The following morning, my sleeping time was forcefully interrupted by the massive footsteps in my hall.

"........W-What the hell.....?"

So early in the morning too....

"............What time is it...?"

As I checked my phone and the plethora of messages going on between Rayazaki and Hinagiku, I quickly realized that it was almost 8 am...

"Wait, that's really fucking late!"

With that in mind, I dressed up fastly, but it was evident that I didn't put much effort into it. My tie was so out of place, there's no time to shower and little time to have breakfast.

Plus, with all the commotion going on, I checked what was going on by going down to the dining hall.

Dining hall. 8 am.

"Alright, who the fuck stole it!? Hands up or I'll apply physical force! Just confess and let's get this over with!"

Violently slamming one of the tables with his bare hand, a man with his naked top and his noticeable blonde hair that possessed long black chocks made his existence be noticed aside from everyone in the current dining hall.

"Guys, don't fall for it! It's just one of his stupid acts!"

Tsudo, seating in a parallel table with an angry expression said those spiteful words to Kawahara.

Also, for the record, nobody was eating anything.

I did try to access the kitchen, but it was locked for some damn reason.

"Insecure fucks. Wait.... Where is Kuzan?"

Now that Kawahara mentions it, where is Kuzan? It's rare for him to miss out on breakfast like this...

Usually, Kuzan is the one person who always likes to be the first one to get his food, but he's nowhere to be seen right now.

"Kawahara, you're not lying, right?"

"I'm dead serious now! Who the hell closed the door?! Also, how the hell can someone close the kitchen's door when nobody has the key except King George?"

Kawahara had a point. Although King George had left the kitchen open for free use, before he left, he would always lock the kitchen up.

Yet, not once, but twice, the kitchen has been infiltrated regardless of always being locked whenever King George was around.

Oh.... I'm starting to see what's going on...

"Isn't Kuzan the one who stole the food, AGAIN? If you recall correctly, the kitchen is up for free individual use but, previously, despite that, didn't Kuzan steal food? What's more awkward about it was that the kitchen was supposedly closed..."

I haven't seen him speak in a while, but Sagasuga delivered quick reasoning.

Also, he seems slightly angry.

Well, I am too. Because I expected a little better from Kuzan, but right now, it's pretty clear that Kuzan is the one behind this. Unless I'm missing something.

Or, if Kawahara is just pulling out one of his acts.

"Good point, Sagasuga..." Reflected Kawahara while placing his right index finger on his chin base.

"Huh...? Wait, isn't that...?"

Ryoken who was at the door's entrance too pointed out in the direction of the kitchen's door and what everyone saw was the figure of someone leaving with food in his arms folded.

There was no mistake. Only one person would be this greedy and a complete rat about it.

"Oh, hell no...!!"

"Fucking rat's not gonna have his way again..."

Kan and Kawahara were in synergy with their hatred, meanwhile, I was just exasperating.

Realistically, my disappointment is excruciatingly high and Kuzan, you just screwed up again.

Why do something this counterproductive, Kuzan...?

While I was too busy getting disappointed, Kawahara and Kan stormed out and pressed forward on their chase for Kuzan.

Tsudo was also on his way, but Kan and Kawahara just had overall superior speed in comparison, thus they were on the lead of the hunt for Kuzan.

Lastly, as Tsudo stormed out too, he yelled his angry warcry so loud that nobody would miss out on what he was about to say.

"GET THE DAMN RAT!!! DON'T LET HIM ESCAPE ALIVE! CAPTURE HIM AT ALL POSSIBLE COSTS! DEAD OR ALIVE, FIND HIM!!"

Christ, they are really out for Kuzan's blood.

Though, if Kuzan doesn't return the key then they won't be the only ones out for his blood.

Unfortunately for Kuzan, should he push his luck, then I will have to join the fray as well.

On a more sub-par note, the dining hall wasn't that full as I thought. Either the majority was busy chasing Kuzan or they were somewhere else...

Nonetheless, now that the situation is cleared out, I can move on to my real assignment.

Truth to be told, this person always sits on the most distant place of all in the dining hall...

It's as if he refuses to let his presence be noticed or as if he is indirectly telling others that it won't matter if you approach him or not.

Plus, he was sleepy from the looks of it. With his face down, as I approached him, I could only see his silver hair sparkling out.

"Bro, did you even sleep?"

".........Not really much......"

His response was hollow and his voice tone had no strength at all yet in spite of that, he was in his school uniform already.

I took the seat that was right next to him instantly.

That's right. I was here for one purpose alone.

Since eating was not an option, talking to this one person about certain things would be essential later on.

"...........Is everyone gone.......?"

"Yeah, Hyunda. Though, you should really sleep more. Or else you're just going to be dead all day long..."

Aside from his dead hollow tone, his tender arms were extended. They were almost making contact with the cold floor for instance.

But why did he ask me that question? Nevertheless, I answered truthfully.

The time was almost there and the grand majority of us had left the dorm or something like that.

"Mhmmmmmmm!!!!!!"

Suddenly, his arms rose up to full height and Hyunda lazed immediately, while simultaneously cracking his fingers along the way.

In order to make eye contact with me, he attempted to clear his eyes, but that took a while.

Ultimately, he also yawned to finish it off.

"Dude, what happened?"

Something must've happened or he just didn't sleep at all. Even then, there should be a reason for not sleeping, right?

"Daniel.... This is random, but..."

"But...?"

What? What is it?

"Never enter a last reply battle with a girl. It's fucking exhausting..."

"...What?"

Last reply battle? What is Hyunda talking about?

"Oh, I see. It never happened to you. Perfect, perfect. Learn from my mistake, Daniel. Never attempt this. It's not worth it. Ah, yes. It might sound fun at first but then as you are about to sleep, you start to hope for a break. Like, you begin to think to yourself that it would be really niiiiiiiiice if she would reply to you in the morning. Yet, as soon as you place your phone on the desk, it vibrates and all hope is lost. You try again and again, and when you've come to it... It's morning!!"

Why is this man saying such words with intense despair? Stop creeping me Hyunda!

Let go of my shoulders! It can't be that scary, right?!

"Let me guess... Arkalee?"

I tried to take a full guess on who he was talking to in order for this event to happen in the first place, so his partner came to mind.

"God, no. Arkalee's the type of girl who probably assumes that if I don't reply straight away that I am sleeping or something. If only that was the case. Also, I don't have her number nor do I intend on achieving it."

"If it's not her, then who...?"

"It doesn't really matter who does it now?"

Yet the clear sounds of his phone vibrating are accumulating in this silent atmosphere.

"Just turn it off, no?"

"Good idea... That's really good, Daniel. Nice one. How come I haven't thought of that before? Seriously, good one."

I can't tell if he's being sarcastic or if he really didn't remember that he had that option.

"By the way... Have you seen Akihiko?"

Now that he mentions it...

"No, I haven't. Why?"

It's not like I pay a great deal of attention to Akihiko, but I have not seen him ever since he and Sana got sent to the principal's office yesterday.

Maybe something happened?

"Oh, why? It's just a baseless hunch, nothing much... It's just weird since I haven't seen him today nor yesterday. If he doesn't come to class then it's fair to assume something happened to him."

"What? Are you worried about him?"

"I'm not. I'm just curious... If he can be absent from classes, then why can he? For what reason? Hey, finding out a loophole in order to avoid these boring-ass classes would be pretty neat if you asked me."

"That's true."

There was no way that Hyunda would be worried about him, after all. I just wanted to know why he would bother to question it, and it turns out that he was looking for the reason as to why he is missing.

"So, Daniel. You feel pretty confident about this exam or no?"

Honestly...

"No... But there might be some hope."

Of course, this is all assuming that Kawahara wasn't lying previously, which might just be the case.

"I see. You and Yulia are overcoming your own insecurities while fighting them together, or something of that sort, right?"

"Well... Yeah, I guess you could say that. We understand each other a little better now, really. Though, I can't do anything about her physical incapability."

Perhaps the most horrifying thing about this exam is the fact that you are feeling hopeless all the time without being able to do anything about it.

That's why Kawahara's words got me curious.

"That's really good. If you can understand her insecurities and she can understand yours, then your teamwork is bound to be minimally accepted. Though, it's better to put it into practice honestly. Otherwise, when the time comes you might just be screwed in some departments."

About that...

"Hyunda, honestly I think that I'm going to fail. Yulia sucks at this and it doesn't matter what I do, it won't amount to anything. I also think that it's my fault here. Because if I knew earlier, I would've run slow like you and would be paired up with an excellent partner."

"Wow, throwing out the shades at her, huh? Harsh. Though realistically speaking, you can't fully blame yourself for that. There was no concrete way of knowing that this exam would revolve around contrasts."

Yet you, despite that, ran slow and got paired up with Arkalee, which is arguably one of the best runners from our class.

It's hard to believe that that's a coincidence...

"Can you be honest for a second?"

"I'm always honest. Wanna know something interesting about honesty? Honesty comes with genuineness and if you are a fully genuine person then you will never feel the need to lie to yourself. It's a different story to the others around you."

"So you're saying that you are honest to yourself but not to the others around you?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying. Good job there. But, that's because truth has an undeniable worth. Not everyone is worthy of the truth."

As I glanced upon the massive clock in the dining hall, I took a short notice of the time.

8:10 am...

I should wrap this up, shouldn't I?

"Then, am I worthy of your truth?"

"Nobody is. Worth is a subjective concept because it's always a concept that's debatable and open for change. If that's the case, then I can't just apply a natural value to the worth of my truth, especially when the ones after me aren't worthy of it."

Essentially, he just said that I'm not worthy of it, but Hyunda bothered to express why that's the case.

"Well, fine. But... You can give me your opinion still, right?"

"Anyone can, Daniel. What is it? You've got something to say, right? Otherwise, you wouldn't approach me in the first place."

I'm surprised he noticed, but I guess it's to be expected.

"What pairings are passing this exam?"

Hyunda's eyes widened a bit for some reason in response.

"Woah... That's... A lot to consider you know. But, not many are, I think. The only ones who are passing are those who are able to fulfill the physical matchability between themselves. In other words, pairings that were intentionally paired up with one another will surely win. Did you notice something when everyone else was running? Sagasuga ran extremely slow, but not slower than me and Shizuku ran extremely fast. Sagasuga is fast, in reality, and Shizuku is also fast. These two have most surely won already. No debate there."

How the hell does he notice these little things...

"Unfortunately, that's about it. That's the only pairing that I can see winning truly. If we are taking into consideration the exam's formula and not any partial substances, then I would say Sagasuga and Shizuku will take the win. Of course, it's a completely different story about the other pairings. Because there are idiots like you who do not realize the obvious contradiction. But, as said previously, you had no way of knowing it."

"If I had noticed the contradiction then I would have ran way slower just like you. Speaking of which, you ran slow on purpose, right?"

Though, I'm not sure if this question has an overall value here, honestly. Hyunda can just put up a fake front and tell me that that was his maximum speed or something like that.

"This is a filler exam. I could've easily set myself to the path of victory, but that's not important right now."

"How come? Is it not important to pass the exam? If you lose then you will have to fulfill a supply exam, Hyunda..."

Or maybe there is something far greater here.

"This exam can fuck itself. What actually matters is finding out the rat hiding."

"Kuzan?"

When the word rat comes up, I can only think of him now.

"No. The other rat. The son of a bitch trying to act clever in the shadows. Though... I think I already know who he is... But there isn't enough evidence to link it to him. That's why in this exam, more evidence will come up. Only then will I be able to form a resolute grasp on his pattern of actions. After that, it will just be a matter of time."

"Ah! The traitor!"

Damn, how could I forget?!

"Yeah, him."

"But you said that you think you already know who he is... Who is he?!"

"Daniel, there's hardly any point in throwing any baseless assumptions right now. Be patient, his demise will soon meet him."

"Ehhhh! But I really want to know! Come on, I don't mind guesses, seriously!"

I'm extremely curious right now. Just the thought of Hyunda already being aware of this guy is makes me want to jump around like a child!

"I'm not telling. Don't insist. Plus, this is my problem. When the time comes, you will know. No need to be impatient about this..."

"Ohhhh come on! I wanna go at it! Just tell me who it is and I will be able to observe his behavior well!"

"That's kinda why I'm not telling you. Because you might do something unnecessary..."

Oh ok.

Ouch, bro.

"Now... I'm not saying this to get your high hopes up... But, this shouldn't last more than a month or two. Just don't assume anything, please."

"Dude, you're awesome. How is your insight this amazing?!"

I think I'm fascinated by Hyunda. There are so many things that I feel like I can learn when I'm talking to him.

I also know that it's getting late but this conversation isn't boring to me. Not at all.

"It's not. You're over-glorifying me. Also, shouldn't you get ready...? It's getting late, after all..."

He also refuses to take my compliment for whatever reason. Even though it's rare for me to praise someone.

Nonetheless, he is right... It's getting a bit late.

"Ahhh, you're right. But, why don't you come, Hyunda?"

"Just let me rest for a bit... I'll be out in a while. Also... If, by some bizarre coincidence you see Arkalee outside, then talk to her."

"Eh, why though? What am I supposed to say to her?"

"Just form some random small talk. However, immediately wrap it up if it's nothing involving me. On the other hand, if she asks about me, then don't give away my location. Well... You should either tell her that I was in the dorm or that I already left earlier. On second thought, just tell her that I left the dorm already."

"Sure, I don't mind... But what are the odds of Arkalee being outside?"

That's what I want to know. Unless they combined something, I don't see why Arkalee would wait around for him.

"I'm not certain about the odds, but the chances might be positive."

"Okay, but if you and she have something combined then, shouldn't you just talk to her to make this easy? Why me?"

Hyunda has this bad habit of running away from responsibility so I wouldn't be surprised if this was just another case...

If that's the case, then I refuse to be his scapegoat.

"No, you got something wrong. This is just an assumption. We have nothing combined. Absolutely nothing at all. In theory, the chances of Arkalee being present outside should be as low as some girl having a crush on Kuzan."

Kuzan deserves the roast. Thieves have no dignity, after all.

"I see... If that's the case, then I probably don't have to worry much. I was just preoccupied because we have never spoken to each other."

"Yeah, well, just do what I told you, okay?"

"Well, sure. I don't mind."

Yet before I got up, as I placed my right hand on the edge of the table, I asked Hyunda the final question.

"Hyunda, are you passing the exam?"

"Doubt it."

Essentially, that's what I wanted to know. His opinion on his own situation.

I then grabbed my school bag and exited the dorm.

And, coincidentally, on my way out of it, I could spot a figure that had a mouthwatering appearance.

From my distance, I think I saw her lips moving as she got up from the bench that she was sitting on.

Ultimately, our eyes did connect, but I looked away for a short bit because I couldn't actually believe that this was happening.

Is Hyunda ever wrong about something? What's the point of doubting him if he nails it every damn time?

He said that the chances were as low as a girl standing around waiting for Kuzan, which should be infinitely low yet for some reason here she is.

Although I looked away, as an alpha, it is my duty to look into a female's eyes with confidence and have a stern permanence while doing so.

"Arkalee, what are you doing here? You're not gonna skip, are you? You're not going to make Basara-sensei angry for no reason, are you? Please don't."

Since Hyunda already had confirmed me his assumption, I was just starting some random small talk to see whether or not she was actually skipping or if she wanted to know something about Hyunda.

Nevertheless, her smile was spontaneous. Truly high-appeal.

Her twin-tails are pretty cute too...

"Hello, Daniel! Oh, no! I'm not going to skip! I'm just waiting for Hyunda! Do you know where he is?"

..................

Well, no point in being surprised...

If he's right about his own assumptions, then I ought to follow his own words.

"Hyunda? He's still in the dorm? Are you sure he didn't leave? Well-- Don't be late for class, please."

Though I answered a bit vague, I made sure to point out that Hyunda potentially had left the dorm.

But, Hyunda, there are two things that I don't understand.

Why did you go through all this commotion and why did you say that you will fail the exam?

Are you seriously that dead-set on failing it or is there something else that I am not seeing...?

"T-Thank you for the consideration!"

Arkalee said that reluctantly still with a huge smile on her face.

Without having much left to say, I left the scene and went to our classroom.

Also, is my breath okay? I feel like since I was in such a rush that I didn't properly take care of myself...

I made a quick stop and exhaled some of my breath just to test it.

"Hm... Perfect."

Truly fine.

But, why am I feeling a sudden chill right into my spine?

Must be the cold I guess.

8:30 am. Main Classroom. Block F.

Sometimes, since I am paired up with Yulia a lot, I forget that I have another partner.

Although, this partner of mine is far colder and detached in comparison to Yulia.

Also, I think that I want to alert Yulia about the news. That maybe there is a chance of us passing the exam.

I'll say to her that this is all assuming that Kawahara's information is actually true and that she should not expect anything, yet I think that will give her strong emotional security right now.

"Sensei! Where is Akihiko!? He's late! Why are you starting class when all of us except him are present?! Didn't you say at the beginning that classes would not start unless all students would be present in the classroom so why are you starting the classroom?!"

Tateyana of all people said that.

Hm? Tateyana? Seriously? Was she always this aggressive? No, I don't recall such...

....................

Just to make sure I'm going to look at a certain person...

"None of your business. Akihiko will most likely be absent for a while. I will also not take any questions regarding Akihiko. If you want to know more, talk to your homeroom teacher. Also, his absence doesn't mean that any of you are allowed to skip classes. Consequences still remain the same."

"Say what?! He can skip classes for whatever reason but not me? Isn't that injustice?"

Tateyana kept on ranting despite Basara-sensei clearly stating that he would not take any more questions.

Jesus, what is this? Is it that day of the week for her?

No.... I think it's more related to something partial.

Of course, I could only assume such when I looked in the direction of Sagasuga, who was forcefully taking his mind off the current situation.

A situation where it regards Tateyana. That's not normal for Sagasuga.

Fucking white-knight, what have you done?

"Tateyana, go take a chill pill in the principal's office."

"Uggggh!!! Bullshit!"

Woman, why are you so angry? You even kicked the door while leaving.

What exactly happened?

"Hey, did something happen with her?"

"How would I know... Also, your breath stinks. If you refuse to stay at least 100 miles away from me, then don't ever talk to me again..."

Oh come on, that's not true!

Don't look at me with such disgust! You're exaggerating.

Man, why is my table partner so rude all the time? Salty must be her life-moto or something.

Since there was no point in pursuing the conversation, the class proceed as normal.

But, it was a totally different story when Yuka-sensei arrived.

Tateyana was not present, yet someone else asked the same question but in a slight more positive manner.

"Yuka-sensei, Akihiko is missing and Basara-sensei told us that we should ask you about it if we have something to say about it. I'm not going to speak for everyone, but I am curious."

Something worth marking is that Akihiko's table partner is indeed present. Although, she refuses to make eye contact with anyone. Sana's constantly looking down.

"I was going to explain that eventually, Tatsu. Before moving onto the last P.E practical class, I would like to inform everyone here that Akihiko is in a very bad physical condition right now..."

What?

What happened?

"The details are unknown, but his absence is entirely justified due to his current immense physical incapability. If you wish to visit him, then go to block C and direct yourselves to the infirmary."

Unknown details? But if that's true then he will not be able to do the exam...

However, someone caught up with this way faster than I did. Possibly anyone in this classroom.

"Wait a second. Then... Does that mean that he won't be able to do the exam? That's not it, right? The partner is rightfully excluded, right?"

Rayazaki was speaking out with all of his might in a very aggressive tone.

I knew why though. As a matter of fact, any boy knew.

"Unfortunately... That's not how it works... While it is unlucky, the situation will not be changed. It wouldn't be fair for everyone, Rayazaki. A student can't receive individual privilege while the rest doesn't."

Additionally, I wasn't aware that it worked like that. Physical incapability will not allow a pairing to perform at all. And of course, since Yuka-sensei's reasoning for this is what it is, Rayazaki isn't most likely going to accept this with ease.

"What!? How is that acceptable?! Who cares about being fair, show some logic! If someone is physically incapable of performing the exam, then the remaining person, who is capable, should be paired up with someone else too!"

He's letting his blind rage consume him. To the point where he didn't realize how illogical his request now just was.

"I can't do that. The numbers are even. If a single person is excluded, then there is not a single person left for that person to be paired up with. It's an undeniable fate. Also, I wouldn't have proposed this exam unless the exact number of every single one of you was an odd number. Since it's an even number, I did propose it."

That much was obvious. An irregularity would surely be left if this class had, for example, 25 students.

But it has 24 students. 24 is an even number.

"What.........!"

Even though Rayazaki was fuming, he did not press this any further.

I suppose I can emphasize with his rage. After all, this is a death sentence to Hinagiku, regarding the upcoming exam.

Also, I got curious to know what happened to Kuzan, but the death stares from Kan and Kawahara were giving him paranoia, so I didn't bother.

10:30 am. Cafeteria.

Yulia and I were back in the same place as yesterday, having our random talks or just straight up talking about suicide methods, her favorite.

Yet, when I found the window of opportunity to talk to her open, I made my move and told her the news.

"Yulia, this might be sudden, but I think I found a way to pass the exam. I don't know yet nor am I sure if the information that I will receive about it is true yet if all goes well, we should be able to pass it."

I do realize how much trust I am blindly putting into Kawahara, but if Kawahara cannot fulfill this then he will be viewed as someone incompetent.

Kawahara is not someone who likes being viewed as weak.

".......What? What are you talking about? Didn't we agree on failing the exam...?"

"Yeah, I know. But now that a possible path to victory is here, or could be here, I wanted to inform you about this. Hey, maybe we are actually going to pass it! Don't get your hopes too high, but it might just happen!"

But for some reason, Yulia was starting to lose her serene expression.

She got gloomy and dark extremely quick.

Huh? But, wasn't what I just said reassuring? Did something happen?

"Daniel..."

"Yeah...?"

Her dark voiced tone is alerting me for some reason...

"Are you joking?"