Chapter 259: Bursting with Vitality, All Things Competing to Flourish

Forest school, inside the gymnasium.

"But... Yamauchi-san, are you really going to Ryuen-san's group?"

Looking at Yamauchi Haruki in front of him, one hand on his hip, head slightly raised, the corner of his mouth stretched into an exaggerated arc, brimming with a confident smile, Hirata Yosuke wore a look of worry.

"Hey, Hirata, don't tell me you don't trust me?" Yamauchi raised his voice. He pinched a greasy, clumped strand of hair from his forehead with three fingers and flicked it back smugly. "I was the taekwondo black belt champion back in middle school, you know. A guy like Ryuen, I could take him out with one punch."

Not one punch!

In fact, when Yamauchi's eyes swept over the students in Ryuen's group, his brain, operating far below normal human levels, began to churn slowly.

In his view, compared to the Class D students who constantly excluded him and were jealous of his outstanding abilities, the people from other classes were far more capable of appreciating his talent that had nowhere to go!

The Class A students went without saying. Hashimoto Masayoshi was the future lackey he had personally anointed.

Class B was said to be a very harmonious class. They definitely wouldn't treat him badly.

Class C was his partner in business. He regularly traded with them, and he and Kaneda Satoru were practically brothers.

In summary, no matter how you looked at it, going to Ryuen's group could only bring benefits, not harm. The advantage was his!

Maybe, after a week together, they would discover the hidden, unknown talent of the genius Yamauchi Haruki, and then beg him on their knees to transfer classes. By then, who would care about these Class D defective products?

"In that case, then... alright." With things said to that extent, Hirata could only agree with a bitter smile.

"Haha, see you later, Hirata."

After tossing out that quick line, Yamauchi, like a fat mouse that had spotted a granary, set off at a brisk pace toward Ryuen's group.

At this moment, Fuyuji Mikage, who had already switched camps without hesitation, was mixed in among the crowd of Ryuen's group, watching Yamauchi charge straight at them with a twitching mouth.

This guy... probably has a death wish...

"Three thousand private points." Fuyuji held up three fingers toward Hashimoto. "One day. If Yamauchi-sama doesn't go crying back to Hirata within one day, I'll call him a man of backbone."

Hashimoto rubbed his chin and offered his view. "Boss, isn't that too much? Tonight will probably be enough."

"That's true too."

"Now this is going to be exciting." Hashimoto glanced at the students around them and said with schadenfreude. "If Ryuen can't handle this group, he's going to get blown up, isn't he?"

Class A: Fuyuji Mikage, Hashimoto Masayoshi, Satonaka Satoru

Class B: Shibata So, Watanabe Norihito, Hamaguchi Tetsuya

Class C: Ryuen Kakeru, Yamada Albert, Komiya Kyogo

Class D: Kouenji Rokusuke, Yukimura Teruhiko, Yamauchi Haruki

Every single one of them was a real piece of work. A scene of bursting vitality, all things competing to flourish, right before their eyes!

"Why was I dragged over by that guy Ryuen?!" Satonaka Satoru clutched his head and scratched desperately at his hair. "I'm not even close with him!"

"Ahh..."

Fuyuji shook his head, patted him on the shoulder from behind, and let out a sigh.

"Blame your own good looks, Satonaka. That guy seems to be very interested in handsome men."

"..."

A chill rose from the soles of Satonaka's feet and shot straight to his brain. He turned slowly, faced Ryuen, and silently stepped back two paces.

He forced a smile. "Fuyuji-san, you're joking, right?"

"It's true, you know."

"But Fuyuji-san, aren't you the same?"

"Of course I'm different," Fuyuji retorted with perfect righteousness. "That guy Ryuen is a bit blind."

"Stop scaring Satonaka," Hashimoto cut in at the right moment to smooth things over. "That guy Ryuen is just a little twisted."

Satonaka opened his mouth and fell completely silent.

The way you put it makes me even more scared...

At this moment, the last remaining group also finished its final team formation, led by a Class D student named Miyake Akito.

With the two most troublesome groups resolved, the other four groups, each headed by one of the four classes, quickly completed their team formations as well. Then, everyone found their corresponding supervising teacher and wrote their names on the registration form. All six first-year groups were officially formed.

Just as the first years were hesitating over whether to disband for now and use this free time to explore the forest school, the current Student Council President, Nagumo Miyabi, with his unruly blond hair, took the initiative to approach them.

"I thought you'd need a bit more time. I didn't expect you to already be done. Impressive."

That said, a careful look around would reveal that the second and third years had all finished forming their groups. And with his words, all the boys' gazes began to converge on him.

"Since we still have time, why don't we just finish forming the large groups now? That way we won't have to waste time coming back here tonight. We can settle it all in one step."

The teachers hadn't expected Nagumo to pull something like this either. They were whispering among themselves, discussing in low voices.

However, probably because the school had stated in advance that it wouldn't interfere in the students' discussions, and interference of this degree wouldn't affect the subsequent exam, after a short while, the discussion fizzled out with the teachers shaking their heads in silence.

With that, Nagumo curved his lips and turned to look at Horikita Manabu, his gaze like a torch.

"How about it, Senpai? What do you think?"

After a brief moment of thought, Manabu's expression didn't change. He nodded decisively. "Fine."

"And you, Katsuragi-kun?" Nagumo turned again.

"..." Katsuragi said in a low voice, "I'm in favor too."

With consensus reached, the two began their discussion. Katsuragi tactfully stayed where he was and didn't interject.

"Tch!"

Ryuen, both hands in his pockets, watched the three talking in low voices in the distance with a gloomy gaze. His expression extremely displeased, he shot a fierce glance at Hashimoto beside him.

"Your Class A really gets the red-carpet treatment, huh?!"

"If you've got what it takes, go get seventeen hundred class points too. Then maybe you could get in there as well." Hashimoto spread both hands and said cheerfully.

Ryuen let out a cold snort, twisted his head away, and said nothing more. Nor did he attempt any provocative moves.

The situation right now was stronger than he was. The second and third years clearly leaned toward agreeing as well. Asking for humiliation by sticking his head out to get stepped on by that blond guy was not something he would do.

Not long after, the large group formation plan was out.

Each first-year group would send a representative to play rock-paper-scissors. Based on the order of winning groups, they would select second- and third-year groups. After two rounds, the large groups would be formed.

Ryuen, who fancied himself the man destined to one day rule Advanced Nurturing, naturally disdained to participate in such a cheap game as rock-paper-scissors.

As a result, with the secret underperformance of Ryuen's group's glorious member Hashimoto, Katsuragi took first place in rock-paper-scissors and chose Manabu's group. And Ryuen's group, in third place, chose a group whose leader looked relatively mild.

A dozen or so minutes later, setting aside a few minor interludes, all the boys in the school successfully formed six large groups.

Seeing his goal achieved, Student Council President Nagumo finally bared his fangs at this moment. Wearing a brilliant smile, he looked at Manabu, flames of eager anticipation dancing in his eyes.

"Horikita-senpai, what a coincidence. We didn't end up in the same large group. Since we have this chance, how about a match?"

...

Meanwhile, in another open area similar to a gymnasium.

Compared to the boys' side, which had completed all its group formations in one go, the girls' side was much slower. They were even still in the grade-group formation stage.

This one didn't get along with that one. That one held a grudge against another. There were even cases where a team had already been formed, only to be forced to give up because there was one person too many.

Chattering discussions, occasional raised arguments, and the crisp click of heels on the floor mixed into a mass of irritating noise.

A group of girls was tangled up in a lively mess. It looked like it wouldn't be ending any time soon.

Yamamura Miki, wearing her red-and-white tracksuit, silently withdrew from the crowd. With light steps, she pressed against the cold wall and quietly distanced herself from the clamor.

On the Class A girls' side, Shiraishi and Kamuro were already presiding. Her own low presence meant she really couldn't help much.

Based on past experience, even if she stepped out now, as long as she came back before the discussion ended, no one should notice. But if Shiraishi and Kamuro found out she was missing and got worried, it was better not to do that.

Her slender fingers unconsciously traced along the gymnasium wall.

As for Morishita...

Yamamura rose on her tiptoes and scanned her surroundings. She didn't see Morishita, who had left early. She'd probably been drawn in by some novel food and stopped somewhere. She'd probably pop up in some corner after a while. She'd look for her later.

With nothing to do, Yamamura circled slowly along the edge of the gymnasium, bit by bit, trying to see the boys' side through the transparent windows.

There was a thin layer of mist floating over the distant forest. The gray-white sky pressed low against the treetops. The wind was light, only occasionally passing by, and a few withered leaves would drift down from the branches, settling slowly to the ground.

Her steps stopped. Yamamura stood still, breathed out a puff of white air, and watched it disperse before her eyes. She rubbed her somewhat frozen hands together, and the corner of her mouth unconsciously lifted into a faint curve.

In another building in the distance, the boys seemed to have finished forming their groups and were filing out the door one after another.

Yamamura saw it. Far away, shrunk to the size of an ant, Fuyuji was walking toward the dormitory. Even without seeing his face, even with part of him blocked by obstacles, she still recognized the person she liked at a single glance.

"Um... hello, Yamamura-san." A slightly hesitant voice sounded from beside Yamamura.

"Huh?"

The girl parted her moist lips slightly and looked at this super-popular beauty of the grade with a puzzled expression, tilting her head.

Why... could she find her, and deliberately come to talk to her?

"Hello, Ichinose-san."

Yamamura responded with a tone of confusion and didn't say more.

The super-popular beauty across from her seemed a bit nervous. She hesitated in place, opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

For a moment, a quiet atmosphere hung around the two of them.

Finally, as if she had made up her mind, Ichinose Honami took a deep breath and asked softly: "May I ask... has Yamamura-san found a suitable team yet?"

"I have, thank you, Ichinose-san." Yamamura said directly.

"Then... can I join?"

Ichinose stared at Yamamura without blinking.

Yamamura blinked. After a few seconds of silence, she slowly uttered one word:

"Huh?"

...

On the other side, in the crowd of girls.

Shiraishi Asuka's gaze quietly passed over Shiina Hiyori, who had already formed a group and was standing among the Class C crowd, and finally settled on the girl with shoulder-length brown hair in front of her.

"Kushida-san means... you want to form a team with our Class A?"

Shiina's class status seemed to be quite high to begin with. She had been protected early on. The task her beloved had given her would probably come up empty.

"That's right." Kushida Kikyo pressed her hands together, smiled sweetly, and stepped forward, displaying her curvaceous figure to the fullest, her eyes sparkling. "I heard the Class A students are all extremely outstanding. So, Shiraishi-san, could you give me a chance to get to know the Class A students?"

"Of course." Shiraishi's brows and eyes curved, and she smiled elegantly. "Outstanding is too generous. Kushida-san is also a famous beauty across the whole grade."

Horikita Suzune, who had been standing nearby with her arms crossed, slowly produced a question mark in her mind.

Why did it feel like they were saying things she couldn't understand?

And also...

Horikita quietly observed the representative of the Class A girls before her.

Pale golden long hair, elegant bearing, a neither-humble-nor-overbearing tone, and that mysterious yet gentle aura.

She'd been careless!

Why hadn't she thought before that if that guy could keep Class A locked up tight as an iron barrel, without a single leak of information, he must have a high degree of control over the girls as well.

Was it because of her?

Suddenly, Shiraishi, who had been smiling and chatting with Kushida a second ago, seemed to have eyes in the back of her head. The next second, she turned her head and locked her gaze directly onto Horikita. Then she gave a faint smile and nodded at her.

What an eerie insight...

Horikita slowly furrowed her brows. For the next week, she'd have to get along with her?

At the edge of the crowd of girls.

Sakayanagi Arisu sat alone on a chair, her cane leaning at an angle beside her. Her hands were elegantly folded on her pressed-together knees. Her eyelids were half-lowered as she quietly observed the girls' every move.

Judging by this pace, it would take at least another hour before results came out. How boring—

"Hey!"

An unceremonious voice forcefully interrupted her thoughts.

Sakayanagi's eyelashes trembled faintly. Then she slightly raised her eyes, and the corners of her lips curved into just the right arc. A faint smile appeared on her face, and her pleasant voice rippled out.

"Good day, Kamuro-san."

"Forget the good day." Kamuro rolled her eyes and glanced around Sakayanagi. She said casually, "Where's that follower of yours?"

"Chiaki-san? I told her not to worry about me and to sort out her own team first. After all, my position in Class D really isn't very good." Sakayanagi said unhurriedly.

She had single-handedly thrown away Class D's only points in the preferential exam. Then, in the uninhabited island and sports festival, she couldn't participate because of her health. Even if she had achieved a good result in the Paper Shuffle, it was hard to change the Class D students' impression of her.

Let alone the fact that this joint camp exam was another comprehensive test.

Although bullying wouldn't happen, thanks to her few remaining subordinates and Horikita's influence in the class, there would definitely be private expressions of dissatisfaction.

"Can't you just drop out and go home?" Kamuro watched her with a complicated expression. "You're a proper young lady from a distinguished family. Even without Advanced Nurturing, you could get into a good university, right?"

"No can do, Kamuro-san." Sakayanagi lowered her head slightly and raised a hand to gently cover her chest. Her voice was unexpectedly gentle. "I want to compete with him one more time."

"You can't beat him."

"I know. But I want to try... with chess."

"..."

After watching Sakayanagi quietly for a moment, Kamuro turned crisply. Her side ponytail traced a beautiful arc in the air.

"Then just wait for him to expel you."

"I look forward to it immensely."

Sakayanagi smiled faintly, watching Kamuro's receding figure.

"Thank you, Kamuro-san! If I do get expelled, when you graduate from Advanced Nurturing, I'll come find you. By then, you can tell me about all the interesting things that happened at Advanced Nurturing..."

Kamuro's stepping foot suddenly halted. She stood rooted in place.

A few seconds later.

A long, thoroughly helpless sigh came out. She wearily turned her body and walked back to Sakayanagi's side.

"Let's go. I'll go beg Shiraishi. There are a few from your Class D in there anyway. Squeezing one more in should be fine."

Sakayanagi picked up her cane without surprise. "Then... for this week, I'll be in your care, Kamuro-san?"

Kamuro stared at this loli, who wore a confident smile, for a long while. After a good moment, she spat out: "You're deliberately pretending to be pitiful to trick me, aren't you?"

"Yes." Sakayanagi's brows and eyes curved into crescent moons. She raised a hand to cover her mouth.

"Tch! No wonder he calls you a scummy loli."

Kamuro turned and walked off in a huff, her steps quick and sharp.

Sakayanagi leaned on her cane, taking small steps to catch up, striking up conversation as she went.

"Please wait a moment for me, Kamuro-san. He... what else has he said about me?"

"He said you're probably a pervert, a little brat who's never been beaten down by society, and a troublemaker who stirs things up everywhere."

"That's truly an honor. To have drawn so much of his attention."

"You... you're not actually a pervert, are you?"

"Say that about a lady, and it's not very nice, Kamuro-san."

"Come to think of it, why did he hit you?"

"Ara? Didn't he tell you? Ichinose Honami's rumors were spread by me. She has a side no one knows about."

"...You really did deserve that slap."

"I don't regret it. Though to be honest, I'm still a little angry right now. No one has ever hit me, not once growing up. That slap mark, to keep my father from finding out, I took a day off alone and applied medicine in my room for a long time."

"Heh. Serves you right."

"Kamuro-san, I'm getting angry now..."

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