Chapter 20: New classmate.
Morofushi Sora'aki's words were practically confirmation of Hagiwara Kenji's earlier guess. Moreover, in this situation of talking badly behind someone's back and being caught red-handed, Matsuda Jinpei stiffly turned around and met the calm expression of Morofushi Sora'aki.
Hagiwara Kenji asked leisurely, "If Sora'aki-chan's family is really involved in this area, what do you think, Jinpei-chan?"
Matsuda Jinpei frowned: "What else can I do? The yakuza aren't illegal... Tsk, anyway, he's the only friend I have, it's not like I'm friends with his family."
"Of course, if this guy is actually involved in any crimes, I will call the police," Matsuda Jinpei replied. "It's that simple."
After finishing his sentence, Matsuda Jinpei hesitated and asked, "So your family really...?"
"Pfft!" Hagiwara Kenji couldn't help but burst out laughing at his friend Matsuda Jinpei's reaction.
The boy with medium-length hair raised his eyes and met the gaze of Morofushi Sora'aki, his purple eyes full of laughter.
Because of the room's layout, Matsuda Jinpei was sitting with his back to the kitchen, while Hagiwara Kenji was facing it directly. That's why he saw Morofushi Sora'aki coming out with water.
At this moment, Hagiwara Kenji had only spoken halfway when he looked at his dear friend, who was obediently standing still with his water bottle, waiting until he revealed the false identity.
Just then, Matsuda Jinpei turned around, and Hagiwara Kenji gave Morofushi Sora'aki a thumbs up.
Matsuda Jinpei: ...
Matsuda Jinpei: !
Matsuda Jinpei instantly realized that the two of them were playing him, and immediately flew into a rage: "You two—!"
Since Hagiwara Kenji was the culprit, Matsuda Jinpei was the first to rush over and grab Hagiwara by the neck, and Hagiwara immediately begged for mercy: "Aww, I was wrong!!"
"And you too! Why do you always team up with that bastard Hagiwara, you bastard Morofushi!" Matsuda Jinpei shouted.
"Because Matsuda's reaction is quite amusing." Morofushi Sora'aki said honestly, moving the water further in to prevent the two people who were moving around too much from knocking over the cup.
Matsuda Jinpei was momentarily speechless.
Hagiwara Kenji struggled to control the upward curve of his lips. After that moment passed, Matsuda Jinpei asked uncertainly, "Was that just a joke?"
Kenji Hagiwara laughed and said, "Haha, you'll have to ask Sora'aki-chan about that~"
Matsuda Jinpei narrowed his eyes and looked at Hagiwara Kenji suspiciously.
"As expected of Hagiwara." Morofushi Sora'aki put another candy in his mouth, this time it was mint flavored.
He had seen similar rhetoric in books before; when spoken in this joking manner, the person being questioned wouldn't feel offended.
Hagiwara Kenji's guess that his family was related to the yakuza is a wild guess, but seeing Matsuda Jinpei being led astray, it seems to have some merit.
The young master of the underworld (?) must have his own reasons for concealing his identity. If he really is Morofushi Sora'aki, he can directly answer "yes" if he says it in this way, which can be considered as a buffer in advance.
If Morofushi Sora'aki is involved in the underworld but doesn't want to answer, he can say "no," but his attitude will be different. Hagiwara Kenji can then judge whether it's a lie and avoid stepping on a landmine in the future.
Morofushi Sora'aki shook his head: "My family is very ordinary, and my brothers are both very serious and good policemen, not the kind of bad policemen that Matsuda encountered."
"Tsk." Matsuda Jinpei crossed his arms, clearly annoyed that the topic had been brought up: "I'm going to beat that guy up sooner or later!"
"And it's not a fake identity, it's real." Morofushi Sora'aki replied.
"Then what you just said...?"
"I've read about it in a book before, and I asked my brother about it." Morofushi Sora'aki replied.
Matsuda Jinpei visibly breathed a sigh of relief, while Hagiwara Kenji failed to notice that Morofushi Sora'aki also used a bit of rhetoric.
—What I read in the book and what I asked my brother were both true, but they are not causal relationships.
The knowledge you learn from books may not be easy to apply in real life, but Hagiwara Kenji seems to be naturally good at these things. After watching Morofushi Sora'aki for so long, he has unknowingly learned these relatively simple basics.
"As expected of Hagiwara." Morofushi Sora'aki repeated.
"Thank you for the compliment. So, is there any reward?" Completely unaware of what he had done, Hagiwara Kenji accepted the compliment without any shame.
Morofushi Sora'aki thought for a moment, took a piece of candy from his pocket and tossed it over. Hagiwara Kenji happily tore open the wrapper without even looking at it and stuffed it into his mouth.
"Give me one too..." Matsuda Jinpei reached out to ask for one when he heard a heart-wrenching cough from next door. The curly-haired boy was startled and turned his head sharply.
Hagiwara Kenji, his face flushed, swallowed both glasses of water that Morofushi Sora'aki had just poured before panting and glancing shakily at the candy packaging.
Matsuda Jinpei also leaned over for a look, and the next second he immediately burst out laughing gleefully: "Hahahaha!! Wasabi flavor!! Serves you right!!!"
Morofushi Sora'aki was also taken aback: "Ah, Hagiwara won the lottery."
"Who would want to win a prize like this?!" Hagiwara Kenji exclaimed in despair. "Sora'aki-chan, you did this on purpose, didn't you?!"
"No, I didn't look at it just now either," Morofushi Sora'aki replied. "I bought the mixed pack, and I didn't expect it to have such a strange taste. I've never had it before... Hmm, I'll pay attention next time."
He would definitely look at the packaging before eating the candy; he resolutely refused to eat candies with strange flavors, even though his sense of taste was perfectly normal.
Hagiwara Kenji sniffed, suddenly feeling like crying: "Waaah, which bastard invented wasabi-flavored candy?!"
Originally, Morofushi Sora'aki wanted to invite two people to stay here, but he had nothing here, and the three-person beds were definitely not enough.
It's a bit of a pity...
"But the next time we meet will be at school." Hagiwara Kenji, having recovered from the wasabi, smiled and said, "Don't be late for the opening ceremony."
"Okay, see you tomorrow." Morofushi Sora'aki's lips curled up as he watched the two of them leave, arm in arm, playfully bickering.
He hasn't attended the opening ceremony yet because he transferred there midway through the semester, and he feels it will all be a new experience.
Morofushi Sora'aki washed and put away the two cups on the table, and returned to his home the next second.
Morofushi Sora'aki got out of bed, yawned, and muttered to himself, "...So I'll have to go to school at both places from now on."
Hopefully, high school here, where he has no friends, will be more fun; otherwise, he'll just have to sleep at school to reduce the stress from the increased memory.
As for his studies... I'm sorry, he never worried about that from the beginning.
His family has never been worried about his studies; they have always been concerned about his social life, interpersonal relationships, and personality.
Speaking of the school he's about to attend, its name is quite interesting.
It's called "Rouman Academy".
Hiromitsu and Taka'aki didn't attend this school. They probably chose this school because the school atmosphere is more relaxed, and they were worried that he wouldn't adapt well.
—As for the relaxed school atmosphere, you can feel it just from the name of the school.
I just always feel like it's a bit unreliable... Well, maybe it's just my imagination.
The entrance ceremony at Rouman Academy was no different from other schools. After taking a photo with his mother at the school gate, Morofushi Sora'aki was told by Morofushi Hiromitsu, who pressed his shoulder, "If anyone bullies you, contact your brother immediately!"
"Brother will help you catch him—"
"Hiromitsu." Morofushi Taka'aki's voice rang out from behind.
Morofushi Hiromitsu immediately shut up, revealing the gentle smile befitting a mature older brother: "Anyway, Sora'aki, do your best!"
Only then did Morofushi Taka'aki withdraw his gaze from Morofushi Hiromitsu and nod slightly to Morofushi Sora'aki.
The entrance ceremony consisted of sitting in the gymnasium listening to speeches from teachers, the principal, and the student council president. Morofushi Sora'aki's mind went blank, and this tedious process made him realize that he would definitely skip the next entrance ceremony.
After finally finishing, Morofushi Sora'aki returned to Class 1B.
The first thing to do at the start of the school year is pretty much the same for everyone: the teacher introduces themselves, followed by the students' self-introductions.
Because the self-introductions were not based on student ID numbers but on the current seating arrangement, it was soon Morofushi Sora'aki's turn.
Morofushi Sora'aki stood up, his blue cat-like eyes slightly lowered, looking somewhat uninterested: "Morofushi Sora'aki, hobby is reading."
After speaking, Morofushi Sora'aki sat down, and the atmosphere in the room became awkwardly tense. The teacher immediately tried to smooth things over: "Haha, it seems that Morofushi is a very studious person. Next!"
The student sitting behind Morofushi Sora'aki also stood up. He was a boy whose height far exceeded the average, and he even had injuries on his body, with bandages on his wrists and neck: "Ah... Nozaki Umetarou... um... zzz..."
Ah, this guy fell asleep standing up!
All the students in Class 1B looked at this guy with a blank and shocked expression, and their inner thoughts were all over the place at that moment.
I have a feeling... that teaching will be very tiring in the future. The teacher, standing on the podium, gave herself a pep talk: "Okay, next one—"
The teacher completely ignored him!
Because of Nozaki Umetarou's height, he sat in the last row. The next person was the first in the new row, but at that moment, no one paid attention to the student who was stammering and introducing himself. Everyone was staring at the student who was sleeping standing up (because he was covered in injuries).
Even the student who was introducing himself couldn't help but turn around.
Although he wasn't being stared at, Morofushi Sora'aki rested his chin on his hand, observing the expressions of his classmates in the room. He then glanced back at Nozaki Umetarou, who was still sleeping with his head tilted to the side, and his lips curled down.
Then, under the watchful eyes of the entire class, he stood up, reached out and pressed Nozaki Umetarou's shoulder, forcibly pushing him back into his seat.
Nozaki Umetarou suddenly woke up and looked up: "It'll be ready soon!"
Seeing that Nozaki Umetarou had once again attracted the attention of the whole class, Morofushi Sora'aki raised his hand and pressed Nozaki Umetarou's head down, face down. With a loud thud, Morofushi Sora'aki calmly said, "Go back to sleep."
Ah, that sound! Is Nozaki-san's head really okay?!
Nozaki Umetarou, however, seemed to feel no pain. He rested his head on the desk for a few seconds, then actually closed his eyes and peacefully fell asleep.
...So you really did fall back asleep?! And you really weren't knocked unconscious?! The brainwaves of all the students in the class, including the teacher, were now aligned again.