3rd POV
The clock kept ticking between the 8 and 9 AM range, indicating that the morning shifts were already in action. It was working hours for the majority of the Japanese population.
Calls were placed as the automobiles beeped their horns. Children walked to school, and stores opened gradually. It was just another day. However, one particular school was surprisingly bustling with activity during those early morning hours.
It was the 23rd of April, the day of the announcement of the results for the partnering exam, when a tempest descended upon the advanced nurturing high school as a result of two certain individuals' test scores.
Every class belonging to the sophomore region and below actively discussed the results among each other, remaining flabbergasted and in disbelief. However, the most shocked were none other than the classmates of both perpetrators, whose names were broadly displayed on every screen.
Thud
Two of the staff members neatly set up a desk behind seat number 39 inside of Class 2-A, before quickly stepping out of the door and excusing themselves, filling the already silent room with more silence.
It has been this way since Ayanokouji and their homeroom instructor left the classroom and headed toward the director's office. They were unable to communicate because, immediately after, two staff members arrived to prepare the desk for the new student. Matsushita quietly made her way through the unsettling silence-the only one who appeared to be the most conscious of all of them-and then relaxed on her new desk as she waited for it to end.
"He's way bigger than I thought." Matsushita mused to herself as she gazed in awe at the results on the screen. Completely unaware of the fact that the strawberry-haired girl seated right in front of her could hear her low mumbling.
'Bigger? In what context ?!!' Ichinose thought to herself, as her brain started overloading.
Even though Matsushita did seem to be the most conscious of all of them, she was nonetheless shocked by the results and was absentmindedly staring at the screen with amazement in her eyes. Everyone else also seemed to be zoning out, either lost in thought or unable to break the tense atmosphere.
"Those questions..." In the midst of the deafening silence, a male voice suddenly rang out. Collectively, the students broke from their trances and looked towards a blue-haired boy, whose gaze was fixed on his table. "Those questions in the exam, they weren't high school level, were they ?"
The first words to be emitted in a while belong to Hamaguchi Tetsuya, one of Class A's honor students. He raised his head and looked towards his classmates, peering through his glasses and seeking an answer from them.
"They weren't, Sensei said as much."
"Then how the- How did Ayanokouji-kun manage to solve them ?" Hamaguchi asked, seemingly getting slightly worked up as he posed the question, in an amplified tone.
His inquiry, however, bore no response, as everyone seemed to be as confused as he was. Not only did they have trouble with some of the more difficult ones, they didn't understand the others at all. An honorable mention is the fact that some people tried to solve them using their current knowledge, which inevitably resulted in failure.
Even teachers would have struggled with some of these questions, so the fact that Ayanokouji managed to solve everything flawlessly and without missing a beat is quite astonishing.
One of the most common thought processes is to assume that he cheated, which is something that most people did. However, they either dismissed the thought or forced themselves to think otherwise, so they won't harbor any negative thoughts about their friend.
They didn't really feel betrayed, nor were they dwelling on it too much. The majority of them just lacked the courage to speak because the announcement appeared to have momentarily taken away their ability to speak. Seven seconds of silence followed, and just as it was about to end, another interruption came. This time, it was from a purple-haired girl.
"Honami-chan, you don't look surprised at all" Amikura loudly threw her remarks as she gazed towards her best friend, who appeared to be completely unfazed with her usual smile plastered on her face, which seemed to weird Amikura out "In fact, you look pretty normal. Did you know that this was gonna happen ? "
Soon, this question attracted the attention of the class as they followed up with their gazes and stared at the perpetrator's girlfriend. Ichinose, promptly after being addressed, shifted her head towards Amikura and smiled even more brightly.
"Yes~ I was well aware." Ichinose answered shortly.
"So you must kno- "
"Yes, I know about everything there is to know, and how Kiyotaka managed to ace the exams~" Her words seemed to make everyone gush out any thoughts they had and focus solely on her. Ichinose, realizing she had her classmates's undivided attention, started supplying them with information. "I can assure you that he didn't cheat, and solved all the questions fairly"
"But-"
"I know, I know what I said. But please hear me out" Ichinose quickly cut off her classmates before anyone could voice any response, asking them to be patient, which everyone seemed to obey. Ichinose let out a sigh before looking back at her classmates with a bitter smile. "Kiyotaka has told some of you that he was home-schooled right ?"
"Yeah, I do recall him saying that." Kanzaki supported, which Honami nodded at.
"Yes, but the thing is, Kiyotaka did not have the best childhood as his father forced him to learn a lot of stuff at a very young age. Not only that, but he also trained his body so he would become very strong. He wanted his son to be perfect, so he imposed a rough training schedule on him." Ichinose explained to her classmates with a simple tone, avoiding her classmates' eyes while staring bitterly at the table. "Because of this, Kiyotaka doesn't like talking about his past. So please don't ask him about it when he returns, and also please don't judge him. He doesn't want his first friends to start avoiding him. Please don't force yourselves to talk to him or act sympathetic towards him; he doesn't want to be treated any differently from the rest of us."
Ichinose pleaded her classmates as she finally lifted her head to meet their eyes, revealing a spark in both of her eyes. Even while she was acting for a minor part of it and wasn't completely honest with her classmates, just half the truth was enough to make her depressed and detest that man for the rest of eternity.
Everyone's expressions quickly changed to one of realization as the intensity of their looks progressively waned, growing more sympathetic at the cause of her elaboration. Everyone's minds gradually arrived towards the same conclusion, and their respect for Ayanokouji started amplifying.
She could have definitely refused to elaborate and keep a part of his part under wraps, which is something that did indeed cross her mind. However, she feared that people would begin to turn away from her boyfriend as a result of their realization that he was distinctively superior to and different from them, the feeling that he was unapproachable. Which is something she didn't want to happen.
"I see.. Well... It's not like we were gonna do any of that"
"Eh ?" Ichinose lifted her head and gazed towards the source of the voice, with a hint of surprise in her eyes. The voice belonged to a boy with dirty-blonde hair, who was smiling brightly at her.
"Kiyotaka-kun has helped me so much in the past, so I'm not willing to avoid him just because of that. Well, I'm not speaking for everybody here, but I'm sure that most of you guys agree with me, right ?" Hirata, shifted his eyes from Ichinose and faced his classmates, as he proposed a question. Ichinose instinctively followed with her gaze, to find even a bigger surprise awaiting her.
"I definitely agree with you Hirata-kun~! Ayanokouji-kun is our friend, there is no way we're gonna abandon him !" Minamikata's voice rose up and echoed loudly, cheerfully supporting Hirata's words. Most of the Class nodded at his words, with smiles on their faces.
"We've spent a lot of time with Ayanokouji-kun during the past year and became close friends, we may have our differences but who cares ?" Shibata animatedly rotated his head around the Class, seeking approval, which he seemed to have earned.
"He may have lived differently than the rest of us, but we aren't the ones to dwell on that." Kanzaki also offered, with a thin smile.
"You guys..." Ichinose murmured to herself as she observed her animated class shrug off her comments with smiles on their faces as if it wasn't a concern at all. This was not what she was imagining at all; Instead, she imagined a more tight and seclusion-like atmosphere, with more tense stares. So this was a surprise for her, a pleasant one.
"Damn that bastard of a father, I wanna punch him so bad" Amikura clenched her first in front of her face and started cursing that man. Shibata instantly started calming her down, with a troubled but cheerful smile on his face.
( A/N: Idk why I thought Ayanopapa x Mako when I wrote this. Please forgive me~ )
Honami POV
Just why exactly was I worried ? Thinking that this would be hard..
I couldn't help but smile as the class immediately resumed its regular upbeat and humorous mood, as if nothing had happened. Everyone seemed to have accepted my explanation and already moved on, which is something I found great reassurance in.
Maybe, just maybe, someday they'll come to accept him as a whole as well. Hopefully-
"What about Amasawa-san ?"
....Ah
With seemingly harmless intentions, Yume-chan directed both of her gaze and question towards me after staring at the screen for long enough, snapping me out of my thoughts. The Class gradually became quieter as they recognized Yume-chan's question.
"Yeah ! They act like they know each other from before and she also scored high. Was she homeschooled with him ?"
"A-Ah.. About that. I don't-"
"That was indeed the case, Kobashi-girl." A new but familiar tone of voice echoed within the room, cutting through me as well as silencing the murmurs as everyone's attention was drawn to Kouenji-kun, who was sitting behind Kiyotaka's chair with his legs crossed and on top of each other on top of the table, with a smile on his face. "However, Kiyo-boy didn't get to learn about Ichika-girl's existence, while both of her and I did. "
"Hmm ? What do you mean Kouenji-kun ?" Sayo-chan curiously asked, seemingly not understanding Kouenji-kun's words.
Kouenji-kun finally opened his eyes as everyone's attention was on him, with his usual smirk remaining unfazed. When his eyes caught mine, he looked at me briefly, appearing to say, "I'll take it from here" before turning to face the other way, and shifting the positions of his legs.
"You see, the top executives of corporations not only strive to have the best sales, but they also have their own competition to create the best successor for their companies after they retire" Kouenji-kun once more closed his eyes and adjusted his head position as he began to deceive our classmates in a dignified and professional manner befitting a high level businessman. "which is why they prepare their children so they can take over and outperform the other heirs"
"Wait, you mean..." Collective mumbles could be from my classmates as they all spaced out and tried to connect the dots. My eyes slightly shot up at the realization that- " So Amasawa-san is also an heir to her father's business ?"
Our classmates gradually came to the same conclusion as they looked at one another, seeking confirmation from each other. After giving them the necessary utensils, Kouenji-kun stopped talking and let them come to their own conclusions, or more like manipulating them. He didn't even twitch or give off any indicators of doing so, and simply sat on his seat with a completely normal composure.
Damn... Strong people are scary....
I didn't know what to do with Amasawa-san so I was planning to feign ignorance and let Kiyotaka handle it in case they asked. Kiyotaka is the wiser so it's better to let him do it than to make up a falsehood out of thin air that would later come back to haunt us. However, that didn't happen since Kouenji-kun caught my back with a perfectly made up lie.
"Damn, I wanna punch them too." Mako-chan childishly clenched her fist again, seemingly adding more people to her list of targets. Which earned her a couple of laughs from my classmates.
The Class has already moved on again, as they all engaged in lighthearted chatter with businessmen as their main topic. It was certainly a marvelous turn of events, one that I couldn't ask for more.
I hope Kiyotaka will be happy with this..
This is the best I could do, and without Kouenji-kun's help it could have definitely been worse. However, I'm pretty content with how things turned out, I hope he shares the same sentiment too.
Speaking of Kiyotaka, according to my soulmate intuition, he should arrive just about no-
"Oh, welcome back Ayanokouji-kun !" Bingo..
The whole class, including me, turned to greet the newly arrived Ayanokouji Kiyotaka who stood in front of the newly opened door, with the same apathetic look as ever. His beautiful golden orbs scanned the whole class, meeting everyone's eyes as they all looked back at him with smiles.
"Hello guys." He greeted back with a small wave, as he stood in front of the door and scanned some more, he looked like he was waiting for questions. However, I could definitely tell that he was confused by all of this
"Congratulations on achieving the top spot, Kiyotaka-kun !" Hirata-kun walked up towards Kiyotaka and smiled, congratulating him on winning first-place.
"Congratulations, Ayanokouji-kun~!" The Class gradually congratulated Kiyotaka, whether it was from their seats or walking up to him. Kiyotaka simply stared at the group in front of him, still confused. Which honestly looked quite cute~
"Thanks guys." Kiyotaka thinly smiled as he collected everyone's regards, seemingly appreciating them. His eyes shortly afterwards met mine, as he slowly made his way towards my desk. "Just what exactly did you tell them ?"
"Is that a way to greet me after I've done so much work for you~?" My smile formed to a pout as I averted my gaze from Kiyotaka's apathetic face. I heard him lightly inhale, seemingly about to talk. However
"Is that a way to treat a new transfer student to your class~? I thought Class A was more welcoming than this~" From the corner of my eyes, Matsushita-san exclaimed before mimicking my movement and pouting, seemingly trying to tease us.
"Welcome to our Class, Matsushita." Kiyotaka looked towards her and spoke with a deadpan look, completely bored at her. However, this spectacle seemed to attract the rest of the Class.
"Oh, welcome to our Class~ Matsushita-san~!" The Class gradually turned around, with her friends approaching her table as they all started to offer their warm welcoming to Matsushita-san. Her pout instantly dissipated, as she was kept busy with all the greetings.
Kiyotaka explained that he had some cash left and decided to use it in order to attain more allies, which was a lie since I was already aware of how much money he has. He also noted that Matsushita-san would be the last student he transfers, at least for the time being.
There was still plenty of time left, so everyone started discussing the results. They seemed to be pretty satisfied with how much they scored, which was higher than what the school predicted them to. However, that seemed to be the case with every other Class.
Whether the school intentionally lowered the expectations or everyone improved would remain a mystery. However, it didn't affect the enthusiasm of the class, as everyone seemed happy with their results, regardless of what happened.
" Nene Ayanokouji-kun~ I forgot to ask~" Mako-chan suddenly lifted her head and spoke up, staring at Kiyotaka who was beside her with both of her lips pressed tightly against each other, stifling a grin while looking at him with expectant eyes."What did you choose as your first-place reward~?"
Mako-chan asked curiously, and in anticipation of Kiyotaka's words. Her question attracted the attention of my friends including mine, as I excitedly followed up my gaze towards him.
"Oh, I got the coed dormitory residency." Kiyotaka replied before taking out a golden colored keycard, which looked similar to the ones we had and displayed it to everyone."I'll just have to show it to the receptionist and-"
"Hehe~ what a good looking card~" Mako-chan swiftly snatched the card away from Kiyotaka's hand and inspected it closely, shifting it from one position to another and discerning it, with a wide grin on her face. "Congratulations on your new apartment Ayanokouji-kun."
Mako-chan handed back the card after feeling satisfied enough, which Kiyotaka accepted as he thanked her back. Instantly, her gaze landed at me which halted my excitement, before slowly leaning in to my ear and whispering
"Now that you have nothing in your way~ Make sure to use the 'things' I gave you" At the 'things' My heart skipped a beat and my face started heating up, as I realized what things she was talking about.
With a satisfied grin, Mako-chan lifted her head away and walked back, while tracking me with her gaze. I lightly gulped and tried to compose myself, while staring back at her.
But little did you know Mako-chan...
I already used them.... hehe~
I guess it's common trend at this point, me apologizing for delaying the update again and explains how fucking lazy and unmotivated I am. Literally, I want to write but I cant.... FUCK WHOEVER MADE THIS KIND OF CONTRADICTORY IN HUMANS-
Anyways, do you guys want Honami to get a 'reward' for handling the situations perfectly ? Yeah, you know what I'm talking about ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Thank you for reading
Cya.