Prologue:
Suzune is depressed about her brother leaving the school soon. She is wavering about whether or not to see him off. She thinks it might be better if she doesn't let him see his useless sister. At the end she comes to a realisation that her entire life, she had made decisions for the sake of her brother's recognition. She decides to show her brother her 'real self' before he leaves the school.
Chapter 1:
Kiyotaka is interested in the graduation ceremony since he has never attended one before. Additionally, he is also curious about how the final exam for the 3rd years turned out and whether or not Manabu's class graduated as Class A. He recounts the point totals of the first years after the final special exam.
Class A: 1131 points
Class B: 550 points
Class C: 347 points
Class D: 508 points
As a result, Class C will be dropping back to Class D on April 1. But at the same time, considering that class D lost all their class points one month after the school year started, Class D was also the class which had gained the most class points over the past year. Yukimura talks to him, saying that almost no one in the class blames him for the defeat. When Kiyotaka questions him about the 'almost' part, Yukimura says that there are some people who feel that if a more prominent leader figure was the command tower, they could have defeated Class A. But that is an unreasonable proposition considering the risk of being expelled. Afterwards, Yukimura apologises for the negotiations with Katsuragi breaking down. He asks why Kiyotaka didn't tell Horikita about it even though it could have compromised Class C's strategy and chances of success. Kiyotaka merely says that he forgot about it because of how stressed he was about the command tower role. Yukimura explains that he told Horikita about everything and that she forgave them but told them to consult her on everything in the future. Kiyotaka mentally notes that Horikita has grown a lot as a leader over the past year.
In the graduation ceremony, all the students and teachers are lined up. Horikita Manabu is the graduating Class A representative who goes up to give a speech. After the graduation ceremony, all the students except the 3rd years leave the gymnasium. Chabashira-sensei praises the class for their growth over the past year. She says that they are better than previous years' D class students but that whether or not they can continue moving up will depend on their efforts moving forwards. Kiyotaka asks Horikita whether she is going to see her brother after the closing ceremony. She says that she won't be doing that. He tries to convince her by saying it will be her last chance. He invites her to see Manabu off together with him. She says that she will think about it. Afterwards Kiyotaka considers that there are still 90 minutes until the closing ceremony finishes. There is something he must do within that time.
Kiyotaka thinks back to 11 PM the previous night. He gave Sakayanagi's father a phone call. He was surprised and questioned where Kiyotaka got the number from, to which he replied that Arisu gave it to him. This surprises Sakayanagi (I call him Sakayanagi from now and Arisu is just Arisu) since he didn't give his phone number to Arisu either. Kiyotaka deduces that she must have gotten it off a teacher or something along those lines. Sakayanagi says he is on the verge of ending the phone call, and asks about why Kiyotaka decided to call him. Kiyotaka questions the truth about Director Sakayanagi's exile but his question is brushed off. Kiyotaka proceeds to explain the foul play done by Acting director Tsukishiro in the end of year exams. This grabs Sakayanagi's interest. Kiyotaka explains that he only wanted to lie low whilst at this school but that the presence of Tsukishiro will not allow him to. He says that he requests the assistance of the school staff. Sakayanagi mentions that Chabashira and Mashima may be able to assist him. He will set up a meeting for them during the closing graduation ceremony since Tsukishiro has to be present at that time, and the two teachers can go missing unnoticed. The reception room is not rigged with security cameras so he tells Kiyotaka to use that.
Back to the present time, Kiyotaka heads to the reception room and knocks on the door. Chabashira is already there and asks why he set up this meeting with her and Mashima. She says that he sure is terribly rude for someone supposedly asking for help. She says that if his abilities were there, his rudeness could be excused but since he lost to Sakayanagi, he no longer has the right to be so rude to her. To her surprise, Kiyotaka switches to addressing her with polite language. He says that starting from next semester, he will genuinely aim at Class A. Chabashira questions the change in attitude, since even though such a thing would be common sense, it goes completely against Kiyotaka's principles up until now. Furthermore, she questions whether he even has the ability to aim for Class A. Kiyotaka tells her that after this meeting, she will be able to see his abilities for herself and tells her to reach a decision at that time. Mashima knocks on the door and enters along with Arisu who tagged along. Mashima asks if the two of them know each other and Arisu replies that she is childhood friends with Kiyotaka. Kiyotaka invites the two teachers to take a seat, but since Arisu is crippled, Mashima offers his seat to her. Kiyotaka starts talking and says that the topic is on Acting Director Tsukishiro. This shocks Chabashira and Mashima since it isn't a topic a student should be talking about. Arisu is the only one who stays calm. Mashima asks her whether or not she already knew about this, and she replies that she probably knows more than the teachers (this is the smug loli illustration). She volunteers to tell the rest of the story and Kiyotaka gives her permission.
She explains that she had actually lost the chess match with Kiyotaka but Director Tsukishiro had interfered and changed the result. Chabashira refutes that she had checked both the result and the process and that there were no signs of tampering. Arisu states that all the chess moves go through the school system before being transmitted. She says that Kiyotaka's father suspended Director Sakayanagi and sent Tsukishiro all for the purpose of removing Kiyotaka from the school. Mashima states that this is preposterous and that there were much easier ways of doing this. He questions what kind of background Kiyotaka's father must have if he has the power to do these things that Arisu accuses him of doing. Chabashira confirms that Kiyotaka's father had come to the school once to try to convince him to quit the school but Director Sakayanagi had respected the student's wishes to remain at the school. Mashima asks Kiyotaka "Who on earth are you?" to justify all of this happening. Kiyotaka finds this question hard to answer but Arisu jumps in and says that he is a very special student who is much more skilled than all the other boys his age. In the end, Mashima concedes that it is unlikely for the two of them to spin such an elaborated lie and that it is likely the truth. But there is no evidence that what they said is true and hence he cannot cooperate with any plan to remove Acting Director Tsukishiro. However, he will try his best to limit opportunities for the school to interfere in future exams to ensure that such a thing doesn't happen.
Afterwards, Mashima? (maybe it was Chabashira) says that Arisu shouldn't help out Kiyotaka too much and should still prioritise her class. Arisu laughs and asks what's wrong with her prioritising Kiyotaka. She says that even within this school, there are many lovers from different classes who would prioritise each other over their own class. She says that she will be Kiyotaka's ally. However, she says that this favouritism exists for Kiyotaka only. She will not hesitate to crush his class. Mashima considers that an acceptable compromise. Arisu tells Kiyotaka that he can rely on her help in removing Acting Director Tsukishiro. Kiyotaka confirms and says that he will do that.
When the two of them are alone, Mashima asks Chabashira for her opinion and she says that even though at first glance Kiyotaka looks like a lazy inconspicuous ordinary student, his eyes make you feel like he sees everything.
After this, Kiyotaka meets up with Suzune. They see a bunch of 3rd year students crowded around Manabu and bide their time. Nagumo shows up and congratulates Manabu on graduating in Class A. Nagumo rues the fact that he and Manabu were in different grades so the ways in which he could interfere in the exams were extremely limited since he couldn't participate in them himself. Manabu offers a handshake and Nagumo takes it, saying there is no reason to refuse. The two share a pleasant handshake between two student council presidents. Nagumo says that in this one year that Manabu is gone, he will change this school into a true "school that evaluates ability". Manabu says that he likewise also rues being in the grade above since he won't be able to see the kind of school that Nagumo will create (illustration). Nagumo approaches Suzune and asks whether or not she heard the conversation. He says that she can look forward to next year. Nagumo says that Horikita's brother was an amazing person and that she can be proud of being his sister. Nagumo says that since he's in a good mood, he'll allow her to ask him anything she wants. Suzune asks if he has any regrets over Manabu graduating from Class A. Asahina who is standing next to him, says that Nagumo lost which is something which he denies. He says that he himself is still in Class A and that whether or not Horikita Manabu fell to Class B had nothing to do with his personal ability level and wouldn't hurt his evaluation. After all, there can be no decent competition between 2nd and 3rd years. Nagumo says that he has no more enemies amongst the 2nd years and that Horikita Manabu is now graduating. There is only one more thing left for him to do at this school. He says that come April, this school will become a true meritocracy. Kiyotaka finds Manabu and talks with him since this will be his last opportunity to do so. Manabu says he'll be leaving the school on the 31st. Kiyotaka asks him to wait at the gate at noon of that day to talk to Suzune. Manabu says that there's still time right now but Kiyotaka says it's still too early for her. Manabu tells him to come on the 31st and says that he won't invite anyone other than Kiyotaka and Suzune. Kiyotaka agrees by giving a small nod. Just as Kiyotaka is going back to the dorms, he is greeted by Hirata.
Hirata talks about how Mii-chan confessed to him. Kiyotaka asks him what his answer would be and Hirata says he wants to turn her down but doesn't want to hurt her. Kiyotaka tells him that the longer he puts it off, the more he'll hurt her when he eventually breaks the news to her. This gives Hirata his resolve and he thanks Kiyotaka. Hirata blushes as he asks Kiyotaka if they can call each other by a first-name basis (illustration of shy-looking Hirata). Kiyotaka mentally notes that he feels something weird from all this but says that he has no reason to refuse.
Chapter 2
Kiyotaka meets Hiyori at a cafe (illustration). They notice Ike and Shinohara next to them. Kiyotaka is silently encouraging Ike whom is about to confess, but Ike and Shinohara notice Kiyotaka at the last minute. They asks if Kiyotaka and Hiyori are going out to which Hiyori denies in a flustered manner. Ike and Shinohara start an argument as usual and the confession breaks down. Hiyori asks Kiyotaka if he was the one who caused Ryuuen to change. Kiyotaka asks for her reasoning, to which Hiyori replied that Ryuuen changed shortly after he was hunting someone in Kiyotaka's class. And also that Ishizaki, Ibuki and Albert have been looking at him differently ever since. Hiyori says that she feels Ryuuen's tactics in the most recent exam were too reckless since it was possible that the school could have investigated him for foul play. Kiyotaka neither affirms nor denies anything but tells her to tell Ryuuen that if it were him, he could have gotten 6 wins instead of 5. Also, Kei comes in at the end and sees Hiyori and Kiyotaka on a date. She glares at the two of them as if they were trash.
Afterwards, Kiyotaka runs into Ibuki on an elevator. They muse about how they got stuck the last time they were together on an elevator. Ishizaki comes across them and asks whether or not they're on a date. A very angry Ibuki rebukes him for that comment. Ishizaki tells Ayanokouji he has a grand idea for how to get to Class A. He says that Kiyotaka should go to their class and with Ryuuen and Kiyotaka, their class would be invincible. He says that he feels like Kiyotaka has good compatibility with Ryuuen and that both he and Albert have grown fond of him. Ibuki calls him an idiot and asks where he plans to get the 20 million from. Ayanokouji apologises, saying that it'd be more fun to be enemies than to team up.
Chapter 3
Kiyotaka receives a text message at around 8 in the morning from Ichinose asking whether he and Horikita could meet up with her sometime during spring break. They meet up at a cafe and Ichinose offers to pay for them. Horikita doesn't hold back and orders something immediately. Kiyotaka whispers to Ichinose asking if her class' finances are alright but Ichinose says that it's okay since it's only about a month until April. They share information about the end of year exam, in particular the details of what Ryuuen did to Class B. In return, Horikita reveals everything about their fight with Class A. Pre-empting a potential screw up, Kiyotaka mentions the whole thing about Horikita requesting that they fight Class A. This is new information to Horikita who thought that they only fought Class A because they were forced to. Horikita glares at him but doesn't say anything. Kiyotaka notes that if it were the old Horikita, she would have instantly said something like "Huh? I never said anything like that!". Towards the end, Horikita says that in addition, from the 2nd year onwards, she would like to nullify the alliance with Class B. She says that the reason it was able to work was because the point differential between the classes was too big. But looking at the results, Class D gained the most class points in this year, and hence their classes would actually be competing with each other now in the rankings. Ichinose feels slightly reluctant but closes her eyes. When she opens them again, there is a fiery look in them, as she now views Horikita and Kiyotaka as enemies.
Afterwards, Kiyotaka and Horikita leave first whilst Ichinose stays behind at the cafe for a while longer. Just as Kiyotaka is going down the staircase of Keyaki Mall's cafe, Horiktia calls out to him from behind. She demands an explanation for why he wanted to fight Class A. Kiyotaka replies that he had a hunch that Ryuuen would return and since they can't pick Class B because of the alliance, Class A was the best option. She says that there was no way of knowing that Ryuuen would come back even for him. She also points out that it's fishy how he got the protection point from Sakayanagi. But she says that doesn't matter any more and she wants to know whether or not he'll actually cooperate to reach A Class. She says that whilst the class has improved a lot over the past year, she still requires his cooperation if they actually want to get there. She demands that he remove the restrictions that he placed on himself and wants him to show his true abilities. Kiyotaka says that he will try from next semester onwards but would be drawing to much attention to himself if all his grades skyrocketed immediately. She questions whether or not his abilities are really worth hiding, since he lost to Sakayanagi. She says that whilst she acknowledges that he's smart, there's many excellent students at this school such as Yukimura, Sakayanagi and herself. She says that whilst it would be temporarily surprising for him to suddenly become a top 10/20% student in the grade, it wouldn't be too unusual for a student to improve drastically in a short amount of time. Kiyotaka replies with "Sorry Horikita, but I don't think there's anyone in our grade who is on the same level as me". She replies that even though he is acknowledged by her brother, he hasn't shown any evidence to her of his abilities being like what he says they are like. She says that even though it was an incredibly high level chess match, he still lost to Sakayanagi and a loss is a loss. In order to back up the words that he just spoke, he should be able to win against anyone at anything. Kiyotaka replies that she is free to perceive that loss however she likes. Horikita demands that he have a competition with her so she can use herself as a yardstick to measure Kiyotaka's abilities. She says that at the very least, she's confident that she'll be able to score a higher mark than him on a written test as well as beat him in a physical fight. Kiyotaka then proposes a bet in the next written exams. Horikita will get to choose one subject of her liking and tell him the chosen subject on the day of the exam, preventing him from focus studying it. They will then compete for the higher mark. This way, even if he scores 100%, he can just pass it off as only studying for one subject. if Horikita wins, she demands that Kiyotaka stop hiding his abilities (since it would mean they weren't worth hiding) and pour 100% of his effort into reaching Class A. If Kiyotaka wins, she would have to grant him any one wish. Afterwards, Kiyotaka sees Ryuuen who calls him out.
This is a flashback to a few hour prior. Hashimoto meets Ryuuen in the toilet and asks stuff like why he's decided to compete again. Ryuuen says it's only a one-time whim and Hashimoto says that it sure is a scary whim. He calls someone on his phone to "come to the location I said earlier" and then tries to bait a reaction out of Ryuuen by saying that he was calling Ayanokouji. But Ryuuen stays calm and receives all his baits without revealing anything. Kanzaki then comes and warns Ryuuen that he won't allow Ryuuen to pull a dirty trick like that on Class B ever again (illustration of the three of them at the urinals). Ryuuen jokingly asks what are you going to do? Call the school on me?" to which Kanzaki concedes that they likely wouldn't take any action. But Kanzaki says that if he tries it again, Kanzaki will personally deal with it. Hashimoto meanwhile just kind of edges them on like the asshole that he is.
Back in the present time, Ryuuen confronts Ayanokouji, having received Hiyori's message. He demands Ayanokouji to explain what he meant. Ayanokouji says that Ryuuen's method was too risky and left too much evidence that the school could have potentially used against him. Ryuuen says 'you're not my teacher'. He attempts an eye stab + roundhouse kick surprise attack at Ayanokouji but all three attempts are dodged. Ryuuen calls him a "fucking monster". Ryuuen also states that since Kiyotaka defeated him, there's no way that he's below Sakayanagi. Afterwards, in private, Ryuuen admits to his own shortcomings and decides to hede Kiyotaka's advice if he ever wants to get closer to his level.
On his way back to the dorms, Kiyotaka notices Ichinose standing alone in the rain. He asks her what she is doing and warns her that she's going to catch a cold. Ichinose replies that at the moment, she might want to catch a cold. To her shock, Kiyotaka folds his umbrella and stands next to her in the rain. He says that he won't leave until she does, to which Ichinose calls him a 'meanie' since he knows that there's no way she could simply let him stand in the rain. The two of them return to Kiyotaka's dorm room where he hands her a towel to wipe herself with and then asks her to explain the issue. Ichinose reveals that Class B's morale has greatly sunk after their loss to Class B and feels that whilst all the other leaders (Sakayanagi, Horikita and Ryuuen) have grown a lot over the past year, she personally hasn't changed. She worries about whether or not she is a good leader for her class. She asks Kiyotaka about how he views her class' future. He tells her to come back in one year's time on this day and he will honestly tell her his opinion then (the touching her cheeks and lips thing happens around here as he makes her look into his eyes). She thanks him for always saving her in the times of trouble and he says that it's all merely coincidence. Kiyotaka mentally notes that he will be the one to personally finish off her class.
Chapter 4
Suzune cuts her hair short, finally realising that her brother wanted her to stop following in his footsteps. She greets her at the school gate together with Kiyotaka (short hair Horikita and Manabu illustration). Her brother smiles at her for the first time in years. Afterwards, she's walking back with Kiyotaka but Kiyotaka tells her that she doesn't need to hold it in. She bursts into full crying mode, anguishing over how she finally realised what her brother was trying to tell her, but now she wouldn't be able to see him again for two whole years (crying Horikita illustration). Kiyotaka then tells her, that if he wins their competition, he wants her to join the student council. He also tells her about the private points contract with Kushida whilst hiding the real reason for it (he tells her it was only so Kushida would stop targeting him for expulsion), to which she says that sometimes she can't tell if he's actually an idiot. To her shock, he tells her that he originally determined that it wouldn't be a large burden since the contract would be nullified if he got Kushida expelled. But he's since changed his mind, although he will still ruthlessly get rid of her if he determines her existence to be detrimental to the class.
Chapter 5
Matsushita goes into her background, saying that she hides her abilities but has confidence of being top 10% in the grade if she actually tried. Early on in the school year, she decided that it was impossible for the class to reach Class A. There were too many deadweights. Even though there were a couple of bright individuals, around half the class comprised the bottom 20% of the grade. But she thought that the situation might change if there were a couple more bright students in the class. She suspects Kiyotaka of hiding his abilities like she does. The leaders in the class (Hirata and Horikita) always seemed to be around Kiyotaka. Additionally, she noticed Kei often looked at Kiyotaka. She ignored this because Kei had a boyfriend but then she broke up with Hirata. Since she viewed Kei as someone with high standards, this wouldn't make sense unless Kei deemed Kiyotaka to be above Hirata. Additionally, in the flash arithmetics part of the last exam, he had gotten the same answer for the last question as Kouenji. That wasnt a question that someone could get right just by being a little smart. She also had doubts over the protection point that Sakayanagi's class had given him.
On that day, she met up with Sato and Shinohara in a cafe. The other 2 tease Shinohara about how her relationship is going with Ike. She denies it and says that if she were to go out with someone, she'd prefer someone who was taller and smarter. The topic moves to Sato, who tells them to promise to keep it a secret. She then reveals that on Christmas, she confessed to Kiyotaka and got rejected. Shinohara gets mad at the reasoning Kiyotaka gave. Matsushita normally wouldn't care about such a topic, but since she wants to learn more about Kiyotaka, she deliberately keeps pressing Sato for her thoughts. Sato reveals that even now she still loves Kiyotaka and because of that, she notices some things that others do not. In particular, she feels like Kiyotaka likes Karuizawa and that Karuizawa may have dumped Hirata to be together with him. Shinohara rubbishes that statement saying there's no way any girl would dump Hirata for Ayanokouji, but Matsushita feels validated that her opinion is also matched by that of someone who had fallen in love with Kiyotaka. She notices Kiyotaka walking by outside and then excuses herself, saying that she needed to take a phone call. She follows him but quickly hides when she notices Acting Director Tsukishiro approach him.
Tsukishiro gives Kiyotaka some information on the White Room. He tells Kiyotaka that he doesn't actually give a shit about a kid like him, but in his line of work, it is impossible to go against Kiyotaka's father. He tells Kiyotaka that next year, a first year student will be coming from the White Room. He tells Kiyotaka that he is willing to play a game with odds completely onesided in favour of Kiyotaka. If Kiyotaka can determine the identity of this student, Tsukishiro will willingly withdraw from the school. Kiyotaka asks whether there's only going to be 1 and Tsukishiro says "do you really think I have the power to bring in a bunch of people from the white room?". Kiyotaka doubts Tsukishiro's words within his own mind. He says that there are 7 billion people on this planet so he has no doubt that there are people who are better than him. But he has absolute confidence that nobody from the white room is able to beat him. Before parting, Tsukishiro notes that Matsushita is following Kiyotaka. Kiyotaka confirms that he already knew that. He walks down a few more streets and then turns a corner. When Matsushita follows him, she find Kiyotaka already waiting there for her. She is surprised that he found out and is sent into a state of panic. He asks her what her business was and she says that she was surprised to see Tsukishiro speak to Kiyotaka. Her questions are:
- Why did Tsukishiro speak with you?
- Why did you hide your ability in mental arithmetics?
- What is your relationship with Karuizawa Kei?
- Do you think we can reach Class A?
Kiyotaka's gives excuses for the first two (some stuff about student opinions and then going to nationals at mental arithmetics in middle school but being unconfident since his opponent was class A). He gives a vague answer to the thirs question and then says yes to the fourth.
