Starting in class C: not completely defective.

Arc 1 chapter 14: The benefits of friendship.

The study groups were going well. Of course, no one suddenly loved studying or found great joy in it. However, they all did their part to avoid expulsion so they could continue to spend time with their friends. The people who had failed at the quiz last month frantically repeated everything written on the blackboard, wracking their brains to understand the problems.
Ishizaki occasionally came close to passing out during class. His head would bob up and down as he started to doze, but he managed to stay awake.
How exactly did this school define an exemplary student? At the very least, people didn't pass or fail based solely on academics. Considering the fact that people like Ike and Sudou from class D had been accepted into the school, that much was obvious. If the school enrolled students talented in other areas, though, it was odd that they'd have a system in place to expel students for just one failing grade. At least, that's how I saw it.
Unless the system itself was a lie, there wasn't much I could conclude. Could they be creating such problems for students like Ishizaki and Sudo solely so they could overcome them? It likely wasn't that simple. Both the small test we'd taken and the classes, so difficult for people like them, posed problems.

When the lunch bell rang, everyone made a mad dash for the cafeteria. Our break was 45 minutes long. After lunch, the whole class agreed to meet in the library for a twenty-minute study session. At first, we'd planned to study in the classroom. However, for better concentration, we decided to avoid noise and use the library.
"Ayanokouji-kun! Do you want to eat lunch together? I don't have any plans today!" Kushida unexpectedly hopped out in front of me. The memory of last night was still fresh in my mind.
"Ah, okay. Well then, where do you want to-" I began.
"Oh my goodness! Ayanokouji-kun, what happened to your hand?" Kushida asked me, holding my bandaged left hand.
"Oh, well. I was cooking yesterday, and I dropped my knife. I'm pretty clumsy," I said.
Kushida was caressing my hand with her thumb, right above the faint red patch where some blood had seeped through. Then, she applied strong pressure with her thumb on the wound. I looked into her cold, dead eyes.
"I bet that hurts quite a bit, doesn't it, Ayanokouji-kun."
"Yes, it does," I said, pulling away my hand.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Ayanokouji-kun. Was I possibly...being a bother?" Kushida asked.
"Oh, no. Not at all."
After I'd discovered Kushida's secret, she'd been rather blatant about keeping tabs on me. She said that she'd destroy me, after all. I couldn't trust her.
I quickly texted a small group chat that I had created.
I'm with Kushida. Keep an eye on my location. I'll start a group call if I run in to trouble.

Kushida and I went to the café to get lunch together. When we arrived, the absolute flood of women overwhelmed me.
"What's going on? There's an insane number of girls here," I said.
I'd say 80 percent of the customers were girls.
"This isn't really a place where boys come to eat."
The menu included items like pasta and pancakes, food that only girls would like.
(A/N I know plenty of guys who like pasta and pancakes 😤)
Athletic people like Sudou would probably complain about the small portions. There were a few guys, but you could say that they were either coupled up or playboys. Very guy here was either alone with one girl or surrounded by multiple ladies.
"How about we go to the cafeteria after all? I feel kind of uncomfortable here," I said.
"You'll be fine once you get used to it. It seems like Kouenji-kun comes here every day. See?" Kushida pointed to a table in the back, where Kouenji sat surrounded by girls. He looked just as grand and imposing as ever. I'd never seen him around during lunchtime. Was this where he went?
"He seems very popular. This girls around him seem to like him."
Kushida didn't seem surprised. Probably because she saw him here a lot. I overheard some of the conversation between Kouenji and the girls.
"Fufufu Kouenji, you're so funny."
"Haha, would you expect any less, Sakayanagi."
So that white haired girl with the cane next to him was Sakayanagi, one of the leaders of class A. Interesting, I didn't peg her as the type who was in to guys like Kouenji. In fact, I didn't think she had any romantic feelings whatsoever. I was naturally suspicious, so I looked around.
I saw a boy with purple hair sitting with some girls, but he wasn't paying much attention to them. Occasionally, his eyes darted to me and Kushida.
We sat down as far from Kouenji as possible.
"Do you want to know something, Ayanokouji?" Kushida asked.
"Sure." I cautiously answered.
"No one can hear us over all this racket in the cafe. It's practically just you and me in here right now."
"Ok..." I was confused.
"Do you want to know something else?"
I stayed silent.
"You're probably going to die today, you know?"
I froze.
"What do you mean?" I asked. I quickly called the chat, and cancelled the call.
"Not so fast. Take out your phone, I want to check you're not recording. I won't fall for that again." Kushida kept up her public appearance face.
"I'm leaving. Goodbye Kushida." I got up and left.
"Huh, leaving so soon, Ayanokouji-kun? Oh well, have a...pleasant day, I guess. Be careful on your way back." Kushida's face flashed into what I saw on the rooftop the other night.
I made my way out of the café. I noticed that Kouenji, Sakayanagi, Kushida and the violet-haired boy all left and followed me.
I decided to take the quickest route back to school. Unfortunately, there had been a pipe burst along the road. That seemed far too convenient for them to be a mere coincidence. I was forced to go into a back alley. I hadn't gone exploring much, and didn't know the campus very well. After a few seconds, I realised that this was a dead end. I turned around, to see my pursuers behind me. There were 6 people in all. Obviously, they had called for reinforcements. The new additions were 2 boys from class 1-A, one with long, greasy hair, and one with a ponytail.

Shit, I was completely cornered.
"Well, demon boy. It seems like the game is up. This is where your life at this school ends. If it doesn't end entirely." Kouenji said.
"Yes, indeed. If you're still alive after this, you can slink on back home to your father." Sakayanagi purred.
It seemed that the people in front of me knew who I was. I wonder if Kushida had told them, or if they already knew.
It started to rain.
It didn't look like anyone was coming to help me. I could have handled all of them if I fought each one separately, but not even I could fight Kouenji without even numbers. He was far too strong, almost on par with me.
I braced my fists.
"Well then. I suppose this is goodbye, Ayanokouji." Kushida gave me one last sadistic smile.
"You could've just accepted my advances, then we wouldn't be here, would we?"
When I didn't respond, her smile disappeared.
"Get him," she ordered, ready to charge me.

"Kukuku, what's going on here, then?"
Finally. My soldiers had arrived, and not a moment too soon.
My assailants turned around to see 4 people behind them.
Ryuuen, Ibuki, Albert and Fuka.
"How are you holding up, Kiyotaka?" Fuka asked in mock sadness.
"Fuka...this isn't the time to be messing around." I whined.
"Ayanokouji, hang in there, we'll help you." Ibuki said.
Now it was 5 vs 6. In fact, it was 5 vs 5 because Sakayanagi couldn't fight.
"Fufufu seems we've been sandwiched in here." Sakayanagi laughed.
"Ho Ho, well done, demon boy. It seems we underestimated your social circle." Kouenji smirked and combed his hair.
"Now, Kushida. Could I convince you to stand down? You may have more people, but we have better fighters. How about we call it quits?" I proposed.
Kushida looked at her feet, fists clenched. Then, she slowly looked up at me.
"Never." With that, she charged at me.
I easily dodged to the side and aimed a kick at her ribs, which she took, and grabbed my leg. Using the leg she grabbed as a pivot, I swung around and kicked her in the face. Luckily, I didn't knock her out. Suddenly, a voice cried out.

Unknown pov
"Stop this, right now! I won't allow violence to break out on campus property." I said.
Everyone in the alley turned to look at me.
"I won't ask what reason you're fighting, but I suggest you all leave, now," I ordered.
The group dispersed, and I could see them making rude gestures and grimacing at each other.
It didn't matter if they didn't like each other, although it would be nice if they could get along. But I couldn't allow violence to spread.
I was a new representative of the student council after all. I needed to do right by Nagumo-senpai.

Authors notes
1564 words
I can't help but feel a bit miffed with how this chapter turned out, I think stuff moved a little bit too fast. What do you think?
So this fight was actually meant to kill Ayanokouji, or fuck him up so bad he had to leave school.
Ayanokouji persuaded Albert to help him.
Ibuki helped Ayanokouji.
Kushida now has a mark on her face. She got this because she 'slipped and hit the floor'.
A first-year member of the student council witnessed this fight, and stopped it before anyone became seriously hurt.
Everyone present a the fight saw Kushida alter.
Not much else to say.
Hope you're all doing well and I hope you enjoyed.