The rest of the morning was spent going over the course objectives in our various subjects.

I tried my hardest to pay attention during the lessons so my behavior would not cost us any class points. Surprisingly, the class was very well behaved today during the lessons and I hope it will stay that way for the rest of the school year.

"Ayanokouji-Kun!" A set of voices called out to me. I turned my head to see five girls and one pitiful boy who had walked up to me. They were Karuizawa Kei, Matsushita Chiaki, Shinohara Satsuki, Mori Nene, Sato Maya, and Hirata Yosuke.

"What's up? Do you need anything from me?" I asked even though I already knew what they were going to ask of me.

"We were wondering if you wanted to join us for lunch. Since like ya know, you couldn't hang out with us yesterday." Karuizawa asked staring at me with her purple eyes.

"I have nothing else planned so I have no reason to refuse," I said choosing the option to broaden my social circle. Hearing my response, she slightly cracked a smile. I would consider Karuizawa one of the many attractive girls in our class now that I have a better look at her.

"That's great Ayanokouji-Kun," Hirata said with sincerity while also flashing me a genuine smile.

"You know Ayanokouji-Kun..." Shinohara leaned in, "One of the reasons we wanted to invite you for lunch was because Matsuhita said she was interested in you." She whispered, poking fun at Matsuhita. Her efforts to say it quietly were futile because everyone could hear what she had said to me.

"E-EH?! I-it's not like that Shinohara-San!" Matsuhita desperately tried to deny. "I was just curious about what kind of person he was. Don't say things that could to a misunderstanding!" She shouted with a flushed face while flapping her arms all over the place.

I looked around the room, trying to gauge how everyone was reacting to our silly antics. The majority of the males appeared irritated, while the majority of the females appeared to be interested in the current development. Karuizawa and her friends were giggling loudly while teasing Matsuhita at the same time. Miyake and Yukimura had smirks on their faces as they looked at me, while Eichiiro had a smug grin on his face and gave me a thumbs up.

Horikita... Well, She didn't even bother to pay attention and simply looked away, her face devoid of any expression of interest.

Hirata, Karuizawa, and the rest of her pals... I didn't know any of them very well, but they did give brief introductions on the first day here at school. There was also yesterday's dispute between Karuizawa and her group of girls with Horikita which provided me with a little bit of insight into some of their characters.

Once the teasing had finally ended, I grabbed the bento wrap that I packed this morning and followed their clique as we made our way to the cafeteria. While walking, I could see Matsuhita, Sato, and Mori throwing a few occasional sidelong glances directed at me.

It wasn't long until we finally reached the cafeteria. Looking around, I saw Albert who was eating a food tray with a girl who had mid-back length silver hair that has black ribbons tied behind it and light purplish eyes. They appeared to be discussing something related to the book that the silver-haired was currently holding in her hands.

On the other table, Hashimoto was chatting idly with what I assumed were some of his classmates. Though, most of them were girls as only one boy had come to accompany him. If I'm being honest, the boy sitting next to Hashimoto looked quite attractive. He'll most likely be placed near the top of the Ikemen rankings that Kushida and her friends were talking about yesterday.

"So, what lunch set will you all be getting?" Hirata inquired, his voice light and chipper.

"Hmm... I think I'll get the basic and cheap lunch set." I wanna save some of my private points to purchase some trendy clothing." As stated by Karuizawa. "In any case, how about the rest of you?" She returned the question to all of us.

"Hmm... I think I'll go with the 5000-point special deluxe meal." Matsuhita responded without hesitation.

"Eh...? "Are you sure you want to spend that many points just on food?" Mori asked with concern. Matsuhita simply shrugged off her suggestion.

"Of course, why not?" I mean, I haven't used up a lot of my private points. Plus, just consider this a special treat before however many private points we earn next month." Matsuhita replied with a relaxed tone.

"Yeah, but you wouldn't want Ayanokouji-Kun to think of you as a glutton, would you?" Karuizawa teased provocatively.

"Obviously not. But I don't think Ayanokouji-Kun is the type of person who would make a rude assumption about someone. Isn't that right Ayanokouji-Kun?" Matsuhita posed the question to me.

"Yeah, you're right. I don't like to pass judgment on people without first getting to know them." I replied.

"Anyways, we should all go out and order our foods right away.' Hirata recommended. "The cafeteria is becoming increasingly crowded by the minute, and if we wait any longer, we may not even be able to get a table for all of us," Hirata warned us.

Since I already packed lunch beforehand, I parted ways with them temporarily in search of a table for all of us to have lunch in. I finally found a rectangular table with seats near the windows after a few seconds of searching. I sat down and placed my bento wrap on the table while waiting for them to finish their orders.

After a few moments of waiting, they finally noticed me and proceeded over to my table, where Hirata, Karuizawa, and Shinohara sat in front of me, Matsuhita and Sato on my left, and Mori on my right.

"Eh~? So Ayanokouji-Kun packed his own lunch I see..." Mori began on a conversation topic. I expected this to be brought up in some way or another.

"Wait, does that mean you can cook Ayanokouji-Kun?" Hirata questioned. I mean, the fact that I even brought a homemade bento should be able to answer your question already...

That is what I wanted to say but I didn't want to come off as rude. I merely nodded as an answer.

"That's amazing Ayanokouji-Kun!" Shinohara praised me loudly.

"He really is husband material." I overheard Sato say to Matsuhita in hushed tones.

"I don't think that's something really worth praising over. Cooking is a necessary skill that you'll eventually have to learn in order to survive in the world, so I don't think me making my own bento for lunch is particularly noteworthy." I kept my head down. Some of them awkwardly smiled at my response while some sighed, slightly disappointed.

"Mou~! That's not right Ayanokouji-Kun! When a girl compliments you, you should thank her for it." Karuizawa advised me. And what's with that Mou sound at the beginning? It sounded kind of cute honestly.

"I see... I'll keep that in mind then. Thanks, Karuizawa." I expressed my gratitude to her. She smiled smugly after hearing my response.

"However, it's nice to know that you're a really modest person, Ayanokouji-Kun," Hirata remarked positively.

"I know right! Kushida-San also mentioned that you can be overly humble at times, according to what I've heard." Sato added.

"It's almost as though Ayanokouji-Kun is overflowing with humility," Shinohara exclaimed.

They began bombarding me with even more absurd compliments and praise. I wasn't used to being given such high praise considering the environment I grew up in. Don't get me wrong though, I value their praise. They can simply just be overwhelming.

"Guys, I think we should eat now. Ayanokouji-Kun's been looking a bit hungry, I think we should stop bothering him for now." Hirata tried to calm the girls.

Yes, Hirata. Go go Hirata. You are my savior, Hirata. We all agreed unanimously and began eating our lunch.

I unwrapped the cloth from my bento box then opened the bento box itself revealing rice in the shape of a charming rabbit, served with karaage, octopus sausages, and cooked meat to round up the meal, as well as a variety of vegetables on the side.

"Ayanokouji-Kun is that your lunch?!" Sato asked looking at me with glittering curiosity in her eyes.

"Uh... Yes? Why? Does it look unappetizing?"

"Unappetizing? It's the opposite of that! It looks so cute!!" Sato applauded noisily. Everyone at the table turned to look at me as a result of Sato's sudden loud acclamation.

"Woah your right Sato-San!" Karuizawa added. Can't I just eat my lunch in peace, please?

"Do you perhaps like cute accessories Ayanokouji-Kun?" Matsuhita inquired precipitously.

"Why do you ask that?"

"It's just that, as Sato-san mentioned, your food is nicely decorated, and your chopstick container has a cute bunny face engraved in it."

"I would be lying if I said didn't. I just happened to see the lunch box set in one of the stores on this campus and bought it on a whim."

"I see..." She then leaned in to whisper something in Sato's ear which made her flustered as she tried to cover her face with her hands but it was too late as all of us had already seen the expression on her face.

We ate quietly for a while, occasionally chit-chatting about specific topics. Is this how it feels to be popular? I pity Eichiiro and Hirata. It must be exhausting to have girls constantly wanting to ask you questions or attempt to flirt with you.

"I've been meaning to ask you this for a while now Ayanokouji-Kun, but do you and Matsuo-Kun know each other from before?" Hirata posed a question. Everyone again had their eyes on me full of curious intent.

"Why do you say that Hirata?"

"Well, I've noticed that you guys call each other by your first names. Are you perhaps best friends of each other?"

Before going to this school, the only friends I had were Eichiiro and Arisu. I'm not sure whether Arisu even considers me a friend though. But if I had to choose one of them to call my best buddy, I'd probably choose Eichiiro. We'd already spent the most time together, and we're technically stepbrothers, not legally yet though.

"I guess you could say we are. I've only known him for about a year though." I replied to his query.

"Really? You guys must've been very popular in middle school." Mori assumed.

"It's shameful to admit but I used to be a loner back in the day."

"Eh? You're not just being humble again are you Ayanokouji-Kun?" Matsuhita interrogated.

"I wish I was but I'm really not lying this time. This is actually my first time ever attending a real school. My father didn't believe that school would be adequate to teach me, so he hired many tutors to come to teach me, and I was essentially homeschooled until two days ago."

"Hiring tutors? Wait, is your family rich Ayanokouji-Kun?!" The girls continued to bombard me with questions about my personal life.

"I wouldn't say my family is some kind of billionaire or anything like that, but I think my family is quite wealthy." I gave a vague response.

"Your athletic, smart, humble, mature, and you're rich?! Aren't you way too perfect Ayanokouji-Kun?" Shinohara showered me with praise.

"I think you're overestimating me too much." I maintained my modest demeanor.

"See! There you go again being humble! You should really think highly of yourself sometimes Ayanokouji-Kun!" Sato playfully scolded me.

"Hai, hai." I gave a simple response.

"Hey isn't Hirata being left out here?" I deflected the girls' attention to him. I'm sorry Hirata, but it's your turn to suffer now. Even though I'm the one who soiled you in the first place, I shall remember your noble sacrifice.

Hirata was overcome by the girls' admiration and praises, and all I could do was watch him suffer as I ate my lunch discreetly. The majority of our chat consisted of them comparing the lads in our class, primarily me and Hirata, to the boys in the other classes.

Satonaka was the name of the boy who was accompanying Hashimoto. His appearance was well regarded by the girls in our class. I also learned that Karuizawa's group of girls thought Hashimoto was quite attractive. Koenji was also mentioned, but he was swiftly removed from the conversation since the girls believed his narcissistic demeanor destroyed his allure to the opposite sex.

A loud noise interrupted our conversation and brought everyone's attention to the other side of the cafeteria. Someone allegedly slapped another person's food dish away from a table. The gentleman at the table was enraged, but the person in front of him had a provocative smile on his face.

Looking at the two boys, one of them had dark green hair and dark green eyes while the other was a young man of ordinary height with shoulder-length magenta hair styled on both sides and sharp magenta-colored eyes. His attire comprised of a conventional red school blazer with a black unbuttoned shirt underneath and no tie.

Everyone could tell that something had transpired between them, and the atmosphere of the cafeteria had become strained. Their appearance would lead others to believe they were delinquents. They must have appeared rather intimidating to the general public, especially the boy with magenta-colored hair.

"RYUEN YOU MOTHERFUCKER! YOUR GONNA PAY FOR THIS!" The dark green-haired boy shouted with pure anger in his tone.

So his name is Ryuen huh... If I remember, he was one of the students who caught my attention during the entrance ceremony. He too was also looked to be analyzing everyone's behavior during the entrance exams.

"Hoh? What's wrong Ishizaki? Are you gonna cry to mommy? YOU A FUCKING CRYBABY BITCH BOY?" Ryuen provoked harshly. Hirata was about to stand up, probably wanting to intervene but I signaled him to not do anything for the moment. He got the message and reluctantly sat back.

"TCH SHUT THE FUCK UP! I'll BEAT YOUR ASS RIGHT HERE!" Ishizaki retaliated.

Suddenly, Ishizaki charged at Ryuen with his fist open, aiming to land a punch on him. But before he could, Ryuen had grabbed his arm and apprehended him. He then slammed Ishizaki hardly against one of the tables with his hand still gripping Ishizaki's arm.

"Hoh? What's wrong Ishizaki? I thought you were gonna beat me up? Don't tell me you're actually a fucking wimp you sack of shit." Ryuen continued to provoke him.

"WHY YOU LITTLE-" Before he could finish, Ryuen twisted his arm and tightened his grip.

"AGH! SHIT!" Ishizaki screamed in pain.

"You know Ishizaki..." He leaned his face closer to his, "Although I was the one who provoked you, you were the first one who tried to attack me. You could get expelled for this." Ryuen taunted.

"DAMN YOU, I ALREADY TOLD YOU I WON'T LISTEN TO YOUR SHITTY ORDER- AGH!" Ishizaki again cried in agony, some tears streaming on his face and Ryuen continued to tighten his grasp on him. He murmured something into his ears again, which I couldn't discern what he was saying but it elicited a reaction from Ishizaki.

Ryuen then gazed around the cafeteria at analyzing various students until his piercing eyes eventually met mine. He, unlike the others, kept his gaze fixed on us. Each flash conveyed a distinct message. His, for example, revealed his fatigue; he appeared to have been awake for quite some time, taking aggressive actions, but his posture remained relaxed. The ideal illustration of a man in command of any situation.

Every blink I exchanged with Ryuen was illegible. I maintained my apathetic poker face while he attempted to scare me with his penetrating glare, but it did not affect me. In no way, shape, or form. I wasn't phased by him in the slightest.

"Kukuku.." A small grin formed on his face as he let out a weird chuckle. He then suddenly let go of Ishizaki's arm and made his way in my direction. Everyone was deafeningly quiet, their faces etched with fear and anxiety. His shoe landed with a clean, loud thud, signaling that he wasn't going to let anyone get in the way of our upcoming possible confrontation.

He closed the distance between us and loomed menacingly in front of me. As a result, I got out of my seat and we looked at each other head-on, generating a very tense atmosphere between us. He gave me a sneaky grin as I maintained my customary uninterested demeanor.

Any chance of me escaping this tight scenario had evaporated, and I'd have to deal with it without causing any sort of unnecessary problems.

"Well, well, well... If it isn't the clever pretty lad of Class 1-D," Ryuen said provokingly.

"May I ask what you need from me, Ryuen?" I questioned.

"So you've heard about me..."

"Well Ishizaki did loudly scream out your name, so it would be stupid of me to not know who you are," I replied without worry.

"Your an interesting one aren't you?" He commented.

"Oh? And why is that?"

"If you're not blind, you'll notice that everyone in the cafeteria is wearing a terrified or nervous expression on their face. But you... I don't detect any signs of fear or apprehension from you. I wonder why..." He interrogated in a provocative manner.

"To be honest, it's probably because I don't feel frightened by your presence in the least. That's all there is to it." I boldly responded to his query. He then let out a scary laugh as if he was a villain.

"So, you don't think I'm much of a threat do you know? Are you implying that you've been terrified by even more frightening shit?" He inquired, his hands poking over my shoulders. He appears to be attempting to evoke an emotional response from me...

"Who knows?" I vaguely replied.

"Kukuku... I know people like you. You put on a strong act and pretend to be unconcerned, but when you're alone, you cry the most in dread and fear. Do you believe that description accurately defines who you truly are, Ayanokouji?" He continued to pester me with questions.

"No, I'd rather not believe myself as being that kind of person," I replied bluntly to his statement.

I grabbed my bento attempting to exit the cafeteria but a hand abruptly gripped the area between my neck and shoulders. It was none other than Ryuen himself.

"You're quite a buff one aren't you pal?" He expressed mild surprise at my muscles. I continued to ignore him and sought to walk away when he suddenly tried to pull me back. With the amount of force he used to try to pull me back, any normal person would have collapsed. Yet I barely moved a fraction of an inch.