章 42: Chapter 36 - Meeting
It was an unwanted outcome that I couldn't possibly avoid.
Some altercations were bound to be implemented to the story because of the butterfly effect, and I knew that very well. However, to think that it'd be up to this scale?
I preferred to do things under a controlled environment with perfected plans and schemes. That was my usual modus operandi. However, the story decided to throw a random curve at me, making things much more trickier than it's original state.
"....."
Even Horikita seemed to be at a loss of word after seeing the screen of my phone. Maybe it was surprise, maybe it astonishment.
After a long period of silence, she finally inquired with a complicated expression, "What do you plan to do now?"
"What else?"
If I wanted my group to win, I needed to make sure that at least my identity as a VIP doesn't get revealed before the intended time. It would lead to a negative outcome otherwise.
"Should we ask the others about their assigned roles?" Horikita suggested.
"You seem to have your own ideas regarding this exam?"
"Of course, gathering the information from the inside should be our first priority before we think about going on offense, don't you think?"
What Horikita said was indeed a brilliant first step. Information was crucial in this exam. The outcome of the exam depended on how the groups utilized raw information. If we wanted to separate those who we needed to defend, we needed their names first. However...
"How exactly do you plan to do that?" I questioned.
"I want to send an announcement in the class's lime group chat, or hold a class meeting with everyone. Wouldn't that be fine?"
"I believe it would be best if we refrained from holding public meetings." I suggested.
"I understand." Horikita nodded her head in acknowledgement. "It isn't guaranteed that there wouldn't be any evesdroppers from the other classes. Is that what you meant?"
Of course, that was 'part' of the reason why I opposed it.
"Are you going to send the announcement now?" I drummed my fingers on the table.
"It's better to announce it right away. More students would be able to see the message whenever they come online."
I partially agreed to her decision, and gave her the green light. Horikita powered her phone, and began typing the message on lime.
Tap -taptaptap.
It was taking a rather lengthy period of time for her to type a simple message on a chatbox. Growing curious, I noticed her finger movements. Then I came to realize something oddly innocent.
Horikita was a clumsy typer.
Her typing was all over the place. Not only was she slow at it, she was also making a lot of mistakes. Unlike the other students who were used to typing and messaging all the time, Horikita was one of the 'serious' types who wouldn't use phone unless it was necessary. No wonder why it took time for her to respond to me.
"I'm not slow. I'm just not used to typing on a phone." Horikita growled, making my body shudder at the thought of her potentially being an esper.
Regardless, I then extended my palm toward her. "Hand it over."
"What?"
"I want to make some adjustments."
"But why?"
"You'll see."
Horikita's hesitation was understandable. But I hoped for her to understand the intentions behind my action. Surely, she had her own ideas regarding the announcement she was typing. But I wanted to make changes in the contents of the announcement. I was simply using her name as a proxy to cover my actions.
...
No, I wasn't even remotely interested in her browser history.
After she handed me her phone, I began typing speedily. The instructions were simple, and easy enough for anyone to understand what we want. After spending some time moderating the texts, I hit send.
Hirata, the administration of the group saw this first and pinned the message in the group chat. Several chat heads immediately popped, marking the message as read. Among the chat heads, I noticed a certain face.
Maybe I should consult things a bit before going down the path...
"What did you write in the announcement?" asked Horikita with a complicated expression.
I returned her phone. "See for yourself." I said before Horikita began reading her chatbox with an intense expression.
"You... Did you do this becaus-?"
"It's much easier this way, don't you think?"
"But do we really need to be secretive up to this extent? Wouldn't this create confusion among our everyone?"
"For a situation like this, confusion is simply the best solution." I replied.
Just like Horikita had her own ideas, I also had mine.
Time was running out. I was aware of what could happen next. Ryuen would probably approach Horikita to declare his confident remarks. Ayanokouji was spotted by him during moments like this in the original YouZitsu.
Though it didn't really matter, I didn't want to leave any sort of impression on him. I didn't even want to be 'Horikita's Orbiter' in his eyes. For now, I simply wanted to keep my identity as blank as possible. That would make things much more easier for me in the future.
"I'm bored. Let's get out of here."
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Horikita raised her eyebrow, seemingly puzzled by my out of the usual words. Nonetheless, she replied in affirmative and got up. As I exited the air conditioned restaurant, a surge of hot air cradled my body. The after effects of leaving an air conditioned room.
"Where are we going?" Horikita asked.
I yawned and replied, "How about pool? I'm curious to see how you look in your swimsuit."
"WHA-?!" After hearing those unexpected words, Horikita's cheeks immediately became red in fluster. After composing herself by letting out a fake cough, Horikita inquired, "Ahem! I'd like you to stop joking around, Levent-kun. It doesn't suit you."
"I'm not joking though."
"Huh?"
Honestly , even I don't know why I said that. I kind of felt like saying it, and I said it. That's all.
"I'm kind of curious to see how you'd look in exposure."
"T-that's..."
Astonishment , Confusion, Awkwardness; they were all visible in her face. After processing my bold words, Horikita's eyes narrowed down to a frown.
"Did Ayanokouji-kun mix something in your drinks?"
"What does Ayanokouji have to do with any of this?" I deadpanned.
"From what I've known about you, it's unusual for you to have those perverted thoughts. It must've been because of his influence."
I'll be sure to report this to him.
"You must be forgetting that I'm a normal high school boy as well." I said.
"No normal high school boy would declare themselves like that." deadpanned Horikita.
".....Touché." I raised my hands in defeat.
Horikita sighed, her cheeks still warm from the previous happenstance, moved her eyes forward. "So what is it that you're really planning?"
"You know , I really wasn't lying when I said I was curious about your swimwear."
"Are you still on about that?"
"Too unnatural?"
"....."
Okay, I'm overdoing it now.
"Just a joke. Don't worry. I just wanted to take the serious air out of our conversation."
"And make it awkward instead?" Horikita glared at me with a frown.
"Still better than being stern all the time." I shrugged. "By the way, what do you do in your free times?"
"You're surprisingly curious about me today. Are you sure Ayanokouji-kun didn't drug you or something?"
"I'm just trying to hold a carefree conversation with my coworker. Also, could you stop talking like Ayanokouji's some sort of a drug-mafia? It sounds too realistic."
"Ayanokouji-kun and Mafia doesn't fit together in the same sentence. Their relationship is like oil and water."
You have absolutely no idea.
"So... You must have sort of a pastime. ?"
Horikita didn't seem too convinced by my counterargument, as apparent from her narrow eyes. Nonetheless, she responded, "I enjoy reading novels during my free time."
"How boring~."
Thud!
This time, she responded with a light chop in my side. To be honest, it hurt, a little bit.
"Violence, as a response to criticism, huh? I must say, you have quite the unique worldview." I criticized her gorilla-like mentality.
"Violence is always the key to abolishing idiocy, idiot."
"Violence is the final wall that differentiates between a human and a gorilla. In other words, you're more like a gorilla than you think, Horikita-san."
"You! ...Shut up! I'm leaving. Goodbye." snarled Horikita. She turned around and sped up while making a 'hmph' sound.
[A/N: Getting kinda whacky but who cares, right?]
"Hmh." I snickered. It was kind of adorable to see a twenty-four-seven composed person like her losing her calm. I could see hints of redness in her ears as she was on her way. I will admit, it was kind of fun to push her buttons like that.
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Midday, fifteen minutes before the first meeting.
The members of the Tiger group were instructed to visit room 203 on the second deck, the same room where we received our briefing. I happened to be tumbling around the fifth deck at that time, so I was about to head toward the stairs.
"Whoa, isn't it Levent-kun?"
As I twirled toward the voice, I noticed the familiar figure of Satou standing in front of the elevator. After noticing me, she slowly walked toward me and asked, "Are you heading for the exam?"
Unlike the times I saw her before, she was actually wearing her school uniform this time, instead of her casual outfits.
"That's right. I'm guessing you're also headed there too?"
Satou nodded in affirmative. "So... You wanna head there together?"
"Sure, I guess."
I had no problem with accompanying her, as we had the same destination in mind. I remained silent most of the way though. As I was taking the stairs, Satou also followed along, and descended downstairs. She would occasionally throw glances at my side profile, making me a bit self conscious.
"So..um, Levent-kun. What have you been up to lately?"
Not being able to bare the awkwardness in the air, Satou prompted the conversation. I was actually thankful, as I was still awkward at starting a conversation. More importantly, I was thinking about the answer to her question.
"I've been crashing into all the restaurants lately."
"Restaurants?" Satou cutely tilted her head in confusion.
"Yes. I just went inside and ordered the most expensive looking item from the menu."
"Pft.. Really?"
"I mean, It's free. At least I get to enjoy all these culinary craftsmanship without paying a single point."
"Hah, If you put it like that, then... I guess it's kind of interesting in it's own way?" Satou chuckled.
"My stomach doesn't seem too happy with it though." I petted my slender belly.
"Hmh! Hahaha!" Satou began laughing out loud. I had been working on my sense of humor a bit. So to see her enjoying the jokes felt a bit satisfying. "I guess even Levent-kun can make jokes too, huh?"
"Just what kind of person do you think I am?" I deadpanned.
"Well, no offense but, before this trip, you kinda gave off this 'gloomy' vibe. It felt as though you were unapproachable, like Horikita-san or, Ayanokouji-kun."
"They're the only friends I've got so... I guess you can say, we're birds of the same feather flocked together."
"Seems to be the case haha."
As we stepped on the last tread of the stairwell, a vague migraine assaulted me as the view of a sunny vast blue ocean came to view.
"This trip... was such a good one, wasn't it?" I mused.
"Yeah, it's such a shame. But hey, at least we got to enjoy this experience."
"I wonder how many part time jobs I would've needed to take if I wanted to come here normally..."
I arbitrarily looked at the floor, the ceiling, the walls grazed with ornaments. Even the floors in the hallway was topped with expensive looking carpets. The prime example of top notch luxury. I could make a rough estimate of at least a hundred thousand yen being spent per student.
"This school really is the best isn't it?" Satou smiled and responded after hearing my muttering.
"I second that." I nodded in affirmation. "We get to do things one could only dream of."
"But if only we didn't have all these special exams though~"
"That's asking for too much." I deadpanned.
"Right? Hehe." Satou let out an adorable giggle.
We were assigned to go to the same room where Hoshinomiya briefed us about the exam. We strode through the usually empty hallway of the second deck, while conversing about trivial topics.
The test had already begun, so the hallways were packed with students. Even so, it didn't feel too cramped, most likely because the ship was so large.
We stopped when we had reached the room with a nameplate that read 'Rat', haltingly, as we knocked on the door.
"Come inside."
A dry voice called out from the room. It wasn't the cheerful and laid-back tone of Hoshinomiya Chie from earlier. It was a rather curt voice of a girl similar to my classmate's age.
"Pardon the intrusion."
Saying such we entered the room, casting our eyes toward the center table. The Rat group containing thirteen people, myself excluded, sat in chairs arranged in a big circle.
"Huh? Nene-chan, you were already here?" Satou was surprised.
I immediately noticed Mori Nene sitting on one of the chairs, with two more vacant seats next to her. Given the low number of vacant spots, we were likely the last to arrive. Students mostly divided into natural groups based on their class, so that was to be expected too, I guess?
I didn't know everyone's names, but aside from Yamada, Shiina and Kamuro, there was another student I recognized. It was the boy from Class D who I'd witnessed being abused by Ryuen backed in the island exam, Oda. I felt bad for him, that's why I guess I ended up remembering him. Other than that, I hardly recognized any of the others.
"The first group discussion begins now."
No sooner had I taken a seat, a voice immediately came through the ship's loudspeaker. The curt announcement marked the beginning of an hour long discussion period.
So...
How on earth will the discussion begin?
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Meeting #1:
Basically everyone were silently throwing glances at each other, unable to maintain eye contact. It was an awkward environment. Just before the exam, we were made to compete against each other. Then in the next second we were expected to cooperate with each other. Easier said than done.
Some people tried to initiate a conversation as they tried to speak up. But their lips kept bobbing up and down, no sound coming out of their throats.
"I think we should introduce ourselves first." I initiated the discussion.
"I agree." a blue-haired girl nodded before adding. "We should at least get to know each other. I'll go first."
The girl stood up and introduced herself. "I'm Amikura Mako from class B. Hope we can get along together!"
Amikura? I had heard of that name before, but never had the opportunity to actually meet her. That was actually my first time seeing her in flesh.
Following her suit, the girl who sat beside her also stood up with a cheerful smile, "Asaka Yumemi. Glad to meet y'all."
And then, the boy with blond hair, "My name is Yonezu Haruto."
"My name is Oda Takumi. Nice to meet you all."
Soon enough, students from the other classes began introducing themselves. Even the girls from class A. Unlike guys like Machida from Ayanokouji's group, the girls were unexpectedly cooperative. I couldn't tell whether or not it was because they were part of Sakayanagi's faction, or they simply didn't care?
Of course, the introduction part was mandatory if we looked back on Hoshinomiya's words yesterday.
But still, as expected of class B. The group of socialites managed to take an awkward environment, and turned it into a rather conversable one.
"Shiina Hiyori. Nice to meet you all."
As I heard that name, I turned my gaze toward the silver haired girl who introduced herself. After she was done with her introduction, she sat down, and reopened her book from where she had left the bookmark.
The more I studied her, the more curious I grew. The hair color that resembled a persons age and experience somehow suited her beautiful appearance. To think that only a few months ago, she was just a character in a novel, and now she's sitting here in flesh. It truly amazed me.
I looked at the novel on her hand. The cover seemed oddly familiar, so I glared my eyes a little to try and understand the letters.
Wait, is that...
"Millennium trilogy?"
"Hm?"
Perhaps she heard my unintentional murmur, because she looked at my direction. I wanted to avert my gaze immediately, but that would only make it seem more suspicious. Instead of twirling around, I stared at her eyes for a few more seconds before slowly turning my toward the one currently introducing themselves.
Shiina kept observing me for a while before she delved deeper into her book.
Everyone introduced themselves one by one. The awkward pin drop silence from before slowly began to fade away. As I memorized their names and traits of the characters, I pondered deeply to myself.
Maybe being part of this group wasn't that bad.
"I'm Satou Maya. Peace~!"
And then, finally came my turn. I stood up and bowed before giving my well-revised self introduction.
"Aozaki Levent. Pleased to meet you, and I hope we can all work together to win this exam."
Can't help but think that it sounded a bit corny.
As I sat down, everyone gave me acknowledging nods before turning their eyes on a girl who hadn't introduced herself yet. And to my astonishment, the girl was from an unexpected class too.
"Himeno-chan, it's your turn." said Amikura.
"Why should I do that?"
The girl replied in a curt and monotone voice. Judging by her her way of speech, I assumed that she was the girl who answered when we knocked the door.
"Well, it's... not like you have to, but.."
"Then, isn't it fine?"
The purple haired girl, with light blue hair tips. Himeno, was it? Have I heard of that name before?
"Himeno-chan, I think you should introduce yourself. Everyone did the same, y'know?" Asaka added. "I mean, it's just a name. What's the harm?"
After hearing her classmate's rambling, her eyes grew narrower, almost glare-like. If she looked at me like that, I'd instantly think that she was some kind of a delinquent trying to pick a fight with me.
She kind of reminded me of Sudou. I think the both of them would get along just fine... if they didn't kill each other first. With an annoyed sigh she finally budged.
"Himeno Yuki" and full stop.
The girl sat down and frowned at everyone present in the meeting. It didn't need to be sonically expressed, but everyone understood it from her expression alone. She exuded 'Don't bother me', 'Mind your own business' was the kind of air.
'So, there's people like like her too on class B...' I thought. I guess not all students of class are the same.
With that out of the way, the introduction phase was over, and the real discussion would begin with it's prologue. Amikura from class B happened to be the person who took the leading stance. "I think it needs no saying, but we all want to reach for the first outcome, no?"
"It's obvious, isn't it?" commented Mori, who was tidying up her uniform.
Satou, Haruto, and a girl from class D, Kinoshita agreed with her as they obviously wanted to cooperate. If everyone wished for it, they would be able to pass the exam with Outcome #1.
"I agree. We're a group, aren't we? Obviously, we should cooperate, if we want to pass the exam."
Asaka's statement pretty much described the situation at hand. It seemed obvious to someone, if they weren't the VIP. In case you were a VIP like me, you'd be forced to boldly lie whilst checking if the statements were normal sounding or not.
However, as big of a trap it was, this could potentially lead up to a wild goose chase. All that was needed was to lie earnestly.
"Indeed. I mean, we could all use some points after we return to the campus, don't we?" I looked at Yamada Albert, let's just call him Albert. Albert didn't seem to pay any heed to my words as he kept sitting on his seat in silence. I failed to understand if he was being a serious person, or just introverted.
The tone of the discussion slowly went in favor of everyone agreeing to reach the Outcome #1. However, there were those who opposed the idea too.
"It's a bit unfair, don't you think?" the boy from class A, Naoki Shimizu, spoke out.
"Huh? What is?" Asaka asked.
"Assuming that we're going to discuss about the VIP and reach a mutual understanding of reaching for Outcome #1, it's indeed a desirable outcome. However, what guarantee do we have, whether there won't be anyone willing to reach a different outcome?"
Even though that was true, it was unnecessary for her to defend the traitor out of nowhere. Hypothetically, it would've been best if they waited for the VIP to feel comfortable and reveal themselves. But instead, he had reinforced the fear of class point deduction.
My eyes went toward Kamuro who was sitting right beside him. As far as I know, she was someone working directly under Sakayanagi's tyranny.
Perhaps...
"That's... true. There was also that traitor rule on the back page, you know?" Satou commented, further distributing the unlikeliness of the group reaching Outcome #1.
"It think you misunderstood. We're not asking for immediate answers. We just want your cooperation, that's all." Haruto immediately responded "If you're unwilling, you're free to not respond."
"You know very well what happens if someone doesn't respond in a situation like this." Shimizu and the other class A students frowned. "The suspicion would immediately shift on them. Hence, why I called this unfair."
"Well, wouldn't that thought process be normal, logic-wise?" Amikura remarked.
"At this point, you're thinking anything, but logical." Kamuro sighed.
"What do you mean by that, Kamuro-san?" snarled Asaka.
"Nothing. It's just, we of class A would like to abstain from this discussion. That's all." Kamuro declared.
"Hey, if you're going to refrain from the discussion, everyone will begin suspecting your group."
"What are you implying by that?" Kamuro glared at Asaka for giving them a threat-like response.
"We're not implying anything malicious. We just want to win this exam together by discussing the solution. That's all."
Kamuro unconvinced by their logic, sighed and asked the burning question, "Then, tell me. What exactly are you going to discuss. Are you going to beg the VIP to come out, or to persuade the traitor to throw away their chance at gaining class points?"
Kamuro's words contained sharp logic that no one could deny, which seemingly silenced everyone momentarily. It was a heated verbal exchange between class A and class B.
I, on the other hand, was in a world full of confusion. I was supposed to be the VIP, my class was supposed to be on the defensive. Yet, for some reason, class A took that initiative, and began making themselves look suspicious.
I had my own theories, but the answers would only reveal on the pages of the future chapters.
"Then, in that case, what do you suggest we should do, Kamuro-san?" Amikura decided to ask.
"There's no need for any discussions. That's all."
"Huh? You do realize what you're saying, right? How are we supposed to reach the outcome if we don't discuss?" Kinoshita raised her eyebrow.
"There's no need for any discussions."
"Wha-?"
"I also agree with her." I finally decided to step out of the sidelines, and added my piece. Even the members from my class Satou and Mori was shocked at my decision. "If we want to avoid getting backstabbed by a traitor, it'd probably be best if no one gets any hint about the VIP until the very last second."
Everyone present at the meeting silently pondered about my words. "Then, are you suggesting that we should do nothing?"
"What else?" I replied without skipping a beat. "There's no point in any sort of discussion at this point. So we should probably procrastinate until the final meeting."
"I agree with you." Shiina commented with a soft voice. "It would be best to lower our risk than to lose everything."
My eyes fixated on Shiina again. Forget about siding with me, I didn't expect her to even join the discussion. Through her character descriptions I learned that she was uninterested in class conflicts and such. But perhaps this being a group exam changed her mind?
"Hmm..."
After laying down our thoughts, the other's seemed to notice the bigger picture. The logic of holding a discussion this early was no long relevant, as the fear of betrayal took over. If they persisted, they could still use unfair tactics like Ichinose did on the last day in the original YouZitsu. But if they were being hasty, they'd suffer a humiliating defeat. I don't think they'd try anything like that this early though.
"Are we even allowed to just, laze around during the discussion period?" Oda asked.
"Hm... Well, they did say that we were free to do whatever we want so..." Mori remarked.
"Then, I guess that fixes it, then."
Everyone agreed with our decision and began doing whatever they wanted. Some began fiddling with their phones while the others were busy talking amongst themselves. There were people like Sawada and Hiyori too who were reading book.
I shrugged and leaned back on the chair while yawning. For that moment, I was able to direct the scenario toward the direction I wanted. Dealing with discussions everyday would've been undoubtedly stressful for me. And my classmates don't even know that I'm a VIP, so they would've been clueless as well.
That's the reason why I needed some time to think about my strategies before engaging in a full scale offense.
Only time will tell whether or not this plagiaristic strategy would apply for them as well..
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