Chapter 21: Chapter 20

We sat there in anticipation waiting to hear the worst  

We could have protested that class 1-2 used force to acquire our class item but it will be a matter of their word vs ours and that won't end in a favorable decision 

Yuka sat there smugly with the rest of her classmates

Yogi stood in a corner sulking. I think he might be taking it harder than Takeda who had a breakdown

Takeda sat alone with her head down. Hopefully she finally gets it

Jean Muto had a confident smile as he awaited the results

Class 1-1 was no where to be found because they left before the results were called, they most likely already know what place they got

The principal Yagi Akira announced the results 

"First place goes to class 1-3 with a total of 20 points plus 5 bonus points for acquiring two statues that flow together , second place goes to class 1-1 with a total of 15 points. Class 1-4 will be receiving zero points as a result of crossing the finish line without another class's statue. Also class 1-2 will be receiving zero points for crossing the finish line without another class's statue. That will be all" 

Yuka's smug looked turned into shock as she looked around 

Takeda and Yogi both had similarly confused faces when they heard that class 1-2 failed to get any points

Sena said to me "So you sunk multiple ships to avoid your brother? That's pretty dramatic if you ask me"

Without giving her an answer, I got up from my seat and walked towards the bathrooms that they prepared for us 

Peeling off my filthy clothes felt good but finally getting a real bath felt even better

After spending 10 minutes in there, I exited the bathroom and changed into my school uniform

Tying my tie now, I looked in the mirror and fixed my jet black hair which was starting to become chin length now

Maybe I'll trim the ends a bit

The buses were waiting for us

Before I could step foot on my class's assigned bus

A voice stopped me 

"So it is really you"

I turned around and saw it was Yuka 

I was surprised that she would come right out and talk to me

"Do explain what you mean?"

Both of us stepped to the side and continued the conversation 

She was pretty short compared to me with the top of her head reaching my chest area

"You used to take part in my father's workshops"

"Are you sure that you don't have the wrong guy?"

Yuka stared directly in my face and said "Even in a new family environment that look of disinterest in your eyes still hasn't changed"

I replied "If that is all then I will be going now" 

She left a warning before walking over to her assigned bus

"Dante just know that the next clash we have, I'll be taking you out now that I know how your class operates"

Well at least she was kind enough to give a warning. It kind of reminds me of those movies where the victim gets a scary message before they get killed

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Entering my bus now, Miss Aiko was the only person on it so far

I walked passed her before she stopped me

"So that was quite performance, you sacrificed your classmates' chance at 1st place because you didn't want to face your brother"

I side eyed her and said "Just call it a strategic loss that has a big upside"

Miss Aiko laughed then said "I hope that the deal you cut with class 1-3's leader is going to pay off in the long run"

"I always structure my deals where I have the upper hand in fine print, it's typical business"

"Look at you sounding more like a Kaneko"

I glared at her 

"Is that all?"

Miss Aiko reclined her bus seat and replied "Tell me how did you do it"

"All you had to do was figure out which class had which seasonal statue then craft your approach. Since our class had Fall, I concluded that 1-3 had Winter, 1-2 had Summer and 1-1 had Spring. The school basically foreshadowed it by giving us assigned bag groups. I already knew that we would have a traitor among us when the nature of the clash was revealed so I just had to wait for the right opening to present itself. As you know already, I had no intention of winning this round so I decided to use this as an opportunity to work on my student project in Takeda Kadae. She did decent enough but she is still too rough around the edges"

Miss Aiko snickered and said "Student Project? That's quite a way to put it"

Our conversation was cut short by the rest of the students starting to board the bus

I returned to my original seat in the bus and stared out of the window

Sure enough Takeda sat next to me

She stayed silent so I decided to gloss over the mistakes she made

"You did alright but fatal error you were made was not noticing a traitor"

She finally broke her silence 

"We had a traitor?"

"Kai was the traitor for this exam but keep it between us"

"That is a heavy accusation"

I sighed then replied

"You were the first person to notice him speaking to Yuka way before the exam and noted it as odd so how did you not factor that in? Then you entrusted him with the vital item for the clash which is the statue but didn't keep a closer eye on him"

"Wait before I selected Kai, I chose you but you switched it to another student"

"Oh that was to manipulate you into choosing the second best candidate in your mind which was Kai so I could give the statue to class 1-3 during the last possible moment without taking any blame for losing it and at the same time mess up Yuka's plans"

Takeda froze for a second

"Manipulate?"

I placed my head on the window as the bus began to move

"Everything that happened today went according to plan. Class 1-3 becoming rank one, Class 1-1 being knocked down into second place, privately outing a traitor in our class, avoiding a clash with my brother, fending off Yuka and showing you that no matter how hard you try in these clashes, you will never seize victory without my assistance. This is what you call a royal flush"

Welcome to the real world Takeda Kadae and just know that we will never play fair so what will be your next move?

 

 

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