Chaoskouji

Arc 4 Chapter 3 - Psychological Warfare

Breakfast was a delicious helping of waffles, topped with icecream, strawberries and maple syrup. Once again, I was sharing a meal with Kikyou, who had apparently managed to make time out of her busy friend life to catch up with me. It was 7:58am, and our phones were on the table ready to receive the email from the school about whether we were the VIP of dragon group or not.

"Ah, this ship is amazing! I can't get over this food, how am I going to function when we get back to school. Ugh, it's not fair."

Kikyou was in the middle of devouring a stack of triple chocolate pancakes, topped with chocolate ice cream. How she ate so much and still had a perfect figure was beyond me.

I couldn't argue with her words, though. The food on the cruise was on another level, far beyond what we could get at most of the restaurants at school. There were a few high-class places, but they were frequented mostly by third years, and required booking weeks in advance. For a measly poor first year, a meal there was virtually unobtainable.

"Just out of curiosity, would you rather be the VIP, or not?"

It was an interesting dilemma. A greedy person would choose to be the VIP, drawn to the thought of points, and completely forgetting about the danger they would be in. An overly cautious person would rather not, as being the VIP was balancing a dagger, a dangerous act that would result in a taget on your back. Of course there were several nuances to the situation, and it wasn't as clear-cut as that.

"Hmm. I think I'd like to be the VIP."

That was the answer I had expected. Kikyou wasn't a greedy person, but no one could ignore the potential 1 million points easily. Besides, she was an incredible actor. She could swear black was white and white was black, and most of the grade would take her word. If there was anyone who could get away with being the VIP it would be her.

"What about you?" She turned the question back onto me.

"I'm not sure. I suppose I'd prefer to be the VIP, but either way I'm not too bothered."

Being the VIP would provide a much greater amount of control in the group. It reduced the number of variables to consider, and allowed one to manipulate the situation, without potentially giving someone else the advantage. Along with that was the private points. I also was unable to disregard the allure of them.

As I was contemplating both choices, our phones buzzed. 8 o'clock. I looked down at the phone in front of me, and read the email from the school on it.

After thorough consideration, you have been chosen to be the VIP. Please remember to be a team player as your group tackles the challenges of this test. The exam begins today, and will be held over a period of three days. Members of the Dragon group should gather in the Dragon room located on the second deck.

The first thing I noticed was the strange wording at the beginning. 'After thorough consideration' indicated there was a method to the VIP selection, confirming a potential theory I had. If I could find enough of the VIP's, it was possible that I could find out the pattern used, and in turn figure out the rest, although I suspected that wouldn't be possible without knowing at least a few from other classes.

"Would you look at that. I guess I'm the VIP."

Kikyou turned her head up from the phone in front of her, looking at the message I was reading, before smirking.

"That makes things easier. If you're the VIP, I don't see how they could ever figure out if you're lying. Do you ever change your face?"

"I just have trouble expressing myself." She hit me right where it hurt. Betrayed, like Ceasar by Brutus, stabbed in the back by my closest confidant.