Chapter 139: Koenji's Self-Destruct
[In the chat room...]
[Sakura looked at the video in front of her, murmuring softly: "Another troublesome guy has appeared..."]
[Kushida with a cold face, putting on a proud appearance looking at Ichinose inside the video, but as if thinking of something, suddenly revealed a trace of cold smile.]
[She who once shared the title of grade's social flower with Ichinose, after this period of interaction and observation, could be said to have understood Hikigaya to a certain degree, while Ichinose this person still understood nothing.]
[Karuizawa biting her teeth, with a very displeased appearance. If observed carefully, one would discover her current appearance was no different from her own in the video.]
[After all, the true feelings in the video were genuinely emitted. Even just as an observer, she could genuinely feel her own emotions.]
[Horikita said nothing, just kept murmuring on her lips: "Boring, actually helping the enemy" such words, but whether she truly didn't care, perhaps only she herself knew.]
[Sakayanagi smiled slightly: "Seems when little Hiki is around, it's really Dragon Boy's unlucky time."]
[Kitō: "Seems really the case. Clearly in the previous two exams Ryuen got good rankings, but as long as Hikigaya stands here, Ryuen's plans fail in advance, really strange."]
[Kamuro: "Ryuen's strength is obvious to all. Even if he lost to Hikigaya, cannot deny his strength."]
[Kitō: "This point is fact. After all, only monsters can fight monsters."]
[Sakayanagi also nodded in agreement: "Not bad, and this time Ryuen didn't fail. In a certain sense, he is already ahead of us."]
[Hashimoto revealed a puzzled expression: "Oh? Princess-sama actually says this?"]
[Kamuro and Kitō also looked at the two with puzzled faces, while Sakayanagi very calmly said: "If saying Hikigaya's this plan can simultaneously solve BD classes' troubles, even use this to find the person behind the anonymous messages, then Ryuen's this action is not just to break Class B. This kind of plan is only on the surface. What he needs more is to protect his own class's classmates, and the deal with Nagumo Miyabi is his direct goal."]
[Hashimoto: "Horikita Manabu, the student council president should know all this, right? Why not stop all this?"]
[Kitō shook his head: "He stopping all this is meaningless. Before long, Nagumo Miyabi will completely become student council president. At that time they will face the same situation, so current Horikita Manabu just turns a blind eye. As long as not too excessive, Horikita Manabu won't act."]
[Kitō's analysis was indeed logical. In this chat group, almost everyone acknowledged his words.]
[Ibuki: "Seems Sakayanagi and them have pretty high evaluation of you, Ryuen."]
[Ryuen coldly snorted: "Being evaluated by them really feels indescribably uncomfortable. They haven't won against me."]
[Ishizaki: "No matter what, Ryuen's plan already succeeded. This point is the best."]
[Although he had already been expelled in the video, as a former class, he didn't want to see his class fall into such a miserable state.]
[...]
[In Ichinose's class, same as in the video, also erupted in commotion. For them, this battle was their victory.]
[Kanzaki's face finally eased a bit, no longer so serious, but compared to the already frenzied class members, he still retained a trace of rationality.]
["However, this time winning over Class D is not just relying on Ichinose, but also because of Hikigaya's secret control. Have to say, I really need to reevaluate this person."]
[Shiranami: "The key is, we in the video still knew nothing. Turns out all this had him helping us."]
[Kanzaki faintly smiled: "Hiding merits and fame... huh?"]
[Ichinose looking at her so brave self in the video, for a time fell into a daze. Receiving such encouragement, she actually took that step. She actually crossed her once most feared past, walking toward a new future.]
[She in the video no longer had anything to fear. After all, she had accepted her past identity, and once again gained the support of the whole class. Now she was just Ichinose, Ichinose Honami, the leader supported by all classmates.]
[Not just that, she finally recognized the feelings she had always been avoiding. Perhaps in her eyes, the boy in front of her definitely had something different, and had already occupied a very important position in her heart. Different from the usual gentleness she gave people, she wanted more to obtain gentleness from the boy.]
[This was the difference, and also Ichinose's brand new change.]
[Yukinoshita Yukino: "..."]
...
The farce between Class B and Class D had come to an end, and evidently, this rumor had reached its conclusion as well.
The next morning, as soon as Hikigaya stepped into the classroom, he could hear Yamauchi making a huge racket somewhere, as if he were venting something.
"I already said it, how could I possibly be the traitor! These rumors have already been solidly proven to be fake!"
Before his classmates could even open their mouths to speak, Yamauchi shot a smug glance at Shinohara and said:
"I knew it, how could any of our classmates have ever sold out O."
Although he said that, it still made Shinohara feel extremely uncomfortable. Girls like her had a deep aversion to spreading dirty rumors about other girls, and Yamauchi, who knew full well what it was like, kept bringing it up again and again. If it weren't for the fact that Shinohara couldn't be bothered to deal with him, she probably would have already lost her temper and punched him by now.
In this way, some classmates gradually started coming up to him, patting his shoulder and saying:
"I knew you definitely weren't the traitor; these are all just rumors!"
"Yeah, how could someone like that ever appear in our class?"
"..."
However, even so, there were still some people in the class who chose to remain silent. Some, after seeing the argument between Ichinose and Ryūen yesterday, had confirmed that it wasn't entirely rumors after all. And others were victims of the rumors themselves, and they knew deep down that it wasn't a lie.
In this manner, the class quickly split into two states: one group foolishly laughing and chatting away, and the other silently saying nothing. But regardless of which group, none of it had anything to do with Hikigaya, because right now, he was wearing his headphones, sitting in the corner with his head down, fast asleep.
Horikita glanced at Hikigaya beside her; she seemed to have already gotten used to it and didn't disturb him.
Hikigaya had truly brought the fine tradition of Sōbu High to this Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School, only back then, he slept to avoid his classmates' chit-chat and weird stares, whereas now, he was just genuinely sleepy.
Besides, with winter approaching, people's desire to sleep naturally increased.
No matter how noisy the class got, the moment he put on his headphones, the world became quiet. However...
"Still sleeping! Class is starting, you idiot!"
Horikita deliberately aimed at Hikigaya's side abdomen, that was his unexposed weak spot, but as his desk mate for nearly a year, Horikita had discovered this vulnerability of his in a chance moment, one that he had never revealed to anyone.
The instant his side was poked, Hikigaya awoke from that gentle dream, his entire body jolting upright as if struck by a numbing electric current.
He looked at Horikita beside him, clearly a bit annoyed as he said:
"Hey, Horikita, couldn't you wake me up like a normal person?"
Horikita didn't say the words "boring," but instead pressed her pen to her lips, deliberately putting on a puzzled expression.
"Oh? In your words, isn't this the most efficient method? Besides, if you don't wake up and we lose class points for it during class, I'd be the one in trouble."
Hikigaya was truly left a bit exasperated and amused by this Horikita, not knowing how to retort to her. In the end, he had no choice but to swallow his bitterness and chuckle wryly to himself.
Seeing that Hikigaya wasn't countering her with his usual twisted logic, Horikita revealed a triumphant smile and started gloating smugly.
Not long after, Chabashira slowly walked in from the front door. The class seemed to have already grown accustomed to her sour face, but Hikigaya, now alert, noticed that this time, Chabashira's brows were slightly furrowed.
'Looks like the opportunity is finally coming...'
Gradually, the other students also noticed that Chabashira's complexion was poor, different from her usual expressionless sour face, it seemed like pure fear this time.
Yamauchi, who had just been chatting excitedly, happily asked:
"Sensei, why do you have such a face?"
Chabashira tried her best to calm her emotions, finally resting her gaze on everyone.
"The school has issued a new exam. Because this year's situation is unprecedented, so..."
Chabashira didn't continue, but Hikigaya had already sensed something was off. If something could make even Chabashira this fearful, then it meant the rules of this exam would surely be extremely brutal.
Yamauchi: "Sensei, don't keep us in suspense; just tell us already."
Ike: "Yeah, Sensei, we've gotten through so many exams; we'll definitely win this one too."
Sotomura: "Sensei, don't underestimate us!"
Chabashira let out a sigh. She, who knew the rules intimately, was well aware that this wasn't an exam that could be passed through opportunism or unity alone. If anything, this exam would definitely bring out the darkest aspects within the class.
Because no previous year had ever seen a precedent where only one class had a dropout up to this point, the school administration, in order to urgently improve the overall quality of the students, had added a special exam.
"Special exam: Class poll."
The exam rules are as follows:
The exam consists of a class vote, where each student in each class is allotted 3 praise votes and 3 criticism votes.
Rule 1: Praise and criticism votes invalidate each other. Praise votes – Criticism votes = Results.
Rule 2: You can't cast praise or criticism votes for yourself.
Rule 3: Voting multiple times for the same person, leaving part of the ballot blank, abstaining from the vote altogether and other acts of this nature are prohibited.
Rule 4: The exam will be repeated until the first and last place students are determined.
Rule 5: It is required to cast a separate dedicated praise vote for a student in another class.
That is the content of the additional exam. Without a doubt, this exam is extremely simple, and its purpose is very straightforward: to make the last place in each class drop out.
It could be said that this is the most brutal exam so far, and because of rule four, it's an exam that cannot end through opportunism or secretly calculating tie probabilities.
No matter what, there will be dropouts in the class.
This weekend, 'someone' will completely disappear from this class. The same goes for the other classes.
Despair, utter despair, even Yamauchi and the others, who had just been mocking Chabashira's expression, fell into a deathly silence after hearing the rules.
At this moment, the entire Class C plunged into chaos. Almost everyone began to suspect the possibility of themselves being dropped.
Hirata was also clever; after hearing the first few rules, he immediately opted for a vote-control strategy, precisely dividing positive and negative votes to achieve a tie for all members. But unfortunately, Hikigaya had already thought about this plan, it simply wouldn't work, because rule four had already sealed off that possibility.
Despair enveloped the entire class, and the most terrified without a doubt were the new three wastes: Sotomura, Ike, and Yamauchi.
For this class, their contributions were the smallest. If Ike had at least provided some experience in the uninhabited island exam, then the other two had been dragging the class down from start to finish.
The boys' and girls' squabbles instantly mingled together at this moment. The peace that had seemed to hold all along finally erupted completely at this point.
Peaceful discussion? How to discuss peacefully? Since the result would inevitably lead to one dropout no matter what, even the dumbest student would realize that this wasn't just a simple test, but an arena where they wielded their pens to slaughter their classmates.
If this were at any other school, it would be an utterly inconceivable exam, but if this exam occurred at the Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School, where everything is based on officialdom, then it seemed reasonable.
In officialdom, betrayal could happen at any time, and one could be squeezed out at any moment. Since this school itself aimed to cultivate people useful for officialdom, advancing the selection process held no objections.
No matter what reasons the Sensei used to oppose the unfairness of this exam, as soon as officialdom was brought up, they could only fall silent.
So that was why Chabashira had such a defeated look on her face, even in her cold view, this exam couldn't be simply resolved.
The relationships formed over the past half year shattered completely at this moment. The boys and girls of Class C were on guard against each other at this instant, with none of the unity from previous exams.
In Hikigaya's eyes, all of this was caused by fakes. The relationships he pursued were absolutely not like this.
However, that was ultimately only how the students of Class C were. Sudō and Sakura had already come over to Hikigaya's side at some point.
And the pair Kushida and Karuizawa, who had always been at odds like fire and water, surprisingly nodded in perfect unison at this moment. They all gathered at Hikigaya's desk.
As for the class's chaos, Chabashira could no longer manage it and simply left the classroom silently.
Horikita had always been sitting next to Hikigaya; even after hearing the rules of this additional exam, her expression showed not the slightest change.
Everyone turned their gazes to him, as if placing everything on his shoulders.
The first to speak was still Sudō.
"Bro, no matter what kind of exam it is, it won't break our bonds."
Sakura nodded vigorously; at a time like this, she had no idea what to say and simply chose to believe the person she had always believed in.
Kushida's perpetually cold face also softened somewhat: "With so many praise votes, even if you're as reclusive as you are, you don't have to worry about dropping out."
On Hikigaya's face, even he himself hadn't noticed the smile slowly unfolding: "You, how did you assume I'd be the one to drop out?"
Karuizawa spread her hands, saying helplessly: "Well, there's no helping it, right? After all, you always hide your merits and name; even if you do something, you don't say it, so in everyone's eyes, you're still that reclusive guy. But even so, it doesn't matter."
Horikita didn't speak either, merely nodding in agreement with Karuizawa's words, someone she had always thought was both foolish and dim, before calmly saying:
"If you end up as a dropout candidate, I'll protect you too."
The chaotic class, the few united as one, this stark contrast made Hikigaya even more aware that the people standing by his side were surely not fake-like existences.
With just that, Hikigaya had already confirmed that he couldn't leave this school yet.
Emotion often lasts only an instant, and a few words could surpass a thousand. The shock Hikigaya felt in his heart at this moment was something that absolutely couldn't be described in words.
The genuine thing he had always pursued, at this moment, he truly felt it, perhaps right in front of him. As long as he reached out a little further, he could grasp it tightly and never let go.
No thanks were needed, nor any actions, everything was enough.
At the same time, within the class, the blond man who had always kept to himself finally broke through the class's clamor.
His gaze remained fixed on the mirror in his hand, and as he styled his hair, he mocked:
"How superficial. Even if you panic and fluster here, it won't change a thing."
Yamauchi: "You have the nerve to say that? Do you know how much trouble your aloof arrogance has caused us! You skipped the sports festival too, didn't you?"
Kōenji seemed not to intend to keep bickering with the guy in front of him, but he rationally retorted:
"You can't put it that way, Yamauchi boy. The victory in the VIP exam was thanks to me, right? And for the events after the sports festival, I took first in all of them. Compared to that, what about you?"
Yamauchi was left somewhat speechless by Kōenji's words but still insisted:
"You're the kind of person with no friends; you wouldn't understand!"
Kōenji didn't turn around, merely continuing in a provocative tone: "Looks like you still haven't grasped the situation, Yamauchi boy. You seem to think that the feelings cultivated over this year will be the key to this exam."
"Heh heh, listen up, this exam is exactly as the name implies, a special case. In usual exams, the class of any dropout faces severe punishment, but not this time."
"In other words, this exam is the perfect opportunity to get rid of 'useless people,' isn't it?"
Kōenji's words silenced the entire noisy class.
Hearing Kōenji's overly harsh words, Yamauchi flew into a rage in an instant, because anyone could tell that this so-called 'useless person' was Yamauchi Haruki.
He desperately wanted to deny it all, yet found he had no power to retort. He wanted to turn the spearhead toward Kōenji, but a sense of powerlessness surged into his heart in that instant.
Before Yamauchi could continue, Kōenji struck a fearless pose, looking at the boy in front of him with eyes full of provocation.
"I think you might be misunderstanding something. In terms of written exams, I'm at the top of not just the class, but the entire grade. In fact, if I put forth my full effort, taking first place would be effortless."
"As for physical ability, I surpass you as well, surely you don't fail to understand that?"
At this moment, almost the entire class's attention was focused on the confrontation between the two.
Yamauchi stammered: "You... you... you..."
Kōenji, holding absolute strength in his hands, calmly said: "On the contrary, you've always been at the bottom of the class, whether in physical ability or overall academics, you're absolutely the dead last."
Kōenji showed no intention of letting the boy in front of him off, merely keeping his hands propped on the desk, then crossing his arms over his chest as he said indifferently:
"So, Yamauchi boy, do you think you can perform even better than me? How does someone who's always been dead last possess this self-righteous confidence?"
Yamauchi was completely stumped by the roast and didn't know what to say, merely opening his mouth with great difficulty:
"Kōenji, stop with all this yapping; you're the one without any team spirit, you're the kind of person our class doesn't need! Yeah, I'm dead last, but you might cause even bigger damage to the class in the future!"
Yamauchi still had no real basis, yet he struggled to focus everyone's target, trying to make Kōenji the one to drop out.
Kōenji glanced at Hikigaya, who had remained silent in the corner, and then didn't continue arguing with Yamauchi any further.
However, he turned around to face everyone and said:
"In truth, this class is ultimately just this level. Looks like it'll keep uselessly degenerating from now on, what a bunch of defective products."
No one could understand Kōenji's behavior. With the dropout exam approaching, why say such inflammatory words? What exactly was he trying to do?!
(End of this chapter)