COTE Year 2 Reimagined

Volume 4:Part 1

After Nanase got up, we quickly set up a tent and got in to hide from the rain. Unfortunately for us, we'd be stuck in the same tent until the rain stops. I checked my tablet, and thankfully, it wasn't damaged. I used the GPS feature to search for Haruka and Keisei, and unfortunately, for me, both of them were quite far.

My plan was to combine groups with them in order to drastically decrease my points before the leader boards were revealed. That way, no one would see my ranking, but the rain,my fight with Nanase, and the fact that they were quite far meant that my ranking would be public for at least a few hours. I sighed and looked over at Nanase.

"Are you feeling okay? You're soaked."

"I'm fine, Ayanokoji-senpai. You're soaked as well. Is there any way I can help you?"

"No, I'm alright. I'll have to leave as soon as the rain stops, though."

She looked at me in surprise.

"I'm coming too, Ayanokoji-senpai. I can't abandon you right now. You don't know what's going to happen."

What's going to happen?

"What does that mean?"

Nanase looked down in shame.

"I wasn't the only one sent after you, Senpai. There were two others."

Two others? Meaning that three white room students and Tsukishiro were after me?

"Do you remember my story, Senpai? The girl who refused to perform any tasks. The one I tried to protect. She's here as well. And there's another one."

She hesitated for a moment before going on.

"The third one is a boy. He was the third survivor in our generation. After that day, they took the girl and I away, and we went back to our old curriculum in isolation. But the boy stayed. He studied in the same curriculum that you took for over a year, and when I saw him again at this school, I couldn't believe it. He was a completely different person. A shell of who he used to be. His eyes were so cold that I was scared of him."

So a boy and a girl? I started thinking back on who they might be when I remembered. The girl was watching us when Komiya got injured. And the boy was probably the one who caused the injury in the first place. If that was true, it would all make sense. But why did they injure Komiya? And who were they?

"I'm sorry, Ayanokoji-senpai, but please don't ask me for their names. If you do ask, then I'll tell you, but I really don't want to betray them. We studied together for years, after all."

She looked down in shame once more. I put my hand on her head and spoke.

"You don't have to tell me a name. What you've said is more than enough Nanase. Thank you."

She was surprised, but she was grateful to my response. I patted her head and nodded at her.

"Could you tell me more about the boy?"

Nanase nodded her head.

"He wasn't special at first. When we switched curriculums, he was always towards the middle of the pack. But he quickly started excelling and ended up passing all of us. During that time, he stopped speaking to all of us. No one bothered him because we were all stressed about the changes that were happening. He didn't look stressed but instead looked determined."

"I see. Thank you for your help, Nanase. Try to get some sleep. we'll leave as soon as it stops raining."

Nanase nodded her head aggressively.

I started thinking. From what she said, it sounded like the boy excelled in adaptability. In that manner he was like me. I also ranked towards the middle before adapting to my curriculum and starting to pass everyone. I had a few suspects in mind but didn't want to arrive at a conclusion until I knew more.

Soon after, I received a message on my tablet. Apparently, due to the weather conditions, the exam period was cancelled today. And to compensate, you'd get double points on the ninth day. That worked in my favour. I'll combine my group tomorrow and then take advantage of the doubled points to make sure I'm nowhere near the bottom five.

I noticed Nanase had actually fallen asleep and decided to use my jacket to cover her. I had kept it in my bag so it wasn't wet from the rain. I sighed and wondered what to do until this storm passed.