COTE: The Quiet One Can Be Dangerous

Vol. 7 Chp. 1: Pursuers

'...' Writing
'...' Sign language
"...": Text to speech

Mid-December has passed; with it, the seasons have changed rapidly, and the temperature has dropped significantly. Students now wear mufflers, gloves, and long socks to stay warm. Today, the sky is covered with a cloudy grey blanket, indicating it may snow soon. I was at Keyaki Mall with my friends Azuma, Rino, Ichihashi, and Mori.

Mori stretched her arms over her head, "In the end, nobody from any class got expelled," she said as several students from Class C coincidentally passed by us.

"I'm relieved that we got through the exam," Ichihashi rested her head on the table, "I didn't get enough of Kagunirium."

"Boo-hoo," Rino sarcastically said, "Why am I even here?"

"I'm sorry about her," Mori patted Rino on the back.

"Umm, I don't want to bring down the mood, but have you noticed the strange behavior of Class C?" Azuma asked with a slightly concerned look.

"Class C? They're always a strange bunch, though. What do you mean?" Mori asked.

 It looks like Azuma has realized. Even now, a boy is hiding himself while peeking at us. It's 'Kondou,' a Class C student and one of Ryuuen's henchmen. There's almost no doubt he's supposed to be keeping an eye on our group.

But there's quite a bit of distance between us, and even if we ask him, there's no evidence that points towards surveillance. If he insists it's just a series of coincidences, that's all it'll take to shut us down.

More importantly, the problem is that another person who 'isn't from Class C' is observing this group. None of them hasn't noticed that presence.

"While Kagurazaka-kun and I were studying with Yukimura's group, those Class C guys made contact with us," Rino said.

"What happened?" Ichihashi asked.

Rino shrugged, "He was looking for someone in Class D who could be a secret mastermind behind the scenes and pulling the strings."

He's already probably narrowed his targets to a few, including me. The most significant contribution I made was during the cruise ship exam.

Now, I wonder how Ryuuen will fill that last puzzle piece. Looking at the pattern of his movements up until now, it's not that difficult to imagine.

The question is 'when' that's going to happen. While I thought about that, Azuma and the others continued their conversation. Mori came to a different conclusion on why Class C is disturbing us.

"Do you think our growth has something to do with being in Class D? We didn't have any points at the start, but now we're almost caught up to Class C. Plus, the Paper Shuffle results made us Class C by next semester," Mori was thinking of a different reason behind Class C's actions.

Ichihashi rubbed a hand on her chin, "True, there's only a 192 point difference between us."

Class A - 1254 cp (+100)

Class B - 930 cp (-100)

Class C - 262 cp (-200)