I stood there in shock, frozen in fear. His face was one that I never thought I would see again. Kiyotaka Ayanokouji. I had heard my father talk about him before, but he had no idea what Ayanokouji was really like. He only knew what Ayanokouji's own father had told him, but he didn't know him in that place like I did. He is a monster, because only a monster could have survived that place.
"Kaguya"
"Kaguya"
I heard Miyuki's voice calling my name which snapped me back to reality. As I turned toward him his face turned to worry.
"Are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost," he asked.
I glanced back at Ayanokouji, who was gazing out the window, seemingly indifferent to me. Gathering my thoughts, I replied, "I'm fine, Miyuki. I just noticed someone in this class."
"Ah, Koenji, the guy you mentioned earlier. If your description is accurate, he will be interesting to be around, but there's no need to act so tense; we're classmates now."
Huh. I had no idea what Miyuki was talking about. I took another quick look around the classroom and there he was, right in the middle with his feet on the desk. Uggh. This is now even worse.
"Uh yeah Koenji, our families have been friends for generations, so I've known him for a long time." I managed to respond.
"Well never mind that now. Class will be starting soon so we should take our seats."
"Alright. Ill talk to you after class Miyuki." I responded. It looks like my seat is in the back of the class to the right of the girl sitting next to Ayanokouji. As I took my seat, I noticed she was reading a book, Crime and Punishment. It was one of my favorite books, so I decided to ask her about it.
"Excuse me, I see you are reading Crime and Punishment, I really enjoyed that book myself. My name is Kaguya Shinomiya, nice to meet you." Me from a few years ago would never have bothered to introduce myself right away, but I've matured since then, so I decided to try and be friendly.
"Yes, I enjoy this book as well. Do you mind if I continue reading?" She responded with a slightly annoyed look on her face.
Her cold response caught me off guard, and I took a moment to gather my thoughts before speaking again, but by then the girl had gone back to reading her book. It seems my first attempt at socializing at my new school failed. Although I can't say I was giving this my full attention given who I had just recognized.
As I glanced around the classroom, I noticed Ayanokouji continued to stare blankly out the window, as if he didn't have a care in the world. I'm sure he just heard me try to introduce myself, but he didn't seem to react to hearing my name. Despite this I'm still sure that when his eyes met mine, he knew exactly who I was I could never forget that apathetic look, the one that made me feel utterly worthless.
As I continued to look around I noticed something odd. There was a camera in the corner of the room on the ceiling. That in itself wouldn't be odd, but it looked like it was supposed to blend in with the wall. I took a quick look around the room and sure enough each corner had the same camera in it.
As I considered the oddity of the semi-hidden cameras I looked to my left and I saw a pink-haired girl sitting with her fists clenched. I decided that I wasn't finished trying to socialize yet, I still need to keep my composure for now. She looked shy, but I wasn't about to strike out twice in a row.
"Hi, I'm Shinomiya, nice to meet you. What's your name?"
She looked shocked that someone was speaking to her. "I...I'm Sakura. Ni...Nice to meet you," she stammered.
"Nice to meet you Sakura, there's no need to be so nervous. I don't bite, I promise." As I began to make conversation with Sakura, I noticed a blonde-haired boy sitting next to Miyuki stand up.
"Everyone, can I have your attention."
He seems like a stereotypical honors student.
"Since we are all going to be classmates, I was hoping we could take some time and introduce ourselves."
"Sounds like a good idea." Someone said.
"Yeah, let's do it." Agreed another.
"Alright, I'll go first then." Said the blond-haired boy.
"My name's Yosuke Hirata, but my friends in middle school called me Yosuke so feel free to do the same. My hobby is sports, but I mostly play soccer. I think I'm going to join the soccer club here. I hope we can all get along, it's nice to meet you all." He said, finishing with a bow.
Judging by the state of the class his introduction was well received. After him Miyuki stood up to give his introduction.
"Hi everyone. My name is Miyuki Shirogane, nice to meet you all. I was the student council president at my last school, so I never had time for other clubs. I'm looking forward to spending my time trying new things. I look forward to getting to know you all." He said in his usual demeanor.
The next few students' introductions weren't as memorable as his. Most of them were short and from people who didn't seem quite as comfortable speaking in front of people, and some of them were obviously full of lies. I mean how could you have played inter-high school sports in middle school.
"Well, I guess I'm up next."
The person was a girl who seem to give off friendly vibes.
"Hi everyone, my name is Kikyou Kushida, none of my friends from middle school made it here so I don't know anyone. I would like to get to know everyone here right away. It's my goal to become friends with everyone at this school, so after we finish introductions, please come share your contact information with me. "This girl was definitely going to be popular. Not only was she pretty, but she was the type to get along with everyone.
"So, during school or breaks please invite me to lots of events. I want to make memories with all of you." She continued. Anyway, I've talked for a long time now, so I'll finish my introduction here."
"Excuse me, can you introduce yourself?" Hirata asked.
"Hmph. Fine." He smirked, displaying his impudent attitude. As he shifted in his seat, I thought he might stand up, but Kouenji placed both of his legs on his desk and introduced himself. "My name is Rokusuke Kouenji. As the sole male heir to the Kouenji conglomerate group, I will soon be tasked with carrying Japan into the future. I sincerely look forward to making your acquaintance, ladies."
He directed his introduction entirely at the girls of out class. Just about what I would expect from him.
After hearing that he was rich, some of the girls looked at him with sparkling eyes, while others regarded Kouenji as if he were nothing more than a weirdo. I was among the latter.
"Starting today, I will mercilessly punish anyone who makes me uncomfortable. Please exercise proper precaution so that you may avoid that."
"Um, Kouenji-kun. What exactly do you mean when you say, 'anyone who makes me uncomfortable'?" asked Hirata, who looked uneasy at the word "punish."
"I meant exactly what I said. If asked to give an example, well... I would say I hate ugly things, for instance. So, if I saw something ugly, I would do just as I said."
"I will make sure to be careful then" Hirata responded.
As Koenji finally finished his introduction I began to think about how I should introduce myself. I should avoid mentioning my family since I won't have any benefit from doing so, and Koenji's introduction had left a bad taste in my mouth. Also, I would rather try and start fresh here. As I tried to come up with the words to introduce myself, I kept getting off track and thinking about him again. How is he here, why is he here. Is he here because of me or is this a coincidence? I had no way of knowing, but I figured the best direct way to find out is to ask him. After class, when I get a chance, I'm going to figure out what he is doing here.
"Uh excuse me. It's your turn."
Huh, I looked up to see Hirata looking at me. I can't believe I was lost in thought for long enough for it to be my turn to introduce myself. Well let's not screw this up. I noticed Miyuki gave me an encouraging smile, so I guess here I go.
"Hello everyone, my name is Kaguya Shinomiya. I came from the same school as Miyuki and was also on the student council. In my free time I enjoy reading books, doing archery, and watching fireworks. I hope to get along with you all." I politely bowed as I finished speaking.
"It's nice to meet you Shinomiya." Hirata said as he applauded my introduction, but before he could continue one of the girls who I think said her name was Sato asked, "Hey you called him Miyuki. Are you guys dating or something?"
This naturally brought a collection of questions and whispers as the class, though mostly girls began gossiping at the thought of a couple already.
"Uh" I stuttered as a considered how to respond. It's not that I'm too shy to admit it, but I didn't really want to announce my relationship to the class on the first day.
"It's rude to ask that out of the blue Sato" Hirata had come to my rescue answering before I could.
"You should apologize." He continued.
"Sorry for blurting that out." Sato said with an embarrassed look on her face. It was fairly obvious she wasn't that sorry, but she wanted to make a good impression in front of Hirata.
"Why don't you introduce yourself next?" Hirata asked pointing to Ayanokouji in the corner seat. My mind snapped back into focus as I began watching him. He looked disinterested but knowing him I have no idea what he might really be thinking.
"Uh eh uh... My name is Kiyotaka Ayanokouji. Uh I'm not really good at anything in particular, but I guess I used to play chess and I'm kind of ok at my academics, I guess. I uh... I'm looking forward to studying with you all."
Huh
What was that. I didn't expect some high energy introduction like Miyuki or Hirata, but I didn't expect that. Can this really be the same Ayanokouji from back then? He is almost unrecognizable. I mean he was never social or seemed like he had high energy, but now he seems nervous to introduce himself in front of the class. Now I definitely need to confirm this. As soon as I get a chance, I need to talk to him. I need to find out what he is doing here. I need to..
"CAN WE CUT THE CRAP" a red-haired student yelled snapping me back to reality. "Why do we need to do this? We ain't middle schoolers anymore."
"That's enough. Everyone take your seats." I looked up to see a women walk into the room. She looked to be in her mid-thirties and was probably our teacher.
"Good morning to you, students. I'm the instructor for Class D. My name is Chabashira Sae. I usually teach Japanese History. However, at this school, we do not change classrooms for each grade. For the next three years, I will be acting as your homeroom teacher, so I hope to get to know all of you. It's a pleasure to meet you. The entrance ceremony will be in the gymnasium one hour from now, but first, I will distribute written materials with information about this school's special rules. I will also hand out the admission guide," she announced.
She had an air of authority that I would expect of a teacher at a prestigious school like this. Although as far as first impressions go, she seems like the kind of instructor my father would hire as a private tutor. As my new classmates began passing the rulebooks back, she continued to speak.
"The Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing School differs from other Japanese high schools in a few key ways. All students are required to live in dormitories located within the school's premises. Also, except for special cases, such as interschool events, students are forbidden to contact anyone outside the school. Even then, you are only permitted to encounter other participants during an event. In addition to this, contact with your immediate family is forbidden without authorization. Naturally, leaving the school grounds without permission is also strictly forbidden."
While these rules seem strict it seems like the school has ways of compensating us in exchange. There are a variety of different facilities available for student use all on campus like karaoke, cafes, a theater and more. The campus itself was massive, according to the book sensei passed out it's over 600,000 square meters. With the other unique feature of the school being the S-System.
"I will now hand out your student ID cards. By using your ID cards, you can access any of the facilities on campus, purchase goods from the store, and so on. As you can already infer, it acts like a credit card. However, it is imperative that you pay attention to the points that you spend. At this school, you can use your points to buy anything. Anything located in the school premises is available for purchase," explained Chabashira-sensei."
It seems like points act as currency in place of actual money. This could cause issues for students without discipline in their spending habits. Despite my upbringing I didn't actually have much luxury for myself so it shouldn't be an issue for me. As I continued to ponder about how the S-System works Chabashira continued.
"Your student cards can be used simply by swiping them through the machine scanner. The method is simple, so you shouldn't get confused. Points are automatically deposited into your account on the first of every month. Your points are determined on merit and each of you have proven your worth by passing the entrance exam and getting accepted into this school. You should all have received 100,000 points already. Keep in mind that one point is worth one yen. No further explanation should be necessary." The classroom erupted after hearing her.
Wow this is more involved than I expected, but something caught me as odd about the explanation. Even someone as young as Chabashira-sensei must have been a teacher here for several years by now, and if so, she wouldn't have stuck around if she were not good at her job. So why did the explanation sound so robotic, it was like she was reciting a script word for word. That's not all, I know my family donates around a hundred million yen to this school every year and that is respected by the school. But that would only cover about 2 months of student points across all three years. Something isn't adding up, and I should probably get to the bottom of it. As I considered the school's rules my father's words echoed back to me.
"If you are worthy of the Shinomiya name, you should have no issue succeeding. Even with a handicap. Be sure not to disappoint me." I still don't know what the handicap he mentioned was, or what his definition of success would mean, but I need to find out.
"You all still have about 25 minutes until the entrance ceremony starts. Please use that time as you like, but make sure not to be late to the gymnasium." Chabashira said. "If there are no questions, I'll see you all for homeroom."
As she began to walk out of the classroom, I heard a voice cut through the noise of my classmates' excitement. "Chabashira-sensei, I have a question." It was Ayanokouji who had stood up to ask something.
"Yes, go ahead. It is Ayanokouji, right?" She replied.
"Sensei. How many points will we receive next month?" His question seemed to confuse the majority of the class. "Huh weren't you listening earlier? She said we get 100,000 a month. Are you an idiot or something?" I hadn't paid attention to that student's name, but I remembered he was the one who said he played inter-high ping pong.
"I can't answer that." Replied Chabashira who looked like she was trying to hold back a small smile. "I see. Thank you. I don't have any further questions then.' Ayanokouji finished. Looking back at Chabashira I couldn't make out what she was thinking. "If that is all I'll be going now." She said dismissively as she opened the door and left the classroom.
As the class broke out into conversations once again, I saw Miyuki heading over to my desk. "Hey Kaguya, I'm walking to the gym with Hirata and some others. Want to walk with us? As much as I want to, I should use this chance to try and talk to Ayanokouji. "Sorry Miyuki, can I meet you there instead?" "Sure thing. I'll see you later Kaguya." He replied heading back to the waiting Hirata.
As I looked around, I saw Ayanokouji walking out of the classroom alone so I figured this was my chance. I got up and began following him. As I left the classroom, I saw him down the hall as he went around a corner. I began to walk that way, but my heartbeat began getting faster. I'm not sure what to expect from this confrontation, but as I thought about it, a crashing reality struck me. I was walking away from the gym. So why was Ayanokouji walking away from the location of the entrance ceremony? I got my answer as soon as I rounded the corner and saw him waiting for me as if he expected this.
"I wondered how long it would take for you to approach me. So, Kaguya Shinomiya, what is it you want?"