Luckily, me and Yukina made it to the station just in time to board on the train. Once we took our seats, she immediately started to scald me for my actions.

"What were you thinking?! Why did you surrender to them?! What happened to becoming leader, Yuu? Why did you do that? I don't understand!"

To my surprise, Yukina was extremely upset over my decision to give control of the class back to Matsushita and dissolve the Takanori group. I guess it made sense, since she was supporting me from the very beginning and was the person closest to me this entire time. She was just as invested in this as I was.

"Don't worry. I'm not giving up on taking the spot of leader from Matsushita-san."

"You're... you're not? Then... what was the point of surrendering? You're just giving him the advantage by doing that!"

Yukina was now confused by why I did that if I had no intention of abandoning my original goal.

"That's just what it looks like on the surface. In reality, I have the upper hand now."

"You... do?"

I looked around the train. Not many people were on board, but I lowered my voice just in case.

"Let me explain. Are you familiar with theatrics?"

"Yes. It's acting, isn't it? Though, I was never good at drama or anything like that..."

As if understanding this shouldn't be talked about in public, Yukina also hushed her voice.

"Well, that's basically what I did in the classroom."

"Eh? You put on an act?"

"That's right. I'm merely pretending to give Matsushita-san control over the class once more."

"Wait, I don't understand... how could you falsely do that? Not only did an outsider of the class, Natsumi-san, watch you surrender, but Matsushita-san's influence is much greater than yours... everyone will believe him when he says everything's returned to normal."

"That's what I want. I want everyone to believe we've gone back to how things are. It's why I purposefully made that announcement while Ichinose-san was there. Not only would it make my surrender look more legitimate, since an outsider of our class is there as witness, but it would help validate my actions for Matsushita-san, who might've called me out on my bluff due to his deep rooted mistrust in me."

"But why? What advantage does that even offer you? Isn't it better to continue piling pressure onto Matsushita-san and earning trust from our classmates through merit?"

"Originally, that sort of direct attack is what I wanted to do to become leader, but after this first failure of mine, I can now see the holes that have opened up in that plan. That's why I came to the conclusion it was a waste of time. I'd be better off cutting my losses here and changing strategy before it's too late."

Yukina huffed, dissatisfied by my reasoning.

"It's not! By admitting you completely lost after the first time you fail, you're essentially admitting to everyone that you're weak and would rather give up than continue. Sometimes being stubborn is a good thing, you know? By showing your resilience, you'll be showing everyone that you won't give up easily. And if they believe you'll find a way forward, they'll be more willing to put their faith in you. People don't like weak willed leaders, so if you do ever become leader in the future, everyone won't take you as seriously because of this surrender you did against Matsushita-san over one mistake. They'll see your legitimacy as leader a joke!"

"People also won't put their faith into leaders who screwed up royally. I know that this makes me look like a wimp, but the severity of my actions should be enough justify this decision. While it's also a safer strategy to continue fighting him head on, in the long term, we'd reach a point of deadlock, like B Class, and that's not what I want. It'd hinder our progress from ascending, and since we're right at the bottom, we can't waste our time fighting amongst ourselves. Similarly, earning everyone's trust through merit is also far more time consuming - who knows when I'll finally achieve leadership? Not only that, but my position as one of the big 3 loners means I'm not exactly liked by everyone in the class from the very beginning. If there are people who inherently don't like me, then there's just no way they'd accept listening to me if I am leader regardless of what I've done for the class. This style of gaining leadership hinges too much on being a social person, which I am not. It's better suited for someone like Matsushita-san."

"But Yuu, you can change people's perceptions of you. I know you can, because you've changed so many people's opinions on you already! Kou-san, Akari-san, Taiga-san, Mitsuba-san, Akihiro-san... the list goes on and on. Those people would prefer to have you as leader over Matsushita-san, I'm sure of it!"

"Then what about people like Sakigamiya-san or Yamaguchi-san? They'll stubbornly continue to hate me no matter what. There's no way I'd change their minds about me."

"Even if you couldn't... maybe I could? I know Alice-chan is stubborn, but I'm also her friend. If it's me... then maybe I can convince her to give you a chance!"

"Forget it. Trying to force them to change their mind is a fruitless task because it's a contentious topic to bring up in casual conversation. If anything, it'll only add to their resentment towards me because it's an uncomfortable conversation to have. Having someone echo that "X is good" can get annoying and instead reinforce the hatred. Change can only happen naturally when that person sees it for themselves, otherwise they're left sceptical."

"I guess that's true... that most people are usually adverse to change. They'd prefer to stick to what their familiar with, don't they? I guess it was a silly idea after all, ha ha... but still, I want to help out any way I can regardless!"

Yukina pumped her balled fists excitedly.

"If you want to help, then there's something you can do."

"What's that?"

"Spread news of our civil war coming to an end so the other classes will keep an eye on our class again."

Yukina looked at me sceptically. She wasn't expecting me to want to push word of my loss to Matsushita so publicly.

"And that will help how...?"

"Think long term. Just for the time being, I want to build back E Class's legitimacy by having everyone in the school to believe our class is led by Matsushita-san again. While we're not troublesome right now, unity is shaping up to become one of the greatest factors in whether or not a class is a threat or not, as seen with D Class. In fact, them winning this war due to teamwork will cement this concept as being of high importance in everyone's head, meaning that news of our class coming together as one once again will actually have impact."

"But the other classes have already written us off as failures that add nothing of worth to the intra-class battle? They don't fear us or see us as a threat. They won't even care if we unite again. It's not enough to make them fear us, especially after what happened between you and Matsushita-san and us losing the war."

"You'd think that, but fundamentally, a good leader will consider everyone, even the weaklings, as potential enemies when engaged in war. You can place less importance on the weaklings, but you still need to keep an eye on them regardless, or else you'll get caught out when they suddenly surge up in power out of nowhere. Again, D Class is a prime example - no one expected a class of delinquents to have more camaraderie than say, the academically gifted students of B Class. Leaders who are cocky are most susceptible to this fallacy, as they see no value in worrying about the weak because they don't pose an immediate threat. Fortunately, those leaders are the same type of people who will fall to them in the long run simply because they underestimated their competency."

"Oh! You're going to use the upper class's arrogance against them, aren't you?"

Yukina eyes glimmered like a little kid's.

"Precisely. If none of them are keeping an eye on us, then we can play as dirty as we want. It's the perfect cover to act without gaining suspicion from other classes. They won't be worrying about what the weaklings are doing when the powerhouses are operating at full force in broad daylight. That's one of the advantages being the lowest class - no one expects anything from us. That's why when we do anything remotely impressive, it'll become a big deal. If we make enough impressive plays, like D Class, we'll finally stop being treated like a laughing stock and they'll finally see us as a legitimate threat. But at that point, it'll be too late, and we'll snuff them out by pulling the rug from under them."

"It's like we're sewing a thread of fear in their hearts slowly over time. They'll never see it coming!"

"Yep. In fact, we can even stretch and apply this logic to our own class."

Yukina tilted her head.

"We can?"

"Yeah. Here's my second main reason for resetting everything back to normal - I want Matsushita-san to believe I'm a non-threat. As it stands, he and Sakigamiya-san have better pressure tactics than us, so we'd be at a disadvantage continuing that direct conflict with them, since in the classroom, they'd find ways to dominate. We already saw it happen when their group occupied the front of the class, shoving our group to the back. Not to mention, in other classes, they respect Matsushita-san more than I do, since he's a popular ikemen, while I still have the stigma of being a woman beater and a loner attached to my name."

"People's minds are changing though! The newspaper club's article today on you exposed the truth of what really happened. I'm sure that stigma will clear up and people will see you for the quiet and kindhearted person you really are."

"Ideally, yes, it would disappear, but my hope for that is low. Realistically, most people don't go seeking the truth of a controversy after it happens - they only see the headlines and initial information, then move on with their day. It's very unlikely they'll go out of their way to follow a story to the very end. They'll just latch onto the next controversy, and the cycle repeats. However, we can use that negative to my advantage."

"How...? Don't tell me, you're going to embrace it?!"

"Honestly, I considered it. If a "woman beater" suddenly became leader, that'd be scary, right? I'd be a fearsome leader right off the bat, but it'd be an artificial fear. No, instead, I want people to feel the real thing. That's why, if that stigma is going to stick to me, then I want people to think I'm lame, weak, and cowardly for doing such a thing."

"That's... but... h-huh?"

Yukina stammered as she tried to express her confusion.

"Essentially, the more pathetic someone thinks I am, the less they'll pay attention to me, and the less they'll take me seriously."

"That's not a good thing, though..."

"It's not if you're a leader. But I'm not a leader anymore, am I? I returned to being a loner of the class."

Yukina's eyes widened in realisation.

"Ah... I get it now! That's what you meant by applying it to our class! Because you're now at rock bottom of the hierarchy, no one's keeping an eye on you because you're no longer a threat, meaning you can move more freely under the cover of being a weak and unassuming loner!"

I nodded.

"That's exactly right. From now on, I'll be operating in the shadows."

This was the path I had chosen. Instead of rebelling broadly in the light, I'll quietly revolt in the shadows.

"And that's the most important part. I want everyone to see me as a loser so I can easier steal leadership right from under Matsushita's nose. I'm going to work to become leader that way."

"So you really haven't given up after all!"

Yukina was beaming, smiling widely from ear to ear.

"Yeah. I simply changed my strategy according to the situation. Sometimes you have to lose in order to win. While it doesn't feel good to play dirty, I have no other choice."

Reaching out, Yukina wrapped her hand in mine. I flinched slightly, but got more comfortable as her hand gently warmed mine.

"Yuu... you have to do what you have to do to get what you want, right? I won't judge you for it."

"Even if the methods end up being underhanded, immoral, or unethical?"

My voice went quiet as the plan I formulated in my head to take down Matsushita once and for all haunted my consciousness like a ghost.

"That's just more reason for me to be there for you."

Yukina also lowered her voice, getting closer to me. She gently squeezed my hand, as if to remind me she was there.

"Even if the whole world condemns you for it... I'll stand by your side, because I understand why you had to do it."

"Yukina..."

I hadn't expected this response from her. To my surprise, she was completely supportive of me.

"Thank you."

That was all I could utter while my chest was pounding with an unknown emotion.

It was excitement.

Feeling her hand in mine, I was reminded that I wasn't alone.

"After witnessing what happened between Kawaguchi-san and Shigeru-san, I had an idea... a faint one, about how I could defeat Matsushita-san."

As the train chugged along the tracks, Yukina's head slowly slipped onto my shoulder.

"What is it?"

She yawned, her ahoge flopping over sleepily. The gentle swaying of the carriage was enough to put me to sleep as well.

"So far, all the defects we've seen in E Class are flaws. For example, Katsumi-san isn't very smart and Mitsuba-san is a perverted slacker. However, Kawaguchi-san's defect is completely unrelated to these intrinsic features. Instead, his defect is one linked to what he did in his past. Perhaps Matsushita-san is the same."

"Are you saying... he's hiding a dark secret of his own?"

"Maybe. I always found it weird that a guy as seemingly perfect as him ended up in E Class, since he had no visible defects. In the eyes of the school, he'd be qualified to be a B Class student at least. After he betrayed me, I chalked up his defect to being that he hides his real self from others, but now... I'm starting to doubt that initial evaluation of mine."

"His past, huh...?"

A sad look glazed over Yukina's eyes.

"Do you know anything about his past?"

After a couple seconds, she shook her head with a sheepish look.

"Ah, sorry! I zoned out a little... um, no, I don't. To be honest... I was actually thinking a bit about my own past."

"Oh? Were you searching for your own defect?"

"Mmm... sort of."

Yukina let go of my hand and sat up straight. Sensing that she wanted to move away from that topic, I changed it.

"Anyhow... the first step is to find out which middle school he went to and anyone else who went to the same one."

"Ah, I do know which one he went to. It's the same school as Alice-chan. Minanohara Middle School."

"Minanohara, huh?"

I was vaguely familiar with the school.

"Do you know anyone else who attended there?"

"No, I don't... sorry."

"It's fine. This is a good enough start for me."

While it was unfortunate the only other person with a connection to the school was Sakigamiya (there was no way I was asking her for more information), at least I knew where to look now.

Considering that Matsushita had once briefly mentioned a case of bullying that happened at his middle school to me before, I'm guessing an incident similar to Karaikai's took place at Minanohara. I'll have to dig further for more details.

"So... about that Nightrose deck."

Yukina's sleeping ahoge twitched as I curiously broached a different topic.

"Um... what about it?"

"I had no clue that was what you were developing in your spare time. You're exceptionally skilled with it."

In our war against D Class, Yukina had racked up the most kills in E Class.

"It's not that difficult to learn... all you're doing is spamming Navigator and finishing the game with Quad Skull."

"But to learn all that in secret... you couldn't have done it by yourself, right?"

"No way, don't be ridiculous! Of course I got help, I'd need a testing partner after all."

"I guess that's true. If you don't mind me asking, who did you get help from?"

"Ah, I'm not sure if you know him, but he's running for student council president. His name is Itteki Shin, a 3rd Year who's in E Class like us."

Even though I knew these two had met prior, I was still surprised to find out Itteki was the one who taught Yukina how to play Nightrose.

"Oh, I know him."

"Really? That's great! I met him a few days ago, he's really nice. When I brought up the war while talking to him, he offered to teach me how to play Nightrose, since it's his main deck."

"Hang on... Itteki-senpai's main deck is Nightrose? But when I met him, he..."

"Eh? You've already met Itteki-nii?"

My train of thought had been completely thrown off the rails as Yukina just affectionately called him older brother.

"...y-you two are siblings?"

"Eh? A-ah, no, no! It's just a nickname for him, since he acts like an older brother to me!"

For a moment, I thought I had another Asukai-Shimizu situation on my hands.

"I see... well, yeah, I ran into Itteki-senpai awhile back and we played Vanguard. During that time, he used Luard."

"Luard? That's interesting... well, he does like playing lots of different decks, so maybe that's what he had on him that day?"

"That's not the strangest part..."

From my deck box, I took out the ASR Luard I was gifted by from Itteki and showed it to Yukina.

"W-when did you get that?! Isn't that super expensive?!"

"I didn't buy it... Itteki-senpai gave it to me... for free. Apparently, he has a whole binder of these things, or something."

"R-really? Wow, I had no clue... huh, now that I think about it, that's strangely in-character of him..."

"What do you mean?"

"Um... my entire Nightrose deck... Itteki-nii gave me it."

"...as in, to borrow?"

"...no, to keep."

"But, didn't it have a RLR...?!"

"I-I know! I thought he was insane for giving it away for free, especially since it was his main deck!"

"What the hell... either he's loaded or he's evading tax..."

Suddenly, a shroud of enigma had surrounded the oddball known as Itteki Shin.

"But he's only in Drachma Red... how could he afford to do all these things?"

"I have no clue. Maybe you should ask him sometime? You two do seem close."

"We've only known each other for a few days... it'd be rude to ask him about how many points he has."

"I guess that's true. Well, whatever the case, we got cool freebies from him, so I won't complain."

"Yeah. I'll treasure this deck forever."

"Nice pun."

"Ah, I'm glad you noticed."

Yukina giggled. I wondered how many more of these normal moments together we had left.

"Attention all passengers, we are now entering the nation of Drachma Red."

From the speakers came the announcement that we'd be soon arrive at the station.

"Guess we're nearly home now, huh?"

"When you get back, make sure to take a long rest."

"Why are you telling me this? Of course I will."

"I don't trust that you actually will. Knowing you, you'd go straight to your laptop and search for information about Minanohara, isn't that right?"

I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly as Yukina chided me for my excessively workaholic nature.

"Well, I mean..."

"You deserve to relax after how hard you worked this war. So instead of reading about that school, go read a novel."

"I think this is the first time a girl's ever encouraged me to read a light novel before..."

Yukina laughed slightly, the orange light from the sunset shining on her.

"What, did your mom discourage you from reading them?"

"Not really. She never questioned it, because..."

I stopped, reminding myself of why.

Get out of my head...

"Hm? Yuu?"

"I guess... reading is more healthy than playing video games, or something?"

I panicked, making up a poorly formed lie on the spot.

"I guess that's true. Most boys aren't into reading, are they? And if they are, they like reading manga in specific."

"I like reading both. But with a light novel, you can spend a lot more time with it. Finishing a volume of manga doesn't take very long, but finishing a volume of a light novel can take hours."

"Do you prefer long novels?"

"Yeah. It kills more time. And back then, I had a lot of time to kill."

The train pulled into the station.

"Now it's different though. I can't afford to waste time at this school."

"Yes. Every second has become more precious now that we're locked in a three year battle with the other classes."

"That's right. And we're going to be the ones who win that battle."

We disembarked the carriage and made our way back to the dorms.

An understanding silence settled between us as the scent of spring faded away and the sight of summer was on the horizon.