Y1V7.5:Partners.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
At first glance he's nothing more than a gloomy loner who spends most of his time alone or tagging alone with Horikita-san but that's only what he's like on the surface,beyond that he's a cold and calculating person who uses people like tools to achieve his goals,he hides his abilities from everyone and avoids attention as much as possible and he's ridiculously good in a fight.
I know all that because he's used me thoroughly ever since what happened on the cruise ship,I was so attached to him I couldn't even see it yet today somethings feels different,it's like I woke up from a dream to see reality and all I felt was anger,anger and disappointment.
Angry at him for lying to me all this time and disappointed in myself for being so stupid.
Why was I realising all this now? What changed? Yesterday, I was bullied mercilessly by Ryuen and his lackeys on that rooftop,Kiyotaka saved me just like he promised, but he was too late,something changed in me after that.
A lot of time has passed since and today was time for our double date,it couldn't have come at a worse time as I was really hoping not to see Kiyotaka for a while after what happened but I somehow managed to get through it.
Now I was hiding in the bushes like a stalker watching Satou-san confess her feelings to him,I was honestly worried about her I didn't want him to use her like he used me which is why I'm in this unfortunate situation right now.
He ended up turning her down and answering a cryptic phone call right after that. Well, now is my chance to make it out of here undetected.
"You're going to get a cold if you stay in there too long."
He saw me. Of course, he had to see me.
I reluctantly left my hiding spot to confront him.
"Why did you turn her down?"
"It's simple. I don't have feelings for her."
"Was that true? You never had romantic feelings for anyone ever?"
"Yes, I've never felt that way about anyone,but more importantly, why were you hiding there?"
"I suppose lying to you would be useless. I was worried you would use Satou-san or hurt her, so I followed you. "
"I see."
A long, awkward silence filled the air after that I was about to break the silence, but then.
"How are you feeling? I got this for you because I thought you might catch a cold, but it seems I was wrong."
He took a plastic bag out and gave it to me upon looking inside. I found different types of cold medicine.
"I'm feeling fine, thanks,"
I replied coldly, but he honestly deserved it.
"Did you feel it?"
"Huh?"
"You changed on after that day, didn't you?"
"How did you -"
I stopped myself midway through because I realised this was a stupid question ofcouse he knew.
"Do you understand what changed?"
"No... not fully"
"You're not a parasite anymore,you should be able to survive on your own from now on. Now that I've dealt with Ryuen and my motivation to reach class A is gone, I wouldn't need your help anymore either."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means you're free. Go enjoy the rest of your high school life. "
He started to walk away, but for some reason, I wasn't satisfied.
"Wait!"
He stopped without looking back and waited for me to speak.
"What about you?"
"I have one more thing to take care of,I owe the student council president a favour,after that, I'll go back to laying low."
"I want to help."
Help? What am I saying? I was so angry at him but now I'm offering to help him...
"Help? I told you you're free, why would you want to help?"
"Because I want to understand you. I feel like we're not as different as it would seem. I mean, I used Hirata the same way you used me, "
I started to look down in guilt, but it was true I toom advantage of Hiratas good nature and used him to protect myself.
"I see."
Another awkward silence.
"But this time, I want it to be different."
"Different?"
He glanced back at me as he asked that.
"Yes. I want us to work as partners. I don't want to be used like last time."
"Partners, huh?"
He stopped speaking for a moment,he seemed to be thinking it over.
"Sure if that's what you want."
Huh? That's it? That felt really anticlimactic, but at least he accepted?
"That phone call you made,you arranged to meet someone that's about your favour, right?"
"Yes, and I'm going to be late if I don't hurry up."
"Take me with you."
"Let's go then,"
And so we went to meet up with his contact to discuss the favour he owed the Student Council. I was surprised he let me tag along so easily, but I was also happy about the possibility of working together as partners.
Y1V11.5:Experience.
Spring vacation was just about to end, and we were going to start our second year,I was honestly looking forward to it all, but before that, there was one thing I wanted to do.
I was currently waiting in my room for the person I invited to arrive,I was thinking about the probability she would accept and it wasn't looking good but I was going to ask regardless this is something I felt like I had to do.
And she was here.
I got up to open my door and saw a pretty frustrated looking Kei shove her way into my room
"Why are you calling me in here all of a sudden? I was almost spotted, you know!"
"Sorry, I just needed to speak with you,"
She sat down on my bed without even asking, and looked like she was waiting for me to speak
"I want you to date me."
Her mouth fell open in shock as she was staring at me, trying to process what she had just heard.
"I want to have a fake relationship with you,like the one you had with Yousuke even if it isn't public.
She had calmed down a little and started to understand me...or so I thought.
"I don't get it what? Is this some kind of joke, Kiyotaka?"
"No, this isn't a joke I want to experience what a relationship feels like before my time at this school ends and so far I haven't felt any romantic attraction to anyone I've met so a fake relationship would be an effective solution."
"I suppose that makes sense... maybe."
"So you accept?"
"Well, I didn't say that,I'm thinking."
I didn't know what to do now, so I went into the kitchen to make her a drink,ever since we became partners Kei had visited my room on multiple occasions so I already knew what she liked to drink.
I brought it to her, but she was so lost in thought she didn't even notice me. Her face was so red that you'd think she was about to explode.
"Kei?"
She jumped up in shock and realised that I was right there
"T-thank you,"
She took the cup out of my hand and started drinking while avoiding my eyes
"So... I thought about it, and"
She paused for a moment and took another sip.
"Well, your request is ridiculous, like who in their right mind would accept something like this honestly Kiyotaka are you stupid?"
It seems I underestimated how outlandish this request was.
"But I'll do it for the first 2 semesters of our second year."
"What?"
"I said I'll do it. Shouldn't you be happy now?"
She just pointed out how ridiculous this situation was and then proceeded to accept...
"Why? And why 2 semesters?"
"Becauase that's how long my "relationship" with Yousuke-kun lasted"
"I see."
"You realise if you had asked any other girl, she'd think you're a creep, right? You're lucky I understand you a little."
"I know. That's why I asked you."
Her face was even more red now as she got up from where she was sitting
"Well, I'll be going now. See you."
She rushed out of the room and slammed the door behind her... she didn't even finish her drink that I worked so hard to make.
All in all, it seemed I was successful,I wonder what Kei and I will experience as a "couple." How would our relationship change? Would we help each other grow or hold each other back? Will we be happy together?
I tried to answer those questions in my head as I lay in bed,regardless of what the future holds for me, I was looking forward to my second year at ANHS.
Volume 1:Part 1
Advanced Nurturing High School.
A government funded project that is supposed to produce the elite students who will lead our country in the future,students who enrol here will have access to a plethora of facilities for varying from necessities to entertainment,basically everything a high school would ever need and on top of that you'd receive a monthly allowance based completely on your merits and value as a class.
However, a major negative that comes into play when applying to ANHS is the complete lack of contact with the outside world, if you choose to enrol here you wouldn't see your family,friends or any loved ones until graduation day, yet that one negative is the only reason I decided to study here.
Zero contact with the outside world meant that if I studied here, that man wouldn't be able to reach me,or so I thought before he appeared before me last year and asked me to withdraw he even threatened me and announced the fact that he'll be sending someone after me during my second year.
Which brings us to where I am now,the entrance ceremony.
I've decided to attend alongside Horikita to scout out the first year students and see if I can learn anything.
Of course, it wouldn't be that easy if that man personally sent someone after me they'd never get caught so quickly,I wouldn't even be surprised if the person after me was a white room student.
"What do you think of the new first years?"
I asked Horikita to see if she could notice what I did.
"They're mostly plain, but some of them stand out from the rest,like that guy,"
She was looking at a tall,well-built student with a scary aura around him, the same person I've noticed as well. Horikita has grown a lot since we started school,her perception skills were undoubtedly some of the best in our year she could easily stand up to Ryuen at her current level, unlike last year.
"I've noticed him too."
"What else did you notice?"
"Who knows?"
Truth is, I've kept note of almost 20 first years,at first glance they stood out the most but that's not good enough I needed to thin them out more and find a more specific answer.
"This was a waste of time. You're completely uncooperative as usual when you invited me here. I thought you were willing to help."
"Maybe I just wanted to hang out with you rather than go alone?"
"Your jokes will never be funny."
Harsh.
We left the ceremony before it concluded and started walking to the dorms together,I decided to check my phone and see if I've missed anything and I had a message from my now "girlfriend" Kei she hadn't contacted me since that day and the first time she does I didn't see it in time I already knew I'd get an earful from her when I reply so I decided to leave it be until I reached my room.
As we were walking, I started to think about the start of our second year. Even though we were back to being class D, our points were the highest they've been so far,our win against Class A in the year end exam not only granted us a massive boost in points but a huge morale boost,and even though Sakayanagi lost our bet I insisted that she didn't drop out since it would be very troublesome if my one ally in this situation was gone she finally agreed but only at the promise of a rematch during our final year.
The current class distribution looked like this:
Class A:1001
Class B:550
Class C:508
Class D:477
Ironically, every class kept the same spot as the one we started our first year with, even though the difference in class points was much different than it was back then.
I noticed the dorms finally coming up, so I bid my farewells to Horikita and made my way to my room.
And now, for the other problem,Kei.
Volume 1:Part2
She sent that roughly two hours ago when I was at the entrance ceremony.
My reply was instantly read, and yet I got no response,I thought she had ignored me, but roughly 5 minutes later, I heard a loud knock on my door.
I got up to let her in, and surprisingly enough, Kei wasn't all that angry.
I let her in and headed to the kitchen to make her a drink. Hopefully, she'd actually drink it this time.
"So what did you want to talk to me about?"
She hadn't said anything so far, so I decided to start the conversation
"Do I need a reason to hang out with my boyfriend?"
As soon as she said her face changed and she was moving her arms as if she was about to throw up to prove to me that she was being sarcastic.
"You shouldn't mock the person making you a drink."
"Is that a threat?"
She looked at me intense anger, but I avoided her gaze.
"Maybe"
"Hmph"
She just huffed and started pouting. Was that a normal experience couples went through?
"Kiyotaka, how long is it gonna take you to make 1 drink?"
So she barged into my room, insulted me, and now criticised my speed at making beverages.
Thankfully, I managed to finish it before she yelled at me again.
"So what did you actually want to talk about?"
I said as I handed Kei her drink and sat next to her on the bed.
"How do you feel about our second year? Do you think we can make it to class A this year? A lot of girls were talking about it, but I'm not so sure."
"Im with you,we've been moving at a good pace, but there's no guarantee we'll actually make it to class A this year,"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, we've been on a winstreak recently. Our classmates might get too carried away and get lazy."
"That's true."
A moment of silence followed as I noticed she didn't even start drinking.
"Is that all you wanted to talk about?"
"Well, no, I just wanted to hang out with you before we start school tomorrow."
"I see."
Kei was visibly upset at my response.
What would a boyfriend do in this situation? Should I talk about my day? Or maybe ask her about hers? Or should I keep silent for now?
I decided to ask her about whatever gossip she's been hearing from her friends. Not only was it useful to know, but she seemed pleased whenever she'd talk about that kind of stuff.
Kei might seem unreasonable and needy at first glance, yet surprisingly, something as trivial as talking about gossip made her really happy.
We ended up talking about trivial matters, but it was more like me listening to her talk about trivial matters for a few hours until she had to leave due to the curfew set by the school.
"I'll see you in school today. For some reason, I'm really looking forward to our second year."
She gave a wide smile as she was about to leave,it seemed her mood really improved from how it was at the start of the day so I guess our first "home date" was successful,and now the real problems would start up tomorrow.
I lay in bed for a few hours analysing what I saw at the entrance ceremony to learn as much as I could about these new first years before eventually dozing off.
Volume 1:Part 3
And so it begins. Today was officially the first day of our second year at ANHS I was walking towards the school surrounding by familiar faces most of which I haven't seen for a while now but thankfully nobody came up to speak to me.
When I made it to class, it seemed I was one of the first students to arrive. However, one person in the room immediately shifted their gaze towards me. I set down my bag and tried to sit at my usual spot, but she was already right in my face.
It was Hasebe Haruka, a member of the Ayanokoji group, and someone I should normally consider a "friend"
"What's going on with you, Kiyopon? You didn't hang out with us once over spring break, and now you completely ignore me when we finally meet after so long?"
"Sorry, I've been kind of distracted during break. I had a lot on my mind,"
"Well, you could've at least responded to our texts Airi, and the guys really missed you, you know?"
Despite her aggressive attitude, it didn't seem like she was angry at me but just concerned.
"You're right. I can try to meet you guys this week?"
"You'd better."
She seemed satisfied with my answer and walked over to her seat, and just then, Chabashira entered the room she was one person I certainly didn't miss but I suppose since she was helping me against my father for now I had to grin and bear it.
She waited for about 5 minutes for everyone to arrive during that time Kei and Yousuke arrived, giving me a slight glance and huge grin, respectively and then there was Horikita who walked up to her seat and sat down next to me without even acknowledging my existence.
Chabashira gave us the usual talk for students starting their second year of High school before introducing us to the OAA,an app proposed by the student council president Nagumo that let's you not only track everyone's name but also their recorded capabilities in Academics,sports and even social skills this was good news for me since it significantly reduced the work I'd have to do to track down the agent sent by that man I kept a mental note to go through the app and memorise all the first years name's and abilities as soon as school was over for the day.
Unlike me, no one else seemed to really care for the app I suppose for a normal person this wouldn't be very interesting.
Just as soon as we thought that was it, the big surprise was here.
"Now I'm going to go over your first special exam of your second year."
As soon as those words left her mouth, pretty much everyone started to object, which I did kind of understand. This was only our first day back after all.
Chabashira slammed her hand onto the podium multiple times to shut everyone up so she could go on.
"Relax. The exam itself takes place 2 weeks from now. However, the announcement happens today, so you could fully prepare for what's to come this upcoming exam is a cooperative written test,so not only would you have to study you're expected to find a suitable partner before the exam."
Of course Ike was the first person to raise his hand.
"Sensei, can't I just partner up with Ken or something? Why would we need 2 full weeks to prepare?"
Surprisingly, it wasn't a bad question.
"That's because you can't just pick anyone,if the total score you achieve isn't above the 50% mark you will end up getting expelled that means you would have to score at least 501 throughout a total of 5 subjects."
She took a deep breath before speaking on.
"And your partner needs to be a student from the first year,however, their punishmen would not be expulsion."
I see.
As soon as she said that, all the pieces fell into place, and that man was undoubtedly involved in this since we need to be over the 50% mark to avoid expulsion it meant that if I ended up partnering with the agent even if I scored a perfect 500 if they scored a 0 then that's it,I would be expelled.
His influence on this exam and the inclass voting from last year also tells me that he must have someone working inside the school not just a student,someone important enough to alter or even fully create our special exams.
I sent Kei a quick message even though Chabashira was glaring at me from across the room. Thankfully, she was subtle enough that no one seemed to notice her.
Kei then raised her hand.
"Excuse me, sensei if we need 501 points, that means that even if you score a perfect grade, you could get expelled if your partner refuses to answer. How is that fair?"
A lot of eyes were now on Kei,some were thinking about what she said, and others were shocked that she would notice such a thing so quickly,Ofcourse she was only doing what I asked but they didn't know that.
"That's a surprisingly perceptive question, Karuizawa-san."
Chabashira crossed her arms and started to speak.
"With the introduction of the OAA everyone's Academic ability is not only on display but it is also monitored by the school,if a student with a rating of A for example happens to score a 0 that student will be immediately expelled for altering his or her grade and purposefully holding back."
Horikita was the next to speak up, and she asked the question that was just on my mind.
"If that scenario does play out, what happens to the second year who paired up with the student who was holding back?"
"Unfortunately, the second year will be expelled for failing unless they pay 20 million points. But that situation is quite unlikely, no one is going to purposefully get themselves expelled in order to hurt one of you."
"What about protection points? That way, they can hold back and not suffer any consequences."
Horikita did make a fair point, however...
"Protection points only apply to special exams,if a first year were to purposefully hold back they'd be expelled for breaking the school which is irreversible even with 20 million points,not to mention the fact that not a single first year has yet to earn a protection point."
Horikita just sat back down and kept silent for the rest of class,even if Chabashira did shut her down Horikita made a good case and asked some reasonable questions she might be frustrated with herself right now but she did make the right call.
"Anymore questions?"
Surprisingly, not a single student had anymore questions Chabashira proceeded to head towards the door before stopping and...
"You can officially confirm your partners as soon as next week rolls around, but you can still form alliances and partnerships right now."
With that, she walked out and left us all to discuss the contents of the exam.
Volume 1:Part 4
The first one to get up was Yousuke as usual.
"I know it's just our first day, and a lot of you are tired, but please stay around for just 5 minutes so we can discuss what Chabashira sensei announced."
Unsurprisingly, Koenji completely ignored Yousuke and walked out of the classroom without as much as a glance toward any of us.
However not a single person aside from him had got up everyone in class was listening to Yousuke and waiting to discuss the exam something like this was unthinkable this time last year cooperating together was practically impossible yet the fact that everyone had stayed now shows our growth over this past year.
I wasn't paying too much attention, but I caught the gist of it,Yousuke explained the exam rules again to anyone who was confused before he arranged multiple study groups starting from tomorrow till the day before the exam and then he got to the real problem, how to form pairs.
Horikita joined the discussion to make a suggestion.
"Since I can't tutor any of the study groups, I volunteer to scout out the first years and try to make pairs. I have an idea in mind, which I believe will work."
I assumed she wasn't participating in any study group because of our competition, Horikita wanted to test my skills so she asked that we compete on our first exam this year which is this upcoming one in 2 weeks.
But for some reason, she was eyeing me the whole she was discussing this "plan" of hers. What was she up to? I got up to leave, hoping I'd never have to find out what she was up to, but...
"Ayanokoji-kun, wait for me outside class. There's something I wish to discuss with you."
It seems I had no option but to accept since our entire class directed their attention to me when she said that.
"Sure."
I reluctantly waited for her in the fall as I got passed by many students, probably heading home. Most of them were from Ryuens class, it seemed Ichinose and Sakayanagi were still discussing the exam just like us.
"Sorry to have kept you waiting."
"It's fine. What did you need?"
She glanced at me through the corners of her eyes before speaking up again.
"I assume our bet will take place during this upcoming exam?"
"Sure. Do you object?"
"No, I think this is a good opportunity. That's the reason I decided not to tutor anyone this time around."
That made sense, but she was trying to say something else...
"But I couldn't just leave the class without doing anything, which is why I volunteered to prepare the pairs."
I see, and how does that involve me..?
"For the sake of fairness in our competition, I think you should help me contact the first years."
There it is.
"If you had complete freedom while I was busy preparing this, then I'd have fewer opportunities to prepare, which would in turn-"
"Sure, I'll help."
"Huh?"
She audibly gasped, causing everyone in the area to stare at us.
"Is there a problem?"
"No...well, I-I didn't think you'd accept so easily."
Luckily for her, I also wanted to scout out the first years more.
"Well, I wouldn't want you to come to me with excuses after you lose."
She was glaring at me at this point, probably debating whether stabbing me in public was a good move at this time, but thankfully, she held herself back.
"But I have one condition."
"What would that be?"
She seemed surprised since so far I hadn't set any conditions on our bet and had let her do as she wished.
"I want to compete in maths."
"That's random. You sounded confident you can beat me in anything,why maths?"
"You object?"
"Not necessarily. Honestly, I would've chosen maths anyway, but I want to hear your reasoning."
"I drew too much attention to myself during the year end exam, I solved a difficult question on the maths exam and tye mental maths test and I was unfortunate enough to be confronted and interrogated by Matsushita if I go and score highly in English for example I wouldn't be able to talk my way out of it."
"But since you already solved 2 incredibly difficult math questions in the year-end exam, you can just say you're only strong in that one subject,I see."
She picked up on my point surprisingly quickly.
"You seen awfully confident that you'll score very highly it's honestly getting irritating, but we'll see. I accept your terms."
"What's your plan regarding the pairs?"
"I'll tell you tomorrow. Meet up with me after class, and we start preparing."
I agreed to meet with her, and we went our separate ways. I headed back to my dorm as soon as we were done so I could go through the OAA and see what I could learn.
Most of the first years that I had my eye on during the entrance ceremony had exceptional scores on the OAA,the guy that both Horikita and I noticed was a class 1-D student by the name of Hosen. Some others I had my eye on were Ishigami from 1-A,Yagami from 1-B, and Tsubaki from 1-C.
"These new first years are certainly interesting."
I muttered to myself before realising how late it had gotten,I spent almost 4 hours looking through the OAA to analyse the rating and memorise the names and faces of the newcomers.
I decided to call it a day and head to sleep tomorrow. I'll make direct contact with them to form the pairs as Horikita but also to further my own goals.
Volume 1:Part5
I woke up to multiple missed calls from my "girlfriend" Kei. It seems she tried to contact me yesterday, but I was too busy checking out the OAA.
I had agreed that we would work together as partners moving forward, but I haven't told her anything about my father or the first years, and I had no plan on doing so it's for the the best if I'm the only one who knows about that for now or she might get needlessly dragged into the fight.
I sent her an apology and made my way to school after taking a shower and having breakfast.
"What's up with you, Kiyotaka?"
Kei had apparently spotted me walking and decided to come up from behind me and started a conversation out in the open.
"Should we really talk here?"
"Well, we're classmates. I'll just say we ran into each other and decided to walk together."
"I see."
"So?"
"What?"
"You've been out of it lately. What do you have on your mind? Is there some kind of problem?"
"Problem?"
"Yes, like that Nagumo jerk or a certain "angel" in our class?"
"No, it's nothing like that. Horikita just asked for help in the exam, so I was checking out the new first years on the OAA"
Technically, that wasn't a lie. I just left out my real motivation.
She didn't seem to fully buy it, but that satisfied her for now.
"Well, that's an odd duo."
Sudo had come up from behind me and decided to keep pace with me.
"What do you mean?"
"I didn't know you were close with Karuizawa. I'm surprised to see you too walking together."
"We're not close in particular. We just happened to run into each other."
Kei hadn't said a word this whole time she was visibly embarrassed and averted her gaze from the both of us.
Sudo didn't notice a thing, though he just put his arm around my shoulder and dragged me away from her, seemingly seeking a private conversation.
"Can I ask a favour Ayanokoji?"
"Sure, but I don't know if I'll do it."
He looked at me with a strange face before speaking again.
"Suzune asked you for help on the exam, right? That's why she called you out yesterday?"
"Yeah."
"I called her yesterday and asked if I could help too, but she completely shut me down she just told me to focus on my studies and not distract myself."
"She does have a point."
"I know that, but I can do both! I'll still go to all my study groups and even study in my free time so I want to help her out."
"What about your club?"
"Club doesn't start until 2 weeks, so I've got more free time now. You're close with Suzune, right? She trusts you, so if you vouch for me, she'll accept my help."
"I'll see what I can do, but why do you want to help so bad?"
"I want to prove to her that I've changed, and I can be of help now even when sports aren't involved, yknow?"
"I'll talk to her."
"You're the man, Ayanokoji!!"
He slammed my back with so much force that if I was a normal person, I would've probably fallen over.
He didn't seem to notice, however, and just ran off I tried to see where Kei went but she already found some of her friends and started walking with them,it seemed I was destined to walk alone yet again.
I made it to class on time and conducted myself as I usually do. It was a particularly boring day so far, so I thought we'd get through it with no issues, but I was very wrong.
When everyone was leaving to take their break, we noticed 2 first years making their way through our halls...no 3 first years the third one was hiding behind them trying to avoid attention it seemed he wasn't with the other 2.
One of them was the same guy from that day at the entrance ceremony, Hosen. The other was a shorter girl with long blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. It was Nanase Tsubasa also from 1-D. I remember seeing her on the OAA yesterday. However, I couldn't see the thies student yet. I could only recognise that he's a male.
Surprisingly, the first person their gazes fell on was none other than me. Did they know me from somewhere? Of course, this could've been a simple coincidence, but in my current situation, I had no choice but to immediately suspect them.
Hosen quickly looked away with Nanase doing the same shortly after, and instead, they looked at Horikita, who was now standing in front of them. She noticed them both standing outside our classroom and decided to confront them.
"What's yer problem?
The first to speak was Hosen, apparently bothered by Horikita's mere presence.
"Do you have any business with our class? If so you can speak with me otherwise I'll have to ask you to leave."
"Leave? You think you own the fuckin' building or something? I can stand wherever I want."
"You're not only disrupting the other students, but you're also needlessly intimidating them."
"Not my fault the second years are a bunch of cowards"
Hosen snorted at her while still keeping his hands in his pockets.
"Hosen-kun, please don't antagonise the second years and remember why we came here."
Nanase spoke to him in a soft manner, and he seemed to somewhat listen to her.
"She's the one askin' me to leave but whatever I'll ignore the arrogant bitch."
After hearing how he insulted Horikita Sudo who's been watching from the sidelines decided to step in.
"Watch your mouth, you first year brat."
Hosen looked down at him in disgust, trying to get on his nerves. Even though Sudo had changed significantly since last year, he still couldn't just let the woman he loved get disrespected like this.
"And what if I don't? Y'gonna do something about it?"
"Damn right, I wi-"
"Sudo-kun."
Horikita called out to him in a somewhat forceful tone, and Sudo decided to back off despite his anger.
"What do you need?"
Hosen snorted yet again, seemingly mocking Sudo, who was still glaring at him.
"I'm here to give you a chance."
He took his hands out of his pockets for the first time and pointed at the ground.
"Get down and beg, and I might consider pairing up with a bunch of defective losers like you."
"Who the hell do you think you are, jerk!!"
"I'm your only chance at not getting expelled. Who else would pair up with you?"
Horikita broke her silence and spoke up once again.
"Hosen-kun, was it? I was looking through the OAA, and if my memory serves, you're from class D yourself, are you not?"
"Sure I am, but I ain't getting expelled even if no one partners with me, am I?"
"Of course not, but you'll incur a heavy penalty on your entire class it would be beneficial for both of us if we work together instead to quarrel like children."
Horikita seemed to keep her composure even when she was in a disadvantageous position.
"Who the hell you callin' a child?"
He reached out to grab Horikita's collar, but she moved out of the way before he could and was seemingly unbothered.
Sudo, however, didn't take too kindly to that.
"That's it. I've had it!"
He reached out and grabbed Hosen while moving his left fist to punch his face, but Hosen just caught his fist and grabbed Sudo with both arms lifting him off the ground before slamming him down.
"Sudo-kun!"
"Hosen-kun!!"
Horikita appeared worried while Nanase was probably concerned for the trouble. Hosen was gonna cause them.
"Hey, the he'll are you doing??"
The commotion had reached the other classes, and Ishizaki stepped in, trying to cover for Sudo.
"Knock it off!"
He tried to grab Hosen, but Ryuen stepped in.
"Don't get involved, Ishizaki. You wanna die?"
Ryuen was walking up to the scene slowly with his usual smirk on his face and his hands in his pockets, Ibuki seemed to be walking alongside him, although she wasn't too happy about it.
"Ryuen-san!"
"That guy is something else. If you pick a fight with him, you'll lose
Ryuen acknowledged Hosen's strength with a chuckle.
Ishizaki backed off and instead helped Sudo to his feet, Horikita was also by his now making sure he was ok.
"Ryuen, huh? You the same jerk I kept hearing about?"
"Probably. I heard about you too, but I'm honestly disappointed you're just a fat meathead."
Hosen smirked instead of getting agitated.
"I tried looking for ya to see if the rumours were you true but ya never showed I figured you were runnin' like a bitch but you've been here huh?"
"You're lucky I was here, if you'd met me then you wouldn't be able to stand here so arrogantly."
Ryuen blatantly threatened him while keeping that same smirk on his face.
"You sure talk a lot, but you don't look like much,you even got this ugly chicken workin' for ya."
Hosen insulted both Ibuki and Ryuen in the same sentence.
"Who the hell you calling ugly? And i don't work for anyone asshole."
Ibuki was clearly not pleased.
"You're one to talk when you're coming here with that pretty little first year in tow,"
Nanase didn't even react to his statement she'd kept silent this entire conversation for some reason.
It seemed, however, that no matter what Hosen said Ryuen was completely unphased and always had a prepared response.
"You're even more boring than I imagined. Let's go, Ibuki,Ishizaki."
Ryuen turned around to leave, but then Hosen charged forward and grabbed Ibuki by her hair and slammed her into the ground Ryuen who's been smirking with his hands in pockets this whole time turned around instantly and kicked Hosen straight in the face.
"You hit hard, but if that's all you got, you'll never beat me,"
Hosen was laughing now as if getting kicked in the face excited him.
Ryuen just picked up Ibuki before turning around to leave.
Hosen then suddenly glared at me.
"You've been sitting here watching while everyone else ran away,ya wanna go next?"
That was true,most of the second years had moved away to avoid trouble. Besides Horikita and Sudo, I was the only one left.
"I'll pass."
He was visibly upset at my answer and tried to charge towards me, but...
"What's going on here?"
Mashima sensei walked up to us and was clearly furious. He was a man of discipline, so seeing such a barbaric fight clearly upset him.
Hosen stayed silent. Instead, he glared at Horikita as if daring her to tell on him.
Horikita didn't say a word and just walked away with Sudo alongside her.
Hosen snorted at me and just left. Mashima sensei gave me a look, but I just averted my gaze, so he decided to leave it be.
The only people left were me,Nanase,the other first year still hiding, and the one girl who stayed in the classroom.
Nanase walked up to me with an upset look.
"You're Ayanokoji-Senpai, right?"
"Yes, how would you know?"
"I was looking through the OAA as well, and you were one of the people I saw. That's why I looked at you when we made it to this floor."
That was definitely possible, but I wasn't about to believe anyone just yet.
She then bowed her head to me before speaking.
"I'm really sorry for Hosen-kun's behaviour today. The truth is I suggested we come here in order to form pairs,I thought since we were both from class D, it would be beneficial to everyone if we cooperated."
That was the same thing I would've done if I decided to take this exam seriously, and I have a feeling this was also the plan Horikita had come up with. Nanase was definitely sharper than she let on.
She stood upright again and looked at me with a cheerful smile.
"I'm Nanase Tsubasa from class 1-D. Sorry it took me so long to introduce myself."
"It's fine. I really don't mind,"
"I should get going now, but here's my contact information it seems that Horikita-senpai is the leader of this class. I ask that you please speak to her and contact me if she agrees to cooperate."
She handed me a piece of paper with her number on it before waving goodbye and running off.
The boy who was hiding all this time finally revealed himself.
It was Yagami Takuya from class 1-B
He gave me a warm smile with a wave before walking past me he was looking around him, seemingly searching for someone, or perhaps he was scouting the second years?
His eyes lit up, however, when he spotted the girl who had remained in the classroom all this time.
Kushida Kikyou class D's "Angel"
"Kushida-senpai?"
"Yes?"
"Do you remember me?"
"No..sorry"
She had a genuine sad look on her face.
"That's quite alright,I'm Yagami Takuya. I used to attend the same middle school as you. I remember seeing you around the halls all day you were the most famous person there."
"Oh really? I'm surprised that you even remember me, Yagami-kun!"
"Of course I would! Do you want to walk with me to the cafeteria? I think we have a lot to catch up on,I could also use some help learning about this school."
He had a warm smile on his face the whole time. Did he not remember her past? Perhaps he didn't know it was her? Or maybe he was pretending to play nice...
Whatever it was, I was already wary of him, and I kept my guard up.
"I'd love to help!"
Kushida jumped from her seat, seemingly excited about the thought of helping someone, or so you'd think if you didn't know who she really was.
They both walked off, and I was left alone,I decided to just stay in class until Chabashira made it back thanks to all this commotion, I didn't get to eat a thing.
But I did learn a lot,whatever punishment the first years would receive didn't seem to be that severe,they also knew more about the school than we did in our first year judging by how Hosen called us defective.
Yagami and Hosen could be ruled off the list of suspects since they were well known by Kushida and Ryuen,however, it was also possible that they were impostors pretending to Yagami and Hosen.
I took my seat in the empty classroom and started to gather my thoughts.