Nagumo Miyabi POV:
The second day of the school year.
Yesterday, the first-years got their first taste of this school, and would no doubt be excited out of their minds.
100,000 points every month? Score! This School is the best!
And the moment you hear them say something like that, you know they won't go far. If they do, it'll be by the good graces of their more capable classmates. Far from making their own effort, they'll be dragged along.
Isn't that pitiful?
If people were going to fail, let them fail. But because of the current class system, the more capable end up keeping them afloat, and they can't even let themselves fall.
Imagine graduating as part of Class A, going to University, picking an interview time and getting asked this question:
So, how did you contribute to your Class' rise to Class A?
Then, you flounder and have nothing to say: you dodge around the issue, too cowardly to even admit you've been dead weight. Then, you still get in anyway because of the 100% university guarantee, all on the shoulders of someone else.
So unbelievably pathetic.
As of now, the pitiful are just an extra challenge for the capable to manage, a part of the difficulty in rising to or retaining Class A.
Perhaps this is a reflection of the Japanese identity of homogeneity: you're less evaluated by your own merits, but your own merits in relation to others. You're a super-genius who can solve every math problem in existence? Well too bad: if you don't contribute to the class you're good as useless.
Well why should the capable have to prove themselves to a Class? Why do they have to be tied to a Class, instead of being evaluated as an individual?
Why do you have to rise and fall as a Class?
Let the pitiful fail with dignity and let the capable rise without dead weight.
So yeah... why don't I make a Meritocracy in the school?
Let the Losers lose, the Winners win and the Fuckers fuck. Isn't that a great slogan?
I can imagine it now: the University Interviewer looks at me and asks, "so what have you achieved during your time in ANHS?"
"Well, I became Student Council President, reformed the School into a Meritocracy and was personally responsible for our year's record-breaking number of expulsions. Thank you for asking!"
Well, wouldn't that be hilarious.
"And what are you smirking about?"
I wake up from my musings to see Nazuna giving me a sidelong glance.
"Are you daydreaming about Horikita-senpai again? You've been seriously creepy ever since you joined the StuCo, you know?"
"Hey Nazuna, I take offense to that. Besides, that's not what I was thinking about."
"Hmmm...? Well, if it isn't Horikita-senpai, you were probably thinking about the plan? Your whole Meritocracy thing?"
"And what makes you think that?"
"It's always one of those two things with you."
"Well now you're exaggerating. I just have great focus."
"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, about Lunch—"
Her question fades out of my ear as I notice a student come through the class doors. Brown-haired, decent height and build, stoic expression... after going over his appearance in an instant, I realize he isn't a senpai, nor is he in my year. Having memorized everyone's profiles, I can say that with confidence.
A first-year?
I'm tempted to go up and interrogate him, but I trim my expectations. It's only the second day, after all. It's way too early for the honeymoon phase to be over and for the Winners to start cropping up. He's most likely here for a mundane reason, like looking for relatives, just checking around, so on...
So, I return my focus to Nazuna while the first-year looks around for someone.
"— just going to Pallet is probably the best idea—"
"Yeah, could you repeat that? I didn't quite catch it."
"...You need your ears cleaned or something? Anyway, as I was saying—"
However, Nazuna never got to finish that sentence.
Because a voice rang out the class: not a strong nor loud voice, but one so clear, pointed and powerful that the words carried themselves across the room and touched the ears of everyone there, including me. A voice that, while not intrusive, demanded focus which, alongside the question asked, turned the heads of everyone in the class towards the entrance—
"How many Private Points will we receive per month?"
Without even realizing it, I turn my head to face the entrance. Nazuna does the same.
"Oh, uh—that is, uh..."
There, I see the first-year staring down one of my dumbass classmates with a gaze that, despite its apathy, seems to be effective at breaking composure. Well I can't say I'm not shaken. This quickly? It's only the second day, and someone's already digging.
My class seems to realize this as well, considering the first-year's become the focus of attention. And from the way his eyes glazed over our reactions, I'm guessing we've just reinforced whatever doubts he had about the School System.
"Well, uh—I don't know. I mean, I wouldn't know the first year's situation, so I can't really say—"
"Well that's curious, senpai. From the way our teacher worded her explanation, many of us assumed we would be getting 100,000 points per month. Is that not the case?"
"Um... well, like I said I don't know the situation—"
"What is there to know? If we are just receiving a static 100,000 points per month, what is there to know?"
"Uhh, well... I think they might've changed the system for the new first-years—"
"Then senpai, could you please tell me about your experience? What was the system like for you? And from what you know about the school, what do you think about them seemingly promising 100,000 points per month? I have a copy of our sensei's speech here, so could you look over her wording and tell me if anything seems off? Even if you claim a system has been changed for the first-years, there should still be rules that apply to all years, right? Also—"
Well, this isn't good.
The first-year has him completely overwhelmed. From the way I see it, junior's already deduced we can't answer anything, so he's just bombarding my poor classmate with questions to see if he can catch a slip-up. Well, that and various other things.
But this is no good. We're making things too easy for him.
Let's at least keep our dignity as seniors and give a good show to our expectant junior.
"Wait, he's really going at it—Miyabi?"
As Nazuna briefly calls my name in surprise, I walk over to the bumbling idiot, pull him back with one hand then wrap my arm around the first-year's shoulder.
"Hey now, what's going on here? This some cross-year bullying? As Student Council Vice President, I can't condone that."
As my classmate gives a relieved sigh, I glance over at the junior. For his part, he doesn't look the slightest bit fazed, keeping the same apathetic expression. Stone-faced, huh?
"Well, what do you think, first-year? What's going on here?"
He turns to face me.
"Why do you think I'm a first-year? Did you guess that just from me asking the questions I did? Is there significance to a first-year asking about the school system?"
Woah, buddy. I know my classmate hasn't given you a great first impression, but that's way too much of a long shot. Well, I suppose there's no reason to stop fishing for a slip-up.
"Well obviously because you called him" I point at my classmate "senpai. I mean, it was kinda obvious."
"I see. Well then, senpai, is it okay if I ask you a few questions?"
He says, but instead of figuring out how to answer him, I'm wondering how to keep him around for a bit longer. Because, you see, he's quite interesting. I'd like to know him better: pick apart his demeanour and analyze him inside out.
For example, it's obvious to anyone with half a brain he's on the S-System's trail. That at least tells me he's observant and sharp-witted, to a degree.
The question then becomes how much does he know already? How much is just speculation and suspicion, and how much is he confident about? And when that's translated into who he is, it'll tell me more. Is he a theorizer? Is he a confident man of action? Is he a schemer? An aggressive delinquent? A principled president?
And most importantly, is he a Winner?
"Sure, you can ask me a few things. Why don't we sit down and chat? Nazuna will even bring you a drink."
"...Since when am I doing that?"
"Since now. Waddya want?" I ask.
"Is it okay to just blow points away like that?" He asks.
"Well what's a few hundred points compared to giving a junior a warm welcome? Sit down." I say, pointing to a nearby desk.
"Senpai, I'm on a bit of a schedule. I have a lot to do, and I'd like to get it done before lunch ends."
"Hey, whatever it is you need to ask, I'm your guy. I'm the StuCo Vice President, you know? There's no better candidate in the second year to answer your questions."
He pauses for a moment, gives a small sigh then sits down obediently. I take the seat across him.
"So, what do you want to ask?" I say, acting like I don't already know.
"I'll make it succinct for you, senpai. What can you tell me about the S-system?"
"About as much as the teachers. I mean, why are you even asking the students when you can ask the faculty?"
"The faculty were very vague."
"Hey, they're the official hires of the institution you're in. They're your best source."
"I see." He says, taking a pause to pull out his phone. "In that case, here's something you might be more suited to answer, senpai."
"Oh? Well, go ahead."
He shows me a picture of my class, all seated nicely and focusing on the whiteboard up front—
Oh shit.
"This picture's from earlier this morning, senpai. Could you tell me why there are so many missing students in your class on the second day of the new semester?"
Well well well, if it isn't the consequences of my own actions. I suppose expelling so many students to rise up to power leaves an extremely suspicious trail for juniors to follow. Obviously I can't tell him about that, but...
"I'll tell you if you play a little game with me. Ah—and don't give me that "I have a schedule". This'll be real quick, and its nothing complicated."
As the first-year puts away his phone, I gesture to a nearby classmate who's been playing Monopoly and point at his dice. He gets the hint, and soon I have a pair of D6's in my hand.
"I call it Upstart Dice."
A fun little game I cooked up based on a manga I read in Middle School.
"The game's simple. You'll take a die and, while covering it with your hand, secretly set it on one side. Then, both of us will reveal what side we've chosen at the same time. We'll have 6 rounds of this. Each round, a winner will be decided based on the number picked. The bigger number will always beat the smaller number, with the exception of 1 beating 6. After each round, you can't pick the same number ever again."
"So, what do you think? Simple, right?"
Murmurs rise around the class, and Nazuna gives me a look that says, "What the heck are you doing, Miyabi?" But while the entire class' attention becomes focused on the two of us, he still doesn't show a hint of nervousness or... much of anything, really.
"And just to give you a little incentive, let me say this: if you win, I'll answer your questions. If you lose... I promise you, not one senior student will even give you the time to talk. None of them will even respond to you, no matter what you ask them or how. You'll be completely shut out."
That finally gets an eyebrow raise out of him.
"I've got a decent amount of clout, you know? I can do it." I say, flicking him a die which he catches with one hand.
"...Senpai, if you wanted to get to know me, you could've just invited me out to dinner."
"But this is more fun. Anyway, you playing? It's just six rounds."
He rolls the dice around his finger.
"But Senpai, you're not betting anything. That's not quite fair, is it? You can play however you want, while I have something to lose."
"I suppose so... In that case, if you win how about I do invite you out to dinner? You can even bring a date. I'll pick the place, though."
"In that case, sure senpai. Let's play."
I give a smirk. This'll be fun.
|GAME—START|
|Nagumo Miyabi \VS/ Ayanokouji Kiyotaka|
|Game: Upstart Dice|
Round 1:
Now, what to do...
The thing is, from my perspective winning or losing the game doesn't really matter. Sure, I lose some points if I lose, but with my bank it'll hardly make a dent. Especially since I can pick the restaurant.
The question is, does he want to win?
Sure, I can message the entire 2nd year and warn them not to talk to a certain first-year, but it's not like we're allowed to tell him about the S-System anyway. All that'll do is prevent him from poking around for a slip-up, which isn't particularly damaging, and even then it's not like everyone will immediately check their phones. He could probably catch a student coming out of the bathroom, or have someone else ask for him.
If he has things figured out to a point, he should know losing here isn't particularly damaging. The question is, does he know that? If he does, how will he play? Will he make risky moves for the victory? Will he play it safe? Will he make random plays? Will he say "screw the win" and just lose as fast as possible? Will he just throw?
While neither winning nor losing is particularly significant for me, playing this game will give me insight into this first-year. That's the real goal. And if he wins, I can get even more information based on who he brings to the date, how he talks, how he eats, all that.
So, in conclusion, I'm already winning.
Anyway, for now let's see how he'll react to—
"Senpai, I have a little suggestion for this first round."
Oh?
"Oh do you? Well go ahead and let me hear it."
"To make the game more exciting, for both us and the spectators," He gestures to my classmates, who are crowding around the table. "how about we make the first roll random?"
Interesting... I wouldn't expect this from a guy who looks so level-headed. Is this who he is? A daredevil? A theatrical?
"So what, we roll the dice normally? Isn't that boring?"
"No, we won't do that. I'm not convinced you can't control your dice rolls, so we'll do something else."
He takes off his blazer and folds it in half. Then, he places it on the table, covering about half of the space.
"We'll flick the dice up in the air and have it land on the table. The blazer will cushion the fall and prevent it from flinging around, and throwing it like this will prevent you from using some dice roll trick, senpai."
I think for a moment, then take off my blazer and cover the other half of the table. I'm doing this to scout him out, so I might as well go along with it. I mean, what's the harm.
"Sure, why not. What happens if the dice don't land on the table?"
"Then we'll go again. Are you ready, senpai?"
He says, placing the dice on his fingers. I do the same and nod.
"I'll count us down. 3... 2... 1... Now."
As our dice rise up simultaneously like two rockets in flight, I notice his die's going much higher than mine. Then, as my die reaches its peak and starts coming down—
...huh?
I suddenly see a blur reach for my die. I blink, and the next thing I know, the first-year slams my die down onto the desk, showing a 6.
Wait, did he just—
Then, as his die falls down to around head-level, his hand snakes up from under and catches it out of the air. He slams down his die, showing a 1.
The class becomes rowdy as those with front-row views mutter about what he just did and those in the back try to squeeze past to see what happened. Meanwhile, I start—
*Wheeze*—" Wow, you just— you just— Haaahhahahah— oh god I can't breathe—" *Wheeze* "Oh that's great. That's really great."
"...You seem excitable, senpai. Anyway, should me start the next round? Normally, of course."
Round 2:
"Ah, nah. You win, you win. How can I continue after you pulled that? For all I know, you'll kill me with laughter the next round."
R̶o̶u̶n̶d̶ ̶2̶:̶
"...It wasn't all that funny, though? Anyway, if you say so, senpai, could I ask—"
"Oh, I can't answer anything. Not one of the seniors can say anything about how the school works, and they can't say anything about those mysterious absences, either. That should answer all your questions."
He nods, then gets off his seat. "Thank you. I think I've overstayed my welcome, so I'll be off now, senpais."
As he heads for the door, blazer in hand, I yell after him: "Hey, what's your name and class?"
He glances back, then answers without turning around. "Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, Class 1-D. Nice to meet you."
And as he heads outside the class, I can't help but think—
Oh boy, what a winner.
Authors note:
I originally planned on having Nagumo and Kiyotaka play a full game with logic, strategy and probability stuff, but then I realized it was way too long, both for a .1 chapter and in context, so I just scrapped it. (But it still turned out long. God dammit)
Upstart Dice is a way simplified version of a game I saw in the manga Acma: Game called The Hundred Contest, if you're wondering where I got the idea. Well, that's probably also based off of another game...
Anyway, I'm adding this Authors note to mention something.
A few people have been asking about the dorm situation, as in this series the male and female dorms are split unlike canon, where they were different floors in the same building. I originally wrote it like this because... I don't know? I guess I though thats how it went in the original?
But right now, I'm leaning towards changing it back to canon, where they're in the same building but on different floors.
So, if you see me making a bunch of edits to earlier chapters, that's why.
Also Nagumo is hard to write.