Ayanokouji POV

"Do you know everyone believes that I am a sheltered princess from a well off family right now?" Horikita started off their morning class with a heated question.

"What a strange thing to brag about, Horikita-hime." I responded, but that wasn't the right thing to say, considering how much more intense her glare became.

"Because of you, the entire class is now treating me strangely." She continued, which had me somewhat surprised.

Did Sudo go around telling everyone about her? He didn't seem like the type, so I doubt he went out of his way to tell every classmate with how abrasive he seemed. It was likely the news had spread naturally from him to whoever he had hung out with and then it caught like wildfire.

It truly was frightening how fast news can travel solely by mouth.

"Hey, are you paying attention?" Horikita seemed to be losing her patience with me the longer the conversation went on, which wasn't my intention since I needed to test out the application.

"Hmm… What do you mean by "strangely?" I asked curiously.

She looked away for a moment, seemingly debating on how she would answer me, but before I could receive an answer, Chabashira-sensei had walked into the class and was already in the process of starting her lesson today, prompting Horikita to immediately take her seat along with everyone else who noticed her entrance.

"What a surprise." I observed, having believed that everyone would slack off and brush the teacher off right on the first lesson.

It was an interesting thing that is commonly seen in any student where they will try to maintain a respectful and polite attitude in the first few days of a new school year where they're surrounded by strangers.

While there are exceptions, it is noted that generally, most students after the jovial excitement of meeting new people are generally their most respectful near the beginning of the year, testing the waters to see how much they could get away with before they slowly let loose the facade and begin acting how they really want.

The lengths students would go to make a good impression would sometimes go into the realms of pointlessness, such as pouring an immense amount of time and effort into a simple class project that would ultimately be negligible in terms of weighted grade. While the work would be impressive and they'd no doubt get an amazing grade, they'd then slowly burn themselves out until by the end of the year where there were more crucial assignments in terms of progressing their grade were laid in front of them, they would only be able to put out half the amount of effort they had shown near the beginning of the year.

"Hey, that Sudo guy is just sleeping in class like that. Sensei called his name and he didn't even respond." Some people were already whispering amongst each other causing me to direct my gaze towards my fellow classmate who had his head down, not even trying to pretend that he was paying attention.

As said before, there were exceptions and unfortunately in this case, Sudo was that specific exception.

The fact that Chabashira had continued on with her lecture as if there was no problem at all, prompted the students to already begin their process of dropping their act.

"This was bad." I thought, already seeing the other students begin to doubt whether or not they had to pay attention in class. "With Sudo giving the impression that they could do whatever they want without being scolded, the class is already beginning to wonder where the line was drawn."

There wasn't anything that could be done in this given situation unfortunately so I was forced to have to wait it out.

It was a good thing that it was the first lesson of the day as while the other students were already beginning to whisper and take peeks at their phones, they still had some decency to not outright disrespect the teacher.

And like that, the lesson continued with everyone but Sudo paying attention.

With that, lunchtime came rather quickly with Chabashira announcing that everyone could break before exiting the classroom.

It seemed like Sudo had been conditioned to internally know when it was lunchtime as he bolted right up the moment the clock ticked to lunch time.

People were already beginning to leave, which was bad. I needed to talk to them all right here while I still had the chance.

Before Sudo could bolt towards the door, I had to cut him off, prompting me to exert myself a bit to reach the door, blocking him from leaving.

"Huh? Hey, move out the way, I'm hungry." Sudo was already looking like he was ready to shove me out the way if he needed to, but surprisingly exercised some restraint.

Was it because I helped him yesterday? How nice, it seemed he had labeled me as someone decent in his eyes. First impressions are unexpectedly powerful.

"I'm sorry, Sudo-kun, but can you please stay and listen to what I have to say for a bit? I need to tell everyone something that's going to be integral towards this class's prosperity in the future." I asked in the most polite way possible so as to not offend him.

"Haah? Then can't you tell us after class is done for the day? Why do you need to waste our lunch time?" Sudo questioned as everyone was already gathering around, wondering what was going on.

Ah, I was causing a bit of a commotion, but this wasn't too bad as everyone was beginning to turn their eyes on me.

"I have something to announce to the entire class, so please listen to me. If it turns out the information is unimportant, I will buy your lunch myself." I offered, piquing the interest of everyone listening.

No matter how much money we were initially given, free is something that will always tempt the mind of others. With that announcement, everyone had their eyes glued on me, but no one seemed to be moving.

"Hn. Fine, but if it's something annoying, I'll do more than get a free meal off of you." Sudo glared down at me.

I wanted to mention that he had already gotten a free meal off of me yesterday, but didn't wish to bring up that point as the lunch time was limited.

I sighed internally before walking up to the front of the class where Chabashira had stood.

"Everyone, i'd like to ask you a question in regards to this school so far. What do you all think of it?" I began with a question to get a general understanding of everyone's view.

Everyone began to give me their vague answers along the lines of "It's a prestigious school" and "It's really laxed so far".

"Have any of you met any of the other classes or grades?" I asked, with some of the students nodding their heads.

I could see Hirata smiling near the front of the class, giving me a nod as confirmation to continue.

"Did any of them act strangely if you told them you were in Class D?" I began to move the topic in the direction I wanted.

"Now that you mention it, there was this senpai who looked like he was trying to flirt with me in Class B, but the moment I told him I was in Class D, he suddenly began acting weird and decided to leave." Matsushita held a finger to her lips as if the memory had just come up.

Thank you Matsushita-san. I'll buy you lunch regardless of what happens after this.

"Exactly. I managed to speak to some senpais yesterday who let me in on the inner workings of the school." I said, not telling the full truth.

They technically did give me the insights on how the school worked, but I had already known to begin with. What I needed was for someone specific to react.

"Wait. At the store yesterday…" Horikita said aloud, causing everyone to turn towards her.

"That's right, yesterday at the store, I was told that the school works on a hierarchy based system where each class is separated by points. There are four classes as we should all know and with us being in Class D, that means…" I let the sentence hang for a more dramatic effect.

I wasn't always one for theatrics with how limited my options were, but trailing off the sentence to let everyone else understand the situation for themselves was more impactful.

Horikita had a stunned look on her face before it morphed into one of pure anger. It was a scary expression that would make a grown man sweat and it wasn't even directed at anyone here.

"That's impossible. Are you implying everyone here is an idiot?" A boy with glasses whose name I couldn't remember in the given moment asked, giving me his own look of anger.

There were some murmurs among the class about that, causing me to shake my head immediately. That wasn't the direction I wanted this to go

"No, I don't know anything about you all. I also don't know what the school's grading system is, but one thing is clear: we are at the bottom of the entire school." I tried to maintain my position of simply being someone who stumbled upon the information and trying to help them.

Well, that was basically how things were, but it was important that they were aware of that.

"I was there too. I managed to talk to them a bit longer and they told me everything." Hirata spoke up, causing everyone to turn to him.

No good, the boys were already scowling. This was probably the reason why he didn't do it himself. From their skewed standpoint, it looks like Hirata was simply trying to gain more attention.

Before I could try to get a handle on things, Kushida had spoken up next.

"Oh, right! Those senpais yesterday were really nice and understanding. It's so nice to meet boys who are so nice and think about others." She said with a bright smile, instantly captivating the entire male population in the class.

And with that, all thoughts of leaving were dashed on the boy's side while Hirata himself kept the female's attention. The strength of the duo was powerful as even if you were to swing a different way, you'd be trapped by the power of these two.

It truly was fearsome and I then remembered that Kushida was not with us the other day. I had been with Hirata the entire time and I'd have definitely remembered if Kushida was around. I also knew for a fact that while Hirata talked to many of the upperclassmen, he did not in fact talk to any of them about the class grading.

He must've asked her for help. I'm not sure what he did to convince her, but she was a boon to this situation and I couldn't let this opportunity go to waste. He was also following my lead, improvising as I went.

This was an incredibly advantageous situation and it was thanks to these people he knew for about a day. It was a strange feeling getting help.

"So what does this mean? We're at the bottom of the school, but is there anything we can do?" Another boy asked. I knew this one. Kanji Ike. He's the one who boldly told everyone he was looking for a girlfriend. That level of bravery was something that Ayanokouji had to think about whether he'd be able to do ever.

"Yes and no. I believe there's a way to move up in grades, but I'm not sure how. However, this is still a school and I think one thing we can agree on is that it'd be in our best interest to abide by any rules they may provide." I got straight to the point as dragging this out any further wouldn't do anything but waste the limited lunch time.

"Haaah? You're trying to get us to do what you say with a reason like that?" Sudo spoke up, seemingly already annoyed.

Everyone turned to glare at him, but he didn't seem fazed at all.

"The reason seems concrete and reliable, but instead of asking me that, may I ask what were your plans at this school?" It wasn't good to focus on the benefits without knowing what he wanted. If what was said already didn't convince him, then it was best to look at this from a different perspective.

"I'm going to be a basketball player of course. I don't need to do anything like you eggheads." He flexed his biceps to show off his muscle.

"What'll happen if you fail and drop out then? Do you think that a school like this was just going to have you sleep in class all day just so you can play basketball until you graduate?" I questioned him, but he didn't seem to worry about it.

"I'll just cram the night before like I always do. All I need to do is the bare minimum." He was extremely confident about his statement.

An extreme muscle brain indeed, but now I was in a tricky situation. He was completely in belief that he was capable of just last minuteing any test in the future.

It was a very curious case in humans where they're less likely to believe you if you bring up facts to them. The harder you press against them, the more they are likely to believe in you less and will instead move the goalpost in what's needed to convince them.

I spent last night looking on the internet to read and stumbled upon a community that fully believed that the Earth was flat after all.

"While i'm sure you can manage to get passing grades, i'll ask this from you then: what if sleeping in class becomes a detriment towards your own classmates? What if each time you lay down your head, you end up having the class pay for it? We're in a dreamlike scenario where we get 100,000 yen, but do you think it's that easy? Are you willing to ruin the livelihood of others for your own satisfaction?"

This seemed to stir something within him, but he didn't seem to be fully convinced. However, progress was being made. Instead of questioning the logistics of his actions, it would be better to question his morality. Nobody wishes to be a villain, especially if it means having to deal with the repercussions of it for a full three years.

"Hn… Even if you say that, how can we be so sure this is real? I mean, I don't believe you, but what if it turns out that everything is fine and there's nothing to worry about? M-maybe it was just the seniors pranking us!" Sudo had come to such a conclusion and I had to give him props.

That was a good angle.

If you had asked me who I would've expected to throw curveballs my way when I began thinking of this scenario, I would have never named Sudo after our first encounter. Thankfully, I had a way to get through this. I had to channel those characters I watched in a movie last night.

"You're right, Sudo. It could just be a prank, but come on, man. Do you think I'd be here if I didn't believe it? Trust me, man. In a month, if it turns out it was a prank, I'll give you all the points I get, promise." I did my best impression of an ikeman and adopted a friendly tone, even going so far as to attempt a good natured smile.

I felt dirty.

However, one thing people responded to positively was when they thought you were a friend. The goodwill I gave yesterday played a large role in this, but overall, if I adopted a personality for him to relate to, he'd be much more receptive.

I didn't notice all the people staring at me with wide eyes.

I mean, they've only known me for a day, right? Surely, they couldn't have made an impression of me that quickly to react in such a way to how I 360'd my personality.

"...fine." Sudo looked away with a flustered expression and like that, everything seemed to settle in place.

Once I confirmed that everyone was free to go, they all went to get lunch, leaving me to sigh as I gathered my energy.

That was taxing on my mental psyche. This was extremely different from anything I've done before since in this case, I'd actually see all these people again the next day.

I had also expected Hirata to talk to me afterwards, but he got swept away by the mob of girls. I wasn't sure if I was envious or not. Following after, Kushida also seemed to have her own friend group, with Sudo immediately leaving to go get food. He seemed to be in a hurry.

Horikita had her own lunch it seemed, but didn't bother eating it. Instead, she gave me a glare and left the classroom, leaving her belongings behind. Weird. Why did she make me feel as if I was in the wrong about something?

Women seem to be much scarier than I thought.

"Good job, Ayanokouji-kun." A voice called out to me, getting me to turn my head to see…

Someone else I didn't remember.

Matsushita POV

Ayanokouji.

What an interesting guy.

It was my first day at school and everything was like out of a movie.

I had made it to a prestigious school that was known to guarantee me any job I wanted once I graduated. I got an allowance from that very same school that was an absurd amount to just be given to free to school children.

I even met some nice people that I had got along rather well with.

Unfortunately, I couldn't enjoy such a picturesque scenario so easily.

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was invited by Hirata to join us in exploring the mall that was nearby.

It looked like it was out of pity, because the boy seemed like an emotionless robot, not reacting strongly to anything almost throughout the entire day.

I had written him off at first until I paid closer attention and found that he was also paying close attention to me.

Nononononononono! Has he already fallen in love with me? I'm sorry, but I have preferences and you don't fulfil them, even if you're moderately attractive.

While that was my first thought in regards to him, I quickly realized he was observing not just me, but everyone around him.

He seemed suspicious and I don't know why. Was he unused to people?

There must have been some trauma, but he didn't seem closely guarded. He talked to anyone who'd talk to him amicably and didn't seem to be trying to stonewall them.

It bothered me at first, but not too much to take up free residence in my mind, so I brushed it off.

That was until today, when he stepped to the front of the class and decided to drop everything he found out on us.

I was surprised. I felt like an idiot for a moment of course. Why would we get this much money without some sort of caveat? Then I was told we were in the bottomost class of some sort of school ranking system.

I was offended at first, because even if I try to hide it, I know I did pretty good on the exams, but that didn't seem to be the case.

Recognizing that he wasn't doing too well in swaying the class completely, I had chimed in and after me was Hirata and Kushida.

In the end, the class was convinced to do what he said, at least for a month, but no one seemed to have really focused on a certain fact.

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka had not only seemingly figured out the truth about this school, but also managed to get everyone to believe what he said with some help, yet Kushida and Hirata were still seemingly the top students of the class in terms of popularity.

The boy in question didn't seem to mind as he sat down after the talk and acted like nothing happened.

Everyone seemingly forgot about him immediately to go do their own thing.

"Good job, Ayanokouji-kun." I decided to reach out to him.

He looked up at me with his impassive expression. His usual one as opposed to that incredibly terrible acting he had put on earlier with Sudo.

"What do you mean?" He asked, but it was pretty evident what I meant.

"You managed to convince everyone to believe what you said. It looks like there was more to you than your initial first impression~" I teased, recalling yesterday's rather bland introduction.

"Hmm… I had help, but that does remind me." He stood up slowly before he faced me directly.

"Would you like to get lunch together? I'll pay." Were the words that came out of his mouth without any hesitation.

Huh?!

Before you tell me Kiyotaka would never smile or act like a normie.

He did so with Ichinose during the rescue of Sakura.

Hope you enjoyed it, no other words needed her.