“Shimizu’s pissing me off, but it’s like, what he says is half-true. I don’t like Ryuuen. Besides, I’d be fine with the exam getting all messed up, anyway,” said Tokitou almost desperately as he glared at Shiina, as though telling her to get out of the way.
“In that case, maybe you should just go ahead and forcefully shake me off.”
“Is…that what you want me to do?”
“It is,” she replied. “If you could do something like that, Tokitou-kun.”
“In that case…!” he shouted.
Even though Tokitou had suddenly focused his strength and clenched his fist, Shiina didn’t flinch whatsoever. Tokitou’s intention of making Shiina think that he might actually try to shake her off didn’t seem to be having the effect he wanted.
“Because, you are not that kind of person, Tokitou-kun,” said Shiina.
“How would you know what kind of person I am?” asked Tokitou.
“Ryuuen-kun said so. He said that you would never get violent with a girl, Tokitou-kun.”
“Huh? Ryuuen did?”
“I’m sure it isn’t a coincidence that you and I are in the same group, Tokitou-kun.”
“What do you mean?”
“I think that Ryuuen-kun had placed me in this group in the event of something like this.”
“He did what…?!” replied Tokitou with surprise. But he quickly found himself distrustful of that reasoning. “Yeah, there’s no way he would’ve trusted me from the beginning. So he had you keep an eye on me, huh, Shiina?”
“I am not so sure it’s that he doesn’t trust you. Can you not imagine that he did it out of consideration, so that you could get help when you were in trouble, Tokitou-kun?” Shiina asked. “If he did dislike you, then there wouldn’t have been any need for him to choose you to be in a group for this important special exam and discussion.”
“That’s…”
In fact, while the other groups were being called, Tokitou was thinking that if there was no obligation for his own group to be used, then he wouldn’t take part in this exam.
“We need you, Tokitou-kun. If you do something that causes us to be penalized, you will not only lose Ryuuen-kun’s trust, but you will also lose your place in the class,” said Shiina.
“My place, huh…” said Tokitou.
“You have one,” she assured him. “You’ve always had one, and you always will.”
Tokitou relaxed his fist meant for Shimizu.
Given the state of the room now, Shimizu was hesitant to go back to rattling on about Tokitou. Even so, he thought that he could manage to rile him up again, and Shimizu was ready to fight back if the students from Class C tried to hold him accountable.
“In that case, let’s at least make Shimizu apologize,” said Kondou, feeling they were owed as much for the suffering their class had endured.
“I am not saying Shimizu did no wrong, as the instigator. But I think that he probably did what he did because of the shadow of Sakayanagi-san looming behind him. I think that it would be a little wrong of us to blame him for it,” said Shiina.
Even Shiina was worried about Shimizu’s situation—the fact that he had been set up to pick a fight—and didn’t criticize him for it. Her comment made it difficult for Tokitou, Kondou, or Shimizu to launch a new offense.
“Now, then, we still have a little time left. Shall we get to discussing?” said Shiina.
The tense atmosphere of the room was nowhere to be seen, and it had somehow been replaced with a relaxed one. Tokitou bowed his head to silently apologize to Shiina, set his overturned chair back upright, and sat down in it once again.
9.6
A CRITICAL, EXPLOSIVE SITUATION, with a risk of violence and the penalties it would incur, had passed. And yet, in the second round of discussion, that explosive situation was defused thanks to Shiina’s self-sacrificial actions. Sakayanagi soon realized that this was not some miracle brought about by mere coincidence, though.
“I see… Tokitou-kun harbors some dissatisfaction with your class. You foresaw that I would take advantage of that, and so placed Shiina-san in the same group as Tokitou-kun,” said Sakayanagi.
“Heh, when Tokitou’s on a rampage, it ain’t easy to stop ’im,” said Ryuuen. “As you can see, if it were anyone else, they would’ve just been addin’ fuel to the fire. No matter who you sent in to stop him, you’d get basically the same result.”
“So why would Shiina-san be able to stop him, then?”
“Heh heh. ’Cause he’s soft on women, just like how he treats you. He doesn’t have the guts to drive his fist into a chick.”
“Hasn’t your thinking been to dispose of rebellious elements ahead of time?”
“Tokitou’s outbursts ain’t enough to be called ‘rebellion.’ He’s just playin’ with fire.”
“You’re giving him an opportunity to grow…” Sakayanagi mused. “You are quite kind, despite appearances.”
“It’s ’cause somebody, somewhere, likes doin’ that sort of thing,” said Ryuuen.
Using what is in the environment to induce growth in others was a method that Ayanokouji often used. Although they were such different people, Sakayanagi sensed the slightest hint of Ayanokouji within Ryuuen. She found that she was enjoying fighting with Ryuuen far more than she had previously imagined.
“However, I would hope that the only way you two are the same is having the same birthday,” said Sakayanagi.
Ryuuen laughed at her sudden, unexpected quip. “Ha! Don’t know nor care ’bout that. I just copied what he did.”
Ryuuen had made good use of Shiina, whom he had excluded as a candidate for representative, and taken the fact that Class A would try to make use of Tokitou’s disposition into his calculations. Sakayanagi genuinely admired the strategy that Ryuuen had taken. Of course, it was not without its dangers, but that was also something unique to him, she supposed. Putting aside whether this would have any concrete effect on the outcome of this special exam, from the perspective of both classes, Ryuuen’s side had gained some momentum.
“Because both sides have chosen to pass, we will move to a nomination by the model student.”
In this round, both representatives had chosen to pass. Shiina was targeted, and she disappeared from the discussion. And next, in the third round, Shimizu once again latched onto Tokitou, but Tokitou no longer showed any signs of irritation. He couldn’t betray Shiina’s wishes, and his determination to stick to that was conveyed even through the screen.
“Sakayanagi-san and Ryuuen-kun had both identified Machida-kun as a model student. Therefore, this nomination will be declared a draw.”
With a pass in the previous round, the representatives ended this one in a draw as well. The immediate removal of Shiina, who had supported Tokitou, had accelerated the stalled discussion.
“Now that it has come to this, it would appear that Shimizu-kun’s nomination is unavoidable,” remarked Sakayanagi.
“I was just thinkin’ the same thing,” said Ryuuen.
Both sides exchanged a few remarks in this round of nominations.
“Sakayanagi-san and Ryuuen-kun had both identified Rokkaku-san as a model student. Therefore, this nomination will be declared a draw.”
Contrary to what both representatives had declared beforehand, it was Rokkaku, not Shimizu, who had been standing out conspicuously and was correctly identified as the model student. And so, the second round of discussion was brought to an end, in an unusual case with no fluctuations in Life Points on either side.
The situation remained largely unchanged even as they entered the third discussion, which showed that things were at a stalemate. In both the first and second rounds, both representatives had chosen to pass consecutively, but starting from round three, both sides went on the offensive at the same time, nominating position holders consecutively round after round and ending things in a draw. In the following round, round five, Ryuuen nominated someone as an underclassman and regained some points, going back up to seven. In the round after that, round six, both sides passed again, and it ended in a draw.
“I did not expect your tenacity would continue for this long,” said Sakayanagi.
“I misread you too. You weren’t just all talk,” said Ryuuen.
They had each congratulated one another on putting up a good fight, in a battle that was getting drawn out for longer than they had imagined it would. Sakayanagi wasn’t making any risky moves, and in this discussion, she hadn’t nominated even one specific role. She took a non-offensive stance, thinking that something was suspicious. As a result, there were a number of rounds, which ultimately led to the unusual result of all the average students having been ejected from the room and the remaining model students winning.
“Can’t you at least get water?” snapped Ryuuen.
Once the interval came and Ryuuen made that demand, the examiner hurriedly brought some plastic bottles. Ryuuen aggressively snatched one out of the examiner’s hands, took off the cap, and poured half of it down his throat in one go.
“It is important to stay hydrated. I suppose you must not be accustomed to using your head, and it is unexpectedly depleting more of your energy than you thought,” said Sakayanagi.
Her comment was filled with mean-spirited sarcasm, also suggesting that she didn’t need any, but Ryuuen ignored it.
“Do you wish for a rematch against Ayanokouji-kun that badly?” asked Sakayanagi. “You cannot win.”
“Maybe not now,” said Ryuuen. “But if I go after him persistently, he’s bound to show me an opening at some point.”
“I would hope so, for your sake. However, Ayanokouji-kun is not so lenient an opponent as that,” said Sakayanagi, clearly speaking without interest in the matter and merely trying to assert dominance.
“Yer a nasty woman, through and through,” spat Ryuuen.
“Thank you very much,” replied Sakayanagi.
The time for the fourth discussion was approaching and both sides were serious about crushing each other. In this new discussion, Sakayanagi discovered a position holder, while at the same time, Ryuuen had made an erroneous nomination, causing him to lose two Life Points. It looked as though the tides were turning in Sakayanagi’s favor, but in rounds four and five of the discussion, both representatives had identified a position holder and model student in succession, ending in a draw—an incomprehensible development. They had both passed in round six, but students once again identified the model student in the seventh round, bringing the discussion to an end. More than three hours had passed already since the battle between generals had begun, and they were about to enter the fifth discussion.