"Wang Meiyu, you're in Class D? This is our second time meeting, isn't it?"
A flash of delight crossed the blue twin-tailed girl's eyes. She clasped her little fists to her chest, visibly excited, and anyone could hear the surprise in her reply.
"Y-yes, it's me. Aragaki, you still remember me?"
"You were the first high school student I met on the bus on the first day of school, and you're from the mainland like me. I remember you pretty well, Wang Meiyu."
Meeting someone from the mainland who spoke Mandarin on the school bus on the first day of high school probably counted as some kind of fate.
Aragaki Shun wasn't the only one who thought so. When Wang Meiyu heard the familiar sound of Mandarin, she had been even more excited than he was. The normally timid girl had thrown her shyness aside and chattered away with him, complaining about all sorts of things in her life on Sakurajima.
Then the bus reached its stop, and they naturally said goodbye, promising to get in touch at school if fate brought them together again.
After that, Aragaki Shun had been busy learning all about the special rules at Advanced Nurturing Senior High School. And since he figured it might be awkward for a boy to show up in a girl's class, he hadn't gone out of his way to find the friend he'd met on the bus.
After all, they'd only been casual acquaintances who'd happened to cross paths. He'd leave it to fate.
"I-I was hoping we'd meet again, too, Aragaki. But then I heard you were busy challenging all the different clubs, so I didn't..."
Wang Meiyu's voice grew quieter and quieter, leaving her with the air of someone who'd received a gift only to lose it again.
Unlike Wang Meiyu, who could only play the role of Kushida Kikyo's invisible shadow in Class D, Aragaki Shun had been the hottest topic at Advanced Nurturing all week. Finding out which class he was in would have been easy.
Wang Meiyu had thought about going straight to Class B to find him, but the rumors about him had grown more and more outrageous, and she'd lost her nerve.
In the end, they'd only met once on the bus and chatted a little because they were from the same place. An ordinary girl like her could never have gotten close to someone like him without that chance encounter.
Especially after Aragaki Shun started challenging one club after another and beating more and more upperclassmen. The girls in her class were always bringing him up, and she'd become even less willing to admit that she and he had agreed to stay in touch.
What could an unremarkable girl like her do, aside from quietly casting a vote in the girls' popularity rankings along with everyone else?
She shouldn't get her hopes up. It'd be embarrassing if he'd forgotten all about her. The sensible thing was to bury their chance encounter deep in her memories.
But—but now he says he remembers me really well!
Has he been waiting for me all this time? Should I have gone to find him sooner? I borrowed all the books he checked out of the library, too. Should I invite him to read with me? Should we read together in the library or the dorm? Should I get him a spare key card? We haven't confessed yet, but we could live together first, right? I wonder if they sell protection at school? If I accidentally get pregnant, I'll have to drop out and raise the baby! I wonder if it'll be a boy or a girl? What should I name a boy? Twins, a boy and a girl, would be best—but what will Mom and Dad say if I get pregnant before marriage...
Aragaki Shun: "..."
What kind of strange things was this girl thinking about? Her cute little face was practically steaming like a cartoon character's.
The boy started to say something, then stopped. In the end, he said nothing and simply took out his phone to suggest:
"Since fate brought us together again, let's exchange contact information. If you ever run into trouble, you can come talk to me."
"C-contact information? I understand. Here's my phone number and email address. Please don't reject them."
Aragaki Shun was speechless again. What did she mean, "please don't reject them"?
Whatever. He felt like he'd lose if he dwelled on it, so he pretended not to hear the strange remarks and exchanged contact information with the girl as normal.
Seeing this, a whole group of Class D girls probably figured that if even Kushida Kikyo's little follower could talk so easily with a central figure from Class B, then Aragaki Shun couldn't be as scary as the rumors made him out to be. They crowded around him, curiously asking all sorts of odd questions.
"Aragaki, I heard you challenged every club at school and won tens of millions of points from the second- and third-years. Is that true?"
Aragaki Shun: "I challenged all the competitive clubs, and it wasn't tens of millions. That's an exaggeration."
"Aragaki, do you have a girlfriend at school? What type of girl do you like?"
Aragaki Shun: "I refuse to answer questions about my private life. If you have that much free time, I suggest reading a few books."
"Aragaki, what's your star sign? Do you believe people with different signs can be fated to meet?"
Aragaki Shun: "There are billions of people in the world and only a dozen or so star signs. If the kind of fate you mean is real, then the Matchmaker god must be incredibly generous."
"Aragaki, I heard you beat up the entire second-year class by yourself, and even the Student Council Vice President was left crying with his hands over his head. Is that true?"
Aragaki Shun: "Who started that rumor? I'm a law-abiding student, not some delinquent in a gang!"
"Aragaki, your class..."
Aragaki Shun experienced the downside of becoming famous all over again. Still, these were only minor annoyances. He could answer however he wanted. He wasn't a celebrity or idol who had to maintain an image in front of his fans.
While he was merely finding the Class D girls a little too noisy and growing somewhat impatient, the other Class D students looked on with envy. They even started muttering and cursing under their breath, despite the boy's bad reputation around school.
"Hey, Yamauchi, didn't you say you'd made it to the national table tennis competition in elementary school and were the ace pitcher on your middle school baseball team? Why don't you step up and teach that guy a lesson? He's stealing all the attention in class and all the girls' eyes are on someone from another class!"
A boy with a side-swept fringe sidled up to his friend Yamauchi Haruki, unhappy with the situation. He egged him on to go make a big scene.
The boy he was trying to rile up had a crude, scruffy look. Sweat broke out on his forehead as he quickly glanced toward the back of the classroom. Seeing the girls crowding around Aragaki, and figuring he couldn't hear them, he regained his swagger.
"Didn't I tell you, Ike? I got injured during a high school league game and I'm still recovering. Otherwise, I could make a pretty boy like that kneel with one hand."
36. The Three Idiots and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka
Faced with Yamauchi Haruki's bragging, his friend Kanji Ike didn't play along this time. He only looked disgusted.
"You're lying! I've thought for a while now that you're always making stuff up!"
"What? Everything I've said is true!"
"If that's true, Yamauchi, go challenge that guy from Class B! If you beat him, the girls will praise us, too. Then we can pick girlfriends from our class—or even the whole school! I really want a cute girlfriend!"
"Ike, you know..." Yamauchi Haruki lowered his voice with false gravity, as if he were about to reveal a secret. "My talent isn't something I can show off lightly. If I reveal who I am by fighting a pretty boy like him, I'll attract the attention of a massive organization rooted in darkness. Then no one at this school will be able to live in peace."
For some reason, upon hearing those words—riddled with things that begged to be mocked—the brown-haired boy beside them, whose expression was gloomy and almost blank, gave Yamauchi Haruki a strange look. The more he studied him, the stranger the feeling became. Yamauchi Haruki, under his gaze, couldn't help demanding:
"Ayanokoji, what's with that look? Are you doubting that I'm telling the truth? Is that how you treat a sincere friend?"
"I was just wondering what kind of organization could disrupt daily life at school. Advanced Nurturing Senior High School has government backing, after all."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who had been trying to fit in with his classmates, panicked at Yamauchi Haruki's accusation.
It had taken him a long time to find a group that would accept him. Sure, everyone else in class called them the "Three Idiots," and sure, his so-called friends treated him like a lackey they could order around at will...but that wasn't important. An ordinary student had to find a group to fit in with, didn't he?
"Yamauchi, you're such a liar. You can only pick on Ayanokoji. Who would believe that stuff? You make things up without even thinking. A massive organization in the darkness is after you? Why not say you're the prime minister's son, a traveler from another world, or someone who came back from the future ten years later?"
Kanji Ike clicked his tongue. He couldn't stand that even after all that, Yamauchi Haruki was using their friendship to pressure Ayanokoji.
"What do you mean, a liar? Ike, how can you accuse me like that? I was known throughout middle school as an outstanding student. No one's more honest than me. You have to believe me!"
"Sure. Keep fooling me and Ayanokoji if you want, but don't fool yourself."
After mocking Yamauchi Haruki, Kanji Ike realized that there was no way the boastful idiot would step up. So he simply went to the final member of the "Three Idiots."
He was a tall, muscular redhead who looked like a typical delinquent. His name was Ken Sudō.
Aside from their boastful talk, the other two members of the "Three Idiots" had yet to show any real strengths. Ken Sudō was different. He was one of the fittest students in the class and was good at basketball. His goal was to join the Basketball Club at Advanced Nurturing Senior High School, use it as a stepping stone, and eventually play professional basketball.
"Sudō, don't you have anything to say? That outsider just showed up and stole the attention of all the girls in our class!"
"Ike, you're annoying. If you've got a problem, challenge him yourself. Just don't expect me to go get my head handed to me."
Ken Sudō shoved Kanji Ike away, clearly in a bad mood.
"This is a surprise. Sudō can actually tolerate someone being more arrogant than him?"
Yamauchi Haruki and Ayanokoji had followed them over. Yamauchi sounded surprised.
Ken Sudō was usually like a barrel of explosives, going off at the slightest provocation. Now someone from another class had shown up and stolen the spotlight, yet he hadn't reacted at all. Was that normal?
"Aragaki did challenge the Basketball Club, after all. Sudō's temper is what it is. He probably wouldn't be this calm unless he'd experienced his opponent's strength firsthand."
"What do you mean by that, Ayanokoji?" Ken Sudō glared at Ayanokoji Kiyotaka for stating the obvious. He felt as if he'd been provoked. "Sure, I admit I'm not as good as that monster, but I could still knock you out with a couple of punches. Want to try?"
"Ah, that's not what I meant. You know I'm not good at communicating with people."
Ayanokoji waved his hands nervously. Sudō's fists were no joke, and he didn't want to end up in the nurse's office.
"Hmph! Watch what you say next time, or it won't stop at a warning."
Ken Sudō waved the others away and rested his head on his hands, settling down to sleep.
As far as he was concerned, it was better to get some rest than waste time talking nonsense in class or reading even more useless books.
That way, he could save more time for basketball practice after school.
Damn it, why did that monster have to come to Class D?
His technique was average, but his strength, stamina, speed, agility, and everything else were terrifying. Even the regular players on the Basketball Club couldn't compare.
Someone who treated the ball like a toy could still be that good. My dream's a joke. After school, I'll have to train even harder—harder than everyone else!
"No way. Even Sudō admits he's outmatched. Is there really no one in our class who can stand up and beat that devil?"
Seeing that Ken Sudō had truly gone to sleep to shut it all out, Kanji Ike slumped helplessly in his seat, looking utterly dejected.
"Sigh. Accept reality, Ike. Class D can only hope to drive away this nightmare once I'm fully recovered and back to my full strength. Then I'll be able to choose any girl in the class. Little Kushida and busty Hasebe will both be mine."
"But as a friend, I'll leave Shinohara to you. And Ayanokoji, I see you're always following Horikita around with that cold face of hers, so I won't steal her from you."
Yamauchi Haruki patted Kanji Ike on the shoulder, looking pleased with himself. He seemed to be savoring a dream that had already come true, swaying his upper body in a strange, lewd way.
"Get lost! Little Kushida is mine. Who wants that ugly Shinohara?"
"You... Don't joke around! Little Kushida's been my target from the start! We're childhood friends, reunited by fate, like we once swore to marry under a giant cherry tree! This is destiny!"
The two shoved and tussled without the slightest restraint. Ayanokoji, who had been about to say something, could only back away with a troubled expression to give them room.
"You liar! I'll never believe you again. In my mind, Little Kushida's already wearing a wedding dress."
"What's that supposed to mean? I've even imagined Little Kushida taking off her clothes in her room and striking a seductive pose."
"Damn it, Little Kushida is going to marry me. You're not allowed to think about her!"
"I'll think about her all I want. I'm going to dress her in a hundred, a thousand different uniforms..."
Their argument grew louder and louder until, at last, just as Kanji Ike had wanted, they drew the attention of every girl in the class.
Aragaki Shun watched Kanji Ike and Yamauchi Haruki bicker with interest, then looked at Kushida Kikyo, whom they were "fighting over." In the end, he could only sigh.
"Kushida, you really have it rough!"
Kushida Kikyo's smile was about to crack, but she still forced herself to maintain her sweet, adorable expression. Like a saint who repaid evil with kindness and saved the wicked, she defended her classmates:
"Ike and Yamauchi are just a little too cheerful sometimes. They're not bad people at heart, so please don't judge them too harshly, Aragaki."
The moment the words left her mouth, Kushida Kikyo felt like she was about to throw up. But she had to suppress the disgust. If she showed her true face in class, the life she'd worked so hard to build would collapse.
If something like what happened in middle school happened again, Kushida Kikyo wasn't sure whether she'd have the courage to go on living after finally resolving to start over at Advanced Nurturing, where no one knew her.
Kushida Kikyo could force herself to ignore the two idiots' rudeness because she was so stubbornly determined, but the other girls didn't have her patience.
"Little Kikyo, you're too nice. You should just give them a piece of your mind. Otherwise, those guys will keep taking advantage of you!"
A pretty girl with brown hair and blue eyes named Matsushita Chiaki looked disgusted. She clearly thought it was awful that they had classmates like those.
"Exactly, exactly! If it were me, I'd give them a good scolding. You can't let this kind of thing slide!"
A fierce-looking gyaru snapped angrily. Her honey-colored skin was adorable, and her long honey-blond hair was tied high in a ponytail behind her head.
"L-Little Kikyo, you can't just let them off so easily. O-otherwise, they'll think you're too kind to say no, and then they'll confess to you. W-what will you do?"
A stuttering girl with straight bangs and medium-length hair voiced her concern to her friend. For Inogashira Kokoro, Kushida Kikyo was the first person since the start of school to show her kindness. She couldn't let those cockroaches latch onto her.
"Every boy in this class is disgusting except Hirata. Yamauchi Haruki, Kanji Ike, and Ken Sudō are the worst. And that gloomy guy, Ayanokoji—he's not bad-looking, but he hangs around with those three. He must be just as perverted. And then there's that otaku, Sotomura Hideo..."
A short-haired girl's face twisted as she insulted every boy in Class D. She was Shinohara Satsuki, the "ugly girl" Yamauchi Haruki and Kanji Ike had dismissed.
In fact, in Aragaki Shun's eyes, the girls in Class D were far more attractive than the girls outside school. Even Shinohara would have been popular with her classmates at an ordinary school.
The only reason that idiot had called her ugly was that he'd set his sights on Kushida Kikyo. By comparison, Shinohara just didn't measure up.
"Exactly! Why don't they just die? Just thinking about spending three years in the same class as those guys who stare at girls' breasts all day makes me want to throw up."
"Why don't the teachers do something? Why would they even admit students like that to Advanced Nurturing?"
"Poor Little Kikyo. To have those awful people fantasize about you..."
"It's because Little Kikyo is just too kind..."
Aragaki Shun listened with considerable interest as the girls of Class D complained about the boys.
Perhaps because they were so often disgusted by the boys' behavior, the girls had gathered together and once again witnessed Yamauchi Haruki and the others acting absurdly. Once someone voiced her resentment, the wave of criticism couldn't be stopped.
Aragaki Shun patiently took note of their opinions about their classmates.
If their comments were mostly factual and not clouded by personal resentment, he'd have to admit that the boys in this class were the strangest bunch he'd ever encountered at school.
And if the boys were already that bizarre, what were these girls—also considered defective by the school—really like beneath their cute faces?
The school must have gone to a lot of trouble to gather such an extraordinary group of high schoolers.
"Since you have so many friends standing up for you, Kushida, I suggest you look after yourself a little. You could have your classmates back you up and report the two of them to your homeroom teacher or the Student Council. How about getting them punished?"
Kushida Kikyo's expression stiffened. She soon forced a laugh and declined. "I'd rather not. We're all classmates. There's no need to hurt each other like that."
Before you continue