[A/N: Do not skim the chapter or the next chapter, this one has character fleshing out for Heylel and what others think of him will be in the next one. This is the end of the extended prologue just like in the LN. Get ready for spice. Also, Heylel will still retain the position of a "side character" at the end.
Also, does anyone have a good cover for this fic?]
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Class had ended for the day and class D was still full of movement and students. Hirata had taken the podium and was chalking out the information they had gathered.
Everyone was still in class, everyone but a few like Horikita and Sudou, even Kouenji was still there intending to pick out information on his classmates' plans because like it or not, their actions affected his credit line—at least inside the school.
"Ayanokouji!" Yamauchi suddenly appeared in front of his target's desk, his expression deathlike.
"Whoa! Wh-what? What's wrong?"
"Hey, buy this from me for 20,000 points. I can't buy anything!" He cried and placed the game console he'd purchased the other day on Ayanokoji's desk, which he frankly didn't even want.
"But if you sell that to me, who am I supposed to play with?" He asked.
"How the heck should I know? Come on, it's good, right? It's special, so it's a good deal."
"I'll buy it from you for 1,000 points."
"Ayanokouji! Come on, you're my only hope!"
"Why am I the only one? I can't afford it, anyway."
Yamauchi looked at him all teary-eyed, which grossed him out. So, he looked the other way. Realising that the fish wasn't biting, he immediately switched to a new target.
"Professor! Your best buddy has a favour to ask! Buy this game system for 22,000 points!"
He was trying to get the Professor to buy it and had shamelessly increased the price.
"Things must be really tough for the people who used up their points," remarked Kushida as she observed Yamauchi and approached Ayanokoji.
"What about you, Kushida? Do you have enough points? Girls have a lot of necessities, after all."
"I'm okay. For now, anyway. I've used up about half of my points. I kind of lost control the first month and overspent, so it'll be a little difficult to hold myself back. What about you, Ayanokouji? Are you okay?"
"It's hard not to spend money when you're so popular. I've barely used any of my points, to be honest. I haven't needed to buy anything."
"Because you don't have friends?" she asked.
"Hey…"
"Ah, sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to offend," Kushida apologised with a giggle and he couldn't get mad at her, she was too cute when she did that.
"Hey, Kushida-san, do you have a minute?" Karuizawa asked.
"What's up, Karuizawa-san?"
"Honestly, I've spent way too many points, and I'm seriously running low. Some of the other girls in class have lent me a few points, but I was wondering if you could help me out, too. We're friends, right? I only need, like, 2,000 points from you."
Karuizawa wasn't earnest, laughing breezily while she hit up Kushida. 'In such a case, rejection should be the knee-jerk reaction,' Ayanokoji thought.
"Okay, sure."
"Sure?!" He repeated silently, but it wasn't his business. This was a problem for the friends in question. Kushida had decided to help Karuizawa without even a hint of reluctance.
"Thank you! This is really what friends are for, huh? By the way, here's my number. Okay, see you later. Ah, Inogashira-san! Hey, to tell you the truth, I used up too many of my points…"
Karuizawa turned away just like that and went in pursuit of her next target.
"Are you sure? You know you probably won't get those points back, right?" He asked.
"I can't just ignore a friend in need. Karuizawa-san has a lot of friends, too, so I think it's probably hard for her not to have any points."
"I think using up 100,000 points is kind of her fault, though."
"Wait, how do you transfer points?" Kushida asked.
"Karuizawa gave you her phone number, didn't she? You should be able to do it with your cell phone."
"This school does take great care of its students. It even has a way to help students like Karuizawa-san."
He agreed that transferring points was a lifesaver for Karuizawa, but he was not sure about giving her points. If anything, it seemed like a recipe for disaster to him.
The loudspeaker came alive with a soothing sound effect, and a robotic voice issued an announcement.
"Ayanokouji and Heylel from first-year Class D. Please come see Chiyabashira-sensei in the faculty office."
"Looks like the teacher wants to see you."
"Yeah… Sorry, Kushida. Gotta go." He said as he stood up. Heylel was already up and ready to leave and while neither had any idea about some wrongdoing they couldn't skip out when called over the PA system. So, they walked over to the office under a shower of stares from their classmates.
Walking into the room Heylel spoke up, "Excuse me, we were called by Chiyabashira-sensei."
"Hmm? Sae? Oh, she was just here a moment ago." A teacher told them, she had shoulder-length hair, which made her look mature.
'The way she said Chiyabashira-sensei's name made them sound close. They were close in age and probably friends,' Ayanokoji concluded. Heylel ignored it all. He didn't care for the teachers' politics and dynamics—in his experience it was often best to not be involved.
"She must have stepped away for a minute. Do you want to wait here?"
"No, thank you. We wait in the hall," Ayanokoji denied her, pulling Heylel along into the hallway, though the teacher followed them.
"I'm Hoshinomiya Chie, in charge of Class B. Sae and I have been best friends since high school. That's why we call each other Sae and Chie," She told them. Heylel wanted to say that he didn't ask but kept his mouth shut.
"Hey, why did Sae call you? Huh? Huh? Why?" she asked.
"No idea," He said and Heylel shrugged.
"I don't understand. You two were called to the office without a reason? Hmm? What's your name?" An onslaught of questions. She scanned them from top to bottom as if sizing them up.
"My name's Ayanokouji," Then pointed to Heylel, "Heylel."
"Ayanokouji and Heylel, huh? Oh, wow, cool names. You two must be pretty popular, aren't you?" She acted more like a student than a teacher. Heylel though wasn't bothered, he had already met plenty of quirky people.
"Hey, do either of you have a girlfriend?" she asked.
"No… I'm, uh, not especially popular." Aynaokoji tried to seem reluctant, but Hoshinomiya-sensei kept pushing herself onto them.
"Not interested right now," Heylel answered, his face a mask of dismissal. Chie realised that she wouldn't get anything out of him. While Ayanokoji seemed unfamiliar with a woman's advances, it might work for him. So, she grabbed onto Ayanokoji's arms with slender, delicate hands. "Hmm? How unexpected. If we were in the same class, I'd never leave you alone. Perhaps because you're so innocent? Or do you like playing hard to get?"
Her actions drew Heylel's full attention. In this school, nothing was at it seems apparently. Even this teacher. She was targeting Ayanokoji. Even caressing cheeks. He had no idea what to do. She'd probably stop if he licked her fingers, but he had a feeling that'd get him expelled, not to mention earn scorn from his friend.
"What are you doing, Hoshinomiya?"
Chiyabashira-sensei appeared out of nowhere. With a loud thud, she smacked Hoshinomiya-sensei on the head with her clipboard. Hoshinomiya-sensei crouched and gripped her skull in apparent pain.
"Ouch! What was that for?" she cried.
"For getting involved with my students."
"I was only keeping him company while he waited for you, Sae."
"It would have been better if you just left him alone. Thanks for waiting, you two. Let's go into the office."
"The guidance office?" Ayanokoji asked. "Did I do something wrong? I've been trying to keep a low profile here."
"A good answer. Come."
While they wondered what this was all about, they followed Chiyabashira-sensei. Hoshinomiya-sensei remained by Aynokoji's side, smiling widely. Chiyabashira-sensei noticed and turned. Her face much like a demon's, she ordered, "You stay,"
"Come on, don't be so cold! It won't be the end of the world if I listen, right? Besides Sae-chan, you're not the type to give personal guidance. Pulling a new student like Ayanokouji-kun into the guidance room out of nowhere… Are you after something, I wonder?"
Grinning, Hoshinomiya-sensei scooted behind
him and placed her hands on his shoulders. Both of the boys sensed a storm brewing.
"So, Sae-chan, are you looking to be dominated by a younger man or perhaps two?"
Dominated by a younger man? What did that mean?
"Don't say such stupid things. That wouldn't be possible."
"Hee, you're certainly right. It wouldn't be possible for you, Sae-chan," Hoshinomiya-sensei muttered, her words laced with a double meaning.
"Why are you following us? This is a Class D matter."
"Huh? I can't go to the guidance room. That's not okay? Come on, I can give advice, too."
As Hoshinomiya-sensei continued to follow, a female student came up to us, a beautiful girl with light pink hair. Heylel knew of her but the other boy had never seen her before.
"Hoshinomiya-sensei, do you have a moment? The student council wishes to discuss something with you."
She glanced at them, but quickly returned her attention to Hoshinomiya-sensei.
"All right, you have someone who needs you. Get to it." Slap! Chiyabashira-sensei smacked Hoshinomiya-sensei on the butt with her clipboard.
"Aw! She'll get mad at me if I hang around any longer. See you later, Ayanokouji! You too, Heylel! All right, Ichinose. Let's go to the faculty office." With that, she turned on her heel and left with the beautiful Ichinose.
Chiyabashira-sensei lightly scratched her head while she watched Hoshinomiya-sensei leave. Soon after, we entered the guidance room, which stood beside the faculty office.
"So, why?" Ayanokoji asked.
"Yeah, as far as I remember, I haven't done anything," Heylel added.
"Before that…please come in."
She briefly glanced at a clock hanging on the wall, which gave the time as nine o'clock, and opened the door. Inside was a small office kitchenette. She placed a kettle on top of a stove.
"I'm going to make tea. Is roasted green okay?" she asked. And Ayanokoji picked up the container with the tea powder.
"Don't make any unnecessary moves. Shut up and get in here. Understand? Don't make a sound and stay until I tell you it's okay to come out. If you don't do as I say, you'll be expelled," she said.
"Huh? What do you mean by—" He began but she closed the door to the kitchenette without explanation, leaving them there.
He shared a glance with Heylel, both had the same confusion but still stayed. What in the world was she scheming?
Soon after, they heard the outer door to the guidance room open. Outside, some had walked in and someone was Horikita, "Ah, come in. So, what did you want to talk to me about, Horikita?" They heard Chiyabashira-sensei say as Horikita took a seat.
Apparently, she needed guidance, "I will be frank. Why was I sorted into Class D?" Or not.
"That's quite frank," Chiyabashira agreed.
"I solved nearly every problem on the entrance examination. I made no substantial mistakes in the interview, either. At the very least, I shouldn't have been sorted into Class D," The girl continued, her face indignant, carrying the air of someone who had been wronged.
"You solved nearly all of the problems on the entrance examination, hmm? Normally I couldn't show the examination results to individual students, but I'll make an exception in this case. I just so happen to have your answer sheet here."
"You're incredibly prepared. It's…almost as if you knew I'd come here to protest."
"I'm an instructor. I understand the mind of a student, at least to some degree, Horikita Suzune. Just as you said, you did well on the entrance examination. You had the third-highest test score among the first-year students and were close to the highest- and second-highest-scoring students. You did exceedingly well. And you're right: We found no particular problems in your interview. On the contrary, we evaluated you quite highly."
"Thank you very much. So then…why?"
"Before I answer, why are you dissatisfied with Class D?"
"Who could be happy with an incorrect evaluation? Furthermore, the class rankings greatly impact our prospects. Of course, I'm dissatisfied."
"Incorrect evaluation? Perhaps your self-evaluation is far too high." Chiyabashira-sensei snickered, or rather, laughed outright.
"I acknowledge that your academic ability is excellent. You're certainly very smart. However, who decided that smart people are categorically superior? We never said that."
"But…that's just common sense."
"Common sense? Didn't common sense create our current, flawed society? Before, Japan relied solely on test scores to separate the superior and inferior. As a result, the incompetents at the top tried desperately to kick down the truly superior students. In the end, we settled on a system of hereditary succession."
A system of hereditary succession meant that things like social standing, prestige, and employment were passed down to future generations. At those words, Ayanokoji groaned unintentionally. His chest hurt.
Heylel on the other hand filtered everything out as nonsense, he felt it the most anime dialogue to have animed since he came to his world. He didn't care if what she said was right or wrong, he was not the type of person to be bothered by the state of others, and he didn't care for equality or any of the sort. To him, this is all just noise. He didn't show it though, he just stood there, his arms folded, leaning against a wall.
"You're a capable student. I don't deny that. However, this school's goal is to produce superior people. If you believe academics alone place you into a higher class, you are mistaken. That was the very first thing we explained to you. Besides, think rationally. Would we have admitted someone like Sudou if we decided superiority based solely on academic merit?"
"Tch…"
Even though this was one of the country's leading preparatory schools, this place allowed students to enrol for purposes other than academics.
"Furthermore, you may be too hasty in proclaiming that no one would be happy to be incorrectly evaluated. Take Class A, for instance. They are under incredible pressure from the school, and also the target of extreme envy from the lower classes. Competing every day with that kind of pressure bearing down upon you is far more difficult than you might imagine. Some students are happy to be incorrectly evaluated at a lower level."
"You're joking, right? I can't understand such a person."
"Is that so? I think that Class D boasts some of those people. Strange students who would happily be set at a low level." Those words grabbed the attention of both the boys. Too accurate, too targeted.
"You still haven't given me an explanation. Was I honestly sorted into Class D? Did anything go wrong with the grading? Please double-check," Horikita said.
"I'm sorry, but you weren't sorted by mistake. You are definitely in Class D. You are at that level."
"Is that so? Then I will ask the school again, at another time." She wasn't going to give up. Horikita had merely determined that her homeroom teacher was the wrong person to ask.
"You'll get the same answer from anyone in a higher position. Besides, there's no need to be disappointed. As I told you this morning, one class can overtake another. You could conceivably reach Class A before you graduate."
"I can't imagine it will be easy, though. Forget overtaking Class A; how in the world could those immature Class D misfits gain more points? I can't see how it's possible." Horikita spoke the truth. The difference in points was overwhelming.
"I don't know. You alone get to decide how you head down that path. At any rate, Horikita, do you need to be in Class A for any special reason?"
"Well…I suppose that's enough for now. Excuse me. But know that I'm not yet convinced I was sorted correctly."
"Understood. I will keep that in mind." A chair squeaked against the floor, signalling that the discussion was over.
"Oh, that reminds me. I've summoned another person to the guidance room. It's someone relevant to you."
"Relevant to me? Who—" She was cut off, "Come on out you two."
The two heard her and shared a look and decided that going out was not worth the—"If you don't, I will have you both expelled," Well, fuck.
A sigh leaving Heylel's lips he pushed the door open. Revealing to the girl they had been listening in, naturally, she was surprised and perplexed. "Were you listening to our conversation?"
Heylel shrugged for the hundredth time that day and Ayanokoji denied it entirely, "Listening? I know you guys were talking, but I didn't hear anything. The walls are surprisingly thick."
"That's not true. Voices carry pretty well into the kitchen." Chiyabashira-sensei wanted to drag them into the action.
"Sensei, why would you do this?" Horikita noticed that this had all been planned and was angry.
"Because I deemed it necessary. Now then, Ayanokouji, I'll explain why I called you here." Chiyabashira-sensei dismissed Horikita's concerns and shifted her attention to me.
"Well then, if you'll excuse me…" Horikita muttered.
"Wait, Horikita. It would be in your best interest to stay and listen. It may provide you with a hint on how to reach Class A."
Horikita stopped dead in her tracks and sat back down.
"Please keep it brief," she said.
Chiyabashira-sensei chuckled as she glanced over her clipboard. "You're an interesting student, Ayanokouji. And you Heylel…" Her eyes were filled with fire.
"Not at all. I'm certainly not as interesting as a teacher with a strange surname like Chiyabashira." Ayanokoji tried a transparent diversion. Heylel just remained silent, right now the woman knew more about 'him' than he did.
"Would you speak like that to every Chiyabashira in the nation? Hmm?"
If you looked all over the country for another person with the surname of Chiyabashira, you probably wouldn't find one.
"Well, when I read over the entrance exam's results, your scores piqued my interest. I was shocked."
On her clipboard, they saw a rather familiar answer sheet. "Fifty points in Japanese. Fifty points in mathematics. Fifty points in English. Fifty points in social studies. Fifty points in science. You even scored Fifty points on the recent short test. Do you know what this means?"
A stunned Horikita looked over his test paper and then shifted her focus to me. "This is a rather frightening coincidence," she said.
"Oh? Do you believe that getting 50s all across the board was a coincidence? He did it intentionally."
"It's a coincidence. There's no evidence that it's not. Besides, what would I gain by manipulating my scores in the first place? If I were intelligent enough to achieve high marks, I would've tried to get perfect scores."
As he feigned innocence, Chiyabashira-sensei sighed in exasperation.
"You do seem like an odious student. Listen. Only 3 per cent of students solved the fifth maths problem successfully. However, you solved it perfectly and used a complex formula to do so. However, the tenth problem on the test had a completion rate of 76 per cent. Did you make a mistake on it? Is that normal?"
"I don't know what normal is. It was a coincidence, I tell you. A coincidence."
"For crying out loud! I respect your frank attitude, but it'll cause problems for you in the future," the teacher said.
"I'll think about that when the time comes."
Chiyabashira-sensei shot Horikita a glance that seemed to say, What do you think?
"Why do you pretend not to know?" she asked.
"Like I said, it was a coincidence. It's not like I'm hiding that I'm a genius or anything."
Ignoring him, her eyes turned to Heylel. "As for you," She pulled out two sheets of paper and laid them out on the desk. The entrance exam paper and started reading, "Eighty Points in Japanese. Sixty points in mathematics. Fifty points in English. Ninety points in social studies. Forty-five points in science. Anything to say about this?"
Heylel cursed under his breath, this mother fucker or as he called him, his previous self had the exact opposite expertise. He felt his heart rate rise but maintained his cool visage, "So?"
Then she pulled out the short test answer sheet, "Eighty points. Twenty in science, twenty in maths, twenty in English. Somehow you got full marks in all subjects you were worst at and you only got ten in social and Japanese," She smiled at him, "How so?"
He tilted his head and gave out an excuse, "I studied hard?"
"I don't think I need to repeat this now do I, the questions in the test were far above you. And I know you didn't cheat, I checked the cameras," Because the universe screwed him over?
Even the other two were giving him looks, Horikita especially had eyes narrowed to slits. Still, he had to deny it, "Look, I was just lucky Kouenji taught me problems like this—"
"And he didn't solve it himself?" She laughed.
"Why are you two hiding it?" Horikita asked, exasperated at this point. Heylel wanted to scream. He had targeted the eighty-mark range and hadn't considered what he was solving. Fuck!
"I wonder. One of them may be even more intelligent than you, Horikita." Horikita flinched. And both the boys sent silent prayers, 'Please don't say anything unnecessary.'
"I don't like studying, and I don't plan to try hard. That's why I get those scores."
"A student who chose this school wouldn't say something like that. However, some students may have different reasons for getting in. For example, You, Heylel and Kouenji. I think you three are fine with being in either D or A."
This school wasn't the only abnormal thing. The teachers were weird, too. Moments earlier, Chiyabashira-sensei had upset Horikita with just her words. It was almost as if the teachers knew every student's secrets.
"What other reasons do you have?" Horikita asked.
"You want me to explain it to you in detail?" All three noticed the sharp gleam in Chiyabashira's eyes. It was almost as if she wanted to provoke Horikita.
"No, we'd best stop here. Any more, and I might go mad and destroy all the furniture in here," Ayanokoji said.
"If you did that, Ayanokouji, I would demote you to E Class."
"Wait, there's an E Class?"
"Certainly. Of course, the 'E' stands for 'expelled.' As in, you'd be kicked out of school. Well, I suppose our conversation has ended. Enjoy your lives."
"What incredible sarcasm," Aynokoji said out loud and Heylel had to agree. He just got fucked over because the previous owner of the body was a sub-human who like 'Arts,' actual dogshit person, he deserved to die.
"I'm leaving, too. It's almost time for the faculty meeting. I'm going to close the door, so please step outside."
Kicking them out into the hallway, she departed, leaving both the boys annoyed and the girl supremely agitated.
Standing in the open Heylel breathed an audible sigh and decided to play the whole thing off, "Well that was a thing. I didn't know messing with my exam scores would get me dragged into this."
"And why did you do that?" Ayanokoji asked.
Heylel gave him the stink eyes, he didn't have any fucking right asking him, "I wanted to go to a local high school with my friends. Parents were instant I gave the test for ANHS so I wanted to fail the entrance exam with a decent-ish score. Well, turns out I made a fool out of myself."
Both loners narrowed their eyes at him, not believing a word.
Shaking his head, Heylel pushed off their doubts, "Whatever, let's go back."
Now that was something that Ayanokoji could agree on, so they started to walk, leaving Horikita behind.
"Wait!" She shouted which both ignored.
Angry, she ran up to them and fell in a step behind them, her eyes on Ayanokoji she asked, "Were your scores really a coincidence?"
"I already said so, didn't I? Or do you have any proof that I got that score on purpose?"
"I don't, but…I also don't understand, Ayanokouji-kun. You said that you like to avoid trouble, but you don't seem to be interested in Class A."
"You have an extraordinary fixation on Class A."
"Should I not? I'm simply striving to improve my future prospects."
"Oh, absolutely. You should. It's perfectly natural."
"When I entered this school, I thought graduation was my only goal. But the reality is different. I'm not even at the starting line." Horikita sped up and started walking in between them.
"So, why are you aiming for Class A?"
"First, I want to ascertain this school's true motives. Why was I put into Class D? Chiyabashira-sensei said I'd been deemed a Class D student, but why? When I discover the answer, I'll aim for A. No, I will definitely make it to A."
"That's going to be difficult. You'll have to rehabilitate the problem children. You have Sudou's continued tardiness and class cutting, everyone else talking in class, and, of course, the test scores. Even if you manage all of that, you're still at zero points."
"I know that. I still think the school made a mistake with my placement."
She thought so, didn't she? Even though now evident superiority complex made it clear that D was right for her.
"I can understand your thoughts, but I don't think the school will continue supervising us so carefully. If they did, there'd be no meaning in competition," Horikita said.
"I see. I suppose you could think that. So, you'll try to take care of this situation by yourself?" Ayanokoji asked.
"Yes," She proclaimed.
"Don't act so proud," Ayanokoji tried to burst her bubble and for that, a hand chopped into his side and a pained expression arose as a result, "Ow. Look, I understand how you feel, but you can't solve this by yourself. Think about Sudou. Even if you improve, the rest of the class will drag you down."
"No. You're right that no lone individual can solve this problem. We won't even make it to the starting line without everyone's help."
"Well, it sounds like we've got a huge problem on our hands."
"We have three major, immediate issues. Tardiness and talking during class are the first two. Third, we must make sure no one fails the midterm exam."
"I think we'll manage those first two issues, but the midterms…"
The short test they took contained a few difficult questions, but overall it had been pretty easy. Even at that level, some students had failed. Honestly, their chances of passing the midterm exam were slim.
"I need your help, Ayanokouji-kun. Yours too, Heylel." He nearly jumped at being called out, he was content with being ignored.
Still, not wanting to be a part of this, he refused, "Sorry. Dealing with Kouenji is enough for me."
A glare rose out of the girl, drilling holes into him as if telling him she wouldn't take that answer.
Seeing his chance Ayanokoji also put in his two cents, "What if I refuse? Like how you refused Hirata this morning."
"Do you want to refuse?" she asked.
"What if I said I'd gladly help?"
"I never would've thought you two would do it gladly, but I doubt you'd refuse Ayanokoji. I can't say about you Heylel. But if you two did refuse to work with me, then that would be the end of it. No matter what I said about our future, I'd be powerless if you refused. So, will you two help me or not?"
Both the boys looked at one another nodded and in unison, "I refuse."
"I see, I am glad you two decided to help,"
"What! I refused—"
"No, I heard a voice in my head that said you would—" Heylel sped up "Hey!" He walked even faster, almost devolving into a run. "Heh! "If you dare run!" She shouted but he was gone, turning the corner and leaving them behind, ignoring the girl completely.
"Oh, that little! Ugh!" She hissed. Turning her attention to Ayanokoji. Her eyes were deathly, too deathly for the boy to refuse.
Heylel didn't want to get involved in anime shengins. He would work till he would be above-average in terms of contribution but that was it. He would just take the admission tests for colleges when he was out of there. He didn't need the help.