Chapter 4: The battle of the 1st and 3rd years

Now, nearly 3 months into the school year, the 1st years have gotten to understand the Advanced Nurturing High School and its rules a little better.

They were also in the process of forming groups for the next special exam.

However, an unpleasant instance soon happened after the group formation started.

Students of Class 1-D, led by Kazuomi Housen, were making their move, stubbornly refusing to participate in the groupings and to trade their cards. They were demanding points without which they were unwilling to form groups with the remaining year.

Because of this, the first years were put in a situation where they could not freely form groups.

Although representatives from each of the classes had hoped that Housen would have changed his mind during June, even today, July 1st, his stance on the matter hadn't changed.

There was a chorus of voices from the 1st years to just ignore Class D in the group formation process, but in response, Takuya Yagami from Class 1-B stood up and calmed those voices. He raised that while it would've been easy to simply ignore Housen's class, the important part about this special exam was that they need to compete with the "other school years." Under the case where this point was given highest priority, it was necessary to select talented students from the entire year in order to form a strongest group. Around the same time, some students who had the same idea as him also expressed their support, so the three classes agreed to wait until July came.

Housen, however, had gone through the entire time with a negligent attitude, causing their negotiations to bear no fruit.

Finally, the deadline had arrived, and it had been decided that the representatives from all 4 classes would come together to discuss a way out of the current situation.

In order to keep the negotiations an open matter for the 1st year, Yagami had proposed for a simple gathering. Although the three classes have agreed on their class leaders or someone in a similar position to attend the meeting, there was still no reply from Class D, who was the point for this discussion, by the end of the school day.

Yagami had arrived in the corridor of one of the empty 1st year classrooms. As the one who had proposed this, he felt obliged to arrive before anyone else did.

Not long after that, Utomiya Riku from Class C showed up.

"Looks like only you're here now, Yagami."

"Hey Utomiya-kun. I was thinking you would be the person from Class C to attend this gathering."

"Although I don't think I'm the type to be a leader, I came because the other students didn't want to come. While students in my class speak their minds freely in general, they don't have much taste for these troublesome matters."

"Isn't it because they believe you to be a reliable student that they sent you? I saw this month's updated OAA, and your Social Contribution has been raised to a B."

After saying that, Yagami smiled brightly.

Utomiya frowned, despite the praise he received.

Although Yagami had a C in Physical Ability, his Academic Ability was rated A. Moreover, due to his repeated contributions to his class, his Adaptability and Social Contribution scores had both risen up to A. Utomiya's overall ability was already topped by Yagami.

Moreover, Class C was not in a situation to rejoice over.

"We've recently lost a comrade. Honestly, it's quite a heavy loss."

"I also didn't think that Hatano-kun would get expelled. How regretful."

"… Ah."

Hatano had been one of the boys in Class 1-C, a valuable student with an A in Academic Ability.

However, the decisive blow was that he took on actions that would result in the penalty of being expelled.

This had made the lax 1st years realize again how harsh the school was.

That being said, it had already been a month since Hatano was expelled.

Utomiya, who was his fellow classmate, didn't even get the time to mourn his loss.

Now that Class 1-C had already lost an excellent student, getting a solid result on the next exam became necessary.

"Looks like you got along with Hatano very well."

"He had once said to me that he wanted us to join the student council together and create a livelier environment for everyone in this school."

Utomiya nodded lightly, and then looked toward Class 1-D's classroom.

"Do you think Hosen will come?"

Utomiya asked Yagami about the person that led to this discussion in the first place.

"About 50/50 chance he'd come?"

"50/50? You seem to trust Housen quite a bit. I bet he won't come at all."

"If he fails to show up this time, then we'll just be forming groups within the remaining classes. With that, Class D who were trying to extort us at high prices would be left alone, and their chances of winning would disappear as a result."

"If he thinks he can simply force us to hand over our private points like that, he is too arrogant. If we can smoothly form the groups with all four classes this time, it would be meaningful. Since we are facing the 2nd and 3rd years, we should cooperate. Nevertheless, Housen refused our offer."

Although they were all 1st years, Housen wanted to fight in areas where they didn't have to.

"It might seem like that on the surface, but I don't think that's Housen-kun's endgame."

"I understand that this is his strategy. However, it stands no chance of winning."

"If he truly intended on carrying out this strategy, isn't that a blessing? That just means Housen-kun's not that much of a threat to our classes."

"…Yeah."

Yagami explained that he set up this gathering also to gauge what Housen's actually thinking about.

The two of them were in the course of their discussion, when a third person appeared—

"Oh! Riku, Takuya. As expected, it's you guys."

Greeting them with a loud voice, Takahashi Osamu of Class 1-A boisterously approached them while waving his hand.

Although he was an unassuming figure with a C+ in Academic Ability, he was good at getting along with people, and as a result often asked to go to the meetings that took place. He had amassed many friends in the other classes and years.

"Osamu-kun, did you come because you were given this troublesome task again?"

"The leader of my class is the type who dislikes these kinds of troublesome things. That's why I'm the one coming to this discussion."

"Well, the discussion will move more smoothly since you came, Osamu."

Like Utomiya, it was fine if the student who came to this forum wasn't the leader of their class.

In fact, if a student with good communication skills came, it would be a good thing for the other classes as well.

"So only Kazuomi isn't here yet?"

There was still about three minutes until the meeting time. If he didn't show up, they would start the discussion without hesitation.

"What about we just work together now? What I actually want is to isolate Class D and crush them as soon as possible."

"We were told that this uninhabited island exam would also test skills other than academic ability. While Class D is last place in terms of academic ability, their physical abilities are second in our year and only by a narrow margin to being the first. As a result, they might play an important role in the formation of optimal groups. "

"I understand what Riku has to say. My class is also quite frustrated with the current situation. However, isn't it too soon to brush them aside now? There's no guarantee there won't be exams in the future like this one that requires cooperating with each other within the year, right?"

In response to Riku's proposal of isolating Class D, Yagami stood on their side. Takahashi, on the other hand, held a neutral position on this matter.

"If there are such exams in the future, we can just cooperate within our three classes. Indeed, I admit that Class D also has students that could be valuable assets, but they aren't worth bending over backwards to meet Housen's demands. It's almost meeting time. Can we start discussing in the direction of just our three classes working together?"

"It doesn't seem like we can, Riku."

A man slowly walked out, seemingly as if he had seen how this conversation would pan out.

"Looks like you came after all, Housen-kun."

Housen, after being greeted by Yagami's smile, approached with his terrifying white teeth as usual. After a quick glance at him, Utomiya averted his eyes outside the window.

"You've shown up at a great time, Kazuomi."

Takahashi didn't shy away from Housen, instead striking up a friendly conversation.

All he wanted was for everyone to get along.

"Don't call out my name like we're close, or I'll kill ya."

Having intimidated Takahashi, Housen then turned to look at Yagami and Utomiya once again.

"So y'all decided upon paying up?"

"That's such a bad joke. I am not giving you a penny."

"Anyway, let's calm down first. There's no way to have a discussion if you're belligerent from the start."

"Then, now that everyone's here, let's start the conversation. The groups—"

"Don't ya just start off like that."

Housen suddenly pushed Takahashi's shoulder, causing him to fall on his butt.

Utomiya, who was displeased by such an act, shot a steely glare at Housen.

"Housen, don't bring your violent tendencies here."

"Oh? You want to get in my way?"

"If it's necessary."

"Huh, interesting. Come and try, if you can."

As soon as he raised his left hand, Takahashi, who fell to the floor, called out in a panic.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait. I just slipped and fell, so calm down, Riku."

"He's saying that's the case, no?"

"Unfortunately, I'm not as kind as Takahashi."

"Then let's see what ya got."

Utomiya grabbed Housen's arm before he was able to clench his fist.

"Oh…?"

Housen smiled happily upon feeling the strength of his grip. Utomiya's gaze wasn't just putting on an act, but also showed his determination to fight him here if necessary.

Housen thought getting into a fight then and there would have been fun, but reconsidered.

Although his approach had been different, Housen was the most eager to fight the students in the other years.

"Looks like playing with ya is gonna be fun. I'll save it for next time."

"Do you think of violence as a game?"

"Ah yea, it's a game."

"How boring, but, if that's what you want, you don't have to wait until next time. I can take on the fight now. However, that is only if you promise not to attack any more of my classmates." 

In that hair-trigger atmosphere, both of them looked at each other with an unyielding look in their eyes.

"Hey, hey, what do ya mean by that?"

"I suspect that you're the one who got Hatano expelled. He's not the kind of student who would easily break the school rules."

"Ain't it just the small fry imploding as a result of fearing expulsion?"

"I remember clearly the look on his face when he got expelled. He had been tricked by someone."

"And, you're saying it was me?"

"Who else could it possibly be?"

Although Housen was going to back off, tension sparked again.

"Calm down, both of you. If you start a fight here, you'll be doing exactly what Kazuomi wants."

"Takahashi-kun is right. The most important thing now is to focus on the uninhabited island exam."

"Ah, right, we could group up with the other classes in the next special exam."

Housen said that as if he hadn't thought about it until now.

"So what? Since you have refused to work with the other classes, this has nothing to do with you right?"

"If you beg me sincerely, I could also work with ya."

"Don't be ridiculous. I wouldn't group up with you even if you were the last person remaining."

"How cold."

Utomiya slowly let go of Housen's arm.

Yagami, who was watching, seized this as the right moment to speak.

"We're wasting time, shall we begin?"

"Begin? Who said I'd join your little conversation?"

"Then why are you here? To simply pass the time?"

"What if I said yes?"

"I don't believe that. You're not that stupid."

Confronted with Housen, Yagami answered unflinchingly with a smile.

"Although the uninhabited island survival exam is out of the ordinary, the 2nd and 3rd years have already experienced it once. We 1st years have to challenge this test against overwhelming odds."

"But we were given an advantage, right?"

In comparison to the optimistic Takahashi, Yagami continued in a gentle manner.

"That doesn't change the fact that the 2nd and 3rd years have the age advantage over us in terms of academic and physical ability. So, if we can't cooperate with each other, we might just become food for the upperclassmen, right?"

Yagami stressed that because of that, cooperation between the four classes was essential.

"Your meek attitude is pissing me off, Yagami. Doesn't matter if they're 2nd or 3rd years, I have the confidence to crush them all."

"Of course, there are some individually outstanding students. However, you can't deny the fact that we are weaker in terms of overall ability. Not everyone is as lucky as you, Housen-kun."

Yagami's gentle attitude and him praising Housen was what kept the conversation going.

"That's why— I think it's necessary for us to join forces and at least form one strong 'group of 4' in our year. Just like what Housen-kun said, form a group with students that won't lose to the 2nd and 3rd years."

"In other words, we won't compete with each other for Class Points in this special exam?"

"Because the rules of this exam makes cooperation within the same year difficult, it's hard for the 2nd and 3rd years who don't have much time left to squander this opportunity away to gain Class Points. On the other hand, we 1st years have more than two years left, which is why we should simply give up on the Class Points."

From Class A to D, the difference between the Class Points, even at its largest, was only about 300 points. Compared to Yagami, who thought there was no reason to panic, Utomiya seemed to think differently, and frowned.

"The benefits of cooperating with the other classes are too small. It's pointless. We're just giving up on Class Points."

"Losing Class Points won't be our only concern if we end up becoming food for the upperclassmen."

"If we go with that strategy then we won't be able to make any difference to our current class standings."

Utomiya emphasized that if they were going to fight, then there was no helping it.

"Ah, wait a moment. I have a question about what Takuya said. Why only make one team? All top three teams will get Class Points, right? If we also take into consideration that we could merge into big groups during the official exam, isn't it better to form a lot more strong teams?"

Yagami immediately replied to Takahashi's question.

"Of course, you're right. However, if we want to create a lot of strong groups from the get go, we'll have to consider the balance of each team. Our opponents are older students, and they won't be easy to beat. That's why we should focus on forming a strongest team of 4 that can get first place. Besides, it seems like it'll be difficult to form big groups freely during the official exam, and even if the older students cooperate with each other, they can only choose 3 people from 3 classes to work together."

Takahashi, after hearing Yagami's reply, realized what he meant.

"So as long as we get 1st place, it doesn't matter what we sacrifice to achieve it."

"We can still form a really strong group if we ignore Housen-kun and cooperate with just three classes, but if we do that, we'll be on the same playing field as the other years. That's why I strongly hope that all four classes will cooperate with each other, not only for the sake of selecting strength from the classes but also because I think that it's essential for our class year to have a sense of unity to fight together in this exam. Only us first years are allowed to form 'a small group with up to 4 members,' so we should take advantage of this rule. It would be a waste to throw away the upper hand that we were given."

If Class D was ostracized, they will of course take actions to hinder the other classes from winning first place.

In which case, it's obvious they would use any means to prevent the other 1st years from winning.

Yagami believed that since the rules allow for the cooperation between all four classes, they should aim for that ideal.

And then, Yagami turned to Housen once again.

"I fully understand that you have the ability to compete with the upperclassmen alone, which is why I hope you can lend us a hand."

Yagami said that the cooperation of all four classes was necessary, no matter what, but Utomiya still suspected Housen.

He didn't think that Housen would agree to it, since he had refused all negotiations for more than two weeks now.

"Alright, I'll help you."

However, after all this time, Housen readily accepted Yagami's proposal.

"… What are you trying to do? Housen."

"What am I trying to do? Didn't you guys want my help? Ain't I just listening to ya cute wishes?"

"Then, tell us your conditions."

Seeing how fast Housen changed his attitude, Yagami didn't want to waste any more time so he urged Housen to continue.

"The remaining two spots in the strongest team must be reserved for Class D. That's a must."

"What?"

Utomiya naturally showed his disgust towards Housen's proposal that would only benefit his class.

"But what if we can't form big groups at will?"

"Didn't I just say? My condition is that two students from Class D must be in the group."

"I see. If we can't group with the two Class D students once the exam starts, then we would just clear it with the four of us."

"After all, if you've already prepared the strongest small group of four, whether or not they merge into the big group shouldn't affect the result of the exam, right?"

"You've got to be kidding, Housen."

"I'm not joking. If you don't like that, fuck off."

"You bastard…"

Utomiya was about to clash with Housen on his unreasonable demands.

But, Yagami jumped in between them, as if he were jumping a queue.

"Calm down, Utomiya-kun, I'm fine with this condition."

"You're just going to give all the benefits to Class D like this?"

"The most important thing for us 1st years is to work together as a team and to not lose to the other years."

"If we let him take advantage of us now, he'll be sure to do it again."

"Then, do you think the outcome will be any different if we abandon Housen-kun's Class D here?"

"That…"

"The most important thing in this exam is for us 1st years to win. If we do, nothing else can be considered as a loss."

"I agree. I understand how you feel, Riku, but first, we must have the 1st years work together."

Although Utomiya made a face, he finally gave in, at the request of Yagami and Takahashi's persuasion.

"Housen, no more demands. Okay?"

Housen didn't give any response to Utomiya. He turned his back as if to signal the end of their conversation.

"Lastly, there's one more thing I want to say. This is necessary for us first years to work together as a team. In order to avoid any disputes among us, I want to redistribute the item cards with rewarding effects in order to make the most out of them. It's also important to give students lacking the abilities Half-Off cards and place them in the same group. Are you fine with that, Housen-kun?"

"Do what ya want."

Housen immediately left without any reluctance.

While the three of them were watching him leave, Takahashi said to Yagami.

"By the way, Takuya, who do you plan to choose from Class B?"

"At least, I think that all of us who participated here can be in the strongest team, of course that's including Housen-kun. Right?"

Yagami looked at Takahashi and Utomiya, as well as Housen's retreating figure with a gentle yet sharp gaze.

"Even if his strength is the real deal, it would be a mistake to let him join the group. That guy—"

"Well, let's carefully decide on that later. For now, isn't it already good enough that we're on the same page?."

"… I understand."

"If we work together, we can definitely get 1st place. Let's first aim for that."

Although Utomiya was reluctant, he still accepted Yagami's words, after which they all disbanded.