Chaoskouji

Arc 3 Chapter 9 - Leader

It didn't explain why he didn't make himself leader, however. I'm sure Ayanokouji must have noticed my illness. I wasn't trying to hide it, and as I'd learnt the hard way, he was an incredibly perceptive person. He must have known I was sick, so picking me made no sense. He could have been the leader himself and claimed the extra spots that I can't in my current condition, yet he placed the burden of leadership on me.

Was he trying to win the exam? He was controlling the class, that much I was certain of, but his actions made no sense, at least under the assumption he was working towards victory. I couldn't imagine him putting in this much effort if he wasn't though, especially since he helped Sudou, simply because he wanted to win. What else could he be doing on his island?

I had seen him a few times at night, when everyone else was asleep and I was securing the spot, returning from who knows where in the forest. His dissapearances, along with his warning to me were very suspect.

'Don't trust me, Horikita. I don't have the best intentions towards our class. The only person I work for is me.'

Those were the words he said, and I couldn't get them out of my head. No one in their right mind would tell you not to trust them. Trust was the foundation of good relations, of a functioning society, yet he was going out of his way to make sure I didn't. But the way he said it was the strangest part of all.

It was like he was warning me. It wasn't a threat, or a promise of betrayal, but a warning that something was coming. I couldn't shake the feeling that he was trying to tell me something, but whatever it was, was beyond me.

Then there was his comment from just before he said that.

'Good work securing the spot. You'll make a great leader yet.'

It was as if he was testing me, and giving me the role of leader was a way for him to see whether I had the necessary qualifications to take the role. Perhaps he wanted to see if I had potential, if I was worth backing to become class leader, because clearly he had no intention of taking up the role, ruling from the shadows through Kushida as he currently was.

What a distasteful notion. As if I needed his approval, or his recognition as a good leader. I was far and beyond almost anyone in the grade, expect perhaps Ayanokouji and Kouenji, and academically maybe Sakayanagi, but that was it. There was no one else who could match me in any manner that held any value, and for him to be testing me now, was an insult to my capabilities.

I didn't need Ayanokouji's support. I didn't need his help to become a leader. If I wanted to, I could have become one. I could have run this Class and won the island exam on my own. I wasn't Kushida, who needed Ayanokouji to give instructions. I was capable all on my own.

I had also attributed the other incidents to him. The utensils and such going missing occurred on the same night I had seen him sneaking around. If he was trying to cause discourse, then it was working. If he was giving them to an enemy class as part of the betrayal he warned me about, then that was stupid. He didn't take enough for them to be of any value, so clearly his objective was to cause problems. The reason for that I didn't know.

The underwear was an interesting incident. That, I suspected, had nothing to do with him. Yes, perhaps causing conflict had been his intention, but it had been successful enough without resorting to such disgusting methods. I didn't think that was something that interested Ayanokouji, I begrudgingly admitted, since he seemed to show no interest in the other sex. No, even if he had done it, there would have been a far larger divide if they had been found with a boy. Missing that opportunity was also not like him.

Then there was the matter of his retirement. If there was a grand plan or scheme behind it, I couldn't figure it out. Maybe he had betrayed the class. He had given my name up, stolen some items and caused problems, convinced Kushida to waste points and then left once his job was done. If someone had paid him off with the promise of private points, then there was nothing to be done. Our class had probably lost.