Chaoskouji

Arc 3 Chapter 7 - The calm before the storm

The third day began much the same as the previous had ended; in a rather calm and measured manner. It was strange to see the class, who were so often at each other's throats, not having any real arguments

Sure, the boys and girls had immediately dispersed to opposite ends of the campsite, and there were only a few people reasonable enough to cross much further than halfway, but it was a nice change from the ordinary bickering in class.

Perhaps we needed a bigger classroom. Or classes outside perhaps.

After grabbing breakfast, I made my way back to the hammock. There wasn't anything for me to do today, so I was planning on taking this opportunity to rest. I had no idea how much sleep I would get over the rest of the week, so taking a break now was as good a choice as anything.

There really wasn't anything else to do, anyway.

Enough food had been gathered yesterday to last us up to three more days if people rationed properly. If not, it was already budgeted in for purchasing food with points, meaning that for essentials, there was no need to put any effort in.

Unless something occurred within our campsite working against the class, the week would proceed as normal.

But where's the fun in that?

These thoughts were making their way through my mind when I reached my hammock, and after quickly throwing Yamauchi out of it and reclaiming my throne over the rest of the class I let my mind relax.

What was the best course of action? That was the question I was still struggling with. Despite my actions, I had intentionally left myself with a wide range of options, many possible outcomes from this exam still were available.

Could I work with Ryuuen? It was certainly an option. Neither of us would ever trust the other, especially since I approached him and forced my way into a deal with him, but together we would be able to defeat the other classes even more completely.

That wasn't a great plan however, due to the current class standings. All the other three classes were more or less close in points to each other. Yes, by working with Ryuuen we could gain a large advantage over Class A and B, but it would also give Class C the lead. And once it came time to try and defeat Ryuuen, the other two classes would also be attacking back, leaving us at a 2v1v1, and Class D in a big disadvantage.

I could partner with Class C. Kanzaki was unlikely to trust me, but Ichinose would be willing to agree to a partnership, I suspected. It would give her a chance to work closely with me, while supporting her ideals of cooperation. She was also, despite her current standing, a very competent person. She wasn't someone to be underestimated and working with her would prove insightful to the flaws in her class.

Kanzaki would be very hesitant of working with me, but my trust could be bought. I could provide them with the leader's names and prove my 'honest' intentions to cooperate with them. It seemed likely he would agree to work with me, at least provisionally.

Class A was out of the question. There were only two people to negotiate with there, and I had a deal with one of them to crush the other. Katsuragi was not someone I had any interest in working with, due to his defensive nature, as displayed in this exam. He was far above most of the students in this grade, but his non-confrontational nature severely limited any possibilities of victory, and I had no intention of being hampered by them.

Sakayanagi would also never agree to a partnership, at least not without extenuating circumstances. She wanted nothing more than to defeat the masterpiece of the White Room, and prove the superiority of natural-born geniuses, meaning that in any chance to compete there would be no cooperation between us unless it was necessary.