Ch-7 The Students of Class D

[Kazuki's POV]

And just like that, I was accepted as the leader of Class D to be a unanimous decision.

Matsushita was the one that suggested the idea, asking me to become the leader of the class. At first, I wasn't exactly planning on leading them, just taking part and managing the class from time to time as a way to establish myself at the top.

My placement as class leader was sudden, thanks to Matsushita. Her suggestion left a positive remark on everyone, who all wanted me to become the leader.

When Kushida agreed with her, a good portion of the boys that were against it, also agreed and Hirata'w words made all of his fangirls agree, not to mention my very own fangirls.

My analysis on the S system managed to elicit a positive reaction from everyone in the class, even those that didn't really hold a good impression on me. Showing off such talent from the start displayed that I was indeed capable and even the stubborn ravenette from earlier, who wanted to waste Ayanokouji's time, had to agree with her classmates.

And how could I possibly refuse after all of this ?

To be honest, this is actually beneficial to me I a way, and I can already start setting up plans and increasing my own image.

Now don't misunderstand. I'm not trying to gain fame or become popular or anything of that sorts. It's just, now that I'm the leader and well liked by my classmates, I have a reputation to uphold.

The first thing I need to establish as class leader, is loyalty. I need the members of my class to be loyal to me. I need them to trust in me and my ability. I need to inspire moral on them.

I've already got some things planned out for this month. Aside from the obvious by making sure everyone behaves well, I can also use this first month to my advantage. I can scout things out.

My classmates, all of them clearly have their own defects. I need time to gauge each and every one of them, hopefully identify those defects of theirs and work myself to correcting them.

But that's alright. I have no reason to rush or anything. I have a lot of time to improve them and turn them all into the elites the school expects them to become. I've got a whole three years ahead of me and it's still the first hour of school.

For now, I'll just get close to me classmates. But first and foremost...

"Everyone, may I have your attention ?" I raised my voice enough to make sure everyone within this room could here what I wanted to say.

That seemed to have done the trick. I was now the centre of attention, which I better get used to since my intuition already tells me I'll be at the centre of a lot of things in the future.

But nothing ever comes easily, so I wasn't going to complain.

The school knows our past hm...

...

That would explain my placement on this class, not that I care or anything. I'm just glad my mother doesn't know about my placement, otherwise she would raise a HUGE fuss. But not before taking out her supreme grade weapon- la chancla!

The thought of that made me shiver. But I decided to focus on my classmates first.

"We will all be together for the next three years and we'll have to work together to reach Class A. So I want everyone to introduce themselves to the rest of the class." I told them this and they all looked at each other.

"I agree! After all, we don't even know each other's names or anything about each other!" The one that said this, was the excited blonde girl who reacted harshly earlier when Koneji said the school knew our pasts.

It was true that they didn't really know each other's names, aside from the people that talked to others.

After hearing her say this, the formerly reluctant students also decided to voice their support.

"I'll start. My name is Kazuki Hikaru, as you have all heard, and I promise to lead this class to the very top. I don't want to brag or try to sound cool or anything, but I'd say I'm decently athletic and smart. I hope to become friends and get to know all of you. Another thing I want you all to remember is that if ever face a problem, don't hesitate to come to me and I'll try my best to help you out." I ended my introduction by smiling brightly and closing my eyes while doing so.

I stayed like that for a while, but upon noticing the silence, I opened my eyes and observed my classmates. Of course, I continued to smile to appeal to them and appear friendly and approachable. This action of mine seemed to have a very positive effect on the entire class, especially among the girls.

I noticed that many girls in my class were red in the face, staring indefinitely at my face. On the other hand, I already noticed a few guys cursing at me.

Well I guess that much hasn't changed, at least.

I then looked at Hirata with a friendly smile on my face. "Why don't you go next, Hirata ?"

"Gladly, Kazuki-kun. My name is Hirata Yousuke. In junior high, lots of people called me Yousuke. So feel free to use my first name! I guess my hobby is sports in general, but I especially like soccer. I plan on playing soccer here too. Nice to meet you!"

Hirata's introduction was flawless, leagues better than the awkward introduction my dear friend Ayanokouji was going to give us in some time.

But ignoring that, Hirata's looks, friendliness and introduction was enough to make him a popular figure in this classroom. How can I tell, you ask ? Well let's start with the fact that the girl next to him had hearts in her eyes! Was a loving look!

With his help, I should be able to keep everyone in class honest and motivated, but I can't be too sure.

"Like Kazuki-kun just said, I'd like everyone to introduce themselves. Starting from the front row here." Hirata's soft words reverberated through the classroom as their attention was then focused at the bewildered girl that was sitting in the front row.

Quickly, she stood up, not from her own choice it seems. Rather, she was pressed too. She wasn't prepared with an introduction yet and the sudden mantle given to her caught her off guard.

I sighed mentally at this.

That's five anti-social I've mapped out in this classroom... I think.

I haven't really mapped anything out. I'm just assuming there are five of them.

"My name is... Inogashira Ko- Ko..."

As she tried to reveal her name, her words seem to get stuck in her throat, causing her to freeze, her face going pale. Was she really about to embarrass herself in front of her classmates that quickly ? That's probably what she thought.

"Do your best!"

"It's okay!"

This only caused her to stiffen up more, making me nod in disapproval. That is NOT how you handle a nervous, possibly socially anxious person in such a scenario.

Disappointed at their actions, and not wanting to let the girl embarrass herself, I decided to step in.

I approached her and stood next to her, making her flinch and stare at me silently, probably wondering what horrible things in thinking about her. I decided to ease her worries.

With a soft hand on her shoulder, the shorter female flinched involuntarily and I smiled at her.

"Don't worry, Inogashira. Take things at your own pace. Nobody's forcing you."

By allowing her to take things at her own pace without rushing, while also letting her calm down from the nervousness she was feeling, she would be able to properly introduce herself to the class.

Taking a deep breath, Inogashira soothes her throbbing heart and steadies herself. She then opens her eyes, flashing with determination as she introduces herself to the class.

"My name is Inogashira... Kokoro. Um, my hobby is sewing. I'm also pretty good at knitting. It's nice to meet you all." She then sat back down, seemingly relieved, delighted and embarrassed.

She casts me a thankful expression, one that I answered with a smile and a nod. "No problem dear."

A few more introductiona passed an I came across a peculiar existence.

"My name is Yamauchi Haruki. I competed in table tennis in elementary school and in junior high, I was the ace in our baseball team. Number four. I got hurt during the inter-high competition and am currently going through rehab. Nice to meet you all!"

I see.

"If you're going to lie, then at least make it more believable." I deadpanned at him, knowing full well that his entire introduced was a scam and he tried to get the attention of the girls in this class but he was too dumb to do even that properly.

"What ? You're accusing me of lying ? Do you guys hear that ? Our so-called leader think he's better than us already! You're just jealous of me!" I confidently states and tried to laugh in a haughty way, resembling the likes of Koenji.

Looking at the blonde millionaire himself, I saw him gagging uncomfortably in repulse after seeing Yamauchi try to imitate him. I honestly shared his sentiment.

I'm gonna hate this kid, aren't I ?

"Hey! Don't be rude to Kazuki-kun!" One of the girls suddenly yelled.

"You must be a dumbass to think we believe a word that can out of your mouth! Inter-high is a high school competition, junior high students can't participate! Everybody knows that!" Shinohara Satsuki, who was previously introduced herself, yelled out, both amused and angered by his behaviour.

"I can't believe you'd lie just to get attention!"

"And you're trying to make our leader look bad!"

"Kazuki-kun saved us and figured out the entire S system for us, and you have the audacity to try and downplay him because you're jealous of him ? And you lies to get the attention instead ? You're so pitiful." Matsushita was harsh with her words, but it was every bit true.

"You are such a pitiful, miserable existence. A person like you truly deserves to be stuck in this class. A true defect. How did you even get into this school ?" Koenji smirked while glaring at the pathetic man, who he thought would end up infecting him like a plague. Koenji didn't like the idea of having to be in the same room of someone like him.

Yamauchi's plan was to try and make everything think bad about me and increase his own popularity. Unfortunately, he was an idiot and couldn't even managed to do that much.

Just like that, Yamauchi Haruki made himself the number one enemy of the entire classroom, who had all entrusted themselves to me. Embarrassed by his mistake, and unable to bear the insults hurled at him, he sat back down silently with his head down.

"Let's continue."

"My name is Karuizawa Kei. I love shopping, hanging out with friends and going to the mall! Nice to meetcha!" Said the cute blonde with with her hair tied in a long ponytail.

Karuizawa Kei. She was one of the people that reacted harshly to the revelation of the schools knowledge of our past. And her reaction was one of pure despair and fear. One that wasn't normally seen on other people. Her reaction was enough for me to realise that Karuizawa Kei was one of the people in this class that had a glaring defect, like that raven haired girl from earlier and Yamauchi.

I would like to add Rokusuke and his narcissistic self to this list of mine as well, but putting someone of his caliber in the same sentence as Yamauchi Haruki would be in bad taste and straight up disrespectful.

"It's my turn next, isn't it ?"

It was Kushida, and she seemed as excited as ever! I liked that smile of hers. It was very refreshing to see someone with such a cute smile. I can only wonder if that smile is even real.

"My name is Kushida Kikyou. None of my friends from junior high made it to this school, so I'm alone here. So I'd like to become friends with all of you as soon as possible. I want to remember the names and faces of everyone here! And after our introductions are complete, I'd love for you to share your contact information with me. So during the summer break or some event, I hope to make as many memories with you guys as possible! So please, invite me to any event that takes place! Anyways, I've talked for too long so I'll go ahead and end my introduction here."

Kushida made it a point to stress on the point of becoming friends with everyone to the point of it being a little sus.

Not that I really care or anything. She can be as friendly and extroverted as she wants. Who am I to judge ?

Iin any case, just like I had assumed when I first met her, Kushida immediately became a gem in the eyes of most of the boys.

I honestly didn't like the way certain people were staring at her. I rubbed on me the wrong way. But I kept myself in check so as to not do something rash.

As the introductions passed on, I moved across the room as more and more people introduced themselves. I then stopped near a red haired, delinquent-looking guy. But I didn't wa t to judge based on his looks.

"What are we, a bunch of little kids or something ? I don't care about that! People who want to do that can go ahead, but leave me out of it!"

....

Maybe I should have judged him.

I can't afford to let him go that easily though.

He tried to get up, but I placed a firm hand on his shoulder. His gaze hardened when he found himself unable to get up under the pressure my arm exerted on his shoulder.

"What the hell...?" He stared up at me with an expression that mixed disbelief and frustration.

"You want to reach Class A, correct ?" I asked him sweetly, a thin smile on my face.

"What the hell are you-"

"Right...?" I tightened the grip on his shoulder, making him uncomfortable.

"W-Well, yeah..?"

"Then go ahead and introduce yourself. You say you want to reach Class A and even after all that I've said, you still don't want to co-operate ? How do you expect to help us or receive aid when we don't even know each other's names ? How will we co-operate and work together then, hm ?"

He remained silent for a while.

"I'm-"

He opened his mouth to say something, but I beat him to it.

"You understand then ?"

This made him look up at me in shock, making me quirk an eyebrow up.

Why's he shocked ?

"H-How did you know my name already ?"

Huh ?

What was he talking about ?

I don't know his name. And I don't remember every trying to guess his name either.

So where was this coming from.

"Whatever do you mean ?"

"You... You just called me Ken. How did you know my name ?"

Ken ? His name is Ken ?

But I never said that though. Unless he misheard me earlier when I... Wait!

"You understand then ?"

It turns out that he did in fact, not understand.

He might have misheard me say "then" as "Ken". Maybe... I'm honestly just speculating here.

I sighed.

Why do people always misunderstand me ?

Now what do I do. How am I going to tell him this ? I don't think telling him he misheard me will work and I might look suspicious in his eye.

I then remembered something that acted as my lifeline.

"Chabashira sensei." I uttered.

He looked at me in confusion, not understanding what our teacher had to do with it.

"Earlier, she called you guys your name, correct ? When you got mad and kicked your desk ? Sudou... Ken, right ?"

I remember Chabashira sensei referring to him as "Sudou", I think... It was something along those lines! And since he said his name was Ken, I assume that's his name.

"Y-Yeah... Did she say my full name ?"

"Yes." I lied.

"Oh... I see. Well, anyways. I'm Sudou Ken, and I'm like playing basketball. I'm planning on joining a team here."

"Thank you Sudou."

I removed my hand from him and continued onwards, ignoring the gazes I felt from the rest of my classmates. Why were they looking at me like that ?

"What ?"

"Nothing..."

In any case, I decided to let the introductions continue. Eventually, a boy named Ike Kanji introduced himself and he's already one my shit list. Not as low as Yamauchi Haruki, but he is there nonetheless.

If they try anything... I'll ruin them.

And there we go. Our dear star himself, the so called "perfect existence", Koenji Rokusuke. Let's see what this cabron has to say.

"My name is Koenji Rokusuke. As the sole male heir of the Koenji Conglomerate, I will be a person who will lead Japan in the future. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, ladies. And of course, my friend and brother, Kazuki Hikaru himself." Hearing him say that, I smiled a little bit also sighed.

But I can say this much about this stubborn millionaire. He certainly lives up to his name and can actually back up what he says. Though... "perfect" is stretching it a bit too far.

After hearing introduced himself, many girls turned to him with heart-shaped eyes, likely because they heard he was rich. Gold-diggers... Others found him weird... And I honestly don't blame them.

"Starting from today, I will personally punish anyone who makes me uncomfortable. So please begin exercising caution." Now that's the part that was missing. I hope he doesn't cause me any headaches while I'm here.

Well, nonetheless, Rokusuke is a very reliable person if you get to know him.

"Um, Koenji-kun, what exactly do you mean when you say "anything that makes me uncomfortable" ?" Asked Hirata with a face adorned by uneasiness, nervous about what Koenji actually meant by the word "punish".

"I mean exactly what I said. If I had to give an example... I hate ugly things, for instance. So if I were to find one, I'd do what I said." He flicked his hair back and grinned while closing his eyes.

"Well, you do you, mi amigo." I told him.

A few more were left...

A red haired female with a very curvy figure, short stature stood up, wearing fake glasses for some odd reason. They did not have the proper curve normal spectacles would and should have.

With one single glance at her and after seeing stutter like that, he immediately realises that she had social problems.

"Don't worry Sakura-san. If you ever feel troubled, feel free to come over to me. I'll help you in any way I can. And don't be nervous or anything. I understand you have a communication disorder or social anxiety, but I think if you stick with me, you'll lose that eventually." I smiled at her and walked away.

I of course, decided to announce to the entire class to be nice to Sakura for she had difficulty speaking with others. I also decided to allow the entire class to help her out and clap for her, which made her super embarrassed but that's besides the point.

The raven haired girl stood up and stared at us, or me, with a neutral expression.

"Horikita."

Is all she said before she sat back down. It made me want to sigh again, but I'll just have to go onwards and act like that didn't just happen.

The last person to introduce themselves, was my newly acquired best friend, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.

"Eh ?"

He asked, like he wasn't prepared yet, making me cringe. Did he zone out or something ? He's the last guy, he should have had time to prepare.

"Um, I'm Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. Uh, I can't wait to study with you. Uhh... I'm not really good at anything in particular. I'll do my best to get along with you all ?" He said that last part like he himself was questioning it.

Everyone stared at the boys unchanging expression with pity and clapped.

But I was actually a little proud. He was sooo silent when I first talked to him! This is an improvement.

I decided to clap as well, but mine wasn't a pity clap. With shining eyes, I whistled to get the attention of everyone else.

"Guys, please be nice to him. He's been homeschooled all his life and doesn't know how to fit in here. And he has social anxiety too, like Sakura. I'm proud he was even able to introduce himself like that. And you should all be too!"

Everyone looked at him with an understanding face, Sakura specifically looked at him with familiarity, and they all clapped. Some of them were still out of pity though.

Tch. I'll show them how talented his child truly is!