The quiet atmosphere of the meeting room was broken as the automatic doors slid open. The five figures seated at the long conference table looked up, narrowing their eyes slightly.
Student Council President Horikita Manabu maintained his usual composed demeanor, back straight and posture immaculate.
Behind him, Secretary Tachibana Akane followed closely, clutching documents and keeping her head down as she stepped into the room.
With Horikita's entrance, all five present at the table stood in unison and gave a slight bow.
"President Horikita."
After the brief greeting, Vice President Nagumo Miyabi offered a light chuckle.
"This must be the first time President Horikita has been this late, no?"
"I was held up by some matters. My apologies."
Horikita glanced around the room.
Apart from Vice President Nagumo, who had just spoken, there was the other Vice President Kiriyama—Horikita's secret ally whom he had intended to assign to Kitagawa Ryo. Then there were Secretaries Komaki and Tonokawa, both from 2-A and loyal followers of Nagumo for over a year, as well as Ichinose Honami, personally recruited into the council by Nagumo from Class 1-C.
Even the arrangement of people in the room reflected the Student Council's current power structure.
"Very well. Everyone is here."
After briefly greeting the others, Horikita walked to the center seat at the long table, pulled out the chair casually, and said in a steady voice:
"Please, take your seats."
The five members sat back down. Tachibana moved behind Horikita, standing attentively, waiting for his instruction.
Horikita took out a cloth and carefully wiped his glasses before putting them back on. He began:
"Today's meeting was initiated by Vice President Nagumo as a proposal regarding the upcoming Sports Festival."
"According to the bylaws of Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School, the Student Council holds certain rights to deliberate and decide on aspects of special exams. With all council members present and myself as the chair, this meeting will be recorded from multiple angles via the surveillance cameras and archived."
"With that said—"
After completing the formalities, Horikita scanned the room.
"Does anyone have any objections?"
Everyone gently shook their heads.
"Then, the meeting will commence."
Horikita nodded.
"Please turn to the second page of the documents. You will find the proposed modifications to the Sports Festival rules, submitted by Vice President Nagumo."
Behind him, Tachibana glanced up slightly at the bold title printed on the page:
"Proposal for Amendments to This Year's Sports Festival."
Nagumo, Komaki, and Tonokawa appeared unfazed—as though they had anticipated this. Ichinose's expression turned slightly colder, and Kiriyama kept his gaze lowered, eyes glinting darkly.
Horikita's dispassionate voice continued:
"Vice President Nagumo has raised concerns regarding the participation format of this year's festival and proposed changes. Specifically, he suggests abolishing the traditional red and white team format, where Classes A & D and B & C compete together, and instead focusing on inter-class and inter-grade competition. He also proposes increasing the variety of events."
"Last year's rules are outlined below. Supporting arguments provided by Vice President Nagumo are detailed from pages 3 to 8. Please review them thoroughly."
"Vice President Nagumo, if you wish to elaborate, now is your opportunity."
Nagumo responded with a relaxed smirk:
"Well, I just thought the red-and-white division was outdated and unfair to certain classes."
He shrugged.
"Forcing two classes to cooperate doesn't accurately reflect their strengths. If the classes have existing conflicts, putting them on the same team is counterproductive."
In a competitive school like this, inter-class tension was inevitable. Forcing alliances could easily backfire.
"Wouldn't a class-by-class format be better, President Horikita? It would more effectively push students to surpass their limits in the name of victory. That's the true spirit of a Sports Festival, isn't it?"
To be fair, Nagumo's arguments held merit.
In previous years, A & D and B & C were grouped into red and white teams. The winning side received no reward, while the losing team lost 100 class points. A separate internal ranking within each year gave +50 points to the 1st place class, no change to 2nd, -50 to 3rd, and -100 to 4th.
But there were cases where a top-ranking class still lost points if their team lost—a frustrating and arguably unfair system.
"And what about the proposed cross-grade matches?" Horikita pointed to another clause.
"Simple. Though advertised as a school-wide event, inter-grade interactions are limited to red-white grouping and the final mixed relay. If the school values meritocracy, perhaps underclassmen can hold their own against upperclassmen. It's worth testing, don't you think?"
Horikita countered:
"And how do you propose addressing the physical gap between grades?"
For students aged 16 to 18, even a year could bring significant physical development. That's why students like Sudou, who competed in senior sports clubs, were awarded class points.
"Of course, I've considered that," Nagumo replied confidently.
"Flip the page."
[Outlined Proposal for Sports Festival Regulations]
1. Each class selects 10 sports events (e.g., 100m sprint, high jump) held on standard fields. No niche or equipment-heavy sports like ice hockey or skiing.
2. 7 individual and 3 team events per class. Max 30 participants in team events.
3. Students may only participate in one individual event but may join unlimited team events.
4. All students must participate in at least one event.
5. On the day, 5 individual and 2 team events will be randomly chosen from the opposing classes' submissions.
6. Winning each sub-event grants +20 class points and deducts -20 from the opponent. Winning the overall match (e.g., 4 out of 7) grants an additional +100 points; losing deducts -100.
7. Classes may freely challenge others. Challenges cannot be refused. Challenged class may select one event for the match. If between different grades, the lower grade may select all seven.
8. Replacements cost 100,000 personal points per student. Replacements allowed only in team events. Absence from individual events results in automatic loss.
Horikita grew increasingly serious as he read on. The format was remarkably similar to the year-end Selection Project, a major exam meant to test first-year students comprehensively. Nagumo's "event diversity" was essentially a physical version of that test.
In the previous festivals, there were only 13 events total. This format would vastly expand both intensity and complexity.
But Horikita flipped one more page, expecting something more insidious—Nagumo would not stop at point deductions.
And sure enough, upon seeing the word [Expulsion], Horikita's pupils shrank.
7. Each class must appoint one student as their "Commander."
- The Commander may not participate in events but can: give commands via earpiece, manage substitutions, and interfere in one event per match.
- Winning a match awards the Commander +200,000 personal points.
- Losing means the Commander is expelled after the festival.
Horikita immediately understood Nagumo's true aim: a calculated strike at Kitagawa Ryo of Class 1-B.
Whether Kitagawa became Commander or not, Nagumo would undoubtedly challenge 1-B. If Kitagawa was Commander and lost, he'd be expelled. If not, Nagumo could ridicule him for lacking courage.
At best: damage Kitagawa's reputation. At worst: eliminate him.
This plan hinged on Nagumo's absolute confidence in victory.
Even if Horikita rallied 3-A to protect the first-years, Nagumo could sacrifice 2-A's allies to weaken 3-A. All he needed was to preserve 2-A's dominance and drag 3-A down.
"Quite the elaborate scheme," Horikita mused, recognizing Nagumo's cunning.
"What do you all think of my proposal?" Nagumo asked, tapping the table.
"It's excellent. Truly worthy of Vice President Nagumo," Komaki and Tonokawa praised.
Ichinose remained silent, still too new to oppose him. Kiriyama was visibly tense.
"Isn't this... similar to something else?" Tachibana cautiously offered. She avoided keywords, but everyone knew what she meant.
Nagumo brushed her off:
"Sports Festivals are meant to test athletic ability. My format does that best."
He glanced at Horikita.
"President Horikita, what do you say?"
Horikita knew that even if he stopped this now, Nagumo would soon be Student Council President. He thought of the Kitagawa Ryo who had once approached him at club registration... and of Ryuuen Kakeru, whom he had just met.
So be it—
"I have no objections."
Let the board be set.
King versus King.
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