All or Nothing

Volume 1: Chabashira Sae SS

Chabashira Sae SS: The Price is Right?

I was sitting on the couch in my living room, silently reflecting over the events that had transpired today with a cup of coffee in hand.

The time was currently 7pm in the evening, a few hours after the unanimous vote special exam ended. It was a difficult day to get through, however, I managed to not feel too awful when the inevitable destruction question came into the exam.

...And in the end, I don't know if the end result was good or not.

It was at that point I heard a knock at my door and I remembered that I had invited someone over for the evening.

I sat up and made my way to the door.

Opening it revealed the student I've had my eyes on ever since I saw his profile from Chairman Sakayanagi. That student was Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.

"Sensei. Can we figure out a way to meet where this is a little less suspicious. I unfortunately had two teachers look at me weirdly as I entered the building."

Just as I stepped aside to let him in, Ayanokouji immediately complained about the meeting.

His monotone voice and almost apathetic expression contrasted a lot with the annoyance present in his eyes and words. I couldn't help but feel amused by this in my mind.

But that wasn't important.

"What? Would you like me to come to your room instead?"

"...On second thought, doing it this way is probably better."

I couldn't help but chuckle a little bit at his nature.

"Well I get your point. I could have set up a session for us to meet and talk on the school roof or somewhere around the campus. If I'm being honest, I didn't think about doing it that way. Since we last talked here, I thought it would just be easier to do it this way again."

"...Fair enough..."

I followed Ayanokouji to my living room and beckoned him to sit down on the couch, just like the previous time before the exam. And following that trend, I offered to make him a drink, to which he said a black coffee would be fine.

Typical.

"So, you wanted to talk about the results of the exam, Sensei?"

I stiffened immediately as I remembered the reason why I called him here.

Yes. The last time I talked with Ayanokouji about the special exam, I also mentioned to him that I wanted to meet up with him after the special exam.

At the time, I was desperate in searching for an answer. Was the decision I made back when I partook in this special exam the correct one? Or was it wrong?

I wanted to know, so I asked Ayanokouji to see if he could find that better answer, by strolling through the special exam and completing it without regrets like me.

"Yes... Well... What do you think of the results you managed to get?"

I could tell Ayanokouji didn't like the results that had come from this special exam. Sakura Airi, a very close friend of his, had just been expelled, and it had been at the hands of someone who he had "trusted" since the start of the year.

"...If you want my complete honesty, sensei, then I am in a bit of a predicament with how I feel about the result. I am unsure whether I feel more frustrated and sad or just unfeeling."

This surprised me a lot. I looked at him with eyes that were filled with curiosity and he continued speaking.

"The correct answer for this exam, the one that you were truly looking for and the one I was aiming for, was to expel Kushida Kikyou. She is a dangerous individual who does not intend on changing for the better. She is a stubborn and stupid girl who will do anything to get me and Horikita out, even if it means hurting everyone she is friends with. I would like to say I cannot understand why we should keep such a person. However..."