Chapter 31 - Fingerfehler
My veiled fingers reached out to the large wooden double doors, which led to the cruiser's magnificent concert hall. The two cold antique brass doorknobs brushed against my thin, black gloves as I extended my arms to rotate them. A vague mechanical clicking sound followed these subtle movements as the grand entryway to the auditorium sprung open.
These gates to my past had been sealed the last time I wanted to take a swift peek inside, but a certain someone had unlocked them for me, preceding this soon-to-be exciting night. She was invited to my play, of course, and I hoped that my favorite instructor would take some time off her busy schedule to listen to my upcoming performance.
Maybe I could convince her to sing for me?
The two heavy, padded doors closed by themselves as I strode into the room. My steps were muffled by the wine red carpet, which extended through the entire hall, up to the stairs that led onto the stage. The flooring was lined with a golden pattern on the left and right side respectively, while the high, darkened walls were illuminated by small rectangular cutouts for the warm ground lights to shine through.
This area was well insulated, as one might have guessed.
Sounds weren't allowed to travel outside, past the boundary, even if the concert inside turned out to be a true work of art. Some guests weren't interested in such shows or musicals and would rather spend their time conversing with their high society friends or important business partners, depending on which group of people occupied the ship.
How long had it been since I last sat in front of a piano?
I caressed along the glossy fallboard, as if I was cradling and comforting a small, fragile infant, before my concealed hands pushed it open with gentle force. The manufacturer's logo, which spelled 'Steinway & Sons', presented itself underneath the silky key lid with a faint, auspicious luster that kept shimmering in the incandescent light.
Blood, sweat and tears must have flown during the manufacturing process of this mesmerizing, polished mahogany piano, as a mere machine could not have crafted such an intricately designed masterpiece without the support of human hands.
Our school was quite lavish — or reckless — to have allowed one hundred fifty-five teenage students on a ship that contained such an expensive instrument. The doors might have been locked, but anyone who wished to take a glimpse inside would have been able to, if they were to exert some pressure onto the center part where the astragal was located.
A broken mechanism was a cheap price to pay for this view.
The soft, leather-covered chair caved in due to my weight before my palm ran along the eighty-eight sleek keys, which felt bleak and unappreciated, even through the thin layer of silk that kept my skin from feeling the high quality plastic.
My index finger pushed down one of the many keys, triggering a procedure which caused the hammer to strike the proper strings through a complex series of movements inside the sound board, before my ears were allowed to indulge themselves in the emerging rich, yet natural sounding tone that reverberated through the hall like a swansong.
This key — the middle C — had been my very first.
Beautiful, vibrant notes followed my adroit fingers, which danced over the keys with such ease and an elegance that could be compared to pianists who had done nothing else during their entire lives. A faint smile surfaced on my apathetic face as some of the more enjoyable memories from my time in the White Room surged back into my mind.
Beethoven's 'Moonlight Sonata' was beautiful, but overplayed in such situations ever since modern pop culture discovered the many charms this piece harbored and how well it worked in digital entertainment productions like movies.
'Clair de Lune' by Debussy was a similar 'Moonlight' themed arrangement, which was the third segment in the lesser known four-movement composition 'Suite bergamasque', published in 1905.
What else did we have?
Chopin had countless classics, like the 'Nocturnes', a melodic twenty-one piece set that focused on memorable themes and rhythmic accompaniments. There were also the 'Études', a twenty-seven piece set that helped to develop a musician's technique and created beautiful music while teaching different ways of using one's arms, wrists, hands, and fingers.
Mozart's 'Requiem', perhaps?
It would be quite fitting for today, but I was short of an entire orchestra and most of the necessary instruments, if I wanted to do this arrangement justice, at least. I could interpret it, similar to a violin concert like Vivaldi's 'Four Seasons', but this would go beyond the scope of what I had planned for this delightful nocturnal performance.
Bach's famous 'Air on the G String' might also be an interesting choice if Sae were to visit. It was well known thanks to movies and TV shows, similar to the 'Moonlight Sonata', but my beloved teacher would read too much into my decision to perform this composition in particular and might amuse me with her irked reactions.
Or should I play something more modern?
[07:03:19 PM][Kushida] Can we talk? I think I found a pattern.
Multiple sharp, painful coughs escaped my lips.
"Are you okay, Chiaki?"
Kiyotaka's worried gaze ran along my face, which had long since turned red due to my inability to swallow my orange juice without choking on it. A dry laugh was all I could muster as a reply, since my throat burned and tasted a little like vomit because of the drink and stomach acids that kept whirling around inside of me.
"Ah, yeah. I'm fine. Just surprised."
"Did something happen?"
My charming boyfriend leaned into his palm and peered into my tearing eyes. His cheeks rose a few moments later, when he took a sip of his cherry milkshake, demonstrating yet again that he had an insatiable sweet tooth. The smile on my own lips faded, however, since I felt horrible about asking to leave sooner, following this sudden message.
Today should have been our first proper date without interruptions after his accident on the island, since the previous one was cut short due to the pain in his leg. Kushida-san and Hirata-kun also knew about this, so neither of them would have texted me if they weren't at least ninety percent certain that the solution they came up with was the correct one.
If she found the appropriate selection process for the hidden VIPs, then we could end nine groups in one fell swoop. Even if another class figured it out afterwards, we would lose 150 points at most. This would be nothing compared to the 450 we would have gained for the remaining nine zodiac signs.
A point difference of 300 could allow us to ascend to Class A.
Fumei wasn't aware that this exam took place, as I deemed it too dangerous to contact him and still felt guilty about the five million points he had lost. I had tapped on his contact by accident when I wanted to ask Kiyotaka to meet up, but the message I had sent never arrived, which meant that the school must have blocked our communications somehow.
Had they noticed that he was helping me?
"It's about the VIPs. Would you be mad if I had to leave now?"
Despite my wishes, I couldn't tell him more.
We decided that only the three of us should know about the designated students, since I didn't want to endanger Kiyotaka more than necessary. Not only had I been prepared to poison my own boyfriend — the person I loved more than anyone — to increase our class points, but he also received an injury because of the important position he had occupied.
How deplorable was I?
He should have been angry — furious — because of what I had chosen to do. I didn't want to argue with him since I would have been in the wrong without a doubt, but he should have told me sooner that I was too focused on winning the exam and lost sight of what counted the most: Kiyotaka's happiness and maintaining our relationship on a respectful level.
Poisoning him should have been a no-go.
Ryuuen's cheap albeit effective provocations, might not have worked as well as they did if these lingering doubts didn't cloud my judgement. I thought about my reaction if I had been in his shoes and found myself to be beyond agitated to notice myself on the receiving end of such an outrageous 'strategy'.
So why wasn't he?
Did he bottle up his feelings?
Hid them from me because I shattered his trust?
Could this have been a possibility?
These questions found permanent residence in my mind and wouldn't leave, no matter how much I wanted them to. I had been open about the possibility of having to poison him from the very beginning, but he never stopped being his usual self. We kissed, flirted and cuddled as if nothing had happened. The intimate moments we shared on the island brought us even closer together, so there was not a single reason I should feel uncertain about his feelings for me.
But these unwarranted fears took my heart hostage.
"Mh, I won't be mad, since I know how serious you are about moving our class up to A." He tilted his head before an innocent smirk appeared on his lips. "But you owe me for leaving me alone like this, you got that?"
I glanced over the locale to make sure that no one would see us from their spot and stood up before walking around the table. Kiyotaka seemed quite intrigued by my sudden movements and raised his brow in wonder. He let go of the milkshake in his hands and leaned into the chair as I sat down on his lap, facing him with a sly smile.
"Got it. I'll definitely make up for this once we are back."
His firm hands reached for my butt as this silent promise left my lips and wandered into his ear canal. He pulled me closer and bit into the back of my neck, which would be difficult to see for anyone but him, as my hair usually covered this area.
"What if I don't want to wait?"
This would put me in quite a bind.
If we had contraceptives, I wouldn't mind another round, but risking an unwanted pregnancy was reckless and too dangerous. None of the stores on the cruiser had condoms in stock, which wasn't surprising. It was more astonishing that the shops on the school's premises sold them, but I assumed that this was way more reliable than leaving the students without options to have safe sex, which would lead them to be careless or stupid, like we had been.
Maybe he was just joking?
Due to his poker face, it was impossible to tell.
"We can't have sex without contraceptives..." I peered into his golden eyes for a few seconds before I buried my blazing head in his muscular chest "If you really don't want to wait... then I'll come up with something else to make you feel good."
God, what are you making me say!
How would I even do that?
I could use my hands, but I wasn't sure if this would be enjoyable for him. It should, in theory, but I didn't know if I was capable enough in a practical scenario. This was a similar case for my... well... my... mouth. The concept wasn't difficult to grasp, but I wasn't sure whether I could pull it off without hurting him with my teeth or something.
Would it even fit?
Past Chiaki might have been shocked upon listening to these indecent thoughts, but I couldn't help it anymore. We grew together with our relationship, so there were certain things I would consider now that we had taken this first gigantic leap.
Sex with him was amazing.
It felt wonderful, almost too good to be true, but Kiyotaka would grow bored if we only did the same things every time. This might not be a problem at the moment, since we were only beginning to explore our bodies, but we would both eventually want to try different things as well, so I would be delusional if I wasn't considering these possibilities.
If he was serious, I wouldn't hesitate.
"What do you propose, then?"
My heartbeat grew more violent as I became assured of his sincerity. The heat that had risen to my head during our conversation increased in intensity and spread through my scorching hot frame. This pleasant, fuzzy sensation rushed along my limbs and produced glistening sparks in every nook and cranny of my aroused body.
He was just like me and didn't want to wait any longer for our promised continuation from the island. We might not be able to have penetrative sex right now, but we could still make each other feel good in a plethora of other ways. Neither of us was experienced in this kind of thing, but maybe I would receive a reasonable reward for my efforts.
"L-let's find a quiet place and I'll show you?"
The soft voice that slipped my lips quivered in enthusiasm.
"Don't you have something important to do?"
"Yeah, I might... but you are so much more important." I leaned into his chest, right beneath his chin and closed my eyes. "What I told you on the island, that I might have to poison you, I should never have done that. I realize that I was a bad, no — a horrible girlfriend, because you shouldn't have had to deal with these things as my boyfriend. This was a terrible strategy overall, but making you sick would have been the single worst mistake of my life. I'm sorry for pushing this onto you out of my selfish desire to win the exam with the maximum amount of points possible."
His smooth hands caressed over the back of my head.
I loved these affectionate touches more than anything in the world. They made me feel safe, treasured and just happy to be alive, together with the boy I had opened my heart to. Those moments were even better when he kissed my hair, just like right now in this very moment, because I could feel all the fondness and devotion in every minor action he took.
"Usually I would tell you that you don't need to apologize, but you wouldn't let this go until I took your worries into consideration." He angled his head to the side and leaned on top of mine. "So I'll just say that I accept your apology and assure you that there is no reason to feel bad anymore. Now cheer up and smile again, Chiaki."
God, I love him so much...
A deep breath fled my lips before I peered into his mesmerizing golden orbs. Once again, I saw my reflection on them and couldn't help but reach out to him. My palm caressed over his cheek, traveled along his well-defined jawline, down towards his neck and further southward until I reached the white shirt that concealed his chiseled, athletic chest.
"Come on, let's leave."
"Isn't someone waiting for you?"
"Yes..." My hot, moist breath brushed along his neck as I shifted my weight forward into his firm, affectionate embrace. The burning excitement I felt rose further when I noticed certain tempting shifts in his pants, which began to increase as my sensuous whispers reached his ear. "... but I'm really turned on right now."
"Katsuragi-san, everyone is following your advice."
"Thank you, Yahiko."
I heaved a sigh and sat down on a comfortable chair.
"Don't worry, I'm sure that we are going to do better this time, Katsuragi-san. Now that the students from the Sakayanagi faction are listening to you as well, you can take over the class with ease. Completing this exam with our own conditions is a child's play in comparison. The other classes won't stand a chance."
He seemed to have noticed that my mood slipped and tried to cheer me up, but taking charge of the class wasn't the reason for my worries. Sakayanagi had already won our internal strife and there was nothing I could have done if I wanted to show my worth during this examination. The number of her loyal followers had increased after my pitiful failure on the island, and I had been forced to take the deal her people had presented me with.
Without her support, I could have stopped trying.
"The battle is already over."
"What..?"
"She will lead the class once we are back at school. This is the decision I have made after analyzing my own strengths and weaknesses. My shortcomings during the previous exam were too many. I need to reflect on my mistakes and work on them if I don't want to end up like this again. Sakayanagi-san is a good leader. Even though I might not always agree with her way of doing things, I don't want you or anyone else that is still following me to disapprove of my determination. You and some of our classmates might prefer me as Class A's leader, but that is out of the question."
This wasn't a lie to protect my reputation.
If Yahiko ever found out that she had driven me into a corner and pushed me into signing this deal, he would never forgive her and might even gather the few allies we had against her faction. My words wouldn't be capable of stopping his misguided temper and she would wipe the floor with them without a single shred of hesitation.
Sakayanagi had mentioned the punishment of expulsion in our deal as well, so I never doubted her willingness to get rid of a contender or similar bothersome entities if she deemed such an action necessary to show that she was in charge.
"Katsuragi-san, we can still..."
"Yahiko." The boy shrunk as my roaring voice resounded through the room. "This is my final decision. After this exam, Sakayanagi-san will be responsible for our tactics going forward. I will inform everyone of this and once again confirm her to be our leader. Our standing in the hierarchy is of higher priority than a feud between two conflicting ideologies."
"I understand..."
My companion nodded with a hunched back.
His dissatisfaction was apparent through the frown on his face, as he was incapable of hiding his negative thoughts about this matter. He left the cabin in defeat while I leaned against the back of my chair and brushed over my shiny, bald head.
Not everything I told him was a lie, because I had indeed picked up on the mentioned shortcomings. Sakayanagi might not have been here, but I had this strange feeling that things would have worked out better if she had been present. Her supporters might listen to me for the moment, but this was only due to our deal and her momentary absence.
I checked the time on the wall clock.
Our second group meeting would begin in half an hour.
Since the strong wall technique seemed to work for the moment, I wasn't worried about losing points to the other classes in the short term. As long as none of them teamed up, we could manage for the next few days, conceal our strength, and move forward as per my arrangement once the time had come.
Class B and D had worked together before, but the point difference between them was negligible now, which would make it more difficult to finalize any similar deals in the future. Besides this exam, there was something much more important that ate away at my mind. A certain individual I couldn't wrap my head around ever since the island exam concluded.
Matsushita Chiaki.
Just what had this girl done during the special test?
Even though I should have been occupied with the current group assignment, I struggled to comprehend what had happened back then. Ryuuen and I had established a beneficial deal for both of us, which was why he had warned me that Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was just the bait leader for Class D, as Matsushita had no interest in concealing his apparent role.
My caution during the previous island examination stemmed from his information, as I hadn't been aware that he had planned to betray me by guessing our leader. This wasn't the issue I was concerned about, however, as I failed to assess the danger properly and paid a justified price, which was an educational experience.
I was a strong advocate of the fact that one learned best from the previous mistakes one had failed to see and defend against in advance. Missteps such as this remained relevant in one's mind for a much longer period than any victories or achievements, which would allow ample time to review and learn from them.
But how would I study a mistake I couldn't understand?
Everyone in our grade level knew what kind of person Ryuuen was, so I treaded with great care whenever I had to deal with him. He might have still managed to trick me in the end, but I was always on guard against him and his statements.
"Class D isn't as easy a prey as they seem."
Those had been his parting words after our transaction.
Most students were aware of what had transpired between them by now, but I hadn't taken Ryuuen's words to heart. Since I knew that he was mindful around Class D, I assumed that he might refrain from writing up their obvious bait leader, as this would have cost him points he couldn't afford to lose in his vulnerable position. Class B wouldn't have taken a guess either, because Ichinose would have never misled them during their fruitful partnership.
This could have been Matsushita's strategy.
It was possible that she had presumed that everyone would think that she might have another trick up her sleeve, even though she had planned nothing for the grand finale. This was an approach no rational or sane person would have thought about, which was why she might have used this scheme combined with simple reverse psychology to outplay us.
She just needed to wait while we defeated ourselves.
My faith in Ryuuen's honesty was minimal, and I hadn't seen Class D's cunning first hand, which was why I took this gamble in a desperate last-ditch attempt to pull them down with us. Despite his warning, or maybe because he had voiced these concerns and planted this seed in my mind, I determined that I couldn't let Matsushita get away with this many points and such a cheap, almost laughable trick, which would make us all look like absolute fools.
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was the person I had written up.
Yet, they hadn't lost a single point.
Whatever she did behind the scenes, it worked out to absolute perfection as I had shot myself in the foot because of her prior activities. Her boyfriend, which I had seen multiple times as he reoccupied spots on his route, should have been Class D's designated leader.
But he wasn't.
So how..?
How was I supposed to learn when I couldn't decipher her trick?
"Ryuuen-san..?"
"What?"
My annoyed voice and the minimal movements I had taken to glare at him scared Ishizaki to such a degree that he sat back down and gazed at the steaming teacup and the assortment of cookies on the table in front of him in silence.
He still had trouble moving his bruised left arm after the clash with Kouenji. The former had tried to block a kick that seemed to have been aimed at Mio, which had proven to be a faint. His enemy had foreseen that he would try to help her and used this knowledge to his advantage to take him out of the fight with a single crippling blow.
That monster in human skin also injured Albert with a simple, half-assed punch to his abdomen, even though he hadn't aimed at any weak spots to increase the impact of his jab. With two attacks, he had taken down two of my best people.
Mio's injury was even more pitiful.
She had lashed out at him and tried to take revenge for Ishizaki and Albert. Despite her best efforts, he only stood around and took each strike that was aimed at him with nothing but his hardened muscles. Her leg gave in after a short bout, whereupon she slumped to the ground and began to massage the sore limb in visible frustration.
"Nothing..."
"Pussy."
"Huh... Ryuuen-san." Shiina took a sip of her aromatic, whatever-tea and placed it back on the saucer in front of her. "Please refrain from using those profanities while I am in the vicinity. I appreciate your consideration. Thank you."
Tch.
"Hey! Don't you dare imitate me, you bastard!"
Mio's angered shout roamed through the room.
Even though I hadn't clicked my tongue yet, I was about to. She seemed to have picked up on something strange in my behavior and pre-pended my action with her own. This wasn't the first time such a strange phenomenon had taken place either, but I haven't been able to conclude how she managed to anticipate some of my intentions.
My irritable and ill-mannered dog was too shortsighted to read someone's body language, unlike Kouenji, who seemed quite proficient according to what I could observe during the fight between him and the three of them. He awaited each attack in a favorable position and countered with pure, natural strength that eclipsed even Albert's raw power output.
"Why are you guys here, anyway?" Two loud slams shook the table Ishizaki's eyes were glued to, as my shoes crashed on top of it. "I asked Shiina to come, but I can't remember having mentioned any of you fuckers."
The tea inside her cup stirred up to the edge, but didn't spill.
"Mh, well... I thought that it would be fun if we were all trying to solve this mystery together!" Shiina clasped her hands with a happy smile, which turned solemn as a saddened aura surrounded her delicate frame. "Was I wrong?"
God fucking damn it.
"No, it's fine."
"Heh, Tsundere."
I darted forward before anyone could react.
It took less than a second before my flat palm smacked against Mio's right cheek and produced a thundering slap that buzzed through the area like a deafening explosion. The girl peered at me in utter shock and raised her hand up to her throbbing face. She realized what happened just a moment later and jumped at me in a fit of unadulterated, burning rage, whereupon a wide, degrading sneer formed on my lips.
"The fuck did you hit me, you piece of shit?"
Albert stopped the twig-like arm that closed in on me.
"Don't hurt the boss. He's the boss."
"Damn it Albert! Let go!"
"Ryuuen-san. Please refrain from excessive violence towards anyone, including our classmate, as long as I am around. My words won't stop your irresponsible behavior, but I don't appreciate this brutish conduct in my presence. I would also like you to apologize to Ibuki-san for your transgression, even though this plea will fall on deaf ears either way."
She sipped her tea and regarded me with clear discontent.
"Listen to the big guy, Mio. If you have time to throw a fuss, then focus on the matter at hand once you've calmed your tits. I'll even throw in another happy meal tomorrow if you behave like a good dog from now on, kukuku."
Mio, who still struggled in Albert's arms, went berserk.
"I swear to god that I'm gonna beat you up someday. Stop bringing up the correlation between the damn group I was forced into and your twisted, disrespectful thoughts about me. What the fuck is wrong with you, huh?!"
Whoever put her into the dog group is a genius.
She'll never hear the end of this.
"Sure, sure..."
The murmurs of my annoying classmate vanished into the background as I focused on the immediate task at hand. Contradictory to the introduction to this exam, we didn't need to work together in our groups to solve this assignment with a beneficial outcome for our class. Chiaki should have realized this as well, while Katsuragi and Honami might still struggle with their respective handicaps, in him being rule-bound and her being too altruistic for her own good.
Each class could earn a huge number of private points if we worked together, but none of us except Honami would even attempt to walk this route in our groups. Class D, which would rise to at least Class C after the summer, was on their way up and would never let this chance pass without a fight. The other classes had been severely damaged due to the unexpected results of the island examination and wouldn't back down either.
We needed to find the solution first and gobble up those 450 points. Playing around with them and confirming the VIPs near the end was too dangerous because of this unknown puppet master that still hid in the shadows of Class D's people.
"Ryuuen-san, I really need to ask you something."
Ishizaki stood and bowed his head in a ninety-degree angle.
"Huh?"
His whole frame quivered as he glanced at Mio, who rubbed her swollen cheek. My blue-haired tail-wagger clicked her tongue and holed herself up beside Shiina, who began to caress over her head like a generous owner. The final person in his rotation was Albert, who acknowledged his bravery with his usual silent, yet proud bearing.
"Well, um... so... you know, Nishino-san asked me about the island exam. She sounded pretty confused by your actions and wanted to know why Ibuki-san hasn't written up the obvious leader of Class D when she had the chance."
"You got balls asking such a stupid question for your girlfriend."
"What? No.. She... No, she's not..."
They weren't together, which his troubled ramblings confirmed, but they were talking sometimes. Takeko seemed to trust him to a certain degree, or she wouldn't have asked him about something like this. That moron would also have never found his balls if someone who didn't interest him had requested this, so I was quite assured of my preliminary conclusion.
"Ishizaki-san, why do you think we haven't written him up?"
Shiina's bell-like voice was gentle and much more lenient than mine would have been, even though her frustration should have lingered on a similar level after he once again demonstrated his inability to follow basic contextual clues. She managed to cut into the conversation before I could make fun of him and remained considerate towards his feelings.
What an annoying brat...
"Eh, huh? Isn't that obvious?" He shifted his head before his fingers ran through his spiky black hair. "They had so many points that there is no way that we guessed their leader correctly, even though this Ayanokouji-guy was quite conspicuous. Doesn't this mean that we haven't listed him for a reason I don't understand?"
"Exactly. Their leader wasn't guessed correctly."
"What..?"
Mio, who had written up our conclusions back then, shook her head in exasperation and chewed on the chocolate bar Shiina had handed her to appease her boiling temper. The two of them became rather familiar with each other during and after the first special test, but it was still strange to think of this puppy as a mutt that could be close with a human being without clicking its tongue every two seconds.
But a dog is a human's best friend, after all.
Kukuku.
"Ishizaki, you're a real dolt, aren't you? We merely lost the battle, but we gained invaluable information in return. These first few skirmishes are nothing more than the prelude to something much bigger. The war hasn't even started yet."
"What does that even mean?"
He sat down and leaned back with a defeated expression.
"You're such a moron, Ishizaki."
"Ibuki-san?!"
His teary voice went silent as he closed his eyes in shame.
"The name Shiina told me to put down for Class D was Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. It wasn't worth guessing Class B's cardholder after Shiranami Chihiro was removed, so I left them blank. Class A's leader was the bald guy's right hand, Totsuka Yahiko."
"Wait... then why did they have so many points?"
"Welcome to the same page."
I clapped twice to award him from graduating the 'idiot academy' as a proper fool and worked through the list of names and zodiac signs in my possession. The boy flinched as these two sounds traveled towards him, while the much kinder Shiina took a sip from her steaming tea. A faint cracking sound followed her movements as she bit down on a fresh cookie before she glanced at Ishizaki with a huge amount of patience and kindness I had never seen in anyone.
"At first we thought that Matsushita-san would make him retire before the conclusion of the exam, but this wasn't the case. If everything went according to Ryuuen-san's initial plans, we would have left the island with some points, but our objective changed after I received information about the incident in which Komiya-san and the others were expelled. The task changed from gaining points to figuring out who our primary enemy is."
We had gathered more intel than any other class.
The 'elites' finished the exam with a score of -30 points.
Their initial budget of 270 shrunk by 150 after all three classes had guessed their leader, which brought them down to 120. Another 50 disintegrated because of the cripple's followers, who misused one of Class D's spots, pushing them to 70. Katsuragi had to take responsibility for the remaining 100 points himself, as he failed to guess the leaders of Class B and D.
What a moron.
If he had listened to my generous advice about Ayanokouji being bait and checked whether everyone in Class B was present, then he could have survived the exam with seventy points instead of zero. But I guess this would have involved trusting my words after I betrayed him, which was rather difficult to do.
Sorry, not sorry.
Kukuku...
Class B overcame the test with their 315 point total.
They had bought items worth 75 points for Class D, which lowered their initial budget to 225. Their additional expenses were a tent and drinks for 12 points, from which we could remove 2 points for the spot occupation at around eight and sixteen o'clock on the first day, which led to 215. This amount increased by 100 for naming the leaders of Class A and C.
We got screwed by someone who wasn't Chiaki.
Contrary to popular belief, I hadn't tried to leave the island with points after the situation changed for the worse. Shiina's position as our concealed second leader and my preparations to make it look like I hadn't retired should have lost them fifty points each, but someone quick-witted saw through my scheme, despite all the pitfalls I had set up.
Mio guessed Class A's leader to spite them after our arrangement with the wheelchair fetishists, and wrote up Class D's to make sure that we wouldn't fall for a simple case of reverse psychology, which would have been beyond embarrassing.
No one but me knew our leader, so how had they uncovered it?
Kouenji was quite capable, but we had only met after the exam had concluded. The only person I had a run-in with was the twat, but I hadn't come up with the plan to retire at that point in time. This suggested that the puppeteer had scouted me before this exam took place and realized that I would only trust Shiina with the position now that she served the class.
But she had only decided to take part on the island.
Kukuku...
This school is fucking amazing.
The only class that didn't match our calculations was D.
Their result was off by five points, which they must have used to either change their designated leader without receiving a thirty point punishment for the retirement, or to allow Ayanokouji to use the card as if he was the cardholder. The first possibility was nonsensical, because changing the leader had the associated cost of thirty points, if one was cunning enough to spot the loophole in the rules. It wouldn't make sense to provide a cheaper option. With this in mind, we could narrow their move down to the second solution, or a potential third one I hadn't thought of.
"Aren't the other classes our enemies?"
What a retard...
"Yes, of course, the others as well, but each class harbors certain individuals we need to be wary of. We assumed that this someone was Matsushita-san for Class D, but now we know that she had just been used as a scapegoat by someone else, similar to Kouenji-san, who appears to be disinterested in this school and the ongoing conflicts."
"I don't understand any of this..."
Unable to listen to this any longer, I supported Shiina.
"Mio and I had breakfast with Chiaki. She was easy to anger and tried to get under my skin after I played with her sorry ass feelings for a bit, just as predicted. Her claim that the reverse psychology trick had worked, however, was a big screw up, because I knew for a fact that this wasn't true since this 'plan' never existed. Chiaki herself wasn't aware of this, so someone else is pulling the strings in Class D while she doesn't even know about the specifics of how she won."
"You mean this other Class D student?"
Ishizaki seemed to keep up this time.
What a pleasant surprise.
"No, after your little brawl with that guy, I'm pretty confident that it wasn't him. He did something as well, but there was someone else who used both of them as a distraction to cloak himself. That chick's poker face is damn horrible. Kukuku."
"Currently, we assume that this person might be a senpai."
Shiina took another sip of her tea, drinking the remains.
"And we'll keep digging like damn moles until we find every individual in Class D that is linked to a senior. A dirty sewer rat can only hide for so long until it has to show itself. He'll be helpless once we have worked through all the students and uncover our mystery character for sure. Then we'll have a chat with him, kukuku."
"Isn't it interesting? Solving such a conundrum?"
A sweet giggle escaped her lips as she munched on a cookie.
"BOSS!"
Albert's voice was unusually loud.
I tilted my head and noticed him glancing over the notes we had prepared. Shiina and I had been going over them for a few hours by now, but neither of us had found a clear pattern that correlated to our information. We started with simple things, like ordering the names by the fifty sounds and worked up to more complicated mechanisms like the number of vowels and consonants of the zodiac animals.
There had to be a system behind this exam.
We just needed to find it first.
"What?"
"Ah. Sorry Boss. You tried that already. Forget it."
[07:40:34 PM] Sorry, I was busy. Can we meet in your room?
[07:40:53 PM][Kushida] Yes, I'm the only one here at the moment.
I held my palm in front of my opened mouth and checked my damp breath for any revealing scents, since the aftertaste of our prolonged escapade still lingered on my tongue. Brushing my teeth and rinsing my oral cavity with mouth wash had changed little in my own perception, but no one could smell what we had done just a few minutes ago.
Provided that Kiyotaka didn't run into Ike-kun.
What a horrifying thought...
Kushida-san's cabin wasn't that far away from ours, so I managed to walk over in about two minutes. It was almost time for our second meeting of the day, but I wanted to get this conversation out of the way before the session took place.
She was smart and had good grades, so it wouldn't be too far fetched to believe that she might have found a hidden pattern. If this was true, then it was only a matter of time until Ryuuen, Ichinose-san or Kanzaki-kun solved this assignment as well, provided they were lucky enough to achieve a breakthrough.
Similar to them, I should have sought a viable solution, but Kiyotaka and I had made plans for today before this zodiac animal exam was announced. I could have moved our date, but I had already decided that our relationship was more important than this school's weird assignments and our class ranking.
My knuckles flew against the frame around three to four times before my classmate opened the door to her cabin. She greeted me with her usual bright, beaming, stress relieving smile and led me inside without questioning why I needed such a long time to answer to her urgent message, which eased my prior concerns.
"Did you really figure it out?"
"Yes, I think so. Please sit for a moment while I explain."
The excited girl grabbed one of the laptops that the school supplied us with and scooted beside me, just a moment after I sat down. Her swift fingers slid over the touchpad until the cursor hovered over the file she had created yesterday. She opened up the chart I had seen earlier and began to make some changes.
Previously, the first column had been occupied by the Rabbit group, followed by Tiger, Snake and so on, according to the times we received our instructions in. Now, however, she ordered the groups according to the zodiac signs and their respective locations, starting with Rat.
Figure_3
"So I figured this out by complete accident when I went out to play with Sakura-san and Sudou-kun. I don't know how reliable this is, but it lines up with the information I have, and I could make sense out of every step I took."
"Okay, I'm listening."
"So, the three of us walked around for a bit and talked about everything that came to mind. One of these topics was the zodiac exam, of course, since we are all affected by it. Sakura-san then said that these assignments are quite difficult for her, since she had trouble to converse with people, especially strangers. But this time she was overjoyed that she had been sorted in a group with Hasebe-san and Sudou-kun, who are both nice people. And then it clicked for me."