Preparing to Hold a Study Group?! Akiyama Shin's Considerations and Little Kikyo's Punishment?!

After school, the stream of students ebbed away like a receding tide, quickly thinning out.

Akiyama Shin and Horikita Suzune walked side by side along the tree-lined path back to the dorms, both tacitly silent.

Horikita Suzune's brows furrowed slightly as the words "expulsion" echoed repeatedly in her mind.

She wasn't worried about her own studies, but the obvious rifts within the class and the defective products within it were undoubtedly enormous obstacles on her path to Class A and personal growth.

Unable to resist, she glanced at Akiyama Shin beside her again. He still wore that calm, unruffled expression, as though even the sky collapsing wouldn't move him.

Just then.

Urgent footsteps and calls came from behind them.

"Classmate Akiyama! Classmate Horikita! Please wait!"

It was Hirata Yosuke and Kushida Kikyo.

Akiyama Shin and Horikita Suzune stopped at the same time, then turned to look behind them. Neither seemed surprised by the pair's arrival. With Class D now in crisis, the two at the core of the class were bound to take action.

Kushida Kikyo jogged up to Akiyama Shin, wearing a sweet, approachable smile. She nodded at him and Horikita Suzune, her tone bright.

"Thank goodness, you hadn't gone far yet."

Yet beneath that flawless smile, her heart was already like a volcano on the verge of eruption.

That bastard Akiyama Shin!

He really did know all along!

From the way he exchanged looks with Teacher Chabashira today...

And from what he said when he stood up...

He'd figured out this school's rules not long after enrolling! But he actually... kept it from even me!

I'm his woman!

Something this huge... and he didn't tell me a single word! He let me stay in the dark like those idiots...

Worrying about this month's points...

And stupidly comforting everyone else!

Unforgivable! Absolutely unforgivable!

Tonight, I'm definitely going to punish him properly!

I'll let him know the consequences of hiding information from me!

I'll drain him dry!

The roar in her heart was like a tsunami, but outwardly she remained sunny and adorable. She even gave Akiyama Shin a playful wink. Naturally, Akiyama Shin couldn't sense the storm raging inside Kushida Kikyo, but he had already guessed most of why she had come to find him.

"What is it?"

he asked blandly.

Hirata Yosuke stepped forward, wearing his usual gentle, sincere expression, though there was now a trace of urgency in his eyes.

"Classmate Akiyama... Classmate Horikita..."

"Regarding the class's current situation, we'd like to talk with you. Are you free right now?"

Akiyama Shin looked at the sky, then glanced at the cool-tempered Horikita Suzune beside him and the brightly smiling Kushida Kikyo before slowly nodding.

"Let's talk at a café."

The four arrived at a quiet, elegant café inside Keyaki Mall. Hirata Yosuke ordered coffee for everyone first, then got straight to the point.

"Everyone saw what happened today."

Hirata Yosuke's tone was heavy.

"The Class Points have fallen to zero..."

"The Midterm Exam carries the risk of expulsion..."

"Class D has reached an extremely dangerous point."

He looked at Akiyama Shin and Horikita Suzune, his gaze earnest.

"Kushida and I discussed it. We believe that the most important thing right now is improving the class's overall academic ability, making sure no one falls behind during the Midterm Exam, and preventing anyone from being expelled. At the same time, this will lay a solid foundation for us to increase our Class Points in the future."

Kushida Kikyo took over, adding in her sweet voice.

"So, we want to organize a study group! We can use the time after school every afternoon and on weekends, holding it in the library to help the students in our class who are a little behind and bring them up to speed."

She looked at the two of them expectantly.

"Classmate Akiyama, Classmate Horikita, both of you are excellent students. Especially Classmate Akiyama in the sciences, and Classmate Horikita with your well-rounded academic ability. If we could get your help, the study group would definitely be much more effective! So... we sincerely hope you'll join us!"

Holding her coffee cup, Horikita Suzune's cool gaze swept across Hirata Yosuke and Kushida Kikyo's faces.

Deep down, she despised people like Yamauchi Haruki and Ike Kanji. The thought of helping those defective products who dragged down the class instinctively repelled her.

But...

She tilted her head slightly and looked at the silent Akiyama Shin beside her. If he joined too...

No, no!

Why am I thinking about Akiyama Shin?!

This isn't how this is supposed to go!

Horikita Suzune shook her head and threw all distracting thoughts out of her mind. She began to think carefully, and before long, she understood. Advancing to Class A was also her goal, and having a stable class with at least everyone above the passing line was a necessary foundation. She couldn't change things alone.

After weighing the pros and cons, along with the added bonus of being with Akiyama Shin, she gently set down her coffee cup and nodded. Her voice remained cool, but her answer was affirmative.

"Fine. I'll join."

What Horikita Suzune didn't know was that a certain awful man had already left a deep mark in her subconscious. Of course, she would never admit that she cared about Akiyama Shin!

Back in reality, Hirata Yosuke and Kushida Kikyo immediately smiled with delight upon hearing Horikita Suzune agree.

"That's great! Thank you, Classmate Horikita!"

Now the pressure shifted to Akiyama Shin. He rubbed the warm side of his coffee cup, unwilling a thousand times over.

Organize a study group?

Help idiots like Yamauchi Haruki?

In his view,

it was purely a waste of time and energy.

His original plan had even considered whether he should deliberately raise the class average to a level those poor students could never reach, relying on his outstanding science grades during this Midterm Exam.

That way, he could use the rule of expulsion for failing grades to naturally clear out these negative assets from the class.

The thought had lingered in his mind for a long time.

But in the end, he temporarily shelved it.

The reason was simple—insufficient information.

He still didn't know whether the school would impose additional penalties on the class if students were expelled, such as directly deducting a large number of Class Points.

If that were the case, the potential benefits of eliminating poor students through the exam might not even make up for the possible loss of Class Points. Acting rashly before all the information was clear carried too much risk.

Besides, joining the study group wasn't entirely without benefits for him. After all, the humanities—particularly Japanese and social studies—were indeed his weak points. If he could use this opportunity to help others while improving his weaker subjects, it wouldn't be a complete waste of time.

With that in mind, he raised his eyes to meet Hirata Yosuke and Kushida Kikyo's expectant gazes and slowly spoke.

"Fine. I can join too."

He paused, then added.

"My humanities need improvement. This is a good chance to work on them."

Upon hearing that, Hirata Yosuke let out a long breath of relief, and his smile became even more sincere.

"That's great! Thank you so much, Classmate Akiyama! With both of you joining... this is wonderful!"

Kushida Kikyo smiled sweetly as well.

"Mm! Let's work hard together! We can definitely help Class D get through this!"

With that, the matter was settled.

The four briefly discussed the study group's preliminary schedule and format before going their separate ways.

Akiyama Shin returned alone to Dormitory 501. Dusk had already fallen outside, leaving the room somewhat dim.

He took off his uniform and entered the bathroom, letting the warm water wash away the day's fatigue and the lingering scent of coffee from the café.

After showering, he came out wearing only a pair of loose lounge shorts, bare-chested as he dried his wet black hair with a towel. Unwiped droplets slid down the lines of his lean muscles. Just then, a knock sounded at the door—rapid and carrying a familiar urgency.

Akiyama Shin paused, walked to the door, and pulled it open. Outside, Kushida Kikyo tilted her head, her light purple eyes staring straight at him. The sweet smile she had worn at the café was gone.

In its place was a pouty expression mixed with dissatisfaction, grievance, and a hint of accusation.

Her gaze swept without restraint over his water-speckled chest and abs before quickly returning to his face. Seeing her like this, Akiyama Shin understood.

What was coming would come.

He stepped aside to clear the way.

"Come in."

Kushida Kikyo gave a soft huff, walked in, and clicked the door shut behind her.

She even fastened the chain lock on the inside of the door, as though making it clear that he wasn't getting away tonight.

She turned around, leaned against the door, and looked at Akiyama Shin again, danger in her eyes.

Akiyama Shin stood where he was, calmly looking at her as he waited for her to speak.

But Kushida Kikyo didn't say anything immediately. Instead, she walked up to him in a few steps, raised a finger, and poked it straight into his firm chest. Then, with force, step by step, she pushed him deeper into the room.

Akiyama Shin didn't resist. He retreated step by step under her force until the backs of his legs hit the bed. Losing his balance, he fell backward onto the soft mattress.

Kushida Kikyo climbed on top of him, straddling his waist. She planted both hands beside his head, leaned down, glared at him indignantly, and shouted out the words she had been holding in all the way here.

"Tell me! Why?! Why didn't you tell me about the school's rules sooner?!"

"You obviously knew already! Even that narcissist Koenji! That blond gorilla figured it out! Yet you hid it from even me! Am I still your woman or not?!"

Her voice carried genuine grievance and anger, her chest rising and falling slightly with agitation.

Akiyama Shin lay there, looking up at the face above him, made even more vivid and beautiful by her anger. He didn't answer right away.

He reached out and gently brushed aside a lock of golden-brown hair hanging by her cheek, the gesture carrying a trace of comfort.

Only then did he calmly state a fact.

"First, I didn't tell you at the beginning because I signed an exclusive information contract with Ichinose and the others from Class B, which is now Class A. The contract restricted me from revealing the relevant information to anyone else for one month, including you."

He paused and looked into her eyes.

"Breaking the contract would cost four million points."

Hearing that number, Kushida Kikyo's pupils contracted slightly. Some of her anger dissipated, though she was still dissatisfied.

"Class D doesn't have any points now anyway..."

"There's no point saying any of this now..."

"No. That's the second point."

Akiyama Shin continued.

"The reason I chose to leave Class D alone was to carry out the Zero Point Plan."

"The Zero Point Plan?"

Kushida Kikyo blinked, her curiosity piqued.

"Mm."

Akiyama Shin nodded.

"Class D has been lax for too long and lacks any sense of crisis. Like frogs in slowly heated water, only the most intense method can make them feel the pain in their bones. Only when they see their points fall to zero with their own eyes and personally face the threat of expulsion can their fantasies truly be shattered, forcing them to think and change."

"This is a necessary measure for Class D to go through growing pains, reorganize itself, and awaken."

"If the information had been leaked in advance, the effect would have been greatly reduced."

He calmly explained his strategy as if analyzing a game of chess.

As Kushida Kikyo listened to his explanation, the anger on her face was gradually replaced by a complicated emotion.

She was angry that Akiyama Shin had kept things from her, but she had to admit that his vision and methods went far beyond what she had seen. And that carried a fatal kind of attraction.

"So... you'd planned everything out long ago?"

she murmured. The hands braced beside his ears unconsciously relaxed.

"You could say that."

Akiyama Shin admitted.

Kushida Kikyo looked at his handsome face so close to hers and the fathomless calm in his eyes.

Suddenly, her earlier little tantrum felt somewhat laughable and petty before the scale of his plans.

Still, she couldn't help muttering.

"But... there were so many interesting things... and you didn't tell me any of them... You kept me in the dark..."

Her tone was now tinged with coquettish complaint.

Seeing her like this, Akiyama Shin's lips curved slightly.

"It isn't too late to tell you now."

"And the contract was lifted this month. From now on, I can tell you anything you want to know."

He paused before adding.

"However..."

"There's a strong possibility we'll cooperate with Class A in the future. Ichinose and Kanzaki are both good partners to work with."

At that, Kushida Kikyo's eyes brightened. Being able to learn Akiyama Shin's secrets and plans gave her a sense of satisfaction and intimacy, like she had been brought into his inner circle.

All her previous resentment vanished completely, replaced by eager excitement.

"Really? That's great!"

Akiyama Shin smiled at her newly radiant expression and reached for the Terminal by the bed.

He casually opened the screen and showed her the balance of his Personal Points. Kushida Kikyo leaned closer and glanced at it curiously.

The instant she saw the long string of numbers on the screen, she sharply sucked in a breath, her eyes going wide.

"Six... six million?!"

"How do you have so many points?!"

Naturally, there was a reason Akiyama Shin had so many points. He had previously earned 2.8 million points through the deal with Class B, then gotten another 2 million from Horikita Manabu, for a total of 4.8 million. So where had the extra 1.2 million come from? It was like this: the remaining 1.2 million had been won by Akiyama Shin when he challenged various clubs some time ago. He had simply been bored, so he visited several sports and competitive clubs and made a few bets with upperclassmen, wagering points. Fortunately, he won them all.

With Akiyama Shin's freakish athletic reflexes and cool head, challenging those clubs was practically a dimensionality-reduction strike. The upperclassmen had suffered plenty at his hands, and Kushida Kikyo had vaguely heard some rumors as well.

For example, a title had recently begun circulating among the upperclassmen's club circles: Jet-Black Ruby. Supposedly, it referred to an absurdly powerful freshman with black hair and red eyes, someone who effortlessly seized victory wherever he went... So it had been Akiyama Shin?

Kushida Kikyo looked at the man beneath her, who seemed capable of anything, her gaze growing somewhat unfocused.

Her anger had long since been thrown to the winds, replaced by infatuation and a pride that felt as though his glory were her own.

She leaned down beside Akiyama Shin's ear, her breath fragrant as an orchid, her voice carrying a trace of seduction and sweet innocence.

"Punishment~ still can't be waived, you know~"

"But considering how honestly you confessed... and how amazing you are..."

"Tonight... I'll be the one to serve you properly~"

The night deepened.

The lights in Dormitory 501 quietly went out, leaving only faint, subtle sounds softly echoing through the silent night.