Outside, I met with Yukina.

"How did it go?"

"Good in the sense that Machida-san isn't involved, but bad in the sense that we still don't know where Nora-san is. Any updates from Mikitaka-san, Katsumi-san, or Shouko-san?"

"Nope. They've been looking up and down the school for him..."

That's when an idea hit me.

"Up and down the school, you say? Have any of them headed to the third floor?"

"No, they haven't. Why?"

"I think I might know where he is... you head back to class, this is something I can only do by myself."

"Eh? Isn't it fine if I come with you?"

"Sorry, but you won't have access to this spot."

"...I won't?"

I didn't want to reveal it's existence to Yukina, out of respect for the other members, so I had to keep the details of where I was going vague.

"Yeah, sorry. I might be late to homeroom though, so tell Chabashira-sensei I'm here, okay?"

"You're not doing something reckless, are you...?"

"I'm not, don't worry. I'll come back to class, hopefully with Nora-san in tow."

"You better..."

Yukina sighed. I think this was the first time she was exasperated by my antics.

We waved each other goodbye before I ran back to the special wing.

"To think I'd end up back where I started..."

However, instead of staying on the first floor, I headed straight to the third floor, where the safe room was.

Using my member's card, I unlocked the door and entered inside. Sure enough, there was a single person here.

In the corner, sat curled up like a big bundle of stress, was Nora.

"...T... T-Takanori-kun?"

He slowly looked at me, tears in his puffy eyes.

"Hey. Everyone's been looking for you, you know?"

"...t-they were?"

He sniffled, wiping his eyes and looking away from me.

"Yeah. We've all been worried about why you weren't in class."

"I-I'm sorry for causing so much trouble... I, I didn't mean to..."

Nora balled up further, tucking his face between his knees.

"It's fine. What matters is that you're okay. We thought Machida-san might've tried doing something against you this morning."

When I said his name, Nora flinched.

"What's the matter?"

"...s-sorry... it's nothing..."

I sat down besides him. He began mumbling while facing away from me.

"C-could you... c-could you please tell everyone... to l-leave me alone...? I don't really want to... be seen by a-anyone... right now..."

"Why's that?"

It was obvious something was bothering him. Was he worried about the upcoming special exam?

"I just... I just want to be left alone..."

"I can't help but feel like you'll be worse off if I do that, though."

"D-don't worry... I-I'll still show up for the exams... I just... I don't want... I'm... I..."

Nora started stumbling on his words, unable to voice his feelings cohesively.

"It's not that I'm worried about. Me, Mikitaka-san, Katsumi-san, Shouko-san, Yukina, and all the others are worried about you."

"B-but... why? All I've been is... troublesome."

"Troublesome? No way, you're one of our trump cards in this special exam. If there's one person we can depend on passing everything that gets thrown our way, it's you. It'd be more troublesome if you weren't here."

"I... I know that... but, like... w-well..."

"Is it too much pressure?"

"Mm... n-not really... compared to what my mom and dad expect from me... t-this is nothing."

If he wasn't scared of the special exam, then what was troubling him so much?

"Then why weren't you in class today?"

Nora sighed, shaking his head.

"T-this is stupid..."

"It's not stupid. Whenever I come to school, I can always depend on seeing you there before everyone else, reading a book. It's become a part of my daily routine, and many others too. It's weird not having your presence in the class, Nora-san."

Nora looked at me for a second before hiding his face again.

"Whatever's on your mind, it's okay to talk about it. It's just the two of us here in the safe room, so no one will interfere. No matter how embarrassing or personal it is, I'll keep it a secret."

"...T-Takanori-kun?"

"What?"

"I-I was just thinking... t-this really isn't like you."

"...it really isn't, huh?"

Nora sniffled, the corners of his lips lifting slightly. At least he was cheering up now.

"I'm not really cut out for this kind of stuff, but... we're friends, so I figured I should at least give it try."

"T-thank you... I really appreciate it... you've always been there for me, somehow."

"I guess it's because we're so similar in personality. You're definitely more my pace than the other guys in our class."

"I agree... I-I don't know why, but I find it easier talking to you... t-that's why..."

Nora looked up at me properly.

"I... I-I'll tell you... I'll tell you why I'm... why I'm scared of... g-going back... to class..."

"...you're scared of that?"

He nodded, hiding his face again.

"Y-yeah... r-remember earlier... when I said I was troublesome...?"

"I do."

"T-that was because... it's my fault why our classroom got destroyed... if I didn't get such high marks on the midterms, then... t-then M-Machida-san would've never... he would've never targeted our class, a-and we'd..."

As he talked about it, Nora started crying again. I took out my handkerchief and gave it to him.

"Here. Take it."

"S-sorry... I'm such a mess... t-thank you..."

Wiping his tears, Nora continued.

"If it wasn't for me, we'd never have to be in that special wing classroom... we'd still be in our normal classroom... I ended up causing trouble for everyone else... I-I got in everyone's way... and that's not okay."

Ironically, moving classrooms helped us against D Class, since it put Imaishi off from spying on us until last.

"No one blames you for what happened. We all know it was Machida-san and his faction's fault. No one's going to be upset at you, especially now that our classroom is fixed."

"I-I know, but... but that's... t-that's the problem..."

"Our classroom getting fixed...? I'd say that's a good thing."

"F-for everyone else, maybe... b-but for me..."

Nora shivered, crying into the handkerchief.

"I-I don't wanna go back... I... I don't wanna go back into that classroom... the classroom that M-Machida-san and the others destroyed because of me..."

Slowly, I understood why Nora was afraid to go back now. He was still traumatised over what happened, especially since Machida had hit him as well.

There was no way he could easily return to that classroom, knowing it had become symbolic for a target on his back. In that sense, Machida succeeded in his goal, using brute force and destruction to carve fear into Nora's heart.

However, that had the side effect of making Nora adverse to even entering the classroom. Not to mention, there were insults written on his seat in permanent marker and carved out in the wood that would never disappear.

It makes perfect sense why'd he be terrified to go back inside, to the point he ran away into the safe room.

"...I know it's hard, but can you grit your teeth and bare with it for another week? After that, you won't ever have to enter that class ever again."

"Eh...? W-what do you mean by that, Takanori-kun...?"

"It'll make sense in due time."

"I-I don't really get it... unless, you mean...?"

"Yeah. That's exactly what I'm planning."

Nora's eyes widened.

"B-but... that's impossible... t-there's no way... against D Class, we can't..."

"It's not an absolute guarantee, but I'm almost certain of it. You can't run away from that class while we're still currently in it. That's why, please try and bare with it until then. After this special exam is over, you can forget about E Class."

Nora frowned.

"I... I-I don't know... that sounds too difficult..."

"If it'll make things easier, then we can switch seats too. They didn't vandalise my desk, so you won't have to stare at those awful comments."

"I guess... I guess that'd make things a little bit better..."

From the sound of his voice, I could tell he was still reluctant to go back inside.

"Think about it this way. You only have to be there for homeroom, since we won't have any lessons this week due to the exams. That means you only have to be there for 20 minutes spread across seven days. That's it. You think you can do that?"

By breaking down this seemingly daunting task into its easiest form, I made it look manageable to Nora.

"Umm... w-when you put it that way... I'll try."

"Great."

Nora softly put down his knees.

"S-shall we... g-go back, then?"

"If you're okay with it. Homeroom doesn't start until another five minutes."

"I think it'll take us that long to get there from here... I wouldn't want to be late."

"...yeah, that's true. Alright, let's head back then."

Nora nodded. We both got up and quietly left the safe room.

I guess I gained another reason why to win this special exam today.