Chapter 6: “The Other Classes’ Ideas”
Introduction
From the very beginning, Class D’s stance on what to do hadn’t changed in the slightest.
Approximately ninety percent of the class reached the same conclusion when the supplemental exam was first announced.
And by Friday, the day before the vote, that conclusion still hadn’t changed.
The conclusion to expel Ry?en Kakeru.
The majority of the class had already made up their minds without any prior discussion or planning.
Ry?en had led the class like a dictator, ruling with an iron fist. However, nobody could say his actions had led the class to success, not even as flattery.
In fact, he was the reason their class had fallen from Class C, dropping them down into last place.
Moreover, many students had suffered from his rule of intimidation and violence. He took advantage of weak-minded students to create a situation where his demands wouldn’t be questioned. He was the root of all evil. Many of the students thought that they wouldn’t have fallen down to Class D if Ry?en hadn’t been around, even if they would’ve never been able to rise to Class B.
By the third day of the exam, a good portion of Class D had already reached an agreement. Namely, to make sure everyone casts one censure vote for Ry?en, and to spread out the two remaining votes amongst the rest of the class to avoid concentrating too many votes on another person. This way, they’d be able to ensure Ry?en’s expulsion.
Although Ishizaki truly didn’t wish to see Ry?en go, he had been put into a difficult position as the one credited with defeating him. He had been forced into the important role of amassing censure votes to work against Ry?en.
When the details of the exam were first explained, Ry?en immediately understood the complexity of the situation Ishizaki had found himself in and the collective stance of his classmates.
And so, he came to a decision. In this exam where the class wanted to kick him out, he wouldn’t put up a shred of resistance.
For this reason, he was going to enjoy whatever time he had left until the supplemental exam came to an end.
After all, he still had to think about where he would go and what he would do after leaving the school.
Hence, he didn’t want to waste his time sticking around in the classroom after school had ended for the day.
Ry?en left the classroom right away.
Ibuki watched as he did, quietly thinking about how she would pass the time for the remainder of the day.
In the past, Ry?en had often invited her to accompany him, but that hadn’t happened for a while now.
A girl approached Ibuki as she stared blankly at the door Ry?en had just passed through.
“Well well, that’s quite the miserable look on your face, now isn’t it? Are you really ‘that’ sad to see Ryuuen get expelled?”
“Haa… You again? You really enjoy trying to pick a fight with me, don’t you?”
“Not reeeally. I’m just here ‘cause I’m worried about you; isn’t that obvious? It seems to me like you’ve been increasingly less important ever since Ry?en-kun lost, wouldn’t you say?”
The one saying these provocative words was none other than Ibuki’s classmate, Shiho Manabe, a central figure among the girls of Class D.
Ever since enrollment, the two had never gotten along well with each other. Manabe had butted heads with Ibuki more than just a few times, but because Ibuki was heavily supported by Ry?en, Manabe had been unable to complain about her as much as she wanted to.
Inwardly, this had made Manabe extremely unhappy.
Her provocations were, most likely, her way of venting pent-up anger.
“You’re gonna cast a censure vote for me, aren’t you Ibuki-san?”
“Dunno.”
“Just do it. I’m gonna vote for you, so we’ll be even that way.”
“…Huh, is that so.”
Manabe became somewhat annoyed by Ibuki’s indifferent reply.
After all, she really wanted to see her squirm and lose herself in anger.
“Well, isn’t it nice knowing that you won’t be expelled, Ibuki-san? Even if a handful of people cast Ry?en-kun their praise votes, he’s still gonna get like, more than thirty censure votes.”
Manabe was only able to be this cocky because Ry?en wasn’t in the room, but that didn’t change the fact that many of the other students shared her stance on the matter.
Ishizaki got up out of his seat.
The supplemental exam would take place tomorrow, and once it began, nothing more could be done to change the situation.
“Come with me for a bit, Ibuki.”
Ishizaki approached the two girls as they glared at one another.
“…Whatever.”
Despite her unclear response, Ibuki went along with Ishizaki’s request and proceeded to leave the classroom.
For Ibuki, she believed that pretty much anything would be preferable if it meant getting away from Manabe.
“You can act as calm and composed as you want, but know that after Ry?en-kun gets expelled, you’re next.”
Acting as though she was the ruler of the class, Manabe saw Ibuki off with one final provocation.
“So, where are we going?”
Ibuki asked after they left the classroom, with Manabe no longer in view.
“Nowhere in particular. I kinda just wanted to talk to you for a bit about the private points Ry?en-san is holding onto. What happened to em?”
“Nothing ‘happened’ to them, he’s still got them.”
“You still haven’t gotten em? The exam’s tomorrow you know? We’ll lose em all once he gets expelled.”
“And just who was the one who got all worked up about not taking them, again?”
“That’s… I didn’t care much about private points back then…”
“If you want them so badly, why don’t you go beg him for them yourself?”
“I ain’t gonna do that.”
Ibuki spoke sharply because she already knew that this would be his answer.
“As far as the rest of the class is concerned, you’re the one responsible for knocking Ry?en down a peg. It’d be pretty suspicious if people were to find out that you had been in touch with him. People might even start to question your loyalty.”
For Ishizaki, being doubted by his classmates wouldn’t be a terrible development, given that he wanted to prevent Ry?en’s impending expulsion.
However, that would only put Ishizaki at risk of expulsion in Ry?en’s stead. Moreover, the truth behind Ishizaki’s involvement in Ry?en’s fall from power could be exposed. There was no way Ishizaki would be able to reach out to him.
He was suffering from two conflicting emotions: the desire to save Ry?en, and the desire to save himself.
“I… Dammit, what should I do…?”
“It’s for the best to just let Ry?en be expelled, isn’t it? Even you should know that.”
“Is that really okay? Do you really think we can win in the future without Ry?en-san?”
“He expected us to praise the hell out of him even though he never produced any decent results. His actions were impossible to understand, and moreover, seemed kinda stupid.”
“He certainly took a lot of risks, but without him, reaching Class A is nothing more than a pipe dream.”
Even Ry?en had been wary of Class A’s comprehensive overall power under Sakayanagi’s leadership.
And then there was Class B’s unwavering unity and consistent results under the command of Ichinose.
And furthermore, there was Class C’s Ayanok?ji, who had the brute strength to overwhelm Ry?en and an immeasurable amount of knowledge and ingenuity to back that up.
The difference in power between the classes was painfully obvious, a fact that had left a strong impression on Ishizaki.
In order for Class D to contend with those monsters, it was crucial for them to have a monster of their own.
It was clear that Ry?en Kakeru wasn’t the correct student to get rid of during this exam.
“Well, I admit Ry?en’s far from normal.”
Ibuki had her own thoughts on all of this as well.
For some reason, even though Ry?en had been defeated by Ayanok?ji, her own opinion of him hadn’t really gone down.
Ry?en possessed a unique something that Sakayanagi and Ichinose didn’t.
A ‘something’ that might even be able to reach someone like Ayanok?ji.
At least, that’s what she thought.
“Dammit…”
Watching Ishizaki vent his frustrations with a sidelong glance, Ibuki began to think about what she could do for this exam.
Even though Ishizaki was an unpleasant, hot-headed guy, he was still earnestly putting in his best efforts.
And yet, she only thought of protecting herself. Of how it would be safer to just stay silent and let Ry?en be expelled.
Ibuki certainly didn’t have as much leeway as Ishizaki.
She knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that she was disliked by the rest of her class.
In fact, she knew that if Ry?en disappeared, she would be targeted next.
There was more to Manabe’s statement earlier than mere harassment.
Nevertheless, as long as she stayed quiet this time, she’d survive.
Or perhaps in the near future, another way forward might reveal itself.
This was the main aspect that was preventing her from taking action.
Part 1
That night, Ibuki visited Ry?en’s dorm room without any prior notice.
The dry sound of her fist knocking on his door quietly reverberated through the chilly hallway.
After waiting for a bit, the door opened.
“You?”
“…W-what the hell are you doing!?”
His chest bare, Ry?en had come to the door wearing nothing but his boxers.
“If I told you I was doing something vulgar, would you bug off?”
“I’d kick you in the nuts and go back to my room without looking back.”
“Kuku. I just got out of the bath, come in.”
It seemed as though he was telling the truth, as his hair was indeed still wet.
Although she was still wary of Ry?en’s teasing, Ibuki stepped into his room.
It was the first time she had done so ever since enrollment.
Contrary to her expectations, the room was decked out with various accessories, giving it a completely different impression than ‘ his ’ room.
“You’re not here because you wanted to sleep with me before I get expelled, are you?”
Ibuki had no intention of drawing this out by getting caught up in his teasing, instead choosing to just get straight to the point.
“Your private points. Hand them over.”
“Oh? Aren’t you the one who rejected them in the first place?”
While drying his hair with a bath towel, Ry?en took a plastic water bottle out of the fridge.
Though, rather than offer it to Ibuki, he popped off the cap and took a drink for himself.
“There’s already nothing you can do to survive the exam. In other words, the points are going to be wasted right along with you.”
“I suppose. As it is now, if I’m expelled, they’d all disappear.”
The secret contract he had made with Class A would be terminated, leaving Class D with the short end of the stick.
“So give them to me while you still can.”
“Well aren’t you shameless.”
“It’s what you really want, isn’t it? It wouldn’t have been beneath you to go and waste them all if you really didn’t want to hand them over, but it doesn’t seem to me like you’ve done that. It’s like you’ve been telling us to come and pick them up.”
Ry?en had been quietly keeping to himself over the past several days.
It was obvious that he had used, at most, only a couple thousand points.
“Kuku, well aren’t you the smart one. Whatever, take em. They’re useless to me anyway.”
Ry?en let show a smile as he stood before Ibuki.
He then picked up his cell phone and started tapping on the screen.
It only took a moment. Everything Ry?en owned was transferred to Ibuki’s mobile phone.
“It went through. You’ve served your purpose with this, Ry?en.”
Ibuki attempted to put away her phone away as she spoke, but Ry?en reached out and grabbed her by the arm.
With that, he shoved her against the wall.
“Hey! What are you doing!?”
Ibuki immediately let out a kick, but Ry?en catches it with one hand, stopping it easily.
“I don’t dislike that aggressive personality of yours, you know.”
“Huh!?”
Ibuki reacted with glaring hostility, unsure about what he was going to do, but Ry?en just smirked and let go of her leg.
It was Ry?en’s way of offering her one final farewell.
“You’re strong, but if you ask me, you’ve got plenty of weak points. You can’t beat Suzune like that.”
“Mind your own business.”
“Goodbye Ibuki.”
Ry?en turned away, appearing to have already lost interest in the conversation.
He then walked over to the front door to show her the way out.
There was a momentary silence as she put on her shoes.
“Are you satisfied with your time here, at this school?”
Ibuki asked, quietly breaking the silence with her back turned to him.
“Oh?”
“Nevermind.”
The answer was obvious just from looking at him.
Ry?en wasn’t satisfied at all.
As a matter of fact, he was going to quietly leave the school without ever being able to gain that satisfaction.
Ibuki stood up, the cold air from the hallway flowing in as she opened the door.
“Goodbye then.”
With these parting words, Ibuki left, closing the door behind her.
There was nobody else but her in the hallway this late at night.
A huge sum of private points was displayed on the screen of her cell phone.
She felt nothing but emptiness as she switched to another screen.
Ibuki made a phone call as she walked down the hallway.
She didn’t care if the person on the other end was asleep.
If it went to voicemail, she intended to cut the call.
However, they picked up before the tone played twice.
“It’s me. I’ve gotten all of Ry?en’s private points.”
She had finished her task, having reported to the person she needed to report to.
From the other end of the phone, ‘ he ’ responded, stating that he wanted to meet up in person.
“That’s fine, but…”
She trailed off as she thought about how she was already out and about.
After a short pause, Ibuki agreed to his request, resolving herself to head to ‘ his ’ room.
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