"Damn it!" shouted Sudou. "I friggin' knew it!"
What Horikita did was a dangerous way to try and force the votes back to
Against again after they had already started swaying to supporting the idea.
With the time limit fast approaching, even this last-ditch strategy to bring about
a unanimous decision had ended in failure. But now, because of this, everyone
understood what was happening: the student who had continued to vote in
favor was prepared to run out of time.
"Horikita, Yousuke, any objections?" I asked.
I successfully managed to confirm that I had both of their consent. At any
rate, the groundwork for a battle to have a student expelled had been set. With
the intentions of Horikita and Yousuke, two main players in class made clear, a
large number of votes in favor would follow. Still, it was easy to imagine that
students who were worried they might be expelled would still hesitate to vote
in support of the issue. Those who were resolved to cast their votes against the
issue would need to make up their minds about this.
"If anyone votes Against in the next round, we will need them to clearly state
the reason why," Horikita said. "We already know all too well how painful it is
for us to waste ten minutes on each vote."
It was no surprise that some students might still feel disgruntled about the
situation since we still had some time remaining. However, our escape route
had been completely cut off now since we only had one hour remaining until
time ran out. It was a rough job to essentially force the students who lacked the
decisiveness to make a choice on their own to come to a decision.
"Now that things have come to this… We have no choice but to expel
someone," said Horikita.
"Wait, for real?" said Sudou. "We're doin' this?"
"Personally, I do not want to lose any of my classmates," Horikita said. "But if
we don't expel someone, our class is going to suffer enormously. We must
avoid that above all else."
If you looked at the developments in Class Points up until this point, you could
see that the painful outcome of losing nearly 300 Class Points would sting badly.
The interval lasted for ten minutes. The students needed to summon their
willpower and suppress the urge to run away and vote against the issue.
Round 16 Voting Results: For: 39 Votes, Against: 0 Votes
It was a unanimous decision. When these results were displayed before us,
everyone's fears and anxieties were plain to see on their nervous faces.
"Unanimously in favor…" muttered Chabashira, almost as though she had
long been prepared for everything that was about to happen.
She continued the proceedings. Now that we had made this choice, the only
way forward was to either expel someone or let time run out. The latter, of
course, would mean this class would simply be fighting a losing battle until
graduation. That meant that of the thirty-nine students here, someone was
going to be leaving the school for good in about an hour. Of course, I already
had an idea of who that person should be.
"Individuals can be selected either by voluntarily nominating themselves one
time or by choosing a student's name on your tablets, to cast your vote
recommending them," Chabashira explained. "However, please note that, as
was explained previously, if there are no voluntary nominations and no one has
a majority of the nominations at the end of the interval, the student being
voted on will be chosen randomly."
Naturally, many students were looking to me and Horikita now, as it was
finally time to decide who would be expelled. A certain type of pressure washed
over each of us in succession, and we could practically hear their voices. Hurry!
Let's hear names now! This was an interval that was infinitely more important
and precious than any of the previous ones. While this period was still ten
minutes long, we were now going to be required to choose who to nominate
for expulsion.
"So, we've unanimously voted in favor of the issue… I would, at the very least,
like to wait one interval period to let the original voter have time to come
forward and confess," said Horikita. "That's the policy I'd like to take here.
Depending on the circumstances and situation, we can choose to let time run
out and help the student."
Of course, there was no way that a proposal like the one Horikita just made
would be accepted without criticism. Students weren't about to approve of a
choice like that as it would mean losing Class Points. However, Horikita was
silent from that point onward and began actively listening to and enduring
everyone's complaints. For my own part, I needed to watch and wait for just
the right time so I went along with it, staying quiet. It was a dark, harsh time,
and students hurled their grumblings at both of us, trying to discourage us from
what we were doing.
Obviously, this meant that we hadn't chosen anyone to be a candidate, and
the interval was nearing its end. I was sure that if students saw their names up
on the monitor, they would feel like their heart was in a vice grip. It was absurd
to expect the class to come to a unanimous decision on who to expel right now,
especially because this was the first round of voting.
"Sensei, may I nominate myself?" asked Yousuke.
"Of course," she replied.
"In that case, I would like everyone to vote for me."
And so, Yousuke came forward, nominating himself as a candidate just
moments before the interval ended.
Hirata Yousuke will be expelled.
For, Against
This vote had a different weight to it than any of the previous votes we had
made. If anyone voted in favor this time, it amounted to nothing else but a
direct statement on their part that they wanted Yousuke gone, or at least that
they didn't care if he disappeared.
Round 17 Voting Results: For: 6 Votes, Against: 32 Votes
The silence was so heavy that you could almost hear every student breathing.
While Yousuke must have felt relieved that a majority voted against his
expulsion, I was also sure he'd be haunted for some time by those invisible six
who voted in favor. Still, knowing Yousuke, he might be more greatly relieved
that we were able to overcome this first difficult obstacle via his selfnomination.
"Man, what're we gonna do…?" said Sudou. "Are we seriously gonna expel
somebody?"
"We don't have any more time." Keisei, unable to wait any longer, pressed us
for an answer. "Come on you two, let's hear it. Who has been voting in favor all
along?"
"I can name the person I have in mind, of course," I said. "But I know that the
circumstances aren't quite that simple."
"Not that simple?" Keisei repeated. "We don't have room to choose anymore.
Now that we've decided to expel someone, we need to find out who this person
is as soon as possible."
There were still many students who regretted the decision to vote in favor of
this issue. They were feeling anxious. Those people would be worn out
emotionally and mentally, feeling like we just wasted ten minutes. They wanted
something that would make them believe that voting in favor earlier hadn't
been a mistake.
"So, um, if things stay as they are and the clock keeps tickin', people are just
gonna get picked at random for the next vote, right…?" said Sudou.
It was easy to understand why Sudou was so restless. Even Yousuke, of all
people, had gotten six votes in favor of his expulsion.
"Dude, don't worry, Ken," said Ike. "I'm gonna vote against it, if you're up… Sso, buddy, you gotta protect me too, okay?"
"Course, Kanji. Y-yeah. If we got each other's backs, then we'll definitely be
fine… Right?"
Our classmates were losing their composure. Among the many voices, a faint
sound of crying could just barely be heard among them.
"Sniff… Hic…"
A student was covering their mouth and trying to hide their eyes from sight,
but it was clear who was making those sounds.
"Kikyou-chan… A-are you okay?" asked an anxious Mii-chan, who had rushed
over in a hurry. She placed a hand on Kushida's back.
"Yes, I'm sorry…" Kushida sniffled. "It's just, when I started wondering how
we ended up in this mess, I… I just couldn't stop feeling so overwhelmed with
regret, and…"
"I feel the same way too," said Mii-chan. "But someone has to… Someone has
got to be expelled…"
Most of the students in class hadn't come to such a realization, that this was
actually happening. They felt like they were being forced to do something kind
of unrealistic.
"I'm just, I'm regretting my choice so bad right now," said Kushida. "I should
have continued to vote against the issue, no matter what…"
"The same goes for us too," said Keisei. "But we didn't have any choice. If we
ran out of time, we'd lose 300 Class Points."
The decision was inevitable, which, in his mind, justified the vote in favor.
"But still… That doesn't make the regret of voting for it go away, no matter
how much we justify it…!"
Kushida voiced her regret over the fact we had unanimously voted in favor,
and she had played a part in it happening. Those feelings started to appear
more strongly in other students who felt the same way, though they weren't
expressing it in words.
Sudou and Ike comforted Kushida as well.
"Don't blame yourself, Kushida-chan," said Ike. "After all, everybody's in the
same boat… Right?"
"It's so sad… It's just so sad…" said Kushida, tears streaming down her cheeks.
As she wiped away her tears, she held herself tight, her body trembling. Then,
she looked back up. "We really had a chance to unanimously vote Against
though, didn't we? If we kept up our efforts to persuade that person, I'm sure
that they would've understood eventually, in the end…"
"That's… But the time is…" sputtered Ike.
"I can certainly understand what Horikita-san and Ayanokouji-kun have been
saying, though. We absolutely mustn't run out of time. Yes, I do understand
that… But still, even if we were going to get penalized for letting time run out,
we should have been the kind of class where no one got expelled, right?" said
Kushida. She was letting out all the thoughts and feelings that had accumulated
in her mind.
"Well, but hold on, it's definitely the person who voted in favor that's at fault
here," Ike said. "For sure."
"No one should be expelled," said Kushida. "Whether someone excels or not
in academics or in sports, that doesn't matter. It's trivial. That alone isn't
enough to decide who should be expelled."
Her real, honest intentions were to protect even the person who originally
voted in favor and caused this situation to occur.
"B-but, wait, in that case, how are we gonna decide who?" asked Ike.
"W-well, how about…somethin' like we all draw straws?" asked Sudou.
"That wouldn't work," Kushida said. "If someone were expelled because of
that, then… I'm sure that no one would accept it."
After wiping away another smattering of flowing tears with her fingertips,
Kushida continued speaking. "I'm going to say something, fully prepared for the
criticism I'll face for it."
She put her hand to her chest and made her appeal to her classmates.
"I… I think that Horikita-san, as the leader of this special exam…or perhaps
Ayanokouji-kun, who encouraged us all to vote in favor… They should be the
ones to take responsibility for this situation."
I had a feeling this was how she was going to play it. Kushida had made her
first move. There wouldn't be any benefit for her in a student like Ike or Sudou
getting expelled here. Her words were filled with a fervent desire—that of the
anonymous voter who had continued to vote in favor this whole time. I was
sure of it.
"I feel so disgusted with myself for mentioning their names aloud that it
almost makes me hate myself," she said, sniffling. "But we can't let time run
out. Someone must take on the heavy burden of saying it… So, I-I'm prepared to
take on the role of being hated… Hic…"
She was claiming that didn't want anyone to be expelled, but if someone had
to be removed, then the selection process was inevitable. Just like those who
were being removed from class, the person who advocated for this
restructuring would also bear a similar suffering. So, according to Kushida, she
had taken on that role herself. Naming names required both a reason and a
considerable amount of determination.
Her statements were expertly worded to make us look like targets to our
classmates while not making them suspect that she was the anonymous
supporter of the issue. Kushida was much, much cleverer than I'd thought.
Considering her position, she wouldn't be expelled no matter what, even if she
remained completely silent all the way until the end of the exam. There were a
number of students who would vote against her expulsion because she had
many friends and people had a great deal of trust in her.
However, both Horikita and I had already figured out that Kushida was the
anonymous supporter of the issue. In the unlikely event that either Horikita or I
raised our hand and started slandering Kushida's reputation, it could lead to an
unexpected development. She reasoned that it would be effective to suffer a
non-fatal wound instead, using this situation as a defensive tactic. Now that she
suggested Horikita and me, even if we tried to say something to discredit her,
she could convince people that we were acting in revenge against her having
advocated that we be removed from the class.
"You have GOT to be kidding me!"
Neither Horikita nor I were the first to object to Kushida's proposal. It was Kei.
"Why should Kiyotaka be expelled?" she said. "All he said was that we were
going to run out of time, and that we should vote in favor even though it's a
hard decision. What does he have to take the blame for?"
"…Yes, you're right," said Kushida. "I understand what you're trying to say,
Karuizawa-san. I honestly think it's wrong for me to even give his name right
here, but… It's just, if I didn't, we wouldn't be able to move forward at all."
"Well, I would never vote for Kiyotaka to be expelled," said Kei. "You do know
that he is never, ever gonna get expelled if it comes down to it, right?"
"Wait, hold up, Karuizawa," said Hondou. "That's a little selfish, don'cha
think?"
"Huh? Hondou-kun, didn't you just secretly promise Onizuka-kun that you'd
vote no if he got targeted? This isn't any different," said Kei.
"Uh… B-but I wasn't the one who said we should vote unanimously in favor
though…"
"Gosh, you're sooo self-centered," huffed Kei. "How can I be sure that he
won't get expelled if I don't say it? So we can't go to Class A if we run out of
time, huh? Well, so what? Kiyotaka is everything to me. Whether we end up in
Class B or Class D, whatever, I don't care."
Kei was relentlessly venting her anger, but I needed to make her stop now.
"Kei, stop," I told her. "What Kushida's saying is correct. It's a fair argument."
"B-but!"
I had stopped Kei from going any further, but she continued to glare at
Kushida. She made no attempt to hide her dissatisfaction and irritation.
"If you let your emotions get the better of you and you keep arguing, then
that would mean the question of who should bear the most responsibility for
this situation might get confused," I told her. "Instead of me and Horikita, the
people Kushida had said should take the blame, someone else could be
targeted instead. You know that much."
Kei deflated. "…Yeah…"
If she had completely lost her composure, I could have reined her in even
more aggressively, but that didn't happen. Kei had enough sense to keep
herself in check as long as I gave her a firm order. It wasn't a bad thing that our
classmates were able to speak about what they were keeping to themselves in
the back of their minds as a result though.
"I'm just gonna come out and say it," said Sudou. "I won't ever vote in favor
of Suzune gettin' expelled. And all right, sure, we might not've been able to get
the ideal unanimous decision here, but that ain't Suzune's fault. It's that jerkoff
who kept voting in favor originally, stayin' anonymous and refusin' to come
forward at all. They're the one at fault. I mean, do you guys really think we can
even get to Class A in the future without Suzune? Besides, we all agreed that we
can count on her, and we even gave her a Protect Point. Right, Yukimura?"
"…Yes, you're right about that." said Keisei, adjusting his glasses. "We did
decide that we should give the Protect Point to Horikita. But, still, if we fail this
special exam in the end, then giving her the point will be meaningless. Wouldn't
it be the same thing as losing 350 Class Points?"
"But I'm sure that as long as we got Suzune here, she can get us back on
track!" roared Sudou.
"This school isn't that simple," Keisei responded. "The 300 points that Kouenji
earned from the uninhabited island exam was something of a miracle. Putting
that aside, think about it. How long did it take for us to get the number of Class
Points we have right now? It's just not very realistic, is what I'm saying. Sure,
the loss of Horikita would leave a big hole, but not big enough to warrant losing
350 Class Points."
Would we try to compensate for the 350-point handicap we were in together
with Horikita? Or would we fight against the other classes on even ground
without her? While it was difficult to express the idea in simple figures, what
Keisei was saying was generally correct.
"I can't vote in favor of either Kiyopon or Horikita's expulsion right now,"
Haruka cut in. It was rather unusual for her to interrupt like that. "I think that
first, we should listen to what they each have to say rather than hearing about
people's personal relationships and stuff. I mean, it's just like Sudou-kun said,
it's the person who voted in favor originally who's at fault here, right?"
Kushida looked up with a start after Haruka suddenly spoke up. Haruka's
explanation wasn't that of someone standing up for a friend. Rather, she was
just saying it was too early to decide anything.
"Yes, I guess you're right," said Kushida. "I uh, I might've, um, lost my cool a
little bit too… But still, if Ayanokouji-kun says who voted in favor all this time
and he's wrong about it… Actually no, even if he's not wrong and he comes out
and says that person's name, I'm sure that whatever relationship Ayanokoujikun and this other student has is going to be completely destroyed…"
I could feel a kind of pressure from Kushida that seemed to be telling me,
"Don't say my name, not even by mistake." At any rate, the baton was passed
back to me once again.
"I know we're still in the middle of discussion here, but I think we should call
it here," I announced. "Ten minutes will be up soon, and we need to decide
who to vote for to be expelled. If we don't, it'll be a random vote."
"…Very well," said Horikita. "We don't have much time left until we need to
vote. I have no other choice. Please vote for me."
"H-hey, Suzune, what're—?! Whaddya think you're doing?!" shouted Sudou.
"If we're going to have to take a vote, then I want to make sure of something
anyway," Horikita said. "I want to verify just how many students want me
gone."
Horikita raised her hand and asked that she be the subject of the vote, as
though she were testing herself. If there was a unanimous vote in favor of her
expulsion, she would be gone. Conversely, if the class voted unanimously
against her expulsion, she would be exempt from being targeted again. But if
the class didn't come to a unanimous decision either way, then we'd have to
start all over again and someone else to vote on. And Horikita would still be
included among the possible candidates.
"Now then, we'll begin the vote for Horikita Suzune," said Chabashira. "You
have sixty seconds to vote."
We voted on whether we'd be expelling Horikita from school. How many
students would be pushing for her expulsion, I wondered… All the votes seemed
to have been cast in about thirty seconds, and Chabashira displayed the results
up on the monitor.
Round 18 Voting Results: For: 16 Votes, Against: 22 Votes
Was I alone in thinking that these results were rather interesting? Objectively
speaking, Sudou was the only person who would unequivocally vote against her
expulsion. Next in line would likely be Kouenji, since Horikita was his sole ally.
He wouldn't want to let her go. On the flip side, this meant that the other
students had voted purely after asking themselves if they were for or against
Horikita's removal. Horikita's presence was deemed not that important to the
invisible sixteen who voted against her. However, I supposed there might have
been some segment of that group that would just be fine with anyone getting
expelled, as long as they weren't.
"What the hell, are you all stupid?!" bellowed Sudou. He shot up out of his
seat in frustration. "Whoever voted in favor, put your hands up! Imma knock
your lights out!" He probably assumed there would've only been a few votes in
favor at most.
"Stop, Sudou-kun," said Horikita.
"Like hell I can!" he shot back.
"You making a fuss is only going to waste time," she told him. "Let's have a
more constructive conversation."
"Horikita-san's exactly right, Sudou-kun," said Yousuke. "Unanimity is the
ironclad rule for this special exam. Even if there are thirty-seven votes in favor,
as long as you continue to vote opposed, Horikita-san won't be expelled."
He was right, there was no need for Sudou to get so upset. Just as Yousuke
said even if you were dissatisfied with things, it'd be fine as long as you kept
just one person on your side. That alone would absolutely prevent you from
being expelled.
That was another peculiarity of this exam. Just a single vote… With just one
unwavering vote Against as your defense, the fate of expulsion could be
avoided. On the other hand though, if you lost that one final vote, there'd be
nothing you could do to prevent it anymore.
"We really don't have that much time left," said Keisei. "It's about time you
tell us the name of the student that originally voted in favor."
"I know," I said. "But before I do, I'd like to make a suggestion."
"A suggestion?"
"Yeah. I will give you a name now, but it's not like I'll be able to just give a
statement and that'll be that. If I happen to be wrong about this, I won't be able
to just wave it away and say it was just a rumor."
"That's… Well, yes, that's true," said Keisei.
"That's why I'm not going to just casually say it. And on the flip side, if it turns
out that I got the wrong person, I will take responsibility for it and drop out
myself."
"Wha… Kiyotaka?!" sputtered Kei.
The class exploded into an uproar when they heard me say that.
"A-are you really sure about this?" said Kushida. "Ayanokouji-kun, you… I
don't want any of my classmates to be expelled… And that includes you too,
Ayanokouji-kun, you know…?"
"Thanks for your concern, Kushida. But I'm okay," I replied.
"Wait, you say that you'll drop out, but Karuizawa-san is going to vote against
your expulsion, right, Ayanokouji-kun? So that would mean—"
"I won't let her," I said, cutting Kushida off. "Taking responsibility also means
that I'll prevent anyone from voting against me. If the time comes, I will have
Kei vote in favor of my expulsion. Okay?"
"…I-I understand. But I still have faith that it's never gonna come to that," said
Kei.
"I certainly accept what Kushida said about me, to a certain extent," I added.
"I was the one who encouraged the rest of the class to vote in favor of the
issue, so I should take part of the blame. However, I'm still of the opinion that
the person who stubbornly voted anonymously in favor of the issue the whole
time should be the one to take responsibility for this."
"Yeah, that's right!" Kei came to my defense. "I mean, come on, this means
there's someone in this class who thought they'd be all sneaky and take
advantage of this thing being anonymous to get somebody expelled, right?"
"I-I think so too!" said Airi. "That's the person who…should take responsibility
for this."
"Yeah, you got that right," Haruka agreed. "It's the student who voted in favor
all this time who is the bad guy here."
Airi and Haruka offered me support. Akito joined in as well, silently coming to
my defense.
"So, have you…made up your mind then?" Kushida gave me one final warning
with an anxious look.
"If I'm going to be naming names, then I need to have my mind appropriately
made up and pay the appropriate price," I replied. "More importantly though, I
can speak up and say this, risking my own expulsion, because I'm as close to 100
percent certain as I can possibly be."
"I-I understand," said Kushida. "In that case, I trust you, Ayanokouji-kun."
As Kushida said that, she kept a strong gaze fixed on me. Since I was delaying
the timing of my announcement, drawing it out like this further increased the
other students' interest. Apart from the one student who had actually voted in
favor of the issue this whole time, the rest were anxious and on the edges of
their seats. They were waiting impatiently to hear the name of the person who
had been voting For. They wanted a good reason to attack somebody and were
waiting for the time to come, when they would shower shouts of abuse until
their throats went hoarse.
"That person is—"
The person I thought should be expelled. The person I had decided to expel. I
was going to reveal everything right here and now.
"—Kushida. You."
A silence fell over the classroom. We were now in a world where sound had
completely disappeared; you couldn't even hear the ringing in your ears.
I know, Horikita. I understand almost painfully well the reason you concluded
that you had no other choice but to vote in favor, and why you still couldn't take
the plunge.
However, Kushida hadn't taken any steps to meet Horikita partway. She
continued to cast her vote in favor of the issue without a care, determined to
get either Horikita or I expelled like this. Whether or not she realized that it had
been a bad move on her part was a trivial matter now.
I decided that it was pointless to try and rehabilitate Kushida, but you wanted
to face her head-on until the end. You kept yourself from saying her name for so
long, even considering sacrificing the class as a possibility. You may not have
been able to save Kushida, but there was no need for you to sacrifice her on your
own.
I didn't know what Horikita was thinking in this exact moment, but she was
looking over at me much more calmly than I had expected. If that was the case,
I had no choice but to fight. I'd be the one to carry the burden of defeating this
opponent.
"Huh…?"
It wasn't just Kushida who said that. The word just spilled out of nearly every
student's mouth in unison. They were unable to understand what was
happening.
"M-me?" sputtered Kushida., pointing to herself. She couldn't believe that her
name had been called.
Actually, I was sure that she was already expecting me to call her name. That
was exactly why she launched that preemptive strike—she was preparing for it.
But even so, I guess that Kushida just couldn't believe I would really sell her out
like this. Perhaps even more so now that she thought she had a few things over
me.
"That's right," I replied. "You were the one who stubbornly voted in favor all
this time, even when you were being encouraged to vote Against."
Our classmates had been ready to attack whoever the mystery voter was but
were at a loss for words.
"M-maybe you're… Maybe you're naming me because I said that you or
Horikita-san should take responsibility, Ayanokouji?" said Kushida.
Hondou, seeing Kushida's eyes welling up with sorrowful tears, quickly rushed
to her defense. "N-no matter how many times you say it, Ayanokouji…there's
no way it could have been Kushida-chan! You're just doing this because you
have a grudge."
"That has nothing to do with it," I said. "I was already thinking that it was her
before she even mentioned me. I've been thinking it ever since the first round
of voting on this issue."
"W-wait a minute," protested Kushida. "I've been voting Against up until the
very last minute, you know? So why would…"
"You're suggesting I'm making a false accusation? Well, I suppose it's only
natural it would look that way, under the circumstances."
It was clear that anyone would look at what I was doing as a random outburst
out of retaliation because I was about to be expelled from school.
"There's no proof that you kept voting against the issue," I went on. "And
that's because the voting was anonymous, of course. However, that being said,
I'm going to present what grounds I have for saying that you're the person who
has been voting in favor all this time. Do you have any objections?"
"That is just so awful… There's nothing I can say to that," said Kushida. "Yes, I
was the person who brought up your name and Horikita-san's names first… I
was prepared for what was going to come though. Because I decided that even
if you slandered me with lies, I was going to sacrifice myself to protect the
class."
No matter what Kushida said from here onward, it was all going to be lies. By
putting up that line of defense now, she would be able to keep her supporters
from leaving her.
"First, I'll tell you the reason I think that Kushida was the one who continued
to vote in favor of the issue. That's because there are people in this class who
she desperately wants to have expelled. I'm sure you're not going to believe me
on this, of course, but just hear me out. The people she wants gone are the
people Kushida herself already mentioned by name, meaning Horikita and
myself."
A considerable number of people were just wondering what in the world I
was talking about. Kushida should have been more distraught than anyone else
right now… Well, I supposed she was keeping up appearances by looking
distraught, but this was a debate where you couldn't make even a single
mistake.
She calmly spoke up once more, choosing her words very carefully. "So, since
I gave your names earlier, that's how this is going to be, huh…" she said sadly.
"No, it's not like that," I said. "More than anyone else, Kushida, you've
thought of Horikita as an obstacle ever since she started school here."
Now that it came to this, I was sure that Kushida should understand what was
happening, even if she didn't want to. I was about to disclose everything I knew
about her right here and now, and she couldn't order me to stop. If she was
continuing to play the part of the innocent good little girl, there was no way for
her to cut me off.
"Kushida," I said. "You and Horikita have something in common that you don't
share with the rest of your classmates. Isn't that right?"
"Huh? S-something in common…?" she asked.
Even though she already knew what I meant, it was necessary for her to act
like she was ignorant, at least for the time being. I could have interrupted her
act, but I deliberately decided not to. That was because Kushida's instinct to
protect herself would cause her to suffer more from here onwards.
"Um… Oh, are you maybe talking about, um…that we went to the same junior
high? Or something?" she asked.
It was likely that no one else knew about that. Looks of surprise appeared on
our classmates' faces as they heard this for the first time. She had no choice but
to reveal that bit of information herself now. It was something she had been
desperately trying to keep hidden at all costs up until now, rather than letting
me divulge it.
"That's right," I replied. "I'm sure that no other student in this classroom
knew about that, did they?"
Horikita, the very person we were talking about, was now staring straight
ahead at the podium so I couldn't see the expression on her face. However, I
could easily tell that our classmates' gazes were on me.
"W-wait, hold on a moment," Kushida said. "What? It's true that I hadn't told
anyone about it, but it was just because I didn't have an opportunity to bring it
up specifically. Besides, it was a big school. We were never in the same class,
anyway… It even took me a while to make sure that Horikita-san even went to
my same school."
Kushida was saying that there was no way she could have even considered
wanting to expel Horikita from the beginning based on that.
At this point, students who couldn't just sit by and watch Kushida go through
this started to act.
"All right, knock it off, Ayanokouji," said Ike. "You said that you knew whoever
voted in favor, so I shut up and listened to you. But come on, this is Kikyouchan, y'know? There's just no way."
Other voices quickly joined in, one after another.
"Yeah, that's right. Ayanokouji-kun, isn't what you're saying here just
absurd?"
"Like, seriously? You were the one who got us all to vote in favor, and in the
end you're just taking your anger out on Kushida-san and pointing a finger at
her. Come on!"
"Okay, and 'sides, how the heck does going to the same junior high means she
wants her expelled in the first place? Wait, or are you trying to say that you
went to their same junior high too?"
Our classmates were posing perfectly reasonable questions. Discontent and
protests erupted, starting with just one person and growing from there. The
troops rallied around her one after another without even being asked. There
was no doubt whatsoever that this was a powerful weapon that Kushida Kikyou
had in her arsenal.
"And besides, since when were you like this, anyway? Something has been
weird with you for a while now, Ayanokouji."
"Y-yeah, that's true. It's actually kind of scary, I mean… He always had this
quiet vibe about him, and yet…"
Some of the students weren't just covering for Kushida, they also began to
show distrust toward me and my unusual behavior.
"Don't criticize him, everyone…" Kushida said. "I'm sure that Ayanokouji-kun
doesn't want to be saying this stuff either. I understand it's tempting to lay the
blame on someone in a situation like this…"
She picked up on our classmates' words with exquisite precision, attacking me
while pretending to protect me.
"You're way too nice, Kikyou-chan. You can't just let him say whatever he
wants."
Kushida's supporters lashed out automatically, nearly stripping me of my right
to speak. But I had a weapon of my own to allow me to resist.
"Ayanokouji-kun has the floor right now," said Yousuke, cautioning any
student who would try to interfere. "We shouldn't interrupt him while he has
more to say."
"Seriously, get real, Hirata. What's even the point of listening to Ayanokouji's
lies anymore?"
"We should only offer our criticisms, about whether it's the truth or a lie after
he's said his piece," Yousuke said. "Of course, if what he says does turn out to
be a lie, I will not allow it either."
"Is it even worth listening to him?"
"Yes, it is," Yousuke insisted. "This isn't just going to affect Kushida-san
because she was named. This is going to greatly affect Ayanokouji-kun's own
academic career here. Isn't that right?"
I had told Yousuke there was a possibility I'd control the votes if our time
remaining was running out. There was no way he could've known in advance
what this issue was going to be, and naturally he was incredibly surprised about
this whole conversation about Kushida. As a purely neutral person, he would
have to judge things so that there wouldn't be any errors in our conclusions.
"This has nothing to do with where they came from," I said. "Or rather, there
isn't much significance to the fact that they came from the same school.
However, the truth of the matter is that Kushida has a big secret, from back
when she was in junior high."
Kushida started to cry right on the spot. "Please, stop it, Ayanokouji-kun…
Stop piling on lie after lie…" Tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Hey, come on, Kiyopon," Haruka spoke up. "Look, I'm your friend and all,
but… I think I'm with Kyou-chan on this one. What I'm trying to say is, is this
really a conversation we need to continue?"
Haruka was originally a member of the Ayanokouji Group and would defend
me, as I said earlier. Haruka had few friends outside of our group, but I knew
she and Kushida got along well. Wouldn't it make sense that she'd try to stop
this conflict if she cared about the both of us?
"Haruka," I said. "You were waiting for the identity of the anonymous
supporter to be revealed, weren't you? If so, then you need to hear everything I
have to say."
"B-but, I mean, Kyou-chan is…"
"'Not like that'? I understand why you'd think so, but Kushida is not who you
think she is. I'm sorry, but I'm going to ask that you let me keep going. Her
secret lies in her true nature, which she keeps hidden."
"Kyou-chan's…true nature?" Haruka repeated.
"That's right," I replied. "The Kushida you see, on the surface, appears to be a
good person in everyone's eyes. She's kind, considerate, and a perfect model
student. She's someone who is capable both academically and in sports. But
what if she was, in fact, the sort of person who was more jealous than anyone
else, and only satisfied being the best? What if, as a result of her true nature
being revealed during her junior high days, she drove her class to destruction?"
"Honestly? I'd say it'd be impossible to believe," said Yousuke. "But even if
that were true, it just doesn't add up. It's true that in Horikita-san's case, if she
went to her same school, then she might know about her past, sure. But how
would you know about it, Ayanokouji-kun? I can't imagine Horikita-san would
tell you."
"That's because I had the opportunity to see Kushida's true nature shortly
after we started school," I answered. "I witnessed Kushida acting differently,
venting her negative emotions."
Even after everything I had said so far, Kushida hadn't done so much as glare
at me. She continued to play the rule of the kind, innocent, good girl just
watching a mean classmate tell lies about her. She thought highly of herself and
believed that as long as she kept this up, she'd absolutely be fine. Of course,
having someone speak poorly of you is bad, regardless if it was true or false,
and it would cast a shadow over the remainder of your school life. But this was
also a sign of her strong will—she was willing to make a small sacrifice here if it
meant getting either Horikita or I expelled.
"Kushida wants to be thought of as a kind person, so she wants to avoid
letting people find out about how she really is," I continued. "That being said,
she can't stomach being put in a situation where her weakness is sitting in my
and Horikita's palms. That's because she wants to be the person holding the
power, standing above others, always."
"…You have about one more minute remaining until the interval ends."
Chabashira interrupted our discussion to notify us that time was almost up, just
in case.
"Wh-what are we gonna do?" exclaimed Sudou. "It's almost time for the next
vote!"
"That's… Well, I guess for the time being, we'll just have to hold a vote for me
then," I said. "Won't we?"
With the current situation being what it was, I figured it was obvious I was
going to be next in line.
"Stop—!"
However, someone stopped me. It wasn't Kei or even Haruka. It was Kushida.
"That's enough… My heart can't take any more of this…" she said.
"K-Kushida-san?" said Yousuke.
"If I'm speaking from the heart here, my opinion still hasn't changed… I don't
want either Horikita-san or Ayanokouji-kun to be expelled," she said. "I even
made Ayanokouji-kun go as far as to lie about me because I brought up their
names earlier in the discussion… I don't want to go through this stressful,
painful argument anymore. That's why… I'll… I'll drop out… If I do that, then
everyone can go back to how they were before, right?"
Kushida volunteered as an expulsion candidate herself. According to the
special exam's rules for selecting a person to be expelled, a person was allowed
to come forward and nominate themselves. That nomination would be
accepted without the need for a vote, as demonstrated by Horikita and Yousuke
earlier.
"Are you sure about this, Kushida? Once you say you're nominating yourself,
you can't take it back," I told her.
"Yes, it's all right, I don't mind… Please, everyone, vote for me to be expelled,
okay? Please…"
Now that Kushida's name was entered, a new issue was displayed on our
tablets. Kushida's unexpected self-nomination had clearly upset our classmates.
Round 19 Voting Results: For: 5 Votes, Against: 33 Votes
Time passed and we voted. The results showed that the class overwhelmingly
opposed her proposal.
"E-everyone… Why?" asked Kushida.
"Because there's no way we could ever get you expelled, no matter what,
Kushida-chan," said Hondou. "Right?"
The thirty-three students who opposed her expulsion nodded their heads in
response, as a strong show of their solidarity.
"Ayanokouji," Hondou added. "I honestly think it's gross that you've been
attacking Kushida-chan just so you don't get expelled yourself."
Putting aside my single vote in favor of expelling Kushida, only four other
students seemed to agree with me. Well, while I would have liked to have said
"only" four, but to be completely honest, I was surprised that there were even
five votes against her.
"Ayanokouji-kun's turn next then, right?"
It was true that if things continued as they were, there was going to be a vote
for me with my expulsion on the line. If that time came, given the current
situation, I could expect the possibility that the class would unanimously vote in
favor of my expulsion. However, that was only if they could come to a decision
on that within the next ten minutes.
"Ayanokouji-kun, I hear what you're saying, that Kushida-san's true nature is
different from how she is normally. It's not like we can just suddenly believe
that, though."
"Yeah. Besides, has Kushida-san really even tried doing anything to get
Horikita-san expelled before? If she really wanted Horikita-san gone, she
would've done something a long, long time ago, wouldn't she?"
I knew that if I waited for just the right opportunity, people would naturally
ask me what I had to say.
"Because it's not easy to get a classmate expelled," I replied. "But you know,
I've been Kushida's target at least once before too, in an exam structured like
this Unanimous Special Exam."
Without saying it out directly, I was able to make my classmates dig deep
through their own memories, with their own hands.
"Oh, the class vote thing… If I remember right, at the time, Yamauchi-kun and
Kushida-san were…"
That's right. We had a vote in our classes for the first time last year to expel
one of our classmates. As a result of that exam, Yamauchi had been expelled.
However, Kushida was one of the people that had been guiding him along,
trying to use him to get me expelled. The events of that exam were likely still
fresh in everyone's minds.
"Do you think it's a coincidence?" I asked. "Both times that we've had this
kind of test, I've been targeted for expulsion. And on top of that, Kushida was
involved both times. Everything lines up far too neatly for it to be mere
coincidence."
If the others remembered what happened at the time, then surely, they must
have thought that something was strange about Kushida then.
"It's true that I thought it was just a coincidence. Still, Ayanokouji, if Kikyouchan were intentionally trying to get you expelled, why would she be carrying
out such a plan now after doing that?"
The student was arguing that she would have done this more cleverly then to
avoid suspicion in the future, but things weren't so simple.
"It's because Kushida thought that I was on her side. I doubt she had any idea
whatsoever that her secrets might be exposed like this." I turned to her. "Isn't
that right?"
"…On my side?" she repeated.
"Yeah. Or do I have it wrong, Kushida?"
"…I really don't know what to do here, Ayanokouji-kun… What kind of answer
are you looking for from me?"
Basically, Kushida could only either deny what I said or turn around and ask
me a question. If she didn't affirm, then that meant the initiative would always
sit with me.
"Give us some proof, Ayanokouji." Hondou bullishly came to her defense. "If
you're gonna lay the blame on Kushida-chan any further, we are definitely
gonna need some proof."
From the sounds of it, he apparently had intense feelings for Kushida.
"You're right," I said. "It's true that it's probably pointless for me to keep
going on about this without presenting anything. So, right now, I'm going to tell
you the reason Kushida trusted me."
I didn't hurry. I took my time, letting everything I said sink in as everyone
listened.
"This happened a long time ago. After Kushida threatened me, I made a
contract with her that I would give her half of my Private Points every month in
exchange for her not trying to get me expelled."
Even the faction that supported Kushida looked slightly shocked when they
heard this story, a story that no one could have possibly imagined.
"Isn't that right, Kushida?" I asked.
"Huh…?"
Either she hadn't expected this to come up or she just hadn't decided how to
respond to it if it did, even though it was already floating around in the back of
her mind. At any rate, Kushida was at a loss for words. She couldn't honestly
admit that she's been getting additional Private Points, but on the other hand, it
would also be difficult for her to deny that she had been receiving them.
Even if she could manage to fool everyone else into thinking that she wasn't
getting points from me, the truth would come out if someone asked to confirm
it later. That was because there were records in her account history that
someone had been transferring points to her, and how many were transferred.
"So, what do you have to say? Can you say with absolute certainty that you
haven't received a single point from me?"
"That's—"
I wasn't going to let her take her time. Just as I was about to shoot a look over
to Chabashira, Kushida gave me her answer, her lips quivering.
"Y-yes, it's true that…I have been getting Private Points from Ayanokouji-kun
every month…"
Kushida had denied most everything that I had said up until that point, but
she had no choice but to admit it this time. If I were to turn and check with
Chabashira right here and the teacher confirmed that she could see points had
been changing hands, then there'd be no avoiding the fact. It would make the
situation get much, much worse for Kushida in an instant. It was doubtful
whether Chabashira, as a teacher, knew exactly how many points were
changing hands between individuals at any given moment or if she would
divulge personal information like that, but Kushida still couldn't bet against that
risk.
"B-but…it's for a completely different reason! It's because Ayanokouji-kun
came to me. He said that he wanted me to hold onto the points for him… I
haven't even used a single one of those points, of course. You see?"
She was receiving half of my Private Points each month, and there were one
or two ways at most that she could try to justify or explain that away. She could
either say that she had been asked to hold onto them, as she did just now, or
she could claim that they were freely given to her. Those were the only reasons
she could give. If she had claimed the latter, that they were freely given to her,
then she would have to supplement that claim. So, in a situation like this,
someone would almost always say that they had been asked to hold onto the
points in a situation like that.
"I didn't give them to you to hold onto," I replied. "I was paying the price you
had set so you wouldn't get me expelled."
"That's a lie…"
The deal we made was that I would give her half of my Private Points. I was
sure that Kushida remembered that quite well. She even carefully recorded our
conversation, preserving the memory of that day. However, I could shut her
down, preventing her from using it, depending on how this situation unfolded.
If anything, that recording could end up doing the opposite of what she
intended. I could turn it into a deadly weapon that would end up piercing her
instead.
"A lie, huh?" I said. "But Kushida, you told me that you recorded our
conversation, for insurance purposes back when we made our agreement. Did
you not? If we get that recording from your phone or whatever device you
used, you won't be able to talk your way out of this."
"R-recording? I-I don't know anything about that…"
Though she was being pressured, she continued to deny it for now. She
probably saved the recording somewhere, but apparently it wasn't on her
phone. I guess she probably didn't walk around carrying risky recorded data
around with her. Well, this would have gone much more quickly if she did have
it, but that didn't matter.
"Even if you hid the recording somewhere we don't know about, it's all the
same in the end, Kushida. We formed a contract earlier this year, in February. I
also recorded the details of the conversation we had at that time. That way, if
anything went wrong, I could use it as a weapon."
Kushida looked at me and her eyes went wide. She probably didn't think I'd
do that.
"I listened to the recording over and over and have it memorized, word for
word. 'I'll give you half. Half of all of the Private Points I get moving forward.' I
believe that's what I started with when I made the offer."
"You're lying," Kushida protested. "I've never heard you say that."
"You responded by saying, 'It's certainly not a bad offer, I suppose. But
unfortunately, I'm not really hurting for Private Points. It's certainly better to
have more money than none, but I'm fine where I am now.'"
"…I don't know what you're talking about," she insisted.
"If you prefer, I can go ahead and ask Chabashira-sensei to bring me my cell
phone right now?" I asked.
"I don't really mind," said Kushida. "But you can't do that, can you? We're in
the middle of a special exam right now."
"I mean, of course they confiscated our phones since students could cheat if
they had them," I agreed. "But I can ask Chabashira-sensei to use my phone and
play back the recording for us. That way, there wouldn't be any concern over
me using my phone to cheat."
Of course, I didn't expect that I'd be granted any exceptions to the rules
during a special exam. Still, Kushida, overcome with anxiety, couldn't help but
direct her gaze to Chabashira at the front of the classroom.
"If she takes out my phone, then you're going to be in trouble. All the hard
work you've put in so far to desperately fool everyone will go up in smoke. But
you already know that I'm not going to stop there, don't you?"
Kushida was talking less and less. I had to wonder what she was thinking right
now. Her back was to me, and her eyes were fixed on the front of the room like
she had been frozen in place. Kushida remembered what happened that day, of
course. And, being the cautious person that she was, I was sure that she must
have checked the audio file herself to make sure that she had a clear recording.
She too had listened to it repeatedly.
Since I had come out and uttered parts of our conversation word for word, I
was sure that at least some of what I had said must have matched the audio
that she saved that day.
"'You might have more than enough points to use for spending money, it's
never a bad thing to have more tucked away for an emergency,'" I said, quoting
another part of our conversation.
A tremendous change was unmistakably happening in Kushida right now. She
was playing the victim up until this point, but she had reached the point where
it was no longer possible for her to continue to pose like she was an angel in
this class.
"God… Just shut up already…" she huffed.
Our classmates gulped. They just heard a voice that they couldn't understand,
making them wonder just who that was. The only way for her to stop me from
talking more was to reveal her true nature. But if she showed her true nature,
then everything would fall apart.
"'Chabashira-sensei said as much too, I believe. That Private Points may
become necessary in order to protect yourself,'" I said, reciting the other part of
what I said.
"Shut up, shut up, shut up…"
I continued speaking, without paying any care to Kushida's attempts to reject
what I was saying or to stop me.
"'No matter how I look at this proposal of yours, it looks like you're putting
yourself at a disadvantage, Ayanokouji-kun. If you said that you were in danger
of being expelled from school, then I could understand, I suppose.' That was
what you said before we made our deal. I'm sure that if I can have the rest of
the class listen to the audio, right here, right now, that'll settle the matter once
and for all."
Whether I actually had the recording wasn't really all that important. It was
more the fact that what I was saying now matched what we had said in our
conversation before was both necessary and important.
"Enough already!" Kushida screamed. And then she fell silent again.
I knew she must've been feverishly going back over what happened back
then. As for why we formed a contract, it happened because I wanted to know
some first-year students' weaknesses, their embarrassing secrets. Since I
figured Kushida would have known any number of our classmates' secrets, I
went to her, and we formed a contract. When she asked me about quid pro
quo, I offered to give her half of my Private Points in exchange for helping me.
I had no doubts whatsoever that the part of our conversation before I made
the proposal, when Kushida expressed her wish for Horikita and me to be
expelled, would be in the recording. Kushida likely thought that the audio would
be a convenient card for her to play, but it was turning out to be a huge
mistake. All she did was leave behind a trail of evidence that would end up
strangling her.
"Please tell me specifically, right now, where in our conversation I suggested
that I wanted you to hold onto my points for me," I said. "I want to make sure
that everyone in class understands."
Kushida's friends were hoping that this was all some sort of mistake. They
watched her anxiously.
"…I'm sorry." Kushida mumbled a brief apology.
"What are you saying sorry for, exactly?" I asked.
"Yes, it's true that I promised I wouldn't fight with Ayanokouji-kun in
exchange for half of his Private Points," she confessed. "That's… That is true,
which is why…"
She wasn't apologizing to me. She was apologizing to our classmates,
admitting that she had been lying.
"B-but… I don't think that way anymore! I really do want to be friends with
Horikita-san and Ayanokouji-kun. Truly. That's why I never voted in favor of…"
Just as Kushida was about to appeal to everyone, attempting to capitalize on
the total anonymity of the exam, she suddenly stopped. Our classmates' eyes
had changed drastically. The warm looks they had been giving her until now
were gone. Even if she really wasn't the student who had originally voted in
favor, it would no longer be possible for her to go about her daily life as she had
been. Kushida seemed to understand that completely. But as she looked over at
me and there was still life in her eyes.
"Isn't the truth here that…you were really the one voting in favor all this time,
Ayanokouji-kun?" she said.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"You wanted to get me expelled, Ayanokouji-kun. That's why you acted, to
force things toward a unanimous decision in favor. After all, it's strange, isn't it?
It's funny that you're always so quiet and unassertive, but now you're
spontaneously working to get someone expelled…"
Kushida was, to many, almost certainly the true offender. However, she was
now attempting to shift the blame away from her and onto me. Sorry, Kushida,
but I already counted on you to try and use that strategy.
"Hey, Karuizawa-san." Kushida brushed back her hair as she turned her gaze
to Kei.
"What," said Kei, tersely.
"It sounds like you and Ayanokouji-kun are going out. Did you know that
when we started school here, Ayanokouji-kun desperately came on to me
because he wanted to go out with me?"
"…What are you talking about?" said Kei. "What is this?"
Kei was able to see things more calmly and objectively than the average
person, but even she had her weaknesses. Namely, when romantic feelings
were involved, her uncontrollable emotions exploded. Even when I nominated
myself as a candidate for expulsion earlier, Kei assertively spoke up in my
defense, even though she knew the risks. Kushida must have spotted an
exploitable weakness in Kei's heart then.
"I didn't want him to, but when we were in the dark, he even touched my
breasts," Kushida went on. "Did you know that?"
"Wh… Y-your breasts?! Wh-what does she mean by that, Kiyotaka?!" shouted
Kei.
"You really didn't know about that? He did such a horrible thing to me right
after we started school here," said Kushida.
Starting with the guys who had taken a liking to her and then spreading to the
girls in class, a wave of disgust toward me began to spread.
"I tried to stop him then. I gently admonished him… But I was so scared, I
couldn't do anything…"
"I know this might sound self-serving, but the truth is I never touched your
breasts," I cut in.
"S-see?!" Kei exclaimed. "That's what Kiyotaka says!"
"That's true, but that's all he can say in this situation," Kushida replied. "But
Ayanokouji-kun really did touch my breasts."
"Kushida," I said. "I hate to say this, but isn't this kind of shameful for you to
do?"
"It might not be like the recording we talked about earlier, but I have
evidence of my own," she insisted. "I have the uniform with Ayanokouji-kun's
fingerprints all over it. I kept it as it was back then. What would happen if I were
to present it here? You know what I'm getting at, right?"
Just as I used the cell phone recording, she was trying to do something similar
back to me. If her claims were later proven to be true, I would be the one in a
tight spot.
"Explain to me what's going on," said Kei.
She was listening to this story objectively, and it made sense that she would
want an explanation for this.
"There isn't a shred of truth to it," I told her. "At any rate, there's something
else I wanted to comment on, before even getting to whether it's true or false.
You mentioned having clothes with fingerprints on them, but how wellpreserved are they? If this happened right after we started school, then that
means a year and a half has already passed. It's not easy to pull fingerprints
from clothes, and on top of that, if they aren't well-preserved, then of course
you're not going to get anything from them. I find it highly unlikely that you
would be able to get fingerprints from that uniform."
Even clothing has uneven surfaces due to the stitching, and that would make
it difficult to see fingerprint marks. And considering other factors such as
exposure to ultraviolet rays, humidity, dryness, etc., I could say that it would be
100 percent impossible to get prints off them.
"…Ngh."
Just like the recordings you have, none of the cards in your hand are viable.
The same goes for whatever others you have, no matter how many there are.
You can't just come up with any excuse and try to talk your way out of this. I
won't allow it.
"Besides," I added, "if you really had been victimized like that in the first
place, then you should have reported it immediately."
"Why… Why… Why… Why…?!"
Kushida came up next to me and grabbed me by the collar. Her glare was
intense. She was furious, but I simply continued to talk to her in a matter-of-fact
manner.
"And then there's one time you worked with Ryuuen to try and get Horikita
and me expelled. What about that?"
I exposed Kushida's deeds to the class one after another, bringing them into
the light of day. Even if I provided new information here that was partly wrong,
it likely wouldn't make a noticeable impact.
"Why? Why?!" she screamed, gripping onto my uniform even more tightly.
"Why are you betraying me?! Did you forget that you promised not to
antagonize me?!"
"I never had any intention of antagonizing you, of course," I told her. "I wasn't
even interested in the fact that you have a two-sided personality. That was why
I wanted to come to a unanimous decision, Against, without my or Horikita's
names coming out. But since someone must be expelled, I had no other choice.
I'm doing this to protect my classmates."
With a few simple words, the false bonds that Kushida had created with her
"friends" she had steadily accumulated over the past year and a half all came
crashing down in an instant. No one could say anything.
Kushida relaxed, beginning to calm down. "Oh… Well… It's hopeless, then,"
she said. "It's over."
There was a look of resignation on her face, as if she understood everything
now. Her face contorted in disgust at her shame. But then she quickly regained
her composure, stifled a chuckle, and removed her hands from my collar.
She sighed. "Ugh… I guess this means I really was an idiot, after all. That deal
was a huge mistake…" Kushida's anger dissipated in an instant and now she
spoke in a calm, detached way. "I thought I understood that you were a
formidable opponent, Ayanokouji-kun, but I still never imagined that you'd
betray me here. It was just outside my expectations, I guess."
"Y-you're kidding, Kikyou-chan… Everything Ayanokouji-kun said just now was
a lie…wasn't it?"
"A lie?" asked Kushida. "Unfortunately, no, it's all true."
"But… Why…?"
"Because some things must be protected at all costs, no matter the sacrifice.
Don't you understand that? Forget it, there's no way you'd understand."
Kushida sighed again. "Ugh… I'm done with all of it now."
She shrugged her shoulders and spoke confidently, like she couldn't feel her
own predicament. "It's true. I couldn't stand Horikita-san and Ayanokouji-kun
being around. I couldn't forgive them for knowing the secret I kept hidden. I've
been trying to get them expelled for some time now."
"I was certainly surprised to see what this last issue was," I said, "but even so,
you surely knew it wasn't going to be easy to get us removed, right? You knew
what would happen if you tried to force things, didn't you?"
Even if she hated us, she still would have had plenty of time to pull back. She
didn't have to rush here. But even so, Kushida continued to vote in favor of the
issue, a repeated action that could have been described as crazed. To that
point, I had this nagging feeling that this was rather out of character for her.
At that moment, Kushida's eyes darted around a bit, and she seemed shaken.
It quickly faded. Before the special exam, Kushida asked Horikita to be the
leader of the class. It was almost as though she was anticipating that an issue
like this was going to be on the exam, but…
"It didn't really matter… I just couldn't stand the situation. People kept finding
out about my past," Kushida sighed. "I knew it was going to be extremely
difficult to get Horikita-san expelled. But I couldn't resist the urge to try
anyway."
Even the students who continued to stand up for Kushida could no longer find
the words to speak. Still, her friends couldn't take too much blame over what
happened, even if the truth was that Kushida really had been planning to get
Horikita expelled. Kushida was still guilty of making the class take the route of
expelling someone by continuously voting in favor of the issue. Even so, it was
difficult to say whether that was enough to get the class to vote unanimously in
favor of expelling her. To make sure that she absolutely was removed from the
class, we would need her to cause even more damage.
"You can't get Horikita or I expelled," I told her. "Too bad."
"I guess that settles that. I'll be expelled in the next vote," she said. "So, by
sacrificing me, you'll get Class Points, right? Good for you, everyone. I guess
you'll be able to become Class B thanks to this."
She spoke to everyone in such a detached tone that it was impossible to
imagine that she had been good friends with all of them just until this
afternoon.
"There's no way you can turn the tables any longer," I replied.
"Ah ha ha, yeah, you're probably right about that. But…" Kushida paused
there for a moment. Then she brought her face in close, approaching my neck,
and whispered to me coldly. "…I can at least show a little resistance, can't I?"
Even though she spoke in a whisper, it was still loud enough for other
students in the class to hear. It was safe to assume that Kushida was already
emotionally prepared for this without the need for me to provoke her.
"It's pointless," I told her. "You don't have any friends who will vote against
your expulsion anymore."
"You're right, I don't. But if I'm going to be expelled anyway… I just need to
destroy everything on my way out."
Kushida's true nature, the thing which had caused her entire class to fall apart
during her junior high school days, was emerging.
"…What are you saying?" I asked.
"Don't you understand? There are secrets in this class that only I know. And
there's still time left in this interval. I figure I'll go ahead and tell everyone
everything."
"You won't gain anything by doing that, though…right?" I asked.
"But I won't lose anything either," she argued. "I'm sure this is going to cause
trouble for you too, Ayanokouji-kun, so I think I'll go ahead and get started."
Yes, that's good. Let out all the secrets and the stress that you have been
holding onto and letting build up. I'm sure everyone will be shocked and terrified
by how twisted you are. Only when any room for sympathy disappears will there
be a possibility for a unanimous decision.
"Let's see, aside from Karuizawa-san, who I touched on earlier… Oh, that's
right," Kushida said. "Shinohara-san, you talked to me about lots of different
things, didn't you?"
The first person chosen to be the target of the countless slings and arrows
that Kushida had ready to aim at most of the girls in class was none other than
Shinohara Satsuki.
"Wh-wh-what?!" squawked Shinohara.
"Shinohara-san isn't particularly cute, huh. If anything, she's a little on the
ugly side, don't you think? Maybe that's why only the unattractive guys like Ikekun and Komiya-kun come on to her. Karuizawa-san, Matsushita-san, and Morisan, you all said those things. You found it so funny, and you were all laughing
about it, weren't you?"
One attack instantly split into many, and student after student was targeted.
"S-stop it! I never said anything like that! Stop lying!" Mori denied it
immediately, but Kushida had no intention of laying her arms down.
"Oh? You were the one laughing the hardest about it, though. You said that
they were the perfect couple. But don't worry! Even though I had a forced smile
and told you to stop saying those kinds of things, I felt the same way you did."
"Is… Is that true… Nene-chan…?" asked a hurt Shinohara.
"N-no, it's… I-I just, I…" stammered Mori.
"Oh, and Shinohara-san," Kushida said. "From the sounds of things, you
decided to start going out with Ike-kun after he told you how he felt about you
on the boat. But I have to say… Wow! You sure made your decision quickly,
considering you were going back and forth between him and Komiya-kun just
before that. Or perhaps you were just going out with Ike-kun on a trial basis, to
see how it went? Then, you could go after Komiya-kun instead, since he was
closer to your true love."
"H-hey, Satsuki, wha—?!" flailed Ike.
There were countless bits of and pieces of information Kushida had that she
could use to burn the whole class down. Once a fire began to spread in one
place, she quickly jumped over to something new, letting her words loose.
"Oh, and speaking of love and relationships, Wang-san, you came to me for
advice too, didn't you?" she said.
"P-please stop!" wailed Mii-chan.
"Stop? Stop what? You mean you don't want me to say that you love Hiratakun like crazy, so much that you can't stand it?"
"Wh—?!"
Mii-chan was suddenly forced to hear the name of the object of her affections
said aloud for all to hear in the classroom. Her face immediately went bright
red, and she broke down in tears when she noticed Yousuke looking at her.
"Hmm, think I'll stop with the small ones," Kushida mused. "You realized I've
just been sharing the little secrets, right? After all, not all the things I've heard
are like that. Next, let's hear something a little juicier, shall we? Oh, I've got
one… How about we go with someone like you for starters, Hasebe-san?"
"…Kyou-chan…"
"Oh, stop calling me that. It's not like we're close friends," Kushida sneered.
"You can't even actually make real friends. You just call people by nicknames
because it makes you feel like you're getting to be closer to them. Besides, I'm
sure it's annoying to the people you address that way."
Kushida shifted her focus to Haruka. Shinohara, and Mori and the other girls,
as well as Ike and other people, continued to shout back and forth, trying to
refute things. "I didn't say that." "No, what I really said was…" Everyone was
pressing each other about what was true and what was a lie. The interval period
would be over soon, and a unanimous decision to expel Kushida was drawing
near…but if we continued to carelessly draw this situation out, Kushida would
only continue to expose more and more information.