The sports festival was over.
It was mid-October, and getting chilly outside. The student council held an election, complete with a ceremony to honor the outgoing members and swear in the new ones afterward. That event was significant, with the entire student body assembled in the gymnasium, but most first-year students couldn't have cared less. They nearly fell asleep during the ceremony, quieting their breathing so that the teachers and upperclassmen wouldn't notice them.
"President Horikita has some final remarks he'd like to share with you
all."
The moderator stood aside as Horikita Manabu slowly took the stage
and approached the microphone. Once, the younger Horikita would have shrunk back in fear at the sight of her brother. Now, she remained steadfast as she watched him leave his position so that the new president could be sworn in.
"I'm very proud to have led the student council for nearly two years. I'm also quite grateful. Thank you all very much," Horikita's older brother said to the crowd. His address was brief and unemotional, delivered with the air of a solemn obligation, and he retreated to his original position once it was done.
The ceremony didn't end there. The other student council officers remained on the stage. "President Horikita, thank you for all your hard work. Now then, we'd like to welcome Nagumo Miyabi, a second-year Class A and the next student council president, to say a few words."
Nagumo walked onstage and stood in front of the microphone.
Ichinose, a first year, was among the student council members who watched him attentively.
"Hello. I'm Nagumo, second-year Class A. Student Council President Horikita, I sincerely appreciate the strict yet kind guidance you've shown me.
I'd like to express my respect for you, while also emphasizing what an honor it's been to serve alongside the most capable president in this school's history. You've exhibited the strongest leadership possible."
Nagumo bowed his head deeply toward Horikita's brother. Then he faced the student body once more.
"Allow me to introduce myself again. My name is Nagumo Miyabi, and I will be assuming the position of student council president at the Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School. I sincerely look forward to working with all of you."
Nagumo had behaved enigmatically during the sports festival. Now, he was the picture of politeness. However, that courtesy didn't last long. He donned a small, thin smile, and the atmosphere changed almost immediately.
"This may be sudden, but for my first order of business, I pledge to change the term length for student council members, as well as the general election method. The previous student council president held the general election in October instead of December each year. This arrangement, which saw the next generation of leaders move into their roles early, yielded mixed results. Therefore, the new student council has determined that it's time to take things a step further. From now on, the student council president and officers will have indefinite terms while attending school, so that they may serve continuously until graduation. At the same time, we'll annul both the current general-election system, and any restrictions on the student council's size. The council will constantly accept new officers. In other words, an excellent candidate may join the student council no matter how many people are currently on it. Also, if someone is determined to be unfit for office, they can be removed by a majority vote. Please allow me to confirm this to all students, teachers, and student council members who served under the previous president. To bring this school into the future, I intend to thoroughly destroy the past."
Nagumo spoke forcefully, as if he meant his remarks to deny the achievements of the previous student council president, who still stood right behind him.
"I wanted to implement these changes at once. Unfortunately, a newly elected president must deal with many obligations and restrictions first." Nagumo glanced at Horikita, then immediately turned back to the student
body. "A revolution is coming. Students with real ability will rise to the top, and students without any will fall. I intend to turn this school into a true meritocracy, so please, give me everything you've got. I look forward to seeing what you can do."
The entire gymnasium had been silent during his announcement, but as soon as he finished speaking, almost every second-year student shouted with sheer delight. Apparently, there was some kind of tension between the second and third-year students that we first years didn't know about.
2.1
The second semester continued.
My surroundings changed bit by bit. Class D had made it through major events like the uninhabited island and the sports festival, and slowly but surely, we were coming together as a class. People's friend circles gradually expanded, and they began to show marked academic improvement.
Even our problem child, Sudou, was changing for the better. Before the sports festival, he'd slept through class as if it were no big deal. Now, he actually took notes, probably because Horikita checked in on him after. He still got sleepy on occasion, but that was probably because he put in intense practice for the basketball club. He also softened his rough treatment of Ike and Yamauchi.
Sudou was maturing, and people's opinions of him began to improve.
However, he wasn't the only one changing. I saw it in myself, too. Whether that was a good or bad thing remained to be seen.
"Are you by yourself?" someone asked, pulling me from my musings.
"Is it bad to be by myself?" I asked.
Horikita appeared to chuckle at me. "Your dear friends Ike-kun and Yamauchi-kun haven't been inviting you out much. Isn't that right?"
Ike and Yamauchi had left the classroom with the Professor in tow, heading toward Keyaki Mall. I thought I'd maintained a Buddha-like calm, but Horikita apparently saw through me. Yeah. After the sports festival, my two closest friends had invited me to hang out much less often. Actually, it was more like they'd completely cut me out.
"It's hardly surprising," Horikita said. "They used to think that all of you were in the same terrible-student boat. Then they discovered that you were actually hiding remarkable physical ability."
"What remarkable physical ability? I'm kind of fast on my feet, that's
all."
"Very fast, especially for a student. Besides, they probably noticed that
you scored much higher than average when you measured your grip strength. You understand, don't you? People tend to fundamentally resent those who excel. In your case, though, they resent you because you concealed your excellence." Horikita sighed. "Well, enjoy your life of solitude."
With that sarcastic remark, she left, her long hair swaying as she exited the classroom. Even though she was usually all alone, too, her dignified conduct was worth at least a little respect.
As Horikita left, Karuizawa cast a strange look in my direction. However, as our gazes met, she moved her eyes away again. There was clearly some meaning in the look, but she followed it by getting up and leaving right behind Horikita.
Karuizawa's short, fluttering skirt caught my attention. It was a little shorter than the other students' skirts. In cases like those, one or two centimeters made all the difference in the world.
"What's she…? Well, whatever," I muttered to myself. "Hey, Ayanokouji-kun."
I didn't know Satou's first name. She was the same kind of fashionable gyaru as Karuizawa. She got along with Ike and Yamauchi, but she and I hardly ever talked. It seemed as though Satou wanted the kind of social clout Kushida had, but she wasn't all that popular with the guys, though Ike described her as "the sort of girl who's used to being around guys."
Right now, Satou seemed to have been waiting to get me alone. She glanced around the room as if anxious.
"Do you need something?" I asked. I didn't know what else to say. "Uh, yeah. Several things, I guess." She evaded the question. I couldn't
guess what she was getting at. "Well, it's like this. Can I borrow you for a
bit? I want to talk."
This was strange. I steeled myself and put up my guard. It was easier to summon up the courage to accept her request than to summon up the courage to turn her down.
"Well, it's just…" Satou began. "Is it okay to do this somewhere else?" Before I could answer, though, she got up and walked out of the classroom.
I followed her.
Just as I left, Sakura made a sound, as if she wanted to say something. "Ah…" However, no words came out of her mouth. She didn't follow me, either.
Satou and I went into the passage that led to the gymnasium. It would probably be crowded after lunch, but since everyone was off eating right now, it was an ideal place to talk. She clearly didn't want anyone else to witness this.
Satou stopped in her tracks and looked over her shoulder. "I'm going to ask you something odd… Ayanokouji-kun, are you going out with anyone?"
"Uhh, what do you mean?" I asked.
"I mean exactly what it sounds like. I'm asking you if you have a girlfriend. Do you?"
The answer was "no." Though saying as much would reveal just how unpopular I was, I couldn't exactly lie. "I don't."
"Hmm. I see. Well, does that mean you're looking for a girlfriend right now?"
She didn't ask it like she was making fun of me, or inquiring out of pity. Actually, she had a small smile, as if she was happy. I started to understand where our conversation was headed. Was this a trap? I looked around, but saw no sign of anyone watching.
Why the sudden interest in me? Maybe this had something to do with what Horikita meant when she said I was fast?
"If you're okay with starting out as friends, then… Well, how about we exchange phone numbers?" Satou asked.
This was… Well, it was halfway to a romantic confession. I had never imagined I would receive a proposal like this from a girl, but I couldn't really come up with a reason to refuse.
"All right," I said. "Sure."
"Okay. Got it." Once I entered Satou into my contacts, the words "registration complete" displayed on my phone screen. Having more girls in my contacts was amazing. After I put Satou's number in my phone, there was a strange feeling of tranquility in the air.
"This might be kind of blunt, but why did you suddenly want my contact info?" I asked.
Satou blushed and averted her eyes. "Why? Well, it's just…the sports festival, the relay. I guess you looked so incredibly cool, Ayanokouji-kun. Or I guess it's that I just never noticed you before now…like you were completely off my radar. I thought the best guy in class was, you know, Hirata-kun. But since he's Karuizawa-san's boyfriend, there's nothing I can do about that, right?"
Satou looked back up at me, seeming almost panicked.
"Uh, I'm not saying I think you're worse than Hirata-kun or anything like that, Ayanokouji-kun. To be honest, after getting a good look at you, you're even cooler than Hirata-kun, and more mature and gentler, too. S-so, anyway, that's…"
I didn't hear the end of her sentence, since she chose that time to turn and run like the wind. I stood completely still, unable to wrap my head around what had just happened.
I'd received a romantic confession from an unexpected person, at an unexpected time, in an unexpected place. No one can see the future, it's true, but I could never have imagined this. What was I even supposed to do? I didn't feel anything for Satou, good or bad. In fact, I saw her only as a classmate, nothing more. So, should I have turned her down?
Then again, Satou hadn't said that she wanted to go out with me or that she liked me. All she did was ask whether I had a girlfriend, and if we could exchange phone numbers. She'd added that she wanted to "start out as friends." If I turned her down, she could just say I misunderstood her. That
would be embarrassing.
It was one thing to observe romance as a bystander, but it was weird to be confessed to. Now I understood how Sakura had felt back when Yamauchi said that he liked her.
As I made my way back to the building, conflicted, I bumped into Katsuragi and Yahiko from Class A. I planned to just walk by, but Katsuragi stopped in his tracks and said to Yahiko, "Sorry, but you go on ahead. I have a little something to discuss with Ayanokouji."
Yahiko immediately nodded and agreed to Katsuragi's orders. "Horikita isn't with you," Katsuragi said.
"It's not like we're joined at the hip," I replied. Talking to other guys
was much easier than talking to girls. I felt like an idiot for struggling so hard to make friends.
"I suppose that's true. I just wanted to say that I was surprised by your performance in the sports festival's final relay. I doubt anyone could've expected it," he said.
"Class D won't always be the losers," I said.
"Perhaps. But most of your own classmates looked shocked, too.
Unless everyone in your class is a talented actor, it appears that few of them knew how fast you are."
In the midst of all that chaos, Katsuragi had observed me closely. He was conscientious like that.
"Imagine whatever you like," I told him.
"No matter. I didn't think I'd get anything more from you." "You thought you'd only get a little bit of information from the
enemy? Or are you saying Class A will never see Class D as a threat?" I
asked.
Katsuragi looked slightly troubled. "I have enough problems right now.
I simply can't afford to focus on other classes," he said. "You told Horikita to be wary of Ryuuen, though."
"He'll do anything for the sake of winning. Even if that means resorting to blackmail or violence."
Ryuuen wasn't the only person Katsuragi feared. He also had to be on his guard around Sakayanagi Arisu, another Class A power player, but I wasn't going to bring that up. Sakayanagi was a mysterious student who knew me. If I stirred the pot, it might not end well for me.
"Blackmail and violence, huh? Sounds like Ryuuen would be in trouble if the school found out."
"He's a clever person," Katsuragi replied. "Please warn Horikita not to underestimate him. I understand why you may not trust me, but Ryuuen is everyone's enemy."
Yes, but there was evidence that Katsuragi teamed up with Ryuuen at one point. I wasn't sure whether I could trust Katsuragi, and he seemed to sense my feelings. "You don't believe me?"
I decided to probe further. "To be honest, I'm not sure I do. I can't tell you my source, but there are rumors that you worked with Ryuuen. Is that wrong?"
"Where did you hear that? Well, I suppose that doesn't matter. I regret it. Even though I felt that I had no other options at the time, I should never have gotten involved with Ryuuen. That's precisely why I'm warning you." Katsuragi's words were persuasive. "I should've known the risks of teaming up with him."
"So, you want to join forces against Ryuuen?" I asked.
Katsuragi quietly chuckled to himself. He seemed tense, so I asked something else.
"I understand that you're wary of Ryuuen, but isn't that mainly Class A and Class B's problem? I saw the class point totals back in October," I told him.
Katsuragi pursed his lips. After the uninhabited-island test, Class A saw their points increase to 1,124. However, their points fell during the special exam on the cruise ship. After the sports festival, they were down to 874. Class B was closing in on them with 753 points. Plus, Class C was sitting at 542 points. Class D had 262 points.
"I admit we're in a bad situation. I didn't understand how the school was structured, and my inability to grasp the point system didn't help," he
replied.
He was right. The point system was a problem. It appeared simple at first, but there were strangely unclear layers to how it functioned. The school was particularly tough on absences, tardiness, and poor class behavior; Class D had been hit hard by that. In one month, our class lost all the points we'd started out with. The memory still haunted me. Students now took class more seriously, but I doubted the penalties were all completely gone.
"This is unlike any high school I ever imagined." Katsuragi crossed his arms, looking dissatisfied. "The school operates on a mysterious, incomprehensible system. Students in the same grade should get along, not be hostile toward each another."
The school thrived on competition, without a doubt. The animosity between classes could increase the cohesion within a class, but, well, only Class B seemed peaceful right now. Several students in Class D chipped away at our sense of unity, and Class C was a dictatorship. Then there was Class A, currently divided between two factions locked in a power struggle.
"Aren't you concerned, Ayanokouji?"
"Honestly, no. This school is fascinating. With a certain degree of hard work, we don't need to worry about necessities like food, clothing, and shelter, and we can use our points to enjoy ourselves. The facilities provided are all more than satisfactory, so I have no complaints," I answered.
"I agree. If anything, the environment they provided us is too perfect. I can't imagine that it's good to treat teenagers like this. Anyway, to return to the point, please warn Horikita about Ryuuen."
I promised I'd tell her. Ryuuen was certainly Class D's enemy. "Guess you just want to live in peace, too? Our problems never end," I
muttered.
2.2
That night, Karuizawa called me while I hung out in my room. She got right to the point. "I have something to ask you."
"If I can answer it, then sure."
"Satou-san confessed her feelings to you, didn't she?" That blindsided me. How did Karuizawa know?
"A lot of girls in class already know."
"Good lord. Teenage girls are faster than the internet. Who's your source?" I asked.
"What do you mean, 'who'? Satou-san herself. She told me in advance that she was going to confess to you," Karuizawa replied.
Was this like insider trading or something? "Is that why you looked over at me this afternoon?"
"You noticed?"
"It shouldn't matter who confesses to whom. Why pay attention to that kind of thing?" I asked.
"Because that's just how girls are."
Was this kind of like wanting to write your name on your possessions? Guys did similar things, if not in exactly the same ways. Even so, this didn't make sense.
"It's not a competition," I said. "Why do you care if someone makes a declaration?"
"People will be super turned off if you suddenly proclaim that you're going out with someone. It'll make you look really pathetic. Anyway, I don't care about that. It's…whatever. What I want right now is your answer," she replied.
As if this wasn't nerve-racking enough already. "My answer to her has nothing to do with you."
"Well, I guess that's true. But it's not like it isn't my business at all, right? I mean, you threatened me. You made me do all kinds of things for you. The girls' information network is pretty wide, and I don't want lots of rumors floating around. Every time I get myself involved in something for you, it puts me at risk. Understand?"
In other words, Karuizawa wanted to make sure I wouldn't tell Satou anything about her if Satou and I started dating. Or maybe she was afraid that I'd stop protecting her if I only cared about Satou? It was clearly eating at her, but I was still missing something. Karuizawa was a logical person, but she was pushing too hard this time.
"Well, you don't need to worry about it," I said.
"Does that mean you're thinking about going out with her?" "I didn't say that."
"You are, though. You didn't say that you were turning her down. Ew!
I can see right through you. You're happy Satou confessed to you, because now you're just going to go dream up some naughty, perverted stuff. Guys are so gross," she said.
This was nuts. Karuizawa was like a parent raving about their kid becoming an Olympic athlete one day just because they started crawling early. "Well, even if guys are perverts, I don't have any feelings for Satou," I replied.
"Okay then. Prove it. What's your reason for refusing her?" she asked. "Prove what? She didn't even confess her feelings to me. She just said
she wanted to start out as friends, and we exchanged phone numbers." "I see. So, it was like that."
Why did I have to talk to Karuizawa about this stuff? "I didn't need to
respond to a confession. It just ended with us exchanging contact information."
"Hmm. Well, I suppose we can leave things at that for today," she said.
Karuizawa was acting like a condescending spymaster. Since I had her on the phone right now anyway, I decided to confirm something. "Manabe and those other Class C girls haven't tried anything with you since we were on the cruise ship, have they?"
"No. It's okay, at least for now." Karuizawa's voice got low. She didn't want to think about that incident.
"I've taken countermeasures, but in the event something does happen, let me know right away. I'll make sure it's resolved," I told her.
I heard Karuizawa hold her breath over the phone. Had I been too
bold?
"I see. I know that if I'm not useful to you, it'll be bad for me," she
replied.
To survive at this school, Karuizawa needed to keep her current social standing. To do that, she had to conceal the truth of her past. Manabe and her friends didn't really know that truth. The problem was Ryuuen pulling the strings from behind the scenes. I might have to confront him at some point, and that time was most likely nigh.
"Anyway, back to our earlier topic. What do you plan to do about Satou-san? Since you exchanged contact information, it's possible things could move to the next level, right?" asked Karuizawa.
"I'm putting things on hold. I mean, I don't know Satou. She may not even call."
"So, if Satou-san pursues you or tries to cling to you, you'll dump
her?"
"What do you mean, 'dump'? All we did was exchange numbers. It's
not like I'm going to go call her myself." I didn't have the guts to just ask Satou out on a date, or to make a romantic confession.
"I suppose." Karuizawa seemed mollified. "Karuizawa."
"What?"
"Make sure to erase records of our calls from your phone." "Yeah, I've already been doing that. Emails, too."
"Just as expected." Karuizawa knew how to handle herself. "If that's all, I'm going to hang up," she said.
"Sure." With that, the call ended.
To be honest, I wanted to say one more thing, but decided not to. Talking about what was to come would just put pressure on Karuizawa, anyway.
I didn't want to tell her about the potential danger we faced. Not yet.