A/N: This and the next chapter are separate oneshots I uploaded from before the Class A series.
Y2V5 SPOILERS in the last few paras
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Volume 11
Event Selection Special Exam
Chess Match
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka POV
Sakayanagi's move surpassed my expectations. There were no safe routes anymore. I had to place my bet on the last chance I had at winning this battle.
I quickly began typing on my keyboard, writing out the move I had come up with. I hit enter, and the countdown of my timer stopped.
I leaned back and assessed. Not just the chess match, but all the external factors as well.
The selection of events had greatly favoured Class A, making it rather obvious to those in the know that external influence was involved.
Chabashira-sensei had mentioned that the Class Poll exam's initial draft allowed Criticism votes to be cast on members of other classes. With some private points that would have been an almost surefire way to have me removed.
Yet, every single first year teacher had protested vehemently, and ultimately the exam we received was one I could devise multiple ways to defend against. Did the teachers suspect ulterior motives from the Acting Director?
Looking at Hoshinomiya-sensei and Sakagami-sensei, I couldn't discern anything at the moment. Since their full attention was on the move that I had been waiting 10 seconds for. Horikita was putting her entire trust in my moves. Or, to be more precise, the text-to-speech narrating my moves.
I had assumed the 10 second delay before delivery was a smokescreen for external interference. Processing 2 characters was usually far quicker, even on free TTS websites. And this infrastructure was provided by the same government that had given each student a 100,000 yen earlier this year.
It should have been near instant, or perhaps indicated visually on the screen instead of a one-way headset.
"Splendidly done, Ayanokouji-kun. You've blocked all paths and countered me perfectly."
"You resign?"
"It's a selfish request, but could we perhaps play this to the end?"
"I don't mind."
I could oblige her. She had forced me to use my 100% for the first time in quite a while.
Horikita too would probably enjoy playing the checkmate against Class A with her own two hands. The morale boost would be immense. Especially for her, who was obsessed with Class A.
I, on the other hand, was confused at the lack of interference. Tsukishiro could have gotten rid of my protection point with ease. All he had to do was bring a White Room instructor; their skill levels would guarantee a loss against Sakayanagi anyway. Yet, he didn't. What is he doing?
Arisu Sakayanagi was truly worthy of her 'genius' title. Especially if, by her own admission, she was awake for the entirety of last night due to excitement. Her flushed cheeks at the beginning of the exam convinced me that she wasn't lying.
So, I kept inputting the moves. Until even Hashimoto realised where this was going.
[Oi oi oi! Sakayanagi!] He was shouting desperately in panic.
Did the special exam's result scare him? Or was it the fact that his Princess was defeated by someone he had investigated and deemed average?
Hashimoto's sole goal was to graduate as a member of Class A after all. He had only followed Sakayanagi as a means to victory.
Weeks ago, I had witnessed him sneak out and talk to Ryueen about his current hiatus in leadership. His motives were obvious: build bridges to all classes so he could transfer to whatever class dominated.
I wasn't sure where he'd get the 20 million points, though. Sakayanagi wasn't foolish enough to make him a Class Bank. Did he judge himself to be so useful that another class would pay for his entry? Well, all that didn't matter to me now.
"-This is my loss. A wonderful game, this is everything I expected" I heard her voice again.
The game had ended as we both envisioned it.
"Checkmate". Horikita breathed out as if tired from a marathon. This must have increased her trust in me greatly. And I'm sure that in her mind she was currently praising her Nii-san for his brilliant intuition in acknowledging me while most people in the school didn't even know my name.
"It was a good game." I freely admitted. I could see Hashimoto and Horikita shake hands after she thanked me profusely from her headset. Hashimoto's smile could compete with Kushida in terms of how fake it was.
Hoshinomiya-sensei and Sakagami-sensei stared with wide eyes. Then, Sakagami-sensei shook his head and began with the final announcement, but he still looked like he couldn't believe the result.
"Class C has won the seventh event. Therefore, the winner of this special exam, with 4 wins and 3 losses, is Class C. Class A's performance was also quite remarkable."
The last event was over. For the time being, I would have to come up with possible explanations for my miraculous chess ability that had appeared out of nowhere and saved our class from a recognized genius.
However, the thrill of victory was enough to drown out the questions; this had happened multiple times after all. Our class was getting used to getting saved at the very last minute.
If this continued till our third year, my classmates would likely stop trying to compete and start praying before every special exam instead.
"That was a great match. Class A did a super job, but it seems like Sae-chan's secret weapon is on a different level in academics, arithmetic AND chess."
Hoshinomiya-sensei was, of course, more focused on her rivalry with our homeroom teacher. She came near my ear and whispered, "Sensei doesn't dislike kids as talented as you, Ayanokouji-kun. But if you become an enemy, Sensei will hate you the most."
"Hoshinomiya-sensei," Sakagami reprimanded. "Just congratulating him, hehe~" She backed off quickly while I checked my notifications.
Well, she didn't need to worry about that anyway. I wasn't planning on getting involved in class battles anytime soon
[Thank you very much for all your effort. I appreciate it.] Horikita was certainly in a good mood. Still, I didn't feel like meeting her just now.
I got off the chair and met the strangely elated Sakayanagi. Well, I said strangely but I supposed I understood her feelings.
To a lesser extent, that is. She was the one counting days between our meetings, after all. I was almost surprised she didn't throw a tantrum at her loss; it would have suited her appearance.
"You seem pleased."
"Fufu, you've given me what I've desired for so long. How could I not be?"
"I see, that's good."
"Would you care to walk together to the dorms?"
"Not at all." I nodded at her to make up for my lack of emotion.
Her invitation was welcome. I was starting to enjoy the time spent with her and both of us knew it would be rather limited from now on. Especially considering the attention I would draw from this victory. A protection point was well worth all of that though.
Especially if there really was a White Room student attending next year, as Tsukishiro had told me.
On the way, we talked about chess and the classes, then moved on to ordinary topics. "Oh, by the way, have you heard? Yoshida-kun from class A—". I felt strangely grateful for her slow speed.
In another room, Tsukishiro sighed in annoyance. The machines and chess personnel he had arranged for hadn't met government approval. He wasn't a chess maestro; he did his part in rigging the events against Class C but that was the extent of his power here.
A protection point would complicate things. If he was actually aiming to expel him, that is. Either way, his priority right now would be to get rid of the protection point as soon as possible.
At least, once he found the courage to make this phone call. Ayanokouji-sensei would not be pleased to hear that all he had done so far was gift his son a shield against expulsion instead of forcing him into a corner.
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I got on the elevator. I had woken up earlier so that the chances of running into a classmate was low, and luckily, that seemed to be the case. That didn't stop me from feeling the gazes on me, even as the conversation continued.
I was confident I had seen these boys with Katsuragi before, though if asked now they would probably acknowledge Sakayanagi as their leader. The proof of that was evident in the Class Poll, where about every Class A student had obediently voted as Sakayanagi told them to.
I got off first and proceeded towards the gymnasium for the graduation ceremony. It proceeded with a rather warm speech from Horikita Manabu, in complete contrast to his cold demeanour at the Club Fair.
He seemed to have retained his position as class A despite Nagumo's brazen tactics in the Mixed Training Camp. That must have been music to his sister's ears.
We walked in an orderly manner towards class. Once we reached, the whispers began.
On the blackboard, the class points were rather shocking:
Class A- 971(-30) Sakayanagi's class
Class B- 550(-90) Ichinose's class
Class C- 508(+190) Ryueen's class
Class D- 507(+130) Horikita's class
"What are the odds..."
"1 point, seriously?"
"Hey, who cares? We're all on the same field now!"
"So the top 2 classes lost to the bottom 2... I always knew Sensei was lying about the gap in abilities!"
"Good stuff, Ayanokoji!"
"Woah, the gloomy loner actually has talent?" Thanks a lot, Kei.
"He isn't gloomy, he's just mature!" I idly considered dating Satou for a second, then remembered that I already had a girlfriend.
"That's not nice, Karuizawa-san. Ayanokouji-kun is among the highest contributing students in this class. His grades have begun rising too!"
Hirata, the ever reliable defender of justice spoke up in my defence. It was nice to see him in good spirits after the events leading to Yamauchi's expulsion. I sincerely hoped we wouldn't have an exam to expel a classmate anytime soon.
Though I was surprised Shinohara didn't speak up. After all, she was always the first to criticise me in all the react fanf- I shook my head.
"The results look extremely optimistic compared to what we had a year ago." Horikita seemed to be in good spirits despite the absurdly tiny gap we had been overthrown.
It would seem Ryueen had catapulted his class back into the game with a solid 190 point boost. He didn't even have a protection point.
Putting his own expulsion on the line and coming out on top while keeping Kaneda safe, that was something neither I nor Sakayanagi had foreseen. Truly a tactic worthy of Ryueen.
The members of the Ayanokouji group were all cheerful too. Keisei especially, as the one most desperate to reach Class A among all of us, had a rare congratulatory smile.
Kushida, however, had a different idea.
"Ayanokouji-kun, you're amazing! I heard you were able to answer a complex Flash Arithmetic puzzle that only Sakayanagi-san could, and defeated her in chess, the only game she plays! On top of that, you were able to answer the hard questions from the written tests!"
Many eyes widened. There was a sudden shocked silence. I simply stared blankly at her innocent and cheerful visage.
Kushida going in for the attack at this stage seemed premature. Attacking me just some time after she had been exposed in aiding Yamauchi's scheme would definitely cause at least some harm to her image: her most precious possession. Someone as connected and resourceful as her must have gone around inquiring about the details in the special exam.
She must have appeared suspicious.
Ryueen certainly wouldn't try that for the foreseeable future. Was Tsukishiro making contact with a student right after his failure at using Sakayanagi to expel me? That could be a possibility.
I felt that something went wrong for him during the exam; I fully expected him to mockingly congratulate the both of us and assert his position as the one in charge of the Event 'Randomiser'. However, we didn't even see him.
In that case, perhaps another Class Poll would be coming soon. He would benefit from causing friction with accusations of my holding back.
Or maybe this was just Nagumo taking revenge for ruining his plans with Ichinose and upstaging him at the relay. He controlled his year and was now President; he probably had a huge stock of private points. Even a favor from him could be quite valuable.
I couldn't say for certain which of them was behind this. However, at the moment, none of that mattered.
"My mind has always been quick at calculations. That's probably why I was able to win the chess match too." Seeing that Horikita was still staring at Kushida with a conflicted expression instead of defending me, I tried to bury this issue instantly.
"Oh wow, that's amazing! And the written tests?" This was annoying. The teachers had promised to keep what happened there under wraps. Evidently, the students didn't.
Keisei's expression had clouded over, somewhat. As someone with trust issues, he would probably side with me if I called her out for targeting me right now. However, the vast majority wouldn't. Thus, this would probably end with him doubting whether I was as average as I looked.
I scrambled for an excuse. Masterpiece of social interaction, I was not. A side glance at Horikita seemed to wake her up as effectively as the pinch in Sudo's trial.
"Ayanokouji-kun and I have been going over the most likely questions to be asked for the past few days. It's not like we won all the academic events. I simply made sure he wouldn't hold us back as commander."
She stated this with her usual confidence. Not a bad response at all. Kushida just hmmmed and tilted her head while putting a finger on her chin.
Unfortunately, the class still wasn't totally on her side. She was still seen as condescending, while the confused-looking Kushida was our class angel. Mutters grew.
"Sounds like a lie. Has he been hiding his abilities?"
"Oi! Are you doubting Suzune, who's brought us this far?"
"N-no it's just weird. Maybe he's forcing her to cover for him? I mean, he beat Sakayanagi-san at chess? You know, one of the smartest students in the school?"
"Maybe Horikita-san found a loophole?"
"Sakayanagi-san must have held back out of pity"
"Losing the special exam over pity? This is the girl who toyed with Yamauchi-kun and expelled him!" Ike's face grew sullen at that, while I was confused at why Nene Mori stated that like it was an achievement.
"Maybe he cheated?"
"He could have been holding back. Remember the relay? 'Spike of adrenaline' my ass!"
"I mean, he got us the class points when it mattered! So, it's fine right!"
"I don't know, Kei-chan. He could have helped us much more!" Well, she wasn't wrong about that. But why would I help you?
Kushida smiled widely at the effect of her words. "I'm not sure that makes sense but whatever you say, Horikita-san! After all, you're the leader, right?" Adding fuel to the fire. Horikita's eyes narrowed at the hidden insult.
I just sighed and stared at her, while calculating my future moves. Certainly, it was dangerous to allow her to alienate me from the class. Holding back my abilities or cheating in a special exam: both were serious accusations. Yet, she didn't directly accuse me at all.
Kushida was certainly clever; I had to admit that. She wasn't really a threat though, merely an annoyance. A rather influential annoyance. I would have to get rid of her as soon as it became convenient. Either that, or transfer classes. However, there were still things I had to do first.
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Y2V5 Unanimous Vote
The class was shouting at Kushida and her expulsion was all but guaranteed.
There was only one possible complication: Horikita Suzune. I had left the task of taking care of her to Horikita. However, it had been a year and she had shown no results.
Kushida was the reason Ryueen got a hold of 6 VIPs and figured out the pattern, thus winning the Zodiac exam. Then there was the sports festival humiliation for Horikita. And she would have caused problems in the paper shuffle, necessitating my intervention to prevent Horikita from being expelled.
Horikita's bright idea to make a deal proved to be utterly useless, apart from finally sating my curiosity about her past. She targeted me in the Class Poll exam anyway.
The attention I received was now mixed and my position was somewhat controversial after the Math results gave credence to the theory that I was hiding my abilities.
Horikita did her best, but it simply wasn't enough to secure my position in their eyes. Mistrustful glances weren't rare, though I had a few people in my corner. Kei proved much more effective in this regard.
Keisei simply shut his ears to those accusations back then, but the results of that Math exam confirmed his deepest fears anyways. He couldn't stand the 'betrayal.' Despite making up under Haruka's careful watch, our relations were still not close to normal. Even somebody like me disliked this new distance.
Still, it was clear to me that Kushida has so far been a net negative.
I had better things to do than wait around for another year. Takuya Yagami would have to be dealt with soon, and I still wasn't sure about more White Room students. Or Tsukishiro's intentions in challenging me rather than expelling me. Nanase's story and her always hanging out with Amasawa was further raising my suspicions.
Kushida had served as excellent bait for my enemies till now, but I had simply thwarted her attempts during the Deserted Island Special Exam and let her be.
And now, she had targeted Horikita and I for expulsion once again.
I will end this now. The alternative was something I would rather avoid. Not just for my friendship, but also for the sake of Class B's morale and Horikita's integrity.
Horikita finally opened her eyes. Her expression looked calm and focused. Her words were exactly as I predicted.
She had weighed Kushida against 100 class points, and found her more valuable. She might have considered her against 350 points and found her lacking.
However, Kushida against the unity of the class and the trust in her words? I was confident the thought hadn't even occurred to her. She was letting her emotions get in the way.
Because Horikita Suzune still wasn't on the level of a leader. The fact that 16 of 38 people had just voted to expel her made it clearer than ever. Our exposé of Kushida should have regained some trust.
And now, she was planning to betray that just minutes after.
"I don't think these revelations are beautiful. But it's not only you that I find ugly, but also the people who are now calling for you to be expelled from the school for leaking their secrets."
The unexpected scolding and reprimanding of the classmates was unbearable.
"Why us? We've done nothing wrong!"
"You guys told Kushida-san a secret you didn't want anyone to know. Why is that?"
"Well, that's because I thought I could trust Kushida-san! And yet..."
"Yes. Kushida-san was trusted more than anyone else in the class. Usually, it's not easy to gain the trust of people. And there are probably only a few people in your life with whom you can share a secret that you can't even tell anyone. Of course, I don't admire Kushida-san for leaking your secrets. It's understandable that you're surprised that there's more to her than meets the eye. But we all have two sides to our story, don't we?" It would be a rare person who lives a life of honesty and truth.
"Hey, but it doesn't matter; she kept voting in favour. That's unacceptable, isn't it?"
"Right. As for what you did to get myself and Ayanokōji-kun expelled, you made a choice that was too selfish. You must bear a heavy weight of responsibility. But instead of making her pay for it with expulsion, you can use her skills to pay us back many times over in the future."*
"Oh, but she has used her skills to pay us back many times already. The Zodiac Exam, the sports festival and her attempt in the Paper Shuffle, the Class Poll. Need I say more?"
I took control of the conversation. My social skills were not up to par but that had never stopped me before. I had to do this while Kushida couldn't think clearly.
"Ayanokouji-kun.." Horikita stared at me. Her eyes showed resolve and pleading. It was a shame her plea would go unanswered.
Kushida took the opportunity to interject. "Oh yes, why do you think Ryueen was able to figure out the pattern when nobody else could. Why do you think Horikita-san was targ-"
"Stop, Kushida-san. Don't go any further. You won't be able to turn back." Horikita interrupted
"Turn back? You-"
"Go on, Kushida. I want to hear about how much you've struggled." Two can play that game. Horikita's stare turned to me with a deep frown, but I kept my eyes fixed towards Kushida.
"Ha! You don't care at all,do you, Ayanokoji-kun? Yes, I leaked the participation table, the list of VIPs. I submitted Class C's questions and tried to leak our own. All of this to take down Horikita Suzune!"
"As the class leader, I recommend we vote against expelling such a capable student. Her talents could be extremely vital in reaching Class A."
But it was too late. Our classmates stared at Kushida in rage. The damage she had caused us would tally up to far more than a 100 class points. 300 class points? Debatable, but without external intervention, her actions would have easily crossed that number.
The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Excluding Hirata, Kushida was the biggest presence. Not just in our class, but she had gained the trust of the entire school. Even the average third year senpai knew of her as a sweet angel, second only to Honami Ichinose. Her stunt with spilling the secrets had made her a danger. Not even her closest friends were spared.
"It's too late, Horikita. She has already cost us a lot. The question now comes down to 350 class points, the value of your word and the morale of the class or Kushida's presence"
"I acknowledge her defects. I myself have suffered due to her betrayals. But her academic and physical abilities are necessary to-"
"How long?"
"What do you mean?"
"How long do you intend on sheltering her. It's been over a year now, you know. You failed before, what makes you think you'll tame her this time?"
"Hey!" Kushida interrupted angrily, going for my bait. "I'm not some dog for you to tame. Just get me out Horikita, or I'll drop out myself and you get to hang an innocent for my crimes. Hehe~ that sounds fantastic actually, let's go ahead and do it!"
The class went into a loud uproar, but that was nothing special. Just another day in our class.
"I, for one, will always vote against Kushida Kikyo. I won't budge on that." I declared my intent. I heard instant support from Kei's group. Not just her, voices of support rose from practically everyone.
The attention I received made for an unpleasant feeling, but ultimately, I would rather enjoy 3 years of freedom than 1 year of peace. Lately, Nagumo had taken that peace from me anyway. The power of influence was truly terrifying.
Horikita just stared at the ground in defeat. Even she knew an unsalvageable situation when she saw one.
I wondered if she thought I was defending Airi Sakura, her intended victim? She had no idea of what happened in the Island Exam or on the Rooftop, after all. A false accusation of that magnitude could have taken me out of school and directly into that man's hands if I wasn't prepared thoroughly. And considering the difference in our reputations at the time...
Well, I didn't need to dwell on that. That evidence is unusable now, and reading her moves was a trivial matter. I just didn't enjoy being on my guard 24/7.
"So, what will it be? Huh, huh?" Kushida's true self was in peak form today. Among the shouting against Kushida and Horikita herself, our leader sighed in resignation. "So, this is the path you chose for us?" She muttered. I wasn't sure who she was talking to.
Finally she shook her head. "We're going to vote to expel Kushida Kikyo. That is all."
[Student Selection:]
Expel Kushida Kikyo from the school.
[Results of the twentieth round of voting:]
38 in favour
0 against
Chabashira-sensei, who had been watching the exchange, forgot to report the end of the exam and just looked at the amused Kushida. The class simply looked tense and secretly relieved that she hadn't start leaking their secrets again.
"Ah, ah, Chabashira-sensei. Please proceed." The invigilator, who had so far been silent and calm, except for the minimum of cautions and warnings, seemed to have forgotten to remind us about the signal for the end of the special examination.
"With regard to the expulsion of Kushida Kikyo from the school by a unanimous vote in favour, the last task is completed. The choice is accepted and 100 class points will be awarded. Just to be clear, there is only one way to undo this expulsion. Only if you have 20 million private points at this moment and use them..."
It was Chabashira-sensei who tried to continue the explanation, as obligated, but stopped halfway.
"I don't think I need to explain any further." The class wouldn't even try. Even if we collected all the private points of all the students in our class, we would never reach 20 million points.
"The other three classes have already finished their special exams, but I'm going to ask you to go home right away today. As for Kushida, you will have to come with me to the staff room afterwards, so stay in the classroom."
"Can I get back my phone, Sensei? I need to do just one last thing." Many faces paled in realization. Unfortunately, nobody could stop her. Not even me.
I didn't care anyway. I simply nodded at Haruka and Airi who sent me wide smiles.
I had a surprise from Airi waiting for me, after all.
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