Ichinose appeared serious about coming up with strategies and being a trusted ally. Every time she wanted permission to try something she'd contact us. It was kind of unnecessary since I was the one with her contact info. So all the messages went through me first. Which meant that I had to forward all the texts to Ayanokōji.
Upon returning to the dorms, we went our separate ways with Horikita following Ayanokōji to his room. Although I felt an urge to accompany them, I opted against it because I had enough of Horikita's bitchy attitude for today.
There were four dorm buildings on campus. Three were for students, who stayed in the various dorms to which they were assigned from first through third year. In other words, our dorm building this year was the same one where last year's third-year students had lived. The fourth building housed the instructors and school employees.
What I'm saying is that since all the first year students lived in the same building, inevitably we would meet students from other classes. Someone entered my field of vision. Our eyes naturally met.
"Thank you very much. It's been a pleasure." The girl spoke these grateful words to the dormitory manager, then called me out.
"Hey, Mochizuki-kun! Good morning. You're early."
She had beautiful long, wavy hair and big eyes. The second button of her blazer strained over her large chest. Her upright posture matched her dignified personality. Ichinose Honami, that first year Class B student had unfortunately found me again.
"I usually wake up earlier than this. What were you talking about with the manager?" I asked.
"Some people from my class wanted to make requests about their dorms. I gathered everyone's thoughts on the matter and told the dorm manager. Stuff like water usage, noise, and so on."
"You did all that?"
Normally, individuals handled their own room issues. I wonder why Ichinose had gone to the trouble of gathering everyone's complaints.
"Good morning, Class Rep Ichinose!"
Two girls who were getting off the elevator called out to Ichinose. She greeted them back.
I'm not even going to bother asking about this "class rep" thing. It will probably never be mentioned after this chapter.
"Aren't you usually a little early? This reminds me I've never seen you around this time." As she spoke the two of us began walking to school together.
"It really depends, either I'm early or I'm not."
As Ichinose and I got closer to the school, the number of students around us multiplied. Which was bad for me, mainly because suspicion would rise significantly.
If popular Class D students like Hirata or Kushida were with Ichinose, students wouldn't think anything of it, but I'm a random unknown student of Class D, obviously people would be coming up with reasons why I'm with her.
"Good morning, Ichinose!"
"Good morning, Ichinose-san!"
Ichinose, who was walking next to me, monopolized all of the girls' attention.
"You sure attract a lot of attention."
"I just stand out since I'm the class rep. That's all."
It didn't seem like she was trying to act modest. Apparently, that's what she truly thought.
"Ah, that reminds me. Did you hear about summer break, Mochizuki-kun?"
"Is there something special about summer break?"
"I've heard rumors that we might be taking a vacation to a tropical island."
Now that I think about it, Chabashira-sensei had mentioned a vacation.
"That sounds nice." I replied
I purposely acted oblivious since she was in a different class from me. The so-called "vacation" is probably a special exam, although I still don't know the details.
"Hey, I still have some things on my mind. May I ask you some questions?" Ichinose asked.
Ichinose had a radiant presence, though it was different from Kushida. I could say that she acted without an ulterior motive. Even if that's the case there's no reason for me to answer truthfully.
Similar to Ayanokōji, I want to appear as a regular run of the mill student. But I have a different motive for doing it. If I answer with my honest opinions that would be the same as revealing part of my abilities. I see no merit in sincerely answering a question of this caliber.
"We've been separated into four classes from the start, right? Do you really think they separated us by ability?" Ichinose continued
"How should I know?" I responded.
"Huh?" Ichinose gave me a confused look.
"That thought never came across my mind. If a Class B student like you thought of that, doesn't that already show the difference between our thought process?"
"Plus my physical abilities are below average. Even my social skills are subpar, since I'm not the type of person to go out of my way to start a conversation for the sake of it. Which means that my placement was correct, at least that's what I think." I continued explaining.
"That may be so, but that doesn't mean that the rest are the same."
"Well that's true."
Ichinose stopped, almost as if she'd just remember something. I read her face, noting that she wore a serious expression.
"Hey...There's something I want to ask you, Mochizuki-kun. Is that okay?"
If Ichinose, who always had a bright expression suddenly changed it to a serious one, I can't help but wonder what could possibly make her change like that.
"If it's something I can answer, I will."
I prepared myself, waiting for the question.
"Has a girl ever confessed her feelings to you."
"Excuse me, what?" I was genuinely confused about what happened.
"Oh no, I'm sorry. It's nothing."
"Wait, did someone confess to you?" I asked, still confused.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Kind of."
"Well, if you're okay with it, can you spare a little time after class? I have some questions about confessions. I know all too well how busy you are with the incident right now, but..."
I do have clubs after school, but fuck that am I right? Well if she owes me after this I will gladly help her.
"Sure, that's fine with me. I have a lot of free time."
"Have a lot of free time?"
"I'm not involving myself in this incident. It's a waste of time looking for evidence and finding a witness."
"But you went to the scene of the crime the other day to investigate, right?" Asked Ichinose.
"I had nothing better to do, that's why I went there. Anyways, it's all good."
"Thank you."
"I'll be waiting at the school entrance after class." I said.
"Okay, I understand."
It's fine to skip club activities once in a while, right? Well it doesn't matter I'll be doing it either way.
Students overflowed through the school doors as they made their way home. I was casually waiting for Ichinose. I quickly found her since she stood out in the sea of students.
In general I had no problems with approaching her, but there were a lot of students that greeted her one after another. It would just bring unwanted attention. And if word gets out to my classmates, they would question me like if I had committed a severe crime. Which would be annoying to deal with.
"Ah, Mochizuki-kun. Over here, over here!"
Ichinose eventually noticed me and called me over. Pretending like I'd only just arrived, I casually raised my hand.
"So, what should I do?" I asked.
"I plan to finish this as soon as possible. Follow me."
I put on my shoes and followed Ichinose to the other side of the building. We arrived at a spot right behind the gymnasium. This did seem like the kind of place where someone would confess their feelings.
"Now then..."
Ichinose took a deep breath, and faced me.
"I think..."
"I think someone will confess their feelings to me here." She said, taking out and showing me a letter.
"I see."
It was a cute love letter adorned with a heart sticker. The handwriting was pretty, much like the letter's exterior. Definitely not like a boy's, our handwriting be looking like some ancient hieroglyphics. Although she wanted me to read it, it felt rude to look.
Just kidding, I read that shit faster than how the readers jack off to cote lemons.
I noticed something that concerned me. The meeting time and location were written in the letter. It was set Friday evening at 4:00 pm, behind the gymnasium. That was about 10 minutes from now.
"Wouldn't it be better if I weren't here?" I asked, concerned about the situation I was in.
"Love is kind of alien to me. I don't know how to respond without hurting her feelings. I also don't know if we can stay good friends afterwards. I want you to help me."
Why the fuck are you asking the person who would least know about lov-Ah wait I forgot about Ayanokōji. However he does love peaceful life-chan.
"You know I'm not the best person to ask about romantic advice. To tell you the truth I have zero experience with romance. Why don't you ask people from Class B. I'm sure they would gladly help you."
"The person confessing her feelings to me....is from Class B" Ichinose awkwardly stated.
"Oh."
No wonder she got help from a student from another class.
"So...will you please pretend to be my boyfriend?"
Uhhh.....
"I did a bit of research, and discovered that the rejected person hurts less if the object of their affection is already in a relationship..."
A ten second google search isn't really research, but okay.
"I understand that you don't want to hurt anyone, but won't it be worse if they find out you lied?"
"I could say you and I broke up, or that you left me or something."
"That would make my reputation horrible. Also who in the right mind would break up with you?" I answered with my honest thoughts.
"But—Ah!"
Ichinose seemed to have noticed something, and awkwardly raised her hand. Apparently the person in question had arrived earlier than expected.
"Shit." I muttered.
The person who was going to confess to Ichinose was none other than Shiranami Chihiro.
Confused by this unexpected situation, Shiranami began to cry. Tears started falling from her eyes.
Not even waiting for a response Shiranami proceeded to run away while crying. Ichinose was left in a state of shock and bewilderment.
(A/N, Damn, imagine getting ntr by one of your best friends)
"W-What just h-happened?" Asked the still in shock Ichinose.
"Ichinose." I said making her regain her composure.
"What is it?" She asked, a worried look had formed on her face.
"I don't know if you know this, but I actually knew Chihiro prior to this." I said in an even more worried tone than Ichinose's.
Soon she processed and realized what I said. I even said her given name to make the situation worsen. She then started apologizing profusely, but I couldn't waste anymore time. I left Ichinose behind and went towards the dorms.
Unfortunately, I don't know which dorm room she is in. That meant I had to wait until tomorrow to approach her. I could ask Ichinose for it, but even if I went there there's no guarantee she would open the door right away. Meaning that I would attract too much attention before Shiranami opens the door. My best option is to wait until the next day.
"So that's why she's not here, huh?" Kamuro said.
"Yeah."
It was currently the next day and Shiranami didn't go to school today. Many of her classmates are worried about her, especially Ichinose.
I decided to ask Kamuro for some advice and she surprisingly listened to my story. Of course I didn't drop names and other things that give away too much information. If given too much information she could use it against us, at the end of the day she's still an enemy to both Class B and Class D.
"I thought you would know what she's thinking since you seem to despise me and she most likely also does after the incident. You get it, don't you?" I stated.
Another option was to ask Chabashira-sensei, but knowing her she wouldn't even bother to answer.
"There's nothing I can do, can't you solve it by yourself? You know her the best out of us two."
"Well I don't want to gather unnecessary attention."
"If that's what you're concerned about then go waste that time thinking about ways to clear the misunderstanding."
With that Kamuro turned her attention to the drawing she was painting.
"I wouldn't have expected such advice from someone like you." I joked.
"Shut up."
I tried calling her while I was walking towards the dorms after school. She didn't answer any of my calls which made sense.
"As expected." I mumbled in irritation.
There were many Class B students walking together heading where the dorms were. I blended in with the crowd of Class B students.
The students all got into an elevator which I also got in.
None of them asked me any questions because I could always just say that I was going to my room. Even so I greeted one of them.
"There's a lot of people here, is something important going on?" I asked one of the many students.
"No, we're just visiting a classmate." A student with violetish hair responded.
His demeanor was stiff, but he appeared to be a serious student. He was tall and slender. A pretty boy, but in a different way from Hirata, no homo though.
"Ah, you're having a party." I said.
"Something like that." He replied.
He was pretty cautious when it came to speaking about the internal state of his class. My respect for him increased even if it's a little only. Ichinose wouldn't have hesitated to answer honestly. Which already shows the difference between them.
"Mochizuki Aito from Class D. Nice to meet you." I stretched my hand for a handshake.
When I told which class I was in his expression softened a bit. Looks like they already know about the "cooperative relationship" between classes.
"Likewise. I'm Kanzaki Ryūji from Class B."
Our time got cut short, the elevator opened and then I left towards my room.
It was late at night when I got a call. At first I thought it was Sudō begging for help until I saw the number, it was Ichinose.
"Sorry about yesterday."
"It's fine. More importantly, did you get in contact with Chihiro?" I almost said Shiranami.
"We did, though she sounds depressed. We managed to cheer her up enough for her to come out from her room."
"That's good to hear, I was worried since she would answer my calls and messages."
"Isn't the trial for Class D coming up?" Asked Ichinose.
"I'm pretty sure it's in four days"
We then talked about many other topics until it got late.
"It's getting late, I'm ending the call. Good night, Ichinose."
"Good night."
With that the call ended.
After school I went back to the building where the incident took place. The only reason someone like me accepted was because Ichinose herself asked me. After going inside I found her talking to Ayanokōji and Horikita. I started walking where they were only to bump into someone on my way there.
"My bad, I didn't see you there." I apologized.
"Sorry, I should've been more careful." The other student also apologized.
"Oh, we meet again." I could hide my surprisement.
"Seems like it." Answered Kanzaki, who was also surprised.
"We should head towards them, I don't want to keep them waiting." I pointed towards their location.
"Did Ichinose invite you?" Kanzaki asked while we went where they were.
"Yeah, how about you."
"The same reason as you."
"Hey!" I greeted the group.
Ayanokōji greeted me back, while Horikita made an annoyed expression. She also said something inaudible.
"Do you two already know each other?" Ichinose asked.
"Not really, we just happened to arrive around the same time, right?" Kanzaki just nodded.
We then started talking about the evidence we found. Although I say that it was mostly Ichinose and Horikita doing the talking, with Ayanokōji occasionally joining in.
Meanwhile they were discussing that, Kanzaki and I were having a good time just chilling. Perhaps we got along fairly because out of the two of us we both did not really care about helping Class D in general.
It was the day of the trial with Class C. Ayanokōji, Horikita, Sudō, and Sakura left the classroom.
"Hopefully, we can win this." Said my neighbor Mii-chan.
"You did a good job helping Hirata."
"Thank you." She smiled.
"On the topic of Hirata, you like him, right?" When I said that Mii-chan immediately started blushing.
"Is it that obvious?" She meekly asked.
"Yeah." I responded.
"Do you think I have a chance?"
Hirata already has a girlfriend so it makes sense why she's worried.
"In my humble opinion you do." I lied as naturally as I breathe.
"Really?"
Mii-chan puppy eyes were too much for me, which made me reassured her that she had a chance when in reality it was nonexistent.
Later that day I visited Shiranami. She actually opened the door and let me in. Her room had stuffed animals on her bed and had the typical look of a girls room. She said to sit down on her bed.
"Sorry for wasting your time with this."
"It's fine." She sat down next to me, awfully close.
"Did Ichinose explain everything?"
Shiranami shook her head.
"No, she only explained part of it. Ichinose-san told me you would explain the rest."
"Okay let me tell you the rest..." I said, wrapping my right arm around her shoulders bringing her closer.
She didn't try to remove my arms instead she brought her body closer to mine. Then I started explaining that there was nothing going on between me and Ichinose.
"So I got the wrong idea, haha." Shiranami laughed at herself for misunderstanding the situation.
"Yes, it was an unexpected turn of events." I teased.
It was getting late and I didn't want to be seen coming out of Shiranami's room late at night.
(A/N, I remember reading this one fanfic where Kiyo fucked Shiranami and proceeded to leave but when he opened the door he saw Ichinose)
As I was about to move my arm and leave, Shiranami stopped me from doing so.
"C-Can we stay l-like this for a bit longer?" She whispered in my ear.
I could feel her body gettin—okay I'll stop.
"Of course." I said, moving my right hand to caress her head.
She smiled and then closed her eyes. Time quickly went by, silence filled the room as neither of us made an attempt to converse with each other. Towards the end she started crying, which I didn't mind that much. But all good things have to come to an end.
"I think it's time for me to leave."
I removed my arm from her shoulders and got up heading where the exit was.
"O-okay..." You could hear traces of sadness in her voice.
With that I opened the door and left the room. Luckily, I didn't come across anybody I knew.
I was currently walking to where the trial was being held. Due to some reasons it was being held today once again at the same time. By now it should have concluded already. While I was strolling around I passed the student council president, Horikita Manabu. He was accompanied by his secretary Tachibana Akane.
"I'm sorry." I apologized. Which made both of them confused, but didn't question me further since I kept walking.
To be honest I felt bad for jumping Elder Horikita. It could've ended badly for him, if he got injured that would be all my fault for not holding back enough.
After the encounter with the scp, I finally found Ayanokōji. Why does it feel like everytime I come across Ayanokōji he's with Horikita? Oh, he's leaving Horikita behind.
"Move." I slightly pushed Horikita out of the way to catch up to Ayanokōji.
"This is the first time I have seen you remotely irritated." I exclaimed in surprise. Then I took out my phone to take a picture which I showed him.
"Anyways, how did it go?" I asked even though the results were quite clear.
He proceeded to explain everything in detail like if he was simply reading a book. He even told me parts I wasn't even involved in. For example, the whole part with Sakura.
(A/N, Sakura is pretty much useless aside from the second volume. At least Yamadead was more useful since he got expelled meaning he won't be a burden to the class anymore)
"Control your dog. He's causing a lot of unnecessary trouble. It's a hassle dealing with every single inconvenience. Not to mention you haven't even attempted to fix his behavior " Ayanokōji words carried a bit of annoyance.
(A/N, It's ooc for him to say and act like that but I want him to be a bit more expressive so the interactions between him and the mc are more compelling, should I?)
"I know, I know, I'll let him know how much of a nuisance he is." I replied.
Although my response may have sounded sarcastic it was what I truly was going to do.
"By the way does Elder Horikita know that I knocked him out cold?"
From what I've seen I doubt he knows. The only ones who know apart from me are Ayanokōji, and Horikita. Ayanokōji is definitely not the type to go around telling other people, which then leaves Horikita. Although she's Elder Horikita's sister, they don't seem to have the best relationship out there.
"Oh, about that. He indeed asked, but I answered him with my signature—who knows."
"That's typical of you." I laughed when I finished my statement.
"Anyways, I gotta go. See you." I waved goodbye.
"All right, take care." He said.
We parted ways, heading towards the opposite direction.
A/N
Now that the second volume reached the conclusion we can now start the island special exam from volume three. This was chapter was mostly for the Ichinose simps out there.
If you have any questions about the plot so far then feel free to ask them. I'll answer them to the best of my abilities without spoiling further chapters.