"What question?" the man asked while looking at me.
I crouched before that pitiful bastard. "First, why you're trying to threaten Nanahara?"
"That one can wait," Kasai interrupted. "I'll explain after this. Let's just get on with the more important stuff."
I looked at her a little surprised. My suspicions of this girl grew a bit but I decided to comply. "There are many things about this school that feel odd. I need you to explain everything to me."
He looked at me for a few moments before finally smiling a little. "Of course, you're still a first year. You must be curious about a lot of things."
"Are you willing to answer?"
"No," he glared at me. "You're doing something pointless, the school has very strict rules about this, even teachers will be dealt with harshly if they dare to leak some info. After all, you will know everything without asking me."
He's right. If my theory is correct, then in the next month the number of points we receive should decrease. It was a good time for the teachers to explain the hidden rules of this school.
"That will only happen if they find out," Kasai argued. "As long as no one finds out that the info came from you, there won't be any problem. You have no choice but to speak now anyway."
Kasai waved her cell phone and the man stared back at Kasai with hateful eyes. "How do I know you won't betray me?"
"We wouldn't, senpai. We will also get in trouble if they knew that we were blackmailing you."
He looked like he still couldn't believe it. The man stared at Kasai for a few moments before finally letting out a resigned sigh. "How much do you guys already know."
I explained everything. Starting from the free stuff at the convenience store and my suspicion of the point system and so on. The man looked at me as if he didn't believe what I was saying. "It seems you are way smarter than your look. Ah, I just remembered, there was a rumor that a first-year student had managed to see through the rules. So you're the one..."
I also thought of the group of students who watched over me at the convenience store on the first day. Now I understand the meaning of their stares. Apparently, my little observation amazed a few senpais.
"Well, you were right about everything. The points you get will indeed be deducted for the offense you and your classmates committed."
"So you're saying one person's offense will impact the entire class?"
"Of course. You guys are judged as a group. If someone makes a mistake you all will suffer the consequences, mostly not directly but still" he explained. "Now you know that your assumptions have been correct. What else do you want to know?"
"Class division, are there any special criteria that affect one's class placement?"
The man smiled bitterly. "If it's about that even I still don't understand. When I first came to this school, I was in class C—"
"Was?" I interrupted. "Can you change classes?"
"Of course, you can, but you misunderstood a little. I didn't change classes, but my class was promoted."
Class promotion? "What do you mean by promoted?"
"You remember how this school always advertised itself as a school with a 100% acceptance rate in any job, any college for its alumni? Now I'll tell you, it's all bullshit! The only ones who are entitled to those benefits are the students who graduate as class A."
This fact surprised me. So not only by maintaining our attitude, but we also have to compete with other classes? I turned toward Kasai to see her reaction but there are no changes on the girl's face.
"Heh, surprising isn't it? But that's how it is. You first-year students can still enjoy your days laughing and holding hands, but once the truth is revealed you will be biting each other like hungry dogs."
"Explain further."
"The class that is called class A is the 'best' class so somehow you have to usurp their position. You guys are from class C, right? That means you have to go up to class B then class A and then maintain your position until you graduate. That way you won't have to worry about your future."
"How can we get our class promoted?"
"There's something called class points."
"Class points?"
"Yes. It's class points that determine the class ranking, as opposed to personal points that you use as money. In the beginning, all classes have a thousand class points. Over time those points are deducted for all your violations and bad behaviors. For every class point you have, you will receive one hundreds private point."
Ah, I see. That's why we received a hundred thousand points in the first month. Meaning that if our class points were reduced to five hundred points, the private points we received would also be reduced to fifty thousand points.
"If your class points exceed the class above you, class B, then you will be promoted to class B and the former class B will drop to class C."
So, if we didn't commit many violations, we could have been promoted to class B or even A in one month. Unfortunately, it is already impossible. My classmates have committed a lot of transgressions and based on the info I got from Teiichi and Nee-chan, the students in their class are quite organized and disciplined. If what he said is true then there should be a gap in our class point by now.
"How do you get class points?" this is the most important question. If we had to climb up to class A then there must be a way to accumulate class points. Otherwise, this class competition would be in vain.
"With written exams, and club activities..."
"What else?" it can't be just that. Class A and B each have bright students and many of them join clubs. If points could only be earned through those two things, then we would never be able to reach class A.
"There is something called, a special exam."
"Special exam?"
"As the name implies, the special exam is a test with certain rules where all classes compete in it. By winning the exam, you get quite a lot of class points. The exact number varies depending on the rules."
"What's the special exam like? Can you explain in detail?"
"Unfortunately there's no point in explaining it. To maintain confidentiality, the school enforces a different special exam each year. Sometimes they might just recycle old exams that were held 5 to 7 years ago."
By staging different exams every year, the seniors wouldn't be able to help the juniors even if they wanted to. Pretty smart but at the same time must be very troublesome. Whoever designed the special exams had to rack their brains every year to devise a new one, but given the old ones that could have been used, it probably wouldn't be that much of a hassle.
"What was the first special exam you took?"
"I told you it's useless."
"Just answer."
He clicked his tongue. "My first exam was during summer vacation, on a remote island to be precise."
Once again I was surprised. So on vacation, they are all taken all the way to a remote island to do an exam? That's sucks. What kind of exam is that anyway?
"What were you guys doing there?"
"A kind of treasure hunt. We were divided into small groups and told to search for certain items that had been scattered all over the island with clues arranged by the staff."
Oh, that sounds fun. I'm starting to feel enthusiastic about such a special exam. Unfortunately, based on what he said just now, the exam I got would likely be different.
"What about the third year? You know what kind of test they went through for the first time?"
"Yes, one of the senpais told me once. If I'm not mistaken, the one that they got is more like an exploration game or something. Done on the island too, but on a bigger island."
So the first exam is always held on an island. It's just that the form of the exam is different. I was so curious as to what kind of exam we would be subjected to. I think the information I get is more than enough. I looked at Kasai in case she had any additional input or questions, but she said nothing.
"I have answered your questions, can I go already?" asked the man. It's kinda funny because all the arrogance and threatening aura from him has disappeared.
"Yes, you may go. Just a reminder, you better not come near Nanahara ever again."
He didn't answer but I'm sure he get the message. The man tried to stand up with great difficulty and then hobbled towards—perhaps—the closest clinic. When I turned around, I saw Kasai kindly fetching a bag of groceries I had left behind in some bushes. I almost forgot about that bag.
"Thank you," I said as I took the bag from her hand. "Should we go back?"
"Sure. You must have some questions for me. I'll answer on the way."
We walked back to the dorm. I was silent for a few moments not knowing where to start. After spending a bit of time thinking about it I realized that I didn't even know the man's name.
"That man, who is he?"
"His name is Kumoi-senpai," Kasai immediately answered, as if she knew I would ask that question first. "He is a second-year Class B student. Quite infamous as a prick and womanizer."
"He has a problem with Nanahara?"
"He's interested in her."
Well, that's not surprising. Nanahara is pretty. Despite her cold and brusque demeanor, her physical appearance seems appealing to me. The boys in my class occasionally loved to talk about it, unfortunately, no one dares to approach her. Once I saw Arai trying to flirt with her but the next day he suddenly stopped and no longer dared to talk to her.
"One day he bragged to his friends that he would 'conquer' Nanahara in two days. I mean sometimes her rude attitude can make some people feel challenged." Kasai continued. "After that, not only he was outright rejected but was insulted by Nanahara. His ego was hurt and he resorted to dirty ways to subdue her."
Of course, he'll be rejected. Arai was way more handsome and more polite than him. If he failed, then there was no way that rotten senpai would succeed. "Just now he mentioned something about her past, what exactly happened to her?"
"For that, you should ask Nanahara yourself. What is clear is that she was quite famous in middle school. Kumoi-senpai got information from some students who might attend the same middle school or at least close to Nanahara's middle school. He then used it to blackmail Nanahara, as you saw just now."
"Absolute trash."
"Right. He deserves every kick at his balls."
"But how do you know all this?" I ask the one thing that bothers me the most. I already have a guess but there's no harm in asking.
"You remember those two people that were together with me on the park bench? They are also second-year students. They are my informants."
I knew it. Her meeting with the two people was indeed quite suspicious. "Why would they want to help you? Did you know them from before?"
"No. But recently I've been helping them out with a few things, so they've also gathered some information for me as a return."
'Don't underestimate the girls' information network' Shiraishi's voice seemed to echo in my head. Even so, Kasai is much different. She wasn't like the ordinary girls who gathered information by gossiping and so on. She was more like a spy making connections.
"But, why involve me? I think you can handle this on your own, or perhaps you can ask your two friends for help?"
"At first I didn't have any plans to involve you, but I changed my mind when I saw you in the garden."
"Why?"
"Because you said you wanted to know more about this school."
I sighed softly. "I don't know, Kasai-san. I appreciate your help but I don't think this is worth it. As Kumoi-senpai said, all the information will be announced at the beginning of next month. I don't think we even need to blackmail people."
"My opinion is different, I think it's all necessary. I have several reasons. First, Nanahara could get in trouble if Kumoi-senpai reports any acts of violence she has committed. So we need to have a shred of evidence to show that he started it. Two, we get easy money. Three, as the future leader of our class, it would be better for you to know all the information beforehand."
"Whoa, wait a second. What did you just say? Future leaders? What do you mean by that?"
"I mean 'you'. You will be our leader."
"I'm not a leader."
"You will be a leader. More precisely, I will make you a leader."
What is she talking about? Make me the leader? Why me? Is there no one else who can? Being the leader of a class of forty people would be quite troublesome. Also, I never felt like I had leadership qualities anyway.
"Don't we already have a leader?"
"Who?"
"Satonaka."
Kasai chuckled. Does what I say sound funny? Because in my opinion there is no one more deserving to be a leader than Satonaka.
"Satonaka is indeed good as class rep," she explained. "But only for ordinary schools. This school has very different rules. Someone like her won't be able to lead us to the top."
"That's too early to decide."
"No, trust me on this. She won't be able to."
I was starting to get annoyed with her attitude. "Then why don't you?"
"Oh, no-no. Neither can I."
"Why?"
"Because I have more important work to do, for example..."
"Blackmailing people?"
"Well, that's one of them," she said casually. "The point is things like this are bound to happen behind the scenes, so you're going to need someone to do the dirty work in the shadows."
In the shadows? This is starting to sound like the plot of some kind of edgy manga. Even so, she wasn't wrong. Kumoi easily got information about Nanahara and tried to threaten her, while carrying out the action he carefully chose a place that was in the blind spot of the surveillance cameras, and when Kasai showed her the video, he immediately understand that Kasai wanted his points. It was clear that someone like Kumoi was no stranger to dirty games like this.
Apart from Kumoi, there were also two senpais who made a deal with Kasai. I still don't know the details of their deal and Kasai probably won't tell me either. What was clear is her relationship with them proved that the seniors were quite used to things like this.
One thing that still bothers me is why is Kasai so confident? I think dealing with these things is much more difficult and more dangerous than being a leader. She seemed very confident that she could compete with anyone in terms of cunningness and showed absolutely no hesitation or nervousness when threatening a senior.
If dirty schemes and subterfuge are commonplace in this school, then it is not surprising for seniors to became adept in it. However, Kasai came to this school not more than two weeks ago. Actually what kind of past that she has to make her like this? Will she answer when I ask? I might as well try.
"You seem quite familiar with all of these dirty plays. Is this pretty common in your middle school?"
She didn't answer right away but looked at me with her usual casual look. "No, I didn't attend any middle school."
"...Huh?"
"You could say I was homeschooled," she explained.
Ah, I forgot that there was an option like that. Most parents in Japan prefer to send their children to public schools, so the option of homeschooling is almost inconceivable to me. Kasai doesn't seem to have any problems socializing, but still, I feel like there's always some distance between her and the rest of her class. This can indeed be explained if she is truly homeschooled.
"The person who is responsible for me used to teach me to always see the big picture and be ready for anything," she continued. "Anyway, back to the main topic. As I explained earlier. Apart from you, no one can."
"Why should I? What makes you think that I am cut out to be the class leader?"
"To be a class leader you need at least three qualities." Kasai held up three fingers. "The first is intelligence. You're smart enough to see through the points system. The second is connection. You have no problem getting along with anyone, and everyone seems to be equally okay with hanging out with you. Also, you already built a relationship with the two most important people in our class"
"Important people? Who?"
"Minami-kun and Satonaka-san."
Oh, them. Satonaka was quite obvious, but Minami? He's athletic and all but I'm not sure if he'll be as important as...no, that's a stupid thought. Based on what Kumoi said earlier and the data shown at OAA, this school is not only about academic ability. The type of special exams could be different, so if there was a test that required physical strength, someone like Minami would be a very valuable asset. He is also a sociable and friendly person. Many boys are admiring him. If Satonaka and Miwa can bring the girls together, then Minami will lead the boys.
"Do you understand why I mentioned the two of them?"
"Yes. I think I understand quite a bit."
"Good. I won't need to explain it then. Now, about the third quality, this is the most important," Kasai paused, perhaps to emphasize how important this was. "You are open-minded and seemed capable to adapt to any situations as they arise."
"What makes you think that?"
"Earlier when I blackmail Kumoi-senpai, you didn't protest at all let alone stop me."
"That's because...that bastard deserved it."
"Exactly. It means you're willing to ignore the rules when necessary. That's important because a leader's way of thinking shouldn't be limited by the rules."
Once again, I sighed. "Your evaluation of me is too exaggerated. I think most people would do the same if they were in my position."
"Some people, maybe. But it's more because of two things. Either because they are too arrogant and think they won't get caught, or because they don't care about the rules at all. You are neither. You still care about the rules but don't really mind breaching one or two."
The longer she talked the more irritated I got. Why is she talking like she knows everything about me? She tried to argue that I was a competent person but to my ears, it all sounded like twisting the facts so she could impose the leader position on me. Why does this girl want me to step up so badly?
"Nothing you say will change my answer," I said sternly. "I don't have any intention to become a leader. Too troublesome. Ask someone else."
By that time we have almost reached the dorm. Kasai stopped in her tracks and turned towards me. "Then, let's make a bet."
I stopped and looked at her. Her sly grin made me feel weird. I wanted to ignore her and continue walking to my room, but I didn't. Even though I've had enough, I think I should at least listen to the bet.
"Bet on what?"
"You don't need to lead the class for now, but you should at least make sure none of our classmates get kicked out until the midterms are over. You can as well use that time to consider my offer. If after the exam ends no one gets expelled then you win and I will not force you to be the class leader anymore, but..." she came closer to me and looked me straight in the eyes. "If it turns out that one of our classmates gets expelled then you have no right to refuse me. Do you agree?"
Oh, this girl. She thought I didn't realize her scheme. By having me protect my classmates she was probably hoping that I would develop a sense of responsibility within me so that in the end, even if I won, I might still accept her offer and become the class leader. Unfortunately, I've seen through it. However, I will still play the game and proved to her that I couldn't be persuaded that easily.
"I agree, but on one condition..."
"What's that?"
"You can't sabotage our class. If someone was expelled due to your interference then the bet is off." I doubt she'd expel someone out of our class just to win a bet, but it's better to be careful.
"You think I'm going to kick our classmate out?"
"Maybe not. But I just want to be safe."
"...Okay. I agree." Kasai extended her hand to me. "Let's formalize our agreement with a handshake."
I stared at her hand for a moment with a sense of doubt. My little heart said I might regret this, but I gave her my word. I shook her hand slowly. A confident smile continued to adorn her face as if she was very sure that she would still win.
"Before I forgot," Kasai took out her cell phone. "Take out yours. I will transfer half of the points Kumoi-senpai gave me."
"No thank you," I flatly refused. I'm glad the senpai get what he deserved but I'm not the least bit interested in the extorted money. After all, I still have a lot of points saved.
"In exchange," I added. "Send me the video."
"Oh, what did you plan to do with the video?"
"I will give it to Nanahara. You know, just in case."
"Hmm... okay. But don't tell her you got it from me. Everything would be better if she didn't know about my involvement."
Kasai sent the video and a few seconds later my cell phone rang. I checked my cellphone and confirmed that the file had been received. I didn't question why Kasai didn't want me to mention her name to Nanahara. I'm not interested in the reason or rather I'm not interested in continuing the conversation with her. I just want to go back to my room and relax.
Despite my annoyance with her, I realized that tonight has marked a turning point in my relationship with Kasai. I don't know if she will bring a good or bad impact on my life but one thing is clear. Starting tonight, I will never forget the girl named Kasai Himiko.
Kasai Himiko's OAA stats
Academic : A-
Physical : B
Adaptability : C+
Social Contribution : B
Overall : B
***
This chapter is a lot longer than I thought. Kasai is pretty fun to write but for some reason also makes me tired. From now on, I will put some character's OAA stats at the end, of every 1-3 chapters. I should've done this from the start but better late than never.