6 Revelation

May 1st

The bell rang signaling the start of the day. Hoshinomiya-sensei waltzed into the room with her usual expression, She was carrying a rolled poster as she stood in the teachers podium.

She then looked at every single one of us, Who we were having a serious expressions, The Atmosphere was tense.

" Ara~ What's with the long faces Students of Class B ? " Most of us looked up to her with anticipation, Hoshinomiya-sensei's expression softened " Or should i say Students Of Class A ? "

" Students of Class A ? Can you elaborate Sensei ? " Asked Shibata

" Of course " She then Proceeds to spread the the poster on the Black board " These are the Class points for the your first month of the school "

Class A 940 points

Class B 980 points

Class C 490 points

Class D 0 points

" You managed to surpass Class A in the amount of Class Points, So You've been Promoted To Class A, On the other hand, Class A Has been Demoted To Class B, You can Proudly Call your selves Class A Students, You can't imagine how much you've made Sensei Happy " She said with Excitement and wiping an invisible tear from her eyes, But the students weren't happy, They were confused upon Sensei's Words.

" Hmm Sensei ? Class points ? Promotion to Class A ? Can you please explain " The voice Came from Ichinose. That made Hoshinomiya Snap out from her Fantasy.

" Oh dear me~ Of course you would be Confused, I'm sorry Teehee~ " She cutely knocked her head while standing in a ridiculous stand

" Alright everyone listen, There are two types of points, The one that is for private use and you buy anything with, In Grocery Story, Cafeteria you name them . . Are Called Private points, The ones that are on these posters who who determines not only your class standing, But the allowance awarded to you each month are Class Points, 1 Class points Equal 100 points, Any questions ? "

That explains it, I Calculated the points i received to find 2,000 Points missing, And the weird change in the nameplate in our class, It was quite a hassle but eventually, The teachers Came and confirmed that this was our class and we would get an explanation.

The serious expressions changed into one of joy. Celebrating their Advancement into a higher class. Ichinose proceeds to ask another question " So Sensei ? Can you tell us how we lost 20 Class points ? "

" Ofcource, Your behavior in class and outside of class has been almost flawless, But there were some cases of talking in class and late arrivals that costed you Classpoints, Apart from this i'm not allowed to disclose the methods we use to evaluate you "

" Is there anyway to gain more Classpoints ? " This time around It was Kanzaki who spoke, Hoshinomiya appeared to be waiting for this question turned to face him.

" Well Ofcource, And you're Next Opportunity would be your midterms coming in three weeks " She then Posted another rolled poster, Containing the names of everyone along with a number " These are the results of our little quiz test you took the other day "

I took a quick scan over the poster, There were multiple people tied in the score of 85 one of which was Ichinose. Kanzaki and hamaguchi Were able to solve one of the hard questions and scored 90 tied for the best score each. I in the other hand Scored 80 slightly above average. The lowest score was 70.

" I'm glad that no one failed ! No one would be expelled if this was a real test ! " With that all the cheers and celebrations stopped at

. Everyone froze in fear.

" E-Expelled ? " " You're joking right Sensei ? "

" Nope, If you fail in any subject on your midterms or finals, You would be Expelled, But you don't have to worry, You all did a Magnificent job " She said with a Thumbs-up which didn't help in anyway.

It is true that everyone did great. However, That was a very easy Quiz, One for Elementary and middle school, Which was exactly what my Classmates realized. Hoshinomiya stood in the podium waiting for questions that would never come as everyone gagged.

However, I raised my hand " Hoshinomiya-sensei, I Have a Question.. "

" Yes Kiyotaka-kun " I Ignored the part where she called me with my first name.

" What's the point of all of this ? I Mean Classpoints and ranking ? Is there any special rewards for being in Class A ? " If i could guess, It would be most definitely the so called '100% employment rate' But i decided to ask anyway

" Yes you are correct Ayanokouji-kun, Did you guys hear of the 100% employment rate and college admissions ? Well, They are only Available if you graduate from Class A, Any other class below you Wouldn't receive anything " The class erupted into chaos, Their easy journey to their dream college or workplace was shattered. Ichinose successfully calmed everyone down, Watching her made me admire her, She really is amazing.

" So all Classes except Class A are doomed ? "

" Doesn't that make the lower classes Target us ? " Shibata and Kanzaki Respectively asked their questions.

" Yes, Since you now became Class A, You'll be in the Crosshairs of the lower Three Classes, Keep in mind that the Difference between you and the new Class B are only 40 Class Points, So be careful~ "

With that Hoshinomiya-sensei made her way to the door, Giving us a cute bye-bye before leaving. The moment the door was closed. Ichinose stood making her way to the teacher podium and clapped, Gathering everyone's attention.

" Everyone, I Would like to thank you for behaving yourselves in the past month, And Special thanks to Ayanokouji-kun for figuring everything and warning me " Everyone Turned around and looked at me in Admiration and gratitude and praised me, Ichinose Didn't have to do this, But her Nature wouldn't allow her to take the credits for someone else's work. I guess getting praised between now and then isn't bad.

Ichinose looked towards me and nodded before continuing her speech " You all did Great on the recent quiz. However, We aren't in the clear yet, I suggest that we hold study groups with a tutor on each group so we could completely avoid expulsion and increase our average at the same time " Her Suggestion received confirmation from our classmates " We could discuss the groups in the lunch break and finalize them in the class's groupchat, I Would also ask Hoshinomiya-Sensei for our entrance examination papers so we could improve using them, If no one has objections then that's all " Spoken like a true leader. She went down from the teacher podium as the bell rang.

" Good Job Ichinose " I Said with a thumbs up, Ichinose blushed alittle while responding with a cute smile.

.....

Classes Ended for the day, Kanzaki approached Ichinose and suggested something rather unexpected

" Hey Ichinose"

" Oh hey Kanzaki-kun, What's up ? "

" I've been thinking about this for a while, Sensei said that we could buy anything using private points right ? I wonder if we can get enough points to nullify an expulsion ? " I didn't expect Kanzaki to be sharp enough to come up with something like that. Impressive.

" Thinking about it, It could actually work ! Great job figuring it out Kanzaki-kun ! Do you want to check it out with Hoshinomiya-sensei now ? "

" Sure "

However, Before they could leave, A robotic voice came from the speakers " Ichinose Honami Of Class A, Please come to the Student Council Room "

/Ichinose POV/

The messages played in the speakers, Summoning me to the student council room. My heart started racing, This could be it, The Moment of truth.

" Em, Good luck Honami-chan " Chihiro-chan Said

" Go Get em Honami-chan We're cheering for you " Cheered Mako-chan, Touching her biceps and standing in a ridiculous pose.

" We're cheering for you Honami-chan " Said Kozue-chan.

Seeing them supporting me and being lively like this eased me. After all i have great classmates and great people watching my back, I couldn't ask for more.

" Seems like you have important business with the student council, We'll check that later " Said Kanzaki

" Yeah, Sorry Kanzaki-kun " I Apologized, He nodded and wished me the best of lucks.

As i was about to leave, I Glanced towards Ayanokouji-kun, Who gave me a thumbs up along with a soft and gentle " Good luck Ichinose "

I quickly left the room Headed towards the student council, I Could feel my cheeks getting hotter.

Ayanokouji-kun has been on my mind alot more than usual, Since the incident from yesterday... No, It got more frequent from that incident, But i couldn't tell when exactly I've been thinking about him.

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, He is my seatmate, He is handsome and very smart, His recent score on the quiz doesn't really show it, But he is very cunning and observant and was able to figure out the S-System since the first day. He is very strong too as he was able to handle down a muscular upperclassman with ease, He looked so cool and he is very fast at swimming too.

He was so hot with his muscular body dripping wet .....

Before i realized it, I was infront of the student council room, I Knocked on it, The door opened by a sweet girl who had a purple hair tied into two buns, It was the secretary Tachibana-senpai

" Come in "

" Pardon the intrusion " I Walked in to see the President Horikita-senpai sitting at the top of the U Shaped Table with a serious expression. Sitting on his right is Nagumo-senpai who had a smile the entire time. On the president's left was the Treasurer Kiriyama-senpai who nodded upon seeing me.

Tachibana-senpai gestured me to sit next to a bald person who looked dedicated. I sat next to him and waited, Then Tachibana who was standing close to the door spoke

" Ichinose Honami From Class 1-A and Katsuragi Kohei From Class 1-B. Thank you for being here "

Then Horikita-senpai got two papers who appeared to be our application forms, I Instantly became more nervous.

" So Ichinose and Katsuragi Right ? " I Nodded " I Have Reviewed your applications. Unfortunately, Both of you are rejected "

" May we know the reason we got Rejected ? For future reference " Said Katsuragi

" Both of you aren't qualified to join the student council, You're dismissed "

" I see ... "

We both stood up leaving the office. However, I Got called out " You stay Ichinose, I have something to talk with you about " Called Horikita-senpai, I Instantly perked up, Sensing an opportunity to change his mind, Went back and sat on my seat, Katsuragi-kun glaring at me before exiting the room

" First of all allow me to congratulate you on reaching Class A on the very first month of your first-year, You Managed to convince your classmates to not fall on the trap, Not many achieved such a fate so Well done " He said with his usual tone

" Umm .. Thank you President, But it wasn't me who figured it out " I Said honestly

" I Know, And it was Ayanokouji Kiyotaka who did right ? "

" Eh-? " I yelled out of shock,

" Well, He is a very interesting kouhai " At his statement everyone in the room looked at him in shock.

" What President ? " " A Kouhai Impressed President Horikita ? " " Taking an Interest in someone is very rare from you Horikita-senpai "

" Anyway, The other reason i called you here is to inform you that the culprit of the assault attempt has been punished properly, We apologize for the inconvenience and for what happened " Said the president

" Oh ? No it's not your fault president, Anything else ? " I Asked trying to find any hope of changing his mind

" No, That's all. You're dismissed " Said The President shattering any hope of joining the student council. I stood up and went to the door and gave the president one last look, He had the same expression as always

" Have a nice evening " I Said before exiting the room.

I walked down the hallway towards the entrance. Lost on my own fantasy, I failed to join the student council and failed my classmates. I don't know how i'm gonna tell them.

I walked completely unaware of my surrounding, Until he called

" Ichinose "

I turned around to see a familiar brown haired boy with a golden eyes it was ..

" Ayanokouji-kun ? .... "

/Kiyo POV/

The robotic message dumped it's content. Ichinose looking clearly nervous as she stared back at the speakers. Her friends namely Amikura, Shiranami and Minamikata cheered her on, It made her nervousness lighter as she regained some of her aura.

Ichinose was about to leave but gazed at me. She needed alittle push before confronting her worries, So i gave her a thumbs up, While saying in my softest tone possible " Good Luck Ichinose "

I expected her to give me her usual smile. However, She quickly ran out of the room, I noticed her Blush before she disappeared behind the wall. " Seems like i overdid it. "

<Sigh >

" Hoho~ Ayanokouji-kun , I never knew you can so smooth " Here it was, The Amikura Omen, Tried to tease me, But i wasn't someone to budge easily.

" I Just tried to cheer her on, It's not a big deal " I Shrugged

" But you went all the way to soften your tone for her sake, The Ayanokouji Kiyotaka broke his infamous monotone voice, That's a newspaper Title for ya " Teased Amikura, She kept trying to tease me relentlessly, But she didn't succeed, Nevertheless she appeared to have fun.

" Ayanokouji-kun, Can you say it again ? "

" Yes. One, more, time ! "

Amikura found some backup, and joined for a three way attack with the support of Andou and Shiranami.

They kept teasing me, Eventually they gave up, Breaking into a sweat.

" Damn, I thought we would get you for sure " Grumbled Andou

" That poker face of yours is harder to break than i anticipated, Don't worry Ayanokouji-kun, We will break it some day " Said Amikura

" Feel free to try " I Said with my usual monotone voice. And with that i made my way towards the entrance.

On my way there, I saw Ichinose looking down with a sad expression as she walked completely unaware of her surroundings.

I Decided to call her to find what happened " Ichinose "

She Turned and looked at me with teary eyes, My heart started racing by the sight of her. And she called out " Ayanokouji-kun ? ... "

" So, That happened ? " I Said, She Responded with a nod " Do you want to walk to the dorms together ? " She nodded in response

We walked towards the dorms in an uncomfortable silence, Ichinose was usually the one who carry the conversation while i respond or talk back sometimes, But she was looking down the entire time. I decided to break the silence

" Did he say the reason of the rejection ? " I Said

" He said that I Wasn't qualified to be in the council " She said looking down even more

That was a complete lie. Ichinose is capable enough of being in the student council and she has the experience because she was the president in her middle school. I couldn't come up with any reason for rejecting her. The president didn't appear naive enough to not notice that she is a shining crystal, But rejecting her for that reason was nonsense. There should be another reason that is beyond my understanding.

" Can you tell me what happened ? " She Nodded and briefed me of what happened.

" So Nagumo lied huh ? " i muttered, Nagumo told Ichinose that the president Rejects anyone below Class A, Now that he rejected both a former and current Class A students. I Could discard completely reason of incompetence. However, Another theory formed in my head.

" Did you have any prior contact with Nagumo-senpai before or after you applied for the student council ? " Ichinose, Appeared surprised by my question

" Eh, Yeah, He was the one who took my application and did the interview, After the interview he told me that i would be rejected because ... The president doesn't accept students below Class A " Ichinose lied. She is trying to cover up something that she didn't expect to be asked about, I glanced at her to see a Serious Expression along with ... Guilt ?. I decided to ask her about it..

" Are you hiding something Ichinose ? " Ichinose Tensed up from my question

" W-What are you talking about A-Ayanokouji-kun ..... I D-Don't U-Underst- "

" I Don't think Nagumo would be careless enough to say something like that, On the First week of the school nevertheless " Then i turned to look at her, She looked back at me too, Her Blue eyes were missing her usual Brightness, As Gloominess Took over them " Is there something bothering you Ichinose ? " I Said with a soft tone

She Quickly Shifted her gaze looking away while saying in a low voice " Y-Yes .. " From her voice, I Could feel sadness and guilt, Whatever was Burdening her wasn't something trivial.

" Do you wanna talk about it ? " She nodded " If you want you we can go to my room, I have some drinks too "

With that, We entered the lobby and went straight for my room, I Opened the door for her and she Entered " You can sit on the bed, The Ground may be cold and i still don't have Carpet, Or you can take the Chair " She Went and sat on the bed, Still looking Down I Went to the kitchen and started boiling water " Do you want a drink? I Have Coffee, Tea and Cocoa "

" I-I'll Have C-Cocoa ... "

After few minutes, I Poured the hot water into two Cups of Cocoa, I Handed one to Ichinose who was still looking down, I Went and sat on the ground waiting for her to start.

A Few Minutes passed and she was still looking at the ground, Just as i was about to take a sip from my Drink She Spoke

" We lost our father due to an accident just when i was 10. Because of that, My mother had to work extra hard to afford us the luxury of our childhood, She was clearly Overworking her self coming back late at the night and waking up early on the morning, When we would ask for her health she would always say that she is fine to remove any worries we have, But Clearly She was Struggling and i failed to do anything about it " She took a long sigh before continuing " One day, My little sister's Birthday was coming up, My mother promised to buy her a Bracelet that was very expensive, 10.000 yen. However, she fell sick and was transported to the hospital, My sister was depressed, As she locked her self in her room. Day after day, She only leaves to eat lunch and dinner, We Tried to talk to her but it didn't work. Until her birthday came " I Could already guess what's going to happen.

" I Went to the store where the bracelet was, And i ... I ... I STOLE IT ! " There it is, Ichinose's biggest secret, She Shoplifted for the sake of her sister, To bring happiness upon her depressed house again, First her father, Then her mother, and Lastly Her sister, Her house was clearly breaking apart and Ichinose did her best to keep her family together.

I Couldn't Pretend to understand, I Never knew mother's love or Parent's blessing. I Was always alone, Isolated, And getting experimented on, I was treated like nothing, A Number. My humanity got stripped away, I Became a monster, One that couldn't feel love or love someone.

However. Ichinose Clearly loved her family and enjoyed her time with them, She was ready to do the impossible to not break away her home. That. Was the only thing i understood.

" The look on her face when i gave her the bracelet was priceless, She was smiling again, Happy Again. Seeing her made my heart itch, I Felt guilty for what I've done, But i sealed it with everything i have, If it was for the sake of my sister then it was all worth it. That's What i kept telling my self " She Continued " On the next day, We went and visited our mother on the hospital, She instantly noticed the bracelet and looked at me for questions. The Daughter can never gets past things through her mother. She looked furious upon realizing what i did, She Grabbed the Bracelet and me and went to the store forcing her self to fix what i did. She Returned the item and forced me to apologize, The Store clerk Forgave me. But i didn't, I Never forgave my self for what i did, I Locked my self on my room, Day in and day out, Only leaving for lunch and dinners. My classmates visited my house, But i never left. I Mean, How can a criminal like me ever face people again ? " She said, Tears forming in her eyes.

I Sat there is silence listening to her. Listening is the only thing i could do.

With that, My Theory Was complete, And i could see the bigger picture of the current Situation, And i came up with measures. However, Ichinose Rose her head for the first time in a while and looked at me, Her eyes, Filled Sadness and guilt. Opened her mouth and asked:

" Are you disappointed Ayanokouji-kun ? Are you going to look down on me because i did that ? " She said with a worried expression, As tears fell down from her eyes. There was only one response in this situation

" Well, I am Disappointed ... "

" Y-Yeah That's Understandable Ayanokouji-kun, How can a criminal like my sel- "

" I am disappointed that you think i would be disappointed " My words stroke her, As she looked at me with a surprise " I'm not going to look down on you. In fact, Now I Admire you even more Ichinose. You were brave enough to sacrifice what you have for the sake of others. I'm not gonna say that what you did was good, But your intentions of doing so was out of goodwill and love " I Said with a soft tone

Ichinose Did something bad, And she was punished for it. But she wasn't able to move on. Her guilt kept stalking her wherever she went. That was a weakness that she needed to get rid off, But never was able to.

Ichinose Buried her face in her hands, And started crying. I Went and sat beside her and putted my hand on her shoulder and pulled her in for a one-arm hug.

After a few minutes she calmed down, Before Tugging my shirt and muttering " T-Thank you, Ayanokouji-kun "

" Did you tell Nagumo about this ? " She nodded, Still Laying on my chest

"Should i tell my classmates about this Ayanokouji-kun ? " She Said

" That's not my decision to make, It's Yours. Whatever decision you make, I'll support you " I Said Warmly

" Thank you , Ayanokouji-kun "

We Stayed like that for a while before she stood up. Regained alittle of her cheerful aura. She looked at me with a warm and exciting gaze.

" Right ! Ayanokouji-kun, I'm planning to have a Class alliance "

" Class Alliance ? Do you have a class in mind ? "

" Yep ! Tomorrow at lunch i will go and discuss it with the Leaders of Class D, What do you think ? "

" Well having One less class to worry about is helpful, But why tell me ? "

" Because i want you to accompany me tomorrow, And besides " Ichinose Lowered her voice at this " I Hold you at a very high position Ayanokouji-kun "

<" Because i want you to accompany me tomorrow, And besides " Ichinose Lowered her voice at this " I Hold you at a very high position Ayanokouji-kun ">

" Ah i mean You're Insights are useful Ayanokouji-kun you are very smart so i wanted you to accompany me, But if it's a problem then no. Nevermind " She Said. I Chuckled abit  " What's funny Ayanokouji-kun ? "

" Oh no, Don't mind me. You Just look very cute when you're blushing " Ichinose went blank for a second before blushing even more

" Eh- Umm, Right I-It's getting Late . . . I-I Should head Back " She Said While running to the door" Umm- Good Night , Ayanokouji-kun " She said with a huge blush on her face

" Good Night, Ichinose " With that, She bolted out of the room

I Laid on my bed thinking about today's events ... The whole time i was around Ichinose, I've was having a weird feeling. One of ... Attraction ? I've never been able to feel emotions before, But this time i felt something.

Could it be that Ichinose . . . Triggered some of my Emotions ?

............

AN : POWERSTONES!!!!

CONSIDER DONATING POWERSTONES! IT HELPS ME CONTINUE !!

Next chapter