After finishing breakfast, I took a shower and decided to relax in my room. Today is Saturday, so there's no school, it's a holiday. As Kiryuin-Senpai went back to her room and there were a few things I wanted to ask Kiyotaka about, I decided to call him over to my room.
Jin: Kiyotaka, can you come to my room now?
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka: Yeah, sure.
A few minutes later, Kiyotaka came to the room. His attire was simple but suited him well. Even though it might be a sensitive topic, considering what happened with Tsukishiro last month, I decided to ask about it.
"Kiyotaka, there's something I want to ask you."
"What's up?"
Kiyotaka seemed puzzled, saying something about not taking any special measures.
"During spring break, I saw you at Keyaki Mall and followed you. Have you been targeted?"
Kiyotaka's expression stiffened slightly, but he quickly returned to his usual poker face and denied it.
"What are you talking about? Are you mistaken? What I heard from Director Tsukishiro was about my career path."
"If you were being followed, you should know who it was, right?"
It seemed he had no intention of causing harm to those around him. Thinking about it, he's too kind.
"You don't have to lie. I know about your upbringing in a special facility, they call it the White Room..."
The moment I mentioned those words, Kiyotaka's arm moved swiftly. In that instant, a sharp jab targeted my face, but I probably realized it was going to stop just short, so I matched Kiyotaka's movement and countered with a stop just short of his face. Now, both of our hands were just inches away from each other's faces.
"I'll admit your skill. I sensed someone back then, but I didn't think it was you. However, what do you intend to accomplish by telling me this?"
An aura of murderous intent seemed to be directed towards me from Kiyotaka. He's incredibly strong, but I didn't hesitate to continue.
"Well, I may have crossed into territory I shouldn't have, but if something happens, just tell me, okay? You're not my enemy, and I can be of some help."
"Why?"
"My old man was kind of like your old man. So I don't want you to feel the same way... "
Kiyotaka's eyes widened in surprise and admiration.
"You're amazing, Jin."
"Uh... yeah... So, what's the deal?"
Kiyotaka seemed to have given up and started honestly talking about his past and his current situation, of course, with the condition of confidentiality.
"Yeah, I've been targeted since I was a first-year. Probably something's going to happen by tomorrow."
"Why tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow, I plan to talk to Hosen of Class D about the exam pairings. Recently, a first-year named Amazawa Ichika has also started contacting me."
Hosen might also be a potential attacker against Kiyotaka. This Amasawa seems dangerous too. But why tomorrow? I have a bad feeling about this.
"Kiyotaka, have you invited any first-year students to your room?"
"Yeah, I made Tom Yum Goong for Amasawa..."
"Oh, I see, forget it then..."
This guy, seriously, he's too naive. Sometimes Kiyotaka seems a bit clueless or airheaded. Well, I got the information I wanted, so it's fine. Oh, I remembered something, so I encouraged Kiyotaka to relax in the room.
"Oh, right... Kiyotaka , take this."
I said, handing Kiyotaka a pair of black work pants and a blue and black North Face jacket from the closet. I bought the pants but never wore them, and I have the red version of this jacket, so I never wore this one either. It seemed a waste to throw them away. I was considering other guys around my height, but Ryuen is a bit weird and Hirata wouldn't suit them, and Akihito would have been okay, but he's slightly shorter than me, so Kiyotaka, who's around 180, seemed the best choice.
"Uh, are you sure? These seem really expensive..."
"How much were they again?"
I checked the tags that I hadn't cut off yet. The pants were priced at 12,000PP and the jacket at 36,000PP. They're quite expensive, I didn't realize that before.
"I can't accept something this expensive..."
"It's fine, you wouldn't have the chance to wear them anyway. I'm giving them to you because you seem like you don't have many clothes."
"I feel like I'm being insulted, but thank you, Jin. Actually, I've been struggling with a shortage of pants and jackets."
"Oh, then take these too."
There were some boots that I tried once but were slightly small, so I decided to give them to him as well.
"What's your shoe size, Kiyotaka?"
"About 26.5."
"Then take these."
I handed him a pair of black leather boots, and Kiyotaka seemed somewhat happy.
"But, I feel really sorry..."
"I'm telling you I don't need them, so take them. Though it might sound rude, you've become somewhat like a garbage can to me."
"Well, the nuance isn't wrong, but it stings..."
"Sorry, but these are actually good clothes, so they might come in handy."
"I'm really sorry, I'll thank you properly sometime."
"Did you hear? You're a garbage can."
"That's... true, it's weird to thank someone for throwing things away."
"That's it."
After that, Kiyotaka went back to his room. Tomorrow, things are going to get pretty intense... On Sunday night, I received a message from Kiyotaka.
AyanoKoji Kiyotaka: I'm going to karaoke now to talk with Hosen and the others. Are you coming too?
Jin: I won't go, but let me know if anything happens.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka: Understood.
It seems like things are about to start moving. I have a really bad feeling about this. Maybe I should do a little investigating. I change into casual clothes and head outside.
I sent a message to Kiyotaka via email, but there's no sign of him replying. Hopefully, nothing bad has happened....
...
It was past 9 p.m., and I arrived at the karaoke place Kiyotaka mentioned. I asked the staff.
"Did a high school student come in about 30 minutes ago?"
"They left just a moment ago."
"Thank you."
I glanced around, thinking they couldn't have gone far, and noticed a huge guy approaching from behind. It was Kazuomi Hosen , looking somewhat irritated. Our eyes met briefly, but he didn't pay me any mind and walked away.
"Are you Hosen ? I need to ask you something about Ayanokoji."
"Huh?"
Hosen glared at me and stepped forward. Of course, I stood there motionless, without taking any defensive stance.
"Ah, it's you, Horagasaki-Senpai. Perfect timing. I'm really pissed off right now. You know, maybe he's out there getting stabbed, and wouldn't you like to be a punching bag for a bit?"
It seemed like he was trying to pick a fight, and I could imagine something had happened between him and Kiyotaka. But is Kiyotaka really getting stabbed?
"If you can."
The next moment, he closed the distance between us in one go, and his thick arm flew toward my neck. Ah, so he's not just powerful, he's fast too. But I dodged it by arching my body backward.
"Hey!"
As expected, he's quite experienced in fights. Hosen then charged at me in a tackle, apparently realizing that was the only way to ensure a hit. But even if he hits, it hurts. I sidestepped and dodged his tackle, then struck his big back with my elbow.
"Ugh!"
It hit, and Hosen seemed to wince a bit. I spoke to him as he writhed in pain.
"Yeah, you can't attack me and expect to win against Kiyotaka, huh?"
"Shut up, I'll kill you!"
Maybe he has a low tolerance for taunts, as he seemed quite enraged and his movements became rougher than before, but his power increased accordingly. However, he couldn't easily land a hit on me. While dodging Hosen's punches and kicks, I jabbed him in the liver, freezing his movements.
"You're just a cheap knockoff of Ryuen. You might win in a fight, but overall, you're inferior."
"You little... Horagasaki!!"
He seemed to be seriously trying to kill me as he kicked me with all his might. I quickly guarded and stepped back. He's power-oriented...
"Hey, Hosen , violence isn't everything. I don't hate that kind of thinking."
"Oh? Now you're trying to act all righteous?"
"Come on, you're an idiot if you think everything can be settled with fists alone. Well, I used to think the same way as you back in middle school."
"Hah, then why don't you come at me, since you're just like me?"
"Nah, I don't want to be seen with a Rajang like you." (A/N: Rajang is a monster that looks like a gorilla in the game called Monster hunter )
With that taunt, Hosen grabbed me with anger and joy mixed in his eyes. But I seized the opportunity, judged the moment when his grip loosened, stepped in, aimed for his abdomen, and delivered a knee kick.
Though Hosen managed to guard it, it was slightly too late. As he stepped back, I took advantage of his lowered posture, swung my leg high to target his head with a heel drop, and he crossed his arms to block. I was able to land the kick. But then he grinned eerily and tried to lift me off the ground.
But there's a big difference between you and me.
Though my right leg was caught, I placed both hands on the ground, kicked Hosen's chin with my left foot, did a backflip, and landed. With the impact, my right leg slipped out of his grasp, and we both got back into stance.
"Hah, it's my first time fighting someone so strong. You're quite entertaining."
"Yeah, whatever."
We stared at each other, then simultaneously stepped forward. I grabbed Hosen's hair. Surprised at being grabbed by the hair, he paused for a moment.
"Argh... you!"
I headbutted him while still holding onto his hair, mocking him.
"Whoa, the Rajang's angry! Run away~!"
Laughing gleefully, I ran back to the dorm. As expected, Hosen , who was being made fun of, chased after me. As we reached a corner, I turned, and just as I thought, Hosen followed. At that moment, I aimed for his legs and tripped him up.
Though Hosen stumbled, he managed to flip over and avoid falling completely.
Oh, he's good.
"Hey, Horagasaki, are you ready to fight fair and square, or are you scared?"
After that, I kept running, but it wasn't like I was running away. I had a plan.
I continued running for a few hundred meters, distancing myself from Hosen a bit. Then, I saw a pond. Considering it a chance, I hid behind a nearby tree. Although Hosen was slower than me in terms of running, after a while, he arrived and started searching for me around the pond, looking nervous.
"Come on out, senpai~ Let's have more fun. How about playing in the water?"
Is Hosen planning to play in the water after beating me up? What a fool. I'm not going to fight fair and square, right? Thinking it was the right timing, I quietly approached behind Hosen and whispered before lightly pushing his big back.
"Watch out."
Splash!!
The massive figure entered the pond. It was hilarious. Since it was dark, I couldn't see Hosen's expression clearly. I sat down, hugged my knees, and smiled as I took out my phone, turned on the flashlight, and saw Hosen in the water, looking like he was about to kill me but laughing defiantly.
Even though it was April, it was past 9:30 at night. The pond's water in early spring would be cold.
"Oh..."
"Oh?"
As Hosen started to say something, I replied, pretending to be interested.
"You dropped me while saying it's dangerous, didn't you, you bastard!"
"Caught you, huh? Haha, you stink!"
Hosen quickly got out of the pond, laughing, and started chasing me again. The game of tag began once more. By the way, it smelled awful; I wondered if the pond was like that.
"Rajang, you stink too much! Were you having a solo scat play? Haha!"
"I'll kill you, I'll definitely kill you, Horagasaki."
Hosen conveyed a gaze filled with murderous intent, even though I couldn't see it. However, while he was chasing me and the stench was unbearable, as he got closer, I abruptly applied the brakes.
Housen stopped, but since he stopped right behind me, I quickly landed a backfist to his face.
"Ugh! You bastard!"
The cold pond water must have affected Housen's body temperature, as he seemed a bit restricted. After all, it was a chilly night in April.
"I'm tired of playing tag. Let's finish this."
"Sure, let's do it. Senpai, don't complain even if you die, okay?"
"You're the one who's going to die."
"Huh?"
Hosen, enraged, threw a punch. I stepped back, aimed for his face, and hit him with a back kick. Hosen, realizing the danger, retreated. This time, he immediately launched a kick. However, expecting it, I squatted and countered by sweeping his supporting leg. He lost balance and tried to recover, but I grabbed his arm, pulled him towards me, and delivered a powerful jab to his face. This time, it seemed to have hit perfectly, and Hosen flew backward, collapsed, and while bleeding, stared at me with rolled-up eyes.
"You're just being used as a punching bag... Well, you're stronger than the average person, I guess."
Hosen, on the verge of giving up, probably had a blank mind by now.
"W... what the hell are you..."
While shaking all over, he looked up at me. Although he wasn't someone as impressive as Kiyotaka, he asked with a trembling voice.
"Just a mischievous former delinquent. If you want to beat me, you'll have to try harder, Hora."
I straddled over the fallen Hosen, made a peace sign, and mocked him.
"Ugh..."
Hosen was sweating coldly, displaying an expression as if he were fighting a monster.
"Damn... I won't forget this, Horagasaki!"
"Sure."
Saying that, Hosen hugged himself and shivered, dragging his feet as he disappeared into the dark night. He looked kinda cute.
Worried about Kiyotaka, I returned to the dorm and went to his room.
When I rang the doorbell, Kiyotaka, with bandages on his hands, appeared.
"Hey, what's up?"
"Jin, are you an idiot? Why did you get stabbed?"
"At that time, it was the best strategy. By the way, how did you manage to gather information so quickly?"
"Well, I happened to bump into Hosen on the street."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah, Hosen kindly told me. Thanks for that."
Saying that, Kiyotaka looked at me with a face like "eww." Well, going to get stabbed by someone like him is more disgusting.
"Well, I didn't think I'd lose to Hosen."
"Oh, thanks. Take care of yourself."
"Yeah, yeah, if you need help, let me know."
"Of course."
...….
Then, on May 1st, the day of the exam results announcement arrived.
"I'm going to announce the test results now. They will be displayed on the blackboard, and also on your devices."
The screen switched, and the 2D results were projected. Many students immediately checked their own scores without paying attention to others.
It seemed there were no dropouts, as the entire class successfully made it through.
However, the atmosphere changed gradually. The cause of the disturbance was Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's score.
In this math test, even Horikita scored 87, but Kiyotaka got a perfect score. Considering he had challenged Horikita, this was probably the reason.
Even Ike and Sudo, who would usually be surprised, looked at Kiyotaka calmly. The entire class stared at him with strange eyes, and Kiyotaka knew it best.
After class, Keisei talked to Kiyotaka.
"Can I talk to you for a moment?"
"Sorry, can it wait?"
"Uh, sure."
The two of them left the classroom and went outside. Whether they were discussing the answers or not, the school was going to be pretty turbulent from now on.
Special Exam Results:
1st - 2nd Year Class A: Average 725 points
2nd - 2nd Year Class C: Average 673 points
3rd - 2nd Year Class D: Average 640 points
4th - 2nd Year Class B: Average 621 points
Class Points as of May 1st:
2nd Year Class A: 1169 points
2nd Year Class B: 565 points
2nd Year Class C: 539 points
2nd Year Class D: 283 points
=================================
Want to read advanced chapter?
Give me your stone to this novel to reach the milestone that will give you bonus chapter per day!!!
50-100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter / Day
100-200 Power Stones = 2 Bonus Chapters / Day
200-300 Power Stones = 3 Bonus Chapters / Day
Want to support me?
You can join as member in my P4TR30N
p4treon.com/ShirooYuki ( Change 4 to a)
See ya!!