Yukimura wants to try recruiting 1-A’s Katsuragi as an informant, offering him a transfer to their class once they reach Class A. Suzune turns the idea down as unrealistic considering the vast amount of points needed (2o million). Ayanokouji agrees to at least accompany Yukimura. Katsuragi doesn’t agree to their terms, but he still wants Sakayanagi to lose, so he gives them some broad strokes and best guesses as to Class A’s exam subjects.
In the time they’ve known each other, Ayanokouji has gotten much better at avoiding Suzune’s bad side, at least when he’s not trying to access it. His reward this week is getting a classy home-cooked meal from her as she discusses class analytics. He’s content to leave everything in her clearly capable hands, but does request that she participate in the chess competition. He’ll be her coach.
Two days before the exam, Suzune tries to get Yousuke to at least commit to giving the bare minimum effort if group activities when the day arrives, but he ignores her. Mei once again tries to get him to talk to her, but she shoves her down. Kouenji witnesses the violence and swoops in as her shining white knight, his way of rattling Yousuke’s cage and get him to understand how his pathetic uselessness is hurting those around him.
Ayanokouji observes this exchange, and determines the time is right to truly bring the hammer down on this “broken” Yousuke. He approaches him and asks him simply to tell him why he is being the way he is. When Yousuke asks him what purpose that would serve, Ayanokouji says him he’ll have told him, which can be a purpose in and of itself.
Yousuke acquiesces, and we learn how his inaction in a class bullying regime almost led to the suicide of a classmate. He vowed never to let something like that happen again, and decided to rule the class with an iron grip, meting out punishment to anyone who fell out of line. The result was a broken class, in which everyone acted like cowed automatons. He thought he’d learned his lesson, only for this latest situation with Yamauchi to unfold.
Ayanokouji doesn’t mince words with Yousuke: Yamauchi’s expulsion wasn’t Suzune’s fault, nor was it his; it is solely Yousuke. While he wanted to save everyone, he didn’t do everything possible to make it happen, the way Hounami did in Class B. His belief was nothing more than a fantasy.
If he truly did everything he could, and still failed, it’s incumbent upon him to take all of the blame, and keep walking forward. If he’s struggling, he can ask those same classmates for help. He’ll get out what he puts in. By showing he’s doing everything he can for the class, they’ll do everything they can for him. They can walk forward together.
As Ayanokouji calculated, this cage-rattling did the trick, snapping Yousuke out of his personal pity party. The next morning he’s cleaned himself up, apologizes profusely to Mei and the entire class, and promises going forward he’ll help the class succeed in the coming exam. And while he doesn’t regret opposing Suzune’s methods in the previous exam, he acknowledges she wasn’t wrong, and offers a hand of friendship, which Suzune takes with a smile.
With the return of amity and cohesiveness to Class C, they’re in as good a position as any for this final exam. The day before it begins, Suzune plays 54 online games against Ayanokouji losing all but three, but he assures her she’s made extraordinary progress.
The next morning, Class D’s Captain Kaneda doesn’t show, and Ryuuen arrives in his place to take on Honami and Class B. They head one way, while Ayanokouji and Sakayanagi head another, to finally have their big season-ending showdown.
RABUJOI - An Anime Blog 