COTE x Naruto: New Beginnings

Chapter 24: Betrayal

"Sakura-san... The VIPs from the three groups... they're all from Class D," Hirata revealed, making Sakura's eyes widen.

"A- are you sure? How do you know anyway?" Sakura wondered, to which Hirata smiled sheepishly.

"Well, they told me as they didn't want to hold onto the secret all alone. It can be difficult to be the VIP. There is so much pressure on you from all sides, right? The VIPs were Karuizawa, Kushida-san and Minami-san, in case you're wondering."

Sakura, however, only stared blankly at the wall next to Hirata's head. This felt like a personal attack against Class D. Why did the person only end the exam for Class D VIPs? That didn't seem like a coincidence.

"We need to find out which class did it, and we need to guess all of their VIPs," Sakura decided finally, a fierce look on her face.

"That way, we can negate our point loss for having the VIPs guessed, and we can ensure that the class that did this won't come on top with 150 points or more," Sakura said.

If this class had figured out the system, she had no idea why they hadn't submitted more VIPs than those from Class D. However, she'd rather act fast before this class or person made up their mind and finished the job.

"H- huh? Is that even possible?" Hirata wondered. Sakura herself didn't know, but she knew she had to find out.

"Hirata, you've talked to the others in our class about their groups, right? Could you send me a list of all the groups and their members later today, please?" Sakura requested, a plan already forming in her mind.

Hirata, seeing she was serious about this, was determined to help her in any way he could. "Of course, I'll get them but, Sakura-san, are you sure tou don't need more help?"

Sakura shook her head.

"I'll talk to you later, Hirata. I need to talk to someone," Sakura told Hirata, already walking away, ignoring his stunned look.

Now, she had three options. Talk to Ryuuen, Ayanokouji, or Hatake? Which one would most likely help her somehow?

With a pained grimace, she made her way to where she suspected Class C's room were. She'd talk to Ayanokouji later, and maybe even chat with Hatake.

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"Ryuuen," she greeted him flatly, bumping into him on her way to where the dorms were.

If he was surprised, he didn't show it. "Sakura, great to see you. Did you by any chance make up your mind?" He asked.

She shrugged. "I'm not sure if I can rely on you and work with you, but I do want to know something. Do you know the names of any VIPs outside your class? I don't want their names, just need to check something," she asked directly, to which Ryuuen eyed her in amusement.

"I have no idea why I should give you that information, but yes. And I know exactly which class suffered the most from the test ending for those three groups in particular. It seems like there's another mastermind out there, and this one is even better than you, Sakura," he told her, looking eager to learn more about this mastermind.

"Ku ku ku, are you even a mastermind at all, Sakura? I'm starting to become convinced that someone pulled your strings too," Ryuuen hummed thoughtfully.

Sakura rolled her eyes at his theatrics. Honestly, mastermind sounded so corny... Not to mention he was making her out to be some genius, which Sakura didn't like all that much. It would probably be better if her enemies underestimated rather than overestimated.

"Whatever. Last quesiton. Am I right in assuming that each class has three VIPs?"

Ryuuen looked at her seriously. "I have no idea why I should tell you that, but on the other hand, I want to see if you'll be able to do something with the information... Yes, every class has an equal number of VIPs. I'll submit the Class A leaders soon. If you want points, focus on Class B," he told her curtly, no longer smiling.