Chapter 5 - Friendships

---Notice---

I'll be doing a double upload today, so watch out for the other chapter I will be posting in a bit.

Any support means a lot, and can hopefully get this story out there if you like it.

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"Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?" ~Abraham Lincoln

"I thought you said classes don't start until 8. Why are we out shopping so early?" Ryuk asked me.

I glanced around before responding, "Well, I'm sure Ishizaki is still in the infirmary after that beating he took if Ryuen hasn't reported the incident where he was attacked to the school, which I doubt he did. And I'm also curious about that girl Ryuen mentioned being an impressive fighter." I made my way towards a convenience store as I spoke.

Quickly, I grabbed a fruit basket and some snacks and exited the store. Within ten minutes, I was at the infirmary.

"Knock, knock, knock," I rapped on the infirmary door.

"Yes, come in," a voice I presumed to be the school nurse's responded, and I turned the knob and walked inside.

"Sorry for the bother, I'm just here to visit my classmates," I said, showing the gifts in my hand.

She sighed, "Thank goodness. You Class C students have kept me busy. The two you're looking for are over there. They had to stay overnight."

"Thank you very much for taking care of them," I said, giving a small bow and making my way towards the area she had pointed out.

Soon, I approached both beds.

"What are you doing here?" Ibuki, the girl who sits near Ryuen and me, asked in a sassy tone as I approached. She must've been the girl Ryuen mentioned.

Ishizaki simply eyed me as I placed the things I had brought on the table between them.

"I heard Ishizaki was still in the infirmary, and I heard someone else was harmed by Ryuen. I also imagined you guys were probably hungry or thirsty after being here all of last night and the afternoon," I responded, offering them both a water bottle.

They both appeared to be in a terrible state, completely bandaged up.

"I don't like you," Mio stated, opening the bottle.

"Oh, look at that, Light. Someone isn't falling for your perfect persona, hehehe," Ryuk remarked.

"That's okay," I replied, taking a seat between them.

"What do you two think of Ryuen?" Ishizaki asked out of the blue.

"I don't like him, no, that's an understatement. I despise him," Ibuki responded quickly, crushing the now-empty water bottle in her hand.

"I don't appreciate his methods, and I plan on making that clear to him today. I had told him I wouldn't stand for it if he needlessly attacked others. I won't let him attack our classmates like he did to Ibuki san," I said, looking at the floor while clenching my fist.

"Stop it, you don't even know what happened. All you'll end up doing is getting yourself hurt," Ibuki retorted.

"No matter what I do, others will get hurt. The least I can do is-" Ibuki cut me off before I could continue.

"That perfect persona of yours really pisses me off, you know. You're just as bad as Ryuen, you know? You probably think you're better than everyone in our class too, don't you?" Ibuki berated me.

"Hehehe, she's got you good, Light. She's not an easy one to win over," Ryuk said.

At Ibuki's words, I simply looked down at the floor, then at my clenched fist, and relaxed it, leaving my open palm. As I did this, I made sure Ibuki and Ishizaki's attention was entirely on me.

"Perfect? I am anything but… Only one day of school has passed, and two of my classmates are in the infirmary, something I could've prevented, but I didn't. I didn't because I also agreed with Ryuen. If this school were all some big competition, I thought it would be necessary to elect a leader, someone capable. I understood Ryuen would resort to force to take control of the class, but I thought it would be okay if it were within limits. Maybe it is because I saw myself as better than Class C; maybe I thought the school's assessment of me as a lower-class student was unfair, so I allowed things to escalate in class because all Ryuen's acts of violence would be justified in the future. And I guess you're right in the end; that makes me no better than Ryuen…" I said, slumping my head and taking a pause.

"I understand if you two don't want to talk to me, but I just wanted to say, Ishizaki, Ibuki, I am sorry. You two were hurt because of my actions. I should've known Ryuen wouldn't stop at just a few necessary victories," I said and stood up to leave the infirmary.

"Wait," Ibuki said, "Don't be so dramatic; just sit back down," she said, but I didn't sit and instead just turned around to face her questioningly.

"Don't look at me like that," she said, then sighed while looking away from me, "These injuries, yes, I got them from Ryuen, but I was the one who tried to sneak attack him. In a way, I earned them, so don't go off to do something dumb."

Manipulating people is a simple task. In this case, Ibuki seemed to distrust me due to the image I project. To gain her trust, I would need to shatter that image. When people accuse you of not seeing others as equals, it doesn't mean you should view others as equal or superior to yourself. In one way or another, most humans perceive themselves as superior to others.

What they're really trying to say is that you don't see others as people but as a means to an end.

So, I dismantled that notion, and the moment their guards were down, I forced them to make a decision by standing up to leave.

Sure, there was a risk they'd let me walk away, but they wouldn't do that. Even if Ibuki didn't stop me, Ishizaki wouldn't have. Why? Because these two are thugs. They've probably felt rejection or alienation from society all their lives. I doubted they would reject me, too, in the situation I had constructed.

They had no choice but to engage me or let me leave with the upper hand emotionally.

"You attacked him?" I asked, feigning confusion.

"He got on my nerves, thinking he could just control all of us. So, I tried to knock him off his high horse when he least expected it," Ibuki said.

Ishizaki then responded, " I thought he was a pain at first too, all talk and no action. But you have to give him some respect. I don't know about you guys, but I grew up fighting, and Ryuen might be the best fighter I've come across."

Ibuki seemed annoyed by this, "So what, you're willing to submit to him just because he beat your ass? Maybe I should beat you too with that logic of yours."

"Yeah, I respect that he's a good fighter, but there's more to it. Yagami and Ryuen both said this school is probably set up for some sort of competition, and that means we need a competent leader. Ryuen might be a bit harsh, but overall, isn't he probably the most capable in our class?"

"We aren't even competing for anything except a class position. I don't see the big deal." Ibuki said, obviously frustrated.

"Well, I was thinking about it last night because it was bothering me. What incentives could there be to aim for Class A other than points? And I think it's likely all the reasons why we joined this school are our incentives for aiming for Class A. The careers, college, and basically all our dreams, those things are likely only afforded to Class A. It makes sense that if you want to have all students legitimately fight for Class A, you must have incentives strong enough to allow for it. What better incentives than the very reasons we joined the school?" As soon as I finished speaking, a pen dropped.

"I-I'm sorry, I have to step out," the nurse said, and I simply replied with a friendly nod.

 "If that's true, then this whole school is messed up," Ibuki said in a low voice.

"Ryuen… he's not entirely unapproachable. He had hinted he might be open to collaboration with me," I say aloud.

"I'm game for giving him a shot," Ishizaki responded almost instantly.

"You both must be out of your minds to even consider letting someone like him have their way."

I shook my head, "I'm prepared to keep trying, but only if you both are on board. After all, you were the ones who endured the worst of his and my actions."

Ibuki clicked her tongue in annoyance, "Tsk, fine. It's not like we have many options, do we? You'd just end up getting beaten up like we did if you tried anything. He's also not dumb enough to leave any evidence behind. And if you're right about the class dynamics, reporting him would probably negatively impact our evaluation. So, I'll sit back and see how things unfold for now, but I won't be following all his little orders."

"Of course, and I dont expect either of you to. I won't let things get out of hand," I assured her, my voice steady with confidence.

After a moment, I asked, "When will you guys be discharged? Classes start in 45 minutes."

"I was told to stay here for the day," Ishizaki replied.

"Ryuen was a bit more lenient with me, probably because he wasn't using me as an example in front of the class. So, I can leave whenever I want today," Ibuki added.

"I see. Would you accompany me to class then?" I asked her.

Ibuki looked around, seemingly lost in thought, before finally responding, "Ok."

"Huh? Didn't you say you were going to stay here since you had a note anyway?" Ishizaki questioned.

"Well, I changed my mind," she retorted.

"I need to swing by my dorm real quick," Ibuki said, rising from the infirmary bed. "I'll catch up with you in class."

With that, I tidied up my space, returned the chair to its original spot, and left the room.

By 7:50, I had made it to class. Surprisingly, it seemed like most students were going to show up. It made sense - no one fully understood how this school operated yet, so they wouldn't risk expulsion for no reason.

Ibuki hadn't arrived yet. I figured she was probably getting ready for class in her dorm, so she might be a bit late. But her tardiness shouldn't count against us since she had a medical excuse for her absence.

"What's the plan, Light? I wonder what will happen today," Ryuk said as I walked past Ryuen to my seat.

He'd be disappointed, though. I didn't have much planned for the day.

Soon, it was lunchtime. The teachers had spent most of the day explaining the rules. But before Sakagami could leave the room, I called out to him.

"Sakagami-sensei, I know it's your lunch break, but could you spare five minutes for me and the class?" I asked. The class was already getting ready to leave the room. Sakagami nodded at my words and stood by the door.

"I apologize for the interruption, everyone. There's just something I'd like to say before you all leave. As you're now aware, this class is a competitive environment. We should obviously keep these matters within Class C. I thought you should also know that it's likely that only Class A gets the full benefits of this school - dream careers and all the other reasons many of you came here," I explained.

"What kind of bullshit is that?" one of the students retorted.

"I understand it's a bit infuriating, but if we want to achieve everything we came to this school for, we'll need to work together to compete for Class A," I clarified.

"Cut the crap and get to the point. I've got lunch waiting," Ryuen grumbled, his impatience evident.

"Sakagami-sensei, could you tell us about the repercussions of failing a test in this school?" I inquired, maintaining my composed demeanor.

"Failure in any test usually leads to expulsion," Sakagami responded matter-of-factly.

"Interesting," Ryuk chimed in, his voice echoing with amusement.

The students of Class C erupted into chatter at Sakagami's words. I doubted most of them were academically capable. A school that would expel students for tardiness on the first day and pit classes against each other would likely have severe penalties for academic failure.

"As you can see, any failure in this school essentially equates to expulsion, correct, Sakagami-sensei?" I asked, seeking confirmation.

"Yes, that's a generally accurate statement," he responded, nodding in agreement.

"I'm not sure about your individual capabilities, but I don't intend to let anyone in our class face expulsion. Yesterday, Sakagami-sensei mentioned that anything bought with points. It made me wonder, Sakagami-sensei, is it possible to use points to avoid or cancel an expulsion?" I continued to probe.

"Yes, it is indeed possible, both directly and indirectly," he responded promptly.

"By 'indirectly,' do you mean that in a scenario where someone fails an exam, I can use points to purchase exam points? If so, how much would this cost? And how much would direct saving from expulsion cost?"

"Yes, buying exam points would be possible. It would cost you 100,000 points per exam point. Direct saving from expulsion would be significantly more, 20 million points."

I nodded, taking in the information. It was a lot of points, but this should drill the importance of points into the minds of the Class C students. "For that reason, I propose we start something akin to a tax for the class. Fifty percent of your points would be stored for collection by anyone elected by the class to hold onto the points. With 50,000 points from each one of you, even if 10% of the class were to fail a test tomorrow by an average of 5 points, then everyone could be saved from expulsion."

"Hehe, nice wording, Light," Ryuk chuckled.

"Yeah, that all sounds great in theory, but what's to stop them from taking all our points and wasting them all?" Kaneda, who sat behind Shiina, questioned skeptically.

"I'm sure the school has something in place to prevent such fraudulent use of points, right, Sakagami-sensei?" I asked, addressing his concern.

"Normally, if a deal like this was done in private, it would be hard to prove points are being used fraudulently. But this deal is being done in front of me. If one were to say they would only use the points to assist their class, then they would be punished harshly if they did otherwise since I would have been here to witness the agreement. The school doesn't go easy on those who obtain and use points fraudulently."

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Question: How do you guys feel about Manabe from Class C? I feel like she could make an interesting character. I'm asking because the next two chapters will be about socializing (not strictly, but it will be a significant part). I know a lot of people dislike Manabe, but she is an important character in Class C story-wise.

I understand if you don't like all the socialization going on, but remember, what makes Light so impressive isn't just his regular intellect but his social abilities and the way he can manipulate people, so I feel like these chapters are important to that.

Let me know what you think.