September 27th, 3:31 PM.
"Sudou-kun, can I talk to you for a second? You don't have club today, right?" Horikita walked up to Ken, who was preparing to leave the classroom.
"It's 'bout the sports festival, I'm bettin'?" he replied.
"Yes. I would prefer if we talk about it somewhere secluded."
Many of our classmates were paying attention to their conversation, so it was a pretty bold thing to say so candidly. But then again, if it's about the sports festival, all of us have already agreed with Horikita's stealth strategy.
"Aight, sure. But I want Kiyotaka to come with us."
Ken looked at me with a serious expression. Some of our classmates turned to me, as well.
"Ayanokouji-kun? Why is that?" asked Horikita.
"I ain't so sure myself, but that's my condition." Ken crossed his arms as if he was prepared to wait for Horikita's answer but to his surprise, Horikita didn't waver an inch.
"You're in luck, then. Ayanokouji could already be considered as someone who's "partially involved" in this particular matter, so it's fine." Horikita turned around and walked out. "Let's go. I'm leaving the submission to you, Hirata-kun."
"Don't worry Horikita-san. I'll be sure to submit our participation table after we close up the classroom," he said.
"You really don't have to, Hirata-kun. It's not like you're on duty today..." said Azuma. She was one of the students who are assigned for today.
"It's fine, Azuma-san. Everyone has been working hard for the past few weeks. I could at least help you guys finish faster. You'll be able to have more rest that way."
"Sheesh, Hirata. We're always grateful for your kindness, but don't pass out on us before the sports festival because of a fever, okay? Most of us are wimpy and lanky, so losing you would be- Ack-?!" Onizuka's words were promptly stopped by a head smack from Makida. "Ow! That hurt, Sumu!"
"Shut up, you idiot," he said before looking at Hirata. "Don't mind him, Hirata. It's just his stupid way of telling you to not force yourself. All of us feel the same way."
"Yes, you don't have to worry. I know Onizuka-kun didn't mean anything bad."
Hirata has been proactive in helping the class in every possible way this month. Whenever he's not attending to his club or going on an after-school date with Karuizawa, he always spares some time to help out after class. That and his consistent leadership alongside Horikita when preparing for the sports festival... No wonder everyone was working hard. It's difficult to not get infected by Hirata's fervor.
September 27th, 3:34 PM.
The three of us arrived on the third floor to an empty hallway that connects a lot of vacant rooms (used for some club activities) to the main classrooms.
"Before anything else, I want to ask something just to make things clear. What's with Sudou-kun demanding your presence here? Is this a part of some sort of plan?" asked Horikita.
She wasn't angry or anything. She was just curious.
"No, not this time. Even I was surprised about this," I replied.
"Don't worry, Horikita. I don't know if Kiyotaka has somethin' planned or anythin' like that, but this certainly ain't part of it," he said.
"Then why? You said you weren't sure, but there's no way that's really the case, right?" she pried.
"Yeah. I thought that even if Kiyotaka's no longer the leader, he should still hear about this."
"You don't even know what I'm going to be talking about. What makes you think that Ayanokouji-kun needs to hear whatever our discussion would be?"
"Call it a gut feeling. You're the leader and I'm gonna be the lead athlete 'part from Hirata and Kiyotaka. I immediately assumed that this was goin' to be important. Was that wrong?" Ken explained.
Horikita put on a thinking face before facing him.
"You're sharper than I thought." (1)
"I've been 'round Kiyotaka for so long now. You could say that I was influenced by him even if it's just a lil' bit. Aren'tcha the same?" smirked Ken.
"I guess you're right," Horikita sighed.
"I'm right here, you know? Can you stop talking about me and get on with it?" Their conversation was starting to go in an embarrassing direction (for me), so I urged them to get to the point.
"To be honest, it's not that important... to the class, at least." Horikita started the discussion with a slightly guilty expression.
"What do ya mean?"
"In the last event, which is the 1200-meter Relay... According to the data, you're our first choice as the team's anchor."
"Me? Hmm... I get that, but I think Kiyotaka's a better choice. I'm confident with my runnin' speed, but wasn't Kiyotaka faster than me durin' practice?"
Ken and I were the top two runners during practice. Our times were 11.14 seconds and 11.05 seconds for the 100-meter dash, respectively. And for the 200-meter dash, they were 21.43 seconds and 21.19 seconds, respectively. We were extremely close, but I was always a bit faster than him.
"That's beside the point. Ayanokouji-kun has already requested to be the first person to run."
During a relay, the best strategy was to have the second-fastest person be the first runner followed by the third-fastest, and so on. The fastest runner would always come last as the team's anchor.
"Our times were very close. So I thought it didn't really matter."
"Ohh, I guess that's a good strategy if you don't wanna stand out," Ken shrugged. He knew me as a person, so he understood what I wanted to do.
"The fastest person behind the two of you was Hirata-kun with me following shortly after. Onodera-san would be our fifth runner, and the sixth runner to complete the line-up would either be Kushida-san or Matsushita-san, according to the numbers. I was supposed to optimize our roster, but I wanted to have the anchor position for this race." Horikita's seriousness made Ken curious.
"I personally don't wanna go against your decision since you're the leader. And it's not like you're replacin' someone for a slower runner. You're just tweakin' the order," he said. "But that makes me curious. What's this, all of a sudden? Accordin' to what ya said earlier, Kiyotaka's already partially involved. Whatcha mean by that?"
"It's your brother, isn't it?" I said.
Horikita was completely reserved about sharing her personal matters with others, but she decided to resolve herself this time. The class would be affected, after all.
"Your brother?" Ken tilted his head.
"Hey, Ken. Do you remember the glasses guy way back on the second day of school?"
"Glasses guy...? Ah, that serious-lookin' dude who stood on stage for a long time without sayin' anythin'? He sure made an impression. Even I hadn't forgotten that."
"Yeah. He was the student council president, remember? And as it turns out, he's also Horikita's older brother," I explained.
"I see... I knew he was the president, but I never thought he'd be Horikita's brother."
"Yes... The student council president is indeed my brother. I think he's going to be an anchor. That's why I want the position."
"You want to be an anchor just like your brother? Do you want to race against him or something?"
"Well, something like that..."
Ken raised an eyebrow. No one would understand something so vague, so I decided to help Horikita explain.
"Some stuff happened, so Horikita and her brother aren't really on speaking terms. She probably wants this opportunity to patch things up with him."
I didn't lie, but I didn't tell him the truth either.
"What about Hirata and Onodera?"
"I found lots of opportunities to tell them during practice. I thought the same would happen with you, but you were always occupied. I'm sorry if it was delayed until the last minute."
"So that's why you were forced to ask for my time up front," said Ken.
Well, given the topic, I assume Horikita would want to talk about this with the other person in a candid yet conspicuous way. But Ken didn't have any opportunities to be alone with her.
"Hey, Kiyotaka. Are you close with Horikita's brother?"
"Well, I wouldn't say that. I just happen to know what's going in between them."
"Ahh, so that's why she said you were "partially involved". I get it now." Ken turned to Horikita and nodded. "Alright, you can fix my position to wherever. It's not like anything would change as long as all five of us run our fastest."
"I'm thankful for your cooperation, Sudou-kun," Horikita responded with a slight bow.
"Is that all?" he asked. "I'm supposed to hang out with some of the guys today, you see."
"Actually, there's one more thing... Since Ayanokouji-kun is already here, I think this is a good time. However, I might end up giving you a lengthy explanation. Would that be alright?" asked Horikita.
"I'm fine. I don't really have any plans," I replied.
Ken took his phone and typed something. After putting it back in his pocket, he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.
"I made time. What is it?"
Horikita nodded before speaking.
"On October 3rd, next Sunday, right before 5:00 PM, I will send you the list for the Recommended-Participant portion of our roster. The same goes for you, Ayanokouji-kun, as well the other students competing in the Recommended-Participant events."
"Huh? I thought you're gonna keep us in the dark about this?"
"I changed my mind... Or at least, that's what I'll tell Hirata-kun and the other students. I never planned on completely keeping our line-ups a secret."
"In other words, you deliberately lied to most of our classmates?" asked Ken.
"Yes, I lied."
"I've got two things to ask you then. Why did you lie to Hirata and why did you tell me and Kiyotaka."
"All of it boils down to one answer..." Horikita's eyes turned sharp. "It's because I'm wary of a traitor. I lied to Hirata-kun because he wouldn't agree with me suspecting a classmate-- at least not right now where I don't have a solid basis. That's why I'm temporarily keeping him out of the loop. The opposite is true for the two of you. I don't mind telling you my true plan."
"So you're trusting us, huh?"
"But it's not like our innocence is guaranteed. What if one of us turned out to be the traitor," I asked.
"Then shame on me. I trusted the wrong people. I'll accept my loss right then and there." Horikita answered with a defeated expression.
"Hey, how can you say that so easily?" asked Ken.
"Let's say I become even more vigilant than I already am. Wouldn't that make me a leader who has zero trust in all of her allies? I might as well be fighting alone," Horikita smiled after giving Ken a gentle answer.
He froze up after seeing a completely different side of her. Unlike me, he wasn't privy to the gradual change in Horikita's mindset.
"Don't get me wrong. The reason why I'm keeping secrets right now is to make sure that I won't have to do so later. In the future, I want to lead Class A with each and every member of the class knowing my plan. However, I can't do that right now. I must assess whether or not someone could betray us."
"I get what you mean, Horikita. I really do. But it doesn't make sense. Why would any of our classmates betray us at this point? We're already in Class A. There would be no merit in doing so," replied Ken.
His concern wasn't without reason. It's hard to suspect your classmates let alone your friends. That goes double for us who were already at the top.
"We're in Class A right now, but I can't personally guarantee that we would stay in Class A. If a disaster happens and we get demoted, one of us might change sides. And that's already with the assumption that there are no traitors in our class right now. Remember, changing classes is possible with the use of private points. If a mole is hiding inside our class, then we're in big trouble."
"That costs 20 million private points, right? We would probably notice if someone has that much money."
"It's almost impossible to hide, yes. But if they're getting backed by another class, then it's doable."
Ken was holding the side of his head in thought. However, it didn't even take a minute before he groaned in annoyance and gave up.
"Aaargh, whatever! There's too much information!" he grunted. "It doesn't seem like Kiyotaka is against you, so I'll be on your side. But remember this, Horikita. My friends-- Airi, Akito, and Haruka-- they'll never betray the class. So protect them, as well."
"I promise," she replied.
"I understand what you wanna do for the class, so you can ask for my help if you ever need me. I'll keep my mouth shut about it, too." Ken turned to me and asked. "What about you, Kiyotaka?"
"With all due respect, I'd prefer to be left out of this. I don't like the idea of having a traitor inside the class, but I don't feel like going on a witch hunt, either." I gave them my honest answer.
"That's fine. I already expected your stance on this, Ayanokouji-kun."
"Alright, alright! Now that I kinda understand your motive, let's go back to your actions themselves. Can you explain your plan for the participation table?"
"In terms of gaining points on the festival itself, focusing on the Recommended-Participant competitions would be the right move. But if we're not careful, neglecting our roster for the All-Participant competitions might be our undoing in case of a leak."
"Wait a minute... This is a bit more complicated than earlier, so I'm starting to get lost. Please explain it to me like I'm a dumbass."
"Because you're a dumbass?" I teased.
*Schwoop*
*Whack*
Ken threw a punch at me, but I caught his hand before it could connect.
"Don't hit any other person who tries to make fun of you, alright, Ken?"
"Shut up, Kiyotaka. You and Akito are the only guys who would dare make fun of me."
Well, if we're talking about friendly banters, then I guess he's right. Someone like Ryuuen would surely dare to do so, after all.
"Sorry, Horikita. Please, go on."
The staid Horikita sighed.
"Let's create a hypothetical scenario, then. Let's say Class A and Class B had 10 students and we quantify their athletic abilities into the numbers 1 to 10."
"I'm the one with the label of 10, of course," said Ken.
"Sure, you are... Anyway, if they had a student for each level of athleticism, then under normal circumstances the match-ups would have an average of a 50-50 result, probability-wise."
"Ohh... Okay, I think I get it."
"But what if Class B gets a hold of Class A's participation table? Competitions like the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash are doomed. In this scenario, they can manipulate their own order and win up to 9 out of 10 match-ups."
"Hmm... So they'll pit their lankiest student against me while barely beatin' everyone...? That does seem like a landslide victory for the enemy."
"Only if they have information on our roster. Of course, we'll never know the truth until the sports festival has started." Horikita narrowed her eyes. "But you wouldn't want to find out the hard way, would you?"
"Yeah, I get what you mean."
"Well, my example was just hypothetical in the end. The concept is the same, but it'll never be that simple. Since they won't have information on how athletic most of our classmates are, then they'd have to make a rough estimate for a lot of the match-ups. There's also the possibility of underdogs overperforming," she explained. "It's simple on the surface, but it can be quite complicated. The main reason why I kept everything as hidden as possible was to prevent this in the first place." (2)
"On the other hand, our class would win by a large margin if we get a hold of their participation table."
"That's where traitors come in. It would be possible if someone was willing to sell their class out. But of course, that strategy also comes with a risk. The traitor might turn out to be a double agent, for example."
If we tackle the sports festival normally, then the only way to win is to perform better than everyone. Trying to look for shortcuts would be troublesome and risky which is pretty ironic.
"Ughh... All this scheming is making my head hurt."
"I had to do the same thing back when I was the class leader..." I sighed.
"I appreciate the two of you more now," said Ken, who didn't really sound sincere.
"I believe that Class A can hold its own. That's why I wanted the match-ups to be random at worst. If we can defend ourselves from any underhanded tactics, then our victory will at least depend on our own class's abilities," said Horikita.
Ken groaned as he stretched his arms.
"I hear ya loud and clear, Horikita. But you don't have to worry. I'm sure everyone will do their best. I was asked by Hirata to look over some of our classmates, ya know? I was personally coachin' them how to improve, so of course, they'll do well!"
"Weren't they just afraid of you?" I joked.
"Want me to punch ya again? Not that I'd ever land a hit."
"It's still scary, so please stop."
"You've changed quite a bit, Sudou-kun," Horikita commented.
As expected, Ken was again caught off-guard by her attitude. In his eyes, this was far from the usual Horikita.
"Hah, what are you sayin' all of a sudden, Horikita? Wasn't it you who changed? You were so stuck-up back then. You didn't even want anythin' to do with us," he shrugged. "Now you're speaking like a team player. It feels strange-- in a good way, though!"
Horikita smiled lightly in response.
"I could say the same to you, though. You weren't the type to listen at all, but you were pretty calm and collected this whole time despite your occasional overreactions," she replied.
If I look back on the first semester, I could never imagine these two having such a conversation. We've come a long way, and they've both grown to be assets for the class. Of course, they still have a lot of things to improve on.
"Both of you had changed. I can say that as a third party. And I'm sure it's not just you guys." I joined their conversation with a comment of my own.
"Ah, shucks. Let's get the hell outta here before everything gets weird. Hirata should be on his way to Chabashira-sensei right about now," said Ken.
"I guess so," she replied.
"Heh. In the end, no one got to see what was on that paper. All that's left now is to beat everyone during the actual-"
"Hey, Horikita-chan, Sudou, Ayanokouji!"
The three of us suddenly heard someone call our names. When we turned to see who it was, Ike was running towards us at full speed.
"Ike? 'The hell are you shouting and running for?" asked Ken.
"Ike-kun, is everything okay?" Horikita was concerned. Ike looked like he was in panic and distress.
"Did something happen, Ike?" I asked.
He huffed and puffed in exhaustion before breathing out to speak.
"I looked for you guys everywhere. You gotta go back to the classroom. Now!" he said.
"Why?"
"It's Ryuuen and his goons. They got Hirata cornered inside. They must be after the list!"
"What, Ryuuen-?!" Ken reacted in surprise. He couldn't have seen this coming.
"Let's go," said Horikita whose face was grim.
Author's Notes:
1. Assuming the importance of their talk is one thing, but Suzune was more impressed by Ken's move following that assumption which was to bring Kiyotaka to the table.
2. The strategy that they talked about was the one used by Ryuuen when Kikyou betrayed the class in the canon.
Let's discuss why Suzune was suddenly concerned with the possibility of a traitor.
Here are some stupid reasons that are wrong:
- Fanfic Author buffs Horikita
- Fanfic Author makes Horikita smarter than her canon counterpart
Actual reasons:
- She was aware of the previous Class A traitor's self-destructive actions and wary about the same thing happening in her class.
- Kikyou blatantly admitted that she would betray the class if it weren't for Kiyotaka. She needed to make preparations for that, too.
- Overall character development in general along with her learnings from observing Kiyotaka. Though she still has a long way to go, obviously. She'll be taking on Ryuuen and Arisu on her own, after all.
- In the canon, she learned the possibility of a traitor's existence the hard way. And it's not about Alter Horikita being smarter or skillful. Canon Horikita was just much more ignorant.