We had just left the special building when a cheerful voice interrupted our movements.
"Kushida-san, you wouldn't happen to be on a date with Ayanokouji-kun here, would you?"
We turned in response to the unexpected voice. A beautiful girl with strawberry-blonde hair stood behind us. Ichinose Honami.
"Sorry to interrupt. I'd hate to interrupt you like that if you actually were on one together."
"Ichinose-san, hey! No no it's not like that we were just having a look around, right Ayanokouji-kun?" Kushida was quick to refute the question, before passing on the baton to me. Very quick.
"It's as Kushida said. We were just investigating."
"Hehe, of course I know that. But Kushida-san, you were pretty quick to deny it hmm? Are you sure there's nothing going on between you two?" She leaned towards the two of us, a cheeky grin on her face as she insinuated our supposed illicit relationship.
"Ah-ah no Ichinose-san, I swear there's nothing going on between us." Of course, she couldn't admit to something like that for a multitude of reasons, but was that a hint of blush I saw on her cheeks?
Ichinose seemed to have noticed it too, grinning successfully as she stood back up straight again.
"In any case, what are you doing here Ichinose? This doesn't seem the place that you would hang around, so you must have some reason for being here." These pleasantries between girls were something I still hadn't got my head around, and I had no interest in doing so.
"I assume the same as you, trying to look for clues to help Sudou-kun. You asked me to do help, didn't you Kushida-san?"
That didn't seem like the whole truth to me. For Ichinose, the leader of Class B, to come all the way out here must have a deeper meaning. She was more valuable coordinating a search with her helper elves, so for what reason would she come here?
"I knew I could count on you Ichinose-san! But yeah, we already had a look around inside. There wasn't anything to see..." Kushida seemed down at this last part, keeping up the act that we hadn't discovered any clues at all.
"I thought I'd come and take a look here myself, but since you already have, would you mind filling me in?"
"It's like Kushida said. There's nothing. No cameras, no evidence, nothing useful." There wasn't any harm in telling her this, but any more information could be manipulated by Ichinose, and I didn't want to give her that opportunity.
"Ah, Ayanokouji-kun! We haven't even been introduced properly. Ichinose Honami, it's a pleasure to meet you!" She stuck out her hand to me, which I grasped and shook.
"We haven't spoken before this have we?"
"Nope! I've wanted to meet you since the first day but just haven't had a chance, so I'm glad to do so now!" Ah so this was her reasoning for coming here. Obviously, a class member had reported to her that I was over here, and she took the chance. As the class leader, Ichinose would be expected to be acquainted with all the important figures of our year, and I was arguably one of the most important people to be aware of.
"I'm happy to finally meet you too." It was true, I had been meaning to meet with her for some time. A chance to get a read on her was an opportunity I had been sorely missing.
"Ah, you don't have to lie Ayanokouji-kun, I can see you don't mean it."
"Not at all. I just have trouble expressing myself."
That response seemed to amuse her.
"So, what do you plan to do now? I hadn't thought much further than checking out the crime scene, but now that's already done I don't know how to help"
That was a lie. Ichinose probably understood the entire situation, from Ryuuen to the complete pit class D was in. Which made it even more interesting that she would offer her help.
"Why are you trying to help us Ichinose? Class B gets nothing out of this, in fact it probably holds you back from your ordinary lives." It was suspicious, so I decided to outright confront her about it.
"Hey, Ayanokouji-kun, there's no need to be suspicious. Ichinose-san is a nice person, and she wants to help, what's wrong with that?"
"No no, Kushida-san, he's right to be concerned. But are Classes D and B completely unrelated to each other? We don't know when these cases will spring up, or whom they'll involve. Since the classes are in constant competition, there's always the chance that this will happen. This was the merely the first case. If the party that lied wins, that'd set a bad precedent. Also, I personally can't turn away now that I know what happened."
I couldn't tell whether Ichinose was being serious or joking.
"See, Ayanokouji-kun, we can trust Ichinose. She just wants to help."
If Kushida actually believed that then I would give up on ever hoping to understand her. More likely, she had to cultivate good relations with everyone, and blind trust was an easy method of doing so.
"Anyway, about your friend. He's a first year, but he might become a regular on the basketball team, right? That's amazing. Even if he's holding you guys back right now, he might become a great asset later. I mean, the school evaluates club and philanthropic activities, right? So, if he enters a tournament and does well, Sudou-kun could earn points. Those'll be tied to your class points, too. Wait... Did you guys not know that? Did your teacher not tell you?"
We'd only heard that it would influence our private points."
"Sensei never mentioned this to us. I knew she didn't like us much, but to think she'd hide important things hurts a little..." Kushida was looking down at the reveal of the betrayal.
This was yet another oversight, another instance where Chabashira had failed to disclose something important. I wondered if Class B had heard about this from their teacher...
A usual, our teacher didn't even pretend to give us equal treatment. Chabashira really hated our class, it was fantastic.
"Your homeroom teacher is kind of weird," said Ichinose.
"She doesn't seem motivated to tell us anything. She's completely apathetic. Some teachers are like that."
"If we knew that, more of our class would be willing to help Sudou-kun Now that we do know, we can get even more help! I knew you were reliable Ichinose-san!"
Once again Kushida spun the conversation into praising Ichinose.
"Did you know that the school evaluates homeroom teachers when their class graduates?"
"This is the first I've heard of it. Are you sure?" I wasn't interested so much as I had no choice but to be interested. That was a crucial piece of information.
"Our homeroom teacher, Hoshinomiya-sensei, says it like it's her motto. She says she wants to do her best because the homeroom teacher for Class A gets a special bonus. Looks like it's pretty different for you guys."
"I'm envious of your relationship with your homeroom teacher. And your class environment."
If that was the case, what drove Chabashira to be so apathetic to us. There was no benefit to leaving us to fail, so there must be a reason behind her actions.
"Well, it seems like there's nothing left to do here."
"Right! I was going to talk to some senpai's about Sudou-kun's case, see if they had anything they knew. You coming Ayanokouji-kun? I can help you meet some new people~" She knew I disliked interacting with dull people, and most of her friends would not be interesting whatsoever. A small stab of revenge I see.
"Actually, Kushida-san, I was hoping to have a word with Ayanokouji-kun in private, if you wouldn't mind." This seemed to surprise Kushida, although she gathered herself rather quickly.
"Ooh, wanting a private conversation with Ayanokouji-kun Ichinose, how curious. What could you possibly want to talk about?"
Ichinose seemed to realise the implications of what she said, blushing and frantically shaking her hands no.
"Wait wait no nothing like that, I just wanted to ask him a question about something." That wasn't any better Ichinose. For a popular girl she really didn't seem to have much talent navigating teasing.
"Don't do anything I wouldn't you too" Poking her tongue out at us with a smile, Kushida made her way back towards the school, to meet up with her friends. That left me alone with Ichinose, waiting to hear what she would question me about.
"You're a pretty smart guy, aren't you Ayanokouji-kun?" A strange way to lead.
"I suppose so, I can't imagine anyone being smarter than me."
"Aha, a fine line between arrogance and confidence, although I suppose you can back it up." Ichinose had made a good observation. It was incredibly, beyond all reasonable levels, arrogant to claim such a thing. But so far there hadn't been anyone to step up and reasonably challenge such a claim besides Kouenji.
"You figured out the S-system on the first day. I think that's enough proof that you're smart."
"I'm sure you would have figured it out eventually. There was plenty of evidence."
"True, but not as quickly as you." She was just stating facts. What could this be leading to; I couldn't work it out.
After a few moments of silence she finally asked, or accused me of, what she had been intending to.
"You were the one who gave Kanzaki-kun the exam papers, weren't you?"
Seriously, that was it? All that build up just to ask about the exam papers.
"What makes you think that?"
"Class A, B and C all received the papers from their leaders. None of them will say where, or who, they got them from. But later I heard that Kushida was the one who sold them to the other classes. Strange, don't you think?"
"I don't see what's strange about that."
"You don't seem to have a great grasp of social actions, Ayanokouji-kun. But Kushida isn't the sort of person to do such a thing. I think it was you, and she was your accomplice."
It seemed Kanzaki's warning about Ichinose was right. I had discounted her due to her nature, but she was incredibly shrewd, figuring out my plan that easily. There was one flaw in her reasoning, however. Kushida was absolutely the sort of person to scam points out of people. Her true self would do it in an instant, using people to benefit herself. But the angel act she put on would, or could, never consider it, so in a way Ichinose was right about that.
I had grossly miscalculated who the person named Ichinose Honami was.
The best thing now would be to admit it and go from there.
"You're right. I was the one who got the test papers and sold them to the three classes."
"Ahahaha you really do plan things well, Ayanokouji-kun. But why Kanzaki-kun, you could have come to me you know? My class picked me to be leader." This was the biggest issue for her. Why had I gone to Kanzaki and not her, despite her position? I couldn't tell her the real answer, but a garbage excuse would be seen through instantly.
"I didn't know anything about you then. I had more information about Kanzaki, so he was a safer bet to convince."
"Hmm, I suppose I can accept that. But now we're friends, so I want to get along with you, Ayanokouji-kun!"
"I'd like to spend more time with you too Ichinose. I don't know you very well, and I'd like to rectify that." The underlying reasoning went unsaid but both of us knew why we wanted to talk.
Through the searching gaze she gave me, I could see the gears moving in her mind, making connections and decisions, trying to understand me. This was the Ichinose Kanzaki had warned me about.
I truly believed she wanted to help people, to be kind and considerate to everyone around her, not just her class. But at the same time her actions refuted it. Trying to get close to me, a person she perceived as a major threat. Getting in the good books of Class D, taking advantage of our situation in a way that posed virtually no risk to her. Two opposing natures lived in Ichinose, and eventually, with a little prodding, they would be forced to collide. To see what would happen then would be fascinating.
"Well, that's all I wanted to ask you. I guess I'll follow Kushida-san's lead for a bit, talk to a senpai that I know. He's pretty smart, so he should be able to help. Bye Ayanokouji-kun!"
And with that the strawberry-blonde girl was off, ambling back towards the school along the same path Kushida had walked.
What an interesting person. It seemed she had more potential than I realised.
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The next morning as I left the dorms, I ran into Ichinose again.
"What a coincidence Ayanokouji-kun!"
"Don't bother Ichinose, it was clear you were waiting for me outside." This really was a stupid ruse.
"Ehe it seems I've been caught. I actually wanted to talk to you again, poke your brain a little."
"Morning Ichinose-san!" "Good morning, Ichinose-san"
It seemed a few of her classmates had left the building at the same time as us.
"How are you doing this morning, Shibata-kun, Hamaguchi-kun?"
"We had a little trouble with noise complains but Kanzaki-kun sorted it out for us."
"Oh... I'm glad that's not a problem any more then." Her eyes were downcast slightly and her smile didn't seem quite as large as usual.
"We'll see you in class Ichinose-san. Don't take too long hanging around Ayanokouji-kun!"
With that teasing comment both of them sped off towards the school building, probably incredibly proud of how witty they were.
"Is something wrong Ichinose?" It was obvious there was, but I wanted to hear what she said about it.
"It's that. Ever since the exam papers were handed out by Kanzaki lots of my classmates seem to defer to him more and more." Ah, so her lack of control was the problem.
"Is that an issue? I wouldn't have thought you cared who the leader was as long as everyone was getting along." This was the crux of the issue. Ichinose shouldn't care, because as long as her fairy tale class of kindness was functioning it shouldn't matter who was the leader.
"No not at all. I'm glad they have someone they can turn to. It's just... no, never mind, I don't want to burden you with my problems Ayanokouji-kun." And with that her usual cheer returned to her face.
"Wasn't that your intention in the first place, by waiting for me?"
"Not at all, I just wanted your opinion on the school. You seem to have a knack for understanding things, so why not pick your brain?"
Taking advantage of our new relationship for information, very sly Ichinose.
"You heard about our summer break, right Ayanokouji-kun?"
"The vacation to a tropical island you mean?" Chabashira had mentioned it earlier in the semester, right before our midterm exams.
"I can't really believe it though. Could we really go on a vacation?"
Ichinose clearly already had her doubts from it. It was obvious from her bitter smile while considering the possibilities.
"It's suspicious after all. I think it's going to be a turning point."
"In other words, you think our class points could fluctuate wildly over summer break"
"Yeah, yeah. I think there might be a hidden task, one that has a bigger impact on us than the midterms or final exams. Otherwise, the difference between Class A and us wouldn't close much. We could diminish the gap little by little."
That was certainly true. A big, earthshaking event might very well occur soon...
"There isn't a huge gap between you though. Its only 90 points."
"True, but Class A extended their lead slightly in the midterms. Ignoring that, without big point changes Class D has no hope of ever even reaching Class C."
This was true. The gap between Class C and D was 617 points, a massive difference. If the school truly was unbiased there would be more chances to gain points besides midterms, which Ichinose had obviously considered.
"Whatever it is will definitely be interesting. If the school wants to give out hundreds of class points, it'll certainly make life fun. I can't wait to see who comes out on top."
"I guess we both have to do our best, then. But I don't want to go up against Ayanokouji-kun, you seem too strong to beat." She finished that tease off with a cheeky smirk, clearly insinuating that she wasn't afraid after all. Although I would still expect her to be cautious of me.
We continued in silence for a bit, before Ichinose broke it once again.
"Hey, I still have some things on my mind. May I ask you some questions?"
Ichinose had a radiant presence, though it was different from Kushida's. I could say that she acted without an ulterior motive. Even when talking with a person like me, she put her best foot forward.
"We've been separated into four classes from the start, right? Do you really think they separated us by ability?"
"If you really think that, then explain how I'm in class D. I expect more Ichinose"
Horikita, Kouenji, and I were undoubtedly three people who deserved to be at the top based on their academics alone.
"So, do you think it's something like overall ability?"
I was interested to see where Ichinose went with this train of thought, to see what else she could perceive about the S-system without my interference.
"I've been thinking about it since we started here. Someone might be good at studying, but bad at physical activity. Another might be good at physical activities, but bad at studying. But if students are ranked by overall ability, doesn't that mean that the lower classes are at an overwhelming disadvantage?"
"Isn't that how societal competition works, though? I don't think there's anything particularly strange about that," I said.
Ichinose crossed her arms and hummed to herself, as if she weren't convinced.
"If we were competing as individuals, sure. But this is a competition between classes, right? If you simply put all of the superior students into Class A, then doesn't that mean the rest of us have virtually no chance of succeeding?"
It seemed she had figured it out, or mostly at least. If one ignored the stigma the school placed on Class D, you would notice all classes had some flawed individuals, and some who could very easily be in a higher class.
"There's definitely a big difference between classes A through D right now. However, I think they're trying to hide something, but going about it in a weird way. Don't you agree?"
"Of course. It's obvious the school organised the classes with a lot of thought, placing good students into lower classes as countermeasures." She had reached a reasonable conclusion, so there was no harm in contributing some more to her thoughts.
"Hmm, as I suspected Ayanokouji-kun does know more than he tells. It's a strange system isn't it."
Ichinose stopped, almost as if she'd just remembered something. I tried reading her face, noting that she wore a serious expression.
"Hey... There's something more I want to ask you, Ayanokouji-kun. Is that okay?"
It was like that bright, cheery Ichinose of a moment ago had disappeared. My body stiffened slightly.
"If it's something I can answer, I will." I felt I owed her some help after spending this walk analysing her every move.
"Has a girl ever confessed her feelings to you?"
That was unexpected.
"Really? Do I look like a guy who's ever had a girl confess her feelings to him?"
"Well, you ranked highly on the hottest boys list, so I thought you might have some experience. Sorry, its nothing."
Wait the what list? I was surprised such a thing existed. However, this confusion would mean letting Ichinose down.
It didn't look like it was nothing. However, it did look like it was a serious issue for her, and not a way to prod and pry at me for more information.
"Did someone confess to you?" I asked.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Kind of."
I wasn't surprised at this. What shocked me more was that she didn't seem to know what to do. A girl with her figure and nature should have been confessed to multiple times, at least that's what I had previously assumed.
"Well, if you're okay with it, can you spare a little time after class? I have some questions about confessions. I know all too well how busy you are with the incident right now, but..."
"Sure, that's okay. I don't really have much to do."
"Don't have much to do?"
"I don't think there's much point in looking for evidence or witnesses. Kushida and Hirata should have that handled."
"But you went to the scene of the crime the other day to investigate anyway, right?"
"That was for something else. Anyway, it's fine."
"Thank you. I'll be waiting at the school entrance after class."
"Alright, I'll see you then."
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Once the school day ended, I made my way outside to meet with Ichinose. Making my way through the sea of students I found her, and once she had finally escaped from all those who wanted her attention we made our way to the other side of the building, arriving in a spot right behind the gymnasium. This did seem like the kind of place where someone would confess their feelings.
"Now then... I think someone is going to confess to me here today!"
With that Ichinose took out a letter and showed it to me. It was a cute love letter adorned with a heart sticker. Giving it a once over, it was clear that the letter was from a girl, as opposed to a guy like I had suspected.
I also noticed the meeting time and location. It was right here in 10 minutes. This was interesting.
"Wouldn't it be better if I weren't here?" I asked.
"Love is kind of alien to me. I don't how to respond without hurting her feelings. I also don't know if we can stay good friends afterwards. I want you to help me."
This was the first time I felt Ichinose had made a bad decision. It seemed her consideration of the situation was influenced by her confusion, resulting in her giving me serious information about her. This probably didn't even factor into her decision, or come into consideration, but the fact was I know had secret information about her and another person.
I may as well let the situation play out.
"I'll do my best, but I don't have any experience with romantic confessions. There are probably other people in Class B who could help."
"The person confessing her feelings to me is from Class B."
I had realised this when I read the confession letter but had thought it would still be fine as long as her helper was trustworthy. I guess this was another thing I couldn't understand about relationships.
"I'd like for you to keep this secret. If not, things will probably get unpleasant. I don't think you're the type of person to go around telling people Ayanokouji." I wouldn't go sharing it randomly, but the information was valuable. I would definitely consider weaponizing it at some point. Ichinose was too trusting.
"But Ichinose, aren't you used to people confessing their feelings to you?"
"Huh?! N-no way. Not at all! I've never experienced this before. I really don't understand why this is happening."
A confession was probably an inevitability for someone like Ichinose. For many students, an important goal of high school was to get a girlfriend, and who would be more desirable than Ichinose?
"So...will you please pretend to be my boyfriend?"
I had seen this as a posibility, but it was still a little unexpected to hear Ichinose ask. I had to question her judgement once again, this plan was virtually non-existent, thought up in a panic with no time spent on considering whether it was reasonable.
"I did a bit of research, and discovered that the rejected person hurts less if the object of their affection is already in a relationship..." Oh. So, she had panicked, googled for help, and jumped on the first opportunity she had, probably one of the only boys in the grade she had contact with that wouldn't cause her problems. The error it seemed wasn't in choosing me to help, since after considering the situation, I was probably her best option, but in pretending to have a boyfriend in the first place.
"Wouldn't it be worse if they find out you lied? This doesn't seem like a great plan."
"I could say that you and I broke up, or that you left me or something."
She really wasn't thinking straight at all.
"Honestly, you should talk it out with them. I'm really not the sort of person one would expect you to date, no one would buy it for a second."
"But— Ah!" Ichinose seemed to have noticed something, and awkwardly raised her hand. Apparently, the person in question had arrived earlier than expected.
"Um, Ichinose-san... why is Ayanokouji-kun here?" Chihiro from Class B was the one confessing. I wasn't too surprised that she knew who I was, since I was a rather well-known figure in the grade, but my appearance here was unexpected, so her confusion was expected.
"I'm sorry for bringing someone from another class Chihiro-chan."
"Is he by any chance...your boyfriend, Ichinose-san?"
"Ah... Well..."
Ichinose probably meant to say that yes, yes I was. But guilt over lying seemed to stopper her answer. The words got stuck in her throat.
"So why is Ayanokouji-kun here?"
Confused by this unexpected situation, Chihiro began to cry. Tears welled up in her eyes.
Is he her boyfriend? Why would he be here if he wasn't? Chihiro was probably struggling to understand what was going on. Ichinose, seeing Chihiro's tears, grew flustered. Uncertain of what to do, she started panicking. I'd expected Ichinose to be a stalwart, reliable person, but apparently she had an unexpected weak point.
"Um, do you mind going somewhere else, please? I have something important that I need to talk with Ichinose-san about," Chihiro said.
"P-please wait a minute, Chihiro-san. That's, um... Well, to tell you the truth, Ayanokouji-kun is..."
Ichinose was trying to make the first move and turn her down. She probably thought it would be harder if Chihiro directly said I like you.
"What is it?" Chihiro asked.
I felt bad for Chihiro. It wasn't often I felt sympathy, but Chihiro was already in danger. She had made no mistakes, unless one could count following your heart as one, and I didn't want to think like that. No, Ichinose was at fault here for exposing a weakness, and Chihiro would be the one to most likely pay for it.
This was the least I could do.
"I'm just a friend. Ichinose, it was a mistake for you to call me here."
I spoke honestly, for both their sakes.
"Ichinose, it's not an easy thing to confess. So don't be an idiot, talk it out. I expected a lot more from the Class B leader. So caught up in your own confusion you didn't even consider the other party. I had high expectations of you from what I had heard, of how kind and helpful you were, but it seems you're just another helpless girl who can't think of others properly. Consider Chihiro here's feelings and figure it out."
"Uh..."
Ichinose had probably never experienced seriously falling in love with someone before. Therefore, she didn't really know what to do, or if she were doing something wrong. Trying to prevent someone's pain was useless. If you turned someone down, their feelings would inevitably be hurt.
I left without waiting for Ichinose's reply. I headed back but didn't return to the dormitory right away. Instead, I stopped by the tree-lined pathway, leaned against the handrail, and sighed as I looked up at green leaves.
After about fifteen minutes, Ichinose trudged back from the gym and walked over to me.
"Ah..."
Upon seeing me, she looked a little awkward and hung her head. But then she immediately glanced back up at me.
"I was wrong. I didn't respect Chihiro-chan's feelings. I just wanted to avoid hurting her, and to run away. That was my mistake. Love is really tough, huh?"
Ichinose muttered as she leaned against the handrail next to me. "I asked her if we could carry on like usual, but... I don't know if we can go back to how things were."
"That depends on you both."
"Yeah... Thanks for today. For coming along with me for such an odd request."
"It's okay. It was interesting."
"I guess our positions got reversed, huh? I planned on helping you, but then you ended up helping me."
"It's no trouble. But if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to know what was troubling you this morning." This was something that I had been pondering all day. I was aware of what the problem in Class B for Ichinose was, but I didn't understand her psyche enough to determine her reaction.
"Oh. That. Well, if I'm honest it's kinda your fault, Ayanokouji-kun."
"My fault?"
"When you gave Kanzaki-kun the exam papers, everyone started to trust him more. That's not bad, but they also follow me a little less. He's more of the leader than I am right now." That was the problem, but I still didn't understand why it was one.
"That I understand, but I don't know why you care."
"It's because... I joined the student council."
That surprised me. I wasn't expecting them to accept first years so quickly. Personally, I would have waited for longer to get a better test of their character. Although with Ichinose it wasn't a huge surprise she got accepted, she had all the necessary qualities to do well.
"Congratulations."
"Thanks. But it wasn't easy. I was actually rejected the first time by the President." That was illogical. She was certainly qualified, so it couldn't have been about potential. Then...
"But Vice President Nagumo came along later and invited me to join."
There it was. Manabu must have wanted to keep her away from Nagumo, but he caught her anyway.
"I really respect him. He started in Class B too, you know. And now he's probably going to be the next President, and he's leading Class A. I want to be just like him."
From what I have seen so far of the two of them, that was impossible. Ichinose could never get to the level that Nagumo had. Rumours indicate that he had expelled at least 7 people in his quest for power. Ichinose could never live up to the standard he set.
She most likely wasn't aware of this either.
I assumed that Nagumo was just using her, as a new toy or plaything from the first years. He probably made some kind of request from Ichinose in order to allow her in, or at least she owes him a favour. I had to commend that type of thinking. Nagumo was certainly an entertaining student.
"I can't do that, however, if I'm not the class leader. How can a student council member, and maybe President one day, not be in charge of her own class? I... don't like this but if I want to live up to his faith in me, I need to be in charge of Class B."
I doubt Nagumo had any faith in Ichinose, seeing her as nothing more than a means to an end. He would probably direct her at me at some point, if he could manage it, using her as a missile.
"It's not just that, though. I want to be relied upon. It's selfish, I know, but I want to help everyone I can. I will always do my very best to answer the calls of everyone else no matter who they are. Even if one day, I may end up getting strangled by it all. That's one of the reasons I joined the student council; I can help more people that way. But now the best way to help people might be to let Kanzaki be leader, and I just... its complicated. Sorry, Ayanokouji-kun, you didn't need to hear all this."
I didn't respond to her, instead choosing to sit in silence and ponder the situation, with Ichinose probably doing the same besides me. She could likely feel the pressure of the choices already moving to 'strangle her' as she described it, and despite that couldn't find a way out that agreed with her morals.
Ichinose had trapped herself, with her selfish desire to be on the student council, her selfless desire to be kind to everyone, her selfish desire to live up to Nagumo, her selfless desire to let people make their own choice of leader. She had boxed herself in with her contradictory desires.
I wondered how Class B's Ichinose Honami planned to resolve this difficult situation. I had to admit, I was looking forward to seeing it.
Authors Notes:
First, slight change to upload schedule coming. Currently I've been trying to upload each chapter at 1pm my time, but this is getting increasingly more difficult as life gets busy. For that reason, I'm moving it to later at night for me, probably around 7pm instead. I dunno if anyone actually cares, but they will be coming out later than previously so just a heads up.
This chapter was one of the main goals for this arc, as I mentioned in the A/N. Ichinose is a lot of fun to look at, but i feel like by doing so I killed Ayanokouji for a bit in this chapter. Couldn't fix it up enough, but for my goal of studying a change in smart Ichinose, I'm satisfied.
On an unrelated note, there was a fic called The 10 Elites. It was basically The True Elites (which if you haven't read, go do so its fucking amazing) with a couple of extra characters, but a couple of days ago, it dissipated. Anyone know what happened to it? I'm just curious, because it was pretty good.
As always hope you enjoyed!