On Christmas morning, Kanda Shuichi slept in comfortably and didn't get up until after ten.
After washing up, it was already eleven. Then, after getting fully dressed, he finally stepped out of his room.
He hadn't made plans to hang out with anyone today, but he still needed to eat. Since the school cafeteria was closed, he planned to buy groceries and cook for himself.
What he didn't expect was…
As soon as he stepped outside, he saw Ayanokouji walking over from his room in the distance.
Their eyes met, and both of them paused for a moment.
"Good morning, Kanda."
"Are you still half-asleep? It's already eleven."
"Then… good afternoon?"
"Why did that sound like a question?"
Even though Ayanokouji had been involved in a violent incident in class earlier, most of the students in Class D didn't blame him for it.
After all, he was just acting in self-defense. The one who started it was Ryuen.
"Anyway, let's not talk about that. You're heading out at this time—don't tell me you're just going grocery shopping like me?" Kanda Shuichi looked at Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, who was neatly dressed and looking quite proper, and felt a little puzzled.
"Actually, I have a date with Sato."
Sato? Which Sato? Sato Ken? No, no way.
Then it had to be Sato Mako, Karuizawa's good friend.
Man, poor Sato. Of all people to like, she had to fall for Ayanokouji, a guy with zero emotional awareness. I should remind Karuizawa later—she ought to keep her distance from him.
"Well, have fun."
After that, they rode the elevator down to the first floor together and then went their separate ways.
Even though they were heading to the same place, the snowfall from last night had made the roads difficult to walk on. Because of that, Kanda Shuichi deliberately slowed down.
Ayanokouji, on the other hand, didn't wait for Kanda Shuichi on purpose—he just walked at his usual pace.
By the time Kanda Shuichi arrived at the Keyaki Mall Shopping Center, Ayanokouji was already nowhere to be seen.
Before buying groceries, Kanda Shuichi decided to stop by the bookstore. He had already finished reading most of the books he bought last time.
So, he planned to buy a few more as extra reading material to pass the time.
That's when he spotted someone completely unexpected.
Ryuen Kakeru. The so-called tyrant of Class C had disappeared from the scene ever since Ayanokouji beat him up. Even Kanda Shuichi hadn't seen much of him.
"Well, well, isn't this Ryuen? Didn't expect to run into you here."
Ryuen, who was quietly reading something in the bookstore, glanced at Kanda Shuichi when he heard his voice. Then, without a word, he returned his attention to the book in his hands.
"Come on, at least react a little. I liked you better when you were cocky."
Seeing that Ryuen was ignoring him, Kanda Shuichi simply sat down across from him.
"What do you want?"
"I'm here to buy a couple of books. Got any recommendations?"
"You should be asking Hiyori about that, not me." Ryuen didn't even look up as he replied, still focused on his book.
That was when Kanda Shuichi finally saw what he was reading.
Jump…
Wow. Here I thought you were reading something serious to better yourself, but you're just reading manga?
Just as Kanda Shuichi was about to get up and look for books, Ryuen suddenly closed his.
"Wait, I need to ask you something. Do me a favor and hear me out."
"If you really had something to ask, you should've said it earlier instead of waiting until I was about to leave." Kanda Shuichi shot back without hesitation.
Then, he casually took the Jump magazine from Ryuen's hands and flipped through it.
"What do you want to ask?"
Now it was Kanda Shuichi's turn to talk without looking up.
"That guy… who is he really?"
"Which guy? Ayanokouji?"
"Who else do you think I'm talking about?"
Ryuen was clearly annoyed at Kanda Shuichi playing dumb.
"Him, huh? My advice? Don't get too interested in him." Kanda Shuichi glanced up at Ryuen, then smirked. "You wouldn't happen to have caught feelings after he beat you up, would you? If Ibuki hears about this, she might cry."
"Shut up, you bastard! I can't believe you're actually agreeing with Hiyori's ridiculous theory."
The moment that topic came up, Ryuen's expression soured.
"Ibuki's pretty cute, you know. For a guy like you, she's more than enough."
Ryuen let out a sarcastic laugh. "Cute? If she's so cute, why don't you go for her? Oh wait, my bad—you already did. You slammed that 'cute' Ibuki onto the cold, hard concrete floor."
Seriously, listen to this guy.
"If I hadn't thrown her, I would've gotten kicked. If you wanted to take a hit for her, why didn't you step in? Hold on… don't tell me you have some kind of weird fetish?"
"Do you want to die? I'm not afraid of getting expelled right now."
"Give it up. You can't beat me. Even if I'm not as strong as you, lasting until the security team arrives isn't a problem at all."
Kanda Shuichi dismissed Ryuen's threat without hesitation.
Ryuen was stunned for a moment, then reached up and rubbed his forehead.
"What's your deal? Since when were you that good at judo?"
"You know about last year's tsunami on the east coast?"
Kanda Shuichi's completely unrelated response made Ryuen pause for a moment. Then he nodded to show he knew about it.
"I was a victim of that disaster. I was in the hospital for six months and only woke up shortly before the school year started."
There was nothing to hide, so Kanda Shuichi didn't mind using this as an excuse.
"So that's why you looked like you were about to drop dead all the time after enrolling."
Watch your mouth!
What do you mean 'about to drop dead'?
My life force is burning strong, okay?
"It took me nine months to get my body back to a normal level. Even if I don't have much strength, as long as I have the element of surprise, dealing with someone like Ibuki is no problem."
Kanda Shuichi explained lazily.
"If Ibuki heard you say that, she'd definitely come after you."
Ryuen mocked him without mercy.
"Then I'll just beat her up again. If once isn't enough, then twice—until she gives up. Don't you like solving problems with violence? I'm just following your example."
"Hah, you scumbag who plays mind games!"
"I don't see why I should take that from you." Kanda Shuichi rolled his eyes. "Coming from you, that sounds pretty ironic."
"By the way, are you really planning to quit?"
Ryuen was silent for a while before speaking. "I thought about it for days after that. I was actually about to drop out."
"Wow, just because you lost once, you were going to run away? That's not like you at all."
Even though Ryuen's tone was serious, Kanda Shuichi's words were laced with mockery, making it impossible for Ryuen to keep a straight face.
"Tch. I can't outsmart you, and I lost a fight to that bastard Ayanokouji. Plus, next month, I'm getting dropped to Class D. What's the point of staying in this school?"
"But you're still here, aren't you? So what do you actually want? Just say it already. Beating around the bush like this doesn't suit you."
After a brief silence, Ryuen looked at Kanda Shuichi. "Let's work together."
"Huh?" Kanda Shuichi was caught off guard, then couldn't help but laugh. "That's what you wanted to say? Seriously?"
"What's so funny about it?"
"We're in different classes, you know. And you want to work with me? What, are you willing to hand over Class A's spot to me?"
Kanda Shuichi asked curiously.
"You already have a ticket to Class A, don't you?" Ryuen narrowed his eyes.
"Didn't you used to be the same? As long as you get 800,000 class points every month, saving up 20 million private points before graduation is a piece of cake."
Ryuen went quiet for a moment, then squinted at Kanda Shuichi. "I remember you saying you weren't interested in class competition."
"Did I?" Kanda Shuichi thought about it. "Did I really say that? I don't remember."
"Maybe. At first, I didn't care about the class battles, but now I have a reason to help Class D rise to Class A."
"What reason?"
"I can't say." Kanda Shuichi shook his head, unwilling to reveal more to Ryuen.
"In that case, we should work together even more."
Ryuen's words surprised Kanda Shuichi. What was this about? If we both want to reach Class A, then we should be on opposite sides, not working together.
Still, since Ryuen said that, Kanda Shuichi raised an eyebrow.
"Let's hear it."
Ryuen's expression turned serious, which was rare for him.
"Kanda, you know that reaching Class A isn't just about having the highest class points. If you save up 20 million private points, you can also graduate as an A-Class student."
"Of course, that's public information. Why are you bringing it up? Don't tell me you want me to give you 20 million?"
Ryuen shook his head, then took out his phone. After a few taps, he placed it on the table and slid it toward Kanda Shuichi.
"This is the class point data I collected over the past year for all twelve classes."
"And why are you showing me this? I don't care about other years' class points."
Even as he said that, Kanda Shuichi still glanced at the screen. The gap between the third-year A and B classes was a full 1,000 points. But that wasn't an impossible gap to close.
Just like the last exam, where 400 class points shifted in one go. Kanda Shuichi figured that as the school years progressed, the exams would create even bigger point differences.
Meanwhile, the second-year scores were suspiciously neat, as if someone had manipulated them on purpose.
As for the first-year scores, there wasn't much to say.
"Kanda, you should understand what these numbers mean." Ryuen stared at him intensely. "Class points determine how private points are distributed."
"Across all three years, the total class points exceed 10,000. Ignoring dropouts, the school distributes at least 100 million private points each month. That means over 1.2 billion points circulate every year, adding up to 3.6 billion in three years…"
"Wait a minute!"
Ryuen's words left Kanda Shuichi completely dumbfounded. Then, he immediately looked annoyed.
"Are you messing with me? If what you're saying is true, I should be getting a million points every month! Where's my million points!?"
"Tch, I didn't think you'd catch on so fast."
Ryuen clicked his tongue in frustration. He had planned to trick Kanda Shuichi and mock him, but his scheme was exposed instantly.
"Fine, I'll stop joking around." Ryuen's expression turned serious again. "You've noticed it too, right? The average class points across all years are over 1,000."
"Yeah, that's obvious. And the second- and third-year scores show what our first-year scores will probably look like in the future."
Ryuen glanced at Kanda Shuichi approvingly. "Exactly. That means, on average, every class will have 1,000 points, and every student will receive 100,000 private points per month. If we collect all those points, that's 12 million per grade every month. Across three grades, that's 48 million. In just one year, we'd have 576 million."
Kanda Shuichi's face twisted into a weird expression.
"Wait… you're not seriously planning to gather 800 million points so your whole class can graduate as A-Class, are you? I didn't think you cared so much about those idiots in Class C."
"That's right. That's my plan. Consider it my little parting gift to them."
A reward for recognizing you as the class leader?
"Before we even talk about whether your plan has any chance of success, there's something I want to tell you."
"What is it?"
Kanda Shuichi took a moment to organize his thoughts, then looked at Ryuen. "That blond guy on the rooftop that day—you saw him too, right?"
"The blond guy? You mean the current student council president? What about him?" Ryuen raised an eyebrow and nodded.
"Yeah, him. Nagumo runs everything in the second year. Every month, he forces all second-years to hand over 75% of their private points when they get them. So, any guesses on how many private points he's sitting on?"
The information Kanda Shuichi revealed was something even Ryuen hadn't been able to get his hands on. In fact, Kanda only knew about it because of some special intel from two upperclassmen in his club.
"That guy's got guts." A grin of excitement crept onto Ryuen's face.
"He puts on this cheerful, friendly act, but the moment he became student council president, he completely overturned everything Horikita Manabu had built. You don't need me to tell you what kind of person he is, do you?"
"Hah, I don't even need to think—it's obvious what kind of guy he is and the kind of things he'd do."
Ryuen let out a sneer.
"So instead of targeting the broke first-years, why not aim for the second-years who actually have a fortune?"
And there it was again—Kanda Shuichi's clumsy attempt at stirring things up.
"Do you have a grudge against that guy?" Ryuen asked after a short pause. "Or do you have a grudge against me?"
"What? Where is this coming from?"
Kanda Shuichi gave him a look of confusion and innocence.
"Tch. Last time, you pushed me to go after Ayanokouji. And now, right in front of me, you're trying to get me to take on the student council president. Do you think I'm an idiot?"
Ryuen looked clearly annoyed.
So far, all of the school's exams had been battles between students of the same year. There hadn't been a single test that involved different grade levels. That meant taking on Nagumo was basically impossible.
And since Nagumo was the student council president, if Ryuen used any underhanded tactics, Nagumo could just use his authority to crush him.
That was why Ryuen was so frustrated. But at the same time, he couldn't help but be tempted by the massive pile of private points Nagumo had.
"You're scared."
"This isn't fear—I'm just seeing through your scheme."
"You're scared."
"I'm just assessing the situation clearly."
"You're scared."
"Shut up!"
Seeing Ryuen lose his cool, Kanda Shuichi knew he had gotten what he wanted and smiled. "Relax, we'll get our chance to go up against Nagumo."
"...We?"
"That's right. The second-years are completely under Nagumo's control—it's a stagnant pond. Right now, he's using three of the third-year classes to fight against Horikita Manabu. But have you thought about what happens after this year's third-years graduate? What will Nagumo do then?"
"You're right. There's no way he's just going to sit back and have an easygoing third year. Otherwise, all that stuff he said during his inauguration would be meaningless."
"So when that time comes, he'll stir up conflict across the entire school. And when that happens, that's our opportunity," Kanda Shuichi predicted Nagumo's next move to Ryuen. "But squeezing the private points out of him won't be easy."
Ryuen nodded in agreement. Unless there was something even bigger to gain, Nagumo probably wouldn't give up his stronghold.
"But there's no way he has as much as 800 million points, right?"
"Of course not."
"So, that means my plan is still on, right?" Ryuen spread his hands. "How about it? Want to help me? I'll get Class D into Class A, and you help me carry out the 800-million-point plan."
"You should probably focus on cleaning up the mess in Class C first. Now that you've stepped back, I bet a lot of students are running wild."
"Hmph, if I wanted to, dealing with those idiots would be a piece of cake."
Ryuen snorted, looking completely unconcerned. It was clear he didn't take the students of Class C seriously at all.
"That might be true, but won't it bother you if those guys graduate from Class A too? Even I don't think every student in Class D deserves to graduate from Class A. Besides, I have a feeling that an exam where someone *has* to drop out might be coming soon. If you can survive that, then I'll consider your proposal."
"And if that kind of exam never happens, are you just going to keep dragging this out?"
"Alright, how about this—if no such exam appears by the start of our second year, I'll agree to help you with the 800-million plan."
"Deal! You better not go back on your word."
"I, Kanda Shuichi, always keep my promises."
As if afraid that Kanda Shuichi might change his mind, Ryuen reached out his right hand. Kanda Shuichi hesitated for a moment, then shook it firmly.