He was right. The S System really was more complex than what Mashima-sensei had told them. And thanks to him realizing this so fast, Class A was on top.
The spirits of the class were higher than ever, even with the class being more divided than it should be.
Soon after Kakashi had spoken up about the point system being strange, Arisu started making her moves fast and gaining allies.
In no time, it had become clear to everyone in Class A that Arisu was also contending for the role of the class representative.
However, now that Kakashi's theory had been confirmed, the class understood the need for a strong class representative instantly. There was no time to be lost when the three other classes were all too eager to get ahead of Class A.
Some students didn't quite get the sense of urgency; they had 980 class points, after all. But Kakashi knew all too well that these points could be fleeting.
One month and Class D had lost all of them, after all. This made it clear that losing class points was no difficult feat.
Kakashi thought that the battle between the Katsuragi and Sakayanagi factions would go on for a while until something significant happened.
Until the calm students who were sure of their safety felt endangered, and maybe even after Class A was challenged by a strong enemy, the two factions would fight and Class A would remain unstable.
It wasn't such a bad thing, Kakashi thought.
Mashima-sensei had suggested in his speech that there would be a way for the classes to earn class points (what he'd been trying to convey was that the class mustn't relax, but perhaps only a select few understood that). It only meant that they could be overtaken.
Whatever the method to earn class points was, Kakashi hadn't ceased getting to know his enemies. Sometimes, that included some spying.
Today, it was the first of May and it was afternoon, meaning it was time for club activities.
Kakashi didn't particularly feel like he needed a good fight right now, but he still went just for the attendance. The last thing he wanted was to rob his class of any class points, even if they had so many.
At the beginning of the school year, Kakashi had been certain his contribution to his class and the school would be minimal.
However, it turned out his father had been right about the ANHS being just the place for Kakashi. Something about the place just made him want to try.
That, and Kakashi was noticing a few changes in himself lately. For one, he smiled more than before. Back in junior high, Kakashi had only gone through the motions of living.
Now, for some reason, he was enjoying himself, and he was much more attentive to those around him. He was no longer ignorant to everyone, he no longer only followed his self-interest.
He still wasn't certain what caused this slight change, but he theorized that it may be his class.
Although he wouldn't go as far as to call anyone his friend (was he even capable of letting his guard down and befriending someone, he wondered?) he had certainly grown fond of a few people.
When she wasn't being incredibly bossy (which she usually was), then he enjoyed talking to Arisu and playing chess with her.
When he wasn't busy being cunning and sly and wasn't on the lookout for more people he could use, Kakashi enjoyed casually chatting with Hashimoto.
And most recently, Kakashi enjoyed screwing with Kamuro, who had been the latest significant addition to the Sakayanagi faction (of which he was begrudgingly part).
Kamuro was a bit of a strange case; Arisu had won her over by blackmailing her (he didn't really know the details) and since then, Kamuro hung out with them.
Kakashi found her quite pleasant to be around when she talked, which unfortunately wasn't that often.
She did, however, occasionally get riled up by some of Kakashi's comments.
That was yet another recent change in him; he began enjoying teasing others and joking around occasionally, which he'd never bothered doing before.
Kakashi had even acquainted himself with some of the upperclassmen in the Judo club; it hadn't taken him long at all to adapt to the new fighting style and get to the top group in the Judo club, even if he was far away from being the best there.
Today, however, there was a change. When he went over to the section of the club where the top fighters of the club fought, he saw someone who didn't belong there, standing next to the club leader Takenaka Ayaka.
"Takenaka-senpai, is something wrong?" He asked his eyes on the familiar class 1-D student.
She was currently glaring at him challengingly, making Kakashi swallow. He hadn't done anything to her, had he? Why was she looking at him as if she wanted to obliterate him?
"Oh, Hatake-kun, I'm sorry for the bother, it's just that Sakura-chan requested that she wants to fight with you. I tried telling her that it's pointless, that she's still a beginner, but she insisted," Takenaka said apologetically, making Haruno huff in annoyance.
It never failed to fascinate him how quickly she befriended everyone. It was the first month of school and she was already on a first-name basis with the Judo club leader.
"Ayaka-senpai, I know. I just need this, please," Haruno sighed. She looked more exhausted than angry, but anger was still very much present.
'I wonder if this is about the class rankings? I can't imagine how stressful things for Class D must be right now...' he thought.
"Takenaka-senpai, it's alright. I don't mind."
He really didn't. If Haruno was determined to receive a beating, he could give her one. First, though, he wanted to find out what was up with her.
"Well, it's not up to me anyway, is it? If Sakura-chan wants to fight you, who am I to stop her? As long as both of you go by the Judo rules and stop before anyone gets seriously hurt, I'm okay with it," Takenaka laughed sheepishly.
"Well, I'll leave you two now, I need to help the new kid who joined last week. Have fun." Takenaka said at last with a smile, before turning around and heading towards the beginner part with the green tatami mats.
Kakashi looked at Haruno, raising a brow. "Wanna talk about it?" He asked, trying to be nice for once but she just glared at him.
"I'd rather fight," she grumbled and in an instant, she was running at him, ready to attack.
Wow, she'd completely forgone the bow they were supposed to do at the beginning and just charged at him. Okay, he could work with that.
Haruno tried to grab him by his arm with her body and unsettle his balance, but he sidestepped her trajectory, only allowing her to grasp his forearm.
He dragged her towards him, knowing he could easily kick out her legs from underneath her and end the fight quickly, but decided to let it drag on.
She didn't give up, trying to knock him over with her body weight. Too bad for her she was very light and she wasn't in a good enough position from which she could knock him over anyway.
She tried the Osoto technique by going around his leg and trying to make him lose balance by kicking his leg from underneath him, but he didn't let himself get knocked over.
She was decent and clearly knew some techniques, but she was still clearly a beginner, and she was also much smaller and lighter than him. Challenging him was been stupid, and she must've known that.
"What's your endgame with this, hmm, Sakura?" He muttered into her ear, making her grab his shoulders to get his head away from hers so that he could see her glare.
"Don't call me by my first name," she hissed, and lunged for his torso, trying to grab him and throw him over her head. He had to give it to her, she was strong, and she might just be able to lift him up and throw him over her head easily.
However, he deflected again and neutralized her attacks by throwing her form off. He wasn't putting effort into fighting her, merely deflecting. She needed someone to take her anger out on, and ending the fight fast would only make her angry at him.
"Everyone calls you by your first name, though," he replied, getting out of yet another lock Haruno tried to put him into.
She narrowed her eyes at him. "And... how... would you... know that?" She panted, the fight beginning to tire her. Yet, she never ceased in her wrestling and attacking his weak spots.
"Are you... following me around?" She asked as she went for his abdomen, once more trying to get him onto the ground.
This time, he let her and as she dragged him onto the tatami mat and tried to restrict his arms, he swiftly ducked under her and pinned her down instead.
She struggled to break free until eventually, she did by wrapping her leg around his hips and switching their position once more.
She was right, but not completely. Kakashi had taken to following all of the classes around, not only her, and most of the time didn't do it personally but through his classmates.
It did sound creepy, but this school was a battlefield, and all was fair in war.
"I would never," he laughed, making her eyes narrow. She was on top of him, and he allowed her to hold him down for a while as she glared into his eyes fiercely.
"So you are!" She hissed, her anger burning even hotter. Damn, that might not have been the best idea. Still, if riling her up would get him his answers, he'd gladly continue.
"Who's arrogant now, Sa-ku-ra?" he teasingly drew out her name.
"How bold of you to assume I'd bother following you around. And self-centered," he used the same argument she and her friend from class 1-D had used against him when they first met.
"Agh, you are so infuriating..." she said, before glancing down at him and narrowing her eyes.
"Do you give up yet, Class A?" she asked.
She was sitting on his stomach, pinning his hands down over his head. He'd let her get him into this position, and he wondered whether he should let her win or not.
He knew how he could get out of the pin, but did he want to draw the fight out? Already, Haruno was looking much better than before, when she'd appeared downright murderous and tired of life.
"Class A? Mou, is that supposed to be an insult?" He wondered.
Haruno clicked her tongue. "I'll tell you if you give up the fight, Hatake," she countered.
"Maa, okay. I give, Haruno. You win. Now do tell, what's with the Class A remark?" He asked directly.
For the first time, she smiled, and he felt floored at the unexpectedness of it and how charming she looked while smiling. 'Uh, better stop that train of thoughts,' he told himself, averting his eyes.
"Oh, it's just that everyone from Class A that I've met was either a douchebag, arrogant or socially retarded. You fit in with them, that's why I used it as an insult," she mocked, and Kakashi immediately recognized the wording.
He'd said almost exactly the same thing to her when they first met, except she changed the insults up a bit.
Realizing this, Kakashi couldn't help but laugh, shocking even himself. What was wrong with him? He never laughed! Haruno's lips curled up into a small smile, but then it was quickly wiped off and she got up.
"I'll get going now... Thanks for the fight," she muttered and quickly left, leaving the Judo club room and Kakashi alone on the tatami mat.
"Huh, I never did find out what was bothering her," Kakashi said dumbly, standing up from the red tatami mat and dusting himself off, not quite sure what had happened during this fight either.
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Art Credits: ? (If anyone knows who the artist is please message me!)
A/N
Weeell, something actually happened here! Kakashi noticed something he didn't want to notice, I wonder how the signs of attraction will develop. What do you think? Too soon? Not soon enough?