Inside the Class A classroom, during the routine monthly horoom session held at the start of each month, Mashima Tomonari stepped up onto the lectern and pasted a poster displaying the class point totals for each first-year class onto the blackboard.
Class A: 1045 cl
Class B: 833 cl
Class C: 263 cl
Class D: 0 cl
Totsuka Yahiko, as habitually incapable of learning his lesson as ever, saw that Class D was still at 0 points and imdiately let out a duck-like cackle of ridicule.
"Those Class D guys... don't tell they're going to stay at zero points for the entire sester?"
Surprisingly, this ti no one in the classroom joined in to echo his mockery.
At this mont, everyone's attention had been seized by an entirely different matter.
"Mashima-sensei, why haven't our class's points for this month been deposited into our accounts yet?" Katsuragi Kohei stared at his phone, where the point total remained identical to yesterday's. Raising his head to look at Class A's 1045 class points, a wave of relief passed through him, yet he still raised his hand to ask.
"You needn't worry about that. The points will be deposited within the next few days."
Mashima Tomonari, dressed in a neatly pressed suit, stood at the lectern and explained to the entire class. "A few days ago, a dispute occurred between Class C and Class D. Class C has filed a formal complaint with the school. Until this matter is fully settled, the distribution of points to the first year will be temporarily suspended."
The mont these words landed, they imdiately sparked discussion among the Class A students.
"Ehh? Why are our class's points being temporarily suspended too, when this has nothing to do with us?"
"Class C and Class D... what are they thinking? A class with just over two hundred class points and a class with zero class points getting into a dispute. What benefit could that possibly bring them?"
"Isn't this a good thing? This way, our class's position becos even more secure."
...
Seeing the discussion grow increasingly heated, Mashima spoke up to stop it and once again reminded the entire class.
"Alright. Regardless of the outco of this incident, it has nothing to do with our class. Your top priority right now is to prepare for the final exams. Just like the midterms, if you fail to pass, you will face the penalty of expulsion."
After going over a few more matters requiring attention for the month, the bell signaling the end of class rang out, and Mashima strode out of the classroom.
No... Mashima-sensei, actually, it does have sothing to do with us.
Seated at his desk, Fuyuji Mikage stared pensively at his phone, which displayed the footage of Ryuen Kakeru's and Hirata Yosuke's fists smashing into each other's faces.
"What are you going to do?"
Morishita Ai, who had been poking Fuyuji's back, stretched her little head forward from behind. The tips of her hair brushed past his earlobe, bringing with them the scent of mint-scented shampoo. Two heads huddled together, observing this earth-shattering battle.
"I don't know. I'm a bit torn too." Fuyuji was finding it sowhat hard to keep it together.
This incident, at its core, bore responsibility on both sides. Ryuen had co looking for trouble first. Hirata had been the one to throw the first punch.
Had Ryuen not shot himself in the foot, with both sides simply brawling it out, as long as each took a step back and chose not to escalate the matter to the school, nothing would have co of it. At most, they'd have visited the infirmary to get their wounds treated.
This footage would have rely provided a bit of entertainnt for the many students trapped within this prison that was the Advanced Nurturing High School, unable to leave.
Look! That crap-eating king actually got himself beaten up. Went out of his way to pick a fight, and even with three against one, ended up mutually wounded with his opponent.
What on earth was he thinking, actually reporting this incident to the school?
Now it's been placed on the scales. The school has no choice but to investigate.
A fight like this—as long as the injuries inflicted by both sides aren't excessively severe—won't escalate to the point of expulsion. And Class D has no more points left to deduct anyway. Hirata will, at most, receive a suspension as a disciplinary asure.
But Class C is different. It still has over two hundred class points. Once those are deducted, clawing them back will be incredibly difficult.
"How do you think this should be handled?" Fuyuji turned his head toward Morishita's pretty face.
"Throw this video right between Class C and Class D and make them fight again." Morishita tilted her little face upward and declared thus.
"..." You're absolutely vicious.
"Yo, Fuyuji-san, what are you watching?"
Just as Fuyuji was deep in thought, Hashimoto Masayoshi, Kito Hayato, and Katsuragi Kohei walked over toward him.
"Here, see for yourselves." Fuyuji spread his phone flat and showed the video to the three of them.
The three, who had initially approached with the mindset of enjoying so drama, lowered their heads in unison. Their smiles instantly froze on their faces.
The footage showed Ryuen from the very beginning, striding forward with his trademark swagger that acknowledged neither kith nor kin, blocking Hirata's path. It showed the instant shock on his face when he saw Hirata erupt in fury and launch a punch. It showed the final outco, where both ended up battered and bruised, limping out of the stairwell, both propping each other up.
In the high-definition video, one could clearly witness the entire process of Ryuen arriving full of arrogance, and then fleeing with his tail between his legs.
"Hold on, Fuyuji-san. How on earth did you manage to get your hands on this kind of thing again?" A bead of cold sweat slid down Hashimoto's forehead.
Fuyuji-san was probably aiming to utterly destroy Ryuen. The mont this video was released, Ryuen could forget about unifying Class C this sester.
I'd better stay well-behaved lately. No more underhanded little sches. If I end up drawing Fuyuji-san's attention onto myself, it'd be better to just voluntarily drop out first.
In Hashimoto's eyes, Ryuen was already a considerably capable individual—ruthless in character, cunning, and unscrupulous in his thods.
Yet, a person like that was being played like a fiddle by Fuyuji, utterly unable to even figure out who the mastermind was. He was practically on the verge of social death.
Furthermore, Hashimoto strongly suspected that the whole incident of Ryuen running into Hirata and the two of them fighting was sothing Fuyuji had deliberately orchestrated. Ryuen wanted to flush out the mastermind, and the very next day, he got beaten up, and the whole thing was recorded on video. All of this was far too coincidental.
"I'm a bit torn. I don't know how to handle this piece of material. Do any of you have any good suggestions?"
"None. Awaiting your instructions." Kito was as direct and straightforward as ever.
Fuyuji looked toward Katsuragi.
"Does the Student Council have any specific information regarding this incident?"
Up to this point, the only information Fuyuji had received was that a dispute had occurred between Class C and Class D. He hadn't even managed to get a clear picture of the exact grounds on which Class C had filed its complaint.
"I only know that Ryuen filed a complaint against Class D's Hirata Yosuke. To avoid any conflict of interest, President Horikita didn't disclose the specific details to . However," Katsuragi looked toward the blackboard and spoke in a deep voice, "judging from the current situation, the Student Council likely believes that this complaint will inevitably involve the deduction of class points. That is why the first-year students didn't receive their personal points today."
After thinking it over for a mont, Fuyuji scratched his cheek and reached a conclusion.
"In that case, let's hold onto this for now. Let Ryuen jump around a bit longer. Let's see what kind of trick he can pull."
Knowing Ryuen's personality, there was no telling when his clever intellect might once again seize the commanding heights, leading him to shoot himself in the foot yet again with so underhanded sche that kills eight hundred of the enemy at the cost of a thousand of his own.
For the ti being, Fuyuji's primary objective was still to deduct as many points from Class C as possible, all without exposing Class A.
As for using this footage to threaten Class C... an operation so painfully familiar—Ryuen would probably instantly realize that the mastermind who had been haunting his dreams and soul was actually in Class A, and then he'd co biting back like a rabid dog.
Since that was the case, they first needed to get a clear picture of both sides' testimonies. Otherwise, they wouldn't even know which side this video should be directed against.
"Do you need to gather so intelligence on this front?"
Hashimoto figured he needed to put in so hard work during this period and not disrupt the leader's good mood. What if, one day, out of sheer boredom, this potential double-agent of his ended up exploding?
"Then I'll trouble you to make a trip." Fuyuji nodded. "If you can't find anything, just leave it. Don't attract the attention of Class C or Class D. This ti, our Class A is an outsider."
"OK!"
The few of them discussed this incident for a while longer. After briefly finalizing their course of action, they gradually dispersed.
Just then, the phone in his hand suddenly vibrated.
Fuyuji lifted his hand and looked.
Horikita's little sister?
Seeking him out at a ti like this—this was a rare occurrence.
With that bone-chillingly cold personality of hers, Horikita-girl would never seek him out for a chat if she didn't have a reason. Normally, it was always him who proactively struck up conversations with her, in order to solidify and maintain the excellent relationship between himself and his wallet.
For her to take the initiative and call him now—eight or nine tis out of ten, it was about the conflict between Class C and Class D. Intel delivered right to his doorstep.
Answering the call, Fuyuji deployed his proprietary communication thod for Horikita's little sister. He didn't speak, simply staring at the call screen on his phone with an expression of complete self-assurance.
After the second hand on the wall clock had swept through more than half a full circle, a voice—cool and clear, yet tinged with hesitation—ca through.
"Um... are you there?"
Fuyuji smirked. This awkward, bashful, and utterly ill-tid manner of speaking. As expected, she wanted sothing from him.
"Can I say I'm not?"
"Then who am I speaking with right now?"
"Then why even ask? Tell , Horikita-san, couldn't you occasionally call up a couple of tis when you don't need anything, so I wouldn't be able to guess the purpose of your call so easily? Every single ti you use that tone with , nothing good ever follows."
His words seed to have completely choked Horikita Suzune up. The hand on the wall clock swept through another half circle before a voice—filled with pain and internal conflict—ca through from the other end of the line.
"Sunday. Seven-thirty in the evening."
"Ha?"
"Every week, Sunday, seven-thirty in the evening. I will call you. That way, your unflappable yet barren brain can feel a trace of anticipation. Is that acceptable?!"
"..."
Although Fuyuji could sense from Horikita's voice that this young woman had seemingly just waged an epic and protracted psychological battle against herself, he still felt compelled to say:
"Horikita-san, making friends doesn't work like that."
"Then what more do you want?!" A voice gritted through clenched teeth ca through.
"First, you must deferentially address as 'Mikage-kun.' Then you put on a gentle smile and kindly ask , 'Are you free, I wonder?' Finally, with a sweet..."
An imnsely powerful, bone-chilling aura wafted out from the phone. Accompanied by the continuous sound of grinding and crunching from the other end of the line, Fuyuji's intoxicated voice gradually dwindled into nothingness...
"Forget it, forget it. Suit yourself. Let's return to the previous topic. For what purpose have you sought out?"
In just a single instant, Horikita, who had been so domineering just monts ago, reverted right back to that state of soone seemingly about to visit their father's murderer to borrow money.
"You... are you free after school this afternoon?"
"I'm not!"
Fuyuji's reply shot through instantaneously, delivered with absolute finality. "I'm incredibly busy right now. Not a single mont to spare. I'm utterly exhausting myself, racking my brains to maintain the status quo for our Class A." The actual truth was that Fuyuji, having grown so idle that he had already individually nad each of the several ants residing in his dorm room, delivered this statent.
"A lie! Just the day before yesterday, I saw you sitting on that bench over in the northwest corner, feeding the pigeons. You were feeding them for a full two hours!"
"You saw and yet you didn't co over to say hello? And on top of that, you watched for two whole hours?" Fuyuji flipped the accusation right back onto her.
"Let's put that aside for now." The sharply intelligent Horikita decisively sidestepped this topic. "In any case, you definitely have the ti!"
"I don't! I've been a bit strapped for cash lately. I've got to work for Katsuragi for a while."
"A clumsy lie! What about those 500,000 points my brother gave you last ti? And the 50,000 I gave you?"
Fuyuji, squirming with feigned embarrassnt, replied, "Ate them all up, I did." As he said this, he used his pencil to doodle a huffing, furious pufferfish on a sticky note, annotating beside it: "Horikita's little sister."
"Another lie! 500,000 points—how could anyone possibly blow through that in just a few weeks?"
"The truth is, I have an entire extended family to support. Furthermore, you still haven't repaid the 230,000 you owe from last ti."
"..."
"If you don't co, I'll go find you at the Class A classroom!"
Having dropped this threat, the ntally exhausted Horikita hurriedly hung up the phone. It seed she had been driven to no small degree of fury by Fuyuji.
Listening to the busy signal after the call ended, Fuyuji rubbed his chin and revealed a smile. The cold-as-ice Horikita was actually pretty fun to tease once in a while.
In truth, if she had just directly made her request to him, he probably would have agreed eighty percent of the ti anyway. After all, having skimd so much oil and water off her brother, refusing her outright would be truly unjustifiable.
If it had been Cha-Cha or Ichinose coming, they'd likely have gotten this matter settled in just two or three sentences.
"Buzz—"
Another vibration ca through. His eyeballs swiveled. Speak of Cao Cao and Cao Cao arrives.
[Ichinose Honami: Yahallo! Fuyuji-kun, are you free after school this afternoon?]
See, this is the great angel whose social skills utterly annihilate the entire grade. Even through the screen, one can feel that overflowing, energetic aura of hers.
Horikita's little sister, watch closely and learn well!
But... you too?
Given Ichinose's ddleso, can't-help-but-get-involved personality, it made sense for her to want a piece of this kind of matter.
[Fuyuji Mikage: Palette Cafe?]
[Ichinose Honami: Eh... could it be that Fuyuji-kun is also... ?]
[Fuyuji Mikage: This conflict incident between Class C and Class D?]
[Ichinose Honami: Mm. I think this matter really ought to be investigated thoroughly.]
[Fuyuji Mikage: Then let's talk more later.]
[Ichinose Honami: Okay, see you soon~]
Fuyuji pocketed his phone and stretched.
All he could say was that Ryuen's popularity was truly sothing else, managing to provoke three different classes to simultaneously move to encircle and suppress him.
However, his current outward persona was that of a moderately capable student with decent social connections—who, due to being excessively unconventional and eccentric, did not participate in class affairs. An oddball.
For a eting like this, both reason and propriety dictated that he should bring along another Class A student, to prove that he was not secretly colluding with other classes.
Fuyuji swept his gaze across the classroom.
Morishita Ai... Pass! Halfway through the discussion, the topic would likely veer off to who-knows-which Pacific Ocean.
Yamamura... forget it. Better not put her in a difficult spot. If he brought her along, eighty percent chance a Morishita would sohow spawn nearby out of nowhere.
Hashimoto... far too sly and crafty. Unacceptable.
Shiraishi-san... no way. Shiraishi-mama's offensive has been far too fierce lately. A few more tis and he simply wouldn't be able to hold out.
Therefore...
"Bro, there's work to be done. Later on, accompany on a trip!"
"Got it."
A voice brimming with disdain drifted over from the other side of the classroom.
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