As I got used to school life and absentmindedly followed my usual route to school, I noticed a slight change in my class. The boys seed unusually restless, and even the perpetually late Ishizaki was there earlier than usual, in high spirits and making a ruckus.
"Good morning, Hikigaya!"
"Uh, hey, what's going on?"
Slightly taken aback by Ishizaki's overly cheerful greeting, I greeted Komiya and Kondo, whom I had started talking to recently, as they were nearby. They too returned with equally cheerful greetings.
"What's up, you ask? Don't you know? It's swimming day today!"
Both Komiya and Kondo nodded vigorously in agreent with Ishizaki's words.
Ah, I see... So that explains all the weird glances towards the girls. Looking around, Ishizaki and the others didn't notice, but they were attracting an incredible amount of attention from the girls. Definitely not in a good way.
Intuitively feeling it was best not to stick around here, I quietly slipped away so as not to be noticed by Ishizaki and his group, though I felt sorry for leaving them abruptly.
Phew, that was close. If I had stayed, I might have been subjected to those stares too. Ishizaki and the others were engrossed in their conversation and hadn't noticed.
"Good morning, Hikigaya-kun."
"Good morning, Shiina."
"Today is, um... swimming, right?"
"...Yeah, that's right."
Normally, we'd have more lively conversations, but Shiina seed unusually subdued today. She seed concerned about Ishizaki and his group. Well, with how loudly they were talking, it's no wonder. They're good guys, but they could benefit from a little more tact.
"You don't have to push yourself too hard. It seems like we can also observe."
"No, it's not good to just observe, so I'll participate."
"Okay, just don't push yourself too much."
"Um, Hikigaya-kun... are you not going to say sothing like that?"
Shiina asked with a slightly flushed face. Uh oh... How should I answer this?
I desperately tried to co up with an answer, but all I could think of was a textbook response.
"Well, I might not say it in places where there are a lot of people like this."
"I see, that's reassuring to hear."
Phew, that was close. Saying the wrong thing might have made Shiina dislike . I need to be careful, as one wrong move could lead to trouble.
After chatting with Shiina, I returned to my seat. Nearby, Ibuki, who I had recently started talking to, looked at discontentedly.
"What's with that look?"
"Well, I just thought it was surprising that you didn't join them."
By "them," she ant Ishizaki and his group, who were chatting in the center of the classroom.
"I just can't handle those stares. If they were directed at , I'd be done for."
"But seriously, they're crude. If you were in there, I'd have to kick you in without a second thought."
"Stop, stop, I'm weak, I have a fragile heart."
"I swear, if you give weird looks during swimming, I'll drown you."
"Okay... I promise not to look."
Given the sharp glare and the ominously low voice, I had no choice but to nod. Well, at least now I have soone to talk to, and I'm off to a good start in my school life.
"Pool tiee!"
Ishizaki, Komiya, and Kondo, the usual trio, were shouting as they headed towards the pool. They seed ready to dive right in but stopped just short.
"Been waiting for this pool day!"
"We've been working hard for this mont!"
"Man, this school's amazing! The pool looks like it's for competitions!"
These guys are full of energy. They were looking half-dead in afternoon classes, but now they're suddenly lively. The power of girls, I guess.
"Where are the girls?"
"Ugh, starting to get nervous."
I glanced at the guy staring fixedly at the girls' changing room, and it was pretty... well, not a good sight.
"Hey, what if I just dive into the changing room? What would happen to ...?"
"Expulsion, probably."
"Ugh, reality is so harsh!"
After I reminded him of reality with that ridiculous comnt, he started lanting it instead. Looking around, not as many guys as Ishizaki seed jittery, but most were pretty antsy. That long-haired guy, Ryuuen, seed disinterested, though.
"They're here!"
Suddenly, Ishizaki, who had been stiff as a board, shouted, and then the girls' voices could be heard. Almost all the guys were glued to the girls coming into the pool, so even crossing their legs for so reason.
Thinking about that, soone pulled my arm from behind, so I turned around...
"Oh, Hikigaya-kun! Um, isn't this kind of weird...?"
Blushing and looking up at , Shiina was in a swimsuit.
"I told you it's not weird."
Ibuki ca up behind Shiina. This is bad; I can relate to the guys who crossed their legs. The two of them had such radiant white skin that it was bound to attract attention from guys like . Yeah, it's a feast for the eyes.
"Um, you both look really healthy. It suits you."
"See, I told you."
"But, um, it's embarrassing to be seen by Hikigaya-kun..."
Embarrassed, Shiina turned her face away from .
"It's okay if it's other guys, right? But still..."
While Shiina still had a red face, Ibuki approached us with a puzzled look.
"W-What's up?"
"What were you doing? You've got an amazing body, though."
"...It's not sothing I'm proud of, but I was in the go-ho club in middle school."
"That's really not sothing to be proud of."
For so reason, Ibuki looked exasperated with , and then a teacher-like guy appeared. After swimming a bit since class started, we competed for fun. If a guy and a girl took first place, they'd get 5000 points each.
Ibuki got first place for the girls, and Ryuuen got first place for the boys, but I ended up in sixth place.
The next day...
Suddenly, a pop quiz was announced.
Although the class openly expressed relief that it wouldn't affect their grades, a few noticed sothing odd about this test. The last three questions were unusually difficult. The lower-performing students seed unconcerned, but the top students likely realized that these questions were not typical high school level.
While it's not confird yet, there might be so significance to this.
After the test ended the day's classes, students discussed their plans for after school.
"Hey, Hikigaya...!"
"Hey~ Hikigaya~ We're heading to karaoke now, you wanna join?"
From a distance, Ishizaki and the others invited . I thought I heard sothing from Shiina, but I was focused in another direction at the mont, so it was probably my imagination.
"Yeah, I'm coming."
"Alright! We're gonna party till morning!"
Following Ishizaki and his friends, I left the classroom too.
....
The next day, May 1st, sothing unusual happened. Only 49,000 points were given out. I noticed it this morning when Ishizaki called. It's still good to have 49,000 points though.
As I walked to school as usual, many students seed unsettled, more than usual, probably due to the points issue. So were even talking about protesting to the school.
While observing my surroundings, I ran into Shiina and tried to greet her. But...
"Good morning."
When I greeted her, she turned towards , cheeks slightly puffed, giving a cold stare. Uh oh, she's mad, I think. Well, she's just cute, so it's hard to tell if she's really mad.
"...Shiina...? Did I do sothing wrong?"
"..."
She turned her head away. I guess she wants to figure it out myself. I tried to recall what happened yesterday, trying to rember more deeply.
Then I rembered—before Ishizaki and the others invited yesterday after school, Shiina had called out to . I'm not sure if that's it, but I decided to apologize just in case.
"Shiina, I'm sorry if I upset you yesterday. You called out to before Ishizaki and the others invited ."
It seed I hit the mark because Shiina nodded slightly.
"...Yes, I was upset, so please co to the library with today."
"Yeah, of course."
With my agreent, Shiina smiled again, and I breathed a sigh of relief that her mood had improved.
"Shiina, how many points did you receive today?"
"I got 49,000 points. It seems my guess of 100,000 points was off."
Shiina's quite sharp, as expected. She wasn't shaken by the points given out. She probably anticipated sothing like this.
"Well, the details will probably be announced today."
"Yes, I hope everything goes smoothly."
As we chatted, we headed towards the classroom. Inside, as expected, it was buzzing with activity. Getting 49,000 points should be considered good enough, though.
When I got to my seat, my neighbor was giving a suspicious look.
"You seem totally calm. Do you know sothing?"
"No, I don't know anything. And I'm not calm; I just don't show it on my face."
"Oh, I see."
They turned away, seeming disinterested now. They were the one who started the conversation...
Well, leaving that aside, it'll be interesting to see what happens to this class from now on.
The classroom erupted with questions when Sakagami arrived. As expected, he quickly silenced the questions and began discussing various topics:
The class points situation.
The order of students based on excellence.
Only Class A will respond to inquiries about advancent rates.
Our class had less than half the class points than expected.
There were other elents, but up to this point, Class C had various reactions, with so students even lodging complaints, only to be refuted by the teacher's logical argunts.
"And one more thing, here are the results from the last quiz. Anyone who fails to get passing grades in the next midterm and final exams will be expelled without exception."
"What!? Seriously!?"
The screams of students with poor grades could be heard. The results of the last test were posted, and upon checking the rankings, Shiina and a boy nad Kaneda tied for the top spot. As for , I scored 60 points across the board.
"Well then, do your best on the next exams."
With those words, the teacher left the room, and it instantly beca noisy again. Most of the noise seed to be complaints about the school. Certainly, various hints were left behind, but nothing was openly discussed.
Amidst the unease in the class, a single boy stood at the teacher's desk...
Bam! He slamd his fist onto the podium. The class fell silent, and Ryuuen began to speak.
"You guys are really idiots. All of you barely noticed what was going on. It's so ridiculous it's almost funny."
He said it mockingly, and all eyes focused on him.
"From today, I'm taking charge of this class. Follow . I'll take you all up to Class A."
With an air of absolute confidence, Ryuuen declared. But no matter how confident he was, there were those who would resist.
"Who the hell do you think you are, showing up out of nowhere like this!?"
"Rember people's nas, Ishizaki. You follow too. Use that stupid brain of yours."
"What did you say, you bastard!?"
"Shut up. Don't forget you're the reason for lowering the class points."
As he said this, Ryuuen delivered a blow to Ishizaki's stomach.
"Ishizaki!?"
"What the hell are you doing, man!?"
Komiya and Kondo also stood up and lunged at Ryuuen, but he dodged their attacks and landed blows to their stomachs like he did with Ishizaki. Screams echoed through the class, causing chaos.
As the two were knocked out and Ishizaki was about to fall, another boy stepped in to stop them.
"Stop."
It was Yamada Albert, the biggest guy in the class, who stood in front of Ishizaki and the others.
"Hah, you're going too, aren't you? Alright, let's change the location."
"Okay."
Ryuuen and Albert left the classroom, leaving their classmates stunned.
"Damn, what the hell was that guy?"
"Are you okay?"
As Ishizaki and the others tried to stand up while clutching their stomachs, I helped each of them sit down in their chairs.
"Yeah, thanks."
"Everyone, please calm down a bit."
After Ishizaki and the others thanked , Kaneda, the guy with mushroom hair and glasses, began to speak.
"What did you all think of Ryuuen's actions?"
"What do you an? It's impossible to follow soone like that!"
While sitting in my chair, Ishizaki said, hitting the nail on the head. The classmates were saying similar things.
"I think it's okay to leave the class to Ryuuen."
"Why the hell would you say that, Kaneda!?"
"Surely his thods are wrong. However, Ryuuen's insight and perspective are sothing to behold. I heard this by chance, but Ryuuen noticed the workings of this school early on."
"Even so, why didn't he tell us? If he had, wouldn't our class points have increased more?"
"Even if he had revealed the workings of the school, there would be no point in hiding it. It's likely he was silenced in so way."
"Even so..."
"All I want to say is this. It's okay to deal with Ryuuen if his efforts don't produce results."
"..."
At Kaneda's words, the classmates pondered. Whether it's okay to leave Ryuuen in charge of the class like this.
It was almost ti for club activities, and gradually, the students started to leave.
–––––It's about ti.
"Shiina, are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine. Shall we go to the library now?"
Oh, that scene earlier was pretty tough, wasn't it... Shiina seems to have a strong ntal fortitude.
"Shiina, sorry. I forgot I had plans after today."
"Oh, is that so..."
Upon realizing the cancellation of our plans, Shiina looked very disappointed.
"But hey, how about we go out together on the next holiday?"
"...Yes! Please let co with you!"
With a smile like a flower, Shiina's smile returned.
"I'll contact you later about the ti and place. Well, I'm off."
"Yes, I'll be waiting for your ssage. Have a safe trip."
After saying goodbye to Shiina, I headed to my destination.
––––––Where Ryuuen is.
By the way, the conversation with Shiina at that ti was heard by soone in the class, and it's a completely different story that they teased about.
At the far end of the northern school building, there exists an unpopular square.
I knew about this place because I witnessed Ryuuen checking this spot out coincidentally when he was looking for surveillance caras and unpopular areas.
Upon arriving at the square, I found Ryuuen kneeling on the ground, catching his breath, and Albert standing firmly, though also out of breath.
"What? What are you doing here?"
They noticed my presence and looked at , catching their breath.
"No, I was here to talk to Ryuuen. Is it over already?"
"Yes."
"I see. Then go ho and rest."
"Mind your own business..."
"Thank you."
Albert seed surprised by my presence but thanked before leaving.
"You think you can just send Albert away like that. Oh, I see. So you're here to pick a fight with , right?"
Angrily confronting for sending Albert away, Ryuuen threw a punch at . I dodged it and punched Ryuuen in the stomach.
"Urgh!"
Even though he tried to kick back while changing his position, I blocked Ryuuen's kick with my arm and kicked him around the area of his arm.
"Ugh!"
Realizing his physical limits, his breath ragged, I knew he was near the edge. Fighting with Albert Yamada earlier had already pushed him to his limits. Any normal person would have blacked out by now.
But what about him?
Despite his trembling legs and barely standing posture, his eyes held a relentless determination. Those eyes, focused solely on victory. I had never seen such a gaze before.
If it's him...
"What are you, really?"
"I don't care about that. More importantly..."
"You intend to beco the leader of the class, don't you?"
"Of course. I'll crush anyone who gets in my way, including you."
Despite my words, Ryuuen looked puzzled but responded with hostility, his eyes brimming with determination. He truly saw only his own victory. No matter how many tis he loses or falls, as long as he wins in the end, that's all that matters to him.
But that's exactly why...
––––––There might be more potential.
"If that's the case, then the actions you took today were nothing but folly from my perspective."
"What? What are you talking about?"
"...If it were , I could have taken control of the class more effectively and much earlier. Unlike you."
I said, and Ryuuen responded with a fierce smile directed at .
"...Hah, you finally say it. Alright. I'll definitely make you kneel before ."
"I see. That'll be interesting. But let tell you one thing. With your current mindset, dreaming of defeating is nothing but a pipe dream."
In an instant, Ryuuen threw a right straight at , which I caught with my left hand.
"I don't care about that. I have no intention of changing my mindset."
"Then grow. You should be capable of that."
I released Ryuuen's restrained right hand and left the square.
....
Ryuuen....
He's an interesting guy.
And... I've never seen soone with eyes like that before.
His way of thinking is probably going to evolve from here.
I'm curious to see what kind of changes will co about from today's events,
and how he'll grow.
Exciting tis ahead.
=================================
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