from earlier came up and bowed his head to us.
"It would seem that my classmate Housen-kun has caused a great deal of trouble for you, our seniors. On behalf of the first-ycar students, I'd like to offer my humble apologies," said the boy.
Unlike Housen, he seemed to be quite a well-spoken student.
"We first-year students still don't understand these special exams very well. I apologize for the inconvenience this may cause you, but we would humbly appreciate any help. Thank you," said the student.
After he had finished giving us his apologies and general salutations, the student, who was apparently named Yagami, looked as though he was about to leave himselt. If. But then he seemed to notice somethinga group of four girls from Class D who'd just returned from lunch. Matsushita, Kushida,Satou, and Mii-chan.
Yagami looked at one member of the group, Kushida, with surprise on his face.
"It seems there's bcen quite a fuss. What happened, Horikita-san?"Though Kushida was clearly aware of Yagami's presence in turn, she askedHorikita about what was going on, sounding quite curious.
"Nothing that you all need to worry about," said Horikita.
"Oh, really?"
After Horikita told them that it was nothing, Kushida and the other three girls started to head back towards the classroom.
"Um, pardon me, but...you wouldn't happen to be Kushida-senpai, by any chance, would you?" asked Yagami.
"Hm?" replied Kushida, turning around to look at who`d addressed her.
If he knew Kushida's name, could he be an acquaintance of hers? Or so I thought, but...
"Um, you are?" said Kushida.
She gave him a puzzled look. There was no sign that she was familiar with him.
"It's me. Do you not recognize me? Well, I suppose that's only natural that you wouldn't. It's Yagami Takuya," he replied.
Kushida thought on it for a while after hearing his name, but then seemed to suddenly remember. "Yagami... Ah! Wait! You're that Yagami-kun?!"
"Yes, I am most certainly that Yagami. It's been quite a long time,
hasn't it?"
"Wow, so you came to this school too, Yagami-kun. What an incredible coincidence!"
"I never imagined I'd meet you again here, Kushida-senpai."
"You know cach other?" asked Satou, curiously.
Kushida nodded. "Yes. But we hardly ever actually talked before.Anyway, his name is Yagami Takuya-kun. He always scemed incredibly smart. but since we were in different grades, we never said much more than hello to each other."
" so you know him too?" I asked, whispering in Horikita's ear to get confirmation.
"Nope, I don't know him at all," she replied immediately.
"Well, you don't seem very good at remembering the faces of your
classmates, though."
"I won't deny that. I didn't exactly have time to pay attention to people I wasn't interested in," said Horikita.
Apparently, Horikita didn't recognize...no, it was more like he didn't register in her mind at all. I supposed if you were the kind of person who treated your classmates that way, there was no way you'd remember students younger than you.
Well, even if Kushida didn't remember this boy, he'd probably never been able to forget her. It just went to show how captivating she was.
"I can't believe how lucky I am. To be able to go to the same school as the revered Kushida-senpai..." said Yagami.
"Oh, no, that's a bit much, I'm nothing special.." she replied humbly.
However, if Yagami really had attended the same junior high as Kushida, then a few concerns came to mind.
"Does this Yagami kid know about you know whar?" I whispered to Horikita.
I was referring to Kushida 's past, of course. In junior high, Kushida
had causcd her own class to turn on itsclf and fall apart. As a result, she
considered Horikitawho'd attended the same school back then and knew
the truth about what happeneda bitter enemy. Kushida wanted to get rid of
Horikita, considering it too dangerous for someone to know what she'd done
to her class.
If Yagami had attended the same junior high, it wouldn't be a surprise if he knew about what happened, too, but...
"It wouldn't be strange if he did. That being said, there's no guarantee that he does," said Horikita.
In that case, Yagami being here certainly wasn't very comforting for Kushida. Since there were students in our grade level who'd attended the same schools before, I supposed it wasn't out of the question for students former juniors to enroll, either.
"I realize this is quite sudden, but I must say I would have neither complaints nor concerns if I were able to team up with someone like you,Kushida-senpai. Would you be willing to partner with me?" asked Yagami.
Even though he and Kushida had only just been reunited, he asked to
become partners, extending his hand with a friendly smile on his face. Was
this all to show that he knew nothing about her past? Or that even if he did
know, it didn't matter?
"Are you really sure you want to partner with me, though? Yagami-kun, wouldn't it be better to work with someone closer to your level academically?" Kushida asked, tilting her head slightly.
Yagami Takuya's academic ability was ranked A an outstanding score that few could match. No wonder Kushida sounded so humble.
Horikita, standing beside me, discreetly checked the OAA app. She glanced at his profile before sliding her phone back into her pocket, her sharp eyes confirming what was already obvious Yagami was no ordinary first-year.
"I don't really know my way around yet," Yagami admitted, smiling politely. "That's why I'd prefer to partner with someone I can trust."
The OAA revealed numerical scores, but it couldn't measure character. To Yagami, securing a reliable acquaintance might have seemed more valuable than pairing with an unfamiliar high scorer.
"Um, could you give me some time to think about it?" Kushida replied, cautiously. Perhaps she was simply being careful or perhaps there was something about Yagami that made her hesitant.
"Of course," Yagami answered easily. "I won't commit to anyone else until you've made your decision, Kushida-senpai. Please take all the time you need."
Given his A-rank, he wasn't in a hurry. He could afford to wait.
"Man, must be nice…" Sudou muttered enviously. "If it were me, I'd have jumped at the chance without even thinking."
"That just means you need to study harder," Horikita shot back, her tone flat but not cruel.
"Y-Yeah… I'll definitely improve my scores," Sudou said, scratching the back of his neck. His frustration wasn't born out of resentment he wanted to grow stronger, to close the gap.
I quietly excused myself from Horikita and the others when I noticed Haruka waving me over from the side. The rest of the Ayanokōji Group Akito, Keisei, and Airi were standing nearby.
"H-He was super scary, wasn't he?" Airi blurted out as soon as I approached.
The first thing after I joining them was airi first impression of Housen.
"Sure seems there's a bunch of troublemakers like Sudou-kun and Ryuuen-kun in this year's batch of new students, huh?" Haruka sounded somewhat exasperated after having watched the entire commotion play out.
Standing beside her was Akito. He remained motionless, staring fixedly at the spot in the hall where Housen once stood.
"What's the matter, Miyacchi?" asked Haruka.
"A seriously scary dude has come to our school. Let's just say things are probably gonna get rocky from here on out. That dude's... Well, he's so tough that even Sudou or Ryuuen can't take him on," said Akito
"Wait, hold up. Don't tell me you know this guy too, Miyachi. Do you?" asked Haruka.
"I never, like, met him in person or anythin'. But Ryuuen and Housen are both pretty big celebrities back where I'm from," said Akito.
"Anyway, there used to be this gang leader at my school... The shortversion of the story is that this guy was a really tough-looking badass whowas supposed to be really good in a fight. But one day, he just suddenly
vanished. It caused a huge uproar. Then, right after he disappecared, I heard
he'd wound up in the hospital after getting the crap beaten out of him in a one-on-one fight with some dude named Housen,This Housen had apparently just started at our junior high. He was a whole two years younger than the other guy, his whole gang or his friends can't go anything they backs down just from his glare, because they remember how he destroyed their leader with his bare hands, who was on a rampage "
"G-gang leader? Dang, that's like somethin' straight out of a manga about bad dudes... That's a little scary," said Haruka.
"The place I used to live in has been pretty infamous for attracting all sorts of riff raff for a long time now," said Akito.
"Oh, wow..." Haruka looked a little bit perplexed to hear this string of unfamiliar words from Akito.
"And just like that, Housen went around all the junior high schools in the area, one after another, tightening his grip on all of 'em," said Akito.
"Ryuuen-kun's pretty infamous too, isn't he? But it seems like they've never met before," said Haruka.
"I get the feeling that's 'cause they just never happened to run into each other," said Akito.
"By the way, did you used to be a bad dude yourself, Miyachi?" asked Haruka.
"I....quit doing that kinda stuft. These days I'm tryin' to be a proper student."
"So, you were a delinquent."
"...I had a bad temper all the way up into my second-year of junior high. Since then, I've focused everything into archery," said Akito.
"But that means you really used to be a bad kid, though, right?" asked Haruka.
Akito scratched his head in annoyance as Haruka, strangely enough,continued to press the matter.
"So? What's wrong with that?" he shot back.
"No, actually, like...I think it's kinda fine? If anything, I think that means you've got a pretty cool past. Don't ya think?" said Haruka.
It ain't cool at all," said Akito.
I was guessing the reason he kncw so much about fighting was because he used to be that sort of person. You could certainly tell by looking at him that he had nerves of steel and quick reflexes.
"I mean, since you were a former bad kid yourself, couldn't you just give Housen a taste of his own medicine if necessary?" asked Haruka.
"Quit jokin' around. Even ifI do fight somebody, I choose my opponents carefully. And I especially wouldn't wanna fight Housen, for sure," said Akito,
Akito was raising the white flag becfore the fight even happened. He was saying that less as an admission of his own weakness, though, and more due to recognizing Housen's strength. Ibuki also had a certain degree of proficiency when it came to hand-to-hand combat, and she hadn't been able
to land a single hit. There was just an overwhelming difference in their physique. And she wasn't even match when is came to speed