An Agreement with Koenji

One day in early May.

The sky was turning pale with dawn.

It was just before the sun had fully risen.

As usual, Kujo, Ayanokoji, and Koenji were jogging around the dormitory.

After their run, the three of them picked a suitable patch of grass and did their stretches, just as they always did.

"Ayanokoji, I seem to remember you saying that, for now, you're one of the leaders of Class D."

Faced with Kujo's question, Ayanokoji replied while stretching:

"I was forced into it. My opinion doesn't seem to matter much."

Kujo rinsed his mouth with water and spat it out, then continued, "Do you know Karuizawa?"

In the original story, Karuizawa didn't meet Ayanokoji and become his tool until the shipboard exam. But if things had changed because of the butterfly effect, could she have already known Ayanokoji, as far as Kujo knew?

Ayanokoji lied without changing expression. "Is that a place?"

It sounded as though he didn't know Karuizawa.

After answering, Ayanokoji glanced sideways at Kujo, who was deep in thought.

He was still curious about this unusual student's sharpness.

Just how much could Kujo do?

Then Ayanokoji asked:

"So why did you record Hirata's past?"

At Ayanokoji's prompting, Kujo simply tossed him the recorder containing the recording of Hirata's past.

Ayanokoji caught it. It was an expensive electronic device sold openly at the school. There were cheaper models, but this one was clearly costly.

Kujo trusted Ayanokoji.

If it was him, he would surely use the information Kujo had given him appropriately, at the right time and in the right way.

Koenji, standing nearby, seemed to have figured something out. Was Kujo's behavior aimed at him?

Koenji wasn't someone who failed to understand people.

He usually paid no mind to others' opinions or thoughts, but he still had a frightening ability to analyze them, though he called it intuition.

Especially when someone made him their target, Koenji noticed quickly.

Koenji's usual hearty laughter faded away.

In its place came a different way of addressing Kujo, and a question.

"Just how much do you know, Kujo?"

How much did he know?

Without looking at Koenji, Kujo watched Ayanokoji, who had turned his head.

Seeing that he couldn't get any useful information from Ayanokoji, Kujo shifted his gaze to Koenji, who had asked the question.

"I don't understand what you mean."

Kujo knew perfectly well what Koenji meant.

To most Class D students, Hirata was something like their emotional anchor.

He had a sunny, cheerful appearance and a serious, complicated personality. He was also handsome, and well-liked in Class D.

As a result, the relationships around Hirata were more tangled than a spiderweb.

Wang Meiyu was one of them.

She was a rather unusual student in Class D.

Wang Meiyu was an international student from China.

She had helped Koenji in the past.

So Koenji cared a great deal about Wang Meiyu.

And since Kujo had remembered from Ichinose that Wang Meiyu liked Hirata, he had recorded Hirata's past. That meant he could put an end to her feelings at any time, and, if he played his cards right, he could also manipulate Hirata into helping him with his work.

When necessary, this recorder could be a tremendous asset to whoever held it.

So Kujo continued:

"I do know a lot of things, but I won't deliberately hurt everyone. You can see that, can't you, Koenji?"

Koenji took the initiative and switched places with Ayanokoji, then hooked his fingers over Kujo's shoulder.

Now Kujo and Koenji continued stretching together.

Kujo sighed.

"Koenji, you've been bored ever since you came to this school, haven't you? It must be dull for someone with your talent and ability not to find an opponent who can match you. The next exam might be a suitable stage. Let's face off directly."

Koenji's hand on Kujo's shoulder tightened.

After coming to this school, Koenji was uncharacteristically serious for once.

He said:

"Your understanding of the rules of the game is always surprising, Kujo."

Kujo finished stretching.

He stood up, bounced lightly on his toes, and said to Koenji:

"But there's a condition if you want to face me seriously. You've earned a lot of points from the upperclassmen, right? Lend me 2.5 million."

Beside them, Ayanokoji tried to look shocked, but no matter how hard he tried, he ended up with his usual impassive expression.

Did Kujo really calculate even the people around him into his plans?

Watching the two of them, even Ayanokoji couldn't help wondering whether the recorder in his hand was a blessing or a curse.

Until he had completely figured out what Kujo was thinking, it seemed he could only lock this weapon away for good.

"Interesting."

Koenji hadn't brought his phone outside, so he couldn't transfer points to Kujo.

But he didn't actually refuse Kujo. He simply gave Kujo and Ayanokoji a cool view of his back as he walked away after their morning exercise.

As he watched Koenji leave, Ayanokoji still had one last question. He asked Kujo:

"You probably can't defeat Koenji. Knowing you're bound to lose, why challenge him?"

Kujo didn't look at Ayanokoji. He simply gave his assessment of Koenji:

"Some people lack enthusiasm for life. They rarely get involved in things they aren't interested in. They never say it, but deep down, they yearn for an opponent. Having no enthusiasm for life is even more painful for someone with talent."

Hearing that, Ayanokoji thought he could try adopting that persona himself.

But he continued to ask Kujo:

"You understand Koenji very well. But it seems you'd even use an ordinary student like Wang Meiyu in your plans?"

If Ayanokoji was a blank slate that could be dyed any color,

then Koenji was a monster with a strong personality of his own.

Koenji's every move was unpredictable. If he had a weakness, it was that there were people at this school he cared about.

Ayanokoji had grown used to Kujo's all-knowing nature.

But being all-knowing didn't mean being all-powerful.

Ayanokoji didn't believe Kujo could defeat Koenji head-on in any area. Was he planning to use Wang Meiyu?

Kujo smiled. In answer to Ayanokoji's question, he said:

"Maybe I'm just a scumbag to begin with."

Did that already count as being a scumbag?

Ayanokoji took a sip of water and began today's "normal person" study plan.