To Challenge a God...

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

For me, that single step was gathering intel for Team Ebisu. While most of my teammates were much more gung ho about charging into battle and uncovering answers through brute force, I preferred a more methodical approach. My inclination for such an approach was born both out of necessity and my passion for good old magic tricks. In order to execute the perfect trick for an audience, one must first know said audience. Magic wasn’t a one size fits all equation. And the best way to learn about an audience? Observe it.

And thus, to learn how to approach The Hunt as a competition, I first needed to learn about my opposition. In this case, anyone not on Team Ebisu, including Shun, Honoko, and the others, was my opponent. As the rules explained, uncovering opposition team composition was half the battle. Acquiring the Seven Lucky God statues granted some points, but determining the team captain for each statue you captured increased your score exponentially. That’s where I figured I could do the most damage.

My team had many capable magic users, so the responsibility of finding and obtaining the statues would mostly fall on their shoulders. By starting my observation now, I would be saving valuable time. If I were to wait until my teammates returned with a statue, I would have less time to try and deduce who belonged to the team and who the captain was. Casting a wide net was the safest approach.

Sadly, no one from my team seemed to buy into my philosophy, even Sakura was hesitant to agree with me. And so, I was flying a solo operation. Perched on the balcony of a building near the center of the city, I watched students come and go on the streets with the sun long set over the horizon.

All in all, the number of students wandering the streets was lackluster, but it was enough. The more people around, the more likely a passerby was to spot me lurking above. Watching careless students on the hunt for statues, I quickly learned that other teams took the same approach as my own. The entire island was a minefield of magical booby traps.

It was only the first night of the competition, but I already felt like I made a mistake. Sitting so high above the city, I had a spectacular view of most of the city streets, but I could not make out any sort of specifics, such as the appearance of students or the conversations they were having. At least my vantage point allowed me to track the location of placed magic traps, so it wasn’t a total waste. I pulled out my phone and overlaid the positions of the traps I had seen being placed on top of my interactive school map. Now, I could avoid detection on later days while investigating.

Before I knew it, it was 2:00 AM. I was out for two hours, gathering information. The night wasn’t a total bust, but it was definitely a let down. I called it a night and headed back to Sugawara Hall, ready to start again tomorrow. With no class on a Saturday, tomorrow was a crucial day to gather intel on any potential student interactions, especially between classes.

By mid-week, I had made incredible progress in my investigation, more than even I thought possible. Where ever I went, I was able to pick up bits and pieces of information, big or small. And best of all, no one seemed to notice what I was doing, or they just didn’t care. Who knew that being shunned by the school and known as a failure could actually pay off?

At this point, I had managed to identify five team captains. Ryu as the top ranked student was guaranteed to be a team captain, and thanks to Hikari foolishly running his mouth in town, I easily learned he was the captain of Team False God. Honestly, Hikari did not strike me as the type to make such a mistake. It almost seemed… intentional. But, I wasn’t going to pass up free, valuable information.

Kaede, the second ranked student in our class, also had to be a team captain, given Ryu selected Hikari as his teammate. By observing numerous Class D students closely, her role as captain for Team Jurojin became clear to me. The other three captains I identified were Yukino, Shinobu, and Mitsuo. By identifying Yukino as a captain first, that meant Shinobu was a captain by process of elimination. None of the top four students selected another top four student as their teammate. I identified Mitsuo by his own mistake. And while I determined Yukino and Shinobu were captains, I failed to determine which teams they represented. Mitsuo, on the other hand, I determined represented Team Benzaiten, and in a stroke of luck, my teammate from Class B Ichiro had managed to secure the Benzaiten statue. That was 500 points in the books, if I could convince my team I knew what I was talking about.

500 points, while a great starting point, wasn’t enough to ensure victory in this competition. Thankfully, my observation led me to discover one team which had already captured two statues, but lacked the team captain names to go along with them. If I could form an alliance of some sort, it could be mutually beneficial. Going outside my comfort zone, I sent a simplistic message.

And sent. That message, and what would follow, at least in part, carried the hopes of Team Ebisu in this competition.

Raindrops skipped off the school rooftop as I waited underneath the lone overhang above the roof doorway. It was 10:00 PM, the sky was dark, and the rooftop was empty. Except for me. Waiting up here for someone not on Team Ebisu was a huge risk. It wasn’t technically against the rules, meaning it was permissible, but I would need to choose my words carefully. One slip up and I could ruin everything. Would they show up?

Five minutes passed. Then ten. And still, I was alone. Things were looking bleak. I made a fool of myself again.

Then, the door creaked open. I stepped out of the entrance way and into the rain. It was hard to see in the dark, but the person who emerged was unmistakable. Standing before me was my potential ally and savior, Yukino.

“Thanks for coming, Yukimura.”

“Why did you contact me,” she asked, likely annoyed I dragged here out here on a rainy night. She closed the door behind her and stepped to the side. Was she giving me space under the overhang to get out of the rain? I couldn’t risk getting too close to her and upsetting her. I could handle the rain if it meant she would help me.

“I’ll cut to the chase,” I said. “I know your team is in possession of two statues, and I know you’re the captain. Don’t worry, I don’t actually know which team you belong to, so I’m not in a position to hurt you.”

“How did you arrive to these conclusions? I won’t confirm or deny anything you’re saying. That would be foolish.”

“Look, I don’t have time to explain that. I have a proposition for you. My team is struggling to acquire statues, and no one really wants to listen to me. But, I’ve identified the captains for four other teams, I am certain, including the teams for which you acquired statues.”

Yukino was listening closely. She had a great poker face, since she pretty much never expressed emotion, but I could tell she was intrigued.

“We should trade assets. If you give me one of the statues, I will tell you the team captain for the statue you keep.”

Would she accept? Knowing her, doubtful. I would need to explain more.

“First, get out of the rain. There is plenty of space under here for you.” That was her initial comment? I think my jaw may have dropped in shock. Following her order, I moved underneath the overhang with her. Man, we were close. I needed to keep my cool. “Second, I must admit that is an intriguing offer. While my team in this scenario would not gain any ground on your team, earning 500 points rather than 200 points while also docking two teams -500 points would be beneficial overall. The question that remains is if I believe your team is capable of surpassing mine. In which case, it would not be in my best interest to help you. Given how easily I found these two statues, I’m quite certain most of the others will be found, if they haven’t been already.”

Yukino was right. She already possessed two statues, meaning she knew the status of three statues, including her own. That left only five statues still in play in her mind. I, on the other hand, knew my team possessed a statue already, and that our statue had not been found. I knew the statues of five statues. If Yukino were to give me one of the statues, the math would be undeniable. If we managed to keep our statue protected for the entire competition, Team Ebisu would be locked into a top 2 finish. And unless Yukino’s team managed to find all the remaining statues, we would win the entire thing. A calculated risk I was willing to take.

“Don’t the benefits outweigh the costs?” I asked her. “If we make this exchange, both our teams will gain 500 points, and like you said, simultaneously dock two other teams 500 points. If your team’s statue hasn’t been discovered yet, gaining 500 points and putting two competitors behind is a massive margin.”

I wasn’t giving her any new information. I practically just repeated what she said. Other than crunching the numbers, I wasn’t sure what else to present to her. She was the most rational person I had met at this school, so all I was left to do was hope logic would prevail.

I watched patiently as Yukino pondered and the rain continued to fall. The patter of raindrops gave me a sense of calm, despite the tensity of the situation.

“Deal.”

I had done it. By forming an alliance with Yukino. Both of our teams would benefit. Yukino drew two statues our from her coat. The statues of Team Jurojin and False God. Boy, Yukino was sure going to be pleased with those results.

“Before I hand one of these to you, tell me the name.” She held both statues out in front of her. This was her idea of an equivalent exchange, I guess.

“The team captain for Jurojin is Kaede Kuno.” I put out my hand, and Yukino placed the False God statue in it. “Thank you, Yukimura.”

“No thanks is necessary. This is simply conducting business. Good luck with the rest of The Hunt, Nakamura.”

Yukino opened the door and retreated back into the school, likely soon to head back to Sugawara Hall for the night. With the statue acquired, that was one task down, two to go. Next up, convincing my teammates to trust me, and dealing with Team Ebisu’s traitor, Class D’s traitor, Megumi Mazaki.

Walking down the street with the night sky above, I felt like a creep. After Yukino left for Sugawara Hall, I had the opportunity to confront Megumi. During a team meeting, I overheard Megumi tell Tsukasa that she would be meeting a couple other Class D students at The Spot on Wednesday night. It was late, but lady luck was on my side. After loitering around The Spot for about fifteen minutes, Megumi walked out the main door, unaccompanied. Confronting her in the open was risky, so I had to wait until we were further away from the city center.

And thus, I felt like a creep. As inconspicuously as possible, I followed Megumi down the streets of the city, hopefully staying unnoticed. The walk from the city to the Class D dorm was about fifteen minutes, so the opportunity to confront Megumi would likely present itself.

Megumi turned down a narrow alleyway. Where was she going? She diverged from easiest path back to the Class D dorm. Hesitantly, I followed her down the alleyway. She pivoted, and sent a blade of fire straight towards me!

“Who’s following me!” she shouted, launching another blade of fire in my direction. I narrowly avoided being charred by them both. “Stay away from me!”

Well, she clearly noticed I was following her. In the dark, she had no way of knowing it was me.

“Sorry! It’s me, Nakamura, from Class A.”

Megumi lowered her hands and the fiery barrage ended.

“Nakamura? What are you doing?”

I approached her. I couldn’t risk running my mouth at such a distance. Thankfully, she hadn’t gotten defensive. This alleyway had no opening on her side. Megumi would have no where to run, she would have to talk things out with me.

“Listen, Masaki, I need your help.”

“My help? You mean with The Hunt?”

She was clueless. She had no idea that I had identified her as the traitor already.

“Yeah, exactly.” I pulled up my bag and slowly unzipped it. “Look in here. I have the statue for Team False God.”

“You of all people got a statue!?” Megumi quickly covered her mouth. “Sorry,” she said with a whisper. “I just can’t believe it.”

Now was my time to tell her the truth.

“As you just proved, people at this school don’t have much faith in me, and the rumors about me being unable to use magic certainly don’t help. But listen, I’ve figured you out, Mazaki, I know you’re the traitor.”

She had a terrible poker face. Her guilt was on immediate display as soon as I called her out.

“I am no-”

“Don’t deny it, Mazaki. I know. But, I won’t report you, if you’ll agree to help me.”

Megumi was hit with a flood of relief. Again, terrible poker face.

“How can I help you?”

“I need you to side with me at a meeting tomorrow,” I explained. “I’m not sure what’s really going on with Fujimaki from Class C, but I don’t like how he’s sort of taken over as the team leader. He gave us the wrong team captain name for the Benzaiten statue. I need you to support me when I give the right names for both the False God and the Benzaiten statue. If you help me, I won’t report you, and you can go along as if you’ve taken no actions as the traitor. Everyone on our team can succeed.”

She looked guilty, as though she wanted to accept my deal, but something was holding her back.

“If I help you, you really won’t report me?”

“You have my word.”

She stood in silence for a moment. “Okay. I’ll try my best.”

Jackpot. With Megumi and Sakura on my side, only one job was left, convincing the rest of the team.

I scheduled a meeting in classroom 3-B, the same classroom Team Ebisu started The Hunt in. Not everyone showed up, but at least each class had representation. Myself and Sakura from Class A, Ichiro and Akane from Class B, Hideyoshi and Jiro from Class C, and Tsukasa and Megumi from Class D.

“I was busy you know,” Akane said, looking obviously annoyed. “Why did you have to call a meeting this late anyway? Some of us have lives.”

Like my meeting with Yukino yesterday, this one was also at 10:00 PM. Meeting so late at night wasn’t necessary, but it greatly reduced the risk of being spotted by other students. And with this many of us meeting at one time, taking all possible precautions seemed smart.

“Take it easy Akabane,” Ichiro said calmly as ever. “If Nakamura went through all the trouble of getting us all here, it must be for something important, right, Nakamura?”

That was my cue. “Right. Thanks to Ishikawa, our team already possessed one statue. And now, we have two.” I pulled the False God statue out from my bag. My teammates sported incredulous looks.

“You really managed to get a statue?” Jiro asked.

“Huh, I guess Class A ended up being useful for something after all,” Tsukasa said mockingly.

“We don’t have time for this,” I said, taking everyone by surprise. Typically soft spoken, I was unusually fired up. The taste of victory was so close. “I have the team captain name for Team False God and-”

“Slow your roll,” Jiro said with a laugh. “Don’t you think we should all discuss this, like we did for the Benzaiten statue?”

“I wanted to mention that, actually,” I retorted. “We wrote down the wrong team captain for Benzaiten. And if I remember correctly, you were the one who suggested the name, Fujimaki.”

Jiro shot me an angry look. A fight breaking out was the last thing I wanted, but I needed to take a stand.

“Are you calling me dumb or something, punk? I suggested it, but everyone agreed to it, except for you.”

“I didn’t agree because I know you’re wrong. The captain for Team Benzaiten is Mitsuo Muto and the captain for Team False God is Ryu Takanashi.”

Hearing Ryu’s name shocked everyone. After all, how could I, the lowest ranked member of Class A, have acquired the statue belonging to Ryu Takanashi, the top ranked first year at the school?

“Does anyone really believe what Nakamura is saying?” Jiro asked mockingly. “Come on everyone, I’ve been guiding this team from the start. And I did some digging on my own. I know the captain for False God is Shinobu Shiina. Trust me.”

There he went again, standing against me. Now was time for Megumi to step up.

“Mazaki, I talked to you at length about this, what do you think?”

“Well,” she said quietly. “I think Nakamura is right. We should trust him and submit his answers for both statues.”

Jiro was in disbelief. Someone else was challenging his solution.

“No offense Mazaki, but you’re just a middling Class D student. I know I’m only in Class C myself, but I’m not sure how much weight your word should carry. Does anyone else want to go with Nakamura’s names?”

I looked around the room. No one raised their hand or spoke up. Not even Sakura.

“Sato, you don’t trust me?”

Sakura looked ashamed. “I do trust you, Nakamura, but I think we should go with majority rules…”

“Well there you have it. If your own classmate can’t even stick up for you, why should any of us?” Jiro won, again. “Now, unless anyone has any objections, I say we keep our Benzaiten submission as is, and submit Shinobu Shiina as the team captain for Team False God.”

What was happening? Would all my work really go to waste? I watched on in despair as Sakura filled out the submission form. The competition ended in just one day. At this point, the meeting was a lost cause. Tomorrow would be my next, and final chance to change our fortunes.