Chapter 5: An Arrangement

Chapter 5: An Arrangement

Chapter 5:

An Arrangement

I WAS IN THE KARAOKE PLACE inside Keyaki Mall, having come here to listen to what Horikita had mentioned to me yesterday. This was one of the best places to make sure that you had a private space aside from a dorm room. When I had set foot inside one of the rooms, I noticed that there wasn’t anyone inside except for Horikita and me.

“If we’re just going to talk, then it wasn’t really necessary to come all the way to this karaoke place, was it?” I asked.

Considering the fact that Horikita and I had visited each other’s rooms in the past, it shouldn’t have been a problem having this conversation in either one of those places. The fact that she had chosen to meet here meant that someone else would be coming. I decided not to press that matter too deeply and instead let Horikita take the lead.

“We have a little bit of time before we’re scheduled to begin… Want to sing something?” she asked. She picked up the microphone that had been lying on the table and held it out to me.

“No thanks, I’ll pass,” I said. “Why don’t you sing, Horikita? If you do, I’ll clap along and stuff.”

“Absolutely not,” she replied.

An immediate rejection. Did that mean she recommended someone else to do something that she hated to do…?

“It’s because I’m going to study,” she explained, silently pulling her notebook out of her bag.

With that, she began to review her notes. Tablets and other devices were provided in many of our classes at school, but when one was engaged in independent study, it was probably easier to learn by looking at your books and notes directly.

Since no one was singing, the room was rather quiet. Despite how weird this bizarre arrangement felt, I decided to just sit quietly on the sofa and let time go by.

Before long, our meeting time had passed, and it was now 5:10 p.m.

Horikita had been checking the time on her phone every few minutes since before the start of the hour. She looked up and let out a sigh.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “It seems like this might be a longer ordeal than I expected.”

I didn’t ask who we were going to be meeting with, but I could safely assume now that whoever it was, they were late now because the meeting time was supposed to be five o’clock. The fact that the other party hadn’t contacted Horikita suggested that there might have been some unavoidable circumstances, or perhaps that this person was a bit fast and loose—or it was possible that this person was intentionally late. As we waited another fifteen minutes or so, I went down a mental list of various students it could be and dismissed them in my mind one by one.

At last someone outside the room slowly opened the door that hadn’t budged an inch all this time. The person I saw on the other side of it was…not someone I had expected—Katsuragi Kouhei from Class 2-D. From what I had seen, I had taken him to be someone that was pretty particular about time, so this was a shock.

“I apologize for being late,” he said.

“It’s all right, don’t worry about it,” Horikita told him. “I’m sure you must have had your own share of struggles to deal with, right, Katsuragi-kun?”

“…More or less, yes,” he muttered.

Then, Katsuragi urged a person who was looming behind him to enter the room as well, and that second person came into view.

“Y’know, Suzune, it’s fine if you wanna go on a date with me, but there’s a bunch of extra people here,” he said.

Katsuragi, a former leader of Class A, was with the man who had pulled him from his old class: Ryuuen Kakeru.

“They’re here because it would have been difficult to have a constructive conversation if you and I were to meet alone,” Horikita pointed out.

Despite the wry smile on Ryuuen’s face, he didn’t let his guard down in his sharp observations of Horikita. Now that the matter of Kushida had been settled and several distractions had been cleared away, Horikita had regained her usual composure. And since Horikita and Ryuuen had shared little in the way of direct interactions since we entered our second year of school, it wouldn’t have been surprising if Ryuuen had sensed some change within Horikita at this point.

“I wonder, were you late on purpose to try and rattle me? Perhaps to get an edge over me?” said Horikita.

“Who can say?” replied Ryuuen.

Before they could come together and join forces, the two started feeling each other out, each trying to make a show of force and be hostile to the other. It was probably safe to assume that even Ryuuen and Katsuragi didn’t know the exact reason why they had been called here.

“You said you had something you wanted to talk to us about… So, come on. Let’s hear the details,” Ryuuen said.

“Could you sit down?” Horikita asked. “If this was something that could be wrapped up in one or two minutes, I wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of asking you to come here.”

Ryuuen took a glance over at me and then sat down defiantly on the sofa. He proceeded to grab the tablet that was plugged into the wall charger and entered his order. His hands moved in such a way that showed this was a familiar process for him. He then roughly chuckled the tablet at the table.

Seeing that, Horikita reached over and picked it up. “Katsuragi-kun, would you care for anything?” she asked.

“I’ll have an oolong tea,” he replied.

After Horikita entered Katsuragi’s order, she carefully returned the tablet to its original position on the charger.

“The reason I’ve called you here is to talk to you about—”

Horikita immediately tried to launch into the discussion, but Ryuuen motioned for her to stop with a wave of his hand, like he was trying to take the wind out of her sails.

“Before that, there’s somethin’ I wanted to ask. How’d it feel to scrape off that dead weight in your class and get some Class Points for it? Felt pretty damn good, I bet.”

Ryuuen calmly and matter-of-factly asked Horikita something that, for her, might have been damaging. It was probably also a way for him to try and gain the upper hand in a situation where he didn’t know what we were going to talk about yet. It was a given that Ryuuen had used his allies to get that information for him. He was making this move based on the assumption that our internal affairs were still left unresolved.

Horikita, sitting beside me, wasn’t fazed. “It’s not as if problems haven’t sprung up as a result, of course,” she said. “But, unfortunately for you, things won’t turn out the way you’re hoping. Most of the major problems have already been resolved.”

That was a lie, because at the very least, the problem of Haruka hadn’t been dealt with. It was unclear just when that bomb would go off.

“Wow, you’re sure spewing those lies pretty confidently, huh?” Ryuuen had also determined that what Horikita said was untrue, which was why he made such a leading statement.

Horikita didn’t care. “You can go ahead and think that I’m lying. I don’t care. Besides, you’re not the sort of person who would simply believe anything I said in the first place anyway. Isn’t that right?”

“Who knows? Maybe I actually trust you more than you think. Ever think about that?”

“Even if you meant that seriously, no, even if you’re joking, it’s not funny either way.”

Horikita sidestepped his provocations. Katsuragi stared at her as though he were analyzing her, and slowly crossed his arms.

“And what about you?” she asked. “I thought for sure that you would’ve expelled someone.”

“Aren’t you worried that you’d lose comrades?” Katsuragi replied. “You’re the only one who made the wrong choice.”

Three out of the four classes had opted to protect their classmates. Katsuragi was trying to give Horikita the impression that she was the only one to have chosen unjustly, who’d made a mistake.

“It’s unfortunate that we were the only ones who could make the correct choice,” said Horikita. “You didn’t even take one step forward in the race toward Class A.”

“That’s enough on that subject for the time being,” said Katsuragi, bringing that part of the conversation to a close.

As he did so, there was a soft knock on the door. One of the staff members had arrived, delivering the oolong tea that Katsuragi ordered along with an orange juice. The juice was placed in front of Ryuuen, but it really didn’t seem like the kind of thing he’d order.

Horikita and Katsuragi both unintentionally found themselves staring at the bizarre pairing of Ryuuen and an orange juice. Incidentally, I couldn’t help but stare too. Ryuuen and orange juice? That just didn’t seem to fit.

While everyone was wondering what was going on, Katsuragi spoke up.

“Well, now that we have our drinks, let’s get down to business. What is the purpose of this meeting?” asked Katsuragi, urging Horikita to speak.

Horikita nodded, and as she looked between Ryuuen and Katsuragi once again, she started to speak.

“I’m proposing a cooperative partnership for the upcoming Sports Festival in order to defeat Sakayanagi-san’s class,” she said.

Katsuragi’s shoulders twitched slightly, indicating that he was surprised. Immediately afterward, he returned to his usual calm demeanor, and after a pause, he asked her a question in return.

“What do you mean exactly, by cooperative partnership?”

“Cooperation” could imply a wide variety of things, and the exact degree of cooperation required could vary greatly depending on how each person interpreted it. It made sense that Katsuragi would want to hear more details, but at the same time, he wasn’t going to dismiss the proposal immediately.

Ryuuen, on the other hand, looked unsurprised and unimpressed. He simply watched quietly with a smug smirk on his face.

“In the upcoming Sports Festival, there’s both competition between the grade levels and competition within each grade level,” Horikita said. “I wish to make the most of a system wherein we can win points and share them equally if we win team-based competitions, where multiple students are involved.”

“Why our class, though?” asked Katsuragi. “Would you mind telling me the reason?”

The leader of that class, Ryuuen, didn’t interject, not even once. He simply listened.

“First of all, it goes without saying that teaming up with Class A is out of the question. Helping that class earn points while we’re trying to catch up to them would be completely backward. Therefore, that leaves us with two choices: either Ichinose-san’s class, or your class. According to my analysis, while Ichinose-san is the most trustworthy of anyone, I’d be hard-pressed to say that she has many gifted athletes in her class.”

“So you’re saying that you chose us by process of elimination?” replied Katsuragi.

“If I made this decision simply by process of elimination, I wouldn’t have chosen to team up with anyone in the first place, Katsuragi-kun,” said Horikita. “The only class that I trust even less than Sakayanagi-san’s class is the one that Ryuuen-kun, your leader, is in charge of.”

It was certainly true that Ryuuen wasn’t an easy person to team up with. Katsuragi nodded deeply, in a show of sympathy.

“You’re right about that,” he said. “Even I think so, and I’ve become one of his classmates. There’s no one as dangerous as Ryuuen when it comes to having someone watching your back. In that case, I have to ask why you are even proposing a cooperating partnership, and going so far as to shoulder such a big risk for the sake of it?”

“To win, of course. We can’t arrive at the top if we don’t stop Class A’s unchallenged rise in the rankings.”

“However, what would be the point if Ryuuen ends up betraying your expectations in the end?” Katsuragi pushed. “He is a man who will do whatever he feels is necessary. That’s just what he is like. Having experienced it first-hand, I understand it all too well myself. I cannot recommend you do this.”

Katsuragi’s opinion of his class’s leader was so scathing that it was hard to imagine that he was the chief strategist on Ryuuen’s side. He was warning Horikita of the danger here: if she entered this partnership carelessly, she could forget about rising to the top. She could instead be swallowed up by Ryuuen’s class.

“I actually had no intention of immediately getting down to business in today’s discussion, you know,” said Horikita. “I hadn’t talked with Ryuuen-kun in quite some time, and I can’t trust someone who would be late without a care in the world. However, you apologized for being late, Katsuragi-kun. When that happened, I changed my mind. At the very least, I can trust you.”

“That’s quite simpleminded. Do you not think my behavior was just another one of Ryuuen’s ploys?” said Katsuragi.

“If I can’t figure out whether I can trust someone or not, then I’ll simply be swallowed up sooner or later,” said Horikita.

Her trust was likely a bet on Horikita’s part. If you placed Ryuuen and Katsuragi side by side, Katsuragi would appear to be a good, sensible person by comparison. However, if Horikita showed that she was prepared for what might come, then even Katsuragi would have no choice but to believe her.

“You’re a little different from how you were before, Horikita. You seem to be maturing as well.” Katsuragi sensed the change in Horikita and interpreted it as growth. He once again demonstrated a willingness to sit down and engage in a dialogue. “I understand what you’re saying. I will now offer you my own personal perspective, from where I’m sitting.”

Katsuragi made a point of saying “personal” there, which meant it was safe to assume that Ryuuen’s intentions and thoughts were not being taken into account. At least, I supposed that was what Katsuragi was indicating to us.

“I too envisioned a plan wherein your class and ours joined forces to defeat Class A,” he said.

“You did too…?” said Horikita.

“That’s right. Your class has talented individuals, such as Sudou and Kouenji, whose abilities go well beyond their grade level. Out of the four classes in our grade, yours rests at the top in terms of physical ability and the available players. We would have no need to worry about being dragged down if we partnered with you. You’re not unconditionally trustworthy, but the fact that you’re not the sort of class that would casually betray us means that you’re not a bad choice.”

While Katsuragi was speaking, Ryuuen turned to look at me but remained silent. Up until now, there hadn’t been anyone else in Ryuuen’s class who could handle negotiations, so Ryuuen had always taken the initiative in these sorts of talks. However, with the addition of Katsuragi to the class, the need for Ryuuen to step in had diminished and he now had the option of being able to wait and see how things went. One could say that this was an extremely significant positive for him.

It was unsettling, not knowing what Ryuuen was thinking—not knowing what he was going to propose, or when he’d do it. And while it was easier to talk with Katsuragi, Horikita was probably starting to become aware of that scary side of it too. Even so, it was something that couldn’t be avoided if discussions with that class were going to be happening on a regular basis for the next year and a half.

“In reality, however, I would say that the chances of Ryuuen accepting or rejecting your proposal are about fifty-fifty,” said Katsuragi.

It had already been more than a week since we had heard the details for the Sports Festival. That meant that if Katsuragi and Ryuuen’s class had really been thinking of cooperating with someone, Horikita might have already heard talk about it. In other words, in Katsuragi’s mind, their priority was not joining forces, but rather was something else.

“If we were to enter into a cooperative partnership with someone else, then we would naturally secure first and second places between our classes,” he continued. “In that case, it inevitably would be the overall strengths of our respective classes that would determine the winner. If we were to look at simple probabilities, we would have to accept and be content with the possibility that it’d likely be your class that takes first, Horikita, and that ours would take second.”

By working together, Horikita and Ryuuen’s classes would get a jump on Sakayanagi’s class and Ichinose’s class, and effectively create a situation where it would just be Horikita’s class versus Ryuuen’s class for the top spot. That was probably the reason why Katsuragi said there was a fifty-fifty chance of Ryuuen accepting her proposal. Even though Katsuragi was entertaining the conversation here, it wasn’t like he was showing that he’d immediately agree to a cooperative partnership. Negotiations with Ryuuen would not begin until the hurdle in front of us was crossed…

What is Horikita going to do in this situation? I couldn’t help but wonder.

“In other words, you’re saying that you see our class as a threat,” said Horikita.

“Of course we do. The situation now is very different than it was a year ago. Unlike before, when you were ridiculed as a collection of defectives, you’re now ranked as Class B. And you achieved that after dropping down to zero Class Points, no less. More recently, Kouenji single-handedly achieved victory in the Uninhabited Island Special Exam, and you made the difficult choice of abandoning a classmate in exchange for 100 points in the Unanimous Special Exam. There is no doubt that your class is formidable.”

“Even though those accomplishments aren’t mine, it certainly doesn’t feel bad being praised like that,” Horikita admitted. “At any rate, if we don’t join forces and instead try to tackle the Sports Festival on our own, we could create a worst-case scenario where Sakayanagi-san’s class takes first place. The important thing here is defeating Sakayanagi-san’s class. Am I wrong?”

“You’re right about that,” Katsuragi agreed. “That is also true… Ryuuen, what do you think?”

Katsuragi then turned to Ryuuen, asking for his opinion for the first time in this conversation.

“If you’re askin’ me to lend you a hand, that means you’re gonna give us something equally valuable in return, right?” Ryuuen asked.

“You seem to be misunderstanding something here,” Horikita said. “While it’s true that I’m the one approaching you with this proposal, that doesn’t mean that you’re in a position to come to a compromise with us. Instead, I would rather you understand that you’re in a position where you can form a cooperative partnership with the class that is going to get first place.”

“Don’t make me laugh. I’m in a position where I can win without your help, but if you’re gonna beg me for help, I guess I could lend a hand. And if you don’t like it, we can leave. Got it?”

“Do you actually know the way back to your dorm? If you head out that door and turn left, you’ll be able to head outside.”

At Ryuuen’s words, Horikita simply urged Ryuuen and Katsuragi to go ahead and leave, without even considering any kind of compromise. That kind of attitude was the essence of bargaining, but at the same time, Horikita was giving the impression that she wasn’t betting everything on this strategy. Basically, she was telling him that negotiations would break down if he left the table now. The proposal to defeat Sakayanagi together would fall through. And if that happened, if Ryuuen later came forward and said he wanted to join forces again, their positions would be reversed.

“You’ve got some balls, bluffin’ like that,” said Ryuuen.

“What are you talking about?” Horikita replied. “Just as Katsuragi-kun said himself, we have considerable talent on our side for the Sports Festival. Do you honestly think that you can outscore the likes of Sudou-kun and Kouenji-kun if we go head-to-head?”

“If we were goin’ at it head-to-head in a fair fight, then sure, you might be right. But there are a lotta ways we can go about this. You didn’t forget what happened last year, did ya?”

Ryuuen’s statement clearly implied exactly what we feared. Him pulling a dirty trick where he made an attack look like an accident.

“This year, we’re apparently going to be hosting outside guests,” Horikita pointed out. “Also, considering the rules of this Sports Festival, it sounds like we’re going to be monitored very closely. We’d have to see how far you can get by using such cowardly tricks, won’t we?”

“There’s always plenty of blind spots,” Ryuuen said. “Don’t go thinkin’ I’m only talking about what happens during the actual competitions.”

By that, Ryuuen was referring to unsupervised places like locker rooms and restrooms, far away from prying eyes.

“I see you’re the same as ever. That’s quite a threatening line of thinking you have, but… Well, I’ve heard enough.” Horikita slammed her notebook shut with a plunk . She didn’t sound particularly disappointed over how the meeting had gone. “Ayanokouji-kun, thank you for coming with me today. Apparently, I didn’t even need to ask you for your judgment in this case. It’s far too risky, so I think that we should end things here.”

“If you’re all right with that, there’s no problem on my end,” I replied.

“Well, all right, then,” said Horikita, moving to put her notebook away.

Ryuuen didn’t respond, and simply watched her. Meanwhile, Katsuragi made a move.

“Ryuuen, it seems that Horikita has changed even more than we had imagined.” After calmly analyzing the situation, he turned his gaze toward Horikita once more. “If we don’t bring our best to the negotiating table, we’ll be the ones who get left behind.”

“You didn’t bring this discussion up with me because you saw the downsides of teaming up, didn’t you?” Ryuuen asked Katsuragi.

“I didn’t suggest that we propose teaming up, no. However, if the suggestion comes from Horikita, that changes things. Besides, I have a feeling that her class may exceed our expectations.”

From what they were saying, their evaluation of Horikita’s class had gone up slightly thanks to the updated data they’d received. In other words, they had reevaluated Horikita’s class as one that was worthy of cooperation.

“You’re just puttin’ up a front,” scoffed Ryuuen. “From what I can see, this is all for show. It’s natural to try and make things work out in your favor when you’ve got the edge. And yeah, you’re talkin’ a better game than before, but the only reason it’s workin’ for you is ’cause you’ve got Ayanokouji there next to you.”

The full glass of orange juice was still sitting in front of him. In a flash, Ryuuen picked it up and tried to toss its contents all over me. I immediately shifted to avoid getting splashed and evaded the wave of juice. A fragrant, yellow-tinted stain appeared in the spot where I had been sitting.

“Come on now. I’m sure you’ve noticed how freakin’ weird this dude is, right? Could you have dodged that?”

“I…probably couldn’t have, no,” said Horikita.

“Exactly,” said Ryuuen. “A normal person would’ve gotten soaked before they could even react. A normal person couldn’t avoid it at all. But this guy got outta the way with that blank look on his face like it was no big deal.”

“It might be true that he has incredible reflexes, sure…but what does that have to do with the current discussion?” Horikita asked.

“Don’t you get it? Lemme put it this way. Ayanokouji is your secret lethal weapon, Suzune. Of course you can talk so big with us right now when you’re showin’ off the heat you’re packin’.”

“And you deliberately ordered orange juice just to test that theory? …Give me a break,” said Horikita.

I thought it was odd of him to do something like that, but then again, I supposed he always was the sort of person who did outrageous things. I had made the right choice to pay attention to the fact that he ordered something that didn’t seem like him. I kept wondering when he’d actually take a drink too.

“Why did you avoid it?” Horikita asked me. “If you let yourself get splashed with the juice, we could have stopped him from making a comeback like that before he even started.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” I said. “I obviously didn’t want to get splashed with juice. That’s just a given.”

Orange juice had a strong smell, it would’ve made me all sticky, and it wouldn’t come off easily. Letting myself get splashed with it was too much of a bother for me to deal with unconditionally. Now, if it were oolong tea, then I might’ve allowed it. Orange juice was one of the best possible drinks to use if you were going to harass someone by splashing them with it.

“If you wanna make this a fair negotiation, get Ayanokouji outta here. Then we can talk,” said Ryuuen.

He was offering to continue negotiations on the condition that I was removed.

“That is just like you,” said Horikita. “But I refuse. He is my classmate, he has the right to be present, and I have the right to ask him to be here with me. I don’t see what’s wrong with using the weapons one has at their disposal while negotiating.”

Horikita was really acting tough here. More importantly though, she was coming up with ideas that she hadn’t before now. Another thought I had was that she was getting additional information about Ryuuen and me without me realizing it. It was unclear exactly how much Horikita knew, but it wouldn’t be surprising if she happened to hear about the incident on the rooftop with Kei. Horikita had told me from the beginning that it wasn’t necessary for me to help and that I simply had to be present. While she kept her promise, she was still using me. Even after realizing that, I couldn’t complain either.

“I am offering for my class, one that is in a superior position to yours, to enter into a cooperative partnership with yours,” she continued. “If that doesn’t satisfy you, then you can just pretend this conversation never happened. I won’t care.”

There was absolutely no way that Ryuuen would cooperate with Sakayanagi. And supposing even if, hypothetically, he asked Ichinose to team up, it was unclear exactly how many useful players he’d acquire. If Ryuuen made the wrong choice here, it would inevitably have an impact on his future. And even though chances of it happening were low, it was also possible that a Horikita-Sakayanagi alliance could be formed instead.

It wouldn’t be bad for Horikita if her class took first and Sakayanagi’s class took second in a situation like that. However, if that was allowed to happen, then it would make it that more difficult for Ryuuen to catch up with Sakayanagi.

“I am willing to join forces with your class, but it depends on if we can talk it out,” Horikita said. “Now, may I ask you what your answer is? Will you accept my offer? Or not?”

Katsuragi couldn’t answer that question—it had to be the leader, Ryuuen. After several seconds of silence, he offered his decision.

“All right. I accept this proposal of yours.”

However, Ryuuen didn’t stop there. He continued, “But I got a condition to add. Since this is gonna be a cooperative partnership, it’s gotta be more stable. Fairer. If either my class or yours gets first place while the other places second, then that means there’s gonna be a difference of 100 Class Points between us. To make up for that difference, whoever gets first place will pay out Private Points to the other each month until just before graduation, on March 1 st . Add that to the agreement.”

He wanted to do the same thing he had tried before with Katsuragi. Ryuuen had made an agreement with him in last year’s Uninhabited Island Special Exam where if one side earned more Class Points, then that difference would be made up with Private Points. Ryuuen himself surely must have been aware that he was in a disadvantageous position, but he was still trying to push for a little something extra on top.

Horikita, however, had anticipated this as well.

“It’s certainly true that your condition by itself is fair,” she said. “But I refuse. The matter of who will take first and who will take second is a serious contest. We will only settle it through a fair fight.”

If things were already fair without adding that condition, then there was no reason for Horikita to go ahead and accept it if she already determined that she had a high chance of winning.

“ Ku ku . You’re not gonna let me line my pockets that easily, huh. But in that case, this deal doesn’t look so good for us, does it?”

“It’ll be difficult to get Horikita to make any compromises,” Katsuragi said. “I believe she’s going to remain firm in her offer.”

While Ryuuen demonstrated no indication of formally signing any contracts, Katsuragi showed that he was still willing to be flexible.

“Not good enough,” said Ryuuen. “If you’re askin’ for my help, then you’re gonna have to show me more sincerity.”

“‘Sincerity’?” Horikita repeated. “I think I should be the one asking you that, no? Say this strategy works well and we make sure that Sakayanagi-san’s Class A comes in last place—they’ll be penalized 150 points. There is already plenty for you to consider in this strategy where the two of us join forces. But you should know that we are taking a risk as well.”

She then continued her rebuttal. “When it comes to whether or not I can trust your class, the clouds of doubt have been swirling around for a long time. If you focus your main players on team competitions, then it’s inevitable that you’ll neglect the individual competitions.”

It was entirely possible that Ryuuen would instruct his people to betray Horikita and have them cut corners in the events, or even have them not show up for competitions that they promised to go to in the first place. Since all of the leaders, Horikita included, would have to attend their own competitions, it was doubtful she’d be able to monitor every single event taking place. And since cell phones and such couldn’t be brought to the Sports Festival, it would be impossible to coordinate across distances.

“I’m trusting you, someone who isn’t reputable at all,” she concluded. “Taking on that risk alone is the maximum allowable concession that I’m offering you in this partnership. I will not budge, not one millimeter more.”

I was sure that this hit home for Ryuuen as well, and he must have been aware how painfully true that was. No matter how appealing the players in his class were, the basic premise was that Ryuuen himself could not be trusted. Horikita was essentially telling him to accept that, and then to shut up and cooperate.

“She’s made a good argument,” Katsuragi put in. “I didn’t trust your methods either. You just have to accept it.”

“I never expected you to trust me, not from the very beginning.” Ryuuen let the comment slide with a laugh, but even so, he must have been convinced by Horikita’s argument. He relaxed his shoulders and asked her, “Could you really trust me though?”

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” she replied. “I put my trust in the useful words of wisdom given by those who came before us.”

It’d be difficult to show off what you could do if you were in an alliance filled with doubt. In some cases, people might worry more about being backstabbed by their allies than fighting their enemies.

“I can’t approve or agree with everything you’re sayin’, but there’s one thing I can say for sure,” said Ryuuen. “Letting Sakayanagi’s class stay in the lead is no good.”

Both Katsuragi and Horikita nodded in agreement without hesitation. They could no longer tolerate Class A winning, no matter the cost.

“Even though we got a direct showdown with ’em comin’ up at the end of the school year, there’s no way that’s gonna be enough to make up for the gap in Class Points.”

He apparently wanted to get within range of Class A before that happened. It seemed fair to assume he believed in that idea.

“Ayanokouji-kun, you’ve been listening to this discussion quietly, but I think it’s about time you tell me your opinion,” said Horikita.

I had to weigh Horikita’s idea against the risks. She was asking me, objectively, if people would accept this strategy of hers or not.

“Cooperation built on mutual interest isn’t a bad thing,” I replied. “There will likely be sound objections, but everyone understands that our objective should be to beat Sakayanagi. Yousuke and Kei will back you up on that.”

Horikita was once again feeling confident in her proposal, but Ryuuen slammed on the brakes.

“I want to sign this contract, but not yet,” he said.

“Not yet? Do you think you can get anything else from me?” said Horikita.

“Confirm one last thing. Was it you , Suzune, who came up with this proposal? Or was it Ayanokouji? You know, that guy over there watching this whole conversation with a blank look on his face. Which one?”

He was aggressively pressing her to say who had come up with the idea of cooperating with his class.

“Are you saying that if this offer isn’t coming from Ayanokouji-kun that you won’t accept it? There seems to be some kind of secret relationship between you and him that no one else knows about,” said Horikita, her comment tinged with implications. “I’ve witnessed firsthand how enemies can come to recognize each other’s abilities, and I feel like I’m out of place here.”

“When did I say anythin’ like that?” Ryuuen sounded irritated, glaring at Horikita as if to demand she hurry up and answer his question. “I’m just askin’ you to tell me which one of you came up with this.”

“I did,” Horikita replied. “I just asked Ayanokouji-kun to accompany me today, that’s all. I didn’t even let him know anything about this proposal until just now.”

She knew that it was possible Ryuuen might refuse her offer if he knew that she was the one who came up with it. But even so, she was resolved for what might come and answered honestly.

Ryuuen laughed. “I see. Well, I’m relieved to hear it. If that’s the case, then sure, I accept your proposal.”

Apparently, the fact that it was Horikita’s plan was the deciding factor, and Ryuuen officially decided to cooperate.

“…Why?” she asked.

“Why? Who cares? Think about the reason why yourself , ” said Ryuuen, dodging the question. “Anyway, it’d be mutually beneficial to get a proper written contract done up, just in case. No, scratch that. It’d be even better for you, especially.”

“I’ll have one written up, of course,” Horikita agreed. “I’ll include Chabashira-sensei and Sakagami-sensei as well.”

A contract that involved faculty. And it would naturally include a breach of contract clause as well. No matter how good Ryuuen might be, he wouldn’t be able to try anything if he was bound by rules that couldn’t be broken.

“All right, I’ll leave the paperwork to you, Horikita,” Ryuuen said. “That okay?”

“Yes. Actually, I was wondering if you might be willing to go over it a few times with me, Katsuragi-kun,” said Horikita.

When Katsuragi looked to Ryuuen for confirmation, Ryuuen responded with a look that seemed to say, “Do whatever you want.”

Ryuuen’s class was really lacking in trust, and Katsuragi’s presence was very significant. He was smart, trustworthy, and he was able to express his opinions to Ryuuen without an ounce of fear. The degree to which Ryuuen trusted him to handle things and Katsuragi’s peerless ability to judge a situation by watching were both nothing short of brilliant. Bringing him over to the class had truly been worth the large sum Ryuuen had paid.

“All right,” said Ryuuen. “Now that we’ve made this agreement official, let’s take this Sports Festival for ourselves.”

And so it was decided that Horikita’s class and Ryuuen’s class would team up for the Sports Festival. The goal was to work together, but naturally, the top priority was still to win as a class.

However, this wasn’t the end of the discussion, and Katsuragi changed the subject.

“It’s all well and good that we’ve reached an agreement, but there are other things we should bear in mind,” he said. “It is quite possible that Sakayanagi and Ichinose will join forces as well. What do you intend to do about that?”

Two alliances going up against each other. That kind of development was certainly possible.

“It’s no problem,” said Ryuuen. “Even if Sakayanagi and Ichinose came together for the Sports Festival, we’re still better. Besides, Sakayanagi would have to give up on even gettin’ third place in that case. Think about it. Katsuragi, just like how you’re so scared of ending up in second place by having us team up with Suzune, Ichinose would have the advantage over Sakayanagi if they teamed up too. With Totsuka expelled, and you transferrin’ over to our class, Sakayanagi only has thirty-eight people in her class. And since Sakayanagi herself won’t be doin’ anything, that’s thirty-seven people. Ichinose’s got forty. A difference of three people is surprisingly huge.”

In terms of what their classes offered when it came to physical ability, Ichinose and Sakayanagi’s classes were about even. However, in that case, the three-person difference could be the determining winning factor between them.

“However, in Sakayanagi’s case, she’ll come up with a way to compensate for the lack of people,” Katsuragi pointed out.

“Have you even seen the rules?” Ryuuen asked. “If someone can’t participate in the Sports Festival, they have to wait in the dorms on standby. And since people can’t use their phones, that means the brains of Class A’ll be completely outta commission.”

“Are you sure you understood the rules yourself?” Katsuragi retorted. “It’s true that Sakayanagi can’t move well, considering her physical condition. However, she can still formally participate in the Sports Festival and get a total of ten points because of the five points given at the start and five points for participation prizes. As long as she satisfies the minimum requirements, she could stay outside and give instructions.”

“There’s no way someone as prideful as Sakayanagi would ever let anyone see her struggle with anything,” Ryuuen fired back.

Sakayanagi would not perform well, no matter what the competition was. There was no avoiding the fact she, and only she, would stand out.

“Don’t just assume things will conveniently work out for you,” Katsuragi argued. “Abstaining from a competition is a right that everyone has been given. If she officially registers for an event but abstains from the competition, she won’t be humiliated.”

“Wouldn’t there need to be a good reason though?” said Ryuuen. “If she tries to register for an event while the school already knows about her physical condition, then the school would want some justification for abstaining. She’d have to keep runnin’ the 100-meter dash with her cane when everyone else’s already done. I can’t imagine she’d make such a spectacle of herself.”

“Yes, it’s true that normally, with her personality, she wouldn’t want to participate and do such a thing,” Katsuragi conceded. “However, if she knew that we were teaming up, Sakayanagi would also consider the risk that she could lose. I’m just saying that we can’t assume that this is a sure thing. I’m just going to come straight out and ask—what do you think the chances are that she won’t participate? Give me a serious answer.”

“I’d say 90 percent,” said Ryuuen.

“So, you say 90 percent according to your entirely unfounded and baseless assessment. Well, I would say an even lower figure would be more accurate. I would put it somewhere between 70 and 80 percent at best.”

“Then be happy with those numbers,” barked Ryuuen.

“I can’t. If you want to claim that this is a certainty, then aim for 95 percent.”

Ryuuen and Katsuragi were engaged in a back-and-forth war of words, ignoring Horikita and me.

“This is stupid,” scoffed Ryuuen. “But fine, if you’re tellin’ me to make it even more of a sure thing, then all right, I have some ideas. I’ll just harass the hell outta Sakayanagi constantly until the Sports Festival. I’ll tell her again and again that if she does participate, I’ll make sure my whole class is watchin’ her. If I do that, then I’ll get that number up to 95 percent.”

He was suggesting that she would give in to threats against her personal dignity. However, both Horikita and Katsuragi rejected the idea.

“From an ethical standpoint, that is unacceptable,” said Horikita.

“I agree. The school would not stand idly by and watch something like that happen either,” commented Katsuragi.

“Then if Sakayanagi does participate, we’ll just crush her,” said Ryuuen.

“Don’t forget that we’ve sunk to the bottom of the rankings, and precisely because doing so isn’t that simple,” argued Katsuragi.

If Sakayanagi were acting as a sort of commander for her class, it would definitely be impossible to predict what kind of things she’d come up with. Whether she participated or not would greatly affect whether we would find victory or defeat at the Sports Festival. If we could ensure that Sakayanagi would be absent, however, that would bring victory that much more within our grasp.

“Horikita, are you factoring in my contributions to the class’s victory?” I asked.

“I generally don’t even consider you, no,” she said. “You’re the only one who remains in a unique position.”

“Well, that’s convenient for me. Anyway, if the question of whether Sakayanagi will be absent or not is casting a shadow over this cooperative partnership, I might be able to help.”

“What do you mean?” asked Katsuragi, showing interest. He had paused his conversation with Ryuuen and was now turned toward me.

“If you leave this to me, I’ll make sure that Sakayanagi does not participate in the Sports Festival,” I replied.

“Huh…?”

“Oh?”

Horikita was surprised while Ryuuen sounded intrigued. As for Katsuragi, he just kept listening, silently.

“However, in exchange for making sure Sakayanagi doesn’t participate,” I continued, “I don’t want you to count on me earning even a single point at the Sports Festival. And that doesn’t go just for you, Horikita. It applies to you as well, Ryuuen.”

“I wasn’t even countin’ you anyway,” said Ryuuen. “If you say you’re gonna keep Sakayanagi sealed up tight, that just saves me a lot of trouble.”

“I can’t even imagine what sort of trick you’ll be employing to pull this off, Ayanokouji,” Katsuragi added, “but if Ryuuen and Horikita say that they trust you enough to leave the matter to you, then I don’t have anything further to say on the matter. If Sakayanagi doesn’t participate, it won’t be difficult to ensure that Class A comes in last place.”

“But can you really even pull that off?” asked Horikita.

“Yeah, I can. Honestly, there’s a good chance that she’ll be absent without me even having to do anything, but you can leave this to me,” I assured her. “You know, listening to this conversation, I couldn’t help thinking that there haven’t been many opportunities for you and Ryuuen to get together and cooperate like this, right, Horikita? Actually, there’s something else I wanted to talk to you about, so would you all mind if I got into that with you now?”

I had been mulling over something a little different from what the three others were focused on during this discussion.

“What is it?” asked Horikita.

As I began to outline my idea, Horikita and Katsuragi exchanged looks, and Ryuuen listened in silence. And at the exact moment I finished speaking, the ice in Katsuragi’s glass partially melted and tumbled down, resulting in a clink sound.

“That’s an interesting idea, but…” Horikita sounded perplexed, like she wasn’t sure whether she could accept it. She looked over at Ryuuen for his response.

“I mean, sure, it ain’t impossible under the rules, but…” he said, trailing off.

“You don’t like a proposal that comes from me?” I asked.

Even though we had already reached an agreement about the Sports Festival, since I was the one putting forward this idea, there was a chance he’d turn me down. That’s what it sounded like from the way he phrased his answer.

“You’re right. I don’t. Hard pass,” said Ryuuen.

Ryuuen might have rejected my offer, but Katsuragi chimed in with his opinion.

“Your personal feelings can wait, Ryuuen. It’s honestly not a bad suggestion. We may need to go over the rules again and confirm… Actually, no, this is Ayanokouji we’re talking about. I suppose he’s already made sure of everything.”

“According to the rules, there’s no problem,” I confirmed. “We’ll have an even better response if students from Ryuuen’s class cooperate too, not just our own. Isn’t that right?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” said Horikita. “You might be right about that…”

Horikita herself was well aware of the problems our class was facing right now. If we could procure backup from outside of our class, then we could ease her anxiety.

“Take the deal, Ryuuen,” said Katsuragi. “You should now be proceeding to prepare for a direct confrontation with Sakayanagi.”

“Listen up, Ayanokouji,” Ryuuen snapped. “Once I crush Sakayanagi, you’re next.”

“If you’re going to rise up in the ranks, I suppose you’ll have to,” I answered.

Perhaps what I said was the deciding factor as Ryuuen decided to accept my proposal.

“Katsuragi, you start puttin’ that together too,” he added.

“I will,” answered Katsuragi.

“It’s just like we’re making a siege net around Class A…isn’t it?” said Horikita.

“However, priority number one is making sure that Sakayanagi doesn’t participate in the Sports Festival,” Katsuragi said. “Neither our cooperative partnership for the Sports Festival nor Ayanokouji’s proposal can get moving without first taking care of that preliminary step.”

“I understand,” I replied. “Leave that to me.”

I had an idea for containing Sakayanagi, and it was something that neither Ryuuen, nor Katsuragi, nor even Horikita could do.

5.1

I T WAS JUST BEFORE seven o’clock at night, and three students from Class 2-A—Sakayanagi, Kamuro, and Hashimoto—were gathered at the café within Keyaki Mall.

“Can’t say I’m surprised bein’ called out of the blue like this,” grumbled Hashimoto, “but what can I do for you today, Princess?”

“I wanted to talk to you about what’s going to happen at the upcoming Sports Festival,” Sakayanagi replied. “About what we should do.”

“I thought you already worked out a plan?” asked Kamuro.

“The situation changes from moment to moment,” said Sakayanagi. “And today, there has been yet another new development.” She paused before continuing speaking. “Ryuuen-kun’s class has joined forces with Horikita-san’s class.”

Hashimoto’s eyes shone when he heard the news. “Which one approached the other? Was it Ryuuen?” he asked.

“That is unclear. However, in any case, I believe it’s safe to say that the two of them are linked now.”

“Hold on a minute,” said Hashimoto. “I can’t imagine something like that would happen so easily. I don’t think Horikita would trust Ryuuen either. He’s not the sort of person you can work with.”

“You know what they say: the enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?” Sakayanagi said. “We’re firmly in the lead right now. Even if they do not trust each other, as long as they have the same goal, they can work well with one another.”

It was easy to guess that both Kamuro and Hashimoto were troubled by the news of these two classes working with one another. Their expressions stiffened, as this development was by no means cause for celebration.

“If things stay as they are, we will be in trouble,” said Sakayanagi.

“So, what, we’re gonna lose on our own?” asked Hashimoto.

“We will lose,” said Sakayanagi plainly, looking at Hashimoto. “If the other three classes were going to fight separately on their own, there would have been a chance for us to take any one of the rankings. But this connection has come from a rather unexpected source.”

“I wouldn’t work with Ryuuen if it was me,” Kamuro said. “You never know when you’d get stabbed in the back.”

“If anything, I would welcome that development,” Sakayanagi mused. “If Ryuuen did something like that this time, it would be convenient for us. I would gladly welcome Ryuuen-kun’s class taking first place and Horikita-san’s class taking second place, as an easy-to-understand result of his backstabbing. However, it’s a little more troubling for us if the results are the other way around.”

Sakayanagi was more wary of Horikita’s class than Ryuuen’s. Hashimoto’s smile faded when he heard what she said.

“They’re definitely riding quite a bit of momentum right now,” he said. “I thought for sure it would’ve been impossible for any class other than Ryuuen’s to toss aside a nobody and take hold of those 100 points. Has Horikita been growin’ up…? Or perhaps Ayanokouji was making moves from behind the scenes?”

Hashimoto emphasized Ayanokouji’s name strongly and turned to Sakayanagi, as though he were trying to make sure of something. But there was no way that such an attempt to probe Sakayanagi would work, and she simply responded in an indifferent manner.

“It would seem that his reputation has improved by leaps and bounds lately. Why? Is something wrong?”

“No, not really… It’s just, I think he’s hiding what he’s really capable of. That his abilities are beyond what OAA shows. Though, I guess it’s not as if Ayanokouji is the only student like that.”

Hashimoto quickly backed off the subject because he knew that if he and Sakayanagi were to try and sound each other out, he’d stand little chance. He decided it wouldn’t be a good idea to carelessly provoke her and draw attention to himself.

“So, what are you gonna do? You’re tellin’ us that we’ll lose if we ignore this, but you’re gonna be absent, aren’t you?” said Kamuro. She was asking, in other words, if they were abandoning the competition.

Hashimoto was smiling before, but he found that point to be cause for concern and his expression hardened once again. It was only 150 points. Even if Class A came in last, they wouldn’t take much damage. However, they weren’t going to welcome the idea of losing at all, considering the steady lead that they had built up over all this time and always keeping ahead of the pack.

“There is only one answer,” said Sakayanagi. She smiled and then continued, “I will take part in the Sports Festival as well. Even if they have joined forces, they’ve calculated that they’ll win based on me not being there. Let’s show them that hope is but an illusion.”

“Are you serious?” asked Hashimoto. “Are you really gonna be all right?”

“It’s nice that you’re motivated and all, but…are you sure?” asked Kamuro.

Both of them were visibly shaken by Sakayanagi’s announcement that she would participate.

“Are you worried that I’ll be making a spectacle of myself?” she said. “I can deal with that easily, and as many times as I must.”

“Well, yeah, I guess knowing you, you’d be able to handle it,” conceded Kamuro. “If you say you’re participating, then this discussion will be a whole lot shorter.”

“Of course, I won’t be improving our class’s overall athletic performance,” said Sakayanagi. “I can only pick up competitions that might otherwise be missed by others. I’m sure it will be a grueling fight for me to take first in those events, even if I do compete in them.”

“Well, I think it’s enough just being able to say that we’re not going to come in dead last, at least,” said Hashimoto.

“It won’t be that difficult to make a crack in the glass relationship that exists between Horikita-san and Ryuuen-kun,” Sakayanagi told them. “While they’re desperately trying to coordinate on the day of the Sports Festival, let’s interrupt them and push back a little, shall we?”

Sakayanagi was showing absolute confidence, and Hashimoto and Kamuro trusted her. They had achieved incredible results time and time again, up until now.

“Well, that’s a relief, I guess,” said Hashimoto, but he looked puzzled. “Still, I’ve got no idea how you get this info so fast, Princess. You’re not, like, walkin’ around on your own, are you?”

Sakayanagi used Hashimoto and Kamuro to gather intel most of the time. However, on this occasion, she was giving them information they hadn’t heard before.

“I have still been tasked with representing Class A, as I’m sure you’re aware,” she replied. “I’m becoming acquainted with more and more people, even some first-year students.”

Sakayanagi didn’t seem to be panicking at all. Instead, she smiled softly, as though she were enjoying the crisis.

5.2

O CTOBER WAS FINALLY HERE , and the Sports Festival was fast approaching. Today, I went to Keyaki Mall after class together with Kei to take her out on a date. I was still getting oppressive stares from the third-year students as usual, but Kei didn’t seem bothered despite the fact she, too, was getting wrapped up in the situation. She’d said she was “already used to it,” and it didn’t seem like she was merely saying that for show either.

Anyway, she apparently wanted to visit several stores today, and we stopped by the electronics store first.

“What are you planning to buy?” I asked.

“Huh? Oh, I don’t really want anything, actually,” said Kei. “Oh, well, I mean, it’s not like I don’t want anything I guess, but I didn’t come here today for myself.”

If it wasn’t for her, I supposed that meant it was for someone else.

“It’s your birthday soon, isn’t it, Kiyotaka? I was thinking about making it a surprise, but then I thought it might be better to just get you something you wanted.”

Huh. Come to think of it, my birthday was coming up soon.

“I thought we could look around together and see if there was anything you wanted, Kiyotaka,” she said.

“I see,” I replied.

I remembered that recently, she had been repeatedly asking me about things I liked and things I planned to buy. Considering how before she would just ask me random things without thinking about them too deeply, I guessed that meant she decided to come here, find what I wanted directly, and offer it to me as a gift.

“Can you afford to spend the Private Points, though?” I asked. I knew that Kei in particular didn’t have a lot of money saved up.

“I know what you’re trying to say, but hey, I can least swing something for your birthday,” she insisted. “Don’t be shy, tell me what you want.”

Kei seemed to be willing to buy me anything, but that wouldn’t do. That said, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t need anything in this situation. And I could see in her eyes that she wouldn’t be convinced if I told her I wanted something very cheap. Instead, I hoped I could choose something that’d be relatively easy on her wallet.

“I can tell what you’re thinking right now, you know?” Kei stared intently at me, aggressively crossing her arms. “I’m going to buy something you want! Okay, Kiyotaka?”

“…All right,” I replied.

This meant that at the very least, I couldn’t simply let her buy something I didn’t need in order to ease her burden. We walked along arm in arm, and Kei proceeded to press her cheek against me.

“Eh heh heh. I’m so happy,” she sighed, squeezing my arm more tightly. “You know, I don’t have any secrets I’m keeping from you, Kiyotaka. You know absolutely everything there is to know about me. I never thought I’d have someone more important to me than my mom and dad.”

She was blushing, and she seemed to be truly happy. Her eyes narrowed in a squint as she smiled with her whole face.

“So, Kiyotaka, you can’t keep anything secret from me either, okay?”

“Sure.”

Secrets, huh. What was she referring to? My family? The White Room? What I was trying to do at school? Friendships? Romantic feelings? If she was talking about any one of those things, then I hadn’t done anything but keep secrets. I hadn’t told Kei the truth about anything.

“Ah—”

As Kei and I were wandering around the store, looking around this way and that, we happened to bump into Satou. She seemed to be by herself. As soon as we ran into each other, her eyes focused on where my and Kei’s arms were linked together.

“W-wow, you guys sure look lovey-dovey,” she blurted out. “W-well, I’ll get outta your way then. See ya!”

“Ah, wai—h-hold on?!” sputtered Kei.

Kei tried to keep her from going, but Satou ran away as fast as her legs could carry her.

“Aw, jeez…” Kei put a hand to her forehead, looking defeated.

“You’re still worried about Satou?” I asked.

“It’s not like that, it’s just… Well, it doesn’t feel good, I guess…”

“In that case, we’ll just have to refrain from going out arm-in-arm in public from here on out.”

“I don’t wanna stop,” huffed Kei.

Even though she felt bad for her best friend, she apparently wasn’t willing to compromise on this. As we walked through the rice cooker and kettle section, we bumped into Ishizaki and Albert.

“Oh? Hey, ’sup, Ayanokouji!” said Ishizaki, beaming.

In that same instant, I felt Kei gripping onto my arm a little more tightly than before.

“Oh, hey, you’re on a date with Karuizawa, huh? And whoa, you guys’re arm-in-arm, too… It’s like you’re one o’ those guys with a real life…”

Ishizaki looked at me with envy, but my attention was more focused on Albert beside him. He was holding a large brand-name pot in his hands. It was a little strange to me that it didn’t look that big, but maybe it was because Albert was so big himself.

“Oh, you’re wonderin’ about this thing?” said Ishizaki. “Ryuuen-san’s birthday’s on the twentieth, dude. We picked this out for ’im.”

“Huh? The twentieth… He’s got the same birthday?” asked Kei, surprised.

She looked up at me with alert eyes, seeming a little on edge.

“That’s the first I’ve heard about it,” I replied.

“Who’s got the same birthday as Ryuuen-san?” asked Ishizaki.

When Ishizaki directed his gaze over in Kei’s direction, she glared back at him and hid behind me a little.

“Come on, dude, tell me—”

In that instant, Albert lightly placed his hand on Ishizaki’s shoulder, interrupting him. Ishizaki finally seemed to grasp the reason why Kei was so wary of him.

“…Oh! Ohhhh… That’s it… Dude…” muttered Ishizaki sadly.

Even though Ishizaki had been acting on Ryuuen’s orders, he still had been complicit in what happened, in calling Kei up onto the roof and engaging in what could be called bullying. It was natural that Kei wouldn’t take kindly to someone like Ishizaki now. Perhaps Ishizaki was angry at himself for being so slow on the uptake. After clicking his tongue, he lightly smacked his own head with a clenched fist.

“Sorry… I mean, man, I shoulda said that to you before, and… About what happened to you on the roof, I, uh—”

“Don’t talk about that here,” hissed Kei.

Though Ishizaki tried to apologize, the fact was that he was still quite lacking in sensitivity. We were in the mall right now, and people we knew could show up at any moment. Kei probably wouldn’t be too happy if someone tried to bring up what happened on the roof at a time like this. Just letting Ishizaki and Albert walk away would solve the problem for now, but as long as Kei and I were going to continue having a relationship, there’d be more than a few opportunities to run into Ishizaki like this.

“Why don’t we change locations?” I asked.

Even in a place like Keyaki Mall where people were often coming and going, there was no shortage of blind spots. Kei looked unhappy but she didn’t say anything. She simply walked along with me, still arm-in-arm. Albert put the item he was holding back on the shelf and followed Ishizaki in similar fashion. They must have been willing to apologize precisely because they felt bad about what they had done.

When we neared the emergency exit, we were far enough away from the shops so students would be able to see us, but they wouldn’t be able to hear us. If a familiar face appeared, we could stop the conversation and there wouldn’t be a problem.

“I’m real sorry!” said Ishizaki. “I mean, for real, I went all this time without givin’ ya an apology! I’m sorry!”

“…Whatever,” huffed Kei. “I’m still annoyed even if you’re saying you’re sorry. If anything, it makes me feel even more irritated.”

“Uh…?”

“You guys got the crap beaten out of you by Kiyotaka. You’re only apologizing to me because you lost.”

“W-well, I, uh…”

“If Kiyotaka hadn’t saved me back there on the rooftop… Or if he lost against you and Ryuuen, you wouldn’t be apologizing to me now. Am I wrong? Ugh, this is so annoying.”

Kei certainly had a point that what they had done was terrible and troublesome. I was on speaking terms with Ishizaki and Albert now myself, but that all started because of the rooftop incident. It made sense that Kei was saying there were big “ifs” at play here.

“Look, I know, and like, I can’t argue with you blaming me for what I did, but…” stammered Ishizaki.

“I don’t really blame you,” Kei corrected him. “It’s natural that the strong be on top. I don’t like being beneath people, so I’ve been trying to stay on top myself. I’ve acted all high and mighty to people below me too. I know how it goes.”

Despite the differences in the degree of their actions, Kei and Ishizaki were essentially the same in character. Their value systems were basically, “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.”

“Kei, I know what you’re trying to say, but I’ve come to know a little more about Ishizaki now that I’ve come into contact with him myself , ” I cut in. “He’s definitely had some positive growth since before.”

“What do you mean, ‘positive growth’?” she replied. “It doesn’t look to me like he’s changed at all.”

“This is just how I feel, but I think that if Ryuuen tried to do to someone else what he did to you that time, I can’t imagine Ishizaki would go along with it that easily,” I answered.

“Oh really? It doesn’t look to me like he can stand against Ryuuen, though.”

She was right on the mark. Ishizaki audibly gulped. Unable to say anything back to that, he felt overwhelmed by regret and bitterness and slapped his own knee hard with his palm.

Kei sighed. “Enough already,” she said. “You’re friends with Kiyotaka now, right? I’m not going to forgive you, but I’m done blaming you for it.”

“R-really?” said Ishizaki.

“I literally just said so. It’s over and done with. Okay?”

“O-okay!” Ishizaki looked up, a happy expression on his face. He decided to pose his question to Kei again. “Hey, uh…um, yeah. So, uh, about the whole birthday thing earlier, who else has the same birthday?”

Though Kei still didn’t trust him, she pointed to me with her index finger.

“Huh? Wait, for real? Ayanokouji, your birthday’s October twentieth?!” Ishizaki seemed almost unbelievably shocked. “Whoa, dude! It’s like, destiny or somethin’, don’tcha think?!”

“Whaddaya mean, destiny?” Kei scoffed. “There are over four hundred people in our school. It’s not weird that some people have the same birthday.”

“But, I mean, jus’ the fact Ayanokouji and Ryuuen-san do is, like, crazy, dude! Ain’t it?”

He was overjoyed by a simple coincidence. Just as Kei had said, there was nothing strange about it, but for some reason, even Albert seemed a little happy about it too.

“Can we go back to the store now?” asked Kei, turning back to me.

“Oh! Hey, that reminds me! Hold on a sec!!!” Ishizaki belted those words out in a particularly loud voice, causing Kei to cover her ears, irritated. “I got a little proposition for ya. So, if you want, how about we celebrate both your birthdays together and all on the twentieth? Ryuuen-san and Ayanokouji’s Double B-Day party! Dude, wouldn’t that be the best thing ever?”

Well, no, it wouldn’t. From the second I heard that suggestion pass his lips, I thought it was absolutely not the best thing ever… Honestly, even though I tried to imagine what that might be like, I couldn’t picture it very well.

“If he apologizes to me, then I’m fine with it,” said Kei.

“Huh?” sputtered Ishizaki.

“I mean if he , and by that I mean Ryuuen , bows down and apologizes to me, I’ll agree to it.”

Her words were nothing more than a pretense; Kei meant to refuse his offer.

Ishizaki’s mouth hung open. Then, when he realized how difficult it would be to convince Ryuuen to do that, he clamped his mouth shut in a frown.

“Ryuuen wouldn’t apologize to me though, would he?” said Kei.

“Huh? Uh, well, yeah, that’s probably never gonna happen…” mumbled Ishizaki. It’d be impossible for Ishizaki to even suggest to Ryuuen that he apologize. Ishizaki froze for a moment, but then it seemed like he found some determination because he forced his mouth to open again. “If you two say that you wanna do it though, then I’ll talk to Ryuuen!”

“Maybe you shouldn’t bother?” said Kei.

If Ishizaki did try to talk to Ryuuen, he might find a beating waiting for him. Ryuuen was so well-known in our grade level that it was easy to imagine such a scenario.

“I’ll try somethin’!” Ishizaki insisted. “If I can get him to promise to say he’s sorry, then we’ll have a birthday party!”

“Well… If you can really get him to actually do it, then I suppose I’ll consider it…” said Kei.

Ishizaki was positively bursting with enthusiasm, but at the same time, he was promising something without due consideration that would likely lead to his own downfall. I thought that I should clearly tell him that I was against the idea. It was true that Ishizaki had been demonstrating his strong willpower lately. It was also true that some changes were beginning to take shape in Ryuuen’s way of thinking: he hadn’t tried to get anyone expelled in the Unanimous Special Exam, after all. However, that couldn’t be interpreted as a shift in his instincts or true feelings.

People didn’t change that easily, not even if they wanted to. Ryuuen wasn’t trying to change—he was trying to evolve . Up until now, he was a man who had fought using evil as his only weapon. Now, he had begun to wield good as well. He was beginning to control both sides of the same coin at will. And if Ishizaki was misreading that fact, then he’d—

“I think it’s time you stop,” said Kei.

But Ishizaki’s resolve remained firm. “If I can get Ryuuen-san to say he’s sorry, will you be okay with the birthday idea thingy?”

“But—”

“I’ve got it! Let me formally ’pologize to you again when we have the party. I’ll getcha a little somethin’ that’s got even more thought put into it than my present to Ryuuen-san as my way of sayin’ sorry!”

Kei reluctantly admitted defeat in the face of Ishizaki’s intense enthusiasm, telling him, “All right, whatever.”

“Yeah, dude! It’s settled! Anyway, I’m gonna get a move on now and pick out Ryuuen-san’s b-day present!”

Albert nodded in response, and then he and Ishizaki went on ahead, back to the store. They seemed to understand that they couldn’t walk around together with Kei and me.

“Why did you agree to Ishizaki’s request?” I asked Kei. “I thought for sure you’d turn him down.”

Even though I expected her to openly listen to what Ishizaki had to say and accept his apology, I had to admit that I honestly hadn’t thought that she’d accept Ishizaki’s offer about the birthday party.

“Yeah, I mean, it’s true I would prefer to spend your birthday with just the two of us, Kiyotaka, but…well…”

“Were you betting on the possibility that Ryuuen would apologize to you?” I asked.

“There’s no way he’d do that. Anyway, that’s not it, I just…” Kei paused. She turned to look back at Ishizaki, who was chatting away happily with Albert. “I could tell that Ishizaki-kun likes you as a friend. And even you need friends, Kiyotaka.”

I understood immediately that Kei was referring to the dissolution of the Ayanokouji Group. When she realized I guessed as much, she blushed and averted her eyes.

“And besides, Ishizaki-kun said that he wanted to get me something as his way of saying sorry. I thought it would be okay to accept it is all,” she said.

Somehow, that dishonest part of Kei was very much like her too. Anyway, it’d be best to take Ishizaki’s proposal with a grain of salt and assume this birthday thing probably wasn’t going to happen.

And so, the days leading up to the Sports Festival continued to go by, just like that.

5.3

A FTER SATOU FLEW out of the electronics store at full speed, she stopped to catch her breath in front of the girls’ restroom.

“Ugh, why did I run away like that?” she sighed.

Her dear friend was going out with the person she loved. There was nothing wrong with that. Satou knew it too, but when she saw them arm-in-arm, she felt this unspeakable feeling well up within her. She didn’t know how she might have acted if she stuck around. Plagued with those thoughts, she ended up quickly running away, and now she was experiencing strong feelings of guilt over it. She crouched down right on the spot, clutching her knees.

“I have to try not to panic next time…”

I’m sure that Kei-chan is holding herself back from doing that kind of thing with Ayanokouji-kun when they’re in class and stuff, after all, she thought. And I’m sure that Kei-chan wants to be all alone with Ayanokouji-kun more, with just the two of them.

Just as Satou went to stand back up, a shadow loomed over her.

“Sorry to bother you all of a sudden. You’re Satou Maya-senpai, right?”

Satou was momentarily confused at being approached by a student she wasn’t familiar with. “I am, but…um, who are you? You’re a first-year, I’m guessing?”

“Who I am isn’t important right now,” the probable first-year said. “Truthfully, there’s something I want to tell you as soon as possible. If it’s not a problem, could I have a minute of your time?”

“H-huh? What is this all about?”

The stranger was telling Satou that she wanted to tell her something, and Satou felt perplexed—on top of how unsettled she was still feeling about the image of Ayanokouji and Karuizawa clinging together, which she still couldn’t get out of her mind.

“Information about Ayanokouji-senpai.”

Satou stopped moving.

“…About Ayanokouji-kun?” she asked.

“Yes. About him and his girlfriend, Karuizawa Kei-senpai.”

Hearing the names of the two people who were taking up approximately 99 percent of her headspace right now, Satou couldn’t help but look up. As the stranger slowly but surely closed in on her, Satou felt a slight twinge of nervousness.

“I’d like to talk to you about this in detail—but someplace we can be alone, if at all possible. Would you be able to?”

“Well, I…”

The first-year made use of her nimble physicality to close the distance between the two of them, getting close enough that her lips were practically touching Satou’s ear.

“If Karuizawa-senpai were expelled…don’t you think that would mean even you might have a chance, Satou-senpai?”

Karuizawa was her closest friend right now, and Satou also had feelings for Ayanokouji. This stranger was suggesting that Satou had a chance to change their relationship and to change her own position.

Satou felt overcome with all sorts of emotions.

“Wh-what are you saying?” she asked.

“Whether you listen to what I have to say or not is entirely for you to decide, Satou-senpai,” the first-year added. “But if you don’t hear me out, you will surely regret it for a long time to come. If you don’t want anyone to see us, I don’t mind if you come to my dorm room.”

The student must have been satisfied by simply telling Satou her room number, because after giving it, she turned and left, leaving Satou alone.

Satou stood there, confused and struggling to process what was happening. However, one thought stuck out in her mind.

Even I can have a chance.

That student had suggested there was a possibility that Satou could date Ayanokouji. Satou felt her chest tighten, and at the same time, feelings that she didn’t want to even know she had begun to crawl up from the bottom of her heart, slowly but surely.

“I…”

5.4

T HOUGH THERE WERE some tasks still left to be done, the class proceeded with their careful preparations for the Sports Festival. Although some students objected to the idea of fighting alongside Ryuuen, when the time came to get ready and practice, there were no major disputes. People who were working together for team competitions spared no effort in working together so that they could win. They worked hard to train day and night.

And, finally, the night before the Sports Festival arrived. Around 9:30 that evening, I called Horikita.

“It’s rather late for you to be calling. I was just about to go to bed,” she said.

I could hear a hair dryer running on the other end of the line.

“I’m calling about something important, regarding the Sports Festival,” I told her.

“ Something important? Well, I guess I should take this a little more seriously then.”

The sound of the hair dryer immediately ceased as Horikita must have turned it off.

“ Oh, that reminds me, I had something I wanted to tell you first. Apparently, Sakayanagi-san is still going to be participating in the Sports Festival tomorrow. Didn’t you say that you could stop her?”

“I’m calling to talk to you about that. I think that I’m going to be absent from the Sports Festival tomorrow myself.”

“You’re going to be absent…? Hold on a minute, what are you saying?”

I could tell how flustered Horikita was by the sudden news. On the other end of the line, I heard a crashing sound, followed by a brief scream.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“Sorry, I just dropped my hair dryer…”

I heard the sound of Horikita setting her phone down on something. It seemed like she quickly picked up her hair dryer as well.

“So, anyway, what’s this about you being absent? You aren’t sick or anything, are you?”

It made sense that she was puzzled, since it certainly didn’t sound like there was anything wrong with me from my voice.

“Nah, I’m in good health,” I replied. “Actually, I’d say that I’m feeling even better than usual.”

“In that case, why? If you’re absent, that means we’ll lose ten points, doesn’t it? Even if I’m not counting on you earning any, it still hurts to lose those ten points, you know.”

Since she only had thirty-eight students in her class, I could understand why she wanted to complain.

“I’m not going to say that losing out on those ten points doesn’t matter,” I said. “But it’s necessary, as part of my strategy.”

“Your strategy…”

Of course, I wasn’t referring to the fact that assassins sent by my father would be among the guests at the Sports Festival tomorrow. Rather, I decided to tell her something that I had been keeping quiet about until now.

“Let’s just say it’s related to the attack on Sakayanagi. It’s something we can’t avoid doing if we’re going to make sure Class A comes in last place in the rankings in the Sports Festival.”

“An attack on Sakayanagi-san…?”

“I told you before that there was a way to make sure Sakayanagi doesn’t take part.”

“I don’t understand how you being absent has any connection with an attack on Sakayanagi-san…” Horikita was about to ask me the reason why again, but she quickly reconsidered. “There’s no way I can understand what you’re thinking of doing right now. Besides, even if I tried to persuade you, you probably wouldn’t change your mind about missing the Sports Festival, would you?”

“You’re right, I won’t. I’m going to call the school first thing in the morning and tell them that I’m not feeling well.”

“In that case, I guess I have no other choice but to trust in you.” Though Horikita was exasperated, she was still giving me her consent. “I had been planning for our class to at least take the top three places, as a personal goal, but I guess now this means that I’ll have to make sure we get another ten points too.”

“Good luck,” I replied.

I ended the call and plugged my phone in to charge. It was just before bedtime right now, but I was sure that Horikita wouldn’t be able to sleep for a while because her mind would be racing, re-calculating scores and so on. It might’ve been a little harsh, but she’d just have to mark this down as a necessary expense.

With that done, I had one more person left to call. Once I gave that person the necessary information, everything would be set.