'...': Writing
'...': Sign language
"...": Text to speech
My classmates looked shocked that I would do something like this. They should have been shocked because they never told me who the VIPs were in our class, but I figured it out.
Ryuuen cackled, "Are you a moron? I don't think anybody is going to take that deal?"
"The offer stands," I went to sleep.
~Timeskip~
An hour passed, and I woke up. I got up from my seat and left the room. Horikita grabbed my arm and started dragging me somewhere. She brought me into an empty room.
Horikita faced me with a cold glare, crossing her arms, "What's going on, Kagurazaka-kun?"
'Nothing.'
I was going to walk past her, but she was blocking the door.
Horikita's POV
I got a good look at Kagurazaka. He was a complete mess. His hair was disheveled. He looked like he hadn't slept in days, and he looked miserable.
"Kagurazaka-kun," my tone and gaze softened, "When was the last time you slept?"
'Taking care of you when you were sick.'
He hasn't slept for over three days. This idiot... No, I shouldn't be calling him that. He's already been through enough. I walked over and placed my hand against his forehead.
He's not burning up... Thank goodness he didn't catch my cold.
I haven't been there for him while most of our classmates treat him like garbage.
I removed my hand and returned my attention to him, "Kagurazaka-kun, were you serious about giving away the VIPs in our class?"
He nodded.
He's upset with the way the class has been treating him. He's willing to give away the VIPs in our class out of revenge.
"I know you didn't steal Karuizawa-san's panties."
'Okay... Does that change anything?' He shook his head, 'I'm still hated.'
He walked past me and left the room.
~Timeskip~
Kagurazaka's POV
I was beyond exhausted, and I needed to sleep.
"Kagurazaka-kun, I've been looking for you," I heard someone say.
I turned to see Manabe, "Damn... you look like shit."
'I'm glad you noticed.'
"Look, we need to talk in private," she grabbed my arm and started pulling me along.
I wouldn't attempt to struggle because I was too tired to care.
Cruise ship: Manabe's room
I was alone with Manabe in her room. We were both sitting on her bed, "I'll get straight to the point. What happened between Karuizawa-san and Rika-san?"
I wrote down the encounter in my notebook and gave it to her. I watched her eyes move while she read it. She tightly gripped my notebook, and I thought she would rip it in half.
"That bitch..." Manabe muttered.
She handed my notebook back to me, and I could see the rage in her eyes burning with passion.
"Your story matches up with Rika-san's own," Manabe paused, "Why do you look like a deprived zombie who hasn't gotten any sleep for months?"
'Take a guess,' a tired smile appeared on my face.
Manabe's POV
Yeah, I know why. You stole a pair of panties, you pervert. I'm rude and an asshole, but it looked like he had been through hell.
It's strange... Rika doesn't believe he would do anything like that, and she barely knows him.
...
...
...
Wait, what's on my lap?
I glanced down and was ready to punch the young man until I heard soft snoring.
I gritted my teeth and held back from yelling. At least they aren't here to witness this.
"We have returned, cold-hearted queen!"
Fuck!
I whipped around to see Saki, Nanami, and Rika enter the room.
Their eyes widened as they stared at me in silence.
"It's not what it looks like, dumbass," that directed to Saki.
A smug smile formed on Saki's face, "Really? Because it looks like you're giving Kagurazaka-kun a lap pillow."
"Can you believe it, Nanami-san? The cold-hearted queen's heart is melting! It's a miracle!" Saki announced.
I even heard Rika let out a soft giggle... Damn it... I'll have to endure the teasing!
Rika is looking slightly better after the incident.
"So, what were you two doing alone?" Saki asked, skipping over to her bed and belly-flopping onto it.
"Maybe they were kissing," Nanami giggled behind her hand.
This is all this bastard's fault!
"One more word out of you, I'm going to lose it," I glare at them, which causes Nanami and Saki to giggle while Rika wears a soft smile.
Damn it... I don't want to ruin Rika's mood right now...
~Timeskip~
Ayanokouji's POV
It was already late when I returned to my room, and I collapsed on the bed without talking to anyone. Once, it was close to 00:00, so I thought I'd sleep, but then I heard a noise. It was Hirata who was staring at me anxiously. Yukimura, too, was sitting on the sofa installed in our room.
"Good work out there, Ayanokouji-kun. You're pretty late," he said to me.
"Yeah. Speaking of which, I wanted to ask you something, Hirata," I tell him.
"You must be tired, but if you're okay with just a while, I'd like to ask you something," Hirata tells me the same thing at the same time as me.
"Hmm? You wanted to ask me something, too?" Hirata asks me.
"No, I'll listen to you first, Hirata. My question is just something trivial," Yukimura also looks like he wants to ask something related to the exam at hand.
If I don't listen, the atmosphere might get awkward. I change into my jersey and sit on the sofa beside Hirata. I planned to ask about Sakayanagi, but it's better to listen first.
"I got asked for consultation on the exam from Yukimura-kun, so I thought I'd report it to you as well," Hirata tells me, "I did say not to include you, not to disturb you, though," he added.
I suppose Kouenji, in the same room as us, would not be interested in such a talk. "Sorry, Hirata Boy, I am currently perfecting my physical beauty," Kouenji said.
Kouenji, with a naked upper body, was repeatedly doing push-ups in the room. He seemed to be sweating a bit, but that did not affect him.
It seemed unlikely that an average high school student could achieve this. I wondered if Kouenji was even taking the exam seriously. Hirata appeared to read my mind and answered my thoughts.
"Kouenji-kun is participating in the groups. After all, points get deducted if he does not show up," Hirata offered.
"I received word from my friends that two of our classmates have been assigned as the "target" you know," Hirata tells me.
"What? That means..."
"I can't tell you, though; they only told me because they trusted me," Hirata shot us down.
"Are you saying you don't trust us, Hirata? If you know, I also have the right to know. Also, if we know the "target," we might get a hint to clear the exam better. Besides, it's only natural that, as classmates, we share information," Yukimura said to Hirata.
"Yeah... that's why I also thought to consult you on it...the truth is," Hirata said, "It seems Kagurazaka-kun already knows who the VIPs are in our class."
"What? How does he know?" Yukimura asked.
Hirata shrugged his shoulders and had a worried expression, "I don't know, but I think it's better if I send it over text."
Hirata sent the text to us, and Yukimura freaked out, "He did what?!"
"Haha," Koenji burst out laughing, "I was going to continue to work on perfecting my physical beauty, but I found this conversation interesting."
"We shouldn't trust him. Especially after what he did on the island exam!" Yukimura yelled.
That is a reckless but exciting plan. Is he tired of all the harassment and trying to get revenge? It looks like I need to re-evaluate him. There seems to be more to him than meets the eye.
Curse you, Kagurazaka. You're sparking up my curiosity.
"You're delusional, glasses boy," Koenji smirked.
"How am I delusional?" Yukimura asked.
"My explanation would go over your feeble mind," Koenji said, causing Yukimura to grit his teeth.
"Alright, let's stop fighting," Hirata said, trying to have peace.
"You're ruining this perfect being's fun," Koenji said, checking himself in his hand mirror while humming.
Having been patient for a while, Yukimura finally lost patience with Kouenji after hearing his humming that would seemingly last forever, "Koenji-kun, can you stop humming that annoying song? And I won't tell you to do it seriously, but at least see this exam through. Don't suddenly retire like you did on the island test, " Yukimura rebuked.
"It couldn't be helped. Back then, my body was in ill shape; I can't do the impossible," Koenji simply replied.
"Geh...it's just a fake illness."
"But to think the exam will continue for two more days, it sounds troublesome indeed," Koenji said.
"Troublesome? You're not even thinking about the exam properly, " Yukimura accused Koenji.
"There's no meaning in continuing an uninteresting exam. It's just a simple quiz to find the liar after all, " Koenji told him.
Koenji took out his phone and began fiddling with it. Suddenly, our phones rang simultaneously, and we received a message from the school.
"Koenji, what did you do?" Yukimura cried out.
Then Hirata and I rushed to check the mail on our phones. It said, "The Monkey group's test has ended, so students from that group are no longer required to participate. Please be considerate of the other students and avoid causing any disruptions."
"The Monkey group is yours, Koenji!"
"Exactly. Now I have my freedom back. Adieu, " Koenji simply said before throwing away his cell phone and disappearing into the bathroom, leaving us all in shock.
"D-don't fuck around! We're all doing our best, and that guy...!"
"We don't know yet; perhaps he did something..."
"That's impossible; he's just doing it to be free as soon as possible."
We all discussed the news. Although I don't think Koenji took the exam seriously, his perceptive nature and remarkable observation skills may make him excel at it. Furthermore, Kouenji's actions became known to all the students when Hirata's phone began to buzz non-stop with messages.
The chat was filled with the voices of surprised students. Even Katsuragi, Ryuuen, and Ichinose would be shocked. No one expected a traitor on the first day of the exam.
Horikita has also sent a message to my phone.
"Sorry. Things seem confusing. I'll call you now," was the message.
"Shit. Thanks to Koenji, things have escalated beyond a simple discussion".
"I'm going out for a bit," Yukimura won't be able to sleep after being irritated by Kouenji's actions. I quietly left the room after confirming the discussion's flow had died down.
~Timeskip~
Chabashira's POV
I was spending time in an area that was off-limits for students. I was with Mashima and Chie, sitting on the sofa and drinking.
"You know, it's been a while. Since the three of us got together like this," Chie said.
"It's fate; in the end, we all chose the teacher's path."
"Stop it. There's no point in talking about that".
"Oh yeah, speaking of which, I saw you on a date. New girlfriend? Mashima-kun, you're surprisingly motivated on that front," she changed the subject.
"Chie, how about you? What happened to your former man?"
"Haha, I broke up with him after two weeks. I'm the type of girl that does it with a man and breaks it off before the relationship gets serious," Chie replies.
Yeah, I feel bad for the man that got STDs from you.
"That's usually the man's line, you know," Mashima said.
"Ahh, but I'm not doing it with Mashima-kun. You're my best friend; after all, I'd hate to ruin our friendship," she tells him.
"Relax. It's not about that." "Uwe...that's a shock all on its own," Chie poured whiskey into an empty glass and drank it all in one large gulp.
As for me, I was slowly sipping on sake, "More importantly, what are you going to do, Chie-san?"
"What're you talking about so suddenly?" Chie pretended to be confused about what I was talking about.
"Generally, the policy here is to put all the representatives of each class in the Dragon group," I explained.
"I'm not intending on messing around here. Indeed, Ichinose-san is at the top of my class regarding attitude and grades. Still, the probability of success in society cannot be measured by numerical parameters only. I decided there was a hurdle she must overcome before that. Besides, putting her in the Rabbit group is fitting. A rabbit is cute, right?" She said.
"I hope you're right," I replied.
"Hoshinomiya's words are reasonable; is there some hidden meaning behind them?" Mashima asked.
"I just don't want you to judge based on personal grudges."
"Are you still talking about what happened ten years ago? I thought we got over that..."
"I wonder, you're the type to run their mouth as soon as I'm not immediately in front of you. You're the type that's not satisfied unless you're one step ahead. That's why you put Ichinose in the Rabbit group, right?"
"What do you mean? Explain, Hoshinomiya," Mashima asked.
"I genuinely thought Ichinose-san needed to learn a lesson, so I removed her from (Dragon) group. Speaking of which, Sae-chan was also focusing quite a bit on Ayanokouji-kun. It's just a coincidence. Coincidence, coincidence. When the island test ended, you seemed glad Ayanokouji-kun turned out to be the leader?" Chie said.
"That's unrelated."
"Was it also a coincidence that you put Kagurazaka-kun in the Dragon's group? I know the previous test that he dropped out because of a certain incident," Chie said.
Yes, I heard about it, but a few of his classmates weren't convinced. I need to talk to him and get the entire story from him. I don't want to expel him since he has come a long way.
"He doesn't have that aura that Hirata and Kushida have. For Horikita, I can see her brother's shadow behind her. But I don't see anything at all from the person with the name Kagurazaka Norogumi. What do you have to say about that?" Chie asked.
"Worry about your damn class. I know my class well," I answered, sipping on my sake.
Kushida's POV
"Let's not mess around, Ryuuen-kun. I don't want people to find us meeting her secretly," I said.
"Kukuku, are you afraid to be found out with me? Don't worry; no one can see us here. Even if someone did, we can say we were secretly dating," Ryuuen smirked.
I glared at him, clearly not liking what he said.
"I like that look in your eyes. It's much better than the fake one," Ryuuen said.
I ignored him and changed the subject, "So, what information do you want?"
Only a few people know about this hidden side of me. Horikita and I went to the same middle school, so she probably knows about the event. Then there's this person in front of me who can read people like a book. Even so, he is the best person to help me humiliate Horikita and get her expelled.
The other guy... Kagurazaka Norogumi... I should have had complete control over him since the panties incident, or so I thought... He boldly states that he knows the VIPs in our class and is willing to give it away for free! He's frustrated me! He's been avoiding me ever since the first day of school. Relax... His time will come.
Last but not least, Ayanokouji. He did something unique on our first mid-term exam by buying the exam paper. But after that, he never shows anything special about him. Although he saw my secret, I had to ensure he would never expose me by blackmailing him.
My obstacles are Horikita and Kagurazaka. I'll get them both expelled. The faster, the better.
"Class D's VIPs. You should know about that, right?" Ryuuen asked.
"Who do you think I am? My reputation isn't just for show. You have to promise me that you will help me, right?"
"Expel Horikita and her goons, right? Kukuku, don't worry. I've planned to crush them for a while. Especially the mute guy. Do you believe he knows who the VIPs in your class are?"
"No, he's a dumbass and doesn't know anything. He's an outcast, and his reputation is ruined. He should honestly drop out of school and never return," I answered.
After answering, I sent him an email that contained the names of the VIPs in our class.