Class D's Internal Strife

"But it hid in my room for three days and no school officials came to visit. I'm wondering if there's any possibility..."

Kitagawa Ryo stroked his chin and guessed:

"It bypassed all surveillance."

"Are you saying your cat is smarter than me?"

Ryuen Kakeru's eyelids twitched. It had taken him almost half a month to figure out the school's surveillance system. Now he was being told that a cat could bypass the surveillance and run into the dormitory without being detected. Although the cat had the advantage in size, it had already gone beyond the category of a pet cat.

Kitagawa Ryo thought for a moment, then nodded seriously:

"Maybe."

On April 30th, after school, Kitagawa Ryo returned to his dormitory alone. Before he could even change his shoes, a fluffy little creature pounced on him. "Hotaru," who had somehow sneaked in, was excitedly climbing onto Kitagawa Ryo 'Kitagawa Ryo shoulder with its little paws and rubbing its face against his neck.

"Alright, alright, I know you're upset about not being able to get out."

Kitagawa Ryo, without any hesitation, gently lifted "Hotaru" by the scruff of Fate neck and placed the restless white cat, who seemed to be venting all her pent-up energy, back on the sofa.

"Didn't I already buy you yarn balls? Ryuen even made you a special Cat Scratching Board."

Don't be fooled by Hotaru's seemingly obedient appearance, sitting there with her fluorescent eyes fixed on Kitagawa Ryo. Both Kitagawa Ryo and Ryuen Kakeru know just how much trouble this little guy can cause. When Kitagawa Ryo first found her, Hotaru was just a sickly kitten, but within a week, the chaos she caused was enough to drive the two, who were used to street brawls, to the point where they wanted nothing more than to stew her on the spot.

Kitagawa Ryo used to have a fish tank at home with two small fish in it. The first time this little guy tried to steal the fish, he climbed into the tank and almost drowned. The second time, he got smarter and thought that he could catch the fish by draining the tank. He used the tank as a water bowl from morning to night, licking the water whenever he had a chance. But before he could even finish drinking the water, he got an upset stomach for two days and was rushed to the vet by Kitagawa Ryo.

Even now, Kitagawa Ryo still can't figure out how this incredibly stupid cat managed to sneak into the heavily guarded and isolated Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School. But since it's already here, he can only continue his life Pooper Scooper, and he has to be careful not to let the school find out.

However, Hotaru is quite good at understanding Kitagawa Ryo's meaning. Except for when she appears in front of Ryuen Kakeru and Shiina Hiyori, who are familiar with her and already know about her existence, Hotaru always hides quietly in the closet when other Class C students visit Kitagawa Ryo's room.

Logically speaking, Hotaru should be as well-behaved as before today.

However, Kitagawa Ryo was still somewhat uneasy, because the person who was going to come to his room later was somewhat special— Karuizawa Kei.

After exchanging contact information, Kitagawa Ryo met Karuizawa Kei once a week. Initially, they met at a coffee shop in a shopping mall, but later, because Kitagawa Ryo wanted to avoid other people's attention, they moved their meeting place to Kitagawa Ryo's room.

He reached out and gently touched Ying's nose with his finger, then rubbed her little head:

"Don't come out, okay?"

"Meow!"

Hotaru tilted her head and confidently agreed to Kitagawa Ryo.

Every time Karuizawa Kei goes to Kitagawa Ryo's room, she recalls the first time she went there alone:

Just when she had finally managed to establish herself in a small group in Class D after nearly a week of hard work, a text message from Kitagawa Ryo easily ripped open her new flesh, tearing open the scars with a bloody wound:

"I know about the bullying you experienced in middle school. If you don't want others to know, come to my room at 5 PM this Saturday. The room number is 408. Be careful not to be seen by anyone else."

Karuizawa Kei didn't know if she could refuse. In fact, she didn't even have time to hesitate. Before her mind had even gone blank, her hand had already acted, and she replied crisply, "Okay."

So on that Saturday afternoon, at the agreed time, Karuizawa Kei took the elevator down to the fourth floor from her room. She usually hated the cramped, silvery-white space of the elevator, which felt like a prison. She would only squeeze into the elevator when there were many people, as if the sound of their breathing could bring her a sense of security.

But today, Karuizawa Kei deliberately chose an empty elevator. The weightlessness and claustrophobia that usually bothered her seemed to disappear at this moment. She watched the numbers on the elevator screen jump down little by little, from twelve to four, and then the doors opened with a whoosh.

At this moment, Karuizawa Kei's heart seemed to start beating again. The closer she got to room 408, the more nervous she became. She should have moved quickly so as not to be discovered, but her feet just wouldn't move fast enough. When she finally stood in front of Kitagawa Ryo's room, her heart felt like it was about to leap out of her chest.

Kitagawa Ryo's door was ajar. Karuizawa Kei gently pushed it open and changed her shoes. The boy was sitting on the sofa watching TV. She walked up to Kitagawa Ryo, unsure of how to behave. After stammering for a while, she finally managed to grit her teeth and utter a few words:

"I am coming."

"How about we make a deal?"

Kitagawa Ryo seemed completely oblivious to the fact that Karuizawa Kei was standing right in front of him. Even though she had deliberately drawn her eyebrows and applied red lipstick, Kitagawa Ryo could see Karuizawa Kei's slightly risqué territory made up of stockings and a short skirt with just a slight lift of his head, but he still had no intention of looking at her directly.

Even though Kitagawa Ryo's tone was calm to the point of being almost gentle, Karuizawa Kei still sensed danger, and she weakly struggled:

"You texted me to come over, what exactly do you want?"

Are you threatening me?

Everything that Karuizawa Kei didn't want anyone to know was now known to Kitagawa Ryo in front of her. In other words, Kitagawa Ryo had her heart in his grasp, and no matter how outrageous his demands were, she probably wouldn't be able to refuse.

"I simply want to make a deal with you."

"I know your personality very well, so I think you should adapt quickly."

"Because the details of the transaction are very simple."

Kitagawa Ryo finally raised his eyes, and his dark pupils captivated Karuizawa Kei almost instantly, causing her to instinctively take a step back.

"How about giving up your status as a member of Class D and choosing to provide me with intelligence and support?"

"Will this prevent you from revealing my secrets?"

"Of course, that's not all. I can also guarantee your status in Class D, and if anyone bullies you again in the future, I can help resolve the issue."

It's said that if a man and a woman look into each other's eyes for three seconds, it's a sign that they're interested in each other. But now, Kitagawa Ryo and Karuizawa Kei's eye contact lasts for more than thirty seconds. Their reflections are mirrored in each other's pupils, giving Karuizawa Kei a strange illusion—it's as if a connection has sprung up between them, like her own blood flowing through the other's veins.

"I understand. Anyway, the others in Class D don't care."

Karuizawa Kei finally looked away and quietly agreed.

"As a token of goodwill in making this deal happen, I'll give you a piece of intelligence for free."

Kitagawa Ryo seemed to chuckle softly:

"The points for Class D might not be transferred next month, so you'd better save your 100,000 Private Points."

"Oh."

However, Karuizawa Kei seemed completely uninterested in Kitagawa Ryo's information; she simply stared at Kitagawa Ryo's face and asked a seemingly random question:

Have we met before?

"Of course I don't know him."

Kitagawa Ryo replied to her without any politeness, then stood up to see Karuizawa Kei out:

"If you stay too long, you'll be easily spotted. Now that the deal is done, you can leave."

"Oh."

As Karuizawa Kei walked out of the room, she turned back foolishly and said:

"So now you can say we know each other, right?"

"Yamauchi and Ike in my class are so noisy. I heard that during the last swimming lesson, the boys even did something like... a vote on the biggest chest."

Hotaru, all alone in the wardrobe, heard a familiar voice. Just as she was about to rush out, she remembered Kitagawa Ryo's instructions, so she could only whimper and turn over. The wardrobe was dark, but thankfully, because Kitagawa Ryo's clothes were not far away, this small, enclosed space was filled with his scent. Hotaru happily sniffed her master's fragrance while sniffing closer to her little nest (Kitagawa Ryo had made himself from some unwanted clothes).

"And isn't it the end of the month soon? It seems like a lot of people have already spent all their 100,000 points, and today they're saying they'll just have to wait until tomorrow."

The girl's voice was so familiar that Hotaru could immediately recall her face, but compared to then, her voice seemed to have changed a lot now—not in terms of tone, but in the emotions it contained.

Ying licked her little paws, listening attentively to the conversation between the two people outside.

That's the most primal, simplest animalistic attachment, just like that of fireflies.

"How many points have you accumulated?"

"After deducting necessary social interactions, about 50,000 is left."

Karuizawa Kei sounded a little embarrassed. Even though Kitagawa Ryo had told her to save up points at the beginning of the month, she still had spent 50,000 yen by the end of the month.

"It's alright. Socializing is necessary. If you're marginalized, you won't get any valuable information."

"Hmm... I will try my best."

How did you feel about today's quiz?

"It's just average, I don't even know if I can pass the Midterm Exam."

"Here are the answers to the Midterm Exam."

"Huh? I didn't know there were things like that."

"Yes, the Midterm Exam questions for the first semester are the same as those for the upper grades. Your next task is..."

I deliberately turned the volume down.

"Okay, okay! I understand."

"By the way, if I complete this mission, what kind of reward will I get?"

"Private Points? That's something I can give you --"

It's not that aspect.

Even just in private is fine.

"Exactly, could you please stop referring to me as 'you' or 'Karuizawa' from now on...?"

Chapter 10: Internal Strife in Class D

On the morning of May 1st, Kitagawa Ryo's phone received 59,000 Private Points right on time.

"I received 59,000! Just as the boss said, the school doesn't give out 100,000 every month."

"I wonder how many other classes received, and weren't we paying close attention in class? Why did they deduct almost half?"

"Who knows? Let's wait for Boss Kitagawa to explain."

I opened the class chat group, and although it was still early, the group was already flooded with messages.

Kitagawa Ryo then casually sent a message:

"When we get to class, the homeroom teacher should explain the specific rules."

As soon as he spoke, the constantly scrolling message board in the group fell silent. By the time Kitagawa Ryo walked into the classroom, almost all the students in Class 1-C had arrived, but out of respect for Kitagawa Ryo's usual authority, they didn't dare to approach him to ask.

"The homeroom teacher is here."

Kitagawa Ryo glanced out the door and saw his homeroom teacher Sakagami Kazuma, already carrying a poster tube towards Class C. He then returned to his seat. Thinking about it carefully, Sakagami Kazuma had probably spent more time on the podium than Kitagawa Ryo in the past month.

"Teacher Sakagami, we've lost 41,000 points this month. We'd like to know the specific rules for the deduction, such as what kind of work will result in a deduction of how many points?"

"Teacher Sakagami, could you tell us how many points the other classes have left?"

"It seems like Teacher Sakagami's hairline has receded again today."

Setting aside some incomprehensible questions, the students in Class C, after a month of instruction from Kitagawa Ryo, at least understood that this school was not as simple as ordinary schools, and the questions they asked were generally of some value.

"Ahem, I'll explain these issues in detail later. For now, please look at these two tables."

Class A: 940 points

Class B: 650 points

Class C: 590 points

Class D: Midnight

During this month, Kitagawa Ryo had secretly told his classmates the conversion relationship between Class Points and Private Points, so he had already guessed that his class's points should be 590. However, he was still a little surprised and annoyed when he saw Class A's 940 points and Class B's 650 points.

"Hey, if we had worked a little harder last month, we might have been able to surpass Class B without the boss even lifting a finger."

A boy named Komiya looked at the fact that his class was only 60 points behind Class B and sighed with some regret.

"If the boss hadn't told you beforehand to follow the rules in class, our class might not even have 590 points by now. Look at Class D."

Ishizaki Daichi pursed his lips; after all, the huge zero in Class D was so obvious that it was hard not to notice it.

Although the students in Class C barely managed to abide by the rules for a month under Kitagawa Ryo's threats and guidance, many students from troubled backgrounds still carried many bad habits. Kitagawa Ryo didn't expect them to change overnight. Moreover, he had Ryuen Kakeru use Class Points as a price to study the school's surveillance system, so it was only natural that so many points were deducted in the end.

"Midterm exams are in three weeks, everyone just need to do their best."

When Kitagawa Ryo mentioned his name, he stood up and smiled encouragingly. Originally, some people in the class were somewhat dissatisfied with his "rule," but the specific announcement of the point system today confirmed his initial guess. After today, Kitagawa Ryo's influence and execution in Class C should be even higher.

One example of this was that Sakagami Kazuma, the homeroom teacher, didn't get angry when he interrupted. Instead, she smiled at Kitagawa Ryo and waited for him to finish before revealing the contents of another sheet of paper:

"These are the results of yesterday's quiz. Although I heard that the class organized a study session, seven students still failed to reach the passing grade. If you don't pass the Midterm Exam in three weeks, you will face expulsion. Please pay attention."

Class C's foundation is indeed too weak. Even though Kitagawa Ryo held a study session at the beginning of the semester, due to laziness, busy club affairs, and a lack of solid foundation, seven students still failed to pass a month later. Although Kitagawa Ryo has obtained the answers to the Midterm Exam, he can help his classmates pass the exam once, but he can't be their babysitter every time.

"I will personally supervise the seven who failed."

As soon as Kitagawa Ryo spoke his cold words, the seven students who had failed could only agree with a wry smile. However, Shiina Hiyori was standing to the side, became happy. After all, she and Kaneda Satoru had always been in charge of the study group. If Kitagawa Ryo intended to supervise them personally, the two of them would probably see each other more often.

Thinking of this, Shiina Hiyori couldn't help but glance back at Kitagawa Ryo, but then quickly turned back as if afraid that Kitagawa Ryo would discover her little secret, leaving Ibuki Mio, who was sitting next to the two of them, speechless.