Chapter 4: A Request from Horikita and a Request from Ayanokouji

Chapter 4: A Request from Horikita and a Request from Ayanokouji

Chapter 4:

A Request from Horikita and a Request from Ayanokouji

I T WAS THE FIRST NIGHT of Social Group camp. Probably the thing that was most different from last year’s camp was that rooms were assigned by group, and divided by gender, but not by age, which meant that both first- and second-years would be sleeping in the same room, and depending on their personality, this was the time that they dreaded most.

This was exactly why Hashimoto had taken action earlier, doing things to create an environment where people could feel at ease with each other and open up. It seemed to have paid off, seeing as the first-years were already comfortable enough to talk to Hashimoto with a smile. Out of the eight people in the room, I was overwhelmingly the one that people were least open with.

“Winning every game on our first day was a major development! Don’t you think so, Hashimoto-senpai?” said Toyohashi.

“We didn’t know who we were going to play against until the games started, so I honestly couldn’t predict what was going to happen,” added Yanagi.

Both had taken a turn playing table tennis, and both sounded happy as they spoke. Shintoku and Obokata appeared to feel the same way, nodding shyly but repeatedly.

“I’m sorry. We still haven’t participated even once yet…”

“Hey, don’t worry about it, ’kay? From what I’ve seen today, all day, about half the students haven’t participated anyway. To be perfectly honest, this whole game aspect is really, like, a bonus, y’know? Or like, for the students who don’t participate in the games, it’s like their job to get hands-on experience instead,” said Hashimoto.

There were still the point cards where we were meant to collect stamps through the experiential learning activities. I was skeptical about how much use this system would see, but it seemed like more than I had thought. This was a good opportunity to invite friends, upperclassmen, and juniors here and there, to make time and deepen ties of friendship, to the fullest. In the five games that were held today, I hadn’t seen a single group that had been greedily trying to win, perhaps thanks to these freedoms. That was not to say that we could take first place without effort, though.

Considering the way today’s games had played out, slightly tougher battles were likely in store for us tomorrow onward. There were four groups total that hadn’t lost any of their games today, including ours, and there were three groups that had only lost once. There were also four groups that had lost every game they played. So based on the polarization of wins and losses, we could assume that there are extremely different perspectives developing about this Social Group camp.

While there might’ve been some groups with one or two wins that were taking things seriously, I wasn’t sure what they’d do if they didn’t claw their way into top spots tomorrow. From the second day onward, we’d effectively be competing with roughly half of the groups in the struggle for the top spot in the rankings.

“I figure Nagumo-senpai’s group is the safest bet to take the win though,” muttered Oda Takumi, a student from Class 2-C, as he thought back on the five games so far.

“I thought so too. And it looks like they won all their games today, apparently,” added another student.

The strength of that group was that so many of its members were serious, after all. It was safe to say that none of the students in that group would let themselves cut corners in this event, which was demonstrated by their win ratio. It was easy to imagine that they were exposed to a variety of hands-on activities and accumulated lots of experiences. Although the fact that this wasn’t a contest of academic ability allowed for equal competition, it could also be said that, because there seemed to be games that many students had no experience with, that it would be easy for gaps to widen between groups through those games.

“Oh yeah, that reminds me, Hashimoto-senpai. This is about my class, but—”

The conversation didn’t just revolve around Social Group. Unrelated, casual, or private topics came up too. I watched the conversation between the seven of them from a distance, as though I were something of a stranger. It had only been a few hours since our group assembled, but I could see that the first-year students already adored Hashimoto. Even now, the conversation had naturally centered around him. He had said himself that he was good at it, that it was his forte, and all I could say was that it was truly impressive to see in action.

He was beginning to build relationships with them like they were close friends, like they had known each other for a long time. There were people like Yousuke, who were good at blending into their surroundings, and what I said could also apply to him, but Hashimoto was a different type of person. Although it was a little disconcerting that the cunning Oda was getting to be relatively friendly with people as well…

“Anyway though, for real, this day had pretty much gone as expected,” Hashimoto said. He had a notepad in one hand, where he’d recorded with the wins and losses for each group when those were reported by the school. He gave a low hum as he checked those scores. “Ryuuen’s group had two losses, and Sakayanagi’s had three. If they ain’t careful, they’ll drop out of the running for the top spots in the rankings tomorrow.”

We hadn’t played against either of those two groups today, so the details were unclear. Hashimoto probably would have gathered more information if he had not taken on the job of bringing the first-year students together, but it seemed as though he wasn’t just going to leave things undone.

“That’s kind of surprising, isn’t it? I’ve always had the strong impression that Sakayanagi-senpai doesn’t lose. I wonder if it’s because of the third-year student in charge of her group, perhaps?” said one student.

According to the information provided by OAA, that third-year was a Class 3-D student named Iki who had poor scores across the board, especially in terms of Academic Ability, which was currently an unsatisfactory D+. This suggested that Iki would not likely be moving on to higher education.

“Normally, if Sakayanagi wants to win, she’ll take command, whether that involves taking leadership rights from a third-year or whoever. Even against someone like Nagumo-senpai or Kiryuuin-senpai, she wouldn’t budge an inch. And besides, this is Iki-senpai we’re talkin’ about, y’know? No matter how you slice it, Sakayanagi would steal leadership rights as fast as she… Actually, no, Iki-senpai is the type of person who’d want to leave everything to a capable ally, anyway,” said Hashimoto.

It sounded as though Hashimoto knew what type of person Iki was, more or less.

“Then that simply means that the group as a whole isn’t performing to standards, right?” muttered Kosumi, who hadn’t said very much at all before this point.

However, Toyohashi quickly spoke up to reject the notion, saying, “They have a fairly good lineup of first-years in their group though, at the very least. And the same can probably be said for the second-years too.”

Toyohashi was right about the general skill levels in Sakayanagi’s group. Considering that Iki would have chosen group members with the possibility of winning in mind, the lineup of students from both grade levels comprised of reasonably talented people. Therefore, it was only natural for Hashimoto to have doubts about the fact that Sakayanagi’s group had lost today, paticularly against opponents that were supposedly lower in level.

“Whether we’re talking about a special exam or this Social Group thing, Sakayanagi is someone who always aims to win,” said Hashimoto.

Hashimoto said that he knew this fact better than anyone else, because he had been by her side all this time, doing all he could in service of that. I’m sure that seeing Sakayanagi’s group lose three times today made Hashimoto stop and think, “What if…?”

“I agree. She’s probably plotting somethin’,” added Oda.

Oda also seemed to be hung up on the fact that Sakayanagi had lost three times and looked to be lost in thought. That being said, with the information available, we weren’t going to get any answers regardless of how hard we thought about it. Soon, the seven of them had moved on to completely unrelated topics. They were talking so lively that they didn’t notice Hashimoto distance himself and walk over to me, the odd one out who’d been watching from afar. On his way over, he picked up the remote control and deliberately put a variety show on the TV so that it would fill the room with noise.

“I was wondering, what if the damage from losing Kamuro is that huge?” asked Hashimoto. Having come up with a theory as to why Sakayanagi lost three times, Hashimoto looked to me for confirmation.

“Maybe,” I replied.

It was hard to say for sure based on the evidence we currently had, but none of that evidence disputed the notion, either.

“If she really is growing weaker, then that’s all the more convenient for me. If we head straight into final exams in that situation, I’ll have a chance to seize victory,” said Hashimoto.

He was exactly right, but Hashimoto wasn’t so naive as to base his actions off of preliminary results and taking the idea without questioning it.

“Ayanokouji, I was wondering if you could find out what the situation actually is with Sakayanagi and her group,” said Hashimoto.

“Finding out things like that is your area of expertise, though. It’s none of my business,” I replied.

I tried to immediately refuse, but Hashimoto leaned in close and whispered in my ear, just for caution’s sake.

“Come on, dude, cut me a break just this once, will ya? I’m basically public enemy number one in Class A right now, y’know? Especially with Kitou, he seems super pissed off. It’s good that Sakayanagi doesn’t seem to have said anything, but I’ve gotta wonder what Kitou’ll do when he finds out for certain that I’ve betrayed the class,” said Hashimoto.

Hashimoto made a gesture of hugging his body, adding, “Just imagining it…” in a quiet murmur. But a faint smile remained on his face.

“For all that, you don’t look very frightened,” I replied.

“Hey man,” Hashimoto said, “if you can’t at least put up this much of a tough front, then you don’t got the qualifications to betray your class.”

He had a point there.

“Besides, thanks to you, I was able to blow off some steam and feel better. And I’m grateful for that too,” said Hashimoto.

When he’d visited my room on the day of the student–teacher meeting, Hashimoto had laid bare everything about himself. Now, thanks to that visit, he was able to face forward properly, but that effect was probably temporary. In truth, that would no longer be the case once the full impact of his betrayal hit. Hashimoto did not have much time left.

“And in your case, Ayanokouji, you’ve basically got a free pass to get face time with Sakayanagi, right?” said Hashimoto.

It was nice that I could lend him an ear and take a load off his mind, but this was something totally different.

“Hashimoto, you can hope for whatever you want, but since when was it decided that I’m taking your side? I don’t intend to stick my neck out and get involved in any trouble,” I replied.

“Yeah, dude, I’m trying to keep this and that separate. But at least here at Social Group camp we’re on the same team, right? Even though she’s lost three times, if Sakayanagi’s around, we should be wary of her as a contender for the top ranking. It’s not a bad idea to do some reconnaissance now, since we’ll be playin’ them tomorrow too,” said Hashimoto.

He was a man not strongly fixated on group contests, yet he spoke so gallantly.

“That is a very sound reason. But as long as you and I are in the same group, I’m sure that Sakayanagi will be more wary of me than usual. I don’t want you to expect any useful information out of it,” I replied.

“I know that. I’m just saying that I’ll just think of it as a bonus, is all. Okay?”

“…All right. For the time being, I’ll just try whatever I can.”

“I appreciate it, dude.”

Personally, I also wanted to know why she lost three times—whether or not I would honestly share the information I obtained to Hashimoto was another matter.

4.1

I T GOES WITHOUT SAYING that the quickest way to get in touch with Sakayanagi was to just contact her. However, it would probably be difficult to learn the details of her current situation as, while she might be honest about some things, I expected she’d intentionally leave out the bulk of it.

My other option would be to indirectly extract information from someone who had better knowledge of Sakayanagi’s current condition. Of course, that approach carried its own risks. Namely, it was inevitable that Sakayanagi would find out that I was asking around about her. Hondou and Shinohara, students from Horikita’s class, were assigned to Sakayanagi’s same group, but neither of them were the type that you’d call tight-lipped or good at acting. For the time being, I decided to slowly gather my thoughts in the lobby. Depending on the timing, I might even be able to see Sakayanagi passing through.

“Ayanokouji-kun.”

As I headed for the lobby, a lone student noticed me and approached. It was Sanada, from Sakayanagi’s class. His hair was wet, and I could just barely make out a droplet of water on his glasses, so I assumed he was fresh out of the bath.

“I was wondering if perhaps I could have a moment of your time, to talk. There’s something I wanted to ask you, if it’s all right with you,” said Sanada.

“I don’t really mind. What did you want to ask?”

For my part, I was also grateful to bump into Sanada, since he played a game against Sakayanagi’s group and won against her on our first day.

“It’s regarding someone in your group: Hashimoto-kun. I’m sure you’ve likely heard all sorts of talk going around,” said Sanada.

“I’ve heard stuff like he had a hand in Kamuro’s expulsion from school, yeah,” I replied.

“Nothing has been made clear yet, so I won’t try and ask about that, but I am curious about how he’s doing, regardless of whatever the truth may be… I suppose I was wondering if he seems okay.”

Sakayanagi wasn’t the only one attracting attention from people in Class A; Hashimoto was getting a lot of it himself. It wouldn’t be surprising then that some students, like Sanada, were concerned.

“I haven’t seen anything especially out of the ordinary. Even if he’s just putting up a tough front, he looks like he’s doing well,” I replied.

“I see… That’s good, then.”

“I understand the situation with Hashimoto, but is there anything unusual going on with Sakayanagi?”

I tried touching on the matter of Sakayanagi while keeping with the flow of conversation.

“From what I have seen of her at school, she seems the same as ever,” he replied.

“It’s just that her group lost three times today in Social Group stuff, and I thought maybe something was going on with her,” I replied.

“I am not so sure about that. But you may be right. I haven’t seen her since we’ve arrived, so I am afraid I don’t know anything in detail.”

“But didn’t you play a game against Sakayanagi’s group today?”

I tried prodding him, but Sanada quietly shook his head from side to side.

“She didn’t participate. I didn’t even see her giving orders from the sidelines, either.”

It was possible that she just happened to be absent from the game by chance, but at this point, it seemed more likely that she was just not getting involved in Social Group at all.

“What about you, Ayanokouji-kun? Do you know something?” he asked.

“Nothing, unfortunately. Guess the information I have is the same as yours,” I answered.

If anything, it’d be fair to say I actually had even less than he did.

“All that aside, I would be happy if you could be mindful of Hashimoto-kun, even if only a little,” said Sanada.

“As a member of the same group, I plan to keep an eye on him as much as I can. But, while it’s not my place to stick my nose into things when I don’t know the details about the situation, what do his classmates really think? Do they think that Hashimoto is the traitor?” I asked.

“That’s…” Sanada didn’t answer the question immediately and couldn’t find the words to finish his sentence. “I haven’t spoken to any of my classmates about it directly, so I can’t say anything definitively. However, there are certainly those who assume that is the case,” said Sanada.

Given my conversation with Hashimoto moments earlier, Kitou immediately came to mind. He didn’t say much, but his behavior carried a sense of obedience toward Class A. Moreover, Kitou probably had good compatibility with Kamuro, since they were often together. I talked with Sanada for a little bit longer, but then I noticed Horikita staring at me in the distance. It looked like she wanted to talk to me about something or another, so I wrapped up my conversation with Sanada.

Once I was alone, Horikita approached me. Even though there were only twenty third-year students here, that was such a large number of people that chances were high you could coincidentally bump into one.

“It seems I’ve caught you at the perfect time. I have a small favor to ask of you. Do you mind?” asked Horikita.

Horikita was extremely polite as she approached me with her question, but I couldn’t imagine that her favor was related to Social Group. We all knew that Nagumo’s group had maintained its position in first place, untarnished, with five consecutive wins on our first day.

“What’s the favor?” I asked.

When I responded with a question, Horikita tugged on my sleeve and physically pulled me to the end of the lobby.

“This isn’t something we can talk about too loudly. It’s about Amasawa-san,” she said.

“You’re in the same group, yeah? Did something happen?” I asked.

Considering she was trying to speak to me in private, the first thing that came to mind was that there was some kind of trouble. But her answer immediately contradicted that assumption.

“She talks a bit too much, but she hasn’t done anything problematic. So far, she’s been a good girl,” said Horikita.

I was relieved to hear that, and waited for her to continue speaking.

“Did you know that she is quite physically capable? She seems to be very well-versed in martial arts too.”

“Martial arts aside, I have a general grasp on things from looking at her OAA,” I replied.

I responded with a safe answer to keep the conversation going, and urged Horikita to keep speaking, because I couldn’t see where she was going with this.

“I think that this might be the first you’re hearing about it if Amasawa-san hasn’t told you about it herself, but I owe her something of a debt. It’s something that I can’t repay her during our normal school days.”

Martial arts and the word “debt.” Although Horikita had avoided expressing it directly, it sounded like she and Amasawa had fought each other at some point. In retrospect, it felt like the only time that could have happened was during the Uninhabited Island Exam, without even needing to give it too much on thought.

“It’s hard to imagine the details here,” I remarked.

I decided to just throw out a statement that most people would probably say if they heard what I just heard.

“Well, this and that happened,” said Horikita.

She was being vague, and it sounded like she had no intention of sharing exactly what this debt entailed. This wasn’t something worth forcing out of her though, so I figured I’d just move things along.

“And so?” I asked.

“I try to be diligent in my training in my own way, every day. But still, I don’t know if I’m at a level where I can compete with her. That’s why I want you to be my opponent, and evaluate my current abilities.”

“Okay, I get that you want to pay back your debt to Amasawa, but that is a pretty disturbing thing to say,” I replied.

“Normally, yes. But her strength isn’t normal.”

“Even if you say so, I don’t even know what Amasawa’s abilities are. I won’t be any help to you.”

If I didn’t know exactly what her opponent’s strengths were, then there was no point in using me as a metric.

…Well, in truth, I do know, but still.

I decided to keep that part to myself.

“It’s fine; you can just judge my strength in your own way,” said Horikita. “Of course, I would also appreciate it if you could give me a little advice, if possible.”

Judging from the way she was speaking, it sounded like the advice was the main thing she was looking for.

“You’re free to want a revenge match, but did Amasawa agree to one?” I asked.

“Not yet,” she answered quickly, “and if she rejects my proposal, I have no intention of forcing her to agree.”

Despite what she said, I was sure that Horikita thought that there was no way Amasawa would refuse. She even went through all the trouble of confiding in me about this and asking for special training, after all.

“So, what do you say? Will you accept my request?” asked Horikita.

“There’s something I want to know before deciding whether I will accept,” I replied.

If Horikita were going to take on Amasawa, she would be at a considerable disadvantage. Even supposing that Horikita had been trained after her earlier defeat, I couldn’t imagine that she could close the gap in their abilities so easily.

“Ibuki’s standing right there, why don’t you ask her for help? If it’s for something like this, I’m sure she’d be more than happy to be your opponent,” I added, calling over to a certain someone who was probably listening as she hid nearby.

“ Tch , so you noticed,” she huffed.

Ibuki clicked her tongue as she emerged around the corner of the hallway, sounding well and truly irritated. It was obvious that the two of them had conspired beforehand, because Horikita wasn’t surprised by her appearance.

“Unfortunately, I’m already tired of doing that with Ibuki-san,” Horikita said. “Besides, you don’t see real results when fighting with the same opponent all the time.”

I figured that Ibuki standing beside her must similarly owe Amasawa a debt, judging from her similar reaction. That must’ve meant that they’d done all they could on their own and were now asking for my help.

“You’re strong, so fight at least a little,” Ibuki demanded.

“Does this mean that you’re going to be doing this too, Ibuki?” I asked.

“Obviously. There is no way in hell I can let things stand after losing to some little first-year girl,” said Ibuki.

After a few thrusts with her fists, she showed off a clean high kick. She looked like she was very, very eager to start fighting and land some real hits. It was all well and good that she was so enthusiastic, but even though Ibuki called Amasawa little, she wasn’t any bigger. Actually, when it came to size and just about everything else, Ibuki was smaller…

“I take it that, since you’re doing this now at camp, you’ve determined that you won’t have any trouble finding a place to fight, right?” I asked.

“Holding a revenge match would be far too conspicuous at school,” said Horikita, with a small nod.

Her determination seemed firm—Ibuki’s as well.

“So, what do you say? To be honest, there’s no benefit in it for you, but…” said Horikita.

“You’re certainly right about that,” I replied, “I’m wouldn’t get anything in return for this.”

“But, if you do accept, I would be willing to give you Private Points as compensation.”

It sounded like she was prepared to offer me payment, but there wasn’t any point in accepting something like that.

“I don’t know how much help I’ll be, but if you accept my terms, then I’m willing to go along with this,” I said, interrupting her before she could finish her offer.

“R-really? I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect…” said Horikita.

“Whether both parties agree to it or not, there would be more disadvantages if you were to let sparks fly and fight at school. If you want to pay back a ‘debt’ or whatever, you wouldn’t want to let a terrific opportunity pass you by, I suppose. That said, it’s not like you can just walk around in the middle of the night, either,” I replied.

“Thank you. This is the best kind of cooperation I could’ve hoped for. So then, what are your terms?” asked Horikita.

There were certain conditions that needed to be met for her revenge match against Amasawa.

“First, talk to Amasawa about this before the end of the day. You’re in the same group, so it shouldn’t be difficult for you to find an opportunity to talk to her.” Chances of that happening were low, but this training would be pointless if Amasawa didn’t accept the invitation. “Of course, to avoid causing any fuss, you need to do this in such a way that outside parties won’t take notice. As for the time, it will absolutely have to be early in the morning on the last day. Have Amasawa accept to holding your fight then.”

“That all sounds reasonable, okay. I understand. What are your other conditions?” said Horikita.

“I’ll tell you after you take care of that part. If Amasawa doesn’t accept, the training session will be meaningless. Besides, it’s not like you can fight in the middle of the night in the building we’re staying in, right?” I replied.

Since the offer we were discussing had to be accepted, I’m sure there won’t be any objections before hearing all the terms and conditions.

“As for me, I’d just go ahead and do it right now, to be honest,” said Ibuki.

“You be quiet,” snapped Horikita.

Unlike Ibuki, Horikita had some common sense and immediately showed that she had an understanding.

“If Amasawa-san agrees, I’ll send you a message,” said Horikita.

“Please do. I’ll make sure I’m ready to go in the morning,” I answered.

Knowing her, Amasawa wasn’t the type to refuse a fight when someone was fixing for one. If these two were out for revenge, she’d probably happily accept. The camp had little supervision, so it was the perfect place, and I was sure that Amasawa also understood that. Horikita nodded and was about to return to her room, but I stopped her, seizing the good opportunity.

“This isn’t related to the training, but there is one thing I’d like you to look into for me,” I added.

“What is it?” she asked.

If Horikita was preparing to propose a revenge match, then she might be able to fool Amasawa’s keen sense of smell. I made a small request of Horikita.

“I don’t really understand, but you’re saying I just have to be mindful of it, right?” said Horikita.

“Yeah. Without telling Amasawa,” I replied.

“Okay then. If that’s all, then it’s no big deal,” said Horikita.

I casually thanked Horikita for accepting my request, and then we went our separate ways.

“Now then…”

Let’s investigate the matter of Sakayanagi a little more, shall we?

However, though I tried wandering around the camp building at random, I didn’t see Sakayanagi. The crowds began to dwindle as 9 p.m. approached, as one would expect, so I decided to wrap things up. When I returned to the room, I saw that Hashimoto, Toyohashi, and Shintoku were waiting for me, ready to hop into the bath, so I decided to just head on over to the large baths with them.

4.2

A FTER THOROUGHLY ENJOYING a soak in the shared bath for about an hour, I returned to the room with the three others in our band of bathers. It was then that I spotted the third-year student Tatebayashi, standing out in front of the room, looking like he was in a foul mood, bouncing his leg repeatedly and irritably.

“You finally came back…” he huffed.

Tatebayashi turned his gaze toward us…or not. Actually, he was looking past us, directing his gaze at Kouenji, who had selfishly been doing whatever he pleased all day today. I had already known this would happen, but judging from how Tatebayashi looked, it seemed like he hadn’t been able to contact Kouenji once in all this time. I headed to my room, paying no mind to the very irritated upperclassman.

“Would you kindly move? You’re in the way,” said Kouenji.

“Look here, you! I don’t know what the hell you’re thinking, but—”

Before Tatebayashi could launch into his lecture, Kouenji shoved him aside by pushing his shoulder, and went ahead into the room. It wasn’t like Kouenji had forced his way through or anything, but rather, he simply made way with the overwhelming difference between their physiques and strength. Rumors about Kouenji must have circulated well enough even among the third-year students, but without having the experience of actually having to deal with him, he simply came off as maddeningly irritating. Without even bothering to close the door behind him, Tatebayashi ran after Kouenji.

“D-do you think there’s going to be a fight?” asked Shintoku, looking to Hashimoto for guidance.

“That Kouenji’s a real difficult one, for sure. For now, let’s just have a look at what’s going on,” said Hashimoto.

We could have overlooked the situation if the door had been closed, but it was wide open. All of us nonchalantly peeked inside the room. Kouenji, having entered already, was on the futon at the far end. Surprisingly, it looked like three of the first-year students and…all the second-year students other than Kouenji were out of the shared quarters.

Kouenji started stretching, as though he wasn’t even aware of Tatebayashi, who was looking down at him from his full height in a show of intimidation. I wondered how Shintoku and Toyohashi felt watching this unfold.

“I really don’t want anything to do with Kouenji-senpai…”

“Me either…”

I didn’t even need to wonder, because they were too taken aback by what they saw to stop themselves from vocalizing how they felt.

“What the hell have you been doing all this time?!” snapped Tatebayashi, pressing him for answers as the leader of his group.

“Me? It’s obvious, isn’t it? Self-improvement,” said Kouenji.

“Huh? Self-improvement? Don’t spout that nonsensical crap!” shouted Tatebayashi.

No matter how loudly he raised his voice; it was a waste of effort. Nothing he said was going to reach Kouenji.

“You are going to cooperate tomorrow. Properly! Our group is already at the edge of a cliff!” shouted Tatebayashi.

“That is an impossible ask,” said Kouenji, replying without so much as even looking at Tatebayashi.

Fixed on Kouenji, the eyes of the first-year students peering into the room began to take on an icy coldness. It was difficult to adapt to this man in an abbreviated period of time. The other juniors inside the room were silent, seemingly unable to move. There was a somewhat heavy feeling in the air.

“An impossible ask?! What do you think a group even is?!” huffed Tatebayashi.

Tatebayashi, not giving up, continued laying into Kouenji. Kouenji, paying no heed whatsoever to his fellow groupmates, rolled out his futon and got ready to go to sleep.

“Well then, I shall sleep on the far end,” he announced.

“Don’t just decide that on your own! I’m the one who’s decides where people sleep!” snapped Tatebayashi.

Hashimoto quietly entered the room and talked to the first-year students inside, requesting that they stop Tatebayashi. They hurriedly got to their feet and rushed over to their leader’s side in a flustered panic, speaking words meant to pacify him. Tatebayashi, his shoulders heaving with every breath, noticed his juniors and slightly regained his composure.

“Listen. You absolutely must follow the leader’s instructions, okay?” said Tatebayashi.

However…

“I refuse. I loathe adhering to useless protocol. Will you kindly shut up now?” replied Kouenji.

That remark from Kouenji was the last straw. Pushing aside the juniors who had been consoling him, Tatebayashi screamed at Kouenji.

“Hate it, huh?! The hell is that?! There are first-years here too, y’know! You’re setting a bad example, and making us both look bad as senpai!” he shouted.

“Do you not know the saying, ‘What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’? One must struggle in their youth, even if they must invite that upon themselves. In times like these, young people take the initiative and work hard for their superiors,” said Kouenji.

“A-ah, y-yeah, um, he’s right. He can sleep there, we don’t mind, so, uh… Yes,” said one of the first-year students.

Once told to hand things over by a second-year student, most first-years would have no choice but to comply.

“Okay then, in that case, I, a third-year student, am giving you an order. Invite that suffering upon yourself!” shouted Tatebayashi.

“Hey, come on, senpai, please calm down,” said Hashimoto, gently placing his hands on Tatebayashi to stop him from raising his fist in anger at Kouenji.

Hashimoto then turned to look over at me and the first-years and appealed to us to go ahead and head back to the room first.

“Let’s head back,” I announced.

“B-but will everything be all right?”

“Hashimoto should be able to get things under control here well enough,” I replied.

We left Hashimoto behind and returned to our room. About ten minutes or so passed before Hashimoto returned to the restless first-years.

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, he calmed down. He said he got desperate; he really, really wanted to win,” said Hashimoto.

Class 3-D didn’t have much money at their disposal because of their offerings to Nagumo and their low Class Points. And since they only had a brief time left at school, they wanted to get a little extra money, no matter how small an amount it might be.

“Most of the really good students were taken by third-years like Nagumo-senpai, so there wasn’t much selection. That’s why, when presented with what was left, he picked Kouenji and tried to see if he could turn things around. But the result is as you can see, pretty much,” explained Hashimoto.

It was understandable that someone would be angry when their faint hopes that they might be able to effectively handle their team were dashed.

“Things must be tough for you too, Ayanokouji-senpai… Being in the same class as someone like him, I mean.”

I didn’t really think anything of it myself, but I had gained a bit of newfound respect from the first-year students.

“Now then…”

At this point, we started to get ready for bed, but Hashimoto still had to solve the problem of sleeping arrangements. It may have seemed trivial with the way Kouenji and Tatebayashi were fighting about it, but it couldn’t be ignored. I remembered that when it came to students sleeping together, there were often small disputes over who would sleep where. That was especially true during the school trip, when Ryuuen and Kitou got into a pillow fight and there was a big kerfuffle.

“Let’s decide with a fair-and-square contest. That way, we can avoid a situation like Kouenji’s,” said Hashimoto, stepping up to deal with it himself.

“No, no, we’re really fine anywhere. Right?”

“Yes. Actually, if you wouldn’t mind, please let Ayanokouji-senpai decide next!”

“Wait, hold up, why Ayanokouji? Am I the bad guy here or something?” asked Hashimoto, with a slightly wry smile.

“Oh, no, it’s not like that, it’s just…we admire Ayanokouji-senpai!”

“Me too, Ayanokouji-senpai! I respect you!”

Shintoku and Toyohashi looked at me with their eyes twinkling to offer their admiration.

“…Well, well,” remarked Hashimoto, “it seems like you’ve become quite adored in a short period of time,”

“I have no idea how to respond to that,” I replied.

I was more perplexed than anyone else. Nothing like this had ever happened to me until just a few moments ago. Fellow first-year students Obokata, Yanagi, and Kosumi simply cocked their heads in apparent confusion at their classmates’ attitudes taking a sudden change.