I woke up at 7 AM, later than my usual wakeup time. Kiryūin Fūka had kept me from sleeping earlier than I would have.
Pushing myself up, I saw that the aforementioned Fūka had curled up with all my blankets on the ground, her platinum-white hair splayed out like an angelic halo around her. She looked peaceful in her slumber, her eyelashes casting delicate shadows on her cheeks.
That was right. Fūka had stayed over yesterday. I couldn't help but feel like it would be a regular occurrence from now on.
I sighed as I gently picked up the blankets and covered her, tucking her in like she was a precious secret that only I had the privilege to hold.
Last night, I found out just how territorial of a sleeper Fūka was. She would cling to the blankets as if they were a lifeline and wrestling them away from her was a fruitless endeavor.
Yawning, I decided to do my morning routine, tiptoeing around the room so as not to disturb her. I headed to the kitchen to prepare breakfast, deciding that it was the right thing to do.
Now, what to cook for a first Saturday breakfast at this school? I rummaged through the refrigerator and cupboard. Maybe I'll try something American. I don't have the ingredients for anything else, anyway.
Soon, the sound of sizzling bacon and omelets filled the air.
The aroma of freshly brewed coffee soon followed, mingling with the savory scent of cooking bacon. After around 10 minutes, breakfast was ready.
I heard a soft rustling behind me, and I turned to see Fūka stretching like a cat, her lithe body arching gracefully, her arms reaching up toward the ceiling. Her outstretched arms lifted her shirt, exposing a hint of her midsection as she let out a contented sigh.
She grinned at the sight of me, her eyes dancing with a playful glint, as I put the finishing touches on the omelets and slid them onto the plate.
"Somehow, you in an apron looks good. Maybe it's just that you're not wearing a shirt underneath."
It was true that I had simply thrown on an apron without considering the predatory gaze of Fūka Kiryūin. The morning sunlight streaming through the window accentuated the play of shadows on her face, making her look like a mischievous angel. She licked her lips, her gaze filled with playful desire.
"Mind if I take it off?"
"No. This is all you get. You can look, but you can't touch."
"How cruel." She pouted cutely, her lower lip jutting out in a playful act of disappointment, and she let out an exaggerated sigh from her ruby lips. "You're no fun."
As I served her breakfast, placing a plate of bacon, omelets, and a steaming cup of coffee in front of her, she seemed delighted.
"Itadakimasu," we said, as we dug in.
"So, what's the plan today?"
"Going to the gym, then coming back and watching some anime or reading some books."
"No nefarious plans today?" Fūka whined.
"I never have nefarious plans."
Fūka smirked.
"Liar."
I sighed. "You should probably leave soon so that no one sees you leaving my room. Otherwise, we'll be in trouble."
"Oh, in trouble in what way?" Fūka smirked, "An innocent lady such as myself is being preyed upon by a boy."
"I'm the kōhai here," I reminded her. "A lady such as yourself would take advantage of innocent me."
"Are you accusing old little Fūka of something heinous?" Fūka drew back, a faux hurt expression on her face and a palm on her chest, "What a shame. And here I thought you were an innocent little Kōhai-kun."
"I am."
"Ordinary Fifty-percent-kōhai-kun. So awfully suspicious. Tsun, tsun," she grinned, nudging me on the tip of my nose with her index finger.
After we finished breakfast, Fūka finally left my room, making sure not to be seen as she did so. I left for the gym.
-o-o-o-
[9:21:23 AM] [Unknown] Meet me outside Class 1-D's classroom.
The sender was unknown. How strange.
I had been heading back from my workout at the gym when I received this message. Well, I suppose I had nothing to do, so might as well show up to this meeting.
I was planning to watch some anime recommended by Okitani and Sotomura, and maybe read some recommendations Hiyori had made to me until lunch.
As I strolled, I reminisced about my first week of freedom at this school. I had yet to encounter any individuals who stirred wishes within me. But hopefully, I would soon.
But until that came to fruition, I would enjoy ordinary life as it was.
I soon arrived at Class 1-D's classroom door. There, I saw a blond-haired boy and a chocolate brown-haired girl. There were my mysterious messengers, but they both seemed to be senpais. There was no one there to witness anything, so I felt comfortable approaching them.
"You are Ayanokōji Kiyotaka?"
I nodded. "And you are?"
"Ah, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Nagumo Miyabi, Class 2-A, Vice President of the Student Council, and this is my secretary, Asahina Nazuna.
"It's very nice to meet you," the brown-haired girl said.
"Likewise." I nodded. "Why did you call me here today, Nagumo-senpai?"
"You are no ordinary student."
"What do you mean?"
"Don't play dumb. Scoring all 50s on your exams, demonstrating incredible physical prowess, figuring out the S System on the first day, creating contracts, and using points in deals... these are just some of the actions you have taken in the first week of joining this school."
My actions clearly hadn't gone unnoticed by the student council.
"Ayanokōji, what is your opinion on the concept of equality?"
I chose to humor him.
"Equality is a social construct." At Nagumo's nod, I continued.
"It is an unattainable ideal that modern society perpetuates and attempts to strive towards. Equality of opportunity, and equality of status, all mere constructs. From the moment a human is born to the moment they die, they are never precisely equal. In genetics, in ability, in talent. Fundamentally, we are unequal."
"Then, is it right to at least strive for equality? Is meritocracy equality?" Nagumo questioned me.
"Meritocracy based on an objective system is a good way of striving towards equality," I answered carefully, "However, a bad system can perpetuate inequality."
"Let me ask you this again. Is meritocracy between groups of individuals equality? Or is an individual meritocracy in the spirit of equality?"
Indeed, this was a difficult question.
"Whereas meritocracy between groups of individuals ensured cooperation and collaboration, it is ultimately an indicator of unity and the brilliance of a figurehead or leader. However, individual meritocracy strips the ability to cooperate and collaborate, two essential values that should factor into how individuals are evaluated. Therefore, neither is perfect."
"If you had to choose one, which would you choose?"
"Neither. I would reform the system in my own image."
Nagumo smirked, intrigued. "We can save this conversation for another time, then, Ayanokōji."
Nagumo offered his hand to me. "I have a proposal for you. Join the student council. We have a first-year representative spot open."
Nagumo Miyabi's proposal was an interesting one. But I had several reasons to decline. Being on the student council was fundamentally unordinary. An ordinary individual such as myself couldn't do such a thing.
As I was unremarkable in both physical and intellectual ability, I couldn't bring myself to try to make an impact on the school.
"I'll think about it," I bowed my head. The brown-haired girl stared at me in shock.
"Why?"
"I would like to enjoy ordinary life for a while longer."
"Ha ha ha!"
Nagumo's raucous laugh echoed throughout the hallway, as even Asahina-senpai looked at him like he had grown a second head. My statement was amusing to him.
Once Nagumo had calmed down, he grinned at me.
"Ayanokōji, you are everything except ordinary. But I will honor your request."
"In the meantime, do you have anyone else you would recommend to the student council?" Nagumo prodded at me. Apparently, he trusted my input.
However, I did not have that many connections yet. My social network was not as wide and all-encompassing as someone like Kushida Kikyō.
I quickly roamed through the possible candidates and replied.
"No, at least not yet."
"That's okay. Let me know once you do," Nagumo flashed me a brilliant smile, "I can put in a good word for them."
"I hope we can meet soon again, Ayanokōji. See you around."
"Likewise."
With that, Nagumo-senpai and Asahina-senpai left the building. I watched their backs as they left.
The other presence of Kiryūin Fūka left the scene, too. Nagumo must've noticed her presence, too. During our conversation, his eyes kept flicking towards the left side of the building behind me. There was a corner there that Fūka had hidden behind.
I had attracted too much attention in the first week. Horikita, Nagumo Miyabi, Fūka Kiryūin, Matsushita Chiaki.
Nagumo Miyabi was an interesting individual. He had moved quickly to secure me to his side. But people didn't need allies unless they were at war. The question was, who was he at war with?
I had an inkling, but nothing was confirmed.
-o-o-o-
"Ayanokōji-kun!"
I saw Matsushita waving at me in the lobby, near the entrance of the dorms.
She was with a group of girls and some boys, though there were more girls, and some of them seemed to look in my direction as I headed over.
"We've been waiting for you!" Matsushita scolded me. I had arrived a few minutes late, apparently.
"Sorry for the delay, I was caught up with something."
"I guess it's fine, but don't do that again." This time it was Karuizawa Kei who spoke up, taking command of the girls.
She hugged Hirata's arm, and he didn't object. Were they dating?
It was a strange event if they were dating since it had been just a week since Yamauchi Haruki and Ike Kanji were expelled from this high school. Hirata had taken the loss of his classmates incredibly hard, even if they were perverts and the lowest of the low. However, he seemed to have recovered somewhat, although he still appeared muted. I would have to talk to him.
The group of Class D students embarked on their trip to the karaoke club.
As we walked, I lagged behind the rest of the group with Kushida, Satō, and Matsushita. Strangely enough, Karuizawa seemed to be the main topic of discussion, as the main group surrounded her.
"Huh, I wonder what all that's about."
"Eh? You don't know?" Satō looked at me in confusion, "Karuizawa is dating Hirata. She announced it this morning in the Class D group chat."
"There's a group chat?"
The three girls shared an expression between themselves, something akin to pity.
"No one added you?" Matsushita asked.
"It's okay Ayanokōji-kun, I'll add you right now!" Kushida smiled angelically at me, before getting her phone out from her purse. What a pure soul. I was drowning, and she was the angel that came to save me.
"Sudō, Okitani, Sotomura, none of those guys added you?" Satō asked.
I shook my head in the negative. "Must've slipped their mind, I guess."
"Well, now that I think of it, Ayanokōji-kun's always hanging out with those guys. He's not exactly a loner, but most of the girls don't really know him other than through the forum," Satō mused out loud.
"Yeah, he never really hangs around the girls. That's why I invited him out today," Matsushita added.
"Oh? And here I thought you invited him out because he was cute," Satō teased.
"W-Well that may have played a part in the process."
"It definitely played a part in the process." Kushida rejoined the conversation, only adding fuel to the fire.
Matsushita's face was now a light pink, and she smacked Kushida on the shoulder. "Kushida-san, don't say such crude things!"
"You didn't say I'm wrong though!" Kushida retorted.
"And, well, it's not like we disagree," Satō shrugged, sending an appreciative glance towards me.
"Ayanokōji-kun is a looker, so why not invite him out to karaoke? I completely understand your complex thought process, Matsushita-san," Kushida smiled devilishly.
I was lost in this conversation, like a ship at sea without a captain.
"Ahh mou~ you don't need to tease me like this..."
"Ayanokōji-kun, do you get this conversation?" Satō asked me, nudging me with her shoulder.
Not knowing how to navigate this situation, I decided to reply honestly. "Uh, no."
The brown-haired, blue-eyed girl giggled, "That's what I thought. Ayanokōji-kun is so silly, isn't he?"
The others agreed, nodding. "Sillykōji-kun."
"I heard you helped Matsushita purchase a gift for Shinohara-san," Kushida expertly changed the subject of the conversation. "Is that right?"
The four of us lagged a bit behind the main group, which was chatting away, livelily, so it meant that they couldn't hear us.
"He and I went to Keyaki Mall, and we picked out some earrings for her. Well, it was mostly him."
"Oh, really? Ayanokōji-kun, you're knowledgeable about jewelry?" Satō jumped in.
"Uh. Well, I'd say I know some stuff." I was forced to claim that I knew about jewelry because of Matsushita's manipulation and trickery.
"Oh, really? So did you get clip-ons or pierced earrings for Shinohara-san? Actually, to think of it, I don't think she has piercings..." Kushida mused out loud.
"We got clip-ons. I didn't want to assume anything," I responded.
From my immediate intellectual deduction, I had realized that pierced earrings meant that the user had to have piercings in their ear. Therefore, I answered correctly.
Success! I understood the game. Now, I just had to survive the rest of the interrogation.
"Hmm, Ayanokōji-kun, what color earrings did you get for Shinohara-san?" Matsushita wondered aloud.
Thankfully, this was something I had noticed myself, and I was able to respond immediately.
"We got deep indigo earrings since she has dark blue hair. I thought it would fit."
"Mhmm," Kushida hummed, "And what about the style? Studs, pearls, small dangle?"
"Uh." I racked my brain. The earrings Matsushita and I had purchased seemed like small dangle earrings rather than the other choices I was presented with.
"Small drop, I think. So that it's a more subtle look." I mentally crossed my fingers that I was correct and that they wouldn't think I was a weirdo.
"Wow, Ayanokōji-kun really has a sense of fashion, huh?" Kushida applauded me, "That's definitely the correct choice! Shinohara-san also likes to wear dark blue socks, so it's going to fit perfectly!"
I felt my heart skip at receiving the praise of such a beautiful and cute girl. She was probably considered the cutest girl in all of Class 1-D.
"Yeah, Ayanokōji-kun definitely does not disappoint!" Satō joined in on the praise.
My head was in the clouds, or what pop culture termed, 'Cloud Nine'. I was being complimented by two cute girls. I couldn't have been happier at this moment.
I breathed a sigh of relief at having survived the interrogation, and mentally clapped myself on the back, applauding my own intellect.
But my celebration was interrupted by the muffled giggling of Matsushita.
Then, I glared at the mischievous brown-haired, blue-eyed girl, who hid a silent giggle behind her hand.
Matsushita had thrown me to the wolves.
Matsushita Chiaki, I will never forgive you. I will have my revenge.
Soon, we reached the karaoke club on the first floor of Keyaki Mall. As we entered, we were greeted by the staff and then directed towards the back left of the club, where there was a room that had been reserved for the party.
Inside, there were already many students. They seemed to all be girls from Class B. In fact, I had noticed that Hirata Yōsuke was the only other boy at the party.
With him surrounded by Class D girls, it was natural that the others turned to me, questioning my presence here. I wasn't exactly known as someone who hung out with Shinohara Satsuki very often.
As we entered the room, introductions were made. I lost track of how many times I said my own name, and the phrase "Nice to meet you".
It seemed like Shinohara Satsuki had many friends.
No, I was sure that wasn't it. After all, Shinohara had a selfish attitude like Karuizawa but was not able to dominate others in her presence like Karuizawa Kei could.
No, this must be the result of Kushida's expert social networking. I was sure of it.
Either way, I kept introducing myself, until I reached what seemed to be the leader of class B and her sidekick.
Right in front of me was Ichinose Honami—a pink-haired, blue-eyed beauty, who seemed to overshine even Kushida from our own class. I could see why the students of Class B naturally gravitated towards her charisma.
"Hello, Ayanokōji-kun!" Ichinose waved and smiled at me.
"Ahh, Honami-chan, getting ahead of yourself, eh? Trying to talk to the famous guy who broke the junior world swimming record? What an Ecchinose-chan!" the purple-haired girl next to her teased.
"M-Mako-chan! I was just making introductions!" Ichinose's face had a light pink tint to it.
"We all know how you think, Ecchinose-chan. You can't fool me," she poked Ichinose on the side, before turning to me. "Oh, by the way, I'm Amikura Mako."
"Nice to meet you."
"Yo, Ayanokōji-kun, what's your type?" Amikura asked, a large grin sitting on her face. Ichinose elbowed her in the side, but her grin remained.
"What do you mean by 'type'"? I inquired to the duo. I was confused; this was not something that the Internet had taught me.
"Well, like the type of girl you prefer, you know? It's a saying, have you been living under a rock?" Amikura teased me relentlessly. "What kind of woman do you like, Ayanokōji-kun?"
"What kind of woman?" I thought about it. Someone more outgoing, with a dominant personality, since I didn't know much about romantic relationships. Someone who was willing to teach me.
"I guess someone more dominant."
"O-Oh, my... I didn't know Ayanokōji-kun was into that kind of girl..."
Huh? What's wrong with a more dominant girl?
"Mako-chan, don't ask such embarrassing things," Ichinose whined, elbowing her in the ribs. However, she herself had a light blush on her face. At the same time, it could have just been the lighting.
As their banter continued, I felt a tap on the shoulder, and I turned around to see Matsushita.
"Come with me, let's give the gift to Shinohara-san. You can flirt later with the Class B students later," she said shortly.
She seemed to be a little irritated, but I didn't know why.
"Okay, coming."
We went over to give Shinohara the gift, and she put it in the small pile of gifts in the corner of the room. I turned to Matsushita.
"Are you angry at me?"
"Huh? What made you think that?" Matsushita turned, glaring up at me.
My intuition told me she was definitely angry. However, I didn't know the cause.
Either way, we split, and I soon returned to Ichinose and Amikura.
As the afternoon wore on, the party became livelier. Someone turned on the karaoke machine, and the girls started to sing their favorite songs.
Some of them were good singers, while others were not so much. But they all seemed to enjoy themselves, laughing and cheering each other on.
Hirata was also dragged into the singing, and he did his best to entertain the girls with his voice. He was a popular guy, after all. Talking with everyone, he looked somewhat happy, even though he had dark circles under his eyes. I had to admit, his facade was impressive.
He even sang a duet with Shinohara, who was the birthday girl. Speaking of which, everyone wished her a happy birthday, and everyone had a slice of cake. The flavors danced on my tongue and exploded in my mouth, and even if I couldn't show it on my face, it was delicious.
I was not interested in singing, so I stayed in the corner of the room, watching the others have fun. I didn't mind being alone, as long as I didn't draw attention to myself. After all, I didn't want to intrude on everyone with my subpar singing skills.
"Yo, Ayanokōji-kun!"
Amikura Mako dragged over a stumbling Ichinose Honami. Both of them looked as if they were drunk, although the drinks at the party were non-alcoholic. Maybe they were so happy and joyful that they had overdosed on dopamine.
"So, Ayanokōji-kun, what are your hobbies?" Ichinose asked me with a friendly smile.
"I don't have any particular hobbies. I just study and read books sometimes," I answered truthfully.
"Really? That's boring. Don't you have any passion or interest in anything?" Amikura asked me with a teasing tone.
"Not really. I just do what I have to do," I said calmly.
"That's too bad. You should try to enjoy life more, Ayanokōji-kun. There are so many things to do in this world," Ichinose said with a gentle expression.
"Like what?" I asked, feeling a bit curious.
"Well, for example, I like to play sports and volunteer for various causes. I think it's important to stay healthy and help others in need," Ichinose said proudly.
"And I like to watch movies and play video games. I think it's fun to escape from reality and immerse yourself in different worlds," Amikura said excitedly.
"I see. That sounds nice," I said politely.
"Do you wanna sing, Ayanokōji-kun?"
"Uh. I can't really sing, so I'd have to decline."
"Mou~ Come on! You can't leave Honami-chan hanging! She really wants to see you sing, isn't that right Honami-chan?"
"No, Mako-chan, that's not true at all!" Ichinose denied, waving her hands frantically in front of her.
"Eh? So you don't want to hear his lovely voice? You really hate him that much?"
"Mako-chan!" Ichinose playfully bonked her head, "Bad Mako-chan!"
She cleared her throat and then turned back to me. "What Mako-chan means is that I would like to hear you sing, but you don't have to."
"Ahh~ so you admit it that you want to hear his hot voice!"
"Mako-chan!"
This was bad. I had to refuse Ichinose Honami's offer.
I could not afford to embarrass myself in front of such a beautiful girl. If that happened, I would curl up in a ball and disappear.
Ichinose and Amikura had finished bickering, and both now looked up at me expectantly. The music blared in the background, as people continued partying and singing.
Under their cute, pleading gazes, I almost said yes, but I reminded myself that I couldn't sing.
Cuteness was a dangerous weapon.
"Sorry Ichinose-san," I coughed, "My throat is a bit sore. I don't think I would be able to sing today."
"Oh... that's okay." Ichinose looked like a kicked puppy. I nearly reversed my decision.
"If Ayanokōji-kun isn't feeling well, then maybe he can sing next time!"
The demon in human form named Amikura Mako re-emerged, nudging me to sing once more. At Amikura's intervention, Ichinose suddenly looked happy again.
"That's right, Ayanokōji-kun can sing with us next time, can't he?"
"Uh. Sure." I reluctantly agreed to their request.
"Great!" Ichinose beamed up at me, "Let's exchange contact information!"
Ichinose and Amikura exchanged phone numbers with me, and as the last singers began wrapping up their karaoke songs, the party was soon coming to a close.
I bid farewell to Ichinose and Amikura, as well as the other girls from Class D like Matsushita and Kushida. Leaving the karaoke club, I began to head back to the dorms. I wanted to resume the anime that Sotomura had recommended to me. Death Note.
Hopefully, Fūka wouldn't be there so that I could watch my anime in peace.
Sudō had invited me to play basketball with him at 5 PM. He had promised to teach me, so it was a good opportunity for some male bonding time.
-o-o-o-
"I'm bored."
"I'm bored."
"I'm bored." Fūka repeated. Was she a broken recorder?
I sighed. "I'm not."
"But I am."
"Why does that matter?" I finally slid my eyes off the anime on my monitor, staring at the lounging tigress.
"Because! I'm a guest, you're supposed to entertain me." She grinned at me.
"I don't think you're a guest if you sleep over every night," I pointed out. "You're just couch-surfing at that point. An unwelcome pest."
"No!" Fūka cried dramatically in despair, as she rolled off the couch and fell onto the floor.
"Speaking of sleeping over every night, don't you care about what your classmates say?"
"They won't know. No one does. And I couldn't care less about those spineless cowards. None of them have the will to do anything against Nagumo."
"I don't know Nagumo that well. Does he control the entire second year?"
Fūka sighed. "The situation is that Nagumo is the leader of Class 2-A and has hundreds of millions of private points, probably even more. 20 million is the amount required for a class transfer," she paused and then smirked. "Well, I'm not supposed to tell you that, but anyway, it's also the amount required to negate an expulsion."
"Nagumo has these points and is holding them over the rest of the second years. The gap between Class 2-A and the rest of the second-year classes is insurmountably large, so large that Classes 2-C and 2-D have just given up. Class 2-B, my class, is still very far behind."
I see. Nagumo's influence dominated all of the second years.
"Nagumo is promising to transfer students to Class 2-A by graduation. Thus, classes have devolved, and people are desperate to earn transfer tickets to Class 2-A. Their ticket to any prestigious university or high-paying job is at stake," Fūka said. "He has them scrambling like pathetic dogs."
So that was the trick of this institution, though I had already had a hunch. Only Class A receives the guarantee of going to whichever prestigious future that students so desperately want.
"You don't care about graduating from Class A?" I asked, although I already knew the answer.
"Pfft," she scoffed, "No. I'm confident in getting whatever I want without help from this institution. Even if that doesn't work out, my family name is strong enough to get me wherever I need."
"You're similar to Kōenji then."
She smirked at my comparison, "I'm not as off-putting or as arrogant as he is, although I don't deny that we share some similarities."
"I see."
I glanced at the clock, which read 4:50 PM. Sudō wanted to play with me at 5 PM today, and since he took our basketball sessions seriously, I couldn't be late.
"Well, I'm leaving now. You should probably leave the room."
"Who's making me?" she shot back, watching as I packed a water bottle and a towel into my bag.
I sighed. "Fine. Stay if you want."
I headed out the door, feeling Fūka's mischievous eyes wander along my back.
-o-o-o-
"Okay, so you cross like this, and then this way," Sudō demonstrated.
He leaned one way, getting his torso and shoulder low and bending his knee to show the angle. Then he crossed the ball to his other hand, shifting his weight, and blowing by the defender. The move was simple but effective; it was designed to fake out the opponent.
"Now you try."
We went through basketball drills and exercises as I slowly adapted to bouncing the ball and handling it.
"Yo, Sudō, who's your favorite basketball player?"
Sudō's eyes lit up at the question. "Hm..." he put his hand on his chin, "Probably Stephen Curry. I'm a younger fan, so not any of the retired players like Michael Jordan or the older players like Lebron James. Also, Curry plays my position, point guard. So I'd probably choose him."
"Do you model how you play basketball after him?"
"Yeah, I definitely model my game after him," Sudō grinned, "Moving off screens, shooting threes. That's probably how I'll teach you, too."
I nodded, trying to mimic Sudō's raw enthusiasm for basketball.
As he began teaching me shooting, I was able to refine my own technique. I had played basketball before and knew the basic rules. However, due to limited playing time, my jump shot had never reached its fullest potential.
Before long, Sudō and I had played for around 2 hours, and the daylight was fading.
"Yo, Kōji, let's play a one-on-one before we call it a day.
"Sure." I agreed instantly, eager to test my new skills against Sudō, who was a veteran and had played for many years.
"Let's go to eleven. You can start." He gave me the ball.
The first thing I noticed was that he was guarding me relatively close. He had his hands up to prevent me from shooting the ball.
I performed a quick jab step to the right, causing him to move backward just a little bit. However, this move caused his body weight to shift backward.
I shot the ball. It was a perfect swish.
Sudō went to grab the ball and came back.
"Nice shot. 3-0. You won't score on me this time, though," he grinned."Checkup."
Again, I jabbed right, but he didn't fall for it. So I jabbed right and rocked left but back to the right. My move was not as polished as the professional I had seen perform it, but I was quick enough that it didn't matter.
I blew by Sudō and went up for the layup.
Slam!
Sudō leaped and pinned the ball against the backboard, blocking my shot. I had misjudged Sudō, as he was both tall and athletic enough to dunk.
"Gotcha," he grinned, jogging back to the three-point line. "Checkup."
Sudō and I continued to play. He was able to simply rise up over me to shoot the three-pointer, as I was allowing him too much space.
After making three threes, I stepped up, not allowing him to be comfortable.
He was incredibly quick, using his first step to blow by me. He jumped upwards and ferociously dunked the ball into the net. He was very athletic, and I had to readjust my defensive stance so that it wouldn't happen again.
The score was now 10-3.
When he tried to blow by me again, I cut him off. I poked at the ball, causing him to lose his dribble a little bit. From there, he was forced to take a midrange jump shot. I raised my hand to block his vision, and his shot just missed off the back rim. That would have been the game-winner.
I noted that Sudō was incredibly accurate. All of his misses were off of the front or back rim. His shot was never drastically right or left. It was always close to making.
I jabbed again, moving back and forth slightly to speed past Sudō. This time, I learned my lesson. Instead of going for the layup, I went for a reverse layup on the other side so that Sudō couldn't block me.
After we checked up again, I decided to use one of Sudō's moves against him.
I jabbed and went left, and when Sudō turned his hips, I quickly planted my second foot and rose upwards for a midrange jumper. The move was unexpected for Sudō and I had a free shot that I made.
I did the same move on the right side, but this time, I stepped backward to shoot a three. Sudō's entire momentum had been backward, which enabled me to gain nearly 6 feet of space.
10-8.
"Man, you are pretty good for someone who hasn't played basketball in a league. You sure you don't play pickup?" Sudō eyed me, as he checked up the ball.
I didn't know what 'pickup' was, so I shook my head in the negative.
I dribbled the ball, faking a step back. This could be a potential game-winner.
Adding on the fact that I had made the last step back, Sudō jumped forward, and I pushed my left leg to speed toward the basket.
I suddenly stopped and pump-faked the ball upwards. Sudō jumped in the air, flying by, and I was able to finish the layup. 10-10.
"Man, you are good, haha." Sudō laughed, although there was an air of competitiveness behind it. "You should definitely consider joining the basketball team. I'm a starter, and you're doing really well."
"I'll consider it."
We checked up. Sudō guarded me incredibly closely, this time. So close that he was on my hip, and poking at the ball, refusing to allow me any space. His feet were shifted so that he was trying to shift me to move towards the left.
I jabbed towards the right, causing Sudō's stance to open up a bit, giving me more space to work with. Then, I moved left, but Sudō did not allow me a path to the rim and forced me toward the baseline.
I used my shoulder to bump Sudō, giving me space. I stepped backward, but Sudō was right there in front of me.
His reach and length were impressive. As I pump-faked, he jumped, his outstretched hands trying to block my shot.
As he came down, I timed it so that I went upwards and back so that he couldn't block it.
His fingertips grazed my elbow, and I shot the ball. The two of us watched as the ball went into the net. A perfect swish.
12-10.
"Damn, you are good," Sudō laughed, clapping me on the back, as we headed to the locker room, "I could learn a thing or two from you! But don't get cocky, you're not winning next time, for sure."
"Thanks. How many years have you played?"
"Prolly like, 10 years or something," he scratched the back of his neck, "It's a little embarrassing to lose to someone who just started playing, but you're a different case! Man, I kinda don't mind losing to you, 'cause it means I can improve by learning from how strong your fundamentals are! That jab step and first step blowby was really incredible!"
"Thanks." I nodded, accepting Sudō's praise. It was questionable how a newcomer like myself could defeat a 10-year veteran. "It was probably luck, I just hit my shots."
"Man, I thought I had it in the bag," Sudō chuckled, "It was 10-3, somehow you managed to come back, knocking down all those shots. And we both know that wasn't luck, those shots were all pure swishes. You were probably just really hot today."
"Probably."
"But your footwork was really good, too! I didn't teach you all those step-backs and shit."
"I watched some NBA highlights over the week."
"So that's where you got all that footwork from. The rock jab from right to left to right is a pro move! Man, I need to improve my defense a bit, huh?"
"I wouldn't say that. You blocked me on my first layup attempt."
"Haha, yeah, but that was a last-minute recovery, so that doesn't count. You still managed to blow by me, and as a point guard, I really gotta get my perimeter defense up."
Sudō was incredibly strict on himself, especially in basketball. He wouldn't allow himself to make any mistakes and pass up on improving them.
"Next Saturday, then?" I offered. I would probably be free on Saturdays.
"Sure, I'm down." Sudō nodded. There was a determined look in his eyes. It seemed that the friendly match I had with him and lit a fire in him. This defeat would motivate him to work even harder at basketball to defeat me; he wished to become better. He was already the starting point guard on the team, but he would continue to improve after this little match I had with him.
To have wishes, to have desires. To be human.
My phone rang, and when I picked it up, I saw a couple of text messages.
[7:15:30 PM] [Kushida Kikyō] Hey, Ayanokōji-kun, I know this is kind of late, but would you like to have dinner with me and a few others? If you've already eaten, that's okay.
[7:15:40 PM] [Fūka] Have dinner with me. It'll be my treat.
I opened Kushida's chat first, typing out a reply.
[7:15:51 PM] [Ayanokōji Kiyotaka] Sure. Where is it?
I switched to Fūka's chat.
[7:16:12 PM] [Ayanokōji Kiyotaka] Sorry, but I already have prior plans.
The message instantly read as "seen", and Fūka immediately started to type back.
[7:16:18 PM] [Fūka] If I catch you dining out with other girls, Kiyo-kun, you'll regret it.
I felt a cold shiver crawl up my spine. Sensing the tense atmosphere, Sudō looked over at me. My hands trembled as typed back.
[7:17:20 PM] [Ayanokōji Kiyotaka] I understand.
Quicky, I moved to the settings of my phone app. Sotomura had informed me that, by default, the GPS tracker of your contacts list was on. So I turned it off.
[7:17:34 PM] [Fūka] Ara ara Kiyo-kun, why'd you turn your GPS tracker off?
The message was marked as seen, and I didn't know how to reply, so I opened Kushida's chat.
[7:17:35 PM] [Kushida Kikyō] Sounds great! Meet us in the lobby of the first-year dorms at 8 PM.
Pallet was the café that was frequented by the female population, and I had been there before already.
[7:17:40 PM] [Ayanokōji Kiyotaka] Okay.
Another notification from Fūka's chat popped up, and I knew I couldn't ignore this dangerous woman.
[7:17:41 PM] [Fūka] Ki-yo-ta-ka-kun~ you better not be ignoring me.
After taking time to think, I typed back.
[7:17:49 PM] [Ayanokōji Kiyotaka] Sorry, something came up.
[7:17:53 PM] [Fūka] I'm sure it did.
[7:17:57 PM] Tomorrow is my birthday, you know?
Ah, right. I had seen her birthday while checking her location. It was customary to give people a gift when they had a birthday. But the problem was that I only knew her birthday was tomorrow.
[7:18:05 PM] [Ayanokōji Kiyotaka] Yes, I'm aware. I'll get you something.
[7:18:10 PM] [Fūka] Ara ara, how thoughtful of you. If the gift is good enough, I might just reward you~
Knowing what she was alluding to, I quickly typed back a response.
[7:18:20 PM] [Ayanokōji Kiyotaka] I'm not sure it would classify as a reward.
[7:18:25 PM] [Fūka] No need to worry, Kiyo-kun. I'll make sure it will.
After showering and packing our bags, Sudō and I headed to the first-year dormitories.
-o-o-o-
I left my dorm at 7:50 PM, heading for the elevator on the fourth floor.
"Ayanokōji-kun! Wait up!"
Seeing the blob of blonde hair bob up and down, I elected to hold open the elevator doors. Sure enough, Kushida Kikyō came into the elevator.
"How are you doing, Kushida?" I inquired politely.
She beamed at me through her blonde bangs, "Pretty well! What about you?"
"I just got back from playing basketball with Sudō," I responded.
"Sudō-kun? Ah, he's on the basketball team, right? As a starter?"
I was impressed. Kushida's social network seemed to have no end, and she knew a lot even about people that she didn't usually speak to.
"Yeah, that's right."
Kushida hummed, "Well, I went to shop with some friends after the karaoke party, and then relaxed at the dorms for a bit."
As the elevator doors opened, we stepped out. There was a small gathering in the large lobby of the first-year dorms. Kushida began greeting the group, which consisted of Matsushita, Satō, Hirata, Karuizawa, and Wang Mei-Yu, a diminutive, indigo-haired girl. Digging back into my memory, I remembered that her preferred name was Mii-chan. As we began heading out of the first-year dorms, I suddenly had a thought.
"Doesn't it get tiring being friends with everyone?"
Startled, Kushida turned, pink eyes glimpsing at me curiously. "Huh? What do you mean?"
"You know," I gestured, "You have lots of friends. Everyone's your friend. But that also means hanging out with them all the time, right?"
"Mmm," Kushida hummed again, her hand on her chin in thought, "I guess so. But what's life without enjoying time with friends?"
"That's a good point," I acquiesced to the blonde-haired girl, "But it's good to take time off for yourself sometimes."
"Spoken like a true philosopher." Kushida quipped back. There seemed to be a bittersweet smile on her lips, and a strange emotion in her eyes that I couldn't quite grasp.
"So, why did you invite me to the party?"
"You're not enjoying the company?"
"Well, I guess I am. I mean, you're here, aren't you?"
There seemed to be a light tint of pink that sat on Kushida's cheeks, as she hit me on the shoulder with the palm of her hand.
"A-Ayanokōji-kun! Don't joke like that!"
"My bad, my bad," I apologized.
After Kushida had calmed down from our little exchange, she replied. "I just decided to invite you because you seemed like you had a good time with us at the party, so might as well, right?"
"Ne, ne, whatchu guys talking about?" It was Matsushita and Satō who had come to join the conversation.
"It's nothing." Kushida was quick to deny that anything had happened. A good strategy.
However, it would not work against the devil named Matsushita Chiaki.
"Is that right? I heard you guys bantering a bit, isn't that right, Satō?"
"That's exactly right Chiaki-chan, you guys had a little convo all to yourselves!" The blue-eyed girl replied.
"I think they were flirting," Matsushita said to Satō in a not-so-loud whisper.
At that comment, the pinkish tint on Kushida's cheeks returned. "Chiaki-chan!"
As the girls continued their bickering, we soon arrived at the restaurant, which was one block past the Pallet, the café that the female population at this high school seemed to frequent. This restaurant's name was Alinea.
This place was pretty popular, too. It was really lively. There were many people here, mostly freshmen from what I could tell. I even spotted a familiar bob of pink hair over the crowd, which I assumed was Ichinose Honami.
As the waitress escorted us to a large table and handed us menus, I began to scour the menu.
Matcha-infused Black Cod. Miso Elixir Lobster Bisque. Sakura Symphony Sashimi. Foie Gras Sushi.
Ultimately, I decided to order some Wagyu beef. At least it came with a salad as a side. Due to the prestige of this restaurant, I knew that the portions would be in small sizes, so I elected to order the large.
These items were incredibly expensive. It made sense that there were almost no upperclassmen here. Well, almost none.
Someone waved at me from across the restaurant. Nagumo Miyabi was smirking at me, as he was seated at a table with Horikita Manabu and some other Student Council members. Horikita-senpai stared exasperately at the back of Nagumo-senpai's skull.
Fūka was there, too. She also smirked and waved in my direction, causing some heads to turn, wondering who the infamously narcissistic girl was waving at.
I didn't wave back to either of them.
Instead, I turned back to the dinner with Class D's social savants, pretending I had never seen them in the first place. Even if Fūka was sure to give me an earful later, waving back to either of them would only draw too much attention onto an ordinary boy such as myself.
Karuizawa, Hirata, and Mii seemed to be engaged in lively conversation. However, if one took a closer look, they would note the sense of tension between Karuizawa Kei and Wang Mei-Yu. It was so thick that you could cut it with a knife.
However, I did not know what this tension was. Hirata seemed oblivious to this tension as well, so I concluded it was not a matter for males to understand.
"My, my, Kei-chan and Mii-chan sure are going at it, aren't they?" Satō commented, a smirk on her face.
"It does seem like that. Do they both have a crush on Hirata-kun?" Kushida wondered as she joined in on the gossip.
"Probably," Matsushita gave a knowing smirk, "I mean, he's the star boy of the class, isn't he? It's only natural that lots of girls would have crushes on him."
"Mmm," Satō hummed in agreement. "Though I think Ayanokōji-kun isn't bad either. Three pretty ladies hanging onto him at a fancy restaurant? What a lady-killer!"
"I know, right? Not to mention that he ranks third in the ikemen rankings, just after the Student Council President and Vice President! Talk about a prestigious position! Maybe he's meant to be the next Vice President!"
"The post showing his physical prowess at the gym certainly helped as well," Kushida unhelpfully commented, only adding fuel to the fire.
The three aforementioned "pretty ladies" watched my face closely for a reaction.
Unfortunately, my facial expression was blank. At this lack of reaction, the three girls pouted.
"At least give us some reaction!"
"Yeah! You'd probably be first on the rankings if you weren't so gloomy!"
"Maya-chan, Chiaki-chan, let's relax," Kushida tried to calm them down, "He can't help it. That's just his default expression."
"Default expression, you say... Default-Kōji-kun!" Matsushita had just created a new nickname.
"Default-Kōji!" Satō and Kushida joined in, giggling.
I sighed. Matsushita Chiaki was going to be the death of me. My record currently stood at 0-2 against her.
As the banter continued, dinner was eventually served, and despite the incredibly small portions, my classmates seemed to enjoy it.
Digging into my Wagyu beef, I delighted in the taste. The texture was soft, and it melted in my mouth, outputting bursts of flavor.
Looking around, I could see the Student Council and Fūka leave the restaurant.
That was right, I had to get a gift for Fūka by tomorrow. Scratch that, I had to get it tonight... since she was sure to ask for it in the morning.
Otherwise, the tigress would eat me alive.
The time was 8:30 PM. Most shops in Keyaki Mall closed at 9 PM.
It seems that I had found myself in a rather precarious situation.
I stood up suddenly, drawing the attention of everyone at the table.
"Excuse me, I need to shop for something that I forgot about. It's an urgent matter, so please have someone pay for me, and I'll send them my portion of the points later."
"No worries, Default-Kōji-kun! I'll pay for you!" Kushida said, seemingly hiding a smile behind her hand, as the others giggled at the use of my ridiculous new nickname. But she was offering to pay for me, so I couldn't complain.
"Thank you Kushida-san."
I quickly walked out of the restaurant, before realizing that I had no idea where the jewelry shop was. I backpedaled, staring up at the overhead pass and the second-floor shops.
"Oh!"
I bumped into someone and turned around.
"I'm sorry for bumping into you," I apologized. It was the homeroom teacher of Class B, "Chie-sensei", although I didn't know her full name. She was a troublesome one.
"Oh, hey Kiyotaka-kun! No worries. You remember me, right?"
"No."
"How hurtful~" she pouted. "Well, I guess you never got a proper introduction," the woman winked, "Hoshinomiya Chie, homeroom teacher of Class B. Nice to meet you!" she did a little dance around.
I took a sniff. Was this woman drunk? No, just slightly inebriated. Well, it was a Saturday night, so I didn't have a right to judge. It seemed like every time I met this woman, she was drunk.
"Nice to meet you as well."
"So, Kiyotaka-kun, what are you looking for right now? The mall's about to close, you know?"
"I know. I need to get a gift for a friend. It's an urgent matter."
"Really? Tell me, is it a girl? Is it?"
This woman was getting awfully touchy. She slung her arm around my shoulder in this friendly act, as her breath tickled my right cheek. I leaned slightly away.
"I need to go to the jewelry store."
"So it is a girl! What a lucky girl... You know, if you were in my class, I would've fallen for you, Kiyotaka-kun!"
"It's not that kind of relationship."
"Oh, so maybe you can come to transfer to my class, and then I can fall for you!"
"Not happening."
She pouted. "Anyways, the jewelry store is on the second floor, towards the East entrance. Here, just follow me."
Hoshinomiya-sensei and I walked to our destination, as she quizzed me about girls in my class. I always answered neutrally or with a 'no'. Talking to this woman was like walking in a field full of landmines or hiding from a bloodhound. I didn't want to give her any hints to set off her teasing.
As a matter of fact, what was it with women and Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School? Excessive teasing was one trait I had observed in the entire sample of the female population that I had interacted with.
We finally reached the jewelry shop at 8:51 PM. I hurried inside to find the jeweler looking at me. His facial expression told me he was not happy to see us here. Probably because he was already packing up and planning to close for the night.
"Welcome, what are you looking for today?"
"A necklace, around 20,000 yen." I quickly told the jeweler.
"Hm, okay, here are three options. All 20,000. Let me know if you want to see more."
Just as efficiently, the jeweler laid out three options for me.
I could feel Hoshinomiya-sensei peek over my shoulder as I scoured the three options. A simple red heart necklace, a white necklace with a magenta pendant, and a white and gold flower necklace.
I quickly eliminated the heart necklace from the choices. Knowing Fūka, she would take it as a confession of love.
"Not the heart necklace," Hoshinomiya-sensei agreed. The jeweler took the heart necklace away, as he glanced suspiciously at us.
Oh, that was right. Hoshinomiya had her hand around my back, and the intimate physical touch made it look like we were a couple. An older woman with a younger man.
Hoshinomiya giggled, as I calmed myself.
"I think the magenta pendant would fit her more," I voiced it out loud. Surely, this would clear up any misconceptions the jeweler had of me.
"Agreed," Hoshinomiya nodded.
"Sounds good," the jeweler said, as he put the other necklace away, and wrapped this one in a fancy box. "Would you like gift wrapping?"
"Yes, please."
I scanned my student ID and took the necklace with me as we exited the store at precisely 9:00 PM.
"Phew!" Hoshinomiya-sensei let out an exaggerated sigh, as she wiped the back of her hand across her forehead. Her brown bangs billowed freely in the wind. It was far past sunset by now, and the street lights were on across campus.
"Thank you Hoshinomiya-sensei."
"Mm! No problem, Kiyotaka-kun! Well, I got to get going. See ya!" With that, she left the vicinity, heading down the escalator, presumably to the staff dorms.
What an odd teacher with an extremely friendly demeanor.
After sending the necessary points to Kushida through my phone, I headed down the escalator as well and left Keyaki Mall. I texted Sotomura.
[9:01:32 PM] [Ayanokōji Kiyotaka] I need you to do something for me.
Fūka would undoubtedly be waiting for me in my dorm.
-o-o-o-
My pen scratched frantically across the blank, white page.
100,000 points per month. 12 months in a year. Across 3 year-levels. Four classes per year-level, 40 students per class. 576 million yen.
576 million yen.
I scratched my head. That was an impossible amount of funds for any school, even an institution as highly valued as this one. And that was just the students' allowances.
Add on the facilities at this high school, and it would well exceed 1 billion yen. No matter how prestigious the school, even the name Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School didn't deserve that kind of budget.
Not the mention, there was a 'free' section at both the cafeteria and the grocery store that we had explored...
Ayanokōji had saved us from being bullied by a bunch of rowdy upperclassmen while receiving points from them in the process.
However, points wouldn't be so valuable if the allowance was 100,000 points per month, right? Surely upperclassmen must have saved hundreds of thousands of points from this.
This was what I had deduced from watching their initial reaction.
However, there was another thing that Ayanokōji had unwittingly demonstrated in the interaction.
He had taken 2 million private points from the five of them. However, over 12 months, these second-year upperclassmen should have a combined 6 million private points. I doubted the possibility of wasting 4 million private points on commodities.
Moreover, Ayanokōji and I had even noticed a 'free section' in the convenience store. But who would need free items?
Think, Kyōsuke, think!
Why would the school give us such an absurd allowance?
Unless...
Unless they weren't giving us this much in the first place.
I dug deep into my memory, trying to find what Chabashira-sensei had said on the very first day.
"Points are automatically deposited into your accounts on the first of every month. You all should have received 100,000 points already. One point is worth one yen."
Nowhere did it say that we would receive 100,000 points per month. Only that we would receive 100,000 points this month, and we would receive points next month, and the month after that.
My entire class had fucked up. They had all splurged their points on commodities: clothes, video games, junk food.
Except we hadn't. Me, Sudō, Sotomura, and Ayanokōji. We hadn't spent that much, courtesy of Ayanokōji warning us to be frugal.
Ayanokōji Kiyotaka. That name came up way too frequently.
He had noticed the free section with me. He had made the transaction with the upperclassmen. He had warned us to be frugal even when we had thought the allowance would be 100,000 yen per month.
Could he have known?
The room was so silent you could hear a pin drop.
Goosebumps had appeared on my skin. What was this feeling?
I shook my head. I was being paranoid.
If he had known, he would have told us. He seemed to be a generally relaxed, mellow guy. Perfectly ordinary.
I glanced at the clock that said 1 AM.
Yawning, I stood up from my desk and went to turn off the lights.
Maybe I'll hint at it with Ayanokōji tomorrow to see if he knows anything. Best not to sleep in too much, otherwise, I might not get to text the guy.
Because I was, self-admittedly, kind of lazy.
-o-o-o-
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-thann