The Impact on Teenagers Is Incalculable / Letting No One Down

"First Experience--"

Before Kitagawa Ryo could react, Yuki had already gently embraced him, and when she looked up, she had the same bright smile as when they first met in the White Room.

"This time it will definitely be perfect!"

The girl was full of confidence.

"This is Arisu..."

"It doesn't matter."

Before the question could even leave his lips, a Kitagawa Ryo finger had already pressed against them.

"If Arisu wakes up, let's go together."

As she spoke, Xue tiptoed again and whispered in his ear:

"Hey--isn't this the ending that Ryo wanted to achieve in his last life, even though he was Indecisive and dragged it out until the very last moment?"

Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Incalculable Impact on Adolescents

As evening approached, Hotaru, who had been waiting in an empty room (not really), finally saw Kitagawa Ryo return. Faced with the kitten who immediately started boasting about her accomplishments, Kitagawa Ryo felt rather complicated.

If we only look at the result and ignore the process, Hotaru's actions today were just like her unauthorized actions towards Horikita Suzune on Valentine's Day. In the end, it did play a very crucial role, but the price was that Kitagawa Ryo was caught off guard and betrayed every time. It all depended on his own ability to adapt to the situation, combined with his sister's actions not long ago. After several times, it almost gave him some kind of psychological trauma.

Oh, this time it's not just psychological trauma; the physical strain hasn't been much less either.

In fact, even if she was pretending to faint, Sakayanagi Arisu probably wouldn't have been able to calmly continue watching him and Yuki make do with whatever they had on hand in his room. Therefore, the former woke up even faster than Kitagawa Ryo had imagined.

Bad news: The first thing I saw when I woke up was Yuki, who had boldly declared that she would give Kitagawa Ryo a perfect first experience, and she was putting her promise into practice.

Good news: The other person's situation was very similar to hers not long ago, and they were no longer able to carry out any sarcastic remarks or actions on their own.

Sakayanagi Arisu's own reaction to this situation was quite intriguing. She acted like a child in kindergarten whose favorite toy had been taken away, using the simplest pushing technique to try to get it back.

Then came the incredibly childish back-and-forth between the two of them, which Kitagawa Ryo absolutely did not want to recall. For a moment, he even wondered if he had returned to the time when he was the caring older brother and confidante in the White Room, or if he had traveled to some other world.

As it turns out, sometimes very simple emotions can be expressed with very simple words. And because they are so simple and plain, they are easily mistaken for childish venting. Regardless of whether the two of them forgot about it after they finished arguing, Kitagawa Ryo has already decisively thrown those words she heard today into the deepest part of her memory as if they never happened.

Whenever one party's emotions become excessive, this healthy older brother has to intervene immediately by either punishing both sides equally or giving the good child a treat, emphasizing fairness and ensuring everyone gets a share.

It must be said that when the physical revelry grows large and lush, absorbing all the body's nutrients and occupying all the brain's reserves, other senses will naturally become increasingly thin and weak. Everything will become more and more annoying the more you think about it. But at least for today, Kitagawa Ryo can guarantee that Sakayanagi Arisu and Yuki will have no other thoughts to worry about. And today's memory will replace some of the past and take firm root in their minds.

Although it's often said that the relationship between the three of them is inextricably linked, before this, both Sakayanagi Arisu and Yuki had actually been too clear about their own relationships. They only considered the relationship between themselves and the other person, and between themselves and Ryo. They never thought about the relationship between the other person and Ryo, let alone the shared memories between the three of them.

Ultimately, the three of them don't seem to have any shared memories. They can't really include the fact that he and Sakayanagi Arisu were recording a variety show on stage while Yuki was clapping in the audience, since that would fit the point mentioned above.

From Sakayanagi Arisu's perspective, this was a matter between her and Ryo. She didn't know there was an audience member in the audience, and even if she saw him, she pretended not to see him.

From Yuki's perspective, this was a matter between her and Ryo, an effort by Ryo to get her out of the White Room, not to mention the subsequent flashback of the first snow they watched together.

So, besides objectively having said most of what he had been holding back in his heart, Kitagawa Ryo was more satisfied that today he had at least created memories for the three of them together.

Let's not even talk about whether these memories are legitimate or precious; just tell me whether they're unforgettable or rare.

After the two of them kept the items, when they thought of each other again, their minds were no longer filled with the events of the White Room, but rather with the events that had occurred in Arisu's room.

But that doesn't mean Kitagawa Ryo can let Hotaru off easily, especially since she's now brazenly wagging her tail in front of him, acting all smug and asking for praise. She's really gone too far.

To be honest, the advantage of cat form is that you won't feel anything even if you get hit a couple of times. Anyway, Kitagawa Ryo finds it hard to imagine himself picking Hotaru up, placing her across his lap, and hitting her back and butt a couple of times.

"Meow--"

Knowing that she had indeed put on quite a show for Kitagawa Ryo these past two days, the kitten was surprisingly well-behaved today and didn't try to avoid it. However, after making a couple of dramatic whimpers, she stood up energetically again and dashed back to her little nest to sleep.

Showing director's cuts to people for several days in a row is taking its toll; this author of Chronicle of Time is also a bit overwhelmed and needs a good rest.

"Next time you do these things, you must tell me in advance, otherwise I'll leave you with Ying outside the school to raise next time I leave campus."

"Meow?"

Seeing that Kitagawa Ryo seemed to really intend to abandon her off-campus, Hotaru quickly climbed out of her little nest and rubbed against his wrist in a coquettish manner, almost as if she were raising her two little paws to declare her loyalty.

"Meow!"

"When I give Arisu and Yuki their first simulation next time, just don't mess it up. You're not allowed to change a single word. I want to watch it with them too."

After patting Hotaru's little head, Kitagawa Ryo once again offered this message, not forgetting to make a grand promise at the end:

"If she behaves well, we won't send Hotaru out of school."

The kitten nodded vigorously in agreement.

Anyway, she felt that there was nothing for the director to edit in Sakayanagi Arisu's first simulation. At most, it could be included in the part about Kitagawa Ryo's death, which would be a small way to save face for Arisu, or rather, for herself.

"Okay, let's leave it at that for now. I'm going to take a shower."

Watching her brother walk into the dormitory bathroom with a change of clothes, Hotaru slowly returned to her own little room.

It has to be said that Xue's fantasies today have added the final piece to her puzzle as a master of conquering Kitagawa Ryo. After all, conquest is never just about the psychological level; knowing how to make someone feel genuine pleasure on a physiological level is also an essential course.

After I finished editing it overnight, I'll send it to another Ying tonight.

At that time, she was unaware that the impact on teenagers would be immeasurable.

Happy times are always short-lived, and the May Day Golden Week holiday passed in the blink of an eye. However, for second-year students, May was still a noticeably peaceful month. After all, they had just gone through a Special Exam in April. Considering that the Chairman of Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School had been replaced by the steady and mild-mannered Sakayanagi Narimori, they didn't have to worry about any surprise attacks from the school during the entire month of May.

The situation is different for First Year. Long before the Golden Week holiday began, each class teacher had already informed them of the Special Exam. The Written Exam they took with second graders when they first entered school in April was merely a practice test. The upcoming Special Exam is the real exam that involves changes in Class Points and issues related to expulsion.

Incidentally, since each class already knew the rules regarding Class Points during the first half of the first month, Class A through Class D generally performed well, resulting in a significant improvement in Class Points. Even the lowest- Class 1-D, retained nearly 700 Class Points under Xue's strong supervision.

As for the smaller group, you can only say that you can't really expect the students in Class D to keep their nerves on edge for a whole month. Learning and daily habits aren't something that can be formed in a day or two. Even the second-year students only gradually got on track after several months of school life.

Because of the partner exam in April, many second-year students had the opportunity to meet many First Year students, and therefore paid close attention to the Special Exam that was about to take place.

"The information released so far seems to be related to a club, but we don't know the specifics of how it will unfold."

The unbreakable trio of Class 2-A, consisting of Karuizawa Kei and Ichinose Honami, who deliberately switched seats to sit next to Kitagawa Ryo, were also chatting about this topic today.

"After all, ANHS has so many clubs, and they're all different types. I don't know how the school plans to organize them, especially since there's a 'Homecoming Club' too."

Faced with Karuizawa Kei's confusion, Ichinose Honami thoughtfully offered her own explanation:

"I think the school is encouraging students to sign up for more clubs, because the announcement came out right before the Golden Week holiday, around the end of April. At that time, the recruitment for various clubs hadn't ended yet, so if you reacted quickly, you could still catch the tail end and join a club."

"So that's why several First Year students submitted their applications to our Drama Club again those past two days."

Karuizawa Kei nodded in realization, then turned to look at Kitagawa Ryo:

What do you think, Liang?

"My opinion is similar to Honami's. Given Sakayanagi's... Chairman's style, this Special Exam for the First Year is probably aimed at improving club performance. After all, ANHS's foundation is indeed a bit weak. Although it is definitely one of the top middle schools in the country, it has never had any clubs that are worth mentioning. Otherwise, our Drama Club wouldn't have been treated so well this year. It can be considered a kind of 'spending a lot of money to buy a horse's bones'."

Kitagawa Ryo smiled and offered his opinion, almost forgetting, out of habit, to address Sakayanagi Narimori as by his official title.

"Actually, aside from the Homecoming Club which doesn't belong to any clubs, I'm also quite curious about how to count the First Year students in the Student Council. After all, you can't say that the Student Council doesn't count as a club, can you?"

"Really."

The three chatted for a while, and before they knew it, the morning classes had just ended when news spread on the school forum that the rules for the Special Exam for First Year had been announced. Kitagawa Ryo also received the rule explanation text message from all three of them immediately.

"Unbeknownst to many, the First Year students have been enrolled for over a month. To promote communication and cooperation among students, and to enhance competition and vitality among clubs, the school will conduct Special Exam for the First Year students at the end of this month."

The examination rules are as follows:

First Year students who join a club will form a new sub-club named after the club they joined during this Special Exam period. For example, if there are 15 First Year students who joined the Basketball Club, then from today onwards, these 15 students will form the Basketball Club (First Year).

Second, on the day of the Special Exam, the school will invite various clubs from other high schools in Tokyo to our school for a meeting and exchange, and to hold related competitions. At that time, these small clubs, independently formed by First Year students, will represent our school in this competition. For example, the Basketball Club (First Year) will play against Basketball Club from other schools that come to exchange. Other clubs will also play the same way: sports clubs will play against sports clubs, arts clubs against arts clubs, and general clubs against general clubs. The school will arrange a corresponding opponent for each club.

Third, from today until the day of the Special Exam, all clubs must provide full support to the small clubs that are temporarily independent for First Year students, including training facilities, teacher guidance, and other aspects.

Fourth, First Year students who have not joined a club must join a club team as temporary members before the start of the Special Exam, or choose to form a club that does not exist on ANHS Campus to participate in the competition. If they choose the latter, the specific name of the club and its members must be reported and submitted to the school within this week.

Fifth, during the three-week preparation period, the school will also conduct assessments of the abilities and attitudes of each First Year club in three weeks. The top three in each assessment will receive an 'Aid Card', which allows them to bring a second- or third-year senior from their club on the day of the competition. The bottom three will receive a warning. If the number of warnings reaches three, the club will be disqualified from participating, and all students in the club will be expelled.

VI. On the day of the competition, each member of the winning club representing ANHS will receive a reward of 100,000 Private Points and 10 Class Points, and will immediately become an official member of that club after the exam.

7. Each member of a club that fails to win on the day of the competition will have 50,000 Private Points deducted. Those who behave particularly badly will be immediately expelled from their club.

The basic rules have been introduced. For details on other rules and supplementary rules, please see the instructions on the last page.

Kitagawa Ryo casually flipped to the next page.

Note: First Year students who join the Student Council will face ANHS School as their opponent on the day of the exam.

P. S.: Thank you for reading and subscribing.

Chapter 40: Living Up to Anyone

Undoubtedly, this Special Exam for First Year was also in the typical style of Sakayanagi Narimori. Although there was a penalty of expulsion, a closer look reveals that it was only aimed at those freshmen who were extremely lazy and didn't even bother to pretend. For students who had tried their best, the only penalty was the deduction of Private Points, and even the Class Points were barely touched.

However, upon closer examination, it becomes clear that this Special Exam was less of an actual test and more of an experiment by Sakayanagi Narimori in Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School.

Earlier, when Kitagawa Ryo and Karuizawa Kei Ichinose Honami, they mentioned the competitiveness of the ANHS Club. This Special Exam for First Year seems to be a statement that Sakayanagi Narimori wants to make in order to solve this problem, using a Special Exam to isolate the First Year students.

It is well known that Japan schools have a very rigid seniority and seniority culture, and clubs are no exception. First Year students who have just joined a club will have to do odd jobs for a long time. After all, the seniors have worked their way up for a year to become seniors. If they don't show off and enjoy the treatment of seniors, then that year would be wasted.

The most typical example is Ken Sudō, who joined the Basketball Club at the beginning of last year. In terms of skill alone, most of the second and third-year seniors were not as good as him. Although he was not yet an undisputed ace, he was definitely at the level of a regular player. However, just because he was First Year freshman, due to the traditional seniority system, even with the club's advisor's intention to promote him, Ken Sudō still had a lot of trouble to become a regular player. As a result, the Basketball Club suffered a crushing defeat in last year's Summer Tournament and did not even get a decent ranking.

While the lackluster performance of ANHS's clubs isn't solely due to this one issue—just as the Basketball Club's failures wouldn't necessarily have been reversed by Ken Sudō's early debut as a regular player— Kitagawa Ryo personally appreciates Sakayanagi Narimori's attempt, which can be seen as giving the First Year students an unprecedented stage.

To reiterate, for Japan high school students, without considering other options, the most common and realistic paths are nothing more than studying and joining clubs. The two Special Exam since the First Year high school are precisely the two themes closely related to these, which shows Sakayanagi Narimori's thoughtful consideration.

Considering the chaotic Special Exam and facility regulations that Acting Chairman Tsukishiro created last year, and even the blatant gambling, one has to admit that the older generation of educators were far more competent than most.

"The Student Council's opponent will be the ANHS School administration... Doesn't that sound a bit odd?"

On the other side, Karuizawa Kei and Ichinose Honami also finished reading the specific rules that Kitagawa Ryo shared with them.

"Because the functions of ANHS's Student Council are quite different from those of other high schools, right? And unlike other clubs, it seems quite difficult to clearly compare them in terms of merit."

Kitagawa Ryo, having served as the Student Council president for a period of time, thought for a moment and then shared his opinion:

"Yes, I think the test will be on their ability to formulate rules for a Special Exam and organize large-scale events."

"It might be related to the large-scale Special Exam this summer."

It's no secret that Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School holds an unprecedentedly large-scale Special Exam every summer vacation; second and third-year students, apart from the newly enrolled First Year students, are already well aware of it.

"That makes sense... but compared to the Student Council, Ryo should worry about our two juniors in the Drama Club first."

As she spoke, Ichinose Honami's tone was somewhat hesitant:

"It seems like neither of them has ever seriously acted out a single play, right?"

Karuizawa Kei picked up the conversation and added:

"Yeah, ever since she joined the department, one of them has been doing logistics work with you, Honami, and the other one seems to be really into reading the script, but I haven't seen her practice her lines or anything during rehearsals."

"... Won't our Drama Club end up at the bottom?"

"It shouldn't be that bad. There's still more than half a month left. We can give the two juniors some intensive tutoring. Besides, I think they have a real talent for this. And even if they don't win in the end, Tsubaki and Nanase's attitude is perfectly fine. They won't have to drop out."

As someone who cares even more about the Drama Club than Kitagawa Ryo, Karuizawa Kei knows Nanase Tsubasa and Tsubaki Sakurako, who were recruited this year, quite well, especially in terms of drama performance.

"As for Tsubaki, she said she had already watched many of Ryou... well, the performances I did with her about a year ago. Since joining the club, she has basically read all of the dozen or so scripts that are more popular. And considering that she has a high level of academic ability, her memory shouldn't be too bad."

"As for Nanase, I think she's more suited to acting than Tsubaki in terms of personality. She has a good foundation in physical appearance and voice, and she's just as smart."

"Besides, if we can get the Aid Card mentioned in the school rules, then it won't be a problem if I or Ryo, as senior members of the club, provide support. So there's nothing to worry about. I'll explain everything to the two of them about the club activities after school today."

Seeing that Karuizawa Kei had almost finished sorting things out, Kitagawa Ryo didn't say anything more. After all, this wasn't Special Exam for second-year students, and the seniors just needed to do their support work; there was no need for them to worry about anything else.

"Okay, let's talk about it during club activities today."

After school, in the Drama Club's activity room.

"... I thought I wouldn't be able to go on stage until at least next semester."

Facing the Fate of being forced into a club in three weeks, even the usually energetic Nanase Tsubasa seemed a bit dejected. After all, generally speaking, freshmen join a club either because they are already skilled in that area and have a good foundation and want to take it a step further, or simply because it's related to their interests. Under the rules of this Special Exam, the former is obviously more advantageous.

However, Nanase Tsubasa and Tsubaki Sakurako clearly belong to the latter category. After all, among high school students, drama is definitely an extremely niche and unpopular field. Not to mention having relevant performance experience, you could hardly find many students who have actually been to a theater to see a complete theatrical performance.

"Don't be so discouraged. There's still more than half a month left. Just start working hard from today. But I'll have to trouble you guys to put in a little extra effort. Just think of it as working hard for Special Exam, not for club activities."

From Karuizawa Kei's personal perspective, she quite liked this Special Exam. After all, if she could use this opportunity to cultivate two ready-to-fight players, it would alleviate the predicament that the Drama Club mostly relied on her and Kitagawa Ryo, and the supporting Actor were always just Sakura Airi.

Even if Amasawa Ichika's transfer doesn't have a significant impact on the Drama Club, it does mean they've lost someone who can perform on stage.

That's why, after offering such a gentle word of encouragement, Karuizawa Kei started asking about Nanase Tsubasa and Tsubaki Sakurako's progress. The result was pretty much as she had expected: neither of them had made much progress.