Chaoskouji

Arc 4 Chapter 5 - Machinations

The second discussion of the first day had begun. Every member of Dragon group had returned to the meeting room and were sitting in the stupid circle of chairs.

This time however, I had found time to eat before-hand, not that I didn't have an abundance of time on my hands anyway, and was content to sit and rest in a post-feast coma whilst the rest of the group battled it out.

Ever since my conversation with Amikura and Ichinose, there had been only one way this group would go tonight.

Katsuragi and Class A would refuse to speak. This was a given, unless there was some external change that made it worth them entering discussion.

Ryuuen I wasn't sure about, but I suspected he would be targeting me directly. He had made it clear on the island that I was his opponent, and while there wasn't much to do in this group, he could still find ways to cause me problems. The rest of Class C would follow his lead.

It was Kanzaki who would cause the biggest problems. He wasn't one to sit around and lose, and so he would also find the same method as Ryuuen. Luckily, I had Amikura and Ichinose to hinder his progress.

"I'd like to start this meeting off by trying to figure out who the VIP is."

And as predicted, Kanzaki tried to take control of the situation.

"Are you stupid? What's there to figure out, we all know it's Ayanokouji," exclaimed Suzuki.

"I'm not so sure. Logically, all evidence points to him being the VIP, but it could be a double bluff in order to force Outcome 1. There's no evidence that actually implicates him, in fact it's still just as likely that anyone else here is the VIP."

"And what the fuck do you think we should do about it then?" Asked Ryuuen, seeming interested in where this was going.

Kanzaki leaned forward, a fierce expression on his face.

"I know that the VIP isn't in my class. For that reason, I propose that everyone shows the emails they received from the school."

There it was, the one way to force progress. I had opened myself up to this risk by getting Horikita and Kikyou to show theirs, but it was a necessary risk to take in order to get the group to believe that in my class, I was the highest chance of being the VIP.

Speaking of Horikita, as Kanzaki continued to speak, I could see her getting more and more nervous, witnessing my plan unravel before her eyes, the entire group coming crashing down to our defeat.

But it wasn't a concern.

"If Ayanokouji really is the VIP, then we will all know. If he isn't we'll find out who the real VIP is. I don't see a downside." Kanzaki had continued his argument, but he had made a fatal error in his wording. His last sentence had doomed his proposal, and it wouldn't even need my help to sabotage this.

"You claim there isn't a downside, Kanzaki-kun. But wouldn't it be harmful for any other class who is potentially hiding a VIP? From what you've said, it's as if the only result you care about is your own class, yet you pretend to be working in the groups interests. It's a reasonable stance to take, especially since I am also working for my own classes interests, but I'd appreciate it if you were honest about your intentions next time."

I had never heard such destructive words from such an angelic person. Shiina tore Kanzaki to shreds. Really, she had no reason to interfere, since she would most likely know that the VIP also wasn't in her class, but it seemed she had genuinely taken offense at his underhanded exploitation of the group.

"You would leave the group in stalemate over impure intentions? As it stands, your opposition to the idea of sharing our emails only makes it more suspicious for the VIP to be in Class C."