Cote: Retelling

(2) Chapter 2.1: Eh?

"Eh?"

"Eh?"

Huh. Interesting... Wait, I should react surprised too.

"Eh?"

"Ummm... Was it that suprising?"

"I mean... you said all that about remaining impartial and not assuming guilt, so... Yes, a bit." Says Hirata.

Ichinose gives a short, nervous laugh. "Ehheh... Sorry about that. We just wanted an idea of class D's character, so we initially hid the truth."

"It was my idea." Kanzaki declares. "I apologize if I offended you, but I just wanted to know class D could be trusted."

"You see, because of what class C tried to do, we're being extra cautious when interacting with other classes for the first time." Adds Watanabe.

"What exactly did class C do to make you so cautious?" asks Kushida.

"Probably the same thing they're doing to class D right now." Watanabe starts. "Two class C students brought a class B student to the special annex and tried to provoke him into attacking. Thankfully, we were able to interfere with the situation before it escalated, but had we responded to their provocation..."

"...Then class C could make a case about a class B student beating them up." Hirata realizes.

"The situation sounds eerily familiar, doesn't it? Two class C students, the special annex which doesn't have cameras, and provocation." Begins Kanzaki. "We believe since their plan didn't work on us, they switched targets to class D."

"But why would they do that? Class C is above us." Kushida asks.

"We think their reasons for attacking us were two-fold." Watanabe begins. "First, to knock us down a peg, since we're their immediate roadblock. Second, to get an idea about the school's punishment system and inner workings. While attacking class D won't help them in the immediate competition, it'll still give them information on the school's punishment system."

"And they're really willing to forge a case just for that?"

"We can't think of anything else." Kanzaki adds. "There's no reason for them to make such a risky maneuver to attack class D, who's more than 400 points below them, unless they have a goal outside the immediate class placement."

While there is the possibility that class C plans to crush us while we're down, that would... actually, I'll withhold any speculations for after the meeting. There's no point in making unnecessary guesses when my information is lacking.

"And so, we have a proposal." Ichinose comes forward with a serious face. "If class C's reckless behaviour tells us anything, it's that they intend to compete with extreme aggression and are not afraid of dishonest strategies. To prevent class C's corrupt methods from ruining both of us, we would like to propose a temporary alliance with class D."

"Of course, it'll be somewhat informal: we wouldn't want to constrict either class' freedom." Watanabe adds. "We just want a simple agreement. Class B and D will be friendly and generally non-aggressive towards each other, where doable. In addition, we promise to help each other out in cases like this, as long as doing so doesn't require commitment of resources like private points. In essence, it boils down to "let's be friendly with each other for now.""

"So? What do you think?" Ichinose asks with a smile, raising her hand for a shake.

Me, Hirata and Kushida all exchange glances. I personally believe it's a good deal, and from what I know of Hirata's character and Kushida's outward character, I think they'll agree. Well, they might agree for slightly different reasons than me, but still.