Chapter 5: Blackmailing And Pool Time!
~~~ Flashback ~~~
During the second week of the school, Shinji went to the convenience store and witnessed something interesting. He saw a student from class 1-A, Masumi Kamuro was her name if he remembers right, shoplifting some beer cans. Finding it interesting, he went out of the store, and took a turn, and then hid behind the wall of the convenience store, waiting for her to leave. When she finally left the convenience store, he recognized another girl from class 1-A, Arisu Sakayanagi, approaching her. Seeing them about to start a conversation, knowing already that Arisu also witnessed the same thing as he did, he pulled out his phone and started recording the conversation
"Excuse me" Arisu said, gaining the attention of Masumi
"What?" asked Masumi with a tint of annoyance in her voice
"We haven't talked a lot since the start of school, so I wanted to talk to you. May I accompany you on your way back?"
"Suit yourself" Masumi said and started to walk towards the dormitories, with Arisu by her side. Shinji followed them, walking close enough to record, but subtle enough so they won't notice him
"By the way, what were you doing at the convenience store? From what I can see, it doesn't seem like you bought anything"
"So what? I just didn't feel like buying anything"
Arisu then firmly grabbed Masumi, making her stop, and looked at Masumi in the eyes and said:
"You were shoplifting, weren't you?"
"How can you be sure that I stole something?"
"I am confident. If I wasn't, I wouldn't have asked you something like this"
"Even if I did steal something, so what? You're going to tell on me to the school?"
"Why would I do something like that?"
"Huh?"
"Your execution was magnificent. What surprised me the most was how you kept your composure. Normally, people would buy cheap things in order to ease their guilt. But you didn't, which proves that shoplifting has become routine for you"
"So? Hurry up and contact the school"
"Do you drink often?"
"Huh? No. I don't have any special interest in beer"
"In other words, you don't use shoplifting as an outlet to ease the burdens of your everyday life, but instead, in order to savor the thrill, and experience the guilt"
"I get it. You're able to calmly analyze a situation. So how about we go and quickly hand me over to the school?"
"Are you sure you want that? If we'll tell the school, you probably wouldn't be able to avoid suspension"
"So?"
"It only been a week since the entrance ceremony, but I've grown to like you, Masumi Kamuro-San. You have to become my first friend"
"What the hell are you saying?"
"I'll keep your secret, so in return, please help me out with a few things"
"Do you think I'll just obediently listen to you?"
"Indeed, even if I'll report you to the school, you wouldn't suffer a lot of damage. But your identity as a shoplifter would be exposed. If that were to happen, wouldn't that cause issues in order to shoplift again in the future?"
"Are you saying that you'll let me get away with it this time, and also in the future?"
"Even if I told you to stop, you wouldn't, won't you? Then isn't it better to just ignore it?"
"That… Well, I guess…"
"I believe that following my instructions will be anything but boring. Maybe it even will be able to replace the excitement in the shoplifting. However, before we start doing anything, we will have to figure out what to do with our little eavesdropper" Arisu said, and turned to look at Shinji in the eyes. Masumi also turned around and looked at him with mild surprise
"You continued with your conversation, despite knowing that I was eavesdropping?"
"I figured that if I wouldn't, you'll approach Kamuro-San by yourself, so I figured that it will be better to confront you together"
"I see. That makes things easier to me" Shinji said and showed them his phone, while activating the recording. Letting them hear part of the recording, before stopping it in the middle
"Just like I told her, you can tell the school. I don't care" said Kamuro
"I won't tell the school, but I'm not as nice as your new friend, Kamuro-San"
"Then what do you want?"
"Do you know the real reason your new friend won't tell the school? While gaining your "friendship" may be one of the merits, the real reason is not as nice"
"Oh? Please do tell what do you think" said Arisu with an amused smile
"It's because of the potential penalty to the cp. We don't know if there is a penalty for the cp for suspension. And if there is, I doubt it will be as small as bad grades in the tests. However, by not telling the school, you might get even a bigger penalty"
"What are you talking about?" asked Kamuro, narrowing her eyes
"After all, in real life, not telling the police the identity of a murderer is considered as a conspiracy. In other words, if I were to send the school the recording, your class may be even demoted. Even if you don't mind being suspended, I'm sure you don't want to be the cause for your classmates' demotion, do you?"
"Then what are you suggesting?" asked Arisu
"If I were to hide this recording from the school, I'll be taking a risk as well. It's only fair that you'll provide me compensation for risking myself for you"
"And how can we be so sure that you'll want something else in the future if we'll give you compensation now?"
"Pretty simple. What I want from both of you, is to send me half of the points each of you receives each month. Once I'll receive the points, I won't tell the school for a month, when you'll have to give me points again the next month, in order to gain my silence for another month. You'll send the points on the day of the points distribution. If I won't receive points from the two of you by the end of that day, I'll tell the school. Of course, this deal will carry on until graduation. This is a one time deal. If you won't accept it, I'll tell the school right away"
"Are you craz-" Kamuro started to say, before being interrupted by Arisu, who said:
"Will you give us some time to think about it?"
"Of course. I'm not unreasonable. I'll give you my number, and I expect an answer by the end of the day. I'm sure you know what will happen if you won't answer"
They quickly exchanged contacts, and Shinji started to walk away
"You don't have to give me the points for this month. Consider it as a token of kindness. I don't want to tarnish our relationship just because of this little deal" Shinji said while walking away
~~~ End Flashback ~~~
'Looks like both of them kept our deal. Blackmailing always gives me some kind of satisfaction~~~ Let's meet up with my classmates in the pool~~~' Shinji thought with an evil smirk, as he looked at his phone, looking at the place where his pp are shown, which showed 954,000pp, as he walked out of the class, and started to make his way to the pool
~~~ With Kei ~~~
"Everyone, I want to speak with you seriously for a second" Yosuke said, gaining the attention of his classmates
"Today we haven't received any points. This is something we can't allow to continue throughout the rest of our school life. If we won't solve this problem, I don't believe that we'll be able to graduate. We have to make sure we'll receive points next month"
"You can do whatever you want. Just don't get me involved with your shit" said Ken and pushed Yosuke out of his way
"Are you sure you want to do that, Sudo?" asked a familiar voice.
All of them looked at the direction that the voice came from, and saw Shinji approaching Ken with a smirk on his face. He wore the school's swim trunks. He was also shirtless, causing a lot of the girls to drool and blush at his body, including Kei. He had just the right amount of muscle, with a six-pack visible on his abdomen.
"It's none of your business!" said Ken in anger
"You're right. It isn't. But I'm asking if you considered what will happen if you won't do anything to change the situation. Your grades aren't good, right?"
"So what!?"
"Didn't you heard what Sensei said? If you'll fail in the upcoming midterms, you'll be expelled. Do you know what will happen to you if that were to happen?"
Seeing Ken simply glaring at him, Shinji continued:
"You're on the basketball team, aren't you? If you were to get expelled, your career will be over"
"I'll just join a professional team. Some players dropped out of school and joined a professional team, and even became famous!" Ken shouted
"You're talking about players who had NBA-class talent, and I may not saw you play, but you don't have this kind of talent, don't you?"
"Shut up..." whispered Ken in anger, as he started to move towards Shinji
"Because if you had that kind of talent, you wouldn't have joined this school. You would've joined a prestigious college in USA, if you had such a talent that you could neglect your studies. But no, you are here. In a school that maybe counts as the most prestigious school in Japan, but the basketball team isn't on a national level. Other schools won't accept any students at this time of the year, and no professional team will accept you without proof that you have graduated. In other words..."
"Shut up..." Ken continued to whisper, as he got dangerously close to Shinji
"If you'll fail at even one test, your career will be over" Shinji said with an evil smirk that was only visible by Ken, as Ken was so close to him, that his body hid Shinji's figure
"Shut up!" Ken shouted in anger, and cocked his fist back, before attempting to punch Shinji in the face. Some of them managed to shout in order to try and stop Ken, but with no success, as his fist got closer and closer to Shinji's face. However, Shinji casually sidestepped, causing Ken to lose his balance, and stumble a few meters forward, before looking back at Shinji with anger, but also with shock.
"There is no need to get yourself expelled right now, Sudo. But remember that if you want to become a professional basketball player, you have to graduate. Just know that if you need help, I'll always be available to help you" Shinji said with a kind smile
Ken simply huffed in anger, and walked away After Ken left, everybody approached Shinji with worry
"Are you okay, Shinji-Kun?" asked Kikyo in worry
"I'm fine"
"You're not hurt, aren't you?" Kei said worriedly
"You saw what happened, right? I managed to dodge him, so there isn't any need to worry" Shinji said and petted her head
"You shouldn't have provoked him like that" said Yosuke
"I know, but it's the only way to make him take the situation seriously. Unlike you Hirata, Sudo isn't someone that will work for the sake of the class. The only thing on his mind is how it will affect him. I believe that now that he sees that his basketball career is in danger, he'll make an effort to not get expelled. However, I don't believe that he'll come to ask for my help. That's why I want to ask all of you that if Sudo comes and asks for your help, don't hesitate to help him. I'm not telling you to befriend him, but just help him so he can pass the midterms if he asks for it"
"Shinji-Kun is right! We can't allow anyone to get expelled!" said Kikyo enthusiastically
"Now, let's get changed, and think of what are we going to do from now on!" Shinji said as his words managed to cheer up the class and they all went to change
As Kei walked with the rest of the girls to the changing room, she thought:
'I struggled to decide between Shinji-Kun and Hirata-Kun, but after today, I'm sure that Shinji-Kun is better. Hirata-Kun may be more kind, but he's a little bit too pacifist, and if someone were to try and bully me again, I'm not sure if he'll be able to protect me. I don't know if I can trust him to defend me if someone tries to physically hurt me in front of him. Shinji-Kun may be more mischievous, but he's also kind, and most importantly, more reliable. If someone were to try and hurt me, he definitely won't hesitate to defend me. He also knows how to fight, considering that he dodged Sudo so easily. I have no doubt that he will be able to protect me properly' Kei thought and took a glance at Shinji, only to meet his gaze. He smiled warmly at her, causing her to blush and quickly look away
'And besides... I think that I'm starting to fall for him. It won't be too hard to fake a relationship with someone I fell for...'
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
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