The three boys stomped down the hallway, far from the scene, their footsteps echoing sharply. Ishida kicked at a stray shoe locker, his teeth gritted.
"Damn it!" he spat, leaning against a wall. "Who the hell does that guy think he is? Grabbing me like that in front of everyone—!"
Kazuki scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Man, that was crazy... he didn't even flinch. And the way he looked at me... It's scarier than watching a horror movie."
"Tch. He's not scary, he's just another kid!" Ishida snapped, even though his voice cracked slightly with frustration. "Everyone was watching me, like I was the idiot! He humiliated me."
Keisuke shuffled uneasily, lowering his voice. "Still... you saw his eyes, right? It was scary. I thought he was gonna punch you."
"Shut up!" Ishida shouted, but the tremble in his tone betrayed him. His fists clenched at his sides, still burning from the humiliation. "I won't let him get away with that. I'll show him he can't act all high and mighty."
Kazuki and Keisuke exchanged glances, both hesitant to encourage Ishida's pride but too afraid to say anything that would spark his anger further.
Before either of them could reply, a group of girls passed by the end of the hallway. Their voices carried, and Ishida instantly recognized one of them.
Naoka Ueno.
She was walking alongside Miki Kawai, who had her usual soft smile, and Miyoko Sahara, who listened quietly as the two chatted.
"…Did you hear?" Ueno spoke, her voice soft and curious. "Haruya Sumeragi from Class 5-A embarrassed Ishida earlier. Made him apologize to a girl he bumped into."
Miki blinked. "Eh? Really? That doesn't sound like Ishida-kun at all..."
"Exactly," Naoka replied, folding her arms. "Which means that guy must've been taught a lesson by Sumeragi-san."
Miyoko tilted her head slightly. "...I think I've heard of him before. Haruya Sumeragi, right? Good-looking, top of the entire grade, and I've even heard he's from a rich family."
Miki nodded slowly. "I think so. He's always with Kudo-san and Kubo-san."
"Hmm,~" Naoka hummed. "Never really paid much attention outside of our class, sounds like he's pretty popular."
"I just heard that he likes to keep to himself most of the time."
"I see..."
Naoka nodded her head in understanding.
Suddenly, as if sensing other people, she looked to her right and saw Ishida and the others standing there.
A sly grin appeared on her lips as she called them out, "Hey, Ishida! Heard you were being rude earlier and finally got taught a lesson, huh?"
A red tick appeared on Ishida's forehead as he started to wave his hand angrily.
"Shut up, Ueno! Stop meddling in other people's business!"
Ueno smirked and cupped her hand around her mouth like she was making an announcement.
"Everyone, look! Ishida got scolded in the hallway!"
Miki's eyes widened. "Naoka-chan, don't tease him like that…"
But Naoka just shrugged. "What? It's true!"
Ishida's face turned red as he stomped his foot. "Shut up already! It was nothing!"
Kazuki covered his mouth with his sleeves and muttered under his breath, "Didn't look like nothing..." but quickly looked away when Ishida glared at him.
Miyoko tilted her head. "But… apologizing isn't a bad thing, you know. It means you're maturing."
"Maturing?!" Ishida whined, pointing at her in disbelief. "No way! I just bumped into that girl by accident, okay? He's the one who made a big deal out of it!"
Ueno laughed, rocking back on her heels. "Sure, Ishida. Keep telling yourself that. Don't go ignoring people you knock to the ground next time.
Keisuke tugged on Ishida's sleeve nervously. "Hey, Ishida, maybe we should just go..."
But Ishida wasn't done. "Tch! That Sumeragi guy just got lucky! Next time—"
"Next time what?" Naoka raised her eyebrows. "I heard from others that you couldn't even move a muscle when he held you."
Even Miki tried to hold back a laugh at that one, covering her mouth politely. "Naoka-chan…"
Ishida's ears turned bright red. "You're so annoying!" he shouted, before storming past them down the hall.
Kazuki and Keisuke exchanged an awkward glance before shuffling after him, leaving the three girls standing there.
Naoka laughed. "He's so easy to mess with."
Looking at the time, she turned to them and gestured towards the clock. "We should probably head back ourselves then. Let's go."
...
Back at Class 5-A, another group of three was having their own discussion.
Hazuki could feel that most of their classmates seemed to have their eyes towards the back of the class, where she and the other two stars of the class were gathered.
"Sumeragi-san, looks like you're the talk of our grade for the first day of our winter season," she smirked.
Haruya, who was lying face front on the hand pillow that Nagisa had given him as a gift, replied. "Whatever," his muffled voice sounded from underneath.
"I don't really care anyway, I just want to keep sleeping."
"I'm sorry about causing you trouble, Haruya-kun," Nagisa apologized.
Haruya looked in her direction and poked his head out of the pillow.
"There's nothing to be sorry about. Kids like them don't get punished by adults often, so I just took it as a chance to teach them a little lesson."
Hazuki raised her hand and gave a thumbs-up while nodding, "That's right, just like Haruya said, it's his job as a responsible adult to—"
The former cut herself off and rolled her eyes. "Aren't you just a kid as well?"
"You don't see me going around bumping into people and being rude about it," he shrugged.
Not just solely for that reason, but Haruya had also heard of their reputation before, even going as far as to bully their own classmates.
As an upright kid, he despised people like Shoya Ishida and his group.
Bullying others for the sake of entertainment.
Idiots.
Although he knew that they only lacked proper guidance, he wouldn't let them slide even if that was the case. Not to mention bumping into his friend.
From that moment, it was already game over.
Nagisa fidgeted with her pencil before speaking again. "Still… thank you, Haruya-kun. If you didn't step in, I… I probably wouldn't have known what to say."
Haruya waved a hand lazily, resting his chin on the pillow. "Don't worry about it. People like that get louder the more you ignore them. Sometimes you just have to shut them up before it gets worse."
Nagisa's eyes softened. "…Even so, I really appreciate it."
Hazuki leaned forward with a sly smile. "Oho~ Nagisa, you sound like you're praising your knight in shining armor."
Nagisa's face flushed. "H-Hazuki-chan! That's not what I meant!"
Haruya sighed and pulled the pillow back over his face. "Don't start weird rumors, Hazuki."
Hazuki chuckled. "I'm just saying. You were quite fierce at that time. No wonder everyone's gossiping about you."
"Let them gossip," Haruya muttered. "I don't care about looking cool. I just can't stand people who act like that. It's pathetic."
Nagisa smiled faintly, her voice quieter. "Still… It's nice to know someone's watching out for me."
Hazuki sharply caught her expression, nudging her with her elbow. "See? Even Nagisa admits it. Better get used to your new position as a knight in shining armor.
Haruya groaned. "…You're impossible."
Hazuki only laughed harder, while Nagisa looked flustered, her hands clutching her notebook as if it could shield her from Hazuki's teasing.
As the classroom settled into its usual rhythm, the chatter about Ishida and his friends slowly faded, replaced by the sound of Takuomi-sensei's discussion and the pages turning one by one.
Outside, the sun shone faintly through the windows, and for a moment, everything felt peaceful.
Nagisa glanced at Haruya one last time, showing a soft smile. "…Thanks again, Haruya-kun."
He barely responded, but a faint grunt sound escaped from under the pillow, almost like an acknowledgment.
Meanwhile, in front of the class, Takuomi-sensei suddenly noticed the sleeping Haruya.
Takuomi's eyelids started to twitch in anger, "Haruya Sumeragi, that's enough sleeping!"