Volume 12 - Chapter 3 Part 1: The Problematic Group of First Years

(Introduction)

Dozens of students, both first and second-year, had gathered together in the gymnasium. The majority of those in attendance were first-year students. Most of them probably saw this meet-and-greet as an important opportunity to meet other students. Since I wasn't acquainted with any of the attending first-year students yet, the first thing I did was check to see who among the second-years had decided to participate.

The leader of Class A, Sakayanagi, was nowhere to be seen. I did, however, catch sight of Hashimoto Masayoshi, but it wasn't clear if he was here as her substitute or not. Sakayanagi's legs weren't very strong. Her range of motion was limited, and she couldn't move very fast. Hashimoto played an important role in helping her compensate for that. As far as I could tell, Hashimoto was the only member of Class A who was here. Moreover, he didn't seem to be going out of his way to speak to anyone in particular.

He was probably here on some sort of reconnaissance, figuring out who everybody got into contact with during the meet-and-greet.

As the organizing class of the event, about half of the students from Class B were present, Ichinose included. I could see Kanzaki standing together with her to support her. However, I didn't get the impression that, as a group, the rest of Class B was academically insecure or influential. If anything, it seemed like the students in attendance were the more sociable students in their class. On the other hand, there didn't seem to be any students from Class C participating in this event. It was as if they had completely disregarded the idea of the meet-and-greet from the very beginning. From this one gathering of students, you could roughly grasp the intentions of each of the different second-year classes. But for Horikita, the second-year students weren't the important ones today.

The important ones were the first-years we hadn't had much of a chance to get to know yet.

As first-years who had only just enrolled in the school, they shouldn't know their left from right yet.

The fact that they were suddenly being asked to pair up with second-year students probably put many of them at a complete loss about what to do. During the event, they latched onto their classmates, that is, the students they were already familiar with.

Seeing this, Ichinose decided to avoid bringing up the special exam in the first place. Instead, she focused on trying to make friends with the first-years by introducing herself and sparking up casual conversations with them. Of course, this didn't mean that everyone opened their heart to her right away.

Having understood this, Ichinose didn't rush the process. She approached them with a gentle smile on her face, slowly melting away the walls of ice that had closed off their hearts. It only took a few minutes of close observation to get a rough idea of what would happen next.

"Instead of prioritizing the special exam, she's focusing on building up relationships based on mutual trust. What an incredibly Ichinose-san way of doing things; A dazzling approach that not just anyone would be able to implement."

Horikita spoke, expressing her first impression of this meet-and-greet.

Strategically, it was unknown to what extent Class B would make use of this, but it was extremely important nonetheless.

Ichinose's actions provided benefits for first and second-years alike.

Horikita had described Ichinose as 'dazzling' for trying to take on such an active role.

From a look at the profile of Horikita's face, I could catch a glimpse of the strategy she had begun to formulate.

"Are you thinking of a similar strategy yourself?"

"…I am. A strategy based on private points would be too much for our class to handle. That's why I thought it'd be important for us to establish a trusting relationship with the first-year students. But, we're no match for Ichinose-san when it comes to doing that. Or rather, that sort of strategy is pretty much her exclusive way of doing things."

A certain 'something' was necessary in order to get the other party to accept you as their partner. That 'something' could be all sorts of things like private points, trust, friendship, or even obligation.

"The face and name of Class 2-B's Ichinose Honami have already become well-known amongst many of the first-year students. The anxious students will flock to her, and I'm certain that she'll live up to their expectations."

"Yeah."

They wouldn't bother with trying to approach a class like ours that they didn't even know anything about.

"But, even if we can't replicate that dazzling approach of hers, we still have options."

Apparently, Horikita had gleaned some sort of idea from this meet-and-greet event.

The key to this probably had to do with how she was constantly looking at the first-year students as she used the OAA app.

It didn't seem like Horikita had any intention of leaving just yet, as she continued to observe the first-years.

I wasn't the only one watching her observe the first-years either, as a large figure showed up beside her.

"But you know what I think? Every last one of 'em looks damn wimpy to me."

Next to Horikita, Sudō thoughtlessly shared his own impression of the first-years he had been looking at.

He had originally planned to head straight to his club activities after class today, but the school had accepted Ichinose's request to hold a meet-and-greet and hastily decided that it'd be held in the gymnasium until 5:00, so he had asked to accompany Horikita to the event instead.

Horikita had flatly turned him down, saying that he didn't need to come, but he probably thought it was fine to come since he'd be heading to the gym later on either way.

"Don't glare at them for no reason. We gain nothing by scaring them."

"I ain't glaring though. This is just the face I was born with. Well say what ya want, but is it really alright to be taking it easy like this? Won't the smart guys get snatched up by Ichinose? Shouldn't we go and say somethin to 'em?"

Sudō impatiently spoke to Horikita, saying that it'd be better to reach out to the first-year students as soon as possible. Even if a student that wasn't from Class 2-B made advances on one of the first-years at the meet-and-greet, Ichinose wouldn't be angry about it. In fact, she'd probably be happy instead.

"What are you gonna do, Horikita?"

I was curious about Horikita's actions, so I asked her a question as well.

"Do you really think we can out-socialize Class 2-B in a place like this?"

For the time being, Ichinose seemed to be placing more emphasis on saving the first-year students than winning the exam for her own class.

Nobody from Class B had even left the event yet, and they seemed to be trying to deepen their friendship with the first-years.

The first-year students had probably picked up on their raw enthusiasm as well.

"Well, I don't think so."

I conceded to Horikita's question. It might be possible to out-socialize Class B for Yōsuke or Kushida, but the three of us lacked the ability to do something like that.

She must've come here knowing full well that that was the case.

When the meet-and-greet really began picking up steam, Horikita finally took action.

"Let's get going."

That is, rather than participate in the meeting and greeting, we were leaving instead.

This meant that Horikita hadn't planned on trying to win over the first-years at this event in the first place.

"Is that really okay, Suzune?"

"More than half of the students invited to this didn't even attend. Those are the students I'm going to negotiate with."

In other words, she was looking to target the first-year students who didn't bother with what Ichinose had to offer.

At the same time, however, winning over those students wouldn't come easily.

Some of them were students who felt like they could find a partner on their own without relying on others or simply didn't have the courage to attend the meet-and-greet. Some might have even already come up with a strategy for the exam. Whatever the case, it'd be safe to assume that most of them would have rather eccentric personalities.

"Let's hear your basis for thinking that."

"There are two reasons. Based on my observations earlier, there was a higher proportion of academically insecure students out of those attending the meet-and-greet. Right now, we need to be looking for students with a B- rating as a bare minimum. That is to say, we need to find confident students who are ready to put up a fight without even going to the meet-and-greet."

I see. With that being the case, it definitely made a certain amount of sense for us to give up on the meet-and-greet.

"Our top priority is not to pair up students who have A ratings in Academic Ability. Instead, we need to coax the academically gifted students into covering up for the weaker ones so that nobody gets expelled."

However, even if Class 2-B chose to save a fair number of the first-years who came to the meet-and-greet, there would naturally be some first-years left out. Moreover, Ichinose was probably going to prioritize rescuing the worse-off students over the more academically capable ones. We could've stuck around and picked from the leftover relatively capable students Class 2-B wasn't able to help.

Her second reason seemed to have something to do with that.

"Besides, there was a slight inconsistency in the people who showed up for the meet-and-greet that didn't have anything to do with Academic Ability ratings."

"Inconsistency?"

"The students from Class 1-D didn't attend the event at all."

They didn't attend at all? That was indeed an interesting inconsistency.

"It seems like you understand, Ayanokōji-kun."

Horikita seemed to catch on to what I was thinking, but…

"Huh? Is there some kinda meaning behind Class 1-D not attending or somethin'?"

Sudō tilted his head, unable to understand the significance behind this.

"There are 40 people in Class 1-D. Some of them don't know how to study, and others aren't very good at socializing. But despite that, not even a single person from Class 1-D participated in the event, which obviously reflects the will of the class as a whole."

Clearly, somebody had taken control of the class and convinced them not to participate in the meet-and-greet.

It was unusual, considering that only a short amount of time had passed since they had enrolled here.

"So, you're saying that Class 1-D already has a leader, and they're the one who refused to attend the meet-and-greet…?"

"If there's someone we can negotiate with at the class level, it isn't necessary to try and bargain with people at the individual level."

In other words, her strategy was to have the students in Class 2-D and Class 1-D cover up for each other.

"That's reasonable, but like, wouldn't it be hard as heck to win the special exam?"

It wasn't a bad idea in that it would prevent expulsions, but it would also make it impossible for us to beat the other classes.

"You're right. In that sense, I don't plan on engaging in the inter-class competition this time around."

"I get that I'm not in any position to say anything and all, but like, is that really alright?"

"Yes. There's no problem at all."

Horikita spoke definitively. Although there were some fundamental differences in the way they were each going about it, Horikita's strategy was pretty much the same as Ichinose's.

At the end of the day, the concept was to give on the valuable chance to gain class points in the special exam.

Class A's Hashimoto had already left the gymnasium, probably because he had finished up with his investigation of Ichinose's meet-and-greet.

Horikita followed in Hashimoto's tracks as she headed toward the exit, Sudō and I tagging along behind her.

However, just before we walked through the door, I turned and looked at Ichinose one last time.

She was talking to the first-year students with a smile on her face, completely oblivious to our presence.

Ichinose would readily extend a helping hand to any student, no matter how low their Academic Ability rating is.

She had ditched the idea of taking the top spot in the special exam and was instead fighting to prevent any of her own classmates from being expelled.

It was pretty much identical to what Horikita was planning to do, just with a different approach.

However, in essence, were they truly the same thing?

"Yo."

After we left the gymnasium, Hashimoto called out to us as if he had been waiting for us.

"Ichinose sure is the same as always, eh?"

"It seems like she has her heart set on saving her classmates along with the first-years."

"Sure does. As things are right now, she won't be a threat. Doesn't she realize bringing idiots onto her side is just gonna drag her down? It's like she's tossing her chances of winning in the trash."

Hashimoto spoke as if he couldn't wrap his head around it. There was no way he could've realized that Horikita was going to execute pretty much the exact same strategy. After all, the fact that Horikita also planned on giving up the competition was an idea he had never even considered.

"Perhaps she set up the event precisely because she knew the first-years were going to drag her down?"

"Aaah, I see. You've got a point there."

"Class A… no, Sakayanagi-san understood everything without even having to come to the meet-and-greet. She had already anticipated which students would show up. That's why she didn't participate, isn't it?"

"Well, maybe."

Even so, she had probably sent Hashimoto in alone as a scout.

"So, how does Class A intend to draw the honor students over to your side?"

"That's up to our Princess to figure out. I'm just here to follow orders, ya feel?"

With that, Hashimoto left, apparently satisfied with what he had talked to us about.

"Don't trust a word that bastard Hashimoto says, Suzune."

Sudō spoke up after Hashimoto was out of earshot.

"I don't need to be told that. Though, are you saying you're well-acquainted with Hashimoto-kun?"

"Not even a little."

Sudō's response was confident, if not cocky.

"…I see. Well, Class A has a huge advantage just by being Class A. To some extent, I suppose it's only natural that they'll have people flocking over to them."

Having enrolled in this school, it was only a matter of time until the first-years realized that Class A was the best of the best.

Even if they weren't aware of that fact right now, word would spread soon enough.

"Anyway, let's get moving. It hasn't gotten too late, so there should still be some Class 1-D students at the school somewhere."

We headed off toward the first-year classrooms to try and find out what had gone on inside Class 1-D.

While the eyes of her surroundings were focused on the meet-and-greet, Horikita seemed to be taking hold of the opportunity that had presented itself to her.

(Introduction End)

(Part 1)

We made our way to the floor where the first-year classrooms were located, a place where we had spent our days not too long ago.

There didn't seem to be very many students lingering in the area, given that most of them had gone to the gymnasium.

We silently observed the students in the classrooms from Class 1-A through 1-C, but once they realized that a group of upperclassmen were watching them, they uncomfortably turned and looked away from us. The fact that they weren't very receptive to our sudden intrusion wasn't all that surprising.

Those who didn't care were few in number, as most probably hated the uncomfortable atmosphere our presence had created.

This atmosphere would only get worse in the days to come as well. The second-year students would constantly reach out to the first-years at all times of the day, desperate to find themselves a partner as soon as possible. However, doing so would be a risky gamble that may end up backfiring on them.

But even so, within each of the classrooms we checked, we could see first-year students engaged in light-hearted conversations with each other.

They might have felt like there was no need to worry about the special exam, or perhaps they didn't think that the exam was a very big deal yet.

"It seems like most of the students who stayed behind aren't worried at all, just as expected."

"Ain't that nice. Even though I'm freaking out over here."

Even if a pair were to score less than 500 points during the exam, the first-year student would just be cut off from earning private points for the next three months. While this would undoubtedly be a great loss for them, it probably didn't feel that critical since they should've gotten their first payment just after the entrance ceremony.

"Kuku. You're awfully late, eh Suzune?"

Horikita was just about to finish up her inspection of Class 1-C when she was greeted by a familiar voice.

The voice belonged to none other than Class 2-C's Ryūen Kakeru, who had his eyes fixed on us daringly.

The door leading to Class 1-D was behind him, and it seemed as though he had just come out of it.

"Ryūen-kun, are you here to observe the first-years as well? I don't think I saw you at the meet-and-greet."

"It was all just a buncha dipshits groupin' up in the gym, right? Going there'd be a waste of time."

Ryūen had adopted the same strategy as Horikita. That is, to go after the students who didn't attend the meet and greet.

Based on his tone, it seemed reasonable to assume that he was aiming for the best students the first year had to offer.

He had gotten here a mere 20-30 minutes earlier than us, but…

With that much time, it was possible that he had already successfully scouted several people.

We'd have to wait until 8:00 AM tomorrow morning to see what pairings he had made.

"Chill out. I haven't found anyone yet."

Horikita and Sudō wouldn't trust his words very easily.

That is, at least until the app is updated with the pairings that had been finalized for Class 2-C.

"Looks like you don't believe me."

"At the very least, I'm going to take everything you say with a grain of salt."

"That so? Seems like I've become quite the untrustworthy person!"

"Oh? But I've never once treated you with anything resembling trust before, though?"

"Kukuku, ain't that true."

Sudō glared daggers at Ryūen, seemingly displeased with the joking nature of his back-and-forth with Horikita.

The average person would probably shrink back in fear from the sharp look Sudō was giving off, but it had no effect on somebody like Ryūen.

"I see you got yourself a bodyguard, but god did you choose a dumb one."

"Whadja say!?"

Horikita casually held out her hand to stop Sudō, who was on the verge of losing his temper.

"Oh my, does one need brains to be a bodyguard? Talk about a pot calling the kettle black."

With her hand still holding Sudō back, Horikita stared straight back at Ryūen, her gaze unfaltering.

"Are you looking to scare the first-years? You do know that attitude of yours will end up backfiring on you, right?"

The first-year students would probably shrink back upon seeing Ryūen walk around as if he owned the place.

"I thought that with a couple light threats they'd immediately agree to help. Somethin' like that."

Horikita had responded to his provocations tit for tat, but this time, Ryūen confirmed what she asked him instead.

"…You're kidding. Do you really think that's an acceptable way of doing things?"

"Who gives a damn about whether it's acceptable. What's wrong with a couple of threats? We were told we couldn't threaten someone to get a lower score on the exams back when the rules were explained, but I don't remember being told we couldn't use some threats to help pair up with people."

"That's because it should be obvious without the rules even needing to say it! You're the one in hot water if something goes wrong."

"Then how 'bout you make somethin' go wrong for me then? I ain't dumb enough to get caught either way."

His words were as confident as ever.

Not only was it extremely likely that he'd threaten the first-years, he even went so far as to declare that the truth about it wouldn't get out either.

Regardless of whether he was telling the truth or not, Horikita should've realized once again that Ryūen would always toe the line.

"Well, then do what you want. Just know that if I ever find any evidence, I won't think twice about reporting you."

She probably meant these words as some sort of deterrent, but it most likely didn't have any effect on Ryūen.

"Then what? Who're you gonna persuade?"

Thinking there was no need to respond, Horikita kept her mouth shut.

"You figured somethin' out while you were at the meet-and-greet, didn't you? Then you came running over here to check out everyone else?"

"The same as you then, perhaps?"

"Kuku. Maybe."

With that, Ryūen continued to address Horikita, almost as if he was trying to spice things up.

"If that's the case, I'll clue ya in on somethin' since we're on the same wavelength here. The first-years this time around only just enrolled here, and yet they're awfully calm don'tcha think? That is, there's a good chance that the people from the school told 'em how things work around here."

If what he was saying was true, it would be quite the unexpected piece of information. Back when we first came to the school last April, we had no idea how things worked and goofed off the whole time. Of course, Class A and Class B were far more composed than we were, but that could probably be attributed to the large difference in our perspective backgrounds.

But in this instance, Ryūen wasn't just talking about a specific class, but the entire school year as a whole.

Did the school do this in order to have the first and second-year students partner up from the very beginning?

Or perhaps the school had another motive altogether?

"Could it be that this batch of first-years just have things figured out and we were exceptionally dull in comparison?"

"Seems like some of 'em have already started up on bringing their classes together. It's too early."

Even if they began to take action the moment the special exam was announced, there was no way they would've been able to come together this quickly.

Ryūen was saying that this wouldn't be the case unless something had happened beforehand, that is, right after they entered the school.

"…What kind of cowardly trick are you trying to pull by telling me all of this?"

"It's nothin' like that. I can't just beat down my opponents in a special exam like this. But, I'll have to pull some strings in order to come out on top overall."

This wasn't an easy special exam to get students from the other classes expelled. After all, the strong anonymity of the partnering system made it difficult to know who people were partnered with. It would be extremely difficult to figure out who somebody paired up with the OAA app unless they went around telling everyone or you collected information. Even if you managed to get a student with a low Academic Ability rating to partner up with someone specific in a rival class, it'd be virtually impossible to force them to throw the exam. If they were to score lower than their Academic Ability rating would suggest they were capable of, the school would deem it as intentional and they'd be expelled regardless of what school year they're in.

In the end, the only thing that would influence the outcome of this exam was the raw ability of your own class and the first-year student you paired up with. In terms of strategy, you needed to focus on persuading as many high-performance first-years into joining your class as possible. Put all of this together, and it wouldn't be easy for Class 2-C to take the top spot in the exam, as their Overall Ability ratings didn't seem very good from an outsider's perspective.

There was no way that Class 2-C would come out on top if they decided to compete with Class 2-A from a financial standpoint, and their fundamental academic skills were off by miles as well. Things would be tough for them no matter how many private points they invested in trying to entice the first-years. With that being the case, they should give up on the top overall score and instead focus on getting their hands on the rewards given out to the pairs who score in the top 30% in the individual competition.

Of course, there was no way Horikita would mention all of this to Ryūen. After all, if Class 2-C didn't compete with Class 2-A to take the top spot overall, we'd be the ones put in a tough spot. Instead of letting Class 2-A effortlessly snatch up the win, I'd like to see the two classes going at it in a large-scale tug-of-war and wear each other out, even if only a little.

"Just try your best so you don't get left in the dust."

"I could say the same to you. Your concern is completely unwarranted."

"Kuku, my bad my bad."

With that, Ryūen set off, leaving the first-year classrooms behind him.

The amount of time he had spent here had been far too short to get things done.

"The first-year students might be more opposed to negotiating with us than I expected."

It made sense that they'd be hesitant if they really had been told about the true, desperate nature of the school.

"Then shouldn't we negotiate with 'em as soon as possible or somethin'?"

"Yes… Of course we should, it's just…"

Horikita turned and looked further on down the hallway.

Her eyes were fixated on the classroom of Class 1-D.

"Let's get goin'. Come on."

Sudō urged us to keep moving forward to the classroom ahead of us.

"I'm afraid it may not be that simple."

It seemed Horikita had noticed it during the conversation earlier as well.

From the time Ryūen walked out of the classroom to the time he left, not even a single student had come out into the hallway.

We couldn't hear a single sound coming from inside as we approached either.

Our suspicions were confirmed when we finally arrived at the classroom and opened up the door.

"W-what the hell's goin' on here!?"

Panicked, Sudō scanned the room from one end to the other.

"Negotiating with Class 1-D may be far, far more difficult than I expected."

The classroom was completely empty, not a single soul to be found.

It seemed as though the forty students who hadn't attended the meet-and-greet had vanished without a trace.

"This class as a whole might be more troublesome than I thought."

However, we couldn't just stand around feeling anxious about it forever.

After all, we needed to take measures of our own before the other classes began moving in earnest.

Horikita's battle would start tomorrow, from the moment when she finally makes contact with the students from Class 1-D.

I also needed to go home and memorize the names and appearances of all the first-year students on the OAA app.

Horikita had her battle to fight, and I had mine.

And so, on the very day the special exam was first announced, a total of 22 sets of partners had been finalized.

(Part 1 End)

(Part 2)

The next day, at the end of lunch break, the situation took a sharp turn.

Everyone was waiting patiently in the classroom for our afternoon lessons to begin after having finished up with their meals.

"H-hey, some first-years seem to be headed over here!"

The one who called this out was my classmate, Miyamoto.

The special exam would only be possible with the cooperation of the first and second-year students.

That was why, given the circumstances, I didn't think we needed to be so surprised by this, but apparently the rest of the class didn't feel the same.

"They must have an awful lot of courage to come to their upperclassman's classroom."

As I pondered about it, Yōsuke spoke up to explain it to me.

"Imagine if we went to visit the third-year students. We'd probably be much more careful about it, right?"

"That's true…"

It'd be a different story if we were on close terms with a lot of the upperclassmen, but that wasn't the case for the first-years.

For most students, it would probably feel like they were marching into enemy territory.

So in that sense, a few people showing up like this may very well be something worth being surprised about.

Yōsuke went out to the hallway to take a look, so I tagged along with him.

Horikita and Sudō followed close behind us as well.

The first person that I noticed was a young man with a large build.

There were several reasons he stood out. The first being that he was about the same height as Sudō.

But even more than that, the confident, brazen way he walked down the dead-center of the second-year hallway was profoundly impressive.

The second-year students shrunk back and avoided him as he walked by instead of the other way around. A female student walking just a little behind him.

Having noticed that this wasn't some simple act done for the sake of looking for a partner, Horikita went out and stood in front of the male student, blocking his path. Sudō followed suit shortly after.

For some reason, as the confrontation with the two first-year students began, the first person they looked at was me, even though I had been watching from a distance.

Not long after that, they looked away, shifting their focus over to Horikita.

I thought back on the information I memorized on the OAA app yesterday.

From the look of it, Horikita would be coming in contact with that class earlier than expected.

"Who's this chick?"

"Please wait just a moment… Ah, found it."

The girl fiddled around on her phone for a moment before showing the boy her screen.

"Class 2-D, Horikita Suzune. Academic Ability A-, eh?"

The girl spoke much more politely compared to the boy, so the two of them came across as an odd pairing.

The boy then turned and looked at Sudō, who was standing next to Horikita.

Once again, the girl fiddled around with her phone and showed him the screen, just like she had done with Horikita.

"Sudō Ken? …Hah!"

After seeing Sudō's ratings, the young man scoffed demeaningly.

"I am known as Nanase, a student from Class 1-D. And this here is my classmate H─"

"Hōsen."

ILLUSTRATION :

The duo introduced themselves by last name only. To supplement, the bulky male student's full name was Hōsen Kazuomi, while the girl's was Nanase Tsubasa.

Both of them were genuine Class 1-D students, just like she said they were.

Students from the very class we hadn't been able to meet yesterday. Although their sudden appearance here was definitely unexpected, for Horikita, it was both a blessing and a curse. The reason being that it wasn't exactly a good idea to start negotiations with them right now, given the presence of students from the other classes.

"For a couple of new students, the two of you have gone and done something pretty drastic. I admire your courage."

"Hah? You admire what now? Damn full of yourself aren't ya bitch?"

"You reckon she's the one full of herself? Fuck off with that cheeky attitude, first-year punk."

Hōsen flared up at Horikita, prompting Sudō to flare up as well and cut into the conversation.

Even though they were about the same height, Hōsen's build was a size larger, so Sudō looked small in comparison.

"An E+ in Academic Ability? Seems you're just as retarded as ya look."

"Wanna say that again!?"

Sudō got angrier, but Hōsen just ignored him and continued talking.

"Well, fuck it. Seems like there's only a buncha Class D twerps here anyway. Works for me."

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"You guys are the shit at the bottom of the barrel. You wouldn't even be able to find partners without beggin' our class for it. So I'll lend you incompetent retards a hand, aight? You get what I'm sayin'?"

Hōsen responded to Horikita's question and posed her one of his own, almost as if he was testing her.

"So, you're essentially saying you want to partner up with us? And yet you're asking with an arrogant attitude like this?"

"No shit I am. You should be the ones begging us to partner with you. I did you idiots a favor by dragging myself over here."

Hōsen challenged her, brushing aside her viewpoint and asserting his own.

"So hurry the fuck up, get your heads on the fuckin' floor and beg."

As she held Sudō back from letting his temper get to him, Horikita spoke up once again.

"You seem to be misunderstanding something. Our positions are equal."

She spoke with even more conviction than before, paying no mind to the physical disparity between Hōsen and herself.

"Equal? Could you let that retarded friend of yours be the only one spewing bullshit?"

"You're in Class D just like we are. You're no different from us."

"You just don't get it. If we felt like it, we could do all sorts of things to trash like you. You don't want shit getting outta hand, right? If so, then know your place and start waggin' your tail for me."

Apparently, this Hōsen guy had already noticed the special advantage the first-years had against us.

"And just what are these 'things'

you could do to us?"

Horikita should've been well aware of what the answer was, but she still dared to question him, wanting Hōsen to be the one to say it.

"You get it, don'tcha? We've got the means to intentionally tank our scores on the exams."

Upon hearing his words, Horikita bit down on her lip a little.

"Huh? The hell are you sayin', you first-year bastard! Cuttin' corners on the exam'll get you thrown outta school!"

"Stop it, Sudō-kun. Losing your temper all of a sudden like this is a bad habit of yours."

"But…"

I could understand why Hōsen's excessively aggressive way of speaking made Sudō want to lose his temper.

However, what Hōsen was saying wasn't untrue.

"Sure, the rules say you'll get expelled if you get caught throwing the exam. But the penalty that comes with not findin' a partner by exam day is different. That's only a problem for you second-years, yeah?"

If you ran out of time, a random partner would be chosen for you.

Furthermore, you'd receive a 5% penalty on your total overall score.

Since the second-year students had to face the danger of expulsion, they'd feel the effects of this penalty more than the first-years.

"I-is that really true!?"

Unable to believe it, Sudō sent Horikita a look that demanded confirmation.

But the only thing Horikita could answer with was a nod.

"Wouldn't you be strangling yourselves by doing that? Are you really alright with sustaining losses immediately after enrollment?"

If they incurred a penalty, their chance of scoring above 500 points would naturally go down.

"It won't be as much of a pain in the ass for us as it will for you second-years though. Right?"

Hōsen sought confirmation from Nanase, who was standing just behind him.

"Yes. It is said that we wouldn't receive private points for 3 months, but at most, that would only be 240,000 points. I don't believe it would be a fatal problem."

"You get it now, Horikita-senpai?"

Hōsen stood before Horikita, an upperclassman, as if he was the one with higher standing.

Having seen that, Sudō couldn't hold himself back anymore.

However, he still had enough willpower to prevent himself from throwing a punch, choosing instead to take up an imposing, aggressive stance in front of Horikita.

"You lookin' to fight?"

Hōsen challenged Sudō without even a trace of hesitation in his voice.

"You're a cocky one, ain'tcha!?"

"Don't lose your composure, Sudō-kun. You're well aware of how it is at this school, right?"

It wasn't surprising that the first-years didn't know about this, but the hallways here were constantly under school surveillance.

As the surveillance cameras were always running, if something were to happen, the school would dig up the footage to use as evidence.

"I know…"

Having been repeatedly admonished by Horikita, Sudō stood down despite his irritation.

His short fuse was definitely one of his faults, but at the very least he was willing to listen to Horikita.

Sudō turned and looked away from Hōsen, but as he did, Hōsen raised his hand and shoved him in the chest.

"Woah!?"

At that moment, Sudō lost his balance and fell backward onto the floor, catching himself with his hands.

"Are you just some tall-ass bitch? I barely touched ya!"

Even the second-years who had been watching the situation unfold couldn't hide their shock at Hōsen's excessively reckless behavior.

Considering how immensely audacious it was, it wouldn't be surprising if this was considered an act of violence.

If he understood the difficulty and risk that came with exercising violence at this school, he never would've done this.

This new batch of first-years was apparently more familiar with the school's inner-workings than those of previous years.

If they really did know more about the school like Ryūen claimed yesterday, then I had no choice but to say that Hōsen's conduct here had been straight-up reckless.

Do they not actually know as much about the school as I thought they did?

No, that didn't seem to be the case here. If that were the case…

"You son of a bitch!"

Despite having almost regained his composure earlier, Sudō realized what Hōsen had done to him, and was seconds away from exploding with all of the fury he had kept bottled up inside.

However, before that could happen, a young man who had been watching the situation from a distance jumped in between them.

"The hell are you doin'!?"

It was Class 2-C's Ishizaki Daichi. While he was normally categorized as a delinquent who was quick to lose his temper, he was also a guy with a lot of heart. It seemed like he wasn't able to hold himself back any longer upon seeing how cruelly Sudō, one of his peers, was being treated.

"These second-year guys just keep poppin' up like cockroaches."

Hōsen let show an amused expression, while the girl who introduced herself as Nanase very tactfully brought him back under control.

"Didn't you come here to have a discussion, Hōsen-kun? If you came here because you wanted to get violent, I'll be taking my leave."

"Violent? I just touched him same as I would petting a cat. My bad, Sudō."

He addressed the second-year student in front of him without using honorifics, almost as if he was spitting on him.

"Oi! Being an asshole has its limits, got it!?"

Ishizaki reached out his arm, looking to grab Hōsen by the collar of his shirt.

The moment he saw the arm moving toward him, the corners of Hōsen's mouth just barely crept up into a smile.

"Give it up unless you wanna die, Ishizaki."

Ishizaki's arm stopped mid-air, only moments away from taking hold of Hōsen's shirt.

The warning had come from none other than Ryūen, who had apparently been watching the situation from the sidelines as well.

"Wh-why are you stopping me!?"

Ishizaki was visibly confused by the fact that Ryūen had stopped him.

"To think you'd step in. What are you doing?"

Ibuki, a student from the same class, also spoke up, surprised by Ryūen's sudden involvement.

Ryūen didn't hate these kinds of confrontations, far from it. He usually welcomed them with open arms.

If the moment called for it, he wouldn't hesitate to throw down, regardless of whether surveillance cameras were present or not.

Which was exactly why the fact that he had stopped the fight from happening was so unexpected.

Ryūen sent Ishizaki back, and then proceeded to approach Hōsen himself.

"So you're my opponent now? You look piss weak compared to that retard Sudō over there."

Given that Ryūen's physique didn't seem all that large or impressive, Hōsen spoke his mind.

"I've heard a lot about you. A guy named 'Hōsen' was a bit of a local celebrity back where I'm from. I certainly never thought you'd have such a retarded lookin' face, though."

Ryūen insulted Hōsen with the exact same word that Hōsen had used to repeatedly insult Sudō. It was truly the typical Ryūen behavior. Normally, Ryūen was our class's enemy, but seeing him take a stand in a confrontation like this was reassuring. In fact, Sudō had even managed to successfully get a hold of himself thanks to the change in atmosphere.

"Y-you know this guy, Ryūen-san?"

"You just say Ryūen?"

Hōsen's facial expression changed upon hearing Ryūen's name, his slight smile turning into a wide, toothy grin.

"Oi oi, seriously? This must be fate or somethin'. I've heard so many rumors about you that it pissed me off, Ryūen."

"Looks like you've got enough brain cells to at least remember someone's name."

The two of them had apparently known each other for quite some time now. It seemed like Hōsen was from somewhere relatively close to Ryūen's hometown.

In any case, judging from the interactions between Ryūen, and his classmates Ishizaki and Ibuki, it seemed safe to say that he had made a complete revival. Although he had stepped down for a short while, he had taken command of Class 2-C all over again.

"However, for the Ryūen to have such a scrawny-lookin' body… What a letdown."

"And I guess you're as much of a muscle-head as I imagined."

"I've went to lookin' to pay you a visit a buncha times to beat the shit out of you, but we never met. You were being a lil' bitch and hiding from me back then, weren't you? You ran away and left all the work to your underlings, or am I wrong?"

"Kuku, fate was on your side, Hōsen. If you had crossed paths with me back then, you wouldn't be nearly as full of yourself as you are now. Seems you've gotten lucky since you don't know what it's like to experience defeat yet."

"I was sure you were just runnin' away with your tail between your legs. But if you're sayin' that's not the case, how 'bout we set the record straight right here, right now."

Hōsen clenched his large hand into a fist, displaying his confidence.

If Hōsen really knew Ryūen from back during his middle school days, his impression shouldn't be that different from our own impressions of him. Perhaps he didn't see Ryūen as someone you wouldn't want to make an enemy of?

"Chill out. I'm not gonna exchange blows with a gorilla when there's nothing in it for me."

Despite having been offered a fight, Ryūen ignored his provocation and refused.

Of course, it was because there was no way he could fight in a place like this, but…

Ishizaki and the others probably thought Ryūen would accept the offer, even if they had to change places to do so.

"Is this guy really all that scary? He's bigger than Sudō and all, but…"

"Who knows."

It didn't seem like Ryūen had any intention of giving an answer right now. He just let show a slight smile before giving his next directions to his classmates.

"Let's call it a day."

"Are you really gonna just let a first-year look down on you like this?"

Ibuki was well aware that Ryūen was the type of person who'd exchange blows with anyone, no matter who it was, so she couldn't help but ask him this.

"Hah! We can settle this any time we want. It doesn't have to be now."

Ryūen responded to Ibuki with a completely calm, collected attitude.

While it would've been best for it to end with that, Hōsen walked forward, closing the distance between himself and Ryūen.

"Is that chick also one of your underlings?"

He posed this question to Ryūen, having been watching as they talked with each other just moments earlier.

"Well, somethin' like that."

"Huh? Who? Who died and made you the boss of me?"

"What, you even have chicks doin' your dirty work?"

"I could say the same to you. You're the one who brought along that pretty lil' doll of yours, aren't you?"

In a similar fashion, Hōsen had the girl named Nanase standing right next to him.

"She ain't my underling. Well, I don't really give a fuck either way. Let's take this outside, Ryūen."

"I told you I ain't doin' that."

No matter how many times Hōsen provoked him, Ryūen still wouldn't get caught up in it.

And, as if to symbolize that, he turned his back on Hōsen, illustrating his intention to withdraw.

"That so? Well then─"

Ryūen wasn't biting, and Hōsen didn't seem to find that very funny. All of a sudden, he casually extended his arm out toward Ibuki. She tried to brush his arm away as he did so, but…

Just before she could knock his arm away, Hōsen's movements accelerated, and he latched his hand around her neck and raised her up in the air.

"!?"

Ibuki frantically tried to rip his arm away as the fight or flight response flooded her brain.

However, Hōsen smiled fearlessly, his arm unyielding as if it had been cast from steel.

Ryūen turned back around, taking notice of what was happening to Ibuki.

She did whatever she could with her hands and legs to try and get away, but Hōsen didn't budge in the slightest.

"Haha! Just you try and escape, girl. That, or I don't mind if all of you pussy-ass onlookers come at me as well."

Instead of fearlessness, his expression exuded an aura of absolute self-confidence.

That being said, getting involved in the situation certainly wasn't an easy choice to make either. If you were to cause a commotion in a place like this, the school would naturally end up catching wind of it. Given that the school would inevitably get involved, nobody did anything. Nobody, that is, except for Ryūen, who stepped forward despite the surprise. He put himself right up in Hōsen's face, not so much to strike a blow on Hōsen as it was to save Ibuki. Ryūen kicked at Hōsen repeatedly, but Hōsen just casually shrugged it off even though his movement was restricted with one of his hands around Ibuki's neck.

"You bastard!"

At that point, Ishizaki, who Ryūen had previously told to stop, joined in as well.

It was turning into the type of commotion that made it hard to imagine that we were in the hallway of a school.

"Yes… yes! It was worth comin' all the way out to this school after all!"

A full-blown fight could start at any second.

However, Nanase, who had been watching in silence the entire time, opened her mouth to speak.

"Please stop, Hōsen-kun."

Hōsen was making a show out of going up against two opponents despite being handicapped by his hold on Ibuki, but when his classmate Nanase called out to him, the show stopped.

"What did you just say?"

Rather than just obediently following her request, he made full display of his irritation over the fact that she interfered.

"The upperclassmen have been worried about the surveillance cameras for a while now. Based on the circumstances, I've determined that there's nothing to be gained by lashing out here."

"No shit. I know that already. That's why I'm fuckin' around with 'em, aight?"

He admitted he was aware that our actions were limited due to the surveillance cameras.

In which case, the series of actions Hōsen had taken here was still incomprehensible.

Hōsen proceeded to ignore Nanase's request and refocused his attention on the fight unfolding before him. At that point, however, Nanase became even more forceful with her words.

"If you know what you're doing, then that's all the more reason to stop. If you continue to waste time with this pointless quarreling, I'll take matters into my own hands. You have me considering whether or not to tell everyone about 'that', right here, right now."

Upon hearing her mention the abstract term 'that', Hōsen stopped for a second time.

Then, with a dull, tedious look on his face, he released his grip, dropping Ibuki down to the floor, coughing violently as she did.

"Aight then, Nanase. But, just know that if you betray my expectations, I won't show any mercy, even to a girl like you."

"I'll gladly take you up on that when the time comes."

No matter how much Hōsen intimidated her, Nanase still spoke confidently.

She seemed so calm and composed that the fact that she was in front of the second-year classrooms didn't even seem to matter to her.

Nevertheless, this Hōsen guy was no ordinary person. Amongst all of the second-year students, there were a fair number who were proud of their fighting abilities. There were guys like Ryūen, Sudō, and Albert. However, despite being a first-year student, I could tell from just a glimpse that Hōsen was the real deal. Even if I were to confront him, I probably wouldn't be able to keep him in check. Since I had only seen a glimpse of what he was capable of, I couldn't even predict what would happen if he went all-out. The reason why Ryūen tried to stop Ishizaki from acting carelessly was probably because he judged that engaging in a simple fist-fight would put them at a disadvantage. An outrageous first-year had arrived.

"I'll stop. We did what we came for. Let's get outta here, Nanase."

"Yes. That's a wise choice."

Seemingly satisfied with everything except the fight, Hōsen turned and looked at Ryūen one last time.

"If you prostrate yourself to me, I suppose I could let you pair up with me, Ryūen-paisen."

"Sorry, but I only work together with humans. I have no intention of being with a wild gorilla."

"What a shame."

However, this unexpected turn of events didn't end with that.

Because, besides Hōsen and Nanase, there was one other first-year student who had been watching as the situation unfolded the entire time.

This student had probably gotten on Hōsen's nerves, as he turned his attention to them at the end.

"You just gonna slink around and watch, Fucker?"

"A wise man keeps away from danger. Perhaps you've never heard the proverb?"

With that, the first-year boy eloquently fended off the scowling Hōsen's question.

"A friendly conversation is one thing, but it's not a very good idea for you to cause any more trouble here, Hōsen-kun. I think you should be the one to withdraw first. Do you disagree?"

As the boy spoke those words of advice, an adult finally arrived in the hallway.

"What are you doing here, Hōsen?"

A lone man donned in a suit had come in order to break up the turmoil of the students.

And, when the man spoke, many of the second-year students who had been watching from the sidelines fled to their classrooms.

"Hōsen, I understand that you feel restless, but I'm sure you've been hounded on the school's rules to the point where your ears hurt."

"Yeah yeah, I get it."

"If you really get it, then go on and disperse. You shouldn't fight in the hallways."

"This shit wasn't even a fight."

With a scornful laugh, Hōsen put his hands into his pockets and turned away.

He had backed down unexpectedly easily, giving off an order for Nanase to retreat as well.

"I'll see ya later, Horikita."

Housen expressly dropped Horikita's name before he left… no, rather, it was more like he was saying this to Class 2-D as a whole.

"I'm sorry for the disturbance."

With that, Nanase bowed her head in a final apology, successfully drawing an end to the situation.

And then, when she raised her head, she looked at me once more before she left. It was the same look as the one she gave me when she first arrived here. That is, an inquisitive look that seemed as though she was probing for something.

But, as soon as I noticed she was looking at me, she immediately looked away and ran after Hōsen.

"I must apologize to all of you. The students of my class have caused you trouble."

The teacher apologized to Horikita, who had been watching the situation unfold from nearby.

"No…"

"While I'm at it, please allow me to introduce myself. I'm the one who's been put in charge of Class 1-D, Shiba Katsunori. Although I've only just arrived at this school, I'm looking forward to getting to know you moving forward."

After a brief self-introduction, Shiba-sensei turned around to follow after Hōsen and Nanase.

Then, as if to change places with Shiba-sensei, the eloquent first-year student who fended off Hōsen came and bowed to the second-years.

"It seems that my peer, Hōsen-kun, has gone and troubled the upperclassmen. I shall present you with yet another apology on the behalf of the first-year student body."

Unlike Hōsen, he seemed to be a student who was well versed in the art of communication.

"We first-years still don't really understand this whole special exam thing. I apologize for the inconvenience, but we'd appreciate it if you all could take care of us."

After finishing up with his apology-slash-introduction, the student began to turn his head, implying that he was about to leave as well.

But then, he suddenly noticed something, or rather, someone.

A small group of girls from Class 2-D had just gotten back from eating lunch together.

It consisted of four people: Matsushita, Kushida, Satō, and Mii-chan.

He stared at one of them, Kushida, with a surprised expression on his face.

"Everyone seems kinda shaken. What happened, Horikita-san?"

Despite taking notice of the student's presence, Kushida reached out to Horikita, curious to find out about what had taken place here.

"Nothing you guys need to worry about."

"Is that so?"

At Horikita's dismissal, Kushida shrugged, ready to return to the classroom together with her friends.

"Uhm… Are you Kushida-senpai, by any chance?"

"Eh?"

Having heard someone speak up to her, Kushida turned back around. I found myself wondering if the fact that the student knew Kushida's name meant that they were acquaintances from the past, but…

"Erm?"

Kushida looked at him with visible confusion in her eyes. The atmosphere between them seemed to leave no room for familiarity.

"Don't you recognize me? I suppose it's understandable if you don't but, it's me, Yagami Takuya."

After hearing his name, Kushida thought it over for a little bit before it dawned on her.

"Yamagi… Ah! That Yagami-kun!?"

"Indeed, that Yagami. It's been a while, hasn't it!"

"So you came to this school too, Yagami-kun! What an amazing coincidence!"

"I certainly never thought I'd see Kushida-senpai again here!"

"You two know each other?"

Satō asked curiously, to which Kushida nodded.

"Yep. Although, we've hardly ever interacted with each other. Yagami Takuya-kun. He gave me the impression that he was incredibly smart. We never said very much to each other outside of greetings because we were in different school years, though."

"Do you know anything about this?"

I whispered to Horikita to check what she knew and she responded immediately.

"Well, not really."

"You don't seem to remember much of anything about your old classmates, do you?"

"You're not wrong. Back then, I didn't have the time to pay attention to people I didn't have any interest in."

Apparently, she really didn't remember… or rather, she didn't even pay attention to it in the first place.

Given that she didn't even bother to pay attention to her own classmates, there was no way that she'd remember an underclassman.

Well, even though Kushida didn't remember him at first, a boy probably wouldn't be able to forget about Kushida once they've seen her.

After all, that was just how eye-catching her appearance truly was.

"I'm really quite lucky to attend the same school as Kushida-senpai, who I admired so much, again."

"That's too much…"

Kushida responded with humility. However, if she really did go to the same middle school as Yagami, a few concerns came to mind.

"Does this Yagami guy know about 'you-know-what'?"

I whispered to Horikita once again. My use of the term 'you-know-what' was, of course, referring to Kushida's past.

Back during her time in middle school, Kushida had brought about the destruction of her own class.

Furthermore, she saw Horikita, someone who had gone to middle school together with her and knew the truth about what had happened, as her enemy. This is because Kushida felt that it was dangerous for somebody to know what she was capable of, and wanted to get rid of Horikita as a result.

Since he had also gone to the same middle school, it wouldn't be strange if Yagami knew the story as well, but…

"I wouldn't be surprised if he did, but there's no guarantee either way."

In which case, Yagami's presence here wasn't very reassuring as far as Kushida was concerned.

Since there were people who came from the same middle school in our grade, it made sense that people from the same school could be in the other grades as well.

"I know this is sudden, but if it's you, Kushida-senpai, then I'd have no complaints. Would you be willing to partner up with me?"

Although he had only just met her again, Yagami made his offer, holding out his hand with a smile on his face.

ILLUSTRATION :

Was he trying to emphasize that he didn't know anything about her past? Or was it that it didn't matter even if he did?

"Would you really be fine with someone like me? You should pair up with someone who's better at studying, Yagami-kun."

Yagami Takuya's Academic Ability rating was an A, that is, nothing short of impeccable, so Kushida's modesty was understandable.

Horikita, who was messing with her cell phone right beside me, was looking to confirm his rating for herself in the OAA app.

"I don't know my left from right at this school yet, so I'd like to partner with somebody I can trust."

Even though the app could tell you about somebody's academics, it wouldn't tell you a thing about their personality.

That being the case, Yagami had probably decided that it'd be better to choose somebody that he knew would produce reliable results.

"Erm, well, let me think about it for a little bit, I guess…?"

It wasn't clear whether it was because she was wary of Yagami, or there was some other reason, but Kushida decided to put his offer on hold for the time being.

"Why of course. I'll hold off on partnering up with anyone and patiently await your reply, Kushida-senpai."

With an A rating in Academic Ability, there was no need for him to find himself a partner immediately.

Therefore, Yagami calmly agreed to her request.

"Damn, how lucky. I wouldn't have hesitated to pair up with ya if it were me…"

Given his E+ rating, Sudō seemed jealous of Kushida's ability to pick and choose who she'd be pairing up with.

"Then you should try harder moving forward."

"I'll definitely get me some way better scores!"

He was longing to improve himself, dissatisfied with staying where he was now.

I distanced myself from Horikita and the others for a moment.

It was because I saw Haruka beckoning me to come over to where she was standing.

She was together with the rest of the members of the Ayanokōji Group: Akito, Keisei, and Sakura.

"H-he was super scary, huh?"

The very first thing I heard after joining up with them was Airi's impression of Hōsen.

"It sure feels like there's a buncha troublemakers like Sudō-kun and Ryūen-kun in this new batch of first-years, huh?"

Having watched the whole ordeal play out from a distance, Haruka spoke, her words filled with exasperation.

Standing right beside her was Akito, who was motionlessly staring down at the end of the hallway where Hōsen had disappeared.

"Miyachi? What's wrong?"

"One hell of a guy just enrolled here. This school might get pretty stormy moving forward. That guy… Hōsen is so strong that Sudō and Ryūen can't even compare to him."

"What? You know him too, Miyachi?"

"I've never seen him in person or anything, but Ryūen and Hōsen are both quite famous back where I'm from."

Akito apparently used to live somewhat close to the middle schools that Ryūen and Hōsen attended.

"Put simply, the gang leader at my school was pretty confident in his fighting skills, but one day somethin' happened and the guy just up and disappeared all of a sudden. Not long after that, I started hearing stories about how some first-year middle schooler named Hōsen had beaten him to a pulp in a one-on-one and sent him to the hospital despite being two years younger than him."

"G-gang leader? This is like something straight outta one of those delinquent mangas! It's like, kinda spooky."

"The place I'm from is famous for how it's always attracting all sorts of delinquents."

"Huh…"

Akito had been using a lot of words Haruka hadn't heard very often, so she looked a bit bewildered.

"And just like that, Hōsen went around, tightening his grip on each of the middle schools in the area, one after another."

"Isn't Ryūen-kun famous too? It seemed like this was the first time those two met, though."

"I get the sense they just never happened to run into each other is all."

"Say, were you a delinquent too, Miyachi?"

"I… I've stopped doing that sorta stuff. I'm a proper student these days."

"So you were a delinquent after all."

"…I had a bad temper until my second year of middle school. Ever since then I channeled all of it into archery."

"So, in other words, you're saying you were a delinquent, right?"

Akito scratched his head uncomfortably as Haruka constantly hounded him with strange questions.

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Not rea~lly. Instead, it's like, kinda super cool, isn't it?"

"It's not cool at all."

It seemed like the reason why Akito was so well-informed when it came to fighting was because he had been on both sides of the issue before. It was true that we had seen things from him that suggested it before, from his nerves of steel to the agility of his movements.

"Since you're a former delinquent, what if you went and showed Hōsen what's what?"

"Stop joking around. I'm one to choose my opponent before I fight with someone, and there's no way that I'd choose to fight Hōsen."

Akito raised a white flag before a fight even took place. His words and conduct were such that, rather than admitting his own weakness, he emphasized and acknowledged Hōsen's strength.

Ibuki had a good enough sense for combat as well, but she couldn't do a single thing to stop Hōsen earlier.

The difference in their physiques was overwhelming. Moreover, she had been no match for him in terms of speed either.

(Part 2 End)