Dancing with Wolves

"I'm not helping you. Besides, no other students will support something this outrageous." Horikita Suzune folded her arms across her chest. She looked helpless, and her voice lacked conviction.

She understood that she'd fallen into a verbal trap, and that was what had led to this situation.

It was all her own fault for letting her guard down and falling for those honeyed words.

"You don't get to decide that, Suzune." Aoyama tipped up Horikita's chin, making her look him in the eye. "You wouldn't want me to report to the student council president that his sister broke her word, would you?"

"And just so you know, I've got dirt on both Kushida and Karuizawa."

"Any student can buy supplies with Exam Points on their own. You can't stop them."

Now that the conflict had spread to her, the smile finally left Kushida's lips.

Like Karuizawa, she flashed a brief look of anger before putting on the helpless expression of someone who'd been forced into this.

"I'm sorry, Horikita. I... I don't have a choice."

"Just do what Aoyama says, Horikita." Karuizawa figured it was better for someone else to take the fall than for her to do it herself.

Someone had to take the blame for selling off all their Exam Points.

Whoever did would become the D Class students' pariah, and of course they'd be held responsible.

"You—"

Horikita Suzune stared wide-eyed at Karuizawa and Kushida, astonishment written all over her face.

Everything they said and did showed that Aoyama was telling the truth.

He had compromising secrets on both of them, and they were both central figures in D Class.

In other words, Aoyama could throw D Class into turmoil whenever he wanted.

"You've got no choice now, Suzune." For the first time, Aoyama placed a hand on Horikita's head.

His palm met the smooth, silky feel of her hair, along with the resentful trembling of her body.

"Thanks for waiting, everyone. The auction is officially underway."

"There are two lots of Exam Points. We'll start with the lot of 150; the other is worth 100."

After forcing Horikita Suzune to swallow the bitter fruit of her carelessness, Aoyama summoned the leaders of the other three classes.

The auction, with five participants, began.

To make the bidding more competitive, he'd deliberately put the lot of 150 up first.

"Four million Personal Points," Katsuragi said impassively.

His determination to win made Ichinose, who'd been considering a bid, hesitate.

The new Personal Points had been deposited into the students' accounts on August 1. After collecting class funds for more than four months, Ichinose had about eight million Personal Points on hand.

Katsuragi had just bid half her savings.

"Heh heh. Do you really have that many Personal Points, Katsuragi?"

"I heard Class A only collects 25 percent in class funds. If you started collecting in May, you'd have barely four million by now."

Ryuen immediately challenged Katsuragi's high bid.

With the Class Points gap between them still small, he wanted those Exam Points, worth 150 Class Points, too.

Through force, he controlled his class about as well as Ichinose did, so he collected 50 percent in class funds. His savings weren't much lower than hers.

But he didn't want to pay too much, and he still wanted the Exam Points.

Chapter 71: Dancing with Wolves

"You don't need to worry about that, Ryuen. If there's a problem, Aoyama won't let me off the hook."

Katsuragi calmly answered Ryuen's challenge but offered no explanation.

Faced with the sky-high price of four million, Ryuen and Ichinose were caught in a difficult dilemma.

If they knew for certain that these 150 points could be converted into Class Points, they'd be willing to accept an even higher price.

The problem was that there were plenty of ways to lose points in the Special Exam.

For example, if a student used violence and the school found out, even the remaining Exam Points wouldn't help. They'd simply be reset to zero, and the student would be expelled from the exam.

"With no higher bids, the rights to D Class's 150 Exam Points go to Katsuragi." Aoyama didn't try to coax them into bidding higher. He calmly looked at Ichinose and Ryuen.

He silently counted to three. When neither of them spoke, he confirmed that Katsuragi had won the first lot with a single bid.

The auction for the second lot, worth 100 Exam Points, finally started to look like a real auction.

The bids kept coming. The original two million had climbed to 2.2 million, and the price was still steadily rising.

"Two million three hundred thousand." A flash of resolve crossed Ichinose's face as she raised the bid by 100,000 Personal Points.

"Heh heh heh. Up by 100,000 all at once?" Ryuen laughed, rubbing his forehead. "Then I bid two million three hundred thousand and one. If you dare to raise it, Ichinose, I'll raise it too."

Seeing that she hadn't intimidated Ryuen, Ichinose thought it over again and decided to withdraw.

Just as with the previous lot of 150 points, she still didn't dare risk any more Personal Points.

"I'm sure you'd all be interested in knowing who has D Class's Key Card."

After the auction ended, Aoyama didn't immediately take Katsuragi and Ryuen to the teachers to sign the contract.

Having all of D Class leave the exam wouldn't help train Horikita Suzune.

That would go against Horikita Manabu's expectations.

Besides, he had to make sure D Class didn't finish last, so he'd made other arrangements as well.

"Of course we're interested. But judging by the way you've handled things, you don't intend to auction it." Ryuen leafed through the supplies in the Guidebook without looking up.

If Aoyama had wanted to auction it, he would've said so from the start.

"I'll send one D Class student into each of the other three classes. All you need to do is provide them with lodging and food."

"Don't ask for details. They'll keep an eye out for who holds your class's Key Card."

Smiling, Aoyama made an offer that could only be called dancing with wolves.

Guessing correctly was worth 50 Exam Points, and could also erase the points for occupying a rival class's Base.

It might seem unfair to D Class: with only three people left, their odds of being guessed would rise. But, first of all, D Class's Exam Points were already at zero, and there was no rule against going into the negatives to stop them from taking risks.

In other words, D Class would most likely gamble by submitting the names of the students holding the other classes' Key Cards.

"C Class agrees."

"Class A can accept that."

Ryuen, who was always eager for a challenge, was the first to accept. After deciding that he could put adequate safeguards in place, Katsuragi agreed as well.

If they didn't dare try when the odds were one in three, they wouldn't have what it took to lead their classes.

"What about you, Ichinose?" Aoyama shifted his gaze to her twin tails.

They looked so smooth and soft that he really wanted to run his fingers through them.

"Could I discuss it with my classmates first?"

Under Aoyama's gaze, Ichinose scratched her cheek, looking a little embarrassed.

Personally, she was inclined to agree, but she thought it best to consult her classmates before making a decision.

"If it's you, Ichinose, then it's fine."

"I'm heading off with Katsuragi and Ryuen to sign the contract. I'll wait to hear from you."

Without hiding how much he favored Ichinose, Aoyama waved as she returned to her class.

Then he took the silent Horikita Suzune to sign the contract with the other two and exchange the supplies.

"Once you get the money, remember to transfer half to my account."

After the supplies had been exchanged, Aoyama affectionately patted Horikita's head in front of Chabashira, whose face was black as charcoal.

Horikita Suzune herself had signed the contract with the other two, and she was also the one receiving the money.

Aoyama had simply acted as the intermediary in the contract, taking a heartless 50 percent commission.

It wasn't realistic to take all six million-plus Personal Points. Horikita Suzune would have to answer to D Class, and at the very least, she'd have to convince them not to make trouble.

If the students became outraged, the school might order the supplies bought with Exam Points for Classes A and C returned to D Class.

"Don't forget who you are, Horikita Suzune," Chabashira said coldly, addressing her by name.

As the witness to the contract, Chabashira wanted to kill Horikita right now.

The Special Exam had only just begun, and D Class's ship had already half sunk.

If Horikita hadn't looked so dejected—if it weren't obvious that she hadn't done this of her own free will—Chabashira might have started yelling at her.

This was seriously messing with her head.

"I understand."

Horikita answered Chabashira, then forced herself to perk up and slapped Aoyama's hand away. At last, her expression regained a trace of its usual coldness.

"I'm going to C Class."

Given Ryuen's current, brazen behavior, Horikita Suzune had undoubtedly chosen the most challenging class.

"Fine. That was what I had planned for you anyway." Aoyama nodded.

Kushida Kikyo for Class A, Onodera Kayano for Class B, and Horikita Suzune for C Class—those were the students he'd planned to send to each class.

He didn't expect the three of them to gain much, but he'd chosen D Class's best students to lull the other classes into complacency while making it harder for them to defend themselves.

There was no need to say more about Kushida Kikyo and Horikita Suzune. Onodera Kayano was also one of the few elite girls in D Class.

She was the Swimming Club's ace, and although her grades were only average, she was fairly sharp and had good judgment.

"Send Kushida to Class A. If Class B agrees, then send Onodera Kayano."

"When you tell Hirata Yosuke to forfeit, make sure he's mixed in with the crowd. The other three classes mustn't notice."

"Don't have everyone forfeit at once. Pick around ten people to stay until the afternoon before withdrawing."

On the beach, students from Class A and C had already started heading inland.

Aoyama hurriedly gave Horikita instructions.

"Who's registering as the exam leader and holding the Key Card?"

As Aoyama turned to head over to Class B and ask, Horikita spoke behind him.

She thought it was crucial to know which D Class student would hold the Key Card and face the other classes' scrutiny.

But Aoyama didn't think so.

"Just follow my instructions. You can decide the rest yourself."

Without turning around, Aoyama waved and left the decision to Horikita.

The Guidebook said that the Key Card holder couldn't be changed without a valid reason.

In other words,

as long as there was a sufficiently compelling reason for changing the person, the school would approve a new Key Card holder.

During this Special Exam, there was no move more underhanded—or more foolproof—than changing the Key Card holder on the last day.

Unaware of this, Horikita Suzune would play her part to the hilt as the D Class leader who desperately tried to hide the identity of the Key Card holder.

Chapter 71.5: Secret Base Get!

The beach was empty of students.

A lock with a key, a bundle of candles, a portable fan and several spare batteries, bedsheets, a pillow, energy bars, and snacks.

With a huge backpack full of supplies on his back, Aoyama walked alone from the supply point at the pier toward the center of the island.

He'd already spent all the remaining 50 Exam Points from D Class's auction.

After discussing it with her classmates, Ichinose had also agreed to let Onodera Kayano join her group. The authority over the three D Class students who remained in the open had temporarily fallen to Horikita Suzune.

Finally, it was getting a little cooler.