Chapter 114: A Long-Awaited Collaboration with Class B
Karuizawa was slightly stunned. Even now, she didn't fully understand the boy who'd helped her.
She'd heard about Hikigaya through various channels, and his achievements were legendary in the school. Yet, oddly, someone with such feats remained unnoticed, playing a marginal role in the class.
This was beyond normal, as if someone were orchestrating it all. So, who was Hikigaya, really?
When he said he needed her, Karuizawa's body trembled slightly, and she nodded instinctively.
Hikigaya didn't hold back, laying out his plan in full.
"To win the VIP student exam, we have two opponents. First, Katsuragi Kohei's Class A, which is desperate and needs to cut losses. Second, Ryuen Kakeru's Class C."
Karuizawa: "I heard Katsuragi made a huge mistake in the deserted island exam, though I don't know what. Can he really still lead Class A?"
Hikigaya: "Correct. The island incident tanked Katsuragi's influence, but with Sakayanagi Arisu absent, her faction can't stir much trouble. A lean camel is still bigger than a horse. This plan was likely crafted by Katsuragi and Class A together."
Karuizawa nodded vaguely, then asked, "What about Sakayanagi's faction?"
"They won't be our enemies for now, nor can they be in this situation."
Karuizawa, a bit embarrassed: "Sorry, I shouldn't have asked."
Hikigaya shook his head. "It's fine. Knowing more isn't a bad thing. Since Classes A and D are our enemies, Class B is our breakthrough."
Karuizawa: "An alliance? But I heard from Hirata that an alliance between our classes is impossible."
Hikigaya: "Yes, an alliance is impossible and pointless. But a collaboration? I believe they'd be willing to work with us to break this stalemate."
Karuizawa smiled genuinely. "Didn't expect you to be this clever."
Hikigaya: "Just a passing thought. The plan is simple: we swap phones, making it seem like I'm the VIP student. Then, I'll negotiate with Ichinose, hand my phone to Class B, and mislead Classes A and D. If even one person cracks, we win."
Karuizawa hadn't expected such a clever plan from Hikigaya. This double-layered safeguard ensured that even if Class B betrayed them, they'd only guess the wrong VIP student.
But a question sprouted in her mind.
Trying to stay calm, though excited that her chosen person devised such a plan, she knew celebrating before execution was arrogance.
Karuizawa: "But why would Class B agree to our request?"
Hikigaya: "You're wrong, they will agree. I call this a collaboration because it's not just our group's action. I know the VIP student in the Dragon Group. By the principle of even distribution, I know two of our class's VIP students. Ichinose likely knows hers too. If we collaborate, our class's plan can proceed smoothly, and Class B can use the same strategy with our help."
"As long as we share a common enemy, this bond is the strongest. And since the number of VIP students doesn't change, other classes won't notice anything amiss."
Karuizawa finally understood his plan. Her mind felt like it crashed, marveling that such a meticulous strategy came from the boy before her.
"You're really… so smart."
"You'll make me cocky with that praise."
"I think you should be a bit cocky sometimes."
"That's too hard for me."
Karuizawa sighed, a faint smile on her face.
"You're really something, keeping such a low profile. If the class knew how smart you are, I wonder what faces they'd make. I'm curious."
Hikigaya stopped her, shuddering at the thought. "No thanks."
Karuizawa didn't tease further. If he didn't want to stand out, that was his choice.
Karuizawa: "Who knows about this plan?"
Hikigaya: "Just us two for now. When the Dragon Group members arrive, I'll explain to them."
Karuizawa: "Dragon Group? That's Kushida and Horikita's group, right?"
Hikigaya: "Yep, those two troublesome ones."
Karuizawa gave a helpless laugh. She wasn't worried about the plan failing, but everyone in the class knew Horikita and Kushida had tension. Though no one knew when it started, their looks couldn't hide it.
Especially since Kushida dropped her angelic facade, her gaze had grown sharper. Karuizawa still didn't know why Kushida changed, unaware that the boy beside her was the catalyst.
Hikigaya sensed her concern but was confident.
Horikita would prioritize the class. As the most likely leader to take Class C to Class A, she wouldn't abandon a plan benefiting the class. As for Kushida, a good talk should sway her.
Clearly, Hikigaya hadn't realized how much trust it took to hand over his phone to someone else.
Perhaps because Karuizawa gave him hers so easily, his confidence grew.
In any case, after Kushida saw his message, she quickly arrived at Karuizawa's room, with Horikita close behind.
It was supposed to be a simple discussion, but…
Kushida, looking displeased, said, "Hikigaya, care to explain why you were leaving this girl's room yesterday and why we're meeting here now?"
Hikigaya hadn't anticipated this question and, unprepared, froze.
He couldn't reveal yesterday's events, that would retraumatize Karuizawa. For now, he could only stall.
"It's just… yesterday, uh, Karuizawa, help me explain…"
Karuizawa, looking for the drama, seemed unbothered, as if a bigger misunderstanding benefited her. She gave him an "I don't know how to explain" look, leaving him to fend for himself.
Seeing their subtle exchange, Kushida, ignoring Horikita behind her, pressed, "You two didn't do anything last night, did you?"
"No way! It's a misunderstanding."
Karuizawa shot Kushida a "figure it out" look, almost provoking her to confront the ponytail girl.
But Kushida held back, for reasons unknown, calming down and saying, "You'd better explain soon," before falling silent.
Horikita, for once siding with Kushida, looked smug, ready with an excuse: "It's for the class's reputation, so explaining is important!"
But Hikigaya didn't ask, making her feel something sneaky was afoot.
Horikita: "What do you want with us? Not just to get scolded, right?"
Hikigaya rolled his eyes, thinking, I'd have to be crazy to call you here for a scolding, then said, "About the VIP student exam, we need to act fast."
Horikita: "Got a plan?"
Hikigaya: "The two girls in front of you are the VIP students. Each class might have three, but I haven't found the last one."
Horikita was shocked. Karuizawa was one thing, she'd been in discussions with Kushida, but her acting was so good no one suspected she was a VIP student.
Or maybe Horikita was just clueless.
Hikigaya reiterated the plan he'd shared with Karuizawa.
Hikigaya: "So, if Horikita takes Kushida's phone and swaps it with Kanzaki Ryuji from Class B, then he reveals himself as a VIP student, we win."
"The same goes for Class B. We'll help their VIP student with the same method."
Horikita Suzune nodded, approving the plan. Compared to a meaningless shared victory, this strategy was far more likely to succeed, with only Classes B and C coming out on top.
However, Kushida Kikyo was less pleased.
Pointing at Horikita, she said, "You're saying I should hand my phone to her? And then to someone from Class B? Forget my personal privacy, I just don't want this girl looking through my phone."
Great, I didn't think of that, Hikigaya Hachiman thought.
Horikita: "What, you got a problem with me? I'm not interested in your so-called privacy."
Kushida: "Heh, someone with no friends doesn't care about privacy, do they?"
Horikita shot her a cold glare. "The one without friends now isn't just me."
The tension between them filled the room, leaving Hikigaya at a loss. Also, wasn't that indirectly insulting him too?
After all, he didn't have friends either…
Hikigaya: "Sorry about that. I didn't think it through."
Kushida looked at Hikigaya, sighed as if resolving herself, and said, "Fine. Like Horikita said, I don't have friends anymore, so there's nothing to hide."
The sudden drop in tension caught Horikita off guard. She hadn't expected Kushida to agree so quickly, it was almost unbelievable.
Horikita: "Since she's agreed, I can't refuse. If we follow the plan, this exam shouldn't be too hard."
Hikigaya shook his head. He didn't want to shatter Horikita's confidence, but her blind optimism needed a reality check.
The Rabbit Group might execute the plan smoothly, but the Dragon Group, with Katsuragi Kohei and Ryuen Kakeru, was led by cautious people who wouldn't be easily fooled. The plan relied on quantity, and its success depended on whether the opponents took the bait.
Hikigaya: "We can't be blindly confident. This plan is just a fallback to avoid falling behind other classes. The points in this exam are massive. If one class figures out the pattern, the losses would be huge. I'm just trying to minimize damage."
Horikita, sobered by his words, realized her overconfidence was a mistake.
Kushida: "When's the negotiation with Class B?"
Hikigaya checked the time. With an hour until the group discussion, now was the best time to talk.
Hikigaya swapped phones with Karuizawa Kei, and Horikita swapped with Kushida. The two would represent Class C's VIP students in the talks with Class B.
Karuizawa: "Are you ready? What if something goes wrong…?"
Hikigaya: "If something goes wrong, we'll handle it on the spot. From now on, you two just act like clueless ordinary students. Pretend you never saw that message."
Karuizawa and Kushida nodded. After Hikigaya's coordination, Ichinose Honami, Kanzaki Ryuji, Hikigaya, and Horikita met at a café on the cruise ship.
Though Ichinose and Kanzaki received the message late, their speed in arriving was impressive, a testament to a class with strong leadership, far ahead of Class C in this regard.
Hikigaya and Horikita arrived slightly late. Facing Ichinose and Kanzaki, they exchanged brief greetings before sitting calmly.
Ichinose, as always, wore a smile that never faded, her warmth melting those around her.
Instead of diving into the topic, Ichinose and Kanzaki smiled, took out their phones, and casually asked, "Hikigaya-kun, are you dating now? Haha, lots of students date here, but I didn't expect you to, though it makes sense, you're so smart. Yep, totally normal…"
Hikigaya stared at Ichinose, baffled. What was she rambling about since they sat down? He didn't understand a word.
Seeing his confused expression, Ichinose dropped the act, pulling out the photo Hikigaya had seen three times that day. "Hikigaya-kun, aren't you and Karuizawa-kun a couple now? And… and you left her room, so you must've…"
"Stop, stop, stop! I need to clear my name. It's really not what you think."
Ichinose paused, then looked oddly upset. "Hikigaya-kun, you don't need to comfort me. I'm happy you're dating, and you're not so lonely anymore."
"I'm telling you, it's not like that. We're not a couple. I was in her room for something urgent, just an accident."
As if hearing surprising news, Ichinose's face lit up with a sweet smile. "Oh, I misunderstood! Haha…"
"That's what I've been saying."
"Right, right."
Kanzaki, silent until now, spoke as Ichinose relaxed. "Hikigaya, Horikita, you came to us for something, right?"
Horikita: "Naturally. We're here to propose a collaboration for the VIP student exam. We have a win-win plan."
Kanzaki and Ichinose exchanged glances. Kanzaki asked, "Horikita, what's this win-win plan?"
Horikita: "With Class A using a silent strategy, if our classes don't team up, things could spiral out of control. Your initial goal of a shared win is impossible now."
Ichinose nodded. She'd tried finding a plan for Outcome 1 in the Rabbit Group, but with Class A's lack of cooperation, it was fundamentally unworkable.
Hikigaya continued, "Now, we just swap our VIP students' phones, leak their identities in various ways, and lure them into triggering Outcome 4. Then, we still win."
Kanzaki and Ichinose looked puzzled. The plan sounded difficult, requiring trust between classes and deceiving the other two.
Hikigaya laid out the full plan to them. After thinking, they agreed it was the best way to break the deadlock.
It would also strengthen the bond between their classes.
Horikita: "Your class's VIP students can contact us anytime. We'll coordinate with our members in the same groups to act as decoys. Right now, the two of us are VIP students."
Kanzaki and Ichinose's confusion was evident. They clearly doubted Hikigaya and Horikita were VIP students.
Hikigaya showed them Karuizawa's phone with the message, and Horikita showed Kushida's, displaying the VIP student message.
Kanzaki: "It's indeed the VIP student message…"
Ichinose hesitated, opened her phone to the familiar contact list, and lingered on "Hikigaya Hachiman."
After a few seconds, she shook her head, turned off the screen, and kept her sweet smile.
Perhaps it was trust, or something else, but she didn't call Hikigaya's phone.
Since they were collaborators, verifying the phone wasn't necessary.
It was the best approach, and the only one Ichinose could accept from him.
Hikigaya sighed inwardly. If she'd called, the ruse would've been exposed instantly.
Her not doing so was the best outcome.
Ichinose nodded in agreement, and after some thought, Kanzaki approved the plan too.
Horikita: "Before each group discussion, we'll hand over these phones. You can leak the information whenever you get the chance. Your VIP students can contact us anytime. This is a win-win exam. Let's make it a pleasant collaboration."
Ichinose: "Of course! I hope we surpass Class A after this exam. Then, we won't be your enemies anymore. I don't want to keep being your enemy."
Hikigaya: "In such a brutal school, we'll be enemies someday. But until then, I hope we can get along."
Hearing this, Ichinose seemed a bit disappointed but quickly rallied, nodding in agreement.
Kanzaki noticed something different about her.
(End of this chapter)