IT WAS SUNDAY, the fourth day of the training camp. Today was the day to say goodbye to the familiar campsite. We had to leave the accommodation at 10 o'clock.
The fight with Amasawa was set before breakfast, at 7 o'clock.
Before 6 o'clock, after waking up, I came to the still dimly lit lobby.
I had some time to spare until Horikita and Ibuki showed up from their shared room, and considering the risk of waking up the sleeping students, I decided to use my phone to kill time.
The lobby was chilly and cold, perhaps because the heating had just turned on.
"It seems everything is fine."
In the silent corridor, I muttered to myself while looking at my phone screen. The only message left from Nagumo, which had arrived in the middle of the night, was 'I won't say thank you.'
If Amasawa had committed a crime, the rest of the camp would've been a big mess.
After a while, as I watched the sunrise through the window, I heard footsteps.
"It's still quite early in the morning after all, isn't it?"
The one who approached me with a sleepy voice was Tsubaki from the same group.
The probability that it was a coincidence was pretty high, but…
"For the past two days, I heard from Hashimoto-senpai that you've been getting up early in the morning."
Especially since going out in the morning was something I didn't need to hide, even if someone were to ask, the impact would be negligible.
Even if Tsubaki noticed the special training, the probability of the information reaching Amasawa wasn't that high.
"So, you came looking for me?"
"Not so much looking for you, but I just thought I'd check if you were here."
Tsubaki, who didn't change her attitude towards anyone, looked at me with a slightly suspicious look.
"But if you were here, that would change things quite a bit."
"I don't think there's any reason for you to come see me anymore. The special exam given only to first-year students has been canceled."
The student who expelled me would be given 20 million private points.
That was the hidden special exam known only to a few, as Tsukishiro was involved.
"I wasn't interested in the prize money from the start, but I'm disappointed.
I'm lamenting the loss of the right to expel you in a dignified manner."
"That's dangerous talk. I don't remember you ever resenting me."
I looked back on my school life, but of course, there was nothing to worry about.
"Don't you think there are more things you don't realize? People unknowingly incur resentment, you know?"
I could somewhat understand what Tsubaki was trying to say. It was true that there were both people who knew they'd be resented and still chose actions that led to resentment, and those who didn't think they would be resented but ended up being resented anyway.
"I can't tell if you're joking or serious."
"Someone might come here, so why don't we take a walk?"
"It's still dark outside."
It was getting a bit brighter, but it was still hard to see and it was quite cold.
"It's not inconvenient for you, right?"
"Well, okay."
Anyway, I was planning to go outside to accompany Horikita and Ibuki for their final special training.
The two of us left the lobby and started walking outside in the cold.
"I thought it would be snowing quite a bit in the mountains of Tochigi, but it's not as much as I thought."
"February has a drastic temperature difference. Maybe it's because we've had a few warm days recently."
In reality, it wasn't completely snow-free, and there was a bit of snow left on the side of the road. The water droplets on the cars, presumably belonging to the staff here, were slightly frozen and covered with a thin film.
"Do you like snow, Senpai?"
"I don't particularly like or dislike it. I just think I enjoy the scenery when it snows. Do you like snow, Tsubaki?"
"...I guess I do. At least more than you, Senpai."
She squatted down on the side of the road, picked up a bit of the remaining snow with her fingertips, and stood up.
She placed snow on her palm and showed it to me.
"Can you look at this?"
When she asked, I stared at the snow on her palm.
Because it was a small amount, it melted and disappeared quickly due to the warmth of her hand.
"Being in this school feels like being cut off from the outside world, doesn't it? Who do you want to see first when you graduate next year, Senpai?"
"You ask strange questions."
"Maybe."
For me, the only people I knew beyond their faces in the outside world were my father and his associates.
I didn't have any one-sided feelings of wanting to see any of them.
"Probably just my family."
So I chose a safe answer that wouldn't surprise anyone.
"Family... Anyone else?"
"Not really. I don't have any close friends, so that's about it."
"I see... Then, can I ask you one more strange question?"
Tsubaki kept asking questions that seemed to have meaning and yet didn't.
"Imagine if you had a brother, and you didn't know about his existence because your parents hid it from you for years. But one day, you were told he was actually family, would you be able to love him as a family member? Of course, assuming there is a genuine blood connection."
"That's a difficult question."
As far as I knew, I didn't have any siblings.
But, this was a hypothetical situation where they'd be hidden, so in reality, it was possible.
If that man had a son other than me... I wonder how I would feel when I met him.
I was interested in the thought for the first time, but that didn't mean I felt any unexpected emotions.
"I might not feel anything. Of course, I think it would greatly depend on the other person's personality and situation."
If we were raised completely separately, it would be difficult to suddenly accept and interact with him as a family member.
"I see. I think I would probably feel the same way as you. But, if I knew that the other person had special circumstances and a sad past, I would want to grow closer. I would like to know more about my sister, who I had been separated from."
She'd asked me about a brother, but Tsubaki used a sister as an example. It wasn't unreasonable to imagine that she was just comparing it to the same gender, but the way she expressed her emotions sounded like it was based on her own experience.
"I am confused. Ayanokōji-senpai, from this school—"
(TL NOTE: This sentence appears to be intentionally vague and fragmented.)
Just as she was about to continue, Tsubaki's gaze shifted to the building behind us.
The promised time was approaching, so Horikita and Ibuki appeared.
And for some reason, Kushida was also there.
"We've been interrupted... Let's talk again later."
Tsubaki seemed to have no intention of letting the other students hear her story, and she returned to the building, shivering from the cold.
She gently nodded to Horikita and the others as they passed by, but she didn't say anything.
"That was Tsubaki-san, right? What were you talking about at this hour?"
"She said she woke up early. The training camp is over today, so we were just chatting. Though, why is Kushida here?"
"Ibuki-san here carelessly leaked about her rematch with Amasawa-san.
Carelessly."
She emphasized the word 'carelessly' twice, expressing how foolish it was.
"It's not my fault! It's Kushida's fault for tricking me into it!"
"That's what you call being defiant."
"Shut up! It doesn't matter if there's one or two more spectators!"
"So that's it. I heard that you're going to fight with Amasawa-san, and I got interested."
"If both of you agree, I have nothing to say, but who are you cheering for?" My personal interest lies there.
"For me, it's like a win-win situation no matter who loses."She had a dispute with Amasawa during the cultural festival.
In other words, no matter who won or lost, it would be a satisfying match for Kushida.
Kushida looked back at Tsubaki, who had already disappeared from our sight.
"About Tsubaki-san earlier, was it about love? I've been thinking for a while, but Ayanokōji-kun, you're surprisingly popular, aren't you?"
"Is that so?"
Tsubaki's goal was completely different, but it seemed Kushida had assumed such.
In sync with that, Horikita also started talking.
"But you're aware of it, right? You're dating Karuizawa-san after all."
"On the contrary, let me ask you in return, are you confident that you're popular?"
"Why me? I'm not popular."
"At least Sudō has shown some interest, hasn't he?"
"Really? Horikita? Haha, you'd make a good match with that idiot."
"Stop calling Sudō-kun an idiot. He's become several times smarter than you now."
"But I can knock him down with my kick!"
I didn't understand how the basis of comparison turned into combat ability, but if he really tried, Sudō would probably be stronger.
"Well, but—"
After looking at me from top to bottom, Ibuki spat out forcefully.
"How this guy's so popular—I just don't understand at allllllllllllllllllllllllll."
It was the first time I had seen someone hold such a prolonged 'l' sound in their words.
"You feel the same way as well, don't you, Kushida?"
"Eh?"
"Not 'eh?' I'm asking, you don't understand Ayanokōji's appeal either, do you?"
"...Well, it's not that he doesn't have any appeal, right? If you look around, you can see that there are no other decent men, right? Compared to such riffraffs, he might look better."
It seemed like a compliment, but it probably wasn't.
"I think they're the same to me...!"
"Then, if you had to date either Ryūen-kun or Ayanokōji-kun, who would you choose, Ibuki-san?"
At Kushida's question, Ibuki fell silent for a while, maintaining a puzzled expression.
Eventually, she broke the silence and came to a conclusion.
"I can't choose between curry-flavored shit and shit-flavored curry."
Horikita and Kushida quickly distanced themselves from Ibuki to avoid getting involved.
No one wanted to hear such a topic out loud.
If I ran away, she'd probably chase after me, so I had no choice but to become a human shield.
"What kind of comparison is that?"I decided to retort for the time being.
"What do you mean, 'what kind'? It is what it is."I didn't mind any analogy, but that comparison hurt a bit.
And I wondered whether I was the former or the latter.
No, I don't want to be either.
But… I deliberately thought about it.
If I had to eat one of them, I would choose the latter.
Even if the taste was improved, it would be extremely dangerous to ingest a large amount of E. coli. On the other hand, the latter would cause great damage to your taste and smell buds, but it's still fundamentally curry. In other words, the adverse effects on the human body would be greatly limited.
However, if your brain were to determine that it was dangerous solely from your sense of smell, you may suffer unexpected health risks...
"What's wrong, Ayanokōji? You're spacing out."
"It's nothing..."
I thought too deeply and felt a little unwell, so I decided to forget about it.
1
Since the rematch was right after the special training, we finished after some warm-ups.
"We've done what we can. Now let's see how far you'll get in the real match."
Without taking too much time, I called out to the two of them as their breathing calmed down.
"Yes, thank you. Thanks to you, our chances have increased."
Horikita, who bowed her head politely, urged Ibuki to thank me as well.
Whether she had no intention of following suit, Ibuki turned away and snorted.
"I won't say thank you. I think my way of thanking you is to kick you someday."
"If that's your idea of gratitude, I don't want it in the future."
"Really..."
"Well, I'll go back first, so do your best."
"Eh? Aren't you going to watch, Ayanokōji-kun? I thought we were going to watch together."
Kushida, who had been watching from a distance, seemed to think we'd be together the whole time.
"If it's revealed that I'm involved in this matter, it will only harm Horikita and Ibuki."
If I made Amasawa suspicious, the surprise attack wouldn't work.
To increase the odds of winning by even one percent, it was better not to be present.
"I see. Then I'll make sure to watch it all. I even brought my phone as well."
She probably thought that it'd be a great opportunity to take photos if anything embarrassing were to occur.
Since Kushida declared that she'd be the witness, I decided to leave that role to her.
Besides, I had one more thing to do this morning.
Just before 7 o'clock, naturally, there were hardly any students using the park.
That was why the student I had called here was sitting on a bench, waiting for me to arrive.
"It's cold, isn't it? You didn't have to come earlier than the promised time."
"Don't worry about it. It's not often that you call out to me, Ayanokōji-kun. I enjoyed waiting."
"Can I sit next to you?"
"I've kept it open for that purpose."
Sakayanagi, who was smiling, welcomed me as usual.
"I'll get straight to the point. I've got Yamamura waiting in the dog park nearby."
"Eh? The dog park? Yamamura-san? What do you mean?"
"Didn't you expect Yamamura's name to come up?"
"She was in the same exchange meeting group as you, wasn't she? Did she do something problematic?"
Pretending not to know, Sakayanagi made up a reason.
"You knew about it. That Yamamura and I were in the same group."
"That's a surprise. Naturally, I had already figured out which group each student in the class was assigned to when we got on the bus. I was just observing this time, so I didn't interfere with the exchange meeting."
Of course, I already knew that Sakayanagi had figured out where all of her classmates were assigned.
So, once I told her what I was about to say, Sakayanagi wouldn't be able to escape.
"On the second day of the camp, when we talked in the lobby, do you remember what you said? 'Hashimoto-kun and Morishita-san are in the same group. How is Hashimoto-kun doing?' That's what you said. It's impossible for you to overlook Class A's group assignments, as you seem to pride yourself on. Yet, you didn't even mention Yamamura's name, did you?"
This proved that Sakayanagi was subconsciously avoiding talking about Yamamura.
"That's—"
No matter what excuse she made, she couldn't twist the conclusion that she 'avoided' it.
"...Yes, that's right. I admit that I didn't mention Yamamura-san's name at that time. But it's none of your business, is it, Ayanokōji-kun?"
"Indeed, it's none of my business. I'm probably meddling in others' affairs by doing this."
But I continued. Sakayanagi knew everything, so I didn't beat around the bush.
"You lost Kamuro. And at the same time, you were entrusted with her feelings. But that doesn't mean everything is back to normal. You haven't even finished choosing who to keep by your side, have you?"
Beside me, a white breath escaped from Sakayanagi's lips.
"Indeed, I haven't decided yet, but are you suggesting that I should appoint Yamamura-san?"
"That's not what I meant. People have their own strengths and weaknesses."It was hard to imagine Yamamura boldly supporting Sakayanagi.
"The survival and elimination special exam—there are some people that still seem to be trapped in that exam."
"...Are you talking about me and Yamamura-san?"
"That's right. Yamamura is suffering and can't move forward, even though her situation is very different from yours."
The two who had yet to complete the survival and elimination special exam.
If Sakayanagi was the light of Class A, Yamamura was the shadow.
It was safe to say they had an inseparable relationship that couldn't be cut off.
"If you're still bothered by that, you should resolve it."
"...What you're saying is strange, Ayanokōji-kun."
"Strange?"
"I thought you were just going to stand on the sidelines from now on. Isn't your unnecessary intervention excessive?"
"That's right. I also thought until a little while ago that I should just stand on the sidelines from here on."
Sakayanagi no longer needed any further assistance.
It was enough to wait for her to stand up on her own.
However, the situation had changed significantly since before the special exam that led Hashimoto to betray them.
That was why I was doing what I thought needed to be done now.
"I don't particularly want you to have anything to do with Yamamura. I don't have any such hopes at all. Whether you want to get closer or more distant, or even
cut ties, is up to you. But if you're going to talk, now is the only time."Neither parties would benefit from postponing the issue.
"Wouldn't it be smartest to leave everything behind at this training camp?""...But..."
Sakayanagi's frustrating resistance.
I wasn't one to talk, but she was just as bad at friendships.
She didn't know what to do because she had no prior experience.
"As I said earlier, I have Yamamura waiting in the dog park. She's been waiting for you in the cold for over 20 minutes now."
"If that's the case, aren't you being a bit mean, Ayanokōji-kun? The time you promised to meet me was 7 o'clock. We haven't even been talking for ten minutes yet. Doesn't that mean she's been waiting since before that?"
From Yamamura's perspective, waiting for an unnecessarily long time would make the experience quite tough.
From Sakayanagi's perspective, she would be overwhelmed by guilt for making Yamamura wait.
"This is also part of my strategy." I told her.
She was quick to notice these kinds of things. It was indeed Sakayanagi.
"I guess there's no choice. I can't let her catch a cold because of me. Let's go pick her up for now."
Sakayanagi, who couldn't admit her weakness straight away, stood up for an appropriate reason.
That was fine.
If she spoke one-on-one with Yamamura, they'd be able to talk honestly.
"It's a bit of a distance, but even you can walk there in about five minutes.
Go ahead."
I also stood up and told her so.
However… Sakayanagi didn't step forward.
"What's wrong?"
My question was met with no response, and a brief silence ensued.
During that time, Sakayanagi tried to start walking, but she didn't move forward at all.
"...My... leg..."
Her leg? Could it be hurting? I thought for a moment, but...
"My leg... I can't move it... I wonder why."
It was immediately clear that it was not a physical problem, but a mental one.
Even though she acted bravely through her words, as she's typically like, her body didn't seem to agree.
It seems that the change in her heart, the change that Kamuro brought to light, was also evident here.
"Don't feel like you can show this side to anyone else?"
"...Yes, that's right..."
I grabbed Sakayanagi's left hand as she stood bewildered, unable to walk.Having waited for me before the set time, her fingertips were very cold.
"Then, just for now, I'll be your legs. That should make it easy for you to walk."
"...I'm sorry."
"It's okay. It's my own meddling that started this."
After that, we moved forward slowly without exchanging words.
Eventually, the dog park came into view.
Seeing Yamamura standing in the shadow of the big tree in the distance, Sakayanagi raised her hand slowly to make her presence known, despite her confusion. When I gently pushed Sakayanagi's back, she started walking on her own, albeit with a cane.
From there on, it wasn't my place to interfere.
Sakayanagi and Yamamura would have to talk and find their own solutions.
Expecting a bright future, I turned away and left.
Thus, the three-night, four-day exchange meeting came to an end.