COTE Year 2 Reimagined

Volume 5:Part 14

After leaving Chabashira behind, I was making my way to my dorm when I ran into Yousuke.

"Kiyotaka-kun."

He got up from the bench he was sitting on and came up to me.

"I need to speak with you."

Considering my headache, I wanted to just go home, but I decided it would be faster to end this now, so I nodded. We started walking together towards the dorms while he spoke.

"Before the exam, you told me to trust you, Kiyotaka-kun. So I did. Until the very end, I trusted your decision. I even voted against Sakura-san, who was innocent. So I want to ask. Did you betray my trust Kiyotaka-kun?"

I see. So that's what's been on his mind. Yousuke wasn't against expelling someone. He even suggested expelling someone who was willing to leave last year, but of course, no one volunteered. He was against targeting someone and causing them harm. He trusted that me picking Airi wouldn't cause her harm, but there was obviously no way to confirm that. This is why he's asking me directly right now.

"I can't say for certain whether I betrayed your trust or not. Only you can make that decision. Instead, I'll explain why I chose Airi."

Yousuke nodded at me.

"I believe Airi will be able to recover from this. I would say that being here at this school was actually holding her back from maturing. I think that even if she's expelled,
she's strong enough to get through this and even grow stronger because of it. That's why I chose her."

Yousuke started thinking and nodded at me again.

"If that's the case, then I don't regret my decision. But I never got the impression that she would be strong enough to withstand all of this. I'll trust your judgement for now. Or rather, I want to trust it. I hope you end up being right. Thanks for talking to me, Kiyotaka-kun."

I nodded at him and walked back towards my room.

When I made it back, I simply lay in bed and closed my eyes, waiting for this headache to disappear. A few hours went by until I received a few texts from Kei. It seems she got the information I asked her for.

I wanted to know exactly what happened during the special exam for each class.

Apparently, Arisu got through the exam first and with no issues. She chose not to expel anyone.

Ichinose's class didn't expel anyone either. However, something much more interesting happened. Kanzaki openly spoke up against Ichinose with Himeno's support. Apparently, they ended up getting around 10 more supporters during the exam. Ichinose, who felt more pressured by everyone speaking up against her, decided to willingly step down as the class leader. Her classmates objected heavily, but her decision was final. Kanzaki obviously took the initiative and appointed himself in her stead. He decided not to expel anyone as well. Ichinose stepping down was expected. It was the reason I egged Kanzaki on in the first place. I will let Ichinose suffer a bit longer , and during winter break, I'll make my move. I'll help Ichinose take back her class at the start of the third semester.

Ryuen, on the other hand, had a similar situation. Tokito rebelled against his class and declared that he would vote in favour till they all get rid of Ryuen. Katsuragi made his move and managed to win Tokito over as I expected. Ryuen made a wise investment by bringing Katsuragi over to his class.

I read all her messages but didn't reply. I closed my eyes again and tried to get some sleep, but unfortunately, Kei wouldn't allow that.

<What is it?>

I answered her call.

<Can I come over?>

<Tomorrow.>