Starting in class C: not completely defective.

Arc 1 chapter 5: an interesting competition.

It was Sunday, and I had just woken up to the sound of my phone ringing. The caller ID read: Ryuuen Kakeru. That was unexpected, at least at this hour.
Ryuuen and I had made a deal yesterday; we would make sure our class gained the 100% percent employment guarantee that the school offered. Ryuuen would be the class leader, and I would help him.
"Ayanokouji, did you see the school message board?" Ryuuen asked.
"No, I didn't. Why?" I didn't know what he was talking about.
"There's a chess tournament being organised by a few seniors for the first and second years. Are you any good at chess, Ayanokouji?" Ryuuen asked, sounding a little bit excited.
"I'm not bad, I guess." I didn't want to stand out unless there was a good reason.
"There's a 500,000 point reward for the winner. I'll ask you again: are you any good at chess, Ayanokouji? That's 5 times what we were given on the first day. We don't know how much those points could help." Ryuuen tried his best to divert my attention to helping the class.
"I'm confident in my abilities. I could probably win." I would win if it meant that I could help my friends.
"So does that mean you'll do it?"
"Sure, I'll do it."
"Good. I've already ordered Kaneda to enter. He says he's good too."
"Well, the more people we put in, the better. It probably won't be a large tournament anyway, it'll just be me, Kaneda and a few other chess nerds." I said

"It seems I was wrong." I said to Ryuuen.
"Yeah. You were." Ryuuen said
There were almost 300 people in the park where the tournament was being held.
"This is a lot of people. Are you sure about this, boss?" Kaneda asked Ryuuen.
"Just shut up and get in their Kaneda." Ryuuen glared at Kaneda
"Yes Ryuuen." Kaneda slinked off.
"Ayanokouji. Can I trust that you will play to win?" Ryuuen asked cautiously.
"I will. I'm not going to throw away 500,000 points."
"Good. Don't fail." Ryuuen encouraged
"Greetings, students. Welcome to the first and second year chess tournament. I am the organiser of this event, and Vice President of the student council, Nagumo Miyabi."
A tall blond boy, obviously called Nagumo, stood on a small podium in the centre of the event. He was cocky and confident, that much was evident.
"The rules are simple: if you see a person without an opponent, play against them. If you lose, please leave the playing area. The person who wins the tournament receives 500,000 private points. That is all. Please begin."
Wow. This tournament was quite unconventional. Instead of pre-set matches, you could play whoever you wanted right out of the gate.
I sat down at a free table, and waited for an opponent. It wasn't long before a boy with grey hair and a confident look on his face came up to me.
"Hello. I'm Yamauchi Haruki. You should know that I was a national level chess player when I was younger, but I haven't played in years, so I might be a little rusty."
An obvious lie.
"I'm Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. I've never played in a tournament before. It's nice to meet you, Yamauchi-kun."
We shake hands and start the game.
It isn't long, perhaps 30 seconds, when Yamauchi is checkmated.
"Damn you. I bet you cheated, you bastard!" Yamauchi seethed, and I could see tears forming in his eyes.
"Be a gracious loser, don't embarrass yourself."
With that, Yamauchi walked off. Poor boy.
I played a few more matches, until there were just a few people left. I noticed the white haired girl from class A wasn't here. I'd have thought she would've come for an easy reward. What a shame, I would have hoped to play her, instead of people like Yamauchi.
Before I knew it, the final match came. My opponent was a girl with platinum blond hair and a cocky smile. Where have I seen her before.
I could see Ryuuen trying to get my attention, and pointing at her, and then tried to say something, but before he could, Nagumo came up to our table.
"Well everyone, I hope you had a good day, even if you didn't win. Now though, it's time for our final match. You, first-year, what's your name?" Nagumo asked me.
"I'm Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, of class 1-C."
"A few gasps and mutters came from the second year students. Were they surprised that a mere student from 1-C managed to beat upperclassmen who were in classes 2-A and 2-B?
"And you, well, you don't need much of an introduction for the senior students to know who you are, but could you introduce yourself for the benefit of the first-years." Nagumo asked the girl in front of me.
"Piss off, Nagumo. You know I don't like people knowing my name unless I want them to." Wow. She was feisty.
"Ah, um ok." Nagumo said, rather nervously.
"Well then, begin the match." Nagumo announced, and the park erupted with cheers and applause.
"Let's have a good game, eh, kouhai-kun?" The girl said to me.
"And, if you play well, I'll tell you my name." She said, her smile growing wider.
"Let's have a good game." I said, bowing.
I was playing white, so I decided to move pawn to e4. Simple.