Rich is rich and poor is poor, there's nothing else to it. Cla.s.s A can afford to be lax since they were overwhelming dominating the compet.i.tion after all.
I imagined their loss during the island test would cause a change in their behaviour but it seems Katsuragi is attempting to portray a 'calm' image of his cla.s.s to the other cla.s.ses. And thinking about it carefully, it is indeed a very effective strategy.
And especially for a man who works alone like me, I cannot break through the wall that Cla.s.s A had erected. "I don't particularly think we need a breakthrough now, but I do agree with the need for discussion. Cla.s.s A may be trying to break away from all this, but I believe in the necessity of finding the "target" myself". Yukimura said that as if in agreement with Ichinose.
Indeed, if the "target" is in the other cla.s.ses, this is an opportunity that cannot be wasted. Or perhaps this att.i.tude is an attempt to camouflage the fact that Yukimura is the one who's the "target". "But can you really find them just by talking? I don't think so. The "target"'s hard to find, or rather the exam itself is hard" Karuizawa speaks up. "I understand your worries, Karuizawsan. But isn't this just a matter of perspective? Both the island test and this current exam, it's meant to come as a 'surprise' to the students wouldn't you agree?".
"Surprise?" Karuizawa asks. "If it's sunrise then you can leave it to me. That's my specialty. Mo-e-g-r-e!!!" Sotomura suddenly shouts. It seems he's made a misunderstanding. It's not sunrise, they said surprise. "Living on a s.h.i.+p like this is fun isn't it? You can talk or play with your phone however you like, even if you're forced to attend discussion for two hours a day. You're still free to do as you wish". "Well...yeah it is fun".
"Exactly right? That's why we need to talk more comfortably, like a group of friends. You'll just suffer if you hole yourself up in a sh.e.l.l like Machidkun there" Ichinose tries to convince Karuizawa.
Certainly if you consider it not as an 'exam' but as a 'vacation' it becomes easier to discuss amongst your group. It's just a matter of perspective like Ichinose said, but the more positive thinking you are, it'll be easier to clear the exam. But after hearing what Ichinose had to say, Machida just began to laugh. "You guys are free to do whatever you want, but you're very unlikely to find the "target" this way. I don't know where the "target" is but if they are not already cooperating with their cla.s.smates, they will surely make the decision to keep themselves hidden to gain points that way. And perhaps the "target" is actually within Cla.s.s B. That is possible too. Can you really trust them?" Machida asks. He spoke those words as if intending to shake the hearts of the students gathered there.
"The same could be said for you too, Machidkun" Ichinose tells him. "...of course". For a moment, Machida broke eye contact with Ichinose. To be more precise, his eyes wandered to a student named "Moris.h.i.+ge" sitting beside him. But then he quickly returned eye contact and once again radiated the 'calm' image of Cla.s.s A to the group.
"We're not particularly hung up on who the "target" is, we get 100,000 points allocated to us monthly, there's no one in our cla.s.s who'd be interested in the 500,000 point reward for this exam" Machida finally tells Ichinose. "Really? So you're telling me you don't want even 1 extra point? It's not like the school imposes a limit on the amount of points you can have" she replies. "That's stupid. You can be delusional all you want, but don't accuse us unnecessarily like that" Machida retorts to her. Ichinose, who just kept smiling at Machida throughout the argument, gave off the impression to me of being a tough opponent.
Even though Machida claimed he would not partic.i.p.ate in the discussions, he had still been baited by Ichinose into answering. And as long as he talks, information will inevitably leak out of him. By using Karuizawa and Yukimura to provoke Machida, Ichinose had been steadily collecting information from Cla.s.s A the entire time. I wonder whether Machida has noticed it yet.
Meanwhile, Karuizawa just kept sighing and fiddling with her phone. There are no rules stating one cannot use their phone during the exam's discussion period but it is bad manners for her to do that while the consensus was to find the "target". Or is Karuizawa actually part of the CIA or FBI and is relaying information to Hirata via phone? If she is, I'd respect her a lot...but I doubt it. Of course Karuizawa never puts much effort into anything so this behaviour should be normal, but ever since the exam started, I've noticed something is off with Karuizawa. Karuizawa acting differently, and the reunion with Ibuki and her argument with Manabe's group.
And I realized something. None of her actions then were the 'usual' Karuizawa. In Cla.s.s D, whether her reputation is good or not, there is no denying that she, along with Hirata, brought the cla.s.s together as one. She normally would bring us together as one to clear this exam, whether we had the capacity for it or not, but she never showed any sign of it. Hirata is Hirata no matter where he is, and Kus.h.i.+da is also always Kus.h.i.+da. But Karuizawa has definitely changed. Or perhaps she's feeling inferior to Manabe and her group, who rank above her in terms of the school's caste system. What we need right now for Cla.s.s D to rise through the ranks is not just gathering more points. Compared to cla.s.ses like A and B, Cla.s.s D is still severely lacking in cohesiveness.
Karuizawa Kei, who will be indispensable for that cohesiveness, is an existence who controls the girls of Cla.s.s D. That's my current a.s.sessment. That's why I'm worried about her right now. I need to determine whether she will be a useful existence or a useless existence to me. I cannot afford to take my time in this case considering that the exam period itself is short. Depending on the circ.u.mstances, I might need to use force with her. Immediately once 1 hour had pa.s.sed, Cla.s.s A leaves the room. It seems they intend to keep their stance of keeping their silence to the end. Ichinose sighs and says "Well.....I suppose this is going to be a tough exam. How about you, Ayanokouji-kun? Is this tough on you?" she asks me. The one who called out to me like that, surprisingly, was the student named Ichinose Honami. The girl who rules Cla.s.s B.
She's always calm, smart and collected. She seems to have noticed I have not yet given any opinions in particular about the exam and called out to me. If I happened to be in the same cla.s.s as her, I would have fallen in love with her. She is just that charming. Not just Cla.s.s B, boys from other cla.s.ses must have definitely fallen for her as well. In popularity rankings, Ichinose and Kus.h.i.+da would be direct rivals.
"Honestly, I'm the type to sit back and relax in an exam like this" I tell her. "It's still too early to give up, let's work together to point this in a positive direction!" Ichinose encourages me. It seems Ichinose is determined to fight hard now. "Even if we continue the dialogues, I doubt the "target" will simply give their ident.i.ty up like that. The merits of hiding their ident.i.ty outweighs the demerits of revealing it after all. If something goes wrong, Cla.s.s A's worst case scenario prediction would come true" Ichinose says. Despite saying a negative remark like that, Ichinose's eyes did not lose their confidence. Amongst the various thoughts I had about her, I could not figure out how she was able to maintain this att.i.tude through adversity.
"Either way, it's the end for today's discussion. Good work, both of you". "No such thing. We didn't do anything much". Ichinose switches over to her cla.s.smates instantly after that. I have observed her for today, but I was unable to ascertain what Ichinose's real aims are yet. But at least our group is still producing results this way. She might be concocting a strategy she cannot let anyone else know about for all I know. When Manabe of Cla.s.s C and her friends stood up to leave the room, I chased after them. Once they reached the elevator, I casually called out to Manabe.
"Do you have some time?" I ask her. Once she noticed me, she quickly went back on her guard since she most likely was not expecting me to call out to her. "I overheard your argument with Karuizawa. Something about pus.h.i.+ng over someone in a cafe or something." I tell her. "And what's wrong with that?" she retorts. Normally they would not show any interest in me, but when I brought that topic up, all three girls focused their attention to me. "I'm not 100% sure, but I think I saw Karuizawa push over your friend at the cafe" I told them.
"R-really?" Manabe asked me stiffly. I nod. "Yeah. I didn't like how she acted back then, so I thought I'd give you a heads up" I admit to them. I ignited the fires of argument between Karuizawa and the Cla.s.s C girls deliberately. Truthfully, I didn't see Karuizawa do anything like that, but I lied to create this situation. Now, Manabe and the others are sure to take action against Karuizawa. I'm very excited to see how Karuizawa will respond to that, and how she will change...
5
Once I got back to my room, it was already late and I collapsed on the bed without talking with anyone. Once it was close to 00:00, I thought I'd go to sleep but then I heard a noise. It was Hirata who was staring at me anxiously. Yukimura too, was sitting in the sofa installed in our room. "Good work out there, Ayanokouji-kun. You're quite late" he said to me. "Yeah. Speaking of which, I wanted to ask you something Hirata" I tell him. "You must be tired, but if you're ok with just a while, I'd like to ask you something" Hirata tells me the exact same thing at the same time as me. "Hmm? You wanted to ask me something too?" Hirata asks me.
"No, I'll listen to you first, Hirata. My question is just something trivial". Yukimura also looks like he wants to ask something, probably something related to the exam at hand. If I refuse to listen now, the mood in the room would get awkward. Changing into my jersey, I walk over to the two of them. Hirata moves slightly a bit to give me s.p.a.ce to sit on the sofa as well. I wanted to ask Hirata if he had any information on the person known as Sakayanagi but there's no problem listening to him first.
"I got asked for consultation on the exam from Yukimurkun, so I thought I'd report it to you as well" Hirata tells me. "I did say not to include you to not disturb you, though" he added. I suppose Kouenji in the same room as us would not be interested in such talk after all. "Sorry Hirata Boy, I am currently perfecting my physical beauty" was what Kouenji said. Kouenji, with a naked upper body, was repeatedly doing push ups in the room. He seemed to be sweating quite a bit but that did not seem to affect him at all.
It's not something an ordinary high school student would be capable of. But is Kouenji even properly partic.i.p.ating in this exam, I thought. Hirata answered as if knowing my exact thoughts. "Kouenji-kun is actually partic.i.p.ating in the groups. After all, points do get deducted if he does not show up" Hirata offered.
"I actually received word from my friends that two of our cla.s.smates have been a.s.signed as the "target" you know" Hirata tells me. "What? That means---". "I can't tell you though, they only told me because they trusted me" Hirata shot us down. "Are you saying you don't trust us, Hirata? If you know, I also have the right to know. Also, if we know who the "target" is we might be able to get a hint to clear the exam better. Besides, it's only natural that as fellow cla.s.smates, we share information with each other" Yukimura said that to Hirata. "Yeah....that's why I also thought to consult you on it...the truth is" Hirata said. That's why he wanted to talk to us like this, he already knew who some of the "targets" were.
"Hey Hirata, it might be better for you to tell us via phone just in case. There's no telling who's sniffing around where" I told him. "You're right, give me a moment" Hirata told us. Hirata then turned on his phone and flipped it in our direction. And two names were written there. Kus.h.i.+da of the (Dragon) group and Minami of the (Horse) group. These were the ident.i.ties of two "targets".
"I got it" Yukimura said that without giving anything else away. Since Kus.h.i.+da is the "target", we might be in the advantage in the extremely contested (Dragon) group. But the fact that the "target" is from our cla.s.s is also a scary thought. It would have been best if the "target" happened to be in another cla.s.s. "Don't worry, everything's going well" Hirata a.s.sured me with a confident face. The three members of the (Dragon) group from Cla.s.s D are all capable people who wouldn't betray their ident.i.ty no matter what, he seemed to be saying. "Even in the (Rabbit) group, each cla.s.s should have an equal probability of getting the "target" amongst them. But I think Cla.s.s D could have three "targets", one in the (Rabbit) group who should be keeping their ident.i.ty hidden right now".
"Yeah. Yukimurkun's idea is correct. Perhaps they've consulted someone else instead of me is all. After all, consulting someone on their ident.i.ty could increase the risk of being discovered" Hirata says. While we were having a serious discussion, Kouenji started to sing from across the room. Having been patient for a while, it seems Yukimura finally lost patience with Kouenji after hearing his humming that would seemingly last forever.
"Kouenji, can you stop humming that annoying song? And I won't tell you to do it seriously but at least see this exam through to the end. Don't suddenly retire like you did on the island test" Yukimura rebuked Kouenji. "It couldn't be helped, back then my body was in ill shape, I can't do the impossible" Kouenji simply replied. "Geh...it's just a fake illness". "But to think the exam will continue on for two more days, it sounds troublesome indeed" Kouenji who continued his push ups said that before getting up back on his feet and putting his towel on the bed.
"Troublesome? You're not even thinking about the exam properly" Yukimura accused Kouenji. "There's no meaning in continuing an uninteresting exam, it's just a simple quiz to find the liar after all" Kouenji told him. Kouenji then took out his phone and fiddled with it for a while. Then suddenly, all our phones rang at once and we received a mail from the school. "Kouenji, what did you do?" Yukimura cried out at Kouenji. Then me and Hirata both rushed to check the mail in our phones. It said "The (Monkey) group's test has ended. Students from the (Monkey) group are no longer required to partic.i.p.ate. Please be careful not to disturb the other students".
"The (Monkey) group is yours, Kouenji!". "Exactly. Now I have my freedom back. Adieu" Kouenji simply said before throwing away his cell phone and disappearing into the bathroom, leaving us all in shock.
"D-don't f.u.c.k around! We're all doing our best and that guy---!". "We don't know yet, perhaps he did something...". "That's impossible, he's just doing it to be free as soon as possible". We all reacted to this news. I myself don't think Kouenji ever took the exam seriously. However, he is extremely perceptive and his observation ability is remarkable. If what he said about the exam "find the liar" is true, he may excel at it. Kouenji's actions became known to all the students as Hirata's phone started chirping relentlessly with messages flooding in.
The chat was overflowing with the voices of students who were surprised at the news. I'm sure Katsuragi, Ryuuen and Ichinose would also be surprised by this. No one must have expected a 'traitor' would appear on the very first day of the exam. Horikita has also sent a message to my phone. "Sorry. Things seem confusing. I'll call you now" was the message. "s.h.i.+t. Thanks to Kouenji, things have escalated beyond a simple discussion". "I'm going out for a bit". It seems Yukimura won't be able to sleep after being irritated like that by Kouenji's actions. Having confirmed the discussion's flow has died down, I quietly left the room.
Although Kouenji's actions have ended one group's exam, I cannot keep on dwelling on this forever. Honestly, my actions would be limited in this exam. Even if I plan it out, it would be difficult to guide all the remaining groups to victory for Cla.s.s D. You could even call it an impossible task. If all the students worked together hand-in-hand it would be possible, but that is not happening.
And I cannot interfere with another group's answer using my own phone. There are other methods but there's no time and the stakes are high. If I had information that could completely overturn the tables that's another matter. The ones holding the key to that are Cla.s.s D's Hirata and Kus.h.i.+da. "This is impossible". There are three more days including the holidays. What's impossible is impossible after all.
Even if I gain both of their absolute cooperation, I still don't have enough eyes and ears on my side. I cannot know what is happening in the discussions of every group there is. Of course, including Horikita and Sakura, there might still be a possibility left. As expected, I need more eyes and ears on my side for this exam.
6
A sky full of stars spread out before me. I had stumbled onto the deck of the s.h.i.+p at night trying to find a place. "This is amazing...". It was an order of magnitude above what we usually see in books and pictures. It was a beautiful sight. This is the sort of night view you won't be able to see in large cities. And there were a few male and female students looking up at the starry sky while holding hands and rubbing shoulders. I felt a bit lonely watching that. Since it was dark out with little light I could not see their faces. And I don't care much for romantic outings like that anyways.
But among the students looking up at the night sky there was one girl who was standing alone in a silhouette. "No, no". Even if I called out to her now, I can't just say 'why don't we view the stars together' and try to pick her up that way. I don't want to be there when her boyfriend arrives. But I was interested to see who that girl is so I approached her. The girl noticed me and turned to look at me. "A...a...Ayanokouji-kun?". "That voice...is it Kus.h.i.+da?". And so the girl, Kus.h.i.+da, emerged out of the shadows with a surprised face looking at me.
"Are you...alone?". Perhaps Kus.h.i.+da's here to meet her boyfriend. Thinking that made my chest tighten and hurt. "Yeah. I can't sleep right now" she told me. "Oh, I see". So she's not here for a night view date with her boyfriend after all. I felt relieved knowing that. It seems Kus.h.i.+da just got out of the bath, there was a very comforting scent coming from Kus.h.i.+da who was wearing a jersey. It seems it's the same scent as the shampoo given to us in our rooms.
"Are you not cold?" I asked her. "I'm ok. More importantly, are you here alone Ayanokouji-kun?" she asks me. When I nodded, Kus.h.i.+da laughed happily. "So we're both alone then? I'm a bit happy" she says. "....". I should have said a nice one-liner at this point, but of course I couldn't say it.
On the contrary, my heart rate is increasing just by being alone with Kus.h.i.+da in a place full of couples. Kus.h.i.+da must hate the situation though, deep down inside. "In any case, I'll be taking my leave" I tell her. "You're leaving already?". "Yeah, I'm getting sleepy" I reply to her. Of course I didn't want to sleep at all but it can't be helped. "I see, then I'll see you tomorrow, Ayanokouji-kun!". "Good night, Kus.h.i.+da".
After exchanging farewells with her, I pathetically turn my back to leave. But then. "Wait!!!" Kus.h.i.+da screamed and jumped into my chest. I could feel her warmth even through her jersey in this cold weather.
"K-k-k-Kus.h.i.+da? W-what are you doing?" I ask her. Of course, in this unexpected situation, I was panicking. It was beyond my understanding. ".....". But Kus.h.i.+da did not answer me immediately.
Then, in a small, squeaking voice. She says "Sorry...suddenly I...felt a bit lonely being alone by myself". She whispered that to me while being in my chest. Those words were like a boxer's punch to me and my brain went blank for a moment. And for a few more seconds, Kus.h.i.+da kept burying her face in my chest. And then suddenly, as if a spell was broken, she released me and took her distance.
"S-sorry. I suddenly hugged Ayanokouji-kun...good night!". I couldn't see Kus.h.i.+da's face very well in the dark, but I had a feeling she was also blus.h.i.+ng. And without saying anything, Kus.h.i.+da ran away, leaving me to stand there holding my chest to feel the warmth that she left behind.
Thanks to this, I won't be able to sleep anymore tonight. I can't return to my room like this. So I decided to walk around the s.h.i.+p for a while. "Aahhh...that surprised me. Now that it's over I feel a bit thirsty now" I say to myself.
There should be a few vending machines on the first floor and so I decided to head there before returning to my room. But then near the vending machine, I found a strange group of three people. There was Chabas.h.i.+rsensei, and Cla.s.s B's Hos.h.i.+nomiysensei and Cla.s.s A's Mas.h.i.+msensei. They were sitting on the sofa and quietly spending their time. This area is technically not off-limits to the students, but since there is a bar here that none of the students could enter, students usually avoid coming here.
I came here for a change, but it seems like I've stumbled onto the chance to gain some information. I erased my presence and slowly and quietly approached them. "You know, it's been a while. Since the three of us got together like this". "It's fate, in the end we all chose the path of the teacher". "Stop it. There's no point in talking about that". "Oh yeah, speaking of which, I saw you on a date. New girlfriend? Mas.h.i.+mkun, you're surprisingly motivated on that front".
"Chie, how about you? What happened to your former man?". "Haha, I broke up with him after two weeks. You see, I'm the type of girl that does it with a man and breaks it off before the relations.h.i.+p gets serious" Hos.h.i.+nomiysensei replies.
"That's usually the man's line, you know". "Ahh, but I'm not doing it with Mas.h.i.+mkun. You're my best friend after all, I'd hate to ruin our friends.h.i.+p" she tells Mas.h.i.+msensei. "Relax. It's not about that". "Uwaaa...that's a shock all on its own" Hos.h.i.+nomiysensei pours whiskey into an empty gla.s.s and drank it all in one, large gulp. Compared to that, Chabas.h.i.+rsensei was slowly sipping on sake as if it were a c.o.c.ktail. "More importantly, what are you going to do, Chie?". "What're you talking about so suddenly?".
"Generally, the policy here is to put all the representatives of each cla.s.s in the (Dragon) group". "I'm not intending on messing around here. Indeed as far as att.i.tude and grades go, Ichinose-san is the top of my cla.s.s, but the probability of success in society cannot be measured by numerical parameters only. I decided there is a hurdle she must overcome before that. Besides putting her in (Rabbit) group is fitting. A rabbit is cute right? Going pyonpyon, just like Ichinose-san" Hos.h.i.+nomiysensei said.
"I hope you're right". "Hos.h.i.+nomiya's words are indeed reasonable, is there some hidden meaning behind them?". "I just don't want you to make judgments based on personal grudges". "Are you still talking about what happened 10 years ago? I thought we got over that...". "I wonder, you're the type to run their mouth as soon as I'm not immediately in front of you. You're the type that's not satisfied unless you're one step ahead. That's why you put Ichinose in (Rabbit) group right?". "What do you mean? Explain, Hos.h.i.+nomiya".
"I genuinely thought Ichinose-san needed to learn a lesson so I had her removed from (Dragon) group. Speaking of which, Sae-chan was also focusing quite a bit on Ayanokouji-kun. It's just a coincidence right? Coincidence, coincidence. When the island test ended, you seemed glad Ayanokouji-kun turned out to be the leader?" Hos.h.i.+nomiysensei said. "That's unrelated". But Mas.h.i.+msensei nodded as if he were convinced. But then he spoke to Hos.h.i.+nomiysensei in a strict tone. "There's no specific rule for it but I want to protect our morals. I'd like to avoid reporting on a colleague's failure" he said. "Hey, you might not trust me. But don't just blame me, Sakagami-sensei is also a problem right? Cla.s.s C already has a bad reputation since another person should've been in (Dragon) group but Ryuuen-kun was sent in instead." she replied. "Indeed, the students this year seem to all be special". I have gotten quite a bit of information on the exam already so I decided to go back. If I stayed, I'd only get wrapped up in further trouble. I already know now that Ichinose was sent to scout me. It seems my movements are already been noticed and restricted.
