Chapter 2 Part IX

Roughly 1 hour after I had invited Katsuragi to my room, I called a certain man who had just returned from his club activities. We talked to the man whose tournament takes place the day after tomorrow, in order to ask for his cooperation. 

"Huh? Don't fuck around. Who would willingly do something like that?".

Having heard Katsuragi's proposal, Sudou reacted with a rejection as though he were spitting it out. But that's natural, if he were to be found committing a violation of the regulations, there's no telling what sort of penalties he would receive. 

"In the first place there's no reason why I should listen to the request of this baldie here".

"So he says?". It seems Katsuragi too, does not trust Sudou and is still skeptical of this plan. 

"Leaving aside whether you'll accept it or not, I want to ask Sudou something. What kind of checks does the school perform?".

"Even if you ask me that". Sudou, who is still dissatisfied with the situation, showed no signs of answering seriously.

"Depending on the circumstances, there is a chance Katsuragi will also give you a suitable reward you know".

"Reward?".

"...that's right. I'm thinking we naturally would need to pay up". After hearing that, Sudou who had no motivation to do so earlier, began to give it serious consideration.

"Firstly in the morning, before we get on the bus to get to the tournament, we get a simple baggage check. Then our phones are confiscated. And when we get to the venue we just change our clothes and get onto the field. As for meals, once the tournament is over, we just eat on the field. I don't know the exact details though".

"What about the place where you'll get a change of clothes and the management of your baggage?".

"The locker in the locker room as usual. Of course, the teachers won't be present while you're changing, but the surveillance is strict. Even the toilets are kept separate for our use and we can't even hear the students from the other school".

Katsuragi, who was listening to our conversation, calmly simulates the situation. 

"It really seems strict. In the first place, it doesn't seem to be a good idea to even bring baggage with you".

"Is it ok to bring food with you?".

"Ahh, that's up to us. There are only a few who do it, but there are those who bring it with them".

"If that's the case, it seems like a pretty simple task to bring it out". I got up, and brought back with me a closed lunchbox and a water bottle that were placed on the shelf. This was originally part of the equipment the school had prepared for the students. In every student's room, each one of this is placed without fail. 

"I've put the gift box inside the lunchbox. It should barely fit with its size. And in regards to the bag, I've rolled it up and placed it inside the water bottle. If I do this, they shouldn't be able to find out".

It doesn't matter how much the teachers check, they wouldn't go as far as to looking at the interior contents. 

"Wait a minute. Even if I could bring it out, how do I deliver it? There's no way to deliver it and I have no money either".

"If it's about money don't worry. You just have to use this". I brought out the cash-on-deliverly slips I obtained at the post office. 

"All that's left is on that day, find a chance and mail it through the post".

"You're saying like it's a simple thing. In the end, that's the hard part, isn't it?".

".....indeed, it is a realistically possible way we've thought of, but the risks are also high....". That is because in addition to himself being involved in a violation of the school rules, he has also gotten Sudou from another class involved too. Normally Katsuragi would have immediately backed down, but he still has not shown signs of backing down towards Sudou.

"Unfortunately I don't have any person I can ask something like this from in my class. If I could ask you to do this, won't you do this?". 

Katsuragi bowed his head and asked for a favor. I could clearly understand just how important of an existence his sister was to Katsuragi. 

"Sudou. I think this is something you would absolutely not accept normally. But, on the contrary, this also has a great benefit in it for you, doesn't it?".

"Benefit? You mean the reward you were talking about earlier?". When he looked at Katsuragi, he nodded as though he understood.

"I will pay you 100,000 points as a reward if you're successful". For his initial offer, Katsuragi threw in a tremendous amount. Sudou stiffened up at that moment. 

From the perspective of someone barely making ends meet with 1000, 2000 points each day, that would be a tremendous amount. 

"What's your reason for wanting to deliver that package to that point?". At the unbelievably high amount of points, it seems on the contrary, Sudou's guard went up and he asked that question. 

"...I have a twin sister. You've heard until that from Ayanokouji". It was something he spoke of in the student council room as well. But, for just a sister he's giving her awfully special treatment. There are a mountain load of brothers and sisters who get along well, but it would give rise to a little doubt that he would be willing to go as far as violating the rules to celebrate her birthday. 

"My sister is sick, you see. On top of that, since my parents and grandparents have both passed away, she's currently left in the care of our relatives. So I'm like a replacement parent for her. If I don't celebrate her birthday, who will?" Katsuragi said.

I did think something else was up with this, but the situation hidden was a far heavier one than I had expected. 

"I understood the rules of this school even before I enrolled. But I did not expect I would not be able to send even one package. I admit that was my mistake. But even if I admit it, I still wish to send a gift to my sister from her brother no matter what". 

Well, I did check the school rules briefly but they did not mention something like that specifically. At most it only mentioned leaving the school grounds without permission while enrolled is prohibited. Nothing else besides that communication with the outside is forbidden was written. Of course, contact via letters being prohibited would also be included in that but it is a fact that 'you can't send packages' is not written in the rules. 

"And so that's why you came to me".

When I shrugged my shoulders, Sudou whispered in a voice that was loud enough for Katsuragi to hear as well.

"More importantly, what do we do if we get betrayed? I don't want something like what happened back then with Class C, you know?". A while ago, he fell into a trap and was almost kicked out of the basketball club as a result. 

"There's no need to worry about that. He should have also figured out that we would think something like that". He must surely have a proposal for this. Katsuragi also nods as though that were obvious. 

"As an advance payment, I will be transferring 20,000 now. The remaining 80,000 points will be paid later as a reward for your success". In doing so, if something were to happen, it would inevitably be left as evidence of complicity. It would mean either side would be caught in it too if they decided to betray the other side. 

"20,000 as advance payment...but...".

Even though it was a large sum, I can understand the reason Sudou is shying away from this. He's thinking about his basketball life. If the rule violation were to be discovered during the middle of his basketball club activities, he might even be prohibited from further club activities. He is most likely afraid of that hazard. 

"I've thought of a well thought-out plan. And also, I've already thought of whether this is a trap or not, but in the case that you get busted, it's obvious I will also be hit hard by it". 

If this were to be found out, Katsuragi would also receive damage on par with if not even more than Sudou himself. Unless he had that kind of resolve, this couldn't be arranged. But I'm sure Katsuragi is also thinking about it. In the case that he gives away a large sum of points, a restriction to ensure he does not get betrayed too by the other side. 

"All that's left is if you simply get found out huh.....". If that happens Katsuragi won't take responsibility for that. In other words, if that happens, only Sudou would suffer. Weighing his options on a scale, how would he make his decision. 

Having briefly glanced at me, it seems Sudou has managed to reach an understanding since he had a convinced expression on his face. 

"I get it. All I have to do is give it right? I just has to be me huh, someone who would accept something that dangerous".

"Is it fine...?".

Even though it was Katsuragi who wanted to persuade him, he had understood that in reality, the chances of his request being accepted were not high. Even if he were to give a large amount of points. Or he gets requested even more points in exchange, and the negotiation breaks down. He must have had that sort of image. In that meaning, the existence of the man named Sudou was both unexpected and a saviour for Katsuragi. 

"If you tell me about your sickly sister too, it's hard for me to refuse" Sudou said while scratching his head with an emotional expression. 

".....".

But the usually cautious Katsuragi did not show any signs of honestly being happy at the existence of such a Sudou. Crossing his arms with a difficult expression, he seemed to be reflecting on this in silence. 

"What? I already told you I'll do it. Is there something else?".

"Maybe he's still doubting us. Whether we'll betray him or not".

"What's that supposed to mean? He was the one asking us and now he's doubting us".

It seems Katsuragi is the type to emphasize playing it safely. When the other side started taking a firmer attitude, he turned to look. Perhaps it's his nature to become more and more suspicious as the conversation proceeds smoothly.

Of course from the start, I also understood something like that. Unfortunately, in this particular case, it's just needless anxiety. Sudou doesn't have a public or private side to him. If I could add to this, I'm the same as well. In regards to this, I never once even thought to trap Katsuragi. If I have to say, it's worth having Katsuragi owe us one in addition to getting private points from Katsuragi himself. And even on the off-chance that Katsuragi betrays us, as long as we have the resolve to self-destruct we can get him involved in this as well. In regards to this point, Katsuragi, who has shown his weakness from the start, basically has no advantage over us.

From this situation, I could also tell that the present is not a bluff. Having reached such a conclusion, I had introduced Sudou as an intermediary to him. I did not know how many points he would be willing to part with, but with 100,000 points it would lead to a good deal. 

"Just in case, the destination of the transfer is not Sudou but Ayanokouji. I'm sorry Ayanokouji but I'm going to have you transfer the points to Sudou after he succeeds". 

"Why do I have to accept such a troublesome task?".

"Insurance, I suppose".

In the case that Sudou gets caught in trying to bring the present out or mailing it, if the transfer of such a large amount of points were to be found out, the school would cast its doubtful eyes towards it. But by having the destination of the transfer to be someone different, it would not reach all the way back to Katsuragi. 

Sudou seemed to be dissatisfied with that, but he seemed to have consented after I agreed to transfer the points over to him later.

"One more thing, I had absolute proof that you are not lying". 

"Huh? What do you mean lie?". I had known there were still parts that worried Katsuragi. It was the fact that Sudou could have lied about 'sending the present through the post'. Even if Sudou had lied like that, there was no way for Katsuragi to ascertain that fact. Since he could not contact his family on the outside, whether or not the present was received, he would have to wait more than 2 years until graduation to find out. By then it would be too late. 

I think of several ways to come up with such evidence. And as the simplest and most reliable way, I concluded the best way would be to capture photographic evidence of the mail with a phone. 

But putting that into words was slightly difficult. I don't want to bungle it up and attract Katsuragi's attention. 

"Whether you really did deliver it or not, I don't have the means to ascertain that".

"What's that supposed to, there's no way I'd lie. Are you stupid?" Sudou said.

"Of course I want to believe you. But you and I still don't have the kind of relationship where I can trust you based on my believing you alone".

In front of a slightly dissatisfied Sudou, Katsuragi crossed his arms together as if to think a bit. 

"Let's use a phone. The moment you mail it through the post, I want you to record a video of it and sent it to me. If you do that, your credibility would be greatly increased". 

It seems Katsuragi had managed to reach one of those means pretty well. 

"Haven't you been listening to me? I've told you our phones get confiscated already".

"Of course I understand. And that's why Ayanokouji, I'd like you to cooperate too"

"And this means?".

"There's still a lot of space left in this water bottle. Put your phone after turning it off into it. If we do that, you should be able to take a phone to the outside without being discovered".

Since one student is assigned one phone by rule, if in the baggage search, Sudou hands over his own phone, there would be no further suspicion. 

"Of course, if you will hand over your phone. I'm also willing to give you a reward". Saying that, he offered to pay me 10,000 points. It's not a bad deal. 

"I understand. I will cooperate".

"Are you sure, Ayanokouji?".

"It's just something I could cooperate with. I also get what Katsuragi is saying. And besides, getting points would be a great help to me as well". 

"Then I'll leave it to you" Katsuragi said as he bowed his head deeply before leaving the room and going back. 

"...I got nervous thanks to something unnecessary".

"Are you alright, Sudou?".

"It's my second time participating in a tournament, you see. I think I get the flow of it at least.....".

But even so, since he is aware he's going to be doing something bad, I can understand him feeling the slightest bit of resistance. But since Sudou's lived his life as a delinquent, in regards to this as well, he's showing a comparatively easygoing attitude. 

"So when are you giving your phone?".

"Let's see---if possible, I'd like to consider an alternative. If I hand over my phone, the transfer of a large amount of points will remain on it and by any chance something happens, it would only pull your leg. If possible, I'd like to use a third party's phone". 

It would be best if I could obtain a phone from someone completely unrelated to the matter at hand like Ike or Yamauchi. 

"No one would borrow you their phone".

"If I said I'd give them 5000 points, they'd happily lend me their phones". 

"...you're a surprisingly bad guy" Sudou told me.

And so Sudou and I who had both received a request from Katsuragi, made preparations to ship the package out at a later date. Of course, after that, Sudou managed to successfully deceive the eyes of the school and succeeded in mailing the package. And he also properly managed to video that moment as well as deleting the data of it and its transfer. I don't know whether or not it was successfully delivered to Katsuragi's sister, but I'm sure it went well. I think it was thanks to Sudou that this was finished without any trouble, but just maybe, I also thought the older Horikita might have been involved too. 

Since he should have also known we were going to attempt something, if it's that man, he should have been able to make the necessary arrangements for it. On the contrary, he would've been able to keep an eye on Sudou and watch over the moment when he violated the regulations. 

It was just my selfish imagination, and I don't intend to ascertain the truth of that. Because I felt, if that were true, one day without even needing to ask, I would come to understand the truth.