Light Novel Volume 5/Summary

Below is the long summary of volume 5 of the You-Zitsu light novel series.

Prologue
Ken Sudō gives a monologue about how he does not consider himself a proper human being due to his parents and upbringing. As a child, he wanted to become strong and independent since his mother abandoned him while working at a nightclub. He was also disgusted by his father's small presence and his job as a janitor. In the end, he gave up on his studies and focused all his attention on sports, trying various sports until he settled on basketball. His skill at basketball increased to the point of earning a recommendation to a high school that has one of the best teams in the country, but because of his bad temper and the consequent tendency to get himself involved in violent scuffles, his application was rejected. After that, he resigned himself to the belief that he is scum born from bad parents, and for this reason, he decided to enter Advanced Nurturing High School instead, a place that would purportedly guarantee a future even for someone like him.

Chapter 1
Gathered in the Pallet cafe at the end of their summer vacation, Kiyotaka Ayanokōji, Kei Karuizawa, Yōsuke Hirata, and Suzune Horikita talk about the results of the zodiac special exam that took place on the cruise ship. Hirata also brings up the subject of how they can further unify their class going forward.

Later that afternoon during their two-hour-long homeroom, Sae Chabashira announces that the first month of the second semester beginning in September will include an increase of physical education classes in order to prepare for the upcoming Sports Festival. Some students are overjoyed (especially Sudou) while some are disgruntled. She then goes over the setup and rules for this event:


 * 1) Classes of all school years will be divided into two teams:
 * 2) * The Red Team will consist of Class A and Class D
 * 3) * The White Team will consist of Class B and Class C
 * 4) Events will be divided into two categories:
 * 5) * Universal Participation
 * 6) ** All students of a class must participate
 * 7) * Recommended Only Participation
 * 8) ** Only students selected by their respective classes need to participate
 * 9) ** Events under this category:
 * 10) *** Scavenger Hunt
 * 11) *** Three-Legged Race (Mixed Gender)
 * 12) *** 1200-Meter Relay
 * 13) Allocation of Points for All Participants in Individual Competitions:
 * 14) * 1st Place = 15 Points
 * 15) * 2nd Place = 12 Points
 * 16) * 3rd Place = 10 Points
 * 17) * 4th Place = 8 Points
 * 18) * 1 point each will be deducted for placing lower than 5th
 * 19) Allocation of Points for All Participants in Team Competitions:
 * 20) * The winning team will receive 500 points
 * 21) Allocation of Points for All Participants in Recommended Only Competitions:
 * 22) * 1st Place = 50 Points
 * 23) * 2nd Place = 30 Points
 * 24) * 3rd Place = 15 Points
 * 25) * 4th Place = 10 Points
 * 26) * 2 points each will be deducted for placing lower than 5th
 * 27) * The relay, which will be final competition, will award 3 times the points
 * 28) Allocation of Points for the Outcome of Red Team vs. White Team:
 * 29) * Scores will be calculated by pooling the totals of all students in all school years on each team
 * 30) * Winning Team = No Change
 * 31) * Losing Team = -100 Class Points from every class in every school year
 * 32) Allocation of Points for Each Class in Each School Year:
 * 33) * 1st Place = 50 Class Points
 * 34) * 2nd Place = No Change
 * 35) * 3rd Place = -50 Class Points
 * 36) * 4th Place = -100 Class Points
 * 37) Individual Competition Awards:
 * 38) * 1st Place = 5000 Private Points OR Equivalent of 3 Marks in a Written Exam
 * 39) * 2nd Place = 3000 Private Points OR Equivalent of 2 Marks in a Written Exam
 * 40) * 3rd Place = 1000 Private Points OR Equivalent of 1 Mark in a Written Exam
 * 41) ** Marks cannot be transferred between students
 * 42) * Last Place = -1000 Private Points
 * 43) ** If the student has less than 1000 Private Points, they will lose 1 mark in a written exam instead
 * 44) Best Performing Student Award:
 * 45) * For the student who receives the highest score across all competitions, 100,000 Private Points will be awarded
 * 46) Best Performing Student Award For Individual Classes:
 * 47) * For the 3 students of each school year who receive the highest scores across all competitions, 10,000 Private Points each will be awarded
 * 48) Other Penalties:
 * 49) * After completion of all competitions, the total points earned by each student will be calculated, and the bottom 10 individuals in each school year will be penalized
 * 50) * For 1st years, the penalty imposed will be a score deduction of 10 marks on each student's next written exam
 * 51) List of Competitions:
 * 52) * Individual:
 * 53) ** 100-Metre Dash
 * 54) ** Hurdle Race
 * 55) ** Capture the Flag (Boys Only)
 * 56) ** Tamaire (Girls-Only)
 * 57) ** Tug of War (Divided By Gender)
 * 58) ** Obstacle Course Race
 * 59) ** Three-Legged Race
 * 60) ** Cavalry Battle
 * 61) ** 200-Metre Dash
 * 62) * Team:
 * 63) ** Scavenger Hunt
 * 64) ** Four-Way Tug of War
 * 65) ** Three-Legged Race (Mixed Gender)
 * 66) ** 1200-Metre Relay Race (Includes All Three School Years)
 * 67) Students of each class are in charge of deciding which competition each of them will be competing in, and in which order. This will be written down on a participation table, which will then be given to their homeroom teacher for submission anytime within a week before the sports festival. Changes can be made only up until the deadline (5 pm on the day before the festival).
 * 68) Substitutions during the festival are allowed for the Recommended Only competitions, but participants must pay 100,000 Private Points per competition.

With 20 minutes remaining, Chabashira leaves, and the class breaks into groups to discuss the sports festival. Sudō, in particular, is insistent about participating in every Recommended Only competition.

The second homeroom period is moved to the gymnasium where students of all classes and years can meet. Fujimaki, a third-year from Class A, declares that he will be taking charge of the Red Team before offering the first-years some advice about the sports festival. Following this, the students begin dividing themselves up by year and class to discuss their strategies. Kōhei Katsuragi and Hirata agree that their respective classes should cooperate, but Kakeru Ryūen outright refuses Honami Ichinose's offer to work together and walks away with his class in tow. After seeing this, Katsuragi warns Suzune about underestimating Ryūen.

Attention then turns to Arisu Sakayanagi of Class A, who is the only one sitting in a chair due to her disability. She apologizes for not being of much use in the upcoming sports festival since she can't participate in any competitions. The other students assure her that it's fine. Meanwhile, Kiyotaka observes the clear divide between the Katsuragi Faction and the Sakayanagi Faction in Class A, as well as noting the growth of Sakayanagi's power base. The meeting ends with Class A and Class D agreeing to cooperate by not interfering with each other's plans. On the side, Kiyotaka and Suzune discuss the difference between this sports festival and previous special exams.

After class is over for the day, Kiyotaka remains behind to listen to an audio file he received on his phone. Once he's finished, he decides to head back to the dorms but bumps into Chabashira on his way out. The two of them talk about Kiyotaka's preparations for the sports festival, and Chabashira reminds him that he needs to produce results to raise Class D's ranking or she would stop protecting him.

Chapter 2
Preparations for the sports festival begin. Class D discusses the order of participation for the Universal Participation events and who will be chosen for the Recommended Only events. Two systems of selection are proposed - one where participants will be selected based on what everyone wants, the other based on ability. Sudō immediately argues for the ability system in order to increase Class D's chances of victory in each competition, and the students who are weak at athletics agree with him.

Suzune also agrees, and then she proposes a supplementary plan where, in addition to letting the students who are more talented at sports participate in the Recommended Only events, they should also pair up the stronger athletes with the weaker ones in the Universal Participation events in order to further increase the chances of victory for the stronger athletes. Some students disagree with this tactic as it would mean sacrificing the less athletic students. Karuizawa in particular objects and asks Kikyō Kushida for her opinion. Kushida replies that she would prefer a plan where both sides could benefit and agree on. A vote of the majority is taken and Suzune's plan wins.

Sudō reiterates his intention to participate in as many events as possible. Suzune also declares that she would do the same. The class begins filling the slots for the events. The discussion ends for the day.

After school, Kiyotaka sends an email to someone. He then meets Karuizawa out in the hallway, and they talk about the message Kiyotaka had sent her earlier - to object to any plan Suzune comes up with before immediately asking for Kushida's opinion. Karuizawa asks Kiyotaka what his intentions are, and Kiyotaka says he has no interest in reaching Class A but it also wouldn't be bad to put Class D in a position where they are capable of it. Their conversation ends with Kiyotaka predicting that there would be a traitor coming from Class D during the sports festival.

The next day, during their physical education period, Class D uses a grip strength measuring instrument to measure the strength of each of their dominant arms. Kiyotaka attempts to adjust his strength to match the average of a first-year high school student, though he over-estimates and is ranked as the second strongest in the class. This excludes Rokusuke Kōenji isn't interested in participating. Sudō is easily the strongest in the class.

Afterwards, participants for all the events are selected. As a safety measure, it is decided that this list should not be photographed by anyone.

Chapter 3
Starting from the next day's homeroom, Class D begins training for the sports festival. Class B and Class A are both doing reconnaissance on the other students. Class C, however, remains in their classroom without looking outside at all. Kiyotaka and Suzune discuss Ryuuen's potential motives and strategies. Sudō interrupts and asks if he can call Suzune by her first name if he gets the best results in their class at the sports festival. Suzune agrees, on the condition that he gets the best results across their entire year.

Class D starts practice to determine and improve everyone's skill levels in each event. Sudō is markedly better than everyone else in every sport, and as a result, takes the lead in training his classmates for the upcoming competitions. Kiyotaka and Suzune talk about what needs to be done in order to produce the best results for Class D at the festival.

Suzune then heads off to practice for the three-legged race but struggles with cooperating with her partner. Kiyotaka also practices, with Hirata as his partner, and the two make a good time around the track.

Two weeks later, in mid-September, Class D continues their daily practice sessions. Sudō makes a good coach as he helps his classmates improve. Hirata holds regular meetings with Katsuragi to discuss how to best approach each event. Suzune is still having problems with the three-legged race so Kiyotaka shows her what the problem is and advises her to pace herself with her partner.

Afterwards, Kiyotaka thinks about Kushida and her influence on Class D, as well as the inevitable confrontation between her and Suzune.

Chapter 4
All classes continue doing reconnaissance on each other, although it is the participation tables that hold the most vital information, so each class is careful not to leak the contents of those tables.

Kiyotaka asks Suzune to discuss something with him and then asks Kushida to meet up with them tomorrow morning at ten to do some reconnaissance on the other classes. Kushida agrees and leaves. As they head back to the dorms, Suzune wants to know why she has to go with them to do recon. Kiyotaka reminds her of the special exam on the cruise ship and explains that he suspects Kushida was the traitor. In order to figure out the truth, he wants to bring her and Suzune together because he knows they share a secret that would explain why Kushida is willing to sabotage her own class just to bring down Suzune.

On Saturday morning, Kiyotaka spends some free time in his room with the 3 Idiots of D-Class. He asks them about Sakayanagi before receiving an email on his phone. They move on to talk about Suzune and Sudō's crush on her, but before they can talk more, Kiyotaka has to leave to meet up with Suzune and Kushida.

Kiyotaka, Kushida, and Suzune meet in the lobby before heading out to scout out the various sports clubs practising that day. They stop by the grounds where the soccer club is practising and bump into Miyabi Nagumo, and they see the way he easily takes control of the field with his athletic talent and leadership skills. On the side, Kiyotaka asks Kushida what caused her strained relationship with Suzune and promises not to ask again if she answers. Kushida tells him it's because of her.

They continue to watch the soccer practice, and after it ends, Hirata goes over to join them, and Sō Shibata follows. They chat for a while before parting ways.

Once it's just the three of them again, Suzune suddenly asks Kushida if she worked with Ryūen or Katsuragi during the exam on the cruise ship, but then says the past doesn't matter. She asks instead if she can trust Kushida to work with her in the same class. Kushida replies in the affirmative and tells Suzune she can trust her. Kiyotaka says he'll leave the rest of the reconnaissance to the two of them before taking his leave.

Class D continues to practice for the rest of the month. With one week left until the sports festival, they finalize the participants for each event. When the 1200-metre relay race is brought up, Suzune asks if she can be the anchor instead of Sudō. When pressed for a reason, the ones she offers aren't good enough to satisfy the others until Kiyotaka cuts in and tells them that Suzune wishes for a chance to reconcile with her estranged older brother, who will most likely also be the anchor for his team. With that reason, the others agree to give her the position.

Chapter 5
The first day of the sports festival arrives. All the students gather for the opening ceremony. The preparations for the festival include medical staff, tents for each of the teams, and cameras set up to help with judgement calls for every event.

The first event is the 100-Metre Dash. Out of a total of ten groups, Kiyotaka will be running in the seventh group. Sudō runs in the first group and easily takes first place. When it's the seventh group's turn, Kiyotaka comes in fifth while Hirata comes in first.

Afterwards, Kiyotaka notices Sudō's absence and sees him approaching Kōenji. Hirata notices as well and moves to intervene. Kiyotaka follows. Kōenji claims he is not feeling well so he won't be participating, which makes Sudō angry enough to try and punch him. Kōenji blocks it, and Hirata manages to break up their fight before it can escalate further. They return to Class D's tent where one of the first-year girls' groups for the 100-Metre Dash has just finished. Airi Sakura comes off the track and asks Kiyotaka if he was watching her. He wasn't but he tells her that she did well.

The last group of first-year girls begins lining up. It includes Suzune, as well as Mio Ibuki from Class C. Their race ends with Suzune winning by a small margin.

Once all the results for the first-years' 100-Metre Dash are in, Kiyotaka mentions Kōenji to Suzune, as well as her attempts to persuade him to participate. They watch Manabu Horikita take first place in his group for this event, and once all the groups are finished, the total points for each team are announced, and the Red Team comes out ahead.

The Hurdle Race is the next event. Kiyotaka is in the same group as Ryūji Kanzaki this time, and Kanzaki remarks that he's heard from Ichinose that Kiyotaka is quite fast. Kiyotaka denies this, reminding him of his ranking in the 100-Metre Dash, but Kanzaki says he doesn't think Kiyotaka was taking it seriously. The race starts, and Kanzaki ends up taking first place, while Kiyotaka ends up in third place.

Afterwards, Kiyotaka exchanges a brief word with Yukimura, who struggles with sports and is anxious about his results. He then moves over to watch the girls' Hurdle Race. Suzune is once again paired with strong competition from Class C. She finishes her Hurdle Race in third place.

The next event is Capture the Flag. Class A and Class D will be facing Class B and Class C, the latter of which consists of Ryūen leading a team of his classmates who seem fairly strong. The first match begins, with Class D and Class C on the offensive and Class A and Class B on defence. Despite Sudō's strength, he isn't enough to breakthrough, and the first capture goes to the White Team.

Class D switches to defence for the second match while Class A fixes an offensive. Class C attacks again, and in the chaos, Sudō is punched and kicked several times by Class C, who makes it look natural so that no foul play is called. In the end, the White Team wins the second bout of Capture the Flag as well.

Next is the Tug of War event for the boys while the girls compete in the Tamaire event. The Red Team comes out the winner for the latter, and the Tug of War begins.

As they take their positions, Katsuragi and Masayoshi Hashimoto argue briefly about the strategy for this event. The first bout begins, and the Red Team wins. Ryūen then rearranges his classmates' positions along the rope, and the second bout begins, ending with the White Team's victory this time. Then the third bout begins, but after some struggling, Class C suddenly let's go, and while the Red Team wins, they also cause most of Class A and Class D's students to fall over. While the Red Team takes the overall victory of the Tug of War, their morale is low in the aftermath.

Next is the Obstacle Course Race. Sudō ends up in the same group as Shibata, but also two unathletic students from Class C. He takes first place once again.

The Three-Legged Race is next for the boys while the girls' Obstacle Course Race is still ongoing. Suzune is matched up against Class C's Yajima and Kinoshita this time. She manages to overtake them during the race but repeatedly looks back at Kinoshita, and shortly before reaching the finishing line, the two seemingly collide with each other. Suzune ends up in seventh place while Kinoshita is unable to finish due to injury.

Having both been watching the race, Kiyotaka and Hirata agree that Suzune's bad matchups with Class C's students so far aren't just a coincidence.

Kiyotaka then approaches Suzune, who is injured but insists she'll be fine with some rest. She suspects that Kinoshita had collided with her on purpose because she kept calling her name during the race. She then tells Kiyotaka to worry about himself instead since his results so far have been worse than hers.

The Three-Legged Race for the boys begins. Sudō and Kanji Ike come in first for their group. Kiyotaka and Hirata come in first for theirs. Then the girls' Three-Legged Race begins. Suzune and Kushida pair up for it, and while they start well, they end up in the last place due to Suzune's injury from the previous event.

During the break, Suzune leaves to get a compress for her injury. Kiyotaka observes the rift in Class A and asks Hirata about Sakayanagi. He then considers Class C and the damage they've already inflicted the events so far, while Class B seems to be the only ones genuinely enjoying the festival. After the break, the girls' Cavalry Battle begins. The four horsemen from Class C completely ignores Class A and focuses on attacking Suzune instead. Her headband is taken, and the rest of Class D is defeated shortly after, with only Karuizawa succeeding in taking one headband from the opposing team before she too loses her own.

The boys' Cavalry Battle is next. Sudō forms a team with Kiyotaka, Akito Miyake, and Hirata. While they are able to defeat most of the White Team with Class A, they run into trouble when faced with Ryūen, who manages to provoke Sudō into accepting a one-on-one challenge instead of continuing to work with Class A's team. Hirata is unable to grab Ryūen's headband from him and ends up getting his own headband taken, and the Red Team loses the Cavalry Battle. They later figure out that Ryūen had slathered his headband with hair wax to make it too slippery to grasp, but there is no evidence of foul play, and Class D is forced to accept the loss.

Kiyotaka meets up with Karuizawa, who has also begun to realize that something is wrong with Suzune's match-ups. Kiyotaka explains that it's not just Suzune either; he entire contents of the participation table has been leaked to Ryūen, who has countered accordingly to ensure the best results for his class while also targeting Suzune in order to destroy her.

Karuizawa asks if Kiyotaka has a plan to turn things around, but while Kiyotaka confirms that everything is going according to his predictions, winning the sports festival is not something he intends Class D to do.

Their conversation is interrupted by Sudō, whose temper has finally snapped. He moves to confront Ryūen, only to be stopped by Hirata. They argue, and Yukimura cuts in to accuse Sudō of getting angry with the rest of Class D when they don't get the results he wants. Hirata continues attempting to calm Sudō down, but Sudō only retaliates by punching him.

Chabashira arrives and demands to know what's going on. Hirata covers for Sudō to avoid trouble, but Sudō just gets angrier, and in the end, he walks away, leaving Class D behind to fend for itself for the rest of the sports festival.

The festival continues, and Sudō does not return. Ryūen stops by to taunt them, but Hirata tells him that Class D still has a few trump cards left that have not been leaked to Ryūen.

Kiyotaka approaches Suzune after coming in third in the 200-Metre Dash. He asks her if she understands Sudō's predicament, and then asks if she'll be bringing him back. When Suzune says there is nothing she can do about him or her own situation, Kiyotaka calls her useless and explains the situation to her in more detail in an attempt to get her to understand what she should be doing now. He concludes by telling her to think about it herself, and that he will not be giving her any further advice.

Lunch break begins. Hirata and Karuizawa join Kiyotaka for lunch, and the three of them discuss Ryūen's strategy so far, as well as the traitor in their midst. Hirata asks where Suzune is, and Kiyotaka confirms that she has gone to retrieve Sudō, whom they will need if they wish to stand a chance in the second half of the sports festival.

Chapter 6
Suzune heads towards the infirmary while thinking about what Kiyotaka said. She admits that she wasn't able to counter his harsh words properly because he was right. She decides to get her leg seen to before going after Sudō.

She is diagnosed with a sprain and decides to utilize substitutes even if it means paying for them with her own Private Points. Shortly after leaving the infirmary, however, Kushida flags her down and tells her about Kinoshita being badly injured in the earlier collision. They return to the infirmary to see her.

Kinoshita and Chabashira are in the infirmary. The former is crying in a bed. The latter pulls Suzune aside and tells her that Kinoshita is accusing Suzune of causing her to fall during the race and kept looking back at her while they were running. Suzune denies it, insisting that she only looked back because Kinoshita kept calling her name. However, since Kinoshita's injuries do look deliberately inflicted and are severe enough to have prevented her from competing in any further events, Suzune remains under suspicion, and Kinoshita has said she will be reporting it to the school. Suzune decides to try talking to Kinoshita, but just as Chabashira grants permission, Ryūen arrives. He greets Kinoshita, and then accuses Suzune of deliberately injuring her. Suzune suspects that it was Ryūen's plan all along to sacrifice Kinoshita in order to get Suzune in trouble, but she has difficulty understanding why Ryūen would do something like that. Ryūen urges Kinoshita to corroborate the accusation, and Suzune is backed into a corner.

Ryūen then suggests striking a deal. In return for not reporting the matter to the school, which would trouble Suzune's brother and possibly even get her expelled, Suzune would pay a recompense of 1 million Private Points and a kowtow. Ryūen gives her until the end of the sports festival to decide.

Ryūen and Kinoshita leave the infirmary. Suzune sets the matter aside for now and hurries off to find Sudō.

As she looks for Sudō, Suzune berates herself for her own carelessness in challenging this sports festival. She crosses paths with Manabu and Akane Tachibana, and Manabu asks her if she understands the situation Class D is in at the moment. Suzune replies that she's currently figuring it out, and then assures her brother that she will not cause problems for him.

After that, she continues searching for Sudō. She returns to where Class D is gathered, hoping Sudō had returned on his own, but he has not. She meets up with Kiyotaka instead and decides that it's pointless to tell him about Ryūen. Instead, she asks if he has any ideas where Sudō might have gone, and Kiyotaka suggests the dorms. Suzune asks if he'll go with her to find him, but Kiyotaka turns her down, stating that he would only be a hindrance to her if he went.

Suzune leaves to track down Sudō.

Chapter 7
The latter half of the sports festival begins with the Recommended Only Participation events, where elites chosen from within the ranks of the class are expected to participate.

The first event is Scavenger Hunt. Hirata, after a small talk with Kiyotaka, decides to make a substitution with Ike, who is chosen after winning rock-paper-scissors against Yamauchi, replacing Sudō who is still absent. Ike takes on the first race and manages to get 1st place in his run. Kiyotaka joins in the second run, but he runs into trouble when his first instruction is to bring 10 friends. After requesting a change (and waits for 30 seconds per the rules), his second instruction reads "The person you love" and he has to make another change. On the third attempt, he manages to get one that tells him to find a table clock. However, he cannot find one in time before other contestants finish their run and accepts finishing in the last place.

During that time, Suzune finally finds Sudō in the dorm's lobby. Sudō is surprised since he didn't expect her to show up. Suzune, while acknowledges his talent and asks for him to return to the sports festival, reprimands him for his attitude and his responsibilities as the leader for the competition. Sudō, already frustrated, becomes angry and tell her to leave but Suzune doesn't give in, even telling him to hit her if he wants to. Sudō explains that he accepted to be the leader since he thought it'd be easy as long as he's good at sports, but he can't do anything in team competitions since the others can't keep up with him. Suzune questions him whether that is really all as she thinks there is another reason behind it. Sudō then admits he wanted to prove himself, to be respected and get attention from other students. He realises that he's now abandoned them all without fulfilling his desires. After reflecting on his words, Suzune tells him that they are similar to each other. That their desires are the same. To be respected by someone, to continue fighting on their own. She recalls back when she was irritated with those who could not study and didn't want to cooperate with them, thus praising him for having carried others during this sports festival. Sudō intends to go back to his room but Suzune reprimands him again for walking away. He tells him to go back and enters the elevator, but she refuses, stating that she will be waiting there for him to come back, even if it takes forever.

Back to the sports festival, Class D just got soundly defeated by Class B in Four-Way Tug of War event. Sudō and Suzune's absence meant that they had to make more substitutions and as a result Hirata has lost a considerable amount of points. Kiyotaka asks him if it's really okay to keep spending his own points for substitutions but Hirata reassures that it is necessary. Kushida then offers to participate in the Mixed Gender Three-Legged Race with her points. Kiyotaka also asks to be Sudō's replacement for the event. Kiyotaka and Kushida begins preparation for the race. They're joined by Class B's Ichinose and Shibata, another improvised pair since there are also absentees in their class.

While they are tying the strings, Kiyotaka interrupts Kushida and asks her if she is the one who leaked their class's participation table to Ryūen, as he's caught her snapping a picture of the table with her phone. Kushida wonders if that makes him suspecting her while still keeping her smile and standing up. Kiyotaka says he's confident that she is the culprit, but Kushida states that Class C can't just conveniently win if that happens. Kushida then asks why he didn't put in any countermeasure as he already knew the participation table was leaked. Kiyotaka replies that it would be pointless if the traitor is in Class D. Kushida denies being the culprit, but Kiyotaka then suggests confirming with Chabashira whether someone has gone to check the list after the participation table was submitted.

Kushida laughs and admit it, saying she's confident that she won't be exposed. Kiyotaka then asks for her goal, after she's been cooperating with Ryūen in both the cruise ship exam and this sports festival. Kushida reveals that she wants to expel Suzune Horikita. Kiyotaka wonders about the reason behind it, but Kushida insists that she will going to get Suzune expelled. She states that after Suzune is expelled, she will then cooperate with everyone in the class and aim for Class A. However, now Kiyotaka is also her target along with Suzune. Kiyotaka asks if Ryūen may expose her, and Kushida replies that it's her own gamble to make. Back in the dorm, Suzune has been waiting for roughly an hour when Sudō finally reappears. He is shocked that she is still there but argues that there's no point for him to come back as it is too late. Sudō claims that he only came back to check if she's still there and that they have nothing in common. Suzune rejects it and insists that they are similar. She uses her relationship with her brother and her feelings towards him as an example. Sudō wonders why her words now have much more weight and she replies that she has honestly admitted the truth that she is a pathetic person. Suzune then asks Sudō to lend her his strength and he finally agrees. Suzune smiles and feels that she now has someone she can call a comrade.

Epilogue
The final event of the sports festival is the 1200 Meters Relay Race. The rules for the final event requires that boys and girls be mixed. From each class of all three school years, the runners must be evenly balanced between male and female.

Sudō and Suzune get back just in time for the event. He makes an apology and gives a deep bow to the class. Hirata is surprised for a moment but laughs happily, while Ike says that this is unlike him. Sudō admits he's in the wrong and also apologises to Ike, while Ike says he also couldn't produce any results, which goes the same for the other students. Sudō then asks to continue participating since they haven't made a substitution for this event yet. Suzune however is still plagued with her injury and has to ask for a substitution. She gives a bow as an apology and Kiyotaka notices she's trembling in frustration. Hirata nods and decides that Kushida will be participating in her stead.

Before Hirata can make an announcement, Miyake suddenly speaks up and asks for withdrawal, saying that he's sprained his ankle during the 200 Meter Dash. Kiyotaka decides to offer himself to be the replacement. Class D's final line up consists of Sudō, Hirata, Kiyotaka, Maezono, Onodera and Kushida. Sudō is set to start first to seize the advantage. Then it's Hirata, the three girls, and Kiyotaka for the final run, being the anchor. The initial plan was for Kiyotaka to replace Hirata, but Miyake's sudden withdrawal changed that.

The participants start gathering for the relay, including Nagumo and Manabu Horikita. Sudō makes a good start and manages to take the lead. The baton is then passed to Hirata who continues to maintain the lead. However, the girls can't keep up their pace with the boys and seniors from other classes and Class D start losing positions. As the 2nd year Class A is having the lead over the 3rd year one, Nagumo laughs and claims their win over Manabu and says that he would've liked for them to run against each other. He also states that as the Student Council President, he will put in new rules for the ultimate meritocratic school system, before receiving the baton and starts running. Shibata follows not too long later in 2nd place.

Kiyotaka and Manabu have a brief conversation while waiting for their run. Manabu is surprised Kiyotaka is the anchor while Kiyotaka just simply says he's replacing Suzune for this event. Manabu has been watching Kiyotaka's class and asks what has changed during this final relay. Kiyotaka replies that if there is something changed, it would be his sister. Kiyotaka claims that their class will become stronger but Manabu isn't interested.

Kiyotaka then proposes to race against him in this final run. Manabu is surprised and stops without making any move, even after receiving the baton. Before starting their approach run, Kiyotaka tells Manabu to run with everything he's got.

Kiyotaka receives the baton from Kushida and dashes forth with full throttle. As he is now only focused on the one-on-one race against Manabu, the two runners quickly close the distance and overtake the runner in front. Both of them head to the last curve.

Karuizawa exclaims that Kiyotaka was really fast after the race. Kiyotaka ended up finishing behind Manabu because a runner in front of him fell and blocked his way, enabling Manabu to overtake him. The performance still gathers attention from all over the school including his classmates.

The sports festival concludes and results are announced. The Red Team wins the competition, defeating White Team. For the first year classes, Class B get 1st place, followed by Class C in 2nd, Class A in 3rd and Class D in 4th.

Sō Shibata of Class B is the MVP of the first years, ahead of Sudō. Sudō is frustrated and accepts to call Suzune by her last name since he's lost. Suzune then requests him to not using violence without a justifiable reason. She also lets him call her by her first name as her own punishment for being unable to live up to everyone's expectations for this sports festival. Sudō starts blushing and shouting excitedly.

A girl from Class A calls out to Kiyotaka. She asks him to come at the front gate at 5 pm and leaves. Kiyotaka then changes clothes and returns to the classroom. Suzune also comes back and he calls out to her. She notes that she was able to mature during the sports festival. She also mentions she's still going to need to kowtow but doesn't expand on it when Kiyotaka asks about that.

After the students left the classroom, Suzune stays behind. Kiyotaka wonders why and she says there is some business she has to take care of. Kiyotaka notes it's unusual for her but eventually leaves. Kushida then returns after having left the classroom once and they both leave to meet Ryūen. Ryūen praises Suzune for not running away. Suzune tells Kushida to end her farce and points out her cooperation with Ryūen in this sports festival. She also claims she has remembered Kushida being from the same middle school as her. Kushida smiles and also states her intention to expel Suzune.

Ryūen then explains his plan for the sports festival, from getting Kushida to leak the participation table of Class D, to thoroughly research Class D in order to crush Suzune. He also reveals to have made Kinoshita's injury to be worsened by stomping on her leg after giving her 500,000 points for consent.

Suzune then brings out her phone and says she has been recording the conversation, including the plan. Ryūen bursts out in laughter and states that he already said the contents of their discussion are fictitious, and that he is only humouring her persecution complex. He retrieves the phone in his pocket, then points to the camera, stating it is the visual footage. Suzune notes that it is more reliable than just audio recording and she can't declare them as guilty with just her evidence. Ryūen then tells Suzune to admit her defeat and give the kowtow, with Kushida laughing boldly. Suzune accepts the situation and quietly get down on her knees.

However, before she is able to do so, Ryūen's phone rings. He checks it and a recording is played. It's a recording of Class C's strategy meeting for the sports festival, with Ryūen explaining the details to his class. Kushida is bewildered and asks Ryūen for explanation. Ryūen realises that there is also a traitor in Class C, and that everything happened up to now has been all calculated, including Kushida being the traitor. Kushida asks whether it is Kiyotaka but Ryūen says he won't draw conclusions yet and will take his time smoking them out, and that he is still satisfied with this outcome. Suzune, however, is sure that it is Kiyotaka's plan and notes that he has been setting it up behind her back since Ryūen hasn't found out the culprit yet. Ryūen says while he can't make Suzune give a kowtow, he's still accomplished half of his objectives.

Kiyotaka comes to the front gate where the girl is waiting as promised. She asks him to follow her and they go to the 3rd floor of the special building, where there's no surveillance camera installed. The girl then tells him to wait and walks off. Another person, who turns out to be Arisu Sakayanagi from Class A, reveals herself. She mentions the relay race but Kiyotaka asks her to let him send a mail first. After that, Kiyotaka asks if Arisu is the one to call him out, to which she confirms.

Arisu says she wants to share the shock she felt at that moment when seeing his run. She then stands next to him and tells him it's been a long time, approximately 8 years and 243 days. Kiyotaka says he doesn't know her and starts walking in the opposite direction. However, Arisu then mentions the White Room.

Kiyotaka stops walking. Arisu says that this is a reunion and she wanted to greet him. Kiyotaka looks back at Arisu without turning his back, still believing that he only meets her at this school. Arisu states that while he doesn't know her, she knows him and notes that he was the one pulling the strings behind Class D's previous exams. Kiyotaka tries staying composed and denies his involvement, stating that there are a few strategists in his class, but Arisu says that it does not matter anymore now that his existence has come to light.

Arisu then states she has no intention of exposing him, claiming she's the only one worthy of burying the false genius and that she has found some slight enjoyment in her boring school life.

The two make eye contact. Kiyotaka then asks her if she can bury him.

Arisu laughs, saying she's begun to enjoy this since she will fulfil her life's wish by destroying the greatest masterpiece his father has made. Kiyotaka wishes for that, because his defeat would mean his father's defeat too, and he wants the sad contradiction he carries to be destroyed.