THE NIGHT OF the first day of the exchange meeting.
This was probably the biggest difference from last year's camp:
The rooms assigned to each student were grouped together. In other words, the first and second-year students slept in the same room.
Depending on their personalities, this time of the day could be the most stressful time for both first and second-year students.
That was why Hashimoto hastily created an environment where they could break the ice.
It seemed to be working, as the first-year students had already gotten close enough to Hashimoto to be able to talk to him with a smile. Among the eight people in this room, I was the one who was the most reserved with everyone else.
"You did great winning all your matches on the first day, Hashimotosenpai."
"We didn't know who our opponents would be, so we honestly had no idea what would happen."
Toyohashi and Yanagi happily said so.
Each of them had a turn at table tennis in today's third and fourth rounds, which probably influenced their mood.
Shintoku and Obokata also seemed to agree, nodding several times, but they seemed a bit shy.
"I'm sorry. We haven't participated even once yet..."
"Don't worry about it. From what I saw today, about half of the students haven't participated. Honestly, the gaming aspect is really just a bonus. For those who haven't participated, their role is just to experience the games."
The experiential learning format, where students collect stamps on a point card, was initially met with skepticism, but the system seemed to be more used than expected. It provided a good opportunity to deepen friendships by inviting friends, senpais, and kōhais.
As far as I could see, there wasn't a single group that was eagerly aiming for a win in the five games played today. Maybe that freedom had contributed. However, that didn't mean it was easy to reach first place.
Considering today's game progress, a tough battle was expected from tomorrow onwards.
There were four groups, including ours, that won all five matches. Three groups won four out of five matches. There were also four groups that lost all five.
The distribution of wins and losses showed the polarizing approaches to the exchange meeting.
Among groups that won one or two matches, there might've been some that were seriously engaged, but it was uncertain what would happen if they couldn't break into the top ranks from tomorrow onwards.
From the second day on, it seemed that we would be competing for first place with about half of the groups.
"Nagumo-senpai's group is a first-place contender, aren't they?"
Takumi Oda, from Class 2-C, muttered, reflecting on the five matches. "I thought so too. They seem to have won all their matches as well."
Many students in that group were serious—that was their group's strength.
There wasn't a single student who thought it was okay to slack off. It was safe to say that it directly contributed to their win rate.
It was easy to imagine that they had been exposed to various experiences, gaining valuable lessons along the way.
Because it wasn't a battle of academic ability, we were able to compete equally in that aspect. Though, it could also be said that a gap was created because many of the students were inexperienced in multiple games.
"By the way, Hashimoto-senpai, about my class—"
The conversation wasn't just about the exchange meeting, but also included trivial personal topics.
I watched the seven-people conversation, feeling somewhat detached.
Even though the group had only been together for a few hours, the first-year students already seemed to admire Hashimoto, and the conversation was naturally lively with him at the center.
As expected of someone who prided himself on his ability, there was no other way to put it.
He was beginning to build relationships as if they had been acquaintances or even friends for a long time.
Yōsuke and others who were good at blending in with their surroundings are also similar, but he was a different type.
What was a little disconcerting was that Oda had also managed to fit in quite well...
"But, it was a surprising day in many ways."
Hashimoto groaned, holding a memo in his hand that recorded the wins and losses of each group announced by the school.
"Ryūen's group lost twice, and Sakayanagi's group even lost three times.
They might drop out of the race to the top tomorrow."
Today, we didn't have a match with either of those two groups, so the details were unknown.
If Hashimoto hadn't taken on the role of organizing the first-year students, he might have gathered more information, but it seemed that he couldn't manage that.
"It's surprising. I've always had the impression that Sakayanagi-senpai was strong. I wonder if it's different because a third-year student is in command."
According to the OAA, a third-year Class D student named Iki had generally poor grades, especially in terms of academic ability. His grade was D+, which was quite unsatisfactory. From this, it seemed unlikely that he was participating as part of the college-bound group.
"If Sakayanagi wanted to win, it would be normal for her to take command, regardless of whether it's a third-year or whatever. She wouldn't back down even if her opponents were Nagumo-senpai or Kiryūin-senpai. Especially Iki-senpai, right? No matter how you think about it, she would quickly seize control... No, even before that, she's the type who would want to leave everything to competent comrades."
It seemed that Hashimoto knew a little bit about what kind of person Iki was.
"So, is it simply a lack of ability?"
Kosumi, who had been quiet until now, muttered that, but Toyohashi immediately denied it.
"At least the first-years are quite good. The second-years are probably the same, right?"
As Toyohashi said, the group Sakayanagi was assigned to was not that bad.
Iki also seemed to have chosen reasonably competent members from both years and considered the possibility of winning.
So it was only natural that Hashimoto questioned why she had lost to an opponent she considered inferior in today's match.
"Whether it's a special exam or an exchange meeting, Sakayanagi always aims to win."
Hashimoto, who had been by her side all along, knew this better than anyone.
Looking at the results of the three losses, Hashimoto must have had doubts in his mind.
"I think so too. I wonder if she's up to something."
Oda also seemed to be troubled by Sakayanagi's three losses and was deep in thought.
However, thinking about it here wouldn't yield any answers.
Eventually, the seven of them started to get excited about a completely unrelated topic.
After a while, Hashimoto distanced himself from the first-year students and walked over to me, who had been watching from afar. On his way, he picked up the TV remote and deliberately turned on a variety show to make the room noisy.
"Could it be that the damage she took from losing Kamuro was significant?"
Hashimoto, who wanted to confirm the reason for the three losses, asked me this.
"Maybe."
It was difficult to judge based on the current results alone, but there was no evidence to the contrary.
"If she's really getting weaker, it's a good thing for me. If we go into the endof-year exams like this, I might have a chance to win."
As he said, Hashimoto wasn't simple enough to take these results at face value.
"Can you find out what the real situation is with Sakayanagi, Ayanokōji?"
"That's your specialty, not mine."
I tried to immediately refuse, but Hashimoto whispered in my ear just in case.
"Please spare me this time. I'm Class A's most wanted man right now. Especially Kitō—he seems to be really angry. It's okay for now because Sakayanagi hasn't said anything, but who knows what will happen when my betrayal becomes clear."
He muttered as he imagined it and hugged himself.
But his expression remained faintly amused.
"You don't seem to be scared, do you?"
"If I can't even bluff, I wouldn't have the right to betray the class."That made sense too.
"Besides, I've moved on thanks to you. I'm grateful for that too."
Hashimoto, who had visited my room on the day of the two-person meeting, had laid himself bare.
Now he can face forward thanks to the benefits of that conversation, but the effect was probably temporary.
Once the impact of his betrayal began to take effect, it would no longer be the case.
Hashimoto's time was running out.
"You can contact Sakayanagi directly, right?"
It was fine to feel a little better, but that was one thing, this was another.
"You are free to wish for whatever you want, but when did I become your ally? I don't intend to stick my neck into any trouble."
"I'm thinking about it separately from that. But at least in this exchange meeting, we're on the same team. Even if she's lost three times, as long as Sakayanagi is there, she's a first-place candidate that we should be wary of. Considering that we might face each other tomorrow, it's not a bad idea to scout her out now."
The man who didn't care much about group battles was brave in his public appearance.
"That's reasonable. But as long as you and I are in the same group, Sakayanagi will be more wary than usual. I don't want you to expect useful information."
"I understand. I'll just consider it as a bonus, okay?"
"...Alright. I'll just do as much as I can for now."
"I'm counting on you."
I also wanted to know the reason for the three losses.
But whether or not I would pass on the information I gained to Hashimoto was another matter.
1
The quickest way to get in touch with Sakayanagi was, needless to say, to contact her directly. However, it would be difficult to know her current situation in detail. She might speak honestly to me, but I could also predict that there would be many things she would intentionally hide.
Another option was to indirectly extract information from someone who knew Sakayanagi's current situation in detail.
But this also carried risks. I was interested in Sakayanagi's situation—it was unavoidable that they'd know that. Hondō and Shinohara from Horikita's class are assigned to the same group as Sakayanagi, but neither of them were the type to keep their mouths shut or were good actors.
In the meantime, I decided to go out to the lobby to slowly organize my thoughts.
Depending on the timing, I might have been able to find Sakayanagi out and about.
"Ayanokōji-kun."
As I moved to the lobby, one student noticed me and approached.
It was Sanada from the same class as Sakayanagi.
He seemed to have just gotten out of the bath, as his hair was wet and I could see a few droplets of water on his glasses.
"Can we talk for a bit? There's something I've been meaning to ask you.""I don't mind. What did you want to ask?"I was also grateful to have run into Sanada.
On the first day, he had won a game against the group Sakayanagi belonged to.
"It's about Hashimoto-kun from your group. I guess you've heard various rumors about him."
"Like how he had a hand in Kamuro's expulsion?"
"I don't intend to pry into it without any solid evidence, but regardless of the truth, I'm curious about his current situation... I wonder how he's doing."
Now, in Class A, not only Sakayanagi but also Hashimoto was attracting a lot of attention.
It wouldn't be strange if there were students like Sanada who were concerned about them.
"There's nothing particularly different from usual. He seems to be doing well, not just putting on a brave face."
"I see... That's good."
"But how about Sakayanagi? Has there been any change with her?"
Following the flow of the conversation, I tried to touch on Sakayanagi.
"As far as I could see at school, she seemed to be the same as always."
"I thought the fact that her group had lost three times at the exchange meeting might have had some effect."
"I'm not sure, but that might be the case. However, we haven't seen each other much since we came here, so I don't know the details."
At least for now, Sanada answered that he didn't have a grasp on the situation.
"But didn't you play a game against Sakayanagi's group today?"When I pointed that out, Sanada quietly shook his head.
"She didn't participate. I didn't see her giving any instructions nearby either."
She might've just been absent from that game, but it seemed more likely at that point that she hadn't been involved in the exchange meeting at all.
"What about you, Ayanokōji-kun? Do you know anything?"
"Unfortunately, no. The information I have is probably the same as yours."In fact, I might have had even less information.
"I'd be happy if you could keep an eye on Hashimoto-kun, as well as
Sakayanagi-san, even a little."
"As a member of the same group, I intend to keep an eye on Hashimoto as much as possible, but I don't know the details, so it's not my place to interfere. What do your classmates actually think? Do they think Hashimoto really betrayed them?"
"That is—"
Unable to immediately answer, Sanada couldn't continue.
"I haven't talked directly with my classmates, so I can't say for sure who thinks what. But there are definitely people who assume that's the case."
The first person who came to mind from the conversation with Hashimoto earlier was Kitō.
He was a man of few words, but he had always been obedient to Class A.He and Kamuro seemed to get along well, as they were often together.
After that, I talked with Sanada a little more, and then I spotted Horikita looking at us from a distance. She seemed to want to talk to me, so I ended the conversation at a reasonable point.
As soon as I was alone, Horikita approached me. Even though there were only 20 third-years, it seemed that the chances of running into someone were still high despite the large number of students.
"I'm glad I ran into you. I have a little favor to ask... Is that okay?"
Horikita, who started off with a friendly attitude, didn't seem to have a problem with the exchange meeting.
It was common knowledge that Nagumo's group had been undefeated and was in first place with five consecutive wins since the first day.
"What's the favor?"
When I asked back, Horikita pulled my sleeve and forced me to move to the edge of the lobby.
"It's about Amasawa-san... It's not something I can talk about out loud."
"She's in your group, isn't she? Did something happen?"
When it came to confidential matters, the first thing that came to mind was trouble.
But that guess seemed to be off, as she immediately denied it.
"She talks a little too much, but she hasn't done anything problematic. She's been behaving well so far."
Relieved at that, I waited for Horikita to continue.
"Did you know how good her physical abilities are? It seems that she's also quite skilled in martial arts."
"Setting martial arts aside, I do regularly check the OAA and have a rough grasp of it."
While giving a noncommittal response, I urged for more information since the full picture was not yet clear.
"I think you wouldn't know about it unless you heard it from Amasawa-san, but I owe her a bit of a 'debt'—something I can't repay in my typical school life."
Martial arts and the word 'debt.'
Although she avoided direct expressions, it seemed that she had a confrontation with Amasawa at some point.
Looking back, without thinking deeply, it seemed that the only stage for such a confrontation would have been the deserted island exam.
"It's hard to imagine the circumstances."
I decided to say something that most people would say upon hearing this story.
"Well, various things."
Horikita evasively responded, showing no intention of elaborating on the
'debt.'
Since it wasn't something I needed to pry into, I decided to move on.
"So, what's next?"
"I've been doing my best every day. But I don't know if I'm at a level that can compete with her. So, I want you to evaluate my current strength."
"I understand you want to repay your debt to Amasawa, but it sounds quite dangerous."
"It would be under normal circumstances, but her strength isn't normal."
"Even if you say 'strength,' I don't know how strong Amasawa is. I can't be of much help."
Without knowing the exact strength of the opponent, preparing a measure was meaningless.
—Well, in reality, I did know.
But I decided to keep that to myself.
"You just need to judge my strength in your own way. Of course, I would be happy if you could give me some advice."
From her tone, it seemed that she might've been more interested in my advice.
"It's up to you if you want a rematch, but has Amasawa agreed?"
"Not yet."
However, Horikita quickly continued.
"If she refuses my proposal, I won't force her to do it."
Despite her answer, it seemed that Horikita didn't consider the possibility of Amasawa refusing.
After all, she had gone through the trouble of confiding in me and asking for special training.
"Would you... accept my request?"
"Accepting is a problem in itself."
Facing Amasawa would be quite disadvantageous.
No matter how much Horikita had trained after her defeat, it was unlikely that the gap in their abilities could close that easily.
"Why don't you ask Ibuki over there? She would be happy to help."I called out to someone who was probably hiding nearby and listening in.
"Tch, you noticed."
With an annoyed click of her tongue, Ibuki showed her face from around the corner of the hallway.
It was clear that this was a prearranged plan between the two, as Horikita didn't seem surprised.
"Unfortunately, I'm tired of sparring with Ibuki-san. There's little to gain from fighting the same opponent over and over."
Ibuki, standing next to her, seemed to have a similar 'debt,' showed a similar reaction.
It seemed that this was a request made after doing everything they could.
"You're strong, so you should be willing to help a little."
"Are you also up for it, Ibuki?"
"Of course. I can't stand losing to a little girl who's only been here a year."After throwing a few punches, she showed off a clean high kick.
She seemed desperate to land that kick.
It was nice to be enthusiastic, but even though she referred to Amasawa as a little girl, there was only a one-year difference between them, and in terms of actual physique, Ibuki was actually smaller...
"You decided to do this during the training camp because you wouldn't have trouble finding a place to spar, right?"
"It would be too conspicuous to have a fighting rematch at school."
Horikita, who gave a small nod in response, seemed determined. Ibuki too, for that matter.
"I wonder... Honestly, there's nothing in it for you..."
"Indeed, I don't have anything to gain from this."
"But if you were to accept, I'm willing to offer private points as compensation—"
She seemed ready to offer compensation, but it was pointless to accept such a thing.
"I don't know how much it will help, but if you accept my conditions, I'm willing to take it on."
I interrupted Horikita's offer and responded.
"Really? I wasn't expecting that at all..."
"Whether or not both parties agree to it, there are more disadvantages to getting into a fight at school. If you want to pay back some kind of debt, you don't want to miss such a great opportunity. However, you can't just go out at night."
"Thank you. I couldn't ask for more cooperation. So, what are the conditions?"
There were absolute conditions that had to be accepted in order to face Amasawa in a rematch.
"The first is to talk to Amasawa today. You're in the same group, so it shouldn't be hard to find an opportunity to do so. Of course, to avoid making a fuss, make sure no third party finds out. The timing should be early morning on the last day. You should get Amasawa to accept the rematch at that time."
The chances were slim, but if she refused, the special training would be meaningless.
"Of course, I understand that. What are the other conditions?"
"I'll talk about that once you've finished this one. There's no point in special training if Amasawa doesn't accept. Besides, we can't do it in the middle of the night at the training camp, can we?"
Since this was a discussion based on the premise that she would accept, there shouldn't be any objections even if they didn't hear the remaining conditions.
"I'm ready to do it right now, you know?"
"You should keep quiet."
Horikita, unlike Ibuki who had quickly agreed, had proper common sense.
"If I get permission from Amasawa-san, I'll send a message.""Please do. I'll be ready in the morning."Amasawa wasn't the type to refuse a fight.
On the contrary, if these two wanted a rematch, she would be happy to accept.
She would understand that this camp was the perfect place with fewer watchful eyes.
As Horikita nodded and was about to return to her room, I stopped her.
"This isn't related to the exchange meeting, but there's something I want you to investigate."
"What is it?"
If she was planning to propose a rematch, she could probably deceive Amasawa's sharp sense.
I made a small request to Horikita.
"I don't quite understand, but I just need to keep that in mind, right?"
"Yeah. Don't tell Amasawa."
"I understand. It's not a big deal."
I thanked Horikita, who readily agreed, and the meeting was over.
"Well..."
I decided to look for Sakayanagi a little longer.
However, I wandered around the training ground aimlessly, but I couldn't find Sakayanagi.
Around 9 p.m., as the crowd began to thin, I decided to call it a day.
When I returned to my room, Hashimoto, Toyohashi, and Shintoku were preparing to go to the bath and were waiting for me, so I decided to go to the large bath with them.
2
After enjoying the bath at the large bathhouse for about an hour, I returned to my shared room with the three who came with me.
Then, I saw the third-year student, Tatebayashi, standing in front of a room, looking displeased and fidgeting with his right foot. He seemed quite irritated.
"You finally came back..."
Tatebayashi's gaze wasn't directed at us, but further back.
It was Kōenji, who had been doing as he pleased all day.
It was expected, but judging from Tatebayashi's behavior, he hadn't been able to make contact even after all that time. He didn't care about the irritated senpai and went to the front of the room.
"Could you move? You're in the way."
"What the hell are you—"
Before the lecture began, Kōenji pushed Tatebayashi's shoulder and entered the room.
It wasn't that he had forced his way in, but rather that he had overpowered him with his superior physique and strength.
Rumors about Kōenji should have spread enough among the third-years, but if you didn't have any direct experiences with him, you'd just feel some irritation. Without even trying to close the open door, Tatebayashi followed Kōenji who disappeared into the room.
"Hey, are they going to fight?"
Shintoku, a first-year, looked at Hashimoto for instructions on what to do.
"Kōenji really is a handful. Should we just watch for now?"
If the door had been closed, they could have ignored it, but it was left wide open.
Everyone casually peeked inside.
Kōenji, who had entered the shared room, was already on the futon at the far end.
Three first-years and... it seemed that all the second-years except Kōenji were out.
He started stretching as if he ignored Tatebayashi, who was standing and looking down.
I wondered what feelings Shintoku and Toyohashi had when they saw this.
"I don't want to get involved with Kōenji-senpai..."
"Same here..."
Disgusted, they said such things without thinking."What have you been doing until now!"Tatebayashi, who had a reputation as a leader, questioned him.
"Me? It's obvious, isn't it? I'm polishing myself."
"Huh? Polishing yourself? Don't talk nonsense!"
No matter how loud he shouted, it wouldn't resonate with Kōenji.
"Cooperate properly tomorrow! We're on the edge here!"
"That's an impossible request."
Kōenji answered without looking at Tatebayashi at all.
The eyes of the first-year students peeking in at Kōenji were beginning to turn cold.
It was hard to adapt to this guy in a short period of time.
The kōhais in the same room were silent, seemingly unable to move. The atmosphere was heavy.
"Impossible request? Do you even think about the group?"Tatebayashi continued his relentless attacks.
Without caring about his group mates, Kōenji turned over the futon on the spot.
"Then I'll sleep at the edge."
"Don't decide that on your own! I'm supposed to decide where to sleep!"
When Hashimoto quietly entered the room, he asked the first-years in the same room to stop Tatebayashi.
He quickly stood up and rushed to Tatebayashi's side, trying to calm him down with soothing words.
Tatebayashi, who was breathing with both shoulders, noticed the presence of the kōhais and regained a little calmness.
"Okay? You still must obey the leader's instructions, right?"
But—
"I refuse. I hate going through unnecessary steps. Can you be quiet now?"That was the last straw.
Tatebayashi, who had been comforting the kōhai, pushed them aside and shouted.
"It's not that I hate it!! There are first-years here too, I can't set an example as a senpai!!"
"Don't you know the saying, 'One should undergo hardships in their youth even if they have to pay for it'? At times like this, young people should take the lead and give the better place to their seniors."
"Ah, yes, that's right. Don't worry about us... yes."
If a second-year student told them to give way, most first-year students would have no choice but to obey.
"Then I, a third-year, will order you. Undergo hardships!"
(TL NOTE: There isn't really a good way to translate this, basically just telling them to actively seek out and embrace challenges/hardship.)
"Come on, Senpai, calm down."
Hashimoto stopped Tatebayashi, who was about to raise his fist in anger, by putting his arm around him.
He then turned his attention to us and asked us to go back to our rooms.
"Let's go back."
"But, is it okay?"
"Hashimoto should be able to handle this situation."
Leaving Hashimoto behind, we returned to our shared room.
Ten minutes later, Hashimoto returned to the restless first-year students.
"Was everything okay?"
"He calmed down. It seems he was desperate because he really wanted to win."
Class 3-D had little money to spend freely due to the tribute to Nagumo and their low class points. Because the rest of their school life was just nearing its end, they seemed to want every bit of pocket money.
"Nagumo-senpai and the other senpais took most of the good students, so they didn't have much leeway. So they took Kōenji from the leftovers and aimed for a one-shot reversal, and that's what happened."
If he could've handled him, he might've been able to make him take action.
It was no wonder he was angry if such faint hope was betrayed.
"It must be hard for you, Ayanokōji-senpai... having someone like that as a classmate."
I didn't think anything of it, but I gained some newfound respect from the first-year students.
"Well..."
From here, we started preparing for bed, but there was still a problem that Hashimoto hadn't solved.
That was who would sleep where.
Like Kōenji and Tatebayashi had been arguing, it was a trivial but unavoidable part.
I remembered that when students slept together, there was often a fuss about where to sleep.
Especially on school trips, it was a big deal when Ryūen and Kitō had a pillow fight.
"Let's decide the issue fairly here. To avoid something like Kōenji, right?"Hashimoto volunteered to take on the unpleasant role."No, we really don't mind where. Right?"
"Yes. If anything, Ayanokōji-senpai can decide next!"
"No, no, why Ayanokōji? You're fine with treating me badly?"Hashimoto retorted with a bitter smile.
"It's not like that... Ayanokōji-senpai is our aspiration!"
"Me too, Ayanokōji-senpai! I respect you!"
Shintoku and Toyohashi, with their eyes shining, revered me.
"...You seem to be admired in a short time."
"Well, even if you say that..."
I was the one who was most confused.
Until just a moment ago, there was no such thing.
Shintoku and Toyohashi, who had drastically changed their attitudes, were just tilting their heads, as were Kobayakawa and Yanagi, who were also first-year students.