A New Masterpiece (COTE x OC)

Chapter 23 - Zodiac Exam (2)

"Hello, my fellow partners." I gave a quick response as I made my way to where Horikita and Ayanokouji were sitting.

Early this morning, Horikita had contacted me to meet her and Ayanokouji before the announcement of the VIPs, so we could go over strategies for this Special Exam.

"You're late," Horikita responded flatly.

"It's before 8 am. Relax a bit, Horikita."

"Tch."

I took a seat beside Ayanokouji. It seems they ordered their food before I got here, so I kindly asked a nearby waiter for some coffee and toast.

"Now that we are all here and settled," Horikita continued. "I'd like to discuss strategy for this Special Exam."

With that, Horikita fumbled in her blazer pocket for a second and pulled out a folded piece of paper.

It seems that she had written down the extensive list of members in the Dragon Group.

Class D: Kushida Kikyo, Hirata Yosuke, Horikita Suzune

Class C: Ryuuen Kakeru, Oda Takumi, Suzuki Hidetoshi, Sonoda Masashi

Class B: Kanzaki Ryuji, Ando Sayo, Tsube Hitomi

Class A: Katsuragi Kohei, Nishikawa Ryoko, Matoba Shinji, Yano Koharu

Even after learning about the big names within this group, you could still see this group was truly comprised of the elites of their respective classes.

"The Dragon Group seems to be a truly frightening one," I said.

"They may be more troublesome than fearsome," Horikita replied. "I'm afraid this group may be too irrational to come to an agreed outcome. So turning traitor or protecting the VIP, if they are from our class, will be the only option."

I turned my gaze to Ayanokouji. He had been staring at the list of members in the Dragon Group for quite some time now.

"Hey, Ayanokouji, what's on your mind?"

Ayanokouji snapped back to reality and gave Horikita and me a quick glance.

"I was confused as to why someone like Ichinose isn't in this group."

"Why Ichinose-san?" Horikita asked.

"Well, it seems to me this group was purposely comprised of figureheads within their respective class. Off Class D alone, you can see that the 3 major students within the class are grouped up. That couldn't have been by accident. So, why would Ichinose be in the Rabbit Group with me?"

I had my own suspicions about this too. While Mashima-sensei did say these groups were organized randomly, the Dragon Group is prime evidence against this.

"Maybe, Ichinose-san isn't as significant within Class B as we thought," Horikita replied.

"She did tell me at the beginning of the year," I cut in. "That she wasn't a class leader, but more of a support for the leader. Nonetheless, I still think she is a pivotal member of Class B, based on how much the class trusts her. With her not being in the Dragon Group, I do believe someone is pulling the strings from the shadows."

The 3 of our phones suddenly vibrated. Seems like the time was finally upon us. We all quickly opened our emails and placed our phones on the table.

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After thorough consideration, you have not been chosen as the VIP. Please work as one to clear this exam. The exam will begin at 1pm today. It will be held for 3 days from this point on. If you belong to the Goat Group, please come to the room marked as such immediately.