The classroom quieted down a little, and the others' gazes began drifting their way.
Tsukishima rolled his eyes. "The equipment really is more important than you two. Go find somewhere else to bother someone and leave me alone."
He picked up his workbook, squeezed past the two of them, and headed for the teachers' office.
The teachers' office.
As soon as he walked in, he saw a burly, bald man standing in front of Teacher Majima, apparently discussing something with him.
Tsukishima didn't approach. Just as he was looking for somewhere to wait, Teacher Majima spoke up:
"Tsukishima, this is Katsuragi Kohei from our class. And this is Yuto Tsukishima from Class D."
Katsuragi Kohei looked very composed. He held out his hand. "Hello, Tsukishima."
Tsukishima shook it. "A pleasure, Katsuragi. If you and the teacher have something to discuss, go ahead. I'm in no hurry."
Katsuragi shook his head. "I'm just here to ask about some schoolwork."
Teacher Majima spoke up. "Your progress is about the same, so why don't you work together? Tsukishima, would you mind sharing your workbook?"
Tsukishima smiled and set the workbook on the desk. "It's just a workbook, no big deal. Besides, Katsuragi might have a different approach, which could be helpful to me too."
Teacher Majima smiled and nodded. "In that case, let's get started..."
Katsuragi glanced at the progress in the workbook. His expression didn't change, but his attention remained fixed on Tsukishima.
Why does Teacher Majima want me to get to know a student from Class D?
Class D only has 50 Class Points right now. Converted to personal points, that means each student only gets 5,000 this month.
He's in the mood to ask questions, so he must have plenty of points. Did he save them up?
Plenty of people save their points. Why did Teacher Majima want me to get to know him?
Tsukishima sighed. "Teacher Majima, could you wait a moment?"
Teacher Majima set down his pen and gestured for him to go ahead.
Tsukishima turned to Katsuragi. "Katsuragi, you'd be better off focusing on the workbook instead of staring at me. That gaze is making me feel like I'm sitting on pins and needles. We're still young; we should focus on studying, don't you think?"
Teacher Majima nodded. "That's true. Grades are important..."
Tsukishima rolled his eyes. It seemed the whole school, from top to bottom, had been marinated in the stench of that damn conglomerate. "Whatever. If you want to watch, go ahead. Teacher Majima, let's continue."
Katsuragi looked straight at Tsukishima. "You seem to know quite a lot."
Tsukishima waved a hand and didn't answer. Teacher Majima resumed explaining the problems, putting noticeably more effort into it than usual.
Katsuragi didn't leave. Instead, he openly continued watching Tsukishima.
He even followed Tsukishima out of the office. "Could I buy you a cup of coffee and have a chat?"
Tsukishima checked the time. "All right. We have half an hour."
The coffee shop.
Tsukishima looked around, then sat across from Katsuragi. "I've never been here. You order. Just add some sugar to mine."
When the coffee arrived, Tsukishima took a small sip. "Not bad. It's still a little bitter, but it's got a nice aroma. Pretty good."
He set down his cup. "So, let's get straight to it. What do you want to ask?"
Katsuragi propped his chin on both hands, apparently trying to create a sense of pressure. "You seem to know quite a lot."
Tsukishima nodded. "Mm-hmm. And? Teacher Majima must have mentioned something else, right? Think carefully."
Katsuragi frowned, but before he could speak, someone came running in.
"Big brother Katsuragi, why didn't you wait for me? I turned around and you were gone... Who's this?"
"Keep it down, Totsuka. This is Tsukishima from Class D."
Totsuka frowned and looked Tsukishima up and down, his voice thick with disdain. "A defective from Class D? Big brother Katsuragi, why are you associating with someone like—"
He didn't finish, but his meaning was perfectly clear.
Katsuragi said nothing. He simply watched Tsukishima.
Tsukishima rolled his eyes. "First time meeting me, and you bring some idiot over to play good cop, bad cop? You should eat more walnuts."
Totsuka's face flushed red. "You—!"
Katsuragi waved a hand. "Totsuka, don't do that again. Go wait outside."
Totsuka stormed out.
"I didn't arrange this."
Tsukishima nodded. "Whatever. Hurry up. I've got things to do later."
Katsuragi leaned forward, trying to increase the pressure. "You were the one who provided the information Ichinose Honami sold last month, weren't you?"
"Yes. And? By the way, lean back a little. Your clothes are about to touch the coffee."
Katsuragi seemed surprised that Tsukishima had admitted it so readily. He froze for a moment, then leaned back, apparently unsure what to ask next.
He fell silent for a while. "Maybe we could work together. Class A and Class D have no direct conflict of interest, and Classes B and C are common enemies."
Tsukishima sighed. "Katsuragi, I'm not interested in all the scheming and competition at this school. I'm sixteen. At this stage, I don't think I should focus too much on immediate gains. I should be building up my knowledge and skills instead."
"No matter how fiercely you scheme, it won't produce real knowledge."
"As for those skills, I figure I can learn most of them just by watching you all fight."
Katsuragi frowned. "What do you mean by that?"
Tsukishima took a sip of coffee. "Katsuragi, I came to this school for just two things: grades and skills."
"I'm fine with cooperating. I'll join the study group, but count me out of the undercover work and shady schemes."
Katsuragi was still frowning. "Then why did you work with Ichinose to sell information?"
Tsukishima rolled his eyes. "Do you think learning new skills is free?"
"You damn capitalist rich kid. Do you know how much a full manga setup costs?"
"Do you know how much a full photography setup costs?"
"Do you know how much a laptop capable of programming and making videos costs?"
"Do you know that if Australian Kangaroos fought Australians, each Australian would have to fight an average of 22 kangaroos?"
Katsuragi opened his mouth, then realized he didn't know what to say.
Tsukishima stood up. "All right, half an hour's up. I'm leaving. Thanks for the coffee."
He walked to the door, then glanced back at Katsuragi, who was still sitting there in a daze.
"By the way, that kangaroo statistic is real. I checked. Study hard,"
"And tell Miss Sakayanagi about our conversation while you're at it. Don't come looking for me again."
Tsukishima pushed the door open and left.
Katsuragi sat in place, staring at the doorway where Tsukishima had disappeared. For a long time, he didn't move.
Then he took out his phone, opened the browser, and typed in a search:
"Australian Kangaroos and Australians..."
Before you continue