Chaoskouji

Arc 6 Chapter 3 - Debate

The sports festival was in a month's time, and for the next few weeks, we would be given the two hourly homeroom session to do with as we pleased.

And so, that was how Horikita and Hirata successfully split the class in as little as half an hour.

Backtracking a bit to the start of the session, it was decided that we would begin planning our strategy now. No progress had been made since the announcement, since most people had been just considering ideas, planning how to practice, but mostly we just hadn't gotten together since.

Most students, myself included, left the school right at the end of the day. Even if they were asked to stay for planning, it was unreasonable to expect the entire class to show up, and since we needed a consensus on all decisions, nothing could be done until now.

And so, Hirata stood up and took the spot at the front of the class with a serious expression on his face.

"I think we're all aware of just how important the upcoming festival is. I want everyone to be on the same page, so that we can get through it together as a class. There's a lot of danger, but with the right preparation we shouldn't have anything to worry about." The smile he had worn in the first semester was nowhere to be seen. Hirata was taking this as seriously as he could, and was willing to force the class in the direction he wanted.

"The first thing we need to decide is the order of participation," Hirata continued. "I've taken the liberty of drawing up a draft participation table, so we have a base to start with. This gives us a strategy to work with, with only minor modifications." Saying this, he began to hand out copies of the participation table, one for everyone in the class. Perhaps he hoped that by pressuring everyone with an existing option, most people would cave and agree with his plans.

Looking it over, it was very clear what his idea was. Hirata had done his best to spread everyone out, with the fastest runners in every different event. Everyone had been given a fair chance in this plan, and if we followed it, yes, we would probably avoid the exam point demerits for most students. This was a conservative plan, not at all intended for winning, but for safety and security. Hirata wasn't trying to win. If we followed this, Class D would probably come third or fourth in the end, but almost everyone would be safe. We would never win any All Participant events, but we would never come dead last either.

As for the Reccomended Participants, Hirata had at least made an attempt for victory. His plan was similar to mine, putting our best participants up for those events, but still in a conservative way. He clearly didn't want to force anyone to work too hard, but that was a further detriment to his proposal. Even Sudou was only listed in half of the events.

As expected, my neighbour found the entire idea ridiculous.

"Garbage."

That was the response that filled the quiet room, dragging everyone's attention from reading the table and onto Horikita, who crumpled up the paper and dropped it on the floor.

"Hey, Hirata-kun worked hard on that!"

One of the girls in the class cried out defending their king, but Horikita took no notice of them. Instead, she gracefully pulled herself up from her desk, and slowly walked to the front of the room, before stopping face-to-face with Hirata.

"Is there a problem with my suggestion, Horikita?" It was a simple question, but there was an underlying dangerous tone in his voice.

"I didn't pick you for a coward, Hirata-kun. And yet, you've handed out a plan that embodies the true meaning of the word."

A large cry spouted at that, as Hirata's fan club jumped to defend him, but I, along with the two at the front, ignored them. This was much too interesting to miss.