This is the shallowest kind of lie. Even if Matsushita led Class D to earn 200 class points in the previous special exam, they still pose no threat at all to the 2,000 class points owned by Yukio's class.
But in Matsushita's ears, this sounded like a very insidious ploy. All Yukio needs to do is spend a little effort carrying her back, and it could drive a wedge between her and her classmates. The others might misunderstand and think she sold out the class.
'Seriously! What a nasty, underhandedscheme!' Matsushita finally grasped it, and her heart fluttered with alarm. If that really happened, her standing in Class D could end up worse than Horikita's.
Think about how impolite the class can be toward Horikita. Even when she was the one who came up with the idea to use AN High School's fame for promotion during the Workplace Special Exam, she was later given the cold shoulder by many classmates.
If Matsushita's situation ended up the same as Horikita's—or even worse—that'd be a real headache. She instinctively tried to refute: "No, that's impossible. I can just explain everything to everyone…" But she stopped halfway, recalling the term frontal assault that Yukio had mentioned.
A conspiration is a trap sprung when the target is unaware. A frontal assault is something you know is coming, yet you can't do anything about it.
So, even if Matsushita realized the plan, what could she do? It's just a simple attempt to sow discord. If she wants to avoid falling into the trap, all she has to do is ensure her class wins the special exam, or at least earn enough class points. Then she wouldn't be framed or replaced by the class.
Because there'd be no scapegoat role for her to fill.
In such a dire situation, once Class D loses, Matsushita would instantly become the prime scapegoat. She can already imagine her classmates' malicious speculations. It's easy to picture, just by seeing how Horikita has been ostracized. Ultimately, whether Matsushita explains herself or not, there's no use. If they win, it's all fine. If they lose, nothing else matters.
If they lose, someone has to take the blame. In Class D's twisted mentality, it can never be the entire class's fault. It must be the class unifier's fault. That's how Horikita was gradually isolated.
Yet Yukio's attitude brims with confidence. "Do whatever you want; in the end, you're definitely going to lose." Who could tolerate that?
Besides, Matsushita isn't an idiot. She's well aware of Class D's disadvantages in this upcoming special exam—study skills, physical performance, group cohesion—they're no match. The odds of losing are pretty high.
That means if they fail to win, no matter how Matsushita defends herself afterward, nobody will believe her. They'll only pretend to accept her explanation until the class inevitably loses. Then they'll settle accounts with her.
At that point, even if she insists she never sold out the class or made any deal with Yukio, will her classmates believe her? And even if they do, so what? Somebody has to take the fall. The class won't accept collective responsibility, so she'd be the only target. Who else could it be?
"So, you get it now?" Yukio said with a light chuckle. Although this wasn't his original plan, it had its perks—a double benefit, or perhaps a triple benefit if you count an extra reward. It worked out nicely enough.
Matsushita remained silent for a moment and then began struggling lightly. From this point on, she wanted to keep her distance from Yukio so he wouldn't carry her back to the school.
To her, that was the only way—other than winning the exam—to break free from his scheme. If she never let him carry her, no one could accuse her of anything.
But as soon as she moved, a strange electric shock–like sensation sparked through her body, tingling and making her feel odd.
Yukio let out an odd laugh. "Matsushita, are you trying to give me some special service?"
"!" That single sentence made Matsushita's cheeks flush bright red, like freshly steamed crab straight out of the pot.
She knew it, too. Calling it struggling was one thing, but to anyone watching, a girl wriggling around on a boy's back looked more like she was flirting with him.
That explained her sudden rush of embarrassment and her abrupt stillness. She didn't dare move a muscle, afraid that if she kept squirming, things would only get weirder.
'This guy!' Matsushita was too nervous to move, but she couldn't stop thinking. She glared silently at the back of Yukio's head, cursing his cunning. He must have accounted for this reaction, choosing to carry her rather than simply help her walk.
Yet even though she'd gone perfectly still, the repercussions of her earlier struggle wouldn't vanish. Her heart still pounded like crazy.
Her cheeks burning, she grew even more anxious. Now she wondered if Yukio might hear her heart thumping away. He was so close. Surely he'd hear it, right? That would be embarrassing!
But hearts don't slow down on command. They keep beating at their own pace, regardless of how you feel.
Meanwhile, Yukio's thoughts were completely different from hers. Matsushita was imagining him as deeply scheming, which made her heart race. Yukio, however, was just thinking about how to keep his true motives hidden.
When Matsushita had been inching back toward the forest school, she was already pretty close. With him carrying her, the two of them returned in under five minutes.
Swaggering in without hiding anything, they were sure to be noticed by the students of AN High School.
"Wow! They're so bold—showing off their relationship in public! That's real youth for you."
"Totally. I bet the training really wore her out. That girl's so lucky; she's got such a caring boyfriend… Ugh, I'm so jealous."
"Wait, wait, isn't that Yukio from Class A?"
"It is, right? Oh man, it's definitely him! And the girl he's carrying, I recognize her—she was with him at the eel farm project. That's Matsushita, the Class D unifier! Why are those two together?"
"Seriously? Since when did Class A and Class D get along this well? Something's off."
All the curious gazes and lively chatter swirled around them, drifting into Matsushita's ears and making her bow her head in utter embarrassment. She just wanted to bury herself in Yukio's back.
It's over. Now there's no way to clear this up. At this point, she couldn't muster the energy to figure out how she'd explain this to the rest of Class D. Waves of shame crashed through her thoughts.
No matter how composed she usually seemed, Matsushita was still just a teenage girl. She had never been carried by a boy in front of a crowd.
Right now, her mind was overloaded; if it were a computer, it wouldn't have any processing power left to devote to the special exam.
All of it was used up fretting about how embarrassing it felt to be stared at by everyone. Ugh, Yukio, if you want to scheme, fine—but why do you have to do it this way?!
Matsushita's eyes, nearly pressed against Yukio's back, flickered in annoyance. At the same time, she caught a faint hint of a clean, grassy scent rising from him, causing her cheeks to flare just a bit redder.
So Yukio's back isn't just broad; he smells nice, too.
Wait, what on earth is she even thinking…?!