The first official day of school.
After finishing his workout, Yoru stood in the shower room, wiping the water from his body while facing the mirror.
Staring at his fat reflection, he thought bitterly about Kaguya's sudden interference—demanding that he rank in the top 30 in overall grades this school year.
So this was what the so-called student council, which held power over all school affairs, was like. Vice president Kaguya was no exception.
All she did was help Utaha bully him.
What Yoru didn't know was that Kaguya partly did it out of student council duty and partly because, as the Shinomiya family's heiress, she was genuinely concerned.
But to Yoru, it was all the same—equally detestable!
He got dressed and packed his lunch, made at home:
300 grams of carefully measured rice, a large portion of vegetables, and clean lean meat, all packed neatly into his lunchbox.
He gave a quick pat to San-san, who was still snoozing, then stepped out the door.
"Morning, Gabriel," Yoru greeted as he passed by Gabriel, who was standing in the hallway enjoying the breeze.
"Morning. I was kind of excited last night, couldn't sleep," Gabriel responded with graceful composure.
The two walked one after the other down from the apartment toward the train station.
"You don't look like someone who didn't sleep well," Yoru glanced at Gabriel's cute face, then looked up at the sky.
A little gloomy—typical of the rainy season.
He figured he should start carrying an umbrella just in case.
After walking a few minutes to the station, then riding and walking again, they reached school.
At the school gate, they split up.
Because they lived nearby, they tended to arrive just before morning reading began.
Shuchiin Academy was massive and absurdly luxurious. By this time, hardly anyone lingered outside.
Yoru changed into his indoor shoes on the first floor and headed toward his classroom.
There were still about ten minutes left until the start of class.
Every classroom was lively and noisy. Groups of friends chatted together.
As Yoru passed by Class 2-B, he saw Eriri sitting by the window, resting her cute, fair face against her hand in boredom, gazing outside.
Her eyes were immediately drawn to Yoru, who walked past quickly with his head down.
She watched until his bulky body disappeared from view.
Unfortunately, Yoru didn't look up when he passed by the back door of his classroom.
Otherwise, he would've been shocked to see the same kind of golden treasure chest hovering above Eriri's head—identical to the ones above Utaha and Kaguya.
His own classroom was no different from the others, except maybe a bit noisier.
Yoru could hear people talking about him, both boys and girls—none of it good.
He was long used to it, so he showed no reaction and went straight to his seat.
"...Bastards... damn it..."
Standing in front of his desk, Yoru saw that the once clean and tidy surface had been defaced with black marker scribbles.
There were insulting drawings—turtles, pig heads—and words like "disgusting" and curses written across the desk.
The entire surface had been ruined by graffiti!
Rage welled up in his chest.
Yoru clenched his fists and quickly glanced around the classroom.
Suddenly, everything quieted down.
His so-called classmates just stared at him in silence, mocking him with their eyes—no different from how people looked at animals in a zoo.
This was bullying.
Yoru said nothing. He quietly put his bag down and sat at his desk.
The classroom slowly returned to its usual noise.
Yoru shifted his chair closer to the window and clenched his fists tightly, knuckles white.
But he couldn't do anything.
He didn't know who the culprit was—male or female, from his class or another—just like he hadn't known who had stolen Utaha's underwear and stockings.
Even if he found out, would he dare retaliate? What if the perpetrator came from a wealthy or political family?
In Japan, these people colluded with capital and bureaucracy. They protected their own.
With a mere gesture, they could make his father lose his job.
Finance was a closed circle. If expelled, his father might never be able to work in it again.
An overwhelming sense of helplessness spread in Yoru's chest.
Damn it.
His hatred for Utaha and Kaguya grew even deeper.
If he had the chance, he'd rather turn them both into heat-crazed, shameless whores than let them go free.
Before long, morning reading ended.
After the first three periods of class, it was time for the hour-and-a-half lunch break.
Shuchiin Academy had a student cafeteria and vending machines selling bread and ready-made meals.
When lunch began, half the class disappeared.
Yoru quietly took out his diet meal from his bag and started eating.
After finishing and packing up his lunchbox, he left through the back door and went to a familiar vending machine to buy a can of black coffee.
Still bitter as ever. After taking a sip, he returned to the school building.
He had originally wanted to go to the front terrace and relax in the breeze, but the overcast sky made him change his mind.
Back in the classroom, he flipped open his notebook to review the morning's notes.
Yoru wasn't good at studying in high school.
He needed to start from the basics, lay a solid foundation, then build up gradually.
This time, no matter what, he was going to stick it out.
About half an hour later, Yoru drank the last drop of his black coffee, closed his notebook, and pulled out his phone to kill time.
"Shocking! Tsubasa Oozora predicts Axis vs Allies: Japan wins 2–1 over Hans!"
"Top betting agency claims the World Cup winner will come from Samba Army, Three Lions, or Matadors..."
"Football, huh."
Yoru liked football. His interest was piqued instantly.
Just as he was about to dive in—
The back door of the classroom opened. His deskmate Yumiko walked in with several classmates.
They gathered around her, chatting excitedly.
A long-haired blond boy with a hairband, looking like a delinquent, suddenly leaned toward Yoru.
It startled him.
"Hey... you're that guy, right? Kitakami-something?"
"Haha, you're kind of famous," Tobe Kakeru said, making exaggerated expressions and gesturing as he spoke.
Yoru looked up and gave him a glance before turning his head away.
People like this weren't worth dealing with. Ignoring them was best.
"Aw, come on, don't be like that, Kitakami-whatever guy."
"You're famous, y'know? How about a selfie together?"
Tobe laughed and, without asking, slung his arm over Yoru's shoulder as if to snap a picture.
"I don't want to."
Without even looking, Yoru used his thick hand to grab Tobe's wrist and easily pushed it away.
The brute strength froze the forced grin on Tobe's face.