Classroom of the Elite: The 100 Elites Who Really, Really Love Him

by legalinmybooks

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka has been cursed (blessed) by The God of Love who accidentally linked Ayanokouji and 100 different girls/women. They are to become soulmates bounded by love and fate. If their relationship with Ayanokouji fails, the girls are fated to die in an accident. It's a matter of life or death. Will Ayanokouji survive ANHS with 100 potential soulmates waiting for him? Wil

28. Chapter 27: Recognition

"Let's go!" shouted Sudou. With a renewed sense of energy, it seemed that Sudou had found a new purpose and motivation which inspired and boosted the morale of Class D.

The next event is the scavenger hunt which Ayanokouji is participating in and luckily, Sudou was not participating in it as he was trying to coordinate with Hirata on the remaining events. Sudou was taking on pretty much every other event besides the scavenger hunt which relies heavily on luck.

"All right! Some items in the scavenger hunt are quite difficult to procure. To pick a new item, you can request a redraw, but there will be a thirty-second waiting period. You must make your redraw request to the referee when you draw your lot during the competition. The game ends when three players reach the goal. That's all." explained one of the referees. As everyone was lining up and getting ready to start, somebody called out to Ayanokouji.

"Hey." said Ryuuen. Ayanokouji nodded to him, unsure of what to say, but Ryuuen's eyes were locked onto Sudou.

"So, that muscle-headed moron won't be participating in the scavenger hunt, huh? I thought he'd take part for sure. How did that loser get back here?" asked Ryuuen.

"No idea. That has nothing to do with me." replied Ayanokouji.

"What a shitty answer."

With a snort and a loss of interest, Ryuuen left and it seemed that he and Ayanokouji would be in the second race together. With a loud blaring of a bullhorn, the first race began and Ike was the first one, being overtaken right at the start. Luckily, Ike seemed to have gotten a lucky draw as he made a beeline towards Ayanokouji while the other students went searching and leaving the field for their items.

"Ayanokouji! Lend me your left foot! Your left foot!" called out Ike.

"My left foot?" asked Ayanokouji.

"Your shoe, dude! Your shoe! That's my item!"

Ike showed Ayanokouji a slip of paper with the words: your classmate's left foot (shoe).

"If I give it to you, I can't run anymore, though." said Ayanokouji.

"Geh?!" yelped Ike, realizing his mistake and making a dash towards Class D's tent. Luckily, Ike got a lucky draw and made his way into first place as the other students were also having a hard time with the scavenger hunt.

After the first face finished, the second race started immediately and Ayanokouji lagged slightly behind the other students and as he reached into the box, pulling out a slip of paper. He carefully unfolded it, a statement that made him freeze.

"A person you love."

Ayanokouji froze as he couldn't believe his terrible luck as it was pretty much the worst thing that someone can draw from the box.

'If I showed that slip of paper to a member of the opposite sex, it would have been the same as confessing romantic feelings for them. Even if I lied and asked them to play along, it would have been incredibly embarrassing. And with my soulmates, it's not going to be good because they might get the wrong idea.' thought Ayanokouji.

Ayanokouji knew what he had to do as he requested for a change, adding thirty seconds to his time, and the other students were already running off to find their items. He reached into the box and pulled out another slip of paper.

"Ten friends."

Ayanokouji was relieved by the new item and was glad that it wasn't something embarrassing like the previous one. He glanced over at Class D's camp before making a beeline there. He hoped that they were all there. Class D was confused as Ayanokouji dashed over and gestured for a bunch of people to follow him.

"What is he doing?!"

"Yooo! That's a line up of girls!"

"It's the item: harem?!"

Ayanokouji had Horikita, Kushida, Azuma, Mii-chan, Mori, Shinohara, Onodera, Ichihashi, Sakura, and Inogashira followed them. The girls looked at each other with confusion and whispered to each other as they followed Ayanokouji. He quickly brought over to a referee, who gave Ayanokouji a questioning look by the abnormal amount of girls behind him. Ayanokouji handed him the slip of paper before he counted all the girls before nodding, accepting Ayanokouji's item.

"What was the item?" asked Horikita, puzzled. Ayanokouji handed her the piece of paper and the girls gathered around Horikita, glancing over at her shoulders.

"Friends?" muttered Kushida.

"That's what we are?" asked Shinohara.

Ayanokouji glanced at the girls and could see a mixture of disappointment, disbelief, and incredulous on their faces. It was as if they couldn't believe what was written on the piece of paper. Mori and Mii-chan were giving Ayanokouji a confused, but pained look on their faces and he wondered if he had hurt or offended them in any way without his knowledge.

"Is there anything wrong?" asked Ayanokouji, clearly confused by his soulmates' reactions. Some of the girls like Kushida, Azuma, and Ichihashi had their eyes widened while the others averted their eyes. Horikita just sighed and rubbed her forehead and those actions left Ayanokouji even more confused.

'Friends? I remembered the first time Ayanokouji-kun called me during that night with Nii-san. It made me happy that he considered me a friend and I'll consider him that... I have never had a friend, but it makes me happy for some strange reason. It was even stranger that I'm not content with that anymore. What a strange feeling.' thought Horikita.

'A friend?! There's no way that a friend would know the true me! They would never accept the true me and I will never be content knowing that someone knows my secret, but... Ayanokouji-kun is different. I wouldn't mind if he knew, but I think we're more than friends. At least that's what I hope in the future.' thought Kushida.

'Ouch! That was unexpected! Way to friend zone someone!' thought Mori.

'First, Hirata-kun and now Ayanokouji-kun. Why is it every time that I like someone and they always put me at arms length? Not considered a romantic partner and just a friend.' thought Mii-chan, sadly.

There were other similar thoughts and lines of thinking from the rest of Ayanokouji's soulmates as they were both disappointed and negatively affected by Ayanokouji's notion of them being friends and nothing more.

"I-It's nothing, A-Ayanokouji-kun..." said Kushida, speaking up for herself and the rest of the girls, who didn't say anything.

"Are you sure?" asked Ayanokouji, tilting his head out of curiosity and uncertainty. He had a feeling that what Kushida said was far from the truth, but Kushida gave him her usual angelic smile, but he knew that it was fake, but decided not to push further.

"Y-Yeah! Right, everyone?!"

"Y-Yeah!"

"Everything is good!"

"Couldn't be any better!"

With Kushida's question, the rest of the girls quickly agreed with her and Mori even whistled innocently as if nothing was wrong and everything was just peachy. Ayanokouji raised his eyebrows, but decided not to say anything because facing a group of his emotionally charged soulmates might not be the best idea.

"Okay. Good thing that everybody came. I've reached 3rd place." said Ayanokouji, changing the subject. He noticed that some of the girls such as Mii-chan, Ichihashi, and Sakura gave a sigh of relief. It seemed everything had slightly calmed down.

"We should go back to our tent. Good job, Ayanokouji-kun." said Horikita.

The group congratulated him and he just waved it off as they made their way back towards the tent. When they arrived back at the safety of their camp, the girls began to leave in groups by themselves. Sakura shot Ayanokouji a look before disappearing into the cool, shady tent to escape the Sun. Ayanokouji was left alone and he headed towards the water coolers, but a familiar duo stood in his way.

"Ayanokouji, you bastard!" said Ike, with a scowl on his face.

"Look at you showing off your harem! I thought you said you're not getting in my way from Sakura-chan!" snarled Yamauchi, getting in front of Ayanokouji's face.

"Kushida-chan too!"

"What are you two about?" asked Ayanokouji, calmly.

"C'mon, man! You're just showing off at that point!" said Ike.

"I knew there was something wrong with you!" yelled Yamauchi. Ayanokouji glanced around and noticed that Ike's and Yamauchi's yelling seemed to be causing a commotion, getting some nearby classmates' attention.

"Calm down, you two. I didn't do anything. I just got 10 female classmates." said Ayanokouji, deciding to lie. He didn't want to say 10 friends because Yamauchi might have the wrong idea and assume that he's trying to get close to Sakura. Of course, he didn't want to get involved with Yamauchi and his sleazy perverted ways.

"Really?!"

"Seems kind of bullshit to me..."

"I have no reason to lie." said Ayanokouji. Ike and Yamauchi were all giving him a doubtful and suspicious look, but they didn't have any evidence on his claims and Ayanokouji knew that too.

"Ugh... I guess." muttered Ike.

"Just stay out of my way. Salura-chan is mine." grumbled Yamauchi.

"She's all yours." said Ayanokouji, casually slipping past the duo and approaching the water cooler. He grabbed a paper cup, filled it up with cold water, and began taking a few sips while watching the rest of the scavenger hunts.

'I wonder what Sudou will do now. It's quite lucky that Horikita managed to retrieve him before the second half of the sports festival. I'm sure Ryuuen's plan would have caused a significant amount of damage to Class D if Horikita didn't put a stop to it.' thought Ayanokouji.

*Timeskip (20 minutes later)*

"Pull, you bastard! Don't let up!" yelled Sudou.

He was leading the charge for the four-way tug of war and before the event started, Horikita pulled him aside and was discussing strategy for the event. It seemed that Sudou was actually listening to Horikita and was implementing her strategies. If you compared the Sudou right now to the Sudou from the last tug-of-war event, the difference was clear. With a ferocious yell, Sudou pulled with all of his might and his classmates yelled alongside him and they pulled the flag to their own side, securing their victory.

"Whooo! Yeaaaah,baby! That's what I've been waiting for, that's what it's all about! Whooo!" yelled Sudou, in celebration.

For once, Sudou was actually successful and scored a huge win against Class C. Ryuuen just snorted and walked away with his hands in his pocket, but before he left, he glanced over at Horikita.

"That reminds me of someone." muttered Mori, who was with Ayanokouji.

"Who?" asked Ayanokouji.

"I don't know. It reminds me of someone on the Internet that was mistakenly called Jesus by old ladies from a social media site."

"You really have a crazy imagination, Mori."

"Yeah, I guess so! Sometimes I have a feeling about it, you know? You get that too, don't you Ayanokouji-kun?"

"I guess I do."

"Right?!"

Mori looked at Ayanokouji expectantly and he had the feeling that Mori's hunch might be correct and there's someone out in the world having the exact experience that Mori has described which left him even more puzzled. Ayanokouji decided to push those thoughts out his mind and to focus on the next event which is the three-legged race.

"Hirata-kun! Would you mind if I helped, too? I'd like to participate in the three-legged race. Of course, I'll pay the points for it. Is that okay?" asked Kushida, running up to Hirata, who was nearby.

"Huh?" asked Hirata, not expecting Kushida's offer.

"I can't let you bear this burden alone. Besides, I want to try my best for the class, and for Horikita-san sake."

"Since you're pretty good at sports, Kushida-san, your offer is welcome."

"Thank you. I'll go tell Chabashira-sensei that I'll participate in Horikita-san's place, then."

With that, Kushida ran off and Hirata looked visibly relieved and Mori noticed their interactions.

"Wow, Kushida-chan is so nice!" said Mori.

"Yeah..." said Ayanokouji, agreeing with her. As he watched Kushida's retreating figure, he already confirmed the suspicions of Kushida's intentions and her actions.

'Kushida is the traitor. I saw her take a picture of the participation table with her phone. Of course, she would say that she wanted to record the information so she won't forget. Changing the table would be pointless because anyone from Class D has the right to see the table and the leak would still happen regardless. There's no point in thinking about the past. What matters is the present and with Horikita's absence, the girl's might be taking a beating and some losses, but hopefully, Sudou's presence can score some wins and points for our class. However... The previous few losses during the first half of the sports festival is going to be an issue. If I'm correct, there's no possible way that Class D would be able to score first place.' thought Ayanokouji.

*Timeskip (4 hours later)*

"Onto the final event! The 1200 meter relay race is about to begin! Please get into your positions!" said one of the announcers.

It was quite a hard and exhausting day, but Sudou seemed to be carrying his weight and his return was worth it. Sudou managed to secure mostly first places or top three during most of the events. Of course, Ryuuen was trying his best to sabotage Sudou, but it seemed that it was having little effect. Ayanokouji wondered if Sudou was developing an immunity to Ryuuen's taunts and provocations or if Horikita ordered him to control his temper, but he had the feeling that it was the latter.

On the other hand, the girls weren't doing so well on their events and would've scored higher placement if Horikita was there. All of the events that had Horikita had substitutes with the expense of Horikita's and Hirata's points. Onodera was trying her best, but she wasn't able to be the substitute in some of the events as she was participating in the same event. That led to other replacements and they weren't able to work as effectively as athletic students such Horikita, Onodera, Yajima, and more athletic students from Class B and C. As Ayanokouji studied the score, he could see that the girls' scores were lower than the boys', but after seeing the red and white team's score: the outcome was already determined.

"All right! Let's go!" said Sudou, cheerfully.

He began making his way to the field and Kushida followed him since she was Horikita's substitute for the race. He noticed that Horikita seemed a little upset as she wanted to be in the same race as her older brother. Hirata, Miyake, Maezono, and Onodera were also the runners for the race, but before Hirata could leave for the field, Miyake spoke up.

"Um, I apologize for the suddenness of this, but..." said Miyake, raising his hand.

"What is it, Miyake-kun?" asked Hirata.

"Sorry, but...would you please let me withdraw, too?"

"What's wrong?"

Hirata's eyes widened as he noticed that there's something wrong with Miyake's leg and it looked as though he was dragging his right leg a little.

"To tell you the truth, I twisted my ankle before lunch during the 200-meter dash. I thought it would feel better after I rested, but it still hurts." said Miyake.

"In that case, it looks like we'll need a replacement from the boys as well." said Hirata, looking around, but no volunteers came forward. Ayanokouji decided to speak up with no one agreeing to volunteer.

"In that case, would it be okay if I ran? I'll pay the points to go in as a substitute, of course." said Ayanokouji.

"You will, Ayanokouji? Wait, though. Are you that fast?" asked Miyake.

"I support him. I've been watching everyone, and I think Ayanokouji will do well." said Hirata. That was all it took to shut down dissenting voices and some looks directed at him.

"However, we can't really say that Class D is putting forward its best runners. That's why getting a head start on the competition should be our strategy. Hopefully, Sudou-kun will get us off to a
good start and overtake the other runners, I think we might be able to put some distance between us and the other classes. I'll maintain that lead and make sure the next student keeps things going." said Hirata, with confidence.

With that, the positions were locked in place. Sudou being the first, followed by Hirata, Onodera, Maezono, Onodera, Kushida, and finally Ayanokouji, being the anchor.

Sudou got into his lane and supportive cheers came roaring from Class D's camp. Although Class D had no chance in winning the sports festival and Sudou abandoned the class, Ayanokouji was surprised that anyone would cheer for him.

"This is okay, right, Ayanokouji-kun?" said Hirata.

"Yeah. Sorry that you had to make all the arrangements." said Ayanokouji.

"It's only natural for me. Besides, I'd hate it if Ryuuen-kun beat us again. Think he'll be surprised that you're running?"

"I'll do my best not to disappoint you. More importantly, though, let's cheer Sudou on."

Ayanokouji left and got into his position. The instant the signal sounded, Sudou got off to a strong start. His starting dash had the best time of any Ayanokouji seen thus far. He launched himself forward with such momentum that, after his first stride, he managed to pass eleven people, leaving them in the dust.

"Whoa!"

"Dude, he's so fast!"

"That's faster than before!"

In awe, Sudou left the rest of the competition behind and the other students were left to struggle desperately for a position, and got caught up in a chaotic free-for-all. Sudou, taking advantage
of that opening, continued to leave the others in the dust, securing an advantage.

"It's up to you, Hirata!" shouted Sudou. Hirata sprinted as soon as he got the baton, but the gap that Sudou created was great and Class D maintained the lead. However, there were some complications as some of the guys began to close in the gap. By the time the baton got to Kushida, Class D had lost the lead and the lead was being passed around Class A and B which are the second and third year students. The highest position was Ichinose's Class B which is in third place

"Looks like victory is ours this time, President Horikita. I would've liked to run against you directly, if possible." said Nagumo, with a laugh as the second-year Class A's top runner approached him.

"Looks like we're going to win in overall points, too. Guess this is the dawn of a new era, eh?" said Nagumo.

"Do you seriously plan to change this school?" asked Manabu.

"You're too traditional. And even though you're strict, you're weak. Your rules are too generous, and they stop people from getting expelled. All I'm going to do is help make this school the ultimate meritocracy."

Nagumo walked forward as he spoke, getting in position to receive the baton as it came his way. Not too long after Nagumo nabbed it, Shibata also received his baton and chased down Nagumo. Ayanokouji's eyes met Manabu's eyes for an instant and he could tell that he was fighting some internal struggle. He had a feeling that he wasn't supposed to be listening to that conversation between the duo.

"To think that you're the anchor." said Manabu.

"I'm just a substitute. Originally, your sister planned to be in this position." replied Ayanokouji.

"I see. I suppose she's struggling to make it through. I've observed your class. Up until a short while ago, I thought there was no hope for you. However, I don't get that impression from you at all in this relay. What happened?"

"You don't really need to pay attention to first-year Class D, though. Right?"

"I keep an eye on every class. No exceptions."

"I suppose, if anything's changed, it would be your sister."

"I see. What about you? I can't feel any excitement from you."

"I'm not interested in the sports festival. I already know the outcome."

"You probably won't be around to see this, but our class will become stronger."

"I'm not interested in such a fanciful future."

"In that case, would you be interested in learning exactly what kind of person I am?"

"What?"

"If you'd like, I'll race against you seriously."

"You really say some interesting things. I thought you hated standing out or getting involved. Why change that now?"

"If you give up your chance at second place in order to race me, I'll accept your challenge. It's not often that a first-year and third-year have the opportunity to compete like this, is it?"

"Interesting."

Manabu didn't seem as though he was going to move at all. His team's fifth runner passed him the baton, looking perplexed, but he took it and stood completely still.

"You did well. Great work." said Manabu to his runner, but the runner was in a state of shock, confusion, and exhaustion as Manabu didn't take off running. Everyone in the audience noticed this bizarre spectacle. One after another, other runners passed the third-year Class A, and Manabu stood there. Before Kushida reached the duo, Manabu spoke up.

"Do you think you can win?" asked Manabu.

"Perhaps, but the real question is can you catch up to me?" replied Ayanokouji, with his own question. He glanced over and saw Manabu with a slight smirk on his face.

"I'll say one thing to you before we race."

"What?"

"I would like to propose a wager on the race."

"Wager? You don't seem to be the type of person to wager."

"I would like to see more of your abilities and there's something I would like to see happen in the future."

"Who knows? Perhaps you'll see something you'll like and it depends on the wager."

"Go on a date with Suzune."

"Huh?"

Ayanokouji was baffled by Manabu's response and stared at him with a slightly shocked expression, but Manabu had his usual blank and stoic look. He was not the type of person to joke around and say something preposterous. Almost every time he was talking about his sister, it was shaming her and pushing her away from him. Ayanokouji wondered what caused this change, but before he could accept or ask for further elaboration, he heard Kushida rapidly approaching him. As the two got ready, Ayanokouji turned towards Manabu.

"Run as fast as you can." said Ayanokouji, not acknowledging or accepting Manabu's wager. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Manabu with a slight smile.

"Ayanokouji-kun!" cried Kushida, passing him the baton. Ayanokouji bolted down the track at full throttle with Manabu closely behind him. As he ran, Ayanokouji's thoughts began plaguing him and the rush of cold autumn air was a pleasant sensation which helped stimulate his thoughts as he flew down the track, passing the runners.

'I'd never, ever run seriously in my entire life. Until then. It was as different as could be from all the times I'd run in that cold, sterile room. I don't care about overtaking the runner in front of me. All that mattered right now was competing against the man next to me. Impressive, Horikita Manabu. You're managing to keep up with me. However... I can go even faster.' thought Ayanokouji.

As the duo ran at full speed, they passed several runners, who were in shock by the duo's speed and quickly fell behind. The distance between the duo and frontrunners were rapidly decreasing and Ayanokouji could see Shibata, Nagumo, and another runner.

"Whoa! No way!"

"That's Ayanokouji?!"

"Kya! He's really that fast?!"

"Against the student council president!"

There were cheers from Ayanokouji's own class along with cries and shouts of disbelief, shock, and panic amongst the other classes. Clearly, nobody expected this from Ayanokouji, who was going toe to toe against Manabu, who was considered one of the best students in the school.

Ayanokouji pushed those cheers and distractions out of his mind and remained focused on one goal: to beat Horikita Manabu. As the duo rounded the last curve, they reached a straight line that led to the finish line, the final stretch.

'It's time to finish this.' thought Ayanokouji.

Ayanokouji ramped up his speed and bolted down the line, passing Shibata, who cried out in shock and disbelief as the duo passed him. Ayanokouji could see the finish line which was rapidly getting closer and with Manabu slightly behind him, his victory was confirmed.

*Timeskip (30 minutes later)*

"You were super fast!" said Ichihashi.

"Seriously! I've never seen you run like that!" agreed Azuma.

"That wasn't like before, isn't it?" asked Onodera.

"I still didn't beat the student council president in the end."replied Ayanokouji, changing the subject. He didn't want to address Onodera's question and hoped that nobody had caught on to his abnormal running abilities.

"Well, there wasn't really anything you could've done about that. The runner in front of you fell down, after all." said Mii-chan. Some of the girls agreed with Mii-chan.

"Yeah... it's still my loss." said Ayanokouji.

"Don't be like that, Ayanokouji-kun! You were very fast!" said Satou. Ayanokouji was surprised that Satou joined the group of his soulmates unlike his other classmates that were watching from afar.

"Thanks, Satou."

Satou nodded happily and Ayanokouji noticed that she was slightly blushing with her face turning slightly red. He also noticed that Satou was really staring at him as if this is the first time that she's looking at him. Ayanokouji immediately knew that Satou was looking at him differently as if she saw him through a different light.

Ayanokouji was certain that he gathered the whole school's attention during the final competition. Many students looked at him with puzzled or disbelief in their expressions. Ayanokouji could feel his phone vibrating his pockets and guessed that he was getting some messages from students from other classes.

"Ayanokouji! You really are super fast, dude. Whoa! Have you been holding back until now?!" shouted Sudou, excitedly and giving him a slap on the back, causing Ayanokouji to lurch forward and wince in pain.

"Running's pretty much my only specialty, but I overdid it. That's the power of being fired up, huh?" replied Ayanokouji.

"That still doesn't explain it, though. That speed. You liar." said Horikita,walking towards the group and her legs still dragging slightly.

"How's the leg?"

Ayanokouji quickly changed the subject and nodded towards Horikita's leg which thankfully distracted Horikita and everyone else, who turned their attention towards Horikita.

"It's fine, just a little sore. There's not much to worry about." said Horikita, shrugging her shoulders. Horikita leaned in towards Ayanokouji and whispered something to his ears that only he could hear.

"If you'd run like that from the very beginning, this situation would've been different. But now you're going to be basking in lots of attention." whispered Horikita.

"Oh? Is that a heart you're growing, Horikita? Don't tell me that you're falling for me after seeing me run?" said Ayanokouji.

"S-Shut up! That's not it. I can't believe that I'm worried about you."

Horikita attempted to pull away from Ayanokouji. Her face was slightly flustered as she didn't expect such a teasing remark from the stoic boy, but Ayanokouji grabbed her arm and held it, preventing her from pulling away. Horikita wanted to slap his hand, but Ayanokouji leaned in again to whisper something.

"No... I'm more worried about you than me." whispered Ayanokouji. Horikita froze and her face grew a deeper shade of red, but before Horikita could stammer back a reply, Ayanokouji continued on.

"How about you? What are you going to do with Ryuuen and Kinoshita?" asked Ayanokouji. The question made Horikita freeze as she didn't tell him about Kinoshita and Ryuuen's deal, but for some reason, Ayanokouji knew about it.

"How did you know?" whispered Horikita.

"Just a hunch. That fall that Kinoshita took and the fact that she wasn't present during the sports festival after." replied Ayanokouji.

"I will deal with it personally."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Horikita gave Ayanokouji a determined look on her face and he decided not to push it. He nodded before pulling away from Horikita. Ayanokouji glanced around and noticed that everyone in the group was looking at him with a mixed expression of jealousy, concern, and curiosity from his soulmates as they wondered what the duo was whispering about. Sudou also was giving him a confused glare, but Ayanokouji decided to do something that will distract them.

"Looks like they'll announce the results soon. Let's get going." said Ayanokouji , pointing at the electronic scoreboard which blared to life.

"We'll now announce the results of this year's sports festival!" said one of the announcers from the screen. The screen was split up to the Red and White Team and the number of points increased and eventually started to slow down until it stopped entirely.

"The winner is the... Red Team!" said the announcer. Class D began to cheer, but Horikita's eyes still remained on the screen.

"Next, we will announce each class's overall points." said the announcer. The board divided the twelve classes into three categories, and it displayed the overall points for each class all at once. The section that everyone was focused on was the first year scores.

1st Place: First Year, B Class
2nd Place: First Year, C Class
3rd Place: First Year, A Class
4th Place: First Year, D Class

"Ugggh! I knew it! We lost!"

"Well, I thought things would end this way."

"Damn it!"

'The absence of Koenji, Horikita, and partial absence of Sudou has eventually slowed down the amount of wins and points that Class D could muster. In the end, our class athletic abilities were too low compared to Class B and C. Class A had Sakayanagi and I saw some Class A students challenging Katsuragi's leadership which I'm sure was ordered by Sakayanagi.' thought Ayanokouji.

'Unfortunately, even though we'd won as part of the Red Team, the first-year Class A only placed third in terms of overall points. That meant they'd be hit with a fifty-point penalty. Because Class D had come in last place, we faced a 100-point penalty. Since the White Team had lost, Class C would also lose 100 points. Class B had won first place in terms of overall score, and so gained fifty points; however, they would also lose fifty points because the White Team lost. None of the classes had really won.' thought Ayanokouji.

"Lastly, we will announce the MVP for each school year." said the announcer. Sudou tensed up and it was the moment that he was looking forward to since he would get permission to call Horikita by her first name.

"The first Year MVP is Shibata Sou!" said the announcer.

"Gaaahh! I knew it!" Sudou, letting out an agonized cry.

'Shibata had consistently taken first or second place in each of the events. Sudou placed
first in all his individual competitions, but being absent must have had a major influence on the results. During team events, Class D haven't scored well because of Ryuuen. The fact that we lost a heavily-weighted event like the relay was probably a big part of it, too.' thought Ayanokouji.

Sudou continued staring at the scoreboard in apparent frustration even after the closing ceremonies ended.

"You didn't take the top spot for our school year, Sudou-kun. You remember our promise, right?" asked Horikita.

"Yeah... A promise is a promise. I'll call you Horikita from now on." said Sudou, looking down.

"Your dedication is impressive. I forgot to tell you one thing, though. You pushed those conditions on me, so they were rather one-sided. I never mentioned whether I had any conditions of my own."

"Whaddya mean?"

"If you took first place, you could have used my first name. Isn't it only natural that I make a request of you in return?"

"Well, yeah. I guess so."

"So, I'm going to give you a penalty for not achieving your goal. You are forbidden from ever using violence without a justifiable reason ever again. Can you promise me that?"

"It's my punishment, right? I promise."

"Of course, you're not the one who gets to decide what a 'justifiable reason' is. That's up to me or a third party."

"Yeah..."

"Oh, that reminds me. During the festival, I wasn't able to live up to everyone's expectations, either."

"Huh? That's just 'cause you were injured, though. Nothing you could've done about that."

"Be that as it may, I can't forgive myself. I need to be punished, too... So, if you want to call me by my first name, I don't mind giving you permission."

Horikita said that with her back turned away from Sudou while she was saying this. Ayanokouji had the feeling that she was trying to hide her embarrassment.

"Huh? H-hey!" said Sudou, completely shocked by this sudden outcome.

"That's my punishment. Even though we did get last place, I have hope for the battles to come,
thanks to you. I'm truly grateful." said Horikita.

Sudou bashfully rubbed his nose, as if he blamed the setting sun for the redness of his cheeks. With an impressive shout, he raised both arms to the sky with joy and a sense of victory.

"The sports festival is the best! It's the best, Suzune!" shouted Sudou. Ayanokouji could tell that he's trying his best to not start dancing or do anything embarrassing in front of Horikita.

"I'm happy for you, Sudou." said Horikita, a bit taken aback from Sudou's reaction. She clearly didn't understand or was aware of Sudou's feelings for her as her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Yeah!"

As Sudou left the duo, he was pumping his fists in the air and Ike and Yamauchi looked at him as if he'd gone mad from his loss from the sports festival. He saw the duo inch away from the approaching Sudou, but was unable to as Sudou bounded towards them. With Horikita and Ayanokouji alone, he glanced at Horikita, who turned back towards him.

"That was unexpected." said Ayanokouji.

"It is something that I must do. To atone for my foolishness and a reminder of my mistakes." said Horikita.

"Someone is learning fast, huh?"

"Is that a sense of sarcasm in your voice, Ayanokouji-kun?"

"Perhaps. You did well, Horikita."

"Suzune."

"Hmm?"

"C-Call me, Suzune instead."

Ayanokouji stared at Horikita, taken aback. He didn't expect her to give Sudou permission to call her by her given name, but now he's also being included. He had the feeling that Horikita was the type of girl that didn't give that many people permission to call her by her given name. As he glanced over at Horikita, he noticed that she was blushing heavily and averted her eyes, looking like she wanted to die from sheer embarrassment.

"Suzune, huh?" said Ayanokouji.

"Y-Yes. Is there a problem? Of course, it's your choice on whether or not you'll accept it, but I'm feeling generous due to my blunder on the sports festival. I just wanted someone else besides Sudou-kun to call me by my given name and you're the closest person to me. Uhh... physically speaking."

"All right, Suzune."

"Eh?!"

Horikita froze temporarily at the realization of what Ayanokouji said, who casually agreed to her request without even reacting or batting an eye. Before Horikita could reply, a voice cut in and interrupted the duo.

"Sorry about cutting in while you're celebrating, but do you have a minute?" asked a purple-haired girl. Ayanokouji glanced over at her and realized that it was the same girl that took him to Sakayanagi during the cruise ship and was from Class A.

"Would you mind coming with me after you finish changing?" asked the girl.

"Why me?" replied Ayanokouji.

"Because I have something to talk to you about. At five o'clock, go to the front gate."

Before Ayanokouji could respond, the girl swiftly left and Horikita was glancing at him with a questioning look.

"Do you know this girl, Ayanokouji-kun?" asked Horikita.

"I don't know her name, but she's from Class A." replied Ayanokouji.

"This is bad... now you got Class A's attention. Are you going to see her?"

"Yeah."

'It's best not to ignore Sakayanagi.' thought Ayanokouji.

"Be careful, Ayanokouji-kun. Remember not to reveal anything crucial." said Horikita.

"Yeah. How do you feel?"

"What do you mean?"

"About dealing with Kushida and Ryuuen."

Horikita sighed and took a deep breath before responding to Ayanokouji.

"It was a complete and devastating loss for all of Class D, especially from me. But I feel like I grew today. I never imagined a day would come when failure would nourish me, but...that's really how I feel." said Horikita.

"I see. That's good, right?" replied Ayanokouji.

"This class is going to get stronger. Then we'll definitely climb the ranks to the upper classes."

"Honestly, this optimism is kind of freaking me out. It's not like you."

"I suppose not... Thank you, Ayanokouji-kun. For helping me again."

Horikita gave Ayanokouji a bashful smile, but quickly averted her eyes

With that, the duo split apart and headed into completely different directions as the boys were changing in their own respective locker rooms. As Ayanokouji headed into the locker room, he heard some whispers and glances directed at him and it was from Ike, Yamauchi, and a few other boys.

Apparently, some of them have seen the purple-haired girl from Class A with Ayanokouji and even heard what she said to him. There were mixed expressions of disbelief and jealousy amongst some of the boys as another different girl is approaching Ayanokouji, someone from a different class. There were even some whispers of a possible confession and another harem joining the fray, but Ayanokouji did his best to ignore it as he changed. He glanced at the clock and realized that he should hurry up and finish his business with Sakayanagi before enacting his rest of the plan.

Ayanokouji left the classroom and headed towards the school gate where he found the same girl, waiting for him. She was glancing at her phone and seemed to be preoccupied by it to not notice Ayanokouji. As Ayanokouji got a closer look at her, he noticed how pretty she was. Despite her blunt and disinterested attitude and expression in her face, the sunlight reflected off her long purple hair and cast a more gentle side of her, but that all changed when she noticed Ayanokouji approaching.

"Let's go." said the girl, slipping her phone back in her pocket and immediately leaving, not giving Ayanokouji the chance to greet her or ask any questions.

"Wait." said Ayanokouji, catching up to her.

"No time to explain."

"What's your name?"

"I don't have to tell you, do I? And besides you're just as worse than the Snake."

"Snake?"

"Never mind. Just follow me."

"I don't want to call you 'That Girl', so it's better if you tell me your name."

"Tch... my name is Kamuro Masumi."

As Ayanokouji followed Kamuro, he noticed that they were heading towards the direction of the special exam building, away from the public and prying eyes. He already knew who wanted to see him, but he decided to dig a little into Kamuro's character and involvement.

"Is it Sakayanagi?" asked Ayanokouji, getting straight to the point as they entered the building.

"You're smarter than you look. Why would she, out of everyone, pay much attention to someone in Class D?" asked Kamuro, bluntly.

"Maybe she fell in love with me after my running skills."

"Ha! As if any girl is stupid enough to fall in love with someone just like that. That's pretty shallow."

Ayanokouji wanted to ask Kamuro more about Sakayanagi, but it seemed that the conversation had fallen off. He could tell that Kamuro is quite the blunt and honest person and wondered how she would work for Sakayanagi. Kamuro wasn't the type of person to easily submit herself under orders of someone else.

"There you go. I brought him here." said Kamuro. Ayanokouji heard a familiar tapping noise coming around the corner, the sound of a cane gently tapping on the floor and very light footsteps. Sakayanagi rounded the corner with all of my smug glory.

"Thank you, Masumi-san." said Sakayanagi.

"Yeah, whatever."

Kamuro quickly left the duo without glancing at Sakayanagi, but she gave Ayanokouji a curious look before disappearing from view.

"You wanted to see me?" asked Ayanokouji.

"You drew quite a lot of attention in that final relay, Ayanokouji-kun." said Sakayanagi.

"Oh, sorry. Can I send one little message? I've got someone waiting."

"Go ahead."

Sakayanagi smiled, not appearing displeased at all, but Ayanokouji had the feeling that she's hiding it. He quickly sent off the message he prepared on his phone before slipping his phone back into his pocket.

"Is there something you want, Sakayanagi?" asked Ayanokouji.

"After seeing you run, I remembered something. The sight of watching a survivor of the White Room overpowering everyone and everything around him."

"I think you gave me too much credit and it's been a while since I went all out."

"Fufufu... how amusing, Ayanokouji-kun. I don't think you truly used all of your abilities during that little race."

"What makes you say that?"

"Let's just say that a delicate maiden can tell when they are looking at the person that they are interested in."

"I see..."

"It's almost like the buildup toward a romantic confession, don't you think?"

"I really have no idea what you're talking about."

"You wound my maidenly heart."

As Sakayanagi was chuckling to herself, Ayanokouji remained quiet and wondered if his message had arrived on time. But as he was thinking, Sakayanagi cleared her throat and her soft laughter slowly dissipated as she spoke, tapping her cane gently on the ground.

"Now... I proposed that we have a little competition." said Sakayanagi.

"Competition? I would like to avoid any unnecessary attention, but I suppose there's no way around it." said Ayanokouji.

"Are you agreeing?"

''I'm not confirming or denying your proposal, but there's some people in our way, don't you think?"

"Of course. I will crush Katsuragi-kun once and for all before destroying Class B's optimistic hope of reaching Class A."

"I look forward to it, Sakayanagi. Don't disappoint me."

"What a foolish remark. I may be physically incapable, but nobody can dominate me mentally."

"That can change."

"Fufufu... I hope that our battle will be fruitful and worth the time of waiting. After all, I am a patient person."

As Sakayanagi and Ayanokouji made their plans of a potential duel between them, Ayanokouji wondered about his upcoming battle with Sakayanagi. It may be a while before it actually happens, but he had the feeling that Sakayanagi would patiently wait and was willing to wait for the entire 3 years of her high school life just to face him. He couldn't shake the feeling that the battle may be coming sooner than he expected.

Horikita POV:

So, you didn't run away, Suzune. You came." said Ryuuen.

"If I had run away, I truly would've been hopeless. I'm going to face my problems." said Horikita.

"You've got a good heart. You've become a finer woman than before."

"Before we talk, why don't we put an end to this ridiculous charade, Kushida-san?"

"Huh? Charade? What in the world do you mean?" said Kushida, appearing around the corner and standing next to Ryuuen.

"If you want to pretend to be a good person, I don't particularly care. But you're not, are you? You leaked the information. That's how Class C was able to pull off what they did. That's why I'm here right now, like this, with Ryuuen-kun. Am I wrong?"

"Come on, now. Who did you hear that from? Hirata-kun? Ayanokouji-kun?"

"Neither. These are my own feelings on the matter. I couldn't shake off my uneasiness. Ryuuen-kun's the only one here right now. Don't you think it's time we cut to the chase and confront each other?"

"Confront each other? What do you mean?"

"Way back at the start of our first semester, I saw you trying to convince Koenji-kun to give up his seat on the bus. To be completely honest, I didn't recognize you. But immediately afterward, I remembered."

"Of course you remember. I was quite the problem child, I suppose."

"I don't think that's entirely accurate. You weren't a problem child. Everyone trusted you, just like everyone in Class D now trusts you. But—"

"Can you please stop? Stop bringing up the past."

"I suppose. It's meaningless to talk about what's already been done."

Ryuuen smiled while he listened to their conversation, looking as though he was enjoying himself.

"Well then, you understand what I'm after, right? You know what I want to do?" said Kushida.

"Yes. I've already realized what you want. You want to chase me out of this school. Aren't you taking quite a large risk, though? If I exposed the truth, you'd lose your popularity." replied Horikita.

"Me or Horikita-san? It's obvious which of us is more loved. I suppose you could say I'm someone who hedges her bets."

"Even if no one believed what I said, there'd still be lingering doubts. You can't deny the fact that we attended the same junior high."

"I suppose you're right. But if you do happen to tell anyone about me, I will drag the brother you love and respect into this."

Horikita reflexively stiffened in response as Kushida knew how to exploit it for her benefit.

"Can't you simply ignore me? You know I don't involve myself with other people or stick my nose where it doesn't belong, right?" said Horikita.

"For now. But there's no guarantee for the future. I want anyone who knows about my past to disappear, so that I can be me. Otherwise, I'll be in trouble." replied Kushida.

'Well... anyone except one person...' thought Kushida. Kushida tried her best to express that as she knew that she would probably have a stupid expression on her face that would give it away and she didn't want anyone to know that, especially Horikita.

"Since Ryuuen saw your true face, does that make him your prey, too?" responded Horikita.

"Yes, I suppose so, depending on the circumstances." said Kushida.

"Kukuku! What a shrewd woman. Well, I guess I decided to work with you because I like this side of your personality." said Ryuuen, in amusement.

"Let me tell you one thing, Horikita-san. I will have the school expel you. If I need to make a deal with the devil to do so, so be it." said Kushida.

"That's really a shame, Suzune. Betrayed by such a trustworthy ally." said Ryuuen, with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"You were a step ahead of me this time, Ryuuen-kun. No...I suppose you've been a step ahead for a while. The test on the cruise ship, the one on the island, and the incident with Sudou-kun... I've just kept on losing and losing." said Horikita.

"Then I think the time for talk is over. I'll tell you this, though: Kinoshita running into you earlier was a total accident. She didn't have any ulterior motive or ill intent. That's just the way the world is."

"Perhaps so. There's no evidence, so it was obvious that I'd be framed as the aggressor. But let me say this, in turn. You were behind that incident. You ordered Kinoshita-san to make sure I took a fall. I'm sure of it."

"You're delusional."

"Being delusional. But I'd like to ask you why you did it."

"It's quite a long process just to get you to kneel. Before the sports festival, I had Kushida get her hands on Class D's complete participation table. I put the right people in the right places to ensure good match-ups, and took the wins. Of course, that's not all. I thoroughly researched Class A as well."

"Brilliant leadership. You beat us both. But couldn't you have won more effectively? To crush me, you pitted two of your aces against me, and even had one of them withdraw after she was injured. That's incomprehensible."

"I wanted to crush you. That was reason enough. I had no interest in winning the sports festival."

"But your strategy also relied on luck. Good for you. When you ordered Kinoshita-san to knock me over, two coincidences saved you. One, that I just so happened to be unable to continue participating, and two, that Kinoshita-san injured herself. You couldn't plan for either of those factors."

"Your injury was coincidental, yes. If Kinoshita deliberately aimed to injure you, that would've been obvious. That's why I had her carefully practice hitting an opponent and making the fall look completely natural."

"Is it really an accident?"

"Kukuku! So, you have a bit of a brain left, huh? Yes, she certainly did fall. But injuries that serious don't just happen at the drop of a hat. That's why I had her pretend to be in pain and then drop out of the sports festival. Before she got medical treatment, I injured her
myself. Like this."

Ryuuen stomped on the floor with all his strength and the loud sound echoed unnervingly through the hall.

"You injured...her?" asked Horikita.

"She agreed when I told her that I'd pay her 500,000 points. Man, the power of money is a terrifying thing, isn't it?" said Ryuuen.

"Is it really okay for you to just blab on and on?"

"What?"

"If I happened to be recording your confession, what would you do?"

As Horikita asked that question, she pulled out her phone.

"Did you come up with that bluff just now?" asked Ryuuen.

"I bet everything on it. Still, I'm surprised you told me so much." replied Horikita, pushing a button on her phone and played back the recording from a specific point.

"If you complain about me, or demand that I pay you points or bow before you, I'll use the evidence I now hold in my hands. If I do, which of us will be in trouble?" asked Horikita.

Ryuuen-kun's smile disappeared for the first time and he seemed to be at a loss of words.

"Suzune...you..." said Ryuuen.

"I don't want to cause any panic. That's why I'd like to settle things." replied Horikita.

"Kukuku! You really are an entertaining woman, you know that? I said so from the
the very beginning, didn't I? The contents of our current conversation are, at best, complete fiction. I was just humoring your delusions. All I did was anticipate the story you conjured up inside your own head." said Ryuuen, laughing in amusement.

"I could delete the part where you said it was a delusion and edit the recording, couldn't I?"

"Well, in that case, I'd just have to hand over the original recording. Then there would be no problem at all. This is the full audio recording, from beginning to end. In fact, I actually took a video."

Ryuuen pulled out his phone and he aimed his phone camera at Horikita. Horikita realized that including a video was the best and reliable evidence compared to audio, realizing that she was
between a rock and a hard place.

"So, do you admit it, Suzune? The reality of your defeat, I mean." said Ryuuen, gleefully. Kushida also smiled boldly now. Horikita now realized how hopeless it was, any countermeasures she had thought would not help her as Ryuuen seemed to have accounted for it and had an unbeatable strategy.

"Abandon your pride and get on your knees, Suzune." said Ryuuen.

"I understand... I admit..." said Horikita, bending her knees, but before she could fully kneel, there was a sound from Ryuuen's phone which got everyone's attention.

As Ryuuen looked at the screen, his face stiffened for a moment. Then, he started fiddling with his phone, but Horikita heard a recording coming from his phone.

"Listen up, you guys. We're going to set a trap for Horikita Suzune. I don't care what it takes to completely crush her. I have a plan in mind. I'll show you something interesting."

That was Ryuuen's voice coming from his phone. Horikita wondered if it was from a previous conversation, but it was different from the conversation that they had a few moments ago. In the recording, he went into detail about his plan which was the exact plan that he was describing earlier.

"What's going on, Ryuuen-kun? What's with that recording?" asked Kushida, puzzled by this sudden development.

"I see. I see, I see. I see now! Heh heh! Isn't that interesting? Do you know what this means, Kikyou? There's a traitor in Class C, too. They made not just you and Suzune dance in the palm of their hand, but me as well. This person predicted everything, including your betrayal and Suzune's debasement. Kukuku! Interesting! So interesting! The person pulling the strings is incredible! The best!" shouted Ryuuen, laughing in wild excitement.

"You were used, Kikyou. They predicted that you'd betray your class and leak the participation table. They read us like a book." continued Ryuuen.

"Who could be responsible for this? That bastard!"

"Kukuku! Someone managed to get this recording without leaving a trace behind. Anyone might have been positioned where they were because someone was puppeteering them. I'm going to investigate this thoroughly. I've failed to get points from Suzune or have her kneel, but I'm happy with all that I procured."

'There was no doubting it. I didn't know how he'd done it, but he'd used someone from Class C to record Ryuuen-kun's strategy. What I saw him do in the relay against my brother was completely incomprehensible, too. It was unlike him to draw attention to himself that way, but that was how I knew it had to be true. The mastermind had to be Ayanokouji Kiyotaka-kun.' thought Horikita.

"Well, this is over for now. Whoever sent this email probably won't hound me further." said Ryuuen.

"Is that really okay, though? What if they threaten you with the recording?" asked Kushida.

"If they intended to submit it to the school, they already would've. I couldn't get Suzune on her knees, but I accomplished half of what I wanted to. A good show."

With that, Ryuuen left the two girls with an amused chuckle, but Horikita had the feeling that he was quietly annoyed and enraged that his plan against her had failed. Kushida gave Horikita an annoyed and deadly glare before leaving as well.

"This isn't over, Horikita-san. One way or another, you'll be out of my hair soon." said Kushida.

With that final threat looming, Kushida disappeared around the corner and Horikita felt a sense of relief as a humongous amount of weight had been left from her shoulders. She took a sigh of relief before wondering what kind of plan that Ayanokouji used to stop Ryuuen.

'Ayanokouji-kun... what did you do?' thought Horikita.

Ayanokouji POV:

Ayanokouji sneezed as he exited the special exam building, developing a precognition that someone was thinking about him. He had spent a little more time with Sakayanagi, discussing some few things and decided to let her go first. He didn't want people to see him and Sakayanagi together, especially leaving the special exam building, an isolated place. The last thing that he wanted was to have rumors of him being with the famed Saskayanagi from Class A alone in an isolated place.

As Ayanokouji walked towards the main road, he heard a bit of a commotion ahead of him. He found it strange because he was taking a side path from the main road which didn't have too much foot traffic. It sounded like a girl and a boy talking, but as Ayanokouji got closer, the voices sounded familiar.

"Oi! What do you mean no?!" said Kondo.

"A deal is a deal! You gotta do your part!" said Komiya.

"Ew, no way! I said it... because there was no way that Class C could beat Class A, but... y-you..." stuttered Koharu, stunned by the deal that she made. It seemed that she didn't account for her class losing when she made the bet, showing her overconfidence.

"Nomura! You like this girl?!"

"Uhh... Koharu-san! P-Please go out with me!" said Nomura, bowing his head again. Even though he won the bet and had the right to enforce it, it seemed that Nomura was a little more hesitant and nervous about his potential date.

"I already told you before! I don't see you like that!" protested Koharu.

"You already made the bet. You gotta honor it and besides it's just a date." said Kondo.

"I-I... I don't see how a lowly class could've won over Class A!"

Ayanokouji watched as Koharu's desperation grew as her justification and excuse for not honoring her side of the deal. Ayanokouji wasn't a romantic, but he was sure that forcing someone into a romantic situation was probably not the way to go. He watched as Kondo's and Komiya's agitation and exasperation grew by Koharu's pride and disbelief. Class A's defeat.

"It's just one date!"

"It's not even that big of a deal! You're the one that made the bet!"

Koharu's posture seemed to have balled up as Kondo's and Komiya's persistence continued to hurl at her. It seemed to be destroying her confidence and pride as the two boys were getting closer to Koharu, who retreated and her back was against a nearby tree. Ayanokouji watched in silence as he observed Koharu's actions.

'Her pride is damaged. Based on the interaction I had with Koharu, she's quite the prideful girl. Someone that is confident in her abilities and standing in Class A. The image of Class A being unstoppable and being the best of the best that students of this school boosted her pride. Now... seeing Class A receiving defeat after defeat will begin to change her notions about Class A and is taking a heavy blow to her pride and confidence.' thought Ayanokouji.

Ayanokouji internally sighed as he watched the conflict, knowing that this situation is bad for Koharu and is lasting too long. Ayanokouji wanted to go back to his room, but this situation is getting in his way and finding another detour will take even longer. Giving a moment to gather his courage, Ayanokouji walked onto the path and directly towards Koharu and the Class C boys.

As soon as they heard Ayanokouji's footsteps, everyone froze and turned towards Ayanokouji's direction. He casually walked closer towards the group and stopped, staring at the group before turning his attention to Koharu.

"Koharu, are they bothering you?" asked Ayanokouji, with his signature blank expression on his face.

"A-Ayanokouji-kun!" stammered Koharu. Her face was surprised, thankful, and slightly embarrassed.

"Ayanokouji?!"

"You mean the playboy that's always with Manabe's group?"

"What?!"

Nomura had a surprised expression on his face as he yelped it out. He had already heard rumors about Ayanokouji especially around his classmates, but he stared at Ayanokouji and Koharu, not expecting the duo to know each other.

"Are you okay, Koharu?" asked Ayanokouji, elaborating his point again.

Ayanokouji didn't want to get sidetracked by their sudden comments and he knew that at this rate, he would get a reputation throughout the entire school as being a casanova. Koharu stared at Ayanokouji and seemed to be having trouble responding to him, but he could see that her eyes were silently pleading for help.

"Oi! Mind your own business." said Kondo.

"Wait... he's the guy that was with Horikita." said Komiya. Apparently, Komiya has recognized him from the previous incident with Sudou and with Komiya's comment, Kondo's eyes widened as he recognized him after giving Ayanokouji a second glance.

"C-Can you boys shut up?! Why is there an audience here?!" said Koharu.

"It seems like I'm not needed. I'll be on my way." said Ayanokouji.

He began making his way away from the group as he walked past them and headed off, but as he was leaving, he heard a pair of footsteps approaching him from behind. Then, he felt a pair of hands grip tightly on his uniform's right sleeve and that caused him to stop. It was Koharu.

"W-Wait! A-Ayanokouji-kun..." said Koharu. Ayanokouji stopped and decided to let Koharu speak, but she seemed to be struggling to say her words. He slightly turned towards her and could see that Koharu was struggling.

'Koharu is a prideful young woman. Not only in her stature of the prestigious Class A, but in her abilities and as a person. Of course, she's not as extreme as Koneji, but asking someone for help, especially someone in a lower class, someone that sees as inferior to herself.' thought Ayanokouji.

"Oi! What are you doing?!"

"He's running away from your girl!"

"It seems to me that Koharu wants to come with me. I have no intention in forcing her, but I must be going. You can come with me if you want." said Ayanokouji, making sure to direct the last part towards Koharu. Koharu nodded quickly and the duo briskly left the scene with the boys cursing at Ayanokouji and Nomura staring dumbfounded at the duo.

After they walked for a few minutes, Ayanokouji made sure to walk towards a more public area where the likelihood of the Class C boys chasing and harassing them would be non-existent. As soon as they got onto the main path, Koharu immediately let her hands off Ayanokouji's arm. He turned towards her and Koharu remained silent.

"The words are thank you." said Ayanokouji, breaking the silence. His remarks left Koharu stunned as she recoiled backwards with an incredulous look on her face as if she didn't believe what Ayanokouji just said. She stuttered for a bit before uttering her next words.

"U-Uhh... T-Thank you, A-Ayanokouji-kun!" stammered Koharu. She looked genuinely shocked and thankful for what Ayanokouji did to save her.

"I didn't expect that from you."

"Hmph! Do I seem to be the type of girl to not be thankful?!"

"Will it be considered bullying if I answer yes?"

"I-Idiot! Do I look like Koenji-kun?!"

"Well, you are blonde."

Koharu rolled her eyes at Ayanokouji's comments, but she spoke again. This time, the tone of her voice became stronger and was different from her reluctant and meek tone from the previous conversation.

"T-Thank you, Ayanokouji-kun. I really mean it. Honestly... I don't think I could've made it out without you." said Koharu. As Ayanokouji glanced over, he noticed that she had a slight blush and sheepish expression on her face, similar to Sakura. Without saying a word, Ayanokouji just nodded and responded with his own question.

"Are you okay by yourself? I'm heading back to the dorms." said Ayanokouji.

"I'm fine. See you later, Ayanokouji-kun" replied Koharu.

"Bye, Koharu."

With that, Koharu departed from Ayanokouji and seemed to be heading towards the direction of the Keyaki Mall. Ayanokouji decided to head towards the dorms after looking at the retreating figure of Koharu.

Koharu POV:

'Oh! That was close! Calm down, Yano. Take a deep breath and try not to think about it. Ayanokouji-kun... I didn't expect him to come help me. I can't believe that Class A lost to Class C and not only that I have to go on a date with that creep from Class C. Honestly, all boys are the same with some few exceptions... It's not like the boys from Class A are better. Well... some of them are. It looks like I misjudged Ayanokouji-kun. I thought he was just a lowly defect from Class D. Useless and perverted like the rest of those boys from that class. But... he saved me. Something that I didn't expect from him.' thought Koharu.

Koharu took a deep breath as she arrived at the Keyaki Mall. She wanted to take a walk to calm herself down from that tense situation and since it's a public place, the likelihood of Kondo, Komiya, and Nomura harassing her is unlikely.

'Maybe he wasn't a bad guy after all…' thought Koharu.

Before Koharu could think about it further, she heard someone calling her name which snapped her out of her thoughts. She turned towards the direction of the voice and was surprised at who was calling her.

"What do you want, Hashimoto-kun?" asked Koharu.

Ayanokouji POV:

After a few minutes of walking, Ayanokouji arrived at the dorms and headed towards his room. Ayanokouji was wondering what he was going to make for dinner and assumed Satou was already there since he was preoccupied with Sakayanagi and Koharu. Before he could enter his dorms, he heard someone calling his name.

"Ayanokouji-kun?" called out Amikura. Ayanokouji turned around and saw her by her room's door. Apparently, she had just arrived around the same time as him.

"Amikura? What a coincidence, huh?" replied Ayanokouji.

"Yeah! Say... you're really something else! Racing against Horikita-senpai like that!"

"Hmm... It's not that impressive. I just matched his pace and I still lost."

"Yeah, but... not even someone like Nagumo-senpai could catch up to you two and beat everyone else after being behind!"

"I suppose. It was a good race."

Amikura nodded happily and seemed to be thinking about something. Ayanokouji decided to let her think because it would be rude to shut the door in her face and leave while she was in mid thought.

"Say... Ayanokouji-kun. I would like to talk to you more. How about a friendly neighbor visit?" asked Amikura.

"Hmm... I..." said Ayanokouji. Before he could say anything else, Amikura interrupted him with a playful smirk on her face.

"Getting flustered by my invitation? Don't tell me that you're actually thinking about something dirty?!"

Amikura pretended to be flustered and covered up her body with her arms, making herself look smaller. She was hiding her face, but Ayanokouji could tell that Amikura was smiling as her body was shaking with muffled laughter as she was holding it in.

"Is that so?" asked Ayanokouji, bluntly.

"Oh, c'mon! At least give me a reaction or something! It's like I'm talking to a wall! No offense..." said Amikura.

"None taken. So... Do you want to come over to your place or mine?"

"Making your move already?~"

"Perhaps. I would take it that you want to come over to my place."

"So bold!~"

"What time do you want to come over?"

"I don't know... Maybe around 6?"

"That could work."

"See you later, Ayanokouji-kun."

"See you soon, Amikura."

With that, the duo went to their respective rooms and as Ayanokouji made his way into the dorms, he heard some activity in the kitchen.

"Satou? What are you doing?" asked Ayanokouji. He saw that Satou was in the kitchen with her sleeves rolled up and wearing an noticed that two sets of chopsticks was set up on the dining table.

"Oh! Ayanokouji-kun! I'm cooking dinner!" said Satou.

"Oh... I believe it was my turn."

"I know, but I just wanna cook. I mean you must be tired after... racing against Horikita-senpai. You're amazing, Ayanokouji-kun! You're really fast! It's... almost like you're a blur!"

"Ah... it's this your way of congratulating me? I still lost in the end."

"Yeah, but..."

Amikura seemed to be dumbfounded by Ayanokouji's unexpected words and the way that Ayanokouji phrased it made it seem that Satou was taking pity for him. However, Ayanokouji was unaware of his word's intentions, but due to his blank face and blunt attitude, it doesn't sound like a joke.

"Satou?" asked Ayanokouji, tilting his head as he was confused by the hesitation in her voice.

"I didn't mean it like that..." said Satou, looking apologetic.

"What do you mean? It was a joke."

"Joke?! Ayanokouji-kun, you idiot!"

Satou's face turned slightly red, but she had a playful smile on her face as she realized how dry Ayanokouji's humor is and how big of a misunderstanding that occurred.

"But... Thank you, Satou. You're always improving with your cooking. I look forward to it." said Ayanokouji, thanking her. Satou's food wasn't the greatest and could use some improvement, but he was grateful that someone was willing to cook for him.

"N-No problem! I-I..." said Satou, averting her eyes from him.

Her face was getting more red due to Ayanokouji's compliments which Ayanokouji noticed and before he could say anything, there was a noise coming from the kitchen. It was the gurgling sound of boiling water spilling out of a pot and onto the edge of the pot. Satou yelped as she disappeared into the kitchen and the gurgling noise stopped.

"Is everything okay?" asked Ayanokouji.

"Y-Yeah! Just a little spillage! You can sit down, Ayanokouji-kun. Dinner's almost ready!" called out Satou.

"Do you want me to help you?"

"No, everything is fine. Just take a seat. I'll let you know once it's ready."

"I'll take you up on your offer."

Ayanokouji sat down on the couch and listened as noises were coming out of the kitchen along with Satou's murmurs, a sign of a busy kitchen.

'That's strange. Satou seems to be acting differently from usual. Normally, she could look at me and talk to me without much issue. But... this time feels different. Is it just a unique occurrence or will it be a pattern? I wonder if she's sick. It's almost like she's... in love with me. Or developed feelings for me? God mentioned that only my soulmates will fall in love with me, but he did not mention feelings of admiration. Perhaps, Satou has become more aware of my existence or has a sense of admiration. I have not made direct eye contact with Satou yet to confirm if she will become my soulmate. However, I'm hesitant to do something like this. I'm curious to see what the future has in store for Satou.' thought Ayanokouji, noticing the odd behavior from Satou.

Ayanokouji tried his best to not think too much about it before pulling out his phone. There were a few private messages from some of his soulmates and some activity in the soulmates' group chat.

Nanami: Wow! Ayanokouji-kun, you were so fast!

Ayanokouji: Thanks...

Nanami: Were you in the track and field club during junior high? That speed... It's too much!

Ayanokouji: I wasn't a part of the track and field club in junior high.

Nanami: Really? You were really fast! Are you sure that you're not secretly a champion runner?

Ayanokouji: I feel like people would've known who I was if I was.

Nanami: Good point!

Manabe: Oi, Ayanokouji.

Ayanokouji: Not you too, Manabe...

Manabe: What do you mean?

Ayanokouji: You don't text me often.

Manabe: I'm not a shallow bitch, but a classmate of mine wanted your number and she won't leave me alone. So, I gave it to her.

Ayanokouji: Who is it?

Manabe: You'll find out. And... that was some good running.

Ayanokouji: Thanks.

Onodera: Ayanokouji-kun! That was seriously amazing!

Ayanokouji: Sorry for not telling you.

Onodera: Why didn't you tell me about this?! You totally would have joined the track and field club.

Ayanokouji: It was a rush of adrenaline and I don't like the attention.

Onodera: Ayanokouji-kun... I can tell that it's not just a simple adrenaline rush. You're

Ayanokouji: It seems that I can't hide anything from you, Onodera. I liked to run as a child and was always the fastest in school. However, it brought a lot of unwanted attention and jealousy amongst my peers.

Onodera: That's not fair!

Ayanokouji: Life is not always fair.

Onodera: I know, but I don't like it when people don't recognize and respect someone's effort and hard work!

Ayanokouji: It's okay, but thanks. It's been a while since someone praised me for my hard work and dedication.

Onodera: Hey. At least you have someone that understands all of the hard work you put in.

Ayanokouji: And I'm glad that it was you, Onodera.

Onodera: Wait what?! Ayanokouji-kun?!

Ayanokouji: Thank you, Onodera.

Onodera: No problem! I'll see you later, Ayanokouji-kun!

Ayanokouji: Good night, Onodera.

Kinoshita: Ayanokouji-kun! Join the track and field club!

Ayanokouji: Kinoshita? Did you ask Manabe for my number?

Kinoshita: Wait! How did you know?!

Ayanokouji: Manabe told me. And I'm not interested in joining.

Kinoshita: That's too bad! You were really good and my senpais were talking about you. With you, we could actually participate in the national race.

Ayanokouji: That's something I'm not interested in.

Kinoshita: You're really good at hiding your running abilities, huh?

Ayanokouji: Sorry, but our classes were opponents during the sports festival. It wasn't that I didn't like running with you and Yajima, but it was a strategic advantage to hide my running abilities.

Kinoshita: I get it... But, you were really fast and so good at hiding it! Yajima was texting me about it and that girl is usually asleep and not on her phone.

Ayanokouji: I'm surprised that Yajima didn't ask for my number.

Kinoshita: You know her... she's probably too lazy to ask for it and wanted me to do all of the heavy lifting.

Ayanokouji: I can see her doing that.

Ayanokouji: By the way, how's the leg?

Kinoshita: Just a little swollen and just needs some icing.

Ayanokouji: Just take it easy.

Kinoshita: Next time, let's have a race!

Ayanokouji: Sure, anytime. When you're better and ready.

Those were some of the private messages that Ayanokouji received and he was responding to some of them, but not all of them. The main group chat that included all of his soulmates was buzzing with activity as messages from different girls were discussing Ayanokouji's race against Manabu. He decided not to respond and let the girls talk it out, hoping not to get into a conversation with everyone. Ayanokouji sighed as he knew that his peaceful life was truly over as the entire school saw his race against Manabu, living tangible proof of his physical abilities.

Ayanokouji noticed that Mori had sent a link on the group chat and when Ayanokouji clicked on it, it took him to a page to the school forum where someone posted a video of Ayanokouji racing against Manabu. The video seemed to be starting halfway through the race and right before the last curve. The video lasted for about 30 seconds and ended with Ayanokouji losing against Manabu. There was also cheering and gasps coming from the video. Ayanokouji scrolled down and found some comments about him and it seemed that some of them were asking who Ayanokouji is while others were commenting about his running abilities.

Ayanokouji decided to click off the school forum post before he could scroll down and see all of the comments about himself. He sighed and decided to look on his phone to kill some time. Sotomura had sent him a list of anime that he personally recommended and Ayanokouji decided to look at them with the help of Internet-sensei to read the synopsis and to choose which one to watch. That decision is always the hardest.

*Timeskip (20 minutes later)*

"Itadakimasu." said the duo.

"It looks good, Satou." said Ayanokouji, observing the bowl of white rice and a plate of Japanese curry.

The thick light yellow-brown curry was a pleasant sight and Ayanokouji could smell a slightly sweet, but aromatic scent coming from curry. He could see chunks of carrots and potatoes along with some beef. Ayanokouji picked up his chopsticks and gently poked at a piece of beef and noticed that the chopsticks easily penetrated a hole within the meat.

"It's tender. Good job." noted Ayanokouji.

"Well... I learned from last time." said Satou, with an embarrassed smile as she recalled her last disaster with beef.

"Let's see how it tastes."

Ayanokouji picked up the piece of beef that he pierced and took a bite. The flavor of curry exploded in his mouth as he could taste a slight sweetness from the carrots and a subtle spice from the curry. After his first bite, he took his bowl of rice and gently scooped it onto the plate. The plate became a symphony of brown and white with specks of yellow and orange from the potatoes and carrots.

Ayanokouji took another bite, making sure to get a bit of rice, curry, potatoes, carrots, and beef, everything in one perfect bite. Satou looked at him expectantly and anxiously waiting for his verdict.

"Well done, Satou. You did a good job." said Ayanokouji. Satou took a sigh of relief before having a proud expression on her face.

"I told you I can do it." said Satou.

"I've never doubted you."

Satou thanked Ayanokouji happily and the duo focused on their dinner. As Ayanokouji ate, he noticed that Satou was staring at him in a burst of glances, but every time he looked up from his dinner and towards her, Satou quickly averted her eyes from him. He wondered if there was food on his face, but when he checked, there was nothing which left him puzzled.

After a bit of eating, Ayanokouji volunteered to wash the dishes, but Satou begrudgingly agreed and while Ayanokouji was washing the dishes, Satou was sitting on the couch and on her phone.

"Ayanokouji-kun?" called Satou.

"Yeah?" replied Ayanokouji.

"Do you mind if we have guests tonight?"

"When?"

"Oh... In a few minutes."

"Ahh... I forgot to tell you. I have someone coming too. In about 10 minutes."

"Ahh! We'll see what happens next."

"I'm going to get some snacks and drinks ready."

"You don't need to, Ayanokouji-kun."

"You're right. I have to."

Even with Satou's protest, Ayanokouji began checking the cabinets for any snacks and started boiling some water in a kettle. He luckily found some sweets and placed them on a tray. Ayanokouji grabbed some tea leaves he received from Tachibana and began preparing them. As Ayanokouji was working, he heard someone ringing the doorbell and the sound of Satou's footsteps growing softer as she headed towards the door.

"Sorry for the intrusion!"

"Come in, Karuizawa-san!" said Satou. The sound of a pair of footsteps grew louder and Ayanokouji could see Karuizawa sitting down on the couch. She was wearing a light pink puffer jacket along with a white scarf and tight jeans.

"Hello, Karuizawa." said Ayanokouji, greeting her.

"Hi, Ayanokouji-kun." said Karuizawa. She looked over at what he was doing.

"Juice please."

"Hmm?"

"There should be a bottle of strawberry juice in the fridge."

Ayanokouji nodded and checked the fridge, finding a bottle on the third shelf. He poured a glass for Karuizawa and placed it on the tray. With that, he carefully carried it out to the living room where the two girls were. Ayanokouji gently placed the tray on the coffee table and placed the drinks to their respective owner. He knew that Satou liked milk tea and found a small bottle in the fridge.

"Whoa! How did you know that was the drink I wanted?" asked Satou, her voice filled with bewilderment. There were plenty of drinks in the fridge, some bought by Satou. However, Ayanokouji had an answer.

"I saw you drinking it a bunch of times. I figured that was your favorite drink." replied Ayanokouji.

"You're like a married couple! Can tell what each other wants. You guys even cook together!" said Karuizawa.

"Karuizawa-san!"

Satou's face turned red as she lightly slapped Karuizawa's arm. Apparently, Satou must have told Karuizawa about their living arrangements and their daily routine which resulted in Karuizawa teasing her. Ayanokouji blankly stared at them before casually walking back into the kitchen, unsure on what to do. He didn't want to embarrass Satou further, but he heard the two girls talking about that topic.

"Don't run away, Ayanokouji-kun. Poor Satou-san is going to be alone without her husband!" said Karuizawa, with a teasing tone in her voice.

Satou cried out and Ayanokouji heard another smack. As he walked into the kitchen, he saw that Satou's face was even redder and she buried her face in her hands. Karuizawa leaned in and the duo seemed to be whispering to each other. He could see Satou shaking her head furiously and Karuizawa giggling.

Ayanokouji decided to leave them for a bit and finish making his drink. The water in the kettle has reached its boiling point and is making a high-pitched and shrill whistling noise as some steam is coming from the kettle. He carefully placed the prepared tea leaves in a teapot and gently poured the boiling water in. Afterwards, he carried the teapot and his cup into the living room where the two girls seemed to be discussing something.

Satou averted her eyes from Ayanokouji, but when he wasn't looking at her, he could feel Satou's eyes staring into him. On the other hand, Karuizawa simply acknowledged Ayanokouji's presence and still seemed to be in the middle of their conversation.

"And that's what happened last week!" said Karuizawa, finishing her story.

"That's crazy! How did she let that happen?" asked Satou, shaking her head in disbelief. It seemed that the duo were chatting about the girls from the class and since Ayanokouji didn't interact with Karuizawa and her group frequently, he was a little out of the loop compared to Hirata.

"Speaking of which, Shinohara-san hasn't been hanging out with us, right?" asked Karuizawa.

"Yeah... she's been with..." said Satou. She stopped and did a quick glance at Ayanokouji, but before she could finish her sentence, Karuizawa continued on.

"I mean Shinohara-san is really an unpleasant person. She's totally trying too hard to fit in. I mean you gotta at least look decent if you wanna fit in. She's like the odd person out of the group!"

"U-Uh... I don't think-"

"I mean a girl like her?! With a guy like Ayanokouji-kun? No offense. She's shooting way too far. Probably someone like Ike-kun? Right?!"

"U-Uhh... Shinohara-san is-"

"You probably won't go for a girl like her, Ayanokouji-kun?" asked Karuizawa, turning towards him with a questioning look which is full of judgement and demanding an answer.

"Who knows?" said Ayanokouji, answering with his own question.

"Oh, c'mon! At least give me a committed answer!" protested Karuizawa. Satou tilted her head curiously at him and Ayanokouji could feel some pressure from the two girls. Ayanokouji just shrugged and gave another vague answer.

"If you're not answering, what kind of girl is your type, Ayanokouji-kun?" asked Karuizawa.

"Yeah!" said Satou, nodding her head and looking very interested. Ayanokouji tilted his head out of curiosity because of Satou's sudden interest.

"I'm not too sure about myself. If I had to guess, probably someone more lively. The genki type." replied Ayanokouji. Satou's body stiffened as she had just received an electric shock that ran throughout her body.

"Someone like Ichinose-san?" asked Karuizawa, with a coy smile. Satou's expression darkened and her body slightly slouched over like she had a sudden revelation.

"Hmm... Perhaps. Doesn't everyone like Ichinose?"

"Well yeah! I mean you would go out with her if she asked you to be her boyfriend?"

'That happened…' thought Ayanokouji.

"Probably." replied Ayanokouji, shrugging his shoulders. Even though Ayanokouji said yes, his disinterested and blank expression on his face left Karuizawa unsure on whether Ayanokouji would accept or not. Satou's face darkened even further and looked more ashen gray as she muttered something that Ayanokouji could barely hear.

"So... Ichinose-san as well?" muttered Satou.

"Ahh... I forgot to tell you. Someone from Ichinose's class is-" said Ayanokouji, deciding to inform Karuizawa and Satou on his guest. But before he could mention Amikura, the doorbell rang.

"Is that them?" asked Satou.

"Yeah. I'll be right back." replied Ayanokouji. As he got up to answer the door, Karuizawa leaned over towards Satou and whispered something.

Ayanokouji headed towards the door and looked through the peephole. He saw Amikura standing by the door and she seemed to be holding a brown paper bag before opening the door.

"Hi, Ayanokouji-kun!" said Amikura, greeting him a smile.

"Good evening, Amikura. You brought something?" asked Ayanokouji, gesturing to the bag.

"Yeah! I hope you like mochi."

"I don't mind it. Nothing beats free food."

"Hahaha! You're right. Sorry for the intrusion."

Amikura entered the dorm, took off her shoes, and left them by the door. As Amikura placed her shoes next to Karuizawa's shoes, she noticed an extra pair of shoes.

"Wait... is there someone else here?" asked Amikura.

"Yeah. Satou has one of her friends over right now." said Ayanokouji.

"Satou-san is your dorm mate, right?"

"Yeah. Do you know her?"

"Not really. Does she mind having me over?"

"Yeah. I told her earlier and she's fine with it. And don't worry about interrupting."

Ayanokouji led Amikura into the living room where the conversation between Satou and Karuizawa died when they saw the duo enter the room.

"Hi, everyone! I'm Amikura Mako from Class B. It's nice to meet you." said Amikura, making the first move and introducing herself. Ayanokouji expected the same level of friendliness for someone from Ichinose's class.

"I'm Satou Maya from Class D." said Satou.

"Karuizawa Kei from Class D." said Karuizawa.

"Amikura-san... are you our neighbor?" asked Satou.

"Yeah! How did you know?" replied Amikura.

"I saw you earlier this month and your dorm mate is Shibata-kun?"

"Yeah... I bought mochi for everyone!"

Amikura set the paper bag on the coffee table and took out a box of mochi. She slowly peeled open the packaging and opened the box, revealing an array of multicolored mochi.

"Yum! I'll take one before I go." said Karuizawa, reaching into the box and taking a pink mochi. She popped it into her mouth and chewed for a few moments.

"Delicious! Where do you get it, Amikura-san?" asked Karuizawa.

"There's a mochi store in the Keiyaki Mall. On the second floor."

"Oh! You mean that's the new store opened?!"

"Yeah! You should totally check it out! I heard there's a couple special. You and Hirata-kun could go get it."

Amikura shot Karuizawa a wink which left Karuizawa with a slight blush on her face. Satou nodded her head and voiced her agreement.

"Ahh... That sounds like a good idea. I'll ask Hirata-Kuhn later about it." said Karuizawa, a little excitement in her voice.

But Ayanokouji could see that Karuizawa's body language is a little more hesitant as if she's more anxious than happy. It was only a brief movement before Karuizawa returned to her usual self.

"I'll be going now. Thanks for the mochi." said Karuizawa. As she was leaving, Satou stood up and followed Karuizawa.

"I'll see you out. I'll be back, Ayanokouji-kun, Amikura-san." said Satou. Ayanokouji nodded and observed the mochi. He wondered which one would be a good complement or his green tea.

"Do you want something to drink?" asked Ayanokouji.

"Oh... I don't want to trouble you." said Amikura.

"It's no trouble at all. You know what's a good pair with mochi?"

"Green tea?"

"Do you want some? I already have some prepared."

"Coincidences can be freaky..."

"That's my line..."

"Should've made it a trademark!"

"Yeah... I'll take that as a yes."

"Thank you, Ayanokouji-kun."

Ayanokouji went into the kitchen to search for a spare cup for Amikura. As he was searching, he glanced towards the hallway that leads to the front door. He didn't see Satou emerge from the hallway and wondered if she and Karuizawa were still talking by the door.

Satou POV:

"Make sure not to tell anyone about what I said, especially Shinohara-san. Got it?" said Karuizawa.

"Yeah..." said Satou, hesitantly. Karuizawa noticed and pressed on.

"It's not that big of a deal! Mori-san and Maezano-san were also talking about Shinohara-san too. It's all in good fun and all we have to do is not tell Shinohara-san too!"

"I know..."

"Good. It's not bad if they don't know, right?!"

"I guess you're right."

"Of course I am... That goes to everything we were talking about. Not just Shinohara-san."

"Yeah... I don't want it to get worse."

"That's the last thing I want to deal with. Ugh..."

"You don't want to deal with Yamauchi-kun?"

"Obviously! The reason why I wanted to chill with you is to avoid him! He's probably in the kitchen and making instant ramen. I just gotta be out for an hour and I don't have to see him!"

"At least he wouldn't try anything with Hirata-kun in the way."

"I suppose, but he's creepy. Sometimes he'll just be looking at you."

"Ughh... stop telling me this. You're creeping me out."

"I wish that we can swap partners. The boys can't be trusted! I don't care if they're cameras to protect us! You're lucky to have Ayanokouji-kun as your dorm mate. Why couldn't I at least get him if Hirata-kun is taken?!"

"I wouldn't switch partners even if we got the chance."

"Ara~ does your heart break when you're separated from Ayanokouji-kun?~"

"I-It's not that!"

"But~ you're blushing! C'mon! We know that's the truth!"

"N-No! The truth is that I don't want to be with the other boys! I agreed that the boys couldn't be trusted! Hirata-kun and Ayanokouji-kun are the best choice!"

"Are you sure?~"

"Y-You're stalling, aren't you?!"

"Hahaha! You can't pay me enough to live with a pervert like him!"

"Get out of here!"

"See you, Satou-san. I'm going to Mori-san's room instead." said Karuizawa, rolling her eyes and her voice laced with sarcasm.

"Whatever." replied Satou, with equal sarcasm. The two girls exchanged playful smiles before the duo exchanged farewells. Satou closed the door and stopped herself before making her way back to the living room.

'Karuizawa-san is really something else, huh? I know that she has a bit of a headstrong attitude and is not ashamed of what she said. From the boys that she calls pervert and the girls that she thinks are weird and ugly. Honestly, I don't really care about all that stuff, but Karuizawa-san seems to take a great interest in it along with some of the girls. But... bad talking someone behind their back is something I don't agree with. It's kind of uncomfortable. Thinking everything is fine and having the people that you hang out with, talking behind your back.' thought Satou.

'Wait... does Karuizawa-san talk behind my back?! Just thinking about it gives me the chills! Despite all of that, Karuizawa-san can be a fun person and friend. It's not like that I don't like her as a friend, but it's like when you and your friend disagree with something. Just being different. And it's not the first time that Karuizawa-san stepped out of line... Sometimes it gets hard to just watch from the sideline.' thought Satou.

Satou took a deep breath as she recollected her thoughts before walking deeper into the dorm.

Ayanokouji POV:

"Thank you, Ayanokouji-kun." said Amikura.

Ayanokouji nodded his head as he placed the teapot back on the tray. Amikura gently blew at the steam as it billowed towards the ceiling.

"Careful. It's hot." replied Ayanokouji. He studied the array of mochi before grabbing a dark green mochi.

He took a small bite of the mochi and could taste the bitter and earthy flavor of matcha. Ayanokouji is used to the flavor of matcha and didn't mind the taste unlike others.

"So... you seemed close to Chihiro-chan." said Amikura, locking eyes with Ayanokouji.

"Shiranami? I'm not sure our relationship is that close." replied Ayanokouji.

"Don't think that I didn't notice. She seems to trust you and she's giving you some looks." said Amikura, shooting him a smirk.

"Really? I didn't notice."

"You didn't know?! It's so obvious. So what happened between you two?!~"

"It really wasn't that important. I helped out with a few things and gave her some advice."

Ayanokouji didn't want to say too much and reveal Shiranami's love life to other people. It is something that should remain a secret and not be shared amongst people. Amikura raised her eyebrows, but didn't press further. Ayanokouji had the feeling that Amikura knew what happened to Amikura.

"What about Sayo-chan? She's been sneaking glances at you after that race! I mean she's been doing that before, but she really was getting a good look." said Amikura.

"Nothing. Sometimes we meet during her volleyball practice." replied Ayanokouji.

"Oh? A secret rendezvous between lovers?~"

"It was a coincidence and it was during my morning jogs."

"Ahh! That's why you were so fast!"

"I'm back!" said Satou, emerging from the hallway. Satou took a seat next to Amikura and the two girls were facing Ayanokouji.

"It's all right, Satou-san. Please try some of my mochi." said Amikura. Satou reached and grabbed a white mochi from the box before taking a bite.

"Oh! It's red bean! It's good! Which one did you have, Ayanokouji-kun?" asked Satou.

"I had the green one. It's matcha." replied Ayanokouji.

"Yuck! I don't like matcha that much."

"There's strawberry, mango, and black sesame." replied Amikura, pointing to the respective mochi. Satou looked at them with an interested look on her face and she grabbed a pink mochi before trying it.

"This is even better!" said Satou.

"This is a pretty good mochi store. I can write down the name if you want!" said Amikura.

"Okay!"

The two girls began chatting and Ayanokouji watched silently in awe as two girls from completely different classes were chatting like friends. He expected that from someone from Ichinose's class and he wondered how everyone's relationships would change if the S-system didn't exist in the school.

"Oh Ayanokouji-kun..." said Amikura, turning her head towards him. Ayanokouji internally sighed as he realized that it was time for social interaction, something that he wasn't really good he knew that it is something that he will need to get used to due to his unique situation.

*Timeskip (next day)*

"You don't have to walk with me, Ayanokouji-kun." said Kinoshita.

The duo stepped out of the elevator together as they headed towards school. Ayanokouji had encountered Kinoshita at the elevator on his way to school and he suggested that they walk together to school. He noticed that Kinoshita's legs were wrapped in some bandages and was limping. Her face grimaced in pain as she took a few steps.

"I want to. It's better to walk with someone to school than alone, right?" replied Ayanokouji.

"I guess..."

"It's also better to have someone just in case you fall."

"My leg is not that bad!"

Kinoshita shot Ayanokouji a playful smile before they exited the dorm building. As they walked, there was a silence between the duo as they walked down the main road and towards the school. The duo's speed was a little slower as Ayanokouji took Kinoshita's injury in mind. He didn't want to pressure Kinoshita with his normal speed and let her set the pace.

"Thanks, Ayanokouji-kun. And I'm sorry that I was too slow." said Kinoshita, apologizing as she noticed how slow Ayanokouji is.

"There is no problem. Just take your time." replied Ayanokouji. Kinoshita smiled and she spoke up rather than walking in silence in the cold air.

"So, we have a few more days until the mini special exam is over, huh?"

"Yeah... How was it for you?"

"Not too bad! Honestly, I feel bad since I'm waking up early almost every day and probably waking my partner up."

Kinoshita had a sad and wistful look on her face as if she realized something.

"Probably won't be waking up for a while..." said Kinoshita, looking at her injured leg. Her expression is a mix of sadness, regret, and wistfulness.

"You know... I won't mind helping you with that. How about you join me during my morning workout?"

"Really?! You're not joking?! You know that... I will slow you down."

"It's no problem. It's better to train your body while you're taking a break. You don't need to do your usual workout. Just doing a little bit will keep you in shape."

"Yeah..."

"Don't worry about me, Kinoshita. I wouldn't have suggested it if I didn't know what's going to happen. I want to help you, Kinoshita."

Ayanokouji could see that Kinoshita is a little hesitant about joining him for a morning workout as she was more concerned about slowing Ayanokouji down due to her injury. But since Ayanokouji suggested it, he was aware of it and didn't seem to mind it.

Ayanokouji locked eyes with Kinoshita and he felt a familiar electric shock as Kinoshita's face turned slightly red with her bulging eyes and mouth hanging open. She slightly stumbled backwards and yelped out loud as she landed and put too much weight on her injured leg. Ayanokouji lunged forwards and managed to grab Kinoshita by her arm and pulled her towards him in an attempt to prevent her from falling to the ground. His attempt was to help catch Kinoshita's body and to stabilize and relieve some pressure on her bad leg. The result ended with Ayanokouji and Kinoshita embracing.

Ayanokouji could feel Kinoshita's body press up against his body. Her breasts pressed against his chest and her head rested perfectly on his shoulders. As he glanced over, he could see that Kinoshita's ears were red and her body was slightly shaking. Ayanokouji could see some glances and people whispering to each other as they passed the embracing duo. After a few more moments, Kinoshita and Ayanokouji separated themselves before any more people saw them from that compromising situation.

"Are they dating?!"

"I think that's Ayanokouji!"

"You mean that playboy..."

Kinoshita seemed to have heard some of the things that people were whispering about and had a shy and bashful expression on her face. Ayanokouji is slowly becoming aware of the reputation that he is getting. It is different from Hirata's reputation as a ikeman and he isn't looking forward to the future.

"A-Ayanokouji-kun?! D-Do you mean it?!" asked Kinoshita. Ayanokouji could see some doubt on her face.

"Yes. I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it." replied Ayanokouji. His response left Kinoshita slightly blushing as she nodded her head happily.

'What is this feeling?! It feels weird... Now that I'm looking at him. Ayanokouji-kun is quite the handsome guy and I didn't even notice! Jeez... what am I thinking?! We're from different classes, especially with Ryuuen-kun and Horikita-san. I would go for a run to clear my head, but can't do that , nobody from the class saw what happened!' thought Kinoshita, averting her eyes as she can no longer look at Ayanokouji. Before the duo could say anything, Ayanokouji could hear footsteps approaching him rapidly. Before he could do anything, he felt a hard slap on his back as someone's hand thumped his back.

"Yo, Ayanokouji!" said Manabe.

"Hello, Manabe. You seemed to be in a good mood." said Ayanokouji, turning towards her. His back ached a bit from Manabe's slap, but he noticed that Manabe seemed to be alone.

"Are the others not with you?" asked Ayanokouji.

"Nah. We're meeting up later." replied Manabe. Ayanokouji could feel the cold look that he's receiving, but noticed that Manabe was glaring at Kinoshita.

"It's none of your business, Manabe-san. Me and Ayanokouji were just having a nice conversation before you interrupted." said Kinoshita.

"Oh really? It looks like you guys were being fucking quiet to me." snarled Manabe.

"Probably because we know that someone troublesome is coming."

Ayanokouji watched as the two girls glared at each other and it was clear that the two girls didn't get along. He noticed that he had never seen Manabe with other people from Class C and especially girls. The only people that she was always with were Morofuji, Nanami, and Yamashita. He wondered if something happened between the girls or if Manabe's headstrong attitude was the problem or the combination of both.

"Tch... I'm not wasting my energy on a bitch like you! Why don't you take a hike?!" said Manabe.

"I could say the same to you. Go back to your so-called friends." countered Kinoshita.

"Bitch!"

The conflict between Kinoshita and Manabe seemed to be reaching its limits as the intensity of their glares reached a deadly level. Ayanokouji decided to speak up before the two girls could start a fight. The last thing that he wanted is for people to spread rumors about him and Kinoshita being too close and Manabe and Kinoshita fighting each other with Ayanokouji present. It would obviously be huge news as he would be a key witness and he didn't want to be involved, but some people could see it as Kinoshita and Manabe literally fighting for Ayanokouji.

"Manabe... is there something that you want from me?" asked Ayanokouji, interrupting their staredown.

"Uh... Oh yeah! What the fuck are you doing?! Don't tell me that you're dating this chick?!" demanded Manabe. The intensity in her eyes are still there, but it seemed to be directed at Ayanokouji, questioning and demanding answers from him. He internally sighed as he knew that another misunderstanding had occurred.

"Why do you care? I just helped Kinoshita before she fell. Unfortunately, it landed us in that compromising position."

"The fuck?! This is not some shitty romcom! And I don't fucking care! You just look like a dumbass!"

"Fucking tsundere." said Kinoshita, rolling her eyes. Ayanokouji was a little surprised that Kinoshita knows what that word is, considering the fact that he was sure that Kinoshita doesn't watch anime or be involved in the world of the otaku.

"The fuck you say to me, you little shit?!" snarled Manabe, turning her cold gaze at Kinoshita.

"Oh c'mon! It's so obvious! Can someone like you actually be in love?!" asked Kinoshita, in an incredulous tone.

"Watch your mouth, Kinoshita. Don't say shit if you can back it up."

"Now now... let's not get too hasty." said Ayanokouji. He was not sure on what to do next as he's trying his best to stop a fight between Manabe and Kinoshita, but is unsure what to do.

'I wish I had Hirata's ability to defuse tense situations. It would've been handy.' thought Ayanokouji. As the two girls were glaring and bickering with each other, Ayanokouji heard someone calling Manabe's name.

"Shiho! You walked by us!" called out Nanami. The trio turned around and saw Nanami, Yamashita, and Morofuji approaching the trio. Ayanokouji was so focused on the arguing duo that he failed to notice that they walked past Nanami and the others.

"Good morning, Ayanokouji-kun!"

"H-Hi, Ayanokouji-kun!"

"What's up!"

"Ahh, shit! Sorry about that." said Manabe.

"Too busy arguing with Kinoshita-san to have noticed?" asked Yamashita, with a playful smirk on her face.

"Shut it!"

"Sorry about Shiho. She may be a little rude and condescending, but she's not a bad person." said Nanami, giving an apologetic smile to Kinoshita and slightly bowing her head.

"Why are people so polite hanging with someone like her?" asked Kinoshita, clearly puzzled.

"Fuck you!" said Manabe.

"By the way, you met with Ayanokouji-kun before us!" said Nanami.

"Oh! Don't tell me that you're getting ahead of the others!~" said Yamahsita, winking at Ayanokouji. Apparently, Nanami and Morofuji both knew what Yamashita meant and blushed a little bit. Morofuji even gave Yamashita a gentle slap on the arm.

"The fuck are you talking about?!" demanded Manabe. Kinoshita looked at Manabe with an incredulous expression on her face as if she didn't believe such a thing could happen to Manabe.

"Don't be so tsun tsun about it~" teased Yamashita.

"We're getting out of here now!"

Manabe grabbed Yamashita's arm and began dragging her away from the group. Yamashita yelped out and gave Ayanokouji a wink before being dragged away.

"S-Shiho! Don't be too rough! See you later, Ayanokouji-kun, Kinoshita-san!" said Nanami, running after the duo.

"S-Sorry about that, A-Ayanokouji-kun..." said Morofuji, softly before she joined the rest of the group. Ayanokouji and Kinoshita both observed the retreating group before she cleared her throat to break her silence. There were a few other passerbys that stared at the unfolding situation.

"Well... that was interesting." said Kinoshita.

"Certainly a lively morning." said Ayanokouji.

Manabe POV:

'Fuck! What the hell! First, some fucking bastard threatened me and made me into their fucking bitch! I'm fucking lucky that Ryuuen didn't catch me! Ugh... I'm gonna find out who the fuck sent me that fucking picture! I'm not going to be someone's bitch just because I wanted to deck the shit out of that bitch, Karuizawa. And now I see Kinoshita with Ayanokouji... Why is everything against me?! It's not like I care about Ayanokouji though! It's just getting on my never every time I see him!' thought Manabe.

"Can you let go of me please?" asked Yamashita. Manabe obliged and Yamashita began messaging her arm before Nanami and Morofuji caught up with them.

"What's wrong, Shiho?" asked Nanami, noticing that Manabe still had a scowl on her face.

"Nothing. Just a little pissed off and that's it." said Manabe.

"Is it Ayanokouji-kun?" asked Yamashita, with a smile.

"Do you want to die?"

"Save me, Rika!"

Yamashita ran behind Morofuji while Morofuji giggled at Yamashita's antics, but she silently stared at Manabe with a curious look on her face, wondering what Manabe was doing with Ayanokouji. She could tell that Manabe was stressed out about something else and meeting Ayanokouji this morning increased her stress and agitation.

"What'cha looking at, Rika? Something on my face?" asked Manabe.

"It's nothing..." replied Morofuji. She realized that she might onto something before pushing it into her memory, hoping to revisit it someday.

Ayanokouji POV:

"See you later, Ayanokouji-kun! Thanks for walking with me." said Kinoshita.

"Goodbye, Kinoshita." said Ayanokouji.

"I'll text you whenever I'm ready for a little run."

"Yeah."

"T-Thanks, Ayanokouji-kun..."

Kinoshita gave Ayanokouji one last smile before the duo split off from each other and headed towards their respective classrooms. After a few minutes, Ayanokouji arrived at Class D and sat down at his seat. Horikita was already there and greeted him.

"Good morning, Ayanokouji-kun." said Horikita.

"Good morning, Horikita." replied Ayanokouji. He noticed that Horikita was staring at him with curiosity.

"Is there a problem?" asked Ayanokouji.

"Of course. When it involves you, it's always a problem." said Horikita, sighing.

"What do you mean?"

"Is there anything you want to tell me or do you want me to ask?"

"Hmm..."

"Ryuuen-kun backed off after receiving a message from his phone. Conveniently before I could fix my mistake. Care to explain?"

"I don't know what you mean. I suppose you got lucky with Ryuuen."

"I doubt Ryuuen-kun would be in a forgiving mood, but that's an answer to my question. It's not that easy to get you to admit it."

"What a lucky break, huh? I hope you learned from your mistake. Your luck won't always be there to save you."

"Of course. It was a devastating defeat, but it will be the last time. I would not make the same mistake again."

Ayanokouji turned his gaze at Horikita and could see the determination in her eyes. There was a difference between the Horikita before the sports festival and the Horikita that was sitting right in front of him.

"You've changed..." said Ayanokouji.

"It's because of a certain someone." replied Horikita.

"Good morning, Suzune!" called Sudou. He has just entered the classroom with Ike and Yamauchi and is on his way to his desk.

"Good morning, Sudou-kun." said Horikita. Ike's and Yamauchi's eyes widened and before they could say anything, Sudou grabbed them both and put them in a headlock before dragging away. Ike's and Yamauchi's cries of pain and mercy echoed through the classroom as Sudou dragged them away, but they were glancing at Horikita and Sudou with hushed whispers.

"You give Sudou permission to call you by your first name?" asked Ayanokouji.

"It's to make up for my mistake. Because of it, Class D has experienced an avoidable defeat." replied Horikita.

"I see... you didn't have to go that far, but I can see your commitment."

Horikita didn't reply and Ayanokouji glanced sideways and saw Horikita averting her eyes from him while nervously twirling her compass around. Her face was slightly red as she forced out her words.

"I-I'm giving you the pleasure, but please call me Suzune." said Horikita, shyly.

"I don't mind, but are you sure?" asked Ayanokouji, asking for confirmation. He could see the cold and sharp glint coming from Horikita's compass and did not wish to experience the pain all over again.

"Y-Yes..."

"If you're fine with it, then it's done, Suzune."

Ayanokouji felt a little strange calling Horikita by her first name, but as soon as Ayanokouji said her first name, Horikita froze and the redness on her cheeks deepened. Ayanokouji predicted that this is going to cause a stir within his soulmates and most likely Sudou, who have recently got permission from Horikita and seen it as a victory.

'Whatever happens, I'm sure things will be interesting with the end of the mini special exam and our fast-approaching first winter break.' thought Ayanokouji.

Soulmates

1) Horikita Suzune

2) Kushida Kikyou

3) Mii-chan

4) Tachibana Akane

5) Azuma Sana

6) Shinohara Satsuki

7) Onodera Kayano

8) Mori Nene

9) Hoshinomiya Chie

10) Ichihashi Ruri

11) Andou Sayo

12) Shiranami Chihiro

13) Yabu Nanami

14) Sakura Airi

15) Inogashira Kokoro

16) Morofuji Rika

17) Manabe Shiho

18) Kinoshita Minori

Author's Note:

I'm back! It's been two months since the last chapter and I finally got it out! If anyone is not a follower or is not aware of my situation, I've transferred to another college and have a lack of time to write out chapters (especially chapters with 20k words). This is one of the shorter chapters (with about 18k words), but it will do.

Looking at my work again and I realize that I'm forgetting what I wrote and what direction this story will go. I've written down a vague timeline on which certain events will happen, but I seemed to have forgotten about it.

Here are some of the events (which ones would you like to see next?)

1) Manabe's backstory (continuation)

2) Morofuji's backstory

3) New mini special exam ideas (let me know, I might do the part-timer mini special exam from Harem School President)

4) Development for Tachibana (A closer relationship)

I know for a fact that Ayanokouji is going to be encountering a lot more girls (girls outside from Class D), but my plan is going to focus on the Class C girls since Ryuuen is now hunting for the mastermind. I'm not too sure about the details, but I'm going to hammer out the details for the next chapter after I get a nice long rest (it's almost 1 AM for me).

Thanks for sticking by me.

Until next time, my dear readers.
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