Practical Classroom: Kaoru Hanayama's Classroom of Merit

As the afternoon sun began to slant, the school bell rang to signal the end of classes at Advanced Education High School.

Standing on the podium, Chabashira Sae announced the end of the history lesson in a completely emotionless voice.

"That's all for today. ...Hanayama, may I have a word with you in private?"

Amid the commotion of students preparing to return to their dormitories, her indifferent gaze fell upon the giant sitting in the last row of the classroom.

Kaoru Hanayama didn't make any unnecessary movements and quietly stood up.

The place the two went to was neither the faculty office nor the student guidance office.

It was a blind spot for the school's surveillance cameras—the rooftop.

嘎当

As soon as the heavy iron gate opened, a warm May breeze blew in.

The rooftop was deserted. On the other side of the barbed wire fence, the grey ocean stretched out as far as the eye could see from the artificial island.

Chazhu leaned his back against the barbed wire and casually took out a cigarette case from his suit pocket.

In a flash, he put a cigarette to his lips and lit it with a Zippo lighter.

Click...

White smoke drifted away in the wind.

The calm and collected movements of an adult would probably overwhelm an ordinary high school student.

"...Your quiz scores seem to have improved slightly lately. However, the midterm exams are a different story. With your current academic level, the risk of being expelled is extremely high."

As the tea stick exhaled smoke, it stated the cold, hard facts.

"However, this school is not a place where everything is decided solely by grades. ... There are 'other methods' as well."

That's a sweet temptation—a loophole in the rules—that a teacher should never utter aloud. It's an implication of using points to buy grades.

however.

"...This is the third person already."

What escaped Huashan's mouth was a low, muffled murmur, like the friction of rocks.

"what?"

Chazhu's eyebrows twitched slightly.

Huashan put his hands in his pockets and twisted his neck, looking somewhat bored.

"Why do all the guys at this school like to sneak in through the back door?"

"What...?"

Chazhu's calm mask crumbled in an instant.

She firmly believed she held an intelligence advantage. For this man with limited education, the hidden shortcuts should have been a lifeline.

However, Huashan's attitude was like that of a gangster being forced to buy cheap counterfeit goods in an alley, which only showed pure speechlessness.

"And your reason for helping me isn't just to save students with poor grades, is it?"

Huashan stared intently into Chazhu's eyes.

"If we're talking about students with poor grades, there are plenty of them in the class; there's no need to call me out."

A heavy blow.

Chazhu put the cigarette he was holding back between his fingers and let out a soft laugh that was tinged with self-deprecation.

"...You have a really keen sense of smell. To be honest, I underestimated you a little."

The tea pillar took a step forward.

"Then I'll get straight to the point. Hanayama, let's aim for Class A."

In her eyes lay an obsession that transcended the mere role of a teacher, a kind of lingering attachment, like that of a ghost bound by the past.

To promote Class D to Class A. This was precisely the hidden, tragic wish of Chabashira Sae.

But even when faced with that almost burning obsession, Huashan's expression did not waver in the slightest.

"You should have said that line to Horikita."

"What?"

"I'm only here to keep my promise to my family to finish my studies. As long as I can complete my studies, I don't care if I'm in Class A or Class Z, or which class I'm in."

The school's competitive system and the privileges of Class A are nothing more than child's play in the sand for men living in the yakuza world.

"Ugh...!"

Chazhu clenched his back teeth tightly.

If it were an ordinary student, she would play the "drop out" card here. She would use the fear of being expelled from school to bind the other person tightly.

However, Chashu knew better than anyone that this approach wouldn't work on him.

She used her faculty and staff privileges to view specific information and data about Huashan.

The person standing in front of me wasn't some delinquent.

Instead, he was the second-generation leader of the Hanayama Group, a subsidiary of the Fujiki Group, one of Japan's leading militant yakuza groups.

It is the true, genuine yakuza who reigns supreme over blood and violence.

Even if he is expelled from school, he will simply be returning to the bloody world he was in before.

Leaving the school, which was like a cage, was hardly a punishment for him.

There was no physical threat either. There wasn't a single person on this island who could subdue him with sheer force.

(…What should I do? How do I get this guy moving…!)

Chazhu even abandoned his ethics as a teacher, and his brain started working at full speed.

At that moment, the ecology of the extreme path and the rules of the school's completely enclosed space combined in her mind to form an optimal solution.

"...Huashan".

Chazhu took a deep drag of his cigarette and slowly exhaled it towards the sky.

"If you're willing to work hard towards Class A and deliver the results I expect..."

She lightly waved the hand holding the cigarette, slapping it onto the negotiating table as her strongest bargaining chip.

"I will personally provide you with cigarettes and alcohol."

"…………oh?"

Huashan's vision has become slightly sharper.

"The students at this school are completely cut off from the outside world. Of course, as a student, you can't buy your favorite things like alcohol and cigarettes in the school store, no matter how many points you accumulate. But..."

A faint smile appeared on the tea pillar.

"If I were a teacher, I could make the purchases. I'll prepare whatever you like to drink and smoke."

Silence descended.

Since his first day of school, when a large amount of whiskey and cigars were confiscated during the security check at the gate, Hanayama has been forced to live an ascetic life like a monk.

For him, alcohol and cigarettes were not just bad habits, but an integral part of the yakuza.

The rock, unmoved by the fear of being expelled or the honor of Class A, wavered in the face of his most primal desires.

“…………”

Huashan stared down at Chazhu's face for a few seconds, then gave a brief nod.

"...The contract is established, teacher."

There was no extra emotion involved.

They simply offered each other what they wanted, reaching a cooperation based on mutual understanding. That was all; it was a highly blatant, illicit transaction.

To avoid being noticed, Chazhu quietly let out a relieved sigh and threw the cigarette butt into the portable ashtray.

"Come to the science preparation room after school tomorrow. I'll give you the first deposit."

Thank you for your kind words.

The wind blew across the rooftop again.

And so, a secret, dark pact was formed between the yakuza monster and the ambitious female teacher, a pact unknown to anyone.