35 Chapter 35

Ayanokōji's POV

Mornings in Class D were surprisingly relaxed, considering that we were high school students. But then again, the students of Class D were no normal high schoolers.

I took out my school-provided cell phone, launched the pre-installed school app, and logged in using my student ID and password. I then selected the option "Balance Inquiry" from the menu. From here, you could do many things. You could check your current personal balance, or you could see how many collective points the class had. There was also a function that enabled you to send points to another student.

There were two types of points listed. One of them was marked with a "cl" at the end, which was short for "class." These were also referred to as "class points" – not points that an individual student possessed, but rather, the points that the class had accumulated together. The other points were marked with a "pr" at the end, which stood for "private." These were our individual points.

On the first day of every month, they multiplied the cl points, or class points, by 100, then deposited that amount into our private point accounts. We used these private points to purchase daily necessities, meals, even electrical appliances. At this school, points are currency. They are very important.

"Good morning~"

Ishihara-sensei casually strolled into the classroom as the homeroom bell rang, looking as carefree as ever.

"Sensei, did we lose our class points?" Kururugi asked as she walked to the podium.

"Ah, well. I might as well just stick up this month's totals, huh."

She put up a paper on the board that listed the point values. It was similar to the one from last month, except now we were listed as Class D rather than Class E. The paper read:

Class Point Standings:

Class A - 1004

Class B - 735

Class C - 500

Class D - 408

Class E – 87

"Hmm, we have 408 class points this month. That means we gained 98 since May 1. The other classes have seen similar increases, like I thought." Sora mused as he looked over the paper.

"Never mind that! In that case, 40,800 points should've been given to all of us, right? Why did our point totals not change this month?" Kururugi said exasperatedly.

"The first-years' point distribution has been delayed due to a little trouble, you see. Once it's resolved, you'll get your points."

"Ara ara, it seems like your little plan seems to have affected the entire year, delinquent-kun." Lelouch mocked, shooting a look across the room.

"I don't mind waiting a few days for 40,800 points if it means justice will be rightfully enacted." Light responded, folding his arms.

"Justice?"

"That's right, justice. What Ryūen Kakeru and, by extension, Class C are trying to do can be called nothing but an act of evil. An evil that I must vanquish from this school."

"What are you, some kind of vigilante?"

"If you want to call it that, feel free."

Everyone observed the exchange between our class representative and our proclaimed vigilante of justice. Ishihara-sensei, who was out of the loop on our class affairs, looked confused, her finger pressing into her cheek as if deep in thought. She looked quite cute.

"I'm not going to say that having a sense of justice is a bad thing. That being said, however..." Ryuzaki began, narrowing his pitch-black eyes. "That mentality of yours could easily end up leading you astray."

"Are you saying that you think I'm the kind of person to become corrupted by my own principles?" Light responded calmly.

"Yes. That's exactly what I'm saying. The point I'm trying to make is that you should be careful."

"Be careful?"

"He's basically saying that you should keep your justice-boner in check." Sora interjected rather crudely.

"Hmm, I see. I'll bear that in mind, then."

Somehow, I got the feeling that Light didn't plan on bearing that in mind at all. I just hoped that this wouldn't develop into something troublesome.

Suzaku's POV

I ate lunch with Sora and Shiro. I had eaten lunch alone with Lelouch mostly since enrolling here, but decided that I also wanted to get to know my other classmates better as well, which is why I was now tagging along with the siblings.

We ate with a silent, yet not awkward, atmosphere. It was quite peaceful. That was, until it was torn down, that is.

"Do you mind if we sit here? All the other tables are full."

A boy with a blonde/green gradient hair colour and brown eyes politely asked us. Behind him was a group of seven girls. Judging by that fact alone, this guy was probably Hirata Yōsuke, one of the most well-liked boys in the entire first year.

"Go ahead." Sora responded indifferently.

"Thank you. Sora of class 1-D, was it?" Hirata said warmly as he sat down opposite Sora.

"That's right. Hirata of 1-E? That's quite the fan club you've got there."

Sora motioned to the group of seven girls who began sitting down, which earned a few scowls. It looked like they didn't appreciate being labelled as a "fan club," even though that's essentially what they are.

"If you think that's bad, you should see Lelouch's." I added jokingly.

"Did he really gain that much popularity just from being in Class D? Where's my popularity?" Sora whined childishly.

"Well, Lelouch was already pretty popular before May 1. You were still unknown." I pointed out, which earned a pout from Sora.

"You may not have what you'd conventionally call "popularity," but you guys in Class D are quite famous right now. You're especially infamous in our class after that stunt you pulled, Sora." Hirata joined the conversation.

"Is that so..." Sora murmured in reply.

The pleasant, idle chatter continuing throughout most of our lunch, but eventually the topic turned to something a bit more sinister. The girls who were with Hirata began talking about Horikita, a classmate of theirs that they'd apparently taken quite a disliking to.

"I seriously hate that stuck-up, too-serious attitude she has."

"Yeah, and the way she talks as if she's better than everyone."

"Honestly, who does she think she is? Just because she has better grades than us, she thinks she has the right to look down on us?"

"Hey, how about we teach her a lesson?" One girl suggested.

I began to feel uncomfortable because of the direction this conversation was headed. The atmosphere now was thick, and a veil surrounded the Class E girls that seemed to vehemently oppose any input from outside their clique. Hirata, as well as us in Class D, could only listen.

"What do you mean?"

"Like, mess with her a bit. You know, as punishment for being so bitchy."

"Ooh, that sounds like a good idea!"

"Yeah, we could like, hide her shoes and stuff."

To me, this aura was suffocating, and I wanted nothing more than to escape. I could see that Hirata was visibly uncomfortable as well. I can understand him, since him and I are quite alike. Unexpectedly, the intervention came from someone different. A mocking laughter echoed out from beside me.

"How stupid. You people are the reason why I refuse to accept this world."

"What are you on about?" One of the girls, Maezono I believe her name was, shot a glare at Sora.

"Obviously, I'm talking about you. Just because you don't like someone, you want to bully them? Your thought process is disgusting." Sora denounced the Class E girls pretty loudly.

Hirata looked quite shocked, and I'm sure that I had a pretty surprised expression as well. I never expected Sora of all people to get angered by things like this.

"Bullying? What are you talking about? It would just be a harmless joke."

"Such a thing would only be funny for you. And you wouldn't stop there, either. You'd probably do it again after the first time because you found it amusing, and it would eventually escalate beyond petty things like stealing their possessions." Sora narrowed his eyes as he spoke.

"We'd just be teaching her a lesso—"

"Every day when you wake up, all you can think about is everything you'll have to put up with until schools over. Even so-called 'harmless jokes' will add up and do serious damage to your psyche eventually. Your only aspirations are to make it to the end of the day without breaking down, and when you finally finish you feel such an abnormal amount of relief."

Sora spoke in a low voice, laced with a hint of rage. I'd never seen Sora act like this before, even after knowing him for two months. He never spoke about his past, but did Sora possibly have experiences with bullying in the past?

"That is what will inevitably happen if you start down that path, even if now you just say it'll be "one harmless joke." And it will be all your fault