Chapter 4: A Premonition of Defeat

WE NORMALLY HAD Saturdays off, but lessons were still being held at this outdoor school. However, the timetable was slightly different from weekdays. Our lessons were only in the morning. Once those were finished, we had free time.

The special exam had started on Thursday. It was already the third day of camp, and discord was beginning to manifest within the group. It started early, just after five o'clock in the morning.

"Aah, I'm so goddamn tired!" shouted Ishizaki at the outdoor cooking

area.

"So is everyone else. Ah, please measure the ingredients correctly—

don't mess up the amount of miso," said Keisei, flipping through the breakfast menu the teachers had given us.

"Shut it. Why do I even gotta help make food in the first place?!" Ishizaki groused, though he kept stirring the miso to make it dissolve.

"Look, we don't have a choice. We could get hit with a penalty if our whole group's not here."

"Whatever, dude, like hell I care. God damn it. Oh." "What was that?"

"Nothin'."

"No, that was something. Where's the salt you were just holding?!" "I put it all in."

Keisei turned off the fire in a panic. He tasted the soup and choked. "You put in way too much! Ack! It's not even edible."

If we'd given that soup to the seniors, it would have invited a lot of

criticism. Not to mention it was probably unhealthy too. "You have to start over."

"Screw that. You do it. Or what about Kouenji?" "It's not like I know!"

"You're in the same class, aren't you?!"

Hashimoto shot a backward glance at the two of them fighting over the miso soup, his hands occupied by skillfully wielding a frying pan on the camp stove.

"Dude, you're really good."

"I've always cooked my own meals," said Hashimoto without a trace of arrogance. As he continued to cook up a storm, Albert approached him silently, carrying a bowl filled with whipped eggs.

"Thank you. If you're up for it, could I ask you to cut up some vegetables too?"

Despite his bulky frame, Albert skillfully brought the kitchen knife down on the cutting board, dicing vegetables with ease. We'd be feeding a lot of people, so Hashimoto kept churning out fried eggs. Clearly, he and Albert were our team's trump cards, as far as cooking went.

Meanwhile, I'd lucked out by landing the easy job of preparing the raw vegetables and tableware. There were a lot of vegetables to be prepped, and although I couldn't help with the frying, I felt I could at least pitch in on the dicing and chopping. I stood beside Albert and tried to communicate with him silently, just using my eyes.

Can you handle cutting? Vegetables? Probably, yeah.

Somehow, we seemed to understand each other—at least enough that Albert handed over a kitchen knife. Thankfully, living in the dorms had led me to develop some skill with a knife. I began to dice vegetables, keeping pace with Albert.

Where had Kouenji gotten to, anyway? It'd already been half an hour since he went to the bathroom. Classes A and B each sent one student to look for him, but since they hadn't returned, it was a safe bet they hadn't

found him.

In the end, Kouenji didn't return until breakfast. When he did return,

all he would say was that he'd been holed up in the bathroom due to a stomachache. Needless to say, his relationship with Ishizaki was wrecked beyond hope of repair at this point.

4.1

SOMETHING HAPPENED while I was studying morality during our third period that Saturday. I heard a girl's cheerful voice outside, and peering out the third-floor classroom window, saw Ichinose race spiritedly through the yard. She'd had a difficult time getting the groups coordinated on the first day, but she seemed cheerful now.

Sakayanagi had enthusiastically declared she would crush Ichinose, but I saw no sign of that happening. Of course, I could only see what was on the surface.

As I watched, I was able to discern, to a certain extent, the people who were members of Ichinose's group. Surprisingly enough, I spotted only one person from Class C among them. The Class B students were all unfamiliar to me, with the exception of Ichinose. Had they gone with the same approach as the boys—picking the minimum number of people from Class B in order to have an even mix of people from all four classes?

I wasn't really sure who the Class A and D students were, but I did spot the girl who had suffered a severe injury by running into Horikita as a part of Ryuuen's ploy during the Sports Festival. Fortunately, she must have made a complete recovery, for she seemed to be running just fine.

The only student from Class C, meanwhile, was a girl named Wang Mei-Yu.

She'd come to Japan from China during elementary school and had remained here ever since. At least, that's what I'd heard. Her nickname was Miichan, though only close friends ever called her that. All I knew was that she did well in class and was especially proficient in English.

Though there were some slight differences in their scores, overall, she was as academically adept as Keisei. Strangely enough, she was just as athletic as him too—which was to say she was currently dead last by a wide margin, despite struggling desperately to keep up with the group. She staggered along, breathing heavily and looking up at the sky, seeming ready to collapse.

Ichinose noticed Miichan lagging behind and slowed down. She matched Miichan's pace to run supportively alongside the other girl, encouraging her. Soon after, another girl came up beside them. It was Shiina Hiyori from Class D. She didn't seem especially athletic either, but she had a smile on her face as she ran alongside the other girls.

According to Ryuuen and the people around him, Shiina had taken on the role of leader of the Class D girls. If that was true, then I was looking at a girls' group with two class leaders in it. With that in mind, it wouldn't have been strange for Horikita and Sakayanagi to be together too—but they were apparently in different groups.

Feeling a surge of curiosity about how those groups had come together, I gazed out the window instead of focusing on the lesson. When our

instructor spoke up, though, I could tell that things were about to become difficult.

"We will now begin self-introductions. However, you won't simply be introducing yourselves. Please keep in mind that this will be one part of your lesson. From now on, you will all be giving a speech every day. The themes will differ between grade levels, but the four fundamental criteria on which you will be judged are volume, posture, content, and communicativeness.'"

The word speech had indeed cropped up in the syllabus we'd been given back on the bus, making this undoubtedly one of the subjects we'd be tested on as part of this special exam. I was willing to bet every member of our large group would have to deliver a speech they'd composed themselves at some point. This part of the exam would be hell for people who lacked public speaking skills.

The instructor went on to notify the first-years that they would be giving speeches on what they'd learned in their first year of school and what they'd like to learn in the years to come. The second- and third-years had to speak about their plans for the future, like attending university or getting a job.

"For real? Talk about a shit exam," spat Ishizaki. I understood how he felt, but he was being much too loud. Even the teacher seemed to have heard him, though he didn't take Ishizaki to task over it. We could do as we pleased, but we needed to remember that our actions would ultimately affect the group.

When free time rolled around, a young man approached the first-year group. Ishizaki, who had had his legs sprawled on top of a desk, instantly corrected his posture. The new arrival was Kiriyama from second-year Class B, who served as vice president on the student council under Nagumo Miyabi. He used to be in Class A, but had been demoted after losing to Nagumo, and it seemed that, deep down, he wished for Nagumo's downfall. Horikita's brother had put us both in touch.

"I think you should adjust your attitude a bit," he said.

"S-sure. Well, I wasn't really makin' any fuss or anythin'."

"I'm not just talking about you, Ishizaki. That applies to you, too, Kouenji."

Much as he might crave Nagumo's downfall, Kiriyama still had to play the part of a dutiful vice president. He had to address anything that might affect the large group's overall scores.

"We're going to be evaluated based on the test on the final day, right? I don't think taking these lessons seriously is that important."

"The written test isn't everything there is to this special exam. Haven't you considered the possibility that our instructors will be taking your behavior in class into account? And how exactly do you plan to score well on the test if you don't take the lessons seriously?"

"Simple is best. This is me we're talking about, no?"

"I see. You're saying getting a high score is easy for you, eh? Well, we'll see if you can make good on those boasts when the special exam comes around. You're part of this group—shouldn't you want to avoid acting in ways that make your teammates uneasy?"

"A group that's made uneasy by my actions is a group that has no value."

"You don't get to decide that, Kouenji." "Then who, may I ask, does?"

"No one person. The whole group does. Every student here decides."

Ishizaki couldn't help but grin after hearing that, probably because he loved seeing Kouenji get told off. However, common sense wasn't going to work against Kouenji.

"I'm worth far more than the rest of you combined. An average person cannot correctly judge the exceptional."

"You're too ignorant and infantile to even be called a high school student," Kiriyama said.

Kouenji didn't flinch, but before I knew it, nearly half of the second- years had begun to encircle us. Even Ishizaki's smile faded, his face growing stiff. Threatening words could be heard being murmured around us.

"Besides, it's not just Kouenji. There's a number of you who've been causing all sorts of problems."

He probably meant Ishizaki, but I honestly couldn't think of anyone

else. We'd all been taking the lessons seriously, in our own way. Kiriyama was probably lumping us first-years together because he wanted us to focus, letting us know that we'd be earning our seniors' ire if we continued to behave impertinently. Kouenji was merely the straw that broke the camel's back.

"I think that's enough, Kiriyama."

Unable to stand by and watch the situation unfold, Ishikura, a third- year, stepped in to help.

"I know you're just trying to coach them, but the way you're doing it could come off as bullying. If that happens, you'll be the one in trouble. The first-years understand the situation well enough. Isn't that right?"

Ishikura looked to us for confirmation, and every one of us, including me, nodded. Except for Kouenji, of course.

"Excellent, Ishikura-senpai. You really got a handle on things, didn't you?" said Nagumo happily. He'd been watching the whole thing go down from the sidelines. "You really are too good to be kept in Class B. Maybe you're just really unlucky, Ishikura-senpai."

"Luck, huh? Much as I hate to admit it, I think it's just that my skills aren't up to par."

"I don't think that's true. The only reason you haven't been able to rise to Class A is because there's a genius like Horikita Manabu in your way. I know you've fought the good fight for three years. There's a 312-point difference between Classes A and B right now. Even though graduation is around the corner, I think you're closing in on them."

"Are you saying you'll lead this group to victory?"

"Exactly. If you're willing to trust me, Ishikura-senpai, we'll win this special exam. And, as I'm sure will bring you no small amount of delight, I'll help you get to Class A. We might even be able to get Horikita-senpai removed from the school. Hmm?"

"Unfortunately, Horikita doesn't seem to be a group representative. And you aren't either, are you, Nagumo? There's nothing you can come up with that would be enough to drag him down."

"It doesn't matter if he's the representative or not. There are many

ways to crush him," said Nagumo with a laugh.

"Sorry. But I can't trust you. Not with the fate of Class B." "That's unfortunate."

Nagumo had simply laid out all his plans in front of everyone. Was he

genuinely that guileless? Or was he just trying to make himself appear

guileless? I doubted it was the former.

4.2

AT DINNER, I decided to make some minor moves.

Or so I say, though all I was really trying to do was get a better handle on the girls' situation. Ichinose and Shiina being in the same group had caught me slightly off guard, and I wanted to understand what was up with the other groups.

I wanted to better understand the girls' situation, because Ichinose and Shiina being in the same group had caught me by surprise. I wanted to understand what was up with the other groups.

Kei was eating in the same place as she had since the beginning, which made it easy to get in touch. I hadn't even asked her to do that. She truly was reliable. I, on the other hand, had been grabbing random seats that just happened to be open, wanting to avoid openly engaging with Kei, just in case.

Very few students knew about my strange relationship with Ryuuen and other members of Class D, or with Kiriyama and Kei. Besides, there were enemies on the inside of whom I needed to be cautious. I checked my timing and then sat down near Kei. Just as I was racking my brain over how I would get her to notice I was there—

"Hmm."

Kei made some kind of noise, I think as a greeting? It was very soft.

Apparently, she'd noticed me, even though she was enjoying a meal with her friends. In that case, I would wait patiently until she got rid of them.

She proceeded to eat her meal slowly, letting her friends head back to the room ahead of her. I'd been considering postponing this meeting if there was a chance of being interrupted. She couldn't shake her friends, but she'd cleverly manipulated them into leaving. Finally, no one was paying attention to us, and our conversation could start. Of course, we'd immediately cut it short if someone did come.

"So? It's the third day, and you finally feel like asking for my help?"

"Yes. I have too little information on the girls."

"No surprises there. Someone with a communication impairment like yours can only make contact with so many girls."

She was giving me the cold shoulder, right off the bat. A small price to pay if it helped Kei feel she had an advantage, and keep our relationship going…but I decided to be a little mean in response.

"So, you'll make it through this special exam even if you get no help from me?"

"O-obviously. I mean, who do you think I am?" "I see. Then there's nothing to worry about."

"Well, maybe you can analyze my situation just to make sure there's nothing to worry about. Okay?" said Kei, looking anxious.

"Tell me how the girls' groups are divided."

"Ah, before we talk about that, something's been on my mind." "Make it quick."

If we spoke too long, people might become suspicious.

"Well, I'd say it's pretty important… What's going on with that Ryuuen guy?"

"Are you worried?"

"Well, yeah. Even the girls are talking about it. Like why he quit being the leader and all. No one knows what really happened."

"Well, I wouldn't ever call Ryuuen 'gentle as a lamb,' but he's been somewhat domesticated."

"So raking him over the coals worked?" "Raking him over the coals?"

Kei hid her vulnerability beneath a tough façade, though her fear occasionally came into view. Her curiosity probably stemmed from anxiety over the fact that Ryuuen knew her weakness.

"Don't worry about Ryuuen. He won't do anything careless. At the very least, he won't be doing anything to you, Kei," I said, to reassure her.

Kei didn't respond. Was someone else approaching us? I'd been on my guard in case that happened…but that didn't seem to be the case. I immediately sensed what was going on.

"Sorry. It's nothing," she said. I could tell she was lying. "It doesn't seem like nothing, Kei."

"I-I'm telling you, it's nothing."

"Is that really true, Kei?"

"…Wait a minute. You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?!" She didn't look at me, but her voice sounded threatening. Maybe I'd pushed her too far. "Ugh, God. I shouldn't have given you permission to call me by my first name."

"You're the one who started that in the first place." "W-well, yeah."

More importantly, if she was satisfied by what I'd told her about Ryuuen, I wanted to get down to business. We were well hidden among all the hustle and bustle, but if someone happened to notice us, they might become suspicious of my relationship with Kei.

"Well, I've gathered as much information as I could, more or less.

Want to hear it?"

"Yeah."

"I'm going to say this up front, though—I wasn't able to get a complete picture of all of the groups like you wanted."

"I understand. I wasn't expecting that much from you."

"Okay, that's a super rude way of putting it. Even someone like you couldn't know everything about who was put into what group, right?"

"Hmm. I wonder about that."

"What? You're saying you've memorized where everyone is?" "I didn't say that."

"What group is Shibata-kun from Class B in?"

"He's in the group of mostly Class B students led by Kanzaki." "What about Tsukasaki from Class A?"

"He's with mostly Class A students led by Matoba."

"Th-then what about Suzuki-kun?"

"He got assigned to a different small group than the one I'm in." "You have memorized everything!"

"Just the people whose names I know. But if I see their faces, I can

remember where they belong."

I was grateful that this exam had forced me to memorize the names of all of the first-year students. Once we were done here, I'd probably be able to match names to faces with nearly 100 percent accuracy. As long as I hadn't missed or misunderstood something, of course.

"Sigh. How is your memory this good? Don't tell me you're one of those nerdy four-eyed try-hards who spends all his time studying or something."

Unfortunately, I had no idea what Kei was saying.

"Let's get down to business. What's going on with Sakayanagi and Kamuro's group?"

"They're in the same group. It's made up of students from three classes, with nine students from Class A. Class A was the first to put their groups together," explained Kei.

So, the girls had picked a similar strategy to the Class A guys. Only they went with nine students instead of twelve.

"The fact that they've only got three classes means someone didn't join in. Or maybe Sakayanagi didn't let them in?"

"They wouldn't accept anyone from Class B. They rejected the idea right off the bat. They said they couldn't trust Ichinose or something. Well, Sakayanagi didn't say that. Kamuro did."

"Not able to trust her, huh?"

"I guess you wouldn't fully trust any student from another class, but they specifically named Ichinose. But isn't that kind of weird? I mean, even I've heard nothing but good things about her."

If I were asked to name a trustworthy student from another first-year class, I'd have named Ichinose, without a doubt. Of course, there were probably more than a few people who'd name Kushida, if asked the same question… At any rate, I estimated Ichinose was in the running for the most trustworthy person in our grade level.

But if Sakayanagi and Kamuro's group only had members from three classes and the minimum number of students, their point multiplier would be greatly diminished. It was a strategy where absolute victory was impossible,

but so was absolute loss.

"That's not fair, right? Class A should just protect themselves. They were really forceful about how they made the groups."

"Seems that way."

A solid, reliable strategy. Sakayanagi had almost certainly devised that plan. It was surprising that someone as aggressive as her would adopt a defensive strategy like this.

"So what should I do now? Set a trap or something?"

"Cheap tricks won't work in this exam. There are some people I'd like you to monitor, though," I replied, naming some of the major players.

"Hmm. That'll be pretty tough, but I'll try."

She obediently followed orders. That was Kei's strong point. "Anyway, what's up with this exam? Do we really have to worry about

things like manners and ethics?"

"I wonder. If this were a story, I'd say it was almost like a MacGuffin." "Huh? MacMuff—"

"That's not what I said."

"I-I know that. So what is it?" She had no idea.

"It's an element that's important because it motivates the characters but is otherwise unimportant to the story itself."

"I don't understand. Look, I know you're a smart guy, Kiyotaka, so just explain things in a way that's easy to understand."

"I'm saying manners and ethics may be necessary but aren't really important in and of themselves."

Dinnertime was almost at an end. Students started to disperse. "But this exam… Let's just say a storm is coming."

"A storm? What do you mean? Are you saying something bad is going

to happen?"

"Relax. At the very least, I say no harm will come to you." Things probably wouldn't get too bad for the first-years this time. I grabbed my tray

and stood. "If I need you again, I'll call." "Understood."

With that, I decided to return to the room.

4.3

AS NIGHT FELL on our third day, I entered the large bathhouse. Several guys were gathered in one corner; I saw not only Yamauchi and Ike but also some Class B students like Shibata. I exchanged glances with Kanzaki, who entered the bathhouse at the same time as me.

"This is a pretty unusual combination of people," said Kanzaki, surveying the gathering with surprise.

"Yeah, sure seems that way." "How's your group? Any trouble?"

"Dunno. But I can't say it's going all that well," I replied honestly.

Kanzaki seemed unsurprised. "Well, if you have a small group made up of an uneven number of students from four different classes, there's bound to be tension."

"I wish that were all it was."

"Moriyama and the others told me. Sounds like you guys really have your hands full with Kouenji." A natural assumption, under the circumstances.

"I'm trying my best as a classmate, but I have absolutely no control over him," I said.

"Speaking of control, have you heard about what's going on with Ryuuen?"

"No, I haven't heard anything."

It was three days since Akito had entered Ryuuen's group. Even though we saw each other in the bath, on the way to the toilet, or during mealtimes, we hardly ever spoke.

"If he were scheming or something, there'd be reports. But I haven't heard anything."

If Kanzaki—Class B's second-in-command—said no rumors were going around, then it was probably true. As someone who knew the full

extent of the situation, I doubted Ryuuen would try anything, but the other students probably weren't going to let their guard down for a while. Many probably suspected he would spring some kind of trap by the end of the exam.

"If you're ever in trouble, find me. I'd like for our good relationship with Class C to continue. Ichinose feels the same way, of course."

"I sincerely appreciate that."

"Ichinose seems to have a really high opinion of Horikita. More so for her honesty than her ability, though."

"Her honesty? Huh."

I didn't know if I would call Horikita "honest" myself, but Kanzaki's definition of the word might be slightly different from my own. He probably meant she had integrity. She was a firm believer in keeping her promises.

You couldn't expect anything of the sort from Sakayanagi or Ryuuen. "Oh, Kanzaki! Hey, over here!"

Shibata waved.

"Ayanokouji! You come over too!"

Yamauchi signaled for me. Unable to decline under the current circumstances, I went.

"What's up?" said Kanzaki to Shibata.

"Just having a blast with Yamauchi and the guys here. Bein' totally honest and talking about something kinda weird."

"Kinda weird?"

"We've been talking about who has the biggest thing in our grade." "What thing?"

"Dude, isn't it obvious what we mean? You know, down there," said Shibata with a laugh, pointing at the center of the white towel wrapped around his hips.

"I see. Sounds like you're having fun." Kanzaki released an exasperated sigh at the childish competition that Shibata was engaged in.

"I mean, yeah, it's childish. But hey, it's surprisingly fun."

Kanzaki and I didn't get what was so fun about it. We exchanged glances and decided to keep our distance. When Shibata and the other started their discussion once again, Kanzaki left. Soon after, I got up to leave too.

However—

"All right, who's the current size king?" Sudou, probably having overheard the conversation, showed up. He radiated confidence as he grabbed tightly me by the shoulders, preventing my escape.

"I have no clue." I dodged the question. While the majority of us wore towels, Sudou was proudly naked.

"Oh. That's what I'd expect from Sudou," said Shibata. I could tell that he was anxious.

"Kaneda from Class D's the current king." "Kaneda? That gangly four-eyes?"

Sudou pushed past Shibata.

"Move it," he said, before joining up with Yamauchi and the others.

Kaneda, who seemed to have no intention of joining in, looked uncomfortable.

"Oh, dude, Ken, you came! You're the only one we can count on!" "Leave it to me."

Sudou, representing Class C, confronted Kaneda, who looked

perplexed at being dragged into this competition. "You wear glasses even in the bath?"

"If I don't, my vision is so bad that I can't see well enough to walk." "That so?"

It wasn't an aggressive competition. They simply stood next to one another. The outcome of their showdown was decided in an instant.

"Hot damn!"

Sudou confidently pumped his fist as he posed. He shouted in triumph, his voice echoing throughout the bath. Kaneda fled, the sentiment "Finally, the game is over" written on his face. I was sorry he'd gotten dragged into it.

"That settles it. I'm the king!" Sudou declared.

It was unlike anyone would challenge him, having seen the power he was packing. I hoped this pointless competition was at an end, but…

"King? Don't make me laugh, Sudou," said Yahiko, challenging Sudou with a loud laugh.

Sudou just glanced at Yahiko's naked crotch before dismissing him. "You ain't no match for me."

"No, I'm not. But I'm not your opponent."

"It don't matter who I'm up against. The result's the same. The king is Class D's—"

"No, Ken, we're Class C now. Class C."

"Yeah, that's right. The king is Class C's Sudou Ken-sama!" "You're just above average. You can't win against Class A's

Katsuragi-san!"

Apparently it wasn't Yahiko challenging Sudou but rather the person that Yahiko idolized—Katsuragi. The man in question was sitting on a stool nearby, reaching for some shampoo. Since he was completely bald, I wondered where exactly he was going to apply the shampoo, then decided not to ask that question.

"Knock it off, Yahiko," said Katsuragi. "I have no interest in such nonsense."

"We can't let this pass. We have to win. This is about a man's pride.

No, Class A's dignity is on the line!" "What a stupid competition…"

"But that's not really true. Is it, Katsuragi?" said Hashimoto. Yahiko just looked disgusted. "Like Yahiko says, Class A's pride is on the line. What you're packing makes you the only one here that can measure up against Sudou."

Hashimoto had personally checked out Katsuragi's "thing." He clearly had confidence that Katsuragi could win, laughing boldly at the possibility of victory.

Katsuragi, however, made no move to stand. "Bring it, Katsuragi."

Katsuragi remained calm in the face of Sudou's provocation. However, everyone else was getting fired up. They cheered, wanting to see Katsuragi and Sudou square off.

"For crying out loud. I can't even wash my head in peace," said Katsuragi.

So that meant that he really was planning on applying shampoo on his head after all, huh.

"The contest will be over in a second, Katsuragi." "Have it your way."

Katsuragi, having determined the best way was to accept the challenge,

slowly got up. Everyone let out a sigh of admiration at the sight of his large frame.

"Th-this is…?!"

Yamauchi, who was the judge, crouched down. He scrutinized each combatant, looking from one to the other, but the differences seemed almost nonexistent. Sudou offered his opponent praise as he waited for Yamauchi to pass judgment.

"Nice, Katsuragi. That's the reason they call you Class A's trump

card."

"This is ridiculous…"

"All right, and the judges say—" Yamauchi stood up.

"It's a draw!"

Unlikely as it might seem for such a thing to happen in a competition

like this, Yamauchi had determinedly they were evenly matched. Ike, Shibata, and the others gathered around, ready to object, but Yamauchi's judgment seemed sound, because they couldn't determine who was bigger either.

"Are we done?" said Katsuragi.

Clearly done with being made a spectacle, he pushed past them and went back to where he was sitting.

said.

"I hate to admit it, but I guess the two of us share first place," Sudou

I didn't think anyone would object to that…but we still weren't done. "I had the honor of watching your valiant battle. But my, how naïve

you are," said Ishizaki from Class D.

"Huh? Don't make me laugh, Ishizaki. You ain't a match for me," said Sudou with a dismissive laugh. Ishizaki was pretty much on Yahiko's level.

"I ain't your opponent." "What?"

"You fool! Class D possesses the ultimate trump card!" "No way. You don't mean Ryuuen?"

"No!" shouted Ishizaki. "Albert! You're up!"

The moment Albert's name was called, there was an uproar. The thought of Albert had certainly crossed everyone's minds, but they'd avoided mentioning him. Now that unspoken rule was broken.

"Hey, that's not fair!" Even Sudou, who'd been dubbing himself a king moments ago, couldn't hide his nervousness.

"Deal with it. If we're measuring who's number one in our grade, then Albert is on our team!"

Ishizaki had a point, but no one could deny a fight that crossed into international territory put us at a disadvantage. Japan's professional baseball players, for instance, were highly skilled—but if you looked at foreign players in the major leagues, the difference in physicality was obvious.

Foreigners were just made differently from us, both in terms of build and genetics.

Albert approached silently. Sudou and Katsuragi were well built, but they couldn't compare to his muscular frame. Also, for some reason, Albert was still wearing sunglasses in the bath. Maybe they had some kind of anti- fogging solution applied to the lenses, because he moved with no problem.

"Damn, he's huge…"

Albert had a bath towel wrapped around his hips, so Sudou's muttered words had to be referencing his physique. Now that I saw them side by side,

the difference was clear. It was like the difference between a junior high student and a college student. It followed that the same should apply to the weapons they wielded. Though it might be precious little help to him here, all Sudou could do was pray Albert wasn't packing more firepower than him.

"Bring it on!" Sudou shouted, showing no fear. As the king, he couldn't run away.

Albert didn't say a word, but he was plenty intimidating, even so. He let Ishizaki remove his bath towel. The veil had been lifted. Everyone, not just King Sudou, watched with rapt curiosity. Was this a weapon worthy of a final boss? Or, in a stunning upset, would he be wielding something minute?

It was a clash between beasts—the most primal kind of battle.

"Go, Albert!" cheered Ishizaki as Albert's fighting prowess was made

clear.

"Th-this is…?!"

Unveiled before the eyes of the current king was Albert's true form,

which he'd kept hidden so far. The crowd fell silent. "I…lost."

Two simple words from King Sudou. He collapsed to his knees,

struggling with overwhelming defeat. Unlike the contest with Katsuragi, there was no need for judgment here. The difference was just that extreme.

"This means Albert's…the final boss!"

Yamauchi, Shibata, and the others folded like Sudou had, their spirits crushed. No one was capable of challenging Albert. The winds of despair began to howl. Albert slowly bent over, maneuvering his large bulk as he picked up the towel and walked off. Everyone fell to their knees in despair, recognizing their horrible defeat.

"Ha ha ha. You are all amusing yourselves like children, it seems."

Kouenji's voice cut through the dreary mood like a knife. He'd been observing the commotion from inside the hot tub.

"The hell, Kouenji? Aren't you frustrated, too? Look at the state Sudou is in right now!" shouted Yamauchi. Sudou was still too anguished to be able to stand back up.

"I know. But Red Hair-kun put up a good fight."

"The hell, dude? Are you tryin' to say you can square off against Albert?" said Sudou, the life gone from his eyes.

"I am a perfect being. As a man, I possess the ultimate body." "Don't dodge the question. What are you saying, specifically?" Kouenji ran his hand through his hair, without getting out of the tub.

"There is no need for a competition, precisely because I know that there is no one superior to me. So, there is no need to war over something so pointless."

"So you say. But it's not true, is it?" said Yamauchi, baiting him. However, Kouenji showed no signs of nervousness.

"You truly are a fool. However, it might be fun to play along with you

on occasion." He swiped his hair back from his face, looking as though he intended to accept the challenge. "Now then, shall I assume that Aaaalbert- kun is my opponent in this little competition?"

Why did he say Albert's name like that? "No. It's Katsuragi-san!" shouted Yahiko.

"Leave me out of this, Yahiko…" said Katsuragi.

"There's no way Kouenji can win if he goes up against Albert! On behalf of the Japanese people, I'm begging you, Katsuragi-san, you must defeat him!"

Well, I supposed Yahiko and Kouenji were in the same group. Even though he'd been seated nearby, Kouenji probably didn't know in detail the kind of fighting power that Sudou and the others held. If Katsuragi, who was an even match for Sudou, stepped forward…then maybe he stood a decent chance of victory.

"For crying out loud… All right, just this once," said Katsuragi, exasperated. He stood to represent the Japanese people, his package swaying left and right as he did. The guys gazed at it as if they were looking upon something divine.

"A-as I thought, he really is huge. I mean, even he can't go up against Albert, but if Kouenji—"

"Heh. I see. So you're not called a king for nothing, eh?" "Please just end this."

"However, you are no match for me." But Kouenji made no attempt to get out of the bath.

"Hey, hey. You ain't scared or nothin', are ya, Kouenji? Or are you all talk, hidin' your thing away in the tub?" Ishizaki said, trying to needle Kouenji into making a move.

"I'm not so foolish as to direct my blade toward an unworthy opponent."

"Heh. In that case, we'll break your spirit 'til there's nothin' left. Right, Albert?!"

Albert, the great foreign threat, stood next to Katsuragi. When he did so, a strange phenomenon occurred: Katsuragi's thing looked small in comparison. Upon seeing that, Kouenji's expression changed dramatically for the first time.

"Bravo!" He clapped his hands. "I see, I see. As I would expect of the one representing the rest of the world, it would appear that you aren't all talk."

"Do you get it now, Kouenji? How much of a clown you are?" "I've had enough of this," said Katsuragi. After he finished washing

off his body, he entered the tub and kept his distance from Kouenji. Everyone

ignored him, now completely absorbed in the battle between Kouenji and Albert.

"Normally, it is not my policy to show it to men. But this is a one-time

deal."

Kouenji stood, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around his hips to

conceal his weapon.

"S-so you really gonna do it, Kouenji?"

The ultimate eccentric and the king were going head-to-head.

"I've known the outcome of this battle from the start. Now everyone here shall bear witness too."

Kouenji struck a pose as he removed the towel that had been

concealing his lower half. In that instant, a dazzling light hit everyone's eyes. A mighty sword, complete with a dyed blond lion's mane. No, it was too enormous to simply be called a sword.

I heard Albert mutter softly in English beside me. "Oh, my God," he said.

"And thus, I have proven that I am a perfect being."

The guys who'd just borne witness couldn't even utter a sound. "Are you even human?" said Sudou. That was all he could say in the

face of a power so overwhelming, it crossed national borders.

If Sudou and Katsuragi were rifles and Albert was a bazooka, then Kouenji was a tank. Nobody could win against such overwhelming firepower. Its colossal size, armor, and destructive power would take down anyone in its path. There wasn't a single student in this massive bathhouse that could defeat Albert…which meant none of them who could stand up to Kouenji either.

Then, just as everyone was about to hand him the crown… "Ha. Hold it, Kouenji."

A voice emerged from the vicinity of the tub that Kouenji had been in moments ago.

"R-Ryuuen…?" someone stammered.

Ryuuen, the former leader of Class D himself, was warming up in the whirlpool bath, near Kouenji. There was fire in his eyes. He must have been watching Albert and Kouenji's battle.

"You can't possibly think you're a match for me," Kouenji said. "No. Not even I can win against that thing you're packin'. However,

there might be at least one person here who could give you a good fight."

Everyone started looking around at each other as he said that, even though there was no way such a person could exist. Then I realized what he meant.

Ryuuen had caught me in his trap.

"Oh, ho? And who might that be?" asked Kouenji. His interest must

have been piqued.

"Can't say. But if I'm not mistaken, there is still one person here covering himself up with a towel, hiding his true power."

Having dropped that bomb, Ryuuen entered the bath and turned his back to us. Fortunately, only a few people seemed to buy what he'd said… and yet, everyone's gazes were intensifying. Somehow, I felt like not just the current occupants of the bathhouse but people all throughout Japan were now paying attention.

"No way. A guy like you? No way, dude," said Yahiko, glaring at me. "Are you really taking what he said at face value?" I asked.

"I don't intend to, but…it's kind of curious that you're the only one

still covering yourself up all this time."

"Curious or not, I just never had any intention of joining this game." I took a step back.

"Okay, fine. But let us check, just in case."

Yamauchi and Yahiko approached, as though they were trying to flank me. Ryuuen wore a smug smile on his face.

I'm gonna make you taste defeat. That's what his look and smile said. Just as I thought…

Ryuuen, who had no way of knowing what my member looked like, had intentionally set this up. He was intent on making me lose, one way or another. It was a malicious sort of attack, very much like Ryuuen.

I could use all my strength and bolt from the bathhouse, but then I'd have to forego bath time while here at the camp. Sooner or later, the veil would be lifted. I could try to turn the tables and punch out every student here, but that strategy was hardly worth consideration. Either way, I lost.

There was no way I could avoid this incomprehensible battle anymore.

Kouenji, seeing I wasn't budging an inch, laughed.

"Ha ha ha! No need to feel embarrassed, Ayanokouji Boy. Even if you happen to be wearing protection, that's something a lot of Japanese children do. It's an important thing to protect."

"You're not protecting anything though, Kouenji."

"That's because I possess overwhelming strength, you see. I have no need for armor."

I had to get out of this. Think. Find a means of escape— "You guys, do the chant. The chant."

Despite having dropped out of this competition himself, Ryuuen spurred everyone else on from where he sat in the bath, setting off another of his traps. He countered my strategy, ensuring I could no longer escape.

"Take it off! Take it off! Take it off!"

All the guys started chanting, calling for me to take it off. The identity of the person goading them on didn't matter one bit to them. I was trapped, all thanks to Ryuuen. And all I'd wanted was to wash away my fatigue after a tiring day…

"All right."

Sometimes, you just had to fight. I had no choice but to admit that now was one of those times. And as a man, if you had a weapon, you should wield it. Winning or losing didn't matter, and nor did pride.

As a man with a weapon, if you have to fight, then you should fight.

What was important here wasn't winning or losing, nor was it something like pride.

"Fine, whatever."

"Do you want me to put you out of your misery, Ayanokouji? Read you your last rites?" asked Sudou. I waved him away.

Everyone kept calling for me to take it off, so I removed the towel wrapped around my hips, and then…

The chanting suddenly dropped. There was complete silence, as if the unruly noise earlier were just a dream.

"F-for real, dude? Ayanokouji, he…" "I don't believe it…"

The guys spoke in whispers.

"Well, well. I'm honestly impressed, Ayanokouji Boy. To think there

exists a Japanese person who can hold their own against me. Truly, a margin of a few millimeters might as well be nonexistent."

"It's like a showdown between two T-rexes…"

The guys looked on with admiration and exasperation.

"You are all living witnesses to history," said Kouenji, tossing his towel over his shoulder with a laugh. "However, victory is mine. If they are both T-rexes, as you put it, then the difference lies in the number of prey they've devoured. In other words: experience."

Without supplying any further details, Kouenji dipped back in the tub.

4.4

IT WAS 1:00 A.M., well past lights-out, and I was lying awake in my bed. Everyone else was sleeping soundly. I should have been sleeping in order to prepare for tomorrow. That reason I was still awake lay in the single piece of paper beneath my pillow with the number 25 written on it.

The note's simplicity didn't leave much to the imagination. The memo represented 25:00—in other words, one o'clock in the morning. I didn't have any clue about who had put the note there, but I was awake now so I could find out. If it were just a simple prank or something completely different from what I was imagining, then, well, that would be that. I could just use this time to calm down and think about things.

What lay at the heart of this special exam? The bigger picture was slowly coming into view, bit by bit. Of course, this was all speculation, since we hadn't been told exactly how the test would be scored. But I did know for a fact that there were going to be several things included in this exam.

Zen.

We would be graded on everything from our manners at the start of zazen to the posture we held during it. If we behaved inappropriately or did anything that got us smacked by the zen stick, we'd probably have points docked for it.

Long-Distance Relay Race.

That sounded simple. A test of our speed.

Speech.

Every person in the large group would deliver a speech on four criteria, aforementioned. The grading system for this had already been disclosed.

Written Exam.

I expected this would focus on the subject of ethics. It sounded like it would be a standard essay-based test.

There were other things that concerned me, like "cleaning" and "cooking meals," but I couldn't determine how those would be scored yet. In

some cases, things like tardiness or causing trouble might also be included in our assessments.

A lot of students were probably agonizing over how to approach this completely different special exam. A strategy, while vital, could only be devised once you understood something's true nature. The goal of this exam was ostensibly to make us work as a group, support each other, and earn a high average score. Simple, on the face of it.

But though it might sound easy at first, you could tell just from watching the groups be formed that this was going to be an uphill battle. It was extremely difficult for students who were normally hostile toward one another to truly cooperate. Horikita and Hirata, to speak of our own class, or Ichinose and Katsuragi, to speak of others, were probably focusing on encouraging such cooperation. Wielding influence within your group and having leadership skills made all the difference.

Selecting the members of your group was important, of course, but it was nearly impossible to tell right off the bat which students were capable of scoring well in this exam. Although Keisei's academic prowess was nothing to scoff at, and thus, he could be expected to do well in that regard, he seemed to struggle with even the two five-minute sets of zazen on the first day. Some students couldn't cross their legs at all.

It was still too early to tell whether academic or athletic skill would be a good measure of how students would do from here on out. Rather, it was the most adaptable students who were likely to come out on top.

Additionally, it was probable that more than a few students were opting to pursue strategies that deviated from the basic one of encouraging cooperation. I'd sensed when the rules were explained to us that even the school had struggled to prepare for this rather unorthodox special exam. This had been true of every special exam, of course, but there had always been loopholes in the rules to exploit. Blind spots that the school couldn't see.

Such as how Ibuki and Horikita had traded blows back on the uninhabited island, even though violence was prohibited.

Of course, if you did happen to get caught committing breaking the rules, then the consequences would be huge. The majority of the students probably wouldn't risk it, with immediate expulsion at stake. Besides, the situation was far too complex for a mere rule violation to secure you a

victory.

Could you find a barely existing blind spot, exploit a loophole, and take a shot that would somehow outdo the people following the traditional strategy? A high hurdle to overcome. I'd tried a lot of things in the special exams we'd had so far. On the uninhabited island, I had Horikita retire and switched up leaders. On the cruise ship, I had the trick with my phone. I purposefully drew attention to myself during the Sports Festival. And I shut Kushida down during the Paper Shuffle.

But this time, I'd decided not to take action. I would just sit and observe, continuing to collect information. I had determined that was what I had to do in order to fade into the background and graduate like any ordinary student. Even if that meant Class C took some hard blows this time around, I wouldn't do anything.

I also wanted to show Sakayanagi and Nagumo, who both had a certain degree of interest in me, that I had no intention of fighting…though I had my doubts about how well that would work. Horikita's brother couldn't really blame me for anything if all I did was observe. However, there was one measure I could take, and it was defense. If there were a student out there who was trying to get me expelled, then it was only natural that I would defend myself.

It was already past 25:00 now, and I had yet to see anything out of the ordinary. If that was the case, should I go back to sleep?

But just then, something happened.

The hallway door cracked open slightly and a little bit of light came through. It was Morse code. They were communicating via the flickering light. Since it was extremely dark in the hallways at night, several flashlights had been made readily available to us, and the person out there was probably using one. Light made no sound. The perfect way to signal me to come meet with them.

I got out of bed and silently stood. Our rooms weren't equipped with toilets. Getting up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night was a perfectly natural thing to do.

4.5

THE CORRIDOR WAS pitch-black, but I could tell someone was moving from the faint sound of footsteps. I followed that sound, and the person holding the light turned out to be Horikita Manabu.

"Huh, to think you'd contact me. Isn't that kind of conspicuous?" I

asked.

In order for him to place a note on my bed, he'd have to know where I

slept. In that case, there were only a couple people who might have helped him. It was probably either Ishikura or Tsunoda, the third-year students who'd played cards with Nagumo. They could have told Horikita which bed was mine.

"More than a few students meet in secret when others are fast asleep.

There are probably two or three schemes being implemented during this exam, after all."

Everyone—first-, second-, and third-years alike—was pulling out all the stops in order to win. That being said, such clandestine meetings rarely led to anything good.

"Do you know why I called you here?"

"Because Nagumo is acting weird. I can't think of any other reason." "Exactly. I thought you might have something on him, since you're in

the same large group. Plus, I wanted to respond to the message you sent me back on the bus."

"I'll say this up front: prepare to be disappointed. There's no sign Nagumo is up to anything strange."

I was lying. There were several things about Nagumo's behavior that concerned me. He'd directly challenged the elder Horikita to a contest in front of a huge crowd of people, and losing that contest would be a pretty poor showing for the second-years. Both his upperclassmen and underclassmen would view him with skepticism in the future.

If you were going to do combat in public, you should do so only when

you were sure the odds were in your favor. I didn't sense that was the case here. Since Horikita's brother had instructed Nagumo to fight fair and square, I'd expected Nagumo to be strict about making sure everyone in our large group paid attention to our lessons…but there was no sign of him doing anything of the sort.

That was probably making Horikita Manabu anxious. If not, he wouldn't have taken the massive risk of contacting me like this.

"Then you think Nagumo is going forward without any kind of scheme?"

"Who knows? I think not involving any third parties really limits what you can actually do."

Even if you could remind people not to talk in class, doze off, or be late, that wasn't going to improve test scores by leaps and bounds. At most, it might avoid having points docked.

"Currently, our large group is more unified," Horikita's brother calmly assessed.

True, his group was mostly composed of Class A students, including those from the first year. Whatever the test was, there was a strong chance they'd win. That had to be why he felt anxious about Nagumo's inaction.

"What are the odds he'll go back on his word?" I said. "Maybe he wants to see you lose no matter what it takes."

"Nagumo shows no mercy to those who defy him. He's employed underhanded methods like Ryuuen more than once. He's also directly responsible for the second-years' unusually high expulsion rate. However, he's never once broken a promise."

"You believe he's serious about not involving any third parties?" "Yes."

Horikita's brother nodded decisively. He and Nagumo had served together on the student council for nearly two years, and he must have seen how the other boy operated. I had my doubts, but hearing the certainty in his voice gave me that answer. An answer that applied not just to Horikita's brother, who was before me right now, but perhaps to all the second- and third-year students too.

After hearing those words of absolute certainty from him, I felt doubt at first, but then I had arrived at my answer. I could say that for Horikita's brother, who was in front of me right now, and perhaps for all of the second- year and third-year students as well.

I should give Horikita's brother some advice here and now. But it probably wouldn't do much good. He'd already determined that his best defense was to trust in his enemy's principles.

"This has been a waste of time, apparently," said Horikita's brother, turning his back to me. "Oh, to answer your earlier question… The student council can influence the special exams. The council is supposed to represent the students' perspectives and can therefore make significant revisions to penalties or meddle with the rules. However, the council cannot make these decisions on a whim."

"I see."

With that, Horikita left.

"He might lose," I muttered, unable to keep it in.

Well, perhaps that was the wrong word. Horikita's brother would make no mistakes. He would doubtlessly manage his group well. But even so, we clearly didn't fully understand this exam. It was possible this would drastically change the course of our third semester.

Chapter 5:

The First Half of the Girls' Battle: Ichinose Honami

BY THE TIME day three rolled around, it seemed like a lot of stuff had happened with the boys. But as a girl, I, Ichinose Honami, couldn't know the details.

Let's rewind to the day that the special exam started and tell the story from there.

"Now that we've formed our groups, let's do our best to get along, everyone!"

That was what I said to all the members of my group before bedtime.

Despite the many twists and turns, ups and downs, and ongoing drama, at least I now knew the allies who'd be facing this exam by my side.

Wang Mei-Yu-san, Shiina Hiyori-san, Yabu Nanami-san, Yamashita Saki-san, Kinoshita Minori-san, Nishino Takeko-san, Manabe Shiho-san, Nishi Haruka-san, Motodoi Chikako-san, Rokkaku Momoe-san, and I formed a group of eleven people. I was the only one from Class B, and there was also only one person from Class C. The rest were from Classes A and D. Manabe- san and Nishino-san seemed to be considered problem children even within their own class. In short, we were a group of oddballs.

I didn't know Mei-Yu-san well, and the remaining students who'd been brought in to fill the group didn't really know each other either. I needed to hurry up and build some relationships—fast.

"Let's do our best, Ichinose-san."

"Looking forward to working with you, Shiina-san. I've wanted to get to know you for a while."

"Is that so? That's an honor."

But as for Class C—no, they were Class D now—we hadn't really mingled with any of them at all. With Ryuuen-kun behind them, we could never get to a place where we could befriend them, no matter what we did. I

supposed it was still unclear whether he really had stepped down or not, but since we'd finally put this group of girls together, I wanted us to get along.

The main thing we needed to avoid was someone being expelled if our group fell short. In other words, we needed to avoid someone invoking the solidarity rule and dragging another person down with them. Even if my first loyalty was to my comrades in Class B, now that we'd formed this group, I couldn't play favorites. That was what I had told myself.

Wang Mei-Yu-san wasn't actively participating. To be more precise, it felt like she couldn't participate even if she wanted to. It would be simple for me to lend a hand, but this group was mainly composed of girls from Class A and Class D, many of them ones with big egos. If I stuck my nose in where it didn't belong or tried to forcefully lead them along, they might decide they couldn't trust me.

So I decided to wait. If no one else took the initiative and started helping Wang Mei-Yu-san, I'd do something about it.

"Hey, you're Wang Mei-Yu-san, right?" "Y-yes."

Shiina-san approached her, addressing her gently. Shiina-san had taken on the role of representative, even for a group like this. She was a really reliable person. I hadn't put myself forward for the role, partly because Shiina-san had volunteered right away, but also because I didn't think that we could really aim for the top spot with the members we had.

"This all must make you really nervous, huh? I mean, being surrounded by people you don't know."

"U-um, well, I wouldn't…"

"It's completely understandable if you're feeling bewildered, especially when you're surrounded by strangers and told to get along with them."

"Yeah. Exactly, Shiina-san."

You couldn't transform a group of strangers into friends just because you wanted to. It was the kind of thing that happened naturally or not at all. If you overthought it, you'd lose your footing and fail.

"Hey, Ichinose-san. Have you ever had a boyfriend?" asked a girl from

Class A.

"Well… I'm embarrassed to say it, but no. I don't have any romantic experience."

"I see. Huh, you look like you'd be super popular, though. Maybe you're the type of girl who has really high standards or something."

"I don't really think I am, but…I dunno." "Well, do you like any guys?" "Huuuh?!"

The question was so sudden, I couldn't help but panic.

"There are rumors going around. People say they see you hanging around with Nagumo-senpai a lot, just the two of you…"

Well, it was certainly true that I'd been working a lot with President Nagumo after joining the student council. I'd never imagined it would lead to rumors like this, though.

"Setting aside whether I like him or not, I'm really not even on the student council president's radar. He doesn't look at me that way."

"No way, that can't be."

"Yeah. I mean, you're you, Ichinose-san. It wouldn't be strange if you and Nagumo-senpai started going out."

"Either way, there isn't anyone I like now…" "Wait, right now? So you used to like someone?"

The girls started to grow excited all at once. This was a dangerous topic if you misspoke.

"No, you got it all wrong. Well, I suppose there was this senpai I admired, but before I realized that I had a crush on him, he graduated…" I trailed off, trying frantically to deny it.

The girls all exchanged looks before bursting into laughter. "What? What? Did I say something weird?" I asked.

"No. It's just, like, you're answering these questions all so seriously."

"Ichinose-san, you're way too honest. It's okay to just brush off stuff

you don't want to answer, okay?"

"Does that mean you dodged the question yourself earlier, Chikako- chan?"

"Eek."

And so our girls' night gathering grew lively once more. How should I put it? It felt like we could talk forever and never get sleepy.

"Hey, I'm not gonna answer any questions I don't want to, okay?" "Okay, then, how many times has someone confessed to you so far?" "Huh? Um, three times. Well, if you're including preschool, four

times. I think. And if I add in that one other time, then five." "See, you did answer!"

"Nyaa!"

I was no good at talking about romantic stuff. I was so unfamiliar with anything of the sort, I was afraid I'd slip up and prove my ignorance.

"Hmm, I wonder. Could it be that Ichinose-san is the kind of person who's incapable of lying?"

"You may be right."

The girls were getting really fired up. It was probably better to deny

that.

"That's not true. Really." "Really?"

"For example, you might need to make a gamble or two during the

special exams, right? I might try to mislead someone in a situation like that." "Then you're fine with telling lies."

"Hmm. I don't think that's quite right, either. I don't think anyone really wants to tell lies. The best way to put it might be… I try to tell the truth as much as possible. Well, that's not entirely right either. I guess I don't like telling lies to avoid hurting people…"

"Isn't that kinda weird, though? I mean, wouldn't you want to lie to avoid hurting people?"

"Yeah. I think lies told to avoid hurting people are definitely gentle, as lies go."

But…that wasn't really the case for me.

That was right. This was the ordeal I'd set for myself.

"I think a lie told to avoid hurting someone is just delaying the pain 'til later…"

A single lie could lead to something much, much worse down the road. I never wanted to go through that again. Those painful days. That cruel time.