Chapter 6 Part IV

Midnight. I woke upon hearing a slight creaking coming from the bed. A lone student is moving in the dark. Of course, even if there's absolutely zero visibility I'd still know who it is. It's Hashimoto who's supposed to be sound asleep above me. He soundlessly descended using the bunk bed's ladder and without even bringing along a flashlight, he left the room. After that, I slowly raised myself up.

I think it's most likely going to be a toilet break but there are other possibilities too. Because I noticed the fact that throughout this whole week, there hasn't been a single incident of Hashimoto going for a toilet break in the middle of the night. I only gave him a slight headstart before getting up and following Hashimoto. On the off chance that he's standing right outside the door and notices me, I can just say that I'm also going for a toilet break. It's precisely because we share the same bed that Hashimoto will also think that he just woke me up too. I concealed my presence and headed out into the corridor.

There's only the emergency light and the moonlight streaming in from outside but walking without a flashlight is possible. I saw Hashimoto heading off towards the toilet. I followed him. And when I did, Hashimoto turned left rather than continue on down the corridor. It doesn't look like he's simply heading to the toilet. Hashimoto, after going down to the first floor, went outside while still in his indoor shoes. As I approached him, I concealed myself using the wall on my side. There's no one other than Hashimoto there. Maybe he just came here for a breath of fresh air prior to the exam? Or perhaps he's waiting for someone? I realized the answer to that question right away.

Sensing that he's about to turn towards me, I moved elsewhere. Because I saw another shadow I believe to be his objective here. That shadow walked along the path Hashimoto took and went outside.

In a situation like this where not even the sounds of insects are present, you could hear a person's voice a lot more clearly than you'd expect.

"Yo, Ryuuen."

"What the hell do you want with me?"

"I just want to have a chat with you. You stand out way too much in the cafeteria. The only time we can meet would be in the middle of the night, right?"

"On the very last day?"

"Precisely because it's the very last day. Everyone else should be sound asleep right now."

"…I see. I guess that's true."

There are no students who'd stay up this late at night when there's an exam the next day. That's why Hashimoto chose a time like this to have his secret meeting with Ryuuen. But Ryuuen and Hashimoto are a rather unexpected combination…or not I suppose. Back during our time on the uninhabited island, Ryuuen cultivated a relationship with Class A.

It wouldn't be strange even if Hashimoto played the role of the mediator back then.

"Doing things in a roundabout way isn't how I roll. Give it to me straight. Did you really step down as class leader?"

"Kuku. You don't seem like you're buying it?"

"At the very least I can't bring myself to believe you got beaten down by Ishizaki and the others."

Hashimoto tells him how that point stood out to him. Certainly, being beaten by Ishizaki does sound rather stupid.

"Putting him aside, Albert's a troublesome one. If I go head-to-head with that guy, it'll be tough."

"I see. Well, Albert certainly is a threat I suppose. But the Ryuuen Kakeru that I know would never cower before an enemy like that. On the contrary, he'd always have a countermeasure planned, right?"

Rather than assuaging his doubts, that only seemed to make him even more suspicious.

"I just got tired of leading a bunch of people who'd rebel against me. As long as I keep exploiting you Class A guys, I'll always be in the safe zone. I'm not obligated to save those guys."

"I see. So that's the truth then."

"Have I convinced you?"

"I wonder. To be honest, it's still fifty-fifty. Besides, I'd personally like you to fight back from the situation you're in right now."

"So you can get more pocket money, is that it?"

"That's exactly right. Just like you, I desire the 'promise of Class A'". If you can save up 20 million points, you gain the right to move up to Class A. Any student who possesses the means to do so can rest assured. A situation that would be the envy of everyone else.

But making that a reality is difficult. Apparently, Hashimoto's also one of the students aiming for that.

"I assume you're prepared to betray Sakayanagi if the promise of victory is what you want."

"If necessary, yes."

Hashimoto answered like that but immediately added this.

<Illustration >

"Selling out Sakayanagi doesn't come cheap, Ryuuen. Because right now, Sakayanagi stands at the very top of our class. I'm on the winning team, you get it right?"

"I'd like to see how long this sort of diplomacy will work."

"I'm rather good at carving out my own place. I'll have you know I'm more capable than I seem. But I'm glad I got to talk directly with you like this. Your eyes aren't dead yet."

After yawning, Hashimoto finally added this.

"When Hirata's class overtook yours, I wondered what the hell you were doing but you may be tougher than you look."

"Huh?"

"If you look at each member calmly, everything becomes clear. And you start wanting to crush them early on."

"To think you'd evaluate them. Is there a man you're interested in or something?"

"At the very least, Kouenji's a threat. If he acts for the sake of the class, there's no telling what'll happen even to Class A. Besides, there are students like Hirata and Yukimura who excel academically. There's also Sudou, who's one of the physically fittest in our school year."

"I don't know about the others but I don't think that man will act."

Hashimoto laughed, then agreed with him.

"Regardless, there's no telling what'll happen when. But I'll keep that in mind, just in case. Even if Hirata and his class manage to get themselves promoted to Class A, there's no problem as long as there's room for me to squeeze myself in."

"I doubt you have that much power to begin with but do your best to make sure you don't get burned, ok?"

Ryuuen mocks Hashimoto and tries to cut the conversation short.

"Even if it's shitty, dragging this out is just troublesome."

"Yeah."

I anticipated that they'd cut their conversation short and so I tried to move elsewhere. Hashimoto will probably head back to our room right away. It would be suspicious unless I'm already sound asleep in bed by then.

But then I sensed someone else approaching and stopped myself from heading back. That person immediately noticed Ryuuen and Hashimoto and called out to them.

"Hey 1st years, having a secret meeting at a time like this?"

"Huh?"

The ones who stood before Ryuuen and Hashimoto who both headed back into the school building are Nagumo Miyabi and Horikita Manabu. Ryuuen stopped walking for an instant but then immediately lost interest and started walking again. Towards Nagumo. But Nagumo did not move from that spot.

"Get out of my way."

In response to Ryuuen's glare, Nagumo laughed as though that fascinated him.

Hashimoto too, having returned to the corridor to see what's going on, met Nagumo's gaze.

"I've heard you're quite the delinquent. You're Ryuuen, right? I'm going to have a little chat with Horikita-senpai now but you should tag along too."

You too, as though saying that he spoke to Hashimoto too.

"Not interested."

Ryuuen shoulder checked Nagumo.

"Bullish, aren't you? Aren't you afraid of me, Ryuuen?"

"Student council president or whatever else you might be, I'll crush anyone who gets in my way."

"Heh."

Nagumo seems to now harbor a certain degree of interest in Ryuuen, who didn't budge an inch.

"I don't really dislike your type. But you're not cut out to be part of my student council."

When Ryuuen tried to walk away, Nagumo again called out to him.

"As a third party, why don't you make a bet? In today's special exam, between my group and Horikita-senpai's group, which one do you think will rank higher? 10,000 points per bet. How about that? No matter which side you bet on, as long as you hit the mark I'll pay up that amount. If it's a miss I'll have you pay up though."

"That's stupid. I'm not interested in that sort of money."

"10,000 is 'that sort of money' for you, huh? You're Class D so you're always short on money, aren't you? You could earn a bit more, you know?"

"Then go with 1 million. I'll bite if you're willing to pay up that much."

Ryuuen said that and turned around.

"Hahaha. You're a funny one, Ryuuen. A bold joke. You can go now."

Apparently he thinks Ryuuen's proposal was a joke.

"If you don't have the balls to pay up at least that much, don't bother asking me to place a bet."

"Hey you, that 1st year over there. You think Ryuuen can pay up?"

Nagumo asks Hashimoto. Hashimoto, who's aware of the secret arrangement he made with Class A, should know that he's definitely capable of doing so but— "I'm not sure…we're in different classes so I can't tell."

"If we had our phones and could check then I wouldn't mind playing along. Too bad."

In the end, the bet was called off. And with that timing, Hashimoto tried to leave. Perhaps because they were already out of his sight, Nagumo turned away from them and glanced at the older Horikita.

"Horikita-senpai, please excuse yourself from the exam tomorrow."

All of a sudden, he cut in with those words. Ryuuen disinterestedly walked off but Hashimoto unexpectedly stopped walking.

"Excuse myself?"

"That's right."

"This is even worse than the joke Ryuuen told just now."

"I'm actually quite serious about this."

But he added this.

"I'm saying this for your sake, senpai."

"Just put it simply. I know you have a habit of monologuing in your own head but looks like you weren't able to fix that habit."

"Sorry. Being able to see the future far too clearly is also something to consider. If you won't excuse yourself, senpai, you will come to regret it. In other words, I'm showing you mercy right now. I could drop you without any warning but that would be far too cruel, wouldn't it?"

"What are you planning? Depending on what it is, I won't accept it."

"I understand. That the rules of our fight are to do it fair-and-square without getting a third party involved. But with the exam going the way it is, there's no telling which one of us has won until we open the lid to check. Of course, I expect it to be a close battle so I'd like to win. For that reason, I've done something."

"Does that have anything to do with you asking me to excuse myself?"

"Because by doing so, you would be minimizing the damage you'll be sustaining, senpai. Can you see what preparations I've made? No, you can't. There isn't a single student in this school capable of reading my train of thought. That's just how it is. Even your favorite's the same…which 1st year was it again?"

Nagumo looked around and deliberately locked his gaze on Hashimoto. But there's no way Hashimoto could possibly understand.

"Yeah, that's right. If I recall, he's in the same group as this 1st year here. Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, right?"

As though to make Hashimoto aware of it, Nagumo clearly emphasized my name.

"What do you think, Hashimoto? About Ayanokouji."

"What do you…no, I think he's just a normal student…"

Hashimoto is bewildered after having unexpectedly heard my name.

"Right? But Horikita-senpai here seems to rank Ayanokouji above all the other 1st years."

"Isn't that because he gave a good showing during the sports festival's relay?"

"Normally speaking, yes. But that doesn't seem to be all there is to it. Horikita-senpai places Ayanokouji above even Sakayanagi, above even Ryuuen and above even Ichinose. Since you're in the same group, I thought you might've been able to sense something."

"No..."

"Why exactly is that, senpai. Please tell us the reason already."

"You're stretching the point, Nagumo. When did I ever tell you my opinion of Ayanokouji? There's nothing to be gained in distorting the truth. Stop teasing the 1st years already."

"Sorry, senpai. I guess you're right. Sorry, Hashimoto. That was a joke just now."

"Is that so...?"

The topic of their discussion is slightly worrying but I decided to wrap it up. The three of them happen to be blocking the corridor so I'll have to use the staircase on the opposite end to return to our room. It would mean taking a detour but I decided to back via an alternative route. If I'm not there by the time Hashimoto gets back, it might raise suspicions. A few minutes after I got back, Hashimoto quietly returned to the room. In the dark, I felt a gaze being directed at me, but that was it. Afterwards, Hashimoto silently went to sleep.