Class A and Class D

"My name is Ran Morishita, and I am the eighteenth successor of the Kobiran-ryu Kobudo. Yay."

The blue-haired girl sitting in front of Yuto Amasawa, Ran Morishita, introduced herself with an expressionless face while raising her hand to make a peace sign by her cheek.

The atmosphere turned awkward instantly. What even was Kobiran-ryu Kobudo? No one had ever heard of it.

"Morishita-san, you're unexpectedly quite the character..." A handsome boy with long hair tried his best to force a smile. I remembered his introduction; his name was Satoshi Satonaka. The rest of the class responded with scattered, lukewarm reactions.

Ran Morishita didn't seem to mind that her strange statement had left everyone confused. She looked left and right, then nodded to herself. "A huge success."

Then, she sat down.

A huge success, my foot. That was likely what most of the students present were thinking.

"It is my turn now~" Arisu Sakayanagi stood up gracefully, leaning on her cane. Some students kindly reminded her that she could stay seated, but she politely declined.

"It is quite alright. My name is Arisu Sakayanagi. Because my legs are not very strong, I am not good at sports, but I have no problems with daily life. While I am skilled at many things—drawing, singing, piano... my favorite is chess. I once won a world chess championship. If any of you share this hobby, you are welcome to challenge me."

Arisu Sakayanagi's name sounded as if she had just returned from Wonderland.

(Note: The pronunciation of Arisu is essentially Alice, which easily brings to mind Alice in Wonderland.)

Her introduction immediately commanded respect. Combined with her attractive appearance and the elegant smile that never left her lips, it was hard not to feel a sense of goodwill toward her. She instantly pulled the atmosphere, which had been derailed by Ran Morishita's antics, back on track.

"Also, regarding the point-based evaluation that Katsuragi-kun mentioned earlier, I hope everyone will refrain from discussing it with students from other classes. There may be competition between the various classes."

As Arisu Sakayanagi sat down, she playfully winked at Yuto Amasawa, as if to say: I am looking forward to your self-introduction.

If you were hoping to see me make a fool of myself, you are going to be disappointed. Having learned from the lessons of Ayanokouji Kiyotaka in the anime, Yuto Amasawa had practiced his self-introduction with Yuki Tsubaki before enrolling.

Yuto Amasawa stood up. "My name is Yuto Amasawa. I have been studying calligraphy and piano since I was a child, and it has been nearly ten years now. I am very fond of mathematics and am currently self-studying advanced linear algebra. I have a younger sister at home who is one year my junior, and we have a very good relationship. I welcome anyone with similar interests to discuss them with me."

Yuto recited the content he had practiced with Yuki Tsubaki as if he were reading from a script.

While it wasn't exactly a roaring success, it was a standard, decent introduction. As the final student to introduce himself, it served as a stable conclusion.

Arisu Sakayanagi was somewhat surprised by Yuto Amasawa's self-introduction. She had originally assumed that Yuto Amasawa was not good at conversing and would cause the room to go cold; she hadn't expected it to go quite well.

After the surprise came delight. Yuto-kun had a side to him that even she hadn't anticipated.

If Class A was a scene of harmony, then Class D was a disaster zone.

The moment Yuki Tsubaki stepped into the classroom, she saw an acquaintance.

That black-haired, red-eyed girl who had been pestering Yuto.

Due to the homeroom teacher's laziness, Class D did not have nameplates on their desks like Class A. Instead, an A4 sheet of paper with a list of names and a seating chart was taped to the blackboard.

Tsubaki Yuki learned from the seating chart that her name was Horikita Suzune, and as luck would have it, her own seat was right next to hers.

Fortunately, Horikita Suzune only glanced at her once and said nothing. Tsubaki Yuki had no desire to take the initiative to get involved with Horikita, either.

However... Horikita Suzune? If she remembered correctly, the student council president who gave the speech at the entrance ceremony had mentioned his name during his self-introduction. He seemed to have the same surname, didn't he?

The classroom was noisy and chaotic until a stern-looking female teacher with a black ponytail walked in.

"Hello, students. This school does not reshuffle classes. I am your homeroom teacher for the next three years. My name is Chabashira Sae, and I am in charge of teaching history." She looked to be around thirty years old. Her expression was indifferent, and her voice was cold; there wasn't a hint of the enthusiasm one would expect from a teacher.

If she were sitting with her legs crossed and a cigarette in her hand, Tsubaki Yuki felt it would have suited her temperament much better.

When Chabashira-sensei mentioned that they would have 100,000 yen to spend this month, the entire class erupted as if a pot had boiled over. Almost everyone was exclaiming in surprise.

Chabashira-sensei wore a cold smile, waiting for everyone to quiet down before continuing her explanation.

After confirming that no one had any questions, Chabashira-sensei left the classroom without looking back.

"Oh my god, Yamauchi, did you hear that? We get 100,000 yen every month!"

"I heard you, Ike. I'm going to go buy the latest game console in a bit and play the newest version of Chihara Banshin!"

"Damn, you really know how to live, Yamauchi! Time to pay tribute to your waifu again!"

Listening to these remarks from people who lacked any sense of crisis, Tsubaki Yuki felt completely uninterested.

The teacher never said it would be 100,000 yen every month. Well, it seemed the intelligence of this group only reached that level.

Why would this school, which aimed to cultivate elites, recruit such idiots?

Furthermore, for some reason, Tsubaki Yuki could constantly feel the lingering gazes of the boys directed at her, which she found very repulsive.

Have these people never seen a girl in their entire lives?

A sunny boy who introduced himself as Yosuke Hirata stood up and suggested that everyone introduce themselves. Many girls agreed.

"I'm Yosuke Hirata. You can all just call me Yosuke. I like sports, especially soccer. I hope we can all become good friends and spend our three years of school life together!"

His handsome appearance and cheerful personality left a good impression on many of the girls, but as far as Tsubaki Yuki was concerned, Yuto was much more handsome.

Immediately after, a cute girl with short yellow hair raised her hand, eager to speak: "I'm Kushida Kikyo. I have a wide range of hobbies and I can do a little bit of everything. My goal is to become good friends with every student in the school! You can just call me Kikyo!"

Wow, such blinding extrovert energy.

And her chest... Tsubaki Yuki couldn't help but look down and compare it to her own...

Forget it. What was the point of comparing things like this?

That's right, it proves nothing.

In any case, the speeches from the two students who clearly looked like future central figures received a warm response, especially Kushida Kikyo's smile, which must have captured the hearts of countless boys.

Of course, there were also some less friendly reactions.

"Tch, self-introductions? I couldn't care less!" A tall, red-haired man near the back door of the classroom kicked a chair and slammed the door shut as he left without a hint of politeness.

It seems this class has a rocky road ahead...

As if waiting for this exact opportunity, Horikita Suzune also stood up and left.

Seeing that Tsubaki Yuki had no intention of moving, Horikita raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Oh? I didn't think you'd be interested in this sort of thing."

Tsubaki Yuki offered a pleasant smile. "Well, I practiced my self-introduction beforehand, so I'd still like to share it with everyone."

What she was actually thinking: Why do you care so much? Whether I leave or not is none of your business.

I hate people who don't understand personal boundaries (◦`~´◦).

"Then go ahead and play with them. I won't be joining you." Horikita said coldly before walking off on her own.

Seeing the atmosphere turn awkward, Tsubaki Yuki took the initiative to stand up and give the third self-introduction.

Thanks to her articulate speech and beautiful appearance, she immediately brought the atmosphere back on track, and the rest of the class continued with their introductions.

A boy with an unremarkable appearance stood up, placed his index finger under his nose, and began, "Hello everyone, my name is Haruki Yamauchi. I'm currently single and looking for a girlfriend. Back in middle school, I made it to the national table tennis tournament, and I was also a player in the A-league for baseball, though I haven't played in a while, so my skills have gotten a bit rusty."

Compared to Kanji Ike, who had been so nervous he couldn't even speak properly, this was at least an improvement, though the content sounded strange no matter how you looked at it. The A-league? Was that even something a middle schooler could participate in?

Besides, was it really okay to openly announce that he was looking for a girlfriend like that? If it were someone like Koenji, who was eccentric and wealthy, it might be understandable.

But no matter how you looked at him, Haruki Yamauchi just seemed like a braggart talking big.

As expected, the girls had absolutely no reaction to his words.

Just then, someone recognized Tsubaki Yuki as the pretty girl who had been waiting for someone at the school gate that morning.

"Hey, Tsubaki-san, were you waiting for someone at the school gate this morning?" The person who asked was a gal with a yellow high ponytail. I remember her name was Kei Karuizawa.