COTE: The White Room War

Vol 4 Ch 20.2: Tiger 2

Year 1

Season 1

Volume 4 - "To Deceive The World"

Chapter 20: Tiger Part 2 of 3 - Draw +8 or Play

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Exam Day 2 of 4

Ichinose Honami POV

I walk down a hallway with my usual cheerful grin. However, this appearance of mine is a façade, as I don't wish for others to worry about me if I were to display my emotions completely out in the open.

Right now, I am the one doing the worrying about a certain narcissistic classmate of mine, one who I'm well aware of in regards to how they carried Class A the best they could in the Island Exam.

This being is none other Koenji Rokusuke. The boy made his point across, that we need as much information as possible using loopholes, even if the method risks getting caught by an administrator during our briefing of the exam, so he made all of his fellow classmates who are participating carry a second cellphone and record ourselves narrating the rules out loud, only to find out not just the rules, but also our own VIP as well as every person participating in all the groups.

It was risky, and nervously flubbing our performance during such preludes could've resulted in hefty fines in class points and possibly expulsions, but his gamble paid off.

That didn't stop me from thinking about the morning after the Island Exam ended, how Koenji-kun stumbled out of his room, hugging the wall as he slowly made his way to a café for breakfast, his body slathered in sweat. 

What could have possibly set off our well composed leader, who refuses to share his weakness with me and made me promise not to speak of it?

Soon after, I broke the promise by mentioning it to Hoshinomiya-sensei, asking her of Koenji-kun's medical records, to which she responded that if I'm asking about his mental and emotional health, he is quote, "perfectly clear of any diagnosis of sleep apnea, sleep paralysis, bipolar disorder, depression, or any other debilitating conditions."

Now, I can't help but wonder how many burdens are on the narcissist's shoulders as a leader, and how much the other leaders of all the classes are hiding, too. 

Sakayanagi-san and Kiryuuin-chan? In the same boat as Koenji-kun due to their condescending attitude.

Ryuuen-kun? Even some tyrants have hearts. After all, even Adolf Hitler had a dog he loved very much that he had to kill along with his wife and himself before the Red Army reached his bunker in Berlin to spare them of a fate far worse than death, despite his unjustifiable crimes, irrelevant as that fact may be to Ryuuen-kun. But Ryuuen-kun is also kind of a bully.

But while I'm thinking of all these peers of mine, what could possibly be their tragic backstory?

Then, the emotionless face of a brown-haired boy I call my "friend" flashed to the forefront of my mind as well as a surge of guilt.

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka...

In the end, I knew nothing about him before I discovered that Ayanokouji-kun and X are one in the same.

My mind drifted off into a wormhole of thoughts, and I didn't realize I was standing in a line to order my lunch.

A hand clamping onto my shoulder and startling me out of my reverie brings my focus to the person behind me.