"Talking"
"Thinking or texting"
"Different language or writing"
--
Ayanokoji's eyes fluttered open as he groaned softly, he sat up and looked around the dark room a bit dazed for a few seconds before he regained his bearings, he grabbed his phone and looked to see it reading 4:00 am. "Seems like it'll take a while for be to diverge from that sleeping schedule those people had me on." He turned on his bedside lamp and got out of bed, stretching a bit he went towards his closet and put on some running cloths and shoes. After making sure that he had his phone on him, he went out of the dorms and starting jogging around the campus, since it was so early no one either than him were outside asides from a few people who worked around the school and businesses.
The boy took his time as he scanned his surroundings, searching and taking note of abnormal things that would come in handy soon enough. A hour into it, he took a break near the school's boarding docks and looked out at the vast ocean, mesmerized by the view and the gently, salty winds that blew against him. "The view is quite amazing, isn't it." a voice said beside the boy, glancing to the source, he saw a tall and well built man who had short black hair that swept to the left with violet eyes that were protected behind square-rimmed glasses.
Like Ayanokoji, he was wearing running clothing, he was currently panting a bit while wiping some sweat off his brow, "That it is. And good morning to you, I'm Kiyotaka Ayanokoji." the monotone boy greeted as he extended his hand for a handshake, "Morning, I'm Manabu Hirokita. It's the first time seeing you around, I'm guessing that your a first year?" "Yep and I'm presuming that your my senpai from that statement." Manabu nodded in confirmation while he went and leaned again the railing with his underclassmen joining him as they enjoyed the sea breeze.
"You're a interesting one, I was surprised to see someone else out here this early in the morning, especially a first year at that." "What can I say, I've gotten used to waking up early and exercising and I'm not planning to stop any time soon." "That's a good way of thinking." "Senpai, if you wouldn't mind, I have a question." the upperclassmen raised a brow as he turned to his companion in interest. "Oh? Ask away." "Yesterday our homeroom teacher told us something interesting, you can imagine my surprise when I heard that we'd be getting a 100 000 yen monthly allowance." "That I can, people are always shocked when they hear about how lenient the school is." the older boy commented remembering his first day at the school, wondering where this conversation was going.
"Although I overall find the whole ordeal strange to say the least. I mean 100 000 yen is not a small amount, so my question for you is, how much did you and your class earn during the second month of your first year?" the question caused Manabu to freeze for a few seconds before a small grin crept onto his face, looking at the first year with new found interest. "What a strange question there, Ayanokoji. Sadly I don't have the obligation of telling that at the moment." the older boy hummed, receiving a small nod in return, "Not to worry, Manabu-senpai. I've already found the answer I was looking for. Anyway, do you want to continue the rest of our run together?" Ayanokoji pushed himself off the railing and started stretching, Manabu nodded and followed suit before they continued the rest of their run around the school campus.
On their way back, they passed by the convenience store to buy a bottle of water with the older of the two paying, "Ayanokoji, you mind if we exchange contact information? I have a feeling that we're going to be seeing each other a lot in the future." Manabu said when they reached the crossroad that divided the first, second and third year dorms. "Hm I don't see the problem in that. Having connections is important after all." the first year said as they exchanged phone numbers and parted ways.
After a pleasant shower and some hot coffee, Ayanokoji put on his uniform and grabbed his bag as he made his way out of the dorms. It was about 6am so he still had 2 hours before classes started so he decided to go and spend his time at the library, said facility was fairly massive with the bookshelves and tables positioned in a half Concentric Zone Model. The boy went to the mystery section and started browsing it for something to read when his ears picked out a soft grunt, going towards the source he found a girl trying and struggling to reach for a book which was out of her reach.
The girl had mid-back length silver hair that had black ribbons tied behind it and light purplish eyes, weighing his decision, the boy walked closer and pulled out the book the girl was trying to get and handed it to her. "It looked like you needed some help." Ayanokoji added making the girl give him a faint smile, "Ah thank you. I'm Shiina Hiyori from Class C, nice to meet you." "Kiyotaka Ayanokoji from Class D, pleasure is all mine." the two students shared a gentle handshake as the boy looked down at the book Hiyori wanted, "Are you fond of Emily Bronte?" "Not in particular. Just that the book was in the wrong section so I wanted to correct that." the girl hummed a bit while her eyes also wondered to the book her schoolmate had in his hand, "Is that Raymond Chandler's Farewell My Lovely, by chance?" Hiyori asked, her voice filling with excitement.
"It is, have you read it?" "Mhm. It's a classical masterpiece. Ah, have you read any piece from Dorothy L. Sayers?" before he could answer, the smaller girl crouched down and pulled out a book from the shelf then offered it to him, "If not, I do recommend this one for starters. The first installment of the Sir Peter's series." Ayanokoji raised an eyebrow at the girl's sudden change but he accepted the book nonetheless, "It has been on my raider, just wasn't able to find a physical copy outside. Surprised that the school has it." he commented as he placed the book next to the one he already had. "Well, since your here this early, I'm guessing you came here to read right? Ah if you wouldn't mind, would you like to read with me? That is if you want to, I don't want to be a bother." Hiyori strummers a bit as she gently plays with her novel.
"Sure, why not." he shrugged as he was lead to the table the girl had her bag at and set down besides her. As they read their respective books, the girl would often talk about the Sir Peter's books, explaining different characters, plots and all with the boy also giving his fair share about other books that he had read in the past. Time flew by fast and it already 8 and since they were already together, they decided to walk with each other to school, "If you want to talk about book again or want someone else to read with, you'll find me in the library." Hiyori smile and bid goodbye as they went to their separate classrooms.
As the school day commenced, the students were blown away with how nice and friendly the teachers were, no matter what the students did during class like sleeping, using their phone, etc, the teachers always left them alone. In this calm and relaxed atmosphere, time went by fast and lunch time arrived, Ayanokoji looked around the class seeing the different friend groups talking or walking out together to get some food which frankly irked him because he still didn't have any friends in his class.
"Pitiful." he heard his seatmate comment causing him to glance at her confused, "I want someone to invite me, I want to eat lunch with somebody. Your thoughts are really obvious." Horikita added with a smug sneer. "You're also by yourself. Don't you feel the same way? Or do you plan on staying alone for the next three years?" "Yes. Frankly, I like to be alone." the girl answered without skipping a beat, "... That's sad. Well, I may not have anybody to eat with in class but I do have someone."
The boy hummed as he pulled out his phone and texted Ibuki, "Hey, You want to have lunch together?" "And why would I want to do that, especially with a weirdo like you?" the blue haired girl responded a few seconds later, her message making Ayanokoji look at his screen blankly. "I'm paying..." "Come pick me up, I'll be outside my class." she answered almost immediately making him blink a few times before sighing and standing up and packing his things as he muttered to himself, "Troublesome woman."
"And where are you off to?" his seatmate couldn't help but question, earning a shrug in return, "Lunch." he walked out of class and made his way to Class C's classroom. It didn't take him long to see the girl leaning against the wall opposite to her classroom, "Yo." he waved lazily as he approached, "Good to see you didn't chicken out. Plus you got lucky because that idiot decided to drag a guy named Albert somewhere before you got here." Ibuki commented as she pushed herself off the wall and straightened her uniform, "Lucky you say? Why is that?" "If he saw you coming near our class, there's no telling what he'd do to you." the boy nodded slightly at her words and put his hand in his pockets thinking for a moment.
"Ayanokoji? Is that you?" a soft voice said besides the two, the source being Hiyori who had just walked out of the classroom, "Oh Hiyori, didn't expect to see you again so soon." he hummed as the short girl walked closer to the two acquaintances. "You know her?" Ibuki asked with a raised eyebrow, "Yeah, we meet earlier in the morning in the library." he explained before an idea came to him, "Hiyori, do you want to go get lunch together? That is if you don't already have an appointment with someone." "Oh uh sure, I was planning on eating in the library anyway. You don't mind my intrusion, do you... uh Ibuki, right?" the soft spoken girl played with her fingers as she glanced at the other girl. "Eh it's whatever, the creep is paying anyway." Ibuki shrugged making her classmate sigh in relief before the three started making their way to the cafeteria.
"Pick anything you want." "Anything?" Ibuki's eyes filled with mischief, "Anything but nothing expensive. It's not like I'm rich." the boy responded quickly making his acquaintance huff. "You can also pick out something Hiyori." he added as he looked at the smaller girl who smiled and nodded as she blushed a bit embarrassed, Ayanokoji got some Katsudon, Ibuki choose some spicy ramen with boiled eggs and tofu and Hiyori decided on Donburi. They were lucky enough to find a empty table a bit away from the other students, "I didn't think the schools cafeteria's food would be this is good." Ibuki commented as she slurped up some noodles, her cheeks reddening almost immediately from the spaciness of her food, "Yeah, it's better than what I had back in middle school." Hiyori nodded along as she also enjoyed her food.
"It's the best high school out there, it's to be expected." the boy thought as his eyes wondered around the cafeteria, "Hm, have you guys noticed the free food that some of our upperclassmen are eating?" Ayanokoji pointed out making the girls pause and look at the student who were going to the going and getting the free food option. "Its the same as in the convenience store." the tomboy commented suspiciously, "Huh, convenience store?" the smaller girl asked with a tilt of her head, "There's a free item section in the store, though a person can only get a total of three items."
"That's... weird. Seems like there's more to this school then it seems." Hiyori muttered as she rubbed her chin thoughtfully, seemingly connecting the dots to something with Ibuki nodding, "Yeah..." "Hm, looks like these two are quite sharp. I'll have to refrain from speaking my thoughts about the school with these two from now on. Whatever I find might be a big advantage to Class D, that is until the other classes also find it out." The boy narrowed his eyes a bit at the two thoughtful girl before he decided to change the subject and talk about other trivial things as they eat.
"Ayanokoji?" a few minutes later someone called out to the boy, looking to his side he saw Hirata who was surrounded by girls from his class, "Oh your Hirata, right? And I believe the others are Karuizawa, Shinohara, Sato , Matsushita and Wang." "Yeah, was wondering were you were since I didn't see in class." the soccer player commented with his friends, more like fangirls, agreeing. "S-sorry Ayanokoji, hope we aren't bothering you or anything." Wang said noting the two girls that the boy was seemingly having lunch with, said boy noticed the half chinese half japanese girl looking a bit uncomfortable and waved his hand in dismissal, "Don't worry about it. Although, I'm surprised that you can speak Japanese so well." Ayanokoji responded in perfect Mandarin, surprising the surrounding people
Wang's eyes widened before a small smile crept onto his face , "Well I practiced it a lot before I came to Japan with my family so I got pretty good with it. I'm also surprised you speak Mandarin so well, Ayanokoji. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were born and raised in China." Wang responded in interest. "Eh, you can blame my father for that. He wanted me to know and be fluent in at least one or two other languages, he was pretty strict on it too." the indifferent boy came up with a believable lie that didn't put too much suspicion onto why he knew how to speak in another language. "Even though he seems strict, I'm sure he was just doing what was best for you." "Yeah... Maybe."
"Hello? Non Mandarin speaking people with you here. If your going to flirt, at least flirt in a language we all know and understand." Ibuki grumbled as she aggressively slurped her ramen, this caused Ayanokoji to scratch his cheek a bit confused while Wang looked away with a blush as she played with her fingers. "Excuse my lateness, this is Mio Ibuki and Shiina Hiyori, both from Class C." Ayanokoji introduced his acquaintances with Hirata also introducing his fangirls to them.
"I would invite you to have lunch with us but a certain someone is sure not agree considering her rather... aggressive personality." the boy added before flinching as someone kicked him in the shin, "The fuck did you just say?" Ibuki glared at her companion who raised his hands in defense, "See what I mean."
"Oh that's it. Hiyori, how about we go and get ourselves some of those luxurious meals that the school have to offer. After all, Ayanokoji is so generous to pay for everything" Ibuki's eyes filled with glee as she turned to her classmate and pointed to the more expensive food meals in the cafeteria, "H-hey now, Ibuki let's calm down. You don't to do that, my wallet is not that big." Ayanokoji panicked as he tried to calm his companion down. "Hm I wonder- oh that 20 000 point meal looks good, and that 7 000 point dessert looks even better." the girl ignored him and continued to ponder.
The poor boy looked at Hiyori for help causing her to sweat drop as she convinced her classmate to spare their companion. "Haha well at least like you're having fun with your friends. We won't keep intruding any longer, our food is ready anyway." Hirate chuckled and waved as he and his fangirls started walking away, Wang paused and looked at Ayanokoji as she pulled out her phone with a blush, "Uh Ayanokoji? Do you mind if we exchange contact information? I would really like to know someone in school who I can talk with in Mandarin." "Sure." the boy shrugged as he also pulled out his phone. "By the way, you can call me Mii-chan like everyone else." after the exchange, the girl squealed a bit as she rushed off to her friends to continue to simp over the class Ikeman.
"Oh look at this playboy, I bet your contacts are filled with girls numbers." Ibuki grunted as she crossed her arms looking annoyed for some reason, confusing the other two a bit, "Eh kinda, I only have three people on my phone for the moment, including you Ibuki." he flipped his phone and showed his companions his contacts. "Why the hell do you have the frowning devil and dumbbell emoji on my name? And who's Horikita-senpai, it's only been a day." the tomboy raised an eyebrow as she looked the boy in the eyes, "We met today in the morning while I was on my run around the school. In his words, he found me interesting so he wanted my number so I gave it to him and visa vesa." Ayanokoji explained while the girl kept looking at him suspiciously.
"By the way, Hiyori, do you want to exchange numbers? I kinda forgot to ask earlier." Hiyori smiled and nodded. By the end, all three had each others numbers, although Ibuki being a bit reluctant to give the shorter girl her number, only crumbling from the sad and innocent smile Hiyori gave her. Suddenly, everyone heard some music playing from the speakers in the cafeteria before a girl with a cute voice spoke made an announcement, "Today at 5pm in gymnasium 1, there will be a club fair. For those of you with an interest in clubs, please come to gymnasium 1. I repeat, today-" the announcement ended a few seconds later.
Ayanokoji hummed as he thought for a moment, "Hey, do you-" "Don't even finish that sentence. I'm not interested in any stupid clubs." "Sorry Ayanokoji but I have to agree with Ibuki. I'd keep myself busy with my books." the girls shot down the boy's invitation, making his shoulders slump, "You could've let me finish at least. Alright, guess I'll go alone." he sighed. After they finished their food and lunch was about to end, he walked the two back to their class before going back to his own, as he sat down he looked over to his seatmate, "Hey, Horikita-" "I have no interest in clubs." "... Again with the not letting me finish my sentences." the boy sighed while the girl raised her eyebrow a bit. "You really don't have any friends, I see." "No I do, I think. Either way, I believe I can count you as one."
"Don't count me as one of your friends. Since you want to go see the clubs, do you intend to join one?" "Eh, not in particular. If I find one that I'm interested in then I might join it." "Then why are you going? Is it a pathetic attempt to make friends?" "... Who knows. Do you have any experience in any clubs?" "No I don't." "Then do you have experience with things outside of clubs?" "What are you trying to say?" "Don't know, I mean I didn't even tell you what I was referring to." that got the boy a chop to the side making him wince a bit. "Really? I already get enough abuse from Ibuki and now I have to worry about you too?" "Then you shouldn't have said anything stupid." "Can women not solve anything without violence? There's better ways to solve things."
"Really? Ever since the beginning of time, violence has existed because it is the most efficient way of resolving problems. It is the fastest way of either getting your point across to the other party or ignoring the other party's desires. After all, even countries employ police who use weapons and violence to arrest people, right?" Hirokita gave a long speech to say that she did nothing wrong. "From now on, I will use violence in order to fix the errors of your ways. How about it?" she added making the boy look at her with a blanker look than his usual indifferent expression, "If I were to say that, I'd be condemned and labelled as a smug bag."
It was truth, in this day and age, there's this rising of double standards towards the two genders. While he agrees that a man hitting a woman should be scorned upon in a sense, he wonders why if a woman abuses her lover, she doesn't get the same treatment like how a man does, someone is always there to make excuses like, 'He might have done something to deserve it.' 'Men go through harder things so things like this shouldn't do anything to them.' 'Since he didn't fight back, it must mean he enjoyed it or he didn't even care about it.' In addition, if a girl were to find guy or group of guys looking at pictures or looking at a girl whose partially naked, they'd be labelled a pervert however if the same thing were to happen but this time visa vesa, the girls aren't labelled as perverts what's so ever? They can sexualize and talk about guy's bodies and the size of his Johnson out in public without a care in the world but the moment a guy talks about a girl's breasts or ass, they're a PERVERT... Society has gotten unfair, hasn't it?
"Fine, I guess. Forget I said anything, I'll go by myself." he sighed and rested his chin on his palm as he looked out the window, although noticing his seatmate pondering on the idea before she focused on class as the teacher walked in. Hours later it was time for the club fair so the boy grabbed his bag and walked over to the gymnasium on his own, the were about 100 first years waiting outside the large gymnasium, waiting for the fair to start. As they started to enter, pamphlets with details about the club activities were handed out to everyone as they went in.
Ayanokoji looked over the information impressed, the school had a wide variety of nationally known clubs which each one being at a high level, he went around the gymnasium, looking at all the clubs and what they had to offer. As he was walking, he accidentally bumped into someone, looking over surprised he saw the delinquent boy from his class, "Oh sorry, I wasn't paying attention to were I was going. I'm Kiyotaka Ayanokoji from your class, by the way." he bowed and apologized before extending his hand. The delinquent boy looked agitated but after he heard the apology and the non hostile approach, he calmed down and give his classmate a firm handshake, "Nah, it's alright. I'm Ken Sudo." Ayanokoji noticed his classmate rather rough hands and his fit and a mascular frame, "You look pretty fit, do you do any sports?" "Hm, am I that obvious? Well I play basketball. I'm actually here to apply for the basket ball club."
"Oh, what position do you play?" the two boys indulged in a basket ball based conversation which switched to a more carefree, friendly talk as they went over to the basket ball stand before walked around the gymnasium for a few minutes. "Thank you for waiting, first year students. A representative from each club will explain their activities and how to join. I am Tachibana, the secretary of the student council and the chairman responsible for this club fair. Nice to meet you all." Tachibana started before one by one, the line of club representatives started introducing themselves, explain about their clubs and how people could join. As this was happening, Ayanokoji looked around the students, he noticed Horikita standing further in the back in a area that didn't have a lot of people.
After a while, the boy noticed Manabu stepping towards the mic to talk, he looked over the first years with a calm look as he stayed silent. "Do your best." "Did you forget to bring your note cards?" some first years started mocking the older boy but he stayed unchanged, his sharp eyes still scanning the crowd, as this continued, the mocking and laughter started to die down as the once calm and relaxed atmosphere started shifting to a more tense and silent one. A lot of the students started getting nervous and start fidgeting, "My name is Manabu Hirokita and I'm the student council president." the upperclassman finally opened his mouth. The Class D student was surprised to find out that his senpai was the president, he might be able to use this.
Now that Ayanokoji thought about it, were Suzune and Manabu related? They had the same surname and actually looked alike so it was possible. He looked over to Horikita to see her very tense and fidgety as she stared intensely at the president, "The student council is also looking for first years to replace the graduating third years. There are no strict requirements to apply for the position but those who are interested should not be affiliated with any other clubs. Generally, we do not accept any candidate involved in other clubs." Manabu's voice was gentle but firm, the aura around him screaming of the authority he had.
"Also, we aren't looking for anyone that has a naive wat of thinking. Not only will that kind of person fail to get elected, they will inevitably become a stain to this school. The student council is only responsible for regulating the students but the school expects much more. Those of you that understand can become potential candidates." the president finished his speech as his eyes finally met Ayanokoji's, the two stared at each other for a few seconds, having an unspoken conversation between them.
Manabu gave a small smile as he moved away from the mic and went over to the student council application stand, "Everyone, thank you for coming. With that, the club fair is over. We will now open the reception area for anyone interested in joining. The reception area will only be open until the end of April, so anyone interested after then can bring applications directly to the club." The chairman helped simmer down the atmosphere as he dismissed the students.
Ayanokoji stood still as he thought back to that silent exchange he had with his upperclassmen, "So you want me to join the council, huh Manabu-senpai? I have to think about this a moment. While it may seem trouble like getting a part-time job, this can actually help me. For one, I would be able to get information that isn't all that available to normal students. Two, the council can give me a range of connections. Since it consists of students from all years, if I can play my cards right I'll be able to have someone that can feed me information of what's happening and the type of conflicts that goes one in every year. Furthermore, the council deals with other students like club and class representatives so if I'm able to be a help to them, I can gain favours that'll I can cash in later on." the first year continued to weight his options as he exchanged numbers with Sudo before the delinquent went off to apply for the basket ball club. After a few minutes of serious thinking, deducing and more, Ayanokoji sighed as he walked over to the student council reception.
"I thought you'd never show up, Ayanokoji." Manabu chuckled when the boy finally arrived in front of the reception, "It's a big decision so I had to think hard about it, you know. By the way, you didn't tell me that you were the student council president." "You didn't ask." "Seems like a position that most people would want to show off." "Well I'm not most people." the two boys continued their back and forth as Tachibana, who was standing next to the president, looked the two confused.
"President, do you happen to know this first year?" she asked confused causing the boys to stop their banter, "Yes, I met him during my morning run. We had a talk and it had some things that caused me to have an interest in him. If my hunch is right, he might burn down the school, figuratively of course." "I'm not that great." Ayanokoji shrugged as the president shook his head amused before giving his underclassman an application form, it had the normal questions like 'Why do you want to join' 'Why do you think your qualified and so one. "Can I fill it out right here?" getting a nod, he grabbed a mechanical pencil and started filling out the form, although he tackled the answers differently than most, insuring that his form was more interesting and would most likely catch the eyes of his upperclassmen.
After a few minutes, he handed the form back to the president who skimmed through it before grinning, "Well, isn't this interesting. Quite selfish don't you think?" "True but what I said is plausible, while the student council maybe the for front of the school concerning it's policies and other things. You do have to admit that it's the central network that connects any and everything here." Ayanokoji explained as his form was placed next to the other two forms that were already there. "You do have me there.
But I have to say, what you had to say on the last question is shocking to say the least. Well I won't hold you for any longer, I'll see you tomorrow on our run." with a nod and wave, the first year left his upperclassmen to their own thoughts, Tachibana being curious of what the president said grabbed Ayanokoji's form and went over to the last question.
Question 10: What are your thought about the school?
The next morning, the first year walked into class a bit late-ish, "Oh, morning Ayanokoji." Mii-chan walked up to the boy with a cheerful smule, "Morning, Mii-chan." he waved lazily as he stopped to talk to the girl, noting how the class went quiet for a moment as everyone stared at the two with interest. "You almost didn't make it for class on time, did you oversleep?" "Nah, I just took longer than usual in my morning workout." the boy explained getting a nod, "Huh, you work out?" another girl joined in on the conversation, making the two look at her slightly surprised.
She was a petite girl with short brown hair, her bangs hanged on the left side and had yellow gradient-violet eyes, "Hm? Yeah I do, just that my cloths hide my physic I guess." Ayanokoji shrugged, "I'm Koyano Onodera, by the way. Nice to meet you." she smiled as she gave the two a handshake. "Kiyotaka Ayanokoji and that's Mei-Yu Wang. If I'm not mistaken, I saw you yesterday at the club fair. You were over at the swimming club reception, right? I also remember you saying something about swimming in your introduction." the boy rubbed his chin, thinking back. Onodera's smile widened as she went into her interest in swimming, the other two teens putting in their fair share of interests.
The class door opened loudly as Sudo walked in with a yawn, "Yo, Ayanokoji." "Morning, Sudo." Ayanokoji greeted the rough looking boy back, he noticed the two girls giving Sudo a rather hesitant and reluctant looks. "Hey, Ayanokoji. I don't think you should hang around with someone like him, he seems like bad news." Onodera said with Mii-chan nodding which seemed to tick off the delinquent as he glared as he stepped towards them, "What did you-" he was cut off as Ayanokoji put his hand on his shoulder and gave him a look that told him to relax.
"Well, it's true that Sudo has a rather intimidating look and an aggressive attitude but he's actually a good guy if you get to know him. Would you have guessed that he played basket ball? Onodera, since you're in a sports based club, do you have any exercise tips that can help him improve?" the indifferent boy decided to talk lead in the conversation, making the four talk about their mutual interests, their different experiences and other things of the matter.
This helped humanize Sudo to the girls and create a friendly atmosphere which surprised the on lookers and make them wonder how Ayanokoji keep the delinquent in check, the talk stopped when they noticed the bell ring and their teacher walk in causing them to go to their seats. Lunch time came by rather quickly as people went to their respected friend groups and went to have their lunch, Ayanokoji noticed Mii-chan, Onodera and Sudo walk over to his desk making him raise an eyebrow, "Ayanokoji, do you want to have lunch with us?" the other boy of the group asked as he placed his hands behind his head, the girls nodding in agreement.
"Sure, I don't mind. Let's go." said boy stood up and stretched as the group walked to the door, "Uh excuse me, do you mind if we join you?" a soft voice called out to the group making them turn to see Kokoro Inogashira and Nene Mori looking at them nervously. "I don't see why not. The more the marrier I guess." Ayanokoji shrugged after seeing his group nod making the girls sigh in relief. "Hm, you mind if I add in one more person?" he added before he walked over to another girl sitting at the back.
"Hey, your Sakura, right?" "O-oh uh yes. Do you need s-something?" the girl asked nervously as she avoided eye contact, "I was wondering if you wanted to have lunch with us. Seeing you, I can somewhat understand how your feeling since I was the same during middle school. If you don't want to that's fine." the boy explained making Sakura's eyes widen as she blushed a bit and gave a soft nod as the two went over to the group, "Well, let's go before all the seats in the cafeteria are taken.
Two weeks went by in a blink of an eye, Ayanokoji was in class acting as if he was paying attention to the teacher when he decided to look around the class. Half of the students in the room were doing either sleeping, playing with their phones or talking with each other while the other half were listening to the teacher, or pretending to listen like how he was. In simple terms, Ayanokoji already had some control over half of the class.
You see, throughout the two weeks, the boy had been growing his influence in the class and gathering people that trusted him as a sort of leader. It was a fairly simple process for him, the human mind works in a interesting way. First he became acquainted with someone unexpected like Mii-chan and Sudo which helped him gain a certain element to his stature in class, since he sometimes spoke with Mii-chan in Mandarin, it had made his classmates wonder about it as to how he knew another language and how, giving him a certain air of mystery that some people found intriguing.
Then with Sudo was the fact that he managed to get the class delinquent to be civil and friendly, this also added a spot of interest to the people who already had him on their raider. One of these people was Kikyo Kushida who had to be the most popular girl in the class and the whole first year, if two people become friends or closely acquainted, at some point they would have to be introduced to the respective person's friend group and Kushida happen to have quiet the group. From there, Ayanokoji just had to play his cards right, gaining the people's trusts, giving and receiving favours from them and most importantly, plant a seed of doubt about the school within them.
During his various hangouts with the different people in class, he would often point out the weird things around the school like free items, the camera's around the campus and in the classrooms and subtlety telling them that they my not get 100 000 points the next month and to save their money. It was a hard process since the boy had to do some socializing which he had yet to get used to but he made it work. Added, he felt as if he was getting cloth to knowing what the school was actually about.