"Ayanokouji-kun~~!"
"Yo, how is it going?"
"It is going goooood, how 'bout you?"
"It is going well. Well then, let's get started."
Huh, Satou appeared to have been wearing very similar clothes to what Karuizawa wore last week on the weekends. It looks really good on her, as they both have that gyaru aesthetic. She also had her nails done as well. She must have gotten some inspiration.
Would it be the right decision to compliment her clothes? Or do I hold off on that for a conversation starter later?
"Ayanokouji, you are spacing out again. you are standing still right now." Satou said.
"Oh, it was just that I thought you looked nice in those clothes."
There, I said it.
"Awww~, thanks, I really appreciate that compliment." She replied.
We then started to walk together. If I were to be honest, I did want to try holding Satou's hands. However, my palms are super sweaty right now.
"By the way, did you know about something known as the Ikemen rankings?"
"No, what are they?" I said.
"Really? Let me show you right now!" Satou said enthusiastically.
She got her phone out. She had a lot of customizations like a custom phone case with stickers on it. It looked quite similar in design to Karuizawa's phone. It was honestly quite cute, but a little excessive. She then opened up a page with links to a bunch of lists.
For some reason, I saw some troubling titles to lists, such as 'Guys who should die'.
"You rank very highly in terms of looks. In fact, you are number 4 in looks. Hirata-kun is number 2."
"I see, Hirata certainly is a great looking guy."
"Sure, Hirata-kun is certainly amazing, I can't deny that. But....I feel like Ayanokouji can compete." She said.
"I see."
"However, you do rank rather highly in gloominess, though. And your social skills aren't particularly high, either. although you have definitely been improving. You have definitely been pushing yourself to get into groups like Hirata's group. And I like that fact about you, coming out of your comfort zone like that. I first got the impression that you were the type of guy to not do that, and instead mope about, all gloomy. And the fact that you were hanging around with Koenji and the idiot trio certainly didn't help, either. But then you started to hang around with Hirata, and then bam! That killer performance in the swimming lesson!"
"It honestly has been quite difficult, but also quite fun. I appreciate what you said about me improving myself. Can I see some of the other rankings?"
"Sure, why not."
I then looked at the list on Satou's phone of 'Guys who should die'. Sure enough, Ike and Yamauchi were tied for first place.
In fact, they are tied for first place not just in class D, not just in the 1st years, but in the entire school. What an incredible achievement.
Their stunt back during the swimming lesson must have solidified their position.
I will be gracious enough to not tell them about their ranking.
They also appear to be quite high in some other rankings as well, but I will also not be telling them about those rankings either, for obvious reasons.
I am surprised by how social norms allow girls to make a list like this. From what I've heard in the internet, the girls would have went on a rampage if the guys did the same thing to them, something known as a double standard.
I then went back to the more positive rankings.
I wonder if I could ask any of the boys at the top of the positive lists about advice on dating?
Also, for some reason it showed a ranking of top couples, and Satou and I were on that list, and we were around the middle of that list.
These rankings were made through a collective, anonymous voting, as described at the top of this website, so that meant quite a few people saw us as a couple.
"Are you done?" Satou asked.
"Yeah, that was an interesting read. I do feel bad for, ahem, Ike and Yamauchi."
"Oh well, maybe if they weren't so obvious. Rumors went by very, very quickly after that one swimming lesson. Speaking of which, you were amazing. I'm surprised even Hirata lost that one. Even Koenji and Sudou got demolished." Satou said enthusiastically.
This is one of her favorite things to say about me for some reason. I suppose that is because that is when she apparently first fell for me.
After we went to some shops, me and Satou saw another couple. They looked all happy, and were smiling.
"I do like the way you look right now, although you basically don't ever show an expression on your face. Like, at all. It is quite freaky at times, not going to lie. It is one of the reasons why your ranking in social skills aren't too high, as well as your high ranking in gloominess." Satou said bluntly.
"I can't really help it. It just feels very unnatural trying to force an emotion on my face."
"Perhaps if you practiced making a little smile in the mirror, that could work? I do feel like if you managed to work on yourself, you could get that number 1 spot and even beat Hirata!" Satou said.
This was advice 'professor Koenji' said to me as well about smiling back during his lecture on the ways to deal with a stalker 101. Even small steps can come a long way, so I guess it is worth a shot. Perhaps it can become natural for me to do. Such trivial things considered as human instinct do not really apply to me at times, such as the head nod which is apparently an unspoken rule of sorts amongst boys. That has now become somewhat natural to me.
"Alright then, I guess I could try that. By the way, do you care about those Ikemen rankings?"
"Well I guess I do enjoy looking at them from time to time. By the way, you don't have to force yourself to smile when you don't want to, of course, but a little smile goes a long way, you know? Like how Hirata-kun does it!" Satou added.
"Speaking of Hirata, it was very nice of him to get those cheats." I said.
"Well yeah~! Of course! But I am sure that you were probably thinking of the same lines as well, am I right?"
"I guess I did think of that, but I didn't actually act through with it. Although it did give me inspiration for something. You will see something very surprising tomorrow, trust me."
"Well I am looking forward to it then." Satou said while smiling.
It felt like Satou felt quite competitive regarding the likes of comparing me to Hirata and the Ikemen rankings.
Satou and I then started walking around in Keyaki mall. She was eyeing one of the stores in particular, but due to the lack of points, she couldn't go ahead and spend points carelessly in the shop.
But before we decided to go to the shop, I spotted the idiot trio in the distance. And they seemed to have spotted me as well. Sudou then proceeded to wave at me, and so I waved back. They then started to approach us.
"Hey Satou, Ayanokouji. Satou, your clothes look quite nice, in fact they actually looked very similar to what Karuizawa-san was wearing in the weekends." Yamauchi said.
Ike then suddenly jumped towards me to the shock of me and Satou.
"Heyyyy man, howzit going? Looks like you are going on a date! How great! Great stuff man!" Ike said while wrapping his arm around my shoulder.
"I guess it is going good. How about you?" I replied.
What is up with the way he is speaking?
"Great man! Great, all great! Life is good, life is great! Those tests were a breeze!" Ike said.
Is he drunk or something? His speech pattern is noticeably different.
"Heh, don't mind him, Ayanokouji! He just managed to ask out Shinohara-san out. Ike's confidence is at an all time high after yesterday's exams and he somehow managed to hype himself up enough." Sudou chuckled while saying this.
"O-o-o-oi! What the hell?! You said you wouldn't tell! And why did you make it sound like I asked her out on a date?!" Ike shouted out to Sudou.
"Ahahahah! C'mon man, it's super obvious. Of course, I have already asked out plenty of girls already! It isn't a big deal." Yamauchi blatantly lied.
"Yeah, even Shinohara mentioned something about that to me as well. it is looking good for you, Ike!" Satou added.
Satou was in a little friend group with Shinohara and Matsushita, so naturally they would be talking about that.
"O-oh, I see, Satou. Also, Yamauchi, shut up man! If I wasn't such a nice guy, I would have slapped the back of your head already." Ike replied.
He then made a slap motion. He did mean that, not the nice guy part, but the threat of violence. Whenever Yamauchi would say something about Ike liking Shinohara, Yamauchi would get viciously assaulted by Ike's slap of death, as Ike has dubbed.
Of course, Ike never actually bothered to attack Sudou whenever he made fun of Ike liking Shinohara, except for that one time to which Sudou returned the favor by putting Ike in a headlock. Good times.
I'm surprised by how quickly both Ike and Yamauchi got over Kushida, considering how obsessed they were over her before. And Ike actually has made some actual developments as well.
As for Yamauchi...we don't talk about Yamauchi's love life. Only he talks about his own love life.
I felt something, a presence watching me. I am guessing that must be Hashimoto. But since I am only on a date, there isn't really any need to confront him either. He is also good enough to not gotten caught by the likes of Satou and the idiot trio as well so he shouldn't be disruptive. Even Sudou's heightened senses would have a difficult time spotting Hashimoto.
"Yeah yeah, anyways, are you guys a couple yet?" Yamauchi then turned towards me.
Satou also had an expectant look, awaiting for my reply.
"No, I am still considering. I haven't really had much experience at all so I am still uncertain. I am interested, don't get me wrong, but I wouldn't want to move things too quickly." I said.
I honestly did feel bad for leading her along like this, but at the same time there are still things I am just so uncertain about.
"Dude, just go public already." Yamauchi sighed. He looked like he got bored immediately upon hearing me say that.
"I think I will get some love advice from someone knowledgeable then to speed things up. Both me and Satou are rather inexperienced, after all." I said to Yamauchi.
I pulled out my phone and then took a photo behind me to see if it is Hashimoto. And sure enough, it was him.
If there are any important deals for me to make, it would be likely to be today, the day after the midterms and a day before the results of the midterms. So naturally Sakayanagi is still interested in investigating my actions.
Of course, I am actually just going out on a date, but that doesn't discount the possibility that others would contact and meet up with me today on their request. The fact that I went to the teachers office this morning was a good enough reason to continue investigating me.
"Ayanokouji, why are you holding your phone like that? Do you call people holding your phone like that?" Satou asked.
"Oh, I just have been having some problems with class A students. They have been quite nosey these days. But that is natural considering the class competition. A day like this is perfect for making background deals as it is after the midterms, but before the actual results. But this could end up being an opportunity actually. Speaking of which, hey Hashimoto-kun."
I beckoned Hashimoto to come over and he did.
"Looks like I've been busted. But you don't look particularly unhappy, either. In fact, you actually seem quite glad, despite your rather emotionless face. So what's up?"
"Well I've heard you are a sort of love guru, an expert of sorts, so I want to ask you about relationships and such. It became a topic of conversation just now. Can we trade contacts so that I can get advice? I got something you might be interested in hearing in exchange" I said.
He looked pleasantly surprised.
If I were to be honest, I don't think I have any particularly good options to go to regarding love advice, other than the internet. But even the internet isn't fully reliable at times.
I could ask Hirata, but I have suspicions about the validity of his relationship as it hasn't really progressed at all. At most it would be surface level information.
I could ask Manabu, but he hasn't been in a relationship, though he might have some nuggets of information.
I could ask Yamauchi, so that I can learn what not to do. In other words, when it comes to advice about romance, do not follow Yamauchi's advice, ever. But that is still not enough.
I could also ask...no, I can't ask Koenji. He is easily the worst person I could ask. I honestly still don't get why any of those seniors like him at all.
In other words, Hashimoto might actually be the best bet in regards to it. Apparently people in class A has asked for his help before.
I am still not sure but it is worth asking someone with actual experience. I have dwelled on my love problems for a while now but he is someone I am keen on asking.
He has already been in relationships back in middle school apparently. Not just one relationship, but a history of them.
He is also very high in a lot of the Ikemen rankings, from what Satou showed me, all the more reason to ask him.
Satou also listened in curiously at this conversation.
"I see, I see. Is this regarding how you managed to catch Kamuro-chan?" Hashimoto said while chuckling a bit.
He got straight to the point and deduced what my deal could have been about.
"Indeed, it is a really funny story. In fact, Koenji-kun even helped record the encounter as well. I can send you the video. That's my deal."
"Usually Kamuro-chan doesn't do too bad at her job, as she appeared to have followed you for quite a few weeks. That explains why Sakayanagi said that Kamuro failed miserably at her job. Emphasis on the miserable part, she looked completely defeated according to the princess and chuckled a lot when saying that. So Sakayanagi told her to do some other errand instead, getting me to take over. But to think you even have a recording as well. How brilliant of you and Koenji. Sure, I'll accept this deal, king." Hashimoto said while chuckling a bit.
King? What? It looks like Hashimoto also called Sakayanagi princess as well. Does he call people royalty like this usually? But he didn't address Kamuro using royal terms, either. How odd.
Well anyways, it looks like I am right. They appear to have a little bit of banter between the two of them. Kamuro twitched when he heard Hashimoto's name and she had a look of disgust for a split second.
It turns out that humiliating Kamuro has resulted in another fortunate consequence.
We then traded contact information.
"I also don't mind it if you show the recording to Sakayanagi as well."
"Cool man, I'll be sure to hook you up with some useful advice. I'll be making a call with her right now. I am certain she will thoroughly enjoy it. Also, good luck with your date. She doesn't look particularly happy right now, so find a way to make her feel better. That is my first advice to you from love guru Hashimoto-sama."
"Alright then." I then waved him off.
I felt like, if Hashimoto continued to follow us, Satou would have been distracted by Hashimoto, so I gave him a reason to do go off and do something else.
Speaking of Satou, she had a slight look of anger and annoyance on her face when Hashimoto mentioned Kamuro.
"Ayanokouji-kun, so a girl was stalking you?" Satou closed in on me while saying this.
"Yeah? What's the problem?" She is now right up to my face. Too close.
"Why didn't you tell me?" She said.
"I was looking for the opportunity to deal with her for good. She could have framed her following me as a coincidence, of which that was an excuse she tried to use when me and Koenji confronted her."
"...I see." Satou then sighed.
She didn't look particularly satisfied by that explanation. I guess Satou's frustrations would make sense as me and Satou have hanged out quite a few times already, meaning Satou could guess that Kamuro was probably watching as well during some of those times. I guess it would be better to be honest about the fact that Kamuro was following us, although I didn't really want to interrupt her enjoyment either during those days. Fights between girls can get ugly apparently.
Although, for some reason I also got an idea that she seemed jealous.
If I were to be honest, I am interested in Hashimoto's capabilities. He kept a particularly far distance away from me and so it was actually hard to see Hashimoto in the photo.
Huh, the idiot trio is still here. They must have just been watching these exchanges unfold.
"Dude, you gotta show me that video." Ike said enthusiastically.
"Sorry, but I can't do that. Unless if you are willing to pay to see it?"
"Uhg, no thanks then." Ike moped about.
"Do I have to pay?" Satou said.
"No, of course not." I said.
It would be better off to show it to Satou to get her off my tail about Kamuro. Ike looked a little annoyed when I said that but dismissed it.
"By the way, Sudou, how well did you do on the exams?"
"Oh? Well I guess pretty well, though I am still nervous about the English exam result. I definitely did get much higher than the practice test, that's for certain."
"Indeed, Horikita's study session wasn't particularly useful, you could show off your results to Horikita to show that you took on this challenge head on." I said, making sure to mention Horikita's name.
"I guess so."
"That Horikita bi*** is so full of herself. But..." Ike then looked at me ominously.
"Why did you snitch, man? You said that you weren't going to tell." Ike said with an annoyed expression.
"Yeah, not cool man." Yamauchi added.
I sighed to myself.
"I didn't say I wasn't going to tell, all I said is that I won't stop you guys. But that did change due to Hirata's backstory. If you guys had continued, it would have made the situation a whole lot worse. What do you think, Satou?"
"Yeah, that's right, stay out of Horikita's way!" Satou shouted in defence.
"Huh? Weren't you the one who got us to start bulllyi--!" Satou then covered Ike's mouth.
"Oi! Shut up a sec, let's talk over there. You too, Yamauchi."
She then wrapped her arms around their shoulders and forcibly dragged them to somewhere else. She also gave a dirty eye to Sudou as well.
I see, so that's how it is. It looks like I was right.
"Sheesh, it looks like even Satou is stronger than them. They really need to get more fit. But I doubt they would join with us to the gym like how we do." Sudou said while chuckling.
"What was Ike saying, by the way? It sounded like he said that she was the one who started something?" I said to Sudou, feigning ignorance.
"O-oh, yeah, don't mind about that. She sure is scary though, you know?" Sudou said.
Surprisingly Sudou looked a little scared talking about Satou. Speaking of which, it looks like Satou is verbally assaulting them right now. Wait...what? Did she just slap Ike's face?
Ike didn't even look like he wanted to fight back, instead rubbing his face where the impact was. Yamauchi had a look of terror upon seeing how Ike's slap of death has been surpassed.
"By the way, do you think you passed the English exam?"
"Hmmm, I guess. Admittedly I fell asleep the day before the exam studying English, but before that I also got distracted by the mobile game again. I usually gravitate towards my bed every single time I try to study English. Luckily all the studying I did beforehand helped a lot, I definetely wouldn't have been able to pull off an all nighter, that's for sure."
"Maybe you should try heading to the library instead if you can't study in your dorm."
"Oh yeah! Why didn't I think about that?" Sudou said.
Wow, has he ever been to the library before? He did visit once, during the study session with Horikita though. It would be nice to have someone else I could be with in the library, that isn't just Satou.
In fact, usually Satou would inch right up next to me and have her shirt unbuttoned just enough for me to see. I shuddered a little. I just wanted to read a book, or at least talk about the books I've read.
While I was thinking about the library, I then saw Satou coming back with Ike and Yamauchi. For some reason she was pinching both of their ears and dragging them towards us. Ike and Yamauchi were wincing in pain.
"Anyways, I think it is time for us to split off, now." Satou sighed, releasing her grip on the two of them.
It looked like Satou's legs were shaking a little bit.
Yamauchi dropped to the ground in pain. Ike immediately sprinted towards me.
"Dude, Ayanokouji! Your gyaru girlfriend, is hella scary! Help control her! Even Karuizawa isn't as vicious as her! And this isn't the first time either! She's even worse than that Ryuuen freak!" Ike said, but then Satou gave a death glare to Ike. Ike then recoiled back.
Not the first time? What? Don't tell me...
"Hahahah! Just kidding. Yeah, yeah I am just joking around, nothing serious here! It's just a prank bro!" Ike said with a smile and laughed, but his eyes told a different story.
Ike had a look of pure fear in his eyes. He also had a red slap mark on his face as well. Yamauchi didn't even say anything, instead grabbing his ear in pain, with his knees still on the ground. Sudou looked away, attempting to not make any eye contact with anyone anymore.
I haven't ever seen this side of Satou before surprisingly. How terrifying. Somehow she seems to be even scarier than Horikita holding a compass, something I didn't expect to be surpassed.
However, it looks like an act, she isn't used to resorting to physical violence.
Satou then smiled towards me.
"Let's go, Ayanokouji! Bye guys!" She then waved them off, with that same smile, as though nothing scary had transpired. Sudou gave me a thumbs up, with an accompanying awkward smile to go along with it.
"...So what should we do next?" I asked.
"Hmmm, how about we go watch the movies together?"
"Good idea, let's go right now."
"Sure, and get more popcorn this time around as well. I end up going through all the popcorn before the actual movie starts. Movie adverts take too long."
"Alright, alright."
We then went back on our date. I don't think I will ever be on her bad side, but just to be safe I really shouldn't get on her bad side.
I thought back to what Ike said. He said she was even worse than Ryuuen. Although I have only heard about rumors about Ryuuen, I don't think she is that far gone.
Side Note: The King, I mean Ayanokouji is one place higher now in looks in the Ikemen rankings compared to the original series due to him going out more often in social events such as hanging out with Hirata's group as well as actually getting clothes which suit him due to Satou and Matsushita.