Light Novel 2nd Year Volume 8/Summary

Prologue
Kanzaki Ryuuji monologues about how he has been keeping his distance from people since he was little. It was easier to maintain neutral relationships than by making friends or enemies. One day, he was a spectator to a bullying dispute whereby the victim had told a flimsy lie. He felt no obligation to help him and even wished for him to suffer a bit to learn his lesson. Another person came and saved the victim. Kanzaki was perplexed at why the victim was saved when he had lied, thinking that justice was not served. The conundrum he faced was determining who was right, the ones that told no lie but used violence, the one that lied or the person that saved the liar.

An adult nearby patted his head and told him that its fine to run if you have no strength. However, if you have the strength and does not use it, that’s the most fully choice. He finally understood his words back then. As long as anyone could dominate the scenario, no point of view matters as long as the result was what he wanted. He reflects on how he had socialised more after coming to school. He uncharacteristically began helping people. Although, all his motivation had dissipated and he had lost hope in continuing with Ichinose's class. That was until Kiyotaka words 'saved' him. He finds destiny to be very strange after crossing paths with him.

Chapter 1
November was ending as everyone was waiting for the school trip to happen. Kiyotaka saw his old group but now with three members walking ahead of him to school. Kei asks if he will call out to them but he rejects that. Kei embraced his answer and says she now has him all to himself. Kiyotaka remains stalwart in wanting to go Kyoto but Kei hates that place as it was devoid of fun and is full of temples. Kei then nonchalantly glosses over the end of year exam, arguing that nothing would change if she fret over it now.

He finds that overconfidence to be concerning but her statement was true as her bottom level is slowly rising. Kei wonders if she should study more like Sudo, but the main issue wasn’t duration, but quality of teachers and dedication. Horikita had that skill over Keisei. Personally, Kiyotaka could fulfil that role, but he knew it wasn’t his role. His remaining role is to ensure that the bare minimum is done and getting everyone to study on their own, so that someone else in the class can take over him at some point.

In class, Chabashira announces the result of the EOY tests. The highest average for every class will be ranked and given points appropriately. The failing mark was an average of 39 for all subjects. The lowest average score for Horikita's class was expectedly Hondou at 53 points, Kei being slightly higher at 56. Kiyotaka began formulating a plan for her with Keisei and even Hirata in mind, as soon, she will fall behind the others in potential, the bare minimum no longer being enough. He was in 12th place while Sudo entered the Top 10. First place was tied between Horikita and Keisei at 93.5 each.

Regarding the classes average, Sakayanagi's Class A was 1st and earned +50 points, Horikita's Class B being 2nd with +25, Ichinose's Class D was 3rd with -25 points, Ryuen's Class C in last with -50 points. The gap to Class A lowest students was still very evident but visible progress was still made. With that settled, Chabashira asks the class to fill in their personal particulars and begin ranking their classmates from 1 to 38. Rankings can be based on personal relationships, talents or any of the likes based on subjective feelings. Other classes students were also included and everything would remain confidential even to teachers.

Kiyotaka began assessing Class A first, and placed Arisu at the top spot based on talent, knowing many students would do the same. It was unexpectedly difficult but after 20 minutes, he finished Class A's ranking. For his own class, he placed Hirata first based on potential, communication and development. Second was Kouenji due to his untapped potential as well as past accomplishments. Sudou was ninth, but if it was only from second year onwards, he undoubtedly would had been third or fourth. After 40 minutes, he was the second to finish after Kouenji.

Next, Hokkaidou was revealed to be their trip destination. Disappointed, Kiyotaka checked those like himself in the Kyoto faction like Horikita, Keisei and some others as well as Sudou and friends that chose Okinawa but all of them were not as disappointed as him. Chabashira warns them that the trip is purely for academic purposes and reassured them that no exams would be conducted throughout the event. There were many rules and a schedule for the five days four nights were given to them.

Day 1 involves travelling to the Ski resort and learning how to Ski. Day 2 is a free day while Day 3 consists of visiting major places in Sapporo City. Day 4 is another free day but with more limitations while Day 5 is their return trip. Many students were elated that a sense of normalcy was finally given to them. The theme of the trip was a quote by Sun Tzu "If you know your enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the results of a hundred battles". Sudo modestly explains that if they’re able to find their real strength and know the circumstances of their enemies, they won’t lose any battles which causes many to have a good impression of him.

Chabashira tells that the their groupings will likely be with those they never interacted with before due to the nature of the trip. Thus, they have to see them as more of rivals than friends since the most important part is graduating as Class A. How they handle wanting friends from other Classes to graduate in Class A will also be tested in this trip by how their bonds developed. Everyone but Hirata began protesting such a mentality. Much hostility was turned against him as for someone popular like him, it’s seemed like a boast. He argues that the school stands to be more united and so, this trip would serve that purpose. To him, possible friendships across classes transcends all detriments that make arise from it.

There will be much push back from students but it was still possible. Each day, some groups will change members. Chabashira explains that it incentivises people to lay themselves bare to others so as to enjoy the trip to the fullest. Those that are unable to make friends even though they want to can use this to improve whilst those that found friendships to be unimportant will definitely have a bothersome time. They can still carry phones with rules being no contact with the outside world unless in emergency situations. The only rule is to always stay in a group, failure to do so will have privileges be taken away. Everyone looked at Koenji who took it as them fawning over him.

During lunch, Satou and Hirata joins Kei and Kiyotaka as she flirtatiously told the latter that it was like a double date. Hirata shares his fear that getting too attached to others will be a burden. Kei disagrees as she shares the majority's opinion that as long as one manages to reach Class A, it doesn’t matter the cost. Knowing one's enemy can become a disadvantage, and the school may be intending to exploit that in future special exams, likely in the end of year. That morbid reality changes everyone's mood as expulsion once again is brought up.

After school, Ichika texts Kiyotaka to meet at Keyaki mall. Nanase was surprised to see him when following Ichika. The reason for her tardiness was due to Nanase insistence of following her. Kiyotaka asks about her break from school as Ichika jokes that she's fine if he became her stalker. Turns out, Nanase was the one giving out the information as Ichika acts surprised that an acquaintance was her stalker. The fact that Ichika left and came back after Yagami's expulsion pointed at a mental effect. Nanase knew she would moved eventually but as for her mental state, she fears what Ichika could do.

Ichika changes her bubbly persona to a depressed one as she asks why Kiyotaka didn’t have her expelled when he could easily do so. He answers that he recognises how she places greater importance in enjoying her time in high school than expelling him, thus, he had no reason to force her out. Thinking for her, Kiyotaka states being here will save her from the reality of returning to the white room or being sent to the outside world whereby she is unaware of her parents location and would be forced to live day by day working part time. Kiyotaka deduced that her parents should be wealthy celebrities with much power, hence, the white room would be forced to treat her well if this comes to be known.

Ichika asks for permission to stay in school from Kiyotaka, and answers that she would drop out if he tells her to. Her quest to cause trouble was over. She answers Nanase that this was a luxury afforded only to her beloved senior when she inquired whether she let go of Yagami's expulsion so easily. Kiyotaka tells her to do as she pleases and voiced his wish to support her endeavours since they were of the same kind and intention. Hearing that, Nanase also voiced her support on the condition that Ichika was genuine about what she said.

Ichika was moved but put it off as an act to gain sympathy from them. She briefly answer how Yagami was afraid of Kiyotaka, but his hatred towards him eclipses even that fear. He gave himself numerous detours, hoping to not have to engage directly, but in the end, it only served to cut off his route. Seeing as she said too much, she apologised and left soon after, allowing Nanase to borrow her senpai as another act to put on a brave face.

Nanase still had a deep seated fear of Ichika, and cautioned them to not lose their guard. He replies that he's not one to be careless or more accurately, nothing has changed since the start. She cautions again at having an open mind pertaining to Ichika's reform. Knowing she's from the whiteroom, her numerous methods are unquestionably abnormal, thus, her wish of wanting him to graduate requires him to be watchful.

They went on to discuss about the upcoming school trip, with him finding it suspicious that she already knew about it and did not report to him. Moreover, he points out that she was strangely nonchalant about it when this trip will be more risky than a serious Ichika and when Tsukishiro tried to expel him. Nanase tries to play it off that he is not one to be worried for but he reminds her that she wouldn’t had stalked Ichika in that case. He asks whether he can think of any other excuses as she tries to calm herself.

In reality, he has been most suspicious of Nanase ever since meeting her. Her relation to the White Room and Tsukishiro despite being an outsider. Additionally, she had never given him concrete information Tsukishiro had told her about. He opines how he knows that that is another reason she is so cautious of Ichika, and it's not as righteous she makes it out to be. The reason she is not concern of the trip is because she knows nothing will come of it from the white room. He hypothesises that Tsukishiro had never intended to actually expel him, otherwise, he would no longer be in school.

He points out her hypocrisy as she was also missing during the Cultural Festival when someone from the white room approached him. With so many chances, they never forcefully expelled him, which leads him to find her presence to be abnormal. He asks if Matsuo really died, or whether it was a cover up story that she helped orchestrated all this time. This was done to drop his guard down so she could support him if he ever were close to being expelled by the students. She was tasked to begin as his enemy but switched to becoming an ally. Nonetheless, whether his hypothesis rings true or not, whether she's still an ally or enemy, or whether she still wants him expelled, she was still once his ally.

She knew nothing she say would change how he feels now, but with time, it may change. Kiyotaka disagrees but says he rather her associate do what they have been doing, though Nanase rejects that and left soon after. She wasn’t as fit as a white room student, and she was a step behind in thinking compared to the rest. The only thing he knew for sure was that there was still something unknown she's still hiding.

Sudou barged into Kiyotaka's room during dinner and saw Kei as well, making him perplexed as to why they had to spend so much time together. He dejectedly mention how he has no girlfriend and only had basketball. He went on to ask whether he did 'that' with Kei, only to be told to leave it to imagination. He decided to voice his concern about Onodera and how he has been more conscious around her, even finding her cute. However, if she had confessed, he would reject her, causing Kiyotaka to realise he will destroy his happiness. He doesn’t hate that she might be his first girlfriend since Suzune has shown no interest, yet he was still uncertain. Thus, Sudou wanted to show his resolve and confess to Suzune in the trip. He wants Kiyotaka to witness it so as to cut off his escape route.

Sudou thanks him for acquiescing to his request and apologies for disturbing as he left. Kei returned and asked if Kiyotaka could tell her the secret. Kiyotaka agrees but went on to take the cushion from underneath her, noticing its cold and not warm, showing that she already eavesdropped. He went on to point out many of her shortcomings, but she brushed them off as she was more interested in the trip as she prays for them to be in the same group. Kiyotaka finds that to be a waste as he wants to know more about other students. Seeing her unsatisfied from his response, he orders her to gather information of the other classes no matter which groups she's in.

Moving back, Kei is certain Horikita would reject Sudou. They hedged a bet on the outcome, Kei betted on outright rejection while Kiyotaka betted on a relationship above a friendship. If Kei wins, he'll give her an expensive gift while she will do anything he wants if he wins. It's less of Sudou being a bad candidate but more of Horikita being uninterested in romance. She is not at the stage like him who had dived into this topic, and she would be suspicious if asked about romance. They each began fantasying what they will have the other do, with Kei imagining it'll be something lewd.

Chapter 2
On the day of the trip, four buses assembled as each class departed starting from Class A and ending with D. The temperature was decreasing as they approached their location. Kiyotaka checks the identity of his groupmates on his phone, noticing Ryuen and Kushida was in the same group as him. Kiyotaka did not know 5 out of 7 of his groupmates and ranked them purely based on OAA scores.

Kei naturally wanted to sit beside Kiyotaka, however, Hirata asked for permission to be the one instead, to which Kei allowed only if Kiyotaka sat on the aisle seat. Hirata could finally relaxed after escaping from the girls who hounded to sit with him. Funny banter continued throughout the trip as someone asked about the couple's relationship progress.

Each teachers were assigned 5 groups, starting with Mashima and ending with Hoshinomiya. As the groups began forming, Kushida greets Kiyotaka as two energetic Class D students called out to her. Their group 6 was headed by Chabashira. Ryuen arrives and was very hands off in leading the group, choosing instead to let everyone do as they pleased. Ryuen initiated conversation with Kiyotaka as he asked for the identity of Yagami. With him expelled, Ryuen's eyes are now on Ichika. Kiyotaka was sure that she wouldn’t lose to him at any rate, but with her mental state now, there was no telling what would happen if Ryuen persistently pursues her despite being knocked down.

Knowing what Kiyotaka is thinking about, Ryuen shrugs it off as he cares more about Sakayanagi's class now, rather than be weakened by Ichika and left waiting for Horikita's class to be ready for a fight. Next, Kiyotaka decides to question him on his awareness about a black plastic bag he took out from his pocket. Ryuen laughs as it was a puking bag which he prepared for a long bus ride. He wonders if Kiyotaka was a rich kid who had never rode a bus before.

After lunch, students started preparing to ski. Surprisingly 40% of students were already intermediate or higher. Kiyotaka joined the beginner course and fell immediately after taking a step, which caused much laughter. After completing the training, Ryuen tells him to stay on the beginners course as the place they were at was only for advanced people. Kushida was also with him as she cautions for them to be careful. They saw Yamamura unknowingly enter the advance course using a ski lift and followed behind her.

Kushida asks if he still intends to expel her which he rejects. It was the first time she couldn’t read a person. He affirms her choice to leave the class if she wishes via transfer tickets or private points, commenting that it is not treachery but rather personal benefit. She was annoyed at being unable to read him, and finds it con-fuddling that she is having fun skiing instead of being bitter. She then asks about Yagami and Ichika, particularly the former's expulsion. He explains that they were not close but changes the topic that it was interesting that he was Kushida's junior. She clarifies that only the Horikita siblings were from the same middle soon as her, as she's perplexed at how Yagami knew of her secret. By process of elimination, it only led her to Kiyotaka being the revealer.

She wants to know the truth and reconfirm how he is an advisory far beyond her if he's connected to Yagami and Ichika. Kiyotaka covers for them both by saying they were from the same old school and lived close by. Kushida like Ryuen, Horikita and Nagumo now knows he was responsible for Yagami's expulsion, to 'save' her school life. As her hat was about to fall, Kiyotaka caught it with her hands clasping his on top. She looked deeply enchanted in his eyes but soon asked for them to move ahead. They discussed about Yamamura and how faint her presence in school was, similar to him in the past. It's likely she was assigned by Arisu to watch over Ryuen. Knowing what he wantwd, Kushida went to get closer with her as Kiyotaka attempts the advanced course.

At 5pm, everyone prepared to go to their room. Watanabe voices his sadness at having to share a room with strangers. Ryuen throws his bag and told him to take care of it. He was rather submissive as Kitou tries to help him carry it. Kiyotaka tells him to leave the bag and tell Ryuen about it, if not, he'll be doing it every time. It's conceivable if it's from someone of the same class, but using Ichinose's classmate was unacceptable. He gives his word that he'll stop Ryuen if he does not listen. Kitou was discontented but told Kiyotaka to do as he pleases.

Kushida arrives with the keys and says the girls should all go to the boys room tonight. Many were already attracted to her face and fake persona. Kiyotaka was grateful for her effort and initiatives to lead the group, with the only problem lying on Ryuen and Kitou who is out to destroy one another. Still being uncomfortable with sleeping with other people as he always slept alone since childhood, Kiyotaka wonders if that'll change through this 4 nights.

Watanabe finds him easy to talk to and understood how Ichinose fell deeply in love with him. His expression remained unchanged as he heard it from other girls before, but, Kiyotaka knew how those that liked Ichinose was happy he was already dating Kei. Observing him closer, Watanabe had no special feelings for Ichinose but voiced out that there may a few confessions incoming during the trip. After a day, Kiyotaka finds Watanabe to be a good person with no bad impressions, however, he is easily swept up and has slightly above average grades. Despite Watanabe saying otherwise, Kiyotaka thinks he'll be able to get a relationship eventually.

Switching to Horikita's view, she was preparing to go to the large bathhouse after dinner. She ran into Kushida and Rokkaku who welcomed her. Ignoring them for 10 minutes, she was eventually left alone with Kushida. Horikita was scolded for asking an obnoxious question to Kushida who returned with trenchant words. With some regret, she complimented her expansive friendships, but Kushida waved it off, saying Rokkaku body was too shameful and did not had the guts to go alone.

Horikita welcomes her disdain for her as long as she continues contributing. Moving to Kiyotaka, Kushida says Horikita was lucky that Kiyotaka sat next to her since enrolment and received much help from him. If not for him, she would had been expelled by her. Horikita would had objected but she could see things more clearly now. She didn’t reject her statement but mentions Kushida is indebted to him as well. This was to remove suspicions from anyone if they came in suddenly. Kushida agrees as she praises Horikita's body, mentioning it's not too impressive though as she moved closer to her. Ibuki suddenly opens the door and challenges Horikita to swim from one end to the other. She left after being rejected, with Kushida calling her an idiot.

Ichinose excuses herself and entered the bath, both of them noticing the rare sight of her being alone. Horikita flames grew hotter as she wanted to test Ichinose before they talk about trifling matters. Ichinose was uneasy that she interrupted something when Horikita wanted to leave, but Kushida forced her to stay. She went on to ask Ichinose who became greatly panicked if she was dating anything. She rejects that notion as well as rejecting that she likes anyone. Kushida already knew but wanted to know why she liked Kiyotaka. Switching to Horikita, she asked the same question who quickly and flatly rejected, even when Sudou's name was brought up.

When asked herself, Kushida says that high school romance is fleeting and will be a waste, and so, she takes great care not to develop feelings. She said this to indirectly use Ichinose who had more friends, to reject them on her behalf, saying she doesn’t wished to be hurt. Horikita attempts to leave again, but Ichinose also wished to talk to her more. Coupled with Kushida's words, she was forced to stay, but even Ichinose could see that those two had clashes. The romance talk soon began to turn into idle chatter.

Four women entered Watanabe's room after their bath. Ryuen was also present with Kushida calling him over. He tells her to know her place though Nishino just pulled him over. All eight were present as Kitou asked why they couldn’t meet virtually. Kushida replies that every other group are also meeting physically and making decisions. Ryuen chose his place to sleep quickly but Kitou objected. Neither back down as they threw vitrolic words, and got ready to fight. They started a pillow fight to decide the winner with Kitou giving up after Nishino said its bothering her. All of them then agrees to go skiing again.

Chapter 3
The morning of the second day, Ryuen challenges Kitou for another match at skiing. Kiyotaka interjects before they started actually fighting with Watanabe admiring his courage to put himself in between them. He explains that he's too minor for them to waste their time on him. Despite watching the television, Kitou turns it off and tells him to go to the bus.

After reaching the ski resort 10 minutes late, Amikura suggests making a snowman with Nishino and Kushida joining her, the latter even calling out to Ryuen. He ignores her as he looked at another direction. Arisu made her way to them but accidentally trips. Tokitou from lass C went over to extend a hand. Contrary to his appearance, he was rather delicate and careful. She initially thought he was scary as she displays many easily misunderstood expressions. Tokitou blushed and shyly turned away as Kiyotaka witnessed her wits on play. Those who knew she may had intentionally fell down was only him and Ryuen who uncaringly stared at the event. When boarding the bus, Tokitou stood behind her to ensure she didn't fall again. Those that had no reason to interact before this had already begun getting closer.

The group began practicing as Kitou and Ryuen once against competed against one another. Kitou was annoyed when Kiyotaka skied in between and interrupted them. Kushida was shocked that he could replicate and execute such an advanced move as Ryuen fumed in the background at his perceived lie at being a beginner. Despite being an expert, Kushida could believe Kiyotaka learnt on the fly after witnessing the battle between white room students.

Returning to eat lunch, Ryuen tells Kiyotaka to follow him as he shares his resolve to defeat Arisu. He reminds him of his goal to get 800 million points as well as how lenient he has been to his class in the sports and cultural festival. Ryuen also helped them survive against Arisu and has not acted against Kushida, which has been a huge relief to them. He wants Kiyotaka to adhere to the verbal promise they made. He rejects that as it was an uneven deal, though he did give him permission to attack in any way he wants. Kiyotaka was not naive enough to follow his deal whereby he would not had used the points for them if they ended up winning. It wasn’t unexpected that he broke the deal as Kiyotaka caution him about engaging Arisu first before their rematch.

Ryuen tells him to go back first as he went to the toilet. Hiyori was nearby with her group and waved towards Kiyotaka. Watanabe and Yamamura were concerned for his safety while Kitou tells Kiyotaka to talk to him if he needs it. Ryuen returns as he exchanged more fiery words with Kitou. Questioning his calmness, Kiyotaka knew that Arisu abilities outclass his, and wonders what else he has in store. At a distance, Nishino and Yamamura were surrounded by five boys from another school. Ryuen, Kitou and Kiyotaka made their way there without a word. The first two took 10 minutes to take them down and forcibly make them apologise to the rest.

The next day, Hashimoto joined Kiyotaka and Sudou in the bath. Kouenji was in his group and has been a hassle as he seeks advice from the both of them. Kiyotaka gave him one solid one to which Hashimoto took to heart. An hour later, Sudou says it's time for him to confess. He calls Horikita who answered immediately and tells her to wait in the lobby. Kiyotaka advised him to hold off for a while and pick a better spot to confess away from prying eyes. He notifies him of a corridor available as Sudou thanks him for being a good friend.

Full of nerves, the two finally meet as Horikita patiently waited for him. He started by asking how far he has changed in her eyes as she gave an objective critique and improvement of him. Misinterpreting it as him asking for advice, Sudou shoots his hand out and asks for her to date him. Bewildered, he asks her to grab his hand if she agrees. Despite expecting an immediate response, Kiyotaka was surprised when she looks as if she was seriously contemplating on the choice. The longer the silence, the faster his heart pounded.

Horikita starts by saying she never expected to receive a confession. She thanks him for liking her but can’t answer his feelings. As someone who had no romantic feelings before, she wants to fall in love with someone out of instinct and not cultivation. Although she may come to love him in that way if she had accepted, that was not the kind of love she wanted, and thus, she's waiting for her first love. Sudou thanks her for answering and did not pursue further. She grabs his hand and thanks him once again as it trembled. Completing his role, Kiyotaka went to the souvenir store as he waited for them to calm down.

He looks at his phone and sees pile up messages from Kei. Upon reading, Kei instantly calls him and voices her displeases at being away from him. She calls him a cheater for getting so close to Kushida, and blames it on her chest. They then agree to meet in her room as Sudou made his way over. He intended to confess again if he was rejected but her well-crafted refusal shot all that down. Now, he could judge Onodera more fairly and he has a new goal which is to surpass Hirata to better himself. If he could do so, all he had left to fight was with Horikita and Keisei.

Horikita was waiting outside Kiyotaka's room as she chided him for watching. He reasons that Sudou told him to, which causes another reprimand for being insensitive to the girls side. It was incredibly suspicious for him to be at that shop and would had served him better if he was unseen. Sensing that he was hoping to appease Kei in his room as soon as possible, she tells him to meet her tomorrow night if he wants forgiveness. He was then scolded by Kei before they got some time to cuddle.

Chapter 4
On the third day, groups has to visit and take pictures together for 6 out of 15 locations. Failure to do so in the given time will result in the fourth day free period being replaced with a study session. Taxis are forbidden as Kiyotaka's group decides to just go for fun instead of rushing to get private points if they complete more checkpoints. However, Ryuen was the only one to reject as 30000 points was too much for him to ignore. He wasn’t budging as even if its 20000 or lower due to transport, it is still something for the 800 million he needed. The longer they argue, the less time they have. Kitou too refuses to budge as he is fine if everyone else obeys Ryuen, but his sole dissent would not allow Ryuen's own selfishness ruin their democratically agreed decision.

Kitou felt like Ryuen only disagreed to stir trouble, as everyone began arguing. Kushida asks Kiyotaka on what to do as he gave a simple solution. He proposes everyone but Kitou to give 5000 points to Ryuen which would then allow them to sightsee without worry. Knowing he's likely to drag Nishino into the fry, it will likely be 12000 per person. But, Kiyotaka wasn’t naive enough to not know Ryuen would ask for more. Thus, he wants time to pass, as patience runs thin, it will lead them to accept his deal.

However, an obvious downside to having an hustled conversation became evident. Watanabe inquires whether he was really dating Kei, causing Kushida to sidestep with a disgusted look, which somewhat quelled their dubiosity. Instead, he went to ask the other five opinions and ignored Ryuen and Kitou. He warns them that if they follow Ryuen, their freedom tomorrow is not assured, but today is still guaranteed. They were fine with studying as long as they get to go where they want. Hearing that, Kitou also joins their side. Dissatisfied yet not fully irritated, Ryuen gave up easily and follow Kiyotaka's plan as the thing he hates most is to get into trouble with nothing to gain. The group was then able to visit all the site they wanted and have fun.

At day 3, Ishizaki sees Kiyotaka eating alone and tells him to eat together with him, Nishino and Albert. Ishizaki grabs a lot of crabs and says Hokkaido is a place to eat them. They began talking about Ryuen with Nishino saying she's used to it since her brother was also once a delinquent who works a dead end job for low pay. Kiyotaka saw Katsuragi eating alone when he was about to leave, and saw someone from Class A stop his classmate from interacting with him. Despite wanting to go to him, Kiyotaka was stopped by Matoba. He was about to do the same to the next visitor but stopped when it was Ryuen who told Katsuragi that it was an expected result of betraying his old class.

Katsuragi reaffirms his commitment to his current class and how he couldn’t stomach following a leader with no restraints. Ryuen tells Kiyotaka to take water for him so they won't raise eyebrows in the public eye. Katsuragi offers to do it himself but Kiyotaka stops him, noticing Ryuen was concerned for him. Kushida waited till Katsuragi left before approaching them. She wants to tell Ryuen something in private and so, Kiyotaka stayed behind. Kushida tells Ryuen to watch what he says in context of their relationship within the group. She has no plans to do anything to him currently, but she is displeased at his nonchalantness of revealing her secret. He blatantly tells her that he'll use this secret one day against Horikita as he provokes her into doing something.

Kiyotaka walks out and interjects, warning Ryuen not to do anything. He instead laughs as he finds out that Kushida's role in class is no longer a cancer but someone necessary, yet he doesn’t back down. Kiyotaka says that no one can stop him from revealing as he reassures Kushida, but mentioned that his dream of challenging Arisu would be up in flames. Ryuen recognises his expression from back during the Kei incident, saying it's been a while since he last saw it. Ryuen gives in, saying he has no plans to use such a tactic and wishes her an enjoyable school life, changing her name from Kikyou to Kushida as he left. Kushida was confused as to why Kiyotaka saved her, as he explains she an indispensable part of the class.

He also didn’t want her to face Ryuen which would inevitably end in her defeat. Talking to her frankly has also made life easier for him and comfortable for her. She says she still doesn’t trust him but her expression was conflicted. She suddenly supported herself on her wall and tells herself to calm down, blushing immensely. She thanks him for saving her as she stumbled and have a hard time going back.

He went on to meet with Horikita who asks him many questions. Firstly was regarding the cultural festival and what had happened in the student council. Although, the question she wanted the answered most was Kiyotaka's true identity. He didn’t want to answer any troublesome questions and so, he decided to divulge some information. He affirms that he was part of Yagami's expulsion as well as how he did it, using Nagumo, Ryuen and even the teachers. This was so that when he finally faces against her, he can use this as leverage, sowing an expectation about him only she knows.

As she comes to understand her discomfort, they came across Hoshinomiya and Chabashira using massage chairs. The former complimenting Horikita for her role. The latter distracted the former as the two students tries to leave. However, Hoshinomiya wasn’t done as she shares her mindset. Like students, teachers also competes with each other of their class standing. Each teacher and class are given certain level of cards. Using poker card values from 1 to 13, tradition dictates that Class A would be given students closer to 10 or 11. Towards Class D, 3 and 4s will become more prominent. However, even those low numbers could in theory eventually become 12, 13 or even the highest of 2.

As long as students were sorted into these values, injustice or cheating are less likely. However, Hoshinomiya says that Horikita's class has been given a card that should never be mixed in, it being a joker. The worst part is that her class is the only one that is given such a special card. Unlike the values that can only be used once, a joker can repeatedly be used as Hoshinomiya laments that there is no way to win in such a situation. A teacher admitting defeat was shocking but Chabashira says it must be the alcohol. Horikita states that even if Kiyotaka was a joker, she would use any cards dealt to her to reach Class A as the two teachers leave. She then calls out to 'Joker-san' but he tells her to talk to him later as he wants to bathe and there's too many people around.

Near 11pm, everyone was getting ready to sleep in the dormitory. Watanabe asks Kiyotaka on his plans after school as they are close approaching their third year. He chose university as the safest answer while Kitou shares he wants to be a fashion designer shocking everyone. Ryuen interjects by saying he will be more believable as a killer. Kitou ignores him as he says that graduating from Class A is all that matters. Being from different classes, 3 of their dreams will be harder to achieve after a winner was chosen, something that set a solemn mood.

Chapter 5
On the morning of the fourth day, Kiyotaka's group was deciding what to do for their second free day, taking into consideration that tomorrow will be going back to school. Watanabe invites Kiyotaka, Ryuen and Kitou to a snowball fight, the latter two ignoring him. Hirata calls out to the two that came and explains the rules that entrance fee is 1000 points and winners takes all from the opposing team. Seeing how light hearted it was, it was no figure that many people came. Kiyotaka decides to partake since he has never tried it before. Horikita and Ibuki also quickly made their presence known.

Kushida brought the rest of the group over to which Ibuki also extended the fight to them. The latter was disgusted when the former wore her facade fakingly while Horikita chops Ibuki behind her head. The first match was between 2 teams of 7 boys lead by Ishizaki and Sudou. Sudou was putting his pent up frustration into his throws while Albert dextrously dodges and returned the favour. In 10 second, six people had disappeared for both teams. Looking at his side, Kiyotaka saw Yamamura exhaling onto her hands as if she forgotten her gloves again but it was meant as a joke.

She shares how it feels that their group has bonded both the guys and girls which would not had happened without the trip. Even Kitou's vulgar words towards Ryuuen were gradually decreasing while Tokitou is very attached to Arisu. Kiyotaka presses her on her impression of Arisu to which she says she hardly talks so they were little chance to interact with her. She was envying Tokitou for talking to Arisu so easily. This trip was designed so that when the classes compete in the future, it would be a tough ordeal to swallow. With that, Sudou won the game through his agility and accuracy as well as Onodera cheering him on, while Albert struggled with his aim.

The second match was underwhelming as the third match kicked off between Horikita, and Kiyotaka's teams with Ibuki helping the latter. Kiyotaka enrolled Yamamura as well, but she feared that she’ll be a burden. Kiyotaka tells her that he'll take care of it as he instructs her to stand at the back. After waiting for the frontlines to decrease in intensity, they began making their own snowballs. In the end, she was able to make a few and throw them, but was left unguarded, leaving her frustrated. It was then down to the three names first mentioned as Ibuki tells him to step back. He catches Horikita's throw and was eliminated. He entrusted Ibuki with winning while Yamamura apologises for losing quickly. After a long back and forth, Ibuki was declared the winner as Horikita transferred the points over.

The day continued as the Kiyotaka group all chose to ski the beginners course including Ryuen. Arisu messages Kiyotaka to meet and asks if he has enjoyed school thus far. He answers honestly that it has been fruitful before diving it the main course of the talk which was discussing who he met before the festival. She asks if it could be someone from the Whiteroom though Kiyotaka disagrees, saying they all had to address his father differently. She has already called someone that may know his identity, as well as looked into his voice and identify.

They continue discussing about the group divisions and final test, which elated Arisu as he always have the same idea as her. He tells her that despite being safe, her lead between classes may be shrunk. She assures him that she won't lose to Ryuen and that they'll face off next year. She knew that it didn't matter who won for Kiyotaka but the future may also not be as he desires as Kanzaki appears. Seeing this unlikely duo, Kiyotaka felt uncomfortable. She reveals that they were old acquaintances and has been close to 4 years since they last talked. They were connected through their parents who were big names in their respective fields.

Kanzaki was confused for her reason to call him here but he became more tense when she asked about first year Ishizaki. He was confused as to why Kiyotaka was here too but connected the dots after reflecting on his name deeper. He realised he was that man's child and his impression of Kiyotaka became greatly enhanced. She went on to explain that Ishizaki is like Kanzaki, both of them idolising his father. He has also indirectly helped them expel Yagami. They reckon he enrolled here to check on his idol's son abilities. Thus, to ensure he doesn’t deprive her of her fun against Kiyotaka, she wanted them to deal with Ishizaki first. Kanzaki assures them that he'll not help him while conveying to Kiyotaka his wish to talk about his father soon.

Arisu went on to dial Ishizaki on the phone, whom had expected the call. Getting right to it, he tells her that if Kiyotaka's father ever tells him to expel his son, he will do so. After exchanging some threats, she ends it by saying she'll greet him in real life soon. Since he felt no danger from him, he tells Arisu to allow Ishizaki to enjoy his student life, which she adheres to. As they were about to discuss their previous topic, Amikura interrupts them and asks whether they saw Ichinose.

Her classmates were alarmed and wondered whether she could have ventured outside at this timing. Arisu says they'll continue their talk some other time and suggests for him to search for Ichinose who is an indispensable person to him. He apologies and started dissecting where she could had gone.

Epilogue
Putting on his clothes, he sneaked out and went up many steps to the highest wood deck, which revealed the back of a person. He calls out to Ichinose who quickly became frazzled. He updates Amikura that he found her and continues talking to Ichinose. He apologises for interrupting her alone time and asks how long it's been. She attempts to lie by saying its been five minutes but soon corrected herself. In reality, it's been over half an hour, evident by her footsteps already being covered in snow.

Asking for her motive, she replies that she felt like being alone. Sensing this small rejection, he denies it by saying he doesn’t feel like leaving her alone at a dangerous descent such as this. Ichinose brings up Kei, saying she'll be sadden if she ever found out about this to which he agrees. He asks if she's sure and says he's really going, which was only met with affirmation. If she was only unable to be strong for her current emotions, it won't be as bad as if she became completely irreparable. He didn’t want her to falter, he doesn’t wish for her class to drop the race to Class A which would mess up his plans, he couldn’t remember the last time Ichinose was genuinely lively.

Taking all that into account, he says he would stay and sat down. He evaded all her questions, feigning ignorance when asked why he would do something like this with someone he has no connections to. After a while, she suggested they chat as she first asked about his knowledge of the White Room. He was incredibly shocked but feign ignorance as he returned a question on how she knew the phrase. She shares what happened and asks whether the teachers still intended to expel him.

He couldn't spare her any details which made him think that she'll perceive herself as untrustworthy. Kiyotaka then changed the topic, saying the Ichinose Honami he knew wouldn’t shiver alone in silence but would be surrounded by friends cheering her on. He points out that her face showed no semblance of having fun when she tried to say otherwise. She invites him to stand closer to her, which he was grateful for, otherwise, his bottom would had been frozen. They had 10 minutes more before the rules would be against them.

Ichinose shares how her methods and philosophy, would not be able to win against any class as tears began falling. She compares herself to all the best qualities of the other leaders, but Kiyotaka tells her that there is no use wishing for something she can't get as she can only be herself. She took note of his phrase and says she does want something she can't get now, and that even if she needs to change herself, it's fine as long as she wins. Her current state was caused by him, her confession and love left unanswered, her student council role up in the left, her class many failures piling up, as well as Kei's presence weighs her down significantly. She found it all especially her powerlessness to be frustrating.

She apologises for troubling him. The current her had dissipated all her potential. She was supposed to be smarter and wiser, but now, her heart was fragile and weak. The other leaders won't wait for her and she is undoubtedly at her lowest. The simplest solution was for him to tell her that she doesn’t have to work anymore, but that would cause her to lose her own capabilities and not have any way to get them back. It wasn’t time, it was too early. Kiyotaka would not allow her to collapse now. She has to reach the final test, and until then, he would never let her break. Only he can decide when she ends her time here as a student.

With that, he closed the distance between them and put his arm around her back, embracing her. After which, he placed his hand on her shoulder and pulled her close to him, shocking her. He tells her its fine to ask for help, and cry in difficult times, saying everyone has a weak part. She weakly tried to escape before giving up. He asks if she wants anything, but she answers that what she wants is no longer available. He tells her that he can help her, and with time, it will get better. He would lend her courage to take the first step. He wiped away her tears and gave her his warmth. She no had any strength to resist and entrusted herself completely to him, finally relaxing around him.

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