Katsuragi Kohei's Probe, A-Class Arrives

The classroom quieted down slightly, and the gazes of the others subtly shifted over.

Tsukishima rolled his eyes. "The equipment really is more important than the two of you. Go cool off somewhere and stop bothering me."

He picked up his workbook, shoved past the two of them, and headed straight for the faculty office.

Faculty office.

As soon as he walked in, he saw a bald, burly man standing in front of Teacher Majima, apparently in the middle of some conversation.

Tsukishima didn't crowd in. He was about to find a spot to wait when Majima spoke up:

"Tsukishima, this is Katsuragi Kohei from our class. Katsuragi, this is Yuto Tsukishima from Class D."

Katsuragi Kohei looked very composed. He extended his hand. "Hello, Tsukishima."

Tsukishima shook his hand. "A pleasure, Katsuragi. If you and the teacher have things to discuss, go ahead—I'm in no rush."

Katsuragi shook his head. "I just came to ask about some study questions."

Teacher Majima spoke up then. "Perfect timing. You're both at about the same point in the curriculum. Tsukishima, would you mind sharing your workbook?"

Tsukishima smiled and placed his workbook on the desk. "It's just a workbook, no big deal. Besides, Katsuragi might have a different approach, which would be good for me too."

Teacher Majima nodded with a smile. "In that case, let's begin..."

Katsuragi glanced at the progress in the workbook. His expression didn't change, but his attention was fixed on Tsukishima.

Why did Teacher Majima want me to interact with a Class D student?

Class D only has 50 class points right now. Converted to individual points, that's only 5,000 this month.

He has the leisure to come ask questions, which means he has a decent amount of points saved up?

There are plenty of people who save. Why did Teacher Majima want me to get in touch with him?

Tsukishima sighed. "Teacher Majima, can we hold on a moment?"

Teacher Majima put down his pen and gestured for him to go ahead.

He turned to Katsuragi. "Katsuragi, it'd be better to focus your attention on the workbook instead of on me. That staring makes me feel like I've got needles in my back. At our age, studying hard is the better choice, don't you think?"

Teacher Majima nodded. "Indeed, grades really are important..."

Tsukishima rolled his eyes. Looked like this whole school, top to bottom, was marinated in that damn conglomerate's stench. "Forget it, stare if you want. Teacher Majima, let's continue."

Katsuragi stared straight at Tsukishima. "You seem to know quite a bit."

Tsukishima waved a hand without answering. Teacher Majima started explaining the problems again, noticeably more invested than usual.

Katsuragi didn't leave. Instead, he openly kept his eyes on Tsukishima.

He even followed Tsukishima out of the office. "Can I buy you a coffee and chat?"

Tsukishima checked the time. "Fine. We've got half an hour."

Coffee shop.

Tsukishima scanned the place, then sat across from Katsuragi. "Never been here. You order. Just add some sugar to mine."

The coffee arrived. Tsukishima took a light sip. "Not bad. Still a bit bitter, but there's a nice aroma. Pretty good."

He set the cup down. "So let's cut to the chase. What do you want to ask?"

Katsuragi rested his chin on his hands, as if trying to create a sense of pressure. "You seem to know quite a bit."

Tsukishima nodded. "Mm-hmm. And then? Teacher Majima must have mentioned other things, right? Think carefully."

Katsuragi furrowed his brow, but before he could speak, a figure rushed in.

"Katsuragi-senpai, why didn't you wait for me? I turned around and you were gone... Who's this?"

"Quiet down, Totsuka. This is Tsukishima from Class D."

Totsuka frowned, looking Tsukishima up and down with obvious disdain. "A defective product from Class D? Katsuragi-senpai, why are you with someone like..."

He didn't finish, but the meaning was clear.

Katsuragi said nothing, just watched Tsukishima.

Tsukishima rolled his eyes. "First meeting and you bring some idiot to play good cop, bad cop? Eat more walnuts from now on."

Totsuka's face flushed red. "You—!"

Katsuragi waved a hand. "Totsuka, don't do that again. Go outside for now."

Totsuka stormed off in a huff.

"That wasn't arranged by me."

Tsukishima nodded. "Doesn't matter. Hurry up, I've got things to do later."

Katsuragi leaned forward, trying to create more pressure. "The information Ichinose Honami sold last month—you were the one who provided it."

"Yes. And then? By the way, lean back. Your clothes are about to touch the coffee."

Katsuragi seemed surprised that Tsukishima admitted it so readily. He paused, then sat back, as if momentarily unsure what to ask.

He was silent for a moment. "Maybe we could cooperate. Class A and Class D have no direct conflict of interest. Class B and Class C are our common enemies."

Tsukishima sighed. "Katsuragi, I have no interest in the scheming and infighting at this school. I'm sixteen years old. I think at this stage I shouldn't be too focused on immediate gains, but rather on building up my knowledge and skills."

"No matter how fiercely you scheme, you can't scheme your way to real knowledge."

"As for the skills in that area, I figure watching you all fight it out will teach me enough."

Katsuragi furrowed his brow. "What do you mean by that?"

Tsukishima took a sip of coffee. "Katsuragi, I came to this school for two things only: grades and skills."

"I'm fine with cooperation, I'll attend study sessions. But undercover dirty work? Count me out."

Katsuragi's brow stayed furrowed. "Then why did you cooperate with Ichinose to sell information?"

Tsukishima rolled his eyes. "You think learning skills doesn't cost money?"

"You goddamn capitalist fat cat, do you know how much a set of manga equipment costs?"

"Do you know how much a photography setup costs?"

"Do you know how much a laptop capable of programming and video editing costs?"

"Do you know that if Australian kangaroos fought Australians, each Australian would have to fight twenty-two kangaroos on average?"

"You don't know. You don't know anything. You only care about yourself."

Katsuragi opened his mouth, only to find he had no idea what to say.

Tsukishima stood up. "Alright, half an hour's up. I'm leaving. Thanks for the coffee."

He walked to the door, then glanced back at Katsuragi, still frozen in place.

"Oh, and that kangaroo stat is real. I checked. Study hard."

"And while you're at it, pass along our conversation to Miss Sakayanagi. Don't make her come find me again."

Tsukishima pushed the door open and left.

Katsuragi sat in his seat, staring at the doorway where Tsukishima had vanished. He didn't move for a long time.

Then he pulled out his phone, opened the browser, and typed in a line:

"Australian kangaroos and Australians..."