Deadly Nine-Headed Shark

Beihai hadn't been in a very good mood today. Three people had invited him out one after another, seriously slowing down his studies,

He hadn't expected Honami Ichinose to suddenly emerge as the winner and take the match. Beihai hadn't even needed to do anything, and he'd made a perfect escape back to his dorm,

The moment he got back to his desk, Beihai dropped all pretense and rubbed his hands together like a fly. So, who should he favor tonight? Her Highness Math Homework, or that little brat Vocabulary?

Every time this came up, Beihai was exceptionally troubled. He couldn't afford to lose points in any subject; if he did, he'd have to make up for it by strengthening another,

And so the choice became a difficult one. But whenever that happened, Beihai made his decision as quickly as possible: he drew lots,

He knocked over the wooden plaques, then randomly picked one. When he flipped it over, he saw the word "English." Beihai nodded in satisfaction,

"Not bad. Looks like Lady English is keeping me company tonight. So be it—I suppose I'm getting some use out of foreign things after all."

He opened his English vocabulary book, ready to practice—or perhaps do some English listening exercises,

But just then, someone knocked on his door. What incredible timing. Beihai's enthusiasm had been interrupted, so he could only go over and open it. On the other side was another pair of dead-fish eyes and dark circles,

Kiyotaka Kiyotaka was holding a game disc as usual, and a movie disc in his right hand. He was truly fully armed,

All he was missing was a "Brother, it's time to hit the battlefield. Let's play!"

But Beihai couldn't give him what he wanted. Playing games was fine as an occasional way to relax, but once a month was more than enough,

If he did this every day, his ability to study would decline. And if his ability to study declined, Beihai wouldn't be able to pass the College Entrance Exam,

If he couldn't pass the College Entrance Exam, he wouldn't be able to escape his family,

And if he couldn't escape his family, he'd be stuck with that deadbeat father and a dilapidated house as his future.

So Beihai firmly turned him down!

"It's great that you've finally come around, but have you thought about how I feel?"

Kiyotaka Kiyotaka nodded, unwilling to back down,

"Of course I have. But the reason I'm so confident is that I've got a masterpiece here."

At the words "masterpiece," even Beihai was taken aback. His heart immediately began to stir,

In his previous life, Beihai hadn't been particularly well-behaved either. He'd seemed aloof when he was a big shot in the resource-sharing group, perhaps, but once you were in a resource-sharing group, there was no need to explain the rest,

He was merely keeping that side of himself suppressed for now. He couldn't hide what he was really like,

Come to think of it, Beihai really hadn't watched any masterpieces from this world. After all, the grueling language lessons and his goal of passing the College Entrance Exam had forced him to give up his bad habits,

A wise man once said that you should cherish your bad habits, because they might be the only joy in your life,

Without even realizing it, Beihai shifted aside, making room for him,

"What masterpiece? Let me see."

Kiyotaka Kiyotaka successfully made his way into Beihai's room. Nothing had changed much inside. He walked in and casually handed Beihai the discs,

The moment it landed in his hands, Beihai eagerly flipped it over to check the cover. He saw a Nine-Headed Great White Shark. The title was simple too: Deadly Nine-Headed Shark,

"Tsk?"

He couldn't believe his eyes, so he instinctively rubbed them, then gave the disc a wipe too. He'd tried everything, but nothing changed,

A suspicion began to creep into Beihai's mind. Could it really be what he thought? Were works from this world really this bizarre?

Beihai didn't pay attention to this kind of thing, and rarely encountered it, but surely entertainment couldn't be this bad. How could this be a masterpiece?

"Uh, Kiyotaka, are you sure you haven't made a mistake? This is the masterpiece you were talking about?"

Kiyotaka Kiyotaka nodded, his expression giving nothing away—he was naturally stone-faced. He'd found it online, and heard its bizarre style made it a comedy,

They said it had made it all the way to a ninth installment, which really was remarkable. It was practically a landslide in the film industry,

What harm could Kiyotaka Kiyotaka possibly have meant? He was an amateur himself and knew nothing about this stuff. He hadn't seen it before, and hadn't had the chance to, either.

So when he'd found a masterpiece, of course he'd wanted to share it with a good friend,

Seeing how confidently the other boy vouched for it, Beihai set aside his doubts. Kiyotaka Kiyotaka really was capable, after all, so his taste in movies couldn't be that bad,

With that, they both eagerly put the disc in. As the movie slowly began, Beihai realized how terribly wrong he'd been,

Not only had he neglected his homework and wasted his time, but his young heart had been brutally battered for two and a half whole hours,

Let's set aside the plot of Deadly Nine-Headed Shark. Cheap special effects filled the screen. There was even a sand tornado, whipping a plastic nine-headed shark through the city to wreak havoc. That might have been the only expensive effects scene in the entire movie,

He'd been tricked. At least Around the Atlantic differed from Pacific Rim by one character. Beihai had watched that one once, and spent the whole movie waiting to see a Striker Eureka, but never did,

Now, the cover and title were both telling Beihai this was a terrible movie not worth watching. But by then, it was too late,

Kiyotaka Kiyotaka watched the whole thing with a frown. It wasn't that he thought it was good, nor could he say he'd brought this on himself,

He was simply wondering what had gone wrong with this world. Why would anyone make something like this? Why was it called a masterpiece? Was the entertainment industry beyond saving?

Or had the public's tastes become so extreme that he'd become completely out of touch with society?

At last, the TV was unplugged, and Kiyotaka Kiyotaka was shown out. The door slammed shut behind him,

For the first time, Kiyotaka Kiyotaka understood what awkwardness felt like. In the end, he returned to his own room,

The next day, Beihai dragged himself to his seat, barely alive. He checked the balance on his Terminal. It was still good—no Class Points had been issued. It seemed the school wasn't the problem,

Thank goodness, thank goodness. He already had enough points,

Class C's homeroom teacher, Sae Chabashira, walked into the classroom. Someone immediately asked about the points being distributed,

After all, not everyone was as well-off as Beihai. It had been nearly three months already. If the points didn't come soon, they'd really have to start eating dirt,

The news this time had nothing to do with the school. It was about D class itself,

Sudo Ken had gotten into a fight with students from Class C and seriously injured them. The school had begun investigating this serious bullying incident,

Either Sudo would be expelled and the class's points reset to zero, or they'd have to find a way to resolve the issue.

With his short temper, Sudo immediately refused to accept it. "What do you mean I went and beat up three people? Am I really that strong? I didn't even know!"

They'd only had a minor argument at the time.