Chapter 88: Class A's Factions!
In truth, it was not as if Yuto had never noticed Kamuro Masumi secretly following him.
But Yuto felt that Kamuro was strangely timid.
Every time he noticed her and walked toward her, Kamuro would bolt away like a startled rabbit. She had no intention of having a proper conversation with him at all.
Yuto was honestly left speechless by her reaction.
He had wanted to ask her on Line why she kept secretly following him, but he felt Kamuro probably would not answer even if he asked that way, so he gave up.
Because she had received a Line message from Yuto, Kamuro felt pleased and excited inside. She looked carefully at the message he had sent.
"Katsuragi Kohei? Why is Shimizu asking about that bald guy?"
Although Kamuro was confused, she did not ask him back out of curiosity. She honestly sent Yuto the information she knew.
[Shimizu, Katsuragi Kohei is extremely capable. I heard his parents are both gone, and he has a twin sister. He was already serving as student council president in elementary and middle school.]
Yuto raised an eyebrow.
So Katsuragi had applied to join the student council without hesitation after entering this school because he had always served as student council president.
Unfortunately, although Horikita Manabu considered Katsuragi excellent, he was completely different from the all-around Yuto.
Manabu did not think Katsuragi was enough to resist Nagumo Miyabi's domination, so he did not approve his student council application.
Before long, the student council would probably reject every student's application to join.
Mm, every student except Yuto.
Through his Line conversation with Kamuro, Yuto learned more information related to Katsuragi.
Katsuragi really was excellent. Not only was he strict with himself, he also held the students in his class to the same standard.
Whenever he saw classmates arguing with students from other classes or doing something inappropriate for a student, Katsuragi would take the initiative to stop them.
Because of that, under Katsuragi's influence, Class A's discipline was so good that it made people envious.
At the very least, Yuto was envious.
"Why isn't someone like him in Class D..."
Yuto muttered, "Then again, if Katsuragi were in Class D, would he be able to control trashy poor students like Ike Kanji and the others?"
Yuto felt that probably would not be possible.
Katsuragi could manage Class A's discipline partly because he was indeed excellent, but also because Class A's students were the highest-quality batch.
They listened, obeyed instructions, accepted management, and consciously followed discipline. That was why Katsuragi could manage Class A so well.
If Katsuragi came to Class D, he probably would not be able to manage rotten apples like Ike Kanji either.
[Shimizu, Class A is currently split into three factions.]
[One is Katsuragi Kohei's Katsuragi faction. One is Sakayanagi Arisu's Sakayanagi faction. The other is the neutral faction, which is basically made up of fence-sitters.]
"Sakayanagi Arisu..."
Yuto murmured to himself.
He had no impression of anyone with that name, but he cared about the surname Sakayanagi.
After all, Sakayanagi was also the surname of Chairman Sakayanagi, the man who took back moves when playing chess.
So Yuto wondered whether this first-year Class A student named Sakayanagi Arisu had some kind of relationship with Chairman Sakayanagi.
In truth, Yuto and Sakayanagi Arisu had met once in the chess club.
However, Sakayanagi Arisu had not introduced herself to Yuto at the time, so he did not know that the delicate silver-haired little girl back then was Sakayanagi Arisu.
"In other words, Class A still hasn't unified even now."
Yuto muttered thoughtfully.
Nearly a month had passed, and the situations of the four first-year classes had gradually become clear.
First-year Class A was jointly led by Katsuragi Kohei and Sakayanagi Arisu.
First-year Class B was led by the true little angel, Ichinose Honami.
First-year Class C was ruled by the delinquent Ryuen Kakeru through violence.
First-year Class D had Shimizu Yuto, who became the class's uncrowned king through his unbeatable reputation and absurd winning streak.
Classes B, C, and D could be considered unified, setting aside how different their methods were.
Class A, however, could not be called fully unified, because it had two leaders.
[Kamuro, which faction are you in? The neutral faction?]
Yuto sent Kamuro that message.
Yuto thought Kamuro was probably neutral. After all, he felt someone like Kamuro, who got excited from stealing, would not be interested in boring faction struggles.
[...I suppose I count as part of the Sakayanagi faction.]
Kamuro's expression looked slightly unpleasant.
[That's surprising. I thought you weren't interested in faction struggles.]
[Exactly! I'm not interested in Katsuragi Kohei and Sakayanagi Arisu's fight at all! I just... I just accidentally got seen stealing by Sakayanagi Arisu...]
Yuto raised an eyebrow.
He understood.
Kamuro had been caught stealing by Sakayanagi Arisu. With that weakness in her hands, Kamuro had been forced to join the Sakayanagi faction.
[Why are you still stealing things, Kamuro?]
Yuto's reply made Kamuro show a guilty expression, and she quickly answered.
[Only twice! One time, you caught me. The other time, Sakayanagi Arisu caught me. After that, I never stole anything again!]
[Really?]
[Of course!]
Mm, that was the honest truth.
After Kamuro had her weakness grabbed by Sakayanagi Arisu, she found something that gave her even more excitement and satisfaction than stealing.
That was following Yuto.
After that, Yuto casually chatted with Kamuro for a few more messages before ending the exchange.
"I'll go to Class A and take a look at Katsuragi Kohei."
Yuto stood up and left the Class D classroom.
Originally, Yuto planned to ask Kamuro, who was in Class A, to call Katsuragi out for a meeting and a chat.
But now that Yuto knew Kamuro was part of the Sakayanagi faction, and the Sakayanagi and Katsuragi factions were competing for Class A's authority, asking her to invite Katsuragi would probably cause a misunderstanding.
Yuto did not want to cause Kamuro trouble, so he decided to go to Class A himself.
When Yuto reached the third floor, where Class B was located, he unexpectedly ran into two acquaintances.
One was Ichinose Honami, with her beautiful pink-blonde hair, and the other was Shiranami Chihiro, with her bob cut and timid, pitiful air.
"Ah, it's Shimizu. Why are you up here?"
The moment Ichinose saw Yuto, a smile appeared on her pretty face. She naturally walked toward him.
Ichinose's warmth made it seem almost as if she and Yuto were close friends who could talk about anything.
Compared to Ichinose's enthusiasm, Shiranami's reaction was much more normal.
She was looking at Yuto with fear and timidity.
Ever since Yuto's name spread through the entire school, Shiranami had become more and more afraid of him.
This bad guy not only bullied everyone in Class B, he even bullied upperclassmen.
He was truly terrifying.
As Ichinose approached, Yuto caught a hint of her sweet fragrance—a delicate scent lingering from her skin and hair. He couldn't tell if it was her body wash, shampoo, or just her natural, alluring aroma.
"Good afternoon, Ichinose. I'm going up to Class A to find someone," Yuto said, pointing toward the fourth floor.
"Who are you looking for? Maybe I know them. I can show you the way," Ichinose asked curiously.
Beside her, the timid Shiranami felt that someone in Class A must have offended this bad guy, so now he was going upstairs to cause trouble.
"No need to trouble you. Besides, if you come with me to Class A, this girl might get so scared she starts crying, right?"
Yuto smiled as he pointed toward the trembling Shiranami.
Ichinose rolled her eyes at Yuto in annoyance.
Even her eye roll had a unique charm, bright and slightly feminine.
"Shimizu, why do you always want to tease Shiranami whenever you see her?"
"When did I tease her? Anyway, I won't keep talking. Lunch break will be over soon."
"Okay. See you later~"
Ichinose waved her fair, slender hand at Yuto and said goodbye. Yuto continued walking toward Class A on the fourth floor.
After Yuto left, Shiranami nervously pulled Ichinose toward Class B.
"Ichinose, let's go quickly. Don't let that bad guy notice us."
"Sigh."
Ichinose sighed helplessly.
She felt Yuto was not a bad guy. He was clearly a very good person, so why was Shiranami so afraid of and resistant toward him?
Since lunch break was almost over, most of the students in Class A had already returned to the classroom.
As good students, almost all of them were holding textbooks and studying.
The atmosphere in this class made Yuto extremely envious.
"Sigh. Comparing people really can make you angry."
Yuto clicked his tongue.
One of the Class A students noticed Yuto standing at the classroom door. It was as if he had seen a ghost while walking at night, and he immediately cried out.
"Shimizu Yuto!"
"Who?"
"Shimizu Yuto? Isn't that the scary guy from Class D?"
"That's right. The one who beat Class C's Ryuen Kakeru black and blue, challenged almost every club, and earned an absurd number of points!"
Yuto had only arrived at the entrance of the Class A classroom, yet he had already disturbed the entire class's study atmosphere.
Now, all the students in Class A were looking at Yuto with wariness, curiosity, unease, and various other gazes.
It left Yuto rather speechless.
"Tch. I don't think I've ever come to Class A before. Why are these guys reacting so strongly?"
If Class C or Class B students became chaotic because of his arrival, Yuto could accept that.
After all, Yuto had beaten Ryuen in Class C and tricked Class B's little angels before.
But Yuto had never had any interaction with the students of Class A.
After a short period of chaos and commotion in Class A, one tall, bald student stood up. He spoke in a deep voice to Yuto at the classroom door.
"I wonder what brings Shimizu-kun of Class D to our class."
After the bald student stood up, at least half the Class A students seemed to relax, as if they had found their backbone.
Yuto looked at the bald student and asked, "You're Katsuragi Kohei?"
"That's right," Katsuragi answered calmly.
Kamuro had mentioned on Line that Katsuragi had alopecia, so he had no hair and was extremely easy to recognize.
Forget hair. Katsuragi did not even have eyebrows, eyelashes, or body hair. Combined with his tall build, he looked rather intimidating.
"Come out and talk if you have time," Yuto said with a smile.
"...All right."
After a moment of silence, Katsuragi gave Yuto his answer.
Although Katsuragi did not know what this famous Class D student wanted to talk to him about, he could not let Yuto keep standing at the classroom door.
Because Yuto alone had already caused a huge change in Class A's atmosphere, making it tense.
A blond boy in Class A watched Katsuragi and Yuto leave the classroom.
He immediately stood up, sent a message to Sakayanagi Arisu, then secretly followed them.
He wanted to eavesdrop on the conversation between the two.
This blond boy was named Hashimoto Masayoshi.
Like Kamuro, he was a member of the Sakayanagi faction.
So Hashimoto wanted to find out what the famous Shimizu Yuto wanted to discuss with Katsuragi Kohei.
Katsuragi followed Yuto to the corridor outside Class A.
Although his expression remained steady and calm, he felt uneasy inside.
Everyone knew that Shimizu Yuto of first-year Class D was a madman who loved making bets with people.
Loving bets was not the scariest part.
The scariest part was that no matter what he bet on, he always won.
That was what made him truly terrifying.
'Is there really someone in this world who can do anything?'
Now, Katsuragi felt that Yuto had come looking for him specifically to make a bet and drain all the points from his student ID.
'Since the club seniors no longer dare to keep betting against Shimizu Yuto, has he now set his sights on first-year students?'
Katsuragi thought silently.
However, he was completely overthinking it.
How many points could first-year students have?
At most, they should not have more than one hundred thousand points.
How could Yuto waste his time and energy on a mere one hundred thousand points?
"Let's talk here."
Yuto turned around and looked at Katsuragi.
He felt slightly puzzled.
Why had this guy's expression become so heavy, as if someone was about to rob him of all his personal points?
Yuto threw that strange guess aside and spoke.
"Katsuragi-kun, I heard you submitted an application to the student council. Are you planning to join?"
"That's right."
Katsuragi nodded.
That was something everyone in Class A knew, so there was no need for him to hide it.
…
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