This series of nominations had a tremendous impact on the next round, largely because Miyake’s exit clearly caused Ninomiya to be severely and visibly shaken. She was so obviously upset that anyone would be convinced that she wasn’t acting. She was another model student, and Horikita and Kanzaki nominated her as such without hesitation. As everyone expected, it was established that Ninomiya was a model student. This discussion was a quick turnaround that ended with a win for the average students.
“…May I speak with you for a moment?” asked Kanzaki.
Kanzaki, who had lost four points in the first discussion, called out to Horikita as they were moving on to the next discussion.
“What is it?” asked Horikita.
Horikita, taking a quick glance at the ten-minute interval countdown displayed on the monitor, braced herself for the possibility that Kanzaki was intending to try to shake her up mentally. With a mysterious, meek look on his face, Kanzaki pushed his chair back and stood up. Then, he walked over to stand in front of Horikita.
“I have a favor to ask of you. I understand that it is bizarre to request something like this, but my class is in a situation where we cannot care about appearances anymore. Please, I’m begging you, will you please hand over victory in this End-of-Year Special Exam to us, Class D?” asked Kanzaki.
Horikita had intended to deal with whatever came out of Kanzaki’s mouth calmly. However, what he had said was just far too unexpected. It was a request she hadn’t even remotely considered.
“Are you being serious? I’m sorry, but I find what you just said to be unbelievable,” said Horikita.
Asking someone to lose on purpose for you, in a serious head-to-head confrontation, in an important special exam that would determine the class rankings? The idea was easy to understand, but it was a request that would take time to process. Was it perhaps an intentional statement then, made upon the understanding that it couldn’t possibly be accepted? Suspecting as much, a stern expression appeared on Horikita’s face.
“Yes, I’m sure it’s true that what I said sounds like an erratic statement. But I am serious. We in Class D are at the end of our ropes. If we lose in this End-of-Year Special Exam, the gap between us and the top class will be definitive. You could very well say that if we lose, we’ll have passed the point of no return,” said Kanzaki.
If Sakayanagi’s class won and Ichinose’s class lost, the gap between those classes would become so hopeless that Kanzaki didn’t even want to think about it. It would be so wide that even if Ichinose’s class earned dramatic victories in one or two special exams, they wouldn’t make up the difference.
“Regarding this special exam, one aspect I am thankful for is that the losing class will not be docked Class Points. Which means that your class would still have a chance next year, Horikita. Even if Sakayanagi were to win by a reasonable lead, a year would be plenty of time for you to make up the difference,” added Kanzaki.
Kanzaki, who could no longer care about appearances, and taking advantage of this highly secretive situation they were both in, made a request that was devoid of all pride. Kanzaki bowed his head deeply before Horikita to prove his sincerity.
“This isn’t something to which I can just say, ‘Yes, okay, I understand, I’ll hand it over to you,’ just because you bow to me. For the sake of argument, if this were a person-to-person exchange, then sure, there is a possibility that we could work something out. But this is a class versus class battle. Just as you are fighting for your class, I am fighting for mine,” said Horikita.
“Yes, I understand, of course,” said Kanzaki.
“If you understood, then you wouldn’t have started by asking for a favor that couldn’t be granted in the first place,” snapped Horikita.
“I understand, but I don’t have any other choice,” replied Kanzaki. “Of course, I don’t intend to ask you to hand over your victory for nothing. I will most definitely do what I can to make up for it. I could constantly provide support and backing for your class in our third-year battles, Horikita. I’m sure that normally you might not trust someone on that, but if it’s coming from Ichinose of all people, then I’m sure you can trust us.”
Kanzaki brought up the name of his own class leader, offering it up as though it were a guarantee.
“Yes, it’s true that Ichinose-san may not be the type of person who would betray us very easily. But that kind of statement would only be effective if she herself put that into words and made an appeal to me personally, not if you’re using her credibility to negotiate your way to victory, no? Besides, do you even have her permission in the first place?” asked Horikita.
“That’s—”
“If you lose here, Kanzaki-kun, then that means that Ichinose-san will inevitably come forward. If this conversation were to happen at that time, then it would be much more viable. But the fact that it’s not happening that way suggests that this conversation is all an arbitrary move on your part, right, Kanzaki-kun?” she asked.
Kanzaki merely cleared his throat in response to such an obvious point.
“You’re not even the leader of your class. And making some arbitrary guarantee of your own accord that you’ll fully back us up next year? That’s absurd. Even if it wasn’t, there is absolutely no conceivable way I would trust you on that,” added Horikita.
“Ichinose is…not the type of person who could ask someone to hand over a win, regardless of what she really feels deep down. But I’m certain that she feels the same way that I do, she just can’t say it. With Ayanokouji waiting ahead for us in this situation, we don’t even have a one-in-a-million chance of winning!” replied Kanzaki.
If Kanzaki were to pursue the win, then he would need to not only beat Horikita by any means necessary, but also reduce Ayanokouji’s Life Points as much as possible. However, at present, he hadn’t even been able to wound Horikita, which put him in a predicament.
“You certainly hold Ayanokouji-kun in very high esteem,” said Horikita.
“Yes. Ayanokouji is quite formidable. Which is why the outcome is already as good as settled,” said Kanzaki.
“I don’t like it,” snapped Horikita.
“You don’t like it? What? I’m just telling you the truth.”
“I’m not saying it’s not the truth. But I don’t like it.”
Seeing Kanzaki so quickly accepting defeat made Horikita disappointed and angry. Yes, it was certainly true that she had a powerful ally behind her. And usually she’d be grateful for the fact that her opponents were in terrified awe of him. Even so, Horikita tried putting herself in Ichinose’s position, thinking from the position of a classmate.
“You are undervaluing Ichinose-san, your class leader. The moment that the details of the special exam were announced, I thought that she would be a more formidable enemy than anyone else. Her friendships and powers of perception cannot be underestimated. She might be a more troublesome opponent than even Sakayanagi-san or Ryuuen-kun,” said Horikita.
Kanzaki, despite having settled into the position of adviser for his class, trusted Ichinose less than anyone else. Ichinose, though, surely trusted Kanzaki and had entrusted him with the position of center. That was why Horikita didn’t like his attitude.
“If you ask me, I’d say that things are still equal in this situation,” added Horikita.
“Equal. Equal, huh? I wonder about that,” replied Kanzaki.
It seemed that Kanzaki wasn’t going to change his mindset one bit, despite what Horikita said.
“Let’s end this now. Continuing this conversation any longer would make me uncomfortable,” said Horikita. She shot him a look, her gaze saying, “Hurry back to your seat.”
However, Kanzaki stayed still.
“I can’t… If we lose, this really will be the end for us!” pleaded Kanzaki.
“So you’re going to continue with your meaningless whining?” Horikita responded, keeping her voice even. However, deep down, she felt a slight ripple on the surface of her heart.
✦ ✦ ✦
