Chapter 9: The Fractured Society's Ruin
Three minutes.
That was all we had left.
Three minutes before our future was decided.
Three minutes before everything we'd built could collapse.
The atmosphere inside Class 1-C felt suffocating. Nobody was thinking straight anymore. The arguments had gone on for too long. Fear had eaten away at reason, and reason had eaten away at trust.
Haruto sat silently on top of a desk near the back of the room.
He hadn't moved.
He hadn't helped.
He hadn't said anything useful.
He just watched.
Rika slammed her hand against a desk.
"If we keep doing this, we're going to lose five people and five hundred class points!"
Nobody responded.
Daiko crossed his arms.
"I'm sorry, but no. We're not expelling Hiro."
Ayame groaned and pressed her fingers against her forehead.
"Haruto, do something. You're the only one who can stop this madness."
Nothing.
Haruto remained completely still.
Hiro looked terrified.
His hands shook.
His breathing was uneven.
And honestly?
Mine wasn't much better.
I looked toward Kei.
He already looked like he'd accepted defeat.
His expression never changed, but even I could tell he'd stopped expecting a miracle.
Then suddenly—
DING.
Every phone in the classroom received a notification.
Everyone immediately checked.
My stomach dropped.
The school system had released updates from the other classes.
Class 1-B: Failed to reach a unanimous decision.
Kaito had spent five million private points to prevent five random expulsions.
However, Class B still received the 500-point penalty.
Class 1-A: Successfully expelled a student named Yowamushi.
Class 1-D: Also reached a decision and expelled someone.
Rika immediately stood up.
"See?!"
She pointed at the screen.
"This is our chance to overtake Class B!"
She quickly pulled up the rankings.
Class A: 2490 CP
Class B: 1498 CP
Class C: 1011 CP
Class D: 749 CP
"If we decide now, we can close the gap! Hurry up!"
Two minutes remained.
I looked toward Daiko.
His jaw was clenched.
His eyes were red.
I already knew what he was thinking.
And that made this even harder.
I took a deep breath.
"Listen, Daiko... Hiro..."
My voice felt heavier than usual.
"I'm sorry, but we can't keep doing this."
Daiko slowly turned toward me.
"We have to rely on logic. Not feelings."
For a moment, he just stared.
Then his face twisted with anger.
"Was all of this meaningless to you?"
His voice cracked.
"Were we meaningless to you?"
I froze.
"Daiko—"
"After everything we've been through?!"
He pointed at me.
"You're my best friend, Shuto! You're supposed to have our backs!"
I clenched my fists.
"And what about everyone else?!"
The words came out louder than I intended.
"You don't understand!"
I pointed around the classroom.
"Ayame. Mei. Rika. Everyone!"
My voice shook.
"We're responsible for them too!"
Daiko stepped forward.
"You don't get it."
"No, you don't get it."
He grabbed my collar.
His hands were trembling.
"Hiro is our brother."
The room went silent.
"Maybe he's a liability."
"Maybe Rika and Kei are right."
His voice broke.
"But he's still our brother."
He looked me straight in the eye.
"That's what brotherhood is."
I felt something twist inside my chest.
Then I grabbed his collar too.
"And what if one of the random five is me?"
Daiko froze.
"What if it's Hiro?"
His eyes widened.
"What if all of this is for nothing?"
I could feel tears forming.
"You keep talking about loyalty."
"But you're gambling with everyone else's lives."
For the first time all night—
Daiko couldn't answer.
Then suddenly he shouted.
"WHAT ABOUT OUR PROMISE?!"
The words hit me like a punch.
And before I could stop it—
I remembered.
January 8th, 2026.
Junior high.
The day everything started.
I remembered seeing Hiro shoved into a locker.
I remembered looking away.
Pretending not to notice.
Pretending I wasn't scared.
And then Daiko disappeared.
He ran forward without hesitation.
He stopped the bullies.
He pulled Hiro out.
And from that day onward—
the three of us were together.
Then came the last day of middle school.
Walking home together.
Talking about the NIFL.
Talking about the future.
And then Daiko had smiled.
A genuine smile.
The kind he rarely showed.
"Promise me something."
Hiro and I had looked at him.
"We'll watch over each other."
"No matter what."
He laughed.
"Screw logic."
"We're brothers now."
"And brothers always choose each other's side."
Back then...
I smiled.
Back then...
I believed it.
"I promise."
The memory shattered.
I returned to reality.
To the classroom.
To the countdown.
To the nightmare.
I slowly released Daiko's collar.
"You realize..."
My voice barely came out.
"You realize if one of those five random students is me or Hiro..."
I swallowed.
"...then you're becoming the very hypocrite you're trying not to be."
Daiko stared at me.
Then...
He let go.
His body collapsed onto the floor.
He started crying.
Not quietly.
Not trying to hide it.
Just crying.
"I wanted to win..."
His voice cracked.
"For once..."
"I wanted to be the hero."
"I wanted to defy the school."
"Be a rebel."
"Be somebody important."
His shoulders shook.
"I failed..."
Less than a minute remained.
Rika cut him off immediately.
"We don't have time for this."
She looked around.
"Who are we voting?"
Hiro suddenly spoke.
"How about Haruto?"
Everyone looked toward him.
"He's done nothing."
Rika immediately shot him down.
"As if you're in a position to say that."
Ayame stepped forward.
"Mei."
Her voice was desperate.
"I know you want Kei gone."
"But please."
"We need everyone."
"We need to vote Hiro."
Silence.
Thirty seconds remained.
Ayame raised her hand.
"All in favor of voting Hiro."
One by one—
hands went up.
Mine.
Rika's.
Ayame's.
Mei's.
Everyone's.
Even Daiko's.
Slowly.
Painfully.
His hand rose.
Hiro looked at him like he'd been stabbed.
"No..."
Daiko couldn't even look at him.
The classroom waited.
The AI camera watched.
All it needed was unanimity.
Then the doors would open.
The game would end.
But nothing happened.
Ten seconds.
I felt cold.
Then I realized why.
I turned.
Haruto.
His hand wasn't raised.
Twelve seconds.
I sprinted toward him.
"HARUTO!"
He didn't move.
"We need a unanimous vote!"
Nothing.
Eight seconds.
Ayame joined in.
"Please!"
Five seconds.
Mei shouted too.
Three seconds.
"Haruto!"
Then finally—
he spoke.
Two words.
"I can't."
Everyone froze.
One second.
Zero.
The camera turned red.
My heart sank.
We lost.
A voice echoed through the classroom.
Mr. Unagi.
For once...
he didn't sound sarcastic.
He sounded tired.
"I'm sorry."
The room became completely silent.
"We're conducting the lottery."
Nobody spoke.
Nobody cried.
Nobody even moved.
We were already broken.
Then the names came.
One after another.
Nijou Masakatsu.
Oku Tomouji.
Ide Masasada.
Hino Motomune.
Each name felt like another nail in a coffin.
Then came the last one.
And the world stopped.
"...Daiko."
My eyes widened.
No.
No.
No.
Mr. Unagi's voice softened.
"I'm sorry."
Daiko's fists slammed into the floor.
He cried openly.
"I hope you can forgive me..."
He looked at me.
Then Hiro.
"I failed both of you."
Something inside me shattered.
Before I realized it—
I was crying too.
Hiro was crying.
Ayame was crying.
Even Rika had turned away from us.
But I could see her shoulders trembling.
Kei stood silently.
His expression hadn't changed.
Yet his eyes were fixed on Haruto.
Neither of them said a word.
They didn't need to.
The damage had already been done.
Then Mr. Unagi delivered the final blow.
"Class 1-C has been demoted to Class 1-D."
Some students screamed.
Some cried.
Some just stared blankly.
I couldn't do any of those things.
I only looked at Daiko.
My best friend.
My brother.
And I realized that no matter what happened after tonight—
things would never be the same again.
This wasn't just the end of a game.
It was the collapse of everything that had held our class together.
The day the fractured society finally broke apart.