Plans, Changes in the Class

Karuizawa Kei rarely wanted to save money.

She would save this 600,000 for him.

Kageya Shinjitsu had no idea what Karuizawa Kei was thinking.

Right now, he was wondering whether he should keep slacking off here for a few more days and rest before leaving. After all, someone else was footing the bill.

Once he'd made up his mind,

he looked over at Karuizawa Kei.

Kageya Shinjitsu thought of someone in the class. Perhaps he could give them something to do.

"Is something the matter?"

Meeting Kageya Shinjitsu's gaze, Karuizawa Kei asked politely.

She felt a little hopeful, too.

"You only spend time with girls, don't you?"

Kageya Shinjitsu got straight to the point.

He was thinking of what he remembered about Karuizawa Kei.

"Uh, yeah..."

"I keep in touch with almost all the girls, except for a few. I barely talk to any of the boys, apart from Hirata."

Karuizawa Kei was a little worried. Had he taken a liking to someone?

She was even more worried he'd gotten the wrong idea.

"Bring more people into your circle, especially the ones who are good at studying but aren't very good at communicating. Talk to them more and get to know them."

"If you manage it, they'll become important allies. You won't have to worry about being bullied again. You'll be able to handle things without coming to me."

Kageya Shinjitsu spoke plainly.

"..."

But to Karuizawa Kei, it sounded like he thought she was a burden.

Like he was saying:

People have to rely on themselves, don't they?

"What? Is there a problem?"

Unaware of what was on her mind, Kageya Shinjitsu simply thought she was unwilling or unable to do it.

"No problem. I'll do it."

Karuizawa Kei looked startled by his words.

"You should improve your academic skills, too. It'll help you at school and in the future. You can use that as an excuse to talk to the good students. Start with the subjects they're best at. Borrow their homework, ask them questions, and talk to them more."

Worried she might not know how, Kageya Shinjitsu made sure to offer some advice.

Cute girls had it easy when it came to getting things done.

Just like Kushida Kikyo.

If Karuizawa Kei asked, those top-performing boys probably wouldn't be able to refuse.

She could bring them all over and make sure they stopped hanging around with idiots.

"Yes, okay."

"Got it."

But Karuizawa Kei was nervous.

She was afraid she wouldn't do a good job.

Kageya Shinjitsu felt helpless, too.

After they talked for a while,

Karuizawa Kei left.

"Hope your friendships hold up."

Watching her go, Kageya Shinjitsu decided to get some rest himself.

The second-years were taken care of for now. Unless they went crazy and came after him with knives, no one should bother him for a while.

Then there was joining the Student Council. He'd wait for the president to contact him.

More than a week passed, and Chabashira-sensei finally drove Kageya Shinjitsu to class.

Maybe his constant absences were affecting the class, or maybe she simply didn't want him getting too comfortable.

Class 1-D.

The familiar lively scene greeted him. All kinds of little groups had come together to form a class, and the room buzzed with noise.

Kageya Shinjitsu entered the classroom, drawing a few people's attention.

After all, the guy who'd been on leave and disappeared for over a week had finally shown up again. It was bound to make people curious.

"Kageya, you finally showed up."

As soon as he arrived, Kushida Kikyo greeted him with a smile and looked relieved.

Karuizawa Kei watched from the other side of the room, clearly displeased.

But they'd already agreed to communicate by phone during class, so she didn't go over.

"Morning."

Kageya Shinjitsu replied, then sat down at his desk.

"I haven't seen you in days. The teacher said you were out sick."

"Are you okay?"

"I wanted to visit you a few times, but you never replied. That's so mean, Kageya. Aren't we friends?"

Even after Kageya Shinjitsu sat down, Kushida Kikyo didn't leave him alone. She came over and spoke to him warmly.

Her words were full of reproach. She'd grown used to this man's strange personality by now.

"Ah, sorry. I haven't checked my phone much lately."

That was a lie. He'd seen her messages but hadn't wanted to answer.

Kageya Shinjitsu was certain that if he'd told her he was in the hospital, she would've come rushing over to check on him.

Ah, that damned kindness.

The next thing he knew, Hirata was there too, greeting him and asking how he was.

It felt as if the class's special mom and dad were trying to get someone who'd been absent for over a week to join the group.

Too bad. Kageya Shinjitsu could only apologize to the two of them.

There was no way he was joining.

Meanwhile, at the back of the room,

"That guy finally came out."

"And look at him. I told you he was a delinquent."

"He must've gotten beaten up."

"He probably pissed someone off and got roughed up, so he stopped coming to class."

Kanji Ike and his group gathered together, watching with jealous eyes.

Sometimes, that was just how the saying about beautiful women bringing trouble worked. People's jealousy was stronger than you'd expect.

Ever since the swimming-pool incident, they'd wanted to get back at Kageya Shinjitsu.

Unfortunately, he hadn't shown his face once since then.

They could only dream of doing anything to him.

"Ayanokoji, do you have any good ideas?"

"We have to expose what he's really like."

Kanji Ike looked at Ayanokoji.

He had to admit, he'd noticed that Ayanokoji was pretty sharp about little things and had some brains.

So...

Kanji Ike turned to Ayanokoji, as if putting him in charge of their grand plan.

"Uh, that's pretty difficult."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka spoke without expression.

"Just say something," Kanji Ike urged him.

"For example, could you find one of his middle-school classmates?"

"If one of them came forward, people might find their testimony convincing."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka made the suggestion.

"..."

Kanji Ike was brimming with confidence.

"Ask around and see if anyone knows him or went to school with him."

"Isn't it possible that pretty much everyone we know is already in this class?"

Ken Sudō watched them take this seriously and added a comment.

Apart from these guys, he didn't know anyone he could call a friend or even someone he could talk to.

At most, he knew a few upperclassmen from his club, but they weren't friends.

The chances of them knowing Kageya Shinjitsu were practically zero.

"Uh..."

Kanji Ike's group's plan had already failed before they could even put it into action.

"Let's make use of the school forum."

"We could post a reward or something."

"Or just expose what he's really like."