Day four. The last day of the exam. There was a tension in the air as Dragon Group convened for what could be the second last time, one that hadn't been present yesterday. The somewhat relaxed atmosphere had vanished entirely, as everyone was preparing themselves for the final confrontation.
The ball was in Class A's court.
"I'd like to start this meeting off by announcing that we in Class A have determined who the VIP for this group is." Katsuragi took the center stage with the words everyone had been waiting for.
"Eh? We already know who it is though. It's Ayanokouji-kun, he said so himself."
Nishikawa sighed. "Do you really think the VIP would admit that they were, Amikura-san?"
"Yep! I'm 100% confident that it's Ayanokouji-kun, but we get more points in Outcome One." Amikura was her usual bundle of annoyance.
"That's correct, Nishikawa-san. 500,000 points is the equivalent of 50 private points for 100 months, longer than we are at school for. Individually, there's a lot more value in securing Outcome One at this point in time."
Katsuragi stood up, instantly commanding the attention of the class with his imposing figure. "That may be true, Shiina-san, but for Class A at least, it's not an acceptable outcome. Besides, Ayanokouji isn't the VIP." He turned around and looked directly at the girl in question. "Horikita-san is."
"Huh? Have you forgotten Katsuragi, but we've already seen Horikita's email from the school? We know it isn't her, and it was definitely her phone." Kanzaki understandably didn't believe what Katsuragi was saying, since it went against the rules of the exam.
"And yet the Class D students seem to believe that Horikita is their VIP."
It seemed some of my classmates had been interrogated, and the rumour that Horikita had been hidden had made it to Class A finally. I was surprised it had taken so long, but I guess Satou and Mori were more reliable at keeping secrets than expected.
"Kukuku you aren't the only one to talk to Class D plebs, baldy. I asked them very politely after the first day, and they were very clear that Ayanokouji is the VIP."
"That's because you stopped there, Ryuuen. No, the information I came across is much more recent, and explains a lot of what is going on. Only yesterday, it was revealed that the leaders of Class D had lied to their own class. Horikita was kept hidden from almost everyone."
The black-haired girl on my left started in confusion, before a look of understanding crossed her face. She glanced at me in a rather obvious manner, but luckily no one noticed that, nor my nod of confirmation.
"Katsuragi-kun, I don't know who told you this, but I guarantee it's not true. I'm not the VIP for Dragon group, Ayanokouji-kun is."
Good. Horikita had perfectly perpetuated the lie. She had quickly realised that if we were going to frame her as the VIP, then she had to deny it. It would be far too obvious for her to admit it, and so she had acted in the appropriate manner to support my plan.
"Impressive. You don't seem to be lying at all. Credit where credit is due, Horikita-san, you're an impressive actor. I don't know how you managed it, maybe you changed the email we got from the school. Rest assured I will be reporting this, and your group will be suffering consequences for it."
He hesitated for a moment, enjoying the spotlight of everyone in the room focused on him.
"But we in Class A have found the pattern for VIP selection. And following that, Horikita is the VIP for Dragon group."
Just as planned. They bought it.
"Kukuku, really, baldy? You think you found the pattern? Alright then, if you're so confident, submit her name."
"That's really impressive Katsuragi-san. We of Class B were unable to narrow down who it was, although in the end we determined that it had to be Ayanokouji-kun or Horikita-san." Ichinose gave her own compliments to the man leading the conversation.
"I can understand lesser classes struggling with it, but you must understand that the entirety of Class A has been working on it for the past day. You never stood a chance."
I was surprised they struggled so much to determine the pattern. Most likely it was a hyperbole, as I didn't expect many of the Class A students to actually cooperate.
"In that case, I will be submitting Horikita's name, unless anyone can provide arguments otherwise."
Seeing no response, Katsuragi got his phone out and opened up the email app, before beginning to type. Having entered the correct mail address, and the words 'Horikita Suzune' he was about to submit it when—
"Wait, Katsuragi-san."
"Hm? What is it Nishikawa-san?"
We all turned out attention to Nishikawa, who once again had something to add. She, however, was sitting rather relaxed, observing us right back, smiling with the knowledge that she had something over us.
"I was having a wonderful dinner a couple of nights ago when I heard a very interesting conversation."
I froze at her words. Nishikawa had been in the restaurant I was at with Matsushita, but I didn't think she was close enough to be able to overhear us. A stupid blunder.
It was clear that this was all rehearsed ahead of time. Nishikawa, if she really had heard my conversation, would have gone straight to Katsuragi with the news of my plan, and wouldn't have risked waiting until the last second to deliver the news. No, this was all premeditated in a last attempt to extract any information.
"And what was it about?"
"Well, Ayanokouji was outlining his plan to leak a rumour that Horikita was the VIP. I assume that's the information you came across Katsuragi-san. He made it very clear that he was the VIP but had laid false evidence that we would find."
"That's very strange, Nishikawa-san. The pattern we found was clear the Horikita was the VIP. Unless..."
The four students of Class A turned to face Ryuuen simultaneously, in a badly executed show of power. Honestly, they were milking this moment for all it was worth, and I could tell the rest of the group was growing tense, and bored. Ryuuen, to his credit, didn't even flinch.
"Kukuku you got me! Yep, I teamed up with the monster and he gave a fake name for one of my VIPs. Actually, I'm pretty sure one of your 'superior being' classmates submitted the name. Jokes on you, baldy kukuku!"
Ryuuen didn't even wait for the accusation, didn't even try to avoid it. This situation was much to entertaining for him, knowing there was a 50/50 chance that Class A would win or lose, and there wasn't much he could do to stop it besides from causing a ruckus, without taking the same risk himself.
"So, you did ally yourself with him." Katsuragi sighed at the confirmation of his fear. "Perhaps siding with your betters is all you are capable of Ryuuen. I expected more from you this exam."
"Hoh? That's a rather bold claim from someone who's gonna come last, Katsuragi-saaan," Amikura interjected. "Besides, you're really gonna gamble on the VIP based on a conversation you overheard?"
"Amikura-san, who would you suspect less than the person who admitted to being the VIP. Honestly, it's the perfect cover and a genius plan."
"Yes, I have to agree with Nishikawa-san. You did well, Ayanokouji. I'm sure you thought 'only an idiot would out themselves as the VIP. I'ts the perfect cover', but unfortunately we saw through it. In the end, it's Class A's victory."
Now several members of the group were starting to panic, realising our plan to get Katsuragi was in shambles, simply because I'd been overheard while speaking. Horikita in particular was desperately trying to think of a way out, any plan to get Katsuragi to submit her name.
Ichinose was as well, but unlike Horikita she possessed a valuable piece of information. "Katsuragi-san, I had a conversation with Hosinomiya-sensei yesterday. She told me something very interesting."
"And what would that be?"
Ichinose stood and walked up to Katsuragi, a bold move of someone who won't back down. Unfortunately, in this situation it was the wrong way to conver the information.
"It's possible to change the sim chips in our phones. Which means it's possible that Ayanokouji and Horikita did in fact switch phones."
That was a mistake, Ichinose. In her desperate attempt to keep the plan going, she made it obvious what her intentions were. Not only was she clearly trying to mislead Katsuragi, there was no reason to believe what she said because she would have acted upon it. Unless you knew why she hadn't acted.
At this new piece of knowledge being shared with the group, Ryuuen furrowed his brow for a moment, before his eyes shot open. This was something I had been keeping from him, because out of everyone here, he was the wild card. I couldn't be sure what conclusion he would come to in the event that he knew we could switch sim cards. There was virtually no way to confirm whose phone was whose anymore.
"Holy shit you almost had me! Ah, you fucking monster I figured it out. But guess what, in the end it's your loss, and my victory KUKUKU!"
He snapped his phone out as fast as possible and began typing at a furious pace. Everyone noticed, but it seemed no one could work out what he knew, what he was planning or how to stop him. No one but—
"Sorry Ryuuen, but I can't let you win." Katsuragi hit send, before holding out his phone to show us the email he had just sent to the school, revealing the name 'Ayanokouji Kiyotaka'. "You played a good game, Ayanokouji, and you nearly fooled us. I respect your efforts, it was impressive, but not good enough. Next time, before you challenge a class of your betters, think twice."
And with that, every phone in the room buzzed, delivering the email from the school saying that Dragon group had ended.
"God dammit Katsuragi! You fucking idiot, stop being so cocky and maybe you wouldn't have fucked up so badly!"
"Being a sore loser is unbecoming Ryuuen," Nishikawa sniffed.
"Eh, whatever. It's your funeral."
The four class A students made their way out of the room, likely off to celebrate their victory, or at least the lessening of their crushing defeat. I turned to Kikyou who was already on her phone, dealing with the countless messages asking her about the result.
"I'm sure you've got people you want to catch up with?"
She smiled at me, clearly happy that the group was over. It had been an exhausting four days of constant mental pressure, but finally she had a chance to relax.
"Yep! I'll see you around Kiyotaka-kun. And... you did your best. I'm sure the class won't be too upset that Katsuragi submitted your name."
She bounced out of the room, followed shortly after by the Class B students and most of Class C. Eventually, it was only Horikita and Ryuuen left here with me.
Horikita gave a look to the side towards Ryuuen, obviously concerned about him overhearing our conversation, but he was staying far enough away.
It was disappointing. I had been hoping to go for a total victory, but in the end my last plan had failed. Katsuragi had seen through it and submitted my name, instead of Horikita. It wasn't the end of the world, since we still had fairly good results overall, enough to secure us first place, but I was disappointed in myself. It wasn't like me to not be completely successful.
"Hey, Ayanokouji-kun?"
"Hm?"
Horikita looked a little embarrassed at what she wanted to say, mixed with a bit of sadness. Clearly, she had high hopes that we would win this group. Out team was as good as it got from Class D, and if we struggled here, it was a worrying indicator for our future.
"Look, as much as I hate to say it, you did a good job figuring out the pattern. And you had a really clever plan for this group, just... maybe next time stick to something a little less complex. I know you're pretty impressive, but you went too big this time. Try something you can understand, because I'm pretty sure this got out of control a little by the end."
"I suppose you're right."
That wasn't like Horikita at all. She was admitting I had done a good job, but also providing me with some advice. I didn't particularly care about winning Dragon group, but it was still a bit of a slight that she thought I had gotten wrapped up and confused by my own plan. While it hadn't worked out, it was Katsuragi seeing through the flaws, not me messing up.
"Thank you for your hard work, Ayanokouji-kun."
With that unexpected thank you, she left the room, leaving me alone with Ryuuen who had been listening in the entire time.
He made his way over to me, before stopping at my side watching Horikita leave the room.
"Suzune's gonna flip when she realises."
"She's going to be frustrated that she thanked me, that much is true."
He turned to me, a frustrated grin on his face.
"You played us."
"Perhaps."
"Kukuku remember this feeling, next time I'll make sure you lose."
There was nothing else to do but wait for now. The last interesting thing to happen would be the reveal at the end of the day, and I didn't feel like going back to my room where Hirata was hiding. For that reason, asked Ryuuen a question I was sure he would respond positively to.
"Want to get a drink?"
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The fourth day had come and gone. I had spent a while with Ryuuen discussing meaningless stuff, before he ditched me to go find some of his classmates, promising that he'd meet me again tonight, not wanting to miss it for the world.
And that was how I found myself at a table in a café a few minutes to 11, sitting with Ryuuen and most surprisingly Ichinose. It had been steadily filling up for the past half an hour, as it seemed to have become the designated meeting spot for the results announcement.
I could see on the far side Kikyou was sitting with a group of friends, talking and laughing about fun times they'd had on the cruise. Kanzaki was sitting with a few people from Class B, quietly discussing the day's events, trying to understand and hence improve their skills in the future, while Amikura did everything she could to piss him off. I watched as she bent around and licked his ear, sending him toppling to the ground in a terrified heap, everyone around them cackling.
Katsuragi sat with Nishikawa, an air of superiority floating around them, such that no one else wanted to be near them. I wondered how long that would last.
Horikita was in a corner with Sudou and Miyaki, discussing whatever they were discussing.
"I'm shocked Honami. I knew Amikura was a backstabbing little witch, but I didn't think you'd side with her too."
The three of us were discussing how the exam had gone, and most significantly, the existence of a third party in Class B.
Ichinose gave Ryuuen a faint smile. "Well, not everyone is too happy with Kaznaki's leadership, especially after this exam. We're simply providing an alternative."
"Did he even do anything this exam?" I couldn't remember Kanzaki leading any big discussions or revelations. I had dominated the group almost completely from the get-go, but I also didn't know of any time he had actually made a move himself.
"He insisted on playing it cautious. Which would have been fine if no one else had done anything, like Class A, but all he actually did was condemn us to lose."
"Kukuku so is that it? He's done?"
I didn't think that would be the case, and Ichinose quickly agreed with me.
"No, it's really hard to blame any single person for the loss, since it was basically Ayanokouji-kun beating everyone. So, we can't really blame Kanzaki and force him to step down."
This was a completely unexpected development. If I had been asked at the start of the year which class would have the most problems with cohesion, I would have named Class C instantly. And yet, they were the only ones to not be experiencing a schism of leadership.
Katsuragi was finished. Sakayanagi would take control of Class A completely once we returned to school, with no one that I knew of to stand in her way.
Kanzaki was on his last legs, or at least had a significant portion of the class dissatisfied with his decisions. It wasn't his fault, but it was a leaders job to take responsibility for a loss, even if there was nothing they could do about it. In his place, Amikura would most likely take over. She wasn't the brightest, and I felt that Kanzaki was a better strategist than her, but she was certainly willing to do more than him, to take bigger risks, something that was much more interesting. And with Ichinose at her side, where she belonged as a supportive person rather than leader, Class B had very quickly reformed themselves into a stronger class than before.
Of course, they weren't at that stage yet. For the moment, I suspected there weren't that many people dissatisfied with Kanzaki that they could force him to step down, and Ichinose probably didn't want him to do so. Stepping aside would be more in line with her beliefs and keeping him on as an advisor rather than crushing him like Sakayanagi had done to Katsuragi.
It was a stark contrast from the girl I met at the beginning of the year. Someone who was willing to be friends with everyone because she was kind, was willing to give me the benefit of the doubt, who didn't seem to have any ulterior motive was a hard person to reconcile with the devious scheming girl before me. Kanzaki's betrayal had cracked something inside of her, and Amikura had taken advantage of it.
And Class D was about to experience a civil war.
"To be honest I'm still surprised you went along with Amikura. To purposefully sabotage your own class doesn't seem like you."
Another wan smile from Ichinose as I gave my honest opinion.
"I guess I've had my eyes open. It's a fine line, but if I want to protect my class and fight for Class A, then I have to be willing to make tough choices." Her smile turned serious in a flash. "But don't think that I'm giving up on them. I love them all, and I'll do everything I can to protect Class B."
"Kukuku you really fucking hate him don't you? Is this revenge Honami?"
Ichinose's face flashed for a second at the use of her first name, but let it by without comment. "Well, maybe a little. I can't help but be a bit happy that he lost so badly. After all, I offered him some advice in front of the class and he took the chance to insult me. It's a little hard to be kind after that." There was a slightly sadistic glint in her eyes as she told the story.
Kanzaki was clearly a bad leader if that had actually happened. A good leader values his followers and ideas, and to completely ignore Ichinose was foolhardy. She was known to be intelligent, and in general it was illogical to insult those beneath you, lest they rise up like Ichinose had.
It was interesting to see how she had changed her view on the school and her class. The optimistic naïve girl I met earlier in the year was almost completely gone, crushed by the past two exams and the assault of Sakura. She had become slightly jaded, more cynical to the way the school worked. This backstabbing, sabotaging the class, was something she wouldn't have even considered.
I wonder if she had recognised how far she had already fallen.
I wonder if she wanted to stop and return to how she was before.
I wonder how much further I can make her fall.
"It's really a shame that our plan didn't work out. I guess Class A did see through it."
Ryuuen, who had just taken a sip of his drink spat it out at Ichinose's words, falling to pieces with laughter.
She gave him a questioning look, but before she could ask for clarification the sound of a notification from the school reverberated through the room. A bit under a hundred different phones were here, and the collective noise bounced from wall to wall.
"Ah, the results!"
Everyone in the room had pulled out their phones to check the email, even me. I hadn't been able to confirm all the results, and clarification never hurt. Although, it seemed my fears had been unfounded. Everything had gone to plan.
Rat: Outcome #3. The traitor answered correctly.
Cow: Outcome #3. The traitor answered correctly.
Tiger: Outcome #3. The traitor answered correctly.
Rabbit: Outcome #4. The traitor answered incorrectly.
Dragon: Outcome #4. The traitor answered incorrectly.
Snake: Outcome #4. The traitor answered incorrectly.
Horse: Outcome #4. The traitor answered incorrectly.
Sheep: Outcome #3. The traitor answered correctly.
Monkey: Outcome #3. The traitor answered correctly.
Rooster: Outcome #3. The traitor answered correctly.
Dog: Outcome #3. The traitor answered correctly.
Pig: Outcome #3. The traitor answered correctly.
Based on those results, the increase or decrease in class and private points are as follows. "Cl" and "Pr" are used to denote "class points" and "private points," respectively.
Class A: Minus 200 cl, Plus 0.5 Million pr
Class B: Minus 150 cl, Plus 0.5 Million pr
Class C: Plus 100 cl, Plus 2.5 Million pr
Class D: Plus 250 cl, Plus 2.5 Million pr
"Dragon group... was Outcome 4?"
"Kukuku isn't it obvious Honami? Surely you can figure that much out."
And indeed she could, as a look of realisation appeared on her face at what I had done.
"You were never the VIP."
"Of course not. Katsuragi said it himself, only an idiot would honestly tell the group they were the VIP."
"And Nishikawa overhearing your plan?"
Ryuuen snorted. "I bet they felt pretty clever at hearing that, but I'm sure you knew they were there the entire time."
"I doubt they properly noticed me until I knocked my glass over. It was easy enough to talk loudly and make sure they heard."
It was a classic fallacy that humans fell into. When they pierced one veil, discovered one trick, the pride at doing so distracted them from the truth. When Nishikawa overheard my plan, she had been in high spirits at having gotten one over us, enough to not notice that it would be pretty stupid to explain such details in a restaurant filled with almost only Class A and B students.
I had been at breakfast when the school first allocated the VIPs. I looked at both of our phones and saw that Kikyou had been given the role, but that made winning our group that much harder. So, in that moment, I declared myself the VIP, and Kikyou caught on quickly, realising that she had to play along. I'm sure she could have managed it, but this gave me the micron amount of extra control. Not once were the true words that Kikyou was the VIP ever uttered, meaning that there was never a possibility of anyone but the two of us knowing
It was easy enough to unlock the sim chips with points and swap them, and from there the entire group progressed, turning all evidence away from Kikyou and onto myself, before 'failing' to shift it to Horikita.
It was still a failure, although the plan didn't have any real stability. If I had spent more time preparing it, perhaps Katsuragi really might have voted Horikita, but part of the purpose was for him to see through it.
"Ahh, you really confused everyone, Ayanokouji-kun. So many plans, I'm surprised you could even keep track of it yourself."
"Kukuku as if he struggled. This monster probably had it all planned out from the moment the exam was announced."
"Perhaps I did. But I'm sure you agree I held up my end of the deal, Ichinose?"
"Mhm, yep you sure did! Class A came last, just like you promised. And I trust you to keep up the rest of our deal." Ichinose beamed, bobbing her head
There hadn't been much of a change in the room since the results came out. Most of it was already expected, since everyone knew that all the groups had ended with probably correct names. I heard a few exclamations about Snake, Horse, Dragon and Rabbit groups but other than that there wasn't too much surprise.
Katsuragi was the biggest change. I could feel his stare from across the room, analysing and contemplating what had happened. I was sure he would figure it out, but there was nothing he could do. Class A had suffered another crushing defeat under his leadership. They were the only class to have lost points during this break. Even Class B, who went down 150 in this exam was still at a net positive and was poised to take the place of Class A once the next semester began.
As it was, the current class standings were:
Class A: 958 (-200)
Class B: 1028 (-150)
Class C: 917 (+100)
Class D: 790 (+250)
Class D had experienced massive growth. The island exam could be explained away as a fluke, but no longer could we be ignored, looked down upon as simply a lesser class of defective students, doomed to fall to the wayside over the next three years.
Class A was the first class to fall beneath the threshold we were at on May 1st. They had officially become the first class to go down from our starting point, a worrying indicator of their future success.
"You really think it was worth it, Honami? Turning on your own class like that, and costing them 150 Class Points?"
"Ah, well it wasn't an easy choice." I could still see some indecision and regret at the results on her face. "But I don't think Class B was going to win this exam anyway, not the way we were. At least now we get something out of it, and we get to be Class A. I think that's worth it in the end."
She seemed to still harbour perhaps some doubts about her decision, but it was the road Ichinose had chosen. I could see she had the resolve to carry it through. She had changed drastically from the girl I first met.
"Bullshit. Being Class A is worth nothing right now. It don't mean shit until our last month at this school, and until then it's worthless. There's two classes about 100 points away, and at this rate Class D will beat everyone by thousands of points in our third year."
This was something I was sure Ichinose and Amikura had known, but I agreed that it was a valuable gamble. They now had an opportunity to take control of the class from Kanzaki, who was weaker than the team of two, and still retained their position as Class A. There were certainly worse outcomes that they had avoided by taking this risk.
"Ah, but Ayanokouji-kun owes us a favour."
"I take everything back, that's completely worth for you two."
They joked about the value of a favour from me. Of course, there was no contract stipulating that I owed them one, since nothing agreed to in this exam was enforceable, but I couldn't see a situation in which I wouldn't comply. There was no reason to back out, as doing so would only grow a bad-faith relationship, and I was confident I could turn the favour into my advantage.
I also just had to make sure we never directly competed until I could force them to use it. Then I would be in the clear. I had no problem helping out Class B with the favour if it meant crushing Class A or C.
Once again, I thought back to the girl who had given me an ultimatum. If I was the monster she thought I might be, Ichinose had promised to get me thrown out of school. I wonder how that girl would reconcile with the one who had just pulled down her own class. It was a fascinating change in the beautiful smiling girl before me, not a hint of regret or sadness in her for her actions.
Our conversation continued on for a while, as the number of students in the café slowly dwindled. We got quite a few odd looks, being a strange trio to meet up, but I was sure that as the years progressed, the leaders of different classes meeting up wouldn't become such a strange occurrence. It was a competition yes, but healthy relations and deals were a valuable part of it. Even Ryuuen, the tyrant leader of the grade, understood the value in good relations, and even with his own class that he ruled with an iron fist, he didn't take it too far, being willing to accept help from those he recognised as valuable.
Eventually though, Ryuuen made to leave, but before he did he shared with us some valuable information.
"You can consider yourselves safe enough for now. I've got high hopes for Sakayanagi, and I want to see how much I can fuck with her." He leaned forward saying this, a hostile grin forming on his face. "But don't worry. I won't forget about you two either. Sooner or later we're going to play again, and I'm going to come out on top."
"I'll be looking forward to it Ryuuen."
"Do you worst Ryuuen. Class B will be ready for you."
"Kukuku you better be. I don't want to have to deal with that weasel Kanzaki again. See you later."
With that one of the most dangerous students in the school left us to our drinks. The instant he did so however, Ichinose drooped slightly, the energy draining out of her.
"Ryuuen's a lot to deal with, isn't he?"
"He's certainly got character. You can't slip up once when he's around."
It seemed Ichinose was struggling to balance her ability to be nice and restrain her frustration around him, while he asked her questions that confronted the very being of who she was. It was a fine balancing act, and she had handled it marvellously.
"You don't feel concerned around me though," I observed.
"Eh, there's something about you Ayanokouji-kun. I feel like no matter what I do you'll just see right through me."
"Perhaps so, but you're not in this just for yourself anymore. You have a partner in Amikura, and a class to fight for." I couldn't have her giving up now. Not when she showed so much promise and had yet to come challenge me.
She thought for a moment before brightening. "You're right. It's not just about me anymore. My past, my problems, they're not important. I need to fight for my class. Thank you, Ayanokouji-kun. Maybe you really aren't as bad as I thought." She finished off in a slightly guilty tone, of having considered someone something they weren't, but this was the change I had been looking for.
Ichinose Honami. What will you do now, now that you no longer face such restraints? How far will you go for your class?
These past two weeks had been interesting. It was exactly the type of excitement I had been hoping for when I gave up on my ordinary life.
I was sure it was only going to get more interesting. Sakayanagi was someone I still hadn't had a chance to compete with yet, along with Nagumo who had made it clear he would crush me at some point. That led me to believe there were inter-grade competitions, which opened up a whole host of possibilities.
As for the students in my grade, they were still settling into this new environment. For most of them they hadn't expected this sort of competition, not at this level, and even the leaders were still unsure, taking baby steps, prodding and poking each other to test each other's limits.
I couldn't wait for them to start pushing those limits as far as possible. Who knew what could happen?
Authors Notes:
So, that's the end of Arc 4. I hope you enjoyed.
Honestly, i'm so fucking glad this is over. Writing this was one of the more mentally challenging things i've ever done, constantly checking the results, names of students, making sure there were no errors. My spreadsheet had hundreds of updates over the past month, it's been hectic. Not to mention i've had to entirely rewrite the overall plot for this fic based solely on this arc. Holy shit, I'm glad it's done.
It was a lot of fun though. This was my original idea for the fic, this arc in particular, and seeing it come to light, as much as it has changed over the months is really satisfying. I'm super happy with it, including the plot and the characters.
Did anyone see the twist coming? It might be a bit cheap, but i was stoaked to come up with it. If you look back, i never specifically mentioned that it was Ayanokouji's phone in Chapter 3. Hehe, sneaky genius author-san. My brain has melted, so that's it for now.
Ichinose character really going wild here. I'm going to have fun with her.
Over the next few days i'm going to be releasing four SS. I'm sure you can guess with reasonable likelyhood at who they're for, aside from Karuizawa which I already mentioned.
Arc 5 will be next. It's an emalgemation of Volume 4.5, but it's going to be diverging. It also won't have a strict plotline, much like 4.5, but there should be noticable differences, as well as hopefully a couple of original stories.
I'm talking KiyoKikyou not-date. Hype.
Anyways, that's all for today. As always, I hope you enjoyed!