(Author: I’ve read quite a few fanfiction stories about Classroom of the Elite for educational purposes, but I haven’t yet seen any that portray Totsuka as competent…) –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– “…You’re giving us the past exam papers?” Five days before the midterm exam.
In the Class A classroom, carrying the past exam papers in one hand, I made contact with Katsuragi and his faction members.
Since Arisu’s faction was holding a study session in the library, I was completely in enemy territory.
Yep, I could vividly feel the hostile gazes piercing me from all around.
Especially from Totsuka.
“Yep.
The 1st-year 1st-term midterm exam uses the exact same questions every single year.
In other words, if you can get your hands on the question sheets from upperclassmen, you’ll know what kind of questions will be on the midterms.” “D-Don’t talk nonsense!
Who in their right mind would believe anything someone from the Sakayanagi faction says—” “Wait, Yahiko.
…Honjo, what is the basis for that hypothesis?
Without hearing that, I can’t possibly believe such a story.” “The hints were scattered around so blatantly it was almost ridiculous, wasn’t it?
A pop quiz with an unnatural spike in difficulty, a sweeping change to the exam scope across all subjects, and Mashima-sensei words that ‘it’s possible for everyone in the class to get full marks’…
In truth, you already know too, don’t you?
That what I’m saying isn’t a lie.” Though he doesn’t measure up to me or Arisu, Katsuragi is also a sharp man.
He must have questioned the roundabout clues offered by the school.
Now that he’s heard my explanation on top of that, all the dots should have connected into a line.
Katsuragi’s hesitation to accept the past exam papers from me stems from an entirely different reason.
“Well, if you don’t believe me, I don’t really mind, but at this rate, the Katsuragi faction is going to rapidly decline, you know?” “…What did you say?” “Why do you think Arisu challenged you to a one-on-one duel?
Since you needed to score close to full marks to avoid losing to her, you must have been frantically throwing yourself into your studies throughout this exam period…
to the point of neglecting teaching the members of your faction, right?” “—?!” “Looks like you’ve finally realized it.
At this rate, the Katsuragi faction’s academic results will suffer a crushing defeat against the Sakayanagi faction.
If that happens…” “The neutrals’ interest will lean heavily toward Sakayanagi, huh…?” “Why are you deciding that we’re gonna lose?!” “Do you honestly think you can win?
This time, Arisu probably devoted her heart and soul purely to raising the academic level of her faction members.” After all, Kamuro’s and Kito’s eyes were dying more and more by the day, so there’s no doubt about it.
“In that case, if Katsuragi-san beats Sakayanagi—” “Just so you know, as far as I’m aware, Arisu has never gotten a score other than full marks.” Well, neither have I, though.
Surrounded by a speechless Totsuka and the rest of the Katsuragi faction, I add that last thought in my mind.
“…What on earth are you plotting?” “Ah?” “Frankly, Sakayanagi’s maneuver was unexpected.
I realize now that if things continue like this, I will lose to her, and that if I want to avoid that, I have no choice but to rely on those past papers.
…However, Honjo, why are you, the head of the Sakayanagi faction, interfering with her?
What is your goal?” “What do you mean ‘what’?
It’s just out of spite.” “””…Eh?””” Katsuragi, Totsuka—no, every single member of the Katsuragi faction without exception wore a completely blank expression.
“Lately, Arisu has been so absorbed in her little political war game with you guys that she hasn’t paid any attention to me at all, so I’m sulking.
That’s why I thought I’d throw a little wrench in her plans.” “What kind of reason is that?!
That’s so annoying!” “Didn’t you know?
I’m probably the most troublesome man in Class A…
no, in the entire school year.” “Why do you sound so proud of it?!
Stop making that smug face, it’s infuriating!” Hooh…
I thought he was incompetent, but his tsukkomi skills aren’t bad at all, are they, Totsuka?
“Just to let you know, don’t go thinking you can win just because you use the past papers, okay?
Mine and Arisu’s level of thinking are evenly matched.
The fact that I reached the answer of past papers means it’s safer to assume Arisu has already shared the past papers with her faction members as well.
Well then, do your best.
I’m rooting for you.” Now that I’ve handed over what I came to hand over, I guess I’ll make a quick exit…
or so I thought for a moment, before Katsuragi grabbed my shoulder to stop me.
“Wait, Honjo.
I’m grateful for the past papers, but…
let me ask one last thing.
Do you truly believe it’s right for Sakayanagi to lead the class?
That woman is far too dangerous.” “Hmm?
…It seems you’ve realized Arisu’s true nature, then.” “It frustrates me to admit it, but Sakayanagi has more leadership qualities than I do.
If she were genuinely aiming to be the leader, there shouldn’t have been a tie between us to begin with.
…I can only think she intentionally guided the current situation to turn out like this.” “Splendid, a total bullseye.
…Arisu split the class right down the middle solely to enjoy playing this little political war game.” After clapping my hands together in an exaggerated, theatrical manner, I affirm Katsuragi’s deduction.
Arisu and I unravelled the S System on our very first day.
Naturally, including the fact that Classes A through D were arranged in order of merit.
Back then, judging that fighting among Class A itself had a higher probability of being fun than fighting against lower classes like B through C, Arisu spun her schemes and adjusted things so that the supporters for Katsuragi and herself would be split fifty-fifty.
“Katsuragi-san, why did you keep something like that to yourself?!
If you expose that, even the people supporting Sakayanagi will abandon her—” “They won’t, unfortunately.
The people who look up to Arisu weren’t drawn in by her virtue, after all.
As long as Arisu keeps winning, her position won’t wobble.” “…Which means, to prevent Sakayanagi from taking control of the class, I really have no choice but to beat her.” “That’s how it goes.
Well, making it a draw is the best you can hope for in this battle anyway, so if you want to dethrone Arisu, it’ll depend on your future hard work.” Giving that advice, I try to leave the classroom for real this time, but…
“Wait, Honjo!
You haven’t answered my core question.
…Why do you obey Sakayanagi?
Do you really think someone who doesn’t mind causing disadvantages to the class just for her own selfish desires is qualified to lead the class?” “Well, it’s true that what Arisu did isn’t anything to be praised…
but there’s no one else fit for the job, so it can’t be helped, right?” At the very least, I absolutely refuse.
Managing and ruling over boring people is an utmost hassle, honestly.
If there were no one else suitable, I’d take it on, but if that’s not the case, I’ll dump it onto someone else entirely.
“If it’s someone suitable, Katsuragi-san is right here!” “For the rest of the guys, Katsuragi might be fine…
but I just can’t bring myself to obey someone dumber than me.” “—!
You bastarddd!” Having blood rush to his head over my comment completely looking down on Katsuragi, Totsuka grabbed me tightly by the collar.
He really looks up to you, doesn’t he, Katsuragi?
“Stop it, Yahiko!” “That hurts.
Let go.” “Don’t get too carried away, Honjo!” “Final warning.
Let go.” “Just a watchdog for Sakayanagi, talking trash to Katsuragi-san!
Don’t get cocky just because you can study a little bit!” Totsuka paid no mind to either Katsuragi’s restraint or my warning and continued his intimidation, so I placed my right hand against Totsuka’s stomach and…
“—Guh…
aagh?!” Stomping my foot (shinkaku), I drove an open-palm strike (shōtei) into him with all my power.
Blown backward, Totsuka knocked over several desks in his momentum before collapsing onto the floor right there.
At the same time, taking a fall break, I let myself fall backward as well.
“Yahiko?!” Katsuragi hurriedly rushed over to check on Totsuka’s condition.
Relieved that, despite being dazed, he fortunately suffered no injuries, Katsuragi glared at me accusingly.
“Oh dear, I’ve gone and done it~ I accidentally used violence inside a classroom with security cameras~” “Honjo, you bastard…!” “So what are you gonna do, Katsuragi?
For now, I made it look like an accident through the camera lens on impulse, but as someone who witnessed the whole sequence of events, are you going to report this to the school?
If so, I hate being punished unilaterally, so I’ll bring up the fact that you grabbed my collar and threatened me, but then both of us will probably get punished under mutual liability for fighting.” I ask Katsuragi with a slightly testing tone.
If Arisu were in Katsuragi’s position, she wouldn’t hesitate to report it to the school.
Though the class itself would suffer some damage, the damage dealt to the respective factions would be as far apart as heaven and earth.
Since a queen could be dragged down by the sacrifice of a pawn, if Katsuragi genuinely wanted to become the leader, there would be no need to hesitate.
However…
“…No, I owe you for the past papers.
I won’t let Yahiko report it, and I’ll match our stories from my side to tell the school it was an accident.
We can’t afford to have our class points reduced over an internal quarrel.” “…Thanks for that.
I’ll be going now, so when Totsuka wakes up, tell him I said sorry.” Showered in a gaze mixed with hostility and caution, I finally leave the classroom behind.
It seems Katsuragi, like Arisu, has recognized me as a dangerous individual, but I was extremely disappointed by a result that was way too predictable on my end.
With a pathetic display like that, he’s no match for Arisu—in fact, it won’t even be a contest.
Even though I gave you a once-in-a-lifetime chance…
Katsuragi, your way of doing things isn’t solid, it’s just plain cowardly.
With that state of affairs, leave alone Arisu, you won’t even be able to win against that guy in Class C.
.
“Dear me, in the end, it was a draw this time too, huh?
…Just asking to be sure, but did you look at the past papers I gave you?” “There’s no way I would look at them.
If by some chance a feud with you that has lasted for years were settled by something like that, I would regret it for the rest of my life.
Unless I defeat you in a perfect manner, I won’t be satisfied.
Besides…” “If someone can’t get full marks on a test of that level without hints, they don’t even have the right to compete with me, right?” After school on the final day of the midterm exams, Arisu and I were walking home together for the first time in a while.
In this midterm exam, the battle between the Sakayanagi faction and the Katsuragi faction ended in a draw.
The top two naturally got full marks, while their subordinates, and even the unaligned students, all pounded out full marks or scores close to it in every subject.
According to Mr.
Mashima, the average score across the five subjects was 96.3, the highest score in history, which would further spur Class A’s runaway lead…
or so it seemed, but that wasn’t the case.
Class B’s average score was 93.4, Class C’s was 90.1, and even Class D, which was despised as the worst in history, scored 88.6—every class across the board produced great results.
This outcome was clearly because all classes obtained past exam papers before the test.
Man, no class can be underestimated, huh~ (monotone).
“Anyway, with this, the power balance with the Katsuragi faction remains evenly matched…
or rather, by my estimation, their side is slightly at an advantage.” “Yes, Katsuragi-kun is quite shrewd as well.
Not stopping at obtaining past papers himself, but even sharing them with the neutral students.” “Well, a few of those neutrals are actually Arisu’s lackeys pretending to be neutral, but even excluding that, the current situation has tipped slightly in their favor.
Oh dear, we’re in trouble, we’re in trouble.
…So Arisu, how much of this was according to your scenario?” “Everything except for you distributing the past papers to other classes and knocking out Totsuka-kun, really now.” “Tehe-pero (wink-tounge out).” “It’s cute, but you won’t play it off.” That’s right…
The only things I did on my own initiative this time were gifting the past papers to the other three classes and driving a palm strike (sunkei) into Totsuka.
In short, giving the past papers to Katsuragi was done under Arisu’s instructions.
“Then shall we compare notes?
After school on the day Mashima-sensei explained the full details of the S System and the class split into two, I obtained past papers from upperclassmen on your orders.
At that time, it had already been decided that we’d share the past papers with the whole class…
or more specifically, that we’d let the Katsuragi faction survive through the 1st term, right?” According to the plan at the start of April, Arisu intended to crush the Katsuragi faction by the end of the 1st term.
The reason for drastically changing the policy was apparently because it would be more convenient if the Katsuragi faction survived.
“Which means, this is purely a guess, but…
is there a situation waiting in the near future where you won’t be able to command the class yourself?” “Yes, exactly.
During lunch break that day, I went to ask Mashima-sensei about upcoming exams where points move drastically.
The fact that at least 100 Class Points will be awarded as a bonus for this midterm exam…” “Means we can assume Class Points won’t fluctuate that much in future written tests.
Since the school probably wants to encourage competition among classes, there will likely be exams in areas other than academics where points fluctuate drastically.” “However, if one wishes to know the details of an upcoming exam in advance, it goes without saying that a massive amount of points would be required.
In fact, 1 million points were demanded, but…” “Since I gathered them up, we can easily pay it, so preparing them was the right move.
However, just like me, you hate spoilers, so normally you wouldn’t think of knowing the contents of an exam in advance.
…Except if it’s an exam you won’t be participating in.” For instance, if there were an exam that placed a massive physical burden on participants, there’s no way this girl with a heart condition could take part.
“Yes.
What I requested from Mashima-sensei was ‘the implementation dates and contents of exams within this year that I cannot participate in.’ Ah, I am forbidden from disclosing the contents to others, so I cannot talk about it.” “Don’t need it.” I told you I hate spoilers, didn’t I?
“…And so?
The implementation date for that exam turned out to be during the 1st term, or during summer break.” “Two will be held during summer break.
Even if I were to crush Katsuragi-kun’s faction during the 1st term, if I cannot participate and you have no intention to, naturally many classmates will rely on Katsuragi-kun.” “And if he produces results in the special exam, Katsuragi will rise like a phoenix from the ashes.
Rather than letting that happen, it’s better to let Katsuragi do his best during the 1st term, purposefully let him handle the class during the special exam, and…” “Have him fail spectacularly and tumble down.
With such intentions in mind, I allowed the Katsuragi faction to stand slightly superior to my faction in this exam.” “With this, even if we beat them down a bit in the next final exam, his faction will survive, and he’ll be eager to achieve results in the special exam.
…Overjoyed by a false victory only to be set up later—dear me, as wicked a method as ever, Arisu.” When I wrap up the note-comparison like that, Arisu pouts her cheeks in dissatisfaction.
What’s with that?
Cute.
“What do you mean ‘wicked’?
How rude.
You, who predicted everything and didn’t stop it, are equally guilty, aren’t you?
…In the first place, why did you do something like sending salt to Katsuragi-kun and the other classes?” “I was lonely because you haven’t been giving me attention lately.
Don’t make me say it out loud, it’s embarrassing.” In truth, it was nothing more than an idea born out of having too much time on my hands, but when I recycled the fake reason I came up with when handing the past papers to Katsuragi, Arisu looked slightly stunned for a moment before smiling happily.
This girl gets fairly pleased whenever I act jealous.
“Fufu, I am sorry about that then.
Well, since the exams are just over, shall we go somewhere together today for the first time in a while?” “Yay.
Where to?
The botanical garden?” “There’s no way such a facility exists here…
Let’s see, for now, is my usual cafe fine?” “Sure thing.
Leave the escorting to me.” “Fufu, I’ll be relying on you, then.” By the time Arisu reaches the top of Class A, the unity of each class will have strengthened, and the conflict between classes will likely have intensified even further.
Dear me, I’m really looking forward to it, but…
for now, let’s just enjoy my date with Arisu.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Author’s Note: Next time will be the epilogue.
It will be about the people from each class Kiriha-kun contacted on his own initiative.
As a side note, Kiriha-kun, who tries his utmost not to consume anything outside of designated meals at designated times, only ordered water at the cafe he went to with Arisu-chan before leaving the shop (lol).