"Let's see how far that gets you then~" 

Karma couldn't help but laugh. That was the last of what he said before leaving with Nagisa, who also thought of it meaningless. What a let down, she truly doesn't know how to play her cards. Perhaps having family involved further narrowed her thinking. 

"You look even more dead than yesterday." Mika comments to the strawberry blonde as she chews on her onigiri, then looking over to the other class representative. "Wow, for Hashizume to be quiet like this.. The heck did you guys do there?"

"I am happy to serve."

"I am beyond overjoyed it's all over!" 

Both Ginka and Hashizume Kakeru respond at the same time. While said with full honestly, one doesn't appear so convincing. It's like their entire life force was sucked away. 

Kakeru decides to do the explaining, well, more on complaining while lightly slamming his fists continuously on the desk. "I can't with the other classes from Year 2 and 3! We never got anything done with them keep on disagreeing all the time!" 

The institutional heads were working on school events alongside the student council. They had their hands full this week. As class representatives, they were also required to take part in that particular meeting. Also the reason why Ginka has not confided to either her brother or father yet. She couldn't find it in her to bother them at such a busy time. But now with that all done, Gakushu promised to dine with her after school so at least there's some progress. 

"Oh? I assumed that things would be easy with Asano-kun in the lead." 

Ginka chuckles awkwardly with her hand on her nape, "Well, yeah. It's more like we were the dead weight."

"We had to ask around and make a report about the suggestions of our classmates and provide a documented proposal." Kakeru sighs, taking another bite from his bento. "And Seiun-chan here even slept through our docs that one time. She suddenly stopped typing out of nowhere!" 

"And I'm really sorry about that." The said person clasps her hands together in apology. She did make up for it by doing more work in the revision the following day.

"We should get going now. School assembly starts in a while." And so, all three of them pack their lunch boxes. 

Kakeru and Ginka calls the attention of everyone and leads them to the gymnasium where the monthly assembly is held. The place was about to get filled. It did became a problem since the strawberry blonde drew in too much attention from the entire middle school students present. 

And she finally got a close look from the infamous end class herself. 

Ginka could feel the goosebumps run down her spine. Perhaps it was a given with how even the school doesn't treat them as equals having sent to the mountains with a small building with poor facilities, but the animosity was far more insane than how the main campus students are with each other.

Her attention was elsewhere. She could barely properly engage in conversation with those currently in front of her.

She saw how Class E had their eyes glued on the floor in shame while others scorned back to the students who called them names and such. 

It was awful. Ginka didn't feel right to just stand there and watch but before she could even walk over, she feels someone place a hand on her shoulder. 

"Seiun-chan, are you okay?" Kakeru assumes that she got further exhausted throughout the day especially not getting enough sleep at the moment. "I think you should drop by the clinic and skip the assembly for now."

"I'm fine." She assures in a weak voice, feeling a heavy disturbance in her chest. "Let's get everyone lined up."

And so they did. The teachers and student leaders then arrived shortly after. 

"In short, you are elites selected from the best of the best nationwide. As your principal, I guarantee it." His gaze then drifts to the corner of the room where the E class was located, "If you are negligent, you'll end up becoming like a certain group of hopeless someones."

Huh..?

Laughter echoed across the area. Is a fully grown adult, one of the leaders of this school, seriously promoting this kind of behavior? Much less start it?

Ginka thought about it a lot. Is everything truly the will of her father? But for that to be plausible would mean that he lacks control over his subjects which was also very unlikely given his power. She wanted to hear it from himself. And she will demand answers. To stoop to this level of low.. was he someone who would really do that?

Then again, even she was discarded for not being good enough for his standards. 

"Moving on, we have an announcement from the student council." The principal continues, calling them up the stage. "Student council, please start setting up your equipment."

Ginka could feel her fingertips going cold, the uneasy feeling clouding her mind. She slowly glances back to the Class E who seems to be in a lighter mood the moment two teachers came in. 

She forms a small smile. They had good energy. At least there are some good adults by their side. 

"Here you go." Ginka and Kakeru asks their classmates to pass the papers backwards, "I'm glad that they approved a few of our proposals."

"After all that I will go mad if they don't." Kakeru whispers back with his arms clawed above his head.

Ginka pinches his ear as she pulls it down to her height, "Shh, focus. Sensei is staring."

"Eek!" 

".. Okay, the printout we just handed out to everyone has the details of the student council's event." Araki Teppei, the student council member in charge speaking lifts up the said paper. He gave the students a few seconds to read it until a hand was raised. 

"Excuse me, Class E hasn't gotten ours yet."

"And then they deal the final blow with this one, god." Kakeru rolls his eyes, also feeling displeased with the sight. Not all students are in favor of the school's methods. But of course, he did not have that kind of courage to rebel against authority. 

Judging with those words alone, Ginka could already see the bigger picture. 

And that's when it hit her. They were all into it. Department heads, professors, student leaders, and everyone else all alike. 

So this was the reality of her father's education.

It's not like Ginka never went through it. However, that didn't last long until she was given up on and sent her away. Gakuho's principles obsessed on being strong and capable, so much that he taught his children to challenge and beat him any way they can to prepare them from what life had to offer. He was dedicated in doing so that he rid of all emotions in face of them.

But never did she remembered about a lesson about walking over the weak. Or perhaps she didn't get to stay long enough to hear of it.

She refused to believe that they were as ruthless as made out to be. 

"Hm, you haven't? How strange.." Teppei lightly scratches his head feigning confusion as he reads through the paper again, "My bad~! It looks like I forgot to bring the ones for Class E. Sorry, but please commit it all to memory before you leave~" 

He's breaking them. They're breaking them. With such childish and underhanded antics. 

So this is what her father truly wanted everything to be, one of the things she had to comply with to be accepted by him. 

This is wrong. Immoral. Cruel.

Ginka tightened the grip on the hem of her skirt as she chanted those words in her head, beyond angry. Agitated, furious. 

Must she really abandoned her own morals and feign ignorance as Karma suspected her to be for her father to finally look her way?

"Seiun-san." She slowly turns her head behind to see a concerned Mika tapping her arm, "You look pale."

"I told you, you should have at least seen a nurse." Kakeru nudges, trying to speak quietly as possible. 

Of course, they knew that it wasn't her physical health in most turmoil right now. Both of them were also flabbergasted when they first witnessed the insane discrimination in freshman year. 

"I'm really alright."

Her friends were concerned that she might cause something scandalous with Ginka's emotions and thoughts were all over the place. Especially with Mika as a witness of how she was about to pick a fight with a D class bully the past week. 

But perhaps it was an overstatement. Because she continued keeping her mouth shut despite how the student council seemed to allow the audience to have a good laugh and spout even meaner words she couldn't even imagine. 

And it carried such heavy weight in her heart. After all, ignorance is also a sin itself. 

If she were to rebel now, then all her hard work to gain favor will go down the drain. She would be against her father, brother, and the entire student body. But if she were to just pretend to know nothing and simply feel scared to speak up, her title as a sweet naive angel would remain preserved. 

She can't break character. She will lose her place here. Everything will fall apart, surely. 

All those chaotic thoughts gets disrupted upon feeling a hand land on her shoulder. It was Kakeru. He didn't mutter any words but his smile said it all. Whether she chooses to turn a blind eye or stand our ground, he will not think less of her. She would not be alone.

And her mind clears.