Chapter 14: Destroying the Learned Temple Along the North Moat

|COMMENTS FROM INTERVIEWER|

Due to special circumstances, an interview was not taken, but he was accepted via recommendation of the chairman. Comments are made from the observation period post-application.

An exceptional student with the potential to have been placed in class A. He has excellent academic and physical abilities and appears to have the ability to lead and direct his classmates and friends. However, he had an altercation with unknown individuals, which resulted in a coma prior to entry. Because of this, we have assigned him to class D.

Please note that the below information has only been included due to exceptional circumstances, and does not require the intervention of staff:

Yukio Kobayashi, this world is one in which one should have the freedom to do as one desires. You should not be constrained by what you expect to happen. Your mother succumbs in 2022 so enjoy your next 3 years at ANHS.

|COMMENTS FROM HOMEROOM TEACHER|

He has formed relationships with many in his class but appears to keep from displaying qualities assessed before entry. Will continue to observe.

— — —

'There's… a lot to deconstruct here.'

Yukio stared at the comments emotionlessly, while Sae stared at his face, trying to gauge, but failing to do so, any reactions to the profile.

In her first run-through of the profiles, she missed the abnormal text added to the bottom. It was only when she discovered his unusual behaviour, did she notice it and acted accordingly. He was clearly a special student to have received such an exceptional addition to his profile.

'Is this person a god? That message hints at my transmigration to this world, but how could they possibly know of it? Unless they had their part to play in it. And the comment about my mother… 2022… since this world is in 2017, is this implying she is alive? But how could that be possible if this is a different world altogether?'

Confused at the boatload of new things to process, Yukio promptly thanked Sae for her time, and walked back to the dorms.

'If that is the case… then wouldn't it be better to drop out and check on my family? But, I don't know why I feel slightly threatened by the 'enjoy your next 3 years.' Coupled with the weird message in my dream before transmigrating, I feel as though something might happen to whoever the 'mother', mentioned in the profile, is if I dropped out prematurely.'

Yukio then remembered that he was not interviewed, but rather, recommended.

'The chairman recommended me? So is that man in cahoots with whoever wrote that message? And then there's a mysterious altercation before entering the academy, even though I have no memories of my life before the bus to ANHS. But if my previous life is anything to go by, it was correct in the evaluation of my abilities.'

Remembering that he had been a class A candidate, Yukio smirked at the prospect, before realising his placement into class D was probably orchestrated by the mysterious individual and chairman Sakayanagi.

'There's just so much to unpack. I'll think about it more deeply when I get back. Given the fact that they expected me to read my student profile, I expect I will be in contact with 'them' soon.'

— — —

Waking up early the day after reading his student profile, Yukio decided to integrate a morning run into his schedule.

Having woken up at god-forsaken hours, he lethargically donned a tracksuit and made his way down the elevator.

Upon reaching the bottom floor, Yukio was pleasantly surprised to find a lone Kouenji walking into the building, with a healthy sheen of sweat across his forehead.

'The bugger is narcissistic as hell, but he sure does put in the work to maintain his self-proclaimed perfection, doesn't he?'

Yukio approached the taller boy and called out to him.

"Hey, Kouenji."

"Oh? Mathematics boy, is it? Have you decided to turn over a new leaf and follow in my footsteps?"

Kouenji, as self-absorbed as ever, replied to his greeting.

"Not exactly, no. But I do have to give kudos where it is due, though I doubt you'd enjoy being praised by a male."

'Interacting with this eccentric teenager was probably the trickiest thing I've done since arriving at this school, but besides giving myself away, there shouldn't be any problems with doing so. I wonder what he knows about the school.'

"Oh? You seem to understand how it is. Ha Ha! I wouldn't expect anything less from the kid who subdued the fraudulent teacher."

'Never mind. He knows what's up. I should've expected it though, with the way he found out Ayanokouji defeated Ryueen just by the heat emitted from his hand, or so he says. With the way Sae hasn't been meeting my eyes these past few days, an individual as observant as Kouenji probably noticed.'

Pondering over how to go about replying, he chose to feign ignorance for now. Kouenji was not the type to babble about things meaningless to himself anyway.

"Subdued… who? I think there's been a misunderstanding. I was going to ask what the nickname was for."

"Mathematics boy? You act ignorant despite knowing the cause. Heh… even with your so-called friends too. How crafty."

Yukio appeared confused, while Kouenji grinned knowingly.

"There's no need to act before me. I don't care for the trivial secrets of small fry. So rest assured, your secret is inconsequential to me. So long, Mathematics Boy."

Leaving the young adult with reassurance that his secret would not be exposed, Kouenji headed to the elevator while Yukio stared at the blonde student's back.

'That was… something. I'm getting a sense of deja vu with the way the conversation went. Well anyways, I would've liked to expel him if it wasn't so hard to, and if he hadn't been such a useful, but troublesome, element of class D. Hm… expelling Kouenji would take out a lot of the fun too. At least I've figured out a lot of actions I don't try to hide will easily be figured out by a genius like Kouenji. In the future, I'll take countermeasures against it, only when required though.'

Putting the conversation to the back of his mind, Yukio left the building and began his run, while reminiscing on memories of his past life.

— — —

After school on the same day, Yukio was sitting at a table helping the failing students Hirata had gathered for his study group.

A few of the students found it odd that despite his high marks on the quiz, Yukio passed on any help required from specific subjects to the other helpers.

'They probably think I aced everything in the quiz besides the hardest two math questions. It would probably be fine to tell them otherwise, but I wouldn't want them to idolise me too much, lest I get targeted for being too smart later on.'

"Kobayashi-Kun, do you think sensei is tricking us again this time?"

'Well that was out of the blue, but surprisingly right on the mark. Who was it?'

Spotting one of the failing students' faces, he noticed it was an extra. Keeping the boy's image in his head, he decided to reply perfunctorily.

"I'm not too sure. We just have to remain wary of everything Sensei says."

Receiving a disappointing response, the boy sulked but got back to his work, as Yukio wondered about the misconceptions the class currently had about the pass mark.

'If I remember correctly, it was 32 on the class quiz, and several points higher on the first mid-term. I'm helping these kids reach a level where they should pass comfortably, but it's inevitable that Sudou and Ike will be caught out. Will sensei change their answer sheets if they manage to pass? Whatever… that's on her.'

Putting the details of the second favour to the back of his mind, as he did to troublesome things, Yukio pondered on his relationship with his two friends- Nene and Chiaki.

'It's getting kind of obvious at this point. Nene is probably egging Chiaki into… asking me out, maybe? I don't really know, but do I want to be in a relationship beyond friendship with Chiaki?'

Yukio understood both the girls were beautiful, especially with the standards in this world being several points higher than his own, but he had only until now, considered them as friends. Friends who helped him understand the confusing gender that was girls and helped him settle into the school easier.

Chiaki was someone who looked after him, which was something he enjoyed. On top of being beautiful, what drew him in was her secretive side. She kept everyone at a distance from herself, but curiosity and a sense of being the first to unmask her pulled him towards exploring her as a person.

'It would definitely be fun to be in a relationship to get closer to her, and unmask her from within, but then when I think of it from that perspective, does that mean she wouldn't be willing to be in a relationship while at ANHS?'

Yukio also thought about the meaning of a relationship, and getting into one just because he was curious about her did not sit right with him.

However, the thought that Nene was egging Chiaki into something beyond friendship did cause Yukio to begin to see Chiaki in a different light. And it also would mean Nene thinks they are suited for each other.

'But how can I forget that we're in ANHS. A relationship like that… would be a massive weakness. Especially if someone like Nagumo targeted the person I was romantically interested in.'

Yukio decided he would only consider a relationship, if at all, with Chiaki, once she had opened up with him about her more reserved side. He would probably have to do the same if he was right about the fact that she knew he was more than met the eye.

— — —

Later that evening, Yukio, with a bit of planning and a heap of luck, managed to witness the fated first confrontation between Ayanokouji and the older Horikita.

'It seems, despite the butterflies, these two were fated to meet, huh? It'd be quite cool if there was something like fate trying to bring the plot back on track, but how can there be something so convenient in this world.'

Yukio thought of the idea, thinking about how that would make his life in the advanced nurturing high easier, but dismissed it when he realised what he planned to do to the class sooner or later, that should change the attitude of class D.

'I haven't got any designs yet for either of these two that wouldn't throw me right into the spotlight, so I'll keep this situation in the back of my mind. I wonder if there's any way I can have either of them teach me to fight.'

And while thinking about how useless the judo club was, he made his way back to the dorms to get some sleep.