Part 12

A few days before our confrontation with Class A, Keisei finally managed to get in touch with Katsuragi.

Shortly afterward, Keisei contacted me and called me out to a discreet location.

At this point, Katsuragi was basically isolated from the rest of his class and was often left all alone, so it was probably easy to get in touch with him.

So, what can I do for you, Yukimura?

The man who harbors an unrelenting resentment for Sakayanagi stared at Keisei with a pointed look in his eyes.

Katsuragi, theres something Im hoping you can help us with.

Given the current circumstances, I can already guess what youre here to talk to me about.

From the looks of it, Katsuragi already had an idea of what Keisei was trying to propose.

Then that makes things simple for us. I was hoping youd tell us which events Class A plans on choosing. Also, if possible, Id like you to throw your matches for us.

Keisei added in another request that he hadnt mentioned to Horikita and me.

And what would I get in return for doing that?

Well welcome you into our class.

Thats an amusing proposal. You want me to betray Class A and drop down to Class C?

Katsuragi sneered at Keiseis suggestion.

We will rise up to Class A someday. We have the potential.

Keisei spoke up once again, emphasizing that he could transfer classes once we managed to reach Class A.

But, to Katsuragi, Keiseis words probably sounded like nothing more than delusional nonsense.

Youll rise up to Class A someday? Doesnt every other class say the same thing?

Thats

If you really have the potential, cant you just beat Class A without doing something underhanded like this? Isnt the reason why youre trying to use me because you cant do that?

Keisei fell silent at Katsuragis irrefutable, scornful tone.

Well, whatever. Lets say you guys really can rise up to Class A. Are you saying you can provide me with 20 million points right now in exchange for the information? No, because thats impossible, isnt it? If you had that much, you probably wouldve used it to prevent Yamauchi from being expelled.

Of course, Katsuragi was well aware that we didnt have such a large amount of points.

Thats

Dont tell me you want me to wait two years for you to prepare the points?

Well, yeah.

This is beyond delusional. Even if you guys do become Class A, theres no guarantee that youll be able to save up 20 million points by then. We could sign a contract, but itd be useless if you dont have enough points when the time arrives. No, is this even an offer everyone in Class C agreed on in the first place?

Katsuragi wasnt an idiot. He probably had a solid understanding of Class Cs current situation.

If this was an offer that everyone in Class C had agreed upon, the person who came to meet him wouldve probably been Horikita. Since Keisei and I were the ones reaching out to him, it mustve been obvious that this was still confidential.

I can understand that youre desperate, but you didnt even come prepared to negotiate. Were you planning to tell the rest of your class after I agreed to cooperate? Did you really think I would accept something like that?

Betraying your fellow classmates wasnt something that could be done easily.

Even more so for a man with a strong sense of duty like Katsuragi.

Are you, are you really fine with being silenced by Sakayanagi then?

What?

Do you really still want to cling to Class A even though they got Totsuka expelled?

Catching onto the fact that Katsuragi wasnt going to be persuaded by his offer, Keisei pushed forward, fully resolved to go down swinging.

I wouldnt have the confidence to make it to graduation like that. Itd be far too pitiful.

So youve resorted to inciting my emotions now? Ill give you zero points for a strategy like that, Yukimura.

Dammit!

Seeing as I was present right alongside Yukimura, Katsuragi then directed his attention to me.

Do you have anything to say, Ayanokji?

No, youre completely right. Theres nothing left to say.

Upon seeing me raise the white flag of surrender, Katsuragi redirected his focus to Keisei once again.

Yukimura, Im not trying to criticize you for anything, but if you want me to double-cross my class, its pointless if youre not prepared.

With his back up against the wall, Katsuragi stared out into the distance.

Rather than looking at something, it was more like he wasnt looking at anything at all.

That being said, you were right about one thing.

One thing?

Despite the fact that Keisei had already given up, his ears perked up at Katsuragis words.

I do harbor an immense, unwavering hatred for Sakayanagi. For me, thats more than enough of a reason to do something, even if you dont have anything to give me in return.

With his arms crossed before him, Katsuragi once again fixed his gaze on Keisei.

As you might have already guessed, Sakayanagi hasnt told anybody which events she plans on choosing.

As expected, Sakayanagi appeared to be keeping her plans to herself.

And Im not happy about it either. In an exam like this, where the entire class needs to cooperate as a unit, thats just not how she should be doing things. Typically, youd expect her to share information with her peers and adopt a strategy that would secure our victory.

By not sharing which events youd be choosing, the biggest advantage would be that your choices wouldnt leak out to the opposing class. However, the quality of your training for the events would diminish at the same time. If you tried to prepare for all ten events, its only natural that your overall efficiency would drop.

If youre fine with it, its not like I cant tell you what I think shell end up picking.

R-really!?

Just as Keisei was about to completely give up on persuading Katsuragi, he unexpectedly found himself catching a lucky break.

Katsuragis resentment for Sakayanagi ran deep.

As long as you can promise me that everything I say stays between us

O-of course. Ill even bring up the twenty million points with Horikita and the rest of my class for you later.

Keisei nodded along, apparently under the impression that he had managed to strike a deal with Katsuragi.

That wont be necessary. Even if the information I give you turns out to be useful, it probably wont be worth twenty million points.

Then, what do you want in return?

Nothing. I just ask that you defeat Sakayanagi.

With that, Katsuragi began to speak.

Of the ten events, the three Im most certain shell end up choosing are Chess, the English Test, and the Mathematics Test. After those would probably be the Modern Literature Test and Flash Mental Arithmetic. Conversely, events that require a large number of participants like dodgeball and long rope jumping can be pretty much thought of as fakes. Our class doesnt seem to have practiced for them, as far as I can tell.

We wouldnt be able to confirm if Katsuragis predictions were correct or not until the day of the exam itself.

But, if we go into it thinking that he was right about the first three, it probably wouldnt end up biting us in the end.

Are you really okay with it? With not getting anything in return?

Like I said earlier. Even if you dont have anything to give me, I still have more than enough reason to take action.

Through an unexpected turn of events, Keisei had gotten his hands on information that he hadnt thought hed be able to get.

Most likely, he was beginning to feel overwhelmed with joy.

W-we did it Kiyotaka! Now we finally have a chance to win this!

Keisei excitedly took on a triumphant pose.

One more thing. You said that you wanted me to throw my matches for you as well, right?

Eh? Ah, no. You dont have to

Hah You came all this way to negotiate, and yet youre satisfied with just getting some information?

Katsuragi let out a slight chuckle, seeming to have found Keiseis panicked reaction amusing.

Its not like that, its just

Dont go thinking you can win against Sakayanagi just because Ive given you a little information. It would probably be wise for you to think that youd just barely be able to put up a fight if I throw my matches. However, the only event Id be able to help you guys with is Flash Mental Arithmetic, or, if it somehow manages to get chosen, Long Rope Jumping.

After listening to Katsuragi speak, I decided to ask him a single question.

Will you even be allowed to participate with Sakayanagi being so wary of you? Its true that, if Long Rope Jumping gets chosen as an event, you might have to participate more than once. But, given that only one or two people can influence the outcome of the Flash Mental Arithmetic event, what makes you think shed choose you for it?

Thats because the only students in Class A who specialize in Flash Mental Arithmetic are me and one other student named Tamiya. Furthermore, Tamiya isnt all that skilled at it either. With that being the case, leaving me out of the event would just hurt our chances of winning.

After all, Sakayanagi probably thinks that shes dulled my fangs by having Yahiko expelled. In order to turn me into one of her pawns, shell get me to participate in an event.

The idea of using Katsuragi, a force that had defied her, as a mere pawn was probably somewhat appealing to Sakayanagi.

Afterward, Katsuragi shared his plan to help us. If he were to be chosen for Flash Mental Arithmetic, he would deliberately get an answer wrong and, in the case of Long Rope Jumping, he would get caught on the rope early on in the event.

That being said, Id like to avoid having Sakayanagi realize that Im throwing the events as much as possible. For Long Rope Jumping, I can make it look like I mess up by accident, but for Flash Mental Arithmetic, I wont be able to make mistakes on the easier questions.

It would look like we were competing on equal footing, but our class would win by a slim margin.

Though, remember this. Even if Flash Mental Arithmetic gets chosen on exam day, if Sakayanagi doesnt decide to have me compete, youll just have to cut your losses and give up on our plan.

Either way, we had been provided with some unprecedented information, so we had no reason to be dissatisfied.

After Katsuragi left, Keisei began talking with excitement filling his voice.

Lets tell Horikita about this, as soon as possible.

No We shouldnt tell her we contacted Katsuragi yet.

W-why not?

This only ended up working out for us in hindsight. She wont be happy with us if she finds out that we did this without telling her.

But, shouldnt we be putting the information to use somehow?

Ill find the right time to tell her. Ill make sure we dont get in trouble.

Keisei seemed a little worried at first, but he eventually agreed.

It was probably because he felt guilty about meeting with Katsuragi in secret.