Chapter 3

It's been a week since the entrance ceremony. Apparently it was time for us to have a physical education class. One I would not be participating in. Swimming.

Whenever I thought about swimming I would have those memories of me being trained day and night at the mansion. Just so I could be an excellent swimmer. There were times when I just wanted to tell them I was exhausted so they should stop, but I just couldn't. It was basically impossible. If I did so, I would be scrapped as a failure who broke down from the stress. So I endured. It didnt mean that now that I was free from their surveillance I was going to engage in swimming.

In fact, I was planning on avoiding any task that required me to get physically active. That was why I ignored Yesterday's club fair.

Then there was also the other reason why I didnt want to go for this swimming class. As I looked behind the glass window, I could see some boys, perving out on the girls in swimsuits. This much was expected, but did they have to make it so obvious?

I sat next to Sakura. It seemed like she also didnt want to participate. It was obvious she was shy so I didnt try to make much out of it.

If I had gone, would she have followed me?

I thought of something like that. I figured the chances were about 50-50. Anyways this suited me perfectly. I had no interest whatsoever in this class. It seemed like I wasn't the only one. Quite a few girls came over.

I could see a certain group of boys pointing their fingers at us. And in front of me, a fat otaku-like boy looked around, flustered. Obviously their plans to peep on us had been foiled.

Idiots! Disgusting perverts!

I wanted to shout it so bad but decided to ignore them. But, I did hear a girl's name mentioned so I was quite interested in where this would go. Suddenly the little devil which slept in my brain decided to go to work.

"Hey, Hasebe-chan."

I called to the blue haired beauty who sat some distance to my right. I was wondering it she dyed her hair or it was natural. I doubted the latter.

She looked at me.

"What is it?"

"It seems like a group of boys were talking about you."

I said, pointing at the lot of perverts I caught. I didnt forget to add the fatty who introduced himself as Satomura-kun. I hoped a cold sweat ran down his back right now because he was frozen in place. If they hadn't made the mistake of screaming out her name, I wouldnt have caught them. Thankfully they were dumb. What made it all the more better was that Ayanokoji was in their group. Truly a Godsend.

She then glared at them, then at Satomura-kun.

"Hey! What were you talking about?!"

She ordered. Satomura-kun couldn't possibly move. Because now, all the girls in the observation deck were glaring at him.

"Are you deaf?! Answer me!"

Hasebe-chan was barking at him at this point. No one liked being the topic of discussion if it was about something they deemed negative.

He slowly turned around to us and bowed is head apologetically.

"I'm sorry, but I have no ide-"

"What the hell?! Dont lie to her! Tell her the truth!"

Another girl screamed, cutting him off.

"Disgusting pervert."

"Gross fatso."

The girls started insulting him. This was going swimmingly. I smirked in my head as I looked at the trembling fool.

"I-I'm sorry b-but I can't-"

"Can't what?"

Hasebe-chan asked.

Now Sotomura was completely at the mercy of the girls. If he had any plans of getting close to us, they had been completely wrecked. We could make him do almost anything for us now. I wanted to laugh at him so bad. Any friend of Ayanokoji's is an enemy to be crushed. That was my mentality.

Sotomura-kun prostrated himself before us and.... wait... was he crying? What the hell?!

Fufufufufu

Holding back the urge to laugh was hell, but I endured it. If I laughed at this point, I wasn't sure if I would still looked dignified and calm.

"I'm sorry but I was planning on looking at the girls to judge their bust size. And you were a contender."

He finally blurted it out. All the girls turned silent. Certainly hell was going to break lose on this poor fellow. I would only wait and see. Hasebe looked like a vein in her head had popped. The other girls simply glared at him. Even, the shy Sakura had a disgusted look when she saw his figure.

I was thinking of making this all the more extreme. If he answered my next question honestly, he was a bigger fool than I thought.

"So who won?"

I asked. I could feel the gazes of every girl on me.

"What are you asking for Tatsumaki-san?"

"Yeah. You want to listen to what that pervert thinks of our boobs?"

I expected this much so,

"You guys cant tell me you aren't the littlest bit interested in what the boys think of us, can you?"

The girls turned silent for a moment. Hasebe-San though, looked pretty pissed and disgusted but had a scary smile nonetheless.

"Go on Sotomura-kun. Who won?"

She asked. Now I had cut off any and all escape routes for Sotomura-kun, that is if there were any in the first place.

Sotomura-kun gulped as he looked at us. Sweat run down his fat figure and it was as if he was losing a ton of calories in that instant.

"F-from wh... what the boys discussed. The girl would have to be..."

He made a pause. This only made the other girls more angry.

"Out with it already!"

Someone ordered. Truly, this was hell for the young lad.

"Tatsumaki-san!"

He screamed.

Eh?! Eeeeehhhh?! What? How? Huh? Wait! What?

"Eeeeeehhhhhh?!"

I blurted out. I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks. This was a possibility I had thought of but shot down as non existent. Hasebe and Sakura's were definitely bigger than mine. What the hell is this?

"Oi oi. Tatsumaki-san. Topic of discussion for the perverts!"

A girl mused.

"Fufufu..."

It seemed this had turned out with an unexpected result. I was so pissed right now.

I glared at the fatty who still prostrated himself before us.

"Who were the other boys?"

I asked. I didnt need to, as I had already seen them. But I wanted to hear it from him.

"B-boys?! W-what could you, you possibly mean?"

"Dont try denying it. Just now you said you discussed this with some boys. And I could see you talking to Ike Kanji, Yamauchi Haruki and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka! You perverted lot!"

"Hugh! Gross!"

The girls begun to voice complaints. I would never live down this shame. This was a huge miscalculation on my part. I put my face in my lap in shame and Sakura started patting me on the back.

I could tell she hesitated a bit before doing that but I was grateful that she did. I looked up at her. She was still a bit shy but now she could look me in the eye and give a nervous smile. Definitely an improvement.

"Alright everyone, gather around-"

A teacher called to everyone. His voice was loud enough to reach even those on the observation deck, so he caught our attention. It was a young handsome man with a good build. Probably a ladies man but definitely not my type. I was guessing he was the P.E teacher.

He begun saying something to them but I couldn't hear him. It was probably not important if he didnt say it for those not present to hear. It seemed like they were all going to warm up. After a bit of exercise,  everybody got into the crystalline pool and swam the full 50 m. Apparently some didnt know how to swim so they were allowed to touch the bottom of the pool with their feet.

"Hey Sakura-chan, do you know how to swim?"

I blurted out unconsciously.

"N-no not really."

She said.

"Then shouldn't you have gone for the class?"

I asked. She looked down and the answer was pretty obvious. She couldn't go for the class. I decided to cheer her up a bit.

"Want me to teach you?"

I asked.

What the hell did I just get myself into?

I really didnt want to enter a pool anytime soon. Yet, I didnt hesitate to offer to help her swim. I wonder why that is.

She looked at me with eyes that said 'you can?'

I just smiled gently.

"I may not look like it, but I'm a pretty good swimmer."

"S-sure. Thank you."

Honestly how did I get myself into performing physical labor?

Suddenly that pervert Ike started screaming something about how good he was at swimming. I didnt see anything special about it though. At most he was pretty average.

After a while, it seemed like they were about to compete. This was a good chance to find those who were athletic in the class. Apparently the girls were starting first. There were 10 girls present, so 5 girls would race at a time.

"Kushida-chan Kushida-chan Kushida-chan Kushida-chan Kushida-chan. Haha Haha!"

This pervert again? What is up with his hormones?

It seemed like his friends were trying to calm him down but that idiot didnt understand why.

"Everyone, make sure to remember this sight! Today's fap material has been secured!"

"Yea!"

A chill ran down my spine when I heard those words. Those idiots were so loud most of the girls in the observation deck heard them. Sotomura-kun was still prostrated before us so we ignored him. Those idiots were really getting on our nerves.

The whistle blew and the race begun. The black haired girl from earlier who I later found out was called Horikita Suzune took first place with a time of 28 seconds. She wasn't half bad, but she couldn't beat me if that was the case.

She came out of the pool, calmly breathing. It was almost as if she didnt just go for a swim. Oh well. Nothing about that.

The second race begun. Then the thirsty dogs begun to start barking at the sight of the girls. No. More like they were barking at the sight of Kushida-chan.

She was quite the friendly person. Even one of my first friends made in the school. She did say she wanted to be friends with everybody. Looks like she had accomplished her goal. Still... there was this feeling that I should be wary of her. It wasn't like I was going to blurt out any secrets or anything to anybody, but still. I wondered what this feeling was.

The second race was a landslide victory for Onodera-san, with a time of 26 seconds. She was pretty fast. Definitely the fastest female swimmer in our class. I paid no attention to those who couldn't claim first place.

Afterwards, the best swimmers from both races competed. Onodera-chan easily won first place and Horikita-san came in second. That much was expected.

Next was the boys race. This time Ayanokoji was participating. I had decided this was not even a race. He would definitely be faster than anyone else in the class. Which is why the result was all the more shocking.

The red haired delinquent, Sudo-kun came in first place, with a time of 25 seconds. Truly impressive but I already anticipated that he would be a fast swimmer.

Ayanokoji on the other hand came in 10th. With a time of 36 seconds. What the hell just happened? No. I came to the conclusion that Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, had decided to hold back. If I made the mistake of thinking that Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was in reality an average student, I would surely regret it. Underestimating my enemy would be my worst mistake. Still, it didnt change how I was planning to live my life here. If he wants to hold back, it didnt mean any thing for me. It just made things a little bit trickier.

After his win, Sudou had gained admiration from some of the students, as he had gotten an excellent time without breaking a sweat. People begun to gather around him. It was so funny how society saw a person as useless until the person decided to show their talents. It was utterly disgusting. Sudo is still that useless delinquent. Being a little fast in the pool didnt change my perspective of him.

The next race begun and this one had the girls excited. It was because Hirata was participating. His figure wasn't as impressive as Sudo's however there was a certain charm to his slender muscular physique. I couldn't really explain it. Maybe it was because it was Hirata?

I could see some of the boys glaring at him.

The teacher blew the whistle and the race begun. Hirata won impressively. At the beginning he already created a gap between himself and the other students, and he maintained that gap till the end, taking first place with an impressive  26.13 seconds.

I felt like I would grow deaf from the way the girls behind me were cheering him on. As he got out of the pool, the girls swarmed him. Definitely the most popular boy in Class D. The face of Class D, perhaps?

Then there was another weirdo who popped up. I wanted to cover my eyes from the disgusting sight. It was Koenji-kun and he was wearing.... speedos. What the heck was up with that?

"Wait... is that how big he is?"

A girl whispered. Things like this were flying about in the observation deck. I could see Sotomura-kun probing his head, gathering information he was probably going to share with the boys. Oh well, nothing to do about that.

Anyway, there was no doubting that Koenji looked like an athlete. His physique was definitely the best. His height and well defined muscles complemented each other perfectly. And the pose he struck was so awe-inspiring. Why was he posing?!

At the sound of the whistle, Koenji jumped into the pool. There was no doubting that Koenji was the fastest student in Class D. With an amazing record of 23.22 seconds. I think I let out a gasp in shock.

He got out and started muttering something. His calm figure looked divine, almost as if he never swam.

"I'm fired up....!"

Sudo roared in excitement. Seems like he was really anticipating his race against Koenji-kun. It was obvious who was going to win this race, but I still couldn't help but get excited.

The race begun. It was a tight race at the beginning but Koenji-kun sped up and passed Sudo by 5 m. Pretty good match if I do say so.

From today I could see there were a few athletic people in this class. Still not enough for me to pin point a white room student though. But now I did have a few candidates. I saw Kushida talking to Ayanokoji later on. She could possibly be a white room student. I would have to have a proper conversation with her though. I always get the feeling that she is hiding something.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After school today, I was heading to the mall with Sakura-chan. On our way out of the school, I noticed Ayanokoji and Kushida talking to each other. This deepened my suspicions of the girl called Kushida Kikyou. I would have to monitor her closely.

Our purpose today was to get Sakura-chan a digital camera. We spent a whole lot of time, looking around from camera to camera. Since it was Sakura-chan's I had to wait for her to make her own decision. Something that she would like.

She kept on talking about specs and what not. I really didnt understand what she was talking about. A camera was just a camera right? I understood that there were different picture qualities and all, but still I would pick any camera I saw.

She finally picked a pink digital camera and we went to the counter to buy it.

"Yes... that will be 3000 points."

The man said. I instantly stiffened. It's not like I was the one paying, but 3000 points was a bit much, wasn't it? All for a digital camera?

"Hey! But when we picked it out the price tag said 1,650 points."

I argued.

"Yes. That's the camera alone. There will be-..."

Then the clerk begun to talk about something which I had no interest in. I sighed and decided to pay the other half for Sakura-chan. She looked really grateful to me but when we got out, she asked me a question.

"Hey. Tatsumaki-San."

"Hmm?"

"W-why dont you like using your points?"

It was quite a reasonable question. And the answer was a simple one too.

"I dont trust the school."

She looked at me as if wanting to say "don't trust the school?"

I sighed and begun to explain

"Do you really think this school, will give students, 100,000 yen every month for 3 years? Think about it. There are 160 students in our year alone. Giving each student 100,000 points a month alone is equivalent to spending 16,000,000 yen per month. Then theres 12 months in a year which would mean spending 192,000,000 yen on our grade alone. Even if this is a government funded institution, spending such money on students who could possibly disappoint is a risky move."

I calmly explained to her. She looked down in thought. If it was someone else I wouldnt have answered them, but since its Sakura-chan i decided to.

"Just be careful with how you spend your points, ok? I feel like something dangerous is going to happen at the end of the month."

I said so, and we both walked back to the dorms quietly.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Around 7pm, I begun to feel hungry. I had been so engulfed in my books that I forgot completely about getting something to eat. I checked the refrigerator but there was nothing there. I sighed at my own negligence and decided to go out to the convenience store. They should still be open at this time. So with that mentality, I grabbed my red hoodie and left the dorms.

This would be my second time at the convenience store, so I decided to have a good look around. There was almost no body around at this time. They were all probably asleep.

There was really almost anything I would need there. Even contraceptives.

Wait?! Why do they have contraceptives here? Do they expect us to...

I decided to stop thinking about the trivial stuff and look for something to eat. As I surveyed I found something called Ramen. It looked really good so I was interested in trying it out. I picked up two packs of Ramen and went to the counter.

"I'd like to buy these."

I set them down on the counter.

"Would you like me to heat them up?"

The clerk asked.

"Just one, please."

He nodded and took it to the back. I was wondering how he could easily leave his post without worry, then I noticed that there were cameras posted all around the place. It would take a lot of confidence and skill to steal from this place.

Just then I noticed someone walking next to me. It was a girl i didnt recognise and she was still in her uniform. She had magenta coloured hair.

She seemed to be in a rush as she walked past me. As I looked at her figure I could tell why. A part of her skirt  was lifted up. Some could say it's because her hands were there, but I could tell there was something there. She was shop lifting. I wasnt going to snitch on her or anything, but i did take an interest in her.

As soon as she left the clerk returned with my package in hand and I swiped my students ID, paying the required amount of points, before running out after her.

She was speedily walking and I understood why. I figured shouting would only startle her and make her run so I run up to her then grabbed her by the shoulder.

"Hey there."

I said. She seemed startled for a bit but regained her composure.

"Excuse me, but what do you want?"

She asked.

"You're so straight to the point."

"Sorry but if you don't intend on answering me right now, I'll have to leave."

She was trying to run away.

"Why are you in such a hurry?"

I was trying to annoy her and it seemed like it was working

"Sorry, but that does not involve you."

"Oh my. You sure? I'm sure as a concerned student who just witnessed someone shop lifting, it is."

"Wha...?!"

I smirked at her, then she sighed in defeat.

"So what? Are you gonna tell on me?"

Yare yare, this girl...

"No. My name's Tatsumaki Shiro, a student from Class D. You are?"

"Masumi Kamuro, From Class A."

"Class A? Then you must be pretty smart, huh?"

She glared at me. I could understand why she wanted to be careful around me. But there was no need as I didnt plan on telling on her.

I saw a bench up ahead and lead us both to it. Then i took out my Ramen and begun to eat it.

"Is this your first time doing this?"

I didnt expect the truth to come from her. Then again, this was only the first week. If she had tried this before i would have a lot of questions.

"Yep. Now it's my last time doing it. Don't want any more people catching me."

I took a scoop of my ramen. I think I just found my favourite food. I couldn't hide how excited I was. I was right to have bought 2 of them.

"Ramen is so good~!"

I squealed. The girl took out the item she had stolen from the convenience store. It was a can of beer. I had noticed that they were selling beer at the convenience store, but I doubted they would allow us to buy them. Was that why she stole it?

"Pfff"

The can fizzled as she open the top.

"You sound like this is your first time eating Ramen."

She then elegantly took a sip of the beer. I was shocked that she wasn't scared to drink it in front of me, who could easily say she stole it. Or had she already prepared for the consequences?

"You want some?"

I asked her.

"No. Have it to yourself."

I simply shrugged and continued eating away.

"So. If you weren't going to tell on me why did you call me?"

"I dont know. You seemed interesting is all."

I nonchalantly replied. I expected her to be shocked by my response. If she wasn't, I would.

I looked at her and she was staring at me wide eyed.

"What?"

With a mouthful of ramen I asked. The ramen was so good that I forgot my manners. Not that manners mattered when talking to a thief though.

"Nothing."

"Hey. Wanna be friends?"

I asked. She just stared at me as if I was insane.

"What?"

"No. It's nothing. I just realised you're crazy, aren't you?"

"What makes you say that?"

"Nothing. Nevermind"

She said with something I think was a genuine smile, then took a sip of her beer. And genuinely speaking, I wanted to be friends with this crazy shop lifter. And that's how I started to get close to Masumi. Quite the odd encounter.