Chapter 4: How to Spend Time with People in Ichinose’s Class

Chapter 4: How to Spend Time with People in Ichinose’s Class

Chapter 4:

How to Spend Time with People in Ichinose’s Class

E ARLY DECEMBER . It was just before 2 P.M. on Saturday, the start of the weekend. I had received a message from Kanzaki two days earlier, and, as promised, I headed over to Keyaki Mall to meet him. Though we technically hadn’t decided on a specific meeting place within the mall, I was able to find Kanzaki and the other person without any issues. Kanzaki had been watching the mall entrance, and he immediately noticed me coming and gently waved.

“Sorry for calling you out on your day off,” he said.

“I usually just sit around doing nothing on my days off. I welcomed the invitation,” I replied, politely telling him that it wasn’t necessary for him to feel bad. I noticed that along with Kanzaki, who’d invited me here, Himeno and Watanabe were here too, as well as Amikura. “I was told it was just Himeno coming with you, but there’s more of you, huh?”

“My apologies,” said Kanzaki. “Some things happened.”

Kanzaki was about to explain the details of how things had changed since he contacted me, but Watanabe and Amikura spoke up first.

“’Sup, Ayanokouji!” said Watanabe. “It’s pretty cold out today too, huh?”

“Hello, Ayanokouji-kun,” said Amikura.

Watanabe and Amikura treated me no differently than they had back when we were on the school trip, greeting me with smiles on their faces. I nodded in response, expressing that the feeling was mutual. When Kanzaki contacted me beforehand, he’d said that only Himeno would be accompanying us on the day of our meeting. For that reason, I’d thought for sure that it would be a discussion about that issue.

But the combination of these four was a little unexpected—or rather, I couldn’t clearly discern the goal of this meeting. Were Watanabe and Amikura the first two key players for Kanzaki and Himeno, perhaps? But surely it would be an absurd coincidence for Kanzaki and Himeno to pull in two people who just so happened to be the ones I was grouped with during the school trip?

“It’s understandable that you’d be puzzled by this,” Kanzaki said. “I hadn’t initially expected these two to be here myself.”

Himeno also seemed somewhat unsettled, and she nodded in agreement, albeit only slightly.

“Meaning?” I asked.

I felt like I had more and more questions by the moment, but Kanzaki seemed more concerned about us being seen by others in the area. I’d assumed there would only be a few people around for at least a while, but students kept on coming to shop, one after another.

“Christmas sales have started.” Amikura pointed to a store, looking at the hustle and bustle inside the mall. She was right; the stores were completely decorated with decorations that screamed Christmas, and the various store shelves had the words “Christmas Sale” displayed prominently.

“I’d like to move to a less conspicuous location for the time being, if at all possible,” said Kanzaki. “I want to make sure our group isn’t noticed by anyone else… I’d especially like to avoid people from Sakayanagi and Ryuuen’s classes finding out.”

Since I could guess the circumstances without asking for details, there wasn’t any reason for me to refuse his request. If it had just been the four of them alone, it probably wouldn’t have been a problem, but with me added to the mix, we wouldn’t really be able to avoid looking like we were holding some sort of mysterious meeting. Besides, I’d much prefer to discuss things in a calm and quiet place, rather than in the middle of traffic.

“In that case, why don’t we just go with the go-to choice—karaoke?” proposed Amikura. The karaoke rooms were often used for things like studying and strategy meetings. They were one of the few places on campus where it was possible to meet in an enclosed space. That floor was about a three-minute walk from where we were now.

“That’s a safe choice. Let’s move quickly.” Kanzaki, taking the initiative, walked on ahead, in the lead, and I followed slightly behind. Amikura quickly came over to walk in step with me.

“I guess this is going to be a kind of serious discussion, then,” she apologized in a whisper. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think it was going to be like that.”

It sounded like she had just suddenly decided to join the group. Watanabe, who was standing beside her, spoke up next to explain the events that led to this.

“Well, me and Amikura just happened to overhear Kanzaki and Himeno talking earlier completely by chance, basically. It sounded to us like they were gonna meet with you, Ayanokouji, so we asked them if we could come along.”

“Yeah, that’s right,” said Amikura. “I originally came here to go shopping with Watanabe-kun—at his request, actually.”

At that, Watanabe looked both a bit embarrassed and happy at the same time. Then, though, he looked like he was sad about something, and glanced away.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go shopping instead?” I asked.

Both were empty-handed, so it didn’t look like they had bought anything yet.

“It’s okay. I guess it’s like… It’s not really that big a deal,” Watanabe said. “Besides, I can just go shopping later.”

Kanzaki was walking just in front of me, and was able to hear what we were saying, so he turned around and explained things. “Originally, I thought only Himeno and I needed to meet with you, Ayanokouji. However, I changed my mind after I heard that you took such good care of them during the school trip.”

Wait, I took good care of them? I should be saying they took care of me. Over the course of the school trip, Watanabe and Amikura had helped me out in lots of different ways. I was grateful to them, but I hadn’t done anything for them to thank me about.

“So, you decided that you ought to take another step forward, then, eh?” I asked.

Kanzaki nodded, a humble look on his face.

“Wait, what?” asked Watanabe. “Ought to take a step forward?”

“I’ll explain later,” said Kanzaki.

I could guess how eager Kanzaki must be feeling, judging from how quickly he was walking.

4.1

A FTER CONFIRMING THINGS at the karaoke reception desk, the five of us headed to our assigned room. Since I was invited to join them as their guest, I was ushered to the back, where the other guys, Watanabe and Kanzaki, were seated together. It wasn’t like we could just not order anything, so we went ahead and got drinks for everyone.

“So, guess we’ll start singing songs right away…won’t we?” said Watanabe as he picked the microphone off the table. He jokingly pointed the microphone toward Kanzaki, as though he were conducting an interview.

Much like me, Kanzaki wasn’t good at playing along with playful joking like that, so he brushed away the microphone with his hand, looking disgruntled. “I’m sorry, but that can wait.”

“…Yeah, you’re right.” Watanabe sheepishly retracted the microphone and slumped back.

“First things first,” Kanzaki said. “I’ve explained to Himeno what today’s discussion is about, but you two haven’t heard anything about this yet. I know I already asked you this before Ayanokouji arrived, but can you promise to keep everything we talk about here strictly confidential?”

Apparently, before granting them permission to accompany us, Kanzaki had told them in advance that today’s discussion was private.

“We’ll keep it secret, no matter what we talk about. Right?” said Watanabe, turning to Amikura.

“Yes,” she agreed. “Don’t worry about us.”

They both seemed to take pride in how tight-lipped they were, but it looked like Kanzaki still didn’t fully trust the two of them yet. Almost as if to prove my hunch was correct, Kanzaki conveyed his thoughts openly. “I’m sorry, but I still have my doubts.”

“Hey now… Okay, what should we do, then?” asked Watanabe.

Watanabe seemed to have his own thoughts about the situation—about still being held under suspicion, even after having been made to promise not to tell anyone. However, considering my assumptions about the subject matter of the conversation we were about to have, Kanzaki’s actions were justified. If Kanzaki simply wanted to ensure that he managed this situation safely, then he could have refused Watanabe and Amikura, who’d asked to follow along because they were curious. Or he could have tried to leave this meeting for another time. His choice not to do those things, and how thoroughly he was checking with Watanabe and Amikura, was probably a gamble on his part. He was doubting the two of them precisely because he wanted to trust them and rely on them.

“How about we just have them sign, like, a written contract or something?” Himeno suggested. “Something that says they won’t talk to anybody.”

“I see,” said Kanzaki. “A written contract. That’s not a bad idea. We could even take a record right here with our phones.”

Kanzaki was going to make them swear on camera that they wouldn’t tell anyone else, and punish them if they broke their promise. A protocol like that would be one way to make sure that Watanabe and Amikura kept their mouths shut. Without any hesitation, Kanzaki took out his cell phone and placed it on the table to show them that was the plan.

“Wait, are you being serious? I dunno, this kinda makes me feel awkward,” Amikura looked like she was somewhat disgusted by the idea, like she couldn’t imagine a proposal like this coming from a classmate.

“I already told you,” Kanzaki said. “We’re going to have an important discussion with Ayanokouji today. I believe that if what we talk about here were to be leaked, even if the chances of that are unlikely, the impact it could have on our future would be immeasurable.”

“You’re…not exaggerating, are you?” said Watanabe.

Kanzaki wasn’t the only one staring at Watanabe. Himeno was also looking straight at him with an intense gaze.

“I’ll ask you just one last time. Can you promise you won’t tell anyone?” Kanzaki, fully prepared to be disliked as an individual, placed his hand on top of his phone as he asked the two of them for confirmation once again. If you don’t want to bear responsibility for this, you should probably leave right now . That was the kind of determination and spirit radiating from Kanzaki, and it surely must have penetrated Amikura and Watanabe deeply.

“I promise,” said Watanabe. “I absolutely, positively will not tell anyone.”

“…Me neither,” Amikura agreed. “Besides, saying ‘I don’t think I can keep a secret’ and walking away because of it is totally uncool. You can even record this on your phone if you need it.”

If the two of them went back on their word and told people, they’d certainly disappoint Kanzaki and Himeno, at the very least. Although they didn’t appear to be close friends with Kanzaki or Himeno, Watanabe and Amikura had the stance that they should keep their word, just as fellow human beings.

Kanzaki, now convinced, put his phone away, looked away from the two of them, and turned his gaze toward me. “And there you have it. Once again, I’d like to ask that Watanabe and Amikura join us today.”

“I didn’t have any objection to it in the first place. This is a problem that Ichinose’s whole class is facing, after all,” I replied.

If a foreign body were to get mixed in, then it would be Kanzaki’s fault for making an error in judgment.

“That reminds me,” Kanzaki said. “Ayanokouji, there’s one thing I want to ask before we get down to business. I’m sure that most of the class, including you, Watanabe, and you, Amikura, have heard about this, but there’s a rumor that Ichinose is leaving the student council.”

Kanzaki wasn’t just asking for confirmation as to whether it was true; he was also saying it as a way to brace himself for the answer. Since Ichinose’s replacement hadn’t been officially announced yet, it was likely that he and the rest of the class hadn’t gotten a statement from her saying that she had quit. However, since Horikita had been proceeding with the recruitment process, rumors were spreading, and it sounded like Kanzaki and the rest of his class had heard whispers about it.

“What makes you think I’d know?” I asked.

“Because your name was mentioned among the rumors, Ayanokouji,” said Kanzaki. I was caught slightly off guard by the way he said it, with a hint of implication, but that mystery was immediately solved by what Watanabe said afterward.

“There was one about how you were joining the student council as a new member or something, Ayanokouji,” he chimed in.

Rumors are interesting, aren’t they? Someone must have seen me going around with Horikita, the person who was going to be appointed president, and thought I was going to join her. And so, a story that was divorced from the truth had spread.

“I’m sure you’ll hear about this soon enough, but yes, it is true that Ichinose is resigning from the student council,” I said.

“…So, it’s true after all,” said Kanzaki.

If he and the others had asked Ichinose about it directly, she wouldn’t have denied it. But I guessed they didn’t have the courage to confirm it for themselves. If people carelessly blabbed that Ichinose had resigned, then she might have started getting hounded by people asking why, why, why. There was the concern that it would bring about discord if something like that were to happen.

“I’m sure that Ichinose would have liked to have told you all right away, but President Nagumo ordered everyone to keep the matter quiet until a replacement was found,” I added. “So, even if she wanted to say anything, she couldn’t.” I made sure to let them know that now, so that they didn’t misunderstand that point specifically.

“Ichinose is free to decide whether she will or won’t continue to serve on the student council,” said Kanzaki. “I understand that, even though I’m part of her class, I have no right to say anything about that. However, I can’t shake the bad feeling I have about it.”

“I wonder if this means that Ichinose-san has given up on trying to get to Class A, after all.” Unlike Kanzaki, who had suggested it in a roundabout manner, Himeno said it straight out.

If Ichinose left the student council at a stage when everyone was chasing Class A, devoting themselves diligently to the task, then it was possible that she could frame it in a positive way. By just telling her classmates that she was resigning from the student council to focus more on the competition between classes, she could make them feel that she was serious about it.

However, right now, their class was on the verge of being left out of the competition entirely by falling too far behind, and so her departure from the student council would be seen in a different light. It could be perceived as surrendering, as though Ichinose were giving up a weapon they could use to catch up. In fact, it was safe for me to assume that was exactly what Kanzaki and Himeno were thinking. On the other hand, though…

“That’s probably a bit of a leap, Himeno,” said Watanabe.

“Yeah, I think so, too. I can’t imagine that Honami-chan would give up on Class A so easily.” Amikura continued to believe, without a shred of doubt, and argued back.

“Okay, then why did she quit the student council?” asked Himeno.

“Maybe so she could concentrate on getting to Class A. You know, like she wanted to lighten her load of responsibility with the student council.” Amikura didn’t think that Ichinose’s spirit was broken and answered accordingly. Watanabe probably aligned closely with Amikura’s line of thinking, and nodded repeatedly in a show of agreement.

“Then why didn’t she say anything to us about it?” Himeno argued. “If she said something, we would’ve been able to have some assurance about it.”

“Because the student council president told her to keep quiet and not say anything about it, remember? Honami-chan wouldn’t carelessly break a promise like that.” Amikura, undaunted by Himeno’s objections, countered with a sound argument. Given Ichinose’s nature, if she was ordered not to say anything, it was only natural that she would keep quiet about it for as long as she was told to.

“‘Ichinose hasn’t given up on Class A,’” repeated Kanzaki. “That’s what our class currently thinks, and the status quo we’re contending with.”

“So, Kanzaki, what are you trying to say?” asked Watanabe. “That Ichinose quit the student council because she’s given up on catching up to Class A?”

“That’s not it,” Kanzaki replied. “The truth will remain unclear unless we hear it directly from the person in question. But what I’m trying to say is that our class has too much blind faith in her. No one is considering the possibility that she made the decision to leave the student council because she’s given up on reaching Class A.”

Amikura and Watanabe were the spokespeople for the rest of their class. Their thinking was in line with a lot of people in Ichinose’s class.

“It’s obvious. It’s because Honami-chan isn’t that kind of girl,” said Amikura.

“I agree with her on that,” said Watanabe. “Besides, Kanzaki, aren’t you just assuming that Ichinose has given up on Class A? If you weren’t, you wouldn’t be talking like that.”

After hearing Amikura and Watanabe’s statements, which were like the very embodiment of blind faith, Kanzaki opened his mouth to reply without missing a beat. “Yes, it’s true that I’m strongly supporting that line of thinking. But still, I must admit that the probability is about seventy-thirty at most.”

Which meant that he was 70 percent in favor of doubting her. That was by no means a low percentage. If anything, it was rather high.

“Man, you’re always so skeptical.” It didn’t seem like Watanabe was particularly surprised by the specificity of Kanzaki’s statement; rather, he sounded pretty exasperated.

“I think the same thing, though not to the same degree as Kanzaki-kun,” Himeno said. “For me, it’s about fifty-fifty, at least.”

“Are you serious, Himeno-san?” asked Amikura.

“Of course I’m serious. I mean, don’t you think you should be a little more skeptical?”

“That’s crazy, though. There’s nothing to doubt Honami-chan over.”

Himeno and Kanzaki exchanged glances. They probably wanted to believe that there were other people among their classmates who, like them, were skeptical. However, the truth was that students like Amikura and Watanabe probably made up the majority. The current reality was that the possibility of Ichinose’s spirit being broken was not being taken into consideration at all.

“I think it’s terrible that people are saying these things just because she quit the student council… I feel sorry for Honami-chan,” said Amikura.

“But there’s no question that leaving the student council means fewer benefits for our class,” argued Kanzaki.

“But how can you even say that we, people who haven’t even joined the student council, are qualified to make those kinda complaints?!” countered Watanabe.

Watanabe’s rebuttal was also correct. No one could criticize Ichinose for her actions—no one had the right to criticize her. If anyone did try and take her to account over it, they’d probably get immediately reprimanded. They’d be told something like, “If you don’t want to lose the benefits that come from having someone on the student council, then you should do something about it yourself, and run for office.”

As a result of completely opposing opinions clashing, the karaoke room went silent. We hadn’t even gotten to the main topic of discussion yet, but the internal state of affairs within Ichinose’s class was now coming into clear focus through the structure, flow, and logic of their conversation. Kanzaki wasn’t incompetent by any means, but he made more than a few statements with openings that could be exploited, giving other people room to easily counter his arguments. Most likely, that was due to some conflict between Kanzaki’s consciousness and his process of putting his thoughts into words. His weakness, that he wasn’t accustomed to arguing or making speeches, was rearing its head.

“…Let’s move this conversation forward a bit.” Kanzaki, clearly suffering, turned to me for confirmation and tried to change the subject. “Ayanokouji, you really don’t know the reason Ichinose resigned?”

It was probably better for me to offer him a gentle helping hand here, I supposed. There was a collective understanding amongst everyone here that they all wanted to confirm what Ichinose’s intentions were, and why she’d decided to quit.

“I’m sorry to let you down, but I honestly don’t know what Ichinose is thinking right now,” I said. “I never imagined that she’d resign from the student council.”

With that on the table, I decided to continue before anyone else could reply. If I simply handed the initiative back over to Kanzaki, there was a chance that the conversation would just continue its futile bouncing back and forth. Although I was an outsider, I needed to work to manage risk here. And it might be something I could even use later, as a test case.

“Wouldn’t her classmates, the people who are in the classroom with her every day, know more about what’s going on with her than someone like me?” I added.

“U-um, that’s certainly… You sure struck a nerve there, Ayanokouji,” said Kanzaki.

Watanabe and Amikura were willing to trust Ichinose, but they couldn’t see the true essence of the situation. The same went for Kanzaki and Himeno; they were equally guilty of that. While I was glad to see that multiple people within their class had started to take a more skeptical view, all that had changed was the position of the class. That skepticism had yet to play a role in transforming the class into its ideal form.

“It’s true that it’s a problem that, even though we’re her classmates, we don’t know anything about this stuff…” Amikura seemed to have her own thoughts on the matter, and found herself reflecting on the issue.

While I waited for the four of them to give me their answer, a server came by to give us the drinks we had ordered. Apparently, the karaoke place had been busy all day since this morning, so orders were taking longer than usual. After telling us to please order as soon as possible if we wanted something else, the server left.

“Kanzaki,” I said. “I think that, before you lecture Watanabe and Amikura about their thinking, you first need to at least confirm what’s going on with the student council situation yourself. Am I wrong?”

“But if I tried to take action right now publicly, would—”

“Publicly?” I echoed, cutting him off. “There’s no ‘publicly’ or ‘privately’ in the discussion here, in confirming what Ichinose’s true intentions are. There are many ways you can get in touch with Ichinose, whether you reach out to her early in the morning or late at night, over a phone call or via chat.”

It wasn’t just Kanzaki who had a blank look on his face—the same could be said for Himeno as well.

“Are you satisfied with just finding a few sympathetic allies who agree with you, without doing anything yourself?” I asked.

“But that’s not… I mean, I’m particularly close to Ichinose-san myself, and I can’t possibly imagine she’d really tell me the truth even if I asked her,” said Himeno.

That was part of the problem Ichinose’s class was facing. Their issues weren’t just limited to the one-sided blind faith of those who worshipped her.

“In that case, you should have gotten closer to her and gotten to know her better than anyone,” I replied. “If you got close enough to Ichinose that you could confide in each other, Himeno, without any secrets between you, then these doubts and suspicions you have wouldn’t have arisen.”

All Himeno would have to do, after extracting the information from Ichinose, was share it with Kanzaki right away. Himeno’s face stiffened, and it seemed like she didn’t know how to respond to that.

“W-wait a minute.” Perhaps because he felt like the vibe in the room was getting more and more depressing, Watanabe spoke up in Kanzaki and Himeno’s defense, even though he was on the side they were criticizing. “I understand what you’re trying to say, Ayanokouji, but I think maybe you’re goin’ a little bit far… I mean, it’s…it’s probably not that easy to just be like, ‘Hey Ichinose, tell me what’s really on your mind.’ Right? Forget about how you even try and go about it. If people could share their feelings easily, no one’d be having a tough time.”

There was nothing wrong with being very willing to speak up in defense of your friends. Even amid lots of negative factors, there was value you could see in arguments like those.

“I know that Ichinose normally acts as the leader of your class, but I don’t have any idea how she talks to or looks at her peers,” I said. “Which is exactly why several things come to mind.”

“S-such as?” asked Watanabe.

“If you can’t ask her directly, you could observe her and try and understand her. If a student is obviously feeling sick, anyone would notice and at least come up and ask them, ‘Are you okay?’ If Ichinose doesn’t always have a poker face on, then that would be a great way for you to determine if there are any changes with her.”

An essential part of deciphering someone’s emotions was to look at their facial expressions. Were there any visible changes in Ichinose’s day-to-day routine, from the time before she left the student council to afterward? Even if they didn’t know exactly what was going on, I wanted to know whether they had felt something was amiss.

I was sure that the four students here were racking their brains desperately hard, trying to think back on the time they had last spent with Ichinose. Wondering if Ichinose had made any gestures or facial expressions, or if anything had happened that might have clued them in to something, from the time before the trip to now. Wondering if she had sent out any kind of S.O.S. However…

“I dunno, I guess she doesn’t seem any different from usual… Right?” said Watanabe after that extended period of silence. He glanced over at his classmates, as if seeking their agreement.

Amikura spoke up next, offering her thoughts. “You know, if it’s really true that she’s resigned from the student council, she might not have shown anything that you could really call a change before or after. I mean, even today, things were like normal. We were having a discussion about the special exam and stuff.”

“…I agree,” said Kanzaki. He had probably observed Ichinose far more than anyone else, and he didn’t deny it, either.

Most of Kanzaki’s classmates kept their thoughts to themselves. They didn’t share information. However, if these four could get together and discuss this with one another, then doors that had been closed would now open.

“It’s just… Um, well, I don’t think I can really say this is, like, recent, but it’s seemed like she’s been feeling down ever since around the time the Uninhabited Island Special Exam ended,” said Amikura shyly. She casually cast a glance in my direction. “And as for the reason why… I don’t think it’s so much to do with Class A.”

“Huh? Really?” said Watanabe. “I didn’t notice anything at all… Like, for serious?”

Kanzaki seemed like he hadn’t been aware of it, either.

“You’re right. Now that you mention it, I think there might’ve been a change then.” Himeno demonstrated a certain level of understanding of what Amikura was saying. Perhaps she was thinking something like, “You know, I hadn’t noticed before, but thinking back, maybe that’s what happened.” That was probably her state of mind right now.

The boys in the room didn’t seem to have any idea what they were talking about, but the two girls seemed to have suddenly understood something.

“I guess you could say it’s no wonder Honami has been acting strange, then…” mused Amikura.

“Amikura, you seem to have some idea as to the cause,” said Kanzaki. “Tell us.”

“Oh, well, it’s, um… I guess what I’m saying is, I think her feeling down, it’s completely irrelevant. I mean, I don’t think it’s directly related to why she quit the student council, maybe…”

“How can you be so sure of that?” Kanzaki demanded. “Even if that’s true, I’d like to know the cause of her lack of enthusiasm as soon as possible. It also affects the chain of command.”

“I understand what you’re saying, but it’s just… A-Ayanokouji-kun, what should I do here?” Amikura turned to me for help, panicking, perhaps thinking that she might have said something unnecessary.

As Ichinose’s best friend, Amikura had a lot of insight, but the rest of the people here didn’t seem to understand what she was getting at. However, after noticing the strange pause and the fact that Amikura was asking for my help, a light bulb suddenly went off above Himeno’s head.

“Oh! Wait, are you saying that might be the cause?”

“Yes, that , exactly!” replied Amikura.

I supposed that Himeno wasn’t a girl for nothing, as she seemed to notice what Amikura was getting at much more quickly than the three of us boys, who couldn’t follow what she was saying.

“I didn’t really know what was going on at the time at all,” said Himeno, “but… Yeah, that seems to make sense.”

“Tell us, Himeno. What in the world makes you think that Ichinose has been feeling down?” Kanzaki’s question was filled with pressing urgency, because he felt like he was being left behind in this conversation.

“Well, I feel awkward saying this right in front of the person in question, but I’m fairly sure Ichinose’s lack of energy has something to do with Ayanokouji-kun. Doesn’t it?”

Amikura nodded, albeit hesitantly, in response to Himeno’s remark.

“What…?”

I’m sure that came as a sudden shock to Kanzaki. He was surprised to hear that I was the primary cause of Ichinose’s slump. I figured that Kanzaki and Watanabe would only continue to be confused if they kept trying to keep up with this half-finished story.

“Although this matter is Ichinose’s personal business,” I said, “I suppose it’s no good for me not to disclose information in this situation, so… During the Uninhabited Island Exam, Ichinose told me that she has romantic feelings for me.”

Watanabe was the first to process that information, and he looked shocked, more so than anyone else.

“Romantic feelings?” echoed Watanabe. “Huh? W-wait, what? She said she likes you?”

“That’s what it means, yes,” I said.

“S-s-seriously, for serious?!” he spluttered. “Ichinose said that?! To you, Ayanokouji?! T-talk about huge news…!”

“No way…!” Amikura held both of her hands over her mouth, losing her ability to speak. “I didn’t even know that either…”

“Huh?! Wait, then what were you talking about just now, Amikura?!” said Watanabe.

Panic enveloped the inside of the karaoke room, because each person seemed to have a different interpretation of what had happened.

“Um, well, it’s just, I knew that Honami-chan likes Ayanokouji-kun, so… My thinking was that once she found out that Karuizawa-san was his girlfriend, it was a shock to her, or something like that.”

It seemed as though not even Amikura, who was Ichinose’s best friend, knew that she had expressed her feelings for me.

“It happened at almost the exact same time that she found out about Kei,” I said. “So, you’re not that far off.”

Watanabe looked like he was at his wits’ end. “Oh, man. If Shibata finds out, dude’s gonna cry for sure… No, not just Shibata, if this gets out…”

“So, it has to do with romance, hm… I see.” Perhaps Kanzaki had a headache, because he held his hand to his forehead and shook his head several times. “Well, yes, even if she weren’t feeling down, it doesn’t seem like that would be relevant to the issue at hand, I suppose…”

The three of them were trying to separate that incident from the matter of the student council, but…

“But we don’t know that for sure, do we?” Himeno quietly offered her analysis. “I don’t know how long Ichinose-san has had a crush on Ayanokouji-kun, but a broken heart seems like it’s a serious issue. Maybe she keeps dwelling on it, and it’s making her get worse?”

Did she think that I had something to do with Ichinose’s resignation from the student council? I wanted to deny it, but right now, I didn’t have any information that would allow me to state with one hundred percent certainty that Himeno was wrong.

“Is there a possibility that things will improve if Ayanokouji breaks up with Karuizawa right away and starts going out with Ichinose, then…?” Kanzaki muttered to himself, wanting to improve things in his class somehow.

“Come on, that’s a ridiculous idea, no matter how many times you say it… Right?” said Amikura.

Though that’s what she said, there was a sort of undertone to it like she was implicitly asking me, “Well, how about it?”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t accept a proposal like that from someone not involved in our business,” I replied.

“…Yes, you’re absolutely right,” said Kanzaki.

Love and the class battles had to be kept separate, even if they indirectly affected each other.

“I shared that with you as a piece of information, but now, you should probably look at this situation from a different angle,” I added.

“Dude, how can you be so calm about this, Ayanokouji?” cried Watanabe. “I mean, Ichinose likes you! You’re pretty darn lucky! You gotta recognize that!”

I didn’t want him to talk about such things so passionately. At any rate, the top priority right now was to change the thinking of the four people here, since they had gotten all flustered and giddy. In order to find out the reason Ichinose had left the student council, we needed to narrow things down even further.

“Did you see any signs of her backsliding, with respect to taking a productive stance in fighting against Ryuuen’s class?” I asked.

Perhaps they still hadn’t gotten the previous subject out of their minds yet, because the answers didn’t seem to be coming right away.

After a short pause, with people taking a drink here and there, Amikura raised her hand meekly. “I guess it feels like things really aren’t any different from usual at the moment. Y’know, like, trying to win in a positive way?”

“I agree,” said Watanabe. “It feels like the plan is just ‘everyone do your best together,’ like we’ve been doing.”

“Yes. And I’ve even heard her talk about a few specific plans for fighting as well,” said Himeno.

Kanzaki was the only one who didn’t say anything, but I guessed that was probably because he agreed with the other three. That’s what I thought, anyway…but apparently, he was thinking beyond that.

“That’s exactly why you can sort of interpret this situation as another form of trying too hard,” he said. “It’s like…she’s so driven into a corner that it’s enough to make her quit the student council, but even so, she’s putting up a tough front, so that she doesn’t burden us, her classmates…”

Most likely, once Kanzaki and the others thought about that, they’d get irrevocably sucked into that line of thinking until they broke the chain. But they needed to think long and hard about it. They needed to dig a little deeper and expand their horizons. If each of them gained the ability to think for themselves, the class could be reinvigorated.

“I know that you want to know about Ichinose leaving the student council,” I said. “I understand that you all can’t help worrying about whether things are going in a good direction or a bad one. However, what are Ichinose’s true intentions in doing this? And do you want Ichinose not to push herself too hard? Or do you perhaps want her to work even harder for the sake of the class, if she has quit the student council? I’d like to hear the answers to those questions.”

After I’d told the four of them what I wanted to know, I took a sip of my oolong tea. All four stopped moving, conversing only by exchanging looks. I could tell just by looking at them that they were struggling to produce responses, predicting what Ichinose’s other classmates, who weren’t here, would be thinking. Many of them would likely be worried about Ichinose’s state of mind. They’d be genuinely worried about Ichinose as a person, before even getting to the question of whether she would stand or fall as a leader. However, that wasn’t everything for Kanzaki and Himeno.

“I’ll speak first,” Kanzaki said at last. “Naturally, I expect Ichinose to be capable as a leader. If she feels that the student council doesn’t matter, and that it’s a burden, then I think she should quit without hesitation. The important thing is whether she has the will to rebuild our current class and aim for Class A. If she’s lost that will, then that’s a problem.”

“Honestly, I think she’s always had that will since the beginning, and that hasn’t changed,” Watanabe said. “But y’know, if she did decide to give up on getting to Class A, it’s not like anyone else would say anything about it, right? If I had to put it another way, I guess it’s like, it’s up to the individual whether they want to pursue it.”

For Watanabe, representing the side of someone who thinks of his friends, it was perfectly understandable that he couldn’t force someone to do something they didn’t want to do.

“Yeah… I mean, we can’t force her, can we?” Amikura felt the same. In that situation, she felt, there’d be nothing you could do. When someone gave up, it was indeed a terrible thing to go as far as to drag them along and force them into aiming for Class A.

“But as a leader, that’s unacceptable behavior,” Kanzaki pointed out. “In that case, she should notify the class immediately.”

Kanzaki was saying he wished that she wouldn’t drag them down, at the very least. Then they wouldn’t have to worry about Ichinose in that regard, since she absolutely wouldn’t want to cause trouble for her peers. It was easy to imagine, after all, that Ichinose would contribute at as much as she could for the sake of her friends in that scenario.

“If Ichinose is giving up, then I’d like her to make that clear to us at an early stage,” he added. “Forcing herself to stay in the leadership position even though she doesn’t intend to reach for Class A would leave us unable to get a good result.”

“So, everything should be okay, then,” said Watanabe. “The fact is, Ichinose hasn’t said anything, right?”

“What I’m afraid of is Ichinose’s innate nature as a good person,” Kanzaki said. “I said something to this effect earlier, but what if she’s putting up a tough front, hiding the truth that she’s given up, and forcing herself to do the job? Almost nothing could be as cruel to the rest of the class as that.”

Because she cared for her friends, Kanzaki was saying, she wouldn’t outwardly tell them that she’d given up. If Ichinose’s spirit really was broken, then we couldn’t deny such a possibility.

“I kind of get what you’re trying to say… You mean that you’re working with Himeno-san to prevent that from happening, then?” asked Amikura.

“Yes, but that’s not all I’m saying,” said Kanzaki. “By gathering together those who can give their opinions to Ichinose, the class can have another brain. There will be a second option available to us that doesn’t leave everything to the leader alone.”

“I dunno, that kind of feels a bit like an act of betrayal,” said Amikura.

The class led by Ichinose must be a monolith. No, it’s supposed to be that way. From Amikura’s perspective, as someone who thought like that, it was no wonder that what Kanzaki and Himeno were doing looked like an act of desertion.

“I think that if we don’t do something now, it’ll be too late,” Himeno said. “Which is why we’re laying the groundwork.”

“That’s exactly what I mean,” said Kanzaki. “But, as Ayanokouji pointed out, there are still things we need to consider…”

Watanabe and Amikura hadn’t been thinking about these issues too deeply at first, but they were now being informed of what was happening. However, it was still difficult to say that the discussion happening here was clear and coherent, even if I was being charitable. Kanzaki himself seemed to be painfully aware of that fact, so the awkward feeling lingering in the air didn’t dissipate.

I supposed this was probably the end of our pursuit of Ichinose’s reason for quitting the student council for the time being. If we persisted in this any further, it was unlikely we’d be able to get any closer to the truth with the amount of information we had now. It was pointless to continue spending time on a discussion that had no answer in sight.

“Kanzaki,” I spoke up. “Don’t you think it’s about time you say what you wanted to talk to me about?”

“Hm? Y-yes,” he replied. He looked at his phone to check the time, as though he had only remembered just now. “The main reason I called you here today, Ayanokouji, was to introduce you to a new ally. He said he’d arrive here late because he had another matter to attend to this morning that he could not miss, but he should be arriving soon.”

For the next twenty minutes or so, we spent the time just chatting, without engaging in any further grimly serious discussion. We talked about various things that had happened on the school trip while we waited for this mystery person to arrive, until at last…

“Please pardon my intrusion,” announced the visitor.

“You’ve come, Hamaguchi,” said Kanzaki.

Hamaguchi? When I looked over, I saw Hamaguchi Tetsuya, from Ichinose’s class.

“Wait, you don’t mean Hamaguchi-kun is…? No way. This is totally unexpected…” Amikura exchanged looks with Watanabe, shocked at the visitor’s identity.

“Hey there, Ayanokouji-kun,” Hamaguchi said. “I don’t think we’ve seen each other face-to-face like this since the uninhabited island exam, right?”

“I think you’re probably right about that. Thanks for everything back then, by the way,” I replied.

The memory of how he and his group had politely welcomed me, a stranger, while I was trying to conserve food was still fresh in my mind.

“Nah, we didn’t do all that much, it wasn’t a big deal,” he said. “More importantly, where should I sit?”

“Well… I’d like to ask you to sit over by me, Hamaguchi, on this side.” Kanzaki got up from his spot, and ushered Hamaguchi to a spot next to him, kind of jamming him in there.

“So, it was Hamaguchi who was supposed to join up with us, then?” I asked.

“Yes. Though I suppose you could say it was only Hamaguchi who was supposed to have joined us here,” said Kanzaki.

That meant that, in other words, if you excluded Watanabe and Amikura, who had joined this meeting spontaneously, there should have been four of us here.

“I’ve already talked to Hamaguchi about getting his help regarding that matter we discussed,” said Kanzaki.

“Which means he’s officially the third member of your team, then,” I replied.

Kanzaki and Himeno had found someone who could change Ichinose. Of course, Watanabe and Amikura probably didn’t understand what was going on here, but it was by Kanzaki’s will that those two were allowed to attend this meeting, even if they did join by chance. If Kanzaki had thought they would be an obstacle, he could simply have rescheduled this meeting for another day or refused to let them join.

“We’re getting to the point where we need to take action if we’re going to move forward,” said Kanzaki. His enthusiasm had kicked up a notch, and Himeno quietly nodded in agreement.

“Wait, hold on,” said Amikura. “Hamaguchi-kun, I’ve heard a bit about this from Kanzaki-kun, but do you know what you’re all planning to do?”

“Ichinose’s mental and emotional state are in a precarious position,” replied Hamaguchi. “It’s not a good idea for us to just leave things the way they are. I’m not saying that because it’s something Kanzaki-kun pointed out to me. I’ve been worried about this for a long time, ever since we started our second year.”

Apparently, Hamaguchi had already seen through Ichinose and noticed her anxiety.

“For real?! But you haven’t shown any sign that you’ve been thinkin’ about that before,” said Watanabe.

“You’re right, I haven’t. That’s because our class doesn’t like that kind of vibe. No one would follow me if I tried to act on my own. We’ve all seen how Kanzaki-kun has been suffering for a long, long time now.”

The details of their situation were unknown to me, as someone from another class, but the truth and weight of the situation were conveyed to me through the body language and expressions of Ichinose’s classmates here and now.

“It’s not like I’m saying I want Ichinose-san to step down as leader,” Hamaguchi went on. “But I have most definitely been thinking that I want to become the sort of ally who can help her when she’s in trouble. So, your invitation came at a great time, Kanzaki-kun.”

“Back when I was completely isolated during the Unanimous Special Exam, I noticed that Hamaguchi looked like he was worried about me whenever he wasn’t in sight of our other classmates,” Kanzaki said. “I could tell from the way he looked and spoke that he understood.”

I could tell quite a few things just by looking at everyone here. Hamaguchi was someone dependable and trustworthy. He might be close to having the same kind of potential as Yousuke in Horikita’s class, and close to taking a role like his, too.

“…Is it really okay for you guys to be tellin’ me and Amikura somethin’ as secret as this, though?” asked Watanabe.

“It was a gamble. It’s important that we do things carefully and operate under the radar, but with Ichinose’s departure from the student council, I decided that I couldn’t take my time any longer,” Kanzaki explained. “Besides, if I couldn’t bring in people like you two, Watanabe and Amikura, then I’d soon come to a standstill anyway.”

Apparently, after his chance encounter with Watanabe and Amikura, Kanzaki had seen a bright light of hope and chose to reach for it. Amikura’s comments were noticeably pro-Ichinose, but she did have her own opinions on everything that was going on.

“I mean, I guess it’s not like I feel bad about being trusted…” said Amikura.

“Yeah, I mean, we did promise we wouldn’t tell anyone, too,” added Watanabe.

Neither of them could hide how confused they were feeling about this, but there was no indication that they were going to betray Kanzaki and his team.

“I’m not going to say that I want you to come over to my side immediately,” Kanzaki added. “However, I do want to change the mindset a little, which so far has been to leave all the decision-making solely to Ichinose. Even if the process is only incremental from here onward.”

“I think this would be a different story if you were trying to do somethin’ bad, but it’s super clear to me that you’re doing this in the best interest of the class.” Watanabe showed a certain degree of understanding, his cheeks relaxing somewhat into a smile as he answered. “I can’t say I’ll do anything, like, right away, but I will think about it.”

“As for me, well… I don’t think I can say,” Amikura said. “But, like Watanabe-kun said earlier, I’m not going to tell Honami-chan about this. That’s all I can say for right now…”

“That’s plenty,” said Kanzaki. I was sure he’d figured that he wouldn’t get what he hoped out of any of them even if he tried to force the issue right now, anyway.

“By the way, what exactly are you and your team planning on doing from here onward anyway, Kanzaki?” asked Hamaguchi. “Like, specifically?”

“Specifically, hm? Well, in order to save the class, our first step is—”

Just then, the door suddenly flung open, causing Kanzaki to stop and stare.

“Hey there! We’re comin’ on in, dudes!”

It was none other than Ishizaki who had suddenly waltzed into the karaoke room without permission, and with him was Komiya. I wondered if anyone already in the room was thinking to themselves, “Did someone call these two?” but it didn’t look like it. Clearly, the vibe in the room was now different from how it had been up until this point.

“Hey, what’re you folks all doin’ here together on our day off, eh? I wanna get in on this too!”

Ishizaki’s eyes then turned to me for the first time during this encounter. He wouldn’t have known that I’d be here.

“Huh? What’s… Why’s Ayanokouji here with you guys?” he asked.

“We should be asking you the same question,” Kanzaki returned. “Why are you two here?”

“Why? I mean, there’s like, lotsa reasons. Y’know?” Ishizaki let his eyes wander, looking over to Komiya, who looked somewhat awkward and embarrassed.

“Y-yeah,” said Komiya, tapping the window in the karaoke room door. “I mean, we both came to do karaoke, and then we saw you guys. And we were thinkin’ that it’d be way more fun to sing with a big group of people, instead of just two lonely guys.”

“But we’re not friends in the slightest, though.” Amikura’s blunt comeback cut straight into Ishizaki and Komiya.

“W-well, I mean, come on,” said Komiya. “That’s exactly why we’re here, y’know? Like, our goal’s to deepen the bonds of friendship through singin’. That kinda thing.”

Their obvious, harebrained excuses were almost painful to hear. Kanzaki, not wanting to let this charade continue any longer, revealed Ishizaki and Komiya’s purpose in coming here. “People from Ryuuen’s class have been bothering us in an entirely unreasonable fashion day after day, ever since the day the special exam was announced.”

“Wait, seriously? This again?” said Amikura. There wasn’t any sign of anything like anger in her voice. Rather, she crossed her arms, exasperated.

“Whaddya mean, ‘unreasonable’? Yer exaggeratin’,” complained Ishizaki.

“Barging into another group’s karaoke booth without permission? You’d call that reasonable?” demanded Kanzaki.

“Hey, man, we just came here to check on our fellow classmates, y’know, as people in our grade. We were thinkin’, hey, we wonder what those guys are singin’, and it looks like fun, and thinkin’ we’d join you. That’s all.” Ishizaki was throwing out painful excuses too now, to match Komiya’s, but no one believed them.

“Unfortunately for you, this meeting we’re having today isn’t a study group,” said Kanzaki.

“…Yeah, yer right.” Ishizaki scratched his head, just now noticing that there wasn’t anything that resembled study materials on the table. Ryuuen’s class was going to be facing off against Ichinose’s class. Ishizaki and his classmates were at an enormous disadvantage in our grade when it came to academic ability, and from the sounds of it, they were focusing more on sabotaging their opponents than trying to actually study hard themselves. Judging from the way Amikura said “again,” it sounded like this sort of thing had been happening over and over ever since it was decided that their classes would be facing off.

“So, can you please leave?” Kanzaki added.

If Kanzaki and the others were studying, that’d be one thing. But there wasn’t any benefit to Ishizaki and Komiya in staying if everyone here was simply enjoying karaoke.

“ Tch . Let’s hit the next one.” Finally, Ishizaki clicked his tongue, blatantly admitting what he was doing here, and left with Komiya in tow.

“What a bunch of jerks,” huffed Watanabe. “Well, no, I guess it’s Ryuuen who’s giving all the orders, in the end. That’s what it comes down to.”

“Seriously. They should be taking their studies seriously, but all they can think about is dragging their opponents down,” Amikura sighed.

“This is just like what happened with finals last year,” said Watanabe.

Back then, although he was doing it to win, Ryuuen had engaged in some pretty risky behavior, even for him. I had thought that surely he wouldn’t overdo it this time, but I didn’t know what kind of measures Ryuuen would end up taking.

“Are they trying to pressure you into signing some unreasonable contract or something?” I asked.

“Don’t worry,” said Kanzaki. “We’ve already taken firm countermeasures. But it’s not as though I can say with certainty that we won’t have any trouble in the future, of course, so I intend to remain vigilant.”

Kanzaki stood up, and after making sure that Ishizaki and Komiya had really gone, he went back to his seat. “I apologize for that unnecessary interruption,” he said. “I’ll get back to the heart of the matter. Our first step in saving the class is that we need to quickly ascertain what kind of mental state Ichinose is currently in. If we can’t get her back in a stable condition, we won’t be able to move forward or backward.”

That was true. Right now, no one knew what kind of state Ichinose was actually in.

“It’d be nice if there was some way we could get a perfect understanding of what’s going on,” he added, “but…”

“I guess the only way would be for us to get close to Honami-chan, to be there for her, right?” said Amikura.

“And how would that be any different from before?” asked Kanzaki.

“Huh?” she said. “W-well, when you ask me straight out how it’d be different, that’s kind of tough to answer…”

“It’s precisely because we’ve continued to do things in this static, unchanging way that we’ve gotten to this present situation,” argued Kanzaki.

“Hey, Kanzaki, come on, you don’t gotta shoot her down so meanly,” said Watanabe, interrupting Kanzaki’s lecturing in a slightly angry tone. “This is a place where we can talk freely, isn’t it? If someone’s got the courage to come out and offer an idea, but it gets squashed right away, like you’re tryin’ to suppress ’em, it’ll be harder for the next person to offer their opinion, y’know?”

“…But…”

“Actually, I agree with Watanabe-kun,” Hamaguchi cut in. “I’ve refrained from saying anything myself until now, but Ichinose-san isn’t the only big problem we’ve got. I think that your strong tone is one of the causes of our situation too, Kanzaki-kun.” He spoke in a calm, measured manner, offering his harsh but honest opinion. “I appreciate the fact that you’re doing something for the class, Kanzaki-kun. But if we just go around and around with no end in sight, it’ll be meaningless, won’t it?”

Though this was a small group, each of the members had more of a sense of individualism than I’d expected, and they each had their own opinions. That meant that while there were many students in their class that had blind faith in Ichinose, there were a number who had their doubts. That being said, Hamaguchi and Watanabe weren’t exactly in a position to stand front and center in that kind of stifling situation. That was exactly why they could speak freely now, with Kanzaki taking the initiative and stepping forward.

“I don’t think that getting close to Ichinose-san is a bad direction,” Hamaguchi added. “I can’t imagine that Ichinose-san would simply tell us anything if we tried to force it out of her, and I think it’s important that we observe naturally, and make sure of what’s going on.”

“You’re telling us we should take our time? When we’re in a situation where we don’t have any more left? That’s too easygoing,” argued Kanzaki.

“No, I think that depends on how we approach this,” said Hamaguchi. “Speaking on behalf of myself and some of the others here, we only know Ichinose-san as a leader. But Amikura-san is different. I think you have a lot of opportunities to hang out with Ichinose-san on days off, right, Amikura-san? That should open up more chances for us.”

Amikura vigorously nodded in the affirmative.

“It’s a benefit to have more opportunities,” Hamaguchi went on. “It’s just… I wonder if there could be disadvantages at the same time. After all, since Amikura-san and some other people are around Ichinose-san on a daily basis, Ichinose-san might be more wary of them. And I think there might be a part of her that’ll make it hard for people like Amikura-san to really get in close and gain her trust completely.”

For people who were close friends, there was still politeness. It wasn’t as if even Amikura could just ask Ichinose straight out, after all.

“Y-yes, I know.” Himeno, the person I had thought to be the least likely to speak, raised her hand before anyone else could respond. “Actually, I have an idea to deal with that, in an ideal scenario.”

“Let’s hear it,” said Kanzaki.

“What about asking Ayanokouji-kun to check on Ichinose-san on a day off? I mean, it’d be fine to have him ask her lots of questions when he does so. Sure, normally, you’d have a tough time trusting someone from a different class, but if it’s someone you like, you’d loosen up, right?”

“That might be a promising idea,” said Hamaguchi. “I don’t think Ichinose-san would dislike being invited out by the person she likes, and like you said, Himeno-san, that sense of wariness should—”

It seemed like he also knew that Ichinose was in love with me; he spoke about it like it was a matter of course.

“But, as stated earlier, Ayanokouji is from another class,” Kanzaki interrupted him. “That’s my biggest concern, and—”

“But you trust him, don’t you?” Himeno said. “You invited him to such an important discussion as this, after all.”

Her sharp comeback made Kanzaki stop mid-sentence, his mouth agape.

“Let’s have him explore the things that we and our other classmates can’t see,” she added.

“W-wait, hold on a second,” Watanabe said. “I get what you’re tryin’ to say, Himeno, but Ayanokouji’s got a girlfriend. Remember? Karuizawa. He’s got Karuizawa. There’d be a lot of problems with this, wouldn’t there?”

“Honami-chan stands out from the rest of the crowd. So, if she met up with a boy all alone, then rumors might start going around,” Amikura agreed. “So, at the very least, we need to get permission from Karuizawa-san. Prove it’s not a date… Agh, but since it’s a fact that Honami-chan likes Ayanokouji-kun, this probably wouldn’t just be a matter of getting permission…”

These students had started offering my name without permission and getting excited all on their own.

“I mean, could we even go ahead with this plan without Honami-chan’s approval in the first place, though?” said Amikura. “I understand it’s for the sake of the class, it’s just… I don’t want to feel like we’re taking advantage of her feelings.”

It wasn’t surprising that Amikura, who seemed to be particularly close with the person in question, would have complaints. Up until now, their class has rallied around Ichinose in both good times and bad.

“It’s not like we’re doing this selfishly as a countermeasure for a special exam,” Kanzaki pointed out. “This is something we’re doing for Ichinose. It’d be absurd if we were to tell the very person in question that we’re worried about what’s going on in her mind, right?”

But it didn’t seem like Amikura was going to be so easily convinced. “I understand that you’ve wanted to change the class, Kanzaki-kun, since the Uninhabited Island Special Exam,” she said. “I’m not going to go so far as to say that’s a bad thing. However, I don’t think the things you’re doing—like secretly consulting with Ayanokouji-kun behind everyone’s backs, and conspiring with Himeno-san—are exactly praiseworthy.”

I supposed that was a natural way of thinking for someone from Ichinose’s class, which valued transparency.

“That’s because it was obvious that if I acted out in the open, I’d be met with opposition,” Kanzaki replied. “That’s exactly why I’m not doing this alone; I’ve got Himeno, and now Hamaguchi, to cooperate with me. That gives strength to my resistance.”

The fact was that, right here, more than half of the people present were on Kanzaki’s side. If Kanzaki had been alone, it would’ve been one against four, but instead, in essence, it was three against two right now. With allies on his side, Kanzaki could expect reinforcements to come to his defense here.

“Having her go on a date with Ayanokouji-kun is the obvious choice,” said Himeno, trying to conclude the discussion.

But Amikura’s expression was stiff, and she wasn’t going to change her position after all. “You don’t seem to have any hesitation in deciding that, Himeno-san. Are you really that dissatisfied with Honami-chan’s way of doing things?”

“I…”

“I can understand Kanzaki-kun, you know? He was always by Honami-chan’s side, offering his opinions all the time, and sometimes strongly asserting his own stance. But I don’t recall ever hearing anything like that from you, Himeno-san.”

“Himeno is—”

Kanzaki tried to argue on Himeno’s behalf, but Hamaguchi stopped him with a wave of his hand. “These kinds of important things have to come out of your own mouth, otherwise they don’t mean anything.”

Having someone like him here, who could look at the whole situation and make good judgment calls from an objective perspective, was a huge deal.

“Well,” said Himeno, “rather than saying I’m dissatisfied, I… It’s that I don’t like the stance of having everyone hold hands and get along. It’s not a recent thing, either; that’s something I’ve felt for a long time, since before I came to this school. I don’t really like being with friends, and if I had to say, I feel like it’s easier being alone.”

Amikura probably wouldn’t ever have had the slightest idea that Himeno had thoughts like that before.

“But I’m not really good at speaking up and saying anything, so I figured it was easier to just shut up and go with the flow. Whenever people asked me to hang out, I stayed quiet and went along, and if everyone was going to follow Ichinose-san, I thought it’d be easier to just keep my mouth shut and follow her. That’s all.”

Himeno had been content not expressing her opinions and simply letting herself follow along with the people around her.

“But still, deep down, I’ve thought about it,” she went on. “I’ve always thought that Ichinose-san’s way of doing things wouldn’t be enough on its own to make it to Class A. But I couldn’t do anything. If everyone else was going to stay quiet and follow, then I had no other choice but to follow, too. So, I just went with the flow.” Himeno, who still had trouble making eye contact with people, continued to speak, staring at the monitor where karaoke videos continued to play. “But then I found out that Kanzaki-kun was serious about trying to change the class. And I found out that he didn’t want to give up on graduating from Class A. That’s why…I decided to take a chance on that.”

This was all new to Watanabe, too. “So, you chose between the two options you had—to just take the easy way and end up in Class B or lower, or to graduate from Class A, even if you had to force your way,” he muttered.

“…I see,” said Amikura. “I understand how you feel, Himeno-san. I didn’t know any of that before.”

“That’s perfectly understandable,” Himeno replied. “I’ve never actually talked about it.”

But, turning things around, the same could be said of Ichinose. You couldn’t tell much of what someone really thought until you actually heard it from their own mouth. Though Amikura seemed somewhat dissatisfied with Himeno and Kanzaki’s methods, it looked like she was backing down a bit now, like she could understand some of where they were coming from.

Kanzaki turned to me. “On behalf of our class, I’m begging you. Please ask Ichinose about her state of mind, now that she’s resigned from the student council, and about her intentions for the future. And if she still thinks that we can win.” He bowed his head. “We want to know her true feelings.”

“Well,” I said, “I guess I don’t really have any reason to refuse going along with this…”

Kanzaki, who didn’t normally smile, bowed happily in gratitude.

“But, hey, what about the Karuizawa issue?” asked Watanabe.

“What do you mean, what about it? We just need to explain the situation and get her to understand,” said Kanzaki.

“Explain the situation?” Amikura repeated. “We’re in another class, remember? I’m not so sure Karuizawa-san will honestly accept doing something to help us. I mean, won’t she be suspicious?”

“I’m not worried about that,” I assured them.

In fact, even though this request had just fallen into my lap unexpectedly, it was a good opportunity for something that I’d been wanting to try.

4.2

A T AMIKURA’S SUGGESTION , we decided to enjoy a little bit of karaoke, but before that, I got up and headed to the bathroom. Although some of this meeting had gone in an unexpected direction, the fact that Kanzaki and some of the others showed signs of growth during the discussion was a significant boon. All that remained was for me to invite Ichinose out at a later date in order to successfully confirm the circumstances behind her resignation from the council.

Normally, it would’ve been preferable for Kanzaki and his team to take care of this matter themselves, but I couldn’t have recommended that they do so, as there was a risk it would only invite more confusion in their class if they handled it poorly. At the very least, I wanted them to remain friendly companions who could stick by Ichinose. I didn’t regret taking this task on, but the hard part was going to be confirming things with Ichinose.

The special exam, and her leaving the student council. It was unavoidable that she’d be suspicious of me if I were to invite her out now, after two major incidents had happened in succession. Would it be better to just ask her straight out, directly, and get her to confirm things in her own words? No, it’d be better to check on Ichinose’s mental and emotional state before deciding what to do. It would be meaningless for me to ask her if it ended up leading to a negative outcome.

“H-hey, Ayanokouji.”

Watanabe had hurriedly followed me to the men’s restroom. I had thought perhaps he was just in a hurry to do his business, but apparently that was not the case. We were in the hallway now, having taken care of our business and washed our hands, and he seemed to want something.

“Hey, um… You know how you’re meeting Ichinose, right? Well, um, I kinda had a favor to ask…”

“A favor? If it’s something simple, then sure,” I replied.

“Well, maybe it’s simple,” he said. “I think so. But actually, wait. I dunno. Maybe it’s pretty tough, after all…? I’m not sure.”

My impression of Watanabe was that he was rather clear and outspoken. Now he had become unusually vague. But perhaps because he felt like it wasn’t a good idea to be away from the booth for too long, he got to the point.

“Well, here goes. It’s…it’s about Amikura.”

“Amikura? What, is something worrying you about her?” I asked.

I figured it was because Amikura was the person whose heart was probably shaken the most by the discussion we’d just had. It didn’t look like she’d needed any care after it happened, but maybe Watanabe sensed something.

“Oh no, it’s not like that. Well, okay, I guess maybe ‘worried’ is the right word in a sense, but not like that.” Watanabe was completely incoherent, but I let him speak. “Well, she’s… I was, like, wondering if, you know, there’s a guy she likes right now, or something. I figured Ichinose would probably know… So, if it’s not any trouble, could you maybe ask her for me?”

“I see,” I said. I was slowly and gradually beginning to understand the circumstances, feelings, and behaviors regarding romantic love. I could grasp the meaning behind what Watanabe was telling me, even though he was stumbling over his words. “You’re saying that Amikura is the girl you like, Watanabe.”

“Whoa, hey, come on! Don’t just blurt it out like that!”

“Don’t worry. No one’s around right now.”

The only noise leaking into the hallway was the background music coming from the shops and singing from the karaoke booths. If anything, Watanabe’s loud, panicking voice was more of an issue than what I’d said.

“St-still, dude!” he groaned.

I had to say, though, I hadn’t known about this. I didn’t notice that Watanabe liked Amikura.

“You’ve been playing it cool, though,” I told him, “even though you were in a group with a member of the opposite sex, and someone you liked on top of that. During a school trip, no less.”

“Dude, I’m not an elementary school kid, y’know,” he replied. “I’m not gonna do something that’d make it super obvious.”

Come to think of it, he’d said that he came to the mall with Amikura to do some shopping today, if I remembered right. That was rather interesting, and after establishing the fact that he liked Amikura, now I could see a connection.

“Did you ask her out on a date today, by any chance?” I asked.

If that were the case, that would mean that Watanabe was a rather capable person in his own right.

“Huh? Oh… Well, I guess I was trying for somethin’ close to that,” he admitted. “I was super excited, and got up early to get ready. Then we met up in the dorm lobby, and let me tell you, my heart was racing, like, a mile a minute. But…” Watanabe had a look of shame on his face as he thought back to what happened when he and Amikura left. “Once we started walking, I couldn’t get the conversation going at all. Usually, when we’re with a bunch of other people, the two of us can really get chatting, but all of a sudden, the words just wouldn’t come. It was a little bit like hell until we got to the mall.”

So, things were going well until he invited her, but afterward, things didn’t work out so well…

“You didn’t like being all alone with her?” I asked.

“No way, it’s not like that, dude. But it’s just, I got so frustrated with myself for not being able to speak up, and all these bad thoughts were running through my head, like, ‘I bet Amikura’s not having any fun spending time with me like this,’ and stuff. Then, Kanzaki and Himeno walked past, and I heard them talking about meeting up with you.” That might have been a lifeline for Watanabe, who had found himself in quite the predicament at the time. “So, I turned to Amikura and was like, ‘Hey, we were in the same group on the school trip, wanna pop over and talk to them for a bit?’ That’s how I invited her to come along.”

He must have made that decision so that he could escape for a moment, but not retreat completely. Hm.

“I see. So, that’s how it happened,” I mused.

While it was unfortunate that the two of them weren’t alone anymore, there was nothing as painful as a date that was just no fun. Although I doubted that Amikura had considered their outing a date, necessarily.

“I never imagined that we’d get into this really important discussion, though, so I was a little scared, but…in the end, I’m glad I found out about it. I think I understand what Kanzaki and Himeno are thinking,” said Watanabe.

Based on what I’d seen of Watanabe’s character thus far, if Kanzaki and his team had reached out to him earlier, they probably could have gotten him onto their side and made him an ally, like Hamaguchi. Most likely, there were still students like that lying dormant in Ichinose’s class.

“So, um… About what I said about Amikura, could you…maybe investigate a little for me?” he asked.

“Me?” I asked.

“I mean, you’re meeting Ichinose sometime soon, right? I just was hoping you could ask her casually about it,” said Watanabe.

“I don’t really know if I can ask Ichinose about that,” I said. “Even if I do, there’s no guarantee whatsoever that she knows anything about Amikura’s love life in the first place.”

“No way, dude, she knows,” Watanabe insisted. I didn’t know where he was getting this from, but he sounded fairly confident. “If Amikura likes somebody, or she’s dating somebody, Ichinose’ll definitely know.”

“Is this that so-called girl’s information network thing?” I asked.

“Yeah, exactly, dude. I mean, I can’t imagine Amikura is the type of person who’d go out with a guy without asking for love advice first. And she’d definitely talk to Ichinose about that, since they’re real close. And, well, if Ichinose really doesn’t know anything, then I think that means someone like me might have a chance.”

“I see. Because that would prove that there isn’t any guy out there that Amikura clearly likes yet, right?”

With a big smile on his face, Watanabe nodded. “I mean…the truth is, I think it’d be best if I could kinda get myself on her radar,” he said. “So far, there’s been no sign of that at all, so it feels like there’s not much I can do. If there aren’t any rivals out there at the moment, then I just gotta keep going.”

Watanabe’s analysis of the situation told him that there was no possibility that he was in the lead for Amikura’s affections, because he hadn’t gotten any sense that he was being considered as an option. Well, I didn’t know how much I could rely on a person’s own self-analysis when it came to romance, but I did have a friendly relationship with him, thanks to everything he did for me on the school trip. I supposed it was hard for someone to ask a classmate to do this kind of thing, too.

More than anything else, though, I found Watanabe’s positivity likeable.

“If I can bring it up casually, I’ll ask,” I told him. “But don’t get your hopes up. It’d be inconvenient for you if I brought the question up awkwardly and ended up making them wary of us.”

“Yeah, that’s totally fine, dude, thanks!” said Watanabe, overjoyed at my response. He looked embarrassed but happy at the same time.

4.3

I T WAS JUST AFTER four o’clock in the afternoon. I had listened to everyone perform karaoke for a while, performing my duties as silent morale-booster in the group, and now we’d decided to finish up.

I was sitting alone on a bench on the second floor of Keyaki Mall. I had decided to stick around for a while today, regardless of whether the group disbanded early or late. Since I didn’t have any particular objectives in mind at the moment, I thought about doing some Internet searches on my phone, but before I knew it, Kei had sent me a message and a photo.

I could tell at a glance that she was having fun. She was palling around with Satou, making the peace sign with her fingers. Apparently, she was planning on hanging out in one of the girls’ dorm rooms today, chatting away until the evening. Aside from Kei and Satou, it looked like Mori, Ishikura, and Maezono were there as well. One of Kei’s strengths was that, even if she couldn’t spend time with me, she could easily get together with her close friends like that.

She was asking me when I was going to be back. After a bit of pondering, I replied that I’d return after eight o’clock. If I told her I’d be back earlier, after all, there was a possibility that Kei would bail on her friends. It’d be better for her to enjoy the day without getting preoccupied by the idle thoughts of a day spent doing this and that with me.

“Now then…”

There wasn’t anyone else close by right now, so there didn’t seem to be any worry that someone would overhear a phone call. I took my phone in hand and dialed Ichinose’s number, observing the students in the distance from time to time. There was nothing to be gained by dragging this matter out, so I wanted to make this appointment for tomorrow, if I could.

I heard the call ring in my ear for a while, but Ichinose never picked up.

Was she spending time with someone right now, and didn’t notice, or was she taking a nap? Or was it possible that she noticed I was the one who called and was intentionally not answering? Had my contact with Ichinose on the night before the end of the school trip wound up doing some kind of damage?

As I looked through my call history, though, with those various thoughts swirling around in my mind, I received a call back.

“H-hello? I’m sorry, I couldn’t get to the phone in time.”

The voice on the other end of the line sounded nervous. There was no indication whatsoever from the sound of her voice that she seemed particularly displeased, though.

“Were you in the middle of something?” I asked.

“N-no, not really. I was just preparing dinner, and… W-well, anyway, it’s pretty unusual for you to be calling me like this, isn’t it?”

Now that she said so, I realized it myself. She might have been right about that. I hardly remembered ever calling Ichinose like this before, during her private time. On the other end of the line, I heard what sounded like a faint voice. I thought someone else might be there with her, but as I listened more closely, I realized that it was the sound of the TV.

“I know this is kind of a short-notice invitation, but if you’re free tomorrow, could I meet up with you?” I came right out and asked her in a straightforward manner, boldly inviting her out.

“H-huh? With me?” she asked.

“Does it sound like I’m inviting anyone other than you, Ichinose?”

“N-n-n-no, it doesn’t, it’s… But… Hm, well, you mean…just the…two of us?”

“If possible, yes, just the two of us.” This wasn’t the sort of situation where I should be using roundabout expressions, so I confirmed it directly.

Ichinose didn’t reply right away after that, and a heavy silence followed for a few seconds before she spoke up again. “I-I don’t have any plans… What’s up? Is there something I can help you with?”

Something she could help me with, huh? I supposed that depending on how I answered, Ichinose certainly wouldn’t be reluctant to help. To put it plainly, it’d probably be easy for me to meet with Ichinose if I said that I had something to discuss with her, or some kind of problem I was dealing with, or something like that. However, there was no way I could tell Ichinose that I’d been asked to do this by Kanzaki and his team. They had asked me to do some probing without Ichinose realizing it, after all.

“Does that mean, if I don’t have any issues I need help with, the two of us can’t meet up?”

“No, not at all, I… B-but, just the two of us, that’d be…”

“I want to see you.”

“ Huh…?!”

“But if it’s too emotionally demanding on you, then maybe we shouldn’t do this after all.”

Even though I knew the risks, I was willing to try pulling back a bit. My purpose was to find out where Ichinose’s emotions lay, to get a feel for them.

“…W-well, hold on. It’s…it’s okay,” she replied. It wasn’t like she wasn’t being wary, but it didn’t seem like there were any emotions out in front that she wanted to avoid.

“Are you really sure you’re okay with this?” I asked. “I don’t want you to force yourself to do this.”

“I’m not forcing myself. …I want to see you, too, Ayanokouji-kun…”

“All right. In that case, how about we meet at ten in the morning in front of Keyaki Mall tomorrow?”

I didn’t know how much time this would take, so I preferred to keep her tied down for the maximum amount of time possible.

“O-okay. Ten o’clock it is,” she replied.

“Well then, see you tomorrow. If something comes up, though, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me any time.”

If I wanted to have a lengthy conversation with her right now, I could have, but I preferred to avoid that.

“Okay… See you tomorrow,” said Ichinose.

And with that, we ended the conversation, albeit somewhat awkwardly. Through that call, I was able to set up a meeting with Ichinose. All that remained was to find out more about her mental and emotional state tomorrow. It would be ideal if I could find out what she’d been thinking about now, too, while I was at it.

After that phone call, I decided to swing by the bookstore. I still had some time left to spend on my own today, after all. Choosing to spend my time alone intentionally was a different experience from the time I had spent alone back when I didn’t have any friends. This was yet another supremely blissful moment, a time when I realized that I could see things from a different perspective.

4.4

I ENJOYED MY TIME ALONE until evening. Then I stopped by the supermarket to buy a late dinner, told Kei that I was heading back now, and left the mall. The temperature outside had dropped considerably, but it was quite a bit more bearable than I expected, even though I had spent so long in a heated indoor environment.

My phone vibrated in my pocket. I saw that my message had already been read, and Kei sent a message back saying that she had been with her friends up until now, and they had just called it a night without having dinner. I replied saying that I was glad she had enjoyed the day to the fullest, and walked down the nearly deserted path toward the dormitory.

While I was walking, I spotted a female student from behind, standing in place. She didn’t seem to be walking, and her gaze was directed up at the sky. It was dark, so I couldn’t tell who this student was straight away, but as I approached, thinking that this person looked somewhat familiar, I immediately recognized her. There were no other students around; she was alone.