Light Novel Volume 4/Summary

Below is the long summary of volume 4 of the You-Zitsu light novel series.

Prologue
Kei Karuizawa gives a monologue reflecting on how nothing has changed since she entered the school. From the beginning, she had no intention of changing anything, as she simply understands herself more than anyone else, both in strengths and weaknesses. Even when no one likes her she still doesn't want to change, because she has wanted this. Looking at herself in the mirror after getting out of the bathroom, she suddenly feels dizzy and throws up. She keeps asking herself on the reason for her sufferings, without being able to change anything from the past. Her personality was destroyed, along with losing her youth, her friends and herself. As such, she will do anything to protect herself, to ensure that will never happen again. She declares herself a 'parasite', a weak creature incapable of surviving on its own.

Chapter 1
It has been three days after the Deserted Island Special Test and the students are enjoying themselves on the luxurious cruise ship.

Kiyotaka wonders if the environment around him has changed. He has chosen this school because of the "Contact with the outside until graduation is forbidden" rule. Sae Chabashira has informed him that his father is going after him, and furthermore she's used it to blackmail him to help her take the class to Class A or he will be forced to drop out. As he lacks the power to refuse and has no way to ascertain the truth of her claims, he has to go along with it, but believes that he will not be blackmailed forever.

Yōsuke Hirata calls out to him and asks whether Kiyotaka has been in his room, with Kiyotaka replying he has no reason to go out since he doesn't have anyone to spend time with. Hirata points out there's still Ken Sudō and Suzune Horikita, and suggests that Kiyotaka could make more friends if he was more aggressive.

Hirata then tells Kiyotaka about his plan on having lunch with Karuizawa (and three other girls) and invites him to tag along. Kiyotaka denies, stating he would probably not get along with Karuizawa's group. Hirata insists on inviting him and asks whether it would be fine if there's only two of them. Kiyotaka says Karuizawa may not be happy with it as an attempt to decline, but Hirata reassures him, saying that he has limited opportunities to eat together with him while he can eat with Karuizawa whenever he wants.

Hirata then thanks Kiyotaka for his cooperation in the island test, while Kiyotaka gives the credit to Suzune. They talk about the underwear theft incident. After getting to the restaurant, Hirata asks Kiyotaka to be the bridge between him and Suzune, stating that she is indispensable for the class and he wants to work together with her. Kiyotaka notes that it won't be easy as Suzune is that type of person, who sees it as an unnecessary interference. Hirata acknowledges that and says Kiyotaka is his last resort as he has no confidence in convincing her. Kiyotaka asks if it is too premature, and Hirata agrees, saying he'll rethink his approach.

Hirata asks Kiyotaka on how he managed to get along with Suzune, pointing out that she seems to only get along well with him. Kiyotaka claims they didn't and she doesn't seem to recognise him as a friend. He tells Hirata that the first semester has just finished so he should be patient, and that Suzune is not the type who makes friends easily.

Karuizawa approaches them and calls out to Hirata. While Hirata tries telling her about their cancelled lunch, Karuizawa and her friends join in and quickly push Kiyotaka out of the group. Kiyotaka picks up his food and quietly leaves.

While returning back to his room, Kiyotaka notices wet stains on the corridor. He follows them and notices Rokusuke Kōenji walking gracefully in the corridor, wearing nothing but his swimming pants. The staff tries to stop him while carrying a towel. Kōenji states he never wipes his body down as a principle, then asks for a notebook and a pen. He signs his name on the staff's notepad and hands it back to him, stating that it is a present and will have tremendous value in the future. He claims that he is the man who will carry Japan on his back in the future. Kiyotaka notes that his classmates have been avoiding Kōenji due to his personality. Kōenji notices Kiyotaka walking past and calls out to him. Kiyotaka asks if there's any business but Kōenji replies he only calls out to him as a classmate, who also happen to be his roommate. Kiyotaka says it's a coincidence for them to meet there, then opts to another way instead of returning to his room to avoid another awkward encounter.

Kiyotaka receives a mail from Airi Sakura and goes to meet her. Airi is worried about being together with her roommates: Shinohara, Ichihashi and Maezono. Kiyotaka notes that Shinohara is Karuizawa's close friend and a headstrong girl who frequently quarrels with the boys, Ichihashi is more mature but still has a headstrong attitude at times, while Maezono has a somewhat bad attitude. Kiyotaka wonders why Airi ask him for help and she replies that he might be able to give her some advice. She apologises to Kiyotaka for depending on him while Kiyotaka has doubts he can help her. Kikyō Kushida spots the two of them while coming to the guest lounge and greets them, saying she is on her way to meet her friends so she won't disturb them. Airi quickly excuses herself and runs back to her room.

Kushida tries to apologise for Airi's sudden leave. Kiyotaka thinks she doesn't need to since Airi is naturally bad at socialising. Kushida says she's going out with Class C and jokingly invites Kiyotaka to come along with her. Just when she's about to leave, both her phone and Kiyotaka's ring at the same time. There is also an announcement from the school through the speakers, telling the students to check the mail they have just received and follow the instructions closely.

A special examination is announced to be starting soon. The students are told to gather at a designated time at their designated rooms included in the mail. Students who are more than 10 minutes late for the meeting will receive a penalty. Kiyotaka and Kushida note that their gathering rooms and time are different. Kiyotaka is at room 204 with the time being 18:00 (6:00 PM), while Kushida is two rooms down and the time is 20:40 (8:40 PM).

Kiyotaka sends a message to Suzune about the exam and gets a reply almost instantly. Suzune's meeting time is 20:40, the same as Kushida. Suzune wants to discuss further but since Kiyotaka's meeting time is coming soon, she tells him to report back to her later. Kiyotaka briefly thinks whether he should tell Kushida, who is staring at him, about Suzune having the same meeting time as her, but decides not to and wait to see how things will play out.

Kiyotaka arrives at room 204, 5 minutes before the meeting time, and steps in after being given permission. There is Mashima, Class A's homeroom teacher, along with two of his classmates, Hideo Sotomura and Teruhiko Yukimura, and two empty seats. Mashima tells Kiyotaka to take a seat and wait for the last person to arrive. At 18:00, Karuizawa enters and sits down. She wonders why her classmates are also there but gets reprimanded by Mashima for being late.

Mashima then explains the contents of the new special exam. All first year students will be divided up into groups based on their zodiac signs and the entirety of the examination will be conducted in those groups of students. The purpose of the test is to assess their 'thinking ability'. The four of them will also be in the same group and they may be joined in by some other students, who are also receiving the same explanations in other rooms. Karuizawa berates that she has to be in the same room as the three boys and prefers to be with Hirata. Yukimura loses his patience and starts arguing with her, but Kiyotaka quickly intervenes. Mashima briefly scolds them and tells them to get along, but Karuizawa refuses and express her disgust. Karuizawa then asks Mashima on why only the four of them are getting this explanation, with Mashima explaining that there's a risk of confusing the students if the exam itself is not explained like this in advance, since there isn't just one class being divided but 3 to 5 people from each class being divided into groups.

Mashima then gives a list of members assigned to the Rabbit group and tell them to memorise it as they will have to return it once they leave the room. The list includes 14 students as follow:
 * Class A: Shigeru Takemoto, Kōji Machida, Takuro Morishige
 * Class B: Honami Ichinose, Tetsuya Hamaguchi, Ryōta Beppu
 * Class C: Mio Ibuki, Shiho Manabe, Nanami Yabu, Saki Yamashita
 * Class D: Kiyotaka Ayanokōji, Kei Karuizawa, Hideo Sotomura, Teruhiko Yukimura

Mashima continues to explain that they will now belong to the group, rather than Class D and they will have to ignore the class differences to work together.

Mashima then gives a paper explaining the special exam and asks them to memorise it. A "target" (VIP) student will be chosen from each group and there are four possible outcomes by the end of the exam.
 * At 8:00 AM on the first day, the students will receive a message that the "target" student in their group has been chosen.
 * The exam itself will mostly take place from 1:00 PM to 9:00 PM, starting from the next day (students will be free to act as they wish during the day) and ends at 9:00 PM on the fourth day.
 * Each group should gather twice during the day for one hour to talk. Content of the talk will be left up to the discretion of each group.
 * At the end of the exam, each group must identify the "target" student of other groups. This will be done between 9:30 and 10:00 PM. Only one answer can be submitted by each group.
 * The answers must be sent through a certain provided address.
 * The 12 "target" students cannot be the ones to send the answers.
 * Students can only submit the answer to the identity of the "target" student of the group that they're assigned to.
 * Details of the results of the exam will be mailed to students by 11:00 PM on the same day.

The possible outcomes:
 * Outcome 1: If the answers of the "target" student as well as the other group members are all correct, they will all receive private points (the "target" student receives 1,000,000 points while other students in the group receive 500,000 points).
 * Outcome 2: If there are incorrect answers or unanswered questions by people other than the "target" student, only the "target" student will receive 500,000 private points.
 * Outcome 3: In the case that someone other than the "target" answers the question before waiting for the allocated time and answers correctly, the class the answerer belongs to will receive 50 points each and the answerer themselves will receive 500,000 points for themselves. On the other hand, classes whose "target" have been identified will receive a penalty of -50 points for their whole class. Once this has been achieved, the test will be over for the group. However, if a member that belongs to the class of the "target" answers correctly, the previous result will be made invalid and the examination for that group will continue.
 * Outcome 4: In the case that someone other than the "target" answers the question before waiting for the allocated time and answers incorrectly, the class the answerer belongs to will receive a penalty of -50 points each but the "target" will still receive 50,000 private points. At the same time, the class which the target belongs also obtains 50 class points. If the answer is given incorrectly, the group's exam will end. However, if a member belonging to the class of the "target" is the one who answered incorrectly, the answer will be considered invalid and will not be accepted.

After explaining the first two outcomes, Mashima compares the exam to the Werewolf (人狼) game, before telling them to check the back of the paper for the latter two outcomes. He adds that the identity of the "target" students and the traitors will not be disclosed by the school after the exam ends. Prohibited actions and items are also listed. For instance, stealing the mobiles of other students and use of intimidation to coerce the reveal of information such as the identity of the "target" students are forbidden, while using another student's mobile without permission to mail the answers to the faculty will result in expulsion. Furthermore, in the case any suspicious activity is uncovered, a thorough investigation into the matter will be launched by the school to ensure no violations of the rules occur. Mashima tells them their meeting time for tomorrow is 1:00 PM and 8:00 PM at a designated room for their group for discussions, and that they will not be able to leave until the required time has passed.

The group of four are then told to leave and Yukimura suggests staying and having a chat as they're now in the same group for the exam. Karuizawa ignores his words and starts walking away while calling Hirata. Yukimura pleads the other two to stay as he wants to discuss the plans for tomorrow, but Sotomura says he has to go back and watch an anime, leaving Yukimura dejected. Kiyotaka thinks about reporting back to Suzune and sending her the details in their chat if necessary, before forming a strategy once receiving more information from her.

Kiyotaka and Hirata talk about the new exam while going to Hirata's meeting location, as he has been told about the exam through Yukimura, another roommate. At the meeting place, they see Kōhei Katsuragi talking with Suzune, both of whom being in the same 20:40 group, with Katsuragi stating he has now become more cautious of Class D after the island test. Ryūji Kanzaki from Class B and Kakeru Ryūen from Class C also appear. Kushida then arrives and greets Hirata and Kiyotaka, confirming that she is also in the same group. Kiyotaka expresses his concern for Hirata, but Hirata reassures him and says that he will just do his best, while Kushida sees this as a chance to befriend Katsuragi and Ryūen. Suzune shakes her head and goes ahead as it is almost time for their meeting. Kiyotaka thinks he shouldn't have bothered worrying about her, before wishing Hirata luck and leaving the scene.

Chapter 2
Kiyotaka and Suzune meet at a cafe on the deck in the morning. Suzune hands him a slip of paper that reads the names of the members in her group, Dragon:


 * Class A: Kōhei Katsuragi, Ryōko Nishikawa, Shinji Matoba, Koharu Yano
 * Class B: Sayo Andō, Ryūji Kanzaki, Hitomi Tsukabe
 * Class C: Takumi Oda, Hidetoshi Suzuki, Masashi Sonoda, Kakeru Ryūen
 * Class D: Kikyō Kushida, Yōsuke Hirata, Suzune Horikita

Kiyotaka notes that the group includes the big names representing each class, but Ichinose is in his group instead of this one. Suzune thinks Ichinose can be just the face of her class and not the leader. They think about the groups being divided based on grades, but there are also flaws in it.

At 8:00 AM, both Kiyotaka and Suzune receive a mail from the school. They have not been chosen as the "target" in their group. The exam will begin from 1:00 PM and will be held in three days. They are also required to come to the meeting room of their groups immediately. After discussing the mail's contents, Suzune asks Kiyotaka on who he suspects the most in her group. Kiyotaka replies with "Ryūen", as he is the most suspicious one in the group.

Ryūen and Ibuki approaches them while they are talking. Ryūen asks if Suzune is the "target", with Suzune refusing to answer and says Ryūen would do the same. Ryūen then sits down on a vacant seat nearby and asks Suzune on how Class D achieved the result in the island test. Suzune says she has nothing to tell him. She also provokes that she was just saving her strength due to a fever, prompting Ibuki to declare a rematch but stops after Suzune says she will report to the school if there's violence.

Ryūen points out that Class D's leader in the island test was changed and that they were the one pulling the strings, but Suzune only replies vaguely. Suzune wonders why Ryūen is obsessed over her as there are other students he should be worried about like Ichinose from Class B, Katsuragi and the rumoured Sakayanagi from Class A. Ryūen replies that he has more or less known about their abilities and they're not capable enough to be his enemies, so he could crush any of them whenever he wants. He then stands up and leaves, along with Ibuki.

Kiyotaka meets Yukimura and Sotomura and they start going to their group's meeting room. The exam is announced to be starting but no one in the room is willing to speak up. Ichinose takes the initiative by leading the group and introducing herself. After the self introductions are done, Ichinose suggests the group to cooperate and clear the exam through the first outcome. Other students, including Kiyotaka, agree but Machida from Class A rejects the offer and instead proposes a strategy Katsuragi has come up with: to not talk at all until the exam is finished, so that there won't be a traitor among the group and allow the points to be equally distributed among the classes. Ichinose argues the strategy is benefiting Class A the most since it would cause the position of the classes to be unchanged and help them keep the lead. Machida eventually says that he and his classmates will continue staying silent and not take part in the group discussions.

Manabe from Class C calls out to Karuizawa, asking about her encounter with Rika Morifuji, another Class C student. Manabe claims that Karuizawa has pushed Rika out of the line at a cafe, then asks Karuizawa to go and apologise to Rika. Karuizawa denies and claims she doesn't know anything, but retorts when Manabe tries to take a picture of her to confirm with Rika. As Manabe becomes more suspicious, Karuizawa turns to Machida for help, who tells Manabe to stop forcibly taking photos of Karuizawa and that it would be better to talk with Rika to confirm the story. Manabe eventually withdraws while Kiyotaka notes that the conflict can be a problem going forward.

One hour passes and the students are allowed to leave, with the Class A students going first. Karuizawa, while hastily trying to leave, accidentally steps on Manabe's feet. Manabe gets angry while Karuizawa makes a quick apology and leaves. After leaving the room, Kiyotaka asks Yukimura if he notices Karuizawa was acting strange. He then receives messages from Airi asking to meet him if he has time. Airi asks him to meet at the ship's bow as the place she's at is getting crowded.

Airi is seemingly practicing on asking Kiyotaka out, and gets startled when Kiyotaka calls her when he arrives. Airi, already flustered, frantically asks Kiyotaka if he's been hearing, and relieves when he doesn't know what it is about. Airi then tells him that she's been anxious about the exam and gives him the list of students in her group (Cow):
 * Class A: Yasumi Sawada, Naoki Shimizu, Haruka Nishi, Kenta Yoshida
 * Class B: Yume Kobashi, Yui Ninomiya, Norihito Watanabe
 * Class C: Hiroya Tokitō, Yūji Nomura, Mariko Yajima
 * Class D: Kanji Ike, Airi Sakura, Ken Sudō, Chiaki Matsushita

Kiyotaka apologises as he can't seem to help her, then asks whether Haruki Yamauchi has contacted her since after their group meeting period. Kiyotaka has promised to give Yamauchi her address in order to manipulate him back in the island test, though he doesn't intend to give it without her consent. Airi says Yamauchi hasn't and asks if there's something wrong. Kiyotaka then tells her to contact him if she has trouble with something. Airi appreciates his offer while Kiyotaka just says that's the least he can do for her.