odd one out

by vamer

ok

The Odd One Out
Anime Physicist

Published: 2022
Source: https/

Before you read

Hello everyone!

This will be my first ever fan fiction, and I'm looking forward to writing it.

I'll be starting university next September so chances are I won't be able to consistently publish chapters but I'll still be updating this fan fiction from time to time for sure.

Anyways, regarding the plot, it's obviously irrelevant to the original Light Novel plot.

Due to a certain phenomenon known as plot convenience, the White Room completely shut down, and Kiyotaka's father is currently serving a life sentence in prison. This fan fiction will therefore mainly focus on Kiyotaka's school life.

Special exams might be completely different from the ones from the Light Novel. I still haven't completely figured out the plot, but I do have a vague idea.

I hope you will enjoy this Classroom of the Elite fan fiction!

Take care!

Prologue - Opportunity

"Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School?"

"Yes, Ayanokouji-kun. Consider it an opportunity. This school is unlike any other. Contact with the outside world is strictly forbidden, and what's more, the government pays for everything, meaning you won't need your father's permission."

An opportunity for freedom.

Matsuo has been taking care of me ever since the White Room temporarily shut down for a year. I'm currently living with him in one of my biological father's mansions. Today, he offered me the opportunity to enroll in Tokyo's most prestigious high school, the Advanced Nurturing High School, also known as ANHS.

A high school, huh? Maybe I can learn for myself what it's like to live a peaceful and normal life. That doesn't sound bad at all.

"I'll do it."

"Really? I'm really happy to hear that Ayanokouji-kun. Now what you need to do is take these entrance exams, I'll handle all the paperwork."

"Sure."

The exam papers were quite simple. Of course, I can easily get full marks on all of them.

I want to live a peaceful and normal life.

What is it like to be normal? I've decided. I'll enter this high school as an average student, and to do that, I'll score precisely 50 on every exam, then I'll be perfectly average.

"I'm done, Matsuo."

"Thanks, Ayanokouji-kun. I'll take care of the rest. Also, there will be an interview that you'll need to attend to in the near future so prepare yourself for that. For now, make sure to rest well."

"Understood. Thank you so much for everything you've done, Matsuo."

Matsuo happily smiled. Ever since I've lived with him, I've gotten really close to him. I wonder if this is what it's like to live with parents.

I can only imagine what that's like.

I've been accepted at the Advanced Nurturing High School. I'll officially start my new student life in two and a half weeks. Ever since the acceptance letter, I've felt a certain sensation that I can't quite describe...

Is it... happiness? Perhaps, excitement?

Many philosophers think that happiness comes from new experiences, and that newness is actually a source of happiness.

But, who knows what I'm feeling? I might be a human, but I've lost the ability to have feelings for a long time now.

As I was resting in my room, I heard Matsuo call me, so I went to the living room, where I saw Matsuo stare at the TV in pure shock.

"What's wrong, Matsuo?"

I knew that around this time of the day, Matsuo would always watch the news. For him to be this unstable and shocked, something extraordinary must've happe-

"Today, there has been a huge data leak of an educational institution that had previously been completely hidden from the public. The institution in question? The... White Room. This institution disguised itself as a school, when the reality was far from that. Many children have... died... or... been killed... over the course of their stay there, explaining over hundreds of missing children over the last decade in Tokyo. Needless to say, this facility has shut down completely, and the owner of this facility, Mr. Ayanokouji, has been sentenced to life in prison. More information about this will follow, an-"

The White Room has been shut down... completely. My father will be in prison... for life?

"Ayanokouji-kun, while this is good news, you should take a closer look at this."

Matsuo showed me his phone. Apparently, files from the White Room have leaked and spread all over the internet. One of the many files showed... me?

"This might deeply endanger your school life, Ayanokouji-kun. While your face has been blurred, your name remains on this file. If your future classmates learn of your identity, who knows how they'll treat you."

Another file showed the survivors of the Fourth Generation of the White Room, or should I say the sole survivor. We were 50 to begin with, and at the end, I was the only one left standing. The Fourth Generation was known as the Demonic Fourth Generation, as the curriculum was much more difficult than the previous years', and the punishments were harsher and more frequent. My training has led me to believe that all humans are nothing but tools, and that anything unnecessary to my growth and my victory should be removed. Hence, I have lost the ability to feel emotions ever since that philosophy was drilled into my brain.

Many other files leaked. Now, everyone in Japan knows about me, my past, and the cruelty of the White Room.

This was supposed to be hidden in the darkness. Instead, now everyone in Japan is not only aware my existence, but knows me as the Demon of the White Room, a human that has lost all feelings and emotion.

There is two and a half weeks left until school starts. Needless to say, by then, everyone at school will learn of my existence, and my reputation at school will be set in stone before I even step foot inside.

"What should I do, Matsuo?" I asked him for advice, but the truth is that I already know what I'm going to do.

"Well, it's up to you, Ayanokouji-kun. If this doesn't bother you, then I guess you can still attend high school. On the other hand, if you deem this too dangerous, then it might be better to just stay here for the time being. Whatever you do, Ayanokouji-kun, I will be here to support you. You can trust me and rely on me, I will protect you with everything I've got."

"I, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, will attend Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School."

What my classmates will think of me? Will they fear me, or will they have great sympathy for me? I couldn't care less.

I have no reason to be afraid. After all, nobody can beat me, even if I hold back.

Chapter 1.1 - Dilemma

Today marks the start of April, and the start of my new school life at the Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School.

I am currently riding the bus to school, lost in my own thoughts. Over the course of my education, I've always only had my own thoughts to keep me company, but hopefully, that all changes today.

The chances of that happening are quite slim though. After all, my identity had been leaked to the entire population of Japan.

The Demon of the Fourth Generation.

A monster among humans.

An empty shell.

An artificial genius with no emotions.

Needless to say, I've become quite the celebrity, although for rather unfortunate reasons. People on the internet started calling me names. Some people were scared of me, while others, on the other hand, wanted to meet me in person to see what I'm really like. Luckily for me, they know my name but not my face. For now, I'm not the center of attention... yet.

I remember reading some comments on the internet about me.

"Isn't society in danger if he's outside now?"

"Kukuku... I want to meet him so I can beat him up with my own two fists and make him suffer even more"

"What an interesting story, an artificial genius they say fufufu..."

The internet sure is a weird place filled with weird people, to say the least.

Not only that, it seems like the news haven't died down. In the bus, everyone seems to be talking about it.

"Have you seen the news about the White Room?"

"I can't believe something like that existed for 20 years..."

"Have you seen the files about that Ayanokouji guy? He seems scary... I can't help but think of him as a demon."

"I mean... he is called the Demon of the Fourth Generation."

"If I were to guess, he's probably really ugly in person."

Looks like school is going to be a lot tougher than I would've imagined. But I've already made up my mind, there's no going back now.

I've always been curious. I've always wanted to further my knowledge and to know what life outside the White Room was like.

Curiosity is like the engine of the human body. Science would say it's the heart. Psychology would say it's the brain. But curiosity is what pushes us to experience new things, feel new feelings and new emotions, see new sights, absorb new information, and invent new technology. Remove curiosity from humanity, and we'd still be living in the Stone Age. As some people would say, curiosity is the engine of achievement.

One of the reasons why I initially wanted to attend here at Tokyo's elite high school is to see for myself what it's like to be a normal high school student, and to see how society works with my own eyes. I've only ever read about these things in books, so I've never really had first hand experiences when it comes to these things.

Up until two and a half weeks ago, my initial plan was to enter this school as an average student with no particular talents except piano, calligraphy and tea ceremony, but fate decided to give me a friendly reminder that I can't control my own life, I guess.

The truth is that I'm not particularly happy nor sad about these news, I'm indifferent like I always have been. If I were to pick one positive outcome though, it would be that that man is currently serving life sentence in prison, and I'll probably never see him ever again.

"Excuse me, but shouldn't you give up your seat?"

Huh? Is someone already talking to me? It seems like I have been lost in my own thoughts. I looked in front of me to see a young, well-built blonde man that had sat down in one of the priority seats being scolded by a young lady, probably an office worker, with an elderly woman standing next to her. Luckily, I was not the one being scolded, I don't want to get involved in their mess.

"Hey! Can't you see that this elderly woman is having trouble just standing? You should offer your seat to her."

"What a crazy question, lady," the boy answered. "Why should I give up my seat for her? There's no reason for me to do so."

I curiously observed the scene happening in front of my eyes. I wonder how this will turn out.

If it causes too much commotion though, I might just have to take matters into my own hands and give up my seat myself.

"It's only natural for you to offer your seat to the elderly woman, plus you're sitting in a priority seat. Where are your manners?"

"Manners? Stop talking nonsense, lady. Manners are illusions in today's society. If manners truly existed, why do we need priority seats? Going by your logic, shouldn't everyone sitting on this bus offer their seat to the elderly woman? Why should I give mine up only because I happen to sit on a priority seat? Why should I inconvenience myself for the sake of this woman over her just because she happens to be older than I am? A perfect existence such as myself shouldn't have to bow down to others' orders."

I can't say that the boy is in the wrong here. Certainly if you look purely on the legal side of things, the boy has no reason whatsoever to give up his seat. However, I can't deny that it's quite disrespectful to the elderly woman, to say the least. The elderly are extremely respected here in Japan and hold tremendous value. The same could be said about the young population though, they are the future of Japan after all.

Lost for words, the office lady decided to give up, and sincerely apologized to the elderly woman.

This might be the opportunity for me to make a good first impression.

"Um... excuse me? You can have my seat," I said to the elderly woman as I stood up.

"Thank you very much!" the elderly woman responded as the office lady looks at me with a bright smile on her face.

The other passengers on the bus looked as though they were thankful that I dealt with the matter. I assume nobody wanted this commotion to go on even longer than it already had.

If only they knew who I really was.

I was now standing up in the bus, bobbling and shaking.

Finally, some peace...

"Hey, thank you so much for giving up your seat. If you hadn't done so, I think I would've stepped in myself."

I looked to my right to see a girl wearing my high school's uniform smiling, thanking me for giving up my seat. However, something feels a bit off about her smile, almost as if she's hiding another side of herself. Anyways, I guess I'll play along for now.

"It's nothing, it felt like the right thing."

"You seem like a good person! Nobody from my middle school made it to this school, so it's nice meeting you! I hope we can be good friends."

So far, so good. She hasn't asked for my name yet.

"Yeah, nobody from my middle school survived either."

"Hahaha... survived... that's a funny way of saying it I guess."

If only she knew the truth behind my words.

"Anyways, my name is Kushida Kikyou. I'm from Class D. What's your name?"

Crap... I really hoped that she wouldn't ask for my name. I didn't want this to happen this early.

If I tell her my name, chances are she'll know who I am, and that might cause an even bigger commotion on the bus. I don't really wish for that to happen, if I were to be honest. If I were really desperate, I would ask her to keep my identity hidden for the time being, but that's a rather unlikely possibility.

If I make up a fake name, it'll just cause more problems in the future. I know I can't hide my identity forever here, so I might as well just get it over with right now. She'll probably never trust me if she learns that I told her a fake name, and I don't want that to happen either. After all, she might be a useful tool for me in the future. I don't really want to deal with all of this right now though, it's a bit too early in the morning for me to be the center of everyone's attention.

I'm currently stuck in what you would call a dilemma. A dilemma can be seen as two opposite desires of the same strength fighting against each other. Two forces of the same magnitude in the opposite direction. Who will win? Who will get the better of the other? Theoretically speaking, there's no winner, since by definition, both have the same strength. This is where free will comes in. One with free will is able to, arbitrarily, chose an option from two option that are equally attractive. Generally speaking, having free will can be seen as having the capacity to chose not only between different courses of action, but also between different mindsets. For an individual with free will, the phrase "I have no other choice" doesn't exist. In philosophy, free will is often defined as the capacity to "want whatever we want", and is often seen as an ability exclusive to humans, although some philosophers would argue that no species has free will and that free will is an illusion created by society.

Many people confuse freedom and free will. While they do illustrate somewhat the same idea, freedom is rather physical and free will is rather psychological. I once read that freedom can be defined generally as "doing what one wants", although many philosophers have different definitions. Free will, on the other hand, can be defined as "thinking how one wants". That, I'd say, is the main difference between the two.

Free will and freedom, huh?

For as long as I've been alive, I've never once felt like I was in control of my actions. Almost as if everything about my life was already determined and my path was already laid out in front of my own eyes.

"Kiyotaka, you will be the one to rule over Japan. I have high expectations for you, don't disappoint me."

I've heard that phrase so many times I've lost count, but is that the path I want to follow? What is it that I truly want? I've never given it much thought until lately.

"So... Ayanokouji-kun, I know you have decided to attend the Advanced Nurturing High School, but how are you going to deal with the news? Everyone knows about you and your past now."

"I think I have already decided on how I want to tackle things, Matsuo. However, I would like to hear your thoughts on the matter."

"Well, to be honest, I think people will know who you are on the very first day, whether you want to or not. Whether you decide to hide your talents or not, your extraordinary abilities will be known to everyone, so what you do about that is up to you. Whatever your intentions are, you will be known as Ayanokouji Kiyotaka from the White Room. However, I will tell you this. I have my sources, and apparently, the 100% employment and college entry rate mentioned by the school is a huge bluff. I know you got put into Class D, but the truth is, only those that graduate from Class A have all the benefits. I don't know the details, but I do know that there is a hierarchy of classes based on a point system and one class can surpass another. It's up to you if you want to try and graduate from Class A. If it were me, I would probably decide to aim for Class A, and you certainly have to capacities for that."

"I see. As always, Matsuo, thanks for your advice. I will take into consideration what you just said in my decision making. Well, I'll be going now, thank you for taking care of me this year. I hope we meet again in three years."

"Take care, Ayanokouji-kun. I hope you enjoy your new school life to the fullest," Matsuo bid me farewell with a smile as I left the mansion and walked to the bus station.

What Matsuo just said could prove to be crucial information for my future choices. If I were to graduate from Class A, I would be able to easily go to college, for example. Though, the truth is, my knowledge already surpassed that of an average human when I turned 4. Right now, I might have more knowledge than every single living human combined, so going to college seems rather useless to me at the moment. However, the reality is that Class A may be a path to freedom. Graduating from Class A will open an endless amount of doors for my future. With that man not around anymore, I feel like I finally have my future in the palm of my own hands.

Do I want to go against my biological father and graduate as Class D? That would show the world that a such thing as a perfect human doesn't exist, although I would have to intentionally hold back. When I think about it, revenge at this point in time is pointless. That man is already in prison after all. What I do shouldn't be based on him, but based on what I want to do. That man doesn't and shouldn't matter to me.

That leaves me with the other option, do I want to graduate as Class A in hopes of a future full of freedom? Do I want to do what I always have done, that is to stand at the top no matter what?

In other terms...

Do I want to win?

I should probably give Kushida my answer. While for many, saying your name is something rather trivial, this very moment will prove to be a crucial turning point in my life.

"Kiyotaka... no matter what, you must always remember this. To have great power and refuse to use it to your advantage, is something only a fool would do."

I won't enter this school as an average student.

Why should I be average? That's not who I am.

Why should I adapt to others? They don't matter to me. They're not me, I'm not them.

The only thing that matters is my victory. It doesn't matter what needs to be done.

I will enter this school as Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, Masterpiece of the Demonic Fourth Generation of the White Room.

"I'm Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. Pleasure meeting you."

Author's Notes

Well, this is the end of Chapter 1.1 of my very first fan fiction. I sincerely hope you guys all enjoy it so far.

I'm currently thinking about how the plot should be like for the first semester, but I do have a good idea already.

Feel free to give me feedback and leave some suggestions.

Take care and see you in the next chapter!

Chapter 1.2 - First impressions

"I'm Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. Pleasure meeting you."

Those are the words I decided to say to Kushida.

Judging from her behavior and my first impressions, she seems like someone who acts friendly to others no matter what, even if she has to hide her true self. If that's truly her way of life, she isn't the worst person to tell my identity to.

"A-A-Ayanokouji... K-Kiyotaka..." Kushida muttered, seemingly shocked, as a few people who eavesdropped also heard me.

"Oh so you're the Ayanokouji Kiyotaka? What a surprise! I hope we can get along!" she continued while putting her smile back on her face.

She certainly knows how to put on a mask, I'll give her that.

"Likewise," I felt as though this was a good enough answer.

Although Kushida reacted better than I thought she would, it was not long after that the bus became quiet. I heard whispers all around me. Seems like that's the end of my peaceful yet extremely short life. There was a suffocating atmosphere inside the bus. I suddenly became the center of everyone's attention. All eyes were on me, well, excluding those of a certain blonde boy who was looking at himself in a mirror.

"Hey... is that... Ayanokouji Kiyotaka?"

"He actually looks handsome..."

"What's up with those eyes? They look... empty..."

"What is someone like him doing here?"

"Idiot, can't you see he's wearing our school's uniform?"

Luckily, it wasn't long before we arrived at the school's entrance. As I got off the bus, I could feel the eyes of the other passengers staring at me. The young boys and girls dressed in school uniform hurriedly passed through the entrance gate as I stared at the entrance of my new high school.

"Well... I'll see you around, Ayanokouji-kun!"

Seems like I've made my first acquaintance. That went... well, I guess.

This is my new school, huh?

It certainly didn't look bad. In fact, once I passed through the gate, I could see how gigantic this school really was. The Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School was a school established by the Japanese government in hopes of nurturing young graduates that will lead Japan in the future. It is known as the most prestigious high school in Japan and one can see why once they step foot inside the campus. The area of the campus was about 600,000 square meters. The school could easily be compared to a small city. One can find anything and everything at this school. From clothing stores and karaoke bars to fancy restaurants and libraries, this school clearly had it all. For the average high school student, attending this school certainly is like living the dream.

But I'm not here as an average high school student.

Right now, rumors about Ayanokouji Kiyotaka attending this school haven't spread yet, but it's only a matter of time before my name becomes known to the entirety of the student body. I walked towards the gymnasium where the entrance ceremony will take place as I felt occasional glares towards my direction.

I wish I could say that my first impression is that the people here are like normal high school students, but the truth is, I don't know what it's like to be normal. The majority of students seem to be quite excited and happy, but then again, I can only guess how they feel based on the words' definitions.

What does it mean to be normal? Does being normal mean to be average? By definition, to be average is to have no outstanding qualities nor flaws. People might describe others as smart or dumb, beautiful or ugly, interesting or boring, tall or short, etc... Being average would mean being exactly in the middle of two opposing adjectives. Hence, someone average would be someone that's neither smart nor dumb, neither beautiful nor ugly, etc... That is the definition of being average. But being normal is another issue. Is it normal for someone to score perfect 50s in entrance exams? Is it normal for someone to be perfectly average? The answer is obviously no. If you're someone who's perfectly average, you are far from the norm. So, what is it truly like to be normal?

Over the course of these three years, I hope I can learn more about society and behavior, as well as answer some of my many questions. How do these students think? What are their goals? What are their motives for attending this school? Is what I read in books true in the world outside the White Room?

It seems I'm lost in my thoughts again.

I decided to quickly make my way to the school gymnasium, as the entrance ceremony was about to begin.

Needless to say, the entrance ceremony was something I wouldn't want to experience twice. The principal decided to put us all to sleep by making his speech dull and boring. Many students started to feel irritated and tired. The student council president, who seemed quite intimidating for many first-years, also exchanged a few words. Very few students looked at me, meaning that not many knew of my presence. I'm guessing the news haven't spread yet due to the fact that talking during the ceremony would be seen as disrespectful. By the end of the day, my status will significantly change, for better or for worse.

It'd definitely be a pain if everyone becomes afraid of me on the first day.

For me, there are two possible outcomes once someone learns my identity.

Either they will fear me, and distance themselves from me because of my reputation as the Demon of the White Room and as a human with no emotions. They might even hate me and try to face off against me.

Or they will be curious, want to learn more about me, and see for themselves if the rumors are true, and if I am who they think I am.

These are somewhat natural reactions, I'd say. Facing the unknown, one tends to either protect themselves by fleeing, or satisfy their curiosity by getting closer, and high school students are no exception.

Since the ceremony ended, I started making my way to my classroom. Everyone did the same. If you were to zoom out of the picture and look at the situation from an aerial point of view, it would look like a group of insects crawling towards the same destination. I was among a huge group of students, all the same age, all roughly the same height as me, all human, but I felt like I was the odd one out.

Some people already made friends, while others were still a bit shy. As for me, I was wondering how I should enter the classroom. Would people already know me by then? Should I introduce myself? Should I try and get to know other people?

I've already made up my mind.

Obviously, rumors started spreading like wildfire. The majority knew that Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was a student attending the Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School. While that fact was already printed into the minds of the students, most of them still didn't know what I looked like. I guess only those who were on the same bus as me this morning knew my face, even then, some couldn't get a good look at my face.

The environment here was so different, it felt like I was in an anime where the main character had been reincarnated as someone from another world. As I got closer to my classroom, I saw most students excitedly talking to each other in their respective classrooms. My class, Class 1-D, was all the way at the end of the hallway, so I got a good glance at the three other classrooms and the people in them. None of them seemingly noticed me, expect for a petite girl with lilac colored hair, violet eyes and a cane who stared at me with curiosity and a smug face. I wonder who she is and how she immediately seemed to have recognized me.

Class 1-D... here it is.

As I entered the classroom, I immediately noticed Kushida looking at me. It seems like she already made a bunch of friends and was in the middle of a conversation with them. As expected of someone who puts up such an act in front of others.

"What's wrong Kushida?"

"Um... no it's nothing! So what were we talking about?"

She decided to not let anyone know of my identity yet, which was an interesting choice. I walked towards the seat that had my nameplate on it. It was in the back row, next to the window, the ideal seat if you ask me. As I looked around, I saw the classroom gradually filling up with new faces. Many of them were already having conversations with one another and having a good time. For them though, it seems like the topic of their conversations were revolving around me. Well, they don't know that I'm Ayanokouji Kiyotaka yet, but I guess that can wait.

"Hey have you heard about Ayanokouji Kiyotaka? Apparently he's attending this school like us!"

"No way!! I wonder what he's like... maybe he's actually handsome and cute! I wonder what class he's in..."

"Are you guys not scared of him... I mean have you seen the files about him on the internet?"

"Yeah... but I can't help but feel bad for him, you know... have you seen what he's been through?"

It certainly feels weird hearing people talk about you when they don't know you're listening to their conversations.

I heard the chair next to me moving, and, as I turn around, I see a girl with long black hair staring at me. I remember her, she was sitting next to me on the bus before I got up and gave up my seat for the elderly woman. She looked at me as if she can't believe her eyes. She awkwardly sat down next to me as she started minding her own business.

Seems like she'll just ignore me from the time being, huh? Wait, why is she taking out a compass?

"For safety measures," she suddenly said. It's as if she can read my mind. I guess she's not that afraid of me either, which was good to see.

"Understood," is what I decided to say.

"Horikita Suzune's the name. I guess you aren't as bad as what I thought you would be."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

The wise move here is to not say anything unnecessary.

"You know what I mean. Anyways, if you're curious, I don't plan and telling your identity to others. I'd much rather not get involved in their shenanigans. I'll just pretend as if it's the first time I'm meeting you, I assume you're fine with that."

She's surprisingly bold. If I were to take a wild guess, she definitely has a superiority complex.

"Sure."

I sure suck at conversations.

It wasn't long before our homeroom teacher entered the classroom. If I had to guess her age, I'd say it was probably around thirty. She wore a suit and had delicate features. Her hair was long and tied into a ponytail. I looked around and saw a few familiar faces. Among them were Kushida, Horikita, and the blonde boy who were all on the same bus ride as me this morning.

"Ahem. Good morning to you, students. I'm the instructor for Class D. My name is Chabashira Sae. I usually teach Japanese history. However, at this school, we do not change classrooms for each grade. For the next three years, I'll be acting as your homeroom teacher, so I hope to get to know all of you. It's a pleasure to meet you all."

I can see her quickly looking at me. The teachers at this school definitely know who I am and what I look like, and Chabashira-sensei is surely no exception.

"I will now distribute written materials with information about this school's special rules. I will also hand out the admissions guide."

The students in the front row passed back the familiar documents I'd received after being accepted.

Chabashira-sensei then told us about the school's unique system: the S System.

"I will now hand out your student ID cards. By using your card, you can access any of the facilities on campus, purchase goods from the store, and so on. It acts like a credit card. However, it is imperative that you pay attention to the points that you spend. At this school, you can use your points to buy anything."

She emphasized on the word anything, which was interesting. I assume even ridiculous things such as transferring classes and test points can be bought using points. Seems like having a large amount of points can really give you the advantage here. Good to know.

"Your student cards can be used simply by swiping them through the machine scanner. The method is simple, so you shouldn't get confused. Points are automatically deposited into your account on the first of every month. You should all have received 100,000 points already. Keep in mind that one point is worth one yen. No further explanation should be necessary."

After everyone took a few seconds to process what she just said, the classroom erupted. However, the way Chabashira-sensei explained the S System leaves plenty of room for misunderstanding. One might easily think that we would get 100,000 points every month, but that's not what she said. Based on her wording, I assume the amount of points we get every month may vary.

"Shocked by the amount of points you've been given? This school evaluates its students' talents. Everyone here has passed the entrance examination, which itself speaks to your value and potential. The amount you've received reflects the evaluation of your worth. You can use your points without restrain-"

Now that is the missing piece of the puzzle. Our points are based on our worth, meaning that if we were to mess around in class, for example, we would probably get less points the following month. I looked around the class, but it seems like everyone is still shocked by the amount of points we're getting, not understanding that next month won't necessarily be the same. Many students couldn't hide their surprise and excitement as they talked about what they should spend their points on, but nobody had a clue about the hidden meaning of her explanation.

These are the students that are supposed to lead Japan in the future?

For anyone who would take a step back and ponder on the situation, a 100,000 yen monthly allowance is too good to be true. However, most students couldn't be bothered. For them, they were living in paradise.

"I'm so glad I enrolled in this school!"

"I know right, this school is just the best!"

Before I arrived here, Matsuo told me about the hierarchy of the classes that was based on points. Of course, I believed him, as there is no denying Matsuo's reliability when it comes to these things. Since we're in Class D, I assume we're the lowest of the bunch. If I were to describe these students, I would call them defects. Combining this piece of information with our homeroom teacher's explanation, I assume that there is another type of points, class points, that is different from the private points every individual has. Based on our behavior over the course of the month, our class points may decrease. It's unlikely they can increase based on behavior alone, so there must be another to gain class points. All four classes probably have 1000 class points right now, and that number will change each month. Why 1000 class points? It seems unlikely that we're currently all at 100 class points, as that number seems too low for such a system. On the other hand, 10000 class points seems like too much as that'd make each class points way less valuable. Therefore, I assume classes A, B, C, and D all have 1000 class points, and starting next month, the classes will be ordered based on their number of class points. For each class point we have at the beginning of the month, we'll all get 100 private points each, which is why we all received 100,000 points.

The thought of letting everyone know about this crossed my mind, but I decided against it. After all, I really couldn't be bothered. A side of me wanted to see how they'd react if they ever figure this out. Truth is, we'll probably have 0 class points come May 1st, and hopefully those idiots will finally snap out of their fantasies.

After our homeroom teacher finished talking, she left the classroom and let us talk to each other.

"Everyone, can you please listen to me for a moment?"

A young man with blonde hair and brown eyes who looked like an honors student suddenly spoke up.

"Starting today, we're all going to be classmates. Therefore, I think it'd be good for us to introduce ourselves and become friends as soon as possible. What do you say?"

"Agreed! After all, we still don't know a thing about each other, not even our names," someone shouted.

I knew this moment would come soon enough.

"My name's Hirata Yousuke. Back in junior high, lots of people called me Yousuke, so feel free to use my first name! I guess my hobby is sports in general, but I especially like soccer. I'm planning on playing soccer here, too. Nice to meet you!"

And with that, Hirata ended his introduction. He seemed exceptionally brave and open minded. He'll definitely be one of the most popular first-years judging from the reactions around the classroom, especially the girls'. He's definitely going to be one of the class leaders.

Soon after, people started introducing themselves one by one. Hirata decided to start from the front, which was fine by me, as I was sitting in the back. Now it was Kushida's turn to introduce herself.

"My name is Kushida Kikyou. None of my friends from junior high made it to this school, so I'm alone here. I'd like to get to know all of your names and faces right away and become friends as soon as possible!"

I wonder why she had to mention the fact that none of her friends from junior high are at this school. She's probably hiding something from her past, I should definitely keep an eye on her behavior. As Kushida finished her introduction, the next person started to prepare.

"I'm Ike Kanji. I love girls, and I hate pretty boys. I'm currently in the market for a new girlfriend. It's nice to meet you! All the better if you're a cutie or a beauty!"

What a pervert, and I wouldn't be surprised if he's the only one. So much for the future of Japan.

Needless to say, the girls were disgusted by his introduction. Anyways, the person next to him introduced themselves.

"I'm Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, masterpiece of the White Room. I'm a genius! I hope I get along with all of you, especially with you girls! I'm smart, athletic, handsome, I'm the perfect boyfriend!"

What the hell?

The classroom was quiet. A few seconds went by before Ike spoke up.

"Pssst... that's not something to joke about Yamauchi."

With that, the atmosphere in the classroom felt much lighter.

"Come on, dude! Couldn't you let me have my moment of glory?" Yamauchi said.

"That was too far man, you shouldn't joke about that. You know that he's in our school right?"

Some girls started taking to each other.

"How pathetic, using someone else's name just to get some attention from girls, what a loser."

"Yeah seems like we have our second pervert."

"That's enough, Yamauchi. How about you give us a real introduction?" Hirata interrupted.

"Fine... well, I'm Yamauchi Haruki. I competed in table tennis during elementary school, and in junior high I was the ace player on our baseball team. I got hurt during the inter-high school championships, though, and I'm undergoing rehab now. Nice to meet you!"

That doesn't sound any more real nor believable, Yamauchi.

Anyways, as introductions continued. I started to memorize all the faces and names of my classmates. The names I remembered include Hirata Yousuke, Kushida Kikyou, Horikita Suzune, Karuizawa Kei, Hasebe Haruka, Miyake Akito, Sudou Ken, Maya Satou, and, of course, the two perverts. On a side note, the blonde guy who refused to give up his seat on the bus is apparently called Kouenji Rokusuke. I don't know how my classmates got that information, since he left as soon as we all started to introduce ourselves.

After Horikita's turn, it was my turn to introduce myself. I saw her and Kushida looking at me curiously, wondering how the class will react.

Should I try to loosen up the atmosphere? Should I assert my dominance? For now, I think it's best to keep things simple so that I don't mess up my introduction.

"I'm Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. It's nice to meet you. I hope we can all get along."

"..."

The room was filled with silence once again.

"Hahaha... what the heck dude! That joke's boring now!" Ike shouted.

"Yeah! You couldn't come up with a more original joke than me! You're lame!" Yamauchi followed.

Sigh. Not only are they perverts, they're also idiots.

"Um... guys... he's not joking..." Kushida told everyone. Suddenly, Ike and Yamauchi turned dead silent.

"You see, I met Ayanokouji-kun on the bus this morning... and he was actually really nice! I mean... he even gave up his seat for an elderly woman! So yeah... I hope we can all get along with him and be friends with him since, as you all know, he had a rather rough childhood..."

I knew giving up my seat was the right choice. Thank you, Kushida.

"... He's Ayanokouji Kiyotaka?" someone whispered.

"I didn't expect him to look like this... he's kind of... handsome..." a girl muttered.

"Damn I messed up making that joke... I hope he doesn't kill me..." I wonder who said that.

My classmates all started muttering and whispering, but Hirata decided to break the awkward atmosphere.

"Are you really Ayanokouji Kiyotaka?" Hirata asked me.

A boring question deserves a boring answer.

"Affirmative."

"Hahahaha... this guy is actually so funny what the hell! Who knew Ayanokouji would be a guy like him!"

"Well, he does seem like some sort of robot... like what are these answers hahaha!"

Apparently I'm now Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, comedian of the White Room.

On a serious note, just like that, my new classmates changed their opinions about me. Thanks to Kushida's intervention, they'll see me more or less as someone who's had a rough childhood. Perhaps I'll even get special treatment from some of them, who knows?

Seems like everything's going exactly according to plan.

"Let's exchange contact information, Ayanokouji-kun!"

"Yeah! I want to have the artificial genius in my contacts too!"

"Let's be friends, Ayanokouji-kun!"

"Can I have your autograph, Ayanokouji?!"

This class is filled with a bunch of weird people.

With that, the series of introductions ended.

After we all finished talking, we decided to all leave the classroom. I looked at my phone, I already had 10 people in my contacts, including Hirata, Kushida, Horikita, Karuisawa, Hasebe, Sudou, Miyake, and others.

Everything went rather well, to say the least.

It's amusing how people are so naive.

Author's Notes

Hey everyone!

I know this part might feel a bit underwhelming to some. Although I initially wanted everyone to piss their pants after Kiyotaka introduced himself, I feel like that would have just made the story awkward and hard to continue. I hope you guys aren't too disappointed.

Don't worry though, this is all part of Kiyotaka's plan. (̿Ĺ̯̿ ̿)

FYI: the students don't know how Kiyotaka thinks. The information leaked was mostly about his past, the White Room's history, and some of Kiyotaka's status reports. This isn't like those reaction fan fiction where others could hear the thoughts of Kiyotaka. His way of thinking is still unknown to the students.
As a result, most of them wanted to give him a chance, get to know him and be friends with him. They initially thought of him as demon with no emotions, but upon seeing him with their own eyes, they changed their opinions about him. Little did they know they fell right into his trap.

The explanation of the S System and most of the introductions are the same as in the light novel.

In the anime, the entrance ceremony happened before homeroom, but in the light novel, it seemed to have happened after so I'm a bit confused. I decided to have it happen before homeroom in this fan fiction.

In this timeline, Horikita decides to stay and participate in the introductions. The same can't be said about Kouenji though.

This sub-chapter is a bit longer than the previous ones, so I decided to cut out some introductions.

I hope you understand my decisions and enjoyed this chapter nonetheless!

As always, take care and see you in the next chapter!

Chapter 1.3 - Deception

Many say "first impressions are everything." Is that necessarily true?

I tend to agree with the statement. When you meet someone, your first impression of them will more often than not determine how you see that person. If you have a good first impression of someone, you'll think of them highly and have a positive opinion about that person. On the other hand, if you have a bad first impression, it'll be hard for you to approach that person in the future since you'll have a negative opinion about them.

Therefore, if you have a wrong first impression of someone, you might find yourself betrayed in the future.

The students in Class D all seem to have had a good first impression of me. As introductions ended, we all decided to leave the classroom.

The vast majority headed towards the dorms, and the rest decided to explore the huge campus and spend some points.

I still felt eyes staring into my soul as I walked alongside students from all four classes. I guess I can't even hide in plain sight anymore.

Walking next to me were Kushida and Hirata who were having a casual conversation. I was minding my own business... until they decided to include me in their conversation.

"Seems like you're not such a bad guy after all, Ayanokouji-kun. I'm glad you're not the demon that everyone on the internet talks about, you actually seem like a cool dude," Hirata said.

"Yeah! Even on the bus this morning, you seemed like quite the gentleman," Kushida chuckled.

"I guess," I responded.

Many other students from other classes were obviously eavesdropping on our conversation. Once they heard my name, I became the talk of the town again.

"So that's Ayanokouji Kiyotaka?"

"He doesn't seem that bad to be honest..."

"Still, I'm going to be wary of him... his eyes are scary..."

"Seems like you're famous, Ayanokouji-kun," Hirata mentioned, "I hope all this attention doesn't bother you..."

"Don't worry about it Hirata. And also, just calling me Ayanokouji is fine. You can drop the honorifics," I responded. By saying this, I can probably get closer to Hirata. As I think he'll naturally become the class leader, this seems like the obvious choice to make.

"Well, if you say so, Ayanokouji."

As we continued our small talk, we quickly arrived near the dormitory.

"Well, I'll meet up with some of my friends soon, so I'll go on ahead. Later, Ayanokouji!" Kushida shouted as she walked away.

"I have plans too, so I guess this is where we part ways, see you guys tomorrow!" Hirata said with a smile.

"Sure."

I really need to become better at conversations.

"Here's the keycard for your room as well as a handbook containing information about the dorm's rules. Enjoy your stay!"

At the reception desk, I received a keycard for my room and a handbook. I quickly flipped through the handbook, which only detailed the most basic things that we needed for our daily routines. The dates and times for garbage disposal were listed, as well as a notice about avoiding excessive noise. I also saw notes about not wasting water or electricity, and so on.

So, they don't place restrictions on electricity or gas usage, huh.

I initially assumed that the school would deduct the cost from our points, but it seems like that won't be the case. On a side note, I was a little surprised that they'd implemented co-ed dormitories. After all, this was a high school, so the rules stated that unsuitable romantic relationships were frowned upon.

I look at my card, it seems like I'll be staying in Room 401 for the next three years.

401, huh?

"Subject 4-01, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, you are making tremendous progress. Keep working hard, or else you'll be disposed like the rest of your generation."

At the White Room, rather than being known by our names, we all had a number that defined us. The first number represented our generation. In my case, I was part of the Fourth Generation, hence the 4. Since my father had high hopes of me and he was the one in charge of the Fourth Generation, I was registered as the first subject. Therefore, I became Subject 4-01 of the White Room.

Now here I am, holding the keycard to Room 401.

Coincidences can be freaky.

I entered the elevator along with two other students and pressed on the button for the fourth floor. The two other students, who were both girls, looked at me. They must've thought I couldn't notice them staring at me, but little did they know I could see their reflections in the mirror.

One of the girls had mid-back length silver hair that had black ribbons tied behind it and had light purplish eyes. She was also carrying a book in her hands, it seems like she's quite the reader.

The other had long strawberry-blonde, pinkish hair and blue eyes. She possessed a rather well-endowed figure, to say the least. Judging from the looks, she'll probably become one of the most popular girls in the whole school. I can definitely see how many would find her attractive and alluring.

Once the elevator arrived at the third floor, the girl with silver hair left while avoiding eye contact and I was left with the other girl.

I initially thought this awkward encounter would end like this, but she started speaking to me, much to my surprise.

"Um... are you Ayanokouji Kiyotaka?"

"Yes."

"Um... well, my name is Ichinose Honami from Class B, it's nice to meet you Ayanokouji-kun. I hope we can get along!"

"Likewise. Pleasure meeting you, Ichinose."

With that, Ichinose started to smile. I could tell she felt relieved upon hearing my response. As the elevator arrived on the fourth floor, I started walking out.

"Well, I'll see you around, Ayanokouji-kun!"

"Likewise."

I really need to start coming up with new words. My creativity has hit a new low.

I opened the door to my room, it was definitely more spacious than I had imagined. My room was about eight tatami mats wide. There was a kitchen that was separated from the bedroom. The bed itself seemed quite comfortable and big. I put the papers that Chiyabashira-sensei distributed to us during homeroom on my desk and I laid down on my already-made bed, still in my school uniforms. I would be living alone starting from today, which was a new experience for me. After staring at the ceiling for quite a bit while lost in my thoughts, I decided to get up and head out. Looking at my phone, I saw that it was almost 1PM, so I decided to check out the campus by myself, and perhaps find a place to grab a quick lunch.

Isn't freedom simply the best? When I wanted to eat something, I could eat it. When I wanted to sleep, I could sleep. When I wanted to go outside and take a walk, I could do exactly that.

A new life.

So far, I was satisfied with how things were. I locked the door and took the elevator. To my surprise, nobody was in the elevator, so I head down and left the dormitory to head towards the main part of the campus.

I passed by the convenience store. Looking through the window I saw Sudou in line as well as Horikita checking out some items. I decided that it was best if I checked out the convenience store while returning to the dorms, otherwise I would have to carry my grocery bags everywhere I go.

I saw a three students who looked like third-years waiting outside the convenience store. What were they waiting for? As a precaution, I sent a text message to Horikita.

[There are 3 third-years outside the convenience store. Keep an eye on Sudou, if anyone tries to provoke him by insulting him, keep your distance and take a video. After a few moments, show them the video and ask for half their points as a compensation for deleting the video from your phone.]

Based on my first impressions of Sudou, he certainly seemed like the type to be extremely short-tempered. Therefore, he would be an obvious and easy target for anyone if they tried to set him up. Also, by having Horikita, instead me, help him out, her image might start changing for the better. She might eventually become a good leader for Class D.

As I continued walking, I came across plenty of cafés and small shops before I entered the Keyaki Mall.

This place had everything, I was impressed by the variety of shops and restaurants in it. I can definitely see this as a popular area for students to hang out. Speaking of which, many students looked at me, although I could tell it was mostly out of curiosity. I could tell most of them were hesitant to come up and talk to me. It was only the first day and this place is filled with students from all three years by the looks of it.

After checking out the rest of campus, I had a rough idea of where everything was. As I started heading back to the convenience store, I received a message from Horikita.

[I don't know how... but your plan actually worked... you really creep me out. Thank you for helping out, I guess. I feel bad taking all those points for myself, so I decided to give you half of the points I got. I'll transfer some points to you now.]

Wait, is her character development happening already?

Well, although I guessed that Horikita had somewhat of a superiority complex, she didn't seem like the type of person who would selfishly take all the credit for something she wasn't fully responsible for. So I guess you can say I sort of expected this to happen.

A few minutes later, I received the points from Horikita. I looked at my total balance, almost 700,000 points. Seems like she felt quite generous. Today's my lucky day, I guess.

I decided to finally check out the convenience store myself, and after, head back to the dormitory.

Everything had prices, and, based on their values, it really did seem like one point was worth one yen. The store's prices seemed quite reasonable. But, I noticed something interesting in my peripheral vision.

Free items, huh?

The convenience store was offering free items. Each student was limited to three free items per month, which further supports my theory behind private points. It seems like students can run out of points. If we truly did get 100,000 points per month, we would never run out of points. The fact that they put out items like this convinced me of my idea. The average freshman's allowance is around 5,000 yen, so the amount of points we got obviously seemed impossibly large. Too bad my classmates can't take a hint.

I decided to buy basic things such as kitchen tools, ingredients, and other necessities. I also bought some cup noodles since I've always wanted to try some out for myself. I happened to be quite hungry as well. I made my way to the queue to wait line. The line was quite long, so I expected to wait for a bit.

"Ayanokouji-kun?"

I turned around, only to find Ichinose along with two of her friends. It seems like they were hanging out and decided to stop by the supermarket as well. I guess a conversation with them wouldn't hurt. After all, we were all waiting in line.

"Hey, Ichinose. So you decided to stop by here too, huh?"

Her other friends seemed rather hesitant. Perhaps they're being cautious around me.

"Oh~ what's this about, Honami? It's the first day and you're already friends with the most popular person in school."

"Hehe~ you sure move fast. I get you though, who knew the Ayanokouji Kiyotaka would be someone this handsome?"

Never mind.

"Hey, come on, what are you guys talking about? Isn't it normal to get to know other people on the first day of school? Sorry about this, Ayanokouji-kun. I guess I should introduce you to my friends."

"Hey there, Ayanokouji-kun! I'm Kobashi Yume, nice to meet you!"

"I'm Amikura Mako! You can trust me to be your reliable wingwoman hehe~"

"Well, nice to meet you, Amikura and Kobashi," I simply said.

"Look, Ayanokouji-kun. Everyone knows about you in Class B. The truth is, even though everyone knows about your past and your reputation, we all want to help you so please, let us all be friends! Let's exchange phone numbers!" Ichinose exclaimed.

"As expected from Honami, seems like he'll be the first boy in your contacts eh~" Amikura teasingly replied.

Her friends sure are troublesome.

"Okay, sure," I handed them my phone and let them add me to their contacts.

"Woah... you already have this many people in your contacts? Seems like you're quite the popular one, Ayanokouji-kun."

After, they handed me back my phone, we continued our small talk until it was my turn to pay.

"So it really does work like a credit card," I muttered.

"The school is so amazing isn't it?"

"Yeah, to think they'll give us this many points for us to spend, what a life!"

"I don't think this will last though, after all, we might not receive the same number of points each month," I replied.

"So you think so too, Ayanokouji-kun? I do think the teachers left out some details on purpose for us to figure out." Seems like Ichinose is more clever than the defects in my class, as expected from someone who's in Class B.

"Yeah, I think the truth is far from what we might think at first."

"Oh, really. Have you figured it out?"

I went on to explain to them how I think the system really works. They were shocked by how much I could understand purely based on the teacher's explanation,

"Wow, you sure are smart, Ayanokouji-kun. I guess you're not called an artificial genius for nothing."

"Yeah... but if what you're saying is true, then why are you helping us. Aren't you in Class D? Telling us about the truth would only leave your class at a disadvantage. I can't help but feel bad for knowing all of this," Ichinose said.

"It only feels natural to help out other students. I mean, we're all just high school students in the end. Don't worry about it, Ichinose."

After all, I don't plan on staying in my current class for three years.

"Wait a second... but if what you're saying is true, then why were you placed in Class D, Ayanokouji-kun? Aren't you a genius? Why did they put you in the worst class full of defects?" Amikura asked me.

"Who knows? Maybe I'm the most defective of out them all."

Author's Notes

Hey you guys!

This part might not be as interesting as the others, but I deemed it necessary for the progression of the story.

In this timeline, Kiyotaka decided to head to the dorms first, so he doesn't end up meeting Sudou and Horikita at the convenience store. He manages to get some private points through Horikita, which will prove to be important in the near future.

Since barely anyone knows about the class hierarchy yet, very few people wondered why Kiyotaka was placed in Class D.

As he starts to put his plan into action, he makes more and more friends (or should I say collects more and more tools).

Kiyotaka explained to Ichinose and her friends the hierarchy of classes and the truth behind the S System as well as the system of class points and private points.

On a side note, do you guys want romance in this fan fiction? (Important question)

This marks the end of the first chapter!

Before the second chapter begins, a few short stories will follow!

See you guys soon!

SS.1 - Ignorance

After my encounter with Ichinose and her friends at the convenience store, I arrived back at the dormitory.

I ate my cup noodles in my room, then I decided to rest on my bed, although I was far from feeling tired.

After a few minutes of staring at the white ceiling, I suddenly decided to check out the school's online forum. I then went to the section dedicated to the first-years.

Most were questions regarding the school, but one in particular caught my attention.

[I can't believe Ayanokouji Kiyotaka goes to our school! Has anyone seen him today, how is he like?](Anonymous User)

Seems like I can't catch a break.

This particular post was extremely popular and received plenty of comments and reactions, all of them from students who decided to hide their identity as anonymous users.

[Someone tell us too! I'm really curious!]

[He's in my class! To be honest, I think he's really cool. Many of us probably had the wrong image of him!]

[He's not in my class but I think the same!]

[Do you guys think the files about him are true?]

[I mean they definitely are true, but whether they accurately represent him is another question]

[Maybe he was just misunderstood?]

[I think we should try and get along with him XD]

[Agreed!]

[Fufufu... seems like he has already become quite the superstar]

[Should we be wary of him though? I mean, the stories about him are scary..."]

[True... but you can put all the blame on him? Look at the conditions he was in, I don't think I would've survived myself!]

[Stop taking the piss kukuku... I'm sure he's not even that scary, I could beat the * out of him]

[What the hell is fufufu and kukuku, you creeps have weird laughs lol]

[DON'T MAKE FUN OF MY BRO]

[I'm just like Ayanokouji fr fr]

This school is fascinating... to say the least.

It hasn't been long since I've been a student at Tokyo's Advanced Nurturing High School, but I've already come to a simple conclusion regarding the students here.

They are ignorant.

The students here...

They think they know what I've been through.

They think they know what I did in the past.

They think they know about my abilities.

They think they know how I think.

They think they know everything about the Demon of the Fourth Generation.

They think they know everything about the Masterpiece of the White Room.

They think they know everything about me...

But I don't even know everything about myself.

They think they can become friends with me...

But I don't even know what friends are.

They think they can help me...

But I don't need help.

They know nothing about me. Even when they think they know everything, they still don't have a clue about who I truly am.

But that doesn't matter. What they think of me, how they think they can treat me, why they're trying to help me, it all doesn't matter.

After all, it doesn't matter how it's done. It doesn't matter what needs to be sacrificed. In this world, winning is everything. And as long as I win in the end...

That's all that matters.

After a while, I decided to head back out to have a walk.

I stopped by a vending machine to buy some juice, and sat on the nearby bench.

As I was about to head back, I saw a girl with long purple hair approach me. Her hair was tied in a ponytail on the right side, with bangs swept to the right side, and her eyes were purple too.

"Hey, are you Ayanokouji-kun?"

"Yes."

"Follow me, please. Somebody wants to meet you."

SS. 2 - Sakayanagi Arisu: Reunion

I could still recall the scene across the glass screen on that day as if it had occurred only yesterday.

My father took me to a facility located deep within the mountains, its exterior dyed a pure white. No, it wasn't only the exterior.

As far as I could remember, both the corridors and the small rooms we went through were all painted in one single white color.

I placed both my hands on the transparent glass, doing my very best to see what lied beyond. The screen seemed to be some sort of one-way mirror so they couldn't see us from the other side.

I could see children on the other side of the mirror. Children with talent, children without, everyone was partaking in this education program equally. It was a program where the people who start to fall behind would disappear one by one.

When it came to accomplishing the tasks presented to them, every child reflected in my eyes succeeded. However, they were desperate. It was obvious that doing so took all the effort they could muster. Whether it was studying or sports, the level of competition here was far beyond that of a normal child. And yet, amongst them was a single existence exhibiting abnormality.

A certain boy was playing chess and overwhelmingly defeating his opponents, one after the next. Among the children I could see beyond the glass, he was the only existence snatching away my gaze and heart. Seeing this, my father looked somewhat happy yet somewhat sad as he nodded.

"Yes, he is Sensei's son. His name should be... Ayanokouji... Kiyotaka if I remember correctly."

"He's Sensei's child so his DNA must be excellent, right?"

"Who knows. At least, Sensei has never graduated from a top university or possessed outstanding athleticism. His wife is also an ordinary woman. Their parents never showed signs of any talents either. But, Sensei has stronger ambitions than anyone and an unyielding and indomitable fighting spirit, that's it. That's why he has become so great. To the extent that he, at one point in time, could move the country."

"In that case— won't that child be the perfect specimen for this experiment?"

My father nodded with conflicting feelings at my question.

"Well... I think his father would probably feel like that child is perfect for it. But... as I see it, I can't help but feel sorry for him."

"Why is that?"

"From the very moment he was born, he has lived within these facilities. For him, the first thing he saw wasn't his mother nor his father, but the plain white ceiling of this facility. If he had fallen behind earlier, he could've probably lived with his father. Or no, maybe the fact that he continues to stay here had gotten him his father's favor. If so, that's very..."

Simply put, he hadn't ever received any love from his parents. How lonely and desolate such a life must be. His talents aside, there was still a lot to gain and learn through physical contact with other people. I strongly hugged my beloved father, to which he hugged me back.

"Do you not like this place, Father?"

"Hmm? ...Who knows? ...I honestly can't cheer it on. If the children here really become superior to everyone else, if this facility becomes the natural thing, then this must just be the misfortunate beginning. That's what I think."

"Rest assured. I will personally smash it for you. I will prove that talent is not decided by education, but from the moment people are born."

"Yes, I'm expecting lots of you, Arisu."

"By the way father. I think I want to start playing chess."

I start high school in precisely a week. I'm not particularly looking forward to it yet, but I hope that changes soon. Though I guess I'm somewhat looking forward to seeing my classmates and the rest of the first-years.

I hope I can meet him.

I've always wanted to meet him.

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, a young boy with brown hair and golden eyes.

An artificial genius, they call him?

That's impossible. All people are nothing more than what their DNA allows them to be. There is no such thing as an artificial genius. If you want to create a genius, you'd have to do it at the genetic level.

People who are born ordinary will never escape the realm of the ordinary. No matter how blessed their environment is, if somebody isn't excellent from the beginning, they won't become a genius. That had always been my belief since I was young.

Not long ago, news about the White Room broke out and the entirety of Japan became aware of not only of its existence, but of Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's existence.

That's when we all found out about the hidden truth behind the White Room, a place that violated human rights from all angles and perspectives.

Of course, I had visited the White Room with my father when I was small, but being the child that I was, I had no idea about the truth behind the one-way mirrors. I'm not even sure my father knew the real truth.

An artificial genius, a masterpiece, a demon, a monster, those were some of the many names people on the internet started calling him.

That's when I came to a shocking realization.

Ayanokouji-kun never had control over his life. It's as if the path he had followed was already laid out in front of him the very second he entered this world.

Ever since I visited the White Room, I always wanted to smash that facility into pieces. I always wanted to prove to everyone that talent is not decided by education, but from the moment people are born.

I've always wanted to fight against him. I've always wanted to bury the false genius of the White Room. But now, after all the news broke out, after I'm aware of the truth, I'm uncertain about my own feelings. Although one side of me wants to defeat him, the other can't help but admire him for withstanding all those years.

I've asked myself, isn't it selfish of me for wanting to defeat him? Is he even the one I want to defeat?

They say there's a thin line between love and hate.

If so, then I am currently standing on that very thin line myself.

"Arisu, I've brought him to you."

"Thank you, Kamuro, you can leave now. Here, have a seat, Ayanokouji-kun."

I finally got a good look at the person known as Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. He has grown up so much since I first saw him. The only person who caught my attention and my heart when I first visited the White Room.

After he sat down in front of me in the library, we started talking to each other. I reserved this section of the library just so I can have a nice and peaceful talk with him.

"Who are you and what business do you have with me?"

"My, my... no need to rush things, Ayanokouji-kun. After all, it's been exactly 8 years since I first met you. Poetic, isn't it? The first day of high school happened to be exactly 8 years after I saw you for the very first time."

"I don't remember meeting anyone like you during my childhood, Sakayanagi."

"I visited the White Room with my father, Ayanokouji-kun. I observed you with my very own eyes through the one-way mirror as you effortlessly beat all kinds of chess players."

"Oh, I do remember that day. So? Is that all you wanted to tell me? There's more, right?"

"Fufu... as expected, you're quite sharp. Indeed, I have a proposal."

Up until lately, I wanted to face off against Ayanokouji-kun, but I recently realized how selfish and immature I was.

Oh, how blinded I was by the goal I had set for myself without even thinking twice.

The reality is that I've always been against the White Room and its philosophy, but I'm not against the person named Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. The White Room has already shut down, so I decided it's better for me to move on from the past.

Ayanokouji-kun may or may not be an artificial genius, but one thing's for sure, he's not the perfect human. How can a human be perfect when they have no emotions nor feelings? Doesn't that already prove the White Room wrong?

If so , there 's no point in trying to defeat him , right ? What more do I need to do?

While I somewhat still want to test my abilities against him, I recently realized that I don't have to hate him to want to face off against him. I don't have to unleash all my anger and frustration on him just because he happens to be the best to ever come out of the White Room.

I have decided. I will teach him myself what he hasn't been taught. I want him to experience the warmth that I was lucky enough to experience. I want him to enjoy his life, the way I have been able to enjoy mine. I will give him what he has been missing all this time.

I'll cherish the person I 've always secretly admire d from the bottom of my heart.

"How about we team up, Ayanokouji-kun? Based on my guesses, you're aiming for Class A, right? Class D alone clearly has no chance of aiming for top spot. Even with you, the chances are slim. Join Class A. With you and I working together as the class leaders, nobody can stop us. I'll teach you all the things you haven't been taught in that place, Ayanokouji-kun. The world is much brighter than you think it is. Without light, there is no darkness, that's why...

I'll be the light to your darkness."

After a few seconds of thinking, Ayanokouji finally spoke up.

"Sakayanagi, I understand your proposal, and I'm grateful, for that matter. However, I will let you know that I have no intentions of joining Class A..."

Sigh, my embarrassing speech was all for nothing. What a way to humiliate myself.

As he starts to stand up and leave, I was thinking about what I should say to him.

"... yet."

He said to me with his back facing me as he stopped near the exit.

"When the time comes, I hope you'll welcome me in your class, Sakayanagi."

I gave him a smile, even though he didn't look back.

"Of course fufufu... I promise I'll be waiting for you. Also, please call me Arisu from now on, Kiyotaka. After all, we're childhood friends."

"Sure, Arisu. It was nice talking to you." He then left the library, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

Next time, I'll challenge him to a chess match.

SS. 3 - Ichinose Honami: A Fateful Encounter

Like people all around Japan, I became aware of the institution known as the White Room, a dark place that has fortunately shut down ever since news about it broke out.

How can people treat children like that?

Who do they think they are?

I feel stupid for regretting some actions I did in the past. What I did, what I suffered, how I lived, doesn't even compare to what those poor children went through.

Out of all those children, one apparently stood out.

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.

Apparently, he lived up to the expectations of the White Room instructors effortlessly, even surpassing their expectations by miles, and making exponential progress as he grew up.

He was part of the Fourth Generation. The news reporters called this generation the Demonic Fourth Generation. They said there were three reasons.

First of all, the curriculum was way more difficult that that of the previous three generations.

Second of all, the punishments were much more severe and frequent.

And finally, third of all, a demon came out of this generation. At least that's what they all say. A demon hidden in a human body. A human that has lost all emotions and ability to feel things. That human, was Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. It was said that when the other students were being punished, he didn't even bother looking at them, not showing the slightest sign of sympathy. He also scored full marks on every single one of his exams ever since he lost those emotions.

He has hence earned the nickname of "Masterpiece of the White Room".

That has led me to think. Was he always unable to feel things, or did he lose them over the course of his life in the White Room?

Or, even worse, did he intentionally decide to let go of his feelings, so that he could come out on top of his generation?

Yikes...

That last thought scares me, but, actually, I kind of want to meet him. What is he really like? How does he behave? Is he really a demon? A masterpiece? An artificial genius?

Today was the first day of school. I'm attending Tokyo's Advanced Nurturing High School.

This school is amazing. The campus is huge, it contains literally everything one can think of.

However, today, there was only one thing that caught everyone's attention.

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka is attending this school.

At first, I couldn't believe it. What is someone like him doing here? Then, one of my friends showed me a picture of him. I don't know how she got that picture, since he wasn't even in our class. I must say though, I didn't expect him to look this... handsome.

I'm now at the dormitory, I just got my keycard and I'm now in the elevator alongside another girl, heading for the 11th floor.

I couldn't believe who entered the elevator. Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.

He was heading for the fourth floor. He stood in front of us, so I stared at him with curiosity, it seems like the other girl did the same. He seems... quite normal. I mean he's human after all, right? What could go wrong if I talk to him?

By the time I was done thinking, the other girl left on the third floor, leaving me alone with him.

Here goes nothing...

"Um... are you Ayanokouji Kiyotaka?"

Is he going to respond?

"Yes."

Wow, he actually responded... Wait, what am I thinking? Of course he responded, Honami, you started talking to him you idiot!

"Um... well, my name is Ichinose Honami from Class B, it's nice to meet you Ayanokouji-kun. I hope we can get along!"

Was that too much? Did I make him uncomfortable?

"Likewise. Pleasure meeting you, Ichinose."

I smiled. It seems like he wasn't that bad. My first impression of him was... good! I really hope we can get along and who knows? Maybe even become friends!

"We'll, I'll see you around, Ayanokouji-kun!"

"Likewise."

He kind of sucks at conversations though.

With that, he left the elevator. My first encounter with him was... a success! Hopefully our relationship starts here, I want to become good friends with him!

I went out with my friends that afternoon and had fun! We decided to stop by the convenience store before parting ways, and, surprisingly, we bumped into Ayanokouji-kun!

My friends Yume and Mako teased me after I started talking to him. It's not like that! How can I already have a crush on someone I just met?

This is Ayanokouji-kun we're talking about. The guy that was all over the news! I mean, he is handsome, and cute, and hot, and smart, and probably athletic, and also handsome... but that's not the point! I just want to be friends with him and help him since he had such a rough childhood! I want to know how he felt, what he was thinking when he was in the White Room.

At first, I was a bit scared of talking to him, but now, after having a nice conversation with him and my friends, I'm convinced I can get along with him. We even exchanged contact information! The past doesn't matter, right? The past is in the past, as they say. I want to enjoy the present, and get to know all sorts of people, including Ayanokouji-kun!

Plus, I'm sure, even if I were to like him though...

He would be unable to have those same feelings for me.

But even so... maybe I want to teach him those feelings.

Author's Notes

Three short stories in a day, what the hell has gotten into me?

Well, it is summer vacation and I have nothing better to do, so enjoy this as a small gift from Consistent-Author-San ᕙ(̿̿ĺ̯̿̿̿ ̿) ᕗ

Chapter 2 will start tomorrow, hope you're looking forward to it!

Chapter 2.1 - A Somewhat Normal School Life

It was the second day of school, and I was sitting in my chair. I arrived right on time so that I wouldn't have to participate in any unnecessary conversations, but I still couldn't avoid curious looks from my classmates.

We spent most of our time running over the course objectives. Many students were genuinely surprised by how warm and friendly the teachers at this school looked. During class, I heard many students chit chatting, playing around with their phone, or even sleeping. Sudou already decided to make a spectacle of himself by spending most of the class sleeping. The teachers showed no sign of stopping them though. Therefore, they are probably letting us behave like this, to then deduct points from our class points the following month.

Looking around the classroom, I noticed four cameras, one in each corner. Although they were in obvious places, I'm surprised most of the class didn't even notice. But knowing them, they were probably just happy they could do whatever they want in class.

Fools.

My seat neighbor seemed utterly concentrated though. I looked at Horikita as I saw her pen effortlessly glided on top of her notebook. She had already filled four full pages by the time lunch came by. Considering all we did was talk about the course, that's somewhat impressive. Talk about determination.

As for me, I did have my notebook open, but let's just say I was too lazy to take notes.

After all, I already knew everything. These were things I had learned in the White Room, and trust me, I couldn't forget anything that happened in that place, even if I wanted to.

It was then time for lunch break, so most of the class head outside to eat with their friends. I haven't quite decided what I'll do yet, but right now, I should probably thank Horikita for giving me half of the points she got from those upperclassmen.

"Hey Horikita, thanks for the points yesterday," I told her.

"You're welcome. Now if you don't have anything to say, you can leave," she said as she took out her bento box from her bag.

Just as I thought her character development started. Sigh.

"Hey Ayanokouji, mind if we eat lunch together?"

I turn around to see Hirata inviting me for lunch alongside a few girls from our class. I guess that's what happens when you're popular.

How come I'm "popular", but this type of thing doesn't happen to me?

"Sure, where are we going?" I replied.

The reason I agreed was so that I could gather more information about my classmates. Information, as they say, is key. For example, in war, a lack of intel basically just means defeat. Information is a game changer in anything, be it sports, conflicts, or even school. Memorizing a lot of information is like having a cheat sheet in your head. At least that's how I see it.

"I was thinking of grabbing a lunch set from the cafeteria. Sounds good to you?"

"Sounds good."

With that, I started heading towards the cafeteria with Hirata, Karuizawa, Satou and Matsushita. I noticed Karuizawa walking extremely close to Hirata, while the other two girls stayed back to have a small talk with me.

"So... Ayanokouji-kun, how do you like this school so far?" Satou asked me.

"Mhm. It's okay, I guess. Nothing has happened so far so it's still a bit early to say," I replied.

"You know, when I hear your monotonous voice, I somehow feel 10 times smarter," Matsushita pointed out.

"I know right! Not only is he smart, but he's also really cool! You know, Ayanokouji-kun, ever since the big news broke out, I always wondered what you were like and in truth, you're way cooler than I expected!"

"I agree! Maybe the rumors are way too exaggerated."

"Who knows," I simply said.

"You do need to work on your social skills though... how can someone as smart as you be so bad at conversations!"

"If only you were as good as Hirata or Kushida when it comes to talking, then every girl in school would fall for you!"

I feel like this is becoming a conversation where the two of them insult my social skills.

"Anyway, Ayanokouji-kun, did you know you placed first in the hottest first-year boy ranking? Look at this! The first-year girls voted in all kinds of rankings and these were the results!"

Satou showed me her phone. There really were all sorts of rankings. In the hottest ranking, I really did place in first. It seems like Hirata was third, with a Class A student called Hashimoto placing second. There was a gloomiest ranking, a cutest ranking, and a strongest ranking. There was also a pervert ranking, but I guess I don't even have to look to know who finished in the top two.

"Interesting," was the least I could say in this situation.

As our conversation continued, we quickly arrived at the cafeteria. I decided to try out the free vegetable set, but the others tried out other more expensive sets. I wanted to see how the vegetable set tasted, for future reference. In the future, there may come a time where I would have to save up points. After we all got our food, we sat down around a big table, and everyone started chatting.

"I wonder what I should spend my points on next!" Satou said.

"Same! I mean, we have 100,000 points per month, so it would be a waste not to use them all! What do you think, Hirata?" Karuizawa agreed.

"Well, I'm not a big spender, so I'm basically only buying the minimum at the moment. I don't think it's bad to spend your points though, everyone should do as they please! What are your thoughts, Ayanokouji-kun?"

"I agree with you, Hirata. It might be best if we don't spend that many points, but that's just my intuition."

"Come on, Ayanokouji-kun! Look at you and your vegetable set, aren't you boring! Now that you have a new life, you should enjoy it to the fullest, with us!"

"Yeah, as long as we're in this school, there's nothing to worry about!"

When there's nothing to worry about, that's probably when you should be worried.

As lunchtime was almost over, we quickly finished eating and head back to the classroom.

Not long after I sat down on my chair, an announcement played through the speakers.

"At five PM Japan Standard Time today, we will be holding a student club fair in Gymnasium No. 1. Students interested in joining a club, please gather in Gymnasium No. 1. I repeat, at-"

Club activites, huh? I've never joined a club before. Since I have nothing to do, I guess it won't hurt to check out the club fair. I should invite Horikita, maybe I'll learn something about her that could prove useful in the future.

"Horikita, are you going to the cl-"

"I'm not interested in joining a club."

"Shouldn't you at least go check it out?"

"I said I'm not interested in joining a club."

What a pain.

"Well, I guess I'll just go there myself."

"I suppose, if it's only for a little while after school, I'll go with you," she muttered.

"Sure. I never planned to stick around."

I was surprised by her sudden change of opinion. As the bell rang indicating that lunchtime was over, our teacher entered the classroom. With that, the afternoon classes started, as Horikita concentrated in taking notes once again.

As for me, I spent most of class staring through the window.

"There are a lot more people here than I expected."

After class had ended for the day, Horikita and I went to the gymnasium. Nearly all the students assembled here were freshmen. There were about a hundred people waiting around. We stood near the back and waited for the fair to begin. While waiting, we glanced over the pamphlet that students received upon entering the gymnasium. The pamphlet contained detailed information about club activities.

"Thank you all for waiting, first-year students. We will now begin the club fair. A representative from each club will explain their function. My name is Tachibana, the student council secretary and the club fair's organizer. It's nice to meet you all."

After Tachibana delivered the opening remarks, representatives from each club quickly lined up on a stage. The club representatives included everything from burly athletes in judo uniforms to students dressed in beautiful kimonos. The representatives were way to motivated in comparison to the first-year students, making the situation quite awkward for most of us. I think I speak for most students and I say the club fair was quite boring.

As upperclassmen finished their presentations, they walked off the stage, all except one. Everyone focused their attention on him, and I noticed Horikita staring at him intensively. He appeared about 170 centimeters in height, so he wasn't very tall. He had black hair, wore sharp glasses and had a piercing glaze. Standing in front of the microphone, the atmosphere immediately changed from the relaxed atmosphere from before. It was as if some chemical reaction had taken place.

"I'm the student council president. My name is Horikita Manabu," he started his speech.

Horikita? So that's her brother from what it looks like.

He then went on to talk about the student council and how they're looking to recruit potential candidates among the first-years to replace the third-years. I've thought about joining the student council, but I still haven't decided. I should probably give it more thought soon.

He didn't even pause once during his speech. Immediately after finishing, he hopped off the stage and left the gymnasium, leaving most of us speechless and unable to utter a single word.

Horikita remained still as a statue even after the club fair ended. I asked her what's wrong, but it seems like my words didn't even reach her.

Judging from her reaction, the student council president is her brother, and she definitely doesn't have a good relationship with him.

Of course, I could never know what it's like to have a sibling, let alone an older sibling. However, I do remember reading somewhere that younger siblings tend to want to prove themselves to their older siblings. Perhaps that was the case here. Horikita, who desperately wanted to be acknowledged by her older brother, decided to become stronger, so she slowly but surely started developing a superiority complex. But that's just my guess.

Anyways, I left her alone and head towards the dormitory where I came across Kushida of all people.

"Hey, Ayanokouji! Were you at the club fair?"

"Yeah, I didn't join a club though, what about you?"

"You didn't join a club? Since you're so talented, I thought many clubs would try to recruit you. As for me, I just wanted to check out the club fair, I wasn't planning on joining any clubs."

"Same here."

"Say, Ayanokouji, are you in the class group chat?"

"The class group chat?"

"Yeah! Our class recently made a group chat. Not everyone is in it yet though, so I wanted you to join as well."

"Sure, but couldn't you have simply added me since you have my number?"

"Well yeah, but I figured it would be best if I asked you first."

"Makes sense."

Seems like Kushida wants to get on my good side and wants to make me trust her. I guess I should just play along for now, since I haven't found a use for her yet.

"You know, Ayanokouji, you're a nice guy. I guess I totally had the wrong image of you!" Kushida told me with a bright smile.

This two-faced girl sure knows how to put on a fake smile.

"Yeah, I'm also glad we're getting along. Anyway, I'll be heading back now. See you, Kushida."

"Later, Ayanokouji!"

Kushida might prove to be a problem for the future of Class D should she ever decide to betray the class, but if that ever happens...

I won't be there anymore to witness it.

Author's Notes

Hey guys!

Nothing much happened in this part. And as a heads up, this next part will stay somewhat close to the original plot (with the iconic swimming class).

Big things coming up for Chapters 2.3 and 2.4 though! Hope you guys are looking forward to it!

Also, it was about time my boy Kiyotaka got what he deserved. Let's be honest, ain't nobody hotter than him at this school. Top 1 100% deserved.

I don't have much else to say, hope you guys like the fan fiction so far!

If you do, do know that votes and comments are extremely appreciated!

Take care!

Chapter 2.2 - A Tempting Invitation

"Good morning, Yamauchi!"

"Good morning, Ike!"

Arriving to class, Ike wore a broad smile as he called out to Yamauchi. It was rather unusual for the two of them to arrive this early. It's been one week since school has started, and the two of them would always arrive right before the bell rang.

As for me, after I started arriving at school earlier in the morning, I started to engage in more conversations with my classmates. I've started to get along with them quite well...

Is what they would say.

"Whew, man! I was looking forward to this day so much I could barely sleep!"

"Ah ha ha! This school is just the best! I can't believe that it's almost time for swimming! And when I say swimming, I mean girls. And when I mean girls, I mean girls in swimsuits!"

It was true that the swimming classes were co-ed. It was obvious that the two Class D perverts would be looking forward to this day. They couldn't even hide their rabid excitement from the girls, who all looked at them in disgust and backed away from them.

"Hey, Professor! Come here for a sec!"

"Uh, you called?"

A chubby boy, apparently nicknamed "The Professor," approached them slowly. If I remembered correct, his name was Sotomura Hideo.

"Show us the spreadsheet. Let's bet on the girls' breast sizes!"

They really are the lowest of the bunch.

Not only are they spending their points like there's no tomorrow, they're also using them to bet on the girl's breast size. They were getting blatantly excited over this. The girls around the classroom looked at them like they were dirt.

"All right! The pool!"

After lunch had ended, it was time for swimming class. The moment Ike and the others had been waiting so long for finally arrived. Ike leapt up and headed with the others toward the indoor pool.

I followed them to the locker room and they all started changing. Sudou promptly removed his uniform, showing off his physique. He'd built up his body through his years of playing basketball. In comparison to students like Ike or Yamauchi, he certainly was in incredible shape. I took a trip to the bathroom before changing, leaving Sudou and the others enough time to change and head toward the pool.

After I finished changing, I head out of the locker room. The water in the fifty-meter pool was crystal clear, it reminded me of the one in the White Room. The temperature was just right, so it was the perfect environment to swim.

Ike looked around, sniffling the air like a dog.

"What about the girls? Aren't they here yet?"

"They take a while to change, so they're probably not ready," I decided to say. It's about time they calm themselves down instead of letting their horniness do the talking.

"Come on, Ayanokouji, aren't you interested in seeing the girls in swimsuits? You are a boy, right?" Yamauchi said.

"I am a boy, but I'm not a pervert."

"I agree with Ayanokouji, you guys are taking it way too far," Sudou agreed.

"Wow! It's so spacious! It's so much bigger than the pool at my junior high school!"

A few moments later, a girl's voice could be heard. Ike and Yamauchi looked back as if they were about to strike. However, their wishes were dashed by an unexpected turn of events.

"Hasebe isn't here! Wh-what's going on, Professor?!" Ike cried.

Where was the Professor? I couldn't see him anywhere.

I looked up, only to see him panicking on the second-floor observation deck. The three of them looked around the pool but they couldn't find the girls anywhere.

"B-behind you, Professor!"

"What?!"

Hasebe stood behind the Professor on the observation deck. One by one, the rest of the girls appeared, until they'd all emerged onto the second floor. Seemed like many girls decided to miss out on swimming class, which was understandable considering Ike and the others' barbaric behavior.

The Professor purposely missed out on swimming class in hopes of taking pictures of the girls in swimsuits for Ike and Yamauchi.

Is this what they call... being down bad?

"Gross," the girls muttered among themselves.

"Don't be sad, Ike! There are still tons of girls here for us to look at!" Yamauchi said.

These guys...

"Yeah, you're right! This is plenty enough!"

Soon after, Kushida arrived, then Horikita. Suddenly, the boys' were glued onto them. While they did look good, I must admit, this type of pathetic behavior was just sad to look at.

"..."

For some reason, both of them were staring at my body, checking me out all over.

"Ayanokouji-kun, I didn't expect you to have such a fit body," Horikita said.

Well, thanks to the training I got in the White Room, my body was in extremely good shape. Even though I haven't been at my physical peak ever since I left the White Room, I've been doing morning workouts to try and regain my shape.

I could also hear the girls on the observation deck talking about me as I saw them stare at me in admiration.

"Look at Ayanokouji-kun..."

"He looks so strong, he's the real deal."

"I bet he's the best swimmer here by a mile."

Seems like I won't be holding back today.

"Alright, everybody, line up!"

A macho-looking middle-aged man arrived, gathered everyone together and started the class.

"Hmm... I thought there'd be more of you guys, but this'll do. After you warm up, I want to see what you can really do. Swim for me. Do any of you guys not know how to swim?"

A few students rose their hand.

"Don't you guys worry. With me as your teacher, you'll be swimming in no time. I don't mind at all if you're bad at swimming, but I'll make sure you guys are winners in the end. Trust me, swimming will definitely come in handy later in life. Definitely."

Sure, swimming is often seen as a basic skill in life, but for a teacher to say that, I can't help but think there's a hidden meaning behind his message.

Everyone started their warm-up exercises, I did the same. The teacher then announced that we'll be competing against each other, genders separated. First-place winners would receive 5,000 private points, but whoever finished last will need to take additional lessons.

The girls started first. Since they were fewer, the teacher decided that the winner would be the one with the fastest average time. They were split into two groups of five. As for the boys, the top five finishers will move on to a final round to decide the winner.

Of course, Kushida caught the attention of all the boys. Ike and Yamauchi apparently decided to become her personal cheerleaders. The whistle blew, and five of the girls dove into the water. Horikita finished with around 28 seconds, which wasn't bad at all. Kushida finished after Horikita, just slightly slower, with a time of 31 seconds.

The second race began. The contest was rather one-sided. A girl called Onodera killed her competition, finishing with 26 seconds. Therefore, she was declared the winner of the girls' competition.

The boys' competition then started. I was part of the first group. In the lane next to mine was Sudou, looking fired up and ready to go.

"Race me, Ayanokouji. I want to race you. Also, don't hold back, otherwise I'll beat you."

If you say so, Sudou.

When the whistle blew, both Sudou and I dove into the pool and started swimming at incredible pace. Of course, he was no match for me, I even held back slightly to not utterly humiliate him.

I finished the race and waited for Sudou who was a couple seconds behind me.

"Good job, Sudou. You finished with 25 seconds," the teacher said, "As for you, Ayanokouji, you finished with 23 seconds, that's amazing!"

"Kya!"

"You're so cool, Ayanokouji-kun!"

"Leave some girls for us, dude!"

"Damn, I suppose I lost, you're amazing Ayanokouji!" Sudou said to me while giving me a thumbs up.

When all the groups passed, the top five swimmers were Sudou, Hirata, Kouenji, Akito, and me, although the only competitor here was Kouenji, who also had finished with 23 seconds.

"So much for the masterpiece, even Kouenji got the same time as you," Ike said.

"Yeah, I bet Kouenji will beat you in the final round!" Yamauchi agreed.

I should probably expel them sooner or later.

Being in the lane next to Kouenji's, I challenged him.

"Let's race, Kouenji, what do you say? Let's give the people here a show."

"Oh ho, you're on, Masterpiece boy... It's only natural that two perfect existences fight against each other. The others are nowhere near our level."

"Ready..."

This time...

"Set..."

There will be no holding back.

"Go!!"

Both Kouenji and I started swimming at ridiculous speed. You could say we could even match professionals' standards. We both flew across the swimming pool, leaving the spectators in pure shock.

I popped my head out of the water as soon as I finished, and almost immediately after, Kouenji did the same.

"I will now announce the results."

The other three all finished with respectable times, but they were nowhere near the 23 second mark that we had previously set.

"Now, Kouenji, you finished with 21.89 seconds, incredible..."

"As for Ayanokouji... you finished with... 21.32 seconds... that's... ridiculous."

"Ah ha ha, impressive... Masterpiece boy, seems like it's my loss."

"It was a great race, Kouenji."

"Now, Ayanokouji... you just beat the junior world record for 50m freestyle swimming, but since we technically can't prove this time to anyone, your name sadly won't be in the record books. However, as a reward, I'll award you 15,000 points!" The teacher said.

Right, I didn't even notice I broke the junior world record. Lucky me, I guess.

"Kyaaaa Ayanokouji-kun!!!!" Some girls on the observation deck were in awe after my performance.

"Dude what the hell?! That was awesome!" Sudou said, "You're amazing, Ayanokouji."

"You really creep me out."

Horikita more or less complimented me, it seems like.

"Thanks," is all I could say at this point.

The teacher transferred some points to me. It's safe to say I have quite a lot of points now. Class ended so we all went back to the locker rooms to get changed. After seeing me get all the attention from the girls, Ike and Yamauchi, who were walking in front of me, gave me some dirty looks. How pathetic. I decided to walk quicker to surpass them.

"Know your place."

I head toward the locker room and changed into my uniform.

I was going to head toward the dormitory as school ended for the day, but an announcement played through the speakers.

"Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, please come to the Student Council Room. I repeat, Ayanokouji Kiyotak-"

I wasn't expecting that. I wonder why they called me.

On my way there, I bumped into Ichinose.

"Oh hey, Ayanokouji-kun, seems like they called you to the student council too, huh?"

" Too? Did they call you as well, Ichinose?"

"Well, no, but I wanted to join the student council, so I was here today to submit my application."

"I see, well, I'll be going now."

"See ya, Ayanokouji-kun!"

Anyway, I slowly made my way to the student council room, where the senpai with purple hair known as Tachibana opened the door for me.

"Welcome, Ayanokouji, to the Student Council Room, You may have a seat."

I looked around the room to see Horikita Manabu sitting on main desk. There was no one else.

"Ayanokouji, you might be wondering why I called you today, so I'll get straight to the point."

He seems serious.

"This year is my last year at this school, and if everything continues like this, the school will go through drastic change starting from next year."

"Huh, why?"

I can feel Tachibana staring at me in disgust. Did I say something wrong?

"Let's just say the Vice-President here has quite a different philosophy than that of the school. He was here before you came in this room, but he left after saying he wasn't interested in meeting you."

"So? What does that have to do with me?"

"Tachibana, correct me if I'm wrong, but we have an empty spot for the Second Vice-President, right?"

"Um... I'll check right now... yes, President, there is an open spot."

"Join the student council, Ayanokouji, as the Second Vice-President. I have full trust in your magnificent abilities. With you in control, that Vice-President will stand no chance."

Tachibana seemed shocked.

"May I ask who the Vice-President is?"

"Yes, his name is Nagumo Miyabi. He's a second-year and looks like this."

He showed me a picture of him using his tablet. He had light blonde hair and light blue eyes. He was apparently quite tall too.

"He's quite the troublesome one. If he becomes President next year, it'll be hard to stop him. In my eyes, you're the only one I can truly rely on."

"I'll think about it. Is there an election process that goes along with this?"

"No, you would need to run for Vice-President if that were to be the case. However, here we're talking about the position of Second Vice-President, you can join as long as Nagumo and I both agree. I'll make sure to convince him if you ever say yes, although it'll be hard to do so."

"Understood. When should I give you my answer?"

"I'll give you a few days to think about it. I'll give you my phone number so that you can call me whenever you decide."

"Sure, thanks, President."

Indeed, this was an opportunity too good to pass on.

My business with the student council ended. I head back towards the dormitory, only to find Ichinose sitting on the bench near the vending machine.

"Ichinose, are you alone? What are you doing here?"

"Oh hey, Ayanokouji-kun! You see, I came out to get some fresh air and to organize my thoughts."

"Something on your mind?"

"I suppose I should tell you the truth, right? So, I submitted my application to enter the student council, but I basically instantly got rejected. The President said he already had a list of people he would accept, and I wasn't part of that list."

"That's harsh."

"Yeah, and then, Nagumo-senpai, the Vice-President, came out to talk to me. Apparently, he has the final say in the decision making, so he told me that if I were to date him, he would accept the application. Now, I really want to join the student council, but I obviously don't want to date someone I barely know, especially someone like Nagumo-senpai."

"I see, so you don't know what to do."

"Yeah..."

"Listen, Ichinose, for now, don't do anything, don't date Nagumo, and don't submit another application. Leave this to me. In a few days...

I'd have taken care of him."

Author's Notes

At the time of writing this, this fan fiction is ranked number one for the tag #ClassroomOfTheElite!!!! INCREDIBLE!!!!

I wanted to thank you guys so much for supporting my first ever fan fiction. Which is why I decided to publish another part today.
Take this part as a thank you gift from me!

More Author's Notes:

The junior world record for a 50m freestyle is 21.75. Kiyotaka finished with 21.32, so almost half a second faster.

Ayanokouji may or may not become the Second Vice-President of the Student Council... who knows?

Even though, contact with the outside world is prohibited. Information about Ayanokouji quickly spread everywhere as a result of the arrival of the new first-years, so everyone knows about him, including the upperclassmen.

I'm not sure if they have an election for Second Vice-President, but let's assume they don't and they only have one for Vice-President. It wouldn't have been an interesting arc, so I dropped the idea.

Hope you're looking forward to the next part, because shit's about to go down...

Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this part, see ya!

Thanks again for the overwhelming support!

Chapter 2.3 - The Puppet Master

A chance to join the student council, huh?

Yesterday, Manabu invited me to join the student council as Second Vice-President.

Music to my ears.

Since it was the position of Second Vice-President, I didn't have to go through the election process. All I had to do was get Nagumo's approval, since Manabu basically already accepted me.

This also meant that if Nagumo were to ever step down, or get expelled after I become Second Vice-President, I would automatically get promoted to Vice-President.

I was now resting in my room, thinking of an efficient plan to put into action, when suddenly I got a message from Hirata.

[Can we meet? There's something I want to talk to you about]

[Sure, where?]

[How does the café at the entrance of the Keyaki Mall sound? How about 3PM?]

[Sounds good, see you then]

I wonder what he wants to talk about, nothing significant has happened yet.

It better not be a love confession.

On a serious note, I think I've come up with a plan to deal with Nagumo, and deal with some other problems. Kill two birds with one stone, as they say.

As I was approaching the Keyaki Mall, I bumped into Nagumo. At first, it seemed like an accident, but I crossed his path on purpose after noticing he was stalking me.

"Hey, you, Ayanokouji."

This is perfect.

"Yeah?"

"So Manabu wants you to become Second Vice-President, eh? Seems like he couldn't resist himself after hearing the news about you spread."

It is true that contact with the outside world is prohibited, but the first-years probably spread rumors about me all around the school, so now, all students from all years know about me.

"Look, Ayanokouji, I don't know what the hell Manabu sees in you, but I'll beat you to a pulp. How about we fight right here, right now?!!"

"No thanks. I'm good."

"Running away, huh? Seems like you're not so impressive after all."

"I'll fight you on one condition."

"What?"

"Accept me as Second Vice-President."

"Haha! If that's all it takes, sure thing. I can't wait to beat the shit out of your genius ass!"

"I'll message you the time and place later, give me your phone number."

"Oh ho, you're getting me all fired up, you bastard!"

With that, we exchanged contact information.

"The truth is, Nagumo, I already prepared a contract. I've always wanted to fight you, ever since I heard your name."

That was a lie. He didn't interest me in the least.

I took out the contract and a pen from out of my pocket. In truth, I had this contract and pen in my pocket in case he ever decided to approach me one day. Seems like today was that day.

These were the conditions of the contract:

A refers to Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.
B refers to Nagumo Miyabi.

A will face B in a 1 v 1 fight after B accepts A as the Second Vice-President of the Student Council.

After B accepts A as the Second Vice-President of the Student Council, in the case where A and B don't fight, only A will be expelled.

Simple, no? In other words, as long as Nagumo accepts me as Second Vice-President, I'd have no choice but to fight him, otherwise I'd be expelled.

That's what Nagumo thought.

"Now we're talking," said Nagumo as he signed the contract without hesitation.

"I'll let the President know of my decision, I'll be looking forward to breaking your face, Ayanokouji."

"Sure, see you then, Nagumo. I guess I'm looking forward to it too."

For it will be one of your last moments in this school.

With that, we parted ways and I made my way to the café to meet up with Hirata.

"Hey, Ayanokouji, thanks for coming."

"No problem, Hirata. So, what did you want to talk about?"

"You see, Ayanokouji, I want to become the class leader. Of course, you could argue that that's already the case since most of the Class D students trust me, but I just wanted your approval. You know, you're really amazing, the way I see it, you could easily take control of the class if you wanted to. After all, I've talked to everyone, and most of them all seem to have a good opinion about you. Surviving in the White Room must've been so tough, and you're without a doubt the smartest in our class. That's why I respect you. I wanted to ask you if you don't mind me taking the class leader spot, if not then I'll be taking it for myself."

"Sure, Hirata. I was never good with talking anyways, so I figured it was better if someone like you took the lead. Of course, I'll be willing to help you and you can count on me for help."

"Thank you so much, Ayanokouji. Well, that's basically all I wanted to ask you. I'll see you tomorrow then."

"See you tomorrow."

I never wanted to become a class leader.

At least not Class D's leader anyway.

[I'm willing to join the student council as Second Vice-President]

I texted Manabu to inform him of my decision once I got back to my room. A little while after, he called me.

"Hello?"

"Hello Ayanokouji. I'm delighted that you accepted my proposal. I'll be looking forward to working with you. I'll inform you that Nagumo has given his approval as well. Did you do something?"

"Who knows."

"Well, anyway, welcome to the Student Council, Ayanokouji. Or should I say, Second Vice-President Ayanokouji? The school has already confirmed your position."

"I'm happy to join, President."

"I'm glad you are. Anyway, I have matters to attend to, so I'll need to hang up now. Tomorro w, come to the student council room after class so that I can tell you about the work you'll be doing."

"Understood. Also, President, are you free at 8PM?"

"Hmm... I think so, although I might be late to whatever you're planning. What do you need?"

"Come to the alley next to the special building. There's something I need you to see."

"Well, I don't know what you're planning, but I'll make sure to come. It better be worth it. See you then."

With that, he hung up. I then texted Nagumo.

[Come tonight at 7:45 PM in the alley next to the special building, don't be late. I'll smash your face into pieces.]

As well as another person.

[Hey, I need to talk to you about something. Can we meet next to the special building at 8PM?]

It seems like my plan was really going to work.

It was turning dark. After all, it was already 8PM.

I was hiding in the bushes close to the dark alley next to the special building.

Like an artist admiring his own artwork. Like a writer reading his own book. Like a director reading his own script. I watched the scene unfolding in front of my own eyes.

"Ayanokouji-kun? Are you here? Where are you? I asked me to meet you so I'm here. This is place is dark and... scary..."

"Well hey there Ichinose..."

"N-Nagumo-senpai?! What are you doing here?"

"Same reason as you. Ayanokouji asked me to meet him here for a fight, I guess he chickened out," he chuckled, "But I guess I'm happy as long as you're here with me..."

"S-stop, what are you doing?!"

Nagumo was getting closer and closer to Ichinose, until he finally pushed her onto the wall.

"You didn't want to be my girlfriend, so I guess I'll just have to treat myself right here right now."

"S-stop! Someone help... me..."

It was useless to ask for help. The special building was separated from the main part of campus. Since most people were probably in their room at this time, even a lot of noise would go unnoticed.

Nagumo then started touching Ichinose all over her body. Ichinose wasn't strong enough to fight back, as she obviously couldn't beat Nagumo in terms of pure strength. She gave it her all, but it was all for nothing. Tears started coming out of her eyes...

"Ayanokouji...-kun... where are... you... did you... do this to me..."

Nagumo started putting his hands on Ichinose's breasts. Clearly, he was enjoying himself. But this enjoyment won't last much longer.

Ichinose lost hope, she gave up resisting and cried until her eyes were all red.

Nagumo started putting his right hand under Ichinose's skirt, while caressing her hair with his left.

"Nagumo, what do you think you're doing?"

Nagumo turned around and jumped back. Manabu had arrived at the scene, shocked by what he was witnessing. Tachibana was alongside him, and couldn't hold back her tears when she saw Ichinose in the state she was in.

"Tachibana, take care of Ichinose please, and call security."

Tachibana rushed over to Ichinose, giving her a tight hug and reassuring her that everything would be okay. She then called security with her own phone.

"What are you going to do now, President?"

"You're going to be expelled, Nagumo."

"Expelled? With what proof?"

"You're a fool, Nagumo. I don't need proof."

"You're the fool, Manabu. Nobody can expel me if they don't have proof."

"You're naive, Nagumo."

It was about time I made my appearance.

"W-what are you doing here, Ayanokouji?"

"I'm here for your expulsion."

I took out my phone and played the video I was recording, leaving Nagumo lost for words.

"Nagumo-senpai?! What are you doing here?"

"Same reason as you. Ayanokouji asked me to meet him here for a fight, I guess he chickened out. But I guess I'm happy as long as you're here with me..."

"S-stop, what are you doing?!"

"You didn't want to be my girlfriend, so I guess I'll just have to treat myself right here right now."

"S-stop! Someone help... me..."

Tachibana and Manabu were disgusted with what they were hearing.

"That's enough, Ayanokouji. I believe I've heard enough. Thank you for the evidence. Nagumo, say goodbye to the school."

As the President finished talking, the school's security came and started taking Nagumo away.

"W-wait wait, but the contract, Ayanokouji, the contract! We didn't fight, so you'll have to be expelled too! You bastard, you think I would forget that?!"

"Oh, this contract?"

I took out the contract we had signed this afternoon.

"Yeah, this contract!! Look on this contract, it says that if we-"

"This contract is fake."

"What? You're kidding, stop fucking around! We even signed this contract this afternoon. We agre-"

"Nagumo..."

I interrupted him as I looked at him with darkness in my eyes. He stopped talking.

"...Did you really think I would sign a contract like this? Look at it, there are no signatures on it. This is the real contract."

I took out another piece of paper out of my pocket and gave it to Nagumo.

"This... w-what the fuck is this? I never signed this shit!"

"Look below."

Indeed, he did sign it. His signature was right there.

"No way... I don't remember signing this, the hell did you do you bastard?!"

The real contract was even more simple than the fake one.

A refers to Nagumo Miyabi.
B refers to Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.

In the event where A gets expelled, A has to transfer all their private points to B.

"Nagumo...

You lost the moment you decided to challenge me."

Author's Notes

Hey!

What are your thoughts on the chapter?

Nagumo is gone. He was no match for Kiyotaka since the very beginning.

Nagumo might have a lot of points, but don't worry, he doesn't have the 20 million points required to change classes. In addition, Kiyotaka doesn't know the price of transferring classes yet, so he won't be changing class this early in the plot.

In the next part, Kiyotaka will explain how all of this happened.

See ya!

Chapter 2.4 - The Magician Reveals his Secrets

Author's Notes

I know some of you criticized the last part, saying that it didn't really make much sense, that LN Nagumo isn't that stupid, or what not. And some of you will probably criticize this part as well, disagreeing with the reactions of Ichinose and Manabu after the incident.

While I understand your concerns, I would like to remind you all that this is a fan fiction and that some characters may or may not be out of character.

I didn't really think Nagumo would fit into my plot. This was nothing more than a way of me to get rid of him, he was never going to be an important antagonist in this story in the first place. This was a case of plot convenience, nothing more, nothing less.

That being said, don't give yourself high expectations for the plot. Even I don't know how it'll turn out.

That's all I have to say. I hope you understand this decision. Those that don't like what/how I'm writing are free to abandon this fan fic. Don't worry, I won't hold it against you.

"You lost the moment you decided to challenge me."

"What a- what are you talking about?"

"Since your expulsion is already set in stone, I might as well let you in on the truth."

Everyone was silent, including the President. I began telling them my secrets.

"Nagumo, did you really think I didn't notice you stalking me? I knew you were stalking me ever since you started doing so, four days ago. Not long after that, the President called me to the Student Council Room, offering me the position of Second Vice-President. He told me you left the room before I even arrived, which made me realize that you had a grudge against me. That was when I decided to make a contract that I kept in my pocket. I assumed you wanted to face off against me, and I was right. Since I needed your approval to become Second Vice-President, I decided to accidentally bump into you when you were stalking me on my way to the mall.

We then made a deal, or at least what you thought was a deal. All you had to do was give the President your approval of me, and we would fight. If we were to not fight, then I'd be expelled. That's what was written on the contract, and you signed it without even double checking. The truth is, I cut out this fake contract, and attached it perfectly on top of the real one. The one you signed that day, was actually the real one that was hidden under the fake contract. Since you were so fired up, you didn't even bother checking twice, which was your first mistake. Therefore, you had signed the real contract, which stated that if you were to be expelled, I'd be the one to receive all of the your private points. Of course, that was only a hypothetical scenario, but I made sure to make it happen.

After you agreed to accept me, I sent President Manabu a message, saying I accepted the position of Second Vice-President. I then asked him to come right here, at 8:00 PM, same for Ichinose, and as for you, 7:45 PM. You were lured into my trap, Nagumo, and Ichinose was the bait. Ichinose told me that you offered to accept her application, as long as she accepted to be your girlfriend, so I knew she could come in handy in my plan to expel you. I had you arrive earlier than her, so that you could build up your frustration while waiting for me, and, upon seeing her, you let out your frustration on her, sexually harassing her, even attempting to rape her. This happened for a couple minutes while I was hiding in the bushes, filming you, until President Horikita arrived. Now, he already warned me that he would be a couple minutes late, and I factored that into my plan.

You were then cornered. You tried to make your way out, by saying there was no proof, but in truth, the proof was already here, right in my hands. I finally decided to make my appearance. With this proof, your expulsion was inevitable, you could go home and pack your things. In your last moment of desperation, you remembered the contract we signed. You thought that I would get expelled with you. Guess what, you're the only one that will be expelled, and thanks to the real contract you signed, you'll be handing me all of your private points. Not only that, I'll be taking your spot as the Student Council Vice-President, as I already became the Second Vice-President before all of this happened. The school confirmed my position before this happened. Therefore, I will become Vice-President without having to run a campaign, effortlessly taking the spot you worked so hard to earn and keep. What's more, next year, I'll take the spot of Student Council President, without even having to lift a single finger.

I'll tell you this, Nagumo, you're a fool. Since the very beginning, since the very moment you decided to challenge me, since the very moment you learned my identity, your loss was inevitable. Challenging me was your biggest mistake, Nagumo,

Because you never stood a chance ."

The next day, news spread around campus about how the Vice-President got expelled. I asked President Horikita to keep my position as the new Vice-President under wraps for now, to which he agreed. The school administration knows about it, but I told him not to tell any students yet.

Manabu recently told me that I'm the first Second Vice-President that the school had seen for a long time, or more like I was. It was rare for Presidents and Vice-Presidents to have the same opinion.

Next year, when Manabu leaves, I'll be replacing him as the new Student Council President.

Nagumo left the school yesterday night, after being taken away by the security guards. Before leaving, he transferred all of his private points to me, as was written in the contract. I now have over 5 million private points. I haven't found a use for that many points yet, but having that many will certainly be handy for the future.

Things have also been awkward between Ichinose and me. She's still a bit traumatized by what happened last night and hasn't come to school today. Although I did expel Nagumo, I must admit I used her for my plan, making her suffer in the process.

Class ended so I went to the Student Council Room.

"Hey, President."

"Hey, Ayanokouji. I must say, you sure are a unique boy. What happened yesterday was... extraordinary to say the least. But let me get this out of the way. I don't support such unorthodox methods. Although I'm grateful that you have succeeded in taking care of Nagumo, don't do something like this ever again. I am willing to let this slide just this once. Understood?"

"I understand, President. I apologize for my behavior."

"I'll believe your words for now. Have a seat, Ayanokouji."

Manabu then went on to tell me about my role as Vice-President. Basically, the President and Vice-President have control over the student associations, student activity events and planning, budget allocation, and all kinds of things.

After Manabu told me everything about the role of the student council and of the Vice-President, we bid farewell and I head towards the dormitory, finding Ichinose on the same bench like always, alone in her thoughts.

She noticed me, but it was after a few seconds that she started talking.

"Oh... hey... Ayanokouji-kun..."

"Hey, Ichinose."

I really don't know what to say to her.

"Ichi-"

"Let me just say this... Ayanokouji-kun. I don't like you for what you did to me. I don't plan on forgiving you anytime soon. But... you did say that you would deal with Nagumo... and you did... but you used me... ahhh... I'm feeling all kinds of mixed emotions right now."

"You don't have to forgive me, Ichinose. I selfishly used you for my own plan, I made you suffer from Nagumo's sexual assault. I don't seek forgiveness for my actions."

"Well... I guess... I should thank you for dealing with Nagumo... but don't you do that to me ever again!!" Ichinose raised her voice, "Do you know how traumatizing that was? But I guess... in a way... you helped me realize how weak I am. There was nothing I could do to stop him... I was hopeless. I was too naive... I saw your message... and I brainlessly came here without thinking twice... There's no way someone like me can... lead a class..."

"Ichinose, I will tell you this. People aren't always what they seem. People wear masks, have hidden intentions, people lie. The world is not just sunshine and rainbows, Ichinose. There is darkness in this world deeper than you even know. This is just the tip of the iceberg."

"W-what are you trying to say?"

"Team up with me. I'll protect you from now on. You don't have to trust me, but know that I will do so to the best of my abilities."

"You... I don't... How can I possibly believe you?"

"Like I said, you don't have to. But I promise I will protect you. In exchange, I want you to help me with anything I might need. You help me, I help you. In other words, let's team up. Let Class B and Class D form an alliance."

"W-what are you even saying..."

"It's your choice, Ichinose, but you've seen with your own eyes only a small glimpse of abilities. I can protect you much more securely than you can imagine. You won't have to go through that ever again. In exchange for that protection, I simply want you to help me out with anything I might need."

"I... That doesn't sound too bad... I guess... with you on my side... nothing can go wrong... Are you sure you won't betray me?!"

"I won't."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

"You pinky promise?"

A pinky promise. A gesture like all other, but a gesture that carries more meaning than any other. A traditional gesture most commonly practiced among children which involved the locking of the pinkies of the two people to signify that a promise has been made. Initially, the gesture was taken signify that the person can break the finger of the one who broke the promise.

A promise. A declaration, an assurance that one will do something or that a particular thing will or will not happen. For someone to believe in someone else's promise, that person has to trust the other. Doesn't the world revolve around this one thing we call trust? Trust is like a telepathic bond between two people. A bond that may or may not be hard to break. One might be able to keep trust someone, no matter what. Trust is a bond that may or may not be easy to form, in the sense that it may be hard to earn someone's trust. Trust is central to our social lives. To know is to trust what someone else says. To cooperate is to trust each other's promises. To trust is to firmly believe in the character, strength, or truth of someone or something.

How do you make someone rely on you? When they're at their lowest, make them believe you are their glimpse of hope.

"Pinky promise," I said to Ichinose as we locked our pinkies.

The next week of school was rather uneventful. As usual, most students decided to use their phones, talk, or even sleep during class. They couldn't be bothered if they were late. The teachers always said nothing to them about their behavior. Students like Ike even started coming up with nicknames for the teachers, and calling them by their nicknames. For example, they started calling Chabashira-sensei Sae-chan-sensei.

Ike, Yamauchi and Sudou became known as the 'Idiot Trio'. Based on personal experience though, I like to think that Sudou is somewhat more mature than those two airheads.

"Ha ha ha ha! God, you're so dumb. You're hilarious, man!"

Ike chatted loudly with Yamauchi during second-period math. It'd been a little more than three weeks since the entrance ceremony. In that time, Ike and Yamauchi wasted no efforts in letting everyone know they're the biggest idiots on the planet.

"Whaddup?" Halfway through class, Sudou barged into the classroom and clearly couldn't care less about his attitude. He slumped in his seat with a yawn, rested his head on his arms and started sleeping.

"Oh, hey, Sudou. Wanna get lunch later?" Ike called out to Sudou from across the room.

The math teacher continued the lesson without even paying attention. One would expect the teacher to have reacted, but they all tolerated this kind of behavior, for reasons to complicated for simpletons to understand. Either it was coming late to class, using poor language, dozing off or using phones, the teachers didn't show a single bit of reaction.

Next month, we'll definitely have 0 class points, which was all part of my plan. I even made sure to play my part by obviously using my phone during class, noticing there was a camera right behind me.

For the third period, we had history class with Chabashira-sensei. When the bell rang, she walked into the noisy classroom. Her entrance didn't alter the students' behavior though.

"Quiet down a little, please. Today's lesson will be a bit serious."

"What do you mean, Sae-chan-sensei?"

"It's almost the end of the month, so we're going to have a short test. Please pass these to the back."

The test contained questions from the five main subjects. With only a few questions per subject, it was really short.

"Huh? I wasn't listening, though. This is so unfair!" a student cried as many other started complaining as well.

"Don't say that. This test is just for future reference. It won't be reflected in your report cards. There is no risk involved, so don't worry. Of course, cheating is prohibited."

That's one weird way of phrasing it. The way she said it made me think that the grade could be reflected in some other way. And "for future reference"? What's that supposed to mean?

As the quiz began, I scanned the questions. There were four questions per subject, making a total of twenty questions. Each question was worth five points. Most of the questions were extraordinarily easy, to the point where it was a huge letdown. The final three questions were way more difficult though. They couldn't be geared toward a first-year high school student. The final three questions were clearly of a different quality than the rest.

There's no way this was an accident.

Anyway, I decided to score full marks.

The quiz ended, and the teacher collected our papers.

"Those questions were way too hard..."

"What the hell was that?"

Most of the students let their complaints be known as Chabashira-sensei left the chaotic classroom.

After the fourth period, the bell rang and it was time for lunch. Just as I was wondering where I should eat, I heard someone call my name.

"Kiyotaka."

Most of the students haven't left the classroom yet, so many turned their attention to the classroom entrance, where a girl with lilac colored hair and violet eyes entered the classroom. Of course, everyone knew about her. Sakayanagi Arisu, one of, if not the most academically gifted student in Class A.

"KIYOTAKA?"

"Did she just call him by his first name?"

"Hey, Arisu. What's the matter?" I asked her.

"ARISU?"

"They're on first name basis?" a girl said soon before fainting.

I didn't know first names were such a big deal.

"Why don't you join me for lunch? I want to talk to you about something," Arisu said.

"Sure," I calmed responded. I could feel the deadly stares I was getting from some of the boys in around class.

As Arisu and I left the classroom, I could hear some boys shouting at me. By some, I mean Ike and Yamauchi.

"You lucky bastard!"

"Don't you flex on us by calling her by her first name!"

Sigh.

Arisu took me to a café, where she apparently reserved a table for two.

We both ordered our lunches, and sat down. I noticed some students looking at the two of us, clearly talking about us.

"What did you want to talk about?" I asked Arisu.

"Fufu... I see you're in a rush as always, Kiyotaka. First, I must say your classmates are quite troublesome. How do you plan on dealing with them?"

"I have my own plan. Don't worry about it."

"What are you going to do when your class gets 0 class points next month?"

"So you've figured it out too, huh?"

"Fufufu why of course. I'm a natural genius, after all. More importantly, why didn't you tell your classmates about the truth? You'll get 0 private points next month."

"I want them to face the truth themselves when the time comes. Also, I have more than enough points to last the next month."

"I see, you're as cold as I imagined you would be, Kiyotaka. I guess I won't interfere in your class's problems then. Now then, I wanted to ask you this, were you involved in Nagumo's expulsion?"

She's sharp. I suppose I have no reason to lie to her.

"Yes, I won't tell you the details but I was the one behind his expulsion. I'll tell you this too, I took his place as Vice-President, although nobody knows about this yet."

"Oh, so you're getting involved in the student council as well?"

"Yes."

"Fufufu, I see. When do you plan on joining Class A."

"I'm not sure yet. I could probably easily find a way to transfer to your class in the upcoming week, but I don't think I'll do that. I've been thinking about it, but recently that felt rather... boring to me, don't you think? I was never the type to mess around and all, but, maybe, just maybe, this time...

I'll try my best to have a little fun."

Author's Notes

Hey!

So, a lot of things happened in this part.

This concludes Chapter 2! I know some parts received some criticism, but I hope most of enjoyed it and understood my decisions.

Like at the end of the previous chapter, there'll be a few short stories before Chapter 3 begins.

What will Kiyotaka do to Class D, I wonder?

Make sure to vote and comment if you enjoy this fan fiction so far!

See yaaaa!

SS. 4 - Vice-President Ayanokouji

It was late at night, I was resting in my room when Manabu called me.

"Hello?"

"Ayanokouji, I called you to tell you I will announce you as the new student council Vice-President on the online school forum. All the paperwork has been dealt with, the school has confirmed you as the new Vice-President, so now's the time to break the news."

"I understand, President. I have no problem with that."

"Thanks, I know you initially wanted to keep this a secret for the first few days, but we can't keep with under wraps forever. I'm sure you understand."

"I do, is that all?"

"Yes, that is all. Enjoy the rest of your day, Vice-President Ayanokouji."

"You too, President."

I guess that's that. I'll make myself something to eat, take a shower then check out the online forum.

[Ayanokouji Kiyotaka from Class 1-D will take over the position of Vice-President of the Student Council. For more details, please click the link below to head over the respective article on the school's official website.](Horikita Manabu)

I clicked on the link that was posted by the President.

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, a student from Class 1-D, is the new Vice-President of the Student Council. Ayanokouji was initially named Second Vice-President by the current President Horikita Manabu and former Vice-President Nagumo Miyabi. However, due to the unpredicted expulsion of Nagumo Miyabi, he has been automatically promoted to Vice-President. Therefore, he did not have to undergo the usual election process required to run for Vice-President. He will take my place next year as the Student Council President, when I, Horikita Manabu, leave the Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School.

That explains everything. The President really didn't leave out any details, except the reason behind Nagumo's expulsion, but it's best to keep that as a secret for now.

It's been an hour since President Manabu posted the news on the school's online forum, and, I must say, there were many mixed reactions. I recently realized that comments on the school's forum are automatically kept anonymous, so that probably explained why most of these were from anonymous users.

[Ayanokouji? Vice-President? He's gonna ruin the school!]

[I think it's a good move, nobody's more talented than Ayanokouji!]

[I don't know about that, I just hope he gives us clubs a reasonable budget!]

[Don't worry, with Manabu showing him the ropes, he'll become a great President in the future!]

[The King is at the throne!!]

[That bastard's already stealing all the girls from us, now he's Vice-President? There's no hope left for the rest of us!]

[As a third-year, I can guarantee that Manabu will educate him properly and make him into a respectable Vice-President!]

[As a first-year, I can't believe your crap! Ayanokouji doesn't need to be educated! Do you know where he came from?!]

[ You guys are third -year s , you'll be leaving next year anyway. You don't care what happens after!!!]

[Guys let's stop arguing, there's no point, the best we can do now is to see how this all plays out]

[Yeah! Let's all support him as the Ayanokouji Fan Club!!]

[...]

[Who said that?]

I think I've seen enough. Meanwhile, the Class D group chat was going wild.

[AYANOKOUJI YOU'RE VICE-PRESIDENT?](Satou)

[Congrats, Ayanokouji!](Kushida)

[That was like so unexpected...](Karuizawa)

[DUDE THAT'S AWESOME AYANOKOUJI](Miyake)

[Guess we have a Vice-President in our class now hehe~](Hasebe)

[I'm here if you ever need a bodyguard ᕙ ( ‸‶ ) ᕗ ](Sudou)

[Can you make the school give us swimming classes every day?](Ike)

[Ike shut up you pervert, nobody likes you](Shinohara)

[Gross...](Karuizawa)

[Hmm.. Nagumo gets expelled and then Ayanokouji gets announced as Vice-President? Kind of suspicious if you ask me \_(ツ )](Matsushita)

[You're overthinking it Matsushita, what are you a psychopath lol](Yamauchi)

[Shut up](Karuizawa)

[Shut up Yamauchi](Satou)

[Who asked you to talk you pervert](Hasebe)

[Ok guys, there's no point in continuing this discussion, let's just hope that Ayanokouji's reign as Vice-President and President will be a success and wish him the best of luck for the future!](Hirata)

[You're right Hirata, good luck Ayanokouji!](Karuizawa)

[Best of luck!](Onodera)

[You got this (づ )づ ](Hasebe)

[Go kill it dude!](Sudou)

[I feel at peace knowing Ayanokouji is Vice-President instead of that Nagumo guy (~ )~](Satou)

[Thanks everyone]

[WHAT THE HELL? AYANOKOUJI SENT A MESSAGE! THE END IS NEAR](Yamauchi)

[WHERE DID YOU COME FROM YOU PLAYBOY BASTARD](Ike)

[THE MAN THE MYTH THE LEGEND](Sudou)

[You guys, he's in our class, of course he'd be in our group chat. Why are you guys acting like he came back from the dead?](Hirata)

[Oh yeah](Sudou)

[Oh true](Yamauchi)

[Right, I forgot] (Ike)

[As expected from the Idiot Trio lol](Karuizawa)

[Feels nice knowing I'm not the dumbest in my class XD](Shinohara)

Sigh.

Author's Notes

This side story isn't really important to the storyline, just wanted to write some reactions.

Hope you all enjoyed this little SS!

SS. 5 - Horikita Manabu's Soliloquy

For better or for worse, I've lived my life making sure to not store anything up. Being a role model. Being exemplary. I believed that to be the right thing to do and never questioned it. As a matter of fact, until I graduate, I had already given up on taking action. I had failed to make a friend I could say I trust from the bottom of my heart. I have yet to comprehend it.

I've always been dedicated to my duty as Student Council President. There's no denying that I hold massive pride in fulfilling this role at Tokyo's most prestigious high school, the Advanced Nurturing High School. I hold my role in high regard. I've always been serious, intelligent, and athletic enough to be seen as a example for the other students. My reputation as a role model is of utmost importance to me.

I've always dreamed of leaving a legacy at this school. I want the students of this school to see me as the first of many exemplary Student Council Presidents. I want Horikita Manabu to be engraved in their minds as a role model that helped lead this school to great things.

That's why I was disgusted to see Suzune placed in Class D. Class D, the lowest class, a class of defects as the school might call them.

My reputation would be tarnished if it was discovered that Suzune was my sister. Student Council President Horikita Manabu's younger sister placed in the lowest class of the bunch. I won't tolerate it. Knowing my sister, she'll probably deny it, saying that her place in Class D wasn't her fault, and that there was some sort of mistake in her application. Nonsense, this school doesn't make any mistakes. Her anti-social nature is her weakness. She mistakes isolation for independence. If she wants to rise up to the higher classes, she will have to work much harder. Of course, she hasn't yet figured out the system, unlike her classmate Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.

Ayanokouji is a unique student. No, a unique human being. There simply is nobody like him in this world. Us upperclassmen have also heard about his background. It is said that roughly two and a half weeks before the start of the new school year, news about Ayanokouji Kiyotaka and his past in the White Room had broken out and spread all over Japan. Of course, we were inside the school, where contact with the outside world is prohibited, so we initially had no idea. However, with the arrival of the first-years, everyone became well-informed about Ayanokouji, and the White Room.

I certainly didn't believe it at first, until I saw him for the first time. I invited him to the Student Council Room to have a chat, and something about him is just seems different from the rest. There's this aura about him that I can't quite describe. His extraordinary abilities, his incomparable cleverness, his lack of human emotions, those were some of the many things we were told about Ayanokouji.

He has manipulated his entrance exam scores to score perfect 50s on every subject, and he was put in Class D, along with my sister. But Suzune will never reach the heights Ayanokouji did, not even if she was given 100 years.

A masterpiece? An artificial genius? The perfect human? A demon? I'm not even sure what I think about him. I don't think there's a single word that can sum up who Ayanokouji is. He's just that special.

Not only has he suffered in the White Room and survived, he has reached heights that no human has ever reached.

Ayanokouji expelled Nagumo the day after I met him, although using unorthodox methods that I don't support. If people knew about this incident, they would call him evil, or a sociopath. However, I think this shows that once he sets himself a goal, he will do anything to achieve it. Whether his goal is good or bad, that's for us to judge.

I decided to take him under my care and form him into a respectable future President of Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School. This is one of, if not the riskiest decision I have ever made in my life. Whether this completely backfires or not, I sadly won't be here to see it.

I don't even know why I made the decision of inviting him to join the Student Council.

Maybe I want him to became someone that not only uses his abilities to his own advantage, but someone that also uses his abilities to help out others.

There's no denying his frightening abilities. I myself am probably no match for him. If he decides to turn his back on me, then so be it. It would be nobody else's fault but mine.

But if someone like him uses his unbelievable powers for the greater good, then maybe he can help me achieve my dream of taking this school to new heights.

Author's Notes

Hey!

Here's a little SS about Manabu. Again, not very important to the story, but a deeper dive into Manabu's perspective of things.

Next up, Chapter 3!
May 1st, study groups, midterms and... expulsions (?)

Hope you're looking forward to it!

See you then!

Chapter 3.1 - Classroom of The Poor

It was finally May 1st.

The bell rang for our first class of the day. Soon afterward, Chabashira-sensei strode into the room, holding a rolled-up poster. Her expression today was even more stern than usual. Nobody else but me knew the reason behind her behavior. Today was the day she will probably reveal the truth behind the S System.

"Hey, sensei, did you start menopause or something?"

Chabashira-sensei completely ignored Ike's joke.

"All right, your morning homeroom is about to begin. Before we get started, does anyone have any questions? If so, now is the time to speak."

Several students raised their hands.

"Um, I checked my points balance this morning, but I didn't see any deposits. Points are given on the first day of every month, aren't they? I couldn't buy juice this morning."

How many points must you have to not be able to be juice?

"Hondou, I already explained this before, didn't I? Points are deposited on the first day of the month. I've confirmed that points were wired this month without any issues."

"Um, but... nothing was deposited into my account, though."

People around the classroom exchanged glances. Everyone was seemingly confused.

"Are you kids really that dumb?"

"Dumb? What?"

"I'll explain once more, since you kids didn't understand. Points were deposited. That much I know for certain. There is absolutely no chance that we forgot about anyone in this class. To think so is ludicrous. Understood?"

"Well, even if I tell you that we understood, we haven't received any points..."

"We received our points. It's just that we received zero points," I spoke up.

"What?" some girls were reasonably confused by what I said.

"Are you dumb?" Yamauchi asked me.

"The school said that it measures its students' true abilities. The 100,000 points we received last monthly were purely because we all got accepted into this school. This month, the school deemed us as worthless, hence why we received exactly zero points."

"Ha ha ha! As expected of perfect existence number two, I've come to the same conclusion as you, Masterpiece boy!" Kouenji propped his feet up on his desk.

"Ayanokouji is exactly right," Chabashira-sensei continued, "For crying out loud, has anyone else noticed the hint I have you? How deplorable. A total of ninety-eight absences and late arrivals. Three hundred and ninety-one incidences of talking or using a cell phone in class. That is quite a few infractions over one month. In this school, your class's results are reflected in the points that you receive. As a result, you wasted all of the 100,000 points that you should've received. That's what happened."

The classroom turned dead silent.

"Sensei, I don't recall hearing you explain that to us befo-" Hirata spoke up but got cut off by Chabashira-sensei

"What? Are you incapable of understanding something unless it's explained in detail? Us teachers purposefully left this out in our explanation on the first day of school, but seems like no one other than Ayanokouji and Kouenji figured it out."

"But had that been explained to us beforehand, I'm sure we would have avoided being late or talking during class."

"That is a rather bizarre argument, Hirata. Didn't you all learn in elementary school not to be late or talk in class? Was that not taught throughout your elementary and junior high schools?"

Nobody could refute her perfectly sound argument.

"If you had simply acted properly, then your points would not have dropped all the way to zero. This comes down to you taking personal responsibility. Having just entered your first year of high school, did you seriously think you'd receive 100,000 points every month with no strings attached? At a school established by the Japanese government for the express purposes of training gifted people? That's unthinkable. Try using some common sense next time."

"H-how can we earn those points back?"

"Yeah! I can't live with zero points!"

I saw a faint sliver of a smile on Chabashira-sensei's lips.

"Let's say that you stop being late to class and have no more absences... Even though zero points will be deducted from you this month, that doesn't mean that your points will increase, either. That means next month, you'll still receive zero points. From another perspective, you could say no matter how many times you're late or absent to class, it doesn't matter. So, you're not really at a loss, are you?"

"Tch..." Hirata's expression darkened. The students who thought they could improve their situation by remedying bad behavior had their hopes crushed by the cold words of Chabashira-sensei.

The bell rang, signaling the end of homeroom.

"It seems like I talked for too long, it's time to switch to our main topic."

She stuck the poster she carried to the blackboard with some magnets.

"Are these... the results for each class?"

Yes, they were. Class A through Class D were listed based on their class points, just as I had predicted. The ranking of the classes were as follows:

Class A - 980 cp

Class B - 920 cp

Class C - 540 cp

Class D - 0 cp

"Look here, morons. All of the classes were scored using the same rules. Despite that, they didn't lose as many class points as you. That is the truth... Do you finally understand now? Do you see why you were placed in Class D?"

"The reason why we were placed in Class D? Weren't we simply accepted into this school?"

"Huh? But classes are normally divided up like this, right?"

"I can't be bothered to explain this to you anymore. I feel like I'm explaining things to newborn babies. Can somebody who understood please explain this for me? Ayanokouji, I assume you understood this since the very first day."

Why did she have to say that...

"W-what? Ayanokouji? You knew about this from the first day? Why didn't you tell us, you bastard!?" Ike cried out.

"Be quiet for once, Ike. Ayanokouji, please explain this for me."

Guess there's no way around it. I stood up and started explaining.

"In this school, students are sorted by their level of excellence. The superior students are sorted into Class A, the least capable in Class D. It's the same system you'd find in major cram schools. In other words, Class D is the lowest of the bunch, the worst of the worst, the class full of defects. Our class points aren't just linked to the amount of private points we receive each month. They're also an indication of our class rank. For example, if we were to get to 541 class points, we would surpass Class C, therefore becoming Class C, and Class C would be demoted to Class D."

Nobody said a word, nobody could. They were all speechless. They were the lowest of the lows. While the same could be said about me since I'm also in Class D, I'm not like these morons. Them and I aren't the same.

"Why didn't you tell us, Ayanokouji?!" Yamauchi shouted.

"Yeah! You should've told us sooner! Now we have no points!" Ike followed.

"What? Blaming someone else for your incompetence and lack of ability?"

"Wait, if we're the worst class, how come Ayanokouji is in this class?"

"Yeah you bastard! You're as defective as us, don't think you can talk down on us like that!"

This is exactly what I knew would happen, which is why I talked to Chabashira-sensei yesterday.

"Sensei."

"Oh, Ayanokouji. I didn't expect to see you in the teacher's lounge. What brings you here?"

"Can I ask you about something?"

"It depends on what you're asking me about."

"The entrance exams and the interviews were pointless, right? As in, they played no part in the decisions to accept the student and sort them in Class A, B, C, or D."

"I expected this of you, Ayanokouji. However, I cannot go into the details. I'm afraid I can't tell you any more."

"As expected. However, that wasn't the main point of this conversation, Sensei. I just need one thing."

"What is it?"

"When the class asks why I was put into Class D, show them my entrance exam scores. Tell them I was placed in Class D because of my average entrance exam scores."

"Interesting..." Chiyabashira-sensei chuckled, "But I'm afraid I can't do that."

"I'll pay you 50,000 points."

"Oh ho? So you really did believe me when I said anything in this school could be bought with points, huh? So you're willing to sacrifice half your monthly allowance for this?"

"Yes, and don't worry, sensei, I know it's not a monthly allowance, I'm not a moron like the others."

"Hahaha... you sure are an interesting one, Ayanokouji, you have a deal. It seems like I awfully underestimated you. I assume you currently have enough points, yes?"

"Of course."

"Then, it's a deal. I'll make sure to play my part."

"Yeah, why is Ayanokouji, the Masterpiece of the White Room, in Class D with us? Doesn't that mean he's just as stupid as us?"

"Who is us? Don't include me with you blockheads!" Yamauchi shouted.

The classroom erupted into chaos, before Chabashira-sensei spoke up.

"Do you want me to tell you the truth?"

The class became quiet once again.

"Want the truth? I'll show you the truth."

Chabashira-sensei took out a few sheets of paper, which were my entrance exam papers, and showed them to the class.

"What? 50s in all subjects?"

"Isn't that a coincidence?"

"The truth is, we sorted the students before news about Ayanokouji and the White Room broke out. Seeing that his scores were average, we decided to put him in Class D. Of course, now we all know about Ayanokouji and his abilities, but by the time we knew, it was already too late to make changes to the classes."

"Yeah, but... 50s in all subjects? Doesn't that mean he manipulated his scores?"

The class looked at me.

Do I really have to say it?

"Coincidences can be freaky, I guess," I said.

"It is true that we had considered the possibility that Ayanokouji manipulated his scores. But at the time, we couldn't use that as a justification to place him in Class A. His performance during the interview was nothing more than average too. Now that we know his abilities, we know that he definitely manipulated his scores. This is the real reason why Ayanokouji was placed in Class D. You should feel lucky to have a Class A standard student in your defective class."

Chabashira-sensei didn't hold back in ruthlessly bad-mouthing the Class D students, who were left confused.

"I also happen to have some more bad news for you."

She stuck another poster onto the blackboard. The poster showed the scores from the exam we did the other day. I scored 100 points. In second place were Yukimura and Kouenji, both with 90 points. Next place was Horikita with 85 points.

"Seems like we have quite a few idiots in the class. I mean, come on, what did you guys learn before you came here? Are you guys competing to see who can act like the biggest idiot?"

Although the last three questions were certainly out of reach for most people, the other questions were ridiculously easy.

The teacher drew a red line above the names of seven people. Among them, Kikuchi had the highest score, with 31.

"You should be thankful that these exams didn't count, or else seven of you would've been expelled."

"Expelled?"

"Yes, at this school, if you fail a midterm of final exam, then you have to drop out. If we applied that rule to this test, anyone who got below 32 on this exam would've failed. If this were an actual exam, seven people would've been expelled."

Yamauchi scored a ridiculous 14 points out of 100.

"Why 32 you may ask? We take the average score and divide it by 2. In other words, should you get above 50, you'll be safe from expulsion. Oh, and one more thing. This school, which operates under government supervision, boasts high rate of advancement into elite education and workforce placement. That is a well-known fact. It's very likely that most of you have chose a college or future workplace. However, nothing comes easy in this world. Mediocre people such as yourselves would have to be naive to think they you could easily get into the college or workplace of your choice."

"In other words, you're saying that to do so, we must surpass Class C?" Hirata asked.

"You're wrong. To make your dreams of a bright future come true, your only option is to overtake Class A. This school guarantees nothing for the other students."

"That's... absurd..."

"Class A..."

Everyone looked at the other poster. The harsh truth was that the difference in class points between Class D and Class A was... 980 class points.

"They... have 980 class points... and we have... none..."

"We didn't hear anything about this!" Yukimura stood up.

"How disgraceful. There's nothing more pitiful than men losing their cool," Kouenji responded.

"Don't you feel dissatisfied being in Class D, Kouenji?"

"Dissatisfied? I don't care in the slightest if the school does or doesn't assist me in higher education or the workforce. It's already been decided that I will lead the Kouenji conglomerate group. Whether I'm in Class D or Class A is a trivial matter."

Yukimura, lost for words, simply sat back down.

"It looks like your bubbles have been burst. If you had simply understood the harsh reality of the situation from the start, then this homeroom period might've meant something. Your midterms are in three weeks. Please think things over, and be careful not to drop out. I have confidence that you can find a way to avoid getting red marks on your report cards. If at all possible, challenge yourself to act in a way befitting a skilled individual."

Chabashira-sensei exited the room, closing the door with some force for added emphasis, leaving a class full of speechless students. The students were found themselves below the red line were shocked, and, by the look on their faces, felt hopeless.

After a while though, none of the students could hide their confusion and frustration.

"If we don't get any more points, how will I survive?"

"I used up all my points yesterday..."

"Who cares about points?! Why the hell was I put in Class D?"

"Does this mean we can't even go to college now?"

"Everyone, please calm down," Hirata said, "like Sensei said, we should think this over, and band together so that we can turn things around."

"Hirata is right! There's no need for us to argue!" Kushida agreed.

Just like that, it felt like everyone was brought together.

"Attention everyone, I want you all to listen seriously for a moment before the next class begins." Everyone was listening to Hirata.

"We didn't get any points this month. This is a serious problem, and one that will have an enormous impact on our daily lives moving forward, which is why we must earn points next month. To do that, we first have to fix our behavior. That means no being late to class, no talking and no using cell phones during class."

Something amazing happened, even the Idiot Trio was listening carefully, seems like they were serious for once.

After class ended for the day, most were still shocked by what had happened this morning. Before we knew it, Hirata was standing on the podium and started to give a speech, with Kushida next to him.

"Guys, can you all please listen to me for a moment?" he said.

"As we all know, the midterms are coming up in three weeks. We absolutely have to pass these exams as a class. We all need to do our best to receive more points next month. That's why Kushida and I wanted to organize study sessions. We'll separate the class into different study groups, each group will consist of about five or six students and a tutor. We will create a group chat with all the tutors and then we'll see what we'll do. For the tutors, we decided to take just choose the highest scoring students, not counting Kouenji, who has already left the room. We will then decide what students to put in each group. Any questions?"

"A study group? I don't need that! I'll just study the night before the exam like I have always done!" Ike cried out.

"Same here! I'm out of here!" Yamauchi continued.

Almost instinctively, everyone looked at Sudou, expecting him to say the same thing.

"Why are you all looking at me? I'm all for it! I promise I'll do my best so that I can continue playing basketball at this school!"

Everyone laughed, they were happy to see Sudou motivated, but they bad-mouthed the other two.

"What the hell? We're doing this for you guys!"

"Yeah! Maybe you should just drop out right now you meatheads!"

"I don't need some stupid study group to pass," Ike said

"Yeah screw that! I don't need some nerd to tell me how to study," Yamauchi followed.

With that the two of them left the room in frustration.

The class was left disgusted by their selfish behavior.

I stood up.

"Hirata, Kushida, I'll take care of them. I can't promise that they'll join the study groups, but I'll try my best to help them."

My classmates seemed grateful for my intervention.

"Thank you so much, Ayanokouji."

"Ayanokouji, you're our savior!"

With that, we all left the classroom and headed out.

At night, Hirata created a group chat with the tutors for the study group. The tutors were Horikita, Kushida, Yukimura, Hirata of course, Matsushita, a girl nicknamed Mii-chan, and me.

[Okay guys, you all are going to be the tutors of the study groups.]
[Now regarding who's going to teach who, that's still undecided, so I'll like to hear your thoughts.](Hirata)

[Hmm... I'm not sure either](Kushida)

[I think we should let Horikita handle it.]

[What?](Horikita)

[That sounds like a good idea, Ayanokouji!](Kushida)

[Alright, any objections?](Hirata)

[Nope](Matsushita)

[No objections here.](Yukimura)

[No problem for me either!](Mii-chan)

[Wait](Horikita)

[Then it's decided! Thank you for taking care of this, Horikita!]
[Let us know when you decided on the groups!](Kushida)

Immediately after, Horikita called me.

"Hello?"

"Don't you hello me! Why did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Stop playing dumb, why did you say that I should take care of the study groups?"

"Horikita."

"Yes?"

"I think you'd make a great class leader."

"Really? You think so?"

"But to do that, you have to make people in your class trust you, or else you'll get nowhere. Horikita, your shortcoming is that you assume others will hold you back, and put them at a distance from the start. I saw this as a good opportunity for you to make some allies and climb up Class D's social hierarchy."

"Well... I guess when you put it like that... still, you should've asked for my permission though."

"If I asked for your permission you never would've said yes."

"... I can't deny that. Well.., thanks... I guess, I'll make sure to take care of everything."

"I'm counting on you, Horikita."

With that, I hung up the call.

As for me, I still have those two perverts to take care of.

Author's Notes

Hello everyone!

I hoped you all enjoyed this part!

May 1st is an important date in the light novel, so I decided to stay somewhat close to the original story for this day.

In this timeline, Ike and Yamauchi completely abandon the idea of study groups, and decide to study on their own. Where will that lead them, who knows?

I decided this will be the start of the Ayanokouji Group. I know the original Ayanokouji Group had Yukimura in it, but in this context, it didn't make sense because both Kiyotaka and Yukimura scored high marks. I'll probably put Sudou in place of Yukimura (RIP Yukimura). I hope you guys aren't too disappointed about that.

In this timeline though, Ayanokouji wasn't called by Chabashira-sensei to hear Horikita complain about her placement in Class D.

Hope you guys liked this chapter and thank you all for 10k views!

Take care!

Chapter 3.2 - Two Sides Of The Same Coin

Horikita proposed to organize a meeting to discuss the arrangements that she had come up with. I took the lead in inviting them to my room so that we could talk in peace.

We only created the group chat yesterday, and Horikita had already come up with the arrangements of the study groups.

When everyone arrived, she told us our group, and, honestly, she did a great job. The groups she made actually made sense.

For example, in my group, I had Hasebe and Sakura, who were good friends, as well as Sudou and Miyake, who were somewhat friends, but definitely shared common attributes. Since I was supposed to also take care of Yamauchi and Ike, Horikita decided to only put four other people in my group. She was surprisingly mindful when coming up with these groups.

Also, in Hirata's group, there was Karuizawa'a friend group, which also made sense. Karuizawa and Hirata had started dating only a little while after the beginning of high school. However, to be honest, I doubt it is a true relationship.

We then discussed how we would go about things. We decided that for the first study session, we will evaluate the other students with a self-made problem sheet. Starting from there, each student will undertake personal training, and each tutor will have to prepare individual worksheets for everyone in their group.

The meeting had ended, so everyone left my room.

"Thanks for letting us use your room, Ayanokouji," Hirata said.

"Yeah, this was a really productive meeting," Horikita said.

The others agreed.

"See you tomorrow, Ayanokouji!" Kushida was the last one to leave my room.

However, I quickly realized she had forgotten her phone on my desk.

Her room was in a different building than mine, so I quickly followed her to give her back her phone, until she stopped at a dark place.

I stopped as well and instinctively hid behind a tree.

"I hate her, I hate her, I hate her!" she screamed.

Was that really... Kushida?

She seemed like a completely different person. So that's her dark side, huh?

I immediately decided to record with my own phone. I simply couldn't miss an opportunity like this.

"Screw you, Horikita! You think you're so cool and all, you think you're so great just because you're pretty... go to hell! And those perverts, who do they think they are?! Disgusting creatures, ogling at the sight of girls, I wish they all die! And to those girls that act all girly and all, nobody likes you either, bitch! I ha-"

At this moment, Kushida's phone I had in my hand made a sound. She had received a notification.

Talk about bad timing.

"What? Who's there?"

I guess there's no way around it.

"It's me, Ayanokouji. You forgot your phone at my pl-"

"Did you hear?" she suddenly rushed over to me and grabbed her phone.

"Would you believe me if I said I didn't?"

"If you tell anyone about this, you'll pay."

"I won't do that, they wouldn't believe me anyway."

"Tch... why did I have to forget my phone."

"Kushida... why do you hate Horikita?"

"That's none of your business."

"Is it because she came from the same middle school as you?"

"What? How did you know?"

"She told me. Simple as that, I guess."

It was true. A while ago, Horikita told me to be wary of Kushida and that she went to the same middle school as her.

"Listen here, Ayanokouji. I don't care who you are. You and her knowing about my past are the greatest dangers to my school life. Know that you just became my number one enemy at this school. I will do everything to expel you. If you tell anyone about this, I'll say that you attempted to rape me."

"That's unreasonable, Kushida. What made you think you were in control of this situation?"

I took out my phone that was recording the whole time from my jacket.

"Screw you, Horikita! You think you're so cool and all, you think you're so great just because you're pretty... go to hell! And those perverts, who do they think they are?! Disgusting creatures, ogling at the sight of girls, I wish they all die! And to those girls that act all girly and all, nobody likes you either, bitch! I ha-"

*Ding*

"What? Who's there?"

"Are you kidding me? You jerk, you've been recording this whole time?"

"The truth is, Kushida, I never believed your fake act even for a second, since the moment we met on the bus. I saw through your mask since the very beginning. I knew how important hiding your past was to you. From now on, you will work for me. You will help me with anything I need. Disobey me, and I will leak this recording to the entire school."

"Tch... What do you want? Don't tell me you're afte my body too, you pervert!

"I'm not after your body, Kushida. Now, I need you to do something for me..."

The next day, at lunch, I went to the cafeteria and approached my target.

"Hey, are you an upperclassman?"

"Oh ho! If it isn't my favorite kouhai!"

"I don't know you, who are you?"

"I'm Kiryuin Fuka, a second-year. I finally met you, Ayanokouji! Did you know that ever since the news spread here, I wanted to meet you in person? Today's your lucky day!"

"Why is it my lucky day?"

"Ah ha ha, seems like you're also quite funny, Kouhai-kun. Anyway, yes I'm an upperclassman. What do you want?"

"Do you have the midterm exam paper of your first year in high school?"

The key to scoring high marks on the midterms was the mock exam. One might ask themselves, why were there those difficult questions? Actually, it was a hint. Chabashira-sensei told us that there is a way for us to all pass the midterms. When I looked at the most difficult questions, they were beyond the level taught during the first year. That's why they were actually hints. Upperclassmen, is what these questions whispered into my ears. In other words, they reuse the same midterm exam papers for each year's first year. Therefore, I wanted to get my hands on the previous years' midterms, and compare the questions to that of the mock exam. If they're the same, then it's safe to say that the questions on the midterms will be exactly the same.

"Oh? Finding a way to cheat already?"

"I'm not cheating. It's for studying purposes."

"You're interesting, Kouhai-kun. But I'm afraid you'll have to pay for that."

"I'll pay you 15,000 points."

"You know, I would normally ask for more than that, but since you're my favorite kouhai, you have a deal! I can send you the photos by message."

"Sure, I'll give you my phone number."

With that, we exchanged contact information.

After a while, I received the midterms photos from Kiryuin-senpai. Indeed, the questions matched the ones on the mock exam. The first part of my plan was a success.

After class ended, I went back to my room to create a group chat with my study group.

[Hello everyone, it has been decided that you will all be part of the same study group. The first study session will be tomorrow after class in the library.]

Isn't that a bit too unwelcoming?

[Let's all get along and get good scores.]

Now that's better.

[Hey, Ayanokouji! I'm so happy you're our tutor!](Hasebe)

[Yeah! With you as our tutor, we'll definitely pass!](Sudou)

[I prayed for a good tutor, and my prayers have been answered!](Miyake)

[I'm looking forward to studying with you all.](Sakura)

[Likewise]
[That's all I have to say for now]
[See you guys at tomorrow's study sessions]
Read

Seems like everything is going quite well.

I was sitting in the library, waiting for my study group to arrive for the first study session.

"Hey, Ayanokouji!"

I looked around to see Hasebe and Sakura approaching me.

"H-hey... A-Ayanokouji..."

Seems like Sakura is quite shy.

"Come on Sakura, no need to be shy, we're all study buddies here!" Hasebe said.

"Maybe you're right..."

Not long after, Sudou and Miyake arrived as well.

"Alright, I'm fired up, I'm going to get full marks!" Sudou ambitiously cried out.

"Dude quiet down, we're in the library," Miyake responded.

"Oh yeah, my bad."

The four of them chuckled, it seemed like they were already starting to get along.

I took out of problem sheets that I prepared for the four of them.

"Okay, let's start. First I want you four to answer these questions. That way, I can know how to individually help each of you to study for the midterms."

"This is amazing dude... it must've taken a long time to prepare this," Sudou said

"Yeah I'm grateful, I didn't expect you to be such a good guy Ayanokouji, seems like I completely had the wrong impression of you," Miyake agreed.

"Hehe~ Ayanokouji, seems like you're taking this seriously," Hasebe teased me.

"T-Thanks... Ayanokouji," Sakura timidly said.

After the four of them were done, I went over their answers. Hasebe was the one to get the most questions right, she's not in need of much help. Miyake's score was decent. As for Sakura and Sudou, they'll need to put in more effort.

For the entire study session, I decided it was best to first go over the courses' materials. I would make sure to answer their questions if they had any.

Soon, the study session came to an end.

"Man, why do I feel ten times smarter?" Miyake said.

"I know right, A-..."

"What's wrong, Hasebe?" I asked her since she just stopped talking so suddenly.

"Hmm... I know! Let's all call each other by our first names! That way we can all become good friends! What do you guys think?" she finally said.

"Yeah, let's do that!" Sudou agreed.

"Sure," I also agreed.

After we exchanged our first names, we started calling each other by our first names.

"Akito is kind of boring, and totally not cute... I know, from now on, you're Miyacchi!" Haruka said.

"What?" Akito was visibly confused.

Luckily she didn't give me a nickname.

"Kiyotaka... why does your first name have so many syllables?" Haruka asked me.

"How am I supposed to answer that?" I honestly answered.

"Hmm, I know, I'll give you a nickname! Kiyo... Kiyoto, no... Kiyop... Kiyo... Kiyopon!!!"

I talked too soon.

"Kiyopon?"

"Haha what the heck Haruka?"

"Pfff... that's a ridiculous nickname... haha."

Akito and Ken started laughing their heads off. I also noticed Airi smiling too.

"Yeah, Kiyopon! It's such a cute nickname! Kiyopon... or Ayanon! They sound sooo cute~ I prefer Kiyopon though, so I'll be calling you that! You better get used to it!"

"Ah... I guess I have no choice but to get used to it right?"

"I knew you'd be this understanding, Kiyopon! Also, why don't we come up with a name for our new friend group?"

"Oh... I-I like that idea," Airi said.

"Yeah, but what?" Akito asked.

The four of them were seemingly trying their hardest to come up with a nickname.

"How about the Ayanokouji Group?" Haruka proposed.

"The Ayanokouji Group?" Ken questioned.

"Yeah! I mean, Kiyopon is the one who brought us all together right?" she replied.

"I agree with Haruka's idea," Airi said.

"Okay then, let's go with that, what do you think, Kiyotaka?" Akito turned to me.

"I don't mind."

"Yay! Today marks the formation of the Ayanokouji Group! A day to remember!" Haruka cried out.

"Shhhhhhhh," the old grumpy librarian intensively stared at us, ordering us to keep quiet.

The four of them silently laughed.

The Ayanokouji Group, huh? It sounds like a horrible company name, but I guess it'll do.

*

(Haruka has renamed the group 'The Ayanokouji Group')

[Today was so much fun!](Haruka)

[Yeah, who knew studying could be this fun?](Ken)

[That's because we barely studied, Ken]
[Prepare yourself to get serious]
[You still have a lot of basics to master]

[Hehe~ you're mean Kiyopon](Haruka)

[Aw man](Ken)

[You got this Ken! Let's all kill the midterms together](Akito)

[Today was fun!]
[I'm looking forward to the next session](Airi)

[We can barely talk in the library though...](Haruka)

[Yeah, that grumpy librarian pisses me off](Ken)

[Maybe we can find another place to study?](Akito)

[Where?](Airi)

[You guys can come to my room]

[Oh ho~ Kiyopon's room, I wonder what it looks like](Haruka)

[THE Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's room... Awesome!](Akito)

[Sounds good to me](Ken)

[So when would it be?](Airi)

[Are you guys free after tomorrow??]

[Yep](Ken)

[Yeah](Akito)

[Yes](Airi)

[Yes Kiyopon-sensei!](Haruka)

[Then I'll see you guys the day after tomorrow after school]
[I'm in Room 401]

After ending our conversation, some tutors started chatting in the tutors group chat.

[How was everyone's first study session?](Hirata)

[Great!](Kushida)

[Everything went rather well](Horikita)

[Same here!](Mii-chan)

[Everything is successful so far](Yukimura)

[Same here]

[Ayanokouji, how do you plan on dealing with Ike and Yamauchi?](Hirata)

[Yeah... those idiots...](Mii-chan)

[Hmm]
[I'm not sure yet]
[But don't worry, I'll figure something out]
[You guys don't have to take care of it]

[Well, if you say so, then I'll trust you, Ayanokouji!](Kushida)

[Sounds good, Ayanokouji](Hirata)

Today was a success.

Today, the Ayanokouji Group met up in my room for the second study session.

I had specifically prepared questions for each of the four of them. They were not too difficult, not too easy, just the correct difficulty to maximize one's progress.

I was in my room when someone rang at the door.

"Hey ho Kiyopon! It's me and Airi!"

I opened the door.

"Can we come in?" Airi said.

"Of course, come on in."

The two of them entered my room.

"Well... this is a disappointment, Kiyopon. Why is your room so empty?"

"I was never the type to buy any decorations and things like that," I said. It was true. I also never deemed it necessary.

Soon after both Ken and Akito arrived.

"Alright! Let's get started!" Ken cried out.

What's gotten into him? It's like he suddenly decided to become serious. Remarkable.

After an hour or two of them working on the questions I had prepared, they were all improving at their own speed. Ken was making great progress. In two weeks, he'll probably be ready for the midterms. The same can be said about the other three. Of course, all four of them would get the midterms question and answer sheets the day before like everyone.

"Phew... today was tougher than the previous study session," Haruka said.

"Yeah, Kiyotaka's not going easy on us," Akito chuckled.

"But thanks to him, we'll be able to pass the midterms without a sweat," Ken said.

"Let's all do our best," Airi timidly said.

We all agreed to do our best.

The five of us then had a casual conversation, talking about the school in general, our habits, and all kinds of things.

I never knew what I was like to make friends or to have friends.

I never deemed it necessary, of course.

However, based on what I had read about friends in books, maybe this...

This is what it would feel like to have friends.

Author's Notes

Hey!

Kiyotaka finally sees Kushida's other self for himself. Kushida now has no other choice but to obey Kiyotaka's commands (at least for now...). What did he ask her to do? And will Kushida end up betraying him?

The Ayanokouji Group has formed! Press F to pay respects for Yukimura.

Anyways, that's all I have to say!

See you soon!

Chapter 3.3 - Class D's Masked Angel

The study sessions we had organized all went quite well. Unfortunately, the Ayanokouji Group seemed to have taken a liking to my room. Starting from the second study session, all of them were held in my room, whether I wanted to or not.

Today is the day before the midterms. To tell the truth, everyone in the Ayanokouji Group was prepared enough to pass. Ken has made tremendous progress, I don't know what's gotten into him these days. I expect him to score around 50, same as Airi, maybe even 60, but of course, with the question and answer sheets, he might even score higher marks.

[Guys! A senpai friend of mine gave me the questions to the midterms! She also had given me the answer sheets, but it was kind of messy so I decided to copy it and make one myself! Here, have a look!](Kushida)

[No way, are you sure these are the questions?](Hirata)

[I believe so, some of the questions are identical to the ones on the mock exam. The mock exam was probably a hint telling us that the midterms are the same each year. I agree with Kushida when she says these are the questions and the answers for the midterms.]

[Well, if Ayanokouji says so... thanks a lot Kushida!](Mii-chan)

[This is a great help!](Yukimura)

[Thanks](Horikita)

[So... I want you all to distribute these within your respective study groups. Ayanokouji will give these to Ike and Yamauchi. Let's all get great scores!](Kushida)

[Yeah! With this, I'm sure we can all pass! Thanks Kushida!](Hirata)

[Yeah, good job Kushida]

As expected, Kushida sent a message to the tutors' group chat. After receiving the midterms exam papers from Kiryuin-senpai, I made an answer sheet. I then ordered Kushida to copy my answer sheet onto another sheet of paper and send them to the group so that it would seem like she made them. I also told her to simply say that she got the questions and answers from an upperclassman. I told her this was an opportunity for her to improve her standings in the class even further. I told her that she would get all the credit for this work, and that people in the class will adore her. However, that was never the true purpose of all this.

I forwarded the question and answer sheets to the Ayanokouji group and they were thankful for it. Then, I looked closely at the answer sheet Kushida gave us. I copied her exact handwriting and copied the answers once again. But this time, I made a few modifications to the answers. I then sent my new answer sheet, which looked like it was written by Kushida, and sent them to Ike and Yamauchi.

[Hey, Kushida got hold of the questions and answers of the midterms. The midterms are the same every year apparently]
[You guys should memorize these answers by heart.]
[Download images]

[No way!! Kushida is the best!!](Ike)

[I knew not participating in those study groups was the right choice!]
[I'll make sure to memorize this by heart, after all Kushida put her effort into making this happen!](Yamauchi)

[Yeah! Her efforts won't go to waste]
[I might just have fallen for her for the tenth time in two days](Ike)

It was almost too easy.

*

Today is Friday, the day of the midterm exams. Needless to say, everyone was feeling confident, even Ike and Yamauchi.

"There are no absences today. It seems like everyone is here."

"We've studied diligently these past weeks. I don't think that anyone will fail."

"Oh my. You sound quite confident, Hirata."

"If no fails the midterms and the final exam in July, then you'll be rewarded with a vacation during your summer break," Chabashira-sensei added.

"A vacation?"

"That's right. A dream vacation on an island surrounded by the brilliant blue sea."

"... Everyone, let's do our best!"

"Yeah!"

"Let's do this!"

"Remember, if you fail in even just one of these subjects, you'll have to drop out. Also, the exam results will be announced on Monday, three days from now."

Before long, everyone had their test papers. On the teacher's signals, everyone began. I quickly looked through the questions, they really were the exactly the same as the ones Kiruyin-senpai sent me, word for word.

Second and third period were for Japanese and chemistry. Needless to say, you could feel the confident atmosphere in the class. After all, everyone could correctly answer the questions, if they had memorized the answers beforehand.

Fourth period was for mathematics. Even though some of the difficult questions from the mock exam also appeared here, anyone could answer correctly, almost anyone anyways.

Then came the break.

"An easy victory! We have this test on lock!"

"I feel like I might get 120 points!" Ike said. Yamauchi must've felt the same, seeing the big smile on his face.

I walked over to Ken.

"Yo."

"Yo, Kiyotaka. What's up?"

"Nothing much. How did you do?"

"Man... I can't thank you enough. You really saved my ass with the study group. Also the question and answer sheets were a massive help. Listen, if you need anything from me, don't hesitate. I owe you one."

"You got it, Ken. There's still the English exam left, don't lose your focus."

He stuck out his fist, and gave me a fist bump.

After the last test, it was all over.

"Yeahhh!!!" Ken screamed.

"We did it!"

"Surely no one will fail!" Yamauchi cried out.

"Good job everyone," Hirata walked to the podium and said, "I think we deserve to give ourselves a pat on the back. We've worked hard for this, now we should all rest up! On Monday, we will see that nobody failed the midterms!"

The classroom erupted.

"Yeah!"

"Hard work pays off!"

We all left the classroom to have lunch.

"Hey Kiyopon!" Haruka cried out.

Everyone turned their attention to me.

"Kiyopon?"

"She has a nickname for him?"

"Are they dating?"

Sigh.

"What?" I said.

"Wanna eat lunch with us? Let's celebrate the end of the midterms!"

I saw Airi standing besides her and alongside her were Ken and Akito giving me thumbs ups.

"Sure, where are we going?"

"Let's go to a fancy restaurant!"

"Haruka, you're paying, right?" Akito asked.

"Are you stupid Miyacchi? I'm not your credit card you idiot!"

The four of them chuckled.

"I'll pay," I suddenly said.

"Wait, are you serious?" Haruka said.

"Yeah. It's my treat. After all, you guys studied really hard."

"Kiyotaka you're our savior!"

"I never thought I would be able to go to a fancy restaurant, you just made my dreams come true!"

"Kiyopon you're the best!!"

"T-Thanks Kiyotaka."

We arrived at a fancy Italian restaurant in the middle of the Keyaki Mall. After much consideration, we just all ended up ordering different kinds of pasta.

After a long wait, the food finally arrived.

"Itadakimasu!"

"Yo, Kiyotaka, can I try a bit of your pasta?" Ken asked.

"Dude, you ordered two plates..." Akito said.

"Ken."

The four of them turned silent.

"I want to eat my pasta in peace."

"..."

"WHAT THE HELL DUDE HA HA"

"Kiyopon what was that serious tone for?!"

"Yeah! Don't play tricks on us like that ever again!"

Airi was hesitant in joining the discussion. Instead, she just smiled to herself.

Shortly after, we finished eating.

"Oh man, that was some incredible pasta."

"I feel like my weight just doubled."

"I feel sorry for Kiyopon's point balance."

"Don't worry guys, it's my treat. You guys have worked hard, you've earned this... I guess."

"..."

"Well in that case..."

"Let's try out some deserts!"

"Yeah! I've always wanted to try those fancy deserts!"

"Are you okay with this, Kiyotaka?" Airi asked me.

"Yeah, don't worry about it, you guys order what you want."

Thank goodness I have close to five million private points.

"What do you want to try, Kiyopon?"

"Ice cream."

"..."

"Pfff hahaha Kiyotaka you're actually the funniest person I've ever met!"

"Yeah, Kiyopon! You're here at a fancy restaurant and you just want to try some ice cream? Come on!"

"I've never had ice cream before."

"Oh..."

The four of them looked at each other as if they regretted what they said.

"Well, in that case, your first time trying out ice cream will be with us, the Ayanokouji Group!" Akito said.

"Yeah, and starting from next month, I'll treat you to ice cream anytime dude!" Sudou said.

"Yayyyy!!" Haruka cried out.

"Thanks guys."

The five of us ordered deserts, and then left the restaurant.

"Dude... 60,000 points, that was expensive."

"Don't worry, I saved up my points so I still have quite a lot."

"Ehhh? I'm basically broke, man..."

"Same here."

"Yeah, same."

When class had ended for the day, the Ayanokouji Group decided to hang out in my room a bit. After that, the four of them all left, so I decided to just rest on my bed. I took out my phone, it was already 6PM. That's when Horikita texted me.

[Are you free right now? Can we talk?]

[Yeah I'm free, we can talk]

[Ok, can we meet in private?]

[Sure, you can come to my room if you want]

[I hope you don't have any ulterior motives for inviting me in your room]

[Like what?]

[Nevermind, what room are you in?]

[Room 401]

[Ok, I'll be there in a bit]

[Ok, see you then]
Read

A few minutes later, she arrived at my door.

"Hey."

"Hey, can I come in?"

"Sure."

She walked into my room.

"Do you want something to drink? I only have apple juice if that's fine with you."

"Huh? If you insist, I guess I'll have a cup of apple juice."

I poured her some apple juice.

"You like apple juice, huh?" she said.

"I've recently taken a liking to apple juice and ice cream," I said as I took a sip out of my cup, "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"I guess I wanted to thank you for helping me out."

"Helping you out?"

After taking a sip from her cup, Horikita continued.

"Yeah, I know that I would've never volunteered to arrange the study groups. If it weren't for you, I would have never done so. I realized that I was selfish for always thinking about myself. When I thought about the arrangements, I realized that I couldn't do everything myself. I need others to succeed too. The same way they need me, I also need them. I guess I just wanted to thank you for helping me realize that."

"Well, I don't have much to say except you're welcome, I guess."

But Horikita, helping you was never my true intention.

"You don't have to say much. I just wanted to say what was on my mind. I don't have anything to say now, so I'll be going now."

"Sure, see you on Monday."

"Bye, Ayanokouji."

It was Sunday, the day before the results, and the class group chat was filled with excitement.

[I can't wait for tomorrow!](Kushida)

[Yeah! I strongly believe we will all pass!](Hirata)

[The study groups really helped us out, thanks Hirata!](Karuizawa)

[You guys should thank Horikita too, she played a big role in the organization of the study groups](Hirata)

[Horikita?](Satou)

[Yeah, she was the one that arranged everything](Hirata)

[But Kushida's the one that got the questions and the answers!](Ike)

[Yeah, she's our savior!!](Yamauchi)

[I guess so, haha](Kushida)

[I really hope we'll get some points...](Shinohara)

[Yeah... I don't know what I'll do if I don't have any points next month!](Haruka)

[Well we can only hope for the best](Akito)

[I just hope nobody gets expelled!](Matsushita)

[I don't think anyone will](Mii-chan)

[I don't think so either, but honestly, if that happens, I don't know what I'll do](Hirata)

[I mean there's like nothing we can do if that happens, right?](Karuizawa)

[We will figure something out if that happens]
[I won't let anyone get expelled, not on my watch]
(Hirata)

Soon after, they all decided to put an end to the conversation, and rest up for the big day.

The big day arrived. It was Monday, the day we would get the results of the midterm exams. Everyone looked forward to homeroom.

However, one person was missing.

"Huh? Is Horikita absent?"

"Oh yeah? Where's Horikita?"

"No way! We'll lose points because of her!"

"She's sick," I said as everyone turned to me, "She texted me this morning saying she couldn't come to school today because she's sick."

"Oh, well I mean I guess there's nothing we can do about that, right?"

"Yeah, let's just wish her a speedy recovery."

"I hope she gets better soon."

Chabashira-sensei strove into the classroom, looking around at the students.

"Is Horikita absent?"

"Yeah, she's sick, will we lose points because of that?"

"As long as she's not absent for a long time, you won't get many points deducted. After all, you're all still at zero points," she cruelly reminded the students of their class rank.

Everyone was anxious, holding their breath in anticipation of the midterms results.

"Sensei, when will we get out results?"

"Well, I guess I can show them to you right now."

She then revealed the results. She stuck a large poster with everyone's names and scores onto the blackboard.

"Honestly, I'm impressed. I didn't think so many of you would get such high marks."

I looked at the board, it seemed like ten people, including me, got perfect scores in all five subjects. Sudou easily passed, scoring in the high 50s in every subject. The same could be said for Airi. Seems like the Ayanokouji Group's hard work paid off. Some students shouted in delight as they saw the 100s lined up on the sheet.

The lowest scores were Ike and Yamauchi, who both got 40s in English.

"Yes! We passed!" Ike shouted.

"Yeah! I knew I didn't need the study group. I knew I could get above 32 points!" Yamauchi cried out.

"Nobody said 32 was the passing grade," I said.

The class looked shocked by what I just said. However, it was true. The passing grade won't stay the same and will obviously depend on the general class performance. This time, many people got high marks, so the passing grade would definitely be higher than last time.

"Ayanokouji is right. When did I say 32 was the passing grade?" Chabashira-sensei chuckled as she took out a red pen...

And drew a line above the names of Ike and Yamauchi.

Author's Notes

And... that's it! How was this chapter?

What did Kiyotaka do?

How did Ike and Yamauchi fail even though they had the answers?

Find out next time hehe, see you then!

Chapter 3.4 - Inexplicable Curiosity

"Sensei."

"What is it again, Ayanokouji?"

"I want to ask you something."

"Again, what is it?"

"I'll pay you points to change Ike and Yamauchi's English scores to one below the passing grade."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes. Of course, that's if they already failed in the first place. That's fine, right? I would just be buying them points."

"I suppose so. I don't know what you're doing, but I'll take you up on that offer. You'll need to sign a contract though. If they pass, I won't change their grades and you won't have to transfer any points. If they do fail, I'll change their grades, and you'll have to pay the required amount. I'll let you know that 1 point is worth 100,000 points. Understood?"

"Yeah, sounds good. Thanks, Sensei. Also, I have one more thing to say."

I left the room after ending my conversation with her and after signing the contract.

"What? I failed?!" Ike screamed.

"But I thought 32 was the passing grade! This is so unfair!" Yamauchi said.

"Are you guys really that stupid? I even told you hold the passing grade was calculated. Did you really think that the passing grade would miraculously be 32 every time. Of course it's not, you morons. This time, the average score for the English exam was 82, so the passing grade was 41. Both of you are one point from passing."

"Wait... this can't be happening... Am I already going to leave the school?" Ike said.

"No way! I refuse to believe this!" Yamauchi agreed.

"Sensei?" Hirata asked, "Is there no way we can help them?"

"There is, Hirata. But that's for you to figure out. You have until the end of homeroom. If you fail to do so, I'll confirm the results to the school, and their expulsion would be inevitable, understood?"

"Yes, but... I have no idea."

"Sensei, how much does one point cost?" I asked.

Chabashira-sensei smiled.

"As expected of you, Ayanokouji. Indeed, this is currently the only way for you to avoid their expulsion. I said this before, anything can be bought at this school, including test points. I must let you know that one point isn't cheap."

"It doesn't matter! I'll pay for it!" Hirata said.

"One test point cost 100,000 points, you'll need 200,000 to avoid both of their expulsion."

Hirata stood there, silent, speechlesss, hopeless.

"I-I don't have enough..."

"That's so expensive..."

"That's one hundred times the amount I have..."

"Jeez... it's their fault they can't even pass with answer sheets."

Of course, they all spent their points like idiots. Even Hirata who had saved up didn't have anywhere near the 200,000 points required. Even if they were to combine their points, they might not even have 100,000. Even if that were to be the case, most of the students don't want to sacrifice their valuable points.

But the only one who had enough points to save both of them, Horikita, was absent today.

It's exactly just like I planned.

Indeed, if Horikita was here, she could've saved both of them. After all, she had more than enough points after blackmailing those third-years on the first day.

That's why when she wanted to talked to me, I invited her to my room. I poured her some apple juice, the apple juice I had bought on the first day of school at the convenience store. The apple juice I had opened but never drank. The apple juice that went bad after I left it in my fridge for almost two months.

To avoid suspicion, I also poured some apple juice in my own cup, but that was apple juice I had bought the day before.

I intentionally gave Horikita the expired apple juice so that she would be absent today. Drinking juice that has gone bad will give you extreme stomach aches that can last up to five days depending on how bad the juice is. Of course, I wouldn't have done so if I didn't know the date of the results, but Chabashira-sensei told us that it would be today.

If I couldn't give Horikita a cup of apple juice, I wouldn't have been able to go ahead with my plan. I needed to have a talk with Horikita in my room. That's why I intentionally made her arrange the study groups, saying it was because she needed to work on her leadership or what not. After the midterms exams ended, she forced herself to come thank me, and that's when I invited her to my room and gave her the apple juice.

That's why today, nobody could help Ike and Yamauchi in this class. Perhaps Kouenji had enough points, but he obviously couldn't care less. Nobody could help them, nobody but me.

In other words, I was in full control of the situation, just like I had planned.

On the answer sheet I sent Ike and Yamauchi before the midterms, I had imitated Kushida's handwriting. The reason I asked Kushida to copy the answer sheet I initially made was not so that she could get all the credit, which is what I told her, but so that I could see how her handwriting looked like. For those two, as long as they thought Kushida was the one who wrote it, they would brainlessly memorize whatever was on there. Of course, they could never memorize all of the answers even if they wanted to. The proof was that none of their other exam scores surpassed the 50s even though they had the same answer sheets as anyone else.

I intentionally wrote wrong answers for some English questions. I didn't change anything else from the original answer sheet I made. It was best if both of their failures were in a single subject. I chose English because we knew before hand that it would be the last exam, which meant that one was more likely forget the answers they memorized. By making a new answer sheet for the English midterm exam with a few wrong answers in Kushida's handwriting, I was certain that Ike and Yamauchi would foolishly copy the wrong answers onto the exam paper.

In addition, I was sure they wouldn't even blame the answer sheet, since they thought Kushida was the one that made them. They would never blame Kushida.

Now, I already knew that the passing grade for the English exam wouldn't be 32. After all, everyone got extremely high marks, so I assumed the passing grade would be above 40. The English exam contained 20 questions, each of them worth 5 points. Therefore, I wrote wrong answers for 12 of the hardest questions of the exam. I couldn't guarantee that they could get 8 questions right and get exactly 40 points. That's why I told Chabashira-sensei to up their points to one below the passing grade in the worst case. I still don't know the actual scores for both of them as I am yet to pay the points, but I would be surprised if they actually got 40 points.

Of course, I had no idea the passing grade would be exactly 41, that's just a coincidence, but I did guess it would be somewhere around that range, based on the performances of the Ayanokouji Group. Indeed, I had created a mock exam extremely similar to the actual midterms, and I made Airi, Haruka, Ken and Akito take it during the last study session, saying it was preparation for the midterm exams. I took their data and took into consideration the range of academic ability of the students in our class, and I predicted that the average score of the class would be at least 80, knowing that we would also know the answers in advance.

In other words, I intentionally set a maximum amount of points for Ike and Yamauchi's English exams, a maximum of 40 that was not enough to pass. I knew there was no way both of them could get above 40, since they abandoned the study groups on the first day with their selfish behavior. I knew they would desperately rely on the answer sheet I sent them.

Why did I do this?

Who knows?

Perhaps, I just wanted to observe their behavior. I guess you can call it some sort of experiment. Observing human behavior and development is somewhat fascinating.

After all, I had decided before coming here that graduating from Class A wasn't my only objective. I decided that I would use these three years to satisfy my inexplicable curiosity.

Of course, I couldn't say that to the class. Causing chaos in Class D right now wasn't what I wanted. I could probably pass this on as a way to help them realize their own stupidity, some kind of wake-up call, if you will. I'm sure they would understand.

"Does nobody have points they could sacrifice to save Ike and Yamauchi?" Hirata desperately asked.

"No... sorry..."

"I already used up all my points..."

"Same... here..."

As expected, Ike and Yamauchi were helpless.

"Somebody, please!" "Give me a second chance!" they begged.

That's when I stood up and spoke up.

"I can pay..." I said.

The class looked at me. I saw Ike and Yamauchi's eyes shining.

"Ayanokouji! I knew you would come to the rescue!" Yamauchi said.

"Yeah! Looks like we were worried for not-"

"I can pay for only one of you two."

The class was silent. I could see Chabashira-sensei grinning and enjoying the show.

"What do you mean, only one of us?"

"I only have 100,000 points, I can't save both of you. You'll have to decide among yourselves who should be saved."

That was a lie. I had around five million private points.

"What?" Ike said.

"No way! I should be saved!" Yamauchi shouted.

"What! You bastard, you're the dumbest out of the two of us!"

"You're the one that should be expelled, Ike, I'm way better than you anyway!"

Just a few seconds before, they were hopeless, speechless, demoralized. Not only that, they felt somewhat united in their misery. Now, after seeing a glimmer of hope, they let go of each other, selfishly prioritizing one's self-interest. Now, isn't that interesting?

Self-interest generally refers to a focus on the needs or desires of one's self. Someone generous is someone that seemingly isn't motivated by their self-interest. However, all humans are programmed to be motivated by their self-interest and narcissism, and, when having their back against the wall, would want do anything to pursue their personal interest, even if that means letting go of those they hold close.

"Why don't you play Rock Paper Scissors to decide who gets saved?"

"R-rock Paper Scissors?" Ike said.

"I can't decide who to save, I mean, I can't make my mind up. So I thought you could leave it to chance. Any objections?"

Most of the class obviously couldn't say anything. After all, they couldn't save them themselves. Chabashira-sensei also stood silent.

"I- do we have no other choice!?" Yamauchi said.

"Yeah, figure out something else, genius!" Ike cried out.

"Well, I guess I could also save none of you."

"Wait... no... please! I'll play, I'll play!"

"Yeah me too! I'll play, I know I'll beat this bastard anyway."

Pathetic.

"Okay, how about this, first one to two wins gets saved, sounds good?" I asked.

"Y-Yeah..."

"O-Okay... l-let's do... this."

Fascinating behavior.

"R-rock..."

"P-paper..."

"S-scissors..."

"Shoot..."

Ike decided to use rock, and Yamauchi decided to use scissors.

"Ike wins, he has one win, please, continue," I said.

"R-r-rock..."

"P-Paper..."

"S-s-scissors..."

"S-Shoot..."

Yamauchi won the round by beating Ike's paper with scissors.

"Both of you have one win. The winner of this round will be saved. In case of a draw, we'll continue. Best of luck."

The class couldn't say a word. Neither could Chabashira-sensei.

Ike and Yamauchi were trembling.

"R-rock..."

"..."

"...P-paper..."

"..."

"...S-s-s-scissors..."

"..."

"...Sh-shoot..."

Both of them put out their hands while closing their eyes. None of them wanted to see the other's move. However, a winner had been decided.

"I-I-I won... I won! No way! I'm saved!" Ike shouted in joy.

"I-I... lost..." Yamauchi said in despair.

"Sensei, sell me one point to add to Ike's English test score."

Those words, they broke Yamauchi.

"You bastard! Ayanokouji, you bastard! How could you do this! You evil piece of shit! Go back to the White Room you bitch!"

"That's enough, Yamauchi," Chabashira-sensei said, "Come to the teacher's lounge after homeroom ends."

Yamauchi stood up and started running towards me while throwing a punch at me.

"Yamauchi! Stop!"

He couldn't stop.

"What are you doing, Yamauchi?!"

He didn't know what he was doing.

"You have to calm down, Yamauchi!"

He couldn't calm down.

He ran straight towards me at his full speed.

There it is . Desperation.

I easily dodged it, but he continued. He continued throwing punches, but they were slow, almost like he was fighting in slow motion.

Desperation. A state of despair, typically one which results in rash or extreme behavior. Even when completely stuck, humans find a way to convince themselves of an exit. They're able to find a glimpse of hope in their hopelessness.

Rashness, recklessness, wildness. Loosing all common sense, they convince themselves to resort to violence. In the most desperate of cases, they let go of their logic and obey to their instincts. After all, for a long time, humans have always believed in the law of the strongest. It was believed that those who are physically strong, are those who have right to do what they want, and those who are weak, are those would should suffer what they deserve.

But shouldn't that be nonsense? The strongest should never be strong enough to always remain lord and superior. There should always come a time, when someone stronger than you will appear.

However, for me...

I am yet to meet that person.

After a while I finally decided to catch his fists, I pushed him onto the ground and stepped on him.

"It seems like there's a misunderstanding here, Yamauchi," I said to him while staring into his eyes.

"Do you think you can resolve this situation with violence?"

He said no words. No words could come out of his mouth.

"Consider this a warning. You have no one to blame but your idiotic selves. Next time, I won't be saving you," I told both Ike and Yamauchi.

"Next... time?"

I released my foot and let him go. Everyone in the class was comprehensively confused by what I had said.

Thank you, Ike and Yamauchi...

For helping me satisfy my curiosity.

"Sensei, sell me one point to add to Yamauchi's English score."

Author's Notes

And boom! That's the end of chapter 3!

Hope you liked it!

Is Kiyotaka a sadist?

Kiyotaka decides to save both of them. He assumes that if he were to not do so, it would cause problems as Horikita knows he has enough points.

On an unrelated note, is Kiyotaka 15 years old or 16 years old when he starts at ANHS?

As usual, a few short stories will follow before chapter 4 begins!

See you then!

SS. 6 - Conflict And Reconciliation

After homeroom, Chabashira-sensei left, while most of the class could not comprehend what had just happened. They stared at me in confusion. I didn't mind them and looked out the window.

"What the hell, Ayanokouji?! You had enough points since the beginning?" Ike said.

"Why did you make us go through all that?" Yamauchi agreed.

Everyone was visibly confused. If I had enough points since the beginning, what was the point of all that? But like I said, this was some sort of experiment. An experiment to observe human behavior.

"Should I not have saved you two?" I asked them.

"No... but... that was uncalled for dude!"

"Man! You really had me pissed off!"

Right after, the teacher came and first period started.

After class ended for the day, I expected Hirata to go on the podium to give a speech.

But it seemed like he was the most broken one.

"WHAT THE HELL AYANOKOUJI!?" he visibly let out the frustration he's been holding back.

"Hirata, calm down..." Karuizawa said.

"How can I calm down?! Did you see what he did?!"

I saw him looking at me but I looked away.

"ARE YOUR CLASSMATES NOTHING MORE THAN TOYS FOR YOU?" Hirata screamed.

This is awkward.

"I said I would take care of them, right?" I silently said.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!?"

People in our class tried to calm him down.

"Hirata... chill..."

"Stop it, Hirata..."

"Calm down dude..."

"That time of the month again?" I heard someone mutter.

"Are you guys not feeling the same as me? How can he play around with our emotions like that as if we're nothing but dirt to him?" Hirata said.

"Ayanokouji... we all know who you are, but don't go thinking you're more powerful than the class! Took care of them? DON'T GIVE ME THAT CRAP! WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU CAN TOY AROUND WITH YOUR OWN CLASSMATES LIKE THAT?"

Hirata, you're a fool.

"Dude, Hirata, you're going too far," Ken said.

"Yeah, jeez," Akito said.

"HOW ARE YOU GUYS SIDING WITH HIM? DON'T YOU GUYS REALIZE WHAT HE DID?"

"Why couldn't you step in, Hirata?" I asked him.

"Me? I didn't have enough points, there was no way I co-"

"Then why are you mad at me, when you, Hirata, Class D's so-called leader, did absolutely nothing to help your classmates out? Your classmates that are apparently so valuable to you?"

"That's... I-"

What is a direct method you can use to wake someone up? Gently nudge them from side to side? Make a little bit of noise? No, you dump ice cold water on them.

Wake up Hirata. You're a weak, naive, and useless class leader.

"Are you blaming me for your own inability to take action for the class? I did what I said I would. I avoided their expulsion. How I did it doesn't change the end result. One could even say I put them back on the right track. On the other hand, what did you do? You sat back and just watched. Now, isn't that a sign of weakness for someone who wants to be a class leader? Are you foolish enough to not recognize your own incapacity and indecisiveness? Please, Hirata, think before you speak."

Hirata could not say a word.

With that, I got up and left the classroom.

That same night, I received messages from the Ayanokouji Group.

Ayanokouji Group
8:32 PM

[Yo Kiyotaka, I know things are a bit awkward right now, but I need to say something]
[I don't really like how you did things... but that was kind of... badass...]
[In the end, you saved our classmates, and that's what matters, so you have my support](Ken)

[I agree with Ken](Airi)

[You have the Ayanokouji Group behind your back, Kiyopon!](Haruka)

[Yeah! While other might be Team Hirata, we are Team Kiyotaka!]
[You gave those idiots a good wake-up call](Akito)

[Thanks guys]
[Maybe I got carried away a bit]

[Let's grab lunch together tomorrow! What do you guys say?](Haruka)

[For sure!](Akito)

[Count me in!](Ken)

[Yay!](Airi)

[Sure]

[So...](Ken)

[...](Akito)

[Who's paying?](Haruka)

[Ki...](Ken)

[Yo...](Akito)

[PON!]
[THANKS FOR VOLUNTEERING KIYOPON!](Haruka)

[Hihi](Airi)

[I guess I have no choice]
[Lunch's on me]

If the books don't lie, I think this is what one would call a friend group.

The next day, Horikita still didn't come to class. She hasn't texted me to ask me about the midterms. I guess the apple juice was really effective.

Chabashira-sensei also sent me an email. Ike and Yamauchi both originally scored 39 and 36 respectively, meaning I had to pay an additional 500,000 points as was said on the contract. I completed the points transfer this morning before leaving my room.

Before homeroom began, Hirata went on the podium.

"Can everyone please listen to me? I would like to apologize for my behavior yesterday. The truth is, my emotions took over, and I can't help but regret what I said. I would also like to personally apologize to you, Ayanokouji. You don't have to forgive me, but know that I regret what I said."

"Don't worry, Hirata, I guess maybe I was a bit too cruel too."

Hirata smiled. "The truth is, nobody got expelled, and we can only thank Ayanokouji for that, although I would like to avoid such acts in the future."

The class attentively listened to him.

"Arguing right now won't get us anywhere. I want us to use this opportunity to regroup and form even stronger bonds than before. What do you guys say? Let us become a new and improved Class D. I promise I will become a better leader."

"Yeah!"

"Hirata's right!"

Hirata received words of encouragement. I saw the Ayanokouji Group looking at me and giving me thumbs ups. With the matter settled, homeroom began, and it wasn't long until lunch came.

The Ayanokouji Group decided to just head over to the cafeteria.

"Hey, if we're going to the cafeteria, can't you guys pay for your own food?" I asked.

"Nope, Kiyopon. A promise is a promise. Don't act as if you don't have any points."

"Yeah, don't go back on your word, dude. If you can pay 200,000 points to avoid expulsion, you can pay us lunch at the cafeteria."

"Hey, that luxury set looks tasty."

"Thank you for treating us to lunch, Kiyotaka."

We all ordered and sat down around big table.

"Say... isn't it great that Hirata apologized?" Haruka said.

"Yeah, I was hoping that argument wouldn't tear our class apart!" Ken replied.

"Yeah, it was nice to see Hirata apologizing," Airi said. It seems like she's getting along well with us, she seems to be less and less hesitant when talking.

"Let's hope this is the moment our class starts to climb the rankings!" Akito continued.

"Yeah!" they collectively cried out.

"Guys."

"W-what's the matter, Kiyopon?"

"Yeah... are you pissed off or something?"

"What's wrong..."

"Dude, you're creeping me out..."

They all looked at me. Is my monotonous voice that scary?

Sigh.

"Let's go get some ice cream after."

SS. 7 - A New Beginning

On Tuesday night, I decided to text Horikita.

Horikita

[Are you sick?]

[Yes, I don't know what happened, but I've had really painful stomach aches so I wasn't able to come to school this week]
[How were the midterms results?](Horikita)

[We all did pretty well, you got 100 in all five subjects]

[That's good to hear]

[Ike and Yamauchi's English scores were one below the passing grade]

[What?]

[Yeah...]

[They got expelled?]

[No]

[Tell me exactly what happened. Right now.]

[Ok]
[So basically Ike and Yamauchi both got failing grades in English]
[So I just bought points for both of them]

[Wait? Buy test points?]

[Yes, remember when the teacher said we could buy anything at this school?]
[Well, literally anything can be bought]
[So I bought them the necessary points
[Each points costs 100,000 points]

[So you used up 200,000 points?]

[Yes]
[The other students didn't have enough points]

[Well... thanks for saving them I guess]

[No problem]

[If only I was there]
[Then you wouldn't have to spend so much]

[Yeah]
[But I still have a lot of points though]

[How did the class react?]

[They thanked me for saving them]
[They decided to all start working together as a class]
[In hopes of climbing the ranks]

[I suppose that's good then]
[I guess I really missed a lot of things]
[I think I'll come to school tomorrow]

[Ok]
[I don't have anything else to tell you]
[See you tomorrow]

[Ok]
[See you tomorrow]

"Horikita! You're back!" Kushida rushed over to Horikita when she entered the classroom.

"Welcome back, Horikita," Hirata said, "Did you hear about what happened?"

"Yes, Ayanokouji explained everything to me. I'm sorry I couldn't be here."

"Don't worry Horikita, it's not your fault," Hirata said.

"Yeah! It already happened, don't feel so sorry," Karuizawa supported her.

"I'll try my best to not get sick anymore," Horikita promised the class, "I'll do anything I can to help out the class whenever help is needed."

"Thanks Horikita," Hirata smiled.

With that, morning classes flew by, until it was time for lunch.

"Um... Ayanokouji."

I turned my head to see Ike and Yamauchi facing me. That was not something I was used to seeing every day.

"What is it?"

"Look, we don't like how you treated us, and we won't forgive you but we realize that we're in no place to talk. We promise that from now on, we won't make the same mistakes we did back then. You won't ever have to help us like that ever again! You're looking at a brand new Ike and Yamauchi!"

"Good for you guys. I look forward to how you'll behave from now on."

"Thanks, Ayanokouji. Well, that's all we wanted to say. See you!"

It'll be interesting to see how Class D works together in these upcoming months.

SS. 8 - Sudou Ken: Saved From Suspension

I've always loved basketball. When I entered this school, I had already decided to join the Basketball Club to keep playing the sports I loved.

Everything is going so well right now.

I've made friends. Kiyotaka, Akito, Airi, Haruka. We call each other the Ayanokouji Group.

I'm also slowly becoming a regular on our basketball team. Coach said I might play a big role in the upcoming tournament. Man, that has me all hyped up!

Today, after basketball practice, I was about to head home when three of my teammates, Ishizaki, Komiya and Kondou came over and talked to me.

"Yo, Sudou."

"What?"

"Come with us for a second. Let's have a talk outside."

"Okay."

I mean, I guess I'll hear them out.

They took me to a building next to one of the gyms.

"So? What did y-"

Ishizaki pushed me onto the wall.

"What the hell dude?" I said.

"Come on, let's fight. Don't tell me you're chickening out."

"Yeah, Sudou. Come on, show us what you got."

A side of me didn't want to get in a fight right now. But a bigger side of me wanted to smash their faces into pieces. Who do they think they are? Talking to me like that? I stood there, saying nothing.

"Oh? Are you scared, Sudou?"

"What's wrong? We'll just hit you first then."

I dodged their punches. I've had enough. I charged towards them but I stopped when I heard someone.

"Stop it, Ken!"

I stopped in my tracks. I looked around me to see where the voice came from. It was Airi. I don't know what she was doing here, but she saw what was happening, and decided to step in.

"What the hell? Someone's here?" Komiya said.

"Damn it, let's go guys," Kondou agreed.

"Screw this, I really wanted him to get expelled, that bastard," Ishizaki said as all three of them left the building.

Wanted me expelled? Did they try to... set me up?

I was left alone with Airi.

"Ken... are you okay?"

If it wasn't for Airi's intervention, I would've definitely started a fight with those three. Who knows what would've happened then? I was such a fool, I got lured into their trap just like that because of my fiery attitude. Damn it.

"Thank you, Airi, I appreciate you coming out and helping me."

Now that I think about it, it must've taken a lot of courage for Airi to raise her voice like that. I'm really glad I became her friend through the Ayanokouji Group.

"I guess... I just wanted to help a friend," Airi said when smiling. Her smile was really cute.

I really need to work on myself. I need to fix my bad-tempered attitude. Just as I thought I was making progress in doing that, I almost made a mess of myself again.

I want to keep playing basketball here. I am living the best life I could ever ask for. And I want to keep doing that.

If I keep playing basketball here, who knows what will happen in three years, maybe I can become a professional, an NBA player. I'm getting fired up just thinking about it.

I've decided. For the sake of my dream, I will do anything I can to stay in this school. I won't cause problems for anyone else. I won't stupidly become angry whenever someone provokes me. I won't do any of those things anymore.

I will keep pursuing my dream.

Author's Notes

Hey!

Third short story of the day... Summer break is really leaving me with nothing else to do.

That'll be the end of Chapter 3's series of short stories!

The whole trial thing didn't happen in this timeline. Airi came to the rescue! I thought this was the perfect opportunity to write a short story about Subro.

Anyway, that's it! Chapter 4 is coming up!

See you then!

Chapter 4. 1 - Forecast Of The Future

In June 1st, the class rankings got updated.

Class A - 1072 cp
Class B - 1009 cp
Class C - 617 cp
Class D - 85 cp

As a result of the rankings, Class D students received 8,500 private points, which obviously wasn't that much, but significantly better than the amount received in May.

On a side note, Class D and Class B formed an informal alliance. Ichinose and Kanzaki came to visit our class soon after the midterms were over.

The next month or so completely flew by. The class moved on from what happened on the day of the midterms results and started bonding together well, and, before I knew it, the end-of-term exams passed, and it was already the middle of July.

Nobody was expelled during the semester's final exams either, although Ike and Yamauchi were dangerously close to doing so.

I had already chosen not to get involved this time, and decided to dedicate my time to help the Ayanokouji Group study like I had done for the midterms.

Chabashira-sensei also mentioned that the next change in class points will be on September 1st, meaning we will also receive 8,500 private points for the months of July and August.

Recently, I had been told that Class C attempted to set up Ken after basketball practice. Three Class C students lured him into the special building, and tried provoking him. Luckily for us, Airi was near the scene, taking some photos, and the Class C students, noticing her presence as a witness, decided to leave Ken alone. Class C might become a troublesome opponent for Class D in the future.

Airi has become quite comfortable with the Ayanokouji Group. She has become good friends with the likes of Ken and Akito, who were seemingly polar opposites of her. Thanks to her, Class D avoided what could've been a major setback.

However, after knowing about the three Class C students that tried to set up Ken, I could tell it wasn't them who planned this. Ishizaki, Komiya, and Kondou can't possibly think of doing something like this. This all seems like there was someone else pulling the strings. Class C's leader.

I asked to meet Arisu to ask her about Class C's leader. I'm sure she knows about him. Arisu wanted us to meet up at the nearby café at lunch.

When lunch came, I walked over to the café. That's when I realized something.

This café was filled with girls. The only boys that were here were all hanging out other girls. In short, no boy would dare to come here by himself. Did she decide to come here with me on purpose?

"Kiyotaka, are you trying your best to imitate a statue?"

"Oh, hey Arisu."

It seems like I was so lost in my thoughts that I was standing still at the entrance. I walked besides Arisu, when I noticed people staring at us and talking about us.

"Hey, is that Sakayanagi with Ayanokouji?"

"That's a weird combination."

"What do you mean? They look so cute together!"

I could see Arisu grinning from my peripheral vision.

After we ordered our food, we sat down at a table for two.

"Are you getting along with your classmates, Kiyotaka?" Arisu asked me.

"Yeah, I have no problems with them. In fact, they seem to have taken a liking to me."

"That's not good, Kiyotaka... they might come to hate you when you leave their class fufufu."

"They won't hate me."

"Fufufu... I wouldn't be so sure about that, Kiyotaka. Well anyway, what did you want to talk about?"

"Do you know who Class C's leader is?"

"Class C's leader, huh? Yes, I do know him. I'll let you know that my information network is quite impressive. What would you like to know about him?"

"Well, what do you know about him?"

"Fufufu, I guess I'll tell you what I know. Ryuuen Kakeru. An infamous delinquent. He's Class C's leader, although he leads not by trust, but by fear. He has quite the fearsome reputation, because he has a group of henchmen who do his dirty work. He also has a bodyguard. I've heard that he possesses a rather sadistic nature and loves causing trouble for others. You can view him sort of like a tyrant."

"Interesting. Arisu, has your class been attacked by Class C?"

"Attacked?"

"Yes. One of my classmates got set up by three Class C students a while after the midterms. They were provoking him and wanted to get a reaction out of him. Luckily for us, there was a witness, so the three students quickly left the scene, leaving no harm done."

"It certainly does seem like he was behind the scenes."

"That's what I was thinking. Everything felt way too organized for it to be a simple provocation."

"I agree with you. However, as far as I know, Class A hasn't been attacked by Class C as of now. Of course, who knows whether or not they will make a move on us in the future? It's better to be wary of Class C, they're more dangerous than Class B. They like to use dirty tricks to their advantage, remember that, Kiyotaka."

"Understood. Thanks for hearing me out and telling me the information I needed."

"You know, Kiyotaka, I'm waiting for you to join our class. It's boring here. I hope all this wait will be worth it."

"Arisu, it hasn't even been one semester since school started."

"I know... fufufu. But you know you can just pay points to transfer to Class A, right? The price is 20 million private points, but I can arrange that for you if you want to."

"Don't worry about me, Arisu. You don't need to help me."

"Don't you dare get expelled before joining my class, Kiyotaka," she said with a more serious tone, "What you plan on doing with that class of yours?"

"It's a bit complicated."

"Does it have something to do with your role as Vice-President?"

"Perhaps."

"Fufufu... you're so interesting, Kiyotaka. Please, tell me more."

"I can't. I will ask you this first though..."

"Oh? Are you finally asking me out on a da-"

"What do you think happens if I suddenly changed classes?"

"Hmph... well, you'll be seen as a traitor. People in your class would start to hate you."

"Now, on the contrary, what do you think happens if my classmates start hating me?"

"They won't want you in your class anymore? So you're saying you planning on making your class hate you so that you can somehow use that to change classes?"

"Who knows? I can't tell you the exact details of my plan. Sorry."

"Fufu, don't worry, Kiyotaka. I've heard more than enough."

"How's your class coming along?"

"You see, our class is divided into two blocks. One follows Katsuragi, the other follows me. But I don't care about Katsuragi. What happens to Class A right now isn't my concern."

"Don't you want to take control over your class?"

"Of course, but up until now, there hasn't been an opportunity to do so. I suppose I'll just wait a little while longer. If only you were in Class A, Kiyotaka, then nobody would be supporting him. However, if things go as predicted, then he will naturally lose his spot as Class A leader."

"If the opportunity presents itself, I'll help you cement your place as Class A's leader."

"Fufufu... why thank you, Kiyotaka. Then I suppose m I should introduce you to my fellow followers soon. Meet me in the library after school."

"Sure. Well, if you don't have anything else to say, I suggest we end it here. Lunch break is almost over."

"Why don't we walk to class together? We're going in the same direction anyway."

"I guess so, let's go then."

"I'll be right behind you, Kiyotaka."

Arisu and I walked to the classrooms as lunch break ended.

"This is where we part ways, Kiyotaka. I had a fun time talking to you. Don't forget to come to the library this afternoon."

I simply nodded and walked over to Class D's classroom.

When class ended for the day, I started heading to the library.

"Ayanokouji, where are you going?"

I turned back to see Horikita talking to me.

"I'm heading to the library."

"What for?"

"Why do you need to know the exact details of my life?"

"Look, I don't know what you're up to. Ever since the midterms, you've distanced yourself from the class. What are you planning exactly?"

"I guess I just want enjoy a normal student life."

"Don't think I'll believe that. You should involve yourself more with the class, Ayanokouji. With you helping us, maybe we can climb up the rankings even more! Why are you trying to live a normal life? What exactly are your motives for scoring 50s on the entrance exam? Why aren't you using your abilities to help us?"

"Horikita, I'll tell you this just this once."

"What?"

"Don't pry into my life."

Horikita stood silent.

"Class D has the potential to climb up the rankings even without me, Horikita. You, Hirata, even Kushida are promising leaders who can take Class D forward. I'm not fit to help a class like Class D, Horikita. These students have mixed opinions about me, some are getting along with me, others are wary of me, that's the truth. Their opinion of me change with every move I make. Now, if you have nothing else to say to me, then I'll be going now. I'll see you tomorrow in class."

With that, I went to the library where I promised to meet Arisu and her followers.

When I arrived at the library, I was greeted by the same girl who took me to Arisu when I first met her.

"Hello Ayanokouji. Please follow me," she said as she lead me to a closed section of the library.

"Hey, Kiyotaka. You're late, what was holding you back?"

"I had to talk to a classmate."

"So there's the King himself. I see the princess has found her prince."

To Arisu's left was a boy with long blonde hair tied in a ponytail and blue eyes. I remember seeing his face somewhere. If I remember correctly, he finished second place in the hottest boy rankings. Hashimoto was his name.

"Fufu, indeed Hashimoto. Well, Kiyotaka. Let me introduce you to my two most reliable servants."

"I'm Kamuro Masumi. Nice to meet you, Ayanokouji. Arisu has told me great things about you."

"Hey there, I'm Hashimoto Masayoshi, at your service, King."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Ayanokouji Kiyotaka."

"Masumi, Hashimoto, look forward to serving Kiyotaka in the near future when he joins our class. For now, consider him as my ally. I expect you to help him as he wishes."

"Of course, princess."

"I'll do what I can, Arisu."

Impressive...

We exchanged a few more words, then we parted ways.

Looks like things will be more interesting than I thought.

"I'll be waiting for you, Kiyotaka."

Once in my room, I laid on my bed and thought about my plans.

So Arisu is waiting for me, huh?

But it's still too early. I need to be patient.

Just as I thought I had some peace. I received an email from the school.

All first-years will be boarding on a cruise ship in precisely a week. On August 1st at 5 AM, all first-years must assemble at the sports field to then take the bus to the port, where they will board the cruise ship.

Each individual is allowed one suitcase or bag. These will be checked before boarding. More details will be told once on the cruise ship.

Is this the vacation Chabashira-sensei told us about?

No, something about this feels off. Why are they not willing to tell us any details? If it was an actual vacation, one would think that we would tell us where we were going, how long the trip would last, and so on. But not even the minimum amount of details was said.

Well, there's no use thinking about all of this now. That time will come soon enough.

Author's Notes

The Deserted Island Arc is here!

How come they never talked about the end of the semester exams in the light novel or in the anime? They just talked about the midterms, then skipped to this arc after Sudou's case.

Also, due to plot convenience, Arisu will be on the cruise ship, even though she won't be able to participate in the special exam. She will take part in the Zodiac Exam.

Also, in this timeline, Kiyotaka hasn't met Ryuuen face to face yet. That will happen soon enough.

That's all I have to say for now.

Hope you enjoyed Chapter 4.1!

Take care!

Chapter 4.2 - Unfamiliar Territory

The endless summer sea. The infinite blue skies. The perfectly clear air. Here, in the midst of the Pacific Ocean, we didn't feel the intense midsummer heat, and the gentle sea breeze was relaxing, to say the least. For many, this was an oceanic paradise.

"Whoa! Would you look at that view!" Ike shouted, both hands raised high in the air.

Everyone in Class D was enjoying the view from the cruise ship's deck.

"This view is incredible! I'm honestly super moved right now!"

A group of girls led by Karuizawa came out from the ship's cabin. Karuizawa pointed out to the expansive ocean, wearing a radiant smile.

"Seriously, the scenery here is just amazing!"

Many thought of this as the beginning of summer vacation. After all, after overcoming numerous hardships, midterms, and the end-of-term exams, many were saw this as a reward from the school.

But I kept my guard up.

"Wow, Ken, you must be happy you didn't get expelled!" Yamauchi said.

"You're not one to talk, Yamauchi!" Ken chuckled. He was in a good mood. He had really changed for the better these past months. His short-tempered attitude was basically no more.

While we didn't receive many points this month, we all forgot about it for a moment. On this ship, everything was free of charge. We received the best of special treatment. The cruise liner and its facilities were of the highest quality. This ship was fully equipped with everything from fancy restaurants to a theater, and even an upscale spa. To think we're able to not worry about points on such a luxurious cruise ship seemed too good to be true.

They said this trip will last two weeks. The first week would be spent at a fancy summer lodge on a deserted island. The second week would be left for us to enjoy the cruise ship.

There is absolutely no way a government-sponsored school would allow first-year high school students to enjoy themselves like this for two weeks with no catch, though.

At 5 AM today, the first-year students had boarded buses and departed for Tokyo Bay. The passenger ships departed from the port once we arrived. After eating breakfast in the lounge, we were permitted to move freely around the entire vessel. We then boarded this cruise ship, where we're able to use any of the ship's facilities feee of charge.

Apparently, the school owned a small island to the south. Our destination.

"Attention, students. Please assemble on the deck. You will be able to see the island soon. This is a good time to take in some rather significant scenery."

What a strange announcement issued from the ship's PA. Barely anyone seemed to have given it a second thought though.

Students from other classes began assembling on the deck.

I went over to Hashimoto to talk to him.

"Hey, Hashimoto. Can you come with me for a second? I want to talk to you."

As we got off the boat, I was talking with the Ayanokouji Group.

Our homeroom teacher then greeted us.

"I will now start the roll call for Class D. When you hear your name, please respond loud and clear."

Chabashira-sensei started taking attendance, clipboard in hand, while simultaneously instructing us to form a line. She wore the same kind of jersey as her students. This atmosphere was more akin to training camp than summer vacation. Still, many students seemed relaxed and impatient.

"Oh, come on! I want my free time already! The sea is right in front of me!" Ike cried out.

Soon, a tall teacher stepped onto a prepared white platform. It was Mashima-sensei, Class A's homeroom teacher. He was well known for having a stubborn disposition. At first glance, he could easily be mistaken for one of those bodybuilder types. He was built like a professional wrestler, but he was actually quite intelligent.

"First, I would like to say that I'm happy you've arrived safely. However, it's unfortunate that one of you won't be able to participate in the planned activites due to illness."

While Mashima-sensei surveyed the students in silence, I could see that adults in uniform had started setting up some kind of special tent nearby. I also saw a computer and other equipment on a long table. This increasingly business-like set up didn't match the natural splendor around us at all, and many students looked confused.

"Well then. We shall commence the current academic year's first special exam."

"Huh? Special exam? What do you mean?"

It was safe to say almost everyone thought this was just a school trip, only to be hit by this surprise attack.

"The test commences now and lasts for one week, concluding on August 7th at noon. This test will determine if you can live on a deserted island together as a group. In addition, I should warn you that this special exam is both practical and realistic, designed based on real-world corporate training."

"Living on a deserted island. Does that mean we're not staying on the boat, but on the island?"

Some other students voiced their concerns.

"You are correct. During the test, you will not be allowed to board the ship without a suitably justifiable reason. It will be necessary for you to fend for yourselves on this island while you are here, from creating a place to sleep to preparing food to eat. Once the test starts, each class will receive two tents, and two flashlights. You will be provided with one box of matches. There is no limit to the amount of sunscreen you can have. Each student will be provided with one toothbrush. As a special case, girls will be allowed to have as many feminine sanitary products as they'd like, without any restrictions. Please ask your respective homeroom teachers for those. That is all."

With that, the teachers began distributing the items.

"Huh?! So we have to live like survivors on a deserted island?! I don't want to hear this kind of insanity! This isn't an anime or a manga or something! We can't all sleep together in just two tents! And what are we supposed to do about food in the first place? This is unbelievable!"

A few students complained. Developing skills of self-sufficiency on a deserted island, hunting wild animals, washing in the river, building bedding from tree branches, nobody could've imagined that the school would put us through a test like this.

The teachers encouraged the students to calm down.

"Even though we're calling it a special exam, there's no need to think about it in such unhappy terms. In the coming week, you can go swimming, or hold a barbecue. It wouldn't be a bad time for you to occasionally have a campfire and chat with friends, either. The theme of this special exam is 'freedom', after all."

Freedom, huh?

"As a major part of this special exam, we've decided to distribute 300 points to each class. By using your points well, you might be able to enjoy this week's special test just as you would a normal trip. We've also prepared a manual just for that purpose."

Mashima-sensei received a booklet that looked to be a few dozen pages thick from another teacher.

"This manual lists all of the ways you can obtain points. It also explains where to get drinking water and food, as well as essential necessities. If you wanted to have a barbecue, it explains how to prepare the equipment and ingredients. We also have numerous tools for you to be able to enjoy playing in the ocean to the fullest."

Gradually, the student's grim expressions grew calmer.

Mashima-sensei then went on to further explain the special exam.

We could use our points as we pleased. However, once the special exam period is over, each class' remaining points will be added to their total class points. Our point totals will reflect this change once summer vacation is over.

This explained a lot. In previous exams, they had measured things like our academic abilities. Naturally, higher ranked classes which generally had students with high level of academic ability, were at an advantage, while Class D was always at a disadvantage. However, this exam was designed in a way that didn't create a significant gap between Classes A and D.

In other words, this was the opportunity for Class D to catch up to the other classes. If they could endure this for one week, they could see a huge increase in points received. For them, this was their chance of getting closer to being the top class.

Each class will receive one copy of the manual. In the event where a student has to leave due to illness, there will be a thirty-point penalty to the class as a whole.

The student that was marked absent from this special exam was from Class A, so they will be starting with 270 points.

I looked towards where all the Class A students were, and I noticed that Arisu was absent. All first-years had to board the cruise ship, so I assume she was left behind and stayed on the cruise ship.

Each student had a wristwatch that tells us the time, checks our body temperature, our pulse, and even our movements. It was equipped with a GPS. In the case where something bad happened, this watch will notify the school. We could also press the emergency button if we were to ever find ourself in such a situation.

There will be a roll call on each day at 8 AM and 8 PM. In the event students are absent during one of these roll calls, five points will be taken for each student absent.

In the event a student is found guilty of an act of violence toward another class, robbing another class, or causing damage to another class' property, etc... the offending student's class will immediately be disqualified, and the individual will forfeit all of his or her private points.

Each class had to decide where their base camp will be, and the roll calls will be held there.

"Where's the toilet?"

"The toilet, huh? I was about to get to that point. If you want to use the bathroom, use this."

Chabashira-sensei grabbed one of the cardboard boxes from the stacked piles. She peeled off the packing tape and took out some collapsed cardboard.

"What the heck is that?" Ken asked.

"It's a basic toilet. Each class will be supplied with one. Please handle it carefully."

The girls were shocked, to say the least.

"Don't tell me we have to use that?!" Shinohara asked.

"No way..." Karuizawa was speechless.

"I don't even wanna look at it."

"Both the boys and girls will use it. But do not worry, it comes with a single button tent that you can use when you want to change. That way, nobody will be able to see you."

Chabashira-sensei then explained how to use it, but most of the girls were way too disgusted to listen carefully.

Shinohara and Ike then get into a heated argument.

"Calm down guys, now is not the time to argue. We will figure this out after Sensei finishes her explanations," Hirata intervened.

Chabashira-sensei then went on to explain some additional rules.

During this exam, we will be permitted to roam about freely, but there are several designated 'spots' on the island. In these spots, there is what's referred to as right of exclusive possession, and only the class that occupies that spot may exercise those rights. The class that obtains those rights is entirely free to determine how they wish to exercise them. However, these rights are only valid for a period of eight hours after being invoked, after which they are automatically revoked. That means that another class can acquire those rights at that time. Also, you gain one bonus point if you occupy a spot once. However, that point is provisional, and cannot be used during the test period. Therefore, bonus points are calculated and added to your total after the test has ended.

A specialized key card is required to occupy a spot. This key card can only be used by a designated leader.

Finally, the final and most important rule.

On the final day of the exam, each class had the right to guess at the identity of the other class' leader during roll call. If you managed to get it right, then you could obtain fifty points for each correct guess. Conversely, the other class would lose fifty points. Therefore, if your leader gets revealed during the test, you could lose a great number of points. In addition, a class whose leader had been found out would lose all of the bonus points.

However, for each incorrect guess, the class will suffer a fifty-point penalty.

One person must be chosen as the leader. The leader cannot be changed unless there's a justifiable reason. A key card stamped with the leader's name will be provided once a decision is reached, meaning that the leader's identity could be discovered if one managed to glance at the card.

Once Chabashira-sensei finished her explanation, Hirata immediately spoke up.

"Guys, let's think about who the leader should be after we figure out where our base camp will be. Let's decide that first. Do we camp somewhere around here, on the beach? Or do we go into the forest? We need to think carefully about our spot."

The manual included a simple map of the island, with only its size and the shape drawn. Things like the total area of the forest and the topography were completely unknown. It was more like a blank sheet of paper. A ballpoint pen had been give to us as well for the purpose of filling in the necessary parts ourselves.

"Hey Hirata-kun. Shouldn't we decide what to do about the toilet?"

"Hmm... well, in the manual it says that temporary toilets can be purchased and installed using our points."

The girls immediately gathered around the manual.

"We absolutely need it! I mean, I really don't like that we have to spend points... but if we don't, we literally can't survive!" Shinohara said.

A lot of the other girls agreed to Shinohara's remarks, while some boys were against the idea.

"Wait, twenty points? Just for a toilet?"

Some boys and girls then got into an argument.

Seems like this exam will be tougher than we thought...

"I think it's best if we delay this decision. Let's first find a spot for our base camp, otherwise the other classes might get the best spots. Sounds good to everyone?" Hirata said.

Everyone agreed. Seems like Hirata had become quite the leader. Meanwhile, I just stood back and watched the scenes unfold.

After that, everyone decided to head into a forest to look for a spot for our base camp. It was probably Class D's lucky day, because after a short while, we came across a spot next to a river.

"Wow! Look at this place!"

"This is amazing!"

"Let's install our base camp here!"

With that, we decided to install our base camp here. Now, all that was left was for the class to chose a leader.

"So, who should be the leader?" Hirata asked.

"Isn't it obvious? It should be you!" Karuizawa said.

"Yeah! You're the class leader, so you should have the key card!"

I decided not to say anything, I looked at Horikita who was standing next to me, and it seemed like she felt the same way.

"Okay, I would like to hear other people's thoughts... what do you think, Kushida?"

"I'm fine with Hirata-kun being our leader!"

"Yeah let's all trust Hirata-kun!"

"Yeah!"

"Horikita?"

"I don't have any objections."

"Ayanokouji?"

"No objections from me."

With that, Hirata became our leader. After receiving the key card, we secured the spot next to the river.

"Alright!"

"This spot is ours!"

"What should we do about the toilet?"

"We don't need it!"

"Of course we do!"

"Guys stop arguing," Hirata said, "Look, I understand that nobody wants to spend 20 points, but isn't it better for the girls' peace of mind to have a toilet they feel comfortable using? The last thing we want is to build up stress and anxiety within our class. Do you guys agree?"

"Yes!"

"I guess that makes sense."

"Fine, I guess we can buy one temporary toilet."

"Then it's decided."

With that, we called Chabashira-sensei and installed the temporary toilet. After that, we started building our base camp along the river. However, one person was sitting on top of a tree.

"Kouenji, come on! Help us out, will you!?" Ike screamed.

"Ah ha ha! A perfect existence like me shouldn't get involved in such useless activities. This exam is far from interesting, don't mind me, I'll be doing just fine on my own!"

He's definitely heading back to the ship...

"Hey, Hirata. I plan on exploring the island. Can I bring the map and the pen so that I can mark out any interesting spots?"

"Sure, Ayanokouji. Make sure to come back before the evening roll call."

With that, I ran into the forest and started exploring the island by myself.

It's time to begin.

Author's Notes

Most of the explanation of the special exam is the same as in the LN. This chapter is mostly just explanation about the exam.

What's Kiyotaka up to?

To clear things up:
In the previous chapter when Arisu said she was 'bored' and wanted Kiyotaka to join her class, she's bored not because of the class battles. It's in the sense that she's bored because she wants to talk to him and be with him more often, if that even makes sense. In this timeline, Arisu doesn't want to battle Kiyotaka like in the LN, instead she wants to team up with him (as stated in SS. 2) and dominate ANHS with him (whether Kiyotaka wants this too is unknown). Hope this helps.

Find out more in the next chapter!

See you then!

Chapter 4.3 - The Puzzle Pieces

I was exploring the island when I spot a cave near the mountains. It looked like a potential spot. I moved around near the entrance of the cave, trying to make as much noise as possible. If this was another class' base, then someone would probably hear this noise and come out of the cave to check out the source. I then saw Katsuragi come out, with a key card in his hands.

"Katsuragi, what are you doing out here?"

Another student come out of the cave. Yahiko Totsuka. He's one of Katsuragi's most loyal followers.

"Just looking to see if anyone's spying on us. I don't think there is anyone though."

"Everyone is probably is setting up their base."

"You're right."

They then head back into their base.

Although Katsuragi had a card in his hand, I doubt he's the leader. Katsuragi is not a careless man.

Arisu told me about Katsuragi and his followers. He definitely isn't the type to perform such careless acts. He is a serious man who adheres to the rules of manners and good conduct. He is also calm and intelligent. Taking into account that information, he wouldn't so obviously show his key card, meaning that it is likely that he is not the leader.

Since Arisu isn't taking part in this special exam, I assume Katsuragi took charge of his class. The decisions Class A take will probably be based on him. Therefore, I would guess that Class A's leader is his most trusted follower, Totsuka. However, that's not really what I was here for. I just wanted to explore the island to have a good idea of where each base camp was located.

I left Class A's base and roamed around, until I came across Class C's base, which was on a beach.

A zero-point strategy?

Class C had already spent visibly all of their points on luxuries. Some students were playing volleyball on the sand, others swam in the ocean, and others were laying down on beach chairs.

I quickly left before they spotted me.

With that, I left Class C's base camp. All I needed was to find Class B and their base camp to complete my mission for this scouting session. Class A's base was the closest to ours, on the East side. Class C's was situated towards the Nord part of the island. Therefore, Class B's was probably towards either the center or the West side, as the South was where we started.

I quickly sprinted through the forest while looking at my map which I had marked with the other classes' base camps. Before I knew it, I came across Class B's camp, which was indeed on the very West side of the island.

"Oh hey, Ayanokouji-kun!" Ichinose called out.

"Hey, Ichinose. I came by to visit your base camp, is that fine with you?"

"Of course!"

"Hello Ayanokouji," Kanzaki greeted me with a suspicious tone.

He doesn't trust me at all.

"Come on, Kanzaki. Can't you be a little more friendly towards Ayanokouji-kun?" Ichinose smiled. Luckily, my relationship with Ichinose more or less came back to normal after Nagumo's expulsion. After all, I had promised to help her, and she had done the same. Class D had also established an alliance with Class B a little while after the midterms, but Kanzaki seemingly isn't a fan of the alliance. No, he isn't a fan of me.

"I can't. He gives me bad vibes. I'll be going now."

"Sorry, Ayanokouji-kun."

"Don't worry, Ichinose. Seems like you guys have quite a solid spot."

"Yeah, we got quite lucky. You know, Ayanokouji-kun, I'm glad things worked out between us even after the... incident. Even though I haven't quite forgiven you yet, I realized I've always enjoyed talking to you and hanging out with you."

"Yeah, but now that I think about it, it's been a while since we last talked."

"You're right about that. Anyway, have you visited the other classes' bases too?"

"Yeah, I saw Class C's base camp, and I also saw Katsuragi and Class A's base camp."

"Already? It's only been a little more than two hours since we started! Just how fast are you!?"

"Well, I guess I am pretty fast. Anyway, I've also come to tell you about this. Be careful about Class C, Ichinose. I'm warning you. Ryuuen plays dirty tricks. Based on what I've been told about him, I wouldn't be surprised if he sends someone to spy on each class in hopes of figuring out their leader. If any Class C student comes here, be wary of them. Tell this to Kanzaki."

Kanzaki is probably the only one in Class B that would not hesitate go against Ichinose's self-destructive generosity.

"Sure. The truth is, I've heard bad things about Ryuuen too. I'll make sure to tell Kanzaki what you said to me."

"Thanks. I'll be going now, I need to head back for lunch."

"Thanks for visiting Ayanokouji-kun!"

"Hey, Ayanokouji, welcome back!" Hirata greeted me when I came back to our base camp, "So, how was it?"

"I've marked out the key areas of this island. I marked out the base camps of all the other classes. As well as all the spots I've come across."

"Ayanokouji... this is incredible! Guys, come take a look at this."

The class grouped around us.

"Is this... the map?"

"Are all of those spots?"

"How fast did you go to travel all this distance?" Horikita asked.

"Pretty fast."

"You're awesome, Ayanokouji!" Kushida said.

"Yeah! With this map, we can get a hold of a bunch of spots!"

"Are you hungry, Ayanokouji? We made some food. Ike took us to a great fishing spot, he said that he's very familiar with the outdoors."

"I'll gladly take some food, thanks."

In the afternoon, we split up into groups. Kushida's group was in charge of gathering fruits or vegetables.

Hirata spent the afternoon going to the spots near our base camp and claiming them. He was accompanied by me, Ken, Miyacchi, and a few other people. I initially thought that anyone could claim a spot as long as they had the keycard, but there was a camera on the invocation site, which probably meant that only the leader could claim the spot with his keycard. Therefore, it was up to Hirata to travel distances to claim spots. But he couldn't go alone, because if someone were to see him, they would immediately identify him as the leader.

The evening came and we regrouped at our base camp for the roll call. However, one person was missing.

"Hey, where's Kouenji?"

"Yeah, now that I think about it, I haven't seen him in ages."

"Kouenji retired from the special exam," Chabashira-sensei said, "He went back on the cruise ship this afternoon."

"What?"

"Are you kidding me?"

"As a result, Class D will suffer a thirty-point penalty."

The class erupted.

"That bastard!"

"What the hell? We lost thirty points because of that narcissistic guy?"

Kouenji's retirement wasn't unexpected at all. Since the very beginning, he showed no interest in participating in the exam.

"It's too late to complain. Let's just earn those thirty points back," Horikita said.

"Right."

"Horikita's right!"

If this was Class D from two months ago, then everyone would've continued complaining. However, the class as a whole had matured after the midterms. Now, every time the class was in chaos, all that was needed was someone to calm everyone down. They definitely weren't the immature defects they were in April.

After the evening roll call and dinner, everyone decided to rest well and sleep.

The next day, after the morning roll call. Hirata spoke to us.

"Hey, everyone, please listen for a moment. So far, everything is going really well. So let's continue doing exactly what we're doing! Let's get some class points!"

"Yeah!" the others collectively cheered.

"Kushida," I called her over.

"What? Are you going to boss me around again?"

"Yes."

After I told her what she had to do, she started acting.

"Guys! How about we split up into groups like yesterday? I think the groups worked out fine, but I think we should continue scouting the island. Since Ayanokouji did such a good job by himself yesterday, I suggest he should do the same again today! Let's leave the scouting to him, what do you guys think?"

"Great idea, Kushida!" Hirata agreed.

"Let's get going!" Karuizawa followed.

"Yeah!" Ken was hyped up.

"Take care, Kiyopon!" Haruka said to me.

"I will."

With that, I quickly left our base camp to meet with a certain someone.

"Hey Hashimoto."

"Hey hey King."

"I'm glad you could come meet me."

When the cruise ship was going around the island, it traveled at incredible speed, faster than a cruise ship would typically travel. When I called Hashimoto over, I asked him to meet me on the second day, precisely at this time, at this spot. I had pointed to this spot on the cruise ship when the ship was going around the island.

Now, I planned to use this exam to take down Katsuragi, as part of the promise I made to Arisu.

"Hashimoto, do you know the name of Class A's leader?"

"Haha, the princess told me she knew you would ask me this. Of course I do. Are you planning on taking down Katsuragi?"

"Yes, if all goes to plan. the Class A led by Katsuragi will lose its spot as Class A and he will inevitably lose his classmates' trust. Would you tell me who Class A's leader is?"

"Sakayanagi trusts you, so I have no reason to refuse. The leader is Yahiko Totsuka."

"Thanks, Hashimoto. Now, I also wanted to ask you this. How is Katsuragi tackling this exam?"

"Well, he's going on the defensive, to say the least. He plans on playing it safe and protecting Class A's lead in the class rankings. I should let you know that he's made a deal with Ryuuen. He wants Ryuuen to tell him the names of the other classes' leaders in exchange for private points. How many private points, that I don't know. As a result, Class D and Class B will probably be targeted by Class C."

"I see. That's incredible information, thanks Hashimoto. Unfortunately, that's not going to work."

"Ha ha! I know right! This is so exciting, the Sakayanagi Fraction will rise to the top of Class A!"

"However, if Class A gets demoted to Class B, would you guys be fine with that?"

"Yeah, of course. Sakayanagi predicted this would happen. I also fully trust her and I'm sure she'll lead us back to the top again. If you decide to join our class soon, then it'll be game over for the other classes."

"Seems like you have quite the high expectations."

"Can you blame me? Everyone knows about you, Ayanokouji. Your abilities are unreal. It's a shame that you're in Class D."

"I wouldn't say that. Class D is interesting."

"Is that so? I suppose you have your reasons to believe that. Then, I guess I'll be going now. Do we need to meet again before the end of the exam?"

"That won't be necessary. I'll see you on the final day then. Also, protect Totsuka at all costs. Follow him wherever he goes. If he falls sick or gets injured, Class A would have to change leaders, don't let that happen. I'm trusting you."

"You got it, King. See you."

We bid farewell and I head over to my next destination, Class B's base camp.

"Hey, Ayanokouji-kun!" Ichinose and Kanzaki walked over to me with a bright smile on her face.

"Hey, Ichinose."

"What brings you here?" Kanzaki asked.

"Yahiko Totsuka is Class A's leader. On the final day, I want you to guess him as Class A's leader."

If both our classes guess Class A's leader correctly, they'll suffer a hundred-point penalty and all their bonus points would be removed.

"What? Where did you get that information from?" Ichinose couldn't hide her shock.

"Someone from Class A betrayed his class and sold the leader's name to me."

"How can we know you're not lying? We'll lose fifty class points if you're wrong."

"Do you not remember? Class D and Class B have an alliance. I won't ruin this valuable alliance just for fifty class points. Look at it this way, this might be your only chance of overtaking Class A. Who knows what special exams await us in the future? One thing is for certain though, at the end of this exam, you guys can comfortably surpass Class A."

"What do you think, Kanzaki?"

"I mean... I somewhat agree, he does have a point. However, what happens if Totsuka is not the leader?"

"Then I'll drop out of school."

"What? No! You don't have to do that! We should believe him, right Kanzaki?"

"Hmm... well, if he's willing to put his school life on the line, I suppose we have no reason not to believe him."

"We'll listen to you, Ayanokouji-kun, but don't say you'll drop out of school like that! You don't have to promise us that! We'll do as you say."

"Right. For someone like you to say something so bold, I'll be a fool not to believe you. You don't have to put expulsion on the table. However, should you make us lose fifty class points, I will never forgive you."

"Of course. Thanks for being so understanding."

"We have to get back to work now, so see you Ayanokouji-kun!"

Don't disappoint me, Class B. When I join Class A, I hope you will put up a good fight.

Seeing that it was almost noon, I decided to head back to our base camp.

"Hirata."

"What is it, Ayanokouji?"

"I found out Class A's leader."

"Really?!"

"Don't make such a commotion. We shouldn't let this distract our class."

"Right, so, are you sure about who it is?"

"Yeah, Yahiko Totsuka. I want you to trust me and write his name on the final day of the exam."

Of course, there was always the possibility that Class A somehow change leaders if Totsuka falls sick, or gets injured, for example. However, knowing that their strategy is to use as less points as possible while not letting anyone find out who their leader is, I figured that possibility was unrealistic. They had no reason to change leaders. They were extremely well hidden, and Katsuragi isn't the type to make Totsuka fall sick or get injured on purpose, and with Hashimoto's protection, I can almost guarantee that he'll still be the leader on the final day.

"Okay... I trust you. What makes you so sure?"

"I saw his card with my own eyes."

"Really? I suppose that's enough proof then. I'll make sure to write his name."

"Hirata, come look at this," Karuizawa interrupted us.

She brought us near the others where we saw a Class C student sitting in the distance next to a tree.

So that's his plan, huh?

Ibuki Mio. A girl with short blue hair and purple eyes. She is known to be skilled in combat, and has the knowledge of several skills that can rival those of many martial artists. She's part of Ryuuen's group. Anyone who took a step back would see that she's a spy.

"She said she got into a fight with her classmates and fled. Now she's seeking shelter here. What should we do?"

"What do you guys think? I think maybe we should take care of h-"

"Don't care about her," I quietly interrupted Hirata, "She's a spy from Class C."

"What?"

"What makes you think that?"

"Keep your voices down, or else she'll hear us. Now, listen, she's obviously a spy from Class C here to know of our leader's identity. Look at her, she has dirt in her nails, she probably hid something somewhere in the dirt. When I went to Class C's base yesterday, I saw her with Ryuuen. That being said, don't let her know of our suspicions. Play along for now, and make her think that I'm the leader, and not Hirata. Trust me on this."

"I think we should listen to Ayanokouji," Hirata said.

"That sounds like a good plan," Horikita agreed.

"Yeah... let's lure her into our trap."

"Yeah, we'll put on our best acting skills."

"Also, where did you guys find her?" I asked.

"Karuizawa found her when coming back from her task with her group."

"Should I bring you to the spot, Ayanokouji?" Karuizawa asked me.

"Not now, I'll probably go take a look tomorrow. Could you accompany me?"

"Sure. Just let me know when."

It seemed like that Ryuuen really likes to use dirty tricks.

If so, we'll have to fight back with dirty tricks of our own.

We let Ibuki into our base camp. Soon after, we ate lunch and spent the afternoon doing different tasks.

After the evening roll call, I went over to Chabashira-sensei.

"Sensei."

"What is it, Ayanokouji?"

"Just to confirm, if a student from a certain class is caught using violence against students from another class, their entire class will be disqualified, no matter the circumstances, correct?"

"Yes. In addition, that student will have to forfeit all of their private points."

"Thanks, Sensei...

That's all I needed to know."

Author's Notes

Hey!

The deserted island exam plot in this fan fiction will probably be quite different.
But either this'll turn out good or not, I'm not sure yet.

Kiyotaka's main objective in this exam is to take down Katsuragi's Class A, and as a result take down the Katsuragi Fraction.

Anyways, that's all for now, take care!

Chapter 4.4 - The Stage Is Set

I specifically told my classmates to make Ibuki believe I was the leader. However, that obviously wouldn't be enough. Thanks to Hashimoto, I knew that Class A and Class C made a deal. Katsuragi is a careful man, he wouldn't trust Ryuuen's words unless he could show proof.

Karuizawa took me to the place where they found Ibuki.

"Here it is, this is the place we found here."

"Thanks, Karuizawa," I said as I started digging.

"W-what are you doing?"

"Looking for something, there it is."

A camera, that makes sense. Ryuuen planned on making Ibuki take a photo with her camera to show Katsuragi the proof.

"A camera? Why?"

"I told you Ibuki was a spy. She planned on taking a photo of our key card with this camera."

"No way..."

"Did you bring a water bottle like I asked you to?"

"Yeah, here."

I poured water into the camera.

"Good, it's broken now. She won't be able to use it to take photos."

"Nice one, Ayanokouji! It's great seeing you help out the class!"

"It's the least I can do."

I put the camera back exactly as I was before and went back to camp with Karuizawa.

"You're actually, like, really cool, Ayanokouji. You know, I was really scared of you at first, but you're actually, like, super nice."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah! I mean, everyone in the class thought the same. But luckily they all had the wrong image of you."

"I suppose so. Say, Karuizawa, you and Hirata aren't really dating right? What I mean is, you're pretending to date him to protect yourself."

Karuizawa stopped in her tracks.

"H-how did you know?"

"It's been a while since you guys apparently started 'dating', but you still call each other by your last names. So I figured it was all an act."

"Well, I guess there's no point in lying anymore. Yes, we are not actually dating."

"I thought so. Are you that insecure, Karuizawa? What happened to you in the past?"

"N-nothing."

"Let me guess. Were you bullied perhaps?"

Karuizawa turned pale. She started putting her hands on the side of her body.

I grabbed hold of her and lift her shirt a bit.

"Stop! W-what are you doing?"

"So that's your dark secret, huh?"

There was a big scar across the side of her body. This could've been a result of her being bullied in the past, but it's uncertain. I let go of her as she seemed completely hopeless.

"Listen, Karuizawa, this is only a temporary solution, and it's not an efficient one."

"W-what are you trying to say?"

"What I'm saying is. To get over your past, you can't keep trying to hide it. You have to simply face it head on. You can't hide behind Hirata's back forever. Why were you bullied, Karuizawa?"

"I was... insecure... sensible, and weak. My bullies that I was an easy target... and... soon after, they were after my body and sexually assaulted me..."

"Karuizawa."

"What?"

"Do you think your past determines who you are now? What makes you think you cannot change?"

I am truly a hypocrite.

Those words seemed to have awakened something with Karuizawa.

"D-Do you really think I can change?"

"Of course, it won't be that easy. But Karuizawa, this is the only way you can truly get over your past. Work on yourself, help the others, lead the others. Don't be mean to others as a way of protecting yourself. Don't act like how your bullies acted. You are you, Karuizawa. And only you get to decide who you are. I also suffered in my past, but I'm fine now, as you can see."

Am I really fine now? I wonder.

After a few seconds of silence, Karuizawa let out a sigh of relief.

"I suppose you're right. After all, you've suffered a much tougher past than me. I can't even imagine what you went through, but my past suffering is probably nothing compared to yours. I've decided. I'll do as you say. I'll work on myself. I'll become a better Karuizawa Kei."

"Good for you. Now, we should probably head back. Don't tell anyone about the camera, by the way."

"Yeah," she said as she put on a genuine bright smile, "Thanks, Ayanokouji. Looks like I owe you one."

Slowly but surely, Class D is starting to mature.

With that, we head back to our base camp.

"Welcome back, Ayanokouji, Karuizawa!"

"Did you guys find anything?"

"Nothing really," Karuizawa said as she noticed Ibuki attentively listening to our conversation, "I suppose our suspicions about Ibuki were wrong."

"I'm glad that's the case. Thanks for taking care of all this Ayanokouji. As expected from our chosen leader," Hirata said.

"Hirata, why don't we take tomorrow off to swim in the river. I think everyone deserves a break," I suggested.

"Yeah! That's a great idea! I'll let the others know."

"Sounds good."

Time flew by, and before we knew it. It was time for the evening roll call. After that, I decided to talk to Chabashira-sensei again.

"Sensei."

"What am I, your mom?"

"Tomorrow, I want you to come a little earlier than usual for the evening roll call. There's something I want you to see."

"Huh? Whatever you're planning, it better be worth it. I can't arrive here too early or else the other teachers might become suspicious of me."

"Don't worry. You won't be let down."

"I'm expecting great things, Ayanokouji."

"What in the world are they doing?"

"Are they serious?"

"What the hell?"

In the afternoon, a few Class D students visited Class C's base camp. It was safe to say all of them were confused by what they were witnessing.

Class C had spent all their points in luxuries. It was understandable that my classmates would be confused.

"Seems like we have visitors, kukuku."

A magenta-haired young man approached us. He was accompanied by a strong dark-skinned young man with sunglasses who looked like his bodyguard.

"Ryuuen."

Although I never met him face to face before, I knew what he looked like.

"What are you thinking, spending all your points like that?" Horikita asked.

"I do what I want, Suzune. This is the way we chose to tackle the exam."

"I don't remember giving you permission to use my first name."

"I don't need your permission, Suzune."

"A Class C student came to our camp yesterday. So that's how you assert dominance? Anyone who goes against you just gets beaten and thrown away," Horikita said.

"You should've seen the state she was in. I don't appreciate your methods, Ryuuen," Hirata followed up.

"Oh, Ibuki, huh? That was simply because she refused to obey me. Beating her up is an appropriate punishment."

The Class D students were disgusted by his words. Or at least, they pretended to be.

"This is ridiculous. We've been here for a minute, and I've already seen enough. Let's leave."

"Leaving the party so soon? Why don't you join us so that I can show you how to have fun," Ryuuen teasingly said.

"Gross," a few of the girls muttered.

Ryuuen turned his attention to me.

"So we finally meet, eh? Ayanokouji, I must say, on the outside, you don't even look that impressive after all, kukuku. I'll tell you this, when the time comes, I'll smash your face."

"Is that so?"

"But before that, I'll beat you at this little game. I'll let you know that you shouldn't estimate me."

"Sure."

"Tch. Every time I look at your face I want to beat you up."

"Let's go, Ayanokouji," Horikita said.

"Yeah, this guy's scary," Karuizawa agreed.

"Let's head back," Hirata said.

With that, we departed and left Class C's base.

Ryuuen, you said you will beat me at this little game.

However, I never considered you a player in the first place.

*

"Yeahhh! It's time to relax!"

"Finally a break!"

These past days, Ibuki stayed in our base camp. Although she was distant, we made sure to give her some hospitality. Today, she was sitting on a tree trunk close to the river.

We took today off to swim in the river like we planned. After yesterday's visit to Class C's base camp, everyone agreed to take today off.

Horikita, who didn't want to swim, was sitting between the two tents and watching over our belongings, along with a few other students who didn't want to swim.

"Horikita, watch this bag, there's my key card in it."

Noticing Ibuki looking at me, I put the bag where Horikita was and went back into the water.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ibuki wander off into the forest, towards the spot where Karuizawa's group had found her.

Everyone was enjoying there time in the water. Everyone was too distracted to notice Ibuki missing. A while after, she came back without anyone noticing. To everyone, it was as though she never left. Even Horikita, who was watching us, didn't notice.

Ibuki probably went to grab her camera, but after noticing that it didn't work anymore, she came back empty-handed.

I approached Hirata.

"Hirata."

"What is it, Ayanokouji?"

"Can we use some points to buy a camera?"

"What? Why?"

"Something incredible will happen tonight. Something that can help us climb the class rankings."

"Can you elaborate?"

I told him the exact details of my plan.

"W-what? Are you insane, Ayanokouji?"

"Who knows."

"This plan... if this works, then it'll be a huge boost for us. But is there no other way? I'm not a fan of these methods, Ayanokouji."

"This is without a doubt the best way, but it's quite risky. Are you willing to take the risk? Class C is more dangerous than we know, this is the best way to deal with them. If we pass on this opportunity, who knows what might happen in the future."

"You're right... But what makes you so sure this will all happen?"

"Because the reason I did everything I did up to this point in the exam was so that this exact situation could take place."

"Dude, you're scary, you know that?" Hirata chuckled.

"I guess. So what do you say?"

"Hmm... You have my permission."

"Thanks, Hirata."

With that, I got out of the water and changed into my clothes. I then head over to the starting point of the exam.

"Sensei."

"Ayanokouji, what is it with you again? Are you hitting on me?"

"Why would I do that?"

"Whatever, what do you want?"

"I'd like to buy a camera."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Okay, that'll be 10 points. I assume you have your class' permission?"

"Of course."

After she gave me the camera, I put it in a bag and head back to the base camp. Hirata looked at me, and I nodded. I put the bag with the camera in the boys' tent.

I head back into the water and went over to the Ayanokouji Group.

"Hey, Kiyopon! Where were you?" Haruka asked me.

"Yo Kiyotaka!" Ken cried out.

"The Masterpiece is here!" Akito followed.

"It's been a while, Kiyotaka," said Airi.

"I went to the starting point to discuss some things with Chabashira-sensei."

"Oh, about what?"

"Just some details about the exam."

"As mysterious as always, Kiyopon."

We continued chatting and relaxing in the water.

It was finally almost the moment I had been waiting for.

It was soon roll call. With Chabashira-sensei already here, everyone was outside of the tents, including Ibuki, who was still sitting where she always sat.

"Hirata, are you ready?"

"Yeah."

While Ibuki was paying close attention to me and my movements, Hirata hid behind some trees and set fire to the tents using the matches we got on the first day of the exam. I must say, that was quite unlike him. It seemed like I did a good job convincing him of this plan.

"Everyone watch out! There's a fire!" Kushida screamed.

"Ahhh!!"

"Our tents!"

"My clothes!"

"What the hell?" Chabashira-sensei said.

At this moment, I was standing behind the tents close to the bag that had Hirata's key card in it. This afternoon, I had put the bag at this specific spot, just for this moment.

Just as I expected, I sensed Ibuki approaching me from behind. After all, this was her only chance to grab a hold of the key. Using the chaos, she thought she could steal the key and escape.

I saw through all that. No, it would be wrong to say that. I made her think that this would be her only chance.

With her camera broken, Ibuki's only choice was to steal the key card. Otherwise, there'd be no proof of Class D's leader. As part of their deal with Class A, Class C promised to tell them the other two classes' leaders. This was her only way of getting that proof.

She had secretly approached me. I must admit, for any other person, this would've been unnoticeable.

However, unfortunately for her, I'm not any other person.

When she felt like she was near enough, she jumped and lunched a kick towards my head. As part of my act, I didn't dodge the kick, took the hit, and fell onto the ground, also acting like I was knocked somewhat unconscious. Of course, I was not, but that kick was definitely powerful enough to knock someone out and did hurt me.

"Tch... I thought you would put up more of a fight."

She then quickly grabbed the bag and started looking for the key card.

"What are you doing, Ibuki?"

Perfect timing, Hirata.

Hirata came out of the shadows, holding the camera in his hands.

It was night, so it was hard to see Hirata. What's more, Ibuki was so focused on not letting me notice her that she didn't focus on her surroundings. Also, even though it was dark, the light from the fire made it so that the camera could record the scene quite clearly. In other words, we had just recorded proof of an act of violence.

I stood up. My clothes were covered in dirt, my head drained in blood as I had hit a rock.

"That was a powerful kick, Ibuki."

"W-what? What the hell? And you! Where the hell did you come from?"

"That's enough, Ibuki. Thanks for helping us disqualify your class," I said.

Those words left Ibuki speechless.

"You..." she clenched her fists.

"What was that noise?"

"Ayanokouji? What happened to you?"

After hearing the noises we made, my classmates approached us.

"Ibuki!? What did you do to Kiyopon!"

"What's the meaning of this, Ibuki?" Chabashira-sensei said.

"I-I... it was an accident! I didn't mean for this to happen!"

"That's wrong, Sensei. We caught everything on camera," Hirata said.

"You bastards!"

"I see. Hirata, Ayanokouji, Ibuki, you're coming with me to the starting point. The rest of you, stay calm. The fire has stopped spreading for now, and help will arrive anytime now."

Just as we started to leave, help arrived and the fire was extinguished.

When we arrived, Hirata showed the video to Chabashira-sensei, who was shocked. Sakagami-sensei, Class C's homeroom teacher, was called and also came back. The other two teachers came back soon after.

"Oi, Sakagami. Your students sure do like to play dirty."

"Tch. Your students use even dirtier tricks."

"It's called cleverness, Sakagami. Seems like that's the end of your class' fun."

"I'm afraid Class C will have to be disqualified from the exam," Mashima-sensei said.

"Now now, this is quite the drama!" Hoshinomiya-sensei, Class B's homeroom teacher, said with excitement.

"Tell your class to pack up their things and head back to the cruise ship, Sakagami."

"Tch..."

"Ayanokouji, are you okay?" Hirata asked me, "Your head is covered in blood."

"You should get patched up, Ayanokouji. Go to the infirmary over there."

"Can you continue this exam?"

I knew you would ask me this, Hirata.

As soon as I heard this, I pretended to faint and fell and the sand.

Looks like my job here is done.

Author's Notes

Hey!

Disclaimer: Karuizawa will overcome her past mostly thanks to Kiyotaka's talking no jutsu. I'm not really motivated to write about her character development, as I think it would've been extremely similar to the LN plot, which is something I want to avoid as much as possible. Hope you understand.

Anyways, that's all! Hope you enjoyed this chapter nonetheless.

See you soon!

Chapter 4.5 - Declaration Of War And Love

"It's fine, Ayanokouji. You should retire from the exam. I'm sure the rest of the class will understand."

"Thanks, Hirata."

I retired from the exam, making Class D suffer a thirty-point penalty. However, I had successfully disqualified Class C, meaning the exam was now a battle between Classes A, B, and D. Classes B and D have an informal alliance, so it was essentially a two versus one situation.

It was late at night when I head back onto the cruise ship. After all, these events had happened around 8PM when the evening roll call was supposed to commence. By the time I was back in my room on the cruise ship, it was already past 9PM.

That was also when I realized Kouenji was one of my roommates.

"Ah ha ha! Welcome back, Masterpiece boy, seems like you made the right decision. It's a shame you ruined your close-to-perfect head by helping those idiots!"

"How are you spending your days on the ship, Kouenji?"

"Me? I've just been roaming around the ship as you can see. It's only right for a perfect existence like me to have this much freedom."

"I see. Well, I'm going to sleep."

"Rest well, Masterpiece boy. I'm sure dealing with those idiots hurt your brain in more ways than one! Ah ha ha!"

Arisu

[Meet me at the café on the fifth floor at noon]
[I want to talk to you]

[Ok]
[See you then]

The next day came, and Arisu and I decided to meet up at the cruise ship's café to discuss things. I still had a massive bandage on my head. The damage wasn't really from Ibuki's kick, but rather from the impact from when my head hit the ground.

"Oh my... Kiyotaka. Are headbands your new style? I must say you look goo-"

"I'm injured, Arisu. My head was covered in blood yesterday."

"Fufufu... I know what happened, Kiyotaka. I watched the scene from the TV in my room."

"You can watch the special exam on TV?"

"Yes, there's a channel connected to a camera that watches over the starting point at all times."

"So that means we can watch the results announcements on the final day as they happen."

"Yes. How about we watch them together? They'll likely be broadcasted on all the cruise ship's TVs. We can also watch them in my room, fufufu."

"If you say so. So? Why did you call me out here?"

"So you've successfully disqualified Class C, huh?"

"Yes. I used the rules to my advantage. Now, it's a two versus one situation between Katsuragi's Class A and Classes B and D."

"I see. I guess we'll temporarily be Class B, then."

"Yeah, Katsuragi stands no chance without Ryuuen on his side. Both Classes B and D know the leader of Class A. Meanwhile he has no clue about the identity of the other leaders. There's still two full days left though, so who knows what can happen."

"Kiyotaka, do you really think Katsuragi can turn this around by himself?"

"It is possible. However, based on his strategy, I doubt he even knows about Class C's disqualification yet. He has decided to take a defensive approach and limit his spendings. But that plan is not going to work. He's basically already lost 100 points as well as all his bonus points."

"You sure made this special exam interesting fufufu."

"Now, Katsuragi's spot as Class A leader is all but gone. He'll lose all influence and you'll be able to control the class."

"I suppose I have you to thank, Kiyotaka. You sure didn't disappoint me. Do you think your class will manage these last days without you?"

"Of course. I've never really participated in their activities anyway. I've always been scouting and exploring the island. So whether I'm there or not doesn't really make a difference."

"You're so humble, Kiyotaka. Nobody could've executed that plan as smoothly as you did. With every second that passes, I'm more and more impressed by you. You really are the real deal."

"Mind if I interrupt your little date?"

Ryuuen appeared. He came to the café with a few other Class C students, including Ibuki who had some bruises on her body.

"Ryuuen."

"Fufu... if it isn't Dragon Boy."

"Shut up you disabled little girl."

"My my... you don't like it? I think it's a wonderful nickname."

"Ayanokouji. You cheeky little bastard. I didn't expect you to use such dirty tricks."

"I simply used the rules to my advantage, that's all."

"Kukuku... it seems like you're even more interesting than I expected. Don't worry, I already have Ibuki her punishment. Ibuki, you're an idiot for believing things will go the way you want. This guy is levels ahead of you."

"Tch..." Ibuki was visibly frustrated.

"Well, I won't interrupt your date any longer. However, know this, Ayanokouji. Next time, I'll use all the dirty tricks in my arsenal to beat you. You might have won this time, but next time won't be so easy. You've become my number one enemy. I will smash Class D down to the ground, and I won't show any mercy. Now, we'll take our leave."

"If you say so, Ryuuen. Go on, entertain me."

"Kukuku you bastard. I'll deform that face of yours when I get the chance."

They then left Arisu and I alone.

"That Dragon Boy sure seems troublesome."

"He's dangerous, but for now, there's nothing to worry about."

"Yeah. Say, Kiyotaka, why don't we play some chess?"

"Chess, you say?"

"Yes, I've always wanted to play a game against you. What do you say?"

"Sure, but where are we going to play?"

"Let's go to my room. I brought a chess board with me on the cruise ship."

With that, we went to Arisu's room.

"Ah... I'll admit it, Kiyotaka. It's my loss."

Arisu had no way of avoiding a checkmate situation. I must say, she's an incredible chess player. Had I made one wrong move, I might have lost that game.

"I guess you won then, Kiyotaka. As expected from you, you really live up to your nickname."

"It was a great game, Arisu."

"Kiyotaka, let's play again tomorrow at this time again."

"Sure, do I come to your room?"

"Of course."

"Understood. I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Kiyotaka, are you expecting anything unexpected from the results?"

"Not really. I doubt anything went wrong."

"I feel the same."

It was the morning of the special exam results. I was in Arisu's room where we planned on watching the results on her TV. We had played a game of chess just before, as well as a game yesterday and before yesterday. I won all three games, but they were far from easy. To think she would be able to challenge me like this makes me wonder about Arisu's abilities.

It was a little past 8 AM and we were attentively watching her TV.

"I will now announce the results of the special exam 'freedom'."

"Finally," Arisu said.

"Coming in last place, Class C, who were disqualified, with 0 points."

As expected.

"Coming in third place, Class A, with 160 points.

Coming in second place, Class D, with 231 points.

Finally, coming in first place, Class B, with 322 points.

That's all."

"I see, it more or less happened like I predicted," Arisu said.

"Indeed."

Class C with zero points is pretty self-explanatory.

Class A had two other classes guessing their leader correctly, meaning that they suffer a one-hundred-point penalty. They probably spent very few points, but they already had a thirty-point penalty in the beginning since Arisu was absent. Had they not suffered any penalties at all, they would have 290 points, so they spent roughly about 10 points, which I must say is impressive.

Class D guessed Class A's leader correctly, earning fifty points, and left Class B alone. They suffered no penalties on the final day, but their points are reduced by sixty following the retirement of Kouenji and I. Factoring in the bonus points earned from occupying spots on the island, they had spent probably around 60 points during the exam.

Class B guessed Class A's leader correctly too, earning them fifty points, and left us alone too. Unlike Class D, no students dropped out. Also considering the bonus points they earned from occupying spots, they had spent around 30 points.

The previous class standings from June 1st were as follows:

Class A - 1072 cp
Class B - 1009 cp
Class C - 617 cp
Class D - 85 cp

With the rewards of the special exam, this is what the standings now look like:

Class A - 1232 cp
Class B - 1331 cp
Class C - 617 cp
Class D - 316 cp

Meaning Class B overtook Class A as the new Class A.

This increase in points will probably also give Class D a morale boost.

As for the former Class A, Katsuragi will definitely lose a lot of influence as people will question his decision of making a deal with Ryuuen.

"I guess we're Class B now, fufufu."

"It seems like it'll be a two horse race between the top two classes."

"How long do you plan on staying in Class D, Kiyotaka?" Arisu asked me with a serious tone.

"How many times have you asked me this?"

"I'll continue asking you this until you give me a definite answer."

"I can't give you a definite answer, but I'll let you know that I plan on staying in this class for at least the first year."

"Well, that's disappointing. I suppose you have your reasons though."

"I do, but once the second year starts, I'll do what I can to make sure my transfer takes place as soon as possible."

I'll leave after I'm done using those defects to satisfy my curiosity.

"I guess I'll take your word for it, Kiyotaka."

"Why do you want me to join your class so bad, Arisu?"

"I want to spend more time with you, Kiyotaka. I want to dominate this school with you by my side, fufufu... I guess you can say I'm a little obsessed with you."

"Obsessed? What is that supposed to mean?"

"Forget it, fufufu. Let's just say I want to graduate from Class A with you by my side."

"I see."

Before I knew it, the room was filled with an awkward silence.

"Say, Kiyotaka."

"What is it, Arisu?"

"Have you ever considered learning to feel emotions?"

"Feel emotions? I'm afraid I've long lost the ability to do that, Arisu."

"That might be the case, but why should that stop you from trying?"

"What do you mean?"

"What makes you think that you've lost the ability to feel emotions forever? You said it yourself. You lost that ability a long time ago, but doesn't that mean you can also regain it?"

Regain the ability to feel emotions, huh?

"I don't deem emotions necessary. They're unnecessary for my growth and development."

"I don't think that's true, Kiyotaka. Emotions are the very thing that help humans develop and mature. Happiness, sadness, frustration, regret. Emotions can be the most beneficial things for human development. They are things the White Room could never teach you, but humans are preprogrammed to feel such things. Are you willing to completely let go of your human nature?"

"I'm not sure."

"Kiyotaka. It's not a bad thing to have emotions. And not only emotions. Acquaintances, friends, or even lovers. It's not bad to have those things, Kiyotaka. They make you feel warmth. People learn of warmth when they touch each other, and that's a very precious thing. The warmth of another human is by no means a bad thing. Please remember that."

"I'll try to remember that," I said as I stood up, "I'll definitely think about what you said."

"Leaving so soon?"

"I want to rest a bit. Thanks for everything, Arisu."

As I left her room, I looked back to see her smiling. I think it was somewhat of a sad smile.

I'm sorry, Arisu. This is just who I am.

No...

This is who I chose to be.

I've always deemed emotions as unnecessary.

I let go of the things that made me human on purpose.

I truly am horrible human being.

Author's Notes

That's Chapter 4 done! Thoughts?

I'm a complete noob at chess, so I figured it was better for me not to write any details about the chess matches.

Question: Who should be Kiyotaka's secretary?

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.

As usual, I'll publish some short stories before moving on to chapter 5. See you soon!

SS. 9 - The Aftermath

"Ayanokouji! Are you okay?"

"We were so worried about you!"

"Hirata told us what happened, I hope you're alright!"

After parting ways with Arisu, I head over to the cruise ship's deck to meet up with the other students.

"I'm fine. Good job on finishing the exam."

"Yeah, we finished second place," Kushida said, "After Hirata told us about your injury, we decided that we wouldn't let you down."

"Yeah! He told us that you got injured by Ibuki, seems like she really was a spy!"

"We're closing the gap between us and Class C!"

"It seems like you predicted everything!"

It seemed like Hirata told everyone the details of my plan.

"I'm honestly lost for words... Every time... you creep me out even more," Horikita said.

After everyone finished exchanging words, I started to head back to my room. Class D's morale had gotten a big boost. They were all motivated to do their best in hopes of climbing the ranks.

"Hey! Ayanokouji-kun!"

Ichinose called out to me as I was walking up the stairs. Alongside her was Kanzaki and a few other Class B students.

"Oh hey, Ichinose!"

"Hey hey, if it isn't Ayanokouji-kun!" Amikura said.

"Hey!" Kobashi followed up.

"Hello, Ayanokouji," Kanzaki said in a dry tone.

"Thanks for giving us advice on the island, Ayanokouji-kun! The truth is, the day after you came to visit us, a Class C student came to our base camp, saying that he got into a fight with his class," Ichinose said.

"Ichinose was a little hesitant in letting him join our base camp, but I flat out rejected him," Kanzaki continued, "Then, after a few days, he heard about the incident where Ibuki attacked you."

"Yeah, it seems like you helped us dodge a missile," Ichinose chuckled.

"I suppose I should thank you for once, seems like Totsuka was really the leader of Class A too," Kanzaki agreed.

"It's part of our alliance, isn't it? Congratulations on surpassing Class A, by the way."

"Thanks! You guys started catching up to Class C, too! Seems like we all did pretty well on this exam."

"Yeah, anyway, I'll be going now. I need to rest up a bit."

"Oh yeah, how's your injury?"

"Nothing too serious. The doctor said it'll fully heal in a few days."

"That's good then. Well, see you later Ayanokouji-kun! We have one week of fun on the cruise ship, let's all enjoy it to the fullest!"

"Why don't you invite him on a date, Honami?" Amikura teased her.

"Mako-chan!!"

"Hehe~ if you don't, someone else probably will, you know. Who doesn't want to go on a date with Ayanokouji-kun? Anyways, bye bye Ayanokouji-kun!" she responded.

"Bye bye!" Kobashi said.

"Take care, Ayanokouji," Kanzaki said as he gave me a thumbs up.

"See you guys soon," I bid them farewell.

"Yo, King."

I really can't catch a break.

"What's up, Hashimoto?"

"Seems like it all worked out the way you wanted, eh?"

"More or less. How did your class react?"

"Well, they all questioned Katsuragi's decision making, many started doubting him and abandoned the Katsuragi Fraction."

"I guess it's just like Arisu predicted, huh?"

"Yeah, but it wouldn't have been done with your efforts. You're something else, Ayanokouji. If you need anything, you know how to contact me."

"I do. Thanks."

Indeed, I had exchanged contact information with Hashimoto and Kamuro the day we met in the library.

"Do you know where Sakayanagi is?" he asked me.

"If I were to guess, she's probably in her room. She invited me there to watch the results of the exam."

"I see how it is. Well, I'll probably head over there with Kamuro now. Rest well, King," he said as he left.

"I will."

A newly-promoted Class A set on keeping their spot. A newly-demoted Class B who'll want to make a comeback. A Class C thirsty for revenge. A Class D determined to rise up and show their worth.

I look forward to what the future will bring.

SS. 10 - Sakayanagi Arisu - Helping Hand

"I guess we're Class B now, fufufu."

I was with Kiyotaka and we had just finished watching the special exam results in my room.

"It seems like it'll be a two horse race between the top two classes."

"How long do you plan on staying in Class D, Kiyotaka?" I asked him with a serious tone.

Kiyotaka promised that he would transfer to our class on his own, but I am yet to see any movement. I always wondered what's going on inside that head of this. Actually, I do have somewhat of an idea. Kiyotaka probably wants to spend his time in Class D answering his own questions. How do humans in the outside world behave? What is their thought process?

"How many times have you asked me this?"

"I'll continue asking you this until you give me a definite answer."

It is true that I keep asking him this, but he never gave me a straightforward answer.

"I can't give you a definite answer, but I'll let you know that I plan on staying in this class for at least the first year."

That's a long time, Kiyotaka. I don't want to wait for you that long.

"Well that's disappointing. I suppose you have your reasons though."

"I do, but once the second year starts, I'll do what I can to make sure my transfer takes place as soon as possible."

"I guess I'll take your word for it, Kiyotaka."

There was no reason to him lie in this situation, and I didn't detect any signs of him lying.

"Why do you want me to join your class so bad, Arisu?"

"I want to spend more time with you, Kiyotaka. I want to dominate this school with you by my side, fufufu... I guess you can say I'm a little obsessed with you."

Kiyotaka, you and I will rule over Tokyo's most prestigious school.

"Obsessed? What is that supposed to mean?"

"Forget it, fufufu. Let's just say I want to graduate from Class A with you by my side."

How can he be so intelligent yet so innocent at the same time?

"I see."

Silence quickly filled the room.

Maybe now is the time to ask him.

"Say, Kiyotaka."

"What is it, Arisu?"

"Have you ever considered learning to feel emotions?"

"Feel emotions? I'm afraid I've long lost the ability to do that, Arisu."

Sigh.

"That might be the case, but why should that stop you from trying?"

"What do you mean?"

"What makes you think that you've lost the ability to feel emotions forever? You said it yourself. You lost that ability a long time ago, but doesn't that mean you can also regain it?"

Indeed. Why did he think that? Losing something means you can find it again. Kiyotaka could learn emotions if he changed his mind about their usefulness or if he was curious about them.

"I don't deem emotions necessary. They're unnecessary for my growth and development."

It's just as I thought, it seems.

"I don't think that's true, Kiyotaka. Emotions are the very thing that help humans develop and mature. Happiness, sadness, frustration, regret. Emotions can be the most beneficial things for human development. They are things the White Room could never teach you, but humans are preprogrammed to feel such things. Are you willing to completely let go of your human nature?"

"I'm not sure."

"Kiyotaka. It's not a bad thing to have emotions. And not only emotions. Acquaintances, friends, or even lovers. It's not bad to have those things, Kiyotaka. They make you feel warmth. People learn of warmth when they touch each other, and that's a very precious thing. The warmth of another human is by no means a bad thing. Please remember that."

Kiyotaka, if only you stopped being overwhelmed by your darkness...

"I'll try to remember that," he said as he stood up, "I'll definitely think about what you said."

If only you could see the glimpse of light that exists in your world of darkness...

Then you would see how colorful the world truly is...

"Leaving so soon?" I asked.

Sigh.

It seems like my embarrassing speech was unconvincing, once again.

"I want to rest a bit. Thanks for everything, Arisu."

I was sad. It seems like my words didn't reach him.

When he looked back, I tried my best to send him off with a smile.

Kiyotaka.

You should give it a try...

Try to experience it...

Warmth...

Happiness...

Sadness...

Frustration...

Love...

I know you want to satisfy your curiosity...

So try to learn those feelings again...

And if you fail...

Then I will give you a helping hand.

Author's Notes

This is Arisu's perspective of the scene from Chapter 4.5.

Hope you liked this little short story!

SS. 11 - A Genius' Considerate Contemplation

I was currently alone on the cruise ship's deck.

Remembering something that man had told me in the White Room.

"Kiyotaka. Anything unnecessary for your growth, remove it."

At the time, I was still four. I felt emotions like everyone else, like the other members from my generation of the White Room.

Every time someone was punished in front of my eyes, I would feel scared. Every time I completed a task, I would feel relieved. Every time someone was disposed of, I would feel apprehensive.

Until I realized those emotions were holding me back.

If you don't manage your emotions, then your emotions will manage you, Deborah Rozman once said.

Anything unnecessary for me development? Emotions aren't necessary. Friends aren't necessary. Family isn't necessary. All I need to do is to let them go to survive.

That was what I thought at the time.

Slowly but surely, I had started feeling less and less fear, less and less apprehensiveness, less and less pain with each passing day.

I had lost count of the number of children that had mental breakdowns, panic attacks, and that were disposed of. However, whether they succeeded or not had nothing to do with me. Emotions could only hinder my growth.

Even after witnessing countless deaths and punishments, I felt... nothing. After all, I had to do what I had to do to win.

But was there another way?

There is no point in denying the fact that the White Room has made me who I am. But could there have been another way for me to survive the Fourth Generation?

No. This was the only way it could be done.

The proof is that I am the only survivor. The only success to ever come out of the White Room. The truth is that nobody can beat me even if I hold back.

There's no point in me hoping to be defeated.

But, perhaps that is why I can afford to learn emotions.

Now, I'm attending the Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School. The goal for most students here is to graduate from Class A. While that was also a goal I had set for myself, I knew that I could easily achieve that goal without ever needing to show my full abilities.

Life here is nothing like the White Room. There is nobody to give me tasks, nobody to punish me if I failed to do something. Nobody that could prevent me from doing what I want.

That is why I had decided beforehand that I would not only graduate from Class A, but also satisfy my curiosity and answer my questions.

Can I feel emotions again? Could I change?

Those were probably my biggest questions.

How does it feel like to be happy? To be sad? To be frustrated? To be in love?

I've read about those feelings from textbooks. However, if I were to experience them firsthand, then that would be better than reading any textbook.

Experiencing emotions myself will certainly prove to be helpful in the future. There are still many things unknown to me in this field.

This field is a long and confusing maze, and I'd say I'm currently stuck at the very beginning of it.

All I need is someone to give me a helping hand, someone to be a human textbook to help me to learn emotions...

"Kiyotaka?"

I turned around to see Arisu walking towards me slowly.

What a freaky coincidence.

There was a calm silence that lasted a few seconds.

"Something on your mind?" she finally said.

"Sort of," I said.

"Tell me about it."

"I think I want to learn about emotion."

"Fufufu... better late than never I guess."

Author's Notes

Hey!

That's the end of the short stories for Chapter 4, next up is Chapter 5!

What does the future hold for Kiyotaka?

Disclaimer: As of now, Kiyotaka still wants to win (whatever that means for him), and just wants to learn about emotions as a some sort of side quest I guess.

At least, that's what he wants right now... who knows how he'll develop as he learns about emotions?

Anyways, see you soon!

Chapter 5.1 - The Zodiac Exam

It has been three days since the special exam ended. Over the course of these three days, I stayed in my room and occasionally went out to hang out with some people after accepting their invitations.

I had decided to head out to get some fresh air, as I had stayed the entire day in my room, and I was looking out to the horizon, lost in my thoughts.

These past days, I've been wondering if being in an environment so different from the White Room had slowly started to change me.

I said to Arisu that I would like to learn about emotions. I'll learn not by readings books like I always have done, but by trying to experience them firsthand.

Happiness, sadness, frustration, regret, love. I'm curious to know how they feel like.

Arisu's words after the special exam results really made me give thought to my current mindset and my defective humanness.

French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre once said,

Man is condemned to be free, because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does.

That's one way to see it.

Indeed, we choose everything we do, every word we say, every action we take. Choosing not to chose, in the end, that is still a choice. In that sense, we are our choices.

In that sense, I chose to remove my emotions.

I chose to deem human relationships unnecessary.

I chose to survive the White Room.

I chose to win.

Now , could I also choose to change?

A special exam will begin soon. Please gather in the designated room at the designated time. Anyone who arrives later than ten minutes after start time may be penalized. Please gather in Room 204 on the second deck by 6:00 PM today. Because it takes 20 minutes to reach the area, we ask that you please use restrooms now if necessary. Either silence your phone or turn it off, and make your way over.

I had received a message from the school. It seems like our one week of relaxation on the cruise ship has been cut short.

The class group chat almost immediately began discussing the meaning of the message.

It seemed like not everyone received the same message. People were assigned to different rooms and at different times.

I was assigned the same room and time as Horikita, Hirata, and Kushida.

Five minutes before the meeting time, I arrived at the designated room. There was Mashima-sensei, Class A's homeroom teacher, as well as Horikita, Hirata, and Kushida.

"Hello, Ayanokouji, please have a sit."

"Hey Ayanokouji!" Kushida said as I sat down on the empty chair next to her.

Mashima-sensei then began explaining the special exam.

All first-year students were divided up into groups and the entirety of the examination will be conducted in those groups of students. The purpose of the test was to assess their 'thinking ability'. The four of us will also be in the same group and we'll be joined in by some other students, who are also receiving the same explanations in other rooms.

Although he didn't mention how the groups were divided, he said that every group had a name based on a zodiac sign, hence the special exam name 'Zodiac Exam'. Our group was the Cow Group.

He then showed us a list of the 14 students in the Cow Group.

Class A: Ichinose Honami, Amikura Mako, Kanzaki Ryuuji
Class B: Sakayanagi Arisu, Hashimoto Masayoshi, Kamuro Masumi
Class C: Ibuki Mio, Ryuuen Kakeru, Yamada Albert, Shiina Hiyori
Class D: Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, Kushida Kikyou, Hirata Yousuke, Horikita Suzune

This is quite the lineup...

Mashima-sensei continued to explain that we will now belong to the group, rather than Class D. He then gave us a paper explaining the special exam and asked us to memorise it. A "target" (VIP) student will be chosen from each group and there are four possible outcomes by the end of the exam.

First, the exam rules are as follows.

At 8:00 AM on the first day, the students will receive a message that the VIP student in their group has been chosen.

The exam itself will mostly take place from 1:00 PM to 8:00 PM, starting from the next day and ends at 8:00 PM on the fourth day.

Each group should gather twice during the day for one hour to talk. The meeting times each day, except the third day, are 1:00 PM and 8:00 PM in each group's respective rooms. On the third day, there are no meetings.

Content of the talk will be left up to the discretion of each group. The students are free to do as they wish outside the meeting times.

At the end of the exam, each group must identify the VIP student of other groups. This will be done between 9:30 and 10:00 PM. Each individual can only submit one answer, and the first answer received by any of the group members (except the VIP) will decide the exam results for that group.

The answers must be sent through a certain address provided by the school and the 12 VIP students cannot be the ones to send the answers. Students can only submit the answer to the identity of the VIP student of the group that they're assigned to.

Details of the results of the exam will be mailed to students by 11:00 PM on the same day.

Now, the four possible outcomes were as follows.

Outcome 1: If the group successfully identify the VIP student, and submit a correct answer between 9:30 PM and 10:00 PM on the final day, they will all receive private points (the VIP student receives 1,000,000 points while other students in the group receive 500,000 points).

Outcome 2: In the same case as Outcome 1 but if the submitted answer is incorrect, only the VIP student will receive 500,000 private points.

Outcome 3: In the case that someone other than the VIP answers the question before waiting for the allocated time and answers correctly, the class the answerer belongs to will receive 50 points each and the answerer themselves will receive 500,000 points for themselves. On the other hand, classes whose VIP have been identified will receive a penalty of -50 class points for their whole class. Once this has been achieved, the test will be over for the group. However, if a member that belongs to the class of the VIP answers correctly, the previous result will be made invalid and the examination for that group will continue.

Outcome 4: In the case that someone other than the VIP answers the question before waiting for the allocated time and answers incorrectly, the class the answerer belongs to will receive a penalty of -50 points each but the VIP will still receive 50,000 private points. At the same time, the class which the VIP belongs also obtains 50 class points. If the answer is given incorrectly, the group's exam will end. However, if a member belonging to the class of the VIP is the one who answered incorrectly, the answer will be considered invalid and will not be accepted.

Outcome 3 and Outcome 4 happen if there is a traitor among the students in a group, and if that student decides to answer before the final day's time period.

The identity of the VIP students and the traitors will not be disclosed by the school after the exam ends. Prohibited actions and items were also listed on the back side of the paper. For instance, stealing the mobiles of other students and use of intimidation to coerce the reveal of information such as the identity of the VIP students are forbidden while using another student's mobile without permission to mail the answers to the faculty will result in expulsion.

Furthermore, in the case any suspicious activity is uncovered, a thorough investigation into the matter will be launched by the school to ensure no violations of the rules occur.

Our meeting time for tomorrow was at 1:00 PM and 8:00 PM at a designated room for their group for discussions, and that we won't not be able to leave until the required time has passed.

Mashima-sensei then ended his explanation and left.

"What do you guys think about this exam?" Hirata asked.

"It is definitely different from the first special exam," Horikita said.

"Hmm... I think it's a bit too early to say," Kushida said.

"I agree."

"In that case, I suggest we arrange a class meeting tonight after everyone finishes receiving explanations," Hirata suggested.

"Let's do that!" Kushida joyfully said.

"I support the idea," Horikita followed.

"Sure," I said.

With that, we parted ways. Hirata and I were roommates, so we continued talking.

"What do you plan on doing for this special exam, Ayanokouji?"

"I'm not sure yet, it's better to wait a bit in this type of scenario."

"Yeah, I agree."

"I may or may not choose to not get involved, though."

"What do you mean?"

"If I keep intervening and telling you guys what to do, then you'll become dependent on me, and that's something I want to avoid."

"When you say it like that, I guess it makes sense... but shouldn't you help us?"

"I believe you, Horikita and Kushida are more than capable of leading the way."

"I see..."

"I told you I don't really want to become class leader. This could be the perfect opportunity for you guys to become better leaders and for Class D to unite even more."

"So you're really thinking about us, huh?"

"Perhaps. But now is too early, like Kushida said. We should at least wait until the first meeting ends tomorrow to think of how to go about things."

"You're right, let's just relax a bit for now. Want to get something to eat?"

"Sure."

"Eh? Ayanokouji-kun? And Hirata-kun?"

We bumped into Ichinose, Amikura and Kanzaki.

"Oh hey, Ichinose, Amikura, Kanzaki."

We exchanged greetings.

"What brings you guys here?" Kanzaki asked.

"Well we planned to get something to eat" Hirata said.

"Mind if we join you guys?" Ichinose asked.

"Oh ho~ Honami is making moves."

"Mako-chan!!"

Hirata and I looked at each other and nodded.

"Sure, let's all get something to eat," Hirata agreed.

"Yay! So where do you guys want to go?" Ichinose asked.

"Let's go to the Japanese restaurant on the third floor!" Amikura suggested.

"Yeah, good idea Mako-chan!"

"Fine by me," Kanzaki said.

"I'm fine with it too," Hirata agreed.

The four of them looked at me and awaited my answer.

"Sure."

With that we headed to the Japanese restaurant and discussed things regarding the special exam.

We agreed that Outcome 1 was the best outcome for everyone. However, achieving that outcome was easier said then done. The circumstances will make classes want to aim for Outcome 3, and avoid Outcome 4.

There were 12 groups, so we assumed there were 3 VIP students in each class. We wondered if there was a certain pattern they used to decide the VIP students and the groups.

After we finished eating and discussing the exam, we agreed to wait until the first meeting to properly discuss things and parted ways.

If things go as expected, then Class C might end the exam as the clear winner.

Author's Notes

Hey!

The Zodiac Exam is here.

Kiyotaka may decide to not intervene, but will he still do something from the shadows? Who knows.

Debate: Do you guys think Horikita and Kushida can truly get along? If so, how?

Anyways, that's it. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

I hope you guys will enjoy the Zodiac Exam Arc!

See you!

Chapter 5.2 - A Bizarre Encounter

After careful consideration, you were not chosen to be the VIP student of the Cow Group.

I received a message from the school. Everyone received a message telling them whether or not they were chosen as the VIPs.

After careful consideration, so they say. Just what criteria did they use to determine the VIPs?

Immediately after, people started sending messages in the class group chat.

People wrote lists of members in their groups. Quickly, we had a list of each group's members. Those who were VIPs also told the group chat.

It turns out we did have 3 VIPs. Karuizawa from the Horse Group, Satou from the Rabbit Group, and Yukimura from the Rat Group.

Hm? Is that how they decided?

In the class group chat, they were wondering how they decided the VIPs. Some people deemed it unfair, which was understandable as the VIP had such a big avantage. Being the VIP has basically no downside from an individual point of view.

With three VIP names, it can be difficult to figure out a potential pattern, if there even was one. However, I already had a pattern in mind that was consistent with the VIP selections.

"My my, this is quite the meeting."

It was time for our meeting, and Arisu was the last one to arrive along with Hashimoto and Kamuro.

"Hey, Sakayanagi-san!" Ichinose greeted her with a bright smile.

"Kukuku, I can't wait to crush every single one of you. Especially you, Ayanokouji..."

"I'm not getting involved in the exam, Ryuuen."

"Oh ho? Is it perhaps too easy? Have you already figured out the VIPs?"

"Who knows?"

"Kukuku... you make my blood boil."

"How about we start by introducing ourselves?" Ichinose suggested.

"I don't think that's necessary, Ichinose. We all know each other, don't we?" Arisu said.

The others nodded.

"I suggest we aim for Outcome 1," Ichinose followed up.

"Don't give me that crap. There's no we in this exam. My sole goal is to crush every single one of your classes," Ryuuen disagreed.

"What do the others think?"

"Well, it is true that Outcome 1 is the best outcome for everyone, but is it a realistic one?"

"Achieving Outcome 1 is definitely easier said than done."

"Screw this, you guys leave me alone in this. I'm not cooperating with anybody," Ryuuen suddenly said, "Come on, Albert, Ibuki, Shiina, let's sit on the sides while these idiots argue."

The four of them immediately left the table and went to sit on the sofas on the side.

"Fufufu... seems like Dragon Boy is as troublesome as always."

"Shut the hell up you handicapped loli!"

"Fufufu."

"What should we do?" Ichinose asked once more.

"What an unproductive meeting," I heard Horikita quietly mutter.

"I think we should all give this some thought before deciding," Hirata said.

Thanks for the obvious advice, Hirata.

"It'll be incredibly hard to decide on a collective objective," Horikita reasonably said, "This is an opportunity for each class to gain class points. Aiming for something that benefits everyone goes against what we're fighting for."

"I think Horikita has a point," Hirata agreed, "Finding something everyone can truly agree on is close to impossible."

After a more few unproductive exchanges, the first meeting had ended before we knew it.

We parted ways, and I was left with Hirata, Kushida and Horikita.

"What should we do?" Kushida asked.

"Are you really not getting involved, Ayanokouji?"

"I'm not sure yet, but I think it might be better if you guys lead the way for this exam."

"Why?"

"It would be better for everyone if they stop depending on me."

"I don't really agree with this," Horikita admitted, "You're a Class D student like all of us. We should work together as a class, so you should work with us."

"Horikita. The truth is that I already have a pattern in mind. If the pattern is what I think it is, anyone can figure it out. You could figure it out yourself."

"Tch... if you're so unwilling to help, I suppose I have no choice but to figure out the pattern with the rest of the class."

"Yeah, let's work together to find the pattern. When we do that, then we can decide what outcome to go for," Hirata said.

"I agree! If Ayanokouji really doesn't want to help, then I suppose we have no choice," Kushida agreed.

Everyone then went back to their rooms, but I stayed behind to walk around the cruise ship, until I came across Kouenji who seemingly just got out of the pool.

"Oh ho! If it isn't Masterpiece boy!"

"Are you participating in this special exam Kouenji?"

"This special exam? This is child's play for a perfect existence like me."

He took out his phone and seemingly typed a message. Soon after, I had received a message from the school.

The special exam has ended for the Pig Group. All students from that group are free to do as they wish until the end of the exam period.

"So you've figured it out too, huh?"

"Ah ha ha! I suppose this exam is too easy for perfect existences like us, Masterpiece boy. Now I'll be enjoying the rest of my time on the cruise ship. Take care!"

He left while leaving water stains on the cruise ship's carpet.

I continued walking around the ship, and stopped at a floor map of the cruise ship.

They have a library?

I suppose I can go check it out.

The library wasn't as big as the one at school, but it certainly had more than a fair share of books.

I walked around the different aisles and head over to the mystery section.

Huh?

A girl with silver hair was struggling to grab a book on one of the top layers of the shelf. It didn't seem like the library had a stepstool.

I had seen her before. I first met her on the first day of school in the dormitory elevator. She's also in the Cow Group. Shiina Hiyori.

I stood up in front of her and grabbed the book she was reaching for.

" Wuthering Heights, huh? Do you like Brontë's works?"

"I don't dislike or like them. I suppose I just wanted to check it out. Umm..."

"So you like books, Shiina?"

"You know my name, Ayanokouji-kun?"

"Well you are in my group for the special exam, and I remember seeing you in the elevator on the first day of school."

"I sure didn't expect to see you here. So do you like books, Ayanokouji-kun?"

"I suppose I enjoy reading books."

"Really? Is there an author you really like?"

"I guess I enjoy reading Raymond Chandler's work."

Shiina's eyes started glowing as she started showing a bright smile.

"Really! I love Raymond Chandler's work! I find it quite wonderful."

"I recently read Farewell, My Lovely. It's quite a good book."

"I agree! But that book is so rare, it's popular amongst upperclassmen so I haven't had the chance to borrow it from the school library. Have you already read Dorothy L. Sayers?" she asked me with excitement.

"No. I've read Christie, but not Sayers."

"In that case, I would most definitely recommend Whose Body? That's the first book in the series features Lord Peter. If you read that book, you'll inevitably want to read the rest," she said as she grabbed a few books out of her bag and handed them over to me.

Her behavior left me somewhat puzzled.

"I'm sorry, I was rambering. Am I bothering you, Ayanokouji-kun?"

"No, not at all. I was just a little surprised, that's all," I said as I took the books she handed over.

Shiina looked extraordinarily happy. She smiled so widely that her eyes scrunched up.

"Say, Ayanokouji-kun, if you don't have plans right now, would you like to stay with me in the library for a bit?"

"Are you sure?"

This was a weird invitation. Although I didn't sense any hidden intentions, I couldn't remove the possibility that Ryuuen told her to ask me this.

"No one in Class C likes reading, so I don't really have anyone to talk to."

"Are you following Ryuuen's orders?"

"Huh? No. Please don't worry. I just play along so that Ryuuen doesn't bother me, but I've never been interested in conflict. I suppose I just wanted to talk to someone who shared the same interests as me."

"I don't mind spending some time with you then. I didn't have any plans today anyway."

Her smile grew even bigger.

"Well, should we go? I was sitting at a table over there in the corner."

"Sure."

Who knew this would be the result of a simple library visit?

"So, how do you like the books I gave you, Ayanokouji-kun?"

We spent about an hour or two reading in silence. We sat at the same table, across from each other.

"This one is really interesting. The author has a unique style of writing and it's quite intriguing to read it. You've got good taste."

Indeed, she had very good taste in books. William Irish, Ellery Queen, Lawrence Block, and Isaac Asimov. They were all brilliant authors.

I saw her smile happily, and laughing to herself.

"Is it something I said?"

"No, don't worry, it's nothing about you, Ayanokouji-kun. I'm just so happy that I found someone who likes books like I do. And I never would've thought that person would be you, the one they call the Masterpiece of the White Room. I'm book buddies with the Ayanokouji Kiyotaka!"

"Book buddies?"

"Yeah, book buddies, reading buddies, whatever you want to call it. I'm just so happy to be able to talk about books with someone like you!"

"Do you have any friends, Shiina?"

"Friends? Well I guess I do, but none of them like books like you do! You're my first and fellow reading buddy!"

"I suppose you're my fellow reading buddy too, Shiina."

Shiina slightly blushed and smiled.

"These books aren't from the library, are they from your personal collection?" I asked as I noticed these books didn't have any tags on them.

"Yes! I brought them with me on the cruise ship. I've been carrying them along with me, hoping I'd meet someone who shared my tastes and would want to borrow them. I started out just carrying one, but I guess I accumulated more and more books while waiting for that certain someone."

"Is that so?"

"Please, don't hold back. You can borrow any of these books."

"Well... it's a hard decision. I suppose I'll start by borrowing the book I was reading."

" Cat of Many Tails by Ellery Queen it is then. Feel free to borrow any one when you're done!"

"I will. Thanks Shiina."

If Shiina was acting, this was quite the performance. I had the feeling that she genuinely enjoyed talking to me about books. I suppose I'd made a rather strange connection in a rather strange place. I'll remain wary, of course, just in case this is some kind of trap by Ryuuen, but I highly doubt it.

"Say, Ayanokouji-kun, do you want have lun-"

"Hm?"

My phone rang.

Arisu?

"I'm sorry, Shiina. I have to pick up this call."

"Oh, don't worry about it, Ayanokouji-kun."

"I'll come back after I end the call," I said as I left the library to pick up the call.

"Hello?"

"Kiyotaka, are you free right now?"

"It depends on what you're about to say next."

"Fufufu. Well, mind joining me for lunch?"

"What for?"

"No need for the dry tone, Kiyotaka. I just want to have a chat with my childhood friend."

"Is it about the special exam?"

"Maybe."

"What time?"

"How about in 30 mins? In front of the cafeteria on the second floor."

"Sure, I'll see you then."

I head back into the library where Shiina was waiting for me.

"Who was that?"

"Oh it was Arisu."

"Arisu... as in Sakayanagi-san? Are you guys on first name basis?"

"I guess so."

"Hmm... why don't we call each other by our first names too?"

"I don't mind, Hiyori."

"Now we're even closer reading buddies, Kiyotaka-kun! So, what did you and Sakayanagi-san talk about?"

"She invited me to have lunch with her, so I'd have to leave in about 20 minutes."

"Oh, okay."

"Sorry, Hiyori, I know you were about to invite me too. Let's have lunch together another time, okay?"

"Mhm. Sure. Let's exchange contacts!"

We then exchanged our contacts. After a little while, I left to have lunch with Arisu.

"Bye bye, Kiyotaka-kun! I'll make sure to invite you to lunch soon!" she bid me farewell with a bright smile.

"See you, Hiyori."

"What did you want to talk about, Arisu?"

"What do you plan on doing? Are you really not getting involved?"

"Yeah. I'm letting my classmates handle things."

"Is that so? What do you think about the pattern?"

"Before that, if you were to know the pattern, how do you plan on doing things?"

"That's a good question. Knowing the pattern while the others don't can easily gain you a ridiculous amount of class points, while absolutely crushing the other classes."

"That's true, but it's not that simple. Also, I don't plan on telling the pattern to Horikita and the others. After all, they set their mind on figuring the pattern themselves. What about your class?"

"Hmm? Well I think the obvious choice for us would be to attack the current Class A and take back our spot. Attacking Class C would also be a good additional option. I could also attack all three classes, but where's the fun in that?"

"I think Class C will be able to figure things out in a few days. Depending on how we want things to play out, it may or may not be wise to attack them now. If we wait, it might come back to bite us, or not."

"As vague as always, Kiyotaka. Do you plan on making everyone delay their decisions?"

"Who knows. I personally wouldn't rush into any decisions. If we were to attack Class C right now, Ryuuen will most definitely immediately attack us the moment he figures out the pattern, which might prove to be dangerous. On the opposite scenario, he would most likely wait a bit after figuring out the pattern to see how we would act. Also, attacking now would mean that the exam will end for our group."

"Fufufu... so you think the VIP in the Cow Group is in Class C too, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Fufu, you never fail to impress me, Kiyotaka. So, who do you think is the VIP in our group?"

"Shiina Hiyori."

Author's Notes

Hey!

In this timeline, the VIPs are decided slightly differently than in the LN.

'Attacking' a class in this context means to guess all three VIP's of that class.

This marks the beginning of the book buddies!

That's all for what I had to say, see you soon!

Chapter 5.3 - To Hide In Plain Sight

It was now the second day. The meetings we had the day before were unproductive.

Horikita had asked me to meet up with her to discuss the pattern after the morning meeting.

"Have you figured out the pattern?" I asked her.

"No... not yet, I feel like I'm close, but with only three VIP names, it's difficult to do so."

"Do you know who the VIP is in our group?"

"No, do you?"

"Yeah I do."

"What? Tell me then."

"I want to see if you can figure out the pattern first."

"Are you serious? So you're telling me you know the pattern?"

"Yes."

"Then why aren't you helping us?" Horikita slightly raised her voice.

"Horikita, what will we do when we discover the pattern?"

"That- I don't know."

"Knowing the pattern is one thing, but deciding what to do with it is another."

"What do you think we should do?"

"It's obvious that if you have the pattern, you can correctly guess all of the VIPs and gain a large amount of class points. However, many things come in play. Alliances, future conflicts, you name it. It's safe to say that if we were to correctly guess the Class A VIPs, it would be the end of our alliance."

"That's true... what do you suggest we do?"

"I don't plan on getting involved, Horikita. What the class will do is up to you and the others. What would you do?"

"I might attack Class C and Class B."

"What happens if they discover the pattern? They would simply attack Class D back."

"What are you trying to say?"

"In this exam, if you attack a class, that attack can be completely canceled out with that class attacking you back. Of course, that's assuming everyone knows the pattern."

"So?"

"Knowing that, there exists a way that won't change the class rankings and that will make it impossible to drop class points."

"Outcome 1 you mean?"

"No. Outcome 1 has a big risk. If someone decides to betray the group a few moments before the designated answer time, it would make it difficult for the others to fight back."

Horikita was seemingly deep in her thoughts.

"The way for everyone to avoid to drop class points is to have each class guess a certain class' VIPs and have each class have their VIPs guessed by the class they attacked."

"I see... that does seem like the best option. If we were to attack all classes, we would be making ourselves everyone's enemy. Do you think we use your strategy?"

"That's up to you to decide. I've already said more than enough."

We soon parted ways after.

Hiyori
11:17 AM

[Hey Kiyotaka-kun!]
[Do you have any plans for lunch?]

[I don't really have any plans]

[Do you mind joining me for lunch?]

[Sure, just tell me the time and place]

[How about in front of the Japanese restaurant at noon?]

[Sounds good, see you then]

Hiyori invited me to lunch. I agreed because I turned her down yesterday.

"Hey, Kiyotaka-kun!"

Hiyori was waiting for me in front of the restaurant.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Don't worry, I just got here. Let's get going, shall we?"

We sat down at a table for two. I could feel a few glances in our direction, but I didn't mind them. Soon after, we had ordered and were waiting for our food.

"Did you finish reading the book, Kiyotaka-kun?"

"Not yet. With the exam going on, I can't read the book in peace."

"I understand. I sure hope this exam ends soon. I've never been a fan of conflicts between classes."

"I think the exam will end tomorrow. For everyone. Maybe even tonight."

"You think so? Why?"

"I can't tell you. Sorry."

"Is it because I'm in Class C?"

"Sort of. But it's nothing against you, Hiyori. I just have my own reasons."

"I guess I'll stop bothering you then, Kiyotaka-kun."

"It's fine. I never intended to participate in this exam. I let the other Class D students handle things."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. But if things go the way I think they will, our class will be one of the losers of this exam."

"And you're going to do nothing about that? You sure are interesting, Kiyotaka-kun."

"As I said, I never wanted to intervene. I suppose I just wanted to enjoy the rest of my days on the cruise ship."

"I don't blame you. This cruise ship is amazing! Everything is free of charge, and the library contains some really rare books! Like these!"

She took out a few books that she borrowed from the library from her bags.

"These books are extremely popular among upperclassmen, so they're rarely available in the school's library."

"Do you think there's a way for us to keep these books even after we leave the cruise ship?"

"You mean as in if we can buy the books?"

"Yeah, something like that. Maybe we can borrow them for a longer period of time and just return it at a special place. Who knows."

"Want to head to the library to ask the librarian?"

"Sure. We'll go after we finish eating."

Hiyori gave me a bright smile.

I also wanted to know if we could borrow the books for a long time, or even buy the books. The library certainly did have some very interesting books. They had a lot of first editions in particular.

"Say, Hiyori."

"Hm?"

"You're the VIP, aren't you?"

I saw a little shocked expression on her face, so little that it was barely noticeable.

"What makes you think that?"

"My intuition, I guess."

"I don't want to answer that question."

"I understand. Sorry for asking you this out of nowhere."

"Say, Kiyotaka-kun, if our two classes became fierce rivals and wanted to crush each other, would we still be book buddies?" she asked me with a rather worried expression.

"Of course."

"Really?"

"There's no reason for me to lie."

"I suppose so," Hiyori chuckled.

Our food then arrived. We both ordered bento boxes, although both different.

"Itadakimasu!"

We finished eating and head over to the library.

"Excuse me?" Hiyori went up to the librarian, "Is it possible for us to buy books here?"

The librarian seemed genuinely surprised. After all, the library was completely empty most of the time, when Hiyori wasn't here. It definitely was unexpected for someone to want to buy books from here.

"Yes. You may buy any books from here," the librarian regained her composure, "However, unlike the other services on the ship, this will cost private points. You can show me the books you want, and I'll tell you the price."

"Sure, we'll come back in a bit. Thanks a lot!"

With that, we went to explore some books. We head over to the mystery section, where we first met each other.

"There are so many first editions... they must be ridiculously expensive..." she said as she picked up a book from the shelves.

" Murder in Three Acts by Agatha Christie, huh? That first edition will probably cost a lot of points," I pointed out.

"Yeah, sadly, I probably won't have enough points."

"I'll buy it."

"Huh? Are you sure?"

"I want to read it too, I guess. I suppose we can take turns reading it. They don't have this in the school library. What do you think?"

"That'd be great!" she happily said, "Thank you so much, Kiyotaka-kun!"

"Personally, I also want to buy this."

I picked up another book from the shelves.

" The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler... First edition too... Are you seriously going to buy that too?"

"Yeah, I've always wanted to read this but they don't have this in the school library either."

"Is it fine for you to buy these?"

"Of course, we'll take turns read these. After all, we're book buddies, like you said. And I suppose I can add these to my collection."

"Well, if you say so. Let's head over to the librarian's desk, then," Hiyori seemed extremely happy.

We handed over the books to the librarian.

"These are first edition books. They will cost a lot..." the librarian started scrolling on her computer to look at the prices.

"These two books will cost you 250,000 private points in total. Do you still wish to purchase these?"

Hiyori looked at me.

"Are you really fine with this, Kiyotaka-kun?"

"I already said I wanted to read these, and private points aren't an issue for me."

"I'll buy these," I said as I pulled out my phone.

I purchased the books and looked at my phone, I still had a little over four million private points.

"Thanks so much, Kiyotaka-kun!"

"No problem. Do you wish to read these now?"

"Eh? Aren't you going to read them?"

"I'm already reading the book you let me borrow. You start reading these. When you're done, it'll be my turn to read them."

"Well, if you say so. I'll start with The Big Sleep then," she said as she grabbed the book.

We left the library, and decided to end things for the day.

"Thanks for today, Kiyotaka-kun! I had so much fun!"

"Likewise, see you soon, Hiyori."

She waved to me as she left with a bright smile.

Why did I buy these books?

I did want to read these books, and I saw this as the perfect opportunity for me to make Hiyori have an even better impression of me.

A part of me also felt that Hiyori and I shared a bond. A bond formed by books. A bond formed thanks to a completely freaky coincidence. A bond between fellow book buddies.

Perhaps her and I were what you would call friends.

I suppose a part of me wanted to protect that bond.

"So, does anyone have any suggestions?"

Horikita had spoken up and suggested what I had said to her before.

"That sounds like a great idea, Horikita! What do the others think?"

"Fufu, so that's how we want to do things? I suppose I don't mind."

Before the meeting, I had asked Arisu to play along and agree with Horikita's plan. She agreed as she said she found this exam boring.

Ryuuen and the others were still sitting in the corner, but they obviously heard our conversation.

"Kukuku I'm not getting involved in your fake alliances. Count me out."

"Is that an invitation for us to attack you, Dragon Boy?"

"Attack me as you wish, you loli. I've figured out the pattern. After all, I had six VIP names, so figuring out the pattern was surprisingly easy."

Six? Did someone betray their class? Or was it a bluff?

If it wasn't a bluff, then someone certainly betrayed their class.

That person wouldn't have been from Class A, because they're extremely unified and as Class A they have no reason to betray their class for Class C.

The only way I could see that person being from Class B was if they are part of the Katsuragi Fraction. However, after the events on the island, I doubt they still trusted Ryuuen.

That only leaves us, Class D. If this was not a bluff, it would be safe to say there's a traitor in Class D.

"That's a bluff," Horikita said.

"Is it, Suzune? I suppose you will find out soon. I'll give you a chance to figure out the pattern yourself kukuku... I doubt Ayanokouji helped you, am I right Ayanokouji?."

"I decided that I wouldn't get involved, I won't be in your way, Ryuuen."

"Kukuku, so that's how it is. I'll make sure to crush Suzune if that's what it takes for you to get serious you bastard. Stop hiding in the shadows and come at me."

"Tch..." I heard Horikita let out a bit of her frustration.

"What do we do?" Kushida said.

"It's safe to say Class C won't cooperate with us, so it's better for us to discuss this when the meeting ends," Horikita said.

We all somewhat agreed, and soon, the meeting ended. After Class C left, we started our discussion.

"I think we should attack Class C. Since they won't cooperate, it's best if we attack them. We'll modify the strategy so that Class C is the only class to lose points."

"What about the pattern? Did someone figure it out?"

"Fufufu... my answer will depend on your plan."

"Ayanokouji figured out the pattern ages ago but he refuses to tell me."

"I simply don't want to get involved, that's all."

"If he refuses to participate, I suppose we have no choice but to do what we can without him."

"This is ridiculous, our classes are in danger. If we don't act soon, then our class points will all drop."

"What are you suggesting then, Horikita?"

"First, we need to confirm the pattern. Then, we'll have one class, let's call it Class 1, guess all of Class C's VIPs. It's almost certain that there are three VIPs in each class. The other two classes will guess each other's VIPs. We'll also have those two classes guess Class 1's VIPs, leaving Class C no possible actions."

"I agree with Horikita's plan! But, the exam already ended for a group. What do we do about that?" Ichinose asked.

"Was the VIP in your class, Ichinose?" Arisu asked.

"Um... yeah."

"Kouenji was the one to guess the VIP," I finally spoke up, "I saw him do so."

"In that case, I suggest we pick Class B as Class 1. As for the other classes D and A, they will guess each other's VIPs. Since they will also guess Class B's VIPs, one class will gain 100 class points, while the other will gain 50. I suggest we pick these classes based on current class points. Class A will earn 50 class points and Class D will earn 100 class points."

"I see... this seems like a good way to avoid losing class points while taking down Class C," Kanzaki said.

"I have no objections. Let's go along with Horikita's plan. I can send the VIPs to Ichinose and Horikita when the time comes," Arisu agreed although she was holding in her laugh for some reason.

"I'm fine with it too," Hirata said.

"Me too!" Kushida said.

After we all gave the green light, we had decided. Class D and Class A are allies, and I asked Arisu's Class B to go along with the plan. So in the end, no contract was written.

"So, should we do this now?" Ichinose asked.

"Yes," Horikita said.

"Hmm... shouldn't we wait a bit?" Kushida suggested.

"Why?"

"Well, we still have two days until the exam ends... shouldn't we wait a bit to be sure of everything?"

"That's a strange argument, Kushida. I would say it's good that we can end this exam two days early."

Kushida is acting suspiciously.

This was an agreement that could've reached on the first day. However, I purposefully didn't intervene.

This exam was the perfect opportunity to reveal a traitor. In the school's system, having a traitor on your class is essentially self-destruction. At this stage, it's better to eliminate the traitor then to gain class points.

However, I already know who the traitor is, and they might prove to be a useful tool.

Horikita's plan won't work because the traitor is in this room.

Author's Notes

Hey!

I'm sure most of you guys know who the traitor is.

I enjoyed writing the wholesome book buddies moment between Hiyori and Kiyotaka. And no. The ship will NOT be Hiyori x Kiyotaka.

As planned, Arisu went along with Horikita's plan after Kiyotaka asked her to. Arisu doesn't find the exam interesting so she's fine with it.

That's all for now, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Bye!

Chapter 5.4 - Let There Be Chaos

"When should we go ahead with the plan? Time is ticking," Horikita said.

"I think we should let our classmates know first," Kushida insisted.

"How about we go ahead with the plan tonight at 11 PM? That way we have enough time to tell our classmates," Hirata suggested.

"That sounds good, let's go with that!" Ichinose agreed.

"Fine by me fufufu," Arisu still couldn't help but laugh.

The unofficial meeting had concluded. We had decided to use Horikita's plan. Hirata organized a class meeting at 10:00 PM, when he planned let our classmates know about the plan.

Little did they know the traitor was in their class.

Immediately after we parted ways, I saw Kushida take out her phone, seemingly sending a message to someone.

After, I met up with Arisu in a cafe to briefly discuss the exam.

"Kiyotaka, are you okay with this?"

"Yes, why?"

"If my assumptions are correct, there's a traitor in your class. It's likely that the traitor let Ryuuen know of our so-called plan. He will act before we do and come out as the winner."

"I know. The traitor must've thought they could get away with this. It seems like they didn't think things through until the end. I won't be intervening though. I don't mind the loss in class points. I have another goal in mind."

"I see. Well, I'm letting you know that I don't intend on losing any class points in this exam."

"Class C coming out as the winner is part of my plan. As long as that happens, you can do as you see fit, Arisu."

"Fufufu... good to know. Luckily for you, I find this exam quite boring, so I'll play along with you for now. I suppose you don't need me to do anything?"

"Not anything in particular. Are you going to take actions now?"

"I plan on attacking Class C as soon as Ryuuen attacks all of us."

"I see, so you'll see no changes in your total class points. I suppose the fact that Class D had already guessed one of Class A's VIPs worked in your favor."

"I guess I was somewhat lucky fufufu... Also, why do you think Ryuuen waited before attacking us all?"

"Knowing him, he probably just wanted to have a little fun. He's confident because the traitor that works for him is in our group. Knowing that the traitor will tell him the time of our attack, he left the meeting as soon as it ended. I think he wanted to see what we would come up with."

"That's what I was thinking too. Ryuuen sees everything as a game. Are you sure you don't want to fight back?"

"I'm not going to do anything. This is all going exactly according to plan."

"Then I suppose I won't intervene in your business."

"Is that all you wanted to talk about, Arisu?"

"Yes, pretty much. I can't wait to see the reactions of your classmates, fufufu."

With that, we parted ways.

"I see, that's a good plan."

"Yeah, I support Horikita's idea."

It was time for the class meeting. Hirata reserved the meeting room on the second floor of the cruise ship. Everyone was present, except for Kouenji.

Horikita had just finished explaining the plan.

"Sakayanagi-san will send us the list of the VIPs just before we take action."

It seemed like Horikita failed to figure out the pattern.

"Why aren't we taking action now?"

"We decided it would be best for each class to have a class meeting to make the plan known to all three classes involved," Hirata said.

"Did Kiyotaka have a say in this?" Ken asked.

"No, I didn't get involved in this exam. I let Hirata, Kushida and Horikita take the lead and it seems like it was the right choice. I wanted to enjoy my days on the cruise ship."

"I see."

"To sum up, Sakayanagi will tell us the VIPs at 10:45 PM. Then, soon after, we'll put our plan into action," Horikita summed up.

"Sounds good!"

"This exam will finally be over!"

It was little past 10:45 PM, and everyone in our class was in the meeting room on the second floor. Everyone except Kouenji, but that was to be expected.

It was obvious that everyone was nervous. Nobody knew if this plan was really going to work.

Arisu was supposed to send the VIPs any moment now.

"I got them," Horikita said as she received the VIP list, "Okay, we'll act according to our plan. The two remaining Class A VIPs are in the Tiger Group and the Monkey Group. I would like one student from each of these groups to come forward. We'll attack in a few minutes."

After some discussion, Matsushita and Haruka went towards Horikita.

I thought my classmates would argue for a longer time. It seemed like they all forgot the rule that stated the student to submit a correct answer in Outcome 3 gets 500,000 private points.

She showed them the VIPs and they started typing on their phones.

Instantly, all of our phones vibrated.

The special exam has ended for the Tiger Group. All students from that group are free to do as they wish until the end of the exam period.

The special exam has ended for the Monkey Group. All students from that group are free to do as they wish until the end of the exam period.

The special exam has ended for the Horse Group. All students from that group are free to do as they wish until the end of the exam period.

The special exam has ended for the Rabbit Group. All students from that group are free to do as they wish until the end of the exam period.

The special exam has ended for the Rat Group. All students from that group are free to do as they wish until the end of the exam period.

The special exam has ended for the Dog Group. All students from that group are free to do as they wish until the end of the exam period.

The special exam has ended for the Goat Group. All students from that group are free to do as they wish until the end of the exam period.

The special exam has ended for the Rooster Group. All students from that group are free to do as they wish until the end of the exam period.

"Wow, you guys sure type quick," Kushida chuckled.

"Um..."

"What's wrong, Hasebe?" Hirata asked.

"I didn't even send the message," Haruka said as she showed everyone her phone.

"What?"

"Me too, I didn't even finish typing the message yet," Matsushita followed up.

"What's the meaning of this?" Horikita was visibly confused.

Confusion filled up the room. Nobody understood what had just happened.

Soon after, our phones vibrated again.

The special exam has ended for the Ox Group. All students from that group are free to do as they wish until the end of the exam period.

The special exam has ended for the Dragon Group. All students from that group are free to do as they wish until the end of the exam period.

The special exam has ended for the Snake Group. All students from that group are free to do as they wish until the end of the exam period.

It seemed like Arisu had made her move.

My phone rang. It was Ichinose. She was calling me.

"Hello?"

I picked up the phone as everyone looked at me. I put the phone on speaker mode so that everyone could listen.

"Ayanokouji-kun! We have a problem! We didn't send the messages yet but the exams all ended. What happened?"

"The same thing happened to us. We're yet to understand the situation," Horikita jumped in.

"Really? Do you guys have any idea what could've caused this?"

"Not at all, I'm clueless," Hirata admitted.

"What just happened?"

"What the hell?"

There was commotion everywhere. I could even hear Class A students let their confusion known through the phone call.

"I think the answer is simple," I said to Ichinose. Everyone attentively listened to me.

"There was a traitor in our meeting."

"What? A traitor?"

"Yes, you heard me right. There's a traitor in the Cow Group. When we discussed the details of our plans, the traitor remembered the information and told it to Ryuuen, who attacked right before we were supposed to attack him."

"H-How are you so sure, Ayanokouji?" Horikita asked.

"It was somewhat obvious, if you ask me. Why do you think Ryuuen calmly left the meeting even though he knew we were going to discuss a plan to attack his class? Did you really think the fact that he had six VIP names was a bluff? The fact is that a traitor from one of the three classes told him the three VIP names of their class."

"W-what?"

"W-wait a second, Ayanokouji, are you sure?" Hirata asked me in a desperate tone.

"There is no doubt in my mind."

"No way..."

"What class is the traitor in?"

"Yeah! Where are they!?"

"Do you know which class contains the traitor?"

"I do. They're in Class D."

A silence filled the room. Nobody knew how to react.

With that, seeds of doubt had been planted in the mind of the Class D students.

"Wait, hold on a second, Ayanokouji. You said the traitor was in the Cow Group?"

"That is what I said, yes."

"So one of Kushida, Horikita, Hirata and Ayanokouji is the traitor?" someone said.

"That is correct."

"Hold on... isn't the traitor Ayanokouji?" Ike screamed.

"Yeah! He didn't get involved during the exam! Don't think we're dumb enough to not notice that! I'm sure he's the traitor, the other three could never be the traitor, especially Kushida!" Yamauchi cried out.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Kushida slightly worried. I'm sure she thought her betrayal would go unseen. It is true that for everyone, nobody thought there would be a traitor in our class. However, after the presence of a traitor became known, she started panicking. Perhaps she just remembered that I have that video. Luckily for her though, I wasn't planning on exposing her, at least not yet.

"Are you the traitor, Ayanokouji?" Horikita asked.

"I'll say I'm not the traitor, but whether you believe me or not is up to you"

"What?"

"That's exactly what a traitor would say you bastard!"

"Guys, let's all calm down," Hirata said.

"What the hell Hirata? Why is it that you're siding with him this time?" Ike cried out.

"This time?" Horikita asked.

Seems like I might have some explaining to do.

"We don't even know if this is the result of a Class C attack. Let's wait until the exam results first."

"I suppose Hirata's right."

"Let's not overreact... for now."

Ichinose finally spoke again. I almost forgot I was on a call with her.

"I have to go, Ayanokouji-kun. Let's discuss this later."

Ichinose hung up the call.

After the commotion slowly calmed down, an announcement came through the speaker.

"After unexpected circumstances, the special exam entitled 'Zodiac Exam' has ended for all groups. Due to this, we will now announce the results."

"Right now?"

"I can't deal with this..."

"I'm so nervous..."

"Coming in last place, Class A, with minus 150 class points."

"W-what the hell?"

"Coming in third place, Class D, with minus 100 class points."

"Minus one hundred?"

"My private points!!!"

"NO!"

"How could this happen?!"

"Coming in second place, Class B, with 0 points."

"Zero points?"

"I'm not even trying to understand anymore."

"Finally, coming in first place..."

"No way..."

"I don't want to hear this."

"Class C, with 250 points."

"What the hell?!"

"Those bastards!"

After a few words of frustration, everyone slowly calmed down.

"I think it's safe to say it was a Class C attack, don't you think, Ayanokouji?" Horikita asked me.

"No doubt about it," I said.

"Tch. I know you betrayed us, Ayanokouji!" Ike said.

"First you don't get involved, then you betray our class? What the hell is wrong with you!?" Yamauchi followed.

Their frustration was understandable. From an outsider's point of view, I was certainly the most obvious candidate. Nobody thought Horikita, Hirata, or Kushida could be the traitor. The fact that I didn't get involved in this exam made them become even more suspicious of me.

However, that was the plan since the very beginning.

"Believe what you want," I simply said.

Everyone had mixed feelings, but Ike and Yamauchi sure made their opinions known.

"I don't think Kiyopon is the traitor," Haruka said.

"Yeah, you guys should calm down," Ken agreed.

The Ayanokouji Group defended me. Before we knew it, the entire class was stuck in a dispute. Everyone was disagreeing with one another. It was like the class morale suddenly sunk to the ground.

Chaos. The room was filled with complete disorder and confusion.

In truth, I never intended to expose the traitor. I had another goal in mind.

"The exam is done, can I leave the room now?" I asked.

"What? You want to leave!?" Ike screamed.

"You sure have guts, you traitor!" Yamauchi followed up.

Another commotion started.

"Guys, calm down, okay? I'm sure Ayanokouji isn't the traitor. I'm going to speak with him outside the room, if that's fine with you all," Kushida calmly said.

I knew Kushida would say this. I had waited for this moment. She was definitely wondering why I didn't use this chance to expose her and wanted to talk to me.

"If Kushida says so, then it's okay," Ike said.

The rest of the class gave us the green light. Kushida and I were now outside the meeting room, in a corner where nobody could hear us.

"So you're the traitor, huh, Kushida?"

"Stop playing around! How come you didn't show them the video!?" she changed to her other self.

"Do you want me to show them the video?"

"No! Of course not. But I thought I was done for. I thought the life I worked so hard for was over. I didn't think my betrayal would be noticed this easily. I'm regretting this so much. Why did you leave me alone now, of all times?!"

"Now of all times? Kushida, I left you alone since a long time ago."

"What?"

"I deleted the video a long time ago. Do you really think I wouldn't have used it right now?"

"What? Why did you delete the video?"

"I suppose a part of me wanted to trust you. It was a mistake on my end, I guess."

"Are you stupid? I don't believe you."

"Kushida. Anyone would expose you with that video if they were in my situation. Do you seriously think I wouldn't use this opportunity to expose you when you're a danger to the entire class, me included? If you really can't believe me, I suppose there's nothing I can do about that."

"Show me your phone then."

"Huh? Sure."

I gave her my phone and the video was, indeed, not on it.

"You know this is proof isn't strong enough, right?" I asked her.

"I know... Don't you think you can get away with this. I don't believe you, although I want to. Listen here, the second we get back to school, I will thoroughly search your room, your luggage, everything. I better not find any trace of that video."

"You can do whatever you want, I already told you I deleted the video."

"Tch."

"Now, Kushida, why did you betray Class D?"

"So that I can expel you and Horikita."

"What does that have to do with Class D, though?"

"I'll drag Class D to the ground and blame it on you and her. If you really don't have the video, then you won't be able to stop me. I don't care how smart you are, or where you come from, without evidence, you can't do anything."

"I guess I was wrong to give you a second chance."

"You really make my blood boil you brat. I better not find anything in your room when we get back. If I find my video somewhere, on your computer, on a USB stick, or whatever, I swear I will expel you as fast as possible."

"Whatever makes you sleep at night."

"Tch."

"I want you to believe me."

"You think I will do that so easily?"

"Yes. In exchange, tell the class I'm the traitor."

"W-what?"

"You heard me. I want you to tell the class I'm the traitor. That's how much I want you to believe me and trust me, Kushida."

"What the hell... I really don't get you. You could've easily exposed me. But now you're willing to ruin your own school life for me?"

"Yes."

Kushida, what you're doing is actually doing me a favor.

"I seriously hate you, but I want to believe you. I'll do as you say. I'll tell everyone you admitted to being the traitor. Is that fine with you?"

"That's more than good enough, thanks Kushida."

"I don't know why you're thanking me for this, you creep."

"I'm glad we could work things out."

"This is what you call working things out? What the hell did the White Room teach you?"

"Don't bring up my past. Are we clear?"

"Tch, fine."

"I'll be going now. Do what I told you to do."

"Don't have to tell me twice. I look forward to seeing your classmates turn their backs on you."

"By the way, keeping all your frustration inside you isn't healthy. I'll let you know that you can always come to me to rant about your problems."

"Tch... as if I'll do that."

"It's up to you. Whatever's on your mind, I'll be here to listen. If you don't want to, then so be it. I'll be going now."

"You creep me out..." Kushida then reverted back to her usual self, "Well, I'll be going now. I guess we share a secret now, hehe. See you later, Ayanokouji!"

Say, Kushida, which one is the real you?

I left the second floor and went to the main deck, making sure nobody was around me or following me.

Once I was outside on the deck, I made sure once more that nobody was around me.

I then took out the recorder I had in my pocket the whole time.

Author's Notes

Hey there!

I hoped you enjoyed this part!

This more or less clears up the motives behind Kiyotaka's actions during this exam. Kushida naively thought that nobody would notice her betrayal. But why did Kiyotaka want Kushida to portray him as the traitor? Only Kiyotaka himself knows.

To clear things up:

Class C correctly guessed all three of Class D's VIPs, but Kouenji correctly guessed one of Class A's VIPs. So they end up with -100 cp as they didn't submit any answers.

Class C also correctly guessed all three of Class B's VIPs, but Class B correctly guessed all three of Class C's VIPs. So Class B end up with 0 cp.

Class C correctly guessed the two remaining Class A VIPs, leaving Class A with -150 cp as they didn't submit any answers either.

Class C therefore end up with 8 correct guesses, but all three of their VIPs were guessed correctly, so essentially it was the same as if they only had 5 correct guesses, so they end up with 250 cp.

Also, in this timeline, the VIPs of the Zodiac Exam were also chosen based on the order of the Zodiac and the alphabetical order of the last names, but backwards. For example, in the Cow Group (2nd Zodiac sign), if we listed the last names by alphabetical order, Shiina would be before last, so second from the bottom, hence why she was the VIP.

Hope this explanation helps.

Thank you all for 50k reads!

That's all, see you for the next and final part of Chapter 5!

Chapter 5.5 - All Eyes On Me

Before the Zodiac Exam, these were the class rankings:

Class A - 1331 cp
Class B - 1232 cp
Class C - 617 cp
Class D - 316 cp

The new class rankings after the special exam were the following:

Class A - 1181 cp (- 150 cp)
Class B - 1232 cp ( 0 cp)
Class C - 867 cp ( 250 cp)
Class D - 216 cp (- 100 cp)

Which meant that Arisu's Class B took back their original Class A spot.

The gap between Class D and the other classes grew even bigger as Class C got closer to Class B

But the class rankings weren't really my concern.

Kushida did what I told her to do. She told everyone in Class D that I admitted to being the traitor, although she was the traitor.

She was obviously confused as to why I would go to such lengths.

Kushida is a useful pawn. However, I can't use her if she doesn't trust me. I'll make her slowly but surely trust me. Then, I'll dispose of her when she least expects it.

It was already the day after the class meeting. Today would've been the third day of the exam, but the exam had already ended, which is also why we were given a few extra days of free time on the cruise ship. The school told us that we would be back in Tokyo in three days' time.

I went to sleep last night after leaving the main deck. When I woke up, my roommates were still asleep, it seemed like they didn't bother to wake me up last night.

When I turned on my phone, I saw that I had received a lot of messages. Many didn't want to believe that I was the traitor, and asked me for confirmation.

Horikita

10:32 PM

[Are you really the traitor?]
[I don't believe it]

6:43 AM

[So Kushida told you guys, huh?]
[Seems like word got out]
[Yes, I am the traitor]

I left Horikita alone and opened the Ayanokouji Group group chat.

Ayanokouji Group

10:12 PM

[Kiyopon... is it true?]
[Are you really the traitor?](Haruka)

[There's no way]
[Right?](Airi)

[He's not responding]
[...](Akito)

[Maybe he's sleeping?](Ken)

[Maybe he's ignoring our messages :( ](Haruka)

[Let's wait until he responds](Airi)

[Airi's right](Akito)

[Yeah, let's do that](Ken)

[Okay...](Haruka)

6:45 AM

[What Kushida said was true]
[I am the traitor]

I decided to head out before my roommates woke up.

I went to a café to get myself a cup of coffee. There were a few people there that all noticed me. I sensed nothing unusual from their looks so I'm guessing the word hasn't spread outside of Class D yet, although that will inevitably happen this morning when everyone wakes up. For now, I suppose I'll enjoy the remaining moments of my somewhat peaceful life in Class D.

I sat down at a table and drank my coffee while fiddling with my phone. It wasn't long until I sensed some people approaching me.

"Oh hey, Ayanokouji-kun! You're up early."

Ichinose approached me with her friend Amikura. Judging by her greeting, I confirmed my theory that word hasn't spread yet.

"Hello, Ichinose. Hello, Amikura."

"Hey hey, Ayanokouji-kun! What's a handsome guy like you doing alone?"

"I just wanted a cup of coffee, I guess. My roommates haven't woken up yet."

"I see. Say, Ayanokouji-kun, what happened yesterday night after I hung up the call?" Ichinose asked.

"It's hard to explain."

"Did you guys figure out who the traitor was?"

"More or less. I can't tell you who it is though."

"Huh, why?"

"I don't think I should be the one to tell you. I'm sure you will know who it is as soon as everyone wakes up."

"I don't really get it, but sure."

"How did your class react to the results?"

"Well, they're disappointed for sure. But we're still in a good spot. Even though we got demoted to Class B, we have a solid amount of class points," she said.

"Yeah! We'll just make sure to do our best in the next special exams," Amikura agreed.

"I see, that's good for you guys."

"What about you, Ayanokouji-kun?"

"Well, as expected my classmates turned their backs on the traitor."

"Really? I guess, that's expected. Whoever betrays their class deserves whatever comes their way I suppose," Amikura said.

I looked at my phone and it was a little past 7 AM, which was the time when my roommates generally woke up these past days.

"Sorry, I need to go. See you guys later, Ichinose, Amikura."

"Oh, okay then. See you, Ayanokouji-kun!"

"Bye bye!"

I left them and head somewhere where I was sure there would be no one.

The library.

Every time I went to the cruise ship library, there was nobody except Hiyori.

When I arrived, there was nobody, like I expected. Hiyori wasn't there either, so I was alone. The librarian greeted me.

"Hello there, is your girlfriend not with you today?"

"My girlfriend?" I was evidently confused.

"Is the silver-haired girl that was with you yesterday not your girlfriend?"

"Oh, no, she's not."

"I see. I apologize for jumping to conclusions. I suppose you guys must be good friends then. Anyways, sorry for bothering you. Enjoy your time."

Friends, huh?

I decided to sit at a small table close to the mystery section. I put my bag on the table and took out the book I had borrowed from Hiyori. Cat of Many Tails by Ellery Queen.

An hour or two had passed when I checked the time on my phone. I had finished the book I borrowed from Hiyori.

I had also received replies from Horikita and the Ayanokouji Group.

Horikita was still a bit doubtful. She said that although she doesn't fully believe I'm the traitor, she will stop contacting me and stop asking me for advice.

Thank goodness.

As for the Ayanokouji Group, they were shocked, to say the least. They understood that I must've had my reasons. Although they said they didn't want to hate me, they decided to keep their distance from me, or else it could raise suspicions within the class, which was understandable.

I responded to neither parties.

Meanwhile, I also got kicked out of the Class D group chat.

I'm sure the word spread around the cruise ship. Not only that, the word spread on the school's online forum.

'Ayanokouji is the traitor' is what everyone will think.

And that's exactly what I want them to think.

"Kiyotaka-kun?"

Hiyori made her appearance in the library.

"Hey, Hiyori."

She sat down across me and took out the book I had let her borrow.

"Say, Kiyotaka-kun, are the rumors true?"

"What rumors?"

"Don't play dumb," she chuckled, "Did you really betray your class?"

"Oh, that. The news spread, huh?"

"Why did you help our class?"

"I have my reasons. I don't really want to talk about this though."

"Can I ask just one more question?"

"Hm? Sure."

"Do your classmates hate you?"

"Yeah, but what they think of me doesn't bother me."

"I see, well I won't bother you with this anymore. Let's talk about something else. Are you done with my book?

"Yeah, I finished it right before you came here. It was a great book."

"Great! Do you want to borrow another one?" she said as she took out the other books from her bag.

"Sure, if you don't mind."

I decided to borrow The Best Mysteries of Isaac Asimov.

"Good choice," she happily said.

"What about you? How far are you into that book?"

"I'm about halfway through. I still can't thank you enough for buying and letting me borrow this first edition book, Kiyotaka-kun."

"No need to thank me. Say, Hiyori, do you know where Ryuuen is?"

"Ryuuen... I'm not sure, if I were to guess, he's probably at the café right about now, provoking students from other classes."

He's definitely confused about the so-called news.

"Yeah, that was my guess too, I would like to go see him. I'll be going now, it was nice talking to you, Hiyori."

"Should I come with you?"

"I don't think you should. If people from my class see you with me, the class traitor, who knows how they'll see you and what they'll do to you."

"I see... thanks for thinking about me, Kiyotaka-kun. I'll still be in the library for a bit. See you!"

With that, I said goodbye to the librarian and head to the café.

I feel like I'm getting even more glances than on the first day of high school.

No doubt about it. The news have spread. Some students from other classes were whispering about me. I could hear them thanks to my extraordinary hearing abilities.

"Is that Ayanokouji-kun?"

" He's the traitor?"

"I knew he was scary..."

"A demon..."

Meanwhile, the Class D students that were all sitting together stared at me. They weren't holding back in insulting me.

"You bastard!" Ike screamed.

"Traitor!" Shinohara said.

"You should've died in the White Room!" Yamauchi cried out.

Human behavior sure is extraordinarily fascinating.

Sitting at one table, I saw Arisu, Hashimoto and Kamuro. Arisu was looking at me, trying her best to hold in her laugh.

"Oi."

I heard a voice behind me, and turned around to see the person I was looking for.

"Ryuuen."

Ryuuen showed up with Albert, Ishizaki and Ibuki.

"What's the meaning of this?"

Everyone's eyes were on us.

"What do you mean, Ryuuen? I guess word about my betrayal spread out quicker than we expected."

How will you respond, Ryuuen?

Indeed, Ryuuen was in a tough spot.

Will he deny that I was the traitor and let everyone know that I didn't work with him? In that case, will he tell everyone the real traitor?

Or will he play along and act as if I did indeed work with him? Will he pretend that we're allies in the eyes of the public?

Or will he simply leave without saying a word? Even if he does so, that would still make people think I worked with him.

There were so many people in the café, everyone was silent. Even if he whispered in my ear, the people close to us would still hear his words.

It's your move, Ryuuen.

"Tch..." he let out his frustration.

For an outsider, it certainly would seem like he was frustrated that news about a traitor broke out. However, Ryuuen realized that he was stuck and had to decide quickly on his move.

"There are some people in Class D that are still unconvinced of my betrayal, why don't you confirm it to them to erase their doubts?" I said while looking at Horikita who was sitting at a table in the corner.

It doesn't matter what needs to be sacrificed.

"Kukuku... you sure are interesting, Ayanokouji..." he said while thinking about his next words, "If that's what you want to do..."

Ryuuen was careful to pick his words carefully. His words had double meaning. For the people sitting, it would seem like he was talking about the fact that I wanted him to confirm my betrayal. But he's indirectly talking about the fact that I wanted to trap him in this situation.

"Indeed. Ayanokouji betrayed you defects. This is a reality check for you pieces of trash. Even the so-called Masterpiece of the White Room can't fix your useless class, kukuku. My dead grandma has more potential than you lot."

So that's your move, huh, Ryuuen.

"You heard him," I said while looking at my classmates. I saw Kushida giving me a curious look.

"You bastard!"

"Jerk!"

"How could you do this?!"

Go on, hate me, despise me all you want.

"Ayanokouji, come with me, let's discuss things."

"Huh? Sure."

I followed Ryuuen and his group. I felt everyone's stares burning holes through my back. It seemed like everything was going to plan.

I followed him into his room. As soon as he locked the door, he faced himself towards me. Initially, I thought he would launch himself at me.

"Kukukuku..." he was simply laughing his head off.

"You never fail to surprise me, Ayanokouji. It seems like you saw through Kikyou's betrayal. Not only that, you trapped me into making everyone think you and I worked together."

Indeed, even if he denied the fact that there was a traitor, people would still have trouble believing him after what happened last night.

"What are you trying to achieve with this? That's what I can't figure out," he asked me.

"Who knows."

"Don't give me that crap," he said as he grabbed me by the neck.

"If you want an answer, you'll have to wait and see," I slapped his hand away.

"Tch. You really know how to piss me off."

"Are we done here?"

"If you're not going to talk, I'll make you talk."

Ryuuen ran towards me and threw a strong punch, that I dodged at the last second.

"Kuku... I'll let you off the hook just this time, you bastard. I don't know what the fuck you're up to, but it'll probably be interesting to see kukuku."

"Seriously Ryuuen, you're letting him go after all this?" Ibuki raised her voice.

Ibuki wasn't a fan of Ryuuen's decision of letting me go. Ishizaki and Albert, though, were impressed by my dodge. Albert even gave me a discreet nod.

With that, I left Ryuuen's room.

I would say it's almost scary how everything is going exactly according to my plan. However, I unfortunately cannot feel fear, much like Ryuuen.

I will leave Class D when the perfect opportunity arrives. And when it arrives, I might give them a little farewell gift.

It's like a wise man once said.

There's a fine line between genius and insanity.

I have erased this line.

Author's Notes

Hey!

That's the end of Chapter 5! Hope you liked it!

What's Kiyotaka up to? Why did he suddenly decide to turn his back on Class D?

Here are my plans for the future of this fan fiction (important!):

After this, there will be Chapter 6 and 7, which will be covering the Sports Festival and the Paper Shuffle Exam respectively.

I intend to skip the Mixed Training Camp Exam, as I don't really don't know what to write about it and honestly I haven't properly read through that exam so I don't even understand the rules. Therefore, in this timeline, the Mixed Training Camp Exam didn't happen. I hope you understand.

Chapter 8 will therefore cover The Class Poll. Chapter 9 will cover the Event Selection Exam.

Chapter 10 will mark the beginning of the second year and the first second-year special exam and will probably be the last chapter of this fan fic. I might also write a sequel but with university around the corner, who knows.

There will only be one short story before Chapter 6.

That's all. See you soon!

SS. 12 - Shiina Hiyori: Book Buddies

"So, how do you like the books I gave you, Ayanokouji-kun?"

Ayanokouji-kun and I met by complete chance.

I was wandering around the cruise ship library, that I initially thought was empty. It had been a few days since the first special exam had ended, and a new special exam had taken place.

I had stopped at the mystery section to look at some books. A certain book caught my eye. Wuthering Heights. The cover was really well illustrated, although I never particularly liked or disliked the author. I tried to grab the book from the shelf. Since there were no stepstool in the library, I struggled to do so.

Before I knew it, Ayanokouji-kun walked over and helped me take the book off the shelf.

"This one is really interesting. The author has a unique style of writing and it's quite intriguing to read it. You've got good taste."

William Irish, Ellery Queen, Lawrence Block, and Isaac Asimov. Those were some of my favorite authors. I was happy to hear that Ayanokouji-kun out of all people shared the same taste. I laughed to myself.

"Is it something I said?"

"No, don't worry, it's nothing about you, Ayanokouji-kun. I'm just so happy that I found someone who likes books like I do. And I never would've thought that person would be you, the one they call the Masterpiece of the White Room. I'm book buddies with the Ayanokouji Kiyotaka!"

"Book buddies?"

"Yeah, book buddies, reading buddies, whatever you want to call it. I'm just so happy to be able to talk about books with someone like you!"

I had finally met someone that shares the same passion as me. I felt happy. There was a warm feeling in my heart.

"Do you have any friends, Shiina?"

"Friends? Well I guess I do, but none of them like books like you do! You're my first and fellow book buddy!"

"I suppose you're my fellow book buddy too, Shiina."

I had finally made a friend with similar interests.

A part of me thought these actions were not like me, while the other part was extremely excited towards this development.

I've always appeared as a loner in my class. I never fit in. I've always been quiet and reserved. Nobody in Class C is into literature. I never had anyone to talk to about the novels I was reading. I loved books, I loved them to the point that when I met Ayanokouji-kun, I didn't even notice that I had become overly and excitedly talkative until the conversation had almost ended. I became enthusiastic and cheerful for the first time in a very long time, which I thought was unlike me.

Even though I was quite happy being alone, I also felt a sense of loneliness every once in a while. Perhaps I wanted to establish friendship with someone. Someone that loved books like I do. Or at least, someone to whom I could talk to about books.

I had always carried books in my bag, in case I met someone who shared the same interests in books as me. It seemed like today was that day. I became friends with Ayanokouji-kun out of all people. I'm excited for what the future will bring.

I hope that we can become even closer, sharing our thoughts on novels, recommending certain books to one another, borrowing books from each other.

I hope that this friendship will last as long as it can.

I hope that, in the future, the dispute between classes won't create a crack between us.

Author's Notes

Hey!

I didn't really have any ideas for a SS, so here's Hiyori's perspective on her encounter with Kiyotaka on the cruise ship's library!

Coming up next is chapter 6!

Chapter 6.1 - Different Atmosphere

Some things happened during our last days on the cruise ship. Karuizawa and Hirata 'broke up', to the surprise of most students. However, I knew their relationship was fake. They had finally decided to end it.

Currently, we had just come back from the cruise ship, I was in my room and, as promised, I let Kushida search my room.

"You're really paranoid, Kushida. I already told you I deleted the video. There's no trace of it."

The moment we came back from the cruise ship, Kushida came into my room and searched through my computer, looked in every drawer, in every corner of my room, even in the bathroom for recorders and similar devices to see if there was a trace of her video. She even searched through my clothes. After she couldn't find anything, she gave up searching and sat on my bed.

As for the recorder I used on the cruise ship, I put it in a small white lockable box I had previously bought before we boarded the cruise ship and let Arisu keep it safe. In the moment, Arisu somehow thought I was proposing to her, but I obviously was not.

I told her that I would take back the box when the time comes. In other words, the recorder wasn't in my room, and I indeed had no trace of the video I took of Kushida. No trace in my room, at least.

"Say, Ayanokouji..."

"Hm?"

"You said I could rant my problems to you?"

"That's what I said."

"Can I do that right now?"

"Of course, I'll listen to you."

"Are you not recording right now?"

"Didn't you just search my room?"

"Leave your phone on the table."

"If that's what it takes to reassure you," I said as I took out my phone from my pocket and put it on the table.

I was sitting on my chair and she was sitting on my bed. She laid down and stared at the ceiling. I turned my back to her and faced the computer on my desk.

It is said that when speaking what's on their mind, one feels most comfortable when there's nobody in their field of vision. I made sure to stay out of Kushida's field of vision.

She started going on and on about her problems and told me all about her opinions about her classmates.

A good thirty-minutes had passed before she stopped, took a deep breath and changed back to her usual personality

"Ayanokouji. I feel really good, you know, like a huge weight was removed off my shoulders. I suppose I should thank you for listening to me. I feel like you don't judge me at all no matter what I say, so I can say everything that comes to my mind. Maybe... I can trust you... after all," she hesitantly said that last part.

"I'm glad I could help you. I think you should get going now, it's past curfew already. Feel free to come back anytime."

"You're right. Bye bye, Ayanokouji!" she said goodbye with her usual tone.

After I checked that nobody was outside the door, Kushida left my room.

It was the end of August. After our so-called vacation on the cruise ship had come to an end, our actual summer vacation also came to an end.

I didn't do much during summer vacation. Understandably, I received no invitations from my classmates to hang out, as expected. I met up with Hiyori in the library a couple of times and we talked about books as usual.

I also met up with Arisu a couple of times in the café filled with girls. It seemed like she decided that place was our official meeting spot.

Kushida came to my room to take some weight off her shoulders a few times. Even though it was summer vacation, someone like her had plans every day, so she was in constant contact with people. It seemed like she became more and more comfortable around me. I felt like I was getting a glimpse at the real Kushida.

Today, there was a two-hour long homeroom. I received death stares from my classmates, but they didn't bother me at all.

Chabashira-sensei said that the first month of the second semester beginning in September will include an increase of physical education classes in order to prepare for the upcoming Sports Festival.

"Yeah! Sports!" Ken screamed.

"Ugh... do we have to participate?"

The class seemingly had mixed emotions.

Chabashira-sensei distributed a manual containing the rules. She then started explaining the rules herself.

The Sports Festival was an event for all three years.

Classes of all school years will be divided into two teams:

The Red Team will consist of Class A and Class D.

The White Team will consist of Class B and Class C.

Events will be divided into two categories:

Universal Participation. All students of a class must participate, meaning I'll have to participate even though the class sees me as the traitor. Not participating in such events is equivalent to coming in last place.

Recommended Only Participation. Only students selected by their respective classes need to participate. Such events include Scavenger Hunt, Three-Legged Race (Mixed Gender) and 1200-Meter Relay.

There are also two types of competitions, Individual Competitions and Team Competitions.

100-Metre Dash, Hurdle Race, Capture the Flag (Boys Only), Tamaire (Girls-Only), Tug of War (Divided By Gender), Obstacle Course Race, Three-Legged Race (Mixed Genders), Cavalry Battle, 200-Metre Dash. Those are the Individual Competitions.

Scavenger Hunt, Four-Way Tug of War, Three-Legged Race (All Three School Years), 1200-Metre Relay Race (All Three School Years). Those are the Team Competitions.

In Individual Competitions, the points will be allocated as such:

1st Place = 15 Points
2nd Place = 12 Points
3rd Place = 10 Points
4th Place = 8 Points
1 point each will be deducted for placing lower than 5th.

In Team Competitions, the winning team receives 500 points.

For Recommended Only Competitions, the points will be allocated as such:

1st Place = 50 Points
2nd Place = 30 Points
3rd Place = 15 Points
4th Place = 10 Points
2 points each will be deducted for placing lower than 5th.
The relay, which will be final competition, will award 3 times the points.

As for the outcome of the Red Team vs. White Team competition, scores will be calculated by pooling the totals of all students in all school years on each team. Classes from the winning team will see no changes to their class points. Classes from the losing team will suffer a one-hundred class point penalty.

However, there is also a ranking within each school year.

Being 1st place in a school year will grant you 50 class points. 2nd place will see no change to their class points. 3rd and 4th place will see their class points decrease by 50 and 100 respectively.

There are also Individual Competition Awards. Here is what was writing on the manual.

1st Place = 5000 Private Points OR Equivalent of 3 Marks in a Written Exam

2nd Place = 3000 Private Points OR Equivalent of 2 Marks in a Written Exam

3rd Place = 1000 Private Points OR Equivalent of 1 Mark in a Written Exam.
Marks cannot be transferred between students.

Last Place = -1000 Private Points
If the student has less than 1000 Private Points, they will lose 1 mark in a written exam instead

There was a Best Performing Student Award. For the student who receives the highest score across all competitions, 100,000 Private Points will be awarded.

For the 3 students of each school year who receive the highest scores across all competitions, 10,000 Private Points each will be awarded.

There were harsh penalties as well. After completion of all competitions, the total points earned by each student will be calculated, and the bottom 10 individuals in each school year will be penalized. For 1st years, the penalty imposed will be a score deduction of 10 marks on each student's next written exam

Students of each class are in charge of deciding which competition each of them will be competing in, and in which order. This will be written down on a participation table, which will then be given to their homeroom teacher for submission anytime within a week before the sports festival. Changes can be made only up until the deadline which is 5 PM on the day before the festival.

Substitutions during the festival are allowed for the Recommended Only competitions, but participants must pay 100,000 Private Points per competition.

With 20 minutes remaining, Chabashira-sensei left the classroom, and the class broke into groups to discuss the sports festival.

I was obviously left out. I was looking outside the window while listening attentively to their conversations.

"I'll participate in every competition! And I'll win them all!" Ken was especially motivated.

The second homeroom period was moved to the gymnasium where students of all classes and years can meet. Therefore, Class D students decided to wait until the second period end to decide what to do.

When the time came, we all left. I made sure to leave the classroom last.

I think I'm somewhat grateful. They decided to just ignore me instead of screaming at me with pointless insults. They definitely won't let me know of their plans for the sports festival.

"Kushida?"

She was waiting for me outside the classroom door.

"Hey, Ayanokouji!"

"Why did you wait for me?"

"I wanted to talk to you, why else?"

"I see, so? What did you want to talk about?"

Kushida looked around to make sure nobody was close to us, still showing her usual self.

"What are you going to do now?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, about the class."

"Kushida."

"Yes?"

"Are you going to betray your class again this Sports Festival?"

"You already know the answer. Will you help me?

"Who knows. I'm guessing you want to crush Class D so that you can crush Horikita?"

"Of course, isn't that obvious?"

"If so, then I know a way to do so. I will help you if you do as I say."

"That's an interesting offer, Ayanokouji. I'll think about it, okay? I'll be going on ahead now!"

"Sure."

We continued heading towards the gymnasium.

"I'll be taking charge of the Red Team."

A third-year from Class A, Fujimaki took the lead. While all classes were discussing their plans, Manabu pulled me to the side. I didn't need to listen to their discussions anyway.

"Hey, President."

"Ayanokouji. Are the rumors true?"

"Rumors?"

"You must know what I'm talking about. Did you really betray Class D?"

I did my best to let out a sigh to make him think I was tired of these questions.

"Rumors are rumors, but they're quite powerful as you can see. Even I can't fight back against the rumors."

"Ayanokouji, were you framed by the traitor?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you. Sorry, President."

"I see."

"However, don't worry. You shouldn't intervene in this. I'll figure something out myself."

"If you say so, then I suppose I won't get involved in your problems. How are your classmates treating you?"

"It's safe to say they hate me now."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"I don't mind it, really. Say, President, are you interesting in racing against me in the Sports Festival?"

"Race you?"

"I would've liked to race you in the final relay race, but that seems unlikely. My classmates definitely won't put me as one of the participants."

"I see. I'd be a liar if I said I didn't want to race you and see your abilities firsthand. However, if you aren't one of the participants, there's nothing I can do about it."

"I'm sure there is, President. Just go ask Horikita."

"So that's what you want me to do, huh? I'll think about it. Also, come to the student council room with me after all this ends. We have matters to talk about."

"Understood."

"That's all for now, Ayanokouji."

I nodded and head towards the others.

"Hey, Arisu."

"Oh hey, Kiyotaka. It's good to see you. We didn't see each other enough times during the summer break, fufufu."

Arisu was the only one sitting on a chair due to her disability.

"What are your plans for the Sports Festival?" I asked her.

"Not anything special. I'll treat this like a normal sports festival. Plus, it's safe to say the Red Team will win."

"So that's what you think. I agree with you."

"How are your classmates treating you, Kiyotaka?"

"They hate me."

"Fufufufu."

That laugh was so disturbing, suddenly Arisu and I became the center of attention for a few seconds.

"That Ayanokouji bastard."

"First he betrays the class, then the boys."

"Tch."

"Ayanokouji, I'm going to discuss things with Sakayanagi. If you don't care about helping us, leave," Horikita suddenly came up to me and said.

"Fufufu... sorry Kiyotaka. Business is business. Let's talk later, okay?" she gently said as she waved me goodbye with a smug smile.

I received stronger death stares from my classmates, especially the boys.

"Later, Arisu," I walked away.

Before I knew it, the meeting had ended. I saw Arisu and Horikita shake hands. Apparently Classes 1-D and 1-A agreed to cooperate by not interfering with each other's plans.

"Are you done here, Ayanokouji?"

The President and Tachibana came up to me.

"Yeah, let's go."

We arrived inside the student council room.

"So? What did you want to talk to me about?"

Tachibana frowned. What's up with her?

"Why don't you take a seat first, Ayanokouji. There are quite a few things."

I took a chair and sat across him.

"Please give us a minute, Tachibana. I would like to have a private discussion with Ayanokouji."

Tachibana nodded and left the student council room.

"Let's get straight to the point. I think now is the best time to let you know."

Manabu became even more serious.

"The Student Council has a say in the special exams."

"That's good to know."

"Specifically, the President has a say in the making of the special exams. The President can submit a proposal to the Chairman for upcoming special exams. The school will have to validate the proposal. However, I'd say they agree as long as knowing the exam beforehand doesn't give you an overwhelming advantage. If you don't submit a proposal in time, the school will decide the special exam themselves. What I'm trying to say is, Ayanokouji,..."

I see where this is going.

"You will be able to decide the special exams."

I did think the student council had some kind of power. However, deciding the special exams really makes you in control of the school. Going on with his explanation, he told me that starting from the second year, I could be the one making the special exams.

"Do other students know about this?"

"No. This is a secret that has to be kept within the Student Council. At least, that's the policy. "

"I see. Did you happen to make these special exams, President?"

"No, I did not. I figured I would let the administration decide special exams for the first and second years. I did decide on a few special exams for the third. The Sports Festival is an annual event, you can't replace it."

"I see, so you decided to only take care of your year, huh?"

"You can say it like that, yes."

"I see."

"Now, there's another thing I wanted to tell you. I will have to step down from my position at the end of this semester. That is generally when the President has to step down. You'll be taking my spot then."

"So I'll be President soon, huh?"

"Yes. I will also give a farewell speech to the entire school as part of a presidential inauguration event. The specific date is yet to be determined. You will also have to say a few words, Ayanokouji. As the upcoming Student Council President, it is mandatory for you to give a speech."

"That's awkward. I never really liked talking. I'll make sure to do my best though."

"As humble as always, Ayanokouji. I'm sure you'll deliver an incredible speech."

"Thanks, President. Is that all?"

"Not yet, as you obviously know, Nagumo was expelled, but he had proposed a new app that he planned on implementing in the school's system."

"A new app?"

"Yes. A new app called Over All Ability or in short OAA."

He then explained the concept of the app.

The app displays each student's abilities assessment. The assessment is based on different criterias. Academic ability, adaptability, social contribution, and finally, overall ability. A student's overall ability is derived from each of the four values calculated above. However, the effect Social Contribution has on the overall score is reduced by half compared to the other three values. It was pretty straightforward.

Nagumo also proposed that if a student whose overall ability falls below a certain baseline will receive a penalty.

"I see."

"Now, Ayanokouji. I want to get your input on this. If you wish, the school can turn this app into reality starting from next year. What do you think?"

"I think this app gives everyone an idea of their own evaluation. I would like to see it being implemented. However, I would like to remove the penalty aspect Nagumo initially proposed."

"I see. I respect your opinion. I do think the app is a good reference for students to be aware of their ability. Like you, I'm not a fan of the penalty either. I'm glad we share the same point of view. If you made up your mind, then I'll let the school know."

"Sure. I think this app has potential, bar the punishment of course."

"I agree. Anyway, that's all, Ayanokouji. Thank you for your precious time, You may leave now. I'll contact you if anything comes up."

"Sure. I'll see you later, President."

I bowed down a little to excuse myself. Manabu smiled.

I left the student council room and bid farewell to Tachibana who was standing outside the door.

Manabu is someone who takes his role extremely seriously, someone who sticks to his ideals, someone who's one hundred percent confident of his philosophy. Those are standards that I don't think I have.

If I were to use a few words to describe my relationship with Manabu, I'd use the words...

Mutual respect.

Author's Notes

Hey!

The Sports Festival is here!

Important detail:

In this timeline, the Individual Three-Legged Race is mixed gender, while the Team Three-Legged race is also mixed gender but all three years participate. This is due to plot convenience.

A new era awaits ANHS... Kiyotaka will soon be President.

See you guys soon!

Chapter 6.2 - Delicate Preparations

Preparations for the Sports Festival had begun.

Class D were discussing the order of participation for the Universal Participation events and who will be chosen for the Recommended Only events.

Two systems of selection were proposed - one where participants will be selected based on what everyone wants, the other based on ability.

Ken immediately agreed with the ability system in order to increase Class D's chances of victory in each competition, and the students who were weak at athletics agreed with him.

Horikita also agreed, she then proposed a supplementary plan where, in addition to letting the students who are more talented at sports participate in the Recommended Only events, they also paired up the stronger athletes with the weaker ones in the Universal Participation events in order to further increase the chances of victory for the stronger athletes.

Although some students disagreed with this tactic as it would mean sacrificing the less athletic students, they decided to go along with Horikita's plan in the end.

Ken reiterated his intention to participate in as many events as possible. Horikita also declared that she would do the same. The class began filling the slots for the events.

"What do we do about Ayanokouji?"

"Yeah, he has to participate, right?"

"That bastard will just end up last place on purpose!"

"Ayanokouji, what do you have to say?" Hirata hesitantly asked me.

"I'll participate. I'll do my best."

"Don't give me that crap!" Ike screamed.

"Quiet, Ike. Also, I have something to say to the class," Horikita said with a serious expression.

Everyone became silent and listened carefully to Horikita.

"The student council president asked us to put Ayanokouji as the anchor leg in the final relay race as a personal request," she hesitantly said.

"What? That's insane."

"Why?"

"He said he wanted to race Ayanokouji. He said it was a request from him, the student council president, to us, Class D. I think we should accept his request," Horikita said.

"Well... if he wants to race, Ayanokouji will probably do his best, right?" Kushida said.

"That's true. I don't have any objections," Hirata agreed, "Let's let Ayanokouji be the anchor leg as the President wishes."

Everyone had mixed opinions, but seeing the three leaders of the class share a common opinion, they agreed.

"I guess it'll be a race between President and Vice-President."

"I totally forgot Ayanokouji was Vice-President."

"Tch. How can someone like him be Vice-President. The school's done for."

"Ayanokouji has no choice but to participate in the Universal Participation events. Whether he does his best or not is out of our control. However, I suggest we don't make him participate in any of the Recommended Only events apart from the final relay race. I also intend to exclude him from our class meetings. I assume you guys don't have any objections."

The class collectively nodded.

"Starting from tomorrow, we will use physical education period to prepare for the Sports Festival. We will decide the participants of the Recommended Only exam after evaluating everyone's ability. That is all for now."

Everyone left the classroom. I stayed behind as usual. As I was about to leave, I noticed Kushida at the door again.

"What is it?" I asked her.

"I'll help you take down Class D, let's work together, Ayanokouji!"

Perfect.

"Good. First, you'll have to let Ryuuen know of Class D's lineup, but only send them on the day before the festival."

"Okay, I'll do that! I can't wait to see Horikita's face when her class gets destroyed!"

"Kushida. Let's team up for the three-legged race."

"Huh? Why?"

In the Sports Festival, not participating in an Universal Participation event is the same as coming in last place. If you get injured or sick, it's your loss. Or your win, depending on how you want to look at things.

You could theoretically poison an entire class and make the whole class not participate, which will cause a ridiculous point reduction, but that'll raise suspicion, so it's best to avoid that.

"Because who else would want to team up with me?"

"I suppose you're right, Ayanokouji. You got a deal! I'll let the class know."

"I'll tell you more details before the day of the Sports Festival."

"I see. Well, I'll be going now. I'll tell the others when the time comes. See you!"

She waved me goodbye and left.

The next day, during their physical education period, the class decided to use a grip strength measuring instrument to measure the strength of each student's dominant arm. Kouenji was the only one to sit out.

The students collectively decided that I could also participate in this evaluation, but that I would have to leave after so that they can decide the participants without me listening.

Having no reason to not participate, I decided to take part.

"I'll start, Hirata," Ken confidently said, "That'll set a high standard."

His shoulders shook while he gripped the device with his right hand. The numbers in the digital readout shot up rapidly. In an instant, they climbed to 50, then 60, the over 70. In the end, the number displayed was 82.4 kilograms. Everyone went crazy

"That's awesome dude!"

"You're stupidly strong!"

"Who wants to go next?" Hirata asked.

"Ayanokouji, show us your strength!"

"Yeah, let's see if you're really all that!"

"I would like to go last, if that's possible," I said.

"Chickening out, huh?" Ike said.

"That's fine, Ayanokouji," Hirata said.

One by one, the other students did the grip test. However, none of them could even come close to Ken. The closest so far was Hirata, with 52.6 kilograms.

It was finally my turn.

"Show us what you got, you traitor!" Yamauchi cried out.

A few other students threw a few insults at me. The rest just curiously watched me.

"What's your dominant arm, Ayanokouji?" Hirata was taking notes of the results.

"I'd say my right arm."

I gripped the device with my left hand.

"Huh? Didn't you say your dominant arm was your right arm?"

"Hahaha! He confused his right and left arm!" Ike said.

"Hirata, give me a random decimal number from 80 to 100."

"I don't get what you're trying to do, Ayanokouji, but I'd say... 92.6?"

Grip strength wasn't simply proportional to your arm's thickness, though of course, it wasn't completely unrelated either. A bunch of muscles known as the 'flexor carpi radialis' and the 'brachioradialis' in your forearm were most important. The forearm muscles contracted, pulling on the tendons, and thus bending the fingers. By simply training those muscles, one can easily improve their grip strength.

If you had a certain amount of muscle mass, depending on your degree of training, you could exceed a grip strength of 100 kilograms. Of course, you would need to spend a lot of time to achieve that.

I gripped the lever, slowly applying force. The number displayed surpassed 40, then 50, then 60. Once I passed 70, I made minute adjustments to my grip strength. Once I passed 80, I further adjusted my grip. Once I had reached exactly 92.6, I stopped.

"Here, 92.6 kilograms," I told Hirata as I showed him the device.

The class was silent.

"What the hell?"

"He didn't even try!"

The class had mixed emotions. Many obviously wanted me to help the class, but they still thought of me as a traitor.

After the commotion died down, Class D moved on to do other evaluations. In each event, I made sure I got first place, while holding back. After the tests were done, I was asked to leave so that the class could discuss the order of the participants. I looked at Kushida, who nodded and smiled back.

I left the gymnasium we were using and started heading back to my room. When I walked in front of the main school building, Chabashira-sensei came out and saw me.

"Ayanokouji, we need to talk."

"What is it?"

"Did you really betray the class?"

"Seems like even teachers are aware of the news, huh?"

"Answer my question."

"Why? I have no obligation to do so. I won't deny nor confirm the fact that I betrayed the class."

"So that's how it is..."

"If you want an answer, you'll have to wait until the start of the second year."

"Mysterious as always, huh?"

"If that's all you wanted to ask me, I'll be going now. We might raise suspicion here."

"I suppose you're right. I'll see you tomorrow in homeroom then."

I nodded and left.

As I approached the dormitory, I saw Ichinose alone on that bench, again.

What's up with these freaky coincidences?

"Ah, A-Ayanokouji-kun..."

"Hello, Ichinose."

"Say... are the rumors true?"

How many times will I have to answer this question?

"I don't want to say anything about the rumors, unfortunately. Sorry, Ichinose."

"I see..."

"You don't have to continue talking to me Ichinose."

"What?"

"I mean... Class B and Class D have an alliance. I'm being called the traitor. You talking to me will only raise suspicion among your classmates."

"Oh. So that's what you meant. I don't mind talking to you, Ayanokouji-kun. Every time I talk to you, I feel relaxed, like I can say whatever's on my mind knowing you won't judge me. Listen, whatever your reasons are for betraying your class, whether you betrayed your class or not, I want us to stay friends... okay?"

"That's fine by me, Ichinose."

She smiled gratefully.

"I'll be heading back now, Ichinose. See you."

"I'll stay here for a little while longer. See you later, Ayanokouji-kun!"

Two weeks later, it was mid-September. The Sports Festival was rapidly approaching.

Class D continued their daily practice sessions. Ken was a good coach as he helped his classmates improve.

Kushida was successful in convincing the class to sign her and me up for the three-legged race.

We were practicing our three-legged races, and I was do so with Kushida. We talked when we made sure nobody was near us.

"Say, Ayanokouji."

"Hm?"

"Is there another reason you wanted to team up with me?"

"I intend to fake an injury."

"What?"

"Yes. During that relay race, we'll fall and get injured, then we'll retire from the other events, making the class lose points. I'll come back just in time for the final relay race."

"I see... I don't want to get injured though."

"Don't worry, you just have to act. However, it might hurt a little bit."

"Understood! I've always liked acting anyway. This will be fun!"

"In the meantime, we'll continue practicing. After all, we don't know the order of the events."

"Okay!"

"Kushida."

"What is it?"

"During the last physical education period before the deadline for submitting the participation tables, they will probably kick me out of the gym to confirm the participants. Is that when you plan on taking a photo of the tables?"

"How did you know I was going to take a photo?"

"It's basically the only proof you can show to Ryuuen. Anyway, when they kick me out, I'll be sitting on a bench close to the gym. I want you to be the last one to leave the gym. If you were successful in taking the photo, I want you to wave at me as if you're saying hello. If not, just pretend to not notice me."

Although all classes continued to observe other classes to gather intel, it was the participation tables that held the most vital information. Each class was extremely careful in avoiding to leak the contents of those tables. However, if you had a traitor in your class, all that care would be for nothing.

"I see... So it's like a hidden sign language, so cool! I'll do that, Ayanokouji!"

What a useful tool.

Class D continued to practice for the rest of the month.

Class D had finalized the participants for each event. The participation tables were completed. I was signed up as the anchor leg of the relay race.

Everyone was excited about the Sports Festival, even those who aren't particularly athletic. Everyone wanted to cheer their class on.

In addition, everyone was aware of the race between Manabu and I.

On the last physical education period before the participation tables deadline, which was at 5:00 PM on the day before the Sports Festival, I was asked to leave the room while the others confirmed the participants.

I was sitting on a bench close to the gym. After a while, everyone came out of the gym, most of them giving me ugly looks. Kushida was the last one to leave the gym, and she waved to me.

Tomorrow, the show will start.

Author's Notes

Hey!

Hope you liked this chapter!

Next part will be the actual Sports Festival.

That's all, see you next time!

Chapter 6.3 - Clash of Classes

It was finally the day of the Sports Festival.

After the opening ceremony had ended, we all separated into two big groups, the Red Team and the White Team, and then we split up into our classes.

The preparations for the festival included medical staff, tents for each class, and cameras set up to help with judgement calls for every event.

The first event was the classic 100-Metre Dash.

Ken ran in the first group and easily took first place.

Kouenji said he was feeling unwell and refused to participate, causing chaos in our tent as not participating is equivalent to coming in last place. Depending on the event, it could definitely hurt the class' total points.

The groups passed one by one and before I knew it, it was my turn.

I took my starting position and looked to my left and then my right to see who my opponents were. My opponents were all students I had never talked to, but that didn't matter. I decided that I will finish first.

Up until the third-legged race, I will finish first. However, it had already been decided that the Universal Participation third-legged race would be the second event, so this worked out well.

After hearing the gunshot, I accelerated at incredible speed, but I still held back. I still managed to earn first place with a time of 11.23 seconds.

I head back to Class D's tent.

"What the hell, Ayanokouji, you were so fast!" Ken said.

"You better finish first place in everything you bastard!" Yamauchi screamed.

"Good job, Ayanokouji," Hirata said.

"I told you guys I would do my best, didn't I?"

They all had mixed feelings about my attitude.

Before I knew it, the 100-Metre Dash event had ended.

The last group of first-year girls finished with Horikita beating Ibuki by a small margin.

The Third-Legged Race was the next event.

Kushida and I were lucky enough to be part of the first group.

"You got this Kushida!" Ike cried out.

Kushida got a bunch of cheers from our classmates as we took our starting positions.

The race started with Kushida and I racing somewhat normally. It definitely wasn't the fastest we could go, but it was fast enough to avoid suspicions and slow enough to not be in the lead. We started speeding up. Then, I intentionally took a shorter step than usual, causing us to lose balance and fall.

"Kushida! Ayanokouji!" Hirata was the first one to cry out.

There was commotion inside the tent as we pretended to struggle to get off the ground. I must say Kushida did a good job. Too good of a job, perhaps. It seemed like she had actually twisted her ankle.

The other duos completed the race, even though some looked back at us to see what happened. Our group's race quickly ended, and students started coming onto the field towards us.

"What happened?" Horikita said.

Don't you have eyes, Horikita?

"I guess we were unlucky to fall... Maybe we didn't practice enough... Ouch!" Kushida said as she touched her ankle, "I... I think I sprained my ankle..."

I had let myself fall face first onto the ground. There were bruises and cuts all over my face and forearms.

My classmates looked at me.

"Ayanokouji, Kushida, I think you two should head to the infirmary," Hirata suggested.

"Is that fine?" I said.

"Of course, you guys are hurt. I don't think you should continue if you're unable to do so."

"I'll do my best to get better soon. If I don't come back before the final relay race, please come to the infirmary and get us back here."

"If that's what you want, I'll do it."

"Dude, Hirata... Why are you being so nice to Ayanokouji?" Ike said.

"He obviously fell on purpose..." Yamauchi muttered.

"Can you guys stop? You guys should let this go for once."

With that, Kushida and I slowly head to the infirmary to rest. Kushida had trouble walking, so she grabbed my arm and leaned on my shoulders.

"Tch... that bastard," Ike and Yamauchi were visibly jealous.

After the nurse checked our injuries and gave us the necessary treatment, she left us alone to rest. Kushida and I were resting on separate beds in the infirmary. There was a TV in front of us for us to watch the Sports Festival.

"Ayanokouji, are you okay?"

"I never thought you would ask me that."

"Idiot... you didn't have to exaggerate that much, you know," Kushida had more or less taken her mask off, but wasn't the Kushida that I saw that day in the dark alley. I wonder if this was her actual self.

"How's your ankle?"

"It hurts a little bit, I think I'll take a nap to rest. I don't think I'll head back to the tent anytime soon."

"Are you not going to watch the Sports Festival?"

"I really want to rest, and I don't care about the results."

"I see, well, rest well, I guess."

As Kushida became quiet, I continued watching the Sports Festival unfold on TV.

It seemed like while we were getting treatment from the nurse, the Hurdle Race event had ended. I didn't pay attention to the results.

The next event was Capture the Flag. Class A and Class D were facing Class B and Class C, the latter of which consisted of Ryuuen leading a team of his classmates who seemed fairly strong.

The first match began. Class D and Class C were on the offensive straight away, which left Class A and Class B on defence. Despite Ken's strength, he wasn't enough to breakthrough, Class C, and the first capture went to the White Team.

Class D switched to defence for the second match while Class A fixed an offensive. Class C attacked again, and in the chaos, Ken was punched and kicked several times by Class C, who made it look natural so that no foul play was called. In the end, the White Team won the second match of Capture the Flag as well.

Ryuuen really likes dirty tricks, huh?

Next was the Tug of War event for the boys while the girls competed in the Tamaire event. The Red Team came out the winner for the latter, and the Tug of War began.

The first match began, and the Red Team won. Ryuuen then rearranged his classmates' positions along the rope, and the second match began, ending with the White Team's victory this time. Then the third match began, but after some struggling, Class C suddenly let go, and while the Red Team wins, they also caused most of Class A and Class D's students to fall over.

Next was the Obstacle Course Race. Ken ended up in the same group as Shibata, but also two unathletic students from Class C. He took first place once again.

Meanwhile for the girls' event, Horikita was matched up against Class C's Mariko Yajima and Minori Kinoshita this time. She managed to overtake them during the race but repeatedly looked back at Kinoshita back for some reason, and shortly before reaching the finishing line, the two seemingly collide with each other. Horikita ended up getting injured and finished in seventh place while Kinoshita was unable to finish due to injury.

So that's what he wants to do.

I must say, Ryuuen seemed like he held a personal grudge against Horikita. She certainly was specifically targeted and the bad matchups were the results of the participation tables sent to Class C by Kushida.

I assumed Horikita's injury wasn't that bad, as she stayed inside the tent.

There was a short break, and Kinoshita entered the resting room after she got treated by the nurse. We didn't talk, and she just laid down on the bed next to Kushida. She was visibly in pain. It seemed like Ryuuen would go to extreme lengths to take down his opponents.

After the break, the girls' Cavalry Battle began. The four horsemen from Class C completely ignored Class A and focuses on attacking Horikita instead, who decided to participate despite her injury. Her headband is taken, and the rest of Class D was defeated shortly after, with only Karuizawa succeeding in taking one headband from the opposing team before she too lost her own.

The boys' Cavalry Battle was next. Ken formed a team with Ike, Akito, and Hirata. While they were able to defeat most of the White Team with Class A, they ran into trouble when faced with Ryuuen, who managed to provoke Ken into accepting a one-on-one challenge instead of continuing to work with Class A's team. It seemed like Ken was really pissed off because of Horikita's injury.

Hirata was unable to grab Ryuuen's headband from him and ended up getting his own headband taken, and the Red Team lost the Cavalry Battle.

The events up until lunch break produced similar results. Class C were completely beating Class D, who definitely had the least points between the first-year classes.

When lunch break came, the nurse gave us bento boxes made by the school. I woke Kushida up, and I told her about the results.

Meanwhile, Kinoshita was in severe pain. Her ankle was swollen. She was crying.

The nurse simply told her to put some ice on it.

Ryuuen entered the infirmary and came over to us.

"Oi, Ayanokouji."

"What is it?"

"Since you're already taking Class D down, why don't you help me in my little act?"

"How so?"

"Bring Suzune here."

I see where this is going.

"I see. I'll do that."

"Kukuku... I didn't think you would agree straight away. What the hell is wrong with you?"

"It will work out in my favor too."

I left the infirmary after I told the nurse I felt much better.

I came back to Class D tent.

"Ayanokouji! How's Kushida?" Ike and Yamauchi asked me.

Sigh.

"She's fine. There's no need to worry."

"You bastard, you injured her on purpose, we know it," they muttered.

I ignored them and went over to Horikita who was sitting on a bench, visibly in pain.

"Horikita."

"Ayanokouji? You're back?"

"You should head to the infirmary. I was there, and Kinoshita is in extremely bad shape. I think you should go take a look. Perhaps you should apologize."

"Apologize? She was the one that ran into me. She kept calling my name over and over, forcing me to look back."

"That doesn't change the fact that her ankle is completely swollen and that she's crying in pain. It's basic sportsmanship, Horikita."

"Tch... I'll go."

After she told everyone that she'll be heading to the infirmary, she left while struggling to walk.

What will you do, Horikita?

Ryuuen will probably accuse Horikita for deliberately injuring Kinoshita, while making Kinoshita support the accusation, backing Horikita into a corner. He will then blackmail Horikita and strike a deal with her in return of not reporting the matter to the school.

A wise man once said, man is an animal that makes bargains. No other animal does this - no dog exchanges bones with another.

Striking deals is simply part of the human nature.

The latter half of the sports festival began with the Recommended Only Participation events, where students chosen from within the ranks of the class were expected to participate.

Horikita came back, but she was awfully quiet. I wonder what happened in the infirmary's resting room.

"Come on, let's win this!"

Ken was surprisingly motivated. I wouldn't have been surprised if he angrily left the field after being beaten in every single team competition. It seemed like he really worked on his anger issues.

After Class D were somewhat successful in the Scavenger Hunt, Class D also barely defeated Class B in the Four-Way Tug of War event.

After the next events, it was finally time for the final event.

The long-awaited 1200 Meters Relay Race.

Author's Notes

Hey!

In this timeline, Ken didn't rage quit the Sports Festival.

See you in the next part for the relay race!

Chapter 6.4 - Passing The Torch

The rules for the final event required that boys and girls be mixed. From each class of all three school years, the runners had to be evenly balanced between male and female.

I stood up from the bench and prepared to head to my starting position.

"Can you really run in that state, Ayanokouji?" Hirata asked me.

"Don't worry about me."

Class D's final line up consisted of me alongside Ken, Hirata, Maezono, Onodera and Matsushita who had to fill in Horikita's spot.

The participants started gathering for the relay. As expected, Manabu was the anchor leg of his class' team. My lane wasn't next to his, but everyone knew about the race between me and Manabu. It was safe to say word about this race spread around the school. Every saw this as the Vice-President versus President Race rather than the 1200 Meters Relay Race.

The crowd was filled with excitement. Students from all three years were excited to see the race between me and Manabu.

This was also more than a race. It was a symbolic moment for the future of the school. The current president against the upcoming president.

As we took our starting positions, the crowd cheered us on. Even Class D who still had mixed emotions about me couldn't help but look forward to the race.

After everyone was ready, the stadium was silent. Everyone waiting for the starting gun's gunshot.

As soon as the gunshot was heard, the first runners dashed forward.

Ken made a good start and managed to take the lead. The baton sas then passed to Hirata who continued to maintain the lead. However, the girls couldn't keep up their pace with the boys and seniors from other classes and Class D started losing positions.

Third year's Class A had the lead. However, if Manabu were to race me, he would have to wait for me and might have to sacrifice first place.

"So it's time, huh, Ayanokouji," he said to me while waiting for the baton.

"I guess so, President."

After Manabu received the baton, he waited and stood still. This was expected, and the student crowd weren't surprised.

As the racers next to us left one by one, I said one last thing to Manabu.

"Before we race, I want to say something."

"What is it?"

"Run with all you've got."

"Ayanokouji!"

I turned my head back to see Matsushita passing me the baton.

As soon as I received the baton, Manabu and I instantly dashed forth. The race had begun.

"Woahhh..."

"What the hell?!"

As we both accelerated at extreme speed, we easily overtook the runners in front of us. The crowd was lost for words as we started heading to the last curve.

I've never ran at my full speed in the outside world. Even now, I was still holding back a little, as I wanted to be side by side with Manabu. While running at ridiculous pace, we looked at each other. Manabu smiled at me, he was visibly enjoying this race.

Now, I suppose I'll go even faster.

"Whaaaaat?"

"No way..."

I accelerated even more and ran as fast as I could, without holding back. I put some distance between me and Manabu.

However, before I could cross the finish line, a random runner in front of me that was on the lane to my right somehow fell. It was a rather unfortunate coincidence.

Luckily, I reacted fast enough and jumped over him as he fell onto my lane.

I crossed the finish line, and finished a few seconds before Manabu.

A few seconds of silence followed before a massive roar of cheering could be heard from around the stadium.

"That was ridiculous!"

"So cool!"

"I want to watch it again!"

The crowd was evidently entertained, none of them could contain their excitement.

I looked around the tents and saw Arisu looking at me with a smug smile, as well as Hashimoto on his knees and bowing down, making some Class A students laugh.

"I'm impressed, Ayanokouji."

Manabu came up to me.

"It was a brilliant race, President."

"It seems like you were holding back until the end, huh? Well I expected nothing less from you considering who you are. You even reacted at lightning speed when that runner fell in front of you. As expected from you, Ayanokouji, the future President of the Student Council."

"I'm grateful for your praise, President. I will do the best I can to help the school."

"That's good to hear. I'll be heading to my class' tent now. I'll also be contacting you the date of my farewell speech soon."

"Understood. Take care."

I was about to head back to my class' tent, until I felt a slap on my back.

"Hey hey, Kouhai-kun! Not bad at all, eh?" I turned around to see Kiryuin-senpai and what I assumed to be friend of hers.

"Hello, Kiryuin-senpai."

"What a performance from my favorite kouhai! Oh and by the way, this is Nazuna. It seems like your performance made its way to her heart."

"Shut up Fuuka! Hey there, Ayanokouji-kun! I'm Asahina Nazuna. So we've finally met! You were amazing out there!"

"Thank you, Asahina-senpai."

"Let's exchange contact information, Ayanokouji-kun!"

With that, I exchanged contacts with Asahina-senpai.

"Are you jealous, Nazuna? I'm obviously Kouhai-kun's favorite senpai. You're too late to the party."

"It's never too late, is what they say. Right, Ayanokouji-kun?" she teasingly said.

"Whatever you say."

Asahina-senpai got closer to me and whispered in my ears.

"Also if you're looking for a secretary, look no further, future president Ayanokouji-kun!"

A secretary. Right. The thought of needing to choose a secretary completed flew by my mind.

"I'll think about it when the time comes."

She backed off and winked at me.

Asahina-senpai as my secretary, huh?

I will have to do more research on who she is and how influential she is in her year before I make a decision.

The sports festival concluded and results were announced. The Red Team won the competition, defeating White Team. For the first year classes, Class B got 1st place, followed by Class C in 2nd, Class A in 3rd and Class D in 4th.

Class B and C were part of the losing team and will have 100 points subtracted, whole Class A and Class D suffered no penalties regarding that.

In terms of class placement within the first- years, Class B, finishing in first place, received 50 class points. Class C received none, Class A lost 50 class points, and Class D lost 100 class points.

In short, these were the changes in class points.

Class A 1182 cp (-50 cp)
Class B 1131 cp (-50 cp)
Class C 767 cp (-100 cp)
Class D 116 cp (-100 cp)

Overall, Class 3-A was the class with the most points.

Ken was named the MVP of the first-years, ahead of Shibata, and was congratulated by our classmates.

Overall, Class D had reasons to be somewhat happy about the results of the Sports Festival.

However, the moment I was waiting for would soon follow.

"I have something to say to the class," Horikita said.

Let's see how you will deal with things, Horikita.

She head over to the podium.

"We're listening, Horikita," Hirata said.

"Should Ayanokouji be here?" Ike asked.

"I don't mind him being here. After all, this somewhat concerns him."

I see where this is going. It's all according to plan.

The class was confused, but listened carefully nonetheless.

"I thought back to the matchups we got. It's safe to say Class D were being targeted by Class C. However, not only that, I was also always against tough opponents."

"Isn't that just unlucky?" Yamauchi said.

"I think it's safe to assume Class C knew the participants beforehand."

"What?"

"How did they know?"

The entire class then started looking at me.

"Ayanokouji, you traitor!"

"Yeah, don't think we'll let you off the hook just because you run fast, we're not in elementary school!"

Horikita asked the class to quiet down.

"I think it's obvious that Ayanokouji played a part in this. However, I don't think he was the only one."

Are you sure you want to say this, Horikita?

"I think there's a second traitor in this class."

What a way to self-destruct yourself.

"W-what?"

"Second traitor? What the hell?!"

"Who is it, Horikita?"

"I think I have a good idea of who it is."

The class was silent. Hirata looked like he was about to die.

"Kushida is the other traitor."

"What?"

"What are you talking about, Horikita?" Kushida said.

"This is no time to be joking! Kushida could never be the traitor!" Ike screamed.

"Yeah! Where's your proof?!"

"I don't have proof, but I believe my intuition. Stop pretending, Kushida."

"I can't believe you would say something like that, Horikita!" Kushida cried out.

"Intuition my ass!"

"The hell is wrong with you, Horikita!"

Ike and Yamauchi let their opinions known.

Kushida, on the other hand, started crying. I must say her acting skills were impressive.

"What's wrong with you, Horikita?"

"Why..." Kushida sadly muttered.

It seemed like most of the class was against Horikita for accusing Kushida with no apparent reason nor proof.

"Kushida and I went to the same middle school."

"What?"

"Ehhh?"

The class was shocked to hear this statement. After all, Kushida always said that nobody from her middle school was attending here.

"What? I don't remember you, Horikita. Are you sure?" Kushida played dumb.

"Kushida doesn't even remember you!" Ike screamed.

Everyone had trouble being convinced by Horikita. And who could blame them? Kushida, being the joyful and cheerful person she was on the outside, was able to get on everyone's good side.

"Ayanokouji also knows this."

The class looked at me.

"You were the one that told me. I don't even know if what you said was true."

I could see Kushida looking at me thankfully.

"I would never lie," Horikita proclaimed.

That didn't convince the class at all.

"If you have no proof, then sadly I won't believe you!"

"Yeah! Who knew you could spout nonsense!"

The class let their disagreement known.

"Kushida asked to be paired up with Ayanokouji for the three-legged race. During that race, they fell and tripped. The fall itself wasn't even that harsh and shouldn't have hurt them that much if they had reacted in time, yet they both got injured by letting themselves fall. Am I wrong for thinking this, Ayanokouji?"

Horikita's reasoning was sound, but there wasn't enough proof to support her. The class turned their attention to me and awaited my answer.

Sigh.

"I guess she simply felt bad for me and volunteered to be the one to team up with me for the three-legged race. The injury was just bad luck. Nothing more, nothing less."

With that, Horikita lost support of her classmates.

"We're not believing you, Horikita!"

"Yeah! You might be Class D's leader, but Kushida didn't do anything wrong."

"How can you say that when she got injured?"

Horikita was backed into a corner.

There it was. One of Class D's leaders lost the class' support.

"A-are you guy serious?" Horikita was desperate for support.

"Unless you can tell us proof, we won't believe you for a second!"

"I'm not listening to you again!"

"Same here!"

I suppose you can say I expected this to happen. No, I made this happen.

Good job, Horikita. Now, you're all alone. You went back to the starting line.

"A-Ayanokouji! Stop ignoring this. You're hiding the truth!"

"Even if I were, why would I tell you? You iced me out, excluded me from the class, why should I support you, Horikita? If anything, you should blame yourself for not convincing the class of your false claim."

Horikita made a huge mistake. I don't know what happened in the infirmary, but Ryuuen and her likely made a deal. Who knows what they agreed on, but I wouldn't be surprised if Ryuuen demanded a massive amount of private points, an amount that was out of reach for Horikita. Seeing Kushida in the infirmary with Ryuuen made Horikita confirm her suspicions about her.

Because of this, she desperately wanted to expose the truth, not thinking things through. She couldn't let people know of the blackmail, most likely because it was part of her deal with Ryuuen. Her only choice was to expose not Ryuuen, but Kushida. By exposing Kushida, Horikita thought that the class would support her, thus perhaps helping her with whatever she agreed on with Ryuuen. However, she had no proof.

She had cemented her spot as Class D leader, she was more of a leader than Kushida, to say the least, but her leadership was no match for Kushida's social influence.

Horikita had grown. She knew that she couldn't do things alone. She knew she could always ask for help, she didn't have to do everything by herself. However, she had awfully underestimated how much it would take to win over the class.

Asking for help was one thing, but assuring that others would be willing to help you? That's another matter.

There was no doubting Horikita's potential.

But she still had much to learn.

Author's Notes

Hey!

Hope you liked this part!

In this timeline, Kiyotaka simply jumped over the runner that fell.

PS: I never understood how someone could fall when running, especially in an event like this. It makes little sense to me, but oh well.

I'm not completely sure where I'm going with this to be honest, but I felt like this would be an interesting turn of events.

Hope you look forward to the next part!

See you soon!

Chapter 6.5 - A New Era

The day after the Sports Festival, I noticed that the class' morale significantly dropped. Just when the class was starting to reunite after my apparent betrayal, Horikita went and made things worse.

When class had ended for the day, I received a message from Manabu.

[The presidential inauguration event will be held on Friday, in three days, at precisely 2 PM. The date will be announced imminently. I look forward to hearing your speech.]

In three days, Manabu will give a farewell speech to mark the end of his presidential term, and I will give my first speech in front of the entire student body.

As I left the classroom, I received an email from the school.

On Friday, a presidential inauguration event will be held at 2 PM. Student Council President Horikita Manabu will give a farewell speech. Upcoming Student Council President Ayanokouji Kiyotaka will also give a speech. All students from all three years are required to attend this event. Any absences will be penalized accordingly.

When I was heading back to my room, I was thinking about what I should say for my speech. That was when I bumped into Arisu, Kamuro and Hashimoto.

"Fufufu hello there, President Ayanokouji."

"Hey King."

"Hello, Ayanokouji."

The three of them greeted me.

"Hello Arisu, Hashimoto, Kamuro. Arisu, don't call me President, I'm not even officially President yet."

"I suppose I do prefer Kiyotaka. You were quite impressive during the final relay race, weren't you?"

"You beat the President Horikita by a landslide, I couldn't believe my eyes."

"I guess it was an adrenaline rush."

"Fufufu... that excuse would only work in an alternative timeline where nobody knows who you are, Kiyotaka."

"Yeah, like we're supposed to believe that."

"Are you ready for your speech, King?"

"I still need to think about what I'll say."

"I see."

"Well, we'll be looking forward to hearing your wise words, Kiyotaka."

Kamuro and Hashimoto agreed.

We continued our conversation until we all arrived at the dormitory. We prepared to part ways.

"Kiyotaka, can I come to your room? There are things I want to talk to you about."

"Hm? Okay."

"Take care, Masumi and Hashimoto. I'll see you tomorrow."

Arisu and I parted ways with Kamuro and Hashimoto, who gave me a thumbs up. We quickly arrived at my room.

Arisu sat on my bed as I went to prepare some drinks.

"What would you like? Coffee or tea?"

"Coffee. Thank you very much, Kiyotaka."

"So? What is it you wanted to ask me?"

"What's the meaning of you framing yourself as the traitor?"

"Oh, that. That's an interesting question. I suppose you can say it'll serve as a stepping stone for my transfer."

"There's more to it though, isn't there?"

"Who knows. One could say it's for research purposes."

"Fufufu research purposes, you say?"

"Just wait until the second year starts, then everything will make sense, Arisu."

"I see. I'll wait then."

"What are your plans as student council president?"

"I need to give that more thought."

"Hm... you're rather unprepared fufufu. I suppose you have time. If everything goes well, your reign as President will last three years, long enough to leave a significant impact on the school."

"Yeah. That's why I need to carefully think about how to go about things."

After I gave her her cup of coffee, we casually chatted. Arisu invited me to sit on my bed next to her. She told me about her visit to the White Room, and her father's relationship with mine. We exchanged some stories about our past. I told her about the time when I went to New York with that man to attend a conference.

"Kiyotaka, you know how I consider you a childhood friend? It's sad to think that that relationship is one-sided, isn't it? I knew you before, but you had no idea of my existence."

"It's not surprising though. There was no way I could meet you when I was inside the White Room."

"I suppose that's true. Say, Kiyotaka, do you consider me as a friend?"

"Arisu, you know I don't even know what friends are. How do you even define a friend?"

"It's something very complicated yet simple. You see, friendship isn't something you can quantitatively define. The dictionary would tell you that a friend is a person with whom you share a bond of mutual affection. However, the truth is that such a word has no real definition. That is why it is also quite simple. If you consider someone your friend, then they're your friend, no matter what."

"So it's quite subjective, huh."

"If I were to give a definition though, I'd say a friend is someone you can more or less trust, someone you feel comfortable around, and someone you're not afraid to honestly talk to."

A friend. I wonder if I'm even capable of being friends with someone. Can someone like me even have a genuine friendship?

I wonder.

However, I'd say Arisu fits that definition, but it's quite complicated, I can't quite comprehend. Is our relationship a normal friendship? Is it not friendship? Is it more than friendship?

"I'd say I consider you as my friend Arisu, but I'm not sure myself."

"I see. That's good to know, Kiyotaka," Arisu said as she grinned.

We talked a little while longer until we decided to part ways.

What is my relationship with Arisu?

It was the day of the presidential inauguration event. Although I would officially be president in about three months, it was a school tradition to hold this event a little after the annual Sports Festival.

I was standing on the side of the stage while Manabu was giving his resignation speech, waiting for it to be my turn.

"Greetings. I'm Horikita Manabu, president of the student council. To start off my speech, I would like to say that I am forever grateful for the overwhelming support I received since being President. I have been proud and grateful for the past two years to have led the student body as your student council president. I hope I have done my part in helping the student body and guiding the underclassmen in living a high school life filled with excitement, joy, and emotion. Being student council president is a big responsibility, and I took pride in assuming that responsibility. I am truly honored to have been student council president of Tokyo's most prestigious high school, the Advanced Nurturing High School. Simple though it may seem, this concludes my resignation speech. Thank you all."

The entire gymnasium applauded Manabu's short yet warm speech.

"Thank you for all your hard work, President Horikita. We'll now hear a few words from the incoming student council president," the announcer said.

It was my turn. As Manabu left the podium and came towards me, we exchanged looks as we switched places.

Standing on the podium, I quickly looked around the gymnasium, everyone's eyes were on me. There was an awkward atmosphere, most likely because of the news that I betrayed my class. However, I didn't let that awkwardness bother me.

With one deep breath, I prepared myself and began my speech.

"I am the upcoming student council president, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka."

That was how I decided to start off my speech. Simple, yet efficient.

I've read about speeches in some books, and, apparently, for occasions like this, you're supposed to say a few words of gratitude.

"I am honored to be able to represent the student body of Tokyo's Advanced Nurturing High School. As a first-year, I am grateful for the opportunity President Horikita has offered me. I would like to thank him for taking me under his wings, and I hope that most of you will support me."

So far, so good.

"Now, I suppose it's time for me to talk about my plans. I respect President Horikita, and I will follow his footsteps in ensuring the well-being of our students so that we all can benefit from attending Tokyo's most prestigious high school."

How ironic from me.

"All actions are for the greater good. That is my philosophy."

Yes. My greater good.

"This is the path I will choose to follow. That is all. I look forward to taking this school to new heights."

And I will be at the top.

"Ayanokouji. You will need to hire a secretary soon."

Manabu said to me after the event.

"Do you have any suggestions?"

"Well, we had a few applications at the beginning of the year, but it would probably be best if we post a message saying that the student council is looking to hire a secretary to work with you."

"I see, should I post that message myself?"

"You can post it from the official student council account. Anything regarding the student council should be posted with that account. I'll message you the login details. Make sure to delete the message after you've safely noted it somewhere."

"Understood."

Subject: Student Council Secretary Position
User: Student Council

The Student Council is currently looking for a secretary who will work with the upcoming Student Council President Ayanokouji. We are accepting applications from current first-years and second-years, please submit them in person by heading to the student council room. The deadline is December 15th at 5:00 PM. We are looking forward to reading your applications.

I posted this on the school's online forum after Manabu sent me the login details by message.

I had decided with Manabu that we would look at the applications at the end of the semester when the deadline will have passed.

"Hello, President!"

A while had passed since the sports festival. Kushida was currently at my front door.

"Hello Kushida, and please, you don't have to call me that. I'm not even officially President yet. Do you want to come in?"

"If you don't mind, that is!"

As usual, she came in my room, took off her shoes and sat on my bed. It was the first time she came here since Horikita tried to expose her after the Sports Festival.

"Would you like something to drink?"

"I'll have tea as usual please!"

"Say, Kushida, what did Ryuuen tell Horikita in the infirmary?" I asked her as I started preparing the tea.

"Hm, that? Ryuuen told Horikita he was going to report her for intentionally injuring an opponent. He proposed a deal where if Horikita were to give him a million private points, he won't report the matter. Horikita said she didn't have enough and that she only had a little over 500,000 points, but she agreed nonetheless."

"I see. Kushida, I want you to give Horikita 500,000 points."

"Eh? I don't even have that much."

"Don't worry, I'll transfer you that amount, but I want you to be the one to give them to her. Don't tell her that you got the points from me."

"May I ask why?"

"You'll thank me in the future."

"You're so mysterious, Ayanokouji. I can never figure out what's going on inside your head... but that's what makes you interesting. I'll do it!"

"Great. I'll transfer you the points."

"Say, Ayanokouji, why did you defend me when Horikita tried to expose me?" she asked me.

"Should I have not done so?"

"Idiot, I just want to know your reasoning. I don't get you, you know!"

"Who knows."

"Hmph."

"Like Horikita, I have no proof. Even if I was to help Horikita, nobody would believe me since they see me as the traitor."

"I suppose you're right."

"Kushida, do you think you can get along with Horikita?"

"There's no way I can get along with someone like her, especially after what she's done."

"Why do you think so?"

"She tried to expose me. She knows about my past. Her being here is a threat to my school life. What happened was a first scare, but I can't afford to be exposed in the future."

"What about me? I also know about your dark side."

"You know, Ayanokouji, I feel weirdly comfortable around you. I feel like I can be my real self. It's reassuring to have someone that doesn't have expectations for you."

That felt genuine from her. I wonder if she can feel as comfortable around Horikita.

"Is that so?"

"Ranting your problems to someone is so much better than holding them inside your chest. I've become weirdly dependent on you," she giggled.

Kushida was a paradoxical human being. Being around people, receiving compliments, having a high social status, it was like a drug to her, and she's awfully addicted.

However, Kushida sees through the hypocrisy of human beings, but has to put on a mask because of her 'drug' addiction.

Over time, Kushida built up rage, disgust, all sorts of negative feelings inside her that she couldn't afford to show to others. She had already built a reputation of being a reliable, cheerful, attractive girl, even though she was anything but that on the inside.

However, as long as she has a way to express all the negative things she held in, she could keep putting on her mask. Before, she hated those feelings, but had no choice but to not tell anyone about them. That is why I offered her to rant her problems to me. I slowly made her think that as long as she could rant her problems to me, she could keep putting on a mask, thus making her dependent on me.

During this Sports Festival, I offered her to help crush Horikita to see for myself how far she's willing to go to do so.

"Don't you think you should consider getting along with Horikita?"

"That's a good question, Ayanokouji. But I don't think I'll ever get along with her. I tried and I failed. I simply can't."

"I see. What would make you forget about trying to expel her?"

"Nothing. I've made my mind up. She has to get out my sight, even if that means bringing Class D down with her."

"Is her losing her leader spot not good enough for you?"

"No."

"I see how it is."

Her response was pretty much expected. Kushida's current hate for Horikita was powerful.

Why was I insisting on making Kushida get along with Horikita?

Who knows.

Perhaps I wanted to prove something.

Perhaps I want to prove that people can change, no matter how hard it may seem.

Author's Notes

That's the end of Chapter 6.

As previously mentioned, the Mixed Training Camp will NOT happen in this timeline. Why? I simply don't want to write about it as I haven't read the appropriate LN Volume. Hope this helps.

Character development from Kushida and Horikita coming up? Who knows.

Important: For Kiyotaka's secretary, it's going to be someone different (so no Ichinose because she's the secretary in almost every fan fiction where Kiyotaka is Vice-President/President).

Also, look forward to the SS. 13. Without a doubt my favorite SS so far.

That's all, see you soon!

SS. 13 - A Single Wish

There were only a few days left before the special exam.

I had finished doing my typical morning workout, and just came out of the shower. I looked at my room to see a message from Arisu.

Arisu

7:10 AM

[I'm coming over to your room right now]

That was unexpected. Is there something important?

I quickly changed into my school uniform before I heard a knock on my door.

I opened the door to see Arisu smiling, holding a bag.

"Can I come in?"

"Sure, what's the matter?"

Arisu looked me dead in my eyes.

"Do you seriously not know?"

"How should I know?"

"Do you know what today's date is?"

"October 20th."

Oh.

"Fufufu..." Arisu laughed to herself, "Did you forget your own birthday?"

"I didn't forget. I simply never celebrated it. To me, it is a day like any other."

"Why not celebrate it for the first time today with me? Happy birthday, Kiyotaka," she said as she showed me a bright smile and handed me the bag.

I looked inside the bag to see a box.

"Open it," she excitedly said.

I opened the box and took out what was in it.

"A necklace?"

Am I supposed to wear that?

I must say, I found the necklace quite intriguing.

The entire necklace was silver. The main part of the necklace was a chess piece, the king.

"Try it on," Arisu said while holding in her laughter.

It still had my school uniform on. I put the necklace around my neck and the king piece was hanging at the upper level of my chest, on my tie that was loosely put on.

I didn't get a chance to look at myself before Arisu took out her phone and snapped a quick photo, blushing.

"My my... You look quite good, Kiyotaka. I'll be keeping this photo for my personal collection, thank you very much," she said as she showed me her phone.

I guess there's nothing I can do about the photo. She can keep it.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" I asked her about the necklace.

"Wear it every day and everywhere, of course."

"Are you serious?"

"I'm dead serious, Kiyotaka," she suddenly changed to a much more serious tone, "It would be a waste if you don't wear it all the time."

I'm not the type to wear accessories although the school allowed such things. Many girls wore earrings, many boys wore bracelets for example. But this was definitely a new experience for me.

I felt something vague inside my chest. How could I describe it? If I were to use one word, I would say enjoyment perhaps. I was enjoying this moment between Arisu and I. It was the first time someone gave me a gift.

I obviously could have chosen to not wear it at all. However, I chose to respect Arisu's request.

"I will respect your wish then."

Arisu smiled, she then took something out of her blazer pocket.

It was another necklace. One basically identical to mine, except the main part was a queen piece instead of a king piece.

"I got us matching necklaces, isn't that amusing, Kiyotaka?"

This was an oddly new scenario to me. I let Arisu continue talking.

"I will also wear this necklace all the time."

Matching accessories or clothes are symbols of a bond between two people. I knew this because I read about it in psychological and romantic books. The matching necklaces were symbols of my bond with Arisu and our connection through chess.

After putting her necklace on, she suggested to walk to school with me. On the way, we caught students looking at us with curious looks, most likely because of our matching necklaces.

We arrived in front of Class A's classroom, where we parted ways.

"Kiyotaka, there's something we have to talk about after class. Wait for me outside the main building."

Before I could even respond, she head into her classroom.

Class had ended for the day. Nothing particularly special happened except for the fact that everyone stared at me like I was some kind of alien. Was this the power of... necklaces?

I could hear students whispering.

"Are my eyes deceiving me? Is Ayanokouji wearing a necklace?"

"Since when was he like this?"

"It... looks really good on him."

"Shut up, he's still a traitor."

I ignored them as I packed up my things and left the classroom to meet up with Arisu.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"No need to rush. Let's head to the café to talk."

We arrived at the café. By the café I mean the café absolutely filled with girls. Arisu sure liked to take me there for some reason.

"Are you going to order something, Kiyotaka?"

"No, I'm not particularly hungry or anything."

"That won't do, Kiyotaka," Arisu said as it was our turn to order.

"I'd like one strawberry ice cream cake please, it's his 16th birthday," she said to the cashier.

"Oh ho! What's your name, young man?"

"Ayanokouji Kiyotaka."

"One strawberry ice cream cake for the birthday boy. Anything else?"

"That's all, thank you," Arisu said as she paid using her phone.

"You should thank your girlfriend for paying for your birthday cake," the cashier said teasingly while winking.

"There's a misunders-"

"You two can go sit at a table and we'll bring the cake over to you."

"Fufufu."

I looked at Arisu who could barely contain herself from laughing.

As we sat down, I noticed we were the center of attention. Not only did we have matching necklaces, but the cashier was really loud.

"Did the cashier just say girlfriend?"

"Are they dating?

I've come to realize how quickly girls tend to jump to conclusions.

I did expect the strawberry ice cream cake to arrive quickly. What I didn't expect was to see the entire café staff coming over to us. They put the cake, which had 'Happy Birthday Ayanokouji!' written with frosting and two candles in the shape of the number 16, in front of me and stood around the table.

What were they going to do? I wondered.

"Haaappy birthdayyy to youuuu..."

What?

The employees started... singing?

"Haaappy birthdayyy to youuuu..."

This is awkward. What is this? Embarrassment?

"Haaappy birthdayyy to youuu... Ayanokouji..."

Take me back to the White Room...

"Haaappy birthdayyy to youuu... Woooo!"

The staff members collectively clapped their hands. Most of the other students who were watching us joined in.

As if I wasn't receiving enough attention.

Meanwhile, Arisu was filming me the entire time with her phone, laughing her head off. I was so surprised by all this that I didn't even notice her doing that. This sure was unexpected.

After the applause ended the staff members got straight back to work.

"Fufufufu."

Arisu still couldn't help but laugh.

"Did you know this would happen?"

"Of course, that's why I brought you here."

Sigh.

I was about to start cutting the cake until Arisu interrupted me.

"Stop! What are you doing, Kiyotaka?"

"What's wrong?"

"You're supposed to make a wish and blow out the candles."

"Is that what I'm supposed to do? I've never ate a birthday cake before so I don't know."

The café became much quieter. The girls around us were obviously eavesdropping on our conversation. Did I ruin the atmosphere?

"Well, now you do. Go ahead, close your eyes, make a wish and then blow out the candles."

"Sure."

I nodded at Arisu before closing my eyes.

Make a wish, huh?

I'm not the type to believe in wishes. It's not like something will come true just because you wish for it to happen.

Nonetheless, a wish is basically expressing one's desire, openly expressing what one wants.

What did I want?

I thought about the future. What did I wish to happen after my three years here?

A part of me wished that I could change, no matter how long it would take.

A part of me wished that I could become a better human being.

A part of me wished that I could have genuine relationships with others.

A part of me wished that someone could show me the bright side of humanity and free me of my inhumane mindset.

That was when I realized I already had that someone.

That someone was sitting in front of me.

A part of me wishe s that Arisu will always stay by my side, even after I graduate from this school.

Author's Notes

I can't lie. This is without a doubt my personal favorite SS. I thoroughly enjoyed writing this one. What do you guys think about it?

In this timeline, accessories are allowed to be worn during class hours as long as they weren't deemed offensive or inappropriate. Thank you, plot-convenience-chan.

Regarding the photo, I edited a famous fan art of Kiyotaka by adding the necklace. The original fan art is NOT my work.

Chapter 7 will be a short chapter in two parts.

Important question: Do you guys want me to publish one part at a time or publish an entire chapter at once? For the first option I will be able to publish daily whereas for the second option it won't be the case but there'll be more parts published at once.

I also changed the name of this fan fiction from Classroom of the Elite: Odd One Out to The Odd One Out.

Take care!

Chapter 7.1 - Intellectual Duels

A few weeks had passed. It was November 1st. The day of the results of the midterms.

Nobody got expelled, and the class also saw an increase in class points for the first time in months. They had also lost class points in October as there were no exams so the changes were solely based on behavior, meaning you could not gain class points.

The class rankings for November were as follows.

Class A 1274 cp
Class B 1219 cp
Class C 823 cp
Class D 189 cp

Chabashira-sensei announced the upcoming special exam after revealing the results of the midterms. The Paper Shuffle Exam which will take place in mid-December, the usual time for final term exams. It will replace the final term exams.

It is an academic special exams with pairs and will also be the final exam of the second semester.

The upcoming exams will be as easy as middle school exam and won't influence our grades. These tests will help determine the pairs for the special exam. For the special exam, there will be tests on 8 subjects with 50 questions per test.

In this exam, expulsions were part of the penalties and were irreversible, even with private points.

If the combined total of the pair is under 60 for an exam, then both students would be expelled.

If the cumulative score of the pair falls below a certain number, both student would be expelled, even if they scored above 60 in all tests. For example, in the last exam, that certain number was 700 points, which lead me to think that if I scored 100s on all eight subjects I would be more than safe from expulsion no matter how my partner did.

The students will be tasked with writing the special exam questions for another class, then that class will have to 'defend' against the 'attack'. The winner of the battle (the one with the highest score) will gain 50 class points from the loser. To ensure that no impossible quizzes are made the teachers will monitor the questions. If the quizzes aren't finished by the submission deadline, the schools template questions will be used instead.

A class simply needed to nominate the desired class and inform about it beforehand. If more than one class nominated to attack the same class, the school will call upon the class representatives for the drawing of lots.

The school will compare the overall grades on the finals between the two classes, and the class that wins will receive a total of 50 class points from the losing class.

In the case where the exam becomes a direct match between two classes then the wager will be temporarily set to 100 instead of 50. But if the total score is the same in the end, the result will be a tie and there won't be any change in the number of points.

After Chabashira-sensei concluded her explanation, the class began speculating about how the pairs will be determined. They had decided to hold a group meeting between certain members of the class, Kushida being one of those members. Horikita was also part of the group. I was obviously excluded, again.

That same night, Kushida came into my room to talk about her problems again. I decided to use this opportunity to ask her about the group meeting, which I knew was held that afternoon.

The next day, Hirata explained the plan to the whole class, while Horikita stood next to him without saying a word. I knew that this was her plan, but she probably left it to Hirata to tell the class as he still had the class behind his back, unlike her.

The top 10 smartest people had to score above 80, the so-called dumbest had to score 0, and the 20 in between had to score either between 60 and 80 or 1 point. I wondered what I had to score.

"We have decided that the top 10 people include Ayanokouji and that he should score 100 points."

"Understood."

The rest of the class was confused of my instant approval.

I didn't plan on doing anything this exam, so scoring full marks was probably the best move.

The day after was the day of the mock exams which decided our pairings.

Chabashira-sensei handed out the exams and announced that Class A and Class B have targeted each other, which was expected. However, due to the fact that they had already decided this, Class D and Class C had to target each other.

I quickly finished the exam and handed back my paper, leaving many of my classmates in shock.

A day later, the pairs were announced and the results were as expected. I scored full marks and was paired up with Ken who was one of the students to get 0. Delighted to see the class' prediction being true, the Class D students were confident for the special exam.

It was awkward for Ken to approach me. After all, I was completely iced out from the rest of the class. I was excluded from class meetings, I had to leave the room when they were talking about tactics, study groups or other things. However, I never showed any signs of resistance.

That night, I texted Ken.

Ken

9:35 PM

[I'll score full marks on the final exams, you don't have to worry]

Whatever he decides to respond, I decided that I will not reply.

I became quite accustomed to being alone in my room. After my apparent betrayal, no Class D students messaged me or called me, let alone meeting up with me. For a normal high school student, I suppose this situation would be seen as pathetic. I was truly alone in my class, but I didn't mind. I already had my eyes set on my future goal.

The next few weeks of class flew by, and before I knew it, it was December.

Every class had lost a few class points, even though Class D did their best to behave in class.

With me being excluded in everything, I wasn't involved in anything. However, Kushida told me every time she came to my room. Everything was going exactly as I predicted it would, I didn't even need to intervene.

Horikita slowly but surely lost her leader presence. The class refused to listen to her after how she treated Kushida. She still was part of the group meetings apparently. The leaders then became Kushida and Hirata, who took the initiative and led the class. Horikita would stay in her seat.

After the class had worked out the question papers that they will hand to Class C, Kushida said she will hand over these papers to Chabashira-sensei after, to which the entire class agreed. I was outside the classroom at this time since they had kicked me out but I was eavesdropping.

Horikita had no say in this and she knew. She didn't even talk. I assumed she temporarily gave up.

It was painfully obvious to her that Kushida will take photos of the papers and send it to Class C.

I was on my way to school when I came across Hoshinomiya-sensei.

"Hey hey, Kiyotaka-kun!"

"Hoshinomiya-sensei."

She approached me and got unusually close to me.

"No need to be so formal, Kiyotaka-kun. Call me Chie-chan!"

"No thanks, Hoshinomiya-sensei."

"You're no fun. Hmph."

"Why are you talking to me?"

"Oh ho? Acting hard to get are we? I just wanted to talk to you! Say, Kiyotaka-kun, your class isn't treating you well, how about you join my class?"

So that's what she wanted to talk to me about.

"No chance."

"You want to stay in that Sae-chan's class? What a waste for a student like you if you ask me! I'm sure our class will treat you ten times better than those Class D students!"

"I'll tell you the truth, Hoshinomiya-sensei. I would rather stay in Class D than transfer to Class B. I'll tell you what I think about your class. As things stand, your class is incapable of reaching Class A, whereas Class D has the potential to do so."

"Hm? I thought you would be smarter than that, Kiyotaka-kun. The recent special exams results don't support your opinion, I'm afraid."

"Rome wasn't built in a day. You'll be shocked to see the rankings in a year. I'm not joining your class, that is out of the question."

"Hmph. Sae-chan is lucky to have a student as loyal as you. What a shame. Well, I'll be going now, Kiyotaka-kun!"

It's painfully obvious to me how Hoshinomiya-sensei was wearing a mask. In that sense, she was quite similar to Kushida, she was like a more experienced Kushida.

However, she had way too much faith in her class. The truth is, if things go as predicted, Class B might fall down the class standings starting from the second year, whereas Class D will start to rise up the ranks.

If Class B fail to realize their flaws, they would suffer from a hard realization.

Such a good-hearted class cannot flourish in the school's system. They will have to realize that the hard way.

I continued walking, until I saw Horikita talking to Kushida. They were talking in an alley behind a building.

They didn't see me, so I decided to hide around the corner and eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Why did you want to talk to me Horikita?" Kushida was still showing her usual self.

"Kushida. Please stop hurting the class."

"What are you talking about?"

"I know you sent the Paper Shuffle exam papers to Class C."

"I really didn't, what are you talking about?"

"I don't understand. Tell me, why do you hate me so much?"

"Who said I even hate you? You're hurting my feelings, Horikita."

"Tch. Whatever, Kushida. Just please don't harm the class."

"Who even said I'm even harming the class? Ayanokouji is the traitor, not me."

"Let's make a deal, Kushida. I want you to leave the class alone, and in exchange I will leave you alone for the rest of my three years here."

"You're mean, Horikita. I helped you with Ryuuen's deal but you still think of me as some kind of threat?"

Horikita thought about what to say, but gave up for now.

"Whatever. Just so you know, I never needed your help anyway. I won't bother you anymore today, but I will not stop until we come to an agreement."

She then left the scene and saw me when she exited the alley.

"Tch. Don't tell me you were listening the whole time."

"What if I was? Horikita, you're not dealing with Kushida the right way."

"I don't care what you have to say, traitor. I knew I shouldn't have trusted you the day I met you."

With that, she walked towards the school by herself while Kushida also came out of the alley.

"Hey, Ayanokouji!" she changed back to her cheerful self.

"Hey, Kushida."

"I did as you said. I acted like you told me to."

Indeed, Kushida contacted me beforehand to tell me that Horikita asked to meet up and sent me the time and location. Although I knew she sent Class C the exam papers yesterday, I specifically told her to act innocent, to deny her betrayal, and to put the blame on me.

"Yeah, I heard that."

"Hmph. Say, what do you think about her deal?"

"I don't think making a deal is the best way to go about things."

"You think? I think so too. You see, since the first day of school, I tried to befriend Horikita. Do you know why?"

"You knew that she knew of your other self, but you wanted to befriend her so that you could have a genuine friend that knows about your other self? You've never had a genuine friend who knew who you are, and you wanted to give Horikita a chance."

"Bingo! The truth is, I want to be friends with her, on the surface at least, but she doesn't appreciate my efforts, she is wary of me, keeps her distance from me, and even told you about my dark side. I know how Horikita was, so I put in a lot of effort. It's a shame that she doesn't want to reciprocate those efforts, now it seems like I will have no choice but to expel her. I don't need her to be my friend because luckily, I have you, my reliable friend Ayanokouji!"

It sounded like Horikita was misunderstanding Kushida.

Although a certain side of her couldn't stand it, Kushida genuinely wanted to get along with everyone, Horikita included. No human being likes having negative emotions, and Kushida is not an exception. She would only show her dark self when left with no choice.

Aristotle the Greek philosopher once said, man is by nature a social animal; an individual who is unsocial naturally and not accidentally is either beneath our notice or more than human.

Based on what she had told me, Kushida truly wanted to be everyone's friends. How could she not? She lives for that ecstasy when people compliment her, put their trust in her, encourage her. She wanted to stand out, by being more cheerful, more friendly, more considerate than anyone else, even if it was tough.

In middle school, she found a way to let out all her built-up frustration that she couldn't tell anyone about. An anonymous blog. That solution was only temporary, as her classmates accidentally stumbled upon her blog. Even though it was anonymous, they quickly deduced that it was Kushida. In a blink of an eye, her classmates turned their back on her. In an instant, all of Kushida's efforts were crushed. Nobody showed her the support she had given them. They started insulting her.

That was until Kushida spilled all their secrets. All the secrets her classmates had told her because they trusted her. Suddenly, her classmates were insulting not herself, but each other, leading to an absolute chaotic argument in the classroom that completely shred the class into pieces. Her class never recovered, bonds were shattered, souls were broken, and in the end, their graduation ceremony was delayed by a month due to this.

However, now, she has a new way to let out her frustration. She told me her problems without worry, her true feelings about others, and spoke her true thoughts as they crossed her mind. She trusts me, even though she knows more than anyone that trust is a double-edged sword. I've proved to her that I was trustworthy, and she let herself be convinced. Now, she had no issues with being around our classmates, cheering them on, helping them out, since she knew that I would always be there to listen to her when needed.

Perhaps, she wanted Horikita's validation at the beginning of the year. However, Horikita, being herself, was too focused on not letting her class crumble to the ground to realize the bigger picture.

In other words, Kushida became a threat to the class only because Horikita saw her as one.

"Kushida. Do you think people deserve a second chance?"

"I think so, but only some people deserve a second chance."

"How do you decide who gets a second chance and who doesn't though?"

"You and your philosophical questions... I don't know. Tell me already. What are your thoughts on the matter, Ayanokouji?"

"I don't know myself. Perhaps everyone deserves a second chance?"

"I'm not too sure about that, Ayanokouji, it's hard for people to change, you know."

I know. I know it more than anyone.

"Difficult doesn't mean impossible, Kushida. I think it's safe to say you were given a second chance at this school. A new school life for you to get along with everyone again and form genuine bonds. You gave Horikita a first chance to become friends with you, but she pushed you away. Wouldn't it be right for you to give her a second chance after all that's happened?"

Kushida was silent for a few seconds before speaking again.

"I can't, Ayanokouji. I'm sorry. I can't give people second chances."

"Give people a second chance, but not a third, is what they say. If she still refuses, then so be it. However, I would like to think that everyone deserves a chance to fix their mistakes, don't you think?"

"I suppose you're right."

"Wouldn't it be better for both of you if you two can have a genuine friendship? The two of you could lead the way for Class D."

"The thought of that somewhat disgusts me, but I do agree that if such a hypothetical situation were to turn true, I would like that. I would like to a genuine friend, someone like you. So I'll think about what you said, Ayanokouji."

We changed the subject of the conversation and continued walking to school after that.

It seems like a part of Kushida genuinely wants to become friends with Horikita. I'm willing to experiment to see if that can truly happen. I was currently convincing her to give Horikita a second chance.

A second chance of changing for the better.

I wonder...

Do I deserve such a second chance?

Author's Notes

Hey!

I hope you enjoyed reading this part!

I know, Kushida might be a little out of character, but that's for the sake of this fan fiction. Please bare with me.

Kushida's hate for Horikita isn't as strong as in the LN because Horikita doesn't have really that arrogant attitude anymore. She basically only hates her because she knows of her past.

Will Kushida and Horikita make up? What will happen?

And most importantly, why is Ayanokouji helping them get along? Some explanation will be given in the next part.

The next part will be the actual Paper Shuffle Exam.

See you then!

Chapter 7.2 - Contradicting Truths

Before we knew it, it was finally the day of the final exam. The class had diligently studied and were confident of securing a win against Class C. It was understandable. Academically speaking, Class C could be seen as weaker than Class D.

For Class D students, there were two ways they could potentially lose. Either Class C studied like crazy or they prepared insanely hard exams for Class D.

I looked around the room and everyone was chatting without worry, except for my neighbor who looked completely defeated. Horikita completely lost the class' support. Apart from that, the class was more united than ever.

"This exam will be a piece of cake!" Shinohara said.

"Yeah! There's no way they'll beat us! Ayanokouji the traitor didn't even listen to our discussions!" Yamauchi agreed.

"Who knew the Masterpiece of the White Room would be this easy to ice out? What a disappointment haha!" Ike mockingly said.

I sensed someone waking up to my seat.

"Ken?"

"Yo, Kiyotaka. I replied to your message but you didn't respond so I thought I would say this to your face."

It was true. I didn't reply to Ken's message.

"Are you really going to score full marks?"

"Yes Ken. You shouldn't worry at all. There's no way you'll be expelled."

"I see. Well, I'm not sure what you're up to. But you'll have to explain all this to me when the time comes!"

"I will. I promise you will understand when the time comes."

"Thanks. I'll get going now, sensei will arrive soon."

I nodded as he rushed back to his seat.

Chabashira-sensei then walked through the door with the exam papers.

"The first half of the final exam will begin now. The required overall score for each pair is 692 points. The first four subjects will be Japanese, English, Social Studies and Economics. I will now hand out the Japanese exam papers."

When she finished handing them out, the bell rang, signaling for the Japanese exam to officially begin.

I took a quick look at the questions. I of course didn't know the Class C questions beforehand. Looking at the questions, I would say they were at the limit of the difficulty allowed by the school.

The first four exams went by smoothly, for me anyway. I was confident of getting full marks. The same couldn't be said about the others.

Soon, the second part of the final exam began.

"The second part will now begin. The four next subjects will be Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology. I will now hand the Mathematics exam papers."

The second part was more scientific than the first. I also easily answered Class C's questions. The difficulty was pretty much the same as for the first four.

With that, the Paper Shuffle exam ended. All that was left was to wait for the results.

The day of the results came. Unlike on the day of the exam, everyone was nervous about the actual outcome. Even though they thought they all did alright, the questions were more difficult than the ones on the midterms

The moment came, and Chabashira-sensei entered the classroom with two big posters in her hands. She had a serious expression on her face, which didn't reassure the class in the least.

"I will now reveal the Paper Shuffle special exam results," she said as she attached the first poster on the blackboard.

The class was silent as they were reading what was written on the poster.

There was a table with three columns. The first simply named the classes. The second indicated the class' average over the eight subjects. The final one indicated the change in class points.

I looked over the poster.

Class A 75.9 100
Class B 73.8 - 100
Class C 80.7 100
Class D 65.3 - 100

Meaning that these will the new class rankings with the updated class points for the month of January.

Class A 1370 cp (100 cp)
Class B 1112 cp (-100 cp)
Class C 902 cp (100 cp)
Class D 80 cp (-100 cp)

The gap between the Class D and the other three classes was starting to get ridiculously big.

"There are the bad news. Class C beat you in terms of average points. As a result, the class lost 100 class points," Chabashira-sensei finally said in disappointment, "Class D now has less than 100 class points, again."

"What?"

"We lost?"

"They got higher scores than Class A and B?"

"There's no way, they're all a bunch of idiots!"

"They cheated!"

"No way!"

"Ayanokouji! I'm sure you lowered your scores on purpose!" Yamauchi screamed.

"Sensei, can you reveal the class' scores?" I asked her, ignoring Yamauchi's comment.

"Don't ignore me you bastard!"

"Yamauchi, shut your useless mouth for once," Chabashira-sensei coldly said as she put the other poster on the blackboard, "Here are the good news, nobody got expelled."

The poster showed a huge table. On the left side was the side showing the individual scores of everyone per subject. The right side showed the total score of each pairing and if they passed.

I looked over the left side of the poster.

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Sudou Ken 60 62 67 64 63 62 61 69

Ken's scores improved a lot since the beginning of the year, I must say. I then looked over the right side.

Ayanokouji / Sudou 1 308 Passed

Looking at the other scores, we had the highest total in the class.

"Ayanokouji... got perfect scores?" Yamauchi said.

"I suggest you not to brainlessly insult your classmates, Yamauchi," Chabashira-sensei, "Ayanokouji getting perfect scores is nothing out of the ordinary."

"How did Class C beat all of us then? Aren't they all idiots?" Shinohara asked.

"Did they cheat?"

"What if they got the questions beforehand?"

"That would explain it! Ayanokouji got perfect scores as a cover up for him giving Class C the exam papers."

The class looked at me before Hirata intervened.

"Guys, come on. We were the ones who excluded him from every single meeting. How could he possibly had sent them the exam papers? I believe Ayanokouji didn't betray us this exam. The truth is we lost and we have to take this defeat on the chin. The best we can do is bounce back and hope for the best in the next special exam."

"Tch."

Some students let out their frustration, visibly annoyed that Hirata came to my rescue.

"Anyways, that is all for what I have to announce. Class will start soon, so I will take my leave. I will leave the posters here, make sure to give them back at the end of the day at the faculty office," Chabashira-sensei said as she left the classroom.

"Horikita," I said to my silent neighbor.

"What?" she was visibly angry.

"Are you free for lunch? There are things I want to talk to you about. It's important."

"It better be worth my time, or else," she said as she grabbed the compass in her pencil case.

"It will be. Don't worry."

"What is it?"

Horikita and I were eating lunch at a place with few students. It would be a bother for both of us if Class D students saw us, so we decided to talk at a quiet place.

"What do you think about Kushida?"

"Is this what you want to talk about? I'm leaving," she said as she stood up and got ready to leave.

"Have you considered accepting her true self?"

She stopped in her tracks.

"What do you mean?"

"All this time, you're treating her like she's a danger to the class because of her other self. Did you know that she wants to become friends with you?"

"Friends? Stop joking."

I may or may not have twisted Kushida's words a bit.

"I think that if you two were to have a genuine friendship, Class D can rise to Class A."

"Is that what you think? If so, why did you betray the class?"

"I betrayed the class to prevent Kushida from betraying the class first. The truth is, she never betrayed the class. It was all me, everything."

That was a lie.

"What? Why?"

"You know how she wants to expel you? If she betrayed the class, she would have started her plan to expel you, and she would have no choice but to go all the way. Now, wouldn't that have been problematic for you, her, and the entire Class D?"

"It definitely would. But wait..."

"However, she managed to surpress her desire to expel you. She told me she even helped you with Ryuuen's when you couldn't afford the private points. Meanwhile, all you could do was doubt her. I personally think that's quite shameful."

"Shameful? That's right coming from your mo-"

"This is why if Kushida ever approaches you, or tries to befriend you, I want you to give her a second chance. Stop thinking of Kushida as a threat, Horikita, her social abilities can become one of Class D's strongest weapons. You need allies, and she has the potential to be your most reliable one."

"Wait a minute, I'm still thinking about your betrayal. Are you seriously saying you betrayed the class to help Kushida and I form a genuine relationship? Are you insane? You sacrificed your social life for that?"

"Yes. That is precisely why I don't want you two to disappoint me. My first intention wasn't to drag the class down. However, if you don't even try to get along with Kushida, I won't hesitate to continue doing so."

"I see..."

I initially thought Horikita would argue back, but she looked as if she was thinking hard about my words.

Why did I say all this?

I suppose I simply want to see if it was possible for the two of them to get along.

Can two enemies become allies?

I wanted to answer a question I have long desires an answer for.

Can people change?

To attempt to answer this, I let Kushida betray the class on purpose. I didn't intervene in the Zodiac Exam knowing very well that she will take this opportunity to make a first move. Then, during the class meeting when the results were announced, I let everyone know of the presence of a traitor, without saying their name, leaving Kushida anxious and desperate to know why I hadn't exposed her.

I lured her into having a talk with me. I told her the reason I hadn't exposed her was that I had deleted the video. Considering the circumstances, that was an acceptable and logical reason. I put the blame on myself, saying that I was wrong in trusting her and that I still wanted her to trust me. I told her to frame me as the traitor as proof of my desire to earn her trust, slowly beginning to do so. Indeed, that recording was a measure of precaution, in case things got out of control. By framing myself as the traitor, Kushida could continue betraying the class, and the blame would just fall on me again.

During the Sports Festival, I planned my actions so that Horikita would doubt Kushida, without having any proof. One can say I made her intuition tell her that Kushida betrayed the class. When Ryuuen entered the infirmary, I knew he wanted to make a deal with Horikita. Seeing Kushida in the infirmary at that time was probably the last straw for Horikita, who decided to attempt to expose her even though she had no proof, causing the class to turn their backs on her. Losing her leadership, she was backed into a corner, forced to reflect on her actions.

Regarding the deal between Horikita and Ryuuen, Kushida later told me that Horikita had to give 500,000 private points to Ryuuen. Although Horikita had quite a lot of private points compared to other Class D students, she didn't quite have enough. I transferred around 500,000 private points to Kushida, telling her to give those points to Horikita herself. By doing so, Horikita couldn't help but have second thoughts about Kushida's betrayal, which is why right now, she was probably thinking about asking for the class' forgiveness in order to earn back her leader spot.

Kushida continued to come to my room to talk about her problems, inevitably become dependent on me to help with her inner frustration. She was genuine around me, and told me about her past. As usual, I didn't react at the time, I only listened, which was more than good enough for her.

As for Horikita, I knew she would meet up with Kushida to have a talk eventually, which is why I had told Kushida to act in a specific way. I initially didn't know that their talk would be today but in Kushida sent me a message this morning informing me of the time and location. Unluckily though, I had to bump into Hoshinomiya-sensei. After my talk with her ended, I walked quicker than usual to head to their meeting spot.

After their meeting, I wanted to talk to Kushida. I knew Horikita wouldn't want to talk to me at that moment because I was still the traitor in her eyes and she had just finished talking to Kushida who she thought was a traitor too.

I've come to know a lot about Kushida, what drives her, what she wants. Knowing these aspects of her, I manipulated her into considering giving Horikita a second chance.

Today, I invited Horikita to have lunch with me. I knew that she had no plans. After all, the bond between her and the class was broken. There was no chance she was getting an invitation to each lunch from someone, as that was already the case before. Right now, she had calmed down from her meeting with Kushida, she decided to listen to me, as she thought she could learn of the reasons behind my betrayal.

I knew of that desire, and I used it to my advantage. I lied about what happened behind the scenes of my betrayal, leading her to think that I did it so that she and Kushida can form a genuine bond.

I lead her to think that I would go as far as destroying Class D to force her to try to befriend Kushida, but that wasn't true.

If things don't work out between them, then so be it. I would have an answer to my question.

However, should everything work out, it may open up a new path for me.

I've given them the foundations. Now, it's up to them to take matter into their own hands.

Did I lie to Horikita?

Yes and no.

I told a lie, but that lie was perceived as the truth by Horikita.

The truth is only what you believe to be true. Nobody can convince you of the truth, nobody but yourself.

The truth is what you believe is true.

'I can change.'

A part of me believes that statement is true.

Author's Notes

That's the end of Chapter 7! It was a short one but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless!

What does the future hold for Kushida and Horikita and Class D?

Spoiler Alert: Not even Author-san knows.

Anyways, two SS will follow before the start of Chapter 8!

See you then!

SS. 14 - President Ayanokouji

Manabu called me into his office. This was the day I would officially become student council president. Today was the before last day before Christmas holidays.

"Hello, Ayanokouji. Or should I say, President Ayanokouji," Manabu greeted me as I entered the student council room. Tachibana also nodded as in to say hello.

"Good afternoon. Have you stepped down, President?"

"Yes, I have, Ayanokouji. I suppose you can stop calling me President now, call me Manabu."

"If you wish, Manabu."

"Ayanokouji. I called you today to tell you a few last words regarding the president role as well as look through the applications for the secretary position with you. I hope you didn't have plans today, I know this was a little bit sudden."

"No need to worry. I didn't have plans anyway, and this is much more important than any plan."

Manabu smiled. "Well, let's get started, shall we? First, I want you to take a look at this."

He showed me the main chair in the student council room. It had my name on it. I obviously never noticed it because Manabu would always be sitting in that chair. I didn't know that they engraved the President's name on it.

He continued by explaining the work I had to do as President. The student council had to submit reports of every club at the end of each semester. Manabu explained that he already submitted the reports for this semester.

"Now, we'll go over the applications we received."

I looked through the applications, although there were few. There were some unusual names as well.

Ichinose Honami.

Katsuragi Kouhei.

Kamuro Masumi.

Asahina Nazuna.

Kiriyama Ikuto.

Hirata Yousuke.

I wonder if Arisu personally ordered Kamuro to send an application.

Unsurprisingly, there were no students from Class C. At least, that's what I thought. However, there was one last sheet of paper under Kamuro's application.

Ryuuen Kakeru.

I was surprised to see the name, but after taking a look at his application, it was obviously a joke. He didn't fill in any part of the application sheet. What a pain.

First, I won't be accepting Hirata's application. Hirata already has his hands full with Class D's constant failures.

Katsuragi is a good guy. However, since I will be working with Arisu soon, it might be best to not choose Class A's former leader.

I decided against accepting Kamuro's application as there was a possibility that Arisu ordered her to do so as some kind of joke.

In addition, I refused Kiriyama's application because I didn't have enough information on him. I've never met him nor do I know how he behaves. All I knew was that he's someone that idolizes and respects Manabu. That is also why I refused him. I didn't want someone who was already previously influenced and who will give a biased opinion.

Moving on, Ichinose was the most qualified candidate, on the surface at least. She was student council president in middle school, after all. However, I already had come to a decision.

"I'm accepting Asahina-senpai's application," I said.

"Go ahead. May I ask why?"

After I first met Asahina-senpai, I asked Arisu for information on her.

Asahina Nazuna, a second-year Class A student. She's a well liked and influential girl within the second-years. Although laid back and playful, she is very dutiful. After Nagumo's expulsion, she's now one of Class 2-A's leaders. Honestly, sometimes I wonder how Arisu is able to get this information so easily.

"She's well-liked and influential in her year and is dutiful enough to take on the role of secretary. Also, I thought it would be better for the secretary to be a second-year so that they can give me their input on matters."

The fact that Asahina-senpai was a second-year was a big factor in my decision making. The truth was that her influence within her year could easily be compared to Ichinose's. In that sense, they were similar, although their personalities may differ. Next year, she'll be a third-year Class A student and can hold massive influence over not only her year but the student body. Her communication skills also make up for mine and are perfect for the secretary role.

"I see. I understand your reasoning and I support your choice. Now, you need to confirm your choice by filling in this form, then you can announce the news to her," Manabu told me as he gave me the form.

After I signed the form, we exchanged a few final words.

"This is all I wanted to do today. I'm glad everything went smoothly. We'll be leaving now, I'll give this form to the school. I'll give you one bit of advice on being president, Ayanokouji. If you can't imprint your legacy on the school itself, you just need to do it to the students. Let the student known as Ayanokouji Kiyotaka be carved into the minds
of students, and they will not forget your existence."

"I see... Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. I'll see you around, Manabu, Tachibana."

When they left, I sat on the main chair. I stared out the window lost in my thoughts.

Imprint my legacy, huh.

What legacy do I want to imprint?

The day after accepting her application, I decided to send a message to Asahina-senpai. I had her number after we exchanged contact information after the Sports Festival.

Asahina
7:34 AM

[I have accepted your application]
[Welcome to the student council, Asahina-senpai]

[Oh ho! It seems the President fell for my charms]
[I'm happy to be part of the student council!]

[I would like to meet you to discuss the work you'll be doing]
[Would a meeting be possible today after class?]

[Yep! I'm free!]
[Why don't we have dinner together?]
[I also want to get to know you better!]

[That's fine by me]

[In that case, how does the Chinese restaurant on the 4th floor of Keyaki Mall sound?]

[Sounds good]
[Is 6 PM okay?]

[6 PM is perfect!]
[See you then, President]

I was waiting for Asahina-senpai in front of the designated restaurant as it was almost 6 PM. I was currently looking through the school online forum.

Today, Keyaki Mall was crowded as it was the last day before Christmas holidays. Right now, classes had ended and we were now officially on holidays.

"President Ayanokouji!"

My thoughts were interrupted as I turned around to see a girl with brown hair adorned by a hair pin in the shape of a sunflower.

"Good evening, Asahina-senpai. Please, you can just call me Ayanokouji."

"Hmm... in that case, just call me Asahina! 'Asahina-senpai' is a mouthful."

"Sure. Let's head in, shall we?"

"Yes, let's go! A table for two please," she said to the host as we entered the restaurant.

"Okay, please follow me."

After we sat down on our table, the host gave us the menus. We looked at the menus for a while before ordering. Now, we were waiting for our food.

"I'm so hungry... I hope the food arrives quickly. Say, Ayanokouji, what made you pick me as your secretary? Was it my looks?" she teased.

"Well firstly, you're a second-year, meaning that you can give me information about the second-years. That might prove to be useful for future decisions. Secondly, I heard that you're extremely well-liked in your year and that you're quite influental as one of Class A's leaders. Your communication and social skills make you a perfect fit for the secretary role. That was basically my reasoning."

"Hm? So you didn't pick me because of my looks, how boring... Just kidding, I'm glad to be part of the student council, Ayanokouji."

"I look forward to working with you, Asahina."

"Likewise!" she said as she extended her arm. I followed up on her act and we shook hands.

I then went on to tell her about the work she'll have to be doing. That work included basic things like going to clubs to gather information for reports, and similar tasks.

"That's basically all I have to say for now," I said as I ended my explanation.

"I see. I'm excited to get started!"

"As for the keys to the student council room, I have two that belonged to Manabu and Tachibana-senpai. Here," I gave her one of the key.

"Thanks. Wait, did you just call Horikita-senpai by his first name?"

"Yes. I suppose we get along. He allowed me to call him that."

"I see. He must have high praise for you then. Well I mean, who doesn't? Do you know how shocked I was when I learned about the news of the White Room along with the other upperclassmen at the beginning of the year? We couldn't believe it. And to think that you, Ayanokouji, would attend here was something we couldn't wrap our heads around."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. Well, in the end, I'm glad you're not like the news described you. You seem rather normal actually. I'm sure we'll get along!"

"I hope so."

"Hehe. I'm the secretary of none other than Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, how cool!"

"Speaking of that, I will announce on the school's forum that you have been chosen as secretary. Therefore, I would like you to confirm that you wish to take this role."

"I confirm!" she said as she saluted, "Oh, our food is here."

The waiter brought us our food.

"Itadakimasu."

From then on, the conversation started becoming more of an interview. Asahina was asking me about the things I like, my hobbies, even my type of girls. She was quite talkactive, but I had a feeling that she somewhat felt pity for my past. Anyway, we stopped talking about important matters and simply talked about random things.

We finished eating and left the restaurant.

"Are you heading home, Ayanokouji?"

"Yes."

"Then I suppose I'll walk with you for a bit, the first-year dorms and second-year dorms are next to each other anyway. What do you say?"

"I don't mind."

Asahina giggled.

"Your answers are always so vague. You're a mysterious person, Ayanokouji. I suppose I like that aspect of you."

"Is that so?"

"Yep! Say, can you tell me more about you? Like, what was it like it be in the White Room?"

"I don't really want to talk about it, sorry."

"Ah, it's okay. It's my fault for for being pushy about it, but I really want to know more about you, Ayanokouji. I hope our relationship won't simply be a workplace relationship. Let's be friends!"

"Friends, huh? I wouldn't mind that, I guess."

"Great! Now you have a beautiful senpai as your friend."

"Lucky me."

"Pfff," Asahina laughed, "So you can be funny when you want to, it seems."

"I've mastered comedy in the White Room."

"Stop," she laughed her head off as she put her hands on her stomach, "My stomach already hurts from eating too much."

"I see. My bad then."

"Don't worry about it," she looked at me with a genuine smile.

We quickly arrived at the second-year dorms. The first-year dorms were still a little bit ahead.

"I guess this is where we part ways. Have a nice Christmas holiday, Ayanokouji! Don't hesitate to contact me for anything!" she said as she walked away, waving back at me.

"Have a nice holiday too, Asahina," I waved back.

After I got back to my room, I decided to announce Asahina as the new secretary on the school's forum.

Subject: Student Council Secretary Position
User: Student Council

After much consideration, it has been decided that Class 2-A student Asahina Nazuna will be the new student council secretary. Thanks again to everyone who submitted their application and apologies to those who got their application rejected.

Author's Notes

Hey!

Asahina is the new secretary. I thought it would be an interesting choice and an original one.

One more SS will follow before Chapter 8!

Take care until then!

SS. 15 - A Christmas Date

Today was Christmas, December 25th. It was snowing. Temperatures were low. There was a huge Christmas tree at the entrance of the Keyaki Mall. The atmosphere was really like I had read in books.

Most importantly, I had plans for today.

A date with Arisu.

At least that's what she called it. Is there a difference between a date and a meeting? I must admit, I'm clueless when it comes to these things.

That was why Arisu decided to teach me all about these things. I recently came to the realization that there are so many things I could never learn nor experience in the White Room.

Right now, it was the afternoon, and I was sitting on one of the many benches close to the Christmas tree, wearing casual clothes and the necklace Arisu gave me, waiting for her to arrive.

Yesterday, as preparations for the date, I read online that it was recommended to arrive earlier than the meeting time, so that is what I did today.

I was admiring the different colors shining on Christmas tree.

Color.

Something so unusual for me. The outside world is really nothing like in the White Room.

As I contemplated the scenery, I heard the constant sounds of a cane tapping the ground getting louder and louder.

"Kiyotaka, how long did you wait? There's snow on your head."

It seemed like I was so lost in my thoughts that I hadn't moved an inch. The falling snow slowly accumulated on my head and my clothes.

"I just got here," I said. That was obviously a lie, but that was what you're supposed to say in such a situation, according to the internet.

"Fufufu... you're a horrible liar. Let's get going now, shall we?"

I stood up from the bench and shook off the snow.

"Is there anywhere you want to go?"

"You're supposed to be the one to decide, you know."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. It is an unwritten rule. Now, where are we going, Kiyotaka?"

"Who knows."

"You're seriously bad at this. Is there anywhere you want to go? Somewhere you've never been to?"

I've went to a lot of places in the Keyaki Mall. I tried out a lot of restaurants, I even went to the movies a few times, but there was one place I was yet to go to.

"Let's go to the arcade."

"Interesting choice. I'll be following you then."

The Keyaki Mall was filled with students from all three years. Most students were here to hang out with their friends, or go out on a date.

The arcade was on the fifth floor, so we had to take the elevator. Luckily, nobody was waiting for the elevator except us. We entered the empty elevator and pressed the button for the fifth floor.

The elevator door started to close when a young man put his foot inside the elevator to stop the door from closing.

"Please excuse us... Oh, it's you, Ayanokouji."

"Hello, Manabu. Hello, Tachibana."

Former president Manabu and former secretary Tachibana entered the elevator.

"Good afternoon to you, Ayanokouji, Sakayanagi," he gently said. Tachibana also greeted us.

"If it isn't the former president and the former secretary. It's a pleasure to see you two here," Arisu said.

"What are you two doing in the mall?" he asked.

"I suppose you can say we're on a little Christmas date," Arisu smugly responded, "What about you two?"

"The same can be said about us," Manabu said as Tachibana also nodded shyly, "We're heading to the movies."

"We're heading to the arcade," I replied.

Both the movies and the arcade were on the fifth floor.

We continued a bit of casual talk before exiting the elevator, and then we parted ways.

"I didn't think we would run into those two," I said to Arisu.

"Coincidences can be freaky, I guess."

That's my line.

"Isn't that my line?"

"Who knows."

We arrived at the arcade and bought some tokens using our private points.

"Kiyotaka, I want to try that out," Arisu said, pointing at the corner with claw machines while pulling my coat.

"Sure."

The arcade was quite crowded, and we were attracting attention, to say the least.

"They look so cute together..."

"I'm jealous."

I heard Arisu giggle as we approached the machines.

"I'll go first," she said, putting one of her tokens in the machine.

On the surface, a claw machine was extremely simple to use. There was a stick with which you could control the movement of the claw, and there was a button on the right that you would press once you were done moving claw to attempt to grab the toy.

As she moved the three-pronged claw, I quickly realized she was aiming for the cat plushie that was a little bit in the corner. She excitedly pressed the button and we watched the claw lower itself and grab the plushie, only for the claw to let go of the plushie.

"This game is rigged, Kiyotaka," Arisu said with a serious tone as soon as the toy fell off, "Don't waste your tokens."

"I'd like to try it."

I inserted a token and attempted to grab the cat plushie Arisu aimed for, only to fail as well.

Claw machines are made so that, on average, the amount you spend trying to get a toy from the claw machine is more than the amount you would spend if you were to simply buy it. However, I suppose there's a sense of achievement that goes along with the success of get your hands on a specific toy through the claw machine.

"Should we try something else?" she asked me.

"No. I'll try one more time."

I was now concentrated, fully focused.

I noticed the plushie had a tag attached to it. The tag was attached on the head of the cat and had a hole through it. One of the claw's prongs could fit through the tag's hole, efficiently snatching it.

That was my plan.

I moved the claw in such a way that when it lowered, one of the three prongs would go through the tag's hole and stably snatch the cat plushie. I made sure the position of the claw was perfect. I even went to the sides of the machine to look through the glass and make sure the positioning was right. Since there was glass on three sides of the machine, you could go around to analyze the position of your claw and the toys.

I pressed the button, and what I expected to happen, happened. The claw lowered itself, and firmly grabbed the tag. The plushie itself was a little titled, which made it perfect for the claw to grab onto it. The size of the tag made it so that the tag wouldn't just slide off the claw's prong once it was in the air.

As I watched the claw move the cat plushie on top of the exit, I realized a few people were watching me. Why did I have to attract attention everywhere I go?

The cat plushie dropped out of the machine. It was a success.

I grabbed the plushie and gave it to Arisu.

"Here."

"You're giving it to me?"

"Didn't you want it?"

"Well, yes, but I feel bad for making you try your hardest to get it fufufu."

"Consider it a Christmas gift."

"I see. Thanks, Kiyotaka. What should we try next?"

"I'm not sure. Let's just try out everything."

"Fufufu... If you say so."

We tried out a lot of the arcade's games and machines. I managed to win a lot of prizes even though it was my first time at an arcade. All of the prizes were plushies that I ended up giving to Arisu who now had a bag full of plushies.

"This is a little heavy, Kiyotaka. Do you mind carrying this bag?"

"Sure."

It was getting late so we decided to walk back to the dorms after eating dinner at a Japanese restaurant. Arisu insisted on paying, since she said that I already gave her so many plushies.

When we arrived at the dorms, we went our separate ways as our rooms were in different buildings.

"I had fun today, Kiyotaka."

Fun, huh? I wonder if I had fun today.

Did I think today was fun?

"I suppose I did too. Thanks for inviting me."

"That is not what you're supposed to say after a date, Kiyotaka."

"What am I supposed to say?"

"You're supposed to say 'Let's do this again sometime', fufufu."

"I see. I suppose I wouldn't mind doing something like this again sometime."

"That's good enough. Take care, Kiyotaka."

"See you, Arisu."

We parted ways and I arrived in my room soon after. I laid on my bed while collecting my thoughts.

Did I have fun today?

Did I enjoy today's date?

Did I enjoy my time with Arisu?

I'm pretty sure a part of me did.

Author's Notes

Heyo!

That's the end of this chapter's SS series. Coming up next is Chapter 8.

I thoroughly enjoyed writing this SS. I hope you guys enjoyed reading it.

Take care and see you for Chapter 8!

Chapter 8.1 - Starting Over

After Christmas break, classes resumed.

It wasn't long before Chabashira-sensei announced a new special exam. One that hadn't been done in a long time.

The Class Poll.

Even though I was President, I couldn't decide the special exams for the last semester of the first year, since first-year special exams are decided in advance. This exam was therefore decided in advance and I couldn't change it.

The rules for this one were quite simple.

The exam consisted of a class vote, where each student in each class was allotted 3 praise votes and 3 criticism votes.

Each student will have to give a praise vote to three different students in their class, and a criticism vote to three other different students in their class. You obvious couldn't vote for yourself.

Praise votes and criticism votes invalidated each other, meaning the results for each student will be number of praise votes they received subtracted by the number of criticism votes they received.

Prohibited actions included nominating the same person more than once, entering a blank, abstention or similar actions.

Each student had to give a praise vote to a student of another class.

In each class, the student with the lowest vote result will be expelled, but they can still be saving by paying 20 million private points.

The student with the highest vote result in each class will receive a non-transferable Protection Point that can overturn expulsion.

In the case where the student with the lowest vote result has a result of 0 criticism votes, then that student won't be expelled. Similarly, in the case where the student with the highest vote result has a result of 0 praise votes, then that student won't receive a Protection Point.

The vote results will be announced with only the rankings and number of votes, but the voters' names will be kept anonymous.

Once Chabashira-sensei finished her explanation, homeroom ended and she left the room.

"I know who I'm giving my criticism vote to," Ike said when looking at me.

"Bye bye, you bastard!" Yamauchi screamed.

"We have to expel the traitor!"

"I saw him with Sakayanagi-san! He's definitely betraying our class!"

Sigh.

I must say, if it wasn't for one rule, I would've no doubt been the one with the lowest vote result.

Each student has to give a praise vote to a student of another class.

With that, my safety is all but assured.

I suppose I can play along for now.

"Let's vote for Ayanokouji!" Shinohara said.

"Let's get that traitor out our class, this is our chance!"

"Guys, he's the student council president."

"Who cares? We'll just get a new one!"

It was safe to say I would receive the most criticism votes in our class. Even though I was student council president, some students in the class didn't hesitate to let their thoughts known.

Hirata tried to calm everyone down, telling everyone he didn't want anyone to be expelled, but the majority of the class refused to listen. They deemed this too good of an opportunity to turn down.

Meanwhile, I don't think Kushida and Horikita had a talk since that time on the way to school. I've been observing them to attempt to notice any potential differences in their behaviors, but I've spotted none so far.

Before the class could come to an agreement, the next teacher came and class started.

After class ended, I left the class while the others discussed what to do about the special exam.

"President."

I turned around to see Ichinose.

"Oh hey, Ichinose. Please, you don't need to call me President. Just call me Ayanokouji it's fine."

"If you say so, Ayanokouji-kun. Can we walk back together? I want to talk you."

"Sure."

We left the main building and head towards the dorms.

"Say, Ayanokouji-kun, is there a reason you rejected my application?"

"Oh, that. There wasn't a specific reason. It's nothing personal, I just thought that Asahina was the most suited for the role. She's also a second-year and soon-to-be third-year so her experience in this school will come in handy."

"I see."

"Sorry."

"Don't apologize, Ayanokouji-kun. I suppose I can always get another role in the student council, right?"

"Yeah."

"Say, Ayanokouji-kun, are you going to be alright for the upcoming special exam?"

"Do you think I'll get expelled?"

"Maybe, but I don't want it to happen. I don't want anybody to be expelled, especially the student council president"

"I won't get expelled that easily, Ichinose. You don't have to worry, I'll deal with everything."

"I see... that's good then."

She then changed the subject to talk about other trivial things, and we parted ways at the dorms.

The next day passed like any other.

Most of the class seemed to have had their minds set on expelling me even though I was student council president.

I was in the student council room alone when someone knocked on the door.

"Welcome, Manabu."

"That place fits you well, Ayanokouji," he said while looking at me sitting on the main chair.

"What are you here for?"

"I heard the teachers presented the upcoming special exams to the first-year classes. I'm here to talk about that."

"I see."

"I assume your class plans to expel you?"

"More or less, yes."

"How do you plan to deal with that?"

"I've already done so."

That was a lie, but I didn't want Manabu to intervene.

"Is that so? I suppose I don't have to intervene then. I don't want you expelled, Ayanokouji. I have great expectations for you. You should clear up these rumors as fast as possible. I have 20 million private points that can be used in case you got the lowest vote result, but if you say you've already dealt with the matter, then I suppose I won't get involved."

"There's no need to, Manabu. You don't need to worry about me."

"Is that so? That's good to hear then. How are your first weeks as President?"

"I'm managing so far. It's the beginning of the semester so I don't have too much work to do yet. Asahina seems to be managing too as my secretary."

"That's great. Well, that's all I wanted to talk about. I'll be going now. Good luck for the exam."

"Thank you, Manabu."

He left the room. However, not soon after, a small girl with a cane entered the room.

"Hello, President Kiyotaka fufufu."

"Hello Arisu. What are you here for?"

"Do you have any idea?"

"Are you offering me your class' praise votes?"

"Fufufu... indeed, Kiyotaka. I'm here to let you know that I will tell my class to give you their praise votes if you need them. It'll be quite easy to convince them since you're the student council president now."

"I see, I'll gladly accept your help. What should I do for you in return?"

"Fufufu... No need to thank me, Kiyotaka. I suppose I'll let you know if I need anything from you."

"Thanks, Arisu."

"Kiyotaka. Is there a reason you rejected Masumi's application?"

"It's not that I rejected her, I just accepted someone else's application. She wasn't the best choice, objectively speaking, that is. Also, she's already busy serving you."

"Fufufu. I suppose you're right. You made the right choice, I asked her to apply, she was never interested in joining fufufu. Say, Kiyotaka, let's walk home together."

"Sure. I'm done with my work for today anyway."

With that, Arisu and I walked back to the dorms, casually chatting along the way.

I haven't had much time to meet up with Arisu. Being student council president limited my free time. It felt nice to talk with her every once in a while.

"I guess this is where we part ways, Kiyotaka," she said as we arrived at the dorms.

"Yeah."

"It's a shame we can't spend more time together, fufufu."

"I don't have as much free time as before."

"Is that so? Then I suppose I'll wait until you come to our class. I'll see you around, Kiyotaka," she gently waved goodbye to me and left.

One reason why I can't meet up with Arisu more often is that it would simply raise suspicion since the class sees me as a traitor.

Once my plan succeeds though, I don't mind spending more time with her.

No.

I suppose it wouldn't be wrong to say that I want to spend more time with her.

Class had ended for the day, and somewhat unexpectedly, Horikita went up to the podium, gaining the attention of the class.

"I have a message for everyone."

Some students were confused. Some were still frustrated at her. But they all attentively listened nonetheless, including Kushida.

"I would like to apologize for my actions after the Sports Festival. I was selfish, the competitiveness of the festival got the better of me. I spent the time I've spent on the sidelines reflecting on myself. I don't seek forgiveness, but please know that I regret my actions. If possible, I would like to restore my spot as one of Class D's leaders."

The class thought about her words for a few seconds.

"It's okay, Horikita. Everyone makes mistakes. As long as you're aware of them, I have no problem with you being leader again," Hirata said with a smile.

Most were shocked at Horikita's words. They didn't expect her to apologize.

"I think we were a little too harsh on Horikita..."

"Yeah... let's give her a second chance."

Collectively, the class accepted her apology.

"Thank you, everyone. I have one more thing to say."

She looked at Kushida.

"I would like to openly apologize to you, Kushida. I've made a mistake, and I rightfully paid a price for it. I sincerely hope my selfish words won't become a future obstacle between us. Let's put this behind us and start anew."

Kushida smiled, and I think it was a somewhat genuine smile.

Horikita looked back at the class.

"That being said, I will do my very best to ensure Class D will rise up the ranks again."

She respectfully bowed. The classroom applauded her and accepted her words.

"Now, I have a proposal for the upcoming special exam."

That was quick.

Horikita went on to explaining her plan.

Basically, she aimed for the outcome where nobody got expelled, and nobody got Protection Points. There were no class points on the line in this special exam, so this was more than a reasonable approach, I'm sure Class B will also aim for this outcome.

The strategy consisted of forming 20 pairs. Within each pair, one student would give praise votes to three students, and the other student would give criticism votes to those same three students, and vice versa, meaning in the end, all the criticism votes and praise votes cancel out.

"That's a great idea, Horikita!" Hirata gave his approval.

"Y-yeah!" Ike said.

Some students were visibly disappointed with the strategy. After all, they wanted to use this special exam to expel me.

Despite that, they all gave their approval on the surface.

"Let's go ahead with that plan, Horikita," Hirata said.

"Thank you. Regarding the pairs, there are no restrictions. However, if you don't mind, I will pair up with Ayanokouji, any objections?"

The class sounded like they forgot I existed for a few moments, before accepting Horikita's idea.

Horikita then summed up the strategy before leaving the podium.

"Good job. Horikita," I said to her when she came back to her seat to pack up her things.

"Thank you, I guess. I appreciate your help, I will attempt to befriend Kushida. It's a shame you're still seen as a traitor, though."

I think Manabu would be proud to see Horikita's growth. This was development that the Horikita from the first semester could never have imagined.

"It's fine. I suppose I can slowly gain their approval again. Don't worry about me."

On the surface, Horikita's plan was perfect.

However, even though the class agreed, I know some students won't be able to resist the opportunity to expel me.

At the end of this exam, one person will be more shattered than the rest.

Author's Notes

Hey!

Kushida is a little OOC in this fan fic.

There was an important change in the rules in this timeline:

In the case where the student with the lowest vote result has a result of 0 criticism votes, then that student won't be expelled. Similarly, in the case where the student with the highest vote result has a result of 0 praise votes, then that student won't receive a Protection Point.

Meaning there was indeed a way to have nobody expelled. The exam is only done once, it can't be redone unlike in the LN.

That's all, see you for the next part!

Chapter 8.2 - Limitless Growth

It was Saturday, the day of the exam. We were all sitting in class.

"Let's pass this exam all together!"

"Yeah! Nobody will get expelled!"

Kushida came to my room yesterday. She told me that even though the class had supposedly agreed to Horikita's strategy, some secretly decided to give their criticism vote to me and expel me.

How troublesome.

Luckily, Arisu offered me her class' praise votes.

On a side note, she told me that Horikita had asked to meet her today after the results of the special exam, to which she agreed.

My thoughts were interrupted when Chabashira arrived in the classroom, announcing the start of the exam. She looked at me with a look of worry on her face. I just shrugged.

"The Class Poll exam will now begin. Each student will receive seven small sheet of paper, three red, three green and one yellow. Use the red ones to cast your criticism votes, the green ones for the praise votes, and the yellow one to give your praise vote to another class' student. You will all have ten minutes to write the names on the paper. The writing part will then stop. When I call your name, come up and cast your votes. There are three colored bins. Put your papers in the appropriate bins. The results will be announced this afternoon at 1 PM in this classroom."

Her explanation was solid. It was pretty self explanatory.

After she handed out the papers, the ten minutes began.

Now, who's names should I write?

Horikita and I agreed on names beforehand as we were a pair. However, considering the circumstances, I decided to write other names.

For the criticism votes, I gave them to Ike, Yamauchi and Shinohara. Not only were they academically weak, they also had a complete lack of common sense and showed no proof of growth.

For the praise votes, I gave them to Horikita, Hirata and Kushida. Those three will no doubt be leading the class in the future.

I also gave Arisu a praise vote.

One by one, the students cast their votes. Some occasionally looked at me with mocking looks.

"Ayanokouji, please come forward."

I stood up, put my votes in the appropriate bins and went back to my seat.

Before I knew it, the exam ended.

"Did everyone do their job?" Hirata said.

"Yes!" Yamauchi said

"Of course!" Ike cried out.

The class responded to Hirata's question. However, many visibly voted for me.

People are all born liars and are mostly used to lying. If a person that has never lied even once in their lives exists, that existence itself would be a lie. For humans, lies are an inseparable part of ourselves.

I left the classroom to have lunch while the class continued talking.

When I walked in front of Class B's classroom, they had just finished their exam. Ichinose smiled at me and gave me a thumbs up.

When I walked in front of Class A's classroom, students were coming out of the classroom. Arisu was sitting and talking to Kamuro so she didn't notice me. Hashimoto did though, and he gave me a thumbs up of his own.

I decided to have lunch alone as usual. It was best if I didn't interact with other classes at this time.

I went to the cafeteria to grab a bento box and ate my lunch on a small table, reading a book I had previously borrowed from Hiyori.

I looked at my phone after I finished eating and decided to head to the classroom since it was 12:55 PM.

A few people in Class D laughed when they saw me. After everyone settled down, Chabashira-sensei came in the room.

"I will now announce the results of the Class Poll exam. I will start with the top three that received the most praise points."

"Sensei! Can you start with the top three that received the most criticism votes?" Yamauchi said with excitement while looking at me. He could barely contain himself from showing his excitement.

"Are you sure, Yamauchi?"

"What do you mean, Yamauchi?" Hirata said before looking at the class, "What's the meaning of this?"

"Very well, I will start with the top three that received the most criticism votes."

Some students in the class looked at me, as if they wanted to see how I would react. Others knew very well they disobeyed the class' agreement and looked down in shame.

At the end of this exam, they would have nobody to blame but themselves.

"I will start with the person with the most criticism votes and go down from there."

I could see Hirata panicking, he couldn't understand the meaning of this.

"It's not like we don't know who it is," Yamauchi silently whispered to Ike who discreetly chuckled.

What a bunch of fools.

Chabashira-sensei looked at them in amusement before announcing the results.

"The person with the most criticism votes is Yamauchi, with 19 criticism votes."

The class was silent.

"What?!!" Yamauchi stood up, "There must be a mistake, sensei!"

The rest of the class was surprised, but none of them supported Yamauchi, even Ike stayed in his chair, although shocked.

"I'm afraid there are no mistakes, Yamauchi. Unless your classmates can pay the 20 million points necessary to overturn your expulsion, you'll have to come with me to the faculty office after this."

Yamauchi was lost. He looked around the room before staring at me.

"You!! What the hell did you do again, you bastard!?"

"Ah ha ha! What a disgrace. There is nothing more disgraceful than a man losing his cool. Only a monkey like you would blame their own incompetence on someone much more capable," Kouenji intervened.

"What did you say!?"

"Sit down Yamauchi. Nobody asked you to talk," Chabashira-sensei coldly said.

"No! I refuse to believe this! Please... someone pay the 20 million points!!!"

The classroom was silent.

Twenty million was an absurd amount. Nobody had enough, not even me.

Chabashira-sensei continued, completely ignoring Yamauchi's words of desperation.

Second place was Ike with 15 criticism votes. Third place was Ken with 12 criticism votes.

Hirata looked like a dead body, he couldn't understand what went wrong. It was very obvious what went wrong. Hirata had failed to address the elephant in the room.

"I will now announce the students with the most praise votes. I will start with third place."

She continued as the class didn't react. The class still hadn't fully processed what happened, especially Hirata who now looked like he had lost his soul. It was understandable, the class betrayed their agreement and now a student will be expelled because of their selfishness.

"Coming in third place is Horikita, with 16 praise votes.

Coming in second place is Kushida with 20 praise votes."

The class was attentively listening.

"Finally, the student with the most praise votes is Hirata, with 27 praise votes."

The class was silent, however. They knew they betrayed the class' agreement. I could see Horikita simply shaking her head in disappointment.

Yamauchi looked like his soul evaporated from his body. The same could be said for Hirata who looked like he had just seen a ghost.

"That concludes the results of this special exam. Yamauchi, come to me to the faculty office. Hirata, you will receive a Protection Point as stated in the rules."

"No! I'm not getting expelled! There's no way!" Yamauchi screamed.

Yamauchi didn't receive much support from the class. Nothing much had changed since the first midterms, the girls still looked at him in disgust. Nobody said a thing.

"I'm sorry, Yamauchi, but if nobody overturns your expulsion, there's nothing we can do," Chabashira-sensei said.

"Somebody... please!"

Yamauchi was desperate.

"Ayanokouji! You saved me the first time, please save me again! I beg you!"

Truly pathetic.

"I don't have enough points. Even if I did, I wouldn't help you. I said it when I first saved you. I said that next time, I won't be helping you."

"Why!? You useless bastard!! You should've been the one to get expelled!"

"Yamauchi, that's enough. Come with me now. Don't cause a commotion otherwise I'll call security to force you out of here."

"No! Please! Someo-"

"Yamauchi, that's enough."

Yamauchi became quiet and seemingly just accepted his fate. Chabashira-sensei dragged a basically-dead Yamauchi out of the classroom, leaving the class silent.

"Why..." I could hear Hirata mutter.

"WHY DID THIS HAPPEN?!" he suddenly screamed.

This feels like déjà vu.

"Didn't we say we will pass this exam as a class so that nobody would get expelled?! Why did you all go back on your words?"

"Hirata... we-"

"I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed," he painfully said.

"NO!!"

"Hirata..."

"Damn... my dad said that to me before he went to buy milk," I heard someone mutter.

Our class quickly tried to apologize and cheer him up, but he left the classroom, ignoring them. A few girls followed him and tried to comfort him. Such hypocrites.

I decided to leave the class as well while the class were left shocked by Hirata's sudden actions and regretful of their own actions.

The results of the Class Poll exam were shown in the hallway so I went and took a look.

There was a table indicating the student who received the Protection Point on the left, and the student who got expelled on the right for each class. In parenthesis were written the voting results of the students, a plus sign indicating praise votes and a minus sign indicating criticism votes.

Class A Sakayanagi Arisu (42) Totsuka Yahiko (-23)
Class B Ichinose Honami (21) No expulsion
Class C Ryuuen Kakeru (39) Suzuki Hidetoshi (-39)
Class D Hirata Yousuke (27) Yamauchi Haruki (-19)

What caught my attention was the fact that Class B really managed to pull off the no-expulsion strategy. It seemed like their class was as united as ever. Ichinose managed to get a Protection Point through other classes' praise votes.

I expected Arisu to get the most praise votes. Totsuka being the one to be expelled was somewhat unsurprising, as the Katsuragi Fraction had no power anymore yet he still brainlessly follows his orders.

Class C's results were proof of the power Ryuuen holds over his class. I would be surprise if anyone from other classes gave Ryuuen a praise vote, so number 39 next to both names showed that everyone in the class gave him a praise vote, while everyone in the class also gave Suzuki a criticism vote.

"Ayanokouji-kun!"

I turned my head to see Ichinose.

"Hey, Ichinose. It seems like you guys successfully achieved that outcome, huh?"

"Yep! Nobody got expelled. If it weren't for other class' praise votes, then everyone would've had a voting result of 0. I guess I'm lucky to have gotten some praise votes for other classes."

"Our class was supposed to aim for that outcome too, but it backfired."

"Really?"

"Yeah, the class had an agreement, but most secretly wanted to expel me so they betrayed the agreement."

"I see..."

"Luckily, I'm fine as I got enough praise votes from other classes."

"I'm happy you didn't get expelled, Ayanokouji-kun! The truth is, some people in my class including me also voted for you."

"Is that so? Then, thank you, I guess."

"You're welcome, Ayanokouji-kun. Well, I have plans with my friends right now, so I'll be going now. See you around!"

"Sure. See you."

I decided to end the day by finishing up some student council work. After that, I head back to my room.

It was a little past 3 PM. I was on my bed resting. At this moment, Kushida and Horikita were supposedly meeting to have a talk.

I initially thought about eavesdropping, but that would cause problems if I were to be found out. I figured I've done enough for both of them. Now it was up to them to take action.

To pass time, I decided to read one of Hiyori's books.

It was almost 6 PM when I heard someone knock on my door. I opened it to see Kushida.

"Hey hey, Ayanokouji!"

"Hey, Kushida. You seem even more cheerful than usual."

"Do I?" she giggled as she entered my room and sat on my bed. Even though she seemed cheerful, this was the real Kushida. No mask, no fake words. Kushida doesn't hate everyone, nor is she a cold-hearted girl who's never happy. On the inside, she's an honest girl. But honesty sees through hypocrisy, that is why she doesn't stand hypocrites.

"Yeah, you do. Tea?"

"Tea, please!"

"Did you have your talk with Horikita?"

"Yep!"

"How did it go?"

"I'm not sure, but I think it went pretty well."

"Do you mind telling me what happened?"

"I'll tell you all the details, Ayanokouji! After all, you're the one that helped me... Okay, here I go."

After a deep breath, she started explaining what happened in chronological order.

They met up at the same place as their first talk.

Horikita greeted her and started off by apologizing for her cold behavior towards her, her lack of trust towards her, and other things. She then stated that she accepts Kushida's true self and even went as far as offering to listen to her if she were to have any problems. She went on to saying that even though becoming friends might be difficult considering their history, she's willing to put in the effort Kushida put in. She was willing to try her best to genuinely get along with her and stop treating her like she's a threat.

"That's rather unexpected," I responded. Indeed, this was surprising, but not entirely.

"I know right? I was actually moved by her honesty. I appreciated how she wasn't the arrogant and condescending Horikita I once hated. I like people who aren't like that."

"What did you say to her?"

"Guess, idiot," she teasingly said.

"I'm guessing you accepted her proposal of trying to become friends."

"You're right! Even though I have a dark side, it's not like I hate everyone, you know. There are some who are genuinely good people. I still hate those arrogant, egotistical hypocrites, but I could tell Horikita's not part of those people anymore."

"I see. Is that all?"

"Pretty much. We're still on neutral terms currently. We tolerate each other, and we're both putting in effort to get along. But I have a good feeling about this. I'm excited to see how things unfold."

"That's good to hear, Kushida. Are you going to rant your problems to her now?"

"Are you perhaps jealous, Ayanokouji?"

No, I was not.

"Who knows."

"Hehe~ Don't worry, Ayanokouji. You and I still good friends! I just hope that I can also become good friends with Horikita. Befriending someone that knows my past would help me get over it. I feel like I'm changing for the better."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. Say, Ayanokouji. Why don't you sit here?" she tapped spot on the bed next to her. I was currently on my chair, so I got up and sat on my bed.

"Thank you, Ayanokouji. You helped me change, I'm so glad I trusted you. I feel so much better compared to my first months here," she said as she leaned her head on my shoulders.

"Don't get the wrong idea," she continued, "Just let me have this moment."

"I'm not getting the wrong idea. I'm glad it all went well, Kushida."

"Hmph, you dense idiot. I don't even know why you did so much just for me."

"I don't know either."

"Hehe. Well, it's getting late, Ayanokouji," she said as she looked at the time on her phone, "I'll be going now. I have plans to hang out with Horikita tomorrow!"

"I see. Good night, Kushida."

"Good night, Ayanokouji!" she said as she left my room.

She feels like she's changing for the better, huh?

Thank you for answering my question, Kushida.

It seems like people can change.

Author's Notes

Hey!

Second chapter of the day, I hope you enjoyed it.

Kushida and Horikita might be a little bit OOC now that I think about it, but oh well. I think this wasn't that unrealistic either considering Horikita wants Kushida to like her in the original story. There will be a SS at the end of the chapter covering Horikita and Kushida's talk from Kushida's POV.

I know Kushida and Horikita getting along might be weird to some of you, but I personally didn't see many fan fictions exploring that possibility, so that's what I'll be doing.

Meanwhile, Hirata's going through his emo phase. Will he get back up? How will he overcome his classmate's expulsion? Will he change too?

Find out in the next part.

See you till then!

Chapter 8.3 - Brand New Determination

Hirata didn't come to class for the next few days, which caused our class to worry.

"Hirata is still absent..."

"What should we do?"

"Sensei, will we lose class points because of this?"

Class D students expressed their worry.

"It's been three days. I'm afraid if this keeps on, Class D will lose more class points," Chabashira-sensei said.

"At this point, class points aren't important. I'm worried about Hirata!"

"Yeah... but he has locked himself in his room for the past days."

"Have you tried talking through the door, Mii-chan?"

Mii-chan was amongst the girls who followed Hirata when he left the classroom after the Class Poll Exam. Apparently, Hirata asked them to leave him alone and went straight back to his room. Mii-chan and a few other girls discreetly followed him and tried to talk to him through his door.

"Yes but... he hasn't said a word to us."

"Say, Horikita, do you know what room Hirata is in?" I asked her.

"Yes. We held a few meetings in his room. He lives in Room 302."

"I see."

"Are you going to go talk to him?"

"Who knows."

"Tch. I hate it when you're vague like that."

Since there weren't any important announcements, Chabashira-sensei used this period of homeroom to answer our questions if we had some and let us chat with our classmates.

Later that afternoon, I decided to head to Hirata's room.

Upon leaving the elevator on the seventh floor, I bumped into Mii-chan who was in tears.

"A-Ayanokouji-kun? Why are you here?"

"I'm here to talk to Hirata."

"To Hirata-kun?"

"Were you talking to him, Mii-chan?"

"Um... yes, I was happy he talked to me... but... he just told me to go away... he said that I was annoying. Do you mind if I stay to listen to you talking to him?"

"I would like to talk to him alone if possible."

"O-Okay," Mii-chan left the seventh floor and entered the elevator.

I walked to Room 302. I first knocked on the door, but heard no response.

"Hirata, it's me, Ayanokouji."

I put my ear on the door to listen for any noise.

"Why are you here?"

"I'm here to talk to you."

"Go away."

I sat down on the ground with my back leaning on the door.

"Leave me alone, please," Hirata said.

"Hirata, who do you think is at fault for Yamauchi's expulsion?"

"It's everyone else's fault. They betrayed our agreement."

Knowing my classmates, they probably told Hirata useless things such as we're sorry, it won't happen again, and similar phrases. However, those words don't work. They have the opposite effect.

"Wrong, Hirata."

"Huh?"

"It's nobody's fault but yours."

"What?"

"You heard me. Your incompetence as a leader cost the class."

"Are you kidding me? It's my fault?"

"Who else's fault could it be? It's your fault they betrayed your words. It's your fault you couldn't avoid Yamauchi's expulsion. Look at Class B, they didn't expel a single student. Even so, you could've expected this to happen, and you could've avoided Yamauchi's expulsion with 20 million points."

"What? I don't even have enough points."

"That would be your fault. There are many ways to get private points in this school. It's your fault you couldn't address the shortage of points."

"Still... What you're saying doesn't make sense at all, Ayanokouji!"

"It doesn't, but it's the reality. This is the result of your mentality. The truth is, Hirata, you're not only mad at the class for betraying your words, you're also mad at yourself for not avoiding Yamauchi's expulsion."

"W-what? How did you know?"

"Just a guess."

Hirata didn't say a word. Seems like I hit the weak spot.

I figured Hirata would have that kind of mentality. Someone with his social and academic abilities couldn't possibly be placed in Class D.

If we were to judge him purely based on those things, that is.

Hence, the reason he got placed in Class D is something hidden, something that goes beyond academics or athleticism.

His past.

He got placed in Class D because of his past. That is the only logical possibility.

He probably changed because of his past. However, that was besides the point, I don't need to know what happened.

"I know what you're thinking, Hirata. You want to bring everyone to Class A. But you have to make a choices, Hirata. It is impossible to save everyone while doing so. Especially for someone like you."

"Tch. What's your problem?!"

"If you truly want to save everyone, then you have to put in more effort. Think hard, Hirata. Do you want to aim for Class A or hope to be everyone's savior?"

"I-I don't know... I want to lead the class..."

"I'm afraid if you don't know then you're not fit to be Class D's leader. Simple as that. Unlike Horikita who has her eyes fixed on Class A, you're still stuck in that utopia of yours. However, if you want to keeping staying there, then you have to assume responsibility for everything that happens to everyone. Even if it has nothing to do with you. Doesn't that sound problematic?"

"What the hell are you trying to say?"

Hirata was visibly frustrated by my harsh words.

"There are sacrifices to be made, Hirata. I don't care what happened to you in the past, but if you get over it, then you'll get nowhere in this school. That's the truth."

"Tch. Don't talk about my past."

"You think you've got a harsh past, huh. Sorry to burst your bubble, but everyone in Class D has known suffering in one way or another. You're simply nothing special, Hirata. Don't go thinking that you have to be everyone's savior because of your rough past."

I could hear him crying from outside the door. Perhaps I was a little too harsh, but I wasn't not done yet.

"Decide right now, Hirata, before the class abandons you like you're currently abandoning them."

"I'm not abandoning the class."

"Is that so?"

"...I'll lead them to Class A."

"Even if it means making sacrifices?"

"...Yes."

"Even if it means expulsion?"

...

"...Yes."

Impressive.

"Then that's good enough, Hirata."

"Tch. Damn you, Ayanokouji. If it weren't for your betrayals, Class D would be in a much better situation right now. I don't know what you're up to," he half-joked, but I felt like these were his true thoughts.

"You say you want to lead the class to Class A, right?"

"Yes."

"Are you willing to do whatever it takes?"

"Yes."

"Then show me, Hirata."

"What?"

"Show me that resolve of yours."

The next morning, Hirata came to class, he was close to being late for homeroom. Chabashira-sensei had already arrived.

"Hirata-kun!" Mii-chan was the first to greet him.

"Hirata! You're back!"

"Welcome back!"

"We apologize again!"

"Sorry for worrying you guys," Hirata gently said, "Sensei, can I use the podium? I want to say something to the class."

"Go ahead, Hirata. I don't have anything to announce to the class anyway."

"Thanks sensei," he said as he walked up to the podium.

"I know I've been absent for these past days, but I've been thinking a lot. Yesterday, I decided to put the past behind me. Let's all start over. I want to lead Class D and reach Class A. With the help of Horikita and Kushida, I'm sure Class A is not just a distant dream. I will do everything I can to reach Class A, you have my word."

Yesterday, right before leaving, I told Hirata to not tell the class that I had visited him.

His message got some mixed reactions from the class. One could see how this was unusual coming from Hirata. After all, he had suddenly expressed his desire of reaching Class A. However, they all wanted to reach Class A and supported him.

"Yeah!"

"This is a new Class D!

The classroom erupted in cheers.

"Thank you all. That is all I wanted to say."

Hirata went to his seat and sat down.

"Impressive, I must say. Let's see how far you guys can go," Chabashira-sensei said, "Let's hope your future results will be an improvement of your previous ones."

"We won't disappoint you, sensei," Hirata said with determination.

"Ha ha ha! This is interesting! I wonder if you monkeys can even reach Class C! Wouldn't it be difficult, Masterpiece boy?" Kouenji suddenly pointed out.

Indeed, it was still difficult for the class to truly move forward, because I was still somewhat of a traitor in their eyes. Even though they didn't have as much hatred as they had in the past, they can't trust me. And with no trust, comes no cooperation. Kouenji knew that.

To truly move forward, they would have to expel me from their class, or at least have me leave their class.

Let's see if Hirata will realize that.

This was a test for Class D.

My curiosity was at its peak.

Just how far can a class initially full of defects go?

That was also one of the reasons I want to transfer classes. I wanted to see how much they can develop on their own.

I hope my questions will be answered in the future.

"Who knows," is all I could say at this point.

"Ha ha! You sure are interesting, Masterpiece boy! I hope you'll entertain me!"

The class looked at us in confusion.

It wasn't long before homeroom ended and class started

"Ayanokouji, here are some of the reports I've started to write. I've talked to the Music Club, the Art Club, and the Swimming Club representatives. They told me they're pretty satisfied with their budget allocation."

I was in the student council room with Asahina. We were sitting next to each other and discussing matters regarding student clubs. Based on last semester's report, I've changed a few clubs' budget. It seemed like those clubs were happy with their new budget.

"I see. That's good to hear. Anything else?"

"Hmm... not much. The clubs I've talked to were all pretty satisfied with their current situation. Seems like you've done a good job, eh?"

"I guess."

"Hmph. Shouldn't you thank your beautiful senpai for all of her hard work?"

Sigh.

"Thank you my beautiful senpai for all of your hard work."

"Hehe~ you're welcome, Ayanokouji. Say, do you even have any big plans as president?" she excitedly asked me, "All you've done so far is just gather reports about clubs and do some small things, no big changes yet."

"Well, the school is in a pretty good spot right now, don't you think, Asahina? I also think it's better for me to think things through. After all, I have a little more than two years left."

"Hmm, I guess you're right, the school is in a good spot. We're doing a good job," she agreed as she gave me a thumbs up.

"It's getting late, how about we end things here?" I said as I looked at the time on my phone, it was almost 6 PM, "You can go on ahead, I'll lock the room."

"Okay!" she said as she stretched her arms, "Ahhh, this work is kind of tiring, but it's fun! I'm glad I'm your secretary, Ayanokouji! I'll be going on ahead then, see you, President!"

She stood up and saluted me. That had become her typical goodbye. I could understand how she was extremely popular in her year. She had a playful side and had good physical features. She was arguably the best second-year candidate for the secretary position.

I cleaned up some things, turned off the lights and locked the room. I walked home alone while lost in my thoughts.

It was true. As President, I haven't made any significant changes to the school... yet.

Although I was President, I wasn't in the best situation in my class.

Most of them still held a grudge against me for betraying them or what not and had their eyes on getting me out of their class.

So that's exactly what I'll do.

Once the second year starts, I'll leave Class D and finally join Arisu's Class A.

From that moment on, the entire school will be my chessboard.

Author's Notes

Hey!

That's the end of Chapter 8!

I hope you liked it!

Regarding Hirata, his talk with Kiyotaka is different from the one in the LN. Kiyotaka doesn't ask about his past, he kind of brainwashes Hirata into aiming for Class A.

What are Kiyotaka's plans for the school? Who knows.

Anyway, two SS will follow before Chapter 9 that will cover the Event Selection Exam!

See you then!

SS. 16 - Kushida Kikyou: Changing Times

When I first met Ayanokouji Kiyotaka on the bus, I wasn't sure how I felt about him. Like everyone else, I was well aware of him after the news about the White Room broke out.

I would be lying if I said I hated him with all my heart. A part of me felt pity for him because of how much he suffered in that place.

One night, he caught me screaming out my anger. Stupid me, why did I forget my phone at his place?

I was an idiot, I thought I could prevent him from telling anyone about this by saying that if he were to do so, I would tell everyone he tried to rape me. Little did I know he recorded me.

After that, I started hating him a little more. I wanted to expel him because he knew of my past, much like Horikita.

He blackmailed me with that video. I had to do what he wanted me to do. Luckily for me, he wasn't after my body.

Oh how I hated working for that brat.

That was my thought at the time.

Overwhelmed by my hatred, I decided to betray the class during the Zodiac Exam. I gave Ryuuen the three VIP names of Class D. I told him about the other three classes' plan. It was easy since I was in the Cow Group along with all the other class leaders.

That was a mistake.

During the last class meeting, Ayanokouji told the class of the presence of a traitor in our class.

Crap. I'm about to be exposed. At least, that was what I thought.

In the end, he didn't. Why? He had the video, he could've ended my school life right there and then.

I told the class that I wanted to talk the him. After I asked him why he didn't expose me, he said he had deleted the video.

Is this guy insane? What the hell?

That idiot told me it was because he wanted me to trust him. He even invited me to rant out my problems to him.

I went through his phone. I even searched every corner of his room, every folder on his computer when we came back to school. I found nothing.

I felt hope.

Perhaps I could trust him, at least a bit.

Since that day, I started let out my frustration in his room. I would be lying if I said it didn't help. I can't remember the last time I felt this good. When I was in middle school, I had built up so much anger and anxiety that I vomited frequently and my hair started falling out.

After the Sports Festival, Horikita tried to expose me. That bitch. Luckily for me, she didn't have proof, and Ayanokouji defended me when he was interrogated.

You idiot, Ayanokouji. Why are you doing all this for me?

I asked him why he did that, he gave a vague answer, his typical ' who knows'. This guy...

I felt comfortable around him, like I didn't have to put on my mask because he simply did not care.

Damn you, Ayanokouji, for making me feel this comfortable around you.

A while after, Horikita wanted to meet up. I messaged Ayanokouji to inform him about it.

Horikita proposed a deal. She proposed to leave me alone if I left the class alone. I did as Ayanokouji told me to. I told Horikita that I didn't betray the class and played innocent.

Ayanokouji was listening the entire time. Horikita was frustrated when she saw him.

Ayanokouji then told me I should give Horikita a second chance. A second chance?

At the beginning of the year, I really wanted to make friends. That's what I live for, after all.

But I wanted one thing more than any other. A genuine friend. Someone I could actually feel comfortable with.

Ayanokouji become that person even though I hated him at first.

That made me think.

Could Horikita also become that person?

I must say, I was sick of being treated as a danger by Horikita. That was what made me hate her so much. I decided to be a danger because you saw me that way, Horikita.

But if I could truly get along with her, perhaps that would be better for the two of us.

I don't want to keep feeling these negative emotions. I figured I had to change. I can't keep living like this. I had to make more genuine friends. I can't spend the rest of my life like this.

Even though I hated people and their hypocrisy, it's not like I wanted to be that way. I sincerely wished that I could get along with everyone. I dreamed of genuinely getting along with everyone without having to put on a mask.

After a while, Horikita apologized to the class and me for her selfish behavior. What a shock. That was honestly the last thing I expected her to do.

Had she changed for the better herself?

Did you something, Ayanokouji?

Tch. I'm an idiot.

The effort I was putting in trying to expel her could be used to try and get along with her. It would be better for my mental health to get along with someone that knows my true side.

I was moved by her apology. It made me snap out of it. For the first time, I gave Horikita a genuine smile.

Horikita asked me to meet up after the Class Poll Exam results were announced.

Yamauchi got expelled, but it's not like I cared about him anyway. At the least, the class had one less pervert now.

Today, Horikita and I met.

"Hello, Kushida."

"Hey, Horikita."

It was pretty awkward at first, I must say.

"I'm sorry, Kushida, for my behavior towards you, for my lack of trust, for seeing you as nothing but a threat. I'm horrible. The past weeks I've spent without my leader spot made me think about this. I want to accept you, Kushida. I want to trust you. I'm willing to help you with any problems you might have. I've realized that you wanted to befriend me at the start of the year, yet I didn't reciprocate your efforts. I know it would be hard to be friends now... but I'm willing to put in the effort. I want to treat you as a friend, not a threat."

I was shocked. That must've taken a lot of courage to admit that. It felt genuine. I could feel how hard it was for to admit that.

Ayanokouji... what the hell did you do to her? Did you brainwash her or something?

It doesn't matter. Perhaps this was the start of my genuine friendship with Horikita.

She changed. She wasn't the arrogant, egotistical Horikita that I hated. Now, she was humble and genuine. I appreciated her change and her genuine efforts to befriend me. She took her second chance. I would be a fool to refuse her.

Screw you, Horikita. You might make me cry at this point. I'm truly an idiot. I suppose it's time for me to change too.

I smiled.

"I'm glad you feel that way now, Horikita. I'm glad I gave you a second chance. Let's try our best to get along, okay? It won't be easy though," I half-joked.

"I agree, but I'm willing to do whatever it takes for you to like me," she smiled back.

Pretty... if only you smiled more, Horikita. I'm sure so many boys would fall for you.

"I'm so happy we could work things out, Horikita."

Crap. Hold your tears in, Kikyou-baka.

"Me too, Kushida. Let's hope this will be the start of a genuine friendship."

I went forward and hugged her. Damn it.

I must say, this might've been the most reassuring hug ever.

Who knew it was this simple?

All this time, I was scratching my head trying to expel her.

All this time, I saw her as an obstacle to my school life.

But Ayanokouji made me realize there is more than one way to get over an obstacle.

This was the best way I could ever ask for.

I changed.

It was all because of one person.

Thank you, Ayanokouji.

Thank you for helping me change.

I don't care what you think about me, but I will forever be grateful to you.

I hope you won't betray me in the future.

Author's Notes

Hey!

Finally a SS from Kushida's POV.

I hope you enjoyed this!

See you for the next SS!

SS. 17 - Cupid's Favorite

I arrived at school and entered the classroom, thinking this would be a day like any other. Then, I noticed everyone staring at me. However, they were stares of hate, rather of curiosity.

Then I realized.

I looked at my desk. There was a pyramid of boxes of chocolate on it. I looked at my phone to check the date, and, indeed, it was February 14th. In other words, Valentine's Day.

"Tch. That lucky bastard."

"He has more chocolate than all of us combined."

I heard some boys whisper.

I went over to my seat. There were so many boxes that it wouldn't fit in my bag.

"Seems like someone is popular," Horikita jokingly said.

"I didn't know you would give me so many boxes, Horikita," I said.

Recently, I read a few comedic books, I've gotten a glimpse of this thing one would call humor. What an interesting concept, I must say.

"Since when were you capable of joking around? You creep me out."

"Who knows."

I picked up the boxes of chocolate. It was safe to say they were all different, which suggested they were all from different people. However, none of them had names on them. I opened them all to see if there were notes inside, but there was nothing, only chocolate. What a pain.

"Do you know who put these here, Horikita?"

"What if I did? Do you want to know?"

Kushida approached us.

"Wow, Ayanokouji! You sure are successful with the girls!" she said.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Horikita let out a quiet chuckle.

This will take some getting used to.

I struggled to understand the meaning of this.

Was this what they would call a prank?

"Seems like it," I replied to Kushida.

There were 10 boxes of chocolate stacked up in a triangle shape, my bag could only carry a few chocolate boxes. Homeroom was about to start, so I put some boxes in my bag and the rest on the floor.

Class had ended for the day. At this point, I didn't want to waste effort trying to figure out who gave me these boxes.

"Are you going to try to figure out who gave you these boxes?" Horikita asked me.

"No, I don't feel like it."

"I see."

I left the classroom with my bag and my hands full of chocolate boxes.

I ended up getting boxes of chocolate from Ichinose, Hiyori, and even Kushida, who stopped me soon after I left the classroom to hand me a box.

I now had 13 chocolates boxes. An unlucky number for rather unfortunate circumstances.

I now had even more boxes than before.

Sigh.

It would be a struggle to walk back to my room with all these boxes.

Just as I was about to leave, I heard the sound of a cane tapping the ground.

"Seems like you're Cupid's favorite, Kiyotaka."

"Arisu, don't tell me you're going to give me a box too."

"Fufufufu, I don't need to, I already did."

"One of these boxes is yours?"

"Not one. All of them, Kiyotaka."

What?

"So you bought ten boxes of chocolate and put them on my desk."

"Yes, indeed. I found it quite amusing."

I don't think amusing is the word I would've used to describe this situation.

"Why did you buy ten full boxes of chocolate?"

"Because you're a ten out of ten, Kiyotaka."

The people around us heard what Arisu said. I could hear them whisper.

"Damn, that was smooth."

"I should've done that."

"Kyaaaa!!"

"Take notes, Mako-chan!!"

"I'm going to faint."

"A lesson from none other than Sakayanagi-san!"

Sigh.

Why is it that every time I'm with Arisu, we become the center of attention?

"FUFUFUFU," I saw Arisu laughing her head off. I've never seen her laugh so much.

Her loud laugh was so disturbing that the people around us got traumatized and instantly left the scene.

Author's Notes

Hey!

A wholesome yet really short SS that's not really important to the story, but that I enjoyed writing nonetheless. I hope you enjoyed reading it!

Next up is Chapter 9 that will cover the last special exam of the first year!

See you then!

Chapter 9.1 - Against The Odds

A few weeks went by and it was now the beginning of March. We were rapidly approaching the end of our first year at Tokyo's most prestigious high school.

Asahina had recently been going around and interviewing clubs, writing reports on each one of them as it was almost the end of the semester. She took her role as secretary quite seriously. I was glad I didn't have to do all the boring work.

There was somewhat of an awkward atmosphere in Class D, but the class managed to get good grades on the midterms and got an increase in class points.

Kushida and Horikita got even closer, to the surprise of the vast majority of students. Often, I see both of them having lunch together. It would be safe to qualify them as friends. Who knew such development could happen?

Kushida started coming to my room less and less frequently. She told me that she started feeling really good, and didn't feel the need to let out her frustration as much as before.

As for Hirata, one could tell how he wasn't the same, but he was still as determined as ever to help the class rise to Class A, much like Horikita. Class D were in a good spot, despite what the rankings said.

We were in homeroom when Chabashira-sensei announced the final special exam of the first year. The Event Selection Exam.

Chabashira-sensei went on to explain the special exam.

In this exam, each class will come up with 10 events. The rules of these events will also be decided by the class and must be created in such a way that there are no ties and that a winner can be decided in each game. The events must be popular enough to be ubiquitous. Such events include rock paper scissors or chess.

In the cases of the events being written tests questions and other similar events, the school will decide the questions in order to ensure the fairness of the test.

All 10 events must be unique and must not take too long to finish. For any event, the minimum number of participants is 1 and the maximum number of participants is 20, including substitutes. Each student can only participate in one event, unless all of the student's classmates have already participated in one event each, in which case that student may participate more than once.

Each class must also choose one "Commanding Tower", or more simply, a "commander". If the class wins, the commander earns private points individually, but if the class loses, they will be expelled. However, the expulsion can be overturned using private points or a Protection Point.

The commander needed to be decided by the end of the day. But for our class, the choice was quite obvious as someone had a Protection Point.

"I think Hirata should be the commander."

"I agree, he has a Protection Point so it's the best choice."

Almost instantly, our class agreed on Hirata being the commander.

Chabashira-sensei continued her explanation.

The commander of each class will draw a lottery and the winner will get to decide which class they wish to compete against. For example, if Class D were to win the lottery and choose to compete with Class C, then Class B will be forced to compete with Class A.

Alhough each class has to select 10 events, 5 of them need to be selected as certain events, those are the events the class actually wish to compete in. The remaining 5 have to be selected to deceive other classes about which events are going to be selected. The 10 events of the other class and their corresponding rule will be announced in a week.

Among the 10 certain events of both the competing classes, the school then chooses 7 events and announces them on the day of the test, a week after the certain events announcement. It is in these 7 events that the classes will actually compete against each other. Each event is worth 30 Class Points, meaning the winning class receives 30 points and the losing class has 30 points deducted. The class with the most events won would be considered the winner and receive an additional 100 points.

In other words, the maximum of class points a class could get was 310, while the biggest penalty would be a deduction of 210 class points.

After the explanation is finished, Chabashira promptly left the class.

Hirata stood up and head to the podium.

"I would like to be the commander for this special exam. Any objections?"

"No objections here."

"You're the best choice."

"Thanks everyone, let's make sure to do our best and win," Hirata smiled.

Class had ended for the day and it was time for the lottery.

The class had collectively agreed to challenge Class C if they were to win the lottery.

"That ends today's class. I hope you decided on who will be Class D's commander."

"We did. It'll be me," Hirata said.

"Yeah! Hirata's our commander!"

"I see. Follow me then, Hirata."

Hirata then got up and left the classroom with Chabashira-sensei.

The commanders will have a time limit of 30 seconds per student when selecting students for the events. If the selection time passes without the commander completing the selection, the computer will automatically pick the students. During the test, the events would be displayed on the computer along with the rules for when the commander can intervene. Intervention allows the commander to can give instructions from the computer, in form of text, to only one student per event which they choose before hand. The designated student needs to wear a headset to receive the instructions.

We all then left the classroom. Some people went to hang out with their friends, some decided to head to the library, some had club activities.

I decided to head home.

It was a little past 6 PM when additional details about the special exam were published on the school's forum in the first-year section.

Arisu was Class A's commander, Ichinose was Class B's commander, and Ryuuen was Class C's commander. All of them had Protection Points, so the only thing on the line was class points.

Class A had won the lottery. As a result, they chose Class D as their opponent. Therefore, Class C and Class B will compete against each other.

I would assume Hirata sent this information to the class group chat. However, I was kicked out of the group since the beginning of the second semester. It seemed like the majority of the class still haven't gotten over my betrayal.

I decided to send Arisu a message.

Arisu

6:23 PM

[So you chose to compete against our class]

[Yes... fufufu]

[Do you want to face off against me?]

[I hope so. Chess will be one of Class A's certain event. I hope it'll be part of the 7 final events]

[I see]

[Do you have any plans for this exam?]

[Not really]

[Does that mean I can bury your class?]

[Who knows]

[Fufu I look forward to facing your class then]

The next day after class, Class D held a class discussion. Kouenji left before the discussion could even begin.

Hirata, Horikita and Kushida stood on the podium. It was safe to say Horikita also got her leader spot back after making up with Kushida.

"Hello everyone, today we'll be discussing the events for the exam," Hirata said. One could see how his classmate's expulsion deeply affected him. He wasn't as cheerful as he once was, but he was more determined than ever to lead the class.

"I suggest we start with the certain events. Then we'll come up with five other events in attempt to deceive Class A," Horikita added. She talked with confidence and reassurance.

"Should Ayanokouji be here?"

A few people in the class were skeptical about my presence.

"I believe that Ayanokouji has the right to be here as a Class D student," Horikita simply said.

"Me too!" Kushida followed up.

Many had mixed emotions, but agreed nonetheless to the class leaders.

"Any suggestions for the events?" Kushida cheerfully asked.

"Basketball!" Ken raised his hands, "Basketball has to be an event, I'll win for sure! 1 versus 1 basketball!"

"Basketball is a good idea. We'll take note of that for now. Any other suggestions? We'll write them down one by one and discuss them after."

Some students raised their hands. One by one they suggested an event.

"Archery."

"Swimming."

"Okay," Horikita said as she wrote them down, "Not everyone has to participate, it's best if we pick 5 events where we have the highest chance of winning."

"But isn't relying on only a few individuals a bad choice?" someone asked.

"I don't think so. We are united so we can relay on each other. The class is too far behind the rest for us to think about this that way. We're facing Class A, let me remind you. It doesn't matter if some students don't participate at all as long as our chances of winning are at the highest they can be," Hirata argued.

Hirata's argument was sound. In this exam, not everyone had to participate. Thus, you can choose events based on your classmates' talents and bet on that. However, one could see how unusual it was for Hirata to suggest such an approach. If this was the Hirata before the Class Poll exam, he would've probably suggested creating events where everyone could participate.

"I completely agree with Hirata. Increasing our chances of winning is the best way to tackle this," Horikita gave her approval.

The class was quite convinced by the two of them. They were all aware of the huge gap between Class D and the rest. Nonetheless, some were surprised by Hirata's new mentality.

"I-I agree with Hirata."

"Me too."

"Same."

"Okay, great. Let's continue on discussing the certain events," Hirata said.

The class discussion went on for a long time. In the end, it was decided that the five certain events will be 1 v 1 Basketball, Archery, Typing Speed Test, Swimming, Geography Test.

The five other events were Rock Paper Scissors, Heads or Tails, Piano, Physics Test, and Mathematics Test.

A week later, the ten events of Class A were announced.

Class A's certain events were Chess, Mathematics Test, Flash Mental Arithmetic, English Test, Modern Literature Test, Go, Volleyball, Long Rope Jump, Dodge Ball, and Social Science Test.

The class discussed the certain events and came up with a list of potential participants for each event. They decided not to put me in any event except for Chess, after I personally requested to participate in that event. They agreed to put me as a participant for Chess if that event falls on the exam day. If not, then I wouldn't participate at all. At least that was what they said.

The class was feeling anxious. The events they picked were based on specific students. For example, Basketball was picked because of Ken. It was basically a guaranteed win, but only if that exam was chosen.

Other events were far from guaranteed wins though, so there was still a sense of nervousness in the class, which was understandable considering Class D was up against Class A. There was a chance that they could end up with 0 class points at the end of this special exam.

Up against Class A, they all knew this was going to be more than difficult.

The chances of them winning weren't zero, but only if the right events were chosen on the day of the exam, then they would have a chance.

Nonetheless, they were confident. They had to be. Class D was so far behind the other classes.

Next week, the battle will commence.

Author's Notes

Hey!

The Event Selection Exam is here!

The events for Class D are a little different, but the changes don't carry much importance. As for Class A, the events are basically the same.

The next part will cover the day of the exam.

THANKS EVERYONE FOR 100K READS!

See you!

Chapter 9.2 - So Close Yet So Far

It was finally the day of the Event Selection Exam. It was almost time for the commanders to meet up in the Special Building. We were in our classroom as our classmates exchanged a few last words before the exam.

"Everyone, can I have your attention please," Hirata was standing on the podium, "The exam will begin soon so I would just like to say a few words. Even though not everyone is participating, it is important that we cheer for whoever's participating and that whoever's participating do their very best. Let's win this battle!"

That got the class fired up. Soon after, Chabashira-sensei came to pick up Hirata and asked him to follow her to the Special Building. As for us, we were told to stay in the classroom for now and wait for instructions.

A few minutes had gone by. At this moment, Hirata and Arisu were probably picking the events. Each had to pick five events from their ten events, then the school randomly chooses seven events out of the total ten that were picked by both classes. Of course, the class had already agreed on which events were certain and which participants to choose for every event including Class A's events, but in the end, the decisions were in Hirata's hands.

Although the rules stated that the commanders of the losing classes would be expelled, every commander had a Protection Point. Whoever loses will just have their Protection Points stripped instead. Therefore, there will be no expulsions, but the class points and standings will indubitably fluctuate.

A little while had gone by when an announcement could be heard through the classroom's speakers.

"Students of Classes A and D, please head over to the basketball field for the first event of the Event Selection Exam."

"Yes! Basketball!" Ken cried out.

"It's a guaranteed win!"

With that, Class D students confidently head over to the basketball field and met up with Class A as well as some instructors who were probably here to announce the participants chosen and state the rules.

"Sudou Ken of Class D and Kito Hayato of Class A. Please step forward."

The instructor then went on to explain the rules. The rules were rules of basic 1 versus 1 pickup basketball game. The first to 11 points win. It was a game on half-court. Every time you get a rebound, you have to go back to the three-point line. The points system were the same. 2 points for a basket inside the three-point line, 3 points for a basket from outside. Shooting fouls resulted in two free-throws worth one point each, while other fouls resulted in the person that was fouled having the ball. The instructors will act as referees. It was pretty straightforward, but anyone who was clueless about basketball would understandably be a little lost.

Apparently, Kito had some experience playing basketball. However, it would be safe to assume that Ken was the better player. After all he was arguably the best basketball player in the school, at least the best first-year. On the surface, it was all but a guaranteed win for Class D. Nonetheless, that doesn't mean Kito won't give Ken a hard time. He was tall and intimidating. Physically, he was strong.

Ken was confident, but one versus one games aren't that straightforward.

After both players were ready, an instructor who was the main referee blew the whistle.

The jump ball method was used to determine who got the ball first. Ken won the jump ball, and got the ball first.

"Let's go, Sudou, let's go!" Class D students cheered him on, which motivated him.

On the other hand, Class A students were calm.

In this exam, the commanders could use one substitute if they wished.

Ken started off aggressively but Kito didn't back down. Ken tried to use his physical strength to push Kito in order to free up some space for a shot, but Kito wouldn't budge. Realizing it didn't work, Ken stayed cool, moved back the the three-point line, giving some space between him and Kito.

He charged at Kito who predicted that Ken would head straight for a lay up. However, Ken suddenly stopped his feet, much to Kito's surprise, and putting some distance between both of them.

He shot.

Ken's jumper was smooth. His form was clean, and the ball swished through the next.

"Yeah!"

"Let's go Sudou!!"

The score was 2-0 in Ken's advantage. Ken's first shot went in, making Class D erupt in cheers.

The match ended up with Ken winning with a score of 11-6. Class D won the first event.

"We won!"

"Victory!"

With that, Class D's morale was through the roof.

Straight after, it was time for the second event.

The second event was the English Test put forth by Class A. The winning will be the one the highest total score. The commanders are allowed to answer one question on behalf of one student. Each class had to pick 8 students.

Class D were already prepared. They had decided that for events with a large amount of participants, they won't hold back some of the gifted students. In other words, they will pick students who won't participate in Class D's certain events.

Satou, Karuizawa, Shinohara, Inogashira, Okitani, Minami, Sonoda, Ichihashi were chosen. Class D chose to sacrifice 8 students and chose to lose. In the end, it was an overwhelming victory for Class A, who finished with 651 whole Class D scored 443. Class A didn't even pick their most academically gifted students. This showed the simple difference between the two classes.

However, Class D expected to lose this event, they bet everything on their own events. They were betting on their luck.

The third event was the Typing Speed Test that Class D had proposed and chosen. The commanders were allowed to notify participants of one mistake they made during the test.

This test was strongly suited for those gifted in the skill, making it biased and subjective depending on the classes.

"Time for me to be the main protagonist," The Professor said as he was the one chosen to participate.

The Professor was chosen for Class D while Class A chose Yoshida Kenta.

The results were 90 points for Hideo and 83 points for Yoshida, cementing Class D's second win.

"Yeah!"

"Good job Professor!"

The class cheered as they secured a second win over Class A, making the score 2-1 in their favor.

The fourth event was the Mathematics Test put forward by Class D, requiring 4 students for 50 minutes with the same procedures as the English exam.

For this, Horikita, Yukimura, Kushida and Mii-chan were chosen, earning Class D a total of 356 points. However, Class A ended with an even more impressive 363 points, narrowing beating Class D. Arisu decided to intervene by answering one of the difficult questions which helped Class A in earning a few extra points. Hirata on the other hand couldn't help the participants as he himself couldn't answer the hard questions.

Getting beaten at their own event was a direct hit to Class D's morale. The score was now tied with two wins each.

The fifth event was Flash Mental Arithmetic, requiring 2 students for 30 minutes. This event was suggested by Class A, with the commanders being allowed to answer any one question.

Kouenji and Matsushita were selected as planned by the class.

Arisu chose Katsuragi and Tamiya much to the surprise of some Class D students as the latter wasn't known to be academically impressive.

10 questions would be given with subsequent questions becoming progressively more difficult. For each class, as long as one of the two students, they would get a point for the questions. In the end, each class will have a score out of ten, and the class with the better score wins.

"Ha ha ha! A perfect existence like me won't bother with a simple test like this. Good luck my dear classmates, ha ha ha!"

Straight away, Kouenji expressed his disinterest.

He immediately folded his arms and closed his eyes, signalling his disinterest at participating. This was somewhat expected, but Class D had hoped that Kouenji would take this seriously. Now, it was down to Matsushita. Class D was forced to solely rely on Matsushita.

By the 6th question, Matsushita began struggling to keep up with the 3 digit equations, increasing number of rounds & decreasing timeframe.

By the 7th onwards, her answers were unfortunately inaccurate.

By the 9th question, students had to solve 3 digits equations for 15 rounds in 2.5 seconds. Matsushita and Katsuragi struggled, while Tamiya looked like he wasn't even trying. I assumed Arisu's tactic was to solely use Katsuragi, and Tamiya was simply a sacrifice.

By the final question, fifteen 3 digit numbers were shown for 1.6 seconds. None of the participants could even raise their pen before it was over including Katsuragi.

The students that were watching were stunned. As for me, I knew the answer which was 7619.

The scores were still unknown, they will be announced at the end of the exam. However, it was probable that Class A had a slight advantage.

Arisu answered the question since Katsuragi couldn't. Indeed, both commanders could answer one of the ten questions should the participants fail. She gave the right answer of 7619.

Hirata was as lost as everyone else.

"7619."

Kouenji suddenly spoke up and said the correct answer, much to the surprise of Class D students.

Both Kouenji and Arisu's answers being correct, the event had ended.

In the end, Class A scored 8 out of 10, while Class C scored 7, making it 3-2 to Class A.

The sixth event was Archery. Akito was chosen as he was part of the Archery Club. If he were to lose, then Class A would achieve overall victory in this special exam.

"No pressure, dude!"

"Go out there and kill it!"

"You got this!"

"Come on Miyacchi!"

Akito received support from Class D students.

In the end, the battle was one-sided. Akito was able to win the match after displaying an arduous amount of effort.

"You clutched up, dude!"

"That was amazing!"

With that, the battle was tied with each class having three wins.

It was time for the final event.

"The final event will be Chess."

So much for 'randomly' selecting the events.

I was sure Arisu was over the moon after this announcement.

The instructors took us to a designated room where there was a table with a chess board on top.

"Ayanokouji Kiyotaka of Class D and Hashimoto Masayochi of Class A, please come forward."

The instructors then explained the rules.

Each person has a total of 1 hour to make moves and if it runs out, it will count as a loss. Once it is your turn, you have three minutes to make a move, and the time you take will be deducted from the total time of one hour you initially have.

If the game ends in a tie, then the winner will be whoever has the most time remaining left.

Commanders will be allowed to intervene and guide participants for up to 30 minutes, with standard rules to apply.

I knew these rules beforehand.

Hashimoto and I sat down at the table.

"Hello, King. Please go easy on me."

"Don't worry, Hashimoto."

I had made an agreement with Arisu in which I promised to hold back during the beginning of the game until Arisu intervenes.

The game started off simply. Both of us made moves that weren't risky yet took the game forward.

A little while after, Arisu decided to intervene. Hashimoto was handed a headset with a microphone.

"I think the Princess is serious now," he said as I heard laughter coming from his headset.

Unfortunately for Arisu, I never intended on going all out and winning. I made sure to take my time with every move and manipulated my time to not make it too obvious.

As the game went on, I was on the defensive, purposefully aiming for a tie.

"I have a message from the Princess," Hashimoto suddenly said.

"What is it?"

"She says, and I quote, if this is your plan, then you and I will have to do a rematch after the exam ends."

"I see. Tell her that I'm willing to do a rematch any time."

"As you wish, King."

Luckily, Arisu had no bad feelings with me aiming for the tie.

Meanwhile, the other students were in another room where they could watch our game on a screen. Therefore, they couldn't hear us, nor could we hear them.

As expected, the match had ended with a tie.

"The International Chess event between Class A and Class D has ended with a tie. As stated in the rules, we will now decide the winner based on each class' time. Class A has 21 minutes and 32 seconds left and Class D has 20 minutes and 59 seconds left. Therefore, Class A is the winner of this event."

With that, both Hashimoto and I stood up and shook hands.

"Hey hey, I beat the King," Hashimoto joked.

"I've really gotten weaker, huh," I said back, which made Hashimoto laugh. Although it might've seemed like I was joking, it might've been true. You could say I was rusty, I haven't been at the peak of my abilities since I enrolled here.

Anyway, we both left the room and head over to our respective classes.

With that, the last special exam of our first year came to an end.

Author's Notes

Hey!

This marks the end of the Event Selection Exam!

The chess rules are probably different from normal chess rules, but made it so that there can be a winner even if there's a tie. I'm a noob at chess. For you chess experts out there, what happens if there's a tie in chess competitions?

The next part will be the final part of Chapter 9.

See you then!

Chapter 9.3 - Closing The Curtains

I intentionally lost the last event of the Event Selection Exam. However, I did it as discreetly as possible.

A part of me hoped that my classmates wouldn't cause a commotion because I lost, another part of me knew that wasn't possible.

"WHAT THE HELL AYANOKOUJI!?"

"HOW DID YOU LOSE?"

"TRAITOR!"

I entered the Class D classroom where all my classmates were waiting for me. Needless to say, they weren't pleased by my performance.

I ignored them and went to my seat. Soon, Hirata entered the room with Chabashira-sensei, gathering everyone's attention.

"Everyone sit down please. Since all events have ended, I will now announce the results of the Event Selection Exam."

She put a poster on the blackboard.

Event Selection Exam results
Class A (4 wins) Class D (3 wins) Winner: Class A
Class B (2 wins) Class C (5 wins) Winner: Class C

Class standings:
Class A 1563 cp (130 cp)
Class B 1231 cp (-90cp)
Class C 1102 cp (190 cp)
Class D 156 cp (-30 cp)

Every class had earned class points from midterms and final exams, and had lost a few each month for behavior.

Despite their best efforts, Class D was at the bottom of the pit. A gap of almost 1000 class points existed between them and Class C.

"These are the results. I must say, the gap between Class D and Class C has never been bigger in the entire history of this school. That is all I'll say," Chabashira-sensei coldly said while looking at me before leaving the classroom.

"Tch," Hirata was the first one to let out his frustration.

"This is Ayanokouji's fault!"

"Get him out of the class now!"

"Ayanokouji, did you lose on purpose?!"

The class turned their backs on me, and urged me to give an explanation.

"Luck wasn't on my side," I simply said.

"Don't give us that crap!"

"Like we'll believe you, traitor!"

"Chess is a much more complicated game than one might think. A tie is a common result between two players of the same level. I just happened to have taken too much time thinking about my moves," I explained.

"Tch."

"I don't buy it."

The class was even more frustrated at my lame excuse, but what I said was true. Chess is complex, a far from straightforward game. Arisu was more than a worthy opponent. Even though I've never lost against her yet, every game we played was of the highest quality.

Hirata just looked disappointed. He stood up and talked.

"Let's put this behind us, guys. Next time, I'll make sure to lead the class to victory."

"It's not your fault, Hirata, it's this traitor's fault."

"That might be true, but if we were to win other events, we would've won in the exam. Whether Ayanokouji lost on purpose or not, it's childish to put all of the blame on him," Horikita stood up and said.

"I agree! Come on guys, let's regroup and try our best next time," Kushida defended Horikita's point.

"Fine. But I'm sick of having a traitor in our class!"

"Someone get him expelled!"

"Bastard!"

Amidst the chaotic scene in the classroom, I decided to leave the classroom.

"Come back here you bastard!"

"Who gave you permission to leave!?"

I ignored them as I entered the hallways.

"My my, Kiyotaka. You sure are à wanted criminal in your class," Arisu came up to me and said.

"I guess so."

"I'm still not entirely sure what you're trying to achieve by doing all this. Are you perhaps disrespecting me by letting me win?"

"That's not my intention, Arisu."

"Fufufu, it better not be. Say, want to have our rematch right now? You can come to my room."

"I don't have any plans anyway so I'll accept your request."

With that, we walked to the dorms together while chatting along the way.

"Our first year is coming to an end, huh?"

"It's been interesting, to say the least."

"Fufufu I assumed you would say that. What are your plans for the upcoming year?"

"Wouldn't it be boring for you if I told you everything? I'll tell you along the way."

"I'm fine with that."

With a few more exchanges, we arrived at her room.

She set up the chess board and we began our rematch and talked about trivial things.

Today was the graduation ceremony. I was curious about it as I've never attended one before.

All students and teachers were set to gather together in the gymnasium.

This was the moment the third-years would take a big step forward into a new beginning.

Whether they were the ones moving into higher education, the ones who were going straight into work, or the ones who had stopped, failing to find their way in the road of life, they were all about to stop being part of the category known as a child, galloping towards society at full speed.

As people started arriving in the gymnasium, some Class D students threw a few insults at me here and there, much to my expectations.

However, another thing caught the Class D students' attention.

"Ehhhh, Horikita, you cut your hair?!" Kushida cried out.

"What!!?" Ken hurried over.

"It fits you so well!"

"Why did you cut your hair?!"

Horikita was surrounded by some students after she cut her hair short.

"I just wanted to try a new style," she calmly said.

I looked at Manabu who was on the other side of the gymnasium. He seemingly noticed where the commotion was coming from. After seeing Horikita, his usually serious expression softened.

A little while after, the ceremony had started.

Everyone was lined up, watching the ceremony enthusiastically. I also noticed that other related people we hadn't seen before were also present.

I was thinking. In two years' time, what would I be thinking of? Would I have changed by then?

"Next, I want to invite the students who, after three years of hard work, have graduated in Class A up to the stage."

The host said this through a microphone.

One by one, Class A students went up to the stage.

"The Class A's representative is Horikita Manabu, please come up to the stage."

Impressively, he stepped onto the podium, casting his eyes on the students and the staff.

"Greetings. On this beautiful, blossoming spring day, I welcome you to this graduation ceremony."

Manabu's speech had started. He looked around the gymnasium with a slight smile.

"I still clearly remember the first day I set foot into the campus of the Advanced Nurturing High School. I felt that there was a different atmosphere compared to normal schools. As I was shouldering the burden of the future, I vowed to make these three years a meaningful one."

As he talked about what had happened three years ago when he had first entered the school, the assertive and composed nature of his speech gave off a sense of reassurance and warmth.

"Although this was a personal matter, I spoke to the first year students last year as the student council president. Compared to what you were like last year, I can see how much you've grown with just a glance," he said while looking at Horikita, who was on the verge of crying.

A year ago, the elder Horikita's silence changed the attitude of us fickle first years. His presence was something many of the students hadn't experienced before.

And now at this graduation ceremony, not one student was whispering.

Manabu warm eyes looked upon us, as a student who was going to graduate.

"At the same time, I hope that the students who will soon be the new 3rd years to lead the new 2nd years, and on the basis of complying with school regulations, fully exerting your strength."

After a few minutes, the speech slowly came to a close.

"I wanted to assure you that the things I have learnt in this school will not only play a role in my future live but also become my most valuable asset."

Manabu once again stared at the students before him.

"The person who will stand up here and speak to you next year, and the year after that, will be able to understand what I'm feeling."

The person who gave the valedictory. In other words, the leader of the graduating Class A.

Only a third of our time at the school had passed.

Who knows what the future holds?

Only the leader of the class who won the final battle would have the right to stand up on that stage.

Manabu slowly continued. "Thank you, all of you, for the past three years."

Soon, it came to an end.

After the speech to the students, he then turned towards the teachers and addressed them, and then finally to the school itself.

After the grand speech, the graduation ceremony moved onto the next stage.

After the ceremony, the first-years took the lead in leaving the gymnasium.

Then we returned to our classrooms.

Afterwards, there was to be a thank you meeting held by the graduates and all the teachers and their guardians.

It was said that the ceremony held was by the students and their guardians to show appreciation towards the teachers.

The rest of the students were allowed to return to their dorms, but those who were close to the third years due to club activities or some other reason were preparing to see them off after they came out.

The students seemed very anxious, and at the same time, quiet from the tension.

"Okay, even though we can mention this tomorrow during the closing ceremony, let's briefly summarise what happened this year."

Once the students sat in their seats, Chabashira-sensei spoke to us.

"First of all, this year was a complicated one for Class D. Many teachers approved of your growth and personal development. Unfortunately, Class D has failed to rise up the ranks."

Chabashira-sensei was brutally honest while the rest of the class gave me death stares.

"My impression of you guys since first entering school has changed. It's impressive for you to be able to grow to this point. However, you are yet to produce results."

"Tch. All because of that bastard," Ike said, upset.

"At first glance, it does seem like all hope might be lost. However, don't mind the gap in class scores, your strength is actually getting closer to the other classes. Should you make a right choice, then the class can fulfill its potential," she said while looking at me.

The suspiciously uncharacteristic tone she used unsettled the students. They were expecting to be completely badmouthed.

"That's what I truly think. This is my 4th year as a teacher. Compared to the previous Class D, you guys might be similar in terms of class points, but your abilities are a step up. But that's true for the other classes as well. Whether you guys can rise to the upper classes depends on how much effort you put in, and depends on whether or not you guys are willing to make sacrifices."

Chabashira ended the discussion and dismissed the class.

I didn't know how many students would go see off the third-years, but what would my neighbor do?

She was the sister of the student who had not only served as the student council president, but was also the student who had delivered the graduation speech as the leader of the graduating Class A.

Horikita stared motionlessly at the blackboard, thinking about many things.

"Are you going?" I simply asked.

"What are you referring to?"

"It should be clear what I mean."

"Are you asking if I was going to see my brother after the thank you meeting?"

As Horikita said this, her gaze moved elsewhere.

"That is what I'm talking about."

"I see... then in that case... yes... I'll go see him," she admitted.

"It's the right choice. After all, if you miss this opportunity, there might not be another chance."

"Yeah... I'll go see him."

"Good to hear."

As the classroom was filled with chatter, I stood up and left the classroom.

Class D had grown a lot over the course of the first year, despite their results.

Will they be ready for their true test, I wonder?

Author's Notes

Hey!

This is the end of Chapter 9!

In this timeline, Horikita also sees her brother off similarly to the LN. However, she didn't hesitate as much as she's matured a lot more.

I won't write the interaction between the Horikita siblings as it would be basically the same as in the LN.

2 more SS will follow before Chapter 10!

See you then!

SS. 18 - The Calm Before The Storm

After the graduation ceremony and the closing ceremony went off without a hitch, the spring break finally started.

The students forgot about the competition between each other and enjoyed a short break.

Although the students who hadn't graduated weren't allowed to leave the campus, it wasn't particularly inconvenient for them.

The main reason for that was the existence of the Keyaki shopping mall. For both the students and the staff, the mall was indispensable.

Going into detail wouldn't be necessary, but there were coffee shops, home appliances stores, and even a karaoke place. All the necessities were available.

If there were other things that you might want, all you had to do was to order it online after gaining permission.

You could live a life of indulgence, as long as the amount of private points you had allowed it.

I haven't done anything in particular during these past few days. The first few days of spring break went by quickly as I was simply resting in my room, thinking about my future actions.

Today was the 31st of March. This was a special day that had finally arrived.

It was the day when Manabu embarked on his next journey.

We had agreed to meet at noon. I was early, as usual, and reached the main entrance of the school.

He hadn't told anyone else that he was leaving then. There was no one around, except for me.

My eyes were drawn towards the figures of the students who were headed to Keyaki Mall as I quietly waited for his arrival.

A year ago, I came to this school through this very entrance.

Although you might hang out near here occasionally, this was not a place people went to often.

If it was a club activity or a special exam, you could take the bus that passes through here. Still, if you wanted to walk out of the entrance, it had to be because you graduated, or you were expelled.

Just 20 minutes before the agreed time, Manabu finally arrived.

"Will your sister come to see you off?" I asked him

"Yes, she came to me and said that she wanted to bid me farewell. I told her to come at 12:30 so that I can first exchange a few last words with you."

The time now was 11:40 AM.

"I see. When the time comes, I'll leave the two of you so that you can have some time alone."

"That's very much appreciated, Ayanokouji. Thank you."

"That's alright, there's no need to thank me."

Manabu seemed like he started to acknowledge his sister, despite Class D's failures.

"After I leave, you'll be leading the school on your own, Ayanokouji. As student council president, I expect you to do great things."

"That's some pressure," I said.

"I know you have the abilities to achieve such things, Ayanokouji. It's only a matter of if you want to do so."

"I suppose you're right."

"Whatever you do, though. Make sure to do what you think is right. I'm already proud of making you the student council president. Make sure to not make the same mistake I did and choose a good Vice-President for next year," he joked.

"I will."

We chatted for the next 45 minutes until it was almost time for Horikita to arrive.

"Seems like our time is almost up," he said.

"Yeah. Thank you for everything, Manabu."

"There's no need, Ayanokouji. You are the most exceptional student here by a longshot. Don't be so humble."

"I guess. Good luck for the future, Manabu. I'll be going now."

"Thank you, Ayanokouji. I'm sure you'll overcome whatever the future throws at you."

I nodded, bowed and left. These were Manabu's last moments at this prestigious high school. His sister Horikita will arrive any moment now. I'm sure both of them are glad they could share one last moment together.

It was the middle of spring break.

Despite the fact that ninety-nine percent of Class D students hate me, I still went out a few times. I met up with Arisu a couple of times, met Hiyory in the library, and even met up with Asahina to discuss a few things regarding the student council.

Kushida also came to my room once. Apparently, she had started ranting her problems to Horikita. They had rapidly become what you would call friends. In the end, she told me that she would come to my room less frequently than before.

Right now, there was one thing on my mind. The first special exam of the second year.

Which is why, at this moment, I was in the student council room.

As President, I could propose a special exam to the school, and, if they accept the proposal, they will make it happen.

I was looking at the files of the past special exams used by the school on the computer to see for myself what kind of special exams they accept. To my surprise, they were a variety of them, many of them completely different in all aspects.

I planned on letting the school decide the special exams for the first and third years, as there was no need for me to intervene.

As I scrolled through the files, one of them caught my attention.

The Unanimous Vote Special Exam.

A simple test that was used a decade ago. In this exam, the entire class would vote on a multiple choice question again and again until they reach a consensus. The test will be completed within the class itself, and there is no need to compete with any of their rival classes.

There were five questions in total, with each having at most four choices. Every class votes on these five motions where they must reach a consensus within the class for each motion. Every motion that achieves unanimous consent would be implemented by the school.

In the event when a consensus isn't reached for a particular motion, the class would get a 10-minute interval to discuss within themselves, after which, they will vote again. During that 10 minutes, students are free to discuss and talk among each other.

The classes that achieved unanimous consent in all the motions within the allocated time of 5 hours will be given 50 class points.

If the students aren't able to come to a consensus for all five motions within 5 hours, they will lose 300 class points.

It was ridiculously straightforward.

I decided to base my proposal on that exam.

I made some massive modifications to the rules and the structure of the exam.

Before I knew it, I had finished writing my proposal.

I looked at the paper, satisfied with the special exam I had come up with.

The Majority Vote Special Exam.

Author's Notes

Heyo!

A teaser at what's to come in Chapter 10...

One more SS will be published before Chapter 10! Don't miss it since it'll be an important SS!!!

That's all, take care!

SS. 19 - Youth Is About To Bloom

Spring break is slowly coming to an end.

Today, I have another date with Arisu.

I don't know what's up with her, but she's been inviting me for a lot of dates over the course of spring break.

However, today, I'm the one that invited her.

Apparently, it's generally up to the man to invite the woman on a date. I don't find that to be equal.

Though it doesn't matter since she had already invited me for plenty of dates and I hadn't invited her once.

Equality does not exist anyway. These days everywhere you go there's talk about the fight for equality. Truth be told, at the end of the day, equality is just a fantasy. And most of us go through life denying the fact that we live in a meritocracy.

My thoughts were interrupted by my so-called childhood friend.

"Kiyotaka, you're early as usual."

"I just got here."

I don't know how many times I've said that.

"Fufufu, you really have no creativity. Let's get going, then, shall we?"

We went to the movies, and I let Arisu pick a movie as I wasn't really up to date with all the new releases.

However, she was just as clueless as I was. Movies weren't really her thing.

In the end, we randomly picked a recently released movie that was set some time in the future. It was set in Tokyo where a bizarre phenomenon made gravity -defying bubbles rain down, cutting off Tokyo from the rest of the world. The city skyline then became a playground for young people competing in parkour team battles.

If I were to be honest, the movie was incomprehensible. It wasn't like the other movies I had watched. I didn't really understand what the meaning of the movie was, but I suppose the visuals were aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

"What did you think about the movie?" Arisu asked me as we left the theater.

"I'm still confused about it."

"Fufufu, I would say the same. I didn't really understand what the meaning of the movie was, but I suppose the visuals were aesthetically pleasing to the eye."

Wait, is she a mind reader?

"I was thinking that too," is what I ended up singing.

"Where should we go now?"

"Let's just walk around the mall and see," I said.

With that, we walked around the mall. We were currently on the fifth floor so we had a good view on the entirety of the Keyaki Mall.

"Say, Kiyotaka, why don't you head over there and give us a performance?" Arisu said as she pointed at the piano that was in the middle of the mall at the ground floor.

I wondered why I didn't notice the piano when I arrived. Perhaps, they had just moved it here. The fact that there were a few staff members around the piano supported my theory. There was a student who was already playing.

I could play the piano if I wanted to. I was particularly talented in piano, tea ceremony and calligraphy. At least that's what I liked to think.

"I don't enjoy being the center of attention," I lied.

"Come on, Kiyotaka, I've never heard you play the piano before. I think everyone should hear your majestic musical talents."

"That's high praise, Arisu. I'm average at best."

"As if I'll believe that."

Sometimes I forget everyone knows where I come from.

"I suppose we have time to waste. Let's head down."

"I knew you would accept," Arisu said as she had a smug smile on her face.

We arrived at the ground floor where the piano was. By the time we arrived at the scene, the previous student had just finished playing, earning a round of applause from the students that were listening.

"Your time to shine, Kiyotaka," Arisu teased me.

Sigh.

I suppose it's time to let the world know that I'm not only good when it comes to academics and athleticism.

I approached the piano. A staff member of the mall who was holding what seemed to be a sign-up sheet came towards me.

"Are you going to play the piano, young man?"

"Yes."

"Great. Please write your name here to sign up, then you can go ahead and play."

After I wrote my name on the sheet of paper, I sat down on the piano stool.

I felt every student's pair of eyes within a fifty-meter radius stare at me.

Now, what piece should I play?

I decided to play a piece that was one of the last ones I had learned.

Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23, by Frederic Chopin. One of Chopin's most popular works, completed in 1835. A piece that typically lasts around nine to ten minutes.

I would like to say this piece is quite important to me. When I was in my father's mansion, I would practice this piece. Matsuo would listen to me practicing.

"This is my favorite piece of all time. I feel great joy hearing you play this to perfection, Ayanokouji-kun."

I remembered him saying.

I wonder how Matsuo is doing. I hope he's doing well.

I pressed my fingers on the black and white keys and started playing.

As a whole, the piece is structurally complex and not strictly confined to any particular form, but incorporates ideas from mainly the sonata and variation forms.

The piece alternates between calmness and chaos. As my fingers glide on the piano, I forget about my surroundings.

It's like a brilliant German composer by the name of Robert Schumann once said.

When you play, never mind who listens to you.

Smoothly continuing to play, I began to approach the coda of the piece. This coda is known to be one of the most difficult codas ever composed.

It was like an allegory of insanity.

I played the coda at a rapid pace, not missing a single note.

Flawlessly, I played the last notes of one of Chopin's most technically and musically demanding pieces.

After a few seconds, I finally lifted my fingers off the keys.

What followed was complete silence.

I stood up and looked around. There were way more people than before. I could see Arisu holding her phone, she was visibly filming me.

"THAT WAS AMAZING!!"

"What the hell was that?!"

"He's the main protagonist!"

"ALL HAIL PRESIDENT AYANOKOUJI!"

The students around me erupted in cheers as I respectfully bowed, signaling the end of my performance.

"Brilliant. Absolutely magnificent," the staff member was in tears.

"Thank you," is all I could say.

I went over to Arisu.

"My my... what a sublime performance. Well done, Kiyotaka. I think it's safe to say you've got some fans now."

"Fans? What do you me-"

"Hey Kouhai-kun! I didn't know you were that good at piano. What a superb performance from my favorite kouhai," Kiryuin-senpai and Asahina came up to me,

"Hello, Kiryuin-senpai. Hello, Asahina."

"Hey, Ayanokouji! That was amazing! So amazing I might even cry," she said as she wiped her fake tears, "As expected from my President!"

"Thank you, Asahina."

"Quite bold now, are we Nazuna? Anyway, Kouhai-kun, your favorite senpai and Nazuna will be going now. See you around, Kouhai-kun!" Kiryuin-senpai said as she dragged Asahina away, leaving me alone with a somewhat pissed of Arisu.

"What?" I simply asked her.

"Nothing. Just admiring how you're so popular with the ladies," she said as she put on a smile that even I knew was fake.

Sigh.

A few other students came up to me and congratulated me for my performance. Before I knew it, it was already quite late. Luckily, Arisu had cooled down by then.

"Say, Arisu, want to eat dinner at my place?"

"Oh? You're being bold. Don't mind if I do."

I invited her to eat dinner in my room.

I prepared dinner while she just laid on my bed.

After I finished making dinner, we sat down at my table.

"Itadakimasu," we said in synchronization.

"How considerate of you to make one of my favorite meals," she said. Indeed, I had made curry. Arisu had openly expressed her like of curry in the past, so that was the meal I decided to make today along with some rice.

"I suppose I played it safe." With that, we both started eating.

In the mean time, I was thinking about things.

Through Arisu, I've been able to get a glimpse at emotions and how they felt. Ever since the first special exam, I've been able to get a glimpse of many things such as excitement, enjoyment, amusement, perhaps even happiness and sadness.

Perhaps I can get a glimpse of what it feels like to fall in love.

I know that it's impossible for me to have a normal romantic relationship with a normal high school girl. Even if someone would confess their feelings for me, I would not be able to give them what they're looking forward. Therefore, the thought of having a romantic relationship never crossed my mind.

But now, I've finally grabbed a hold of it. The desire to learn to fall in love.

"Arisu," I said as I put down my bowl and my chopsticks.

"Hm? What is it, Kiyotaka?" she said as she continued eating.

"Will you got out with me?"

Just like learning how to ride a bike, or how to swim. Just like learning how to use chopsticks and how to drink from a straw. I wanted to learn to fall in love through Arisu. This was something I had not learned in my life so far, nor was it something I even thought of learning at first. It was also something that could never be learned in the white room. And it drove my inquiring mind.

Moreover, there was an important reason as to why I selected Arisu. Nobody understands me better at this school than her. There is something different about her. I can't quite put it into words, at least, not yet. I wish to find the words one day to describe what she is to me.

Arisu dropped her bowl and the chopsticks on the table. Luckily, even though the chopsticks ended up on the ground, the bowl didn't fall over.

I looked at her. Her face was all red.

"Arisu. Are you sick? Was my curry not well prepared?" I said as I put my hand on her forehead.

"K-Kiyotaka, you dense idiot," she said while attempting to look at me in the eyes.

She took a deep breath, and regained her composure.

"I've been waiting for this, Kiyotaka," she said with a smug smile on her face.

"What's your answer?" I asked her.

"The answer was yes since the day I met you, Kiyotaka."

I still didn't understand love. I didn't know what romantic love was, and I didn't know what familial love was. And I didn't understand the relationship between men and women. The embarrassment and happiness I felt waiting for the outcome, that kind of thing I was also not clear about.

In the near future, I will definitely learn the answers to those questions.

I stood up and went to sit down next to Arisu. She turned her body around and we were now facing face to face. I stretched out my arms and gently held hers. I embraced her in my arms, and she buried her face in my chest.

This was proof that my relationship with Arisu had taken a huge step forward.

"Let's stay like this for a while," Arisu shyly said.

At first, when I entered this school, I thought that nothing would change. Merely learning, growing up, and moving forward. In that case, Arisu would be like a textbook for me to learn about the opposite sex. And when I finish reading it, its purpose would have been served.

However, at this moment, a part of me prayed for me to change, for a different future to be waiting for me.

A future where I will stay by her side. A future where I become an irreplaceable existence for her, and, likewise, a future where she becomes an irreplaceable existence for me.

There was a part of me that truly wanted that, and there was a part of me that felt it would be impossible.

So, let's pray.

Let's pray that at this current moment, I am holding an important person in my arms and smiling.

Let's pray that this was the start of my relationship with a person that will become irreplaceable for me in the future.

Let's pray that I will be able to feel love.

Let's pray that I will be able to love Arisu.

I gently embraced Arisu, quietly praying.

Author's Notes

THE SHIP HAS SAILED, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! Thank you for your patience.

With that the first year has come to a close.

Next up is Chapter 10 which will cover the first special exam of the second year.

Important: Chapter 10 will be the last chapter of this fan fiction. However, that doesn't mean the story won't continue. I may or may not write a sequel to this, depending on my inspiration.

Thanks for reading as always!

Chapter 10.1 - New Year, New Faces

After a long and yet somehow short spring break had come to an end, the day of the opening ceremony finally arrived. We moved out of our old, familiar first-year classroom and relocated to a new one for second-years.

At a glance, the desk and chairs seemed to be the same. The first thing that awaited us as we arrived in this new classroom was a message 'displayed' on the blackboard.

[Sit down in the same seat you used last year and wait for further instructions.]

Last year, the blackboard was one that the teachers would write on with chalk. However, the blackboard before me was a blackboard, yet not at the same time. Put simply, it had been replaced by a large monitor. The school had chosen to install it this year.

The students who arrived in the classroom after me also seemed rather surprised when they saw the monitor. Either way, I made my way to where I sat last year, the window seat in the very back of the room, and sat down as instructed.

Later on after this, the opening ceremony would be held in the gymnasium. After that, the homeroom teachers would spend the next two hours or so briefing us on this year's schedule and other important details before dismissing us sometime before noon.

The students still seemed to be a little out of it since spring break had only just ended. Friends who hadn't met up with each other over the break began excitedly talking about all sorts of things like what they had been doing over the holidays.

As for me, all my classmates continued to ignore me and ice me out like they did last year, not that I minded. Well, all except for two.

"Hey, Ayanokouji!" Kushida, who was chatting with Horikita, greeted me. It still felt unusual seeing the two of them get along. I must say, if the me from last year were to see this sight, I would've thought I was in an alternate universe.

"Hello, Ayanokouji," Horikita said.

"Hello, Kushida, Horikita."

I took out my phone and surfed the internet while Kushida and Horikita continued chatting.

Tomorrow was the school's entrance ceremony where the incoming first-year students would enter the school, and I will have to say a few words as student council president.

A lot of things happened this spring break. Most importantly, I got myself a girlfriend. Yes, I, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, have a girlfriend.

However, the only other person that knows about this is none other than Arisu herself. Our relationship is yet to be officially revealed to the public. However, once it is, it won't come as a shock for students here. At least, that's what Arisu told me. For now, we decided to not officially reveal our relationship until after I change class.

It was the day of new first-years' entrance ceremony. As student council president, I had to get involved and say a few words. Asahina was also present as my secretary.

Currently, I was standing on the side of the stage while Chairman Sakayanagi gave his opening speech.

This reminded me of last year's entrance ceremony where Manabu gave his speech. Now, I was at his place.

My thoughts were interrupted quickly.

"-And now, we'll have a few words from the student council president," Chairman Sakayangi said while looking at me with a smug smile. Like father, like daughter, I guess.

Does he know about my relationship with Arisu?

I should probably ask her about that.

I nodded and head towards the podium. I looked around the gymnasium to get a look at the new first-years' faces. Nothing really got my attention, apart from a girl with scarlet hair who was staring at me in awe, a boy with brown hair and green eyes who looked familiar, and Eiichiro's friend, Nanase, who waved at me with a gentle smile.

Indeed, Matsuo had brought me to his house a few times to meet his son Eiichiro. Once, Nanase was hanging out with Eiichiro so I ended up meeting her as well. Therefore, I knew her already.

On a side note, I would be lying if I said I had diligently prepared for my speech.

Enough thinking, I should probably say a few words.

"I am the student council president, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka."

So far, so good.

"As a representative of the student body, I would like to extend a few words of welcome to our newest students. As I believe you know, our school is highly accompanied in all aspects and boasts a high employment and college entry rate. This is the pride of our school, accomplished through the hard work of both our graduating students and those still attending. We expect the same from the new students. Everything in this school is decided by merit. If you're here, then you are capable enough. A long path lies ahead each and everyone of you. Work hard and do your best to achieve what you want to achieve at this prestigious school. That is all."

Luckily, I have good memory, so I decided to copy Manabu's speech from last year.

The second I finished, the scarlet-haired girl immediately started applauding. A round of applause followed as everyone else joined in.

What a strange girl.

The entrance ceremony soon ended after that.

The next day, I was about to head home after class had ended.

I was packing my things when I voice I never heard attracted everyone's attention.

"SENPAI~"

I looked at the entrance to see none other than the scarlet-haired first-year girl. She was looking at me.

"Are you talking to me?" I asked.

"Who else would I be talking to?"

"What business do you have with me?"

"Nothing much, I just want to have a chat with my favorite senpai~"

I could feel some students confused about this interaction.

"Psst... who is she?"

"I don't know dude."

"Damn she's hot, that traitor bastard sure has it easy."

"What's going on?"

Sigh.

I don't know what's going on either but I was about to go home anyway.

"Alright," I said as I packed my things and left with her.

"Who are you?" I said as we entered the hallway.

"Hehe~ I'm Amasawa Ichika! Nice to meet you senpai~"

Amasawa? Oh it's her.

"We have met before, haven't we?"

"Yep! I'm happy you remembered!"

"Is there a reason you enrolled in this school, Amasawa?"

"Yes! That reason is none other than you!"

"How did you even know I was here?"

"I'm not telling you, Kiyosenpai~"

"I don't remember giving you permission to use my first name, let alone give me a nickname."

"Hmph. Senpai is no fun. Doesn't matter, I'll keep calling you Kiyo-senpai."

I suppose I should ask her this question.

"What happened after the White Room shut down?"

"That's what you want to know? Well, the government initially wanted to look for you, but after they realized you were enrolled here, they decided to leave you alone for now."

"Does that mean they will come look for me after graduation?"

"Maybe~ Someone with your reputation can't just roam around freely in the streets, you know? But if you have a talk with them, I'm sure you can work things out."

Luckily, it didn't seem as bad as I first thought.

"What about you? What happened to the others generations?"

"After the White Room shut down, we all had nowhere to go. The White Room was the only place we could somewhat call home. After though, some students got adopted, the rest of us were put in a newly-built orphanage and received education from government teachers. After I graduate from here, I will be an adult, so I won't have to go back to the orphanage."

"What about that man?"

"Oh, your father? He's still in prison, and he'll stay there for until his death."

"I see."

"Senpai! Let's exchange contact information!"

Seeing no reason to refuse, I exchanged contact information with Amasawa.

"Kiyo-senpai. Can you cook?"

"Cook? Where did that come from?"

"I've never eaten good food. Food in the White Room was bland, as you know, and it wasn't that much better in the orphanage. And I also want to eat food made by senpai!"

"I suppose I do know how to cook."

"Great! Can you cook for me?"

"Cook for you?"

"Yep! Let's head to your room so that you can make me something delicious to eat~"

"Today's not the right day. Perhaps another time," I made up an excuse.

"Hmph," Amasawa pouted.

I feel like a troublesome year lies ahead of me.

Several days had passed since the opening ceremony. During those days, the annual club fair was held, and I also had to say a few words as student council president. I basically repeated what Manabu said last year to avoid making any efforts, saying that the student council is looking for competent first-years and what not. The truth is, I wasn't actually considering recruiting first-years.

However, if I don't choose a Vice-President, there will be an election this year.

Towards the end of the year though, I would have to find another secretary as Asahina will graduate from the school.

Anyway, the weekend came and went, and it was Monday once again.

The start of the new school year brought about many changes, the most notable of which being that the blackboards had become digital and that all of our textbooks had been replaced with electronic tablets. I looked down at the brand new tablet that the school had distributed the week before.

All supplementary class materials were also now on these tablets, truly highlighting just how popularized electronic books had become these days.

Each student had been given one of their own, and high-speed charging ports had been freshly installed at the back of the classroom. Portable battery chargers had also been made available to us whenever we needed, just in case our tablets were to run out of power during class. While, as a general rule, we weren't allowed to bring our tablets back to the dorms with us, we could always transfer any data we needed over the school's wireless network and use that at home instead.

The cumbersome number of textbooks we used to have was now stored within one 12-inch tablet. Not only did it make it easy to utilize visual aids like graphics or photographs, but it also had support for more globalized uses, allowing us to seamlessly communicate with foreigners during our English classes.

All in all, most of the major changes had to do with the digitalization of the education system, but if I had to name something else, it would probably be how we could now choose where we wanted to sit through the use of private points. Initially, I moved from my old window seat to the desk right next to the hallway at the back of the room, that was my new seat with my nameplate on it.

Since I had points to spare though, I decided I might as well buy my old seat back. It was the Professor's new seat, and he looked devastated when I decided to buy the seat back, muttering things such as "why can't I be the main protagonist", and other similar comments.

Now, my new neighbor was Kushida.

Well, I don't think I'll be her neighbor for too long.

"Everyone's here, right?"

Chabashira-sensei walked in the classroom only seconds after the bell rang. She took her place behind the teaching podium with an extremely serious look on her face.

"Everyone, take out your phones and place them on your desks. If you didn't bring it with you, you'll have to go back to your dorm and get it, but I doubt any of you forgot."

Before long, 39 phones had been placed on the desks. After quickly checking to make sure nobody had forgotten theirs, Chabashira-sensei continued speaking.

"So, the first thing you all need to do is navigate to the school's homepage and install a new application. It should be available to download any second now. The official name of the app is 'Over All Ability', but once it's finished installing it'll show up as just 'OAA' on your phone."

The blackboard switched over to a different screen, where a captioned video demonstration began to play.

The school finally implemented the OAA app into the system. Manabu had told me this would happen.

After we all installed the newly released application, Chabashira-sensei told us a few instructions.

She further explained that everyone in the school is installing this app. The app held the personal data of all students across every school year. For example, if you were to press on the menu for Class 2-D, names would be displayed in alphabetical order. We were free to look at any profile we wanted.

I tapped on my own name, and the data showed was pretty much as I had expected.

Class 2-D – Ayanokouji Kiyotaka

First-Year Evaluation

Academic Ability: A (100)

Physical Ability: A (100)

Adaptability: C (60)

Social Contribution: B (80)

Overall Ability: A- (86)

The purpose of this OAA app was to provide a numerical evaluation of everybody's abilities.

There was a question mark icon on the top right corner of the screen that, upon being pressed, presented me with a detailed description of each of the different categories on my profile.

Academic Ability: Primarily calculated based on your written exam scores conducted throughout the school year.

Physical Ability: Calculated based on your performance in physical education classes, club activities, special exams, and other physical endeavors.

Adaptability: Calculated based on your capacity to adapt to the world around you. This includes, but is not limited to, whether or not you consistently demonstrate the ability to think on your feet, your communication skills, the size of your social circle, and whether or not you act in a way befitting of your social standing amongst said circle.

Social Contribution: Calculated based on a variety of factors, such as your general attitude during class, your attendance record, the presence of any potentially problematic behavior, or your contribution to the school through programs like the student council.

Overall Ability: A student's comprehensive ability is derived from each of the four values calculated above. However, the effect Social Contribution has on the overall score is reduced by half compared to the other three values.

※ Formula for how Overall Ability is calculated:

(Academic Ability Physical Ability Adaptability (Social Contribution * 0.5)) 350 * 100 (Rounded)

I see, that more ore less explains my scores.

Right now, only the ratings for the first year are displayed, but from today onward, new ratings would be reflected on the second-year page as they become available. They will be updated on the first day of each month, the same day private points are distributed. Our second-year ratings would be evaluated separately from our first-year ratings.

Since the app held a record of personal ratings that anybody could look at, many students would probably start putting in effort in order to make themselves look as good as possible.

In addition, anyone could look at anyone's profile. With just a few clicks, you could gather information on anyone.

As my classmates started playing around with the app, most started looking at me. Perhaps it was because I had the highest Overall Ability in our class, maybe even in our year. I also had 100 in both Academic Ability and Physical Ability.

I assumed my Social Contribution was pretty high because of my status as student council president. If it weren't for that, I'm sure I would've been around the 50s. The Adaptability criteria is quite low, probably because of the status as a traitor.

The school was going through a lot of change, but one thing was certain.

The upcoming year will be an interesting one.

Author's Notes

Hey!

The beginning of the second year is here!

Ichika, Nanase and Yagami are all in ANHS. Kiyotaka and Nanase know each other through Eiichiro.

Yagami is in Class A.

Ichika and Yagami will be the only two WR students... for now.

That's all for now, see you in the next part!

Chapter 10.2 - A Genius' Experiment

With the Over All Ability app on everyone's mind, Chabashira-sensei continued to talk and announced the upcoming special exam.

"Now, I will give an overview of the upcoming special exam."

To the class, this didn't even seem like a shock anymore.

"The first special exam of the year is called the Majority Vote Special Exam ."

As expected, the school had validated my proposal.

She went on to explain the rules of the exam. The rules that I made.

Similarly to the Unanimous Vote Special Exam, the class had to vote on questions.

Every class will have to vote on motions. Every motion that the majority votes for will be implemented by the school.

The number of questions is between five and ten, but the precise number is unknown. Before voting, the class will have a time interval to discuss between themselves. That time interval cannot surpass 30 minutes and must last at least a minute.

The use of mobile phones is prohibited during the exam to prevent communications with people outside of the class. Phones must be shut off during the exam.

Regarding the voting, every student must vote for a motion within 60 seconds. They are free to change their vote during that period. If everyone in a class has voted, they can move directly to the results without waiting for the entire 60 seconds. Every student would be given a grace timer of 90 seconds for excess time taken during the voting periods in the entire exam, following which the students having used up all their grace time would be expelled.

Each class had a total of 3 hours to complete the exam.

The classes that finish voting all the motions within the allocated time of 3 hours will be given 50 class points.

If the students aren't able to finish the exam within 3 hours, their class will lose 500 class points.

It is strictly prohibited to manipulate the votes through the use of contracts, money, influence from the outside or foul play.

For motions that require selecting an individual, the individual with the most votes will be selected. Everyone has to vote. Blank votes are prohibited. A student cannot vote for themselves.

All classes will start the exam at the same time. In the event where two classes' voted motions are incompatible. The class that voted first will have their motion validated and the other will have to vote on that motion once again.

In the case where the voted motions regarding the entire year in each class are different, the validated motion will be the one with the most votes.

Validated motions are irreversible.

"The exam will start this Friday, at exactly 2:00 PM. Don't be late. That is all," Chabashira-sensei left the classroom but was acting rather strangely. Perhaps this exam reminded her of something from her past.

"Wait, is that it? We just have to answer some stupid questions?" Ike said.

"Easy 50 class points!" Shinohara cried out.

"Let's not get carried away," Horikita stood up. She was now sitting in the front row.

"I agree with Horikita. Let's take this seriously, no matter how simple it may seem, this school is known to surprise us."

"Since we know the maximum amount of questions is 10, we should spend around 10 minutes per question discussing between us. They said whatever we vote on will be implemented by the school, so we have to pick things wisely. We have time anyway," Horikita said.

"Yeah, let's complete this exam together!" Kushida supported Horikita.

"Ayanokouji can't betray us this time. We just need the majority!" Ike mockingly said.

The class continued talking about the special exam, as I stood up.

"Are you leaving, Ayanokouji?" Kushida said to me.

"Yeah. I don't feel like discussing things with the class. The exam is quite straightforward, don't you think?"

"Yeah, I agree. In that case, see you tomorrow, Ayanokouji!"

With that, I head out and left the classroom. Hopefully, I can have some peace.

"SENPAI~"

I spoke too soon.

"What is it, Amasawa?" I said before I turned around.

"Oh ho! How did you know it was me? Perhaps you missed my voice?" she teased me.

Nanase was next to her. Did she come to greet me?

"Hello, Nanase," I greeted Nanase as I ignored Amasawa who pouted.

"Hey, Ayanokouji-senpai! We meet again, it seems."

"Wait, you two know each other? Not fair," Amasawa said.

"Yes. Nanase was my butler's son's friend," I told Amasawa, "How's Matsuo and Eiichiro doing?" I asked Nanase.

"Great! Eiichiro is currently attending his dream high school, and Matsuo is doing just fine, being a professional as always."

"That's good to hear. Why did you enroll here, Nanase? I assumed you would follow Eiichiro."

"Well, a lot of my friends were accepted here, and this is the most prestigious high school in Japan, so I decided to come here. Even though I won't be able to see Eiichiro for three years, I'm happy to be with my friends!"

"I see."

If my father was still roaming around, he would've definitely gone after Matsuo's family. Luckily, that man was in prison.

"Cook for us, Kiyo-senpai!" Amasawa suddenly said.

"Not today, I have to meet up with someone."

"Oh ho? Don't tell me you have a girlfriend, senpai~"

"Who knows."

"Hmph."

Nanase laughed at our interaction.

"Well, let's go, Amasawa-san," she said.

"Fine. Next time, no excuse, Kiyo-senpai!"

Sigh. What a troublesome girl.

Now, I suppose I should wait outside.

"Were you perhaps waiting for me, Kiyotaka?"

Arisu came out of the classroom with Hashimoto and Kamuro after a few minutes. Meanwhile it seemed like Class D students were still discussing the exam.

"Hello, Arisu, Hashimoto, Kamuro."

We exchanged greetings.

"What are you here for?" Arisu asked.

"Can you give it back to me?"

Kamuro and Hashimoto looked at each other in confusion.

"Hm? So the time has come, huh?"

"More or less."

"I'm so confused," I heard Hashimoto say.

"A conversation between two creeps," Kamuro muttered.

"Then I'll stop by your room tonight," Arisu said with a smug smile.

"Whatever works."

"I seriously feel like an idiot, the royalty is just on another level," Hashimoto said.

"Don't worry, Hashimoto. If anything, look forward to the special exam. Something interesting will happen," Arisu told him.

"If you say so, Princess."

"Well, why don't we get some drinks at the nearby café?" Arisu suggested.

"Sorry. I have student council work to do."

"That's too bad."

"I'll be back in my room by 5 PM probably. You can stop by then."

"I'll do that. See you later, Kiyotaka," she waved, "Let's get going, Hashimoto, Kamuro."

"See ya, King!"

"Bye, Ayanokouji."

I started walking away.

"Arisu, you two sound too much like a couple, it's quite suspicious if you ask me. Is something going on?" I heard Kamuro quietly ask Arisu.

"Who knows," she responded.

Sigh.

I was in the student council room with Asahina. I had finished my work, and she was still working on some reports.

I decided that I should look at some other people's OAA profile. I started by looking at some Class D's students profiles.

Class 2-D – Horikita Suzune
First-Year Evaluation

Academic Ability: A- (82)
Physical Ability: B (71)
Adaptability: B (70)
Social Contribution: B (80)
Overall Ability: B (75)

Class 2-D – Hirata Yousuke
First-Year Evaluation

Academic Ability: B (76)
Physical Ability: B (79)
Adaptability: B (75)
Social Contribution: A- (85)
Overall Ability: B (78)

Class 2-D – Kushida Kikyou
First-Year Evaluation

Academic Ability: B (72)
Physical Ability: C (60)
Adaptability: A- (82)
Social Contribution: A (88)
Overall Ability: B (74)

What caught my attention was the fact that Ike and Airi both had the lowest Overall Ability within the class, with 37.

I looked at a few other students' profiles.

Class 2-A – Sakayanagi Arisu
First-Year Evaluation

Academic Ability: A (93)
Physical Ability: D- (25)
Adaptability: B (80)
Social Contribution: B- (65)
Overall Ability: B (66)

Class 2-B – Ichinose Honami
First-Year Evaluation

Academic Ability: A (86)
Physical Ability: C (54)
Adaptability: B (70)
Social Contribution: A (96)
Overall Ability: B (74)

I looked at Asahina's profile

Class 3-A – Asahina Nazuna
Second-Year Evaluation

Academic Ability: A- (80)
Physical Ability: C (61)
Adaptability: A- (78)
Social Contribution: A (100)
Overall Ability: B (77)

"Ayanokouji?"

"What is it, Asahina?"

"I was wondering what you were looking at, you seem serious," she joked.

"I was just looking through the OAA app."

"Oh that thing, I find it quite interesting. They're able to quantify our abilities."

"Yeah."

"Anything caught your attention?"

"Nothing much. I suppose the fact that you're the only student with 100 in Social Contribution is interesting."

"Hehe, I suppose it's an honor," she awkwardly responded, "But look at you, Ayanokouji! You have 100 in Academic and Physical Ability, that's ridiculous. You have the best Overall Ability in the entire school by a mile. You must be proud of that!"

"I guess so," I said before silence filled the room.

"It's my last year at this school, huh?" she quietly muttered.

"Do you have any plans for after graduation?"

"Not really, well, I suppose I have options, right? I will probably graduate from Class A."

"That's true, you have plenty of opportunities."

"Will you miss me, Ayanokouji?" Asahina teased.

"Who knows."

"Hmph. Come on, you can admit it, you know. Anyway, I'll make sure to do my duty until the end. Are you thinking about choosing a Vice-President within the first-years?"

"To be honest, I'm not considering it yet. I prefer to be the one in charge and not have someone in my way. You've seen what happened when Manabu chose Nagumo."

"Yeah..."

"I don't want to make the same mistake he did. I'll take my time in choosing a Vice-President. I may or may not wait until next year to do so."

"Mysterious as always it seems," she said.

I looked at my phone, it was almost 5 PM. I suppose it's time for me to head home.

"I think we did enough work today. Let's head home."

"I agree. All this work is tiring, but it's fun!"

With that, we left the student council room and walked back to the dorms, while casually talking about trivial matters. When we arrived at what was now the third-years' dorms, we parted ways.

"Bye, Ayanokouji! It was nice talking to you as always!"

"Likewise," I nodded.

I entered my room and changed into my pyjamas. After surfing the internet for a while, I heard a knock on the door.

"Arisu. Come in," I said as I greeted her at the door.

"Hello again, Kiyotaka."

"Tea?"

"Tea."

I started walking back to kitchen when she suddenly grabbed my arm.

"Is that how you greet your girlfriend?" she teased.

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Figure it out yourself."

What do I do? How would a boyfriend greet his girlfriend?

I pat her head.

"Is this okay?"

"Y-yeah. Ahem... This wasn't what I was thinking of, but this'll do," she was flustered but quickly regained her composure.

"Arisu. Let's discuss the upcoming special exam," I said as I started preparing the tea.

"I was coming to that, Kiyotaka. If this special exam is what I think it is, then perhaps you can transfer to our class."

"What makes you think that?"

"A rule caught my attention. In the event where two classes' voted motions are incompatible. The class that voted first will have their motion validated and the other will have to vote on that motion once again. What would that mean? What are two incompatible motions? I think it's possible that there can be questions such as 'Would you expel a student?' or 'Would you transfer in a student?'. Otherwise, I don't think they would specify this rule. After all, they already had the following rule. In the case where the voted motions regarding the entire year in each class are different, the validated motion will be the one with the most votes."

Indeed, I wrote these rules on purpose. The student council president can't let anyone know he can chose the special exams, so this was some kind of message from me to Arisu. To think she would figure this out in a matter of hours was impressive to say the least.

"Is that so? I was thinking the same thing, Arisu."

"In that case, I will order our class to finish the special exam as fast as possible."

"So that's your strategy, huh?"

"Yes. There's no change when it comes to class points we finish the exam sooner or later. I hope my prediction is correct."

Your prediction is correct, Arisu. Well done.

"I see. Then I hope it all goes well. There's still two days until the exam."

"What is your class planning?"

"I left the discussion, I think they decided to use the time to properly discuss each motion. However, it is possible that they might quickly reach an agreement for some questions."

"I see. That's a rather boring strategy if I do say so myself."

"In that case, I would like you to manipulate the time you use. Don't rush too much, but also don't use too much time depending on the questions. By the way, did you bring it?"

"Yes, I did," she said as she took out the white box from her pocket, "Fufufu... If your plan is what I think it is, you're a little too sadistic, Kiyotaka, not that I mind."

"My plan is not determined yet. This might be just for backup. I will need to give my plan more thought."

"I see."

One thing is for sure though, this exam will be a turning point in the class battles.

Author's Notes

Hey!

Horikita has better stats on her OAA profile due to her development and growth as a leader and classmate. I randomly made up Asahina's OAA stats,

That's all for now! Next part will be exam day!

See you then!

Chapter 10.3 - Becoming Human

Today was finally the day of the Majority Vote Special Exam. It was almost 2 PM, and my classmates were chatting about the exam.

"Let's do this, guys!"

"Yeah, let's make the right choice."

"Remember guys, let's talk things out before voting," Hirata said.

"We have more than enough time to make the right decisions, let's take our time," Horikita agreed.

"Hello, students. I see that everyone is here," Chabashira-sensei entered the classroom.

"Everyone's ready, sensei!" Ike said.

"Good. The Majority Vote Special Exam will soon commence," she said as she turned on the projector, "When it's your turn to vote, come forward to this table and cast your vote on the computer. I assume everyone understands the rules?"

The class nodded.

"Very well. I will say this. Even us teachers don't know the questions, so we don't know how many they are nor what they're about. I'll be discovering the questions with you. If nobody has any further questions, then the exam will now begin."

The first question popped up on the blackboard.

Motion #1: Choose the class to face in the coming end of the year exam. Even in case of class change, the choice takes precedence:
• A-Class (100 points)*
• B-Class (50 points)
• C-Class (0 points)

*Extra class points for winning against that class. The order is based on the class rankings at the time of voting.

"You may now discuss amongst yourselves," Chabashira-sensei said.

"What are your thoughts, guys?" Kushida said.

"I think we should fight Class A! We need to get our revenge against those bastards!" Ike said.

"But they're Class A. They're like way too strong," Karuizawa said.

"Strong my ass! We would've beaten them if it weren't for Ayanokouji!" Ike responded.

"Everyone, calm down. While I do support the idea of battling Class A to potentially earn 100 additional class points, we should consider Class B as I think they're the easiest class to beat out of the three," Hirata said.

"I'm personally willing to take the risk and take on Class A," Horikita said, "But I'm all ears."

The class continuously discussed. As we approached 10 minutes for the discussion time, they decided to simply vote and accept whatever the results were. The class decided that it was pointless to discuss further and that they should save time for future questions.

After everyone finished voting, the results appeared.

Results:
• Class A (21)
• Class B (18)
• Class C (0)

"Class A, it is," Chabashira-sensei said.

"We will get our revenge," Ike confidently said.

"Now, moving on to the next question."

Motion #2: Choose one of the following option:
• In exchange for all private points received by all students per month being halved, 3 random students will each be given a protection point.
• In exchange for all private points received by all students per month being halved, choose 1 student to give a protection point to.
• The bottom 5 in the next written test will have their private points reduced to halved.

No matter which option you choose, the private points will be halved for six months.

"That's... a difficult question."

The class didn't know which option to choose.

"I'm personally for the second option," Horikita said, "As we saw for the Event Selection Exam, it can be advantage for a specific student to have a Protection Point. However, if we were to pick this option, we would have to vote for a student."

"I think we can eliminate the last option," Hirata said.

"I agree!" Kushida said.

"Yeah."

"I agree."

The class collectively agreed to eliminate the third option, leaving them to discuss between the first and second option.

"The question is, do we want more Protection Points, or do we want to pick who to give the Protection Point to?" Hirata asked.

"I think the more Protection Points, the better."

"Protection is important."

"But isn't it better if a leader like Hirata got the Protection Point?"

"I agree. If the Protection Point falls onto someone that doesn't contribute much, then it would be a waste."

"Oh yeah! Imagine if Ayanokouji gets a Protection Point, we won't be able to expel him!" Ike screamed.

"Right!" Shinohara agreed.

The class continued discussing things.

"I think, moving forward, having a leader of the class have a Protection Point will prove to be useful," Hirata said.

"What if one of us gets expelled?"

"Then we'll try to cancel it using private points, but if we can't, then there's nothing we can do," he said.

"I agree with Hirata," Horikita said, "Let's vote for the second option. But who do we pick?"

"I don't know, both you and Hirata are worthy candidates!" Kushida said.

"I would personally vote for Hirata," Mii-chan said.

"Me too."

"I think Horikita is more competent," Ken argued.

Close to hitting the 10 minute mark for the discussion interval, the class ended up choosing Hirata after Horikita said she was fine with Hirata having the Protection Point, although some people still disagreed.

Results:
• In exchange for all private points received by all students per month being halved, 3 random students will each be given a protection point. (0)
• In exchange for all private points received by all students per month being halved, choose 1 student to give a protection point to. (39)
• The bottom 5 in the next written test will have their private points reduced to halved. (0)

Motion #2: Vote for the student you want to give the Protection Point to.
• Hirata Yousuke (30)
• Horikita Suzune (9)

"Who the hell didn't vote for Hirata!?" Ike said, "We agreed!"

"It's fine, Ike, it's not like we need unanimous consensus," Hirata said.

"Moving on to the next question," Chabashira-sensei said.

Motion #3: For the final written exam of the second semester, choose one of the following:
• Increased difficulty
• Increased penalties
• Decreased rewards

The validated motion will be the one with the most votes amongst all second-years.

"These questions are difficult..." I heard someone mutter.

"I don't want the tests to be harder than they already are!" Ike said.

"Increased... penalties... something worse than expulsion?!"

"Let's all agree to not vote option 3," Horikita said.

"I agree," Hirata agreed, "Choosing decreased rewards will only decrease the class points we gain."

"What do we pick, then?"

"I don't want to be expelled!"

"If we pick increased difficulty, there's a higher chance of being expelled."

"But if we pick increased penalties, more of us might be expelled too."

This, the class only discussed for a couple of minutes.

"I think we should pick increased penalties. As long as we study well, then we won't need to worry about the penalties."

"Hmm. That's a reasonable point."

"What do you think, Hirata?"

"I totally agree with Horikita's point of view. Let's vote."

Results for Motion #3:
• Increased difficulty (5)
• Increased penalties (34)
• Decreased rewards (0)

"Tch. Why are there always people not listening," Ike said again.

"It's not that deep, dude," Ken said.

"Now, question four."

Motion #4: For the upcoming special exam, choose one of the following:
• Increased rewards, increased penalties AND increased difficulty
• Decreased rewards, decreased penalties AND decreased difficulty

"Basically, do we want to take the easy way out or take the risk?"

"I... I don't want to take the risk," Shinohara said.

"Isn't it better to play it safe?" Ike said.

A few other students agreed.

"Come on, guys. Have you seen how far behind we are? We should vote for Option 1 because it has increased rewards. That's obvious," Ken said.

A few other students, specifically the Ayanokouji Group, backed up Ken's claim.

"We have to vote for Option 1," Hirata said with determination.

"Agreed," Horikita followed up.

"But isn't it too risky?"

"We have to take the risk. It's not or never," Hirata said, "The gap between Class D and Class C is getting out of hand. We'll do everything we can to win the next exam."

The class was convinced. At least, most of them were.

Results for Motion #4:
• Increased rewards, increased penalties AND increased difficulty (30)
• Decreased rewards, decreased penalties AND decreased difficulty (9)

"When will this end..."

"Next question," Chabashira-sensei simply said.

Motion #5: For the first special exam of the second semester, choose one of the following:
• All three years participate
• Only first-years and second-years participate
• Only second-years and third-years participate
• Only second-years participate

If any option other than Option 1 is chosen, the other years will have their own independent special exam. The validated motion will be the one with the most votes amongst all second-years.

"A special exam where all years participate? Like the sports festival?"

"I guess so."

"What's the best choice?"

"Should we vote for Option 4? Basically every special exam we did so far was between our year."

The class started discussing and exchanging point of views.

Every option had its benefits. There was by no means an obvious choice.

Option 4 was what we've become used to. Choosing Option 4 can be seen as not stepping out of our comfort zone. Since our class rankings are only based on our year, it would make sense to go for this option. The other years aren't really important for us. Each year can do their exams independently.

Option 2 was also interesting because first-years can generally be seen as weaker than second-years. Depending on whether we have to team up with them or fight them, going for this option wouldn't be unreasonable either. It can also be seen as an opportunity to get to know first-years, but that's a secondary benefit.

Option 3 was similar to Option 2, except the roles are reversed. Third-years are generally stronger than us. Teaming up with them is beneficial in that sense, but, on the other hand, fighting against them can be difficult for most of us.

Option 1 was the safest option, in my opinion. If all years participate, there won't be any bias towards any specific year. The special exam might be based on two teams facing each other, much like the Sports Festival.

In the end, our class decided to go for Option 2. Their argument was also that first-years are generally weaker, but that we could simply team up with the stronger ones. However, personally, I think it won't be as simple as it sounds.

Results for Motion #5:
• All three years participate (5)
• Only first-years and second-years participate (28)
• Only second-years and third-years participate (2)
• Only second-years participate (3)

"Is it over?" Ike cried out.

"Relax, at least this exam doesn't take much work. It'll be an easy 50 class points!" Shinohara said.

"What's the matter, sensei?" Hirata asked.

Chabashira-sensei was looking at her screen in shock.

"N-nothing. It's nothing. Everyone ready for the next question?"

"Yes!" the class collectively nodded.

Motion #6: Get 100 class points in exchange of expelling a student?
• Yes
• No

If the majority votes 'Yes', vote on the classmate to expel. Expulsion will be official after the exam ends. Protection Points do not apply. Expulsion can be cancelled using 20 million private points.

"I came across this question when I was a student. Of course, it was in a slightly different context. All I can say is, make the right choice. This can be seen as an opportunity for Class D," Chabashira-sensei said while coldly looking at me.

"Ha ha ha! It's time to pack you things, Ayanokouji!" Ike cried out.

"Goodbye, traitor!" Shinohara said.

"This is a gift from however makes these exams!"

"100 free class points!"

"Let's vote now!"

"Wait! Let's discuss things first," Horikita said, "Is Ayanokouji really the one we should expel?"

"Let's ask the traitor himself!" Ike said.

"Horikita, it's fine," I said back.

When I sat back now, Kushida whispered to me.

"Psst. Ayanokouji! What are you going to do about this?"

"Hm? Aren't you happy to finally see me expelled?"

"...No!"

"I see. There's nothing I can do. Perhaps, this is the treatment I deserve. Don't intervene, Kushida. Also, I have something to say."

"What is it?"

"I'm glad you and Horikita are getting along now."

"Idiot... why are you talking like it's a farewell! Don't do that!"

"It's fine. I'll be okay."

"What do you think, Hirata?" Horikita asked him.

Show me your resolve, Hirata.

Hirata was silent for a few seconds.

"Let's expel Ayanokouji," he confidently said.

"Are you serious, Hirata?" Horikita said.

"With Ayanokouji here, we will never reach Class A, Horikita!" Hirata raised his voice, "Do you think I want this? No! But this is the best option for the class. If he keeps betraying us, we will get nowhere!"

"That's... but he-"

"Don't. Horikita," I said.

"What are you doing, Ayanokouji?" Horikita said.

"Why are you defending him, Horikita?"

"Don't tell me you're a traitor too!"

"She's not, guys. Stop overreacting," Hirata said, "I'm sorry, Ayanokouji. My mind is made up. We will expel you. This is a sacrifice I'm choosing to make."

"What a shame," I calmly said.

"Still acting cool, huh?" Ike mockingly said.

"Sensei, let's vote," Hirata said.

"But..." I heard Horikita mutter.

"Are you going to be okay, Ayanokouji?" Kushida quietly said.

"Who knows."

The class voted.

Results for Motion #6:
• Yes (33)
• No (6)

"Now, it's time to vote for the student you want to exp-" Chabashira-sensei was interrupted before she could even finish her sentence.

Someone knocked on the door.

"Hm? Come in," Chabashira-sensei said.

Two figures walked into the classroom.

"Mashima-sensei? Sakayanagi-san?"

The class was confused.

"What brings you here, Mashima?"

"Ayanokouji Kiyotaka has transferred to Class A. From now on, he is officially a Class A student."

"WHAT?"

The classroom erupted.

"What's the meaning of this?" Chabashira-sensei asked.

"I'm afraid I can't explain this in front of the class," Mashima-sensei walked up to Chabashira-sensei and whispered something in her ear.

"W-what... so that's what happened?"

"Yes, that is what happened. Ayanokouji, please come with us."

"Okay," I simply said.

"Fufufu," Arisu laughed, "Welcome to Class A, Kiyotaka."

"What the fuck did you do?!" Ike stood up.

"What the hell?" Shinohara said.

"Are you kidding me..." Horikita was shocked.

I walked up to the front of the classroom.

I put my hands in my pockets, where the recorder was.

Up until a few hours ago, I thought this would the perfect opportunity to expose Kushida. I even had the recorder in my pocket, ready to be taken out at all times.

It was fair to say Kushida changed for the better. The recording I had in my pocket wasn't an accurate description of the Kushida now.

Initially, I thought of this as a potential experiment. An experiment to see how the Class D students would react.

However, I've now changed my mind.

I've only recently come to a major realization.

Indeed, I've seen for myself that change is possible. Kushida has changed, Horikita has changed, Hirata has changed.

So why shouldn't I?

I don't want to see people as experiment subjects anymore. People aren't experiment subjects. Such mentality is identical to that man's mentality and I don't want to associate myself with him. Unfortunately, that man's mentality has been drilled into us White Room subjects since the beginning of our curriculum. As a subject, that mentality was the only mentality one could have if they desired to survive in the White Room.

But I'm no longer a subject. I'm finally able to experience the freedom I have long desired to experience. It's unfortunately taken me a whole year to truly realize what this means.

"Let the student known as Ayanokouji Kiyotaka be carved into the minds of students, and they will not forget your existence."

I'm not a demon, nor am I a masterpiece. I don't want to be called that. I don't want to be remembered as that.

Even if I'm called the perfect human, I'm still human.

And if there's one thing that characteristic of humans, it's adaptability.

Now, it's my turn to change for the better.

I looked at Arisu and Mashima-sensei and nodded.

I left the Class 2-D classroom for the last time, as the class was left utterly confused and in complete chaos.

Unfortunately for them, the timing of Arisu's intervention made it so that they had to vote for someone else to expel. I suppose I'll see how they handled things when the results will be published.

"You really took your time, Arisu. Any longer, and I would've been gone," I whispered to her as Mashima-sensei was ahead of us. We were walking towards the Class 2-A classroom.

"Don't worry, I sent you 20 million points just in case."

"You did?"

We had to mute our phones and we weren't allowed to use them, so I didn't even notice.

"Yes. I will never let you get expelled on my watch, Kiyotaka."

"I see. I'll return the 20 million points to you then."

"Thank you, Kiyotaka, but you could've kept them."

"I have no need for so many points."

"I see. By the way, what made you change your plans?"

"I don't know myself. Exposing Kushida wouldn't have been good for my image as student council president. Perhaps I want to start changing for the better."

"Fufufu, change for the better you say? It's about time you realized that, Kiyotaka."

"I wonder, have I gotten weak?" I quietly muttered.

"Being human isn't a weakness, Kiyotaka."

I wonder, what was I currently feeling?

I'm not sure.

Perhaps, it was happiness.

Perhaps, it was pride.

Perhaps, it was excitement.

Nonetheless, I made my first step to becoming human.

Author's Notes

Yes, I know some might find this disappointing since they wanted Kushida to be exposed or whatever. But I thought it was finally time for some character development for Kiyotaka as he officially transfers to Class A.

What happened that made Kiyotaka suddenly change class? Find out in the next part. I won't say anything right now.

I know the timing of Mashima-sensei and Arisu's intervention was too convenient, but oh well. Plot convenience.

The next part will be the last part of Chapter 10!

See you!

Chapter 10.4 - To Live Life

As I entered Class A's classroom, all eyes were on me.

"As voted by the majority, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka is now officially a Class A student. Do your best to make the student council president feel welcome," Mashima-sensei said.

The whole class was looking at me. Were they expecting an introduction?

"Hello everyone. I'm Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. I hope we can get along."

"From now on, Kiyotaka and I will lead the class," Arisu said, "I assume you have no objections regarding the matter."

I looked around the classroom, but one thing caught my attention. Where was Katsuragi? Did they expel him?

There were two empty seats. I assumed one seat belonged Arisu, and the other belonged to Katsuragi, did he get expelled, or did he transfer classes?

"Regarding the Majority Vote Special Exam, please wait in the classroom until all classes finish the exam. Then, the results will be projected on the screen," Mashima-sensei said.

"Sensei, I would like to rearrange some seats," Arisu said.

I ended up in the back of the class, next to the window, the same seat as always. To my right was Arisu, she was my new seatmate. In front of me was Hashimoto, and next to him was Kamuro. These were the new seats arrangements that Arisu paid for.

I sat down at my new seat and the class patiently waited for the results announcement.

"Welcome, King. It's about time you joined us."

"Thanks Hashimoto."

"Kiyotaka, it seems like my prediction was correct fufufu."

One may ask, what happened? Did Arisu pay 20 million points to bring me to Class A?

No. Motion #6 wasn't the last question. After that question, there was another one, the final motion.

Motion #7: Transfer in a student from another class for a cost of 100 class points?
• Yes
• No

A class cannot transfer in a student who recently transferred or who was previously in the class.

Arisu made her class vote for 'Yes'.

She then made the class vote for me.

Since Motion #7 was the last question, the exam ended straight after, confirming my transfer.

Even if Arisu was a little bit late and Class D had finished voting for me, it wouldn't have mattered because all transfers and expulsions become official only after the exam ends. Class D still had one question left, so I would still have time.

"It seems like it all went to plan," I said.

"I still don't understand you creeps," Kamuro muttered.

"Don't say that, Masumi. Now that Kiyotaka is in our class, look forward to working for him. You too, Hashimoto."

"Yes, Princess."

"Ugh. Okay."

"What's with that tone, Masumi? Not looking forward to working for none other than the student council president?"

"You're really annoying sometimes, you know."

The four of us continued to discuss things.

"Arisu, where did Katsuragi go?" I asked her.

"Fufufu... you'll see when the results will be shown."

A few minutes went by before Mashima-sensei spoke up.

"All four classes have finished the Majority Vote Special Exam. Therefore, I will now show the results of each class. The results only show the change in class points and the students that were expelled or transferred. With that being said, here are the results of this special exam."

Class 2-A:
Change in class points: -50 cp
Student expelled: N/A
Student transferred in: Ayanokouji Kiyotaka

Class 2-B:
Change in class points: 50 cp
Student expelled: N/A
Student transferred in: N/A

Class 2-C:
Change in class points: 50 cp
Student expelled: Oda Takumi
Student transferred in: Katsuragi Kouhei

Class 2-D:
Change in class points: 150 cp
Student expelled: Ike Kanji
Student transferred in: N/A

So Katsuragi transferred to Class C, huh?

"Arisu, did you make a deal with Ryuuen?"

"I didn't. Katsuragi himself made a deal with Ryuuen. With what conditions? That I don't know. According to my sources, he wanted to switch to Ryuuen's class even before this exam. I suppose Ryuuen transferred him in when this opportunity was presented to him."

"I see. That makes sense."

"It seems your class decided to expel the lowest of the lows, fufufu."

Indeed, Ike had the lowest Overall Ability in the entire year along with Airi. I wonder what made the majority decide to expel him rather than Airi.

"Here are the updated class rankings," Mashima-sensei said as he projected the new rankings.

Class A 1513 cp (-50 cp)
Class B 1281 cp (50cp)
Class C 1152 cp (50 cp)
Class D 306 cp (150cp)

"Although Class A came out as the only class to lose class points, you still have a solid lead over Class B and transferred in an incredibly capable student. I look forward to seeing your future results," he continued, "That is all. Class dismissed."

"Shall we grab a drink to celebrate your transfer, Kiyotaka?" Arisu asked.

"I don't mind," I said.

"I'm all for it, such a transfer deserves a celebration," Hashimoto commented.

"Let's go to the nearby café then, shall we?"

Arisu, Hashimoto, Kamuro and I walked out of the classroom to head to the café.

"Wait!"

We heard a voice so we all turned around. I saw Horikita followed by Kushida.

"What is it, Horikita?"

"Can we talk to you for a minute?" she said.

I looked at Arisu, Hashimoto and Kamuro and the three of them nodded.

"I'll meet you guys at the café," I told them as they started heading there.

"So? What did you want to say to me?" I turned back to Horikita and Kushida.

"I suppose you've seen the results."

"Yes, I have. What made you guys decide to expel Ike?"

"Objectively speaking, he had to lowest Overall Ability, and compared to Airi, his behavior in class is sometimes bothersome and his perverted mindset is what made almost all the girls decide to expel him. So in the end, the majority decided to expel him."

"I see."

"We also wanted to thank you, Ayanokouji!" Kushida said.

"Thank me?"

"Yes. We want to thank you Ayanokouji. Without you, I don't think Kushida and I could ever get along like we currently are."

"We're grateful for your help, Ayanokouji! It's a shame you couldn't stay with us for longer..."

"I think Class D is more than capable of rising the ranks without my help now. You guys are more capable than ever."

"From now on, we're enemies in every special exams, Ayanokouji!" Kushida teasingly said.

"Yes, we will do our best in every exam to beat the other classes, including Class A."

"I see. Well, good luck then."

"Thanks, Ayanokouji. Good luck to you in your new class too."

"This doesn't prevent us from being friends though, right?" Kushida worryingly asked.

"No, I don't think it will, Kushida."

"Great! Anyways, gotta go. We have talk to the class with Hirata."

"Right, we had decided to give a speech to the class regarding the results of the special exam."

"I see. See you guys around then."

"Bye bye, Ayanokouji!"

"Take care, Ayanokouji."

With that, I head over to the café where the other three were waiting for me.

Who knew Horikita and Kushida could undergo such developments?

Most importantly, who knew I could undergo such developments?

I suppose seeing the people around me change has really opened up a new path for me.

I arrived at the café and saw Arisu, Hashimoto and Kamuro occupying a table of four. The seat next to Arisu was vacant.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," I said as I sat down after ordering a cup of coffee.

"It's fine, Kiyotaka, we have time to spare today."

"Princess, I wanted to ask you two this for a long time now, but are you two perhaps dating? I mean, you have matching necklaces and all. You two are like a perfect match!" Hashimoto asked.

"The King and the Queen, how poetic," Kamuro sarcastically said.

"I suppose now is the time to reveal it, huh? Yes, Kiyotaka and I are dating."

"Is it true, King?"

Sigh.

I didn't even have a say in this revelation. The people around us who were eavesdropping on our conversation all know now.

"Cat's out of the bag, I guess. Yes, we are dating."

"Oh ho! This is some revelation, King! Good for you!" Hashimoto gave me a thumbs up.

"Two creeps dating each other, truly a match made in heaven," Kamuro sarcastically said.

"Fufufu... it is indeed a match made in heaven, if I do say so myself."

The four of us continued chatting for an hour or two before heading home and parting ways at the dorm.

When I arrived at my room, I sat on my chair and scrolled through the school's online forum on the computer as usual.

Today was an eventful day, and the school forum was filled with posts. Among them were announcements of class transfers and expulsions.

The post announcing my transfer to Class A received a lot of comments and upvotes.

Announcement:
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka has transferred from Class 2-D to Class 2-A.

[Senpai is so amazing!]

[Good for him]

[He finally left those trash defects kukuku]

[Wow!]

[My my, these kouhais impress me more and more]

[As expected from the president!]

[ALL HAIL PRESIDENT AYANOKOUJI]

[Best of luck, President!]

It seems like most of the comments were quite positive. I've gotten a lot of support from the student body ever since Asahina was appointed secretary, especially from the upperclassmen. There has even been multiple posts praising the student council for its work.

I decided to scroll a little bit, as I already knew the transfers and expulsions. Official announcements made by the school were always on the top of the page, I had to scroll to see posts from students.

That's when I saw a somewhat expected post.

User: Anonymous User
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka and Sakayanagi Arisu are dating! #rumor #couple #gossip

There goes my peaceful life. Well, it's not like I had one anyway. The comments were also interesting, to say the least.

[OMG!]

[No way!]

[Kyaaaa!!!]

[Noooo Senpai :(]

[Tell me it's not true...]

[All hail the king and the queen]

[What?]

[I mean, wasn't it obvious? They had matching necklaces and all]

[A new couple being born is always exciting gossip!]

[Seems like the president is taken now...]

[THAT'S MY PRESIDENT]

Unfortunately, the fact that Arisu and I are dating became the talk of the school.

Fortunately, I didn't mind it at all.

Hm?

On my way to school, I almost stepped on an amulet. Whoever dropped their amulet must've been unlucky or just extremely clumsy. The amulet was a little dirty as it was raining.

I took the amulet and put it in my bag.

I'll give it to the intendant when I come back to the dorms after class, or so I thought.

I head to school like I've always done, but this time, I entered the Class A classroom.

The instant my foot stepped in the room, all eyes were on me, and I heard whispers around the room, especially from girls.

"Morning, Kiyotaka," Arisu walked up to me and said.

I looked at her face, she had the biggest smug smile I had ever seen from her.

"Morning, Arisu," I said as I pat her head, much to the surprise of everyone, Arisu included.

The girls around the room blushed, while I could see some boys taking notes. Why were they taking notes? Class hadn't even started yet.

As for Arisu, her cheeks were red as a tomato.

"I-idiot," I heard her quietly muttered.

We both sat down at our seats. Hashimoto and Kamuro greeted me as well, not long before Mashima-sensei entered the classroom to start homeroom.

My first day in Class A had hence begun.

That afternoon after class had ended, I was in the student council room when I heard a knock on the door.

"Hello, President! I'm ready to get to work!"

Asahina entered the room with her cheerful expression as always as she saluted me.

"Hello Asahina."

"Pff... no reaction as always, huh? Say, Ayanokouji, have you seen an amulet per chance? I think I lost mine..."

"An amulet you say?"

"Yeah... an orange amulet."

"Is it this?" I said as I took out the amulet I found on the floor this morning on my way to school.

"Yes! Thank you so much, Ayanokouji!!" she cried out as she suddenly came over and hugged me.

"S-sorry," she excused herself, "I'm just so happy to get my amulet back. This amulet is very important to me."

"I see."

"I hope Sakayanagi-san won't get mad at me," I heard her mutter. Why would she get mad at her?

"Why is that amulet important to you?"

"I got it from my mom, and it's like some kind of good luck charm to me. I would've lost my mind if I had lost."

"How did you lose it? I found it on the ground on my way to school this morning."

"Hmm... Now that I think about it, I slipped this morning since the floor was wet because of the rain. I guess I'm really unlucky."

"Your good luck charm didn't work then."

"Hey!"

"Sorry. Shouldn't you get to work?"

"Wait, I have something to ask you, Ayanokouji."

"What is it?"

"Are the rumors true? Are you really dating Sakayanagi-san?"

"Oh that? Yes, I am dating her."

"I see."

Why did I sense some sort of disappointment in her voice?

"Well... I'm happy for you, Ayanokouji! I'll get to work now, thanks for answering my question!"

"No problem, I guess."

About half an hour went by, we worked on some club reports and reports about the first special exams of the year.

"Say, Ayanokouji."

"What is it, Asahina?"

"Do you believe in fate?"

"That's odd, where did that question come from?"

"I was just curious, I guess. I just wanted to know your thoughts."

Fate, huh?

A wise man once said, what people commonly call fate is mostly their own stupidity.

I've come to agree with that statement.

I used to believe in fate, when I was in the White Room, or more specifically, when that man was still around.

Back then, all that man wanted was for me to rule over Japan. That path was already set in stone for me. The whole purpose of the White Room was to create someone capable of ruling over Japan and bring the country back to the top of the world. I had already accepted it at that time. I was convinced that whatever I do, I wouldn't be able to escape that man and the path he set for me.

That man is now in prison, and it took me an entire year at this school to fully digest the idea that I'm free. After my three years here, I will be free to do what I want, as long as that man remains in prison.

Now, I'm convinced that even if that man was still roaming around, even if he was trying his best to get me out of this school, I could win against him and free myself from him.

My life is in my own hands.

Believing in fate is for people who are afraid to take responsibility for their own actions.

"No, I don't believe in fate."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, what about you?"

"I do. That's why I keep my amulet around. I'm superstitious, I suppose. That's why I thought that maybe you were..." Asahina became more and more quiet.

"Maybe I?"

"N-nothing. It's nothing," she smiled at me.

"I think that as long as you have freedom, a concept such as fate doesn't exist."

"You think so?"

"Yes. Even if fate did exist, it would just make life meaningless, don't you think?"

"That's a bit harsh, Ayanokouji. I've believed in fate since my childhood..."

"Sorry, but what I mean is if you believe in fate, then your actions carry little to no value. Doesn't that make your life less meaningful if you think that it's already predetermined?"

"Maybe..."

Indeed, I've finally come to realize it.

When I was in the White Room, I was an experiment subject whose path was determined before I even came to this world. My everyday actions, they held no value, because my path was already laid out in front of me. My existence held little value. I guess, I simply existed back then.

Now, at this school, I can finally experience what it's like to live.

"Kiyotaka-kun."

"What is it, Matsuo?"

"I have a personal request, if I may. I would like you to listen to it."

"A personal request?"

"Yes."

"That's quite unusual coming from you, Matsuo, but I suppose I'll listen to your request."

"Thank you, Kiyotaka-kun. Here's my request, please live your high school life to the fullest."

"What does that mean?"

"I hope one day, you'll understand ."

I finally understand now, Matsuo.

I've finally come to understand your request, and I will do as you say.

I want to live my high school life to the fullest.

I want to experience feelings.

I want know what it feels like to be happy over the smallest things, to be excited by the future, to be sad, to be in love with someone.

I want to be able to form genuine relationships with others.

I want to live life to the fullest.

Yes.

This is what it means to live.

I no longer want to view others as tools, but as humans.

I no longer want to be remembered as a demon, a masterpiece, but as a human being.

I no longer want to be the odd one out.

Author's Notes

Hey!

This marks the end of the final chapter of this fan fiction (at least the first book of it)!

There will be an epilogue after this, as well as an afterword.

Thank you so much for reading this fan fiction and supporting it!

Epilogue - Warmth

"Arisu, isn't this a little over the top?"

"No."

I was walking with Arisu, and she was clinging onto my arm.

"Why didn't you bring your cane?"

"Why do I need my cane when I have you?"

Sigh.

"Say, Kiyotaka, have you finally decided to change?"

"What makes you think that?"

"Your eyes are slightly brighter than usual."

"Is that so?"

"But your voice is as monotonous as always, and you're still horrible at conversations, fufufu."

"I suppose I'll still need to work on it a little bit then."

"So, where are we heading?"

"We have class today, Arisu."

"Fufufu... you're boring. I wouldn't mind not going to class if it means I can spend more time alone with you."

"Why don't we go on a date this afternoon, then?"

"I'd be glad to do so."

"Then, let's first head to class."

As we walked to school, a lot of people looked at us, some even took pictures, much to my surprise.

Arisu didn't seem to mind though, and, to be honest, I didn't either.

"Ready to go, Kiyotaka?"

Class had ended and Arisu and I were about to go on our date.

"Sure, where are we going?"

"Why don't we head to the mall first?"

"Are you sure you don't need your cane?"

"How many times do I need to say this, Kiyotaka? No, I don't need my cane."

A few of my new classmates laughed as she grabbed onto my arm.

We left the classroom and head to the mall. Not many students were heading there since it was a weekday.

"What should we do?" I asked as we arrived at the mall.

"How about we go clothes shopping? I think you need to some better-looking clothes, Kiyotaka."

"Is that an insult to my clothing style?"

"Who knows, fufufu."

We shopped around the ground floor where most clothing stores were.

"Kiyotaka, you should try out this t-shirt, I think it suits you."

I looked at the t-shirt she had suggested.

Are you kidding me?

It was a white t-shirt on which was written "I have the perfect girlfriend".

"Are you serious?" I asked her.

"Dead serious."

I suppose I can at least try it out.

"I'll at least try it out, but I'm not buying it," I said.

"Doesn't matter if you're buying it or not, I'm buying it," she replied.

Sigh.

I grabbed a S size t-shirt and head into one of the changing rooms.

When I got out after I finished changing, I saw Arisu holding her phone in her hands as I heard her camera shutter.

"Fufufu... you look great, Kiyotaka."

"Thanks, I guess. This size fits me."

"Then I'll buy it for you then."

"You shouldn't spend money on this, Arisu."

"Come on, Kiyotaka, of course I should. I even found the matching t-shirt," she said as she showed me a t-shirt. A white t-shirt on which was written "I have the perfect boyfriend".

Sigh.

I've come to realize it's futile to argue against Arisu when it comes to these things.

"Do what you want. You're the one buying it anyway."

"Great. let's go to the cashier then," she said as she grabbed the t-shirt.

The two shirts ended up costing 3000 points, which was a decent price.

"Do you still want to continue shopping, Kiyotaka?"

"Not really, let's head back."

"I'm tired, Kiyotaka. Let's sit for a bit."

We were on our way back from the mall. Arisu was apparently tired from walking around all afternoon so we sat down on a nearby bench.

She has also been clinging onto my arm all afternoon.

The bench was facing the outside of the campus so we could see the sun set on the horizon and the colorful sky.

"Today was fun, don't you think?" she asked.

"I guess it was. I had fun."

Arisu smiled.

"I'm glad you had fun, Kiyotaka."

A comforting silence followed as Arisu leaned her head on my shoulder.

The past few days have truly been a turning point in my life.

No, my time at ANHS has been a true blessing to my life. I've come to understand, experience, learn, and realize so many things, thanks to a lot of people to whom I am grateful.

The person that I am most grateful for was currently clinging onto my left arm and leaning her head on my shoulder. My girlfriend, Arisu Sakayanagi.

Arisu showed me the light I had been missing my entire life. She helped me step out of my darkness.

I remember when I met her at the beginning of last year, and how she said she wanted to be the light to my darkness. Honestly, I didn't know what she meant at the time she said that.

It's already been more than a year since she said that, but we've only started dating at the end of the first year.

It was only recently when we started spending much more time together.

But, I think, if things go on the way I think they will, if things go on the way I want them to go on, then we will stay together for a long time.

I looked at Arisu.

"Arisu."

"Hm?" she said as she raised her head and looked at me.

We were close, I could clearly see her face, and her captivating violet eyes.

"Close your eyes."

"H-huh? Why?" she was flustered by our proximity.

"I want to give you something."

"O-oh, okay," she said as she closed her eyes.

I grabbed her chin with my right hand, and brought her face closer to mine.

Until our lips touched.

She opened her eyes in surprise.

A second after, I let go of her chin, and our lips separated.

"I-I-I didn't expect you to... do that," she said as I noticed how red her face was.

"Sorry."

"You... don't have to apologize. I was just surprised because it was my first kiss, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it. Just... warn me next time."

"I see. Then next time I wi-"

Before I could finish my sentence, I felt her lips touch mine. This time, Arisu made the move, and I reciprocated her kiss.

With every passing second, the kiss got more and more intense, and more and more passionate.

I felt warmer and warmer.

"People learn of warmth when they touch each other, and that's a very precious thing. The warmth of another human is by no means a bad thing."

I remember her saying that, and I understand now.

I see.

Warmth is indeed a very precious thing.

To be continued...

Afterword

Hello everyone, Author-san here.

This marks the end of my fan fiction The Odd One Out.

I want to thank each and everyone of you for reading it. I never expected it to do so well. I certainly didn't expect this fan fiction to reach more than 100k reads.

Big thanks to everyone who voted and commented on my fan fiction.

I enjoyed writing this fan fiction, especially the Arisu and Kiyotaka short stories. I also hope you guys enjoyed the Epilogue.

Sadly, I started university so I don't have much time at all. Therefore, this might be my only fan fiction for quite some time.

I would like to write a second book that will be a sequel to this, but that might have to wait.

For the time being, feel free to suggest any ideas for the second book here.

Anyways, that's all from me. Thanks again to everyone for supporting my first fan fiction.

Take care of yourselves and hopefully see you soon!

Peace out ️
- Author-san