4 days had passed since Horikita Manabu's defeat and the first Class D exams. Sora was sitting in the Keyaki café with Suzune Horikita and his younger sister Shiro.
" That strategy seems to have worked for this time, it doesn't seem to pay off in the long run though."
"Yeah. The exams seem to bring private points to the classes based on results. We don't gain anything in points with this strategy so it won't help us advance to class A. It was an emergency measure, but our next goal will be to teach Class D students how to study properly."
Sora and Suzune were reviewing the exams that had just finished; their strategy had been to ask the whole class not to write anything on their papers so that everyone would get a mark of 0.
Since the rule for passing was to have a score of at least half the average, this meant that with an average of 0 everyone passed by default.
To ensure that such a strategy worked smoothly, everyone agreed not to take any pens out on the table, and to keep an eye on each other. The first student to start writing would push all the others to do the same, in which case it would be everyone for themselves, the worst-case scenario for class D, which would have suffered a lot of losses.
"We were lucky, with unstable people like Kouenji it could have turned out much worse."
"Yes, Kouenji is not generally open to negotiation however given that the exercise consisted of asking him to do nothing, it suited him perfectly."
Kouenji, a brilliant student in class D, never got involved in the class and focused only on himself. He already had his future mapped out by the end of high school, so there was no reason for him to try harder than he did.
However, his unstable nature showed in any case that such strategies were not viable in the long term.
"We've been able to identify the weakest profiles in the class, and we're going to find a solution for each of them. As for you Suzune... I'd say you can handle Sudou!"
Sora replied with a teasing little smile; he'd clearly noticed that Sudou had started to have a crush on her since she'd defended him in class, so she was in the best position to motivate him to work.
"He's already well motivated..."
Shiro added as she sipped on her juice, since that incident he seemed to be showing a decisive resolve to prove himself to Suzune.
"Even though he's shown positive sides, he's still rather unstable however as long as he shows investment I won't mind helping him."
As usual, Suzune Horikita was very serious, completely ignoring the jokes she received. It was true that people like Sudou could quickly fall into old habits. At the moment, Suzune was what was driving him forward, but if that reason disappeared, he'd be back to his old self.
"Yes, we have to make sure that he places some importance on studies and discipline on his own."
"But that's not the only problem..."
Shiro said, putting her mobile phone on the table, she had written down in her notes the full names of the other students who were risking their place in this high school at the moment.
"Sakura Airi... I don't know who that is."
Suzune said, rummaging through her memories.
"She wears red glasses and has long red hair, she never talks and is very discreet around people so I'm not surprised you don't know her."
Sora reminded her, remembering her face simply because he thought she was very cute, but he didn't dare say it because he felt he was about to be hit by a compass.
"So what's her problem? Isn't she academically good?"
"Her results seemed pretty low on the mock exam. More generally, I'd say her problem isn't just academically, but also in terms of her personality; she's so quiet that she seems to be a loner within the class."
"I see, it's true that we need to have a very close-knit class if we hope to achieve our goals. If we don't end up in class A by the end of high school, we'll have spent three years fighting for nothing, it's out of the question."
Class D was fragile to begin with; if it wasn't completely united, then it was never going to succeed. No one knew anything about Sakura Airi's skills, she might have hidden talents she hadn't exploited, it was essential to know everyone's potential if Sora and Shiro were to form the ultimate army.
"Ike, Yamauchi, Sudou, Sakura, Hondou and others... class D still has a long way to go."
It's true that if you took into account all the profiles that were causing concern, you'd quickly arrive at a dozen students who could risk expulsion at any moment. If the rest of the D class gave their all to their studies, then the class average would rise, and if the class average rose, then it became all the more complicated for the students at the bottom of the class to keep up.
"It looks like some students are going to have to hold back on their academic abilities until everyone is up to speed, we especially need to avoid having too high a class average, if only in the first year."
"Yes, with Shiro we'll keep our results towards the middle, we'll increase them as the class progresses."
"Six weeks have already gone by... we mustn't waste a moment, we're soon approaching the middle of the term, which means..."
The wind blew lightly outside and could be heard knocking on the trees as Sora and Shiro listened to Suzune talk about the situation in Class D, a heavy mood upon them, thinking of the next big step ahead.
"The special exams are coming up... is that what you mean?"
"If these exams push classes against each other then a class will need coordination to win. For that to happen, students need to have a modicum of trust in each other."
"Yeah... in other words, if we don't get everyone to give it their all over the next few days, it'll be hard to imagine us winning a special exam and without those victories the gap we'll have with the other classes will only become more consequential..."
Suzune could clearly feel the pressure on her shoulders, listening to Sora's explanations with a weight on her heart, realizing once again the mountains still to climb.
"I don't feel it."
"What?"
Shiro's eyes turned to Suzune, Sora was looking at her seriously, something seemed to be bothering her but they couldn't understand what it was. Her gaze was dark, fixed fully on Sora.
"Your anxiety, I don't sense it, the situation doesn't seem to bother you at all, yet we're last and the class we're targeting has at least triple the class points. I know you beat my brother but... this situation is completely different, don't rest on your oars."
She said, with an assertive tone, looking them straight in the eye, they seemed so relaxed she couldn't make sense of it. Sora and Shiro looked at each other for a few seconds, a little surprised, then turned to her with smiles on their faces.
"Of course we do, we feel the stress fully... simply the situation excites us so much that this feeling seems to take over everything else."
"Excitement? How is that possible?"
"Our conditions are disadvantageous, our goal is really ambitious and our chances of success seem pretty slim, for people like us... it's like the ultimate challenge, which we owe it to ourselves to succeed. If we end up giving up the pursuit of these kinds of goals, our life loses its meaning you know."
" So you're telling me that you live to overcome difficulty and triumph?"
"A life without goals isn't worth living, nobody but yourself will give meaning to your life you know?"
"If we follow your reasoning, you could have given your life a much less complicated meaning than the one you're giving it. Why go to so much trouble?"
"We feel most alive when we find ourselves immersed in anxiety and complications, as long as there's a solution, we'll continue to feel alive."
" ... Why?"
"Because..."
Sora smiled, thinking of his past and his phases of depression, gently sipping his juice as he felt the soft wind pass through his hair.
"Life can be quite cruel, when you take the time to reflect on all the atrocities that go on in this world, within this very city, this country or across the globe, you realize that we live quite a miserable existence... yet..."
"Yet?"
"I think in our own way... succeeding in beating increasingly impossible challenges in video games allows us to insult the universe in turn and tell it that despite all the obstacles imposed on us, as long as there's a potential victory, however improbable, we'll seize it."
"I understand, but that doesn't change the reality of the situation."
Suzune cut in coldly, as if to remind them that no matter how much they convince themselves otherwise, their efforts won't change the misery people are going through.
"We know, we've told ourselves more than once, that we'd have loved to live in a world where everything was decided by games. In such a world, we would have done everything to abolish misery. But no matter how many times we tell ourselves, it never happened, it never will, and we know we'll never have enough time in a lifetime to change things, we're just two simple gamers, so we took refuge from the world, in our little room, and ignored humanity."
"You're cowards."
Suzune sliced again as if a second arrow struck them directly in the heart.
"But I'm one too, after all I've isolated myself from everyone thinking they weren't up to my standards and in the end all I've done is keep losing. In the end, I wonder if I didn't do it simply out of fear of facing the others, refusing to believe that I could be beaten, because if I only lost once then..."
"Then you'd tell yourself you'd never beat your brother. But you know now that he can be beaten, he's tasted defeat and to tell you the truth, I think he's tasted defeat more than once, but he's picked himself up and moved on, and you've got to learn to do the same, otherwise class D will crumble at the slightest failure, and there will be failures."
Suzune nodded, this was only the beginning of her development and that of Class D, all the students had managed to do so far was to become aware of their strengths and weaknesses, but knowing that wasn't enough to win. There was always a difference between theory and reality, and Sora knew that they would have to endure many trials that would test the stability of the D class. When that happened, the most important thing would be to observe how Class D really behaved and how they could improve.
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As Sora returned to the classroom, he scanned around to see who was present. Some of the girls were still talking amongst themselves, while Yukimura was immersed in his book and Ike and Yamauchi were reading a manga magazine together.
The one who caught Sora's eye was Sudou, who was sitting cross-legged on his desk, seemingly irritated by something. Sora approached him.
"You don't look well, what's the matter?"
Sudou looked at him for a second before looking down again, blowing his nose.
"Some people are starting to get on my nerves!"
"Who?"
"It's at training... there's a C-class player who doesn't seem to be cooperating with me but I don't know the reason. Does he not trust me simply because I'm class D?!"
Sudou pounded his fist on his desk, if people started playing against him, it would affect the team's individual and collective performance which could have an influence on Sudou's career.
"Class C, hm? Have you tried talking to him?"
"No, but it looks like he wants to talk to me, he wanted to have a chat tonight after training."
"Hm? Why didn't he talk to you directly? It would have saved you time."
"I don't know... he just said he'd like to see me because we had to talk about something important. I can't wait to see what he has to say!"
Sudou seemed increasingly wound up, looking forward to this discussion.
" Whatever he tells you..."
"I mustn't get carried away I know, I've understood it, I won't cause any more trouble."
He added, blowing out his nose, it was contrary to his core nature but the fact that he was aware of it was already a good start according to Sora.
Sora headed for his desk, Shiro who had been held up in the corridors by some of the girls in the class arriving shortly afterwards. Another girl who was so discreet that people forgot all about her also entered the classroom: Sakura Airi. She was cleaning her glasses, for the first time her face was properly visible.
"This is..."
"Mh?"
Sora turned to Shiro, whose eyes were wide open, as if she'd just seen a ghost.
"Shiro?"
Shiro didn't answer her big brother right away and went to write something on her phone. A few seconds later, she turned the screen towards Sora and showed him the image of an idol called Shizuku.
"Doesn't she look familiar?"
"Mhh..."
Sora leaned forward and inspected the image for a few seconds, exercising his imagination, suddenly he had the revelation Shiro wished to show him and quickly turned to Sakura to make the comparison.
"Ehhh....."
He shouted aloud, some students in the class turned to him, he apologized in a small voice and leaned back against his chair, whispering with Shiro.
"What the hell is she doing here?! And how did you even notice her?!"
"What a stupid question bro... you were supposed to recognize her too, especially you who adores idol magazines..."
"I... I don't have the same memory as you!"
"It wasn't a complicated memory though..."
Sora couldn't help looking at her again, even if the angle wasn't the best and her glasses camouflaged her face well. He understood better why someone like her was in this class. A popular idol of the net turned out to be the shyest girl in the class, which fitted in well with the current image of class D and its many flaws.
"She hasn't posted for a few weeks on her social media whereas she used to actively do so, so it fits with the start of classes here."
Shiro clarified, going to inspect her social media on phone, it was possible for students to access websites even if they couldn't communicate on them by logging in.
Shiro had noticed that the last post was a few days before classes started, nothing after that, whereas she used to post at least once a week.
"Looks like there's no doubt anymore..."
Sora was still speechless, he who imagined all kinds of scenarios, he could never have anticipated this particular one.
"Shiro... I think I've found the person I'm going to help with the studying!"
Sora began to laugh like a demon, already imagining a whole host of situations with Sakura Airi. His illusions were interrupted by a kick from Shiro. Despite her small size, Shiro knew how to aim at vital points to cause pain.
"I wonder why such a popular girl on the net turns out to be so shy in real life..."
Shiro wondered as she watched her, her pictures beaming and her smile showing strong confidence, it was almost hard to believe it was the same person.
"You know, celebrities on the Internet often embody a role they can take refuge in, people often have a public side and a hidden side. It looks like Shizuku is Sakura's hidden side, the one she only dares to show on the Internet."
Sora added, it was rare for humans to be authentic in their behavior no matter what the situation. The only ones Sora knew in this class at the moment were Horikita and Kouenji. These two people behaved the same no matter what the situation or who they were talking to.
Sakura didn't seem to want to show her other identity here; given her shy nature, she would certainly hate to be the center of attention. Sora continued to watch her from afar for a few seconds, then moved on, not yet sure how he would deal with her case, but he was certain that this detail Shiro had found would be essential to Sakura's progress in Class D.
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Classes came to an end and the students gradually began to leave. Sudou had relaxed but still seemed a little nervous, and got up to leave for training. Sora, who wasn't far away, put a hand on his shoulder, wanting to talk to him.
" Be careful, Sudou."
Sudou, who hadn't expected it, seemed a little irritated; even though he was aware of his shortcomings, it didn't please him that Sora was watching him so closely. He jostled his shoulder a little to remove his hand and nodded before setting off again.
Sora was mainly concerned because the person who had caused Sudou's irritation was a member of the C class. He had seen very clearly in the security cameras the dictatorship that had taken hold in class C.
"Say Shiro, if you were a class leader right now, what would be the main instruction you'd give all your students?"
Sora and Shiro began walking down the corridors, Sora starting a pertinent discussion with his sister.
"Certainly not to cause any trouble and to study properly, that's all we can do right now to maintain our class in the rankings and move up the ranks."
"Precisely, not causing any trouble. Now let's imagine you were a Class C student and you were under the sway of a dictatorship, what would your priority be?"
" Definitely... to obey so as not to be subjected to violence."
Yes, that's what any normal student would do, behave so as not to be subjected to violence. In other words, a Class C student would never dare disrupt a club's activities and risk the reputation of his class.
Sudou had said that this class C student seemed to be refusing to play with him, which affected Sudou's performance but could also affect the reputation of class C, since the person causing the problem was a class C student.
The coach could make a report to sanction Class C for the bad behavior of one of their members. This meant one of two things: either the student in question wanted to sabotage his class and didn't fear the consequences, or... it was all part of their plan.
Sabotaging his class didn't make much sense; it served no purpose other than to make the student suffer violence from the other members of his class. They might even force their exclusion.
The most likely scenario, then, was that the behavior of the student in class C was in their plans. It was potentially an instruction from their leader, and the target they had chosen was Sudou. It was not difficult to understand that Sudou had a short temper, which made him the ideal target.
Sora didn't yet know what Class C was up to, but he was convinced that this student's behavior was not random and that Sudou was the victim of a Class C attack. He then explained his theory to Shiro, who felt her anxiety rising.
"What are we going to do?"
"Nothing at all, we're talking about Sudou after all, I'm sure we can trust him to handle the situation."
Sora concluded, a smile on his lips, for some reason Shiro didn't quite understand, this one seemed to have blind trust in his classmate.
A/N : HEY EVERYONE ! It's been... six months ? You can kill me but please let me write my story before ! "I'm so sorry for the late, the truth is I've been trying my best for the exams this year (almost got them all, have a few left to pass on June now !) so couldn't find the proper time.
Also... if you don't know, I have some quite severe myopia (double digits) and classes were starting to annoy me so I decided to get surgery for some eye implants called ICL, the surgery went well and I now have vision that exceeds exceptations as in the last records I'm at 12/10 ! It still takes me time to adjust to these as now looking objects at close distance isn't as easy as it was before.
Either way ! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it wasn't as long as I'd wish it to be, I wanted to reward you all with a 10k chapter and one day I'll write a 10k chapter but I can't afford that right now. Take care and see you soon !