Yellow Experience

How's it going, my dear readers? Today I will provide another chapter for you to read. Focus point will be an underrated dynamic between characters. I say underrated, because it could've been explored much more in canon. But hey, that's what fan fiction is for. Now, enjoy.

I do not own JoJo's Bizarre Adventure or Assassination Classroom

Chapter 29: Responsibility

Asano Gakushuu woke up tired, very much at that. His brain had been too active to get some proper good sleep. Instead of deep slumber, he'd been thinking deeply. And it wasn't just plain thinking, it was heavily emotional thinking. Hate, bitterness, grief, and most importantly, fear, all kept him awake for the most part.

'Ugh… God fucking damn it…' he thought with a mean and sleepy mug. School was where he was supposed to go, but really didn't want to, but truly had no choice about it.

Slowly, and much more sloppily, he dressed up, went to the bathroom, cleaned himself up. The next part was having breakfast. Though there was a problem. He, depressed and miserable as he was, didn't want to eat together with his parents. They'd obviously notice something was off, and talk to him about it. But Gakushuu didn't want to explain himself. Not that he could anyway, as not only would they not believe him about Stands and the God of Death, he himself wouldn't look good in the slightest due to his role and actions. In fact, it could get him into more unwanted trouble.

So the orange-haired simply told them to eat without him. Of course, his parents noticed that this action of his was kinda different, though didn't question it any further.

Same thing with going to school. His father, like every day, offered to take him with their car, but Gakushuu declined. While he could've chosen to ride along and simply not talk, it would've only made his father more likely to pry into things. Taking public transport was even more out of the question, as he risked encountering 3-E students. In the end, the only option remaining was running to school. Yes, running, as otherwise he'd be late, which would lower his reputation.

With that, alone but not in peace, Asano hurriedly left for school.

XXXXXXXXXX

Just in time, before it was too late, he arrived inside his classroom. He was the last to enter, but at least he wasn't late. In addition to that, he was slightly smelling like sweat. Which would be far worse if he wasn't far more athletic than the average teen, who'd have been drenched in sweat. Overall, it could be better, and it could be much worse.

"Hey Asano, good morning." his close friends greeted him.

"Mornin'"

"How's it going?" they carefully asked, tipped off by the orange-haired's disinterested voice.

"Well, not so great. I'm having personal and private problems I'd like to get over it with quickly."

Unlike his parents, Gakushuu had no trouble hinting things to his friends. They would get the message and actually leave him alone.

"Okay… good luck."

And that was it. Now all that remained was for the teacher to start the lesson. Asano could then become passive, paying enough attention to take notes and absorb the useful information, but otherwise numbly space out, hoping that could reduce his inner stress.

XXXXXXXXXX

About 10 minutes into class, an announcement was made by the chairman.

"Asano Gakushuu from Class 3-A, come urgently into the chairman's office."

It was at this moment that his blood almost froze. Yep, that was bad attention. This kind of announcement was only meant for students that have messed up to the point they need to be called into the chairman's office for a penalty. It was an embarrassment. Him, the top student, the elite, the princeling, getting a call to the chairman's office like a delinquent would. All eyes were on him, no exceptions. The back rows were quietly chattering amongst each other, gossiping and speculating about rumors.

"…"

His friends were quiet, not daring to utter a word. It made Asano very uncomfortable.

'Oh no… Here we fucking go…'

Having dreaded this, the orange-haired slowly, robotically stood up, then slowly going for the door. He didn't look back once, having the intention to show as little of his face as he could.

Pushing down the door handle, Gakushuu then opened and pulled the door towards him, letting go when it was halfway open. He then exited the room, leaving his class room and classmates behind him, most likely permanently.

With heavy, dragging steps, Asano then made his way towards the chairman's office. It was the same way as always, but the circumstances were fundamentally different this time. Thus, unlike the other, previous times, he walked in a much lower pace. Though in contrast, his heart was beating much faster.

4 and a half minutes later, he was standing in front of the office's door. The orange-haired took his sweet time to get there, but time was finally running out. Would he wait any longer, there would be a second announcement with an even more urgent call. That extra announcement would multiply the shame and embarrassment.

Taking a deep breath, eyes closed, Gakushuu finally knocked on the chairman's door.

*Knock Knock*

"Come in."

Doing as he was told, he entered the room, opening and then closing the door.

Standing on one side of the room, he observed all the faces on the other side. Other than the chairman, there were Korosensei, Shiobana, Karasuma-sensei and Bitch-sensei. The first two were expected, the latter two were not. It seemed that Class 3-E had gone all out against him.

"Welcome, Asano-kun. I believe you know why you've been summoned here." The elder Asano spoke in a formal but strict, very serious and even angry tone, which was heavily suppressed.

"I… guess…"

"Come closer, Asano-kun." the chairman commanded. "These people here have been making quite the accusations against you. As the chairman, I need you to explain yourself."

Regrettably walking over, the younger Asano approached the others, stopping about a meter and a half in front of the chairman's large office desk.

"I've been told, you have collaborated with a dangerous and infamous assassin possessing supernatural powers, luring the students of Class 3-E in a death trap with intent of harm leading up to murder. On top of that, you have physically assaulted several of these students directly, taken two female students hostage with knives to their throats, and inflicted near-lethal torture on Shiobana Haruno-kun here with several tools and weapons, amounting to attempted murder." Chairman Asano listed, looking his son's eyes with utter seriousness and professionally suppressed fury. "Mind elaborating for me?"

The orange-haired turned his head towards the people representing Class 3-E, all conveniently standing together. "You told him everything?"

They nodded three times each.

"Haruno-kun and I told everything, the other Senseis here merely came with us to back up our claims." Korosensei stated.

"Even about Stands?" Gakushuu followed up, curious about his father's reaction to the supernatural's existence.

"Yes, about Stands too."

"Well, now what?" the younger Asano asked, not particularly directed towards anyone.

"Are you going to deny these claims? Refute them? Defend yourself against them? Because if you don't, you're practically acknowledging them as true, and plead guilty." Chairman Asano spoke up, taking ahold of the conversation's direction.

"I guess there's no point in refuting all this anymore…" the orange-haired sighed. "Yes, it's true. I did do all these things. What's my punishment gonna be?"

Gakushuu didn't beat around the bush.

"We will get to that at the end." the yellow man informed. "Don't haste now, the chairman has a lot to say to you."

"Oh great…" He rolled his eyes.

Suddenly, the chairman banged his fist on the table, standing up from his comfortable armchair. "GAKUSHUU!"

Said teen was taken aback by the enraged yell, widening his eyes in surprise. The school's chairman had addressed him by his name, switching his current role to father. This father, usually calm, hadn't yelled at his son like that for many years.

"Take this seriously, you crazed brat! You almost became a murderer, for god's sake!"

Papa Asano was truly livid, lambasting here. His son's actions already shocked him to the core, but his attitude absolutely infuriated him. Inside, he didn't want to believe that his son would do such things, but that attitude was the sad, regrettable confirmation.

"What has gotten into you?! This isn't what a sane person does! This isn't how I raised you!"

Having nothing to lose, and having recovered from the brief shock of getting angrily shouted at by his dad, Gakushuu decided to talk back.

"Huh? Really now? You talk about sanity now?" The younger Asano was becoming angry as well. "Goddamn hypocrite! Don't patronize me about sanity now of all times! Because actually, you're wrong! This IS, in fact, how you raised me!"

"What?!"

The elder Asano couldn't believe his ears. This sounded like pure nonsense, total bullshit.

"Yeah, I mean it. You always told me to overcome obstacles by any means necessary. To do everything in my power to best what's in my path. To be dominant with no mercy. Remember your Karate story? In your own words, you said: 'Even though you lost, why aren't you mad enough about it to die?'." the orange-haired said, recalling and reciting his father's past words and instructions. "You absolutely can't deny this! This is YOUR way, these are YOUR teachings! Your way and your teachings, they're extreme, far from sane! I merely followed YOUR example!"

"…"

At first, Papa Asano had trouble finding an appropriate response. Because his son's words were the truth. His son technically said nothing wrong.

Only after a few seconds long pause did he manage to muster up a reply.

"M-Maybe, I guess my teachings aren't super sane in hindsight, and I admit that I am extreme about my way, but not up to the point of ATTEMPTED MURDER AND TORTURE! That's just plain wrong! I thought you were smart enough to understand that much!"

"I took what you said literally." Gakushuu told with a serious look and voice. "Except that instead of becoming mad enough about it to die, I became mad enough about it to KILL."

"It wasn't meant to be taken literally, you DUMB IDIOT!" Gakuhou's anger exploded, and so did his disappointment. "Think about it, you simpleton! If you literally get so mad about a loss or defeat that you actually die, then you'll never be able to get a win in the future, because, newsflash, you'd be dead!"

"…"

Now it was the younger Asano's turn to put together a suitable answer. Likewise, his father's words made sense.

"A-At least I have shown way more dedication to my cause than you ever did! At least I was far more passionate than you!"

"And look where this has gotten you! Tell me, what kind of success have you achieved from your deeds? You lost hard against Haruno-kun, who you can't even call your rival anymore, as he's clearly outclassing you, and you even nearly lost your own life!" the elder Asano smartly countered.

"Yeah, it's too bad that I lost against Shiobana. It really is a shame and I wish I didn't, but that's the sad reality. But at least I won against you, father. I've already taken revenge against you."

"What?! How?"

Again, that sounded like utter drivel.

"I assume Shiobana already told you about my Stand and its power, didn't he?"

"Yes, he did." the chairman confirmed, still in disbelief that his own son was wielding superhuman powers. "I understand your abilities and how they work."

"Then let me tell you, I used my Stand on you. Remember when we had pizza, and you couldn't smell it at first? At that moment, I had taken away your sense of smell. I owned it." Gakushuu proudly revealed, boasting about it. "That was my victory against you. I possess special powers, you don't. I am now fundamentally superior to you."

"So what? If I just refuse to answer your questions from now on, your powers won't work on me." Gakuhou pointed out.

"This isn't the only thing, you know. During the time I worked with the God of Death, he taught me a number of things. Efficient ways to train your body, several moves to overwhelm and even finish off enemies, and how to properly use weapons." the orange-haired confidently informed, boasting again. "I know you're really strong, and I used to fear you for your strength, but I'm sure I could easily beat you know. If the two of us were to fight to death, I know multiple ways to kill you with my bare hands. Not to mention all the objects in this room I could utilize as weapons."

Gakushuu's arrogance, his total lack of remorse and retrospection, made Papa Asano so angry that he got exhausted.

"I give up… It seems I must reflect on myself, because I have clearly failed as a parent somewhere…"

"Heh, my victory, pops. You can never make me into your slave now. I might get some punishment at school, but in return I'm now the man in the house." he dared to mock. "I have surpassed you, so better get used to my new, true self."

Unable to stand that cockiness any longer, Chairman Asano turned his head towards the octopus man. "Korosensei, it shames me to ask this from you, but would you please educate my ill-informed son? He's gotten out of hand, to say the least."

"Oh, I'd gladly do that. Don't you worry, I will do my best to adjust his attitude." Korosensei volunteered for that.

"Good. He's in your care now, Korosensei."

That was the point when Gakushuu's arrogance faded. Those words spoken out, he understood the meaning of it.

This was his punishment, he knew it. A transfer, demotion from Class 3-A to 3-E. From the very start, he'd expected that to be his punishment. He'd dreaded it, feared it, wished his hardest for that not to happen, but just now it was finalized.

"Pack your locker."

Only three words were said to him by the chairman.

"You might punish me at school, but you can't escape me at home, father." the younger Asano reacted, crossing his arms. "Don't think there won't be any consequences for you where we're alone."

"Please, just… stop falling any lower." The older Asano was feeling anguish from his son's behavior. "I physically can't listen to this any longer! What you're spouting makes me sick! …I beg of you, make me regain the pride of having you."

"Didn't you lose that a long time ago, judging by how you've treated me?" the orange-haired scoffed. Nerve hit.

"Yes, that was a mistake on my part." Gakuhou admitted, lowering his head in regret. "I should have treated you better, I should have had more pride in you. Maybe you wouldn't have turned out like this. But what's done is done, mistakes were made and cannot be undone. So I must own up to my mistakes, and you to yours. Otherwise, it'll never be like it used to be."

"…"

The two of them lost their talkativeness. What needed to be said, had been said. Almost.

"Just one more thing, Gakushuu."

"What is it, father?"

"I want you to reflect on the fact that you almost died. Try to imagine the pain and sadness you would've caused me, your mother, your grandparents…"

"…"

Those words hit hard. Being an egoist, Gakushuu cared about himself first and foremost. But still, hearing that sentence put things into a different perspective, and he couldn't help but feel sorry for the affected, had things taken a wrong turn. Luckily for them, they didn't lose him.

Shamefully grimacing, the younger Asano looked away.

"Good luck in your new class, Asano-kun. I wish you all the best to reform as a person."

Having said that, the elder Asano sat back down, turning his chair by 180 degrees. He, as the chairman, showed his back to the demoted student, marking the end of the conversation.

It was now time to go. Not just for the orange-haired, but all the others from Class 3-E.

"Come, Asano-kun. We'll be going to your new classroom." the yellow man announced. "You'll walk with the Senseis here and Haruno-kun, while I will go first and fast, quicker than any human can see. Karasuma-Sensei will then tell you about administrative stuff like privacy and non-disclosure and the like. Once you're finished, you'll officially make your appearance as the class' newest addition. You get all that?"

"…Yes."

"Alright then. See you soon!"

With that, the octopus man set off at Mach 20, returning as fast as he could in order to continue teaching.

After that, the others started leaving too. Haruno deliberately walked slower so that he would be the last one to leave. This was important, because as he was going past the door, he turned his head around for one last gaze at the chairman, who'd also rotated his chair back to normal. And as their eyes met, they didn't stare at each other like usually, but the blond instead made a respectful nod.

During the argument between the Asanos, the delinquent got to see that the chairman was actually a decent person, at least compared to his offspring. And he was positively surprised that the chairman admitted his faults as a parent and went for change and corrective measures. That made Chairman Asano even look like a good parent, at least compared to his mom. Yes, Papa Asano definitely wasn't even close to being as bad as his mother. All in all, Haruno saw a new side of the elder Asano, which positively impacted his opinion of that man.

Finally, he left the room as well.

XXXXXXXXXX

Before getting to join his new class, Gakushuu had to sit through some guidelines he had to follow as a student of Class 3-E. The same stuff every other student there got to hear.

Admittedly, that part wasn't all that bad. It was actually quite informative and interesting. The more Asano learned about Korosensei, the more curious he became about that character. The yellow man was now more than an abominable monster that blew up the moon. In fact, the orange-haired gave up some of the prejudices he had against the octopus man.

Same couldn't be said for the students.

When Karasuma was done with his lecture, he reported it to Korosensei, who in turn told him to send the boy. So, Gakushuu was ordered to enter his new classroom and introduce himself.

Having no other choice, Asano did just that. He walked up to the door, taking one last deep breath, then waltzed in without knocking.

"Ah, welcome, Asano-kun." Korosensei greeted him. The only one polite and friendly.

All other people, his new peers and fellow teen humans, just glared at him. Some more intensely than the others. It went without to say that they all, with maybe the exception of Ritsu at most, hated him, and that he wasn't really welcome.

Silently, without looking at others, the orange-haired walked past the desks, his gaze trailing along the floor. He walked towards the front, where his teacher was standing. Only after he arrived there did he raise his head, getting to see the faces of his new daily acquaintances, all neatly lined up.

"Welcome to our humble class, Asano-kun. Would you mind introducing yourself?"

"I am Asano Gakushuu, and unfortunately, I was placed in this shit class." he rudely introduced himself. "I don't want to get along with you, because you all suck, and I wish for this school year to end as soon as possible and that I won't cross paths with any of you ever after."

'The feeling's mutual…!' the recipients of that introduction thought, not appreciating him.

"Don't be rude, Asano-kun." the yellow man lightly scolded him. "Not getting along with your classmates is bad, you know. You won't be able to cooperate with the others in assassinating me, which will hinder the development of your teamworking skills. Plus, you're supposed to repay your debts to them, not increase them any further."

"First of all, it's super obvious they won't forgive me. They clearly have no intention of doing so. Why the hell should I put in any effort at all, when it's pointless?" Gakushuu questioned, talking back to the octopus man. "And besides, how does it affect you in any way? You don't have that much time left, Korosensei. As soon as you're either assassinated, or aren't and blow up the earth, it literally won't concern you anymore."

"Maybe they won't. Even if you put in the most effort and they still won't forgive you, then that's their decision. Can't force forgiveness onto them." Korosensei honestly answered. "And yes, you're right that it won't concern me after my life has ended. But you see, I'm doing this for your future."

"For my future?" Asano repeated, a question mark of confusion appearing inside his head.

"It is my duty as your teacher to polish you as a person. That doesn't include just knowledge and learning, but also morals and ethics. I need to instill good, moral values into you, so that you can become a more responsible, respectful and caring adult." the yellow man told, kindly lecturing the rebellious teen. "Being kind to others, as well as showing remorse after hurting others should be default values. You should be doing these not because I told you to, but because it's the right thing. I know you have a lot of pride, but who knows if you'll still feel proud of your actions and current attitude in the future."

"…"

The orange-haired listened. He listened quietly, not talking back. What the octopus man said not only made sense, it also made him think. He'd accepted and embraced being evil. As of now, he was proud of looking down on and demeaning those he viewed as below him. But until now, he was in a favorable position. Now that he was demoted, knocked down a few levels, and no longer had the backing of the God of Death, being evil wasn't advantageous to him anymore. Continuing to be mean to Class 3-E wouldn't bring him benefits anymore, not socially and not mentally. It was very conflicting.

"And if you need more convincing, maybe a view from another perspective may help it." Korosensei continued. "Asano-kun, you lost a lot recently. Especially your social standing. That feels bad, doesn't it? Being in a low position hurts, doesn't it?"

"Of course it does! Are you trying to demean me?"

"In no way." the yellow man refuted him. "I'm not demeaning you, same way I didn't demean all the others in this class. You don't like being demeaned? The rest of the E class doesn't either, yet they are constantly being demeaned as the lowest of the low by the rest of this school."

"…"

Gakushuu was starting to get it.

"I predict that from now on, you will receive backlash and attacks from not only your former class, but from students of other classes as well. You'll be on the receiving side, and naturally, it will hurt." the octopus man foresaw. "Wouldn't it be nice to have a safety net? Because being disrespected, treated badly, attacked by fellow students of the same age, school, city, country just because of a slight difference in social standing hurts. When in reality, you actually have much more in common, yet you don't know it. This is when you'll learn that being kind and considerate to others is a good thing, and that petty discrimination is pointless and meaningless."

"…"

Again, Asano said nothing. Korosensei was absolutely right. One of the biggest reasons why he feared getting demoted was because he knew that he'd be clowned on, disrespected by the rest of the school. He was at the top, his reputation and social standing were the best of the best. Though now, he belonged to the bottom tier. And he knew that the many, now above him, would let him know about it. That much was so obvious and clear.

Hated by Class 3-E, mocked and looked down on by everyone else, the orange-haired had hit rock bottom. The end of the road.

"I… it's okay… I will tough it out." Gakushuu declared, his voice not so tough. "I'm not so weak that it would break me."

"Okay, but why endure this hardship in the first place?" the yellow man questioned Asano stubbornness in a tone that was meant to radiate both positive encouragement and logical criticism. "Think of the atmosphere in here like a freezer. If you continue to be the way you currently are, you will go numb. If you put in some effort and sincerely change your ways for the better, the atmosphere may not become warm as paradise, but mild enough for you to survive without too much trouble. And I'm sure the latter will be the better option for you, as it's objectively less damaging."

"…"

There was no doubt within the orange-haired. The only thing he'd lose would be his pride. Other than that, starting to be nice to Class 3-E wouldn't do him any damage. And yet it was a real dilemma, since his pride mattered a great deal.

Gakushuu, just wanting to get by, tried to think of a way where he'd minimize losses in pride. Minimize, since this whole deal already damaged it. It was far from intact. 'How can I bargain…?'

And it didn't take long for him to find a compromise. It was very easy, actually. All he'd need to do was to say that he won't bother them. No snide remarks or anything, no provocations. And in return, he'd simply not beg for their forgiveness. No brown-nosing, no humiliating apologies. That would do the trick.

"Actually, I have a proposal…" Asano announced, putting on a forced diplomatic smile. "If I apologize for all the mean things I said to you up until now, will we get along nice and friendly?"

No one bat an eye.

'Proposal rejected…'

"Come on, Asano-kun…" Korosensei spoke, placing a tentacle on the boy's shoulder. "Do you think they're that stupid? Unless you apologize with genuine sincerity, and PROACTIVELY work off your debts to them, they won't be appeased. There's no easy way around this, you can't just weasel your way into being forgiven and getting accepted."

"…"

To be told that out loud was embarrassing.

'Well, I could just try to befriend a few of them. That way, I won't be completely cut off, but don't have to prostrate myself to everyone.' the orange-haired figured, bargaining in a cost-effective way. 'How about that robot girl? Easiest bet by far.'

"Fine, I concede. You're right." Gakushuu 'admitted'. "I will put some effort into my redemption campaign."

"Good." The yellow man was content with this. "Believe me, Asano-kun, I want you to succeed. So go out and kill it!"

"Ha-ha, funny pun." he remarked at the corniness of it.

"Anyways, do you see that empty desk over here?" the octopus man asked, pointing at the aforementioned furniture. "We prepared it and a chair just for you. That's your new seat."

"Thanks, I guess…" the orange-haired murmured, not that interested in it. "Should I go and sit down now?"

"Actually, yes. Let's restart the lesson."

With that, Gakushuu went to his new seat, officially starting his new school life. It was a setback, a major one, but he wouldn't give up and let that depress him.

'At least I can get rich if I kill that octopus.' Asano coped, glad that with the assassination shtick, he had an output for his stress and unhappiness. 'I can forever boast to father about it.'

XXXXXXXXXX

Time for lunch break. Many went outside the classroom to eat, only few stayed behind to eat bento boxes. This was good for the orange-haired, as it boosted his confidence in approaching Ritsu, who was also one of the few remaining in there.

'Let's chat up this robot.' he thought, having more confidence in befriending her than befriending anyone else.

"Uhm, hello there." Gakushuu greeted with fake shyness. "May I ask what your name is?"

"Oh, hello." Ritsu acknowledged the most recent addition. "I go by Ritsu. Is there something you want?"

"Uh, you see, I have been thinking about what Korosensei said." Asano said, just slightly lowering his head, and looking just barely at the lower end of her digital eyes. "He's right about me needing to change. And I want to change, I want to get along with members of this class. Would you mind hearing me out?"

The handful of onlooking classmates viewed this exchange with interest. While they weren't believing his words, and knew that his humble attitude was but an act, they were curious about it.,

"What is it that you want to say?" Ritsu questioned, neutral voice but guarded demeanor.

"Well, first of all, let me apologize for my words earlier. You don't suck at all, Ritsu-san. In fact, you are very interesting." The orange-haired didn't lie about that. He was actually interested in this being that wasn't a biological organism. Not interested enough to truly befriend her, but interested enough to tolerate her. "Please believe me when I say I hold no ill will against you. So, uhh… would you mind becoming friendly acquaintances?"

"Friendly acquaintances?"

"I'm not asking you to become my friend right away." Gakushuu clarified, now looking fully into her eyes. "I am merely asking for us to be friendly to each other."

This was quite the view for the onlookers, who would spread the word as soon as everyone else would come back. If there was one thing Asano was good for to them, it was that he provided them something to gossip about.

"Hmm, I don't know…" the AI girl spoke, not very keen on accepting. "I can be polite to you, but why should I be friendly to you? You said and did hurtful things to my friends who I value greatly. It doesn't feel right for me to become friendly with you, who hasn't done anything to make amends yet."

While the orange-haired was inwardly dissatisfied with her hesitation, he let none of that emotion show. 'Don't virtue signal me, machine…'

"Well, uhh, I need to start somewhere, right?" he argued, keeping his tone civil and fake polite. "You can't really expect me to try and befriend Shiobana or those two right away, can you?"

"Hmmm, you do make a good point." Ritsu mused. "Okay, I guess I can become friends with you eventually…"

'I did it!' Gakushuu inwardly celebrated. If he made just one friend in Class 3-E, he could have that safety net which would keep him from becoming socially isolated at school. In private, he could continue seeing his old set of friends. That was all he needed. No need to try to restore relations with everyone else.

"…on the condition that you try to mend relations with the others."

"…what?!"

Just one blink of an eye later, Asano's expression visibly changed.

"You don't need to be successful. Just let me see that you're honest about wanting to make up with this class." Ritsu clarified. "In return, I'll gladly help you with advice."

'…'

There truly was no easy solution for him. If the two of them had been alone, he could at least have tried the same strategy with a more low-profile student while the AI girl wasn't around. But because there were spectators, everyone would know of his attempt.

"…Thanks, Ritsu-san."

"Hm? Are you accepting?" the AI girl inquired, the human boy's answer being vague.

"I accept."

Simultaneously, the orange-haired accepted defeat.

'Oh fucking no… I don't wanna kiss everyone's asses and suck up to them… But I don't wanna become that shunned loner either…'

Truly an uncomfortable decision for him. But now he had to live with it, and follow through with it.

"Good on you, Asano-kun." Ritsu congratulated. "As long as you try, I'll be friendly with you and give you my full support."

"Yeah, thanks."

Gakushuu gave her a thumbs up, which was half-hearted in all but appearance.

'What now…?'

Without a plan, he then went back to his seat, sitting down to think up a strategy. One that would be useful.

XXXXXXXXXX

At the end of the day, Asano came up with a strategy. He'd start off with the boys that had emitted a rather boring, background character aura. He figured that his 'debts' to them were the smallest and easiest to repay. After those came the girls that weren't close to Shiobana. It'd be slightly harder, since they'd empathize more with Rio and Yukiko, thus being more wary of him, though still not as hard as the remaining students. Second last would be Shiobana's immediate friends like Nagisa and Karma, as well as the boys that he knifed before abducting the two girls. The last and hardest ones to reconcile with were obvious, one boy and two girls who don't even need to be explicitly named.

'If I manage to get just one third of them to be not hostile to me, maybe that'll be enough for me to get through the remainder of this schoolyear without too much loneliness…'

Just how would that work out for him?

There you have it, the end of the chapter. Asano's in Class 3-E now. While I'm not going to make him the new protagonist, he will definitely be an important character. I plan on writing many interactions between him and other characters. Unfortunately, it's going to take a while for you to read all of that, because I'll focus on my other fic now. Until then, see ya!

Feel free to rate and review if you like to