ryuuen laughed.

"You seem to be enjoying this a little too much," Katsuragi sighed.

"Katsuragi, I think you should've realised by now that this is normal for him," Hiyori explained.

"Yes, but it's as if he's gone mad," Katsuragi still couldn't understand why Ryuuen took so much joy in making fun of class D.

"Of course I've gone mad. Have you ever tried living life without being mad? It's boring," Ryuuen was probably playing it up now.

"Seriously, explain to me why class D being as they are makes them so amusing to you," Katsuragi looked as if his brain may shut down.

"It's because I can enjoy a fight against them even more. All of them are things that guy had a part in. It's like facing the personally trained troops before battling the general," Ryuuen explained.

He was probably being genuine. When it comes to his desires in the class battle, he's dead serious.

"And now, no matter how rudely I act or what insolent words I speak, the only option you have here is to accept it all. The fact that the Chairman offered to protect me and considering how you want to use me as your weapon to aim for Class A, the only option you have available is to close your eyes to all the abuse going on here."

Like I said, all Chabashira-sensei could do is to listen to all this.

"For someone like you who desires to reach Class A and being stuck with teaching Class D every year, this is a chance you cannot afford to lose. You even used the lie that my father made contact with you to try and make use of my existence after all. That's the reason you approached me and Horikita was only a pawn you used for that

purpose. By the way, things aren't so simple."

I never had much ambition and held no interest in Class A in the first place.

Not knowing how to control me, who never took much action, she ended up firing the first shot during our first special exam on that uninhabited island.

"If, by the time the special exams start, we're still unable to hold a candle to the other classes then we'd never be able to catch up. That's why you panicked and ended up using what the Chairman told you to keep secret. I suppose you could call it desperate measures."

After that, things went favorably for Class D to a certain degree.

However, a miscalculation occurred. That's my father making contact with this school at last. And today at this very moment, all truths and lies are laid bare.

"Class D seems to have greatly benefitted from that. I think that if she didn't do anything like that then class D would never have gotten even to the starting line," Tsubaki analysed.

"I suppose that the class D students are experiencing a moral dilemma. They dislike their teacher's actions but without that, they would never get to the comfortable spot they are in now," Yagami agreed.

"I disagree. I can disagree with something, but still accept the fact that we're in the spot we are in now and try to go forward without using those methods," Matsushita jumped in.

"I feel that's a little ungrateful. I doubt you would be flouting that moral high ground if you were still at the bottom. You're in a good spot, so you have multiple options and can choose to do the morally right thing, but I'm sure plenty of students wouldn't care if it helped them. They would then continue to force Ayanokouji and ostracise him if he didn't help," Yagami calmly responded.

There was a short space of silence that acted as a short window for anybody else to speak, but Yagami took that opportunity once again.

"Of course, what your teacher did isn't a good thing. But what I'm saying is that those actions caused your class to be in a spot where you don't need Ayanokouji to keep maintaining that position. It has a certain benefit — you can deny the methods that your teacher used. However, let's imagine that all of the students knew about Ayanokouji's abilities and the class remained at the bottom. What do you think would happen then?"

Matsushita knew what he was going for, "The students would force Ayanokouji to work and if he didn't then he would be seen as an enemy to the class."

"Exactly. There are several students in every class who would do the same thing your teacher did if it helped them get to class A," Yagami ended the conversation.

Yagami spoke in a cold but intrigued tone the entire time. He spoke logically which left little room for rebuttal. He had also never used honorifics once which proved my theory of him not going to use them. For what reason, I have no clue. He's starting to be much more interesting and my earlier hypothesis seems to become closer to the truth every day.

"You probably intended to shut me down but on the contrary, you're the one being shut down now."

"...I see. The Chairman is probably giving you special consideration. Your abilities are beyond that of a 1st year high school student. You're wiser beyond your years, is how it is, huh?"

She took a breath, nodded and admitted it.

"...I'll confess. I don't know your father."

The attitude she tried so hard to maintain up until now collapsed.

"However, what are you going to do about the fact that if I ever feel like it, I can actually get you expelled? I can say you committed a serious breach of the rules and inform the school of it. Expulsion is the thing you want to avoid the most, correct?"

To think she came so far only to threaten me now.

Many students wanted to say something at Chabashira's continued threats, but then remembered Yagami's earlier reasoning and constrained the thoughts from escaping their minds.

"Regardless of the process, the result won't change, is what you're getting at."

"Exactly."

"How unfortunate, I'm already sure of it. That you can't get me expelled."

"...allow me to ask what led you to that conclusion?"

I calmed myself down from that agitated tone.

Of course, in the first place I wasn't actually agitated at all. I had only acted agitated to draw out Chabashira-sensei's true intentions.

"The current situation speaks for itself. Right now, Class D's performed better than it has in most years. Horikita and the other students too, are slowly beginning to put their strengths to good use. Even if I no longer aid them, it's not like they won't rise to Class A anymore."

So far, Class D's catching up to the upper classes and is on the brink of

overtaking Class C. No, at this current moment, our positions have already been internally reversed.

But if an expulsion were to occur, the destination will naturally become distant. What it means is that Chabashira-sensei is stuck in a situation where she cannot do anything.

"Even after I've stepped off the stage, the fight will continue as long as Chabashira-sensei holds out hope."

It's impossible for people to discard their hopes with their own hands.

"And with that, I shall have you release me."

"Now that you know everything, are you going to stop aiming for Class A?"

Of course I'm going to stop. The teacher who tried to use me to get to Class A by pretending to be affiliated with my father will no longer hold any sway. In other words, it's no longer necessary.

Many students were shocked.

"R-really?! I mean, you're completely allowed to do that, but will you never help us again?" Ike was baffled.

"Desire is what ignites the will to fight. If he's resolved himself to never do anything again then that's the end of it. His confrontation with me on the island could have just been pest control according to him. But there's a part of me that wants something different. If he ever decides to battle me then I'll go at him in full force. A person as incredible as that only deserves something as exciting. I had resolved myself to thinking he was nothing but a meaningless existence, but he's so much more," Nagumo thought.

"If you really think that then I can't do anything about it. But there's still something I'm confused about," Horikita mumbled to me.

The one thing she was referring to was my confrontation with Sakayanagi. Of course, I had agreed to that, but it didn't have anything to do with class A. I chose not to answer her mumbles and let her find out the answer herself.

"At the very least, I think my turn's up."

But I didn't deny it entirely.

People will keep going as long as there's still hope. Even if they know the possibility of it is close to zero they will still want to believe in that possibility.

Chabashira-sensei stopped walking.

"For now, please just watch obediently. If you continue to approach me based on your personal feelings any more than you already have, it'll just be a hindrance to the students."

I emphasized that.

"If I still refuse to release you despite it being reckless, what will you do?"

"Then you'll die holding onto those ambitions of yours, is what that choice would lead to. Not a very wise choice to make."

"Allow me to change the question then. Don't you think there's no guarantee I won't drag you down with me if I ever lose hope?"

"Yes, there's the possibility that the class points will plummet in the future. If so, you'll lose all hope. In that case, I don't mind. If you're going to attack then, please feel free."

"I don't think that'd ever happen. You care about class A that much," Horikita said.

"I could say the same thing about you. You'll never lose hope for class A even if it destroys you," Chabashira responded.

Horikita steeled her conviction, "Maybe so, but if that's what happens, then that's what happens. I can try to win, but once the final results are in there is nothing that can be done to change them. If we end up class A then I'm satisfied, but if we end up below then I'll move on eventually."

She wouldn't stop just because I asked her to so let her do whatever she wants.

"But I'd also like to remind you that your position as teacher isn't a guaranteed one either."

That's just a threat but at the very least, it would affect Chabashira-sensei, who knows the details, to a certain degree. Looks like she no longer has anything left to say to me as I walked off. There's nothing happy about my reunion with my father but I did gain a lot today.

I no longer need to help out in aiming for Class A, is what it means.

Whatever Ryuuen does from now on, I no longer need to get involved for Class D.

On top of that, I won't suffer any backlash no matter what happens to Karuizawa. Of course, if Karuizawa either gets caught or decides to betray me then my identity would be revealed but that's all. Even if Ryuuen decides to come after me, as long as I don't do anything for the sake of Class D from now on, it'll just end with a close, ambiguous decision.

"Did you do it for yourself or was there another reason?" Ryuuen gazed me in the eye.

"That's your choice to make. It's your choice what interpretation you choose," I responded with the same gaze.

Ryuuen dryly chuckled, "Whenever you say that it's my choice, I think that the outcome was determined a long time ago."

"Final video of the day. Let's continue."

The first 'winter' I experienced.

It's this cold and somewhere deep down inside, I never thought I'd be able to see this view. There's a song about a dog that saw snow and excitedly ran about. I can empathize. If it ever snows, I wonder if I'll be just as excited.

I exhaled and recalled the events that transpired today. Meeting with my father, the existence of Chairman Sakayanagi and that the policies of the school don't mean anything. I also achieved much in seeing through Chabashira-sensei's lie.

Because with just this alone, I'll be able to make significant progress forward.

"I'm sure plenty of people are like that. If someone who's only lived in a hot climate then they would desire something new," Matsushita commented.

"It's more like he desires everything that's new," Yagami thought.

"...shall I put an end to it?"

So far I've mostly kept it behind the scenes but the way the exam results are announced, the more Class D continues to prosper, there'll be no avoiding malevolent attention.

Inevitably, the surveillance would intensify and you'd be able to investigate who it is that's at the center of it all. As a matter of fact, although I set up Horikita as that person in the center, Ryuuen realized that it's faked.

Sakayanagi also knows my past and it's only a matter of time before Ichinose starts doubting it as well. If I want to turn back, now's my only chance. Of course, hasty decisions will lead to ruin so I'll need to consider both options of advancing and retreating.

"What a shortlived path. Not that I'm complaining," Ryuuen sighed.

"I doubt Ichinose ever doubted you until now. Honestly, you put a little too much faith in her perception," Sakayanagi probed.

Whether she meant what she said didn't matter, she was checking for reactions. Ichinose's feelings could be a part of that, or she could be probing me.

"You say that as if your own perception is on a league so high that it's incomparable to hers. Your whole fake genius shit was laughable," Ryuuen chuckled.

"Ideological differences breeds the desire to prove which is better than the other. Of course, you just wanted to play a game," Sakayanagi grinned.

Kanzaki chuckled, "When did you have such a big heart?"

"I'm surprised you haven't noticed. I'm quite benevolent. Anyway, I just found her own arrogance laughable. I know what I'm looking forward to after this big event," Ryuuen laid back in his chair with a satisfied expression.

And with that, the problem now is how to deal with Ryuuen. I retrieved my phone from my pocket and manually typed in the address. And then I sent a message to a certain person. Asking them to call me when they're able to.

When I did, the message was immediately marked as 'read'.

Looks like that person usually doesn't hang out with their friends but rather, goes back to the dorm early. I then manually typed the 11-digit number and made the call.

"Hello?"

The person behind this languid voice is Karuizawa Kei from Class D of the 1st years.

She doesn't know it yet but she's one of the individuals marked by Ryuuen. She's someone who knows that I'm the one handling Class D behind the scenes, even more than Horikita does.

Of course, she doesn't know much about just how deeply I'm involved and what I've done in detail though. If there's anything that could be said about me at the moment, it would be that Karuizawa probably sees me as an extremely eerie person.

"Eerie isn't the right word. The correct one would be mysterious," Kei disagreed.

"I was wondering what you were up to."

"You're kidding, right? There's no way you'd call without a reason."

I had thought I'd make small talk first but Karuizawa didn't get it.

"Don't you ever feel like enjoying our conversation more?"

"It's impossible if you yourself don't feel like enjoying it, right?"

"...I suppose you're spot on."

She's not the leader of the Class D girls for nothing. She understand people very well.

"Did Manabe and the others make any sort of contact with you?"

"No. That's not a problem right now...did you call me to make sure?"

Rather than surprise, an exasperated reaction was what I got.

"It's been a while since then but nothing so far, huh? Looks like there's no need to worry about that anymore."

"That'd be for the best but there's no telling what'll happen when, right?"

Looking at it from Karuizawa's perspective, she wouldn't truly feel safe until graduation. The wind blew and coldly struck my face.

"You don't have to worry about that anymore," Sato proudly said.

"Thanks, Maya," Kei smiled.

Both of them had grown quite close recently. I thought Sato would be more distant, but she's even closer to Kei than ever before. I don't think it's out of pity. Sato somewhat mimicked Kei. Most people would move away after they found out that Kei wasn't the strong wall that they thought her to be, but it made Sato seem to move even closer.

It's a common cognitive bias to ignore the negative traits and emphasise the positive ones. If a person was attractive, some may think that that individual is also friendly and funny even if they've never talked to them before. It could be that the attractive person was generally rude, but some may ignore that.

Sato seemed to admire Kei for her strength rather than the materialistic knowledge she possessed.

"You're still outdoors."

Perhaps it's because she heard the sound of the wind over the phone, Karuizawa said that.

"I'm on my way back. You're pretty fast today yourself. You're usually late."

"Even I have days when I want to go back early."

A prickly response came back.

"Ahh."

I found something and my voice leaked out.

"What?"

Karuizawa reacted, thinking that was directed at her.

"No, it's nothing."

At the point where the road branches, a red amulet had fallen to the ground where that senior student fell earlier. I wonder if it's something that senior student dropped. It may have been better to just leave it there but since snow will be falling today according to the forecast, it'll get all wet if I leave it be.

Since there's no sign that she noticed and came back for it, I suppose I'll just hand it over to the dormitory's administrator.

"You were going to leave my precious amulet there in the snow?! That could have been an important family heirloom, you know," Asahina exclaimed.

"Asahina, you realise that you are wearing that amulet right now, yes?" Nagumo said in a deadpan tone.

"This isn't like you, Nagumo. You were supposed to agree with me and be mean and petty," Asahina frowned.

"In all honesty, I don't care," Nagumo looked back to the screen without paying mind to Asahina's glares.

"Hey, there's something I wanted to check with you no matter what.

We're already talking so can I ask?"

"What do you want to check?"

Picking up the amulet, I resumed my conversation with Karuizawa while walking towards the dormitory of the 2nd years.

"You're smart and all so why don't you let others know about it, or rather, why aren't you telling them? Class D's full of idiots so if you come forward like Yousuke-kun, you'd be able to issue orders, no?"

Ryuuen laughed, "I love this. Seeing you all glare at each other with hostility when everyone else does the same thing."

Kushida had shown me this firsthand. The main one I remember was the group of six girls, but another group chat was with only 5 of the girls. The singular girl excluded was Mori Nene, but she isn't an outlier of any sort. Many other group chats had the same thing, whether it be class D or C.

"Normally people would be mean to you, but Ryuuen did have a point. No person in this class has never talked bad about anyone behind their back," Matsushita sighed looking at Kei.

"Well, it isn't like I'm some genius or anything. I would probably be included in that big category of idiots," Kei giggled.

While some may think of this as illogical, Kei understands how her classmates work. Kei is fully able to insult herself which they had never seen before. It portrays an actual face of strength rather than the bossy facade from before.

It's not hard to imagine why she'd ask something like that.

"I'm smart? What's your basis for thinking that?"

"What...?"

"My test scores are just average. I've never said anything outstandingly useful in class either. There's nothing for you to base that evaluation off of, right?"

"That's not what I'm getting at."

Of course, I'm aware what Karuizawa's trying to get at.

So far, I've asked Karuizawa for her cooperation in many behind the scenes activities. For instance, sabotaging the peeping as well as the matter with Kushida during Paper Shuffle.

It's not strange that all in all, she'd think it's a mystery.

"Things like that, if you'd only made them stand out earlier, your evaluation in class would've risen, right? Far from it, you might even end up attracting attention from the school. Just like you did during the sports festival."

Even though it's something that has nothing to do with her, Karuizawa excitedly said that.

"You know I'm not the type who desires that sort of thing, don't you?"

"Then why are you doing all this? If you wanted it, you could've not done anything from the start."

"That's a good analysis."

It's not like I'm doing all this because I want to either.

"If you're average then I'm non-existent," Sudo sighed.

"Don't put yourself down like that, Ken," Ike said loudly, "You're above average in other things."

"I guess I am good at basketball," Sudo proudly smiled.

Ike looked confused, "What the hell are you saying? I was talking about being a pervert."

Ike, rest his soul, got put in a headlock until he said that Sudo was not a pervert. I don't know where he was going with that, but Ike looked traumatically scarred.

"I never had any intention of doing anything in the first place but since a reason came up, I had no choice but to lend Class D a hand."

This is something I'd normally never speak of but today's special. I feel good.

"I feel like it's somehow a waste though."

"I have no intention of doing anything up front. I never have and don't intend on ever doing so either."

This alone is something I need to emphasize to Karuizawa. If Class D encounters a problem in the future, it would be problematic if she ends up depending on me.

"It's you, isn't it? The one whose blood Ryuuen is out for."

Not just Sudou and Akito, the surveillance is intensifying each day and those rumors have long since gone beyond just Class D. That Ryuuen got defeated by someone from Class D and is now out for revenge.

The number of students talking about it has gone up. Karuizawa probably didn't need any time to realize it's me.

"The main reason I called you today, Karuizawa, is to apologize to you."

"Apologize?"

"Since before I had my own reasons I was helping D Class climb to the top. But that reason has just disappeared."

"So are you just going to lay low now?"

"Yeah, I'm going to leave it to Horikita and Hirata to carry the class. I don't want to get involved with Ryuuen and get exposed. You were a great help to me at the karaoke and a lot of other things. I've caused you a lot of trouble."

"So we're finally going to stop doing this and I'll be free?"

"Yeah. That's how it is."

Until now Karuizawa has served me without hesitation beyond my imagination, that's why I can now cut her off without hesitation too.

"This will be the last time I contact you."

I clearly said that to her.

"Eh?"

However, Karuizawa gave a delayed response.

"You were surprised? If he doesn't have a reason to contact you then he won't contact you," Yagami said.

"I was just a little shocked. I didn't expect him to say that," Kei responded.

"Really? That seems perfectly in character for him," Yagami tilted his head with a curious expression.

"Uh... you're kinda right, I guess," Kei didn't know what to say.

"I'm sorry...I didn't catch that."

Is she going to say she didn't catch that even though the wind isn't blowing right now?

"This will be the last time I contact you."

I said the same thing clearly again. This time she should have heard me clearly.

"It's the natural course of action since there's nothing I need to ask you to do anymore. I mean, no one knows you and I are connected in the first place, Karuizawa. If we continue to make contact meaninglessly, it would just seem suspicious."

"Well...that's true...I guess."

Karuizawa couldn't formulate a proper response. Karuizawa seemed confused but I kept talking to her.

"Of course if anything happens to you, I will still protect you. That promise I intend to keep to the end. If you have an emergency situation, I will give you the address to contact me at. But everything other than emergencies, please delete all our chats until now so as to not leave evidence. I've already deleted all your messages and contact number on my end."

"Wait a moment...why are you saying all of this so suddenly?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Because...it's too cold...even for you..."

The mood had suddenly become much more depressing.

"Man, if this is what you're like for something like this, then a breakup would be colder than the antarctic," Ishizaki nervously said.

"Why are you so dissapointed?" Tsubaki asked.

"Who are these guys?" Kei thought.

"It was fun working with him. Nothing more, nothing less," Kei's answer looked to be genuine.

"You know that once you start this thing, you can't stop, right?" Hosen directed this question to me.

"If an enemy decides not to fight then there's nothing that can be done," Yagami disagreed.

Hosen mockingly laughed, "Ha! I thought you would know better. Once you're in the game, you're in. Enemies don't just leave because you said you quit."

"Maybe for a normal person, but I feel like if Ayanokouji really wanted to, he would evade his enemies," Yagami countered.

"That's not how it works. You can't evade forever. Are you gonna evade when you're pissing? What about when you're alone in class? A shop? Eventually, you'll catch them," Hosen proudly announced.

Yagami smiled, "I think you're underestimating him a little."

"There's no cold or anything about it, that's just the extent of our relationship."

I protected her from Manabe and her group and if not for that we would never have even known each other like this. The difference between a gloomy student and a popular girl is like that of the heavens and the earth.

"You also hated being used by me, right?"

"That's true, but..."

Karuizawa kept stumbling on her words. And what's more, her silences grew longer.

"I've said all I wanted to say. Do you have anything you'd like to say to me?"

I shouldn't drag this out. I pressed the confused Karuizawa to say something.

"...alright."

A tense reply that's far from convinced but a reply is a reply. But perhaps she's finally realized there's nothing she can do about it, as she continued speaking.

"Is this the last time I can talk to Kiyotaka like this?"

"Do you dislike that?"

"Of course not."

"Then there's no problem."

I indifferently and silently continued. I never let the slightest bit of emotion in. There's no way it would be there either.

"Then I'm ending the call..."

Karuizawa also probably felt that strongly over the phone.

As I ended the call, I said this.

"See you."

"ahh..."

"I don't know if I'm reading into this too much," Ryuuen thought.

"Man, you really are cold," Sudo said quietly.

They all looked at me with a lot more pity and sympathy recently, but that's just bias. Every action I took was my own choice, the ability to perform those actions came from the White Room, but I still chose the cruellest and most efficient choice every time.

"I can't tell if you really felt nothing, or if you purposely made it sound like that," Nagumo chuckled.

Karuizawa said something at the very end but didn't follow up on that. I wanted a few seconds then I cut the call. Then I erased the call history and put the phone back in my pocket.

Karuizawa must have felt at peace being with me like a parasite. And if I were to suddenly go away, her heart will be strongly shaken. Anxiety and loneliness will gradually build up inside her day to day.

And if Ryuuen were to target her while she's at her weakest. I'm sure Karuizawa Kei's heart will collapse completely.

"I guess this means I can return to the trajectory I started on when I first came to this school."

I no longer care about Horikita, Karuizawa, Ryuuen or Sakayanagi. I will no longer actively participate in exams anymore too. If there's a problem, it's not mine. But if there are problems, 'cooperators' are still necessary.

I entrusted the administrator of the dormitory with the amulet that appears to be that 2nd year's personal belonging, then returned to my dormitory room.

"That wounds my heart, Ayanokouji," Sakayanagi smiled.

"I can't say that I'm surprised," Ibuki scoffed.

"What do you mean?" Hiyori inquisitively asked.

"Ibuki, why spoil something as big as that? If they know already then there's no fun in it," Ryuuen reprimanded.

"You're too excited to see what everyone thinks of you," Ibuki looked disgusted, but still didn't say anything to Hiyori.

As usual, we were taken to the classroom and then dismissed.

The main setting seems to be set up.

It's as if another turning point is approaching.

I'm not a person who gets too caught up in the future normally...

...But, despite being who I am, I was excited for it.

Author's Notes:
Chap took a little longer than usual, mainly because school started back up and I procrasitnated on all of my homework.

Anyway, next chap will be about the torture scene on the roof from both Ryuuen and Kei's perspective.

Waterworks

Walking to school alone is a nice feeling.

Walking with a friend isn't bad either.

But... Walking with this guy isn't even close to the positive side of the spectrum.

"So, Ayanokouji. What do you think is going to be shown today?" Ryuuen nonchalantly asked.

He just saw me when I got off the elevator and started following me and I have to answer his questions? My luck truly is a miserable thing.

"I don't know," I said.

"What a boring answer. I think that the scene on the roof where only me and Karuizawa is there. It only makes sense after the previous video that was shown," Ryuuen explained while occasionally looking over at me in the eye.

He didn't seem to care about the implications of that video.

"You know, if it really is that, your reputation will be even lower than it was during the winter vacation."

I set Kei up to be destroyed by him, but I could only use Kei in the sense because of Ryuuen's methods. If Ryuuen wasn't the type to take pleasure in breaking people and making others submit to him then a different method would be in order. Although it isn't fair to say that I wouldn't use Kei in a different situation. At the time I would still set her up to be used in some way.

"Reputation? Feed it to a dog for all I care. I thought you knew me better than that, Ayanokouji," Ryuuen laughed.

"What a you like answer," I sighed.

It was like he was created by the devil himself to torment me, but finally, I was free after he went to his classroom.

We were taken to the gym as usual. There were a few minutes before the videos started.

"Kei, how are you doing?" I asked the blonde-haired girl next to me.

"Are you worried about me? I'm fine. People have already began looking at me differently, this is just icing on the cake. Besides, you should be more worried," Kei's thoughts seem to be completely collected and she exuded an aura of calmness.

"If you're really sure then I can't do anything about it," I sighed.

"2 videos today. Both are very long so try to keep focus."

The only thing I can think of is Ryuuen's and Kei's perspectives for the videos. Ryuuen's perspective is essential as it shows how everything is set up, and Kei's is also very important for obvious reasons. Koenji's confrontation with Ryuuen was also another possibility but that exchange didn't have much relevance.

In other words, it was created to show a quick succession of events from both perspectives.

"This concludes our homeroom session. A reminder to act appropriately as a student of this school over the winter vacation and to not go overboard. That will be all."

Sakagami's words are much appreciated no matter how meaningless they may be.

"Ryuuen, you made your debut!" Ishizaki grinned.

"What? Who cares about something like that?" Ryuuen was confused at Ishizaki's childish excitement.

"How can you focus on that right now?" Ibuki scoffed at Ishizaki's comment.

"What do yo- Oh, right. I guess I got carried away," Ishizaki looked remorseful and turned his attention back to the screen with a downcast expression.

I took out my phone.

The day for me to attack has finally come.

Today's the closing ceremony for our second semester. All classes will end in the morning and we'll be free from that point onwards.

There will be no club activities either and the school itself is encouraging students to head back early.

In other words, there will barely be any students left inside the school building.

"I've ruled out those I can rule out but there's still around 10 possible candidates left over."

There are a few I've never even heard of before mixed in there too but I suppose there's no helping that. Ideally I won't have to use Karuizawa but as expected, I wasn't able to track down X's trail.

"Well, I guess this just means I'll get to enjoy myself more on the contrary."

To be honest I already have a mark in mind, but there's no point in narrowing it down at this point. Rather, it would be far more exciting to confront X with zero preconceptions.

"I guess that's just your style. If I found an opponent that interesting then I would openly ask for a challenge," Sakayanagi glanced at Ryuuen.

"I guess if you want to be all formal about it, sure. But something like this may just be better experienced blind. At the time I wasn't even slightly scared of him, so that all led to that decision," Ryuuen shrugged.

"At the time? I guess that's to be expected, though," Sakayanagi chuckled.

"Are you saying that nothing changed for you? I guess you got the short end of the stick," Ryuuen smirked.

"I guess you'll just have to witness it for yourself, just like I will see your own change now," Sakayanagi sighed.

"Ideally? If you failed then does that mean you did use Karuizawa?" Shinohara asked, confused.

"I did, but it isn't like it mattered anyway," Ryuuen sighed.

Many people were confused. First, it was Ishizaki and Ibuki's conversation, then Ryuuen's ominous comment.

I made a certain move after the Paper Shuffle. I utilized every last person in Class C that I could and gave them targets to keep an eye on.

But it's not like I'll be able to figure out X's identity from just keeping a tail on them. Taking into account the risk of another massive problem occurring, I did not make them tail the more fragile boys and girls. The ones to keep an eye on should only be, at most, delinquent types like Sudou or Miyake.

Or someone conservative like Hirata who fears the occurrence of a problem above all else. But that alone tipped those Class D folks off to the threat my actions posed.

In Sudou's case though, he was stupider than I had imagined so I was forced into provoking him directly. Anyway, the point is to make them constantly aware that I'm 'after them'.

That person is probably trembling in fear every day by now. From the fear of 'having their identity exposed'.

Sakayanagi started laughing.

It took her 10 seconds of constant unstopped laughter to stop. Clearly, that line from Ryuuen must have shattered her composure.

"I guess that's deserved," Ryuuen nonchalantly reacted.

"Why did you think he was scared anyway?" Hiyori asked.

"I thought he didn't like confrontation and he did everything in order to protect his identity. I mean, none of you noticed anything until these videos started, right?" Ryuuen looked around seemingly addressing everyone in his class.

So far, that person's hid behind Suzune and stubbornly kept hiding their identity. In other words, that person's terrified that the fact that they're Class D's shadow puppeteer will come to light.

In that case, I'll keep hounding them and then I'll close in on them.

There's no possible way they wouldn't feel fear at that. And one more thing, I even told them I'll be targeting Karuizawa yet they didn't make a move.

That person should have been on edge for the past two weeks or so. About how exactly I'm going to make contact with Karuizawa. Or about how I'm going to interrogate her.

They probably made Karuizawa report to them daily to check if any events out of the ordinary have occurred. They'd be wondering what actions I'd take in the process of uncovering their identity.

That must be, beyond the shadow of a doubt, the only thought running through their mind. It's far more tiring that it sounds and invites nothing but confusion. They'd be left unable to draw a rational conclusion about how close I've gotten. That doubt would shake them up.

And so--today's the best day to corner X since they would have already fallen into panic by now.

"It seems like he left all the breadcumbs for you," Manabu said, not caring about the implications of his statement.

"Even you could tell, huh? I can't tell if it's your intuition or just your knowledge about that guy," Ryuuen calmly said.

"A bit of both. The way you fell into his hands was amusing," Manabu cracked a small smile.

"It seems that you can smile. I always thought that you were somehow Ayanokouji's long-lost brother, guess not," Ryuuen dryly chuckled.

In the span of a few minutes, more than half the class have left. The clock in the classroom feels like it's going slower than usual. Students after leaving one after another.

"Kuku..."

I felt my heartbeat quicken. It's been many years since I last felt this sort of exhilaration.

I recalled the question Ibuki asked me a few days back.

She asked me why I would go out of my way taking risks just to find

X. Ibuki said that there's no point to it even if I find X. She's certainly right in that there's nothing beyond uncovering their identity.

Oh, so it was you the whole time? She thinks that's how it's going to end. But that only holds true for normal people.

I've been fighting against Class D this whole time by thinking up a variety of strategies. I'd know best that X possesses a mindset similar to my own.

I've never before seen a person similar to me. That fascination has gotten me all worked up like this.

I wonder how I myself will change when I come face-to-face with X. I want to know what I'll desire then. I'll be able to see the X who's kept me entertained this whole time.

That thought made my heart throb, almost like the feeling one feels when thinking of their first love. I'll do anything for this.

The text I sent to X this morning has already been marked as read. There's no doubt it reached them. Now that they know what's going to go down today, I wonder what sort of strategy X has in mind.

"I think there's a key difference between both of you," Nagumo objected to Ryuuen's reasoning.

"Oh? I'd love to hear it," Ryuuen grinned.

Nagumo smiled thinly in response, "The actual way you employ your plans are completely different. Your long-term methods are like examing all the rats in a maze, but Ayanokouji's plans are more like a calculating raven. Analysing everything from afar and attacking at the right time. The flaw in your strategies is that if a rate doesn't act like you expect, you lose."

"Quite a detailed analogy. I always thought you were just a cowardly figurehead, but I guess you do have a brain," Ryuuen chuckled.

"I always thought you were a child having a tantrum, but you're more impressive than I thought," Nagumo smiled thinly.

"Ryuuen-kun."

The one who called my name is Shiina Hiyori, who did so from beside me.

"What?"

"Everyone seems rather restless today."

She said so while looking around. The students who stayed behind are all moving closer to me.

"What are you planning on doing after this?"

"I'm off to see the person who's kept me entertained for the last couple of months. Do you want to tag along?"

"No. I must decline. I don't quite see the fun in that... "

She then added as a afterthought.

"Do you really have to hunt them down?"

"Huh?"

".. no, I suppose that's something Ryuuen-kun gets to decide as the

leader of this class."

Hiyori then starts walking away. Perhaps because she's said her piece.

"I will be at the library. If you find yourself in any trouble, please contact me."

"It's not like you'll be of any use."

"I suppose so. Happy winter holidays."

Hiyori, without any timidity, said her piece at her own pace and left. Hiyori is sharp but she hates conflict.

"I guess that's accurate," Hiyori said quietly.

I thought I could manipulate her but as I suspected, she's of no use to me as a pawn. Compared to her, the ones who'd obediently follow me around are far more usable. I finished making the preparations and had my pawns assemble.

"It's time, Ryuuen-san." Ishizaki said so restlessly. "Make sure you enjoy this."

I handed Ishizaki a bag. Inside are the items we'll be needing.

Ibuki and Albert also stood up. Numbers aren't important here. I'll only bring along those I need. And those who can keep their mouths shut. What I'm about to do is something out of place at a refined school like this one.

Ryuuen's foreboding thoughts continuously brought the atmosphere lower and lower.

There's barely anyone left inside the school building thirty minutes after our homeroom ended given that our winter vacation's just begun.

Just like they did during our summer vacation, all the students left straight away. Barely anyone noticed us since they were all busy leaving.

"So... where are we going? Just tell us what we're going to do

already."

I didn't speak a word of our current plan to anyone, including Ibuki. Ibuki and the others only know that I had instructed Ishizaki's group to keep an eye on Miyake and his ilk.

That's why they had no idea why exactly I approached Kouenji. The reason I kept my silence on this is because I wanted to avoid spies within Class C getting involved like Manabe and her group did.

There's no doubt that person's also doing everything they can to keep their identity hidden. And so I kept quiet about my actual plan in order to corner X with certainty.

"I guess that group did end up becoming useless as spies," Horikita commented.

"I don't get something here. Why didn't Kushida show up? Finding out this X guy would be something she would want," Keisei commented.

"If Karuizawa really did show up then that's another person her other side is released to, and if X also showed up then that's another person to worry about. Besides, it isn't as if she trusted Ryuuen anymore," Matsushita commented.

"Matsushita, you seem way smarter than you let on," Kushida commented.

"I'm just observant. Nothing besides that," Matsushita calmly responded.

"Are you curious, Ibuki?"

"You're always dragging me around. And I'm always on edge because of your reckless actions."

Ishizaki also followed suit and approached me. Perhaps he's also curious about my true intentions.

"You remember what I told you about Karuizawa, right? She's the woman who started the chain of events leading up to Manabe and her group becoming spies."

"You're talking about that noisy woman from Class D, right? I know that much, at least."

Since Ibuki infiltrated Class D during the island exam, she probably knows best.

"I'm calling Karuizawa out to the rooftop today. I got Karuizawa's mail address from a woman who exchanged numbers with her. Of course, I made sure she knew I'm the one who sent her that mail."

A woman who exchanged numbers with her... I didn't go as far as

to say that woman's name. Because I decided there's still no need for me to tell anyone about 'Kushida'.

"I guess that you still had some involvement in whatever happened here," Hashimoto said.

"It isn't as if I knew what that guy was going to do. Ryuuen said himself that he didn't tell anyone his plan," Kushida defended herself.

"Wait, isn't this around the time that Ryuuen got kicked out? What happened to that," Ike announced.

I'm sure most people forgot about that, but I suppose that someone would have commented on that eventually. It was extremely big news at the time that a class leader got overthrown. And by his own right-hand men at that.

"Oh yeah. I forgot about that," Sudo didn't have much to say.

"We're all about to find out about that, right? Let's all just watch what happens," Sakayanagi silenced any of those comments.

"When did you care about something like that," Kamuro scoffed.

"Masumi, I myself am interested in what happened and how it all unfolded. It's like everyone theorising talking about a movie you enjoy in the theatre while you're trying to enjoy it," Sakayanagi responded.

"Huh? Rooftop? There's no way Karuizawa would come if you're the one calling."

"She will definitely come. If she doesn't, I told her I'd expose her past."

If the pathetic fact that she got bullied in the past were to come to light, it'll cause a huge ruckus. If she understands that this could put her current social status at risk, then she has no choice but to accept the danger and come anyways.

Many people were surprised at first but came to accept the fact that it was the only thing that would make Ryuuen's plan work.

"Cruel as it may be, it was the only card you had left to play. If Karuizawa was the only tie to Ayanokouji, she would also be the only viable method of luring him out," Yagami spoke objectively.

"Even if Karuizawa comes, do you think she'll tell you X's identity?" "I suppose she wouldn't do so normally."

X surely promised to protect Karuizawa from her enemies, including Manabe and her group.

"I sent a mail to X too. I told them that I'd call Karuizawa out today and drag their identity out of her. That I'd use any means available to do that. By doing that, I'm not only threatening Karuizawa but also X at the same time."

As of now, everyone believed that I had no idea about the events that were currently unfolding. The students had known that I knew Kei was under threat from Ryuuen, but I also still cut her off, however, they felt that it was alright for Kei's safety if I continued to keep my promise to protect her. Nevertheless, the water keeping the dam from bursting is only rising.

"If this worked out without Ayanokouji coming then Ryuuen's injuries don't make sense unless he was beaten after this incident. However, if Ayanokouji did show up then it wouldn't be surprising if it was Ayanokouji that caused those bruises," Horikita thought.

"But...that mail threat you sent reached Karuizawa, right? What are you going to do if she just reports that to the school? X may suggest she do just that."

Are you thinking that far ahead? Ibuki glared at me as though trying to provoke me with that.

"She won't do it. If she does it, then all I have to do is reveal Karuizawa's past. No matter what she chooses to do, Karuizawa has no way of turning the tables on us."

The only countermeasure they can take is for either Karuizawa or X to directly confront me and persuade me to stop.

"Ha! As if your mind can be changed. You obsess over something when you get an idea about it," Hosen laughed.

"It isn't as if you're much better in that regard," Amasawa smirked.

"I guess we're alike in that sense," Hosen laughed.

"Oh, are you not going to throw a tantrum at being compared to Ryuuen-senpai?" Amasawa teased.

"He's been more interesting recently. Also, we seemed to have shared the same goal at one point," Hosen smirked.

"The worst case scenario would be X showing up instead of Karuizawa. But that's also exciting in and of itself. To see what Karuizawa will do."

"I don't think the risk is worth it though."

"No such thing. Destroying Karuizawa means destroying one of X's pawns. Because it looks like he's been putting Karuizawa to good use in his crafty plans."

"How can you tell? I get it that X threatened Manabe and her group to protect Karuizawa but..."

Even I only realized that Karuizawa's a pawn not too long ago. I only got to that conclusion because I realized how baffling certain aspects of the Paper Shuffle were.

"Kuku. Anyways, look forward to it. X aside, you'll definitely get to see

Karuizawa terrified at the prospect of her past being revealed."

"If Karuizawa does show up on the rooftop like you said... what exactly are we going to do to her? Like I said earlier, what if we can't drag X's identity out of her?"

Both Ibuki and Ishizaki seem to be worried about that but... "According to Manabe and her group, Karuizawa got bullied rather severely in the past. People who have suffered severe trauma tend to lose all grip on their rationality when placed again in a similar situation. In that case, why don't we just reproduce that sort of scenario for her? Let's go all out and make her feel welcome. And we'll keep pressuring her until she gives us X's name."

"So you bullied her again, huh? I suppose that's once again the only option you could take. It's cruel but also the most effective," Yagami examined the situation objectively.

It was different from Manabe's situation. Manabe and her group were just random students who weren't even that high on the social ladder, but Ryuuen and his gang are much more menacing.

However, there was a sense of uneasiness in the room. Not for Kei's well-being, or what happened to Ryuuen after this, but for the actual method that Ryuuen used. It could have been violence of any sort.

Some girls looked over at Kei worryingly but she didn't say anything. She maintained a calm exterior. At first, I thought this was just a calm front that she displayed but was nervous on the inside just like the first time her bullying was displayed, but that was an incorrect assumption.

Kei was nervous about the bullying scenes on the cruise ship because that was the biggest obstacle that she had to face, but she knew that nothing would change after this video. No secret that she had would be revealed.

"You seem very calm about this," Utomiya questioned.

"What's there to worry about? I can't change anything anyway. Whatever happened at this period of time is not my concern," Yagami said as if it was obvious.

While some thought that he was too cold and apathetic, others agreed with his mindset.

"No way...are we actually going to do something to Karuizawa? This is

insane."

"This is too much, Ryuuen-san. We already got into trouble during the case with Sudou so if we gang up to bully a girl...I mean, there are cameras on the rooftop and all!"

"I am fully aware of that. Which is why I've thought of a countermeasure for that."

I climbed the stairs leading up to the rooftop. Halfway through that,

I looked back at Ibuki and Ishizaki who were a few steps behind me.

"Feel free to run if you're against it."

"I-I won't run. I'll follow you, Ryuuen-san."

"What about you, Ibuki?"

"I'll go along with your strategy from this point onwards. But if I ever feel it's getting dangerous, I'll step down."

"I severely doubt that," Katsuragi said.

Ibuki scoffed at Katsuragi's comment but didn't say anything. It was true, after all. Ibuki didn't step down even after she saw me take down Ishizaki and Albert. She let her emotions get the best of her. The desire to see me defeated far outweighed her own safety.

After all, she's also been curious about X for a while now too.

I had Ibuki and Ishizaki stand by at the door leading to the rooftop and took the bag from Ishizaki. I retrieved the tools I needed from inside the bag and handed it back to Ishizaki.

"This is... !?"

"Just wait."

I opened the door to the rooftop.

There aren't that many schools where the rooftop is accessible all year round but there's a reason for that here. Not only is there proper fencing installed here but there are also surveillance cameras set up. If anyone engages in problematic behavior here, it'll definitely be recorded.

Of course, students are keenly aware of this which is why they behave themselves on the rooftop. However, every year this rooftop fails to become a popular attraction. This school has its own cafes and malls as well as a variety of other popular attractions.

I'm pretty much the only one who'd go out of their way to come here. But there's a limit to the number of places where they can set up cameras. Above the door leading to the rooftop. That's about it.

Because there aren't many blind spots on the rooftop, one's more than enough. But this means if that camera were to stop functioning, we'd be free of any surveillance.

I stood directly underneath the surveillance camera and looked straight into the lens of the camera. I then pointed a black spray can I had prepared beforehand at the surveillance camera and shot the spray at it.

The camera on the rooftop is the same type of camera as the ones inside the school building. A vandal dome camera. A resilient polycarbonate lens cover and a steel body will protect it against acts of violence.

But violence isn't the only way to disable a security camera. One spray can is more than enough. The spray will adhere to the surface of the camera and obscure its field of vision. No matter how shock resistant the camera may be, you still won't be able to see anything through it.

"That's an interesting idea," Yagami thought.

"If there's no evidence then you can't be punished, huh? I suppose you used the method from Sudo's case again," Horikita sighed.

"It's a little different. While both methods are similar at the core, one key thing sets them apart," Amasawa said as if she was waiting for Horikita to ask a follow-up question.

Horikita's face tightened, "What set them apart?"

"Mutual destruction, of course. Those four students would have been goners, but Karuizawa-senpai's past would be revealed. I'm sure your class would have gotten involved because she's a beloved member of your class and that would make it even worse. Sudo-senpai would be saved with video evidence while Karuizawa-senpai would be destroyed alongside class C," Amasawa responded with an air of total confidence in her answer.

Everyone thought about her answer and seemed to come to the conclusion that she was right.

"It makes sense now why the school never found out," Sato sighed.

"Now there's nothing watching us."

I had conducted research in advance regarding what sort of monitoring system that school has set up.

Out of the hundreds of cameras installed inside the school, only a few of those installed in vital locations display footage in real time.

There's no way they could possibly wise up to this abnormal situation right away.

I had already painted over a surveillance camera somewhere else a while ago and reported it to Sakagami myself and got penalized for it.

As a result, I had points deducted to pay for the cost of cleaning the camera and received a warning. I had asked then whether or not the footage is constantly being observed.

Especially on a day like this where all the students have pretty much left. The school is bound to let its guard down.

"Albert. You stand by a bit below us. Let Karuizawa pass when she comes. And if anyone unexpected...like teachers come, then call my phone right away."

Albert nodded silently and went down the stairs.

I had him stand guard just in case so I'd be able to respond to any unforeseen developments.

"So you painted over the cameras...isn't that grounds for punishment?"

"Just a prank. No big deal."

"I just hope Karuizawa will come like you said she would."

"She will come. It's a matter of life or death for her. She definitely won't leave it to chance."

Now we just have to wait until it's time.

"Bringing in someone else who has nothing to do with your game is disgusting," Sato said with venom in her voice.

"Nothing to do with it is a bit of a stretch, don't you think? She was the key reason why some of my plans failed, after all. Nevertheless, you are partially right. I simply just used Karuizawa to get to Ayanokouji, but she still had plenty to do with the situation I was in," Ryuuen explained.

It doesn't really matter what explanation Ryuuen gives, someone like Sato wasn't so forgiving to pardon him for his actions. Reputation is a careful thing one has to build. However, this holds true for the opposite as well. Ryuuen's reputation came crashing down time and time again because of me, and it will fall once again today.

But Ryuuen doesn't care. He never has. Whatever others thought of him as a person didn't matter. In a way, I'm similar, but there's a key difference. The reputation I have and what people think of me has my own personal use.

Around 2 PM. A little before the appointed time, the door to the rooftop opened and a lone student showed up.

Our leading actress for the day showed up, her body stiff after bathing in the cold air.

"Kuku. I knew you'd come, Karuizawa."

I turned off my phone and put it back inside my pocket. Ibuki and Ishizaki, looking slightly nervous, turned to face Karuizawa.

"...the mail you sent me this morning. What do you mean by that?"

"Surely there's no need to even ask at this point. It's precisely

because you understood what it means that you came here."

This is what was in the mail I sent to Karuizawa.

[Manabe and her group told me all about your past. Come alone to the rooftop after school. If you tell anyone about this then the whole school will know about your past by tomorrow.]

Mentioning Manabe and her group ensured Karuizawa would understand the meaning behind this. She has no other choice but to understand.

"I assume you kept quiet about this as promised? No, you had no other choice but to keep quiet. After all, you can't afford to let anyone know about your past."

She may have panicked and informed X of her predicament since they'd already know of her past but I couldn't care less about that. Like I told Ibuki and Ishizaki earlier, I've already sent X a mail.

That today I'll be delivering Karuizawa's sentence. And that I'd uncover their identity. So it makes no difference whether or not Karuizawa asked them for help.

"But to think you actually came alone."

"You told me to come alone, didn't you...?"

"Kuku. I suppose I did."

Then again, there's no way that person would've shown up given that they went to such lengths to hide their identity. And Karuizawa cannot ask anyone other than X for help.

Because if she does, her past would be revealed. And the same applies for X, who's also kept their identity secret. In other words, their options are limited.

"You've thought this person to be the same as you, why did you think they would come and help her? You imagined a cold, calculating person who would abandon someone to protect themself, correct?" Sakayanagi probed.

"Trying to get information out of me again? If you had basic listening comprehension then you would know that I expected Karuizawa to reveal his identity. If he cared so much about protecting it then I would expect him to show and even if he didn't, I would get his identity," Ryuuen explained.

"That's what I thought, anyway. The most simple and brute-force answer was the one he ended up choosing. I wouldn't have it any other way," Ryuuen thought with a grin.

"Look, I don't know what this is all about... but it's cold so I want to

wrap this up quickly."

Karuizawa rubs her hands together. But there's no point in pretending like she doesn't know what the situation is.

"Then why did you come here? You could've just ignored me."

"That's--because I didn't want unfounded rumors to start spreading around."

She's doing her best to appear calm but it's obvious she's just bluffing.

"Unfounded rumors? Everyone here knows about it though? That before your high school days, you used to be the victim of bullying."

"... "

Even if she tries to hide it, a change in her behavior will occur when presented with the truth.

"It was a stroke of misfortune that Manabe and her group found out about it. If you want to blame someone, then blame yourself for failing to conduct yourself properly."

".. what are you after? Are you saying you stand to gain something

from threatening me?"

"What will you do if I told you I was just killing time?"

Even though I have leverage over her, Karuizawa's already lost any leverage she had.

"If you do anything to me... I'll immediately report it to the school."

"Come now, you came here alone because that's not an option, right? Without asking anyone for help."

".. Ryuuen, is it really okay to act that arrogant? She may actually have a trick up her sleeve."

Ibuki seems to suspect something's going on behind the scenes after she showed up here alone.

"Karuizawa can't do anything but rely on X. No need to be that cautious. Even if she records her conversation with me or films it, she can't use it as her trump card. Because more than anything, she fears getting her past revealed. As long as we hold onto that, she cannot resist us at all."

"But--"

"That's enough, just keep quiet."

This was the reality of the situation. It was made clear to Kei's friends, the teachers and every single person in this room. They had to come to terms with what was going to happen.

"Man, this sucks," Ike sighed.

Many people had the same statements and many had a similar expression of discontent.

Things are already set in motion, however. The video has played and the students have to watch, no matter how much they dislike it.

I already know what Ibuki's trying to say. Manabe and her group were threatened with evidence of their bullying of Karuizawa. They were forced to cease their bullying and give their word that they won't speak a word of it to anyone else. Then they were used.

As though forced to strangle themselves, they were manipulated into leaking information on Class C. In other words, Ibuki's afraid that we may be threatened with evidence ourselves. But that won't happen.

'The past in which Karuizawa was bullied'.

As long as you know how to use that weapon, there's nothing to fear. In this case, cornering us means also cornering Karuizawa. But it is a fact that there is danger in this.

A double-edged sword. If I just wanted to spread around Karuizawa's past, then there's no need to threaten her like this. By using the information I currently hold to stir things up, I will be able to obtain a certain degree of accomplishment. But if I reveal it, then that's it.

I won't be able to use this double-edged sword anymore. Karuizawa would be destroyed but I won't get to X. What I want is to drag the person behind Karuizawa out of hiding.

Since I've made my move today, I have to uncover X's identity here.

In order to do that, I need to figure out just how deep the connection between Karuizawa and X runs.

"I guess if Ayanokouji just left her there then Ryuuen would never find out," Hashimoto examined.

"Depending on what Ryuuen did, he could force it out of Karuizawa," Kamuro retorted.

Hashimoto sighed and nodded.

"Let's stop beating around the bush. You want to be freed quickly right. Then tell me who's hiding behind you. If you do that, I'll keep quiet about your past."

"I don't know what you mean."

But Karuizawa's clearly more agitated than ever. Karuizawa also knows that I'm looking for that person lurking in Class D. Still, she probably didn't know that we've figured out her connection to that person.

"X saved you when you were being bullied by Manabe and her group, right?"

"H-Huh? That's not true."

"No point in hiding it now. I've got some evidence myself too."

"...evidence?"

Apparently, X has been keeping Karuizawa in the dark more than I had expected. Slowly, I'll pressure Karuizawa bit by bit while allowing no room for error.

"How do you think X was able to protect you from Manabe behind the scenes?"

"I don't know. I wasn't being bullied and even if you say stuff like X."

"Ok, ok. If you won't admit it, I'll just go ahead and tell you my conclusion."

Because if I don't, Karuizawa doesn't seem like she'll admit to anything.

"X took advantage of Manabe's group's weakness. Telling them to behave themselves if they don't want the truth of their bullying to come to light. That's how they kept them quiet."

Karuizawa just glared at me without saying anything.

"Kuku, I see...so you do know how X shut down Manabe's group."

"I-I haven't even said anything."

"Not a word, no. But your eyes tell a different story." I then continued.

"If that's all then that's to be expected. But X didn't stop there, they even made Manabe and her group betray me during the sports festival, you know? To turn spy for them and leak information. Of course, with the threat of having their bullying be exposed should they not."

"What are you saying? Seriously, I have no idea what you're going on about."

"You're lying though? Looks like you're already aware of what went down during the sports festival."

It can't be, but perhaps there's the possibility that Karuizawa herself is unaware of X's identity? If they always used a free address to contact her and issued orders to her like that then...

No, I don't imagine Karuizawa will obey the orders of someone who hides their face from her like that.

"I don't think many people would. Although if they used the same threat of exposing Karuizawa's past then it could work. There's no way Karuizawa would rat to the school about that and Karuizawa herself doesn't know how this person would operate," Nagumo analysed.

"It seems like you've understood everything, Ryuuen," Sakayanagi giggled.

"What's so funny?" Ibuki didn't understand Sakayanagi's amusement.

"Ryuuen's total confidence. It's amusing to see how every intricate plan and scenario as well as every countermeasure has been used against him," Sakayanagi explained.

Many people didn't understand what she was talking about. While some of the smarter students like Horikita and Ichinose were getting to that conclusion, they hadn't reached it yet

"Clearly, you are on a level above me. Something a mere mortal like me couldn't reach. I'm sure all of your plans are ingenious and can never be seen through," Ryuuen chuckled.

"Oh, is your pride hurt?" Sakayanagi mocked.

"Not at all. It's like being mocked by a stray cat. Sometimes I wonder how that narcissist is in class D, but you're in class A. The only difference between you two is gender, after all," Ryuuen insulted.

"I'm quite shocked that you thought of me in such a way. That girl is like a little kitten that has only faced opponents on her level," Koenji said without ever looking at Ryuuen or Sakayanagi.

"Big talk for someone who's only tried in one exam," Sakayanagi responded.

"You say that like it's a bad thing. I myself have barely tried and still manage to live a nice life in this school. You yourself said that your school life is boring, correct? The desire of battle is so barbaric," Koenji chuckled.

"It's quite a wonderful thing if you've ever possessed it," Sakayanagi sighed.

If she really doesn't know, then it would've been better for Karuizawa to admit the truth to a certain degree then claim to have no knowledge of their identity. If she's going to deny everything then that in itself would be strange unless there's a reason behind it.

"The only thing I want to know is the identity of the X who attacked me. I couldn't care less about your past. Don't you think the smart thing to do here is to give me their identity?"

"My answer's the same no matter what you ask me. I don't know anything. And it's seriously cold out here..."

She's wearing extremely light clothing. Perhaps because she doesn't intend on staying here for long.

"Of course, it must be cold. Don't you want to wrap things up here and go back already?"

"I have nothing to say to you."

"I see. If you're going to cover for X then there's no helping it. I assume this means you're fine with your past being revealed?"

"... "

Karuizawa's really stuck between a rock and a hard place. If I attack her, she has no choice but to keep quiet. No matter what she chooses to do, she'd end up making an enemy out of someone. You could go into depth regarding that but it's just a waste of time.

"No point in thinking it over. This isn't a situation you can think your way out of. It's already clear your options are limited. And the correct option to choose here is to give me that person's name. That's all there is to it."

By doing so, Karuizawa would be able to protect her secret at the very least. In this current situation, the only way she can save herself is to sacrifice X.

".. if, if there is actually someone behind me like you say, there's no

guarantee that the name I tell you now is actually that person, right? Can you even confirm the truth?"

"She has a point," Sato said.

"Not really. Ryuuen would just reveal her past if he found out that she lied ot him. The only choice she has is to stay quiet and suffer or give the name up and be free," Tsubaki countered.

"Maya, she's right. I really only had two options, nothing else would work in that situation," Kei said.

Ishizaki interjected without permission, maybe because he's also worried about that.

"There's no way we can confirm that, Ryuuen-san. It's just like Karuizawa said."

Him interjecting now of all times will only result in giving Karuizawa a way out. I ordered Ishizaki to shut up with a look. Ishizaki, realizing he's getting in my way, shut his mouth with an apologetic look.

"What will you do if I chose to reveal your past after finding out you lied

to me later?"

"That-- "

"The only way to save yourself is to tell me everything."

I laughed, but Karuizawa looked at me with firm eyes and refuted that.

"I'm not stupid. It doesn't matter if it's a lie or the truth, you'll eventually threaten me again. I'd rather not be your tool each and every time you need something done."

"Kuku. I suppose so. There's no guarantee that I won't use you the way X used Manabe's group. But if so, what will you do?"

"I won't say there's someone behind me and I won't say there's no one either. I won't randomly give you someone's name either. In other words, I won't tell you anything."

Apparently Karuizawa's concluded that silence is the right answer.

Not a bad option but hardly the best one.

"Karuizawa would be a much better spy if used against her class," Kanzaki said matter-of-factly.

"You're not wrong. But Kushida would still remain as the best spy. Her acting abilities and knowledge about all classes compared to just one make her have much more use," Ichinose examined.

"I didn't think you had a brain," Kushida wryly snickered.

"I didn't think you felt that way when I sing your praises. What did you think was in my head then, if not a brain?" Ichinose responded.

Playing word games with Kushida isn't a smart idea, however. Kushida thrives in those types of situations. Carefully crafting the correct words and synonyms to incite a particular response.

"I just thought it was a big bubble called 'friendship' floating around in there," Kushida teased.

Ichinose simply smiled and let it go. She's smart enough to know when to disengage in a meaningless conversation.

"And if I told you I'll expose your past if you don't say anything?"

"You think there's someone behind me. But because you can't narrow down that person's identity, you chose to approach me instead. Then I doubt you'll be too keen to throw away that chance so easily."

"I see. If I revealed your past before I can draw the answer out of you, then there'd be no incentive for you to tell me anything. And my search for X may be delayed."

That's what it means, Karuizawa seemed to be saying as she averted her eyes.

"Personally, I don't have a problem with you not giving me X's identity. I can just take my time in that case. You failed to take into account that there's still plenty of opportunity in the future for me to narrow down their identity."

"Assuming an attack is launched against you in the future, that is. If they know you're onto them, surely they would take care to not let their identity slip, no?"

She's better than I expected. A quick-witted and sharp-tongued woman.

If X's train of thought runs similar to my own, I should assume they saved Karuizawa because they noticed her usefulness given her high social status within Class D.

They're someone who wouldn't bat an eye at using others. In other words, they'd be fine even with tossing Karuizawa to the curb.

"I can't blame you for thinking like that," Amasawa said.

"I'm surprised you noticed that, Karuizawa. You always seemed to be the type who's only good in social settings," Kanzaki examined.

Kanzaki was partly right. The truth is that Kei is simply good under pressure. Adaptability is key in social settings as conversation topics change, and expressions and tones alter just at a moment's notice. Kei was under the persona of being this bossy girl, so she would have to understand and observe everything around her.

"Oh, you think so? I guess I never really thought about stuff like that much," Kei sheepishly said.

Of course there's no doubt that X is acting to elevate Class D but they may prioritize the safety of their identity above that. If I just reveal the bullying problem, then there's the possibility that their identity would be concealed just like Karuizawa said. On the off chance that X manages to conceal their identity any more than this, it would mean my fun would be significantly cut short, huh.

"Not only did you think up a good self-defense measure but you also made it this far on your own, hmm?"

I can't imagine Karuizawa came here without having thought anything through. There's the possibility that she may have received advice from X but that possibility's a faint one.

"Get it now? Don't you think it's best if you just let me go back?" I checked my phone's screen. But there's no contact from anyone.

Did the mail I sent to X misfire? Of course, I do know that it won't be

this easy to smoke them out.

I suppose I'll take things to the next level while preparing to take a few risks.

That singular line changed the mood of everything. People on the edge of their seats were now anxious. People who were simply not paying attention were switched on.

"Sensei, I have a question," Yagami asked.

The receiver of this was Chabashira. She looked confused that Yagami was asking her something and not his own teacher.

"Wait, why are you asking her? Just ask your own teacher," Ike wasn't able to understand.

"The question has to do with the student in her class. It makes sense to ask her this question then, correct?" Yagami tilted his head, confused at Ike's statement.

Ike nervously nodded.

"Very well then. What is your question?" Chabashira sighed.

"Is Karuizawa allowed to expel Ryuuen? She was given the option to expel Ayanokouji, so depending on the footage here, the same choice is applicable," Yagami explained his hypothesis.

"Aw, do you want me gone? I didn't know that you didn't like me, my feeling are hurt," Ryuuen said sarcastically.

Chabashira rolled her eyes at Ryuuen's childish response and looked over at Yagami, "I myself don't know what took place, but if harm was done then the same rules apply," Chabashira explained robotically.

"Oh fuck! Oh shit! No, no, no. I don't want him expelled, I asked Ayanokouji to do the opposite. He's too important to be expelled," Ishizaki thought with a frown.

"What are you looking at? You should have known this was a possibility from the beginning," Ryuuen sighed.

Kei definitely has problems with Ryuuen, but I don't know what she would do. She seems indifferent to Ryuuen now. Kei forgives other people easily, but Ryuuen isn't just another person.

"Last year I would have been completely fine with getting expelled, but now it's a little dissaponting. I finally had a foothold in this place and it could be ripped away from me soon. Maybe it's what I deserve, but I guess that I grew attached to this place," Ryuuen thought.

"It doesn't matter currently. If the choice is to be made then it will be done later," Chabashira announced.

Kei listened to this information without much of a change in expression.

"Basically, I just need to make you spit out X's name, right? In all likelihood, if you do know their identity, the best option for me would be to draw it out of you here."

It's your fault, X.

This is the result of weighing your options of saving Karuizawa or hiding your identity on a scale.

".. if your threat's failed, how are you going to make me talk?"

"Isn't it obvious? Torture's the good old-fashioned way to make someone talk."

"I guess that choice is going to be made very soon," Sakayanagi giggled.

"I'm sure you're glad. Now you won't have to face me and suffer a pitiful defeat," Ryuuen chuckled.

Sakayanagi didn't entertain his response.

"Ryuuen-san, are you serious.?"

"Ibuki, hold Karuizawa down."

"Why me? You could just do it yourself, right?"

Ibuki, who isn't very keen on what we're going to be doing, disobeyed instructions.

"Do it."

"I won't be complicit in this. No matter how you look at it, this gamble's far too risky."

"That's lame, Ibuki. To back out after so many failures. The important thing is how you can win back our trust."

I grabbed Ibuki's arm and firmly tugged on it.

"Don't worry, I'll take responsibility for everything. That's why you don't need to hold back. Do it."

"Tch... "

I once again issued orders to the rebellious Ibuki and had her carry them out.

While clicking her tongue, Ibuki approached Karuizawa. "W-What?"

"I've got my own problems here. Sorry."

Ibuki swiftly maneuvered behind Karuizawa and restrained both her hands.

"Ow!"

Karuizawa screamed.

A few people flinched, but this was still at a level that everyone could handle. Later... I have no clue.

"Placed in an unfortunate situation, huh? It was your choices that led you to be there, but it's not like you had many anyway," Kushida said.

"Is that simple human understanding? I didn't think it was possible from you," Ibuki scoffed.

Kushida paid no mind to Ibui's provocation.

Despite her reluctance, Ibuki completely shut down any resistance from Karuizawa. Being restrained by someone with martial arts experience like Ibuki, there's nothing Karuizawa could do.

"Ishizaki, go fill the buckets with water. Let's start with two buckets. There should be no one using the toilet one floor beneath us right now. There are two buckets used for cleaning in the men's toilet."

"Ehh? Water? What are we going to use it for?"

"Are you going to disobey me too?"

"N-No, I'll go fetch some right away!"

Ishizaki panicked and passed by Ibuki despite looking like he's about to fall over.

"Let's chat a bit more until Ishizaki returns, shall we?"

A situation in which Kei had no control. Many people felt sympathy for her.

"Water torture? In winter weather? That's a new level of low, even for you," Sakayanagi ridiculed.

"Obsessions can make people do bad things," Ryuuen responded.

He wasn't trying to defend himself or to justify his cruel behaviour in any shape or form. He was just trying to be objective and honest. The former is common for Ryuuen, but the latter is much more rare.

"No! Let me go!"

Karuizawa thrashed around with all her strength but she couldn't break out of Ibuki's hold.

The reason we're holding her isn't to prevent her from escaping, it's a way to amplify her fear of what's about to happen. As a matter of fact, Karuizawa's desperately resisting and struggling to the very end, perhaps because she's realized what's about to happen to her.

"I'll seriously report you if you so much as lay one finger on me!"

"Kukuku. You're quite the fierce one, despite coming all the way

here. Do you think X will protect you this time around as well?"

No matter how many times I ask her, she gives me the same answer. She stubbornly refuses to acknowledge the existence of that person.

"This is just my onesided hypothesis but perhaps the X lurking in the shadows of Class D promised to protect you in case of an emergency?"

Karuizawa's eyes gave it away. Despite her trying to hide it, it's not so easy to conceal.

"Because if that's not the case, then it doesn't add up. Your bullish personality would cause girls from other classes to dislike you as well so there's the possibility of you being targeted by girls other than Manabe's group."

Ryuuen is perceptive as always.

"Quite an astute observation," Hashimoto stated.

"It's a weird way to stop bullying," Yagami said randomly.

A few people were surprised at his claim, others looked at him in contempt, while the rest were simply interested in what he had to say.

"What made you say something like this now. Was it just fear previously?" Sakayanagi stared directly into Yagami's eyes.

"I just thought about it now," Yagami shrugged as he gave a mundane answer.

Yagami elaborated on his earlier claim, "I mean, how would you stop bullying with more bullying? A bullish and bossy personality would just make more people hate you. Kushida portrayed a perfect angel, even if it was fake kindness, no one actively bullied her. Ichinose had real compassion and no one bullied her either. It just seems counterintuitive to isolate yourself from some people. You're willingly making openings to be hurt by being on bad terms with them instead of being on good terms with everyone."

Yagami spoke logically and his claim made sense. While in theory, kindness doesn't make you likable to everyone, Kei had the acting skill and the looks to be similar to Kushida.

"I guess being on bad terms with some people does open up a possibility of bullying," Sato sighed as she mulled over Yagami's explanation.

"You have a good point, but it was too late to switch up all of a sudden. All of the people with friends that I had seen acted bossy and rude, so I did the same as them. I myself didn't believe that acting like Kushida worked in any capacity," Kei told Yagami.

"I guess that's fair. I'm sure many other people also believed that just being nice didn't mean you could make friends," Yagami sighed.

Of course, superficial things also played a role in it. Ichinose and Kei are conventionally attractive, so people are more open and willing to talk to them. If someone like Ike did the same thing then the reaction wouldn't be the same.

Ibuki took her eyes off Karuizawa to look at me.

"You must have lived each and every day terrified of those who knew the truth. But until today, you've managed to avoid having anyone uncover the truth and you've come this far without having been bullied. Why is that? It can only be because of the person behind you always covering for you and saving you."

"And you're saying that's X?" Ibuki asked me.

"For now--but, that wasn't always the case, was it? Because X should've only realized the truth when Manabe's group made contact with Karuizawa. I think...you made Hirata your boyfriend in order to protect yourself, didn't you?"

Karuizawa widened her eyes. "N-No... "

"That's exactly it, isn't it? Don't underestimate me too much, Karuizawa."

I looked into her eyes. And drew out the darkness lurking deep inside Karuizawa.

Surely X did the same thing as well.

"Ahh... !?"

She's finally started showing me her cute side.

Many people were disgusted at Ryuuen's enjoyment.

"I guess you did have him figured out, to some extent at least," Amasawa giggled.

"Ryuuen, how do you know all that?"

Karuizawa isn't the only one surprised by my words. Ibuki also couldn't resist cutting in to inquire about that mystery.

"It comes with experience. I've seen a ton of rotten people throughout my life after all."

"Huff, huff. S-Sorry to keep you waiting."

Ishizaki, who panickedly ran to fetch some water, came back a few minutes later. Buckets that were 80% filled with water. Seeing that, Ibuki once again hit me with a question.

"You said there are two buckets, didn't you? How did you know that?"

"You guys don't even know how many surveillance cameras are installed throughout this school, do you?"

"Huh? There's no way we'd know that."

"You won't know if you don't look into it. But if you've done your research, you'll be able to understand anything your eyes fall on."

Bit by bit every day, I looked into the locations of the surveillance cameras set up inside the school. As a result, I also came to know that there are two buckets kept in reserve inside the toilet.

"One of the measures I took to confirm that was having Ishizaki and the others attack Sudou. Funnily though, there seems to have been a witness from Class D on the scene though."

Airi was mentioned again. She definitely wasn't expecting her to be called on as she looked like a rabbit about to jump out of its own skin.

"Man, I don't wanna watch this," Sudo sighed.

Many people felt the same as him. While many people are fine with violence to some extent, this was real. This incident happened only a year ago and everyone here was none the wiser.

"Shit like this isn't all that unusual. I've seen it time and time again. People using fear as a weapon to break their enemies. To show the other bastards that they were wrong to go against the strong, to make them acknowledge the stronger person's strength and give anything to make sure the pain stops. The oppressor is a role I'm familiar with, after all," Hosen thought.

Ishizaki's face turned apologetic.

If there were no witnesses, Class C would've stood to gain more from that incident.

"I told you, didn't I, Ishizaki? To never admit you're wrong, no matter what."

"Y-Yes...I just felt timid for a moment there back then and... "

But as a result, Ishizaki and the others were tricked by the fake surveillance camera and ended up confessing.

"At first glance, this school appears to operate with discipline. But that's not quite the truth. Depending on how you handle it, use of force may be permitted too."

There are clues scattered all throughout the average day hinting at that.

"You guys probably won't get it but the smart ones are constantly engaging in trial-and-error."

The first thing I did after enrolling was to look into the 'rules' of this mysterious school and how to 'beat' them. One more thing I did after enrolling here besides comprehending the system was to measure the usefulness of private points.

"The natural course of action," Tsubaki remarked.

"You say that as if you did the exact same things as we did," Sakayanagi coldly stated.

Sakayanagi smiled, "You guys already got so much knowledge about the school. You all also didn't have to work nearly as hard for any special exam. The partner test at the beginning of the year was just a bidding war and you all got treated like limited edition products."

"That isn't really a fair comparison. I mean, we haven't even been in the school long enough to have the same troubles you guys have faced," Nanase said.

"I'm not saying that you all haven't experienced troubles, I'm just saying that you are all on easy difficulty," Sakayanagi shrugged and turned away.

A slight chuckle escaped Yagami's lips

"From what I've seen, you haven't done anything."

"Saying that he's on easy difficulty probably annoyed him. In a way, he has plenty of advantages that would qualify as 'easy mode', but he doesn't want to use them. A fair battle isn't exactly fair if one side is on hard while the other is on easy," Amasawa thought.

Yagami looked directly into Sakayanagi's eyes, "I have no doubt that you're smart, a genius if I were to believe your words. However, all you've done through the 4 special exams everyone has witnessed is talk about the White Room. I've heard that you won the Paper Shuffle, but that's just an academic exam at the end of the day. Currently, Ryuuen seems more of a threat than you. If that were to change then I rescind my statement."

"I guess that's fair. From your point of view I'm just talk," Sakayanagi didn't take any offence and responded maturely.

"Easy difficulty? Bullshit. She's got the wrong idea. I'm not amazing. My entire life has been cursed. Beating Ayanokouji is my only reason to remain alive, the only way my life has any value. Second-best doesn't mean anything," Yagami thought.

"For instance, have you ever felt the setup of the exams were strange?

Regardless of whether it's the island exam or the shipboard exam or the Paper Shuffle. If you go over it with the senior student, you'd be able to uncover what it's all about. At first glance, you'd think that. But even if you ask them, there's not a single student capable of answering that satisfactorily. Why do you think that is?"

"...each year, the exams are different so there's the possibility that the rules are different."

"That's right. It's not like all the exams are the same every year. But strictly speaking, it's that the rules for each 'school year' are different."

"What do you mean, Ryuuen-san?"

If you can beat the exam by simply checking with your seniors, then it fails to qualify as an exam at all. It would just turn into a stupid race to see who can flatter the senior students more. To prevent that from happening, you need to put solid rules in place.

"What if a rule like '2nd years and above will be expelled immediately if they leak exam contents' were to be put into effect?"

Regardless of whether exam contents are the same or not, what would happen if shackles like that were to be prepared?

"That would mean--they'd never talk."

"That's right. Even if their underclassmen asked them, they wouldn't be able to answer. There's no way those guys who fought for a whole year while risking expulsion would run the risk of expulsion from a careless remark they made. As a matter of fact, I tried negotiating with a few 2nd year Class D students by offering them private points but I've never once succeeded. It's proof that talking carries considerable risk in and of itself."

"That isn't a foolproof system, though. If you can make students in your own year talk, what's stopping you from doing the same shit to the other years?" Hosen said.

"It's too much effort. Going through the process of making a stage where you couldn't be reported to the school, then you also have no idea whether the information is correct or not," Horikita explained.

There was one flaw in her thought process, though.

"Have you been paying attention? If the information that blonde chick gives is false then she gets into even deeper shit. The same thing would happen to the upperclassmen," Hosen scoffed.

"You're right, I didn't think too in-depth. Then I have another reasoning. It takes away the thrill of the game. The entire point people like Ryuuen are trying so hard is because they find it fun. Someone like Ichinose doesn't want to use underhanded methods, so she's out of the question as well. Sakayanagi doesn't even care about her position and only wants to battle Ayanokouji," Horikita countered.

I have to say, it's an accurate assumption. Certain animals in the wild let their prey go if the prey simply plays dead. There's no thrill or fun in killing an animal that's already prepared to die, similarly, there's no fun in playing a game where you already know how everything is going to happen.

If you just planned to win then a method like this would be perfectly fine, but there's another fatal flaw. The exams are on a rotation so something like this won't happen at all.

"Horikita, you forget that a totally new exam isn't prepared a few weeks before it's enacted. It's too late in a financial and preparation sense. Booking a private island can't be done on a whim, you know?" Nagumo said.

"But... you might be right. Komimya and Kondou also said so a while back. Even when they tried getting hints from their seniors, they never got anything out of them. On the contrary, it almost felt like they shouldn't even ask."

It's precisely because everyone has thought of it that it feels like it's forbidden territory. Strictly speaking, there's the possibility that there even more detailed rules in place but we'll eventually understand.

"Just like this, I've always tiptoed the borderline of legality."

The surveillance cameras, bribing the senior students, making a backroom deal with Class A. I've mapped out in detail the line between what I can do and what I cannot do.

"Today, what we're about to do to Karuizawa is also one of those experiments."

Karuizawa's begun trembling from the cold.

"Trauma's better evoked through experiencing it rather than drawing it out through words."

According to the testimonies of Manabe's group, even the fierce Karuizawa will quiet down immediately.

I signalled Ishizaki with my eyes. Ishizaki should have understood what I wanted him to do with just that alone.

Ibuki pushed Karuizawa forward and then distanced herself. And in accordance with my order, Ishizaki dumped water from the bucket on Karuizawa's head.

"!?"

It was as if a cold wave of anxiousness washed over everyone.

How long will this last? She'll be saved, right? Why is he so cruel? Is probably just some of the thoughts roaming around many of the students' minds.

However, Kei didn't care about everyone's occasional looks. Although that decision on whether or not to expel Ryuuen is coming soon enough.

"I've played this so many times in my own head, it's weirdly normal to see this again. Everyone's questioning looks every few seconds is tiring, is this how Kiyotaka feels every day?" Kei thought.

Underneath the cold winter sky, the chill of the water would reach even the core of her heart. Karuizawa collapsed on the spot from the overwhelming shock and trembled.

She hugged herself with both her arms. Her earlier fierceness has disappeared entirely after a bucket of water.

"Does this make you remember? The baptism you received at your

previous school, that is."

"N-No... !"

She covered her ears.

Almost like a little girl scared of a ghost, she just kept trembling. "I won't settle for this. I'm going to break you thoroughly."

I took out my phone and started recording, then grabbed Karuizawa's bangs and lifted them up.

I noticed a liquid leaking out of her eyes. Right now, Karuizawa's probably internally reliving the bullying of her past.

"This is footage of your bullying. If you won't tell me anything then I'm going to spread it around the school."

That's a lie, of course, but Karuizawa is no longer capable of forming rational thoughts.

Some people turned away, others were nervous, but most remained silent. There was nothing to say, after all. A suffocating silence ensued.

"Go on, cry. Scream. Show me how you beg for forgiveness."

"No, no!!!"

There's nothing quite like digging up deeply carved wounds.

"I can't watch this... I shouldn't have helped you..."

Ibuki averted her eyes as though to escape.

"Bullying the weak is quite fun though? Nothing like it to stir up your heart."

I recalled a bunch of people who attacked me long ago.

There was this one guy who cried like a baby when their arrogance came back to bite them. But in Karuizawa's case, things are a bit different.

"It's disgusting how you're enjoying this," Haruka glared.

"Seriously, all for you own childish game?" Horikita looked like she found a new hatred for Ryuuen.

Ryuuen looked largely unaffected.

"I deserve this. I wonder how they'll all act when they see that guy beat me to a pulp. I'm sure some couldn't handle the violence, but they would all be partly happy. A dictator being overthrown? A tale as old as time, and a tale that everyone can enjoy," Ryuuen thought.

"Despite the thorough bullying you received, you boldly stood out in Class D. Hats off to you for that."

In spite of her weakness, she stood out on her own to establish a new persona for herself. She maintained her position this far by using Hirata and through receiving X's protection.

"It's easier said that done, you know."

If a victim of bullying is broken into servility once, the roots of that run deep enough that it can be repeated. It can't be helped because that's the sort of lesson the bullying drills into you.

"In a way, you may just be a woman stouthearted enough to not lose to me."

I crouched down and continued as though sneering at the trembling Karuizawa.

"But you see, you can't change human nature that easily. It doesn't change. You're the sort of person conditioned to receive bullying, not dish out bullying. Remember that well."

I picked up the other bucket near Ishizaki's feet and this time, I dumped it on Karuizawa.

"!?"

Silently screaming, Karuizawa curled up to the best of her ability.

"Ishizaki. Go fetch me some more."

"Y-Yes."

He picked up the two buckets scattered on the floor and once again, Ishizaki descended from the rooftop.

Once again, the water dropped. Many students flinched since they didn't expect Ryuuen to do that so suddenly, but collected themselves quickly.

I thought Ichinose would be doing much worse, but she seemed calm even if she hated what was happening on the screen. Yosuke was similar, but I get the feeling that he knew what was going to happen.

"How horrible. It makes my hardships look like a children's nursery rhyme. Karuizawa seems fine right now, but I don't know if that's a facade or if that's just how she truly is. If it's the latter... she's much stronger than I could ever hope to be. If I was in the same situation then I may have broken already, but she's still going strong," Ichinose thought.

"You seem to understand people very well," Hiyori commented.

"Disgusting behaviour, I can't lie. But I can't help but think that Ryuuen is getting played. Ayanokouji cut ties with Karuizawa just before this which seems far too coincedental. Karuizawa is also Ryuuen's only tie to Ayanokouji, so he must have known that she would eventually be targetted. Did Ayanokouji have a part in this? He's incredible, but could he have predicted everything to play out like this?" Hiyori thought.

"Who's the one protecting you by shutting down Manabe's group?"

"There's no such person...! No such person, no such person, no such person!"

Shaking her head, she denied it over and over as though running away.

"Kuku. So you're still hiding it. You really are a stouthearted one. No, perhaps you're just used to the bullying? For you, this might not even register as bullying."

I grabbed Karuizawa's arm and forcibly pulled her up.

"...I can't watch this."

"This is where the fun starts, you know?"

"This is just utterly disgusting."

Ibuki did not leave but rather, she only leaned on the door to the rooftop while refusing to participate in the bullying.

"I'll leave after I confirm X's identity."

"That's just fine."

I'm not doing this to entertain the lot of you. I'm breaking Karuizawa for my own pleasure.

The scene faded to black.

If I could pinpoint one thing that came out of that video it would be Ryuuen's reputation being destroyed. Kei received sympathy, but this isn't uncommon recently.

"The final video of today will be from Karuizawa Kei's perspective."

I see. Kei's thoughts must have been dark and nihilistic at this point. Hatred for me may have even flickered at the time when she realises my true involvement.

"The method he used, if you ignore the moral question, was immensely effective. I don't think I'd be able to pull something like that off; it's not my modus operandi. I can't judge him for his methods. I'm not much better. Nothing is easier than denouncing the evildoer, nothing is more difficult than understanding them," Nagumo thought.

It chilled me down to my core.

The chill of the water dripping from my hair. They've dumped water on me four times now. Not only my uniform but even my underwear are soaking wet now. But it's not the fact that my body's trembling from the cold that terrifies me.

It's the cold that grips my heart.

A darkness deep and dark enough to make you resent the world reared its head.

"Seriously, this is pretty much illegal. He needs to be expelled," Sato complained.

Illegality can be easily covered up in this school, however. A stabbing that got found out would normally be reported to the police and jail time would be on the table, but that wasn't the case in this school. I told Chabashira not to let Hosen get in trouble, and she listened. As long as something isn't reported, no matter how cruel or dark, the school won't do anything.

"Sensei, if Karuizawa is given a choice, when will it be?" Yosuke asked calmly.

He would probably be freaking out a year ago and the familiar downward spiral would take hold of him again. But he's calm and collected now, trying to calculate options and getting information.

However, Chabashira wasn't the one who answered this question.

"To allow for time to think, how about after the final tape of the day has been played? No need to have such a drastic decision be placed in the middle of a big event," Chairman Sakayanagi said.

It seems that, at the very least, Ryuuen has himself a little more time in this place.

Why am I being bullied?

Those feelings gradually changed.

Why am I even alive?

What did I do wrong?

"There was nothing you had done to deserve such a harsh punishment," Horikita told Kei.

Blaming yourself doesn't do anything in such situations, but people want an answer for the hardships they're facing. Some reason, no matter how convoluted it may be, for why they have to suffer.

I began to blame myself. My heart that's frozen over started eating away at my body.

The scars that run deep began to ache again.

"Hey, save yourself already, Karuizawa. There's no need to suffer any more than this."

In front of me, Ryuuen laughed while pressuring me for a confession.

But that's a dead end road. I'm no longer able to answer anything.

If I tell him about Kiyotaka, I may be saved temporarily. But that doesn't mean I've escaped for good.

There's no guarantee that Ryuuen won't simply use the same threat on me again. He may show up again and order me to sell out Class D. It's the worst-case scenario you often see in dramas.

Many people hadn't thought about that. They were too focused on Kei giving me up to think about the future.

"I doubt you'd be used, though. Ryuuen-senpai already had Kushida-senpai to sabotage class D," Tsubaki voiced her thoughts.

"I don't think so," Katsuragi seemed to disagree.

Katsuragi began, "Ryuuen's partnership was a mutual partnership. If it didn't help in expelling Ayanokouji or Horikita then she didn't care. However, this would be a one-sided partnership. He could order Karuizawa to do anything without giving anything in return."

Katsuragi is always logical. His key flaw is his lack of offence, he's similar to Ichinose in that regard. Even in a situation like this, he could see the rational outcomes.

There's only misery at the end of the road for people who continue to betray others. If so, I'll put my faith in Kiyotaka's words, his promise that he'd protect me.

Eyes were back on me again. There was no resentment in the ovals looking at me yet, but confusion filled that gap.

"What was Kiyotaka doing on that day? It was the last day of school so... wait! He was with us and walking to karaoke. He left and said he was too tired to go out, but did he go here instead? But why did he start to walk with us and then decide to go? He could have just said no straight away and gone, so what was his plan?" Haruka thought.

It...is the last line of defense protecting me from being swallowed up by the darkness.

"I know what you're thinking. If you reveal X's identity here, you'll lose even the possibility that they'd keep protecting you. A total loss of hope."

I could hear the sound of my teeth chattering from the cold and the fear. I desperately pawed at the ground to stop it but my heart's long since stopped listening.

A horrific memory came to mind. The past and the present overlapped.

"Do you want to die embracing hope? To go back to how things were, are you really fine with that?"

His words relentlessly assaulted me.

Again and again, Kei's hopeless thoughts made people feel sorry for her.

"You really put all your faith in him. If you told Ayanokouji's name then your partnership is shaky. Ayanokouji, what were you doing when this was happening?" Yagami asked.

"You'll see soon. Explaining everything now is a waste of time," I answered vaguely.

Chababshira and Manabu both looked at me with questioning glances.

"Setting up contingencies and then going up long after they were in place. At first, I didn't understand what you had intended, but was this a form of a test? You wouldn't want a partner who would give you up, so did Karuizawa pass?" Manabu thought.

"X isn't the one who's going to save you. I can save you if you spit the name out here."

I'm scared.

"But if you're going to oppose me, I have no other choice but to attack

your weakness."

Save me.

"I'm going to make a list of all the things about you and spread it around the school."

I'm scared.

"When that happens, will you still be able to keep your cool and maintain your current position in class?"

Save me.

"This is disgusting," Ichinose muttered.

"You're like her own personal demon," Sakayanagi said, but it wasn't in the usual way she said to get a response out of him.

Her words were stiff. Almost as if she also felt a sense of hatred for Ryuuen. Sakayanagi thinks of Ryuuen as nothing more than a pest that she could destroy at any time, but this changed that. The image she had of him warped and changed in her mind to something more like me.

"No, there's no way that'd happen. You'll just go back to those days.

Back to the pathetic you who suffered bullying. Back to the original you."

The bullying I received in the past continously replayed itself in my head without letting up.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no... "

I don't want to go back to that dark, miserable world where I wished for death.

Nobody said anything. They didn't look at Kei either. Thye all collectively felt that they had no right to talk to someone about this. Kei hadn't allowed anyone to listen to her nihilistic thoughts, so nobody said anything about them.

Wishing for the end of one's life is a dark thing. Death is endlessly consumed and demonstrated throughout history and literature, a singular event that can't be reversed. The feeling that dying is easier than living in their endless suffering. There are a large number of people who believe that death is the opposite of life, but I don't think so.

Death is an unfortunate thing which is why people always try not to think about it. This is natural of course. However, death is a function of life, it's written into the script of life as the grand finale. Human's eat, sleep, fall in love, and eventually, die. Those who wish to die aren't interested in the rest of the play and wish to have their exit early.

The three other members of Ryuuen's gang looked downcast and remorseful.

"Then end it already. End it and protect yourself."

"Please forgive me, please forgive me...!"

My pride's already been torn to shreds.

No, that's not true. I had only stuck it back together with cellophane tape. My pride had already been torn apart in the first place. The Karuizawa Kei who had been holding on, died. That fun school life crumbled away.

"I'm not as merciful as Manabe and her group were. We know your secret. Even if you get me expelled, it's not just one or two people who know the truth. The rumors will spread immediately. When that happens, even your subservient classmates may rise up to bully you."

"No, no, no... "

"People didn't bully her when everyone first found out, so that's wrong," Sato disagreed.

"Maya, I'm glad you think that way, but it's a little different. If his idea was the one that happened then people would at the very least antagonise me. They didn't have any information whatsoever and finally found an excuse to bully someone who they didn't like. In reality, they found out the whole truth, so it didn't happen," Kei explained.

"Then take a trip down memory lane. Remember how painful it's going to be to go back to those days."

--There's no way I wouldn't end up remembering.

For a moment, a pure white world spread through my mind. And then the darkness came.

Back during middle school, I ended up creating my own hell from something so trivial. I was always the headstrong, competitive type so I ended up making enemies out of similar girls.

Every day after that was the furthest you could get from a happy school life. They scribbled on my textbooks and stole my notes. That's still cute, though. As though it were the obvious thing to do, they dumped water on me while I used the toilet more than a few times.

They punched me and kicked me and filmed it so they can spread it around the class for laughs.

They put thumbtacks in my shoes and animal corpses on my desk. I remember it all. They even once pulled my skirt down in front of the class. After swimming class, they'd hide my underwear and sometimes even my uniform.

They also made me confess to boys I don't even like. There were times when they'd make me pick up garbage on the ground with my mouth and eat it. At times, I was made to lick shoes.

"Man, people suck," Ike dryly muttered.

Many of these things even I didn't know. Of course, I could have expected many of these to happen, but I had no way to confirm them. There was no need to either since what sort of bullying Kei suffered didn't mean anything. Kei didn't want to bring it up and I didn't want to know.

There are probably many other people who got bullied in this room. They could understand how Kei felt.

I endured humiliation after humiliation. Yes, that's right.

I ended up recalling it.

At a time like this, the last measure humans take in self-defense is to accept it all.

Accept the reality that I am being bullied by Ryuuen and his group. If I do that, it'll be easier.

Ahh, I wonder if I'm going back to those days. I know that if that happens, my heart surely won't be able to take it. The ones who were kind to me, the ones who befriended me, they'd end up changing.

I won't be able to endure those cruel days again. The only thing the school that abandoned me did for me was to inform me about this school.

They offered me salvation in the form of having all the students who know about me disappear.

If they're gone, then I'll-- I looked up at the sky.

The tears I'd been holding back overflowed and fell. Why do I have to go through this?

--I don't want to.

"No one wants to. I don't think many, if anyone, could experience the worst period of their life again," Manabu commented.

His words made everyone reflect on their hardships. Poverty, dysfunctional households, mental illness, and many other problems were thought about.

I can't deny, I was also thinking about that.

There are only three periods of my life. The White Room, the year with Matsuo and the time at this school. Out of the three, the White Room would be the hardest to go through again. But even if it is the most difficult, could I handle it? The difference between me in the White Room and me now is knowledge about the outside world.

Instincts, desires, urges. It was like witnessing and brushing up against human nature. The White Room didn't have anything like that. The only desire and urge were being number one. I believe I could handle the White Room again, but I don't want to. There's nothing for me left there.

Those feelings welled up inside me.

I just accepted it, that I don't want to go back to those days. According to Ryuuen, he just wants to find the person he's been looking for.

In other words, if I give him Kiyotaka's name, I'll be free.

But there's no guarantee that he still won't reveal my past anyways.

They may all know already the next day. If that happens, the result's still the same.

I'd not only lose Kiyotaka's trust but also all my friends. But--

Salvation is still within reach.

If I give him the name, putting an end to this suffering may be possible.

It can't be helped, can it? I will save you.

Kiyotaka, who promised me that, didn't come racing to save me.

Even if I continue to believe in him and wait for him, this situation won't change one bit.

Did he not notice the mail I sent him?

But I also gave him a signal through making eye contact. And our eyes certainly met and he acknowledged me.

Telling me that he'd protect me so I can relax. Or so I thought.

Am I just deluding myself? I don't know anymore.

There's no way I can confirm that now. The relationship Kiyotaka and I share is just too shallow.

He cut me off without even a guarantee that Manabe and her group won't try anything. Using a selfish reason like 'it's no longer necessary for him to take the stage'.

I was only an afterthought.

Was I betrayed? Did he abandon me?

I see. It seems that it was only at this point in time that her conviction started to waver.

"Ayanokouji wouldn't keep someone by his side who he couldn't trust. I guess that's why our relationship isn't as strong as it used to be. But did Karuizawa really not give up his name? If that is the case, I don't think I've seen mental strength stronger than hers," Horikita thought.

"Albert, did anyone show up?... I see, I'll call again." In front of me, Ryuuen silently sighed.

"You probably expected something but it doesn't look like anyone's coming for you."

Ahh, so I was abandoned after all.

Well, what else am I supposed to do if not believe? Kiyotaka told me he'd save me.

He did protect me from Manabe's group.

"You seem like you trust X quite a fair bit, Karuizawa." Ryuuen sighed as though in exasperation.

"You were deceived." "That's not... "

"It's the truth. I'll tell you the truth about the shipboard exam that X never told you."

"Truth... ?"

Somewhere along the way, Ryuuen had stopped smiling. "Manabe wanted to bully you as payback for Morofuji but she couldn't find an opening to do so. Even if she invites you over to an isolated spot, it's not like you'd just obey her. By the way, for some reason you went below deck alone. Why is that?"

"That's... "

That's because Yousuke-kun asked me to go there. Back then, I was emotionally unstable and had no choice but to rely on Yousuke-kun, the person I was parasitizing.

That's why I went there. and Manabe's group also came there by

coincidence...

"Do you really think it was just a coincidence?"

Once again, Ryuuen saw through me.

"There's no way they could follow you around the clock on such a large ship. In that case, Manabe's group showing up there isn't a coincidence but an inevitability."

Does that mean Yousuke-kun lied to me? No...that's not it.

I understood right away that isn't the case. But for a moment there, I tried to blame Yousuke-kun.

"You already get it, don't you? X made contact with Manabe and helped her lure you there by acting like someone who also hates Karuizawa and convincing her to team up. All I can say is that you're a fool for biting the bait. That's the truth."

I do remember how strange that incident was.

Yousuke-kun, who asked me to go there, never showed up. I understand now because I know Kiyotaka. He gave instructions to Yousuke-kun to isolate me...

"X deliberately set up your bullying to acquire evidence of that.

Don't you think that's just inhuman?"

Everyone knew this information already. My inhumane actions were to get Kei on my side, but they all continued to watch for Kei's reaction to this information.

No, I don't want to believe that.

But what he's saying... isn't something so simple.

So Kiyotaka showing up there and saving me wasn't a coincidence?

"You weren't rescued. You were ensnared. How stupid, don't you

think?"

I was deceived...?

"Look around you. Is X here right now? Are they saving you right now?"

Kiyotaka... has been deceiving me from the start?

"It's safe to assume that they cut their ties with you when their own identity was about to be exposed." No, that can't be...

That just can't be...

I--wasn't saved.

Even though I'm going through this much suffering...

I ended up falling for Kiyotaka's trap and thought I might actually be saved. I was made to help him with a lot of stuff.

But at a crucial time like this, he abandoned me. Because that would mean...

"You've realized it too, haven't you? It's all just you being maliciously 'bullied' again."

Darkness shrouded me.

In the end, I wasn't able to escape the Mobius loop of bullying.

"Well, there's still one way for you to save yourself."

The name.

To tell Ryuuen about Kiyotaka.

I didn't understand. I thought that it was inevitable that she would betray me. But it seems that she's still only wavering. It isn't possible that she wavered all the way until I showed up. It's simply too long of a time.

"Kei, why didn't you give me up?" I asked her.

The only way to get an answer to this question was from the source.

"I had my reasons," Kei used my own words against me.

I wonder if this is how she feels every day.

"Then let me rephrase my question. Will I get my answer to why you didn't give me up in this tape?" I asked once again.

"Yep," Kei happily said.

"That's right."

If I tell him the name, will this end... ?

"Yes. It will end."

As though reading my mind, Ryuuen laughed again.

"If you tell me the name, I promise to never get you involved again."

Ahh, so I will be saved.

I just have to say the words 'Ayanokouji Kiyotaka'.

I don't know whether I can trust him or not. But if he hears the words coming from the bottom of my heart, this man in front of me will surely understand.

That alone, I'm confident about.

Against my will, my lips started moving while still trembling. The despair and rage at being betrayed and my heart wishing to be saved. But my voice is still not coming out. I can't bring my voice out, not when it's this cold.

Many people now believed that she had given me up, but I believe a key few didn't think so. Nagumo and Horikita had questioning expressions, Ichinose looked indifferent and Sakayanagi had the same intrigued smile as she always did.

"Take it easy. Give me the name."

"--ta... "

It's coming out.

I trembled and trembled and cowered in fear. Then a word came out.

"Ta?"

Ryuuen is listening to me. "Ta...ka... "

I squeezed it out ever so slowly. I'll be free after this.

"One more time. Tell me, slowly, one more time." Ryuuen's face drew close to me.

"No matter... "

Words are coming out. No, that's not it.

From the very beginning, I had no intention of saying it from the very beginning...

Many people were confused, as was I.

"What an interesting person," Yagami thought.

Because I'm--

"No matter how many times you ask me... I will NEVER EVER tell you."

Many people had confused expressions.

Statements flew around the room about why Kei would do that, but I didn't care.

I was steadfast on listening to every single word that would play out of those speakers. The reasoning on why Kei didn't give me up piqued my curiosity.

"... "

And with that, Ryuuen's smile froze.

I felt like a ray of light had pierced through the cloudy skies. A world that, in reality, hasn't changed one bit. And the conclusion I reached.

"Even if, starting tomorrow, I lose my place here at this school... even if I continue to suffer..."

Something I need to put my faith in no matter what. That's neither Ryuuen's words nor Kiyotaka's existence.

Something that had nothing to do with me, huh?

"I will never, ever give you the name..."

A warm light emanating from within my chest.

"You sure about that, Karuizawa?"

Yes.

I'm fine with this.

I may come to regret it. But I'm fine with this...!

"Even though you know X was just using you, why do you still cover for them?"

"I don't know... "

"It has nothing to do with Ayanokouji, so why? No goal or gain can be achieved from this. How can someone just decide to abandon something they've clung to so tightly for so long that easily?" Yagami thought

That's my line.

But-- there is one thing I do know.

"Even I want to act cool until the very end...!"

My field of vision which had clouded up, cleared up for a moment.

"That's it, huh?" I couldn't help but mumble to myself.

I wanted to theorise why Kei would do this, but I'll think about this later. Ryuuen's potential expulsion is coming up soon.

"I see. That's a shame, Karuizawa. After today, you won't have a place in this school anymore. I personally don't want to do anything extreme either but I've got no choice. But, you are worthy of respect. Despite the trauma of your past, despite being betrayed by the only one you could rely on, you still didn't sell them out. I'll give you that."

This is fine.

I'm fine with this.

I repeatedly told myself that. I will break here though. But for some reason, I felt a little proud of myself.

That despite being betrayed, I didn't betray in turn and that it meant he would be safe.

If I could help him gain the peace he desires, then that's not so bad. That's that then. Somehow, aren't I cool?

"Yep. You're awesome, Kei," Sato happily said.

Kei's friends all told her nice and encouraging statements. Kei looked a little embarrassed at all of the positive remarks but still looked happy.

I put her through lots of trouble, but I tried to keep her at ease after the worst of it. Is she happy? I would like to think so, but I don't have an answer.

There never was anything interesting going on with my life but by cooperating with Kiyotaka, things got exciting and that's not so bad.

I had fun.

How should I put it, almost like the heroine supporting her hero from the shadows?

Although I didn't understand a lot of what he did, it was still somehow strangely fun.

Besides, no matter how it happened, it's still a fact that I was saved.

That's why I regret nothing.

I have no regrets.

But, you know? The truth is, deep down inside, I still held out hope that he might come and save me.

Those fleeting feelings--also exist, I guess. Ahh, I'm such a fool.

I was just dancing in the palm of his hand.

I guess I brought this on myself. I had Yousuke-kun protect me and then I had Kiyotaka protect me. I really am a woman incapable of doing anything on her own.

Underneath the cold winter sky. I somehow ended up feeling comfortable. Goodbye to the false 'me'.

Welcome back, the empty 'me' from the past.

The scene faded to black.

Many class C students looked worried. They knew what their leader had done, and what that means for his future position in this school.

It was silent. People were waiting for at least a teacher, if not the chairman to say something.

"Karuizawa, you could do this in my office or just say your choice here," the chairman said after 10 seconds of silence.

"Here's fine," Kei said resolutely.

"Very well then. Karuizawa Kei, due to the violence commited by Ryuuen Kakeru, you have the choice to expel the perpetrator. What is your ultimate decision?" Chairman Sakayanagi spoke in a formal tone.

"He's getting really formal with this," Kei thought.

"Uh... you can keep him, I guess," Kei said almost as if she was unsure.

"Why's she unsure? I thought I was outta here," Ryuuen thought.

Chairman Sakayanagi looked confused at first, but spoke once again, "You understand that even if you are unsure, we will take your words as a decision, correct? Is that your final answer?"

"Yeah, sure," Kei said quickly.

The voice came back on after Kei said that.

"I have an announcment to make. On friday of this week, there will be a video that plays. It would be a shame for you to wait an entire weekend to see the conclusion to see all of this, so I have decided to put it this week. No complaints, you are all dismissed."

Today is the 17th of October, so Friday would be the 20th.

My birthday, huh?

I had nothing major planned anyway, so it's fine.

"Kei, come to my room later. I need to ask you something," I told Kei as we were all getting up to leave.

Now that the question of Ryuuen's expulsion is concluded, I could finally think about the other matter at hand.

Kei really broke away from her parasitic nature, huh?

I have always believed that humans themselves could not invoke changes purely of their own free will.

It's in response to their environment which changes people. By our very own nature, humans seek stability. Due to this, we can't change purely based on our own volition, which lacks the power to change. In the end, it is the presence of other people which causes us to change. Whether it be their expectations, teachings, or our own desire to fit in. For better or for worse, we change, whether we want to or not.

I don't believe Ryuuen himself caused this change in Kei. He created the setting and stage, but it was Kei who herself desired to change to not fall down to her oppressors. She responded so that she wouldn't break when faced with hardship.

I made a miscalculation, but I'm not disappointed. Kei broke away from her nature that was engrained into her very being a long time ago. She's grown much more than I originally thought.

A total mistake.

I guess I'm not perfect in my understanding of humans, but that's fine.

No one is particularly glad when they make a mistake, and neither was I, but I still found it to be a positive thing. The perception I had of someone else was completely wrong, but I don't feel disheartened. I don't know why, however.

Kei came to my room soon after we were all dismissed. I had already prepared some tea and snacks when she walked into the room.

"Wow. Really pulling out all the stops, huh? Is there something you want to give me such a feast?" Kei teased my somewhat pitiful collection of snacks as she came to sit down.

"Kei, why did you make that choice?" I couldn't help but ask.

I thought about working my way into that topic naturally, but my curiosity couldn't be helped. I wasn't disappointed by her choice at all. Ryuuen is an interesting existence in this school, no matter how tiring he is to deal with.

"Everyone seems to love asking me that," Kei looked a tad annoyed.

Kei looked at me patiently waiting for an answer and sighed, "He got what was coming to him. He hasn't bothered me since then, so I have no real reason to kick him out. Besides, expelling him would mean that his entire class has no hope of ever rising again," Kei spoke like she was rushing through the explanation.

I wonder how many people had asked this question to her.

"Well, that's all I wanted," I said.

We went as we normally did. Discussing trivial things and having fun. It was around 8:30 pm when Kei walked out the door, but I had something I wanted to ask.

"Kei," I called out to her.

"Yeah?" She responded without looking back at me and continuing to put on her shoes.

"Are you happy?"

Kei stopped putting on her shoes and turned her head slowly. She had a warm smile plastered on her face as she looked at me.

"Yep. Happy as can be," Kei happily said with a bright smile.

"Good."

Kei walked out and went back to her dorm.

She's happy, huh? That's a good thing.

But happiness is subjective. The happiness someone feels may be a totally different kind of joy when compared to another. Someone once said that happiness is to hope, however faintly, for happiness. By that logic, I'm at least partly happy.

A common thought in my head recently is whether I'll be happy at the end of these 3 years. I believe that at the end of these 3 years if I'm satisfied with my time here, however faintly, I won't regret anything.

Author's notes:

I think this is the longest chap I've written so far.

Anyway, I had an idea for something I wanted to do on Kiyo's birthday, but it didn't work with the original timeline. So now the next chap will be everything right up to the point when Kiyo opens the door to the rooftop.

There will also be no chap next week as I have a bunch of exams to do.

I personally like to make it so that Kiyo is more surprised about the fact that he's wrong about Kei's growth, and not anything else.

Not as many reactions because it's a disturbing thing they are witnessing.

Preperations

It was a routine now.

I would get up, get dressed and do everything I normally would, but I didn't bring any of my school materials to the place they belonged. I left the textbooks at home, the pens and pencils right next to them. I left the house with nothing but my phone to accompany me.

I walked to school with nobody bothering me. While I don't mind being with someone, it's still a nice feeling to go someplace without anybody.

The White Room, the year with Matsuo and now here, I always fell into a routine. That's natural, of course. All people want some sense of stability and familiarity. However, it wasn't the routine itself that gave me a sense of stability, it was the fact that I had a routine at all.

It made me feel a little more normal.

It was my birthday tomorrow. Last year I didn't think anything of it. But now I wonder what would happen.

I got to the class and we went to the gym as usual. With every passing video, the climax of this conflict gets closer and closer.

"Everyone's here? Good. Let's being. This takes place two hours before the previous one."

Then I assume that it would go back to my perspective.

Chabashira-sensei gave Class D an explanation regarding the essentials of the winter vacation.

"Over the winter vacation, a portion of the school is scheduled for renovation so it will be off limits. Make sure to keep that in mind. And also, all club activities will be suspended after the closing ceremony today. Be sure to head back as soon as you're able to."

Our teacher explained only the bare minimum to us. But for some reason, she silently looked around the class. And no matter how long we waited, she did not signal the end of class.

Feeling numb at this point, Ike raised his hand.

"What's the matter, sensei?"

"I'm sure there are students already aware of it but you can assume that your promotion to Class C is all but guaranteed. Well done."

"Who are you?" Hoshinomiya playfully asked.

"W-Woah, you actually gave us honest praise. Isn't this a rarity?"

It's not just Ike, I'm sure the rest of the class feels the same way.

"Don't get complacent. If you cause trouble during the winter vacation, it may have an effect on your class points. Make sure you act properly as a student even over the long holidays."

After saying that, Chabashira-sensei concluded our second semester.

Some of the second years began reminiscing on their second semester.

"This really is an unusual sight, Chabashira-sensei reprimanding us gently, I mean."

"Maybe so."

There's no doubt that she added the warning to not cause trouble as a follow up. While putting my textbook back into my bag, I looked in Karuizawa's direction.

And when I did, she turned to look at me while still in the middle of a conversation with the other girls.

This morning, I had received a single mail from Karuizawa at the address I gave her for emergency use.

That something came up regarding the incident with Manabe's group and that she had been called out to the rooftop at 2 o'clock today.

"You knew the exact time as well?" Hashimoto questioned.

The only information Ryuuen had given was that I had been told Kei was going to the rooftop. At the time, they were worried for Kei's wellbeing, so they didn't think about me at all. But now my involvement was being made clear.

"I mean, he knew this was going to happen for a while. This isn't new information to him at all," Katsuragi told Hashimoto.

"He knew something bad would happen, but now he knows the exact time something like this would happen. And yet, he didn't do anything," Hashimoto responded.

He was right. I could tell that many students had doubts on what I had ended up doing, Hashimoto had just shun a light on them.

I wasn't surprised and I didn't reply either. After all, I had already been informed of it beforehand by Ryuuen.

He couldn't care less whether Karuizawa would inform someone else of it or not. It was an act meant to lure me out in the first place.

But perhaps Karuizawa felt from our eye contact that I had already seen her mail, because she left the classroom with her friends while looking satisfied.

Maybe she intends to leave once and then come back later.

One hour after the class ended most of the students had already left the school grounds.

"We're talking about going to Keyaki Mall after this, what'll you do?"

Yukimura, ready to leave, asked me that while approaching me.

"Sure. I don't have anything particular planned for today anyways. After I finish packing I'll come."

Many questioning glances came my way.

"What's your goal here? I just can't imagine what you're planning. Leaving her to suffer and then her having lose all trust in you seems counterintuitive," Nagumo thought.

"Then I'll be waiting in the hallway."

Just in case, I should bring some of the textbooks with me since there's still the possibility I might be needing them later.

"Umm...could it be that you're not free right now?"

The one who called out with that apologetic voice was none other than Satou.

"Yeah, I'm planning on hanging out with Yukimura and the others..."

"I...I see. That's a shame".

Satou's shoulders droop in disappointment. I wonder if she was planning on asking me out again like last time? If so.

"...today might be problematic, but would the winter holidays be ok with you?"

"Smooth, Ayanokouji, smooth," Ishizaki thought with an approving expression.

"I know that I wasn't aware about Kei's problems then, but I was doing this while she was suffering. It's stupid to blame myself over this, but it doesn't feel right," Sato thought.

Sato may be blaming herself right now. It's not like she has any reason to, but that would make things too easy. If you show a person who's crying that they have no logical reason to cry, would they stop crying? That would make life too simple.

"Eeeh?".

"I mean, it seemed bad for me to refuse you twice in a row so if you're okay with it then..."

"R-really?"

"Y-Yeah"

I felt a bit overwhelmed by Satou happily pressing her body against me.

"I-It's a promise then!"

She said with a blush while jumping around joyfully. I wonder why exactly she's this interested in me...

Of course I have nothing against this but since there were still people left in the classroom I felt slightly embarrassed.

"In any case, from tomorrow onwards is fine I'll send you the details via mail".

"Understood! See you later Ayanokouji-kun!."

Satou then joined Shinohara's group with a pleased look on her face.

Shinohara's group looked at me suspiciously before leaving the classroom.

Now then, I suppose I'll meet up with Keisei and the others. It seems they've all already assembled out in the corridor, chatting while waiting for my arrival.

I immediately grasped the situation from Haruka's creepy smile and Airi's crestfallen expression. As we started walking, Haruka seemed to want to cut in and so I took the initiative.

"There's no deep meaning behind that."

"I haven't even asked you anything yet, what's the matter?"

"Nothing's the matter, you were about to ask me, weren't you?"

"I mean, right? Just look at how Satou-san was acting, not too hard to imagine what's up, no?"

"How adulterous, Kiyotaka. Horikita and now Satou, you've got no integrity."

"Me? That's completely incorrect," Horikita corrected Haruka.

Sato was a little embarrassed about this since her crush on me was just revealed. The girls were like sharks that could sense affection and they found their prey. Sato was hounded and asked many questions. Currently, I doubt that any existing flame that used to exist remained. However, I can't totally write out the possibility until it's confirmed.

"I didn't think you would chase so many skirts at once, Ayanokouji," Ryuuen smugly chuckled.

"You're quite the player, Ayanokouji. People should take tips from you, it's a real great business opportunity," Nagumo graciously proposed.

Even Manabu cracked a smile at Nagumo's joke.

For some reason, even Keisei is angry. Still, I suppose I'll make an apology.

"I was just invited to hang out."

"It must be quite something for a girl to ask a boy out though?"

"Surely you don't think S-S-S-Satou-san is interested in Kiyotaka-kun!?"

There had been a dispute of that nature a while back but Airi said so frantically.

"...there's really nothing I can say to that even if you ask me."

"A last minute rush for a lovey dovey Christmas perhaps? Now that's an amazing development there."

Haruka is Haruka after all, onesidedly imagining her own scenario.

"I don't disagree with that," Akito said.

"Yeah, that's true," Keisei agreed.

"Y-you're not wrong," even the shy Airi voiced her thoughts.

Haruka looked as if four consecutive arrows had pierced her heart.

"They took my heart and stomped on it. It's just left there, rotting on the wooden floor. After all that caring, this is what happens. I might cry," Haruka thought.

"More importantly, where do we go? I think today's going to be crowded."

Since a long holiday begins tomorrow, there's bound to be a lot of students hanging out late into the night today.

Keisei concluded that it'd be in our best interests to decide on a course of action.

"Well, can't we just, like, loiter around? There's no rush."

As we had that conversation, Akito walked silently without once letting the tough look on his face falter.

Akito's focus isn't on us but rather, behind us.

While on the move, he checked to see whether or not there's someone behind us.

"No sign of anyone tailing us..."

"Honestly, I kept expecting people would be appearing left and right that day," Ike commented.

"I guess now we know why. Ryuuen's little goose hunt ended," Horikita sighed.

The reasoning for Ryuuen's actions had already been explained. It was to make me uncomfortable, but now that his chase was over, he had no reason to continue with that method.

"A goose hunt is inaccurate," Sakayanagi glanced at Horikita.

"What do you mean?" Horikita responded.

"His overall plan worked, didn't it? He's luring Ayanokouji out," Sakayanagi said as if it was obvious.

Some students were confused by her remark. Of course, every single student has a different idea of what happened. Some believe that I abandoned Kei and never showed up, and others believe that I did show up. Sakayanagi had made the claim that I did in fact meet Ryuuen up there.

Akito quietly whispered that in relief. Looks like Ryuuen wants to settle things today. He must've concluded that a tail is no longer necessary.

"But you know, even though Keyaki Mall has everything, I'd like to go outside after all."

Haruka said so and looked towards the main gate, far from here.

"I'd like to go to Shibuya or Harajuku, or go see the lights at Omotesando."

"Keyaki Mall aside, the school roads won't be a substitute for that I suppose."

Since there are no special preparations for change of any sort, the outside is as it has always been.

"I'm rather satisfied with the way things are now though. The essentials are all here too. Do you feel the same way as everyone else, Kiyotaka-kun? About wanting to go outside."

Unlike Haruka, Airi doesn't seem like the outgoing type.

Well, I suppose I don't have to force myself to go along with the flow.

"I'm satisfied with this too like you, Airi. But I guess I can also understand the feeling of wanting to go outside."

"I don't know if they're doing it to uphold the rules but I think prohibiting any contact with even your family is going too far. Wouldn't a family normally be worried about their child?"

It certainly isn't normal to not be able to see your children for three years. Maybe that resonated with Akito, because his expression turned grim.

"While I can understand that, you also can't be with your parents for you entire adult life. While the school is fairly overkill, the basic idea is that you have to be independent and live on your own," Ichinose analysed.

"I understand being independent, but it's not like adults don't talk to their family once in a while," Haruka defended her earlier opinion.

"That's fair. I also believe that the school is too controlling in that regard. A talk once in a while wouldn't hurt anyone, but I guess it also opens the possibility of the school's secret to be leaked," Ichinose responded.

"Huh? What secret?" Ike was confused.

"The class battle shit, obviously," Ryuuen interjected.

"Yes, and also the S system. The parents may tell other parents and maybe even other children if word about how the school works got out. It would be extremely unfair if some students knew about how the school worked from the beginning while everyone is left in the dark. Class C or D could potentially turn into B or even A if they know how the school works in the first month," Ichinose carefully explained.

While many students could understand her logic, they still wanted to talk to their families.

Every bird must leave the nest one day. The school had essentially become a gateway for the students to live independently in a small simulation of society. The students have to manage everything in their lives without getting help from anyone else.

However, while this is true, they are still birds in the middle of the process of abandoning their nests. They still desire support from their parents.

"See, my mom's a worrywart so maybe she's feeling some anxiety over that."

"Looks like the school also takes care of that. Apparently they regularly report your progress from your report card or something."

"That...might actually make me worry even more. I guess I'll study harder..."

"Parents would worry more about girls than they would the boys, right?"

"Ahh--I'm fine though. Because that's not the case for me."

Haruka smoothly deflected it. Because it looked like there's something she didn't want to talk about, we also didn't press the matter.

"So, karaoke next? Might be a bit crowded though."

"No way, we're not going to play that punishment game again are we...?"

"Of course we're going to play. For the sake of Yukimu~'s revenge."

I stopped walking while everyone was in the middle of discussion their next course of action.

"What's wrong, Kiyotaka-kun?"

"Sorry but I'm going to head back."

"It's not even 2 o'clock yet though?"

"Did your cold heart finally change?" Yagami joked.

"I still don't get it. Why pretend like you're going to abandon her then backtrack? He would know that the people tailing him aren't there anymore, so what's the reasoning?" Nagumo thought.

"I wonder how many parents are dissapointed," Hashimoto smirked.

I wonder, would my father also get these reports? It would be interesting to see his thoughts on my approach. His perfectly manufactured genius gettting sixties and seventies and placing in the middle of the class with the weakest academic students. Would he be disappointed? Angry? Maybe even a bit of disgust would even fester inside of him.

Akito said while checking the time on his phone.

"Truth is, I stayed up all night yesterday so I'm feeling quite sleepy now. Please invite me again over the holidays"

Airi looked disappointed at that but there won't be any inconvenience for her now even if I'm gone.

Haruka will take care of it properly for me too so I suppose I can rest assured. I bid farewell to the group and turned my back on them.

I then took out my phone and called my homeroom teacher, Chabashira-sensei.

"I was wondering what the point of all this shit was, but now it makes sense," Ryuuen wryly smirked.

Ryuuen should know that using a teacher as a witness wouldn't work, so he may understand my true intentions. I had planned to use Chabashira for the final time and to make her fully understand that I was stepping down.

"It's me."

"Hello. I have something to discuss with you. Are you free now?"

"What do you want? Haven't you stopped associating with me?"

"Yes that would be right. But I just remembered there are still things left to settle. If possible, I'd like to meet you face-to-face rather than over the phone. Can we meet at school?"

"...I'll be waiting in the classroom."

"Understood. I'll be there in a few minutes."

After that conversation, I immediately headed back to the Class D classroom. There aren't any students left in there and near my seat, Chabashira-sensei alone looked out through the window.

"Assuming this year is also your average year then it'll snow a fair bit this year too."

"Do you like snow?"

"I used to. But when I became an adult, I grew to hate it".

Chabashira-sensei shut the curtains and slowly turned around.

"So you have something to discuss with me. What is it?"

"I thought I haven't heard your answer yet. Why do you want to rise to Class A so badly to the point you'd even use me?"

Unless there's a very good reason behind it, a teacher won't use a lie to manipulate a student.

"From your words, you did end up going up to the roof," Kanzaki assumed.

"I still don't get what took you so long. There's over an hour time difference between this video and the end of the previous one," Katsuragi examined.

"Sae, is there a good reason behind all of this? What could make you go to such an extent?" Hoshinomiya teased.

"I have the same reasons as anyone else in this school. I get benefits," Chabashira cooly responded.

"Besides a certain few, I don't think many would go to such lengths," Hoshinomiya glanced over at me.

"Can you stop with this cat-and-mouse shit? Honestly, it's like 2 petty sisters trying to blame each other for everything in their lives," Hosen angrily said.

"I don't have the highest opinion of that student, but he isn't wrong," Mashima thought.

"This school makes not only students, but also teachers compete with one another. If one considers their own position, it's obvious they'd want to aim for the upper classes even if it's just a cut above."

"I don't think that's the real reason. If you were aiming for Class A from the start, you wouldn't have made remarks that could have put Class D's students at a disadvantage."

During the midterm test of our first semester, Chabashira-sensei intentionally withheld information to put Class D at a disadvantage.

"...that's already something different from the school's rules. It's a personal matter. I've got nothing to say to you."

"You were unsure at that point despite having quietly made preparations to rise to Class A, weren't you? Whether or not this class really has what it takes to become Class A or whether you should even be aiming for it."

I don't particularly care what feelings this teacher is keeping bottled up. The important thing is whether she's worth making use of or not.

People had gotten a little comfortable in the laidback atmosphere from before, but this interaction changed the atmosphere once again.

"Aw, Sae, Ayanokouji doesn't care about your past," Hoshinomiya was revelling in Chabashira's moment of vulnerability.

"I guess your little flicker of hope came back when you saw him," Amasawa giggled.

"She lost the upper hand so easily. Just a simple unfortunate meeting that she didn't predict and her leverage ceased to exist. She was, bluntly, trapped in a prison that she once managed. Could the same happen to me? Could a simple oversight make me lose? I've got an immense amount of knowledge about Ayanokouji but that's only half the battle;the rest is how one makes use of those facts. If I'm not careful then the rug could be pulled from under me," Yagami thought.

"Honestly, do we have the only sane teacher?" Sakayanagi sighed.

"Looks like this has been a waste of time. I'm heading back to work."

I spoke again towards the teacher who had turned her back as though fleeing.

"If you won't answer, then please give up on using me."

"So that's how it is. No need to emphasize that. You've already stopped associating with me, no?"

"This is the important part. If you let this day go to waste, Class D won't ever rise to Class A. On the contrary, we may not even be able to rise to Class C."

"What are you talking about?"

I explicitly looked at the classroom's clock.

"It's now 2 o'clock. Right now, Ryuuen's probably putting on an interesting show on the rooftop after calling Karuizawa out there."

"...Ryuuen is? To Karuizawa?"

"If the teachers don't know about it then pretty much no one except the involved parties could do anything," Matsushita surmised.

"Wait, we were in trouble? That doesn't even make any sense," Sudo blurted out.

"You can always lose points from dropouts," Tsubaki pointed out.

"That's true... I'm sure many people may drop out after such a brutal event," Horikita muttered.

Horikita was the leader of the class so this was vital information for her. As a leader, she not only had to make sure the class succeeded in the exams, but she also had to make sure that her classmates were safe both mentally and physically.

"I was not fleeing, I simply had other places to be," Chabashira snidely remarked.

Whatever you say, Sensei.

"So even you aren't aware of it, sensei. The fact that Karuizawa used to be the victim of severe bullying in the past, I mean."

"First time I've heard that...".

It's hard to imagine from the way Karuizawa normally is that she'd be the victim of bullying.

"And in all likelihood, news of this will spread throughout school tomorrow. Once that happens, Karuizawa may choose to withdraw into herself and drop out. If we can prove Class C is involved in it, we may be able to retaliate but the damage we'd have dealt each other would be immeasurable."

It still isn't clear the sort of penalty that an expulsion entails but it must be quite the penalty. That much is clear from seeing Chabashira-sensei's face.

But then she immediately regained her composure and looked at me with her usual, fierce gaze.

"I see. I've got the gist of your scheme. From what I understand, it would be difficult for you to resolve this matter on your own. But it'd be a different story for a school teacher like myself. Not only won't the problem be resolved, but your identity would even be kept secret. It couldn't be better, could it?"

"Will you lend me a hand if I asked for your cooperation?".

"That doesn't make any sense," Horikita disagreed with my proposal.

"What's wrong about it, Suzune? If he gets a teacher to back him up then Ayanokouji is pretty much safe no matter what he does," Sudo scratched his head.

Not in theory nor in practice would this actually work, however. Getting a teacher to go up to the roof and stop a bullying incident would have far too many problems and they couldn't keep their lips shut.

"Imagine if Sensei actually did go up to a rooftop. Sensei has no idea what's going on, what's at stake, or anything of importance. She can't really keep her lips shut and stop the bullying at the same time. It's far too idealistic," Horikita explained.

"Yeah, but like, what if she went up there and said she saw it all on accident? She could say like, it was a smoke break," Sudo sheepishly said.

"There are no cameras, first of all. And Chabashira-sensei is a class D teacher. Karuizawa would eventually be dried off so the evidence is gone. It would just turn into Chabashira-sensei's word against Ryuuen's. Also, even Chabashira-sensei wouldn't take a smoke break at 2 pm. And it's just a flimsy excuse considering that the cameras show Chabashira-sensei and Ayanokouji meeting before the incident," Horikita perfectly made clear why my proposal didn't work.

Sudo was a little bit overwhelmed after being bombarded by all of that information, so all he did was nod and turn back to the screen.

"Don't get too cocky, Ayanokouji. I have no intention of cooperating with you."

"Of course you don't."

"This school doesn't look favorably upon teachers intervening in students' problems."

That is true. A teacher going up to the rooftop alone to not only stop Ryuuen's bullying but also seal their lips regarding Karuizawa's past. That sort of favorable outcome is impossible.

"I guess you were right," Sudo mumbled.

"Wait, why did you only think I was only after Ayanokouji confirmed it?" Horikita was confused by Sudo's statement.

Sudo looked a little scared but still continued. "He just sounded more convincing."

"I said the exact same thing. I even went into hypothetical scenarios!" Horikita looked annoyed.

Was she jealous that Sudo preferred my explanation over hers?

It's also natural that Chabashira-sensei would decline.

"But can you afford to decline that easily? There's no guarantee that I won't sabotage Class D in the future, is there? I can deftly make sure we won't be able to rise to the upper classes."

"...to think a student would threaten a teacher. It should be the other way around."

"What are these two saying? It should be neither way. Adults aren't meant to threaten students nor vice versa," Yosuke thought.

"If you return the favor and restore our relationship to an equal student-teacher one then at the very least I can say I won't commit sabotage. I think that alone carries a huge merit, no?"

"If, by turning you down here, it means rising to Class A becomes impossible then it's all the same."

Chabashira-sensei stubbornly refused to lend a hand.

"Please rest assured, I had no intention of asking you for help from the start."

"What?"

The idea of relying on this teacher never once factored into my calculations.

Many people didn't understand.

"So she had jackshit to do with this? Then what's the fuckin' point if she doesn't help?" Hosen scoffed at my actions.

"There's probably a reason to this, Hosen. Don't lash out and get impatient now," Nanase tried to calm him down.

"I fuckin' doubt it. She's just there because he wanted an observer. She doesn't do anything and just watches that guy show off," Hosen chuckled.

"Gorilla-boy, that's where you're wrong. Ayanokouji-boy is better than the common clay that you lot reside in, he has no need to show off anything. He's like a piece of silver in the rough," Koenji laid back in his chair and cockily smirked.

"Isn't the saying diamond in the rough?" Mii-chan asked him.

"He's better than the people around him, but not good enough to be compared to a diamond like me. The potential that surrounds him is like a slab of coal. Its only use is to benefit something bigger and more important than them, however, silver can be used in many finer places. Honestly, Ayanokouji-boy should take it as a compliment," Koenji grinned.

"I was just teasing you for a bit there. Why don't you observe from afar then? The conclusion of this incident, that is."

After saying that, I invited Chabashira-sensei to play the role of observer for this story.

"Ha! Fuckin' called it," Hosen looked unusually happy.

"I guess there is a normal person there under all that cockiness and bravado," Nanase thought.

If all goes according to schedule, it should have been half an hour since Karuizawa went up to the rooftop.

Just when I thought Ishizaki had panickedly come running down, turns out it was so that he could fill up buckets with a large amount of water after which he went back up.

Judging from the droplets of water on the floor, he's already done it several times over.

The most probable scenario is that Ryuuen is forcing Karuizawa to relive the bullying of her past to extract a confession from her.

But then it'd mean Karuizawa didn't spit it out right away because neither the Class C folks or Karuizawa herself came back down from the rooftop.

At first, the room was too shellshocked by the sudden transition to process the information they were given, but now the turning point of the day had arrived.

"Wait, there's no other preperation then? What are you doing? Why didn't you go up there?" Hashimoto wasn't angry, but more so intrigued by my actions.

"Letting the pot settle before you interfere?" Sakayanagi, however, understood them completely.

"Cruel as always. At first, I was confused why you were doing these things when no one saw you in the previous video, but now it makes sense. When one is in agony, they may find themselves praying to some divine entity for salvation, however, in that delirium of despair, one may cling to the devil instead," Sakayanagi thought.

"You made an accurate prediction and everything, huh?" Yosuke muttered.

Yosuke understands that there's no point getting angry about this. There's nothing he can do to change it anyway.

However, my thoughts after I saved Kei and Kei's own thoughts have wildly different conclusions. Kei had broken away from her parasitic nature so that she was able to survive on her own, but I had believed the opposite. As of now, Yosuke and many other people don't know my true intentions. They know that Kei has ceased to be a parasite, but don't know that I intended to make her even more parasitic.

"Judging from her words, my previous assumption was correct. This was also a scheme. I believed it was a test to judge how far her loyalty would go, but it was actually so that she would cling even more to him. It makes sense since you cut her off right after your father came and you gave her hope that you would protect her even though you knew Ryuuen would target her. However, you were wrong. A total miscalculation. Everyone makes errors, but I'm still surprised," Manabu thought

There's the possibility that there's been a slight divergence from the scenario I envisioned.

But that's a positive divergence from my initial assumptions.

"What are you doing, Ayanokouji? How long are you going to wait here?"

After leaving the classroom with Chabashira-sensei, I observed the situation while keeping my distance from the stairs that Yamada Albert is keeping an eye on.

Just a little bit more.

Since I've come this far, there's no need for me to rush into action.

The more I delay, the more things will go the way I had planned. Of course being late comes with its own risks but it's a necessary risk I'm taking after considering the merits of doing so.

"So you're late because it's part of your scheme," Horikita muttered.

"So this is what he was doing during that time. It's a little eerie knowing that he was so close to me when all that was happening. He wanted to make use of me, but that's something I'm already familiar with. I wonder, was he born like that or did he grow into that personality?" Kei thought.

Kei probably understands what I was trying to do very well. She was the one who was most affected by my plans, after all.

"Shall we have a chat?"

"Chat in a situation like this?"

I ignored Chabashira-sensei's doubts and started the conversation.

"It's something that happened not too long after enrollment but I remember Sudou wanting to purchase a point during the exam."

"...yeah I recall that. You and Horikita paid 100,000 points in total."

I think it's been half a year or more since then but time sure flies.

"It's interesting how both of you were talking about the school's rules at that point in time," Sakayanagi said.

"I guess you are similar in many ways," Hashimoto muttered.

"That's like an entire month's salary for a class A student. And only for a single point, too," Ike sighed.

"A single test point could be the difference between failing and remaining at the school. Of course the school values it that highly. I think you just don't want to study," Onodera told him.

"Who wants to study?" Ike replied.

"While they are both discussing the school rules, they're both mentioning the opposite things," Horikita claimed.

"That's true. Ryuuen talked about evading the school rules and using that to his full advantage whereas Ayanokouji used the given rules to his full advantage," Yagami agreed with Horikita's claim.

"There's nothing you can't buy with private points. That's what you said, no?"

"It's the truth. Didn't Sudou's expulsion get nullified?"

"Yes, if it's just the purchase of points then it's still grounded in logic but if that's always permitted then there would be no expulsions in the first place, would there? Whenever someone gets a failing grade, someone else just needs to cover up for them the same way. By doing so, they'd be able to avoid expulsion at least."

"But it's not easy getting your hands on private points. This Class D miraculously maintained an abundance of points but an average Class D would only have half that. Besides, it's not like your classmates would all be friendly towards you. It's not strange for a student to prioritize their private points even if it means losing class points."

"That is true. But the system itself is a defective one, is it not? As long as salvation via points is possible, the danger of expulsion in a test falls drastically."

"That might be the case."

She did not deny it but neither did Chabashira-sensei look me in the eye.

"Yeah, but isn't this stuff we already know? Since the first few videos we knew that points could be bought," Sudo grumbled.

"People may not be friendly to you but they would most likely still help. The expulsion has lots of drawbacks in class points and it's also another student that can't be used in exams anymore. The only time it would make sense to willingly let a student get expelled is in exams where there would be no penalties applied," Horikita stated her thought process.

"That's true only in cases when a class still desires to fight for class A. If a class has given up on class A then something like that wouldn't happen," Katsuragi countered.

Katsuragi was right. The current class 3D has no hope of reaching class A. They would be the prime example of self-preservation over community welfare.

"That's something interesting that you're getting at. I doubt many people would understand what your goal is," Nagumo grinned.

He seemed to be enjoying this.

"What are you saying? This is too complicated," Asahina mumbled.

"The point isn't whether a student can always use private points to stop an expulsion — no, it's bigger than that. It's the fact that these prices have already been decided upon. The teachers can't just make any random number up for a test point considering it could decide the life of a student in the school. The school must have already decided upon these rules beforehand," Nagumo expanded on his earlier thought process.

Out of everyone in this school, Nagumo is one of the few I would expect to know this information. He uses private points to their fullest extent as if they're a weapon rather than a means to an end. He must have already delved into the school's rules deeply.

Of course, Nagumo hit the bullseye.

"It's odd. He's been different recently. When I first came back to this school I was a little disappointed to see that nothing had changed with him, but now it's unusual. Nagumo believed that Ayanokouji wouldn't be worth anything compared to him, but now it's almost as if he acknowledges him. I'm a little glad," Manabu thought with a slight smile.

"Horikita, what are you smiling about?"Tachibana asked him.

"Oh nothing, I'm just a little surprised at something," Manabu responded.

"The problem is when I asked you to sell me points, you added a price tag to it, Chabashira-sensei."

"Are you trying to say it's too expensive after all this time?"

"That's not it. What I'm trying to ask is whether or not 100,000 points for a mark is something you made up or whether there's a basis for it. It seemed like you were improvising on the spot but it's hard to imagine you'd be able to arbitrarily decide the price of a mark on your own."

"What are you trying to say, Ayanokouji?"

"This school has already established the fine details regarding points thoroughly, has it not? There would naturally be a manual to consult when purchase of points is requested. If that's the case, then that's convincing."

"In other words, you're saying that the price I gave for a mark during Sudou's case was something prepared in advance by the school?"

"Exactly. If you could answer me please then."

There was a delay. Chabashira-sensei, who had been firing back answers straight away so far, choked on her words.

"It's not like I'll just answer anything you ask me."

"Shall I assume that means you are unable to answer?"

"Do what you will."

"Then I'll just draw up a hypothesis on my own. The school has a manual for any and all occasions and in the case of point purchase, 100,000 points for a mark is something they had already determined in advance. Assuming all of this to be true, it gives rise to another question. It's whether or not we can purchase a mark for 100,000 points every time there's a test."

"It looks like your theory was correct," Manabu told Nagumo.

Now all of this information has been revealed to the entire student body.

Throughout this entire video experience, there's been one thing I don't understand. What happens in the future? It isn't as if time has stopped, all students are continuously aging. If we get to the point in time before the videos began, then what happens after that? It could be months before that happens. Plenty of special exams that could be used to promote a class aren't used.

The entire main feature of the school would be rendered pointless. Chabashira had said the teachers didn't have any knowledge of the videos at the beginning, and I believe her, but after that, she and all the other teachers were perfectly content. Chabashira's dream of class A was at risk but she seemed perfectly fine. Did the teachers have knowledge the students didn't?

"You're free to think whatever you want but what meaning is there behind this talk. Right now, Karuizawa's--".

I deflected those words and continued.

No one was surprised. They still believed I had a purpose for delaying this.

"Whatever you wanted must have been really important in your eyes," Sato nervously said.

A while ago, the students may have thought I was doing this for no reason, but now they understand I have a purpose for everything.

"He's like a chess bot, making the perfect move every time. No blunders or oversights at all. Sacrifices, trades, promotions, all of it he can predict and understand," Horikita thought.

"Is it only 100,000 points per mark for a limited period of time after enrolling? Or perhaps it rises every time you make a purchase? Or maybe we can't even make that sort of purchase again? Question after question keeps popping up. Please tell me which one of them's the truth."

"Cut it out already. Do you think I can really answer a question like that? Even if I were to answer, there's no way you can confirm the veracity of that answer."

"There is. I just have to ask you directly, sensei."

I forcibly made eye contact with her as she tried to avert her eyes.

"Right now, how much would one mark cost for the next midterm test?"

"... ... ..."

Chabashira-sensei stopped speaking entirely.

"As a teacher, you are obligated to answer, aren't you? If you won't answer then I'll go ask another teacher the same question. And if they answer then I can just report to the school that the homeroom teacher of Class D is discriminating against us. Please keep in mind I have that option available."

Of course it's plenty possible that the other teachers won't be able to answer either. In that case, several possibilities come to mind. It might be that only that one mark could be purchased or maybe they aren't allowed to answer unless someone's actually received a failing grade, etc.

But being unable to answer is yet another answer in itself. It would mean that there's a manual prepared in advance for when a student's grades are insufficient.

"It seems you aren't that socially inept when there's something you want," Kanzaki sighed.

"I can tell this is important when you use a word like 'veracity'," Ishizaki muttered.

"It would also mean that there are requirements that come with asking these questions. It may not apply to just test points either. Removing something like penalties due to violence could be different depending on the magnitude of the brutality. Something like a light scrach wouldn't be worth the same compared to a broken bone or permanent damage," Ichinose analysed.

She was on the right track. While Chabashira had said many things have a fixed price, there's still some flexibility. She may have meant that certain types of violence have a fixed price. It would be unfair that a mild accident is valued the same as permanent damage. The school has likely put the prices depending on their own approved categories.

A broken bone may be costing one million points, but a small bruise could only be valued at 100,000. Of course, there's no way of knowing this until this is turned into practice. It was possible to have tested this earlier in the year when Sudo was in trouble.

We could have let Sudo lose. Sudo would most likely be either expelled or suspended, but suspension is the likelier one. Therefore, it could be possible to negate the suspension through the use of private points. However, willingly losing is something that should never be on any agenda.

A hundred suspicions don't make a fact. Evidence prevails over theory in many situations.

"The extent this goes is unknown. You would have to test many of these," Katsuragi stated.

"That's the name of the game, isn't it? Trial and error is what prevails in this school," Ryuuen chuckled.

"Are you planning on delving into the rules?"

"At the very least, there are students doing just that. Ichinose, who's rumored to be saving up points and then there's Ryuuen who's sticking with private points. It's obvious when you consider them."

They're all trying to figure out a strategy that could benefit their class through trial-and-error they conduct repeatedly daily.

"Very well. I'll answer your question. It is true that the clue to beating the school system lies in figuring out the rules regarding private points. Naturally, students from past years have tried that approach from a variety of different angles much like you're doing now. Even the defective Class D isn't an exception to that. Some were quicker than others though. And the school too, has established the fine details of the rules in advance in order to answer the questions the students have. Purchase of points, erasing violence from your record and preventing expulsion. Points necessary for all that are fixed. But a teacher is limited in the amount of things they can say. As for why, it's because most of it is prohibited. No, not even that, there are probably many things even teachers aren't aware of."

"So I was right in assuming you 'cannot answer' my question?"

"That's right."

This solves one mystery. It's that there are many things they are unable to answer us on regarding the special usage of private points unless the conditions for said usage have been met.

The price for one mark at the next midterm test has already been decided and by telling us that, it would be possible to come up with a countermeasure. But if it remains unknown to us, we wouldn't be able to do anything reckless.

Because if they tell us one mark costs 100,000 points then that'd be the end of that.

"Things teachers aren't even aware of? That's something I didn't expect," Hiyori voiced her surprise.

"Even someone as indifferent as him noticed it. Try and be a little more attentive, Katsuragi," Sakayanagi mocked.

The students acquired a little more information about the school. It wasn't much knowledge as the specific details that could be helpful were kept under lock and key, but it still helps to get a better idea of the bigger picture.

"...does this have something to do with the matter at hand?"

"No. I was just having a chat. Nothing more, nothing less. Of course, it also has nothing to do with the matter at hand."

Chabashira-sensei is unable to grasp my true intentions.

"Now then...I suppose it's time. Hide-and-seek's over."

I confirmed that it's past 2:40 on my phone.

I mailed a certain person.

I instructed them to head over to this place right away.

"I was wondering how long that would take. Now then, this should be fun," Ryuuen thought.

"I don't know the details but Karuizawa's suffering at the hands of Class C. I know that much at least. If you have no intention of stepping up then you should call someone else for help."

"I'll head over to the rooftop."

Chabashira-sensei couldn't conceal her surprise at those words.

"...are you insane? If you do that, the whole school will know about it."

"Even if Ryuuen realizes I'm the one behind all the strategies up until now, it still won't benefit him in any way. On the contrary, he might read too much into it the next time around and self-destruct, all the while thinking I'm involved."

"I'm assuming this story about Ishizaki rebelling against you was fake then," Hashimoto claimed.

"It could be fake, or maybe he rebelled after this incident. Just watch," Ryuuen spoke with conviction.

"If you do that, you'll be famous overnight. You'll lose your quiet life at school."

There should be a certain thought smoldering within Chabashira-sensei now. That as long as my identity is kept hidden, she still has a way to make me cooperate with Class D.

But if I make contact with Class C in any way, Ryuuen will know with certainty that I'm X.

No, even if he cannot ascertain it, it's still over the moment I become his number one suspect.

Even though I've kept a low profile so far, my existence will end up becoming common knowledge.

Chabashira-sensei averted her eyes wordlessly.

"Whatever you did, it didn't have much of an impact across the wider school area. Not a single person apart from the attending parties knew what happened," Kanzaki proclaimed.

"So all your worrying was nothing but self-interest, huh?" Amasawa smirked.

The cohort currently has no idea what I had done to keep my identity hidden. Of course, they also don't know about Manabu's involvement yet.

"This may just be my misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding?"

"Chairman Sakayanagi told me about you just before enrollment commenced. That you're an extremely special student. And that you're talented. And that you're a student we must protect. And also that you were raised in a loveless environment. Taking everything into account, a conclusion was reached over the course of my discussion with the Chairman. To make you attached to this school and to make you wish to remain here. And then I told you about your father and how he wishes for your expulsion. Of course, that was a lie but it looks like it's become reality at long last."

"I see. You aren't mistaken in that it's easier to make people attached to something by giving them a goal to strive for. But unfortunately, I'm not the type of person to worry. No matter what a third party desires, I will choose to continue on at this school. At the very least, I have no intention of going back under that man's thumb right now."

"So simply trying to make use of you was my mistake, huh? For Class D to aim for Class A. Chasing a pipe dream like that was a mistake, huh?"

Chabashira-sensei spat that out as though in resignation.

But isn't it just comedic how she's given up on it so quickly?

"I didn't pick you for a sadist," Kei teasingly whispered.

"It's also a little comedic how you're talking about the exact same thing you did to her, eh? Not denying that you may continue to strive for class A, so that she remains someone who could help you. You made her attached to your talent, and then you gave Chabashira the goal of helping you," Yagami surmised.

"Even if he's not socially capable, manipulation using language is a different thing. Having a goal and taking the measures to achieve it is something that's ingrained in him, communication is just a different stage," Yagami thought.

"It's not a pipe dream. As a matter of fact, Class D is about to rise to Class C right now. In the near future, Horikita will unite this class. She definitely will."

"Yeah, you're right. They'll achieve things that have never been achieved before. I suppose that alone counts as a victory. But are you serious? About Horikita uniting the class."

"That's a line I don't want to hear from my homeroom teacher. At the very least, I believe Horikita is more than capable of leading Class D."

Although as far as Chabashira-sensei is concerned, Horikita was only the means through which she could make use of me.

"Ultimately, Horikita is beginning to mature. The majority of my classmates are the same as well. All that's left is for you to guide them as a teacher and they'll secure their position as Class C...or maybe even draw closer to Class A."

Of course, a different sort of ability is required in order to actually get there though.

Horikita looked a little surprised at my words. "Thank you for the kind words, Ayanokouji."

"A different sort of ability, huh? What did you mean by that?" Matsushita asked.

I chose not to answer that, but Horikita decided to answer in my stead.

"I believe what Ayanokouji is trying to say is that just uniting the class isn't enough. Uniting the class is pretty much the bare minimum. The real battle is using the talents of the class effectively. If we're united, but not clever enough to compete, what's the point?" Horikita answered Matsushita's question logically and calmly.

"I suppose that makes sense," Matsushita, appearing to be satisfied by Horikita's answer, backed down.

"Are you really stepping down?"

"That's what I currently intend on doing."

Normally speaking, a teacher isn't allowed to twist a student's feelings by using their own. Chabashira-sensei is surely aware of that too.

It's not for mere insurance that I've brought Chabashira-sensei here.

It's so that I can definitively prove to her that I'm stepping down from the class conflict.

"So that earlier carrot-on-the-stick approach was only short-term, huh? I suppose it makes sense if you're really content with stepping down. Why have someone be there to cover for you if you aren't planning on needing cover?" Tsubaki said.

"So her 'observer' role wasn't for watching your plan but for watching you step down. That's some cold shit. You made the teacher watch her only hope give up on her. Fucking awesome," Hosen laughed.

"Let's get back to the topic at hand. You're free to boldly make your entrance. But will the problem really be resolved with just that?"

"I can't guarantee that. I'm just going to deal with it based on Ryuuen's personality and behavioral patterns. Alright then, thank you very much for accompanying me."

As the person I'd been waiting for showed up, I thanked Chabashira-sensei.

Now there's no problem even if she decides to leave.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Ayanokouji."

Chabashira-sensei expressed surprise at seeing Horikita Manabu, the former student council president who just spoke to me.

Manabu's entrance shocked most students.

"Nii also played a part in this, I guess. If Chabashira isn't the insurance, then Nii's presence must mean that he's the witness, but there's a key piece of the puzzle missing. What did Ayanokouji give him in return for his cooperation? Nii isn't so altruistic as to do things for free," Horikita thought.

"What's the meaning of this...?"

"He's to be a witness when I settle things with Ryuuen. After all, he's the type to use any means necessary. And I'd like to avoid push coming to shove."

I understand having a teacher play the role of witness is ideal but that option is off the table.

If so, the wise thing to do would be to go with the next best option.

"Are you planning to have Horikita resolve things by doing what I said earlier?"

"Does the former student council president look like the sort of person who'd do that?"

Chabashira-sensei looked over at the older Horikita once and immediately concluded that it's out of the question.

Just like her, the older Horikita won't get unnecessarily involved either.

"It would make more sense for a student to get involved, but I guess it's also hard for him to keep the truth quiet. Also, he doesn't really have any excuse to go to the rooftop," Hiyori examined.

"It would also mean that he wouldn't get to oversee the incident while acting as the Student Council President. He'll just be Manabu Horikita," Sakayanagi expanded on Hiyori's claim.

"There will be witnesses to what happens on the rooftop. As long as that fact stands, all is well."

It's for that reason that I made a deal with the older Horikita. Well, I suppose that's currently irrelevant.

"A few minutes after I've gone up to the rooftop, I'd like you to stop halfway on the stairs to the rooftop. There's no need to talk to the students coming back down from the rooftop nor is it necessary to punish them. Just make sure the students coming back down are made aware of your presence."

The former student council president has witnessed the students leaving the rooftop. That alone would be extremely effective against Ryuuen and his group.

"Very well. But don't forget that promise, Ayanokouji."

"Of course not. Because if I renege on it, you may choose to forget about this incident entirely."

"As long as you understand. Make it quick."

The older Horikita sent me on my way and I headed over to the corridor that leads to the rooftop.

"Wait, Ayanokouji. What would you have done on the off chance that you failed to acquire Horikita's cooperation?"

"I wonder what I would've done then."

While saying that, I thought it over. I probably would've used the one who knew about me, Sakayanagi, instead.

And if that doesn't work then--no, there's no point in considering plans that are no longer necessary.

"Either 10 minutes or 20 minutes. I plan to be back by then."

"Doesn't that mean that whatever promise you guys made is null and void?" Hashimoto asked.

"I didn't think about that. Karuizawa disregarded punishment for this incident, so that means the purpose and value the witness has is essentially worthless," Katsuragi said.

Indeed, the promise that I and Manabu made would then be meaningless, but as long as these videos continue it wouldn't have mattered. Besides, Manabu's use as a witness had already ceased once he left the school. While he has returned, he isn't technically a student anymore. He's treated as an esteemed alumnus.

"20 minutes, huh? Whatever you did was pretty quick," Ike said.

I climbed the stairs.

Step. By. Step.

As I slowly made my way up, a black shadow appeared before me. The gate watcher holding the road to the rooftop.

He's silently watching me with a daunting pose.

It's Yamada Albert from Class C. He hasn't made a single move yet. The perfect watchdog.

I don't know the details but he's probably one of Ryuuen's underlings too.

He looks down at me as though appraising me.

"May I pass?"

I don't even know if he understands Japanese but I'll try talking to him.

But Albert remained perfectly still and continued to observe me.

Is his silence meant to imply refusal? Or a lack of comprehension? It's frustrating how it's hard to tell.

"If I was there, pushing past him would be the last thing I do. You're good at fighting, but that guy looks like he was gifted for fighting," Ike cautiously warmed me.

I guess it's the thought that counts.

"I wouldn't be worried. Presumably, he's been learning martial arts from the best teachers in Japan. Although that size difference is concerning. Besides, he didn't look injured during the holidays, so he didn't do what you suggested unless he fought Yamada and won without a scratch," Horikita retorted.

He took out his phone using his large hands and deftly tried making a call.

"Don't panic. I'm the one you are seeking for."

As I said that in English, Albert stopped moving.

But a reply was not forthcoming.

"Today I'll solve the trouble by myself, and no one interferes."

As I explained myself again in English, Albert gave it some thought before closing his phone.

And then he silently made way. Wordlessly signalling me to pass. Apparently he's acknowledged me.

But him staying behind on the stairs is going to interfere with my plan.

"I'm going to crush Ryuuen now. He doesn't stand a chance without your help."

I provoked him in Japanese. Albert looked down the stairs once and after confirming that there's no one else, he opened the door to the rooftop himself.

"Finally, it's the climax of this whole thing," Ryuuen thought.

The scene faded just like it always has.

"Wait, what? It just ends?" Ryuuen looked baffled and the smile usually plastered on his face was nowhere to be found.

"That's the end of this video, the continuation will come next time."

I guess Ryuuen expected the fight to also be shown today, but it seems his theory was wrong.

I looked at his face while we were being dismissed and it was the face of a person who was both annoyed and depressed.

In more important matters, I need to get dinner. A ramen cup should do.

I left the classroom and then went to the closest convenience store. Ramen cups are some of the most artificially made things that have been produced, but I'm also lazy. I got to the checkout, but I had noticed something about the person in front of me.

"Yeah, thanks," Ryuuen muttered as he walked by me.

He had made eye contact with me for a brief moment as he walked out of the store.

"Uh... sir, you're next in line," the cashier told me.

Snapped from my thoughts I went forward and paid for my food. As I walked out, my worst nightmares came true.

"Ayanokouji, what do you think about that?" Ryuuen grumbled.

"First off, why are you talking to me?" I asked him.

"I can't talk to anyone else about this, and you're also the closest person. Convenience and all that," Ryuuen said as he walked next to me.

I just wanted to go home and eat my ramen, but it seems my walk home is going to be more arduous than I thought.

I sighed.

"I don't particularly care."

"Of course you don't. I just got blue balled by a video, how does that happen?" Ryuuen fumed.

"I don't know."

"Now I'm going to have to actually go home and wait another day? That voice or whoever is behind that voice is a cliffhanging son of a bitch," Ryuuen angrily said.

"Just deal with it," I told him.

"Easy for you to say, you don't care about this. I've been waiting for this for so long. Also, what's in the bag?" Ryuuen pointed his index finger at my plastic bag.

"It just means that you don't need to have any buildup. You get there and see what you've been waiting for," I told him while grabbing out my ramen cup.

Wait, did I get a small?

"Man, when did you get to be such an optimist?" Ryuuen sighed.

"I just spoke the truth of the matter."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say," Ryuuen sighed.

Walking home with this guy feels like an endless chore.

Though, it isn't all bad.

Author's Notes:

Been a while since I wrote a chap so maybe not my best work.

Y2V8 came out a few days ago, but I'm gonna stick to waiting for the MTL translation to come out for now. I usually prefer reading stories going in blind, but I have seen the illustrations. Don't really know what's going on, but the Kanzaki one and the Ichinose one are interesting.

The next chap is obviously the fight between Ryuuen and Ayanokouji. I also plan on putting the talk with Kei and Ryuuen's conversation with his gang also. After that chap, I plan on doing the epilogue of volume 7 where Ryuuen decides not to drop out.

That's all for this one.

Fear

What time is it?

The thought ran through my mind as I swept aside the covers that lay on top of me. I instinctively checked my phone to answer my question, but the device's screen refused to illuminate. I tried pressing it a few more times, but it seems like the battery was out. How could this happen? I always ensure that my phone is charging, so it should be functioning.

Upon closer inspection of the charging plug placed inside the wall outlet, I noticed that the plug was slightly out meaning that no charge was being inputted through the plug and therefore the wire that led to my phone.

I went to the next electronic device near me and turned it on. My computer opened up quickly and the time read 8:35 a.m. This is bad, school starts at 8:45.

Thoughts begin to flood my mind. I can always take a shower at night instead of in the morning, and I can also skip breakfast. Changing takes me around 5 minutes and it also takes 5 minutes to walk to school. However, if I ran then it would only take 1 or 2. While the school uniform and shoes aren't built for running, I have to do my best with the tools I have been given.

This gives me around 1 or 2 minutes to spare.

I got out of my seat and went straight for the wardrobe. I took out the uniform and got it neatly assembled. I went in my normal order and once I was done I went straight to wear my shoes. As I put on the leather shoes I took a peak at the clock on my computer.

8:40 exactly. I was on track to make it on time.

The elevator was something that counted on a bit of luck. If late then it could add a minute to my time, but if it arrives when I need it to then I'm perfectly fine. I approached the steel chambers of fate and pressed the button.

It didn't open. I have to wait for the sign to slowly go up and arrive on the 4th floor. It feels like an eternity, but I finally hear the ding that opens the steel walls.

Getting in I tapped the ground floor button and took a breath. The class would just assume that I'm absent if I don't make it on time and I would have to go to the gym all on my own. It would be annoying to have everyone's judging eyes on me as I walk in, so I would like to avoid that.

The chambers of bad fortune opened and I bolted out of the room. The cold October air clashed with my face as I ran. The feeling was akin to my race with Manabu, but this is different. I wasn't racing with anyone, I was racing against the time. It was similar to the White Room. The cold artificial air was similar to the present. I realised something as I reminisced on the cold, white facility.

There's no one around me, what am I holding back for?

I suppose everyone else was already there for the big video, or had just resolved to be late and took their time.

It was only 100 metres to the school and I kicked into gear. The icy air was battling my face, but I didn't care. I was more focused on my time.

50 metres in and I had already gone over 7 seconds. I kept my breathing steady and pushed into the asphalt as if I was jumping horizontally.

Blood and adrenaline were pumping through my veins. The scarlet orb in the sky was nowhere to be seen and was hidden by white clouds. I didn't think of anything but my destination. I haven't run this fast in my entire school life, but I haven't felt this way in the white room either.

I was running simply because I wanted to run. I could walk but I decided not to. There was no one watching me behind a one-way glass and I could do what I wanted. It was as if I stepped into my own world altogether.

80 metres and I had gone to 10 seconds. The world record for the 16-year-old 100 metres was 10.06 seconds, but this was expected as the clothing I was wearing wasn't designed for sprinting. I pushed forward without anything else in mind and reached the entrance.

I was sweating. It had been a while since there was sweat from physical exertion on my face. I wiped it off and walked into the classroom. The first thing I took note of was the clock.

8:44.

14 seconds.

I achieved my goal.

"Ayanokouji, cutting it quite close, are we? We were just about to go so just remain there," Chabashira eyed me curiously.

We walked to the gym as usual. As I found my seat I noticed that the blonde girl getting on the seat next to me was yawning.

"Tired?" I asked her.

"A little bit," Kei mumbled.

"What time did you get to bed?"

"Well, I was talking to Maya until midnight and then I saw a compilation of cats doing dumb things, and then I fell down the rabbit hole until 3 am," Kei yawned.

"If you slept that late then don't worry about my birthday. Just go home and rest," I advised her.

"Huh? No way," Kei vehemently disagreed.

"It's just a day where we watch some movies and eat cake. Tomorrow we can do what we had planned. No big deal," I shrugged.

"Are you really sure?" Kei looked disappointed.

"Yeah, there's no fun dragging you along if you're tired. Just get some rest when you get home," I said.

"Fine," Kei grumbled and looked away.

"One video today, but it's the longest one so far. Let's begin."

"Now I can finally see what that guy was thinking. I was terrified back then, terrified for my life. Since then, I speculated what he was thinking about. I have no clue what he thought and that's what intrigues me. It's something unknown," Ryuuen thought.

"So is this the rooftop event you've been referring to, Ryuuen?" Hiyori asked.

"You still remember me saying that? Yeah, it's the rooftop thing," Ryuuen sighed.

And after stepping out onto the rooftop, Albert stood beside the door and watched me from behind.

The overcast sky above seems as though it'd rain down on us any moment now.

I looked at Karuizawa, cowering near the fencing, far from the door. And then Ishizaki and Ibuki, having noticed the door opening and closing, looked over at me with Ryuuen following suit.

I looked around, left and right, to check for the presence of surveillance cameras.

The camera's lens has been painted black and it's no longer capable of carrying out its function.

I see. So he simply blinded it with a spray.

"So this when they all knew about you. I'm quite intrigued by what you're going to do," Kanzaki surmised.

After I grasped the situation, I immediately turned back to face Ryuuen's group.

"Ayano...kouji...?"

Ibuki was the first one to say something.

Hearing my name spoken, Karuizawa also noticed my presence.

She didn't say anything right away, but I was able to tell from her eyes that she's shocked at my presence here.

"Sorry I'm late".

I said that to her.

"Why...why did you come...?"

Karuizawa looked at me while forcing that feeble voice out.

"There's no need to ask, is there? I made a promise. That I'll save you should anything happen to you."

"Honestly man, before the last video I expected you to abandon her. Whatever plan you had must've been crazy if no one knows what it is," Sudo said.

"A knight in shining armour, huh? You should be more careful with your words," Sakayanagi giggled.

"R-Ryuuen-san, does this mean Ayanokouji is X!?"

"That's not possible. He's definitely not the one."

Ishizaki panicked, but Ibuki denied it before Ryuuen could.

"Ryuuen, surely X is just manipulating Ayanokouji. Don't be deceived. They definitely told Karuizawa in advance that they'd send someone else to save her--"

"Shut up, Ibuki."

Laughing, Ryuuen distanced himself from Karuizawa and drew a bit closer to me.

But even then, he stopped while putting around five meters of distance between us. I could tell then that Ryuuen is extremely wary of me.

"How are you so confident? You've only had two interactions with him and those were months ago and completely detached from the current situation," Kaneda was confused by Ibuki's excessive disagreement.

"The actions weren't completely detached," Ibuki told him.

The interaction at the fortune-telling stall and the time on the island. The fortune-telling wasn't important right now, but the island was.

"That time he broke my camera on the island is important. It works as the beginning of Ryuuen's inane obsession and also a key reason he lost," Ibuki stated.

"It would make sense that he's wary of you. You're an unknown in a tense situation, a completely independent variable," Yagami said with an intrigued expression.

"So then, this is him showing his strength. All evidence points to the fact that a physical altercation took place. Now I'll see him in action. The White Room had once shown me him before from behind the glass, but this is him being free to work how he wants. That's what makes this more important," Yagami thought.

"Well, well, what do we have here? If it isn't Suzune's orbiter, Ayanokouji. What business do you have at an unpopular attraction like this rooftop here on a winter holiday?"

"Karuizawa sent me a mail. Asking me to save her."

I didn't go into detail and I didn't mention that Ryuuen himself had made contact with me either. As for why, it's because Ryuuen had foolishly invited me to the hunting ground, a prey hunted by the hunter.

The room was silent. A while ago some people may have thought that I was arrogant, but now they understand that this was really what I thought.

"Hmm?"

"It's obviously a lie. You were just given orders. Telling you to go save Karuizawa."

Ibuki was just told to shut up but for some reason, she's going out of her way to deny me.

"What's the matter, Ibuki? You seem to want to believe that Ayanokouji isn't X."

"It's not what I want to believe, I'm telling you it's not true. This guy...this guy is just a goodhearted fool. I don't think he's even aware of the situation with Karuizawa and X, no?"

"You know, you didn't really answer my question. I get why the island is important, but why were you so sure he wasn't X?" Kaneda asked once again.

"I was sure because of what he said back on the island. He completely thought that I wasn't a spy, so he just seemed like an easily trusting idiot," Ibuki scoffed.

"So this is a reality check, huh?" Hashimoto chuckled.

"Goodhearted, you say? You have reason to believe that's true?"

Ryuuen asked Ibuki.

"Back on the island, I hid Karuizawa's underwear inside a boy's bag in order to sabotage Class D. Obviously you'd suspect someone like me from Class C of being the perpetrator. But he never once doubted me. Stupidly enough, he told me straight up that he doesn't think I'm the perpetrator."

"And that made you happy, did it?"

"Stop joking around. There's no way I'd be happy when I'm the actual perpetrator. But it's true that he's an incompetent student who wouldn't even doubt a clearly suspicious person. That's what I realized."

So she cannot imagine a person like that manipulating Class D from behind the scenes, is what it means.

"That's reasonable, many people would think like that," Hiyori commented.

"Although that has its own set of red flags. On top of all the evidence that points to Ayanokouji, he's shown as an easily trusting person to one of the people hunting him. One of Ryuuen's own posse didn't even think that their main suspect was X," Horikita examined.

"Wouldn't that mean that Ayanokouji thought extremely far ahead? It could mean that he expected Ryuuen to track him down and he tried to deter him by making it so that one person in Ryuuen's group doesn't believe that he's X," Nagumo proposed a theory.

While it may have been a coincidence, Nagumo used the word 'could', but perhaps I'm reading too far into things.

"Perhaps Ayanokouji did or he didn't. It could have been that he manufactured everything to his design, or he simply benefitted from his early machinations by chance. We'll simply have to wait and see," Horikita remarked.

"Do you believe it, Ryuuen-san? That Ayanokouji is X, I mean."

"I've always suspected Ayanokouji. Because he's constantly with Horikita, who herself is said to be exceptional and all."

"But, isn't that way too blatant or more like...way too obvious for someone trying to hide their identity?"

"That's true. I get what you're trying to say, Ishizaki. That's why I also carefully made sure to eliminate all other possibilities. And after learning about the incident with Manabe's group, I delved into it again. Considering the manner in which they handled the matter with Karuizawa's bullying, I thought it had to be either Ayanokouji or Hirata."

"Stop acting cool. You didn't even mark Ayanokouji or Hirata as targets after that, did you?"

Opinions are split even within Class C.

A unique situation where I'm admitting to it while Ibuki and the others are refusing to acknowledge it.

"Did you want this to be a movie or something? Sometimes the most obvious outcome is the correct one," Matsushita criticised.

"It seems that your followers don't agree with your approach. Was that the beginning of the dictator losing the control of his subjects?" Sakayanagi mocked.

Yosuke looked completely unmoved by the fact that he could be seen as the shadow leader.

"I suppose that it makes sense. Me being close with Karuizawa would raise some red flags," Yosuke sighed.

"I guess you weren't the leader, but you're still an entirely different can of worms," Ryuuen laughed thinly.

"It's precisely because I'm the most suspicious one that I deliberately did things that way. Or perhaps I had no other choice but to use Horikita?"

"But--!"

I chose to pose a vague yet gentle question.

"No need to fret, I'm the one you've all been looking for."

"Hah. Now isn't that suspicious? Would you really admit to that yourself? This is way too strange."

Their denial is understandable, all the more so since I had kept myself hidden this whole time.

"I think it's also suspicious. He may have been ordered to name himself as the mastermind to serve as a decoy for the real mastermind..."

Ibuki and Ishizaki urged Ryuuen to reconsider just as he was on the verge of acknowledging it.

"Surely you also predicted that X wouldn't show up here, no?"

"Yes, normally speaking it would be ridiculous to assume someone who's been hiding behind Horikita all this time would just waltz into such an obvious trap."

I suppose it's natural that there'd be some doubts regarding that.

"You seem a lot more confident here than usual. Even in other situations you've never seemed this self-assured," Sakayanagi surmised.

"He would have to be confident in his words when it comes to situations like these. It's a tense situation, it would be bad to show weakness," Nagumo countered.

"It isn't always bad to show weakness. It can at times give opponents a false sense of security that can be exploited. It can be quite beneficial sometimes," Sakayanagi cooly responded.

"Do you think that Ayanokouji is the type to feign weakness in a tense situation? From what I can tell, he fully believes that this situation isn't dangerous," Nagumo had a slight grin on his face.

"When did you become such a fanboy?" Asahina teased.

Surprisingly, Nagumo just laughed at Asahina's comment.

"If that's what you believe then I can't change it," Nagumo laughed.

Even in moments like these, Asahina can tease Nagumo.

"If they don't believe you, then what can you even do?" Ike sighed.

"It's pretty simple, ultimately. Just give them information that only X would know and that only Ayanokouji would know," Horikita stated.

"But they're the same person, so that doesn't make sense," Ike scratched his head.

Horikita sighed. "Okay, listen. Ryuuen and his gang suspect whether Ayanokouji really is X or not, so you have to give information that only Ayanokouji would know. For example, back on the island, it was Ayanokouji, Yamauchi and Sakura that saw Ibuki. Ayanokouji wouldn't have discovered that Ibuki had a camera without evidence, so he must've found that evidence around the time they met."

"Why would it have been only when they met? Why not after?" Sudo was the one to speak this time.

"Ibuki was monitored and stayed near the camp. Also, Ibuki was only able to hide something big like a digital camera before she came into contact with the camp. Therefore, only Ayanokouji would know of the digital camera," Horikita answered.

"Your mind runs like a machine when it comes to his plans," Hashimoto chuckled.

"Looks like a poor move to me, Ayanokouji. In this case, the best move for you would've been to abandon Karuizawa Kei. Not to jump into the fray recklessly. I can't blame Ibuki and Ishizaki for doubting you. If you're really X, tell me how you plan to overcome this predicament."

'That's the only way to prove it' was what Ryuuen added.

"This may be a silly question, but am I currently in a predicament?"

For a moment there, Ryuuen and the others seemed unamused by my foolish question.

"I told you, he's extremely confident. Not just in his own head, but he's outspoken about it as well," Sakayanagi said in a joyful voice.

"Someone that smart wouldn't do this without a plan. Also, if Ayanokouji was just an irrelevant third party then he wouldn't be this outwardly assertive considering who he's with," Kanzaki analysed.

"That's true. There's also the fact that most people wouldn't risk getting beaten up in a situation they have no stakes in. Even for points self-preservation would prevail," Ichinose expanded on Kanzaki's analysis.

It's true that even for points, most people wouldn't sacrifice their own well-being. And there's also the fact that Ryuuen believed that I could have just been an errand boy for Horikita doing whatever she wanted.

"I just came here because Karuizawa asked for help. There's no exam going on right now so proof doesn't even factor into this, does it? If you want proof that I'm X, you can just wait until the next exam."

"That's not true at all. Right now, we're aware of your identity. Furthermore, we're also aware of Karuizawa's secret. Surely you know terrible things will happen tomorrow if you leave without saying anything here."

"Terrible things?"

"Stop playing dumb. Now then, show me your next move."

"There's no move to make. I won't do anything."

"I get it now, Ryuuen-san. Surely Sudou and the others are nearby, waiting for orders, don't you think?"

Ishizaki stared at the half-open door.

"Not really."

But Ryuuen shot him down.

"I-Is that so?"

"If a large number of their classmates happen to see this disastrous scene of Karuizawa's, she'll lose her position without even the need for me to spread it around. Use your head a bit."

If he wasn't sure of that, even Ryuuen won't act this rashly.

"That's a bit of a wild assumption to make. Ayanokouji is unpredictable incarnate in this situation. He could very well have abandoned Karuizawa if it helped defeat you all. At this point, you don't even know if he's X or not, what his mental state is, and his goals. It's too risky to assume everything 100%," Yagami stated

"We thought that Ayanokouji came to save Karuizawa, so he wouldn't do that," Ibuki told Yagami.

"I guess from your point of view it's different," Yagami said after some pondering.

At times some people indeed judge a situation with incomplete information, but the opposite can hold true as well. Ryuuen's gang hadn't understood me as well as the current student cohort. Ryuuen has no previous information of me to go off on, so he has to make decisions quickly and they may at times be misguided.

"I-I see..."

"But you're quite something if you're going to play dumb."

"Enough is enough, Ryuuen. There's no way X would just boldly march up to us alone."

Ibuki counselled Ryuuen.

"Good grief, now this is a problem. Ibuki and Ishizaki apparently don't believe you're X."

Ryuuen shrugged his shoulders and exasperatedly looked over at Ibuki and Ishizaki.

"You said you won't do anything, didn't you Ayanokouji? But I need to ascertain whether this is the truth or not. To do that, I have no choice but to make all this common knowledge. You're fine with that?"

He said that and looked me over with a smile.

"I've already admitted it from the start but if you still won't believe me then allow me to disclose some more information. Ibuki."

I spoke to Ibuki, who just wouldn't stop doubting me.

"During the island exam, you were instructed to film the leader's keycard with your digital camera. But for some reason, at the critical moment, your digital camera malfunctioned and you were left unable to use it. Am I wrong?"

"H-How do you know!?"

"Wow, Suzune. You got the exact example right, too," Sudo complimented.

However, Horikita looked deep in thought.

"I didn't have enough information to go off on previously, but did he really plan this? It seems far too coincidental that the exact example I had mentioned was the same thing he used. But that would mean he's been planning this confrontation for months in advance. He's on a level I can't understand, but could he actually plan that far ahead?" Horikita thought.

"Or marching into enemy territory exactly what X would do. Only a genius could do something that sounds stupid for a normal person," Asahina theorised.

"Looks like you don't care if he's X or not," Kanzaki pointed out.

"Either way it's a win-win. If he's X then this goose chase ends, but if he's not X then I simply get more leads to who this shadow leader is. There's also the fact that I get a better understanding of his mindset," Ryuuen explained.

"Since if Ayanokoji isn't the mastermind, the real X abandoned Karuizawa?" Himeno interjected.

"I guess that would just show how cold X is willing to be for his plans and to keep their identity hidden," Ichinose added.

"I'm the one who broke that camera you hid inside your bag. To make sure I don't leave behind a trace, I used water."

There shouldn't be that many people, even within Class C, who are aware of the fact that they had purchased a digital camera.

"By the way, when I ran into Ibuki, her fingertips were covered with dirt. On top of that, there were traces of soil having been dug up around where she sat. When I looked into it at night, I found a radio buried there. That was so you could communicate with Ryuuen, no?"

If I disclose all this, surely they'd understand it even if they don't want to.

The only ones who saw Ibuki with her dirtied hands back then would be me, Yamauchi and Airi. In other words, it's definitive proof that I'm someone who's noticed even that.

"You've got to admit it now, Ibuki. Ayanokouji is X."

"Wait, wait a minute. Just because he's somewhat smart doesn't mean he's X, does it?"

"Is there even a need to doubt him any further?"

Ryuuen seemed even more exasperated than before.

"What? I could understand before, but now the refusal to believe he is X doesn't make sense. He's giving information that only X would know and I doubt X would willingly disclose it to anyone," Katsuragi was surprised at Ibuki's vehement refusal.

I found the dichotomy interesting between average students and more capable students. The more capable students were actively discussing and going through what was going on, while the average students were dead silent. It wasn't because they didn't know what to say, I feel as though it was because this situation didn't involve them.

It's common for people to lose interest in things if it doesn't involve them and this was what was going on right now. To most students, this is like a movie or TV show that they are viewing, but this is in actuality more like a documentary.

"But isn't it strange? Even if Ayanokouji really is X, pulling the strings from behind the scenes, why would he just obediently show up here!? He's demolished all our plans so far, hasn't he!?"

"He probably has some sort of trick up his sleeve. A miracle that exceeds even our imagination. If not...he'll just be an idiot then."

"Trick? There's no trick I could use in a situation like this. You lot have already grasped Karuizawa's big secret regarding her past. I know what'll happen if I act carelessly. I mean, this situation itself is the result of your preparations to make sure I'm unable to do anything, am I wrong?"

"Hah. What'll you do then? Now we can reveal your existence whenever we want, you know? Now that you've revealed yourself, we no longer have any incentive to reveal Karuizawa's past bullying. If we keep quiet about that then you won't be able to act carelessly either. A perfect stalemate."

"Doesn't look like reporting what was done to Karuizawa here to the school is an option either."

Unlike how it is during exams, violence between students that occur over the course of normal school life doesn't lead to an immediate expulsion.

Even if we're able to provide proof of all that was done, it's doubtful we'll be able to deal any sort of meaningful damage.

"You have a lot of faith in his ability to get out of this situation," Manabu commented.

"I guess I saw it as competing against a mirror of myself. That interested me," Ryuuen wryly chuckled.

"Without a witness, this would be the perfect stalemate. No cameras to see anything, Karuizawa would be dried off and X's identity is revealed. However, there isn't anything for the witness to observe yet. Whatever is damaging for Ryuuen must have not happened yet," Ichinose analysed.

"If you tattle on us, we'll ruin Karuizawa in retaliation."

That's right. If I attempt to penalize Ryuuen for this, I will end up completely losing Karuizawa.

It's very possible that I'd win the battle but lose the war. Having used Karuizawa's past as a means of offense, Ryuuen now switched to defense.

"No matter how you look at it, I'm overwhelmingly in the lead here."

"Aren't you satisfied now that you know the situation? I'll be taking Karuizawa back with me."

"Don't say something so anticlimactic. You're finally here so you might as well take it slowly."

Ryuuen then grabbed Karuizawa's arm and forcibly dragged her up.

"Ahh!"

"There's no way you'd reveal your identity without a reason. What trick do you have up your sleeve? Show me."

He extends the palm of his hand towards me and made a provocative gesture with it several times.

"Pure unbridled arrogance, that's all this was. Ryuuen-senpai thought he was playing a game on equal footing, but he was really at the base of a mountain," Amasawa thought.

"There's one easy way to solve all of this, no?" Yagami said.

"I don't see what could be done at this current point in time. The witness hasn't seen anything, so he's pretty much useless right now. There's no practical evidence that can be used, what could Ayanokouji even do?" Matsushita disagreed.

"It's simple, he just has to sacrifice Karuizawa," Yagami said coldly.

The sudden shift in Yagami's tone left Matsushita temporarily speechless.

"I mean, the only leverage Ryuuen has is Karuizawa's past. If Ayanokouji doesn't care about that then the scales become much moreadvantageous," Yagami continued.

"I guess you're right, but Ayanokouji asked for Karuizawa back. He clearly doesn't want to lose her, so why would he abandon her then?" Matsushita countered.

"Haven't you been paying attention? Ayanokouji's own safety is valued over other people's. While he tries helping others, it becomes irrelevant if he's in danger. I guess this conversation is pointless anyway as none of you knew about Karuizawa's past until these videos. It must mean that he didn't abandon her," Yagami shrugged as he finished his explanation.

"I guess you're right," Matsushita said.

"Sorry, Ryuuen. But it doesn't seem like I'll be able to answer your expectations."

"Huh...?"

"I was just dancing in the palm of your hand. That's all there is to it."

No one here would've expected X to say something like that.

A cruel X who would protect their own identity even if it meant abandoning Karuizawa.

Or perhaps a sharp student who would save Karuizawa while keeping their own identity hidden. They would've thought it'd be either one of those.

A crack finally appeared in the smile that Ryuuen had been wearing this whole time.

"If the X we've been making such a big deal out of finding is a fool like this then we may as well have not found him. Surely what happened with the digital camera was a fluke or something."

Despite being allies with him, Ibuki's always distrusted Ryuuen.

It's precisely because she truly feels that way rather than putting up an act that she questions him so openly.

Seeing an opportunity, I made my next move.

"I did indeed reveal my identity. But that won't come back to bite me immediately. The only ones who know that I've been manipulating Class D from the shadows would be Horikita and Karuizawa. If the other classes come to know of this, it could only have been one of you who leaked it."

"And what's the problem with that?"

"If you're going to reveal my existence then I'll report everything that happened on this rooftop to the school."

"You've just been cornered because you aren't capable of doing that."

"I can do that. I just have to sacrifice Karuizawa."

Yagami's explanation was validated because of my words.

"Hah. It's hard to imagine someone who thought they were the hunter poaching their prey to be dancing in their prey's hands," Nagumo chuckled at my comment.

"But you didn't end up sacrificing Kei unless Ryuuen didn't reveal Kei's past. I can't think of why he wouldn't reveal Kei's past though," Sato grumbled.

"He perhaps didn't reveal it because there was no reason to anymore. If Ayanokouji really abandoned Karuizawa then it would serve no purpose to reveal her past," Matsushita told Sato.

"Ayanokouji didn't abandon Karuizawa," Horikita stated confidently.

Some people were surprised at how she was so self-assured.

"It wouldn't make sense for Karuizawa to defend Ayanokouji in several situations across these videos if he did abandon her. Even if she didn't expel him, she wouldn't go out of her way to protect his social standing," Horikita stated.

It was true that there were times when Kei had defended me or made it so that I could speak by quieting down the class. It wouldn't make sense for her to do that if I had abandoned her. Kei may have not been out to expel me, but she wouldn't help me if our relationship had ended.

"I guess that's true," Sato mumbled.

"...huh?"

"You assumed I'd abandon Karuizawa. But when I showed up you started talking based on the assumption that this wasn't the case. Am I wrong?"

"Now that doesn't add up. If you had abandoned her from the beginning, you may have been able to conceal your identity. You came because that wasn't an option. Don't bluff now."

"It's fine...if they know about Kiyotaka then they can also reveal my secret."

While slowly pushing herself back up from the floor, Karuizawa looked at me. I immediately averted my eyes back towards Ryuuen.

"Or so she says. It's up to you whether you believe it or not but it'll be the fight of your life if that happens."

"Umm...since we've uncovered X's identity, wouldn't that suffice for now?"

"I agree. He might actually sacrifice her."

This was all originally done for the sake of flushing X out. Ishizaki and Ibuki don't want to go any further than this.

"...kuku."

For some reason, Ryuuen clutched his head and began laughing while shaking.

"You're certainly right in that war may break out once either side reveals their secret. I'll admit that."

Deep or shallow aside, both sides would be left with scars.

Furthermore, depending on how you consider it, there's no guarantee that Karuizawa would receive a lethal blow. The image of a girl who stood back up despite the bullying she received in the past would form on its own.

If Ryuuen calls it quits here then that'd put an end to all this.

However--

This man will never choose such an option.

"You know me so well. How often did you spend think of me?" Ryuuen joked.

"You're a lot smarter than I thought. You even concluded that they're making assumptions based on the fact that Ayanokouji-senpai showed up because he wanted to save Karuizawa-senpai," Amasawa said with a sly grin directed at Yagami.

Yagami promptly denied her a response.

"On one side, Ryuuen could face expulsions if Ayanokouji abandoned Karuizawa and reported him, but on the other side, Ayanokouji's identity is revealed then he's pushed into the limelight. Without any defining proof for the witness to use, both sides will lose in some way," Ichinose examined.

A total stalemate where no side is going to win without any damage is probably what most people thought of this situation right now. Manabu kept his distance so that Ryuuen would attack believing he was safe. Of course, the students don't know that Ryuuen was the one who attacked first, so they can't make any conclusions yet.

"I wonder if things are still going according to this plan you have," Kiryuuin smirked.

"To be honest, it's been a letdown so far. Not only revealing your identity so easily, but you also have no choice but to leave your fate in the hands of your enemies in order to protect yourself. But even then, there's still no doubt that Ayanokouji is the X who kept me entertained. Then I'll be losing out if I don't make you entertain me to the very end. Right, Ishizaki?"

"Y-Yes."

"For me, everything's a game. Not just climbing to Class A but crushing Ichinose, crushing Suzune, all of that's an extension of that game for me. Crushing Class D or crushing Class B and even Sakayanagi, who I've saved for last, is but a means for me to kill time."

"I'm flattered you've saved me for last. I think of you as nothing more than an Ayanokouji lite, so it should be good practice," Sakayanagi giggled.

"It'll be good fun to go against you. After all, you're nothing more than a girl version of that narcissist," Ryuuen responded with just as much enthusiasm.

While laughing, Ryuuen grabbed hold of Karuizawa's bangs. Karuizawa's face contorted in pain.

But there's no longer any fear in her eyes.

"Kuku...even though you despaired so much, now it's like you were never even afraid. I feel stupid for doubting whether Ayanokouji is X or not. Your eyes tell me you have absolute faith in Ayanokouji. It almost feels like you'd go ahead and reveal your own past if I were to reveal Ayanokouji's identity. You can relax. Your role here is clearly over with this."

Having lost interest in Karuizawa, he released his grip on her hair and shoved her by the shoulder.

The similar resentment that was present during Ryuuen's brutal torture of Kei was rising once again.

"I wonder, is there no fear in your eyes because Ayanokouji's present or if you aren't scared of your past being revealed?" Nagumo thought.

"You sure entertained me, Ayanokouji. Despite being a defective product of Class D, you saw through my strategies again and again. Not only that, your modus operandi is even similar to my own. It was impossible for me to not be interested in you. To draw the mastermind out of hiding. That became pleasure to me. I haven't thought beyond that. I thought I'd consider it after meeting you."

He poured his heart out ever so talkatively and pleasantly.

"And then I decided."

"...what are you planning to do to Ayanokouji?"

"Why are you so pissed off, Ibuki?"

Ibuki took her distance from me and fearlessly approached Ryuuen until she was right in front of him.

"What you're about to do now is something that puts Class C at risk."

"Kuku. You were always a lone wolf, never cooperating with your classmates and yet here you are, saying something like 'this puts Class C at risk'. Don't make me laugh."

"I followed you this far because I thought the class stood to benefit from your recklessness. But this one's over the line. Ayanokouji clearly has nothing left up his sleeve."

As though spitting out all the resentment bottled up inside her, Ibuki continued.

"This is like a domestic dispute," Hashimoto commented.

"It's like you're pouring out a love confession you've kept hidden inside you for years," Sakayanagi giggled.

"You're confrontation was like a stalker reading out a creepy letter they've written. Kinda sad, honestly," Ryuuen retorted.

"That's why I cannot approve of what you're about to do."

"Do you know what I'm about to do?"

"I can tell after having known you since April. You're going to make him yield through violence, aren't you?"

Having heard that, Ishizaki froze up a bit.

"Ishizaki, Komiya, Kondou and even Albert have all been made to yield to you through violence."

"Wait, you beat Albert in a fight?" Katsuragi was shocked.

"Not the kind you're thinking of, but yes. The wording is what's important. Albert was made to yield through violence, in other words, he gave up on fighting me," Ryuuen explained.

"So a fight did end up breaking out between you and Ayanokouji. But I don't remember seeing Ayanokouji injured at all during the holidays," Hiyori pondered.

"This is like a live experiment, isn't it?" Amasawa randomly claimed.

"An experiment? What the hell are you talking about?" Kamuro questioned Amasawa.

"Every experiment has an aim and hypothesis, no? And every hypothesis has an independent and dependent variable. The independent variable in this case is Ayanokouji and the dependent variable is how the fight ends up going. The aim of the experiment is to determine how effective the White Room's martial arts training regiment is in an actual fight," Amasawa giggled like she was enjoying explaining this.

The only other physical fight I've been in was with Manabu at the beginning of the first year, but that level of skill I displayed could be achieved by other normal people who are invested in martial arts. The White Rooms' actual level of mastery is going to be shown through this incident.

"It's best to demonstrate the difference in power between us."

"Isn't the difference already obvious?"

"It's true that we've been had many times now by Ayanokouji. We need to return the favor."

"That's why I'm telling you that sort of thinking is going to spell trouble for the class!"

Bang! A sharp sound reverberated.

The cause of that sound was Ryuuen slapping Ibuki's cheek with the palm of his hand.

Ibuki went silent immediately afterwards.

"I couldn't care less as long as I'm enjoying it. Violence in particular is easy to understand."

Just like what happened now. It almost seemed as though he was trying to get that point across. As I suspected, that's the conclusion he's reached. Now that calling it a misunderstanding and shrugging it off is no longer possible, it has become an inevitability.

The suddenness of that slap caused a few people to flinch.

"I can't really blame you for thinking that you have this fight in the bag. Four people against one is already tough, but those four people are also familiar with fighting. It's hard to imagine you losing," Nagumo examined.

The tone in which Nagumo said it was interesting. As if there was a silent 'but' at the end of the sentence. Nagumo fully understood my physical strength on the island, so he could understand the outcome of this fight better than most people.

"So that means Ishizaki's rebellion story was faked and that Ayanokouji was the one who fought instead. Although I don't understand why that story existed in the first place," Kaneda analysed.

At this point, every student has accepted that a fight has taken place. They know that Ryuuen lost that fight due to the injuries he walked around during the holidays. The unknown in this situation are how Ishizaki's 'rebellion' story came to be.

"Listen up, the important thing here is what we do with the information we've acquired from the other party. Ayanokouji wants to keep what happened here as well as his identity and Karuizawa's matter a secret. It's also true that we blackmailed Karuizawa and dumped freezing water on her. If, by any chance, word of this gets out, we'll surely be punished severely. In short, as long as both sides continue to keep what happens here a secret, no one else will know no matter what happens here."

Considering the developments so far, it's not that difficult to make that deduction. By using Karuizawa's past and my identity as a shield, it ensures what happens here will never leak.

"No matter what happens, both sides have no choice but to meekly accept it."

Despite that, Class C wants to pick a fight.

"I think I understand why you revealed your identity this late. Now this makes it impossible for us to fight out of bounds. Shut the door, Albert."

After receiving that order from Ryuuen, Albert closed the door that leads back into the school.

"But it's still a bad move. You may have thought it would all end here but I won't let that happen."

Everyone here can already tell what's going to happen next.

Ryuuen won't change his ways.

"Is anyone really surprised? He doesn't care about his class if they get in the way of his confrontation. He won't change his ways after he's spent months chasing Ayanokouji down just because it could harm his class," Kanzaki commented in an objective tone.

"This is going to be fun as fuck. Watching your ass get handed to you is something awesome," Hosen laughed.

"I suppose my retreat has been cut off. Now you're free to take this in the direction you desire."

"First I'll put the fear on that apathetic face of yours. Are you underestimating me? Thinking I wouldn't do anything reckless."

"Are you really going to resort to violence?"

"Conflict isn't always a mental affair. Violence is the most powerful force in this world. This applies to a general leading his forces and is also a brilliant means to assassinate said general both. No matter how crafty you may be, you will be forced to yield before violence."

Even now, as the situation seems as though a fight were about to break out, I looked over at Ryuuen, Ibuki, Ishizaki and Albert one by one for a moment.

"I'm going to commit your pathetic appearance to memory and then I'll call it quits. Because I'll be moving onto Ichinose come the third semester after all."

"People do yield before violence, that's for sure. Your logic is sound there. But to carry out that logic, you need to be stronger than the other guy. Do you understand that?"

"Huh?"

"The four of you here won't be enough to stop me."

There was a sudden silence.

"Pride cometh before the fall, huh? I guess Ryuuen and I have that in common. Ayanokouji's total confidence here isn't arrogance or ego, he fully believes in himself. It isn't like he's delusional. If he couldn't win in a physical confrontation then he would understand and accept that, but he knows that he'll win, and that's what's so terrifying. But also something to be in awe of," Nagumo thought.

"So that's where you got that condescending quote from," Horikita scoffed at Ryuuen.

At first, I had no idea what Horikita was talking about, but then it came back to me. Ryuuen had quoted me about violence not being useful if you aren't the strongest. I honestly forgot about that since it was so long ago.

"I have no doubt in my mind that Ayanokouji had won in this confrontation. This isn't because of some analysis or anything logical, it's because Ayanokouji is the one person who I believe is capable enough to dominate that much. He's like a ball of abnormality that goes against all expectations. If something goes against all conventions and societal norms, how can I say that it's possible to analyse it?" Ichinose thought.

"...?".

Unable to understand, Ibuki raised an eyebrow.

"Kukukukukukukukukukuku."

Seems it found it exceedingly funny because Ryuuen's laughing his heart out.

"What Ayanokouji is trying to say is this: I won't be made to yield through violence by the likes of you. Then show me the extent of that confidence of yours. Ishizaki."

"I-Is it really okay?"

Ishizaki unexpectedly hesitated upon receiving the order to attack. It would be a different story against someone infamous for getting into fights like Sudou but I'm just an ordinary student.

His hesitation is understandable even when under orders.

"Don't hold back, get him."

"But..."

"There'll be no problem even if we give Ayanokouji a thorough beating".

"Wait!"

When Ishizaki approached me, it was Karuizawa's scream that stopped him.

"Why are you doing something this stupid!? You won't gain anything from beating Kiyotaka up, will you!?"

"Hey, don't just cut in like that, Karuizawa. Your role is over. You can relax, your past won't be revealed anymore thanks to this guy's sacrifice. Just be grateful to him."

He then grabbed hold of Karuizawa's hair once again the same way he did when dumping water on her.

"!"

And then shoved Karuizawa to the back, just like that.

No one was surprised by Ryuuen's barbaric actions. However, they were impressed by Kei's tenacity to defend me.

"I guess there really wasn't any fear left in you," Sakayanagi remarked.

"The thought is nice, but it won't really do anything," Hashimoto stated.

"That's true, but it doesn't hurt to try. Well, she did get pushed but that's not much damage," Sakayanagi shrugged as she came to the end of her sentence.

"So Ishizaki is first, huh? Honestly, it kinda feels like you don't want to fight Ayanokouji," Hiyori stated her thoughts.

"I didn't want to fight him. Not because I was scared or anything, it was because I thought it was pointless. Ayanokouji explained it better than I could, but I just didn't want to beat someone up if there was no reason to," Ishizaki explained.

Many people could understand his reasoning. It's a part of life to do things you may not like to do. Ishizaki's situation may be rare in a literal sense, but at its core, he's simply doing something his boss is telling him to do. While adults may do things because they fear getting fired, Ishizaki did things because he feared what would happen to his physical well-being.

"That's why I'm telling you to stay out of this."

Nevertheless, Karuizawa bared her fangs at Ryuuen for my sake.

She tried to get back up and jump onto Ryuuen.

"Don't worry, Karuizawa."

I called out to Karuizawa and made her stop.

"B-But."

"There's no need for concern."

"That's right, save that concern for yourself."

Ishizaki stepped forward.

"Don't think badly of me, Ayanokouji. This is just another order from Ryuuen-san."

"I don't care either way."

Now that we've come to this, it's all going according to plan.

Those words acted like a bomb causing a chain reaction.

"This entire thing is planned out, huh? If this is all really planned then your end goal since you've come onto the roof was to cause a fight. However, those words are equivocal. The plan could be the fight on the rooftop or everything for the past few months," Tsubaki analysed.

Nagumo's earlier words had planted a seed inside people's heads. The students believed that I had just been talking about the confrontation on the rooftop, but now they wonder if this was something in a much larger scheme altogether.

Ishizaki casually swung his fist, as though to swat a disobedient baby.

The students watched on as if they were in a trance.

A dull motion even an elementary school student or a middle school student would've been able to dodge. I caught the right fist he swung mightily at me with my right hand.

"Ahh...?"

"Ishizaki, if you're going to do this then you should take it seriously."

I warned him just once. But Ishizaki still doesn't seem to understand even after I've stopped his fist.

Because it would've inevitably been stopped. Probably because the strength that stopped it is nothing out of the ordinary. I used my left hand's grip strength to clench down on Ishizaki's right fist.

"Oh? Ahh, uuu, ehh...!?"

Ishizaki's expression slowly changed bit by bit and his knees began trembling.

"Wait a minute, Ishizaki?"

Realizing that this is clearly strange, Ibuki looked back.

"Ahh, uuuu, ahh! I-I can't, stop!"

No longer able to hold himself upright, his knees buckled and he fell to the cold floor of the rooftop on his knees. Perhaps no longer able to endure it, Ishizaki desperately clutched my arm with his left hand and tried to tear it away but to no avail.

Every single person watched on as Ishizaki completely got decimated.

"Is it really something a kid could dodge?" Ishizaki asked Ryuuen with a downcast expression.

Ryuuen chose not to respond.

"Your surprise is probably what a bunch of people feel right now," Amasawa told Ibuki.

The one who first grasped this situation was neither Ibuki nor Ryuuen but the one behind me, Albert.

The black shadow approaches.

Before even getting permission from his boss, Albert waved his thick arms around like a pole and swung.

The reason he attacked me from my free left side may be because he anticipated I would take a defensive posture after Ishizaki frees himself. Still, that's unnecessary concern. I could've dodged there but I instead received his punch with the palm of my left hand instead, all the while prepared to sustain some damage.

"Prepared? Your fucking pain tolerance is insane," Sudo exclaimed in surprise.

"A full-powered punch from that guy could probably give people serious damage," Ike said.

I didn't really know what to say, it was just what I thought to be the natural move at the time.

Bash. A dull sound reverberated.

A powerful force went through my elbow all the way up to the tip of my shoulder.

"...as expected, it hurts..."

It's difficult to tell Albert's expression underneath his sunglasses but surely he's grasped the situation sufficiently too.

"You've got to be kidding...a-are you fooling around, Albert? Ishizaki?"

Perhaps from a distance, Ibuki couldn't tell that Albert had swung with all his might and Ishizaki is genuinely in pain.

Or perhaps this is a spectacle she doesn't want to believe is true.

When I released him from the pressure of my right hand, Ishizaki crouched down and clutched his own right arm.

"Do it, Albert."

Orders came from Ryuuen.

Albert came charging in with that robust body of his while swinging those massive arms of his. Damage will accumulate if I continue to receive powerful attacks that go beyond what the human body is designed to withstand.

I deliberately allowed him to land a hit the first time around but I can't afford to be hit any more than this.

After evading the left hook he threw, I retaliated with a frontal attack. I plunged my fist into Albert's abdomen. I could've held back there but I cannot afford to do so against an opponent whose ability is still unmeasured. A slight change occurred on Albert's expressionless face but only ever so slightly.

Judging from the sturdy feeling I felt upon directly hitting him with my fist, the damage is shallow. I could tell that not only is he blessed with a body a pure Japanese person wouldn't possess, he's also trained it to a considerable extent.

In that case, all that means is that it'll just take more effort for me to break through that steel-like body. Humans have countless spots that can be referred to as weak points. For instance, the solar plexus is an area you cannot train.

Of course, I shouldn't prematurely assume a hit there would result in an instant knockout. At best, it's only an area you cannot train. It's still possible to endure the pain. Albert himself also seems to have realized that I'm aiming for his solar plexus, because he twisted his large body to evade it.

But I saw that coming and used the tip of my hand to strike his throat.

"You're a goddamn super-computer. That bait-and-switch takes serious quick thinking," Hosen laughed.

Of course, Hosen would understand fighting to a much higher extent than everyone else in the room.

"I know this White Room place has great teachers and all, but this seems superhuman. That pain tolerance is one thing, but to battle an opponent with such a large size difference is something else all together," Kanzaki said in awe.

Size difference is key in fighting. A larger person may have a larger reach and if they get their hands on a smaller person, the smaller person would lose in a strength contest. It's why professional fighting organisations have split up the fighters based on weight to make fights fairer.

"!"

Albert made a gargling noise.

"Ayanokouji!"

Behind me, Ishizaki shouted and charged me.

"...if you're going to attack me then don't shout..."

While exasperated at Ishizaki for saving me the trouble, I kicked his left knee that he was using to brace himself.

He's way too obvious.

After confirming that Albert behind he has completely collapsed, I spun around and kicked him in the face.

And then I punched Ishizaki in the jaw with my left hand.

Ishizaki collapsed and silence fell upon the rooftop.

All Ryuuen, Ibuki and Karuizawa could do was to burn that unbelievable sight into their memories.

The students were all in awe.

"So this is what the White Room has created. Their precipice of strength and intelligence all put into a lean package. Ayanokouji has been stated to be the best, but I wonder to what level. Could the runner-ups also dominate to this extent?" Manabu thought.

"You decimated your enemies with ease. I'm impressed, Ayanokouji. That bait-and-switch was eloquently used to defeat the large giant, and your pure strength defeated the smaller one without expending much energy. A kick and a jaw in such quick succession would wobble even champions, but a normal person would definitely be knocked out," Yagami praised.

"I wouldn't expect any less. If you couldn't do this then I'd be disappointed. The fact that Ryuuen still remains in the school and he seems more mature means that you had something planned for him along with Karuizawa. This obsession with the growth of others doesn't make sense to me, but it's interesting to watch," Yagami thought.

"Apparently he's more than we expected him to be. The reason he acted so arrogantly was because he had confidence in his skills, huh? This sure is unexpected".

"So you're saying that the stage we prepared ended up favoring Ayanokouji? What does that mean...?"

"Are you serious, Ibuki?"

"Ehh...?"

"You've known for a long time now that Ryuuen is the type of person who'd use violence to dominate his enemies. On top of that, don't you think setting up a situation where no amount of violence would cause a problem is just too convenient for Class C?"

"Huh?"

As Ibuki tilted her head, a doubt seems to have arisen within Ryuuen as well.

"Wait a minute, Ayanokouji. Even I don't understand this. This is a situation I set up."

"Even though I'm acting this diplomatically here, you still don't see the real situation?"

After sighing, I decided to spoil it all for him.

"Our confrontation here has been predetermined for a long time now. And also the fact that in a situation where neither of us would be able to tattle on the other, Ryuuen Kakeru would resort to violence to settle things."

Ryuuen thinks that everything's that happened so far is the result of him meticulously planning ahead.

But that would be a huge mistake.

Every student was engrossed in the fight, but this small interaction left them stunned.

"I wouldn't expect anything else. To create such a long strategy so long ago is the meticulous planning I expect from a rival," Sakayanagi sadistically smiled at Ryuuen's getting played.

"To plan something so long ago... I don't even know where to begin. I thought you were responding to whatever Ryuuen threw at you, but it's the opposite," Kanzaki was shocked.

Everyone thought to themselves about how far I planned this.

"If I never intended on having my identity revealed, then I wouldn't have used Manabe in the first place. It's clear as day that a search for the culprit would begin as soon as I made her a spy and had her send me the recorded footage. And just like a true dictator, you'd narrow it down to Manabe's group. And that's where you heard it from, right? That they were blackmailed after attacking Karuizawa and that they had no other choice."

So far, Ryuuen cannot deny a single thing. Naturally, of course.

"You confirmed that Karuizawa's connected to me. All that's left is how you choose to execute it. For that reason, you thought strangling us would be most effective. You had Ishizaki, Komiya and the others tail Class D and openly approached Kouenji so you could put the pressure on X. Well, I suppose you were genuinely enjoying yourself but you may have ended up giving me time to think."

"Kukuku. Now you're saying some interesting things. So you're saying you only made it look as though you were dancing in the palm of my hand?"

"To be more precise, I made it look like I was dancing in the palm of your hand when in fact, you had been dancing in mine."

"This level of planning and control of a situation is unprecedented. You're incredible, Ayanokouji. If you're the best from this White Room facility then the runner-ups must still be on a level far above the average person," Horikita praised.

Many people seemed to agree with her.

"I can see where that endless respect comes from now. Right, Horikita-senpai?" Nagumo chuckled as he tilted his head toward Manabu's direction.

Manabu sighed and looked back toward the screen.

"Then allow me to apologize, Ayanokouji. You really are a sharp one. The advantage I held until a while ago has vanished entirely and now I'm the one in a big pinch. What shall we do, Ibuki?"

After hearing the full story from me, Ryuuen still laughed happily even after seeing what I'm capable of.

"You really are weird. Even after getting your plan seen through you're having fun," Kanzaki told him.

"There's a certain level of fun in seeing an enemy being so interesting," Ryuuen chuckled.

"What's the matter with you... both you and Ayanokouji...!"

As though hitting me with her frustrations, Ibuki sent a flying kick towards me.

She doesn't seem concerned with the fact that her underwear is visible.

That detail took away the immersion everyone had.

"You noticed underwear in a situation like that?" Kei told me.

"They were in my face so the thought ran through my mind," I said.

"You really are a pervert," Kei's words were negative, but her face was turning slightly red.

"This guy... he doesn't even care that I'm annoyed. I would show mine to him if he asked nicely, but that offer is off the table now. Yeah! If he asks then I'll coldly tell him no. No doubt in my mind that's what I'll do. No doubt at all..." Kei thought.

No, to be precise she may no longer possess the rationality to care for such things. I stepped back and calmly evaded her kick.

Ibuki's switch has probably been flipped too.

She took several steps to close the distance between us and attacked me with a kick that left little room to dodge.

What a brilliant move.

Despite the fact that Horikita had been sick then, it is still true that she's strong enough to beat Horikita.

Ibuki laughed as she took a glance at Horikita's annoyed face.

"Whatever, that's just your opinion. I'd ask for your explanation, but I know that you won't give it," Horikita grumbled.

The previously calm and collected Horikita was now acting like she doesn't want an explanation because I won't explain it to her. Well, she's right, but it would still be nice to hear her ask nicely.

"Tch."

When I evaded all her kicks at the last possible moment, Ibuki stopped attacking for a moment and clicked her tongue in irritation.

"What are you really...?"

"Can you really not believe it even after seeing all this?"

"You piss me off. I don't know why but you piss me off!"

Ibuki leaped towards me again and I immediately closed the distance between us.

"!?"

I don't mind playing along but it's not a good idea to drag this out.

I didn't give Ibuki the chance to dodge or block before grabbing her neck and slamming her to the ground.

Ibuki's eyes widened before she lost consciousness right afterwards and stopped moving.

Hitting her head would've given me more certainty but it's not like this is a fight to the death.

This brought the mood down.

"Was that ever put into practice or was it theory?" Amasawa giggled.

I chose not to respond.

"It isn't too hard to figure out what he meant. Essentially, if this was a dangerous situation, a kick to the head was the most effective method to neutralise a threat. It's not as if he would really do it in this situation," Sakayanagi calmly explained.

"Violence isn't something Ryuuen and his group have monopolized".

Ibuki, Ishizaki and Albert. Now that the students who could be referred to as Ryuuen's right hand men have all collapsed, there's only one person left standing. Seeing all of this play out before her, Karuizawa was left unable to speak a word.

"I suppose it's commendable that you're still able to maintain your rationality even after seeing this situation."

"So you're not just sharp but also first class when it comes to violence. I underestimated you."

Clapping as though to express genuine respect, Ryuuen walked up to me.

"Do you know what else I want to say, Ayanokouji?"

"Not a clue."

Not feeling the gravity of the situation one bit, Ryuuen proceeds to calmly make an analysis.

His nonchalant behavior surely isn't merely a bluff. A characteristic Ryuuen and Ryuuen alone excels at.

That's the very reason why he's able to continue acting this boldly.

"Is your brain broken or something? How aren't you even a little bit scared?" Sudo exclaimed.

"I guess I was just born like that. Maybe I need it beat into me," Ryuuen chuckled.

"While being fearless in many situations is an admirable trait, it doesn't help when it's accompanied by arrogance. It just means you don't know your limits and when to stop," Sakayanagi analysed.

Ryuuen had no fear. No fear for his safety or for his associates safety. While one could say that he wasn't limited by his fear, it still meant that he couldn't stop when he was in a dangerous situation. Ryuuen could continue to put himself in dangerous situations due to his lack of fear, and that was an incredible double-edged sword. He could do things and make plans others weren't capable of doing, but he also may suffer the most if he loses.

"Physical strength alone doesn't decide victory or defeat when it comes to violence. It's about how strong your heart is."

Ryuuen then lowers his stance while extending his left fist.

He's not aiming for my face, he's aiming for my abdomen.

I leaped backwards to evade it. Ryuuen immediately closes the distance in pursuit and this time, he extends his dominant right fist.

"Sorry but I have no intention of taking your attacks."

After evading that, I launched my own attack.

I extended my right arm to grab hold of Ryuuen's bangs. He reacted immediately and slapped my arm away with his left hand--right after that, my kick connected with Ryuuen's ribs.

"!?"

The moment he got distracted by my right arm, I launched my attack.

He distanced himself from me to avoid a consecutive series of attacks.

"Not bad, Ryuuen."

It goes without saying, of course, that his strength is far beyond the likes of Ishizaki. I'm honestly impressed.

Even though he had received a rather heavy blow, there's still no sign of him keeling over.

"This is fun~"

He said so and laughed.

But I still don't believe his talent is outstanding enough to beat Albert.

Many people weren't sure about what he could have done to make Albert yield.

"Even in a situation like this Ryuuen isn't scared. He can't understand the real danger he's been put in, and that's what makes it even more incredible that Ayanokouji broke him. He looked so pitiful walking around for the next few months completely idle and purposeless. Being brave is to be preferred. Having the fear to assess a situation and whether it's really worth it is better when compared to being reckless and putting your own wellbeing at risk," Sakayanagi thought.

The students were enthralled by the fight. While some students don't like the use of violence, they felt Ryuuen had this coming. However, they were also confused by him.

"The way he fights here is completely different to on the island. He used his teammates to their full extent back on that green rock, but here he's being a lone wolf and getting beat. What happened to you?" Hosen thought.

"This comeback after having been driven to the brink of despair. I can't get enough of it, Ayanokouji."

His smile is wider than ever before and he continues attacking without holding back one bit.

His movements aren't that of a martial arts he learned. It's a self-taught style he picked up from the various battlefields he's overcome. I can't afford to keep dodging all his attacks perfectly.

It's easy to fight back but I accepted his blows while maintaining my guard.

After I received the fourth punch, Ryuuen spoke.

"Why won't you fight back? Surely you can do so boldly."

"I've got my own circumstances here."

"Really? Then I'll hear them out after I beat you."

"Do you think you can win?"

"Kuku. Do you think you're invincible?"

"...sorry, but I can hardly imagine losing."

"From what you've shown before, I doubt anyone thinks you could lose in a fight," Horikita praised.

"You're like an addict. Somehow you love the feeling of putting fear in others," Katsuragi criticised.

"People like it when they win, right? I'm a little different. I liked the feeling of a person losing. The difference is paper thin, but I like it when another person is scared rather than me winning," Ryuuen shrugged.

The feeling of fear was embedded within Ryuuen, but that doesn't mean his core nature would change. I don't know what caused him to develop such an immunity to fear, but that immunity eventually lead to an obsession with destroying his enemies.

"You'll probably win here. But what about tomorrow? What about the day after?"

"So you're saying it's not certain if we keep repeating it?"

"What about when you're in the toilet? While you're shitting? I'll attack you from all angles."

"Are you not afraid of losing?"

"I've never felt fear. Not once before."

"No fear, eh?"

Now that's interesting.

In all likelihood, this is the source of Ryuuen's confidence.

"You'll understand once you feel pain. One slowly learns fear after that."

"Then teach me that so-called pain of yours".

"As much as you desire and more!"

When Ryuuen grabbed hold of my shoulders, he struck me with a high-speed kick to the abdomen.

"Kiyotaka--!"

Karuizawa screamed in worry.

But it was an attack I intended to receive, nothing to worry about there.

"You'll understand if you get hit twice or thrice! Hah!"

As though aiming for the same spot, Ryuuen stamped down with his left leg. As he stamps down, he closes the distance between us and I guarded my face with my left arm.

He extended his right arm and struck my right knee with it after winding it up. The most critical hit yet today. I lay on my back while feeling pain rush through my body.

"You did that on purpose, huh? I agree with Ryuuen that pain leads to fear, but I doubt it would work for you anyway since you have a high pain tolerance," Nagumo examined.

"Man, having that many punches and still not changing expression is crazy," Ike exclaimed.

"These guys haven't seen anything yet," Hosen thought.

"How's that? Do you understand now?"

"...unfortunately I don't get anything. It's just pain spreading through my body."

"Are you trying to say that you're like me, that you feel no fear?"

"That's not it, Ryuuen. That's not what I mean".

I know fear that's caused by pain.

I know how miserable and terrifying it feels to be a loser.

I've seen people break down in front of my eyes countless times.

But after a while, it stopped being fear.

I just felt cold.

Because I realized that no matter how much suffering and despair others go through, I myself will never have to experience the same.

As long as I possess the means to protect myself, all is fine. As long as I'm safe, that means I'm the victor.

Yagami POV:

So you felt so much that you eventually became numb, huh?

To protect yourself you cut away anything that could be used against you. You fled the White Room to get freedom and then created a fake personality. At every moment, you have tried to defy the White Room. I seemed to have misunderstood you.

I mourn for you, Ayanokouji. I mourn not for your past, but for your life. No one ever mourns you for existing, the only person who does so is yourself. It's the reason why you fight, so that you can be different from the Ayanokouji Kiyotaka created in the White Room. You despise your circumstances, you despise your power, and you may even despise the world. However, by doing that, you came to accept your life.

How wonderful.

I don't have the courage to do that. I've been chasing nothing but the wishes of another person. The only way I believe my life will have purpose is if I defeat you. The only way I could live in this world without being an empty shell of a human being.

I'm simply just here, yearning for something I want, yearning for something that could give me a reason to live. Throughout my time in the White Room, I despised you. Not because of who you were, it was because you were an obstacle in the way of something that could give me meaning.

I believe that becoming the best thing the White Room created could be like a cure for my broken and hollow soul. A soul that's just a bottomless pit of insecurity.

I'm scared.

Scared that I'll just end up as one of the meaningless failures that came out of the White Room. Scared that I'll end up as nothing but another person that tried to catch up to you. Scared that I can't defeat you.

I realise now that you're different from what I perceived. You aren't something that meaningless machinations from the shadows can defeat. If I am to defeat you, then I can't just be in the shadows as I am now, because if I do that, I may end up accomplishing nothing. My ambitions may die in this place without a meaningful confrontation.

"What a sad life. The fact that someone can be so scared that they don't feel any more fear makes me dejected. People either break or rise up to the challenge, but to stand up to the challenge there may be consequences. Is the Ayanokouji right now the result of those consequences? In order to carry on, he continued to endure. And he did that by burying a part of himself. He's a bad person, but he didn't choose to be that way," Ichinose thought.

"Let's play some more!"

Ryuuen screamed and concentrated fire on my abdomen several times over.

By lowering my knee a bit, I was able to intercept Ryuuen's kick.

"Tch! So you predicted it!"

I'll deal with it patiently, through dodging it. I won't let any critical injury befall me.

"You want to play, Ayanokouji? Why aren't you dodging attacks you could've dodged?"

"I was conducting an experiment to see whether I'd really feel that fear you just described."

"Just how much are you underestimating me, you bastard."

Ayanokouji POV:

"I don't think he was underestimating you, he's just showing you your place," Amasawa giggled.

Ryuuen clicked his tongue but didn't respond.

Even though he senses the difference in power between us, Ryuuen continued to maintain that momentum.

It would be a different story if he were on a berserker rage but when one gets into a fight, the more one is confident in their own skills, the more they will despair upon sensing the difference in power. But I can't sense that from him.

Even while he dominated, I had incorporated miscalculations into my moves and by making a comeback, I had expected to shatter his spirit. In that sense, I suppose I did miscalculate a bit.

Of course, I simply misread his upper limit and it's not a problem to be worried over. All it means is that one extra step has been added to the process of shattering his spirit.

All it means is that Ryuuen will have to go through that much more pain.

"So you did intend to break him. I suppose Ryuuen's own unending lack of fear exceeded your expectations," Nagumo commented.

"It's an oversight, but it isn't an oversight that mattered. Especially in a physical battle, if one has a high chance of winning, making a slight mistake isn't world ending," Horikita analysed.

"I was wondering why he wasn't all that injured yet. I mean, all those bandages needed to be put somewhere," Sakayanagi chuckled.

"Where did you acquire that sort of strength? This isn't normal, Ayanokouji..."

It is true that this isn't a level you'll reach by just getting into fights and what not.

I didn't answer, I simply closed the distance between me and Ryuuen step by step.

It's obvious that his sharp eyes are focused on me.

"So you've been lurking behind the scenes even though you possess this much power. How does it feel? To look down on small fry day to day? I bet it feels as good as ejaculating, no?"

People looked at Ryuuen with repulsed expressions. I guess the phrasing was off-putting in such a situation.

"I've never once thought of looking down on them or anything. Because whether others succeed or fail have nothing to do with me."

"From what this White Room place sounds like, you need that sort of apathy to survive," Yagami surmised.

"I'm still a little surprised that you hinted to this place when we first started watching these things," Kiryuuin mentioned.

While some people who remembered my past words thought the same as her, the people who didn't remember what I had said were baffled.

"He hinted to this place? You guys have some crazy memory since I don't remember anything like that," Ike sighed.

"Ike, all Ayanokouji really said was that he competed against other peple and that they were above average for their age. Everything he said was something we would find out eventually," Horikita explained to Ike.

"I guess I kinda remember something like that. But it's hard to keep track of every random thing people say," Ike grumbled.

Perhaps he didn't like that answer. Ryuuen laughed while brushing his hair back.

"There's no possible way that's true. Humans are all bundles of greed."

He rejects me, denying the possibility of an entirely apathetic being existing. Of course, even I feel many things you could call greed.

But that's a story for another time.

In all likelihood, nothing's going to change even if I play with him any more than this.

I assumed my stance again.

"Then I'll pulverize you until you do feel fear!"

That's enough, Ryuuen.

The suddenness of those words made everyone stop. The calm were anxious and the silent ones looked as if their thoughts froze.

I grabbed Ryuuen's right arm as he shifted his leg to knee me in the face and forcibly pulled him in for a merciless right hook to the face.

"Gah--!?".

Having received a blow powerful enough to blast his consciousness away, Ryuuen flew away.

But I won't reap his consciousness with a single blow.

I restrained myself to stop one step short of doing so.

I straddled Ryuuen as he fell to the concrete and I started raining down blows left and right.

"You mentioned you never felt fear, didn't you Ryuuen?"

"Haa...haa...kuku, that's right. I don't understand fear. I've never once felt it."

Despite having half his field of vision blocked by the swelling and bruising, Ryuuen fought back from underneath me.

But his strength is now impaired and soon enough, he's begun swinging and missing.

In response, I rained down a powerful yet precise blow from above.

His expression turned grim.

Many people winced from the severity of the punch.

"Damn, it's like you're just barely keeping him awake so that you can beat him even more," Sudo grimaced.

"What happened to all the people enjoying him getting the shit punched outta him? Don't you all think he deserves this?" Hosen laughed.

I usually believe that describing something as 'certain' is misleading. Many things in the world aren't certain, so using the word 'possible' is to be preferred, but this situation is different. I'm sure that nearly every single student felt some sort of joy when they saw Ryuuen getting overpowered. They may think it's some sort of retribution for all that he's done, or even something wildly different.

"They're all at least partly happy, but I doubt many of them have seen violence that isn't from a movie. The reality of a situation makes it that much more impactful," Ryuuen told Hosen.

"Zuu, puu...! I'm confident in my fighting skills but it's not like I've never lost before. No, I know best precisely because I've lost many times over before..."

He seems to be having difficulty speaking. Maybe the inside of his mouth's been cut up? He's spitting blood out of his mouth down to the ground.

I swung my fist down again.

"Gah!...ahh, shit, it's becoming difficult to talk again."

I repeatedly rained down blows left and right at short intervals. But even then, Ryuuen didn't really feel fear.

The punch rained down again.

And again.

And again.

The students had no time to process the damage that was being dealt to Ryuuen as each punch was dealt between such short intervals.

Many people before thought of Ryuuen as some sort of reckless tyrant, but it's different. He's like a sword without a sheath. Unable to recognise when there's a key problem. All of his problems are caused by himself. And that's why someone external like me was the only one able to influence him.

"Violence reflects your true self. Both the one doing the beating and the one being beaten."

Ryuuen closed his eyes and laughed.

Provoking me to hit him as many times as I want.

"Hah, hah...kuku...it must be fun for you, Ayanokouji. You can act as cocky as you want with that sort of strength. You can do whatever the hell you want. That's why show me, Ayanokouji..."

He opened his eyes.

And I then started raining down punches while aiming for his face.

His face had already swollen up but both his external and internal bleeding have also gotten really bad.

Every punch that was rained down made the students look more and more worried. Not because of Ryuuen's well-being, but because of how much brutality I was displaying.

But even then, Ryuuen does not feel fear.

As a human being, it should be one of his primal instincts.

Yet that's not kicking in.

"Hasn't this gone far enough, Ryuuen?"

I made that proposal but of course he won't accept it.

"Kukuku, what's the matter Ayanokouji? I haven't yielded yet. Knock the living daylights out of me."

I swung my fist again at Ryuuen, who is putting his own life at risk to provoke me.

The punch rained down again.

"This isn't even a fight anymore, it's just a public execution," Sakayanagi commented.

"Ryuuen, there was serious long-term damage that could have resulted from this fight," Hiyori warned.

"I guess you're right in a sense, but really, this is the norm for a fight. It isn't like a professional fight that you see on TV with rules, it's just an old fashioned brawl. People fight dirty, some get anrgy and lose all control, some might have weapons to protect themselves. It's just self-preservation in a fight," Ryuuen calmly explained.

"That's a fair point. Sometimes you can't stop a fight, even if you want to. But that clearly wasn't the case here. Ayanokouji did give you many chances to leave things alone," Hiyori reprimanded.

"I guess that's deserved," Ryuuen sighed.

His face warped with pain but that was also only for a moment.

"It hurts, it hurts...but that's all."

His eyes have yet to change since we met.

He seems to believe in losing the battle but winning the war.

"Even if you win here, I will keep coming after you no matter how many times it takes. No matter where you are at school, as soon as you show an opening I'll attack. And I'll have the last laugh."

Surely he's lived his life so far by making exactly that sort of comeback. No matter how strong his enemy may be, it's not like they're always invincible. His confidence stems from being able to strike at their openings without overlooking them.

To use violence to plunge his enemy into fear and dominate them.

The fear that if you make an enemy out of him, there's no telling when he'd attack you.

"Oh, Hosen, didn't you say some words similar to Ryuuen-senpai's here?" Amasawa teased.

"I guess brutes think alike," Utomiya muttered.

"I was just saying that you can't just quit, that you can't make an enemy then dissapear off the face of the planet. Eventually, your enemy will find you and confront you. Magenta was just talking about attacking his enemy whenever he wanted to," Hosen defended himself.

"I think that's just what you want to believe. I feel that, in reality, you two are much more alike than you care to admit," Amasawa had a haughty grin.

"I can't change your delusions," Hosen scoffed.

"I suppose that's true. No enemy is invincible and every single defence can eventually be whittled down. However, it's different if you're scared of the enemy. You can't think clearly or believe a possibility where you can win," Horikita elaborated on Ryuuen's claim.

"Just like violence, fear isn't something Ryuuen has monopolised," Sakayanagi stated ominously.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ishizaki was confused.

"Why spoil the fun?" Sakayanagi smiled.

"Enjoy this temporary pleasure. Go on, victory is within your reach. Ayanokouji!"

Despite losing his ability to fight back, Ryuuen continued laughing to the bitter end.

"When a human being goes up against someone weaker, they'd feel emotions like pleasure. And fear lurks on the other side of that coin."

"Yeah, no shit. People like when they win and people are scared when they get pummeled," Hosen smirked.

Fear lurks on the other side of emotions?

"Do you want to win? Do you not want to lose? What feelings are you feeling, Ayanokouji?".

Do I want to win?

Do I not want to lose?

"Right now...are you laughing at your dominion over me? Are you angry? Or perhaps you're excited? Or perhaps you're irritated? Tell me!"

I don't know what he's been saying for a while now.

Unfortunately, I can't see my own face, my own expression.

But there's one thing I am sure of.

It's that something as trivial as this won't shake my heart.

There should be no emotions seeping out.

"He's like a child, all alone in the darkness of a world far emptier than the world we see. He's too smart for his own good, and that's why he's always alone. With all his genius, he can't manage to be happy. He can't manage to be human. The reason I was able to understand him was that I was able to understand the solitude that surrounded him. But now I'm glad that I invaded his solitude, even if it was only for a moment," Manabu thought.

No one said a word. The students didn't know what to say.

I landed my fist on Ryuuen's face for a number of time I've lost count of.

"!"

I won't stop anymore.

Right. Then left. I continued to swing my fists with the same force behind them.

Ryuuen's face contorted.

Yes, that's it Ryuuen.

Now you see too, no?

That the feeling known as fear certainly exists within himself.

The students could see the change in an instant. It was so quick that if you blinked then you would miss it. Ryuuen's eyes displayed pure confidence, and then the fear was a small flame until the emotion became the only thing remaining in his eyes. It was quick, but also gradual.

"Your end goal was to break him, so this must be the fruits of your labour. I didn't really get what you meant by breaking him, but now it makes sense," Matsushita analysed.

The students looked scared of me, but also saw me as some sort of saviour.

"I don't really get how this leads to any plan that you have. Surely beating him and his gang up could be done without letting Karuizawa suffer for so long," Asahina sighed.

Of course, they now believe that my end goal was to make Ryuuen feel fear. They don't know the particular reasoning behind that or why I let Kei stay on the roof for so long.

I pummeled Ryuuen with a blow more powerful than any that came before.

And in that single blow, I reaped his consciousness.

You may have planned to manipulate my heart but unfortunately for you, I don't have a heart that can be manipulated.

"I guess he made sure of that. To not be manipulated he made sure there was nothing connected to him that could influence him. No attachments whatsoever mean that nothing could compel him to do something. The other side of this strategy is that he simply becomes apathetic to everything and everyone around him. He can't be controlled, but he also restricts himself from making attachments. A double-edged sword," Horikita thought.

In the White Room, this was the only way to survive. To control you had to make sure you couldn't be controlled. At the end of the day, it was something that wasn't needed in a normal society. Not caring about anything or anyone was frowned upon by the average person.

I slowly stood back up from above Ryuuen.

I can't afford to leave Karuizawa in this cold weather any longer than this.

"Sorry, I ended up putting you in a tough spot. Are you hurt anywhere?"

"I'm...fine. I'm numb from the cold though..."

I extended my hand to Karuizawa, who witnessed it all from where she sat.

When I touched her hand, it was so cold it seemed as though it had frozen over.

"Disillusioned of me?"

"Obviously...you betrayed me from the start."

"That's right. Then why didn't you sell me out to Ryuuen?"

"...for my own sake. That's all."

She said that before collapsing into my chest, trembling.

"I was scared...I was so scared...!"

People looked at this scene with a bittersweet gaze.

"I guess he did betray you. Although there must be some reason he took so long, but I don't really know what it could be. From the previous patterns you've displayed, you make plans that are cold and calculated, but they have a positive ending," Matsushita examined.

"He embodies Machiavellism to the letter. He does heinous things, but end goal could be justified due to the good achieved. By that logic, there must be something that people aren't seeing. However, it doesn't sit right with me. There's no positive thing that can be achieved from dragging things out this long. It's not that the students don't understand the positive goal, it's that a positive goal doesn't exist," Nagumo thought.

"Plans have always been explained previously, right? So just wait," Sakayanagi told Matsushita.

"There's no need to think about anything right now. What happened today, what's happened so far. You can think about it all later. The only certain thing is that as of this moment, you've been freed from your curse. From this point onwards, Manabe... no, no one else will be able to dredge up your past. As for the rest, you can act as you always have."

No longer possessing the strength to hold herself up, Karuizawa entrusts her body to me.

"Man, it's like you're a living self-help book," Sudo said.

I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult.

I suppose the mood has begun to get a little lighter as the most brutal part of the video has passed. However, I can't help but imagine this as a calm before the storm.

Looking at it from Karuizawa's perspective, it's been a calamitous few months. Incidental bullying at the hands of Manabe's group. Then further bullying after realizing she's being targeted.

Then having Ryuuen dredge up her past and having to realize all of it is because of me.

She must be falling apart, her emotional state unstable.

"You managed to create the present by overcoming your past. You'll just pick up where you left off starting tomorrow."

But if it's Karuizawa Kei we're talking about, there's no problem.

I confirmed it when I encountered her again on the rooftop.

"I'm the one who hurt you. I won't ask you to forgive me. But please just remember this one thing. If something like that happened today happens to you again, I will definitely save you."

"Kiyo... taka..."

Despite going through all she's gone through, Karuizawa still refuses to leave the parasitic destination that is me.

The words were the beginning of the storm.

Karuizawa's reached the point where she won't be able to go on at this school without my existence.

No matter what happens, her heart will never crumble so long as I am there.

I wonder how it would've turned out if I had stepped in to save Karuizawa at an earlier stage.

There's no doubt that by swiftly fulfilling my promise to her, feelings of dependence would have grown stronger on Karuizawa's end. But if she were to be placed in a similar situation again, it would only amplify Karuizawa's despair.

But by dragging this out to the last stage, she grew to have faith in me until the very last moment. At the same time, I was also able to grasp that Karuizawa isn't someone who'd easily betray me.

Of course, even if she had spat my name out, that in itself would've resulted in 'guilt' and from that moment onwards, there's no doubt I'll be able to make use of her at will.

It would be sacrilegious to let go of a pawn like Karuizawa.

Her usefulness is secondary, there's nothing more important than keeping her in hand.

Kei wasn't shocked, wasn't surprised, but she did give me a curious glance.

"Do you still think of me as a parasite?" Kei asked, intrigued.

"I don't believe you are. At the end of the day, my words and thoughts aren't gospel. I made a miscalculation about your growth and that's what made me think you remained a parasite. You broke away from your nature and exceeded my expectations," I answered honestly.

"What a roundabout way of giving me a compliment," Kei had a smug smile.

She broke away from the chains of the past. She was able to look forward to the future without being tied to her past life. How wonderful. I don't have the ability to do something like that.

"So you made her suffer that long because it made her more of a parasite...?" Ichinose was shocked.

"The fuck, man? You did it because it made her more dependent on you?" Ike exclaimed.

Many people looked at me with disappointed expressions. It's similar to when I revealed my mindset on the island, but now they have more information on my past. It wasn't anger that they felt, it was the realisation that I didn't do this for good reasons. I had been painted as someone who was simply a slave to my circumstances, and that's what made them feel dissapointed.

The realisationthat I still did everything for my own goals, the realisation that I broke people to keep them in my possession. All of this they knew I was capable of, but they had a small hope that I had some good intentions. This broke the hope they had and brought them back to reality. I suppose this meant that they had some faith in me, and I crushed that faith

"I can't say that I didn't expect this. At the end of the day, he still wishes to get the most use out of his allies. It's ingrained into him at this point. I can tell that he wishes to change that, but I still wonder if three odd years in a school can do anything," Yagami thought.

"A few flights below us the student council president...no, the former student council president and probably Chabashira-sensei as well are waiting. They should know the situation to a certain degree as well so they'll be able to help you take care of things, including that drenched uniform of yours."

"I-I got it...what about Kiyotaka?"

"I still need to clean up here. Besides, it'd be troublesome if we're seen together. You should head back first."

I said so as I lightly nudged Karuizawa's back and saw her off from the rooftop.

"Now then..."

I can't just abandon these four on the rooftop. Chabashira-sensei aside, it would be a problem if some other teacher were to find them.

Starting in order with Ishizaki, I gently slapped their cheeks to wake them up.

Saving Ryuuen for last.

"...kuh."

"Finally awake, are we?"

"Do you think...this settles things, Ayanokouji?"

Hosen chuckled at Ryuuen's attitude. "Ha! You just got up and tried to pick a fight."

"I guess it wasn't only his pride and body that was hurt, his brain suffered major damage, too," Amasawa giggled.

"It would be weird for a teacher to go up to a room and just see four knocked-out people," Ishizaki commented.

"It's over. Surely you're not going to say you want to keep going, are you?"

No matter who looks at it, it's clear this fight's been settled.

"I'll use any means I have to if it's for the sake of victory."

Saying that, Ryuuen slowly raised his upper body.

"If necessary, even war."

"Are you going to report that I pummeled you?"

"...kuku. Now that'd be lame. But, that's an option if it's for the sake of winning."

No matter how pathetic it makes him seem, he'll consider it as an option if it means winning against me.

"While I'm at it, I could even forcibly set it up to make it look like you set the trap."

"For the record, this is just my advice but I wouldn't recommend doing that. Beneath us, the former student council president is waiting. Even if he doesn't know the details, the fact that a problem did occur would be immediately revealed. And the fact that Ryuuen is the one who set the trap has been made clear from the moment the surveillance camera got destroyed. On the other hand, I was in Keyaki Mall around that period. If necessary, I can come up with as many alibis as needed."

"It's just another loss, who cares? Whether you're class A in the first year or the second year it doesn't mean anything. Over a year is left, and lots of things can happen," Ryuuen smirked.

"Commendable, but a fool's dream at the end of the day," Sakayanagi stated.

"I think that's incorrect. Arrogant, maybe, but it's quite incredible in its own way," Nagumo disagreed.

"I can't imagine how arrogance can be incredible in any sense of the word," Sakayanagi eyed Nagumo inquisitively as if probing him.

"I believe there are two kinds of arrogance. The first is simply when a person isn't up to completing the task they've set out to accomplish, and the second is when a person's dreams are too big. The former is commonplace stupidity, you can see it every day. But the latter... it's a much rarer thing to see," Nagumo explained.

"I guess that's an interesting way to look at it," Sakayanagi smiled, a smile full of intrigue.

The natural course of action is to have as much insurance on your side as possible after all.

"...even though you could've had a third party act as witness from the start, you didn't?"

"Because you wouldn't stop attacking me unless I pummel you once."

"You think I'll accept this defeat?"

"At the very least, I think you will. There's only one reason behind your defeat, Ryuuen. You messed up the order of conquest. That's all. If you'd first faced off against Ichinose's class then had the experience of fighting against Sakayanagi, perhaps you might've been closer to my level when you fought me. You got too curious and overextended."

He laughed bitterly when I spat those words out.

"You're being rather frank..."

"Defeating all those people was only 'close' to your level? I can't tell if you have insane confidence or you're just brutally honest," Ike sheepishly said.

"I guess battling you did help get experience in one way. The dwarf is just a mini version of you, after all. And this time I can't get the shit kicked out of me," Ryuuen grinned.

"I thought I was a female version of the bolnde narcissist," Sakayanagi giggled.

"You can be like two people," Ryuuen shrugged.

Is Ryuuen focused on taking out class A? I expected him to destroy Ichinose first, then go on to Sakayanagi, but he seems to have other plans. Does this have something to do with their favour on the island? If this is his goal, then in the third year he must be planning to put his focus on Horikita's class. I can't imagine him spending any time on Ichinose's class in the third year if he doesn't have to.

"Even after giving him a beatdown, you're giving him tips on how he should have avoided his defeat. It's nice, but also kind of condescending," Hashimoto snickered.

"I'd like to say I'll accept a rematch anytime but...I have no intention of standing out from this point onwards. If possible, please go after someone else."

I expected Ryuuen-like words to come flying back at me but for some reason, he seemed to be silently thinking it over.

"Unless I'm reading too much into the fact that you had the witness keep their distance, it means if I persist in going after you, you'll drive us into a corner even if it means sacrificing your identity and Karuizawa's past, is what it means."

"I'd like to avoid that to the best of my ability but yes, I'd have no other choice but to do that."

"And not only me but you'll also drag the others here Ishizaki, Ibuki and Albert down with you."

I don't know how they'll be dealt with but they surely won't be able to avoid a harsh punishment.

"So this was the witness's purpose. Insurance. If he continues to come after you then class C is done for and all of his allies are also done for," Horikita surmised.

"If Ryuuen actually cared about his classmates then it may have more of an effect, but this just a light warning at best," Sudo insulted.

"There's a way to protect the class and also protect his allies, but it does involve some compromise," Amasawa randomly remarked.

"'Some compromise' is an understatement, don't you think?" Yagami shrugged.

"Yet another one of your failings was assuming that my identity and Karuizawa's past would be absolute. If you wanted to shut me down in advance, you should've either done it on a larger scale or posted more watchdogs."

There's always a hard limit on what he can afford to do in this area called the school.

"In other words, as long as I continue to exist, Class C will be handicapped."

"Not really. As long as you don't take any reckless action against us, I have no intention of using this matter as a tool either."

"I'm not naive enough to believe in a verbal promise like that. If Class C ever drives you into a corner, you'll report today's incident to the school. Am I wrong?"

"Perhaps."

I certainly cannot guarantee that.

Can Class C function properly when they're constantly forced to keep their heads down?

"But what'll you do? What's done is done, Ryuuen."

"Shut up. I'm done fighting against you. And, my own battle's also over."

Ryuuen looked around at Ibuki and the other two before taking out his phone and typing something into it.

And then he slid the phone across the floor of the rooftop where it came to a stop near Ibuki's feet.

"What..."

Ibuki, who had been silently listening to our conversation, glared at him. And also at me.

"I take responsibility for everything. Before that, I'm transferring all my points over to you."

"You were planning on dropping out for the class? I didn't think that was the choice you were going to take" Hiyori looked surprised.

"What's the point in leading if you're a burden to your allies?" Ryuuen answered.

I could sense a small bit of sincerity in his answer. The effect it had on his class was large. His class didn't imagine him as the sacrificial type, but now they understood the lengths he would go to so that his class stays afloat.

"You're right, Yagami. That really was an understatement. Self-sacrifice is certainly admirable, but it feels like giving up everything a person has worked for," Kanzaki was surprised that Ryuuen could do something like sacrificing himself.

"If Ryuuen really has given up, then self-sacrifice doesn't mean anything, right? It's like giving up something that you don't care about to make the best of a situation. It's the optimal situation in the circumstances," Amasawa explained.

"But he didn't end up dropping out. There's still a few pieces of this puzzle left," Hashimoto looked at the screen with an interested expression.

From the end of the island exam to now, the students have been trying to solve a puzzle. Video by video, exam by exam, pieces were filled. Kei's involvement, Ryuuen's involvement, and my movements, all of them were slowly being noticed and the pieces were being placed. It was a large puzzle that ended in Ryuuen's defeat. Soon, Sakayanagi's puzzle will begin and the process will repeat itself.

However, Ryuuen's puzzle hasn't been solved yet. There's still time to go until his time in the limelight will be taking a backseat.

"Huh...? Ryuuen, you, what are you saying...? Are you stupid?"

"T-That's right, Ryuuen-san! It's not like anyone's going to talk about what happened here so there's no need for you to take responsibility!"

Both sides cannot afford to speak up about this incident.

On the surface, we're locked into a stalemate.

But the truth of it is that Class D is in an overwhelmingly advantageous position and Ryuuen's realized that.

There's only one way to cancel it out.

"Ayanokouji, I'm the sole perpetrator of all this. One expulsion's enough, isn't it?"

"You're being rather serious. To take responsibility for your actions."

"How stupid," he spat those words out along with the blood that had accumulated inside his mouth.

"A tyrant is only tolerated so as long as his power holds meaning. Now that I've lost this badly, no one will follow me anymore."

His domineering actions and attitude are only tolerated because they produce results.

Involving the other classes in his search for X has resulted in appropriately large waves being made. He's done things his way by force so far but now that he's lost, he's determined that he's lost the right to do so.

"I guess you really are a human being under that exterior," Katsuragi slightly smiled.

"Oh? Did I impress the bald man with my benevolence?" Ryuuen smirked.

"I reckon you take those words back, Katsuragi. His ego is already too big," Ibuki ridiculed.

It seems like the bond between Ryuuen and his class had grown a little stronger. They were surprised that an event such as the fight on the rooftop had occurred, but they weren't in disbelief that Ryuuen had done something like that. The thing that really set this incident apart for the class was the fact that Ryuuen had taken accountability.

He grasps things far quicker than I expected. It looks like I made the right choice setting up a stage where Ryuuen is able to go all out.

"You've got to be kidding me. Why are you entrusting it to me...?"

"It's because you hate me. Divide the remaining private points up between everyone. Once I get expelled, Katsuragi and Sakayanagi will declare the contract null and void but there's nothing that can be done about it."

If the contractor himself drops out of school, there's a very high possibility that would be the case.

"Are you seriously saying this, Ryuuen-san!?"

Ishizaki also stood up and shouted that out in a sad-sounding voice.

"Shut up. I can hear you just fine without the screaming."

Ryuuen laughed thinly.

"You guys handle the rest yourselves."

It would seem he's serious about dropping out. He stood up without even looking at his phone.

"Later".

Leaving behind those words, he tried to exit the rooftop.

Neither Ibuki's words nor Ishizaki's words reached that back of his.

"Are you sure? About dropping out of school. I think you'll regret it though."

I stopped Ryuuen.

"What do you care?"

"If you leave here without even knowing the reason behind your loss, your growth will stop right there and then."

"Ryuuen, didn't you say that you had a list of all the people Ayanokouji helped grow?" Ishizaki asked Ryuuen.

"Oh right, I did. Why did you ask?" Ryuuen replied disinterestedly.

"Well, I just thought that you would also be on that list. Ayanokouji was trying to give you tips to be a better leader, right?" Ishizaki said happily.

"Fuck you for reminding me. I'm on a list that I created because of him now. I just made it to piss him off and call him a babysitter, and now I'm getting fucked," Ryuuen said angrily.

"Why's that a bad thing? Is it really so bad that you were helped by Ayanokouji?" Hiyori asked.

"Yes. Yes, it is. It feels so condescending to be helped by the guy who beat the shit out of you," Ryuuen grumbled.

"Huh?"

"Are you fine not knowing the reason you lost against me?"

"...spare me. There's no reason for you to save me in the first place. You stand to gain nothing from sparing me, not after I've learned about you and Karuizawa. There's no telling when I'll spill the beans."

"That's right...if I have to state a reason then it would be that things will get easier for Class D even without me if you would take out Sakayanagi and Ichinose on my behalf. Besides, if your contract with Katsuragi remains intact, Class A will slowly accumulate damage. And most importantly, if you suddenly drop out, Sakayanagi and Ichinose would end up thinking Ryuuen got beaten by X. It would be troublesome if that were to happen."

In other words, give-and-take. I added that afterwards.

"Even if word of this unexpectedly spreads, I've sustained no visible injuries, fortunately enough. No matter who looks at it, it would only seem as though you guys had a falling out, no?"

"...then this'd be the scenario. I tried to punish you for not working hard enough but you got fed up and retaliated and as a result, I was overthrown. Let's leave it at that."

That way, it won't inconvenience me any either, is that it?

"You...are you really fine with that?"

"Everyone here got demolished by Ayanokouji alone. To hell with it all at this point. Besides, me disappearing off on my own minimizes the damage dealt."

"Just let me add this. You're free to drop out on your own and you're free to doubt me too. But I have no intention of telling anyone about what happened here. I also ensured that the former student council president waiting below will keep his silence on the matter. In other words, nothing happened here that would require expulsion. If you still wish to drop out, then I won't stop you..."

"Then don't stop me. I don't trust easily."

Leaving those words behind, Ryuuen left the rooftop.

Ishizaki and even Ibuki seemed dissatisfied with Ryuuen's actions.

The scene faded to black.

"So I guess now we know why that story was made, but the last piece of the puzzle remains," Matsushita commented.

"Indeed. Why Ryuuen chose to stay is the last piece of this mystery," Horikita agreed.

"I can tell what question you all are asking, but don't worry. Things will be clear soon."

It seems like what compelled Ryuuen to stay at this school will be shown next. I suppose it would be odd to go from Ryuuen being determined to be expelled and then the next video he's content with staying.

We were all dismissed and sent back to the classroom.

"All of you are free to go. Enjoy the rest of your day," Chabashira stated.

I walked out of the classroom and began to start my journey home. It wasn't a long journey whatsoever, but on the way there I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"Ayanokouji, hello," Horikita said like a robot.

"I thought it was an assassin out to get me with that stealth," I joked.

"That's very funny. I have something to give you, by the way," Horikita sighed and reached into her bag.

She had something to give me? I don't really know what it could be.

After a few seconds of searching, Horikita pulled out a small box wrapped in some red paper with a neatly tied ribbon on top.

"Happy birthday, Ayanokouji," Horikita smiled as she handed me the box.

"I wasn't expecting a gift from you," I said as I took the box.

"I didn't know you thought so little of me," Horikita said.

I've never gotten a birthday gift before, so I'm not sure whether to open the gift now or later. If the gift is confusing then I could just ask the gifter, so I may as well open it now.

I pulled on the ribbon and tore the wrapping paper off.

It wasn't a box as I previously thought, but one book that looked to be brand new due to the condition of the novel, the book also had a hard cover which gave it the impression of a box. The book was titled 'Notes from Underground' by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, a book famous for its philosophy and regarded as one of the first existentialist novels.

What surprised me was that Horikita gave me a book that I didn't read before. While I have read many of Dostoyevsky's works, this was one I hadn't gotten around to.

"I can tell you're surprised since I gave you a book that you haven't read before," Horikita said almost as if reading my thoughts.

Horikita continued. "I asked your friend that's always at the library what types of books you read. Honestly, I'm surprised it took me so long. You've read a lot," Horikita said something which sounded like praise.

"Thank you, Horikita," I told her.

I was grateful. She really went out of her way to not only pick out a book that I haven't read, but also a book that may interest me. I was surprised that she was also being so casual with me.

"Horikita, what do you think of me?" I asked.

Horikita also looked taken aback, "I don't really know. In all honesty, I feel pity for you, but I also think you're not a good person."

Blunt as always.

"Do you dislike me then?" I continued.

"Ayanokouji, I don't dislike you, even after what you've done. It would be hypocritical of me to be on a moral high ground now when I've been using the immoral things you've done for my own benefit. I do think you're a bad person, but I also think you didn't choose to be that way," Horikita answered honestly.

I see. I wonder how many other people feel that way.

"Thank you, Horikita," I said.

We walked in silence back to the dorms. I got off on my floor and went back to my room. The first thing I did was put my phone back on charging. I had forgotten to fix the plug when I had woken up, so I did it now. I went to get some water as I felt a little bit thirsty. Just as I had gotten my glass, I got many notifications on my phone.

I suppose these were messages that I hadn't seen since my phone was out of charge.

[12:01 a.m.] Kei: Happy Birthday, Kiyotaka!!!!

[8:00 a.m.] Horikita: Happy birthday, Ayanokouji.

[8:14 a.m.] Keisei: Happy birthday.

[8:14 a.m.] Akito: Happy birthday btw Haruka made us all do this at the same time

[8:14 a.m.] Haruka: Happy birthday, Kiyopon

[8:14 a.m.] Airi: Happy birthday, Kiyotaka

[8:34 a.m.] Sudo: Happy birthday dude

There were still more, but they all had similar messages.

"Am I allowed to be happy about this?" I whispered to myself, so quiet that even I might not hear it.

I kept staring at my screen, completely focused on the many messages. However, I was taken away by my thoughts when I heard a knock on the door.

"There shouldn't be anyone here," I said to myself as I walked to the door.

I turned the handle and found Kei standing there, but only for a moment.

"Why are you he-?" I was cut off by the blonde girl in front of me giving me a hug that ended up with me on the ground and her on top of me.

"You didn't think I would miss my first birthday with you, right?" Kei said in a happy voice.

"No, I guess not," I said.

Author Notes:

The first part where kiyo is running to school is probably unrealistic and ooc for him, but it was fun to write so I kept it.

This chapter was difficult. I would still say that the tool monologue was the most difficult chap, but this as a close second. There's still one chapter left for volume 7 which is the epilogue. I also thought that I might add Ryuuen's prologue monologue since that's pretty important for his character, but I don't know yet.

I also finished y2v8. Not a bad volume, I expected it to be a little slice of life like. The only reason I think Kinu didn't make it a .5 volume is because he has something to do which he can't do after the Christmas break.

Anyway, that was this chap done. See you next time.

Purposeless

I didn't do anything on the weekend, I simply read the book Horikita had given me. The book wasn't long in any way, but it was so dense even with its small number of pages, I read it over and over again constantly analysing it and figuring out the message. Books at times get a bad reputation for being only targeted to boring people, but they're so much more than that.

Books behave like they're testing the people who read them. It's something I've noticed every time I read a book that I enjoyed. You happen to come across a book that you never heard of nor have any interest in. You pick it up and the cover or the blurb doesn't interest you, but you decide to read it anyway. Maybe even the first 20 pages don't interest you, but then it's like a switch suddenly flipped in your brain.

What's written in the book may grip you in a way that you've never felt before and what's written in the text may remain in your heart for years to come. It sometimes feels like they're a life form, beyond this concoction of paper and ink. Some switches and buttons can only be pressed through reading the writing, and it can enthral you even in the darkness you think you're in.

I could think about books for hours, but I should probably go to school. I got ready at my normal pace since my phone was actually charged this time. As I walked to school I realised that the weather was growing colder at a steady pace. Maybe new gloves would be a good investment.

I walked into the class and waited until it was time to go to the auditorium. I suppose this will be the final tape until the Christmas break tapes.

"Everyone line up at the door," Chabashira stated.

Everyone walked over to the gym and got in their seats.

"I know I only told you all that this next video would be about the student known as Ryuuen's denial of dropping out of school, but how about a little context? I'm sure you're all curious about what caused him to be incapable of feeling fear. It's very short, so it won't take up much time."

Now, this was intriguing. Ryuuen was a delinquent, but that was all I had known about his past. While I doubt that I could gain much knowledge if this video was really short as the voice had said, but it's still better than nothing.

It was during elementary school that I realized I was abnormal. During an excursion, I found a huge snake near our camp. I recall my class being in an uproar from it.

"Now I'm curious. When exactly did you end up reminiscing on your past?" Ibuki was also intrigued by Ryuuen's past.

"I just thought about it in a dream. Nothing too weird, people think about the past in their dreams sometimes," Ryuuen shrugged.

I don't really remember my dreams, so I don't know if that's true or not.

"You've been like this since elementary school? I pity your family," Katsuragi told Ryuuen.

"Snakes aren't too uncommon to find depending on where the trip was," Ike pointed out.

People watching from faraway, people panicking nearby and people who weren't all that interested in it. There were various reactions and even adults who were supposed to be mature lost their calm and desperately called for help.

"It's a reactive animal. It's not weird since they also have children to deal with and they don't even know if the snake is venomous or not," Manabu criticised.

"I guess you're right, but it was odd to me that adults that were meant to be protecting the kids were acting similarly to them," Ryuuen sighed.

I grabbed a huge rock I found nearby and swung it at the head of the snake. I didn't even feel fear of being bitten. There was a scream, and the panic of the teachers followed.

I did not even register it. It's not like I wanted to be a hero or anything. I was just confused why there was such a need to be afraid.

The sudden switch from seeing the adults being scared to the snake's head being bashed in was a stark contrast that caused a few people to wince.

"This is interesting. It's as if a different side of you took over and killed the snake. I suppose your body chose the fight response rather than flee. Humans do interesting things under the rush of adrenaline," Nagumo smiled thinly.

In more biological terms, the sympathetic nervous system took over. Under the branch of the peripheral nervous system, there are two more branches known as the somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system. The somatic nervous system is responsible for the movement of the skeletal muscles, but the autonomic nervous system also has two more branches.

The autonomic nervous system's two branches are known as the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system. The parasympathetic nervous system aims to keep the body functioning at homeostasis and also to bring the body back to normal levels after the sympathetic nervous system isn't needed. The sympathetic nervous system's goal is to increase survival.

Increasing heart rate, dilating pupils to let more light in, inhibiting digestion to save energy, and many more things. And the crux of this system is the fight or flight response. Whether the energy will be used to confront the threat or flee the threat is up to the individual. A biological advantage that may not be exclusive to humans, but something that has helped people in many parts of their life.

That was my first contact with a hidden side of myself. And at the same time I knew, the moment the enemy falls at my feet, I could feel a large amount of adrenaline rushing through my brain.

This was my first victory.

"So you just felt a high from dominating others. I thought it would be a little more interesting, honestly," Sakayanagi said in a disinterested tone.

"Sometimes you don't need big reasons to do things. Just a simple feeling of adrenaline and victory is enough to make people happy," Ryuuen shrugged.

"Fear" and "joy" are two sides of the same coin. That truth was paper thin in this world. The world is ruled by 'violence'. Your 'status' in this world is determined by your capacity for 'violence'. I saw the corpse of the snake beneath me and my heart was filled with joy. Ever since then, I have had many enemies both internal and external.

Sometimes, when I was surrounded by enemies, I kept on exercising 'violence' to win. And before my overwhelming might, all of them fell at my feet. I was never afraid. I always only thought about revenge and turning the situation around on my enemies.

"I guess you are right in a sense. While there may be other things to get to the top, using violence can compel people to do things that are in your favour. However, if you don't have the ability to use that violence effectively then it doesn't matter. If the competence to use violence fruitfully isn't there then the violence is meaningless," Nagumo claimed.

I agreed with him. Without the ability to enforce your power productively, the power can't be utilised properly. Nagumo is also someone who knows this very well. He's been at the top of his year and has seen many students who may have embodied this exact ideology.

He himself has also risen to the top using his own abilities and competence. He understands well that without the competence to use your strengths in the best situation they become mediocre.

They all eventually fell prostrate before me. The real 'elite' is a person whose capacity for 'violence' is unparalleled. And a human being who never feels 'fear'. But here a problem lies, with every fallen enemy every day started to grow boring for me.

Because in the end, there was not a single person capable of beating me. If there is something that could finally beat me, that thing can only be described as "death".

The scene faded to black.

"Is Ayanokoji death to you then?" Sakayanagi giggled.

"Ayanokouji is the person you described here, right? A person who doesn't feel fear and can cause as much violence as needed," Hashimoto chuckled.

"I guess he is the person who I described here, but that's temporary. Eventually, I'll have a rematch. It doesn't matter what class or people he aligns with, I'll put my crosshairs on him no matter what," Ryuuen grinned.

A while ago Ryuuen predicted that I had the goal of changing my class. I wonder if his wording here was to probe my reaction or not.

So Ryuuen began to not feel fear because he never thought he was capable of losing. I had already known this to a certain extent, but that snake was like a catalyst. This 'alter ego' as Ryuuen named it was like a dormant side to him and that snake woke that side up. And that side eventually moulded and became part of Ryuuen in his daily life.

"Now that this little short is finished, let's move on to the main dish."

It seems that the real finale of this confrontation was now in session.

That night, I dreamt about my past.

About that one snake I killed.

Perhaps if I had snapped at it and taught it fear, would I have made the same choice?

"I don't think an elementary school kid would be able to do that," Ibuki said.

"Have you seen five-year-olds? They're terrifying when they sense weakness," Ishizaki said as if was reminiscing on some bad memories.

"...this is stupid."

That train of thought is pointless now.

Humans live the one life they've been given, unable to do it all over again.

And each day, victory and defeat is being determined. There will be days where you win just as there are days where you lose.

It just happened to be the latter day yesterday.

The number of times I've lost would be in the three digits by now. Even if we're just talking about Ayanokouji, yesterday wouldn't be my first loss.

"That's not incorrect, but don't you think that it's one of the most important? It caused you to feel something you believed you never believed was possible," Manabu stated.

"I guess that's what makes it so different," Ryuuen sighed.

"For a long time, I wondered what changed in me. I eventually realised that I was capable of feeling fear and that Ayanokouji beat it into me. I acted differently, I made plans differently and that's all because of him. I wonder how much lower I would go if not for his actions," Ryuuen thought.

But what makes this so different?

Early in the morning at 8, I stepped outside with the intent of heading to school.

Although today's the first day of our winter holidays, the school is still perfectly open for the sake of club activities.

Normally, the rules state that wearing a uniform is mandatory when entering the school building but there's no need for me to abide anymore.

Morning practice for the clubs will start around 7 o'clock. And because Keyaki Mall will only open at 10 o'clock, I should pretty much be the only student heading towards school.

"...achoo."

In the middle of the road leading up to the school, a lone student stood while trembling from the cold.

"Ibuki? Were you there to make him stop dropping out?" Hiyori was surprised.

"I just think that he's the only guy in our class that can help us reach class A. If it was anyone else then it wouldn't matter to me," Ibuki scoffed.

"I'm glad to hear that you need me to be around," Ryuuen smirked.

I ignored her and kept going but when I passed by her, she spoke to me.

"You finally came."

I heard her out and kept walking.

"Hey, hold it right there."

She panickedly ran after me and grabbed my shoulder.

"Huh? What the hell are you doing? Don't go around casually touching me."

"I don't want to touch you either. You gave me your phone, didn't you? I just came here to give it back."

Saying that, red-nosed Ibuki thrust the phone towards me.

"You could've done it some other time. How long have you been waiting?".

"I don't know...?"

Pretending not to know means she must've been waiting for some time now.

Why is she so fussy when it comes to futile things like this?

I didn't take it. I tried to give Ibuki the slip but this time she grabbed my arm.

The students watched this exchange with interested expressions.

"Are you really dropping out?"

"Aren't you just giving me back my phone?"

Ibuki angrily glared at me when I gave that retort.

"Remember how you fought with Ishizaki, Albert and the others after enrolling? You said the strongest one is determined by who wins in the end, no matter how many times they've lost before. And it played out just like that against Albert and the others."

"So what?"

"Are you really going to put an end to this after losing once to Ayanokouji?"

"I misread and ended up sealing my fate. Besides, I couldn't care less now."

"What? That's really lame."

It doesn't matter anymore.

To think he'd make me feel this way. What a guy.

"He really did break you completely," Sakayanagi looked on with interest.

"Is that a sense of respect for Ayanokouji?" Katsuragi asked.

Ryuuen chose not to respond.

"Now it makes sense what you did to take down that big guy. You just fought him until he gave up or you won. I honestly doubt you would win, but if you caught him off guard enough times then he would eventually lose, but I really think that he just gave up. Either way works," Hosen shrugged, seeming like he didn't really care what Ryuuen did to make Albert yield.

"That is a likely theory..." Katsuragi muttered.

Albert just sat there with his usual expression, completely disinterested in the violence that Ryuuen used. I suppose that's a very Albert-like thing to do. A gentle giant some may call him, but he isn't opposed to using violence if it came down to it.

"Maybe."

That's why I indifferently responded to Ibuki's question.

"Don't 'maybe' me."

Ibuki refused to let go of my arm.

"You wanted me to drop out, no? If so, isn't this just perfect?"

"I cooperated because you said you'd get us all to Class A. And yet this is how it's going to end?"

I had intended on taking my time but Ibuki really made herself at home waiting for me.

Looks like she still hasn't said her piece because she's still going on and on.

"This is like a couple's argument," Ishizaki said.

Sadly, Ishizaki, the innocent soul that he is, got a death stare from Ibuki and it looked like he would be in pain after this.

Ryuuen chuckled at Ishizaki's words and looked back to the screen.

"I tolerated your domineering attitude and actions so far because I believed we shared the same goal. The other day, even when you didn't give us an explanation regarding the penalty for Class C, no one complained. Because they all believed that in the end, we'd rise to Class A. But you're just going to drop out here? That's way too lame."

She stopped to take a breath, and then added.

"Is there anything more pathetic than this?"

"How long do you intend to keep intrepreting this in your favor, Ibuki?"

I stopped walking.

I'd rather not do anything unnecessary because my whole body's hurting.

"I did tell you small fry this, that if you follow me I'd take you up to Class A. But that's just me offering you the carrot after the stick. You know about my contract with Class A, don't you? I had no intention of giving it to you guys."

"So you're saying the plan was for you to go to Class A alone?"

"That's the idea, yeah. There's no way I'd seriously look after my classmates, is there?"

Surely even Ibuki will be convinced if I say this.

"That's quite admirable, Ryuuen. Making it seem like you don't care about your classmates," Hiyori complimented.

"I doubt she would believe him, though. He's taking responsibility for what happened on the rooftop, so it's obvious he's lying," Kanzaki pointed out.

"I don't think it really mattered if she believed him. It was just an excuse until he was able to drop out," Horikita said.

"That's enough, no? Later."

"800 million points."

"...huh?"

The students here had the same thoughts as Ryuuen. I myself am curious to see how the students are going to react to Ryuuen's point-centric plan.

"After you handed me your phone yesterday, I seriously contemplated whether or not I should take a look at your points. I thought it wouldn't matter either way so I took a look."

She switched my phone on and pointed the screen at me.

It's the trend in the points over the course of three years that I had drawn up.

"If it's only for one person's sake, 20 million points would've been enough. But what's with this strategy? 800 million is the number of points necessary for all of Class C to rise to Class A, isn't it? Well, I don't think it's possible to save up that much though."

"Stop dreaming. I was just fooling around with that memo."

I forcibly took my phone from Ibuki.

As of now, the students really don't know for certain if Ryuuen was being serious. The only way to confirm it was through the tape during the holidays.

"I don't really know whether that's a joke or not, but I don't think that's even close to possible. You would have to somehow spring out hundreds of millions of points every month. The school does allow ways to get lots of points, but that's only around one or two million," Horikita wasn't able to fathom the possibility that Ryuuen could achieve it.

I also feel the same. I simply doubt it's possible without an incredible loophole in the rules or just some special exam that gives hundred of millions of points.

"Wouldn't that mean that class A would have an increase of like 40 students? One class with like 80 students is crazy," Ike exclaimed.

"I guess that does allow some room for negotiation, though," Hashimoto commented.

"Hiyori and Kaneda will take the lead from now on. It's still possible as long as Ayanokouji doesn't make a move."

"That's not my point here".

That damn Ibuki. Not a single private point's been transferred. It's completely untouched.

"I would lead? I don't really think I'm capable enough to do something like that," Hiyori shyly said.

"If you had the conviction to lead then that's a different story," Ryuuen muttered.

"She's sharp and mature enough to lead well. She's also not an idealist and can understand the reality of a situation. If she wasn't so disinterested in this then maybe our class would be a little better, but I can't do anything about that," Ryuuen thought.

How troublesome.

"What do you want me to say?"

"If you're going to drop out, then fight me."

Again, what a crazy proposal to make.

Idiots are easy to use but they run out of control occasionally.

Ibuki scoffed at Ryuuen's thoughts.

"This isn't even a fight. It's more like beating up a cripple for no reason," Hosen chuckled.

"There's no way you can move your body properly, not with the injuries from yesterday and today's cold."

I noticed she couldn't exert much strength in the arm she's using to grab my sleeve.

I forcibly peeled that arm off my sleeve and started walking off. But the very next moment, I was beaten up.

I fell onto the stone pavement.

"...it hurts. I can't even fall safely."

That bastard Ayanokouji. He's thoroughly destroyed my body.

Some students laughed at Ryuuen's pitiful behaviour. They probably enjoy that he's in pain, and I can't really blame them. Ryuuen did bad things and got his comeuppance.

"Oof. I almost feel bad for you now," Hosen said with a happy smile plastered on his face.

"Man, you're really a laughingstock now, huh?" Hashimoto chuckled.

Ryuuen didn't look like he cared what things the other students thought of him as he continued to stoically stare at the screen.

"Ahh--this is refreshing. If you're going to quit, then quit already."

Ibuki walked back towards the dorm.

Just how long has she been waiting here?

"Sakagami, I've got something to say. I told you about it yesterday."

After coming to school alone, I went to my homeroom teacher. I had made an appointment in advance from the dorm's landline.

The reason I delayed it by a day is because it would be far too troublesome to drop out right after that.

It's likelier to become a problem considering what I did to the surveillance camera.

Even more so if the former student council president is aware of it. I plan on cutting myself free.

"I guess it would also be far too painful after you've got so many injuries," Sakayanagi giggled.

"I understand. I'd rather not stand and talk here. Please accompany me to the counseling room."

"Sure."

"But before we do that, there's a problem."

"Problem?"

"Please come out."

Sakagami then spoke towards the staff room and called the students out.

Not too long after, the two of them showed up.

Many students had a good idea of who would show up. After all, they were the only two who cared enough about Ryuuen to do something about him dropping out.

"You seem to have had more of an effect on your class than you may think," Tsubaki vaguely said.

"Maybe," Ryuuen replied with apathy.

"No, I really think so. Your entire gang got beat up after following your plan and all three of them don't want you to be expelled. While a tyrant may only have value if he isn't a burden, you clearly showed them that you weren't a burden," Tsubaki analysed.

"I think you're getting to ahead of yourself. I think you are partially right, but it was still out of self-preservation. Without me they thought that class A wasn't possible," Ryuuen shrugged.

"Ryuuen-san..."

"Huh?"

It's Ishizaki and Albert.

Why are the two of them here after that idiot Ibuki?

"They were waiting here since early morning after asking whether or not you had dropped by. They won't listen to me even when I told them to call you directly so I'm in a bit of a bind here. First do something about these two."

"What the hell are you doing? Get lost or I'll kill you."

"We--"

I glared at Ishizaki who was about to say unnecessary things and distanced myself.

"uuuu..."

Sakagami touched his glasses while looking at me intimidate them.

"The surveillance camera destroyed yesterday? Do they have something to do with it?"

"I did that alone. Let's get going already."

Careless interaction here will just cause these guys to corner themselves.

"Aw, what a caring person," Amasawa teased.

Ryuuen couldn't have looked more disgusted.

"Why'd you guys go? Was it the same reason as Ibuki?" Kaneda asked.

"I guess it was partly that, but I also didn't want Ryuuen to drop out. It's fun to work with him sometimes," Ishizaki sheepishly said.

"I don't think that sounds like pure self-preservation," Tsubaki said once again, calling back to her previous words.

Ryuuen didn't give her a response. Maybe he didn't want to entertain the idea that he had a positive effect on his classmates.

I shook them off, ignored Sakagami and started walking towards the counseling room. Despite suspecting Ishizaki and Albert, Sakagami urged them to go back while following me.

"I understand more or less from your call but let's go over it step by step, Ryuuen. First of all, do you admit to breaking the surveillance camera using a spray can?"

"Yeah. I did that on my own."

"And one more thing. Do you admit a fight break out between you, Ishizaki, Albert and Ibuki?"

"I admit it. I take responsibility for it all. I threw the first punch. As a result, they ended up retaliating though."

There's no need to get them involved in this defeat.

"If you understand that then this makes things easier."

"Please wait, Ryuuen-san! We aren't unrela--"

I launched a kick towards Ishizaki, who followed me instead of going back. A bout of violence or two at this point doesn't matter for someone who's going to drop out.

Some students winced at Ishizaki getting kicked.

"Man, you did not have a good start to the holidays," Kaneda grimaced.

"I guess that's true, attacking him or anyone else wouldn't really matter," Hiyori sighed.

"That's true, but he can't just go on a rampage. If there's a slight chance that he can't make himself drop out due to whatever reason then it just hinders his class," Katsuragi analysed.

"What are you doing, Ryuuen!?"

"How many times are you going to make me say it? Does the beating I gave you yesterday not satisfy you?"

I took my eyes off of Ishizaki, who crouched down in pain.

"You can add that just now to my penalty."

"...regardless of the circumstances, you won't be the only one in trouble if a problem occurs again."

"Shut up. This is the end anyway."

After heading into the counseling room, I got down to business right away.

The students still couldn't see what had been done to keep Ryuuen at the school.

"Hurry it up, Sakagami. Please go ahead with the withdrawal process."

"It would seem there's a misunderstanding so allow me to correct you."

Sakagami slowly spoke.

"There are contradictions within your statements."

"Huh? Wait a minute. Contradictions?".

"From what I understand, some sort of trouble happened between you and Class D?"

Could it be that, at the very last minute, Ayanokouji did it?

If he ignores my proposal and reports what happened to Karuizawa to the school then it won't just be me but also Ibuki and Ishizaki receiving the punishment. It won't end with just the loss of our private points.

"That wasn't the case, however. But it turns out that Ayanokouji really did have some involvement in keeping you here," Horikita remarked.

"Not really. Whatever Ayanokouji did would have had to be incredibly compelling or Ryuuen could still just drop out. You can still drop out even if there aren't any problems," Matsushita retorted.

"Did they file a complaint against us or something?"

"Complaint? From what I understand, a student from Class D was also involved in the destruction of the surveillance camera."

"What...?"

For a moment, I couldn't understand what he's saying and I got confused.

"Class D has already paid private points covering the cost of repairs. What I wanted to confirm is whether or not you're fine with splitting the blame evenly or not."

"He's fucking with me..."

If you think that would stop me from dropping out then you're making a huge mistake, Ayanokouji.

"I'm dropping out."

"...even though there's no problem?"

What Matusushita said was what Ryuuen ended up doing.

"Dropping out even if there aren't any issues. I suppose you were right, Matsushita," Horikita praised.

Sakagami is no fool.

He's probably already guessed from this situation that some sort of trouble occurred on the rooftop yesterday.

"That's right. There's no point in staying at this school anymore."

He has to respect the student's decision.

"I see. If you've already decided then I can't stop you."

Sakagami said so and retrieved a paper from the drawer.

"Please write your name, student ID number and reason for withdrawal here."

"Give me a minute."

I picked up the pen but Sakagami retrieved two more papers.

"After we're done with your withdrawal, let's deliver these to Ishizaki and Yamada too."

"Those two were going to drop out?" Hashimoto was also confused.

"It's quite simple to stop someone from dropping out. Unlike Ayanokouji, Ryuuen seems to have things he values that can influence him," Sakayanagi told Hashimoto.

"That's true. Ryuuen had shown that he cares enough about his class to take responsibility and commit self-sacrifice. It would invalidate his sacrifice if other members of his class also went down with him," Hiyori analysed.

"In simple terms, he was bullied into staying here," Amasawa smirked.

"...what? They've got nothing to do with this."

"Yes, they certainly have nothing to do with this. But this is their wish. That should you choose to drop out, they would do the same and I couldn't talk them out of it."

That bastard Ayanokouji...did he suggest something unnecessary to those idiots?

Holding Ishizaki and Albert hostage to prevent my withdrawal.

If I choose to withdraw here, they'll go down with me and my very withdrawal would become meaningless. It'd be the same as getting my priorities backwards.

"Shit..."

"Personally, I'd rather not have someone from my class withdraw either. That's how I feel."

Sakagami looked down at the paper I held in my hand.

"At this current stage, you can still settle it with nothing more than damage to property. This is your only chance."

"I wonder exactly what merit there is in having me remain here."

He should know that at the very least, I no longer have any intention of causing problems for Sakayanagi and the others.

"I won't drop out."

I handed the paper back to him and stood up.

"What a poetic ending. The fearless and cold dictator remains because he cares about his subjects," Hashimoto snickered.

"That's a weakness you have that can be exploited now. Maybe I can target your classmates instead of you if I feel like it," Sakayanagi had a smug smile.

"That's just because I've been in the spotlight until now. I wonder how many holes in your defense I can exploit by the end of this," Ryuuen remained resolute and confident.

The scene had faded to black, but the teachers haven't let us go yet.

"There's one small thing I would like to show you all. Think of it like a teaser for the future."

The voice said.

In no time, strange rumors began circulating among the 1st years.

So back to my point of view, huh?

That Ryuuen Kakeru has stepped down as leader of Class C.

That he's stopped associating with Ishizaki and the others. That he no longer speaks to anyone.

It's almost like I'm looking at myself just after enrollment.

"You looked quite pitiful during those few months," Sakayanagi chuckled.

Ryuuen, who now spends his time alone.

I wonder if in the future, a day will come when he finds something. I can't tell. But I can tell this...

He and I are similar. And he may still be worth using.

The scene once again faded to black.

"I apologise, Ayanokouji," Ryuuen smirked.

"Apologise for what?" I asked.

"I apologise since your plans aren't going to go according to your intentions. I won't be a tool that serves you," Ryuuen announced.

"That's what plenty of people have thought before. Why do you think you're special?" Sakayanagi smirked.

"I'm not someone who often repeats their mistakes. If I fail in one way, then I'll use something else to win. I'll crush him in a way that even he can't expect it," Ryuuen exuded confidence.

"That's certainly a bold claim. I wonder how far that ambition will take you," Sakayanagi said as if she was interested in Ryuuen's intentions.

"That's quite a good decision, Ryuuen. You'd probably end up with your ambitions dead if you continued your previous path. Without change, progress can't be made," Yagami complimented.

"Ayanokouji, it seems that my plans have taken a detour. I wonder if you suspect me to be a White Room student, but I guess that won't matter soon. I wonder if some part of my actions were because I wanted you to notice me or maybe it was fear, but I can't live in fear forever. I'll end up another washed up reject on that path, without doing something new, I can't make progress," Yagami thought.

We were all dismissed and I started walking back to the dorms.

"My hands are feeling a little numb," I mumbled to myself.

I guess I should go get those gloves soon.

It seems that Ryuuen's puzzle has been solved and put away on the shelf. However, there are still one or two pieces that won't be filled in for some time.

Ryuuen, I wonder how different your plans will be from the first year. I'll be looking forward to how a sword with its sheath acts.

Author Notes:

It seems that I survived reacting to volume 7. These were some of the longest things I've written in my life. This chap isn't too important apart from the little 800m points teaser and why Ryuuen ended up staying at the school.

Anyway, I will be doing an interlude next instead of a reaction chapter. Interludes are just chapters that take place in between reaction chaps and have plot relevance. The last one I wrote was right after the tool monologue, so it should be fun not having to write a reaction chap after a few months.

I'll also reveal what 7.5 reactions will be done at the end of that interlude.

That's all for this chap and v7.

Interlude: Long Awaited Meeting

"Finally, the day's over," Ike groaned as the bell went.

As usual, the day after a tape has played, there will be a day of regular schooling. I got up and walked to the doorway, but I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Horikita hadn't made a single move. Usually, she packs her things and goes home immediately, but she hasn't made a move since the bell rang.

Does she have plans with someone? Probably not, maybe she's just tired.

I looked away from Horikita and began my journey home. It was quiet just as I prefer it. I got to the dorm and went inside the elevator. I kept apologising to people as I went inside, and my shoulders were in constant contact with someone else. I suppose this is the fate of someone who leaves exactly when the bell rings.

Finally escaping the suffocation chamber, I opened the door to my dorm. However, the second I took one foot into the room, a slight crinkling sound came from the floor. I looked down and instantly knew what the object was.

A letter.

I knelt down and picked it up.

"Unsigned, I guess," I muttered to myself as I inspected the white envelope.

The envelope was completely unsigned and it didn't even look like a human had touched it. It was as if the envelope was just produced from the factory. Opening the flap, I took the white paper out.

"Come to the student council office at 4:30 p.m. You will meet me there."

A single sentence was all that this person had left behind. It was not that I had few guesses as to who I could meet, it was the opposite. Nagumo, Ichinose, Manabu and many other students could have given me this. I at first believed that Horikita may have written this, but she would just message me instead of dragging things along like this.

I doubt there's any danger in going if I'm careful, the student council room has cameras, after all.

It's only 3:30 p.m. currently, so I'll leave after a while.

Kanzaki POV:

It's been weeks since I formed my partnership with Himeno. However, I haven't told her anything about what I had been planning. I suppose that it was only a matter of time before she would get fed up with my ineptitude. The place she had picked wasn't amazing since club activities are still running in the special building, but it wasn't horrible either.

After a few minutes of waiting by the staircase, the familiar student arrived.

"I've got a good idea on wh-," I started, but was cut off.

"What have you been doing? It's been weeks and we haven't done anything. How can we do something like changing the class if we don't even communicate?" Himeno complained.

"Those are all very reasona-," I tried to apologise but I was cut off again.

"Also, why have you been so weird for the last few videos? Every time I look over at you, you seem so empty. It's like you're just a walking ghost," Himeno continued to complain.

I can't deny it, I have been feeling a little hollow for a small period of time now. The reason for it is quite simple, but to come to terms with it is something else entirely.

Himeno finally ended her rant and looked to me for answers to her complaints.

"Those are all very reasonable complaints. I partnered with you and I haven't done anything since then, so it's my fault. I apologise for that," I really meant it.

I can't allow myself to be distraught when I'm risking someone else's place in the class as well.

"I didn't mean to sound that harsh. I'm just annoyed," Himeno sighed.

"No, I'm risking your place in the class. I would be fed up if the roles were reversed," I told her.

Himeno walked up next to me and leaned on the staircase.

"So, what have you been planning?" Himeno asked.

"Now then, let's begin. As I told you before, there may be potentially some students that have similar thoughts to you and I, and finding those people is the first step," I calmly began.

"That's easier said than done. Convincing them is one thing, but finding them would be harder. It took Ayanokouji for you to find me," Himeno raised a valid point.

"I agree. It's far too hard to do it by simply looking at social cues and behaviours. The goal here is to try and broaden the range of both of our social circles, and it's important we do that soon. Superficial connections won't work, we need actual bonds between us and the rest of the class," I continued.

"Why did you emphasise that we need to do it soon? Is there a time limit?" Himeno inquired.

We have a small window until this plan loses its maximum effectiveness.

"Himeno, let me ask you this. After every tape the students see, what do the students do?" I asked.

Himeno replied without missing a beat. "They discuss it, obviously."

"Exactly. Now, would that same video be discussed a week from when it was played?"

"Not at all. From what I've heard, students talk about it only for a little bit then they move on to the next one," Himeno answered, but her voice conveyed that she didn't know where this was going.

"There's certain videos that we can use," I said.

It was as if a switch flicked in Himeno's brain.

"I can see what you're getting at. Students talk about the video and if you can make bonds with the classmates then they may reveal their true opinions. But, what video is going to work for this plan?" Himeno asked once again.

It took a long time, but after examining the videos shown, the earliest video that could work was obvious.

"The defeat against Ryuuen at the end of the first year. Students may criticise Ichinose for her lack of coordination and leadership ability. That will be the point in time when we may have some progress made," I claimed.

Not only will students get criticise her, but it may also have a ripple effect. More people start to believe that Ichinose's method of leading is flawed.

I wonder if I can achieve this goal, but there's no other option I can take.

"I see what you mean, but wouldn't it also be that people just feel sorry for her?" Himeno remarked.

"Yes, I'm sure many people will be like that. However, I also think that there should be at least some people who act like what I'm suggesting," I retorted.

"Don't you think you're taking a little big of a gamble? You're saying that some people don't agree with her like it's a fact, but what if everyone else does actually agree with her. It may not be as likely, but it's still a possibility," Himeno stated.

I admit, I didn't account for that scenario.

"I don't know then. I suppose that it would be a much more uphill battle in that case. We would perhaps actually have to demonstrate how our ideas are superior. That's another can of worms, though," I mused.

The case of everyone agreeing with Ichinose is a tough case.

"Let's say that we get some new allies, what then?" Himeno continued asking about the future.

For some reason, I ended up recalling Ayanokouji's words.

"How do you think dictatorships usually end up finishing? Most of the time, it isn't because of outer interference, the subjects themselves rise up and fight. Ichinose has no choice but to fold if we get enough people on our side," I sighed.

I still wonder if this is right. Is it really fair for me to do this? What gives me the right? I do this just because of my own selfish goals, and I rope in other people to help me achieve them. A part of me wishes I could be cold like Ryuuen or Sakayanagi, maybe then I could make decisions without bias.

I guess that may be what it takes to be a leader.

"I guess that's a solid enough plan. So the first step is to make friends. Great, I'm already screwed," Himeno grumbled.

There was a lull in the conversation. I thought about the second question Himeno asked. She was entirely right... I was feeling empty. The last few videos make me feel like the world is upside down.

"Did you want to know the answers to the latter questions you asked?" I asked even though the main topic of our conversation was over.

I know that Himeno probably doesn't want to know, but I want to tell to someone. It's something that I'm doing purely due to my own selfish wishes.

"I don't really want to pry into business that's not mine," Himeno declined the offer.

"That's understandable," I really wanted to say the thoughts in my head, but I won't tell her these things if she doesn't want to know.

I couldn't help but be a little dejected.

Himeno sighed.

"Do you want to tell me what's making you depressed? You're making such a sad face, so I'll listen if that's what you want."

I guess my face reflected my thoughts. But it was as if a rock was taken off my back. This boulder was growing heavier day by day which made me do nothing about it but carry on.

"That man... Ayanokouji's father. I've met him before," I spoke like I was a prisoner on death row confessing my sins.

Himeno's eyes widened when I said these words.

"I talked to him a few times, too. He told me some words that I kept with me for a long time, and I looked up to him in some ways. But now, it feels like the advice I've carried with me is tainted. That every action I've taken according to his advice makes me horrible," The words wouldn't stop spilling out.

I kept on confessing and confessing.

"I feel like a terrible person to have ever looked up to him. I'm not foolish enough to think that he's not that bad, but coming to terms with that was hard," I sighed.

He caused so much pain, so much suffering and probably many other things. There's no way that whatever he did to Ayanokouji could be justifiable. Making a perfect human? You created a perfect machine that wasn't able to be human. Everything that made him human was stripped away to survive.

There was a silence in the conversation now.

"From my perspective, you aren't horrible," Himeno told me.

I was surprised that she said this since she insisted on only listening.

"I don't really get how you feel, but you're trying to raise the class to the top. And you're doing it because Ichinose's method isn't working," Himeno calmly explained.

"While I do think Ichinose is incorrect with her methods, that isn't the reasoning for me to want class A. I just want to prioritse my own future," I retorted.

"I guess that's true, but that's always been the case for you and most people. I don't really care about the class, but I want class A. Every student wants class A to some extent. You said that you like the class and the people in it when you asked me to partner up with you, so it just selfish desires. It isn't selfish to prioritise your future," Himeno looked forward at the empty hallway in front of us.

A part of me agreed with her, but another part of me didn't want to believe that what I was doing was good.

"It isn't like class A is only for you, the whole class gets the benefits. Also, if we do end up succeeding, the students themselves would have agreed with our ideas. I've never had anyone I've particularly looked up to, so I don't know how it feels when they don't meet my expectations. But he did help in some ways, right?" Himeno looked over at me.

I guess that due to his words, I tried to become a more observant person. I tried to also become a more opportunistic person that tried to get the best results possible.

"I don't know, don't hate yourself and just accept that he influenced you. I know it's easier said than done, but I can't really think of anything else," Himeno sighed.

I know that a part of me wanted to accept that, but I didn't feel like it was my right to believe something like that. Maybe I needed someone to tell me that I should move on.

"Thanks, Himeno. I feel better now," I told her.

All of a sudden, there was a slight rumbling noise.

"I didn't have lunch, okay? I'm going to go eat," Himeno said looking embarrassed.

"Alright then. It seems that our business here is over for today," I chuckled thinly.

We both began to walk to the special building doors to part ways from there.

"Wanna come eat?" Himeno asked me.

"Huh? You never ask me to do anything," I was admittedly surprised.

"You seem like the only person who wouldn't tire me if we had lunch. Whenever I'm with anyone else, I just end up looking at my phone," Himeno grumbled.

However, that didn't sit right with me. She's only asked this today when she could have done this any other time.

Wait a second...

"We're reaching near the end of October, so points might be low. Is this just so I have to pay?" I asked.

"No... Not at all," Himeno averted her eyes.

I knew it. She would never willingly have lunch with me.

I sighed, "I'm a little hungry, so fine."

I was going to eat anyway, so maybe a little company wouldn't be too bad.

"Alright. Let's go then," I said.

I feel fine on my path right now. Maybe it is selfish for me to do this, but I'm fine with that. That man... I can never look up to him again. It isn't possible when I see how Ayanokouji thinks and acts.

Horikita POV:

"So then, why did you ask me to come here?" I asked the person in front of me.

The room I was in was clean and mundane. Nothing too out of the ordinary, but the opposite can be said for its resident.

"I can't ask a classmate over?" They said with a chuckle.

"I just don't think that you want to be anywhere in my vicinity," I replied.

"I can deal with some uncomfortable situations. Just being in this school is proof of that," She said with a calm look in her eye.

"Kushida, let's just get this over with," I looked her directly in the eye.

Kushida Kikyo. She was the fallen angel of class D. A part of me wanted to help her integrate into the class as an ally, but that opportunity is gone. Even if I wish to do so, the other classmates won't accept it.

"What's the rush? Let's catch up. How are you doing?" Kushida said with a slight smile.

"If you don't have anything of substance to say, I will be leaving," I started to move the chair back to stand up.

"Fine, fine," Kushida sighed.

So she really does want something. If she just let me leave then nothing of importance could have happened, but she asked me to stay.

I sat back down and waited for her to begin speaking.

"I need to help the class," Kushida said bluntly.

"Huh?"

I couldn't believe it. No, I didn't even ever have thought Kushida would willingly help the class without me doing anything.

"Let's face it, if another exam like the class poll comes, I'm done. There's no hope for me currently," Kushida grumbled.

"That's true. But why not just ask me to cover for you then?" I asked.

Of course, I would never do it without something in return, but I wanted to know what her thought process was.

"I'm not an idiot. I just go up to you and ask 'Hey, can you make sure I'm not expelled?' I'm sure we both know how that would go down," Kushida chuckled.

Well, she is right.

"So you help the class and I cover for you from then on, huh? It's a fairly simple deal, but what exactly do you offer?"

If she simply does her best in sports and academics, that's one thing. However, it's an entirely different proposal depending on what information she's willing to disclose.

"Beggars can't be choosers is the saying, right? Whatever you want me to do, I'll do. Leak the information I have, blackmail another student, doesn't matter," Kushida put her elbow on the table and rested her head in the palm of her hand.

It's not surprising that she would offer this. The only thing she's mentioned before is that she wishes for class A. And in her current situation, she has no other options other than helping the class. She's between a rock and a hard place.

I admit, while Kushida is problematic, the benefits she has are good. While the same commanding force she had previously is no longer there, she is still far above the average student.

However, there are some things that don't sit right with me.

"A while ago, you were completely self-destructive. Calling students names, antagonising them, and so many other things. However, after the tape about your betrayal in the sports festival, you changed. Why is that?"

Kushida looked at me with a serene calmness. It's as if she could see right through me.

"I think we both know why," Kushida laughed thinly.

"Ayanokouji told you to, huh? However, that doesn't really tell me much. What exactly did he tell you?" I probed further.

"He told me that he wanted to make the class as strong as possible. And to do that, he told me to help the class. The only reason I'm listening is that it's too much effort to leave right now. Horikita, I couldn't care less about the people in our class. Many of them are useless. However, compared to me, they're more different than I could hope to be," Kushida wryly smirked.

"I would say that's incorrect. Many of them indeed have changed exponentially, however, you have also changed your attitude," I told her.

I thought it was the truth. If Kushida didn't change, she wouldn't be here asking to help the class. She would simply be fine with getting expelled.

"Let me ask you a question then. Why are you tolerating me?" Kushida ignored my praise and asked me a question.

"I tolerated you before, I can still do it now. Besides, you aren't here as an enemy," I replied.

"Oh? Maybe I'm here under Ryuuen's orders."

"That wouldn't happen. You don't trust Ryuuen enough to partner with him again. Also, you don't have a choice in the matter. As Ayanokouji told you, if you cause trouble, he won't hesitate. I don't think you want to go against him now that you know what he's capable of," I said assertively.

Kushida chuckled.

"You sound like Ayanokouji is a puppet you could control. What happens if he doesn't want to ruin my life?"

"Ayanokouji is indeed his own person. However, he's also someone who does the most logical move in every scenario. He right now believes that you are valuable to the class, so he wants you to stay. If he didn't care about how the class ended up, he wouldn't have told you anything," I answered.

Kushida grinned as if she liked my answer.

"Horikita, there's still a high chance that I could be expelled if you accept this deal. If you accept it, I help in any way you want, but you may lose your reputation if it doesn't end up going well. If you don't help, I'm done. I can't do anything in that case," Kushida shrugged.

I wonder if she really was so apathetic. Did it really mean nothing to her if I declined?

"I don't accept. I apologise," I said.

Kushida looked disappointed.

"I suppose that's expected. I can't really blame you for declining," Kushida's apathetic exterior seemed to falter.

"At least tell me this, why did you want class A? You said that it was too much effort to change schools, but why is that?" It came off the heels of bringing her school life to its end, but I needed to know.

Kushida chuckled self-deprecatingly, "I'm tired. The last few months have been the lowest in terms of my social status, but I'm no where near as stressed."

"I thought you told me that you loved the attention that you recieved. That you couldn't live without it," I reminded her.

"That hasn't changed. I wonder if that will ever change. I just don't have the option in this school to gain that attention anymore, so I've given up on it. I can survive a year and a half of this place if I can get a future I want. Besides, I have a chance to stay in this place. Well, I guess I did have that chance," Kushida averted her eyes.

I knew now that this wasn't something halfhearted. She believes that I've given up on her, so she has no reason to lie anymore. No other class is going to accept her, so that option is gone as well. Kushida will help out the class.

"I told you a lie previously. I didn't mean it when I said that I declined your deal," I spoke truthfully.

Kushida looked up at me without saying a word.

"There's little downside for me right now. You don't have the option to betray the class due to Ayanokouji's threat, and you will be expelled if I don't accept this deal. However, if you do mess it up, I won't cover you any longer," I told her.

Kushida looked like she didn't believe it. Suddenly, she started laughing.

"So it was all just a fucked up test? I guess I'll take what I can get," Kushida got up from her seat and went to her desk.

She opened the wooden drawer and pulled out the memorandum.

"The conditions are simple, but have a read if you want," Kushida handed me the paper.

"Horikita Suzune, to the best of her ability, will aid Kushida Kikyo to remain at this school. Kushida Kikyo must aid Horikita Suzune's class to the best of her abilities in any way which Horikita Suzune wishes. If any of these conditions are broken, these conditions will forever no longer apply."

It was quite straightforward. Of course, Kushida couldn't have used this as proof that she would aid me since she won't get expelled if the conditions break.

"Why not place that either of us will get expelled if the conditions are broken?" It would be beneficial since I would be more inclined to follow the terms of the agreement.

"It's simple, you wouldn't accept the terms. If there comes a situation when you won't aid me, you'll be expelled. If someone gives you an ultimatum, perhaps where you had the ability to aid me but didn't, then it would violate the agreement. I had to maximise the odds that you would accept this deal," Kushida handed me a pen.

I stared at the pen with a blank expression. If I sign this, the conflict that Kushida and I had would be resolved. It would be the end of a battle and the beginning of a partnership. Kushida will be expelled if I don't sign this but may be saved if I do. The abilities and information she possesses could turn the tide in many situations.

"That makes sense."

It's a risk, but it's one I'm going to take.

I signed my name on the piece of paper.

"I look forward to hearing from my new boss," Kushida joked.

"Is that all you need me for?" I asked her.

"Horikita, that's a big problem you have. Everything's all business with you. Without actually making bonds, you're cutting yourself off from becoming a more trusted leader," Kushida advised.

"I see," I said and walked to her door.

"Bye, Horikita. Hope we both get along in the future," Kushida chuckled.

I sighed and walked back to my dorm.

Kushida and I's dispute seemed to have ended. In another world, maybe she could have still possessed that same double-faced strength, but that's not an option now. I'd always tried to keep Kushida as an ally, but I always failed. And now, she had asked me to help. Kushida, no, everyone in the class is getting better.

Maybe her advice wasn't wrong, perhaps I also need to engage with the class more.

Ayanokouji POV:

4:20 p.m.

I suppose now would be the right time to head over to the student council office. Whoever is there must have asked to meet without it being traced. Whatever they want, it's important enough to not leave a digital record.

I walked to the office and it wasn't long until I arrived at the school. I took a few turns and reached the big doors.

Manabu, Nagumo, maybe a third party, whoever asked me to meet here had piqued my curiosity.

I opened the door and saw no one sitting at the student council president's desk. Actually, there was no one in the room except for one boy.

"Ayanokouji? What brings you here?" The boy looked at me curiously.

"I was told to meet here by someone. Was it you?" I asked him.

"I didn't invite anyone. It's odd since I was the only person that was supposed to be working still. Nagumo and Ichinose already left and Horikita asked for a day off," The boy said while signing something.

A part of me didn't believe him. If he was telling the truth, then he should be the only one that could have handed me the letter.

"Actually, can I see that paper?" I asked.

"I don't know why, but alright," he said as he passed me the paper.

The handwriting didn't match at all. The shapes, lines and formatting were all different. However, while it is difficult, making different handwriting styles is possible.

"Perhaps they're runnning late. You are free to stay here and wait if you want," Yagami pointed to the couch directly across from him.

While I was hesitant, I obliged. There was a possibility that this mystery person was actually running late.

There was only the sound of Yagami's pen left in the room.

"Have you studied Macbeth, Ayanokouji?" Yagami asked after a few seconds.

Was this small talk? I guess it would be boring if we just sat there in silence for however long.

"Yeah, we studied it last year. It was quite an interesting story," I answered.

Shakespeare's Macbeth was a short story, and it focused on some simple elements. But through those simple elements, Shakespeare was able to make a dense and meaningful story.

"I'm glad to hear that. Every person I ask always thinks that it's dumb, but I quite enjoy it. What did you think about the character Macbeth?" Yagami said happily.

This is more interesting than I thought. The only other person I could speak like this to was Hiyori, but we both spent more time actually reading rather than discussing the themes of the book. These conversations are far and between.

"He's a cautionary tale on how unchecked ambition can lead to ruin. I believe his own downfall was caused by himself. His own ambition caused him to become arrogant and that hubris lead to him not understanding many things," I said.

"But wouldn't you say that while his downfall was his own, it may not have happened if there weren't people controlling him? The only reason his ambition was awakened was because of people targetting his own insecurities," Yagami countered.

"I suppose that is true. However, I still think his downfall was his own at the end of the day. He can be manipulated and strung along for a long time, but after a while, his horrible actions are his alone. However, I also think that a society that prioritised Manliness and brutality was the sole reason why Macbeth's downfall happened," I theorised.

"That's an interesting outlook. I suppose what you mean is that Macbeth's home didn't care about him if he didn't bring certain results or qualities. And due to that, those insecurities about him not being able to reach the results his home wanted began festering within him," Yagami put his pen down and mused.

I glanced over at the clock, but something at the corner of the room caught my eye.

Now that is interesting.

"It seems that your inviter hasn't shown up yet. I guess I should also stop working for today. Wanna play a card game?" Yagami proposed.

"I suppose there isn't anything better to do. Which game?"

There are so many games that I had to learn when I first got here. People always looked at me like I was an idiot when I didn't understand how certain games worked. It isn't my fault that rock, paper, scissors wasn't taught in the White Room.

"Blackjack is simple. Poker takes too long," Yagami said as he got up and went to Nagumo's desk and opened a drawer.

After a few seconds of searching, Yagami brought out a deck and brought it to the table in between both of our seats.

"I'll be the dealer," Yagami said as he opened the deck.

He handed me one card and then gave himself one. He gave me a second card and then he got another one, but this time, it was face down. The goal of blackjack is to get as close to 21 as possible and also to exceed the dealer's hand while remaining below 21. The player is given two face-up cards while the dealer has one face-up card and one face-down card.

My hand was quite basic, a 5 and an 8. I have thirteen total. Yagami's face-up card was a 10, meaning that he was pretty much immune to losing.

"Hit or stand?" Yagami asked.

A hit would mean I get another card while a stand means I stay with my current hand. There are 8 cards that could get me closer or exactly to 21 and 5 that would make me lose. Statistically speaking, it would be better to hit in this situation.

"Hit."

Yagami gave me another card. This time it was a 5, meaning that my total was now 18.

"Hit or stand?" Yagami asked again.

It would be unwise to hit again, so the stand is better in this situation.

"Stand."

"Very well, then. My face down card was a..." Yagami said as he picked up his other card.

"...A 7," Yagami said, disappointed.

It means that he got 17 total and I got 18 total. In this case, I win.

"I guess you win, Ayanokouji. Blackjack is plenty luck, but it is fun to play when you are bored," Yagami sighed.

I had been here for around 15 minutes and the inviter hadn't come.

"I doubt that person is coming. Maybe they chickened out," Yagami muttered.

"Maybe. I guess I should head back now," I said as I got up and began walking towards the door.

There was around a 4-metre distance between me and the door.

"Ayanokouji, could you wait a second?" Yagami called out to me.

Yagami got up from his seat and walked toward me. I had turned around fully and faced him.

"Yeah, what is-" I started but was cut off.

All of a sudden, Yagami sent a kick to my head.

Fast and smooth. Something a master could only do with maximum effort. I instinctively leapt to the right since I would hit the door if I went backwards.

Yagami gracefully moved to the position I leapt to and planted his left leg on the ground to send a sidekick, however, I dodged again. Both these moves were immensely powerful and would damage me if they made contact.

The only thing that went through my mind was that Yagami was the person who invited me out here. I didn't understand the point of this, ultimately, but I can't dodge forever. If I am being attacked, I can't hesitate.

I sent a hook to Yagami's head, but he bobbed and weaved out of the way. Yagami bent down and sent a sweep intending to knock me to the ground, but I jumped and intended to send a kick to his left temple.

Throughout every fight I've had in this school, this is by far the most difficult. Even a slight mistake could lead to serious damage.

Yagami put his arm to block the kick. It was the only option he could take, after all. He was bent down, so his position didn't allow for much dodging.

The kick made contact with the back of Yagami's palm and he was damaged, but he maintained his balance and got back up to a regular stance even though it was apparent his palm was damaged. I sent another jab to his chest, but Yagami strafed to the right to dodge.

His eyes were completely empty. It was as if they were staring at nothing.

After he dodged my jab, he spun around to send a kick aiming at my left temple.

If I jumped back then I would hit the wall, so my best option is something a little drastic.

I grabbed the speedy right leg and raised it meaning that Yagami would lose footing. While Yagami's body weight meant that he was falling backwards, he raised his other leg to attack my chin.

There it is... The end result was beginning to take shape.

I pushed the right leg that was in my hand forward, so he was thrown towards the ground on his back. This means his kick wasn't able to connect with my body, but I wasn't done there.

Yagami was on the ground due to me dropping him, but I got on top of him to restrict his movement.

Muay Thai.

Boxing.

As well as many others made me recognise that Yagami was a force of physical strength that shouldn't be reckoned with.

Yagami tried to free himself but his arms weren't able to move me off of him. I raised my right fist and brought it down with immense speed.

However, I stopped before the fist made contact. My knuckles were at most a millimetre away from Yagami's face. A face that had an excited grin.

"Why'd you stop?" Yagami said with a cold look.

"I could ask the same to you," I replied.

While I was on top of him, his legs were free to move. As I brought down my fist, I could feel Yagami's right leg raise and stop before it made contact with my head. We were both incredibly close to causing severe damage to each other.

However, it seems like this bout was over.

I never had any real intention of pummeling him, all I wanted was to witness the reasoning behind it all. It would be useless to leave the situation like this. I can't just run away in this sort of situation where a person is attacking me.

I got off of him and went to the door. It allows for a lot of distance if he does attack again.

"You really are incredible. The speed of those punches was something that could knock me out," Yagami began to stand up.

His voice was ragged, but not too bad.

I didn't have any intention of listening to praise. The only thing I cared about was why I was attacked.

"Are you surprised? Surely you should have understood by now," Yagami looked at me with a smirk.

Of course, I did understand. I had suspected him more and more as the tapes went on, but it was confirmed the second he threw that kick. The reasoning for a fight isn't there, however.

The person in front of me was the second White Room student. A person who seems to want me expelled, due to my father's orders.

"This is a meeting long in the making. A surprise of this calibre is par for the course," Yagami slightly spread his arms out and said as if he was reading my mind.

So this bout was just because he wanted to.

"It was quite irresponsible to fight back, why did you do it?" Yagami asked, but he already knew the answer.

"You took a method from Ryuuen's playbook. That's how I knew," I pointed to the cameras.

When I first looked at the time after we discussed Macbeth, I noticed the cameras were spray-painted black.

"You never intended to get me expelled from something like a fight," I stated.

"Expelled? What's the point of that? It just proves that I beat you in a game where you didn't know I was playing. I'm one of the people that wants you to stay in this school the most," Yagami chuckled.

He explicitly mentioned that he didn't want to beat me unfairly. So does it mean that he wants to beat me fairly?

"So you want to beat me in a fair match?" I said speculatively.

Yagami smirked.

"Obviously. If I can't do that, I can't accomplish my goals. My ambitions die if I expelled you, but in a fair match, it's different."

He was hyperfocused on defeating me. Determined to beat me in a fair match to achieve his goals.

Yagami sighed. "Let's save the meaningful talks after we make some rules. Think of this as our first meeting."

I did nothing but stare at him. He was a person hyperfocused on defeating me. A person who knew how it felt to be on the top, to be targetted by everyone. I was surprised that the second White Room student attacked me on such short notice. This person didn't give me the impression that they would reveal themselves.

"I assume that a special exam will be the stage of those rules," I remarked.

"There's nothing else more fitting," Yagami began to walk over to me.

I put my hand on the doorknob.

But, to my surprise, Yagami shook out his hand instead.

"I look forward to this match. I intended to have this setting be more grand, but that was taking too long. I can't really spend ages planning and never act on those ideas," Yagami sighed.

"Are you fully determined to battle me?"

"Do you think you can stop me?"

This was out of my expectations. The second White Room student was someone who I believed was too focused on acting behind the scenes, but here he is, proposing that we have a good match.

I thought it was pointless to face him. That I could defeat them at any moment because they weren't expecting me to attack. However, I was incorrect. Yagami was proposing the match instead of making me do it.

He's the only other person I've met who knows what it feels like to be on the top. In all honesty, I wouldn't fight back if he didn't ask for this.

"You act like I've already accepted," I questioned.

"This is the only chance you may ever have to face another generation topper," Yagami replied quickly.

"Is there anything you really lose from facing me? If you lose then your father won't chase you and if you win then I won't bother you anymore. There's a positive either way," Yagami shrugged.

"And what happens to you if you lose?" I knew the answer, but I wanted him to confirm it.

"The answer doesn't even need a thought. My ambitions die with my loss, and I lose everything," Yagami indistinctly said.

I realise now how important this is to him. This battle with me is everything to him. Of course, he's not special in that regard. I have no doubt that many others in the White Room think the same as him.

I don't believe I will lose. There's no doubt in my mind. I know the White Room better than anyone, and I know what the outcome of this battle will be.

"I look forward to the future, Ayanokouji. I know how incredible you are, I hope to be the person that buries you," Yagami began walking towards me.

No matter how much I want to believe that, I doubt it's possible.

"I wonder how far that ambition of yours will take you," I said.

"I have no intention to end up like Macbeth," Yagami chuckled thinly.

He was in front of me and waved his left arm.

"Could I leave, please?" Yagami asked.

I moved my body away from the door to let him through.

"See you later, Ayanokouji," Yagami glanced at me before leaving.

"Yagami," I called to him as he walked out the door.

He stopped and turned his head to glance back at me.

"How about I propose something different? The first person to expel the other wins," I announced.

Yagami looked dumbfounded.

"What? I just told you that expelling you served no purpose for me," Yagami spat.

"You want to become number one in the White Room, correct? Beating me in a fair match is the easiest way to accomplish that, and what easier way is there than using the school," I explained.

"I have much more knowledge than you're aware of. Expelling you would be easy with those," Yagami shaked his head.

"You don't have to use those. How about we put this to paper? Once that is done we can begin our match straight away," I continued.

"A fair match where I'm not allowed to use the advantages given to me, huh? First one to expel the other wins, and what if neither one succeeds?" Yagami probed.

"Well, let's say you don't succeed or give up, then I have no more reason to expel you. If I give up then it wouldn't be a match anymore. If one side no longer wishes to battle then the point of the conflict is gone," I explained.

Yagami was silent. I'm sure this came as a shock to him. The end goal I have is simple, and it can't be seen through by anyone other than him.

"Very well then. I'll give you a memorandum soon, then you just have to give me your signed version. Just come to the student council office when you're done," Yagami chuckled.

I nodded.

"It seems that our match has nearly begun," Yagami sighed and turned around.
I stood there in silence as he walked off.

Macbeth ended up falling because he wasn't able to understand that he couldn't control fate. He didn't understand the prophecies' true meaning and ended up falling. Perhaps if he was a little wiser, he could have won. He wouldn't have gotten the rug pulled under him if he broke free from the chains that controlled him.

If he could see another path, then perhaps things could have ended differently.

I wonder, Yagami, what your resolve will end up becoming.

Nagumo POV:

I hadn't talked to him in private for a long time. What had it been, five, six months?

What led to this turn of events? I had left the student council for the day and got something to eat from the convenience store. However, in the store, I found the man in the same aisle that I needed to go to.

We were both staring at each other, without saying a word.

"Nagumo, what are you doing here?" Horikita asked.

"We are in a convenience store. The answer seems fairly obvious," I remarked and went to pick up my item.

"So, Horikita-senpai, how's the school treating you?" I glanced at him.

"It's fine. Though the time it takes to get here every day is frustrating," Horikita sighed.

"I have wondered, how exactly do the previous third years get here everyday? I don't reckon the school has made a new building at such short notice," I questioned.

"The school has rented a hotel and every day we take a bus to and from the school. It doesn't take too long, but it is an inconvenience," Horikita answered.

"I see. That's unfortunate," I muttered.

It seems we have fallen into an awkward silence.

"Horikita-senpai, I know what the deal you made was," I told him as I picked up my items.

Taken aback, he glanced at me curiously.

"Which deal?" He said.

Playing dumb, huh?

"The deal you made with Ayanokouji. It isn't too hard to figure it out now that I think about it," I told him.

"I see," Horikita turned his body to face me.

"I don't blame you for that. You saw an opportunity and you took it. I would do the same in your position," I also turned my body.

"What tipped you off?" Horikita asked.

I've felt this glance before. Like he was trying to look right through me. Analysing every micro-movement I make.

"The timing of the deal was only a little bit after you lost your position as student council president. But the main thing that tipped me off was during the tape with the fight on the rooftop," I told him.

He looked unfazed.

"There wasn't anything in the tape to note, so what was it?" Horikita inquired.

"Early on, I made the claim that Ayanokouji may have planned everything from the start. While to an outsider it may have looked like a random thought, I was probing for reactions," I began.

The main reaction I was looking for was obvious.

"I fail to see what observing me would let you gain," Horikita readjusted his glasses.

"It was your reaction. Well, I should say lack thereof. You were completely unfazed during the entire video when it came to Ayanokouji's abilities," I confessed.

"That doesn't mean much. I've already said that I had faith in his abilities," Horikita countered.

He is right. On its own, his apathy doesn't mean much, but when it's coupled with everything else, it means something completely different.

"That's true. Just your lack of a reaction doesn't mean much. However, the time period during the deal, as I said previously, was after you lost your position as student council president. But it was also the beginning of your last christmas break and near the beginning of your last semester," I began.

I had an end goal I wanted to achieve from explaining all of this.

"I think we both know how our conflict ended. You also offered Ayanokouji a position on the student council at the beginning of your last year. After you were gone, there was no one to stop me from doing what I wanted. However, if there was someone whose abilities you had faith in, and someone on the student council, there was a chance you could stop me from running out of control," I explained.

Horikita didn't look fazed that I figured all this out.

"Those are quite astute observations. I suppose it would be foolish to continue this any longer. I asked Ayanokouji to stop you," Horikita sighed.

"Do you think he held up his side of the deal?" I asked.

My reasoning was going this far was simple, I wanted to figure out what he thought of Ayanokouji and me at the same time.

"I can't say. You aren't the same person from the end of the first year, but I don't know the reason for that," Horikita gave an indifferent answer.

So I take it that he hasn't learned about the island. This isn't too surprising, but I thought he would take more care to learn about the things that have gone on without him.

"I suppose in a roundabout way, he ended up succeeding," I said indistinctly.

"I see."

There was a lull in the conversation again.

"May I ask what happened?" Horikita asked politely.

"I grew arrogant and he dealt with me in the best way possible. A simple defeat was all it took to change things," I sighed.

From that moment onwards, I grew bitter. Targeting him with over a hundred people, interfering with his relationships. I wanted to prove myself better, no matter how petty it looked.

"I don't think that's all. If this defeat happened before my return, something else must have changed. You just seemed resentful until recent times," Manabu pointed out.

That's true. There were certain points in the tapes where the thoughts he had were things I understood. It was as if he was thinking things that I knew from my core.

"Perhaps. But I know that I can't face him again in a match that he didn't ask for. I'm sure you understand that a match is pointless if the opponent doesn't that to fight," I wryly chuckled.

"Maybe," Horikita replied indifferently.

"Do you think differently of Ayanokouji now?" Manabu asked.

"Why that kind of question?" I replied.

"You don't seem to have that same arrogance and you also talk more positively about him during tapes, so now I wonder what you think of him," Manabu nonchalantly explained.

What did I think of Ayanokouji? I think the answer to that question is simple.

"I think, at his core, he's the personification of the phrase 'lonely at the top'. He has the ability to dominate in everything, but he wishes for a challenge and a defeat. However, he also has the ingrained desire to win in everything. He's a walking contradiction in that sense," I explained what I thought.

If Ayanokouji failed in something, I may have never known of his existence

I've seen it time and time again. The world runs on accomplishments. After one failure, you can lose everything. Many times there will never be a second chance for you. A business that goes bankrupt due to a single bad decision, and an honours student who failed their entrance exams. Just due to one failure, the trajectory of one's life can change.

"Horikita-senpai, rest assured I'm done with all of this. I only have a couple of months left in this place, and I doubt Ayanokouji will face me in that time. The school, my class, I couldn't care less anymore. There's nothing left for me to accomplish," I sighed deeply.

I'm tired. I'll most likely end my school life as class A, but it won't feel like I've accomplished anything. Ayanokouji was my last hope, and he also seems to not have any interest in me.

"So you've given up all hope on Ayanokouji changing his mind?" Manabu asked speculatively.

"At the very least, something would have to influence him to battle me. I'll be seeing you, Horikita-senpai. Enjoy the rest of your time here," I told him before I went to the checkout line.

Horikita just nodded as I walked past him.

I am seen as a leader who dominated an entire year. I am the student council president and a class A student. I have attained a mass of over 60 million private points. There's such a lead in between my class and the others that it's hopeless to try and catch up.

I suppose that while I have everything I could have ever wanted, at the same time, I also feel nothing. These things don't bring me joy. It's selfish, but a part of me still wishes for something. A challenge, a defeat, I don't really care. I suppose those feelings of faint hope still remain within me.

Those feelings... While I hope those wishes come true, I feel that it may be better for me if they fade.

Yagami POV:

I walked out of the student council office and immediately went back to the dorm. I didn't look at anyone or anything.

My mind was completely blank as I walked to the building. I got in the elevator and pressed the button. I went to the room and swiped my card.

As soon as the metal latch made a sound signifying that the door closed, my legs gave out.

I couldn't stop panting. It was as if all the energy within my body ceased to exist.

I know the reason for this, however. It was anxiousness.

I made progress.

For the first time in this school, I made active progress towards my goal.

At the same time, self-doubt creeps in bit by bit.

This desire to achieve my goal is like a parasite alive within me.

You probably despise me, Ayanokouji, or maybe you can't even feel hatred anymore.

It often feels like you and I are similar. Although, in all honesty, I'm quite envious of you. My confidence just seems like feigned desperation, while yours is genuine. I don't really know if I'll be happy if I achieve my goals, but I'll be okay. In that sense, I think that's the aspect that we both share.

I always happen to fall short of everything I ever wanted. I once felt like it was a given that I could never truly achieve anything I ever desired. I at first believed it was pointless to become number one, but I wasn't content resting among the common clay.

I don't want to lose.

I slowly got up from the ground and began to make my way to my desk.

I hope to bury you, Ayanokouji, just as you desire.

Ayanokouji POV:

I walked out of the student council room and began to go home, however, as I turned the corner, I noticed a black-haired teacher.

There had been a question on my mind recently. The only way my thoughts could be eased was by answering it. And the only way to do that was simple.

Chabashira was walking to the doors of the rooftop. I suppose her work must be done for the day, and she wants a smoke break. As she walked inside and up the stairs, I made sure to stay on the bottom for a few minutes.

"It's been 3 minutes," I mumbled as I began to walk up the stairs.

The question I needed to ask was essential for the future. The special exams, my life in this school, all of it was dependent on the answer.

I reached the large doors and turned the handle. As I clashed with the cold air, I noticed Chabashira leaning on the handrails. She turned around to look at me and her face turned from neutral to confusion. I began walking to the same handrails she was previously leaning on.

"Ayanokouji, what are you doing here?" Chabashira asked as I had gotten to the handrails.

We were both around one and a half metres from each other.

"Chabashira-sensei, there's something I wish to ask you," I told her.

"Set up an appointment then. Why do it now of all times?" Chabashira complained.

"Convenience, mostly," I replied nonchalantly.

Once she saw that I had no intention of leaving, she sighed and looked at me for the question.

"What about the future? It has been months since the last exam. The dream for class A only grows further and further away at this rate," I questioned.

At this time last year, we had gone through the sports festival and were in the midst of the paper shuffle exam. Two exams that could cause a large fluctuation in points were nowhere to be found.

"Why did you take so long to ask this?" Chabashira inquired.

"I was wondering how long it would take until we got any information, but none was provided. Recently, it seemed like we weren't going to get any. It's not as if we stop aging," I answered.

"Many students have asked this of me. Even Horikita came up and did the same thing you were doing," Chabashira told me.

The fact that Horikita asked this and had not told anyone may mean that she didn't get any good information or maybe something else was at play.

"What did she ask you?"

"What happens after the videos are completed?" Chabashira quoted.

That's a reasonable question to ask. But I also suspect that not a lot would happen.

"What was your answer?"

"Things will continue as normal," Chabashira stated.

That's quite a vague statement.

"Did she ask you anything else?"

"When will the next special exam be? The answer was that it will be accounted for," Chabashira muttered.

That's another vague answer. I suppose Horikita believed it was pointless going any further than this if these were the only answers she would be getting.

"You haven't answered my question," I said assertively.

"The future? What do you mean by that?" Chabashira told me to reevaluate my angle.

"I suppose the future is a little broad. Then, when will we go back to the norm for this school?" I asked once again.

Chabashira looked a little more hesitant.

"I don't know. The teachers haven't been given that information," she said.

So the time period is undetermined.

"Then another question. How will school make up for lost time? We've lost months and are going to lose more, so what will be done?" I asked once again.

Chabashira sighed.

"The teachers haven't been given the specifics. The only thing we have been told is that it won't be a problem," Chabashira answered vaguely.

"One final question. It's unfair for certain classes like mine whose secrets have been exposed. How will the issue of the tape's information be solved?" I probed further.

This was the key one. It's unfair considering the entirety of Horikita's class has its inner workings shown while most of Sakayanagi's is kept under wraps.

"That will be dealt with," Chabashira answered vaguely once again.

All of this information seems to be unpromising.

"Can I give you a theory of mine?" I prompted.

"Will it matter if I say no?" Chabahira sighed.

"Maybe."

She rolled her eyes.

"Alright then. What's your hypothesis?"

"These tapes that we've been viewing for months seem to be collecting the thoughts of students. It's not just me either, every student's thoughts could be stored. However, there's only two ways this could be possible. One would be through the abilities of a higher power, or through some revolutionary technology," I began.

These were the only two ways thoughts could be recorded. No other method was even feasible.

"Let's say that it was through the abilities of a higher power. By that logic, there's no telling what could be done to solve these problems. They are practically trivial at that point. Memory erasing would easily be a possibility in that case. However, if it's through some form of technology that humans have made, the intentions and creator of this technology is a dark horse," I continued.

I originally thought my father could have done something, but I wonder if that is the case now. Revealing the White Room at this stage seems like a tactical mistake. All it shows is that most of their residents have failed while one has succeeded in everything. There's also the case of the runner-ups possessing many mental issues.

"However, while I say that, I doubt it would be a form of technology. I simply don't believe humans have the technology to read thoughts and record them, especially ones that were done over a year ago. The amount of data each thought would take is also another issue. It would take something like the singularity to achieve such a thing," I explained.

"The singularity?" Chabashira looked confused.

"It's a hypothetical point in time in which technological growth becomes out of control and irreversible. While there are many versions, the most popular one is that a form of intelligence agent runs on many self-improvement cycles. This would result in intelligence being newly advanced after every cycle is completed, and it would mean that machine intelligence would overtake human intelligence. It's simply a hypothetical scenario, but many science fiction scenarios like mind-reading can only be accomplished in such a world," I explained.

It would essentially trivialise human existence. Every problem could be solved and optimised. Whether I'll be alive in such a world, I can't say.

If it's a higher power, I don't really know what to think. Does that mean that such things as fate exist? It would be interesting to find the answers to such questions, but it's too much effort.

"I can't make out half the things you say," Chabashira pulled out a box of cigarettes.

"Why do you want a slow death?"

"It's an acquired taste. Besides, it's a habit now," Chabashira lit the cigarette.

It felt like she was simply doing things because it was routine for her. It didn't matter if they were bad or not.

"You know, Sensei, if you don't like the path you're on now, there's no shame in going back to change it," I advised.

I don't know why I said that. I simply couldn't understand the alluring nature of tobacco.

"What path is that?" Chabashira blew out some smoke.

"I don't know. The only person who knows where they are heading is that person," I shrugged.

It isn't possible to fully understand someone else's future. Even I can't do something like that. I can get close, make predictions, and do all sorts of things, but I can never get to 100%. I know my path and only mine. I can guess, but I can't determine.

The cigarette in Chabashira's hand wavered.

"The path I'm on right now, huh? I'd say I'm not on a path. To be on a path implies that you're moving forward, but I'm still stuck in the past."

I could somewhat understand that.

"Perhaps not now, or tomorrow, but someday, you could move forward. The power to move forward is given only to those who dare to stoop and take it. One must have the courage to dare. You can't do it quickly, but small dares can help," I told her.

I don't know why I'm advising her. I suppose that I could understand her feelings. The feeling of being stuck in the past is one I know very well.

"I'll be heading back now," Chabashira dropped the cigarette and crushed it with her heel.

However, she took out her box of cigarettes and dropped them all on the ground. And then, one by one, she crushed them all.

"I could've used some," I said.

"I don't want you to die here," Chabashira sighed.

As the gust of wind blew away the cigarette butts, Chabashira turned around to go back to the school. However, as she reached the door, she glanced back at me.

"I think you should listen to your own advice once in a while," Chabshira said as she walked into the shadows of the stairway.

It seems I'm alone on the roof again. There isn't much reason to stay here any longer, but I'd like to watch the sun for a little while.

The sun that stands at the top of the world was finally resting. The sky was dyed in a colour that looked like a purple broth with an orange centre. The early stars had their silvery twinkle and the moon remains in the sky like a grey dent.

When I first left the White Room, I stared at the sky for as long as possible. I didn't know how long, but I gazed at it with all my focus. The endless formations of the clouds, the free-flowing wind, the spontaneous movement of the animals.

My thoughts went back to Chabashira's words. The path I was on, huh? When I first arrived in this place, I thought it could be a new beginning. I thought that I wouldn't be used again for my time here. But perhaps it was merely the pride of a bird that had been given momentary freedom to flap its wings and yet, the creature's legs were still bound.

Maybe I could never loosen the chains.

I wanted to loosen the bonds. I wanted to be free from the chains of my past, but I know that part of me won't change.

There will always be some form of me that remains within that place.

There will always be that personality, that person.

If I go back to the White Room, I wonder if I'll go back to how I once was. It's as if I took a walk and returned back home on the same route.

If I go back to the White Room... the emotions within me would grow more shallow. And eventually, they may fall from the decrepit wreck, sinking so far down that they could never be recovered.

I've accepted that fact. I know that there is a possibility that nothing in my life could change.

But I wanted to try.

The White Room is a part of me, and I will continue to live as I am now. I won't deny that past, because in doing so I would deny a part of myself.

"This is pointless," I sighed.

All of this thinking is arbitrary.

I took one last look at the scarlet orb and turned my back on it.

As I went back to the shadows of the stairway, one thought repeated in my mind.

It's difficult to be human.

Author's notes:

This chap was meant to be out at the end of November, but then for some reasons which I still don't know, my computer broke. It kept crashing whenever I tried to open it. The worst part is that I was writing this chap while it happened, so I lost like 3k words which pissed me off to no end. When I got my computer back I didn't write out of pure annoyance.

Anyway, on to the actual chap.

Fight scenes are hard to write. It took me about an hour to get that as close as possible to what I imagined. If it looks like I made Ayanokouji or Yagami stronger than they actually are, it's just because of inexperience.

Looking back I kind of dealt with Kushida too quickly, so I'm reaping what I sow I guess.

In all honesty, I didn't like writing the chabashira and kiyo talk. It felt more like writing science fiction rather than cote, but it's also just weird to never address how the future of the students is going to play out.

Anyway, I also decided to keep using the fan TL since it's more accurate.

Vol 7.5 reactions:

Ryuuen and kiyo talk (Manabu included)

Double date (This one is going to be long)

Confession the bit at the end with Kei and Kiriyama

Also, I will try and get a another chap out in December, but I have family stuff going on so don't be surprised if the next update is in January.

Winter Date Planning

(A/N Slight change of plans. This chap will be the part where kei and Sato set up the date. Felt kinda weird to jump into the date after one chap randomly, so I'm doing this.)

After waking up and getting ready for school, I checked my phone. To my surprise, I received a message from an unknown number.

"Come to the first-year dorm building room 501. I'll have the memorandum we talked about there. There had to be a slight change of plans"

It seems we're about to begin this match today itself.

"I guess I'll go straight after the video viewing," I muttered to myself.

Tucking my phone into my blazer pocket, I began my journey to school.

Yagami had a different plan in mind, but the first to expel the other will win according to the new rules. The resolve within him may crumble, but no matter what, he won't be the same person in the end.

Upon arriving at school, I found my seat and we were promptly taken to the gym. It felt like it had been a long time since the last tape, but it really had only been one day. I suppose the hectic day yesterday makes me feel like more time has elapsed.

"The winter break section of the tapes have begun. There seems to be a bit of a perspective change for these. Let's begin."

A perspective change? Could it be someone like Horikita or Ryuuen?

The 23rd of December. Clear skies. Waking up in the morning was extremely pleasant. It was almost unbelievably refreshing, and even though I had just gotten up. I was wrapped up in comfort and it felt as though I were still in a dream.

"So it's me again. Wait, is it the day with Sato? No, no, no, no. Why did I think those things?" Kei thought.

It was the first change that occurred to me. So, what changed? If people ask me that, I would resolutely answer 'Nothing'. But, it's not like nothing's changed. The truth is, there had been a change. A dramatic change. I, Karuizawa Kei, no longer have a horrible past chaining me down.

So it's from Kei's perspective.

To be more precise, it's not quite that. I have gained a power that won't lose to the past chaining me down. That is yesterday, the events of the closing ceremony that ended the second semester. I was called out by Ryuuen and the others and received acts of bullying. It sounds lame when I put it into words like this but it is a fact that it happened. I hit rock bottom.

"Doesn't really sound lame, more like it's sad," Sato told her.

"That doesn't sound much better," Kei complained.

At this school I ran away to seek salvation, I thought I would once again be dropped down into hell. And then, I heard various things. And amongst those, the shocking one was, that Manabe and the others who bullied me were in fact guided by Kiyotaka. At first, I despaired, and even anger came out. But...in the end, I was saved.

By the hands of Kiyotaka.

The ones waiting for me as I safely descended from the rooftop were the former student council president and Chabashira-sensei. It wasn't like they had anything to say to me, it was just their concern so that the eyes of unrelated people would not fall on me. Honestly, without their care, I doubt I would have safely made it back to the dormitory.

The students solemnly listened to Kei's thoughts. This was something they knew already, so it felt more like a recap than anything.

The only thing they told me was that those two were acting based on Kiyotaka's instructions. I think it's because they realized it was the only way to calm me down. Those events on the rooftop. The seeds that the me who was bullied by Manabe and the others had planted.

If I had the power to shake off my past, I would have been more resolute then. It would have ended without what happened back in middle school being found out...no, that's not it. Basically, I was in the wrong. To act tough, I continued to take on an arrogant attitude.

Towards that, even if Manabe and the others feel displeasure it couldn't be helped. It was a method I chose to avoid bullying. And the demerits of that.

"It would be inevitable that the attitude would break down. An act can only go on for so long until either the mask has cracks in it, or the person behind the mask makes external mistakes," Sakayanagi examined.

"Aren't those the same thing?" Kamuro inquired.

"Not exactly. By there being cracks in the mask, I meant that the person isn't able to keep up their person, such as Karuizawa in certain situations on the cruise ship. However, by external mistakes, it would be more like Kushida. Her external mistake was allowing herself to be heard on the roof and talking about her experiences online," Sakayanagi explained.

The students could understand what she meant very well. They've seen the facades and their downfall in great detail.

"Fuu..."

A sigh like that came out. But it's not a bad sigh at all. How should I put it? It was a sigh filled with emotion, no. I can't really put it into words well.

There's only one thing I'm certain about. That is, even when I'm asleep, even when I'm awake. Inside my thoughts, Kiyotaka is always there.

"I want to curl up into a ball," Kei muttered.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing... I'm just remembering something embarrassing," Kei indistinctly said.

Something embarrassing? I guess I'll find out later if she's remembering it during this video.

Ever since yesterday, it was burned into my mind and I couldn't part from it.

"...more like, mou, how should I put it, this is foul play..."

Even though my body temperature should be normal, for some reason, my body became hot. To suppress the amount of heat in my body, I closed my eyes. Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. 1st year Class D. At first I didn't even think anything of him. Just a classmate without a shadow. Sometimes the topic of him being cool did arise, but I was never interested. And besides, those classmates soon forgot about Kiyotaka.

My thoughts previously which revealed my goal to turn Kei into more of a parasite tainted these thoughts. Maybe if the situation was different, there would be more teasing going on, but that may not happen. Although it's still a possibility depending on Kei's thoughts.

However, these are the thoughts of a Kei who didn't go along with that goal.

In our modern world, communication skills are a large factor in one's popularity. That is something that is fundamentally lacking in Kiyotaka. No matter how good he is at sports, if it's not accompanied by other elements, the degree of his popularity will not extend any further. That's why with Yousuke-kun in the lead too, Class A's Tsukasaki-kun and Class B's Shibata-kun are more popular by an order of magnitude.

But the real Kiyotaka is not bad at socializing, he's really smart, he's very mature, he's very rational, he's also good at sports to the point he won't lose even to the senior students, and also, he's strong to the point it's almost unbelievable...there are also ruthless and cruel parts to him, but...even so, in the end, he'll save me.

"What a glowing review," Ryuuen chuckled.

"He doesn't seem to be that bad at socialising when it comes to class stuff. But when it's for things that don't matter, he kind of shit," Sudo examined bluntly.

"It's pretty clear why it's that way now," Yagami pointed out.

All these descriptions of me have a new light cast on them. While before it was unclear, the reveal of the White Room is one that shunned a light on these mysteries.

"Haa...!?"

Could it be, I, before I knew it, about Kiyotaka--

"No, no, no, no. No way, no way!"

Holding my face which had become red, I shake my head intensely left and right. As my face became red, I panicked... I'm almost like a maiden in love.

"Almost, huh?" Sato teased.

Many other people began teasing as well.

I suppose that while these thoughts are tainted, this is still a room of teenagers.

It's not like I'm denying romance. I'm also a girl who wants to properly fall in love too. But, how should I put it, there's a part of me that cannot admit that I'm looking at Kiyotaka with those eyes?

"That's right. It obviously can't be the case. It's because of him that I experienced terrible things..."

On the contrary, I'd like him to thank me for not holding a grudge against him. On top of that, to steal my heart away too, I cannot forgive such indulgency.

Standing in front of the mirror, I combed my hair which had become frizzled after waking up.

"But, I'm also too much of a good person, aren't I?"

Even if they happened to bear the fault, I wonder if an ordinary person would forgive Kiyotaka for what he did. Probably impossible. It's obvious that it'd be impossible. On the contrary, they would probably hold a grudge against him. It's only because it happened to be a deeply generous person like me that he was forgiven. Just be satisfied with that, Kiyotaka. Speaking out loud like that in my head, I shook off those wrongful delusions.

Many students began laughing at Kei for her thoughts. I admit it was also quite amusing.

"I guess it is nice to see some thing a little more calm after so many large events," Yosuke chuckled.

Yosuke had been a lot more distant the last few months. I haven't talked to him for a long time. I don't know if that's because of something deliberate, or perhaps it's just a coincidence.

"Nah, this shit is boring as fuck. Just when things were getting good, this shit happens," Hosen complained.

I guess there is also the minority that doesn't care for these videos.

"It's been a while since something a lot more relaxing. It isn't like the exciting stuff is going away," Nanase advised him.

"I get that, but I'm going to ignore it and complain," Hosen smirked.

It's just, I cannot breach the subject of having forgiven him already in front of Kiyotaka.

On the contrary, I wonder if I should go bother him a bit. Pretending to be angry at him a bit for having been manipulated sounds good, after all. And also probably, the next time I see Kiyotaka's face, true anger might actually emerge too.

As I was mulling over that, a chat arrived on my phone.

"Today at 11 o'clock, thanks in advance Karuizawa-san."

"Ahh, I see. There was that."

It was a contact from my classmate, Satou Maya-san. Before tomorrow, the 24th, as a notice today, I received a contact from Satou-san telling me she wanted to meet me as she had something to consult me about.

Normally, because I got along with a different group from that of Satou-san, our exchanges were by no means, deep.

Of course, as classmates, we do get along fairly well, but it's the first time I've been called out like this to meet with her.

"But even so, I sure am healthy."

"That's weird. Being a little sick would already be lucky, but the fact that you're completely healthy seems like a miracle. I kinda wish I was that lucky," Amikura sighed.

"If it's showing this, will it show the actual date? What if it's from Ayanokouji's perspective? Oh no, this is going to suck. Why do I have to experience my rejection again?" Sato thought.

Yesterday, underneath the cold sky, from the top of my head I had countless buckets of water dumped on me and even though such a horrible thing happened, I'm still perfectly healthy to the point I'd like to praise myself for it.

Naturally, after being chilled down to my core I took a bath to warm myself up, but a normal girl probably would've caught a cold and even if they slept for three days straight it wouldn't be strange.

"It's because I'm too used to such treatment...just kidding."

The screen turned black, but the audio kept playing. This isn't too surprising as this has happened previously.

I realized that sort of masochistic talk smoothly come out. The 'me' up until yesterday. That is, the 'me' that had thought she had changed but in fact, had not changed at all.

I was always terrified of being bullied, always cowering. Deep inside my heart, a darkness had always been spreading out. But now, I can say it clearly. I wonder if I was able to change even a slight bit. Taking off my pyjamas, and now in my underwear. At that moment, the scars carved into my white body inevitably came into sight. Even if I didn't want that, I would end up seeing it. Every day, I confronted these scars, my feelings sank and I started to want to die. But, I never minded them as much as I did yesterday.

Even though I hated that scar that much, regretted that much and felt that much sadness. In just one day, I can't even believe I would change this much.

Once again, the reality of the severity that haunted Kei came back into the spotlight. Perhaps one day I may figure out the origins of that scar, but I also am content with never finding out. Digging up past traumas for no reason isn't something that I wish to do.

"But even so, I can't show this to a boy..."

If they happened to see such a scar, the opposite sex would end up drawing away. The body of a girl is supposed to be soft and fluffy and beautiful...This would end up crushing that illusion.

I'm sure even a hundred years' worth of love would cool off. No, I had no intention of showing it to anyone else though...I stored it away in my heart like that. It's just...I might have not shown it on my expression...but, Kiyotaka was different.

Even though he saw this scar of mine, he never even once spoke his disgust. Is it just that he didn't say it? Or was it just because it was dark on board the ship? Or just lying? Did he think deep inside that it was disgusting? Or could it be he really did not think it was disgusting at all? Affirmations and repudiations repeat inside my head. But there was no way an answer could be found for that. Just repeating my soliloquy, I realized something important.

"I don't really mind. You know that, right?" I told her.

I really didn't mind the scar. It's nothing but a remnant of a past injury.

"Yeah. Although these thoughts come into your mind sometimes," Key sheepishly chuckled.

I suppose these intrusive thoughts are inside everyone. However, these thoughts could also be some form of insecurity.

"Some people might find something like that weird or gross, but I don't think many would mind. Some people might even be into it," Sato teased.

"Huh? N-no way," Kei exclaimed.

I don't think Kei will have a good day today.

"Speaking of which that guy, he touched my body with his hands didn't he?"

Back then, I didn't have time to think, but isn't this a splendidly unbelievable thing? He touched my thighs, my uniform was almost taken off...I was treated like a germ or a pest by the girls, and I was not protected by the boys either. The whole class, the whole school year, did not even see me as a human, much less see me as a girl. Even though I've never even properly held hands with a boy before, what the hell has he done to me I wonder.

"Really, mou, mou, mou! I'm thinking about it again! I'm such an idiot!"

Once again, let's put a lid on the matter of Kiyotaka and seal it away. I'll do that. That was just an accident so I have to forget about it. I passed my hands through the cloth and smoothly proceeded with changing.

The audio cut off as the screen was already black.

"The first stage of grief is denial, after all. Although I don't really know if one could consider this grief," Sakayanagi giggled.

"I thought this would be boring, but this is way more fun than I thought," Ryuuen chuckled.

"Why are you finding this fun?" Ibuki looked confused.

"I owe my life at this school to her. Seeing my saviour acting like this is hilarious," Ryuuen smirked.

"Let's move on to the next one."

The screen went back to normal.

Having taken some time to prepare, I headed towards the destination with a trot. The Keyaki Mall that welcomed the winter vacation was overflowing with students. Most of the students seem to have come here to play, as there were far more people than the usual holidays.

"I guess that's true. There's nowhere else to play but here."

All the necessities have been gathered here so I have no complaints but there's no novelty here.

Having somehow made it in time, I called out to the Satou-san who was waiting with her phone in hand in front of the cafe that was our meeting spot.

"Good morning, Satou-san."

"Ahh, Karuizawa-san! Good morning!"

Satou-san's eyes lit up as she waved her hands at me. Perhaps she went to the hairdresser but her hair was beautifully arranged. Just with that alone, I ended up imagining various things.

"Was I that predictable?" Sato sighed.

"A little," Kei giggled.

It was yesterday night that Satou-san called me asking for a consultation. Both my mind and body were worn out, but I kept quiet about that fact. Of course, I would. The fact that I was called up to the rooftop and showered in cold water was something that 'never happened' as far as anyone's concerned. In other words, looking at it from Satou-san's perspective, I have to be the usual me. That's why although I could have turned down the consultation request, I decided to accept it. And besides...since a while ago I've been curious about Satou-san's actions.

"I feel bad for dragging you out there now," Sato grumbled.

"I needed the fresh air. If I didn't have people dragging me around, I might've just kept cooped up in my dorm," Kei chuckled.

"Staying cooped up in your room is the best! Doing nothing and just relaxing is one of the best feelings out there," The Professor happily said.

"I think getting out with friends is pretty good as well," Yosuke proposed.

I suppose that's the difference between an extrovert and an introvert. While many people think of an introvert as someone with poor social ability, that's nothing but a myth.

It's like a battery. For an introvert to charge, they need their alone time, but to deplete their battery, they would have to talk to people. The opposite holds for an extrovert. You can have a confident introvert and a socially anxious extrovert.

"Sorry, for calling you out suddenly."

"It's no big deal. Don't worry about it."

"It's a great help to me if you say that."

Together with Satou-san, who seemed happy, as planned we entered the shop. Although it was full, conveniently a pair happened to be leaving too in exchange so we were able to properly enter.

"It's really crowded~"

I said that out loud without thinking. It was exasperatingly successful.

"In the winter vacation, I wonder if all the school years don't have anything like exams."

Towards the Satou-san who said that, I too, had the same question.

During the summer vacation, we 1st-year students immediately set out on a voyage on board a luxury cruiser. But, this time, from seeing students across all school years, it seems as though no special exams were being conducted.

I wonder if this school, too, is giving us this service at least for the winter vacation. Or could it be that at the end of this year and the start of the next, some kind of exam would begin? If so, I'd hate it.

"I kind of expected an end of year special exam, but a bonus exam and one pretty much at the beginning of this year was just cruel," Ike grumbled.

"The third years don't seem to be getting surprise stuff like this. I kinda wish I was in their year sometimes," Hondo sighed.

"I don't think you would be anything special there either," Sudo joked.

"I don't think that year transfers are a thing. Perhaps in the future under a different president, but it would be an enormous fee," Nagumo commented.

Year transfers are on a whole different level. Not only are you skipping an entire year in the school, but you'll be essentially abandoning your current year.

I don't know why someone would wish to do that. I would rather stay here for as long as I could.

"If you haven't eaten breakfast yet, order lots and lots ok? I'll pay for everything."

Satou-san tells me not to hold back with a smile. And just as she said, I ordered an American scone and a cafe au lait, and the two of us, near the centre of the shop, sat at a small table for two.

"So what's the consultation you wanted from me?"

A consultation that she'd go as far as to buy me a meal, I wonder if it's going to be a significant request. Correcting my posture slightly, I leaned in with my ears.

"Hmm, yeah. The thing is, you see? The truth is...soon I'll be going on a date"

Satou said then cut in with that.

"...date?"

No one was really surprised. This had been coming for a while, it was just a matter of when it would be shown.

Even as I was surprised, I suppressed my tension and asked in return.

"That's right."

While blushing, Satou-san nodded two or three times towards me. I felt a bad premonition, as expected I'd hit the mark. And her partner, if I'm not misreading this, is...

"Umm, with who?"

It seems Satou-san's been waiting for me to ask her that.

"It's Ayanokouji-kun, you see. It's a surprise...right?"

Satou-san murmured that, seemingly shy yet happy. Suddenly, I could feel a light tinnitus in my ears, but I pretended to be calm.

Taking the scone I had just received into my hands, I bit off a larger bite than usual. A fragment broke off and fell onto the tray. I then poured the cafe au lait into my mouth which had become dry.

"That really is a surprise. I hadn't expected that at all. The gloomy Ayanokouji? You could do better," Ryuuen sarcastically stated.

"Am I going to have to sit through another few videos with this shit? I'd rather just ditch the day then," Hosen scoffed.

I do not doubt that he would stay true to his word.

"Heh...so Satou-san's aiming for Ayanokouji-kun. That's a surprise~"

Of course, I had realized that Satou-san had fallen in love with Kiyotaka. But, as since she's never consulted me directly before, answering like that was the safest.

"Right? I'm also a bit surprised by myself too. But, during the sports festival, there was the relay, right? Looking at his running figure, my heart was pounding, you see."

Satou-san was speaking with such excitement to the point I felt embarrassed while listening to it.

That figure of hers was indeed that of a 'Maiden in Love'.

"You got a girl to like you because you ran fast? Man, is it really that easy?" Ike looked depressed.

"Even if you ran fast, there'd be no hope for you. People like us... we don't have the looks to win this race," Sudo grimaced.

"Why are you insulting all your friends today?" Ike looked even sadder.

Sudo shrugged.

While Sudo was rather blunt, he was right. Looks are just as much of a genetic advantage as anything else.

"But, doesn't he lack a presence? If it's Satou-san, there should be other, better boys more suited for you. Like, Tsukasaki-kun from the other class, how about him?"

Even across our school year, he was hailed for a period of time as a considerably handsome guy.

He's been a hot topic recently, how about him? I recommended that to her like that.

"That's no good. It seems only a while ago, he's begun dating a senior student who attends the same club as him."

I see. So he's already been taken, that's why I haven't heard any rumours about him. Even a popular idol on the television, male and female alike, as soon as they find themselves a lover, their popularity plummets.

Jobs that require being a form of entertainer always act as a large lie told to the consumer. While many online entertainers have some more freedom, a person in an agency doesn't have nearly as much. They're restricted by contracts to tell an idealised facet of reality to fans.

"So that's how it is. Then, how about Satonaka-kun? He should be free even now, right?"

"Yeah, I do think he's cool but...something's just not clicking with me there."

Even though I suggested several other popular guys, Satou-san showed no signs of being moved at all. It seems Satou-san isn't judging Kiyotaka solely by his outer appearance. Really, at this rate it's almost like I'm saying Kiyotaka's outer appearance is inferior to that of Doujou-kun or Satonaka-kun...right now he doesn't stand out much but if you compete only by outer appearance alone, without a doubt Kiyotaka is top class.

I looked over at Kei whose face looked like a tomato.

"I'd probably be a little sad if you didn't like how I looked," I told her.

"I was just being objective. That's what you say all the time, right? I'm just an objective person," Kei proudly stated, but it did seem that this proud face was a little forced.

In other words, Satou-san, who's fallen in love, has realized that fact, huh? For boys and for girls alike, the outer appearance of their partner is their status. I'm going out with such a cool boy, I'm going out with such a cute girl, just with that alone one's personal evaluation will also rise. Just as I had gained more than I had imagined from going out with Hirata-kun. With this timing, if Satou-san were to go out with Kiyotaka, at this point, Satou-san's evaluation might also rise too.

If Kiyotaka shows off his talent and starts standing out, that in itself would make his evaluation even higher than that of Hirata-kun. Kiyotaka's been gathering more attention ever since the relay but the current situation is, he's not gathering the attention of as many girls as expected. The expression of him normally having a quiet attitude and talking only with Horikita-san, those factors don't quite connect to the boom of the girls.

Next, like Ike-kun and Yamauchi-kun, and Sudou-kun. Hanging out with friends like that who are seen in an exceedingly bad light by the girls is also a minus impression.

"It's gotten a little better now, right?" Ike looked a tad hopeful.

Though, I doubt the girls have forgotten about the camera incident during the summer holidays. While they have repaid their debt with favours, the trust will take a long time to mend. They were doing alright before the videos, and Sudo was on track to become a highly respected member of the class, but his past actions can't be easily tossed aside.

"I speak from experience when I say worry less about your reputation. Just try and be a better member of the class," Horikita advised.

"Alright," Ike muttered and Sudo nodded.

In any case, up until now, Satou-san shouldn't have had that much contact with Kiyotaka. But despite that, falling in love with him and all that after just one act in the relay, isn't it a bit too shallow? I know Kiyotaka much more than her. His true nature, or more precisely, his deep, dark nature. Satou-san should have no idea about that. Ahh, mou. This is wrong, this is wrong! That has nothing to do with this. I have no reason to speak badly of Satou-san, and I'm in a position where I have to cheer her on.

Why? Because I am Hirata Yousuke's girlfriend. Because I have no reason to interfere with someone else's romance. That is why I, as Hirata-kun's girlfriend, as the leader-like existence of the girls of Class D, I cut into Satou-san.

"I guess it is a little shallow. I didn't even know what he was really like. But I wanted to find out. There's nothing wrong with that, right?" Sato thought.

"That sounds like too much work. Why the hell does a leader have to deal with romance problems?" Ryuuen scoffed.

"That's a little presumptuous. If a leader wishes to lead with respect then they could either prove their abilities or try to earn it by making bonds with their classmates," Sakayanagi retorted.

"This isn't the same thing. We're talking about being a social leader, not a class leader. Do you only have the class battle in your head? Get a hobby," Ryuuen smirked.

"Hearing this may seem a bit like that, but, are you seriously aiming for him that much?"

If I didn't know about Kiyotaka's identity, undoubtedly I would have asked something like that.

"...yeah."

In response to that question, Satou-san without any hesitation, answered with a nod. It seems she's hardened her resolve, and Satou-san was not approaching Kiyotaka as some joke. Such a thing, I had already long realized it though.

"Isn't it a good thing that you've found someone you like? And besides, right now Ayanokouji-kun should be free too."

"That's right, that's why I thought this might be my chance. If some other girl also falls in love with Ayanokouji-kun then... I was thinking like that and I got into a hurry."

"That's ironic," Amasawa giggled.

If one consults a friend or a best friend regarding romance, there are fifty thousand episodes in this world of having the boy they like be stolen away. It's not a strange thing that Satou-san is being cautious of that. As for me who has a boyfriend that's competing for 1st or 2nd place in our school year, I would have assessed the risk of that happening being as low as possible.

But even so, to think it would even come to a date during the winter vacation, this was beyond my expectations. That Kiyotaka, even though he didn't seem interested in Satou-san, even though the rooftop incident happened he still agreed to go out with her. The paper bag containing the straws, I unconsciously ended up tearing it apart.

"...could it be the consultation, has something to do with that date?"

Hearing that, Satou-san's eyes lit up and she nodded. Ever since a while ago, she's been too dazzling.

"Fucking hell, this consultation thing hasn't even started," Hosen groaned.

"Yeah. You know, like the secret behind making a date a success? I was wondering how I should do it. How did you end up dating Hirata-kun, I want you to tell me various things regarding that."

In Class D, the only ones who have clearly announced their relationship were me and Yousuke-kun. Even if she sought help from her friends in the other classes, Kiyotaka, or rather Ayanokouji, 'who's that?' Something like that is the most that could happen. In other words, Satou-san relying on me is also something that couldn't be helped.

"Karuizawa-san, you started dating Hirata-kun soon after you enrolled right?".

"Yeah. I guess so. It's nothing special though."

"It is something special. It's really amazing, I really respect you for that!".

Saying that, Satou-san, almost as if engulfing both my hands, grasped them.

"That is why that skill, please instruct me in it!"

"It's not something that can be called a skill though..."

"This skill really is just being sociable. If you seem like a person who's closed off and not willing to talk to anyone, then there won't be many results," Matsushita told her friend.

"I didn't really need help on how to get a date, I needed help on what to do," Sato replied.

In the first place, I cannot answer a single one of Satou-san's requests. The me who escaped from the ugly bullying of my middle school period approached him, having resolved to switch over from the bullied side to the side where I would not be bullied. Looking back on it, I was very lucky.

It was also an act that stemmed from determining that Yousuke-kun was not that kind of person but it really was a high-stakes gamble. If, when I had asked him to let me take on the false girlfriend role, and he had refused me, the result would have been something different from what it is now. And not just harshly dumping me, he might have even exposed my bullied past to everyone. Yousuke-kun is someone who treasures harmony from the bottom of his heart, and is the type of person to make it into an ideal.

Feeling like he could save me by pretending to be my boyfriend, he gladly accepted it. That's why I accepted him, and chose to be protected under that umbrella of peace. The girlfriend of Yousuke-kun, who's the centre of the class. That title was far more effective than I had imagined. At first, there was envy and grudges coming from the girls of the class, but that too soon disappeared.

Remembering what was done to me, I took a high-pressure attitude towards various students. Even in shopping, pestering for small change, things like that I traced them all.

And so, I was able to make the throne of the leader of Class D's girls my own.

"You'd just be an asshole if you exposed someone being bullied in the past," Sudo said.

"I don't really know why someone would do that anyway. What would you get from exposing someone's past?" Onodera agreed.

"There's not a lot you could get from exposing it. In fact, that would be the stupid thing to do," Kushida indifferently said.

Kushida would understand the logistics behind something like a horrible past very well.

"Although just keeping that information and sitting on it has some pretty good uses. Blackmail, selling that information and some other things would be pretty easy to accomplish," Kushida shrugged.

Information is a commodity, the one who has the most has the advantage. To maximise the chances of succeeding, you have to optimise the process. And the more information you have, the more streamlined the process will be.

No matter how incredible you are, if you know nothing about your opponent, your chances aren't high.

But, the me who created a false status, clearly has things I can do and things I cannot do. That is why, even if Satou-san requests a romance lecture from me, there's nothing I can do to answer.

For someone without any experience in romance, there's no way they would know the techniques of romance. Since we were dating, to make the fact that we are "dating" common knowledge, we repeatedly went on pretend dates, but my heart was not there.

That's why I don't know what is right and what is wrong now. But I don't want to betray Satou-san's expectations. I don't want her to think I'm a newcomer to romance. If it were me from a while back, I would have probably boldly shown off the knowledge I heard from magazines or the television. Almost as if it were a date I had experienced, I would have been able to talkatively speak about it by replacing it with me.

But, now it's gradually changing. Towards Satou-san, towards someone who's placed their trust in me, I don't want to make random statements like that. Recently, I had grown tired of the me who had been acting bullishly and arrogantly, for a moment, I wanted to talk about something true. But I cannot breathe a word about that. In this school, I have to remain Yousuke-kun's girlfriend and act boldly. That is why I have to continue to tell lies I don't want to tell.

"That's the restriction of having a false self. No matter what you do, you will be barred by the limitations of the persona. If you act in a way that's off, people would notice," Kushida thought.

"You don't want to tell them, but it isn't as if you have to. If you really had moved on from the past, you would be able to speak without lies. If you spoke under the false persona, that would just mean that you still need protection," Tsubaki criticised.

Do I really mean that?

Right now, is Yousuke-kun's existence still truly necessary to me?

At a time like this, unnecessary thoughts like that were floating into my mind. The only dangerous elements to me at present, Manabe and Ryuuen's group, have been eliminated thanks to Kiyotaka's strategy. In other words, the story of the bullying will not come forth anymore. And besides, from now on, even if something were to happen, Kiyotaka will surely come and save me, I have that sense of safety too.

The fact that I'm Yousuke-kun's girlfriend is a lump of privileges but if I remove that, I wonder if there is the possibility of having my status in this school robbed from me. Of course, if it becomes a matter of having been dumped by Yousuke-kun more or less that might be lame, but I feel like depending on the 2 of us talking it out, it will go well.

If that happens, things will clear up for me and I will become free. And if I become free, I can finally pursue my true love. In other words, I cannot afford to be thinking such things now. Because the Satou-san in front of me is expecting a good answer from me while waiting. I can contemplate the meaning of continuing to go out with Yousuke-kun later.

The unnecessary thoughts that have disturbed me countless times, this time, I will drive them into a corner.

Kei did break away from Yosuke's protection. She has been completely free since then.

Her pull as a leader was something that had been fluctuating for a while now. After the video that showed the incident on the cruise ship, she lost a lot of pull. While people felt sympathetic, they didn't understand why she protected me. The students distanced themselves from her, but after the incident on the rooftop, she had regained a lot of that pull. They could understand why she had done what she did.

However, while she has a lot of pull, it is undeniable that her strengths as a source of information for me have grown weak. As people now think of her as my partner, there will always be lingering suspicion in their heads that I instructed her to do something. Although despite this, she has continued to keep her promise and has stayed by my side.

"After hearing you out what I thought is, instead of going on a trial date, Satou-san wants to go on a real date with Ayanokouji-kun with the intention of going out with him, right?"

"Yeah."

In other words, a date meant to seduce Kiyotaka.

"Seduce makes it sound like I'm manipulating him," Sato objected.

"What should I do to make it go well?"

"Let's see!..."

Let's think seriously. A way for Satou-san to go out with Kiyotaka...umm, that guy, I wonder what needs to be done to seduce him.

He's an existence that's clearly divided from other men. I wonder if he'll be interested in ordinary romance... or perhaps, he might surprisingly be the sort of guy that longs for that sort of ordinary romance?

It feels weird being talked about as if I'm not there. Well, I guess I wasn't there, so I suppose it's fair.

Since it can be taken either way, making a judgment on this is a difficult task. As such questions floated up and disappeared repeatedly in me, Satou-san brought out a phone.

"I wonder if I was being too vague? Umm, you see, since I'm an amateur at this, I'd like to think of a date plan. Please help me with the decision."

And while lowering her head, she shows me the date plan written on the phone's memo screen.

Meet at 12 o'clock - Lunch - Movie Theater - Shopping - Confession underneath the Legendary Tree - Present

It seems overwhelmingly simple, but it was written like that. Firstly, I interjected with the thing I was most concerned about over everything else.

"Legendary tree? The fuck is that?" Ryuuen looked confused.

It seems to be some form of urban legend if I had to guess.

"Confession on the first date, huh? Bit of a bold move," Amikura pointed out.

"Wait a minute. Are you planning on confessing to him on the first date?"

"I was thinking of going with the whole intention of hitting and breaking...only if the courage comes out on that day though."

As I was thinking she should deepen her relationship with him more bit by bit, she went in with a short-term decisive battle that was far beyond my expectations.

"Isn't it going too fast? I think it's not too late if you do it after 2, 3 dates. You might be able to realize some disagreeable aspects about your partner too."

Of course, girls with romantic experiences sometimes seem to make decisions on the spot too. But Satou-san, in regards to romance, seems to be closer to a beginner, I think it's better for her to take it slowly.

But, there's not much credibility in that coming from a fellow beginner like me...But she seems rushed about the result, or more like I felt as though she were prioritizing her charm.

Could it be, Satou-san might possibly want to make her girlfriend debut in the 3rd semester?

"I don't really care about making a debut or anything," Sato chuckled at Kei's comment.

Taking a relationship slowly or quickly is dependent on the two people involved. Some people may get bored if things take too long and others may get anxious when it's too slow. It comes down to compatibility, but there's a compromise that can be achieved as well.

Two people who want a fast relationship are compatible in that sense, but one person that wants a slow relationship and another person that wants a quickly moving one have the option of compromise. They can move faster or slower, but that doesn't mean the relationship will work still.

Relationships are ever changing and sparks can die out just as fast as they were lit.

"And also, what does this underneath the legendary tree mean? By any chance, is it one of those if you swear your love you'll be bound forevermore things?"

I wonder if such an urban legend steeped tree exists in this school. Even if such a mysterious power exists, in this day and age where one cannot see their future, being guaranteed to be bound together for 10 years or 20 years cannot be said only to be a good thing.

If it turns out that the man you've married is a useless one to the point you want to divorce him, being forced to be married to him for life seems more like a curse.

"It doesn't seem like it's that famous though, I found it while looking through the school's bulletin board. That, if you confess in front of that tree, it will definitely succeed. And what's more, there are quite a lot of reports like that."

Heh...I didn't know about that. Since I've also become interested in that, I'll be investigating it.

And when I did, it seems it really does exist, in the school's chatroom bulletin board, there were several cases where a confession went well that were written there. It seems when this school was first founded, some big shot donated it and it was transplanted here. It seems the age of that tree exceeds 8 years.

"Just seems like a coincidence to me," Horikita claimed.

"Not only is it a coincidence, but it's also incomplete data. The only reason there's a surplus of people saying that confessions were accepted is that there aren't people saying that confessions were rejected. There's no balance. I can't blame them, either. I wouldn't want to announce a failed rejection for the world to see," Sakayanagi sighed.

"I suppose people will do anything if it raises their chances of success," Hashimoto shrugged.

"Can't believe shit like that exists. How does this stuff even start? So a rich guy plants a tree, a few people happen to confess at that location by chance, and then it becomes a 'legendary tree'?" Ryuuen scoffed.

"It did say that the tree wasn't well known. It's probably just a few people calling it that and the name stuck," Hiyori indifferently said.

"Speaking of which, there were several excellent trees like that weren't there..."

Normally I wouldn't even be conscious of such a tree. The time of confession has to be in the evening before the sun sets. From 4 o'clock in the afternoon to 5 o'clock in the afternoon. Around that time, the condition is that no one else must be around. If that condition is fulfilled, the confession has a 99% chance of succeeding, it seems.

But the 99% part does sound really fishy.

"But even so, isn't it quite difficult? The timing of this confession."

"That's right, I guess. It says if someone else unrelated is there at the moment of confession, things won't go well."

In this time period, the presence of people is quite intense so the timing seems difficult. On top of that, it wouldn't be strange too if there were other boys and girls attempting to execute this legend.

One would have to connect the conversation well, and guide it so that only the 2 of you would be left. Naturally, something like this is just a superstition, and I think of it as a superstition. But if it's to make a once-in-a-lifetime confession succeed, it's a feeling like grasping at straws. I too, if it comes to victory or defeat, would want to raise my possibilities even if it's only by 1%.

"I guess if you want to raise your chances, but all that effort for something that's probably a coincidence seems pointless," Horikita stated.

"It just depends on the person I suppose. If you even have the slight hope that something like this could succeed, then you would want to do anything in your power to accomplish it," Kei retorted.

"Hey umm, what's your reason for falling in love with Ayanokouji-kun?"

"Ehh? Why are you asking?"

"No, sorry. It's because I don't know anything about Ayanokouji-kun, you see. I wanted to get an image of him. About what part of him you fell in love with, like that. You know, if I hear it, maybe it might be useful for my advice about your date plan, right?"

As I asked her that, Satou-san whispers back while hiding her cheeks inside her hands, looking shy.

"Umm--...first of all, isn't he cool? Normally he's quiet and mature. And also, he runs very fast...and in the tests too, he was above me so it's not like he's an idiot...you know, I naturally think Hirata-kun is better than that but the other boys are all mostly childish."

She's probably talking about Ike-kun and Yamauchi-kun and the others. Regarding that point, I'm also convinced. To the point, I can't even believe we're the same age. Most of our male classmates are like children. That's why around this period, a large majority of girls become disillusioned with their classmates and go running towards their seniors.

"From my position you're all the same in terms of maturity," Ryuuen chuckled.

"From what the tapes have shown, what Karuizawa is saying is true. However, this is only one perspective. To really understand, there needs to be some more information for the girl's side of things," Nagumo explained.

Multiple perspectives are always needed, after all, one perspective can give biased information, incomplete thoughts, and manipulated thoughts. To really understand a situation, looking at it from every side is vital.

It's like judging a mural with only half of the finished product. Without seeing the bigger picture, nothing can be taken seriously.

"T-The things I'm saying right now, keep it a secret from the other girls, ok? It'll be bad if they also realize how fine Ayanokouji-kun is. Besides, it'll also sound lame if rumors about me not being used to men were to be spread around."

"Is it fine to consult me though?"

"Karuizawa-san's the girlfriend of Hirata-kun so that gives me peace of mind."

It seems Hirata-kun's existence is a huge one. Satou-san is relying on me. It doesn't feel too bad that she's relying on me to this point...but of all things, why does it have to be about Kiyotaka?

If this were about some other boy, I could have supported her with my honest feelings. I wouldn't have felt this bothered inside my heart. Is this what they call fate?

"Hah..."

It ended up sighing all of a sudden. Different from the one in the morning, a heavy one. But having heard that, Satou-san's face became gloomy as I looked at her.

"A-As I thought, I'm not bothering you, am I?"

"No, sorry. That sigh just now really didn't mean anything like that. Really."

Kei would be in a state of turmoil at this point in time. Her feelings would be between a rock and a hard place.

I panicked and denied it, but inside my heart, I had been carrying that tone the whole time...it's not like I'm in love with Kiyotaka or anything though. It's just, how should I put it, I have a special relationship with him. No matter what, that will always take precedence. But right now I need to overturn my thoughts and act for Satou-san's sake.

I answer like that to myself many times over.

"Then, let's revise the date plan a little, shall we? If you're going to be eating lunch together, it might be better if you do it after watching the movie. If things get awkward, you can always talk about the movie that way."

"Umm, let me put down the plan Karuizawa-san thought up."

Saying that honestly, Satou-san took out her phone.

The movie is probably already booked but for the sake of the flow, it's better if he does it. Watching a movie right away after eating may cause you trouble if an unforeseen situation were to arise. And it'll also make you sleepy so that's a no-go.

I accessed the movie theatre's website.

"And? When's the all-important date going to happen?".

First of all, I need to check whether or not the time can be changed, if I don't start by confirming that nothing will start.

"It's the day after tomorrow."

"I see that's fine... wait, the day after tomorrow's the 25th though!"

I almost stood up without thinking. I panickedly lowered my raised hips back onto the chair.

Many students giggled at this comedic interaction.

"Hehehe."

No, don't 'Hehehe' me...!

The 25th of December. It's the 1 day that's most precious for men and women alike throughout the entire year. That Kiyotaka, giving the ok for a date on that 25th, what the hell is he thinking?

Normally it's supposed to be the time lovers spend together to further deepen their relationships, and a day to confirm their love. It's not suited towards starting a relationship. It's not normal to use such a day for a date. He should have gently declined and moved the date to the 26th.

If this were reversed, there's no mistaking that he would've incurred a considerable amount of displeasure.

A boy who just wants to do lewd things, such a label should be stuck on him. I interjected fiercely like that inside my thoughts.

"Is there really a difference? I get that Christmas was for love and stuff, but the 26th isn't that bad, right?" Ike looked confused.

"I don't really get it either," Sudo agreed.

"Fu, fu."

"...what's wrong, Karuizawa-san?"

"No, nothing. Don't worry about it."

Why am I getting hot all on my own? For someone unrelated like me, no matter what day the 2 of them decide to have their date on, it's irrelevant. The concerned parties are free to decide. I should understand that. Ah mou, ever since a while ago, what's the matter with me?

I became violently angry, towards my own thoughts. I gave those mistaken thoughts a double slap in the face and forcibly sealed them away.

"The 25th huh...well I guess it's still better than the Eve tomorrow."

The movie theatre, too, seems as though it would be overwhelmingly packed more so on the Eve. They're probably going to spend the whole day together after watching the movie.

Even though a lot of couples make use of it, looking at it in terms of the whole school, only 10% to 20% would be couples. As long as one doesn't care about the time and the positioning of their seats, it's possible for them to go as many rounds as they want.

"About the movie, you watch it from 11:50 and it'll end around 13:30. So before 2 o'clock you have your meals and around 3 o'clock you leave the shop. After that, you adjust the time yourself and after 4 o'clock you confess. Something like that?"

The result of roughly adjusting the time, this is probably for the best.

Satou-san, too, doesn't seem to have any objections and she nodded satisfactorily.

The students listened disinterestedly to the conversation. It was just basic plan-making, after all.

"After that, I think it's also better if you reserve your lunch. You probably want to take the seats near the windows, right?"

Discounting lunchtime, without a problem it can be done.

"And also, if you reserve your orders ahead of time, they also make you things that are not on the menu."

"So that's how it is, I didn't know about that...as expected of Karuizawa-san."

If it's the day after tomorrow, that place too will have good accommodation. Well, the truth is, it's great if the boy thinks of all these things though. This time, it's a stage for the sake of Satou-san's confession so this is fine too though.

It's just, I don't know whether this was the right answer or not. It sounds pathetic when I repeat it but I've never gone on a real date before...

The screen faded to black.

"To those disinterested with this video, something more interesting will be shown next time."

Ryuuen instinctively glanced at me. It was obvious what would be shown to both of us. Manabu didn't look at us, rather, he seemed completely apathetic.

Ignoring both of them, I headed back to class. And soon I found myself heading to the first-year dorm building.

The way to the place was still engrained in my mind. The decor of the lobby was exactly the same. Pressing the 5th-floor button, I waited for the elevator doors to open.

As the doors opened, I could see the room. It was quite clear, even inside the elevator.

I knocked on the door and the door opened. I saw Yagami with a look in his eyes similar to the day when we fought.

"Come in. Just sit down until the last person arrives," Yagami said as he allowed me to enter.

Another person?

"Could I ask how you got my phone number?" I said as I sat at his dinner table.

"Just by asking around. Being a class leader allows for some pretty good information gathering. One of your classmates gave it to me," Yagami went to his desk.

As he opened the drawer, another knock on the door came. Yagami pointed at me, so I got up to open it.

Upon turning the handle, a familiar pink devil came in.

"Why'd you call me here, Takuya?" Amasawa grumbled.

"Both of you... sit," Yagami said assertively.

All of us sat down and Yagami gave me a sheet of paper and a pen. On the bottom, there was already a signature from Yagami.

"The paper has all the terms we agreed to. Read it if you want," Yagami stated.

Looking through the document, it had everything Yagami and I had talked about. First to expel the other wins, allowed withdrawal and Yagami's advantages can't be used.

"I have a question. What advantages were you given?" I asked.

"Fighting record, recordings, tests, and a bunch of other information that I didn't read. All of the stuff I did read or watch was fairly meaningless, but I always had the option to read more if I wished," Yagami answered.

I see. So he didn't read some of it from the beginning in the hopes of a fair match.

"What's my purpose, Takuya? You can't just call someone out to do whatever you want. I didn't know you were such a tyrant," Amasawa complained.

"Can you cut your bullshit already? Your job is a witness, nothing else. And once Ayanokouji signs the document, you can leave," Yagami sighed.

I wonder if this behaviour is normal for them.

I had already planned to sign the paper, so I quickly put down my signature.

"Alright then. Ichika, please get out," Yagami said bluntly.

"This is eviction! It's a crime! I didn't think you would be so cruel" Amasawa looked shocked.

"It would only be eviction if this was your room. It's not," Yagami dragged Amasawa by the arm to the door.

"And since it isn't, I can kick you out whenever I want," Yagami coldly pushed Amasawa out of the room.

Closing the door, Yagami returned back to the table.

"I'll be handing this to be filed at the student council office. It won't be looked at by anyone but me," Yagami took the paper.

"I have a question for you, Ayanokouji. What did you think of me before yesterday?" Yagami asked.

What I thought of him?

"You were an enigma to me until yesterday. I suspected you to be the second White Room student as well. But before these videos, you weren't on my radar at all," I said.

"What did you think about this mysterious second White Room student? You don't have to answer, I'm really just curious," Yagami asked once again.

That's a little more difficult to answer.

"If I had to say, I didn't think anything of him. He was just another enemy that I had to deal with at some point. They were someone who also avoided confronting me directly, based on their many behind-the-scenes actions," I answered.

Yagami didn't look fazed.

"I have a question for you, Yagami. While I didn't think anything of you until recently, you still acted outside my expectations. Why did you confront me so suddenly?" I asked.

This was something I'd been curious about for a while now.

Yagami just smirked in response.

"In the White Room, I wasn't content with resting among the common clay. I thought something would change with my results as I got older, but the same year came again and again. The only thing I felt changing was the aging of my bones. The version of me who couldn't confront you I don't need anymore. Why did I change? It's because I wasn't happy with my life being wasted," Yagami explained.

So he changed because he didn't want his ambitions to be wasted. That's a good enough answer, but I can't tell if that's everything.

"Let's have a good match, Ayanokouji," Yagami put out his hand just like yesterday.

Unlike yesterday, I was confident that this was the right choice.

"Sure thing."

Things are going to get a little more interesting now.

Author's notes:

Happy holidays everyone.

Yagami vs kiyo has started, so that's fun.

The rest of the volume goes according to the plan I mentioned last time so that Ryuuen and Ayanokouji's talk will be next. Volume 0 has been released, but I doubt we can read it for like a month or two.

That's all, see you next time.

800 Million Groundwork

Ryuuen POV:

"Sakagami-sensei, can I say something before we head off?" I asked.

I already know what's going to happen today.

"Make it quick," Sakagami sighed and walked to the door to wait.

"I appreciate it," I smirked and walked up to the podium.

They were all staring at me in confusion.

"All of you, remember the 800 million point plan I was talking about? That will be shown today. From this point onwards, the class will be going into a point focused doctrine. In the video today, there will be no questions about the plan. So just zip your mouths," I warned.

While many stayed silent, there was one who objected.

"800 million point plan? I really hoped you were lying. You don't really expect something like that to happen, right? You've got to be joking" Tokito complained.

"If you doubt my seriousness, let's have a little survey. Raise your hand if you want class A," I opened the stage for the rest of them to interact.

Of course, all of them raised their hands. Unlike the third year, this year was completely unpredictable.

"I'll lead you there. Only those who choose to follow me can see that peak. If you don't like it, you're free to make plans to leave the class. Drop out, transfer, I don't really care," I chuckled.

"There will only be one class at the top. I'll make sure it's us," I announced.

The students all looked shocked that I had such a bold idea.

This sense of invigoration... It can't be accomplished with fear. Morale is inversely dependent on the fear people feel. To get them to willingly follow this plan, fear isn't the most effective force.

"I hate to cut this announcement short, but we have to go now," Sakagami said and pointed at us to line up.

Although, he had a beaming grin that couldn't be ignored.

The next step is the condescending prick, that battle will be the next stepping stone in this conquest.

I'll see you at the peak, Ayanokouji. For once, I'm excited about the future.

Ayanokouji POV:

"It's odd that Ryuuen's class hadn't shown up yet," Horikita muttered.

Though, at that very moment, the class in question walked through the doors.

"Let's begin then. A video from Ayanokouji's perspective once again."

Ryuuen looked surprisingly confident even though his plan was being revealed.

"It's cold."

On the bench near Keyaki Mall, naturally there was no sign of anyone. After wiping the snow off the bench, I sat down there. Around the time the snow stopped falling, that man appeared.

"Don't go around calling someone out this early in the morning."

The one who spat that out was the leader of Class C, Ryuuen Kakeru. No, former leader. And with a sharp glint in his eyes, he glared at me.

"You've got to rub it in, don't you?" Ryuuen complained.

"It seems that even defeated, you still have some ferocity left within you," Manabu examined.

"I wouldn't be able to call you out here if it wasn't a time like this with no one around."

"That's for your convenience. That has nothing to do with me."

It was understandable that Ryuuen would curse like that. Certainly, the one who would be inconvenienced by someone witnessing this meeting is if I had to say, me. A variety of rumours...or even if not, there's no avoiding a troublesome rumour spreading around.

"So? What business do you have with me?"

"I was thinking we could gossip. If I said that what would you do?"

"Hah. That's a funny joke for this shitty, sleepy morning."

"You're both clearly very good friends. That seems normal for the two of you," Sakayanagi giggled.

"What an amusing interaction already," Hashimoto chuckled.

Even though it was still early morning, Ryuuen understands well the risk I'm taking.

He's never even once thought, from the start, that this conversation held no meaning.

"Speaking of which, I saw you yesterday. And also, elsewhere, I saw Ishizaki and the others."

It also served as evidence that Ryuuen had indeed resigned as leader as he had declared. I cannot rule out the possibility of it being faked, but after seeing Ishizaki and the others, that's not possible. In the first place, there's no advantage to them in making it seem that way to me.

"Are you happy that you were able to prevent me from dropping out of school like you intended?"

"I was impressed. Even though you're alone now, you didn't end up secluding yourself away inside your room."

"I'm free to do whatever I want wherever I want. Or, do you succumb to anxiety whenever you see me? Because you don't know when, with what timing, I'll decide on revenge."

"And I'll regret it then, huh? That I didn't expel you."

Ryuuen places a leg on the bench beside the one I'm sitting on, and boldly sweeps the snow off it. Then, he firmly sat down on it.

"You never do anything that's unnecessary, huh?" Yagami smirked.

"I'm surprised that you're just walking around like that without a care in the world," Katsuragi surmised.

"The only reason I'm out there is because that bastard wanted something," Ryuuen mocked.

"You didn't have to go, but you still went. For someone who hates him so much, you seemed to be quite accepting of his invitation," Katsuragi countered.

Ryuuen indeed had the choice to not meet me here.

"I couldn't resist the temptation. I was just so curious as to why the guy who wants a peaceful life called me out again," Ryuuen glanced at me.

"I suppose that's the logical option. From what Ayanokouji has shown, there's nothing unnecessary he does," Katsuragi stated.

"If possible I'd like you to hold off on that. It's for the sake of a peaceful school life as well too, but it's also a bother to fight against you."

If I play along with Ryuuen's methods, it'll tire me out more than necessary.

Beaten down by his persistence, I can imagine the state of the ones who had fallen under Ryuuen's umbrella.

"Then don't call me out. You're wasting the miracle of me coming out like this."

Let's leave the small talk at this and cut to the chase. If I mess up the timing clumsily, then Ryuuen will leave this place without mercy. Not only that, but the continuation of the rooftop may even occur in that case.

"Regarding the rooftop incident back then, I was thinking I'd like to add something."

"Add?"

'What are you thinking of now?' is what Ryuuen is probably thinking. Especially if I'm going to analyze his defeat, it's certainly not something that would be pleasant for him. However, it is vital that I explain to him the parts he missed while conveying the facts to him.

"That place was where the decisive judgement occurred, Ryuuen. Probably, if you had been alone there, even now you'd be obsessing over the rooftop incident and you might have been able to fight me again."

But, Ibuki, Ishizaki and also Albert were also there at that place with him. It is also a fact that this was one of the main factors that caused Ryuuen to hasten his decision.

"If you alone were there, there would be no need to give up leadership. The only reason you did it was because the others were there," Katsuragi mused.

"You've got me all figured out, huh?" Ryuuen's eyes resembled slight annoyance.

"It wouldn't be possible to do such a thing alone. The water would have to be prepared already if you did, but you would still run out eventually," Horikita claimed.

If the situation had aggravated, the riskiness rises proportionately. In the worst case scenario, there is the possibility that it won't end with the responsibility being shoved onto Ryuuen alone. Not just that instance, he made his surrender after seeing ahead of that. It was a hand worth playing. Of course, I manipulated him into doing that but as far as living up to expectations go, Ryuuen has high potential.

"Truly, you're a bastard who's screwing around, I'm amazed at the lengths you go to in taking that attitude of condescension towards your opponents. I thought doing that was my specialty but when you do it like that, I'm going out of business."

"I was only telling you the truth."

"I don't even have to think about how saying that benefits you. It means it has something to do with the fact that you even used Ishizaki and the others to stop me from dropping out, right?"

I had expected him to catch on if I properly carried the flow of the conversation but it seems like the prospects of that are dim.

"You and your craftiness. Do you think I'll still make a move?"

"Move? What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb. I'm talking about you trying to make me strike at other classes. If not, there's no reason to keep me around in this school."

If I don't use Ryuuen, his existence will be nothing more than an impediment. He chose to drop out on his own so if I had left him to his own devices that would have been the end of it, it's easy to think that.

"From the perspective I have now, that was a pretty stupid thing to say," Ryuuen laughed slightly as if he was enjoying this.

"That's true. Ayanokouji seems to have no clear desire to rise up to class A. Although he's still called you out here for some reason, if it isn't to help his class, I see no point," Hiyori analysed.

"I don't think anyone matches you in being condescending," Katsuragi sighed.

"I'm a little sad you think like that. You lived under the reign of the most arrogant person in this school for an entire year," Ryuuen chuckled at Katsuragi's remark.

Sakayanagi paid him no mind.

"Is your motivation not coming back? Aren't you the type of man who enjoys conflict?"

"Even if I crush Class B or Class A, as long as you remain, there's no meaning to any of it."

There's no meaning. That's quite a definitive statement.

"What? Has your spirit been broken that much by just one defeat?"

As I said that, Ryuuen's eyes lit up with an emotion that resembled slight anger.

"Shall I go on a rampage here then? If that's what you wish."

"I said too much. Please forgive me."

If the matter with Ibuki, Ishizaki and the others didn't exist, I would have probably already been beaten up and sent flying.

This man here doesn't know fear.

Then, he learnt fear.

"Maybe if you didn't fight back. I doubt anyone could lay a finger on you," Ike praised.

"I quite like this goading version of you. It's a lot more fun to watch than your normal apathetic self," Sakayanagi giggled.

"You were crushed that badly, huh? Wonder what happened that led you to come back," Hosen mused.

"You broke the very essence of him that made him invincible. With that newly acquired fear, he would be a lot more cautious. I suppose you would be the one he's most cautious with," Manabu claimed.

"There is a sense of hopelessness when going against an opponent you don't think you can defeat. If you have a goal and you don't think you can get over every obstacle; evolve or give up," Nagumo stated bluntly.

"Quite blunt, but I can't disagree," Sakayanagi remarked.

It's a simple fact that to achieve a goal, you need to be at a level above where you currently are. If there's an insurmountable wall, you have to climb up till you reach the summit, or turn around and go on a different path.

However, even so, Ryuuen would probably coolly stand up and fight here. He has more than enough potential to move forward even as he feels terrified. Of course, this only applies if he remembers to move forward and mature without dropping out of school.

"We've already settled the score between us. From now on, I won't bring up the incident on that rooftop. I promise you this is the last time. Now on top of that, let's talk."

Of course, Ryuuen won't believe mere verbal promises. At the very most, this is just being done pro forma, words meant to console him.

"Suspicious. Even if we continue this conversation, it's pointless. I doubt anything beneficial to me can come from this, I'll be taking my leave."

Perhaps his discomfort index has risen, but he moves to leave.

"Creating a sense of urgency, huh? Leaving to draw out the words from Ayanokouji," Yagami commented.

It's a common salesman approach. Giving a tempting offer to the customer, only to take it away leaving them wanting more. In this case, I wanted to talk with Ryuuen, but since he took away that talk, he accelerated the process as the conversation would be gone.

"Not necessarily."

I stopped Ryuuen, who made a move to get up. The act of attempting to leave too, looking at it from Ryuuen's perspective, may be a strategy meant to draw out my words. It was precisely because he had thought something was up that he left the dorm this early in the morning. He probably had no intention of going back empty-handed in the first place.

"That's the conclusion most people would come to," Horikita claimed.

Then, without looking at me, Ryuuen sat back down.

"You're free to interpret what I'm about to say in any way you like. However, from now on, don't you think it'll be boring if simple battles continue on endlessly?"

Towards me, who kept on continuing with the riddle-like questions, Ryuuen seemed frustrated but immediately replied.

"Simple battles, you say?"

"Class D beats Class C, then beats Class B and finally beats Class A. Then joyously, Horikita and the others become Class A. For a story outline, it seems like the popular, easy way out. But, what I'm saying is that we don't need to be hung up on such patterns."

If this were a simple, adventure-action picture, we may have properly struck in order of weakness. However, this is reality. There is no such thing as a sequence when it comes to battles.

We're free to start attacking from A or B. It is not out of the question for us to join hands with C, who happens to be our enemy, as well.

"A plan to join up with class C, huh? I doubt such an opportunity would ever arise," Horikita denied the possibility.

"Does that mean that there's a chance?" Ryuuen asked.

"I'm not so foolish as to answer that in public," Horikita sighed.

It's true that if Horikita did ever have the plan of partnering up with class C, it would be unwise to show her views on it right now. However, a partnership with class C could be incredibly beneficial if used correctly.

Class A is the unsurmountable wall for Horikita and Ryuuen. If they work together, there's no telling how results can change.

"It's quite realistic. Companies at the bottom can make partnerships to try and raise their status. The same can be applied to the school," Manabu explained.

"That can only work to some extents. There's a reason why the company at the top is where they are. If some partnerships could change things so suddenly, it would be much more common for hierarchies to change," Sakayanagi countered.

"Perhaps if you look at it from the present, but let's take the tech industry for example. In the past decade, it is undeniable how quickly things change. The companies at the top previously, may not be at their peak anymore. The way to rise to the top is simply innovation. It's a simple concept, but much harder to use in practice," Manabu retorted.

"And if those same companies at the bottom possess both innovation, and the partnership to help bring those ideas to life, things can change. Is that what you're saying?" Sakayanagi continued for Manabu.

"Indeed. The people at the bottom may not have the same starting advantages, but they don't have to remain at the bottom if they have the potential to grow," Manabu nodded.

"Interestingly enough, it seems starting from the 3rd semester, Class A will be attacking Class B. While the enemy's attention is focused on Class B, it's possible to take them from behind and in one stroke, collapse Class A entirely."

And this would no longer make it a pointless conversation for Ryuuen.

"How credible is this information?"

"I don't know. I'd say it's 50-50."

I have to take into consideration the possibility that Sakayanagi may simply be bluffing.

If I'm reading this from the standpoint of her personality, nine times out of ten she'll follow through with it though.

"You knew about that, huh?" Kanzaki questioned.

"I suppose your hands were tied. Even if we were allied, there's no way to confirm such a claim. You would also be put into the spotlight. There's also no telling what strategy Sakayanagi has in mind," Ichinose surmised.

"You made it sound like she would do something interesting. Kind of disappointed. You got me excited for nothing," Ryuuen insulted with a cocky grin.

"You don't know everything yet," Sakayanagi stated.

"Fucking hypocrite. You've been making fun of me this entire time. Do you think I'm so kind as to not do the same to you? This shit is gonna be great," Ryuuen laughed.

"You have fun with that," Sakayanagi stated disinterestedly.

Ichinose has been in turmoil for a while now, and while she has had a bit of a break from the spotlight, it's only a matter of time until she's put back into it. If Ichinose was in a better state of mind, she could probably stand strong, but things aren't predictable for her right now.

"If this is reliable information, then it can be said to be a good chance. But, I thought you Class D guys have a non-aggression pact with Class B. It's good and all to strike at Class A but while you do that, Class B will be crushed. Ichinose cannot possibly beat Sakayanagi, you know."

"I don't care about who wins and who loses. I don't plan on getting involved."

"So you're just going to let her fall without helping?"

"If she destroys Ichinose for me, it saves me the trouble. Class D may be able to rise up to Class A without effort. And besides, if it's Sakayanagi, she may be able to expel some of them. It's about time I learned what sort of penalties will occur if an expulsion were to happen."

"There's a lot I don't like about this. You don't have any ambition to aim for the upper classes. Aren't you acting under the mentality of not wanting to stand out?"

"That is true. However, there's no inconvenience for me if my surroundings were to act on their own. If we can automatically rise up to Class A, I don't think that's a bad deal."

By surroundings, of course, I mean Class A and Class B. And also Ryuuen.

"How cold," Sakayanagi chuckled.

"I find it quite impressive that no one in your year was expelled at that point. In fact, I wonder how long you would continue this streak if not for that exam. Your year is certainly interesting, but I suppose that's to be expected," Nagumo shrugged.

"You make it sound like our year is an outlier. It doesn't sound like you mean one particular thing either, but rather everything is interesting," Horikita analysed Nagumo's statement.

If you didn't pay much attention to his statement, it could be possible to think that he's just talking about me. But he never used a singular category, he always referenced the entire year when he spoke.

"Am I wrong? In the history of this school, expulsions are common. That in itself makes your year interesting. But that's only part of it. The real reason I find your year interesting is the unpredictability of it," Nagumo stated.

"Unpredictable, huh? I suppose I see what you mean. If you only looked at the beginning of our school life, it would be much more uninteresting, but things have changed now," Horikita expanded upon Nagumo's statement.

"I don't get it. What's so unpredictable?" Ike tilted his head in confusion.

"The unpredictable thing is the competition. In past years, while each class desires class A, at some point, the bottom ones give up and accept their fate. However, no matter how bleak, this year continues to change. The recent island exam shows how unpredictable things can get," Nagumo explained with a blank expression.

I doubt anyone expected Koenji to defeat Nagumo at the last moment. Perhaps things would turn out differently if Nagumo was more cautious, but fantasy scenarios are arbitrary. The fact of the matter is that a class D student outclassed the third year.

Looking at Nagumo's and Manabu's years, it's clear that one class has dominated. There may have been some competition for a while, but there was a clear winner eventually. However, this year isn't as set in stone. Ryuuen, Horikita, and Sakayanagi, they're all part of this game. Even until the very end, I doubt they'll give up.

Ichinose's class is an outlier, though. If she truly has given up on class A, there's only one option available for them to return to the race.

Insurgence.

Kanzaki must have contacted Himeno by now, so there is a possibility for them to come back into the game. Whether his efforts pay off is for time to tell.

"So you'll just be observing without doing anything?"

"There's a problem I need to clean up. There's still a troublesome existence left in our class."

That existence is a person Ryuuen knows very well. There's no need to even think about it, the name of that person came out of his mouth.

Kushida, who had looked slightly bored, was now paying full attention.

"I suppose that this didn't end up bearing fruit. I don't mind, really. Kikyo remaining in this school is much more interesting than her leaving," Ryuuen thought.

"Kikyo, huh? Certainly, for you, she's a troublesome one. The way this school is set up, if you have an enemy on the inside, there will be a fair amount of limitations you'll face."

To deal with the protuberance in front of my eyes. Those were my honest thoughts.

There's no longer any need at this point to pay heed to rising up to Class A as well as expulsions occurring within the class but the problem is that, in Kushida's case, the one she's targeting is Horikita.

As for me, since I did something reckless during that rooftop incident, I can no longer make an enemy out of the former student council president Horikita Manabu. As long as he's still enrolled in this school, if his sister Horikita Suzune were to be expelled, that man probably won't forgive me.

In my school life, I'd like to avoid lighting up yellow signal lights.

This statement brought a lot of confused thoughts.

"Now that's certainly interesting. I had assumed that you really had no care for your sister's school life, but this is surprising," Sakayanagi's glanced at Manabu.

Of course, these were my own personal speculations at the time, but even if there was a possibility of such an event occurring, I had to prevent it.

"These are most likely Ayanokouji's own preemptive measures. He didn't want to make an enemy out of me, so he had to do everything to prevent such a possibility," Manabu met Sakayanagi's gaze and stated as if he was reading my mind.

Horikita didn't pay mind to what her brother stated, and was rather focused on the screen.

"A few days ago, Kikyo called me, you know? She asked me when I'd attack. Unfortunately, at the time I was engrossed in my hunt for you and I didn't respond to her but ever since she lost during the test, she's been vigilantly watching out for an opportunity and she doesn't seem like she's given up desiring Suzune's expulsion. Kuku, she's quite an interesting woman."

"If you had used Kushida, you could have dealt a damaging blow to our class, right?"

"If I had wanted to attack Suzune or the class, there was no better material to use. But to crush someone like you who's indifferent about your class, Kikyo is far too weak."

Certainly, if it was an attack against me, then Kushida is greatly insufficient.

"That's the benefit of apathy I suppose," Hashimoto remarked.

"What're you intending on doing? Even if you can temporarily suppress it through the use of medicines, as long as the cancer isn't ablated, it won't be entirely gone. Not even that, it may even metastasize to the other organs, you know?"

Eventually, those organs will decay and die.

"I've already reached that conclusion. There's no need for discussion."

"Hmm? Then let me hear it, Ayanokouji. How exactly are you going to completely suppress Kikyo?"

"Do I need to answer that?"

"Whether this turns out the way you want or not, depends on that answer."

As though he were enjoying himself, Ryuuen laughed slightly. But perhaps the pain in his mouth is still present, as his smile instantly disappeared.

It's gotten slightly colder. In this season, staying out too long and getting your body chilled is not a good thing.

"Class D, starting from the 3rd semester, will rise up to Class C. However, in all likelihood, we'll be dropping back down to Class D. Why? Because--I am going to get Kushida Kikyo expelled."

"So you targeted Kushida because Horikita-senpai remained in the school and her existence provided a problem for you. Although one thing confuses me. Why not expel her when you had the chance previously? There would be no effort on your part, and nothing would have gone wrong," Katsuragi inquired.

"There's no point. Besides, there wasn't a reason for her to attack me or Horiktia anymore," I answered.

Kushida had maintained her attacking position because Horikita and I knew her past. Once she was exposed for the world to see, she had no reason to continue. The only choice she has is to continue remaining in the school as a ghost or to try and reintegrate into the class.

If she hasn't made any moves yet, then Kushida's future in the school no longer exists. Although if she has made a move, it's an immense uphill battle to come back to the class. A part of me doubts it can even be done.

"It seems that Ayanokouji has given up on that notion. If he really stuck to it, Kushida would be gone by now. To reintegrate Kushida into the class, she would have to become essentially a model student. It's going to be difficult, but it's my job to do this," Horikita thought.

"Kukuku. Kuhahaha!"

Ignoring the pain, Ryuuen roared in laughter.

"You truly are a terrifying man. So you're willing to lose a battle in order to win the war. This school is chock-full of useless small fries you can't even get rid of under this troublesome school system. Yet even knowing that, you're going to get her expelled, huh?"

Of course, things aren't that simple. As long as I don't possess the materials required to expel her at present, it will end up having an influence on the contents of the next exam. The presence of a worrisome existence is also a fact.

"Alright. This is more like it, Ayanokouji."

"Are you convinced now? There are things we can cooperate on without having to join hands. Don't you think so?"

"Kuku. You've entertained me with your anti-Kikyo talk. But, me going along with your cajolery and thoughtlessly attacking Class A is a different story."

"I do think it's possible though."

"Don't even bother. Rather than go at it with someone else, I'd rather go for you."

It seems some vigour has returned to the eyes he's staring at me with.

Even after learning fear, there was still a glint in Ryuuen's eyes. Our eyes met.

"No matter how much a person changes, their core remains the same. Ryuuen fights anyone he finds interesting, no matter how pointless it may be. Although that's what led him to be in such a pitiful state," Sakayanagi stated.

"Ayanokouji, it seems like you're intent on manipulating me even if it requires force, but I have no intention of fighting."

"So it seems."

It appears he's firmed his resolve. Ryuuen seems intent on completely disappearing from the front stage. Or perhaps he'll continue making moves behind the scenes.

"Ryuuen, let me give you one advice. Your plan of adhering to private points is not a bad one. However, it is also a fact that it is flawed. Even if one or two people can win out, to raise the whole class up through it is impossible."

"That Ibuki, she spilled the beans huh?"

"It's not like she spilled it. She just asked me if it was possible to save up 800 million."

Class C didn't speak a word. I expected some of them to at least question Ryuuen's plan after it's brought up again, but that hasn't happened yet.

"It seems that we won't be witnessing that," Hashimoto shrugged.

I guess he doesn't really mind.

It's not hard to imagine that it was a strategy that Ryuuen was attempting to carry out. And the fact that this strategy has no chance of succeeding is something the history of the school lays out.

To save up an estimated amount of 800 million private points is very unrealistic. I had thought Ryuuen was attempting to execute a strategy of saving up points either for himself only or for those close to him as well. He only let go of those private points on the rooftop because he had been intent on dropping out, and once he had chosen to remain enrolled, I had expected him to begin acting again to save up private points.

However, judging from Ibuki's state, it appears Ryuuen had been saving up private points as part of a strategy to allow his entire class to win out. Certainly, by existing as a tyrant, there is a need to provide appropriate compensation in return, but at the end of the day, he could have made such a thing null and void. Because such a clear promise to do so, should not have remained behind as a record in the first place.

Ryuuen was completely broken, he had abandoned the notion of doing anything with the class. I still believe that Ryuuen's plan is foolish, but a small part of me wonders if he can actually accomplish it. To make that possibility a reality, that's Ryuuen's endgame.

"Or could it be that you were only pretending to be saving up 800 million?"

If he's been deceiving even Ibuki, then this conversation will end with this.

"Even if by any chance, the points you possess right now are exhausted, the contract you've made with Class A still remains. Factoring in the 800 thousand points per month, there's still 25 months left to go. Calculations that allow you to barely make it in time for graduation. If you take into account the private points you receive every month, it can save you slightly more time. Don't lust for any more than that."

Now with this, Ryuuen can openly follow the system, get promoted up to Class A and graduate. Of course, all of this is based on the premise that Class A does not collapse, and he'll need to avoid any unnecessary expenditure but it's not too difficult a task.

"Ayanokouji. You're certainly very smart and very talented. But even so, you're still far from being perfect."

Not as a joke, but rather as if ridiculing me, Ryuuen said that. But his tone was not a joking one. In other words--there is a way to save up 800 million points, is what it would mean.

Ryuuen's mind is different from mine. Every person views the world in a different way, and that's why different ideas come into their mind. No matter how incredible you may be, every possibility can't be thought of by one person. That's being human, at the end of the day.

Upbringings, personalities, ambitions, and many more make up a person. If you think of it like that, people are nothing but unique patterns that reside upon the material world, there will never be two identical patterns, and that pattern is the essence of a person. Ryuuen's process is something that he must be completely committed to.

In all actuality, there's not a high possibility of success, but there is a chance.

"I wonder if your labor will ever borne fruit," Sakayanagi smirked as if to mock Ryuuen's goal.

"If Ryuuen really is serious about such a goal, I suppose that you aren't as much of a heartless man as people thought," Hashimoto chuckled.

"Is there really such an incredible plan that can raise an entire class? I don't believe one could ever exist," Kanzaki questioned Ryuuen's endgame.

"All of you can just wait and see. All your questions will be answered eventually," Ryuuen grinned.

"Are you telling me you have a secret measure to raise up the whole class, Ryuuen?"

"Listen up, the amount of private points being moved around within a year is colossal. Assuming there are no expulsions, each school year has about 160 people. Combining all three school years together add up to 480 people. If I can extort 100,000 points per month from them all, that alone gives me 48 million points. If I can get more than 200,000 points per month it'll add up to 100 million."

If he continues doing that for 8 months, then he'll get about 800 million. Is he saying it's not merely a dream to reach that objective? Even if it's enough according to the calculations, it's not something that's executable. Even a theoretical, impracticable theory has a limit. Even the strategy of utilizing deception and fraud will strengthen surveillance from the school once a large amount of points begin to move.

Even if all the students successfully got caught in his clever scheme and have points extorted from them every month, 100 million is the limit. As I thought, it's impossible.

Even that 100 million, if it's within the scope of illegality, will be immediately recollected by the school and he'll receive penalties. Even if he musters up his wits, and launches a frontal attack, I wonder just how much he'll be able to save.

"The math added up, but the application of the math is a different story," Manabu looked to be trying to apply such a scenario.

"It's also an ideal scenario where every student will have 100,000 points every month. Although there will always be people with more points than others, so I suppose that has a slim chance of cancelling out," Horikita commented.

Nagumo's point total was incredible and it wasn't even a quarter of Ryuuen's goal. Even if Ryuuen gets only halfway, that alone makes him worthy of praise.

Feeling like it's futile, I tried using the abacus again. Assuming the cooperation between all the classes is inevitable, and assuming the class points will be maintained at a high level of 1000 points, then it'll be about 50 million points per year.

If one can overcome the special exams and properly save up points, approximately 10 million points could be accumulated. In other words, within a year, roughly 60 million points.

Even if one does not pointlessly spend and perfectly overcomes the exams, this would be the limit line. 180 million points in 3 years. It won't even reach 200 million points. This is the maximum amount of private points a class can achieve, however, in practice it should be far less than that.

As a more realistic line, getting about 150 million points should be most satisfactory. Or so I had concluded, however, I did not feel like what Ryuuen said had any basis. Looking at his face, those were the thoughts that passed through my mind.

"There's no way you could reach that, or rather that's not always the case, huh."

The strategy Ryuuen had been focusing on. The strategy I could not see.

"Our methods are similar but the fundamental thought process behind it is different, it seems."

"It's my policy to avoid to the utmost making choices with a low probability of success," I told him.

"Of course. But you can see it, can't you? The strategy?"

"Ahh. Your strategy which I initially thought had zero chance of success, has risen to above 5%."

However, in order to make it succeed, several indispensable things are absolutely essential.

"I'm guessing that such a thing you don't possess yet. I wonder what this strategy is that requires cooperation with class D," Nagumo pondered.

"A 5% possibility. Whatever Ayanokouji sees, I can't, unfortunately," Horikita sighed.

In the future, the hidden plan Ryuuen intends to use is most likely going to be unravelled and displayed to the school.

"More importantly, Ayanokouji... You, why is snow piling up on your head?"

The immersion was shattered.

Having that be pointed out to me, I returned my gaze to my own appearance.

"Ahh, no, somehow it just ended up like this. Because the sensation of snow feels really good. Is that weird?"

While it had been snowing, I thought it was interesting and remained still, and it had piled up then.

From my head to my shoulders, to my arms and knees, I could see the remaining snow had begun to melt. I was thankful for his pointing it out but I did not make a move to brush it off. Either way, it'll melt and disappear soon enough.

If that's the case, it's not such a bad thing to try touching the snow like this.

"Yeah, but then you're all damp and cold in the Winter," Ike thought I was incorrect.

"Snow feels bad. I'm already cold, so if I touch it, it feels like my hands got stuck in a freezer," Kei agreed with Ike.

It was a little uncomfortable after it had all melted, but when it was on my head it felt quite comforting. I'm the type of person who prefers the cold to the heat, so it was quite relaxing when it was still in its solid state.

"You bastard, you sure like to screw around."

"Now that you've heard what I have to say, it should lead even further now to an alignment of interests."

"Obviously this is too good to be true, but there's also a dangerous scent lingering over this. If you deem it necessary, you will even casually throw away your allies. How can I team up with someone when we're both thinking about backstabbing each other?"

"If you've already thought of that, then there's no need for concern. If you're afraid of being outsmarted, then you simply have to outsmart even that. That's all there is to it, right, Ryuuen?"

I'm not asking for a cooperative relationship between two good friends or anything like that. I'm just aligning the interests of both parties. That would, in a sense, give rise to the strongest kind of relationship.

"Maybe if the partner was anyone else, but outsmarting you is a whole different deal," Hashimoto remarked.

"If so then, Ayanokouji. I'll be the one laying the groundwork in the end."

"Laying the groundwork?"

"It depends on the trend of the 3rd semester, but Class C, no, my class which has fallen down to Class D will most likely be led by Kaneda and Hiyori. They will ultimately be the ones to decide but about attacking Class A, and to not lay a hand on you guys who have risen to Class C, I'll persuade them that those are good plans."

At the very least, it means it's people other than Ryuuen who will be deciding on what to do.

"That doesn't sound too bad."

Even if Ryuuen backs off, if Kaneda and the others choose to attack us, then to that extent, there's no avoiding that problem.

In particular, Ishizaki and Ibuki don't exactly have a favourable impression of me. It's also possible for them to influence their class into challenging our class.

"I didn't ever plan on doing that. I'd probably get my ass kicked a second time," Ishizaki sighed.

"I'm surprised you didn't attack us in the final exam. Not that I'm complaining. I suppose you adhered to that order of conquest Ayanokouji proposed," Sakayanagi pointed out.

"You won't have to wait for much longer. I didn't know you were so desperate to have your ego crushed. I'll do my best to make sure your class is beat into the ground," Ryuuen laughed.

"Once again, this battle with you is just practice, at the end of the day. I originally was confused why you were going for a point focused approach, but I suppose it's expected if you can't rise to the top with skill alone," Sakayanagi giggled.

The battle with them had essentially been set in stone. If we get a choice for who the class faces at the end of the year once again, there's no doubt in my mind who will face who.

"However, as a condition for me laying the groundwork, I'll be including the matter from earlier as well. When you guys rise up to Class A, if you'll accept our request then I'll hear you out."

"So it means you'll be manipulating Shiina and the others from behind the scenes?"

"That's impossible. I've already told them I'll be stepping down."

"In other words, just for laying the groundwork alone...you're overcharging me quite a bit."

Even for a condition of non-aggression, this makes it overwhelmingly inconvenient for me.

"Don't think I'll make a move that cheaply, Ayanokouji."

There's the contract he signed with Katsuragi too, Ryuuen knows how to get into his opponent's pockets very well.

"I suppose you could say it's a talent of mine," Ryuuen smirked.

"So there may be something Ryuuen asks for if we rise to class A," Horikita looked questioningly at both me and Ryuuen.

"Perhaps there could've been a notion of finishing what Ryuuen started, but whether class C would really attack class D, I can't say," Hiyori surmised.

"That proposal, I don't mind accepting but you cannot put it on paper. At most, it'll be a verbal promise."

"Kuku. I'm not expecting something like that from you who moves behind the scenes. But you know, if you renege on this I won't forgive you. I'll use whatever means I have to in order to make you regret it."

'If you don't like that, then crush me', I could almost hear him say that.

"I suppose he didn't mind signing the document with me since only I was seeing it. That's a perk of being in the student council I suppose," Yagami thought.

"Ha, I don't think that'll go well for you," Hosen chuckled.

"It went fine for me when I did the same to you. I can pull something else out of the bag in the future," Ryuuen retorted.

"I think this may be unnecessary but please let me ask one thing. Even if we settle on a secret agreement here, I can't imagine a 'strategy' being feasible without Ryuuen."

Even if it goes up from 0% to 5%, anymore than that requires an appropriate amount of ability and luck. And if there is a person who possesses those, it would have to be none other than Ryuuen.

"I don't know that much. The ones who will either seize that opportunity or kill it off are Kaneda and the others."

It seems he's saying he'll only be setting the table at most. This is how the man who used to rule the former Class C through violence and terror takes responsibility. The least he can do to atone, probably something like that.

"The negotiation is complete then."

The scene hadn't faded yet, but the students thought it was the end in a minute or two.

"Kind of a short video," Ike pointed out.

Of course, that isn't the case.

I made a move to shake Ryuuen's hand. Either way, Ryuuen is not an existence that's easy to control. Even though he's retired now, if I can manipulate him so that he won't become an obstacle, then that's a good bargain. No, with just this alone, I still cannot afford to be negligent.

"So is this all you have to say? In your initial invitation, you said there was a person you wanted me to meet though. But I don't think a person worth that is amongst the 1st years though."

"That's right. There may be no one like that amongst the 1st years."

"What?"

"It's about time."

Just as the appointed time was imminent, as though he had timed it, that man showed himself from afar.

Seeing that figure, Ryuuen could not hide his surprise at the unexpected visitor. As that man walked his way towards us, he stopped exactly between me and Ryuuen.

"Nevermind, I guess," Ike sighed.

"This should be interesting," Nagumo wryly chuckled.

I wonder, does Nagumo know of Manabu's condition? From his perspective, it could be possible for him to figure it out. And many times across this video viewing process, he has said things that result in many reactions. It wouldn't be impossible to think that he was probing for Manabu's reaction.

"...of all people, him? The one you said you wanted me to meet?"

I directed my gaze towards that man without denying the question from Ryuuen.

"I'm sorry it had to be this early in the morning."

"I don't mind. This is a good time for a clandestine meeting. Your location of choice isn't bad either."

It's because it's a limited school campus, and it's inside its resource. It's a position where I would be able to immediately spot anyone coming from both the left and right.

If by any chance, someone were to come here, this man would probably pretend to be a stranger and simply walk off.

"You seem pretty close to the former student council president. Was Suzune also useful?"

Including the rooftop incident from a while ago too, Ryuuen lightly laughed. Perhaps he had already conjectured that she is the little sister of the student council president, but it seems he's already investigated it.

"It's not really something I need to investigate all that deeply. It's kind of obvious if you pay a little attention," Ryuuen sighed.

"I had thought you'd be alone, Ayanokouji. To think Ryuuen would be accompanying you."

Rather than surprised, it was more like he was confirming it with me just in case.

Glancing once at the snow piled up on my head, then not paying it any attention, the older Horikita began to talk.

"How long did you walk around like that? I'd be scared to go in public," Ryuuen stated.

"That's coming from a person who had visible bandages and bruises on their face and body," Sakayanagi snickered.

"That's something I have no control over, but this guy chooses to walk around with snow on his head," Ryuuen retorted.

"Then, I'll be continuing with what I have to say under the assumption that Ryuuen Kakeru is also a cooperator. If we go about it leisurely, there's no telling who will spot us after all."

"Wait a minute. Who are you calling a cooperator?"

"At the very least I can guarantee that he's not an external enemy."

Ally, cooperator. I couldn't answer with a lie like that so I answered this way.

"Ayanokouji, when you requested help from me a while back, do you remember the promise you made to me?"

"Yeah. It's about helping you stop Nagumo Miyabi, right?"

Nagumo looked to be unfazed by this revelation.

Either he doesn't care, or knew already. Perhaps both.

"I don't really know if he stopped him, he's still kicking around in the school, after all," Ryuuen stated.

"I had already known for a while now. I couldn't care less about this stuff anymore. It's simply just a routine now. Whatever plan was proposed in the past doesn't apply anymore. That incident on the island was like a catalyst, and these videos were the finisher. He held up his end of the deal, even if it was indirectly," Nagumo thought.

"The previous student council president making measures to stop the current one. Now that's certainly a twist," Amasawa had a slight grin.

"Nagumo? You mean the new student council president?"

The reason I'm with Ryuuen right now is because I had wanted him to know about what the older Horikita is thinking as well. Of course, I could have told him about it separately, but having the older Horikita here lay it out for him directly would have a stronger persuasive effect.

"It seems he doesn't like the way Nagumo is doing things."

"I see. So you're contriving to use Ayanokouji to stop Nagumo, huh? It's a famous gossip that the 2nd years are all dominated by that man, after all. To deal with him, there's no other option but to use the 1st years. Tell me something, Horikita. Since when did you start eyeing Ayanokouji?"

Towards the older Horikita, Ryuuen calls him directly by his name. Not only that, but his attitude was one of condescension. Well, since I'm doing something similar too it's not my place to say.

"Right after he enrolled. On the other hand, it seems you've had quite the hard time finding him."

It probably wasn't in retaliation, but in response to Ryuuen, the older Horikita simply answered indifferently like that.

"That's an understatement," Sakayanagi commented.

"Does that information have any relevance?" Horikita asked.

"I'm simply curious. It's a little funny that your brother knew about his strengths before you did. It took until the island for you to really understand how much of a freak you have in the class," Ryuuen chuckled.

"You don't like how he's doing things? I can't really tell a difference, to be honest," Sudo scratched his head.

"Traditionalism against the future, I suppose. I simply wanted to have more fun in a more individual-based competition. Think of the exams you've had thus far, what's the difference?" Nagumo sighed and then stated.

"I guess they're much more expensive and grand," Sudo didn't seem to be getting it.

"That's only the island exam. Besides, the partner exam that the second years went through was pretty basic. As I stated, I want to create a meritocracy. Winning as a group is simply optional in my ideal world. The slackers may as well be carried to the top, while the hard-working do everything," Nagumo explained.

Manabu listened on in indifference. They had probably exhausted this conversation between themselves countless times. Manabu wished for the traditional group efforts, while Nagumo wished for the individual to win on their own merit.

"Rather, I believe it should be the individual who should get to the top on their own merit. Those who don't put in the effort can stay where they deserve, and those who do are rewarded. My method isolates cooperation and teamwork, but that's why group challenges are optional," Nagumo explained, but there was a sense of sorrow in his words.

"I guess that's true. In the island exam, you could go alone if you wanted, and in the partner exam, you could have acted on your own to do well. In other exams, you couldn't really do that without screwing over the rest of the class," Sudo pondered.

"I've wondered for a while now, why did I want this ideal? And while it took some time, I eventually understood. I wanted this because I wanted competition. In my entire life, I've excelled at everything I've done. And so, I quickly rose to the top. I thought that was right. The one who's the best remains at the top, but soon, I found myself bored. Everything began to lose colour and while there were sparks, they never remained," Nagumo thought.

Both exist as a meritocracy, but their approaches are fundamentally different. One rises to the top with the burden being split across multiple people, but there will always be slackers and those who simply don't deserve to be at the top. The other wishes for the individual to rise without the help of others, but that isolates cooperation and communication.

Neither is correct or wrong, they are both simply different approaches to the same system.

"Kuku. It's because I'm the type who takes his time enjoying the process."

"For all that, you sure got beaten considerably well."

In response to Ryuuen, who was taking such a high pressure attitude, he replied as though he were insulting him. It seems Ryuuen also sensed that, but he toughened his gaze.

"If you think my skills are lacking then, would you care to test them out right here?"

'Even though I'm injured, I can still take you down', Ryuuen provoked him in that spirit.

"I'll have to decline. I have no interest in such things."

The older Horikita responds calmly.

"A brute until the end, huh?" Sakayanagi mocked.

"Brutally honest as always, eh, Horikita-senpai?" Nagumo eyed Manabu.

Manabu sighed and returned his eyes to the screen.

"Kuku. I knew you wouldn't take me up on it."

As Ryuuen laughs lightly, he plants his crossed feet on the ground. Right after that, using a frontal kick, he sends snow flying towards the older Horikita's face. The point of it was to blind the opponent.

The audience was surprised by the sudden action.

Looking for the moment where he becomes agitated after his vision is lost from the snow, Ryuuen launches his right fist forward aiming for the older Horikita's abdomen.

Towards that, without even giving off the feeling that his vision is obstructed, the older Horikita predicts the attack and completely guards against it. Even as he falls back, without panicking, calmly, he used his middle finger to adjust his glasses by the bridge.

"I thought you were just an intelligent bastard who only has his craftiness, but you're quite good aren't you?"

Regardless of it having been a surprise attack, towards the older Horikita who blocked it, Ryuuen gave his compliments.

"So much for declining that invitation," Sudo said.

"I suppose that's to be expected from such a reckless first year," Tachibana sighed.

"I believe I told you I'll decline."

"What's the matter? If you dislike it you're free to attack me anytime. Or could it be, you can't fight back against a 1st year?"

"It seems like you've gotten yourself quite a reliable friend, Ayanokouji."

Pan! And with a sound like that, the older Horikita brushes off the snow and dirt on his clothes.

"I was also just thinking that."

But Ryuuen's gaze that would snap at just about anyone did not change.

"I don't think that'll ever change," Katsuragi sighed at his leader's actions.

"Well, that's fine. I'll evaluate you as a man who can get things done to an extent. Horikita-'senpai'."

It's not like it couldn't be taken as sarcasm, but Ryuuen added an honorific.

"Likewise. You're not fit for the student council but I am giving you a certain amount of valuation."

"I'm very happy to be praised by the former student council president."

Not receiving it sincerely, Ryuuen raised his hand and answered as though turning it aside. Since such an interaction between those two has ended, the older Horikita got down to business.

"All that and nothing important has been said. You guys really hate efficiency and diplomacy, don't you?" Kanzaki criticised.

"I don't think someone like Ryuuen could work in such a place," Sakayanagi berated.

"I don't like places with too many rules," Ryuuen shrugged.

"Now what I want Ayanokouji to do is to protect and maintain order in this school. You can use any means necessary for that. You can remove the student council president Nagumo Miyabi from his throne, or get him exposed in committing a careless action, or just obstruct him, you can choose whatever method is easier to carry out. Once the 3rd semester begins, Nagumo's real power will strengthen and he'll begin to take action in earnest."

"In detail, how is it going to change? Are you saying the student council has such influence?"

"Of course, the student council is not omnipotent. However, unlike other schools where the student council is just for decoration, it is also a fact that a certain amount of influence is given to this student council. At present, whenever problems occur at school, the student council takes centre stage and resolves it. Both Ayanokouji and Ryuuen should be aware of that."

During Sudou's assault case too, the ones who presided over the case weren't the faculty but rather the student council headed by the older Horikita.

And someone like Tsukishiro may give even more influence if he thought it could have deterred me.

"I guess that's something a little more cool with the school, but it's also kind of scary how some students could decide a life of a student," Kei stated.

"It isn't as if the student council is allowed free rein. All of their ideas and plans will go through the school, including the trials. The student council are a powerful organisation, but they still work for the school," Manabu replied to Kei.

"And also, the student council has the authority to think about and decide on parts of the special exams too. This year, a survival exam took place on an uninhabited island for the 1st years, but that was something the previous student council thought up being made reality."

In other words, in the special exams, Nagumo can create something entirely different from what we've encountered until now, such a possibility exists, huh?

"I thought all the exams were on a rotation every three years, but this doesn't align with that," Keisei stated.

"While there are many exams that do rotate, there are always new ideas to be made and used. And who better to use them on other than the first-years who don't know how the school works?" Nagumo addressed Keisei's statement.

"He's trying to make the shitty, boring school life you guys have constructed into an interesting one, right? You should welcome it."

Laughing, Ryuuen once again crossed his legs.

"If it's the right way, that is. However, up until now, Nagumo has used methods that have led many students to expulsion. As a matter of fact, amongst the 2nd years up until today, there have been 17 students who have gotten expelled. According to the pre-expulsion interviews, even though you may already know it, more than half of them had Nagumo involved."

17 students. I understand that this is by no means a small amount.

"If he gets that many people expelled, I don't imagine it'll be hard for him to rule over an entire school year."

There was probably a force that had attempted to stop Nagumo. However, if the tables were turned on them, depending on the situation, that force may be weakened, absorbed and then capitulate.

And then, Nagumo probably succeeded in gaining control over all the 2nd years.

"I don't see much of a problem with that. If they were strong enough to survive in this landscape, then they would remain," Sakayanagi didn't see much of a point.

"It's simply another way of leading. It's ideal to be able to lead without doing no wrong, but that isn't the case in most real cases. Deceit is natural. If you don't like it, then crush him," Yagami agreed with Sakayanagi.

"I suppose it aligns with what you stated before. You wanted those who are better to rise to the top, while those who can't compete get tossed aside," Manabu stated his observation.

"Now that he's assumed office as student council president, that will extend to the 1st years and 3rd years too. Once next year rolls around, even towards the new 1st years, that influence will become more pronounced is what I predict."

If we leave him alone, it may not simply end with just 10 or 20 people being expelled.

"Isn't Nagumo just being rational? Those 17 students were just worthless people and that's why they got crushed, right?"

"The ones who break the rules will be expelled. That is natural. However, guiding everyone to graduation without losing a single person. Isn't that what an ideal leader is all about?"

"So is Horikita-senpai-sama trying to tell us he hasn't expelled anyone?"

"I was only talking about the ideal. At the very least, at this current stage, no one from amongst the 1st years have been expelled. To pursue that ideal is not a bad thing, right?"

"So he says, Ayanokouji. What do you think about that? About the ideal this man speaks of."

"I can understand it as far as it being an ideal is concerned. It's also fine even if there are people who aspire to it. However, at the very least I can say Ryuuen and I are not the types to pursue such an ideal."

"Kukuku. That's exactly right."

If there's someone who meets that criteria right now, it would have to be none other than Ichinose Honami of Class B.

"I think, if given the choice, no person would willingly choose to have their subordinates be exiled if they were willing to cooperate. That just wasn't the case for me," Nagumo shrugged.

Ideals have their place in the world, there's no doubt about that, but while those ideals can guide a person, they become detrimental when they blind one from reality. That's where an ideal turns from a potential benefit into a harmful cancer. That same ideal that steered your actions may end up as a crutch to deny reality, leaving one without the ability to deal with the present.

"As Ayanokouji stated, if you're worried about being outsmarted, outsmart the opponent first. I don't see anything wrong with expelling someone who wants to defeat you," Kanzaki stated.

"Of course, I have no intention of desiring that much from you. If you can stop Nagumo's rampage, that's good enough."

He said it simply but if such a thing could be easily done, the older Horikita wouldn't have requested this. If the student council also has their own fair share of power, then all the more, it's not something that can be stopped.

It's because if I act so as to not carelessly cause expulsions, then all I would be able to achieve through my efforts would be to make sure the 1st years don't suffer penalties as well as know the contents of the special exams.

"I'll be taking my leave here. I've been made into a secret sharer too after all."

Apparently, Ryuuen has no interest in the happenings of the student council, it seems.

"But it was quite a fascinating talk, but anymore than this is a waste of time. Later."

Perhaps it was a negotiation that was to his satisfaction, but without any hesitation at all, Ryuuen headed back towards the dorm.

I called out towards Ryuuen's back.

"From now on, are you planning on remaining all alone?"

"Leave me be. From the start, this is my nature, it fits me."

Leaving behind those words, Ryuuen left along with the footprints in the snow.

Ryuuen, who had looked a tad bored, was paying full attention once again. The logical reason is that everything until now was something he knew.

"Ayanokouji, the reason you let Ryuuen hear all this, is to turn him into an ally?"

"That's not entirely wrong but...if I had to say, the goal was more so I could remove myself from being a target of his interest."

I was aiming to appeal to Ryuuen that I definitely would not be participating in the conflict between the 1st year classes. If he is made to believe that from now on, I'll be busy planning countermeasures against the student council, the possibility of him bearing fangs against me again would decrease.

Someone warlike such as Sakayanagi who would willingly become an enemy for him should be more entertaining for Ryuuen as well. Of course, it does seem like he himself no longer has any desire to fight seriously against anyone anymore though.

"In any case, from now on an understanding friend will also become necessary to you too. In that sense, someone who's gone for a bout with you like Ryuuen may be a good fit."

"Friend, huh?"

Well, more importantly than that, right now I should accumulate as much information as I possibly can. Making contact with the older Horikita is, in the same vein as making contact with Ryuuen, not something I'd like to frequently engage in.

I'd like to make the most of each and every one of these opportunities.

"I don't consider myself a friend of his," Ryuuen looked disgusted at the notion.

"I suppose you still wanted to remove yourself from the spotlight a slight bit," Horikita commented.

"I barely have any information on the senior students. Can I rely on you to offer me that?"

"Of course. I've already completed the preparations for that."

Saying that, the older Horikita took out his phone. When I gave him my number, a message immediately arrived. As I scanned through the message, I received an explanation from the older Horikita.

"From amongst the members of the student council, I'll tell you the ones you should keep an eye on other than Nagumo himself. One of them is the newly appointed Vice President from Class B of the 2nd years, a man named Kiriyama. Then the Secretary Mizowaki. And then one other, Secretary Tonokawa. Both of these secretaries were former students of Class B who went through thick and thin together with Nagumo and some of the few people capable of offering Nagumo suggestions. Then now, the remaining members."

In the form of a formal resume, something with photographic portraits attached to it was delivered to me. A glimpse alone was enough to make me understand who belonged to which class. Starting with the Vice President, judging from the number of students currently registered in the student council without belonging to Class A, I can infer just how much power Nagumo wields.

In any case, this information is valuable. It's not an easy task to make contact with students of a different school year. Especially the ones in the student council president's circle, I cannot afford to carelessly take action.

It should have taken a considerable amount of time normally just to gather the information I've accquired right now.

Kiriyama had been looking nervous for a while now. Of course, his plan to destroy Nagumo is going to be shown soon, but I feel like it won't matter at the end of the day. Nagumo seems to have given up on taking the class battle seriously. I doubt he would care if someone used to want to destroy him.

"The only ones who would know about Nagumo's actions and his character in detail are in all likelihood, students from the same school year as him. Even though we're connected through the student council, it's not like I know everything about Nagumo either."

Normally, in order to destroy Nagumo, further information would be vitally required. What kind of character he possesses, what kind of strategy he prefers. It's necessary to grasp such things.

"And since those vital 2nd years are also under Nagumo's thumb, that also seems difficult."

"Exactly...however, there are students amongst the 2nd years who even now, oppose Nagumo."

He said it as though he had an idea who they were.

Nagumo once again didn't look fazed.

"No matter how great you may be, you can't be liked by everyone," Horikita stated.

"I'm guessing I'll see these people soon. I don't particularly care either way, but if they were out to expel me still, that would be a pain," Nagumo thought.

"Their name is?"

"Unfortunately, I cannot tell you yet at this stage. It's because I cannot guarantee the safety of that student if their connection to me were to be discovered by Nagumo."

"They'll be branded a traitor and eliminated...there's a possibility of them getting expelled, is what you're saying?"

"I may be able to protect them while I'm still enrolled, but once I graduate, that protection is gone."

The thing I should be wary of is why the older Horikita is telling me this.

"You intend on doing something to bring me and that 2nd year student into contact, aren't you?"

"If you're up for it, I'd like to name you as a student from amongst the 1st years capable of taking action."

Is what he probably wants to say. As long as they won't reveal their identity, I will have no choice but to provide my name. Even though they're in opposition to Nagumo, they're still 2nd year. Taking next year into consideration, I'd like to avoid carelessly standing out.

"A person who wants to destroy me, huh? I'm sure there are many people that think like that," Nagumo sighed.

"You look so bored even when someone wants to destroy you," Kiryuuin chuckled.

"I really don't care about it. Whoever it is has probably given up by now. If they really wanted to expel me, something would have happened by now, but no second-year has done anything like that," Nagumo shrugged.

"Perhaps they're still in the shadows, watching and waiting until you drop your guard," Kiryuuin chuckled.

She probably knows such a thing isn't realistic.

"If they really want to destroy me, they can give it all they've got. But if they actually wanted to do something, there should have been something at least slightly off. A long-form plan is always good, but if one domino in the chain falls incorrectly, the entire thing breaks, so they can't keep biding time forever," Nagumo indifferently remarked.

"What action to take is up to you."

Normally, declining here would be a good idea.

But, this is dependent on the condition that no one realizes my specs. Or, on the condition that said student won't disclose them. However, as of the current moment, the truth about me has already been leaked to Sakayanagi and the members who were together with Ryuuen. In particular, Sakayanagi is a student who knows about my White Room background as well.

The more I attempt to keep it a secret, the more potent a weapon it becomes for Sakayanagi. But there's not much profit to be had in rejecting his proposal here.

"I suppose such a secret is pointless now," Sakayanagi stated.

"Understood. I don't mind if you tell that 2nd year about me."

"It's a bold choice you've made, but the right one."

"Now all that's left is to see whether your words have any weight to them or not."

There is a reliable student, even if he says that, from the perspective of the other side I'm just a 1st year. Is it okay to rely on someone younger than me? They should be feeling anxious.

"If you won't believe my statements, then defeating Nagumo cannot possibly be done."

"Well, I'll leave it to you."

"Ever since I met you, you've possessed an unbelievable amount of humility."

"Because I'm in your debt, after all."

Of course, this is only the case if I'm obediently obeying the older Horikita and taking action.

As someone who aspires to a peaceful daily life, getting involved with the student council is obviously something I'd like to avoid. Even though I only have to endure this until the older Horikita graduates, there are still things I'm wary of. Does he believe after his graduation, I will protect our promise with integrity and help out in defeating Nagumo?

Such a thing surely isn't the case.

"I wouldn't expect anyone to do such a thing. It's far too unrealistic to keep facing the student council president when there's no gain," Manabu stated.

He was essentially just reaffirming his statements from last year.

"Do you know what I'm thinking?"

"What happens after I graduate, something like that?"

Well done.

"I didn't expect you to broach the topic yourself. Did you think it more problematic to keep quiet about it?"

"It's because I couldn't see through you and it felt eerie."

"Ultimately, I don't mind even if your cooperation only lasts until my graduation. If by then, the minds of the enrolled students have not changed, then it just means that's it for this school, that's how it is."

"I don't see how changing the minds of the students does anything. It gives them a choice, but what you should do is take away any option," Sakayanagi criticised.

"Force them to accept how things are going to be, huh? If you remove me, there's no other option as to how the school will be run," Nagumo mulled over Sakayanagi's statement.

"The problem might come before that, you know? What if I cannot stand up to Nagumo?"

"I wouldn't charge someone I believe to be incapable of doing so with something so important."

Does it mean the older Horikita has appraised me as someone capable of stopping Nagumo? Or is he just praising me since even those of low ability can outdo themselves when flattered? Either way, I can't see through this person.

"A person with low ability when flattered just does their best. They can't exactly outdo themselves and perform at a higher level than they are at," Ryuuen pointed out.

"I suppose outdoing themselves could be breaking the expectations people have of them. A lazy person getting up to exercise everyday is outdoing themselves, and they aren't exactly performing better than their limit" Hiyori proposed.

"I'll try thinking up a strategy but I cannot guarantee that I'll be able to produce results before your graduation."

"I understand that."

Why is this man relying this much on an unknown existence like me? If he wishes to preserve the traditions of Koudou Ikusei Senior High School, then he should have entrusted this to a more passionate individual.

Even as a former student council president who hold pride in his school, this is far too abnormal. In the first place, even after becoming aware of an abnormality like Nagumo, the older Horikita only watched. He did say that it was after I had made myself known but even that makes me slightly uneasy.

These are things the student do not know, but it will be shown eventually. At the end of the day, Nagumo sought to unravel the work Manabu put into the school and make it go on a different path.

"Low motivation, but the highest ability. If you did at least a small thing, it would probably be incredibly effective," Horikita praised.

"I'm not expecting you to move exactly as I had hoped just from a single debt alone. From the start, you too should have accepted the anti-Nagumo matter with that intention. Am I wrong?"

It seems the older Horikita also properly understands that fact.

"Even though you're the former student council president, you still have a certain degree of authority...no, influence after all. I had assessed that you would be useful if I had turned you into an ally. Isn't that natural?"

The older Horikita won't abandon his impartial standing and favor me directly. However, there are many cases where cooperation has been acquired through reliance on every important point as long as there is a connection behind the scenes. As long as I'm enrolled in this school, at the very least I'll be facing a variety of risks. At such a time, having built common interests and partner relationships can be useful.

"You're free to rely on me if you wish, but it'll be problematic if you expect too much of me."

"I have no intention of doing so. At the very most, it'll be fine if you helped me out with 'one last try'."

Of course, it would be best if that 'one last try' were to not be necessary.

In any case, the important thing is whether we can own that 'one last try' or not.

"Fine. Because defeating Nagumo probably won't be an easy thing to do after all."

To play along with that troublesome business until the older Horikita graduates and obtaining a trump card for emergencies on the other hand.

"So this will be the next big thing, unless there's something else," Ike claimed.

The survival exam and the incident with Ichinose are the two biggest examples coming for the confrontation with Nagumo. His reputation would certainly take a hit during the incident with Ichinose, but I doubt he would care much.

"By the way, as for the strategy against Nagumo, I'll be slowly developing it from now. But before that, there's something I'd like to confirm. It's about your little sister."

"Why do I have to be a part of this?" Horikita complained.

"Whether you use Suzune or not, you're free to decide."

"Not that. I've been in the same class as Horikita for close to a year now, but I think she possesses a certain amount of aptitude. Even though you've had your sister beside you for a long time, haven't you noticed?"

"Aptitude, huh? What does she have that gives her aptitude? Her success in academics? Or the presence of her athletic abilities?"

It seems he's already noticed the parts I've been paying attention to.

"I mean in terms of coordination ability. Horikita does have clumsy aspects to her but overall, her ability is high."

Horikita looked to be preparing herself for a verbal beatdown. I suppose she expected this coming from the Manabu a year ago.

"My sister is incompetent. Always chasing after my shadow, she's made it her goal to catch up to that."

That was the insurmountable wall for Horikita, but eventually, she climbed it and now is faced with another.

How shallow, he spits that out. However, that phrasing just now was...

"Could it be...that being the 'terminal station' for her is the problem?"

"You're free to interpret it however you want. It's not like anything will change just from this alone, right?"

"That may be so."

But with this, I feel like I now understand the reason why the older Horikita acts so harshly towards his sister.

"You dislike her because she chases after you? I don't see how that's something so horrible," Sudo criticised.

"Sudo, please refrain from criticising until you understand the full story," Horikita advised.

"I mean, sure, but it just seems dumb. If it's extreme, I can understand why that's bad, but it's stupid to think you would understand that if it was never communicated," Sudo continued.

Sudo had a point, but there's one flaw in the logic. Manabu was a godlike figure to Horikita. He was too high on a pedestal for Horikita to give up on. He was the golden standard. Communicating this to Horikita would probably result in her thinking that she doesn't have the potential to reach Manabu, making her chase after him even more.

"Sudo, listen to what I said," Horikita advised, but her tone was stronger this time.

Sudo sighed then nodded.

"If your sister were to join the student council, will you give her a 'one last push'?"

"I'll cooperate to what extent I can."

Just by hearing that alone, even though only slightly, clues towards beating Nagumo start to appear.

"Does that mean my going to the student council is a ploy to defeat Nagumo? Does he have a plan that spans that far ahead? No, I wouldn't be surprised if he did," Horikita thought.

"I've received the data. I've also managed to grasp the situation, all that's left is for you to take your time and wait."

"I will be doing that. Because it can be said that the future livelihood of the school is depending on you, after all."

Putting an excessive amount of pressure on me like that, the older Horikita left.

The scene faded to black.

As we were heading back to the class to be dismissed, a thought went through my mind.

The unsurmountable wall... It's like a person's own obstacle or demon that stand in their way. Like a guard they have to defeat until they can reach their goal.

Ichinose's goal is to protect everyone, and her wall is the landscape of the school.

Ryuuen and Horikita both desire class A, but Sakayanagi stands in the way.

For people like Yagami, I exist as that wall. A barrier that exists to stop them from reaching their goal.

As for my wall, it doesn't even need a thought.

I suppose that's just another part of the pattern which comprises a human being.

A Winter Double Date

Sudo is an interesting individual. In terms of intelligence, he's fairly average, but his dedication to things he's put his mind to is second to none. After the incident known as 'Operation Delta', Ike, Sudo and The Professor all gave me a favour. I had already used Ike's to deal with Kushida and The Professor's to deal with Kanzaki. However, Sudo's favour hasn't been called upon yet.

I had been sitting on it, but even now, no opportunity was in sight. When that will be, I can't say.

"Ayanokouji, why are you staring at me?" Sudo asked.

"Oh sorry, I just spaced out," I answered and turned my eyes to the screen.

Something interesting I had seen today was that Hosen wasn't in his seat. Out of every video, this is the one he decided to ditch.

I suppose he stayed true to his word. He said he would not arrive at school the day during the date video, and he was now nowhere to be found. It was a little risky though, but I suppose he must have taken that possibility into account.

"As I'm sure many of you expected, the date will be played today. Enjoy."

Christmas, the morning of the 25th had come. Up until now, this one day held no particular meaning, but that is not the case today. In my entire life for the first time, I'll be spending this Christmas with the opposite sex. I wonder what kind of day it seems for Satou. We don't know much about each other. In that sense, it would be great if this turns out to be a good day.

"...somehow, this is a mysterious feeling."

Up until now, I have never participated in an act that could be described as a 1-on-1 date. That's why you could say I'm not feeling down to earth, or rather, there are parts that I don't understand.

Precisely because I am such a person that it could be said that today's date carries a significant meaning. However, whether it is a success or a failure, is something that is currently uncertain.

"Whatever happens, happens, huh."

"Your life is like drifting across the ocean without caring about anything," Kei teased.

"That doesn't sound too bad actually," I stated.

"You saying that proves my point," Kei giggled.

"Was that nervousness? I didn't know you could feel that," Horikita bluntly stated.

"I'm not a robot," I sighed.

"Sure, I believe you," Horikita replied.

I see, she used my own words against me.

In any case even if I think about it, there's no answer forthcoming. I left my room and descended down via elevator to the dorm's lobby. If I recall, we were going to watch a movie that starts screening from today huh...

Unfortunately, the weather today is cloudy and it seems thick clouds will cover the sky for the whole day. The promised time is 11:30. But let's act to arrive there slightly early.

Having arrived at the meeting spot, I checked the time. It will be the promised time in about 10 minutes. Raising my head while thinking that, I saw Satou who was heading towards me. Perhaps she was looking for me but she was looking around at her surroundings, seemingly uneasy. Soon enough, our eyes met, and Satou narrowed her eyes happily.

"Good morning, Ayanokouji-kun!"

Saying that, she trotted over and closed the distance between us. As she came to a stop, along with that, a scent which moderately tickled my nose came.

"You're early."

"You too, Ayanokouji-kun...could it be, did I keep you waiting for long?"

"I just arrived a while ago."

It was a cliche line but since it was indeed the truth, I told her as it is.

"Really?"

I was overpowered by Satou who closed in on me with a predatory feeling. There are still a few minutes left to go until the scheduled time, but there should be no problem with making a move early. I had thought we would get a move on immediately but for some reason, Satou once again started looking around at her surroundings. Since she showed no signs of moving, I called out to her.

"You noticed that?" Sato looked surprised.

"Maya, it was pretty obvious, to be honest," Kei answered in my place.

"Not going?"

"T-That's right, wait a minute"

Putting her hand inside the bag she was carrying, she began searching for something.

"Could it be I forgot..."

In a volume that was loud enough for me to hear, she whispered that.

"Did you forget something?"

"Ahh, no. I was just wondering what happened to my phone."

As I looked down towards her swaying feet, I could see a long and narrow box covered in wrapping paper sticking out, but since I felt like it would be in bad taste to stare, I averted my gaze.

"This is going to be a long day," Sato sighed.

"I don't mind calling your phone for you."

"Yeah, thanks. You're really kind, Ayanokouji-kun."

Merely helping someone look for their phone, not to mention calling it for them, isn't something that can really be considered kind.

Undoubtedly anyone would have offered a similar form of cooperation.

"If I recall, in the morning."

As Satou said something awkward like that.

"Ahh, found it, found it."

From Satou, I heard such good news. As I looked back, Satou laughed while holding her phone in her hands.

Many students looked quite bored already. I suppose that's to be expected. This was just a regular date anyway, nothing exciting had happened yet. The only thing that could be considered unique and interesting for the average student would be that meeting with Nagumo.

"I've kept you waiting, shall we go?."

Satou put her phone into her pocket but then.

"Good morning, Ayanokouji-kun."

Immediately afterwards, from behind me someone called out. As I looked back the one there was Hirata Yousuke. As ever, he was an invigorating young man. Good morning, I raised my hand slightly and replied as such to him.

By the way, beside Hirata was the figure of his lover, Karuizawa Kei. It seems on this day, Christmas, the two of them are also out on a date. I am aware that the relationship between those two is fake but perhaps in order to make their surroundings perceive it as being true, this action is being taken. If so, then the effect of it is instantaneous.

"Good morning, Karuizawa-san."

Calling out to her, Satou runs over to Karuizawa.

"Good morning."

Towards Satou, Karuizawa too, naturally smiles and initiates a conversation.

"This is going to be a little more interesting then," Ryuuen chuckled.

"What are you talking about?" Ishizaki scratched his head.

"Just something odd I noticed," Ryuuen answered.

"Can they look into the future, or am I just really that predictable?" Sato thought.

"This is a rather unusual combination."

Seeing me and Satou together, it couldn't be helped that Hirata would say something like that.

"Are you guys also on a date?"

Even if it's only as a formality, asking that would be good.

"Yeah. I also 'just in case' didn't make any prior plans for Christmas. Fortunately, nobody called me out either."

In anticipation for any and all situations, he seems to have left his plans for the day vacant for the sake of his fake lover Karuizawa. Hirata always places himself second and prioritizes taking action for the sake of those around him always. Even if I thought of emulating that, it's not something that's easily done.

"It seems like someone from your group of friends should have called you out though. No news?"

Not only classmates, it wouldn't be strange even if his seniors from the soccer club called him out.

"I wonder. I think they were just probably being considerate."

"Man, that was like the first Christmas without my family," Ike reminisced.

"It did feel pretty weird without my family. Although I got over it after a while," Shinohara agreed.

Many students probably felt lonely, but others may have felt liberated. Like many, this was a new experience for me, so I simply tried to enjoy it as it went. I still have two more in this school, and I feel as though they would both be wildly different.

Answering like that, Hirata then looked at Karuizawa with a warm gaze. I see. By their surroundings, Hirata and Karuizawa are seen as the ideal couple pair. So in regards with someone like him with a girlfriend, right on the cusp of Christmas, they didn't do anything as uncouth as calling him out. This is proof that Hirata and Karuizawa are properly functioning as a couple. However, as long as their fake relationship remains established, it would be difficult for him to be intimate with another girl.

It's somewhat pitiable that he was unable to flippantly close the distance with the opposite sex. Even if he finds someone he's interested in, since it's Hirata, he's not the type to simply cut off the request from Karuizawa.

It's precisely because he could be trusted like this that Karuizawa too, found it easy to choose Hirata as her parasitic destination.

As Kei left Yosuke not too long after the new year, I suppose that this problem had solved itself. Yosuke was free to be intimate with anyone he wished, but he hasn't found a person like that. Although I don't think Yosuke particularly minded, he perhaps had gotten used to that.

Different people take different approaches to people. Some get into things far too fast, while others go too quickly. However, neither of these was the case with Yosuke. He put every person at arm's length, even someone like me who he considers a friend, is still only somewhat closer than the rest.

Although Ichinose was the same, at least for a while, perhaps Yosuke's distancing could change if it was the right person.

"From the start, Karuizawa-san's someone who's always been frank with the girls from the class but I never knew you were this close with Satou-san."

Hirata whispers that while looking at the two of them with a familial gaze as though he were looking at a younger sister or a daughter.

"I did have the image of them hanging out quite a bit together over the vacation. Is that not the case?"

"Well, I don't think they were that close."

"Is that so?"

"Why, did you think this wasn't uncommon?"

"Not really, just had a feeling."

In any case, there's no point in interfering with Hirata and Karuizawa any further than this. I checked the time on my phone. It's already 11:40. The screening time was fast approaching. It's about time I took Satou and headed over to the movie theater. I thought that but Satou and Karuizawa seemed to be chatting away happily. Since they were conversing quietly, I could not hear the contents of their conversation though. Even if I wait around like this, their conversation isn't showing any signs at all of ending. As I was lost on what to do, my eyes met Hirata's.

From just that alone, it seems he understood what I was thinking.

Hirata, who concluded that overstaying here would lead to getting in our way, called out to Karuizawa.

"Looking back, I wonder what would have happened if I was alone with him the entire time. Would I get closer to him? I can't say. I've been thinking for a while now, do I still like Ayanokouji? I don't think he's a horrible guy, but I can't really look at him the same way anymore. I don't know what to think," Sato thought with a downcast expression.

"Isn't it bad to get in their way any further, Karuizawa-san? Let's go, shall we?"

He interrupted the conversation of those two as if to break it up in his usual, gentle tone. As though pulled back to reality, Karuizawa and Satou approached us.

"By the way, since when have the two of you been going out?"

That question suddenly came forth from Karuizawa. No, perhaps even if this were the first thing out of her mouth it wouldn't be strange, it was a natural question to ask.

"Trying to stall, huh?" Sakayanagi questioned Kei's actions.

Kei pretended not to notice Sakayanagi's comment. Well, I suppose it doesn't really matter anyway.

"Ehh, i-it's not like we're going out or anything! Right? Ayanokouji-kun."

Towards Satou's panicked gaze, I answered by nodding lightly. However, Karuizawa directed a blatantly suspicious gaze towards us.

"Ehh? I mean, you guys are having a date on Christmas, no matter how you look at it you're obviously going out, Hirata-kun thinks so too right?"

"That's right. It's probably not the case if the two of you are denying it but others may think you're going out with each other."

"That's, umm...I just invited Ayanokouji-kun out to hang out..."

Satou then bashfully turned her gaze once again towards me.

"A-Ayanokouji-kun, is it fine? To be spending Christmas with me."

"If I didn't want to, I would've declined."

"...hehehe".

Satou scratches herself, looking embarrassed.

"Heh--...you don't seem all that dissatisfied with this. So this means Ayanokouji-kun is interested in Satou-san?"

"S-Stop it, Karuizawa-san."

Satou, while blushing, fanned her face with her hands. But Karuizawa continued on just like that.

"If so, why don't you guys just start dating right now? Then it'll become a date between lovers."

"Man, I wish my responses were so smooth," Ike sighed in dissatisfaction.

"That's a little far on the teasing," Matsushita awkwardly stated.

"Yeah, I know. I stuck my nose too far into their business," Kei sighed.

"Karuizawa-san, I really don't think it's our place to be telling them that."

Seeing me in trouble, Hirata gently stops Karuizawa.

"Sorry, sorry. I might have stuck my nose into this a bit too much. Sorry, Satou-san."

"No, I really don't mind."

"Hey Yousuke-kun, I'm curious about these two as well so wouldn't a double date be good?"

For some reason, Karuizawa said something like that.

"What an odd spontaneous decision," Sakayanagi sarcastically stated.

"Yeah. It was pretty random," Ike, unfortunately, didn't understand the depth of Sakayanagi's statement.

This was such a normal occurrence that no one even bothered to correct him.

"For once, I agree with you. Such a turn of events was not expected," Ryuuen agreed with Sakayanagi's statement in a similar satirical matter.

"Double date?"

Hirata and I shared a glance at the unexpected proposal.

"That's right, me and Hirata-kun. And Satou-san and Ayanokouji-kun will be having a date together. Doesn't it sound interesting? I thought it's not too bad for the four of us to have a date once in a while like this."

If we had set this up beforehand, it would be a different matter, but on this day, at this stage, proposing a double date would inevitably leave me bewildered. Even the plan for the day I had set up would be massively changed, if not collapse outright. It's not that simple to keep those together.

From Hirata's expression, too, I could see that he shared my concerns. On the other hand, towards that sudden proposal, Satou did not show any sign of being surprised.

"I just think you're worried that you have to talk to more people," Horikita continued to poke fun at me.

Although I can't exactly say she was wrong...

"Kanji, do you get it now?" Sudo asked his friend.

"Wait, this was all planned?" Ike exclaimed.

Ike was a wildcard. Some days he could display perhaps even good analytical abilities, but other times it's as if he doesn't understand the language he speaks.

"It took me explaining it to you, huh? Man, you need to get more sleep or get some coffee," Sudo sighed.

"It's not that I need sleep, the stuff here is just boring to listen to," Ike complained.

If I was in Ike's position, I would probably feel the same as him.

"But won't that be difficult? I think the two of you might have different plans too."

Hirata gently told her of that fact but it didn't seem to have any effect on Karuizawa.

"Satou-san also told me it seemed interesting, right?"

"Yep, it seems interesting."

It seems that the two of them have already had a long, drawn-out talk earlier about the double date. But regardless of which one proposed the idea, this is a slightly aggressive idea.

"It isn't like you even need the information about them making that plan It wasn't even hidden," Matsushita teased her friend.

"Well, isn't the saying like, the best way to hide something is to hide it in plain sight?" Sato looked to be turning a little redder.

"That's for objects. Putting a secret plan in plain sight is just exposing the secret," Matsushita stated.

"I guess I really am that predictable," Sato sighed.

"It isn't predictable when it's that guy, it's just inevitable," Kei consoled her friend.

"How about we save it for next time? I think it would be better to spend the day separately for today. If we're going to be having a double date, it would be better to have one after we've prepared appropriately, that way there should be no problems too."

A natural concern, or more like fear came from Hirata like that.

"That might be true but doesn't the fact that we don't know what might happen also sound interesting?"

Karuizawa already seems to be set on the double date as she replies like that tensely. Unlike the two of us who felt uneasy about the lack of planning of it all, Karuizawa already seems to be finding excitement in the as-of-yet unforeseen developments to come.

Perhaps it's because her date with Hirata itself was like routine to her that she's seeking stimulation in this? I think I might have been able to honestly accept it if this had been an incident taking place completely unrelated to me, but I wonder now. If I, who knows everything about Karuizawa, were to take action alongside her, whether we'd be able to enjoy the uncertain situation awaiting us, is something that remains questionable.

But even so, other than that I still can't think of a reason she would propose a double date.

"That's because I didn't," Kei gave me the news I hadn't known.

I suppose Kei being on a fake double date with me and Sato was a little too much, even for her. Although Sato doing such a thing surprises me. I expected her to be bold, but I would have assumed she would have taken the more solo approach.

"Also, what stimulation would I get from this thing? Clearly, that's your own fantasy," Kei jokingly insulted.

"I think I was fairly accurate," I replied.

"Not at all. There was no fun having to watch you struggle to communicate," Kei continued with her attitude.

"So you would have been happy if I was talking with Sato well? Or did you want me to talk to you well?" I asked,

"Don't twist my words," Kei giggled.

"For the record, it is Christmas."

Hirata who was looking at me as though he would be a problem, had a troubled look on his face. Looking at him, Karuizawa straight out asks him whether it would be a 'Yes' or a 'No'.

"Hirata-kun's against it?"

"I'm fine with it myself. Isn't it just up to Satou-san and Ayanokouji-kun?"

Not knowing what our opinions on it were, Hirata had no choice but to answer such. Towards Karuizawa who obtained Hirata's permission, Satou directed her gaze towards her as if asking if that was too much trouble. I wonder how Satou, who's the important one here, is taking this matter of the double date.

"It might be a sudden thing but I'd like to try it...like that."

Really, it was a sudden development. But Satou accepted this situation and voiced her consent.

Perhaps Satou simply could not refuse a proposal from Karuizawa, who stands at the top of the school caste of Class D. Or so I thought, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

"How about it, Ayanokouji-kun?"

"You kinda have to agree now, huh?" Sudo pointed out.

"No. He could have disagreed if he wanted," Sato retorted.

"Yeah, he could have, but that would make him look bad. He'd look like the asshole who couldn't go along with the plan everyone else wanted to go on," Sudo explained.

That's the thing about peer pressure. The thing isn't that everyone is pushing you to do something, it's the image people have of you if you don't. People's reputations are incredibly valuable, and to jeopardise that reputation, fills people with fear.

Don't go along with it, it could be a reputational suicide. If you go along with it, your reputation may last, but there's another image people have of you. You'd be the type to willingly do anything or the person who easily caves.

It's as if you're a lever that can be activated if enough force is used.

From Hirata to Karuizawa, from Karuizawa to Satou and now from Satou to me. The baton had been passed. It cannot carelessly drop it. I need to cautiously accept it.

"That's right..."

Don't reply immediately, think. I'm already having enough trouble going out to play alone with a girl, a double date is something else. It's not that much but for an inexperienced amateur this is an event with far too much responsibility. However, simply telling them that I'd rather not have a double date so please stop is a hurdle too high for me.

When everyone in one's surroundings are in perfect synchronization, to raise the sole objection is a most difficult task. If the one in the leading role today, Satou, is able to easily accept it, then neither am I going to object.

I suppose it's also fine to go along with the 'it's interesting because I don't know what's going to happen' thing that Karuizawa spoke of. It's just, there's still a problem even so.

"You don't give people that spontaneous type of impression anyway," Horikita stated bluntly.

"Yeah. You're the type of person who keeps to themselves and stays quiet, going along with something because it's unpredictable doesn't seem like the impression most people would have," Sato agreed.

In the first place, we were going to watch a movie from now, so I wonder if a double date all of a sudden will even be possible or not. That was an obvious question. Even if we move to secure seats in a hurry, lining up for it now would be almost impossible. Or it could be that this too, is one of those 'interesting' things.

The impression that we have drifted off-course from the original purpose of the 'date', but looking at it from a different perspective, it cannot be said that a double date is only a bad thing. If I'm alone with Satou and engrossed in conversation, I can predict that there will be moments where an awkward atmosphere would come flowing in. But if Hirata and Karuizawa are there too, they'll be able to properly connect the topics of discussion well.

And besides, Haruka did say she would drag Airi along and have a walk about to make sure we don't run into each other but even so, unexpected incidents may still occur.

On such occasion, rather than seeing me hanging out together alone with Satou, it would naturally look better if she were to see the four of us acting together. Anyways, if this atmosphere won't let me decline, I should be thinking that way instead.

"You did that to stop our paths? That's a little depressing," Airi muttered.

"I just did it so you wouldn't feel bad, okay?" Haruka hurriedly explained.

"I know. It's fine," Airi stated indistinctly.

Airi did look a little disheartened, but she'd get over it in time. The thing I'm wondering about, however, is my thoughts during the rejection of Sato. It's completely possible that Airi may despair and isolate herself, but the inevitability is that she would be hurt.

"If the three of you are fine with that, I have no particular objections."

Not wanting to keep them waiting, as I answered with a 'Yes', Karuizawa immediately took action.

"Then it's decided. Where are the two of you headed from now?"

Easily having confirmed the date, Karuizawa begins forcefully pulling us along as she begins to proceed forward. Towards that, Satou seemed to be somewhat calm, giving off a relaxed feeling.

Could it be Satou was also nervous, and was anxious about being alone with just the two of us? Let's hope that this event that suddenly popped up will bear fruit.

"Yeah. I kinda thought I would mess stuff up," Sato sheepishly chuckled.

That's a natural reaction, of course. It's just like anything else a human does for the first time, the fear and anxiousness kick in. Many extreme sports look terrifying to the average person, but those athletes most likely felt the same at one point.

"Umm you see, Ayanokouji-kun and I were planning on watching a movie from now."

Satou told them the contents of our date while using her phone and having a preparatory meeting with Karuizawa.

"The movie that starts screening today? If so, we're really lucky. We were also planning on going to see it. Uwa, on top of that even the screening time is the same. Amazing, amazing!"

Towards this coincidence, the two of them looked excited.

However, Satou's expression seems slightly rigid or rather awkward.

"What a coincidence right, Ayanokouji-kun?"

"Seems to be."

To be seeing the same movie at the same time also seemed to have come as a surprise to Hirata. Even though it is the first day of screening, to brilliantly overlap to this extent truly is lucky.

"Indeed. Fate seems to work in mysterious ways," Nagumo joined in on the teasing.

"What a transparent facade you two created," Horikita criticised.

"Yeah, yeah. We get it," Kei sighed at the jabs that were being thrown at her and Sato.

"Even if we're going to be seeing it together, since it's a movie, what do we do about the seats? We can't change them can we?"

I asked the two of them where their seats were going to be. Let's see whether coincidences continue to pile up or not. Karuizawa checks her phone to confirm.

"How is it, Karuizawa-san?"

Satou peeks at Karuizawa's phone and checked their seating positions.

"Our seats are separate, huh. Well, I guess that can't be helped--."

Karuizawa shows Hirata the seats. Our positions were completely different. It seems coincidences don't run this far, but the position of our seats were completely separate.

"Sometimes the theater's pretty much empty so it shouldn't be hard to find seats together," Ibuki advised.

Of course, Ibuki is someone who frequents the cinema often, but it isn't really something a casual cinema watcher doesn't know.

"They did say that it was the release day. I doubt it would be anywhere close to empty," Hiyori pointed out.

"I guess so, but sometimes it's still only, like, half full," Ibuki shrugged.

"You don't give the impression, but do you go to the cinema a lot?" Hiyori asked in a curious tone.

"I guess I go a little more than the average person," Ibuki tried to brush it off.

"Then, let's go already, Ayanokouji-kun!"

Satou seemed modest and nervous when met up but after having met up with Karuizawa and Hirata, she seems to have returned to her usual attitude as she sticks close to me and begins walking.

"...too close."

I whispered that without thinking in a voice too low for anyone to hear. Having become a double date, the four of us walked towards the movie theater. The four of us, having lined up side-by-side, walked towards the interior of the mall. From the edge it would be me, then Satou, and next to her is Karuizawa, and the one furthest out on the other end is Hirata.

"Heh...you two are looking pretty good aren't you?"

Looking at the two of us walking intimately, Karuizawa whispered that.

"R-Really?"

"No matter how you look at it, you guys look like a couple affectionately spending Christmas together, that sort of feeling?"

"Hehehe. Isn't it embarrassing, Ayanokouji-kun? They're saying we look like a couple."

"...I suppose so."

"Karuizawa, you're like cupid in this situation. Trying to make two people get together," Matsushita commented.

"I guess that does make sense, huh? I didn't really end up doing an amazing job, though" Kei replied.

"It isn't as if you could do any more. Your cupid influence only goes so far," Sato told her friend.

"You seem like you enjoyed it," Kei teased.

"I guess it wasn't awful at the time," Sato sighed.

I suppose I cannot deny that this is a situation which makes it seem to be the case. As long as we're out on a date on Christmas, it can't be helped even if we are more or less told that.

"But still, the two of you seriously aren't going out with each other? Could it be the truth is you're already going out~."

"N-N-No. Not at all. We still aren't in that kind of relationship!"

"Really? If you're hiding something you'd better tell me right now, okay?"

Rather than asking just out of curiosity, she's clearly poking fun at us. It's just, I couldn't see any sign of Satou disliking it from the bottom of her heart or being troubled by it. If I had to say, she even seems to be happy about being teased by Karuizawa like that. That seems strange, or rather, it was slightly incomprehensible and I ended up being confused by it.

However, upon immediately replacing it with myself, I managed to come to a certain understanding. For instance, even if I, by some accident, ended up going on a date with an idol-like girl from this school, if a friend happened to stumble onto the sight and asked whether she is my girlfriend? If I get teased like that, at the same time as I would feel embarrassed, I would also feel something akin to a superiority complex. It's just, in this case, there is the pride of having the clear status as the 'school's idol' and whether or not Satou feels something like that towards me or not is strongly questionable.

"Only a freak like you would psychoanalyse yourself on a date," Ryuuen snickered.

"Are you confusing a superiority complex with just feeling happy? From what it sounds like you're describing, a person feels pride from having a popular partner. I wouldn't necessarily call it a superiority complex," Horikita pondered.

"I said it was akin to a complex. I suppose that there could potentially be an inflated ego in some people, or just a feeling of great pride. They aren't necessarily a superiority complex, but they have similar traits to one. Besides, even if it doesn't inflate a person's ego, it still changes a person's self-image," I explained.

Ego, pride, it's etched into a human being. All people, no matter who, have an ego. To feel proud, and to be recognised, it directly affects a person's self-image. Whether it be a feeling of superiority or a feeling of subservience, it's all interlinked. To exist without an ego is the same as not existing at all.

"Speaking of which, Satou-san, you don't have a boyfriend yet right?"

"Y-Yeah."

The persistent attacks from Karuizawa didn't end, rather they continued to come one after another. I half-listened to what she had to say while thinking about how to safely pull through the unexpected double date.

And for a little while longer, as I answered the questions coming from Karuizawa, the elusive time continued on...

"We'll be enjoying this on our own so the two of you, don't mind us ok?"

Eventually, saying that, Karuizawa turned towards Hirata. So after saying everything she wanted to say she's leaving, huh? Karuizawa's goal here is relatively predictable but even so, there are still plenty of aspects I still don't understand.

In any case, in the double date from now on we'll be acting as a group but basically it still means we still have to carry on a conversation between the two of us. I did not understand that particular rule, or more like delineation, very well but let's just say I don't mind.

"This feels like your introduction's sequel," Ryuuen insulted.

"So we're going to see Ayanokouji pitifully try and communicate? I doubt it would be as bad as last time," Katsuragi seemed to possess some faint hope for me.

"What was it that you said? Oh yeah, his communication bordered on mental illness. Let's see if that trend continues," Ryuuen chuckled.

"It's a little harsh to use my words when I didn't know the full story. Besides, I believe that he can at least keep up the conversation now," Katsuragi claimed.

"We'll see," Ryuuen turned his eyes to the screen.

The problem starts here. I don't know what to talk with Satou about or what's the correct answer to that. Even as a classmate, I don't know much about Satou. During the nonexistent time I had, I did make a move to obtain more information on her but I barely received any useful clues from it. From the rooftop incident to the winter vacation, I did not have the opportunity to make contact with Satou either. If I had more time until the date, I might have been able to slightly improve the situation. However, Satou should also be in this same, fumbling situation. She should also be nervous. Of course, up until the day before, I did more or less think of several ad-lib questions.

What foods do you like? What are your hobbies? Such cliche things. But when it really came down to it, they are rather hard to ask.

Uwa, this guy's doing exactly as the manual on the internet said, it's just I didn't want to be thought of like that.

As I was pondering over the topic, perhaps she realized my silence, but for a moment Karuizawa looked over at me. And our gazes met for just under a second.

"I think that's better than being silent," Kei teased me.

"It wasn't for that long," I sighed.

"Yeah, and that's because of me. If I didn't look at you, you'd probably stay thinking for the rest of the day," Kei continued.

Her teasing seems to be getting more monstrous day by day.

"You're being rather quiet. Isn't it difficult to keep playing the quiet role?"

"It's not like I'm acting or anything. I'm not used to dates, I just don't understand the lifestyle of those with topics to discuss."

Such an interaction was exchanged between us just with our gazes alone. Naturally, I just imagined Karuizawa's words like that. And when I went on forever without saying a word...

"Ah yes, very normal," Nagumo stated bluntly.

"Satou-san, isn't it just that Ayanokouji-kun doesn't know what to talk about?"

As if to break up the silence, a single arrow released by Karuizawa flew at us. It seems almost everything I imagined earlier was accurate. Towards that, Satou showed a relaxed expression as she began the conversation.

"Hey, Ayanokouji-kun, do you happen to like idols?"

It seems Satou had also been thinking of various topics as well as she asked me that. A soaring ball, thrown, it flew towards an easy-to-catch position.

All of a sudden, Airi's eyes perked up and stared at the screen intently.

"Idol, I'm honestly not too familiar with those...I don't have any I particularly like or dislike. Do you like them, Satou?"

"I quite like them myself, I do like the cool idols too but I guess the hot thing right now are those girl idol groups. Haven't you heard of them? There are about 50 of them."

"Yeah, I see them on the TV every day. The group with the striking song and dances right?"

"Yeah, yeah. I really like them, you see. They also have plenty of good songs too."

"Hmm..."

I was overwhelmed by Satou who was forcefully on the attack like that.

"These metaphors make it seem like a sports game, except one side is trying to win while the other is forced to play," Sudo stated.

Airi looked a little disappointed at my indifferent answer.

"I can especially recommend their debut song so try listening to it. Next time, I'll lend you the CD."

"Thanks."

Upon answering with that, I realize I've made a mistake in the back-and-forths of our conversation. Our conversation had naturally run itself dry. If I only reply with a 'Aha!', that would be the equivalent of onesidedly having her throw me the ball. The ball I receive, must naturally be returned by none other than me.

"What kind of songs do you usually listen to?"

Once again, regardless of whether she realizes my distress or not, Satou once again threw me the ball. Towards this ball that is known as the topic of discussion being thrown at me, I'll endeavour to properly return it to her this time. So what kind of songs I usually listen to, huh? It's surprisingly simple and an easy-to-answer topic. Or I thought so. However, the song that had come to mind got stuck in my throat.

If I honestly opened up about my interests, what would happen? If I pull out Beethoven and Mozart here, then it's definitely an out. But even so, answering with healing music such as the sound of raindrops and the singing of birds, would also be a mistake.

"How much thinking is needed for a simple question? It feels like you're shooting yourself in the foot," Ike sighed.

I suppose if I simply went with my actual music choice, the conversation could have been different, but I can't think like that.

Doing things without thinking, not thinking of every outcome, I'm not that kind of person. If I were to think of it like a chess game, I try and think through every possible move before making my choice. I simply think that choosing my first thought would be easy, but it could lead to trouble down the line.

However, chess isn't like a conversation. The goal isn't to win, but to communicate. Unlike chess, choosing the first move you see could end up in having a more natural conversation.

In other words what my interests are, would be something to ignore in regards to this question. The answer she's expecting would probably be a famous musician or idol group's, basically a modern song. I need to answer with something towards Satou's expectant look.

"...this year, there was this popular movie, wasn't there? An anime."

"Ahh yeah, yeah. That romance movie right? I was really touched by it--."

"The group that performed its theme song, something like that, I've been listening to something like that recently."

Although I don't quite remember the name of the group, I've listened to that song countless times. Using that as a hint, I continued our conversation.

"How vague, but weirdly effective," Horikita mused.

"Ahh--! I get it! I really get it! I really like it too!"

It seems I managed to properly return the ball, as Satou caught the ball as if in celebration. It's just, as this topic of discussion deepens, it starts coming apart at its seams.

I need to properly overcome that.

"I guess you wouldn't know that much, so it makes sense," Sato remarked.

"You're very knowledgeable."

"Really? I think it's pretty normal though."

It seems the creatures known as girls, when it comes to matters like this, they are far more knowledgeable than I had expected. I did hear once that the distribution of roles between the male and female genders that had existed ever since the primitive ages had strongly permeated its way into the modern era but this might just be an example of that.

It seems females really have polished their communication skills.

"I don't get how you think that with Suzune next to you," Ryuuen smirked.

"I guess girls maybe in general can communicate a little better, but it really depends on the person. I, myself, am not great at communicating," Horikita explained.

Although it's also true that the sample size I have to deal with isn't very large. Perhaps it's more balanced if I were to be in a more normal high school, but I can't say.

"You aren't participating in any club activities right now, are you? Were you part of the track and field club before?"

The topic of discussion changed to clubs. Why did it end up like this, is quite an easy matter to understand. It likely is related to the relay I participated in during the sports festival.

"No, I've never been a part of any club before."

"Really? Even though that's the case, to think you're that fast, isn't that amazing? I mean, you were even faster than that student council president!"

As I told her that I had always been a part of the go-home club, for some reason Satou became excited as though she were impressed.

Perhaps Satou's gleefulness was too conspicuous but Karuizawa cast a side glance at us and cut in with a single phrase.

"Isn't it just that the student council president was too slow? Making us think he's really fast and the truth is it was just a battle between two slowpokes?"

"I really don't think that's the case, Karuizawa-san. Both of them were running extremely fast."

"Was that jealousy, Kei?" Sato chuckled, so it seemed like she didn't mind that much.

"No... I didn't feel that," Kei denied it, but her words weren't didn't have much strength.

"Was it really a go-home club? You were practically just homeschooled, but the homeschooling was ethically ambiguous," Amasawa claimed nonchalantly.

The mood was brought down a little by Amasawa's words.

"Hmm, it's hard to believe all of a sudden though. Ayanokouji-kun seems like he'd be weak at fighting too. And besides, he surprisingly seems like a cold person, or rather, even if a person precious to him collapsed from a cold, he doesn't seem like the type to even pay them a visit~."

Bringing in the matter of fighting from a completely unrelated flow, I can feel sarcasm packed in there. And I realized that the primary cause of today's attack lied there.

Karuizawa, whose body was repeatedly chilled on that rooftop by Ryuuen's actions and may have broken down in health, seems to be holding a grudge against me for not having been worried about her.

Could it be that the double date she proposed too, is her attempt to sabotage my actions and distract me?

"What an interesting punishment," Ichinose commented.

"I didn't go on a whole double date just to bully you. Well, maybe that was part of the reason, but the wasn't the only one," Kei admitted.

"I think that's a little too much, but not completely inaccurate," Sakayanagi giggled.

"I don't see it that way though. I think Ayanokouji-kun is definitely a kind person."

"Ehh--? Really--?"

"I also think Ayanokouji-kun is a kind person."

"Uwa, it's almost like I'm the villain here."

Even though she says that dissatisfactorily, Karuizawa always stood out conspicuously as the center of the conversation at all times. I could see that she was following up for Satou while also bullying me.

And from the flow of that, I understood that her goal was to make me and Satou into a couple.

"Two birds with one stone, huh?" Matsushita giggled.

"Now you get it. The bullying was part of my master plan," Kei stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

"U-Umm, you see? Umm, do..."

Before I realized it, Satou had lost her smile. I had thought she had been turned off by the lack of discussion coming from me but that doesn't seem to be the case. It felt more like she is attempting to say something yet was unable to put it to words. Remaining silent for a while, I observed Satou's attitude but no words followed from her.

"Umm, hey. Is there anything you'd like to ask me?"

Saying that, she handed over the reins of the conversation to me. Indeed it is true that ever since a while ago, the topic of the conversation had revolved around only me. I should probably start a conversation revolving around Satou here.

"If you enroll in this school, you can't contact the outside right? Were you ever troubled by that?"

"If you exclude the class battle, that's the only thing that separates this school from the others," Hashimoto pointed out.

"That's a rather big thing to leave out, but I suppose you are right," Sakayanagi sighed.

"I don't get what the point of that is, though," Kamuro grumbled.

"It's to allow for complete and total independence," Chairman Sakayanagi answered.

Independence, huh? I can see what he means. The students here live as many adults would. They make their own food, live on their own, and make their own choices without familial influence.

"While some students may be plenty independent, that can't be said for all, if not the majority. Parents, and siblings, all influence a person on how to live, so the school decided to give the choice back to the person," Chairman Sakayanagi continued.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing, right?" Horikita asked.

"No, I suppose that there's truth in your statement. However, I look at this school as a blank canvas or a place for the students to decide their own path. If a student is restricted from free expression, resentment for others may brew. People must be given free rein to their life," Chairman Sakayanagi answered in a gentle tone.

There's a sense of hypocrisy in his words. To give free rein to one's own life, but that life is directly dependent on the outcome of the class battle.

However, that isn't the whole truth.

"While some may say that it's hypocritical in such an environment, to give free rein to one's life doesn't necessarily mean being given everything on a silver platter, correct? The students have the choice to do whatever within the school. They can leave, stay, fight, and do many other things. They have the control to do what they wish to with their life," Chairman Sakayanagi retorted.

As I tried asking an unusual question like that, Satou began to think on it seriously.

"That's right...I feel like there were various such troubles..."

After thinking, Satou voiced what might be considered a particular trouble from amongst many.

"During middle school, I bought a cat you see. Now I think my mom is taking care of it for me but not being able to see my cat might be the hardest thing for me."

Increasing distance with one's family, might indeed be a general answer to that. Not being able to see a pet you loved might almost mentally be equivalent to a parent not being allowed to see their child.

"It's weird. I feel like I would miss a pet more than I would miss my family," Ike pondered.

"Is that bad? I think I would feel the same. A dog doesn't live as long. It would be the equivalent of losing a family member for decades," The Professor agreed.

"Kiyotaka, are you a dog person or a cat person?" Kei asked.

"Why the sudden question?" I dodged the question.

"Hmm, I don't know. The thought was in my mind," Kei shrugged.

A dog person or a cat person? I feel like a cat and I are too similar.

"A dog person, I think. Dogs are like the opposite of me, they're full of energy and like to do things. I feel like a cat and I would never do anything together," I answered.

"That's true... If I had to say, I would be a cat person. There's just something so cool about them. They only give people attention that they trust, and they're so chill," Kei gave her own opinion.

I guess that's something we disagree on.

"Not being able to see it for 3 years certainly sounds tough."

"Did Ayanokouji-kun also buy a pet or something?"

"Ahh, I wanted to buy a dog and was pretty interested in doing so but my parents forbade it."

It was true that I was interested in doing so, and so I simply answered like that.

"How unfortunate," Yagami remarked.

"A dog running around the White Room, huh? I suppose that would detract from the learning, but it would be quite interesting. Although that's far too humane for that place," Yagami thought.

"I see. Speaking of dogs, the other day I saw a little puppy on campus."

Satou said that.

"Ehh, really?"

Karuizawa, who said that she and Hirata would be enjoying themselves so don't mind them, for some reason once again joined in the conversation with Satou. It seems she's been properly listening in on our conversation.

"Yep, on top of that, it looked like it was someone's pet dog. It was really cute--."

"Since students can't buy pets it probably belonged to an adult, I suppose. One of the employees or a teacher."

Since it couldn't have possibly wandered onto the campus on its own, Hirata said that. Indeed, if you think about it, he has a point.

"Maybe an animal could get on a bus that's with one of the sports teams," Asahina claimed.

"That's unlikely, but I guess it is possible," Nagumo sighed.

"A pet sounds great. It'd be the best thing ever if we could keep one in the dorms."

"I agree too. It'd be great if we had a pet shop here--."

"More like why can't we have one in the first place?"

"Yeah, that's true--. Even though they're selling various stuff here, not including pets is somehow unacceptable right?"

The two girls showed excitement in talking about pets, while the two boys were left hanging.

Indeed pets are healing, but keeping one in the dorms would cause several problems to arise. If the premise is to let one person buy one pet each, there's the possibility that hundreds of animals would be kept in the dorms. And in leaving them for half a day when going to school, numerous problems would arise in all those rooms. Inevitably, one cannot help but accept the fact that pets cannot be kept but it doesn't seem as though it would lead to that idea. Logical reasons, such things wouldn't even enter their minds. Cute or uncute. Whether or not they want to keep it, that is the only conclusion their conversation led to.

"...what a trifling thought."

The students began to grow bored once again after listening to my thoughts.

I am thinking of something terribly dull. Even I am keenly aware of that fact. Right now what's needed here isn't that realistic kind of talk. One will not be able to buy a pet. Even if I yammer on about that fact I would only end up spoiling this.

"I'd like to buy a rabbit. Breeding them is quite easy and they seem quite docile."

Honestly going along with the flow of the girls' conversation, Hirata said that. And both girls agreed with a smile. I'm sure a man who is capable of carrying a conversation like this will be popular. Before I realized it, the topic of pets ended and the time had come to search for a new topic of discussion.

As I thought about this and that wondering what to do, my gaze met Satou's.

So goes the way of the conversation I suppose. Discussion dies, and another needs to fill the place. Stories, observations, random thoughts, all of this can be used.

"H-Hey Ayanokouji-kun. Umm you see..."

Satou had regained her usual attitude up until now but it seems now, all of a sudden, the words were again stuck in her.

It seems whenever Satou has something she truly means to ask, her nervousness hits its peak. Whether this is something that only happens when the opposite sex is involved, or whether this is how she usually acts is unknown. However, she seemed to firm her resolve and spit out her words...but then closed her mouth again.

It's probably something that's harder to ask than her previous question.

"What type of girl does Ayanokouji-kun like?"

Before Satou's words came out, Karuizawa beside her asked me that question.

"I-I'd like to hear about that too."

"Maybe the gorilla's plan wasn't that bad," Ryuuen thought.

Satou agreed too as if piggybacking off of it. Satou did not complain about having her question interrupted. I wonder if by any chance, she was going to throw the same question at me.

Could it be that this double date is not just a mere coincidence, it's starting to seem that way. I did vaguely sense it from the start but it seems I should interpret this as being a set up. In any case, I need to answer the question. My type of girl, huh?

"...it's somewhat difficult to answer."

Satou, who was looking at me with glittering eyes and Karuizawa who was glaring at me. And Hirata, who was looking at me, seemingly entertained. Those were the looks of those three individuals.

"The Genki type...someone like that?"

"What a broad statement," Kanzaki commented.

"Yeah. That's about as broad as you could get," Amikura agreed.

That was a word that I earnestly had to wring out of myself but hearing it now as my preference, it sounds dubious. Since there were many girls who could be considered the Genki type, I chose that word with the intention of not causing any damage here but it didn't go as I had thought it would.

"Surprising. I didn't think Ayanokouji-kun would be into that kind of girl."

Could it be, Satou and Karuizawa aren't genki type girls? I can safely say they're not the Horikita type but Kushida and Ichinose too are the Genki type...right?

"Could it be that Ayanokouji-kun thinks there are only two types of girls, the genki type and the quiet type?"

It can't be, such a sharp statement came from Karuizawa.

"Is that true?"

"No, that's not true. I'm a relatively quiet type so on the contrary, I thought I'd appreciate a girl who would tug me along better. If I've made a mistake in expressing it through words then I'll correct it."

I answered like that but I have a feeling it was not properly conveyed to Satou and the others.

"You seem to have a pattern of liking things that are the opposite of you," Kei told me.

"I suppose that's true, but the same can be said for you," I responded.

Kei just giggled and turned her eyes to the screen.

"Then, what's between you and Horikita-san?"

Again all of a sudden, such a question came forth from Karuizawa. That's completely unrelated, right? I wanted to say that but Satou's expression had clearly changed.

This, too, is probably a question that Satou had wanted to ask. And towards Satou, who's finding it difficult to ask, I should take this to mean that Karuizawa is asking me this in her place.

"Every single moment. Are just a girl and a boy talking enough for someone to think they're dating? This is so tiring," Horikita sighed deeply.

"I mean, you both were together pretty much every day. Rumours spread around," Sato told Horikita.

I suppose she's tired of this question being brought up again and again.

There are not many students in our class who correctly understand the relationship between me and Horikita but among those students who understand it correctly is Karuizawa. The very fact that such a question came forth is unnatural. There's no doubt this is for Satou's sake. If Satou is serious in holding affections towards me as a member of the opposite sex then she would have opened up about that to Karuizawa and I can see the path that led to the double date. In other words, for that purpose, she requested Karuizawa to be her backup shooter. Probably they're attempting to fill up the outer moat through probing various things out.

I felt like Karuizawa, while invisible, is targeting me somewhere. I don't know who it was that came up with the double date we're having now but I can surmise that the one who's coming up with the fine details of the plan is Karuizawa.

"I don't have anything going on at all with Horikita. As a matter of fact, even on Christmas, we're going about our own business."

The very fact that Horikita isn't here right now is above all else, proof of that. I tried to appeal to them like that.

"But, just because that's true doesn't mean there's really nothing between you two, right?"

That should have been enough, yet Karuizawa continued hounding me.

"If there was something there then he wouldn't have accepted. Simple logic," Horikita grumbled.

It's quite rare for her to voice her frustrations like this, but it is amusing to watch.

"There is also the pattern where Ayanokouji-kun is interested in Horikita-san, yet she wouldn't give you the time of day and you want to ask her out yet you don't have the courage to do so?"

"...certainly."

If one considers it seriously, that would also be a possibility.

"S-So? Was it annoying that I asked you out?"

Anxiously, as though peering out, Satou looked at me.

"I told you earlier but if I really thought it was an annoyance, I would have declined beforehand."

"I see. That's a relief...!"

"But there's also that, isn't there? Since the girl you like won't give you the time of day, there are boys who like to keep insurance. A girl they keep in reserve in case they can't go out with the one they really like, something like that."

"Are you that type of person, Ayanokouji? Are you that cruel?" Ryuuen chuckled.

"Kinda pathetic to do that, if I'm honest. Just means you can't get the person you want so you have to do the only thing available to you," Sudo ridiculed.

"But what's the point of doing that if the person who you are attracted to sees you on a date? Then everything's gone wrong. The logic doesn't track," Horikita complained.

A spiteful question like that was thrown at me from Karuizawa. Does she really see a person capable of doing such a deft thing here? Even if I ask her that, it'll be over if she replies that she does. It might be that Karuizawa is hounding me like this for Satou's sake. It's like diving into the Nile river with a crocodile swimming about in it.

"Do I really look like someone who's capable of doing such a deft thing?"

"Yes you do?"

"...oi."

Even though I knew it, I tried diving in anyways and I got brilliantly chomped for it.

"Your true love is Horikita-san but you're keeping Satou-san as insurance and playing around with her, that possibility is also there right?"

She's no longer trying to uplift Satou, it seems Karuizawa's more so trying to drop me instead. Could it be that she's not trying to make things work out between me and Satou, but rather trying to show Satou that a person like me wouldn't be suitable for her.

"I don't know if that's noble or petty. Either way, continue," Ryuuen commented with a grin.

"Did you not think of the chance that she's just insulting you?" Ike asked.

"Well, I hadn't thought that far," I sighed.

"You're not the most upstanding person, but you aren't the pathetic freak that would do something like that," Hashimoto indifferently stated.

"I don't think Ayanokouji-kun is the type of person who would do something like that."

Towards that harsh statement from Karuizawa, Satou objects.

"Right, Ayanokouji-kun?"

"I'm not that adept after all."

I managed to escape from Karuizawa's fierce attack. Just as I was thinking that, the third attack came.

"So you're saying that if you're smart enough you would potentially do that," Ryuuen insulted my character from a new angle.

"I think you're reading too far into things," I told him.

"Maybe, or maybe I hit the bullseye," Ryuuen smirked.

It's clear that he was just finding fun in taunting me.

"But you know, Ayanokouji-kun gets along well with Kushida-san too right?"

"Ehh, really?"

I didn't realize that, as though saying that Satou jumped up and down in surprise.

"I got along well with everyone. I didn't talk to him any more than other students," Kushida disinterestedly stated.

"I wouldn't really consider this a crocodile attack anymore, it's more like a nuke is aimed at you," Ishizaki looked a little worried for my wellbeing.

"In Kushida's case, I'd say she gets along with just about everybody though..."

This is no longer just the crocodile chomping me, it's bursting forth from the water and soaring into the sky.

"Don't you think the majority of boys want to date Kushida-san?"

"Do you really think so? Hirata?"

In order to escape from that crocodile, I decided to seek help from Hirata. If he understands that I'm in trouble here, he should take action to properly help me out.

"Indeed I do think Kushida-san is very popular but I don't think everyone feels that way. And besides, I don't think Ayanokouji-kun has a special someone he feels that way about yet, wouldn't you say?"

You're exactly right, Hirata. You answered 100% in the way I had hoped for. At the same time as resolving this misunderstanding about Kushida, it will also resolve problems other than that too.

"If Yousuke-kun says so, I'm sure that must be the case then."

"You know that just because I say something doesn't mean you have to listen to it, right?" Yosuke asked Kei.

"Yeah, I get it," Kei replied.

Even though she still seemed dissatisfied, Karuizawa stops. Hirata's words carry a mysterious weight to them and they are not something that's simply overruled. If it's Satou, she would feel this much more strongly.

Nice, Hirata. Amazing, Hirata. Go, go, Hirata.

"I thought you'd gotten over being a bonafide fanboy," Himeno stated.

Yosuke looked a little embarrassed after hearing my thoughts.

"I just did the normal thing, to be honest," Yosuke sheepishly remarked.

"Hey, the four of you there. Do you have some time?"

As the four of us came close to the movie theater, a voice called out to us from behind. As we each turned back to look.

"You're Ayanokouji, aren't you?"

"...yes I am."

And who might you be? Those words retreated back down into my throat. A sharp glint in his eye, and with a freshness about him, I'm familiar with this man.

There's not a single student in this school who doesn't know him.

2nd year Class A Nagumo Miyabi.

"I thought I'd get bored again after the insulting ended, but this is even better," Ryuuen grinned.

"Nagumo-senpai, were you trying to harass someone?" Sakayanagi giggled at Nagumo's antics.

"I would consider it a friendly proposition," Nagumo responded.

"Friendly? He gripped your arm for no reason," Kei complained to me.

Nagumo would have accepted by this point that I am not going to face him. Even if I wanted to face him, things aren't aligned for me to do so. A competition to expel the other doesn't work due to Nagumo's funds.

There's also the project I'm currently preoccupied with.

And beside Nagumo were several male and female students who are probably friends of his. And among those members were students from the student council as well. Secretaries Mizowaki and Tonokawa. And Vice President Kiriyama as well. And female members of the student council too.

And then, the only one from amongst the 1st years whose name made it to the student council. The figure of that girl was also there. 1st year Class B Ichinose Honami.

She did not recklessly come forth from amongst the lineup, and when our gazes briefly met, she only smiled in response. The other student council members other than Ichinose did not pay any attention to me, and continued their conversations.

But, the eminent appearance of several senior students. The atmosphere of this place became heavy.

"What an entourage. The school's failures mixed with the only entertaining guy from the year above" Ryuuen casually insulted.

"Calling nearly everyone in the student council a failure? That's a bit bold, even for you," Katsuragi questioned Ryuuen's statement.

"Let's be honest here, besides the title of president, the student council's positions are just like every other student council in the world. Besides, the people there don't particularly give the impression of talent," Ryuuen nonchalantly ridiculed the student organisation.

"Failure isn't the word I would particularly use, but I suppose you aren't that far off. No one in the student council has really achieved much in the school besides the president yet," Yagami agreed with Ryuuen's statement.

"Now even the future has such little hope," Ryuuen chuckled.

"I think you misunderstand, Ryuuen. No one in the student council has achieved much, and perhaps for most people, it could stay that way, but that isn't everyone. I wouldn't write everyone off just yet," Yagami smirked.

"I would say you're too cocky, but that doesn't mean a lot coming from me," Ryuuen looked surprised, but intrigued by Yagami.

If I had to guess, this is just a message from Yagami to myself, but there's something off about it. He didn't state that just him has talent, but multiple people.

If I had to guess from these multiple people, the two most apparent are Ichinose and Horikita.

Although there's also the possibility that this could be a bluff.

How brazen. Potentially giving a hint of his future plans, yet being so vague at the same time. The goal is to lead the person on a goose chase trying to decipher the meaning behind the words, but there's the possibility that there could be nothing there at all.

Essentially, it uses a human's paranoia and alertness against them

Hide a tactic within a tactic. Hiding a plan with a plan. This clever trick uses human nature to turn the tides to one's own advantage.

"You're 1st year, right? Miyabi's friend?"

Most of the senior students did not pay any attention to us, but a single girl glanced towards us. A while ago, when I had passed by this senior student on the road, she had dropped her amulet. But even so, there's no way she could possibly know about me.

"I've never talked with him before. You don't remember? He was the student who fought against Horikita-senpai in the relay at the sports festival."

"Ahh--. I thought I remembered you from somewhere...so it was from that time."

"Shall we have a chat then? You have time don't you?"

I ended up being called out by Nagumo like that. Right now, it's obvious to anyone that the four of us were out on a date. However, not only a senior student but also the new student council president, being invited out by someone like him, one cannot just rudely decline. Towards this unexpected incident, Satou withered and Karuizawa also seemed slightly upset.

The hall grew quiet in anticipation. Nagumo was seen as untouchable, almost as if he was in a different realm. However, there is also the understanding that my goal was to destroy Nagumo. Seeing Nagumo interact with people wasn't surprising, but interacting with his supposed enemy was something else entirely.

Seeing those two like that, Hirata immediately steps forward. Among us, he's probably the only one who can go face-to-face against Nagumo.

But even so, 'we're hanging out, so we don't have time. Please leave it for next time', he can't simply say something like that either. I wonder how he's intending on resolving this.

"Good morning, Nagumo-senpai."

"Yo, Hirata. How's soccer going?"

Nagumo, before assuming the title of student council president, had been affiliated with the soccer club. It seems he's decided to take advantage of that fact to initiate the conversation.

"Everyone's doing their best. Next time, please join in our practice. Umm, senpai, did Ayanokouji-kun do something?"

Looking slightly anxious, Hirata cut in like that.

"Hmm? Ahh no, that's not the case. There's no way I'd bully my kouhai, right? This is just out of curiosity."

Nagumo said that while laughing, but that laughter did not reach his eyes at all. As long as I don't cut in, the flow here won't change at all.

"Wow, Nagumo Miyabi, local underclassmen bully. I didn't think you'd stoop so low," Asahina sarcastically teased.

"I wouldn't really consider myself to be the only one to face Nagumo-senpai. He didn't really do anything that bad," Yosuke looked slightly astonished that I had said that.

"I find it a little amusing that this was not long after you were tasked to dethrone me," Nagumo stated, but his expression was blank, almost as if he was just focusing on the screen and nothing else.

"Do you have business with me?"

I answered him in a slightly rigid tone.

"Don't be so cautious. But that's an impossible task, right? Please go on ahead."

Perhaps he thought that a large crowd would intimidate me, but Nagumo told his friends that.

"Hurry up and come ok~?"

"Got it."

It doesn't seem like he has any intention of letting us go, but Nagumo had his entourage go off ahead somewhere. Looking at their backs, I could infer something.

"We're going to the karaoke. After this, do you want to join us?"

"No thank you..."

"I was joking. If someone like you who's not even my friend joins us, the atmosphere there would get spoiled."

This time he derisively laughs at me.

"Well, he isn't wrong. Ayanokouji's singing would probably be akin to a sloth's," Ryuuen snickered.

"So you're the student Horikita-senpai's paying attention to...I'm just playing along with those rumours."

"Senpai, are you talking about that time during the relay?"

Hirata barged into the conversation to back me up.

"Yeah, you were watching too right?"

"Yes, because I already knew Ayanokouji-kun's really fast."

That was a lie made up by Hirata but Nagumo has no way to ascertain the truth.

"I do apologise for that, Nagumo-senpai," Yosuke told Nagumo with an apologetic expression.

"No need. It didn't mean a lot in the grand scheme of things anyway," Nagumo replied to Yosuke apathetically.

"But other than that, Ayanokouji-kun shouldn't have anything that attracts the attention of senpai and the others."

"Indeed he only looks like an ordinary student. Except for that speed you spoke of...huh."

Nagumo, with a sharp expression on his face, strongly gripped my arm.

"So you aren't just a bully, you like assaulting random people as well," Asahina continued to belittle Nagumo.

Nagumo just sighed and ignored Asahina.

Towards that abnormal sight, naturally the other three would be surprised. It was a dangerous situation, it must have looked as though a fight were about to break out. Even Hirata, who was close to Nagumo, for a moment froze up.

"President Nagumo, your face is quite scary--."

So that the situation does not progress any further, Karuizawa laughed and approached Nagumo.

"Did I scare you? Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to."

Nagumo looked at Karuizawa with a serene expression.

But he did not let go of my arm. Then he returned his gaze towards me.

"Unfortunately, I know all about Horikita-senpai. If that man has seen something in you, then that something definitely exists."

"You sure know a lot about the student council president."

"The 'former' student council president, you mean. I'm looking forward to this, Ayanokouji. Once that man graduates, a boring one year awaits me. To fulfill my desires, become my opponent, ok?"

"A challenge is all you wanted Ayanokouji for? You must've accepted that he doesn't want to face you," Sakayanagi looked slightly surprised.

"I accepted that a while ago. Although you can't really blame me for trying, since it isn't as if anyone else in your year had the criteria needed. The only one who had the potential for a good match was Ayanokouji," Nagumo casually belittled the abilities of the second year.

"That's quite a bold statement," Sakayanagi responded.

"Really? I simply thought that was the truth. I apologise if you took offense to it," Nagumo apologised.

"I'm surprised you think so highly of yourself that you could state such a thing. But from your position, I suppose every person would think that," Sakayanagi spoke like she took no offence to Nagumo's words.

"Perhaps it is arrogant, but I still believe I haven't said anything incorrect. I've looked at it from plenty of angles, and I think the only one to truly give me a match is Ayanokouji. But that's only part of the reason, I suppose," Nagumo stated confidently.

"I see," Sakayanagi spoke in a disinterested manner.

If you think of Nagumo as the final product, then Sakayanagi and Ryuuen are the prototypes. Sakayanagi possesses similar abilities, but her range, influence and communication skills aren't at the same level. Ryuuen has the craftiness and scheming nature, but he doesn't have the same commanding force.

Perhaps in the future, they could be on that same level, but as of now, they are only fragments of the person known as Nagumo.

I knew that there were various things going on between the older Horikita and Nagumo, but for him to be obsessed to the point it overflows from the person in question and affected even me. That was slightly unexpected.

It was because I had thought Nagumo was the type who would be fine as long as he himself and his surroundings are having fun. But looking at this attitude, that doesn't seem to be the case.

He seems to place great importance on showing everyone just how strong he is, just how amazing he is.

"I am vain, but I wouldn't go to that extreme," Nagumo looked a little bit astonished.

"Then allow me to ask just one thing."

As I, who had been passive up until now, asked that, for the first time Nagumo slightly smiled.

"Back then, when you assumed the role of student council president, you said you would make this school more interesting, by having everything be decided by ability. Specifically, what are you intending on doing?"

Having come this far, even if I indulge in a bit of conversation, there's no loss to me in particular. Thinking that, I tried asking.

"I don't know what kind of exams you 1st years have done, but they should all have been boring, pompous ones. I'm fed up with such exams, you see. That's right, a special exam based on a popular virtual online game, don't you think that sounds interesting?"

"Virtual online game...?"

"Interesting, maybe. It seems to complicated to be put into practical use. Games are fiction, translating them into reality would be far too difficult," Horikita disagreed with the idea.

Perhaps some games would be too difficult, but there should be something that could be used. It may not be completely accurate, but the general gist of it is there. The island exam this year was similar to that of a survival game against other players.

I was reminded for a moment of those apps you play on your phone but immediately afterwards, Nagumo laughed and said this.

"Don't be so serious."

Letting go of my hand which he had been gripping the entire time, Nagumo laughs once again. But the laughter did not reach his eyes.

"I apologize for interrupting your date. See you around."

Saying that, Nagumo followed his friends and walked off towards the karaoke. Before long, a silence fell upon us.

"What an interesting meeting," Manabu said speculatively.

"Kind of pointless, but fun nonetheless," Ryuuen glanced at Nagumo.

"He messed with us for no reason. Who just walks up to someone and goes 'Oh hey, person I've talked to one time, wanna fight?'" Kei muttered her complaints to me.

"It wasn't that bad. It was only for a minute or two anyway," I told her.

"Fuu--. That was quite a happening, wasn't it?"

Hirata, who pats his chest at the fact that nothing happened.

On the contrary, Satou, who had withered and had fallen silent until now, burst out.

"A-Amazing, Ayanokouji-kun! T-To think the student council president thinks so highly of you!"

"No, it's not really that impressive."

I replied like that while being pushed around by Satou, who's in high spirits.

"I'm not really convinced by this somehow. I mean, the only thing Ayanokouji-kun is good at is running right? Yousuke-kun's 100 times more amazing. He's really fast. He's good at studying too. If someone should be paid attention to, it's strange if that person isn't Yousuke-kun--?"

Right? As if asking that, Karuizawa speaks to Hirata with a smile.

I wonder how Yosuke deals with all these compliments every day. Hearing someone praise me once was enough to make me feel weird.

"I do think Hirata-kun is amazing but...but, but I don't think Ayanokouji-kun will lose to him!"

While I am happy that she proudly followed up for me like that, I didn't really ask for her to go that far. Evaluating me without making me out to be good or bad would be for the best. And more than anything, saying that made Karuizawa interject.

"She's saying he won't lose but, compared to Hirata-kun, isn't he completely useless at studying?"

"T-That is...he's still smarter than me!"

Indeed, I won't deny that, but is that fine, Satou?

"Isn't it great, Ayanokouji-kun? That Satou-san thinks so highly of you? Even though it feels like you gained all that just by running fast?"

"Maybe."

I accepted Karuizawa's awfully strong words that were praising me...or not.

In any case, I understood that for the whole day today, Karuizawa plans to keep on belittling me.

"Probably the most entertainment anyone will get today," Ryuuen stated bluntly.

The movie theater at Keyaki Mall had been crowded with people ever since a few days ago. The impact that the newly released movie had and equipment troubles may have had something to do with that.

Of course, I could not see the figure of Ibuki anywhere here. Perhaps she simply has no interest in a 3D anime produced by an overseas film company, or perhaps she simply predicted this crowd and avoided it...she'll probably come and watch it later.

Having been issued the tickets we had all booked in advance, handing over the ticket's stub we entered.

"So you and Ayanokouji met when on Christmas break when watching a movie and you were gonna go later again? How are you not bored of the cinema?" Ishizaki asked.

"It's not that bad. Some movies aren't as good as you thought, but that's the worst thing that could happen," Ibuki defended the cinema casually.

"Yeah, but the food's overpriced, people can be annoying, the floors usually aren't cleaned," Ishizaki rambled off about things he disliked about the cinema.

"When did you get to be such a clean freak? You probably live in a place worse than that," Ibuki criticised.

Ishizaki was unable to retort, confirming the probable likelihood that he lived in a place that was not very clean.

"T-That's right, Karuizawa-san. I'd like you to accompany me to the toilet."

"That's right. The screening's going to start soon."

Saying that, Satou dragged Karuizawa slightly forcefully and headed off towards the toilet.

Only me and Hirata were left.

"...how should I put it, good job."

The first word that came out was an honest one like that. Hirata is letting his precious Christmas go to waste just to accompany Karuizawa, who he's only in a fake relationship with. I honestly respect him for that. Or could it be he also holds some genuine feelings towards Karuizawa, could something like that also be possible?

From what I had known about Yosuke at the time, it was a thought that popped into my mind for the fact that it was possible. However, I don't think Yosuke has ever felt that way about another person.

"Karuizawa-san's the classmate I first thought I had to save no matter what, you see."

From the look in his eyes, I could tell that he did not see Karuizawa as a romantic partner. It was the eyes of Hirata Yousuke, who puts in an effort daily for the sake of his classmates.

"I'm really grateful to you, Ayanokouji-kun. Regarding the matter with Karuizawa-san."

"I don't recall having done anything to be thanked for though."

"I'm really thankful for the fact that during the shipboard test, you and Karuizawa-san happened to be placed in the same group. She's now able to walk on her own without my existence beside her."

Hirata then sighed a sigh of relief, almost as though he had slowly put down a baggage he'd been carrying.

"At first, I thought it wasn't baggage, but it was tiring. Playing a person I'm not and lying to people isn't a thing I'm particularly fond of, but I would still do it if I had to. Maybe Ayanokouji was being honest when he said he did nothing worth being thanked for. What an enigma, even when I can see his thoughts, I can't understand him," Yosuke thought.

"That hasn't happened yet, has it?"

"Is it because I'm still acting out the role of her boyfriend?"

"Yeah."

Mentally speaking, Karuizawa has become stronger. She's grown. Hirata could sense it too. However, growth in the truest sense of the word lies there.

"That's only a matter of time, is what I think. Recently, communication between us has been dialled down to a bare minimum. Leaving aside exceptional patterns like today, I don't think I'm necessary to her anymore."

Certainly, as Hirata had sensed, it seems Karuizawa is already walking forward on her own. If it's not just something I've noticed but something a third party has also sensed then there's no mistaking it.

"So that's why your relationship ended. I was confused for a while, but now it makes sense," Sato said in astonishment.

I wonder, what were the girls talking about when they went to the bathroom? Was it advancing the date? Perhaps more conversation planning, or maybe just Kei telling Sato what things she has in mind to belittle me.

"I may be asking something uncouth here, but was this fine for Christmas?"

"Yeah. I am Karuizawa-san's boyfriend after all. At the very least up until now, I didn't have anything going on with any other girl. Probably, from now on as well."

"From now on as well?"

In regards to the future he has no way of knowing for certain, Hirata said that as though he were prophesizing it.

"You know, Ayanokouji-kun. As long as everybody around me is getting along with each other, I'm satisfied with just that."

"So that's why you're saying you don't need any romance?"

"That's right, I suppose. At the very least right now I feel that way."

He's blessed with such looks, such a personality and such skills and yet, it's such a shame.

"I don't really consider it such a shame. I guess I don't see anyone that way, but it doesn't affect me in any large capacity," Yosuke stated honestly.

It isn't as if Yosuke doesn't want to have an intimate relationship, he hasn't had the desire to form one. If he did have that innate desire, it would have happened by now. Mental barriers aren't a difficult thing to overcome, and even after he did overcome them, it isn't as if people just go back to how they once were. Or maybe Yosuke had never had the desire to form an intimate relationship.

"How about you, Ayanokouji-kun? Are you intending on going out with Satou-san?"

"No..."

I don't intend on doing such a thing, but if I deny it like that it would be the same as denying the very act of going on this date itself and so I stopped short.

Of course, no one was surprised by this. They knew that Sato and I had never been in a relationship together, so it would be illogical to be surprised by this. Even Sato herself looked quite unfazed.

"I wonder. I don't think anything of it right now."

I could not do anything else except answer with that.

"It may not be my place to say this after saying I'm not into romance myself but it may do you some good to try going out with someone, Ayanokouji-kun."

"You've never had a girlfriend before, right? Is that what you're trying to interject with here?"

"Hahaha, that's not it. Certainly, I did think that you've never been in a relationship before but that's not because Ayanokouji-kun isn't popular right? Isn't it just because you've never found yourself a girl who could be your romantic partner, right?"

"Honestly if I had to say it's both. I had never been particularly popular and there was never a romantic partner for me either."

That is why romance can't possibly develop. In the White Room, there wasn't any rule expressly forbidding romance like there is for idols but things that would allow a romance to successfully be established absolutely didn't exist there. Playtime, holidays, such things didn't exist there. Other than toilet breaks and bath times, we were constantly monitored. A romantic development cannot conceivably occur.

"More like a lab than a home," Ryuuen commented.

The concept of a 'home' wasn't known to me at that point. I simply considered it the place I spent most of my time. It isn't as if I left for the day and came back at night. If the definition of home is where you rest for the night, then it could be considered a home, but that's not what Ryuuen's trying to get at here.

A place of comfort. A place to return. A place of sentimentality. The White Room was none of those things. It was a place to learn. A place to grow and test one's limits. That's the only value it brought to the world.

"They probably didn't disallow it since those guys probably knew it would never happen anyway," Yagami stated.

That's a likely possibility. Why disallow something if it wasn't possible? Even in a less advanced curriculum, I doubt it would be possible.

"Isn't that way of living tiring? Always putting yourself second, to spend your school life for the sake of your class only?"

I tried throwing such an obvious question like that at him.

"Tiring? No such thing. On the contrary, for me, a class lacking in cohesion is far tougher. Honestly, the anxiety I had felt after enrolling has mostly abated."

That's because almost immediately after arriving at this school, Hirata had taken action to bring the class together as one.

On the uninhabited island, the class cohesion broke down majorly, and temporarily, a shadow had loomed over Hirata's mental state. However, recently to the point it was obvious even to me, Class D had begun to show off its cohesion. I could not see any sort of underhanded bullying going on in class too. Leaving aside the external factor that is Class C, however. Hirata Yousuke is an extremely important central figure for Class D. If Hirata had not been there, undoubtedly Class D would still be alone at the very bottom. However, Hirata also has a fragile...somewhat uncertain side to him.

"It's noble, but I can't imagine doing such a thing. To worry about other people's well-being constantly is far too difficult," Sakayanagi disagreed with that idea.

Some people would disagree, but I myself agree with Sakayanagi. To protect others and put their own lives above my very own isn't something I could end up doing. Maybe I could never do it. However, it isn't as if Yosuke was completely selfless and did this out of the goodness of his heart, it was out of necessity.

While it looks completely selfless on the surface, there was a hint of self-preservation mixed in as well. Yosuke protected the class so that his past could never happen again. If Yosuke didn't protect the class from breaking down, he would shatter completely.

His sense of self would wither and fall off a cliff. And that's exactly what ended up transpiring.

The uninhabited island test had ended without any incident but should the collapse of the class go beyond what happened that time, there's no telling what would become of Hirata.

The reason I am thinking about this now is because the existence of Kushida is on my mind. Back during middle school, there had been a case where Kushida had caused the collapse of a class. And even now, in regards to Horikita, she's showing signs of doing the same.

In other words what it means is that if it becomes necessary for her, she may even airdrop a bomb like that onto our class. If such a thing were to occur, the burden it would place on Hirata's heart would be quite substantial.

If the central figure stops functioning, there's no telling what might happen to the currently united Class D. Having checked that those two have not yet returned, I decided to talk about something slightly different.

While Kushida didn't singlehandedly do this, she did play a part in Yosuke's downfall. It could even be seen that she played a much bigger role than Yamauchi.

"Predicted everything months in advance, huh? It wasn't a hundred percent, but it was close enough," Kushida didn't look surprised, rather, she looked like she expected this.

"I never had a chance in this game. If my involvement in the class breaking could be guessed, even if it wasn't completely correct, months before it happened, I should just give up. I somewhat wish I had known this a while ago," Kushida thought.

"How much do you know about President Nagumo, Hirata?"

Since they belonged to the same club, even amongst the 1st years, he should be the one to know something about Nagumo. I had judged that with this timing, it would be easy to ask him.

"I wonder. I only met him as one of my seniors in the club, I don't usually meet him you see. And what's more, when he assumed the office of student council president, most of that only involved exchanging greetings."

"Then whatever impressions and such you have of him is fine too."

I changed my angle slightly like that and tried asking again.

"As for my first impression of him, an interesting senpai, I suppose. Even during soccer practice, he progressively adopted novel ideas, that sort of person. Naturally, it's not like everything went well all the time but ultimately, he was interesting, which was how I thought of him. Even though practice was supposed to be a harsh and brutal affair."

Hirata then laughed as though remembering the scene of that practice.

In other words, creating new ideas. Nagumo's a person who tried to think outside the box, outside the confines of convention. To think outside the box, take every common solution, and eliminate it, and from that point, think of any solution, no matter how outlandish.

Even if the first outlandish idea is unsuccessful, there has to be something in there that can be used. This is easier said than done, of course. Seeing things from a new perspective, uttering a new word, it can be one of the hardest things of all. It's part of what makes Nagumo unique. People with new ideas, people with even the slightest ability to say something new seem to be few in number.

"In the end, he always produces results or rather, levels up. Even before we enrolled, it seems Nagumo-senpai's been producing results even in tournaments."

"I see. So it means he's a perfect senpai."

"That is, once again a slightly different matter."

I had thought he would have affirmed it, but Hirata shook his head.

"In the shadow of that glory, there are also hardships accompanying it. It seems there are plenty of people who have quit the club."

"But there haven't been any bad rumours, have there?"

"Isn't that because they are no longer in this school? The 2nd year seniors who came into conflict with Nagumo-senpai all ended up quitting the club, and soon afterwards, dropping out of school as well it seems."

The students knew of Nagumo's nature already. Nagumo wouldn't hesitate to destroy those who went against him.

"So it's not just the club they quit, but they also dropped out of school?"

"I don't know the details either. I don't know how much Nagumo-senpai was involved in it."

It may just be that Nagumo was only part of a long chain of events. It is also highly possible that those students dropped out of school for personal reasons.

However, it is also a fact that this makes me uneasy. That's because the older Horikita had also said something similar. That Nagumo thoroughly eliminates any existence that's an obstacle to him.

That as a result, the 2nd years have become monolithic. If Nagumo is the light, then anyone who opposes him would be the darkness. He did thoroughly crush said darkness, but the world is not that simple. At the end of a light, there is always a shadow. No matter how much one attempts to eliminate it, it would only result in new shadows forming.

"What an interesting way to look at it," Nagumo glanced at me.

"Are you the shadow, then?" Hashimoto asked.

I didn't give him a response.

"So no matter how much one tries to destroy an enemy, there will always be another? Or is it that no matter how incredible one person is, there will always be a better one?" Ichinose stated in uncertainty.

Of course, this analogy can be seen in both ways, but there is a way to isolate that light.

There could be a group where the light shines brighter than the rest with no shadows forming. A group where there are no enemies and where no one can compete with the light. In that case, Nagumo is the light that outshines his year, but the shadows aren't in his year.

He had successfully defeated the shadows that resided in his group, but the darkness that isn't part of that group will remain no matter what.

"Could it be, Ayanokouji-kun is intending on joining the student council?"

From the flow of the conversation thus far, it couldn't be helped even if that is Hirata's inference.

"No, I have no such intention."

I made that clear to him. Even if the end result was Horikita declining to join the student council, me entering the student council would absolutely not happen. But there is a need to think of countermeasures. Unlike simply asking for a small favour, joining the student council would have a massive impact on one's daily life as well. If it's Karuizawa, she would definitely obey such an order, but looking at it in terms of pros and cons, it's obvious that she's not suitable for that. Following my orders, and on top of that, being someone who could join the student council of their own merits without it coming off as strange. There's barely anyone who could overcome all three of those hurdles.

"I see, I do think if it's Ayanokouji-kun, you'll be able to pull it off though."

"That's my line, Hirata. You yourself are a good fit for the student council, you know."

"I'm not a good fit, and besides, I don't want to quit my club activities."

Even if Yosuke says that, I can't help but think he would fit in well with the rest of the student council.

It seems until graduation, Hirata has no intention of quitting soccer. If Hirata would have joined the student council, there was the possibility that the cards available to me would have increased by one, though.

But I won't hound him on that matter here.

Because I have no intention of changing from my outfield position.

"Leaving aside the student council business, starting from next month, we'll probably be in a difficult position."

"That is, you mean to say because we'll be ascending to Class C?"

"That was really short-lived," Matsushita stated.

"It can't be helped. We weren't good enough to maintain our position, and it was only brought to us by Ayanokouji's efforts anyway. The next time, we can't rely on him," Horikita stated with a strong conviction.

Sakayanagi glanced at us, but she didn't say anything. The only evidence that she acknowledged the statement was a small grin when Horikita said that they won't rely on me next time. Perhaps she found the concept of class D rising again to be amusing, or class D not relying on me a joke. But I can't say.

"Yeah, the upper classes will be cautious of us and the lower class will pursue us too. Not to mention the difference between the class points is being bridged. If we mess it up, once February comes around, we may drop back down to Class D."

It's natural to have such misgivings.

Class points change almost on a monthly basis. If even a trivial mistake were to be made, a development like the one Hirata predicted might even come to pass.

"Should such a time come to pass, the problem is whether or not we can put in the effort."

"I do think everyone does want to ascend all the way up to Class A, though."

"Even if a colossal amount of effort and luck would be required for that to happen, do you think those feelings of theirs would remain unchanged?"

"That's the problem, isn't it? Ultimately to aim for the upper classes would mean exposing the class to a massive burden."

If one can choose freely, then naturally everyone would choose Class A.

It's a massive burden, indeed, but one every student in our class seems to be willing to hold. Whether that's all talk or if they'll really rise up to the challenge is to be determined.

That is something even someone completely uninterested in the conflict between classes like Kouenji would choose. However, there is a difference in the conditions that are required for Class A and the other classes.

"I'm--."

Just as Hirata was about to continue, a voice called out to us.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Ayanokouji-kun!"

Although we were still in the middle of our conversation, Satou and Karuizawa had returned. Since the screening of the movie is about to begin, we cut our conversation off and together, the four of us headed inside the theater.

If Hosen was here, he might complain that the video was going to be boring again, but he seems to have thought that not watching it at all was the superior choice.

I don't usually watch 3D anime but it was interesting enough to betray my expectations. Expertly recreating the various movements and expressions of the animals, and a story that is capable of passionately moving you. Even though it was a simple approach, by pursuing that simple approach it becomes like this, that is how I'd describe this craftsmanship.

Carrying the juice we had brought into the hall in both my eyes, I leave the theatre with Satou.

"That was interesting!"

Towards Satou, who was speaking excitedly like that, I could not do anything except agree. I was just getting hungry too. Slightly behind us, Hirata and Karuizawa also returned from the theater.

In order to have our pre-reserved lunch, the four of us start moving. In the meantime, my conversation with Satou, between the two of us, started up once again.

While the students think Kei won't belittle me for a while, nothing can stop Kei when she's on a mission.

"Hey, Ayanokouji-kun...do you mind if I ask you something slightly thoughtless?"

Perhaps watching a movie together has closed the distance between us a bit, but compared to earlier, Satou was closer to me. Rather than physical closeness, it would be more precise to say that the distance between our hearts had closed by half a step.

"If there's something you'd like to ask, please ask away."

It wasn't like I would answer just about anything, but if there's anything I could afford to answer, I intend on doing so.

"Ahh, I want to ask too."

Even though she herself said that we should have separate conversations, once again Karuizawa barged in. From Hirata, who was watching this situation unfold, an opinion came forth.

"This looks like a good opportunity, why don't we ask each other questions we've been thinking about asking?"

I felt this was not such a bad proposal. I could also use this occasion to ask Hirata the questions I've been wanting to ask him yet could not.

"I don't think asking him the questions was the right way to go," Sudo chuckled.

"Information gathering even on a date. You're one of a kind," Horikita sighed.

"Agreed~ Then I'll go first."

Upon expressing her agreement, Karuizawa immediately turned her gaze towards me.

"Did Ayanokouji-kun ever go out with someone before?"

I was asked that question just earlier by Hirata. No, to be precise, rather than ask me that he saw through me. I never thought that in one day, I would receive a similar question twice. Basically, I don't have a girlfriend equals pathetic. As a boy, such a prevailing view is pretty sad.

It's not something I could answer pleasantly, but Karuizawa and Satou's gazes were passionately concentrated on me. Leaving aside Satou, Karuizawa's attitude seemed like she was just completely playing around with me.

"I don't have one right now."

"You like to dodge questions," Ike snickered.

"Yeah. What kind of answer is that?" Sudo didn't chuckle, but he looked confused at my answer.

Even as I answered honestly like that, I tried including an implication into it. If I express it that way 'I had one in the past' it could also be interpreted that way.

"Alright. Your age equals the number of years without a girlfriend, I got it."

The room burst out laughing. If I was in their situation, I would also be enjoying it.

I was intending on answering ambiguously, but as though that clinched it, Karuizawa said that.

"You know, Ayanokouji-kun. That's an excuse unpopular men use, I think it'll serve you well to remember that. 'Right now', including that makes it suspicious."

"Really? Even if I had a girlfriend in the past, if I don't have one right now, I think I'd include the 'right now' though."

"Then you had one in the past?"

"No...I didn't."

"See? As I thought!"

Karuizawa happily frolics about. More or less, Satou also seems happy.

I had a feeling Karuizawa's theory was flawed but I did not have the material to deny her with either.

When it comes to communicating, Kei can toy with me all she wants. I'm like an instrument being moved to Kei's tune.

"I don't think not having had a girlfriend is something you should mind, though. Like, if you're blatantly unpopular like Yamauchi-kun or Onizuka-kun then in that case, that's a minus for you but searching for someone you want to go out with, or more like you're just not in a rush. That's it right, Ayanokouji-kun?"

Saying that, Satou followed up for me.

One of those students in question wasn't here, and the other looked quite dejected. If Yamauchi was here, however, he would most likely try to defend himself or simply lie.

"Satou-san understands Ayanokouji-kun pretty well."

"It'd be great...if I could understand him. But, I still don't know anything about him. Let me ask you too, ok? So, Ayanokouji-kun. Between a girl with long hair and a girl with short hair, which do you prefer?"

Yet another question comes flying at me. The question that's thrown at me this time, too, is pretty straightforward. The presence or absence of a girlfriend, the type of girl I like and now my preference in hairstyles. Combining all these questions and it feels like a female image is appearing.

"I've never really minded it...as long as it fits that person, whether it be long hair or short hair, it doesn't matter right?"

"Somehow that sounds like a model response--."

Indeed, thanks to me giving a model response like that, I received a pointing out from Karuizawa.

Many people looked to agree with my opinion. I suppose that I had at least said one thing right.

"I feel the same way. Whether it be boy or girl, as long as it suits that person, things like hairstyle aren't a problem."

Hirata's assist came at a superb timing. Perhaps seeing the unfavourable situation, Karuizawa gave a full smile towards Hirata.

"As I thought? Truthfully, I feel the same too. There are girls who change the length of their hair based on the preference of their partners but it's meaningless unless you prioritize whether or not it suits you, right?"

From the start, Karuizawa had endorsed Hirata and in front of people, sticks to Hirata-ism but as always, brilliant. Her headstrong personality and forcefulness are brilliantly showing up in her attitude.

If Karuizawa's goal here is to push me and Satou together, I don't know about planting a bad impression of me, sometimes predictions can be greatly off the mark.

"Hirata-ism, huh? I get the feeling quite a few people in the class follow that religion," Kei giggled.

"It's spread far and wide across the school," I followed up on her statement.

"Not having any restraints on hairstyle and the such, I think that's a great thing!"

Far from having a negative impression of me, I could almost feel Satou's eyes slightly glittering. For some reason, Karuizawa too, was unexpectedly looking at Satou with eyes that seem to be saying 'Not bad Satou-san.'

In response to that statement that was meant to push me down, Satou saved and pushed me back up.

"Hey, Hirata, are you conscious of the fact that you're popular?"

Here I should seek the opinion of the peerless, great Hirata-sensei. Or so I thought, but for some reason, Karuizawa glares at me.

Satou, too, had a similar expression.

"I'm not really surprised," Kanzaki looked to be having second-hand embarrassment.

"It could be a little better if that was the second or third question, but that was the first one," Himeno agreed.

"Hey, Ayanokouji-kun. Rather than asking Yousuke-kun questions, shouldn't you be asking Satou-san?"

"That's right. Like this, it almost feels like Ayanokouji-kun and Hirata-kun are having a formal marriage interview?"

The room was full of chuckles again.

"...even if you say that."

In front of Satou, since Karuizawa and I have made it out to seem like we don't have much interaction with each other, we cannot switch to a strange subject like that. But on the flip side, it's also hard to switch the subject towards Satou, who's a newcomer.

In that case, it can't be helped even if I feel like escaping towards Hirata, who's the easiest one to talk to. No matter what kind of sensitive topic I throw towards him, Hirata would properly handle it well. And besides, personally speaking, I do have something I'd like to ask Hirata so it can't be helped.

"Sounds like you're trying to rationalise your shitty question," Ryuuen smirked.

"Ask me anything, Ayanokouji-kun."

"...let's see..."

As I searched for any clue that would allow me to escape, we reached the family restaurant where we would be having lunch. The conversation was once again suspended with a natural flow.

As Satou seems to have made a reservation beforehand, she smoothly guides us to our seats. At the seats she guided us to were towels and splittable chopsticks prepared for four people.

"It's for four."

The reservation was for two. On the table, only the ones prepared for me and Satou should have been there.

"Ahh, I heard about this place from Satou-san earlier when we went to the toilet. So we reserved more seats, right Satou-san?"

While that could be possible, I doubt that. Making a reservation in such a short amount of time would be unlikely, but making it beforehand, however? It's a much more possible scenario.

"Y-Yeah."

"Is that so? You're rather tactful."

"I guess so. When it comes to things like this, I'm a veteran you see."

Towards Karuizawa, who puffed out her chest in pride, I directed my gaze.

"You liar."

And. A gaze came back from Karuizawa.

"I don't want to hear that from Kiyotaka who's never even gone out with anyone before--."

Something like that.

"What's this weird eye thing you guys have going on?" Ike laughed.

To an outsider, it would be quite confusing.

"Does this White Room place give eye telepathy as part of its curriculum?" Ryuuen chuckled.

"Don't you have anything you'd like to ask Satou-san, Ayanokouji-kun?"

Perhaps this is the cost of having gazed at her, but even after arriving at our seats I still could not escape from a topic like that. Karuizawa once again returned to that topic.

"...what do you usually do over the holidays?"

It was a topic I had brought forth since I was in trouble but towards that, Karuizawa blatantly showed a 'Wow' face.

"What is that? Is that a question you squeezed out?"

"What a weird date. A movie, harassment and some bullying to finish it off. You really live some life," Hashimoto commented.

It was belittling, but all of her statements were fairly accurate. Due to that, I couldn't really argue against her.

Ever since a while ago, Karuizawa's been showing a level of irritation that even Hirata could not comprehend. Why are you not making use of the information about Satou you procured beforehand? She should be wondering. However, it's not like I procured that information only to make this date successful in the first place. I had gathered that information because I had wanted to know more about the person known as Satou. The difference there is a large one.

"Gathered information?" Sato tilted her head and looked at Kei completely confused.

"Well, he kind of asked me for some information about you. Come to think of it, you both did a similar thing," Kei stated in a matter-of-fact way.

"I didn't expect that, but there is a difference," Sato replied to Kei.

"Close enough," Kei sighed.

Sato wanted to use Kei and her dating knowledge to get to know me better, while I used Kei's information to understand her more.

"It's fine, Karuizawa-san. I'm happy that Ayanokouji-kun asked me something."

As she answered like that with a smile, Satou showed a slightly thoughtful gesture.

"Hmm. Basically, I just hang out with my friends, I guess. It's boring if I'm alone."

Probably, with the group of girls that Satou gets along with. Somewhat, I could picture that in my head.

"But, sometimes, I might also look up various things on my own. Like fashion design for one."

Fashion design. A word I don't usually hear came forth from Satou.

Although I didn't hear many words come out of Sato's mouth, so it didn't mean a lot.

"You see, I think becoming a designer might not be too bad either."

"Heh~that's a first. So Satou-san's like 'that'."

I don't know which 'that' that is, but it seems girls can have a conversation that only they can understand. Satou nodded over and over.

To this day, I still don't know what 'that' is. I had theorised a few times, but I never came to the answer.

"If I can graduate from Class A, I was thinking I could get into a good place."

Saying that, Satou happily expands on her delusions. It's not a bad thing to expect the privileges that come with graduating from Class A, but it's best if she also considers something so that if she graduates from Class B or lower, it would still go well for her.

"I guess that makes sense," Sato nodded at my reasoning.

If you graduate from class A, every dream turns into a possibility. However, that's a big if. Becoming class A and maintaining it is hard enough, so having a plan if you don't graduate from class A would be wise.

"So, does Ayanokouji-kun also have thoughts about what you'll do in the future?"

The ball I had thrown was gently returned to me from Satou.

"...university, I guess."

Not yet having thought of future occupations, I gave a safe answer.

"Uwa, I'd hate it. I won't be able to stand having to study even after graduating from high school, absolutely."

Having heard about going onto university, Satou gave a reaction that was of rejection.

"I'd get bored out of my mind learning at a place where I already know everything. This school isn't a normal high school, so it's tolerable, but there's no university that's like this," Yagami thought.

While I said I wanted to go to University, whether I'd really go is something I have no way of knowing.

"They say compulsory education is over with middle school but really, compulsory education lasts until high school, right? If I'm just a middle school graduate I'd be made fun of."

Leaving aside whether or not she'd be made fun of, it goes without saying that you'd need to at least come out of high school, such a current exists. Essentially, the expression compulsory education itself might not be an exaggeration.

"I might also be going to university. Circles seem like they'd be really fun."

On the other hand, surprisingly enough, rather than reject the prospect of going onto university, Karuizawa answered like that while imagining university life. It was all still vague, but each and every one seems to be thinking about the future. So with this and that, it was a meal that allowed me to enjoy a different group from the usual. It's just, if this happens every day it would be extremely tiring, there was also such a weariness.

The scene had faded to black.

"What an abrupt ending," Nagumo stated.

Indeed, but I can guess why. This video was already incredibly long, the confession would probably make it the longest video yet.

I walked outside the school and felt the cold november air wash on my face. It almost felt like it was refreshing my brain, which was pleasant since there was something on my mind.

I've been thinking back on Yagami's words. His words were a hint, while I don't know if Yagami is going to do this, the possibility is likely enough to be considered.

To get the end result I desire, I have to defend myself. The way to do that is to use a third party.

I had categorised Sudo into a category of an emergency at first, but now I understand what his purpose could be.

However, his time to shine won't be for a while.

Author Notes:

This chap is done. I had said that I was going to put the confession and kiriyama bit together, but fuck that. It would be even longer than this chap, and this took a little under three weeks to write.

Next chap will only be the confession, see you next time.

The Broken Arrow of Cupid

Normally, I would get to school around 5-10 minutes before the opening bell, however, I was asked to come early today. In all honesty, I had no idea what they were going to talk to me about.

Upon arriving at the class at 7:45 am, there were naturally no students around, except for one girl that sat alone in a seat. She looked completely focused as if she was dealing with something heavy. Perhaps a close family member had passed? No, it wouldn't be something she would tell me.

"I'm here, Horikita," I told her as I walked to her seat.

"Thank you for coming, Ayanokouji. I'm sure you're confused why I called you out here so early in the morning," Horikita looked up at me.

"I wouldn't really consider 7:45 to be really early, but continue," I added.

"Was that necessary?"

"Just something that stuck out to me."

Horikita sighed but continued.

"Ayanokouji, how exactly do you think I should become a more trusted leader?" Horikita asked.

Out of everything she could have asked, such a mundane question wasn't one I was expecting.

How she can become more trusted, huh? Well, it isn't as if she isn't trusted, but I suppose she isn't on the level of the other class leaders. Comparing her to the respect and trust other leaders get, she doesn't do well.

Ichinose is the most trusted, for obvious reasons. Sakayanagi is the most trusted in her class not only because of her own skills but also because there isn't anyone in her class that can oppose her. Ryuuen I would also rank above Horikita since while there are students that have the ability to oppose him, they don't. The results Ryuuen has shown have granted him more trust than Horikita.

As for Horikita...

"I think the reason you aren't more trusted is that you cut off mutual understanding," I answered.

"Mutual understanding, huh? I kind of understand, but other classes don't generally have a leader they can understand all that well," Horikita retorted.

"That's true, but their roles and existence in the class is different to yours. Now, you can be called the class's leader, but if a student has a problem, who would they go to, you or Yosuke?" I asked.

"I understand that part. I don't have a bond with the class, but the other leaders in our year, excluding Ichinose, don't have a great bond with their classmates. That's the part I don't understand," Horikita sighed.

This had probably been weighing on her for some time.

"You are correct. Ryuuen doesn't have much compassion in his leadership style, but unlike you, he's the definitive leader and the one that makes every decision. A student with a problem could go to Katsuragi, but Katsuragi can only do so much. Yosuke has the ability to lead and influence certain decisions while the class can vote on things," I told her.

"And Sakayanagi is the same, huh? She's the only option available," Horikita looked like she was understood.

"Well, look at it like this. You are a one-way mirror. You look out at everyone, giving them commands, assigning them their roles, but no one can see in. As the leader, you are quite incredible in their eyes, but as a classmate, you're nonexistent," I stated bluntly.

The solution isn't hard to think of, but achieving it is another thing.

"So the answer is to make bond with the students. Essentially, I have to make friends," Horikita pondered.

"If it's any consolation, I don't think it would be that hard if you try," I told her.

"I have no idea where to start," Horikita grumbled.

"I would recommend not looking to me for answers this time. But I am curious, why did you think of this so suddenly?" I asked.

"I had a bit of an encounter with Kushida recently," Horikita told me.

Now that was interesting. It seems that Kushida must have made a move because I can't imagine Horikita willingly reaching out to a Kushida that doesn't seem to care about anything or anyone.

"Can I hear what happened?" I asked.

"She told me she wanted to help the class. A deal where I cover for her, and she does everything I say to the best of her ability. In doing so, she told me that I don't try hard enough to make bonds with the class," Horikita explained.

"I see. I guess it means that she wanted to help the class," I said.

"You fail to mention that you steered her to that path," Horikita looked a tad annoyed.

"I told her the reality of the situation, that's all. She had a choice to make, what choice she made was her own desire," I told her.

"If it's as you say, I can't complain," Horikita sighed.

Students began pouring in one after another, so our conversation ended.

In terms of complexity, a child could achieve the goals Horikita wishes to achieve right now, but, nevertheless, Horikita has to do this somehow.

Soon, we went to the auditorium and the voice returned.

"Today, we will be witnessing the end of this date, but not exactly the end of the Winter break."

I instinctively looked over at the student council's vice president, who looked quite nervous. His time in the spotlight hasn't come yet, but it is an inevitability that he has to accept.

After finishing our meals, it was just before 5 o'clock when we were done gallivanting about Keyaki Mall. A double date that had lasted almost 5 hours was also nearing its end. Looking back in hindsight, it might have been a day that could be described as being unexpectedly interesting. It's just, including Karuizawa into it causes various problems so I'd like to decline next time.

"I think that I'm a lovable addition to everything," Kei joked.

"Maybe not everything," I sighed.

"You think it's bullying, I think it's some lighthearted teasing," Kei shrugged.

If that's Kei's teasing, her bullying me would probably attack my deepest insecurities.

"So what'll we do?"

I asked to check whether or not we'll disband. It could be that we might be going somewhere in addition, I included such a possibility in my field of vision but...

"Then should we...go back, Yousuke-kun?"

Karuizawa, who had been happily bullying me thoroughly up until just now, suddenly declared we go our separate ways. From here on out we'll only be a disturbance, suddenly she showed such a consideration.

It seems from this point onwards, to leave just the two of us alone with each other, there should be something she's aiming for. I could see Satou and Karuizawa sending signals to each other through eye contact. It's not hard to expand on that with my own with my imagination.

"How odd. I didn't expect such an out of character decision," Nagumo sarcastically stated.

"It's practically a running gag now," Sato grumbled.

"Get better at making secret plans. Of course, it would be seen through instantly by that guy, but at least try so an average person can't do that," Ryuuen chuckled.

"Easier said than done," Sato mumbled.

In any case, as if to agree with her, Hirata nods.

"It's getting late. Shall we go back, Karuizawa-san? Hanging out with you today was fun, Ayanokouji-kun. See you later too, Satou-san."

I spent the whole day today with Hirata, and indeed, his actions befit those of a saint or a sage. Hirata, who could interact well with all sorts of people. For someone unfamiliar with double dates, all the merits have come from none other than this man.

"Both of you, thanks for today."

It seems without taking any detours, Hirata and Karuizawa will be returning straight to the dorms. The two of them walk off quickly.

Satou saw them off warmly.

"The only thing this confirmed was that you're garbage at talking to people," Ryuuen laughed.

"Oh, so I missed nothing. Great," Hosen, who had returned after missing a video viewing lesson, stated.

He didn't seem to regret his actions. He also probably got a summary from one of the students in his class, so he also still has enough knowledge of the previous video to get by.

"All of the merits is a bit of an exaggeration," Yosuke looked embarrassed.

While there was some hyperbole on my part, I would still say that a lot of conversations flowed well only because of Yosuke. If Yosuke wasn't there, Kei's berating would have been out of control.

"So, what'll we do now?"

"Ummm, well. Shall we take a detour before going back?"

Satou proposed as such. Since I had no particular reason to decline, I gave my consent.

"That's right...then, shall we go back from there?"

Having decided to take a little detour, we settled to head back with a delay. Satou, who had been talking at a machine gun pace up until a while ago, had become rather quiet now.

"So let's see this legendary tree," Hashimoto looked slightly interested.

I suppose superstition intrigues people, even if it wasn't true in the slightest. Humans are born curious, after all.

"It would be funny if the tree was a rumour and it was just a big bush," Ike joked.

"That would just be anti-climactic," Sudo sighed.

"Eh, yeah you're probably right. You wouldn't have stuff like this if it was fake," Ike stated matter-of-factly.

"Machine-gun pace, huh? That's true," Kei teased her friend.

"It isn't that fast..." Sato embarrassedly said.

"Yeah, it's more like the speed of lightning," Kei giggled.

"Sorry, for having it turn into a double date."

"I was surprised at first."

"Those two really are amazing, huh? Their aura as a couple is completely different."

At all times, Karuizawa is moving to make sure Hirata, who is playing the role of her boyfriend, stands out conspicuously. That was conveyed to Satou too, and naturally, it also makes Karuizawa's existence seem larger.

"I really admire them~."

"Certainly."

"I guess I admire you guys for the acting abilities then," Sato grumbled.

"Their aura was probably different since it didn't exist in the first place," Matsushita commented.

Even though we were walking at a close distance, our hands never touched. The boldness she had shown when we were with Karuizawa and Hirata, not a single fragment of it could be seen now. By no means was it awkward but the atmosphere had changed into something out of the ordinary.

"Thank you for inviting me out today. I had fun."

I said that to break the silence but Satou's face remained uneasy.

"Hey Ayanokouji-kun...you didn't have fun today, did you?"

I heard such a thing.

I can't really blame her. If you ask 100 random people, show them the video of the date and asked 'does this person look like they had fun?' all 100 people would reply no. A person like me looks like they've never had fun at any moment.

But, in all honesty, I did have fun on that day. I couldn't communicate it well with my words nor with an expression on my face, but it was the truth.

"No such thing."

I denied it because I honestly enjoyed it, but for some reason it didn't seem to have been conveyed to Satou.

"But..."

"Why did you think something like that?"

Since I did not understand the reasoning, I tried asking.

"I mean, today Ayanokouji-kun didn't even laugh once..."

"I didn't laugh, huh?"

"I'm sorry for not believing you," Sato looked a little dejected now that this had come up again.

"I would probably think the same in your situation," I replied honestly.

Lies are used to get something when the truth isn't applicable, but this wasn't one of those cases. Not only was a lie not worth the effort to use, but the truth was also much more connecting. People feel like they've been heard if another would do or has done a similar thing.

"I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't conveyed," Sakayanagi stated.

Before I could give her an explanation regarding that, Satou continued speaking.

"I thought I would be able to see a smile from you at least once, but."

It seems Satou, even when she was together with me, was worried about such a thing.

In regards to the contents of the double date, I truly have no complaints though. As I pondered over how to explain that to her, Satou opened her mouth heavily.

"After all, does the fact that I said let's bully Horikita-san a while ago...have something to do with this?"

"What?" Horikita looked baffled.

Ryuuen just chuckled at Horikita's confusion, looking completely unsurprised.

Of course, I'm sure many people would have had the thought to bully or target Horikita for her attitude. It wasn't anything grand such as envy, hatred, or any other strong emotion, it was simple annoyance. Horikita displayed an arrogant attitude and people thought it was right to bring her down a peg.

Ignoring the moral imperative, I would partly agree with them. However, it wasn't to destroy Horikita, but to show her the reality of the situation. To destroy someone just for the sake of destroying them is illogical and not practical.

"I apologise, Horikita," Sato said quickly, with a flustered face.

Sato's face now was that of a regretful child, as if they had made a mistake and had been beating themselves up for it.

"I see. You didn't really end up doing anything harmful, and I, myself, wasn't completely free of the blame with my sharp attitude. It really is fine," Horikita told her in a calm manner.

Horikita wasn't a monster, she could see that Sato really did look regretful.

It also seems that Sudo and Ike were saved as Sato didn't elaborate after her apology.

She had anxious eyes. And a face that seemed like it was about to cry.

"Speaking of which, something like that did happen, huh?"

Soon after our enrollment, Horikita became isolated and she had a strong tendency to mock her classmates. That sort of thing was obvious and could not be helped, but Satou too, did not hold any goodwill towards Horikita and that is also a fact.

As a matter of fact, she had proposed once in our group chat to bully Horikita. I had knocked down that proposal but it seems the person in question herself has remembered that.

"People who make mistakes and regret them tend to suffer. I wouldn't consider that a bad thing, however," Horikita stated, almost as if she was speaking to Sato.

Horikita was right. Those who regret their actions tend to suffer, even if the people around them don't remember at all. Guilt, anxiety, it eats away at their psyche. Like their heart is withering slowly every time it is brought up again. Mistakes can change people, their behaviours, and their mannerisms, almost as if they were different people altogether. Ichinose would be the biggest example of those who suffer due to regret.

"Eh, she deserved it," Ryuuen shrugged.

"I don't care about that. Or more like, up until now, I had almost forgotten that happened."

"...really?"

"In the first place, it couldn't be helped even if Horikita were to be alienated at that point. And besides, just by having that as the topic of discussion on a chat where the person in question isn't even there, it's not like you took any actual actions. I won't judge someone based on something stupid like that."

Gossip is something every human voices universally. As long as one doesn't voice that in front of the person in question or take action in actuality, it won't become a significant problem. However, 'even if one gets gossiped about in return you can't complain about that', as long as you understand that aspect that is.

"A two-way street, huh?" Nagumo stated.

I would assume that Horikita understands this fact. She could go after the other people in the group chat, but she understands that it would be pointless. If one were to go after every person who had ever talked badly about them, it would be like running an endless marathon.

"So I can gossip about anyone as long as I don't complain when people don't do the same to me?" Ike stated speculatively.

"If you agree with me, then yes," I told him.

Ike had a mischievous grin as I stated those words.

"Ken has a really small d-" Ike began, but his throat had a little trouble getting the words out.

This was because of Sudo who had stopped him without regard for his safety. It was one of the perks of being sat next to each other.

"Really?"

"Yeah, really."

"But, you didn't have fun, did you? You didn't laugh."

"The reason I didn't laugh was...how should I put it, I'm bad at laughing is why."

I followed up on that part I denied earlier. How much of this is conveyed to Satou, I honestly don't know. In all likelihood, she probably interpreted it as me saying this to console her. Truthfully, there are many ways to follow up on this. In regards to Karuizawa's questions during the day too, I'm confident I could have answered in a better way. However, I intentionally chose not to do so.

'She's not a partner I need to go that far for.'

It was because I had made that judgement.

"How harsh," Matsushita muttered as she glanced at her friend.

"I wasn't worth the effort, huh?" Sato looked like she had lost all of her energy.

No words here could do anything, the only thing I could do was watch Sato get consoled by her friend.

It was indeed a bad thing to do. I purposefully didn't put in the effort on something I had agreed to do. I did it to make her stop admiring me, but my actions were unfortunately in vain. The end goal wasn't achieved, and I just hurt a person.

The hall was silent as they continued to listen to my thoughts.

In that sense, the 'Did you not find it fun?' question from Satou would not necessarily be wrong either. I did find it fun as far as hanging out goes, but it is certain that it was not the way Satou had been hoping for. It'll only be troublesome even if she likes me any further than this, I made such a decision.

"The reason I wasn't laughing, are you not convinced?"

"No...that's not the case but."

A heavy silence fell upon us. Today, the whole day, not to overestimate myself but from Satou, I had received a considerably amount of goodwill. However, if at all possible, I'd like her to give up on that goodwill here.

That was why I acted like a man who could not keep a conversation going, and continued to act out a subtle behaviour.

"You did it to make me give up on you? It's a bit cruel to do everything just to make me not like you any more," Sato stated in a meek tone.

"I don't think it would've been that hard to just reject a confession when it would come," Horikita criticised.

Indeed, it would take less energy, but if I just acted as I normally would, Sato's infatuation would have grown more and the rejection would have just hurt her even more. And Kei was another matter in such a case...

However, turning her back on me once, Satou brought something out of her bag and hid that something behind her.

"Umm, hey--."

And then she turns back to me. Looking as though she had firmed her resolve, Satou caught me with her strong gaze.

It seems like my wish won't be granted after all.

"Umm...hey...p-please go out with me! Ayanokouji-kun!!!"

"All that just to fail. Is this the loss you were waiting for?" Ryuuen chuckled at my failure.

In a way, it is a loss. However, it's simply a loss for me and not a win for anyone else. While many people think that there must be a winner and a loser, there are cases where the trope doesn't apply. Sato didn't win anything, and I simply didn't achieve the goal.

"The first ever confession of his life. He probably felt glad about a new experience, but I don't think he could really accept such a thing. Forgetting the matter of Karuizawa, and his father, I wonder if he would really accept that confession. I doubt he would complain, but he probably understands that an ordinary person can't accept that side of him. It's too much for an average person to accept," Yagami thought.

Fuu~, a gust of wind blew.

The first ever genuine confession I had received in my life.

In the meantime, I'm going to ignore the person hiding in the bushes beyond my gaze.

"You were there? So you saw me getting my heart stomped on," Sato said in self-deprecation.

"I think that you did a good job. Your words were used well and you did it with all your courage, you couldn't do any more," Kei reassured her friend.

"I agree with such a thing. The result is unfortunate, but you did the best you could," Ichinose told Sato in a kind voice.

Idly considering this at length here would only cause Satou to suffer. I immediately choose my words and deliver my judgement.

"I'm sorry, Satou. I cannot answer your expectations."

"!!!"

Towards Satou who had plucked up her courage and confessed, I answered with honesty like that. No, it's not like I hated Satou. It's not like I had any problems with her personality or looks either.

"I-I see. As I thought, it's impossible, huh?"

Showing me an expression that I'm not quite sure is a bitter smile, Satou desperately tried to keep up appearances so as to not let her smile crumble. Throughout the date, Satou should have slightly felt it too.

The fact that I appeared to not hold any sort of strong interest towards Satou.

No one was surprised by such a thing. Any slim thought of a secret relationship, no matter how outlandish such an idea may be, was tossed aside during the last video.

"You didn't do a great job of hiding it. I mean, you talked to your 'hero' more than your date," Ryuuen smirked.

It was intentional, but he isn't wrong.

"I guess you took this date as an opportunity to talk to your messiah since you had already resolved yourself to an answer for this situation," Ryuuen glanced at Yosuke.

"I-If you wouldn't mind, for future reference...could you please tell me your reason, I wonder? Is it because you have someone else you like?"

"That's not the case. It's just, at this stage I can't go out with you. It's genuinely a problem with my own feelings."

In a situation where one is not in love with their partner, to choose to go out with them nevertheless would be insulting.

That is my reason on the front.

It is a respectable reason I should be confronting Satou with.

"At least you're doing something right," Hashimoto commented.

"It doesn't matter if it's Satou, or the one who unrelatedly came up in the conversation before, Horikita, or whether it's Kushida, the answer to all of them is the same. Even though I don't like you, going out with you regardless is something I cannot do".

Of course, even if it's Airi, who is probably thinking that internally as well, I would have given the same answer. It's only a matter of whether or not she decides to directly confront me with her feelings.

Airi looked a little heartbroken as well. It was a sudden punch to the gut for her. However, I wouldn't be surprised if she was expecting such a thing.

"I should have expected this. The Kiyotaka I had feelings for I had never really known, so I shouldn't be surprised. I shouldn't be sad because this was obvious. I should have known from the start. It was so clear, but still..." Airi thought with a dejected expression.

It must have been hard for her to hear this, but perhaps she could move on in time. Self-pity, hatred and other negative feelings could be festering within her. She's bereft of any hope, but it could lead to her moving on from me and changing for herself... No, perhaps that's too idealistic at this stage. Airi could display this in time, but it won't be an easy process nor will it be a fast one.

"It may be a pathetic story but I've never even once seriously fallen in love with a member of the opposite sex yet. That is why, it's not a matter of dumping you or anything, it just means I haven't matured enough to be capable of romance yet."

"...I see."

I cannot do anything else but have her accept that fact.

"I may have rushed it too much. That's right, with just one date, you still won't know anything about your partner."

Even as she furrowed, as though attempting to convince herself Satou nodded over and over.

The confession, and the reply to it too, both of them must have required a tremendous amount of courage.

Many people in the class praised Sato for her courage. The strength to stand there and not break down was an immense one. People break down in front of adversity, but Sato had steeled onward even if she knew it was hopeless.

"I may have missed an opportunity."

I have just rejected the girl who eagerly told me of her feelings. Even I think this was a stupid choice. I want to find myself a girlfriend and live an average school life. I properly have those feelings in me.

If Satou would be my partner, there should be no complaints. Even now, telling her I've changed my mind please go out with me is still the correct judgement. But even so, my mouth has been sealed shut and would no longer open. The phone in my pocket vibrates. I don't know who it is, but it was an incoming call. Of course, I cannot answer it in this situation and so I ignored it.

"You think this was stupid but still planned such a thing out. You really are contradictory," Nagumo analysed.

"Not really surprised. He's the personification of contradictions," Ryuuen added to Nagumo's statement.

During that time, Satou had been trying to return the wrapped box she held in her hands back into her bag.

Then, Satou raised her head and said this.

"Thank you for today, Ayanokouji-kun."

It was an expression that already knew that my reply and its contents would not change.

Even if in this moment, Satou tells me she likes me, there's no guarantee that this would still be the case tomorrow.

From now on, I don't know whether or not she'll continue to like me or whether she will find a new love for herself. However, the fact that Satou was the one who confessed to me for the first time in my life, is something I will never forget for the rest of my life.

It was the truth. I would never forget such a thing, nor would I want to.

"Is it...ok if I invite you out again?"

Probably these are the farewell words that Satou gave it her best to squeeze out of her.

"Of course, I also do enjoy hanging out together with Satou, I also think I'd like to invite you out sometime too."

That is, beyond the shadow of a doubt, my real feelings.

"Ok."

A small nod came back in response.

I don't know to what extent I've conveyed this to Satou but the time of confession has now passed. Even though the heavy atmosphere had remained behind, our daily lives rapidly returned to us.

"You handled it pretty well, I think," Kei told me.

"Perhaps I could have let her down easier, but I suppose that I just made her impression of me grow worse along the way. The same result would happen either way," I sighed.

"Well, you can't do anything about that anymore," Kei shrugged.

The cold winter wind blows, and pierces through our freezing bodies.

"It's getting cold. Shall we go back?"

Regardless of whether we wish for this or not, time is passing us by. We cannot afford to stand around here forever, just the two of us.

As I started to move, Satou remained in her spot without moving.

"Satou?"

As I thought that was strange and looked back, in Satou's eyes, large teardrops had been building up.

Before they could fall, she used her hands to wipe them away, and Satou laughed once.

"Sorry. I think I'll run back!"

Saying that, Satou stamped her feet on the snow, and leaving me behind, ran back towards the dorms. I could not call out to that back, all I could do was quietly see her off.

Of course, while Sato was strong, it was still tough for her. Not many people could just walk back when their emotions are in such a flurry.

"I don't even need to think about it, huh."

There's no need for her to worry about being rejected by a person like me, looking at it from her perspective, it was something that occurred after she had plucked forth all of her courage.

As long as that feeling is not properly conveyed, she cannot naturally walk beside me and go back, huh? So that we don't run into each other later at the dorm, I saw her off until I could no longer see her back.

If the matter with the student council and the matter with my father did not exist, perhaps my answer might have been different. For a genuine 1st year schoolboy, I would have probably taken the hand of the girl who had given me her affections.

Many people listened to my thoughts trying to understand them.

"I am curious. How does this man have so much power, and yet, no one has heard of him? What allows him to have so much influence yet the larger political world does not know he exists? It's a special kind of ability to remain hidden but still control the lives of so many," Chabashira thought.

'If', was the premise of this thought. If this confession had taken place before the relay at the sports festival, I felt I would have accepted Satou. However, ironically, it was at that very relay that Satou had fallen for me. I objectively understand that my thought process is different from what's normal. I always act while prioritizing the prevention of calamities for myself.

"Unfortunate," Matsushita sighed.

"Now..."

Before I go back, I should probably clean up the remaining problem.

Thinking that, just as I was about to call out towards the bushes. Beneath me, my phone once again rang. On the screen of the phone were the characters 'Unidentified Caller'.

I did think for a moment about ignoring it but I don't feel like this is simply a prank call.

I pushed the 'Call' button and pressed it to my ears. Even though I had wanted to at least determine the way the caller whose gender I don't even know would answer, even though I waited for a few seconds, the silence continued.

Once again, the vice president began to look uneasy. He displayed signs that were obviously of nervousness and fear, but Nagumo either didn't notice or didn't care.

"Hello."

I tried calling out from my side once.

However, no reply came.

That is why I immediately decided to make my decision.

"I'm cutting the call."

"Can I trust you?"

Those were the words that came back from the broken silence.

They were words that didn't make any sense.

"If you didn't say that, would they just be silent for as long as possible?" Sudo questioned.

"It would eventually turn into a contest for who's the most stubborn," Horikita commented.

"Why wouldn't it make sense? That seems like a pretty normal thing to say," Ike looked quite confused.

Of course, it was a normal thing to say. Although I wanted to hear what they wanted of me exactly. Accepting such a thing, when there's a slight possibility of him not being the person I expect them to be, is an oversight. No matter how slim the chance may be, preventing such a possibility is essential.

"This is rather sudden. I don't quite understand what exactly is this trust you're asking of me."

I returned the question while seeking an explanation.

"The anti-Nagumo campaign that Horikita-senpai speaks of. I was asking if you would become a cooperator."

It seems the older Horikita has told 'that' 2nd year student about me. To go out of their way to call me with an unidentified number, how cautious.

But the fact that they called me, probably means they intend on meeting me afterwards.

Even if they hide their phone number, they're letting me hear their voice. If not, it would be very strange.

The voice playing across the video wasn't as clear as when I had heard it. Perhaps it's the room, the speakers, or any number of other factors, but it allows for one thing. Secrecy. As the voice's quality isn't as high as before, it is difficult to make out who it is. Normally, Nagumo would have already known who it was at this point, but not anymore.

"I see. I was wondering if you were planning on meeting them eventually. Going by purely phone is possible, but it leaves data that can be tracked and recorded," Nagumo analysed.

"You don't seem to particularly care about this person," Kiryuuin pointed out.

"As I stated before, this person must have given up at this point, so they aren't a threat. I'm simply curious as to their identity," Nagumo shrugged.

I somewhat doubt that anything that bad will happen to the current vice president. Simply because he was essential in the island exam and did his job dutifully. Nagumo understands that he's not a threat, and if he isn't, I'm sure Kiriyama will apologise and say so anyway.

I suppose fear keeps people in line, or maybe it's just a faint sense of hope. Whichever one doesn't matter, the end result is the same.

"Just in case I want to ask. What's your name?"

Even though the older Horikita had told them my number, it seems he didn't tell them my identity.

Well, they did let me hear their voice and they know my number too anyways. If they were to investigate it further, it wouldn't be too difficult for them to trace it back to me.

"I don't think I'm obliged to answer."

Even though they understood too, I declined.

"I suppose that's fine. I remember that voice. I more or less have a rough idea now."

So they have an idea, huh. Since it's like that, I too feel like I generally have a mark on them. There are not many 2nd years who are also familiar with my voice.

"This may be a sudden thing to say but I want to meet you right now."

"Oh? We're going to see them soon then," Nagumo looked interested now.

"A second-year that knows who you are, huh? Considering you have the most generic voice, that's a feat in and of itself," Ryuuen insulted.

Whether we'll meet them today or in the next video is to be seen, but either one is possible.

As expected, they cut in with that.

However, there's no need for me to tell them I had already expected that I suppose.

"Fucking know it all," Ryuuen mocked.

"That is also indeed a sudden thing. Is it fine for you to not be more cautious?"

It's almost dusk, soon the sun will set.

"There's no problem on my end. If you have the desire to, that is. Can you meet up immediately?"

I glanced at the bushes.

"Yeah. You're in luck too."

"Luck, you say?"

"Honestly, if it's not right now, I was about to refuse."

"How long were you just sitting there?" Sato asked.

"Enough for me to feel like I got hypothermia," Kei grumbled.

On the other side of the phone, the other person is probably feeling a sense of mystery. If it's right now it's fine, they're probably contemplating the meaning of the words I had just said.

Such things, even if they contemplate, there's no way they'd reach an understanding. I told them via my mouth of my current location.

"Besides the school building near it, in a place where it's hard for others to see us, I want to meet you there in 10 minutes."

Such a short reply came back.

"Sorry but I have some business to take care of right now. Is 20 minutes fine?"

"...fine."

The call ended. It won't take longer than 5 minutes to reach the designated meeting spot but I had postponed it.

"Is the 'bush person' business?" Matsushita asked.

I nodded.

For now, in the 15 minutes I have in between I should finish the business I still have left.

Underneath the winter sky, there's someone waiting for me while freezing away.

"If you keep on hiding there, you'll catch a cold."

I called out to the person hiding behind the trees and the bushes.

However, no reply was forthcoming.

"I have something to do afterwards. Is it ok if I leave you behind?"

I called out again.

When I did, perhaps she had a half-hearted idea, but without showing herself, only her voice reached me.

"Didn't take long to break that silence," Hashimoto chuckled.

"...since when did you notice?"

"From the very beginning, you heard Satou was going to confess here right, Karuizawa?"

"N-not really, just a bit."

Even as she tried to deceive me subtly, Karuizawa stood up.

Since she had been hiding in the bushes, some snow had accumulated on her shoulder.

"It's cold."

"What happened to Hirata?"

"I don't know. He probably went back?"

After answering disinterestedly like that, she came out of the dirt and brushed off the dirt and snow on her body. Perhaps it's because she had been lurking the entire time so as to not make a sound, her nose was also red.

"It was cold, wasn't it?"

"Just a bit."

Karuizawa acts tough in a situation where there was no need to act tough. For Karuizawa, there seems to be something she's more worried about than her own freezing self.

"It's your own fault if you get a cold at that point," Sato teased.

"Speaking of which, why did you turn down Satou-san's confession?"

"What do you mean? You said so yourself, going out with someone you don't even like is the lowest."

"That's true but...one needs to eat the meal set before them is what they say right?"

What is that? Even though she's attempting to use knowledge she'd heard before, she's got it all wrong.

Many people looked at Kei with a confused look.

"What forward-thinking logic," Amasawa giggled.

"It's 'rejecting the advances of a woman is a man's shame', isn't it?"

A meal set before one, is used to describe a meal that is ready to be eaten at a moment's notice. And not grasping that for oneself is a man's shame, so that's it's used to describe love affairs.

Of course in Karuizawa's case, she's not saying this with a sexual meaning, she probably means it's strange for me to not go out when the opportunity to do so presented itself.

"For better or for worse, Satou is a normal girl. She would naturally want a normal romance. But, looking at it objectively, do you really think I'm capable of such a normal romance?"

"That is...slightly difficult to imagine."

"That just seems dumb. Taking every opportunity even if you don't want it is stupid," Hashimoto criticised.

Many people seemed to agree with Hashimoto. Taking something just for the sake of taking it is pointless as you wouldn't know what to do with it. Similarly, being in a relationship you don't care about or wish to be in, feels pointless.

It is only because it is Karuizawa, who understands me better than anyone else, that she is able to understand this too.

I, too, long for a normal romance. Being confessed to by a cute girl and leading a bittersweet school life was something I had thought about more than once or twice. However, as expected, it really won't end up being the same romantic pattern that Satou had envisioned. Even if I forced myself into going out with her here, I would only be wasting her time in vain. If she becomes disillusioned with me later, the school life that's been lost won't ever come back.

"Hey, you~. It's not really my place to say but you might have been a bit too mean."

"Mean?"

"Indeed, Kiyotaka's different from the normal boys. And besides, the 'you' that others see normally is just a lie, right?"

"Lie, or rather, it is a fact that I'm not showing them everything."

"Not really a lie, I would say, just truth with some empty holes," Amasawa commented.

"Yeah, you are a boring guy with no social skills. That's completely true," Ryuuen chuckled.

"It's interesting that we see that in your thoughts plenty of times," Horikita analysed.

"True, you tend to omit a lot of information in your own head," Matsushita agreed.

I suppose that's just a habit of mine.

"That's why you're correct in thinking when you show them your true self, there are girls who would be disillusioned with you. But you know, once you've fallen in love, there are also times when you no longer care about such things. It's just my one-sided prediction, but, I think Satou-san would have accepted Kiyotaka."

"So that's what you mean?"

"That is what I mean. Well, since you've rejected her already, it's all over though. Even though I had just released the Arrow of Cupid. To think it's going to come back shortly."

"The Arrow of Cupid?"

"Don't mind it. It's no longer relevant anymore."

She grinned and laughed like a little devil.

"People tend to forget reasoning when they've fallen for someone else," Asahina commented.

Love commonly has the connotation of 'irrational' or 'confusing', which is true to an extent.

"After all that effort, you just brought down someone's self esteem. What a failure," Sakayanagi giggled.

I don't feel like Kei minded too much, though.

"Girls get over their feelings quickly so Satou-san will probably fall in love with another boy, right?"

"That is something that can't be helped. Isn't that right?"

"Somehow I can also hear some regret too though."

"Please leave it be. That's my choice."

I did say that, but, there seemed to have been some unconvincing aspects of it left behind in Karuizawa.

"It's too late already but couldn't you have tried going out with her as a test? No?"

That point is correct.

"You seem to probe for information a lot more than I thought," Horiktia analysed.

"I think I do that a lot," Kei shrugged.

"Not exactly. You tend to do more acting, here, you're asking questions to get information," Horikita retorted.

"Aren't they pretty similar?" Kei asked.

"I suppose that you get a specific result you want by acting, but you're putting on a facade to get information. Here, you're simply using communication and words without a facade to get them," Horikita commented.

Even if there happened to be a problem at the very end landing point, there was more than enough possibility that things could have gone well. Even if I myself right now don't like Satou as a member of the opposite sex, if I considered her precious to me, I might have come around to liking her.

"Besides, if it's you, you must have realized Satou-san's feelings, right? Inviting you out on a date on Christmas, this is something normal friends would absolutely never do. Giving her your OK for that, didn't you have it in your head that you'd go out with her?"

"As a result of having had the date, I realized I'm not compatible with Satou, can't you interpret it that way?"

"That...might be the case. But from what I could see today, things went well. You seemed to be enjoying yourself too."

"If I have to be honest with you, it's not like I didn't think about going out with Satou at all."

"S-See? As I thought."

"By going out with Satou, I might have been able to experience various things."

"I guess that the White Room can't stop you from being horny," Ryuuen smirked.

Sato looked surprised that I said such a thing.

"All of these things are possibilities, though. You wouldn't do such a thing if it was just a possibility, and I doubt you really considered her a precious existence," Yagami thought.

Perhaps she felt uncomfortable with those words of mine, but she showed me a slightly angry expression.

"What do you mean, various?"

"It's the destination that lovers would end up arriving at. That's what it means."

I tried to tell her as mildly as I could. Naturally, Karuizawa also understands the meaning of it.

"Huh!? You, you were intending on going out with her for such a scummy reason!?"

"Haven't you ever thought about wanting to do it?"

"I-I don't know! It's also a completely unknown world for me too!"

"Then, haven't you ever thought about jumping out into that unknown world?"

"That is--that is, I mean, ultimately doesn't it depend on your companion?"

"...well, I don't imagine just anyone would do."

I tried imagining it but of course, one would want a companion that's as good as possible.

"I expected Ike to say these things," Horikita commented.

"Well, this is the same guy that tried to remember the sensation of boobs after getting blackmailed," Ryuuen nonchalantly stated.

"I always tend to forget that he likes to mess with people," Yagami thought.

"Right!?"

"But I had no complaints in particular if it was Satou."

"Muu...t-then why did you reject Satou-san's confession? You could have experienced that unknown world you spoke of!"

"Don't torture me so angrily."

"I'm not angry!"

If you ask 100 people, 100 people would answer that right now, Karuizawa is angry.

Of course, I don't even have to think about why she's angry.

"You're responsible for me being angry," Kei grumbled.

"If I had chosen to go out with Satou...would you have been beside me right now?"

"Ehh?"

"That is the main reason why I did not choose Satou."

Not having comprehended it, Karuizawa thinks about the meaning behind those words. Indeed, during that confession choosing to go out with Satou would have led greatly to an enjoyable school life for me. I would've made a lover, and I would have shared happy moments and difficult moments together with her. And I would have deepened my relationship with her. Students all around the world should have imagined such a sweet future at least once.

"I guess some people have thought like that. It's seems unrealistic, not gonna lie," Ike stated.

Of course, this description is far more simplistic than reality. However, it isn't too far off.

However, this is only if me going out with Satou would not impact Karuizawa's mental state at all. To choose your special partner, is in other words, to make a choice. If I chose Satou here, it would have become extremely difficult for me to make use of Karuizawa in the future. That is no mere prediction, as a matter of fact, just like this Karuizawa is drawing closer to me. If I had chosen Satou, Karuizawa would have become more wary of me.

The incident on the rooftop was certainly a massive turning point for Karuizawa. The trust Karuizawa has in me soared, and it's no longer an exaggeration to say that she will never betray me from now on. Ryuuen or Sakayanagi, or even if an existence like Nagumo were to draw close to her, Karuizawa won't crumble anymore. However, the only exception to that would be a case like this one.

"It's for that simple reason she's of no use to me. No matter what I do, I can't do anything to her. There's no blackmail I can use, no bullying, and I can't even use her as a double agent. In all honesty, she's useless to me. Simply because she has the mental fortitude to take anything I throw at her, it's an impressive feat, but an obstacle that I don't need to deal with," Yagami thought.

"Where she becomes forgotten, huh?" Nagumo stated speculatively.

"I suppose that you are wrong about such a thing. The parasitic nature that you believe she possesses doesn't exist within her anymore, perhaps it would be hard, but she would eventually move on. This is a crucial error that you seem to have overlooked. I suppose you are human, after all," Manabu thought.

Looking back, I doubt such a thing would happen. It's an error, an error that I had made.

Even if the world was a chessboard, and every single person a piece, there is still a limit as to how far future moves can be predicted. Even the most meticulous plan could go wrong, somewhere, somehow. Reality is simply brimming with far too many coincidences and unusual actions by humans for even the craftiest scheme to go exactly as planned. The most desirable plan was one in which the situation could be adapted to, not one where everything needed to go as the instructions stated.

This was the conclusion I had come to.

Kei was one of these unusual actions and so my plan wasn't able to go according to plan, it's an error in my reasoning which I plan to never overlook again.

'A replacement for me'. An existence like that. Perhaps I'm no longer needed, such anxieties would be born in her. As a result, she'd claim she could do things she couldn't do, she'd become fearful and the fear that the things she could do would no longer be possible would also be born. At such a time, it would suitable to say that Karuizawa's charm would drop by half. I had misgivings about that.

Of course, if Satou had possessed such outstanding talent that she could've been a replacement for Karuizawa, it would have been a different matter. Setting Satou as my main, and using Karuizawa as my sub. That option would have been available. But thanks to our contact today, I have this conviction once again.

Satou cannot possibly replace Karuizawa.

"I don't have the ability, I guess," Sato looked slightly disheartened, but it seemed like she knew that I was telling the truth.

"People tend to fear being isolated. Humans are social creatures in need of interaction, after all," Sakayanagi analysed.

"I wouldn't say interaction is the right word," Hashimoto contested.

"I suppose what I meant to say is that people are creatures that need social connections and being cut off from them can leave them broken," Sakayanagi replied to Hashimoto's words.

In regards to fundamental thinking and mental aspects, I can safely say she is far from reaching Karuizawa. Miraculously enough, that fact was strongly exposed on the very first date.

Disguising the double date they had set up as a coincidence, and compared to Karuizawa who is still calmly continuing to hide that fact, on a great many occasions Satou had been restless, and in contrast, there were times when she was also too calm. And the decisive blow occurred when Nagumo and I confronted each other. Karuizawa took action immediately while Satou was divided on it and unable to even join in.

In case of an emergency, that aspect of hers could make a huge difference. From now on, there are 3 problems I will be unable to avoid. The problem with the student council can ultimately be ignored but I cannot do the same against Sakayanagi and my father.

There's nothing wrong with being nervous in a situation that doesn't involve you. However, I needed someone who could interfere and do something even if they were nervous. Sato didn't possess that ability.

If those two go on a rampage, my position would easily make a complete change once or twice over proportionately. Until I can eliminate that threat completely, I need to make Karuizawa work smoothly for me. Besides, I'm also worried about the movements of Chabashira and Chairman Sakayanagi. I doubt the teachers' side would do something careless like that but now that I can see the background, they are also targets of my surveillance now.

In that sense too, the existence known as Karuizawa Kei is indispensable to me. Even the Chairman, who is seen as being overwhelmingly powerful by the students, can be socially destroyed through the use of Karuizawa as a honey trap. Well, whether it suits her or not is another matter... Karuizawa probably won't be able to deal with sexual matters anyway yeah. In any case, Karuizawa is highly versatile.

"Going a little far in your multi-use sales pitch," Ryuuen laughed.

In any case, I suppose this can act as a bit of closure for Sato. For her, she may still be speculating why I did reject her if she thought I wasn't truthful, but I hope this would clear that up. Those feelings of turmoil may be eating away at her, but perhaps this could act as a bit of a cleanser.

"I've been thinking it might be like that vaguely but Kiyotaka only sees people as tools, right?"

"That's not my intention."

I answered with that but that could not possibly reach Karuizawa, who I've used many times over and over as a tool until now.

"What a joke, it's practically part of you," Ryuuen criticised.

"Hey--, this is a simple question but have you ever come to love someone before?"

"Up until now, never."

I do think that I'd like to love someone. It's just that sort of opportunity won't occur by pure chance.

--Or.

It's just in my heart, there was no such thing as an 'awakening of love' in the first place. Boys and girls, I do understand the biological difference between them but everything beyond that is pitch black for me.

In the White Room, that was a matter of common sense.

Once again, the mention of the place brought the room down.

"I can't do anything about that, unfortunately. It's too complicated for me to understand or solve, but I suppose that I could try and help the best I can. But the problem with that is I don't know how to help... Kiyotaka, why do you have to be so confusing?" Kei thought.

"...ultimately..."

"What?"

"No, nothing."

Ultimately, even after leaving the White Room, perhaps I'm still stuck in the White Room. We never fail to make preparations to defend ourselves at all times in there. Even though in a proper student's life, such things are unnecessary.

Enjoying the date honestly and going out with Satou, that should have been an obvious future too. But I cannot draw such a future on a canvas. In response to the traps from various different opponents, I have been moving to secure various insurances for that off chance.

No matter what happens to someone else, as long as in the end, you win, that's fine...this sort of fundamental mindset is something I won't be able to throw away until the day I die.

"Trauma is far too hard to get over in a short amount of time. It'll eat away at you and that horrible past won't ever go away. The only thing a person can do is to move along while accepting that part of you. I wonder if Ayanokouji can do that, but maybe it's too much to expect such a thing," Ichinose thought.

"That's unfortunate," Yagami stated.

Whether he truly meant such a thing, I have no way of knowing.

As I started walking, Karuizawa started walking too with a delay. Never lining up beside me, yet still keeping a distance where we could hold a conversation. Even if someone were to see us, it was at a miraculous distance where we could dress it up as a coincidence.

"Ahh. Even though I put in the effort the whole day for Satou-san's sake, it turned out to be useless--"

It was a behavior that makes it hard to believe that just a few days ago, she was put through something horrible on that rooftop.

"Even though something like that happened just a while ago, you sure got back up on your feet, Karuizawa."

"...I haven't been flashily bullied like that in many years."

"Should I say the experience was different? Indeed, ever since I reached elementary school, was it?"

Long-term bullying. She was finally released from that. To have become this nimble, enjoying high school life like this could be said to be a natural gift.

"Well, you did the best you could," Sato told her friend.

"How self-deprecating," Matsushita commented.

However, Karuizawa made a slightly mysterious face as she listened to me talk now.

But perhaps she was able to understand immediately, she became convinced as she opened her mouth.

"Ahh...I see. It's like that right? Sorry, Kiyotaka, I may have lied a bit."

Fuu, as though she were convinced about something, Karuizawa nodded.

"Lie?"

"That thing I told Yousuke-kun about having been bullied for 9 years. That was a lie. You know, rather than just say I was only bullied during middle school, telling him I was bullied ever since elementary school makes it easier for me to get him to save me, I thought that. Even though the environment changed, the bullying continued, if he were to learn about that, perhaps he might think the same thing might happen at high school too, right?"

Lightly laughing, she stuck out her tongue.

So that's how it is. A lie so that she could properly make use of Hirata. To think that far when using someone, it showed Karuizawa's determination.

"Pretty good lie, in all honesty. Covers all the bases and serves its purpose," Nagumo praised.

"You read me completely. That's exactly the thought process I had," Yosuke sighed.

"More like...for having incited Manabe and the others. Are you not going to apologize again?"

"Now that you put it that way, that's right. Thanks to the date, I had thoroughly forgotten all about that."

"Also, that. Even though you told me you won't be contacting me anymore, you contacted me and relied on me. That too, I feel like you haven't followed up enough on that?"

"I withdraw the thing I said about not contacting you anymore. The obstacles have been removed, after all. If it's ok with you, please let me apologize next time."

"For doing all that and all you have to do is give an apology. Barely even a slap on the wrist," Hosen chuckled.

Coming from a person who tries to fight people on a daily basis, complaining that I didn't get a good enough punishment is fairly hypocritical.

"It doesn't feel like your heart is in it at all, though. I won't be expecting anything beforehand so apologize now."

"Now? How?"

"I've told you quite a lot of things, so let me hear something in return too Kiyotaka."

"About what?"

"Today in the afternoon, President Nagumo called out to you, didn't he? What's up with that?"

For Karuizawa, she may have been as worried about this as she was about the matter with Satou.

To think what she requested for an apology would be about the student council.

"Curiosity got the better of me," Kei claimed.

"You have it tough too. I don't know for what reason you ran seriously in the relay at the sports festival but I feel like more and more people are catching onto the truth."

"I'll put an end to that too. Fortunately, compared to how we started out, the unity of the class has grown stronger. Even if I don't do something, there should be no problems now."

"That's true but, that sort of thinking isn't like you. If we're talking about unity, Class B is far superior to us. I don't think we can beat them in that regard though?"

Saying that, Karuizawa continued.

"Leaving aside the strengthening of unity, it's just you want to get away from all this right?"

"As expected, you've answered correctly."

Class D is still under development. It would lose to both Class A and Class B. However, I have no intention at all of babysitting them until they can win.

Class D looked like they understand what I mean.

"You guys do tend to get carried to victory nearly every exam. I mean, even the recent island exam saw you guys getting number one because of that freak. Without him, nothing would have changed," Ryuuen shrugged.

"I understand what you mean. I have no intention of relying on you to get us to victory every time," Horikita claimed.

Whether she'll follow through with that is for her actions to tell.

"But during the sports festival, just because you stood out a bit, you attracted that much attention? Isn't it unnatural?"

It seems she wishes to say it's strange for me to have attracted the attention of Nagumo Miyabi just because I happened to be fast. If it's Karuizawa, even if I explained to her right now, there would be no problem.

No, on the contrary, I should speak to her about this. It was something I had wanted to cut in with so it saves me time and effort.

"Now that's interesting. So I would assume that if you're telling her this, she'll be seeing the person who's against me as well," Nagumo stated.

"That's a bit of a reach," Asahina retorted.

"Is it? Ayanokouji asks to meet this person 20 minutes after the rejection when he knew where Karuizawa was. Now, that wouldn't be enough on its own, but he's telling her all these things as well. He said it would save him effort, but the effort for what exactly? That's the reasoning I have," Nagumo explained.

With his sound reasoning, Asahina had backed down.

"What about the fact that Horikita from our class and the former student council president are siblings?"

"I figured as much. That reminds me...during the relay race, you and the student council pres—no, I guess the former student council president— you two started together. Do you know each other, Kiyotaka?"

"Yeah. Through my connection with his sister. And I've been drawing various sorts of attention from the brother's side."

"So that means he knows your real face under that mask you're hiding behind?"

"Behind the mask, huh? What he knows is only the surface. In this school, there is no other person who knows me as deeply as you do."

"...hmmm. It doesn't really make me feel happy or anything though."

"Sure, it doesn't make you feel all giddy inside, right? You don't feel anything, right?" Sato teased.

That was how Karuizawa answered, but it didn't seem to me as though she was as dissatisfied as she said. To know the secrets of others, is a heavy case for the person in question too but it's not uncommon for people to think of themselves as being special too. Looking at it from Karuizawa's perspective, the fact that she knows both the secret she herself holds and my secret would be stuck in her heart.

"The title of former student council president can be useful in various ways, after all. I'm slightly indebted to him too in the rooftop matter."

When I had sent Karuizawa down from the rooftop ahead of me, she should have met the former student council president who was standing by.

"Speaking of which...yeah, I met him back then."

"In a similar way, I'm being pushed by the other party too to return the favour."

"So does that have something to do with the fact that you're drawing attention from President Nagumo?"

At first, the students believed that there could have been new information, but they had learnt that I was simply recapping what they had already seen.

"The older Horikita and Nagumo have a confrontational relationship with each other. If I have, to put it mildly, a rivalry. The fact that the older Horikita had been talking to me is probably something Nagumo didn't like. It seemed like he was raring for a fight during the relay too."

"Somehow this is complicated. So it means you barged in between those two's fight?"

Now with this, the reason why Nagumo's been getting involved with me should have been conveyed to her.

But the real question is from now on.

"Because of that too, I was asked by the older Horikita to lend him a hand. It seems like he wants to drag Nagumo down from the throne of student council president."

"...could it be, he entrusted that role to Kiyotaka?"

"Isn't it troublesome?"

"But, you're about the only one who could do something against that amazing student council president."

"So you think I can do something?"

"If you can't do it, then no one else is capable of stopping him too right?"

Before I had realized, her evaluation of me had gone up quite a bit.

No matter how humbly I try to say it, Karuizawa won't even buy it one bit.

"I don't see why she wouldn't. Most people here have that same evaluation of your abilities," Horikita told me.

"I suppose so," I replied disinterestedly.

"By the way, since it's already part of the conversation's flow I'll say it but I'm going to be meeting a 2nd year now."

"A 2nd year? Who?"

"I wonder. The identity is still a mystery. The other side too, was unable to confirm that it was me. It's just, the only thing that's confirmed is that they're a student from amongst the 2nd years who doesn't think too highly of Nagumo."

"Heh...am I getting in your way?"

"If you want to be present, I don't particularly mind if you're there too. What'll you do?"

I'll at least try and confirm whether or not she'll be tagging along.

"...I'll come."

After hesitating for a bit, Karuizawa answered as such. Hearing that word from her, I switched off my phone. Then, the two of us moved towards the school building that was told over the phone.

"Don't tell me I told you so," Asahina grumbled.

"What did I tell you?" Nagumo chuckled.

"That's the same thing!" Asahina complained.

"No, you told me to not say a specific phrase, I simply used a different phrase that conveyed the same meaning," Nagumo smirked.

With that loophole, Nagumo had won that battle.

The scene faded to black and we were all tasked to go back to our classrooms.

However, as I was dismissed and began to walk out of the school, I got tapped on the shoulder.

"Ah, vice president Kiriyama, what can I do for you?" I said nonchalantly.

"Follow me," He said as he took me to a more secluded room.

"The supply closet? Surely something else would have been more fitting," I sighed as the dust was getting on my uniform.

"Just deal with it. Ayanokouji, you know that I'm going to be exposed next time, right?" Kiriyama complained.

"That's a likely possibility," I stated bluntly.

"Exactly. So what should I do?" Kiriyama looked at me desperately.

He's asking for my help in such a dire time, huh? In all honesty, I don't really care about such a thing. While he could be useful, the thing he's asking for isn't possible. There's nothing I could help him with.

"I don't know. Do whatever you want," I told him.

"What? Please, there has to be something," Kiriyama looked baffled.

"Kiriyama-senpai, if there was a way to stop videos from being shown, don't you think I would have done something about that? My entire life is being shown, and I can't do anything about it. Only a small snippet of yours is going to be shown, so why complain?" I sighed.

I didn't want to deal with this.

"That's true, but..." Kiriyama continued, but I cut him off.

"Kiriyama-senpai, listen, there's nothing you can do. Accept that fact and move on, because if you don't, you'll only end up digging yourself even deeper into the hole," I told him as I moved to the door of the supply closet.

"So there's nothing... Nothing at all?" Kiriyama sighed.

"Yes, there's nothing at all. Please accept that fact. I apologise that I couldn't be of any help, but it's just the reality. I would recommend accepting that reality instead of fighting it," I told him as I walked out of the supply closet.

I glanced back at him and saw him standing there with a downcast expression. I would have helped him if it was possible, but such a thing isn't.

I get the feeling that Nagumo won't likely care. He has stated multiple times before that he doesn't see this person as a threat, but paranoia kicks in nonetheless. Whatever happens, this is all likely for naught.

Author's notes:

Chap done. Man, this was hard to write even if it was really short. I don't really know why though, but I digress.

Read volume 0, banger volume. I doubt I'll react to it, if I'm honest, but I'll still probably reference the information revealed when needed.

That's about it, see you later.

Judge, Jury and Executioner

Complete distress. That's what he was. He was the personification of such a thing.

Free will is often a contested thing for humans. The argument against the concept of free will is that, how can a person really have the freedom to make their own choice if they aren't in control of everything? The things people like may be due to the environment they grew up in, and that environment wasn't controlled. That's just one of the examples that people often use to invalidate the concept.

For Kiriyama, he also has no free will. There's no amount of arguing, reasoning or whatever he can pull out of his head he can employ. The arguments he makes are, essentially, worthless.

People arguing for things even though it's pointless is something I've seen time and time again. This is nothing new to me, the only option one has is to watch.

The world doesn't move according to what an individual adores and detests. The reality is that an individual can really only leave such affairs to the people who can deal with them.

"The finale of the winter break is here. It takes off just after the last one, so enjoy."

This day, Christmas. Students who have their club activities have already left the school and are on their way back. Even if someone were to pass me by, it would probably be a teacher. No, even that should be seen as being very unlikely. In this school there were no lights on that could be considered lighting.

"It's cold. Are they not here yet?"

"It's already supposed to be the scheduled time though."

20 minutes have already passed since the promised meeting time. And there was still no sign of anyone in the vicinity.

"After calling us out they're late? They're quite bold."

"Perhaps, by being late they're scouting out our situation?"

"What's up with that? Isn't that being unfair? Just confirming Kiyotaka's identity like that and going back?"

"They'd probably like to do just that too, but that's probably impossible."

I think with a fair degree of certainty, they will come into contact with us. However, I'd like some spice here to ensure that 'fair degree' becomes truly certain. That is the presence of Karuizawa beside me. If I happened to show up alone in this unpopular location, it would allow them to ascertain that I am the cooperator. However, today is Christmas. Even though it's small, there is still the possibility that we are just an unrelated couple trying to get some alone time, just the two of us, and happened to come here together.

Even if they thought of hiding themselves and contacting me via phone through an unknown number, my phone's battery has already been run dry. In other words, if they wished to confirm my identity, they would need to directly call out to me themselves. As Karuizawa and I stood side by side underneath the freezing sky and patiently waited, a single student approached us.

I recalled that student.

"A rational move. However, what if you went there alone? Wouldn't they think that you were still just a random person? It's a less likely possibility, but it isn't impossible," Katsuragi surmised.

"It was far too late. It was indeed a possibility, but as I said, I wanted to get the chance of them appearing as close to guaranteed as possible," I replied.

"Hmm. I suppose so. Doing the best possible move to raise your chances, even if it isn't monumental, is in your nature," Katsuragi commented.

The moment our eyes met, I immediately understood that this was the person I spoke with on the phone. It was just unexpected...is how I should put it. It was such a person. It wasn't like they called out to us yet. There was also the possibility that they just happened to be here on their own. Of course, that increasingly unlikely probability was immediately rejected.

"I've kept you waiting."

His time on the stand is about to come.

"I just arrived here too, Vice-President Kiriyama."

In the instant I called out that name, he seemed surprised but instantly he resumed his serious expression. First let's see the attitude the other side will take.

The room looked quite shocked. However, among those shocked faces, one stood out. Not because it possessed the most shocked expression, but because it was the least.

"That's certainly a twist. I didn't expect you to be the one at the end," Nagumo looked at Kiriyama.

In response, Kiriyama remained speechless.

"Don't have anything to say, huh? Very well then. I'm sure many wouldn't want to defend themselves in front of so many people. If you wish, you can talk to me behind closed doors," Nagumo offered.

It was probably seen as an act of benevolence from his leader for Kiriyama.

"Y-yes! I would like to take that option," Kiriyama quickly stated.

It was clear that he was flustered.

"I thought you'd cast him aside and shit on him for such a thing," Ryuuen chuckled.

"I'm unfortunately not as kind as you," Nagumo chuckled.

"There's no doubt in my mind that he's given up. If I have to be honest, his abilities aren't anything special, but they weren't bad either. However, he hasn't done much to oppose me. In fact, he's done the opposite. The ambitions within him must have burned away by now. He's not an enemy, just a person who ran away until it was too late," Nagumo thought.

"It looks like you've already gathered information on the student council to a certain extent. If I recall your name is...Ayanokouji was it?"

It's not strange even if Kiriyama, who was beside Nagumo during our conversation with him today, happened to remember my name.

"I never expected that the one bearing his fangs towards President Nagumo would be his own Vice-President."

"Before we talk about that, I'd like to ask one thing."

Using his hands to block my words, he directed his gaze towards Karuizawa.

"Not surprising. Seeing a person that you didn't know was going to be there is up for concern," Sakayanagi analysed.

Kiriyama probably wouldn't say a word for the rest of the day. He seems to think that anything could be used against him. If we think of him as a person in court, he's remaining silent so that his opponents can't make him look worse than he already does.

Although perhaps he's already on death row and doesn't know it.

"Who is that student over there? I didn't hear about her earlier."

"She's my trustworthy partner."

Karuizawa seemed slightly excited at that, but soon stiffened her expression.

"Trustworthy huh...a situation where I have no other choice but to trust a 1st year is a pathetic one."

Even after seeing the irregular here, Karuizawa, Kiriyama still chose to show himself without attempting to hide. It's either proof that he's simply just that dissatisfied with the Nagumo administration or that he simply believes that much in the older Horikita.

"Although it may be that he just has no choice in the first place," Ryuuen insulted.

"I can see that. Although the same can go for the former student council president. Both had to rely on the future. The difference is that one of the two had much more time compared to the other," Sakayanagi followed up.

"Doesn't really change what I said, even if you are right. The guy had no choice because he wasn't able to do anything on his own," Ryuuen shrugged.

"Then shall we get right down to business? I'd like to avoid drawing this conversation out."

"Likewise. I feel like I'm about to catch a cold out here."

"In the first place, Nagumo and I never saw things eye-to-eye. The fact that I joined the student council too, was because I idolized the existence of Horikita-senpai. As a senpai from the same Class A. Of course, now it's former Class A for me though."

The fact that Kiriyama had been defeated by Nagumo and fell to Class B. If I assume the fact that he joined the student council too was due to the older Horikita's influence, it's not strange that he's still managed to keep his seat as Vice-President.

On the contrary, I'm more surprised at Nagumo who's kept Kiriyama, who had opposed him, as Vice-President.

Nagumo looked like he didn't want to answer, or rather, he didn't want to give Kiriyama the answer. This is still only my own personal interpretation, however.

"You lost and now you want to get revenge. Nothing unique about that," Amasawa shrugged.

It's human nature to want to right wrongdoings done to oneself.

"I thought this hidden third year would be more interesting, but he's just a lapdog with an attitude," Sakayanagi insulted offhandedly.

And the only thing Kiriyama could do was sit there and listen.

"I had wanted to prevent Nagumo from assuming the office of the student council president, but that was an impossible task, it had long since become beyond the scope of my power. It's a pathetic story."

"The story about President Nagumo having brought together the entire 2nd-year student body as his allies, how much of that is true?"

"Almost all of it's real. Naturally, there are those on the inside who aren't exactly satisfied with him but not enough to cast a vote of opposition against him. They've resigned themselves to just obey him."

"Reminds me of our situation back at the beginning of last year, just on a much smaller scale," Hashimoto reminisced.

"The difference was that your leader didn't win due to her abilities. It was just because the other leader didn't perform well enough," Ryuuen chuckled.

"The same could be possible for the other leaders in Nagumo-senpai's year, though, right?" Kaneda asked Ryuuen.

"Not at all. Think it through, the president is the sole ruler of his year. He has clearly won, but it isn't the same as our year. If it was, I doubt I or any other leader would remain besides one," Ryuuen countered.

"That's the point of difference, after all. In the years above yours, there was a clear winner by now, but it isn't the same for yours," Manabu commented.

"Hey, Kiyotaka. I get the part about uniting the class but is it even possible to make allies out of other classes? Aren't we all competing while aiming for Class A?"

"I'm sure Vice-President Kiriyama will explain that part."

"...Nagumo's promised us reforms. Ones that surpass the boundaries between classes, he's declared that students with the capability to do so will be pulled up to Class A. As a result of the factional warfare in the class that followed, there are many students dissatisfied at having sunk down to the lower classes."

Towards Karuizawa who slightly tilted her head at that, I added.

"If I have to put it simply, he means types like Horikita and Yukimura."

"I see."

If it's on their own, they surely would've been able to rise to Class A, students who think that way can be made allies of even across classes.

To those thoughts, Ryuuen just chuckled in response.

"I can't believe how incompetent the people in your year are," Ryuuen insulted.

"I agree, but it's not like they have a choice," Sakayanagi added.

"Reforms, huh? Whatever reforms you're helping with, it's most likely a lie," Amasawa grinned.

The third years all looked downcast with cloudy expressions. The seniors probably knew what they were doing is pointless, so they can't disagree.

"It's certainly ingenious. It's similar to what Ayanokouji did with his teacher a few videos ago. Give them some hope so they listen to you, make sure their ambitions remain. However, it's most likely that the president has no intentions to give the students what they wish for," Yagami complimented.

Nagumo didn't answer, which could be seen as a double-edged sword. It's like a politician who gets called out for committing a crime, but as they don't reply, people assume it's because they're guilty. Nagumo here could be seen in a similar position, but even if the people he controls turn on him, I doubt anything could happen to him. In the grand scheme of things, Nagumo is invincible. He probably can't be expelled no matter how much one tries.

"But that alone is not enough, right? There are also plenty of students from the lower classes that lack any kind of capability."

"If you believe Nagumo's words, every student will be given their own chance, it seems. The details of that, even I don't know."

"Isn't that like suspicious?"

"Even if it's suspicious, there's no other option but to go with that. The classes underneath B are already in crisis, since the class point gap between their class and Class A has already been clearly widened."

The fact that Nagumo made allies out of all the 2nd years, I felt like I understand now more or less. But if that is indeed the case, the presence of Kiriyama would become incomprehensible to me.

"Desire is easy to use against others. After all, desires are etched into the essence of a person. Every person has one, no matter how big or small. The president simply uses that as his weapon. False promises are some of the most effective tools he has, simply due to the fact that no one can do anything but believe in him. I, unfortunately, don't have such an ability. However, perhaps I can use something with the same essence," Yagami thought.

"Shouldn't Vice-President Kiriyama also bet on that 'chance' then? If you fought against the student council president and lost, that in itself would prevent you from returning to Class A, wouldn't it?"

"If there really is such a 'chance' that might have been an option too. However, I don't believe Nagumo will really offer that kind of 'chance' to everyone. There's no way he would do that. If graduation from Class A is guaranteed and the tables are then turned on him, he wouldn't be able to take it all back then".

So that's his reason for standing up against Nagumo.

"The moment Nagumo assumed the seat of student council president, did you not think about leaving the student council?"

"Normally one wouldn't feel like working under a person they are opposing, right?"

"If I left, what would happen? If I leave, Nagumo will only get that much cockier. If that's the case, then at least I can get into bed with him and collect information that way, and find a gap is what I thought. I believed if I gave Horikita-senpai that information, it would surely be useful to him."

Even as he spoke frankly, Vice-President Kiriyama allows his frustration to ooze through.

"I don't think your leaving would have much effect. Considering his current position, you didn't seem to have much impact, if any," Sakayanagi ridiculed.

"It's a rational move, in all honesty. However, there's a flaw in that. To collect information, you would need to become a trusted member in Nagumo's eyes. To do that, you would have to do what he says and help his goals. There's also the possibility that you could never become trusted at the end of it all. In that case, your actions and desires have all been in vain," Yagami explained with brutal rationality.

For Kiriyama, staying was the best move on the board. But no matter what he did, it could still not open up any options for attack.

"This is a gamble, and the only one he has. And if he beats the odds, the tables could turn immensly. Don't you think that could be worth it?" Utomiya asked.

"I never said that he shouldn't do such a thing. If he truly wants to go through with this plan, the method he's chosen has the highest probability of success. However, even if it's the highest chance, the number may not be that large. This was the only option he has, but he should understand the reality of it," Yagami shrugged.

Rather than berating Kiriyama for his actions, Yagami seemed to go understand that this is the only thing the vice president could do. He is someone that also understands the futility of such a thing. Of course, fighting against the odds is a feeling he could understand very well.

"Letting the traditions of this school be lost just like this, standing beside him and being able to do nothing except grit my teeth, do you understand how miserable I feel?"

Unfortunately, I don't understand. Kiriyama too, from the start, probably did not think I would sympathize with him.

"There's no way you'd understand huh...amongst 1st-year students like you, there's probably not a single student who's like Nagumo."

Even though we haven't even heard the full story yet, Kiriyama continued on and on with his talk.

"But it's not like you guys are completely unrelated. Right now, Nagumo is still directing his caution towards Horikita-senpai and the 3rd years. Because if he gives them an opening, they are an existence that could threaten his position. But once they graduate that will be gone too, and once that happens, his next targets will undoubtedly be you 1st years."

There are many here that could understand the frustration that Kiriyama could feel, especially in the third year. There's the confined sadness that's finally being let out. Out of all the voices a person can make, it's one of the most convincing. But even so, there are those that will never feel the poignancy of such a thing.

Perhaps due to a lack of care, or maybe they just couldn't understand what the other person if feeling.

Manabu looked at Kiriyama with a bit of sincerity.

"It is due to my standing that he is at risk of getting taken down. Due to my ideology, he followed me, and he will fall due to sticking to that ideology. I was the catalyst for such a thing, I can admit that, but the blame can't fully be placed on me. Kiriyama chose to fight Nagumo of his own volition. Though I may have been the reason he wanted to stick to the traditions of this place, the desire to take down Nagumo was his own," Manabu thought.

"Taking control of our year as well, huh? Perhaps you think that your sphere of influence has no end," Sakayanagi stated.

If there was a stepping stone to place Nagumo's foot on, it would be Ichinose. Using her to gain some influence in our year would be an incredibly good move. If he had succeeded, the way that our year currently stands would be unrecognisable.

"Even if you say that, is it even possible for us to get entangled with senior students like that?"

Unable to understand why we would be targeted like that, Karuizawa tilts her head.

"For students who don't fall in line, he will deal out merciless punishments. That is Nagumo's way of doing things."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Even if you're a 1st year, if you bear your fangs against Nagumo, it would mean you'll be harassed."

"Then he's the worst student council president."

However, there is also the possibility that one will receive privileges by obeying him. Since the students who had been Nagumo's rivals for 2 years had fallen in line and are obeying him, then he must possess a fair degree of competency and persuasive ability.

An example of this would be right after the island exam. Nagumo used the third year to monitor me and make me uncomfortable. It was a psychological move, one that couldn't be traced.

"I don't think she meant that in the ability sense, but rather, in the moral sense," Horikita corrected.

"Bearing fangs or whatever, isn't it usually uncommon to get involved with the student council president?"

"That was the case up until the 2nd semester. From this point onwards, our opportunities to interact with senior students will steadily increase. For the whole year, starting from the 3rd semester, a special exam is held in which 1st years up to the 3rd years will all be together. A similar thing to that will be repeated. Just like how it was for us last year. In other words, between the 1st years and the 2nd years, and depending on the situation, you might even have to fight against the 3rd years."

In other words, if things go according to schedule, in January we will be entangled with senior students who we possess little knowledge of. In the sports festival, there was an exchange where the school years overlapped but there were barely any opportunities to directly interact with them.

"The student council does make some choices for the next exam. Isn't it against the rules to leak anything about it, no matter how small?" Asahina asked.

"I believe that this information was already known by many people. Horikita-senpai holds the school in high esteem, so I also doubt his follower would go against that," Nagumo shrugged.

"That information is only helpful for Ayanokouji's situation as well. It doesn't affect the class battle anyway," Horikita added.

"That's true as well. Knowing that all the years are part of the next exam is nice to know, but you can't necessarily do anything with it. Perhaps you can tell your classmates to be prepared, but other than that, it doesn't mean much," Nagumo stated in agreement.

"It's very likely that with that timing, Nagumo will narrow down individual threats from amongst the 1st years."

Individual threats, in other words, students who might end up threatening his position. If that's the case, on that battlefield, I'd like to get it over with without attracting any attention.

It's unfortunate that I feel as though I'm already in a situation where that wish won't be fulfilled.

"Then the contents of last year's exam?"

"Probably has nothing to do with this year's special exam. The majority of special exams are carried out so as to be wildly different every year. It won't come in handy."

"Even so, I feel like it would be better for me to know about it, it may prove advantageous to me."

"That may be so. But, unfortunately, I cannot answer that. Even if you're the student that Horikita-senpai has nominated, I cannot come into conflict with the rules of this school. If this fact were to be revealed, I'd have to be prepared for expulsion. I cannot break this taboo. And I have no intention of breaking it."

More so if he's from the Horikita faction which holds the rules created by this school in high esteem.

"The school's rules aren't infallible. Following every single thing is restrictive," Ryuuen criticised.

"It's odd as well. Breaking the rules can be immensely rewarding. Lying and cheating have been shown to be the best ways to succeed in this place," Hiyori agreed.

Although if Manabu grew to the top while following every single rule, that speaks volumes about him.

"I also doubt the information could come in handy. The only exam that was similar to last year was the island exam and they were still in completely different formats. Surviving with the community compared to surviving with either the individual or group," Horikita analysed.

Of course, that could also be due to the difference in ideology between Manabu and Nagumo. If Nagumo was the student council president during our first year, I believe that our first island exam would be more like this years. That is still speculation, however.

"I sure have a troublesome senpai."

I voiced my honest feelings.

"In any case, the number of ways to drag Nagumo down from his student council president seat is limited. I don't even need to say it, but expelling him is the most surefire way, but reality isn't that convenient. Then next would be to make the fact that he is not qualified to serve as president into public knowledge and forcibly drag him out of office. If he's no longer the student council president, from amongst the 2nd years students willing to wash their hands of Nagumo will surely appear and there would be no effect on you 1st years and the newcomers that'll be enrolling next year."

In short, I don't know what kind of student Nagumo Miyabi might be. Even if I ask Karuizawa right next to me, she would probably repeat that same impression. It's just that we haven't had any exchanges with the other school years to that extent that we could not make a decision. Someone who's abnormally lifted up by his surroundings and cautious as well as being respected and envied by Hirata. I can only conclude that he's no ordinary student.

Originally, it would have been most desirable to find students from amongst the 2nd years who share the same opinion as Kiriyama and topple Nagumo that way. Well, since that's no longer possible it just means trouble came around to the 1st years as well.

"The only major trouble I could think of was the class poll exam. I suppose the incident before could also be called a major problem," Kanzaki surmised.

While the second was most likely entirely Nagumo's fault, the first was something he had no control over. In all actuality, the class poll exam was probably something Nagumo would oppose all together.

"The next exam had some things as well, but it didn't affect the first years at all. Neither did the final exam, so perhaps the recent island exam or the partner exam would be the one affected," Katsuragi theorised.

"Out of all the possibilities, the recent island exam is the one with the most freedom to make an attack," Ryuuen stated matter-of-factly.

"The openness of the area and the students not being able to see each other in certain areas does allow for a lot of options," Katsuragi pondered.

"Time will tell, after all. Whatever big plans he has, I have high expectations," Ryuuen smirked.

"Getting him expelled or dragging him out of office, this is all just a bunch of dangerous talk, isn't it?"

"Even when a troublesome enemy is right in your sights, you won't resort to such measures?"

"I've never even once thought of it."

Beside me, Karuizawa for a moment gazed at me in suspicion but I ignored her.

"Hah, bullshit," Ryuuen laughed.

"It does make sense, though," Kanzaki told Ryuuen.

"I'm not an idiot, I can tell why he would do that. It's just funny with what happened a few days before this," Ryuuen replied.

"Playing all your cards on the first move is a shitty plan. If he did that, he'd just be a circus show," Hosen commented.

"Then are you going to let me see you perform a frontal attack? If you can manipulate Nagumo into stepping down as student council president on his own then that's the best outcome but I don't even need to tell you how difficult that will be".

This student known as Kiriyama, I don't know how far I can trust him. Judging from the attitude he's taking towards Nagumo there's no mistaking that he definitely harbors negative emotions, hatred, towards him. But I can also see parts of his statements that are worded conveniently for himself. Whether this was done intentionally or not is subject to change but at the present moment I lack enough material to draw a conclusion.

I should not reveal anything beyond showing him the card that is Karuizawa.

"You're free to express your own wishes, but we'll be the ones to decide what to do."

"So it's not that easy to trust me, is that it?"

Naturally, Kiriyama also ended up noticing our distrust.

"You aren't really all that trustworthy if you're talking about taking down another student," Hashimotot chuckled.

"Stepping down as student council president, huh? I probably won't ever do that," Nagumo commented.

He was oddly ambiguous with the statement. Using the word 'probably' means that it is a possibility. But, then again, I could just be reading into it.

"I too, think I have overacted. There's no need for me to shoulder the responsibility of not being able to stop Nagumo but I just couldn't bring myself to let my kouhais see the same hell. Those are my genuine thoughts."

So he's looking out for his kouhais, huh. This is hard to believe all of a sudden. It's just that he's relying on the 1st years reluctantly because there are no human resources capable of taking down Nagumo amongst the 2nd years. He feels responsibility for not being able to stop him. I was wondering what he was going to say but this time it's for his kouhais, huh?

Compared to this, it would still have given him more credibility if he had told us he hopes to return to Class A by eliminating Nagumo.

I do suppose hiding the ugly truth and playing the saint is also human nature.

"What a dumb thing to say. The only reason you're even interacting with a first-year was because that guy recommended them," Ryuuen ridiculed.

"Couldn't it just be because there's no one to trust amongst the first-years?" Kaneda asked.

"It doesn't really seem that he's too happy to interact with the first years in this tape, right? Sure, you could be right, but I doubt this guy is as caring as he makes it seems," Ryuuen shrugged.

"If I have to be honest, you would come across as more truthful if you said that you just hated his guts and wanted to put him down a peg," Hashimoto criticised.

"How you perceive this is up to you to decide but just remember one thing. The students who make an enemy out of Nagumo have all been driven to expulsion without fail."

"Then, I feel like it would be best if I did not make an enemy out of the student council president."

Among the students who have been expelled up until now, there should have been those who boldly resisted and attempted to take down Nagumo. However, as a result, the buds of their objections were plucked and they were driven to expulsion.

If that's the case, I wonder if the best option here would be to get through this without either being liked by him or hated by him.

That was the entirely honest impression I had after the conversation with Kiriyama.

It's a common tactic many leaders throughout history have used. Taking out the voices of opposition so that it becomes more wildly accepted that the leader is great. Soon, the people who oppose the leader give up in fear or the criticisms of the leader are so rare that it seems like it's a lie.

"Taking out your enemy while not being revealed is your style, right?" Ryuuen glanced at me.

"...so you won't cooperate?"

"I will cooperate. I also have my own circumstances that prevent me from backing down, you see."

"Fine, then. Either way, Nagumo's already begun to direct his attention towards you. And besides, in the not too distant future, even if you don't want to, you'll end up finding out just what kind of person he is. From now on too, I will leak information about Nagumo and his actions to you. Of course, as long as it's within the range of the rules. After that the decision is up to you."

The contents of that, whether I use them to let him live or kill him off, is up to me, is what he means to say. Kiriyama also seemed to have sensed that I was not into it beyond what he expected and almost seemed as though he would have given up halfway through. Even though he will provide me with information, it seems as though he intends on avoiding putting excessive amounts of expectations on me.

"To be perfectly blunt, the amount of impression you give off amounts to nothing. If it weren't for that relay with Horikita-senpai during the sports festival, I would probably not be here formally requesting your cooperation. As a matter of fact, the very reason Nagumo has begun to pay attention to you is also because of that relay."

That would be the one and only 'truth' that made Kiriyama make his move. If I had known about Nagumo beforehand, I too, would not have done something that conspicuous during the relay. That choice has led me to face Kiriyama like this now.

"So you saw the president not knowing of you a better plan than directing my attention away from you? I thought you liked me better than that, Ayanokouji," Ryuuen sarcastically stated.

Of course, the intention of the relay was to take Ryuuen's attention away from me. By showing myself as a person who had all the attention put on me, it would go against the idea of a manipulator who hides in the shadows that Ryuuen had in his mind.

Avoiding Nagumo's fixation on me may have been a better move, but I didn't have the knowledge at the time to see it.

"Should I ever deem you unworthy of passing information onto, I will immediately withdraw from this."

"If you don't do that, would it mean Kiriyama-senpai would be in danger?"

In response to that question from Karuizawa, Kiriyama did not say a word in response and silently nodded. He must be dissatisfied, this is probably the current power balance between Nagumo and Kiriyama.

"And one more thing, from now on I will never meet directly with you in-person anymore. I will create a random mail account and keep in touch that way."

I'm also thankful for that. Communication via free mail is the best.

"And then...by any chance, should my collusion with you be discovered by Nagumo due to your inaptitude, I'll have you understand what will happen."

He didn't say it out loud, but it probably meant he'd be taking me down with him. If there was a 1st year who happened to be making an effort to topple Nagumo, then Nagumo would go after them. Having finished saying what he had wanted to say, Kiriyama quickly left.

His time on the stand was over.

"Rough day for you, huh? Getting exposed as a traitor to your leader must be awful," Ryuuen smirked.

His words were sincere, but the tone was the opposite. I doubt he could show sincerity to Kiriyama anyway.

"I suppose you're just the representation of all those who oppose me. I commend you for trying, at least," Nagumo looked at Kiriyama.

Like a child who was being ridiculed by his parents, Kiriyama looked downwards and didn't even look in Nagumo's direction.

"I'll still like to deal with you in private. I don't recommend thinking that this is over," Nagumo added before he went to look back at the screen.

"Don't you think from start to finish, there was a bad feeling to this?"

"I suppose so."

It might just mean that Kiriyama simply cannot afford to relax.

After the conclusion of our conversation with Kiriyama, we were finally on our way back. On that way back, Karuizawa who was walking behind me called out.

"It's like this developed way beyond my expectations."

"What do you think? About what Vice-President Kiriyama said earlier?"

"There's no way I'd know anything about that. It might be because I still don't know why he hates President Nagumo to that extent."

Those thoughts of Karuizawa, resemble my own thoughts. A wise person would not draw any closer...might be true. In order to secure the older Horikita as an ally, I had considered temporarily making Nagumo into my enemy but despite everything I still felt as though that choice was not the right call.

His fixation on me was a bit of a problem. As of now, I believe that problem has been alleviated. If I leave Nagumo as he is, I severely doubt he would bother me any longer.

"He probably hates him because he lost. Caring about the rules and your idol is one thing, but that doesn't make you hate someone else. That itself didn't affect him greatly, but losing class A? He probably began to hate his guts," Ryuuen chuckled.

It's just sadly enough, thanks to me amusing myself during the relay against the older Horikita at the sports festival, Nagumo ended up fixing his interest on me. Of course, if I make Nagumo think that is simply his groundless fear, he would soon enough forget about me, but depending on the situation he may also move to get rid of me. If I take the word of my surroundings at face value, Nagumo will never tolerate the existence of his enemies.

"By the way. What was that stuff earlier...that partner thing."

"Did you not like it?"

"If you onesidedly decide to make me your partner, it can't be helped even if I dislike it right?"

"Then shall I cancel it?"

"...if you want me to become your official partner, there's an appropriate attitude and sincerity you should be having right?"

"Can you explain to me in detail about that attitude and sincerity?"

"Money?"

"Oi."

"I'm just joking. Kiyotaka seems like the person who'd be in a bind over merely lending me points after all."

"Yeah. You seem broke," Ryuuen insulted.

"I can't say he's wrong. It was in my nature to take down those who opposed me, that was just intrinsic to me. If I had learnt that Ayanokouji wasn't that incredible, depending on the situation, I would move to confirm that," Nagumo thought.

I wasn't expecting anything, Karuizawa said something like that.

Indeed right now, due to the matter of the "target" Karuizawa possesses those private points.

"Hey, more importantly, is Horikita-san fine with this? If we're talking about Kiyotaka's partner, it's her right?"

"She's just like a neighbor to me. She's nothing more and nothing less."

I've already lost count of how many times I've repeated this to other people.

Horikita sighed, probably have done the same thing many times.

"Are you and Suzune partners, Ayanokouji? I don't know what your answer could possibly be," Ryuuen asked, knowing the answer.

I chose to ignore him.

"Then it means I'm the only one you've acknowledged?"

"It is true that you have the ability."

"...I, I suppose."

Of course it's not like Horikita lacks the ability. But in her case, I'd like her to take a different path, I'd like her to develop her character as a leader. And in time, Hirata and Karuizawa will become partners to support Horikita. Eventually, Class D will come to have what can be considered a strong lineup, I went ahead and imagined such. Ultimately whether it ends up becoming that or not can be said to depend on Horikita's competency.

"You're like a manager of a sports team. Choosing which players to play and putting them in the best positions," Sudo stated.

"So that's the endgame, huh? It's a little predictable with all the videos shown previously. Of course, without these videos, it would be harder to guess, but that's just how these things work," Ryuuen shrugged.

"Those are some high expectations," Horikita muttered.

It felt like her sentence stopped abruptly. Like there was a silent 'but' that no one heard. Whether that unspoken statement was positive or negative, I can't say.

"My task currently is to make bonds with the students. If I were to make my plans the same as Ayanokouji's, this would be integral to turning our class into something more useful. A strong lineup can only be achieved if my competency is up to par... No, that's incorrect, plenty of that was due to Ayanokouji. My own competency uses the blueprints he's given me to make a stable structure. I'm the builder, not the architect who created the schematics," Horikita thought.

"Since it can't be helped then, I'll become your partner for you."

Of course, up until now she had been carrying out her tasks suitably but here once again, she confirms her commitment.

"If I follow you, I might get your favour."

"That...is something you're better off not expecting I think."

If I had to say, it's far more likely that she'll suffer damage.

"You may be marked as an enemy alongside me, you know."

"You mean, by the student council president?"

"He's the likeliest one."

Nagumo glanced at me. There was no expression on his face, so I can't really make out what he thinks of my statement.

"If I had no knowledge of these videos, Karuizawa would be a target, certainly. However, that's not the reality. With the knowledge I have now, there's no purpose to go after her. Besides, there's no purpose to do anything against Ayanokouji anymore, so going after Karuizawa, which was already meaningless, has now cemented itself as being such," Nagumo thought.

"Can't be helped, huh? I think you were pretty excited about it," Sato teased.

"I-I couldn't really decline after everything, right?" Kei tried to play it off.

"I mean, even if we make an enemy out of President Nagumo, if it's Kiyotaka you should be able to do something right?"

"As far as physical strength and academic quality is concerned, I'm sure I won't lose to him."

"As expected. Pretty good."

Karuizawa says that with a naughty grin.

"However, when it comes to a battle where the rules of this school are applied, there are no absolutes. If he uses something like a suicide bombing strategy with the use of a sacrifice, he may be able to deal out the defeat of expulsion against us".

"Suicide bombing strategy?"

"Is that what you have planned? Destroying yourself while also destroying him?" Sakayanagi asked, with a grin that made it seem like she thought it was a foolish idea.

"Not at all. Ruining everything for myself to take down someone else is an illogical move. Besides, if he sees through my strategy, I'll be punished and stripped of everything while he remains, see what I mean?" Nagumo replied.

"I agree. It would be a foolish plan when it comes to him. And if you don't want to ruin your own well-being, there's simply no reason to do it," Sakayanagi agreed.

"You guys are thinking of extremes, aren't you? Expulsions of both the president and Ayanokouji is what you have in mind, right?" Ryuuen chuckled.

"I wouldn't really consider an expulsion in such an idea extreme. If it's a sacrificial strategy, he should lose everything, right?" Sakayanagi retorted.

"I suppose so, but it's the type of sacrifice that matters here. A career suicide means that you lose your job and status, but you haven't necessarily lost everything. A sacrifice of the student council position could be one, all the private points he possesses could be another. If you look at too many extremes, an alternate move could be played," Ryuuen responded logically.

"What type of situation would even allow for only one thing to be lost? Unless it's something both parties agree upon, I doubt such an idea could happen. If you intend to forsake your own standing to take down someone else, can you really say that only part of you will come out scathed?" Sakayanagi retorted once again.

"You act like it's a guarantee," Ryuuen chuckled.

"To successfully do such a thing, I think it needs to be," Sakayanagi resolutely stated.

"It seems I can't change your opinion. Your brain is too thick for my words to get through," Ryuuen shrugged with a smug grin.

"I see. You've lost the argument, and then insult the opponent. The loser position," Sakayanagi sighed.

"Well, you can think of it as an extension of the incident where Sudou quarreled with Ishizaki and the others from Class C. If they had been in cahoots with the student council president who presided over as the judge, the outcome would have been massively different."

And besides, if it had been elevated from a simple incident of violence, expulsion might have occurred.

"Umm, I don't really get it. That incident, I wasn't interested in it at all so."

"...I see. Then please don't mind it. In any case, regardless of its desirability, 'expelling someone' in itself is a relatively simple task."

Provided you were willing to sacrifice what you needed to make that happen.

"I see. So using his pawns to make such a thing happen. Using false promises such as 'do this for me, I'll make sure you'll be fine' would be enough to do such a thing. It's relatively simple, as you said," Yagami surmised.

I also doubt the students would go against the student council president either.

"So it means if he no longer cares about keeping up pretenses, Kiyotaka would also be in danger then."

For now since she had arrived at a correct answer I'll leave it at that.

"That's what it means."

No matter how much you tighten your security, there is always a way to break through. Just like that, the enemy's attack, too, cannot be blocked with a 100% certainty. The things needed to block this attack even a little are sagacity and a cooperator.

"Easier said than done, unfortunately," Kanzaki claimed.

He's right. It isn't necessarily possible to predict an attack if you don't know what type it is. The best you can do is analyse the person who is going to attack and act inconspicuously.

"If it comes down to that, I'll save you."

"What a heartening partner."

"Do you genuinely mean that?"

"Yeah."

"I-I see. More importantly Kiyotaka, what kind of middle school student were you? There's absolutely no way you were normal."

"I may just be your average run-of-the-mill middle school student, you know."

"I doubt any sane person could believe that. Well, it isn't like you're trying to make her believe that, you're just dodging the question," Yagami thought.

"Yeah. You're definitely run-of-the-mill. Nothing weird about you, senpai," Amasawa giggled.

"No way, no way. If someone like you were normal, the whole world's definition of normal will be overturned."

Karuizawa swung her hands intensely from left to right while completely denying it.

"You're smart and strong in fights too, but normally you're very quiet. There are places where you can be a little naive about the world. And honestly, what you're doing is messed up."

"Then, from your perspective, what kind of middle school student do you think I was?"

"I'm asking you that because I don't know."

As if complaining, she pouts.

"A hypothesis will do."

Since I had come to feel like asking, I tried asking her.

"Uuuu~mmm..."

Perhaps she had no immediate answer to give, but Karuizawa crossed her arms and tilted her head.

"If this were a manga, I'd say you are an agent who was raised strictly in a facility ever since childhood, or something along those lines. I don't know, I cannot think of anything else except that."

Gazing in a far off direction, Karuizawa answered with an accuracy that was beyond imagination.

"I guess the best answer would be something that a normal person wouldn't dream of," Yagami looked a little surprised.

The White Room isn't a place the average person could believe exists. The average person could understand that many horrible things happen all around the world, but that's more so in a general sense. Going into the specifics would make them think that the White Room is just a fictional setting. A place to create genius' is probably what some thriller writers would make up, is what they would think of it.

"It seems you have a world-class detective in your midst," Sakayanagi giggled.

"Kiyotaka, I can't tell if I'm being made fun of or not," Kei mumbled.

"Neither do I," I sighed.

"Ahh mou I don't know. I give up. What's the correct answer?"

"That's a secret."

"Uwa--. After asking someone all that, to think you won't even tell me."

"I never said I'd answer in the first place."

"One day, I will absolutely make you tell me."

"It won't be anything interesting so don't keep your hopes up."

"Well, that promise is dead and buried," Kei grumbled.

It's true that my explaining the White Room to her can't be achieved now as she already knows what it is in a general sense. However, she doesn't know the specifics, so the promise isn't fully buried.

"Ahh, it's started snowing."

"..."

Karuizawa didn't seem to be listening to my words. It was only lightly, but it had begun snowing. From midnight until morning, it seems snow's going to accumulate again. After staring up at the sky, once I had returned my gaze to Karuizawa, Karuizawa was staring intently at me.

"...speaking of which, Satou-san gave it to you right? Christmas present."

"I wonder."

"It's useless even if you lie. Could it be, you realized that from the moment we met up?"

From spending time with me for too long, she seems to be gaining more trust from me than necessary. The time I met up with Satou, from the corner the wrapping paper had been sticking out. On a day like this, without any meaning, one wouldn't carry around a present for someone else prior to the date. In all probability, it was something prepared for me, I had felt that.

Probably, if her confession had succeeded, she intended to hand it over to me then.

"My plans were predicted again," Sato sighed.

She didn't seem to be down about anything anymore, rather, she seemed to go back to her upbeat attitude. Whether that's just a farce or an honest reflection of her feelings isn't something I know.

"How does it feel to have missed that?"

She asked me teasingly but I don't really feel any shock over that.

"Since it's you, you probably haven't been given presents by anyone before right?"

Saying that and without looking me in the eyes, Karuizawa presented me with a small bag. What is this? But asking her that would be too thoughtless.

"It's a Christmas present from me. Gratefully accept it."

"Is it really fine? If I accept it."

"I'm comforting you for not being able to get into a relationship, something like that I guess. Ahh, in return paying me back twice that amount should be fine".

"...that's almost as if you're swindling me."

"You're getting scammed and can't do anything about it. How the mighty have fallen," Ryuuen chuckled.

"There's always a hidden cost, don't you know that?" Kei giggled.

"It wasn't really hidden if you're telling it to me," I replied.

"Then... I don't know. Too much effort to think of one," Kei grumbled.

Just by accepting it, my loss was determined.

"Did you buy it for me?"

"Obviously not. Formally at the very least, Yousuke-kun and I are dating right? That's why at least on the surface, I prepared it for him. I went shopping with the girls who genuinely intended on handing over their Christmas presents and so I made good use of it."

"You don't make any oversights, do you?"

In preparation for her date with Hirata, she bought Hirata a present. No matter how anyone looks at it, there's no doubting the relationship between those two.

"Then wouldn't it have been perfect if you had handed it over to Hirata?"

"...that's right. Normally that would be true."

Slurring her words, Karuizawa cut in.

"Hey Kiyotaka, since we were on the topic of Yousuke-kun I'm sorry but...".

"Hmm?"

"If I happened to...break up with Yousuke-kun...will I no longer be useful?"

She cut in with that.

"So you were right with your prediction," Horikita surmised.

I originally believed that this was Kei's parasitic nature, but that isn't the case. It could be due to her enjoying the nature of what I asked her to do, or maybe it was due to her wanting to stay with me. I can't fully understand, but the circumstances of these words aren't the same as I remember them.

"Is that the reason why you didn't hand over your present to Hirata?"

"That's, right. Is it unfair of me to be saying this after things didn't work out with Satou-san?"

The thought that I might find Satou more valuable than Karuizawa, that is what Karuizawa is terrified of.

But I cannot say that there is no risk in breaking up with Hirata, not even as lip service. It's obvious that this is an action that would lower the value of the existence known as Karuizawa Kei.

However, this is no longer the case. Even if her value were to decrease, it is now within the range of acceptability.

"You were right. My standing didn't really decrease after all that," Kei mumbled to me.

The students all grew silent as they listened in. This was more personal, so that's why they would do such a thing is my guess.

"You are no longer the old Karuizawa. Even without the existence known as Hirata, there should be no change from your current status. Nothing will change."

"But, me breaking up with Yousuke-kun, was something you didn't think of right?"

The anxieties Karuizawa held, were by no means trivial. In response to that, I continued speaking.

"If Karuizawa's value lied in the continuation of the relationship with Hirata, I would have told you a long time ago to continue your relationship. The fact that I didn't do so is my answer."

If it's Karuizawa and no one else, this statement should have the greatest persuasive power. It's only because she's seen the way I think from up close that she understood the fact that I don't make small mistakes like this.

"That's certainly a way to convince her," Matsushita commented.

If Hirata Yousuke happened to be an indispensable piece to me, it was obvious that I would have given the order to protect that. It's just, strictly speaking that wasn't the truth. I had already assumed that Karuizawa would want to break up with Hirata, or more like, I had induced her into wanting it.

Simultaneously both prompting her to be able to act autonomously even after losing Hirata as well as making her switch her parasitic destination over to me was my goal.

In other words, everything so far is going according to plan. Although I did not expect her to barge in on my date with Satou, as a result I was able to connect with Karuizawa even more strongly than before.

This was an inaccurate statement, once again. Kei hadn't switched the person she latched on to, it was more so that she had switched to neither. She stepped away from both to live on her own.

If I had to make a hypothesis, I had indeed induced her into wanting to step away from Yosuke, however, while the end result was the same, the way she got there was different. During the rooftop, one end result went awry, so many more did as well. It's as if a domino in a chain fell in the incorrect spot, so the whole line was now broken.

"In a way, it did go according to plan. Although more sloppy and unorganised than expected, this end result is close to what you hoped for. Even when you fail, it isn't a complete waste. There's something valuable that can still be gained," Manabu thought.

"I-I see...the truth is, I've already been talking about this with Yousuke-kun. Since we're both only in a fake relationship, dragging this out further is no good, like that. I was hesitating."

Saying that, she continued on.

"And besides, the role of Yousuke-kun's girlfriend was something that did promise me influence, but for what it's worth, there was also a pressure or something like that which strongly affected me."

Now that the surroundings have stabilized, she wishes to put down that load. Karuizawa declares that. I ignored that cute lie of hers. I don't have much a problem with it, but looking at it from Karuizawa's perspective this is a mistake. If I were in Karuizawa's shoes, just in case, I would have left behind insurance. Thinking ahead in the case that I am no longer useful to her, keep Hirata. And in the case that Hirata is no longer useful, keep me. That would have been ideal. Looking before you leap. She had that right to adopt such a strategy.

"You sound creepy when you think stuff like that," Kei teased.

"Doing both seems like it would be too complicated, no?" Katsuragi questioned.

"There's also the bonus of potentially losing both," Ryuuen added.

Indeed. Losing both to carelessness would be the worst possible outcome. The reason Kei believes that it isn't worth it is probably due to that.

Karuizawa also understands that. If even so, she rejects such an insurance, that is also fine. Carrying around all those strategies will also require that much stamina in return, that is also a fact.

If from a small open seam she happens to lose both at the same time, the shock of that time would be more than double. She can simply construct a strategy befitting her stature.

"I'm sure everyone in the class will be surprised when the 3rd semester starts."

"I suppose that's true."

Hirata and Karuizawa are a big couple who are famous even outside of our class. In particular with regards to Hirata, even on that very day a new girlfriend candidate would appear.

"The only thing I remember is Haruki being a dick," Sudo reminisced.

Even Sudo could understand that Yamauchi's words at the time were heartless. Of course, Yosuke probably didn't care, but to an outsider, he was being insensitive to a person who had just got broken up with.

"I didn't really get offended by it or anything," Yosuke told Sudo.

"Yeah, the breakup was fake, I guess. But he still thought it was real, so it isn't that good," Sudo shrugged.

"Even if you exclude him, it was still a big shock," Sato stated.

From Sato's perspective, Kei and Yosuke were the ideal. The couple that could never break apart. That was the impression they gave to Sato, so it must have been surprising for her.

"That guy, do you think he'll go out with someone else?"

"Even if you ask me that, I don't know Yousu...no, it's not like I know Hirata-kun that well either. But in some places, like Kiyotaka, he can be cool. As long as he's pretending to go out with me, he won't be able to date another girl too, and he might not even be that interested in romance."

"Even though you're going back to calling him Hirata, you're still calling me like this?"

"Ahh...I see. Is it better if I change it back?"

Karuizawa seemed dissatisfied as she looked up.

"That's not what I meant. You're free to call me whatever you like."

Even in our current group, we are not exactly on a first name basis yet but sometimes we do address each other by our first names.

Kei could also understand that Yosuke probably didn't desire romance. It was quite apparent considering her relationship with him, but not at all to the outsiders. Especially Mii-chan, who did her best for a long time. By now, I wonder if she's given up on such a thing. It seems like the logical thing to do, but I can't say.

"This might be a good opportunity."

I stopped, and turned back to look at Karuizawa who was walking slightly behind me.

"I'll also just be calling you 'Kei' then."

"Tauwa!"

"...tauwa?"

"N-n-n-n-nothing! Why is Kiyotaka also calling me by my first name?"

"If one side uses the surname and the other side uses the first name, it wouldn't feel right."

"So you were able to call her by her first name this entire time?" Ike exclaimed.

It was probably a shock to them, but a little bit of thinking would make it clear why. Making our relationship closer than it seems since the beginning would raise too many questions and be problematic. That's the sole reason why I hadn't addressed Kei by her first name. Although that restriction doesn't reasoning is sort of pointless as of today.

I couldn't quite grasp the sense of distance between the two of us, it's easy to get the image that's not in focus. If Kei wishes to call me by my first name, then doing the same for her is also natural.

But even if I say that, in regards to our surroundings, the relationship between Ayanokouji and Karuizawa is still as it always has been. That is something that is ubiquitous and unchanged.

"By the way...just to get things straight. The original proposer that set up the double date was not you, but Satou right?"

"W-What's that supposed to mean, set up?"

Saying that, she tried to deceive me but I could see her impatience at me having suddenly hit the bull's eye.

"Your acting was pretty much spot on but here and there, Satou's actions were strange you see."

"Ahh--...as I thought you realized it? I also thought Satou-san was being suspicious."

It seems Kei too, had something to say about Satou's acting. I put my hand into my pocket. I remembered that I had put a small paper bag in it.

I could've guessed the idea that a double date happened, and even if I didn't see them on that day, it was still fairly obvious.

"Most people could guess that, if I had to assume," Matsushita pointed out.

Many people seemed to agree with her.

"That's right. I also have a Christmas present for you."

"Ehh? No kidding?"

"I lied."

"Huh? You want to get beaten up?"

"More precisely, it's just a normal present. I think it may be an unnecessary product for you, but."

I brought out the paper bag from inside my coat and handed it over to Kei.

"...wait, what's up with that pharmacy bag? Are you mocking me?"

Even as she said that she checked the contents, and peeled off the cellophane tape.

What came out of it was neither a flashy accessory or a cute stuffed toy.

"Cold medicines and a receipt...?"

"I can't tell if that's nice or a joke," Horikita questioned.

"What a great gift giver. What's next? Some aspirin? Maybe you'll even throw in some eyedrops for good measure," Ryuuen chuckled.

I wouldn't mind some aspirin in the winter. It could help soothe some pains or aches. Although I probably shouldn't tell Ryuuen that, he'd call me boring or weird for agreeing to such a thing.

"Don't mind the receipt, please throw it away."

"Hey, this receipt has 10:55 am on the 23rd written on it though..."

Even though I told her not to mind it, Kei turned her gaze towards it.

"On my way back after buying it, I saw you and Satou together at Keyaki Mall. That's how I realized that the double date was a set up from a relatively early stage. I had thought your health would have deteriorated, but it seems that prediction was spectacularly off the mark."

"So...that means the reason you didn't call me out of worry was..."

"You weren't wearing a mask either, even from a distance I could see that you were healthy."

Some were surprised, others didn't care. From Kei's perspective, this would be something that would alleviate some annoyance and grievances she would have with me.

"I-If you're this worried about me...instead of doing things in a roundabout way like this, do things like visiting me earlier or at least giving me a call. You could have confirmed it that way."

"In such a conspicuous dorm, I can't afford to directly visit your room. Contacting you via phone would be an effective means of doing so, but I also took into account that you'd act tough in that case. Because you hate showing your weakness after all."

"B-but then as a result, wouldn't it mean you've wasted money on the cold medicine."

"If it's just the cost of the cold medicine it's pretty cheap. I can also use it on a different occasion as well."

"That...might be the case...I seem like such an idiot now for thinking you weren't worried about me at all and holding a grudge."

Saying that, Karuizawa hung her head.

"Well, I wouldn't think he could be kind or compassionate, so I'm not surprised that you didn't expect something like that," Ryuuen shrugged.

"You analyse me too well," Kei mumbled.

"Is that a bad thing?" I asked.

"I can rarely pull one over on you. Whether it be a surprise or anything else," Kei complained.

"I'll try not to analyse you..." I stated in confusion.

I didn't really know what to say.

"I was also hugely involved in that incident on the rooftop. I did something inhuman to the point I cannot complain even if you were to beat me up. Even though it's the next day, if I contacted you unnecessarily, I had thought it would place a burden on your mind and body and that is why I avoided you. It seems like that too, was an unnecessary concern."

Far from me having to make contact, to think it would be Karuizawa who would draw close to me.

"I failed to properly read the strength of your heart."

"T-That's right. Don't underestimate me."

"Towards that Karuizawa with such a strong heart, please allow me to confirm one thing again."

"What is it you want to confirm?"

"From now on too, as much as possible I'd like to avoid doing conspicuous things. But, depending on the situation, I may have to move behind the scenes like I have up until now. At that time, just as you always have, please lend me your power."

"Isn't that what the partner conversation was about?" Horikita questioned.

"You seem to give me a lot of lip service, not that I'm complaining," Kei nodded in agreement with my previous thoughts.

"That, isn't it a little late to be saying that? Say it during the whole partner talk earlier."

"That's right I suppose."

After a brief silence, Karuizawa sighed once candidly.

"That's fine, I'll lend you a hand. In exchange, with all your power, protect me ok? If my relationship with Hirata-kun ends, various troublesome things might happen."

"Yeah, I promise."

Beyond the thick clouds, the sun started to set.

The two of us together, stared out at the sun that was no longer visible.

"How are you guys not blind? Even when it's blinded by the clouds or on the horizon, it's still bright," Ishizaki questioned.

"Wonderful question," Ryuuen replied.

"So do I get an answer?" Ishizaki looked confused.

"Nope," Ryuuen stated bluntly.

I don't get why Ryuuen would have the answer, but I guess Ishizaki would take anything.

"Christmas is also over, huh."

"If I recall...Christmas goes from the evening of the 24th until the evening of the 25th, was it?"

That is why lovers mostly spend time together from the night of the 24th until the evening of the 25th, it is said.

Because it can be considered the greatest bliss for lovers to welcome the moment the 25th starts together. However, in regards to the world, Christmas can be thought to hold slightly special circumstances. It is because the calendar of the church inherited from the Jewish calender determined it to range from the 24th of December until the 25th of December.

But there are almost no lovers who are aware of Judaism or the birth of Christ. It could be said that in modern times, it has been made into a trendy event by becoming a fad.

This year's Christmas, including the Eve, have been quite busy. Soon the 1st year will end.

"Let's go back, shall we?"

"Yeah"

I start walking. And then, with a slight delay, Kei also starts walking.

In this one year, looking back the one I've gotten the closest to may be Kei who's behind me. This is likely something Kei herself also feels. Before I realized it, she had sublimed into an essential existence for me. To call this friendship, might be being somewhat rude to Kei but...it's just, from now on, if I can aim for Class A and sever my connection with the student council, at that time we could be friends...no, I feel like it could change into something beyond that.

"Essential, hmm? I would like to hear more about that," Kei grinned with a proud expression.

"I'll tell you later," I sighed.

"Yes. Make a whole list, write it down and memorise it as well," Kei giggled.

"I'll try," I muttered.

The screen faded to black.

Now that this video was over, I went back to class and then went home without any problems.

However, there were other people who had many problems.

What happens to them, it will be determined soon.

Nagumo POV:

I had walked to the student council room, staring at the big oak door.

"Let's get this over with," I muttered to myself as I opened it.

I walked in and found an empty room.

The student council don't necessarily convene every day. And even if they did, I would have just turned them all away for the time being.

I walked down the room and went to my chair, waiting for him to show up. I had messaged him to come here, but I hope it's not too long.

"What a pain," I sighed.

The vice president turned traitor? The school's bound to be talking about it for a while. And my actions today would probably be talked about just as much.

Without a moment's notice, the oak door crept open slowly and the person in question walked in.

"Why are you standing there? Come take your seat," I pointed to his designated spot.

He walked there without looking at me even once. Like a meek animal, he followed what I said.

So that's his angle. I can see why.

The room was quiet. The distance between Kiriyama and I wasn't long, not at all, but to him, it probably feels like we were worlds apart.

"Don't you have anything to say, vice-president? Think of this as your defence," I turned in my chair and faced him directly.

Like a robot, he stood up from his seat and bowed deeply.

"I-I'm sorry, president. I promise to you that I will never continue such a thing. The actions I made were done out of ego and anger, they weren't a genuine representation of my feelings," Kiriyama exclaimed.

The coward's approach. You see it time and time again. The ones at the bottom get caught and start apologising profusely to those who have power over them. Like a criminal taking a plea deal and pleading guilty, trying to give themselves a less harsh punishment.

"I don't think that's completely accurate. If they weren't a representation of your feelings, then do you not consider anger a feeling? Unless you mean that anger was fake, but what does that even mean?" I probed.

He had stopped bowing now and went back to his seat.

"N-no, that's not what I meant. I simply meant that it was a hasty decision. It was genuinely a mistake," Kiriyama looked flustered and stated so in the same fashion.

He probably still harbours those feelings of resentment, but that doesn't really matter. He'll say anything at this point to avoid punishment.

"It was hasty? But it seemed that you were quite cautious when you talked with Ayanokouji? And the only reason you went to them was because a trusted person recommended them. It isn't as if you took the first opportunity you saw," I continued to target him.

Kiriyama looked nervous again.

"I-i don't know what to say," Kiriyama sheepishly said.

There we go, now we're getting somewhere.

"Say your honest feelings. Don't give me this rehearsed superficial garbage that you've been thinking of for the last hour. I couldn't care less about how it was an accident, and that's because we both know that's a lie. Do you think governments are overthrown because of an accident? That seems idiotic to think, right? So please, speak truthfully," I sighed.

I wonder if he'll continue this farce, or steel himself. If he continues with the facade, I'll cut him down again. There's no other option here besides telling the truth.

Kiriyama went silent for a few seconds, but he spoke, albeit sheepishly.

"My defence, huh? I disagree with your ideology and regime. This dictatorship where you control everything and everyone while disregarding the rules is foolish to me. You've thrown away the things that Manabu-senpai cared about, and he's the reason you are where you are," Kiriyama spoke truthfully.

"Is that it?" I stared at him and spoke.

"I-i also went against you for my own interests. Taking you down was the best way to get to class A," Kiriyama grumbled.

"There it is. Now that the air is clear, we can both stop going on this moral high ground that neither of us care about. That's the end of your defence, correct?" I got up from my seat and walked to the front of the table.

I glanced at him, waiting for the response.

"Y-yes. That's it. I just want you to know that I will stop going after you from now on," Kiriyama added.

There was silence in the room.

My decision has been made.

"Alright then. I'll be off now," I began to walk to the exit.

"What? There's no punishment?" Kiriyama exclaimed.

"Kiriyama, I thought you knew me better than that. I only take down those who oppose me, you haven't opposed me for quite some time. I know this as you seem to be content with working for that ticket to class A, even if you lie to yourself and say that you'll take me down eventually. Do whatever you want, leave the council yourself, continue working for me. I don't care. You don't have the ability to go against me, nor the resources. That's the reality," I insulted.

"So I'm safe?" Kiriyama asked.

"If that's all you care about, sure. However, if you ever gain the resolve to go against me again, understand that expelling someone is quite straightforward in my position. Well, I'll be off now," I stated and walked out.

I didn't look back at him, but he probably had a sigh of relief mixed with some fear.

It's a psychological move. By giving him the same work and treating him the same way, he'll inwardly gain a sense of fear and helplessness. I've betrayed him and he still keeps me around, am I just that worthless? Is something I imagine he would be thinking.

In all honesty, out of the many third years, he's plenty boring and while his abilities are good on paper, he isn't exceptional in the other types of thinking. His personality and nature is another thing. There's no chance that he would go against me.

Even if I don't expel him, he's passed the point of no return.

Oneshot: Shower Thoughts

Horikita POV:

I was on my daily run when I found Ayanokouji sitting on a bench.

He was wearing his usual winter trenchcoat. His brown hair looked as dull as ever, and his eyes stared off into the distance.

Does he sleep with his eyes open, or is he thinking about something?

"Ayanokouji, what are you doing?" I asked him as I stopped in front of him to catch my breath.

"Oh, Horikita. I have something important I need to ask you," Ayanokouji said while looking up at me.

I nodded.

In all honesty, I was waiting for his answer in complete nervousness. It's rare for him to be so blunt about such a thing.

Whatever it must be, it is sure to be important.

"What's your opinion on using fish as a system of value?" Ayanokouji said nonchalantly.

What?

What?

What?

"What?" I said my thoughts outloud.

"I know it's sudden, so I'll give you a moment to recollect your thoughts," Ayanokouji said.

Fish as a system of value? It seems like such an insanely stupid idea. How do fish work like that anyway?

"In all honesty, I'm very confused. My first thought was that what you said is stupid," I answered honestly.

Ayanokouji nodded, "Do you want to know what I'm thinking about?"

I wont lie, I was deeply curious.

I sat down next to him and waited for him to speak.

He began, "Okay, so look at it like this. If given a choice to save one human life and one fish life, most people would choose the person's life, correct?"

"Obviously."

"Right. But if given the choice between saving one person's life and saving every fish on the planet's life, everyone would pick the fish," He said calmly.

"Okay...?" I didn't know where he was going with this.

"Therefore, every individual human being has a certain amount of fish that their life is worth. Now to continue on with this, let's say that each fish was the same weight, species, and everything else. This also means that the price would be the same for all fish," Ayanokouji explained.

"So if you were able to find how much each fish is worth then convert it into money, you would find how much a person is worth," I finished off for him.

"Correct."

"Ayanokouji, what made you come to this conclusion?" I had to ask.

"I had sushi for dinner yesterday, then went into the shower and thought of it there," Ayanokouji shrugged.

Many people think of such random and weird things in the shower. It's due to the fact that a person has no direct train of thought since all they are doing is showering, this allows their thoughts to wander and be free.

"Ayanokouji, I have to say that although I am concerned, I can't necessarily find a way to refute your logic," I answered.

"Thank you. All I wanted was a second opinion," He nodded.

It seems that the random conversation we were having has concluded.

"Well then, I'll be going now," I told him.

"Alright. I'm starting to get cold as well."

Ayanokouji got up and began walking away in the opposite direction.

"Ayanokouji," I called out to him.

He slightly turned his head, "What?"

"Why were you doing this when it's this cold?" I couldn't understand why.

He turned around and looked me straight in the eye, "I think better in the cold."

I guess I got an answer.

"I'll be going now," He said and continued walking away again.

Out of every conversation I've had with him, this is by far one of the most memorable.

Kei POV:

"Kiyotaka, whatcha thinking about?" I asked him while taking a bite of the pizza he had ordered.

He was blankly staring at his pizza slice and hadn't said a word for over 2 minutes. Does he sleep with his eyes open?

"What do you think constitutes a pizza?" He asked while staring directly into my eyes.

Huh?

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" I asked.

"What are the key components that constitute a pizza?" He said once again.

"Uh... bread, sauce and cheese, I think," I blurted out.

"Okay, think about it like this. You can make pizzas out of multiple types of bread, but what about something like a biscuit? A cookie? If I put sauce and cheese on a biscuit, bake it, is it a pizza?"

This was a genuine thought from him... He wasn't joking at all.

"I guess so..." I said.

"Right. So doesn't that mean that the only key parts of a pizza are the sauce and the cheese? This means that anything could be a base and anything could turn into a pizza if you bake it," He said.

"I don't think that's how it works..." I couldn't contain my shock.

"Why not? Who said that pizza needs bread to constitute as a pizza?"

"Are you really trying to say that something like pizza is a social construct?" I said a little louder.

"Yes. That's exactly what I'm getting at. Pizza is an interchangeable dish that can be made with multiple bases. What's stopping me from getting some potato chips and making a pizza out of them?" He pointed out.

"Kiyotaka, did you smoke something before I got into this room?" I asked.

"What? No. It's illegal here anyway. Also, how would I get something like that anyway? These are my genuine thoughts," Kiyotaka defended his opinion.

This guy... he's really trying to say that pizza is nothing but something but a societal construct.

"Kiyotaka, want some advice about your food thoughts?" I told him calmly.

He turned almost as quickly as a rabbit, "Sure. What is it?"

"If you ever meet an Italian, never speak a word about what happened today," I told him.

Author's notes:

Random oneshot idea I thought of when watching random youtube videos.

A Bet With Added Paranoia

Walking into the auditorium, I saw Kiriyama there, looking like he always does. Nothing had changed, he didn't get an expulsion. It seems that he didn't even get a suspension, how odd.

There was no change in the status quo, which proves the suspicions I had. Nagumo simply doesn't care. At first, I believed this was just about fighting me, but his statements only began to grow more devoid of passion. It was clear that he had resigned himself to graduating in class A without a grand battle, but there was still a possibility it could have been an act, but since Kiriyama is still here, it means that my suspicions were true.

While Kiriyama could have gotten penalties I may not know about, the possibility is unlikely considering he went against Nagumo. If it was a Nagumo who was still boastful and full of ambition, I believe that he would show no mercy to Kiriyama.

Like a king without ambition to conquer, that's who he now was.

I was the person who led him to this, I understand that.

"Welcome back, all. This video takes place during the mixed training camp that happened right after winter break. The students were tasked to create a group, this takes place just after Ayanokouji had formed his. Enjoy."

I see, if I remember correctly, Nagumo had a proposal to make.

I also wonder if... No, just thinking about it is annoying.

And with that, my group was also determined.

From Class C there's "Kouenji", "Keisei" and "me". The three of us.

From Class B there's "Sumida", "Moriyama" and "Tokitou". The three of them.

From Class A there's "Yahiko" and "Hashimoto". The two of them.

And then from Class D there's "Ishizaki" and "Albert". The two of them.

10 people in total.

It's clearly unlike the four groups composed mainly of students from one's own class. Still, I suppose that other group Akito's in charge of is the same.

"It's funny that you're grouped with people who probably piss their pants when they see you. Well, one of them at least," Hosen chuckled.

"Is that weird? Who wouldn't be?" Ishizaki stated bluntly.

Weirdly enough, Ishizaki took Hosen's insult in stride and chose to pick it apart.

"Yeah, that's true. Your leader that apparently never felt fear was pissing himself too," Hosen insulted.

"It doesn't mean a lot from a person who's never experienced it," Ryuuen retorted.

"I'm not opposed to it, get that through your head," Hosen pointed to his head and stated.

"Doesn't change what I said. Big talk coming from a person who never had to face it," Ryuuen shrugged.

Two people that can be so similar at times, but also seem to despise each other.

However, there's still a problem with this group I've ended up joining. That is the fact that we still have yet to choose our leader.

I don't think we have any leader type students to actively seek out the title of leader in our group.

Since there isn't anyone here to take the initiative and guide us to a consensus, our group was overcome by an atmosphere of being unable to say anything.

Either way, we first have to report to the school that we've formed our group. We can afford to appoint our leader afterward. As the sixth group, the 10 of us headed over to make our report.

"What an odd group. It just seems like all the notable people are those who would rather work alone," Horikita commented.

"It's a coincidence, I suppose. But rather than all of them working alone, it's a split between those who can't do anything without orders and those who wish to work alone," Sakayanagi analysed.

Oddly enough, Hashimoto is someone who she may consider the former, but in reality, is the latter. Whether she knows such a thing is unknown, but his machinations may be shown soon.

"The people who wish to work alone are getting too much credit. They're probably just can't work with others," Ryuuen commented bluntly.

Some people looked at him with confused faces, the reason for this I believe is that they thought that not being able to cooperate and wanting to work alone are the same thing.

While some believe that they're the same thing, there's certainly a difference, even if it may be thin. The one who can't cooperate with others doesn't have the knowledge, resources or willpower to do so, while the one who wish to work alone have the ability to do so, but don't.

It's like the difference between an animal in a pack that can live without them and an animal who can't live without the pack. The former is self-sufficient and has the ability to survive without needing aid from those around them, while the latter animal has no choice. If the animal that can't live without the pack was unable to cooperate, they're essentially isolated and stranded.

"We managed to avoid Ryuuen but it's still doubtful whether or not we'll get a good average score with this group."

Anxious words from Keisei. To be honest, I can't tell how good the students from classes other than C are. Personally speaking, I'd have liked to avoid being in a group with Ishizaki and Albert but it can't be helped now.

Ishizaki blatantly averted his eyes to avoid having to look at me but the others probably won't be able to tell anything from just that.

They'd only get the impression that he thinks nothing of me.

"How odd that he went from that to what seems like a fanboy," Hashimoto chuckled.

"Kouenji's also going to be a problem."

There's nothing to criticize about his academic and physical abilities as long as he does it seriously but that's only 'if he does it seriously'.

"Why would I possibly do that? I'm going to be incredibly disappointed if you think that was possible with your doing," Koenji stated with a cocky smirk.

He's practically been invisible during most of these videos, occasionally chiming in with a comment.

I suppose I can't be surprised that he only talks when the topic is about him.

"You think you're uncontrollable?" Yagami asked curiously.

"Of course. If I was able to be controlled to take things seriously, this class would be brought to the top a long time ago," Koenji claimed boastfully.

A bold claim, indeed, but not one that's impossible to be brought into reality. Koenji is too much of a wild card, I can't analyse him, I can't understand how his mind functions. Ryuuen, Sakayanagi, and even Horikita to an extent are conductors controlling the rails and movements of the trains, but Koenji does not move along to anyone's commands.

His abilities aren't anything to scoff at. In terms of academic intelligence or physical abilities, he's several cuts above the rest, but his real strength is his derailing nature.

"Bold claim. Let's see if you could back that up," Ryuuen challenged.

"No need to. Inferior people may think of this as cowardly, but their views don't matter to me. I know that all others in this place are inferior, that's the reality. Making delusional people see reality is far too menial," Koenji boasted.

"I'm surprised your ego could fit in this room," Ryuuen insulted.

Koenji promptly ignored Ryuuen's provocation.

He probably believes that there is no one in this school on his level, that's the reality that's embedded in his mind. The only way to change that is for someone to make his reality contradict his results.

"Even Kouenji won't do something that'd lead to a loss, would he? Because if we drag him down with us, it's over for him after all."

I do feel like he'd noncommittally score above the average though. The only thing certain about him is that he isn't the type to let us factor him into our calculations.

There's no predicting what'll happen if Kouenji doesn't show signs of being motivated. After giving our report, I realized that the group centered around Class A had stayed behind, despite the fact that they should've already gone outside.

At first, I thought it was so that they could see the formation of the other five groups but apparently that doesn't seem to be the case. Because 2nd year and 3rd year students also appear to be present.

Most importantly, Nagumo Miyabi, the student council president who dominates the 2nd years, is also present.

He confirmed that the 1st years have all finished forming their groups quickly and then he addressed us.

"Perhaps something other than two buffoons arguing will be the most interesting part of today," Sakayanagi offhandedly commented.

"So you did find it interesting," Ryuuen pointed out.

"It's the interesting one receives when they see a car crash. A bad thing, but you're curious to see how it ends," Sakayanagi replied.

"I thought you'd take a bit more time but this is surprisingly fast."

It appears the 2nd and 3rd years too, have finished forming their small groups.

"I have a proposal to make to you 1st years. Why don't we form the large groups right away?"

"Nagumo-senpai, isn't that supposed to take place tonight?"

"That's because the school didn't think you'd be able to form your small groups right away. Coincidentally, all the school years have just finished forming their small groups. It's best if we get a move on, right?"

Apparently the teachers hadn't expected things to turn out this way either. Sensing that steps are being taken to form the large groups, the teachers started to move in a hurry.

Since the student council president himself made that proposal, there's no way the other students would refuse to do so either.

"It's odd for the school to make such a miscalculation. Why did such a thing happen?" Chairman Sakayanagi asked.

He looked at the teachers present during that exam, waiting for a response. He didn't look like a stern man trying to find faults, but a curious one.

"It's always unpredictable every year how students will act. Setting the night as the time for the large groups is a good general baseline. It's more common for small groups to be done faster rather than later, so by the night they should all be done. That time was just an outlier," Mashima explained calmly.

"That makes sense. Perhaps I'm just reading too much into it," Chairman Sakayanagi sighed.

It's probably in his nature to care about such things. Being the chairman of such a place would need a critical eye, even the slightest mistake could lead to trouble.

"Horikita-senpai, you don't mind, do you?"

"Sure. That'd be convenient for us too."

After that brief back-and-forth, discussions were held with Nagumo at their center.

"What to do? Don't you think it'd be interesting to decide things based on something like a draft? Six representatives from among the 1st years play rock-paper-scissors and decide the order. Based on that order, they'll pick the 2nd and 3rd year small groups and just like that, the large groups will form. It'd be quick and impartial."

"The 1st years don't know much. Doesn't sound that impartial."

"It's impossible to decide impartially. In the end, there is a difference between the amount of information we each possess."

A brief, yet important back-and-forth between Nagumo and the older Horikita. There's no way any 1st year would interrupt.

"What about you, 1st years? If you have any complaints about this method then please speak up."

"Like they could say shit," Hosen commented.

"It worked, so it doesn't really matter," Nagumo shrugged.

"How honest," Ryuuen looked over at Nagumo.

"It was quite obvious, so there's no need to lie," Nagumo disinterestedly stated.

"No need to lie, huh? Since you're in such an honest mood, then answer this for me. Why do you like keeping cancers around?" Ryuuen pointed to the so-called cancer.

The mood suddenly became tense, but even so, Nagumo looked unfazed.

"The appendix isn't something with much significance to the body. It's possible to live without it, but leaving it there won't harm you," Nagumo replied.

"The appendix isn't something that's actively tried to infect your organs, however," Ryuuen retorted.

Nagumo pondered for a while but continued.

"That's true. But there are times when a cancer is no longer harmful, but the cells can still remain. At that point, it's too much effort to take out the remaining cells since they are already in a remission," Nagumo stated.

I see, so Nagumo believes that it's too much work to remove Kiriyama since he doesn't pose a threat anymore.

"Too much effort? I didn't think the student council president who values hard work and results would complain about such a thing," Ryuuen chuckled wryly.

"Results are what matters, efforts come second. Don't you agree?" Nagumo questioned.

In a way, Nagumo was essentially stating that Kiriyama's results were supposed to be more valuable than his effort, but as his results were subpar, he isn't worth anything in Nagumo's eyes.

Nagumo said so, knowing they can't talk back to him.

"We have no complaints."

Class A's Matoba, representing the 1st years, answered with that.

"I see. Then let's get started right away."

Nagumo gave a smile and joined up with the small group he probably formed himself.

And then, the 2nd years and 3rd years split themselves up into six groups to make it easier to understand. Leaders from each of the five 1st year groups then stepped forward to discuss.

Watching them, Nagumo's expression turned gentle almost as though he were looking at a child.

"Now all that's left is that group over there."

Since our group has yet to choose a leader, no one took the initiative to go and play rock-paper-scissors. I lightly pushed Keisei's back while ensuring I wouldn't be noticed.

"Clearly your best strategy yet," Ryuuen joked.

"Wouldn't the obvious choice here be to just go for the student council president? That's the best odds, right? It seems like it would just be luck that decides the winner of the exam in that case," Utomiya asked speculatively.

"Talented people have certain problems. Besides, team chemistry may be the most important thing here rather than those with the best odds," Yagami answered.

"That doesn't really answer my question," Utomiya replied.

"I suppose it was only a partial answer. As I said, it may be better for people to go with those with who they have better camaraderie rather than individual skills. Essentially, luck isn't as big of a factor as it may seem, so this isn't a problem in any capacity, but still, I don't have the full context of how this exam functions, so perhaps I'm wrong," Yagami calmly explained.

Team chemistry against individual talent, it's almost a poetic representation of the two key figures in the exam.

For a moment, he made a skeptical face but Keisei resignedly raised his hand. The six representatives of the small groups assembled and forming a circle, they started playing rock-paper-scissors.

As a result, Keisei became fourth in line to select a senior student group. First in line is the Class A group led by Matoba. Second in line is the Class C group led by Hirata. Third in line is the Class D group led by Kaneda.

"You can discuss amongst yourselves which group you want to pick."

The groups to aim for when picking would either be the Nagumo Group that Nagumo, leader of the 2nd years' Class A and student council president, belongs to or the 3rd year group centered around the older Horikita.

However, if you're someone like Hirata, who's acquainted with a lot of people from outside his own school year, you may be able to discern capable groups that you wouldn't be able to otherwise discern at first glance.

"I see. So you were not far off," Utomiya stated.

Matoba's group, first in line, chose the 3rd year group that Horikita Manabu belongs to without any hesitation.

And with that done, Hirata, second in line, carefully observed the 11 remaining groups one by one. His choice wasn't the other group you'd aim for but rather, a 3rd year group whose members I'm not familiar with.

"Oi, Hirata. Is this really ok? Isn't that student council president's group better?"

It's understandable that Ike would interrupt like that.

"Yeah. I think this is fine. Talented people have their appeal but the problems they bring with them would be proportionately large too. Besides, the seniors from the group I chose aren't half bad either."

He confidently replied with that and nodded. If that's Hirata's decision then Ike too, didn't go any further.

"I suppose when your leaders says something so confidently, you can't really disagree," Hashimoto commented.

Or perhaps someone like Ike, who is not very high on the social ladder, doesn't have the ability to disagree.

This is probably the level of trust he's accumulated until this point. Then next up is the Class D group.

Kaneda consulted his classmates, or more like, he informed them of which group he's aiming to pick. There didn't seem to be any objections since he immediately picked.

"I'd like Gouda-senpai's group from the 2nd years."

Once again, Nagumo's group wasn't chosen and another group ended up being picked.

"I wonder why they're avoiding Nagumo."

I muttered that simple question and from beside me, Akito answered.

"That's because other than Nagumo-senpai, the other members are of a questionable sort."

"Is that so?"

"It's weird for the president to do so then. Wouldn't a team full of well-respected people be better?" Matsushita analysed.

"I suppose it doesn't really matter since Nagumo-senpai has full control of his year level," Horikita answered Matsushita's claims.

All students understand this about Nagumo now. They understand how far his domain expands, but they still don't get the reasoning for every move he makes.

"Well it's not like they're all questionable but there are a lot of Class Cs and Class Ds there. The group with a lot of 2nd year Class As is the one Kaneda picked."

In other words, it's not like Kaneda avoided Nagumo for no reason at all. On the contrary, it would mean he chose strong and reliable allies.

But what's curious is why Nagumo didn't form a Class A majority group. Of course, I do know that Nagumo controls the entirety of the 2nd years but still, bringing his class together in one group should be far safer for this exam.

And then Keisei, fourth in line, got his turn.

"Are you okay with me picking?"

Keisei asks the group a simple question.

"I don't really mind. There's no telling either way."

Ishizaki and Class D by extension, seem to be fine with leaving it up to Keisei. Class A too, didn't really have any opinion in particular. Class B, yet to voice their opinion, decided after thinking it over.

"Please choose Nagumo-senpai's group."

"I suppose that was inevitable," Sakayanagi giggled.

"How funny that this happened right after that little incident during your winter break," Ryuuen pointed out.

I was given a chance to observe Nagumo closely, so it wasn't all bad.

"The high evaluation most likely comes from the presence of Nagumo. That itself probably overrides all the negatives for some people," Yagami analysed.

The students in my group probably saw Nagumo as being a person who could make up for all the deficits that his partners possess all on his lonesome. High expectations, but in his position, it may as well be common.

Their members seem to be mainly Class Cs and Class Ds but their high evaluation probably comes from the student council president himself being a part of it.

Having received their opinion, Keisei picked the group Nagumo's in charge of.

Afterwards, the discussion continued and the second round of selections ended. Eventually, six large groups were successfully formed.

"Horikita-senpai, we coincidentally happen to be in different large groups. Shall we have a little competition?"

"I just remember that glasses over there seemed exhausted. How many times did you propose a battle?" Ryuuen casually asked.

"A fair amount. I feel like you would do the same in my position, right?" Nagumo questioned.

"Of course I would. I'd be bored out of my mind, and if there was only one guy to entertain me, I'd try and get his attention," Ryuuen admitted.

"That holds up, considering that's exactly what we've been saying for the past few months," Sakayanagi offhandedly stated.

"I've taken a backseat now. We get to see the amazing strategies that classify someone as a genius from now on. Aren't you excited?" Ryuuen stated with a cocky grin.

Of course he was being sarcastic, but Sakayanagi looked unfazed.

"About as joyful as one can feel," Sakayanagi stated in a bored tone.

Horikita gave a sharp look at Nagumo, who proposed that. On the other hand, I could hear exasperated sighs coming from the surrounding 3rd years.

Prior to the special exam, Fujimaki of the 3rd years stepped forward as though to complain. I recognized him from the sports festival a while back as a considerably articulate student.

"Nagumo. How many times has it been? Cut it out already."

"What do you mean by how many times, Fujimaki-senpai?"

"You've been challenging Horikita just like this but until now you've never really done anything. But this time around, it's a large scale special exam that involves the 1st years too. We cannot afford to let you act as though this is your personal playground."

"Why is that? There's no such thing as a 1st year or a 3rd year in this school, it's not really strange no matter who challenges who. It's not considered taboo in the special exam's rule book either."

"I suppose tact and ethics are the things that are at conflict here. It may be allowed, but some people may think that there are things that you shouldn't do no matter what," Kanzaki examined.

"Who cares? If everyone followed the rules and ethical requirements at every moment, things get boring," Amasawa grumbled as if she was tired of hearing about this.

I'm sure many people who don't want to get caught in the crossfire would care, but I doubt she cares about that.

"Excitement is all that matters to her, huh? I can't say that I expected any different," Yagami thought.

Rather than cower before Fujimaki, who possesses a large physique, Nagumo continued to provoke them.

"We're talking about basic manners here. Even if it's not expressly written, there are things you should and shouldn't do. That much is obvious."

"I don't really think that's the case though. On the contrary, you seniors who seem to only desire infighting within the same school year are the ones hindering the growth of the students enrolled here, isn't that right?"

"You may have become the student council president but that doesn't mean you've gained permission to do anything you want. You should be aware that you're the one abusing his authority."

"I always thought that's what it was. A ticket to get away with anything," Ryuuen stated bluntly.

"Growth, growth, growth. Don't you guys get tired of repeating the same word again and again?" Hashimoto sighed deeply.

"Clashing ideologies are incredibly common, growth is just one of the things that are part of them," Sakayanagi answered Hashimoto's complaint.

"If that's what you think then I'll keep that in mind. In that case, why don't you be my opponent as well, Fujimaki-senpai? For the record, you are number two in the 3rd years' Class A."

Blatantly assuming a casual attitude, Nagumo arrogantly put his hands in his pocket. It was a cheap provocation but some 3rd years seem to feel humiliated by it. A few students tried stepping forward.

However, Horikita kept them in check.

"I've rejected your demands up until now. Do you know why?"

"Let's see. Isn't it because your friends are scared that you might lose to me? But of course, that can't possibly be it. Out of all the people I've seen so far, Horikita-senpai, you're the best. You're not afraid of losing and you never even once thought you'd lose in the first place."

The 2nd years listening to Nagumo's words almost seemed as though they were worshipping him.

"I thought they all hated him, except maybe those in his class," Himeno commented.

"There's probably a multitude of things directed at him. You may hate someone, but still respect them in a way," Kanzaki answered.

I suppose that an example of this could be the connection between Ryuuen and me. Ryuuen probably has some form of fear and anger that's directed at me, but he still respects my abilities and mindset in a way. Humans are complicated, feelings of hatred and respect seem like oil and water, but they go together more often than one may think.

Friend, benefactor, it's not limited to just those. He's a rival and a hated enemy yet at the same time, also respected. Anyway, a variety of emotions seem to be directed at Nagumo.

In the 2 years he's been here at this school, this man has accomplished things no ordinary person would have been capable of accomplishing and that's probably why.

To what extent those are, not even the 3rd years know. The 1st years have even less insight into that.

"I'd expect the former 3rd years to know a decent amount," Horikita disagreed.

"Perhaps," I stated dismissively.

An average third-year probably doesn't care much or know the things in the second year, this is due to how Manabu was leading. Manabu developed a system where the students only care about the battle in their own respective year, not the others. However, Nagumo has broken this barrier and has had multiple exams where years coincide. Manabu's well-oiled machine that he personally created has a wrench thrown into it.

"I'm just like you, Fujimaki-senpai. I don't desire meaningless conflict either."

"The conflict you desire drags others into it way too much".

"That's this school's modus operandi and I think that's the real thrill of it...well, that's just the difference between our opinions though. I mean, I thought I could have had surefire competition with you, senpai, during the sports festival's relay but regrettably I wasn't able to realize that. I'm still frustrated about that, you know?"

"I don't think this is an exam where a competition between a 2nd year and a 3rd year will bear any fruit."

"That's probably right. Senpai's just that kind of person. But as for me, I just want a personal battle between the former student council president and the current student council president. You're about to graduate and leave soon. Before that, I want to see whether or not I've surpassed you."

Nagumo's demand is unstoppable, his craving unsatiable.

"What are you intending to compete with?"

For a moment, the 3rd years seem surprised. It's because the older Horikita seemed as though he'd accept Nagumo's challenge.

"Which one of us can expel the most students? How does that sound?"

If they both really went through with that, the consequences would be immense. I doubt such an event would have ever happened in previous years, especially by some of the most high-achieving students the school has ever seen.

I wonder, if Nagumo and I had actually fought, would he propose something similar?

"Now that would be fun to watch," Hashimoto smirked.

"And what if you were caught in the crossfire?" Kamuro pointed out.

"I'll just have to make sure that doesn't happen then, simple," Hashimoto stated dismissively.

Both the 1st years and the 3rd years stirred in response to that one word from Nagumo.

"Stop joking."

"I really think it'll be interesting but I'll refrain this time. If you want me to make a serious proposal then it'd be which group gets the higher average score. Simple and easy to understand."

"I see. If that's the case then I don't mind accepting."

"Thank you. I knew you'd accept, senpai."

"However, this is a personal fight between you and me. Don't involve others."

"Don't involve others, huh? But judging from the manner of the special exam, I'd say inciting someone to sabotage your enemy's group is one strategy."

"That's far from the essence of this exam. At most you should only question your own group's unity. You shouldn't take advantage of your enemy group's opening to stir them up, even by mistake."

"No underhanded strategies? Can't say I expected anything less, but it's so boring," Amasawa complained.

"There's always the chance for a loophole to make shit interesting," Hosen stated nonchalantly.

And of course, that's exactly what happened. Manabu had an oversight and that was his undoing. A setback that would have been dangerous for most people. Losing that many class points so late in one's school life could be world-ending. But even so, Manabu managed to make it work. Whether that be due to his own skills or the lead he's established in those three years, I can't say.

"...that is to say?"

Ishizaki ended up asking Keisei that.

"It means nothing other than a fair-and-square meritocratic competition will be acknowledged. If I have to put it simply, it probably means you can't use dirty strategies as Ryuuen does."

"...I see."

Leaving aside the conversation between those two, the older Horikita and Nagumo continued their conversation.

"If you won't humor the conditions I've set, then I have no intention of accepting."

What the older Horikita rejected are actions taken to ensnare one's enemy.

In all likelihood, his goal here is to block Nagumo off from his forte.

"That's plenty of people's forte. Are you saying that you're not good at underhanded tactics? Or maybe you're just too good for them," Ryuuen looked over at Manabu.

"I recalled the things I've done. The ideal I wish for others isn't one I've followed to the letter, not at all. I can and have used tactics that may not be good sportsmanship, that's the reality," Manabu thought.

"Not at all. It's just that Nagumo's strengths live in the realms of covert tricks," Manabu stated bluntly.

"So what this means is that in order to win, I can't attack Horikita-senpai's pawns. I'm fine with that."

I had expected him to be troubled by it but Nagumo surprisingly complied. However, the older Horikita continued.

"That's not limited to this group only. I won't acknowledge any method that causes harm to the other students too. The moment I confirm you've meddled somehow I will call off our competition".

"As expected of you, senpai. You don't miss anything. I did consider requesting cooperation from groups other than Horikita-senpai's and having them attack yours..."

He said so while boldly laughing.

Many people were still a little bit confused at how Nagumo could be so brazen and honest. Of course, I can understand why. He's essentially giving away many of the potential plans he has. Even if the general plan can't be used due to the restrictions, there are still parts of them that can be used in a loophole.

"I understand. I seem to be the only one craving for this competition so I'm willing to humor a certain amount of conditions. Fair-and-square, let's see which one of us can score higher through group unity. Let's have that be our competition. I'll say this in advance but there's no need to set any penalties in case of victory or defeat, right? At most, let this be a fight with just our prides on the line."

Regarding that, the older Horikita gave neither affirmation or refutation. In all likelihood, it probably means he's not even intending to bet his pride on this.

The screen faded to black.

"The next video takes place quite a while later. I have skipped over a rather, let's say, interesting event, but I will come back to it later."

I see. Depending on where this takes place, it could show whether my worries are unfounded or not.

In the middle of the night, I lay on the bed of our shared room. It's 1 o'clock in the morning, already way past lights out. Obviously that means everyone's sound asleep. There's a reason why I'm awake at a time like this when I should be sleeping in preparation for what's coming tomorrow. That reason lies in the small piece of paper placed under my pillow. The number '25' is written on it.

It's precisely because it's so simple that it doesn't leave much to the imagination. It's a memo signalling that the time is now 25:00. I haven't the faintest clue who left it here but the reason I'm awake now is to find out.

If this is just a prank or something that carries an entirely different meaning, then that'll be the end of that. Then I'll be able to use this time to relax and think about where the true essence of this special exam lies.

"And here I thought you wanted to take a backseat. You talked about it so much, too," Ryuuen criticised.

Ignoring Ryuuen's words, this confirmed my thoughts. That horrible moment is going to be shown to the whole school. Hundreds of students my own age and the rest very close to it, looking at the size of my... No, just imagining it makes me distressed. But I guess I don't have to imagine it soon, for better or worse.

No, definitely worse.

It almost feels like a personal attack.

"Now this is interesting. Did you and Kiriyama make a meeting so early?" Nagumo questioned.

Kiriyama looked like he wanted to say something, but didn't.

Nagumo grinned upon noticing this.

"Don't be afraid to speak, Kiriyama. I've looked past your faults, you don't even have any punishments. Feel free to speak your mind, don't mind me," Nagumo stated with a smile that looked sadistic.

Kiriyama's pride was probably crushed and beaten into the ground, but he couldn't do anything about it.

"I wasn't the one who met up with Ayanokouji at that time," Kiriyama stated meekly.

"I see. So that narrows it down a little," Nagumo grinned upon hearing Kiriyama's words.

If he wanted to go even further, and break him even more, asking him to state it louder would be effective. Putting him in a state where he had to repeat a statement about his biggest failure while following the words of the person he hated the most. Either Nagumo didn't think of that, or he didn't think it was worth it.

I'm slowly beginning to see the bigger picture. The contents of this special exam. Of course, since we didn't exactly get a detailed explanation on how the scoring works this is going to involve some guesswork but there are several things that this special exam almost certainly entails.

'Zen'

From the way they were acting prior to Zazen, it appears even things like our postures during Zazen are being scored. Things like inappropriate behavior or being hit with a Zen stick are all likely causes for a demerit.

'Long-distance relay race'

This one's probably going to have a simple evaluation system based on order and time.

'Speech'

Each person in each large group must give a speech individually. The scoring criteria has already been disclosed.

"Seems like a pretty boring exam," Hosen complained.

Out of the last few, it had some more interesting ideas, but the actual things that were graded were fairly average. Isolating the students was quite an interesting way which allowed for information gathering, but also perhaps a connection in the other classes. That was the main part of the exam, rather than simply acing the materials graded.

"Execution was a little flawed, but it could be interesting with some changes," Ryuuen claimed.

"Really? What kind of changes would you propose?" Katsuragi questioned.

The ball was in Ryuuen's court now.

"Hmm, how about things that have the groups compete each other more openly? That's what has made the school interesting, if it's not broke, why change it? Maybe penalties and rewards for winning or losing this those events could also be interesting," Ryuuen began.

I suppose the key part of the exam is still there. You are still with a group you don't know, but you also have to participate a lot more. It would be similar to that of the island exam, but more organised.

"What sort of rewards?" Katsuragi asked.

"How about the winning team can switch members of other groups around? Breaking team cohesion would be essential to winning. Another would could be simple rewards such as time reduction on the final things graded, such as the relay," Ryuuen continued.

I have to say, it would surely be much more interesting, however, it also seems far too complicated to do. The schematics of such a thing would be hard to create and judge fairly. There's also the case of what the events will be.

It's the following four: 'Volume', 'Posture', 'Subject' and 'Communicativeness'.

'Written exam'.

I expect this to be an exam focusing mainly on the subject of morals. Just like your average run-of-the-mill exam, this one should also be determined by how good or how bad your marks are.

There are also other things to consider such as 'cleaning' and 'cooking meals' but I can't draw conclusions on them just yet. Problems that arise within a tardy group are beyond the jurisdiction of the exam but depending on the context, they may also be part of what's being assessed.

Perhaps a lot of students are fretting over how to overcome this multi-front exam. A necessary strategy one can only see after understanding the true essence of it.

"The solution is pretty simple, getting to it is much more difficult. Uniting the group and covering for each others weak points would be the most effective and simple thing to do, but as there are members from different classes, I doubt there would be much trust," Yagami examined.

"It's essentially the opposite of the cruise ship exam. Rather than fighting everyone else in the group besides your own class, you have to work with everyone to succeed," Kanzaki added.

To properly unite the group, cover for one another and secure a high average score. In other words, the simple approach. It looks easy yet with considerably difficult obstacles in its way. That much can be gleaned from seeing the formation of the groups. It's exceedingly difficult to completely cooperate with students who you would normally have an antagonistic relationship with.

It would be a strategy that Horikita and Hirata from our class, or Ichinose and Katsuragi from the other classes would have chosen. Being influential in one's group and possessing leadership skills makes all the difference.

Picking members for your group is, of course, important. But at this stage, it's almost impossible to determine which students are capable of performing well in an exam like this.

Keisei, who excels academically, struggled with five minutes and two sets of Zazen on the very first day and there were students who were unable to even cross their legs.

At this stage, you can't use academic or athletic excellence to measure anything and going forward it's going to be students with the most adaptability who stand out.

"It's true. Unless you have a group of people who are decent in everything, the members aren't as important as they may seem. The influence that some groups have are an entirely different thing altogether, though," Horikita stated logically.

"I suppose that members with leadership abilities would have an easier time than others, but the level of skills those members have is still going to be quite vital," Kanzaki stated.

And there are definitely more than a few students who opted to go with other strategies. I could also tell from the moment they explained the rules of this exam that even the school had a hard time preparing this unorthodox exam.

This has been the case since our first special exam on that uninhabited island but in each case there's always been an exploitable loophole in the rules.

Because there's always a blind spot, like when Horikita and Ibuki fought on the uninhabited island despite any sort of violence being prohibited. Of course, if the foul play is exposed then the consequences are also extreme. Since immediate expulsion is on the table, the majority of students won't actually make their move. In the first place, it's not like committing foul play is a surefire way to win. To take your shot with the few loopholes and blind spots you have or not. You would need to overcome that difficult obstacle.

I've executed various strategies in all the special exams so far. On the uninhabited island, I had Horikita retire and switched leaders. On the cruise, I pulled off the cell phone trick. I made a bold move during the sports festival and during Paper Shuffle, I shut Kushida down.

"Easier said than done," Horikita muttered.

Of course, finding the loophole in such a tense situation is difficult. It's like taking a test on your own and when there's time pressure. The brain doesn't function correctly, makes errors and rushes thought processes in the latter, leaving to oversights. In the former, it's much easier to think and analyse.

But this time around, I decided early on to not do anything. I would gather information and only play the role of the observer. That is because I've deemed this a necessary move to make if I am to fade out and graduate as an ordinary student.

Even if it means Class C will suffer a massive loss now, I still won't do anything. Partly because I want to show Sakayanagi and Nagumo, who have both taken a certain amount of interest in me, that I have no intention of fighting. I'm sceptical about the effectiveness of such a move though.

That way, since I am carefully observing, the older Horikita would have no grounds to blame me on either.

However, if there's a measure I can take, that would be defence. If there's a student who's out to expel me, then it's only natural that I react in self-defence.

While it had worked with Nagumo to an extent, it wasn't all that effective with Sakayanagi.

"Dragging you out of your sphere of neutrality was something I aimed to do, no matter what," Sakayanagi claimed.

Going after the important players to see my reaction, using my time at this school like a pawn and the end-of-year exam. The first two were things aimed to gauge my motivation and range of influence, essentially, they were preemptive moves.

It's already past 25:00. Looks like nothing out of the ordinary's happened. If so, I should sleep. But just as I thought that, the door that connects this room to the corridor outside slightly cracked open and a bit of light streamed in.

It's Morse code. Utilizing blinking lights as a form of communication. In the middle of the night at the training camp, the corridor itself was very dark and so several flashlights had been placed in our room.

In all likelihood, that means I'll have to bring one along with me.

I understood that this is a signal calling me out. Light makes no sound. I silently stood up. Our room doesn't have a toilet. The act of going to the toilet in the middle of the night in itself is not a suspicious one.

I left the room. The corridor is covered in darkness but I could hear faint footsteps. I followed. The person holding the light turned out to be Horikita Manabu.

"Ah, so that's the person of interest here," Nagumo stated in a fascinated tone.

"I can't say I'm surprised. Ryuuen won't do anything at this stage, so the only option left is the former president," Sakayanagi stated with a look of intrigue.

"I suspected you for a little bit, but that probably would've been too much of a risk," Ryuuen shrugged at Sakayanagi.

Perhaps setting up a match is something she would do, but Sakayanagi had told me that her interest was in Ichinose. At this stage, she would have no reason to set up a match with me.

"To think you'd be the one to initiate contact. Isn't it a bit conspicuous?"

In order to place a memo on my bed like that, he'd have to know where I sleep. In that case, there's only one person that comes to mind. It's either Ishikura or Tsunoda, the 3rd years Nagumo brought with him to play cards with us on the very first day.

If he asks either one of them, he'd know which bed I'm using.

"There's no shortage of students meeting secretly at night like this. Because at least two or three strategies are being implemented for this special exam after all."

1st years, 2nd years and 3rd years are all using what knowledge they possess for the sake of winning. But even so, there's no way people who'd meet the way we're meeting now would be up to any good.

"I suppose that's not wrong, but you two together is probably major to the average student," Ichinose commented.

And for the average student, if such a thing is spread, no one will think about the other students making schemes. The key focus will be taken off of the others and be placed solely on Manabu and me. People don't tend to notice those things, and if they do, they don't state them often. Even on the rare chance some people state their thoughts, it's usually washed away with the rest. It blurs with everything else until it becomes unrecognisable.

"Do you know why I called you out at this time?"

"Because Nagumo's up to something. That's the only reason I can think of."

"It's exactly that. I called you out here because I thought you might know something about that since you're in the same large group he is. Besides, I wanted to answer that mail you sent me on the bus."

"Let me say this beforehand. You're off the mark. There are no signs of Nagumo being up to anything."

Nagumo, out of everyone, looked the most surprised.

"Now that's certainly perplexing. Why would you do such a thing?" Nagumo questioned.

"If I had to guess, it's to show that he's still just an observer," Manabu stated.

He didn't look offended, but he didn't have the same expression he always had. It wasn't anger, nor curiosity, it was more like annoyance.

"He did say that he aimed to take a backseat," Nagumo pondered.

There are a number of things to worry about in that regard but I lied and told him I have yet to grasp anything. Nagumo had challenged the older Horikita. As long as that challenge took place in front of a great number of people, losing this easily would set a bad example for the 2nd years and in the future, he'll be doubted by both his seniors and juniors. If you're going to fight, you should do it only after making absolutely sure of your victory. But I can't sense that here. Since the older Horikita had instructed him to fight fair and square, I had expected him to put in effort during our lessons and manage us strictly but there's no sign of that happening either.

That must have worried Horikita Manabu. If that's not the case, he wouldn't have taken the risk of calling me out here.

"Then you're saying Nagumo is going to take the actual exam without having tried anything?"

"I don't know. I don't think it's possible to accomplish much without dragging a third party in though."

"But what if you don't know enough about Nagumo-senpai's personality? What if he was just that arrogant?" Horikita questioned.

"Even so, my statement would still remain the same," I stated bluntly.

Even if Nagumo wasn't fully sure of his victory, I would still lie to Manabu and state that Nagumo didn't have anything planned.

Even if one doesn't talk or doze off during class, even if they're never late and even if they make sure to stay healthy it's not like that would make their test scores go up dramatically.

At best, they would only act to ensure one doesn't get any demerits.

"Currently, I've assessed that our large group is the more united one".

The older Horikita calmly made his analysis. Certainly, he's got the Class A-focused group from the 1st years as well. If they take the exam in this state, their chances of winning are extremely high.

That is precisely why he's worried about Nagumo, who has yet to make a move.

"I see. It's simple paranoia," Sakayanagi giggled.

"All the cards seem to be against the president currently. How interesting. Utmost confidence in his victory, huh?" Amasawa looked intrigued.

"What are the chances of him breaking his promise? No matter what form it takes, he may want to leave a mark on you."

"Nagumo certainly doesn't show any mercy to those who go against him. And he's also used underhanded methods in a manner similar to Ryuuen more than a few times. And that's the cause of the 2nd year's abnormally high dropout rate. However, he has never once broken a promise he's given. Not even once."

"So you're saying he's going to keep his word about not involving a third party in this?"

"That's right."

"I'd say that's naive, but considering how long you've known each other, it may not be completely a bad thought process," Sakayanagi commented.

"The biggest thing here is surely Nagumo's inaction. Apart from that, it doesn't seem like he's much of a threat, but I can't believe that this is all there is to it," Yagami questioned.

I have no doubt that's exactly the thought process that Manabu had.

As far as that's concerned, the older Horikita nodded without any hesitation at all. It's probably one of those things he knows precisely because they've been in the student council together for two years now. After having heard those words of absolute certainty, I felt doubt at first. But then I arrived at the answer to that. That's something that applies to the older Horikita before me right now and probably all the 2nd and 3rd-year students as well. I may be able to offer the older Horikita another piece of advice here.

However, it might not make that much sense. Because he's already determined that he'll only be able to ward off attacks by taking the words of his enemy at face value.

"Looks like this has been a waste of time."

Turning his back on me, the older Horikita began walking back to his room.

"Face value, huh? I suppose that was exactly the problem," Manabu sighed.

He had hyper focused on Nagumo and what he would do, not realising his surroundings. The awareness to take note of multiple things at once was something that Nagumo took away from him. It was certainly an effective strategy.

"It's about that thing you've been wanting to know but...the student council can exert an influence on the special exams. Things like modifying the rules and penalties. Because they're supposed to represent the students' points of view and their opinions. But it's not like they can do whatever they want."

"I see."

After answering my question, the older Horikita left.

"He might lose."

Before I realized it, I ended up muttering that. No, I suppose 'lose' isn't the best way to put it. The older Horikita won't make any mistakes. He'll properly manage his group and overcome this. He won't slip up.

It's just...even so, it's clear that this alone isn't all there is to it.

Starting with this exam that kicked off the 3rd semester, a major change might be at hand.

The screen faded once again.

"How vague and yet, accurate," Nagumo stated what seemed to be some form of praise.

I couldn't care less about such a thing now, though.

As soon as I got back to my dorm, I called Kei.

"Hey, Kiyotaka," Kei mumbled.

"Kei, the next video is going to have something a little, well, let's say personal about me," I stated.

"Is it bad?" Kei sounded worried.

"Well, bad is subjective. It has to do with my, well, you know," I stated.

I really hope I don't have to say it.

"I don't get it. Just say it," Kei grumbled.

Do I have to?

"It's about my lower body in the boy's bath..." I tried to be vague.

This time, it seemed to work.

But for some reason, Kei didn't say anything.

"Is there connection iss-" I began.

"No way, no way! This has to be a joke, right? No, you wouldn't joke about something like this, you aren't that clueless. Ahh, why'd you have to tell me this?" Kei stated in shock.

"I just thought you should get a heads up," I sighed.

"This feels like it's illegal. B-but, do you think they'll, you know, show it..." Kei stated meekly.

"I doubt it. They didn't show anything during the summer break videos, so I don't think this will be any different," I explained.

"I see. T-that's good! But still, ah, what a mess. I don't even want to think about it," Kei grumbled.

"I feel the same," I sighed.

Soon after that with a little more talking, our call ended swiftly.

I sat on my big contemplating about that day.

There's the possibility that I could be wrong.

"Hopefully..." I sighed.

Author's note:

Well, I don't think I could be any more direct if I tried.

There will be a little different in the format for the next video, but only for that one. You'll see when I write it.

That's about it. See you.

A Battle of Two Trex's

I was sitting in class and contemplating how I would dig the grave I'd be put in at the end of the day. Perhaps a fancy coffin would be nice.

"Everyone, there are some restrictions that will happen today. Please listen in," Chabashira announced.

All the girls looked the same as ever, but all the boys that were there that day looked steeled and serious.

"Today, due to the personal matters that the videos will show, the boys and girls will be seperated. All of the boys will go to the auditorium and will be given a new seating arrangement for the day, while the girls will stay here," Chabashira stated.

Obviously, students were confused.

"Sensei, where will the teachers go?" Horikita asked.

If it shows that and the teachers are also there, it's essentially grounds for legal trouble.

"The teachers will stay here with the girls. The reason why all the students will stay in their respective classrooms is that only the audio will be shown for the girls and the teachers, while the boys in the auditorium will have both the visuals and audio," Chabashira added.

I suppose that makes sense, but one thing comes to mind.

"If all the teachers will be here, does that mean that the boys' section will be unsupervised?" Horikita asked once again.

"Not exactly. There will be a camera set up which displays visuals to the chairman, but the camera will not actually show any of the video. That will be all," Chabashira ended.

Usually, Ike would chime in with something inappropriate or a complaint, but he stayed silent.

"Ike, you seem rather quiet today. Is there a reason for that?" Chabashira seems to have noticed this as well and asked him.

Ike, however, looked completely serious, with an expression that I had never seen on him before.

"Sensei, the world is designed that when it rains trouble, it pours. How can I be my usual self in this situation? I can't call myself a man if I do," Ike answered with complete determination.

He seemed to be taking this much more seriously than I was, but it's nice seeing him be so determined. If only he could do this for other things.

Every student was surprised, but the main person who was surprised was Chabashira.

"You seem to have some idea what this is about then. With how serious you are, I'll be sure to do the same. Also, girls, please feel free to sit wherever you wish for today," Chabashira stated.

As she did, the bells went and she told the boys in the classroom to head off to the auditorium. I looked back at Kei as I walked out, and she seemed to look quite nervous. If she was acting and this was just a part of her real thoughts leaking out, then I can't imagine what she was thinking.

Soon, I looked at my newly assigned seat. Each seat had a label on it, and I traced the name for mine.

Hirata Youske... Nope.

Ryuuen Kakeru... Nope.

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka... Ah, there it is.

Wait, is that...

"Ah, Ayanokouji, interesting to see you here. What an odd coincedence," Ryuuen chuckled as he walked up to my back.

Like some form of devil, he sat down and pointed to my seat.

"Have a seat, won't you?" Ryuuen grinned.

What did I do to deserve this?

I sat down and out of curiosity, I looked at the seat on my left. As soon as I read the name, I felt incredibly tired.

"Ah, Ayanokouji, it seems we're sitting next to each other," Yagami stated as he sat down next to me.

What sin did I commit to have this happen?

"Welcome, everyone. If you are one of the second year boys, you may know what this video will be about. Everyone else, relax and watch."

With the way he was speaking, this audio is probably being relayed to everyone. To the teachers, chairman and the boys in this room.

"I really am curious. Do you know what this is about, Ayanokouji?" Yagami asked.

If it was genuine or not, I didn't know, but it felt like some form of way to annoy me.

"Let's just see. I know what it's about, but you're going to watch it anyway," I shrugged.

"That makes sense," Yagami nodded and turned his head to the screen.

Now for my inevitable suffering to commence.

It's about the time when I entered the third large public bath on the night of the third day.

Inside the large bath, there were a couple of boys huddled around a corner.

Looking around the room, I looked for the camera that the chairman was supposed to be looking through. After a quick sweep, I noticed that it was right above the projector, staring at all of us. At that angle, it had no way of looking at the video, so no legal trouble would arise.

Yamauchi and Ike, and not only them but also some students from Class B such as Shibata were there.

I ended up exchanging glances with Kanzaki, who coincidentally entered the bath at the same time I did.

"This seems like an unusual gathering."

Kanzaki too, looks at that group in surprise.

"Seems like it."

"What about your group? Any troubles in particular?"

"I don't know, I don't think I can say it's going swimmingly."

As I answered frankly, Kanzaki appeared to have been convinced of that without a hint of surprise.

"If you only have a few people in it and all four classes aren't evenly represented it tends to be like that."

"I wouldn't mind it if it's just that."

"I can see why the girls aren't allowed to look at this now. The same happened back during the summer break videos," Yagami examined.

If only...

"Oh, I assure you, this isn't all of it," Ryuuen stated with joy.

"It isn't. How much further can this go then? Unless..." Yagami pondered.

After a few seconds of silence, it seemed like Yagami had gotten an idea about what Ryuuen was talking about.

"Yeah, you get it now," Ryuuen chuckled.

"What led to such a thing is the question now," Yagami sighed.

"I heard about it from Moriyama and the others. Seems like you have your hands full with Kouenji."

I suppose something like that would obviously be assumed.

"He is contributing as a classmate but I can't rein him in at all."

"Speaking of reining in...did you hear about Ryuuen?"

"No, I haven't heard anything about him."

It's been three days now since Akito got drafted into Ryuuen's group. I do see him during bath time and toilet breaks as well as during meals but we just keep missing each other.

"Even with your skill, I don't think that's possible, Ayanokouji-boy. You're welcome to try if you wish, but I wouldn't recommend it," Koenji remarked.

Continuing after the last video, Koenji vehemently denied the possibility that I could control him.

"If I was going to guess, you'd be like a dog waiting to be put down. If that's the case, that's just really fucking sad," Hosen chuckled.

"If he's scheming something there should be a few rumours popping up but I haven't heard any reports at all."

Since Kanzaki, who's the sub-leader of Class B, is saying that then that must be the case.

From my point of view, considering I'm aware of the whole story, there's no way Ryuuen would do anything but the suspicion cast on him by his surroundings may have finally subsided.

However, for the time being, they won't be taking their eyes off him.

Because you could predict that there's a high possibility he'll spring some sort of trap at the end of the actual exam.

"Isn't the story that he got his ass kicked? People expecting him to make such a quick comeback don't get how people work," Hosen sighed.

After a harsh loss, no one can bounce back that quickly. A person likes Ryuuen who was winning and seemed to be on top of the world before his defeat would have an even harder time. It takes time to pick up the pieces, no matter who it is.

"You're right, but people also expect him to be reckless. It wouldn't be surprising if some people thought that he could try to do something to get his power back," Yagami stated.

"So people thinking that he's pathetic enough to do that? You're not wrong," Hosen stated bluntly.

"If there's anything troubling you, please feel free to consult me. I'd like to maintain good relations with Class C too. Of course, Ichinose feels that way too."

"That's something to be grateful for."

"Ichinose seems to have a high opinion of Horikita. It's of her honesty rather than her talent though."

"Honesty...eh?"

If you ask whether or not Horikita has a straightforward personality then, to be honest, I can't bring myself to call her an honest one.

However, I think what Kanzaki refers to as 'honesty' and what I consider to be 'honesty' have different meanings altogether.

Making sure to keep your promises, that sort of integrity is probably what he's referring to.

You can't count on Sakayanagi or Ryuuen in that regard after all.

"Then what would you consider your honesty to be?" Yagami asked.

Honesty is such a broad topic, but it can boil down to one simple thing. Truth. No matter what kind of honesty, whether it be honesty in social settings or to oneself, it all boils down to the truth. I believe that what Kanzaki believes to be honest, is only one type of honesty, while mine is broader.

"I don't know. I forgot what I meant by it back then," I stated vaguely.

"Of course, you forgot. Like I'd believe that," Yagami muttered quietly enough for only me and him to hear.

If there was some insight that he could gain about me, I'd try to refrain from letting him have that.

"Hey, Kanzaki! Over here, over here!"

Shibata spotted Kanzaki standing around near the entrance and talking to me and so he waved his hand.

"Ayanokouji~you come to join us too~"

And around the same time, Yamauchi caught me too and beckoned me over.

Since the mood here won't allow me to decline him, I approached.

So this is the beginning of the end.

"I kinda miss having fun with him, even if he was a total idiot," Ike sighed.

"It might've been better for us if we didn't make friends with him, but it wasn't all bad," Sudo agreed, albeit more logically.

Even after all this time, they still harboured some lingering feelings. Perhaps it was with rose-tinted glasses, but from their perspective, Yamauchi wasn't that bad. It's a fact that a person is viewed differently depending on whose perspective. It doesn't matter who it is, there is not one person who is looked at in the same way by all people.

"What's the matter?"

Kanzaki asks Shibata.

"No man, the thing is, I'm having fun with Yamauchi and the others over something strange."

"Something strange?"

"We're talking about whose got the biggest one in our school year."

"One? By that you mean?"

"Isn't that obvious? This, this."

Shibata laughed as he pointed at the centre of the towel covering his groin.

"So that's what led to it..." Yagami sighed.

"I thought I could use this video as a way to gain information, but if it's just this, it's such a waste. I have this one chance to get information and probe at his words where no one else could hear me, and I get stuck with this video. Is this why you left the White Room? I understand that you want to experience new things, but there's a limit. Honestly, what a pain," Yagami thought.

If I was going to guess, the girls are probably either laughing at us or disgusted.

Horikita POV:

How crude. Out of everything I was expecting, this wasn't one.

Chabashira was standing at the back of the room in a chair, and just by staring at her, I could tell that she had the same thoughts I had. And next to me was a rather loud and talkative girl.

"I can't say I was expecting this, but I was also expecting something unexpected, so I'm still right," Kushida commented.

"Why are you sitting next to me?" I sighed.

"For information, of course. I've asked you to reintegrate me into the class, but I haven't heard anything you've had in mind," Kushida stated boldly.

"I see," I stated.

In all honesty, reintegrating Kushida is difficult and can't be accomplished until I have the opportunity to do so. Without a chance to prove her loyalty and benefits to the class, it's impossible.

"You'll find out when the next special exam comes. Your position is safe for now, so just wait and bide your time," I told her.

"I'll find out, huh? Doesn't that just mean you haven't figured out anything yet?" Kushida complained.

Observant as always, I see.

"There is nothing I can do currently. Keep doing whatever you can and try to prove your worth to the class with your skills, the real test and opportunity comes during a special exam. There's nothing I can do," I sighed.

I had done everything I could think of. I've spent hours theorising any possible way, but nothing has come of it. Kushida is too much of a hated person right now, and I still wonder if it's possible to change that. However, even if it could be hopeless, I need to persist, that's the aim in my mind currently.

"Very well then," Kushida shrugged and backed down.

"I wasn't expecting this," Sato sighed.

It was only the class D girls in here, so I don't know what the other girls are thinking. As for the boys, the ones in the know are probably chuckling to themselves and the rest are probably laughing.

"He made it sound so serious, but this is all?" Shinohara grumbled.

My eyes wandered to Karuizawa, who looked to be deep in thought. While we had no visuals, that didn't stop a person's imagination.

In no response to visual stimuli, there are often times when the mind will do it for you. Every book relies on this concept. But, in this case, I don't want my imagination to fill in the gaps.

"Why am I forced to do this?" I muttered to myself in annoyance.

Don't imagine it, don't imagine it. Perhaps if I keep repeating that, it won't happen.

Hopefully...

"...I see, you're having fun."

Saying that, Kanzaki exasperatedly sighed at the childish competition Shibata's engaged in.

"No, I think it's childish too you know? But you see, this is unexpectedly fun."

Both Kanzaki and I failed to see what exactly is so fun about it. We exchanged glances and decided to keep our distance considering the timing.

When Shibata and the others continued their discourse, Kanzaki left.

After a slight delay, I too, made a move to leave.

I'm glad he isn't jumping at the opportunity. Although he probably didn't leave as Kanzaki did. If he had left, there wouldn't be a reason for the boys and girls to be separated the entire time. It would be more beneficial and easier to just let everyone see a blank screen and hear it instead, but that's not what has happened.

"Of course, he's a big reason why we have to watch this," Shinohara grumbled.

"It's not all his fault. The other guys had to agree to it, too," Sato stated.

"They could get peer pressured into it, though. So I don't think they all agreed to it," Karuizawa pointed out.

"I do think that some people wouldn't willingly do it, that's true," Sato mulled over Karuizawa's words.

I don't think Ayanokouji would do this willingly. He's not that type of person. I may not understand him completely, but that's something I believe I can guarantee. If Ayanokouji were to participate in such a thing, it would be due to peer pressure.

I just hope that it's not in extreme detail, otherwise...

However--

"Who's the alpha for now?"

Perhaps he's overheard their conversation, as Sudou showed up with a calm and composed attitude.

He grabbed ahold of my shoulders and as such, I could no longer escape.

"...I have no idea."

I dodged the question.

While the majority of students had towels covering their groins, he boldly showed himself off.

"That's the first one? How many more guys from our class do we have to know about?" Onodera complained.

I couldn't help but notice that her cheeks were a little flushed. You wouldn't notice if it was just a glance, but if you looked more thoroughly, it was certainly there. Well, I can't be surprised. I'm sure this is a topic that some would be more sensitive to than others.

"I thought he would leave, so I didn't have to listen to this anymore," Matsushita sighed.

If only...

I can't imagine the amount of embarrassment Ayanokouji is feeling, considering all of this is from his perspective. But, I suppose he may have gotten used to it by now.

"Ohh...as expected of Sudou."

I could see Shibata hold his breath.

"The current alpha is Class D's Kaneda."

"Kaneda? That four eyes?"

Move over, as though saying that to Shibata, Sudou brushes him aside and joins up with Yamauchi and the others.

Kaneda doesn't appear to have any intention of joining in the competition and seemed uncomfortable.

Karuizawa's theory was proven right. There would be inevitable peer pressure.

"So this was the next class C vs D battle. Way more boring than the last one," Kushida sighed.

"So you came, Ken! You're the only reliable one here!"

"Leave it to me."

Sudou participates as Class C's representative. Sudou confronts Kaneda, who's left bewildered from having been dragged into this fight.

"So you wear your glasses even inside the bath huh?"

"If I don't, I can't see well enough to walk..."

"That so?"

Of course, it's not like this is an act of violence at all. It's just them standing next to each other.

Victory and defeat are almost always decided in an instant.

"He's acting like a commentator in his head. It isn't a dramatic play," Karuizawa complained.

I do have to agree. Such dramatic terms for this contest don't seem very fitting.

Ayanokouji POV:

"You're so dramatic. Were you a student of Shakespeare in a former life?" Ryuuen chuckled.

"Did you commentate a sports final once upon a time?" Yagami grinned.

It's like an echo chamber. My previous project and the current one, working together to taunt me.

"It's funny how you said it was really boring, but went on about the nature of winning and losing right afterwards," Hashimoto chuckled.

And it seems I'm being ganged up on now. I can only imagine the taunting when we reach close to the end.

"Alright!"

Sudou boisterously makes a guts pose in the bath. His voice echoed throughout it. At last this game is over, is the expression Kaneda had as he fled.

I can only say that it's truly nothing short of misfortune that he got dragged into it.

"At least someone understands my pain," Kaneda sighed.

"It's more like people got it, but didn't care," Ishizaki stated bluntly.

I can't say he was wrong, but it was quite to the point.

"Pride cometh before the fall, I assume?" Nagumo chuckled.

"Right on the money," Ryuuen smirked.

They were like vultures. Circling and eyeing their next prey, the next person they can make fun of. Normally, it'd be for something that mattered a little more, but I suppose that this is all they have to work with.

"Then that means I'm the alpha."

There probably aren't that many students who would challenge Sudou after knowing of his strength.

This meaningless competition ends with this, is what I thought but...

"Ah, round two. I was going to be disappointed if it ended just like that," Yagami glanced at me with a sly smirk.

He's probably hoping for the embarrassment that I'm trying to avoid.

"Alpha? Don't make me laugh, Sudou."

Yahiko came over to the boisterously laughing Sudou.

However, Sudou only took one glance at Yahiko's naked body before ignoring him. Since Yahiko did not cover up his front, the contest ended without a fight.

"Wow, you're blunt. Not wrong, though," Hashimoto grinned.

"I can't say I expected anything other than brutal honesty," Nagumo had a slight smile at my words.

"It isn't about the size. A-a friend told me that." Ike muttered in a meek tone.

A friend, huh?

"Your friend probably says that to make themselves feel better. People who obsess over such a menial thing are probably insecure about themselves," Nagumo shrugged.

It was quite cold, but it didn't really mean that something on the smaller side was bad. Rather, those who put too much value on such a thing are insecure and care too much for no reason.

"Y-yeah, I'll make sure to tell him that," Ike backed down immediately and stated in a flustered tone.

Perhaps it was out of insecurity when everyone was talking and placing value on the groin region, or perhaps it was because he disagreed that size was all that matters.

These are the kinds of thoughts I have now... How far have I fallen? I haven't even been talking with Ike all that much, this is simply how I am now.

I've turned into a degenerate, how unfortunate.

"You're no match for me."

"That may be so...but I'm not your opponent here."

"It doesn't matter who my opponent is. The alpha is Class D's--"

"No, Ken. We're Class C, Class C."

"...that's right. Class C's Sudou Ken-sama is the alpha here!"

"That's one way to get an ego boost," Yagami sighed.

"Please don't tell me a member from our class participated. I'd rather not know anything about your genitals," Kanzaki sighed.

"Just say dick or penis. It isn't that hard. You're not five fucking years old. You can use that language," Hosen grumbled.

"Anyway..." Shibata stated, ignoring Hosen's complaint, "No members from our class participated, only the other three were involved."

"I wouldn't say it was only the other three involved. Even if no one joined in on the competition, you seemed to be quite happy inspecting them," Kanzaki sighed.

"H-hey, I wasn't really 'happy'. It was just something dumb that was fun," Shibata muttered after being surprised by Kanzaki's words.

"Kanzaki there isn't exactly wrong. Unless doing something fun wouldn't make you happy? Is that what you're saying?" Hashimoto joined in, providing backup to Kanzaki.

"N-no. Of course doing something fun would make a person happy," Shibata stated rapidly.

After being targeted by not only his own classmate, which acted as a slight jab, Hashimoto's words acted like a fierce uppercut that pushed him into the corner. Shibata was left with no choice, trying to throw punches and whatever he had on his mind, but this just left him to fall into Hashimoto's trap.

"So inspecting other's people's things made you happy, huh? You said it was fun, and you also said that fun things would make you feel happy, just like any other person. I didn't expect you to be so open about it, but all the more power to you, Shibata," Hashimoto stated with a devilish grin.

With these final words, Shibata was knocked out by a fierce flurry of attacks.

Well, it wasn't really all that exciting, unfortunately. Shibata just laughed it off like a normal person would and moved on.

"You're just a cut above the bottom. Don't think you can beat Class A's Katsuragi-san!"

Apparently, it's not Yahiko he'll be fighting but rather, the man Yahiko admires so much: Katsuragi.

Said Katsuragi said on a chair and was in the process of reaching for the shampoo to wash his head with.

I was curious about which part exactly he's going to apply the shampoo too but this isn't the place to ask that.

"I was going to apply it on the normal places one would do such a thing," Katsuragi sighed.

"Oh yeah? And where are those?" Ryuuen asked.

"My head, where else? I thought you would be a little more understanding at least," Katsuragi grumbled.

"Really? That doesn't seem like something I would do," Ryuuen stated in a confused tone.

"Stop it, Yahiko. I have no interest in this pointless contest."

"I can't allow that. This is about a man's pride, no, we have to win since it's Class A's dignity on the line here!"

"This is a pointless contest..."

"That's not really true, is it Katsuragi?"

Hashimoto approaches. Yahiko gave a blatant display of disgust towards him.

"No wonder you two dislike each other. You were slaves to different people," Nagumo chuckled.

It was obvious from my own wording here about Yahiko, as well as Hashimoto's demeanour through the videos what their stances were. Whether it be a third year or a first year, it was clear to anyone.

"It seems like you were interested in this contest yourself," Ryuuen chuckled.

"There's a difference. I was fighting for the pride of my class, while the others were fighting to see each other's swords," Hashimoto shrugged.

"Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night," Ryuuen smirked.

"Like Yahiko said, Class A's pride is on the line. That thing of yours is pretty much the only thing that can go against Sudou's, isn't that right?"

Hashimoto personally checked out what he referred to as Katsuragi's thing.

And he probably estimated that it had a chance of winning as he boldly laughed and embraced the possibility of a victory.

On the other hand, Katsuragi made no move to stand up.

"And a private check as well. Did pride and honour lead you to such a thing?" Ryuuen added.

"Of course-" Hashimoto began but was cut off.

"Can you both please stop talking about this?" Katsuragi stated in annoyance.

The person that this banter stemmed from was Katsuragi himself, so everything that's said would lead back to him in some way. It's obvious why he would want this to stop.

"Bring it on, Katsuragi."

Katsuragi remained calm in response to Sudou's provocations. However, everyone else got pumped up at that.

They egged Katsuragi on to go against Sudou.

"Honestly. The way things are now I won't be able to wash my head in peace."

That means he really had been intending on applying the shampoo to his head.

"Yes, I'm glad you finally understand," Katsuragi sighed.

But now I had another question. Is there a purpose for shampooing one's head if there was no hair there? Shampoo surely shouldn't be needed then, just soap. That seems like such a monetary waste unless there is something I don't understand.

"So this is why you left the White Room, huh? Surely you must see some charm that I don't," Yagami asked with a sly grin.

It was quiet enough for only me and him to hear, almost as if we were in our own world.

"Perhaps," I stated indifferently.

"Apathetic as always, I suppose," Yagami shrugged at my vague answer.

"The contest will only last a moment, Katsuragi."

"...have it your way."

Having judged that the optimal solution would be to accept the challenge, he slowly got up.

Everyone gave a sigh of admiration for that large frame of his. And so the two mighty rivals confronted each other.

"T-This is--!?"

Yamauchi, who went over to act as the judge, crouched down.

He checked both their assets left and right but it appears the difference between the two is an imperceptible one.

While waiting for the judgement to be delivered, Sudou gave his praise.

"Hey, I guess he was useful for something, after all," Hashimoto chuckled.

"Not bad, Katsuragi. You've convinced me that there's a reason why you're Class A's trump card."

"This is stupid..."

"The judgement is--"

Yamauchi stood up.

"A draw!"

In a contest where a tie is an unlikely outcome, the judge ruled it as exactly that.

Ike, Shibata and the others crowded around the judge to object. However, it would appear that Yamauchi's judgement is an accurate one as they were also unable to decide whose is bigger.

"Probably the most thought he had put into anything his entire school life," Ryuuen offhandedly insulted.

Many students were surprised at the sudden draw, but I noticed something else. The excitement that the second years felt on that day is the same as the other years are feeling now. So, when the time comes for my reveal, a similar type of atmosphere may arise.

"I almost feel bad for you, Katsuragi," Ryuuen told him.

"Almost, I see," Katsuragi sighed deeply.

It was probably a sigh of the mental drain, but also some relief. His time in the spotlight was over, so he had no reason to fear any longer. Well, his 'direct' spotlight is over, but he is still there for quite a while longer. As for the next person with the main light shining on them, I can't really make out his expression.

If I were to guess, it's just nervousness.

"...is this good enough?"

Fed up with being put on display, Katsuragi forcibly returned to his original position.

"I don't want to acknowledge this but we'll both share 1st place for now then."

I doubt anyone would object to that but things won't wrap up with this.

"I saw your duel go down. How naive."

The one who said that was Class D's Ishizaki.

"Hah. Don't make me laugh, Ishizaki. You're no match for me."

Sudou laughs as though saying it's not even a contest.

Ishizaki is pretty much on the same level as Yahiko.

"That's an insult to Ishizaki," Ryuuen chuckled.

"I'd rather you not make fun of Yahiko," Katsuragi criticised.

I suppose that Katsuragi still had some form of responsibility for Yahiko.

"Fine, fine," Ryuuen shrugged, ending the conversation.

"I'm not your opponent."

"What?"

"You fool! We of Class D possess the ultimate trump card!"

"...it can't be, Ryuuen?"

"No!"

Ishizaki boisterously shouts the name of that man.

"Albert, it's your turn!"

The moment he called out that name, the boys around him all went into uproar.

Despite everyone having thought of him at least once, they had all left Albert out of the equation. Now that unspoken rule has been broken.

"Hey, that's cheating!"

Even Sudou, who acted like an alpha, failed to conceal his discomposure.

"Genetics are unfair, but you can't keep bitching about it. So much for being an alpha," Hosen insulted.

Sudo, who had been confronted by Hosen's logic, wasn't able to disagree.

The girls in my class were most likely complaining about why they had to watch it, one of which I would guess is Horikita. As for Ryuuen's class, I don't know enough about the general student's nature, but I would think that it's probably around the same.

Although perhaps it's totally different, I can't say.

Hiyori POV:

This whole situation has me trying to figure out what's going to happen next. I can't help my imagination from visualising it, so I thought the best way to avoid that would be to try and think of it like a game.

So far, my guesses weren't completely right, but Yamada being the next in line was the first one I had gotten right.

"Come on. If it's a competition to determine who's number one in our school year then even Albert's a friend!"

Well, considering the flow of the conversation thus far, Ishizaki's assertion certainly isn't wrong.

However, no one can deny the fact that a competition that goes beyond countries would put us at a disadvantage.

Japan's professional baseball players are quite high-level but if you take a look at the major leagues, the difference between the two in regards to physical ability couldn't be more obvious.

They'd probably be stunned by the bodies of the foreigners who possess different physiques and even different genes.

"It's obvious that he would win," Ibuki stated matter-of-factly.

I would also agree, but I can't rule out the possibility of someone else winning as well. If you think of it like a mystery novel, there are always more twists piled on.

From the girls in the room's reactions, they're probably all tired of listening to such things. None of them wanted to know such information, I was the same.

It was hard to not imagine it at first. Ayanokouji's thoughts always feel like he's narrating something, it's always in such detail and sets up the scene very well. The problem with that is that it's hard not to imagine what he's seeing vividly. Usually, this wouldn't be a problem, but it's become troubling now.

Albert silently shows up.

Sudou and Katsuragi are also blessed with a good physique but they're no match.

Furthermore, despite being in a bath, he's still wearing his sunglasses.

Normally they'd cloud up and you'd be unable to see anything but perhaps he's applied an anti-fogging gel to it, since Albert moves without a hint of hesitation.

I've always wondered why he always wears them. I don't think I've ever seen him without them. Perhaps they're a family heirloom?

"Kuu, he's huge..."

Albert had a bath towel wrapped around his waist.

Apparently Sudou's mutters were about his physique. I understand it now that there's a direct contrast.

The difference between them is like the difference between a middle school student and a college student.

And as such, the difference between their 'weapons' should also be the same.

Or perhaps even if it's only by a little, all Sudou could do was to pray that the weapon isn't a big one.

Yamada's is going to win by a large margin, that's the prediction I have made.

While this is a game that I've made to keep myself distracted, the same can be said about mystery novels.

Mystery fiction, is, at its core, an intellectual game. Whether it be a game between the reader and detective, the reader and the culprit, and maybe even the reader and the author. That's what makes it so much fun to read.

"Bring it on!"

Showing no fear, Sudou steps forward.

As an alpha, he cannot afford to flee.

Albert simply remained silent. And then intimidatingly enough, he had Ishizaki take care of disrobing him.

The veil that had been parted. Everyone, not just the alpha Sudou, looked on.

Now then, will a weapon worthy of a last boss show itself? Or perhaps it'll be a completely unexpected outcome where it's a surprisingly small one?

Right now, a clash of the sexes has begun.

"They've all gotten carried away with this stuff," Ibuki sighed.

Compared to the boys in the audio, the girls seem like they just want to get this over with. Sakagami, along with the girls, shares the same sentiment. I doubt he's even paying much attention.

"Go--Albert!"

Ishizaki probably doesn't know either. Albert's power is finally unveiled at last.

"T-This is--!?"

First appearing before the eyes of the alpha, the true, hidden form of Albert.

And silence fell upon us.

"I--lost."

A single sentence from the alpha, Sudou.

He collapsed onto his knees and felt an overwhelming sense of loss.

Unlike the contest he had with Katsuragi, there was no need for a judge this time.

The difference between them was just that large.

I was right, that's good. I was joyful that I was correct in my prediction, but I was also right in predicting the size of one of my classmate's geni... No, I don't even want to think of the word.

"They're treating it like someone got stabbed," Ibuki stated with a frustrated expression.

"It's over now, right?" Nishino grumbled.

That was the same thought that I was having.

"Is this Albert's...the last boss's power?"

Yamauchi, Shibata and the others also lost all their will to fight and they collapsed just like Sudou did.

There's no longer a challenger capable of winning.

The currents of despair started to blow in.

Albert slowly bent his large frame and picked up the towel and then walked off just like that.

And just like how Sudou did, the other boys also fell to their knees.

Although I can't rule out the possibility of another twist, that's certainly true

Having acknowledged their loss, just as everyone was on the verge of giving up.

"Ha. Ha. Ha. It appears you lot are just like Children amusing themselves."

In an instant, cutting through the melancholy, was Kouenji's voice.

It seems he's been observing the fight from inside the bathtub.

It seems I was right.

But I really wish I wasn't...

Ayanokouji POV:

"It seems genetics win out most times. Of course, you can't really use hard work to make something like that better," Yagami stated as he put his head into the palm that was resting on his armrest.

"I don't think anyone is surprised about that outcome," Nagumo stated in a bored tone.

"Why so apathetic? I can understand if you're getting bored, but you need not worry. Your issue will be fixed soon," Koenji stated confidently.

"It'll all be solved, huh? I appreciate the optimism," Nagumo stated with a smile, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"I don't think that it's possible for my problems to be solved anymore," Nagumo thought.

"What the hell, Kouenji? Aren't you frustrated too!? Look at this pathetic state Sudou's in now!"

Yamauchi screamed. Because of his anguish, Sudou was still incapable of standing back up.

"He didn't die, his pride just got hurt," Yagami muttered quietly.

"It's sometimes fun to play things up," I told him.

"Perhaps Ryuuen was right, you might've been a student of Shakespeare in your past life," Yagami sighed.

"Is that just a roundabout way to say that I'm dramatic?" I asked.

Yagami glanced at me and nodded slightly.

"I know. But Red Hair-kun fought well in his own way."

"The hell, you bastard. Are you trying to say you can go against Albert?"

It was a question from Sudou, who now had lifeless eyes.

But Kouenji's usual attitude did not change.

"I am, at all times, a perfect existence. Even as a man, I possess the ultimate body."

"Don't dodge the question. Tell me in detail."

Kouenji swiped his hair back without even getting out of the bathtub.

"There's no need for a fight. It's precisely because I know there's nobody better than me that there's no need to shed blood over such pointless matters."

I wonder how Koenji would have acted if he was inferior to Albert in that sense. Would he make an excuse, or take that reality with pride? I can't say.

"He'd probably not say anything if his was smaller. It would go against the delusional fantasy that he's made up in his head," Ryuuen stated, almost as if he was responding to my very own thoughts.

"You say that, but couldn't it not be the case?"

Yamauchi tried poking him.

However, Kouenji's attitude did not undergo even a single change.

"You are truly a fool. However, I suppose it is fun playing along with you lot occasionally."

It appears he intends to accept the challenge as Kouenji once again swiped his hair back.

"What's this, act twenty-five? How much can you fit into a simple dick-measuring contest," Hosen grumbled.

"There's always another battle to be fought, I guess," Ryuuen stated.

"Now then, shall I assume Albert-kun to be my opponent in this competition?"

Why did he hold his rod?

"When you're not using a gun, you don't leave it on the ground, do you?" Koenji smirked.

That's certainly one way to put it.

"No, it's Katsuragi-san!"

Yahiko shouts out.

"No, I have nothing to do with this Yahiko..."

"There's no way Kouenji can win if he goes against Albert! As the representative of the Japanese people I beg you Katsuragi-san, please defeat him!"

After all, Yahiko and Kouenji are in the same group as well so he must have his own thoughts about the man.

Even though he had been in the bath too, there's no way Kouenji should know about Sudou and the others' assets in detail.

If it's Katsuragi, who equalled Sudou, there's still a good chance that he'd win.

"Impressive analysis. This is what the White Room trained you for, I suppose," Yagami chuckled as he told me.

He was probably taking such a rare opportunity to mess with me.

"Your calculating nature gets creepy after a while, you know," Hashimoto told me.

"...honestly...just this once ok?"

Exasperatedly, the representative of the Japanese people stood up. His thing swayed from left to right.

At that moment, the boys began looking at it as though it were something divine.

"A-As I thought, he's huge. He can't go against Albert but if it's Kouenji then--"

"Fufufu. I see. So you didn't end up as the alpha once for nothing, is what it means then."

"Please wrap it up quickly."

"However, you are no match for me."

After looking at that, Kouenji did not even try to get up from the bathtub.

"Why are you dragging it out so much? Do you get hard over the attention or what?" Hosen mocked.

Koenji just chuckled at Hosen's comment and left that thought to wander without an answer.

"Probably just trying to bask in the spotlight. It's rare for anyone to expect anything from him anyway," Ryuuen confidently asserted.

"Oi, oi. You aren't scared, are you Kouenji? Are you just for show, now hiding in that bathtub?"

Ishizaki also tried egging him on.

"I'm not so foolish as to point my blade at someone who's no match for me."

"Heh. Then we'll break your spirit until there's nothing left to show of it. Right, Albert!?"

The foreign representative, the man known as Albert, also moved to stand next to Katsuragi.

And when he did, a phenomenon occurred where even Katsuragi's seemed small in comparison.

Seeing that, for the first time, a dramatic change in Kouenji's expression occurred.

"Bravo."

"Is this just a really weird way to show that game recognises game?" Ishizaki pondered.

He had probably overlooked it back then, but now after a long time, he was given a chance to reflect.

"I can't imagine what the girls are thinking. Just hearing this without visuals would make the mind go crazy," Hashimoto pointed out.

The trick to avoid that is simple. You have to occupy the mind with something else. The mind does things when it's bored, to avoid that, keep it doing something. Treat this like a game, think of something else, or just give yourself other stimuli like playing a game on your phone. If you can do that, it's not hard to avoid imagining these things if you don't want to.

Pan! He claps his hands.

"I see, I see. As expected of the world's representative, it looks like you aren't all talk after all."

"Do you get it now, Kouenji? How much of a clown you've been, I mean."

"Enough is enough for me."

Having finished washing his body, Katsuragi entered a bathtub as though keeping his distance from Kouenji.

Nobody's interested in Katsuragi anymore since they were all engrossed in the Kouenji vs. Albert fight.

"I'm very grateful for that," Katsuragi sighed deeply.

Now it was finally his time away from the spotlight. It was probably an arduous time for him, but he was finally allowed to relax.

"Normally my policy is to not show it to men. But this is a one-time service."

Kouenji then took the towel beside him in hand, wrapped it around his waist as though to hide his weapon and stood up.

And then he slowly got out of the bathtub.

"Y-You're finally up to the challenge, Kouenji?"

The confrontation took place between the ultimate eccentric and the alpha.

"The outcome is something I can tell from the start though. I'll have everyone here be living witnesses."

The boys now were curious. Koenji's bold claims, Albert's domination, and the conclusion. All of it culminated in this point. Could Koenji's genetics defeat those from overseas? That was the question embedded in many people's minds.

Kouenji made a pose while removing the towel veiling him.

In that instant, a dazzling light filled my eyes.

A sword covered by the blonde mane of a lion.

No, it's too big to be called a sword.

I could hear Albert whisper softly beside me.

『 Oh my God 』

The students here were all shocked. They weren't able to believe that a Japanese person could not only compete, but defeat the genetics of Albert, which were from a different continent.

"A sword with a blond mane? That's a kind way to put it, Ayanokouji-boy," Koenji grinned.

"Is that the end or do we have another twist coming? This was certainly the first big twist, but it would be anticlimactic if that was it," Yagami sighed.

"You want more? I thought you'd be tired of watching this," I asked him.

"I admit, I was tired of this at the beginning since I lost an opportunity I could have used, but then I realised something," Yagami grinned as he looked at me.

He seemed to be expecting me to say, what did you realise?

"And what was that?"

"The possibility of you joining in. The result isn't quite helpful for my plans, but it sure is a great way to mess with you psychologically," Yagami smirked.

"How cruel," I sighed.

It was odd, I was able to talk to Yagami as if he was any other human being. The titles of the White Room seemed to not be applicable today, rather, instead of being the best of our respective generations, we were simply senpai and kohai. Nothing more, nothing less. At every moment, Yagami intrigues me even more. He changed from a person who can't reveal himself to talking to me directly.

It felt like the distance between us had closed today, just a little.

"And with this I have proved once and for all that my existence is a perfect one."

The boys who were used as living witnesses could not even make a sound.

"Are you really even human?"

Before the overwhelming power that goes beyond nationality, all Sudou could do was offer up those words.

If Sudou and Katsuragi are rifles and Albert is a bazooka. Then Kouenji would be a tank.

Nobody could go against that overwhelming firepower.

Its colossal size, armor and firepower would knock anyone over.

It's very likely that no one capable of stopping Kouenji would be showing up now.

As for why, that's because in this large bath there's not another student capable of beating Albert.

It was when everyone was on the verge of admitting that.

"Your descriptive nature is quite wonderful, Ayanokouji-boy," Koenji nodded at my words.

It was probably only because I was praising him. If I wasn't, he would have just disregarded everything I said.

Horikita POV:

Surely, surely it's over now. I did my best, but there were still times when the images Ayanokouji was describing seeped into my mind.

However, when I looked around, some of the girls seemed to believe it was over just as I did, but one stood out.

Karuizawa still possessed a rather intrigued expression, rather than her usual one. It's supposed to be the end, but she's paying more attention now than before. Considering her relationship with Ayanokouji, could it be that he told her about the video?

However, why now was it that she is intrigued? If he told her about the whole video, the same level of interest should have been consistent, but there's a change now. The only reason that could be is something he described affected her personally.

Does that mean...

"Kuku. Hold it right there, Kouenji."

A voice called out. It came from the bathtub that Kouenji had been in until a while ago.

"R-Ryuuen..."

Someone recognized him.

He's the man who was keeping himself warm in the jetted tub near Kouenji. The former leader of Class D, Ryuuen Kakeru.

The man who must have been observing Albert and Kouenji's fight had lively eyes.

"Surely you aren't saying you're a match for me?"

"No. Not even I can beat that thing of yours. However, there may be someone here who could put up a good fight you know?"

"So there's one final guy. Either he pales in comparison or he surprises everyone," Kushida sighed.

She was rather open about her thoughts, but that's not surprising I suppose.

My hypothesis is becoming all the more likely now. I really hope it's wrong. I didn't care who, just not him. I really didn't want to know.

He made a statement that hinted at something and all at once, the students looked around.

However, there's no way such a person could possibly exist.

And then I realized.

The fact that right now, Ryuuen has caught me in his trap.

My fears were realised. It really is a shame.

"The narrator gets called to action, huh?" Kushida stated bluntly.

"Really? Who might that be?"

Perhaps that also roused Kouenji's interest somewhat, as he asks that of Ryuuen.

"No idea. But if I'm not mistaken then there's still one more person here who's covering himself up with a towel and hiding his true strength."

Leaving behind that bomb I really wish he hadn't planted, Ryuuen entered the bath and turned his back.

Fortunately enough, there were only a few people listening to what Ryuuen had to say, but their gazes intensified.

In all likelihood I felt like it's not just the men in the bath but people from all around Japan who happen to be paying attention.

"Maybe even Ayanokouji can succumb to peer pressure," Sato pointed out.

"Y-yeah, maybe," Kei stated, but it seemed rather forced.

She knew just as I, Ayanokouji had indeed taken off the towel. Whether it was peer pressure or not, it happened. The evidence I have is circumstantial, but considering it was unlikely for him to run out, he did it. That was the conclusion I had come to.

"No way, a guy like you? Come on, no way."

Saying that, Yahiko approached and glared at me.

"...are you really taking his words at face value?"

"I have no intention of doing that...it's just, I'm curious about how you alone kept hiding yourself."

"Curious or not, I had no intention of joining in from the start."

I declined to join in while taking a step back.

"That may be so but please let me check, just in case."

Yamauchi and Yahiko approached me as though flanking me.

At that very moment, I saw Ryuuen laughing boldly.

"I will make you taste defeat."

Was what his gaze and smile conveyed.

"Well, that's one way for him to achieve his dream," Kushida chuckled.

"What if he wins?" I told Kushida.

"Then the people in this school are more like freaks than elites," Kushida shrugged.

True, that is indeed quite an anomaly. But then again, this school is full of anomalies.

As I had feared...

Ryuuen, who had no way of knowing what mine looked like, deliberately instigated this.

Having me deal with Kouenji, he seems intent on making me 'lose' one way or another.

A very Ryuuen-like, malicious way of fighting.

I could go all out and escape the bath but that would be the equivalent of rejecting bath time at the outdoor school. Sooner or later, this veil would be parted.

If there's still a way left to save myself it would be to take down every single student approaching me.

"If I was the boys, I'd be shitting myself," Kushida giggled sadistically.

I can only imagine that the boys may have felt some whiplash from such a thought.

"Considering there were no reports of all the boys getting in a fight, it didn't happen," Matsushita pointed out.

I doubt Ayanokouji would do such a thing anyway. It's probably too much effort in his eyes.

But that can no longer be considered a viable strategy.

Either way, I've suffered something similar to a defeat.

In other words, there aren't any means left for me to avoid this incomprehensible situation with anymore.

After seeing how I didn't budge, Kouenji laughed.

"Ha. Ha. Ha. There's nothing to be ashamed of Ayanokouji Boy. Even if you happen to be wearing a protector, it's something a lot of Japanese boys do. It's a precious something to protect you."

Karuizawa's expression suddenly grew more twisted. She most likely didn't like Ayanokouji being made fun of if I were to guess.

"How many boys do wear those things, do you think? I'd say a good amount," Kushida claimed.

"It's probably less than you think. And after this video, it'll probably go down even more," I told her.

Seeing the reaction to such a thing, many students would probably come to the conclusion that it isn't viewed well by many girls.

"You don't have much protection yourself, Kouenji."

"Because I already possess overwhelming strength, you see. I have no need of armor."

No, there should still be a way for me to escape.

Think, I have to find it, a means of escape--

"This is probably the hardest situation he's ever been in," Kushida muttered.

She seemed to have a rather high perception of Ayanokouji's abilities, not that I can blame her. Ayanokouji's abilities are certainly seen as incredible, no one can deny that. If you did, it'd be incredibly foolish.

"You guys do the chant, the chant."

Despite having dropped out already, Ryuuen eggs the students on from inside the bath.

He's set a trap, crushing my strategy and making sure that I can no longer escape.

"Take it off! Take it off! Take it off!"

It began to rise all around me, the chant the boys let loose all at once.

It didn't matter to the boys who instigated it. I was completely boxed in by Ryuuen and all the other boys.

I came here to replenish myself after a tiring day.

"Probably the most effective strategy Ryuuen had used on him," Kushida chuckled.

She's become rather talkative now that Ryuuen isn't here.

The girls here looked on in anticipation. Curiosity seemed to have taken over them. This was the last one, most likely. Hopefully.

"...I get it."

I cannot deny the fact that sometimes you've just got to fight.

I have no choice but to admit that now is one of those times.

As a man with a weapon, if I must fight, then I should fight.

The important thing here isn't winning or losing nor is it pride.

"Have it your way."

"Do you want me to assist in your suicide, Ayanokouji?"

Sudou approached me.

I stopped them with my hands.

I was buffeted by those relentless chants and so I removed the towel around my waist myself--

Anticipation. That was the only thing left in the atmosphere.

Karuizawa listened in silence. This is one of the times she's incredibly focused. As for me, I'd still rather not know, but I have no choice.

The ongoing chant slowly faded away.

And almost as though the noise from earlier never existed, a silence fell upon us.

"Y-You've got to be kidding me, that Ayanokouji guy..."

"I don't believe it..."

As though they were whispering, someone somewhere talked about me.

The words were rather ambiguous. Ayanokouji's 'thing' was unexpected, but it was never stated what it was like in comparison to Koenji's.

"Well, well, I'm honestly impressed Ayanokouji Boy. To think that there's a Japanese person capable of fighting evenly against me. If you ask me, a few millimeters difference may as well be nonexistent."

"...it's almost like two T-Rexes having a showdown..."

The boys stared at us in admiration from inside the bath.

Why... Just why...

I was fine with having my thoughts shown before, I was also aware that I could see things I didn't like, but this wasn't what I had expected.

The girls in the room all fell silent, there were no words.

"How are we the class with the worst people? It's more like they just threw in all the leftovers, without care of anything," Kushida complained.

Looking over at the girls, many contained surprised expressions, there were also some that got second-hand embarrassment like Sato. Karuizawa, however, had a slight smirk on her face with a slight blush to accompany it. She was probably happy that it was viewed positively, but slowly, the smile left her face and she began to look deep in thought.

"Well, well, well. He was so vague that day, so I thought that it may have been something he wasn't proud of. I'm happy that it wasn't something bad, but now... How big exactly is it?! I don't have visuals, just a really vague description. What does tank mean, Kiyotaka?! Is it big in general or just the biggest in that year? I don't know anything. This stupid video now just has me imagining things that are all completely far off the mark, but what if one of them isn't wrong?!" Kei thought.

I'd rather never speak of this again. I'm never going to bring it up, never even going to think of it past this day. I'll do everything I can to forget it.

"It's almost like you lot have become living witnesses to the making of history."

Kouenji tossed the towel onto his shoulder, laughing as he faced everyone.

"However, strictly speaking, I win. If you're using a T-Rex as an example then the difference lies in the number of prey we've eaten. In other words, the difference between us lies in our experience."

There's no longer even a need to tell us the details, Kouenji then plopped himself back into the bath.

Ayanokouji POV:

The scene faded to black and the room was left silent.

"Is that a White Room course I didn't know about?" Yagami pondered.

I had really gotten tired of his jokes.

We were all asked to go back to our respective classes.

Before I walked out, Yagami told me something.

"Let's have our next meeting be a little more interesting," Yagami whispered.

I didn't say anything, but I slightly nodded at him.

As soon as I got back in the classroom, there was dead silence. All the boys got back to their respective seats, and we waited for Chabashira to dismiss us as usual.

"Normally, you would be free to go by now, but there's one announcment I have to make," Chabashira stated at the podium.

The students looked at her in anticipation.

"The contents of this video have some rules applied to them. They are only allowed to be discussed during the time of the videos, or outside regular school hours. Apart from that, they are not to be mentioned. This is so that at least some privacy is allowed to be maintained," Chabashira announced.

Some privacy, huh? It doesn't seem all that helpful now, but I'll take what I can get. The enforcing of such rules may be difficult, however. I suppose I can't judge how it'll be punished until somebody is on the chopping block, so I'll leave it be.

We were then allowed to leave, but I went to the staircase and waited for someone.

Soon, she showed up.

"Hey, Kei," I told her as she walked up to me.

"How big is a tank?" Kei asked.

"What?"

"It's simple..." Kei put her hand on my shoulder.

With a cold smile, she began to grip it tightly.

"How. Big. Is. A. Tank. Kiyotaka?!" Kei exclaimed.

Author's notes:

I feel like I made too many dick jokes, but I also have the mental age of a 7-year-old, so I found them funny.

Anyway, the next chap will be the last one of v8. It'll be about the bet, and that part with kiyo and kei at the end of the volume.

That's about it, see you.

April fools: I showed them 5% of my darkness

It was odd, I had woken up just as normal. My day went on as usual, nothing odd, nothing weird. The breakfast I had tasted the same, the milk wasn't expired, and my clothes were the same as usual. I walked to school and the weather was just as expected, and as I walked into the classroom, the people around me looked the same as they usually do.

And yet, I felt as if something was eerie, like something dramatic had changed.

Perhaps I'm just dramatic.

Soon, we entered the gym and it looked the exact same, but I was called aside by Chabashira for a moment before I went to my seat.

Chabashira: Ayanokouji, please take these cards. Think of them as a checklist.

"What?" I stated as I took the cards.

Chabashira: No matter, just take them.

With those frankly meaningless words, I went to my seat.

"Today, we'll be revisting a rather favourite of mine."

Revisiting? Do we see a video we've already seen? How odd.

Perhaps my earlier odd feelings were right, this is going to be a weird day.

Near a large tree lay a muddy Horikita. She'd collapsed, unconscious. A single keycard lay on the ground near her hand. On her injured body were traces of excavated soil. After examining the situation, I confirmed that more people than Ibuki had discovered Horikita's position as leader. After picking up the keycard, I lifted Horikita into my arms.

What? This again?

Sudo: It should've been me! Bastard Ayanokouji.

Why was he being so mean? Is he sick?

Ike: Why do we have to watch you again? What about Kikyo-chan?!

Now, this is just weird, Kushida isn't on good terms with anyone. Did she do something with Ike?

"Ngh..."

Horikita let out a small sound. Slowly but surely, her eyes fluttered open.

"Are you awake?" I asked.

"Ayano...kouji-kun?"

She sounded dazed, as if she couldn't understand the situation.

"Agh... My head...hurts..."

"You have a high fever. Don't push yourself."

"I see... I-Ibuki-san... But, why are you here?"

Even if I told her to sleep, Horikita wouldn't listen, all while her fever grew worse. She started to understand the situation little by little.

"I knew it...Ibuki-san stole my card."

"I see."

"I can't be dumber than Sudou-kun and the others."

Ryuuen: Kukukukukukukuku. But you are.

Sakayanagi: Fufufufufufufu, that's very true. You're nothing but a failure.

Sudo: You bastards, how the hell do you treat Suzune that way?!

I looked over at Kei, who seemed rather normal.

"Is something off, Kei?" I asked.

Kei, blushing intensely: N-no, nothing weird is going on.

Why was she so flushed? I didn't say anything weird. Even with my limited knowledge of romance, nothing should have happened.

"I see, nevemind then," I told her.

She chastised herself and closed her eyes, as if lamenting a situation in which she was powerless.

"This isn't a test where you can just hide for twenty-four hours a day, right? No matter what you do, you can be open to attack."

I'd intended to keep going, but it seemed like anything more would just make the heartbroken Horikita even more depressed.

"I could've avoided this if I knew how to rely on someone..."

Nagumo: Your sister really is a failure, H-horikita-senpai. Surely you'll notice me now.

This isn't like him at all, he would never outwardly beg for acknowledgement.

Come to think of it, I hadn't looked at the cue cards yet. Turning one of them over, it had a rather odd thing written on it.

"Act emotionless and evil to Nagumo"

I feel like in my entire life, this is the moment I've been the most dumbfounded. Although, I wonder, what will happen if I act on these cards.

"Nagumo, you're nothing. You can't reach up to Manabu, he's better than you'll ever be," I told him bluntly.

This felt needlessly cruel...

Nagumo looked like he was going to speak, but then was cut off.

Ryuuen: Kukukukukukukukuku. It seems that the monster is showing himself.

He's using that laugh an awful lot, it goes for a long time as well. It's so awkward just waiting for him to finish.

Manabu: I agree with my future brother-in-law. You're nothing, Nagumo.

"Who are you?" I muttered to myself, in total confusion.

Horikita, blushing: W-what do you mean, Nii-san??

This has to be a bad dream, right? Maybe if I pinch myself, I'll go back to a world where everyone spoke like normal.

Pinching myself and closing my eyes, I hoped to wake up, but that didn't happen.

Manabu: You'll know soon enough, and if you don't understand your goal, I'll have to accomplish it for you.

Is he saying... No, no, it can't be. I refuse to believe that.

To seriously protect the leader's identity, it was necessary to depend on allies that you trusted from the bottom of your heart. If you did that, you could protect the card twenty-four hours a day. However, Horikita hadn't made a single friend.

She kept muttering, "I'm so pathetic" to herself quietly over and over.

"When I was losing consciousness, I felt like I could hear Ryuuen's voice... It's strange, I thought he'd already retired..."

"You were losing consciousness. Maybe you had a dream?"

"If it was a dream, it was a nightmare..."

Yes, this was a nightmare.

Ryuuen: You were thinking of me? How nice, let's go to my room and you'll be thinking of me all night.

This is oddly the most normal thing he's said all day.

Horikita, flustered: No thank you, I'll never do that.

Maybe things are slowly getting back to normal.

I wondered if she really had heard Ryuuen's voice. Even if she were asleep or losing consciousness, her brain had probably heard something. It wouldn't have been strange if she picked up Ryuuen's voice when unconscious.

"I'm sorry..."

While I was silently lost in thought, Horikita apologized.

"Why are you apologizing to me?" I asked.

"There's no one I can apologize to except for you..."

Hmm. That made me think pretty hard.

"If you think things are bad, then make some reliable friends. Start there first."

"That's difficult advice... No one would want to be with me."

It sounded like she'd resigned herself to unhappiness. Perhaps there was a trace of masochism in her. I laughed.

Sudo: You bastard, how are you going to laugh at Suzune? Do you want to fight, Ayanokouji?

Why... I gave my reasoning so long ago, I don't need to explain myself.

Kei in her mind: I wish he would laugh at me like that.

Kei looked like some beast.

Hirata: Don't worry, the class will help you, no matter what.

A light in the dark, Yosuke is once again showing his normal self.

Maybe my previous feelings were wro...

The Hirata fanclub: If Yosuke says so.

Nope, never mind. This place is some form of cult. Yosuke's popular, but the girls aren't some robots that they'll respond in unison with that phrase.

"It's unpleasant to be made fun of, though..."

"No, no, that's not it," I said. "It's just that you've started to sound like you need allies."

"Nobody would say that..."

Normally, Horikita would have been insulting me, but right now her words carried a different weight. She was blaming herself, or she wouldn't have said something like that. Still, it wasn't going to be easy. Horikita's hollow eyes seemed to look through rather than at me.

"I should have understood this a long time ago..."

You can't live alone in the world. School and society are composed of a great many people.

"Don't talk. You're sick."

I tried to convince her to be quiet, but Horikita didn't stop. For Horikita, there had never been any choice but to rely on herself. She could have chosen no other option.

"I'm going to try to get up to Class A using my abilities. I'll recover from this failure..." Horikita weakly grabbed my sleeve as she appealed to me. "I'm prepared to be hated by everyone else... This was all my mistake."

"According to this school's system, if you fight by yourself, you won't reach Class A. We need to cooperate with our classmates. It's unavoidable."

Horikita closed her eyes, as if lacking the strength to keep them open. Her grasp might have been weak, but I still felt it.

"I can't accept that. No matter how hard it is, I'm still...alone."

"Ah, shut up already! Stop talking. Right now, you won't be able to convince anyone."

Kei in her mind: Tell me to shut up, I want that so badly.

Kanzaki: This is so weird. I didn't expect Ayanokouji to act like this. What else are you hiding?

Ichinose: You're such a good person, Ayanokouji.

She hasn't thought that in months. Is this some act?

I embraced Horikita tightly.

"You can't bear every responsibility. You're not that strong, unfortunately."

"So you're telling me to give up? I have a dream to reach Class A, a dream for my brother to acknowledge me."

"No one said you have to give up."

I looked down at Horikita, who lightly groaned against my chest.

"If you can't fight by yourself, it's better to fight with a partner. I'll lend you a hand."

"Why? You're not the kind of person who would say such things..."

"Well, why then? I wonder."

Shortly afterwards, her energy was spent, and Horikita lost consciousness again. I had to carry her without anyone noticing. It would be easy to have her retire, but I didn't know which button on the wristwatch was for emergencies. Besides, if the helicopter were suddenly dispatched, the sound would reverberate in the area.

Ichika: Why don't you do that to me, senpai~? Carry me somewhere.

She's rather forward today.

Kei: Are you cheating on me?

"No? She's always like that," I sighed.

At those words, her mood went turned like a light switch.

Kei, blushing: To apologise, you'll have to do something special later. Something I ask you to, no refusing.

"Fine, I guess," I sighed.

Ryuuen: Looks like the monster is feeling compassionate.

He keeps calling me a monster, it's off-putting. At least there was no laugh this ti...

Sakayanagi: Fufufufufu. My childhood friend is certainly a lady's man.

Childhood friend? She doesn't consider me a friend, just some challenge for her to overcome.

Kamuro: What a weird laugh you have, loli.

At least Horikita hadn't been hurt, somehow. I looked up the slope, but with the way things were now, it didn't seem like I could crawl back up while carrying Horikita.

"Well, I sure messed up."

However, this wasn't the time to accept defeat and die. Carrying the unconscious Horikita on my back, I ventured into the pitch-dark forest with a single flashlight. The rain poured down on us, mercilessly robbing me of my physical strength. More than anything else, the heat radiating from Horikita wasn't normal. If she were exposed to the rain for any longer, it would become dangerous.

However, we were deep in the forest. There were no caves or man-made shelters. We had no choice but to rely on the power of nature. Fortunately, the trees were lush and overgrown, and their branches might keep our bodies relatively dry. I looked around the area, found a remarkably big tree, and moved right under it. Of course, it didn't block the rain completely, but the overgrown leaves did stop a lot of the rainfall.

I gently laid Horikita down. Her jersey was probably going to get dirty, but we had bigger problems now. I sat there, with Horikita's head in my lap. If only the area were cool... But the temperature was so high, hot and humid. Horikita occasionally trembled, like she was trying to curl into a ball.

Trying to lessen her burden even a little, I held Horikita close to my chest. After some time had passed, Horikita woke up, sputtering out ragged breaths. Still, in a daze, Horikita wasn't able to understand our situation.

"Why are you? I...?"

She didn't seem to remember what had happened. I explained the whole sequence of events. I had some doubts about whether she understood everything.

"I see... I remember."

"That's good."

"I remember my mistake, so it's probably awful."

Well, if she was able to crack self-deprecating jokes, then I could probably relax.

"It's already almost six o'clock, Horikita. You might think this will sound harsh, but you should retire. Your body is probably at its limit."

She had made it this far by pretending to be okay, but it wasn't possible for her to carry on.

Shinohara: What right do you have to talk to her about that?! You're not our leader!!!!!

"All I did was..." I began.

Hondo: No one cares, gloomy bastard. You're just a waste of space anyway.

Nagumo: I'm better than him anyway.

They all know what's happened, but they're acting like it hasn't.

Matsushita in her mind: He's smart, but they can't understand that. Maybe he was the real leader all along.

"I can't do that. We can't afford to lose thirty points because of me... I was the one who confronted Karuizawa-san and the others about using points, right? It would make me look like such an idiot..."

Ike: It doesn't matter anyway. Angels like Kikyo-chan can't do anything wrong.

Kushida, smirking: Yeah, Horibitch. What he said.

Horikita, blushing at Kushida: Y-yes, Kushida.

Horikita... is blushing at Kushida. I need to bleach my eyes, but I also want to take a photo, but I also never want to see it again.

Hirata: It's okay guys, nothing went wrong in the end, right?

But that isn't the point.

Hirata fan club: If you say so.

The three idiots excluding Yamauchi: Yeah, whatever. Disgusting Ikemen.

I give up.

I'm done.

This is my life now, I've accepted it.

There's no way it can get worse than this.

The penalty for poor physical condition was severe. In points alone, it was more than what Karuizawa had used herself. Horikita covered her eyes with her arm, probably to hide her tears.

"Not just that... The keycard was stolen from me, too. You understand what that means?"

"Class D will lose another fifty points."

Horikita gave a slight nod. Class D would only be left with a few points.

"Just leave me here and head back. If you do, I'll be the only one absent from roll call."

"What are you planning to do?"

"By tomorrow morning, I'll...try to return by myself, somehow. If I can deal with my poor health during roll call, then I'll do something about retirement."

Shinobitch: Were you going to let her do that, gloomy bastard?!

Sudo: You bastard. If you did, I'll kill you!

Sakayanagi: Fufufufu. Your class really is pathetic.

Kei in her mind: God, I want him to leave me stranded and broken. I wanna see those cold eyes look down on me. Ah mou~!

That way, we would be left with a five-point loss.

"Things aren't that easy. You're feeling really weak now, and our teacher isn't kind enough to let you act your way past her. It will be impossible for you to get back to camp on your own."

"Still, there's nothing else I can do... This is so Class D will have some points left."

Putting aside the keycard incident, we might retain some points for roll call and retirement. That certainly wasn't a small number.

"Go."

Although Horikita was weak, I felt her indomitable will behind her words. She could bear whatever burden she placed on herself, but couldn't seem to bear involving others. I rose, and rested her head against the tree. She wanted me to leave her.

"Well then, I'll leave. But if things continue like this, our classmates will blame you."

"Yes. That's the correct decision. Everything was my responsibility."

Horikita praised my cold, calculating decision. She was ashamed of herself for being weak. Trembling, she forced herself to endure the cold. This was the kind of hardship that solitary people faced. The weather was still stormy, with no signs that the rains and winds would stop.

Sudo: Batard, you actually did it. Meet me behind the dorms, I'm going to beat the shit out of you!

No, I'm not going to do that.

Hosen: HAHAHAHA. Did you actually do that shit? Maybe you're more interesting than you look, you little fucking bitch. You look like a rat's remains, you little shit.

At least Hosen's needless amount of slurs hasn't changed today.

Manabu: You should have done it, that's how you teach my useless little sister discipline.

"I thought you wanted her to be my wife," I sighed.

Manabu: I gave up on that idea, I'll take up that role instead.

I see. Well, can't say I'm surprised.

Horikita: But Nii-san! I want to be with you!

Oh Horikita, what's happened to you? You've fallen so far.

Manabu: I couldn't care less. I'll do your job, you useless sister.

Horikita looked like she was about to cry.

Hashimoto: You can't be with the king anyway.

The girls, like robots, all asked him why he called me King.

The boys, like robots, all laughed in unison like it was some form of a choir.

"Can you really make it back alone by tomorrow morning?"

"Yeah... I'll be fine."

"Horikita. Do you really think that not retiring is the right decision?" I couldn't help blurting those words out.

"Of course I do. Retiring isn't an option for me."

She was free to exercise her indomitable will as much as she liked, but it didn't mean anything if she lost in the end.

"Hey. Why do you think that we've been backed into such a corner?" I asked.

"I failed due to my negligence. That's all."

"You're wrong. You're completely wrong."

Horikita Suzune had fought as hard as she could, and had tried to get to the end of the test without making mistakes.

"Go... Because I think of you as my friend, please listen to my request..."

After Horikita said that, she covered her mouth in surprise.

Sudo: I guess I won't beat you up, Ayanokouji.

Shinobitch: Maybe if some more people worked hard, our class would be better.

This feels like it's going to be an insult on me.

Miyamoto: Yeah, like that gloomy bastard.

There it is.

I should do some gambling with how good my prediction skills are.

Hiyori: My book buddy, I still think you're doing good.

You would never say that so casually, but it's the kindest thing someone will say to me today, so I don't mind it.

Hoshinomiya: You should come to my class, Ayanokouji. Ichinose here will treat you nicely.

Tomatonose: W-what? I-i mean, that wouldn't be so bad.

Mako: You look like a tomato, Ichinose.

"I'm going to make this right... As if it didn't happen at all."

"No, this is the wrong choice."

"It's fine. I can... By myself... Ugh..."

Horikita suddenly stood, but the burden was too much. She closed her eyes in pain.

"Go, please..."

She lost consciousness again. I gently took Horikita into my arms and shifted my position to make her a little more comfortable. Standing, I looked up at the boundless darkness and let out a sigh.

"It would have been easier if you'd just retired of your own free will."

Shinobitch: You can't tell her what to do!

Yes, yes, I am not your leader. I understand.

At least it's almost over.

Sudo: Why couldn't it have been me, not him?!

The stubborn princess didn't seem like she was going to throw in the towel. Wonderful. Yes, I thought it was wonderful. You were almost right. But unfortunately, Horikita, you were wrong about one thing. Right now, just for this moment, I'll tell you.

I have never thought of you as my friend.

Horikita: W-what????

I've never cared about you as a classmate.

In this world, winning is everything.

Your methods don't matter. I don't care what I have to sacrifice.

As long as I have my victory in the end, I'll be fine.

You, Hirata—no, all other people are nothing more than tools.

I was complicit in what drove you to this. So, don't blame yourself, Horikita.

You were useful to me.

Yagami: Tch. I could do that, whatever.

Nagumo: You really are interesting, Ayanokouji.

Manabu: Too bad he'll never acknowledge you, just like I won't either.

Hosen, laughing: Ayanokouji you finally showed yourself! HAHAHA.

Ichika: Ayanokouji-Senpai is so cool, he's making my heart race~

If it's only this, I can deal with it.

Kanzaki: Ichinose, we can't trust him!

Ichinose: B-but look at him. He would never hurt anyone. If he's feeling bad, I'll be his light in the darkness.

Ryuuen: Kukukukukukukukukukukukukuku...

This one is large

Ryuuen: Kukukukukukukukukuku. The monster is showing himself, finally,

Sakayanagi: My childhood friend, now that you're in the open, please fight me.

Mashima: This is not the level of a child...

Nanase, glaring at me: I will never forgive you. I'll destroy you, no matter what.

Ibuki in her mind: Why am I heating up?

This is just getting annoying to hear now. At least the last time I could understand what they were saying, but this is just a scrambled mess of complaints and weirdly lustful statements.

Looking at the second cue card, it said something rather odd.

"Show them your true eyes, your darkness"

Huh?

I turned it around.

"Just glare at them"

I see... Then just say that.

I stood up from my seat and looked at everyone.

So just glare at them, huh?

Very well then.

I looked down on them all with killing intent.

Nothing seemed to have changed, maybe I'm doing it wrong.

Is this some super powered attack? They usually have percentages, right?

I showed them 5% of my darkness.

After I did that, they all quieted down.

I'm tired, I want to go back to where I usually am.

"All of you, shut up. I'm done, I give up," I sighed.

Yagami: Tch. Whatever, I can yell at some people and glare at them too.

"You were interesting, Yagami. What happened to you? You weren't this odd, watered-down parody of yourself with only two different statements," I complained.

Yagami: Whatever.

"And the rest of you, you're no different. You're nothing but these caricatures of yourself, without substance or personality. Manabu's gay, Horikita wants incest, Ryuuen and Sakayanagi can't stop laughing, Nagumo is... something. What happened?"

For some reason, something I can't understand, Kei looked to be blushing madly. It wasn't just her either, the rest of the girls looked lustful.

"All of you... No, I give up. I'll be leaving now, goodbye," I stated as I went to the door.

I can't keep my sanity if I keep living like this.

"The White Room is better than this place," I sighed.

Author note:

It's april first, if none of you knew.

I'll change the title of this to something like 'Oneshot:...' or 'April fools chap' or something in a few days.

This kiyo is in an alternate timeline or something. I don't know. I didn't put much thought into it. I thought of this idea yesterday and wrote it today, there's no planning that went into it.

That's about it, see you.

The False King

It was so peaceful again. There was no Ryuuen nor Yagami by my side to torture me, I was free from their torment.

Now then, as for today's video, I would guess that it has to do with Nagumo and Manabu's bet.

"Welcome back everyone. Now that we're all in the same place, let's continue as normal. Cooperation against individual skill, who shall win?"

Nagumo had a grin at those words. It was probably the most excited I've seen him in recent times.

Just like that, our long exam day ended. The group, no, the entire student body is exhausted. Our group will definitely rank far higher than what we expected it to rank at the beginning.

As long as the average score favors us, our group will definitely stand more than a good chance. The rest depends on how well Nagumo's group and the 3rd year group perform.

At the very least we should be above the average. Just like our first day here, all the boys assembled inside the gymnasium. Afterwards, the girls also began assembling. The results of the special exam for both the boys and the girls will probably be announced now.

It's almost 5 o'clock in the evening. It'll probably be late night by the time we get back to the school.

"Skipping all of the exam details seems like it would be dumb, right?" Ike pointed out.

"Why do you think that?" Horikita asked.

"Well, then how do we know what happened and how the groups did? Maybe something interesting happened," Ike asked.

"That's not a problem. If it was skipped, it was likely irrelevant or it will be answered later. Ayanokouji said that he's sure his group passed the average score set by the school, so I doubt anything interesting happened," Horikita explained.

Ike nodded and seemed to understand.

The people who didn't seem to understand weren't the second or third years, however, it was the first years.

"What exactly does it mean by the average score?" Tsubaki asked.

"The school assigned an average score that each small group needed to pass so that no expulsions would happen. If a group fell below the average, the leader of the group would be expelled. There's also the choice for the leader to bring down another member with them if they choose," Chabashira answered.

With that knowledge equipped, the first years seem to have a much higher understanding of the stakes that these results would have.

"You all did well in the last eight days of this training camp. The contents of the exam are different of course, but this is a special exam that occurs every few years. Overall, you all did better than the students who took this special exam last time. I suppose you could attribute that to all of you having better teamwork."

The elderly man I haven't seen before announced all that with a constant smile on his face. Looks like he's the one in charge of this training camp.

"First of all, I'll be announcing the results. For the boys, all groups are above the average set by the school and so there will be no expellees."

The moment that was announced, I could hear the boys breathe a sigh of relief.

"That's a cruel way to put it," Amasawa chuckled.

Many looked at her confused. It was vague wording, after all. But she was one of the few that figured it out, just as expected.

"Every year the quality of the student's increase, it's certainly exciting," chairman Sakayanagi commented with a slight smile.

"Why do you think that is?" Manabu asked him.

The former president and the chairman were conversing, it was certainly a rare sight. Manabu must have spoken to the headmaster plenty of times, but not the man above him.

"It's hard to pinpoint exactly. Data has shown that students nowadays learn things in high school that their fathers may have learnt in university. It could be due to technology, the education system itself constantly changing, or any other number of factors. Humans evolve and adapt, whether it be slow or fast, that's the conclusion I've come to," chairman Sakayanagi stated with resolve.

"I suppose it's an immensly nuanced topic. Many environmental factors along coexisting in a certain way would be the cause," Manabu nodded at the chairman's words.

"There's also the case of societal expectations. After all, eating, waking and sleeping are all things even pigs and horses can do. It would be a shame if one would be content with doing such things. Since you have been born a human, there are things you are expected to do that separates you from those beasts. Read and write, understand the world you live in, contributing to something. Those are all things that are expected of a person in the modern age," chairman Sakayanagi added.

The students listened to his words with varying levels of interest.

"I see, so no expellees..."

Patting himself on the chest, Keisei sighed. Ishizaki lightly taps him on the back.

"Never once thought we'd be expelled. Because we were aiming for 1st place after all."

"Yeah."

No matter what your feelings are, the fact that we've avoided expulsion is a significant one. However, something about the way that elderly man phrased it seemed off. If there are no expellees among the entire student body then there'd be no reason to say 'boys' in particular. In other words--

The students that were confused by Amasawa's words before now understood their true weight.

"So one of the girls was expelled, huh?" Yagami mulled over this thought as he glanced over to Manabu, as well as the person next to him.

"As for the boys' group that placed first, I'll only be announcing the name of its 3rd year leader. For the 1st, 2nd and 3rd years of that group, your rewards will be handed out to you at a later date."

After explaining that, the elderly man slowly read the name.

"3rd year, Class C. Ninomiya Kuranosuke-kun's group placed first."

That announcement caused a portion of the 3rd years to celebrate. I didn't know which group it was for a moment, but I immediately realized that it's the group the older Horikita is in.

It appears the older Horikita has dominated the battle against Nagumo.

"And no cheating used by Nagumo-senpai, right?" Amasawa giggled.

She probably had a rough idea about what happened. Nagumo's vague wording, his nonchalance, and Manabu's paranoia, all culminated in this point.

Many of the observant first years were beginning to put the puzzle pieces together, while the other years were simply watching for entertainment. They knew the results and how everything unfolded, there was nothing new here for them to watch.

"You did it, Horikita. As expected of you."

Afterwards, groups starting from 2nd place to last place were announced but for the seniors that's merely a bonus. Fujimaki, paying it no attention, praised the older Horikita.

"Oi, Yukimura. We're 2nd. We did it!"

"Yeah, that's a relief. That's really a relief."

I don't know by how much since they didn't announce the difference in points but Nagumo's in 2nd place. That means it was close but he lost. Even if he placed 2nd, it still means Nagumo lost so he'd somewhat quiet down. That's what everyone thought. To be honest, I couldn't tell whose tactics would triumph in this fight. Why? Because I wasn't particularly interested in it.

"Ignored by a second opponent. It seems you always chase after the ones who have no interest in you," Ryuuen smirked at Nagumo.

"All your opponents are jumping at the chance to face you, right?" Nagumo responded without agitation.

Ryuuen simply chuckled at Nagumo's retort and ignored it.

However, Nagumo's been smiling constantly beside me without showing any sign of being agitated.

This isn't a man who defiantly made his challenge and lost. I suppose that's to be expected. Because this man's been doing something ridiculously 'wicked' behind the scenes.

"Lose the battle but won the war, huh?" Yagami questioned.

"So the president lost his bet, but he doesn't seem to care. Seems odd considering how much he valued a battle, considering his attitude," Tsubaki speculated.

The first years hadn't seen that Tachibana wasn't feeling well. I presume to build up some mystery, so they weren't able to tell precisely who was the girl that got expelled.

"1st place secured. Congratulations, Horikita-senpai. As expected of you."

Nagumo raised his voice and congratulated the older Horikita. The older Horikita neither replied nor celebrated, remaining silent for the remainder of the announcement.

No, perhaps he's starting to feel something off about this.

"You lost, Nagumo."

The 3rd year Fujimaki, who knows nothing, said that to Nagumo. Perhaps he feels like he's just humbled an upstart junior.

"Let's see, the result announcement has just begun."

"Oh please, the fight's already over."

"Sure, it's over for the 'boys'."

"Boys? Girls have nothing to do with this. Nagumo, that was the rule, right?"

"Yes, they have nothing to do with this. Nothing to do with my fight against Horikita-senpai, that is."

"Now I'm just surprised why the former president didn't see this. From everything shown with Nagumo-senpai so far, it seemed like it was something he would do," Hashimoto commented.

"I have to agree. If I were to guess, this was Nagumo-senpai's plan all along. To make Horikita-senpai hyper focus on the president and use paranoia to destroy him," Sakayanagi stated with a smile on her face.

She was clearly enjoying this.

If I were to compare this to something else, it would be like Yagami's statement on how only some of the student council members have talent, and not to write them off. I saw it as a message to myself, his brazen announcement that he may use the student council against me. There's the chance that he wouldn't and the chance that he would, I can't tell.

He's aiming to use my own analytical behaviour against me, just as Nagumo used Manabu's paranoia against him. Using human nature to let the opponent destroy themselves, that's what they're both trying to employ.

And for Nagumo's, it worked perfectly.

Fujimaki's expression turned grim upon hearing those cryptic words from Nagumo. He quietly observed Ishikura from the 3rd years' Class B from beside him.

"Now then...next up I will be announcing the results of the girls' groups. The group in 1st place is the group led by 3rd year Class C's Ayase Natsu-san."

This time around, a portion of the girls start celebrating. The small group that's a part of the 3rd year Ayase's large group is the one built around Class C's Horikita and Kushida. They may have just won quite a lot of points for themselves. But after the joy comes the problem.

"Umm...this is truly unfortunate but there is one small group that has fallen below the average."

Both the boys and the girls froze up at that announcement. The students who were celebrating also went silent.

"Failing this exam itself is weird. A written exam, a relay, and some weird shit called Zazen. It doesn't seem like you could fail those unless it was on purpose," Hosen criticised.

With the limited information he had, he hit the bullseye.

"I realise that the actual methods you used were quite simple, but immensely effective," Manabu told Nagumo.

I thought he'd be happier. After all, the person who he had been trying to chase had given him praise and acknowledgement in some way, but he didn't seem happy or sad. Had he become so demotivated that even this didn't affect him? Or perhaps he had always known this and didn't need Manabu's words to reaffirm himself.

Nagumo is like some form of complex musical composition. The layers, melody, tempo and everything else are ever-changing. As soon as I think I've understood something, the song has already moved on, leaving me with another equally complex part to understand.

"This praise should make me feel something, but my heart doesn't feel moved. Defeating him was supposed to be the reaffirming I needed, but until I've gone against the peak, I don't know what my place is. Was it just a fluke? Things like that flood my mind. I've played sports and won against teams that were better than us as a whole, and the opposite holds true as well. Defeating Ayanokouji can't be considered a fluke, not at all, but I will never have the chance to see how I fare against him, so this praise doesn't do anything," Nagumo thought.

Everyone did their best in the special exam and worked hard to ensure they'd be above the average. However, the results can sometimes be cruel. This would mean someone's definitely going to be expelled.

The question is whether it's going to be a 1st year or a senior student, or perhaps both. There's no telling yet. The older Horikita looked at Nagumo as though he just realized something.

As though he's trying to figure out the reason behind that constant warped smile on his face. But it's already too late.

"Firstly, I'll announce the lowest group...it's the group led by 3rd year Class B's Ikari Momoko-san."

For the first years, so only heard of Manabu as some form of invincible leader, one who was so incredible that he was the standard that leaders needed to reach, this loss was going to be shocking.

"The look on their faces is quite amusing," Sakayanagi giggled as she glanced at the first years.

The idea of this unstoppable leader that they had built into their minds was currently breaking apart right in front of them.

There's also another effect this video will have, but those repercussions won't be quite clear, yet.

The boys all couldn't tell who was in that group at first. But they could hear screams coming from some of the girls and they start to realize who belongs to that group. The bottom large group has been decided. Now it all rests on which small group fell below the average.

In the worst case scenario, there could be expellees from all three years at once.

"Now, as for the group that fell below the average..."

Silence fell upon the gymnasium almost as though we were in the midst of Zazen. Everyone, wanting to know the results as quickly as possible, focused on that man's mouth.

"This Zazen thing sounds like meditating with extra steps," Hosen pointed out.

"Same as before, 3rd year--"

He read it out. And the gymnasium was divided into those who are starting to break out into a smile and those who are starting to get nervous.

"The group's leader is--Ikari Momoko-san. That is all."

The moment that was declared, Nagumo started laughing happily as though he had been restraining himself all this time.

Time that passed like we were in slow motion resumed again.

But a lot of the students have yet to comprehend the situation. Nagumo isn't laughing because some student whose face he doesn't even know just got expelled. All this means is that a student from the 3rd years' Class B got expelled, that's all...but he's laughing because that isn't all there is to it.

"It's pretty tribal. Even if one person was perfect, they could still lose," Yagami examined.

"The goal was about teamwork, I suppose. Although teamwork in this place is just a fantasy if the people in the team aren't from the same tribe," Tsubaki added.

"It's still teamwork, just more transactional. The ideology that teamwork has to be selfless is nothing but fiction. The reality is that people, more often than not, work together for a common goal out of self-interest. It's individuality that is more successful than putting the team above oneself," Sakayanagi stated.

It's a little cynical, but I don't believe it's a bad way to do things.

"You seem to be having too much fun expelling people," Asahina sighed.

"I simply like to win," Nagumo shrugged.

"What did you do, Nagumo!?"

The 3rd year Fujimaki from Class A approached him as though he just realized what was going on. The older Horikita didn't follow suit but his expression turned grim.

"The announcement is still ongoing, senpai. Please calm down. Currently, this has nothing to do with you, Fujimaki-senpai. A Class B got expelled, that's all. In fact, isn't it great that a rival of yours has fallen?"

He answered with a scornful laugh.

"Umm, please remain silent. This is truly unfortunate but in taking responsibility, Ikari-san will have to be expelled. Furthermore, since the group can opt to go with joint responsibility, please consult me at a later date. Moving on, I'll announce which girls' group took 1st place."

Despite saying how unfortunate it was, the announcements continued on solemnly. However, the older Horikita no longer cared about having taken 1st place. He got caught up in it just the way he was meant to be. It's precisely because he's an outstanding and exemplary person that he got beaten by Nagumo Miyabi. An unexpected attack.

"If he's outstanding, he should have seen this coming, right?" Sudo stated in confusion.

Horikita, which usually answered these questions, possessed a rather tense expression. Seeing her brother's biggest defeat once again probably made her a little anxious, considering the new information she now knew.

"No. As stated, it was my status which led me to lose," Manabu answered.

It probably registered to him extremely fast why he lost.

"Ayanokouji, why is Fujimaki-senpai so angry...? Like Nagumo-senpai said, the leader's a student from Class B. Isn't that great news for Class A?"

Keisei whispered his doubts into my ear.

"No, it's not about the leader. I think it's about who's going to get dragged down along with her."

"Ehh?"

We were ordered to disband and while they prepare the bus for the return trip, we are allowed free time to change our clothes.

"This co-opt strategy seems unfair. Is it just a way for revenge if the student was bad?" Ike pondered.

"Not necessarily. I doubt any of the leaders willingly wanted to be in that position. If you were the leader and a student that didn't try was the reason you were being expelled, that would seem unfair, correct?" Horikita asked.

With this sound reasoning, Ike had no choice but to agree.

Nagumo stood boldly and called over a single girl.

"Ikari-senpai, please tell us. Everyone's curious to know who you're going to be dragging down with you."

Ikari, from the 3rd years' Class B and slated for expulsion, appears calm. On the contrary, the ones worried are the girls who share a group with her.

Ikari's group consists mainly of Class Bs and Class Ds. There's no doubt about it, since it's information given by Asahina and Kei.

"Mainly, huh?" Amasawa smirked.

For many people, the information was already known, so there were no surprises. And for the people that didn't know, it didn't need any more thought, the answer was going to present itself.

Also, among them...there's also the figure of the sole participant from Class A, Tachibana Akane.

I looked at the older Horikita. And I then addressed him slowly in my mind.

There it was, the student who would be the key to this loss. However, this was just the most effective one. Even if Nagumo went after any other student in his class, I doubt he'd let them be willingly expelled.

"Is this your weird eye telepathy thing again? I think you should go to the nurse and get it checked out," Ryuuen chuckled.

"Is that what you get when you go through the White Room?" Amasawa grinned.

She uses it so casually, but it does make the atmosphere a little tenser every time she does. Although out of everyone, Yagami seemed to be enjoying her statements the most.

I understand. In order to ensure your graduation as Class A, in order to act against Nagumo, you instructed the students of Class A, both boys and girls alike, to not let a single one end up as the leader right?

Because if you maintain a steady score, you won't be expelled after all. However, you knew that even that would not be an absolute defense.

That's why you accepted Nagumo's challenge and set the stage for a fair-and-square fight.

To hold 'malice' at bay.

And also you avoided making careless contact with the girls.

To lower the risk of Nagumo taking advantage of that opening and targeting the girls.

Amicably enough, you've exhausted all possible measures, I'll acknowledge that.

But even so, Nagumo's malice exceeds even that.

There's no need to even talk about it at length. This special exam is a trap that Nagumo set without the school even realizing it.

"And with that, you allowed an opening. If you allow your opponent to play like a genius, they will," Sakayanagi stated smugly.

"Do you just hate him that much? You both seem to be in an endless pissing contest," Hosen chuckled as he looked over at Nagumo and Manabu.

They both paid him no mind.

"It's clear what the flaws in your plans were, but I'm curious how Nagumo-senpai was able to understand them so clearly," Kanzaki commented.

"He was his vice president for a long time. That's the key to it, I believe. You get a lot of perspectives and also trust from it," Ichinose analysed.

She'd been rather silent recently, perhaps it was a loss of confidence, but I can't say.

"I suppose that makes sense. That's a double-edged sword, however. They both had the opportunity to gain information on each other, Nagumo-senpai just used it better," Kanzaki agreed.

The people caught in the trap are now beginning to realize their situation.

Their expressions, even now, have paled to the point it seems like they're about to collapse.

"Isn't that obvious? You disturbed our group's peace, Class A's Tachibana Akane-san."

There was no shock, no surprise or gasps, this was what many expected. She's the only one they've seen who is close to Manabu, after all.

As though to let everyone hear, Ikari spat that out aggressively.

"Nagumo...the promise made with Horikita was that we wouldn't involve a third party in this right!?"

Fujimaki closes in, looking like he's going to punch someone.

"Hold on please. I have nothing to do with this."

"Shameless!"

It's obvious he'd get angry. No matter who looks at it, he's involved, is the mood of transparency he's creating himself.

"That's just a dead lie. And here I thought Ayanokouji was bad at lying," Ryuuen chuckled.

"You may not have been the one who pulled the trigger, but you were still the reason such a thing happened. The employer is just as guilty as the employee in this case," Manabu stated as he adjusted his glasses.

Nagumo simply shrugged in response.

"I suppose," Nagumo stated indifferently as if he didn't care about the specifics.

"Losing a class member so close to the end must be painful. Not only for the student but also the class who's a man down," Hashimoto examined.

"Then, I'll be issuing the mutual fall notice."

Saying that indifferently, Ikari headed over to the teachers.

At the same time, Ikari's classmate Ishikura also followed as though they were sticking together.

Nobody could bring themselves to recognize that.

That includes the Hashimoto faction too.

"Tachibana-senpai slowed down Ikari-senpai's group. As a result, the average score fell below the border, and she'll be dragged down too. Isn't it as simple as that?"

Unlike Fujimaki, the older Horikita called out to Tachibana, who was standing stock still, before approaching Nagumo.

A portion of the 3rd years left with helpless expressions.

3 years and countless battles. It would surely be a major blow to morale as well. Tachibana was probably someone high-ranking in class A, seeing as she was close to Manabu. If I were to compare it to other classes, it would be like losing Kanzaki for Ichinose's.

And for us, it may be like losing someone like Hirata... No, more like losing someone of the ranking of Kei. Their abilities aren't the same, but if I were to rank them, they would be of similar status. While it is for different reasons, the blow would be of similar levels.

And by the end of the third year, losing someone like Kei would probably overtake the damage Manabu felt.

"Horikita-kun, I'm sorry...!"

"Tachibana, why didn't you consult me earlier? You should have been able to notice the abnormality."

"That's...because I knew it would only burden Horikita-kun..."

Tachibana apologizes while in tears.

In all likelihood she didn't notice it at first. The fact that the trap was sprung from the moment the groups were established.

However, with the passage of time she must have felt it. The fact that the group she's in is a group that's meant to drag down 'Tachibana'.

And Tachibana challenged the exam, hoping for a miracle. However, as expected, reality is cruel.

But Tachibana too, should have resolved to accept this as well. That even if she herself were to be expelled, it would end with the loss of just 100 class points.

No words were said. Of course, the second and third years know that she remained, but the first years don't. She may be present currently, but there was a never rule that expelled students aren't allowed to be here. Manabu, a graduated student is here, so an expellee may also be allowed.

Nagumo didn't look apologetic, but I suppose he's not obligated to be. This is just how it works in this school.

People will fall, that's how it is. You can fight for that not to happen, but it isn't possible. Reality doesn't care about these fantasies.

"Beautiful friendship, or perhaps love would be a better fit. Congratulations, Horikita-senpai. Once again, please let me give my compliments. It's my loss."

Nagumo gave his compliments in a tone that hardly sounds like a loser's speech. There probably isn't a single person who would accept them gratefully.

"A fantastic idea, no, shall I say it was a strategy that was beyond the norm? There isn't a single person capable of reading me. Horikita-senpai, that includes you too."

Laughing heartily, Nagumo did not let up the attack on his injured opponent.

"You can't even contain your happiness, can you?" Asahina sighed.

"The victor gets the bragging rights, huh?" Ryuuen questioned.

"Would you have been more graceful?" Nagumo asked.

"Not at all. I'd probably be worse than you were," Ryuuen smirked as he looked at Nagumo's excitement on the screen.

"Now that would be amusing. Although I wonder who the loser will be," Nagumo stated as he gave alternating glances to Sakayanagi and me.

"You won't have to wait much longer if you're that curious, it just depends on when the opportunity arises," Ryuuen stated confidently.

"Please do tell me, Tachibana-senpai. Carrying out your duties as part of the student council, and so close to your graduation as Class A of the 3rd years, how exactly does it feel to be expelled? Also Horikita-senpai, what are your current feelings? Surely you're consumed by a feeling of irritation you haven't felt before?"

Having those words directed at him, the older Horikita silently breathes out.

"Why didn't you target me?"

"Even if I were to use a strategy like this against you, senpai, I've never considered expelling you. You could have stopped me with a strategy unforeseen and I was scared of that. But more than that, it's not like I ever thought I wanted to expel you, Horikita-senpai. On the contrary, if you were to be expelled, we wouldn't be able to meet anymore would we? And that's why when I picked one out of many, it ended up being Tachibana-senpai. I wanted to see what kind of face you'd make when I got rid of her."

He then laughed as though saying it was just curiosity, pure interest.

Looking back, perhaps Nagumo believed that he could have not been able to defeat Manabu. He stated that he feared Manabu outwitting him, but that leads to another question. What does he think about his victory now? A fluke, perhaps. Although there's also the possibility of him not caring about Manabu much now that he's given up on a challenge.

"You remind me of news reporters who get all up in a victim's face after something traumatic has happened," Hashimoto stated.

"My policies differed from yours but I did trust you. Regarding our competition, I thought you to be the kind of man capable of facing me head-on. Looks like I was wrong."

Nagumo did not flinch in response to those words from Horikita.

"There's some truth to that, but it also sounds like the words of a sore-loser," Sakayanagi offhandedly insulted.

"It's like you both played a game, but one didn't know that the other had extra pieces on the board," Yagami stated.

Manabu knew that Nagumo would most likely do something unprecedented, he just didn't know that the piece Nagumo was targetting wasn't him.

"Trust is similar to experience points. You accumulate them and it gradually grows bigger and bigger. Its ultimate form, I believe, is family. If you're out at night and you encounter a stranger, you'd be cautious. Yet if they turned out to be family then you'd let your guard down entirely. I'd say it's something similar to that. During these two years, even though I'm certain Horikita-senpai did not like me, I did gain a certain degree of your trust. Our values were different but it's all because I made good on my promises. In regards to our relationship, I obeyed your instructions and kept the rules. But even so, we're talking about a senpai as sharp as you, it's not like you trusted in me 100% right?"

He should know at least that the older Horikita had given instructions for defense as well as the fact that he had been gathering information.

Many people, even when it comes to family, don't have people they will trust 100%. Some will never find that person, but it isn't necessarily bad. For the average person, you don't need one, just someone you can trust enough is satisfactory.

"You really threw that away, huh?" Horikita questioned.

"Yes, that's exactly what I did," Nagumo replied without hesitation.

"But...even if you doubted me, it's not like you can afford to take the initiative in betraying me, senpai."

It's one of the harsh points of nonaggressive defense.

"Because of that one curiosity you held, you've lost big time, Nagumo."

"Things like trust, I've thrown them aside myself. In order to be understood by the senpai who cares for his kouhais."

Keeping promises and having kept promises.

Nagumo easily painted over such foundations.

Trust and respect. To desire a fight that demolishes such fences. This is a challenge from Nagumo, who thinks that way.

"You speak like this isn't the end of your battle. Was there ever an act two?" Kanzaki asked.

It's always possible that it wasn't as open as the one here.

"You'll see if there was," Nagumo shrugged.

"I suppose that there was a second act to our battle... No, it isn't necessarily a battle. If our confrontation was a war, then the second act was a battle in and of itself. The time on the island was fully my defeat, I can't deny that, so we're both at one point each. The war never really reached an end, it just fizzled out as one side didn't wish to fight anymore. The chance for a third act died long ago," Nagumo thought.

"I've managed to understand your modus operandi well."

"That's a relief. Because this is, at the very most, a mere skirmish still."

Saying that, Nagumo asks.

"If necessary, I just have to expel as many people as needed. That is the original modus operandi of this school."

"You seem to be continuing this conversation on the assumption that Tachibana will be expelled."

While his surroundings were panicking, the older Horikita alone calmly proceeded with the conversation.

"It would be a loss either way, but this is more resource heavy," Tsubaki pointed out.

Indeed. If Tachibana was expelled, they would be 20 million points up, but that didn't end up happening. Perhaps if this was at the beginning of the year, it could have been better, but at such a late stage, it could have been disastrous.

"W-Wait, Horikita-kun!"

Tachibana screams.

But the older Horikita's eyes already showed a firm resolve.

"Heh. I figured it'd be a tie but are you really going to spit that out? With this timing, that large amount of money and class points, I mean."

Cancellation of expulsion.

As long as the criteria are met, it's the ultimate method available for use by anyone.

"Please stop, I beg you. My uselessness is my own responsibility...that's why--"

Tachibana desperately tried to stop him.

However, it seems Fujimaki also shares the same opinion as the older Horikita, as he spoke to the students of Class A.

Out of every class I've seen, Manabu's class A seems to be the one with high unity, but also the most successful. The success Ichinose has had isn't comparable, while every other class's unity doesn't seem to be on the same level. I can't imagine Sakayanagi and the rest of her class willingly going to save a student, the same holds true with Nagumo.

"Up until now, the reason why Class A was able to function as Class A is something the people in the class understand better than anyone else. Isn't that right?"

"That's exactly right, Horikita. No need to hold back, use it, use it."

His Class A classmates said that at the same time.

"Is that really ok, Horikita-senpai? For the 3rd years to 'save' an expellee with this timing means Class A would have to give up their seat you know?"

"Even if we have to give it up once, we just have to take it back again. Using the modus operandi of this school you mentioned."

"Is that so? Well, I suppose that's fine too."

"Now that I look at it, that class A is something like the ideal that our class aims for. But they aren't above using rather unethical wins either, which is why we aren't on the same level. Their unity is comparable to our own, but our results pale in comparison," Kanzaki thought.

"So you didn't end up adhering to the ideal you wished for. Well, I suppose that you didn't even before this incident," Yagami offhandedly stated.

From Manabu's previous words, this was an easy conclusion to reach.

In all likelihood, from this point onwards, Nagumo will pleasantly discuss the strategy he himself formulated.

There's no need for me to listen to something I already know without even needing to ask.

I took my distance as though to leave this place. It's because there's nothing I can do even if I stayed here any longer.

Horikita was anxiously observing the situation, the whole story.

She was staring at her brother so intently she didn't even notice my existence.

"Don't you want to watch the extreme amounts of gloating?" Hashimoto smirked.

I'm a little worried that whenever Hashimoto addresses me, he may add a slight 'king' to the end of his sentence. It's completely allowed to talk about that video during these tapes, so it will be talked about eventually. As for my daily life, it was awkward talking to anyone for a while. It should change soon enough.

I really hope it does...

As I left the gymnasium without paying any mind to it, Kei was standing by the side of the entrance as though she had been waiting for me.

As I walked through the corridor, she started walking after me with a slight delay.

Come to think of it, it's been a while since Kei has been in a video. The last one was the end of the winter break, I believe.

"It turned out exactly how Kiyotaka said it would. You seriously knew. That Tachibana-senpai would be targeted. Even though if we're talking about expulsions, anyone other than Horikita-senpai could have fit the bill..."

"The rules for this special exam. As soon as I heard the student council was involved in their conception and formation, I thought that. Certainly anyone could have fit the bill if we're talking about being targeted. But after going to the trouble of setting up this large scale trap, if he intends on giving a far more effective performance then the targets for that would be a limited few. The only female student who's had extensive contact with him would be Tachibana after all."

That was the conclusion I reached after connecting the dots from the information I acquired from Kei, Ichinose and Asahina.

"I don't think I helped out that much. I didn't even know you were using me for information," Asahina stated awkwardly.

Perhaps she was afraid that Nagumo may not be lenient with her, so that's why she had downplayed it. Although I doubt Nagumo would do anything either way.

The miraculous harmony between Nagumo and Ishikura from Class B of the 3rd years clearly hinted at the connection between the two.

Nagumo's taken under his wing not just the entirety of the 2nd years but also the non-Class A 3rd years.

He's expanded his domain incredibly far. And if I hadn't intervened, again and again, it surely would have expanded to our year as well.

"The large groups all colluded together to come up with low scores and the members of the group that Tachibana belonged to must have been considerably holding back as well. By doing so, it's an easy task to delineate the border."

Was how I explained it but it seems like there's still something Kei isn't convinced of.

"But why did you use Class B? Even though it'd have been perfectly fine to have a student from Class D be the leader. Because you used Class B, ultimately Horikita-senpai's still Class A right? If you wanted to drag him down to Class B isn't that what you should have done?"

Kei's viewpoint is a good one. Certainly, that's exactly right.

If I'm going to carry out this strategy with resolve then I should have had the leader be a student from Class D and lessened the gap between Class A and Class B that way. Is what I'd have considered normally.

"That's one way to do it, but class B would be more willing. Class D might have just given up, and if they did participate, they may just wish to fight against the class directly above theirs rather than the one at the top," Yagami analysed.

Of course, he was exactly right.

"I feel so intellectually bullied every time this happens," Kei sighed.

"Well, I wouldn't beat yourself up about it," I reassured her.

"Do you mean that or are those just to make me feel better?" Kei asked.

"No, I mean it," I told her.

I wouldn't consider the playing field exactly level when the other person is Yagami. His intelligence dwarfs most of the school.

"It's precisely because it's Class B that this was possible. If Tachibana were to complete the special exam's assignments flawlessly then it wouldn't be a simple task dragging her down. Unless the other three classes, excluding A, join hands, it's not a viable trap. Consider Class D, who's probability of making it to Class A is the lowest one at the moment, in order to ascend even by one class they may decide, at the very last moment, to drag down students from Class C or Class B. But if a student from Class B were to become the leader, that absolutely won't be the case. Because it would be pointless to drag down students from a lower class at a time like this."

On the other hand, looking at it from Class D or Class C's perspective, if it would result in the students from Class A and Class B being expelled and them crumbling down, then naturally they'd happily cooperate.

And Ikari's group, sharing a mutual destination, thoroughly laid the blame on Tachibana.

"Nagumo-senpai is also 20 million points down then, but he still wins. Horikita-senpai is in the final year of school and didn't intend to spend those points while Nagumo-senpai did. He really got destroyed, huh?" Amasawa giggled.

If anything happened, they probably harassed her maliciously. Tachibana was left unable to sleep at night from the commotion.

As a result of obeying Tachibana's instructions, their grades did not improve. If you look only at the results of the special exam, despite it being mediocre, if they can frame her as having pulled their leg for the entire week then that'll be more than enough to drag her down.

If there were pleas, then they would deliberate but if the entire small group collude together to assert that she had obstructed them in places where no one would see then there'd be no choice but to recognize that.

Of course, it would set a malicious precedent but the outdoor school's special exam that will be taking place in a few years time should have some amendments made to its rules anyways.

And just like that, Nagumo's elaborate strategy ensared her and succeeded in carrying out measures towards Tachibana's expulsion.

The earlier effect that wouldn't be seen for quite some time is currently in the planting phase. The idea that Nagumo beat the so-called greatest student the school has ever seen, this is what is in their mind currently.

But as the videos go on, his name will surely be engraved in the minds of the students. If Manabu is the most excellent student the school has seen, then Nagumo is the most dominant. People will learn just truly how much power he wields. Even without the title of student council president, he is still incredibly dangerous.

"...but, like, how could he even come up with a strategy like this. If I were a Class B student, I absolutely wouldn't be able to stand being expelled for the sake of my comrades. Where's the reward in that?"

"I don't know what exactly the reward is but at the very least, Ikari won't be expelled."

"Ehh? But, she's the leader right?"

"They probably predicted that the older Horikita would utilize that. 20 million points and 300 class points. If they're paid, you can cancel the expulsion. In other words, you can extend a lifeline. It's because he'll be utilizing that."

"Somehow, I can't tell if that's a gain or not. Rather, wouldn't it be a loss?"

"It's a blow having to spend class points but if Class A too, extends a lifeline, then a gap won't form. Compared to that, they won't sustain any damage as far as private points go."

None of these words is a surprise to anyone here. They all understood the explanation that was previously stated. No sane class would do this when there would be no gain.

"Does that mean the 3rd years' Class B is just that rich?"

"No. The absolute condition that comes with Nagumo proposing this strategy would be that he'll pay all the private points. If he won't do even that then they probably won't even cooperate with him."

Probably, on the bus, Nagumo made contact with Ishikura and paid him 20 million points in advance. The proof lies in Ikari, who's always calm, and Ishikura who acts alongside that Ikari.

"The 2nd years are united. If he raises money from the entirety of the 2nd years then he wouldn't even need 50,000 points per person. Saving one expellee wouldn't even be expensive."

"What a messed up way of fighting. That's absolutely not normal."

"I wouldn't consider it normal, but it isn't a bad way to fight," Yagami claimed.

"You're a fucking idiot compared to him. What have you really done?" Hosen laughed.

"I wouldn't worry about myself, Hosen. I think the position I'm in right now is quite a good one. Although I can't say that same for yours," Yagami stated confidently.

"You're a cocky little shit," Hosen chuckled.

"I wouldn't call it cocky when I look at the name plates on the class, but maybe you're right. Maybe I haven't accomplished much, but it seems that even with my lack of action, nothing's really changed since the beginning of the year for you either," Yagami retorted without hesitation.

He seems to be alright with showing his true nature now, but maybe this is just a fraction of it. The reality is that he isn't displaying the usual logical, calm and neutral persona that he usually shows.

"Would you care to prove me wrong on that?" Yagami smirked.

Hosen just laughed at him in response.

It's rare to see the first years actively arguing. Usually, it's the second year. Perhaps it's because the actual competition has barely begun for them, while for the second years, it's been going on for so long.

"That's how Nagumo Miyabi operates, is what it is."

He didn't think of the strategy after seeing the exam. He thought of the strategy first before creating the exam.

Class A, led by the older Horikita, would have to pay a total of 20 million private points as a single class.

You could say that it's an extreme amount of damage.

Before one or two special exams which would likely occur prior to graduation, they had lost a tremendous amount of money.

If the older Horikita were to be expelled in the next exam, then in all likelihood, he wouldn't have enough money left for himself.

The lifeline would misfire.

I'm a little glad that didn't end up happening. If it did, the situation I currently find myself in would be much different than what it is now.

"We should split up."

"One more thing, please tell me just one more thing."

Perhaps there's still something she's curious about, as Kei stopped me.

"Nagumo-senpai's way of thinking, it seems like there's no way to stop the method he used to drive Tachibana-senpai to expulsion. How should I put it, a perfect trap? Is that why Kiyotaka didn't make a move?"

"There's no doubt that it's quite a formidable strategy. It's already pretty much checkmate the moment he makes the enemy walk into it."

He set a good predecent that private points can become powerful weapons.

"Most people do see them as shields rather than a sword, I agree," Nagumo stated.

"If I happened to be in a situation similar to Tachibana-senpai's...? If it's a situation where even a lifeline can't be used? As I thought, at a time like that, wouldn't it be impossible to do anything?"

Kei asks me that softly.

"You don't even need to hear my reply, you already know don't you? I won't let you get expelled. No matter what method I have to use."

Nagumo simply chuckled in response.

"I really wonder how you'll do that," Nagumo grinned.

Perhaps there was a bit of fire left in him, or maybe it was just the last piece of kindling burning away.

After that, Horikita Manabu paid the class points and private points that Class A possessed and chose to extend a lifeline to Tachibana Akane.

And just as I had predicted, Class B's Ishikura also extended a lifeline to Ikari.

An unusual scenario where two classes exercised the right to utilize a lifeline at the same time occurred. And also from this point onwards, one after another, expulsions will occur in the Advanced Nurturing High School from all school years.

The scene faded once again.

"You sound like a fortune teller. You weren't completely far off, but you weren't completely accurate either," Nagumo stated.

"This ends the mixed training camp special. Now then, as for the next few videos, we delve into the topic of rumours."

So that's the next one, huh? I can't say I'm surprised.

Now then, it seems like I shouldn't hold off on using Sudo for much longer.

His time in the spotlight will be coming shortly.

Author's note:

The title of this chap is based off when Nagumo called himself a 'Naked king' in his soliloquy. Naked king sounded weird out of context, so this was the one I ended up going with.

The other potential one was 'A king without his crown', but that had too many interpretations so I didn't go with it.

V9 next.

The planned reactions (I forgot to do one for v8):

- The sakayanagi and Nagumo interaction at the beginning.

-The sakayanagi -- Yamauchi interaction (Along with the small bit where Kiyo talks about the rumours directed at Ichinose)

-Ichinose's confession (And Sakayanagi proposing competition)

- The entirety of the epilogue (Kushida & Ichinose bit)

I'll skip Hashimoto interaction, mainly since if I don't then this vol will take way too long. I'll also skip kamuro interaction since it's mentioned in the sakayanagi competition bit

Spreading the Seed of Deceit

"I suppose it's time to call it in," I muttered to myself as I picked up the phone and pressed the contact name.

Soon enough, the line connected.

"Sup, Ayanokouji. You really gotta call when I'm less tired," Sudo stated and then proceeded to let out an audible yawn.

"A while ago, there was a mention of a favour. Do you remember it? The one involving that operation during the summer break," I told him.

To my surprise, I could hear a sigh from his side.

"Shit. I thought you forgot, I was really hoping for it. C'mon man, why do you have to have such a good memory?" Sudo sighed.

It seems he remembers.

"So I take it you understand why I'm calling you?"

"Yeah. What's this favour you have for me?" Sudo remarked somewhat sheepishly.

I suppose he was nervous. It's clear to see why, it's been months and I'm only now calling it in. The other two guys had their favours used a while ago, but Sudo's role is much more delicate than the others. He needed to be saved for a good opportunity.

"Alright then. Here's the task I need you to do," I began.

I went on about the specifics and the time for his actions. Where he would go, who it would affect, how he should go about it, and things such as that.

Although there were some issues.

"Woah, woah, woah. Ayanokouji, don't you think that's just creepy as hell? Besides, I don't think I'm the right guy for the job," Sudo complained.

I'm not surprised he said this.

"You are. You're the one because there is no other option. The other two have had their skills used already, but there is something that makes you the right person for this task," I began.

"No shit you know," Sudo stated, as he became silent and waited for my explanation.

"It's because you're much more calm under pressure than the other two. If I were to ask anyone else, perhaps they would be more careful and calm, but that would mess up some external things as well. If it was the you a year ago, I would have never asked you, but this isn't the you from a year ago. That's why you were the one chosen," I told him.

There were some things I left out, but that wasn't necessary for him to know. Either way, this explanation only serves as a way for Sudo to consolidate his feelings on this task, he's going to do it no matter what.

"Uh... That's real nice of you to say, Ayanokouji. Alright, I'll do it, but I still think it's a little creepy," Sudo awkwardly chuckled.

"Thank you, Sudo," I told him and after some light small talk, the call ended.

Soon, I found myself in the theatre just like any other time.

"For a rare opportunity, this will be in the third person viewpoint. Perhaps you'll get some more insights or maybe you'll not. Enjoy."

Now that's interesting, I can't guess what scene this will take place in.

Early February, after the training camp ended and the return to the Advanced Nurturing High School. Sakayanagi Arisu from Class A of the 1st years was in the student council room.

Placing her favourite hat on the desk, she faced the student council president Nagumo Miyabi from Class A of the 2nd years.

"I thought your brain was attached to it. I don't think there's ever been a moment I've seen you without it," Ryuuen commented with some surprise.

"Why is that the thing you focus on?" Katsuragi sighed.

"Maybe she was hiding a really bad bald spot," Ryuuen shrugged with a smug smirk.

Sakayanagi simply sighed at his antics.

Ichinose's class looked to be in a state of slight tension. Their class had been getting ridiculed constantly, this had a clear effect on Ichinose's mindset. Her losses, her struggles and her turmoil, all of it would be shown here once again.

What would happen to her after this is something that's up to the future to decide.

"The student council room has become rather flashy. It's completely different from the way it used to be."

To put it nicely, it's prim and proper.

To put it meanly, it's become an exceedingly formal room. Even the wallpapers have been changed and accessories that look like Nagumo's personal belongings have been moved here in bulk.

Rather than a student council room, it looked more like a room that exists for Nagumo's sake.

"I didn't expect you to function in a place that's so clean," Asahina stated with a speculating look.

Although she's probably been to the room before and is just trying to make fun of Nagumo.

"When you say prim and proper, I would expect that no personality would be there," Sato commented.

"Maybe he's just very formal," Matsushita replied.

A room that for Nagumo that's a symbol of his dominance, how fitting. I can't deny the possibility of Nagumo doing that on purpose.

Renovations of that sort have been performed.

A place that exists almost as a sort of symbol of his might.

That's the impression Sakayanagi had of it.

"Did Horikita-senpai recommend you for the student council, by any chance?"

At the visit of Sakayanagi, who seemed entirely unrelated to the student council, Nagumo posed that question.

"Unfortunately, I'm not a fit for that role so I was not invited to do so."

"He just doesn't have a good eye for that sort of stuff."

I don't doubt the possibility that Nagumo doesn't believe what he's stated here.

"With all you've been observing each other, there's some other reasons he may have had," Sakayanagi stated.

Of course, now that such an event has passed, the true thoughts one has can be revealed.

"No, I don't doubt that. It's likely that he did it for his own preventative measures," Nagumo agreed.

Now, all eyes were on Manabu.

"There were many I rejected simply due to them being used by you, no lie there. Students such as Ichinose Honami were one of many," Manabu stated nonchalantly.

To him, this is simply just like watching a movie. He can't change anything, he is a true spectator.

"I'm glad you're being honest about it," Nagumo stated with a slight grin.

"I have no reason to lie. Everything I say doesn't affect anything," Manabu replied.

It seems he's come to the same conclusion I have.

"Then perhaps you mean to say you're different, new student council president?"

Nagumo laughed faintly.

"Of course I'd welcome you. But then you'd have to be my personal property though."

Answering with that, Nagumo caressed the head of the stuffed rabbit near him.

Is it his? Or perhaps it's from one of the girls around him?

Be his personal property. In other words, it means he has no interest in borrowing the talent of others. He makes decisions based on looks alone.

"That's just creepy. I'm just being honest here, but that was some serial killer shit," Hosen stated in confusion.

"Personal property? And here I thought Ryuuen was a harsh dictator," Hashimoto remarked.

Ryuuen gives some form of autonomy to his subjects, something that Nagumo didn't see necessary.

Nagumo, however, didn't look fazed. His demeanour was the same as usual.

She could have overlooked it but Sakayanagi boldly chose to pursue that topic.

"What will I have to do in order to acquire your seal of approval, I wonder?"

"By showing me an appropriate amount of talent. That's the only way. First off, it's not too late to join the student council you know? Come over to my side, Sakayanagi."

"I see."

Sakayanagi smiled, but then immediately continued.

"Let's not. I think it would be a problem for there to be two leaders in one organization. And most importantly, the senior students may be humiliated."

"Two leaders, huh?"

It's like Sakayanagi is saying that she's equal to Nagumo if not superior to him despite only being a 1st year.

In terms of achievements and results, the two are incomparable. Nagumo has dominated and controlled his entire year while Sakayanagi is still in a battle that has not been decided yet. This isn't a flaw of Sakayanagi's, it's simply just Nagumo's dominance that puts them on different levels.

However, in terms of abilities, I can't deny that I see Nagumo winning that bout, even if it is close.

"That's a level of arrogance that even I can't hope to compete with," Ryuuen ridiculed.

"Sakayanagi-senpai, don't you think that you're just something of a knock off?" Amasawa insulted.

"In some ways we're similar, but not enough to warrant being called a knock off," Sakayanagi denied the possibility.

"You think so? Both class A, check. Both have a similar uncaring mentality, check. Both tend to use their classmates as the best way of attack, check. I can go on, you know?" Amasawa stated with a slight grin.

You can see it in both the island exam that happened recently as well as the mixed training camp, Nagumo's dominance over his year is his biggest advantage. It isn't even Amasawa, anyone could see that. As for Sakayanagi, it's clear from several exams. The year 1 sports festival, and this year's academic exam, both involved using their classmates as the best pieces on the playing field.

But even after hearing that, Nagumo did not grow angry. On the contrary, he relaxed his cheeks even more than before and laughed.

"Both you and Ryuuen. We've got a lot of interesting 1st years this year, don't we?"

This school doesn't have a single student considering making the student council their enemy.

Most would nestle up to it in an attempt to make it to Class A. Or they'd make sure to not attract its attention.

But both Sakayanagi here and Ryuuen would not think twice about making enemies out of anyone. And they'd show no mercy either.

"That's a difference between this year and those previous that I've noticed. It's shown to me time and time again. I'm sure that in years' time, there may even be students that are just like the ones we have now," Chairman Sakayanagi stated with a slight smile.

"I can't say that's a wise lifestyle choice."

There are students who'd praise that sort of student with enemies in all directions, but Nagumo isn't one of them.

He'd rather acknowledge those who are willing to throw away their pride at times in order to make use of their power to accomplish a goal.

"That feels like giving him too much credit. Maybe he just likes people who follow his orders," Ryuuen pointed out.

"Those aren't mutually exclusive things," Nagumo retorted.

Rather than denying Ryuuen's assertion, he essentially said 'both are part of it'.

"How honest," Ryuuen sighed.

And with that, Nagumo's phone which had been placed on top of the desk up until now, vibrated once. The vibrations continued a few times after that at short intervals.

"Is that fine?"

"I'm currently setting aside time for you. Don't worry about it."

"Popular people sure have it tough, don't they? Surely you always get calls like this without fail?"

"If you understand that then why don't we get down to business? If you don't wish to join the student council then what business do you have with me to the point you'd have me clear out the room? I'm sorry but after this, another '1st year' is going to be paying me a visit. They've already made an appointment with me so I can't set aside much time for you."

"Is that so? Then I suppose I'd best get on with it."

Nagumo deliberately said it was a '1st year' to Sakayanagi yet there was no change in her expression.

But Nagumo concluded that on the contrary, it meant that she's interested.

A first year, huh? There's a chance this could just be any random student who's high achieving, but there are also other possibilities that one must account for.

"Finally, it was taking a while," Ryuuen grumbled.

"I came here today to ask you for a favor. It's about a member of the student council, Ichinose Honami-san from Class B of the 1st years. I will be launching an attack against her shortly. It may get somewhat stormy once that happens."

"I've heard that one before. So?"

Nagumo urged her to continue. This is something Nagumo heard from Sakayanagi during their previous meeting alone.

"I see. So this is that hairclip scandal you were talking about?" Amasawa stated with a slight grin.

Yagami, however, had nothing but a slight smirk.

With such a small amount of information to go on, I doubt any first-year could understand what was happening. It won't be for a while until it makes even a bit of sense.

"How do you even remember that? Yeah, I guess so" Ryuuen laughed, confirming Amasawa's theory.

I feel if someone were to write down every insult Ryuuen had ever given to Sakayanagi, their life would end before they would finish.

Of course, there aren't that many people aware of this fact.

"She's the only 1st year in the student council. In other words, you could say she's slated to become the future student council president."

"Assuming none of the other 1st years are accepted into the student council and there's no outstanding talent among the incoming freshmen either, that is."

"Yes, you are right."

In other words, Ichinose's loss is also the student council's and Nagumo's loss.

"Why is Nagumo-senpai still the president? From the videos we've seen, it seems like the title should've relinquished by now," Nanase pondered.

For them, they don't know how the rules have changed since last year.

"My first act was to make it so that the president remains until they graduate or give the seat up. So unless I give it up, the next president will only get one or two years as leader," Nagumo answered.

The current candidates all have their respective strengths, but I believe Ichinose has the highest chance.

"If you have an election, it's obvious who's going to win. It's a popularity contest, after all," Sakayanagi examined.

If Nagumo gets to choose, I wonder who it would be. In terms of abilities, Yagami is the best, but I doubt Nagumo knows it. Perhaps Horikita gets it out of nepotism, but I don't think Nagumo works like that.

"Elections are always tricky. Social skill is an important factor. If you don't have a good reputation, that's a problem. In terms of abilities, all the candidates are talented in some way," Nagumo asserted.

Essentially, Nagumo stated that it could go either way.

"As a 'thank you' for the other day, I thought to inform you of it in advance. In the worst case scenario, Ichinose Honami-san may be expelled so I must ask you to bear with it."

Sakayanagi declared that without showing any fear of Nagumo.

"So I guess that didn't end up happening. You always disappoint, Sakayanagi-senpai," Amasawa sighed deeply.

"Even if I didn't end up removing her from this place, she's essentially expelled. She looks so pitiful that it's essentially the same thing," Sakayanagi nonchalantly stated, without fear of Ichinose's class.

Ichinose, however, just stared at Nagumo. Her expression was one that had many complex emotions. solemnness and loss, betrayal and sorrow, a number of things were stirring in her heart.

"I did allow this, Ichinose. You know that already though, don't you?" Nagumo asked her.

It was silent, immensely so.

As a leader, Nagumo is morally obligated to take care of his allies, so as a member of the student council, Ichinose falls under that title.

That's the unwritten trust, but Nagumo is one whose trust is always ephemeral.

After a deep breath, Ichinose began, "You were the only one with that information, we've both known this for a while. I'm not going to whine like a child about it. Sakayanagi had approached you for help and you obliged. I wouldn't consider it ethically correct, but that's how this place works. I would worry about the trouble you could get in, however."

If you ignore the moral imperative, the only rule Nagumo had broken was turning a blind eye to some bullying. It's highly possible for him to be punished for that, but I can't make a call on that yet.

"It was morally incorrect, I won't deny that. I had thrown away the trust you gave me without regard, we both know this. You are always free to leave the council if you wish, I can't do anything to stop you," Nagumo stated honestly.

"I have no such intention," Ichinose stated resolutely.

A feeling of stubbornness, maybe one of pride, I can't say. The reality is that Ichinose still desires to remain on the council.

"I don't recall giving you permission to 'go that far', Sakayanagi."

For the first time, Nagumo's smile vanished.

"Yes, you did say to merely bully Ichinose-san and no more, President. However, I was thinking I'd play rough with her for a bit."

"Honami is my personal property I plan on loving. I only gave you permission to weaken her a bit."

"I am well aware of it. But, there are always unforeseen factors in play."

"You're disgusting," Kiryuuin stated coldly.

"I didn't know you still had the ability to speak," Nagumo replied.

Class B looked to be in a state of worry, but there was also some wary.

"You guys look like someone got stabbed. I can't blame you, though. If you tried to go up against that guy, your 'no expulsion' streak would end pretty fast," Ryuuen snickered.

"This place feels more like a place for mentally ill people than a school sometimes," Ishizaki grumbled.

I do admit, the people here are definitely not what you consider 'normal'.

"Isn't the act of bullying against the rules? Well, not that it doesn't happen, but it would surely get enforced if this is evidence," Yagami stated bluntly.

"So far, this is just conspiring. People don't get convicted of robbery if they just talk about it, so more things will need to be shown," Chabashira answered.

In this case, both Sakayanagi and Nagumo would get in trouble, but Nagumo would be penalised more severely for abusing his power. And for the penalty, expulsion wouldn't be off the table, but that's only if Ichinose, the victim, wishes for punishment.

Nagumo stared down Sakayanagi with a slightly sharp gaze.

Some may even describe it as a glare.

Sakayanagi coolly shrugged off that stare from Nagumo.

"So you...won't mind it if she does end up getting expelled?"

Nagumo slowly raised his elbow from the chair's armrest.

"You're a bold woman. Aren't you afraid of me?"

"It's just in my nature."

For Sakayanagi, she would need this confidence in herself to stand strong. Without it, even if she had great abilities, she wouldn't be taken seriously.

"Tell me something. You could've simply done what you wanted without asking me for my permission. But you still dutifully came here like this to ask for my permission. Should I assume this means you don't want to make an enemy out of me?"

Nagumo asked Sakayanagi that question, not fooled by words like respect.

"You may interpret it however you wish."

"Don't hide it. I want your honest thoughts on it."

Nagumo tried to uncover her true intentions, the flattery notwithstanding.

"The student council at this school appears to possess more power than I expected it to at first. If, in order to protect Ichinose-san, the student council...no, if President Nagumo makes a move then it will be troublesome for me as well."

"If he wants to take care of his property?" Hashimoto stated speculatively.

"That's one thing, but there are other factors as well," Sakayanagi stated vaguely.

One could argue that it is simply Nagumo's lust that caused him to treat Ichinose like this, but there is a different side to this as well, one that doesn't involve lust at all. If that is the case, Nagumo's hunger for dominance is endless.

Sakayanagi too, wishes to avoid having Nagumo cover for Ichinose.

That was her response.

As though satisfied with that, Nagumo flashed a smile.

It was a roundabout way of saying so but it does mean she does not wish to make Nagumo her enemy.

"Looks like the information I gave you is proving useful."

"Yes. Thanks to you, it appears I will be able to strike at Ichinose-san's weak point. I will be putting that information to better use from this point onwards."

"So this is officially the point when I can make fun of your plans," Ryuuen smirked.

For many videos, Sakayanagi had done it to him, it's certainly her time to be in the spotlight now.

"I wonder if the genius you have holds up," Amasawa giggled.

"I expected this since the beginning. If this makes you feel better about yourself, go ahead," Sakayanagi sighed.

"Very well, Sakayanagi. The student council will turn a blind eye to your actions from here on out."

"When you say that the student council will tolerate my actions, is it safe to assume that includes you?"

There's no way Sakayanagi would miss it in the pledge Nagumo made.

"...fuu. Well, there'd be no way for me to back out if I specifically said that I, too, was part of that, as someone on the council. What are you planning to do?"

"That's for you to look forward to...I'll leave it at that."

There are no upsides to discussing her strategy here. That's the decision Sakayanagi made.

The man in front of her, Nagumo, is someone who isn't the least bit trustworthy. He's simply going to throw away someone who could become an asset for the student council.

"Hmm, an abuse of power, huh?" Horikita muttered.

Ignoring Sakayanagi's actions which, while have not been shown to be malicious yet, were planned to go against the school's rules is a clear abuse of his power. In the future, there may be punishments applied, but for now, Nagumo is safe.

"I think the topic of his trustworthiness went out the window after the previous video," Hashimoto chuckled.

In that sense, Nagumo and I are similar, but there's one key difference. I wouldn't willingly allow someone to damage an asset unless it could be better down the line, but for Ichinose, her results have only gotten worse over time. She went so far as to break her utilitarian stance during the island exam.

"By the way, I don't get many chances to speak with you alone like this so there's something else I'd like to ask you."

"What?"

"The possibility of it happening is low but when the going gets tough, as a drastic measure...there's no guarantee that there won't be a student who wouldn't resort to brute force. I'd like to hear your thoughts about that, President."

Sakayanagi is confident she won't lose to the resourceful type like Katsuragi, Ichinose or Horikita. But, violence is a different story. A cripple like Sakayanagi would stand no chance.

"You don't fare so well against the type of person who'd resort to using brute force at the very last moment?"

"It's not exactly my speciality."

All the more so for Sakayanagi, who is physically handicapped.

"The cane doesn't have a knife feature?" Ryuuen joked.

"I'm gonna guess that he doesn't care. The guy doesn't give the look of someone who bothers about that shit," Hosen commented.

"I'm not as upstanding as my predecessor, that's the reality," Nagumo shrugged, answering Hosen's prediction.

"Unfortunately for you, I don't particularly dislike the use of violence either. In the first place, fights breaking out between students is a normal occurrence. Unlike Horikita-senpai, I don't plan to crack down on them either and...if it's just a skirmish I plan on laughing it off."

That declaration seemed to put Sakayanagi, weak against violence, at a disadvantage. But Sakayanagi was concerned about something else entirely.

"I see...then of the fight that broke out between Class D and Class C of the 1st years a while back. If it were you, President Nagumo, would you have handed down a different sentence than the previous student council president?"

"Man, I kinda wish he was the president at the time," Sudo grumbled.

It would've probably been much easier to deal with the situation unless the school themselves stepped in, which is highly unlikely for such a menial problem.

"That's just another thing on the list of items we disagree on," Manabu sighed.

"You're quite a special person, Horikita-senpai. I doubt any other former president knows how things are going after they left. By the time I leave, this place would only start to change from what it is now. Maybe the systems I've put in place are gone," Nagumo pondered.

"That's certainly undeniable. Although if a teacher was a former president, then there are others," Manabu pointed out.

I don't know whether any teacher was a former president, but I do wonder which one it could be, if any.

Sudou and Ishizaki's group, which side threw the punch and which side was punched. That incident where they quarrelled over surveillance cameras and what not.

Even though Nagumo was not directly involved with that, there's no way he wouldn't have known of it given that he always sticks to Horikita Manabu.

"Let's see...that incident which ended up getting the school involved. I can't really give an innocent verdict on that but I won't push them to the point of expulsion over it either. I'd end it by merely suspending the parties involved from school. Of course, I won't demand their class points be deducted either."

That's the student council's opinion of it at best, was what Nagumo added.

No matter how tolerant the student council is, if the school says 'no' then it's a 'no'.

"I doubt the school would intervene much in such a case. It just seems like a light skirmish to them, nothing more, nothing less," Nagumo shrugged.

"At least I wouldn't have to worry about getting expelled if he was president," Sudo sighed.

Now, what does the school consider important enough to intervene greatly? The extremes are easy to think of, but it gets difficult when you get to matters that are only slightly more serious than the one with Sudo.

"There are many that the school may ignore at first, but join in later, depending on the evidence. All information does get passed to the school, after all. If it ended up more than a childish fight, such as bullying, the school would take a much closer look at the case," Mashima stated.

Sakayanagi is most likely well aware of that fact too.

Even if they are far more powerful than your average student council, they are at the end of the day, still only students. One cannot afford to forget that.

"I see. I understand you are an extremely tolerant person."

One must keep in mind that in the future, battles involving intimidation and violence will become a reality and to factor that into their calculations.

"If you're so worried about that, I can prepare a 2nd year escort for you."

The 2nd years will use force to subdue the 1st years.

The student council president made that offer.

A kind gesture, but something that's probably pointless.

"I am most grateful but that will be unnecessary. To fight with the pieces I hold in hand is my modus operandi."

What Sakayanagi wanted to know was 'how far she can take it until it's no longer safe'.

It's more than enough for her knowing that she has the right to counterattack after being attacked.

"Are you satisfied?"

"Yes, abundantly."

This essentially validates Amasawa's earlier statement on how she's more similar to Nagumo than she thinks.

"Rather than finding out the limits, she essentially just got a free ticket to almost expel someone without consequence," Horikita sighed.

Class B looked at her with resentment. While those feelings had probably faded, seeing how easily she was able to do such a thing probably reignited that hatred.

Satisfied with her conversation with Nagumo, Sakayanagi slowly stood up while grabbing onto her cane.

"Oh, speaking of which--"

"You still have something for me?"

It can't take much time. Paying no heed to those words from Nagumo, Sakayanagi continued.

"Our conversation's completely over but I happened to hear something interesting. About a student purchasing private points from 3rd years who are about to graduate, or something? A strategy which makes use of what the school collects prior to graduation and uses it as currency post-graduation. Truly a formidable...you could almost call it a surefire way to graduate from Class A."

During the training camp a few days back. It's a topic that came up during Kouenji and Nagumo's conversation.

"So it's pay to win? That's dumb," Ike grumbled.

"Rich people and their stupid advantages," Sudo complained.

Koenji didn't pay them any mind, he was completely fine with staring at the screen, oblivious to what was going on around him.

"Wasn't the narcissist some rich conglomerate's kid? Man, I may get my plans finished way easier if I had that money," Ryuuen sighed.

"I doubt your 800 million fantasy will get close to completion even with that," Sakayanagi giggled.

Ryuuen didn't care about her words.

"That seems like a major oversight," Yagami muttered.

Indeed. And for someone like Koenji, that would be like paying the equivalent of some gourmet lunch. Getting to class A with that method is the easiest way to do so.

It's information only the boys overheard but it wouldn't be strange for one of the boys to have informed Sakayanagi. On the contrary, you could even say it's something they'd definitely want to let Sakayanagi know of.

"I made sure he can't use that strategy anymore. Besides, it's not like Kouenji's the only one who thought of that strategy. There are more than a few students who have thought to transfer the surplus private points that 3rd years nearing graduation possess."

Nagumo sneered as though saying it's something that's already been done repeatedly in the past.

"That's why the school announces that they'll be collecting 'private points leftover at graduation' as a limited-time rule when you get to the 3rd year. It's customary."

"Is that so? The way we understand the rules, the private points are to be collected at graduation and therefore they are rendered worthless upon graduation. Which is why it wouldn't be strange for a 3rd year to think of entrusting their private points to an underclassman they're close with."

Even dust that piles up will eventually become a mountain.

Just by acquiring private points from several people, a select few students will be able to collect a considerable amount.

It's no wonder Nagumo realized Kouenji's made his move at an early stage.

Whoever is narrating this third-person view has thoughts very similar to my own. It's quite eerie.

"It's rare for a wealthy student to do so, but as always, there are exceptions," Manabu remarked with a sigh.

I feel like Manabu and Nagumo hold similar views on this matter.

"Normally speaking, it's information announced only to the 3rd years. I'll just ignore how you, President, were able to obtain this information despite only being a 2nd year...and the reason you boldly declared this in front of a 1st year is because you intend on altering this limiting rule you just spoke of, is that it?"

"Kouenji seems to be the only one in possession of an amount greater than what the school permits after all. It's a form of rule violation."

By announcing it in front of boys from across all school years, it tipped the school off to a loophole in their rule. There's a high possibility that they'll be adding a rule to deter 3rd years from transferring their private points.

Normally speaking, no matter how wealthy the family you're born into is, there's still no guarantee that you'll pay up after graduation.

However, Kouenji's a special exception.

"They had to change the rules to stop it. It really is a shame that I wasn't able to use those assets," Koenji sighed.

"Oh no, that's so sad. Now instead of paying to get to the top, the money just collects dust and builds interest or whatever rich people do," Ryuuen stated sarcastically.

Koenji just smirked in response to Ryuuen's comment.

"If I had to guess, you just paid some random 3rd-year class D student for it. Those guys are probably starved for anything edible," Kanzaki stated.

"There are the free dishes, though. Aren't those edible?" Shibata asked.

"Some Natto that tastes like it was vomited by someone and some other food that looks like it's been left out for days don't count in my opinion," Kanzaki sighed deeply.

It's well known that Kouenji Rokusuke is in possession of a large amount of personal assets as a 1st year high school student on the Kouenji Conglomerate's official website.

Even though there's the possibility that he will renege on his promise, taking a risk is still well worth it.

"But being born into money, that is yet another 'ability'. Is he not allowed to make use of it?"

"Then does anticipating it and shutting it down also not count as an 'ability'?"

"That's not an ability, that's just called being lucky. An ability is some talent or skill, money doesn't count," Hosen disagreed.

"That's like saying a superhero who doesn't have anything other than money has money as their superpower," Ryuuen added.

"You both seem to have a deep agenda against it," Sakayanagi sighed.

"Fufu. That is certainly true."

Sakayanagi laughed as though fascinated and tapped her cane lightly once.

"I never liked the school's rule that allows you to save up 20 million points to rise to Class A. If possible, I'd like to revise the system itself. Well, even supposing this system will no longer exist in the future, it still won't apply to you 1st years though."

As a measure this school took, Sakayanagi and the other 1st years have already been made aware of this rule.

Taking the possibility that there are students counting on saving up 20 million points into consideration, they cannot repeal it.

"Doesn't track with your individualist ideology, huh? But then again, isn't saving up that amount of money and getting to the top that way a lot of work?" Sakayanagi asked.

"Doesn't mean that they actually saved the money up by themselves. And what if another class bought them? I wouldn't consider that necessarily hard work either," Nagumo stated.

It seems he stands by what he said previously. In all honesty, only one major thing would change if the rule never existed, but that does have ripple effects. Ryuuen would never have that 800 million point plan and Katsuragi would remain in class A, but that isn't as major.

Ichinose's class would have had someone gone. A full loss of a student is one thing, but in Ichinose's class, it holds much more weight. Then Ryuuen would have also been expelled as Ichinose would have had no reason to put points on Ryuuen during the class poll, and save him. Ryuuen's class would essentially become defunct and Ichinose's would be vastly different to how it is now.

It's interesting how one change can have so many different results. The 'what ifs' weren't something I put much thought into during my time in the White Room, but recently, I find myself looking back on many decisions in my past.

What if I had not held back since the start? What if I never met Matsuo? What if I chose to leave that place earlier than I did? What if I had taken that choice?

Such things wander in my head, but soon, I always come to the same conclusion. The path I'm on right now is fine with me. I will continue on it. These 'what ifs' are just that, possibilities that didn't happen.

"But I've heard there hasn't been a single student so far able to save up 20 million points independently. I don't believe you need to worry about that rule if it's nothing more than a formality."

"It just means you can't save up that much alone."

"It is meaningless to save up as a class. There is the strategy of sending someone to an enemy class as a spy and there are students who fear that but it's not very realistic. Even if one of the lower classes were to send their own to the upper classes, once they're part of the privileged Class A they will just end up turning traitor."

"That's right. There's no merit to be found in going out of your way to knock down a strong class. But you can't rule out students with a strong sense of justice acting for the sake of their comrades."

"Only one class would think of that at all, but I wonder if that unity will continue," Ryuuen stated bluntly.

"It depends on the student. If it was Ichinose, I doubt she'd turn traitor," Horikita asserted.

A reasonable conclusion. Even Kanzaki, who doesn't have the strongest feelings for his class, may not turn traitor, but that's more debatable. When it comes down to it, people's expected choices are at times different from their actual ones.

"I suppose you're right. But surely the upper classes also won't fork over information to a student who just joined them out of the blue. Besides, in the school's exams, a minus that occurs because of you may come back to bite you. If you deliberately sabotage your class, you yourself will be expelled."

Understanding that Sakayanagi has completely comprehended the system, Nagumo nodded in satisfaction.

"I'll just give you this one warning. I don't dislike that aggressive attitude of yours but you will flounder if you make enemies out of everyone at this stage, you know? Don't you think it's better to earn the trust of your surroundings first? It's still not too late. Build trust."

"And to use that trust as a weapon to ensure victory?"

"It's the most efficient strategy."

A betrayal from someone you're sure would never betray you. It'd be an attack that would be more than enough to cause critical damage.

"It's certainly a surefire way to do so, but it has its problems," Manabu stated.

Out of everyone, his words held the most weight.

"Unless you gave up on trust and fully disregard it. It's a strategy that only has one chance. If you fail, nothing good comes of it," Nagumo explained.

Then you lose the trust as well as the war.

"But if you say to build trust then perhaps you were too quick to throw away the trust you've taken care to establish, President? Like you said, don't you think it would be far more effective to use it at the very end?"

A declaration of war against the former student council president during the training camp. And the betrayal of that trust.

"I threw away the trust?"

In response to Sakayanagi's words, Nagumo gave that response while looking like he was holding back laughter.

Many students looked confused at Nagumo's attitude. It was odd why he was questioning it when that's exactly what happened.

"I definitely lost Horikita-senpai's trust and the trust of the students of 3rd year Class A. But nothing's changed in regard to the 2nd years and the other 3rd years. The 1st years will come to understand that right away too."

Nagumo's tough act and his conceit.

For a moment, that was what Sakayanagi thought but she immediately changed her mind. Even breaking the rules he established with Horikita Manabu had been something planned from the beginning.

It may be a consensus that the 2nd years had reached beforehand.

"So the second-years have no trust in you either, huh? I can't say I'm surprised," Ryuuen stated nonchalantly.

They fight for him out of self-interest. Getting the ticket is the only way the last three years could be useful in their eyes. It's not trust, it's desperation.

"The consensus was that Nagumo would break the rules? I can't deny that I would think the same in their position," Yagami stated as he mulled over the thought.

"Let me make a correction here, Sakayanagi. I acknowledge your talent. If you wish to join the student council at any point in the future, I will allow it."

"Thank you. That aside, I'm glad I came here today. I was able to learn the sort of person you are, President Nagumo. At the very least, I'm glad to know that you and I are more alike than I ever was with President Horikita."

Politely bowing her head, Sakayanagi left the student council room. And when she did, Nagumo immediately followed her.

"You left your hat."

"My, my. Thank you very much."

After taking her hat back, Sakayanagi once again lowered her head.

"It's not more alike, it's a bad imitation," Amasawa stated without fear.

The earlier second effect of Nagumo's victory was now beginning to show, or perhaps Amasawa just liked to annoy Sakayanagi in any way possible.

Maybe the latter isn't that far off.

"You seem a little too focused on this theory," Sakayanagi stated disinterestedly.

"Please excuse me."

"Sakayanagi, would you happen to know anything about Ayanokouji?"

Nagumo asked that unexpected question.

I see. So my name gets called here as well.

"Ayanokouji...? I am somewhat familiar with that name. He's a 1st year, is he not?"

"I see, no, it's nothing."

If she doesn't know then there's no reason to talk about it, Nagumo tried to end the conversation with that.

"If necessary, I can investigate him for you though?"

Sakayanagi offered her assistance as though taking a bold step forward.

"No, I said something unnecessary. Forget it."

"Is that so? Then excuse me."

"'Somewhat familiar' is the biggest understatement of the century. You give the impression that you think how you'll try to beat him every night before bed," Ryuuen stated as if he was struggling to hold back his laughter.

"You were going to use it as an excuse to investigate Ayanokouji for your own reasons, right?" Horikita asked.

"Yes. I couldn't keep going on about it since that would make me look far too interested. If he said no, he said no," Sakayanagi answered honestly.

When Sakayanagi walked off, she ran into a lone female student. She's someone even Sakayanagi with her small social network is aware of: Kushida Kikyou from Class C of the 1st years.

"Hello, Sakayanagi-san."

"A coincidence, is it not? Do you, by any chance, have business at the student council room?"

"Yeah. I was thinking I'd apply for the student council. Could it be you're the same, Sakayanagi-san?"

"Something along the lines of that. Please excuse me."

"See you later~"

Manabu looked at me with a speculating glance. Of course, we both know what was discussed in there. And for kushida, the videos during that exam are disastrous.

Sakayanagi felt somewhat doubtful that Kushida would want to join the student council at a time like this. Normally speaking, an honour student like her aiming for the student council wouldn't be out of place. But she wasn't convinced.

The girls are also well aware of Nagumo's actions during the special exam. It may be a different story for a senior student who knows Nagumo well but it wouldn't be strange for a 1st year to be suspicious of Nagumo's actions.

If she is aware of Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's true nature and is in cahoots with him then there's the possibility that she's been sent to investigate Nagumo.

But knowing Ayanokouji's personality, he won't carelessly get involved with Nagumo at this stage.

"Hey, that would be my job," Kei stated with playful anger.

Kushida Kikyou.

There hasn't been a single bad rumour about her. She's nothing but benevolent.

"Fufu. It's exactly that sort of person who'd unexpectedly turn villainous though."

At the very least, Sakayanagi doesn't believe that she's purely good.

"Haruka, she's seems to be similar to you," Akito stated.

"I can't tell if that's an insult," Haruka muttered.

The tape had ceased once again.

As I walked out after being dismissed, I noticed Sudo rushing to his club. I did nothing but stare. He was late, but he made sure to check that he had everything in order before running off.

Thinking back on the earlier matter, I'm sure he'll be fine, simply because there is no reason for him to fail.

The first act ended long ago, the second has now begun.

Your move, Macbeth.

Infatuation and Illusion

With a flick of my finger, the small card in my hand went up into the air. It chopped and spun until it reached its peak and fall back into my palm.

"I should probably get going soon," I sighed as I put the card back into my drawer.

Finding myself in the theatre shortly, I noticed that the heaters were at a high-level today. I often find that I think better in the cold, even if it's uncomfortable. The cold is better than the heat in every way imaginable. If you're cold, you can always put on multiple layers of clothing, but when you're hot, it isn't possible to take off one's skin.

"The seed of deceit has begun to spread, now we see it grow."

How ominous.

The early morning for Class C started out with an unusual sight.

A circle seems to be forming around Karuizawa Kei and the girls who make up that circle appear to be excited to the point of causing a commotion.

"You're rather late to school today, Ayanokouji-kun".

Since there are only five minutes to go before the bell rings, my neighbor Horikita Suzune interjected with that.

"I overslept."

Looking bored, Horikita gave a sigh. Then she continued speaking.

"All of that talking feels like a time waste now," Sato sighed.

Of course, all of the statements and gossip that went on now seems meaningless in hindsight.

"Well, we waste more time doing other things," Kei stated with a slight grin.

"Yeah, but we talked about that for days when it happened," Sato replied.

"It was less us talking and more you interrogating me," Kei giggled.

"You seem to be on good terms with Hirata-kun and Karuizawa-san. You knew, didn't you?"

"There's no way I'd know. It's their private affair."

She didn't seem like she had cut things off with Hirata back during the training camp but it looks like she's done it now.

Since they're a couple famous throughout the school, it made waves to an amazing extent.

Horikita just sighed at my lie. She seems to be used to it now.

"I swear, I hear about this for days even when I don't want to," Ibuki grumbled.

Some aren't interested in such rumours and gossip. Of course, I am the same. It's never been something that interested me, and I doubt that will ever change.

If a third party were to hear of this, they would definitely be surprised.

But this would mean that on the surface, Kei and Hirata's connection has been severed. Of course, it doesn't necessarily mean Kei would lose command of the girls' group.

If there's an exception to that, it would be if someone from within the class stole Hirata's heart and became his true partner. Even then, I can't imagine Kei being ousted from her position.

Even if that girl attempts to slight Kei, Hirata would be the first one to put a stop to that. If not, the meaning behind Hirata going as far as to fake a relationship with Kei to save her would be rendered moot.

"With a fake relationship, I'm not surprised you were thinking of it that way," Horikita told me.

"You can read me like a book," Yosuke sighed.

Even now, passed all of her traumatic past and her tribulations, Kei's position has not changed. There is a certain aura around her, one that most likely won't be broken. She doesn't need that fraudulent, bossy version of herself and can simply exist as normal.

"I completely forgot about that day, to be honest. I only remember Haruki being an idiot, and the other thing," Ike commented.

"The other thing...?" Yagami stated looking curious.

"Well, there was someone that came to our class and..." Ike began, but was stopped by someone.

"Oh yeah, you went and had a meeting with some rejects," Ryuuen stated as he looked over at Sakayanagi.

"I wouldn't exactly call it just a 'meeting'," Horikita muttered.

"That takes place after this video's timeframe, so it won't be shown yet," Sakayanagi stated disinterestedly.

"So, which one of them dumped the other?"

I tried asking Horikita that. Because I don't know that myself either so there's nothing for Horikita to suspect.

"Looks like it's Karuizawa-san who did it."

"That's surprising. She seemed like the type to consider going out with a good man. A symbol of status."

"I suppose so. At the very least that's what I thought..."

For a moment, she looked at me suspiciously but then immediately averted her eyes. There's no possible way she could have acquired any information from my expression.

"Oh really? I would have never guessed that," Ryuuen stated sarcastically.

"I've seen you smile once, and that could barely be considered one," Horikita agreed.

"Are you talking about yourself? I didn't expect you to be so egotistical," Kei smugly grinned.

"I wouldn't say I have any status, at that time at least," I told her.

As of now, my status is some mix of a genius and a pitiful monster.

"Well, we now know you and Koenji and cut from the same cloth," Kei continued to tease.

"So would you go out with Koenji?" I replied

"Never in a million years," Kei vehemently denied the idea with a revolted expression.

It's proof that Horikita herself has begun to understand that.

Still, Kei dumped Hirata, huh?

"You say that like you're surprised, but you're probably gonna guess every reason why correctly," Kei told me.

In the first place, it's a fake relationship started by Kei. It's not even about who dumps who. But in all likelihood, Hirata suggested doing that would be best for Kei.

If Hirata were to be the one doing the dumping, it would mean there's a problem with Kei and could have put Kei's status at risk.

"Are you going to say I told you so?" I sighed.

"I'm far too humble for that," Kei told me.

"Well, that's go-"

"I told you so," Kei stated quickly and then proceeded to cover her mouth with her hand to contain her laughter.

In any case, judging from my surroundings, it's clear that their breakup came as a shock to Class C. But what made me think those girls are amazing was that they were boldly discussing that romantic affair.

"Is that really amazing? Seems more like shitty," Sudo stated bluntly.

Of course, the girls involved looked at him like he was incorrect.

"Maybe Ayanokouji thought they were amazing in the sense that doing that was something he never expected," Horikita claimed.

"In all honesty, I'm inclined to be more on Sudo's side of things in this case. The audacity to do so surprised me at the time. Talking about other people's relationship problems when both parties are there seems so immature and childish," Horikita thought.

"Ehh, ehh? Why did you break up with him even though you don't have a new boyfriend yet, Karuizawa-san!"

Shinohara's unrestrained voice reverberated. Despite chatting with each other, Ike and Sudou's group were clearly eavesdropping on that conversation.

"You see, I also thought I needed to step it up. It's easy to be spoiled by Yousuke-kun but I wanted to think things through on my own."

The catastrophe that befell this big couple would obviously have an impact on Class C but it would probably also end up having an impact on the other classes.

There's no doubt a battle would erupt between the girls over Hirata.

Yosuke deeply sighed. I suppose that I was accurate in my prediction.

So is the life of a popular student, maybe in another life I could experience that. But looking at Yosuke, I don't think I like that idea.

"So when is this other thing going to happen?" Hosen complained.

"We've barely started, Hosen. Have a little patience," Yagami sighed.

It was like a babysitter reprimanding a child, more so since Hosen just ignored him, but didn't say anything after Yagami's statement.

"I'm amazed they can even think about things like romance. Even tomorrow isn't guaranteed at this school and they should know that situation too."

"Isn't it exactly because tomorrow isn't guaranteed that they're enjoying the present the best they can?"

"I have no reason to deny them that as long as they're not robbing someone else of their future..."

"That's a tribal outlook, Horikita-senpai. Isn't the entire point of the school to rob everyone else of a future?" Amasawa asked.

"She isn't incorrect, Horikita," Nagumo stated.

"I have changed from that outlook," Horikita sighed.

"Hyper focused on one thing. It seems to run in the family," Sakayanagi giggled.

Manabu looked apathetic while Horikita gave an annoyed glance which Sakayanagi countered with another smug look.

On the other hand, as I wondered what's going on with the other half of the hot topic Hirata Yousuke, there he was with a gentle expression on his face while boxed in by both the boys and girls of the class.

Even though he got dumped by his girlfriend, there isn't a smidgen of misery coming from Hirata. The best proof of that is that Ike and Sudou aren't heading over there to tease him.

No, perhaps...I should say that they've already graduated from that sort of thing. They do seem interested in that conversation somewhat but there's no sign of them engaging in malicious gossip.

On the contrary, Horikita and I are the ones engaging in a tasteless conversation. The special exams so far and the training camp. All of that's making this immature bunch change bit by bit.

But of course, not everyone is maturing at the same rate.

"I mean, I wouldn't be all that sad if I broke off a fake relationship. Although I remember that I found it weird at the time," Matsushita mulled over her words.

"The intention was just to show a strong face of sorts. Besides, I didn't really want to impact the class by showing some false sadness. I didn't really feel that bad about it," Yosuke explained.

I'd say his strategy worked. I'm sure many people who say Yosuke would think that he is a man who just got dumped that isn't outwardly sad, but is just dejected on the inside.

"I wonder if I would have been a better person if I didn't let him influence me," Ike grumbled as he remembered what was next.

"Nah, you'd be the exact same. You're just more of a degenerate now," Sudo joked.

"I'm not a degenerate, usually," Ike claimed.

"I'd call you a major degenerate. I mean, who came up with the idea of staring at cocks and measuring them?" Ryuuen laughed.

Oh, come on...

Feeling embarrassed, Ike retorted with force.

"It was a joint agreement!" Ike complained.

"I don't know about that, but whatever helps you sleep at night," Ryuuen shrugged.

Horikita, seeing how annoyed Ike was, advised him.

"You're letting Ryuuen win by giving him a reaction. I'd recommend ignoring him next time," Horikita stated cooly.

"Why did he have to remind me? I was on a good stretch without thinking of it, now I can't get it out of my mind. The wording and exact descriptive terms are etched into my mind again," Horikita thought and proceeded to sigh deeply.

Wonder what's wrong with her.

"Yo, Hirata~. Heard you got dumped by Karuizawa~ Don't mind it, don't mind it!"

I thought they've become capable of reading the mood, but Yamauchi alone proved to be the exception.

Flippantly and happily approaching Hirata, he then struck Hirata's shoulder. Seeing that, Ike and Sudou felt uncomfortable and approached Yamauchi, flanking him from both sides and grabbing hold of him.

"I recently thought that your class had too many members that were somewhat intelligent for a defective class, but I take that back," Hashimoto chuckled.

"Most likely since we only see the normal ones, relatively speaking," Sakayanagi giggled.

Essentially, Sakayanagi said that we saw the most normal in a place full of people with odd people, so they weren't really normal at all.

"Every time I see this guy, the title of defective class becomes more and more true," Yagami sighed.

"Oi, what's the matter? Let's console Hirata together. Even the handsome ones get dumped!"

"This is in bad taste. Cut it out."

"Huh? Isn't this a rare sight seeing the handsome guy get dumped?"

When Sudou tried to hold Yamauchi back, he refused to listen and instead gave a refutation.

"Sorry about this, Hirata. I'll take him away immediately."

"It's ok, it's the truth after all."

It wouldn't be out of place for him to show displeasure but Hirata didn't seem to care in the slightest.

Yosuke's earlier explanation explained why he displayed such emotions at the time.

"The idiot trio turns into a solo," Matsushita sighed.

"It feels like a crime on the cosmic scale if a class with people like that rises to A," Ryuuen criticised.

"It isn't as if your class is filled with any stand up individuals either. To me, you both are on the same level," Sakayanagi insulted.

"My self-esteem is crushed, how will I ever move on? I can't go on living like this. A person with an ego as fragile as her legs called me dirt. I've never been so brutally eviscerated," Ryuuen stated with a laugh.

The room was silent due to the low blow Ryuuen used. Hosen says stuff with more explicit language commonly, but Ryuuen uses his actual wit to make insults rather than certain language repeatedly.

In response, Sakayanagi simply giggled and let it go.

"Speaking of which...have you heard anything about Ichinose-san?"

Out of the blue, a topic regarding Class B came from Horikita.

"Recently, I've been hearing slander directed at her."

"Isn't it just a lie by someone jealous of her popularity? Or maybe the strategy of someone who wants to knock down Class B? What do the slanders say?"

"...it's something I'm hesitant to put to words."

Moving on from Ryuuen's previous words, it seems the actual meat of the video has begun.

Saying that, she retrieved a note from under her desk rather than speak about it in detail.

She wrote something down on it and then showed me.

'A history of violence'.

'Engaged in compensated dating'.

'Engaged in theft and robbery'.

'A noted history of drug usage'.

Etc.

These are things that even those delinquents over there haven't done, not all of them.

"I wonder how much of that is true unless all of it is, then in that case, I'm just impressed," Hosen chuckled.

Of course, the local delinquent is impressed by the crimes noted here, what else did I expect?

"I doubt most of that is true. And it's probably exaggerated if some of it is. Nagumo simply said that he has information on a weak point, the actual weak point is unknown," Yagami stated rationally.

That is a valid point, but I didn't expect him to be so open about his disagreement. I thought he'd simply be vague and state that it may not be what it seems.

"They sure spread quite the malicious rumors around."

"She doesn't seem like that sort of student to me though..."

"If it's just spreading rumors, it won't exactly count as a crime after all."

"That's not true. Regardless of the veracity, it's defamation...it's categorized that way when targeted towards a large number of people. It's possible to sue."

"If we're talking about being out there in society then there's no doubt about that."

"Even in court, defamation is incredibly hard to prove. How exactly do you prove that your reputation has been damaged? It's far too complicated and has too many variables. A failing business may argue for defamation, but their food just may be bad and therefore they are failing, rather than any with malicious intent," Manabu contested his sister's words.

"By the definition itself, I'm not incorrect, but you're correct that it's too hard to prove," Horikita stated and put the conversation to rest.

And to think, Manabu was going to commit assault a year and a half ago, how times have changed.

"Hey, she may not look like a student who would do that, but didn't Kikyo once upon a time give the same impression?" Ryuuen asserted.

Appearances aren't always accurate, even a child knows that.

As for the many lies that Sakayanagi spread along with the truth, the most likely scenario is simply that 'the best way to hide something is to put it in plain sight'. Mixing in some extra lies in there just adds to the confusion.

But high school is still high school. This is an isolated space filled with underaged students. It's not like it's being written on the internet too for the whole world to see.

"So you're saying it doesn't count as a crime."

Even if society cannot hand down punishment, it's still possible for the school to hand down punishment at its discretion.

But it would be difficult to pinpoint the source of the rumors. The reason a variety of rumors were spread is so that if asked, they can simply say they heard it from someone else during day-to-day conversation and that'll be the end of that.

The school won't be able to investigate beyond that and in the end, it'll peter out.

All it can do is to warn the perpetrators to not thoughtlessly spread rumors any more than that. After all, I'm certain that the plan to crush Ichinose has been gradually implemented over time.

Just like in actual society, and in this school, the act of proving defamation, or at the very least finding the source for what damages a reputation is a difficult endeavour.

Rumours don't last for a long time, but if one puts focus on them, their power is increased tenfold. That was the move that Ichinose didn't use. Had she just ignored these rumours, she would never have had to talk about her past, but Ichinose isn't that type of person.

There's no doubt it's Sakayanagi pulling the strings behind the scenes. But there's still not very many people aware of this.

"What did Ichinose do in response?"

"I don't know that much. It's not like we're close or anything. Besides, if I carelessly approach, suspicion may fall on us."

"Well, it's true that playing the role of the observer is the wisest thing to do."

"But...I wonder if a tasteless strategy like this will work on Ichinose-san."

"Ignore it and you'll be done with this shit. It's not that hard," Hosen criticised.

As for the earlier case of Nagumo and Sakayanagi's punishment, each video is just another sample of evidence against them. No matter what happens there will be punishment. That, however, is only if Ichinose advocates for it or lets the school decide. Leaving it up to the school to intervene is a rare option, but applicable in the case of the Student council president abusing his power.

"What do you mean?"

"No matter how malicious the slander may be, the amount of damage it can inflict is limited. Ichinose-san's reputation throughout the school is something even I'm aware of. This sort of harassment is too miserable to be done out of envy like you said earlier."

"Then you're saying it's a strategic mistake then?"

"That's right, but like they say, you can't have smoke without a fire."

"Hairclip scandal gives it away for if one of them is true, but I wonder if other shit is," Hosen mused.

"The context is all I care about," Amasawa claimed.

Many students probably have the same question on their minds. 'Is this really some major weak point?' will be there swirling for a while. The perfect Ichinose Honami who can do no wrong is a criminal, so this must be large, right? That would be another idea.

The mystery will be built up in their minds. Maybe they'll even think it's larger than it is, creating fantasy scenarios that would have likely never been possible.

"So you're saying Ichinose used to be a violent criminal or that she used to do drugs?"

"Even if not all of it's true, perhaps at least one of it is?"

Of course, the possibility of it being true is extremely low. She added that after.

Like Horikita said, there's no evidence that all of it's just a lie or that they're all just rumors. And also the fact that Sakayanagi had been making remarks hinting at such could mean there's some truth to it.

"So did you know about this even without the information I gave you?" Nagumo asked.

"I had certain ideas, you could say," Sakayanagi answered vaguely with a somewhat innocent grin.

If I had to make an educated guess, the only way that would be possible is through a method called cold reading. With how much it's been talked about in media, it's a fairly well-known concept. It's used in many professions, including fortune tellers, interrogators, and many more. Some people pick it up as second nature, while others simply have to grow more observant. Many people think of these things as something that can't be learnt, but observation isn't one of those skills.

Skills can be seen like creating a sword. The sharpest blade may once have been a rough piece of scrap. Some blades are, of course, naturally sharper due to their composition, but that doesn't mean a piece of scrap can't rival that refined edge.

"I see. I suppose that there were multiple intentions with that meeting, besides the one talked about," Nagumo stated indifferently.

"That's a mutual thing, is it not?" Sakayanagi asked.

"Of course," Nagumo stated bluntly.

"Well...it's not like we can come up with an answer just by thinking about it. More importantly, the current standing of the classes based on the results of the training camp has been released. Care to have a look?"

"Ehh, I'm not..."

"I know you're not interested. But just keep it in mind".

I flipped through the pages of the notebook she forcibly placed on my desk.

The scene had faded to black.

"Been a while since two videos, but let's continue. This takes place on the same day, just at the end of school."

I noticed a noticeable grin on Ryuuen's face. I can only imagine what things he can come up with.

If there are two things that are guaranteed in this word, it is Ryuuen insulting Sakayanagi and vice versa.

Even though the cataclysm caused by Hirata and Kei in the morning has yet to die down, rumors of yet another love affair caused an incident in Class C.

The odd wording had many people with muddled expressions.

"Excuse me."

Nearing the end of school, some students are heading to their own clubs while others are heading back and in the midst of it all, an extremely unexpected person showed up.

"Is Yamauchi Haruki-kun here?"

The students still left in the classroom all turned simultaneously to face Yamauchi in surprise.

"Whoever finds that guy attractive has something seriously fucked in the head," Hosen stated in a deadly serious tone.

"I couldn't agree more," Ryuuen stated with a wide grin.

Subtlety isn't one of Ryuuen's specialties, but I can't be surprised I suppose.

"Did the meeting include this romantic affair? No way, she's trying to use this loser, isn't she? That's hilarious. The inner frustration she probably felt makes me so happy," Amasawa thought with a devilish smirk.

He was probably to head back to the dorm with Ike and play games because Yamauchi was opening up a strategy guide about some game at that moment.

"Ehh, that's me but...you need something."

Yamauchi usually gets excited when looking a cute girl but right now he seems scared out of his wits.

The leader of 1st year Class A, Sakayanagi, showed up and named Yamauchi.

The person in question was the only suspect after the previous information, but the confusion was nevertheless the same.

"So these are the kind of guys the second year, class A leader likes. I have to say, I wasn't expecting that," Nagumo pondered.

"Considering how much that guy seems to like insulting people, maybe she has a degrading fetish," Hosen added.

"You and Ryuuen really are alike. Just the same apes that repeat the same things over and over again, it must be tiring to live your lives," Sakayanagi retorted with no trouble.

"I apologise. I'll make sure to be even harsher next time," Hosen chuckled.

"Would you mind giving me a few moments of your time?"

"O-Of course I'm free..."

"...this isn't quite the right place so I'll be waiting for you in the corridor by the stairs."

Perhaps the stares from the other students are making her uncomfortable, Sakayanagi disappeared out into the corridor with downcast eyes.

A silence fell upon Class C.

The quietest place in the world is so quiet that it reaches negative decibels, but that still pales in comparison to what the silence felt on that day. At least, that's what it felt like.

"Anyone asking that guy out for anything probably doesn't care about weird looks," Hashimoto remarked without fear of his leader.

"Even your own subjects are making fun of you. Now that's just sad," Ryuuen laughed.

"They know why I did such a thing. I don't particularly care about these childish remarks, my class or not," Sakayanagi stated indifferently.

"Of course, my bad. Guys, let's stop making fun of her boyfriend, I'm sure they're having a rough patch in this long distance relationship," Ryuuen stated without any sincerity whatsoever.

"No, no, no, no! This cannot be happening!"

The one who broke that silence was Ike, standing beside Yamauchi who had just been nominated. If Sudou were here, it would be even rowdier but he had already left for basketball practice.

The other students, including Yamauchi himself, could not wrap their heads around that absurdly bold entry and invitation.

Yamauchi then immediately grabbed his bag. Maybe he's just acting on instinct.

"Sorry! I've got business to take care of!"

"I don't think he realises why she may do such a thing," Yagami pointed out.

"Of course, he simply thinks this is his lucky chance," Tsubaki stated abruptly.

Considering Yamauchi related this to manga and anime storylines, that's a fair assumption to make.

"Of course, you're confused about why it's happening. The sheer thought of anyone asking him out is slim, but love knows no bounds, I suppose," Ryuuen stated bluntly.

"How did you fall in love with him anyway, Sakayanagi-senpai? Was it at first sight?" Amasawa stated with a teasing grin.

"I simply thought of giving a hand to some people who had nothing going on in their lives. Did you need any help, Amasawa?" Sakayanagi retorted.

"Are you going to awkwardly hit on me, senpai? I'm not into you, unfortunately," Amasawa waved her hands signifying her denial.

Sakayanagi paid her later remarks no mind. They're both people who wish to get the last word in, if one doesn't stop, it'll never end.

"Y-Y-Yeah..."

"Hold it, Yamauchi-kun."

"W-What is it, Horikita?"

Currently, Yamauchi is making a beeline out of the classroom. And as though she were taking the wind out of his sails, Horikita blocked the entrance.

"Maybe she's trying to do something to knock Class C down."

"Huh? Why do you think that?"

"The very fact that you're being asked out is abnormal in and of itself."

Many people laughed at how blunt Horikita was.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he disagreed with it, even if I've never met him," Hosen chuckled.

"He probably got some form of main character complex," Kei stated bluntly.

Despite maintaining a serious expression from start to finish, what Horikita is saying is far too straightforward and pointed.

It's on the level where an ordinary person would realize they're being insulted.

But Yamauchi was rather positive about it on the contrary.

"I should play the lottery," Hosen chuckled at being proven correct.

"Bumping into a transfer student with toast in her mouth on a street corner and falling in love...you ever heard about that sort of plot?"

"Eh? Toast...street corner?"

Unable to understand what he's talking about, Horikita wrinkled her brow.

To be fair, if you're only listening to Yamauchi's remarks then it wouldn't make any sense. But after seeing Yamauchi collide with Sakayanagi back at the training camp I can tell he's talking about that incident.

"Did he just bump into her or something?" Nagumo asked.

"You were there, Ayanokouji. You can answer," Sakayanagi threw the ball at me.

Is this to simply get eyes on me? The only possible reason is to make aware to people that I knew when Sakayanagi and Yamauchi first interacted, but that's minor in the grand scheme of things. Although this does mean that it's now more aware to people that I knew a potential motive behind why Sakayanagi chose Yamauchi, as in, why he was made the spy.

The reasoning behind what this move means makes sense, but I don't understand the actual choice to put eyes on me. Why does it matter for people to know that I was aware of the potential motive behind Sakayanagi interacting with Yamauchi?

"Yes. Yamauchi bumped into her and she fell over. He didn't really help her get up either," I answered.

As I did, the petite girl had a pleased look on her face.

"So you really are a masochist," Ryuuen nodded after hearing my words.

"Again? And here I thought that you were going to insult me harder. No wonder your class almost expelled you, you can't follow up on your claims," Sakayanagi replied.

Now it was Ryuuen who laughed at Sakayanagi's words, but didn't reply to her remark.

"I'm going because Sakayanagi-chan is waiting for me."

Not even hearing or heeding Horikita's warning, Yamauchi walked off. Yamauchi did not even make an attempt to believe her.

"I am indeed this class's lethal weapon. But that is exactly why it's okay. On the off chance anything happens, I'll take care of it."

I'd like to hear in detail his countermeasure for taking care of it.

In all likelihood, he hasn't even given it any thought.

"He gives Koenji a run for his money," Hashimoto stated bluntly.

"I find it a travesty to think that we could be compared in any way. The only similarity we have is our age and species," Koenji retorted.

Their egos are probably on the same level, but at least Koenji has the ability to back it up to some extent.

"What do you mean, Ayanokouji? He must have thought everything through. He seems like a very rational and calm individual," Nagumo joked.

"...I get it. If you say you're going then I don't have any right to stop you. Just don't carelessly let anything about the class's internal affairs slip out."

"Don't worry about it. I am well aware of that."

After saying that, Yamauchi gave a cheeky laugh and left the classroom. A portion of the students, which includes Ike, hurriedly followed Yamauchi.

"No one trusted him at all, huh?" Yagami chuckled.

"Not even slightly," Horikita sighed.

"We should go too."

The one who said that to me was Haruka. Apparently, she had also said the same to Keisei and Airi because the two of them are tagging along with her.

Since I don't really have a reason to decline, I gave a light nod and stood up. When we stepped out into the corridor, we immediately spotted a few boys there including Ike.

"Ahh, stop stop. This way, this way!"

When we tried to pass through, the Professor noticed and stopped us.

"The two of them are talking over there right now."

"...Ehh, what's with that speech?"

"He spoke completely normally?" Utomiya stated in a confused tone.

"Exactly," Sudo stated bluntly.

The last time the Professor was even heard speaking was months ago when the tapes focused on the Zodiac exam. Of course, many people will have forgotten about his odd speech pattern.

"I have evolved from the me back then," the Professor admitted.

It's not much, but it is something.

Haruka whispered that to herself after noticing that the Professor no longer uses 'gozaru' as part of his speech.

"Apparently he got set straight during the training camp."

I offered an explanation regarding the Professor's serious tone.

"How should I put it, it feels like he's lost his individuality. Well, I'm not interested though."

Haruka quickly lost interest in the Professor and so turned our attention to Yamauchi and Sakayanagi.

"Sorry," Haruka apologised somewhat awkwardly.

"It's fine. That speech pattern was individualistic, but it was also foolish," the Professor accepted it graciously.

Maybe he's changed more than I thought.

"Umm, so what did you want to talk about..."

Yamauchi nervously spoke to her.

Sakayanagi too, is using her left hand to shyly play with her hair.

If we look at this from a psychological perspective, it would be described as an unconscious reflex meant to make one look more attractive for a member of the opposite sex they're interested in.

"Could it be that Sakayanagi is legit interested in Haruki?"

While looking at the two of them, Ike muttered that in frustration.

He probably deduced that unconsciously from Sakayanagi's expressions and gestures.

"Love knows no logic, right?" Ryuuen continued to poke at Sakayanagi.

"Perhaps. I can say the same about you obsession with Ayanokouji, of course," Sakayanagi retorted with a grin.

"I wouldn't call mine an obsession when compared to how much of a stalker you are," Ryuuen replied with ease.

"I wouldn't say that. I mean, you spent months trying to find him simply because you never knew who he was. It's like cinderella, isn't it?" Sakayanagi giggled.

How the tables have turned.

"8 years and hundred-something days. It's like a prisoner tallying the days until they're let out," Ryuuen replied.

Finally, it seems to be over as they seem to be satisfied with the remarks they've gotten in.

However, in this case we should assume Sakayanagi is deliberately creating that sort of image.

But in contrast to my calm analysis--

"No, no, this is way too stupid. She's super cunning. There's absolutely no way she's actually into Yamauchi-kun."

Haruka spat that out. Perhaps this is what you'd call a woman's intuition.

"I-I think so too."

Airi also agreed with Haruka, maybe because she felt the same way too after seeing this.

"Men really are simple, how could they possibly fall for something like that? She's definitely acting."

"But he bumped into her and it falls in line with his fantasy, so I doubt it," Nagumo sarcastically stated.

"Wouldn't call it intuition and more so common sense," Amasawa stated nonchalantly.

"...is it really an act?"

Keisei couldn't tell from just looking. Well, I wouldn't have been able to tell either if I hadn't read between the lines though...

"She's definitely acting."

Haruka said so with certainty.

"Maybe she's trying to acquire information on Class C like Horikita-san said."

"But isn't that way too obvious? There should be a better way to go about doing that. She has a higher chance of succeeding if she makes contact with Yamauchi in secret and she wouldn't put us on guard either."

"That's true but..."

I expected Ryuuen to say something, but it seems he's letting it go for now.

"Considering what we've seen of her personality, that's probably what she wants you guys to think," Kanzaki analysed.

A reasonable conclusion.

"Yes. Well, we already know what happened anyway, so that's probably the case," Horikita concluded.

You can tell that since he's no longer here, his conclusion at this school probably wasn't the greatest.

Keisei's right too. If her intention here is to ensnare Yamauchi in a trap, there are plenty of ways for her to make contact with him.

She'll only be incurring severe damage by acting in a way that tips off all of Class C. If this leads to a problem, Sakayanagi herself would definitely be ruled as having been involved.

Considering that, maybe she really is interested in Yamauchi like Keisei and Ike are saying...that would make more sense.

But Sakayanagi is aggressive and bold, so both of those are equally possible.

"The truth is, I've been wanting to talk to you for a while now, Yamauchi-kun."

"R-R-R-Really, really, really?"

"I don't have time to lie about something like this, you know?"

Everyone pretty much knows that this was an act, so hearing Yamauchi's gullible voice was amusing to many.

As I conducted my analysis, a conversation began starting up between the two of them.

"I won't be able to calm down here, shall we go elsewhere?"

"T-That's right. Yeah, let's do that, let's do that."

"In that case, please accompany me for a while."

The two of them started walking side-by-side.

Yamauchi is trying to match Sakayanagi's slow pace.

Looks like he is capable of being considerate, even if it's only the bare minimum amount.

The other students saw the two of them off, perhaps having determined that following them any further would be difficult.

The scene faded again.

"What an idiot, honestly," Sudo sighed.

Soon finding myself back in my dorm, I began to play with the card in my drawer again.

"Now, when should I use it?" I asked myself.

Formulating the potential scenarios in my mind, there are not many things that this small, memory cartridge can be used for, but there are some.

It's a one-time use. I have to make it count, but creating such an end result that I have envisioned in my mind is difficult.

"Perhaps a new perspective in needed," I sighed as I fell back first onto my bed.

Looking up at the ceiling light, I began to think.

I have to ask myself, what is information, as a tool, used for? Blackmail, interrogation, a bargaining chip. In short, they are a way to force something. To use this piece in my hand effectively, I need to get it to force something.

As for force, it's to get something you wish, for you to receive something. So now I have to ask myself, what do I need to force? Is it an over-inflated ego? No. But that is on the right track...

"Theorising is a pain, it really has no end," I sighed to myself.

Author's note:

I can only imagine the Ichinose hating in the next chap. Anyway, let's have a word of silence for Yamauchi and his main character complex.

I chose this part of v9 to react to for it to set up the reactions in v10, which involved Yamauchi heavily, obviously.

That's about it. See you.

The Theft of a single Hairclip

Making my way to school, I noticed that plenty of shops had Christmas decorations.

"It's only the middle of November," I mumbled.

Last year, it was fond and memorable to walk into stores and hear the Christmas music play, but that got tiresome incredibly fast. The same songs play repeatedly until one wants to burst their own eardrums. For the retail workers, I wonder if they've become numb to it.

I could have gotten breakfast from a café, but the lines are too long. So I simply walked to the school in silence. And soon after that, I found myself in the auditorium.

"In Japan, you often see the level of punishment for a crime such as petty theft, vandalism, or shoplifting being treated much more harshly than in the West. Perhaps they are right, or they are wrong, who can say?"

How blunt.

The day of the provisional exam had arrived.

That morning, each class would be focusing in on the exam.

Though, nobody in the classroom was diligently studying, as everyone was immersed in conversation instead. None of this conversation had anything to do with preparations for the upcoming exam. Rather, the topic of discussion was something completely unrelated to that.

"It's pretty noisy."

"Of course it is. It's because of those outrageous rumors that showed up this morning."

"More? Seems like overkill at that point," Tsubaki pondered.

"That's because they aren't what you're thinking of," Horikita answered.

The first years looked at her curiously, expecting an elaboration, but Horikita didn't elaborate.

"Outrageous rumors? Have there been new ones about Ichinose?"

"No. They're new ones that have been causing internal chaos within Class C."

"New rumors, huh..."

With just one look at the restless classroom, it was obvious that this was no trivial matter.

Kushida had a troubled look on her face. I wouldn't worry, however. I was the cause of this, Kushida simply followed my commands. Even when Kushida was first exposed many months ago, I only painted half the picture. I had made Kushida look worse than she actually was back then.

"I wonder if we find out whether any of them are true," Kei muttered to herself.

"I wonder why," I sighed.

"No, it's not because of that!" Kei vehemently denied it.

"Are you sure?"

"Well, maybe just a little," Kei sheepishly remarked.

"Incidentally, this has something to do with you too, Ayanokōji-kun."

With that, Horikita showed me the screen of her cell phone.

She had written down a total of four rumours on the phone's memo pad.

"This..."

・ Ayanokōji Kiyotaka has a crush on Karuizawa Kei

・ Hondō Ryōtarō is only interested in obese girls

・ Shinohara Satsuki was a prostitute back in middle school

・ Satō Maya hates Onodera Kayano

The content of the rumours all followed a similar pattern. The full names of four people, including me, were directly stated as victims of the attack.

"So these are the kinds of things that were added. Although there's something that doesn't make sense," Yagami commented.

"And that is?" Nagumo pondered.

"What need is there for Sakayanagi to add more rumours to the mix? And why go after people who she's never met? Apart from Ayanokouji, none of them involve her," Yagami explained.

As expected, the logical inconsistencies were clear to some students.

"What was your game plan here, Ayanokouji? If Sakayanagi didn't put these rumours in, who did? And if any of them are true, the only logical candidate would be Kushida, but why would she risk her position even slightly for no reason? It doesn't track unless there was something that you wished for," Yagami thought.

"Where did this gossip come from?"

"Are you familiar with the forums that the school set up for each class?"

"The ones in the school's app, right?"

When students need to look into their point balances or something of that sort, they're expected to login to an application that the school created for them. Coupled with this application is a set of message boards that students have the liberty to make use of as they see fit. However, because there are several easy-to-use chat applications already available on our cell phones, these boards didn't see very much use among the students.

"That's a good catch. Who discovered them?"

"By the time I got to the classroom this morning, the rumors had already started to spread. It's possible that somebody came across them accidentally while they were using the app. There are also notifications that go out when the forums are updated."

"So is the nature of a rumour. Although I'm sure you're very familiar with that, Ayanokouji," Sakayanagi grinned.

Sakayanagi knows what my general scheme was, but there's no reason to allude to it. Is it just for her own amusement or is there another factor at play? I can't say.

"Who knows," I stated vaguely.

"So a weird tree and some rumours. Seems pretty useless in most cases," Ryuuen shrugged.

Weird tree? Ah, he must have meant that confession tree back during the winter break.

These forums weren't just for class discussions. They were also used for general conversation. Due to the fact that anyone could access them, there was a high probability that these rumours were seen by the other classes as well.

"Don't you think that this is a little different from what happened with the previous rumors?"

"Regardless of whether it's the same perpetrator or not, there are countless ways to spread rumors. Wouldn't you agree that there's no reason to get caught up in the differences? It's not something that can be covered up now that it's been posted online."

"Some differences, but there's nothing to really note. It's targetted at multiple people and has varying levels of attacks," Kanzaki remarked.

Obviously, drug abuse isn't on the same level as disliking another classmate. It's definitely true that these rumours' intensity wasn't anywhere close to the previous ones.

With that, Horikita transitioned to another topic.

"I'll just ask to be sure, but... is it true?"

"No it is not."

I denied it immediately.

"There are only a few people who know about my relationship with Karuizawa as it is now anyway."

"Including yourself, huh?" Yagami thought.

"Liar," Kei pouted.

"Did it really make you so mad?" I sighed.

Kei back then was quite worried about the rumour, but I doubt she holds as much care about it currently.

"I just wanted some lip service," Kei stated.

"Fine, fine. I'll give you as much as you want later," I claimed.

"So you have an idea as to who posted it, then?"

"Not exactly."

I gave her a brief summary of what happened during my encounter with Hashimoto the day before.

"There's a high probability that Hashimoto-kun is the one that spread the rumors about Ichinose-san, so it wouldn't be surprising if he was also spreading these new rumors about you and Karuizawa-san."

"Oh? And what could this be about?" Sakayanagi questioned her subordinate.

"Just a little bit of solo work. Nothing to really note other than some valentine chocolates," Hashimoto replied with ease.

"So you followed Ayanokouji without my permission and also found some relationship with Karuizawa. I think that would be quite important information," Sakayanagi continued to question.

"Not particularly, if I'm honest. Obviously now I understand that it was different, but the lies that were gave back then didn't allow me to continue following them," Hashimoto admitted.

Lying in this situation isn't a good move. If Sakayanagi were to find out, whether through simple deduction or a third party, it would be bad for him. The trust would plummet and Hashimoto's position in his class would fall below the point of salvation.

"I see. I'd still like an in-depth explanation nonetheless. Please make sure to remember as much as you can," Sakayanagi proposed.

"I'll do my best," Hashimoto sighed at how he had been given more work.

"But, what about the other victims? There aren't many ways to verify the truth."

"Yeah..."

A student willing to personally look into the truth of each of these rumours...

"Oi! Were you really a prostitute, Shinohara!?"

Unable to read the atmosphere of the room, Yamauchi shouted out such a thing with a smile on his face.

Surprisingly, Ryuuen didn't provoke her.

"Did you finally mature past the level of a toddler?" Sakayanagi questioned.

"I'm not opposed to stooping low, but the bar was on the ground and that guy just brought a shovel," Ryuuen shrugged.

"Just how did he survive 16 years and not get killed out of sheer stupidity?" Nagumo pondered.

I had thought he matured back during the first year summer break, but perhaps that was just me wanting to see some semblance of progress.

"A-absolutely not!"

Shinohara stood up in a panic and adamantly denied it. Embarrassment and anger could be clearly seen on her face.

"Well then, how about you show me the evidence."

"You're asking for evidence...? How am I supposed to give you something like that!?"

Meanwhile, the audience, captivated by the rumors, began to spread them amongst the incoming students who were just entering the classroom.

Well, it was going to end up like that sooner or later.

"At every moment, I'm more happy about what happened during the class poll," Horikita muttered.

"You sure you should be celebrating that a classmate got expelled?" I asked.

"I probably shouldn't feel relieved, but in hindsight, he was far too stagnant in terms of progress," Horikita answered bluntly.

"If you're saying it's a lie, then are you saying that everything that's been put online was also a lie? That we've all just been running our mouths?"

While watching Shinohara and Yamauchi's argument unfold, I confirmed my thoughts with Horikita.

"Hmm... I suppose we have no other choice than to check with each of the victims one by one like Yamauchi."

Though, most people aren't able to pry into someone's trauma like that.

"Are you stupid!? You're getting swept away by rumors and you don't even know where they came from!"

Shinohara's anger toward Yamauchi was by no means unreasonable.

It was surprising that she was able to stay calm like this.

The students had an immense tribal sense of hatred against Yamauchi, even the first years who had never met him.

"What a waste of space. Did the school not have enough applicants?" Nagumo sighed.

"Maybe there are categories. The intelligent people, the athletic people, the leftovers, and the scapegoats," Sakayanagi giggled.

"Honestly, every single time I think I understand how students are sorted, I always get more confused," Katsuragi grumbled.

"Though~ Don't you think that all of the stuff posted online seems pretty realistic?"

"You... Knock it off, Haruki!"

In response to his friend's merciless hounding, Ike reached out and forcefully grabbed Yamauchi by the shoulder to signal that it was time to stop.

"Wh-what's wrong? This is my chance to get back at Shinohara for always acting so high and mighty."

"Getting back at her...? No matter what, those rumors have to be lies!"

"Petty revenge, huh? I can't say I expected any better," Amasawa insulted.

"How are we supposed to know that? A relatively ugly chick like her could've totally done something like that."

Yamauchi continued to talk mindlessly, without a shred of concern for Ike's feelings on the matter.

"Oh, I see... Ike, you have a crush on Shinohara, don't you? So that's why you can't admit-"

"Haruki!"

Ike grabbed Yamauchi by the collar of his shirt.

"Cut it out you guys."

Unable to sit still and watch from afar any longer, Sudō forcibly separated the two of them. At the same time, Hirata arrived at the classroom and immediately caught on to the atmosphere of the situation. He approached some of the girls and began to hear out the specifics about the rumors.

"I bet if it was him, he'd start whining like a little bitch," Hosen laughed.

Universal hatred. There are many heinous people in history to who you can apply this. Dictators, serial killers, and just plain bitter people. Yamauchi is the last.

"If you put him in my or Sakayanagi's class, he'd probably never say a word," Ryuuen chuckled.

There's no punishment to this besides loss of reputation, but in Ryuuen's, the fear would keep him in line. That was his former ideology, after all. Even now, there are certain semblances of that system, but it isn't all the same. He's never going to turn into a class like Horikita's where all students are free to speak, but he can get close.

Since Shinohara was just denying everything, Yamauchi decided to temporarily change targets to someone else.

"Well then, Hondō~ Are you seriously only into fat chicks?"

Yamauchi turned his attack toward Hondō.

"N-no way! Absolutely not! Those rumors are downright lies! Right, Ayanokōji? You probably don't even like Karuizawa, right!?"

Naturally, Hondō also denied everything. He then turned to me for help with escaping the spotlight.

Everyone's attention turned to me immediately. Fortunately, Kei and most of her friends hadn't gotten to the classroom yet.

I responded to him with a nod.

"I wonder if he was asked to do this or if it was just his own choice," Ichinose pointed out.

"Why do you think that?" Sakayanagi questioned.

"He's clearly creating discourse and turning people against each other. He may not have been the one to spread the rumours, but creating conflict is something he could do at any point. And considering that you tried to ally with him, that's certainly something you may ask him to do," Ichinose explained.

A logical analysis, and it's certainly something that's possible, but whether it's true is another thing.

"A hundred suspicions don't make truth. Perhaps I did, perhaps I didn't," Sakayanagi answered vaguely.

"See!?"

He shouted out as he turned his attention back to Yamauchi.

"Dammit. What the hell? Are they all just lies?"

With the three of us all denying our part of the rumors, the classroom began to calm down just a little.

"But... Satō-san doesn't like Onodera-san very much, does she?"

Maezono muttered these few absent-minded words. They probably came out of her mouth without a second thought because Onodera hadn't come to school yet.

Sprinkle in a little bit of the truth to make people confused. That's the first step in creating conflict. Make people question who their allies and who their foes are.

"Wha-! Ho-hold on, Maezono-san!"

Satō frantically attempted to stop Maezono, but it was already too late.

"Come to think of it, has anyone here ever seen Satō hang out with Onodera before?"

"Th- That's-"

Things seemed to be developing in a way where it wasn't possible for the rumors to be dismissed as simple lies anymore.

In this situation, Sudō confirmed that Ike and Yamauchi would remain separated from each other before walking over to me and Horikita.

"And why do you dislike me?" Onodera complained.

"Wait, it's not like that!" Sato frantically denied it.

"So are all of those rumours lies then? We've never hung out together either, even if both our friend groups go," Onodera continued.

It's possible that Onodera herself has a disdain for Sato, but it could also be a one-sided relationship.

"I mean..." Sato was unable to respond.

This was just a little bit of the power Kushida possessed. To make two classmates break their facades and make the tension rise. A little truth was all it took.

There's a reason the students haven't targeted Kushida for bullying. It's simply mutual destruction. They target her, and she destroys them, but also destroys the potential of ever making a comeback. Of course, Kushida knows that, so she won't actually use the ammunition she has, but the other students don't know that.

A human's imagination is an incredibly powerful force. The visual of their own demise is enough for them to think twice. If Kushida were to survive, she can't turn that imagination into reality.

"Ayanokōji. You really don't like Karuizawa?"

Even Sudō felt like he needed to ask such a question.

"No, I don't."

"Hmm. Well, it doesn't matter to me if it's true or not. Hey, Suzune."

"What, Sudō-kun?"

"Ah, well, it's just that I managed to overhear part of your conversation. If it's alright with you, I'd like to help out."

"How so?"

"Well, I have no shame. I should be able to ask around about the rumours straightforwardly like Haruki did."

"How noble. Although you'd probably end up being universally hated just like he is," Nagumo stated bluntly.

"Yeah, it's probably a good thing I didn't end up doing that," Sudo chuckled awkwardly.

"It's also just really fucking stupid. Do you think anyone's going to answer honestly?" Hosen insulted.

Sudō presented her with such an offer.

It was true that Sudō could be a useful tool for determining exactly where these rumors originated from.

Though at the same time, he said he had overheard our conversation, so he should've heard me tell Horikita that I wasn't interested in Kei.

"You never miss anything," Sudo sighed.

"You shouldn't do anything that will lower other people's evaluations of you. You already aren't very well respected by your peers. You should be focusing your attention on improving how other people see you. Think about how Yamauchi-kun's tactless remarks seem to have dramatically lowered his social status within the class."

It felt as though Yamauchi had managed to instantly overthrow Sudō from his position as the most disliked person in the class.

Most significantly, even Ike, his closest friend, had vented his anger at Yamauchi's behavior.

"That's probably true... But I really do want to be helpful somehow."

Sudō glanced at me for a moment before immediately turning away. I guess that he must have been vaguely aware that Horikita would consult with me about various things. Of course, he should also understand that it was easy for us to talk with one another simply because we sat next to each other.

Even Horikita is currently aware of Sudo's feelings for her. Although any possibility of a relationship ended back during the operation delta tape. But it's also clear that Sudo still has feelings for her. It's certainly a dilemma. Perhaps Sudo should just confess for closure, but then he may lose all motivation to continue improving himself.

It's a troublesome situation. One needs to be delicate to solve it.

"In which case, you should keep watch over Yamauchi-kun to make sure he doesn't spiral out of control. It would be different if there was only one positive rumour going around, but this time, if these troublesome rumors really are true, everything becomes really personal. I'd like for you to look after Hondō-kun as well because these rumors have probably dampened his spirits by quite a bit. You can do that, right?"

"...Yeah, you're right."

Sudō seemed a little disappointed, but he still obediently followed Horikita's instructions.

After confirming that Sudō had left, Horikita went back to the subject at hand.

"In all likelihood, this has all been a part of Sakayanagi-san's plan as well. She wasn't satisfied with going after Ichinose-san alone, so she set up the same type of trap for Class C. Then she attacked both classes at once. I think she's trying to shake us up before our end-of-year exams... What should we do?"

Yagami's theory, however, disagrees with this notion. As she said, a hundred suspicions don't make truth, but the same can also be said for Yagami. Although while it may seem likely, it isn't always the correct solution. To Yagami, Sakayanagi's goal is to destroy Ichinose, no more, no less. It's possible that she may go after Horikita's class, but her reasoning is flimsy at best. A rumour that would go away in a week at most? It's efficient, but not effective.

"So you all know who's in charge of leading the charge against her, huh? Although I don't think Nagumo-senpai was on anyone's radar at the time," Amasawa stated with a quick glance over at me.

Nagumo's clear disregard for the school's rules is something that may come back to bite him. He had successfully hidden from the matter back then, but now it's clear he was more involved in many matters than it seemed.

"What do you mean, 'What should we do'? Do you think there's a way to confront these rumours? The more we try to deny, the more we're going to blow up the issue. Even if we were to admit that they're true, people will just continue to gossip behind our backs. The rumors about me aren't a big deal, but if the rumors about the others start to be treated like facts, then that could cause a lot of damage."

"...Yeah. That may be true."

Horikita nodded approvingly as she looked over at Shinohara and Hondō. The way she did it made me wonder if she was imagining herself in their shoes.

"But, in some sense, this was a dirty move. How can we fight back against something like this?"

"Ignore it. I mean, have any of you thought about these rumours months since they were released?" Nagumo looked over at our class.

Of course, this was a non-issue at this point.

"Today it'll be this random lie, tomorrow it could be another. These statements only gain power if you give them power," Nagumo explained nonchalantly.

"I wonder."

"Even though you see the fire starting to spread, you're still just going to sit back and watch?"

"It's not that big of a deal to me. On the other hand, Karuizawa is most likely going to be facing some problems."

"In other words, you don't care?"

"Yeah, I don't care."

For some reason or another, it seemed like Horikita wanted to see me panic.

Due to this, I was able to see Horikita show a rare expression of disappointment.

"It seems like you did that on purpose," Horikita muttered.

"Not really. In reality, it was just a bonus," I replied.

"That's rude," Horikita sighed.

"At any rate, it's fortunate that it wasn't the other way around."

The other way around. Meaning that Kei was the one with a crush on me. It would give birth to even more rumors about how she's chasing after another guy immediately after breaking up with Hirata. There would be all sorts of speculations going around.

Even if something isn't true, there will always be people who treat it like fact. People that treat fiction like reality.

"How lucky," Sakayanagi mentioned.

Both Horikita and Yagami's theories are in the air now, but Horikita has a suspect, which makes it the more dominant one. Without someone to target, Yagami's theory is just a possibility where the evidence points to nothing.

"But... I just can't sit back and watch this happen like you."

"Is that so?"

Even if we were to leave the rumours alone, judging from the current state of affairs, the problem was clearly only going to continue to spread.

Yamauchi attempted to approach Shinohara and Satō again, but Hirata intervened first.

"Yamauchi-kun. Just because something's been posted on our class's forums doesn't necessarily mean that it's true. At the very least, it's wrong for fellow classmates to be hurting each other like this."

"But just like with Ichinose's rumors, doesn't everyone know already? So it doesn't make any difference whether or not we say anything, right?"

"The inconsistencies are endless," Hashimoto chuckled.

"Maybe he just wanted to get slapped. Who knows, maybe he had a kink," Ryuuen chuckled.

"I can't see why he would continue interrogating. Is the part of the brain with self-reflection not working?" Kanzaki stated in a confused tone.

"Maybe he was just dropped on the head as a kid," Himeno suggested.

"That's awfully dark," Amikura chuckled.

"I'm not sure I agree with you about that. At least not in the current situation. That's why, right now, I think that the proper course of action is to avoid getting tricked by these rumors while we sort everything out."

Hirata's words were met with strong voices of approval from both the boys and the girls. Of course, it was no permanent solution, but it was enough to successfully handle it for now.

At that moment, a single message came in on Horikita's cell phone.

"From Kanzaki-kun..."

Saying as much, Horikita took a glance at the message.

"It seems as though Ichinose-san is taking today off as well."

"So did you just never come to school, senpai?" Tsubaki asked.

"Yes. I didn't actually end up coming for most days between when the rumours were announced and when the exams were," Ichinose admitted.

The very day of the provisional exam. Even if she's only somewhat sick, she should still want to participate in a test like this where her academic abilities will be measured. Not to mention that Ichinose is the leader of Class B, the one who chose to take on the burdens of all of her colleagues. Well, judging from how she looked the night before, there was no way she would've been able to recover completely.

"Night before, huh?" Horikita questioned.

"I was curious how she was doing," I shrugged.

"So you were actually sick. Although stress could have been a factor too," Yagami pointed out.

"One more thing... It seems like there were rumors posted on Class B's forums as well."

"That is to say, Class B has become aware of the rumors in Class C."

"So it seems."

Horikita quickly logged into the app on her phone and checked Class B's forums. It turned out that there were four rumours listed there as well, similar to the ones found for Class C. The same was also true for Class D's forum.

"Conveniently, no rumors were posted for Class A. Do you have time after school today? I'd like to hear the details about Ichinose from Kanzaki, and I'd also like to discuss how to deal with these forums."

"Pointing all of the suspicions to yourself? Seems illogical," Yagami questioned Sakayanagi.

"Exactly. It's very illogical for me to make myself the prime suspect," Sakayanagi answered bluntly.

There was a hidden second meaning in her words, and I'm sure Yagami could decipher it. Many would think that it's just Sakayanagi's arrogance and conceit that led her to think that, but it's the exact opposite.

"Sure."

I agreed with Horikita's request.

"For now, let's focus on the provisional exam. After all, this is a valuable opportunity for us to confirm the difficulty level of the end-of-year exam and get a good grasp on where we're at as a class."

However, while that would be easy for Horikita, the people that had been targeted by these rumours wouldn't be able to do that so simply.

When Kei and the rest of her friend group finally got to the classroom, they all gathered together and began to whisper amongst each other.

Each of them would periodically glance over in my direction with a look of disgust in their eyes.

"And that hurt your feelings? Poor, pitiful Ayanokouji," Ryuuen joked.

"Well, now they don't say those things. They don't talk to me about you at all, to be honest," Kei shrugged meaning that she didn't care about it that much.

I can understand why they would do that. I, myself, am a tricky topic whenever I'm brought up. The White Room, the horrible actions I've committed, my father, the future, these are all tricky things to talk about. Especially to Kei, who has a tricky relationship with me, in their eyes.

Even though I wasn't able to hear their discussion, it was perfectly clear what kind of things they were saying to each other. Something like...

'Do you really think Ayanokōji-kun has a crush on Karuizawa-san?'

'What do you think about him, Karuizawa-san?'

And there was no doubt in my mind that Kei was responding to them, describing me with words like 'gross' and 'terrible'.

"Didn't you say that you didn't care?"

"...It's still kinda hard."

I would've continued to watch them talk, but I didn't want to actually hear any of the insults they'd be tossing around, so I looked away.

The real problem was the other students targeted by the rumours other than me.

The video had ended.

"I didn't really think you actually cared," Ryuuen chuckled.

"To go further on the previous statement, in Japanese society, it's certainly interesting how much painting those people who do shoplifting and vandalism like demons. Reputation is what's really at stake. At least, that's what the Western world believes. There's no real correct or incorrect answer here. Cultural differences are prevalent wherever one goes, this is just another one."

It's certainly true that reputation is an incredibly important thing in Japanese society, but that isn't exclusive to this country. As for me, a person who's not travelled anywhere outside this country physically, I don't have enough knowledge of the topic to make a concrete conclusion.

After that, a few days passed in the blink of an eye.

During that period, the ever-controversial Ichinose continued her string of absences, failing to show up to school even a single time.

However, that changed on February 24th, one day before the end-of-year exam.

Ichinose had finally come to school again. While I personally didn't see her, Ichinose had been absent for more than a week and many people were keeping their eyes on her. The news reached me almost immediately.

"How many points did you lose for that?" Sakayanagi asked.

"Barely any. It was inconsequential in the grand scheme of things," Kanzaki answered warily.

It's natural to get sick. The human body is exposed to many bacteria and viruses, the common cold shouldn't be penalised. However, the common cold doesn't typically last a week, and even if it does, it's inconsequential by the end of the time frame.

"Bodies take different times to process through these things. It seems a little illogical to penalise them for it," Horikita raised a valid point.

"The school has to place a line somewhere. On average, people are functional enough to go to school after a week," Hashimoto stated.

"I wonder how it feels to have your practices questioned constantly," Ryuuen commented as he glanced over at the chairman.

"Have you ever heard of Karl Popper's theory of tolerance?" Chairman Sakayanagi asked.

"Can't say I have," Ryuuen replied.

"Well, it goes like this. Popper argued that a well-structured society must be intolerant of intolerance. In other words, they shouldn't be so open-minded that their own mind falls out. If you tolerate too much, genuinely egregious values and principles may take hold. However, he also argued that you must have the ability to speak freely against certain ideals," Chairman Sakayanagi began.

In many ways, that's what modern society has adopted.

"Essentially, for Popper, a good society must have the ability to speak freely against ideals, but not tolerate anything intolerable. I try to adopt that ideology into the school. It's exactly why I answer all of your questions happily," Chairman Sakayanagi stated with a smile.

That being said, her presence was only truly important for Class B. For Class C, the upcoming end-of-year exam on the 25th was far more important.

"Very good. Ayanokōji. Akito. Haruka. Airi. You've all done excellent."

During our lunch break, the Ayanokōji Group had gathered around Keisei's desk before class.

We had taken a mock exam that Keisei had made us, and the time had come to hear the results.

It was a voluntary exam that he had us take the night before, all for the sake of testing our true abilities.

"Wow~! Kiyopon you got a 90! Totally awesome!"

"How bored must you have been during every group session?" Haruka asked.

"I often just blanked out everything," I shrugged.

"I'd have just not come. Just sitting there while you know everything is so boring," Haruka complained.

For me, I did find that true at the beginning. I just got used to it after a while, finding ways to entertain myself in my thoughts. Playing chess in my mind, looking at clouds, and more.

It's been months since the Ayanokouji Group and I had done anything together. That last time was right before the video on the island, as well as the short meeting right after the island, but I wouldn't count that one.

What do they think of me, I wonder? I guess I'll find out eventually, there's no need to theorise.

In the middle of eating her sandwich, Haruka spoke up, surprised by my result.

"Well, the tests Keisei made were flawless. Didn't you manage to score about the same?"

While there was some variance in the scores, the three of them had managed to get around an 80.

"If you guys are able to get through both the provisional exam and this mock exam I made, the exam tomorrow won't be a problem for you at all."

"If Keisei's saying something like that, this exam will be a piece of cake."

Akito rolled his stiff shoulders a few times. He seemed to be pretty fired up.

Many students thought of the studying they did. Cramming for people like Yamauchi or Ike, most likely.

"Thank you so much Keisei-kun. I've been... anxious every time I take an exam..."

"Don't mention it. This much is the least I can do for all of you."

A little embarrassed by Sakura and Akito's words, Keisei lightly scratched the bridge of his nose.

"But are you really sure that we don't need to do anything else today?"

"You've all spent a lot of time studying this past week. Since today is the last day before the real thing, I'd prefer it if all of you took a break. You've all studied diligently up to this point, and I don't think you'll easily forget anything you've learned. Furthermore, it'd be dangerous if you push yourselves to the point where you end up getting sick or for you to doze off during the exam. It'd be a shame if you did worse because of a few careless mistakes."

"Roger that. I'll follow your instructions, Yukimū."

It should be soon, just a slight bit more until the preliminary content will be passed.

As Haruka responded to Keisei with a weird salute, the others nodded along, agreeing with her words.

Suddenly, a loud noise resounded throughout the classroom as the door was violently flung open from the other side.

"Oh my god! Everyone!"

Just as we were about to enjoy the rest of our lunch...

"You owe me lunch," Haruka complained.

Does she hold grudges that deep? It was just a simple sandwich...

"It was just a sandwich. Come on," Ike whined.

Haruka didn't continue at seeing Ike's whining, but she had an annoyed frown on her face.

"Ugh. This is the worst..."

Haruka had dropped her sandwich onto the floor, startled by the sudden noise. She spoke up.

"Hey! What's wrong with you!"

Without attempting to hide her displeasure, Haruka glared at Ike.

"Something's going down! A bunch of students from Class A marched into Class B just now!"

Ike spoke, full of momentum.

"What a sudden transition," Nagumo chuckled.

"Did you get tired of waiting?" Ryuuen asked.

"Why tell you right now? Although I suppose patience isn't in your vocabulary, so I can't blame you," Sakayanagi giggled.

"It was the biggest thing for a few days, but then I feel like most people never gave it any more thought," Matsushita pondered.

"It was right around exam season, so that makes sense," Horikita claimed.

"With Ichinose-san returning to class, Sakayanagi-san is making her move..."

Mumbling that, Horikita, who was also having lunch in the classroom, stood up in a hurry. Without saying a word to me, she rushed out of the room. Seeing her leave, Sudō, Hirata, and a few others followed after her.

Tomorrow was the end-of-year exam.

If Sakayanagi wanted to make a move, she would have no choice but to make that move today.

To make a direct attack in order to bring down Ichinose after she's come back to school.

"The student council isn't going to prosecute you, but don't you think that's too much into the open?" Manabu asked.

"I had a limited time to make my moves. It was also shortened even more due to external things. Although this was when I planned to target her, so nothing really changed," Sakayanagi explained.

"And here I thought you were going to expel someone," Ryuuen sighed.

"Big words coming from someone who's never done so themself," Sakayanagi retorted.

"Ah yes, I sincerely apologise. I should've taken a page from your book and taken down the most useless people. It takes such skill to do that, doesn't it?" Ryuuen replied without trouble.

"Oh no, that may be too big of a task for you," Sakayanagi mocked.

"What are you going to do, Akito?"

"It looks like I don't have any other choice. If it turns into the same type of thing that happened a few days ago, somebody will have to be there to stop it."

"Well, that is right."

"However... Haruka, Airi. The two of you should stay here. There's no reason for more people to get involved than necessary."

"Yeah yeah, I get it. We'll take our time and finish lunch."

"What are you going to do Kiyotaka-kun?"

"I..."

Keisei stood up along with Akito. In this kind of situation, it was hard for me to say that I would stay behind as well.

"I'll come along just in case. Though, I don't think that I'll be much help."

"Incident a few days ago?" Tsubaki questioned.

"It was just a slight conflict between Kanzaki from class B and me. Just a screaming match, in all honesty," Hashimoto stated disinterestedly.

From the previous words from all the videos before, one can get a general idea about what's going to be talked about in class B.

The three of us left the classroom, heading toward Class B.

The commotion had already spread into the hallway, as people were gathering together.

"What are you doing here, Sakayanagi!?"

As we entered Class B's classroom, we witnessed Shibata approach Sakayanagi.

"What am I doing here, you ask? Why, I've come to rescue everybody in Class B, you know?"

Sakayanagi was accompanied by Kamuro and Hashimoto. There was no sign of Kitō or anyone else from Class A. It wouldn't have been surprising to run into problems if they had come with a larger group, so they probably decided to make their move with a smaller one.

"How noble," Nagumo chuckled softly.

"Saving them from the situation you caused? You're a future politician, congratulations," Ryuuen remarked.

"I wonder what you mean by that, Sakayanagi-san."

Ichinose spoke up from deeper within the classroom, surrounded by several of her classmates.

"Wait, Ichinose. You don't need to get involved with this."

"Yeah! Don't do this Honami-chan!"

They surrounded her tightly, trying their best to prevent Ichinose from getting in contact with Sakayanagi.

"To start things out, congratulations on your recovery. In fact, I wanted to reach out to you earlier, but I've been quite busy studying for the exam. Nevertheless, I'm quite happy for you. You're just in time for the end-of-year exam tomorrow."

"Yes. Thank you."

"No wonder your class gets made fun of so much," Amasawa giggled.

"It's like an overprotective brother that really doesn't protect anything," Nagumo commented.

"Maybe they thought she really had a sword in her cane?" Ryuuen ridiculed.

It was seen as a noble, but frankly useless notion.

The two of them spoke to each other from a distance.

It was perfectly clear that every single student from Class B was looking at Sakayanagi with hostility.

After all, even though it was lunch break, every student from Class B was present.

It was highly likely that the entire class had banded together with the goal of protecting Ichinose.

However, Sakayanagi didn't seem shaken by their unity at all. Rather, she seemed to be enjoying the feeling of being in enemy territory.

She had anticipated Ichinose's movements. Given that Ichinose was currently in the middle of a maelstrom of rumors, she had foreseen that Ichinose wouldn't make use of the cafeteria or other facilities on campus during the lunch break.

"If any of you ever do that, I will never help you again. The embarrassment would end me," Ryuuen told his class.

"This unity is your main strength. It isn't fragile by any means either, but getting a high unity is just a good foundation. If you can't evolve past that, your foundations don't build to anything," Nagumo analysed.

You can see it in the other classes. They all don't have as high of unity, but the heights they've reached are incomparable. The foundation that Ichinose has is stronger, but they haven't made anything from it.

"So our potential is high, but we haven't made anything of it, correct?" Ichinose replied.

"You can see it that way," Nagumo told her.

Ichinose, rather than denying those words, tried to see the positive side of it.

"You said you were here to 'rescue' us, Sakayanagi?"

"Correct."

Responding to Kanzaki's question, Sakayanagi nodded and let show a bright smile.

"Does that mean... you admit to spreading the rumors?"

'If you came here to apologize, I guess I kind of get what you mean by 'rescue'," Kanzaki mumbled.

"I'm not the one who spread the rumors."

"You didn't?" Tsubaki stated in a puzzled tone.

"It didn't state which rumours, to be fair," Utomiya told her.

"Her apologising? Did you also get dropped on the head as a kid, Kanzaki?" Ryuuen chuckled.

"I suppose it was naive to think that," Kanzaki sighed.

"...If that's the case, then what are you getting at?"

"In the past, there were rumors saying that Ichinose-san was maintaining a large sum of points, remember? At the time, the school announced that there was no foul play going on, so those rumors subsided almost immediately."

"What about it?"

In order to prevent Ichinose from saying anything, Kanzaki responded without missing a beat.

"This may be nothing but my own imagination, but... there are very few methods available for someone to get their hands on such a large sum of points without breaking any rules. For example, one could periodically collect private points from all of their classmates, gathering them together under a single person. In short, they would be playing the role of a bank, and I've determined that Ichinose-san is carrying this very responsibility for Class B."

"It's certainly one way to do things," Nagumo commented.

"You're not the same as that class, Nagumo. They're forced to give you some of their points while that class does it willingly," Manabu told him.

"That's certainly true. I'm not a bank either, they can't really get the points back. It's more of a one-way transaction kind of thing," Nagumo stated nonchalantly.

I wonder how many points he has by now. If it had passed the hundreds of millions, I wouldn't be surprised.

"That's not something I can say."

Kanzaki's response was only natural. After all, it was directly related to Class B's internal affairs.

"Indeed. I didn't come here looking for a response to that in the first place. It's just that... If, for instance, Ichinose-san truly does play the role of a bank like I've surmised... I think that may be a very dangerous situation for all of you."

As she spoke, Sakayanagi directed her gaze toward Ichinose, who was intently staring back at her.

"..."

Ichinose did not respond. Instead, she simply continued to return Sakayanagi's gaze.

"Well, we know one of the rumours is about a hairclip. Although how exactly do you stab someone with a hairclip?" Amasawa speculated with a smirk.

"I think it's... Nevermind," Yagami sighed.

I take it that he's used to it at this point.

"Although I don't think Ichinose-senpai would stab someone. So she probably just took it from someone," Amasawa shrugged.

She probably knew the entire time and was just trying to mess with people.

Class B didn't say anything right now. It would be like pouring water into the ocean, after all. Saying something like 'Ichinose would ever do that' is redundant.

"Am I mistaken? Ichinose Honami-san?"

Sakayanagi's question was truly cruel. It had certainly managed to force Ichinose into desperation.

Unable to do anything but respond with silence, Ichinose had finally been cornered, driven to the very brink of a sheer cliff.

With a single push, she'd be sent plummeting to the bottom.

That was the sort of situation that Sakayanagi had created for her.

However, this plan of hers wasn't going to work.

Many eyes looked over at me, analysing and examining me. I'm not one who would give away anything simply due to this, I got used to it when Nagumo enacted his plan back on the ship.

"Of course, what else did I expect? I had expected this for a while now, but there's something you wish to get out of this that hasn't been shown yet. Is it just to foil her plans to destroy Ichinose? What importance does she possess? Nagumo, Sakayanagi, these two target her, and they are your enemies. The older Horikita asked you to counter Nagumo, but is that the only reason?" Yagami thought.

"You saw this as well," Ichinose muttered.

Ichinose's been wondering about why I did what I did when I went to her door for a while now. I had 'saved' her in a sense, but she does know that there must have been a reason for it.

"Could you give me a little space? Chihiro-chan. Mako-chan."

"B-but!"

"It's okay. You don't need to be worried about me. I'll be alright."

With a gentle smile, Ichinose calmly moved forward and closed the distance with Sakayanagi.

Ultimately, Ichinose faced not toward Sakayanagi, but to all of her classmates throughout the classroom.

"...Everyone, I'm sorry!"

Standing before the teacher's podium, Ichinose bowed her head in apology to the students of Class B.

Even the students here were surprised.

"So this was the result of your scheme? It probably would have worked if no one intervened," Ryuuen admitted.

"Of course, that's obvious. If no one intervenes, there's no one who could stop me," Sakayanagi answered confidently.

"You don't think that you can make an error?" Ryuuen chuckled at Sakayanagi's words.

"That's a roadblock. It's an error I made, so I know the problem and how to inevitably solve it," Sakayanagi replied.

"Your conceit has no limits, huh?" Ryuuen chuckled.

"It isn't conceit when there's a foundation. I can't say the same for yours, however," Sakayanagi retorted.

"W-what are you apologizing for Ichinose? There's no reason for you to be apologizing, right?"

Shaken from her words, Shibata attempted to interrupt Ichinose's apology.

"Please don't try to stop her, Shibata-kun. She was just about to confess."

Sakayanagi smiled happily.

"This past year... The secret I've been hiding all along..."

"Hold on Ichinose. You don't have to say anything else right now."

Feeling unsettled, Kanzaki attempted to stop Ichinose from continuing any further once again, but she didn't back down.

"Come on, stop with the beating around the bush," Hosen complained.

One truth has been revealed to the students, but that's only a part of the picture. The reason why it was devastating for Ichinose isn't known to anyone.

Anticipation, and expectations, they all rise.

"There have been many strange rumors going around about me these past few weeks, and one of them isn't just a baseless rumor. Just as it was written in that letter... I am a criminal."

As Ichinose spoke these words, Sakayanagi showed a satisfied smile.

"Is that true?"

The noisy classroom fell into silence as her words sunk in.

"It seems like these foolishly good-natured classmates of yours have been caught completely unaware, so please, do give them all the details, Ichinose-san. What kind of crime did you commit?"

"You're enjoying this a lot, huh? Can't blame you though, I'd be worse," Ryuuen chuckled.

Ryuuen would probably laugh and mock her if he was in Sakayanagi's shoes. He'd twist in the knife until the skin reaches the hand guard.

The students who know don't hold much interest, but the students who don't are watching in suspense.

"I-"

Ichinose stopped and gulped nervously.

"I've kept this from all of you... but I'll confess it all right now."

Declaring such, Ichinose finally began to speak about the past that she had kept buried within.

"I... was a shoplifter..."

The shoplifting honor student, Ichinose Honami.

This is what's known by most. The letter showed many different crimes, but only one worked with Ryuuen's previous words. The context is what changes the situation.

In light of her unexpected revelation, the surprise was great enough that it managed to impact spectators outside of Class B, such as Keisei and Akito.

After all, Ichinose really didn't come across as the type of student who would do such a thing.

"Honami-chan... a shoplifter...? R-really?"

"Yes. I'm sorry Mako-chan."

While apologizing, Ichinose began to recount her experience with shoplifting.

"I came from a fatherless family, living with my mother and my sister two years younger than me. While we weren't very well-off, we were never unhappy. My mother had it hard, working full-time as she raised two children all by herself. That's why, ever since elementary school, I planned to get a job after finishing middle school. After all, it would cost a lot of money to go to high school, so I wanted to find a job to help my mother support my younger sister instead. But, my mother was against it. I think that, just as I, an older sister, sincerely wished for my younger sister's happiness, my mother wished for the happiness of both of her daughters."

"That's what should be expected. A parent should wish for the happiness of their children," Horikita commented.

'Should' is the keyword. In reality, there are many times that doesn't happen. A parent who doesn't care about their child, one that has given up on them, and another who doesn't believe in them. These aren't as uncommon as one may think. There are many reasons, but no matter the reason, the child's life is impacted in a way that may never be repaired.

"Yeah, of course. That doesn't always happen, though," Sudo stated.

As a person from a dysfunctional home, Sudo may fall into the third category; the parents who don't believe in their kids.

The students all felt sympathy for Ichinose right now, of course, poverty itself is difficult, but only having one parent is another thing.

Ichinose opened up about her past.

"I understood that, even without money, if I studied as hard as possible, I'd be able to make use of the student scholarship system. So, I studied hard. I developed my skills as I managed to reach the top of the school. But... just like that, during the summer of my third year of middle school... my mother pushed herself too hard and collapsed."

It seemed that, in order to support her family's livelihood, Ichinose's mother had overworked herself.

She had given up her own body, all for the sake of raising her children.

"That's a shame, but that might just grow more common in the future," Nagumo commented.

If people who aren't well off and need to survive in an ever-changing world, those at the bottom are going to collapse no matter what. It's an inevitable thing.

Ichinose right now stayed silent, but there was no sadness in her expression. She was calm.

"It was almost my younger sister's birthday. For as long as I could remember, she had never asked for anything from either of us. She was still in her first year of middle school, so it would've been acceptable for her to act a little spoiled sometimes, yet she always managed to hold herself back. Instead of getting the clothes she wanted, or accompanying her friends as they played or went shopping together, she just put up with all of it and held herself back from asking for anything. And then, that selfless little sister of mine... expressed that she wanted something for the very first time. A fashionable hair clip that her favorite celebrity wore back then. My mother undoubtedly overloaded her schedule in order to buy my sister that hair clip."

However- Due to her sudden hospitalization, she was no longer able to get her daughter that birthday present.

"I can still remember everything. My mother, sobbing as she apologized from her bed in the hospital. The face of my sister as she showered our mother with all the ridicule and blame she could produce. The face of my sister as she cried and screamed about the hair clip she was looking forward to getting. Even then, I still wasn't able to blame her. The only gift she had ever asked for..."

"Shouldn't a child of that age understand what money means?" Hosen pointed out.

"Perhaps. If so, then that would be my failure since I wasn't able to teach her that," Ichinose stated resolutely.

It isn't the older siblings' job to teach life lessons to the younger ones, at least, that's what I've observed. Manabu had tried, but he wasn't able to succeed. It's a parent's job to provide the blueprints and values for their offspring, but for Ichinose, it's clear to see that she had to fill in the vacuum that her father left.

"It's not fair to blame her, she could only do so much. She was only a few years older, too," Amikura complained.

In terms of life experience, Ichinose had more, but that's incomparable to that of an adult. They've gone through every stage of life Ichinose has and more. While their lives are different, the lessons they've learned should be somewhat similar.

Sakayanagi listened to Ichinose's confession with an unwavering smile on her face.

"As the elder sister... I thought that I had to find a way to return my sister's smile. So, after school on the day of her birthday, I went to the department store."

By now, you could tell that she was just as anxious as she was back then.

"I see. So that's what's happening," Yagami muttered.

To make her sister happy, she risked her family's reputation. Although Ichinose perhaps didn't even care about that. 'As long as I do this, she'd be happy' would be in her mind.

"My feelings back then were surely shrouded in darkness. I told myself that it was okay... That it wasn't a big deal to do something sinful, just once, for the sake of my younger sister. After all, there were so many people in the world constantly doing bad things. The feelings I was holding inside... That there was no reason for my family, who had always held back, to be blamed for my actions. I told myself that it would be acceptable, that it would be forgiven... Back then, that was my selfish, egotistical interpretation of reality. The hair clip that would normally cost over 10,000 yen... The hair clip that my sister wanted so desperately... I stole it for her."

Ichinose spoke as though she was revealing something heavy.

10,000 yen, for many families that are more towards the middle-class sections, seems like something that would be on the level of getting the most popular video game on the market. While I don't know the exact financial situation of Ichinose's family, I could guess that it would be many weeks of saving up, months even.

"Selfish maybe, but is that really it? I expected something a little more," Hosen sighed.

It wasn't necessarily an annoyed expression, just disappointment.

"Morality is relative. Something you find acceptable isn't the same for another," Manabu explained.

Ichinose's voice playing through the video was one of deep sorrow, but if there was one thing I could confirm from this tape-viewing experience, it's that no matter how painful these confessions sound, the poignancy simply won't reach some.

"I guess. A dark stain on the past is what was described, but it was more like a kid doing something wrong," Hosen stated disinterestedly.

Many delinquents don't come from particularly normal, functioning households, it's possible Hosen comes from a house that's similar to Ichinose's. To him, this seems not that bad.

"So this is what the voice meant by the two different outlooks on these crimes," Nagumo pointed out.

There are those in the audience that seem somewhat surprised and agree with Ichinose that it was shameful and egotistical, but then there are those like Hosen who don't see it as horrible.

"Even though it was a decision that I knew would make everyone unhappy, I still wanted to do something for my sister."

That desire of hers was the cause for all of this.

"...But, that's still no excuse, is it?"

Ichinose mumbled quietly.

"In the end, a crime is a crime. No matter what you do to repent, your sin will never go away."

She expressed her thoughts in a disconnected manner.

"It's depressing you put so much weight on that. You're just going to end up hating yourself every time you do anything even slightly bad," Hosen shrugged.

"Just because you're morally bankrupt doesn't mean everyone else has to be," Amikura defended her friend.

"The law has its flaws, and cultural expectations aren't always true," Ryuuen pointed out.

The law isn't perfect, the more a person sees the world, the more they understand that.

"The law isn't perfect because humans who created them aren't perfect. It is, however, evidence of a goal to be righteous, you shouldn't disregard it," Ichinose disagreed.

"Maybe if you look at it that way," Ryuuen replied disinterestedly.

"Are you saying you got caught?"

In response to Hashimoto's question, Ichinose simply shook her head.

"I just left the department store with the hair clip. It was the first time I ever shoplifted, the first time I ever committed a crime. Nobody found out. Immediately afterward, I went home and presented the hair clip to my sulking little sister. But, because it had just been stolen, it hadn't been wrapped yet, so it was a really sloppy present. Still, she was so happy. When I saw her smiling face, for an instant, the guilt of what I had just done faded a bit. But, that didn't last very long. The pounding guilt in my heart just continued to grow."

Ichinose's smile was full of self-ridicule.

She felt guilty due to breaking the law, but that guilt isn't what necessarily made her never go to school for her third year of middle school. That by itself isn't enough.

"After all, doesn't it seem impossible for a mother to fail to notice when her daughter's done something sinful? Even though I had told my sister to keep the present a secret, she wore it the next time we went to visit our mother in the hospital. And why wouldn't she? There was no way my sister would've thought that I had stolen it for her. That time... That time was the first time in my life where I had ever seen my mother seriously angry. She slapped me and took the hair clip from my sister. I don't even think my sobbing little sister understood why. Despite the fact that she had to stay hospitalized, my mother forcibly dragged me back to the store. I prostrated myself, begging for forgiveness. That was the first time I truly understood just what I had done. How heavy of a crime I had committed. No matter how many excuses I make, nothing would ever be able to make up for it."

This was Ichinose's past. The past that she had been hiding.

"In the end, the store didn't hand me over to the police. But, in the blink of an eye, the commotion still spread, so I closed myself off. For almost half of my third year of middle school, I just shut myself up in my room and stayed there... Eventually, I started to think about moving forward once again. It was all because my homeroom teacher told me about this school. The cost of admission and tuition are waived for you, and if you graduate, you can find a job anywhere you want. I wanted to start over. To start over with a blank slate."

"So it is might not have been the crime. Just seems like you got depressed that your family had suffered," Hosen examined.

The guilt is one thing, but the way her family had suffered was what got her to break. There's also another factor that Ichinose may have ignored or seen and chose to omit.

"Maybe if my mother didn't make me do that, I wouldn't have felt that bad, it's true, but I'm happy she didn't ignore it," Ichinose stated resolutely.

The way they looked at her, the way their views of Ichinose warped. 'My perfect daughter broke the law, where did I go wrong?' Is something that would change their perceptions. The way others look at an individual has a deep impact on their mental state.

"You see such stories time and time again. A teenager steals something and the police get called. In other places of the world, you may get laughed at for doing so. Although in not only Japan, but many countries in Asia, you may get praised for calling the police," Manabu recounted.

"Is this what you want, Ayanokouji-sensei? A cultural shift? Take out the old views and have new ones put in. I don't think this is exactly what you meant, but I don't think it's far off," Chairman Sakayanagi thought.

Finished, Ichinose once again bowed her head to her classmates.

"I'm sorry everyone. I'm such a pathetic, useless leader..."

"That's not true Ichinose."

Listening from nearby, Shibata spoke up.

"After listening to everything you've had to say, I'm sure of it. You're still a good person."

"Yeah! Sure, Honami-chan may have done something bad, but-"

The loud, distinct sound of a cane striking the floor echoed throughout the room.

"I will have to interject. Could you all stop being so ridiculous?"

Ichinose's support was casually brushed aside.

"You had to get the last word in, huh?" Amasawa stated.

"Of course, I did. If I didn't, things would end up going awry," Sakayanagi mentioned disinterestedly.

"I don't think you could have changed that," Ryuuen chuckled.

"Perhaps you may be right," Sakayanagi sighed.

"Really, what a trivial, boorish farce. Are you trying to gain sympathy by bringing up all these needless details about your past? No matter the circumstances, shoplifting is still shoplifting. There's no place for sympathy. Your theft came from a place of self-interest."

As Sakayanagi spoke, Kamuro, standing right beside her, momentarily showed a stiff expression.

"Yes, I agree with that. The circumstances of my past have nothing to do with it."

"The fact remains: you've committed a crime. So, when it comes to the large amount of private points you've been entrusted with, isn't it possible that you'll steal those as well when graduation comes along?"

Is a former criminal qualified to be a good person?

That's the age-old question. The nature of a human being and whether it can change. There are those who believe one can change and those who believe they can't.

"That's an oversimplified to look at it. A person who did something wrong in the past can't change? It's too complicated to make such a concrete conclusion," Yagamu refuted.

That's the conclusion I've reached as well. A person's life has too many different variables. The people they meet, the mentors, the environment, all of this can affect if one changes.

Sakayanagi didn't seem to care. It's a philosophical debate with no end, after all. You could go in circles and never reach a conclusion.

"...I'd never do something like that, Sakayanagi-san. Disregarding my classmate's intentions in order to get into Class A would be an act of betrayal. I don't think the school would ever allow it."

"I agree. You're a clever one, after all. You'd never use an obvious tactic like that. On the other hand, what if you do this little sympathy-seeking performance again in order to get everyone's permission to go to Class A?"

Sakayanagi was relentless.

"You're right... Maybe... Maybe all my hard work will seem hypocritical, no matter how hard I try. The sin I committed will never disappear."

Her criminal past would always follow her.

After all, the suspicion that she may betray the class someday would always be there.

"It would be there no matter when. At this very moment, I'm sure there are many students who believe their class's leader won't fulfill the goal of getting everyone to class A and will simply go by themself," Nagumo explained.

"You know that very well, huh? All of the people in your year wonder if you'll fulfill your promise," Sakayanagi giggled.

"It doesn't matter what I say. I could get on my hands and knees to promise, but they still may not believe me. The same holds for this 'banking' matter," Nagumo shrugged.

It's a reasonable doubt a person may have. There's no contractual agreement, just a verbal promise to rise to class A together. There are students in this class right now who think that Horikita might do the same if given the opportunity.

"Does everyone understand now? This, is the real Ichinose Honami-san. As long as you have this sort of person leading you, Class B doesn't stand a chance."

Sakayanagi thoroughly exposed the reality of the situation.

"Take this opportunity to return the private points to your classmates and step down as the leader of Class B. You should at least do that much. If you don't, the slander about you will not disappear, will it?"

"You're really trying to drive it in," Nagumo chuckled.

He doesn't seem to care that this entire scenario is evidence against him. He seems carefree as usual. Is it simply because there's nothing for him to care about?

Ichinose calmly closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"What are you going to do, Ichinose?"

Kanzaki spoke as the representative for the rest of Class B, posing the question to her.

The question of whether or not she would continue to lead the class.

A decision that Ichinose would have to make herself.

If this was her first experience with having her spirit crushed, Ichinose may not have been able to endure. She might have decided to give in.

But, Ichinose had already had her spirit broken once before.

Rather, I was the one who had broken it.

A sudden shift in the atmosphere.

"So you admitted it, huh?" Sakayanagi giggled.

"To break it, he made me confess? Once again, I don't understand why. What purpose is there to make me better? I don't get it, I really don't. I've spent so long trying to understand anything, but I'm just left here, oblivious as ever," Ichinose thought.

"Behind the scenes actions as usual," Horikita sighed.

"You weren't too mean, right?" Kei asked.

Perhaps she felt a sort of kinship with Ichinose.

"No, I wasn't as mean as I was with you," I admitted.

Kei, seemingly satisfied, turned her attention back to the screen.

But now, she had recovered completely.

That broken part of her spirit was now stronger than ever.

"I'll wrap up my confession with this..."

As she spoke, she turned to face Sakayanagi with a smile.

"I am certainly a shoplifter, and as Sakayanagi-san said, I don't think there's any room for sympathy. After all, a crime is a crime, and I have no intention of running away. However, I've never been persecuted for it. In other words, there's effectively no reason for me to atone for my sin now."

"You have a lot of nerve to say that despite being so shameless just a moment ago. This defiant attitude of yours is quite a big change from what one would expect from a corrupt thief who honestly regrets their mistakes."

"There's lots of room for sympathy, but whatever," Hosen sighed, showing that he didn't seem to care about it much anymore.

"Did your expectations get broken? Need a tissue for your tears?" Ryuuen chuckled.

"I expected a little better from the so-called 'most competitive year' that everyone's been saying," Hosen grumbled.

Is that what this year has been called now? Perhaps the third or the first years are saying that. The teachers certainly pushed that title as well.

"If one guy tried from the beginning, there would be no chance of catching up. But since he took his sweet time to do anything, that's opened an opportunity," Ryuuen stated as he glanced over at me.

"Maybe so, but I refuse to keep looking back. I won't let my past control me anymore."

Turning her smiling face toward her classmates, Ichinose continued.

"Despite being so shameless... everyone, will you follow me until the very end?"

She asked this, and it was followed by a moment of silence.

By no means had her request come from a place of optimism.

She was ashamed of her past and on the verge of bursting into tears. She simply wanted to run away from all of it.

But despite that, she continued to push forward.

She had gone through thick and thin with her classmates for the past year. It was impossible for them to not understand what she was going through.

Many students felt sympathy, and others lost interest. Class B looked proud of their past actions, however. They were able to stand by their leader and not abandon them, contrasted by Ryuuen's class at the time.

"You already have our support, right!?"

Shibata shouted with a smile.

At the same time, every single one of his classmates cheered, showcasing the unity of Class B.

This was the extent of the admiration they had for her.

I could feel the weight behind it.

Keisei and Akito also seemed to be taken in by this display of unity, as both of them had delighted expressions.

With the exception of one class in particular, the students from the other classes were also voicing their support.

"I wonder who that was," Amasawa joked.

"So you ended up getting destroyed. Hell, you may have even made them a little bit stronger," Ryuuen pointed out.

"Their results don't really show this newfound strength you speak about, so I have no idea what you mean," Sakayanagi stated coldly.

"Sakayanagi... What now?"

Sakayanagi's attack had been negated.

Kamuro appeared to understand this as well, which was why she had spoken up. Her question could be interpreted as a request to withdraw.

"Fufufu."

Sakayanagi laughed.

"Fufufufufufu."

Then she laughed again, a little bit longer this time.

"Creepy," Hosen stated with a confused expression.

"See? More people are starting to see it, finally," Ryuuen was surprised.

"I see. It seems you've managed to successfully trick your classmates. However, as you said earlier, a criminal's past doesn't just disappear. I'm sure that the rumors about you will continue to spread far into the future."

"Yeah, but I'm not going to run away."

"Is that so? Then, let's thoroughly-"

"Alright, that's enough everyone."

As Sakayanagi was in the middle of giving a response, two teachers and an upperclassman entered the classroom.

It was the student council president Nagumo, Class B's homeroom teacher Hoshinomiya, and Chabashira.

Many were surprised at their sudden entrance.

"Did you go back on your promise or was there something else at play?" Yagami asked.

"Let's say I was forced to fold," Nagumo shrugged.

"I wonder why," Yagami stated with a slight smirk, thin as a piece of paper.

"It seems that a few very important people have shown up, but this is a problem that only concerns the first-year students."

"You're correct. This dispute does only involve the first-years. However, as of today, it is against the rules to spread irresponsible rumors."

"...What does that mean? I'm not satisfied with this gag order on the rumors about Ichinose-san. Regardless of where they came from, if Ichinose-san was troubled by them, shouldn't she have reported it to the school herself?"

"You have the wrong idea, Sakayanagi. This problem doesn't just involve Ichinose anymore."

Nagumo responded to Sakayanagi's question.

"So that was what you were after. I knew that she had no real reason to make new rumours. If those rumours were at least slightly accurate, only Kushida or Karuizawa would have had that information. Although they spread through multiple classes, so if some of them being truthful follows, Kushida would be the likely case. You took down every opportunity of Sakayanagi attacking, but for what?" Yagami thought.

"I've never seen you so shocked before. It's a hilarious expression," Ryuuen laughed.

"Can't blame her. She didn't think anything would happen. And if the student council doesn't intervene for it, it's unlikely the school will. Although that's only if it's minor," Nagumo explained.

"...What are you saying?"

Just as Nagumo was about to explain, Chabashira intervened instead.

"I won't go into the details, but we've already confirmed that there has been an ongoing exchange of slander amongst the first-year students. There are close to twenty different rumors going around at this point. If this is allowed to continue, it will corrupt the public morals of our school. Rumors are rumors. Regardless of whether or not there's conclusive evidence backing them up, the school doesn't want to see rumors that target specific individuals continue to spread. Therefore, I'll inform all of you right now. Moving forward, anyone found spreading meaningless rumors may be subjected to punishment."

So far, the school had been tolerating the endless spread of rumours, but now they had taken action.

"...I see, so that's how it is."

After hearing Chabashira's explanation, Sakayanagi seemed to understand everything.

Her strategy was pummeled and she had lost. Ichinose only grew stronger and now her only way to damage her was cut off.

"In other words, the school's finally taking action."

Horikita drew closer to me after observing the situation and gave me her thoughts.

"This is only an afterthought, but isn't this enough to save each class? Because of the school's intervention, Sakayanagi-san's faction won't be able to attack Ichinose-san anymore. This should also silence the rumors about Hondō-kun, Shinohara-san, Satō-san, and you that were posted online as well."

"Right."

"Sakayanagi-san went a bit too far. She attempted to frame each class with the same strategy at the same time, but it backfired because it attracted the school's attention. It seems like with this one belligerent move, she managed to outdo herself."

With that, Horikita fell silent.

"Did you see it?" Sakayanagi stated with a smug grin.

"Not fully," Horikita sighed.

She knew something was off, but there was no concrete conclusion for her to make at the time. Her hunch wasn't off, she just wasn't able to prove it. Like a detective who knew which suspect was the killer, but didn't have the evidence to prove it, letting the killer go free.

Then, for a moment, she continued.

"But-"

"But what?"

"No, it's nothing."

Horikita didn't seem to want to say anything further.

"Let's withdraw here. Now that the school has made their move, our presence is no longer necessary."

Understanding the situation, Sakayanagi gave the order to withdraw.

At once, the already noisy classroom became even more excited.

Class A had been successfully driven back.

The scene had faded to black.

"Rare triple video. It's pretty short, though, so it won't be long."

There's only one option in my mind.

"Hello?"

"Is this Ayanokōji-kun?"

I recognized the owner of the voice immediately. It was Sakayanagi.

"How do you know my number...? Well, it's not too hard to figure out."

"Yeah. As there are still about ten minutes left before lunch ends, would you mind coming out to meet me for a moment?"

It would've been easy to decline, but it also would've been troublesome to make time to meet up with her later.

"Wait, is this what happened when you came back and had to go do something?" Haruka asked.

I nodded.

"Busy people can't even enjoy their lunch, how sad," Haruka sighed.

"Where do you want me to go?"

I walked out into the hallway.

"Well, how about in front of the first-floor entryway?"

"Okay."

I ended the call and headed to the entryway.

I thought that Hashimoto and Kamuro might have come along with her, but Sakayanagi was alone when I arrived there.

"Do rest assured, there's no one else with me right now. I must say, you've really outdone yourself this time, Ayanokōji-kun."

"Considering you said you broke her spirit, that's all but confirmed now," Yagami stated with a slight grin

His theory was proven right, so he seemed to be happy.

"So my hunch wasn't off. Sakayanagi wasn't behind it, but you were one of the many suspects in my mind," Horikita sighed.

"What are you talking about?"

"It seems as though, without me noticing, you've gone and made your move behind the scenes. There are still a few unsolved mysteries left, but I'm not interested in talking about what happened back there. That said, there's one thing that I've been curious about. Why did you decide to protect Ichinose-san?"

With that, Sakayanagi stared at me, waiting for my answer.

"Wait. I don't understand what you're talking about."

"Simply because you saved Ichinose-san, she became defiant... no, she was able to stand back up on her own two feet again. I can't imagine any other reason for what happened. Perhaps it's possible that this wasn't the first time she's confessed to everything. Perhaps she already told everything to someone beforehand?"

This was common knowledge at this point.

"I'm quite interested in that as well," Nagumo stated.

I had taken his pawn out of his hands. It's as if he placed the clay in the oven for it to harden and for him to have another toy, but I had taken it out before it reach completion.

"It's because your plan as well was foiled. You weren't able to break her and remold your toy," Sakayanagi giggled.

"I was annoyed at the time, but now I'm just curious. These matters are just to fill in the blanks in my own mind," Nagumo shrugged.

"And you think that someone is me?"

"Precisely."

It was a completely natural conclusion for her to arrive at.

"Didn't you use Kamuro to force me to take action?"

"Use Kamuro-san?"

"Before Ichinose's past as a shoplifter was revealed, she told me everything."

"That was something she did of her own accord."

"You sure? Your subordinates seem to shit themselves if they're on your bad side. Look at him," Ryuuen pointed at Hashimoto.

"I wouldn't say I'm on her bad side. I was just incompetent," Hashimoto sighed.

"That's what plenty of criminals use. 'Your honour, I'm dumb, so I can't be prosecuted'. Sometimes it's valid, other times it's a lie. I wonder which side you're on," Ryuuen stated speculatively.

Hashimtoto didn't pay him any more mind.

"No, that's not true."

"What makes you so sure?"

It seemed like, for some reason, she wanted to see what information I already had.

"She presented me with a can of alcohol as proof of her shoplifting. But, she hadn't stolen it that day. Kamuro had stolen it when she first enrolled here."

"And what's the basis for that?"

"The sell-by date. After I saw the sell-by date on the beer that Kamuro showed me, I went to the convenience store and compared it with the beer there. The sell-by date of the cans on sale in the convenience store and the can she gave me differed by more than four months. It's difficult to imagine that the can of beer she grabbed just so happened to be four months older than the rest of them. Kamuro said that you had received the can of beer she had stolen in the past, telling her that you would dispose of it. If that's true, she either gave me a can that the two of you had prepared for me ahead of time, or she got in touch with you after she left my room and got the can from you directly."

"So you stole a can of beer and she caught you, huh? That's amusing," Hashimoto chuckled.

"I didn't think that would get me caught. Unless you knew that would happen?" Kamuro stared at Sakayanagi questioningly.

"Perhaps I did, perhaps I didn't," Sakayanagi stated vaguely.

"Well, applying common sense, you wouldn't tell me to do that and oversee something so crucial," Kamuro analysed.

Sakayanagi didn't give her an answer.

"That's a problem," Mashima sighed.

"I don't get why alchohol is there anyway, to be honest. Just place it in a vending machine inside the staff room," Ryuuen criticised.

"You have a point. Although there are certain people who have made us rethink that," Mashima looked over at Hoshinomiya.

"She'd never stop walking there. She'd be bankrupt on the first day," Chabashira sighed.

"As for a punishment for Kamuro, I guess it's a private point reduction. This matter was so long ago that it's inconsequential at this point, and it was also relatively minor. You will be monitored every time you get into the department store, they'll be informed of that," Mashima told her.

"Yes, sensei," Kamuro stated reluctantly.

Back then, Kamuro getting in touch with me and speaking about Ichinose's past was all within my assumptions.

"Why would I go about things in such an indirect manner?"

"To lure me out, right?"

"Fufufu. Perhaps an 'as expected of Ayanokōji-kun' is in order here."

"In this case, it would've been easy for me to sit back and do nothing. Rather, that's what I had wanted to do in the beginning."

The one that prevented me from doing so was none other than Sakayanagi herself.

She had brought Ichinose down with her own hands, and then went and offered her a hand of support immediately after.

Of course, she had utilized a very roundabout means of doing so.

"So you intervened because I was going to be destroyed? Or was it because Sakayanagi was going to gain more power?" Ichinose looked at me like she had no idea.

I didn't give her a response.

"So I guess she didn't care about you at all. All that moral talk might have just been a farce then," Yagami stated bluntly.

"It was all for the sake of getting you involved, Ayanokōji-kun."

Cane in hand, Sakayanagi slowly walked forward, shortening the distance between the two of us.

"It didn't matter to me if Ichinose-san broke down along the way, but if there was even a slight chance that you may decide to intervene, I was hoping that you would seize the opportunity to do so. The odds were only about fifty-fifty, but... I got the outcome that I was hoping for in the end."

In other words, for Sakayanagi, Ichinose's existence didn't matter at all.

"Let's have a competition, Ayanokōji-kun."

Horikita looked at me instantly.

"Was that chess game... So that means he lost the competition? I can't believe it. So is that dream of being defeated accomplished? But he doesn't seem any different. I would have thought that he'd at least change slightly if this desire mattered so much to him," Horikita thought.

"It's the opposite scenario for us. He was the one who proposed a competition, unlike him getting challenged here. Well, I can't complain, it means that I have an opportunity right now instead of waiting for months down the line," Yagami thought.

"What if I say no?"

"While you may claim that it wouldn't cause much damage, I'd expose you as the mastermind leading Class C from the shadows. You should be able to understand that if I did something like that, you wouldn't be able to resolve everything with a couple of rumors."

Even though the school had officially placed a restriction on spreading rumours, Sakayanagi would probably still spread that information without hesitation.

"So how about it? Not willing to accept?"

"What would we compete over? You're in Class A, I'm in Class C. The difference between us is obvious."

"I don't know anything about what the next exam may entail, but how about we compete over the rankings? Should you win, I'll promise not to divulge your past to anyone moving forward."

"You can't really guarantee that she'll keep her word," Nagumo pointed out.

"He doesn't have a choice, however. She would reveal things he doesn't want out in the open, so he has to agree," Manabu added.

Those were the two things on my mind as well. She had put me in a corner, I had no choice other than accepting or letting myself get exposed. But there's something they may have forgotten to mention.

"I wonder what would have happened if you let yourself get exposed. I'm a little disappointed it didn't happen," Ryuuen sighed.

While that condition wasn't too bad, there was no guarantee that she would keep to her word. I didn't have any intention of signing an agreement or vocally recording my consent on the matter either.

"You don't believe me, do you? But it doesn't seem like you have any other choice but to trust what I'm saying. If you don't, your past will be exposed under broad daylight. It would become difficult for you to live an ordinary life."

"Do whatever you want. Just know that if that happens, you'll never be able to have your face off against me."

"...Fufu. That's right, isn't it? That's exactly what I'd expect you to say."

Sakayanagi herself should know that I wouldn't easily agree to face off against her.

Which was why, so far, Sakayanagi had yet to talk to anybody about my past.

"So mutual destruction was another factor, huh? I suppose that I did indeed forget about her needing to prove her ideology," Nagumo sighed.

"So she did have to offer something," Horikita muttered.

So she understands that I did agree to it. The chess game. Although she believes I must have lost that competition, and maybe gone even further and thought about my desire for defeat.

"So what if I wager that I would drop out of school myself? Furthermore, you can have my father, the chairman of the school, act as a guarantor for our contest."

Sakayanagi gave off an air of absolute confidence.

"Of course, even if you should lose to me, I wouldn't require for you to drop out as well. I don't intend to ask for anything special either. I would, however, announce to the school that you're the mastermind behind Class C. If I don't have you risk at least that much, you might just withdraw from the contest altogether."

She looked at me with an expecting expression.

"If you're really alright with those conditions, I'll agree to it."

"Thank you very much, Ayanokōji-kun. With this, at last, my boring school life will come to an end."

With a content smile, Sakayanagi took her leave.

The screen faded once again.

"So do I get a punishment now?" Nagumo leaned forward and asked the teachers.

"You seem eager, but not right now. There's one more tape we've been given for this situation. A verdict can be decided upon after that," Chairman Sakayanagi mentioned.

Ichinose had a sigh of relief knowing that she didn't have to make a decision today itself.

Soon, I found myself back in my room.

"That was a long day," I sighed as I sat at my desk and had some tea I prepared.

I've learnt that people often only like tea or coffee, and then completely abandon the other. They both have their uses. Coffee can be used as a stimulant, even increasing short-term memory when you take it. Tea is just soothing, however. It's something to have when you need to wind down.

What had happened today?

Ichinose's matter. If I had to guess, she'll be incredibly confused for the next video. The only idea she has is me being by the door, and I'm sure that's going to be shown, but Kushida's matter will also be shown most likely. It's too important to be left out.

She must not know what to think. About me, about my actions, about why I helped her, those are all questions that must be inside her mind. Her life was probably much simpler back before these videos, not having to know all of this new knowledge. These videos probably made her mental health plummet down into the flames of Tartarus.

Soon, she would have to make a big choice. To fall or not to fall, to move forward or to continue drowning.

At that moment, when she makes that choice, it would decide her fate for the future.

Author's note:

There's a bunch of ways you could write this, but I tried to have a mix of Ichinose criticism and Ichinose sympathy. I'm trying to do all of v9 in the holidays, so I'm happy I got this one done. Now there's only one more, which should take less time than this one.

That's about it, see you.

Oneshot: Torturing an Old Classmate

This takes place right after Yamauchi leaves the classroom in y1v10

This is pretty much a shitpost that I wrote because I was bored lol

The person in front of me has no idea where he is. His eyes are groggy and frantic, darting around the room, barely processing the information due to how slow his brain is functioning right now.

His breath is ragged and not uniform. He's currently sitting on an old, beat-up chair in the middle of an old warehouse on the outskirts of the school. By the next year, this place will be destroyed for another bar or store to take its place, most likely.

"W-where am I?!" he yelled, but he was yelling into the shadows.

And then, he winces. One small grimace is nothing much, perhaps a muscle cramp, nothing too out of the ordinary. Then, he winces again, then again and again. It's not painful enough for him to scream out, but it's almost as if he's constantly being pricked by a small needle. In this dimly lit room, the light barely reaches through the boarded-up windows and doors.

The countless debris piling up, the living creatures that could realistically make an ecosystem, the disfigured steel wires that functioned as a foundation. The person continues to yell out, wondering who will hear him. The reason why he hasn't gotten up and walked away is simple.

He's been restrained. Zip ties have chained him to the chair he's sat on, he can struggle all he wants, but there's nothing he can do.

"This has to be a sick prank, right? Sudo? Ike? This isn't funny anymore," He yells out once again.

"Do you know what the third stage of grief is? It's bargaining," a low voice cuts through his yells.

He instantly turns in that direction, frightened by the sudden interjection.

However, he sees nothing, it's too dark too.

"Get your ass out here! Whoever it is, this isn't a good prank! These zip ties are starting to hurt now, man," the man yells, once again to the shadows.

"Pain tells you whether you're alive. Do you know what happens when you increase pain? It can change the way a person thinks, and their mannerisms. And sometimes, these changes can be permanent, never letting the person go back to how they were before. Isn't that right, Yamauchi?"

The voice is intimidating, low, and assertive. The pitch of the voice is the same as Yamauchi, meaning they must be around the same age. However, while one voice gives the impression of fear, the other gives the impression of a knife, currently sheathed.

That man resides in that shadow. That's Ayanokouji.

"When people are in trouble, they show their true personality, right? A hypothesis that some have is that this just means that our personality is unstable, easily changed by primitive attacks and feelings, pain and fear respectively."

As he says that, he walks out of the dark and into the small space where the outside world's light reaches.

"A-ayanokouji? H-hey! Help me man," Yamauchi told him, excited to see a familiar face.

"Why would I do that? I put you in that chair, it was a lot of effort. Why should I take you back out?"

Ayanokouji tells him as if he doesn't understand why Yamauchi would ask for help. Yamauchi, in response, isn't able to respond, taken over by fear.

"I've been thinking about it for a while now. And then, it clicked with me. This school allows defects, the bottom of society to come here, but just because they're defective, doesn't mean they're useless. However, you have denied this very hypothesis. For my curiosity, I set out to figure out a reason as to why. I spent hours theorising, but the only answer I came to was that you got here through money. But I was incorrect."

Ayanokouji looks down at him, speaking gently and explaining his thought process.

"T-that doesn't matter! Is that why you did this?" Yamauchi stated with a horrified expression.

"I'll get to that. You see, you should have heard about Koenji going around and buying points from third years. It was quite a big event, Nagumo was also speaking about it. However, you never did it. If you had money, you would have done it because your greed and short-sightedness would have taken over you, but you didn't take advantage of it. This leads me to believe I was wrong."

Yamauchi looks surprised at his explanation.

"I decided to take matters into my own hands. When you were at the dorm, collecting your things, I knocked you out. That's why you've been wincing so much, you keep putting pressure on the point where I attacked you. Then I took you out here. It was easy enough, you have a few hours to collect your things and say goodbye before the school asks you to leave, I just pretended that you were sick and I was taking you to the nurse. Although I don't think this is what they intended," Ayanokouji glances around the room.

"Man, just let me go! I'm done with this place, I want to go home already," Yamauchi cried out.

However, Ayanokouji didn't acknowledge those cries for help.

"So then, Yamauchi, tell me how you got into the school," Ayanokouji asks him point blank.

"I got in here just like everyone else!" Yamauchi stated, completely flustered.

"Not possible," Ayanokouji stated and kicked his ankle. This isn't a movement meant to break anything, it's like kicking a pebble down a hill, but Yamauchi screams out due to the pain.

"Gyaaah! Fucking hell dude!" Yamauchi yells.

"In all honesty, I don't wish to keep talking to you either. I only have a certain amount of time until I have to take you back, but I wonder..." Ayanokouji looks down at him.

Yamauchi stares at him, overtaken by fear.

"How long can you survive before talking?" Ayanokouji stated coldly.

"I-i told you man! I got in here just like everybody else, I did an interview and a test," Yamauchi continued.

Ayanokouji just sighed, acting like it was tiresome hearing those words again and again.

"When I first came to this school, I saw plenty of movies in the cinema. When I saw how they torture, I was surprised. The people in the movies don't know how to. They'd struggle to make a child tell the time off the wall," Ayanokouji turned his back on Yamauchi and went to pick up a piece of debris.

The piece was flat but about the length of a large dog. It weighed a few kilograms. You could pick it up without much trouble even with only one hand.

"What do you think I'm going to do with this?" Ayanokouji began to walk over to Yamauchi.

With every step, the look on his face warped even more, getting twisted by fear more and more. As Ayanokouji reaches him, Yamauchi tries to struggle and squirm, but Ayanokouji raises the piece of debris and he stiffens like a deer in headlights.

"Not that," Ayanokouji shakes his head.

Yamauchi breathes a sigh of relief.

"Do you know what pros do? They don't use more force or effort than necessary. The correct thing to do is actually this," Ayanokouji states as he places the flat piece of debris on Yamauchi's arm.

"T-that's it? I was worried you were going to hit me with it for a second," Yamauchi frowns at the weight but is still happy he didn't get badly damaged.

As he says that, Ayanokouji picks up another piece and places it on the same hand. At the added weight, Yamauchi slightly groans.

"It's annoying, but it's manageable, right? But look around, there are another 20-30 of these. Imagine it. I slowly add the weight, and the pressure on your bones increases. You can handle it now, but there's always a limit. Your skin will tear, the bones will break, and the muscles won't be usable ever again. I'll put it up little by little, so you can imagine it fully," Ayanokouji looks down at him, speaking like this doesn't matter to him.

On Yamauchi's face, there's no sense of calmness. All complex thoughts are gone, only primitive feelings remain.

"That, Yamauchi, is the 4th stage of grief, depression. The realisation that you can't do anything. The realisation that no matter how much you squirm, beg and cry, there will be no one here to save you. That's the fear of one's imagination. Even if I break every bone in your body, your imagination will remain. Now, let's continue," Ayanokouji explains to him calmly like he's a teacher lecturing a student.

And then, another piece is placed on his arm, on top of the same piece. It's clear to Yamauchi what will happen now. The bones in his hand will break, the ones bearing the weight of the debris, the radius, ulna, scaphoid and finger joints on the hand. You start putting weight on them, the bones will break from where the concentration of force is the strongest.

However, it won't be quick like a hydraulic press. The force will press down on one point, cracking it, but after that, it'll soon crack another point, creating a chain reaction. Unlike a hydraulic press, where the change is near instant, this will be slow, and the fractures will spread around until there is no more feeling left in the arms. Like they've been put through a wood crusher.

"S-stop it dude! We're friends, aren't we?" Yamauchi cried out once again.

"Tell me then, about how you got into school," Ayanokouji questions as he places his elbow on the debris that's on Yamauchi's arm.

"Ugh! I don't know! I know nothing! How would I know about this place?" Yamauchi yelled as there was more weight added.

"It's because the circumstances are too confusing for you not to know. They would tell you, no matter what," Ayanokouji told him as he got off the piece of debris.

"Still, I don't get why you think that! I'm not special," Yamauchi sighed as the weight was taken off.

And then, another piece was placed.

Of course, Yamauchi began to groan, but he was nearing his limit. He gathers that the only way to survive is to pull his arms out. He tenses up, holds his breath and displays an unusual amount of strength to move his arm slightly lessening the weight on his arm by reducing the contact area.

However, that's all he has the energy for right now.

"Perhaps if you try with all you've got multiple times, you can remove your arm. However, we both know that wouldn't work. That thing you did just now was painful, right? The concrete's surface is rough. If you try too much, your skin will just tear. This means that you must pull your arm all the way out in one go, however, if you don't go far enough, the contact area will be placed on one point and the pain will be excruciating," Ayanokouji states in a monotone voice.

Yamauchi's face has lost all colour now.

"It means that you must keep removing your arm despite the pain of your skin being torn off and your flesh being exposed. I wonder, can you survive with your muscles being ripped off at every moment?" Ayanokouji asks, despite knowing the answer.

Fear runs through Yamauchi's body. His breath was ragged and his arms loosen, unable to handle what Ayanokouji describes.

"See? Your will and mind is telling you to pull your arms out, but your imagination won't let you. Your imagination has given birth to fear and that fear would rather have your arms crushed slowly rather than quickly. For your personality, it's being taken over by fear, so the hypothesis hold true. At this moment, your fear is king. And that's why you'll tell me how you got into the school," Ayanokouji tells him without a shred of remorse.

His body trembles, quaking not only to the pain in his arm, but to the man in front of him. They're the same age, but one possesses the power of life and death over the other.

"I have this piece here. If I place it on your hand, I'm sure something will break. This is the last chance to speak until irreparable damage arises," Ayanokouji holds up the piece of debris, turning it in his hand like he's messing with Yamauchi.

At this moment, Yamauchi snaps.

"Fine, fine, I'll tell you!" Yamauchi cries.

"Thank you for cooperating," Ayanokouji drops the debris in his hand and also takes off the debris on Yamauchi's.

"The reason why I was able to join was because of my dad. He worked at a camera store, but he was fired near the beginning of the year," Yamauchi began.

Yamauchi went on to speak about how his family had no money. His father was always spending it on alcohol, but at one point, his father had a sudden change of heart. He told Yamauchi that he'd get him a place in the best school in the country, telling him that it was for 'love'. He would work for free, so Yamauchi was able to get in. When he was fired, the deal was already made, so they couldn't expel him for no reason whatsoever.

"That's who my dad is. That's why I got in. You happy now, you sick bastard?!" Yamauchi asked with tears in his eyes.

Ayanokouji listens to his story solemnly. Then he connects the dots and realises that the father is the same man who assaulted his friend near the beginning of the year.

"Yamauchi, be better than your father when you grow up," Ayanokouji tells him as he cuts the zip ties.

"Yeah, sure, whatever. I won't tell anyone about this," Yamauchi groaned as he walked out of the warehouse and to the school's front office to leave the place.

There was a simple reason why he wouldn't tell anyone, it was because he fears what Ayanokouji would do to him if he does.

That's the fear he possesses.

That's what his imagination has birthed.

"It seems I'm done here," Ayanokouji mutters to himself before heading outside as well.

The warehouse is now fully abandoned, leaving only the dark shadows, the cockroaches and the debris with some red stains on it.

There were almost no traces of a human being there at all.

Author's notes:

Why did I write this? I don't even know. I was in a sadistic mood I guess. Obviously, this isn't canon to my fic, it's a shitpost with effort put in.

Actual chap comes out in a few hours.

That's about it, see you.

Only a Door Stands Between

I guess I can't sit back and observe as I usually do nowadays.

'Make a name for myself'

Those were the words given to me. I do indeed have my name engraved in this place, there's not a single student who doesn't know it, but I wasn't the one who made it. They were my actions, but to make the name, external forces had to be used. If I were to achieve that task, it should be due to my own merits, not this third party. Although I suppose that opportunity has long since passed, I can't make a name for myself since I already have one.

It's like trying to fill a blank, but there is no empty space, it was filled long before one took up the pen.

Walking into the auditorium, Sudo anxiously glanced at me. He seemed nervous, I can't blame him, of course.

"The end of the rumour. The seed has grown and peished."

The punishment, the aftermath, it could all be decided today.

It all began on Friday, February 11th, the day when the letters declaring that Ichinose was a criminal were discovered.

It was after Ichinose had seen the letters, and Kamuro had come to my room to tell me about her past with shoplifting.

I decided to make a move of my own against Sakayanagi's strategy. In order to carry it out, that evening, I called a particular schoolgirl and asked her to come and meet up with me in my room.

And then, the appointed time came. Instead of the sound of the doorbell, a light knocking echoed throughout the room.

As the door was already unlocked, I just opened it up right away.

"You've been taking a backseat, huh?" Ryuuen pointed out.

"It seems we're both alike in that regard," I replied.

"I actually enjoyed my time. I was able to go to school, partake in a little bit of sightseeing, dabble in some poetry," Ryuuen spoke as if he was some refined gentleman from the 1900s.

"Sure you were," Sakayanagi giggled.

The faint scent of flowers tickled my nose as cold air came flowing in from the hallway.

"Good evening, Ayanokōji-kun."

Because it was around midnight, Kushida's voice was a bit softer than usual.

"Sorry for calling you at such a bad time. If you don't mind, please come in."

"Oh Kikyou, it's been a while since you've done anything. Do you like the attention?" Ryuuen chuckled with a sadistic smile.

Kushida looked at him with an annoyed glance, but didn't say anything.

"Around midnight with Kushida, huh? I see how it is, yes, yes, I see the picture very clearly," Kei nodded to herself.

"Are you sure it's clear?" I asked.

"Yes. You both must have been up to some devious things, I can't see any other reason. It must have been horrific, no doubt about it," Kei told me.

"Do you have a fever?"

"Not at all. I see it very clearly in my mind. You must have been playing board games and defeating her every single time. She would be, like, so hurt by that," Kei giggled.

I sighed.

"Why do you like messing with me so much?"

"It's because it's fun to see you try and answer them," Kei smirked teasingly.

"Are you sure?"

"It would be cold if we stayed by the front door."

"Yeah. Thank you then."

For a girl to enter a boy's room in the dead of night.

Furthermore, to be completely alone with him. Generally speaking, it would be entirely understandable for her to turn down such an offer.

Despite all of that, Kushida came in without hesitation.

"It makes sense," Amasawa commented.

"Yes. Ayanokouji knows that Kushida hates him, so if he asked her to go somewhere, it must have been for an important reason," Sakayanagi explained.

"Maybe a rumour spread about his dong. That's what everything has been about, right? Just rumours that damage people," Ryuuen joked.

Kushida visibly gagged at Ryuuen's words.

"How long will he keep bringing it up?" I muttered to myself.

"I am surprised nobody but the boys knew about it, to be fair. There were no restrictions before that video," Kanzaki pondered.

"Brotherly bond?" Shibata asked.

"Nope," Kanzaki disagreed.

"Ayanokōji-kun. It's a little early, but this is for you."

From the inside pocket of her coat, she took out a box of chocolates that had been tied up with a pink ribbon.

"Are you sure?"

"I'll have quite a lot to give out on the 14th, so I've been giving them out early when I have the chance."

Since that was the case, I accepted it gratefully. There wasn't any reason to refuse.

"Why give it to everyone at that point? Isn't the point to give it to someone you care about? If it's just a classmate, it's not really someone you care about," Keisei criticised.

"Money?" I pointed out.

"Fair point," Keisei sighed.

Many things are put forward simply for the sake of monetary value. If it becomes a trend to buy more chocolates to give to everybody you know, it'll be pushed even more. It's similar to the diamond industry. Diamonds aren't all that valuable since they're not uncommon. It's as if you took every diamond and placed them on an island, leaving only one way to get them.

Then you create this mask of value, as it's in such low supply. Supply and demand, a simple rule of business, it's the core of it even.

"So what did you want to talk about? It's unusual for you to ask me to come by this late at night."

If it was something casual, it would've been fine to talk in the morning or during the day. It was only natural for her to be suspicious.

"There's something I'd like to discuss with you."

"Really...?"

A bit surprised, Kushida continued.

"I thought you hated me and didn't want to discuss things with me anymore."

"Says the person who thinks he's indifferent to people," Horikita stated bluntly.

"My opinions are allowed to change. Besides, he was awfully eerie when he exposed my betrayal at the sports festival. It gave the impression of hate," Kushida shrugged.

Her act is another factor. I could be recording at any moment, she wouldn't drop it at any moment and go on about why she thinks that.

"You wouldn't talk about it and drop your act if you didn't think it was safe. You don't get that far without being exposed unless you get cautious," Horikita stated in a way that could be seen as a compliment.

"Didn't seem that way when she was yelling about it on a roof," Ryuuen chuckled.

"It's not that I hate you. I just thought that you'd rather avoid interacting with me."

"Ahahaha! I see! Well, that is true."

She responded, laughing not as the Kushida she showed to the public, nor the Kushida she kept hidden within, but from somewhere in between.

"But don't you have Horikita-san? Isn't she far more reliable than someone like me?"

"I can't rely on anyone else, you're the only one I can ask for this."

"If you wanted information, she would surely be the best option," Horikita stated, but it was a little stiff.

"Did you get annoyed when he didn't rely on you? There's no shame in sharing your feelings, this is a judgement free space," Sakayanagi stated as if she was some form of group counsellor.

"I appreciate the thought, but I'll decline," Horikita sighed.

"You can't be helped if you don't open up, Horikita-senpai," Amasawa added and made a sort of tag team duo with Sakayanagi.

"I can open up when it matters more than this. You don't need to keep psycho-analysing me," Horikita grumbled in annoyance.

"While I don't know if I'll be able to help, I can definitely hear you out. Though, what do you mean by 'I'm the only one you can ask'?"

She tilted her head, seeming to not have the faintest clue as to why I would want to talk to her.

"I want some personal information about various first-year students. Information they'd be embarrassed about if it became public. In other words, I want you to tell me their secrets."

"...What do you mean?"

The smiling expression on her face didn't fade, but the smile in her eyes vanished.

The students of class D looked over at me, very similar to that of two days ago when I stated that Sakayanagi's plan to destroy Ichinose wouldn't work.

"It's a risk to her identity, after all," Yagami commented.

"So they were true?" Matsushita looked at me speculatively.

"Perhaps they were. The people with the rumours know if theirs was true or not," I stated vaguely.

"They can't really talk about it, though, right? If they do, they risk revealing if theirs is true," Matsushita retorted.

"These rumours are in the past. I doubt people even remembered many of them before the last video. It shouldn't be all that important anyway, since it's never gone in depth on which ones are true," I shrugged at her words.

I had to sacrifice some knowledge to get her to stop probing me for information, but it seems worth it.

"You've said it before. That you already have enough information to cause the class to collapse. This doesn't just include Class C, but students from the other classes as well."

Kushida, who constantly plays the role of a popular person with a good personality, would often have others consult with her to talk about their issues.

She should have a noteworthy amount of information about the students from the other classes, even if it still dwarves in comparison to what she has on the students in Class C.

"And why does Ayanokōji-kun want to know such a thing?"

"Are you aware that Ichinose is suffering because of the rumors right now?"

"I mean, she kinda told a bit of this a while ago when she had a meltdown," Ike stated.

It was quite vague, however. She simply spread a rumour, not when or where was mentioned. Only people like Shinohara, who were deeply affected by it, were going to remember clearly. For the others, it would just be a foggy vision.

"She must be so lonely and distraught about it. What a shame for her indeed," Sakayanagi giggled.

"I bet everyone in that class is scared shitless of her even if they hate her," Hosen laughed.

"I wonder who's more hated, Ayanokouji or Kikyo. In terms of trust broken, Kushida dominates, but Ayanokouji has done worse things in general," Ryuuen pondered.

I'd have to say Kushida. They're more confused and wary rather than feeling fear in my case.

"They understand that if they don't go against him, they'll be fine. But who knows when Kushida-senpai will snap?" Amasawa giggled.

"Yes. Like how today there were those terrible letters..."

"It's all for the sake of putting a stop to those rumors."

"Hmm, well, I don't really get it. Is that your intention, Ayanokōji-kun? Or is it-"

"This has nothing to do with Horikita."

"Hmmmm? You're quite compassionate. You did help Sudō-kun back then, after all."

Of course, Kushida knew about the actions I had taken to prevent Sudō's expulsion shortly after we had enrolled here.

"It's scary to know that there's someone in your class who can destroy you at any moment," Nagumo surmised.

"You're not in the same position, though, are you?" I told him.

"Not at all. Kushida can destroy a student with ease, but it's more of a mental and social impact. I can do all that and more, but it would take more effort. More effective, but less efficient," Nagumo grinned.

"When did you become so talkative?" Horikita asked.

"I guess today's a special day," I shrugged.

"I can't tell if that's good or not yet," Horikita muttered to herself.

"However, are you saying that learning someone else's personal information is related to stopping the rumors?"

"Yeah."

"I still don't get it. If you spread rumors that hurt a lot of people, won't the situation become much more volatile than it is right now? Or is it fine as long as the rumors aren't focused on Ichinose-san?"

Saving one person at the cost of many. She might have thought of it as that sort of strategy.

While that way of thinking was correct, she was mistaken.

"Of course I was," Kushida sighed.

"But on that line of thinking, it's spreading the damage around, right?" Matsushita put that question out into the room.

"Maybe you would take attention off of Ichinose and place it on lots of people, having it be more balanced. It's not a horrible way of doing things, but it surely isn't the best," Kanzaki examined.

"So you did save one person and hurt many, but that wasn't the way it happened, right? Well, we know how it ended up anyway," Yagami questioned.

"You have the completed picture, now you just have to recreate it," I told him.

"That's how it always is with these videos," Yagami sighed.

She continued speaking.

"I'm on good terms with Ichinose-san as well. If there's anything I can do for her, I'd want to do that. Sure, maybe I've heard a couple more secrets than the average person. But, that's also why I'm not able to say them easily. After all, they're secrets that I've been confided with under the premise that I won't go around sharing them with others."

Of course, her response was completely natural.

Hardly anyone would be happy to find out that someone had shared their personal secrets with the rest of the world.

That being the case, one might think that it's better not to share anything personal with anyone, but human beings aren't that simple.

They choose to share their secrets with family, close friends, and lovers. After all, everybody wants to share their feelings with someone.

Even the most cold and detached people want that.

"Like anyone would believe that, Kikyo. I thought you were a better liar than that," Ryuuen laughed.

"If we recreate the image, I'm going to guess that you would use secrets that aren't only known by Kushida," Horikita examined.

"You have part of it complete," I answered vaguely.

"You and vagueness. I can't name a better duo," Horikita complained.

"I can't just betray my friends. Besides, even if I cooperate with you for Ichinose-san's sake, wouldn't they find out that I'm the one who leaked the rumors?"

"Of course. In order to avoid that, it's necessary that we're selective with the rumors we end up using."

Heavy secrets, like those that had only been shared with Kushida, couldn't be used.

On the other hand, if the rumors are simple enough that all of their friends know about them, then they wouldn't hold any weight. The important point was that some, but not many, already know the secrets. We'd have to balance it perfectly.

"Now the question here is that, why did she go through with it?" Hashimoto pondered.

The answer was mentioned before, but whether anyone remembers is another thing. And even if they do, revealing that information is up to them.

"You could easily betray them for the right price," Nagumo chuckled.

"Do you think that I would betray my friends and cooperate with a strategy I don't even understand?"

"It won't be easy."

If I didn't know anything about the dark side of Kushida, there would be no room for negotiations.

After all, it was highly unlikely that Kushida, who always plays the role of an angel, would want to assist with a scheme to trap others.

However, because I knew about Kushida's dark side, there was some leeway.

"If you can provide me with the information I want, I'll be willing to do something for you as compensation."

"Blackmail? That seems like something I'd do," Ryuuen assumed.

"Not exactly. Besides, blackmail...," I began.

"Blackmail wouldn't work anyway, would it? If you were somehow able to say 'I'm not going to use your identity in the future ever again' that would require evidence. And with how untrusting Kikyo is, it would never happen," Ryuuen continued.

I nodded.

"What does Kushida-senpai want, hmm? That's tough. Horikita-senpai's expulsion would be one, but looking as she's still here, that didn't end up happening," Amasawa pondered as if she was some grizzled homicide detective.

In reality, she probably knew from the beginning. Even if she forgot, her memory would jog as soon as she began this video.

"Compensation?"

"I intend to answer your desires to the best of my ability."

"Are you saying that you'll get me what I want?"

"Put bluntly, that's exactly what I'm saying."

"There's no guarantee that you'll keep to your word. You're allied with Horikita-san, after all."

"Then you should consider this conversation we're having right now as insurance."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't need to spell it out for you, you know exactly what I'm talking about, don't you?"

I briefly directed my gaze toward the pocket of Kushida's outfit.

"I was thinking she didn't drop the act in case you were recording, not the other way around," Kanzaki pointed out in surprise.

"To the best of your ability is like giving someone free rein," Katsuragi praised.

"There would be limitations on what she could ask, of course. I wouldn't do anything illegal," I told him.

"You both don't trust each other at all. You're both more similar than you may seem," Amasawa commented.

Kushida glanced at her in annoyance.

"Did that make you happy, Kushida-senpai? You don't have to hide it," Amasawa grinned.

"You were right, Horikita. The psycho-analysing is really annoying," Kushida sighed.

"Hmmmm?"

She continued to pretend that she didn't understand, so I pushed the matter a step further.

"Even if I don't say anything, you should probably understand. A cell phone... Voice recorder... Maybe even both?"

There was no way that she wouldn't try to take advantage of this conversation.

"So you already knew? That I've been recording?"

"After I considered who I was dealing with, I figured that you would at least do that much."

"But you were sure of it, weren't you?"

She attempted to change tracks, thinking that I was trying to bait her with a trick question.

"You don't do anything unless you're sure of it," Nagumo muttered.

"I could say the same for you. Your plans don't rely on happenstance and absurdism," I told him.

"Even so, it doesn't mean the plan can't be overcome," Nagumo chuckled.

"That's certainly true, but that doesn't mean much anyway. There's too many variables for a person to take note of. The best of plans can be overcome, someway, somehow," Manabu added.

"Then it isn't really the best of plans, is it?" Nagumo countered.

"The best move isn't always a win, sometimes it's a draw," Manabu replied.

"If you had to cut out the parts that are inconvenient to you, it would lower the authenticity of the recording. Ideally, you would want to keep the data intact as much as possible. And for that to work, it would be necessary for you to curb your own behaviour."

Kushida had been carefully choosing her words to be as polite as possible ever since she arrived at my room.

That way there wouldn't be any fault with her behavior, even in the off chance that something went wrong later on.

"For you to determine it with just that... Not bad."

Kushida took out her cell phone, letting me see the screen as she stopped the recording.

"Now do we have to hear slurs every 5 seconds?" Hashimoto sighed.

"We have a gorilla to do that for you," Ryuuen pointed to said gorilla.

"Oh, fuck you," Hosen sighed.

I suppose he might just not have the energy to respond.

"Well, the recording is over. Ahhh, how uncomfortable."

With that, Kushida completely did away with the gentle atmosphere that had been filling the room.

"I was vaguely aware of this already, but you helped Horikita-san back then, didn't you?"

"I'll admit that I gave Horikita some ideas."

"Well, let's just put that aside for now. I'll always be able to hear about it when we're done with this."

"I forgot about that bet. It was sad, not gonna lie," Hosen chuckled.

"Oh yeah, like you've done better," Ryuuen chuckled.

"I didn't get my ass kicked on a roof, so I think I'm doing better so far," Hosen laughed.

"What have you really done then? Or maybe you're just trying to compensate for something. There's no shame in it," Ryuuen insulted boldly.

I always wonder what the teachers are thinking during these arguments. If Hosen were to go 'want to fight?' I'm sure they'd step in, but before that, they're probably just waiting for it to finish.

"Horikita would have probably been annihilated if not for your intervention. You should be thanking him, you know?" Sakayanagi told her.

"I certainly appreciate his help," Horikita sighed.

She most likely accepted what would have happened if I didn't intervene.

"It's fair. Kushida had someone backing her, and Horikita had someone backing her," Nagumo shrugged.

She said, taking us back to the topic at hand.

"So, how do you intend to use another person's personal information to stop the rumors about Ichinose-san?"

Getting to the point, Kushida switched gears and adopted a listening posture.

"That is- by getting the ever-watchful school involved."

"Involving the school...?"

"Currently, Ichinose has been keeping silent about the rumors, refusing to take action against them. So naturally, the school hasn't done anything in response."

This has happened time and time again.

"Well, if you commit a crime and don't press charges, nothing usually ends up happening in terms of legal pumishment," Manabu stated as he adjusted his glasses.

"That's for cases like assault. If it's something more extreme that affects a large number of people like a bombing, the choice isn't up to only one person," Nagumo elaborated.

For him, he probably understood it instantly.

"I guess theorising is pointless at this point. The only real mystery is what she got in return," Katsuragi stated indifferently.

"Is it okay to make that assumption? It's possible that the school will still do something to stop the rumors, isn't it?"

"Sorta. Even if her homeroom teacher knows about her situation, the fact that the school still hasn't taken action is because Ichinose herself hasn't been asking for it in the first place. So, we should just escalate the issue to the point where they can no longer quietly sit back and watch. If we do, the school should definitely start to take the situation more seriously."

Even if the school's isolated from the rest of the world, the age of being able to cover everything up has come to an end.

If there were constant reports of slander amongst the school's student body, causing dropouts, or potentially even rumors of suicide, the school would see its social status and honor disappear almost immediately.

"It's weird hearing you say 'sorta'," Kei suggested.

"I'm not an adult writing corporate letters," I told her.

"Yeah, but always give off the vibe of speaking way older than you actually are," Kei crossed her arms and told me as if she was some form of teacher.

"Some people just speak more conserved than others," I suggested.

"Nah, that's true, but you're not like that. There are conserved people, then there's you," Kei disagreed.

I guess she's set her mind on that idea.

"I wouldn't be surprised if there was a suicide in this school's history. The stressful nature, the dangerous exams, all of it would take an impact on a person's mind. There are also normal things at other schools such as bullying which remain here. It wouldn't be surprising if it was too much for some," Manabu thought.

Schools would never be able to ignore a problem that may turn into a case of bullying.

Naturally, Sakayanagi's attacks were just barely toeing the line of what was acceptable.

In which case, I would just have to go behind the scenes and push it over that very line.

And as a result, the whole situation with the rumors would start to die down. That was the plan.

"Not everyone will be able to keep silent like Ichinose-san, so you're saying that you'll have other students go and cry to the school instead?"

"So if everyone stayed quiet about it, nothing would have happened?" Hashimoto speculated.

"That's about as idealistic as Ryuuen's 800 million point plan," Sakayanagi insulted.

"If we go back to the bombing example, it isn't just the people in the radius of the bomb. The property damage, the companies if it was a populated area, all of these would also have a say. The odds of that many people not saying a single thing is astronomical," I explained.

"Exactly. Plus, even if nobody else reaches out to the school, the end-of-year exams are right around the corner. The rumors should help create an extremely tense, irritated atmosphere. Small fights or quarrels may end up taking place as well."

"And as a result, the school won't be able to sit back and watch anymore... is what you're getting at?"

Select a few people from each class and spread an intricate mix of truths and lies about them.

It's possible that over half of the students targeted by the rumors will speak out and deny them.

It's even possible that nobody would end up admitting to the rumors at all.

"Now I'm curious, why didn't you whine about Sakayanagi-senpai to the school. Was it pride or did you just not want to show that there was truth in them?" Tsubaki questioned Ichinose.

"I wouldn't say it was pride, no... I didn't wish for people to know about it, so the latter option is correct," Ichinose stated with a hint of reminiscence in her eyes.

"You said it was possible, but you didn't think it would happen, right?" Ryuuen asked.

"It depends on who the rumours were about. If you chose all of the quiet, asocial people who didn't like being in the spotlight, there's a chance that they wouldn't say anything to the school," I replied.

But, that would only go to show that there may be some truth hidden within the rumors in the first place.

"We would also have another advantage. Given the current situation, Class A would be the first suspect if new rumors show up."

Because the Sakayanagi camp had spread rumors in order to entrap Ichinose, they would immediately notice the influence of an outside party.

However, even if they notice it, there wasn't anything they could do about it.

Even if they devoted all of their energy toward denying these new rumors, they still wouldn't be able to deny that they had spread rumors in the past. Due to that, they wouldn't be able to avoid shouldering most of the suspicion.

"A foolproof strategy, Ayanokouji. I commend it," Sakayanagi praised.

"Did you overlook this?" Ryuuen asked not out of malice, but out of curiosity.

"I didn't particularly care. I told him that I wanted him to intervene, whatever way he did it was his choice," Sakayanagi shrugged.

"Although it's too simple for you not to see, right? Your reaction when the teachers came wasn't an 'As expected', it was a 'I didn't see this coming'," Ryuuen continued.

"There were a few reasons I was surprised. The main one being that the school themselves had acted on it," Sakayanagi replied.

With this in mind, Kushida appeared to have understood where I was going with all of this.

"But, how do you plan to spread so many rumors? It's not easy."

"How will I spread the rumors? With the school forums."

"By forums, are you referring to the ones in the school's app? You do know that nobody uses those, right? Besides, if the school is forced into action, won't they punish the people responsible for spreading the rumors? Even though you can post to the forums anonymously, won't the school immediately be able to tell who posted the rumors?"

Kushida asked me one question after another.

"I stand corrected, I suppose. The school should have punished you if you posted it to the forums," Katsuragi stated with a shocked expression.

"Spreading rumours isn't easy? I don't get what you mean," Horikita muttered.

"I suppose what I should have said is spreading rumours and not getting found out," Kushida replied.

"That's true. Everyone knew Sakayanagi spread those rumours, but proving that is another thing. If you didn't care about your public image, it would be easy," Horikita voiced her thoughts.

"That's not really in the cards for me," Kushida added.

"Those risks have all been taken into consideration."

"In other words... In the worst case scenario, you're prepared to take on the blame for spreading the rumors?"

"Yeah. And should that happen, I wouldn't say anything about your involvement at all."

Of course, I had already thought of countermeasures just in case it came out that I was involved, but it wasn't certain whether or not it would get to that point yet.

In the first place, I never intended to post anything on the forums that could be traced back to me.

"Is that why you were on that list?" Kanzaki asked.

"Well, not exactly. Kushida said it herself, the school can see it," I stated.

I doubt Kanzaki didn't know that. If I had to guess, he wanted to know why I was really on that list. With how I've been talkative today, he could see it as an opportunity for me to give him the answers he wished for. Although a person speaking more doesn't mean they'll answer everything.

"There are still risks in this for me."

"That's true. If it's traced back to me, the fact that I know so much about the internal affairs of other students would seem unnatural. It's possible that some students will think that I got my information from someone else."

The one thing I had to be careful of at this point was to avoid conducting myself too perfectly in front of Kushida.

It was important for her to think that I was overlooking a few things here and there.

"To make it seem like you're not as smart as you actually are? Protecting your identity again I see," Horikita examined.

"Maybe he wanted Kushida to take advantage of something. Use his flaws in the plan to ask for more things," Ichinose suggested.

"That allows too much room for compensation. She asks for something too outlandish and when he refuses, she may abandon the deal altogether," Kanzaki disagreed.

"In order to make things more acceptable for you, we'll have to carefully select which rumors we end up using."

"...Yeah. Ayanokōji-kun's goal is clear to me at this point. I'll consider it. My cooperation will depend on our conversation moving forward."

Her words were another way of saying that she still hadn't been convinced just yet.

"It depends on whether or not I come to accept your conditions? Is that what you're saying?"

"Exactly."

It would be difficult to carry out this operation without Kushida.

"Making plenty of lies is also possible. Hell, maybe you'll get lucky and not be so far off," Sudo recommended.

"Can't you put in the secrets you know about into the mix? Didn't that loser kiss a girl's recorder or steal someone's shorts at one point? Use him," Ryuuen laughed.

"That wouldn't be enough. You need a lot of people's secrets, and Yamauchi would deny it no matter what," I disagreed.

"It was a joke... I didn't think you'd actually consider it," Ryuuen was astonished.

While it would be possible to just make up a bunch of lies, that wouldn't be enough to cause discomfort within everyone's hearts.

By weaving a countless number of truths into the mix, it would be enough to make people anxious of their surroundings.

And that anxiety would be the source of the fire that would spread shortly after.

"Then, what are your conditions?"

Of course, if the conditions she put forward were unacceptable, then negotiations would break down.

"Horikita Suzune's withdrawal from school."

"I'm so smart, aren't I, Ayanokouji-senpai?" Amasawa looked over at me for praise.

I knew what would happen if I said anything, so I didn't respond.

"I can't say I'm surprised. In your position, I would have asked the same," Horikita told Kushida.

"It doesn't hurt to ask, I guess," Hashimoto chuckled.

"I knew it wouldn't be possible, but I should just mention it anyway," Kushida shrugged.

"Unacceptable."

"It is, isn't it?"

Kushida's greatest desire.

She knew it wouldn't happen, but she mentioned it just in case.

"Thank you for denying it so readily," Horikita was surprised at my immediate refusal.

"Having you dropout would be the same, right?"

"That would be even more unacceptable than having Horikita dropout."

"Ahaha."

Kushida laughed, finding my response just a little amusing.

"But there's nothing else I want."

"In which case, how about I make a suggestion?"

I decided to offer her some conditions myself.

"The logical thing to say. Your own life in the school should be put before others," Kanzaki praised my decisions.

Kushida was waiting for the next little bit, she was anticipating it like an archer waits for the target to come into the line of sight.

It makes sense, of course. This is the moment that can be seen as a turning point for her. With all her cruelty, she didn't tell these secrets for her own enjoyment.

"Finally, that took a while," Hosen sighed.

"Alright. What is it?"

"I'll give you half of all of the private points I get moving forward."

"What? Isn't that the same deal that Ryūen made...?"

As expected, Kushida knew the details of the agreement that Ryūen had made with Class A.

With that, Kushida let out a sigh of relief.

"Wait, wait, wait. Isn't that what Ayanokouji talked about during the video where Kushida was exposed?" Sato pointed out.

Normally, I would have used Kei, but it would be obvious to everyone that I had asked her to do that. It's the thing I've lost with these videos.

"Oh yeah. Ayanokouji made it sound like Kushida forced him to do that," Hondo wondered.

With the way I've set things up, it's inevitable that Kushida will be seen in a slightly better light.

"So Ayanokouji gave up half his points for secrets. He said that she threatened him, though," Ike added.

Soon, it was coming back to them, little by little.

"God, it's like seeing a sloth trying to move," Ryuuen made fun of the class.

"Exactly, Ike. I had lied about that," I stated bluntly.

No rational reason could be seen by the people in the room. Why should I admit to this and damage my reputation even more than it already is? They don't see it, however. There's only one person who can.

"So Kushida didn't do it for herself, but because you had asked her to? I guess she didn't betray anyone that time," Ike replied.

Those were the keywords, 'that time'. She had betrayed them multiple times, this just wasn't one of those times.

"Go on, Ichinose. Thank Kushida, without her, Ayanokouji's plan may not have worked. Who knows what would have happened to you then?" Sakayanagi smirked.

"I was going to do that anyway. Kushida, thank you," Ichinose sighed.

The class had let this blemish on Kushida's history go. From a numerical standpoint, if she was on a 10 on the hated scale before, this might put her on an 8.

Horikita looked at me like she was trying to read my expression, but she didn't say anything.

"Yeah, you can think of it as the same agreement. Of course, if needed, I can show you the log of deposits and withdrawals in my account every month so you can be certain that I'm not scamming you. With this, by the time you graduate, you'll receive hundreds of thousands to a few million private points. It's an exceptional price for the information you'd be giving up."

There was a brief silence as Kushida considered the offer.

"It's certainly not a bad offer. But, unfortunately, I'm currently not in dire need of more private points. It can never hurt to have more money, but I already have plenty."

Kushida had obtained a very large sum of points during the special exam on the cruise ship.

"But she ended up going with it anyway," Nagumo chuckled.

Kushida's denial here could be amusing to some when compared to her actual actions. Dramatic irony, essentially.

"It's a bad deal for you. Your negotiation skills need work, Ayanokouji. You may end up going on a gameshow and trading the most valuable things for 100 yen," Ryuuen shook his head.

"Ignoring that..." Hashimoto awkwardly chuckled, "It's certainly true that the deal leaves you ripped off. Hundreds of thousands of points, maybe even millions, for such a small deal."

It can be inferred that, even if she had used those points extravagantly to some extent, she would still have more than enough left over now.

However, at the end of the day, the easiest and most efficient way to negotiate is with money.

"Even if there's enough to use leisurely, there's nothing wrong with holding onto more points in case of an emergency. I believe Chabashira-sensei said it as well. That private points are indispensable when it comes to protecting yourself."

If you think of them as your own insurance, it would be better to hold onto each and every point you could.

"Flimsy reasoning," Hosen criticised.

It's not the best, I'll give him that.

"This proposal of yours... No matter how I look at it, you're putting yourself at a disadvantage, Ayanokōji-kun. If this was an emergency where you were at risk of dropping out of school, I guess I could understand? But, it's strange that you're willing to sacrifice half of your own soul for the sake of saving Ichinose-san."

"I like Ichinose."

"Jokes like that aren't necessary."

I had thought that she would laugh, but Kushida didn't show any signs of it.

"I'd rather you not make those jokes," Ichinose sighed.

I doubt that any of those feelings remain. She hated me, there's no doubt about it, but even if she doesn't have that intense dislike of me now, the feelings of love are no longer there. Once those feelings go away, it's too difficult to bring them back.

"Maybe Kikyo got annoyed since he wanted her to say that about him," Ryuuen suggested.

"As if. If anything, he'd say that about you with how much special treatment you've been given," Kushida chuckled.

"Talking about special treatment when he said he'll expel you, but that never happened, did it?" Ryuuen retorted.

"4 seperate exams and an ass kicking on the roof. He certainly likes giving you attention," Kushida responded with ease.

I doubt there are many, if any, in this school who can have control of the conversation if there's Kushida on the other end. If one does, it's simply because she doesn't wish for it.

"Then I'll tell you the truth. It would certainly hurt to lose half of my private points. But, that's exactly how I'll be able to protect myself."

"What are you getting at?"

"I'm one of the people you want to see drop out of school. I don't know when I'll be stabbed in the back. In other words, it's my defense plan."

"Your point is that if you start to supply me with your private points, your existence will become beneficial to me, is that what you're getting at?"

"Yeah. Being your enemy is troublesome. I think it's well worth giving you half."

"She never knew that. What would have happened if she didn't ask?" Yagami raised a valid point.

"I would add it as a condition, or I could simply just treat it as fact and have her bring it up," I shrugged.

If Kushida gets a condition she didn't know about, she'll surely ask about it and we can continue from there.

It was an arrangement that would be concluded with the provision of private points.

As long as neither of us betrays the other, she would receive a continuous supply of private points.

These conditions were definitely not bad for her.

"...I see."

After considering it for a bit, Kushida came to a conclusion.

"Alright, I'm on board. The strict condition is that I don't antagonize Ayanokōji-kun, is that all? Don't you want to add some kind of guarantee for Horikita-san as well?"

"I'm guessing you didn't do that, right?" Horikita asked.

She knew what it would mean, it's also just redundant for the time being. Horikita would be safe for months after that day, but before these videos, she didn't have a safety net.

"If I added it and Kushida didn't like it, I'd lose what I'd been building towards," I answered vaguely.

"I'm not that greedy. It would be troublesome if I were to also ask for Horikita's protection and negotiations were to break down."

"Those are immensely attractive conditions aren't they?"

"If you're worried about making a verbal agreement, would you rather I provide you with something in writing?"

"No, that won't be necessary."

Kushida reached into her pocket... and took out a voice recorder.

Two recordings. She had been recording with not only her cell phone, but with a backup recorder as well.

"I find it hard to believe you didn't know about that," Nagumo stated his thoughts.

"And didn't you have your own recording?" Horikita looked over at me.

Whether I had a recording or not didn't matter. At the time, I just needed to make Kushida yield, the methods didn't matter. If I wanted to, I could just record the video through my pocket and edit out the bits of people speaking and pass it off as my recording if I wanted to.

"I could have, I could not. But in terms of whether I knew she had one, I believe I knew the possibility, but didn't care about it," I told Horikita.

I had to make it seem like I was overlooking some things.

"I have all the evidence I need right here. If you betray me at all... you know what will happen, yes?"

"Yeah."

If I were to break our agreement, in the worst case, she could bring this conversation to the attention of the school.

It would then be possible for her extort points from me without making the matter public.

"As expected, Ayanokōji-kun is completely different from Horikita-san."

Give and take.

It was impractical for the other party to believe in you with a relationship built upon emotion alone.

"I agree, but it isn't impossible," Horikita pointed out.

It's less reliable on average, certainly, but if there is genuine trust, and if both parties know that, its reliability increases tenfold. Their current predicament is proof of this.

"It didn't matter anyway, though. Since you had no intention of breaking the deal," Kanzaki surmised.

I nodded.

Unlike emotion, invisible to the naked eye, numbers can be seen and verified.

Horikita's way of doing things was by no means inferior.

There are times when relationships supported by emotion outperform relationships built upon numbers and agreements.

In this case, however, the hurdle for that was extremely high.

The very method of attempting to persuade Kushida to endure her own feelings of malice was a mistake in and of itself.

"Maybe if you both just want to wank each other off, but other than that, can't really see it," Hosen disagreed with that possibility.

"You and Ryuuen really are alike," Yagami stated indifferently.

For Hosen, he takes numerical transactions as the ultimate form of a deal. The partner exam at the beginning of the year is proof enough.

"But is it really fine for you to give me half?"

"If the amount is too low, it wouldn't leave an impression on you."

Of course, continuously handing out so many private points would become a heavy burden for me.

However, that problem would be handled soon enough.

"We've finished our negotiations, so is it alright if you tell me what I want to know now?"

"Sure. What type of stuff are you looking for?"

"So we actually get to here some secrets now? At least I get to see people shit on each other," Ryuuen sighed.

"Well, you won't die at least. Just lots of suffering while eating the free food," Kei stated with positivity.

"The food is like if the government just wanted to fulfill the nutrition requirements and nothing else," Ryuuen agreed.

It's somehow universally agreed that free food is nothing but garbage.

"If we tell the chefs this, do you think they'd be sad?" Hoshinomiya asked Mashima.

"Most likely not. They mass produce it anyway, they probably know what the quality is," Mashima stated in a bored tone.

I wonder how many of these questions he has to answer on a daily basis.

"Crimes or even embarrassing information about someone's past, either would be fine. Generally speaking, something that would cause problems if it was made public."

"Sure. I'll tell you properly then."

Amused by the situation, Kushida began to share the secrets she had accumulated over the last year.

She led with things like crushes and who certain people hated, and then went into students' family circumstances and past acts of delinquency.

She spoke energetically.

"That's still probably only the tip of the iceberg," Horikita muttered to herself.

"So you know a lot, huh?" Kei looked over at me with a mischievous smirk.

"I'm not going to tell you," I sighed.

"C'mon, you never tell me stuff like that," Kei grumbled.

"There's reasons for that," I told her.

"She seems happy to reveal those secrets. I can't blame her, honestly," Ryuuen noticed.

"Kushida also probably likes the feeling of sharing a secret. It's the result of her work, after all. The attention and trust she's gotten made her exhilarated," Sakayanagi analysed.

Even at this stage, she was unaware of my true intentions.

Saving Ichinose.

Responding to Sakayanagi's provocation.

Diverting Hashimoto's attention away from me.

The looming threat of Nagumo.

All of these things were nothing more than one piece of the puzzle.

"Now that's something I didn't expect," Nagumo stated with a surprised expression.

"So none of it was as important as you guys thought, huh?" Ryuuen laughed.

The parties in question all were surprised. Some more than others. Hashimoto probably knew that his actions weren't majorly important to me.

"I wonder, when was it that you concocted this scheme? You said that you never intended to do anything, but here you are," Sakayanagi put that question out to wander.

When I decided to act, huh?

"I never had a real moment where a switch flipped. I decided when I put all of the attackers and their goals in my mind and thought that it would be worthwhile," I answered.

Nagumo's desires, Sakayanagi's desires, and Ichinose's desires. They were all things that forced me to act, but they weren't what I really wanted to go against.

There was only one thing I truly wanted to ascertain from our interaction here...

The quantity and quality of information held by Kushida Kikyō. All for the sake of removing her from the school.

Although her removal may sound simple, it would be troublesome if I were to go about it the wrong way.

It was essential for me to gauge how powerful of a bomb she was holding.

To gauge Kushida's overwhelming network of information.

"You never followed up on that, huh?" Ryuuen chuckled.

"The effort needed outweighed the positives," I told him.

"That's a lie. All it would take was for you to put that blackmailing video as evidence and you'd be fine," Ryuuen retorted.

"I don't change my stance," I replied nonchalantly.

"So the positives are that good, huh? All I see is a waste of space who's a shell of their former self. I'll believe you when you prove me wrong," Ryuuen chuckled

Kushida was a threat, but now she has no real reason to attack anyone. For now, her self-destructive nature has ceased. If there comes a time in the future when Kushida betrays the class, it wouldn't be difficult to remove her.

But that won't happen, I've made sure to steer her in the correct direction.

To gauge the scrutiny of that information.

Who she had heard the rumors from, what kind, and how many people knew about them.

She had a terrifying understanding of the character and personalities of the students around her. It could be that, at least among the first-years, there was nobody in the school who could approach Kushida's mastery of information.

This was the outstanding ability Kushida had cultivated, all for the sake of protecting herself and her image as a noble existence.

"Too bad. If she could've kept up that facade, even if she was found out in her own class, she still had a modicum of usefulness," Sakayanagi claimed.

"I see..."

"Was that useful?"

Of course, the information she had just shared with me was only the tip of the iceberg.

"For Class C, I want to spread the information about Satō and Hondō."

"That's fine I guess. Satou-san's dislike of Onodera is already relatively well-known."

She inferred that it was only a matter of time until it reached Onodera's ears anyway.

It was their job to figure this out, they knew that already. The airing out of personal matters is foolish and even a child could understand that.

"So Hondo does like obese girls, hmm. I probably shouldn't make fun of him, but I can't help but judge. I'm a person, too," Ike thought.

"I also have a bad personality, but it'd be good for you to remember that's just how girls are."

With that, Kushida took out her cell phone and opened her messaging app. Her sheer number of friends couldn't even be compared with mine, and the number of group chats she was in was enormous.

"For example, there's this group chat, we'll call it group A, which was made by some of the girls from our class. There are six people in it, right? But, as a matter of fact, there's a second group chat, made by the same girls. Let's call that one group B. Just so you know, there's one person who wasn't included in that second group, a girl named Nene."

Mori Nene, one of the friends from Kei's group.

I'm sure there are many more like this, Mori isn't an exception by any means.

"Maybe it's just for a surprise birthday?" Sudo said, trying to hold on to some optimism.

"That doesn't work when Kushida's talking about how girls can be cruel," Horikita retorted.

"You guys suck," Mori muttered to herself as she looked for the group on her phone.

"You're saying that Mori isn't liked very much?"

"Exactly. If group A contains the feelings they show on the surface, group B contains the true feelings they're hiding underneath. Sometimes, they'll come together just to badmouth Nene. I, of course, never take part in something so careless. There may be a smiling, close relationship on the surface, but deep down, everybody has someone they hate. It's totally normal for girls to come together just to badmouth somebody. Anyway, when it comes to two-faced groups like this, there aren't just one or two of them. As far as I know, there are dozens."

Apparently satisfied with saying something she wouldn't normally be able to say, Kushida stood up.

In reality, Mori was probably part of another group like that. Whether it be Kei, Sato, Mori, or a person from another class, there is bound to be an entire labyrinth of these chats.

"I really hate these videos sometimes," Mori stated angrily as she left the group filled with the members who disliked her.

The proof here is Mori herself. She isn't sad, just angry that she was part of a group where she was the victim. If one didn't partake in such things, it would be a feeling of sadness and sorrow that they are the only ones who are being excluded, but if one was doing the same thing, they'd just feel annoyed that they didn't see it sooner.

"It's late, I'm going home. I'm looking forward to the outcome of our agreement, Ayanokōji-kun."

Kushida turned her back to me and began to put her shoes on by the front door.

"Kushida."

"Hm?"

"You've been a great help today."

"Oh no, it was nothing. Well, good night Ayanokōji-kun. Please treat me well from now on."

This conversation had been my chance to hear about Kushida's proximity to Nagumo.

Both Nagumo and Kushida looked at me in surprise.

"You really figure out everything. I am curious, how did you find out about it?" Nagumo asked.

"I was told by someone in the student council," I replied.

Without missing a beat, he instantly understood.

"I can't be surprised then if it was him," Nagumo sighed.

However, I deliberately didn't ask about that matter.

The fact that Nagumo and Kushida had come into contact with each other was something I had learned coincidentally. There was no reason to not make use of it.

Thus, with Kushida's intelligence as the source, I started preparing the rumors I'd be spreading for each class.

The scene faded.

"God, that was exhausting. Are we almost done?" Ryuuen yawned.

"Nope. Two more to go."

"Oh fuck you," Ryuuen muttered.

February 14th, Valentine's day. This was the day that, during my lunch break, I decided that I would deal with Hashimoto's persistent after-school stalking sessions. I had predicted that Kei would give me Valentine's chocolate, so I opted to take advantage of it.

If Kei were to give me chocolate, it would have to be either in the early morning or the evening after, not during the day while we were at school. As she had only just broken up with Hirata, there was no reason for her to carry chocolates around in her bag. For her, the mere act of handing chocolates to someone would be enough to cause an uproar in the first place. So, I had intentionally turned off my cell phone the night before.

"So you knew I was following you the entire time," Hashimoto was surprised.

"It was tiresome having you follow me everywhere," I told him.

"Didn't you like our quality bonding time? I thought of it as quite enjoyable," Hashimoto replied, maintaining his composure.

"That's some stalker fan shit. Creepily watching someone isn't bonding time," Hosen stated with a look at Hashimoto that gave the impression that Hashimoto is some odd creature.

The chance of her carelessly coming into contact with me was effectively zero. Still, I opted to turn the phone off anyway in order to avoid having to make an excuse about the morning being an inconvenient time. Everything had to be completely natural when we met.

For Hashimoto, the lack of results from tailing me should've begun to gnaw at his patience at this point.

So, I decided to give him a hint that something was going to happen.

And that, was the secret meeting with Kei and subsequent exchange of chocolate. The reason why the meet-up was scheduled at five was because Hashimoto's tailing sessions always lasted until just before six. And, sure enough, Hashimoto was watching, keeping tabs on me with the lobby surveillance cameras as I left the building.

"It was quite an interesting report. You two kept up the act quite well," Sakayanagi praised.

"What did you want anyway?" Kamuro questioned.

"I was trying to make a friend in my own way," Hashimoto dodged the question.

"You're going to end up as a serial killer with a 3-part documentary made about you," Ryuuen chuckled.

"That's oddly specific," Hashimoto replied.

"You're an odd guy," Ryuuen replied with ease.

Ever since he had started tailing me, this was his first inexplicable opportunity to make contact, so he boldly confronted the two of us in person. Well, the result would've been the same even if he had simply sat back and watched.

Hashimoto seemed satisfied with the conclusion that Kei might have been the person I had been regularly coming into contact with.

And the day after that, Hashimoto's stalking sessions stopped. He had shifted his attention toward preparations for the end-of-year exam.

I was finally able to move freely.

"So if I were to make a guess, you saw them both in a weird place, went up to see what it was about, and got a guess as to who Ayanokouji-senpai was making contact with. They probably made lies to make it seem like something else, but you didn't end up believing them," Amasawa stated.

While most of that was information already known, some parts required intense analysis.

"An accurate guess," Hashimoto awkwardly replied, clearly surprised by her statement.

"You really got outplayed, Hashimoto. It's exactly why you should have told me this," Sakayanagi told him.

There was a threatening aura within those words, but Sakayanagi's face showed no such thing.

"I understand," Hashimoto had nothing to say besides accepting it.

I went to the school with the Valentine's chocolate I had received from Kei still in my bag.

I met up with Hiyori Shiina at the library. Of course, the majority of our conversation consisted of idle chatter about various books.

However, my true focus was on something else entirely.

Our conversation was just a preface for the countless rumors that would spread the following day.

Rumors about Ichinose aside, Class A may be trying to pull another stunt entirely.

"And it worked, that's what I thought," Horikita mumbled.

"Well, you almost saw through it," I told her.

"Almost isn't good enough. It wasn't even that complicated. The first year could notice it with a quick glance," Horikita sighed.

"I don't really mind it being a preface anyway," Hiyori stated her thoughts.

To her, it was just spending time with someone with common interests as usual. Even if it was a preface, she got what she wanted.

This was the seed that I had planted, and a few days later, that seed began to bear fruit. By purposefully selecting the belligerent Ishizaki and Ibuki as targets for the rumors, it would ideally create a volatile situation. However, that was just a bonus. Even if it had ended up developing differently, it would all turn out pretty much the same way in the end.

The truly important part came afterward. Namely, when and how the messages would be posted on the forums.

I got in contact with the person I had selected to solve these problems, vice president Kiriyama.

A second year Class B student aiming for Nagumo's downfall.

"Ah, look at that. The husk actually does something," Sakayanagi giggled.

"You bastard," Ibuki complained.

"I apologise for using you in the plan, but look on the bright side, now that strategy can't be used against you anymore," I told her.

"It's quite a feat to use the school, Ayanokouji. Well, getting them involved is easy, the impressive thing is somethign else entirely," Nagumo praised.

"That's coming from someone who's done the same thing multiple times," I replied.

"God, get a room already. This circlejerk is just sad," Hosen looked disgusted.

After chatting with Hiyori at the library, I met Kiriyama at the school building after most of the students had already gone home for the day.

I revealed my entire plan, my strategy to save Ichinose.

"I see. So you're telling me to post the rumours with my own phone? There'd be no benefit in that for me at all."

"That's not true. There are benefits to this for you. Acting as my intermediary in this will create a new relationship for the two of us. If I were to keep waiting for you to take action, our relationship would never move forward."

In fact, Kiriyama had never once asked anything of me.

"It's not much, but it is something," Amasawa looked unimpressed.

"It's a good deal for you, Kiriyama. You get a favour from Ayanokouji in return if you play your cards right," Nagumo examined.

Kiriyama didn't say anything in return.

"Of course it wouldn't, I seriously doubt your abilities."

"Yes. Which is why, you shouldn't only return the favour, but also make the other party owe you one. That way, in the off chance that an emergency takes place later on, it'll be easier for you to rely on me. Besides, making the post on the forums wouldn't be all bad for you."

"...What do you mean?"

"I guess it makes sense why you don't trust him all that much, but glasses doesn't seem to make those kinds of mistakes usually," Ryuuen shrugged.

"I'm not a yes man, I needed to see it for myself," Kiriyama replied.

"You seemed like quite a loyal soldier back on the island," Koenji chimed in with his thoughts.

"You don't seem to be jumping at the opportunity to save a fellow student council member," Amasawa told him.

"I'm not obligated to do so, am I?" Kiriyama replied.

"With all your talk about trying to save the first years, I thought you'd do it. The moral high ground you were on, I was thinking you'd save Ichinose-senpai. You wouldn't want a future student council president prospect to be hurt, would you?" Amasawa explained condescendingly.

"Ichinose Honami is a valuable asset for the student council. It would be unfortunate for you to lose her. If you post the rumors on the forums, you'd be able to ensure her safety by getting the school involved."

"But if I involve myself with a first-year problem and post the rumours, it would bring the credibility of the student council into question."

"And what's wrong with that?"

"What...?"

"That was so cool," Kei told me excitedly.

"I would be hurt the most in that case. Although you'd still eventually be found as the one who leaked it," Nagumo stated indifferently.

"If the credibility of the student council falls, president Nagumo would take more damage than anyone else. If you want to see his downfall, shouldn't you be welcoming my proposal?"

"How stupid. It would be a huge problem if it was discovered that I was the one who posted the rumors. Not only would I be penalized by the school, but Nagumo might even relieve me of my position as vice president-"

"Can't you just muddle through such a small issue with some tact? You are competing against president Nagumo, aren't you? Or, are you saying that you're already incapable of opposing the student council president?"

"What would a mere first-year like you know...!?"

"Guess his ego got hurt," Asahina stated.

"It's a simple psychological trick, even some of the defects could see it," Sakayanagi giggled.

"That's a wide range. You either get your boyfriend or a narcissist," Ryuuen told her.

"I did say some of them," Sakayanagi replied.

"So you admit he's your boyfriend. Case closed," Ryuuen chuckled.

"If that lets you sleep at night, I'm happy to admit it for the sake of your ego," Sakayanagi sighed.

"The fear of your title in the student council being taken away seems like a false alarm," Yagami pointed out.

Nagumo had explained his reasoning before. Even if people didn't think it was correct, he was the absolute authority on such matters, you can't refute it.

Kiriyama glowered at me, his eyes full of rage.

"According to the former student council president, Kushida has already established contact with President Nagumo."

"Why do you... Horikita-senpai's really placed a lot of trust in someone like you, hasn't he?"

"She's one of the most well-informed students in her school-year. So in other words, the rumors spread on the forums could be explained as a strategy designed for Kushida to leak information to president Nagumo. An excuse like this would also be easily accepted by others."

"And what if they disagree and say that wasn't what happened?" Tsubaki questioned.

"Then it would raise the question of how a second-year got such intimate information about the first years, which clearly makes Kushida a suspect. And for Nagumo, if he disagreed and said that wasn't what happened, it would make it seem like he did nothing to help a fellow student council member, which could be seen as a punishable offence," I explained.

"It doesn't matter anyway, since now both realities have happened. Your strategy worked and now I'm in a state where I may be punished," Nagumo told me.

The excuse that Kushida had provided the information to Nagumo, who then instructed Kiriyama to use it to save Ichinose.

This new, unexpected solution slowly began to take shape.

"...You're telling me that you contacted me after thinking that far ahead?"

Kiriyama was lost in thought, imagining what would happen should he actually make the posts on the forums.

But, this still wouldn't be enough to get his consent.

"I can't see why at that point. Is it just for the sake of your pride?" Sakayanagi asked.

That was probably a reason. He was being used by a first-year who he sees as inferior. Kiriyama didn't say anything, which essentially was an answer in itself.

"If you turn me down here, I'll be forced to conclude that you've given in to Nagumo. Or perhaps... I'll report to the former student council president that you're just another person who's already been won over instead?"

This could've come off as a threat, but it was the deciding factor when it came to getting Kiriyama to cooperate.

"So will you do it?"

"...When should I post the messages?"

"Right here, right now."

If it was put off until later, he might end up posting the messages with someone else's cell phone.

"It's probably what he was thinking," Nagumo claimed.

"It doesn't have much of an effect, though, right?" Horikita asked.

"You're correct. You can just add to the excuse if you wish, but it's an uncertainty I would like to avoid," I told her.

Of course, that wouldn't change anything, but I wanted to avoid any uncertainties in my future plans as much as possible.

Above all, it was necessary to keep in mind the possibility of Kiriyama leaking this matter to a third party as well.

"Alright. You owe me big time."

"Thank you very much."

I showed Kiriyama all of the rumors that I had written down in my phone and had him type them all out by hand.

After about ten minutes of work, the operation was complete.

There probably wouldn't be any students noticing them right away, but that problem would be addressed tomorrow.

The scene faded once again.

"That one was short at least," Kanzaki slightly stretched.

"One more. Slightly longer than the previous one."

I can already guess what this will be about.

Thus, all the groundwork had been put in place.

There was only one thing left to do: crush Ichinose Honami's spirit.

After all, it was clear that Sakayanagi would move to crush it herself before long.

Sakayanagi's strategy was working beautifully, as Ichinose's string of absences continued even after she was thought to have gotten over her illness.

"You say that, but all you really did was listen to her. Unless there was other stuff," Kei pondered.

Ichinose looked to be in a state of anxiousness. She had been outplayed this time and was on the brink of losing everything she had built over the course of a little under a year. There must be thankfulness, but also a feeling of wary within her right now.

It was February 18th, the day of the conflict between Class D and Class A.

It had already been five days since her health had taken a turn for the worse, yet Ichinose was still absent from school.

She should've already recovered from her illness, but had she managed to overcome the trauma to her spirit?

After learning that she was absent yet again, I decided to get in touch with her.

However, if I attempted to see her after school or during a break, there was a high chance someone would notice.

So I decided to go during the middle of the day on a weekday, when the dorm was mostly empty.

"So that's where you were going for all those days," Haruka pointed out.

"So you weren't that sick, it seems," Yagami stated bluntly.

It probably killed her inside to know that she was damaging the class, but she couldn't move her body nevertheless.

I didn't contact her by phone ahead of time.

I didn't intend to give her a way out.

Arriving in front of Ichinose's room, I rang the doorbell.

"I have something I want to say. Can you come out?"

After a while, a response came from inside.

"I'm sorry Ayanokōji-kun. You went to the trouble of coming to see me, but would you please come back again sometime later?"

"That's a forceful, but effective way to do things," Katsuragi approved.

At this point, it's essentially just setting the scene for the future. The moment I had taken down the wall between us.

Her voice was lacking ambition, but, as I had thought, it didn't sound as though she was still suffering from a cold.

"Were those letters that important to you?"

Ichinose didn't respond to that question.

I sat down with my back to the door.

"Will you be coming to school on Monday?"

"...Sorry. I don't know."

With the exception of questions that strike at the heart of the matter, she seemed to be tentatively willing to respond.

"I have some time until lunch break is over. I'll be staying here for a little while.

"Did you stay by the door the entire time?" Amikura questioned.

"Not the entire time," Ichinose replied.

"Was it because of a toilet break?" Amikura asked.

"Yes..." Ichinose sighed.

Then, I just continued to sit quietly until the last moment possible.

"Well, I'll be heading back to school."

"I... just need a little more time. When I'm a bit more put together, I'll definitely come to school again. So please, just stop coming..."

After hearing Ichinose's strained response, I went back to school.

The weekend passed and it was now Monday the 21st. The end-of-year exam was set to begin on Friday of this week.

But, Ichinose still failed to show up at school.

"It was a futile attempt, Ichinose," Kanzaki told her.

"Why is that?" Ichinose asked.

"It's because if he had a plan, he'd probably go to any lengths to accomplish it," Kanzaki replied with a glance towards me.

"Maybe you're right, but I didn't have any way of knowing that," Ichinose stated.

Meanwhile, Kanzaki, Shibata, and her other close friends were attempting to contact her via text message, phone call, and email.

They had been doing this for a while.

Even so, based on the fact that nobody had come to see her after school, she had probably given them all a warning to stay away in the same way I had been.

I slipped away from the school building during lunch break and went to the dorms, where I made another visit to Ichinose's room.

I knocked gently and called out to her without waiting for a reply.

"I heard you're taking today off as well?"

She had asked me not to come back anymore, and yet I came anyway. It was a reckless act that ignored her warning.

"How many days did you do this for?" Horikita asked.

"Not many. I couldn't go for much more after this one anyway," I answered.

"Why's that?" Horikita probed.

"It's because, after Wednesday, she can't be allowed to stay in her room anymore," I answered once again.

"I like this blunt and honest version of you," Horikita concluded.

This time, there was no response from Ichinose.

I didn't say anything else. I just sat with my back to her door until the end of the lunch break, just like I had done the week before.

The same thing happened on Tuesday. The exposition is no longer necessary.

After confirming that Ichinose was absent yet again, I went to her room.

She wouldn't be able to hate one of her own classmates, but I was a student in another class. I had nothing to lose, even if she broke off all relations with me. This was the primary reason behind why I was being so aggressive.

There wasn't much time left before the end-of-year exam.

"It wasn't as bad as I thought, to be honest," Sudo stated, but his words were slightly stiff.

Now that I see it, he had some darkened circles under his eyes. I doubt it was simply due to worry about the task I had given him, if he was careful, he'd get it done with ease. So why was he struggling to function?

"'The exposition is no longer necessary' really makes it seem like you're speaking to someone besides yourself," Ryuuen pointed out.

"My thoughts are just like that," I shrugged.

In this situation, it was possible that these absences would continue even on the day of the exam.

No, even if she showed up on the day of the exam, her classmates would already be suffering from a great deal of stress. It was entirely possible that their scores would suffer from it.

In which case, even if nobody ended up having to drop out, it would still have a large impact on their class points.

It was necessary to have Ichinose come to school on Thursday to bring some peace of mind to the rest of Class B.

Thinking about it this way, the time limit was tomorrow.

"A child could understand that. Sakayanagi probably knew this as well," Kanzaki surmised.

"Of course I did. Even if Ayanokouji didn't intervene, she would come on Thursday. The only difference would be that she wouldn't be able to survive," Sakayanagi stated indifferently, but her words were dark.

However, they weren't wrong.

"If I didn't show up for a week, would you care, Ryuuen?" Ishizaki asked.

"I'd just think that you buried yourself in tissues," Ryuuen joked.

In the end, the time limit crept closer. In the blink of an eye, it was already Wednesday.

I gripped a can of coffee I had bought from the convenience store in my hand. It was so cold that I could see my breath in the air.

And today, yet again, I wouldn't be pressing the matter any further.

It was because Ichinose herself already knew that this was the last day she would be able to stay cooped-up in her room.

She would definitely take action.

I was certain of it.

"So something is finally going to happen. Took a while," Hosen yawned.

"February is ending soon. After we overcome next month's special exam, we'll officially become second-years. There's a proverb 'when the heat has passed, you forget about the shade of trees', but is that really true?"

The Deserted Island Special Test. The Cruise Ship Special Test. Paper Shuffle. The school had been repeatedly having us undergo peculiar exams one after another.

"When we become second-years, I wonder if the special exams will become even stranger than they are now?"

"What did you mean by stranger?" Nagumo asked out of curiosity.

"I was thinking if it could get even further from a normal school," I shrugged.

"I guess it did in some ways. A normal school doesn't have these types of exams mixed with other years,' Nagumo stated almost as if he was praising himself.

"...Hey... Can I ask you something...?"

For the first time in a while, Ichinose spoke up, albeit with a quiet voice, as though she was talking to herself.

"Sure. As long as you're alright with asking through the door, you can ask anything."

I welcomed her question with open arms, but Ichinose didn't ask anything right away.

It might have been the first time she's said anything in the past few days.

"I did tell you all that she was training to be a monk," Sakayanagi giggled.

"Why haven't you been saying anything to me, or asking me anything?"

"Meaning?"

"My classmates... My friends in the other classes... Everyone's been trying to convince me to return to school, telling me: If you have something troubling you, please come and talk to us about it. And yet, Ayanokōji-kun, you've never asked me anything like that, all while coming by to visit me every single day... Why?"

It didn't seem like she wanted the other students to worry about her.

She couldn't understand why I was skipping my classes or wasting my lunch break to come and see her every day.

"It wouldn't work," Manabu stated matter-of-factly.

"I agree. They don't know each other well enough for that type of persuasive appeal to do anything," Nagumo agreed.

"If you were to compare it to telemarketing, if Ayanokouji tried to convince her, he would be trying to sell something to someone who had no interest in buying it. No matter how persuasive your arguments, if you don't understand what your buyer wants, you will fail," Sakayanagi explained logically.

It's a clear flaw trying to connect with her using emotions. I had to be aggressive and break the walls down without using my words.

"Compared to someone like me, students who are far more worried about you have already tried to convince you many times now. My human relations are so shallow that if I tried to appeal to you with my emotions, I don't think it would resonate with you very well."

I could hear the faint sound of footsteps from within the room.

I had the feeling that she sat with me, the door the only thing between us.

"Maybe, I've been coming here every day because I've been waiting for you to tell me everything."

"Waiting for me... to tell you...?"

I decided to step into her personal life for the first time.

"How straight to the point," Sakayanagi giggled.

"It's rare for you to be so honest about your intentions," Horikita agreed.

That's fair enough, I suppose.

"I already know about the crime you've committed."

"...!"

"That being said, I'm still unaware of the bigger picture. Only the part from when Sakayanagi started everything until you took time off school. I already understand how much pressure you've been putting on yourself, Ichinose. Though, it's useless for me to be saying these things now."

"Why... do you know?"

"That isn't very important right now. I have no intention of going into the details."

If Ichinose didn't want to talk about it, I would simply end the conversation there.

"I've seen this again and again, Ayanokouji must have as well. The people who bottle up these feelings of turmoil and anger, keep it within themselves since they can't tell anyone for fear of it being used against them. It's a shame that so many fall due to that. Talented or average, these titles didn't change the result. Ah, who am I kidding? I'm not that different, the only change is that I haven't fallen yet," Yagami thought.

"I'd be creeped out if someone knew about that," Hosen stated.

"Considering only Sakayanagi knew about that, if you did as well, the thought of you being sent by her would cross many people's minds," Katsuragi surmised.

Although I doubt Ichinose thought about that. She simply saw an acquaintance trying to comfort her. And if she did, all of those feelings would be washed away when she began to confess.

"You're probably not very good at confiding your troubles in others. You save others, but you can't save yourself. That's why I'm here."

The feelings I had wanted to convey should've gradually made their way to Ichinose.

There was a brief silence.

When you want to pour out your feelings, it's painful when there isn't anyone you can talk with.

I had seen countless children suffering from this very problem in the White Room.

They eventually broke down and disappeared. A group of people beyond hope of recovery.

Many were gone during the first few years, and only one of those types lasted for longer than that, but they also fell soon. And the last one who was with me, I don't think he was that type of person.

Many people looked at me, eyes full of pity, but behind those stares of sympathy was an entirely different emotion. Wariness. Of course, this has been constant for a long time now.

"It seems more like a torture facility than an educational one," Kanzaki stated in disbelief.

He always reacted more than others when the matter of the White Room came up. I thought he was just sensitive to such things, but I wonder if that's all it is.

"I am your door now. You can't see my face, and you can't touch me. I'm just a door. You can let out your weakness to me without anyone laughing at you."

There was a clunk as I set my can of coffee down on the ground beside me.

"What will you do Ichinose? This is your moment."

Ichinose Honami's close friends are modest, quiet people. It's not hard to imagine that they've been trying to offer Ichinose a constant barrage of kindhearted, well-meaning support.

However, that wasn't going to work. It may be the correct way to go about it for a person trying to support Ichinose, but it was a mistake for someone trying to fix the problem. You had to pressure her to yield with force.

Class B possessed cloudy expressions at my words, but it was the truth. They were doing the best they could, but it wasn't going to solve anything, and that's not their fault, nor is it Ichinose's.

Ichinose looked at me with a mix of different emotions, all of them moving at fast speeds within her. I don't need to know what she's feeling, I can figure it out soon enough.

"Even though I'm so pathetic... Is it really okay?"

"Who has the right to deny you of it?"

"A criminal like me... Can I truly be forgiven..."

"Everyone has the right to be forgiven."

I had reached out to her heart.

The only thing left was to see whether or not Ichinose would respond.

From the other side of the door, Ichinose slowly began to speak.

"Nah, some people just don't deserve to be forgiven," Ryuuen stated.

"I suppose, but in this case, I had to treat it as such," I answered.

Does everyone have the right to be forgiven? For me, a person who doesn't hold much like or dislike towards others, I'm not the best person to answer this.

"I... was a shoplifter. It got difficult during my third year of middle school, and I stopped going to school for half of it. I never consulted with anyone about it. I just blamed myself and shut myself up in my room, just like I'm doing now..."

Ichinose uncovered her wounded heart that she had been frantically trying to keep hidden as she began to say it all.

About what she had done. About the weakness she had been holding within.

How she had only shared all of this with Nagumo. How Sakayanagi had approached her, informing her about the existence of another shoplifter. This was no coincidence. It was clear that Nagumo had told Sakayanagi about her past. Without the chance to even lie about it, she had no choice but to confess to everything.

For Ichinose, that was the most difficult thing she had to experience at the school. To confess your sins, to someone who doesn't know you all that well either, that's difficult.

Now this brings back another point, Nagumo and Sakayanagi's punishment. Ichinose's verdict would be soon.

She had been acting tough, unable to show any sign of weakness.

Confessing your sins. Do you know how terribly difficult of a thing that is?

Many youths, still immature of heart, have shoplifted... no, have sinned in one way or another at least once. However, if this was brought before a large number of people, they would most likely deny any involvement whatsoever. This is natural. After all, it's terribly difficult to admit to your sins and confess them to the public. Many people persecute sinners in the name of justice. And in return, the sinners know the tragic fate that would befall them, so they hide, continuously holding onto their sins without ever speaking of them. They perpetually play the role of a 'good person' as they move on with their lives.

"See? Even you speak like you're older than others," Kei told me.

"I can't disagree with you at all there," Ichinose told me.

Driven by her guilty conscience, Ichinose spent half a year completely alone.

And after great pains, she was released from her shackles... no, she managed to break free from them.

But it would still follow her for the rest of her life. Haunting her until the very end.

In fact, her conscience was once again standing in her way of moving forward, relentlessly attacking her spirit.

So, she had no choice but to stand up and face it head on.

By the time I had finished hearing everything she had to say, it didn't matter whether or not lunch break had already ended.

The students just watched on, there was no more to be said. Most matters have been explained, there's only one big thing left for most people.

Even when afternoon classes had already begun, I just continued to sit there and listen to her speak.

Listening without any attempt to console, nor reprimand her.

Ichinose sobbed quietly on the other side of the door.

I didn't offer her a single word of comfort.

Because that would've been meaningless to offer her at this point.

Her opponent in all of this had been clear from the very beginning.

Herself. It was all about whether or not she would be able to come to terms with herself.

There are those that feel like if they were to ever say a single word, murmur a piece of their sorrow, the whole of the world would have been against them.

'How do they have the audacity to say that?'

'There are people in worse positions.'

Some will say that, no doubt, but for Ichinose, the support would drown out the hate. Instead, she would be the biggest source of hate.

'They won't stand for it.' She wouldn't stand for it.

'If I did that, people will make me suffer for it.' She'll make herself suffer for it.

'I would get ostracised.' She would do the ostracising.

At every moment, it was she who would stop herself.

There aren't many people who can stand up and face their sins in a true sense.

However, when the time comes that someone can... they're then able to take the next step toward the future.

This was the entire exchange held between Ichinose and I that took place before she completely opened her heart to her colleagues.

The scene faded once again.

"That's the final one for the day."

"So, I take it that we have our punishment now?" Nagumo leaned forward in his chair and asked the teachers.

"Wait," Ichinose told him.

Everyone looked at her, completely confused about what she was doing.

"With the new information given, isn't it unfair to make the choice right now? Even in society, if you are given more work, there are many times when the deadline is pushed back. Can't the same be said for this?" Ichinose argued.

I see. She was trying to push it back.

"I suppose that's not incorrect," Mashima mulled over her words.

"C'mon, Mashima. She's not wrong," Hoshinomiya tried to help her student.

Then, the chairman spoke.

"Very well. However, in society, the deadline is pushed back, but it is a meagre number at best. You can make the decision right after the next tape. There will be no more negotiations," he stated bluntly.

Feeling satisfied, Ichinose nodded.

"I suppose I can't refute your words," Nagumo stated and everyone began to leave.

I walked along with Sudo, who had taken a day off from club activities today.

"Are you ready?" I told him.

"As much as I'll ever be," Sudo sighed.

"Alright then. I'll be waiting for your message," I told him as I got off the elevator and went to my room.

It's been a while since I've felt like this, this feeling that washes across my entire body.

Could it be excitement?

Author's notes:

V9 is over, finally.

The goal was to finish it during the term break, and I did that, so I'm happy. The next chap will be an interlude.

Personally, v10 is my favourite volume of the series, so I'm excited to write about that.

Also, I'm gonna make a one-shot and probably release it on the same day when this chap comes out. It'll be about Yamauchi.

That's about it, see you.

Interlude: Desperation won't save you

Yagami POV:

Five minutes, just five more minutes, and I can begin the first move. I don't know what this feeling is. Anxiousness? Excitement? Maybe even a mix of both. I'm sitting here in the cafe without having ordered anything, just waiting for them to walk in. This one is a little farther away from the usual places students go to after school, so there are only a few other students here. I assume they just have the idea of getting away from the crowds.

Although I'm sure that in a week or two, this place will become the new trend and these souls will have to wander elsewhere.

And then, I heard a bell ring.

"Ah, no thank you, the person I'm meeting is already here."

I turned around to find the leader of class B from the second year, Ichinose Honami. She wasn't wearing anything too out of the ordinary, just a plain white shirt with a brown coat and some plain pants. As I called her over and she sat down, the meeting begins.

I heard the bell again, meaning another person had come in, but I didn't pay any attention to it.

"Why did you call me out here on such short notice, Yagami?" Ichinose asked as her eyes wandered the menu.

"You see, there's been something on my mind for a while now. I was wondering if I could ask you about it, Ichinose," I told her nonchalantly.

Although she didn't respond instantly.

"I noticed it before, but I can't contain my curiosity anymore. Why don't you use honorifics? You did before, but then stopped suddenly," Ichinose asked out of the blue.

"Oh, I did stop, huh?"

It's a sign of respect. But in all honesty, there are very few people in this school to who I would give my respect.

Although that wasn't the only reason. I stopped when I noticed Ayanokouji looking over at me when I didn't use them. Maybe I thought of it as a way to get his attention.

"I don't mind it, honestly, so don't force yourself," Ichinose told me.

"I guess that's that. So back to my question," I concluded that conversation and steered back to the main topic.

"I see. It must have been important then, or maybe you just couldn't contain yourself to ask the question," Ichinose called over the waiter as she finished the sentence.

She ordered a coffee and a pastry. I didn't really want to think, so I just asked for the same thing as her. As the waiter left, we could continue.

"Don't worry, it isn't some form of confession or anything of that sort," I chuckled.

Ichinose looked at me blankly.

"I wasn't thinking of that, to be honest with you, but I'm glad we're on the same page," Ichinose awkwardly chuckled.

We were both showing superficial masks. This was the norm. We aren't close by any means, just people who work together on the council.

"I would like to offer my services and work for your class," I began.

Ichinose's eyes widened at my proposal, not expecting such a thing. However, a moment later, she began to speculate. She isn't an idiot, she knows that I wouldn't do this out of the goodness of my heart.

"And what would you like in return? Your wording was peculiar. It wasn't 'I would like to partner with your class' it was that you would work for us," Ichinose stated as she eyed the meal that was just brought to her.

"Ah, well, that's another matter. However, before we get to that, I'd just like to elaborate on what I give you. If another case like the partner's exam arises, we'll ally with you for no cost whatsoever. Think of my class B as your unconditional ally," I stated with a warm smile plastered on my face.

"That's a very kind offer. Although now that we're finished with that, I'd like to know what you would like," Ichinose asked.

There was no subtlety to be used here.

"I would like your help to take down Ayanokouji and expel him from the school."

It was as if someone was killed in front of her. The surprise was immense, more than I was expecting. The blank expression changed into one of confusion.

However, there was no immediate denial, just as I expected. From how she's been acting, and how quiet she's been, it's clear that she's gotten more and more anxious during these videos. The answer is simple, incredibly so, she doesn't know what to do with Ayanokouji. She was so defensive of him back during the first few, but now that defence is non-existent. In fact, the opposite has come true sometimes.

"Explain what you want from us fully," Ichinose stated, trying to maintain her composure.

"Well, it's quite simple, really. When I need help with a task that you people can accomplish, I'll inform you and you can choose how to do it. I won't ask anything too cruel of you, such as violence or bullying, I understand that's unfair to ask. That's all," I explained to her gently, like I was trying to teach a child.

I have to make these terms as nice as possible for her, otherwise, things are going to be messed up.

"So you offer essentially free rein of your class, while we complete certain tasks from you," Ichinose pondered.

"They won't be frequent. I might not even need you at all," I tried to sell it.

Her expression, without a moment's notice, looked as if she didn't trust my words.

"That's a lie. If you might not need us at all, you wouldn't be willing to give so much control of your class to us. It must mean there's something you need us to do," Ichinose stated matter-of-factly.

I suppose I'm taking something from his playbook. I can't act too nice and put together, after all.

"It seems I've been caught. Yes, there's something I do need from you right as you accept this deal, but I can't tell you. It's obvious why, right?" I sighed.

"Yes. I can leak the information. It's the logical move to not tell me what you need," Ichinose stated, but it was clear she was dissatisfied.

She doesn't know exactly what she was getting into, no surprise about that. However, I've given the opportunity for her to fix it, whether she sees it is her choice.

"I get what you are going to give us and the other way around. But there's one thing I don't get. Why are you trying to take Ayanokouji down?" Ichinose asked with a stiff voice.

So she did see it. Incredible.

"Well, you see, while I would like to tell you it's my own morals, that I can't stand by as he gets to enjoy his life when he's done such horrible things, that's not the full truth," I looked downward, in an attempt to look like I'm struggling to speak.

Ichinose looked at me with surprise, not believing that I was going to be so open about it.

"In truth, one of my family members went to the same facility he did. When they came out, they were never the same, they kept talking about how Ayanokouji wronged him. It's my own selfish reasoning," I told her with a solemn look in my eye.

I know that this was false. Ayanokouji was completely alone the day I saw him, he was quite young that day too. All of the other students must have dropped out early, and besides, he's not that type of person.

Whether other people fail or succeed doesn't matter, those were his own words. I doubt he was someone who willingly brought down someone else. Although there is a slight possibility he did wrong someone, I doubt it immensely.

"I see," Ichinose looked at me with pity.

Besides, the people who come out of that place aren't the types to speak about anything. Even I could understand that.

"I'm sorry, I just..." Ichinose began.

This was the moment.

"Ichinose, wait. Just here me out for a second. If someone was expelled in your class, what would you do?" I asked, seemingly randomly.

She looked like she was thinking about it, "I don't know what I would do, honestly. If it happened, I'd just try to make sure something like that doesn't happen again."

"What do you think your class would do? Would they want revenge?"

"If they want revenge, I can try to convince them not to, but that's their choice at the end of the day," Ichinose concluded.

What a foolish statement.

This code, it's nothing but a bad joke. It's dropped so easily. When the chips are down, the civilised people turn into animals.

There's no doubt that they'd do everything to take down the person who wronged them.

"You think people make choices?" I looked at her sharply and asked.

Maybe I let my mask slip a little, I guess I can't do anything about it now.

"Of course they do," Ichinose nodded.

"No, people think they make choices. They think they're going to steer right or steer left, but they didn't build the roads. The architects made the choices for them a long time ago," I chuckled at her words.

"So this deal itself isn't my choice, is what you're saying?" Ichinose questioned.

"Ichinose, this is your chance to be the architect," I replied.

Our conversation ended for now.

"It's just... I don't think we can beat him, even if we join forces," Ichinose looked at me with defeat.

It's always that look.

Looking down on me from their ivory tower, so free of any pressure.

Always looking at me like I'm nothing but reproducible product.

Just one defeat, just one and they're all gone. The ones that looked at me with pity, the ones that laughed at my results, the ones that sighed and told me to go.

I wonder, did they change for him or did they just expect more every time?

"I see. Well, you don't have to make the decision right away. If you want, you can call me and inform me tonight whether you'd like to partner up with me," I sighed.

If I can change that look, the one that treats me as disposable, I can live with that.

"Alright then," Ichinose softly nodded.

Soon, she left and I was sitting alone at the table.

And then, after maybe 20 seconds, he also got up and began to leave. I began to walk to the door as he got to the chair. Due to his larger strides, he got there a little bit faster than me, but I was right behind.

"Oh sorry, you go ahead first," I asked after bumping into him.

"Uh, yeah, thanks," the boy awkwardly stated and left.

I saw his back get farther and farther as he went on the same path Ichinose took.

"This is fun, Ayanokouji," I chuckled.

Ichinose POV:

Walking out of the cafe, I just continued on the path. I didn't know where I was going, I just wanted to be alone. Just somewhere where I could consolidate my thoughts.

Soon, I found myself on a bench near the edge of the school. It was somewhere I hadn't seen before, so I was quite surprised that I found myself out here.

"Just what do I do?" I told myself as I looked up to the sky.

I have to take him down or ignore him and continue as I have been doing. It's not that I think Yagami isn't impressive, it's just that, I don't think it will matter.

He'll find out the scheme, he might use a classmate as a hostage, I just can't risk that. I haven't even told my class about this. If I wanted to, I can make the deal and keep it hidden, but...

"No, I can't do that," I chuckled.

It seems I've been self-deprecating again. I know that I can keep it hidden, but that would just hurt me inside every day. I'm not like Kushida who can keep up an act for so long. It's not like this is a guess, I tried, but I couldn't continue it. I tried to emulate someone like Sakayanagi, but it didn't amount to anything.

I can tell them all, it's not like it's impossible to communicate this to everyone. Majority rules, right? Even if some disagree, if over half say yes, I'll follow through with it.

"But..." I muttered, so quiet that I may not even hear it.

The matter of ability aside, do I want to take down Ayanokouji? There was a time being where I hated him. I hated every single cell in his body and had this dislike for every word that came out of his mouth. It doesn't feel like that now, though.

"I didn't think I had it in me," I sighed.

It doesn't matter who, I always tried to see their side, but at that time after that video on the cruise ship, I couldn't. I didn't want to give him the benefit of the doubt after what he did on the ship. And then, whenever something even somewhat good came up about him, I tried to ignore it. Then the...

"White Room," I stated out loud.

Yes. That's the next thing that came into play. That place I heard about on the island, then it came up again and again. Sakayanagi knew about it, his father visited, and he even saw me as a person from there. My lowest point was something he saw so often that he could make a comparison. I don't know if I want to take him down if he has to go back there.

"I don't know what to do," I placed my face in my hands.

If Yagami is telling the truth, then Ayanokouji has hurt his family beyond repair. It makes sense why he wants revenge, I would do the same in his position. However, it's clear that he didn't do it out of malice, it was most likely a necessity.

'A chance to become the architect.'

The words rang in my mind. Ayanokouji had told me that if I went against him, he has the ability to defend himself, but my classmates aren't the same. That's true, no doubt about it. If I do something that goes against him, he will destroy the class with no mercy at all. But then a scene where he uses that threat to control the class is possible. It wouldn't be difficult, he could use that threat to coerce us into doing anything.

If I don't do anything, he can still damage the class for the sake of his means, we'd just be collateral.

So maybe...

"Ichinose, are you okay?"

I looked up and saw him. A boy with copper hair and hollow eyes.

"Why are you here?" I asked, my voice cracking.

"I come here some days to relax. It's on the outskirts of this place, so barely anyone comes here," Ayanokouji stated as he looked around.

The school's huge, and there are still places I don't know of. I suppose it would make sense that there are some spots that people go to since there would be no one else there.

"I can leave if you want," Ayanokouji offered.

"No, you can stay if you want. I don't own this area," I sheepishly chuckled.

Ayanokouji went and sat on the bench around 10 metres away from mine. We both didn't say anything for time that felt like hours. He was just watching the water blankly, but then again, it always looks like his expression is blank.

We're both silent, but there's this feeling of anxiousness. Almost as if a teacher is walking by during a test and silently judging everything I've written.

How do I decide whether to expel someone when they're so close? I can't think at all.

"Ichinose, why do you keep looking over at me?" Ayanokouji asked.

"W-was I? My bad, I've just had a lot on my mind," I blurted out without thinking.

"Is there something I could help with?"

"Why would you do that? It's not like there's anything in it for you," I retorted.

There was something I did wish to ask him, but it doesn't make sense for him to be so forward with it.

"There's someone here who keeps staring at me like they're thinking about something important and I'd just like to stop that. That's what is in it for me," Ayanokouji sighed.

It's a reasonable answer, but for some reason, I just can't fully believe it. It's too... selfless? Is that the right word? I don't know. Although the question I wish to ask can't help him in any way, if I were to weigh the pros and cons, the positives outweigh the negatives.

I sighed and made my way to his seat, making sure that we weren't too close to each other, but enough for no one else to hear the conversation. Ah, who am I kidding? There's no one else who's going to hear it anyway.

"There's something I want clarity about," I told him confidently.

Ayanokouji silently nodded, waiting for my response.

"How would you describe my class? Be honest, and talk about the positives and negatives. I'd like to hear your analysis," I told him resolutely.

By adding the term 'analysis' instead of opinion, perhaps I can get a better response, but that might just be my own flawed hopes.

"If I were to describe your class, it would be... Chained potential," Ayanokouji stated bluntly.

Just like everyone else, huh?

"You've heard it from not only me but plenty of others. I'm sure you understand what it means," Ayanokouji looked over at me for a response.

Of course, I know. I know how our unity is our only major strength. It's the thing all of the other classes can't compete with, but nevertheless, we haven't had any good results. We refuse to use methods that are more on the likes of the other classes. Even Horikita isn't opposed to using deceptive methods now and again, but we refuse to.

"I know, I've heard it again and again, after all," I sighed.

"Then let me ask you this. Do you want class A?" Ayanokouji looked at me and asked.

Do I want class A?

"Of course I do."

"Then let me rephrase the question. Do you wish to get to class A without losing any classmates?" Ayanokouji asked once again, looking at me like he was examining my every movement.

For that question...

"...Yes, that's what I wish for," I stated sheepishly.

That would be the best-case scenario. That's my wish.

"Then you will never amount to anything in this school."

I tensed up at those words.

How cold. But I shouldn't have expected any sugarcoating when I asked for his honest opinion.

"It's because you can't have both. Researchers don't research every single field, do they? They pick off a small chunk and go through it for the rest of their life. If they were to do everything, they'd never reach anywhere. Your appetite is disproportionate to the size of your abilities. Currently, at least," Ayanokouji explained.

"Currently?" I wondered.

"If you were to change gears and only go after one of those goals, then you have a chance to succeed. If you go after the goal of not losing anyone, I'm sure you can make a deal that ensures your safety if you so wish it. However, if you go to class A, then it'll be harder and much more arduous," Ayanokouji continued.

"I guess you're not exactly incorrect," I looked down, trying to take in all of his words.

"If you adopted this method earlier, you would only have two major opponents instead of three, and you would be nearly 15 million points up. However, change is possible. If you were to switch tracks, I can see you getting a cart back in the race. Your class is at some crossroads, that's what I believe," Ayanokouji concluded.

So I have to give up on one of those desires. I had told him I'd be fine as long as I protect everyone, but should I give up on that goal? Do I have the right?

"Does that clear things up for you?" Ayanokouji inquired.

"What right do I have to give up on protecting everyone?" I asked, still not looking him in the eye.

"No, that's not it. Ryuuen still tries to protect his classmates, but he's pragmatic about it. You have to weigh the choices. Don't give up on them if it's not the best one."

So I have to go on a path that's more along the lines of Horikita's class, huh?

Do I have the ability to do that?

"You're incredible. All my problems were so complex for me, and you were able to lay them out so easily," I told him softly.

Unlike all the other students who just said my problem was my unwillingness to use dirty methods, he was much more logical about it.

Are these the type of people that the facility produces? I hate what they do, it's appalling, but I can't deny the results.

I have a lot to think about now. If I were to stay here, I don't think I could focus.

"Well, I have to go now. I'll be off, Ayanokouji," I told him as I got up from the seat.

But when I tried to move, I couldn't. My feet stayed planted on the ground.

"Ayanokouji, this is for my own selfish reasons, so you don't have to answer, but..." I began and looked into his eyes.

Yes, I know why I wasn't able to move.

"How bad was the White Room?"

Ayanokouji didn't have any visual change in his expression. What else did I expect, after all?

He was looking at me blankly, and I waited until he gave me a response.

"I could give you my interpretation, but it wouldn't be what the consensus is," he said as he got up and placed his hands in his pockets.

Looking at me directly, he spoke.

"Would you still like to hear?"

"Yes, I would," I nodded.

Ayanokouji took a deep breath and looked off to the horizon.

"It was a place to learn. Nothing more, nothing less. It was difficult at first, but after a few attempts, I had no trouble with it at all. For the other students, their recollections will probably be much more brutal, but for me, it was a way for me to satisfy my curiosity. As long as I was able to learn there, I was pleased."

A deep gust of wind came as he finished.

For him, he didn't think much of it. Maybe that's how he was able to survive, to develop this absolute apathy.

My thoughts haven't changed in the last few videos.

What a sad life.

Ayanokouji POV:

Soon, she walked off back to what I assume is the dorms.

I knew she had that question on her mind, but I didn't expect her to actually ask it.

"I should get going now," I muttered to myself as I began to walk in the direction I came.

The path wasn't as well kept as the ones where students frequent, so that was a shame. As I turned the corner, I was met with a boy with crimson hair.

"Are you done? You know, with whatever that was," Sudo asked nervously.

"Yes, I'm done. Let's head back," I began to walk, but Sudo walked in front of me.

"Can I ask you for a favour? Tell me what you just did, please," Sudo asked, clearly not wanting to go against me, but still doing so anyway.

"Why do you want to know?"

"It's just that... I know how brutal you can get. If something horrible happens and I helped with that, I wouldn't like it. I just want to clear my head," Sudo confessed.

It takes a lot of strength to go against someone who you know you don't have a chance against. Sudo knew that if it did come down to a physical altercation, I wouldn't fight and simply go on my way.

Yagami could use this to his advantage, so it could be detrimental.

For these reasons specifically, it doesn't make sense to tell him.

"Alright. I don't want to fight you. Where do you want to go? I'd prefer somewhere quiet," I asked him.

However, those aren't all of the reasons.

Sudo's expression instantly went from troubled to relieved.

"Alright. I know a place, let's go there. It's quiet and barely anyone goes there, so it's awesome. I go there when I want to chill," Sudo began to walk there.

I followed him silently.

It wasn't too far. It seems like all these quiet places are near the edges of the school, which makes sense. I went inside the establishment and with each second of Jazz that was playing, it felt like I was going further into the past.

I sat down and we ordered some food. I guess this would serve as my dinner as well.

"So explain what was happening," Sudo looked at me blankly.

I have a few ways I could do this, but the best option would be to tell him everything.

"Recently, I began a competition where I have to expel another student before they expel me," I began.

Sudo looked surprised, "Well, I think you'll be fine. I don't think anyone could beat you."

"You see, there were two ways the student alluded to going. They could have either gone after Ichinose or Horikita to target, but as you can see, they went after Ichinose," I continued.

"How did you know which one?" Sudo interjected.

"During the videos, they acted out of character and showed an unusual amount of kindness and compassion to her situation. Normally, they would be unbiased and logical, but they took her side. And the best opportunity to do something with her would be right after the video we saw today, when she would be the most pressured," I explained.

Sudo nodded at my words.

"I was saving your favour until a moment it could be used, and I took this opportunity. I had already planned to use you for this situation since there hasn't been any good moment to interact with Horikita for him, so his compassion just furthered my suspicions. By having you follow Ichinose into the cafe, and then when she would be alone, I was able to intercept and stop his movements," I explained.

There's the possibility of Yagami having shown compassion so blatantly to force me to act, but I was going to anyway, so it was a pointless endeavour.

Then the question becomes why he forced me to act. I doubt it was simple arrogance and conceit, he wouldn't do that when it's something as important as this.

If I had to guess, he wanted to make it so he could understand my relationship with Ichinose. Although that can't be it, not at all.

"What do you think they talked about?" Sudo questioned.

"I don't have any concrete guess, but it was probably a partnership of some sort. Ichinose and I haven't been on the best of terms, so he may have seen it as an opportunity to create a team. There are plenty of other small details that could have been added, so the range is too wide to predict," I explained.

"So you did it to stop that partnership, huh? I guess I can deal with that. I didn't expect it to be the first year, though. I won't ask why you guys are doing it, so don't worry," Sudo sighed with relief.

No, it wasn't the only reason, however, Sudo doesn't need to know about that. If I do tell him about this, then too many dominos will become misplaced.

"I appreciate it," I told him.

We ate our food and talked about random stuff. However, it wasn't the same as before, it was as if we were talking as friends rather than classmates.

"When did you find out about this place?"

"Oh well, I was in a shit mood and just started wandering the place. I got hungry and looked for somewhere to eat and this was the closest place I found," Sudo recounted.

"Why were you in a bad mood?" I asked him as I took a sip of my drink.

"I just feel like shit every time I have anything school related now. I haven't been making progress on the tests with Suzune, so I just feel useless," Sudo looked downward, clearly annoyed.

He hadn't been making progress, but he wasn't losing it either. Essentially, he had stagnated.

"Well, why do you think you stagnated? Also, when did it start?" I asked.

"I don't know. I guess it was around those summer vacation videos. I was going so well, and then when I reached a wall, I just got so mad at myself. I guess I just let it get to my head and I probably thought I was better than I was," Sudo sighed.

Many people start growing exponentially, but there seems to be a point where they plateau. Whether that's temporary is another story.

Although for Sudo, I feel like I can guess why.

"Is it because of Horikita?" I asked.

Sudo was surprised and dropped the chip in his hand.

"Maybe. I don't know anymore," Sudo grumbled.

"If I were to give you advice, try and remember what changed before and after those videos. When you figure out what it was, make a plan in your head to confront it. If it's about Horikita, try and talk with her about it. I'm sure she'd be willing to listen," I tried to reassure him.

"Yeah, I'll do that," Sudo nodded.

We finished our food and began to leave.

The sun was setting and by the time we made it back to the dorms, it was completely dark out.

As I said my goodbyes to Sudo and got into my room, I began to think.

I had stopped Ichinose from partnering with Yagami, but there was also another bonus effect. For her, her everchanging thoughts on me would inevitably have us strike up a conversation. She wouldn't tell me about Yagami, I know that, so the only other option was about the class. The only other conversation would be about our connection, but she wouldn't be that forward.

Whatever she was asked to do, she'll deny it. Whether Yagami admitted it was to expel me or not, she won't do it. At this moment, she's at a crossroads and won't make any big decisions for the class so quickly, I've made sure of that. For her, she's the type to think over and make careful choices, if one would overload her with choices, she would try and go through every option and decide a slow, cautious one would be the best. A sudden class partnership? That's out of the question.

Yagami's intentions were the secondary thing in this case, either way. I had a different intention in mind, which I had accomplished.

Sudo knows many things, but he doesn't know enough to derail anything important. But if I were to use him again, I can't guarantee that the house of cards will stay standing.

"Then there's that punishment," I mumbled.

I know which track she'll take at the crossroads. No, it's more like I've chosen it for her.

Whether she takes down Nagumo and Sakayanagi is now set in stone. The choice has been made and nothing can alter it, even if I regretted my previous actions, I can't even do anything about it.

"I've defended the attack. I can live with that," I sighed.

The goal wasn't to attack Yagami, but to make sure the position stays equal. If he goes after Horikita next, so be it.

And if he sees this as me trying to protect Ichinose, or he simply wants to destroy our connection, I won't stop him from destroying her, it won't change the result.

There's no gain or loss in this situation.

As long as I've guaranteed that, the dominos are still in place.

Ichinose POV:

Getting back to the dorms, I tried to relax and think for some more and consolidate my thoughts.

The pros and cons.

The repercussions.

As a leader, I must make two choices. And if I go through with one, it forces a decision for the other dilemma. If I don't go through with the main one, I still have to make a choice for what direction the class will take.

I looked down at the drink in my hand and saw my own muddled reflection.

"I look that worried, huh?" I sadly smiled.

My groggy and distraught face stared back at me. This will change the next year and a half of my school life.

Picking up the phone, I dialled his number.

Soon, the line connected.

"Yagami, hello," I greeted him.

"Yes, hello, Ichinose," Yagami stated.

The audio was quite clear, so I doubt he was outside and most likely in a dorm room.

"So... As for the offer you gave me..." I began nervously.

Yagami didn't say anything in response. It was as if I was talking to myself.

But I guess that's how it always is, huh? Even Ayanokouji could see it. I always have to clear the wall that is myself to do anything.

So this is it.

The moment that decides my future.

I don't know whether this is the right choice, I never do, but it's the one I'm going to make.

"I'll have to decline the offer," I stated resolutely.

"I see," Yagami stated in a monotone voice.

He's probably still processing it.

"I won't tell Ayanokouji about this, so you can rest easy. I won't joi-"

"So Ayanokouji got to you, huh?" Yagami cut me off.

I immediately tensed up. He got to me? What's that supposed to mean?

"What do you mean by that?"

"It means exactly what you think. Ayanokouji got to you and persuaded you not to join me, correct? Or did he just show an incredible amount of kindness and compassion? Maybe he gave you advice when you needed it most. All of these are equally likely," Yagami stated bluntly.

He got it right... But he seems so calm about it.

"Ichinose, it seems you don't understand. Ayanokouji and I are aware of our attacks at each other, you were simply treated as collateral. He stopped you to deter me," Yagami continued.

Once again, I froze.

But then, time began to move.

Ayanokouji did it to deter Yagami, huh? Then he didn't meet up with me today by accident. It's so foolish now that I think about it, of course that wasn't a coincidence.

But even so, he gave me the answer I needed...

The faint hope I had that I could trust him has vanished, but I still value that answer. Even if it was a preface, I got something out of it.

"That's a cruel way to give it to me," I sighed.

Yagami and Ayanokouji are the architects, not me. That's what I've taken away from this conversation.

"I apologise," Yagami stated indifferently.

"Why are you so calm about this? You don't seem to care that much," I asked.

Ayanokouji had stopped his methods, he should've been more anxious, but his voice didn't have a single trace of that.

There was silence on the other end for a moment.

"It's because, Ichinose, I didn't have much hope in you actually joining me. You have too much sympathy for Ayanokouji to go against him. I did this out of a false hope and I got struck by reality," Yagami sighed.

So he never truly believed that I could betray him.

He isn't wrong. Maybe if this was at the moment when I hated him the most, I would have agreed wholeheartedly, but I would've come to regret it.

"I see. I suppose I'm predictable," I stated softly.

"It seems that these negotiations are over, right? I'll be seeing you at the student council then. Goodbye," Yagami stated and cut the call without my response.

How cold.

Although that's just who I am, I'm predictable and easy to see through. Everyone can see my class is failing, Ayanokouji could even give me a path to success like it was easy to see, but I couldn't do any of that.

I'm a pathetic excuse for a leader...

"...But I don't want to be."

I have to make a choice for what way my class will go, and the way it will change. Give up on class A or give up on sacrificing everything to protect a classmate.

Is there a right choice here?

My entire life, the world looked like there was only black and white. Like something is correct and something is wrong. But it just keeps getting greyer every day.

Yagami isn't in the wrong for trying to take down Ayanokouji, so if I were to follow that way of thinking, I'm in the wrong for disagreeing. Although I have my own reasons to not and he has his reasons to fight. I'm not wrong for not wanting to hurt someone.

My way of thinking isn't right then.

What even is right and wrong then? If it's not this blank-and-white system, where there's a correct answer, then there is nothing that decides it.

Then there's no such thing as an objective right or wrong, what is righteous and what is evil. Even if there was some form of objective teachings, I can't accept it so readily, I'd have to look through it and decide whether it was righteous for myself or not.

"That sounds like something he would say," I mumbled.

I guess we're more alike than I thought. I believe in what I think is right, I can't force others to think that way.

And the direction my class can go is just another one of these situations. I have to go through and decide what is right.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" I sighed.

What I believe to be right for the class is...

Yagami POV:

I walked outside the bathroom after ending the call.

We won't make a partnership.

I knew that, I've known it this entire time.

I can think of this later, I have other pressing matters to deal with currently.

"I apologise for the interruption, there should be no more, so please continue what you were saying before," I apologised and sat at the table.

If I remember correctly, we just began the conversation, so nothing of importance had happened yet.

I looked at the person in front of me. Their eyes were sharp and she had a smirk plastered on her face.

It reminds me of Ichika in a way, but instead of teasing, it's like she's looking down on me.

"Who's asking me to continue?" she asked.

"Excuse me?" I blurted out.

"Is it Yagami Takuya, the leader of first-year class B, or Yagami Takuya, the student from the White Room?" Sakayanagi asked.

I wasn't surprised. I knew there was always this possibility with her.

"You don't seem surprised?" Sakayanagi giggled.

"I was wondering why the second-year class A leader called me out here for seemingly no reason whatsoever. What tipped you off?" I asked.

There's no need for this mask anymore.

"I already knew of the chance that there could be multiple people that came from that place. You weren't that subtle about it either, making requests for a race with Ayanokouji. You began to talk more and more after every proceeding video. I threw in my own little tests to confirm it during the last few videos," Sakayanagi explained like it was nothing.

"So is that why you asked me out here? I knew you liked to gloat, but this is a new level. I aspire to be this petty," I chuckled.

Sakayanagi laughed at my words.

"That was only half of the reason. I simply couldn't contain my curiosity any longer, in all honesty. I wanted to know the progress on something. How's your battle with Ayanokouji proceeding?" Sakayanagi looked at me with a condescending grin.

"It's obvious you would know if you deducted everything thus far," I shrugged.

"Of course, I have my fair share of guesses. I take it that was Ichinose you were talking to in the bathroom?" Sakayanagi stated matter-of-factly.

"Yes, it was. I was simply finishing business, nothing more. I was quite obvious about it, wasn't I?" I asked.

I knew what I was doing.

"It was the same as announcing your intentions to the world," Sakayanagi giggled.

That was the plan.

"Is that all you wanted to talk about? Let's finish this off then," I sighed.

I'd rather not stay here longer than I have to.

"Do you think your desperation to win will save you?" Sakayanagi asked bluntly.

Desperation to win?

"What do you mean by that?"

"It's commonly said that the desperation of a human being makes them do things that can take down even the strongest enemies. That won't work for you, however. Once you pass that wall, you simply live in a world of equally desperate geniuses. At that point, it doesn't matter how much you want something, it's survival of the fittest," Sakayanagi spoke condescendingly.

I couldn't help but laugh.

"Pfft! Haha, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I just couldn't hold it in."

Sakayanagi looked at me with a confused expression.

"Do you think I can seriously put Ayanokouji in a position where he's desperate? You never have a chance to beat him if you think like that. It's so stupid and foolish that it's funny."

"That's what you've been doing, haven't you? With Ichinose, I mean," Sakayanagi looked at me, the smile on her face was no more.

She was trying to analyse my words now.

"No, no, that's different. All of this has been preparation and raising my chances. To beat Ayanokouji, you can't use anything that only puts him on the brink of losing. If you want to take him down, you have to end him in one attack. Everything I've been doing so far is just loading the ammo, no attack has really happened yet," I explained.

There's no way she'll tell Ayanokouji any of this, it would essentially be disrespect. The fact that Ayanokouji needs help from outside forces to take down another student from the White Room? It would be an insult.

"So that's what you believe, huh? If you hadn't begun your battle with him, I wouldn't have minded going against you. It would be fun training," Sakayanagi spoke proudly.

That isn't feigned confidence, that's what she truly believes.

Unfortunately, that's something I find hard to replicate, but this isn't one of those times.

"You're too confident, maybe you've forgotten the fear of defeat. Would you like me to reacquaint you?"

I won't lose to this person, I can guarantee that.

"Just kidding," I chuckled.

But I won't waste my time on something as pointless as this.

"You're confident. You wouldn't have gone after Ichinose so blatantly if you weren't," Sakayanagi said something that seemed like praise.

There was a lull in the conversation.

"What choice do you think she's going to make?" Sakayanagi asked.

The punishment, huh?

"I know the answer. But where's the fun in telling you now?" I smirked.

I don't care what choice she makes, in all honesty, but that's not the same for my opponent.

I don't know Ichinose's mindset fully, but out of everyone in this school, I know Ayanokouji's mindset the most.

I know what he'd do, that's the advantage I have.

But that isn't a one-way street, he also knows me well, maybe not the best in this school, but he's got intuition like no other.

"How cruel," Sakayanagi sighed.

"I'll tell you this, no matter how sophisticated the reason, a murder is a murder. Similarly, it doesn't matter how intense the motive is, if you can't kill, you won't. But someone who can kill, definitely will."

"So you know which type of person she is, huh?" Sakayanagi questioned.

"Before today, she wouldn't have acted. The thing is, the decision isn't in the past but in the future. I'm sure that there's only three people in this school who know what choice she's going to make," I told her bluntly.

Sakayanagi looked at me like she was satisfied.

"Well, I suppose I'll find out soon. It seems we're done," Sakayanagi concluded.

"See you," I told her and made my exit.

Soon, I began to go to my dorm.

Walking outside the second-year dorm building, I was greeted by the dark sky.

There was no light, not even one star nor the moon. I was bombarded by nothing but darkness.

"I can finally think," I sighed.

It was as if I was in a world where no one else could listen in, one completely of my own.

My goals were accomplished, I ensured that I had broken the connection between Ichinose Honami and Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. From today onward, there would never be a chance when they will partner up.

Ichinose Honami was a girl who was having trouble as a leader, if I were to take her side during the videos, I would make Ayanokouji notice my actions. I forced him to act.

By doing that, I was also able to discern that he would go and protect Ichinose from danger if needed, but this wasn't out of compassion, there must have been something he needed from her, which I assume is for the choice the day after tomorrow. But no matter what he did, as long as I would expose that Ayanokouji had ulterior motives, she would never turn to him again for anything.

This takes down the chance of him ever partnering with class B as a whole. There is still the chance for individual members to do something, but if I can reduce his range as much as I can, my chances go up ever so slightly.

To make the odds as high as they can go before I pull the trigger, that's what I need to do.

I went to open the handle for my dorm room, but I noticed that my hands were shaking.

"Is that excitement?" I mumbled.

Maybe it's excitement, but it might also be something else entirely.

It's fear.

Of course, when I go against him, I can't help it.

I think of my abilities highly, but even as I think that, in a corner of my heart, something stubborn that despises me, that says that no matter how much I try, there isn't a good thing about me, darkly and firmly coils its roots.

"Not again," I took a deep breath.

As I exhaled, my hand slowly, but surely, began to relax.

If I were to reside and cower with fear, I won't be able to live.

People die, even though others worry. People will live despite not wishing for it. It doesn't matter what goes on in one's heart, it will never make a difference. Praying and wishing for things won't make them come true, I know that better than anyone. Instead of staying still, I need to continue to act.

If I can do that, there's a chance.

End of the Crossroads

The time when the path will be chosen.

The day when there are no more ultimatums.

Today is that day, the day that the crossroads are no more.

The answer today, however, will change many things.

"The exam that was world ending for many, let's begin."

With that uncertainty, they will carry on nonetheless.

The next day, Tuesday March 2nd.

Morning homeroom.

Chabashira walked through the door shortly after the bell rang.

It was the usual scene that unfolded every morning.

The class was enveloped in an air of relaxation.

It was announced yesterday that we had all passed the end-of-year exam without any problems. There were still a few days to go before the start of the final special exam for the first-years on March 8th, so it was no surprise that there wasn't a hint of nervousness in the room.

"And it was all messed up. It's like we were hit in the head with a chair when we were happy," Ike grumbled.

"That is what your friend tried to do. Keyword is tried," Koenji chuckled.

"He tried to hit someone with a chair? That's pathetic but I'm also impressed he had the balls to do that," Ryuuen laughed.

"Well, he really had nothing to lose. What else did you expect? He could probably kill at that moment if he was able to," Sakayanagi giggled.

"'Was able to' huh? I wonder what you mean by that," Ryuuen commented.

"I have no idea what you're thinking of," Sakayanagi played dumb.

Of course, the students knew who was expelled. It's the only logical option when one of them isn't in the class and we have the OAA. But for class B, it's a little different. It's possible that a student that hasn't been shown may have transferred in, making their total 40. Although this is a leap that most won't think of, or would just deem far too unlikely.

However, Chabashira's expression as she stood behind the podium was more grim than usual.

She projected a tense, stinging aura that spread to the students as well.

"Um, did something happen?"

Hirata, always prioritizing the stability of the class, took the initiative to speak up.

Chabashira didn't answer right away, instead choosing to simply remain silent. The impression she gave off made it seem like she was reluctant to say anything.

Up until now, no matter how serious things had been, she would beat her explanations into us without mercy. So, it didn't take very long for the class to realize that this situation was abnormal.

"Was the final exam really so bad?" Yagami questioned.

The words that began this video were just 'an exam' not a surprise exam. The first years all fully believe that the final exam will be the one that's going to be shown now.

"It was pretty bad, I won't lie. Some students had a lot of stomach problems too, which was a shame," Ryuuen chuckled.

Ichinose didn't say anything in response, maintaining her calm exterior.

"You still thinking about that punishment? I thought you'd show a bigger reaction," Ryuuen speculated.

Ichinose was quick with the response.

"That's something that's in the past, I can't do anything about it yet. This is a big decision, after all. Making the final thoughts isn't unnatural," Ichinose responded.

"Yet, huh? I look forward to it, let's see what's going to happen," Ryuuen smirked.

It was clear he didn't think Ichinose was a threat, but even he could see that there was something about Ichinose today. Some aura that couldn't be denied, it wasn't that of Horikita nor was it like Sakayanagi's.

"...There's something I have to tell you all."

She spoke heavily.

Her expression was as stern as ever, but the sound of her voice made her seem like she was struggling.

"As I told you yesterday, the final special exam for the first-years will begin on March 8th. After this special exam, you will advance to the second year, as per the general convention of our school."

Chabashira turned around, picked up a piece of chalk, and reached for the blackboard.

"This year, however, the situation is slightly different from previous years."

The entrance of Tsukishiro and the exit of the man standing in this room, the man with the most power in this place. Those were the reasons this happened.

"What a shitshow, honestly," Sudo sighed.

This singular existence affected the lives of many students greatly, some of them being permanent repercussions.

"To think, he was almost out of this place. It really is a shame that didn't end up happening," Sakayanagi sighed.

"I didn't know you had such hatred for my fellow classmate. It's alright, Katsuragi," Ryuuen joked.

"On the contrary, I could have expelled him if I wished for it. It would have been so easy, but seeing him suffer everyday was far more enticing," Sakayanagi smiled.

At that point in time, Ryuuen was on the deathbed and Sakayanagi saw no competitors.

In terms of dominance, I doubt she'd ever get higher than that unless she actively began to expel other students. Growing a Nagumo-like mentality is needed for that, but Sakayanagi doesn't wish for it.

"Different... How?"

Hirata asked in return, having felt a sense of danger.

"Not a single student in your grade dropped out this year, even after the end-of-year exam. Getting this far without a single dropout has never happened before in the history of this school."

"We're pretty awesome when you put it like that, aren't we?"

I thought about how we shouldn't be getting ahead of ourselves, but Ike cut in to do just that. If it was the usual Chabashira, she'd have probably warned him not to get too carried away.

"That's right, and the school thinks so too. Normally, this would be something to celebrate. Even we, as faculty of the school, hope to see as many students graduate as possible. However, it needs to be said that several problems arise when things don't turn out the way we expect them to."

"The dichotomy is clear between the best and worst of your class," Katsuragi analysed.

"That's never happened before, huh? Guess our year can't rival that," Hosen grumbled.

Of course, an expulsion had already happened in their year, this cancels that possibility.

"I doubt this is the first time things have happened when the school didn't expect it. Your public relations speech is quite easy to see through," Nagumo chuckled.

I'm sure this speech is quite similar to the ones the other classes had, it's not like this is unusual. Perhaps a few different words are simply due to the teacher's mannerisms, but other than that, nothing else should be largely different.

The way she spoke was strange. Hirata and Horikita both seemed to feel something out of place with her choice of words as well.

"It's as if you're saying you're bothered by the fact nobody's dropped out yet."

"It's not like that at all. But, sometimes things happen that go beyond our expectations."

Even though she was saying something she should be happy about, Chabashira's words were heavy.

In order to dispel that heaviness, Horikita continued to speak.

"Are you implying that there's something wrong with us?"

"I mean, I thought you knew..." Ryuuen told her.

"I don't get why it needed to exist," Ike commented.

Naturally, many students looked over at Nagumo.

"I wasn't the one who had this idea, don't look at me," Nagumo shrugged.

Nagumo didn't seem to care much about this matter. The average student doesn't know when Tsukishiro exactly joined, so of course they don't think he's part of this.

"It was quite surprising at the time, but there are some ways it could be explained. The school's perception is an incredibly difficult thing to maintain, anything damaging could be horrible. It is seen as some horribly difficult place, perhaps they wanted to maintain that image," Matsushita theorised.

It was an explanation that would be accepted by many, but of course, the accepted notion isn't always true.

"Rational analysis, off the mark, however," Sakayanagi told her.

"So you know what the reason behind it is?" Matsushita asked.

"I have a general sense of it, I suppose. The reason will be shown, I have no doubt about that," Sakayanagi glanced at her father.

The question has been placed in their mind, but they don't feel the need to ask it. The guarantee that their curiosity will be satiated is enough.

The content of what Chabashira had to tell us wouldn't change, no matter what questions Horikita might ask. She wasn't the person making the choices here. She was just the employee who had been given the duty of relaying instructions.

"On the basis that there haven't been any expulsions among the first-years, the school..."

Chabashira paused for a moment.

Then, she squeezed out the words that had been stuck in her throat.

"...has decided that, given the extenuating circumstances, you will be undergoing a supplementary improvised special exam starting today."

She wrote down today's date, Tuesday March 2nd, along with the words "Supplementary Special Exam" on the blackboard.

"Ah, so it wasn't the final exam, but some other special one," Yagami acknowledged.

"So an exam that was made because there weren't enough expelled students, huh? I wonder what it could possibly be," Hosen laughed.

Many students back then could understand it easily, but it is still a broad topic. Is it just so difficult that expulsions would happen? Is it something physical? Mental? These are all possibilities that could involve some special supplemental exam.

"It sounds easy in theory, but there are too many ways it could go. Trying to guess won't do anything," Tsubaki stated.

"Eeeh!? What the heck!? Another special exam!? That's so unfair! The school's acting like a stubborn little brat just because none of us dropped out!?"

Chabashira simply glossed over Ike's complaints. Students didn't have the right to refuse.

No, maybe she was the one who didn't have that right. Chabashira was looking less composed than usual today. She didn't seem to be trying to frighten us, so it was highly likely that this really was something that the school decided on in a hurry.

"It seems a little different from what we've done so far..."

Horikita muttered softly, having realized that there was no point fighting against it at the moment.

"Only the students who manage to pass this supplementary special exam will be eligible to take the special exam on March 8th."

"Well, no shit," Hosen stated bluntly.

"It probably sucks to have a random exam sprung on you like that," Asahina voiced her pity.

Having given a small explanation, Chabashira paused for a moment.

"I never agreed to this! I can't believe we have to be the ones to take another exam!"

"Your dissatisfaction is completely justified. After all, the school has gone and implemented a special exam without any prior notice. Although it's only one more exam than in past years, it will still inevitably be a burden on the students. It's a truth that I, as well as the other teachers, have been taking seriously."

A truth other teachers have been taking seriously? In other words, even though the teachers had been taking it seriously, the school itself had not. The way she had phrased it made it possible to arrive at this sort of conclusion.

Piling up extra special exams would certainly be tough on the students at this point.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Horikita asked.

"The school doesn't care about the repercussions that much is one way to think about it. Another way to think about it is that the school doesn't see this as unfair," I explained.

I can't back up now on the current attitude I've been displaying since the last video. To be an active participant is what I need to do. If it can raise my plan's chances for success by even 1 percent, I can say it was worth it.

For instance, if it's a written exam that tests academic ability, students would have to re-apply themselves to their studies. Even in the case of a physical exam, they would need to work out potential countermeasures.

There would be a lot of pressure on the students, no matter what kind of exam it was.

That said, even if several students were to express their dissatisfaction, the special exam wouldn't just disappear.

Chabashira resumed her explanation.

"The content of the special exam is extremely simple, and the dropout rate is fairly low at less than three percent per class."

"What interesting wording," Ryuuen chuckled.

"Hmm, it's odd to tell how many people drop out for this exam," Tsubaki pondered.

I'm not surprised she saw it, it was quite obvious, after all. Anyone who had been paying even half their attention could pick it up.

"A surprise exam made to fix the problem of not enough expulsions. I'm surprised you're still thinking about what it could be about. The topic is that someone will be expelled, but you think of it as a general exam," Hosen ridiculed.

"The possibility of it being an exam that's written or physical is entirely realistic. It says someone has to be expelled, the format is up for guessing," I shrugged.

A dropout rate of less than three percent.

From what I could infer, it certainly seemed low.

But perhaps, this supplementary special exam was different from the exams we've had up till now. There was no reason for her to expressly bring up the dropout rate.

She had never brought up that piece of information in the exams we had taken before. The students who noticed this harbored even further suspicions.

When I briefly directed my gaze toward the girl in the seat next to me, our eyes met by chance as she had already been looking at me.

"What's the matter Ayanokōji-kun?"

"No. Nothing."

"If you keep looking at me without saying anything, it'll just make me feel a bit creeped out, you know?"

"He's a creepy guy, to be fair," Ryuuen stated nonchalantly.

"Maybe he was just checking if you suspected this too," Matsushita theorised.

"Also, you were staring at him without saying anything. He might get creeped out, you know?" Kushida told her.

"I doubt he has the ability to get creeped out by me staring at him," Horikita replied without hesitation.

She sure seems to hold that opinion strongly.

"...Yeah."

I turned away, deciding to look out the window for a bit.

In such a confined classroom, I could hear everything that was being said, no matter where I was actually looking.

"I wonder what kind of exam it will be? What will it ask of us?"

"You seem to be feeling anxious about that point in particular, but it's nothing you need to be worried about. This supplementary special exam will have nothing to do with things like academic or physical ability. When the time comes, you'll just be expected to do something so simple that anyone should be able to do it, like writing your own name down on the test paper. If there's ultimately only a three percent chance of dropping out of school, that's definitely low, wouldn't you agree?"

"If it's unrelated to difficulty, then the possibility of it being so difficult that some people won't pass it is thrown out the window. Three people aren't in the second years classes right now, so we know the result either way," Amasawa grinned.

Everyone had the ability to confirm the result with something in their pocket.

Like robots, many students opened their phones and looked through the class lists. It was like clockwork, their blank faces turning into realisation.

"Yahiko from class A, Manabe from class C and Yamauchi from class D. What a variety," Hosen chuckled as he said the names out loud.

The victims, if you can call them that, were revealed to the world. Now how their fates would end is what's next.

Throughout all of this, she had been trying to avoid touching on the true nature of the problem: the content of the exam.

"...If difficulty is unrelated, then that three percent is pretty scary for us."

"Certainly, it's as you say, Hirata. It's not like I can't understand how you're feeling. However, whether or not you'll be able to lower that percentage will be based on the preparations you make before the official exam comes to pass. As you've probably already imagined, the results of the exam will change depending on your actions."

"You can understand what they feel? Well, I guess you were a student, but I doubt it was the same," Nagumo raised a valid point.

The circumstances were clearly different, everyone could see that. The threat of expulsion is always there, but a surprise exam to expel someone? Not at all.

"Sae-chan, I think he's incorrect, don't you think?" Hoshinomiya stated with a devious grin.

Now this was interesting.

"Is that necessary to talk about?" Chabashira asked.

"Oh, you can't just lead people on like that. It's quite rude, you know?" Sakayanagi asked with a curious expression.

She had no obligation to abide, there wasn't any real pressure, so it would make sense if she didn't spill any information. Although I doubt she could do it even if she wanted to.

"Due to the rules, we aren't allowed to discuss past exams, correct? My lips are sealed," Chabashira retorted without hesitation.

Under the wall that is the school rules, there was nothing to be said. It's a shame, I would quite enjoy learning about this similarity.

"Where was this dropout rate derived from? Based on what you've told us, it sounds like we're just drawing lots. Is that the case?"

The chance of someone in this class dropping out of school wasn't laughable.

Although Chabashira had understated the dropout rate, the burden it placed on the students was greater than anticipated.

Hirata, having been the first person to understand it, challenged that point even further.

"Please tell us. What kind of special exam will we be taking?"

"The name of the special exam is The Class Poll."

"The Class... Poll...?"

Chabashira wrote out the name of the special exam on the blackboard.

The students began to focus now. It was as if they were experiencing themselves going through an exam, but I suppose that's what it's been like for the entire time.

"I'll now explain the rules for this special exam. For the next four days, you'll be evaluated by your fellow classmates. Then on Saturday, you'll select the names of three students you find worthy of praise, and the names of three students you find worthy of criticism and cast your votes for them. That's it."

Does that mean that we would all be evaluating one another? Thinking about it objectively, students like Hirata and Kushida would accumulate a lot of praise, putting them at the top of the charts. In contrast, it seems like students who are thought of as troublemakers or are holding the class back would accumulate a lot of criticism and plummet to the bottom.

We were shown a glimpse of the urgency the school was facing based on the fact that they were using a Saturday to hold a portion of the exam.

"Networking and social reputation. Essentially, it's a popularity contest," Housen sighed.

"Why the disappointment?" Amasawa asked.

"Not really disappointment, I just think it's too simple. That's not to say it can't be interesting to watch, but the core of the exam boils down to 'who likes who the most and the least'," Yagami explained.

It's clear that the exam is simple, but simplicity has its bonuses.

"I suppose. Although I find it interesting, don't you like expulsions? It's always so exciting," Amasawa stated with a smirk.

It was cruel to word it like that, though he doesn't need to be told this.

It's all or nothing, life and death. He knows this.

However, based on everything Chabashira had said so far, the students in the upper and lower ranks...

"T-that's it? That's all the exam is?"

"Correct. That's it. Didn't I tell you it was simple?"

"With that being the case, how does the school determine the outcome of the exam?"

"I'll explain that now."

Tightening her grip on the chalk, Chabashira proceeded to write on the blackboard once more.

"The essence of this special exam is the number of praise and censure votes you accumulate on Saturday. The top student... that is, the student who accumulates the most praise votes, will be given a special reward. This special reward will not be private points. Instead, you will receive one point from a new system altogether, Protection Points."

In our second year, I'm sure we'll see more of these kinds of points. What abilities they will provide I have no clue, but when one thing breaks the mould, it opens a million more doors.

"So this is when they were introduced," Hosen commented.

It was a type of point we hadn't heard anything about until now.

Of course, it captured everyone's attention.

"Protection points grant you the right to override an expulsion. Even if you were to fail a test, as long as you have a protection point, you can use it to cancel out the questions you had gotten wrong. However, these points cannot be transferred between students."

It was no exaggeration to say that the moment she said this, a wave of newfound surprise spread throughout the classroom.

"You should all be able to understand how amazing these points are. They're effectively equivalent in value to twenty-million private points. Of course, in the eyes of an excellent student with no reason to fear expulsion, they may not hold as much value."

"Kinda seems like a copout, don't you think?" Ryuuen criticised.

"Well, excellent people are rewarded. Didn't you get one?" Sakayanagi asked, knowing the answer.

"Who needs it? I'm still here, aren't I?" Ryuuen replied.

"I wonder if that's because of your skill or your opponent. A grandmaster defeating a 400-rated isn't something that really makes the grandmaster seem special," Sakayanagi giggled.

"The point is that it's boring if you have a safety net. Where's the fun if you don't risk something? And here you are complaining about a boring school life, how pathetic," Ryuuen slowly shook his head in disapproval.

That would probably never be the case. There was no such thing as a student who wouldn't welcome the right to invalidate an expulsion.

The reward was far too extravagant. No, it was beyond extravagant.

These protection points had the potential to be an outrageously dangerous weapon depending on how they were used.

And it was precisely because of this extravagance that the penalty given to the lowest ranked students would be even greater.

"Does this mean that something bad happens to the three lowest ranked students...?"

Hirata asked, uneasy about the answer.

"No. This time, the penalty only applies to the student who receives the most censure votes in each class. Other students will not be penalized, no matter how many censure votes they receive. After all, the theme of this special exam is selecting who will take the top spot, and then deciding who will take the bottom."

The students know the general meaning behind what she's saying.

"What kind of penalty is it?"

"The special exam this time is different from the ones you've had so far, with one point in particular being very different. Namely, that this special exam is being conducted to rectify the problem of there not being any dropouts."

Indeed. The detail the students should really be worried about was the reason why the supplementary special exam was being carried out in the first place.

If this exam was being held because there had yet to be any dropouts...

"This special exam is exactly as easy as I told you it was. Even if you lack academic ability or physical strength, you won't be at a disadvantage. But even so, why would the school go out of its way to provide the special reward of protection points? That would be because it's probably impossible for all of you to advance to the second year without leaving one of your classmates behind."

"I would hate for another one of those," Kushida grumbled.

Considering who the likely target is, it's obvious why she would think that.

"See, this is why I think you're dumb. Expelling someone is the most fun you can have in this place, don't you agree?" Hosen turned to Yagami.

"Don't you think that you'd be on the chopping block?" Yagami asked.

"I have ways to get around that," Hosen replied confidently.

"The exam is boring, though. Any logical class would take out the student with the lowest contributions, with no thought required," Yagami shrugged.

"You forget that the OAA system wasn't a thing back then. It adds an air of uncertainty to the choice," Nagumo pointed out.

However, this doesn't mean much.

"So you're telling me that there was a possibility that Yamauchi being expelled was a shame? There's an air of uncertainty, perhaps he was secretly some form of genius, is that what you're getting at?" Yagami replied.

"Choices only get more clear in hindsight," Nagumo replied indifferently.

Chabashira turned around and looked at each of us, one by one.

"So, the student at the lowest rank... will be expelled from the school."

If there was a vote, there would be results.

And if there were results, there would have to be a first and last place student.

And then, the person in last place would be expelled.

This outcome would be inevitable.

It would be the same, no matter how superior or inferior the class was.

The only difference would be who would face the penalty.

That was the kind of exam we were dealing with.

"And yet, it seems like there's a full 40 for one of you. Did you have some special transfer like Ryuuen-senpai?" Amasawa asked.

"You'll see, right? There's no need to tell you what's going to happen," Ichinose replied.

The threat of Nagumo.

The saving of Ryuuen.

These were two interlinked subjects that are tricky to navigate and explain. Besides, it was a time of weakness for Ichinose, one where she almost fell into Nagumo's grasp.

The school had set up this supplementary exam simply because they were upset that nobody had dropped out yet. After all, if the supplementary exam took place and no students dropped out, it would've been meaningless for them to implement all of this in the first place.

Still, the face of Sakayanagi's father, the chairman of the school, crossed my mind. While he may not have shown me his true nature during my encounter with him, he still didn't seem to be the type of person who would enforce such an unreasonable exam.

And this odd observation was seen to not be incorrect by the end.

"Maybe he just doesn't like you guys. Can't blame him, to be fair," Hosen joked.

"I-I don't understand what you mean, sensei. T-the person in last place... are you seriously saying that they'll be expelled?"

"That's right. They'll have to face the guillotine. But rest assured, the class itself won't be penalized if someone drops out this time. That's just the type of exam this is."

This was clearly different from previous special exams.

Although the possibility of being expelled on an individual basis was higher, there was also a possibility of everyone being able to elude expulsion altogether. But this time, there was a system in place where a sacrifice was inevitable.

This was the special case that the school had prepared for us.

"So now there's even more reason to expel a waste of space," Yagami stated bluntly.

It was a far cry from his old, calmer demeanour.

"Well, they did end up doing that. How they got there is the question," Tsubaki added.

"Difficult to remove a classmate, but you'd get used to it eventually," Hashimoto shrugged.

For all classes besides Ichinose's, there were some students that were universally disliked. Ichinose's system of deep unity doesn't allow that, however.

If such an exam comes up again... No, I know what answer she'll make.

It was precisely because of their urge to force expulsions that they needed to offer something like protection points in return.

Even so, the students would still be burdened with a disproportionate amount of risk.

"It seems unreasonable, doesn't it? Well, that's what I think as a teacher. But, nothing can be done about it now that the school has made its decision. You have no choice but to abide by the rules and take the special exam."

"Is that really alright...?"

Dark clouds hung over the class despite the fact that everyone had just overcome the end-of-year exam.

By this weekend, one student from this class was going to disappear.

"I wonder what the dropouts are doing now. Guess you can't figure out when there's no connection to the outside, it's annoying sometimes," Sudo sighed.

"Well, if Yamauchi could talk with you, I doubt it'd be worthwhile anyway," Horikita stated bluntly.

Straight to the point as always, huh?

"As there's only a short amount of time left until the day of the vote, I will continue the explanation of the rules. The total number of praise and censure votes for each student will be made publically available at the end of the exam. In other words, the results for the whole class will be announced. However, information regarding who voted for whom will remain undisclosed, as the vote will be taken anonymously."

With an exam like this, they would definitely have to do it anonymously.

Votes of praise aside, there would be problems over the censure votes for quite some time if the finer details of the vote were revealed.

"Moving on, one praise vote and one censure vote will invalidate each other. Let's say, for example, that you received censure votes from ten people, and praise votes from thirty. This would be equivalent to a total of twenty praise votes. Additionally, neither vote may be cast for yourself, and it's also forbidden to vote for the same person multiple times."

The students took in this information. Whether they were reminiscing on this time, they were hearing it for the first time, there was a sense of newfound excitement during these videos.

It's almost like watching a psychological thriller to them, though only the schemes that don't really involve hurting anyone to do so. The schemes where students were hurt, broken or damaged in some way they weren't as excited to see. They're human, after all.

"What about abstention...? Would we be allowed to abstain from using our censure votes if we wanted to?"

"Of course not. You'll have to cast all of your votes, regardless of which type of vote it is. Even if you're home sick on the day of the exam, you'll still have to cast your vote."

In other words, it was impossible for any of us to leave our ballot blank or abstain from the vote altogether.

Several students were visibly troubled over this.

This was a very threatening exam for students who felt like they'd amass censure votes.

Students who completely rely on others to overcome these exams would also feel a considerable amount of pressure.

"No way to get around it, huh? Well, apart from the 20 million expense," Nagumo stated.

The method that Ichinose ended up using.

A one-time fee to save the life of someone, but one that also bankrupts essentially the class.

"...No, it's too soon to give in to despair."

Hirata spoke words of comfort, trying to calm Ike and the others down.

"Sensei said earlier that it was only probably impossible for everyone to avoid expulsion. That means there should be a loophole somewhere."

When she explained the rules to us during past exams, the hidden meanings behind her explanations always managed to lead us to a way out.

But what about this time?

This 'probably impossible' meant that there were methods available we hadn't considered yet.

"Although it's not easy, a way to prevent any of us from dropping out of school definitely exists."

Knowing the aftermath, the students understood the reality that these theories are all, essentially, wrong.

"The dramatic irony is palpable," Sakayanagi giggled.

"The desperation is clear. It's unfortunate it didn't work for you," Kanzaki told Yosuke sincerely.

"Guess we just have to move on, right? Can't keep focusing on it," Yosuke sighed.

I'm sure if he was given the choice, he would try to save Yamauchi if it was possible, but if it wasn't, he would accept it and move on. This is the key difference between both the versions that make up the essence of Hirata Yosuke.

"W-what do you mean, Horikita?"

"If the entire class unites and selects three people for the praise votes and three people for the censure votes, all six of them would end up with a total of zero votes. That way, nobody would end up in last place. Isn't that right?"

"T-that's it! As expected of Suzune!"

It was certainly possible if all of our classmates followed directions. However, if even a single person turned traitor, the students who had been betrayed would be pushed down the path of expulsion.

After all, protection points would incentivize students to reach for first place.

"I wonder who would do that," Ryuuen stated as he glanced over at Koenji.

It wasn't just him, no, it was the entire room. He had gained the notoriety of being a selfish person, gaining a protection point through deceptive methods is something par for the course.

"Contrary to popular belief, I do have a set of principles I adhere to routinely unlike you barbaric people," Koenji smirked.

"Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night," Hosen chuckled.

Although many students laughed at his words, he isn't fully lying. When it comes to a person who's defenceless, he'll stand up for them.

Or maybe that was just because the person is a woman, although that doesn't change the reality that he has some principles.

"Man, people would kill for that. At least you get the title of getting through the school without expulsion, even if you don't graduate to class A. That's gotta mean something, right?" Ike theorised.

"They said people who didn't get to class A are guaranteed nothing. I assume it's essentially just like graduating from a regular, run of the mill school if that happens," Ichinose proposed.

'Guaranteed no benefits' doesn't necessarily mean you gain negatives, you simply don't turn a zero into a one.

"Although that is just another theory, after all. Who knows if the students not from class A are seen as having not graduated at all?" Sakayanagi pointed out.

"Well, isn't everything about the future after this school just a theory? Maybe the current rules will even change in the future. Curriculums and study designs change, how graduates are seen could be the same," Ichinose countered.

The confident aura around Ichinose couldn't be denied. It was clear to people that something had changed. Though there are very few people who know what will happen after this particular tape.

While people like Kushida, who hates Horikita, could be problematic, their influence could be accounted for by making some adjustments ahead of time. If Kushida was put in a position where she was expected to cast a censure vote for Horikita, a crisis could be avoided to some extent. That way, it would be possible to determine who had turned traitor after the results of the vote are announced.

In short, because the traitor would be exposed, they wouldn't be able to carelessly betray the class.

"What Horikita brought up just now about controlling the votes is meaningless."

"Why sensei?"

"If nobody is selected for both the first and last place positions, the special exam will be considered a failure. Regardless of your intentions, should the results of the vote be a net total of zero for every student in the class, another vote will be held. Put simply, the exam will repeat endlessly until you decide on someone to expel."

Theoretically speaking, if students were going to be in a battle of stubbornness against the school and repeat the exam for as long as possible, I would predict that they'd give up in a matter of two weeks.

The first week is the peak of their adrenaline, their excitement to fight against the school, and perhaps even a little bit of hope. Although halfway through the second week, doubts would begin to creep in.

'How long is this going to take?'

'What if the school gives us punishments?'

'Are the other classes ahead of us?'

Such doubts are natural, and by the end of the second week, either a class shift would happen or an individual will snap. They may believe that someone else will do it first if they don't, so they have to turn traitor.

Then again, this is a scenario with very specific elements that don't pertain to reality all that much, although I imagine the general sequence of events isn't that far off.

With this, the escape path the class was frantically searching for was closed off.

"Isn't that rule strange? If we voted honestly and just so happened to end up with a total of zero votes on each side, the results would still be the same, even if we held another vote. If we forcibly distorted the results after that, it wouldn't feel like the students were chosen by a legitimate evaluation."

"Horikita, your reasoning is correct. Should it just so happen to end up with a net total of zero votes for everyone, a revote does indeed seem contradictory. But, think about it realistically. Coincidentally ending up with a net total of zero votes for everyone in an exam where you explicitly choose people for both first and last place is almost impossible, right?"

Chabashira's response was also very reasonable.

A net total of zero votes for everyone wouldn't happen unless the vote had been intentionally set up that way.

"And even if it does, I don't think the school would care. They sprung an exam just to expel someone, so a vote being a little skewed? It wouldn't matter," Hashimoto pointed out.

Nobody wants an expulsion from their class, at least, nobody who is thinking logically does. Losing a class member is a loss of lots of material, experience and manpower, but nevertheless, pure disdain is enough for all of these to be seen as 'acceptable' or a 'necessary sacrifice'.

"An expulsion is a hassle to deal with, I'd like to never go through another exam like that again," Kanzaki sighed.

Even Kanzaki, who wished for change, doesn't want to see a member of his class disappear. Maybe he would if he was still in his more reactive state, but now as he's calmed down, such a thing doesn't cross his mind.

"...Then, what happens when there's a tie for first or last place?"

In comparison, there was a fair chance of a tie actually happening.

"In either case, there will be a deciding vote. However, even then, the vote might be tied a second time. If this happens, the situation will be evaluated by a special method prepared by the school. I'm unable to elaborate on this method any further at the present time."

Does that mean she'd only tell us if it actually happens?

Though, the chances of getting to that point were quite low.

"There's no need to worry about it. The probability of there being a deciding vote is effectively zero."

Chabashira added, appearing to share my thoughts on the matter.

"You guys ask so many questions, I was practically asleep when this was going on," Ryuuen complained.

Ryuuen does give the impression of a person who'd sleep in the classroom when things bored him.

"You underestimate the value of such an exam," Sakayanagi told him.

"Oh no, I understand it perfectly well. I just didn't care at the time, you know perfectly why, correct?" Ryuuen replied without trouble.

"Of course, I'm a little dissapointed your expectations weren't met," Sakayanagi giggled.

"Why? It should be more than possible enough."

"That would be because you'll also be receiving praise votes from the students in the other classes."

"From the other classes?"

"You will all be expected to choose one student you find worthy of praise in another class and cast another separate dedicated praise vote for them. Naturally, this will count as a single, normal praise vote. In other words, in the event that a student is heavily disliked within their own class, but substantially popular with students from the other classes, it would be theoretically possible for that student to end with a total of around eighty praise votes, even after the censure votes are accounted for."

It was unusual for more than 100 praise votes to be floating around.

Given this new information, it was certainly true that the possibility of a deciding vote taking place was now considerably lower.

"I wish the popularity contests in junior high was as exciting as this," Hosen chuckled.

It seems his demeanour on the exam has changed.

"Why the sudden change in attitude?" I asked.

Normally, I wouldn't do this. I prefer to stay and observe as things go around me, but for the sake of the future, I can't keep going on that path for a while.

It's tiring, I just want to keep my thoughts to myself and only speak when spoken to, but that would be too easy.

"The addition of the praise votes from other classes. Before, it was just a popularity contest within your own class, but it is a multi-class exam. And do you know what that offers? It's obvious, bargaining chips. The possibilities are endless," Hosen stated proudly.

He looked at me like he was excited by the nature of the deception of negotiating, I wonder what created such a person.

With this, it seemed that we had found every piece of the puzzle.

Supplementary Exam ・ The Class Poll

Exam Contents:

The exam consists of a class vote, where each student in each class is allotted three praise votes and three censure votes.

Rule 1:

Praise and censure votes invalidate each other. Praise Votes - Censure Votes = Results.

Rule 2:

You can't cast praise or censure votes for yourself.

Rule 3:

Voting multiple times for the same person, leaving part of the ballot blank, abstaining from the vote altogether, and other acts of this nature are prohibited.

Rule 4:

The exam will be repeated until the first and last place students have been determined. The last place student will be expelled.

Rule 5:

You are required to cast a separate dedicated praise vote on a student in another class.

These were the details of the supplementary exam.

"The external votes are also compulsory to use. That's the thing that sets it apart," Yagami added.

It seems he's also liking this exam more now.

An exam like this is rare, I'm sure there have been ones with some similar elements, perhaps something to do with voting, but I doubt this exact exam has ever been used before.

There was no doubt that this test was extremely straightforward and simple.

But at the same time, it was clear that this exam was the cruelest we've had to face so far.

This weekend, someone in each class was doing to disappear.

However-

"Sensei. Why did you say it was probably impossible? No matter how I look at it, I can't find any loopholes."

"That's right. There aren't any loopholes. However, it's also true that there's room for uncertainty. You've all probably been thinking this already, but everything changes when you use private points."

"You're saying we can use our private points to avoid expulsion?"

"20 million. If you're able to prepare that many points, the school would have no other choice but to revoke your expulsion."

It's the saving grace for some.

"Even if we managed them perfectly, we wouldn't have enough most likely," Yosuke sighed.

"Although you don't need to pass the threshold. There are ways to fill the deficit," Horikita glanced at the upperclassmen.

Of course, a deal with Nagumo was the most effective thing to do, but that's something with its own issues.

"I don't give handouts, you know?" Nagumo responded to her glance with a smirk.

Horikita didn't respond and merely paid Nagumo's words no mind.

This was the reason why she had said it was 'probably impossible'.

The fact that there were no restrictions on the transfer of private points meant that negotiations that made use of them would be tolerated. If you can obtain praise votes with money, then obtain them. That's what the school was telling us.

They've judged this to be a form of strength as well.

With the help of the sheer power of your capabilities that you've shown everyone over the past year.

Or with the financial power of the private points you've managed to save up throughout the previous exams.

Or maybe even the power of teamwork you've accumulated through friendship.

We were free to tackle this exam however we wanted to.

"The power of money," Hosen stated out of the blue.

"Impractical for many, though. Besides, can the future value of one student even be worth that much? Well, I guess it depends on the student," Sakayanagi stated as she glanced over at me.

While the choice of expelling and not expelling with no other changes meant that no expulsion was the best option, things change when there is a transaction. Perhaps expelling a student if it meant keeping 20 million was the correct choice.

I'm sure this is a choice Ichinose was dealing with, but with her more confident outward appearance, she must have come to a decision.

"Yeah, that Yahiko guy was worth 20 million. Should've kept him, couldn't you see his latent potential?" Ryuuen joked.

"How could you say that when Manabe was such a kind and compassionate member of your class? How cruel you can be," Sakayanagi giggled.

"P-please wait. Twenty million points is a little..."

"It's an impractical amount for you guys, even if you gathered all the private points in Class C. Though, if you collected points from the other classes or received charity from the upperclassmen, it's not impossible."

It would certainly be theoretically possible if we went beyond our own class and school year.

However, if one were to ask whether we would actually gather that many points in order to protect one student, it would be difficult to say.

Even for Class A and Class B, there was a high possibility that they wouldn't be able to gather so many private points either. No, even if they did, it was questionable whether or not they would use them to protect a single student. It would be very risky for them to throw away all of the assets they had built up so far.

As shown, one did and one didn't. Whether that choice will yield the same results is yet to be seen.

"This is the only way you'll be able to work around the rules set by the school. I'll say this ahead of time, other attempts to find a way around the rules of this exam are absolutely impossible. The rest is up for you to judge and decide upon."

Chabashira finished her explanation as homeroom came to an end.

As soon as she left the classroom, the class descended into turmoil.

"What do we do!? What do we do!? This is a seriously terrible exam, isn't it!?"

"You boys are so noisy!"

"What do you mean noisy!? You're probably going to cast your censure votes for us, aren't you!?"

The boys and girls were tossing slander back and forth, as if on guard against one another.

"Man, your class is like some screwed up soap opera," Ryuuen laughed.

"Indeed. Scientists could spend years and not understand how to make you all function properly," Sakayanagi added.

It seems that when it comes to insulting our class, both of them are on the same plane.

"Only hating our class can make you agree on things, huh?" Horikita shared my line of thinking.

"You've got to change targets once in a while, you know? I make fun of her class so much that it's gotten stale," Ryuuen replied.

Like a comedian that's gone through too much of the same material, I see.

"How unsightly."

One student laughed scornfully, watching over the conflict between the boys and girls.

The particularly unusual existence of the class, Kōenji Rokusuke.

"There's no use panicking, is there?"

"Do you really think you are in any position to be calm right now? Do you even understand how much trouble you've caused the class so far?"

Sudō spoke up, questioning Kōenji as he approached.

So far, Kōenji had certainly been causing issues within the class thanks to his whimsical attitude.

"And now, you're essentially safe if another exam where expelling someone were to come about," Matsushita commented.

The route Koenji has gone on is indeed a smart one. By proving his worth, and making sure that he doesn't have to participate in any future exams, he's immune. I had the chance to go on this route, but I opted against it for a multitude of reasons.

"It's the spoils of victory. If you wish for it, simply do the same," Koenji replied with a cocky grin.

"Did he just tell her to get good? It sounds way cooler than when I said it online, though," Ike thought.

"You selfishly abstained from both the uninhabited island exam and the athletics festival!"

Their conversation began to draw eyes from around the class.

At this point, the weak minded students were looking for the person who would become the sacrifice, all so they could avoid being expelled from school.

"It is you who doesn't understand, Red Hair-kun."

Kōenji crossed his legs and stretched them out over his desk.

"It seems that you're under the impression that everything you've cultivated over the past year is the key to conquering this special exam."

"That's exactly how it is!"

"Wrong. This special exam has its sights undoubtedly set upon the next two years."

"Hmm, that's an interesting way to look at it. Although it does involve everything in the previous year, nevertheless. Your abilities, results, attitude, improvement, all of those things that you've cultivated is essential," Manabu analysed.

"Although you can't deny that the exam has its sights set out upon the next two years, correct? Besides, I don't believe it's the key either way," Koenji stood by his previous opinion.

Although, what was I expecting? Koenji to humbly apologise and say that his previous viewpoint was wrong? Not going to happen.

Kōenji flatly rejected Sudō's opinion, or rather, the opinion of the entire class.

"Huh? What are you saying...?"

Completely lost, Sudō probably thought of this as Kōenji's usual nonsensical behavior.

"Would you listen? This exam is literally a special case. Isn't it customary for a class to receive a large penalty when somebody gets expelled? This time, however, that's not the case at all. In other words, this is an extremely suitable opportunity for us to rid ourselves of an unnecessary student."

"So, I'm saying that you're the unnecessary student; a total burden to the class!"

"Oh no, not at all."

"The best way to look at it, if you were to view it from a purely logical perspective," Nagumo stated.

"Every class has its fair share of dead weights. The bottom of each class are all equal in terms of ability," Hashimoto theorised.

There are those that will disagree and say that the members in higher classes are just better in everything, but the school hasn't laid it out like that.

"Every company has useless members, after all. The exam was a representation of the employee termination process, but with some key differences," Sakayanagi nodded.

I doubt companies have the option to vote for who will be fired.

"Yeah, a 20 million point thing isn't realistic," Ike pointed out.

"No, I think that's something that's a little more similar to real life. Private points are an asset, so keeping an employee, even when they're not supposed to stay, is spending your assets on them. It's different, but it's not too far off," Horikita responded logically.

"Wha? ...How can you say that!?"

"If you want to know, it's because I am amazing."

Kōenji spoke with overwhelming boldness, as if declaring that this was the final say on the matter.

"I wish I had that level of confidence sometimes," Ike sighed.

Sudō faltered in the face of his complete lack of hesitation.

"When it comes to the written exams, I'm always at the top of the class, no, of the entire school year. In fact, I placed second only by a slim margin on the end-of-year exam. Of course, had I put in any serious amount of effort, I would've easily taken first. Furthermore, in terms of physical ability, I even surpass you as well. You yourself should know this fact very well, don't you?"

Kōenji flaunted the height of his potential.

"S-so what! That's all meaningless if you don't take things seriously!"

"Sure. That's why from now on, I'll turn over a new leaf. With this exam as the turning point, I'll become a useful student who contributes to all sorts of exams moving forward. This would be a great advantage for the class, no?"

In response, many students began to chuckle and laugh.

"Sorry, sorry, I just can't imagine that ever happening," Hosen laughed.

"Maybe he believed that the mere possibility of him going all out was enough for the class to change their minds," Kanzaki theorised.

A reasonable theory.

"Wh-who would ever believe something like that!? I'm way more useful than you are!"

Sudō's clamoring was also reasonable.

Nobody in the classroom, including myself, had any reason to believe in Kōenji's words. In fact, I didn't think this man would take things seriously after this exam at all.

Rather, there was no real reason for him to actually change in the first place. It was clear that, as long as he manages to get through this exam, he would just go back to living a self-indulgent life.

"Well then, allow me to reverse the question. This talk of you being more useful than I, is that something that everyone here can believe?"

Kōenji ignored Sudō, and instead began to address his classmates.

Many students were confused, trying to decipher the meaning behind his words. No, it wasn't that they couldn't understand, but more so that they didn't understand what the point of it was.

"No, not just Red Hair-kun. When it comes to students who haven't helped at all yet, there's no guarantee that they'll suddenly become helpful in the future, is there? Anyone can list off empty promises, like I just have, but what really matters in the end is hidden strength. Without strength backing them up, empty promises lack persuasiveness altogether."

The idea that students without ability had to strive to turn over a new leaf.

The idea that students with ability should strive to turn over a new leaf.

Kōenji was saying that these two ideas were similar, but not the same.

The whole concept of amassing censure votes and ending up as the lowest rank in the class, Kōenji wasn't questioning anything like that at all. On the contrary, he seemed to be welcoming the supplementary exam itself.

"It's a nice way to reduce the noisiness. The fools tend to be the louder ones," Koenji stated offhandedly.

"Although that doesn't mean you're free of risk, does it? The people in your class aren't exactly the most logical, it was entirely possible they kick you out of pure disdain," Sakayanagi pointed out.

"Raising this point was the best decision to be made. By turning it into an ability contest rather than a popularity one, things look much better for me," Koenji stated confidently.

And that point of ability was one of the points Horikita brought up when she was persecuting Yamauchi.

However, this didn't mean that Kōenji wasn't facing any risk at all.

Depending on the actions that the class took moving forward, he was at risk of gathering a substantial number of censure votes.

For better or worse, he had said too much.

Although, if I had to be honest, I agreed with Kōenji's idea.

If we were to think about the class as a whole, it was necessary to make a clear decision.

An opportunity had come for us to carefully select an unnecessary student and get rid of them for the sake of the class as a whole, instead of simply choosing based on our personal preferences.

And if the person with low ability was disliked, it would be an easy choice, but unfortunately, our class's decision was more tricky to navigate.

In the case of the previous special exams, there were probably many cases where a student who had great strengths would've been expelled because of a couple of weaknesses. Put simply, this was the case with Sudō, who was arguing with Kōenji. In contrast to the physical abilities he had been blessed with, his academic abilities were in the running for the worst in the class. In fact, his academic abilities almost held him back so much that, at one point, he was on the verge of dropping out of school. However, with the help of Horikita, Sudō gradually began to make up for his shortcomings, and as a result, started to show his value as a member of the class.

Like Sudō, most people have both strengths and weaknesses.

"Most?" Horikita questioned.

"I don't like saying things are for certain. In reality, things are usually just 'most' or 'nearly all' instead of 100%. The opposite also holds true," I shrugged.

"Although I wonder, do you think that a person with purely strengths or purely weaknesses exists?" Horikita asked.

"The former is more achievable than the latter, I believe. To have purely weaknesses is a feat on its own, it's just harder to have no strengths at all. Strength doesn't even mean talent, it's just something you are a little better at than average," I stated my thoughts.

It's not to say that purely strengths are astronomically easier, the difference isn't large, but having no strengths is more difficult in my eyes by a small amount.

"I suppose that's one way to look at it," Horikita pondered.

On the other hand, there's no shortage of people who not only lack strengths, but are littered with weaknesses and stand out in a bad way because of them. Everyone has the potential to grow as a human being, but everyone blossoms at different times, and some are simply limited by their capacity for growth. That was exactly why we had to take advantage of this exam.

Unfortunately, it seems that Kōenji was the only person in the class who was aware of this.

"Stop nagging me Kōenji. I don't think we need someone like you, and that's not gonna change."

"No matter how incompetent your close friends are?"

"Incompetent... you're calling my buddies incompetent? You're full of shit!"

"Well, he's not wrong," Ryuuen chuckled.

Many people seemed to have similar thoughts, but Sudo didn't say anything in response.

Sudō slammed his fist down on Kōenji's desk and glared at him fiercely.

"Precisely. In any event, is that all? If this is your decision, do feel free to do as you please, but by then... as far as I can tell, this class will simply remain pathetic and inferior."

Kōenji calmly combed back his hair, without showing a hint of interest.

His repeated provocations had set Sudō aflame.

"You half-heartedly-"

"Both of you relax. We should talk this out calmly, right?"

Hirata forced his way in between the two of them.

How many times had Hirata gone in and mediated like this?

I remember that I once wished for Yosuke to legally change his name to 'hero'.

Maybe I was under some odd drugs.

"Sometimes I think you're the number one fan and not the girls," Hashimoto joked.

Hey... I do the appropriate amount of liking, the girls would stay up until 4 am writing love letters to him.

It was a scene that I had already gotten used to seeing, but Sudō was just getting more and more heated and showed no signs of cooling down.

"What do you mean relax, Hirata? Course you're gonna be fine. After all, there's no way you'd ever end up in last place."

"Hey-"

Ike's words poked Hirata in a sore spot.

It was true that Hirata had greatly contributed to the class over the past year. Generally speaking, it was no exaggeration to say that he was one of the safest students in this exam. In this exam where someone would inevitably be expelled, the words of a student who was effectively safe from danger wouldn't be able to resonate with others.

"Understandable. It's like a rich guy trying to appeal to poor people," Hosen agreed with my thoughts.

Some looked at Ike badly for saying that to Yosuke, but under the threat of danger, people tend to lash out.

"I'm not saying you're bad for it, I just..." Ike began in a rush.

Perhaps he felt a need to apologise for all the looks targeted at him.

"Ike, it's fine. You were in a stressful situation, after all," Yosuke told him calmly.

Ike slightly nodded and didn't continue. It was a far cry from these two's interactions at the beginning of the previous year.

"I... It's not clear what's going to happen to me."

Even though he denied it, his words still weren't able to get through to Sudō.

"You hear that, Kanji? Hirata just said he doesn't know what'll happen to him."

"No no, Hirata-sama is definitely safe."

Yamauchi and Ike exchanged bitter smiles that were filled with more astonishment than irritation.

This reaction was understandable.

Nobody here had ever considered Hirata to be a potential candidate for expulsion.

Even if he gathered a few censure votes, he was sure to get more than enough praise votes to cancel those out.

"Be nice and sociable and you get liked by a lot of people. Simple logic," Horikita mused.

There's also the component of naturally good looks that goes into it, but even if Hirata wasn't conventionally attractive, I still doubt he'd be a candidate for expulsion.

"!..."

Hirata attempted to say something several times, but the words wouldn't come out.

The special exam had still only just been announced.

Given the restless state of the classroom, they wouldn't be able to calmly accept anything Hirata had to say.

"Let's keep talking Kōenji."

"I have nothing more to say to you."

"There's more than enough to talk about."

Sudō pressed the matter further. At this point, the only one who'd be able to stop him would be...

"I wonder who could keep him on a leash, I honestly have no idea," Ryuuen stated in a deadpan tone.

'Leash', huh? What interesting wording...

"That's enough Sudō-kun."

Horikita spoke up, the final word for the discussion.

"Don't get so carried away just because your grades have improved a little bit."

"No, this time, it's not like that..."

"Zip it."

"...Got it."

She had complete control over Sudō with just a handful of words.

Horikita instructed Sudō to return to his seat and keep his distance from Kōenji.

Many looked at Ryuuen for some snide remark.

"It's too low-hanging, haven't I explained this before?" Ryuuen spat.

"Horikita-san, you've been a great help."

"It's no big deal compared to the trouble caused by this exam."

Saying that, Horikita also distanced herself from Kōenji and returned to her seat.

I spoke up as she approached.

"Thank you for your hard work."

"That took a lot of extra effort."

She let out a sigh and sat down.

"But... things have really become troublesome. Despite all the instability and collusion, the class had always been able to cooperate. And yet, they come along and force us to kick someone out... it's far too cruel."

The chairman had a rather solemn expression on his face. Granted, I'm sure he's seen every expulsion previously without any care in the world, but this time it's different. It's unnecessary, that's what sets it apart.

Horikita lamented, unable to do anything about the chaos that enveloped the room.

"Cruel, huh."

Of course, I understood that she was just looking to complain.

"You don't think so?"

"There was never any guarantee from the start, ever since we first enrolled."

"...Yeah. It was really just an afterthought. But even so, I still think that this exam is outrageous."

"Well, it seems like revenge for the fact that nobody's been expelled yet."

"Just because there wasn't any guarantee doesn't mean it can't be cruel, right?" Kanzaki asked.

"I simply believe it's subjective," I answered vaguely.

It's not unreasonable to be dissatisfied, but there are multiple parts of cruelty. Depending on which one you look at, the relative cruelty of the exam changes.

"You're not wrong, but I still find it cruel nonetheless," Kanzaki stated resolutely.

It would be reasonable to feel dissatisfied like Horikita.

However, I couldn't afford to be a mere bystander during this particular exam.

The whole class had to bear the risk of expulsion. No, as a student toward the bottom of the social hierarchy, I'm afraid that I would be in even more danger of accruing censure votes if I didn't get involved in this exam.

To avoid that, it would probably be best to lay out the groundwork ahead of time.

Many students perked up in response to these words.

"The last video was refreshing after a slog of boring setup. I'm interested in what you're gonna set out," Hosen smirked.

"I hope to not disappoint," I sighed.

"I honestly can't come to terms with this exam, but..."

Despite Horikita's grumbling, I could sense something like fierce determination in her expression.

Afterward, the restless atmosphere persisted throughout the classroom until the end of the morning classes.

The scene faded to black.

"Let's get on with it," Nagumo exhaled.

There's no fear on his face, I can't blame him, after all.

The chairman nodded and we were all dismissed.

"It's time," I mumbled to myself.

At the end of today, a large change would come to the school.

It won't only be Ichinose's class that would change, the very nature of the school itself would be immensely different.

The nature of deceiving one's enemy has one simple thing at its core. You have to act in a way contrary to human nature. As humans tend to judge, analyse and examine things against their own thoughts, once they make a mistaken judgement, they don't tend to notice their error.

Ichinose POV:

School was over for most, but not for the 3 of us.

All of us sat in that office, looking at the man who was Sakayanagi's father. His eyes were piercing, but there was also a fragment of warmth in them. Strict but fair, that's the impression I had of him.

"Let's get down to business, shall we? I'm sure you're all tired after sitting down for so long, so Ichinose, please tell me your choice," he looked at me directly.

Both Nagumo and Sakayanagi looked at me as well, as if they were looking into my soul.

Although I have no worries, I had made my choice recently.

"On the matter of punishment for both of them..."

Yes, even if I come to regret this in the future, I'm fine with this.

"I would like for punishment to be applied. Only for Nagumo-senpai, however," I told him confidently.

Both of them looked at me astonished. I didn't know whether it was my condition or the fact that I wanted punishment at all. Though, I couldn't care less. This man, the only one left with true power in this case, is who I wanted to listen to.

"I had already thought of this when the topic began, you see. Through the videos, I knew that the evidence was enough for a large punishment against both of them. Since you've only opted for once person to be punished, I seem to have wasted some time," He sighed and looked downward at his desk.

Nagumo was calm, uncaring about what punishment would be applied. He seems to be without ambition or passion, compared to when I first began to work under him.

"So for my punishment?" Nagumo asked.

The chairman looked at him. There were no discernable emotions left on his face, he was purely giving the facts from now on.

"Nagumo, for the breaching of abusing the power you have as student council president, you have been now stripped of the title."

No expulsion, no private point or class point reduction.

"That seems a little lackluster, in all honesty," Nagumo solemnly chuckled.

"Well then, what am I supposed to do? Take away all your class points? That method doesn't work since it's essentially ruining your entire class. Granted, I could simply reduce the points to a point where competition is viable again, but I don't see a point when the same thing is going to happen again. Reducing your private points also doesn't seem like a good option since you'll make them up eventually. And expulsion... Well, I take it you know why that wouldn't do anything," the chairman explained to him.

"Hmm, what if it was reducing class points to a state where competition was there and also reducing my private points?" Nagumo proposed.

"I believe that the same thing will happen to the competition, that's why I've opted against that. Removing you of this title is the most damaging thing for a student of your stature in my eyes," the chairman sighed.

I can imagine the difficulty in thinking a punishment for Nagumo, who was essentially immune to all attacks.

Seeing his point, Nagumo backed down and accepted it.

If even one of these reasons were applied to any other class, they would panic, but the fact that they don't have any effect on Nagumo's power and only serve as a way to punish him temporarily, attests to how incredible he is. I suppose this is the only real punishment that serves as a permanent problem.

"So I have to appoint someone new as president, correct? Are we doing it election wise, or do I simply choose?" Nagumo asked.

So this means that it's possible that I'm in the running for the next president, huh? Although I doubt he'd pick me now that this has happened.

"An election is a long and drawn-out process. It would inevitably interfere with the video schedule. There's another reason, as well, but that involves some things at the top. I'd rather not bore you with the details," the chairman chuckled with a slight smile.

"Very well. Hmm, after this batch of videos is done, I will decide then. No particular reason, in all honesty, I just don't want to do the switch in between batches. It's a pain to deal with and it doesn't feel very clean," Nagumo explained.

"That's acceptable, no later than that, however," the chairman told him.

Now it seems like we're done with all this.

"Dismissed."

We all walked out, and Nagumo left the school instantly. Sakayanagi, however, looked at me with an amused expression.

"Ichinose, it seems you are the type who can kill. Granted, this is one decision, and you haven't proved it completely to me, but this is a far cry from how you were before. Can I have the reasoning behind why I wasn't punished? I'd like to amend it if it was just out of pity," Sakayanagi asked as she looked up at me.

An expression that was full of confidence.

"It's because of the possibility that you wouldn't have been expelled. If you weren't going to be, a counter-attack from you is possible, and my class isn't in a state to deal with that. Is that adequate for you?" I answered her politely.

Sakayanagi giggled.

"Yes, that's a good enough reason. I'm going to take it that you had a large change happen to you recently. Maybe someone convinced you to change your ways, or perhaps you simply grew tired of being incompetent. In my eyes, both happened," Sakayanagi's lilac hair slightly swayed to the side as she said that.

She didn't say it explicitly, but we were both thinking about it.

"What impressive inference, I have nothing to correct you on," I chuckled.

For some reason, his words came to my mind.

"Hopefully you're more interesting from now on. I find myself being much more alike this version of you than the previous one. Human beings change moment by moment, what strange creatures, don't you think? I digress, I'll look forward to pummeling you into the dirt once again. I'll see you later then," Sakayanagi told me and began to leave.

"You say we're similar now, you're right. Human beings are cruel creatures and I won't hold back from now on, but there's one difference between us," I told her as she turned.

Looking back, Sakayanagi's lips curled into a mocking smirk.

"And that is?"

"People have the ability to change, but out of the two of us, I'm the only one who has shown they can adapt. Destroy my desires, eradicate my goals, but so what?" I told her.

I don't think I've ever felt this confident in front of Sakayanagi. To show that I am confident is necessary, if I don't, Sakayanagi may see it as another reason to take advantage of me. It's a gamble, however.

"How determined. But nevertheless, you'll find yourself at rock bottom once again, and this time, you won't be repaired by some simple advice," Sakayanagi's voice was laced with confidence.

"I'll make sure that doesn't happen."

"We'll see," Sakayanagi replied as she walked away, and this time, I didn't say anything and just watched her figure retreat.

A big change is coming soon. My class will be first, though I'll have to be delicate. If I do things incorrectly, a mindset that isn't beneficial may take hold.

Our class will clash with the others again, on equal ground, and I'll prove that this confidence isn't half-hearted on that stage.

A Sea of Irrationality

It didn't even take a day for it to travel across the school. There were some discrepancies between each time the message was heard, but nonetheless, there was one thing that was in common through all the rumours.

The removal of Nagumo Miyabi as president.

I know why this happened, I was the catalyst. I chose to take out 2 birds with one stone when I dealt with Ichinose that day, and I knew what the ripple effect would be.

"So, Ayanokouji, what need do you have for an appointment with me?" Nagumo asked.

In between videos, there is a day of regular schooling. Tomorrow we'd see the next video, but I can't push it off to that day, simply because there's too much of an opening.

"So how do I refer to you now? I can't really call you the president now, can I?" I asked him, dismissing his question.

With a sigh, he rested his cheek on his knuckles.

"I have been stripped of the title, and I'm still the president in name only. Think of me as a placeholder, but I don't think you came to talk to the student council president, correct?" Nagumo asked with a piercing gaze.

"How intuitive. Yes, you're correct, I came to talk to Nagumo Miyabi, not a member of the student council. When will you decide the next one?" I asked.

"After this batch of videos is done. The day between those two will be the one where I decide. Why, did you want to plead for Horikita to be the next president?" Nagumo asked indifferently.

"Not at all. There is something I wish for, however," I told him bluntly.

Nagumo didn't look fazed.

"What else did I expect? Though, you know I don't give handouts, correct? You're not an idiot, so what did you have in mind to give me?"

"Ichinose."

"You're not funny," Nagumo sighed.

It seems he didn't like my attempt at a dark joke.

Although I know what he wants, I know this will get me what I desire. The best method of deduction is psychological, and out of everyone in this school, there are none who can match me.

"Very well. When the time is right, I'll go against you in a special exam. I'll give you the challenge, or defeat, that you wish for," I told him.

His eyes widened as if he had seen a ghost. It was as if a miracle had happened in front of him, something so unlikely, it goes against his very state of being.

And then, he laughed.

"Ha! You sure say some interesting things. I really didn't expect such a thing, but I can't refuse you now. What's your condition?" Nagumo looked at me with excitement.

In Nagumo, a fire has always been burning. A raging fire that can spread to anyone nearby. When one works with him, one may feel an intense abundance of confidence. In this way, he is the kindling and the world is the wood, ready to be ignited. However, recently, this fire had grown weak and nearly withered away.

Though it hadn't disappeared.

"That's pleasant to hear. What I need you to do is pick the student council president according to my request," I responded his fiery eyes with my usual blank ones.

"And that person is?"

"Yagami Takuya."

Nagumo looked astonished.

"Not Ichinose or Horikita, but that first-year, huh? Can I at least hear the reasoning?" Nagumo asked.

Indeed, it was something that made no sense to him. However, it was necessary to give Yagami this precipice of power.

Once I give him that, the next stage will become all the more easy.

"I can't, unfortunately. You see, the fact that I'm even here is risky. Telling you my reasoning opens up unnecessary issues," I declined.

While we were in a secondary room, not that close to the student council that Yagami would not check, there are many things I'd like to avoid.

"I see. I'll enjoy this battle with you, but it seems you have other matters to deal with beforehand," Nagumo grinned.

It seems he understands.

"I'll see you tomorrow at the video viewing, then-"

"What if I go after Karuizawa? Will something similar to Ryuuen happen to me?" Nagumo asked out of the blue.

What happens if he goes after Kei, huh?

"Let's say you do go after her and break her once again, then I'd simply let it happen. Is that a satisfactory answer?"

This isn't fully truthful, but it isn't completely a lie either.

"You have some screws loose, but who am I to judge? I'll be seeing you, Ayanokouji," Nagumo chuckled.

I walked out of the room and returned to the dorm.

The second act is going to reach the climax soon, it's going to be difficult to navigate, however.

The rest of the day, I did nothing interesting and simply awaited tomorrow.

"Let's begin. Changes have been made it seems, but everyone is still here."

Many students in the third year looked rather tense, but Nagumo emanated pure serenity.

"Good morning Honami."

I heard someone call out to Ichinose from behind us.

"Good morning to you, Asahina-senpai."

"Well aren't you looking lively today? By the way, you two are in separate classes, right? You guys must be on pretty good terms then, yeah?"

"Err, yes. He's a good friend..."

Ichinose seemed a little embarrassed with her answer.

"What a dichotomy from how you were yesterday," Sakayanagi giggled.

It seems there's no need to ignore the elephant in the room.

Class B looked rather tense, after all, they may see it as they've made an enemy against Nagumo.

"I didn't think I was all that different. Perhaps a little more confident and articulate, but nothing besides that," Ichinose put her hand up, dismissing Sakayanagi's commend.

And Kanzaki, who was in the midst of planning things, would also be extremely attentive to such things. In his eyes, there have been many changes that he has to reevaluate and account for.

"Hmm, perhaps we have very different recollections of that day. I wonder if your declarations come to fruition, let's see, shall we?" Sakayanagi smirked.

It was an intentional remark meant to incite a response. Just like her to do that.

"Declarations? What does she mean, Ichinose?" Kanzaki asked.

"I'd rather not say it now. Sakayanagi can if she wishes, there's nothing stopping her, but the class will find out soon," Ichinose told him.

"Oh, I have no intention of doing such a thing. I'd rather not stunt this development I'm seeing, it ruins the dish at the end of it all," Sakayanagi remarked condescendingly.

Many of the students in Ichinose's class looked rather worried, but Ichinose displayed no such signs. Himeno, in particular, displayed some wariness toward Ichinose. It seems she's trying to be cautious toward this new Ichinose.

"Oh~? A good friend, huh?"

It would've caused fewer misunderstandings if she hadn't responded like that.

"Well, whatever. Anyway, I'd like to borrow Ayanokōji-kun for a bit, is that alright?"

Asahina had approached the two of us, hoping that Ichinose would take her leave so she could talk to me alone.

"I understand. Well then, Ayanokōji-kun, I'll be going on ahead."

With no particular signs of discontent, Ichinose bowed her head, following along with Asahina's request.

"Sorry Honami. See ya."

"Oh no! Please excuse me."

"You're so polite it's frustrating sometimes," Ryuuen criticised.

"It's something that's expected, so I see it as natural," Ichinose told him.

"You sure like the ethical high ground, huh? Hey, answer me this, why's the dwarf still here?" Ryuuen asked.

Sakayanagi's smirk was wiped away at the name-call.

"I have my reasons for that. Let's chalk it up to convenience," Ichinose replied with no hostility.

Ryuuen clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction.

"Can I hear why that guy wasn't spared then? Was it more convenient to ruin his standing?" Ryuuen continued to probe.

Perhaps it was his own curiosity, or maybe he wanted to understand more about Ichinose's decision.

"It was convenient, yes. Though, there were multiple reasons behind it, explaining them all is a hassle," Ichinose responded.

"He wouldn't go after me, I can guarantee it. The ambition within him is no longer there, he said it. He declared it to the world, so he has no reason to go after me, who punished him. The need for persecution is no longer there. It's a declaration to the year, in my mind. A change has happened, and this was the result," Ichinose thought.

"I wonder if you'll show this confidence for the next batch that covers the final exam," Ryuuen responded indifferently.

He's aware of the possibility that during the final exam videos, Ichinose could report him for his behaviour, but he doesn't seem worried at all.

Feigned confidence or simply the words of a man who's prepared, I have no idea.

I didn't sense anything abnormal about their short conversation.

Instead, it seemed like the two shared a proper senpai-kouhai relationship.

"She's a real good kid isn't she? Cute. Smart. Even among the second-years, nobody has anything bad to say about her."

"That's true. Ichinose seems quite popular with pretty much everyone among the first-years as well."

"Could it be that you've managed to gain her affection?"

It seemed that Ichinose's somewhat unnatural behavior hadn't gone unnoticed.

"No way."

Ichinose aside, I wanted to keep my time with Asahina as short as possible.

"That hurts my feelings, Ayanokouji!" Asahina pouted.

"Did you get her to like you on purpose?" Kei asked in an annoyed tone.

Why did she get that idea?

"No. Where do you get these ideas?" I asked, very confused.

"No, it's just that you always do things for a reason... But you are pretty much romantically disabled, so maybe you didn't realise that," Kei's thoughts wandered.

Maybe it's just some of those intrusive thoughts. Pretty much all people get them, I'm no different. The thoughts are typically something that one knows is stupid and illogical, but their brain comes up with them anyway. It's not representative of some dark fantasy or urge either. Thoughts are like a ball that's been hit to your court, moving so incredibly fast that you only see it for a moment, until it bounces and goes past you, not being seen again.

"I can assure you that I don't go around trying to make people fall in love with me," I sighed.

It'd raise suspicions if we were to be seen by one of Nagumo's underlings. If she really had something to say then it'd be best to deal with it quickly.

"If you have business with me, I'll hear you out."

"How boring. Well whatever. I happened to see the two of you acting all buddy buddy, so I wanted to tell you something."

Asahina had been smiling cheerfully for a while now, but that smile quickly disappeared.

"I've heard a bit about the first-years' exam. Somebody's being forced to drop out of school, yeah?"

"It looks like it."

It seems the news had already managed to spread to the second-year students.

"Information travels quickly at this school, it's crazy sometimes," Sudo commented.

Not even 24 hours and the whole school knew about Nagumo's punishment. While it was announced that a new student council president would be named soon on the school bulletin, most don't check it. It's usually just newsletters that don't hold much relevance to a student's life.

"It's also a little concerning. Well, we learned that from the last few videos, right?" Sato asked.

"It also showed that with enough damage, you can alter the school's rules if you wish," Horikita examined.

While most would have probably just seen the surface-level nature of rumours, Horikita took it a step further. She understood that after enough of abusing the school's openings, you can close them.

"Honami cares deeply for her friends, or how should I put it... You know she's not the type of person who would sit back and let someone from Class B be expelled, right?"

"That should be true. I think everyone is interested in where B class is going to end up, even though no one talks about it."

My response was a bit bland, but it managed to convey my thoughts easily enough.

"Then, how do you think Honami will go about tackling the exam?"

Asahina looked at me with prying eyes.

Rather than merely being curious about my response, it was more like she was trying to coax a particular answer out of me.

In which case, giving her a roundabout answer would probably be counterproductive.

"Assuming that she plans on preventing the expulsion... Class B has a considerable amount of private points saved up. So she would just need to make up for the rest of the points she needs somehow and stop the expulsion from happening altogether. Something like that, right?"

Most people could reach this part. They know that Ichinose wished for no expulsions based on her behaviour, and due to no drop in their class numbers, the deficit was cleared.

However, this is only half the story. The beginning and end are clear, the middle has been veiled in the fog.

"Bingo. Well, that is the only logical conclusion."

If you were working under the assumption that she would try to prevent the expulsion, anyone would've been able to come to the same conclusion.

The tricky thing was, there weren't very many people who could make it happen.

Managing to somehow gather together 20 million private points was exceedingly difficult.

"It seems she's gone and asked Miyabi for assistance. Can you guess how he responded?"

"He consented immediately?"

"...Bingo again."

"And you don't give handouts, huh?" Kiryuuin looked at him coldly.

"Why would I? Keeping a classmate is valuable, giving it to her for free is just bad negotiation practice," Nagumo shrugged.

Although the thing that he wished to receive is something that people typically shouldn't give. It doesn't change what Nagumo just said, though.

Based on the course of events so far, there simply weren't any other possibilities.

"I'll ask just to make sure, but there's no way she'd be lent enough private points with no strings attached, is there?"

Even though Class B possessed a large number of private points, they were still probably short by a sizable amount.

Several hundred thousand points still wouldn't be enough.

"Of course there isn't. Sure, it'd be a different story if we were only talking about a few thousand points. In that case, there'd be plenty of room for discussion. But once it gets into the hundred thousands or the millions? Nobody's gonna give away that many."

Asahina answered without hesitation.

"With the end of the year coming for the third years, they're out of the equation entirely," Manabu pointed out.

"And I don't think the second years would like giving away the points they're meant to keep to themselves, which is already a fraction of the original amount," Horikita added.

"Your duo is really funny to me in hindsight," Ryuuen stated out of the blue.

Manabu and Horikita didn't give him a response, it's expected what he's going to say, after all.

"Tough crowd, huh?" Ryuuen stated in dissatisfaction.

"I'm worried about what he asked you," Amikura told Ichinose.

Ichinose took a quick glance at Nagumo, who did not respond in kind.

"It's fine, I didn't go through with it anyway," Ichinose told her friend.

There's no real punishment for Nagumo due to this request. It's a transaction, an unethical one that preys on Ichinose's vulnerability, but nevertheless, a transaction that both parties have to agree to. And since the transaction didn't happen, there are no formal complaints to be made.

"The third and second-year students have to be thoroughly prepared for the special exams awaiting us moving forward. Whether we'll need our own private points or not won't become clear to us until the very end, so there shouldn't be any room for charity just for a couple of first-years."

She was probably right.

This was also the very reason why Chabashira had spoken about it so impassively.

Even if you managed to secure some private points from the upperclassmen, it would be nearly impossible for them to hand over a relevant amount. You could sweeten the deal by offering to pay it back with interest, but that wouldn't mean anything to the third-years who were so close to graduating. Furthermore, even if you managed to secure a loan from a second-year student, it still seemed impossible to secure such a large number of points.

For everyone in the room, there's only one person you could imagine clearing all of these hurdles.

"If there's someone capable of meeting these expectations, president Nagumo's the only one who comes to mind."

"He's gone and saved up quite a lot of points after all."

"So what happened?"

I asked her this, but based on the flow of the conversation, the answer was already clear as day.

Even so, given that Ichinose seemed to be hesitant about something, there were probably conditions attached to Nagumo's cooperation.

"Don't be so anxious. I'm in the same class as the guy, which is exactly why I have my doubts that he'd go and carelessly lend such a large number of points to a kouhai. Honami's such a cute girl, right? There's absolutely no way she'll end up being expelled because of this exam, yeah?"

"You know, Asahina, it's a bit annoying to have my plans leaked," Nagumo told her with a voice laced with annoyance.

"Sorry, sorry, I just felt a little bad. You can't blame me for acting out of pity, right?" Asahina replied, but it was clear that she was nervous.

Nagumo sighed.

"What's done is done. Though you understand from now on, there's no chance of you ever hearing even a fragment of a strategy ever again, correct? You're isolated, information wise," Nagumo told her coldly.

Even if the methods were as cruel as can be, Asahina would never know. Whether it involved sacrificing someone close to Asahina or even Asahine herself, she would be oblivious as the rug is pulled from under her.

However, Asahina has no choice but to smile and nod to Nagumo's words.

"Yeah, I know. You don't need to be so pushy, Miyabi," Asahina sighed.

"And here I thought you didn't care about anything anymore, but you speak like you've got plans for the future," Sakayanagi offhandedly stated.

"I just spoke in a general sense," Nagumo shrugged.

However, he and I know that those words were more than they seem.

"I guess so. It does seem like the strategy is to prevent one of her classmates from being expelled."

"So I'm personally not a fan of her entering into this kind of deal with him. Of course, it's partly for the sake of my own class but... more than that I guess I just feel sorry for her."

"Are the conditions he's set too harsh? Like an obscenely high interest rate?"

"That guy... The condition he set for lending the points to her... is for the two of them to get into a relationship."

"I see."

Considering everything Nagumo had done so far, this definitely seemed like something he'd do.

A bomb was dropped.

"You get more pathetic everyday," Kiryuuin scoffed.

Manabu glanced at him with dissatisfaction present on his face.

Many students looked at Nagumo as a creepy person every day.

"I feel bad for her," Kei mumbled.

Perhaps she felt some kinship to Ichinose.

"That has to be against some rules!" Amikura stated in shock.

Many class B students seemed to share her frustration.

"Not at all. At the end of the day, it's a transaction both parties have to agree upon. This means both parties have to consent, so if Ichinose agreed to the deal, she gives her consent and no rules are broken," Chabashira answered.

"But it's forced consent, isn't it?" Amikura asked again.

"Did she have any other choice? Was it required for Ichinose to give her consent? If so, then you're correct, but if Ichinose is free to opt out of it, it doesn't fall under forced consent. And besides, did the deal even end up occuring?" Chabashira retorted.

"Well... No," Amikura stated solemnly.

"Then you have your answer," Chabashira spoke coldly.

I'm sure she understands that it's unethical, but her job is to give the facts.

A relationship in exchange for a loan of private points.

Generally speaking, this condition was anything but normal. It wouldn't be strange if he was turned down immediately. But, if it was for the sake of protecting her class, there was a possibility that Ichinose would agree to it, and Nagumo probably understood this as well.

"Is it alright? For you to be telling me this?"

"I've already told you. It's for my class. If Miyabi lends all those private points to a first-year, the rest of us may suffer as a result. Furthermore, in exchange for protecting her friends, Honami'll have to go through something painful."

"Maybe so, but why are you coming to me with this? I'm in Class C. We have a hostile relationship with Ichinose."

"I dunno. But, if it's you, you'll probably be able to do something about it one way or another."

"You're overestimating me. There's no way I can afford to make up for Class B's lack of points."

Both Ishizaki and Ibuki looked at me as those words were relayed through the screen.

Nagumo was quiet, there was no defence, after all. What he had done was morally unethical by most people's standards. There's even the possibility that Nagumo didn't even care about Ichinose as a person and just saw her for her titles.

'Most beautiful girl in school'

'Leader of class B'

Perhaps he just wanted her as a trophy, a prize to show how great he was. But... there is another way to look at this.

From every interaction with Kiriyama I've had, there's always the same thing brought up about Nagumo. Control. Kiriyama even said he'd begin to interfere with the first years. At the time, I believed it was about exams, but there's another hidden meaning.

Expansion. To expand his dominance across multiple years. And the best way to do that would be to turn someone into a pawn and use that as a stepping stool. Breaking Ichinose and recreating her, it's the most effective way to do it. Getting her into a relationship would weigh on her mind heavily, leading her into more and more of a vulnerable state, allowing Nagumo to act how he wishes.

However, this is mere conjecture. There's the possibility that there was overlap, or it is just how it seems. Although with Nagumo, things aren't always as they seem.

It would be a different story if it were possible to gather up enough points without relying on Nagumo, but that wouldn't work either.

"Oh really? Well, you two are rivals..."

Actively helping out a rival class would be far too foolish when we should be feeling thankful for the loss of a potential threat. In the first place, it would require several million points, so everyone in Class C would have to band together to help out. It would be absolutely impossible.

"I can't do anything about it."

"That's okay. Even if you don't do anything, I won't hold it against you. It's just wishful thinking on my part either way. That said, even though you say you can't, I think you just might take the chance anyway."

After giving me a slap on the back, Asahina began to leave.

"Placing an awful lot of faith in him, huh?" Nagumo stated with a grin.

It wasn't a wry or mocking one as I've seen in recent times, but rather, one of excitement. One that can't help but look to the future.

"Uh, yeah, I guess!" Asahina muttered awkwardly.

It's clear that she's wary of Nagumo after she got caught leaking information.

"Anyways, I've told you everything you need to know. I'll be leaving the rest up to you!"

With that, Asahina ran toward the school without saying another word.

Based on her behavior and the way she spoke, she didn't seem to be lying.

"Striking a deal with Nagumo, huh?"

It wasn't very becoming of her, but it seemed that this was Ichinose's strategy.

If she really ended up going through with it, she'd be able to prevent the loss of one of her classmates. It was a way of fighting available to her solely because of her united class and the huge sum of points they had saved up together. However, based on the way Asahina was speaking, it seemed that the requirement of a relationship was a high hurdle for Ichinose. After all, if Nagumo's condition wasn't actually weighing heavily on her, it'd be safer to borrow the private points before Nagumo could change his mind.

"What a creep, but I guess I'm not better," Ryuuen chuckled.

The number of times he had asked to be with Horikita in private strengthens that claim. Although you could argue one was made to annoy Horikita, and the other was made with harmful intent.

"I suppose," Nagumo replied indifferently.

He didn't seem to hold the opinions of those in many regards, or rather, he just wasn't able to focus on them.

Well, it's difficult to make a quick decision when it comes to a full-on relationship with someone of the opposite sex.

It'd be fine if it was simply a matter of cooperation, but there was absolutely nothing I could do about so many private points.

Class B was probably short by about four to five million points, which was well beyond the scope of something I was able to help with.

It'd be more cost-effective to cut ties with your classmates, but how would Ichinose weigh the options if she put Nagumo's condition on the scale...?

"Given her personality..."

How would things turn out moving forward? It wasn't very difficult to imagine.

The scene faded to black.

"The next one is rather short, so let's continue."

There are lots of possibilities for the next one, so I can't make a good prediction.

That evening, after I had gotten out of the shower, I checked my phone only to see that I had several missed calls from Kei.

It seemed to be something urgent, given that she had called nearly every other minute.

Having barely finished drying my hair, I began to dial her number to call her back, but I was met with yet another call from her, so I simply answered that instead.

"Hello?"

"Jeez, finally you pick up...!"

"You seem awfully panicked."

"No duh I'm panicked... Like, something absolutely terrible's happened Kiyotaka."

The students were quite intrigued.

"Getting right into it, huh? That's good," Hosen approved.

However, many members of class D looked downcast. With cloudy expressions, they remained looking down at their lap, not even paying attention to the screen. Some began to fiddle, others looked a little nervous, but one, in particular, emanated stress itself.

Kushida.

Her time in the class back then was ridiculed, but I'm sure many students forgot, but now that they're revisiting it with new eyes, her position will fall lower again. Working with Yamauchi to expel me, who had contributed to the class greatly, it's a bad thing in their eyes. Even if they disliked me as a person, they understood that was negative for the class.

"Something terrible?"

"I have no idea who's behind it, but Kiyotaka... everyone's gonna vote you out of school."

"Is that so?"

"That... does that mean you already knew?"

"No, this is the first I've heard of it. Though, I was vaguely aware that somebody was being targeted."

The fact that this somebody was me was something I had only just now found out about.

I have to admit, Sakayanagi set this up flawlessly. Getting information, her goals achieved and setting up things for the future all at once. While many of her other schemes were rather simple, this is one that can really accredit her statement of being a genius.

"Good thing you told him that," Sato nodded approvingly.

"Well, he'd probably be fine even if I didn't," Kei sighed.

Normally, I'd expect class D ridicule, but no such thing came out.

"I suppose you're not an important member of the class for them, I guess it's logical to think that you're an easy target," Hashimoto examined.

"It's not that odd that his hidden partner knew, she's hidden for a reason. However, it's odd that this was the only way he could know that he's being targeted, and that's exactly the way it happened," Ryuuen let his thoughts wander the room.

"I have no idea what you mean," Sakayanagi giggled.

"Sure you don't," Ryuuen stated in a monotone voice.

"Why are you still so calm?"

"Do you know how many people are going to vote against me?"

"I dunno exactly... But, from the feel of it, it's prolly already around half the class. They kinda threatened that if anyone told you about it, that person would be the one getting expelled next time."

Since they were trying to drive me into a corner, it was only natural that there'd be a couple of threats getting tossed around.

I wondered if they had already managed to convince the majority of the class.

If they had, even with the praise votes from the Ayanokōji Group and the one I'd get from Kei, it would all still be just a drop in the bucket.

"He's calm because he probably expected this, that's what I'm guessing," Keisei claimed.

Horikita looked at me curiously. Of course, back then, she was wondering about what I did, so now that she can see what was going on, she's trying to analyse every word.

"And yet, something else happened entirely," Horikita stated matter-of-factly.

"Clearly. He's still in the school," Nagumo told her.

"Are you okay to tell me this, then? You could end up being targeted yourself."

Of course, that would only be if I went around telling everyone I had heard about it from Kei.

I didn't know who was behind it, but they had done a good job. Although the strategy of singling someone out and forcing their expulsion was, in and of itself, simple, gathering the votes needed to actually make it happen was not. After all, somebody who singles out a classmate would be seen as 'evil' by the people around them. If someone with a strong sense of justice or a close friend of the target was to find out about the plan, it'd be possible for the mastermind to be forced out of school instead. While there'd be resistance when it comes to judging a classmate, there'd be far less resistance when it comes to judging 'evil'. This was the exact reason why Haruka and Akito, who are both relatively sharp-tongued students in their own right, wouldn't take the initiative and nominate someone to expel during our group conversations. Ultimately, our entire group discussed the candidates and came to a joint decision about who to vote for moving forward.

"You're giving him too much credit," Sato grumbled.

Many students agreed with her.

There were suspicions I had that it was Yamauchi, but in reality, it didn't matter who the mastermind was. The end result is the same, no matter the person pulling the strings.

"I have a pretty good guess as to who it might be, but then again, my instincts tell me to never trust my first thoughts when I watch these videos," Hosen mused.

"First thought; best thought. That's my motto," Koenji stated.

"Oh, let me guess. Is it because your first thought is always perfect?" Sudo asked with a frustrated tone.

"That's quite an observation for a person of your intelligence. Well done," Koenji replied condescendingly.

"Motherfu..." Sudo mumbled, but I didn't hear the last part of the word.

Well, I have my guesses.

The mastermind targeting me wasn't afraid of becoming a target themselves.

"You're gonna do something, right? Like, you can do something about it, right?"

"I wonder. It's troublesome if half the class is against me."

Even if I managed to gather ten praise votes, it wouldn't necessarily mean I'd be able to escape from such a tough situation.

The mastermind's group would obviously distribute their own praise votes amongst their friends.

I was facing a significant risk of being expelled.

"Thanks for letting me know this."

"You sound like you're seriously thinking that," Sakayanagi giggled.

"Maybe you can experience hopelessness, after all. Although while you say that, I doubt you thought you were going to get expelled," Nagumo stated bluntly.

Perhaps he was talking about subconscious thought.

"It's no big deal or anything, but... For real, what're you gonna do?"

"What will I do? I'll have to think about it for a bit."

"You may seem perfect, but even you have flaws okay? If I wasn't here, isn't it totally possible you could've been expelled without noticing anything?"

"That's exactly why you're here."

"Oh. I see..."

It was exactly because I had someone capable of obtaining information out of my reach that I was able to find out about this expulsion crisis.

"I'll contact you again soon."

"Gotcha."

I ended the call.

Since the scene hadn't faded, I assume the next bit will also be shown.

"Perhaps you don't have flaws when it comes to abilities, but that's certainly not true when it comes to your character. I can't help but feel like you're a husk of a person. It's said that those born to misery will forever live in misery, but I hope that adage doesn't hold true. Maybe that's because I don't hope it's true for me either. I suppose that part of self-interest is always there," Yagami thought.

While I wanted to talk a little bit about March 8th next week, I dropped the matter for now.

Before anything else, I needed to find out why I was being targeted.

"Well then..."

I grasped my phone tightly and slowly started racking my brain.

Who I chose to contact here would greatly influence my strategy moving forward.

Contacting the mastermind or one of their followers was simply not an option.

That being said, the situation wouldn't improve at all if I reached out to someone useless either.

"So you went and called me, right?" Ike joked.

"He doesn't want to get expelled even faster," Sudo told him.

"Hmm, a few potential people here. A student from another class is guaranteed, and they need to be reasonably smart. There's a lot of people. You sure are popular, Ayanokouji-senpai," Amasawa sighed.

With this little information to go off, there are a large number of people. And she doesn't know of plenty of other things that went on around this time.

Although this is her... Perhaps she's just wanting to get a reaction of some sort.

"...In which case."

I promptly dialed a number directly from my contact list.

I decided that, first of all, I should finish what I needed to do.

After a while, the call connected.

"What is it?"

Answering the phone with his ever-unchanging tone of voice was Horikita Manabu.

"I need to talk to you about the supplemental exam. It's fairly important."

"Wait a moment."

"You always go to him when you're in need of a favour, huh?" Horikita asked in a rather annoyed tone.

"Are you jealous you couldn't do the same?" Ryuuen asked.

Horikita sighed.

"I, too, would hate it if my family member liked someone else more than me. They do everything together, after all," Ryuuen continued.

Manabu didn't say anything, but someone else had something to say.

"Don't budge into other people's business!" Tachibana defended like a loyal soldier.

"Oh, I'm incredibly sorry. I apologise for hurting the great Horikitas. I'll try not to harm their image by saying that one was jealous of the other's affection towards their partner," Ryuuen replied without any seriousness.

"You should've expected this," Manabu told her.

Tachibana softly nodded and let Ryuuen's taunts go.

I heard the sound of running water from the other end of the call and waited for around ten seconds.

"I was doing the dishes. I didn't want the noise to interfere over the speaker."

"Sorry for interrupting you."

"So, something bad has happened."

The elder Horikita and I had met up earlier in the day.

He probably understood that something bad had happened because I hadn't mentioned anything back then.

"Something happened in my class. A large group was formed and they've decided on who exactly they'll be trying to expel."

"Given the exam, the establishment of a large group is inevitable. Who's being targeted?"

Perhaps the face of his younger sister had come to mind.

"Me."

"That's not a funny joke."

Some students chuckled at his blunt refusal.

"And here I thought Ayanokouji was a fanboy, but you seem like you're even worse," Hashimoto joked.

It seems as the videos wind down, the atmosphere does the same. Although that's to be expected, I suppose.

"I'm not joking. More than half of my class has already agreed to vote against me."

"Oh?"

"I'm in a tough spot, so I thought I'd consult with you about it."

"Even you can't do anything about this exam? Is that what you're saying?"

"Put simply, yes."

Though, to be precise, I was talking to him because I was trying to do something.

"What do you want from me? When it comes to this exam of yours, I don't think there's anything I can do to help you."

"Well, there's only one thing I want from you."

I offered him a proposal. My path moving forward would depend on whether he accepted it or not.

Many students looked unsatisfied.

"Always only getting little teases of the final thing, huh?" Ishizaki grumbled.

"It makes the ending a lot more satisfying, though. Everything fits into nice little pieces at the end. The puzzle is complete, isn't that fun?" Amasawa asked.

The logic of reading a mystery novel. It's a puzzle between the author and the reader after all. The author, usually, ends up winning the game as the reader never guesses everything until they get given the answer.

"...I see. So that's what you want."

"As far as you're concerned, it shouldn't be a bad offer. You can use it as your reason."

"Indeed. I wouldn't have agreed if that were not the case."

"You also don't need to exert your authority as the former student council president, nor do anything to help me directly."

A capable student like the elder Horikita should be able to understand what I'm getting at, even without me explicitly stating my intentions.

"You were probably going to use this strategy of yours regardless of whether you got targeted or not."

"Yeah. I had planned on getting in touch with you anyway. I would've brought it up earlier today, but..."

"You didn't because Tachibana was there?"

Tachibana looked a tad bit annoyed.

"So you don't need him for something incredible if he doesn't need to pull rank. I have a good idea what you needed him for then," Sakayanagi analysed.

"Hopefully you pull some interesting shit again. Things got a little boring after that pummeling, but they seem to be picking up again," Hosen criticised.

"You're also a fanboy, huh?" Ryuuen mocked.

"He's the only guy doing interesting stuff anymore. Where were you again? Oh, yeah, you were having a fucking pity party and gave up on everything. And the little kid hasn't provided anything incredible yet. All she did was suck that guy off for some information and used it," Hosen shrugged.

Every day I wonder how he can string such words together.

Of course, I knew she wasn't the kind of student to go and let out a secret, but I refrained from saying anything, just in case.

"'I'm in a tough spot' you say. You aren't in a tough spot at all."

"That depends on tomorrow. Without your cooperation, I'd have been forced to change tactics, and you should be well aware that it's not beneficial for me to take center stage."

"...Alright. We'll act tomorrow."

"You've saved me a lot of trouble. I'll get in touch with you when I identify the mastermind."

I cut the call with the elder Horikita and plugged the charging cord into my cell phone.

The hall got quiet again.

"Now that I have that out of the way..."

It was a strategy I'd been planning on carrying out for this exam since it was first announced.

A necessary action to remove an unnecessary student.

However, in the case where I ended up becoming the target, it was vital that I raise the accuracy of said strategy.

"So this is how Tsukishiro was playing with you. I wonder when you learned of his existence, but there's something I'm more curious about. Did you understand his true motives? No, maybe that's inaccurate coming from me. He's always got a mask on, it's not possible to trust anything he says. But still, there are some things I feel are the truth, but I wonder if you've discovered them, too," Yagami thought.

"So you planned to expel someone all along," Yosuke muttered.

I softly nodded.

"I suppose that's just how you are, or rather, that just what the exam needed," Yosuke sighed and let it go.

Now the scene faded and we were all dismissed.

Changes are coming rapidly to this school.

The videos.

Ichinose and her class's future.

Act 3 of my battle with Yagami.

And then, the future of my place in this class.

All of these are interconnected but disconnected at the same time. In the White Room, all of this would be nothing but a dream that my mind thought up.

The logic of the world was unknown in that place. Out here it lay something incalculably powerful. Its mechanisms were incomprehensible, and I could not possibly remain in that room barred away from the sun. Though outside lay a sea of irrationality, it's much better to swim in those waters instead of drowning without knowledge of anything.

The Vote's Prerequisites; Messiah and the Traitor

To bide time. That's what I must do for now.

But I'm not the only one currently thinking up schemes, many in this school are doing the same, but the one I'm most curious about is Ryuuen.

His scheme employed in the final exam is grounds for expulsion, no doubt about that. Whatever he must do to save not only himself, but also his accomplices, is something I'm looking forward to.

Ichinose will attack, and she'll do her best. She'll try to avenge and correct the wrongdoings done on her in the past, so she'll do everything correctly. However, a person who makes no mistakes isn't always the winner.

Ryuuen isn't a fool, he's cunning and crafty. There are many ways he can go about this altercation, but out of those many strategies, most will fail. The very few that will work also have a certain piece of risk involved, but Ryuuen thrives on risk.

"Let's get right into it. I've skipped quite a bit ahead to the day before the vote, but you guys will be fine... Probably."

How reassuring.

After school, the day before the vote.

Tomorrow, the decision would be made on which student to expel, and their seat in the class would be emptied.

There was a lingering feeling of uneasiness weighing down on everyone, but even so, they still had a reassuring belief that things would be alright.

This was because someone had been chosen as a sacrifice.

Ayanokōji Kiyotaka would be expelled from school.

More than half the class had already sided with this course of action.

Many of them were probably harboring some guilt about it right now.

"Why do you speak about yourself in the third person? It's weird," Kei teased.

"Why am I being bullied again?" I sighed.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll live," Kei giggled.

I'm always the first one she makes fun of, huh?

"More than half the class, huh? That's quite a large deficit to overcome. Whoever made them change their minds must have been fighting an immense uphill battle," Kanzaki surmised.

"I doubt it. People will just choose an easy target, so if another guy is exposed, they'll vote for him. It's like recency bias, in a way," Hashimoto contested.

He has a point, but it isn't as if you can pick anyone from the bottom and have it work out. There still needs to be a basis for it, and in my case, it was because I didn't stand out and didn't seem to contribute much.

But I suppose amidst the desperation, and the need for survival, irrational choices are always made.

And yet, that guilt was a small price to pay as long as they were able to save themselves.

After a while, the guilt would fade away.

A year from now, they would simply remember that I had been one of the students in their classroom.

That being said, I felt no resentment toward them. For the sake of avoiding expulsion, everyone had been desperately racking their brains to come up with countermeasures. Ultimately, I just happened to be the target.

After gaining pity from his classmates, Yamauchi skillfully won over Kushida and suggested a target for the vote based on sympathy and understanding.

"So it was him, what a surprise," Ryuuen stated sarcastically.

The students who had forgotten about Kushida's involvement are probably remembering everything now. It's as if each puzzle piece is slowly being filled in. Her fake cries, her manipulation, her false apologies, all of it would go into their brain all at once.

And this eventually leads to her position being brought even lower. It's not as if there's a limit to how much you can dislike a person, after all. Hatred is a bottomless pit, and you can only go lower.

"Your crying is really annoying now in hindsight," Onodera grumbled.

"And that fake apology too? 'I just wanted to help a friend I'm sorry'. Come on," Shinohara agreed.

More and more will be piled on. In a way, this situation reminds me of myself right after the island videos.

"Ayanokouji, do you think Kushida will make it out of this? I mean, at some point, the students may try to expel her through framing," Horikita asked.

"Kushida's made plenty of mistakes, but I don't think she'd get caught out that easily. Besides, you're going to cover for her, right?" I addressed.

Horikita's attempt to make Kushida was still in the preliminary stages. It had to be subtle, of course. She can't be careless and bring it up, leading to a risk that the opposite option happens.

But even if she did something, it would matter. Kushida isn't at rock bottom, she's at a bottomless pit.

Kushida then roped in the classmates she could. Since the invitation came from a trusted friend with whom they had confided their secrets, they were completely unable to turn her down.

Yamauchi's strategy wasn't bad. He took a risk and did his job well as the mastermind.

It was just a pity that he decided to go after me.

If his goal was really to avoid being expelled, he should've gone after Ike or Sudō instead.

After all, the two of them wouldn't have the capacity to recover from something like this.

"I guess that's true," Ike sighed.

"You really like looking down on people, huh? 'Whether others succeed or fail doesn't matter' my ass," Ryuuen ridiculed.

"You're forgetting that this situation directly affects me," I told him.

"Even so, that was never in your original declaration," Ryuuen retorted.

"When in doubt, resort to semantics. The fool's way of debating," Sakayanagi giggled.

How tiring.

I've always wondered about something, what exactly does Ryuuen want from Sakayanagi? On the island, they had made a deal and Ryuuen was granted one wish.

Whatever it was, Sakayanagi thinks it was foolish. If it ends up being the end of Ryuuen's time at this school, it'd be an anticlimactic end for the dragon.

Well, that's their business. I have other matters to deal with at this point in time.

Well, since Sakayanagi was the one actually pulling the strings, there was no way that was going to happen.

In any case, since it had come down to this, I had no choice but to take action to remove someone else instead.

But this time, I wouldn't be the one to do it.

I'm just a low-profile, unimpactful student who was being targeted by Yamauchi. I wasn't somebody capable of making a change in this situation.

The countenance of the girl sitting in the seat next to me had gone through far more change than I had anticipated.

Her whole body seemed to be giving off a different aura than before, glittering as though she had been hit by a magic spell.

"You sure were looking pretty deep, eh senpai?" Amasawa teased.

What a nuisance. How Yagami was able to deal with her for his entire life is a testament to his tolerance.

"If Suzune wasn't going to do it, what would happen then?" Sudo asked.

While that possibility was incredibly slim, it was still there. I can't make assumptions when the matter was that important.

"I'd do it instead," I told him nonchalantly.

Sudo looked a tad bit surprised.

"That would be scary as hell," Sudo muttered.

Perhaps it would, I'd have to be rather cold and blunt to make it persuasive.

"A little disappointing. The alternative would have been much more entertaining to watch," Ryuuen sighed.

"Well then, that's it for homeroom. Tomorrow is a Saturday, but there will still be an exam, so don't oversleep."

Chabashira's words marked the end of school for the day.

Everyone was ready to begin packing up their things and head home.

There was a brief moment of total silence.

Come on, Horikita. Move. I know you can do it.

She pushed back her chair and stood up from her desk.

"Could I have a moment?"

Horikita, her voice filled with confidence, called out to every student in the classroom. It naturally managed to gather the attention of the class, curious as to what was going on.

"You sound like a parent overseeing their kid at a sports festival," Kei commented.

"Don't you start too..." I sighed.

It's like Ryuuen's quips are an infection that spreads to the world.

The students watched in anticipation, no one said a word.

"I'm sorry, but I'd like to ask everyone to refrain from going home for a moment."

Even Chabashira seemed curious about what Horikita was up to, as she had stopped on her way out of the room.

"What's the matter, Horikita-san?"

Hirata responded, reacting a beat faster than anyone else.

He was, after all, the most sensitive to subtle changes in the class's atmosphere.

"I have something to say about the special exam tomorrow."

"About the special exam?"

"O-oh look at the time... Well, I already had plans to go hang out with Kanji after this, so..."

"Tha... That's right."

All the students could see the pitiful acting.

Yamauchi and Ike spoke up, emphasizing the point that they didn't have time to stick around.

"Both of you seem awfully composed. What with making arrangements to go play together even though one of you might be expelled tomorrow."

When her eyes met with Yamauchi's, he looked away in a hurry.

"That's because... there's no use, even if we struggle. We've already resolved ourselves for the worst."

"Really? How praiseworthy. But I'm sorry, that doesn't mean everyone else feels the same way as you. There's no point in what I'm trying to do here unless the whole class is able to hear what I have to say, so would you please be willing to put up with it for a bit?"

"Finally, foreplay's over," Hosen stated with childlike excitement.

Anticipation was rising bit by bit. What will Horikita say? How will she convince them? What were Sakayanagi's goals?

"Then what the heck are you gonna say?"

"There's something important I want to tell everyone concerning tomorrow's exam and who's going to be expelled."

Horikita walked to the front of the room and stood behind the teaching podium.

She probably wanted to be in a position where she could see everyone's faces properly.

"About who's being expelled...? What are you getting at?"

Yamauchi began talking notably faster than usual.

"He doesn't mask his guilt well, huh?" Nagumo grinned.

"You sure have weird taste in men," Ryuuen offhandedly stated.

"Are you back to this again? It seems like you're just projecting your anger. Is it because you're on the list for expulsion? You said Ichinose had to make another choice soon a while ago, did you not? Doesn't that mean a case similar to mine will happen again?" Sakayanagi deduced.

"Oh wow, incredible deduction. There are plenty of 8-year-olds who couldn't understand that, how impressive for your age," Ryuuen replied with no trouble.

"How do you plan to deal with such a thing? I'm quite excited to see whether you'll be expelled or not. It's almost like a repeat of last year, but with a much weak opponent," Sakayanagi asked once again.

She probably knows Ryuuen won't say anything, it's rather she simply wants to make people aware of it. To make the class members who are anxious even more worried.

"I won't be expelled, I think that's pretty clear," Ryuuen stated boldly.

"Oh? And that's because you're going to threaten Ichinose's class with violence?" Sakayanagi probed further.

"I have to explain it to you? What obligation do I have? Besides, what good is violence if there's another way to win?" Ryuuen stated with a grin.

He exuded confidence. There were no worries on his mind. Whatever Ichinose is planning to do, in Ryuuen's mind, it's all fruitless.

He was probably doing it involuntarily because of the combination of his own guilty conscience and the extraordinary atmosphere of the classroom.

"I've been doing a lot of thinking this past couple of days. Who should be expelled? Who should stay? How do we come to a proper decision? Earlier today, I managed to find a satisfactory answer to these troublesome questions. So please, allow me to lay it all out for everyone."

"Wait a minute, Horikita-san."

It was Hirata, not Yamauchi, who spoke up to stop her.

"Nobody in this class deserves to be expelled."

"Is that true? Isn't it possible that somebody does, though?"

"S-something like that..."

"If you're so worried, just draw straws or something," Isizaki stated matter-of-factly.

"Well, you aren't wrong. It would be the most 'fair' way to do it, but it's not the most effective. I mean, you get the chance to expel someone bad, take the opportunity," Hashimoto stated bluntly.

Ishizaki nodded and seemed to back down.

"Well, that type of system kinda died when Kushida went everywhere," Sato sighed.

Once a person becomes a target, there's no going back. You can have multiple targets, but no person besides those select few will be expelled. The bias is too strong. The proposal of drawing straws most likely wouldn't even be considered.

"I've had some serious concerns since the moment we were told about this exam. Even though it's important for us to be able to discuss things with each other and come to a decision about who we're going to expel, the school hasn't provided us with any class time to do it. As a result, it has become a battle where we form into groups and try to control the outcome of the vote. We're running the risk that we might end up expelling an excellent student, even though they shouldn't be considered for expulsion at all. Can we really call something like that an exam at all?"

Chabashira was the first person to look visibly impressed, shortly followed up by Kōenji.

"I haven't the faintest idea what's gotten into you, but you seem to me like an entirely different person. You've really gotten right to the heart of the matter, haven't you?"

With a clap of the hands, Kōenji continued to speak.

"Let us hear it, then. What do you suggest we do?"

Just one singular interaction, just one simple meeting, and the change is visible instantly. The more they closed the distance, the more Horikita's strengths matured.

"The notion of a normal exam kind of went out the window at the end of the first month of last year," Ryuuen offhandedly stated.

"Originally, I thought we should hold a discussion with everyone in the class and collectively decide on who to expel. But I understand that, realistically speaking, that would be difficult. Therefore, allow me to nominate someone I think we should expel."

Hirata interjected.

"H-hold on Horikita-san!"

"Sorry, but I'm speaking right now. I'll give a proper explanation for my nomination later."

Staying conscious of how much time she was taking, Horikita pushed the discussion forward.

"No way. I'm against you throwing the class into chaos like this."

Even so, Hirata refused to back down.

It wasn't in his nature to do any differently.

"Sorry, Horikita, for causing trouble," Yosuke apologised.

Horikita nodded, accepting it.

"Who knew you had it in you? I knew you were a whole 'nother can of worms, but now I get to see it," Ryuuen chuckled.

Yosuke is a complex soul. And this day was his breaking point. His ideals, hope, goals and desires were all wiped away. There was no trace of them left after that day, he was a broken shell.

I've seen it time and time again. Once people break, it's rare for them to be put back together again. They turn into shadows of their former self, but it isn't impossible for the pieces to go back into place. It'll be more skewed, but for better or worse, they will be able to continue.

"She's at least got the right to speak. We can listen to your objections after she's done."

Sudō cut in to stop Hirata from interfering.

"It's as Red Hair-kun says. I've given up some of my valuable time to be here, so I'd appreciate it if you'd refrain from wasting it by being a hindrance."

Kōenji spoke up in support of hearing Horikita out as well, seemingly interested in the direction the discussion was heading.

"B-but..."

Taking advantage of Hirata's hesitation, Horikita once again opened her mouth.

"For this special exam... I have decided that we should expel Yamauchi Haruki-kun."

"I'm surprised you were able to tolerate him for so long, guess this was the breaking point," Hashimoto chuckled.

The students knew this part, the way our class was convinced is the unknown variable.

"I wonder how he was convinced to betray the class," Amikura pondered.

"I thought it was pretty clear," Kanzaki told her.

"Of course you did... What is it?" Amikura grumbled in defeat.

"In exchange for betraying his class, he thinks he'll get a date or relationship out of it," Kanzaki stated matter-of-factly.

Many students accepted the idea with no pushback. It was a little sad how easily they were convinced. Not a single person rejected it, though to be fair, it was the correct answer. Still, they didn't know that yet.

"Aren't you ashamed of using your body for manipulation? Your father is here, have some regret," Ryuuen joked.

"It's simply another ability to use. I understand it's not available for you, with your unappealing looks, but no reason to ridicule me for that, no?" Sakayanagi giggled.

Under the watchful gaze of the entire class, Horikita explicitly stated the full name of her nomination.

So far, outside of the public eye, several students had been nominated as targets for censure votes. However, Horikita was the first person to nominate a target publicly like this. One might ask, why hadn't anyone else done the same thing? That was because they'd immediately gain the resentment of whoever they nominated. More importantly, if they failed to convince the rest of the class, there was a high probability that they would become a target themselves.

"W-why me, Horikitaa!?"

Naturally, Yamauchi was the first person to show any sort of reaction to this.

After all, if Horikita's reckless nomination garnered enough support, he would become the target for the censure votes. It was effectively a death sentence.

"There's a clear reason for it. To start out with, your contributions to the class over the past year have been particularly low."

"Guess it's not like you can argue against stuff like that anymore," Sudo commented.

Certainly, it's mostly an objective thing now. But it's not fully objective. Input manipulation. By making sure you don't try your best, the inputs inside the app will be different from their real value. Essentially, masking your real self. I've done it, so has Yagami and there may even be others who are unknown.

"Hey, I've got a question. Which guy was taking shrooms when making this OAA shit?" Hosen stated out of the blue.

"What's the problem?" Nagumo asked.

As the creator, any criticism would go straight to him.

"I get stuff like Academic ability and physical ability. One is objective and the other is pretty obvious to see. The social contribution I can also get, but adaptability? Seems like you pull numbers out your ass, to be honest," Hosen critiqued.

He had a valid point. Measuring adaptability is tricky. The definition the school gave had a mix of vague and specific things. But even so, the school can't possibly see every single thing they've listed. That's thousands upon thousands of camera footage and teacher observations.

However, the app said those were only some of the examples. The importance of those others falls under Hitchen's razor, however. There's no way to confirm, without evidence from the man who made it, whether those other examples are meaningful.

"The app told you about some examples. Obviously, the values for adaptability are not an end all be all. They're more so an approximate estimation of how the teachers see you act, how big your social circle is, and how good you are at communication. Nearly all of these the staff members have some knowledge of. You're right, they aren't objective, but it's the closest thing to it," Nagumo replied.

"So you don't rate that category highly, huh?" Hosen pointed out.

"The other 3 are easier to calculate, but no, they're all equally valuable in my eyes," Nagumo shrugged.

"You sound like a parent who says they don't have a favourite child and they love all of their kids equally, but everyone knows that's bullshit," Hosen stated out of the blue.

What an odd analogy.

Nagumo didn't respond.

"T-that's not true! My test scores have been higher than Ken's this whole time!"

"He overtook you last time though?"

"That... but, that was just a one-time thing!!!"

"For argument's sake, let's say your academics are superior to Sudō-kun's. Even then, you're still several levels beneath him in terms of physical ability."

"Then isn't Kanji in the same boat as me!? He's definitely worse than me when it comes to physical fitness!"

Naturally, Yamauchi desperately tried to defend himself.

Anybody would get desperate if they were being singled out in front of everyone like this.

"And here I thought Kikyo's meltdown was pathetic," Ryuuen chuckled.

For Yamauchi getting caught out, in blunt terms, was death for him. For Kushida, getting exposed was death. The things they value the most, the things that gave them security, no longer remained. There's no doubt in my mind that if Yagami gets expelled, he will have a similar reaction.

The White Room is everything to him. Without it, he has nothing. If I win our bet, the broken sculpture that he calls his soul will be broken.

I learnt this on that day, and that's why I proposed this bet.

"It's true that there are a handful of students who are all on a somewhat similar playing field. I'll give you that much."

"T-that's right. Nominating me so seriously... Could ya please give me a break...?"

"However, you're still a half-step behind, even compared to the rest of them. When I assigned everyone a priority by taking into account their behavior during lessons, tardiness and absence history, and strengths and weaknesses, you ended up in dead last. The runner-up was Ike-kun, followed up immediately by Sudō-kun. This is the conclusion I came to yesterday."

"I... I'm a candidate as well!?"

Panicking a bit, Sudō spoke up.

"You've certainly improved in terms of academic ability and critical thinking these past few months, but that doesn't just get rid of all of the times you've been a burden to class. Or am I wrong?"

"...No, you're right."

With the facts laid out in front of him, Sudō accepted them for what they were.

"The same thing you told me," Yosuke muttered.

"It's a biased way to do things, but it's the easiest way to make a choice," I told him.

"I never was able to make that list. Even when I tried my hardest, after the people at the top, I wasn't able to continue," Yosuke stated solemnly.

No student said anything. Perhaps they didn't care, or maybe it was their empathy. The looks of pity were not few in number, however. They all heard it.

"I wonder how the rest of that list went," I told Horikita.

"Why? Do you want to know your spot on the ladder? I never picked you for the type," Horikita replied.

"The class D leader really is a cruel women. Making so many assumptions about her comrades," I sighed.

"I'm not the person wondering about this old list," Horikita retorted.

Even if it was one percent, it's valuable. To make the odds as high as possible before I break the sculpture, that's the end goal.

Ike's expression was heavy, seeming to have come to terms with it as well.

"Are you being serious with all this nonsense!? This is pissing me off! Right!? Kanji!? Ken!?"

Yamauchi tried to bring the two Horikita had nominated as other candidates over to his side, but neither of them had the words to refute what Horikita had said.

"Plus, I'm kinda lovable, right? At least when compared to someone like Kōenji. That problem child totally abandoned the class during several special exams!"

"It's true that Kōenji-kun has a lot of work to do to improve his behavior. However, he was able to understand the significance of holding this discussion. If I were to put an overall worth to his abilities, the difference between the two of you would be so large that you couldn't even begin to compare. At the very least, he's not somebody we should be expelling during this exam."

"Ayanokouji-boy's efforts were clearly not in vain. You've come to see the light due to him, it's certainly invaluable," Koenji stated happily.

Horikita ignored him. He was only saying this because Horikita was praising him, after all.

"'I'm kinda lovable'? He wasn't dropped as a kid, he was slammed into the ground," Ryuuen chuckled.

"Let's not bully the mentally challenged," Hashimoto chuckled.

"That's an insult to actual mentally challenged people," Ryuuen responded without missing a beat.

It's like a stand-up routine and Yamauchi is the person in the crowd who is going to get picked apart.

Kōenji let show a fearless smile laced with complacency as he crossed his arms in front of him.

"I can't accept this! I really just can't anymore!"

"Then, how about I tell you the final reason why you were chosen among all other options?"

Horikita pressured Yamauchi, calmly interrupting him in the middle of his fit.

"F-final reason?"

Horikita's unusual aura made Yamauchi momentarily shrink back.

"There should be something you've been feeling guilty about that you haven't been willing to tell anyone. Am I wrong?"

Yamauchi was overwhelmed by Horikita's confident words.

"What a brilliant play. A Shakespearean one, even," Sakayanagi giggled.

"You sure like giving yourself compliments, huh? You and the narcissist are the type of people to wank to their own reflections," Hosen chuckled.

"Big words coming from a clone. Did you like Ryuuen so much that you wanted to be just like him? Is there really anything different about you two? The only thing I can think of is that Ayanokouji hasn't pummeled you into the dirt," Sakayanagi responded coldly.

"I'm not currently losing to a dwarf, so there's that. I'm not high enough to want to destroy Ayanokouji for something as stupid as ideology. Who gives a shit?" Hosen retorted, taking aim at her goals this time.

"It's alright, not everyone can understand," Sakayanagi giggled condescendingly.

"Keep telling yourself that," Hosen mocked.

"I don't have anything to feel guilty about..."

"Seeing as you don't feel like saying it yourself, I'll say it for you. In order to protect yourself, you used Kushida-san as an intermediary to gather support from our classmates, all to get Ayanokōji-kun expelled. Isn't that right?"

"Hah!?"

The classroom descended into an uproar.

Even though over half the class was aware of the vote manipulation, none of them knew that the true culprit behind all of it was Yamauchi.

"Getting manipulated by that guy, huh? You guys fall lower everyday," Ryuuen chuckled.

"Wasn't it Sakayanagi who did it?" Ishizaki asked.

"Eh, both the guy who hired the mercenary and the mercenary is held to similar charges," Ryuuen shrugged.

"You were planning to have Ayanokōji-kun expelled...?"

Ayanokōji Group members aside, Hirata was one of the people genuinely, visibly, shocked to hear that I was being targeted.

Hirata was the type to always stay neutral and think about the class as a whole, so it made sense that he wasn't willing to accept it.

"Yes. It's an undeniable fact. Isn't that right, everyone?"

Kushida had gotten many students tied up in Yamauchi's plan.

Even if they didn't make eye contact with her, they would surely feel shaken if they had an inkling as to what had been going on.

This was enough for Hirata to realize that more than half the class had joined Yamauchi's group.

"Hmm... Everyone seems a lot calmer than I had imagined..."

"They see the favourite classmate annoyed, so of course they wouldn't say anything," Kanzaki stated matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, plenty of the girls seemed into it, and we all know who their favourite is," Hashimoto agreed.

"A triple-layer, huh? Certainly impressive," Yagami praised.

Out of all of Sakayanagi's actions, this was the cleanest and most succinct. There were no faults, everything went just as planned.

"Three layers? I only had two, Yamauchi and Sakayanagi," Amikura pointed out.

"You're forgetting Kushida. Kushida was the surface layer, Yamauchi was the class D ringleader and Sakayanagi was the one behind everything," Yagamu put up 3 fingers and stated matter-of-factly.

Amikura looked rather embarrassed to miss something so clear.

"Your plan started out with a small group of people and you steadily expanded from there. If you managed to gather up the majority of the class's censure votes, your target's expulsion would be effectively guaranteed, right?"

"I-I had nothing to do with that!"

Despite claiming otherwise, Yamauchi made no further attempts to defend himself.

"Then who did?"

"I-I dunno, okay!? I... was just told to cast my censure vote for Ayanokōji!"

Lying in desperation like this usually didn't result in things turning out the way you wanted.

"A goose chase to end it all off," Sakayanagi stated like she was watching an exciting thriller.

A look that was witnessing her magnum opus, one full of joy and wonder.

And then, she'll have to witness her greatest desire being ripped away from her once again. Things end up equal, at the end of the day.

"If you don't know who started it, then why don't you tell me who told you to cast your censure vote for Ayanokōji-kun instead?"

"That's... uh..."

"You had to have heard it from somebody, right? You're not going to say you don't know, are you?"

Yamauchi seemed nearly at his wit's end as he looked around the classroom.

"...Kanji! I heard it from Kanji! Right dude!?"

He proceeded to pin the blame on his best friend.

"What? No! It wasn't me!"

Naturally, Ike denied it.

"This is like one of those comedies where the main character's life spins out of control because of a lie, but you can't even laugh at it this time. It's just that pathetic," Kiryuuin scoffed.

"You can't be at your wits end if there was no wit to begin with," Kushida mumbled.

"I wonder how much he's sneezing right now," Sudo stated out of the blue.

Huh?

"I don't understand how that relates to this," Horikita voiced her confusion.

"Well, you know how there's a thing where someone sneezes when other people are thinking of them. So Yamauchi could be sneezing a lot then," Sudo explained bluntly.

It was like a child explaining that they saw a ghost.

"I don't think so, but it doesn't matter either way," Horikita sighed.

"Is that really true, Ike-kun?"

"No no no no no. It absolutely wasn't me. I heard it from..."

Ike was, understandably, at a loss for words.

After all, the person who had suggested it to him was none other than Kushida, and he couldn't just sell her out.

"From your silence, I'm sensing that you're incapable of providing an answer. In which case, perhaps you really are the mastermind like Yamauchi-kun says?"

"No, no! So, err... Kikyō-chan came to me, asking for help... She said that there was someone who was in a lot of trouble, so she needed me to cast my censure vote for Ayanokōji."

This time, Ike passed the blame along to Kushida.

"Kushida-senpai's blood must've been boiling. You know, I'm a little sad we don't get other perspectives that often," Amasawa stated with a pout.

"Yeah, right. You love listening to his thoughts every other day. I refuse to believe anything else, not possible," Yagami thought.

"It could be interesting. But Ayanokouji does the narrator job pretty well, we'd probably lose out on some important details if it wasn't him," Yagami shrugged, basically saying that he didn't care.

"But it's so much fun to see people freak out. I only said sometimes, and this case is one of them," Amasawa chuckled.

Getting to know what I think is important to him, he wouldn't trade that for anything. To see how I react, what things make me do what, how my actions differ from the White Room, all of these are vital to him. Even on that day when we first decided to make this bet, he tried to prey on my desire to stop being bothered by that man.

Information is a commodity, it's what makes the world go around. There is information that no amount of money can buy, that's what makes it a weapon. You can see people's souls with it, understand them psychologically, and pick them apart. Though, information is only half the battle, the way one uses it decides the victor.

Of course, there was no way Kushida was going to sit back and let this happen.

She hated the idea of being targeted more than anyone else in the room.

"Don't tell me that you're the mastermind, Kushida-san?"

Horikita was determined to trace down each lead until she got to the bottom of this.

In a situation like this where a specific person was being targeted, it wasn't a very big deal if she didn't find out the identity of the mastermind right away. By questioning people one at a time like this, she'd eventually find out the truth either way.

"I... well... a certain someone approached me, saying they needed my help, so... it was kind of hard to turn them down..."

Horikita's response was as clear as can be.

"This was expected nonetheless. Detectives chase down every lead until they end up at the perpetrator, this is no different," Manabu stated while adjusting his glasses.

"And just who is this 'certain someone'?"

Ultimately, the blame that Yamauchi had tried so hard to avoid was about to come around full circle.

But Yamauchi, getting overwhelmed by anxiety, hurriedly tried to pass it on once again.

"Th-that's right! I was told by Kikyō-chan! She asked me to help her get Ayanokōji expelled!"

Spurred on by a single lie, there was no way of knowing when this chain reaction of accusations would come to an end.

"M-me!?"

"Everyone else also heard it from Kikyō-chan, right? Right? Am I right?"

Kushida had indeed been the one entrusted to act as an intermediary.

"This reminds me of what Kushida said in an earlier video," Ichinose pointed out.

"And that was?" Kanzaki asked and looked at her curiously.

"That it doesn't matter what the opposition says as long as Kushida's social status is higher," Ichinose quoted.

And that's what saved her. If she didn't have that status, Yamauchi's lies would have had a more difficult time coming to light.

"And that's what's going to be used against her. It's a shame, Kushida. Your previous self was more effective, but you aren't a waste of space in present, there are still things you can offer," Yagami thought.

"I'm sure she understood that it was the best tool she had. After all, a person who values something so much will come up with lots of things to protect it," Kanzaki analysed.

However, there was something that most everyone in the class understood.

And that, was that Kushida Kikyō was a student who would only ever take action for the sake of her friends, and she would never do something to try and trick or frame somebody.

The difference in the amount of trust they had managed to build up was more than clear.

"You're so cruel Yamauchi-kun... I... even though I really didn't want to abandon Ayanokōji-kun, you came asking for my help... but, even though I did the best I could..."

Kushida spoke, burying her face down into her desk, her voice filled with anguish.

And Ichinose's intuition proved right.

"God, your voice is so annoying," Hosen insulted.

"It gives the impression of a chipmunk on helium," Ryuuen agreed.

Maybe Sakayanagi wasn't wrong when she said Hosen and Ryuuen were two sides of the same coin.

"That facade that once saved her is now pushing her lower and lower. It's poetic, almost," Sakayanagi giggled.

"It's surprising that they seem to hate Kushida more than Ayanokouji. He's done worse things, in a moral sense," Yagami pointed out.

I doubt he cared, he just wanted to get a better understanding of the class's thoughts.

"The difference is that Ayanokouji has actively helped their class go from nothing to what it is now, and he also had a lot less trust before being revealed. Kushida broke the trust that was cultivated for over a year and her contributions aren't at the same level. And the students don't fear Kushida as much as they do Ayanokouji. Does that answer your questions?" Sakayanagi answered condescendingly.

Sakayanagi was exactly on the mark, so no student from our class could answer. Essentially, Yagami was blocked from more information due to Sakayanagi's answer.

"Yes, that clears things up. I kind of wanted to hear it from the source themselves, but they seem to agree, right?" Yagami stated, trying to salvage anything.

Maybe fifteen or twenty students nodded or mumbled a feeble 'yeah'. It wasn't much, but he got something out of it, at least.

It was probably all that the class needed to hear to get a grasp on who was really telling the truth. The scene of Yamauchi earnestly begging for Kushida to help him was probably playing through all their minds.

Yamauchi's predicament was steadily getting worse and worse, and it would only continue to deteriorate moving forward. Of course, this must've also been a headache for Kushida, but given the situation, there was no helping it if she wanted to avoid being targeted.

After all, the absolute worst-case scenario was expulsion.

"...Kushida-san."

Horikita called out to Kushida, who was covering her face.

Everyone probably thought she was about to say something to comfort her.

"Your actions have also been a huge mistake."

"Must've felt amazing doing that, huh? Maybe not as good as an orgasm, but it's up there," Ryuuen stated boldly.

Horikita rolled her eyes at his comment.

"Calling out your biggest problem and ridiculing them, it really is a shame you weren't able to expel her then, right?" Sakayanagi asked.

Back then... No, maybe not even back then. I don't think Horikita wanted to expel Kushida, she tried too hard to fix that bond to let it go.

"I don't know. I never had the opportunity, so I don't know what I would do," Horikita stated with a stiff tone.

Sakayanagi looked at her with a grin.

"What a wonderful leader," Sakayanagi smirked.

With a strong tone, Horikita reprimanded her.

"In this class, you hold influence on the same level as Hirata-kun and Karuizawa-san... No, your influence is even stronger than theirs. As such, if you nominate someone as a target, a great number of your classmates are going to listen to you."

"I-I didn't want that. I just wanted to help Yamauchi-kun..."

"Stop with the sophistry, you aren't that stupid. You should've known what would happen if you helped him from the very beginning."

Facing Horikita's reproachful words, Kushida stood up from her desk, weeping.

"I didn't think that far ahead! It's just, I couldn't simply ignore Yamauchi-kun's problem... his suffering... I had to help somehow!"

"How low can one's status go? That's an interesting experiment. Though it isn't really quantifiable, which is a shame," Amasawa sighed.

At most, you simply see the effects that low social status has on one's life. Social status is too subjective to make it a viable experiment.

"I really hate this. So many eyes staring into me. I get it, but it's also annoying as fuck. It's not like I lost any progress, I guess. I can't lose something I never had. But I'm in an even worse position than before. I wonder if it's even possible to go up from here now," Kushida thought.

Kushida looked at no one, she stared at the screen, not even taking a small glance at the orbs glaring holes in her. It was like she was off in her own world, or trying to, at least.

"No, you knew. You ignored the problem at hand, knowing very well what the outcome would be."

Confronted with Horikita's excessive prodding, Kushida flinched, faltering with her response.

In this situation, she couldn't aggressively retort back to Horikita even if she wanted to.

There was absolutely no way she would break character and take off her mask under these circumstances.

There was no way Horikita didn't understand this as well.

"This ordeal was caused by your own lapse in judgment. You should've done something about it much sooner."

"That... I don't know what to do..."

The students also understood this. Kushida was trapped in a corner, but this wasn't even Sakayanagi's intention, it was simply a byproduct of her actions with Yamauchi.

"Where would this scale on the Kushida bad day list?" Ryuuen muttered while looking at his phone.

"What are you doing?" Hiyori asked, her retinas on Ryuuen's phone.

"I'm making a new list. It's a ranking of the days when Kushida got the worst treatment. Number 1 is the day she got exposed, and number 2 is the day Ayanokouji discovered her, but I don't know if this incident is above or below the day she got discovered in middle school," Ryuuen pondered.

"Is it going to be like the baby-" Ishizaki began.

"Bring up the babysitter list and I'm going to make a copy of your room card and put it under everyone's door," Ryuuen threatened.

Ishizaki, who looked like he had seen Cthulhu, shut his mouth instantly.

"The middle school day is 3rd, if you wanted to know," Kushida sighed.

"Thanks. This is really important to me, you know? I wanted to get it just right," Ryuuen stated condescendingly.

I always wonder how he has the energy to mess with people every day.

"You should reflect on what has happened here and strive to take actions that will benefit the class from now on."

Horikita said the final word on the matter, turning a deaf ear to Kushida's excuses.

"Be that as it may, it seems there's no mistaking the fact that the primary offender is Yamauchi-kun."

Horikita dropped her temporary focus on Kushida's wrongdoings once again swapped her attention back to Yamauchi.

"W-wait Horikita. I told you it wasn't me..."

"My my, this has been quite the interesting discussion. Though, isn't it only natural for the boy to try and get somebody else removed from school? Pushing past all the nonsensical formalities, this exam is nothing more than the rabble of the class fighting for their own survival. Or, is there any particular reason why only he should be condemned, hmm?"

"So that's where this is leading, hmm? I wonder if Koenji knew of that beforehand, or it was simply his own thoughts that he voiced," Yagami theorised.

Many students were unsure of the way this was 'leading', as Yagami puts it. Though when it comes to Koenji...

"I always voice my thoughts with carefully crafted words. It's just elementary diplomacy," Koenji answered confidently.

...He's brutal honesty incarnate.

Kobashi looked at Yagami and asked him meekly, "Where is this leading? I don't think people follow."

"You'll find out anyway, so it doesn't matter now, I guess," Yagami dismissed the question.

Kōenji made a statement that didn't appear to align with anyone, although it was probably going to end up working out in Horikita's favor.

"Right you are. While assembling a group with the intention of getting rid of somebody else may not be the most praiseworthy thing to do, it surely doesn't seem fair to blame him for simply trying to survive. Well, that's only if that's all there is to it."

"Oh?"

"Yamauchi-kun. You haven't been trying to expel Ayanokōji-kun just to protect yourself, have you?"

"W-wait! I said to wait! I told you it wasn't me!"

"How ugly. Everyone presently in this classroom fully believes it was, so come now let's hear it. Why did he target Ayanokōji-boy?"

The students not in the know looked at the screen closely. And most of them noticed that Horikita had hinted at another motive.

Horikita nodded her head in agreement.

"He, Yamauchi-kun, has been colluding with Sakayanagi-san behind the scenes, taking orders and carrying them out for her."

The truth was exposed to broad daylight.

It wasn't shock, nor surprise. Rather, it was as if the room collectively went 'oh'. Perhaps it slipped their mind because they were so engrossed in the persecution of Yamauchi.

"Although is there really a way to prove that?" Manabu asked his sister.

"There's a possibility that their conversations on his phone possessed something, but if Sakayanagi did all of it in person, there really isn't any evidence. However, this wasn't a case at the student council, it was a public speaking task," Horikita addressed her thought process.

"Yes, that's the key part. As long as you can convince them, you can get your point across and achieve your goal. It's not a case where you need to convince someone beyond a shadow of a doubt, but one where you need to pile up enough circumstantial evidence and point out as many inconsistencies as possible," Manabu examined.

"That's quite the worrisome piece of information, now isn't it? Collusion with a student from Class A... How unpleasant."

This was probably the reason why Kōenji had involved himself with this discussion in the first place.

Kōenji was still at risk of being expelled, so he was probably looking to make use of Horikita to avoid the danger. By revealing a truly unnecessary student, the class would put them to trial instead.

Even if Yamauchi hadn't colluded with Sakayanagi or targeted someone else, the fact that he was the most unnecessary student in the class still hadn't changed. It probably would've ended up like this either way.

It's probably fair to say that the time needed to back Yamauchi into a corner had been considerably reduced, thanks to the fact that he had gone along with Sakayanagi's scheme.

"So he sped up his own downfall. I'd make fun of him, but it happens a shit ton," Hosen shrugged.

"Oi Haruki, you've been colluding with Sakayanagi-chan...?"

Not only was his role as the mastermind revealed, but his connection with Class A had as well.

Even his best friend Ike wasn't able to take this news sitting down.

"T-that's nonsense! There's no evidence!"

"I wonder if you'd be willing to show me your phone, then? You should have Sakayanagi-san registered in your contacts."

"That's... because we're friends! There's nothing suspicious about me having her registered!"

It's true that there wouldn't be anything suspicious about it if the two of them really did have a friendly relationship.

"Yeah, they were on the verge of dating, Suzune. How could you think otherwise?" Ryuuen asked.

It reminds me of the water bottle tape when everyone had turned Horikita into the clown of the day to be laughed at. The days before I had to deal with Yagami, but I guess I knowingly brought this adversity to me.

"A potential student council president can't even understand something so small, things are going downhill," Amasawa playfully shook her head and stated.

People in the room grew quiet. Chats dropped to whispers and murmurs.

"Everyone seems to have gotten quiet all of a sudden," Nagumo stated indifferently.

"The student council president decision is a touchy subject, it seems. There's also the fact that some people may think you're biased because of your disdain towards me," Manabu told him.

Nagumo glanced at him and sighed, "Is that what this is about? I'd tell you that I'm not biased, but I highly doubt anyone of you would believe me, so I suppose it's pointless."

Nagumo ignored the eyes targetted at him and turned his attention back to the screen.

Yagami could have asked Nagumo or referenced it like Amasawa did, but there's always a possibility that Nagumo may not like being asked, which would inadvertantly lower his chances.

Yagami wouldn't dislike the student council president seat, there's no doubt about that. The powers are absolute. The influence, control and status are unparalleled. To lower that chance, even slightly, is moronic in his eyes.

Though, I guess all of Yagami's endeavors are pointless.

He could insult Nagumo and do whatever he wanted, but that wouldn't change anything.

Nagumo and I both know why.

Yagami will take up the mantle.

And then, he'll fall.

He'll fall with the thought that everything he did was for nothing.

However, the fact that recently, Sakayanagi had openly contacted Yamauchi was fresh in the minds of everyone in the classroom.

Horikita had probably asked Yamauchi about his contacts in order to remind everyone of what had taken place.

"Do... do you seriously have ties with Sakayanagi-chan?"

Coming from his closest friend, Ike's question felt scornful.

"I-I'm telling you... Why would I join up with Class A!? I'd never betray my friends! This is really the first time I've ever heard about this! Come on and give me a break already...!"

At his wit's end, Yamauchi played the victim.

"Wrong. Under her orders, you convinced our classmates to target Ayanokōji-kun. After all, she's much more clever than you are. She gave you clear instructions on how to get Ayanokōji-kun expelled from the school."

"I'd appreciate the compliment, but it was far too obvious to anyone with a rational mindset," Sakayanagi giggled.

"It must've been easy to convince him, right?" Horikita asked.

"Of course, it's like scholar's mating a beginner," Sakayanagi softly nodded.

A scholar's mate, huh? I suppose it is like that. An easy to see plan for someone with basic knowledge, but anyone who isn't aware or has tunnel vision may not see it.

"N-no no no!"

"Furthermore, there was probably also something that convinced Yamauchi-kun to willingly cooperate with her. Something like an invitation to start dating, perhaps?"

"Agh!"

Bull's-eye. As Horikita pointed out the one truth that he wanted to keep hidden more than anything else, Yamauchi expressed a whole new kind of agitation.

This was probably something Horikita had deduced all on her own, and based on his reaction, it seemed that she had hit it right on the mark.

"So this is the end of the play, huh? I mean, there's no way for anyone else to have a chance for expulsion now," Amasawa sighed deeply.

"You'd be surprised how idiotic the members of the class can get," Sakayanagi stated coldly.

"But you wanna know something?" Amasawa stated with a hint of amusement in her voice, "There's always a chance to get caught, didn't he think it was too risky? You know, I thought he was too dumb to think that, but then I remembered those votes from other classes. There's always the chance that he was just too dumb to think your plan could fail, but that's not the only possibility," Amasawa told Sakayanagi with an expectant grin.

"Perhaps," Sakayanagi dismissed her comment.

"There's no reason for the class to expel someone far superior to you like Ayanokōji-kun because of this stupid, worthless motive of yours. This is the primary reason why I nominate you for expulsion."

Horikita spoke not toward Yamauchi, but toward the entirety of the class.

"None of us want to lose one of our classmates. However, you betrayed your own class and colluded with the enemy. You even tried to target one of your very own friends... You are, without a doubt, the most unnecessary student in the class."

"Th-That's..."

You could practically hear the cogs turning inside Yamauchi's head as he frantically thought about how to get out of his current situation.

"If... Even if we assume what you're saying is true... why am I the only one being criticized for it? Trying to protect myself by working with another class is a legitimate form of self-defense, isn't it!? It's not like I want to be expelled!"

Most students could find a logical and sound retort to Yamauchi's words. It was the final whimpering of his inner flame trying to get any kindling. It reminds me of that cold, windowless room, somewhat.

"I'm surprised no one in your class was laughing. This is prime entertainment," Hashimoto chuckled.

Well, I'm sure at least one person was enjoying it.

"I see. So essentially, you're asking 'what's wrong with trying to protect myself?', right?"

It was a pitiful, stubborn excuse, but Yamauchi still wasn't willing to admit to it.

"Self-preservation is certainly important. However, I don't see very much value in someone who's willing to throw away one of their peers in order to gain that protection, much less someone who's sold their soul to an enemy."

Horikita wouldn't stand down, no matter how much Yamauchi tried to resist.

"Y-you're just standing up for Ayanokōji because you're on good terms with him!"

Of course, the students saw me as Horikita's orbiter. The topic of bias is always there, but it wouldn't matter because of the trust the students have in Horikita.

However, there was nothing to be said anymore. Yamauchi's statements were so illogical that there was no need to question them. Everything went along to the whim of Sakayanagi, and Yamauchi was pitifully trying to survive. That's the takeaway the students have gotten.

"Not at all. This was the objective outcome of a calm, composed judgment. Both you and Ayanokōji-kun started out from the very same place. Comparing the two of you side by side, the difference between your overall contribution to the class is painfully clear. Furthermore, considering your connection with Class A, there's simply no more room for discussion."

"No objections here. I believe that Horikita-girl's proposal is quite desirable. We certainly don't want to keep around someone who could potentially betray the class. I certainly couldn't spend time with a student who could potentially betray the class. She has my support."

With that, Kōenji was the first to support for Horikita's proposal.

"Wait! I haven't betrayed anyone! I swear on my life!"

As a last-ditch effort, Yamauchi swore on his life to prove he wasn't lying.

Not a single person would believe him.

"It's the same as a criminal swearing on their life. Even if they were right, no one cares," Nagumo stated offhandedly.

Blunt but true.

It was hard to say whether or not his sentiment managed to reach his fellow classmates.

"Oh! Then, why in the world is it Ayanokōji, huh!?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Even if I really was somehow taking orders from Sakayanagi-chan, instead of trying to expel someone like Ayanokōji, wouldn't it make more sense for me to target someone more dangerous?"

This was probably a lingering doubt from back when Sakayanagi had first approached him. Instead of Ayanokōji, why not pick one of the central figures of the class like Hirata or Karuizawa?

"Was that really a doubt he had? It's obvious that they're too difficult to expel," Matsushita critiqued.

"Yeah, but this is Yamauchi we're talking about," Kei told her.

"You've got a point," Matsushita sighed softly.

"That's rough, buddy," Ike thought.

"I'm guessing that it's because he doesn't stand out very much, for better or worse. Even if she wanted you to expel a more outstanding student, you wouldn't be able to do so very easily. So, she chose someone unobtrusive like Ayanokōji-kun. As far as Sakayanagi-san was concerned, it probably didn't matter who got expelled. She just wanted a spy, a chess piece she could move however she wanted."

There was no way somebody like Yamauchi could've resisted getting caught up in such a cunning strategy.

"I'm guessing that there are some of you who aren't too happy about my nomination as well. In which case, please feel free to cast your censure vote for me. Whether you want to vote for Yamauchi-kun or Ayanokōji-kun, or even anybody else, just go ahead and do it. I just felt that I needed to share my opinion with everyone, which is exactly why I decided to hold this discussion in the first place. Please try to account for this as you come to your own decision."

Horikita spoke confidently, resolved to put everything on the line for what she believed was right, and it was probably going to pay off.

Manabu had a somewhat proud look at the screen.

"So that's the result. But I think people are forgetting something," Ryuuen vaguely claimed.

Many students in the room turned to him, expecting an elaboration.

"Do I have to spell it out for you? You guys really musta been invested in the video then. How did Horikita get the info that Yamauchi was a traitor?" Ryuuen scoffed.

"Well, I just thought Ayanokouji told her," Ishizaki stated blankly.

"Why was she so confident then? Is being told basic info by Ayanokouji enough to make her be so different? Shitty theory, not gonna lie," Ryuuen critiqued.

It seems he had realised that something must've happened to Horikita beforehand. Though, it probably won't matter to him. It's in his nature to point out things that don't make sense, it doesn't matter if it interests him after the answer has been revealed.

Ryuuen didn't elaborate from that point, he let the thought wander the room.

However, Sudō proceeded to chime in once again.

"Hold up, Suzune... I think I understand the gist of the situation. I also get that Haruki is the one in the wrong here..."

His expression was gloomy. This was a desperate show of resistance from someone who always abided by Horikita's orders.

"But, I'm against having Haruki get expelled."

"Well, he is your friend. I'm well aware of how important he is to you."

However, Horikita had already anticipated that Sudō would choose to back Yamauchi.

Yet, Sudō also wasn't willing to simply back down.

"It's always in the nature for the kid to have a rebellious period," Amasawa giggled.

So he graduated from Horikita's dog to Horikita's child. Is that a good thing? Probably not.

Sudo scratched his nape in nervousness, not knowing how to respond.

"He's my friend, so I'm gonna protect him. That makes sense right? I know it's pretty bad that he went and did what he did with Class A and all but... we don't gotta expel him for that. Isn't it all good as long as he reflects and seriously contributes moving forward?"

"If that was the case, there'd be no need to expel Ayanokōji-kun either, since he hasn't done anything wrong."

"T-that's-"

"This whole perspective of yours is flawed, Sudō-kun."

Horikita took a short breath, readying herself to bring forth all the courage she could muster.

She stood tall, having fully resolved herself to be hated by her peers.

"By protecting one person, you're abandoning somebody else. It follows that this exam isn't about sentiment. It's about theory."

Horikita's words seemed to touch Ichinose the most.

"That's exactly how it is, huh?" Ichinose stated with a solemn look.

"That's the type of special exam that this is. It's unfortunate that you had to go through with it, but there's nothing to be done anymore," Chabashira claimed.

I'm still wondering about how she relates to this type of exam. Did she make a bad choice about expelling someone? I can't say. But I feel near certain it's the reason for the immense distance between her and Hoshinomiya.

"So you're saying it was just unlucky we had to do it? I really am getting curious about this hidden mastermind now," Ryuuen stated, his voice dripping with anticipation.

Chabashira ignored his comment.

Sudō opened his mouth but proceeded to sink into silence.

His desire to help his friend was clear.

But in order to do that, it meant that somebody else would have to be expelled instead.

Forming a group and trying to control the votes was, in and of itself, a mistake.

Until today, the class had been free to take whatever action they saw fit for the upcoming exam. Everyone had been consumed with negative thoughts, thinking specific people deserved to be expelled. Thinking that there was no point in fighting back against something that had already seemed to be decided upon.

This was exactly why it had come down to this. Everyone had realized that they aren't able to take action for the sake of the class and that they just wanted to save themselves. If Horikita had done this on the day the exam was announced, it probably wouldn't have been nearly as effective. More importantly, if she had appealed to the class before they had been forced to go through this special exam, her words probably wouldn't have resonated with them. But now, everyone should be able to understand just how difficult and frightening it is to take the initiative and try to expel one of your classmates.

"Now, I wonder if she was the one who realised that this was the best moment to do that, or maybe it was just a coincidence," Nagumo pondered.

"What are you getting at?" Kiryuuin asked.

Normally, it would be Asahina questioning Nagumo's actions, leaving Kiryuuin with no need to do so. But Asahina was left without a voice.

"Well, I just think that the timing was awfully perfect. But perhaps I'm reading too much into it," Nagumo shrugged.

"Sorry, Haruki... I can't do anything for you..."

Honestly, Sudō's newfound maturity was shocking. He still had a tendency where he'd easily lose his temper after some small provocations, so while he had some ways to go, he was broadening his own horizons, little by little.

Even though it was a choice between me and a close friend, he had been able to put my relatively close relationship with Horikita aside and calmly come to a reasonable decision.

"Looks like it's decided then, Horikita-girl."

Kōenji and the other spectators were ready to hand down their verdict.

"Wait! Wait! Stop!"

Yamauchi began shouting, begging for them to stop.

"God, I'm tired of this by now. Just him bitching and moaning again and again," Hosen complained.

There is one last moment in this video though, one that breaks the ideal the students have of a student.

"It'd be stupid of you to waste your censure votes on me!!!"

"I've already made up my mind. Nobody here deserves to be voted for more than you do."

"Yeah but! I've already made an agreement with everyone to vote for Ayanokōji!"

"...I... take back everything..."

"Huh?"

Kushida spoke quietly, her eyes cast downward.

"I made a mistake... I wanted to help Yamauchi-kun... but I didn't realize the gravity of the situation. I'm taking back what I asked of everyone..."

Given the situation, in order to avoid ruining her own reputation, Kushida had no choice but to side with Horikita.

"I can't believe I pitied you back then," Shinohara muttered.

With the statuses switched, she's free to be taken down as many pegs as the students wanted. Shinohara isn't even the only one, she's just the vocal portion of the majority.

"So this was his so-called plan to get him expelled. Honestly, Tsukishiro, what a garbage plan. But I suppose that's only if you did want him expelled, but with another goal in mind, perhaps it's a stroke of brilliance. Reading his plastic mask for a face was always difficult, and even his words are not to be trusted" Yagami thought.

"And the Oscar goes to Kushida Kikyo," Hashimoto chuckled.

"You gonna slap him, Kikyo? You tried to punch Ayanokouji, so a slap is nothing compared to that," Ryuuen chuckled.

"God, I hate him," Kushida muttered indistinctly.

"Wait wait. What're you saying!? You're breaking your own promise!!! How cruel!"

"You're the cruel one here Yamauchi-kun... going as far as to betray your own classmates..."

And now, Yamauchi was completely alone.

The feeling of being targeted by many of your peers was one he should know better than anyone.

"You are the weakest link in the class, and you're a traitor."

Horikita reiterated her point with both indifference and composure.

"That's everything I wanted to say."

With this, she attempted to bring the discussion to a close.

There didn't appear to be anybody willing to oppose her anymore.

Most students looked ready to get up and leave.

Of course, everything was done.

Yamauchi was called out.

Kushida was exposed.

Sakayanagi's play went to a crescendo and now there's only the soft epilogue.

"In conclusion, I'd like to hear the opinions of everyone here. What are your thoughts?"

However...

"I want you to hold on for a second, Horikita-san."

"...Is something the matter?"

A male student raised his hand and proceeded to stand up from his seat.

If there was a sole factor that had fallen outside of Horikita's calculations, it would have to be the existence of Hirata Yōsuke.

Though the play came to a climax and the epilogue was on the way, there were nevertheless some things to be dealt with beforehand.

The students from class D all remember that outburst. And even if the memories were foggy, they would soon become crystal clear.

His hatred and hopes.

His ideals and selfishness.

They would all be laid bare, left present for the world to see.

"Even though I've stayed silent and let you say everything you wanted to say, I must object to the way you're inducing the rest of the class to vote with you. For comrades to come together to kick somebody out like this... it's just plain wrong."

Hirata's words didn't come from a place of sentiment like Sudō, nor did they from logic like Horikita. Instead, they came from a place of suffering and resistance, spurned forward from his inability to come to an answer.

"There isn't any other way. This exam doesn't have any loopholes. It's unreasonable, but somebody in our class is, without a shadow of a doubt, going to be sacrificed. Don't tell me you still haven't come to terms with this yet?"

"How could I possibly come to terms with it? I... I don't want to lose anyone. It'd be different if somebody wanted to be expelled, but whether it's Yamauchi-kun or Ayanokōji-kun, neither of them actually do."

"I told people he was a whole 'nother can of worms, but no one believed me," Ryuuen stated condescendingly.

A harsh shift was there between his ideals and reality.

People tend to find it difficult to accept reality, there's no shame in that, of course. No one likes change. This is something that history has always pointed out. But the quicker one understands that they may need to change, the easier it is. If an individual were to go 'I won't have it, I will not change', then they've abandoned their best quality. Humans are great at adapting, it's their strongest attribute.

"I'm a little glad no one is ridiculing me for these words," Yosuke sighed.

I would attest that to two main things. His popularity, and the students being too shocked by the change in demeanour to say a word. They saw this part of him before, but it was only a fraction of Yosuke's true self.

"Neither of them actually want it? You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who actually wants it. How about I raise a pointless question to the rest of the class? Could I get a show of hands of everyone who feels like they want to be expelled from the school? If you come out now, there won't be any need for any of this anymore. The rest of us will unanimously cast our censure votes for you and wash our hands of all of this."

Not a single person raised their hand. If there actually was such a convenient student, they would've already announced their candidacy ages ago.

"Do you get it now?"

"No. There's no way I'd be willing to accept something so horrible."

The perfect honor's student, well-versed in both sports and academics. A truly virtuous guy.

But despite all of that, Hirata Yōsuke's weakness was revealed.

"A messiah complex, huh? Or maybe you just can't make a decision," Tsubaki muttered.

"Those things aren't mutually exclusive," Utomiya contested.

"I suppose so," Tsubaki pondered.

"People, especially young ones, always have their idols. But sooner or later, that impression they have built in their minds and the reality always differ. The idol gets nailed up onto a cross, and they are only able to deal with it. The thing that makes it interesting is that I've noticed the way they deal with it is a measure of their maturity," Chairman Sakayanagi.

The students only know one part of Yosuke's past. Without the second side of the coin, they're left in the dark.

"It'll be shown, won't it?" Yosuke asked me.

For the first time in a while, he was directly speaking to me.

"Yeah, there's no doubt about it," I admitted.

The students who were in earshot looked confused at the exchange, but they spoke nothing of it.

When the time comes and he's pressured to make a decisive decision, he's overwhelmed, unable to do anything at all.

"I have faith in my decision to push forward here, regardless of whether you're willing to accept it or not, so let's take a vote. Here and now."

"There's no reason for us to do that. There's no way to guarantee who people will vote for tomorrow."

"That's not true. It's important to keep an eye on the voting trends of our classmates."

"It's pointless. Everyone... everyone's trying to get someone expelled! I can't...!"

Hirata was probably afraid that Horikita's actions would spark a fire that would burn out of control, causing personal information such as 'who hates who' to be made public.

"That doesn't guarantee it, though. He's not wrong," Sakayanagi critiqued.

"I just had to get my point across no matter what," Horikita sighed.

"Forcing people to follow what you want. Suzune, it's a little derivative, don't you think?" Ryuuen stated condescendingly.

"Are you really proud of that? And here I thought Ayanokouji had made an impact on you," Horikita responded with no trouble.

"Proud, not proud, I don't care. I'm merely stating a fact that you seem to have taken something from someone else's playbook," Ryuuen chuckled.

"As if that's some novel concept you created," Horikita retorted.

You could argue that it's not a very novel idea, but Horikita has heard of Ryuuen doing this time and time again. There is a case to be made that Horikita was influenced by those actions.

"Well then, everyone, let's get on with it."

Horikita disregarded Hirata and once again attempted to take the vote.

Nobody could stop her anymore. It was the moment of truth.

"Horikita-san!"

A loud, unnatural sound echoed throughout the classroom.

Something happened that nobody in the room had even slightly expected.

Hirata had kicked over his desk, sending it flying forward as it toppled to the ground.

Even some students flinched due to the loud sound that reverberated through the speakers.

This side of Yosuke, the one that was known only to himself, was a shock to many.

"Wha... Uhm, H-Hirata-kun?"

I could hear the voice of one of the girls, reeling in utter disbelief.

And to be fair, I was just as surprised.

It was the type of situation that made me wonder if he had simply gotten carried away and his foot had accidentally made contact with his desk.

The same was true for Chabashira.

His unbelievable behavior was simply far too unexpected.

"Would you just stop, Horikita-san?"

He had lowered the tone of his voice, as though he was trying to scare her into backing down.

"We're not as different as I thought," Ryuuen stated with an amused grin.

He was clearly enjoying this. Even his taunting and methods during the sports festival couldn't illicit a reaction even close to this.

But most students weren't like Ryuuen. Though some were intrigued and neutral, most were simply trying to ascertain Yosuke's thoughts and nature. They were perhaps conflating their own interactions with Yosuke to this version, trying to formulate any conclusions about him.

"...What do you want me to stop?"

Horikita answered with a question of her own, adjusting her bangs to help hide her outright shock.

"I'm telling you, stop it with this vote."

"You don't have the right..."

Hirata's daunting words caused her voice to waver just a little.

That was just how much intensity his voice carried.

"This discussion has been a mistake."

"If so, then what in the world should we be doing? It's not like you have any ideas. You haven't been doing anything this entire time."

"...So what?"

"It's not an exciting kind of lashing out, more like the last embers flaring before going out. Just a futile attempt that won't change anything," Sakayanagi stated disinterestedly.

An attempt that won't change anything.

These were the words that must've affected Yosuke the most. He lashed out with nothing to come of it. Even if he had moved past it, it still may linger in the back of his mind.

"...So what? I'm saying it's a problem. You haven't been making a proper assessment of the situation."

"Shut up..."

"No, I won't shut up. I-"

"Horikita... just shut your mouth already."

Hirata spoke sharply, coldly interrupting her. His words were far heavier than anything we had ever heard him say before.

It felt as though the air within the classroom had frozen over.

"Listen up, everyone."

Hirata's tone had changed as he addressed the class, making him seem like a different person entirely.

"I wonder how many girls are turned on by this version of him," Ryuuen commented offhandedly.

Many of the guys let out a small chuckle or held back their laughter, but the girls all stayed silent as if their ability to speak was taken away from them.

"Anyway..." Hashimoto began, "This certainly makes things more interesting. If he had continued with his normal persona and made these claims, they probably would have gone across a lot better. But with this anger and hostile impression he gives off, the students are much more hesitant to do so."

His emotions got the best of him and he didn't get what he wanted, but in hindsight, this was the better option.

"It doesn't matter at all whether everything that's been said so far is true or not."

"...It wasn't! She was definitely lying, Hirata! I'm just a victim here!"

Yamauchi clamored to Hirata, having been forced into a dire situation.

"Victim?"

"Er..."

Hirata's deep, relentless gaze pierced through Yamauchi.

"After everything that's been said, there's no way you're innocent here."

"That's... I..."

"The fact that you guys are fine with betraying one your own makes me sick to my stomach."

"Even with all that anger, you still find a way to make fun of him. It's impressive to make people hate you that much," Nagumo stated.

"He was like that before this incident," Sakayanagi giggled.

"I suppose that's true, but not to this level. Although some bait is enough for a fish to do anything," Nagumo told her.

"I fully agree," Sakayanagi smirked.

His anger wasn't just directed toward Yamauchi, but the class as a whole.

"It's an exam. We don't have any other choice."

"Either way, it's wrong to manipulate the vote like this."

"The exam is tomorrow. Are you saying that we should sit back and not do anything to prepare ourselves? That'd be no different from just silently allowing Yamauchi-kun's betrayal."

"What's wrong with not having a plan? We have no right to judge our classmates."

"What are you even saying...? Isn't that exactly what this special exam is asking of us? In fact, many of us actually want this."

Horikita knew this precisely because she had been standing up at the podium, taking in the gazes of her classmates.

"It's like looking into a more volatile mirror. I thought the same as him, thinking I don't have the right to judge my classmates. It isn't what the ideal leader I had envisioned in my mind would do. But I suppose it's different now for me, hopefully, it's different for him too," Ichinose thought.

The students knew that these were words out of anger and resistance, not ones out of logic and reason. His logic is so flawed that even a child could pick it apart, but they don't say anything about it. They just watch as Yosuke's suffering is laid bare.

However, Hirata wasn't willing to even try to accept this.

"...Aren't you the actual problem here?"

His low, heavy voice resonated throughout the classroom.

Even now, my brain refused to accept that this cold voice was coming from Hirata.

"It's true that this exam is far too heartless and cruel. I'll never be able to accept it. But, even so... if you can somehow get yourself to tolerate it, it's really nothing more than just a normal class poll. By no means is it here for you to pit everyone against each other like this."

"That's unrealistic. Behind the scenes, our classmates have been forming a group, holding discussions about how to manipulate the results of the vote. Ayanokōji-kun was going to take on all of that by himself."

"Did you know how unrealistic you were being? Feel free to not answer," Yagami asked.

Yosuke didn't answer immediately. He pondered about it for a moment, perhaps trying to recall how he felt.

"Yes, I did. To some extent, at least. But really, I was just trying to do the same thing Horikita was doing," Yosuke stated softly.

To force the class to think his way, but then again, that's what leaders do again and again. Perhaps it's the right or wrong thing to do, but that's something for the individual to decide. There are a multitude of situations where this method can be 'good' or 'bad'.

"Yes. That's also deplorable. Regardless, your blatant appeal to the entire class is a different thing entirely."

"It's the same. There's no difference. You should've stopped their plotting yourself if you really wanted to stay true to this hypocritical mindset of yours."

Nobody could cut into their conversation at this point.

Hirata was the on the edge of desperation, and the only person capable of talking it out with him was Horikita.

"Besides, even without taking a vote here, I've already finished explaining everything. Don't you realize that this 'normal vote' you wanted is already completely gone?"

"That's right... The die has been cast. You can't take back what's been said."

"If he's accepted that, maybe this outburst is coming to an end," Hosen sighed deeply.

It was a long video, definitely.

"But I feel like there's something more. He's too accepting of it," Kamuro muttered.

Hirata took a deep breath before continuing.

He regained a little bit of his composure, but there was no change in his cold attitude.

"That's why I'm going to cast my vote for you tomorrow, Horikita-san. I won't allow you to cause problems for this class again."

Kamuro's intuition proved right.

"Oof, voting for your own leader. It seems like we have something in common now, Suzune," Ryuuen smirked.

"Whatever you say," Horikita dismissed his comment.

Hirata was well aware of his own numerous inconsistencies. Nonetheless, he gets along with everyone in the class and values peace and camaraderie more than anyone. Which, consequently, was exactly why he was suffering.

"Yes. Do as you want."

Horikita didn't seem dissatisfied. It was as if she was encouraging the class to do the same if they agreed with him.

Having watched over the entire ordeal, Chabashira quietly approached the teaching podium.

"Is that all, Horikita?"

"Yes."

Horikita yielded the podium and returned to her seat.

It was over.

There are very few items on the list left.

Tsukishiro's existence.

Ryuuen's survival.

Halting Nagumo.

Classes had already been dismissed for the day, and this was no place for a teacher to interfere.

But even so, Chabashira once again stood before her students.

"You all may think this exam is an unreasonable, terrible thing being forced upon you by the school. However, once you enter society, you will definitely encounter a situation where someone has to be cast aside. Upper and senior management have to be willing to bring the hammer down when needed. The students who study at this school are nurtured to become important factors in the future success of Japan. You won't be able to grow if you perceive this exam as a simple means for the school to foster harassment."

In society, people who are hindrances are fired in order to protect the group as a whole.

"Hmm, these office analogy's are always hit or miss. This time it makes more sense, I guess," Amasawa shrugged.

The core message of the situation is in the analogy, which is the main part. If the analogy is able to express that, it's done its job.

"That island exam one was a stretch. Successful companies around the world do it, so we have to as well? It's not like surviving on the island is what made them successful, it's dumb. And also, not being able to criticise something without doing something on the same level is pretty stupid. You don't need to be a chef to say that food is burnt," Kushida agreed.

The teachers didn't say anything to it. It was a debate of differing opinions, one that would have no end.

Following this chain of logic, there are also backroom deals and vilification much like what had been done these past few days.

There are certainly factors of this special exam meant to help us mature into adulthood. However, it is by no means kind to force a group of students, still immature of both mind and body, to make this kind of judgment. The exam may end up negatively influencing the future of the students.

"I'm not going to provide my perspective on this discussion of yours. I believe everybody's participation has been valuable. I hope you all think carefully before you cast your votes tomorrow."

With that, Chabashira left the classroom, having finished listening to the entire discussion.

"It's a shame if you really went through a situation similar to ours, but it could have been beneficial to tell us about it," Horikita stated.

"I doubt it would help you," Chabashira denied the possibility.

"I think describing how it feels to expel or not expel someone would help. Along with the aftermath, which no student in our year has gone through, would be valuable information," Horikita retorted.

"The aftermath for our class was much more different than my situation. It really wouldn't help," Chabashira stated firmly.

I see. But what makes it so different? Is it the nature of the exam? The voting mechanism? I can't say.

Me? Yamauchi? Horikita? Possibly Hirata? Or perhaps even somebody else?

It was unclear who exactly people would be voting for in tomorrow's vote. In other words, the person being expelled tomorrow was still completely up in the air, and nobody would be able to find fault with it.

That's just the kind of special exam this is.

The screen faded to black.

"Oh, finally," Sudo groaned as he got up and stretched.

Getting out of the room, I began to walk home.

It's been a while since I've had nothing to do before or after school. No schemes to enact, nothing to set up, not even a date.

"It's like the beginning," I muttered.

The days when I wished for a peaceful life. And yet, I abandoned that path at every opportunity. How contradictory.

"It's shortlived, though," I sighed.

This day of peace is nothing but the interlude between actions. It's been like this for quite some time, but that's something I've accepted.

These videos have merely forced me to function in a new way.

"I wonder when this will all be over," I muttered.

Mutual Destruction and Rescue

Ryuuen POV:

"H-hey, Ryuuen! I wanted to ask you something," Ishizaki told me as I walked through the door of the class.

It's 8:30, man. I'm too tired to deal with this shit.

"Maybe later," I dismissed him and walked to my seat.

Ishizaki followed me and once I sat down, he continued to speak.

"When is later?" Ishizaki asked.

It's like he's a schoolgirl asking out someone. Essentially, he's desperate.

I guess I can't ignore him.

"I'll deal with the question after school today, alright?" I proposed.

Ishizaki, who looked nervous before, now had a look of joy on his face.

"Yeah, sure. I can deal with that," Ishizaki stated and went to his seat.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Ibuki staring at me.

"What are you looking at?" I asked her without looking in her direction.

"Nothing. I was just wondering why Ishizaki looked so happy all of a sudden," Ibuki grumbled.

I didn't give her a response.

Sakagami began his usual briefing. Man, this is like the 60th time, it's about as painful for us as it is for him.

"Let's go, now," Sakagami began to lead us out the door.

Ayanokouji POV:

In the auditorium, everyone began to get settled as the voice came back on.

"The day of the vote, here we are. Though, you will only get the results from one class's point of view. There are 3 videos in total which should answer nearly every query you may have."

I have a good idea of what these videos might be, then.

"So I take it this is the last video of this batch before the final exam," Horikita theorised.

Horikita was limited by her knowledge of the situation, so it's normal for her to think that.

"So we'll get the answer of who's behind the exam, then?" Hashimoto pondered.

"There's a chance it'll be shown today," Sakayanagi answered.

Tsukishiro's entrance.

A man who was playing a game within a game.

Back within Class C, the sound of Yamauchi restlessly tapping his foot was extremely distracting.

"Yo, Haruki... Try and quiet down a bit."

Ike quietly whispered a warning to him.

"S-shut up. I know."

"Fufufu. At any rate, it seems your defeat is close at hand, wouldn't you say?"

"Huh? What are you getting at, Kōenji? I'm not gonna be expelled, considering the other options."

Yamauchi turned and looked at Kōenji with an eerie smile on his face.

"Ew," Kiryuuin scoffed.

"I was right, then," Amasawa stated happily.

"It was barely a declaration. All you did was vaguely imply what you meant," Sakayanagi told her bluntly.

"I wanted to keep the suspense going a little longer, but if you want to know so badly, who am I to disagree?" Amasawa giggled, "He's so confident because he was assured of other class's votes being given to him," Amasawa claimed boldly.

Sakayanagi grinned at her words.

"I'd be disappointed if you didn't get that much," she commented.

The students who were not able to make the connection seemed to be rather offended at Sakayanagi's comment, but they didn't say a word.

"I think it's fair to say that, out of everyone in the class, a considerable number of students have voted against you."

Ike and Sudō sat quietly, unable to help Yamauchi as Kōenji fanned the flames. Hirata, however, interjected.

"That's not how this will turn out. The one being expelled will be me."

"You're still going on about that? You aren't aware of it yet, are you?"

"...What are you talking about?"

Kōenji took out his cell phone with a fearless smile on his face.

"Self-sacrificing, huh? I can't say that I didn't expect that," Kanzaki muttered.

From his own experiences with Ichinose, who can be likened to Yosuke in some ways, he was able to understand that it was expected of him.

"It was a pointless attempt, nevertheless. I think that even without whatever is on Koenji's phone, he would stay. He's made too good of a reputation to go down to last place all of a sudden," Nagumo analysed.

That's certainly a possibility.

The only person who I can imagine being able to sink to last place was Kushida, and that's exactly what happened.

"I'll take that as a compliment, I guess," Yosuke stated with a sheepish tone.

"This message was sent to me by one of the girls in our class. It reads: 'I believe Hirata-kun intends to sacrifice himself and volunteer to be expelled tomorrow. He might end up saying something hurtful about everyone or make himself out to be a bad guy, but those won't be his true feelings. Please, have faith in him and don't vote against him for it.' It seems to me like it was sent to everyone other than you and Yamauchi-kun."

Hirata approached Kōenji and read the message on the phone for himself.

"Most students would sympathize with you after seeing a message like this. After all, it's not untrue that you've spent this past year taking action for the sake of the class. Wouldn't it make more sense for you to get more praise votes because of this, instead?"

"No way..."

Hirata's plan to get the most censure votes had failed.

"Less of a plan and more like someone who's whining" Hosen shrugged.

"Now that I look back on it, you probably had something to do with it," Horikita deduced.

"I did, yeah. Reducing the chance that Yosuke would be expelled was important," I told her honestly.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised," Horikita muttered.

Of course, this negatively affected the students most at risk of being expelled.

Horikita quietly turned to me and spoke.

"You're awfully composed. It's almost as if you've already foreseen what will happen."

"You probably know what will happen too."

"Even if I did, I wouldn't sit back and watch so complacently. As long as there's room for uncertainty, there's still reason to worry."

Kōenji cut in, as if responding to Horikita.

"The only one who should be worried is him."

Almost everyone in the class shifted their gaze toward Yamauchi, wondering how he would respond after hearing something like that.

Yamauchi slowly stood up and turned around to look at Kōenji.

His expression was one of confidence, one that said he was certain of his chances of coming out on top.

"That Yamauchi guy is so weird," Amikura mocked.

Many seemed to agree with her.

"Ayanokouji, your confidence is freaky, dude," Sudo stated awkwardly.

"I don't think it's different from any other times," I stated bluntly.

Sudo's expression did not believe what I said.

"Well, it feels different. Maybe it's because it feels like you knew Yamauchi was going to be expelled," Sudo told me.

I suppose an expulsion makes it different.

"I see what you mean, but it didn't feel any different for me, honestly," I shrugged.

It was just like every other time before the results of an exam were announced. The consequences, the big players, and the behind the scene's actions were all clear.

"It's weird that he was tapping his foot basically announcing that he was nervous, but now he's so confident," Ibuki pondered.

"Feigned confidence. It's like he's convincing himself that he's going to be okay. He's probably shitting himself," Ryuuen chuckled.

"...Hah."

Yamauchi laughed at Kōenji contemptuously.

"Go ahead, say whatever you want... The person getting expelled isn't gonna be me."

"Oh? And will you tell us why?"

"Fine. I will."

It seemed Yamauchi couldn't stand to let Kōenji say whatever he wanted any longer.

"How many of you voted against me? Twenty of you? Thirty? I didn't specifically betray any of you, yet you guys treat me like this? It's unreasonable! But that's fine. I'll forgive you."

With a thoughtless smile, Yamauchi approached Ike and patted his hand on his shoulder.

"People being an asshole is only allowed if they're good at their jobs," Ryuuen commented.

It has a ring of truth to it. When you look at the many giants of their respective industries, there were many that are commonly seen as cruel by moral standards, but there was a certain level of competency. But it's not a rule that applies to every leader.

"This wouldn't be as laughably bad in hindsight if he wasn't expelled right after this," Matsushita stated indistinctly.

"Nah, it would still be laughably bad. He just ruins his rep even more, and it's just so cringy," Kei retorted.

"The laughing and the 'I forgive you' stuff is weird, yeah," Matsushita sighed.

"Sorry Kanji. For making you worry about me so much."

"Y-yeah."

Completely unaware of what his friend was getting at, Ike could do nothing but nod.

"There are several people here who might get expelled other than me, right? There's Kanji, Sudō, Kōenji, and Ayanokōji, but I wonder how many praise votes they'll get? I'm just so worried!"

"From what you're saying, it sounds as if you're expecting to get a large number of praise votes."

"Yep, that's right. I will."

"Even if your friends felt sorry enough to vote for you, you'd only get around four or five votes, at best. Are you saying that's enough to put you in the safe zone?"

"That's fine. That much would be plenty. Hahaha... Yes, no matter who you voted for, it's all pointless!"

"The only thing people love more than seeing a hero is seeing a hero fall. I can't believe you guys are being so disrespectful," Hashimoto chuckled.

"This is too much for dramatic irony, they need a new term for it," Amasawa giggled.

Yamauchi showily raised his arms up into the air.

"Sakayanagi-chan promised that she would give me twenty praise votes! In other words, even if most of the class voted against me, I still won't be the one who gets expelled!"

Having realized that there was no point in hiding it any longer, Yamauchi decided to show his cards.

"That's why it doesn't matter how many of you voted against me... I'm protected by Class A!"

The votes had already been cast.

It was probably true that Yamauchi had made a promise like that with Sakayanagi.

Assuming he got five praise votes from Class C and twenty votes from Class A, even in the worst-case scenario, he would only end up with a maximum of nine censure votes.

"Honestly, I was really surprised and believed that he'd be okay... For about a minute," Sato sighed.

"Yeah, I didn't see how nervous he was until people pointed it out," Shinohara agreed.

Class D began to reminisce about that day. Their feelings, viewpoints and actions, it was all coming back to them.

"I was so confused, man. I had no idea what he was talking about," Ike recalled.

"It's expected for someone as pathetic as him to exude such confidence without backing it up. I'm sure he's not the only one in this class, either. Sometimes I think only Ayanokouji-boy and I are sane in this class," Koenji chuckled.

If he was telling the truth, he could hardly be considered at risk of expulsion.

The danger would then shift toward Kōenji and I. Even Ike and Sudō could be in trouble.

"If that's the case, then why do you look so anxious?"

Yamauchi didn't seem calm at all. He was trembling nonstop.

It was proof that, mentally, he was under an incredible amount of stress.

"That's..."

"Since you made a promise with the enemy, you made sure to sign a contract, yes? It's one of the basic fundamentals of doing negotiations."

"N-no, but that's..."

"He did ask for it," Sakayanagi giggled.

"How did you turn him down? It was probably easy, eh?" Hosen chuckled.

"Just some words about how he doesn't trust me. Nothing more, nothing less. Planting the seed of doubt is fairly simple," Sakayanagi stated disinterestedly.

"As expected," Hashimoto smirked.

He's part of class A right now, but I wonder what happens if that were to change. Would he remain loyal for a little while longer or would he betray them at the very first moment?

"I told you, he was shitting himself," Ryuuen leaned back on his chair, looking proud of his deduction.

"It's odd that we won't get what happens in the other classes, but all the questions are going to be answered," Yagami mused.

"It depends on the second or third video, most likely," Sakayanagi told him.

"I guess so. In all honesty, I'm not that interested in what happened inside your class. Your actions inside class D are probably more interesting. Considering Yahiko, the person who stood beside Katsuragi all the way back in that island exam is gone, I assume he was seen as the weakest link and taken out. And from your own words, you wanted to see Katsuragi suffer. Is that an accurate assessment?" Yagami asked.

"Not far off. You're missing some things, but they aren't relevant current, so it doesn't matter," Sakayanagi nodded.

Yagami looked interested at what those the missing things were, but as Sakayanagi dismissed them, it was likely that she wasn't going to reveal them at all.

"A simple verbal promise doesn't count for anything. Miss little girl isn't that merciful."

"Of course I know that! It's fine!"

Kōenji's words simply weren't able to make it through to him.

Yamauchi could only believe that Sakayanagi wouldn't go back on her word. There was nothing else he could do.

He must have reached out to Sakayanagi many times last night to ensure everything would still go as he expected it to.

"My my, you must be so reassured, then. It seems that the censure vote I cast for you was meaningless."

"That's right, it was meaningless! Meaningless!"

"Be quiet, Yamauchi. I could hear your shouting from out in the hallway."

Just then, Chabashira arrived.

"Okay, result time," Hosen began to rub his hands together in anticipation.

The loser has been decided, but the person who received the protection point was unknown.

"I've kept all of you waiting. I'll get along with announcing the results for Class C. Please find your seats."

The time of judgment had finally come.

Very soon, one student would be expelled from this class.

Would it be Yamauchi, who was telling himself that everything would be okay?

Would it be Sudō or Ike, one of the secondary candidates for expulsion?

"Hopefully I'm never a candidate again. That was so annoying," Sudo sighed.

Ike nodded along.

Would it be Hirata, who was patiently waiting for the results to be announced?

Would it be Kōenji, who was as inattentive as always?

Would it be Horikita or me, as we quietly watched over the classroom?

Or, would it end up being someone else entirely?

"You really are dramatic," Kei told me.

"I'm not that theatrical," I denied it.

"I agree with Karuizawa's assessment. You act like a commentator again and again," Horikita chimed in.

"I wouldn't say I'm a commentator exactly. I just like my thoughts laid out in a specific way," I continued to deny it.

"Nah, you sound like a pundit. It was like you were narrating a book before, but now it's more like a playoff," Sudo agreed with both their opinions.

"Especially when it's about dick and balls. He's really serious about it. You all heard it," Hosen chuckled.

There was a book released in 1993 by a Japanese writer that dictates the many ways one can commit suicide. Their negatives, positives, pain levels, and then how long it takes until death.

Perhaps I should purchase one.

"To start out, I'll announce the three of you who ended up with the most praise votes. In third place is... Kushida Kikyō."

Kushida sighed with relief when she heard her name being called.

Even though Yamauchi had targeted her yesterday, she ended up earning quite a lot of praise votes.

If you take into account the fact that she's adored by her classmates, an outcome like this makes sense.

"Next, in second place..."

Chabashira began reading a little slower.

Even I couldn't fully predict whose name she would say.

"It's you, Hirata Yōsuke."

"No significant consequences at all, huh?" Yosuke wryly stated.

"I'd consider that a good thing," Horikita told him.

"I guess it was. But back then, it was the worst thing possible," Yosuke sighed.

"If we redid that poll now, I wonder how things would change," Matsushita claimed.

Would number 1 remain the same? I can't say.

But redoing a poll that discusses the value of each class member, huh? Maybe with some editing, it could prove to be beneficial...

"!"

The moment his name was called, Hirata shut his eyes and looked up toward the sky.

The disgraceful behavior he showed yesterday hadn't had any significant consequences.

Hirata worked hard this past year, going through thick and thin for the sake of the class.

He had earned a tremendous amount of trust, especially from the girls in the class.

Even if I hadn't arranged for Kei to spread that text message around yesterday, his ranking would've hardly changed.

In previous videos, especially during the beginning, the students were all much more surprised. It didn't matter what, whether it was a big or small contribution, they would rave about it. But now, these actions are to be expected.

It can be likened to athletes who show such good results in their first few years and are thus held to a much higher standard. Even if they reach levels that would be incredible for any other player, the standard they've set for themself wasn't reached, so they will be criticised for it.

"B-but, if Hirata placed second... who placed first?"

Since the beginning, everyone had expected for Hirata and Kushida to get most of the praise votes.

It wasn't unreasonable for them to place second and third, it was just that this outcome meant there was somebody who had surpassed them both.

"...As for first place..."

Chabashira let show a slight smile before she read the name.

I shut my eyes.

"Ayanokōji Kiyotaka."

Everything turned out as I expected.

"So you got that protection point, huh?" Yagami stated with a blank expression.

He's probably suppressing his emotions. Of course, this is crucial to him. If I still have that protection point, to succeed, he'd have to make a successful attempt twice. To expel me once was a difficult enough task in his mind. To do it twice? He probably thinks it's virtually impossible.

He'll find out soon enough that I lost it. I'm sure he has a few ways to do it without the video's confirmation, but until that happens, he's vulnerable. Every single thing that happens from now until he gets confirmation is an opening.

It's a moment where he's on edge and alert.

A moment that I plan to take advantage of.

"W-what!?"

Yamauchi, the one I was supposed to be competing with for last place, was the first to react.

"Aren't you mistaking him with first place for the censure vote!? Sensei!?"

"No. There's no doubt about it. He took first place with a splendid total of forty-two votes."

My classmates all seemed to be surprised. After all, I had gotten more praise votes than there were students in our class.

"Which only means that external votes were used in mass," Nagumo pointed out.

It's not as if I was already a candidate for the upper rankings in terms of votes anyway. The votes from the Ayanokouji group, and maybe some extras would not be large enough to survive in the worst-case scenario. However, if most of the votes are from another class? It's a guarantee.

"So everything went along to the whim of the class A leader. Everyone knew that, so it's not a surprise," Ichinose sighed.

"Feeling tired? Ichinose, there's still the resolution to your issue left. I wouldn't recommend dozing off so early," Sakayanagi advised condescendingly.

"That depends on one of the next 2 videos, right?" Ichinose asked.

"Yes, you're right, but I believe it's a high chance. They wouldn't show that video about the offer you got from Nagumo-senpai otherwise," Sakayanagi stated.

"So do you think that this mastermind behind the exam will be revealed then?" Ichinose asked.

"Possibly. But I do think that right after that tape, we'll have a new student council president. It'll be an interesting time, don't you think?" Sakayanagi giggled.

So she was essentially stating that she believes it'll be the last video for this batch.

"I have no doubt in my mind," Ichinose responded without hesitation.

"You. What did you do...?"

Horikita also couldn't hide her surprise.

"Like I said, I didn't do anything."

Sakayanagi had done all of this by herself.

"And finally, the student who ended up with the most censure votes, with a grand total of thirty-three votes. I'm sorry to say that it's you, Yamauchi Haruki."

Now, Yamauchi took yet another heavy blow.

Before he could even make sense of the situation, he was being told he had to leave the school.

"T-thirty-three votes!?"

"That's rough, man. Being disliked by 33 people in your class," Ike sighed.

"You weren't that far off with 20," Sudo stated.

"How the hell do you remember that?" Ike looked at him, completely shocked.

I have to admit, it was uncharacteristic of Sudo to have such a good memory.

"Do you ever just have a really good memory for stuff that doesn't matter? Like, a random statistic that just doesn't leave your head? It's one of those," Sudo recalled.

I, myself, have never experienced such a thing. But I suppose the brain is a confusing muscle, it's different for all people.

It pretty much confirmed that he hadn't gotten any praise votes from Class A.

Second to last was Sudō with twenty-one votes. And coming in right behind him was Ike with twenty.

It was clear that his friends were by no means in the safe zone either.

"No! Why!? Why do I have to be expelled!?"

Chabashira approached Yamauchi and put her arm on his shoulder, but he shook it off.

"...Haruki..."

As his friends, Ike and Sudō could only look away.

"Just a sad tantrum," Hosen laughed.

"He got expelled, what else did you expect?" Nanase told him.

"Well, I did expect this from him. But it's just fucking pathetic to bitch and moan in front of everyone like this," Hosen told him.

I see. So in other words, he shouldn't have a public meltdown.

"You forgot something that makes it worse," Ryuuen chuckled.

It felt like it was laced with smugness.

"Oh yeah? What's that?" Hosen glared at Ryuuen and stated.

His words were draped in animosity.

"Well, rack your brain for a bit," Ryuuen dodged the question.

Hosen clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction, not knowing what he was talking about.

They had been hoping that, somehow, Yamauchi would make it through the exam, but the only thing they could do is wait for the results.

And now that the results had come out, they probably realized the sad truth behind all of this.

If Yamauchi hadn't placed last, what would have happened to them?

"Why, why, why! Why me!! This is such a stupid exam! A complete joke!"

"While you're free to think whatever you want, the decision has already been made, Yamauchi"

"SHUT UP!!!"

Yamauchi shouted with every ounce of his being.

He howled, unable to accept the reality of his situation.

The students watched on without a hint of sympathy. It was confirmed that he was working with another class leader. He had done this to himself.

"That's right. Sakayanagi, go ask Sakayanagi! She said she'd have Class A use their praise votes on me! She didn't keep her promise! Is she just gonna be allowed to get away with that!?"

"Do you have something that clearly proves that she made such a promise?"

Chabashira asked.

"She promised! At the karaoke parlor! I heard her!!!"

"While I want to believe you, words alone aren't enough to prove anything."

"He really liked to chase skirts and that was his downfall. Killed by being really horny," Ryuuen stated, barely holding back his laughter.

"Almost like a Greek tragedy," Sakayanagi giggled.

She's certainly proud of herself and witnessing how well this all worked out.

"Considering how many problems happened in Greek mythology because Zeus wasn't able to keep it in his pants, that's accurate," Shibata stated out of the blue.

What an interesting way to look at it.

"Oh my god, why is this happening...!?"

"Because you're an idiot," Ibuki stated bluntly.

"I don't think he can hear you," Ishizaki told her.

"I don't care," Ibuki rolled her eyes.

"It's time to leave the classroom, Yamauchi."

Despite her instructions, Yamauchi didn't move an inch.

"Get out of here quickly. Your existence here has already been deleted."

"I haven't accepted it yet!"

"So you plan to be irredeemably defective, pitiable, and ugly until the very end?"

After Kōenji's persistent provocations, Yamauchi finally snapped.

"Grahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

He picked up the chair to his desk and charged at Kōenji.

"You seemed to be taking quite an interest in the matter," Ryuuen told Koenji.

"Why would I not? Did Ayanokouji-boy's pummeling cause irreparable damage?" Koenji stated that he didn't know what Ryuuen meant.

"Honestly, I'd be confused if you didn't take some interest in it. But the thing that puts me off is how much shit-talking you're doing. I mean, shouldn't a perfect existence not deal with such things?" Ryuuen theorised.

"I have no idea what you mean," Koenji chuckled.

"Is that so? Guess I'll leave it alone," Ryuuen chuckled.

It reminds me of my own interaction with Koenji.

Hosen, on the other hand, seems to have come to a conclusion.

"Ah," Hosen stated blankly.

Ryuuen glanced at him with superiority.

"I want to break that stupid smirk on your face," Hosen grumbled.

"I'd recommend not to make such declarations when teachers are around," Chairman Sakayanagi stated firmly.

"Just some light banter, you know how it goes," Hosen told him.

Chairman Sakayanagi maintained his diplomatic expression and softly nodded at Hosen's words.

"And to think, this school almost let this happen. Imagine the horrible damage to society if my beautiful figure was damaged beyond repair. No amount of money could fix that sin," Koenji remarked.

Some students looked at him blankly, other ignored it. It's expected.

"I hope you... Ah, screw it, I give up," Ryuuen sighed.

He then lifted the chair up into the air and swung it down, aiming at Kōenji's head.

If the attack had hit him directly, the resulting injury would've been inexcusable, however, Kōenji wasn't naive enough to be hit by such a sloppy attack.

Kōenji casually grabbed the leg of the chair as it swung down at him and forcibly pulled the chair out of Yamauchi's hands.

"You intended to kill me. You won't have any complaints if I return the favor, yes?"

Yamauchi's face stiffened immediately.

"It was probably a threat, but man, that sounded serious as hell," Ike stated sheepishly.

"You don't halfheartedly state your threats, do you? What man would ever do that and still find himself competent?" Koenji stated with a condescending grin.

"And attempted murder to finish it all off. That was a great performance, in my eyes," Sakayanagi giggled.

"You said that too casually, it's off-putting," Kamuro told her.

"I wasn't serious. It's not as if he really had the ability to go through with it," Sakayanagi stated disinterestedly.

The hall grew silent, and someone took this opportunity to fill in the vacuum of emptiness.

"You all already understand that this exam is a representation of the termination process that you will find in the real world. There are key differences, as you all know, but the core principles are the same. You will see people around you in the workforce leave due to a multitude of factors. That's an inevitability, and those people let go may not go on to do better things. They may have troubles finding jobs, getting a stable income, and living day-to-day. You may all not be in the observing situation, you are always eligible to be the one struggling as well," Chairman Sakayanagi advised us bluntly.

A harsh thing to tell everyone, but it was true.

"That's enough."

Chabashira intervened, having sensed the danger behind Kōenji's words.

Following her instructions, Kōenji promptly let go of the chair.

"Don't do any more than this, Yamauchi. For your own sake."

From around the room, Yamauchi noticed the heartbreaking gazes of his classmates, their gazes filled with pity.

And within him, something broke.

"U-uwaaaahhhh!"

Crumbling on the spot, he raised his voice and began to bawl.

"...Leave."

Hearing Chabashira's words for a second time, Yamauchi lost his will to resist.

The scene faded.

"So now the second one," Ryuuen yawned.

"Ayanokōji-kun. You... How much of this did you anticipate ahead of time?"

Back when Sakayanagi proposed a temporary truce, I was a little more than ninety-percent certain that I didn't have to worry about being expelled. It's obvious that, to her, beating me with a surprise attack would be meaningless. If she had lied about the truce in order to force me out of the school, she wouldn't have been happy about it.

But at the same time, she manipulated Yamauchi and tried to have him get me expelled.

In other words, she had made a clear violation of our truce. That is to say, her actions were contradictory.

"What if she just wanted to beat you no matter what? Like, what if that thing after the sports festival was a lie and she just wanted to get you expelled?" Sato asked.

"Sakayanagi wouldn't know of any exam where we would be forced to expel someone when she made that declaration, and she didn't make any attempt since. She also stated that I didn't have to drop out if I lost, which doesn't make sense if she wanted to expel me. That's why I believed it was unlikely," I explained.

It was like several, heavy weights were dropped on Sato's head at once and she was trying to process it all.

"I guess so, yeah," Sato sighed deeply.

"But you're right that I wasn't able to cross out that possibility," I added.

To compensate for this contradiction, she would have to do whatever she could to invalidate any censure votes I may get because of Yamauchi.

Namely, to have Class A cast a majority of their praise votes for me.

That way, even if I ended up with twenty to thirty of Class C's censure votes, I'd still end up with a positive number of votes in the end. My safety would be guaranteed. In which case, why would she go through all this trouble? She had probably done so in order to get Yamauchi Haruki expelled. By making him out to be a villain, she had managed to lower his standing within Class C. Of course, I had no way of being absolutely certain of any of this. I couldn't discount the off-chance that Sakayanagi was trying to have me expelled with a surprise attack.

"So you did something about that. I get it now," Sato claimed.

So, I instigated Horikita, using her as a means to ruin Yamauchi. In addition, by letting the class find out that Yamauchi was targeting someone harmless like me, I'd be able to get additional praise votes due to sympathy or protection. Although, ending up in first place was a little bit too much.

"Didn't I say it before? I didn't explicitly take part in this exam."

"So Ayanokouji did end up telling Horikita about it," Ibuki told Ryuuen.

Ryuuen's original theory was the idea that it wasn't me who told Horikita about the traitor and how I was being targeted, but a middleman.

"But it's still odd that she was so different because he gave her some info. And there's that other thing," Ryuuen pondered.

It seems that he didn't fully accept the notion that there was no middleman. And by another thing, he probably means the same thing I'm thinking of.

Horikita Manabu.

"...But..."

"I'm heading home."

"Ayanokōji-kun!!"

As if her feet were frozen to the ground, Horikita shouted after me as I walked away.

"It was you, wasn't it...? You're the one who told my brother about the connection between Sakayanagi-san and Yamauchi-kun, aren't you?"

I simply continued walking without giving her an answer and descended the stairway.

Ryuuen grinned.

"Son of a..." Ibuki began.

"Keep complaining," Ryuuen taunted as he stared at Ibuki's annoyed expression.

"It seems plenty of people forget about some of the smaller scenes," Nagumo pointed out.

With the dense amount of information given every other day, it's essentially a given that students will forget about some things.

"So it's time for the final one of the day now. This one took barely any time," Amikura said as she stretched.

The entrance of Tsukishiro?

The survival of Ryuuen?

Or maybe even something entirely different?

The lack of an expulsion from within Class B. The fact that Ryūen was still here.

I had been involved in both of these two noteworthy incidents behind the scenes.

It was back on the day when I had met with Hiyori at the library and invited Ichinose to my room.

That night, just past ten, the sound of the doorbell rang throughout my room.

I didn't have many friends who would come to my room to pay me a visit.

"So it turns out we'll see how you both were saved," Sakayanagi told them.

"It seems that's true. And that hidden mastermind who created this test has evaded the spotlight again," Ichinose stated with a disheartened expression.

"You seem disappointed?" Sakayanagi deduced.

"I have and idea on who it is, but I wished to confirm it. Besides, this person caused me a lot of trouble, and if the chairman didn't do it, something big must've changed in the school.," Ichinose told her with a solemn look.

"To find out who almost broke your class, I see. It makes sense," Sakayanagi responded.

I considered whether or not it was Horikita, Kushida, or maybe even someone from the Ayanokōji Group, but in most cases, they would've sent me some sort of notification that they were coming ahead of time.

This time, however, I hadn't been notified of anything. That is to say, the person at the door wasn't anyone like that.

In which case, who in the world had come to visit me?

"...Well this is a first."

As I checked the intercom from within the depths of my room, I saw an unexpected duo displayed on the screen.

They seemed like they were cold as they waited for me to answer the door.

"Well... I suppose curfew is only enforced for the upper floors."

As a general rule, it's prohibited for a boy to enter a girl's living quarters after eight at night.

"It should be both ways, in all honesty," Kanzaki critiqued.

While many agreed, he'd have to take up a formal complaint to the student council for it to even be considered.

"You're too freaking vague. It's like your life goal to be like that," Kei complained.

"You always seem to have a problem with it," I sighed.

"Because it's annoying! And it's even worse knowing that you've pretty much made a plan for everything while on the toilet," Kei grumbled.

How oddly specific.

"Why the toilet?" I asked.

"It's because the best ideas come in the toilet or the shower. Usually, it's the shower, but you're not normal, so you would get all your ideas on the toilet," Kei explained.

"What interesting fantasies you have," I told her.

"It's not a fantasy!" Kei playfully hit my shoulder.

Maybe I'll get broken up with if I keep going. That would be a rather pathetic end to my first relationship. Ended over a toilet hypothetical.

Well, even if you did break curfew, it wouldn't be a very big deal as long as word didn't get out. Plus, even if you got caught, the punishment wouldn't be very severe as long as it had only happened once or twice. In any case, there weren't any rules that prevented a girl from being the one to come and visit instead.

"Yes?"

After deciding to at least respond to them, I spoke through the intercom. Although, I wasn't exactly welcoming with how I phrased my words.

"...I'd like to talk if you have a moment."

Of the two of them, the boy began to speak, breaking the silence. He leaned forward and peered into the camera and a close-up of his pupil appeared on the screen.

It didn't seem that he wanted to have this talk over the intercom.

"You sure like playing the noun game," Ryuuen chuckled.

He could probably piece together what had transpired.

The students weren't given a clear enough image of the intercom to deduce who it was. All they had was a voice that had gone through 2 separate speakers before making its way to them.

"Give me a moment."

I walked over to the entryway and unlocked the door, and upon doing so, it abruptly swung open. The boy, Class D's Ishizaki, entered my room right away.

If one was careless, the force at which the door had swung open could've hurt someone.

"Welcome. You should hurry and come in too. It's cold out there."

"Why do I have to..."

Ishizaki's classmate, Ibuki, voiced her dissatisfaction at my invitation inside.

"So the lackeys are here. You trained them well, Ryuuen. A," Sakayanagi smirked.

"They have their positives," Ryuuen remarked.

"I wonder if you would have still been here without them. You owe them quite a lot, don't you think?" Sakayanagi asked with a feigned worried expression.

"Nah, I'm good. Besides, I think I paid them back, so extra stuff would just be pointless," Ryuuen stated proudly.

As he states that, he looks over at Ichinose's frustrated expression.

How interesting. She's got his life in her hands, but here he is, making snide remarks. A psychological attack or just plain confidence?

"Toying with your enemy, even when they have the upper hand. No fear or just stupidity?" Sakayanagi giggled.

"Oh, not at all. Ichinose can take me down. And I'm pretty sure she'll try her best, but I just don't think it'll matter," Ryuuen shrugged, making it known to everyone that he doesn't care.

"Unlike Karuizawa, Ichinose's plan can be stopped. I lucked out at that time, but now, there's no luck. I quite like this school life, especially the darker and shitty bits. People like keeping the environment around them the same, maybe it's because they're afraid of a new one. Am I like that? I don't really feel scared right now, but that's just because I don't think I'll fail. If there was a high chance of failure, though, I've got no idea," Ryuuen thought.

"Who cares. Just get in here Ibuki."

"Ugh."

Giving in to Ishizaki's prodding, she walked through the entryway.

The cold air was certainly starting to make its way in, so I hastily closed the door behind her.

After thinking about how we would still feel the cold draft if we talked at the entryway, I invited them further into the room.

"So, what do you need from me, so late at night like this?"

At my question, Ishizaki immediately put his hands together and lowered his head.

"Please, Ayanokōji! Tell us how to prevent Ryūen-san from getting expelled!"

"...What?"

"It's odd seeing you so confused," Horikita commented.

"I didn't expect them to be so upfront," I told her.

"But still, it seems that the reason Ryuuen is still here is because of you. Wasn't there any other method?" Horikita muttered.

"Would the entirety of class D's points total up to 5 million? And if so, would they let me use them all?" I answered another question with another question.

"I don't know if they would have had 5 million, but they definitely wouldn't let you use them all," Horikita answered my question and also her own.

"There you have it," I told her.

In reality, there were many strategies one can employ to make up that deficit. But for me, those strategies aren't the best move.

These two had come barging in uninvited so late at night just to ask for such a ridiculous favor.

"Did I mishear you? Could you say that one more time?"

"I asked you to tell us how to prevent Ryūen-san from getting expelled!"

It didn't seem like I had misheard him.

"Just forget it, Ishizaki. There's no way Ayanokōji will cooperate with you."

Apparently, Ibuki and Ishizaki weren't on the same page. It didn't seem like she had come along to ask for my help.

"That... that's probably true, it's just... I can't think of anyone else other than Ayanokōji who could do something."

Many students agreed.

"It's not like Ryuuen can use his dictator strategy," Kanzaki pointed out.

That's true. If Ryuuen were to go up to the class and try to force them to not vote for him, he'd just turn them against him. The class will take out the virus that's taken hold of their freedom.

"It's not like I care. Oh, by the way, I'm only here because Ishizaki forced me to come along with him. He just wouldn't stop calling me..."

With a sigh, she exasperatedly showed me the screen of her phone. There were more than fifty missed call notifications from Ishizaki.

"How could I go and ask him all alone!? He's our enemy!"

"It's the same even if I'm here with you. What an idiot."

"Shut yer mouth..."

Ishizaki and Ibuki proceeded to bicker with each other.

"Well, it doesn't seem like you were sent here by Ryūen."

If they were acting, it would've been quite the show, but that didn't seem to be the case here.

"He'd rather die than ask you for help," Ibuki told me.

I don't doubt that.

And so, the puzzle piece with the title of Ryuuen Kakeru was making its way back into the spotlight. His safety would be answered today, then there is only his return.

"Of course I would. Asking him for help or allying myself with him sounds like a pain in the ass. I always have the thought in my mind that he's screwing with me in some way," Ryuuen complained.

"So you've got P.A.T.S.D," Sakayanagi concluded.

"Is that some growth hormone you need?" Ryuuen asked.

"Post Ayanokouji traumatic stress disorder. I believe you began to possess this condition after that time on the roof," Sakayanagi enlightened him.

Some of the class A students began to chuckle at her comment.

"Real funny," Ryuuen sighed.

"There's no way we'd be here for that. Ryūen-san... wouldn't ask us to do something like this. You should understand at least that much."

"I suppose."

Ryūen had already washed his hands of school matters by making it seem like he had been defeated by Ishizaki.

In fact, it seemed like he was already fully resolved to leave the school. Furthermore, even if he didn't plan on being expelled, he wouldn't have reached out to me for help. There's no way he'd be willing to do something so shameful.

"Are you sure you don't want Ryūen gone? He's done all sorts of things to you."

Ibuki spoke up again, questioning Ishizaki.

"...Well... a lot of stuff did happen... But, it's different now."

"I'm not into men, sorry," Ryuuen joked.

Ishizaki's eyes widened in surprise.

"It wasn't like that!" Ishizaki refuted.

"What is?"

"Huh? What do you mean by that?"

"I'm asking you what you mean by 'it's different now'."

"I've come to understand that Ryūen-san is important for the future of Class D."

"I don't get it. Don't you know how much we've had to go through because of him?"

These two had really come all the way here to see me without being on the same page at all. Or, to put it more accurately, it was as if they were simply unable to communicate with one another.

"First of all, if you're gonna argue, do it later."

At my words, they stopped glaring at one another.

"Only you could do that," Kei told me.

"I feel like Ryuuen could also do that," I replied.

"Just take the compliment and stop acting like a know-it-all," Kei pouted.

I nodded.

"That's true. Without Ryuuen, your class is as good as dead and buried," Hashimoto claimed.

But it isn't like it's a difficult thing to understand. In a state without Ryuuen or Katsuragi, they're much worse off. And a reason that Katsuragi was brought into Ryuuen's class is undeniably the fact that he can take charge if Ryuuen's not able to do so. A premptive measure

"Ugh. I wanna go back to my room."

However, they still didn't stop quarreling with each other. In particular, Ibuki still had a stern expression on her face.

"Don't say that. You have to help me persuade Ayanokōji too."

"I don't wanna."

"If you're gonna argue, go do it somewhere else."

Seeing as how there were no signs of the conversation moving forward any time soon, I decided to try asking something myself.

"Ryūen isn't very popular, even in Class C. It's just an outsider's perspective, but I'm not exactly wrong, now am I?"

"Well, uh... I guess some people may hate him, maybe..."

"Don't sugarcoat it. They all hated my guts," Ryuuen chuckled.

I can't help but imagine a carnival event where Ryuuen is tied onto a seat that's hoisted above a water tank. Each student in his class would possess a water balloon that, when hitting a target, would drop him into the water. And this would happen again and again, with each student in his class getting a turn.

"What do you mean 'some people'? Almost everyone hates him. There's no point in lying about it."

"Just shut it! There's nothing wrong with what I said!"

"Ugh, you're so loud and annoying. By the way, you're spraying your spit everywhere while you talk, so stop shouting."

"I thought I said to save your arguing for later."

If they kept making so much noise in such a small room like this, the sound would be heard in the rooms around us. I spoke up again, this time with a twinge of anger in my voice, and the two of them seemed to calm down a bit.

Had they realized that they were imposing on me uninvited?

With this, we were finally able to get on with the conversation.

"It seems you only use emotion in your voice when you want something," Yagami pointed out.

"That's the thing you're thinkin' about?" Hosen laughed at Yagami's comment.

"What else would there be? Ah, you mean that choice between Ryuuen and Ichinose. Did I hit the mark?" Yagami asked.

"That's one thing, yeah. How exactly he saved that guy is another. You really are fucking weird, thinking about much emotion he puts into his voice. And here I thought she was the stalker," Hosen chuckled.

"Getting information on someone is a good thing. I mean, think about it. How much do you really know about that guy? What are his limits? Is fighting 4 people at once difficult or just another afternoon? If you had 80 hours of footage of any other person, you'd probably say that you understand them completely. But I don't think that's applicable here," Yagami retorted.

"You know, a neutral wouldn't be this focused on getting information. You sound like you want to face off against him," Hosen stated with a wary expression.

"I'm afraid that's only people like Ryuuen and Sakayanagi. I want the information to work with the confidence that he won't interfere," Yagami shook his head softly.

A mix of lies and truths. A broken mask with light seeping through.

I would expect nothing less.

"It would be unreasonably difficult to stop Ryūen from being expelled."

I spoke bluntly, without beating around the bush.

I felt like my intentions would come across better that way.

"I guess that's true."

Having understood what I was getting at, Ibuki nodded in agreement.

However, Ishizaki didn't seem to be willing to accept it so easily.

"Can't you do something, anything!?"

At the very least, his motivations were genuine. There was no doubting his drive to save Ryūen.

"You really want to stop Ryūen from leaving, don't you?"

"...Yeah."

"I'm always so surprised they're so devoted to you. Necessity, perhaps," Sakayanagi commented.

"I don't think people who do stuff out of necessity try to drop out because of him," Ichinose claimed.

"And even now, he's worried about what I'm going to do. What an idiot. But I guess he's my class's idiot," Ryuuen thought.

"Your year is always so interesting," Nagumo commented.

"No excitement in yours? But then, I really do wonder, you seem like a totally different person recently. If it's not your year, what could it be?" Ryuuen stated with an expectant grin.

"I don't know what you mean," Nagumo sighed.

"Is that so?" Ryuuen asked.

He didn't get a response from Nagumo, so he appeared to stop probing.

A change within Nagumo was now visible to the school. And if they didn't notice it, they knew now.

Other than me, Ibuki, and a few others, most students were under the guise that Ishizaki detests Ryūen.

Of course, that was only a consequence of the incident between Ryūen and I. Even so, it was true that Ishizaki had been tyrannized by Ryūen many times up to this point. I didn't think that he would come and bow his head to me and beg me to save him when he obviously didn't want to.

This was probably also due to the emotional connection he had made with Ryūen over the course of the past year. However, nobody would be struggling if this exam was something that could be overcome with emotions alone.

Ishizaki seemed to need a simple explanation as to why saving his friend was so difficult.

"There are two primary reasons why I think saving him is unreasonable. This provisional exam will be decided by the number of censure votes being used in your own class. Supposing that you, Ibuki, and two or three others don't vote against Ryūen and cast him a praise vote instead, it's still pretty likely that he'll end up with more than thirty censure votes. Secondly, nobody else actually wants to be expelled."

"Blind faith, huh?" Horikita muttered.

It wasn't the ridiculing type of mumbling, but rather one trying to comprehend.

"Do you think you helping Kushida is also a matter of blind faith?" I asked her.

The students within earshot would have no idea what we're talking about. Sure, they may ask questions, but it wouldn't amount to anything. The matter would fizzle out in a number of hours.

"So you also think that," Horikita said with a sigh of defeat.

"Yes, somewhat," I acknowledged.

Horikita has been trying to save Kushida. She has favoured her at every moment. But there are simply some who can't be saved. Whether Kushida is one of those, however, is whether Horikita can do something about it.

If Horikita would change her angle of attack, things could change. But until someone pointed it out to her, she might never think to do so. Her mind believes that a subtle way to do things is best. And while that isn't a bad way to do things, it is time-consuming.

"Is your method of attack good?" I asked.

"A quiet one is the best, I believe. The alternative is too risky," Horikita admitted.

That's not incorrect. It is risky in the way she's thinking of it.

Horikita's idea is that a subtle way to bring Kushida back into the good graces, or at the very least, acceptable graces of the class is the best thing to do. The alternative in her mind is a type of frontal method that announces to the class that Kushida needs to get back into the class. The latter is risky, and the chances of success are not great. But if she were to bring support from other members of the class, the chances go up.

Getting Yosuke's and Kei's support should be easy enough, but the students aren't going to think it's genuine. There will be resistance. Purely their assistance isn't enough. If Horikita were to follow up on her goal of creating more bonds with the class, however, then the chances may rise exponentially.

"Conjecture, though," I mumble to myself.

There's no telling how this will go. I have no part in reintegrating Kushida.

"B-but, I mean, there aren't very many people that think we can win and move forward without his strength, you know?"

It's true that there were probably at least a few students in Class D who recognize Ryūen's capabilities.

However, by itself, that reason wouldn't cut it.

That just wouldn't be enough of a reason to raise the possibility of getting expelled yourself.

"Nobody wants to expel someone. By targeting Ryūen, the most unpopular person in the class, it would cause the least amount of guilt."

It was just as Ibuki said.

"Unlike Yamauchi's case, there was a clear number 40 all along," Nagumo analysed.

"Yeah. Though I can't blame 'em. I'd hate my guts too if I was in their position," Ryuuen stated with no unease.

He understands his class and understands why they did what they did.

And it's clear to them that he holds no ill will.

"Even if you couldn't get out of Class D, you'd still wanna graduate safely, wouldn't you? It's not like anyone wants to be labeled a high school dropout."

Chances are, this type of discussion had already taken place within their class, something that was written all over Ishizaki's face.

"If you're being treated as the leader who spearheaded a revolt against Ryūen, then you've probably already heard about this, haven't you?"

Ishizaki nodded. After all, he had probably publicly supported Ryūen's expulsion due to the position he had found himself in.

"I think that other than Ibuki, Albert, and Shiina, everybody's in favor of expelling Ryūen-san."

"So it's checkmate no matter how you look at it, yeah?"

"Well, it clearly fucking wasn't. You probably had a plan all along. Even if I don't get you a hundred percent, that's something I've seen enough times to guarantee," Hosen complained.

How hostile. But I suppose he's not entirely wrong.

"Yeah, it's checkmate."

I responded to Ibuki's statement with simple affirmation.

"That's why I came here in the first place. You're the one who beat Ryūen-san, so..."

"You want to know if there's a way to stop the expulsion. Before we get to that, there's something I want to ask you."

"What...?"

"Saving Ryūen means that someone else from your class will have to be expelled instead. Do you understand that?"

This was an essential aspect of the exam. I had no choice but to hear how he would answer.

"That's... That's true, but..."

"C'mon man," Ryuuen sighed.

"You can't just expect me to make a decision like that so quickly!" Ishizaki retorted.

"Yeah, that's just like you," Ryuuen grumbled.

Kei, who was looking blankly at the screen before, was now looking at me with a deep intensity.

"Was it your choice?" she asked.

"No," I told her.

Kei nodded softly. She didn't seem to dislike that it wasn't my choice.

"But if it was, I'd choose Manabe. I just got lucky that those two had a similar idea to me," I added.

Kei's eyes widened. And then, she sighed.

"You didn't need to do that, you know? I was fine," Kei mumbled.

"I had a similar thought. But I believed that if it was in the back of your mind, then those thoughts might be put to rest," I assured her.

"Yeah, but still..." Kei began, "But thanks, I guess," she told me.

"If you really understand, do you have someone else in mind to take Ryūen's place?"

"N-no, not at all. I don't think I want to get rid of anyone."

"Then it sounds like there's a problem. This exam is designed to ensure that someone gets expelled."

This wasn't an exam where you could thoughtlessly talk about wanting to save someone.

"It's just as Ayanokōji said, isn't it? If you really want to save Ryūen, why don't you take the initiative and nominate yourself? If you ask everyone to vote for you instead, you might be able to save him."

Her cold-hearted idea was pretty much the same as abandoning Ishizaki, but, realistically speaking, it was probably the best option he had available.

"Hey!" Ishizaki yelled out at me.

"Calm down, idiot. He's right," Ibuki complained and rolled her eyes at his antics.

"I guess so, but still," Ishizaki sighed.

Ryūen had accumulated a lot of hatred from his classmates. Even though he was talented enough to think of courageous, clever schemes that an ordinary person couldn't possibly come up with, once you consider that the class had fallen down to Class D under his leadership, the fact that he was getting cast aside was simply inevitable.

"There's... really no way to prevent anyone from being expelled?"

"That was everybody else's initial question too. In the end, they all gave up on trying to think of a solution."

"...He's right."

Ibuki let out a short, dejected sigh.

Rather than bothering to reach out to me for help, Ibuki had understood that it was unreasonable from the very beginning.

"As I said before, this is a complete waste of time. We can't change Ryūen's fate."

"Dammit...!"

The students began to grow slightly tired of this. They knew that something had happened, so all this talk of it being impossible is redundant.

"Maybe what solved Ichinose's situation with Nagumo-senpai was more interesting," Hashimoto sighed.

Consumed with frustration, Ishizaki punched the wall beside him.

"I think Ryūen had planned on spending the next three years without doing anything. But, he probably changed his mind as soon as he heard about the supplemental exam. He probably thought that he had no other choice but to get expelled. That's why he decided to quietly sit back and wait for the exam to finish without saying anything, isn't it?"

Ishizaki didn't seem to think that Ryūen was doing it as a noble act of self-sacrifice either.

Ryūen simply wasn't bothering to resist what was coming to him.

"You have to consider Ryūen's feelings. It's your duty as someone who follows him."

"I'd say you're a hypocrite, but you probably consider other people's feelings the most," Nagumo stated nonchalantly.

"It doesn't apply to him, I suppose. He doesn't follow anyone," Sakayanagi stated offhandedly.

"I, I..."

Ishizaki clenched his fists, filled with regret.

He really wants to save Ryūen, huh?

No matter how many enemies you have, it's not a bad thing to have friends who care about you.

He may not admit to it, but Ryūen has some good friends.

An idea started to take shape in my mind.

However, there were a few things that needed to happen before it could be carried out.

Some students began to grow exponentially more interested as these words were played through the speakers.

"I'm not his friend," Ibuki complained.

"You did come with me, though," Ishizaki pointed out.

"Because you were being a pain," Ibuki scoffed.

Ryuuen, however, didn't acknowledge these words. He didn't deny or confirm whether he thought of them as friends, so I suppose my original assessment was accurate.

"I wonder, I really do, if I had accepted we'd lose someone, would Ayanokouji let Ryuuen idly fall? He had told me that if I accepted this loss, I'd be 15 million points up and I'd only have to face 2 classes rather than 3. That means that he would let Ryuuen get expelled, but I really wonder if he would let that happen. It seems he only began to formulate a plan here, meaning that he didn't intend to do it this way. But it doesn't mean that he would not do anything," Ichinose thought.

"If I had one piece of advice for you..."

"What is it!? It doesn't matter what it is, just tell me!"

Ishizaki lurched forward, desperately reaching out for any glimmer of hope he could.

But, unfortunately, those hopes of his weren't going to last for long.

"As things are now, Ryūen's private points will disappear along with him. If he's been receiving points from Class A this whole time, then he's ought to have saved up a least a couple million points by now. Right?"

"Yeah. As long as he hasn't used them, he should have around that much."

"You really are the kind of guy to lead people on," Hashimoto chuckled.

I suppose he's not wrong.

Nagumo looked to be examining the student's faces. There were some discrepancies, but they all contained confusion.

"Yagami's comment was right. No one really gets anything past the surface," Nagumo claimed.

"Are you any different?" Manabu asked.

There was no hostility in his voice, only a tinge of curiosity.

"I'd say I've completed the puzzle a little more," Nagumo stated confidently.

Manabu closed his eyes and turned his head away from Nagumo. He was probably processing the information.

"There's no guarantee that his private points will be transferred or distributed amongst his classmates if he's still holding onto them when he gets expelled. That being the case, you should transfer all of his points elsewhere before his expulsion is set in stone. They'll be useful for Class D later on."

If the points were distributed amongst Class D, they would lose their value as a lump sum. It would be better for them to transfer everything into their own pockets now.

I was certain that Ryūen would at least agree to that.

"T-this isn't what I wanted to hear from you! I want to know how to save Ryūen-san!"

"Give it up Ishizaki. There's no point in saying any more than this."

Ibuki reprimanded Ishizaki with a light kick before turning to me and continuing.

"So vague for a reason I really don't understand. Even in your own thoughts you're always like this," Horikita complained.

"It's like you're trying to hide your thoughts from yourself, even," Sakayanagi agreed.

"I suppose it's true that I'm often vague in my thoughts. But that isn't what it is, there is no real reason for the vagueness inside my thoughts," I told them honestly.

"But there is something that really ruins this mysterious vibe you're giving off," Ryuuen grinned.

I turned my head to face him, waiting for him to continue.

Ryuuen saw my movement as a sign to continue, "The fact that I'm still here. And because of that, everyone knows that you had a plan all along. And they know that these points are going to be used for something because of that."

Dramatic irony, it keeps getting more and more prominent during these videos.

"That said, Ayanokōji. I'm not gonna go and pick up the points Ryūen saved up."

She spoke definitively. Instead of going to Ryūen and begging him for the points, she would rather give up on them altogether.

"Is that so? What about you, Ishizaki?"

"I won't either!"

They seemed to share the same stance on the matter, although with slightly different reasons behind it.

They were resolved to the idea that, if Ryūen was going to leave the school, then his points would go along with him.

No, it wasn't due to something as praiseworthy as resolve.

"It's a pity, but the two of you can't save Ryūen."

Some students' eyes widened at those words.

"I guess there are some things only you can see," Ichinose commented quietly.

Those who could hear her seemed to agree.

"He's not wrong, you know? I doubt some of the so-called smarter people can do that either," Ryuuen sighed.

The question of who these smarter people were was left to wander, but it wasn't answered.

"So we both saved his time at this school, huh? Just as expected from two partners in crime," Kei told me with a smug look.

"I guess we did," I replied.

"!"

Ishizaki looked at me, his expression stuck somewhere between anger and regret.

"Listen carefully. The only thing you two can do now is retrieve Ryūen's private points. This exam isn't so simple that you can save someone just because you want to."

"Don't you fuck with me! You want me to take the points from Ryūen-san and peace out? There's no way I could do that!"

Ishizaki raised his fist, but Ibuki immediately reached out and restrained him.

"I said to stop this shit, Ishizaki. This guy may look like an ordinary person, but he's really nothing more than a nasty monster."

Many students look like they agree with Ibuki's assessment.

"You really tried your all, huh? Even I'm a little surprised," Ryuuen pondered.

"It was the best option. I can't just let the only way we can keep going in the competition drop out," Ishizaki told him sheepishly.

"He already knows that, moron," Ibuki scoffed.

Ryuuen stayed silent as he watched them bickering.

Ryuuen probably does internally accept the fact that Ishizaki did it not purely out of self-interest, but he won't say that out loud.

"Even if I'm no match for him, I'll at least get one hit in!"

"Get over it."

Ibuki then smacked Ishizaki on the head.

"We came here and asked Ayanokōji for something completely unreasonable. He didn't even say anything wrong, and yet here you are, lashing out at him for it. Could you stop being such a humiliation?"

"Urgh..."

Ishizaki had let the blood rush to his head.

It seems difficult for him to stay composed when it comes to Ryūen for some reason.

Ryuuen didn't acknowledge that last part, letting it go in one ear and out the other.

Neither of them seemed to have any intention of doing anything. Millions of points, completely free for the taking, were simply going to disappear. If they were thinking about the future of Class D, those points were something that they had absolutely no reason not to get their hands on.

If Ibuki and Ishizaki, Ryūen's closest friends, didn't want it, then there's nothing that could be done about it.

"Well, I had really wanted to see the strength of your resolve a bit more, but..."

"...Huh? What do you mean by that?"

"It has nothing to do with you two anymore. After all, you guys aren't even willing to recover the private points from Ryūen."

With that, I ended the conversation. However, I was somewhat convinced that Ibuki would get the private points from Ryūen nonetheless.

Ibuki averted her eyes in annoyance at my comment.

"Even if I wasn't going to still be here, you idiots should've come and got them anyway," Ryuuen reprimanded.

The screen didn't fade to black, but it was paused. And then, a voiceover came.

"A timeskip takes place here, but it's the same video nonetheless."

I see.

At just past ten on the night before the exam, my phone rang.

[It's me. I've gotten all of Ryūen's private points.]

Ibuki spoke, stating the bare minimum and nothing else.

"It's a good thing you figured out my contact information, isn't it?"

I tried questioning her, but Ibuki remained completely silent.

I remembered that I had given Shiina my number, so she had probably gotten ahold of it through her.

"Hmm, I really have no idea where this is going to go now," Kanzaki pondered.

Ichinose stayed quiet about the matter. Perhaps it's because she doesn't want to admit I had helped her, but it doesn't really make sense if it's going to be shown anyway. She doesn't let it show on her face that this is something that is troubling her either. The only conclusion that I can think of is that her mind is focused elsewhere.

"And the only thing that could be is..." I mumbled to myself.

Ahh, I see. So that's what she's pondering about.

"Hmm. So, you've gotten ahold of the points?"

Although I had expected her to make a move, this was pushing it until the last minute.

"Can you grab Ishizaki and come to my room right now?"

[Eh? Right now?]

"Is that a problem? I have something to discuss with you about the points you've gotten your hands on."

[Not exactly, it's just... No, I'll be there.]

With those few short words of consent, Ibuki said she would get in contact with Ishizaki right away and then ended the call.

The two of them showed up at my door less than ten minutes later. Did they have some sort of premonition that something important was about to happen?

Just like that, Ishizaki and Ibuki immediately stepped into my room.

The students watched on with intrigue.

"How many points did Ryūen have?"

"A little more than five million."

"That's plenty. If there weren't enough, I'd have to do some last-minute preparations to make up for the rest."

As I expected, there wasn't any evidence that Ryūen had used them for himself.

"What are you talking about? What are you doing?"

Ishizaki didn't seem to have any clue where I was going with this.

On the other hand, Ibuki had already resolved herself, so she wasn't lagging behind as much.

There were no words to be said, only something to be watched. The puzzle piece that belongs to Ryuuen is going to get one of its last few pieces filled.

"You're going to use these to do something, aren't you?"

"Correct."

"He's gonna use them...?"

"These private points will be used for one thing and one thing only. Saving Ryūen."

"N-no wait a second. Don't we need twenty million points in order to do that?"

No matter how Ishizaki looked at it, there simply weren't enough points to do that.

"People always do tend to think that. But you just have to be smart with how you manage them," Nagumo stated offhandedly.

"So like 100,000 points instead of 20 million, huh?" Sudo mumbled.

An alternative purchase, essentially. It's easier said than done, however. There are many times when a loophole itself might just not exist. If it was easy to find, I'd expect a lot fewer expulsions.

"So a way to save someone with 5 million..." Horikita mulled over such a strategy.

While many were trying to preemptively guess what could be done, there are some that had figured it out.

"Before I get into that, I have something to ask you. Ishizaki. Are you prepared to take responsibility for this?"

"W-what're you getting at all of a sudden? Prepared to take responsibility for what...?"

"Saving Ryūen means that you have to abandon someone else. I told you this before, didn't I?"

"...Yeah."

Despite being a bit flustered, Ishizaki nodded in agreement.

"I've resolved myself."

"Is that so? It's nice to see you've made up your mind. So who will it be?"

"Manabe-senpai, huh? I really thought you would make the choice instead. It's not like it would be difficult either, just use a bit of a threat that you won't save Ryuuen-senpai and you have free rein," Amasawa commented.

"So I just had the same thought as him, didn't I? I guess that's just what Manabe made people feel. I can't be mad about having a similar line of thinking to that guy, it was the best thing for both our situations," Ibuki thought.

"So other people were also thinking it," Kei mumbled.

"They saw everything between you and Manabe. The aftermath and repercussions too. Many would think like that," I told her.

"Now I just feel average for guessing that you would want to expel her too," Kei sighed in defeat.

"Who..."

It seemed that Ishizaki hadn't decided on who would be taking Ryūen's place yet.

"If you haven't decided, I can decide for you if you want. It'd be easier to get rid of any feelings of guilt that way. Of course, if you think that I'd carelessly get rid of an important member of your class, you don't have to listen to me at all."

"P-please hold on. Let me think about it for a bit..."

"There's no time."

"I-I'll make the decision quickly."

Despite saying that, if he could make the decision quickly, he wouldn't be having such a hard time in the first place.

"So you did try it. But you could've done way better if you were really that serious about it. So I'm gonna guess it doesn't matter to you all that much. Is that right, Ayanokouji-senpai?" Amasawa theorised.

"I won't confirm or deny that," I replied dismissively.

"Hold up. I don't care who we get rid of, but what's the plan here? You said you were gonna save him with the points, but aren't we short by like fifteen million?"

Ibuki cut in, and her irritation was understandable.

Be that as it may, I had my own circumstances to consider as well.

"If you want to prevent Ryūen's expulsion, you need to decide on who will take the fall instead."

We would talk about the plan in detail afterward.

"For example, how about the troublemakers in your class?"

While I felt bad that Ibuki was dissatisfied with not getting an answer from me, I moved the conversation forward.

"Troublemakers... Well, I guess there's me and Komiya, and out of the girls, there's Nishino and Manabe."

"So it was one of those two who swung the axe. They were considering her, after all," Amasawa softly nodded at her words.

She seemed satisfied with that conclusion.

"You felt bad about such a tiny thing? You really suck at bullshitting sometimes," Hosen laughed at my thoughts.

"He's not wrong," Ryuuen nodded.

Nishino, who was mentioned as a candidate for expulsion, seemed to be slightly anxious.

"I name-dropped you because that's how it was," Ibuki told her.

"I'm not that bad," Nishino sighed.

"Maybe not anymore, but you definitely were a big candidate at one point. It's not like I was any different either, though," Ibuki stated bluntly.

"You both seem to have a problem with being outliers. If another exam comes again, I'm probably in a better position than before, but you guys really need to get your shit together," Ryuuen advised coldly.

It was a harsh reality they had to accept. Even Horikita could understand that.

"Honestly Ishizaki, as far as Ryūen's safety is concerned, I don't think it's a very good idea to get rid of somebody like you who understands the importance of Ryūen's presence in your class. If there's another exam similar to this one in the future, there's no guarantee Ryūen will be able to make it through that one either."

Ishizaki seemed to agree with my logic.

"So either Nishino or Manabe..."

Ishizaki listed two names, both of whom I was familiar with. Manabe, in particular, was the student I had been thinking of expelling.

Either way, he was the one who had to make the final call.

I intended to respect his decision, regardless of who he ended up choosing.

Nishino was looking at Ishizaki with the goal to be putting holes inside him.

"So you remember who Manabe was now, right?" Ryuuen asked Ishizaki.

"That was one time, man," Ishizaki sighed.

"One time was bad enough. How do you forget someone you helped to expel? You're memory must be screwed or something," Ryuuen grumbled.

"I remember some things pretty well," Ishizaki replied.

Ryuuen glared at him, essentially telling him to not say what he remembers well.

He really hates that babysitting list, huh? I guess it did end up backfiring on him.

"Whether it's one of them, or someone else, the decision is entirely up to you."

Ishizaki was also aware of what had taken place between Manabe and Kei during the Cruise Ship Special Exam. If that incident had even the slightest influence on his considerations, in all probability, he would choose to get rid of Manabe.

He was searching for flaws. Searching for some sort of justification where he could throw up his hands and say she had brought this upon herself. Manabe had put her hands on Kei, and by doing so, had brought unnecessary trouble upon her class.

Gradually, Ishizaki would begin to think that expelling Manabe wouldn't be too unreasonable.

As far as Kei was concerned, even though she had already put the incident behind her, Manabe's presence would always be a constant source of uneasiness. Resolving this issue would be enough to allow Kei to relax a little more. Additionally, if I were to have Kei presume that I had been responsible for the expulsion, her confidence in me would also increase yet again.

The room got quiet once again. The actions I had committed on the roof might be replaying in their minds. My thoughts, intentions and desires with Kei would all be clear nonetheless.

"C'mon man," Sudo muttered indistinctly.

He was speaking out of disappointment. Perhaps our conversation in that bar was conflicting with the present. What he saw then was a friend giving him advice, but now it was as if a completely different person was present.

Perhaps they wonder why Kei is still by my side. I'm sure that if Kei requested a seat change, it would be granted, but nothing like that has occurred.

"Perfectly calculated until the end like usual. As much as the content changes, it really stays the same at the same time," Nagumo sighed.

"That sounds a little like praise," Ichinose pointed out.

"Well, who am I to judge him? The attention to detail in his schemes is something to be appreciated, however," Nagumo told her nonchalantly.

However, Ibuki unexpectedly spoke up just as Ishizaki was finalizing his decision.

"Is it fine if I make the choice?"

"Eh? You want to?"

"Yeah. There's someone I want gone."

"Who?"

I asked without waiting for Ishizaki's response.

"Manabe. It's just my personal preference though."

"And is it alright to make the decision based on that alone?"

"I don't have any problems with it. Are you saying I should?"

With a single look at Ibuki's eyes, I understood immediately. She didn't have even the slightest bit of hesitation.

In terms of presence, Ishizaki and Ibuki have risen exponentially. A byproduct. The video puts the players in the spotlight for them to be judged. A jury with little power. There are also those who are seen in a better light through these videos, such as Kei, or those who get shown to be even worse than before, like Ryuuen.

"Weirdly enough, you probably made the most normal choice," Ryuuen commented.

"Huh?" Ibuki blurted out.

"I think what Ryuuen means is that the exam basically makes you want to expel people you don't like. So you made a normal choice by expelling someone you didn't like," Kaneda explained on Ryuuen's behalf.

You can make the argument the point of the exam is to remove dead weight, but that's not something that everyone will recognise or even want.

"If Ishizaki has no objection to it, then it's settled. That said, there are no guarantees that everything will work out. By preventing Ryūen's expulsion, the person who ends up with the second most censure votes will be expelled. Now, the overall goal is to reduce the possibility that that person will end up being one of you two. There isn't very much time left."

"I get it... I'll tell the guys that there've been some changes and that they should use one of their votes on Manabe. I think they'll agree to it if I tell them that the plan is to scare her by giving her the second most censure votes."

"That's not a bad idea."

I approved of Ishizaki's idea.

As long as they were under the impression that Ryūen's expulsion was set in stone, the rest of his classmates wouldn't particularly care about who they used the other censure votes on.

"...Well, I might be in trouble here though."

"That is what I thought," Kaneda admitted a little sheepishly.

I suppose he was a little surprised that I had guessed his thought process.

"But I'm also a little surprised you came up with that," Kaneda told Ishizaki.

"It was the easy part. Choosing who to expel was tough," Ishizaki grumbled.

"Hmm? What do you mean, Ibuki?"

"Manabe and her friends will probably vote for me along with Ryūen. It really doesn't look very good for me."

"W-wait. Are you being serious?"

"Even you should know that Manabe and I don't get along very well, right?"

"That's, well, that's true but..."

Ishizaki trailed off, shaken from his inability to wrap his head around the conversation.

"It sounds like you've already steeled your resolve, Ibuki."

Of course, if Manabe didn't get expelled, Ibuki wouldn't have any other option but to resign herself to her fate.

That didn't end up happening, clearly.

"I got through it anyway, so it's fine, but there's this weird feeling I've got. His stupid words are ringing in my head. Ryuuen's got a point... I might not be in a great spot if this comes up again," Ibuki thought.

"It might be a good idea to consult with Hiyori about it."

"With Shiina?"

"She might be able to help you with this. I think it'd be fine for you to contact her and tell her you want to concentrate the censure votes on Manabe in order to save Ryūen."

"...Fine."

With a nod, Ibuki promptly sent a text message to Hiyori.

"You're in touch with Shiina, Ayanokōji? I don't think she'd be on board with the plan to expel Manabe."

"She just happened to tell me her thoughts about this exam."

While Hiyori may be a pacifist, she also has a strong desire to respect the wishes of her class.

Many of the students in the class weren't as surprised as one may expect them to be. After all, the quiet girl who didn't tend to speak much was part of something, but the class C students seemed unphased for the most part.

"So first Ryuuen thinks you can co-lead the class and now this. I really am a little surprised," Kaneda told Hiyori.

"I-I didn't do much, honestly. I did the bare minimum," Hiyori sheepishly denied the praise.

Yes, Ryuuen once said she could lead the class along with Kaneda. That's why they aren't that surprised she had a part in this. Rather, many might have expected her to do something eventually.

"She told me she'd cooperate as long as it was for the sake of the class; since she thinks that Ryūen is important for Class D, I'm sure she'll choose to lend a hand."

We would control their classmate's votes as much as possible, reducing the praise votes and increasing the censure votes for Manabe.

Conversely, we'd increase the praise votes and decrease the censure votes for Ibuki. That way, the disparity between Ibuki and Manabe would be closed in one fell swoop.

"Well then, tell us your plan. How are we saving him with only five million points?"

Ibuki stared at me, the look in her eyes telling me to speed things up.

I took out my phone and sent a text message to a certain someone.

"So a hidden party comes in late," Hashimoto realised.

Nagumo's eyes narrowed as he glanced in my direction. He's surely put together all the pieces by now. No, he probably realised it from the moment I asked for them to get Ryuuen's points.

"Eh, can't keep complaining about it. Pacifist. That's what she is, and that's not going to change. I could try and convince her, but that won't do anything. It's not like I'm going to force her either, so that goal of having her lead is pretty much dead in the mud," Ryuuen thought.

It was marked as read almost immediately, with the person responding shortly thereafter, saying they would come to my room. There were less than two hours remaining until the time limit. It was fortunate that this person had the patience to wait until now.

"What are you doing?"

"Somebody's going to pay us a visit soon. They'll be the secret weapon that'll stop Ryūen's expulsion."

"The secret weapon... that'll stop the expulsion?"

It didn't seem like they would believe me with words alone.

A few minutes later, my doorbell rang, increasing Ibuki and Ishizaki's skepticism even more.

"Is it alright for this person to see us with you?"

"Don't worry about it. Provided that you get your stories straight right now."

In the brief period before the visitor came in, I instructed them on what exactly they needed to say.

"So you had a script to go and everything," Shibata mused.

"You'd be a good director. With how much you like being dramatic and having things go along to plan, you can be the next Shakespeare," Kei proposed.

"Sounds like a lot of effort and a lot of talking to others," I shot her down.

"Hey, I don't care. I want to see you in one of those cool hats like Sakayanagi's and with those little plastic megaphones. Do it, please?" Kei rambled.

"What...? Do you mean a beret?" I asked, not knowing where this was going.

"I don't care enough to remember French words," Kei told me.

"I see," I remarked blankly.

"Pardon the intrusion~"

Naturally, Ibuki and Ishizaki were surprised upon seeing the visitor who had appeared before us.

They had probably never imagined that they would meet this person here.

"Seriously...?"

"Woah."

"Oh! I definitely thought there might've been someone else here too... Good evening."

"G-good evening."

For some reason, Ishizaki had become a little flustered. The person who had come to my room was none other than Ichinose Honami.

"I guess I was wrong," Hashimoto told Sakayanagi.

"So that's how this all ties up," Sakayanagi stated as the corner of her lips turned upwards.

"You seem to know where this is going," Nagumo deduced.

"I have the general gist of it," Sakayanagi replied.

It seems they're both on the same page now.

"You were waiting that long... If he didn't call you, you would've gone along with the deal, right?" Amikura stated with a hint of sadness in her eyes.

"Yeah, probably," Ichinose replied to her friend's words with no trouble at all.

Amikura's eyes widened at how easily Ichinose responded, "You really seem different recently."

"People keep saying that," Ichinose sighed.

And currently, she was sitting together with Ibuki and Ishizaki from Class D. Having seen Ichinose, Ibuki finally seemed to understand the big picture of what was going on.

"We've got matching interests, don't we Ichinose?"

"It sure looks like it, Ibuki-san."

"Huh? What do you mean, Ibuki?"

Ishizaki tilted his head to the side, still unable to put all the pieces together.

"Ishizaki. Nobody's crazy enough to actually want to save Ryūen. Even if, hypothetically speaking, someone were to show up and say they'd help vote for him, there's no way to know whether they'd really stick to their word or not. Although... There are exceptions to that..."

"I-Is that so... Then, does that mean Ichinose and everyone in Class B are gonna...!?"

"Give the praise votes in exchange for the private points," Nagumo finished off the words.

"That's lucky," Shibata commented.

"Ryuuen was smart enough to stockpile some points, and we did it on a larger scale. But I wonder what would happen if Ryuuen couldn't cover the entire deficit," Kanzaki pondered.

In that case...

"I'd assume you would ask some of our class to make it up, right?" Horikita asked me.

That's one of the ways to do it, yes.

"Yeah," I answered.

"Would the members he asks have enough to make it up is the question. I highly doubt the entire class would agree, so the few members he asks would need to make it up themselves," Matsushita mused.

"I can't say. But I'm sure he probably had other ways to do it as well," Horikita stated.

Finally, everything clicked, and Ishizaki seemed to understand what was about to happen.

"Yup. I'll appeal to everyone in Class B and ask them to cast every single one of our forty praise votes for Ryūen-kun. In return, Ibuki-san will cover the private points we're missing."

It was a sure-fire strategy that could only be used once.

There was Ichinose, who had the intuition to stockpile her classmate's private points ever since the first day of school, and there was Ryūen, who had continued to hoard private points because of the contract he had made with Class A.

It was the ultimate power play that could only be put into action because of the circumstances surrounding these two specific people.

"If you two joined forces, no one will be expelled from Class B and Ryūen won't have to leave Class D."

"So you spoiled Nagumo-senpai's plan and saved Ryuuen-senpai at the same time. It seems like you're battling him already," Amasawa stated with a grin.

"Battling him already? It wasn't official, anyway. Win or lose at that point doesn't matter much," Nagumo shrugged.

"For how much you like to act informal and breaking the norm, you really like things to be official," Amasawa pointed out.

"For some things you need it to be in an orderly fashion," Nagumo responded apathetically.

No matter what, Ryūen would only end up with a maximum of thirty-nine censure votes.

With the protection of Class B, that outcome would be eliminated completely thanks to the praise votes he would get.

Ibuki and Ichinose looked each other in the eye.

When two people aren't usually involved with one another, there's no reason for them to enter into a relationship built on trust like this. However, by facing each other eye to eye, it's possible to determine whether or not they're trustworthy, at least to a certain extent.

After a moment, Ichinose shifted her gaze away from Ibuki and looked at me.

"With twenty million points, I'll save one of my classmates... Right?"

Leaving me with that question, she then turned her gaze back to Ibuki.

"No shit. Can't you read the rule book?" Hosen stated, not knowing why she asked the question.

When you take it at face value, it does seem like a pointless question.

"What will you do, Ichinose? It's up to you to decide whether you accept it or not."

I spoke up, responding to her uncertainty. She had the right to choose the outcome for herself. After all, she still had the option to reject Ibuki's proposal and borrow the points from Nagumo instead.

"I've made up my mind. As long as Ibuki-san and Ishizaki-kun are alright with it, I'm willing to do what I can."

"Are you really fine with that?"

"Yes. I've been able to make sure that their sincerity is real."

"You're an idiot, aren't you Ichinose?"

"Eh!? Ibuki-san!?"

"Catfight time," Ryuuen snickered.

"She wanted to save a classmate and I thought it was stupid of her to do that," Ibuki snapped.

"Do I regret that decision? If I toughed it out we might be in a better position, but now that all is said and done, do I regret it? It just feels so... Off. I don't feel bad making that choice, but if I had the chance to go through it again, I wouldn't make the same decision," Ichinose thought.

"Even though all sorts of cruel rumors were going around about you, you still chose to save up all those points. I can't believe you're gonna throw 'em all away for something like this."

"Well, I can just save up the points all over again. It's clearly not impossible to accumulate close to twenty million points in just a year. Besides, I don't think you're in any position to say that, Ibuki-san. You could just pocket those five million points for yourself right now, but you've decided to use them all for Ryūen-kun's sake instead."

Ibuki quietly looked away without giving her a direct answer to that.

"There is a difference between your cases," Sakayanagi told her.

"I suppose there is a bit of truth in that. But Ibuki also recognised that she might be expelled, correct?" Ichinose retorted.

"Yes, but you didn't know that back then," Sakayanagi told her.

"And that's why I said there was some truth in your statement. Our two cases are different, but there are similarities nonetheless," Ichinose responded without missing a beat.

Essentially, they were both right in some ways.

"You and I are different. Besides, someone else's gonna end up bawling their eyes out as they pack their bags in Ryūen's place. In fact, that person could just as well end up being me."

"But you're still saving Ryūen-kun, aren't you?"

"It... It just pisses me off that he's running away before I can pay him back for this stupid loan I took from him, that's all there is to it."

Ibuki would provide salvation to Ichinose, fully prepared to face the potential disdain from her classmates.

And just like that, Ibuki transferred the predetermined amount of private points to Ichinose.

"Confirm everything on your end."

"Will do."

So that is the end of this exam.

Now, it's his entrance.

Ichinose immediately took a look at her points, checking to make sure she had received the points.

"Thank you. It arrived beautifully."

She showed the number on her phone, proving to all of us that she had exactly twenty million points in her account.

"I'll be acting as a witness to this negotiation. I'll have you all know now that I've also been recording the contents of this conversation."

Out of the interest of fairness, I took out my cell phone.

"Ibuki is offering about four million points. In return, Ichinose and the rest of her classmates will cast their praise vote for Ryūen, for a total of forty votes. If there is a breach of this agreement..."

"I wouldn't have fulfilled my end of the deal, so I'd take the initiative and drop out school myself."

"So it's over now," Amikura put her arms up to try and stretch.

Of course, none of us actually thought that something like that would happen.

In practice, the school would also take record of any transactions that consisted of a large number of points, so if Ichinose went against her word, it wouldn't be surprising if the transaction was determined to be fraudulent with that alone.

However, Ibuki and Ishizaki knew they were making a deal with none other than Ichinose Honami herself, so they probably felt like they could entrust it to her safely.

This was the story of the events that happened between Ishizaki, Ibuki, Ichinose, and myself.

"And what a story that was," Nagumo commented.

"Are you a masochist? You seem to praise getting your lecherous plans screwed with," Kiryuuin complained.

He probably couldn't care less anymore. He's got other things to focus on.

"So the batch is done now?" Horikita asked.

The student council presidency would be imminent if that was the case.

"No. There's one more to go," Nagumo told her.

I take it that since he knows, he was informed beforehand. After all, I doubt the school would expect him to make such a large decision without a timeframe.

Horikita nodded and waited for us to be dismissed.

Soon, we were able to leave.

The second we were allowed to be dismissed, I went looking for someone.

I walked by his class and he wasn't there, so I assumed that he was on the way back to his dorm. Changing my direction and going out the school gates to the dorm building, I saw him near the horizon.

I caught up to him by the time we made it to the dorms, and as he passed the gates into the building, I was right behind him.

"Hey-"

Ryuuen POV:

We waited for everyone to leave this place. Ibuki kept looking over at us and stayed for a while, but she walked out eventually too.

"So then, what's the problem?" I asked him.

I was sitting on the podium while he was on the table. A blank expression was on his face as he looked up at me.

"How are you gonna deal with the Ichinose thing?" Ishizaki asked.

So that's all, huh?

"Hehe. So that's why you're so worried. I thought you pissed off Albert or something and thought you were going to get your ass kicked," I chuckled and got up from the podium.

"W-what?!" Ishizaki exclaimed at my thought.

"I'm not going to get expelled and neither are you. Wanna know why?" I asked as I stood in front of him.

Ishizaki's face morphed into some relief that he was going to hear an explanation.

"Yeah. What did you have in mind?"

"You know what mutual destruction is, right? It's fine if you don't. Think of it like this. I drop a bomb as I'm killed to take the other person down with me. Ichinose's going through that..." I began.

"If she expels you?" Ishizaki hesitantly answered.

I could feel my lips turning into a smirk.

"Exactly."

"Ishizaki, Ichinose's going to do her best to attack me and expel me, so I need you to do something," I began.

He straightened up and began to listen.

As I began to explain, this weird feeling welled up inside of me.

I believe that she's different from what she was like before, but this change... It's limited in what it can accomplish. He probably had something to do with it.

Two choices. I just have to make her pick the other one. Honestly, Ayanokouji, you really had to make things tough for me, didn't you? Maybe you wanted me out of here, I've got no clue how that mind of yours works. I was always prepared for you to be the enemy.

Whether it be Ichinose alone or with your help, or maybe even some other guy, I'd rather not end my time here anticlimactic.

It's been a while since I was this excited. Even if I'm out of here, I won't be the only one who loses.

Ichinose, you can't kill me in a way that matters.

Author's note:

This chapter was so long, man. The next one is about Tsukishiro, so that's fun, and it's gonna be way shorter than this one.

I based the chapter title around mutual things. In the video, by saving Ryuuen you also save Ichinose. But inside Ryuuen's mind that's in the present, if you destroy him, you also destroy Ichinose.

That's about it, see you.

The Father's Enforcer

Yagami POV:

This ship really is a waste of money.

All this money, all this time spent, for what? A place for teenagers to be lazy while they hide behind the guise that they go to a school that people think is elite? All this effort is spent to cultivate leaders and they just seem to create waste. The output they've produced is disproportional to the input.

Opening the glass door, I laid eyes upon the room.

The room he called me to had a similar size to those karaoke rooms back in the school. Unlike those rooms, however, this one was quite boring. It was that soulless soft white that painted the walls, and the only thing that illuminated the space was some sunlight that peeped through the windows.

Scattered through were some fold-up tables. Probably for discussion. The accompanying chairs look more like the school cheaped out a little since it was just hard plastic on some wheels. There was a small kitchen area in the corner room, with cupboards standing tall. A small fridge and a sink.

All in all, pretty boring.

The only rather unique thing about this room was that the front possessed a large desk that seems to be made of rather sleek, handcrafted wood. It gave off this sheen of sophistication. No matter how elegant it looked, though, it doesn't change how out of place it seems.

Sitting down on the chair that resided right in front of that enigmatic piece of furniture.

"Hello there," Tsukishiro told me as he walked in.

Positioning himself on the luxury desk he began to speak once again as he glanced at me with that same expression as always

"I'll be leaving by tomorrow when we arrive back at school."

Ichika's already gone, so I suppose it makes sense why I'm the only one listening to this.

"So since you're going, it's up to me, huh?" I stated speculatively.

I've had something on my mind for a while now.

"Yes. I trust that you'll try your hardest to take back Ayanokouji. You're the only one who can do it now," Tsukishiro informed me.

I nodded. After that response, there was a lull in the conversation.

So he failed, huh? I had never trusted the man in front of me. He just left me wondering about his machinations after every conversation, but recently, I wondered something.

After today, it's possible we'll never see each other again. So why not speak my mind for once?

"Do you want to speak without this farce? Since we're both likely not going to see each other ever again, let's speak freely," I told him bluntly.

Tsukishiro possessed this awfully eerie smirk on his face.

"Is that what you want? You really are a demanding kid," Tsukushiro stated as he went to get a drink from the fridge.

He got out what I presume is wine and poured it into his glass. Then he got another glass and poured some water into it and placed it in front of me.

"If you wanted to speak without any masks, it must mean that you had something to say. So go ahead," Tsukishiro stated as he took a drink from his glass.

"You know, I've had a thought this entire time."

As I spoke, I placed my pointer finger on the base of the glass and began to push it.

"I believed that you had full intention to expel Ayanokouji and that the island was simply the best opportunity. I thought all of these exams and bounties were just a way to keep pushing him."

As I said those words, I kept pushing the glass ever so slowly.

"You'd keep pushing him further and further until the island where you finally take him down..."

Half of the base was over the edge now. A small push and it would fall and shatter.

"...But I was wrong."

I pinched the top of the glass and brought it back towards me.

"People like to make the argument that the student council president seat is something that's godlike. And while they're not wrong that it's incredible, I don't think that statement is true. If there would be something I'd call omnipotent, it's your position."

Tsukishiro's original demeanour remained. I expected nothing else from someone tasked to do something so important. At this moment, the atmosphere was being invaded by this sense of unending tension. His regular, unyielding gaze made me think. Even if my thoughts was correct, would he really admit to it? It's more likely that he continues to guard his intentions.

"But with all that godlike power, you did nothing. You failed miserably. There was nothing that came out of these last few months. You barely even dragged him into the light. It's a failure. Or at least, it would be if that was your real desire. Perhaps you never wanted to expel him at all," I told him sharply.

As I stated those words, Tsukishiro's unyielding gaze turned away from me and to the glass in his hand.

"Is that all your evidence?" Tsukishiro asked.

"Yeah, on its own it doesn't seem like much, right? I thought that too. So then, enlighten me. How did you face off with Ayanokouji on the island? What did you accomplish after all?" I asked him.

Tsukishiro explained what he did. I get the feeling it wasn't the entire story, but even if this story was fabricated, it doesn't paint him in a competent light.

Yes, this confirms it to me.

"A taser, huh? A person entrusted to expel Ayanokouji who had all the power in the world and that's the result of your effort. I simply don't believe it," I told him bluntly.

Tsukishiro simply chuckled.

"So, all of the people that come from that place really are just annoying kids. So what of it?" Tsukishiro's tone was dismissive as if diminishing the significance of my analysis, "How does this change anything for you? Your goal is to expel Ayanokouji, my own machinations are irrelevant to your existence."

He's right. I will continue to try and take down Ayanokouji for my own sake. His message was clear — This discovery is insignificant to me. But I don't think so.

Bargaining chips. If Ayanokouji doesn't know of this, it gives me an advantage.

"You're probably thinking that this gives you an edge, no? That Ayanokouji doesn't know this information and you have some leverage over him," Tsukishiro stated in a way that was almost mocking.

I couldn't help but narrow my eyes as I stared at him.

"Then I'd like to inform you that such leverage will not exist for much longer. I'd say that even if you were to hint to Ayanokouji that you know something he doesn't, he'll put the pieces together," Tsukishiro stated with a thin smile.

This man really does make things tedious.

"If I could go back, I really would have liked to get rid of you," I sighed.

Tsukishiro responded in a similar hostile manner.

"If you're the best hope to get Ayanokouji expelled, the hopes are dead already," Tsukishiro provoked.

There was something in his voice, this condescending all-knowing aura... It really annoys me.

"I'll keep that in mind," I sighed.

"Would you like a little parting gift, then? Perhaps a drive filled with all of Ayanokouji's data. You've gotten a decent amount, but it isn't all of it."

He really knows how to push the right buttons.

"No, I'm fine with everything I have right now," I declined.

Tsukishiro just sipped the last bit of his wine and placed the glass down.

"Is that all the free speech you wanted?" he asked as if he was tired of our conversation.

I got little out of this. To Ayanokouji, this might change everything in his world, but to me, I couldn't care less.

"Yeah, that's enough," I told him and stood up from the seat.

Ah, tomorrow I have to go back to class.

"It really is boring," I sighed.

"What is? School? I suppose when you know everything, that's a given."

"They really tend to go back to the basics every topic. I feel like I could recite the entirety of Greek mythology by heart."

"Ah, I really do only know one tale from it. Kronos and his son Zeus, I believe. Zeus constantly trains after fleeing from Kronos and then returns to face him. It can be likened to you, in a way," Tsukishiro pointed out.

I don't believe so.

"No, I don't think that's the case. After all, Zeus is destined to kill Kronos. He's the one you see wronged and thus the one you root for. There's no one rooting for me," I say bluntly.

Tsukishiro didn't say anything in response to that.

"I'll be seeing you then, Yagami. I wonder how long you'll last before you fall," Tsukishiro walked past me and went towards the door.

"I think I'll be fine."

"Do you really underestimate Ayanokouji that much?"

"Oh, I recognise that he's incredible. I just don't believe the bastard is invincible," I told him sharply.

That day on the ship... It was the last time I spoke to that man. And even though it's been months later, I still barely understand him.

Ayanokouji POV:

December 1st.

It's an interesting time, but when compared to last year's, the similarities are incredibly few in number. I had to deal with a project back then, and I also have one now. And that's the end. These tapes have caused such a dichotomy, but I suppose when something can be considered supernatural, that's a given.

Today a new student council president will be chosen.

But that doesn't matter to me right now, I have some people coming over after school today to deal with.

"I take it you are all wondering who created this exam. Well then, wonder no longer. Enjoy."

I wonder when he began to work for that man.

Afterward, I found out that I had received an email on my phone.

"Sakayanagi, huh?"

I didn't know how she found out about my email address, but I figured I might as well go and meet up with her.

I had thought that she would come and see the results on the bulletin board, but...

As per Sakayanagi's message, I headed toward the special building where she said she'd be waiting.

Even though it was almost past the time she had requested for us to meet, I figured that if I left now, we'd still be able to run into each other.

Once I got to the special building, I immediately went to the place where we had talked last time.

"So if this video shows the creator of the exam, it must mean that Ayanokouji also knew about it," Matsushita theorised.

"How do you figure that?" Sato asked with a dumbfounded expression.

"Sakayanagi knows about this man, and if this video shows the creator of the exam and Sakayanagi is also present, it must mean that Ayanokouji also knew about this person," Matsushita explained.

The attention of those who paid attention to your conversation slowly placed their eyes on me. Perhaps they wanted an answer from me.

"Yes, I did know who it was," I answered them.

There was no point dodging the question.

"So you finally came."

"Seeing that you have my email address, you must have gotten your hands on my phone number as well."

"I didn't call because I didn't think it would be much of an issue if I didn't get to see you today."

"What do you want?"

"For the time being, there's something I'd like to explain to you."

As she spoke, she leaned forward a little bit on her cane, shortening the distance between us.

"Since I had done something a little bit disorderly, I thought you might be somewhat uneasy, but it seems my worries were uncalled for."

"Now that I think about it, why did you go through all this effort?" Hashimoto asked his leader.

"To ensure Ayanokouji wasn't expelled, of course," Sakayanagi answered honestly.

"Hmm, I knew that part. But why not just cast all the praise votes on him without this play with Yamauchi?" Hashimoto continued to probe.

Instead of answering him, Sakayanagi simply looked at him and smiled.

"I had my reasons. Hashimoto, these things will be answered," Sakayanagi told him.

There was this lace of enmity within those words. Perhaps she didn't like being interrogated by a member of her own class.

Of course, Sakayanagi was referring to how she had manipulated Yamauchi into concentrating all the censure votes on me.

"When you talked to me about delaying our match, I was already ninety-percent certain you were telling the truth. I just didn't trust you completely, so I took some measures of my own, just in case."

"I know. Though, you agree that I didn't break our agreement, right?"

"You didn't do anything that put me at a disadvantage. You didn't lie."

While I had been forced to endure at least some degree of mental stress, if we only consider the outcome, I had ended up with an overwhelming number of praise votes.

No matter how I looked at it, there was no reason for me to hold anything against Sakayanagi.

"Maybe some of her reasoning was that she just wanted to fuck with you a bit," Hosen chuckled.

While he was incorrect, Sakayanagi isn't above doing something like that.

"So that confrontation was in the final exam..." Horikita mumbled.

Her brows were furrowed, so I presume she's realised what that chess game was. And thus she also believes that I lost fairly to Sakayanagi. She's not alone in that.

"Thank you very much."

Sakayanagi bowed her head slightly to show her gratitude.

"Incidentally... Totsuka-kun should've ended up with a total of thirty-eight censure votes, but ultimately only got thirty-six. You voted for him, didn't you?"

"I wasn't certain of anything, but when you said you wanted to have Katsuragi expelled, it felt like it was just a bluff."

In which case, I felt like the chances were higher that she was targeting Yahiko, Katsuragi's supporter, instead.

"Was there a point to voting for him, though?" Katsuragi asked.

"It didn't change anything. The only thing that came out of it was that Sakayanagi discovered it," I told him.

I suppose it makes me look more like the real deal in Sakayanagi's eyes.

Even though my vote hadn't changed anything, I had ended up casting it for him anyway.

"How wonderful. As I thought, you're definitely the real deal. The perfect opponent."

"So? Was all of this just your attempt to mess with me?"

"Well... I'd be lying if I said it wasn't, but there is a reason why I said that I wanted to postpone our match. I mentioned something similar not too long ago, but this provisional exam is undoubtedly something that a certain someone prepared in order to have you expelled from the school. In fact, this someone has already happened to send me a message requesting for me to help get you expelled."

"A message?"

A sudden stillness invaded the room. Amidst the quiet, even the quietest whisper would feel like a yell.

It is possible to send people who work in the White Room into the school. That's the conclusion the students have come to.

"So some guy wanted you out of here?" Ike mumbled.

I nodded.

"So someone with the power to create a particular exam also wishes for you to drop out," Yagami pointed out.

I wonder if he realises what Tsukishiro's true goal was. But then again, even I only understand some of it.

"The only person who could do that..." Kanzaki trailed off.

Of course, he didn't need to finish that sentence. It was clear who would do that.

"I wonder what else he's been doing," Ryuuen remarked wryly.

The theories some students have would be endless. It was once thought that these things would be impossible, but now that fantasy was crushed, and the students are all witnesses to that.

Who else could be sent? Students? What about teachers? Such questions would inevitably make their way into their mind.

"Yes. It was probably from the same person who had gotten my father temporarily kicked out of office. Originally, they had set up the provisional exam with slightly different rules. The votes that classes would use on each other were going to be censure votes, not praise votes, so there's no mistaking what their goal was. That would've been quite the unreasonable exam, don't you agree?"

"If that had happened, it wouldn't matter who the student is, if you were colluded against by the other classes, you'd be forced out of school."

It would've been an unreasonable exam where even Sakayanagi and Ichinose would be at risk if the other classes were out to get them.

"Censure votes, huh? I'd be out of here if that happened," Ryuuen chuckled self-deprecatingly.

That's exactly why it wasn't put in. It removes the possibility of those at the bottom being able to fight for their survival.

"But it does mean that this person isn't able to do whatever they want, they have limitations," Kanzaki surmised.

That was another thing. While the position of director is an incredible amount of power, it does have some things it can't do without a second opinion.

But even with these limitations, Tsukishiro had the full ability to win.

"Exactly. It seems the current school staff were vehemently opposed to it and managed to change that part of it. Besides, I would never cooperate with that person anyway. That wouldn't be any fun at all. That's why, in order to ensure your safety, I decided to use all of Class A's praise votes on you. That way, even if someone had been up to something behind the scenes, it would've been impossible for you to be expelled."

"Then, why did you pick Yamauchi? Was it just random chance?"

"Do you not remember? He bumped into me and knocked me over during the Mixed Training Camp. Furthermore, he was quite rude about it."

Something like that did happen back then.

"It was revenge for that."

Some students chuckled at the absurdity of it, others looked at Sakayanagi warily.

"You really are petty," Hosen laughed.

"I did want to be the one who takes him down, but the reality is that he'd be cut off no matter what," Sakayanagi stated her honest thoughts.

It seems she's thought the same thing this entire time.

"Was the protection point you gave him intentional or just lucky?" Yagami asked.

"I'll leave that up to interpretation," Sakayanagi giggled.

She had targeted him just because of something simple like that?

For Sakayanagi, that alone might've been more than enough of a reason.

"However, all I did was light the fire. In the end, he was burned because he was a burden to his class."

"I guess."

Even if Sakayanagi hadn't interfered with the exam, the end result would've probably been about the same.

"Those were the main reasons I had asked to postpone our match. At the same time, I wouldn't mind seeing my father return to his position so the school can return to normal, but..."

So it was time for him to appear.

Suddenly, within the empty special building, someone new had arrived.

"Hello hello."

A lone man dressed in a suit appeared before us.

"This is my first time at this school. Do either of you know where the staff room is?"

"If you're looking for the staff room, then you've come to the wrong place. That said, please excuse my lack of manners, but may I know who's asking?"

"My name is Tsukishiro. I'll be working as the acting director of the school for the time being."

People put two and two together rather fast. I suppose it was because they were expecting an adult to show up in that place, so the first one they saw they'd attribute to the 'mastermind' title.

The first to speak was rather expected.

"So it was that yoga suit guy," Kiryuuin remarked.

Most didn't know what she meant.

"Yoga suit guy?" Nagumo stated with a confused expression.

"Ah, whatever. Explaining it is a pain, mr former president" Kiryuuin shrugged.

Students turned their thoughts away from her and back to the matter at hand.

"That guy... No, I guess it makes sense after you have the answer," Kanzaki stated with a bewildered expression.

Back when I was still studying with the Ayanokouji Group, a similar phenomenon constantly presented itself. Looking over a test with the answers makes the questions that seemed so complicated and confusing seem straightforward.

Ichinose simply sighed. She had said that she had an idea of who it was, so perhaps she expected this.

"It seems I was right. I just remember the island and what was said. The White Room... So Ayanokouji's father sent Tsukishiro to expel him, but he didn't succeed. How did Ayanokouji stop him? I just don't understand how he could ward off the acting director. But now I wonder what else Tsukishiro influenced behind the scenes. Whatever he did, students had no idea about," Ichinose thought.

"So what else did this guy screw with? He must've been good at getting away with it then," Ryuuen chuckled.

He waved his hand politely and gave the two of us a seemingly gentle smile.

He was probably in his forties, somewhere around Sakayanagi's father's age.

"Fufu, is that so? It seems that Mr. Acting Director has quite the poor sense of direction, seeing as how you just so happened to wander your way here. Or, perhaps... you had decided to pay us a visit after seeing the two of us meet on the security camera last time? This is the same place Ayanokōji-kun and I had used to meet secretly at the beginning of the exam. It wouldn't be very hard for you to come here if you had always been keeping an eye on it."

As she spoke, I recalled the unnatural look Sakayanagi had given the camera last time we were here. If someone had really been watching us last time, it would've been easy to lure them out next time we came here.

"I doubt the man who sent you the message told you who he was, so you were able to figure it out with the bait," Hashimoto surmised.

"So this was the man who took my place. I knew some things about him, his looks, age, and some other things you'd be able to find out after a simple look at a file, but that's nothing compared to this. I get to observe who he truly was. Maybe I'll understand Ayanokouji-sensei a little bit better, too," Chairman Sakayanagi thought.

"I wonder if he cared about that," Amasawa stated randomly.

Sakayanagi glanced at her and waited for her to elaborate.

"Well, I just wonder if Tsukishiro really cared about keeping his identity hidden. He seems to have just walked into his target's line of sight. Kinda stupid for someone who's entrusted something so big, right? Maybe he saw it as an opportunity to talk to two high profile people and took it as his chance," Amasawa declared.

"Maybe, but it is still beneficial by confirming who it was earlier. A win-win situation, I suppose. He talks to us and we figure out who the enemy is," Sakayanagi admitted.

Not only had Sakayanagi thought of this plan ahead of time, but the person in question seemed to have fallen for it.

The acting director simply smiled and ignored what she had been implying.

"You say very interesting things. Though, I suppose I've heard that this is quite the amusing school. I wonder if all the students here are like you? Either way, please, pardon me."

The man proceeded to walk forward, as if he was attempting to walk between the two of us.

"Since you're looking for the staff room, I suggest you go back the way you came. You're in the wrong building."

This sudden tension seemed to take over the students. As if the air had gone thick and it was suffocating.

"This guy has a plastic mask for a face. You can never tell what he's thinking," Yagami sighed.

Many would see that as some form of guess or first impression, but that's most likely Yagami's true thoughts after interacting with Tsukishiro for an extended period of time.

With the same smile as always, Tsukishiro kicked Sakayangi's cane out from under her as she attempted to give him directions.

"What the hell?!"

"There was no point in that!"

"Fucking asshole."

Such cries resounded around the room. Of course, when someone with a disability is about to be injured, the reactions are normal.

Ryuuen, however, couldn't help but chuckle, "Deserved."

He just has to get the last word in. I guess that's expected, it isn't like Ryuuen hasn't tried doing worse to Sakayanagi before.

Naturally, there was no way for her to react to something so unexpected, so she began to fall over.

With an exclamation of surprise, I quickly reached out and grabbed ahold of her to stop her from falling, only to be immediately met with a strike from his elbow aimed at my body.

Unable to take evasive measures while holding onto Sakayanagi, I was forced to take the blow. I resisted the impact to the best of my ability and let Sakayanagi down to the floor. He came at me again in quick succession, seizing me by the neck and pinning me against the wall with bewildering, superhuman strength.

"You're not as good as rumors say, Ayanokōji Kiyotaka-kun."

Many were surprised.

I was in a losing position for a physical altercation, something they'd never seen before.

"What a way to make an entrance," Yagami commented.

On the inside, I wonder what he thought about it. Perhaps he's angry that it wasn't him in Tsukishiro's position or perhaps he's just amused at my pain. Perhaps even a third unknown feeling.

"He really set his mark. So this is what the people sent from the White Room can do," Kanzaki muttered indistinctly.

In his eyes was a mix of confusion and fear. He's always more erratic when it comes to the White Room, I really wonder why. It's normal for a person to not think of the White Room highly, but this behaviour he's displayed just isn't what I'd expect from him. While it could just be a side of him I didn't know, perhaps there's something more to it.

He was pressing against my throat so hard that I couldn't make a sound.

It was hard to imagine his strength based on his outward appearance. It felt like it would be difficult to break free of his hold.

"...You've gone and done something quite reprehensible, Mr. Acting Director."

"I know you were sent instructions to have him expelled, Sakayanagi."

"So that message was from one of your associates then? Since school officials aren't able to explicitly force an expulsion, it's understandable that you would come to rely on someone like me."

Sakayanagi smiled as she slowly got up from the floor.

"They aren't able to force an expulsion, but from the position of director, it should be easy," Yagami stated with some hostility in his voice.

"I suppose that's true. But Ayanokouji-senpai is still here, so it can't be some form of unstobbable power," Nanase stated.

"I wonder," Yagami stated flatly.

Yagami didn't continue on the topic, so the vacuum of silence needed to be filled.

"It's weird to see you being so overpowered," Horikita muttered.

"I had no choice in that case," I told her.

"No, I understand that. It's just odd," Horikita told me.

There was another problem as well which stopped me from retaliating.

"Thank you for helping me, Ayanokōji-kun."

It would've been impossible for Sakayanagi to avoid that given her physical handicap.

There was even a chance that it wouldn't have ended with just a fall.

"Do you believe your violent behavior against students will go unnoticed, Mr. Acting Director?"

"There's no need for me to worry about it. The surveillance cameras in this area have been doctored to show dummy footage."

In other words, no matter what happened, there wouldn't be any recording of it.

"Then doesn't that mean you can fight back?" Sudo asked.

That was one of the conclusions you can reach, but it was the incorrect one.

"No, not exactly," I told him.

"Huh? Then why?" Sudo didn't follow.

"I have no way to confirm he's telling the truth," I answered.

Not just Sudo, but many who had heard what I said, looked surprised at this revelation. I suppose they just took Tsukishiro at his word. In such a tense situation, fighting back after you believe you have permission to do so is something most would do. The mind wouldn't go further into the logic and it turns into a matter of survival.

"So if you fought back and it turns out it wasn't dummy footage..." Horikita began.

"I'd be expelled, yes. Most likely through an altering of the footage," I finished off her words.

"Now then, Ayanokōji, I have a message from your father. He has no interest in playing this childish game anymore, and wants you to come home immediately. How about you blink twice if you understand?"

I was unable to speak a single word, and furthermore, wasn't even given an option to refuse.

This was really something 'that man' would do.

"So you have no intention of making this easy for yourself?"

In response to my complete, unresponsive silence, the acting director began to mumble as he got bored.

"Why don't you show a little bit of resistance? Show me something a normal kid couldn't."

His hold on my throat became even stronger.

I really did believe that man had full intention to do something like that. I was unknowingly manipulated and possessed the belief that Tsukishiro possessed the desire to expel me. This inevitably leads to several other thoughts which swirl around in my head.

If Tsukishiro had pulled the wool over my eyes, what other things have I been blind to? A multitude of possibilities come into my mind, but then they all dissipate just as easily as they entered. I have no way to confirm any of these. The motives of the people who have helped me, the motives of those who are against me, and those in a neutral party are all variables that need to be given a second look.

"That was smart of you, Ayanokouji. Staying calm under such a situation isn't what many could do," Yagami praised.

"But it really does seem like you believed him wholeheartedly. I can't blame you, of course. He was planting these seeds all along, and it doesn't help that your father came and announced his own plan. It's not possible to consider anything else, even for you," Yagami thought.

He was a thoroughly trained, skilled opponent that an ordinary student wouldn't be able to deal with.

"There's more to you than just observation skills, right? Why don't you show me what else you're capable of?"

He provoked me once again, but I still didn't show a single shred of resistance.

In the end, Tsukishiro realized that I had no intention of fighting back and loosened his grip.

"I officially take office at this school in April. Please do look forward to it."

With that, the man walked out of the special building.

"That was a wise choice, Ayanokōji-kun."

"What an interesting person," Nagumo stated nonchalantly.

"I didn't know he could be so scary. He gave the nice uncle vibe during that speech," Ike sighed.

That's probably what he's been trained for. There was a reason Yagami said he had a plastic mask for a face, after all.

"So that's when you both first met. That time on the island makes a lot more sense," Kiryuuin stated offhandedly.

Nagumo glanced at her but didn't say anything. He probably thought asking her wouldn't give him any information.

"Now that's someone interesting," Hosen's eyes gleamed with anticipation.

He's someone who sees these things as essentially some form of movie. Whatever is interesting, or has the potential to be exciting, he'll be more favourable towards.

Tsukishiro was someone who I saw as a threat.

He was a person who had the ability to crush the surroundings I resided in.

Yagami is better on an individual level, I have no doubts about that.

But when it comes to who would have a higher chance of expelling me, Yagami can't lace Tsukishiro's boots.

Sakayanagi praised me for putting up with his actions and restraining myself from fighting back.

"He's the acting director. Had I chosen to retaliate, I don't know how he would've used it against me."

He said that the surveillance cameras had been doctored to show dummy footage, but there was no guarantee he hadn't recorded everything anyway. It would've been checkmate for me if I fought back and only his violent behavior was edited out from the video.

"Are you hurt?"

"Don't worry. I'm used to stuff like this. More importantly, Sakayanagi..."

"Yes? What is it?"

"Let's officially have our match in the next exam."

"So that isn't the first time he's proactively made a move for a challenge. I was wondering why he had such a switch up back then, but now it makes more sense. It's just part of his nature," Yagami thought.

"Used to it?" Kei stated with a cloudy expression.

I suppose it is troubling, but that's the fact of the matter.

As I spoke, Sakayanagi's eyes seemed to widen in surprise.

"I never expected that you would say that sort of thing to me face-to-face."

"If that man is going to be involved starting in April, I don't think I can afford to compete with you for very long. I'll make it obvious to you where things stand and leave it with that."

"That's fine with me. I won't need a second or third time. I will gladly accept the privilege of being your opponent."

The final exam of the first year would begin soon, and that would mark the end of the confrontation Sakayanagi was hoping for.

The scene faded once again.

"And it's over..." Nagumo mumbled.

I wonder if that's just recognising it was the end of the video, or if it was the realisation that his name is gone from the student council room from today onwards.

"I trust that you're ready to make a decision?" Chairman Sakayanagi asked.

Nagumo looked at him and closed his eyes.

He opened them and possessed a smirk on his face, "Of course I do. But shouldn't the candidates be in the student council room when I make the decision?" Nagumo asked.

"Of course. You can take them to the council room and make the decision after you're dismissed then," Chairman Sakayanagi diplomatically declared.

"Hmm, I have one final appointment before that. If it doesn't go on for long..." Nagumo pondered, "I suppose 4:30pm would be suitable."

A final appointment, huh? I wonder what that could be.

Chairman Sakayanagi sighed at the delay but didn't admonish it.

The candidates also seemed to wonder who the requester of this appointment was, but there was no way to reach a conclusion.

Whoever it was, they sure made a late call.

Soon, we were dismissed as usual and went back to my dorm without stalling. As I was waiting for him to arrive, I made some preparations by opening the application on my laptop and opening up the file. I had copied it over right after I got it just in case the source became faulty.

And then, after a few minutes, a knock was resounding in the soundless room.

I went and opened the door, "Ah, come in..."

Author's note:

A rather short one, I know, but there's a lot of stuff going on with this one so I'm going to have another interlude. Good thing it comes out tomorrow, then.

But still, this concludes v10 and we have v11 next. To begin v11, it'll be the arisu prologue.

Interlude: The House of the Dead

"Ah, please come in, Kanzaki," I gestured, allowing him into my room.

Kanzaki entered without making eye contact and proceeded to sit on the bed.

Taking my place on the chair next to my desk, I positioned myself in a way that provided convenient access to my laptop.

"Are you recording something? Can you turn it off please?" Kanzaki requested.

I wasn't recording something in all honesty, but it was clear no progress would be made if I didn't oblige, so I tilted the computer lid shut. It means that while nothing was going to be recorded, the applications are still open.

"So then, why'd you call me up here? Honestly, I was surprised you contacted me so out of the blue," Kanzaki sighed as he looked at me for the first time.

"I need your help in breaking someone."

There was no need to sugarcoat it. That's exactly what I would be doing.

Kanzaki, naturally, didn't expect such a thing.

"You couldn't have been a little more eloquent with your words?"

"It's because when I tell you the details of the plan, you're going to inevitably wonder why I'm doing this and what the goal is. If I don't inform you right now, there's the slim chance that you may not do things according to plan," I explained.

It's a prevention tactic, in other words. But it won't matter much in the long run either way, it's just helpful in the case he agrees without any more convincing.

Kanzaki's brows furrowed at my ominous explanation, but he didn't outright deny the possibility of cooperation.

"Before we get into what you're asking me to do, I want to know who you're going to, well, break," Kanzaku inquired.

A natural question.

"Yagami Takuya."

Kanzaki's eyes widened in surprise.

"I can see what you mean now with that explanation. I would really be wondering what you were trying to do. I just don't see the correlation," Kanzaki remarked while his gaze fixated on the ceiling, as if contemplating something or trying to gather his thoughts.

"Well, your actual responsibility isn't incredibly large. You just have to walk in at the right time and string your words together carefully," I added.

Kanzaki looked at me with a wary expression.

"I doubt that's all. If it really was so minor, you'd have gotten someone else to aid you, so why me?"

"You wouldn't mess it up. And also, it's more convenient for you to play the part since you're much more refined and trustworthy than, let's say, Ishizaki," I answered.

Whatever Kanzaki is feeling right now, whether it be fear, confusion or perhaps even just plain anxiousness, the next question he asks is essentially set in stone.

"What will I be doing specifically?" Kanzaki asked after a brief bit of silence.

"To begin with, I need you to go buy me something from the tech store in keyaki. It shouldn't be expensive. At the very most, it would be 5,000 points," I began.

A clean, newly bought one would be better.

"Then what?" Kanzaki continued, unphased at the first request.

Of course, he hadn't agreed to anything yet.

"I need you to come give me it at a specific time and place. As for why..."

I began to explain to him the more intricate details of the plan. What the device should possess, where to give it to me and what he needs to say when he does.

"I can't say I expected anything less," Kanzaki sighed.

"And will you do it?" I asked.

"While I am thankful of what you told me back then, it isn't comparable to this. I'm sorry, but I'll have to decline," Kanzaki declined it with a firm voice.

I can't say this wasn't natural. Hurting someone in return for some advice are things on completely different levels.

"I see," I nodded.

"Is this favour the only thing you wished from me?" Kanzaki asked.

I nodded.

"Well then, I-," Kanzaki began.

"It's nothing but a dictatorship."

The audio playing from the laptop was resounding in the room. Kanzaki froze, unable to say anything. Hearing his hate-filled voice play through the laptop's speaker had caught him off guard.

The insurance worked, it seems.

The Kanzaki who was ready to move to another topic was now unable to speak.

"I wasn't recording something, in all honesty. I just left it open for convenience," I stated as I paused the audio.

As if he was lifted from a trance, he began to glare at me.

"How the hell did you...?!" Kanzaki yelled.

"You checked my phone, but you didn't check for any bugs," I stated as I took out the box with the card and the bug.

I won't be needing it anymore.

"You can have it if you want, I've made enough copies," I stated as I gave him the box.

Kanzaki regained his composure quickly and began to examine the box that contained his Achilles' heel.

After a brief silence, Kanzaki closed his eyes dropped the box, letting gravity take its affect.

Opening his eyes and letting out a deep sigh, he looked at me with eyes filled with hostility, "If you show that to Ichinose... I guess it's safe to say my position in the class is over."

I nodded.

"Most likely. You've seen the change in Ichinose, haven't you? This newfound conviction isn't an act, after all. She took away Nagumo's position. Even Ryuuen isn't safe for the future. So imagine what happens when this conviction meets a person who turned traitor," I told him bluntly.

He'll try to deny it...

"I didn't turn trai-" Kanzaki began.

...And he'll come to a realisation.

In the heat of the moment when someone accuses another, they tend to deny it as their first instinct.

"Of course, this can also lead to your partner Himeno. So that's two people who are going down now, and your plan to change the class is over. Maybe more if you've expanded your coalition a little. An exam such as the class poll coming back isn't impossible, so if it arrives again then..."

I didn't finish the sentence to let the weight of the unsaid part set in.

"Was this your plan all along? Advising me only to use me?" Kanzaki asked.

His words were draped in disdain.

"It was insurance. In all honesty, I'd never use it if I didn't need to," I told him.

These questions were merely delaying things. Inside Kanzaki was one thought. A thought that he could be expelled firmly and deeply coils its roots.

His ambitions.

His desires.

His will.

It would all be for nothing if this made its way to Ichinose's ears.

At this very moment, his fear is king.

And that's why he'll agree.

"Fine, I'll go along with your plan. But I wish for all copies to be discarded once I do so," Kanzaki demanded.

"Then let's put it in a recording," I said as I pulled out my phone.

Reciting the terms, Kanzaki and I both agreed. Kanzaki follows through and he will thus have all the copies of that recording be disposed of.

"You really like meddling with other people's lives, huh?" Kanzaki muttered.

A direct contradiction to my original goal. The goal to have people make a decision on whether I should be accepted after the videos are over. It's true that I had not fully adhered to the prospect of being an observer, but that simply isn't possible. I do exist out of the times when the videos take place, and I am always talked about by others and their words muddle others' views. The role of a true observer isn't possible.

That's why I've had to adapt the original plan. But still, it may be fruitless since there's no telling when these videos would end.

"I don't have anything else to talk about then," I told him.

He was free to leave this time.

"No, there was another reason I agreed to meeting with you today. You cut me off," Kanzaki told me and sat on the bed.

Kanzaki took a deep breath, as if collecting himself. His hands, previously clenched tightly into fists, were now placed flat on his lap.

"What was that reason?"

"I met him once, your father," Kanzaki stated bluntly.

What?

He met him?

I had planned to ask him something about this at a later date, trying to observe him a little more before I do, but here he is telling it to me without any request.

"When was this and what were the circumstances?" I asked as I placed my full attention on him.

I wonder if this is a bluff. It's not impossible, but frankly, I don't think Kanzaki is that good of an actor. In front of me is a troubled person.

This information is something I may never get from any other student. Maybe not even Sakayanagi knows about it.

"As a kid, I didn't really know what we were going to do. I just thought it was another fancy party, but considering your father was there along with a bunch of other rich guys, it probably had something to do with the White Room," Kanzaki began.

He proceeded to recount what he could remember about that day. Who was around him, the names of the people he could remember and what exactly my father said.

"A fool, huh?" I mumbled.

It's odd that he was nice enough to go out of his way and give a random child some advice. If I had to guess, it was purely for show. Appearances. Making himself look good to the other high-profile attendees.

And then the nature of this party is another thing. A lot of wealthy people attended, so that must mean that it could be grounds for investment.

He's always up to something. This must've been before it went down, so does that mean my father expected it and wanted additional funds?

"Ayanokouji? You've been silent for a while," Kanzaki informed.

"I'm sorry. I was just thinking through the specifics of it all," I told him.

"That's all there was," Kanzaki told me.

But there is something thing more.

"Why did you tell me this now? And why tell me it at all?"

There was this near unnoticable change with him. He looked like he was carrying something heavy before, but it seems his mind was more clear now. I wonder, did he want to tell me it for my sake or because it benefitted his own psyche? Perhaps he wanted salvation.

Kanzaki didn't seem phased at those questions, "I'll say it was a convenience for the former. As for the latter, call it obligation. Maybe I felt guilty that I was fond of your father and wanted to tell you for my own sake."

Considering he said this with such ease, he had thought of this specific question a lot.

It seems Kanzaki was troubled and misled by that man's false image. I suppose that's the expectation for politicians, after all.

"I see," I nodded, "If it's any consolation, I don't have any ill will."

"You're quite different from that forceful and assertive attitude from before," Kanzaki pointed out.

I suppose so.

And then, Kanzaki left leaving me in this alone in this room.

Act 3's curtains are going to be unveiled soon, but there's one final thing I have to do before I can close the lid om Act 2.

Ryuuen POV:

"Quite a late appointment you've made. I'll have you know that if you wanted to talk with the student council president, you could've just waited a little more," Nagumo chuckled as he leaned back in his chair.

I guess it isn't his chair for much longer, though.

"Oh, I had my reasons. Besides, whichever person you choose isn't going to meet my requirements," I responded.

"So it was me who you wished to talk with, huh?"

"Of course. You see, there's something I noticed recently. You're a completely different person from before. I mean, before you were moping around and telling everyone that you don't care about stuff anymore. Hell, you didn't even take out that vice-president guy. But now, you don't look so dead inside," I told him.

There was a reason I could tell, and why I was so sure of myself.

He went through the same thing I did. He lost his desire to fight and then gained it back.

"And what are you insinuating?" Nagumo asked with a quick glance at me, as if he was looking past my skin and into my soul.

Man, he sure changed up quickly.

"It's simple. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that you finally got that battle with the freak," I declared.

This was a bit of a gamble. He could very well not be going through this battle, and I might have deduced wrong. However, if I don't take the risk, then I'm buried in the mud.

"That's an interesting conclusion to make, but why does that matter to you at all?"

"It's because if I'm outta here, that's a whole class that might be done for. So I wanted to make some preparations, if you will. If I get expelled, you have free rein of my class. It isn't as if you have control forever anyway. But that also means that you can face Ayanokouji with an extra 39 students in his year," I proposed.

"Out of the good of your heart? How kind," Nagumo stated with a flat tone.

"Yeah, I do want stuff in return. You see, there's a thought that's been going through my mind recently. Private points are God in this school. You can argue that it's the director or that seat you're in, but I don't think so. The person with the most points is going to win after these 3 years. So with all their power, you have to just think about the crazy ways they've been used, or maybe not used."

His eyes narrowed as he stared at me, waiting for me to continue.

"Class transfers are pretty straightforward, aren't they? You pay some points, they sign a contract and you're up one guy. But I don't think that's all they are. They can be way more powerful, but without the points, it's never going to happen," I continued.

"Stop with the build up," he sighed.

"Fine then," I began.

It was a pretty easy-to-understand concept. He got it on the first try. Existence. That's the thing he was wondering about. I also struggled with it, but as I saw these videos even more, I got more evidence that it's possible for it to exist.

Everything he asked, everything I had an answer to.

"Can you deny it?" I asked him.

"If I go ask the teachers right now, that's a pretty easy way to confirm it," Nagumo told me.

"I'd rather you not. It would be a pain if you did," I sighed.

That was the only problem I have with it. It's just that dealing with this guy needs me to give up that card.

"Oh? So you realise that it might be something that's not outright banned but if the school was aware of it, they'd take it down. But does it really matter if they wouldn't let you do it once you request it?" Nagumo probed.

This guy really does see through everything, but I admit, he's way more interesting than the older brother.

"The narcissist was able to do his thing for a while. Besides, if it's not banned, it's not able to be denied until it is. A place that wants to be as orderly as possible should be able to recognise this, right? And this is only if the school may not want it, who's to say that it's one of those things that even the teachers don't know about?" I continued.

I can keep going with these hypotheticals as long as it's needed.

"So you're placing your life in the school in the hands of me, and your only request may not even exist. When it comes to negotiation, I have to admit you're not exemplary," Nagumo wryly chuckled.

What a condescending pain.

"Well, I can't name any other guy in the school who has enough points to do so. It would be more than the 20 million that's required of a class transfer, and the only thing I can offer that you may be interested in is my class to aid you in the battle against Ayanokouji. That's the terms. If you say no, I'm done for."

I've been in this position a lot, huh? Guess it's deserved. Ichinose's caused some real problems for me, so I have no other choice.

Maybe the previous me might've just winged it and threatened her without getting real backing, but now, she's got the ability to expel not only me but also the other idiots who followed me. If I don't actually have any real backup for my actions, she's going to finish more than just me off with a single word.

As for this guy, he's gonna gain 39 students for the price of 2 or, at most, 3. And it's not like they're idiots anyway, they'll prove to help him out.

Nagumo, however, just laughed.

"Your year, it really is special. Mine and Horikita-senpai's can't compare. I wonder if it's just Ayanokouji's doing or if you were all just different from the beginning," Nagumo rambled.

I guess he's in a reflective mood.

"Alright then. In exchange, if you get expelled, I get control of your class but I will use as many points as needed to fulfil that request to the best of my ability. If you remain in this school, I guess nothing will change," Nagumo took out his hand.

"Why the agreement? Not that I'm complaining," I chuckled as I shook his hand.

"First off, I want to defeat Ayanokouji. That's my number one priority, so whatever helps with that is important to have at my disposal. And finally, I just find your year fun to observe. I'd rather not have my entertainment cut dry so anticlimactically," Nagumo stated as he broke away from the grip.

Even if he's no longer the president, he really is powerful. But I have to wonder if he holds a candle to that guy without the council's power behind him.

"I don't have a document, so a recording should suffice," Nagumo stated.

He stated as he pulled out his phone and began to ramble about the terms.

"I agree to the terms," I remarked.

He did the same in return.

"So now it's all over," I sighed.

So now all it takes is an eventual meeting with Ichinose.

"It's 4:20 p.m. then, huh? Perfect time for me to leave," I stated as I turned my head.

I looked over at the door with a grin on my face.

"Ah, so that's why you made that late call," Nagumo chuckled.

"You'd do the same thing in my position, wouldn't you?" I responded with a smirk plastered on my face.

"A psychological attack to make your opponent's mind wander? I suppose I'm not above that," Nagumo stated truthfully.

"I was right. You really are way more interesting than the older brother," I told him as I walked to the door and opened it.

Upon exiting, I found 3 people standing by there. 2 girls and a boy.

"Hey, Ichinose, you can go in. Hope you have fun," I told her and walked off.

Her exasperated expression really was priceless.

Whoever becomes president, I don't think they're going to live up to the guy that's in the seat right now.

Yagami POV:

Ryuuen was the person who requested this meeting, huh? It was probably something to do with Ichinose, but that doesn't matter to me right now.

At this moment, a new student council president will be chosen.

I wonder, do I want this title? When it comes to ambition to change the school, mines awfully lacklustre compared to the two before me. I have no goals beyond beating Ayanokouji. But I admit, the backing of the student council's power is something that makes everything much more easy for me.

"This is the document the next President. I've already given my signature so whoever I pick just needs to put theirs down," Nagumo informed us with a bored expression.

After that instruction, he kneeled down and pulled out a box from under the desk. It seems to have his belongings in it.

"And for the choice?" Ichinose probed.

She probably believes that her chances are over. But I'm sure she knew that when she took away the title from Nagumo.

"From here on out, the new student council president..." Nagumo stated as he looked at all three of us.

I glanced at the document in front of me, wondering if my name would be on it.

But even if it wasn't, it just means things would take a little longer.

"...Is Yagami Takuya."

On the outside, I displayed some feigned surprise. But on the inside, I was excited.

The job of a criminologist is simply researching into crime itself. So that begs the question, if a detective's mind was twisted, wouldn't they become all the greater villain? A lawyer that's gone crooked also experiences a similar phenomena. Thus it can be said that a mind which is the opposite of the position they have can be much more capable.

Ayanokouji, it seems this has made me change things. I wonder how long you can keep blocking my attacks.

"Well then, it seems we have a new president now. You're all free to go if you want now," Nagumo told us as he picked up the last of his belongings.

After picking up his nameplate and staring into it as if there was anything other than his name, he dumped it into his box of belongings and walked out.

"Congratulations on the position, Yagami," Horikita held out her hand.

I responded in kind and shook her hand. Ichinose, however, simply walked out of the room after a quiet 'Good job'. And then, Horikita also walked out. I was left in this room alone with my thoughts.

Sending a message, which was read immediately, I proceeded to go back to my dorm room. The numbers on the elevator rose until it stagnated and the heavy gates opened.

"So she isn't early," I mumbled to myself as I opened the door to my dorm and waited for her.

Not even 5 minutes later I could hear this delicate knock.

"Kushida, come in," I told her.

Hesitantly, she walked in and sat down at the dining table.

"If you could, please take out your phone for me and put it on the bed."

Reluctantly, Kushida tossed her phone onto my bed. Shutting it off, I then sat in front of her.

"How has the school been treating you? I'm sure it's not been great," I told her as I rested my chin on the palm of my hand.

"You really called me up here for small talk?"

It's fair for her to complain about that.

I guess she wouldn't like my next question.

"Have you ever heard of an experiment which was conducted where a frog was dumped into a boiling pot of water, and another frog was in the water beforehand and the water was heated up?" I asked.

She sighed and decided to humour me, "No."

"Well, this experiment showed that if you place a frog into a position where it can adapt to its surroundings then it'll stay put. But if you dump them into unfavourable situations then they'll jump out and freak out."

"What's your point?"

"Nothing, really. This entire experiment was made up."

She raised a brow at my words.

"To be more accurate, the conditions of the experiment were made up. In reality, it was a lobotomised frog that would remain when it was gradually heated. A regular frog would just jump out when the temperature reached 25 degrees Celsius."

I was quite young when I learned of this. It's a common allegory used in business and economics, and it even made its way into Cold War history where I first discovered it. But tracing it back and you realise the truth.

A simple change in the details can make things different.

"I feel like I could've told you that a brainless frog would let itself die," Kushida remarked.

Fair enough.

"Anyway, that was a cool fun fact. What's the point?" Kushida asked once again.

"Well, a change in the details can make people believe something completely different from the truth. There are plenty of experiments and studies that have gone through a similar fate."

I paused for a moment, letting it set in.

"I'd take it that the position of you in your class is at an all-time low again, right? You followed a traitor, made this big show with fake tears and a garbage apology, and tried to take out the most competent person in your class," I began.

She listened with an annoyed look, but it didn't matter. I had to continue.

"And what if someone were to leak the fact that you tried to expel Ayanokouji once again on the island? Maybe if there's a slim chance of you coming back into acceptable graces, it would surely be gone by then, right?" I told her with no emotion in my voice.

She maintained her composure. As expected from an actor such as herself.

"As for proof?" Kushida asked.

"So what if I don't have it?"

She glanced at me as if I was an idiot.

"You said it yourself, didn't you? The person who has the higher social status will always be believed. Comparing both of our positions in the eyes of the students is quite a large gap. And making the rumour that I was forced to go along with your schemes is also fairly simple," I elaborated.

No matter what Kushida does, she's in a position where she can't fight back. Saying that I had secrets that Kushida used against me to force me to work with her is easy enough to use.

Kushida still displayed her veil of calmness. A strong effort, I have to give it its dues.

"And what would you gain from that?" Kushida asked flatly.

"All that would come of it is your destruction. I'd gain nothing but you'll lose everything. Considering the fact you haven't dropped out yet, I'd take it that you still want to stay here," I explained.

So she was finally going to ask the question. It really did take a while.

"What did you want from me then?"

What can Kushida offer?

In terms of ability, she's nothing extraordinary. Good in academics and athletics, but the real positive she possessed was that mask.

Now that it's gone, she has very few things.

"Two things. First, does Ayanokouji still possess a protection point?" I requested.

Kushida shook her head, "No. That thing disappeared after the end of year exam."

"I was worried there for a second," I sighed.

"Why?"

"It doesn't matter anymore. As for the second thing I want from you, information on your classmates," I told her bluntly.

Kushida simply chuckled, "That's the only thing left, huh? I guess that's all I can really offer. And if I don't then I'll be out of here."

She was looking down into the table, boring her eyes into it. While I couldn't see her expression clearly, I'd say the emotion of hatred is coursing through her.

An intense feeling of disdain, that's all that warms her heart at this very moment.

But that hatred won't amount to much, at the end of it all. Even if she goes to Ayanokouji, it won't change the fact that information will be transferred.

Looking at it from her perspective, there are two paths.

The first is where she gives me this information. She doesn't know what I'm going to do with it, and she may also think that the class will figure out that she sold them out for her own sake. Essentially killing her chances of a comeback. But this murder of her chances is only a possibility.

The other is where she doesn't give me this information and she most likely turns into a scapegoat for any more exams like the class poll or drops out herself.

"I don't have a real choice here, huh?" Kushida sighed.

And as for the authenticity of these rumours, while I doubt kushida is capable to make so many up on the spot and making them all believable, it wouldn't change the fact that Kushida is now unable to do anything.

But I have to admit, it's clear that she doesn't want to betray the class. Out of necessity, she has to give this information. Sacrificing herself for the class isn't in her nature. Her safety is what's prioritised above all.

She's like him in that regard.

Suzune POV:

Looking over at my phone which had just vibrated, I placed the book down.

Unknown: Do you want to keep your class alive?

I can't lie, these words were unnerving. Whoever this was, they know how to grab attention.

I responded by asking who this was, and a near instant reply made its way onto my screen.

Unknown: That isn't for you to know unfortunately.

And then a second message right after that.

Unknown: You never answered the question. Do you wish to keep your class alive?

A question they already know the answer to.

I replied simply saying 'yes'.

Unknown: Then please begin to trail Ayanokouji from today and give me a simple summary of what he does after school. These don't have to be frequent, once a week is fine. If not, I'll simply leak this.

What he sent was a screenshot of a spreadsheet. There were simply 2 columns. One header was 'Classmate' and the other was 'Secret'. In this particular image, there were only 4 students listed, but if these 4 are true... Then that must mean Kushida has sold us out to this person.

Then the class is essentially held hostage by this person.

And then, before I could even respond, another message illuminated the screen.

Unknown: As you've expected, Kushida has sold you out. She'd probably drop out herself or get expelled from your class if she didn't so don't be too hard on her.

I get the meaning behind their question now. It's a question that has a simple answer, but there's something that's gnawing at me to refuse.

Do you wish to keep your class alive? If so, follow my demands.

Unknown: I don't really need to know what you feel about this, I get the feeling that you'll follow through.

This feeling of uneasiness wells up inside of me. Even without seeing my face, or hearing my thoughts, they came to the conclusion that I'll follow through. Who was this?

What did they have on Kushida that made her give in? Did they make the threat to expel her? I can see that being a dangerous situation for her, but then it raises the question of what they're relationship is.

And now I have to follow Ayanokouji? He's astute and observant, it won't be long until he figures it out, but it isn't as if I can just let this go. I believe that Ayanokouji will survive any attack, but this person's goal may not be to just destroy Ayanokouji.

How far they intend to go is an unknown. If they possessed something to make Kushida fold, then it means that they aren't to be taken lightly.

I can't let the class die for Ayanokouji's sake, no matter how guilty I feel.

Yagami POV:

This stupid newsletter.

I'd prefer they just use my school photo, but it seems they need one inside the student council itself today. It's only been one day since I've become student council president and the news has transferred throughout the whole school.

All of these looks at me are rather annoying. Some of the jealousy, others of acknowledgement and the rest are everything in between. It's the end of school and I have to go to the council for that photo.

"Alright, I'm ready," I told the photographer.

The man with the camera looked rather young, maybe early 20s. I sat through all the annoying flashes and after 30 minutes I was free to go.

Horikita should be following Ayanokouji by now. I wonder when he'll catch on, but judging from his behaviour in the videos, he always sits on things until he needs to. But even if he does call her out on it, it would only speed the process up. The trust between them would surely just falter even more, but breaking that trust isn't the end goal anyway.

Though there is one thing that's troubling me. Ayanokouji hasn't acted again since that day. It's as if he's only focused on keeping me in check rather than attacking.

The only conclusion I've come to is that he's doing the same thing as me. Making enough preparations before pulling that trigger. I wonder which bullet will reach the other's first.

"Hey there, Mr President."

A familiar voice reached my ears.

Turning around, I see an annoying, but recognisable face.

"What's this sudden reason you're talking with me?" I sighed.

"Oh, I can't talk with a good friend? You really are a bad president," Ichika sighed.

I tried to walk away, but she kept following me.

"If you're not going to leave, then I'll humour you. Follow me," I sighed realising I can't just ignore her.

If I were to go back to my dorm, she'd probably just try to force herself inside the room as I walk in.

Nodding along, we began to make our way to the rooftop. She didn't say anything, and it seems like most students had left the school by now. The only ones left were doing club activities.

Soon, I stepped onto the roof and felt the chilly winter air hit my face. The clouds covered up the sun and it looked almost like that time on the rooftop where Ayanokouji faced Ryuuen.

"So then, why are you bothering me?" I asked her as I leaned against the handrails.

"I want an apology for you kicking me out of the room!" Ichika demanded.

"Is that all? Ayanokouji let it happen, go bother him."

It was a pain if that's all this was.

"Wasn't your persona a gentleman? I miss that Takuya, bring him back! If you're going to kick me out of the room, you're nothing but a cruel, cruel man. If I was walking along these handrails and I might fall, what would you do? Maybe you'd just let me fall over," Ichika asked as she pointed to the rails.

It's quite simple what I would do.

"I'd run up to you..."

Ichika looked surprised, but I wasn't finished with the sentence.

"...And push you off myself," I stated matter-of-factly.

She sighed and leaned against the handrails just like I was.

"You seem different. It's like you're more normal now. Did a battle with Ayanokouji-senpai make you that happy?" Ichika asked flatly.

If I were to guess, this is what she really wanted to talk to me about.

Did it make me happy?

"It did. I finally got my chance, and now I'm free to attack," I told her.

It was an honest reflection of my thoughts. It did make me happy.

"I guess I should've expected that from you. He'd probably leave you alone if you didn't ask for a fight, though," Ichika mumbled.

I know that.

"It's not in the cards for me, unfortunately. Either he gets expelled or I do. I can't have it any other way, nor do I want it any other way."

I have felt happiness a few times throughout my life. Getting out of the White Room, getting a chance to face him, but what are they, though, compared to the unhappiness I've suffered instead? I can't live without one of us being the victor.

"I guess that part of you is the same. You're twisted in a different way from me," Ichika sighed and looked up into the sky.

She's been by me for my entire life. If I had to name a person who understands me the best, it would be her. However, It can be said that it isn't possible for someone to understand another fully. I may allow a person to look in for a moment, but that is just a singular point. They will never fully know me, and I will never truly know them.

"I guess I am," I shrugged.

There was now a lull in the conversation.

"You're probably the only one who even has a chance," She stated flatly.

"Yeah, probably."

"No humility at all," Ichika chuckled as she stopped leaning and stood up straight again.

"What are you going to do now that you're done with the White Room?" I asked.

I wonder what her plan is now.

"I dunno. Maybe I'll go toy with that dwarf a little, but after the school is over, I guess I'll do whatever first comes into my mind," Ichika nodded along to her own words.

How chaotic, just like her.

"I see. Hey, if Ayanokouji would lose our battle, what do you think he'd do?" I asked.

My own thoughts on the topic are that he'd try to go to university, something that was barred away from him.

"He'd go start up a local ice cream shop alongside Karuizawa-senpai."

How oddly specific.

"Creative," I chuckled.

Becoming a writer was in the cards for her.

Ichika then put her hand to her chin and started to ponder, "I feel like you both would be pretty happy if you won. He doesn't seem to like the White Room."

It's true that he doesn't like the White Room, but then again, I'm not far off from that. I could never worship that place. I'd say it's more out of necessity. In this world, there is nowhere else for me to go.

I live on borrowed time. That's what's allowed me to come this far without breaking. The ambition within me warmed my heart enough to survive that cold room. Until that ambition dies, I will keep struggling.

"Probably, yeah."

With that, Ichika took her leave. I was left all alone amidst this desolate roof.

I began to look up at the sky. When I first saw it outside that place, I couldn't help but feel like it got boring after some time. The clouds, the animals, and even the very colours were awfully lackluster after a short time. But there is one thing that I do find interesting about it. The star that reigns over the world.

It makes its way around again and again, taking its rest until it returns.

And today, just like every other, it'll rest peacefully.

"It really is wonderful."

If I were to go, I wouldn't mind it being just as peaceful.

Author's note:

Title of this chap is named after a Dostoyevsky novel. Mainly because the monologue where yagami talks about two people not fully understanding each other was inspired by a quote from the novel.

If you wanted to know, "It is very difficult to know a man thoroughly, even after long years."

Oneshot: Salt and Pepper Diner

Ryuuen POV:

A new diner had opened up recently. I didn't expect new things to pop up again and again, but I guess some poor guy couldn't pay his bills and got kicked out.

Maybe it was my own curiosity to see if it lived up to the reputation, or I was just bored.

Probably both.

"Salt and Pepper diner, huh?" I mumbled to myself as I looked up at the big plastic sign.

Walking inside and I was blasted by a bunch of ear grating loud pop music. It's like it was an echo chamber because it felt like it was getting louder every moment. Looking around, I saw the place was painted in colour, and all the tables had nice cartoonish shapes with cushy seats. If I'm gonna guess, this is a family diner.

And there's one thing I know about family diners.

They appeal to 3 people; Families, teenagers, and homeless schizophrenics.

Most seats were filled, but I didn't really want to order yet anyway. This pop music makes me want to leave already, but then I realised where it was coming from.

And who was using it currently.

"Yo, Ayanokouji," I chuckled as I walked up behind him.

He glanced back at me and then back at the jukebox. It was emanating neon, fluorescent lights. Like a rainbow that was glowing.

"Do you know how to use this thing?"

"Hmm, it seems pretty simple. You pay a thousand yen, pick three songs then do whatever you want," I explained.

It was pretty basic, the instructions were even printed on the side in both Japanese and English.

"Well, let me rephrase then. Do you know how to change genres? Right now it seems to be stuck on pop music," Ayanokouji mumbled.

"I'm surprised you care about the machine that much," I chuckled.

I expected him to stay away from something that shows his music tastes to everyone.

"Curiosity. I've never seen a machine like this before."

Ah, so that's what it's gotten down to.

"This song really makes my ears bleed," I sighed.

I was standing so close to it so it was even louder. It's one of those annoying Christmas Pop songs that you hear get played at every store in the mall. It comes around every year and I want to shove a knife in some speakers.

"Would you like to pick one then?" Ayanokouji offered.

I nodded and he stood aside for me to look through the machine.

One thousand points for 3 plays, huh? That's pretty cheap. And I wonder if duplicates are possible.

Swiping through the music list they've given you, it's clear that it's all a bunch of old stuff. And I can see why changing genres was troubling. After some trial and error, I realised what you had to do. You have to click on the genre that is playing on the current song and then it makes you return to a screen where you can pick through the rest of them.

Pop, rock, classical, but no hip-hop. That's a shame.

"You going to pick one?" Ayanokouji asked.

"Hold on, give me a second," I dismissed his question.

I clicked three of the same song within the rock section. I never heard the song, but it alerted me to something.

Since there was no popup, duplicates are allowed. So then, I wonder what would happen if I paid 7000 points? 21 plays of the same song.

It's sure to piss most people off considering how loud this machine is.

"Ryuuen, what are you doing?" Ayanokouji asked.

"I'm just having some fun. If you're curious, stick around and watch me," I smirked.

I pressed the up arrow until it told me I had to pay 7000 points, and then on the corner in some 8-bit text you'd see on an old Nintendo game, it said I had 21 plays available.

Annoyingly, I had to wait for the current song to finish playing before I could confirm my options. I guess a queue isn't part of this machine. I had to confirm my plays after every 3 songs, but as I was about to confirm the second batch, Ayanokouji stopped me.

"Ryuuen."

"What?"

"Let's put in a different song on the sixth play and go back to the usual one on the seventh," Ayanokouji provided.

This guy...

He really is a genius.

"Who knew you were such a sadist," I laughed.

Doing as he said, I confirmed the 6th play to be a different rock song and then for the next 5 batches, picked the usual one.

"Now that that's done, I'm hungry," I stretched a little and looked for a vacant table to order.

The first play of the song was going on, but no one cared at that point.

"Hmm, I'll get the Ammo burger. Seems interesting enough," I told the waiter who came over to get our orders.

"I'll have the same," Ayanokouji told them.

And when the waiter left, I had a realisation.

"Oh man, this is even better than I expected," I chuckled as I glanced over at the machine.

"What's got you so excited?" Ayanokouji asked.

He clearly didn't understand.

"You know how some songs have a dip in them? For example, there are plenty of rock songs that go on for much longer than you expect, but there is a quiet bit in the middle that makes you think it's over," I explained to him with a grin on my face.

Ayanokouji nodded and looked over at the machine, "And this song is one of them, huh?"

"Exactly."

The first play ended, and the second began.

And as it did, an annoying first year walked in.

"Ah, Hosen's here. That might be annoying if he notices us," Ayanokouji sighed.

He's right. I can imagine the shit talking he'll do if he spots us together.

But, as luck would have it, he chose a table that blocked our line of sight. A wall made it so we couldn't see him, and he couldn't see us.

"Lucky," Ayanokouji mumbled.

As of now, there is only one thought going in people's minds when it comes to the song.

'This is a lot longer than I remember.'

At the third play, some people are getting the idea that someone's played it twice.

At the fourth play, people have got the idea that either the song is really long and it was played twice, or someone's played it 4 times in a row.

"The 5th one is where it's going to get good," I chuckled.

Most people have gotten wind of what's going on, but they didn't say anything.

Well, most of them, at least.

"Oh, he's gotten up to check it," Ayanokouji pointed out.

Hosen's face was that of a guy who attended anger management courses and had gotten a 30 day sticker. He was trying to keep it together.

I had some of my Ammo burger. Pretty good, I can see why this place is so popular right now.

"Oh, he's figured it out now," I chuckled.

After fumbling with the screen for a bit, he gave up and went back to his seat. Luckily, he didn't notice us.

And then, the song fades out.

The diner is dead quiet, wondering if it'll be played again.

And then, a different song comes on.

"The look on their faces..." Ayanokouji commented.

"If scientists wondered whether you could make a bunch of teenagers happy by changing a song, they had their answer," I snickered.

This collective sigh of relief that swept through the diner was so strong that a person who just walked in could tell.

But this temporary liberation isn't what I cared about.

The aftermath.

Their faces when they realise the song is played again for the 6th time. Oh, it'd fantastic.

"But now, we go back," I stated.

"You've got a really big grin," Ayanokouji pointed out.

"Don't get on the moral high ground now when you made the plan even better," I sneered.

"Not at all. I'm quite curious to see how this plays out too," Ayanokouji offhandedly stated.

The 6th play slowly fades out.

The place is dead silent once again. Like this collective air of tension at what's going to be played next.

"And now we're back," I remarked.

No one could handle it.

"Motherfucker!" Hosen yelled as he went up to the machine.

The other students looked at him as if he was a hero, the knight to save their ears.

"Hmm, the staff is quite indifferent," Ayanokouji pointed out.

"Yeah, they give the impression that it's the same shit as usual," I laughed.

Hosen glared at the machine and I wondered if he was going to kick it, but he went around to look for a plug.

And the song kept playing in everyone's ears, like a voice in their head that just wouldn't leave.

7th play.

8th play.

9th play.

10t-.

"What a pain," I sighed.

"I suppose the staff unplugged it," Ayanokouji sighed.

I wonder if he was disappointed like I was.

"Well, we better leave," I stated as I got up.

"Wait, aren't you going to pay for your half?" Ayanokouji tilted his head and asked.

"Nope," I told him with a wide grin and walked off.

Maybe I'd get my ass kicked for that, but whatever.

After getting a good distance away from the diner, I heard some footsteps and turned around to see Ayanokouji walk towards me.

"God, you walk fast. Did you have something to say?" I asked him with my hands in my pockets.

"I'd just like to let you know something the staff informed of," Ayanokouji told me.

"Oh? Well, I don't really care about whatever it is. I'm a little disappointed thought that one of the schizophrenics didn't go up and tell someone, 'Well now you understand what it feels like to be me.'"

It was the one blemish on the perfect situation.

"Well, the staff told me that we are now both banned from ever stepping in that diner again," Ayanokouji told me with a straight face.

"Well, shit."

I really liked that burger.

Author's note:
Went down a standup comic rabbit hole and thought of adapting one of those stories.

Artificial vs Natural

A subtle change took over the school. It wasn't as apparent as the one between Manabu and Nagumo, but it was present nonetheless. I suppose the reason Yagami's presence wasn't as pronounced was simply because there was no speech yet. Nagumo's beginning was clear in many people's minds because of his words on that podium.

Another possibility is that people hadn't come to terms with it yet. Nagumo, who was president for the last year, was now no longer in that seat. Every student here had experienced Nagumo as president, so adjusting to Yagami being president would take some time.

"The final exam is upon us. But before we get onto that, there's something you might be interested in seeing."

Perhaps the meeting with Yosuke would be shown, it's the main thing that comes to mind.

"You also think that, right?" Yosuke asked.

Superb. It's like he read my mind.

"It's the only thing that comes to mind before the exam," I admitted.

My father took me to a facility located deep within the mountains, its exterior dyed a pure white. No, it wasn't only the exterior.

As far as I could remember, both the corridors and the small rooms we went through were all painted in one single white color.

So that's where we're going. Back to that hollow facility. Windowless. Empty. Soulless. I can describe it in many ways, but that's from the perspective of someone who lived inside it.

For Sakayanagi, she probably found it interesting.

"So that time will be shown," Sakayanagi remarked with a surprised expression.

It seems that even she didn't expect such a thing.

"Weird father-daughter bonding," Amasawa commented.

I placed both my hands on the transparent glass, doing my very best to see what lied beyond. The screen seemed to be some sort of one-way mirror so they couldn't see us from the other side.

"What is it, Arisu? It's rare to see you this interested in something."

"This is an experiment attempting to artificially create a genius. There's no way I wouldn't find it interesting."

"...That's not a very childlike way of speaking, as usual."

My father spoke, showing a perplexed smile as he picked me up in his arms.

"So you were always like this," Kamuro remarked flatly.

"An attempt to artifically create a genius, huh? Well, how do you even determine that?" Hashimoto examined.

The White Room, at its supposed core, doesn't wish to give people talent from anywhere. It's more so built around the concept of environmental growth. It's not survival of the fittest, it's trying to be something that's more so on the other end of the spectrum.

Though it has incredible education, it's nevertheless flawed from a nurturing standpoint in many ways. But that's only from the perspective of my generation, it's possible these flaws have reduced in the future generations.

"Their goal is to take people, no matter the talent, and build them up to a level. I imagine there may be a baseline that the people who live in the facility need to cross to become a success. But it's an odd concept, maybe the people who pass that baseline are all above average. If you have failures at all, doesn't that mean you've failed?" Sakayanagi stated.

There was this kind of mocking in her voice as if she was belittling the concept. I suppose that's to be expected from her, though.

According to my father, anyone who went through the curriculum of this facility would, without exception, be educated to become someone exceptional. There's no way I wouldn't have misgivings about that.

"It's just, this experiment seems to have a lot of troublesome elements to it."

"Which means?"

"It seems to be attacked from all sides from a human rights perspective."

"Ha, haha..."

"Well, I don't think anyone can disagree with you there," Ichinose acknowledged.

"I wonder how a place like that even started. Getting it built somewhere secluded isn't something that's easy to do, but getting instructors and people to attend is even worse. You also have to deal with getting the money somehow," Yagami commented.

"Those are all very interesting questions, President," Sakayanagi giggled.

It's like she thought of it as amusing that he was president.

"Aha, it's still weird being called that," Yagami chuckled.

"More importantly, I don't think it is possible for them to create artificial geniuses or anything like that."

The moment people are born into this world, the moment they receive life, their potential is set in stone. It was all the luck of the draw. Then, it would sometimes manifest in various fields. That was the truth of the human world.

They can't do more than what is carved into their DNA. They awaken by the blood passed on from ancestors or by a sudden mutation. In other words, if you want to create a genius, you'd have to do it at the genetic level.

People who are born ordinary will never escape the realm of the ordinary. No matter how blessed their environment is, if somebody isn't excellent from the beginning, they won't become a genius. That had been my belief since I was young.

Nature vs Nurture.

Some agreed with her. Whether that's just due to follower mentality or their actual beliefs is unknown to me.

Though, some did voice out their disagreement.

"What a stupid point," Ryuuen stated out of the blue.

Sakayanagi's gaze turned to meet theirs.

"Oh? Why do you think so?" Sakayanagi asked with a grin.

"You really think everything is decided at birth? Man, you really are a child. Genetics are part of it, I'll give you that, but the brain's structure can only do so much. Potential is set in stone? How does genetics mean that?" Ryuuen stated with a condescending gaze.

"Take the position of an athlete. Their body's limits are determined by genetics, wouldn't you say? A runner is only that fast because their legs are built a certain way. Their limit is therefore set in stone," Sakayanagi replied with ease.

Ryuuen looked like he couldn't stop himself from laughing.

"Is that all your reasoning? So then the mindset needed to be an athlete is also genetic? The mindset, competitiveness and determination isn't genetics, and you'd be an idiot to think that," Ryuuen snapped.

Sakayanagi responded without trouble, "Then it's still the-"

Ryuuen had cut her off, "If your next point is that potential is set in stone, and not the process to teach it, then you're really a failure. It's like you don't even understand how adaptability plays a part in this stuff."

As for adaptability, you can make a case that neural plasticity has something to do with it.

"The fact that this is still debatable really does mean that things need to change," Sakayanagi sighed.

Ryuuen is not what I'd call a genius, but even without that abstract title, he's got the type of twisted thinking that allowed him to compete. He's essentially everything Sakayanagi spits on.

That was the conclusion I had reached after seeing my fellow classmates receive a top-quality education ever since I was an infant. That's why this experiment ran counter to my own way of thinking. That being said... I could agree that it wasn't so straightforward that DNA alone could explain all of it either.

"Even if someone graduates from this facility as the cream of the crop, will that truly be because of this experiment?"

"What makes you ask that?"

"The children at the top will just have the superior DNA, is what I think."

"I see. The curriculum these children are partaking is quite intense indeed. As you've said, there is a chance the remaining victors were all excellent from the very beginning. You really are just as wise as your mother. Personality included."

"That place has been going for a while, I wonder if it's gotten closer to the goal," Kanzaki pondered.

"It should have. If it's still the same as the beginning, no progress would have been made and it would be closed down," Ichinose suggested.

"So you're suggesting that at the beginning it'll just be the talented who succeed, and later on it'll be all? I guess that's one way to think about it," Sakayanagi commented.

"Unless the goal's changed, that's the only way I can see it be functioning still," Ichinose stated, but her words were stiff.

"That makes me happy. Being compared to my mother is the highest form of praise."

I obediently and honestly took my father's words to heart and yet again continued to watch the children on the other side of the mirror. Children with talent, children without, everyone was partaking in this education program equally. It was a program where the people who start to fall behind would disappear one by one.

"Ultimately, even if there are children who survive until the end, they are just blessed by their parents' talents."

Even if I found it interesting, I couldn't help but feel like it was a meaningless experiment.

"Who knows, it may be so, it may not be so. I don't know either. But I can't throw away the possibility that these children may be destined to carry our future."

Me being the child I was, I didn't understand what my father's acquaintance was trying to accomplish. My sight turned back to what was reflected beyond the glass.

"Have your thoughts changed since then?" Sakayanagi asked her father.

"I'll still say that I wouldn't support it, but then again, the world doesn't move according what I like and dislike. It's probably shown results by now because if it didn't, it'd stop getting money," Chairman Sakayanagi.

A similar thought process to Ichinose.

"So you still hold the belief that they have a chance to be the future, right?" Sakayanagi asked.

"I suppose so," he replied

It's not a sentiment that means much. After all, there are tens of thousands of things that have a chance to be the future.

"—That child, seems to have solved those tasks calmly and without any difficulties for a while now."

When it came to accomplishing the tasks presented to them, every child reflected in our eyes succeeded. However, they were desperate. It was obvious that doing so took all the effort they could muster. Whether it was studying or sports, the level of the competition here was far beyond that of a normal child. And yet, amongst them was a single existence exhibiting abnormality.

A certain boy was playing chess and overwhelmingly defeating his opponents, one after the next. Among the children I could see beyond the glass, he was the only existence snatching away my gaze and heart. Seeing this, my father looked somewhat happy yet somewhat sad as he nodded.

"Yes, he is Sensei's son. His name should be... Ayanokōji... Kiyotaka if I remember correctly."

So that is where she first saw me.

It's not an odd feeling, though. I knew that there was always someone behind that mirror. Someone in safety looking into a world they had little idea of. Sakayanagi was just one of many looking in.

I see the people that were alongside me. The ones that dropped out, willingly or not. I can see the desperation from them, their desire to remain. It's the fear the White Room purposefully engrained into the attendants, the fear that made those children develop faster than normal.

"So that's where you became a stalker," Amasawa giggled.

Sensei was my father's acquaintance and the person running this facility. He was a person who never yields to anyone, and I remember my father always showed a modest attitude when he was around.

"He's Sensei's child so his DNA must be excellent, right?"

"Who knows. At least, Sensei has never graduated from a top university or possessed outstanding athleticism. His wife is also an ordinary woman. Their parents never showed signs of any talents either. But, Sensei has stronger ambitions than anyone and an unyielding and indomitable fighting spirit, that's it. That's why he has become so great. To the extent that he, at one point in time, could move the country."

"In that case— won't that child be the perfect specimen for this experiment?"

My father nodded with conflicting feelings at my question.

"But, like you said, what about a genetic mutation?" Hashimoto asked.

"You're right, but I have no way to confirm that," Sakayanagi asked.

"So that's why you're so focused on this artificial genius garbage," Ryuuen remarked.

"Have you heard of the existence of the g factor?" Sakayanagi asked calmly

Sakayanagi sees it as a way to continue her original point, I suppose.

But Ryuuen will, most likely, not know the factor. Essentially allowing Sakayanagi free rein to explain her point without rebuttal from him.

"Essentially, it's the most heritable feature humans get in terms of intelligence. It is the factor that accounts for the largest variations in cognitive tests, and since you can't exactly reach higher than that factor, doesn't it just prove that a person's potential when it comes to intelligence is based on DNA?" Sakayanagi asked condescendingly.

Ryuuen wasn't able to argue, he had no knowledge about the topic and could thus only make broad statements that could be refuted easily.

But that didn't mean nobody could retort.

"Not at all. Human intelligence is malleable. After all, the things we learn in school today may have been things the generation before us learnt in university. And as for the g factor, it's heritable, but at the end of the day, it's the variance between people graphed on a bell curve. It doesn't capture intelligence as a whole. Besides, the heritable nature determines a portion of the variance, but it's also telling people that the rest of it is environmental," Manabu explained calmly.

"50-80%, it's not a small amount that you can ignore," Sakayanagi snapped.

"But just the fact that it isn't 100% bring down your argument? If even some of it relies on environmental factors, then your claim that it's purely DNA is meaningless. And you failed to retort against the point that it's a statistical difference rather than some underlying factor that is the base of a person's intelligence," Manabu retorted.

The Sakayanagi who was so easily retorting before was now left unable to respond. It was clear that her ego was hurt. Her very ideology that she had been trying to prove was being ridiculed and she was speechless as to how to argue against it.

"Well... I think his father would probably feel like that child is perfect for it. But... as I see it, I can't help but feel sorry for him."

"Why is that?"

"From the very moment he was born, he has lived within these facilities. For him, the first thing he saw wasn't his mother nor his father, but the plain white ceiling of this facility. If he had fallen behind earlier, he could've probably lived with his father. Or no, maybe the fact that he continues to stay here had gotten him his father's favor. If so, that's very..."

Simply put, he hadn't ever received any love from his parents. How lonely and desolate such a life must be. His talents aside, there was still a lot to gain and learn through physical contact with other people. I strongly hugged my beloved father, to which he hugged me back.

Sympathy.

That's what was there. A loveless environment. That's how Chabashira described it once, and it seems that even as a child, Sakayanagi thought the same.

"I doubt it. If he fell behind earlier, I'd assume he'd just go to an orphanage. I doubt his father wants anything to do with him if he willingly put him inside such a place," Yagami remarked bluntly.

He doesn't see me as his son, so Yagami's assumption is most likely what would happen if I did fall earlier than expected.

"The final goal for this facility is for every educated child to become geniuses. But it's still in the test phase. It will continue to struggle for another 50 or 100 years. It's not to make the children gathered here to exhibit talent when they become adults, but to provide the foundation for future generations. Both those surviving and those falling behind were nothing more than a batch of samples."

A life of confinement within this facility, only to have their existence added to some database somewhere.

My father's face as he said those words looked like he was in pain.

"Do you not like this place, Father?"

"Hmm? ...Who knows? ...I honestly can't cheer it on. If the children here really become superior to everyone else, if this facility becomes the natural thing, then this must just be the misfortunate beginning. That's what I think."

"Rest assured. I will personally smash it for you. I will prove that talent is not decided by education, but from the moment people are born."

"That's what you're going to do?" Amasawa laughed.

Even Yagami was smirking at her words.

"My feelings haven't changed since then," Sakayanagi told her confidently.

"Then your feelings have always been wrong," Amasawa responded with a condescending grin.

"She's lucky it was me who she said that all the people from that place besides Ayanokouji-senpai were failures. If she said it to Takuya... He'd probably kill her and get away with it," Amasawa thought.

"A world where every kid goes through that thing. I only expected stuff like that in sci-fi movies, you know?" Ike sheepishly stated.

I cannot lose to the children raised at this facility no matter what and no matter how many. I, who has inherited superior DNA, have to stop it.

"Yes, I'm expecting lots of you, Arisu."

"By the way father. I think I want to start playing chess—"

I opened my eyes and sat up still half-asleep.

"What a nostalgic dream..."

It was perhaps due to the approaching confrontation. To think I was remembering that day. But from the moment I met you until now, I've never forgotten it. I was convinced that a day would come when I would meet you again face-to-face.

"I've never had a dream where I remember past events, in all honesty," Nagumo commented.

The scene had faded on the recounting.

Sakayanagi's beliefs haven't changed much. If Amasawa were to face her, I'd say she'd lose. It's her arrogance that would be her downfall.

As for what happens next, I'm going to guess it has something to do with Ryuuen's actions or Hirata's return.

But for the time being, I'm simply observing. I can't act for some time.

He's probably going to do something as well, maybe soon. Horikita's been following me, keeping track of everything I do. I'm sure Yagami's forced her, and she understands that I've caught on.

If Yagami does act earlier than me, I'll have to move things up the schedule.

Author's note:

The Hirata scene will be next. Personally speaking, the illustration in that scene is my favourite in all of cote.

That's about it, see you.

Men are Difficult Creatures

A ceremony to change the eras.

Last year, this change happened in October, but now it seems like it was pushed back. Though, in all honesty, if Nagumo's presidency wasn't filled with scandals, such a thing would've only happened after his graduation.

The moderator from last year was once again on the stage.

"The previous president Nagumo Miyabi has some parting words for you."

Stepping aside, Nagumo walked onto the podium and steadily approached the microphone.

What would he say? Regrets? Acknowledgements? Perhaps even a declaration.

"I'd like to thank you all for supporting me this entire time," Nagumo remarked and looked over at his fellow council members.

Manabu's words gave a different air. It was one of obligation as if he didn't want to be there or give up the title at all. Nagumo, however, speaks with no such emotionless obligation. That voice was sincere.

"If I had to say, my ambitions as president were only half fulfilled," Nagumo began.

So he is going the regrets route.

"A meritocracy which the strong survive and the weak fall. That's the path I envisioned for this school, but I guess I didn't do enough with the time I had," Nagumo stated without that usual burning confidence with him.

Then his expression changed into one of a smirk. One of pride and confidence.

The fire within him wasn't put out, and he has no intention of kicking back and watching the tides go by. That was the impression he gave.

"But I have to say that there is one thing I hope you all remember. The traditions of this school are boring. Rooted in boring customs and hypocritical notions. Remember that in the future," Nagumo stated bluntly.

It wouldn't be one of his speeches if there was nothing truly memorable to end it off. That's just like him.

He then bowed and stepped aside for the new president to make his opening statements.

"Ah, thank you, Nagumo. I haven't seen you as President for long, but you certainly made an impact," Yagami told him with a thin smile.

The formalities are all a hassle to deal with.

"Now, unlike the people in my position before me, I have no such ambition," Yagami stated bluntly with no emotions on his face.

The students who weren't paying attention to him before were doing so now.

"I have no desires to change this school with some grand vision. And, most likely, I'll give this seat up before the beginning of my second year," Yagami confessed nonchalantly.

A declaration or some more bait?

"Though that's not to say things won't change at all. From what I've heard, the president has the power to announce certain decrees from the second they're given the seat," Yagami spoke calmly, with an air of politeness and courtesy.

Though it didn't last. His face donned a knowing smile and he leaned in slightly. Almost like he was going to enjoy the reaction that comes from his next statements.

"4 months since these videos began, and you've all sat with the same people the entire time. It's a little boring, isn't it? So tomorrow, when the next one plays, let's have a new arrangement. I hope you'll enjoy the change of routine," Yagami stated with a smirk.

He gave a sharp glance to me, but then he directed his eyes back to the larger crowd.

The students had no words. Though they had listened to every word he said, they didn't cheer or argue. It was like their thoughts were too rapidly changing for anything coherent to come out. Not even half-hearted clapping.

Amidst that silence, Yagami walked off from the podium. And though I wasn't able to tell what expression was on his face, I get the feeling that the emotion of excitement was swirling within his heart. The rest of the day was mostly normal, but that speech was burned into the mind of every student present.

If Yagami's presidency wasn't engraved into the student's minds before, then it surely was burned into them now.

And tomorrow, the scenery I had gotten so used to would be changing. I doubt this was bait, just a stepping stone.

So that's how he wants to play, huh? First, he has Horikita trail me, then he changes my daily routine. Little by little, he's trying to break the conventions in my life. But there must be something he's building towards with all this. Making things inconvenient isn't enough, and he knows that.

Though it won't matter, at the end of it all, I suppose.

The very next day, there was a piece of paper on everyone's desks. Mine read 'D-02'. I looked at Kei's and it seems like she was still fairly close, just a row and a few seats away. Horikita's was right behind me. But people like Yosuke were further away, same with Sudo.

Walking into the auditorium, I found my seat.

"Yo, Ayanokouji. Seems like it's a redo of that video," Ryuuen chuckled as he got into the seat D-01.

"Ah, Ayanokouji, nice to see you again," Yagami smiled and sat down in D-03.

Sitting down, I glanced at him and he shot me back a condescending look.

"The exam is almost upon us. For a quick summary of the rules, 7 events. Each class puts down an equal amount and the class which wins the most events wins the exam. But the exam is for next time, there's something else beforehand."

Yosuke was quite far back, but I get the feeling he was staring at the back of my head.

I decided to leave the dormitory and search for Hirata.

He probably hadn't gone back to the school building, so he was most likely at Keyaki Mall or at least in the area nearby.

Assuming he didn't want to run into anybody, there was a high probability he was outside somewhere.

Ultimately, I decided to check the entire area.

After about an hour of searching, I came across his distinctive, lonely-looking figure seated on an outside bench.

"Hirata."

I walked up behind the bench and, once he was within an arm's reach away from me, called out his name.

"...Ayanokōji-kun."

"So this was the time you brought him back," Horikita mumbled.

"So Ayanokouji had something to do with this as well," Mii-chan stated with an astonished look.

That surprise was short-lived, though.

"A messiah complex seems like a pain to have," Ryuuen sighed.

"I suppose that is one way to see it," Yagami remarked.

Upon hearing Yagami respond to him, Ryuuen turned to him and shot him a speculating glance, "So why a seating change, eh? Not that I'm complaining."

His classmates were all at different distances as well. Albert, Ishizaki, Ibuki and even Hiyori were in a position where they couldn't interact with each other or their leader.

"The previous one was boring. You see your classmates daily, why watch these tapes with them, too? Besides, weren't you the one saying how your allies didn't have any friends to back them up? Perhaps this is beneficial for your class then," Yagami replied diplomatically.

Ryuuen chuckled and didn't voice out his thoughts. I get the feeling that he believes this isn't all it was. After all, Yagami must've had some say or even complete control of this new arrangement. There is some suspicion about why some people were placed in some places.

"I wonder how much you were laughing when you placed me here," Nagumo wryly chuckled as he pointed to the man next to him.

"You don't seem dissapointed sitting next to your former president," Yagami shrugged.

Manabu simply sighed at Yagami's response. Seeing them both so close was an unusual sight, especially after these videos.

His response came out slowly as he raised his head to face me, his eyes still downcast.

It had been a long time since I had gotten a good look at his face like this. He didn't seem to be getting enough sleep, as there were dark circles under his eyes that I had never seen him have before.

"Can you spare some time?"

Upon hearing my request, Hirata's eyes opened up a little bit more.

"I'm sick and tired of all of this. Of everyone coming after me over and over again. I thought you understood me, Ayanokōji-kun. I thought you'd know to just leave me alone. I'm disappointed."

"Sorry. If you don't like it, why don't you push me away like you did to Mii-chan and run away?"

Many widened their eyes in surprise at the sudden change in my words. After all, they expected something else. When a person goes to another who is hurting and in a downward spiral, kind words are expected. But this surprise only lasted a mere moment. It seems like they understand that I wouldn't do the expected thing.

"I have to agree with you, Ayanokouji-boy," Koenji, who was now sitting in front of Nagumo, remarked nonchalantly.

"Hmm, so I take it that Ayanokouj-senpai's class is facing Sakayanagi-senpai's," Amasawa surmised out of the blue.

"Maybe that's why Ayanokouji brought him back," Tsubaki theorised.

"I guess that's their battle," Ishigami mumbled.

From what I know now, Ishigami was also present in that story Kanzaki informed me of. Whatever he wishes, he sure has taken a while to do so.

Despite taking the risk and provoking him, Hirata didn't get up from the bench.

"Spare some time, was it? It doesn't matter. I don't have anywhere to hide at this school anyway. I'm so tired today that I don't even have the energy to run away. But... I don't think I'll be able to meet your expectations either."

In just this short period of time, quite a few other students must've tried reaching out to him. Regardless of whether they were expressing their concern, or offering him encouragement, it must've been unbearable for him.

Although I didn't know 'who' exactly had reached out to him, I could imagine 'what' they would've said.

I was sure they had all attempted to gently comfort him and heal his broken heart.

There, on a bench on the outskirts of campus, the two of us sat together.

"Some people just wanna be left alone," Sudo commented.

Some need to recuperate by being with their thoughts and others need a support network. However, the problem arises when the troubled person doesn't know which type they are. They may think they need to be alone, but, in reality, they need other humans. When alone, they could fall into an even darker spiral.

"So you weren't going to do that?" Hashimoto suggested.

I nodded.

"What expectations did you think Ayanokouji had?" Matsushita asked Yosuke.

Yosuke didn't speak immediately, taking the time to gather his thoughts, or maybe he was simply trying to remember what he thought back then.

Then, he spoke calmly. "The expectation that I could go back to my regular self. Those were the expectations I believed Ayanokouji possessed, mainly because that's what everyone else who approached me also thought," Yosuke told her with no trouble.

In a way, that expectation was not met, but then again, I never possessed such a thought. He didn't go back to his regular self. That version of Yosuke is buried without hope of a return.

"So... you had something to say, right?"

I already knew how Hirata was going to handle this conversation. He was going to sit there and listen, letting my words go in one ear and out the other.

"I want you to tell me your story."

"Eh?"

Hirata responded meekly. He had probably expected me to offer him words of sympathy.

"What you were like as a kid, what kind of thoughts you had. I'd like to hear about it."

"...Why?"

"What are you talking about?" Horikita asked me with a baffled look.

"I wanted to know what he was like as a kid. I was clear about it," I told her like I didn't know what she meant.

Horikita's eyes narrowed and then she asked once again, "Why are you wanting to know about that, then?"

A better question.

"To understand how he became to be who he is," I answered her honestly.

Ryuuen listened in without an expression on his face. I suppose that with his presence now, we're limited in speaking about our class. Though it is a two-way street.

"Who knows. I guess I just want to know for some reason. I'm having a hard time giving you a reason for it."

Hirata let out a deep sigh before slowly shaking his head.

"I don't have the energy to reminisce about my past right now. There's nothing to talk about."

"You don't have the energy? Why?"

"Why...? That's..."

He turned and looked at me, as if to question why I didn't already know the answer to that.

"Why is it?"

I repeated the question, ignoring the look he gave me.

"...It's because Yamauchi-kun got expelled."

"You're rather forceful," Yagami stated offhandedly.

"Are you saying that from within a glass house?" I asked him.

"I'm not throwing any stones, simply stating an observation. Besides, I think this part of you is interesting," Yagami chuckled.

"Is that so? Then is the reason why you put us together also because you found it interesting?" I suggested.

"Who knows?" Yagami stated with a thin smile.

He was being forced to say things that he didn't want to say.

Hirata spoke as if he had been greatly offended, as he was well aware of my intentions.

"You're making me say some horrible things."

"I was just curious. I apologize if I've offended you."

"...It's fine."

Hirata sighed once again, lacking the motivation to continue the conversation. He sat with his back hunched over, listlessly shaking his head from side to side.

Pleading for me to leave him alone. Pleading for me to stop caring.

Some looked confused at Yosuke's words.

The content of the words itself wasn't horrible, it was horrible because Yosuke wasn't able to save him. Saying it out loud was an acknowledgement of his failure, and it cut him at his very core.

"Too bad he can't let things go when you have a goal in mind, eh, Hirata?" Ryuuen asked him.

"I can say the same about many people who are capable, many people across these videos have shown that," Yosuke answered casually.

"What does Yamauchi's expulsion have to do with not talking about your past?"

Confronted with my obstinate request for an answer, Hirata let show a dumbfounded expression for the second time.

"My past doesn't matter right now, does it?"

"Not necessarily."

I continued immediately, denying Hirata a chance to shut down the conversation.

"Having one of your classmates expelled is certainly unpleasant. Pretty much anyone would agree with that. But, we don't have the luxury to regret it forever. The Event Selection Exam is already right around the corner. Not just Horikita and Kushida, but even Ike and Sudō are trying to buckle down and fight. But what about you, Hirata? You're so hung up on Yamauchi's expulsion, and even if you tried to cooperate..."

There was a time when I would be heavily criticised for these words. Bringing someone down who is already suffering is not the ethical thing to do by any stretch of the word in most people's eyes. But that criticism is essentially nonexistent at this point.

I purposefully stopped speaking for a moment.

"Huh, your father used a similar tactic. Stopping your speech to let things set in even more," Yagami told me.

Ryuuen, overhearing, chuckled.

"I guess you two are more similar than it seems," Ryuuen stated in response to Yagami's words.

And then, I changed the topic to show him I didn't really want to talk about what had happened anymore.

"What I want to know is, what happened in your past that instilled this sense of values in you?"

"What's the point in asking that? Do you really think I'm going to tell you?"

"You'll tell me. Because as you are now, you desperately want other people to know about you."

In truth, he probably really does want to get everything off his chest. He had ended up like this because he couldn't find a way to do it.

"What led you to that conclusion? Seems like you're betting on that deduction being right," Hashimoto asked.

If I had to say, I knew what his mental state would be like precisely because of the fragment of his past that he shared with me.

"I guess I knew what his mental state would be like," I shrugged.

"Is that so? Impressive intuition," Hashimoto stated indistinctly.

This time, I spoke to him with my eyes.

I looked at him forcefully, almost as if I were threatening him to speak.

Upon seeing the look in my eyes, a sense of fear welled up in his heart.

"I finally understand the reason, the true reason, why Karuizawa-san decided to reveal everything to you, Ayanokōji-kun. She saw your eyes... no, you showed them to her. Those eyes, and that deep, eerie darkness diffused within..."

I slowly ate away the darkness held within Hirata.

This man wasn't simply waiting to die. Day by day, he had been praying for someone to come and save him.

All he could do was reach for the black spider's silk that dangled before him in order to crawl up from the depths of hell.

One can argue that despair is a guarantee in a human being's life. Somewhere during those years, they will fall into the depths of misery. But as they're falling into hell, they tend to reach for a ray of hope while they're tumbling downward.

"Hmm, darkness, huh? So that's what you developed after going through that place," Yagami stated indistinctly.

Tsukishiro had said something along those same lines once.

"Eating away at suffering, solving it, cutting it off, you always seem to have the cure," Yagami chuckled like he was dryly laughing at me.

A cure would be wonderful, but humans aren't that easy to work with. What many see is everything, and what they see, they ignore. All people can do is stand before the dark ditch that disconnects them, and remain silent. That's what it seems like, but maybe that was the wrong approach.

"I've told you once before, haven't I...? About my friend who I had been close with since childhood? The one who started getting bullied once we got into middle school?"

"Yeah. His name was Sugimura, right?"

"To think you'd even remember his name..."

It was precisely because I knew about this story that I was able to predict Hirata's mental state.

Back then, he had wanted to help this friend of his, but he was afraid he'd end up getting targeted by the bullies as well.

As a result, he simply ended up watching it happen from the sidelines.

And then

Hashimoto glanced at me, realising why I knew of Yosuke's mental state so well.

Yesterday, the students were silent after the President's speech, and now they are silent once again. Although on the surface it seems the same, there's a clear difference. Yesterday it was out of surprise and shock that no one spoke. Today, it was due to the dark heavy atmosphere that had taken hold of this room.

It wouldn't last forever, though.

"My friend... committed suicide by jumping off a building."

He was probably beginning to recollect what had happened back then.

Little by little, he began opening up about it.

"He managed to just barely hang onto his life, but... he's been in a coma ever since..."

Hirata tightly clasped his hands together.

"My decisions caused him to take his own life. The weight of my sins will never go away."

"That isn't entirely your fault. In fact, the blame mainly falls on the bullies."

"Sure, but I think being a bystander makes me equally guilty."

"Schools always force that on people, but it's always so stupid. I couldn't care less if another guy was getting his ass kicked and I didn't do anything to help him. I'm not the one who beat him, how am I just as bad?" Hosen complained.

Though, he does give the impression of the person doing the pummeling.

"On the other hand, if you saw a murderer kill someone and didn't report it, aren't you somewhat guilty in a moral sense if they kill someone else?" Tsubaki asked.

"Is that bad? Yeah. But I'm not just as bad as the guy who took a life," Hosen critiqued Tsubaki's argument.

"So your problem is that you're equally as bad? I guess I agree with that," Tsubaki summarised.

Just as expected, that fragile tension that had captured the voice of every student was shattered.

Hirata had said something similar back when we were on the cruise ship. This was the reason why he was always striving to save those around him.

In fact, every time the class ran into problems, Hirata would always be the first one to intervene.

He was the type of man who'd spare no effort to search for a solution.

For example, back when Sudō got into a fight with those guys from Class D, or when he and Kei pretended to be a couple.

However, there were still a few things that hadn't been explained yet.

"I understand that you still have doubts."

Without turning to look at me, Hirata continued.

"I guess that's the reason people always see him as the most trustworthy in the class," Horikita surmised.

"Competency doesn't equal trustworthiness, I guess. Not that you're more competent that that guy anyway," Ryuuen insulted.

Horikita sighed at his provocation and spoke once again, "You seem to be in a good mood. I wonder when that problem with Ichinose will be shown."

"Eh, I'm gonna guess after this one. Whatever freaky stuff Ayanokouji did seems to always be saved for the end," Ryuuen shrugged.

Why do I get the feeling he's insinuating something weird?

"Back when my friend attempted to commit suicide. There's actually more to the story..."

He hadn't mentioned this back during the cruise.

Students began to listen attentively.

"Back when he attempted to commit suicide by jumping from a building, I thought that the whole mess was finally over. That, after making such a heavy sacrifice, there wouldn't be any more bullying in our school. But I was naive. From that day onwards, I saw for myself the unfathomable darkness of human nature."

His body trembled, and I could see something akin to a murderous impulse flash across his eyes.

"The bullies chose a new target, and this time it was one of my own classmates."

As he took a deep breath to suppress his emotions, Hirata began speaking to himself in a hushed tone.

The body language that Yosuke showed back then was different to his original meltdown. Cold resistance was there on that day when he argued against Horikita to try and rescue Yamauchi. In this video, it was unbridled anger.

"That's screwed up," Amikura gasped.

"Seriously," Shibata nodded.

Yosuke's a person who's liked by many. Even if there was any dislike for Yosuke after his original argument against Horikita, it would surely be dissipated by now.

The question on the student's minds was one. And the answer to that question would make things infinitely more clear.

When I glanced at Kei, I saw her looking at Yosuke with a cloudy expression. One was the victim and the other wanted to stop another victim using any means necessary.

"I couldn't believe it. Something so horrific had literally just happened, and yet the bullying had already started up again. One of my classmates, who had been nothing more than an innocent bystander, began suffering the same treatment as my friend. And what's more is that some of our classmates who previously hadn't been involved with the bullying began joining in on it."

The scope of the bullying had expanded indefinitely.

"If the person at the bottom of the caste system is gone, it's only natural that somebody will have to take their place. In a way, it's part of the natural order of things."

"I knew I couldn't allow history to repeat itself. I knew I absolutely had to stop it."

"So... you took action?"

Hirata nodded his head several times over.

"I did it in a certain way in order to avoid repeating the same mistakes."

Ryuuen had donned a serious expression.

In a way, they had adopted a similar method. Though the intentions were completely different, the actions wouldn't show that.

And Ryuuen, as someone who understands how best to cut down a problem in a class in a short time, most likely had an idea of what Yosuke did.

"Hmm, it makes sense why you aren't in class A now," Nagumo remarked.

"I'd probably be in the same class even without this incident," Yosuke replied humbly.

"Perhaps. Though if you still made it into the school without this incident, you'd probably make class A, or at the very least class B," Nagumo praised.

Yosuke is his junior in the soccer club, after all. He probably has a high opinion of him.

"I'd take not being in this school if that incident never happened," Yosuke sighed.

"Of course, I'm sure most would do the same thing," Nagumo agreed.

Hirata slowly lifted his head and stared out into the distance in front of him.

"Well, to put it simply, I tried to control the class through fear-mongering."

"You did that?"

"A method like Ryuuen," Horikita mumbled in astonishment.

It wasn't just her, either. Plenty of people made that connection.

"It probably worked," Ryuuen stated with a thin smile.

From Yosuke, they understood that he was determined to stop the bullying, but a method that can be compared to Ryuuen isn't what most had in mind.

"Ha, who knew you had the balls?" Hosen laughed.

"Yes. I'm not particularly good at fighting like Sudō-kun and Ryūen-kun. However, there aren't very many people who can seriously hit someone. Even if I were serious enough to throw a punch, nobody would be willing to hit me back. I alone stood on top while the rest of the class sat at the bottom. By doing so, I was looking to get rid of the bullying. Whenever things started getting out of hand, I'd step in. I gave both sides an equal punishment, equal amounts of pain. My actions were no different than bullying. But, there was at least a brief moment of peace."

Hirata was probably well aware that his actions were by no means justice. That what he had done was wrong.

But even so, he didn't want to acknowledge a world where the people around him were being abused.

"Yeah, way too many people talk shit and can't take it," Hosen chuckled.

"I'd say that's half the people in this room," Ryuuen added.

"Why does everyone in this class have some screwed up past? Ayanokouji was in some weird facility, Hirata dealt with this and Karuizawa dealt with bullying. What's next, Hondo got bullied by skinny women and that's why he likes bigger ones?!" Ike thought.

"Based on what happened... I find myself wondering if I ended up ruining that year for everyone. They just trudged through each day like lifeless robots who never smiled anymore. At the time, it was the talk of the town back where I lived... It was pretty much treated like a scandal."

"How did the school end up dealing with it?"

"Their response was fairly unprecedented. They forcefully broke up all of the classes for a while, and then redistributed everyone, including me. We were also placed under strict observation until the day we graduated."

With a scandal that famous, it's only natural that it'd end up getting a lot of attention.

In which case, there was no way that this high school hadn't caught wind of it, right?

No, they may actually have chosen to enroll Hirata here precisely because they knew about the scandal.

This was a conclusion only those who knew how the process of acceptance worked. The number was few before, extraordinarily so, but now every student knows.

"Hmm, I suppose it begs a question. Is it better for the community to be dejected to stop one person being hurt irreperably?" Sakayanagi pondered.

"It doesn't seem like there is a right answer for that," Hashimoto confessed.

"Perhaps. But if I had to say, it depends what position you're in. The one being bullied would think of it as a good solution. Those who were doing the attacking would think it's a bad thing. The ones in the realm of the average, however, I think wouldn't like this solution," Sakayanagi examined.

The answer to the last one depends on how you see the average person. Is the average person one who would report something wrong? Are they someone who would let bad things happen if it doesn't affect them? In reality, a clear-cut answer isn't there. But in Sakayanagi's case, she seems to be leaning more towards the indifferent option. As long as they aren't targeted, they think this solution might be a bad way to do things.

Either way, I could finally see the reason why Hirata had been placed in Class D.

"You can't forgive yourself for letting Yamauchi get targeted, can you?"

"Yes... Back then, I thought that as long as it didn't come to my attention, I could just pretend not to know about it. I had wanted to just keep quiet about it until the day of the vote."

Ultimately, Horikita's actions back then led to him being marked as unnecessary.

"I'm just useless. I never should've tried to keep the class together in the first place. Despite doing everything I could, I still couldn't protect Yamauchi-kun... You probably knew that already, Ayanokōji-kun. I just can't do it anymore. In order to protect someone, I've even thought about using fear tactics again. I get that I should know better. That it'd be a mistake, and yet..."

"If he hadn't intervened, what would I do? Maybe I'd drop out altogether. It would be too much to deal with, I just wouldn't be able to take it. But if I did continue, when I feel like I have no other choice, I'd probably go back to the original mentality. Though I'm sure that it wouldn't last. Unlike middle school, the people in this class are strong enough to fight back. And after that failure... Maybe I'd just give up on everything, maybe that's just what a person who can't keep move forward will do," Yosuke thought.

"When a guy's neck is in danger, he doesn't tend to think too much about the sentiment," Yagami muttered.

In this case, his neck was his environment.

"He did seem to think about it a lot, though," Horikita contested.

"Yeah, but when another situation where someone gets expelled comes by, I'm going to guess what I said is going to come to pass," Yagami replied nonchalantly.

Hirata's voice trembled.

His heart was on the brink of collapsing.

He felt like the entire class should share the load, through both the good times and the bad.

He couldn't bear the thought of somebody suffering. Of somebody disappearing.

Yes, he had probably always been questioning himself each time something happened. And he probably always will.

"Okay, Mr. Therapist," Ryuuen chuckled.

"Yeah, he really is a therapist, but I imagine he'd get fired if anyone found out how he treats his patients," Yagami nodded.

"Yeah, creating your patient's worst environment to make them face their fears probably breaks a few rules," Ryuuen stated nonchalantly.

"Probably some form of cardinal sin in businesses," Yagami acknowledged.

It wasn't clear if he had confided in Mii-chan and the other students and if he had, just to what extent.

However, I could easily imagine what sort of things they'd end up saying to him.

『There's nothing you could've done.』

『It's not your fault, Hirata-kun.』

『Yamauchi only has himself to blame for betraying the class.』

No matter who it was, they would end up saying that Hirata was in the right and somebody else was in the wrong.

That simply wasn't going to change.

And because of this, it's unlikely that the problem would ever be solved.

There was no point in telling Hirata to blame the very person he had set out to protect.

It was clear who in our class said these things.

"So it just made things worse," Mii-chan stated with a cloudy expression.

Yosuke looked over at her with sorrowful eyes, but he didn't say anything. All that gaze did was convey that he felt bad, nothing more, nothing less.

"So what I'm guessing the direction you're going to take is that you'll do the opposite of comforting him," Yagami suggested.

"Perhaps," I answered his suggestion vaguely.

He shot me no annoyed glance at my vague answer. Simply looking forward to the screen, but it felt like he wasn't paying attention to it. Like he was thinking of something with no regard for what's in front of him.

"I imagine some of the drop outs were in a similar downward spiral," Yagami stated out of the blue.

'Were', huh? I doubt he means that they've recovered, rather, they've reached the bottom of the staircase.

"Where did that come from?"

"It's your fault. With how much you compare these people to the people in the facility, I've begun to notice it as well," Yagami sighed.

Instead, that would only end up making him retreat back into his shell even more.

"There's something I want to make clear to you. It's not Horikita's fault that Yamauchi got expelled from the school, and, of course, it's not my fault either. You know that, right?"

"...Yes. It was unavoidable. There was nothing we could've done about it. ...And I don't blame you either."

He quietly added in that last part.

"You know how you sound, right?" Hashimoto asked.

I nodded.

"So if positive words don't work, then I guess the opposite is what you're going to do," Kanzaki deduced.

"Verbal beatdowns again, it seems," Ichinose added.

To Hirata, it probably sounded like I was emphasizing that it wasn't my fault. It would've sounded like I was asking him if he had some sort of grudge held against me.

"Who do you think is responsible for Yamauchi's departure from Class C? From this school?"

"I think... he has nobody to blame but himself."

This was the conclusion Hirata had come to, though he didn't want to admit to it.

Yamauchi had suffered the consequences of his own actions. Expulsion was the natural consequence of his lack of ability and lazy lifestyle.

"That's not true."

I denied it. I straight up kicked Hirata's naive idea to the curb.

You have different approaches to 'normality' when it comes to people. The medical normal, the functional normal, the social normal and so forth. It helps to determine when a patient isn't feeling well, and what specific type of area are they not normal in. In Yosuke's case, it's very simple what area he wasn't filling. He wasn't functioning. He was simply a walking bundle of nerves and muscle.

"Is it really a naive idea when it's the truth?" Horikita asked.

"I suppose that's not the idea I was talking about," I answered vaguely.

"Do you have to deal with these answers a lot?" Ryuuen asked with a thin smile on his face.

Horikita glanced at him and sighed, "I thought we moved past it, but I guess not," she admitted.

"It's your fault that Yamauchi got expelled, Hirata."

"It's usually a comforting lie and harsh truth. I think you've got them switched around," Sakayanagi giggled.

"Yeah, if it's anyone's fault it's Sakayanagi-senpai's," Amasawa pointed out.

"I take pride in that," Sakayanagi stated with a smug grin.

She was relishing in taking him out so cleanly. And then, months after the fact, she gets to relive his breakdown like it was a movie.

"You know, you seem to do this verbal beatdown a lot. Karuizawa, Horikita, Ryuuen, and even Kushida," Hashimoto pointed out.

It's simply a way to do things.

"Maybe he gets off on it," Hosen claimed.

"Weird kink, Ayanokouji," Ryuuen stated with a smirk, and then he proceeded to glance over at Kei, making sure I noticed.

I really hope this isn't something that becomes a running insult.

"Perhaps, huh? You know, you could've just been honest," Yagami sighed.

"I was honest. Perhaps it happened, and it turns out it did," I told him

bluntly.

"..."

"..."

Yagami looked at me with a dead expression, "If you want me to die then you can just say so."

"You reap what you sow," I told him.

"...!"

He raised his head and looked at me.

The expression on his face was telling me that he couldn't understand what I had said.

"If you really wanted to save Yamauchi, you should've done everything in your power to make it happen."

"B-but- I tried my best! There was nothing more I could've done!"

"Ichinose's Class B didn't lose a single person."

"That- But that's because she was a special case. We didn't have a huge amount of private points like she did!"

"How unreasonable, but I'm guessing that's what you were going for," Matsushita deduced

"I get that it worked, but no matter how many times I see it, I always have the feeling that it's so outrageous that it won't work," Maezono rambled.

Some instinctive disbelief, I suppose. The brain and heart conflicting, as many people call it.

"She was a special case indeed," Sakayanagi remarked offhandedly.

"In which case, the problem is that you failed to lead the class like that. You should've been saving up points for the past year like Ichinose so you could save somebody when they're about to be expelled."

As a result, Yamauchi wouldn't have been expelled, and there would still be forty people in our class.

"Impossible. We lost all of our Class Points just after we enrolled here. And, even if we hadn't, there's no way that our classmates would have agreed to hand over their points. You do know that, right?"

"Between ending up with zero Class Points and failing to lead the class, either way, it's still your responsibility."

No matter how much Hirata may try to escape, the fact that it was his fault wouldn't change.

"Unreasonable. That's unreasonable."

Many agreed.

Though they also know now that it was the entire point. If a support network that tries to lift you up through encouragement doesn't work, a different method is necessary. Though, it isn't to say that if comforting words aren't working then the only option left is to break them verbally. It's entirely possible that a balance of comfort and cruelty would yield a similar effect, but there was one flaw with that.

Time.

Human beings aren't those that can fix themselves quickly. Even the method I used on Yosuke didn't bring him back to normal instantly. But it would've taken significantly longer if a gentler approach would have been used.

It isn't as if one trip to a psychologist will make everything clear instantly. People can take months to years before significant progress occurs. Ryuuen, Kei, and Horikita were the examples used by Hashimoto, and those people all took a signific amount of time to truly change.

"Yeah, it's unreasonable. But it can't be helped. You chose to walk down that path. You should've kept this fantasy you have of wanting to save everyone to yourself. That way, no matter who ends up expelled from school, the blame wouldn't fall on you. But, if you keep projecting your feelings on the people around you, you have to bear the full responsibility when it doesn't end up working out. You should be resolved for at least that much."

"I-I'm-!"

"I had the wrong idea about you. I thought you were an honor student, a man of character who was well respected by many of our classmates. But, I guess you're not. You're just a shallow, incompetent student who boasts about things you can't even do. That, Hirata Yōsuke, is the type of person you are."

This was an excessively extreme argument followed through to its logical conclusion.

"A leader is a slave to his organisation, that's what he said. However, he doesn't believe what he's actually saying currently. It's delusional to say that Hirata is incompetent and boastful. Perhaps trying to find out how these words relate to the ones he gave me then isn't the best approach. It's entirely possible that he said that to me intentionally, without believing in it," Ichinose thought.

The students all looked sympathetic for Yosuke. He was going through trouble and got insulted after the fact, it's human for them to feel pity for him.

"Was that last part really necessary?" Horikita asked.

"As I said, it needed to be followed to its logical end. If you wish to critique a person, once you pick apart their actions, their character is next. That's the thought process I possessed at the time," I answered.

"Still, it just feels like the attack on his character was beating a dead horse," Horikita voiced out her thoughts.

You could see it that way, yes, but it's also possible that the other criticism wasn't enough, thus to ensure that it was, you have to go one step further.

He was by no means an incompetent person.

Hirata was such an exceptionally talented person that his capabilities went well beyond what's expected of a first-year high school student.

There was nothing wrong with him saying he wanted to protect everyone, and just because he failed to do so doesn't mean that he's responsible.

But even so, I still blamed him.

I forced the blame on him until the bitter end.

I put him under heavy pressure, relentlessly driving him into a corner until he was about to break.

Was I doing this for Hirata's sake? No.

"Of course, you didn't," Yosuke dryly remarked.

I get the feeling he had that expectation.

"If you ever do become a therapist, I fear for the guy who gets his card declined," Hashimoto commented.

What does he think I'd do?

Was I looking to empower him so that he could better protect everyone? No.

There was no way he could protect everyone.

And, there would definitely be even more expulsions at some point later on as well.

I was doing this because, when that time comes, Hirata would be necessary to keep the class operating smoothly.

"I really want to know, this weird obsession you have with other's growth, why is it? If you just cared about winning the class competition, then you wouldn't have hidden yourself," Yagami asked me with a speculative stare.

Though, I don't have any desire to give him an answer. Not yet, at least.

"I'm not going to answer everything just because we're sat next to each other," I denied him the answer to his question.

"Is that so? What a shame," Yagami muttered with no emotion in his voice and turned back to the screen.

"Just how long are you going to keep dreaming?"

Hirata simply hadn't moved on from how things were back in middle school. He hadn't moved on from doing only what was required of him.

It was up to you to decide whether or not you'd continue your education into high school, and it was up to you to decide whether or not you'd stay there.

"A normal high school, yeah," Ike complained.

"This school is a big condom ad or a money laundering scheme. Genius either way," Hosen chuckled.

That's certainly one way to look at it.

"This... This is your true nature, isn't it? Your words are so terrible, ruthless, cold..."

I could see tears start welling up in Hirata's right eye.

And before long, he sat there crying in front of me.

"You're free to wish for whatever you want. But if you really want to see your wishes come true, you at least need to fight for it until the very end. Strive to do whatever you can. There's no other way. If there end up being expulsions along the way, you have no other choice but to accept it. Even so, you still have to keep moving forward."

"How cruel..."

"Wonder how many more people knew about Ayanokouji before these videos," Sato pondered.

One of them is 3 seats away from her.

"Building up your class person by person, how interesting. Horikita as the leader and the other two social birds supporting her. Maybe you even get Kushida to be helpful, a mascot, perhaps?" Sakayanagi suggested.

"Big talk for a person who's always in cane kicking distance," Kushida replied.

"I am very well aware of that, no need to act like it's something big. But I suppose that's rather difficult for you. What was it, a blazer with fingerprints? Truly genius, you're definitely worthy of a position in your class," Sakayanagi giggled.

"Unfortunately, not all of us have a dad who is the chairman. You're blessed in that regard," Kushida shot back with ease.

Sakayanagi looked at her with disdain, "I assure you that's now how it works. There's a clear difference, and that's how the placements were done. With exceptions, of course," Sakayanagi told her coldly.

Kushida just grinned and didn't give her a response, knowing she annoyed her ever so slightly.

"If you stop now, the students around you are going to fall behind and disappear one after another. That's why, if you keep walking forward, if you keep your eyes on your goal, then there will surely still be people standing behind you after everything is over."

It takes an awful lot of courage to lead others.

You never know what kind of obstacles you may face, and you could always fall down at any moment.

"But... Then... How do I vent frustrations...? Do I have to keep moving forward all alone? Bottling up everything deep inside?"

"Not at all. When you're feeling troubled, you can rely on your classmates. Horikita, Kushida, Sudō and Ike, Mii-chan and Shinohara, it doesn't matter who. You can vent your frustrations to whoever it is that you rely on. We're all in this together."

There's no such thing as a rule stating that leaders aren't allowed to show weakness. The people who stand behind them can always be there to lend a hand in case they're about to fall.

"Yeah, he's right," Mii-chan told him.

Many students shared similar sentiments, giving their support to Yosuke and assuring him of it.

"Breaking them down to build them up is your M.O it seems," Nagumo deduced.

Yagami looked at me with a curious glance as Nagumo says those words.

"Do you wonder if you're in the same category?" I asked him.

He raised a brow that I was initiating the conversation.

"I can't lie, it's on my mind. Then again, any answer you give doesn't really matter until after the matter is over," Yagami told me indistinctly.

I suppose he's right. Whatever answer I give him doesn't hold any true weight right now.

Our classmates should be more than willing to listen to Hirata vent his frustrations.

"I... I... I wonder... if it's okay for someone like me to lead everyone...?"

"It's alright. As you are now, it's okay for you to take the lead."

I placed my hand on his shoulder.

With this small gesture, even more tears began to pour.

To bury the past.

To get rid of the huge, cumbersome burden that Hirata had been carrying once and for all.

He, who had been stuck and unable to move, could once again stand up on his own two feet.

"Thank you... Thank you, Ayanokōji-kun..."

He hung his head, countless tears falling from his face.

"So that's how you brought him back," Horikita mumbled.

Those tears were from a heart that broke its chains. As if his biggest struggles were lifted and he was given a chance to let go. Just for a moment, he could cast aside the notion of being a leader and cry for as long as he needed. Until he was done, until his emotions were regulated and he could keep going.

Men are troublesome, difficult creatures who can't cry in front of others very easily.

That's why I also wanted a friendship where nobody was forced to hide their tears from one another.

As for this, no more words needed to be said.

All that he needed was a friend at his side, somebody who would lend him their ear and hear out his frustrations.

As long as he did- he could start walking forward once again.

The screen faded to black.

The boys in the room seemed to agree with my claim. Troublesome people who can't cry or else their worth seems to decrease in the eyes of others. Whether that changes for the majority one day, I have no idea.

"That was an emotional rollercoaster," Amikura sighed with relief at the video being over.

We soon went back to class to be dismissed.

As I walked out of that classroom, my eyes locked with Yosuke's for a mere moment.

There were no words spoken between us.

Maybe because there was nothing to be said. No words to be exchanged because of no purpose for it. There was nothing to say to him that was urgent enough to be discussed at this very moment.

No words.

For Yosuke, my words back then were the ones that cut him at his core.

It's as if there are certain words for every person that are closer and more meaningful to them than any other. And often, it's unexpected. In some run down restuarant, a simple conversation, and perhaps even words you hear passing by a crowd.

These words perhaps can make people forget their paths, the cold of the night, and the contemporary world as a whole.