All or Nothing
By : rainy26541
...
V1 Chapter 5
Epilogue: All or Nothing
Intro
Results of the fifth round of voting:
1 in favour
38 against
Results of the eighth round of voting:
1 in favour
38 against
Results of the tenth round of voting:
1 in favour
38 against
"S-since the vote is not unanimous, we shall move to another interval and vote again once it ends."
Ever since Horikita had convinced Kouenji to vote with the class due to the deal she had made with him, the result of one unknown individual still voting against the rest of the class had continued to rumble through the next hour.
In between one of the rounds, Chabashira had decided to confess to the class that she had also taken part in this exam 11 years ago. It was a risk for her to do so with the invigilator sitting at the back. Luckily, the invigilator did not count Chabashira telling her story as advice and so she got away without being punished.
Even with Chabashira telling her story, the unknown student still voted against the class and doubt began to fill the room. Horikita began asking several students what they were actually voting for, but everyone responded the same way. Kiyotaka tried to support her a bit but just got the same responses from everyone, even with a little light prodding at a certain someone.
Kiyotaka, who had been watching in silence for the moments, had his eyes closed as the situation turned dreary. No one was looking at him, but if anyone was, it would be a little bit obvious to them that he was contemplating something.
[After the next vote, I should probably put the plan into action. There's not much time left so I gotta do it sooner rather than later.] Kiyotaka thought.
Since the start of the fifth question, Class B had about 3 hours and 35 minutes of time left to complete the special exam. And now in the present, that time had drastically reduced to a little less than 2 hours.
This concerningly reducing time meant that it was either now or never that Kiyotaka had to execute the plan he had. If he couldn't do it soon, there would probably never be an opportunity for him to do so.
"It's still the same... Is there really anyone who's voting in favour?"
As Yukimura spoke in disbelief, Kiyotaka opened his eyes and rejoined the escalation. It was not hard to see why Yukimura would ask that question. At this point, the debate had already been exhausted in all its forms. How many times had Horikita and Hirata tried to persuade them?
"If you placed your vote against... please raise your hand."
Calling on those who voted in favour of the motion was futile as it had been tried way too many times already. So, Hirata tried a different method and requested that students who were against the motion to raise their hands. He was determined to find a way through this peacefully, even if it meant proposing meaningless reverse patterns.
Students across the room raised their hands, including Kiyotaka and Hirata himself, and when the last hand raised, there were a total of 38 hands raised. The only one who didn't raise his hand was Kouenji.
"I won't raise my hand, but don't worry, I'm voting against the proposal with everyone else like I promised," Kouenji replied to Hirata, who looked at him anxiously.
"Can I trust you, Kouenji? In fact, I think you're still voting in favour of it."
Sudou still believed that Kouenji was the unknown entity voting against the class, despite the little situation earlier between him and Horikita. With Sudou's and the rest of Class B's view and opinion of Kouenji based on his actions over the last year, it wasn't surprising for them to think this was the case.
"My my. How many times have we had this discussion? You never get tired of it. I already got what I wanted from Horikita-girl so I have no reason to continue to vote against the class. Even I know when the right time is to stop in drastic situations, so get your thoughts about me out of your head, Red Hair-kun."
It was not unreasonable to believe that there were people in this class who continued to lie. There was a student who proudly raised their hand to say they are voting against, and yet they are voting in favour. Kiyotaka narrowed his eyes as he thought of the person who was doing so.
"I don't want to think that any of the people who have just raised their hands are telling lies. But I'm going to go through it again, and this time I'm going to look each one of you in the eye and ask you directly. If any of you are voting in favour, please tell me honestly. No, I want you to vote against the proposal in the next vote."
Ten minutes of scratching feet. Horikita took the time and effort to work with each person. Whether it was Haruka, Airi, Yukimura or Akito. Whether it was Ike, Sudou, Mei-Yu, Matsushita, all of them. Whether it was Kushida, Onodera, Okitani, or Mori, everyone answered by looking straight into Horikita's eyes.
"I am voting against," they said.
Eventually, Horikita reached the end of the class, the last one beside the door where Kiyotaka was currently sitting. Her eyes were a mixture of impatience and anxiety, but they were still filled with fire.
"What about you, Ayanokouji-kun?" She asked him.
"Of course I'm voting against like everyone else."
"Right..."
Even after all the questioning, not a single student admitted they were the one who voted in favour of the proposal. The unknown student was still lying in the shadows.
"It's almost been ten minutes. Go back to your seat, Horikita, and start voting."
"...Right..."
The voting began again once Horikita sat back down again. And the result was:
Results of the eleventh round of voting:
1 in favour
38 against
No change.
"Oh my God! I'm losing my mind! I don't know what's going on!" Scratching his head wildly, Sudou slammed his elbow down hard on the desk.
"Hey, but what are we really going to do? We're running out of time, aren't we?"
Until now, the students had been convinced that the one in favour who persisted would eventually break, similar to the situation in Ichinose's Class C. Horikita and the rest of the group knew that there was no way they could allow time to run out.
Absolutely, almost, surely, probably, maybe, the in favour voter will vote against for fear of running out of time. And just in time, unanimously against, Class B would pass the special exam.
However... The vote in favour persisted and there was no sign of it changing.
Waiting another ten minutes, half an hour or an hour would not change that fact. The only thing that lied ahead was the worst possible route: running out of time. For the past three hours, Horikita had been fighting to avoid this worst possible ending. It wasn't that Horikita's strategy was naive. Even if someone like Kiyotaka or Hirata had done everything in my power to get a unanimous vote in opposition, it would have been impossible.
The protester was fighting to avoid an unanimous vote against the proposal. What was most frightening was that this person did not see running out of time as the biggest negative. Normally, this would not be possible in this particular test. Looking at the special exam objectively, the priorities of the choices are fixed and determined.
With the worst possible route coming closer, Kiyotaka knew that the best option was to do the opposite to the class. In other words, the only way to complete this special exam was to vote in favour. Just like he had planned, it was now time to put his plan into action.
But before that, Kiyotaka decided that he wanted to test everyone before he made his move. He pressed one of the two buttons on his tablet.
"Then we will announce the... results of the vote."
After tallying up the results, Chabashira-sensei was momentarily at a loss for words. On the front screen, the results showed as followed:
Results of the twelfth round of voting:
2 in favour
37 against
"No, no, no! Why? There's more votes for it!"
"It's like I'm having a bad dream..."
After a long period of time, instead of everyone coming together one other person, that being Kiyotaka, changed their vote to in favour. This vote would have had enough of an impact to crack the united opposition of the other 37 students, with the exception of Kouenji.
Horikita immediately understood that this was a vote that had to be passed to avoid running out of time. She went quiet and began roaming through the other options they had available. What should be done if it is not possible to bring the number of votes in favour to zero?
Even without the expulsions, their class would lose 300 class points. With them currently at Class B with 621 class points, assuming the other classes cleared the exam, the difference would be 300 points between theirs and Ryuuen and Ichinose's classes. And if either of them approved the last task unanimously in favour, the difference would be up to 400 class points.
With such a huge gap between them, there would be no guarantee that Horikita's class would be able to catch up even if we have more than a year of school left. It would most likely be hopeless.
"Hey, hey. I guess we'll just have to vote in favour, won't we?"
"What are you talking about? If we do that, someone will have to be expelled, won't they?"
"But, you know, if time runs out, we're all finished, right?"
Realising that continuing to do what they were doing might be futile, some students began questioning whether they should join the 2 people who voted in favour. It was likely that those who were questioning this were those who were confident that they would not be expelled. And likewise, those who continued to follow the original plan of voting against the proposal were those who thought they might get expelled.
Results of the thirteenth round of voting:
5 in favour
34 against
When the thirteenth round of voting ended, the results began to shift. Three more votes turned in favour. Who voted in favour of it? No one knew. The fourteenth round of voting began.
Results of the fourteenth round of voting:
11 in favour
28 against
And gradually, the number of those voting in favour increased. For the first time, the vote in favour swelled to double figures, nearly a third of the class. In the next round of voting, there would likely be even more votes in favour.
With only an hour and a half to go, the deadline was looming over Class B, causing panic among quite a number of the students.
"Well, I want you to wait. If you think it's really a good idea to lean in favour of it here, you're wrong!"
Undeterred by the crisis, Hirata waited for the students to speak up in agreement with him.
"I understand that we have to avoid running out of time. But that doesn't mean that making it unanimous in favour is the solution to the problem, you know?"
"Yes... Going forward, we have to get 39 individuals to be unanimous. It's even harder to get unanimity for than it is to get unanimity against it. We only have an hour and a half left. Do you realise that?"
In order to end this task, Class B would have to decide who will leave the school.
"It's not too late. We should pitch against it, in my opinion."
"I agree. We can't get carried away."
"Above all, you know you shouldn't vote in favour of it; twelve people have voted in favour of it, and not one of them has come forward. Isn't that right?"
Horikita and Hirata kept up their convincing to try and keep the decision to vote against the proposal in unanimity. But it was too late now. Seeing now was the time to put his plan into action, one student in the room stood up.
.
.
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Part 1
"Can I give you my opinion?"
The one who spoke was the one who stood up from his seat at the very back. Kiyotaka grabbed the attention of everyone in the room.
"Eh?"
Horikita was surprised to hear him speak up, as if she hadn't expected him to say anything. In fact, no one probably expected him to say anything.
Kiyotaka glanced at three individuals before returning his eyes to Horikita in front of him.
"Horikita, I voted in favour on the 14th round just now."
This was a lie. Kiyotaka had already voted in favour of the proposal on the 12th round of voting. In order to let his plan go easier, he needed to lie here for better conviction.
"How come Ayanokouji-kun is..."
"Time is running out, and there is no sign of our opposition winning over the one person who kept voting in favour. If this is going to continue on, then there is no other way but to vote in favour of it. I think we all know that by now."
In order to increase the number of people in favour of the proposal, someone had to take on the role of guiding everyone to make the same decision. From the seat beside Kiyotaka, Satou looked anxiously toward him. But it wasn't just Satou who was concerned, most of the other students were too except for a few.
"It's not going to solve the root of the problem. In the end, you're going to get into trouble over who to expel."
"Yes. But we can break out of the rigidity of the situation. Even if we find out who has been voting in favour of the task all along, I don't think they will vote against it. In other words, we can't hope for unanimity against the proposal in the end. But now it is possible to achieve unanimity in favour. And we can bring only the defector to justice, the 38 of us. It's a forceful way to bring about unanimity."
"It is-"
"Justice? Do you think we have the right to judge a student who is just voting in favour?"
Hirata interrupted and countered Kiyotaka's statement. However, Kiyotaka knew that Hirata was only putting on a show. Despite not liking the idea, Hirata was actually on board with the plan.
"I do. If we can't make this unanimous, we won't move up to Class A. I don't think anyone thinks that the students who know that and continue to vote in favour are completely blameless."
"But, but, but that's... closer to the end of the time limit, I'm sure it will be the other way around..."
"Really now? There are only a few more opportunities to vote. Are we going to involve all our classmates in that slim possibility? The less time you have, the more you close off even the way to escape in favour of it. That would mean nipping unanimity in the bud altogether."
It didn't have to be said, but Hirata and the rest knew it. But the biggest hurdle for many students is the fact that they don't want to take the first step.
"It is true that there are many students who are hesitant to vote in favour. That is why we would like to identify the one who continued to vote in favour of the task from the beginning and arrange for them to be expelled from the school. In other words, we will guarantee the safety of the students who are currently voting against it."
Satou, who had been listening to Kiyotaka more than anyone else (minus Kei who had a look similar to Hirata meaning that she knew about this happening), raised her small hand.
"I'm glad to hear that, but it doesn't matter if we don't know who's voting... in favour of it. In the end, when the time is up, we'll just have to come up with a random candidate for expulsion. I'm scared."
"If we can't narrow down the expulsions, once again we have the possibility of a time-out. What we need to avoid now is staying here and not taking any steps forward when there is a chance that we can clear the exam."
To encourage students who are unsure, more information needed to be provided to them to help them make a decision.
"As Horikita said a little bit ago, I know who's been voting in favour."
"Then why don't you just say it here and now? Horikita refused to tell us their name for a long time. Doesn't that mean she doesn't really have any idea? I mean, she's bluffing, or she thought that if she threatened that person, they'd vote against her, right?"
Miyamoto's reasoning was not correct, but it was certainly not unreasonable to think so.
"If you've really got your eye on them, you know, let's all try to convince them."
"I can't do that, which is why I'm doing what I'm doing now. The mention of this person's name will never move a vote in favour of it. They'd rather be stubborn and carry it through to the end. We want to avoid that."
This was both an invitation to agree and a last-minute plea from Kiyotaka. Because if you've been told this much, you certainly know that the only person who can decide is you. If they are afraid of being exposed, only one person may vote against them in the next vote.
"Be prepared, Horikita. Your opponent is trying to defeat you. There is no other way but to fight a battle of hunt or be hunted. And Yousuke. I understand that you don't want anyone to drop out of the class. But if you don't want them to drop out, then you've got to do something about it before the time runs out. Do you understand?"
Leaving Horikita aside, Kiyotaka had met with Hirata and Kei the night before. One of the things they discussed was this possibility, and, in fact, a discussion that Kiyotaka was going to do what he was going to do now. They had a little bit of an argument, but Hirata eventually gave in after hearing Kiyotaka's reasoning and trusting him as much as possible. However, they agreed that they would put up an act so that they could avoid any risk of reputation breaking.
So when Hirata stood up to try and protest, Kiyotaka wasn't surprised. Hirata was a good actor after all.
"But I-"
"The next vote will be the difference between us and our destiny."
"I'm... Yes, you're right. It's... no good troubling the whole class with just my thoughts..."
Keeping up his act with his head hanging down, he then raised his head and, with extreme resolve, took on his own initiative.
"I'm going to vote in favour. And as Kiyotaka-kun has said, I think we should adjust to expel the one who has been voting in favour all along."
The decision of Hirata, the heart of the class, would have changed the situation even further.
"All that's left is you, Horikita. It's time for you to be ready to avoid running out of time."
Time was running out before the next round of voting began.
"Please. Please, just one more time, one more chance to make it unanimous against. If we don't achieve unanimity in opposition at the next vote... I'll be ready."
She really seemed intent to try and stick to voting against the proposal and aim for an ending where no one was expelled. Kiyotaka couldn't blame her. If they really could aim for such an ending, Kiyotaka would have grabbed the opportunity from the getgo like he originally did. But that ending was never going to be achieved with their conditions. Horikita's attempt at trying to reach the ending one more time was futile.
"...Very well..."
Getting what she wanted, the fifteenth round of voting began and the results showed 10 seconds later.
Results of the fifteenth round of voting:
1 in favour
38 against
"Damn it! I knew it was a bad idea!"
This was a dangerous way of pushing the vote that had begun to flow in favour back into opposition. With the time limit looming, even that last strategy to make it unanimous was unsuccessful.
But now everyone has understood. The student who continued to vote in favour of this was prepared to run out of time.
"Horikita, Yousuke. Okay?"
With the results as clear as the afternoon light outside the school building, Horikita had no choice but to agree with Kiyotaka's plan. Horikita nodded with sorrow, giving her approval.
Now that the two main players have made their intentions clear, the majority of votes would be in favour. However, it was easy to imagine that students who were worried that they might be expelled would be hesitant to vote in favour. That is why those who are prepared to throw in their lot with the opposition must also be prepared to do the opposite.
"If the vote remains against the proposal in the next round of voting, we need them to say exactly why, and you already know how painful it is to consume 10 minutes of your time with one vote."
Some students were still complaining about the force of change. It was not a surprise to anyone, even Kiyotaka. However, with barely an hour left on the clock, the path out was completely cut off. It was a challenge to force students who don't have the ability to make decisions to do so.
"Now that it's come to this... we have no choice but to pick and choose who gets expelled."
"Are you seriously going to do this?"
Even though she agreed to this change of pathway, Horikita still stood at the sign and questioned the movement. "Was this change really for the best" was present in her entire expression.
"I don't want to lose any of my classmates either. I don't want to lose anyone, but if we don't expel someone here, the damage to the class will be enormous. We have to avoid that."
Horikita knew that. Everyone knew that. But a lot of them couldn't agree with it. However, with the potential to lose 300 class points and drop all the way back down to Class D again if they didn't make this decision, they had no choice but to listen to Kiyotaka.
Results of the sixteenth round of voting:
39 in favour
0 against
And so when the results of the next voting round were shown, it was unanimous. With this result came a sense of fear and anxiety among all.
"Unanimous in favour, or..." Chabashira muttered to herself as if she were prepared for everything and continued on her way.
Now that it came to this, one student had to be chosen to be expelled. Kiyotaka knew who the only candidate for this proposal should be, but he kept quiet for now as the time to bring them out of hiding was not now.
"Individuals will be identified either by candidacy, which will be allowed only once, or by selecting the name of the student displayed on the tablet and casting a vote of nomination. However, in the absence of a candidate, and if at the end of the interval there is not a majority of nominations, the vote will be taken by random selection as previously explained."
Naturally, hearing Chabashira's explanation, which was spoken in the calmest way she could muster, many students looked at Horikita and Kiyotaka. As the two who knew who the person who continually voted in favour for the proposal, the students believed that they would say who it would be.
"Unanimity by approval has been decided... I would like to at least let them adopt a policy of waiting for this one interval to confess themselves. Depending on the circumstances and the case, I could choose to run out the clock and help that student."
But Horikita kept silent from there and began to listen and bear the complaints from the rest of Class B, not knowing what to do.
Kiyotaka made eye contact with a certain person near to the front. Catching what he was saying, that person nodded and spoke.
"Sensei, you don't mind if I nominate myself, do you?"
"Of course."
"Then, everyone, please vote for me."
Surprising everyone at the moment, Hirata came forward and nominated himself as the specific student just before the time was up.
Student Selection:
Expel Hirata Yousuke from the school.
For
Against
This vote had a different weight to the previous ones. If there were students who vote in favour, they would be directly telling Hirata that they don't care if he disappears, and that they want him to disappear.
Results of the seventeenth round of voting:
6 in favour
32 against
The silence was so great that even the tiniest of gasps and exhales were loud in everyone's ears.
"What are we going to do? Are we really going to be able to expel one of us from here?"
"Time is running out, let me ask you both. Who was the student who voted in favour all along?"
Distressed at being in the current situation, Yukimura tried to hurry the vote along. He and the rest of the class wanted to know who this person was so they could move on quickly.
"Of course I will give you the name of the student I have in mind. But I know it's not as simple as that."
"Isn't it simple? We don't have a choice anymore. Because once we've decided to expel someone, we have to find out who they are as soon as possible, even if it's just one second."
There were still many students who regret and are anxious about having chosen to vote in favour. That's why people like Yukimura want to hear an admittance of this certain person, so they could not feel as guilty having chosen the option they really didn't want to choose.
"The next vote, if time goes on like this, someone will be chosen at random, right..?"
It was not a surprise that Sudou was unsettled. Even being the most liked, friendly and supportive person in the class, Hirata still got six votes in favour.
"Don't worry, Ken. I'll vote against for you... so you can definitely protect me too, okay?"
"Naturally, Kanji. That's right. If we protect each other, we'll be absolutely fine, won't we...?"
"Aah~"
Class B were losing their cool. A faint cry was heard and the students turned over to the occupant. She held her mouth and hid her eyes, but it was clear what the voice was saying.
"Kikyou-chan... are you okay?"
Mei-Yu rushed over and put her hand on Kushida's back, worried about the noise she made.
"I'm sorry... I don't know how I got into this mess. I started thinking about that and I couldn't stop feeling regret..."
"That's true for me, too. But if someone doesn't drop out... we're not going to..."
"I regret my choice so much now, I should have kept voting against until the end, no matter what..."
"That's what we wanted to do. But we don't have a choice. If we run out of time, it's minus 300 class points."
To justify his vote in favour, Yukimura explained that this was inevitable.
"But that doesn't erase the regret I feel for voting in favour of when I was told to do so..!"
Having confessed that she regretted having played a part in voting in favour of the proposal, the same feeling Kushida professed began to show itself more strongly in the other students.
"Don't be so hard on yourself, Kushida-chan. Because they're all the same... aren't they?"
Sudou and Ike also comforted her.
"I'm so frustrated... I'm so frustrated..."
Tears rolled down her cheeks. Wiping them away, she looked up, her body trembling.
"I think we actually had a chance to make it unanimous in opposition. If we had persisted and kept trying to persuade them, I think those who were voting in favour would have understood in the end..."
"Maybe, but time was-"
"I certainly understand what Horikita-san and Ayanokouji-kun were saying. We just have to avoid running out of time, don't we? Yeah, I know that. But even if we were to be penalised, we should have been a class where no one was left out, shouldn't we?"
Kushida let out feelings that'd been building up for a long time.
"No one should be expelled. No one should be expelled from school because of their academic or athletic ability, it's a small thing. You can't decide who should be expelled just because of that."
Kushida was even willing to cover up for those who were in favour of the situation that led to it.
"But, if that's the case, how do you decide who to expel?"
"Then why don't we just... have a raffle?"
"No, you can't. If you expel anyone because of that... I'm sure everyone won't all be happy."
Wiping away another flood of tears with her fingertips, she continued, putting her hand to her chest, Kushida appealed to her classmates.
"I, for one, am prepared to take criticism. And I think... Horikita-san, who was the leader of this special exam, and Ayanokouji-kun... who urged people to vote in favour, should take responsibility for that."
Kiyotaka raised his eyebrows at Kushida's statement. He wasn't actually surprised by this, rather, he was expecting it. Kushida was making a move, a move that undoubtedly made her obvious to not just him but to a few others. However, the rest of the class did not see the bigger picture of Kushida's statement or her intention.
"I feel so bad about mentioning their names that I almost hate myself. But I can't let time run out. Someone has to carry the weight of this... So, I'll take the role of the hated one..."
"You've got to be kidding me!"
The one who complained and objected to Kushida's idea was neither Kiyotaka nor Horikita, but rather was the romantic partner of the former.
"Why should Kiyotaka have to be expelled? We were about to run out of time, so you just said let's put it in the same disgusting way and agree. Where's the responsibility in that?"
"Yeah. Yes, I agree. I know exactly what you mean, Karuizawa-san. I honestly think it's wrong to even name names now... but you can't move forward if you don't."
"I'm not going to vote for Kiyotaka's expulsion. At that point, you know he's never going to be expelled, right?"
"Wait, Karuizawa. That's a bit selfish."
"Huh? Didn't Hondou-kun just promise to vote against you and Onizuka-kun? It's the same thing."
"Erm, but I never said let's make it unanimous in favour of it..."
"You're so selfish. If I don't declare my intentions, how am I going to avoid being expelled? You won't be able to go to Class A because your time is up? So what? Kiyotaka is everything to me, I don't care if I'm in Class A, C or D."
Kei understandably vented her anger relentlessly. With her boyfriend being put on the plank, she wanted to ensure he would stick by her and gain the life he wanted here. The troubles Kiyotaka faced in the White Room made Kiyotaka more deserving of that and she wanted to be able to provide that to him at this school. She could not let him get expelled. However...
"Stop, Kei. What Kushida is saying is correct."
"But... but!"
Kiyotaka intervened, causing Kei to stop. In truth, while Kei was actually angry, just like Hirata's event earlier, this was a planned structure to ensure Kei was acting normal and not actually in full kahoots with Kiyotaka's plan. Kei glared at Kushida with a frustrated expression both of what she said just now and of her true face behind the mask.
"Let me tell you all though, I won't support Suzune's expulsion. It may not be ideal with the whole unanimous thing, but it's not Suzune's fault. And I feel the same way about Ayanokouji. I blame the bastard who sat on his hands and knees and didn't come forward. Do you think that we can go up to Class A without Suzune or Ayanokouji in the future? Never!"
It wasn't surprising that Sudou was professing he would protect Horikita. What was surprising though was that, just like Kei, he was willing to protect Kiyotaka too despite the current situation and despite going against Kushida.
"Certainly... decided that Horikita should be given protection. And as Kiyotaka's friend, I don't really want to say too much as it will be biassed. But in the end, if we fail this special test, the action itself will be meaningless; wouldn't it be the same if we lost 350 class points?"
Yukimura tried to bring an objective point of view, stating the reasoning to why Kushida mentioned what she mentioned. However, he also wanted to keep Horikita and Kiyotaka in the class.
"I'm sure you can reel them in with Suzune!"
"This school is not that sweet. The 300 class points that Kouenji got in the desert island exam was a miracle. If you exclude that, how long did it take us to finally reach the class points we have now? It's not very realistic, is it? Horikita is a big hole to fill, but it's not worth losing 350 class points to keep her."
What he said was generally true, and even Sudou couldn't completely refute it. When he was about to say something, Haruka intervened, causing even Kushida to be caught off guard.
"I can't agree with Kiyopon or Horikita's expulsion from the school right now. Because I think they should be listened to first, not because of my personal relationship. Because the worst person is the person who kept voting in favour of it, as Sudou-kun said, right?"
"I'm sorry. You're in the middle of a conversation, but I have to stop you there. You're ten minutes to decide who you want to vote out of the school is running out. If you can't decide who, then we'll have to have a random vote."
Chabashira interrupted the class's discussion to warn them of the impending time limit.
"Right. We're running out of time to vote. You all have to do it. Please nominate me for expulsion."
"Oi, hey Suzune! What do you think you're doing?"
"If I'm going to put one vote between us anyway, I want to make sure it's the right one. Because I want to see how many of my classmates want me to leave the school."
Making a tough decision, Horikita threw herself up for nomination. She likely did this not only because she wanted to see how many wanted her gone but also knowing that she wouldn't be expelled.
"Then... in the following event, we will start a 60-second poll for Horikita Suzune."
Student Selection:
Expel Horikita Suzune from the school.
For
Against
As soon as the question appeared, the vote began. And after 30 seconds of voting, the results showed and they appeared interesting to Kiyotaka.
Results of the eighteenth round of voting:
16 in favour
22 against
Surprisingly, there were a lot of in favour votes for expelling Horikita. Kiyotaka knew who one of them was, but he was slightly baffled by the high number. Luckily, there were still lots of people who considered her important and were against her expulsion - Sudou clearly being one of them and Kouenji, based on his recent deal with her, being another.
"You're all idiots! All those who voted in favour, raise your hands or I'll kill you!"
Sudou stood up irritated, as if he thought that only a few votes at most would be in favour.
"Stop it, Sudou-kun."
"I can't stop!"
"You're only wasting our time with your fussing. Let's talk more constructively."
"Horikita-san is right, Sudou-kun. Unanimity is the ironclad rule for this special exam. Even if there are thirty-seven votes in favour, as long as you keep opposing it, Horikita-san won't be expelled."
Hirata and Horikita luckily convinced Sudou that there was no need to vent his anger anywhere as it just wasn't worth it, preventing any more escalation from happening. Horikita would still be around as long as he and a few others kept opposing it, and clearly there were many who were opposed to her expulsion.
However, the atmosphere in Class B was starting to get worse. With the fact that they needed to expel someone from the class within the next 45-50 minutes still remaining in the exam. If they couldn't figure out the person to expel soon, their hopes and dreams of reaching Class A would be nothing but a pipedream.
[It's time.] Kiyotaka thought.
48 minutes remained until the special exam ended.
.
.
.
Part 2
"There isn't much time left in this special exam, so I think I should probably give you all the name of the student who kept voting in favour since the beginning of this question. But before I do so, I just want to make a suggestion."
"A suggestion?"
Kiyotaka suddenly spoke up again like he did previously, causing everyone's attention to return back to him. It was Kushida who responded to him. He looked at her straight in the eyes while explaining.
"Ah. I'm going to give you a name now, because I don't think this is going to be just a statement. Because if I say the wrong person, reputational damage won't be the end of the story."
"That's... for sure."
"That's why it's not a proper statement, and on the flip side, if it turns out that I said the wrong person, then I'll take the blame and I'll be expelled."
"Hey, Kiyotaka!"
Understandably, Kei immediately tried to retort. However, this was just an act. Even though she didn't like the idea, Kei trusted Kiyotaka that he would come through with his plan in the end.
Hearing that Kiyotaka was willing to take responsibility, the class turned into uproar. It wasn't just Kei who appeared against this, Satou, Matsushita, Haruka, Airi, Akito and a few others also appeared to be against the idea, but Kushida and Kiyotaka kept talking, not allowing them to speak.
"Are you sure you're okay? Ayanokouji-kun... I don't want any of my classmates to be expelled and Ayanokouji is one of them..."
Kiyotaka narrowed his eyes seeing the surprise act on Kushida's face, but kept his own act on as to not raise suspicion too much.
"Thanks for your concern, Kushida. But I'm fine."
"You say you're going to leave school, but Karuizawa-san and a few others are against Ayanokouji-kun's vote, right? That would mean..."
"I won't let that happen. Taking responsibility also means stopping those opposing votes. If the time comes, I will make Kei and the others vote yes. Do you understand?"
He directed the last part at Kei and everyone else who was getting ready to protect him. Those in question heard the slight authority in his tone, making them reluctantly agree.
"I understand and accept to a certain extent what Kushida said. I was the one who led the vote to the choice of expelling someone, so of course, I should take some of the blame. However, someone has been stubbornly voting in favour since the very start and I feel that person should take the blame in its entirety."
"Let's face it, there's a student in this class who tried to sneak in a good deal of anonymity by having someone drop out, isn't there? Just like Kiyotaka said, that means this person should take responsibility."
Kei joined in to protect Kiyotaka again, and soon after, more students began to agree with Kiyotaka and Kei.
"You've prepared yourselves... haven't you?"
Kushida's anxious eyes stared at Kiyotaka as she tried to make one last confirmation. Kiyotaka looked back at her from his seat and replied.
"As long as you are naming names, you have to be prepared to pay for it. Above all, I can speak out and risk my own expulsion because I believe I am as close to 100 percent certain as I can be. In fact, I am pretty much 100 percent certain."
"I see, okay. Then I'll believe Ayanokouji-kun."
With that said, Kushida's eyes were so intense as they stared at Kiyotaka that it was as if she was saying "Say it if you dare, you motherfucker. Come at me."
"Right."
The class braced themselves for the reveal of the name as Kiyotaka closed his eyes for a couple of seconds. He then reopened his eyes and stared directly at his target with the same intense eyes that said target stared at him with.
"Drop the act, Kushida. It's you who has been voting against the rest of the class since the very beginning. It's you who wants to expel someone in this class. No. More specifically, you want to expel two people in this class."
Silence. Not a single sound was made when Kiyotaka made his announcement with a slightly harsh tone.
[Kushida is a lost cause now. This is going to raise some uproar from a lot of people, but I'm sure with how this plan will go that Kushida will break and we will expel her... At least in theory...]
He then stole a glance at Horikita, who had a look of shock not because of the fact that it was Kushida who was doing this but because Kiyotaka was actually announcing it was her despite their little deal.
[Sorry Horikita. I understand why you can't agree with this, but it's too late now. Kushida did not back down. She was determined to get you or I kicked out of the school for this task. I've decided that Kushida can't be rehabilitated anymore, so I'm getting rid of her.]
"W-w-what...?"
Kushida's voice leaked out, incomprehensible. This was probably a sentiment shared by almost all the students, not just her.
"Don't try to act surprised. You probably knew this was coming, so drop the act. It was you who, when urged to vote against it, stubbornly continued to vote for it."
As he continued his slightly harsh tone, their classmates continued staying silent. However, a lot of them looked like they were ready to slap Kiyotaka and start up a fight since their "angel" was being accused and harshly insulted.
"W-what...? A-Ayanokouji-kun... could it be... could it be because... I said that Horikita-san and Ayanokouji-kun should take responsibility that... you think it's me?"
Seeing Kushida's tears welling up with grief (although an act), Hondou hurried to defend her by glaring at Kiyotaka.
"No, I don't care how many times you say it, Ayanokouji, it can't be Kushida-chan..! Just because you helped us gain a number of class points during the Talent Show and allowed us to reach Class B doesn't mean you can just accuse Kushida-chan of all people! You're just saying it because of a grudge!"
"A grudge? It has nothing to do with that," Kiyotaka said and then turned back to face Kushida. "I've been thinking about it since before you named me, or even since the first vote on the fifth task."
"An accusation, eh? Well, of course it would seem so in the circumstances."
In everyone's eyes, it just felt like Kiyotaka was just making a random excuse to make up for almost being expelled. Hondou's anger was justifiable. However, Kiyotaka continued speaking.
"There's no evidence anywhere that she kept voting against it. Of course not, because this is an anonymous vote. But like I said, I am one hundred percent confident that I'm not wrong, and I'm going to show you that you're the one who kept voting in favour. Do you have any objections?"
"I can't tell you how awful it is. I was the first one to name you two... but I was prepared for it. I've decided to sacrifice myself to protect my class, even if I have to face lies and slander."
Whatever Kiyotaka was going to say, they are all lies. This was what Kushida was trying to portray to the rest of the class. By putting up that line of defence, she could ensure that her supporters would not leave her.
The rest of the class stayed silent as they allowed the two to continue engaging their argument.
"Let me explain why I believe Kushida is the traitor. It is because there is a student in this class that she really wants to expel. Of course, you won't believe me, but hear me out. The person she wants to expel is Horikita and myself, who she herself mentioned by name."
Many people were confused about what was being said. This is a debate in which not a single mistake can be made.
"I gave you those two names, so that's how it's going to be, huh..." Kushida whispered, no one hearing her.
"From the very first day she entered this school, Kushida has always recognized Horikita as a hindrance more than anyone else."
Even if she didn't like it, Kushida had to understand that she was about to be exposed in every area, not just in being the traitor for this exam. At this point of time, there would be no way for her to continue to play the role of a pretty, pitiful girl.
"Kushida. You have something in common with Horikita that your other classmates don't, don't you?"
"What? You mean, common ground...? Um... Oh! Are you saying that we're from the same middle school?"
No one would have ever heard of such a story before, so it wasn't a surprise to see everyone shocked about the information at first hand. But there was more that Kushida was hiding and gradually as time would go along, Kiyotaka would continue to expose her.
"Yes. I don't think a single one of these students knew about that, did they?"
The person in question, Horikita, was now staring straight at the podium, her face expressionless in contrast to the rest of the class. Kiyotaka kept a watchful eye on her as well with small glances here and then.
"Well, wait? It's true that I never told anyone about it, but I just never had the chance to talk about it. It was a reasonably big school, and we never even had the same class. It took me a long time to confirm with Horikita-san that we went to the same school..."
Kushida claimed there was no way she would have wanted to expel her from the start. At this point, some of the students, unable to see the situation with Kushida, took action.
"Come on, Ayanokouji. You said you could tell who voted in favour, so I just shut up and listened. That's impossible."
It was Ike who denied Kiyotaka's answer, and his voice soon spread across the classroom,
"That's right. What Ayanokouji-kun is saying is ruinous and bitterly unfair."
"What's with the habit of leading people to agree with you, and then only mentioning Kushida-san's name when you're pissed off?"
"In the first place, why are we talking about wanting to expel her just because they were in the same middle school? I mean, if that's the case, did Ayanokouji also go to the same junior high school as the two of you?"
The usual questions popped up from classmates. The grievances that erupt multiply from one to two, two to three. One friend after another appears without asking. There can be no doubt that this is a powerful weapon in the hands of Kushida.
"D-don't blame him, guys. I'm sure Ayanokouji-kun doesn't want to talk about it either. I know what it's like to be in a situation like this and want to blame someone else..."
She picked up the words of her classmates exquisitely and pretended to protect Kiyotaka while setting him up at the same time..
"You're too kind, Kikyou. You can't let him say whatever he wants."
"Kushida, are you really that kind of a character? You can't, right? There's something wrong with you, Ayanokouji. She's too kind."
"Maybe in your eyes. She has built herself up to be an extremely kind and trustworthy girl, friend and classmate. There is no denying that. But none of you have been exposed to Kushida's true nature."
Everyone was silent for a moment upon hearing this piece of information.
"Kikyou-chan's true nature?"
"One... more minute or so and the interval will be over."
In the middle of the discussion, Chabashira informed them of the interval time running out. They needed to make a choice now on who to vote to expel next.
"So, what are we going to do, next vote?"
"That's the only way to get a vote on... for now, Ayanokouji."
"Don't..."
It was understandable that the class would begin to turn their fangs and votes to Kiyotaka, even if he had protection on his side. However, someone stopped the class from voting for him, and surprisingly, it was not Kei, Haruka, Satou, Airi or anyone who was likely on his side that did this, but the very person Kiyotaka was targeting - Kushida.
"Enough is enough... I can't take it anymore, my heart can't take it any more..."
"K-Kushida-san?"
"If I only said what I really meant, it would be the same all the time. I don't want Horikita-san or Ayanokouji-kun to be expelled. I even made Ayanokouji-kun lie about me by mentioning two names... I don't want to have to go through this bitter, painful argument anymore! So... I'll drop out... and then we'll all be back to normal again, right?"
Due to the nature of this special exam, a student who volunteered to be a candidate for expulsion would make passing the exam easier, just like Hirata, Horikita, and, to the extent of telling Kiyotaka only, Chabashira.
"Are you sure, Kushida? Once you say it, you can't take it back."
"Yes, it's fine... Do you all agree that I should be expelled? Please..."
When Kushida's name was selected with the word, the task is displayed on the tablet. The class was upset by her unexpected candidacy.
Student Selection:
Expel Kushida Kikyou from the school
For
Against
Results of the nineteenth round of voting:
8 in favour
30 against
Unsurprisingly, the results of the vote casted on Kushida was in overwhelming opposition. However, there were a few that voted in favour of the vote. Kiyotaka was one of them, and he knew that Kei and, surprisingly, Hirata were the other two. From the glance that Kouenji threw at him, Kiyotaka knew that he was also one of the 8 people who voted in favour. And there was likely one more person he knew who voted with them, which brought the number to 5.
However, to Kiyotaka's surprise, there were 3 people unaccounted for that voted with him and the rest.
"Huh... why?"
"There's no way they're going to expel you for this. See?"
Focusing back on the matter at hand, Kiyotaka shook his head as two students began riveting in their victory of protecting Kushida, causing the rest to do the same.
"Ayanokouji. I honestly think it's disgusting that you're attacking Kushida-chan just so you don't get expelled yourself."
"Next is Ayanokouji-kun's turn, right?"
As more accusations kept getting thrown at Kiyotaka, and nods of agreement in voting for his expulsion ranged across the room, a lone voice grabbed the attention of everyone as she spoke from directly next to Kiyotaka.
"Um... I don't think Ayanokouji-kun would just pounce on Kushida just because he has a grudge on her. He's not that type of person."
Satou gained the attention of all the student's surprised gazes as she talked. Even Kiyotaka was surprised that she was defending him.
Seeing that their gazes were asking "are you on Ayanokouji's side and want to expel Kushida", Satou continued speaking.
"Don't get me wrong. I'm not all for fully believing his claims of Kushida-san, but Ayanokouji-kun wouldn't lie either. He doesn't do things without a complete reason. I trust Ayanokouji-kun. And with Kushida-san, as much as I like her, there are some people who she may not get along with."
Satou then turned to Kiyotaka and asked him with pleading eyes, eyes that really sought out for both an answer and for his longing.
"Ayanokouji-kun. You said earlier that Kushida-san's true nature is something else. Can you explain that further, everyone won't just suddenly believe it."
Kiyotaka concluded that from the way Satou was acting, she was likely one of the other 3 people who voted with him on Kushida's expulsion. He needed to respect her determination to help him, so he answered with a nod.
"Yes. Indeed it is hard to believe. If I was like the rest of you, I wouldn't have believed myself either. I'll get to her true nature in a bit, but I want to mention that Kushida has tried to get both me and Horikita out of this school before."
He started off with that, but was immediately interrupted by another student.
"In the first place, has there ever been any attempt by Kushida-san to expel Horikita-san or you? If she really wanted to expel her, she would have taken action long ago, wouldn't she?"
"It's not easy to get a classmate expelled from school. It needs to be done at the right time and with certain circumstances. Need I remind you all about the Class Poll exam from last year?"
Directly mentioning the name of the exam allowed the students to remember the situation, and they immediately grimaced upon coming to a realisation. Satou answered for everyone.
"Ah, the Class Poll exam... If I remember correctly, that's when Yamauchi-kun and Kushida-san..."
Last year, in their third semester, nearing the end of their year, Class B and the rest of the first year (at the time) had a vote exam that resulted in a student being expelled from each class. In the end, Yamauchi, from their class, was expelled from the school, but one of the people who used Yamauchi to try and push the class to expel Kiyotaka was Kushida.
Once Satou mentioned that, the memory appeared fresh in everyone's minds and they stayed silent, allowing Kiyotaka to continue speaking.
"You all aren't going to say that was a coincidence, right? We've had two similar exams since then, and both times I've been a target of expulsion, and both times it's Kushida who's involved. It's too good to be a coincidence."
They all couldn't refute Kiyotaka's point. It did seem too righteous to be a coincidence, but their minds still believed that it was just a coincidence that Kushida was there. Seeing the question plastered all over their faces, Kiyotaka continued before they had the time to ask it.
"I know what you're all going to say. Why would she try then of all times? Why is she trying to get Ayanokouji Kiyotaka out in the first place? Well, let me tell you that it has to do with the fact that Kushida thought I was on her side. She thought I was her ally," He then turned to Kushida and continued with a harsh tone. "You didn't think I was going to expose your whole school life here now, did you?"
"An ally?"
"Oh. Am I saying that wrong? Kushida."
"I'm the one, what should I do, Ayanokouji-kun...? What is the right way to answer?"
In this situation, all Kushida could do was deny or ask back.
"Give me proof, Ayanokouji. If you're going to blame Kushida-chan any more, you're going to need it."
It was Hondou who came out in force and said that. It appeared that he had extraordinarily strong feelings for Kushida. Kiyotaka turned to him and answered.
"That's true. It may be pointless to continue this story without evidence. Very well, I'll tell you why Kushida thought I was an ally and why she wants to expel me."
The time was now. Kiyotaka stared directly back at Kushida.
"It was a long time ago. Remember what I said about Kushida's true nature? I happened to witness it one very night. Because of that, Kushida threatened to expel me from school, and so I made a deal with her which involved me giving her half of my monthly private points in exchange for her not expelling me."
"Huh...?"
"What...?"
No one had ever imagined that such a story would be told, and it came as a slight surprise to Kushida's defenders. Furthermore, it appeared that even Kushida hadn't expected this to come out, as she appeared at a loss for words.
In this situation, she couldn't deny his claim due to the fact that transactions were tracked. They would be given their phones back after the exam, and Chabashira could even check it during the exam now, meaning that the evidence was available. On the other hand, she couldn't outright admit it because then she would let him win. Seeing that she was silent and in a difficult situation, Kiyotaka moved in for the kill.
"How is it? Can you tell me that you haven't received a single point?"
"That's..." Seeing Kiyotaka turn to Chabashira, Kushida immediately answered. "S-sure... I receive private points every month from Ayanokouji-kun..."
Of course, there was scepticism as to whether the teacher, Chabashira, was fully aware of the transfer of points between individuals at any time, and whether she would leak personal information, but Kushida was not willing to take that risk.
"But, but the... reason is totally different! Ayanokouji-kun asked me to keep them for him, so I didn't even use... one point, of course?"
In this situation, there were only one or two ways to justify the fact that you receive half of your classmates' private points every month: either because they asked you to keep them, as Kushida said, or because they gave them to you for free.
If you say that it was given to you unilaterally, as in the case of the latter, you will have to make up for it, so they almost asked you to keep it. That's how it goes.
"You don't sound too confident with that explanation. I didn't give them to her to hold for me. The truth is I was paying the price, on the condition that I wouldn't be expelled."
"That's a lie!"
"A lie, huh? But, Kushida, when you signed this contract with me, you said you recorded it for your own insurance, didn't you? If that recording comes out of your phone or something, you won't be able to get away with it."
"R-recording? I don't know anything about that..."
She was quite overwhelmed, yet she still did her best to deny it. The recording she made at the time was probably saved somewhere, but apparently not on her phone. One wouldn't carry a risky recording, even if it was completely convenient to them. But that didn't matter to Kiyotaka
"It's the same thing if you're hiding the recordings somewhere unknown. We signed this contract in February this year. Did you really think I wouldn't have a recording as well? We were in my environment so of course I would have in case I needed to use it as a weapon if something goes wrong. You probably didn't think about that at the time."
She looked at Kiyotaka with her eyes opened wide. It appeared she really didn't think he would record that conversation.
"I've listened to the recording several times and I remember every word. 'I'm going to give you half of my private points moving forward.' I think that's how I started."
"That's a lie. I've never heard of such a thing."
"'That's certainly not a bad offer. But I'm sorry, I'm not in need of private points. I guess more money is better than less, but I have enough.' So replied Kushida."
"I don't know..."
"If you want, I can ask Chabashira-sensei to bring my phone now."
"I don't mind. But you can't do it, we're in the middle of a special exam, remember?"
"If you use your mobile phone, it can lead to cheating, so it must be confiscated. However, you can leave all the operation of the phone to Chabashira-sensei and just ask her to play back the recorded data. Because this way there is no room for cheating."
Of course, this was all said on a whim. Kiyotaka wasn't sure if they could be granted such conditions during this special exam. However, Kushida's anxiety was so great that she could not help but look at Chabashira in front of her.
"You wouldn't like it if I had Chabashira-sensei bring in mobile phones. All the hard work you've done to cover it up will be for naught. But you already know, don't you? I'm not going to stop. Oh, I remember another thing you said back then. 'You may have enough to spend as pocket money, but you can never have too much in the case of an emergency.'"
There was definitely a big change in Kushida, who used to be all about being a victim. She had now reached the point where it was impossible for her to continue pretending to be an angel in this class.
"Oh, shut up already..."
A classmate gulped. They'd heard a voice that they couldn't understand, wondering who had just said that. The only way to stop her from saying any more is to show her true colours. But if she reveals her true nature, everything will be destroyed.
"'You know what Chabashira-sensei said. Private points are for your own protection-'"
"Shut up, shut up, shut up!"
Kushida's words of rejection and obstruction were spoken in a higher tone than before. It was evident that she was breaking, which was what Kiyotaka wanted. She just needed a final push, so Kiyotaka continued.
"'That proposal. No matter how you look at it, Ayanokōji-kun is at a disadvantage. If you're saying that this is a crisis where Ayanokouji-kun is going to drop out of school, I can still understand that, can't you?' This was the conversation between me and Kushida before the deal. If you can listen to the same audio that I just said here in front of everyone, it should solve everything."
"That's enough!"
Kushida shouted to silence me.
The whole situation started in first-year when Ichinose Honami had become vulnerable. Kiyotaka knew Kushida would have plenty of dirt on her classmates, so when he asked her for help, he'd offered to give up private points both for protection and the deal. There was no doubt the conversation that preceded the offer, wherein he and Horikita were demanded to drop out of the school, would remain intact.
"Please tell me exactly where in the conversation you want me to leave it. So that myself and the whole class can understand." Kiyotaka said with raised eyebrows.
The others, hoping that there was a mistake, just watched Kushida anxiously.
"Sorry..." Briefly, Kushida muttered an apology.
"S-sorry for what, Kushida-chan?"
It was Hondou who anxiously asked this question.
"Indeed, I promised not to fight with Ayanokouji-kun in exchange for half of his private points. That's true, so..."
It wasn't an apology for Kiyotaka, rather an apology to the class for lying to them.
"And now I don't think about it anymore! I really want to be friends with Horikita-san and Ayanokouji-kun. I've never voted in favour of expelling someone...!"
Kushida stopped and raised her voice in an attempt to hang onto the complete anonymity of the name.
The way her classmates looked at her was very different from the warmth they had shown her in the past. Even if I didn't have all the students completely in my favour, it was no longer possible for her to go about her daily life as before. She seems to understand that completely.
"I wonder if the truth is that Ayanokouji-kun kept voting in favour?"
"What does that mean?"
"Ayanokouji-kun wanted to expel me from school. So he took action to force the vote to be unanimous in favour of it. Because it's strange... that he's always quiet and unassertive, but spontaneously moves to expel people from school now."
Even though there was a bit of distrust growing towards Kushida, she tried to shift the blackness from herself to Kiyotaka, something which he already knew was going to happen. Kushida brushed her hair and turned to someone else.
"Hey, Karuizawa-san."
"What?"
"You're dating Ayanokouji, but did you know that when we first started school, Ayanokouji was desperately trying to get me to go out with him?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
Kei was different from the others. Compared to everyone else, she is more calm and objective, but even she has weaknesses. When love is involved, it can affect how a person thinks, and Kei is no different. When it was mentioned that her boyfriend was a candidate for expulsion earlier, she aggressively defended him at her own risk. This was why Kushida must have been able to see the flaws in Kei's heart.
However, Kiyotaka had expected this and warned Kei about it. She appeared ready for what Kushida was about to say, even if she was a little surprised.
"You even touched my breasts in the dark when I didn't want you to, didn't you?"
"Ha...? Breasts!? What do you mean breasts?"
"I knew you didn't know. He did such a terrible thing to me as soon as we started school."
A feeling of disgust begins to spread among the girls, including the boys who have taken a liking to Kushida.
"I tried to gently tell him to stop right then and there, but I was... too scared to do anything about it..."
"That's impossible! Kiyotaka is not like that! He would never touch a girls breasts, let alone someone he's not dating, without permission! When he touches mine, he asks me if it's alright and I always let him touch mine!" Kei shouted without thinking.
However, she immediately realised what she said and upon seeing the shocked faces of everyone in the class, she blushed even redder than a tomato.
"N-nevermind... Forget what you just heard..."
Though he was grateful that she defended him and since the disgusted expressions lightened slightly, Kiyotaka wished she didn't outright admit part of their sex life out there. He was thankful that she didn't admit that they had sex often, though they had told Sudou about it not too long ago after he caught them exiting Kiyotaka's room.
"Well, moving on from that, I know it sounds self-serving, but there is no such thing as a fact that I touched Kushida's breasts."
"Yeah! Either way, Kiyotaka is innocent!"
Finally composing herself, Kei defended Kiyotaka again. But that didn't stop Kushida nor did it stop the gazes of disgust at Kiyotaka.
"That's true, you have to say that. But really, Ayanokouji-kun touched my breasts."
"Kushida. I hate to say this, but isn't that unsightly?"
"It's not the same as the recording you made, but I have proof too. I have a uniform with Ayanokouji-kun's fingerprints all over it, and I've kept it as it was at the time. You know what will happen if I submit it to...?"
Just as Kiyotaka had mentioned the recording of the deal they made, Kushida pulled the same stunt on him. However, instead of feeling nervous over the practice, Kiyotaka just sighed, causing Kushida's confident expression to be confused.
"What's with the sigh!?"
"Kushida. Even if what you said about the accusation of me touching your breasts is true, the evidence you are mentioning is too weak to support such a claim. You state that the incident happened when we first started here, but it's been over a year since then. Everyone knows that fingerprints disappear after a certain time. They don't stick to clothing forever, even if you try your best to preserve it as long and best as you can."
"..."
His explanation was flawless. He didn't admit his guilt with Kushida's accusation, rather, threw down the evidence that would be possible to support her claim. As her accusation was on breast groping and not actual rape, there wasn't much evidence she could use against him. And with her only evidence being immediately shut down, all Kushida could do was stay silent.
"Plus, if there had really been such damage in the first place, I should have been pursued immediately. Sexual assault and possible rape is too serious not to report, especially if you want me expelled."
"Why... Why... Why... Why...!?"
Kushida got out of her seat and stormed over to Kiyotaka. She grabbed him by the collar and glared at him intensely. Even in the face of a furious Kushida, Kiyotaka kept his composure and spoke with the same harsh tone along with his usual apathetic expression.
"At one point, you were working with Ryuuen to get me and Horikita expelled. Isn't that right?"
"Why, why, why!?" She shouted, her grip on his collar getting stronger. "Why are you betraying me?! You promised not to be hostile, remember?"
Kiyotaka raised an eyebrow. He almost thought that Kushida was actually stupider than she actually was.
"Of course, I promised. But a promise, or rather, a deal, doesn't just go one way. Remember the deal was you wouldn't attack me as long as I didn't antagonise you and paid you the points for my protection? Since that deal, you've broken it and attempted to attack me on three occasions. If anything, you shouldn't be surprised that I'm not keeping my end of the deal anymore if you aren't doing the same. You're such a selfish and stupid girl, Kushida Kikyou."
For the past year and a half, Kushida has been steadily building up bonds with her friends. And now it all came crashing down. With no words coming from anyone, Kushida began to slow down.
"Ah... ah... no, hey. Not anymore."
Kushida's face contorted in disgust at her own disgrace, and she looked resigned, as if she had realised everything. But she soon regained her composure and, with a smile on her face, released her hand from Kiyotaka's chest.
"Fufu... I've been a fool, haven't I? That deal was a mistake..."
The angry demeanour disappeared at once, and words of indifference came out of Kushida.
"I thought I knew that Ayanokouji-kun was a tough opponent, but I still didn't think he would betray me here. It's unexpected, it's unexpected."
"Wait it's, lies Kikyou-chan... what Ayanokouji-kun just told us... he's lying, right?"
"Lies? Didn't you just hear Satou-san and Karuizawa-san? Ayanokouji-kun never lies. I'm sorry, but it's all true."
"Such a... Why...?"
"Some things have to be protected at all costs. Don't you understand? How could you possibly know? Oh, my God, I'm done with everything."
It appeared that, minus the few that knew, the rest of Class B couldn't believe their guardian angel was actually a traitor. Kushida shrugged her shoulders, unconcerned with her own predicament.
"Yes. I couldn't stand Horikita-san and Ayanokouji-kun. I just couldn't forgive the two of them for knowing my secret that I kept hidden. I've been trying to get the chance to expel them for a long time. Just like Ayanokouji-kun said, I kept voting in favour of this question to get Horikita-san to drop out. I knew it would be extremely difficult to do so, but I couldn't resist the urge."
With all of her nature, secrets and position exposed, it would be natural that the class would vote her out. However, Kiyotaka knew that there a few students who were still conflicted on doing that. Kiyotaka needed Kushida to do one more thing, one more push to ensure she would be expelled.
"You can't make Horikita or I leave school. That's too bad, isn't it?"
"I guess it is. Haha... In the next vote I will be expelled. This class will get class points because of my sacrifice, huh? Good for you guys. You guys will be one step closer to reaching Class A. I can finally say I contributed something even better than taking the credit on your behalf for you buying those damn exam answers at the beginning of first year for the class, Ayanokouji-kun."
"Wait... What did you say-"
The student who questioned what Kushida said was ignored as Kiyotaka and Kushida kept talking.
"There's nothing left for you to turn around."
"Fufu, you're probably right. But..."
She brought her face close to Kiyotaka's neck, scaring Kei a little bit. She then whispered coldly, "I'm sorry."
"You can at least show a little resistance, can't you?"
It was a whisper, but more than enough for the class to pick up on. It's safe to say that Kushida had been preparing for this in private, without the need for us to rile her up.
"You can't. You don't have any more friends who will vote against your expulsion."
"No, I don't. If I'm going to be expelled anyway, I'm going to have to destroy the whole class... I still have the secrets of this entire class, so before the end of the interval, I'll start telling them all."
The thing Kiyotaka wanted her to do was finally starting to begin. The true nature that led to the collapse of her class in middle school begins to show its face.
"There's nothing in it for you is there?"
"And there's no loss. Ayanokouji-kun is going to get in trouble, so it's time to get started."
[Yes, that's it. Let out the truth and the stress you've been accumulating for so long. That way, everyone will be amazed and awed by your twistedness. Only then does any room for sympathy disappear and unanimity is achieved.] Kiyotaka thought as everything was starting to come together and the plan was finally coming to its second to last phase.
At this point in time, only 31 minutes were left until the end of the unanimous vote special exam.
.
.
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Part 3
Kushida brought her face away from Kiyotaka and turned around to face the rest of the class. She glanced at everyone before beginning her rampage.
"Other than Karuizawa-san just now... Yes, Shinohara Satsuki consulted me about various things, right?"
Shinohara Satsuki was the first target of the myriad of spears aimed at the large number of girls.
"What, what, what!?"
"Shinohara-san is not particularly cute or pretty, or rather a bit ugly, isn't she? Maybe that's why it's so amusing that only ugly boys like Ike-kun and Komiya-kun come on to her. Did you know that Karuizawa, Matsushita, Mori and others laughed at such a thing?"
A single pike instantly fractured into countless pieces, and one by one the names were called, and the targets were distributed.
"No, don't do that! I didn't say that! Don't you lie to her!"
Mori immediately denied this, but Kushida had no intention of letting the matter rest.
"Huh? You laughed at them, saying they were the most perfect match for each other. Don't worry, I laughed and said, "Don't do that!" but I felt the same way. Is that right... Nene...?"
"No, no... I was just, you know..."
"Shinohara, it seems that Ike-kun confessed to you on the boat and you went out with him, but it was a pretty easy choice, even though you were wavering between him and Komiya-kun until just before that. Or are you planning to go out with Ike-kun on a trial basis and then go with Komiya-kun, who is closer to your true love?"
"Oh, hey, Satsuki!"
For Kushida, there was flammable material lying around all over the class. As soon as a fire started in one place starts to spread, the words fly to new material.
"Speaking of romantic connections, Wang-san has been asking me for advice."
"No, please don't!"
"Don't? By don't, do you mean stop talking about Wang-san's love for Hirata-kun?"
"Huh!"
Mii-chan was forced to suddenly look at the person she has a crush on in the middle of the classroom. In an instant, her face turned red and she started to cry when she saw Hirata looking at her.
"Stop for a second. It's only the beginning. That's not the only secret I've heard from everyone. Do you want to try something a bit more serious for the next one? Let's see, for a start, we could try Hasebe-san."
"Kikyou-chan..."
"Oh, stop calling me by that familiar name. You can't even make friends, and you call people by their nicknames just so you can feel closer to them. I'm sure it's annoying to people who hear you call them that."
In the meantime, Shinohara and Mori and Ike and others continued to force each other to lie about what they had said or didn't say, while Kushida shifted her focus to Haruka.
As Kushida kept up with her reveal of Class B's secrets, distrust began growing towards her. One by one, students began to support Kushida's expulsion from the school. Everything was going according to Kiyotaka's plan.
However, in the middle of this rampage, he turned to look over at one student who had been silent ever since Kushida's first vote. Once he did, he saw her stand up and raise her voice.
"Don't go any further, Kushida-san. You won't be able to turn back," that student said.
"Huh? It's just starting to get interesting, isn't it? Don't interrupt me, Horikita-san."
The student who had stood up was none other than Horikita Suzune, the supposed leader of this special exam.
"Not so fast. I can't listen to any more ugly stories."
"Is the truth about me so ugly?"
From Kiyotaka's point of view, Kushida likely took that as a compliment and looked at Horikita with the most cheerful face of the day.
"Yes. At least I don't think these revelations are beautiful. But it's not only you that I find ugly, but also the people who are now calling for you to be expelled from the school for leaking their secrets."
Kiyotaka narrowed his eyes as he realised where this situation was likely going to go. Horikita's unexpected scolding and reprimanding of her classmates was unbearable for everyone.
"Why us? We've done nothing wrong!"
"You guys told Kushida-san a secret you didn't want anyone to know. Why is that?"
"Well, that's because I thought I could trust Kushida-san! And yet..."
"Yes. Kushida-san was trusted more than anyone else in the class. Usually, it's not easy to gain the trust of people. And there are probably only a few people in your life with whom you can share a secret that you can't even tell anyone. Of course, I don't admire Kushida-san for leaking your secrets. It's understandable that you're surprised that there's more to her than meets the eye. But we all have two sides to our story, don't we?"
It would be rare to find a person who lives a life of honesty and truth.
"Hey, but it doesn't matter; she kept voting in favour. That's unacceptable, isn't it?"
"Right. As for what she did to get myself and Ayanokouji-kun expelled, she made a choice that was too selfish. She must bear a heavy weight of responsibility. But instead of making her pay for it with expulsion, she can use her skills to pay us back many times over in the future."
Here, Horikita's point would have been understood by her classmates. It was Matsushita who asked the next question.
"Horikita-san... Are you saying that you won't expel Kushida-san?"
"Yes, you're right. I think... I think I want to keep Kushida-san in this class."
"Huh? Why the hell are you defending me? You're not going to vote for another girl from here, are you? Or are you just going to have fun beating me to death? You've got good taste, you know that?"
It was Kushida herself who was the first to object to this.
"I don't like to make jokes, unfortunately. I'm serious."
"If you're serious, I'll make you change your mind. Let's resume the continuation of hell."
"I didn't think it looked much like 'hell' when I saw it."
"Heh. Then what would you say it looked like? Tell me."
"It wasn't dumb, it wasn't funny, it was just plain ugly. I saw nothing but a mere foolish idiot."
"What?"
Surprised and confused by Horikita's explanation, Kushida waited for her to continue.
"Sure, you can study better than most people. But you are fundamentally stupid to the point of being fatal. In the first place, when you were in junior high school, your classmates found out who you really are, and you broke the class by revealing all their secrets. You came to this school to make amends for that, but unfortunately you met me again, who attended the same junior high school as you."
Horikita paused for a breath.
"And as soon as you started school, Ayanokouji-kun saw your true face? That makes me laugh. Not only that, he wasn't even interested in your past, but you couldn't stand his existence on your own and kept insisting on expelling him from school by telling us every detail. After all, you thought you were being clever by making a deal with Ayanokouji-kun, but you just ended up being taken advantage of. And this is the end result? You were so focused on the fact that we were in favour of expelling a student that you lost your footing."
Horikita sighed unsparingly and insultingly. Kushida, who had been smiling and laughing with a sly smile on her face, was now transformed into an angry young girl.
"You don't know how I feel, and you don't know how I like it! I want to be the best! I want to be happy, even when I'm stressed as shit! What's wrong with trying to get rid of you when you're in the way?"
Kushida clasped her hands together. Her hands were so tightly clenched that the blood vessels seemed to bulge out of them.
"You have some personality problems, but that's the same for me. It's just that you're a much harder worker than I am."
"Don't lie, you're making me laugh. You always have to say things that make me mad, don't you?"
"I'm not lying, I'm just telling you the truth, something which you love and use as your greatest weapon. I am honestly amazed and envious of your effort and talent to get to know so many people, both boys and girls."
When Horikita said this, her classmates, enraged by Kushida's true nature, understandably retorted.
"What's so great about us being harassed by Kushida-san now?"
"Be kind with lies. Faking kindness. That's terrible? That's just frivolous. Think again how difficult it is to be kind. Do you have the talent to smile at everyone, to reach out to everyone, to help everyone?"
How stressful could it have been for her to deal with all her friends on a daily basis? Most students didn't know, so they idolised Kushida, as they couldn't be like her. Listening to other people's unimportant stories, cutting through all this, couldn't be continued by an ordinary person. She had done this with a gentle smile and had supported many people from the shadows.
"Stop. I don't want to hear any more of this bullshit from you."
"Why? You're good at looking into people's minds, don't you know? I don't mean to make fun of you, I don't mean to insult you, but I really appreciate you."
Horikita blocked the students who tried to refute this story as if she were ahead of them.
"She has a talent that no one else has, and to expel her is a huge loss to the class. Therefore I cannot agree with Kushida-san's withdrawal from the school. I'm going to put my own money on it and do everything I can to make sure we make the best of her. No, I will definitely make the most of her."
"Shut the fuck up! I told you to fucking stop!"
"You never know. It's only when I knew everything about you that I developed a great liking for you."
Kushida's face was wet (huh?) with tears that had been built up from her frustration and she cried like a child. From a different point of view, Kushida's uncovering of her dark past without hesitation was strange. It was almost irrelevant to getting the people she wanted expelled. Kiyotaka noted that deep down, perhaps she partially wanted us to listen to her story, to share her feelings.
But Kiyotaka didn't care about that at all.
Right now, he needed to focus on the matter at hand. Anyone who saw Kushida's true nature would stay away from her. Yet, for some reason, Horikita, who had been keeping her distance, closed that distance to Kushida and pledged to protect her. Kushida had no such idea why she did that.
Horikita, whom Kushida hated so much, was the first person who could understand her.
"We're running out of time. The people who are voting for Kushida-san, please vote for me. I'll explain later."
She appealed to her classmates to nominate her, as she could not use her already used one-time candidacy.
"Jeez, don't be silly! I'm the one who's going to get expelled! Just nominate me and vote me out!"
"I'm not joking. I'm telling you, you're the one who created this situation and you're going to be held accountable until the very end. And I'm not going to expel you as a penalty. If you do, I will make fun of you for the rest of your life. I will make you a laughing stock forever."
They were practically in a difficult situation due to the new developments. Some of the students didn't know what to do while the rest had no choice but to follow their leader's orders.
"It's time. Voting will now begin for Horikita, who had the majority of the votes for the nomination."
Even if Kushida were to be chosen by recommendation, it would be meaningless as long as Horikita votes against her expulsion.
Student Selection:
Expel Horikita Suzune from the school.
For
Against
Results of the twentieth round of voting:
1 in favour
37 against
"Now that we are in the interval, I will say it again. I'm going to express my opposition to Kushida-san's expulsion."
Kushida was ranting and raving in inarticulate language, but Horikita was no longer paying attention. This hurt Kushida's pride again, but also succeeded in silencing her. If she were to be expelled from the school here, she would have no way to fight Horikita.
"But, Horikita-san. I wonder if protecting Kushida-san means choosing to run out of time." Hirata asked about the points that need to be checked right now.
"I know that protecting Kushida-san is not the end of the story. I've got my own answers."
Kiyotaka narrowed his eyes further, as the final stages came together and his prediction started to become true.
"We must avoid failing this special exam. It's an absolute must that someone is expelled."
It meant that she was not only prepared to rescue Kushida, but also to cut someone else at the same time. Horikita glanced at Kiyotaka for a moment and faltered seeing his expression. But she recomposed herself and announced her plan.
"S-So we'll have to think of a different approach. An approach that uses the school's methods of analysing a student's worthiness to their class. In other words, the OAA is the way we'll analyse who should be expelled."
The all important OAA, developed by Student Council President Nagumo Miyabi to analyse student's abilities and their worthiness. As of September 1st, the lowest score in this class was 36 points overall. Many students check their rank and score, but not many know who is at the bottom each time.
"The student in this class who currently has the lowest OAA is... Sakura Airi."
"HUH...!? What are you talking about? Don't joke around at a time like this."
Haruka stood up and glared at Horikita with an intense and furious glare.
"I'm not joking. That is the decision that I have come to as the leader you have chosen for this exam."
"DON'T SAY THAT! HOW CAN YOU JUST UP AND EXPEL AIRI LIKE THAT!?"
Even though Haruka shouted that on her own, there were many more people other than the Ayanokouji Group who agreed with her. Kei, Matsushita, Satou, Nene Mori. The people of the KiyoKei band also agreed that Airi shouldn't be expelled.
"Then who do you think should be expelled?"
"Well, that's...!"
"People who are not prepared to name names directly have no right or entitlement to choose who to expel."
"Oh, Ike-kun! He's not that different from Airi in terms of academic and physical ability!"
It was true that on the OAA, Ike Kanji was once tied for last place with Airi. But now he had added one point to his tally to 37. He was now one step ahead.
"Then let's simply ask here. All those opposed to Sakura-san leaving the school, please raise your hands."
About 8 hands were raised to defend Airi. The Ayanokouji Group and the KiyoKei band were the only ones to have raised their hands.
"Then what about Ike-kun? Raise your hands if you're opposed."
This time, 3 more hands were raised, bringing the total number of people that defended Ike to 11. One of them was Shinohara, and Mori Nene, who also raised her hand to defend Airi, also raised her hand here as she owed a debt to Shinohara for Kushida exposing a truth/lie.
"What the...!?"
"It's been decided then."
"Grrrrr! I will not let Airi get expelled. If you want someone to sacrifice themselves for this stupid question and special exam, I'll gladly be the candidate before Airi gets expelled. So? What are you waiting for? Choose me to be the candidate."
Haruka's determination to protect Airi stemmed from the fact that they were best friends, but it also stemmed from the fact that she supported her as some kind of sister who wanted the best for her. Now that the one she was protecting was in a difficult situation, Haruka wanted to fulfil her role as the protector and sacrifice herself to save Airi. It was almost like a certain British butler protecting his bat-like employer.
However...
"Haruka-chan. It's fine. I'm not going to let you be the candidate for expulsion either. Horikita-san, if you say you want me to be the sacrifice for this special exam, then I will accept it."
Surprising everyone out of nowhere, even Horikita herself, Airi declared herself as the candidate for sacrifice, with an expression and a tone that didn't show the usual fear that most people came to expect of Sakura Airi.
"Wha-... Airi-chan!?"
"Everyone. I shall take the brunt of the candidate for expulsion. So vote for me when the interval ends and make sure you vote in favour of my expulsion."
Airi said that with a straight face, something which Haruka couldn't understand. She looked around and turned to her friends from the Ayanokouji Group for help.
"Yukimuu! Miyacchi! Kiyopon! You all can't be in favour of this too, can you?"
"If we're being... honest... losing 300 class points is critical."
"You can't be serious, Yukimuu! Don't tell me you agree with Airi's expulsion too!?"
"No, no! I'm not in favour of it yet!"
"Not yet? You mean you're going to agree to it? Huh? You've got to be kidding me!"
"Well, no but...!"
As if realising everything, Haruka bit her lip and made a decision. "It's disgusting. It can't be. What is this... I thought we were friends?" The cold voice was directed at Keisei, whose true feelings had leaked out.
"Miyacchi! Kiyopon! Don't tell me you agree too!?"
"Well... I don't want either of you two to be expelled. B-but... I especially don't want you to... be expelled..." Akito squeaked out.
"You can't be... Kiyopon! Please say you're against it too!"
Haruka turned to her last hope. Airi had a crush on Kiyotaka, which he had known for a long time and yet dated Kei. However, in recent times, Kiyotaka and Airi's relationship has grown thanks to the latter steeling herself to be better. From Haruka's eyes, surely Kiyotaka should have realised that as a point to protect her.
"...Frankly speaking, I'm against Airi's expulsion too. Everything that I had just done in the last hour was aimed at getting Kushida Kikyou expelled, because she was the traitor. It's a complete no-brainer to have Kushida expelled since she'll betray us again like she just did earlier, while Airi, despite having a low OAA, will become more useful as time goes on."
"So then-"
"However..." Kiyotaka cut her off. "Horikita is now defending her immensely, which now makes it difficult to expel Kushida. The situation is now dire since we only have about 20 minutes left until this exam ends. I don't like this, but we also can't let our class points go down by over 300. Also..."
Kiyotaka paused while looking down and not looking at anyone as he said his next words.
"...I can't reject someone who has extreme determination. Airi is willing to sacrifice herself despite knowing the risks. The look she's giving us makes it hard for me to stop her expulsion. I... I can't reject Airi's determination like that... It would be like rejecting her entire personality altogether."
"You-"
Haruka tried to speak again, but was immediately interrupted by the person she was defending.
"Thank you, Kiyotaka-kun. And Haruka-chan. It's alright."
"Ai...ri...?"
Airi got up from her seat and was now in front of Haruka.
"If someone has to drop out, then I, the biggest drag on the class, should disappear. I can't let anyone else get expelled in my place. So you should vote for me too, Haruka-chan."
"No! I can't! I would never let Airi be expelled from school! Never! I don't care if this class doesn't move up to Class A, I'm going to make sure that we all graduate together with Airi!"
"No, you can't. Even if I do, I'm sure I'll regret it a lot. I'm sure I'll regret it for a long, long time, that it was my fault we didn't make it to Class A."
"It's all right! There's nothing wrong with you! I'm just protecting you because I'm selfish!"
"Thank you... But there's no way I can put that kind of responsibility on Haruka-chan."
"What, what's that... There's no such thing as..! I don't like it, I don't like it, I don't like it!"
Like a child, she refused, denied and screamed. Everyone in the class stayed silent, not trying to get involved in this debacle as they all felt guilty.
The situation could no longer be changed, despite Haruka trying her best to defend Airi. Everytime she did, someone, even Airi herself, said it was too late. Realising all this, Haruka sat there as if motionless.
Airi embraced Haruka from the front as she was collapsing from her seat. She stroked Haruka's back as if calming down a crying child and spoke in a soothing mothers tone.
"Thank you, Haruka-chan... Thank you for all the help you've given me. I couldn't give anything back to you, but... listen to my last selfish request. Vote in favour for me."
"Ai...ri..."
After a little bit of time, Haruka then stopped crying and sat back down in her seat, allowing Airi to return to hers. Soon the voting began and the question appeared on the screen.
Student Selection:
Expel Sakura Airi from the school.
For
Against
But even after the vote had been declared, voting time did not end. It continued past 60 seconds and past 70 seconds. It was because of Haruka, who still hadn't voted yet.
The students had 90 seconds. In the next 70 seconds or so, Haruka will be expelled from the school.
Her thought process, "If my best friend Airi disappears, I will disappear too", was plastered all over her face. As the 100 second mark ticked by, the clock was ticking down to 40 seconds. She just kept crying and showed no sign of reaching for her tablet.
"HARUKA-CHAN!"
Airi shouted in anger that was unlike her. It was so loud that it wouldn't be a surprise if students who were still in the classrooms next door and beyond heard her.
As if slapped in the face, she looked up in surprise. And at Haruka's crying face, Airi smiled and nodded. If we don't make a decision and vote here, it will be a denial of everything Airi is.
"The voting is now closed. I will announce the results."
Results of the twenty-second round of voting:
38 in favour
0 against
The unanimous special exam had now ended.
.
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Part 4
When the results were displayed on the screen, the entire class was silent. Even Chabashira, who had been watching the fierce exchange from the front of the classroom, was silent. She was now meant to report the end of the exam, but instead, she just looked at Airi and Haruka silently.
"Ah, ah, Chabashira-sensei. Please proceed."
The invigilator, who had so far been silent and calm, except for the minimum of cautions and warnings, seemed to have forgotten to remind us about the signal for the end of the special examination. He spoke within the silence and told Chabashira to continue, however he felt an intense glare coming from a few students, which silenced him further and made his body stiffen up.
Chabashira shook her head and, reluctantly, spoke again.
"With regard to the expulsion of Sakura Airi from school by an unanimous vote in favour, the last task is completed. 100 class points will be awarded in response to this result. Just to be clear, there is only one way to undo this expulsion. Only if you have 20 million private points at this moment and use them..."
After being chosen to be expelled from school, Airi stared straight ahead, as if she had accepted everything. On the other hand, Haruka, who couldn't protect her, tried her best to hold back her sobs, but she couldn't hide them from the speechless class.
"I don't think I need to explain any further."
Sensing further dread, Chabashira stopped her explanation. Even if Class B collected all the private points of all the students in our class, they would never reach 20 million points.
"The other three classes have already finished their special exams, but I'm going to ask you to go home right away today. As for Sakura, you will have to come with me to the staff room afterwards, so stay in the classroom."
"Yes," Airi replied to Chabashira without hesitation.
"That's all. Everyone please leave your seats. Follow the instructions and leave the room."
Class B slowly left their seats. Airi was told to stay where she was, and Haruka, who couldn't even stand up, tried her best to stand on her trembling knees, but she couldn't seem to get her legs up. Her breathing had become ragged and she was beginning to experience symptoms similar to hyperventilation.
Kiyotaka and Akito, unable to see this, rushed over to Haruka and forced her to stand up so that she could be supported while they walked.
Kiyotaka looked at Airi and saw her sad smile as she watched them. Usually, he was able to communicate well with Kei just with his eyes. This was only a couples form of communication. However, as Kiyotaka and Airi looked at each other, they seemed to communicate something.
"I'm sorry for this. Before you leave, we'll be standing at the front gate waiting for you," Kiyotaka's eyes said.
"Yes. I shall see you there. And don't worry. Just make sure to take care of Haruka-chan until I get there," was Airi's eyes reply.
They both nodded and soon, Kiyotaka, with his arms supporting Haruka, Akito and Keisei left the classroom. As soon as they did, their mobile phones were returned to them.
Keisei kept his distance from Haruka, because he believed she was still angry at him, so he went ahead, leaving Kiyotaka, Haruka and Akito.
"Kiyotaka. Am I able to leave Haruka with you for a bit. I need to talk with Keisei over all this," Akito said as he turned to Kiyotaka, concerned over all that happened.
"Yeah. Don't worry, I'll take care of her for now. We're going to the front gate so if you can stop by there in about half an hour, then we can see Airi again one last time."
"Yeah, sure. Thank you."
Akito left, intending to catch up to Keisei and talk. Kiyotaka understood that Akito wanted to calm Haruka down. It was obvious to him that he liked her. But even Akito understood that he couldn't say anything as of right now, so he trusted Kiyotaka to calm her down for a bit.
Kei, Matsushita, Satou and Mori approached Kiyotaka and Haruka, intending to talk as well. It was obvious that they were upset about this too. But just like he communicated with Airi, Kiyotaka did the same to Kei, stopping her with his eyes and letting her know to stop by the front gate in half an hour.
Kei nodded and turned around, telling the rest that they should go for now. Kiyotaka was about to start walking with Haruka in tow, but a voice he knew he was going to have to talk to at some point after this exam.
"Ayanokouji-kun."
It appeared she was waiting for everyone to mostly disappear, but seeing that she couldn't talk to him without Haruka present, she took the gamble and called out to him.
"What's the matter? Didn't you say something to Kushida?"
"N-no. S-she's not going to answer any questions now. I just warned her not to get desperate."
Kiyotaka's voice was notably colder than before, prompting Horikita to stiffen and stutter with her answer. It wasn't that she didn't expect him to be like this, but she didn't expect his voice to be colder than she thought she would hear it as.
On the note of Kushida though, she had many friends around her, but at the end of the exam no one said anything to her. Immediately after showing her true nature, it was understandable that she was difficult to get close to now.
"...Sorry..."
Horikita squeaked out an apology. Immediately after she did, Kiyotaka could feel Haruka tense up with anger and clutch his sides tighter. It was understandable that she wouldn't accept Horikita's apology. After all, her best friend just got expelled and all Horikita offered was a mere "sorry".
"Am I the one you should really be apologising to?"
"That's... Well..."
Horikita couldn't even speak again as he tried to direct her. This only triggered Haruka more.
"I hope you're happy, Horikita-san."
Haruka muttered that out in the coldest voice she could muster, and it was just barely audible to her target. Horikita felt a shiver, but she did her best to stay calm and composed. Kiyotaka sighed and spoke again.
"Getting rid of Kushida was the entire plan from when that last question appeared. It was going to be for the best of the class if it happened. However, as the leader of our class for the exam, you decided to keep her and instead expel someone else. I won't say whether what you did is right or wrong, but, I will tell you that since you decided to keep Kushida, you better have a good way to make use of her, because the way I see it, it's near 100% impossible to convert her."
Kiyotaka didn't say anything more than that, and left with Haruka. Horikita just stood there in silence, unable to follow them.
Soon, the two of them were outside with their bags, close to the front gate. Kiyotaka stopped by a nearby bench and sat Haruka down on it before he sat down on it himself. The two sat down in silence as the tears returned to Haruka's eyes. She then spoke again.
"Just... Just like that... Airi will be gone... And most of our class won't even care... They just sacrificed her just like she's nothing... And Horikita-san led that..."
She stuttered as she kept sniffling in between her speaking.
"...I know Airi said she was fine with it... But I'm not! I wanted us all to graduate together! And now we can't have that! I hate them! I hate our class! I hate Horikita-san! I hate everyone who was completely alright with getting rid of her no problem!"
She cried and grabbed Kiyotaka to hide her tears further. Kiyotaka was surprised for a moment, despite expecting that this would happen. He hugged her and stroked her back to try and calm her down.
Soon after about 10 minutes of her crying, Haruka calmed down but still clung to Kiyotaka. He decided now was the time to ask her.
"Haruka. Do you hate me over today?"
Haruka was a little shocked, but she hesitantly answered his question.
"...No... I don't hate you Kiyopon. Or Miyacchi. Yukimuu is a slightly different story, but I hate Horikita-san and the rest of the class more. I hate all of this, but I know you were right. Airi was willing to sacrifice herself for the class, so we needed to respect her determination. But that doesn't make me feel any better."
"I see..."
Kiyotaka let go of Haruka and spoke again.
"Then I think if you hear the truth that you will hate me..."
"Huh? What-"
"I can't tell you yet."
He cut her off and stayed silent after that, prompting Haruka to stay silent in the September afternoon wind. Soon after about 15 more minutes of silence, Akito approached them, alongside Kei, Satou, Matsushita and Mori. They all talked and hugged each other as they tried to calm Haruka and others down.
Half an hour later, the sound of wheels could be heard from the distance. Looking towards the sound, they could see Airi, with her hair down like when they were first preparing the KiyoKei band, wheeling a suitcase over to the front gate. Seeing her approaching, Haruka immediately ran over to her and crash hugged her crying again.
"AIRIIIIII!"
Airi hugged back with a sad smile, trying to calm Haruka down.
"Haruka-chan. It's all over now. I want you to continue at this school in my place."
"Airi..."
Everyone watched in slight silence, trying to respect the last meeting between the two best friends.
Airi then looked at Kiyotaka.
"Kiyotaka-kun. Did you tell her the truth?" She asked.
"No... Not yet. I was waiting for you to show up."
"The truth? What are you talking about?"
Airi looked at Kiyotaka again with a sad smile, prompting everyone else, but Kei, to look at him as well. Kiyotaka sighed before giving his answer.
"I'm sorry, Haruka. But Airi's expulsion... Airi's expulsion was pre-determined from the beginning."
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Part 5
Yesterday, in Kiyotaka's room, the room owner, his girlfriend and closest friend were discussing the special exam when a knock was heard from the front door.
"You're just in time. Come in..."
As Kiyotaka opened the door and stepped aside to let the person through, the silhouette revealed themselves to be none other than Sakura Airi. Kei and Hirata raised their eyebrows as they were shocked, surprised and confused altogether.
"Sakura-san. You were called here by Kiyotaka-kun?"
Hirata composed himself and asked their new guest the question.
"Yes. It was out of nowhere, but I couldn't refuse him asking to talk to me."
Kei looked at Kiyotaka, eyes questioning why he asked her love rival to come to his room.
"Take a seat Airi. I'll explain why I called you here in a minute. Firstly though, would you all like a drink?"
"Whoa whoa, Ayanokouji-boy. Don't go up and close the door without letting me in too."
Before Kiyotaka could close the door behind him, Kouenji appeared out of nowhere and spoke, surprising everyone, even Kiyotaka.
"Kouenji. I don't remember asking you to come here."
"Fufufu. Of course you didn't, Ayanokouji-boy. I merely decided to show up myself predicting you were going to have a meeting with Shy Glasses-girl. I have something to drop off here for you anyway, so I might as well join in the conversation."
Without even letting Kiyotaka reply, Kouenji entered his room and took a seat next to Hirata on the bed while Airi was sitting next to Kei. Kiyotaka sighed before closing the door and making his way to the kitchen to make some tea for everyone. He then returned and handed a cup to each person, before someone spoke up.
"Kiyotaka. Why did you call Sakura-san here? And why is Kouenji-kun here too?"
Kei asked that, prompting an answer. Kiyotaka nodded and replied.
"Well. It has to do with what I told you guys about earlier. When this special exam was announced, something immediately started bothering me. Let me ask you all something, does this unanimous special exam give you any vibes to something we've previously done before?"
Hirata, Kei and Airi all put on thoughtful expressions, trying to discern what Kiyotaka was talking about. Seeing as none of them could put it together, Kouenji smirked and laughed mockingly before giving his answer.
"Fufufu. My, you all can't put it together? Shameful. Hirata-boy should know it all too well. Ayanokouji-boy is talking about the Class Vote exam from last year."
The three of them immediately stiffened, Hirata especially. The Class Vote exam was the very first exam that got a student from their class expelled - Yamauchi Haruki. And it was all at the hands of all the students voting for him.
"...You can't be saying...?"
Kiyotaka answered Hirata's fear with a nod.
"Yes. It's very likely that one of the five questions we will get in this special exam will be related to expelling a certain student in return for class points."
"But... But our class has learned since the Class Vote exam. No one wants to expel anyone in our class. They all want to be together and graduate Class A!"
"I would agree with you Yousuke. But, that isn't actually true. There is one student in our class who wants to expel two of her classmates. I happen to be one of them."
"Kiyotaka... You can't be talking about Kushida-san, are you?"
"Yes, Kei. It is Kushida."
Kei had known about Kushida's true nature because Kiyotaka had told her about it all. Kei was a part of Kiyotaka's plan of destroying Kushida's plan during the Partner exam. He didn't tell her anything about it until not too long ago, where he confessed everything about his life to her.
"Kushida-san? You mean... My instinct about her eyes being scary was true...?"
"Yes Airi. Kushida is hiding her true nature behind a mask. She's actually ruthless instead of kind. She wants to win against everyone, and will ridicule everyone to do it. She pretends to be kind just so she can be the best. And anyone who finds out about her true nature is poised to be disposed of. Me being one of them, Kushida has been trying to oust me out of this school for a while now, being unsuccessful at it."
Hirata and Airi were shocked upon hearing this piece of information. Kei and Kouenji, who already knew this piece of information, weren't surprised. Kiyotaka explained Kushida's true nature and her attempted attacks on him, as well as the deal they made but had been broken, before explaining the next piece of information.
"With the expulsion question likely coming up during this exam, I have a feeling that Kushida will secretly try to take this opportunity to try and expel me and Horikita, possibly Horikita more. And because of her stubborn nature and the fact that we need the answers to be unanimous, we won't be able to achieve a completion of this exam where no one will be expelled."
"Wha- You mean-"
"I know you don't like it Hirata, but it won't be possible to go through this exam without expelling someone. That's why, I'm planning to take control of the situation, if it ever gets to it, and get everyone to expel Kushida. If we can get her out, no one in the class will have to worry about any traitorous things again."
"I see... Yes. I am against expelling anyone, Kiyotaka-kun. But... From what you told me, I believe we don't have a choice. And if Kushida-san still isn't intending to change, then I guess we have no choice but to cut her loose."
"My my. Hirata-boy has improved a lot since that day. I am impressed."
It was true. If this was the old Hirata, he would by no means accept Kiyotaka's plan to accept expelling Kushida and would even go as far as to likely do everything to stop it if it meant sacrificing himself or sacrificing the class. But Hirata Yousuke was no longer that type of person. He was willing to accept this if it meant growth. Kiyotaka couldn't help but feel proud of Hirata.
"So... Kiyotaka-kun is going to get Kushida-san expelled. That would be for the best. But... I still don't understand why I'm here."
When Airi asked that question, Kiyotaka looked away and frowned. This only led to her, Kei and Hirata raising their eyebrows. It seemed that Kiyotaka was hesitant to say what he called Airi here for.
"...What I'm about to say will be very harsh. You can hate me all you want, but I promise you, Airi, that even after what I'm about to do, I will always be there for you if you need it. Even if I can't answer your feelings the way you want me to... I really treasure you, not just like a close friend, but a sister I never had. So I will always help you if you need me, even if you hate me."
"H-huh...? What do you mean Kiyotaka-kun?"
"Airi... When you graduate from this school, what do you want to be? What's your career choice?"
"Career choice...? Kiyotaka-kun. I don't know where this is coming from. But... If I really had an idea, then... You know my... idol life... I kind of want to pursue it, even if after what happened last year could happen again..."
"I see..."
Kiyotaka was acting weird right now. He was still outright avoiding telling Airi what he called her for. Airi was a patient girl, but even she was getting a little impatient and worried at Kiyotaka's current nature.
"Kiyotaka-kun. What is going on?"
"I'm sorry, Airi. But... I would like you to offer yourself up for expulsion."
Intense silence. No one said a word after what Kiyotaka said. Their expressions were so shocked that they almost didn't register the sound of Kiyotaka lowering his cup of coffee onto the desk.
"Kiyotaka-kun!?"
Hirata was the first to break the silence. His surprised shout of Kiyotaka's name woke the others, minus Kouenji who was just sitting there with his usual confident smirk.
"Kiyotaka!? Didn't you say you were going to expel Kushida-san? Why are you asking Sakura-san to offer herself up for expulsion."
Kei's question only made Kiyotaka look away with a frown of sadness. He glanced and saw Airi's eyes forming a few tears. If it was the older Airi, she would be outright crying without hesitation. However, just like Hirata, even Airi had grown and it wasn't just around the chest.
"To tell you guys the truth, even though I'm planning to get Kushida expelled during this exam, I can't shake this feeling that even that won't be possible."
"W-what do you mean, Kiyotaka-kun."
"Well... I had actually been planning to get rid of Kushida for quite a long time now. However, what's stopped me from doing so was Horikita's insistence in keeping her and being the one to change her. I've stepped back and allowed her to try and change Kushida, but she hasn't made any progress. I have the feeling that since now I'm going to make a move, Horikita is still going to decide to keep Kushida over expelling her."
Hirata, Kei and Airi were shocked that Kiyotaka made this analysis. But they still were quite conflicted.
"A-are you sure, Kiyotaka?"
"It's just a prediction. For all I know, Horikita might actually agree to expel Kushida. But I have a feeling she won't. And I believe in order to pass the exam, she'll choose to expel the student with the lowest OAA rating. And if we look at who that is, it'll be none other than..."
Everyone turned to the person who was called here.
"...me..."
Airi looked down with sadness.
"Hahahahaha!"
Kouenji laughed hysterically, causing Hirata and Kei to glare at him. He stopped after a few moments before speaking.
"My my, Ayanokouji-boy. Stop trying to sound so cruel and just tell Shy Glasses-girl that you're not just asking her to be expelled for no reason."
"W-what do you mean, Kouenji-kun?"
Airi was surprised to hear Kouenji say what he said. The latter turned to her with a confident smirk.
"Tsk tsk. Shy Glasses-girl. Or, should I call you Idol-kun? Either way, let me ask you this. Why do you think Ayanokouji-boy asked you about what you wanted to be when you graduated from this isolated school? Why do you think I'm here when I appear to be out of place at this point in time?"
Airi was confused at the two questions, but she tried to think about it. After a bit of time, her eyes widened. Kouenji's smirk widened as he witnessed it.
"Looks like you figured it out. Ayanokouji-boy isn't as cruel as you're seeing him out to be. He is asking you to be expelled if the worst happens, but he's also allowing your wishes to come true despite not graduating from this school. And the ones who will make that happen are none other than the Kouenji Conglomerate. If you happen to be expelled, I shall hand you this note to hand over to the Conglomerate so that they can support you in becoming the idol you want to be. I've already called my father to let him know and he's granted it."
Kouenji pulled out a sheet of paper and a business card he happened to be carrying in his uniform. He handed it over to Airi, who read through it and clutched the paper with tears in her eyes.
"Ayanokouji-boy really cares for you, even if he's doing something cruel that he doesn't like. You should consider yourself lucky. Tall Disgusting Wank-boy didn't get this type of treatment when he got expelled."
"K-Kiyotaka-kun..."
Airi looked at Kiyotaka, who in turn looked away slightly. She wiped away her tears and gave a happy smile before speaking again.
"You really are a kind person Kiyotaka-kun. How could I hate you for doing this for me? Even if you're looking to have me expelled, although not completely, you're still looking out for me by giving me something better in return. I couldn't be more thankful that I met you."
"Kiyotaka/Kiyotaka-kun..."
Airi shook her head again and gave her final resolve.
"I can't let the effort you put in for me go to waste. If everything you said is true, Kiyotaka-kun, then I'll accept being the candidate chosen for expulsion."
.
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Part 6
"Kiyotaka-kun really is kind, even if he is a little cruel."
As Kiyotaka and Airi finished the story, everyone, minus Kei, looked at them with amazement and a tinge bit of fear and worship.
"So please don't hate Kiyotaka-kun, Haruka-chan. He did this all for me in the end, even if it also was all for him. And he also told me that while the original plan was to put me on the target of expulsion, he apparently met with Sakayanagi-san to make a deal to get 20 million points in return for something. But that deal didn't go anywhere unfortunately."
Haruka had been completely silent throughout the story. She turned towards Kiyotaka, whose apathetic expression did not change at all. She gave a sad smile and walked up to him.
"Kiyopon... I won't say I agree with you arranging this, but you did end up providing a lot for Airi in the end. So I won't hate you for this. But... Please... Never do this again if the time comes."
"...I'll try too..."
"Hehe. That's not good enough Kiyopon. I want you to promise that you won't. Not promise that you'll try not to."
"..."
The other girls giggled nearby as they watched this scene. But now it was time to get back to the more important part. Everyone turned back to Airi who had her suitcase right by her side.
"So... You'll actually be leaving us, Airi-chan... Just when we started getting the KiyoKei band altogether. We're already parting with a member. Waaaahhhhhhh! I don't like this!"
Mori cried a bit as she went up and hugged Airi. The others had tears forming in their eyes as they were about to say goodbye.
"We didn't even get to know each other better for that long! This is the worst!"
"Nene-chan. It's alright. We may meet again at some point. Perhaps, I'll be back for the cultural festival, and then we can sing altogether again."
"You better hold to that promise Airi-chan. This can't be the end of the KiyoKei Band!"
Mori then let go and walked back, wiping the tears away with her arm.
"Hey hey, Mori-san. You're making Satou-san and Matsushita-san cry too."
Akito said this with slight concern which made Airi giggle a bit. She looked at them again with one last smile and then turned her gaze to Kei.
"Karuizawa-san. We may be rivals, but I'm also glad we got to be friends. Please take care of Kiyotaka-kun as you go on."
Kei smiled at her and replied.
"Sakura-san... You betcha. I won't let Kiyotaka get down and I'll always take care of him. I'm glad we got to be friends in the end too."
Airi nodded with a smile and then turned to the last person, walking up to him.
"Kiyotaka-kun. Thank you for everything. If we don't see each other again at the cultural festival, then I hope to see you again at some point."
"Yes... I hope so too..."
Airi noticed a slight bit of hesitation from him. It almost like he wanted to say something else to her. She smiled, beckoning him to say it.
"Airi... I know it's selfish of me. But I have one last request for you when you leave. Or rather... It's a task I want to leave you with. Something I can only trust you with."
"A task?"
"It's quite dangerous and will test your abilities. So you don't have to accept if you don't want to. I'd rather not see you get hurt because of this."
"Huh...? W-well... If Kiyotaka-kun is asking something of me, I can't refuse him, even if it's dangerous. What would you like me to do?"
"Well..."
Kiyotaka got closer to her and whispered something in her ear. Airi widened her eyes in surprise and they continued a conversation only whispering, until Kiyotaka stepped back and Airi stared at him with resolve in her eyes.
"I'll do it. If it's for Kiyotaka's protection, I'll do anything to repay the favours I owe him."
"I see. Thank you. And please be careful on your journey."
"Yes. I will... Big brother..."
Airi muttered the last part, which Kiyotaka didn't hear. She blushed a bit and then walked on ahead, before turning back and waving once more at everyone.
"Goodbye, everyone."
After witnessing everyone wave back at her, Airi disappeared behind the gate, and everyone was left by themselves. Haruka stared beyond the gate not moving while everyone else, who were feeling a little bit down, decided that they needed to head back home to calm down.
Seeing how Haruka still didn't move, Kiyotaka told everyone else to go ahead, which most did. However, Kei stayed behind.
"That means you too Kei."
"No. I'll stay with you and Hasebe-san. You can say whatever you're gonna say to her in front of me, can't you?"
"Well, yeah..."
Kiyotaka sighed and allowed Kei to stay with him. He walked up to Haruka and stood right beside her, Kei staying just a short distance away so as to not get between them.
Haruka didn't turn to Kiyotaka, still staring at where Airi was once standing before she left, and spoke.
"...Do you think we'll ever get to see Airi here again?"
"..."
"I'll say it again, Kiyopon. I hate our class. Without hesitation, they all decided to cut Airi off. And the one who started all this was Horikita-san. Everyone in the KiyoKei band is safe, because I know you all did it reluctantly. But I can't forgive the rest of the class. I... I want revenge..."
"Revenge?"
"It sounds farfetched... But thats how I really feel right now."
The fire burning in Haruka's eyes was strong. Kiyotaka could see the determination she had for avenging Airi...
...And it was that very determination that Kiyotaka was waiting for.
"...Haruka. If I were to tell you that you could get revenge on the class if you were to help me in return, would you do it?"
He still hadn't gotten over the fact that he had to do this because Horikita had decided to save Kushida. He had someone close to him cut off, just like the best friend he lost in the White Room, Suzuki Shizuku.
He didn't want to lose any more people he cared about. But, the situation he was currently in likely meant that more would be lost.
And he didn't want that.
"Kiyopon?"
"I want to bring Airi back too. And so, I'm going to do that."
"But Kiyotaka... How are you going to do that?"
It wasn't Haruka who said that, but Kei, who was originally behind him but now directly next to him, that asked that.
The fall September breeze blew and made the chestnut brown hair standing on his head flow. Seeing from a distance would make one believe that something important, something long-standing was about to happen. Kiyotaka's eyes narrowed as he spoke his next words.
"I'm going to become the next Student Council President, no matter what. And I'm going to change this school."
His father. The final unknown White Room Student. Nagumo. Kushida. And likely, Horikita, Sakayanagi, Ryuuen and others. With so many enemies and rivals on the horizon, Kiyotaka was not in a very safe position. If time went on like this, it would be likely he would lose more people he cared about.
He didn't want that. Even Kiyotaka was beginning to change from the heartless, uncaring White Room Masterpiece he used to be. He was still learning what life was like, while helping others at the same time. But all of that could be discarded at any moment with the growing enemies he had.
And so to ensure that wouldn't happen, he needed to grow more of his allies and grow his position, whether he liked it or not. Even if he disliked trouble, he was getting himself in it more, and now he needed to get used to it.
Since he started at Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School, all he ever wanted was a calm peaceful life where all he had to do was nothing. But now, that philosophy was changing.
[It's All or Nothing now.] He thought as the two girls next to him stared at him with widened eyes as their hair blew in the breeze with his.
Second Year Class standings after Unanimous Vote special exam:
Class A led by Sakayanagi: 1256 points
Class B led by Horikita: 771 points
Class C led by Ichinose: 628 points
Class D led by Ryuuen: 621 points
End of Epilogue...