Stepping into the special building, Hikigaya made his way toward the designated location.
Since he'd been to the multipurpose classroom before, there was no need to worry about getting lost.
Upon reaching the floor where the classroom was located, the commanders of the other three classes had already arrived and were standing in the hallway talking.
Ichinose, Ryuuen, and Yamamura Miki—the girl he'd exchanged a few words with last time.
Hmm… this wasn't quite the lineup he'd expected.
Hikigaya had assumed Sakayanagi might try to pull a sneak attack on Ryuuen and suddenly show up as the commander herself… Was he just overthinking it?
At that moment, probably having heard his footsteps, the others turned to look in his direction.
"...Eh, eh? Hikigaya-kun?"
As soon as she saw him, Ichinose looked visibly surprised.
In contrast, Yamamura merely widened her eyes slightly. She didn't seem shaken… or maybe it was just hard to tell since she was always so expressionless.
Even Ryuuen seemed surprised, squinting as he said, "Rot-eye, what are you doing here? Don't tell me you're subbing in for Ayanokouji?"
"Isn't it obvious? That's exactly what's happening."
"Hah, you've got some nerve."
Ryuuen quickly grasped the situation and let out a cold laugh. "What, trying to shake Ichinose by pulling a stunt like this? You really will stoop to anything for a win, huh?"
In this special exam, the match couldn't proceed without a commander, so the rules did allow someone to substitute.
Of course, if the class lost, the substitute commander would bear full responsibility.
"You're overthinking it," Hikigaya said with a helpless shrug. "I wasn't trying to pull anything. It's just that Ayanokouji got cold feet and faked sick to avoid the exam. I had no choice but to step in."
After a pause, he added, "And thanks to that, we've lost a major piece of our fighting strength. No matter how you look at it, we're the ones getting screwed."
"Then you should've just taken the commander role from the start."
"I didn't know he was that much of a coward."
"Hah, you haven't changed. You lie so easily it sounds like the truth."
Looks like Ryuuen had convinced himself that Hikigaya was up to something… but the truth was, he wasn't.
If anything, he'd just not been in the mood to get involved back then. That was all there was to it.
"Dead eyes, are you seriously claiming you didn't cook up a bunch of shady schemes for this exam?"
"Well…"
Faced with that question, Hikigaya scratched his head and replied awkwardly, "I didn't want to get involved, but people kept coming to ask me stuff… It'd be rude to ignore them, right?"
As long as people were polite and not too much trouble, he'd help if he could.
Horikita, Yukimura, Hashimoto—he'd done the same for all of them. Nothing more to it than that.
After all, Hikigaya had never been great at turning people down…
"Besides, what does this have to do with you? Our classes aren't even opponents this time," Hikigaya couldn't help but retort.
Not to mention, even though things had taken an unexpected turn, this should be good news for Class A.
Originally, this exam should've had a student with protection points serve as commander—someone who wouldn't be at risk of expulsion if they lost.
But Ayanokouji's sudden appearance and his direct challenge to Class A had created a lot of pressure.
They'd probably think: He's confident enough to fight without protection, so he must be sure he won't lose. And honestly, Ayanokouji did have the skills to back that up.
Even if he'd been forced into the commander role…
Anyway, even if Class A had mentally prepared to face Ayanokouji, sealing off that monster was still a win.
Hikigaya knew he couldn't compare to him.
And yet… as much as he thought that—
After confirming the commander change, Ichinose didn't look relieved at all. Instead, she swallowed nervously, like she was scared.
…Why?
Hikigaya was puzzled. No matter how you looked at it, dealing with him had to be easier than dealing with Ayanokouji, right?
Or was it just… that she felt awkward?
After all, she was suddenly facing the guy who had turned her down not too long ago.
Emotionally, it was probably still too soon.
As if to confirm that thought, Ryuuen chimed in from the side, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "True, this doesn't concern me. I'm downright impressed by your underhandedness—using this trick to mentally destabilize Ichinose."
"…Don't spout nonsense."
"Hah? You think I'm making this up?"
Ryuuen laughed and pointed at Ichinose.
"Look at her face—shaken. Dead-Eyes, your scheme's a smashing success."
"…I told you, you're reading too much into this."
"Oh, come on. You still don't realize it, do you?" Ryuuen spread his arms wide and shook his head with exaggerated exasperation.
The truth was, he saw through this better than anyone.
Ayanokouji might be a trump card, but Hikigaya was a wild card—impossible to predict.
No one knew what kind of orders that guy might give.
Ichinose was the steady, grounded type. No matter how strong her opponent, she could rally her class and respond appropriately.
But she didn't handle sudden developments well.
Even if Hikigaya hadn't intended to do anything, this unexpected change had thrown Class A off balance.
"Ryuuen-kun, I think you might be misunderstanding something."
At that moment, Ichinose hesitated, then spoke up. "I actually kind of thought… maybe Hikigaya-kun would show up. He wouldn't just sit by and watch a classmate risk expulsion."
"Oh? You think you're that composed?" Ryuuen chuckled darkly. "Or is it that just thinking about Dead-Eyes makes your brain go all fuzzy and you can't think straight? Maybe you haven't gotten over him yet?"
Hikigaya shot him a glare.
What the hell was this guy even saying?
He was just about to shut him up when Ichinose beat him to it, smiling slightly as she said:
"Thanks for your concern, Ryuuen-kun. But I've already… Anyway, it doesn't matter who's commander. In an exam that tests unity, our class won't lose so easily."
Her tone and expression were full of confidence, but her wandering gaze betrayed her.
That speech was just a cover for her shaken heart.
Ryuuen noticed too, and with an amused grin, he went right back to provoking her.
"Hey Ichinose, have you considered that maybe Dead-Eyes only pulled this stunt to scare you? I mean, it cost him Ayanokouji—not worth it, right?"
"Mm… I think something must've happened. And Hikigaya-kun couldn't stand seeing a classmate risk expulsion, so he stepped in for Ayanokouji-kun."
"Oi oi, that's a bold assumption." Ryuuen snorted. "You're saying Ayanokouji was scared of losing to your class. That's hilarious."
"Is there a problem with that?"
Ichinose tilted her head, genuinely confused.
Anyone else would think the same, right? The odds of Class D losing to Class A weren't exactly low. If Ayanokouji didn't want to get expelled, he'd need someone to take his place.
But Ryuuen only scoffed at her and, for a brief moment, the smile vanished from his face.
"Still don't get it? It's more believable that Ayanokouji got caught up in some kind of scheme… like the school rigging things so Class A would win, and he figured it out—so he forced Dead-Eyes to take the fall for him."
Ah, was this what they called beastly instinct?
Ryuuen's theory was a bit off, but it wasn't far from the truth.
Still, he was giving Ayanokouji way too much credit… That last part especially irked Hikigaya a little.
Only the chairman's authority could pressure someone like him. That "masterpiece" talk didn't mean squat.
"Ryuuen-kun, I think that's just your imagination talking," Ichinose said. "I don't believe
the school would pull something like that."
"Hah, a small fry like you wouldn't be able to imagine it anyway."
In a way, Ryuen wasn't wrong.
Ichinose was a straight-laced honor student. She might believe that a student could cheat, but there was no way she'd suspect the school itself of colluding in it.
That said... this Dragon Boy is getting way too full of himself!
Hikigaya couldn't help but mock, "Hey Ryuen, let's leave everything else aside for a second. You said Ayanokōji could never lose unless the school was favoring Class A? I mean, seriously? What kind of insane logic is that? Anyone who hears you might think you're Ayanokōji's little fanboy."
"Ayanokōji once beat me. There's no way his ability is lower than Ichinose's."
So Ryuen was admitting that the rooftop incident had been a complete defeat for him.
Not surprising. Even the one thing he was best at—violence—had been effortlessly shut down by Ayanokōji. From start to finish, he'd been played like a puppet.
Sure, the outcome was technically mutual destruction, but the key reason it turned out that way was because Hikigaya dragged Nagumo onto the rooftop, forcing Ayanokōji to write a reflection letter. That ended up exposing his hidden abilities to the entire school.
In Ryuen's eyes, he probably saw himself as nothing more than a pawn Hikigaya used against Ayanokōji.
...Well, not that he was wrong.
After all, that was exactly why Hikigaya had proposed working with Ryuen in the first place. So, later canceling the alliance was just a roundabout way of returning the favor.
But ever since that alliance was dissolved, this guy had been getting more and more arrogant. Just a while ago, he even harassed Sakayanagi... Damn bastard!
Just thinking about that made Hikigaya mad. Even though he wasn't directly involved, he still got caught up in the mess.
Suppressing his anger with effort, he gave a grin that didn't reach his eyes and said, "Ryuen, say whatever you want, but have you ever considered one thing?"
"What?"
"So what if you got beat? Don't forget—you're just another small fry."
"..."
Ryuen's mouth twitched twice. He stared silently at Hikigaya.
Heh. Looks like the guy's finally come to terms with reality.
Otherwise, how could he not even find a comeback?
Hikigaya stared right back, unflinching. Ichinose seemed like she wanted to intervene but ended up just opening her mouth before closing it again without a word.
At that moment, the previously silent Yamamura suddenly spoke up.
"Everyone, time's almost up. Shouldn't we go in now?"
"Y-Yeah!" Ichinose quickly agreed. "The teacher said we should all be there before we go in. Let's talk about the rest later, okay?"
With that, she pushed open the door and entered the multipurpose classroom first. Yamamura followed right behind.
"...Hmph."
Ryuen snorted and glared straight into Hikigaya's eyes, enunciating each word: "Dead-Eyes. Once I'm done with Class B, your turn's next. You better watch your back."
"Sure, sure. Best of luck."
Hikigaya casually shot back, not bothering to continue the conversation.
But judging from Ryuen's words, he'd said "once I'm done with Class B," instead of his usual "once I'm done with Sakayanagi."
Because Sakayanagi hadn't taken the role of commander this time, Ryuen might've already assumed she had truly stepped down.
If that's the case... he's in for a rude awakening.
Heh, hope he falls flat on his face.
Hikigaya was far more interested in watching Ryuen's downfall than worrying about his own class's exam.
Not that he was going to throw the match—that would be disrespecting Horikita and the others who had worked so hard—but he wasn't exactly fired up with the desire to win either.
Might as well just give a normal, average performance.
"Students from Class A and Class D, please head over that way... Hm? Hikigaya? What are you doing here? Where's Ayanokōji?"
The multipurpose classroom was divided in half by a wall. Inside, the four homeroom teachers of the first-years were lined up, most likely as exam proctors.
To avoid favoritism, each homeroom teacher would proctor a class from a different group.
D-Class's homeroom teacher, Mashima-sensei, was the one who asked.
Hikigaya answered casually, "Ayanokōji was afraid of getting expelled, so he faked being sick. I'll be filling in as the commander, if that's allowed."
"It's permitted under the rules, though it's a problematic behavior."
"...Then let me rephrase that."
Faced with Mashima-sensei's strict tone, Hikigaya sighed and made up a more "proper" excuse.
"Last night, Ayanokōji realized he might get expelled, and he was so anxious he couldn't sleep a wink. As a result, he came down with a fever and couldn't take the test today. Is that acceptable?" [T/N: 🤣😂]
"Hmm, in that case, there's no problem."
Wait, seriously?! How is that not a problem?!
Hikigaya swallowed back the urge to shout and followed Mashima-sensei's instructions into the room, with Ichinose entering alongside him.
Then Sakagami-sensei came in too... ugh, what a pain.
Both Mashima-sensei of Class B and Sakagami-sensei of Class C had been thoroughly screwed over by Hikigaya in the past. Their teacher-student relationships couldn't exactly be called friendly.
Thankfully, Sakagami-sensei was in charge of proctoring Class A this time. That was the only silver lining.
"The exam will begin in five minutes. Hikigaya, since you didn't attend the briefing, I'm not allowed to explain the rules to you now. But you can try out the system on the computer beforehand."
"Ah, got it."
Hikigaya wasn't too worried about that.
He'd already heard most of what he needed to know about how the command tower system worked from Ayanokōji.
The system looked simple enough. Even without a homeroom teacher's explanation, it didn't seem like it would pose any real issue.
While the two homeroom teachers used the last bit of time to have a final discussion about the exam, the students were allowed to chat freely... not that Hikigaya had any interest in doing that.
Especially since Ichinose was sitting directly on the other side of the monitor. Just thinking about that made him feel incredibly awkward.
The only saving grace was that the divider blocked their view of each other.
...Or did it?
As if possessed by some impulse, Hikigaya leaned slightly to the side and peeked around the edge of the screen.
Unfortunately, Ichinose was doing the same thing, poking her head out from behind the monitor like she'd been watching him this whole time.
Their eyes met—just for a moment—and the air between them froze solid.
After a brief pause, Ichinose let out a small "Ah—!" and, like a startled rabbit, immediately ducked back behind the screen.
...Ugh, kill me now.
Hikigaya buried his head in his arms on the desk, utterly defeated. He'd rather just forfeit the whole exam.
Seeing this, Mashima-sensei asked with a puzzled look, "Hey, are you feeling unwell?"
"...No, I'm fine."
"I see. Well then, pull yourself together. The exam's about to start."
Strict as he was, Mashima-sensei still showed genuine concern for his students—even students from other classes.
...What a waste of talent, being Sakayanagi's homeroom teacher.
But then again, maybe that's exactly why he was Class A's teacher back then.
Compared to him, D-Class's current homeroom teacher could really learn a thing or two.
While Hikigaya was lost in these thoughts, Mashima-sensei glanced at his watch and spoke again.
"Time's up. Everyone, please remain quiet. First, let me introduce myself. I'm Mashima, and I'll be overseeing this final special exam of the school year."