Starting in class C: not completely defective.

Arc 10 chapter 4: pawns

I received the text from Ryuuen, and turned to face the three students, Albert, Ishizaki and Ibuki.

"Ryuuen says it's class D. Better get to it," I said.

They headed out to do their business. They wouldn't get much done today, but they would be able to do everything tomorrow.

I texted Matsushita and Katsuragi.

Meet me at seafront in 20 minutes. Don't be late.

This would be a fairly easy exam with my pawns here. I would have liked to have gone up against class C, because we would be able to make an agreeable compromise with them. But since we're up against class D, I can only assume it's because of Horikita.

I arrived at the seafront, and Matsushita and Katsuragi arrived a short while later.

"Ayanokouji-kun...can I assume this is about the upcoming exam?" Asked Matsushita.

"Yes. Matsushita, since I'm going up against your class, I'm prepared to compromise. Please tell your commander, who I'm assuming is Horikita, that we're prepared to let you win 4 out of 7 events in exchange for private points. Failing that, I want you to tell me which events you'll be putting forwards," I said.

"I see...I don't think Horikita will go for it though. She's been acting real weird lately...I think you should watch where you tread," Matsushita warned.

"Don't worry, I can handle Horikita fine," I said.

I watched Matsushita walk away. I turned to Katsuragi.

"Why did you call me here? Class A and class B aren't going up against each other," he said.

"Quite right, you're going up against class C. I want you to give me your classes information so I can pass it along to class C. I have an...arrangement with Ichinose, you see," I explained.

Katsuragi paused in thought for a moment.

"Ayanokouji-kun. I would rather only do deals that affect our two classes. I...would not want to drag class B down too much," he said.

"I understand your hesitation, but...you don't have much of a choice, if you want to transfer to my class, that is. Don't worry, I will only make you lose 4 events, I'm not entirely heartless, you know. Plus, this loosen Sakayanagi's hold over class B slightly," I said.

Katsuragi hesitated for a moment, and then walked off.

I was confident that he would do as I ordered.

I was in Fuka's room, about to go to sleep when Katsuragi messaged me.

I'll do it.

I smiled. They always come around in the end.

Pov change

A rather unusual incident occurred a few days later. It happened at the start of lunch break, when our group made our way to the cafeteria. As I walked with Shibata and the others, we heard someone shout, somewhat aggressively.

"Come on, Suzune. We should definitely do something about this! We gotta protest!"

The person who shouted these words was none other than Sudou, from first-year class D. He was accompanied by two other students from class D: Horikita and Hirata.

"Huh, what's going on? It's rather unusual to see Sudou angry," said Kanzaki sarcastically, causing a few of our group to laugh.

Sudou, from the few interactions I've had with him, is a pretty hotheaded individual, but not someone to start a fight for absolutely no reason. I'm sure it was probably just a misunderstanding.