Ayanokouji had been observing everyone around him ever since his blunder in his self introduction. It didn't dawn on him until now to realize just exactly how hard it was going to be for him to have to establish any sort of positive relationship with anyone.
The first thing he decided to do was to test out the app that the chairman had given him as Kushida Kikyo, a cute girl who embodied almost everything he'd imagined a boy would want in a girl, had conveniently gone out of her way to get everyone's contact info which included him.
While there were a certain few who avoided doing such a thing, she managed to acquire an admirable amount of contacts as far as he could guess.
Looking at the app, he raised an eyebrow as the display lit up to show Kushida's name with 10 hearts to the right of it.
All of which were black.
He assumed that must mean that they were complete strangers…
Or the chairman is a hack and couldn't actually make an app to do all the fantastical things he claimed it would be able to do so he could see how close he was with someone.
Speaking of fantastical things…
Kiyotaka's eyes locked to Horikitas as somehow through some cruel twist of fate, they had met each other once again. Though that was likely to continue happening considering he was now seated right next to her for classes.
"... What an unpleasant coincidence…"
It was rather typical that in his run to try and make any sort of friend that he'd run into what was essentially the final boss.
Really, the difficulty of this challenge was much too high. Wait a minute… The seats were arranged so it was highly likely that the Chairman purposely put him there. This is a rigged exam! How was he supposed to overcome it when the closest person to him was always two words away from stabbing him?
Just stay cool. Remember everything you learned not only in the White Room, but in the days of freedom you have acquired thus far.
"I'd disagree. It's nice to see you again, Horikita-san." Ayanokouji extended an olive branch.
"That sounded disgusting. Did you learn that from one of the other boys?" She asked without missing a beat to express her disdain.
And as it turned out, he would still have to remain in his Ark to weather this flood so to speak.
"No, I was just seeing what would work to get you to be less hostile…" He sighed as her glare didn't waver.
"Well I'll have to congratulate you, you're at least progressing, just not positively." She gave a rather harsh response, but papa Ayanokouji didn't raise a quitter.
Literally.
"I take it that you're here to buy things too?" He asked.
The first step in a conversation is to find common ground between you and the other person regardless of how small. Meeting in a store is easy as that gives an easy topic to be had.
"Yes. Why else would I be here?" She scoffed. She didn't roll her eyes, but he could tell that if she was the type to, she definitely would have.
While she did have a point, it's to be said that conversation starters were never meant to be focused on as they were just the bridge to gap towards a real conversation, but they were both loners here so it wasn't like either would care about any high level tactics in socializing.
Horikita placed the shampoo bottle she had back onto the shelf, only choosing necessities into her basket.
Kiyotaka wasn't too knowledgeable about products for females, but the contents of her basket looked to be on the lower quality side of things. It was interesting considering from what he DID know, was that from his view, Horikita was a beautiful girl with a blessed body. While her breasts weren't massive, they weren't small either. It was rather jarring that the world had gone out of its way to give such an antisocial girl such a sinful body. It was rather unfair and honestly, he almost felt like cursing the world unless she was handmade for someone very specific.
The poor person that'll end up with this woman. He could already feel pity. He thought the White Room was oppressing, but surely, Horikita would strip a man down til he was nothing.
"Ayanokouji-kun, are you perhaps thinking about something rude?" Horikita asked, snapping him out of his monologue.
"... No, of course not. Why?" He asked, getting her to turn to face him, her gaze piercing him.
"I suddenly felt like I'd be justified in stabbing you." She responded with no sense of shame or remorse in her tone.
Scary. Is this what one calls a woman's intuition? Not only is she a trap for an innocent boy to fall in love with only to have his heart stamped upon, god also gave her such sharp instincts? The world is rather cruel… It's really a good thing that his class had so many beauties. This gave more options after all. Though it's unlikely that that'd matter to him. He was having trouble talking to just one girl.
"That's rather mean to someone you've only known for a day. Did you go around stabbing people back in middle school too?" He asked rhetorically.
"No, because everyone knew better than to try to talk to me." Was her response.
He probably could have guessed that.
With that underlying threat, the conversation cut off pretty fast as the two continued to shop before Ayanokouji noticed something.
"Hm? What are these for?" He asked himself as he noticed a section of the store.
Horikita, who had been doing her best to pretend that she was completely shut off from him, also became interested as she picked up the items.
It seemed that these were emergency relief supplies.
Wrapping his head around that, Kiyotaka recalled the talk he had with the chairman. It seems this was relief for those who had no points and couldn't advance further.
His thoughts were interrupted by a commotion coming from the middle of the store.
Their interests piqued, the two made their way to the center of the store where an easily recognizable red haired boy seemed to be rather disgruntled over something.
It was his fellow classmate, a tall bulky boy with a hair-trigger temper. That much was easy to tell if you spoke to him for just five minutes as Kiyotaka learned earlier that day.
"What's wrong?" Ayanokouji asked, trying to be amicable, but it seemed that the red hair had mistaken him as an enemy.
"Oh? Who're you?" The larger boys eyes narrowed to focus on him wearily like an animal deciding whether he was friend or foe.
"I'm Ayanokouji from the same class. It sounded like there was trouble, so I came to see what the commotion was." He answered truthfully, getting the boy's facial expressions to relax a bit.
"Oh, yeah! I remember you. My bad, you were the one sitting quietly in the back of the class." The red haired boy pounded the palm of his hand with his fist in recognition.
What a weird thing to remember. Kiyotaka himself couldn't even remember who was sitting around him aside from this devil near him.
"Anyways, I forgot my student card. I haven't had it sink in yet that that thing is how i'll pay for everything from now on." He continued.
"Ah, then I can save you some trouble and pay for what you want. I don't mind helping out here as long as it doesn't become a trend." Kiyotaka offered, holding up his card.
The boys eyes brightened at the sight of Ayanokouji's card.
"Wow, thanks! You're a lifesaver here! I'll owe you one. My name's Sudo by the way." He gave a grin, slapped him on the back and gave him the instant noodles that he was holding.
On the way to pay for the item, Horikita gave an incredulous look.
"I didn't expect you to be such a doormat on the first meeting. Are you like this to everyone or are you hoping to make friends this way?" She asked him.
She sure was chatty for someone who claimed to not like human interaction.
"No, I simply wanted to help someone in need. As a fellow classmate, wouldn't it be good to make a good first impression? Though I guess from how we first met, you don't really get such an idea."
"I have no reason to worry about what those beneath me think of me and I also want to mention that you don't seem to be scared of him either."
"Scared? Why would I be scared?"
"A normal person would stay away from that kind of person."
Was she trying to give him advice? Was she worrying about him in her own way? No, that isn't right, but she was being rather proactive in talking to him now for some reason.
Maybe she was the type who liked to point out everything wrong in a person whenever she could in some weird way of self gratification.
"It's rather rude to judge someone by their appearance alone. What made you feel that you could approach me easily?" Kiyotaka asked and was immediately given a response.
"You seem like a meek and passive guy who would go along with anything as long as it doesn't inconvenience him." She answered without missing a beat.
While that wasn't too inaccurate, it was definitely something that he needed to change. Given the task he had been given by the chairman, it was safe to say that that image of his would have to be destroyed if he were to make any progress.
Which reminded him about something, but that was something for him to think seriously about tomorrow.
She must've mistook my silence as confirmation, seemingly feeling like she had obtained a victory.
Deciding it wasn't worth the effort, Kiyotaka simply took the instant noodles after paying for it and brought it outside for an excited Sudo.
"... Are you actually going to eat right here?" Horikita asked with disdain.
"Yeah? It's common sense. Where else would I eat?" Sudo answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
With an answer like that, Horikita sighed in an exasperated way.
"I'm going to go home. It feels like my dignity is slowly degrading here." Her eyes were closed as she got ready to turn around and do exactly as she said.
"What dignity are you talking about? You're just a normal high school student or are you some kind of ojousama?" Sudo seemed to begin heating up, having snapped at Horikita who didn't bat an eye.
Now, Ayanokouji may be weak when it comes to social interactions, but he and any outside observers would easily be able to tell where this conversation would go if he left it be, so he decided to make the strategic move to stop it before it could get any further.
"I'm sorry, Sudo-kun. You have to forgive Horikita-hime here as she's having a difficult time adjusting. She's not used to being separated from her family like this so she's doing her best to cope with the situation at hand. You know her type." Kiyotaka immediately latched onto the idea of Horikita being an ojousama and apologized in her stead, improvising and hoping that Sudo would take his word.
There was a long silence before Sudo awkwardly scratched the back of his head, looking away with a look of pity.
"Oh. I get it. I-i'm sorry… I hope you manage to get used to it here, hime…" He timidly said in a voice filled with pity, lowering his head.
It seems that even someone like Sudo would find it hard to be angry at such a character that Kiyotaka had made up on the spot.
Horikita's mouth was nearly agape and she would have begun talking had it not been for Kiyotaka's timely intervention of preventing her from talking by quickly turning her around and pushing her forward.
"Ah, yes, it's okay. You should go ahead and prepare for tomorrow. I know it's been a long and hard day." He urged, his hands firmly placed against her back.
No doubt, she was ready to turn around and sock him most likely, but something else came up.
"Hey, are you a first year? That's our spot."
Turning around, Horikita and Ayanokouji saw a scene of Sudo still happily slurping up his noodles while a group of three boys walked out of the convenience store carrying similar bowls.
Sudo didn't seem too bothered and looked up with a slightly agitated look.
"Who are you guys? I was here first." Sudo asked with a look of mild annoyance.
"Haah? Didn't you hear us? We said that's our spot. Show some respect to your seniors." One said.
"Wait. You're going to eat right here?" Sudo asked with a perplexed look.
"Of course we are. It's common sense, where else would we eat?" They spoke in unison.
Kiyotaka turned to look at Horikita who looked away to avoid eye contact.
"Well I have this spot right now. It's first come first serve so fuck off." Sudo shrugged them off nonchalantly, resuming his attention to finishing off the cup.
"Oi, isn't that a bit rude to your seniors? You should scram you cheeky first year brat." One gave a smug look of superiority as he stood over Sudo before laughing along with his friends, prompting Sudo to begin standing up, towering over the three boys despite being a year younger.
"Hah? Are you trying to pick a fight?" One asked, unfazed by Sudo's height as another looked more amused than worried.
"Hey, don't tell me… You're a part of Class D aren't you?" Another asked.
It didn't really matter to differentiate them to Kiyotaka, they were all interchangeable.
"Yeah? What of it?" Sudo asked, perplexed at the seemingly non sequitur question.
"Hahaha! I knew it! It's so easy to tell!" They laughed as if it was an inside joke among them before they began walking off, leaving the annoyed yet lost Sudo behind.
"We'll let you off here since you don't know what you're getting into yet, but we'll remember your face when you're struggling!" They yelled over their shoulders.
The scene was rather interesting in its own way as while Kiyotaka was fully aware of how the school functioned, he wasn't too sure on how to properly spread the information among his class without being suspicious.
It wouldn't do anyone good if he were to reveal his involvement with the chairman. If not that, it could also possibly backfire as he had no credibility nor proof.
However…
Kiyotaka turned to see Horikita's facial expression adopting a look of concentration as she pondered over the meaning of what the upperclassmen had said.
While it would be perfect to discuss this with her to try and lead her in the right direction, he doubted she would listen and even now he would place a bet that she was only thinking about what this meant for her as opposed to thinking about what this meant for the class.
He'd have taken out a loan to bet that she had a superiority complex that couldn't stand being considered to be lumped together with a class like Class D.
That wasn't the current issue however. No matter how socially stunted he would consider himself, he could tell that staying around wouldn't help his case as the moment Horikita regained her awareness of her surroundings, she'd remember what he had just done.
Self preservation is not something anyone should ever scoff at and that was a rule Ayanokouji Kiyotaka abided by, resulting in him slipping away.
Whatever repercussions would come, he can worry about tomorrow when time had simmered down the fiery anger that would no doubt erupt forth from the normally cool girl.
(Ayanokouji POV)
Now, I'd have fully loved to head straight to my room to fully take in that I am now a free person, but unfortunately, plans have changed and shutting myself in this early in the day would be counterproductive.
It was best to establish some sort of presence, lest I become an unknown nobody. I wouldn't want that.
Now that's a weird change in mindset…
Looking around, I could see a bunch of first year students splurging their points already as they were all getting whatever it was that their hearts desired.
Of course, giving anyone that much money in one go would result in them being rather loose with it, not that I had anything I had my eyes on.
Now, I came here to get a headstart in making connections and hopefully making friends, but there was an error in my calculations it seems.
I was completely unaware of how to properly approach someone out of the blue.
How was one supposed to talk to someone in a public setting like this? Generally there would need to be a prior connection to aid in meeting someone else, but I had completely botched having such an advantage.
Right when he was about to decide that maybe he should just cut his losses and go see what his room is like after all, the world seemed to feel like being cooperative as a familiar voice called to him.
"Ah, Ayanokouji-kun. I didn't expect to see you here."
Turning around, I was caught off guard to see Hirata Ryousuke making his way to me with a mob of girls behind him.
It seems that he was using me as an excuse to break away for a bit. It made sense since it seemed like he wanted some male company earlier.
"Hello, Hirata-kun. I was hoping to get a good look around in case I'd need to come here in the future. I take it you are too?" I did my best to not sound too relieved that someone had given me a lifeline.
While Hirata would've been one of the last people i'd have considered in terms of befriending on a closeness level due to how we both contrasted each other, it wasn't safe to rule out the possibility as Hirata was unlikely to make any male friends due the obvious amounts of girls flocking him.
It was only a day too. Was this the power of good looks?
"Yes, I was hoping to go together as a class, but that's unlikely. Though many people did decide to come with me." He gave a light chuckle, scratching the back of his head.
What a nice guy. There's no way that he doesn't recognize what he's doing, but from my point of view, it doesn't seem like he's doing it for anything that warrants attention.
"Hirata-kun, who's this?" A girl with long blonde hair tied up into a ponytail appeared, looking rather irritated for reasons that i'm not qualified to guess.
"Oh, Karuizawa-chan, this is Ayanokouji from our class, remember?" Hirata gestured towards me, doing me the favor of introducing me to her.
So Hirata remembers me, Sudo could only remember me as a quiet kid in the back of the class and this girl doesn't even know me at all. It was heartwarming to think that Hirata remembered me. Was he possibly a saint?
"Oh, sorry. I'm not good with remembering people." Karuizawa deflected, having given me a quick glance over before immediately turning to face Hirata. "Hey, we all decided to check every store, so let's hurry before the day ends!"
It seems like she had already judged that I wasn't someone worth fully acknowledging. Hopefully that won't be a trend in the future.
Hirata looked a bit uncomfortable as he turned to look at me with an expression that I didn't have enough experience to discern whether he wanted help to get away from this situation that he himself had fallen into or if he was hoping i'd come along.
I could see the writing on the wall however and knew that following them would just have me as a heavy third wheel or something related to those lines. I can't imagine myself properly fitting in with these types of people.
"Would you like to come, Ayanokouji-kun? It'll be my treat." Hirata offered.
Now I wasn't proud of this… but I found myself trailing behind Hirata, awkwardly making my way to the group of girls that were chatting among each other. Karuizawa sent some glares my way, having given me actual attention due to me clearly being a wrench in whatever plan she was hoping to come to fruition with.
"So what school did you go to, Ayanokouji-kun?" Hirata asked, having taken the lead on the conversation as Karuizawa and I walked in pace with him on both sides.
I wasn't really sure how to deal with someone who seemed to be so eager to make my acquaintance seeing as how Ayanokouji wasn't blind and Hirata did not seem like the dense type. He should have easily been able to recognize Karuizawas' reluctance for me to join them.
"I was homeschooled. This will be my first time in an actual school so I'm not too good with socializing." I answered, giving a safe response that wasn't far from the truth.
This way I could give a foolproof excuse for my lack of social skills if one were to press me for it in the future.
"Oh? Well I'm glad to have made your acquaintance. If you ever need anything, I'll be glad to help you in any way if I can." Hirata gave a bright smile as we reached the group of girls.
"Ah, Hirata-kun!" A voice called out from the group.
A girl with average length brown hair and blue eyes was waving towards them in, yes, it appears to be a fully female group.
"I see Karuizawa-chan got you. Who's this? Is he from another class too?" The girl asked with genuine interest.
"No, this is Ayanokouji-kun, he's in the same class with us. I invited him to accompany us since it's his first time ever being in a public school." Hirata answered in his place again.
How troubling. This girl didn't remember me either? The self introduction really was the make or break. I'm so thankful that Hirata has given me this lifeline.
Feeling my phone in my pocket, I couldn't help but feel like its weight was heavier than it should've been.
This task of establishing relationships could've been doomed at the first step he had taken.
"Oh, sorry about that. It's the first day, so I still haven't memorized who's where. My name's Chiaki Matsushita. It's a pleasure to meet you." She gave a polite smile as she extended her hand.
He honestly doubted any of the girls that weren't named Kushida or Horikita had bothered to remember him in comparison to anyone else, but that wasn't her fault. Considering Sudo and Hirata was able to recognize him, it was probably safe to assume that the boys probably remembered him best.
"It's fine. I don't have much of a presence." I gave an equally amiable response before shaking her hand.
"Ugh, enough talking, all the first years are going in and out of the stores! I'd rather not wait in line for everything on the first day!" Karuizawa complained.
What a troublesome girl.
"Oh. hello. I see you got your friend to join."
And another one. I've met three girls back to back so far and it was just by being around Hirata. It seems from Horikita to Sudo and now Hirata, I was surrounded by frightening individuals.
Looking up, I was somewhat surprised to see someone I was one hundred percent sure was not in my class as she'd no doubt stood out brightly.
Not to say the females of my class were unattractive per say, but that this lady was a definite step up rivaling Horikita or Kushida no doubt.
"Honami Ichinose of Class B. It's nice to meet you!" A beautiful girl with strawberry blonde hair and striking blue eyes flashed him with a dazzling smile as she too held out her hand.
I was completely captivated, but thankfully I was unable to show it so to any standbys, all they could see, without a doubt, was my impassive face nodding my head and returning the sentiments.
Her hand was soft and as far as he could tell, she isn't Horikita so she most likely isn't evil.
"Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. It's nice to meet you too." I answered politely.
Having gotten the greetings out of the way, I ended up following Hirata and his large group, idly watching what they do without any interest in anything they were to look at.
From time to time, someone would feel bad at seeing me be left out and would ask me a question to give me an opening to join in on a conversation, but it was quickly apparent that I had little to no knowledge on many common subjects when it comes to normie stuff.
They didn't hold it against me as Hirata had mentioned that I was extremely new to many of the things pertaining to a normal life, which resulted in some sympathy, instilling the girls with some need to dote on me like I was a child for reasons I couldn't fathom.
He'd have said it was patronizing as they assumed he didn't know anything at all whatsoever in society such as a television or a digital clock.
I'd have said it was patronizing if it weren't for the fact that I understood the reasoning behind their behaviors.
I was later told that it helped that I was decently attractive that they were more willing to talk to me, but that wasn't something I myself could be aware of. It's hard to judge one's own appearance fairly without there being some bias.
In the end, after everyone had their fill of exploring and we had our meals, to which Hirata paid for me as promised, it had become that time to separate.
A majority of the girls waved goodbye to Hirata and I with some straggling longer than others.
Near the end, it was just Karuizawa, Hirata and I with Ichinose ready to leave with some of her own classmates.
"Fwaa~! What a fun day that was. I got to meet so many people!" Ichinose gave a dreamy sigh.
Throughout the entire day, she had struck him as an incredibly down to earth girl who could get along with anyone. Of course it had only been a day so it was best not to make such hasty conclusions, but his first impression was extremely positive.
At least in comparison to Kei Karuizawa who struck him as a typical alpha girl who would take control of the situation to suit her needs. She was dismissive of him at first, but Hirata going out of his way to bring him along made her look at me with what felt like contempt for a majority of the time.
I'm sorry Karuizawa, It wasn't my intention. I could only hope to make up for ruining whatever plan she had later down the line lest she be the spiteful and petty type to get revenge.
She didn't seem to be but it was always safe to be careful.
"It was lovely to meet you today, Ichinose-chan. I hope we can be on friendly terms like this in the future with our classes." Hirata was as nice as usual and it seemed Ichinose was his rival in that department.
"Of course! I don't see why we couldn't! Ah, right. Let's exchange contact information to keep in touch!"
Hirata didn't hesitate at all, having immediately taken out his phone to exchange information. Kei didn't seem to care too much, but didn't mind giving her information.
Then there was me who was surprised that I didn't leave with the first group to separate. I guess this was my reward for my patience.
I thought Ichinose would only want Hirata's number and had asked Karuizawa so it wouldn't be suspicious to only ask one person for their information, but she had actually come to me with her phone.
"Ayanokouji-kun, would you mind sharing with me too? I'd love to keep in touch, especially with your interesting views on things." She asked me with no hint of deceit.
She genuinely wanted to keep in touch with me. If it were any other boy, he'd have mistook this as a sign of affection, but I knew better than that. Ichinose seemed to genuinely be a good person who just wanted to be friends with everyone.
Just like Kushida and Hirata.
After giving her my contact info and receiving hers in turn, we separated, leaving just Hirata, Karuizawa and I.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Hirata-kun. Thanks for today!" Karuizawa gave her goodbyes to him, before glancing at me.
Not wanting to be impolite, I gave a slight wave of my hand, offering an amiable "Goodbye" to which she ignored completely and went on her way.
Ouch. That's two women who seem to dislike me. I already wish I was in Class B with Ichinose-chan… Or maybe not. I feel like i'd have set myself up for embarrassment if I were to see her everyday.
"Thanks for coming along with me today, Ayanokouji-kun." Hirata spoke up, seemingly not noticing Karuizawas' dismissive attitude towards me.
"It's nothing. You paid for my meal and I was able to meet some interesting people." I responded, getting him to chuckle a bit.
"You did more than enough. I don't work too well around women and it was nice to have a fellow male classmate to accompany me." He gave a sigh, getting me to look up.
I guess it's best to not judge a book by its cover. Hirata seemed like he was a natural at dealing with people, but I guess even he'd be flustered by being surrounded by girls.
"I enjoyed myself too. So it was nothing." I state with my usual tone.
In truth, I didn't really understand why everyone seemed to have so much fun, but it did feel nice to just be a part of a crowd for a while.
"Haha, then you wouldn't mind hanging out again in the future?" Hirata asked, throwing me a curveball that I had not expected.
That doesn't sound good. He wasn't too good at understanding people, but he could tell that in the future, it was likely he would hang out with Karuizawa more and she definitely didn't want him around.
He was sure Hirata wasn't blind to that and he himself knew better than to say yes, but it'd feel rude to decline as it'd imply some negative things about how he felt about his time spent with them.
"Sure. Though I may be busy depending on what clubs there are and how hard this school is." I gave a half lie. I was unlikely to join any clubs, but I was also aware about how difficult this school will be and I was quite possibly the only one of the first years.
"Ah, speaking of which. I'm sure you were already aware, but you noticed things too, right?" He asked vaguely.
Of course I didn't. I didn't know why he felt the need to be vague about it. I'm not a mind reader after all, so I shook my head.
"The classes. You can tell that we're separated not entirely by chance, right?" Hirata explained, not losing his calm expression, to which I was somewhat surprised.
It seems I'm not the only one who noticed something was off from watching others. I'm guessing that Horikita could probably figure it out, but wouldn't see the full picture with how she sees herself.
Hirata was unlike Horikita in that while he seemed to be smart and observant too, he wasn't as close minded as to only think for himself.
"Yeah. I got a feeling from it from some upperclassmen hinting at it. What are your thoughts on it?" I asked, trying to get a feel for what he knows.
"It wouldn't make sense for the school to be so laxed with things. There are many clues everywhere that suggest that this school isn't as easy as it looks. The only thing I'm worried about is what will happen. I can only imagine our tests reflecting how many points we will continue to receive." For a guy who spent his entire day getting dragged around by girls, Hirata was more perceptive than he let on.
"What brought you that conclusion?" I wondered when he came to this conclusion.
"After meeting Ichinose-chan and her telling me she's from Class B. Our class looks like it's fairly balanced, but it feels like we have too many varying personalities in it. While I watched Class B today, they seemed to be more consistent. The same could also be said with Class A where every single one we passed behaved as model students despite it only being their first day." He gave his explanation.
It wasn't sound logic, but when added to everything else they knew from the free monthly supplies and the prestige of this school, it wasn't unreasonable to believe that there was more to this school than what was told.
"You're right. I feel the same way, but what do you want to do about it?" I asked, wondering what relevance this had to him.
"From what I can tell, we are the lowest class and if we just sit with the information at hand, we'll likely stay here. I don't know the reasons as to why or what, but it'd be good to let everyone know the potential dangers ahead so we don't find ourselves in a bad situation." Hirata gave his reasoning, but I still didn't see what he was aiming at.
"So why are you telling me? Did you want me to help you tell the class?"
Hirata didn't say anything for a moment before he shook his head.
"No, I was hoping you'd tell the class yourself. I don't think the boys like me already, but you seem to be completely inoffensive enough that they might humor you in staying to listen." He admitted, scratching his cheek.
By inoffensive, he probably meant no one would take me seriously but they also wouldn't treat me harshly. No need to sugar coat it, Hirata, I'm well aware already.
"Do you really trust me that much? Also, why didn't you tell Ichinose-chan?" I pressed him further.
"I do. Through this entire day, you hadn't spent a single point with us, so I have some understanding of how you're like. What you were saying about not knowing too much about normal things didn't seem to be a lie. I also didn't tell Ichinose because this is simply a hunch and it wouldn't be right to just bother anyone while they're having a good time on the first day. If I feel more assured by tomorrow, I'll tell her myself."
Wow. I was just seeing if he wasn't as friendly and honest as he seemed to be, but this was a bit too much. I can already tell he was dead serious about telling Ichinose.
I'm sure if he was aware that the classes were divided to all be enemies, then he probably wouldn't divulge such information, but that can hardly be helped.
"I can try my best, but I can't make any promises. I'm not exactly good at speaking." I reminded him. I personally would rather have him tell everything himself, but he was right that the guys would probably all ignore or leave him before he had a chance to say anything.
"No worries, I think I can help you with that. Just do what you feel you need to and things will go on from there." Hirata reassured me as if he had this planned out already.
If he did, that was impressive, but I could only see the results tomorrow, so I reluctantly obliged, earning a good natured smile from him.
We parted ways after exchanging contact info and that was the end of my day of socializing. I could safely say I understood what a social battery was and that I was feeling rather low on it.
Now I wish I could tell you that this was the start of where I became a part of a friend group that I got to consistently hang out with while cruising easily on by with this special exam given to me by the chairman after unifying the class with Hirata.
That I'd become close to a girl. Close enough to have a romantic relationship while I gain a best friend in Hirata and slowly but surely enjoy my life as a high school student until graduation where everything conveniently works out and I get to live my life as normal away from that man.
It's really unfortunate that that's not how things play out in life, especially since we're only on chapter one, right, dear readers?
I didn't know it yet, but life was going to be anything but easy at this school even for someone like me who was made to be perfect.
One thing to take note of, however, was this app and opening up gave me some insight on how my two newest contacts, Ichinose Nanami and Hirata Ryousuke with a two hearts out of ten on the affection scale. How much that was is something he couldn't gauge without a point of reference. He'd need to find someone who dislikes him and get their contact somehow. If they were to have one heart or zero would be a good idea of what the hearts mean. He wished there was a guide on this.
The task of finding that certain someone and receiving their contact info was the real issue, but one that he already knew what to do about.
Which is why that next morning he was genuinely happy to see Horikita Suzune when he made it to class.
A little bit of more meat on this.
Thank you for all your reviews on the first chapter and for those who are asking.
My laptop is broken and I'm typing everything on my phone, hence the extreme lack of posting.
Sucks, but that's just how it is. I could update my other fics, but I was planning on having this out fast and it wouldn't do good to just start with a prologue and not go further.
Either way. Hope you all enjoyed.