Hikigaya Hachiman POV
Hikigaya made his way down to the first floor, craving a sweet drink.
While Hikigaya knew that once he drank one, he would feel disgusting inside, but it didn't really matter for him. The temptation for a little sweetness was too much.
The bigger question he had was why in the world was there not a vending machine on the floor he lived in, and he had to go all the way down to the first floor for something as mundane as some juice.
The June night was pleasantly warm, and Hikigaya decided to stay until he finished his drink. There was a study session tomorrow, as it was thursday, and Hikigaya decided to buy answers either monday or tuesday then distribute them on thursday the next week, one day before the midterms.
Better to distribute them later.
He sat on a bench, but he had heard an altercation happening on the side of the building so reluctantly, he made his way there. If he was lucky, he would have prime blackmailing material.
Poking his head out, there was a group of people that he hadn't expected.
The Student Council President, the rude black haired girl, and the hidden boss.
The question was, why in the world was the President fighting the hidden boss?!
The President had done a quick backhand, which the hidden boss cleanly evaded, then they had a conversation that he couldn't hear from the distance.
Why in the world was the President talking to the hidden boss?
From the small snippets that he could her, it seemed like the rude black haired girl was the President's younger sister, Horikita Suzune.
He could see the similarities, but from what he remembered back at the library, she was infinitely more temperamental than the President was.
It seemed like they stopped talking.
Hikigaya didn't really want to get involved with the Hidden Boss, so he tried to go back inside.
"Hikigaya."
He turned around to see the President looking straight at him.
"Talk with me."
"5-50,000–"
The President sighed, before nodding.
"Fine."
The two went to a nearby bench.
"So, what do you want to ask?"
"What do you think about Ayanokoji Kiyotaka?"
"The Hidden Boss?"
Horikita scoffed.
"An apt title."
"He's like an s tier threat."
"Why do you say so?"
"His general vibe is extremely artificial, but articulate. From the few times I see him the library, it's easy to see that he's using your sister and Kushida as proxys. Yet no one could tell unless they were me."
Horikita nodded, impressed. Horikita only came to a conclusion from his unnatural scores, and his close proximity to his sister made him subconsciously pay attention to Ayanokoji, but Hikigaya had realized it from a glance at the library.
The two saw Horikita Suzune and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka make their way out, and the younger Horikita flinched as she saw her brother still there.
"Just give me the money so I can leave,"
Hikigaya insisted, he didn't want to be in the presence of the hidden boss longer than necessary.
The older Horikita scoffed, before giving him the 50,000 Points, and making his way toward the 3rd Year dormitories.
Hikigaya tried to make his way toward the 1st Year dorms, but was interrupted by a voice piercing through the air.
"You."
'How arrogant as soon as her brother's out of sight.'
He looked to his left to see the younger Horikita.
"What."
"What did you discuss with my brother?"
'This girl?'
Hikigaya thought. She's just asking questions without anything in return?
He glanced at Ayanokoji with a look that went like, "Can you believe this girl?" and eyebrow raised at the audacity of the younger Horikita.
Ayanokoji had a minute flinch, before avoiding his gaze.
'So even this guy knows how annoying this girl is.'
Hikigaya thought.
"100,000 Points."
The younger Horikita looked indignant, before giving him a glare.
"What? You want something that I have. Supply and demand."
He gave such a price because he knew that the younger Horikita wouldn't have that much money regardless. With their Class Points at 0, in addition to him thieving 500,000 Points from their class, the chances that the younger Horikita could pay was null.
The younger Horikita knew this, but there was nothing she could do but glare at Hikigaya in frustration.
"No? Then later."
No one stopped him this time. What an exhausting night for someone who just went out for some juice.
—+—
A week passed, and Hikigaya decided that now was a good time to buy previous test scores.
Entering the cafeteria, it looked like Ayanokoji and Kushida was in the middle of trying to seduce a senior into selling it at a discount.
He took out his phone to record. He could use this.
Seeing them leave, Hikigaya took his chance.
Walking up to the senior he took out his phone.
"Senior."
The man looked at him suspiciously.
"You want one too? How much you willing to pay?"
Hikigaya looked at him questioningly.
"None. You're going to give it to me for free. Unless you want me to send this to the teacher…"
On Hikigaya's phone was the senior making the deal with Ayanokoji and Kushida, and from the angle that he was recording, it looked like the senior just gave it to Ayanokoji and Kushida without any prompting.
The senior paled.
"F-fine…"
The senior reluctantly handed him over some papers.
"The previous quiz as well."
More papers.
"Thanks, senior."
The senior plainly looked at Hikigaya as if he was looking at a debt collector.
"You won't report that, right?"
"Depends. How much Points do you have?"
Hikigaya thought, if he had prime blackmail material, might as well make the most of it.
"Show me."
The senior looked down depressed.
He showed his point count to be 42,321.
That surprised him. Maybe the senior was in Class D, which was why Ayanokoji chose this target specifically, but how would he know?
He gazed over the senior's meal.
Ah.
He was eating the free Vegetable Set.
'That makes sense.'
"20,000 Points."
The senior started complaining, causing Hikigaya's eyebrows to raise.
"Half your points or expulsion, choose."
—+—
He left the cafeteria with answer sheets from the previous year, and 20,000 Points richer.
Hikigaya inwardly thanked Ayanokoji for giving him such an opportunity.
He would have to check the answers to see if the quiz matched up with the placement exam, and then as a precautionary measure, make sure that the exam was the same scope as the midterm.
It was monday, so he would normally have the small Book Group with Shiina and Ichinose, but there was only a few days before the midterms, so they decided to not have any this week.
So he would take his time to compare the quizzes and then send them over to Ichinose.
*Brrr*
Ichinose responded at a decent time, as he had just finished eating dinner.
Ichinose - [So, where'd you get the answers this time?]
Ichinose - [Detective sticker]
Hikigaya - [I asked a senior. He seemed like he was expecting it, so it's probably encouraged.]
Ichinose - [Did you spend more money again?]
Ichinose - [Questioning sticker]
Hikigaya - [Nah. Blackmailed him this time.]
Ichinose - [Blackmail?]
Hikigaya - [I recorded him selling answers, so I pursuaded him to give me the answers for free]
Hikigaya - [Proud sticker]
Ichinose - […]
Ichinose - [Gobsmacked sticker]
Ichinose - [Well… I guess it was his fault for getting caught?]
Hikigaya - [Yep.]
Hikigaya - [Thumbs up sticker]
Ichinose - [So do I distribute them tomorrow?]
Hikigaya - [Nah, just do it on thursday after the group review. It's better for them to not rely on it.]
Ichinose - [I see!]
Ichinose - [Understanding sticker]
Ichinose - [Thanks as always!]
Ichinose - [Bowing sticker]
Hikigaya - [No problem. See you tomorrow.]
Ichinose - [See you tomorrow!]
Ichinose - [Waving sticker]
Hikigaya - [Waving sticker]
He wouldn't tell her that he had just extorted the man for half of his points on top of getting the papers for free.
—+—
On Thursday, the Class had once again met up for a group review.
Ichinose and Kanzaki did the majority of the explaining, and Hikigaya would always be thankful for them.
No work was always better.
After the review, the two answered the rest of the classmates' questions when they had any, and smoothly finished the review session.
"Okay everyone! The test's tomorrow, and I know you all must be nervous, so I took the time to ask a senior for the previous exam from last year!"
Ichinose announced, passing around the exam.
Once again, the class looked at Ichinose with blind admiration.
Hikigaya could appreciate his classmates' blind trust in Ichinose. It made spreading information across his classmates that much easier.
"Just a warning, but don't rely on it!"
Ichinose warned, prompting nods of agreement from their classmates.
"Session end! Let's all pass the exams together tomorrow!"
Ichinose smiled, raising the class's morale.
—+—
Despite the fact that today was the day of the Midterm, Class B took their exams with confidence. During breaktime and lunchtime, they spent their time joking around and reviewing their notes.
Hikigaya could understand their sentiments. But the midterm wasn't as difficult as he assumed it would be.
Thankfully, there weren't any cheesy questions that were above his pay grade during the midterms.
It was more of a matter of finishing the quiz for a subject, going over his answers, and napping until the timer ran out.
Frankly, Hikigaya didn't enjoy tests at all.
He'd rather finish the tests and immediately go home.
Why wait until the timer ran out.
Time was money.
Money that could be spent lazing around at home.
But when the final exam was over, there were sighs of relief and exhaustion. What was tiring about an exam? You solve questions and you only move your hands and the pencil.
The only thing he might have understood was sitting for a long time.
Other than that, he didn't really share their sentiments.
Hikigaya made his way home, before getting a text on the way back.
Ichinose - [How'd you think you did on the midterms?]
Hikigaya - [It wasn't that bad.]
Ichinose - [Yeah, but just the feeling of waiting for results is pretty stressful, don't you think?]
Hikigaya - [Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't. Believe in our classmates. Or even believe in me if you want, I was the one who helped you study.]
Hikigaya - [Prideful sticker]
Ichinose - [www]
Ichinose - [Sure, I'll believe in you. Are we eating this weekend?]
Hikigaya - [Yeah. Want to go to that expensive beef restaurant? Your prize.]
Ichinose - [No. I'll pay.]
Ichinose - [Stern sticker]
Hikigaya - [It's my turn to pay anyways.]
Ichinose - [No. I took your time to ask you to help teach the class and you even spent 100,000 points for info.]
Ichinose - [Lecturing sticker]
Hikigaya - […Fine. 1 PM?]
Ichinose - [Like always. See you tomorrow!]
Ichinose - [Waving sticker]
Hikigaya - [See ya.]
Hikigaya - [Waving sticker]
—+—
"Yo, Ichinose,"
Hikigaya waved, seeing Ichinose waiting on the bench.
"Hikigaya-kun!"
Ichinose waved back, and they made their way to the restaurant.
"Did you have any problems on the exam?"
Hikigaya asked, feeling like it was a good conversation topic, as they had just taken it only yesterday.
"I thought I would, but there wasn't really anything that I had trouble with,"
"That's good."
They had their expensive meal, and when Hikigaya tried to pay once he saw the staggering price of 20,000 points for the meal, Ichinose had firmly declined, saying that it was nothing compared to the amount of money he spent.
'I have more points than you…'
Hikigaya thought.
He had around 9 million in his account, as he had won—stolen—more points from the other clubs at the beginning of the new month. They were running low on money recently, so the bets were around 100,000 point bets instead of the 200,000-400,000 bets the previous month, but money was still money.
Ichinose on the other hand, probably had around 7 million. This was from the class having an allowance of 30,000 excluding Ichinose and deposting the rest to Ichinose, and on top of that they had a large number of Class Points.
It would probably take her 6-7 months until she got 20,000,000 Points, and then if there was a possible threat of expulsion, then she could get a free (not really free) "Get out of Jail" card.
This led Hikigaya to wonder.
If it took 20,000,000 Points to stop an expulsion, how much points would it take to get someone expelled?
But it probably wouldn't be worth it. Paying 20,000,000 was pointless if he had enough dirt on a target for a way cheaper price.
They had parted ways earlier, as Ichinose had said that she was going out with the rest of the class to celebrate finishing the midterms.
Now all he had to do was relax. No teaching, no book club, no responsibilities. In light of that, Hikigaya had decided to do nothing else but laze around today.
—+—
Hikigaya arrived in the classroom, where he saw the nervous expressions of his classmates, as the scores would be revealed today.
'And they were leaving the classroom joking around yesterday and everything…'
Hikigaya thought, sitting down.
Putting on his headphones, decided to use one of his 108 Skills: Fake Sleeping to wait until Hoshinomiya arrived with the news.
During this time, Hikigaya wondered how much Class Points they would get.
If he remembered correctly, he thinks that his students the past 2 weeks would probably earn them class points. Ichinose, Kanzaki and himself would also earn them class points.
That added up to 27.5.
When Hikigaya had looked over the scores on the mock exam a few weeks prior, 21 more students had fulfill the conditions. That raised it to 80 class points earned at the minimum. But Hikigaya assumed that it would probably be in the early nineties or late eighties.
When the door slid open to reveal Hoshinomiya with multiple rolled up posters, the class went silent in anticipation.
"Good morning students~! Are you guys excited to see the results of your efforts?"
Nods.
"Before I reveal the scores, I'll say this in advance! No one got expelled in this class!"
There were some cheers, but Hikigaya thought that it was obvious that no one would get expelled.
"I'll write the new Class Rankings now!"
Hoshinomiya took out her marker to start writing on the board, the tension palpable.
1040 (+100) Class B (Now Class A)
1004 (+64) Class A (Now Class B)
492 (+2) Class C (No change)
87 (+87) Class D (No change)
Cheers erupted in the class.
Hikigaya was surprised. For one, he hadn't expected that everyone would fulfill the conditions, and that Class A did much worse than he had initially imagined. Weren't they supposed to be the academically smart class?
Hikigaya assumed that the Class D increase was because of Ayanokoji.
But maybe because Class A didn't know the goal was "Improvement" they didn't attempt to improve the rest of the class and priortized preventing people from failing?
But Hoshinomiya said that the Class Point increase would be related to performance.
This was confusing.
But Hikigaya didn't complain. They were promoted not even 6 months into the school year.
Hikigaya wondered if he told the school that once he graduated and asked to be a househusband they would find him a rich wife.
That would be pretty funny.
But classes resumed like normal, despite the Class's achievement.
But something interesting of note had happened after school only a few days later.
*Brrr*
Ichinose - [Hikigaya I need advice.]
That was random.
Hikigaya - [Sure, what's up.]
Ichinose - [So, I have a friend who got a love letter from a girl in her class, yet the friend likes someone else and wants to keep their friendship.]
Hikigaya - [Talking about yourself, eh?]
Ichinose - […]
Hikigaya - [Then the girl is probably Shiranami Chihiro, right?]
Ichinose - [Wha-]
Ichinose - [How'd you know?]
Hikigaya - [I can read minds~ooh~]
Ichinose - […]
Hikigaya - [I'm joking, calm down. Then just say that you like someone else, and if she was truly your friend in the first place, then she'd still be friends if you asked. Making any other excuse would just strain the friendship anyways.]
Ichinose - [Okay… for someone who only has me and Shiina-chan as friends, you're pretty well informed about relationships]
Hikigaya - [What's that supposed to mean?]
Hikigaya - [Depressed sticker]
Ichinose - [www it's just a joke. Thanks for the advice, I'll treat you to some ice cream when I get the chance!]
Ichinose - [Bowing sticker]
Hikigaya - [No problem. Bribe accepted.]
Hikigaya - [Satisfied sticker]
Ichinose - [www]
Hikigaya closed his phone and made his way home.
'Ichinose likes someone? That's surprising.'
She never mentioned something like that in front of him. Hikigaya thought Ichinose had trusted him the most, but he guessed he was mistaken.
'I guess it would be pretty awkward to tell a male friend about her crush.'
Hikigaya thought.
—+—
A/N: Bro, I slept at like 5am today, but there was this random person in my dorm who activated the fire alarm at 12pm like bro you can't be making this up.
I realized midway when I included the stickers that i wrote that hikigaya didn't have line. That was pretty stupid. Who cares? Not me.
There's still a surprising aromount of stories before the island arc. The sakura airi arc is like gone cause hikigaya reported the guy on like his first or second day of school, but no worries comrades, I have no idea how but I'll somehow add her in!
This is kind of confusiong, because some fanfics i read put the pool scenes before the special exam and some put it after, and when i went to the wiki they put it as before. Ima just put it before.
Also whenever i write texting scenes because theres like no descriptions, it makes it feel way longer on the notes app, because i dont know the word count and when I paste it into webnovel, it's like way less words than I thought. A disappointment like I thought I wrote way more.
I hope you enjoyed.
Thanks for reading.