After departing the train, me and Yukina headed to the Stark White docks, where we could see a giant white cruise ship waiting for us by the bay and eager to deport.

To my surprise, there were a lot more people here than I expected. I thought it was just going to be the 1st Years, but it turns out both the 2nd and 3rd Years were taking the same ship we were back to Tokyo.

Even so, everything had been organised neatly so there would be as little confusion as possible for those who just arrived. All the year groups were divided up into bubbles, and all the classes had been separated into strands.

After identifying my fellow classmates, me and Yukina walked over to join them in line. Yukina broke off to spoke to her friends, Taiga and Hono, whereas I hung around Yukimura and the others. Only a few students were missing now.

"I'm so excited to go back to Tokyo!"

With a cheery yell, Mitsuba jumped up and down in excitement.

"Being stuck on that stupid island for three months was the worst!"

"Same here. Being able to play football with guys who don't have it out for me will be the best!"

"I can't wait to get a part time job so I can spend it on more eroges, gacha games, and V-Tubers, de gozaru!"

"Stop being such a weirdo and spending so much money on 2D things."

Yukimura slapped the back of Tanaka's head. I think it was meant to be playful, but that looked like it hurt...

"But 2D is better than 3D, de gozaru!"

"Lighten up Fudou-san, I'm with Houji-san on the eroges! You can't ever waste money on a quality porno!"

I didn't know Mitsuba had gotten close enough with Yukimura and Tanaka to the point they were now on a first name basis.

"But then what about the gacha games or V-Tubers, huh?"

"I open Vanguard packs, that's basically gacha!"

"Then what about V-Tubers, huh?!"

I think this might be their most pointless argument yet.

As that was happening, a group of C Class students approached me. I tried ignoring them to give off the impression I didn't care, but the people coming towards me were of quite importance in that class.

It was Suzune, Ikeda, and Satou.

"Takanori-san."

To my surprise, the first to speak was Suzune. I looked over my shoulder, meeting her eye to eye, before turning round to face them fully.

She was standing in front of the two boys, with Ikeda waving at me cheerfully and Satou taking off his headphones.

"...Kinoshita-san. Is there anything you need?"

"Not particularly. I just thought I'd greet the new leader of D Class properly."

She didn't stick her hand out for a handshake though, or anything like that. She kept her arms crossed under her chest.

"And bring your subordinates along too, huh?"

To an outsider, this definitely looked like a confrontation between classes. But as I looked into Suzune's eyes, I could tell what this was really about.

"I will admit, you and Nora-san helped us out immensely in the last special exam, but the situation has changed now."

"Yeah. In our current position, we can't really continue our friendly relationship, can we?"

Suzune looked away briefly before locking her eyes back on me.

"No... we can't. Now that you're right under us, you'll be looking to knock C Class down a peg and takeover, am I right?"

"Pretty much. In the second semester, we'll be aiming to beat your class."

"Hm, good luck then. You're going to need it."

"I could say the same thing to you."

Suzune turned around and walked away. Satou looked at me with narrowed eyes before following her.

Ikeda stayed behind, making sure they left before speaking to me.

"Fuu... you aren't serious, are you?"

"I am. Mostly."

He chuckled nervously while breathing a small sigh.

"It must be difficult for you, knowing that Kinoshita-san is your next big opponent."

"I suppose... I can't let this kind of thing weigh me down, though."

"Would it be easier for you if you were battling me?"

"Probably. But you're not really much of a leader are you, Ikeda-san?"

"Nope. And neither is Kinoshita-san, really."

C Class is only class without a real leader. Suzune, being the most popular, was unwillingly forced to take up the mantle out of necessity. Recently however, the power of her leadership had strengthened after their war with B Class.

"Well, maybe it's better if it stays that way then."

"Wait, are you calling us an easy fight?"

"Yeah."

Ikeda laughed at my honest response.

"Right, no, that makes sense. We aren't that impressive at all, are we?"

"It's more impressive how average you all are."

If there is one impressive person in that class...

I looked over in the distance and saw Oshita Saori standing by herself.

It's probably her.

"What a backhanded compliment. I used to think you were one of us, you know?"

"Average? Yeah... me too. Where did it all go wrong..."

I sighed. I had planned to spend my days here boringly, but somehow I've ended up as leader of D Class.

It's not exactly what I wanted to do, but I won't complain either. This class wouldn't survive if Matsushita and Alice kept leading us.

"In any case, I hope you won't treat her too harshly. If you need to antagonise someone in C Class, please choose me."

"...where's this coming from?"

Ikeda smiled and came closer to me, whispering into my ear.

"If you couldn't tell, she doesn't want to fight you. And personally, I don't want to see you ruin your relationship with Kinoshita-san either."

I did notice the reluctance in Suzune's eyes earlier during our short conversation. However, I think Ikeda failed to understand an important part of the school system here.

I can still make D Class surpass C Class while avoiding a direct confrontation with Suzune. This angle of attack was possible through special exams, as I could go after another class (if the rules permit) to earn enough Cl to surpass them.

That's what I've been aiming to do going forward. This way, I would be able to still get what I want without ruining our relationship.

"...I'll do my best, I guess."

"You don't sound very convinced."

"In the first place, making an enemy out of you just seems out of reach. I have no reason to hate you."

"Then, should I give you one?"

Ikeda smiled and took out his deck.

"Let's cardfight on the cruise ship."

Well, this was an unexpected proposal. He's serious about becoming an obstacle in my way, huh?

I suppose this cardfight would be a good test of skill. There might be a chance that Ikeda is someone to be wary of. If he poses a threat in this fight, I might have to take him more seriously in the future.

"Alright. That's fine by me."

"Great! I'll see you there."

Ikeda smiled and walked away, waving goodbye. He was such a happy-go-lucky person, I genuinely wondered if there was even an ounce of darkness in his body. It reminded me of Ichinose from B Class a little.

Once everyone else arrived at the docks, the cruise ship became open to board. We went in strict year to class order, so D Class was twelfth to get on, following the 3rd and 2nd Year D Classes.

Come to think of it, I've yet to interact with any upperclassmen from Zoa Green. Maybe I should try talking to some while we're on this cruise ship...

That might be a bit difficult though, considering my social skills are non-existent and there were very few upperclassmen in D Class to begin with. In both the 2nd and 3rd Year, D Class was the smallest class.

Any chance for them to move up was basically gone, since the other classes had more people in them, giving them an advantage in wars. Everyone who found themselves in this unfortunate position had to bank on moving up individually, or else they were stuck.

If the opportunity presents itself, I'll take advantage of it. However, as it stands right now, I'm not interested (nor do I see a reason) to go out of my way to meet them.

My thoughts dissipated as I made my way through the luxury cruise ship's immaculate and exquisite hallway. It may sound like an exaggeration, but you could really feel just how much money the school had invested into this making this cruise ship.

It was the only time us dropouts felt like we really attended a prestigious, private academy. Just being on the ship itself was a reward. It was an A Class experience given to us for free, with no strings attached.

I did think that maybe there was some kind of hidden trick behind this cruise ship we had to look out for, but as I observed the upperclassmen's behaviour to see if there was anything of the sort, it became clear I was worrying for nothing.

As such, I relaxed a little, knowing we were in a safe space... for now at least. Something might come up, but currently I felt relieved knowing I could enjoy the trip back to Tokyo, and take advantage of the benefits that came from being on a cruise ship.

I wanted to check out the recreational facilities first, like the cinema and swimming pool, but before I could do that, I had to make due to my promise with Ikeda.

I made my way up through the hallway and onto the top of the ship, where almost everyone else was. It was certainly the most popular space to be at, due to the beautiful view of the ocean, but I felt uncomfortable seeing just how packed it was.

Making things worse, everyone was in their casual clothes, including me. It was impossible to tell who belongs to which class, since everyone isn't wearing their uniform colours. Trying to find Ikeda in the middle of this crowd would be almost impossible.

However, it seems I didn't have to worry, since he found me first.

"Takanori-san, you ready?"

Approaching me from behind was Ikeda. Following him were a couple of C Class girls: Nakasato, Uramoto, and Yokouchi. I haven't met Uramoto and Yokouchi before, but I have talked to Nakasato briefly in the past.

To put it bluntly, she doesn't like me. Though, that was because her impression of me was poor when we first met.

Back then, I was still both considered a loner and a Drachma dropout, meaning my reputation was near zero. Now that I've risen up the ranks however, it'll be interesting to see if she still has the same perception of me.

"Oh, Ikeda-san... you brought company?"

"A ha ha, sorry about this. They insisted on joining me, even though I told them I was just going to cardfight you."

To be honest, it looked more like he brought a cheerleading posse with him, rather than a group of friends.

"There's no way I could leave Arata-kun alone with such a dangerous person!"

"No matter what Arata-kun does, I'll always support him."

"Yokouchi-san, Uramoto-san... while I deeply appreciate it, you guys don't have to do this. I'll be fine on my own, so you should go enjoy yourselves. This might take awhile."

"No, I enjoy myself the most while I'm with Arata-kun! If you want to do this, I'll do it as well!"

"Did you even bring your Vanguard deck with you, Yokouchi-san...?"

"I feel the same way. I might not get involved directly, but I want you to know I'm here for you."

"Uramoto-san..."

While Uramoto and Yokouchi sang their praises for him, Nakasato approached me and crossed her arms with a sigh. What does she want from me...?

"T... Takanori-san."

Nakasato looked away as she uttered my name. I raised an eyebrow.

"What's up?"

"I... I m-might have been wrong about you."

"Might" is an understatement... she talked to me like I was the lowest of the low, even worse than trash before. Was this her awkward way of apologising?

"If you're going to say sorry for the things you said in the past, don't half-ass it."

"Huh? Who said I was saying sorry for that? You're still a huge virgin loser. Weirdo."

...never mind, I guess some things never change.

"What I was wrong about though... is you being a defective reject. So... sorry about that."

Nakasato mumbled, playing with the hem of her skirt while looking anxiously at her feet. I think she was congratulating me on moving up to D Class... or, she's making fun out of me, and I haven't realised it yet.

"It's alright."

"G-great!"

Somehow, I think part of her pride was wounded by talking to me... Nakasato nodded, before turning around and rejoining Ikeda and the other girls with a huge smile.

Just from the bounce in her step and her excited energy, it's clear she was a lot happier talking to him than she was with me. It reminded me of Shouko a little bit, except Shouko could interact with me normally, whereas Nakasato could not.

"If it's alright, could they watch?"

"Yeah, that's fine."

It looked like he was having a hard time trying to convince the girls to leave him, so we had no other choice. Regardless, Ikeda still showed me his gratitude by putting his hands together and bowing his head.

"Great, thank you!"

"You've got this, Arata-kun!"

The three girls exclaimed at the same time, cheering him on. I would like my own party of cheerleaders too, you know...

As we were about to find a table to fight on, our conversation was interrupted by the appearance of one man.

"Yahoo, Yuu-kun!"

I looked over my shoulder and cringed.

It was Onibitenbu Sakate, from 3rd Year A Class. There could only be one reason why he's calling out to me like this...

As he waved at me, Ikeda's jaw dropped and his posse all raised their eyebrows in surprise. I don't think they expected me to be acquaintances with a 3rd Year, let alone someone from A Class.

"...Sakate-senpai. What do you want?"

"It's not what I want, but what he wants instead."

"Come again?"

"Kaido-san needs you. It's an emergency."

"...an emergency?"

Something really bad must've happened if Kaido of all people is asking for me to help... however, I question whether rich men like him could ever get into an emergency and not solve it with money in the first place.

"Yes. He's waiting in room 108. Hurry, before things get worse!"

"You've got to be kidding me..."

I sighed. Ikeda looked at me with a concerned face.

"This sounds like a serious matter... you should go."

I could, but I really don't want to. A spoiled rich kid like him needs to learn what the crisis of an emergency feels like. Sometimes, the only thing you can do is rely on yourself.

"Nah, he'll be fine. This is Kaido-senpai, after all. The richest man on this island, only second to his father of course."

I walked away, dragging Ikeda and the girls with me. Sakate sighed, shaking his head.

"If you don't go, he'll expel you."

"That's just a bluff."

"I'm not joking! If he gets out of this emergency unharmed, and you didn't help him, there will be hell to pay!"

I stopped and looked over my shoulder. Ikeda put his hand on my shoulder and smiled.

"Just go, Takanori-san. We can fight later. Your friends come first, don't they?"

I could hardly call Kaido a friend.

"Yeah, you should go! This sounds like something really bad!"

"If you did get expelled though, I wouldn't mind."

"Nah, go so you don't take up anymore of Arata-kun's precious time."

I'm getting some really mixed responses from the girls right now.

"...alright, fine. When I'm done, I'll look for you, Ikeda-san."

"Sure thing. See you soon!"

I sighed, leaving Ikeda to go meet Kaido. Something suspicious is definitely going on.