March 5. The cold winds were fading. On the brown, barren treetops, one could already make out faint specks of fresh green—the sign of spring's approach, and of winter's retreat.
It was the slumber of decay in a new year, and the awakening of rebirth.
In this season of transition, the first-year students of Advanced Nurturing High sat quietly in their classrooms, ready to face this sudden, completely unprecedented, special "extra voting exam."
In Yukio's class, Sakagami distributed three praise votes and three criticism votes to every student, then simply stood back and watched them, waiting for the outcome.
The votes themselves weren't anything glamorous—just two slips of paper in different colors: white for praise, black for criticism.
Picking up his papers, Ryuen clicked his tongue and glanced at Yukio.
"So then… is this the start? Your insane plan?"
"Let's begin. No need to say anything more." Yukio lowered his head and began writing.
At once, the entire class followed, lowering their heads in unison, pens scratching across paper. For a moment, the classroom was filled with nothing but the steady "shaa shaa" of pen strokes.
No one hesitated. No one questioned. After everything they'd gone through, they trusted Yukio completely. Even if a temporary expulsion occurred, they believed their big brother would find a way to bring that student back.
Six slips, six names—within two minutes it was done. They handed everything to Sakagami, who first tallied the internal class results, and then waited for the external praise votes to be added in.
The other three classes were undergoing the same process.
Every student in those classes had signed the contract with Yukio. All would follow his instructions to the letter. No unexpected deviations occurred.
Yet, the atmosphere of the voting did differ between classes.
In Sakayanagi's class, naturally, she organized the pace of voting herself. After arranging the praise votes and the first batch of criticism votes, she had the rest concentrated on Katsuragi and his follower Matoba—leaving both of them at -38 points.
She didn't even bother to disguise her command. She issued it openly, like a queen presiding over her court.
Katsuragi rose immediately, eyes sharp as a tiger.
"Sakayanagi. This isn't what we agreed on, is it? Wasn't it enough for me to be the one expelled? And besides, we signed an agreement with Yukio-kun—why drag Matoba into this?"
Sakayanagi twirled her cane in her palm, like a conductor leading an orchestra—or a magician showing off sleight of hand.
"Katsuragi. If not for Yukio-kun's involvement, the one I originally planned to expel was Matoba."
Matoba froze, staring at her in disbelief, fear surfacing in his eyes.
Katsuragi, however, remained steady, his words firm and resonant.
"This isn't what we agreed to!"
"Don't be so naïve, Katsuragi." Sakayanagi stopped her cane, gently blowing at its tip as if to scatter invisible dust.
"Not what we agreed? After nearly a year at AN high school, after so many exams, do you still believe in empty words and promises?"
"!" Katsuragi's towering frame trembled. He couldn't help it—this was exactly how he'd been fooled before. Yukio's sweet words had cost his class dearly in the earliest exams. They still hadn't recovered from those lessons.
Seeing his hesitation, Sakayanagi smiled sweetly.
"Besides, in terms of academics, physical ability, teamwork, and character, you're far superior to Matoba. Why would I expel you?
"Keeping you is in the class's best interest. Yukio-kun's plan is only what gave Matoba a chance to stay. If you don't understand, then stay quiet and wait for the result—where nobody is expelled."
Beside them, poor Matoba could barely speak. He wanted to object, but Katsuragi held him back. Katsuragi trusted the contract with Yukio. He trusted that Matoba wouldn't be harmed.
Matoba could only wait in terror, silently praying: Please… please save me.
Meanwhile, in Class D, Horikita and Matsushita had explained Yukio's plan to each other. Matsushita had been astonished, but in the end, to make it work, she decided to play it cautiously.
Unlike Yukio, she didn't command the class's blind trust. Unlike Sakayanagi, she couldn't rule from on high.
So she and Horikita kept the details hidden.
They didn't tell the rest of the class why they were voting this way—only told each member individually how to vote.
As a result, the students of Class D knew who to write down, but not why. They followed instructions without understanding the purpose.
Because of that, there were no arguments like in Sakayanagi's class. They finished writing within two minutes, nervous but without disputes, just like Yukio's class.
In contrast, Ichinose's class was far more straightforward. After handing out the slips, just before voting began, Ichinose stood at the front of the room.
With open honesty, she explained everything to her classmates—and declared that she herself would take the burden of being the one to drop to -38.
She believed in Yukio's plan. She believed he would not let her down.
And more importantly, she didn't want the plan to fracture her class's unity.
As class leader, it was her responsibility to lead by example.
"…That's the gist of it. After the internal loop of votes, all the extra criticism votes that can't be cancelled out—just place them on me."
Her classmates were shocked. Many jumped up in protest.
"No way, Ichinose! You can't take that risk! Let me do it—pile them on me!"
"Honami, that's way too reckless! I-I could never handle it!"
"Yeah! How could we vote to criticize Honami? Nobody could!"
Ichinose was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing from the heart. She was so happy—so very happy.
If her class could be this united, this trusting of one another, then she hadn't failed as a leader.
This bond of trust made her happier than even reaching Class A could.
"Don't you all believe in Yukio-kun?" she smiled. "He'll make sure I'll be fine in the end."
Under her call, the class complied—grudgingly, reluctantly—but they still cast their votes.
When it was done, they were more nervous than even Class D's students.
The girls clustered around Ichinose, fussing over her anxiously. Ichinose could only smile wryly, repeating again and again: "Trust Yukio-kun. I'll be fine. I won't be expelled."
...
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