Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's POV.
X: "Well, watching geniuses like Ayanokouji or Yamauchi hide in the back for a long time may burn you guys out. How about we see something different?"
Horikita: "Do you mean...?"
X: "Yes, are you interested in what would happen if one of them decided to show their talent and take over Class D?"
Great.
Kei nods repeatedly: "Yeah yeah. I want to see Kiyotaka as the Class D leader."
Satou: "He must have been really cool."
Ichika: (Heh, Senpai would become a Class A student in no time.)
Arisu: "Ayanokouji-kun leading the defective class... Fufu. I can't wait to see."
Ryuen: "Kukuku. I'm more interested in how Yamauchi operates."
I nod, agreeing with Ryuen. Not only I and Ryuen, but other leaders also share the same opinions, because Yamauchi was even more of an enigma than I was.
I look at Yamauchi for his approval. It would be better if Yamauchi himself volunteered.
Yamauchi raises his eyebrows but then shrugs his shoulders.
Yamauchi: "Whatever. I don't think it would be of any interest. I prefer watching Ayanokouji."
Kiyotaka: "That's what he said. God of Entertainment, we all agree to watch Yamauchi's videos."
Yamauchi: "Oi."
X: "Sure. Let's start the videos, shall we?"
Yamauchi: "Oi!"
Except for some girls showing distress, most people share a neutral view on this, so we all pretend to not hear Yamauchi's protest.
"So any questions before I leave?"
I observed my classmates' reactions to Chabashira-sensei's words, but all of them are still overwhelmed.
Well, except for that narcissist in front of me.
And maybe the monster in behind. I can turn my back and look at them now, but doing so is like poking a sleeping bear. It's unnecessary at this point.
My heart is hurt by Yamauchi's cruel words. Not only him but others too keep calling me monster this, monster that. I also have feelings, you know?
Arisu: "Fufu, what an accurate analogy, Yamauchi-kun."
Ryuen: "Well, the guy wasn't wrong."
Arisu: "Ara ara, you're having PTSD?"
Hosen: "Hahaha. Quite the trauma for the great Ryuen."
Ryuen just smirks and ignores them. He knows retaliating against them with words only feeds their egos.
"Well, it appears no one has any questions. I hope that you enjoy your time here as students."
Chabashira-sensei said while her eyes wandered to a corner in the back of the classroom.
If I'm not mistaken, then she just looked at that one. Did she know about the student?
Or can she feel its presence? Nah, she can't. A normal person cannot sense something like that.
Anyway, I will keep that in mind.
She started to leave the classroom. In a short amount of time, my mind was filled with conflicting ideas.
Should I tell them? But it's not my problem. It's their own responsibility as students to figure this out.
Having a leader can help them grow faster? There are already some potential leader figures in the class. No need for me to intervene.
Some giggles spread through the room.
Ike: "I can't believe you can think that much in a few seconds."
Miyamoto: "Yeah, Chabashira-sensei is still in slow motion."
Shinohara: "I think we should focus on his actual thoughts."
Maezono: "We would have welcomed you if you became our leader."
Yamauchi: (I doubt that.)
Sudo: "Oi, guys. Horikita is our leader, there's no need..."
Horikita: "Wait, Sudo-kun, Yamauchi-kun might have led us better than I did at the beginning."
That's surprising coming from her. She's sure grown a lot.
Matsushita: "Actually, I'd like to see how Yamauchi-kun would have led our class."
Yamauchi shakes his head: "The guy on the screen is definitely not me. There's no way I'd break my facade just because of those reasons."
Matsushita: "Ouch. That's heartless, Yamauchi-kun."
Some other students in our class also look like they agree with Matsushita.
Yamauchi: (￣_￣)
Even if I only get a few points next month, I can still extort money from the seniors. But it's pretty hard to keep doing that for three years and not get caught.
It's such a pain to lead them, though. I haven't interacted with them, but I can already tell it's a hassle.
Also, they would definitely refuse to have a guy that acted like a pervert be their leader.
Horikita: (He's right.)
Yousuke scratches his cheek. He and some others have wry smiles on their faces. Class D was indeed troublesome for any leader to lead, let alone a guy who seemed like a pervert.
I'm curious how he would pull it off.
And the promise with him...
Ichinose clasps her hands together: "He must have promised his friend something really important. He's so kind."
Kanzaki glances at Ichinose quizzically.
Kanzaki is not the only one who looks at Ichinose as if she's ill.
Is this the Selection Bias Effect?
Matsushita: (The dots are connecting... But it's too ridiculous.)
Ryuen: "Who's the fuck have that kind of promise?"
Mashima: "I don't understand young generations these days."
Actually, that was just a one-sided promise...
...
Nagumo: "That was anti-climactic."
...
I hear some awkward coughs in the back.
Yamauchi has a pretty good poker face as he gazes at the screen.
I wonder what he's thinking.
Yamauchi: (I kinda want some beef udon right now.)
I don't care about the Class A thing, but staying here peacefully for 3 years is a treasure to me.
I can experience a lot of things in this school that I will never experience.
If my perverted act and low attribution to the class keep going on, I will be one of the first students to be expelled.
My only chance is now, to climb to the top of the social hierarchy and stay there to ensure my safety.
It's such an irony that my worst enemy is my own class and not the others.
Yamauchi: (Now I know for sure, this guy is definitely not me. Even now, I still prefer to stay hidden, and even if I get expelled, I won't care much. Although that begs the question, what changed my mind?)
Yagami: "Senpais, I'm curious if Yamauchi-senpai has ever been in a dangerous position like expulsion before."
Utomiya nods: "With how he presented himself to others, I'm surprised he didn't get expelled."
Ishigami: (Probably someone was sacrificed instead.)
Shinohara: "Well, the only one that was expelled in our class was Hondou-kun."
Matsushita: "Yeah, and I think despite Yamauchi-kun's perversion, his grades are not bad. They are kinda... average though."
After saying that, a lot of students stare at Yamauchi. They are pretty familiar with the term "average" all thanks to that student.
Horikita seems to be trying to remember Yamauchi's initial grades.
Kiyotaka: "I remember his grades are 51, 58, 49, 53, 56."
Horikita gives me a look: "No wonder we couldn't detect anything weird from him. Different from a certain someone, he knows what normal is."
Ouch. You don't have to do me like that, Horikita.
Anyway, if what I think is correct, then in the Class Poll, it was his plan all along. But that was risky; why did he leave the final decision to me?
Did he have another plan?
No, based on what I see from him, the answer probably is that he didn't care about what I chose.
Looking back at it, he may have given me the expulsion "button" and decided to observe my behavior like a researcher.
Can't say I like that.
Looking at Chabashira-sensei walking to the door—just one more step and she'd reach the door—I sighed.
"Wait, Chabashira-sensei," I said with a stern, deep voice while raising my right hand.
Chabshira-sensei, who was about to leave, was taken back by my voice. She was not the only one, though, as most other students turned to look at me with the same expression.
"What is it, Yamauchi?"
She asked, crossing her arms.
"I would like to talk to the class, and I want you to stay here as Class D homeroom teacher."
Matsushita: "Well, it's understandable because your voice doesn't match your earlier actions."
Some girls whisper: "His voice is so deep and sexy."
"I know, right?"
"Meh, his look is still... ooh woah."
Her voice stops as she sees Yamauchi's transformation on the screen.
My classmates have a really bad impression of me, so I need to have a powerful entrance to erase my perverted image from their minds.
That was the reason I didn't talk from my position, but instead I slowly walked to the teacher podium. As I paced, my posture straightened, and I stopped making a ridiculous face like before as it turned into a serious expression. The aura around me changed in mere seconds.
By doing so, I made sure they would take me seriously.
Finally, when I reached the podium, I turned around to see my classmates.
Everyone looked at me with a shocked face. For them, it must feel like watching a magic trick. The guy with a perverted face vanished, and another with the same features, making a slightly different face, just appeared out of nowhere.
"Holy fuck?!"
"Who is this?"
(Wait, doesn't he look a little bit more handsome in the video?)
(Am I tripping?)
My classmates stared at Yamauchi's face.
Yamauchi frowns: "It's still me."
Kei: "No no, that's totally a different guy."
Shinohara: "No, seriously, who are you?"
Matsushita ponders before saying: "Do you intentionally shift your features to make a weird face."
Hearing Matushita's remark, Yamauchi sighs: "I guess there's no longer a need to hide."
Then, just like in the video, Yamauchi's facial features start to shift slightly. It's still amazing to see the process right in front of your eyes.
And he's surprisingly good-looking, too.
Maezono: ~(>_<~) (Ugh. I almost fainted.)
Matsushita: (Not as handsome as Hirata-kun and Ayanokouji-kun, but he's a solid 8.)
A random student in Class 2-A whispers to her friend: "He's not as hot as Satonaka-kun."
Nishikawa whispers back: "Yeah, but his aura really complements his appearance and expression."
Another one: "I agree. He gives me the strict and scary hot daddy vibe."
"What?"
"What?"
I've successfully made a strong entrance. However, this would be meaningless if I could not follow through, as convincing Class D students is not an easy task.
"Good morning, everyone. My name is Yamauchi Haruki. You probably wonder why I decided to go up here and speak to you all."
It would have been a good idea for me to declare my desire to become a Class D leader immediately if not for my perverted actions earlier.
Moreover, declaring to be the leader would inevitably clash with the two groups that support the two new social figures in the class, Mr. Nice Guy and Ms. Nice Girl.
We don't have time to talk all day since we're gonna have an opening ceremony soon. So no time for meaningless arguments.
Because of the nature of the students in Class D, it's best for me not to overload them with information on the first day. That's why I will only focus on sharing the most important part.
Arisu: "A wise choice, Yamauchi-kun."
Katsuragi nods: "Indeed."
"I will be frank. We, Class D, are in big trouble."
My classmates, except for the narcissist, looked at me bewildered. They probably didn't think I would throw them a bomb like that.
Of course, technically, we are not in any kind of trouble, but I need something to hook their attention. Putting them in a sense of danger will snap them out of being newly rich with 100,000 points.
Miyamoto: "But we were really in big trouble."
Matsushita: "I think because he only decides to share information about the points, it would be harder to convince us that's the case."
"What do you mean?"
"Huh? Who are you? Stop acting like a big shot!"
It looks like Hondou's deaf.
"Isn't he the one who acted weirdly earlier?" A girl whose name I believe is Satou Maya whispered.
Ike claps, making praying hands: "RIP Hondou!"
Miyamoto: "RIP! You will be missed!"
Some of my classmates follow suit.
"I'm not joking. This is a serious discussion, and we don't have much time. So please listen to me without interrupting."
Despite my serious tone and the potential danger that they might be in, a few students still tried to open their mouths. Luckily, before they could do so, two students stopped them.
"With how serious you look, I think we can all listen to you carefully as your classmates."
"Yeah, I think we should at least listen to know what he's about to say, right guys?"
Good job, you two.
"Thank you, Kushida-san and Hirata-san."
Kushida and Hirata were taken aback by the fact that I knew their names even though we had never talked to each other. But it was a given since I had heard their introductions several times already.
Shinohara: "I would feel creepy if someone called my name when I didn't even interact with them."
Matsushita: "Same."
The girls nod in agreement.
Kushida: "Fucking Christ, it must have given me goosebumps."
Ryuen: "Kukuku, literally your worst nightmare."
Mii-chan hugs and comforts Kushida.
I signaled to them that this was not the time, and they understood that immediately, so they stayed quiet and stared at me.
"Anyway, what I want to say is that this school is suspiciously too generous. We didn't bring any money with us, so either we get some money or some free essential necessities from the school, which is a given."
They nodded but were still confused about why I was saying something so "obvious".
"What's suspicious about that?"
"The suspicious thing is the amount of money we get," I said, "100,000 points or 100,000 yens. This is too much."
"Uhm, but isn't it because this is a prestigious school?"
A brown, long-haired girl asked. I think her name is Matsushita Chiaki.
Satou: "Hehe, it's funny seeing you pretend to be stupid, Matsushita-san."
Matsushita cringes every time she sees herself acting like that after being exposed, and even more so when in front of Yamauchi, who can read her perfectly.
"Indeed. But we can take a step back and calculate the total amount of money that this school gives out to students a month. 100,00 per student a month; there are 40 students in this class, making a class receive 4,000,000 points a month. In the guide, we know that there are 4 classes per grade, meaning this school has 12 classes. The total points they give out is 48,000,000 points a month or 576,000,000 points a year."
They were stunned by my calculation, either because they couldn't keep up or because of the big number.
There was no need to calculate the points per year, but I needed to make this sound more serious, so a big number is required to make them more aware of the situation.
Horikita: "If only we knew, we would put him in the Flash Mental Arithmetic event against Class A."
Kiyotaka: "No need to cry over spilled milk."
Horikita: "I'm just... frustrated, I guess."
"This is 576,000,000 yen per year we're talking about. Even for a school funded by the government, I doubt they have the budget to give out to a bunch of kids every year."
"But, we're elites, right? I think elites deserve big money."
Hosen: "Hah, delusion."
Delusion.
Hosen snorts.
I could deny him immediately by saying we're not elites, but it could potentially piss off my classmates, so it's better to parry his claim with a distraction.
"But it's not enough to give us 100,000 yen. Half or even one third of it would also be enough for a month."
Before anyone could disagree, I continued.
"However, if we change our approach and have a different condition that we won't get 100,000 yen per month, then this whole thing makes a lot more sense."
"What?"
After a quick lull, a lot of them broke out laughing at me.
"Ahaha, this guy is so dumb."
"I thought he was going to say something serious."
"Pffft, didn't you hear Chabashira-sensei just say we get 100,000 points per month?"
I expect nothing less from the defective class of the school. However...
I noticed there were also several students who took my words seriously and started to think carefully as they tried to remember Chabashira's words.
There are still some hopes left in this class.
Ryuen: "Nope, definitely not. There's absolutely no hope left."
Ishizaki snickers, shouting at Yamauchi: "Just abandon the ship, captain."
Ryuen's class and students from other classes burst out laughing.
Komiya: "Good one, Ishizaki!"
A lot of students in Class 2-D glare at them.
I clapped my hands, creating a loud sound that stopped all my classmates' noises.
In addition to that, my expression had not changed and was still as unfazed as before, making them know I'm not joking. My intimidating aura shut down all possible protests.
"Well, it's understandable that you guys don't trust my words. However, we can totally ask someone like a teacher for confirmation. Luckily, we have Chabashira-sensei right here."
I said that and turned to Chabashira-sensei. She was still in the same pose, but her eyes were locking onto me like she was looking at a treasure.
Quite a change of attitude there, Mrs. Chabashira.
"Chabashira-sensei, can you tell us how many we will get next month?"
My classmates expected her to laugh at me and deny the ridiculous claim. However, they saw Chabashira-sensei examining me carefully. After a while, she finally opened her mouth.
"Sorry, but I can't tell you that, Yamauchi."
I nodded and turned back to the class.
"There you have it."
"W-oa, what?"
"What do you mean, sensei?"
"Y-You guys are just paranoid. O-Obviously, she just doesn't want to bother to say it again."
I know this is gonna be hard, but I really didn't expect this level of optimism.
Ryuen laughs: "Actually, the one optimistic here is you, Yamauchi."
Tsubaki: "If I was in their class, I would have dropped out of this school right after the first month."
Utomiya shakes his head: "Luckily, we didn't have to deal with similar situations."
Ichika: "All thanks to senpai!"
One of her classmates: "Yeah yeah, we know."
It looks like I don't have any choice but to be more forceful.
I clapped my hands loudly again to attract their attention back to me before saying.
"Chabashira-sensei, please tell me the amount of points each student in this class will get next month! Else, I will report you to the school later for hiding essential information from the student."
Despite talking to Chabashira-sensei, I was still staring down at my classmates. They were shocked at my words, as they couldn't believe a student just threatened a teacher right in front of them.
Meeting my eyes, a lot of them suddenly diverted their own or became sacred, as if my face had become demonic. But I knew that my face didn't move a single muscle.
Based on their reactions alone, I can tell my choice was correct.
Ishizaki: "Wait, I can't see his face."
Ryuen snorts: "So drama. Show me his face already!"
To lead a group of people, there are many methods. However, the method with which I'm most familiar is using fear through intimidation.
Mako: "Like Ryuen-kun?"
Hamaguchi shakes his head: "I don't think so."
Ichinose explains: "Ryuen-kun uses fear through violence, while Yamauchi-kun in the video uses fear through intimidation. They sound similar but are totally different."
To be honest, the most effective thing to register fear into their brains is threatening to expel one of them right now and do so as soon as possible.
Hirata: "What?"
Nagumo: "Ah, also my favorite. We may have more similarities than we realize, kouhai."
But, it's a reckless move. As long as I don't know the rules of this school well, I can't take any actions that could potentially bite me back in the future.
So, threatening a teacher like this should be a good baby step.
Ichinose: "..." ヾ(⌐■_■)ノ♪ (I'm going to pretend I didn't see that.)
"I said I couldn't tell you, Yamauchi."
Although it took a while for Chabashira-sensei to respond, I still got the answer I needed.
"That's what she said. So, does anyone still think that this is a joke?"
Everyone was quiet. Even the most immature student in the class didn't want to fight me head-on at the moment.
"Chabashira-sensei's words just now confirmed everything we need to know. It's not that she doesn't want to say anything, she simply cannot give us the information. From her response, we can deduce that either she's not allowed to answer that question or she herself doesn't know."
I paused a bit to let them process everything I just said. I could see various expressions on their faces, from confused to bewildered to... unfazed?
There were two people who hadn't changed their expressions even once since I came up here.
Ryuen: "Kukuku. Poker face monster."
"B-But what does that mean?"
Someone asked me timidly without looking at my face. Okitani, I think.
Okitani: (Wow, he even knows my name. My voice was really low, but he could still hear it.)
"I tell you what it means. It means the amount of points we receive next month is unknown at this point; in other words, it will change."
"It will change?"
"Sensei, is that right?" Asked Hirata.
"Don't ask her something she can't answer, Hirata-san," I interjected, "If you need evidence, then you can use Chabashira-sensei's words earlier. She said, 'Points are automatically deposited into your account on the first of every month. You should all have received 100,000 points already.' She's never said anything about receiving 100,000 points every month."
"E-eh?"
"Really?"
"Man, I can't remember what she said."
Arisu: "Fufufu. Your small brains obviously can't remember something like that."
"I can vouch for that." A girl with long, black hair sitting in the back suddenly raised her voice to support me.
I nodded at her as a thank you.
"Yeah, I remember she said something like that." Hirata jumped in to give me some credibility. I doubted he seriously remembered, but it looked like he wanted everyone to trust me.
"Me too. I couldn't recall at first, but now that Yamauchi-kun said it, I remember it's the case." Neither did this girl, whose name I believe is Karuizawa, but thank you anyway.
Contrary to them, Kushida didn't say anything but frowned and raised her eyebrows as if she was trying to remember what Chabashira-sensei said. She seemed to be too confused to speak up.
"So now, we know either it can go up or it can go down next month. What do you guys think about how this works? Does the school just simply give us a random number next month?"
I want to give them some time to think and come up with the answer themselves. Hopefully, someone will help them, because I have no trust in most of them at all.
Everyone laughs when they hear Yamauchi's thoughts.
A student from class 2-A: "Accurate."
The students in my class are embarrassed, but they can't fight back since they know it's true.
Horikita sighs, while Yousuke has a wry smile.
Kei: (Did I decide to latch onto him? Well, that makes sense given how scary he is in the video. But still.)
"It's unreasonable for the school to do that. But I can't think of how many points they will give us." A serious looking student with glasses spoke out his opinion. He didn't talk to anyone earlier, so I still didn't know his name.
"You're right. Luckily, Chabashira-sensei gave us a hint as she said, 'The amount you've received reflects the evaluation of your worth.'"
"Huh? What does that even mean?"
"My brain can't keep up."
"Argh! This is annoying!"
Ike and some others were racking their brains to understand what Chabashira-sensei meant. I saw the red-haired guy have steam coming out of his head. This was probably too much for him.
"You mean the school will give us points based on our grades from tests and exams?" The student asked while pushing his glasses up.
"Eh?! No way!"
"Oh my god, this is such a pain."
I glanced at him and said, "I think the same, but I believe there's more for the school to evaluate."
He raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms, waiting for me. The same with other students.
"The reason I'm so sure is because I notice that there are nine cameras inside our classroom. Four in each corner, two from the sides, two in the front and back, and one in the middle of the ceiling."
"Wait, really?"
"Where?"
"Holy shit, there are two in the back."
"There are five more, just like Yamauchi-kun said too."
They seemed quite excited about some cameras.
I really don't understand teenagers' minds sometimes.
Shinohara: "Pfft, you think like an old man, Yamauchi-kun."
Matsushita: "I agree."
Maezono: "His inner thoughts really don't match his scary appearance. This is so funny."
Is this what they called Gap Moe?
"Are they recording us for misbehavior?" Asked Hirata.
"Eh? Don't they do it to prevent something like cheating or bullying?"
When Shinohara questioned Hirata, I noted a slim reaction from Karuizawa's body.
Shibata: "Wait, I didn't catch anything."
Kanzaki: "I didn't either."
Himeno: "Quite creepy to be honest."
Kei: "Ah mou."
I pat her head to console her. She seems to enjoy it.
This is not the time to analyze her. I should finish this quickly, as I want to hear their introductions and get some information about them. An introduction can tell me a lot about the person. I don't want to miss this crucial opportunity.
I clapped my hands for the third time, and immediately, most of them became quiet and turned their attention back at me.
Hold on, is this Conditioned Stimulus?
Ryuen: "Kukuku."
Arisu: "Fufu. He basically trained them like dogs."
Hosen: "And I thought I was fucked up."
Ichika grins: "Yeah, you're nothing when compared to those two."
Hosen glares at Amasawa, but she ignores him.
Ike: "What do they mean?"
Yamauchi: "I think the me in the video is trying to make you guys respond to his clap conditionally."
Kei: "Huh?"
Kiyotaka: "So every time he claps, everybody will stop and wait for him to talk."
Kei: "Eh, don't tell me Yamauchi-kun is just like you? Like, instead of looking at everyone as tools, he sees them as dogs."
Sudo: "What?!"
Kei's words trigger Class D's PTSD, and they all stare at Yamauchi with angry, sad, or disappointed eyes. Sudo and some of our classmates are about to explode, but Yamauchi speaks up first.
Yamauchi: "What are you guys even thinking? Don't let Ryuen and Arisu lead your noses like that. It's just a simple action to gather others attention. I'm not as hardcore as Ayanokouji."
Oi, what do you mean by "not as hardcore as" me?
Kei and Sato giggle at his words.
Everyone in my class calms down and knows that they overreacted. They give Yamauchi apologetic looks, and he signals them that it's fine.
Yamauchi: "Don't worry." (Because I already knew how you would react in the first place anyway.)
"Fighting against cheating or bullying with cameras makes sense, but nine is overkill, don't you think? I think a more plausible reason would be like what Hirata-san said, that they want to monitor every movement of us."
"And with how we behave in class, they will evaluate and give us the corresponding amount of points based on that." The long, black-haired girl said.
"Exactly!" I affirmed.
"But, isn't it still just an if-scenario?" Ike asked hesitantly.
"Yeah, what if the school really wants to go overboard with the cameras?" Hondou shouted.
"Right? Just because sensei couldn't say anything doesn't mean you're right," said Shinohara.
Not only those three, but more and more students joined in to deny my claim.
As expected, without hard evidence, they won't listen to me.
Hashimoto: "Jesus Christ. They're really incurable."
One of his classmates: "Why not ditch them and come to us?"
"Yeah, it's hell over there anyway."
Chie: "No no, our class is better. Come to us! We have a lot of beautiful girls in our class."
Sakagami pushes up his glasses: "Stop prostituting your own class, Hoshinomiya-san."
Chie smiles at Sakagami, but it doesn't reach her eyes: "What did you say?"
Sakagami: "N-Nothing."
Mashima and Chabashira sigh. They probably already gave up on Hoshinomiya-sensei.
Our class can only hide their faces, especially those who appear on the video and question Yamauchi's words.
Yamauchi: "Now, you should know why neither I nor Ayanokouji attempted to do something like this. It's a pain in the ass."
I nod in my head.
Tell them, Yamauchi.
Miyamoto: "But still..."
Horikita: "It's enough, Miyamoto-kun. There's no point talking about the past."
Knowing she's right, he sits down silently.
I clapped my hands again, and this time it was the loudest. My face became slightly angry, and it scared them for good, as a lot of them started trembling from fear.
People have told me my eyes become really scary in certain occasions. I wonder how true that is.
Ryuen: "Oh come on, again? We can't see shit from this angle."
Hosen frowns: "Why are you hiding it?"
Haruka whispers: "You look like you almost fainted there, Airi."
Airi: "Y-Yeah." 'How scary can his eyes be? I've only seen his calm ones.'
"Enough! And what if I'm right? Do you understand the situation we're in? If what I said is right, then when the next month comes, your misbehavior will make you receive zero points."
"But," Maezono tried to say something, but I cut her off.
"No but, can't you see how your daily life would turn out if you had low or even no points next month? You think I came up here and talked this long for my own benefit or something? I simply couldn't ignore the danger that you might put yourself in, so that's why I spoke up to warn you all."
Nagumo: "Oooh, he's guilt-tripping them."
Asahina: "I'm confused. Isn't this contradicted with him trying to intimidate them and make them fear him?"
One of her friends nearby: "You're right, but maybe he thinks revealing himself in such a caring manner would convince them better."
Asahina: "Sounds fake, though."
Kiriyama: "No, in this case, he looks like a disappointing father talking to their children. It doesn't sound as bad if you're his classmate."
Nagumo: "Doesn't matter if they find it's fake or not, the important thing is that he needs to convince them right here. Also, most of them are pretty stupid, so they won't think much about this anyway. Only the smart ones will notice the contradiction, but they won't tell that to anyone unless they plan to not have him as their leader."
Manabu: "He probably will make a move to cover that matter too, though I don't know exactly what he wants to do, as he should be smart enough to know that there are ways that he can take to convince his classmates."
I can probably buy a confirmation from Chabashira-sensei. After all, you can buy anything with points.
But there's no need for that.
Tachibana: "You're right, Kaichou!"
Manabu nods.
Ryuen glances at Yamauchi: "What's your game here?"
Yamauchi: "I wonder the same."
Ryuen snorts.
Yamauchi doesn't want to take the guarantee route. Now, that's interesting.
Doing so will force them to behave, but they won't learn a thing. I want them to develop by themselves without relying on anyone, and the fastest way is to learn from failures. In the long run, this will benefit the class more.
Even if our class loses a few points or even half of them, as long as I'm here as the leader, I can gain them back.
Though if we go down to 0, it would be quite a problem.
Ike: "Man, that sounds so badass."
Some random girls: (His confidence and scary presence make him so hot.)
(I'm so wet.)
(Just dominate me already.)
Maezono fans her face with her hand: (Phew. That's hot.)
Ichinose: "So, he's good, I guess?"
Yume: "Uhm, I think he's good with this one."
Mako nods: "At least he wants to help his classmate grow."
Hirata: "I knew you were a good guy, Yamauchi-san."
Yamauchi looks confused: "What do you mean? That guy's not me."
Maezono: "Hai hai, we know, we know."
Yamauchi: (What the hell?)
Ryuen: "Fuck, I almost threw up there."
"I think he's right, everyone," cried Kushida.
"He's just trying to help the class. Don't attack him, guys."
Hirata helped me along side with Kushida.
"Even without caring about the long term, you guys should think about the short term."
"Short term?"
"Yeah, I heard some of you want to buy expensive stuff like clothes and gaming devices, right? Don't you want to keep spending money on your hobby? Just imagine you spend all the points this month, and next month, you get nothing."
Then I asked a few specific individuals.
"Karuizawa-san, you said you wanted to buy new clothes, right?"
"Y-Yeah."
"And you, Hondou. You want to buy the new Play Station, correct?"
"That's right."
"Then, think, class D, think! What do you have after spending all the points?"
"Ugh, next month's points?" Ike answered.
"And if you receive nothing?"
"Well... shit?"
"My point exactly!"
Shinohara: "I don't know why, but he sounds more convincing than the last attempt."
Matsushita: "I think it's because he demonstrates it through a more personal view, so it hits closer to home."
"You don't do this for others; you do this for yourself, is what I want to say."
Everyone was quiet after hearing my words. Some students were still not convinced, but they didn't open their mouths.
They still need one final push.
"Everyone, please, think about Yamauchi's advice carefully. I think he only wants to help us." Hirata exclaimed.
"Yeah, and it's not like we would lose anything by trying, right?" Kushida joined in to help.
"One month," I said, attracting their attention once again, "next month, on May 1st, we will receive our monthly points, then everything will be clear. Just one month."
I can make a promise or sign a deal to make myself more trustworthy, but there's no need to go that far because my aim from the start is for them to see me as the leader of this class.
That's why even if some happen to go rogue down the line, it won't matter in the grand scheme of things. Because after the moment I'm proven to be right, all of them will have no choice but to follow my words.
Whatever they choose to do, it will always be my win in the end.
Watanabe: "Sheeesh."
Ishizaki: "Holy crap."
Kanzaki: "..."
Kamuro: "That's..."
Arisu: "Not bad at all. With this, he kills two birds with one stone. He can prevent some point loss and display his wits, forcing them to recognize his skills in the future."
I know he's different from me, but it's still surprising that Yamauchi chooses to lead Class D this way, which is not as efficient as possible since there are too many unknown variables that he lets through. It's truly fascinating to see how this conduct of his turns out.
Unless they don't care about how their classmates look at them, of course, which I doubt.
To minimize the potential point loss this month, I need to drill more fear into their numb skulls so that the students of Class D will proceed with caution in this school.
I clapped my hands again. Now, everyone stared at me and waited in silence.
This is good. At least they can still follow simple signals.
Ike: "Phew, at least we're not as incurable as I thought."
Ryuen: "Lucky for you, the guy has patience."
"I have more information to tell you, but," I said, looking at the clock, "we're running out of time, so let's end this with us introducing ourselves to each other. This will help me and others understand every member of this class better."
"Wait, I think it's more important to hear what you have to say rather than a useless thing like introducing oneself." The long, black-haired girl interjected.
"I don't want our classmates to be overwhelmed on the first day. So let's do it another time. In fact..."
"Sensei," I turned to Chabashira-sensei, who was still there, "we will have a period with you as our homeroom teacher, right?"
"Correct, each class has a short period with their homeroom teacher every day to organize the class business." She answered with a puzzled face.
"I see. Then can I come up here and talk to our class in that period, like today?"
"I'm afraid not. But as your homeroom teacher, I can do it as quickly as possible, so you can have the remaining time for yourself."
I caressed my chin and pondered for a few seconds.
"You know what? Instead of doing that, I'm just going to test it right here."
Chabashira-sensei and my classmates looked bewildered as they couldn't keep up with my thoughts.
I see. He's gonna...
"Sensei, I want to buy that whole period tomorrow for myself."
"What?!"
"We can do that?!"
"No way, right?"
Manabu pushes his glasses up: "As expected."
A random student in Class 3-A: "Dude is speed."
"Yeah, even Nagumo only started buying stuff after a few days."
Nagumo: "Yeah, he starts quick."
Sae sighs: (If only one of them actually took this seriously...)
Hearing my request, Chabashira-sensei was shocked at first before she burst out into a big laugh.
"Hahaha, you're really something, Yamauchi..."
"Stop it, sensei. We don't have time to waste, so please just tell me if I can buy it or not."
Not only she, but also my classmates, were taken back by my blunt statement.
"Pfft"
I can hear some students trying to hold back their laughter.
Miyamoto: "You're really something, Yamauchi."
Inogashira: "How brave."
Nene: "Yeah, he talked with Chabashira-sensei nonchalantly."
Mii-chan nods: "Sensei looked cold and intimidating back then."
"What a rude kid," she stopped her laugh and shrugged, "Sure, it's going to cost you 30,000 points. If you want to proceed with the transactions, then the points will be deducted from your account."
"Sure." I pulled out my phone.
"Wait, please let me share it with you," interjected Hirata.
"Me too." Kushida gave me a friendly smile.
"I will give you my share too." The long, black-haired girl exclaimed.
"Why do you split the points with him?"
"Yeah, if he wants to buy it for himself, shouldn't it solely be his responsibility?"
Hosen: "Dumbasses."
Ryuen: "Morons."
Arisu: "Defects."
Himeno: "Stupid."
My classmates look embarrassed after seeing themselves acting like that on the screen.
I clapped my hands and spoke in a slightly annoyed tone.
"There's no time to argue around. This time, I will pay because I'm the one who wants to test the rule for myself. Of course, the next time, when it relates to the class matter, we will split the points fairly."
Before they could protest, I turned to Chabashira-sensei and finished the transaction.
"With that, you can leave now, Chabashira-sensei. Also, even though I bought the period, please come here tomorrow. I need you for something."
"How cruel." She said playfully. She was probably in a good mood.
Sae mutters: "Of course she is. I'm jealous."
Hoshinomiya glares at her with narrowed eyes and a devious smirk.
"Well, if that's all you need, then please excuse me. See you all tomorrow."
After Chabshira-sensei left, I signaled Hirata to start his introduction. He understood and began with Kushida, who followed the lead.
Suddenly, a loud, angry voice disrupted the happy atmosphere that Hirata and Kushida had just built.
"What is this? Are we still in kindergarten or what?" He shouted while kicking the table.
I wasn't surprised because I noted that he almost ran out of patience and was about to explode a few times if not for my intimidating aura.
"Calm down, Red-Hair."
"Who do you call Red-Hair?"
"Relax. I'm not trying to make fun of you. I called you so because I don't know your name. You don't want to be called like that, right?"
"Ugh..."
"I totally understand why you feel angry, but I honestly want to know you better as your classmate."
He didn't look convinced and glanced at his bag.
It looks like he wants to leave now.
"Yeah, you look really strong and athletic. I would feel sad if I couldn't get to know you."
Good job, Kushida.
Mii-chan: "Kikyo is still amazing over there."
Inogashira: "Yeah. You're so amazing."
Kushida: "O-Of course I am. Hmpf."
She seems pretty proud of herself as she puffs her chest. Although there is some red on her cheeks.
Yamauchi: (Since when did you become a tsundere?)
"F-fine, my name is Sudou Ken."
"Yes, Sudou-kun?"
Kushida used her puppy eyes.
It was super effective.
"I-I'm good at most sports, and I was on our school's basketball team. I like rock music. I don't like studying. Also, my number is..."
Now, he just gives out too much information.
Sudou looks embarrassed at how he behaves on screen.
Sudou: "Horikita, please don't misunderstand, that guy is not me."
Horikita frowns: "What are you talking about?"
After that, everything went smoothly. There were some students that didn't want to introduce themselves, but they couldn't handle the pressure from the kind Hirata and the nice Kushida, along with the scary me still standing on the podium.
When it was the long, black-haired girl's turn, she looked hesitant at first but still stood up.
"My name is Horikita Suzune."
Then she sat down immediately.
What the hell was that?
Looking at the screen, Horikita massages her forehead.
Horikita: "I was really immature."
Kiyotaka: "Look at the bright side, the you in that universe developed faster thanks to the intervention of Yamauchi. Now that you won't be called useless by me."
Horikita glares at me with a red face.
Cute.
Manabu: (If only...)
Anyway, after her introduction, there is only one more left.
The one I'm most curious about.
Let's hear it.
"Um. Well, my name is Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. And, uh, I don't really have any special skills or anything. I'll do my best to get along with all of you. It's, uh, nice to meet you."
Everyone, including me, fell quiet after hearing his awkward introduction.
What was that? Even a middle school student can do better than that.
Hirata quickly broke the silence and gave Ayanokouji a warm smile.
"It's nice to meet you, Ayanokouji-kun. Let's both do our best in the future, okay?"
He nodded and sat down slowly.
Hmmm. This class is full of weirdos and unique-characteristic students.
Hosen: "Hah. That's rich coming from you."
Hirata and some others smile wryly.
After that, my classmates started to prepare to go to the opening ceremony.
"Oh yeah."
I put my hand on one side of my head, acting like I remembered something just now.
My classmates turned to me after hearing my sudden voice. Some of them looked irritated, which was understandable.
"I forgot to tell you guys something."
"What is it, Yamauchi-kun?" Kushida asked with a curious voice.
"It's not something big, but I will keep acting perverted outside the class."
"Ehhh?!"
"Why? It's disgusting." Shinohara exclaimed.
The girls nodded strongly; even Kushida scratched her cheek with an awkward smile.
"I know it's annoying, but trust me, I have my reason."
Horikita sighs: "Just like here."
Class D nods in unison.
"But-"
"This is for the class, Shinohara-san."
I looked at her sternly.
"I-I see."
"You can also avoid me in public if you don't know how to act toward me."
They looked hesitated as they didn't know how to respond. I took advantage and distracted them.
"Another thing is that I want some of you to go make friends with the seniors."
Nagumo/Manabu/Tachibana/Third-year students: (Huh?)
Horikita: "What with you and your obsession with the seniors?"
Yamauchi shrugs.
"Eh? What do you mean by that?"
"I mean, I want some of you to go talk to either second- or third-year students."
"Is there a reason for that?" Hirata was confused.
"Do you want to ask them about the points?" Kushida asked.
"Not quite. Like I said, it's making friends for future connections. So, anyone comfortable enough for the task?"
"I can do that." Hirata answered with a smile.
"I'd love to make friends with our seniors." Kushida said with a big happy grin.
No one else named themselves.
"It looks like only Hirata-san and Kushida-san volunteer. It's alright; you guys can go now. Hirata-san, Kushida-san, can you two come up here?"
Nagumo narrows his eyes: "What is he trying to do?"
Tachibana looks at Manabu, but he shakes his head.
Manabu: "I don't know what he wants to do with asking others to do that kind of job."
Kiriyama: "Is it possible for him to use them to gain evidence to convince his classmates?"
Nagumo: "It's plausible. But those two are not skilled enough to extract anything important."
Tachibana: "And he only tells them to make friends."
Manabu: (When you make friends... to get their reaction... no way...)
Yamauchi suddenly bursts out laughing.
Yamauchi: "As expected of me."
No one can understand Yamauchi's weird reaction. Some students ask for clarification, but he ignores them.
He's picking a fight with them this early? You're... really something, Yamauchi.
Everyone started leaving, except for Horiktia and Ayanokouji. They slowly approached us.
I raised my eyebrows and asked Horikita.
"Horikita-san, you're in?"
"Don't be ridiculous. I only want to hear what you intend to do."
I glanced at Ayanokouji.
"Me too." He nodded.
Kei: "Ne Kiyotaka, for a guy who dislikes troubles, you really like to dive into them."
Ryuen: "Kukuku. I agree with Karuizawa. You're full of shit, Ayanokouji."
Horikita gloats at me: "What a coincidence. I just thought the same."
I sigh.
I'm probably only curious.
Kiyotaka: "I'm actually more surprised that you decide to go anywhere close to Kushida at that point."
Horikita flusters: "I wonder the same..."
Sotomura pushes up his glasses: (Hoh? An early development?)
I returned my attention to Hirata and Kushida.
"So, I want you two to go talk and befriend our seniors, but,"
"But?"
"I want you to follow my three requests."
"What are they, Yamauchi-kun?"
"First, you introduce your name only to them. After they're comfortable talking with you, please ask for their classes. If they already tell you at the start, then you wait for a while before announcing your class."
"Second, you don't ask them anything about the points or any suspicious things at the school. Just pretend to not be aware of any of that, at all. Can you do that?"
"Ehto, I don't understand, but sure, I think I can do that."
"Uh hm, me too."
"Ok, then, the third and most important point, before you engage in conversation with any senior, I want you to record audio using your phone. And do not let them know or find out about it."
"What?!"
"The fuck?!"
Ichinose is caught off guard: "That's..."
Himeno: "Evil!"
Ichika grins: "That's so cool! I want to try it too."
Ryuen/Arisu: "Kukuku/Fufufu."
Kiryuin: "Ara ara."
Asahina: "Oh god."
A student in class 3-D chuckles: "I'm in danger."
A student in class 3-C snickers with his friends: "We're so fucked. Ahahaha."
"RIP myself in that time line."
A random student in class 3-B: "Being extorted money not only by your kouhai but also from the defective class hits different, not gonna lie."
Kiriyama is so stunned that he can only muster up one word: "Yeah."
Nagumo: "Now, I'm eager to see if anyone from my class would fall for that."
Manabu: (His action will bring a lot of trouble to the council student. Good luck to the me over there.)
Hosen's rubbing his hands: "Now, you're talking my language."
Nanase stares at Hosen, then sighs depressingly.
While most of my classmates are still confused, the smart and quick-witted ones realize what Yamauchi's plan is and stare at him like a monster.
Horikita murmurs: "Should I feel lucky that our Yamauchi didn't do anything like this?"
Somehow, I doubt it.
Yamauchi: (Too soon, Horikita, too soon.)
"Ehh? Why, Yamauchi-kun?" Kushida asked, slightly raising her voice.
"I don't understand what you're trying to do." Horikita gave me a suspicious look.
"I think it's not nice to record seniors without letting them know. So can you give us a reason?" Hirata asked me with a wry smile.
Ayanokouji was the only one who didn't say anything. He hadn't even changed his bland expression once since I saw him.
I wonder if he understands what I'm trying to do. Hopefully, if he does, he won't stop me.
I probably do.
Everyone: (He definitely does.)
"Don't worry, this is for our class as it relates to the topic I'm going to talk about tomorrow, so I need some evidence to convince our classmates."
There are other reasons, but they don't need to know. It would only obstruct their actions anyway.
Sotomura: "Speech 100. Illusion 100. Sasuga, Yamauchi-dono."
Kiyotaka: "What's that?"
Kei shrugs: "Who knows?"
"I see." Hirata and Kushida nodded, while Horikita and Ayanokouji stared at me silently.
These two...
"Please send me the files tonight, so I can work on them immediately. And that's all for now."
Hirata nodded with a refreshing smile. "Then let's go to the ceremony or we will be late."
"All of you go first. It would be weird if a pervert mix in the group."
"Sure. See you soon, Yamauchi-kun."
"Bye bye, Yamauchi-kun."
Horikita and Ayanokouji nodded at me before leaving.
I returned to my seat and put the magazines back to my bag.
I wonder if I did the right thing, Haruki?
I sighed.
Matsushita: "He looks exhausted."
Ryuen: "Of course, dealing with a bunch of defects would have killed anyone. I'm shocked he didn't collapse."
Hosen: "He should have whooped their asses to shut them all up."
Ike: "I'm so used to their ridiculing that I no longer get worked up by it. No idea if I should feel happy or sad."
Sudo: "I still get angry sometimes, but after this series of videos about Haruki, I think I can become a monk."
That sounds really sad.
I started to review my actions, my plan and my classmates.
I have to say one thing: what a class, really.
Shinohara. Matsushita. Sakura. Koenji. Sudo.
And, Hirata. Karuizawa.
Then, Kushida. Horikita.
Even the Class D teacher, Chabashira-sensei.
Finally, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.
I wonder what you are hiding.
Kanzaki: (Yeah, what the hell are you all hiding?)
Airi flinches at hearing her name.
Kushida: "Well, shit."
Matsushita chuckles while scratching her cheek.
Kei glances at Yamauchi: "Like, we can't even hide any of our secrets from you."
Yamauchi shrugs.
Satou: "Ne Yamauchi-kun, how long did it take you to find out Karuizawa's past?"
Yamauchi: "At the rooftop."
Kei: "Wow. You were there?"
Yamauchi: "Well..."
X: "Hold it! No spoilers, please!"
I was going to ask when he found out about Kushida and Horikita, but oh well.
Author's Notes:
_ 7906 words. New record for me! It took me a while to finish this chapter.
_ You already read how Kiyotaka reveals part of his full strength, and here's Yamauchi in my fanfic. To be honest, I don't think the way Yamauchi revealed the S-System to Class D is as clean as Kiyotaka's in Self-Test, for example. Kiyotaka is superior to Yamauchi in planning, that's for sure. Of course, there are pros and cons to each route they chose for Class D.
_ Yamauchi's modus operandi is more aggressive than Kiyotaka's and less reckless than Ryuen's.
_ Also, writing this chapter takes a toll on me, along with the fact that I'm stuck on the Rooftop chapter from my other fanfic. So, I'm taking a break to write something else to relieve stress. So no planned release day for the next chapter, ok?
_ Anyway, as usual, thank you for reading! I hope to see you all soon! Bye bye ( ' ∀ ')ノ～ ♡