Chapter 24 – The Collapse Script
The second speaker from Class 3-C stood up slowly, notes in hand. His face was pale, like the pressure finally caught him. For a second, Kotarō thought he might fumble.
Then he started speaking.
And everything clicked.
"No... no, no, no.
That tone. That flow. That's not his.
That's Ayumu. That's exactly Ayumu."
The speaker barely hesitated between lines. Every rebuttal rolled out in perfect order—too perfect. He wasn't speaking. He was executing.
"He's not responding to me.
He's reciting a post-match analysis I never got to see. This was already written."
"The Government says service offers unity," the speaker began. "But unity forced through policy is a mask. Not a bond."
Kotarō's line about presence? Shattered.His defense of fairness? Turned into a twisted argument for guilt.
"You don't teach empathy by mandating performance. You create actors—not citizens."
"That's my line. My framing.
And he's using it like it was always his."
He could feel his pulse climbing. His chest tight. The second speaker glanced once—just once—at Ayumu, who gave him a subtle nod.
"Of course. He doesn't even need to speak.
He already is the voice coming out of that guy's mouth."
Kotarō stood. Voice tight.
"Point of Information," he said, loud.
The speaker stopped. Looked to the judge. Nodded.
"Wouldn't a structured system reduce the burnout of charity work—by spreading responsibility across all students?"
There was a pause. Then:
"Burnout isn't just about weight.
It's about will.
You can't heal emotional fatigue by forcing someone to feel good about giving."
Students murmured. Someone actually nodded.
"You didn't come up with that. You're not that sharp. You're a puppet in his script."
Kotarō sat down fast. Too fast. Haruka glanced sideways, lips tight. Watanabe said something but Kotarō didn't hear it.
"They think he rebutted me. But he never did. He replayed me. And added stage directions."
The speech closed.
"You can't measure compassion through compliance.
And we can't build trust by threatening a diploma."
He even quoted Haruka.
"'We fear raising students who think they owe nothing'?
Maybe we should fear teaching them their worth is only what they give away."
Applause. Not thunderous. But clean. Polished. Final.
The speaker sat. Ayumu didn't look up. He was already writing.
"No praise. No correction.
Because everything happened exactly how he said it would.
How he designed it to go."
Kotarō didn't blink. Didn't breathe.
_"He knew my notes.
He mapped my rhythm. He puppeteered the timing of my collapse.
And I let him.
I'm not debating Ayumu Kurosawa.
I'm trapped in his goddamn monologue."_
Chapter End