Rude, reckless, impolite, idiot...
In an instant, every adjective anyone could think of to describe a troublemaker was being pinned on the red-haired boy.
To make matters worse, he'd publicly humiliated Hirata Yōsuke, who was gradually becoming the center of the class.
"Who does that guy think he is? What's with the attitude?! Like any of us even wanted to hear his introduction!"
"Exactly! We were just trying to be nice, and he throws it back in our faces. Why did someone like him end up in our class?!"
The class quickly erupted in criticism of the boy. Unexpectedly, though, Hirata Yōsuke didn't look upset about having lost face.
Instead, he spoke up to defend him.
"Everyone, please calm down. I think he's probably just not used to the new environment yet. I'm sure things will get better once we've gotten to know each other. After all, we're classmates, right? Aren't we?"
Seeing that Hirata had said as much, the others didn't feel they could keep getting angry. They followed his lead and settled down.
That didn't change the fact that their first impression of the rude idiot was about as bad as it could be.
After the little interruption, the self-introductions continued in an orderly fashion.
"I'm Yamauchi Haruki. I made it to the national table tennis tournament in elementary school, and I was the ace pitcher for my middle school baseball club. I wore number four! But I got injured during a high school league game, so I'm still recovering. Nice to meet you~"
Yamauchi Haruki seemed like a frivolous guy. He went on and on about his past achievements, but...
Why would a middle schooler compete in a high school league?
Given the impression the guy gave, Shintō Katsuya immediately realized that aside from his name, the rest of what he'd said was probably all made up.
"I'm next!"
A lively voice rang out. It was the girl who had helped the old woman on the bus that morning.
"My name is Kushida Kikyo. None of my middle school classmates came to this school with me, so I'm all alone. That's why I hope I can quickly learn everyone's faces and names, and become friends with you all."
"I love making friends, so I hope everyone will exchange contact information with me after introducing yourselves! My dream is to become friends with everyone!"
And with that, the energetic girl's introduction came to an end. With her sweet face, cute voice, and innocent dream, it was only natural that she immediately became another focus of the class.
Once things had settled down, Hirata went over to the yellow-haired boy who'd refused to give up his seat that morning.
"Next, it's your turn. Could you introduce yourself?"
Since the boy had been fussing with his hair using a comb and a small mirror the whole time, Hirata wasn't sure what sort of personality or habits he had.
Fortunately, the boy wasn't short-tempered. He slowly opened his eyes, struck an exaggerated pose, and replied:
"Very well. I am Koenji Rokusuke, the only son of the Koenji Conglomerate. I am destined to shoulder the burdens of Japanese society. I look forward to your guidance, young ladies~"
The Koenji Conglomerate was a household name in Sakurajima. Everyone knew it.
As the conglomerate's young heir, Koenji had a reasonable share of wealth and power beyond most people's imagination. But the girls in the class didn't seem to look at him with sparkling eyes. Instead, they thought the boy in front of them was strange.
Even Hirata couldn't help twitching at the corner of his eye. Just as he was about to say something, Koenji added:
"Also, if anyone does anything that displeases me, I will punish them without mercy... So do keep that in mind."
"Koenji, what exactly do you mean by that?"
"Ha! I detest ugly things more than anything. Surely even your limited intellect can understand what I mean by that?"
Understand? Not a chance!
Who knew what this bizarre guy considered ugly?
Looks, personality, or something else entirely?!
Though Shintō Katsuya had dealt with Koenji plenty of times, all he'd concluded was that Koenji was absolutely nuts!
The guy seemed to have his own unique system for judging beauty and ugliness, and had unknowingly caused Shintō plenty of unnecessary trouble in the past.
"Ah, I see. I'll keep that in mind. Thank you for introducing yourself."
As expected of Hirata. Even though he didn't understand either, he still politely nodded to Koenji before walking over to Shintō Katsuya.
"Next, it's your turn."
After seeing so many oddballs in a row, even Hirata looked a little exasperated. All he could do was hope that there wouldn't be any more weirdos among the few classmates left.
Fortunately, Shintō seemed like a normal person. (Did he, though?)
"Sure. My name is Shintō Katsuya. I like listening to music and reading novels, and I especially love all kinds of sweets. I hope I can become good friends with everyone in the class, and that we can study and live together!"
"That's great, Shintō! Thank you for introducing yourself!"
Hirata secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He wished everyone could be as easy to deal with as Shintō.
But after finishing his introduction, Shintō Katsuya once again felt an unsettling gaze on him... and goosebumps immediately crept all over his body.
That perverted flying-fish-head sitting in the gloomy corner was staring at him with an expression that was hard to describe.
The guy was probably just envious of how easily Shintō had managed to give a normal self-introduction. But to Shintō, there was no doubt about it: the guy was gay!!
And for some reason, he'd singled Shintō out!
As Shintō's thoughts spiraled, the gloomy boy finally began his halting introduction:
"Um, I'm Ayanokōji... Kiyotaka... Ah... I'm not particularly good at anything... Nice to meet you... Ah... That's all..."
If the guy had social anxiety, his voice was so calm and flat that he didn't seem nervous or afraid at all.
But if he didn't have social anxiety, it was hard to imagine a normal high school boy giving such a strange introduction.
Was he just naturally bad with words?
Of course not!
Shintō Katsuya was certain there was something wrong with this guy!
Whatever anyone else thought, Shintō was convinced this Ayanokōji boy had to be the secretly flirtatious type! He was using some inborn condition to draw everyone's attention. With that cold voice and unapproachable aura, he was sure to attract cheerful, outgoing boys!
Late at night, the pitiful Ayanokōji nestled in the arms of the sunny, handsome Hirata.
"Yōsuke... I'm scared..."
"Don't be. I'm here!"
Shintō suddenly saw the light. That crafty Ayanokōji... Had he actually been interested in Hirata all along?
Before you continue