Chapter 5: Class D and Class DIntro

Thursday; The weekend would soon be upon us. I brought Horikita along with me to the library after classes were done for the day.

This was because we had arranged to hold a discussion with the Class 1-D students that Nanase would be bringing along with her today.

On the way to the library, Horikita and I spoke with each other about the special exam.

Have you taken a look at todays OAA update yet?

17 more pairs were finalized, bringing the total up to 73.

While the number of new pairs wasnt all that unexpected, there was one thing that made this update distinctly different from the previous two.

Two students from Class 1-D had decided on a partner.

Slight traces of activity could be seen within the class that had laid dormant over the past three days.

Im a little annoyed. I thought Hsen-kun would wait and see how the situation developed for a little while longer. I tried to make some light conversations with several Class 1-D students during lunch today, but they all just brushed me off by saying they didnt know anything about the two students who were involved.

Theres a fine line between them actually not knowing anything and them having a gag order in place.

It wouldnt be surprising if they had been instructed not to leak any information nor partner up with someone unless they receive a substantial number of points.

Thats true. Either way, its good that weve decided to meet with Nanase-san after this. If its her, we might be able to ask her about it too.

Horikita had only ever made contact with Nanase once, and they had never really had a proper conversation with each other.

Nevertheless, Nanase, the girl who had been together with Hsen, stood out as a student who seemed easy to communicate with.

I had personally felt a strong impression of honesty back when I had spoken with her.

Somehow, she had a straightforward, upright personality that reminded me of Ichinose.

We arrived at the library and set foot inside.

Oh my. It seems the library has some rare visitors.

The first person to greet us was not Nanase, but rather, Class 2-Cs Shiina Hiyori.

As expected of a bookworm, it seemed she had made her way here as soon as school was out for the day.

It might be just a little noisy today. Were here to have a discussion with some first-year students about the special exam.

I see. Well, I think the seats at the far end of the room should be good for that. That way, you wont be too much of a nuisance to the other library patrons, so it should be alright for you to talk a bit. If someone tries to approach you, youll be able to notice right away.

We opted to take the advice that Hiyori had considerately offered to us.

Are things going well in Class C?

Yes. Theres a lot going on right now.

Because our classes were direct competitors, it was difficult for her to let us know about the internal affairs of her class.

We parted ways with Hiyori after exchanging a few more simple words and decided to go take a seat since we had arrived before Nanase. Although I was vaguely concerned about Hiyoris situation, I went along with Horikita to the seats at the far end of the room.

Nanase-san aside, now that were getting involved with Class 1-D, the question is whether or not Hsen-kun will show up.

Thats right. Whether or not he comes with her will make all the difference.

Since there werent any prior restrictions on who could come, there was no guarantee that Hsen wouldnt tag along with her.

In which case, we would have to negotiate a big deal under rather turbulent conditions.

Can I ask you something before we get to the full-blown discussion? Have you been studying?

Well, somewhat. Is there something wrong with that?

As Ive got the advantage of choosing the subject well compete in, Ive just been wondering if youve been taking enough time to study.

Why? Are you trying to show humanity to your enemy or something?

No way. Im not so kind that Id give up my own advantage. This is a competition I must win.

Although she says this, she still seemed to care about whether I was studying properly or not.

In other words, she was worried that Id end up making excuses if I lost our bet, saying that I had been too busy with the special exam to study.

I could say the same to you, given that youve spent all your time trying to put Class 2-D in order recently.

Im just as diligent with my studies as always, so there are no problems on my end.

It seemed she was pretty confident in her daily study routine.

Dont worry. Im not going to lose.

Its fine if thats the case, but

She didnt exactly trust me so she didnt really think I was taking our bet very seriously.

There was one more thing I wanted to ask her in relation to that. Horikita had many different shoes to fill. On top of working to organize the class, she had to both study for herself, and tutor others. I wasnt sure if she could keep this pace until the day of the exam. However, just as I was about to ask her about it, Nanase arrived at the library alone. She noticed the two of us immediately, bowing her head before she approached. It seemed that Hsen wouldnt be showing up for the initial discussion.

Sorry to have kept you waiting, Senpai.

We only just got here ourselves.

Greetings were shared as Horikita motioned for Nanase to take the seat on the other side of the table. The discussion had begun.

Ill reintroduce myself Im Horikita Suzune. Thank you for taking the time to hold this discussion with us today.

I No, thats not right I am known as Nanase Tsubasa. I havent done anything worthy of your thanks. Rather, I should be the one expressing my thanks to the two of you.[3]

They were fellow Class D students, both having started from the very bottom.

As soon as she heard Nanases polite introduction and response, Horikita cut to the chase.

This might seem rather intrusive, but could I ask you about something?

Of course.

First of all, as a baseline premise, Id like to hear about Class 1-Ds policy moving forward. Only today did two students in your class finally decide on their partners. However, the direction of the remaining 38 students is still up in the air. Youre one of them, arent you Nanase-san?

While it wasnt known if it was Hsen or another Class 1-D student, it was clear that somebody was giving the class instructions.

Youre correct. I thought that youd inquire about that. You asked Kajiwara-kun this very same question earlier today, right?

Kajiwara was the name of one of the many students in Class 1-D. Apparently, Nanase had already found out that Horikita had attempted to contact several Class 1-D students during lunch today. In which case, it seemed reasonable to assume that Nanase also knew that we had contacted Shiratori and his friends on the first day of the exam.

Im surprised. It seems you guys do a great job reporting, communicating, and discussing things.

Many students have already begun taking action in accordance with Hsen-kuns orders.

Instead of being ambiguous, Nanase readily confirmed that Hsen was the one in charge.

Is it because of his aggressive attitude? No I think theres more to it than that. What on earth did he do?

Nanase pondered for a moment before finally opening her mouth to speak.

Im immensely sorry, but Im afraid I cant provide you with any specifics. Its a strategy that Hsen-kun has come up with in order to unify the class. Although I dont know if his strategy is correct or not, leaking the information to an outsider would be an act of betrayal.

Oh well. Youve made the correct choice.

In response to Horikitas words, Nanase lightly bowed her head in appreciation. Just because we were her upperclassmen didnt mean she had to tell us everything. Just as she had expressed in her conversation with me yesterday, Nanase possessed the resolution expected of a student devoted to her class.

Then, lets get down to business. Id like to know if our class can collaborate with Class 1-D, just like the two people who finalized their partners yesterday.

I believe youve heard this from Shiratori-kun already, but our doors are always open to you. As long as you present us with at least a fixed number of private points, well accept the partnership without the slightest bit of hesitation.

Sure enough, our conversation with Shiratori and his friends had managed to reach Hsens ears.

From this, I could hazard a guess that the two Class 1-D students in question had been bought for a large number of private points.

But what Im asking for today is completely different from settling an agreement with points.

I understand that. I heard a little about it from Ayanokji-senpai before, but youre looking to establish a cooperative relationship where our classes help cover for the more academically incapable students, correct?

Thats right. The fact that youve come here despite knowing that, already leads me to believe that we have room to negotiate, right?

There is or at least thats what Id like to think.

With that, Nanases expression clouded over before she continued.

Hsen-kuns way of thinking is thoroughly rooted in the mindset of individualism, and he enforces that on those around him. At this rate, the students with low Academic Ability ratings wont be able to find partners and will end up getting left behind. While its not a very big problem that theyll lose out on three months of private points, I fear that theyll be branded as losers who werent able to find themselves a partner. Well, no, that might not be that big of an issue either What really gets to me is the thought that this individualistic mindset might never go away, preventing us from being able to unite as a class in the future.

After hearing what Nanase had to say, Horikita vocalized her predictions on what she thought might happen to Class 1-D moving forward.

Yeah. If nobody is ever willing to help the class as a whole, the ongoing individualist battle would naturally accelerate. The weaker students would have no choice but to fend for themselves. And, as soon as that becomes the expected standard, nobody will be willing to help each other, even if somebody asks for it. The class wouldnt be in any position to do something if confronted with an exam that requires cohesion.

That was why, in order to avoid that, Nanase was willing to single-handedly take part in negotiations with Horikita.

Youre not afraid of Hsen-kun, Nanase-san?

Yes.

An immediate, unfazed response. And then, Nanase turned and set her sights on me for the first time since we started the discussion. She had that same look in her eyes that I had seen only twice before. I was reminded of what I had heard yesterday, when she had said I will never yield to violence. Although I wasnt without concerns about her identity, Nanase may very well be the only person capable of bringing Class 1-D over to our side.

If we had truly met through a chance encounter, then I was honestly grateful for her.

Then, let me ask you more of an in-depth question here. How many students are struggling to find partners right now in Class 1-D? Please tell me to the extent you know you can answer, Academic Ability ratings aside.

While the OAA app would tell you which students hadnt found a partner yet, it didnt say anything about whether or not a given student was likely to find a partner.

For that, you had no choice but to ask somebody personally involved with the class in order to find out.

At this point, I believe that approximately fifteen students would find it difficult to search for a partner on their own.

Fifteen Thats more than I expected.

However, many Class 2-D students hadnt decided on a partner yet either.

As long as they coordinated properly, there should be enough room for our classes to work together.

Nanase-san. If youll allow for it, Id like to come to an agreement with you and your class.

An agreement, is it?

Im hoping that you and I can decide on a combination of fifteen sets of partners and get this over with all at once. It wouldnt matter what Academic Ability rating they might have. And, naturally, there wouldnt be any points involved either. It would be an equal, collaborative relationship based on helping those who need to be helped.

In other words, a relationship based on an understanding of mutual concessions and compromises.

As we would be giving and taking from each other, private points and feelings wouldnt need to get involved.

The chances of somebody being expelled would go down a lot with the establishment of this agreement alone.

However, things werent that simple, and both Horikita and Nanase were aware of that as well.

This is on the premise that we can make that agreement in the first place, but there is no guarantee that we will be able to save those in Horikita-senpais class with Academic Ability in the vicinity of an E rating. The majority of the students in my class who are struggling to find partners have Academic Ability ratings of C or D.

If, for example, the maximum Academic Ability rating they were willing to put forward was a C+, there would still be huge risks associated with pairing them up with someone who has an E rating from our class. It wouldnt be unreasonable to say that, for us, the disadvantages would be far more prevalent.

Thats why Ill need you to do your best to make sure it doesnt turn out like that.

Yes, I know. Even if thats the case, I still dont believe we will come to an agreement very easily.

Nanase spoke her thoughts without denying anything.

Hsen-kun would never allow us to help you out for free. Especially not now.

Class 2-A had managed to maintain a high number of class points ever since enrollment and had an ample amount of funds saved up as a result. Class 2-C, despite coughing up a large number of points to save Ryen late last year, had the luxury of a steady supply of funds due to their contract with Katsuragi and Class A. The Class 2-C students probably had a certain amount of points saved up as well.

Given that the two classes were contending for students with such a huge number of points on the table, it was only natural for the first-years to sell themselves to the highest bidder.

You could say that Hsens plan, the policy he had put in place, was the best way to handle this exam.

However, while asking prices were high across the board, there was no doubt that Class 1-D was asking for much higher prices than all the other first-year classes.

This was evident by the low number of Class 1-D students who had already finalized their partners.

Even though it would benefit everyone in his class? There shouldnt be any downsides in it for him.

The downside was that the students who werent able to join with a partner wouldnt receive the private points they wouldve gotten otherwise. Though, this was probably implied by this point.

I understand what youre trying to say, Horikita-senpai. I can also get behind the vast majority of what youve outlined for me so far.

It looked like, personally, Nanase was impressed with Horikitas proposition.

However.

Its just I still dont think Hsen-kun will allow it.

There was a short silence. I could vaguely guess what she happened to be thinking about, so I spoke up.

The only thing I know for sure is that Hsen isnt just collecting points for himself.

What do you mean?

I originally thought Hsen was demanding a huge number of points for partnerships because he wanted to horde all of the points for himself. But if that were the case, hed be actively looking to help his classmates with low Academic Ability ratings. In the most extreme scenario, hed be reaching out to those students, telling them to just hand over the points theyd get and hed find them a partner.

Thats indeed true Three months worth of private points is nothing to sneeze at. Id rather give half of the points to Hsen-kun and save myself instead of failing the exam and not getting any points at all.

Judging from his actions so far and what I could gather from conversations with Nanase, that wasnt what he was doing at all.

Its just as Ayanokji-senpai has speculated. Hsen-kun has not received any compensation from our classmates.

He was controlling the class, imposing rules.

And then, when someone breaks those rules, theyd be completely ostracized by Hsen and the students who followed him.

Therefore, they wouldnt dare find a partner without Hsens permission. They couldnt.

The Class 1-D students didnt show up at the meet-and-greet because they knew itd be useless to attend from the very beginning.

Couldnt you use your influence to control even a couple of the academically capable students in your class?

Horikita wasnt asking for anything in return for her proposal. It was merely an act of mutual cooperation between classes.

Compared to the second-year students, the first-year students didnt have as much of an emotional attachment to their class and friends.

It was just too unreasonable to expect them to have bonded within the first week or two after enrollment.

Ive tried asking several of them, but none have said that theyd be willing to consider it.

So compensation is still an absolute requirement?

If we only need a couple of people, couldnt we just make an agreement using points?

I asked Horikita the question. If our goal was to take first place overall like Class 2-A and 2-C, wed need an enormous sum of points to recruit such a large number of capable students. However, since our goal is just to prevent expulsions, we only needed to recruit a couple students, so the monetary cost would be reduced accordingly.

Yes If we really end up with no other options, thats what well have to do. But a relationship built upon private points can only be further maintained with more private points. I want a relationship that goes beyond that.

After responding to me, Horikita turned and looked straight at Nanase.

What do you mean by that, Horikita-senpai?

Right now, the first-years and second-years are on different playing fields. First-years like you are at the advantage because you dont have to bear the risks of expulsion. However, that dynamic surely wont last forever. Sooner or later, the day will come when you have to face the risk of expulsion as well. If youve never done anything more than establish relationships that revolve around points, what are you going to do when the time comes and Class 1-D doesnt have enough?

While some students would probably be saved, chances are that there would also be those who would not.

Thats why I want to work with you as equals without creating a hierarchical relationship based on points. And, I want to build up trust. A special relationship of trust that comes from being in different school years.

With this, Horikita was advocating that, when a Class 1-D student was in trouble, theyll be able to consult with us on an equal footing. In short, it was similar to the trust-focused strategy Ichinose was implementing.

The primary difference being that it didnt require the entire grades cooperation, but just that of a single class.

Horikita wasnt looking to appeal to everyone. She was just limiting the scope of our cooperative efforts to Class 1-D.

We had already embarked on the fourth day of the special exam. We couldnt afford to waste too much of our time.

This had probably given Nanase a solid understanding of Horikitas intentions.

But even so, her strained expression never brightened.

I completely understand what youre saying, but I dont think my peers can understand that yet. Most of the first-year student body is eager to save up as many private points as possible. Given that, partnering up with somebody without any form of compensation would be seen as nothing more than a waste.

In this respect, the only option was to give them time to understand how the school worked.

So basically, youre saying that there are two obstacles to working together with Class 1-D right now. Persuading Hsen-kun, and persuading the honor students who want points. The latter of which remains the same no matter which class youre dealing with, but

It was true that, at least on the surface, the benefits that would come with working together with Class 1-D seemed small because of the many obstacles, Hsen in particular, that would need to be overcome. However, the reality was different.

Was Horikita aware of this as well?

Please let me discuss things with Hsen-kun.

Horikita voiced her request, having decided that it was impossible to move discussions forward any further than this without Hsen.

Youre right If we want to push this relationship any further, I suppose theres no getting around it.

Id be ready to meet with him right now, if thats alright with you.

Okay. Ill go call him.

Nanase took out her cell phone and headed toward the entrance of the library.

It seems that Hsen-kuns influence is more widespread than I imagined.

Yeah.

Trying to work together with Class 1-D like this Im not making a mistake, right?

Establishing a relationship that looks forward to the future isnt a bad idea. You could even say that itll be essential. Sakayanagi and Ryen have been trying to build up trusting relationships with the talented first-year students using their reputation and points. Ichinose doesnt have any points whatsoever, but shes trying to build up her own trusting relationships by saving the weak. And your strategy is similar to Ichinose, but youre trying to build up trust with only one class, right? The strategies all take different shapes and sizes, but in the end theyre all the same. Youre already in the process of becoming a leader capable of competing with the three of them.

Horikita nodded lightly upon hearing my words. With this, it was up to her to make sure that the negotiations ran smoothly.

After waiting for a while, we noticed Nanase poke her head back through the entrance and beckon us over to her.

I wonder if something happened?

Lets go and find out.

The two of us left the library and joined back up with Nanase.

Pardon me, Senpais. Uhm Hsen-kun is on the line.

Nanase held out her muted phone, presenting it to Horikita.

Horikita took the phone, set it to speaker mode, and set about confronting Hsen.

Sorry to keep you waiting.

[Yo. Ive heard the gist of it from Nanase.]

Id like to meet in person and explain it to you myself, if I could.

[No need. Meetin up wont do jack shit.]

After an audible laugh in the background of the call, Hsen spoke.

By that you mean youre not even willing to negotiate?

[Exactly. I didnt even wanna talk with ya on the phone, but Nanase was bein stuck up bout it.]

But Hsen-kun, I think we should consider what Horikita-senpai has to say.

[Shut up bitch. Who the fuck you think you are? Huh? Ill fucking kill you.]

I have no interest in being killed, but please meet with Horikita-senpai at least this once.

[Dont contact me again unless yer willin to fork over the points.]

Nanase tried to say something else, but Hsen hung up the call.

She immediately tried to call him back, but no matter how many times she called, he never picked up the phone.

Im very sorry!

Nanase lowered her head as far as she possibly could, apologizing to the two of us.

But Nanase hadnt done anything wrong.

Raise your head. My plan is completely different from Hsen-kuns, so its not going to be easy to get things right. Im very grateful that youve been willing to lend us a hand like this.

That

Lets leave it at that for today. Well have to come up with something if we want to discuss things with Hsen-kun. Either way, Id like to get this wrapped up by the end of this week.

Any longer than that and Horikita would probably have to shift her focus to a different class. That said, I really hoped it wouldnt turn out that way. Fighting the other three classes for students after most of them have already been taken would take an almost daunting amount of effort.

Im very happy that you havent given up yet, Horikita-senpai, but

Nanase held back the words that were about to leave her mouth. She had probably wanted to say that it was impossible to form an equal, collaborative relationship with Hsen, but thought it would all be over if she did.

At least he got a sense for what I want to do. That should be enough for now.

Though time was running out and patience was wearing thin, Horikita reassured Nanase as she brought the conversation to a close.

Horikita offered that we all return together, but it seemed like Nanase had somewhere she needed to go.

And then, after telling us that she hoped to meet up with us in the library again tomorrow, she left.

Perhaps she went off to go meet up with Hsen.

Lets head out. I still have a lot left to do today.

It seems that Horikita has plans to hold a study session with Sud and a few others after she got back to her room.

Ah, and its about time you clarify what your plan is with finding your own partner too. Are you going to figure it out on your own, or do you plan on delegating it to me as well? It might affect how things turn out later on down the line.

After all, if we managed to start negotiations with Hsen, wed have to make adjustments to the exact number of people involved in the agreement.

Theres already somebody I have in mind for that.

So instead of looking for somebody with a certain Academic Ability rating, youre looking for somebody specific? Who?

Thats a secret.

A secret? Do you really need to keep it from me?

I only have a surface-level impression of them right now myself.

Does it really matter that much? Everybodys had to do what they can to get help, you do know that right?

Youre not wrong. I thought Id have a better idea today, but Well, Ill make my decision by the end of this week at the latest.

If you say so, but I cant make any promises if you come crying to me at the last minute, alright?

Ill keep that in mind. Anyway, I was meaning to ask earlier, but how are you feeling?

Are you worried about me?

While theres no need to worry about your stamina right now, theres still a fair bit of time until the special exam.

If she were to run out of energy right before the end, it could possibly affect her performance on the day of the exam.

She was holding study sessions day after day, coupled with all the time she had spent dealing with Amasawas cooking challenge yesterday.

Its only natural that fatigue would gradually continue to accumulate.

Its true that I might be wearing myself out, but I dont have time to rest right now. Im not going to collapse until the special exam is over.

Rather than a simple show of courage, this was more like she had adopted a mentality fitting of someone looking to lead the class into battle.

Ysuke and Kushida offering their help was one thing, but students with excellent Academic Ability ratings like Keisei and Mii-chan had also offered to help Horikita ever since the very beginning of the exam. As such, Horikita decided to push forward with her plan to work together with Class 1-D in the future.

After all, if the leader falters, unable to make decisions, it would only serve as a bad influence on the class as a whole.

In a race against time, the most crucial part of all of this was figuring out how to solidify our classs course of action during the early stages of the exam.