After hearing what I said, the muscular man immediately stopped what he was doing, stood up, and said to me,
"Are you serious? Hey, kid, what class are you in?"
"Class 1-D." Onizuka answered without hesitation, even taking out his student card as proof in case the man didn't believe him.
For now, being from Class D was extremely important cover. It made people very easy to let their guard down.
"By the way, senpai, what event do you compete in?"
"The 100 meters. What, scared?"
"No. Quite the opposite. The 100 meters is exactly the answer I was hoping for." Onizuka didn't say the rest: because it would be over quickly.
The muscular man looked Onizuka up and down, then scoffed. "Kid, if you're asking for a beating, don't blame me for showing no mercy."
With that, the two of them went to find the instructor in charge of the Track and Field Club. After they explained why they were there, the instructor agreed to oversee their agreement and act as the judge.
Then the two of them transferred the stakes for the match, 180,000 points in total, to the instructor's account for safekeeping.
Onizuka still had a certain degree of trust in the school's teachers. At least publicly, they wouldn't do anything that went against their professional duties.
As the three of them walked toward the starting line, the muscular man leaned toward Onizuka and said,
"Yamada Naoki. Remember the name of the man who's about to win your 90,000 points, so you can find me when you regret it tonight."
Onizuka froze for a moment, then smiled brightly. "I'll definitely remember your name, senpai."
Of course, as the person who gave him his first batch of points.
The race was over quickly. Onizuka's time was 9.92 seconds, an unquestionable crushing victory.
Yamada Naoki knelt at the finish line, pounding the track with his fist in regret. When he suddenly spotted Onizuka walking toward him after collecting the points from the teacher, he snapped and shouted,
"Hey, kid, are you here to mock me?"
Onizuka spread his hands helplessly. "I wouldn't do something so pointless. Senpai Yamada, how about we make another deal?"
At those words, Yamada Naoki clenched his fists as if he'd been provoked. He gritted his teeth and replied as though he might lash out at any moment, "Go to hell, kid!"
"Don't be in such a hurry, senpai. I'd like to pay you 5,000 points to keep this quiet. What do you think? Give it some thought."
After a strange silence, Yamada slumped to the ground as if all the strength had been drained from his body.
"10,000."
"All right, deal." Onizuka cast an inquisitive glance at the instructor, who had yet to leave.
As if he knew what Onizuka meant, the instructor gave him an affirmative look.
The under-the-table deal was done.
Onizuka promptly transferred 10,000 points back to Yamada Naoki.
"I hope you understand the consequences of breaking the contract, senpai."
Sitting on the ground with his student card in hand, Yamada waved at Onizuka as if shooing away a fly. "Don't worry. Someone got expelled over this before, and I don't want to end up like him."
Good. Now he knew what happened if he broke the contract.
Onizuka was about to leave when he seemed to suddenly remember something. He turned back to Yamada Naoki and said, "Onizuka Tsukasa. That's my name."
As if he finally understood what had happened, Yamada Naoki's eyes widened. They were bloodshot.
"You bastard!!!!!!!"
Over the next week, Onizuka spent his time going back and forth between the dormitory and the track, searching as much as he could for lone prey... senpai.
That's right, he hadn't gone to class for an entire week, and nobody had come looking for him, so there was absolutely no problem.
After he proposed a wager and introduced himself, everyone accepted his challenge. To keep them from noticing anything unusual, every wager was for 90,000 points.
But he signed that confidentiality contract with almost everyone, so his actual earnings were 80,000 points from each person.
Shot put, the 100 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters, high jump, long jump.
He had challenged people in nearly every event, and his gains were quite substantial.
1,867,265. One million eight hundred sixty-seven thousand points. That was how many points he had left now.
Of course, what surprised Onizuka was that even the people who had made it to their second or even third year in this environment could still resist the temptation of points. Some of them even ran off, saying things like, "I'll definitely tell President Horikita!"
Tch. If it weren't for them, Onizuka's plan could have continued for a while longer. After all, quite a few people came out during class time to find somewhere quiet to practice.
Now, when these people saw him, they either walked away from a distance or acted as if he were invisible. Some even shouted abuse at him.
Onizuka sighed quietly. It seemed he'd earned all he could from these people.
The next day, inside the Class 1-D classroom.
Onizuka Tsukasa arrived at his seat on time, ignoring the surprised looks his classmates cast his way.
He had nothing to do right now, either, all right? The first-stage plan had been completed ahead of schedule, while the second-stage plan couldn't begin until after school. And he didn't want to sleep in the dormitory during that time. What else could he do?
It wasn't as if he could go to the track and get himself cursed out, right? That's why he was here. He was a good student, after all.
Just as he took out the book he'd prepared in advance, Yosuke Hirata, who sat in front of him, came over.
"Onizuka, did something happen these past few days? Why haven't you been coming to class?"
"Well... I was feeling a bit under the weather. I caught a cold, and I was worried about infecting my classmates, so I isolated myself in the dormitory for a week. Don't worry, I'm all better now."
That was a lie.
After hearing Onizuka's answer, Yosuke Hirata smiled brightly and handed him a notebook.
"I see. Onizuka, you're so considerate. I'm glad you've recovered. These are my class notes from the past few days. You can borrow them if you need them."
"That's all right, Hirata. I may not look it, but my grades are actually pretty good. Missing a few classes won't be a problem at all."
That was the truth.
There was not the slightest trace of disappointment on his face after being turned down. Instead, he said cheerfully,
"Onizuka, you don't have to be so formal. Just call me Yosuke."
"All right, Yosuke. Call me Tsukasa."
The two exchanged smiles, and the atmosphere was very warm.
Soon, the bell rang. Yosuke Hirata returned to his seat, and the day's classes began.
Onizuka also began reading the book he'd brought, and continued until school was over.