Classroom of The Elite: Revenge

[8th February, Monday]

[Ayanokoji Pov]

As I entered the classroom, everyone suddenly began to look at me as if I did something wrong.

Even Horikita looked at me with a morally questionable gaze.

Karuizawa as well. 

That's a surprise. 

I had no idea what awaited me right now but I could tell it wasn't anything good.

Immediately after I stepped inside the classroom I was being approached by an angry Sudo. 

I did my first footstep inside the classroom but was immediately approached by an angry Sudo and Ike. 

But they weren't the only ones. A couple of other boys tagged alongside them. 

My gaze wandered around the classroom and everyone looked at me as if I was scum. 

The only people who did not have such a gaze were the Ayanokoji Group, and even they avoided looking me at the eyes.

It must be something very serious.

The question is. . . what it could be? 

"Ayanokoji, what the hell. . .?!" Ike asked me, but I had not much of an idea to what he was referring to. 

Suddenly my collar was being grabbed by Sudo and I could see how he was considering punching me until he controlled himself not to. 

"Ayanokoji! What the hell is this? Did you really do that? I can't believe you did that to her. Explain it! You fucking bastard..."

Anger was written in his eyes and after a moment of analyzing things inside this classroom I got the idea to what they were referring to. 

I was being framed. 

While everyone was here the last person in the class arrived as well, looking neither at me nor the scene playing out in front of him at all as if it didn't bother him. 

He merely sat himself on his seat while reading a book. 

Normally, his presence alone would shift the attention of the entire class away, almost all the time, but in this particular case, it didn't happen. 

"You listening, Ayanokoji?"

I was quickly brought back to my senses by Sudo as he pulled my collar back and forth. 

"What are you and the others even talking about?"

"I can't believe it. Hey, do you really not know what you did? Do we even have to spell it out to you? Unbelievable. . . How come you are still allowed to be in this school?!"

This time it was an angry female member of my class, who was one of the few people gathered in the front.

She seemed particularly angered with me. 

"You're too cruel, Ayanokoji-kun. . ."

"Kushida-san. . ."

Few people in the class looked at her with apologetic looking eyes.

I was able to draw some conclusion, but I hoped them to not be true. But given the situation here, it seems to be the case. 

"Hey, Ayanokoji, explain this! What are you doing to Kushida-san?!"

Ike showed me a picture on his phone.

I had immediately recognized it myself. 

It was from back then. . .

When I wanted to give Kushida her phone back, but to immediately end up being blackmailed by her because I saw her real personality. 

But that particularly picture. . . was intentionally cut like this, to make it seem like I intentionally touched her breasts.

It was back then in the moment where she had forced me with her hands to touch them to gain "evidence" against me if I told anyone about her true personality.

But if you look closer upon the picture you notice that Kushida's arms aren't positioned exactly like someone would if they were "assaulted". 

That's the one irrefutable fact in this solemn picture.

But. . . For someone to notice that small key detail, especially for the people around my age, it's nearly quite impossible.

They also tend to jump to conclusions immediately. 

This was perfectly cut to the last frame, harming Kushida less with the evidence, while framing me to look like the perpetrator behind this. 

It was probably the only cut frame they could have gotten to convince everyone. 

There were no school cameras on that place, so it was a student who witnessed everything.

Which is in hindsight a major problem since a camera might have been the evidence I need.

Also, to make matters worse, the student that witnessed everything, they've chosen to give Kushida a lending hand.

It's already having effect on me in a beyond damaging way.

Either way, one of us is getting expelled, in such a case as dire as this. 

If I had expelled Kushida like I planned back then, none of this would have happened. 

In the end, I'm partly guilty too on this, not considering an ongoing attack from Kushida's side.

I thought I dealt with her accordingly, or at least temporarily, but it seems like I was completely wrong with that. 

I didn't think anyone had witnessed that night at all. 

But now, simultaneously, I can arrive at another conclusion, that was kept hidden. 

The one with Kushida Kikyo, I mean with that. 

Just from this picture alone it's obvious that it was recorded and not photographed. 

But of course they haven't come up with that possibility.

But this also meant, for this to be kept hidden so long and now being so suddenly released, there should be some kind of motive behind it, no?

What I can say for sure is that she must have been blackmailed if someone recorded her from the very beginning.

Could that have been the actual reason she also approached Nagumo?

To gain his help against the blackmailer?

It makes sense, but she also hates Horikita to the core, so I can't pinpoint which to be the case.

She naturally could have asked him for help on both matters as well but I'm not sure about that.

In any case, it's a direct attack to me.

From someone that decided to protect Kushida Kikyo who would rather want me to be gone from this school, regardless of the ways, not caring if my life is ruined in the process. 

There's just one person I can think of that had these kind of changes since recently and would suit these requirements: the mysterious person on the rooftop. 

He was ready to break the bones of Ryūen's group to get me expelled, ended up putting poisonous plants working like laxatives in my large group and now he frames me of a serious life ending crime. 

All for the means to go after that man—my "father". 

Although I kept the minimal option remaining that it could be due to something else, the cases till now are more than severe to proof it is because of that man.

No student I can think of would do something this severe because I ended up hurting a particular person they like or love, like Ichinose, who's quite popular among all the boys.

I guess that solves the equation about the person behind this maneuverer.

The why also becomes clear, once I take that man into the variable. 

Ever since late December, his attitude must have changed.

I'm merely not able to figure out when his conversation with Chairman Sakayanagi took place. 

Before the 15th December when my father visited the school or after that date.

Logically speaking, it must have been before, if my father is responsible for his comatose state.

Is it even logical to attribute the comatose state of Chairman Sakayanagi to a student rather than that man?

That man punishes everyone that even remotely betrays him harshly, so someone telling about the White Room is something he wouldn't let go. 

But that would mean he has an inside men here, right?

He would also know Chairman Sakayanagi talked. 

I suppose if that's the case that makes the most sense. It might be a simple employee or someone else within this school campus. 

Fact is, if he knew that someone talked about the White Room to anyone, he would have done this. 

Even his friends and partners wouldn't be spared.

In the end, these two are the most likeliest possibilities. 

If that student truly intended to expel me from the very beginning, he would have done so back then when he obtained the video recording.

But he's doing it now in act of vendetta. 

Although, I'm also not quite sure if the man actually did nothing at all and everything is coming from that student. 

After all, in a sense, if that man intended to kill Chairman Sakayanagi, it means he failed, doesn't it? 

Is it a warning?

To not speak with any outsiders about the White Room again?

A failed attempt?

I can't say for sure. 

But it's also suspicious as well. 

The Island Exam told me it must have been someone from Ichinose's class, with Chabashira's verification on that part as well, but I also know methods how to avoid them altogether. 

If he is behind the Chairman Sakayanagi's comatose state, then everything I had believed can easily be proven wrong.

Someone getting away with attempted murder without any suspicions and making it look like a cardiac arrest should also be able to fool everyone in far less difficult cases like the Island Exam. 

Hiding your GPS Signal from the teachers isn't as hard as it sounds. 

There are multiple ways of doing it, but the Faraday Cage is the least effortless one and the most feasible one in a limited exam like this with no resources on the hand. 

Aluminum foil is more than enough, which everyone had access to, if they bought for 10 S-Points food rations.

Connecting it with the tape that all of us have to ensure it doesn't fall off, and it's done. 

But a Faraday Cage doesn't completely stop every function of the wristwatch, just the tracking.

So if I say a student actually did this, he must have known about the school's operating system at the Exam to evaluate whether his plan would work or not. 

He was likely one of the people going to the teachers and confirming the purchase.

They tracked everything from that location after all, so in order to familiarize how the system operates, he must have at least gone once. 

To ensure, that no one would know about it.

If we take that issue it becomes much easier to deduce who it is.

Because of the one single problem: the aluminium foil was only coming with the Food Rations for 10 S-Points.

Class A had a deal with Ryūen, who did all the purchases for them worth of 200 S-Points.

I can't point out everything they bought with it, but the two toilets itself made around 40 S-Points. Their location was also great, near a corn farm, so I heavily doubt Katsuragi wanted to use their S-Points for food rations. 

I also know very well how Ryūen spent the remaining 100 S-Points. His class didn't spent them once on food rations.

Everything I witnessed on the second day told me, he spent the 100 S-Points then. Every single thing amounted to a total of 100 S-Points. 

In short, it's easily able to tell, it was not someone from Ryūen's class.

Ichinose's class's spending in return, can also be calculated like that. They bought a Barbecue Grill, Kitchen Tools, a Toilet, a cooking pot, and had an additional boys tent when I arrived there on the second day. 

A total of 10 S-Points is missing, for the calculation completely to work.

But given their geographical location, that they were near at a river, it's easy to say they spent them on all likelihood for five fishing rods, equaling 10 S-Points. 

However, doing this is useless for Ichinose's class.

If the perpetrator is from there, he could have easily smuggled the messages to Kaneda. 

That would also mean my idea with the Faraday Cage becomes useless.

But if it's right I know of one class having bought food rations more than enough—which is that of ours. 

Among us, everyone had access to aluminum foil, but aside from me, just Hirata, Horikita, Kushida and Kurushima went to Chabashira-sensei. 

In short, if I think of the Faraday Cage being used, no, if my assumption is even right that Chairman Sakayanagi was not confronted by that man, because he didn't know, my prime suspect among my class becomes Kurushima Kaoru.

He suits the weight and height profile.

He's also athletically built and seems to have experience in fighting, while suiting the intellectual criteria as well. 

His past is also known now.

His family died in a car incident where malfunctioning happened, apparently.

That is what the news articles say. 

They also said he sued the car company a month later, and got 10 Billion Yen out of them as compensation, one of the highest amounts ever received.

But would he reveal his past so blatantly, when he knows I can arrive with my deductions to him?

No, it's my mistake for overlooking this. 

He's an emotional person who did it because of Yamauchi, who had offended his memories of his dead mother.

He didn't do it because he wanted. 

It perfectly suits to the profile of the person on the rooftop as well, who acted on emotions rather than his logic.

He wanted to expel me for the connection I share between that man and is under the belief that I would inflict that man perhaps pain and humiliation with my expulsion.

Although I'm saying all of this, everything here is built on the premise that it wasn't that man who's behind the comatose state of Chairman Sakayanagi. 

But for that, I also need to check some details with Chabashira-sensei out. If Class A had bought food rations with their S-Points from Ryūen.

Also, I would need to continue my investigation regarding a few people from Ichinose's class, who I now have gotten information from, by Horikita Manabu. 

Three days weren't enough to get a close investigation, but Kanzaki was just someone to deflect me long enough.

The inconvenient holidays didn't help, so I couldn't investigate during that time. 

It also seems like he has a problem with him—albeit, not as much as with me. 

Should I ask Kanzaki about someone he has problems with? 

With Kurushima per example?

Would he even answer?

No, I don't think so. We're not close to begin with. 

Also, he is convinced it is someone from his class, likewise with the extended people who know about Y—the person on the rooftop. 

But that also obviously means that Kanzaki and his family must be associated with that man somehow, if he was being framed to look like the perpetrator. 

However—I'm wrong about one thing.

He expected that he would be able to expel me, so he wanted that man to fight his own allies. 

Someone that practiced Karate and Judo that defeated me, someone that could know about the White Room, and one that is affiliated with him. 

It definitely would make sense to suspect his family of my expulsion. 

Kurushima truly seems to be one of the highest suspects. 

His personality change that I thought attributed to his breakup with his girlfriend, the reason why he went to Kanzaki's group, it makes more sense now on a broader perspective. 

But all of these are just educated guesses. I have no proof or evidence for him being the responsible one. 

I looked to my left, seeing him looking out of the window, until his eyes met mine in the reflection of the window.

There was something eerily coming from the window reflection, a smirk to be more precise, but before I could see his smirk further on the window Sudo pulled my collar again, tightening his grip. 

Did he read my exact thoughts? 

"Ayanokoji, stop playing dumb! We all have seen that picture! How could you do that to Kushida? You're seriously pissing me off! You goddamn bastard. . . "

"Yeah, Sudo-kun is right! What kind of other irrefutable fact do we need? Stop denying it! You obviously did that!"

"Everyone please, calm down," Hirata tried to calm things down, but was quickly met with the harsh reality. 

"Hirata-kun, you're seriously not telling us to calm down when we're in a room with a disgusting guy . . . that does things like this to a girl."

"How could you ask us to calm down?! Hirata-kun, I know you want to be fair, but there's nothing irrefutable here. Ayanokoji is guilty! Do you even want Kushida-san have attest to it?!"

". . . No. . ." Hirata was met quickly by a group of angry girls, to whom he had no precise answers. "I just think we should let him answer."

"We also want to hear an answer from him! He's obviously avoiding it! He also knows about how goodhearted Kikyo-chan is and probably convinced her not to report it!"

"Yeah, that's right! I always knew he was a creep. . . But seriously, I'm getting shivers on my back."

"I'm sorry to disappoint all of you, but I didn't do anything of what you may think and describe."

"Huh? Then explain us what you are doing in the picture then?"

Everyone had cast their look on me. I was forced to answer a question where 

"Don't you think you're jumping onto conclusions too quickly? Doesn't the picture look odd? If I did what you describe, why isn't she resisting? Her arms are down on the picture here, no?"

"Are you saying Kushida-chan is lying? And we should believe you over her?!" A few people in the class questioned after they heard my answer, not even considering my words to be authentic at all.

It's not like I didn't expect it.

"Ayanokoji-kun... Please stop lying," Kushida's voice trembled, her eyes filling with carefully timed tears. "I'm begging you... please be honest. I really don't want to say in front of everyone what you did to me..."

"Kushida-san..." Some of the girls hesitated, but one came forward and spoke with concern. "What happened? Can you tell us?"

She bit her lip, looking down, the picture of hesitation. "I—I didn't want to talk about it. But now... I don't have a choice, do I?" She looked around, tears clinging to her lashes.

"It was a few days after the 1st May, on the day Horikita-san, Sudo-kun, Ike-kun, Yamauchi-kun and I visited Ayanokoji-kun's room. I felt a bit unwell that day, but I didn't want to be the reason to stop our study session."

"After everyone had left Ayanokoji-kun's room... I was the last one. I felt that day a bit unwell and went outside to catch a breath. Because of that I also forgot my phone in his room..."

"He used that as a justification to come after me. I thought that it was really kind of Ayanokoji, but after he handed me over my phone, and he noticed that the area was completely lacking of. . . school camera's he did it. . . then."

"After I grabbed my phone. . . he did it. He grabbed me by my. . ." she sobbed, with everyone believing her. "I didn't know why I didn't react at first, but I was just so shocked. I don't even know why I didn't scream."

Kushida wiped away a fake tear, her hands trembling slightly. "I just wanted to leave, but he kept blocking my way. He said that no one would believe me if I tried to tell anyone. That I would be the one at fault."

Sudo's grip on my collar tightened. He was doing his best not to punch me. But it wasn't just him.

Everyone looked at me with disgust. But no one said anything aside from muttering among themselves what kind of scumbag I was.

Kushida continued with her fabricated story. 

"He said. . . That there was no evidence and told me that I would only ruin the class and our progress in the process. . ." 

"I knew. . . That if told anyone, things would get worse. We just advanced to Class C and everyone was so happy about it. I didn't want to take away the joy of our class and the whole progress we achieved away from us. . ."

"I thought it would be fine. . . If I endured it. I just wanted to forget about it but I couldn't. . ."

"I couldn't sleep, and every time I saw Ayanokoji-kun, it brought everything back," Kushida said, her voice quivering.

"I didn't know how to handle it anymore. I thought maybe I could endure it for the sake of the class..."

"So I ignored it... I kept saying to myself Ayanokoji-kun made a dumb mistake to convince myself it was just that. I thought I would be fine with it being quiet about it... But I wasn't."

"I felt so often scared... After a long amount of time passed. . . I thought I was getting better and was able to ignore it..."

"But in these past two weeks he followed me nearly every day after school. I was so scared. . ."

"Ayanokoji!" Sudo suddenly pulled me over, ready to throw a punch at me when Kushida yelled.

"Please don't, Sudo-kun. Don't do it. I know how you feel. . . But please don't do it, Sudo-kun," Kushida begged him, with fake tears on her eyes. 

"Ayanokoji, you goddamn bastard..." Sudo released my collar, pushing me away from him.

Every single person here nearly shared that same sentiment about me. They looked at me with disgust and anger. 

"I was so scared. . . I didn't know what to do. I thought. . . he would be doing it again. So I went to the student council. . ."

"But I was unable to tell them about it at all... Ayanokoji-kun probably thought I told them about it and last Friday, he approached me again. We were alone at a location I cross every day, where no school cameras are."

"He approached me in secret and there he told me it would have no use to report anything at all. . . Because I had no evidence. He told me that the school nor the student council would investigate it because it's past the 30 days limited deadline. . ."

"He said those were useless attempts and that I should give up. Without a picture or a video from the school cameras there was nothing I could do."

"I couldn't believe it. He acted so calm and confident, like it was nothing. I thought he regretted everything... that he made a mistake, perhaps, but it was unlike everything like that..."

"He even said he would make everyone not believe me, by allocating me half of his private points and mentioning if this was brought up to the class he would say that I was blackmailing him."

"I don't know why he did it... But I suppose he was scared of the student council investigating it, regardless of the regulations." 

Kushida clutched her hands together tightly, as if bracing herself.

"I felt like I was trapped in a Golden Cage and Ayanokoji-kun would keep end up following me. I couldn't breath and I felt like I was trapped..."

"I knew what he said was right... That nothing would happen because I had no evidence, so I never mentioned this to anyone..."

"But when I was in class today, I had seen this picture in the school forum being released. I don't know who did it, but I feel grateful and can finally breathe normally again, after a long time..."

"I immediately downloaded this png file from there and. . . some of you found it at the same time as well."

She showed the image of the png she downloaded, today. It was around 7.53 o'clock. 

I looked quickly as Kushida showed it to everyone and noticed the message he left me.

A message only I would come to understand, probably.

For everybody else, the picture itself was enough and the rest was meaningless. 

A ciphered one hidden in a 5x5 Matrix with the keyword Cage Kushida had just mentioned.

It was far too strange, but with this, it suits perfectly. 

It confirms everything.

I was already sure, but it's evidence enough to tell he's the person on the rooftop and is the person behind Kushida. 

But above all, I looked at the name of the png file. . .

5223244414-42343432.png

That was the name of the png file from Kushida.

In all likelihood, it's also the name of everyone else, too, who downloaded the png file from the school forum. . . 

He's giving out so much information about me from a single png file. 

Does that mean it's a warning to me to not point out to the person who uploaded the picture as a means to argue against her fabricated—No, his fabricated story he told Kushida to tell everyone? 

Would that mean he would tell more, if I didn't do as he said? 

More revealing?

I see. . . So he's forcing me to play after his rules if I don't want my past to be revealed to everyone. 

He deliberately used something only I would be able to deduce.

For nobody else it will have much use, if they don't know the Keyword Cage which has to be used in the Nihilist Cipher. 

Speaking of this Cipher, is he trying to tell me another message aside from this obvious warning? 

Why choose this out of all Cipher Methods? 

If he wanted to use something more complex, he could have done so. 

Is the reason he chose this, because he tells me the underlying history of it? 

It was used in the 19th century in Russia, until now. By Russian nihilists. 

The underlying history is that Russian Nihilists was a movement that was first popularized by Ivan Turgenev when he celebrated his Novel "Fathers and Sons" who used nihilism to describe the disillusionment of the younger generation. 

The Russian nihilist movement rooted in 19th century, mostly prevalent in the intellectual class and dominated cultural field, including literature, and eventually formed several revolutionary organizations or influenced them. 

These revolutionary organizations were later behind the assassination of Emperor Alexander II, in 1881, alongside countless governmental officials. 

Their contribution to the loss at the Russian-Japanese war and the fall to of the Russian Empire in 1917 was high to an extent. 

Does he want to point that out? 

The underlying core to refuse authorities in my case, in my case that man, and stop being controlled by him for the rest of my life?

Is this supposed to be criticize me how I just endure everything and not fought back? 

Against that man, and the white room itself? 

Even when I'm perhaps—capable enough, of doing so?

Is he blaming me for not doing something against that man? 

Or could he have done it because he knows the White Room neglects teaching history to us students, aside from the very core basics?

Was he amused with the idea of me not grasping any of this, his intentions or the Cipher Code? 

Is this it? 

Yeah, I think that's one part of it. 

But it's not just that. There're a few more connections that the cipher leads to. 

To Fyodor Dostoevsky, to be exact. 

He talked in both "Demons" and "Crime and Punishment" about Russian nihilists, albeit in the latter one not as much.

Is he admitting, that he witnessed it, was present with us on the same bus and reveals his identity now with this? 

The book "Crime and Punishment" that Horikita read back then on our first day here at the bus? 

Is this rather supposed to be a warning to me that he'll do something to Horikita? 

If I point out the key factor for my defense, the convenient picture out? Where it comes from, why now, and all? 

I looked with my eyes to the side until I felt on my face a heavy punch, which caught me off guard and threw me on the ground.

"Ayanokoji! You fucking bastard! How could you?!"

I think I might got it all wrong.

It should buy enough time to not give me any defense when Kushida was finished with her story. 

I forgot the core essence of him.

He gave me hints only I could understand, lead me to things only I could understand, to make sure when the timing is right Sudo would be able to do this.

And he knew I would bite on it, because of my curiosity. 

The whole class itself—the whole school, it's even going to be harder changing their views on me.

Because Kushida's story was not made to be doubted. 

Hard?

It's going to be nearly impossible. 

He restricted me about one of the core points and forces Kushida to stick with the narrative, no matter what.

Because if she doesn't, she'll be expelled. At a case like this, spread to the whole school, he basically forced her. 

I might not be able to get her to admit the truth out of her own. 

If the information was just in the class, the loss of class points could have been avoided.

Kushida has to be expelled now. 

It's unavoidable.

However, it's also going to bring our class nearly down to Class D.

Ichinose's class just happens to be a bit lower than ours. In that case, even if we lose 300 Class Points through Kushida's expulsion, it'll be hard to catch up again. 

"Sudo-kun! What do you think you are doing?"

"Suzune. Didn't you hear what Ayanokoji did? To Kushida-san? He's lucky that I held myself this much back—"

"You hit Ayanokoji-kun without even listening to his perspective. Sudo, you can't just punch whoever you like! Also, Ayanokoji-kun wasn't even able to tell anything from his point of view."

"His point of view?" Someone other than Sudo spoke up, looking at Horikita in disbelief.

"Horikita-san, I can't believe you. . . Unbelievable. I get that he's your friend, but what other irrefutable proof do you need? Kushida-san told us just now everything. And there's evidence right here!"

"I. . ." Horikita was not able to answer precisely, upon this. 

"Kushida-san, you told us you didn't report it to the student council nor the school yet, right? Then should we go after the school?"

Kushida looked conflicted, with tears in her eyes. "I'm not sure if I can. . . tell that story again. . ."

"Kurushima-kun, aren't you a part of the student council? How does that work?"

He was taken aback, as he looked outside the window. It seemed like he cared not even a bit of what happened inside her.

Because he was the one that orchestrated all of it? 

Perhaps. 

But there's no evidence at all. These are all just educated guesses from my side. 

Would he use the Nihilist Cipher knowing that I would suspect him more? 

Or does he want to be found out?

No, the reason the person on the rooftop wore a mask was because he didn't want that to happen.

Because he thinks I would have told it that man he made everything look like it was coming from Kanzaki.

"Student council, huh? Right. . . I'm a part of it."

Before my thoughts continued he spoke. 

"Well, given the severity of the case, the school will likely pick it up. I'm not sure if the student council has any authority on a matter like this. We deal with minor things, like violence, theft and other matters involving students. For more information you'll have to ask Chabashira-sensei."

"He's correct," Chabashira-sensei entered the room, and just like that, the scene was probably over.

"The student council will be allowed to do their own separate investigations regarding this matter, but primarily, it will be done by officials. They will have no influence on them or the outcome."

"Sensei! Isn't that enough evidence already? Alongside with Kushida-chan's testimony?"

"It's not. We'll have to investigate whether the facts Kushida mentioned are right. The picture is just one piece of evidence." 

"Please sit on your seats, everyone. We'll start with the lesson."

Sudo looked at me angrily in the eye, Horikita knowing that this was Kushida's doing, but of course without any evidence on her part as well. 

As for nearly the rest, they looked at me like scum. 

Karuizawa herself also had a questioning look, since the picture was definitely evidence to Kushida's part. 

Since most of us arrive five to ten minutes before the start of the lessons, it was perfectly timed like this in a regular lesson. 

Because Chabashira-sensei was unable to hold it off, and with Kushida's story, and everything, the timing was done perfectly for this matter.

Chabashira-sensei must have heard enough to conclude what happened on her own, but even if we're in a relationship where we help each other out, she with me and I with her, this time, she couldn't do anything. 

She couldn't tell me about the positions of everyone like at the Island Exam nor could she help me with anything else.

Her hands are sealed on this matter. 

At the same time, I had become an outsider, a pariah, among the whole class.

No—The whole school itself. 

I had not even time to argue against her.

--

A/N: And this concludes the chapter. 

This chapter took me far longer than the next one, but yeah, I hope you enjoyed it. 

This is one of the two chapters that are immediately released. I planned to release it before valentine day, but that didn't work. 

I wonder how did you find it? There's a bit more than that, but do you know the hidden cipher message? 

It's a bit more complex than the last one, but I'm not great at them, actually. 

It's specifically designed to Ayanokoji and leave him some messages. 

I planned to make it more with Ayanokoji refuting Kushida's statements, but unlike Y2V5, Kushida is prepared by Kurushima and knows what are at stakes.

Kurushima also made Kushida use all the time up, cause after Chabashira arrives, there's no time to continue. 

Ayanokoji was basically trapped the moment he stepped into the classroom. His mistake of allowing Kushida here pays a hefty price. 

Kurushima released the picture at the school forum late in time, and yeah, he had her stick into a clear narrative/story. 

Anyway, I hope you liked it and yeah, the next chapter is a long awaited chapter with Kurushima and Hiyori getting back together. 

That's it. 

I'll write Author Notes on the second chapter as well.