Third Person's Point of View

"ST-STOP IT..." The little boy cried out, the old man smirked and continued to kick him. On the other hand, the old woman just stared at the scene with a smile on her face.

"I told you to be a good kid, right?"

"I-Am so-sorry uncl–uck."

"Stop talking. You see, we will never love you the way your parents love you. And I'm sure no one will ever love you, even if you meet someone they eventually leave you all alone, you useless brat." When the old man said that, the little boy just cried in pain.

He put both his little hands on his stomach. The two people leave him in the basement while laughing. He coughed blood as he tried to sit up properly.

"I miss you mom...dad.."

'This is not my home...and never will be.'

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.───

Second Semester Begin

AXEL JUST CROSS HIS ARM while looking at Horikita who is currently discussing the Zodiac Examination. He looked at Kiyotaka who was surprisingly listening.

"The surnames of the students divided up in order of the zodiac animals were the key to figuring out theVIP then."

The location was the table furthest back in the crowded cafe Palette. Kiyotaka and Axel, along with Hirata and Karuizawa, and also Horikita surrounded the lunch table. The purpose was to review the shipboard special exam that had taken place in the midst of the summer vacation.

"The rabbit is the 4th in the zodiac. Ayanokouji-kun, Ichinose-san, Ibuki-san, Karuizawa-san and Arison-kun. It would continue in that order."

"I see. If that's the order then I'm the 4th. That's why I was the VIP then." Karuizawa nods in understanding.

"But you know, that rule is extremely simple. Almost anyone could understand it. That means the Dragon group Horikita-san and the others belonged to was the 5th so Kushida-san would have been the VIP, right?" Hirata then speaks up.

Karuizawa inserted the straw into the packs and sipped milk from it. On the other hand Axel sip from his milk tea.

"That's right. Certainly, if you know the answer, it's simple. However, to arrive at this answer in the middle of the exam is no easy matter. Just with the three 'targets' in your own class, you won't be able to find proof of the rules that determine the VIP." Axel said. He looked at Kiyotaka and extended his milktea.

"You want?" He asked Kiyotaka.

Kiyotaka leaned and sipped on his milk tea. Kiyotaka nodded his head in approval that he liked the milk tea. Axel smiled and sip again on his milk tea.

"Ahem. What worries me is Class C. I think during the middle of the exam, Ryuuen-kun discovered the rules." Hirata said with a sigh.

"But, isn't it strange? If that's the case, why did he make a mistake?" Karuizawa asked as she looked at Hirata.

"I was also uneasy about that too. Even though there was a massive risk involved, if he understood the rules then ultimately it wouldn't have been strange even if he had seen through all the 'targets'. In other words, there should have been no mistake." Horikita said and crossed her arms.

"Even if Class C is seemingly dominated by Ryuuen-kun, couldn't it be that it's not monolithic? There should be more than a few people dissatisfied with his dictatorship."

"Certainly, that's true. The right to answer is given to all students, so students who did not comply with Ryuen's plan or those he failed to control made a blunder."

"That line of thought cannot be ruled out either. If they give a correct answer, they stand to gain a massive amount of points after all." Axel said while shaking his milk tea.

"What do you think about this, Ayanokouji-kun?" Horikita asked Kiyotaka. Due to such an act from Horikita. Hirata, Axel who was sipping and Karuizawa turned their eyes towards him. He ended up unconsciously choking, making Axel chuckle beside him.

"I don't know, I have no clue at all."

As he said that to deceive them, their gazes scattered away. But since Karuizawa was still looking at him as a way of doubt, Kiyotaka returned their gaze and after a slight delay, she averted her eyes.

"Either way, right now our first priority is to establish this relationship. It makes me happy that I'm able to talk like this with Horikita-san, Arison and Ayanokouji-kun." Hirata then continued.

"It can't be helped, right?" Horikita shrugs between cross arms.

"The zodiac exam was a special one where you absolutely cannot overcome it alone. If this can be predicted to be the same in the future too, a certain degree of connection will become necessary. But even so, you successfully managed to escape Ryuen-kun's grip."

"Well, I suppose. I have a surprisingly good poker face. Right, Yousuke-kun?" Clinging to Hirata's arm, Karuizawa smiled as she asked.

'Eh? Karuizawa clings again to Hirata.' Axel's thought, he just shrugged his shoulders.

"It was only because before Ryuen could answer, someone else gave the wrong answer after all. It was thanks to that."

Hirata returned Karuizawa's smile before turning to Horikita.

"I have a proposal to make, would that be ok? Firstly, in order to bring the class together as one I'd like to bring Kushida-san into the fold. I think she will be able to supplement the four of us in parts we cannot compensate for. Starting with Ike-kun and Yamauchi-kun, there are few people capable of bringing the majority of the boys together as one, you see."

"Unnecessary. I won't deny it in the sense that she is capable of controlling them, but it's something we can do on our own. For that purpose, I've reached out to you and Karuizawa-san. If the two of you will lend your power, then this problem can be beaten. It may be a different story if you prove uncooperative like certain people though." Hroikita said and looked at the two boys with a side glance.

"Certainly, if it's Ayanokouji-kun, he may not follow our lead." Karuizawa said.

The two of them, with the exception of Hirata and nonchalantly Axel, also nodded in agreement.

"It's a big misunderstanding if you think of me as the uncooperative one. For lengthy things, I'm just one amongst the crowd obediently falling into line. Truly, I'm a person you can control like you said yourself. In other words, I'm a person with a small presence." Kiyotaka then spoke up.

Axel coughed his milk tea on what Kiyotaka said, Kiyotaka immediately grabbed a tissue and handed it to him. Kiyotaka mentally sighed as he looked to Axel, he was clearly laughing but no one noticed him aside from him.

"The ones who claim to be people with a small presence are the ones who aren't so." Horikita replied to what Kiyotaka said.

"Then are you a person with a small presence?" he replied, making Horikita scoffed as a disagreement with his statement.

"Me? There's no way I could possibly be a person with a small presence, right? Do you mind not mocking me?"

"O....Okay." Kiyotaka's reply made Axel laugh a little, but he hid it with a cough, but Kiyotaka noticed it right away.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.───

Axel's Point of View

As for the afternoon class, it has become a two hour long homeroom. When the instructor for Class D, Chabashira-sensei, arrived, she began to explain indifferently.

"Starting today, classes begin again. However, from September to the beginning of October, we will be holding more physical education classes to prepare for the school sports festival. Keep that in mind for the distribution of the new timetables. And also, along with the timetables, material regarding the sports festival will also be distributed. The students from the front will distribute the printouts to the back."

The moment Chabashira-sensei uttered the words "sports festival," screams rose up from a part of the class. Of course there are students who are anticipating the arrival of the event but there are also plenty of students who feel antipathy towards an event that is focused mainly on sports.

I groan, I hate sports festivals..thought I can participate but it's just a pain in ass? Though I can imagine myself running and after that passed out...kidding.

"Settle down, now. The details on the printed handouts can be found on the school homepage as well. Please refer to them if necessary."

"Sensei, is this festival another of the special exams?" As the class representative, after raising his hand, Hirata asked that question. The mood in the class became tense immediately.

"You're free to interpret this however you wish. In any case, this event will massively impact each and every class."

Saying that, Chabashira-sensei opted for a vague answer that was neither an affirmation or a repudiation. The students who loathed exercise continued grumbling, as they cannot sit out the sports festival due to the fate of the class rests upon the festival.

On the other hand, some students were really fired up about this. Particularly those who, like Sudou, were confident in their athletic abilities. This was probably the first exam that would let them contribute to the class meaningfully.

"Axel looked at these." Kiyo said to me. I looked at him, who was also reading the handout.

"Horikita said to look at this particular part." he whispered and pointed something out to me. I nod my head.

I, too, turned over the page and checked that part. And when I did, what was written there was unexpectedly the examination system. It was only for a moment, but I felt as though Chabashira-sensei had looked at me..and Kiyo.

I rolled my eyes. I sighed.

"Some people have noticed this already, but for this year's festival, we're going to divide all the students across all grade levels into two groups and have them compete against each other. You lot in Class D have been assigned to the Red Team. And Class A too, will be competing in the same Red Team. For the duration of this sports festival, it means Class A will be your allies. So, Class B and Class C were part of the White Team and the sports festival will be the Red Team vs. the White Team." Chabashira-sensei .

"Woah! No kidding!?" Ike yelled.

He'd probably assumed that this exam would pit all four classes against one another, same as always. But this time,it would be a different form of cooperation than the previous shipboard special exam.

I glanced at Horikita, appearing calm on the outside, but I was sure she was panicking internally. Her brother, Horikita Manabu, belongs to Class A of the 3rd year.

"Here's your chance to get in touch with your brother, huh?" I whisper to her. She glared at me, making me chuckle.

"Don't talk about that here..." She glared at me. The sharp pencil glinting at the tip she's gripping in her hands is ominous so I'd like her to stop it.

"Horikita shhh." Kiyo, my savior, just stopped Horikita. Horikita glared at him, saying, 'How dare you to stop me.' I sighed.

Then, Chabashira-sensei taps the printout while explaining the vital checkpoints. while listening, I lowered my eyes to the handout.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.───

SPORTS FESTIVAL RULES AND TEAM DIVISION

The sports festival divides all students, across all grade levels, into two teams: Red and White. The breakdown goes as follows: Classes A and D are on the Red Team, Classes B and C are on the White Team.

Point Allocation for All Competitors (Individual Competitions)

Points will be allocated as follows: First place will be awarded fifteen points, second place will be awarded twelve points, third place will be awarded ten points, and fourth place will be awarded eight points.

One point will be deducted for coming in fifth place, and one additional point will be subtracted for each place below that. (During a team competition, the winning team will be awarded 500 points.)

Point Allocation for Recommended Competitors

Points will be allocated as follows: first place will be awarded fifty points, second place will be awarded thirty points, third place will be awarded fifteen points, and fourth place will be awarded ten points.

Two points will be deducted for coming in fifth place, and two additional points will be subtracted for each place below that. (The final competition, the relay race, will offer three times the point values.)

Red Team vs. White Team Outcome

After reviewing the combined overall scores for each class, 100 class points will be deducted from the first-, second-, and third-year batches of the two classes on the losing team.

The Effect of Ranking by Grade Level

Fifty class points will be awarded to the class that scores highest in each of the three grade levels. Classes that achieve second place in their grade level will not see any changes to their class point totals. Classes that achieve third place in their grade level will have fifty class points deducted, and classes that achieve fourth place will have 100 class points deducted.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.───

"UHMMM SENSEI. How many points does the winning team get? There seems to be no mention of that." In response to that simple questioning from Hirata, Chabashira-sensei utters a single, cruel word.

"Nothing. Only that there will be no minus to their points." Cries of agony sprang up all over the classroom. It was complete pandemonium.

I put my hands on my chin, So Basically, there's no rewards or points gained for the team that comes out victorious in the event. However, the penalty was more severe. It will cost 100 class points deduction. Furthermore, based on the class ranking afterwards, the first place will gain 50 class points while the last place will deduct 100 class points. In the worst scenario, your class could suffer 200 class points deduction.

For instance, If we lost to the White Team, we'd still get a 100 class points penalty. If we ended up taking fourth place among the first-year classes on top of being on the losing team, we'd be penalized 200 class points in total.

Up until then, whenever there was an enormous risk, there had been an enormous reward to spur us on. However, that hardly seemed the case in this sports festival.

Then, I proceed to read through the rest of the handout.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.───

INDIVIDUAL COMPETITION REWARDS (may be applied to the next midterm exam)

For students placing 1st in the individual competitions, 5000 private points or the equivalent of 3 marks in a written exam will be awarded (in the case that the marks are chosen endowing another individual with them will not be permitted).

For students placing 2nd in the individual competitions, 3000 private points or the equivalent of 2 marks in a written exam will be awarded (in the case that the marks are chosen endowing another individual with them will not be permitted)

For students placing 3rd in the individual competitions, 1000 private points or the equivalent of 1 mark in a written exam will be awarded (in the case that the marks are chosen endowing another individual with them will not be permitted).

For students ranking the lowest in the individual competitions, 1000 private points will be subtracted. (In the case that the points in the student's possession are lower than 1000 they will incur a loss of 1 mark in a written exam instead).

Regarding Rule Violations/Foul Play

Read and comply with every competition's rules. Those who violate the rules will be disqualified. Anyone engaging in foul play may be forced to withdraw from the festival. In such cases, the school may render all previously awarded points invalid.

MVP Reward

The student who receives the highest total score across all competitions will be awarded 100,000 private points.

MVP Rewards for Each Individual Grade Level

The three students from each grade level who receive their grade's highest total score across all competitions will be awarded 10,000 private points.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.───

AT FIRST GLANCE, this sports festival appeared worse than previous tests we'd taken, but there was a wide range of potential benefits. We needed to pay close attention to the risks and rewards of the individual competitions. Information that hadn't been previously disclosed could trip us up. Even though, the risks were still greater than benefits.

Regarding the Individual Competition Rewards, the most athletic students among us looked especially excited about that. If they went all out in the sports festival, they could supplement their scores in the event of a failing grade. The three idiots aside, more than a few students were anxious about their academic abilities. Expulsion was always a possibility.

However, for such a nice story obviously there is a flip side to it. There's troublesome contents were also written at the bottom of the handout.

'After all competitions end, the school will calculate each student's point total and assign penalties to the ten lowest-scoring students in each year. The exact nature of the penalties will vary depending on grade level, so please consult the homeroom instructor in charge.'

"For the first-year student, the penalty would be a point deduction on your next written exam. The ten students with the lowest overall scores will each receive a deduction of ten points." Chabashira-sensei said.

"What!?"

"Seriously?"

"That's absurd!"

Having received a brief explanation on that matter, next up would be checking the details of the competitions coming up in the sports festival.

They were divided into two categories, "all participants" and "recommended participants."

"All participants" was literally an event where all the students of a class participated. Individual events like the 100-meter dash fell into that category, as did group events like the tug-of-war.

On the other hand, only certain select students would participate in "recommended participant" events. The word "recommended" implied that a person was nominated, but a student could put themselves forward if the rest of their class agreed. A single person could also participate in a competition meant for multiple people.The events in this category included the scavenger hunt, the mixed-gender three-legged race, and the 1200-meter relay race.

It can be expected that the most eminent and talented individuals will be participating. In this sports festival, since the rise and fall of the points will be determined purely by the results the rules are also overwhelmingly simple.

However, we had to be wary of our enemies, Classes B and C, but also mindful of our allies, Class A. Class D and Class A would be helping each other, but to get first place in the combined scores across every grade level, our own class needed to take the top spots in multiple competitions.

Below are the events for both categories.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.───

Events for All Participants

100-Meter Dash

Hurdle Race

Capture the Flag (boys only)

Ball Toss (girls only)

Tug-of-War (separate events for boys and girls)

Obstacle Course Race

Three-Legged Race

Cavalry Battle

200-Meter Dash

Events for Recommended Participants

Scavenger Hunt

Four-Way Tug-of-War

Three-Legged Race (mixed boys and girls)

1200-Meter Relay Race (mixed grade level, all three years)

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.───

A GRAND LINEUP OF 13 COMPETITIONS. The numbering indicates in which order the competitions will be held. There was some dissatisfaction over the large number of events for all participants.

But, the unathletic students' resistance was in vain. Chabashira-sensei had anticipated their every complaint and countered them all.

"Another important thing to note is the participation table. Fill it out with the order you'll participate in, and I will submit it to the school on your behalf.

Then, Hirata raised up his hand and asked an obvious question." Chabashira-sensei pointed out.

"So, we can decide the order in which we'll participate. Exactly how much freedom do we have?" Hirata responded, Chabashira-sensei smirked and explained.

"Everything. All the competitions that will be held on the day of the sports festival, up to who runs in which group, all of it will be decided by you lot through discussion. After the deadline for decisions, no matter what the reason, any further changes will not be permitted. That is the vital rule of the sports festival. The submission window will be between 1 week prior to the sports festival and 5.00 p.m. of the day before the festival. If you end up exceeding the submission time limit then in that case, you will be randomly allocated so be cautious."

Having silently listened up until now, Horikita raised her hand.

"What is it? Horikita."

"I realize that no further changes will be accepted once the submission window closes. However, in the event of someone's absence, what do we do? If it happened to be an individual competition then in accordance with the description it will be treated as an absence. But for group competitions, we might not be able to compete at all if one important person is missing." She asked.

"In the case that you fall short of the bare minimum amount of people necessary and vacancies appear, you will be marked as unfit to continue and you will be disqualified. For recommended-participant events, however, you are permitted to arrange a substitute—for a price. To establish a substitute, you must offer points as compensation."

She paused for a while before continuing.

"A substitute requires 100,000 private points per competition. That's expensive or cheap, depending on your resources."

Based on the reaction of our classmates, I supposed that our class belongs to the former. We could afford that, but it wasn't exactly cheap.

"While we're on the subject, if your health breaks down or you sustain a heavy injury, if the person in question themselves wishes for it they could be allowed to continue without being substituted? Or would it mean having to see the doctor?"

"Basically we leave that up to the students to autonomously decide on their own. Because self-management will become indispensable once you enter society." Chabashira-sensei said.

"I see..." Horikita said making Chabashira-sensei continued her statement.

"However, if someone's health gets truly poor, then they'll have to drop out."

"I understand. Thank you very much." With that, Chabashira-sensei looked around the classroom and said.

"If there isn't any further question to be asked, the next period will be moved to the first gymnasium and you will be meeting students from different classes and different school years. That is all." Chabashira-sensei said.

With that, she leaves the classroom. Immediately, the silent classroom exploded into chaos. Groups formed, all chattering about the sports festival on their own.

I also looked at Kiyo who was still busy looking at the handouts. I smiled and stood up and put my two hands on his shoulder, like massaging him. I put my chin on his shoulder and looked at the handouts.

"What's wrong Kiyo?" He looked at me, directly to my eyes. I realised that our faces were so freaking close! Our noses were almost bumping into each other.

But I didn't move, I just stared at him or rather in his eyes.

"N-Nothing."

Wait? He stutters? The hell? I shook my head and looked at Kiyo who looked away and looked at Sudou, Ike, and Yamauchi who gathered around Horikita.

"Horikita. Let's talk about how we'll overcome the sports festival!" Sudou said, making Ike agree to him.

"I agree. Let's think about a way to snatch 1st place!" Horikita sighed deeply, looking at the boys as if they were someone else's problem and muttered quietly.

"Why do only guys like these come to me?" She said while shaking her head.

"You're not categorising me as one of them, aren't you?" Kiyo asked. I chuckle and also raise my hands.

"Me too! Me too!"

"That's a sad fact of reality." I pouted.

Even as Horikita said that it seems she's intent on thinking about it seriously as she opened up her notebook. The discussion was mainly about Sudou and Ike having different opinions regarding who should participate in which categories. The discussion quickly ended as the further progress won't be happening.