Chapter 8 - Mr. President

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"When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." ~Sherlock Holmes (Arthur Conan Doyle)

"23 seconds," the teacher announced. At his announcement, I took a deep breath. I had been going all out towards the end.

"I didn't think you'd be that fast," I said to Ryuen as I got out of the water.

"Neither did I think you'd actually win," he replied. But he didn't seem annoyed. Ryuen was the type who didn't care about losing minor battles. He was definitely an interesting character.

Ibuki, with her characteristic grin, made her way towards Ryuen and me in the pool.

"All that talk about winning, only to end up defeated," she remarked, her voice laced with a light laughter.

Ishizaki jumped to Ryuen's defense. "Hey, Ryuen gave it his best shot!" he retorted.

The remainder of the school day proceeded as usual. I attended my classes and, as promised, spent time with Manabe.

The following day was much the same, maintaining its usual routine until our break period.

***

"Are you joining us in the cafeteria?" Manabe asked as our break began.

Just as she extended the invitation, the loudspeakers rang in, "Light Yagami of Class 1-C, please report to the Student Council."

"I guess not," I replied, rising from my seat. I noticed Manabe's frown, "Remember what I told you to say if they call you too, although I doubt they will," I advised, and she nodded in understanding.

"So, what's your plan?" Ryuk inquired as I exited the classroom. Ensuring there were no cameras directly in front of me, I responded.

"You'll see," I replied cryptically.

I navigated through the hallway towards the Student Council room. Upon arrival, I knocked on the door.

"Come in," a voice responded.

The voice belonged to a girl with purple hair, the secretary of the Student Council, Akane Tachibana.

"I'm Light Yagami. I was just summoned to the Student Council," I informed her. I could tell she took a moment to analyze me, which was natural, considering I had slandered her in my reports.

"I see. Then follow me," Tachibana instructed, leading me down a hallway lined with multiple rooms. Each seemed like a sizable meeting room, but she guided me to the one at the very end.

Upon reaching the door, Tachibana opened it for me, allowing me to enter. The room housed a large table, at the end of which sat the Student Council President, Manabu Horikita.

Tachibana quickly closed the door behind us and took a stand next to the president.

"You may take a seat," he instructed me in a serious tone, almost as if we were about to conduct business.

"I wonder why I could have been summoned here," I mused aloud as I took a seat far from Horikita and his secretary.

"Were you not the one who filed this report on the Student Council?" he asked, his gaze sharpening on me.

"Oh yes, of course, that was me. However, I also applied for the Student Council. It would only be natural for me to assume this could be my interview, wouldn't it?" I responded.

"Hehehe," Ryuk's laughter echoed in my ears in the background. "Things are getting interesting."

I had tricked Manabe to an extent to test if my theory was true - if, for some reason, he didn't want first years to join the Student Council. He responded that this meeting was because of my report and not my application to the Student Council as if that fact was obvious, as if I wasn't even under consideration.

"I see… I apologize, then. I haven't had enough time to review all student applications to the Student Council. I've been quite busy, as you can imagine," Horikita admitted, organizing my report.

"Interesting," I began, "I find that strange, considering that first years are expected to learn and survive in this school on their own merit without external influences. It's hard to believe that the upper classes could have so much going on. If that were true, the secret of the class and private points, and the entire school system would be evident to first years, something the school seems to try their hardest to avoid."

At my words, Tachibana's eyes widened in surprise.

"I've heard of an impressive first year in Class C, but Sakagami is rather tight-lipped about his classes," Horikita responded. "However, a nurse reported to me on the second day that a first-year had more knowledge than possible about the school system. She assumed the information must have been leaked by an upperclassman to you. Is this true? If so, the school will reward you if you expose them."

"Regrettably, I figured everything out by myself," I responded.

"I see," he said, "Given that I heard Sakagami speak of two impressive students on the first day and that the nurse came to me on the morning of the second day, I assume you figured everything out pretty early. But when?"

"On the bus," I responded. Both the president and Tachibana fell silent, with the president peering over the papers in his hands at my words. "I wasn't 100% sure about everything, but I had my assumptions. The students on that bus definitely weren't the elites one would imagine going to the world's best school, so yes, it was obvious to me something was strange from the start."

"I understand enough of that then. Let's get to your report," Manabu said, taking a couple of papers and scanning over them before speaking. "I hope this isn't a joke or a waste of my time," he said, looking up at me.

"Of course not," I responded with a smile.

"Fine then, right here it says you are accusing the vice president of the student council, Miyabi Nagumo, of sexual assault against Shiho Manabe. Can you elaborate on that?"

"Yes, of course. It was such a tragic incident. Nagumo was like a dog in heat and tried to force himself onto Manabe in broad daylight. If I hadn't arrived in time-" Horikita cut me off.

"Do you have any evidence to corroborate this testimony?"

"Of course not. Nagumo must be trained in the art of sexual assault and harassment. He picks the perfect areas to prey on women and uses his power and position in the student council to try to force himself on them. Such an elite predator," I responded as Ryuk burst into laughter in the background.

"I see. Although, if you have no evidence at all of this event, I can't do much," Manabu said, switching to another document I had sent to the student council. "You are also claiming Akane Tachibana is embezzling the funds of the student council," he said, flipping through the document.

"Yes, Tachibana told me herself she is embezzling funds from the student council. Her purpose for doing so, I couldn't know, but she is your secretary after all so she must be an expert in handling the funds of the student council. No wonder it has gone unnoticed for so long."

"Enough," Horikita interjected, shaking his head and sighing. "These reports, both of them. I thought there might be some substance to them, given your reputation, but they're clearly a waste of my time. Just tell me, why are you here?"

"Well, since you're asking, I am curious. Is it true that the student council typically accepts two first years?" I asked.

"Yes, that is generally the case," he confirmed.

"So, that means there are currently two vacant spots in the student council, correct?"

"Yes."

"And let's be honest, you have no intention of filling them, by the looks of it," I observed.

"I will fill the seats when I find students capable enough to fill them," Horikita retorted.

"Oh? Really? Is that so? By your standards, I should be capable. It seems like figuring out how this school works isn't something just anyone is capable of, given your reactions after all."

Tachibana interrupted, "There's more to being in the student council than just intelligence."

I smiled and responded, "I'm sure there is, but to me, it's quite obvious that our president here has no intentions of bringing any first years onto the student council."

"How would you know something like that?" Horikita asked, putting all the papers in his hand down and looking at me.

"You say that you simply haven't found anyone capable of joining the student council within the first years, correct?"

"That is correct. No one has caught my eye."

"That in itself is something that is impossible," I responded with a smirk, and both Manabu and Tachibana waited for me to continue. "If a company needs workers and all the applicants lack experience, a company would never say, 'I guess we won't hire because no one meets our expectations.' No, that would make no sense. A company with no workers won't be operating for long. The student council is like a company in this case. You say no student has caught your eye, and I've heard a lot about how much you care about this school. Even if you have a certain expectation of greatness from whatever first year you allow into the student council, that expectation will certainly drop if no one is capable of meeting it, as the school and the student council itself are more important than your expectation. Yes, under excellent management, the student council may thrive, but under no management, the student council will definitely fall."

At my words, both the president and Tachibana fell into silence.

"That's what you want, isn't it? You are purposely setting up the student council for failure. No, not the student council. I believe the rumors. I think you are a good person who cares about this school. The one you want to fail isn't the student council or the school, but your successor, Miyabi Nagumo, correct?" I concluded.

"I take back everything I said, light; you sure know how to keep a guy entertained. This school is definitely interesting, maybe the most interesting place we've been to." Ryuk's said in a voice that was almost psychotic and filled with anticipation.

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This is one of my favorite chapters so far being in a class other then D lets you veer a bit off from the story. I think the logic used here is sound but id love to hear opinions on the chapter and what happened.