Chapter 8: Ayanokouji VS. Sakayanagi

Chapter 8:
Ayanokouji VS. Sakayanagi

 

AFTER A LONG PERIOD of preparation, the day of the final special exam for the first-year students was here. The commanders of the two losing classes would be expelled—or, more accurately, stripped of their Protection Points. While no one would be getting expelled, you might say the most important aspect of this exam was that class points could fluctuate significantly. Depending on the outcome, there was a significant possibility that the entire class hierarchy would be flipped.

“Forget about all the data from the notebook I showed you yesterday and forget about everything I told you,” Horikita, my neighbor, said while we waited for our morning homeroom to begin. “Choose whatever five events you like and then select who will compete.”

“If I take over and it messes with your plans, won’t the other students be unable to adapt, though?”

“I made no promises to anyone about what events we were going with, or if they’d be put in play or not. I simply said that I would be playing things by ear, making decisions and reacting logically to our needs at the moment, depending on the ten events that come up and the order. So, it should be fine,” she answered.

Meaning she’d set everything up perfectly, and in such a way that I could fight without anything to bother me.

“I’m not taking responsibility even if something goes wrong, though,” I told her.

“This is a class-wide competition. Even if the commanders are able to intervene, this exam is basically testing Class C’s overall abilities. Our enemy is Class A, led by Sakayanagi-san. The most formidable opponent in our grade. Even if you lose, no one will blame you.”

Giving Horikita a sidelong glance, I checked the last message that she had sent me. It was a record of everything the students in Class C had done for the past two weeks to prepare for the special exam. Stuff like what everyone had discussed, what events students had practiced for, and how they’d practiced for those events.

“I’ll put your efforts to good use. All your efforts,” I told her.

As I got up from my seat and was about to walk away, Horikita gave me a few parting words.

“The chances of chess being chosen are seven out of ten. That’s not low,” she told me.

Over the past several days, Horikita and I had played several games of chess.

“In the end, I hardly ever won against you, even when you were going easy on me,” she added.

It was certainly true that she had only beat me a few times. Few enough to count on my fingers. But there was no need to count her losses, really. The chess skills Horikita had picked up in such a short period of time were quite impressive.

“No matter who I’m up against, there’s no one out there stronger than me, even when I’m slacking off. Don’t forget that,” I told her.

“You sure have a great deal of confidence in yourself.”

Having finished my conversation with Horikita, I left to go fulfill my duties as commander. The remaining students were basically on standby, waiting for me to issue them instructions from the multi-purpose room. After the events were announced, the students would then go to the designated locations, get changed, and so on. Since finer details wouldn’t be shown on the monitors, information would probably be shared when they returned.

8.1

 

I ENTERED THE SPECIAL BUILDING and headed toward my destination. When I got there, I saw that Sakayanagi and Ichinose, who had arrived before me, were chatting. Apparently, the multi-purpose room hadn’t been opened to us yet.

“Good morning to you, Ayanokouji-kun,” said Sakayanagi.

“Good morning, Ayanokouji-kun!” said Ichinose.

They both greeted me at the same time. I raised my hand to give them a relaxed wave in response.

“Seems like we’re not allowed in yet,” I remarked.

“They told us to let them know once all four of us had arrived here,” said Ichinose.

That was probably to ensure that the exam was carried out as fairly as possible. If someone were allowed to go in the multi-purpose room before everyone else, they’d be able to get a feel for the test location, perhaps even use that to calm their mind. Considering this was a particularly unique special exam, I supposed there was no limit to how far they’d go to ensure it was fair.

“Seems like we’re only missing Kaneda then,” I observed.

“Yep,” replied Ichinose.

I looked around. While I still didn’t see any sign of Kaneda, I supposed it wasn’t like he would be late.

“I must say, you really are quite lucky, aren’t you, Ichinose-san?” said Sakayanagi.

“Huh? Lucky?”

“As they are right now, Class D is essentially a bunch of infants. It’s not like they could beat Class B, even in a million years. I suppose the only question that remains is how many wins you can accumulate, hm? If you manage to win all seven events in a row, then it’s even possible that you’ll change places with us, depending on how Class A performs,” said Sakayanagi.

“Well, I don’t know about that. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’m sure they’ll fight us tooth and nail. We can’t be too careful,” said Ichinose.

Upon seeing Ichinose’s renewed determination, an amused smile appeared on Sakayanagi’s lips.

“Oh, did I say something weird or something?” said Ichinose, puzzled.

“Not at all. It’s just that you spoke as if you’re already on top, just waiting for a challenger to appear. If nothing else, it seems you don’t see Class D as an equal opponent. But I suppose that’s only to be expected from the leader who defended Class B for the entire year,” said Sakayanagi.

Her words were a touch mean-spirited. But Ichinose didn’t let it get to her.

“We came here with a strategy to win this, too. We’re not going down that easily, especially in an exam where unity plays such a big part,” said Ichinose.

“I see. Please pardon my rudeness. You are most certainly correct, Ichinose-san,” replied Sakayanagi.

I looked through the window while I listened to their conversation. April was almost here, and the weather was clear, with not a single cloud in the wide-open sky.

Five minutes passed, and we started to wonder if Class D might be late. Then, finally, we heard the faint sound of approaching footsteps from the hallway.

“Seems he’s not late or he’s abstaining from the contest due to nerves, after all.” Sakayanagi sounded amused that Kaneda would be showing up at the last possible minute.

Ichinose seemed to be trying to regain her composure and focus, now that the test was finally about to begin. We’d meet up with Kaneda and all enter the multi-purpose room together. That was what the three of us had imagined would happen.

But…

Someone unexpected showed up instead.

Ichinose looked the most shocked of everyone present when this newcomer entered our field of vision. While Sakayanagi was surprised as well, her eyes quickly changed to show amusement.

“…Ryuuen-kun? Why…are you here…?”

A wave of uneasiness seemed to wash over Ichinose. Well, actually, neither Sakayanagi nor I had expected this to happen.

“What’s the matter? What are you all upset for?” Ryuuen, the former leader of Class D, deliberately drew attention to the fact that Ichinose was upset.

“I see… Well, I hadn’t expected this. I had thoroughly convinced myself that the commanders for this special exam would be the students with Protection Points,” said Sakayanagi, the first of us to figure out what was going on. Kaneda was nowhere to be seen.

“The special exam can’t start without the commanders. Meaning, if the commander is absent, then obviously someone has to take their place. Isn’t that right?” said Ryuuen.

I supposed an unexpected absence on the day of the exam was certainly a possibility. There was probably some kind of system the school had in place for such an event, like having one or two people ready as replacements for the commander. And of course, if that happened, the substitute commander would be the one to accept responsibility in the event of a loss.

“I see. Still, I never imagined that this would happen and that you’d be here, Ryuuen-kun,” said Ichinose.

“Well, yeah, I s’pose not. Especially you, Ichinose. Even if you sprung a fever or got injured on the day of the event, I guess you’d still come crawling along the floor to avoid letting other students run the risk of gettin’ expelled, huh,” said Ryuuen.

There was no way to prevent the commander’s expulsion other than a Protection Point, in the event of a loss. Just as Sakayanagi had said, we’d all assumed that the students who had Protection Points would be the commanders for this special exam.

Ichinose cleared her throat. I was sure she’d been wary of this back when the special exam was first, but the possibility had vanished from her mind once Kaneda was determined to be the commander for Class D. If I had to guess, Ichinose had unconsciously gone through the options in her head and eliminated Ryuuen as a potential commander, without even realizing it. She’d assumed we’d all be facing off against students who had Protection Points.

“So, I’m guessing that there must be some kind of penalty for someone to participate as a substitute, right?” asked Ichinose.

“Yep. Kaneda isn’t allowed to participate in any events. I mean, that’s pretty reasonable, all things considered,” answered Ryuuen, apparently having already factored in the penalty into his decision.

“Did you do this to shock me? Even if you did, won’t it be bad for you guys if Kaneda-kun can’t participate?” asked Ichinose.

While I didn’t know everything there was to know about Kaneda, he was at least an asset to Class D. So what was the point of this bizarre strategy, which required losing him? That part gnawed at me. When had it been decided that Ryuuen would be the commander? If it had been decided right away, did that mean that this was all part of the plan?

The same questions were undoubtedly racing through Ichinose’s mind right now, making her feel terribly confused.

“Hey, come on, no need to keep your guard up around me. I’m just a human sacrifice. The commander from the losing class gets expelled, remember? This just means that those Class D knuckleheads can officially get rid of me. That’s all there is to it, right?” sneered Ryuuen.

“So, does that mean that you’ll take it easy on me?” said Ichinose.

“Ku ku. Sure, I’ll ease up on ya. So, just relax and bring it,” said Ryuuen, spreading his arms out wide, like he was welcoming her to come at him.

But there was no way Ichinose was going to let her guard down.

“When you want to win, you do so by any means necessary. That’s the way you do things, isn’t it?” said Ichinose.

“When I’ve decided that I’m gonna win, then yeah, it is.”

“Well, I wish you wouldn’t. You don’t have a Protection Point, Ryuuen-kun. You’re fighting with your back to the wall, making your last stand. I can’t help but have a sinking feeling Class B might end up losing this,” said Ichinose.

Ichinose was the kind of person who worked hard to build confidence, trust, and security from the ground up. She wasn’t good at dealing with sudden, unexpected developments. She would’ve been just fine up against a normal opponent, but Ryuuen was anything but normal.

The shock might not stop at Ichinose, either, but soon spread to the rest of the students in Class B. Everyone in her class would inevitably notice that Ryuuen had become the commander. And even if they didn’t, Ishizaki and the others would let them know. And if that happened, the Class B students wouldn’t be able to hide how flustered they were, just like Ichinose. For Ryuuen, who was supposed to have been neutralized, to have become the commander… The students of Class B couldn’t possibly predict what he’d instruct his classmates to do, and that would scare them.

“Well, well, it seems the showdown between Class B and Class D is…shaping up to be quite interesting,” said Sakayanagi.

This wasn’t exactly a laughing matter for Ichinose, though. She should have taken action back when Class D students were repeatedly stalking and harassing her classmates. If she’d been able to detect Ryuuen’s presence in the background at the time, then she might not have been so flustered right now.

“Well, now that everyone is here, let’s be going, shall we?” said Sakayanagi.

With Sakayanagi leading the way, we entered the multi-purpose room. When we got inside, we saw a newly constructed wall that hadn’t been there on the first day. It divided the room into two perfect halves. Though it was a temporary construction, it looked quite sturdy, and seemed to be quite soundproof, too. The four instructors in charge of the first-year classes were lined up, waiting for us.

“Class B and Class D representatives, please move over to the other side,” said Mashima-sensei.

As per his instructions, Ichinose and Ryuuen went over to the other side of the wall, disappearing from view. Chabashira followed after them. We, the commanders of Class A and Class C, were guided by Class D’s Sakagami-sensei and Class B’s Hoshinomiya-sensei. It seemed the teachers had been put in charge of classes other than their own.

“The exam will begin in five minutes, so take this time to mentally prepare yourselves, okay?” Hoshinomiya-sensei advised us, before going off to have what looked like a final talk with Sakagami-sensei.

Sakayanagi and I had a little bit of time alone before the exam started. Just the two of us.

“Finally… The day has finally come. To be honest, I wasn’t able to sleep last night, and I almost overslept this morning,” said Sakayanagi.

“I don’t recall making you wait that long for this. Besides, it was just a coincidence that you and I met in the first place.”

“Are you saying that if you hadn’t come to this school, we wouldn’t have met?” she asked.

I nodded in response. She laughed, rejecting my answer.

“It’s certainly true that our reunion at this school was mere coincidence, yes. However, I was absolutely sure the day would come when we would meet again. It was fated to happen,” said Sakayanagi.

“Fate? Okay, now you’re saying some pretty abstract stuff,” I told her.

“I am but a young maiden, after all,” she answered, smiling, approaching me slowly while holding onto her cane. “If you hadn’t enrolled at this school, I suppose I would have postponed our meeting for another three years. I was confident I could rein in my excitement, hide it deep down, and avoid rushing things. But that quickly proved to be quite impossible. From the moment I knew you were this close to me, the days just seemed to get longer and longer. I wanted to fight you right away. It took an unbelievable degree of effort to restrain myself. That’s how much I dreamed of this day.”

The words poured eloquently from her mouth. So, her wish was being granted, huh?

“Aren’t you afraid of waking up from this dream?” I asked her.

Once we actually competed against each other, there’d be no going back from it.

“I suppose everyone has to wake up at some point,” she replied.

She didn’t mind if she woke up. Or maybe, that was just how she felt today.

“Normally, I would…ask you to please be gentle with me, but…” said Sakayanagi.

Her eyes didn’t look like that of a young maiden’s. They had the sharpness of a hunter stalking its prey.

“Please come at me with all your might,” she said.

If I pulled my punches, she wouldn’t be happy. I wasn’t doing this to make her happy…but it would get annoying to stay involved with her any further. At the same time, I had my doubts about whether this special exam would really satisfy her.

As if she had sensed what I was thinking, Sakayanagi spoke up once more. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel conflicted. The contents of this special exam are far too inadequate for both of us to sufficiently demonstrate our abilities. And even though we are the commanders, there is a limit to how much we can intervene.”

The school would never implement an exam where the outcome depended on the efforts of a single person—the commander. Even so, Sakayanagi was saying that as long as the two of us could have our showdown, everything else was trivial.

“That being said, I suppose it would give rise to other problems if the commanders had too much involvement in the exam. I’m trying to be considerate of you, Ayanokouji-kun. You don’t want your classmates to find out about your abilities, after all. Right?”

I was grateful for her consideration. If this test had been set up to let the commander’s involvement have a significant impact on the outcome of every event, then I probably wouldn’t have been able to use my abilities to their fullest.

“All right! The exam is just about to begin. Please take your seats!” said Hoshinomiya-sensei.

In response to her instructions, Sakayanagi and I sat across from one another, with the computers and equipment between us. Naturally, this meant we couldn’t see each other’s faces.

Displayed on my computer screen were pictures of the faces of everyone in Class C. Thirty-eight people, excluding me. These were the people I would be assigning as participants to the events that were selected.

Next, the ten events that we had prepared were displayed.

“I am Sakagami, and I will be in charge of proctoring this special exam for you. So, without further delay, let us begin the final special exam for the first-year students. We ask that the representatives from each class press select five events and then press the confirm button.”

I selected the five events Horikita had her mind set on and pressed the button without hesitation. Sakayanagi must have finished making her choices for Class A not long after, because the results were displayed on the large monitor.

The five events I had chosen from our list were Archery, Basketball, Ping Pong, Typing Skills, and Tennis.

I’d racked my brain over whether or not to throw in an interesting event like “Rock Paper Scissors,” but decided against it. I threw out the idea of using the English event since Class A already had something involving that subject, and also decided against Soccer, Piano, and Swimming, because even though Hirata and Onodera were skilled in their respective fields, it was very likely that they’d be useful in other events. Furthermore, Class C’s strategy was to primarily focus on sports.

The five events that Sakayanagi had chosen from Class A’s list were Chess, English Test, Contemporary Literature, Mathematics Test, and Flash Mental Arithmetic. So, we had our total of ten. Three of the events Katsuragi had told us he thought were sure things had been selected, after all. So had both the events that he thought might be runners-up after the main three: Flash Mental Arithmetic and Contemporary Literature. He was exactly right.

That being said, nothing really changed in the end. Because I deliberately hadn’t told Horikita about it.

“Now, we’ll be holding a completely randomized drawing to determine the seven events you’ll be competing in,” said Sakagami-sensei.

“You know, Ayanokouji-kun, I feel pretty sorry for you, having to go up against Sakayanagi-san. You have my sympathy,” said Hoshinomiya-sensei.

“Hoshinomiya-sensei, please be discreet,” said Sakagami-sensei.

“O-okay. Sorry for speaking out of turn.”

For some reason or another, Sakagami-sensei seemed to be upset with her. She responded with an apologetic pose.

“The results of the drawing will be displayed on the large monitor in the center. Please take a look,” said Sakagami-sensei, urging us to look at the screen, which was now displaying something new.

A 3D image flashed on the screen, followed by the titles of the selected events displayed. The first event that came up on the screen was…

Basketball

Required Participants: 5 Persons

Allotted Time: 20 Minutes (Two 10-Minute Halves)

Rules: Standard basketball rules apply.

Commander: The commander can switch out one player at any point in the game.

It was a five-on-five sporting event. And it was an event that we had chosen. Meaning it was something we absolutely could not afford to lose.

“Sakagami-sensei, are students permitted to speak freely with one another?” asked Sakayanagi.

“There aren’t any rules specifically forbidding it. Please feel free.”

“So, we’re free to engage in a battle of words, then?”

Sakayanagi had directly admitted what her intentions were. But Sakagami-sensei didn’t object.

“Jeez, you’re so merciless, Sakagami-san!” said Hoshinomiya-sensei, probably seeing this as him giving Sakayanagi permission to launch into a merciless assault against me.

“Hoshinomiya-sensei,” he replied.

“Oh, yes, sorry! Not another peep out of me!”

So, while the students were free to speak, the teachers were not. Hoshinomiya-sensei got chewed out each time she spoke up.

“Well, it seems Class C has chosen to compete in a fair number of sporting events, just as expected. Considering that you have few academically skilled students, I suppose that’s understandable. And I’m sure Sudou-kun is your key player for basketball, hm? He is one of the best basketball players at this school. I have a feeling we won’t stand a chance of winning, with our inferior team.”

Sakayanagi offered me her analysis, apparently wanting to verbally spar with me, but I chose to remain silent for the time being. I wanted to avoid making too much of an impression on Hoshinomiya-sensei and Sakagami-sensei.

“Did the true commander, Horikita-san…order you not to say too much?” asked Sakayanagi.

Once she realized I wasn’t going to reply, she kept going.

“If that’s the case, then whatever you say should have no effect on your selection process. Don’t you think so?”

Sakayanagi knew that I was trying to say as little as possible when we were in front of the teachers.

“Horikita warned me not to say too much to you. She said if I carelessly let something slip, I’d just fall for one of your tricks and you’d turn the tables on me.”

“Fu fu. Oh no, that’s no good, Ayanokouji-kun. Now you’ve gone and given me an advantage. You really should have kept the identity of whoever is controlling you from the shadows hidden. If you reveal that it’s Horikita-san, then I can make some inferences based on her personality and behavioral patterns,” said Sakayanagi.

“Well, that…doesn’t necessarily mean I’m getting instructions from Horikita, though,” I answered.

“Didn’t you just say that you did, though? You just said Horikita-san gave you instructions.”

Hoshinomiya-sensei, seeing Sakayanagi chuckling at me, held her hand up to her forehead, letting out an “Oh, no…”

Sakagami simply shook his head at seeing Sakayanagi extract information from me so quickly.

“No, I just said that Horikita warned me… The instructions might have been from someone else.”

“Might have? No, no, you really should definitely claim that it was someone else, even if it’s a lie,” said Sakayanagi, chiding me.

Not only had Sakayanagi seen through me, but she was going so far as to help me out. Our little back and forth was bound to have conveyed the overwhelming gap in power between us to the teachers.

Now that we’d worked together to fool the two teachers, I supposed, the special exam could begin.

“What’s the point, anyway? We carefully considered the kinds of things you might come up with, Sakayanagi. And we’re going to stick to that as we handle this test. You may have realized that Horikita was the one who came up with all of our plans, but all that does is put us on an equal footing.”

“My, oh, my, you just came right out and admitted it, hm? But when was it ever established that I was the one who devised Class A’s strategies? Just like you, Ayanokouji-kun, I have as many heads to put together as I do classmates. Haven’t you considered the fact that we might also have run a series of calculations in preparation for this test?”

“That’s…”

A few dozen seconds had passed since we had been given permission to engage in a battle of words. Sakagami-sensei, apparently unable to watch anymore, pushed the exam forward.

“The clock is ticking. While I did tell you that you’re free to speak, please do not neglect the task at hand,” he stated.

Of course, my conversation with Sakayanagi didn’t have the slightest impact on my mental state. The only ones who were worried were the teachers. To Sakayanagi and me, this was basically nothing more than idle chatter.

Once we were both done making our team selections, the students who would be playing basketball from both classes were displayed on the screen at the same time.

The five students from my class were: Makida Susume, the ace player of our lineup; Minami Setsuya; Ike Kanji; Hondou Ryoutarou; and Onodera Kayano. Sudou was not included in the lineup. Also, I had included one girl. And, as mentioned earlier, our ace player was Makita. According to Sudou, if Makita practiced with the basketball team, then his skills should be up to par.

Additionally, while Onodera’s forte was swimming, it seemed her basketball skills were nothing to scoff at. Apparently, it was decided that picking her would result in the team functioning better than if we just threw in another guy with little to no experience.

Class A, on the other hand, chose Machida Kouji, Toba Shigeru, Kamuro Masumi, Shimizu Naoki, and Kitou Hayato as their five players. They had also included one girl in their lineup. According to the information I had from Hirata, Kei, and Kushida, our team should take the win.

I couldn’t clearly see Sakagami-sensei’s face, as he was standing over on Class A’s side, but I could clearly see Hoshinomiya-sensei, who stood beside me. I could immediately tell that she was having doubts about my leadership. That was understandable, considering the fact that Sudou Ken, thought to be a shoo-in for basketball, was absent.

Of course, that was part of the strategy that Horikita and everyone else in Class C had discussed, not something I’d decided on. Though it was only natural that Sakayanagi would see through such a strategy.

“So, you’re deliberately withholding Sudou-kun from this event and hoping to win without him. I see. Well, considering Sudou-kun’s physical prowess, it wouldn’t be strange for him to be skilled at Ping Pong or Tennis, too. Everything is still as I anticipated.”

If we’d played Sudou right away, we could’ve safely ensured Class C’s victory. On the other hand, Class A couldn’t have been happy about basketball being chosen in the first place, probably because they immediately assumed Sudou would be on our team. Honestly, if Class A went head-to-head with Class C in a game led by Sudou, their chances of winning were low. With that in mind, they would have wanted to avoid wasting their more athletic students on this event, knowing that if Sudou had already been put in play for basketball, they’d have an advantage over Class C in the events to come.

In light of that, Class C had deliberately avoided selecting Sudou for this event. If possible, we wanted to hold onto a valuable asset like Sudou, who could shine in any sporting events selected after this. If Tennis or Ping Pong were chosen after this, then Sudou’s availability would be a major factor.

However, looking at Class A’s lineup, it seemed they’d seen right through our hastily concocted plans.

“By the way, who was it who decided on the rules for the commander’s involvement? That they may ‘switch one player’ at any time? Was it Horikita-san who thought of that, perhaps? You do realize it made your intentions quite clear to us, don’t you?” said Sakayanagi.

“Sorry, but I can’t answer that.”

“I see. Well, if you cannot answer, then I suppose there’s no use asking.”

On the other side of the monitor, preparations were quickly underway. The game would be starting before long. In the meantime, all we could do was stand by and watch things unfold. The only thing we could do in this event was see how things were going and substitute one player.

That one decision, however, could mean the difference between victory and defeat.

Once the whistle sounded, the nerve-wracking 10-minute first half of the game began. Even though we didn’t have Sudou on the team, Class C played on an almost equal footing with Class A at the outset. It was neck-and-neck. One side scored two points, then the other one scored two points, too. Even the teachers found themselves drawn to watching the game, unsure of who was going to win.

Makida, the one we’d picked to lead our team, wasn’t bad at all. Even though he was nowhere near as good as Sudou, his skills were above average, and he carried the team fairly well as our ace player. Class A, had selected Kitou as their ace player, and he was keeping up with Makida, competing on even ground.

Once we got through the first period, the score was twelve to eleven. Just a one-point difference. Class C had just barely taken the lead with a single point.

“Quite a fascinating game,” said Sakayanagi, expressing her thoughts.

It was hard to tell which team would come out on top. The second half of the game would begin after a four-minute half-time break.

Sakayanagi didn’t move. Even though we had a one-point lead, she must have judged both teams evenly matched and decided to just wait things out. I, however, reached for the keyboard in front of me without delay. Deciding to swap Sudou in, I pulled Ike out.

It was certainly true that the teams seemed evenly matched at first glance. There was no way to tell how the game would play out, and as a result, I’d been hesitating over whether or not to put Sudou in over the past ten minutes.

“Fu fu.” Sakayanagi let out a slight chuckle. It didn’t seem like she was going to let us try and hold Sudou in reserve.

On the monitor, Sudou was warming up. It would have made sense for him to have some doubts about being swapped in at this juncture, but his expression was serious. Apparently, he’d sensed the same thing I had.

“The game’s still an even match. No, actually, Class C has a slight lead. Don’t you think it’s a bit premature, calling him in now?” she asked.

“I just thought I should make absolutely certain we pick up this win,” I answered.

“Well, this first game is quite important, so I understand how you feel. And there’s no guarantee whatsoever that Tennis or Ping Pong will be selected after this. If there is no event where you can make use of Sudou-kun, there’s no point in trying to hold him in reserve,” said Sakayanagi.

“Shouldn’t you be swapping out a player, too?” I asked.

“There’s no need. We went into this game with a winning line-up from the very beginning.”

Kitou, who had been marking Makita before, was now marking Sudou. Sudou had been watching the game from the other room since it started. He should have noticed the gap in their abilities already.

After the four minutes were past, the second half of the game started. Kitou stuck to Sudou closely, and his movements were now twice as sharp as they were before.

“Damn, I knew it… You were holdin’ back before, weren’t ya?!”

I could hear Sudou shouting through the monitor. I’d known all along that Class A had been holding back to make us bring Sudou out. But there was no way for us to tell exactly how much they were holding back until I pitted Sudou against them.

Kitou stuck to Sudou fiercely, but Sudou was still a cut above, weaving through their defense and making it to their side of the court. The students from Class A desperately fought back against Class C, led by Sudou, to stop his advance. Even though Sudou was clearly head-and-shoulders above them, it seemed the Class A players were better than the other people on our team. The score was now seventeen to thirteen. The gap had widened.

However, rather than looking more ragged, our opponents were gradually playing smarter and better.

“Hey, Kitou! You do play basketball, don’t you?!”

“No. You’re simply being driven into a corner by a bunch of novices.”

“You friggin’ liar!”

“There’s no need for me to lie. My teammates and I have only been practicing for a little less than a week. It seems like you’re quite confident in your basketball skills, but you’re not all that impressive after all.”

“Screw you!”

Since there was no cheering, I could hear Sudou and Kitou’s exchange through the monitor, albeit only faintly. Sudou, riled up thanks to his opponent telling him that he was struggling against a bunch of amateur players, was beginning to lose a little bit of his luster, his game starting to suffer.

“Fu fu. He is lying, of course. Kitou-kun is an experienced basketball player,” said Sakayanagi.

Getting Sudou all riled up was probably part of Sakayanagi’s plan. She had likely instructed Kitou to do so.

“If we shake him up with psychological attacks, Sudou-kun will break down. No matter how skilled he might be, if his mind is immature, it leaves a weakness for us to exploit.”

The student named Kitou was quite good at basketball. He’d deliberately held himself back and pretended to be on even ground with the students in Class C, aiming to delay Sudou’s entry into the game and stage a come-from-behind win. And, if that plan didn’t work, he was going to try to win by riling Sudou up and breaking his concentration. Sakayanagi’s two-part strategy had brilliantly countered our plans.

“We’ll be catching up with you soon,” said Sakayanagi.

Kitou sank another shot, bringing the score to seventeen to fifteen. Class A was on our tail. It certainly seemed Sudou’s disordered mental state would give way to an even playing field.

However…

“You said that Sudou is mentally immature. When did you get that information?” I asked.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

Sudou had shown significant growth over this past year. So much so that his spirit wouldn’t be shaken by something like this. He knew Horikita was never going to praise him for looking cool during the game—but that she would value him leading our team to victory.

“Oraa!”

“Ngh?!”

Even though he was shouting and grunting loudly, he was back in top form. Sudou slipped past Kitou and blazed down the court like a man on a mission. No one could stop him. He made a magnificent dunk, putting Class C further in the lead.

“Heh… I got a little hot-headed back there but… Ain’t no way you’re beating me.”

Kitou was good, but Sudou, having regained his cool, was definitely one or two notches above him.

“I see. So, he’s matured too, has he?”

Sudou didn’t falter again for the rest of the game. Instead, he skillfully pulled his team to victory. Eventually, we heard the sound of the whistle, signaling the end of the game.

“Oh, yeah! I did it, Suzune!”

Sudou pumped his fist in the air, striking a triumphant pose. He was so excited that you might think he’d just won a championship game or something. Still, I could say this win warranted being overjoyed, considering how much he put into it.

“Well. I thought we stood a chance, but it would seem his skills are superior, after all,” said Sakayanagi.

It seemed she’d been seriously trying to score a win in that first game, regardless of whether or not Sudou was put in. The final score was twenty-four to sixteen. The first event had ended in a spectacular win for Class C.

“Wow, who would’ve thought Class C would get the first win? I guess you never can tell,” mumbled Hoshinomiya-sensei, as if she were speaking to herself. She sounded genuinely impressed.

However, though we won, we’d ended up playing our trump card already. The moment that Sudou was put in the game, it had become an event where victory was absolutely mandatory.

8.2

 

THE SECOND EVENT was about to begin. The result of the drawing was…

Typing Skills

Required Participants: 1 Person

Allotted Time: 30 Minutes

Rules: A competition of speed and accuracy, focused on three categories of Typing Skills: Vocabulary, Short Answer, and Long Answer.

Commander: The commander will be allowed to notify the participant of one mistake that they’ve made during the exam.

This was also an event that Class C had submitted, a one-on-one competition. Apparently, luck was on our side. This event was suggested by the Professor, who was the best at all things related to computers in our class. In fact, he was in a league of his own in Class C when it came to typing speed. He seemed to be unquestionably fast, even compared to the national average.

That didn’t mean we were home safe. We had no way to ascertain how many students in Class A had good typing skills, and just how good those skills were. All we could do was trust in the Professor’s skills. Nothing more.

But there was a reason why we’d decided to go with this event.

“My, another interesting event chosen by Class C. Although it might seem frivolous at first glance, typing is a fundamental skill in the world of information technology. You might even say it’s an essential skill. I suppose it’s understandable why the school would accept such an event,” said Sakayanagi.

Class A had a fundamental advantage when it came to academics. Horikita had probably wanted to choose skill-based events where academics wouldn’t play as critical a role in determining the outcome.

“I suppose that everyone has one or two things that they’re good at. It’s difficult to conclusively say you’re better than others when it comes to actually competing in a field like this, though. You must have someone who claims to be quite confident in their typing skills,” said Sakayanagi.

Generally, students who were skilled enough to win in a one-on-one competition had a high chance of shining in other events, too. Like putting Onodera, who was a proficient swimmer, in play for basketball. At the other end of the spectrum, putting a student who was only good at one specific thing, like the Professor, in a one-on-one match gave us an advantage in future events. So, naturally, I chose the Professor… Sotomura Hideo.

On the other hand, Sakayanagi chose Yoshida Kenta. Someone I had practically no information about. For this event, we’d tried to limit the commander’s intervention as much as possible. Our strategy was to prevent Sakayanagi from butting in to the extent we could. The scoring would be handled by a computer-based application prepared by the school.

And the results were…

“Class C, Sotomura Hideo, ninety points. Class A, Yoshida Kenta, eighty-three points. Class C wins,” announced Sakagami after the exam was over.

A difference of a mere seven points. I honestly felt a bit of a shiver go up my spine when I heard those results, but I supposed a win was a win, even if it was only by one point.

“Well, even though we were close, it would appear we fell short. I suppose things aren’t so simple for us, after all.”

Class A losing twice in succession was an unexpected development, but in some sense, it was unavoidable. Both of those events were chosen by Class C, so there was hardly anything Sakayanagi could have done.

8.3

 

AND SO, Class C had won the first two battles. So far, in addition to having luck on our side, it looked like Horikita’s strategy was coming together brilliantly.

There were eight events remaining. We would have loved to keep drawing from the ones our class had submitted, but…

English Test

Required Participants: 8 Persons

Allotted Time: 50 Minutes

Rules: Students will answer a set of questions within the scope of what they would find in the first-year curriculum. The winner will be decided based on total points.

Commander: The commander can answer one single question on behalf of a participant.

The third event was a written test. Something I’d figured was coming sooner or later. The crux of this special exam was figuring out how to win the events that your opponent had selected. If we managed to win this one, we’d gain an even bigger advantage than simply racking up another win.

I put together a line-up of students who were good at English, starting with Mii-chan. That being said, it was frustrating that I couldn’t make use of trump cards like Horikita and Keisei here. Since there were three proposed written exams—English, Mathematics, and Contemporary Literature—distributing our limited number of academically skilled students got tricky.

Horikita’s notes contained two strategies for the event that two written exams were chosen. The first strategy was to go for the win in both tests by taking a balanced approach with the participants. The other strategy was to lose one on purpose and to focus our efforts on the other. Sakayanagi had quickly settled on which eight students she’d be using, but I took a bit of time to think.

“This is the first time you’ve stopped to think at length. It would seem Horikita-san had left you with more than one option.”

There was no guarantee that the mathematics test would be chosen later. But there was no guarantee that we’d win, either. What frustrated me the most, however, was that Class C tended to struggle more with English.

I had to choose between these two strategies. Either go with a balanced approach for both or lose one on purpose.

“Are you going to give up on English? Or perhaps…will you fight with everything you have?” asked Sakayanagi, unable to rein in her excitement.

It wasn’t like I was afraid of losing here though.

“I know what you’re thinking, Ayanokouji-kun. You’re afraid that Class A anticipated your idea to abandon the English test and is preserving our strength for later, too. It is true that Class C might win if we use secondary participants for this exam. Discarding that opportunity isn’t an easy choice to make, is it?” said Sakayanagi.

After giving it some more thought, I decided to give up on the English Test.

“In terms of global trends, girls seem to be more proficient in various subjects than boys, and they tend to score higher. English is one of those subjects. Of course, we’re just talking about trends, is all. Just for your reference,” she added, just as I was about to decide on which students to put in.

She was trying to put pressure on me by giving me extraneous information. At any rate, Class A didn’t want to lose this test. They’d likely be coming into this with a capable roster.

After we both selected our rosters, they were displayed on the monitor.

Class C’s eight students were: Okiya Kyousuke, Minami Hakuo, Karuizawa Kei, Satou Maya, Shinohara Satsuki, Inogashira Kokoro, Sonoda Chiyo, and Ichihashi Ruri.

Class A’s eight students were: Satonaka Satoru, Sugio Hiroshi, Tsukaji Shihori, Tanihara Mao, Motodoi Chikako, Fukuyama Shinobu, Rokkaku Momoe, and Nakajima Riko. While they weren’t the best options Sakayanagi could have gone with, it was still a solid team. It seemed she was putting the information she’d mentioned to me earlier into practice, considering that six people in her lineup were girls.

“It would seem you’ve opted to give up on English and focus on the events to come. A passably accurate decision.”

I supposed it was safe to say that she had a detailed understanding of Class C’s academic abilities after all. Even though I had enough wiggle room to go in and influence one question, all I could really do was sit back and watch this battle unfold.

We were able to switch between viewing the students’ answer sheets in real-time during the test. I put my ability to intervene to use and helped with a problem that many students were struggling with. But the impact of my doing so was minimal at best. It would only influence the scores by a matter of a few points.

Everyone’s tests were graded immediately, and shortly afterward, we were given the final results. The outcome of the test was based on the total score of all eight participants.

“Class C, a total of four hundred and forty-three points. Class A, a total of six hundred and fifty-one points. Therefore, Class A is the winner.”

There was an overwhelming difference in our scores, just as I had expected.

“We only managed an average score of eighty-one points per person. Had Class C gone all out in this text, you might have actually stood a chance at winning,” said Sakayanagi.

She made it sound like there was an opportunity there that we could’ve taken advantage of, but it wasn’t that simple. It was probably better for me to consider it a win that we’d gotten out of this how we had. The courage Sakayanagi displayed in holding back her best students even after losing three events in a row was impressive.

Just as Class A was presented with their first win, selection for the fourth event was immediately underway.

Mathematics Test

Required Participants: 7 Persons

Allotted Time: 50 Minutes

Rules: Students will solve a set of problems within the scope of what they would find in the first-year curriculum. The winner will be decided based on total points.

Commander: The commander can answer one single question on behalf of a participant.

Another written test, right after the English Test.

“It would seem that your decision to hold people in reserve has borne fruit. I suppose you’ll be going all out, now. Or perhaps…you’ll wait for Contemporary Literature?” asked Sakayanagi.

I wasn’t even thinking about Contemporary Literature. I was going to invest all of Class C’s academic ability in this exam.

“Earlier, I had said that girls tend to score higher than boys, but for mathematics, it’s the opposite. Apparently, it would seem boys tend to surpass girls in that subject. Interesting, no?” said Sakayanagi.

No matter what ideas she was trying to plant in my head, it wasn’t going to change my lineup. My seven picks were: Hirata Yousuke, Yukimura Teruhiko, Ishikura Kayoko, Wang Mei-Yu, Azuma Sana, Kushida Kikyou, and Nishimura Ryuuko. This was the best possible team that I could get out of Class C. I couldn’t use Horikita and Kouenji.

On the other hand, Class A’s lineup included Matoba Shinji, Shimazaki Ikkei, Morishige Takurou, Tsukasaki Taiga, Ishida Yuusuke, Yamamura Miki, and Nishikawa Ryouko. Her team was mostly made up of guys. It was also a lineup of students with just as much academic skill as her previous team, if not more.

Before long, the Mathematics Test was underway. Unlike the English Test, which was a devastating loss, things went well. Yukimura Teruhiko—Keisei—took the top spot, with almost no incorrect answers. I gave Nishimura, the student I expected to get the lowest score, the headset. But it wasn’t like helping her with just one question would really change the outcome that much. And considering the fact that Sakayanagi would undoubtedly be answering correctly, that the commander getting an answer right was essentially a bare minimum requirement for this test.

After the test was finished, the teachers immediately began grading them. Since this was an event that Class A chose, if we managed to win this test, our chances would grow significantly. Then we’d be able to take on the fifth event with the possibility of going for a total shut out, winning the entire special exam.

“All right, I will now announce the results for the Mathematics Test. Class C, Six hundred and thirty-one points.”

Our average score was ninety points per student, then. More than satisfactory results. However, the test problems not being that difficult might also be cause for concern.

“And the results for Class A… Six hundred and fifty-five points. Class A wins.”

Sakagami-sensei reported the results. We had lost by a slim margin, a mere twenty-four-point difference.

“That was a close one. Everyone in Class C must have studied quite a bit. If you had included Horikita-san and Kouenji-kun in your lineup, you would’ve won, don’t you think?”

“…Maybe.”

It was a shame we hadn’t won the Mathematics Test. It was certainly true that we might have, had I put in Horikita and Kouenji. But it also wasn’t guaranteed.

This also meant that if the Contemporary Literature Test came up as the next event, we would lose almost automatically. There was no one left in Class C with the academic skill to surpass what Class A had to offer.

That brought us to two wins and two losses. We had lost the lead and things were even.

8.4

 

AND NOW, the fifth event was drawn.

Flash Mental Arithmetic

Required Participants: 2 Persons

Allotted Time: 30 Minutes

Rules: Victory will be awarded to the class of the student who places first in terms of both accuracy and speed, using abacus-style mental arithmetic.

Commander: The commander can change the answer for just one question of their choosing.

Another event that Class A had proposed, the third in a row. Normally, this would’ve been an unfortunate development, but this particular event was a special case. Keisei was probably feeling happy enough to start doing a little jig. This was the event in which Katsuragi had promised to take it easy on us.

However, it was still far too early to celebrate. If Katsuragi wasn’t put in, then our chances of victory would go up in smoke, never to be anything more than a mere fantasy.

“Another Class A event. We absolutely cannot afford to lose this one,” said Sakayanagi.

I followed Horikita’s strategy and put in Kouenji Rokusuke and Matsushita Chiaki. I had Matsushita wear the headset. Even if Kouenji had it, there wasn’t any guarantee that he’d actually listen.

Horikita’s idea to put Kouenji in for the Flash Mental Arithmetic event was probably the right call. Victory wasn’t determined by overall score in this event, but by who placed first. It was possible that Kouenji would rise to meet our expectations and give us the win, but in the event that he didn’t take it seriously, we could use Matsushita as a backup.

She was a quick thinker, so we had planned to use her in the Mathematics Test or the Flash Mental Arithmetic event. But even if we’d used her in the previous test, there was no guarantee we would’ve won. I supposed you could say it was a blessing in disguise that we hadn’t, since it meant we could use her here.

The students Sakayanagi chose were Katsuragi Kouhei and Tamiya Emi. According to what Katsuragi had told us in secret, Tamiya’s abilities weren’t all that impressive, apparently. Katsuragi was the one wearing the headset, almost as proof of that fact.

“There will be ten questions in total. The questions will progressively become harder and harder, but they’ll also be worth more points. In the event that there’s a tie for first place, the test will be extended into overtime until someone gets a question wrong.”

Numbers would be displayed on the monitor in the multi-purpose room. Since the commander could only step in for one question, we would inevitably do so toward the end. Even though the test was just about to begin, Kouenji folded his arms and closed his eyes.

“…I guess the plan backfired, huh,” I muttered.

His attitude hadn’t changed at all since the special exam began. Single-digit numbers flashed three times, for five seconds. It was a difficulty level of ten. The numbers that showed up were: six, nine, and one. The answer was sixteen. It was a problem anyone could solve.

The students wrote down their answers. Matsushita got it right without trouble, but Kouenji didn’t answer, leaving his paper blank. Considering he hadn’t even looked at the problem, that was unsurprising. It looked as though we could only hope that Katsuragi would make a mistake, just as he promised he would.

“Fu fu. He certainly seems like an odd one,” said Sakayanagi.

Even though she couldn’t see his answer, she could tell that Kouenji hadn’t written anything down.

“But, since Matsushita-san is your actual contender, I suppose there isn’t really a problem, hm?” said Sakayanagi.

As she spoke, the test continued. By the third and fourth questions, they were dealing with two-digit numbers, flashing six times. Matsushita was still unfazed and continued to answer questions correctly. But as they got to the halfway point, the difficulty level jumped. In the fifth question, three-digit numbers flashed six times, for five seconds. In the sixth question, three-digit numbers flashed eight times, for five seconds.

Matsushita looked like she was at her wits’ end, frantically trying to make the calculations in her head. She had managed to get all the right answers so far, and she hung on somehow, getting the sixth question right too. But that was as far as she went. For the seventh question, three-digit numbers flashed twelve times, for four and a half seconds. For the eighth question, three-digit numbers flashed fifteen times, for three and a half seconds. And the ninth question had fifteen three-digit questions for two and a half seconds.

“J-jeez, these are impossible!” wailed Hoshinomiya-sensei.

I could definitely understand how she might feel at her wits’ end looking at these questions, just as a student would.

“These seem like they might be far too difficult…” agreed Sakagami-sensei, not finding the answers himself.

Matsushita had gotten everything correct up until and including the sixth question. Unfortunately, she didn’t get the right answers to the seventh question onward. Kouenji hadn’t answered any of the nine questions so far. At this point, even if he answered the last question correctly, it wouldn’t matter at all. He had already gotten to the point of no return.

Naturally, I had memorized the answers to all nine of the questions. I was sure Sakayanagi had done the same. The commander had the right to change the answer to only one question. My plan was that if I couldn’t solve the tenth problem, I’d fill in the ninth. If I couldn’t solve the ninth, then I would solve the eighth. How much Katsuragi had purposefully gotten wrong for us would greatly impact whether we’d win or lose this event.

The tenth and final question was now displayed. Several three-digit numbers were displayed for 1.6 seconds, flashing fifteen times. The numbers flashed and disappeared in an instant, repeatedly, fifteen times. For a moment, everything went silent. No one picked up their pens—not Katsuragi, Matsushita, and not even Tamiya. They sat in mute amazement, letting the question pass.

Sakayanagi signaled to the teachers that she wanted to intervene. Of course, I did the same.

“Huh…? Oh, in that case, commanders, please provide the answer for one question. Of course, the later problems are worth more points.”

Naturally, the question I thought I ought to answer was the last one. Matsushita obediently wrote down the answer that I had given her over the headset. She didn’t know the answer herself, so she didn’t have any reason to doubt me.

“Fu fu fu. Flash Mental Arithmetic. Quite an interesting game. This is the first time I’ve done it.”

Kouenji, the person that Sakayanagi and I had already put out of our minds by this point, had apparently opened his eyes at some point. An amused smirk on his face, he cast his gaze toward the surveillance camera that we were seeing the event through.

“Ayanokouji-kun, what question did you provide an answer for? I chose the tenth question, with an answer of seven thousand six hundred and nineteen,” said Sakayanagi.

The answer I gave to Matsushita was…

“The same. I gave the same answer.”

Apparently, Sakayanagi had gotten the last question correct, too.

“It would seem that in terms of what the commanders can do, we’re evenly matched here. Meaning this all comes down to how Katsuragi-kun and Matsushita-san perform.”

As everyone’s answer sheets were being collected, the man who had left all ten questions on his sheet blank opened his mouth to speak.

“The answer to the last problem was seven thousand six hundred and nineteen, was it not?”

“Well, well. That’s quite a surprise. Kouenji-kun is correct,” said Sakayanagi, offering him words of praise after hearing him give the correct answer.

The teachers hurriedly started calculating all four participants’ scores. If Katsuragi had gotten questions seven, eight, or nine correct, we would lose. But if he had gotten fewer than six questions right, we would win.

“After tallying the results, we’ve found that the student with the highest score, with eight out of ten questions answered correctly, is Katsuragi Kouhei. Class A wins.”

We’d hoped to take the win in our fifth round and gain the advantage. But in the end, Katsuragi was the one waving the victory banner. So, with Sakagami-sensei’s declaration, the fifth event had come to an end.

“Quite unfortunate, Ayanokouji-kun.”

“Was trying to win against Katsuragi a mistake?” I asked.

“It is most certainly true that he harbors much resentment toward me. It wasn’t wrong to try and take advantage of that fact. However, do you really think that I would carelessly overlook such a weak point?” she asked.

Even though I couldn’t see her, I knew that Sakayanagi was smiling.

“I gave him a message ahead of time. I told him that if he were to betray me, I would randomly expel some of the students who were earnestly trying their hardest in our class. He does seem to care quite a bit about his fellow students. He would never let more people be sacrificed to serve his grudge,” she added.

Sakayanagi had been around Katsuragi for far longer than I had. She was all too familiar with his strengths and his weaknesses.

“My, being defeated after you thought you would win must be extremely taxing, mentally. Are you feeling anxious about the final event?” she asked.

“Couldn’t say.”

“Still, Katsuragi-kun not taking your side wasn’t the only problem. Had Kouenji-kun taken things seriously from the very beginning, it’s possible he could’ve gotten a perfect score. Meaning, you might have won this round, yes?” said Sakayanagi.

“That’s all a big ‘if’, though. Having power you can’t control is as good as having no power at all.”

It was functionally no different from not being able to count on students who lacked academic skill, physical prowess, or other special skills to really contribute to your efforts. Students who took nothing had nothing to contribute. They might seem different, but it came to the same result. At least in this exam.

Of course, we had to assume some of the blame for this, too. We’d failed to persuade Kouenji to do anything.

And so, we were now at two wins and three losses. Class C was teetering at the edge of the cliff.

“Two more events and this special exam will be over. It truly is a shame,” said Sakayanagi.

I could hear her let out a sigh. She must have wanted to enjoy this moment as much as possible.

“Now that it’s come to this, winning, losing, it all feels so trivial,” she added.

“In that case, I’d love it if you could give us the win,” I told her.

“Unfortunately, I cannot do that. This is a serious competition, after all.”

Sakagami-sensei kept things moving. The drawing for the sixth event had begun. If another Class A event was drawn, there was no way we would win.