Another Like Me - Part I (CoTE x OC) ?

Chapter 24 - The Zodiac Exam, Part 3

Hirata's eyes widened a bit after reading my message, but he regained his composure almost immediately. "Yeah, I got it," he said, without revealing any other information. The walk back to the room was silent, but it was a comfortable one.

Class A in the Dragon Group, the group with Katsuragi in it, had adopted a policy of staying completely out of the conversation throughout the discussion. It was in tandem with what Ayanokoji's group, the Rabbit Group, was doing. Why, then, were the students in the Snake Group not following the same policy? They had clearly stated that they would be aiming for Outcome 3, favorable to Class A, and would take part in the discussion if it steered that way.

Does that mean Hashimoto, Kito and Yamamura do not listen to Katsuragi? The civil war currently brewing in Class A suddenly popped up in my mind, and I could slowly but surely formulate a theory behind their actions.

Were they acting on Sakayanagi's orders?

 I hadn't met Sakayanagi yet, but the name resonated within me. During the entrance exam, the speech was given by the acting chairman, and he called himself Mr. Sakayanagi. Unless the 2 of them coincidentally shared the same name, I could deduce that the chairman was most probably Sakayanagi-san's guardian. Was she put in Class A because the chairman rigged the standings? It would make sense if she had a very high academic ability, but it is completely countered by her cognitive heart defect, which would drastically reduce her physical strength. 

No, that was a very derogatory way of thinking. Sakayanagi has proven herself to be a force to be reckoned with, considering that half of Class A willingly sides with her in the faction war. If she can be a potential Leader for the top Class A, I believe her abilities are definitely top-notch as well.

However, now that I know this, it would make it easier for me to control the standings in the Snake Group. Class A would be looking for every opportunity to disrespect and disassociate themselves with Katsuragi, so they would almost instantly turn traitor if given the right conditions.

But that was not the plan.

The plan was to receive Private Points. 1,000,000 Points on that. I could not refuse such a blatantly obvious choice.

I would, for now, stick with the way things are going.

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(The Zodiac Exam Day 2; Ayanokoji, Kiyotaka POV):

I absentmindedly stared at the black screen of my phone, occasionally looking forward to listen in to the discussion that was currently taking place in the Rabbit Group. Class A was holed up in a corner of the Room, either on their phones, or talking about unrelated things. Even Ichinose-san and Hamagichi-kun did not have much to talk about, now that most of the group was quiet and unwilling to participate in further discussion.

What struck me as odd, however, was Kei Karuizawa's behavior. She had chosen Machida-kun from Class A as the alpha of the room, and made all attempts to sit next to him (not that Machida was complaining). The Class C girls, Manabe Shiho, Nanami Yabu and Yamashita Saki, were all intently glaring at her for a reason that I could not comprehend.

The rest of the meeting ended without anything being finalized, and we left the Room. I walked over to Room 206, the Snake Group, to check what Takeyama was doing and how he was handling the situation.

From what I can understand of Takeyama, he does not really try to hide his abilities. His tactics are a bit more bold, and he doesn't hesitate to stand out. He avoids taking Leader positions in the Class, and prefers to act more like an open advisor and schemer to Horikita. He has the same goal as me — passing off Horikita as a scapegoat, the public face of the Class, and pinning all the credit on her. However, during the Island Exam, he did not hesitate to take up the position of Class Leader to carry out his plans. That stunt had inevitably drawn attention to him, as seen when Ryuuen took an interest in him yesterday morning.