Disclaimer: Detective Conan is not mine. This fanfic is a translation.
Enjoy Reading!
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The one-hour entrance ceremony finally came to an end. According to the rules, all new students were to go directly to their assigned classrooms to report in.
Holding a copy of The Complete Six Codes in his arms, Jinpei couldn't help thinking about the long-winded speech the chief had given earlier. After finally graduating from college, he still had to study academic subjects again; criminal procedure law, civil law, and more. They even had to memorize the entire book in his hands.
"Man, this is such a pain… And that annoying guy too. Please don't let me end up in the same class as him!" Jinpei kept grumbling beside Hagiwara, getting more worked up the longer he talked.
Hagiwara sighed. Thinking about Ritsu's expressionless face, if those two really ended up in the same class, the instructor would probably be punishing them every single day.
"You're an adult now, try to calm down a little. He's younger than you, you know. Aren't you embarrassed picking on someone younger than yourself?"
"Tch, I don't care about that stuff." Jinpei shoved the textbook into Hagiwara's hands and pushed open the door to the Onizuka Class classroom with force. Turning to the person beside him with a mischievous grin, he said, "If I run into that top scorer, I'm definitely beating him up!"
After seeing who was standing inside the classroom, Hagiwara silently stepped to the side, as if to make his position clear.
'I have absolutely nothing to do with this idiot.'
Jinpei sensed the atmosphere suddenly stiffen. Before he even looked forward, a voice spoke up.
"Who exactly are you planning to beat up?"
Rei frowned, his usual gentle demeanor gone as another side of him surfaced. He was fiercely protective, anyone who provoked someone he cared about was asking for trouble.
Talk about enemies crossing paths. It felt like opening a cup of instant noodles only to discover the seasoning packet was missing.
After all, they were young men who had just graduated from college and hadn't yet stepped into society. At times like this, their blood naturally ran hot. Jinpei refused to lose in terms of momentum and snorted.
"What's it got to do with you? The one I can't stand is that top scorer standing next to you!"
"Ritsu is one of my people. Now it does concern me."
"Seriously… I knew I wouldn't like stubborn guys like you." Jinpei curled his lips into a smirk and crooked his finger at Rei, raising his brow in mockery. "How about we step outside and settle this with a fight, blondie?"
That was basically dancing right on Rei's biggest trigger.
Ritsu scratched his cheek. Thinking about what he had done during the entrance ceremony, he stood up from his seat and looked directly at Jinpei.
"That incident at the ceremony was my fault. I shouldn't have deliberately moved aside so that Toya-san would notice you."
The sudden apology caught Jinpei completely off guard.
He had already thrown out all those tough words, and now someone suddenly poured a bucket of cold water over his head. He didn't know whether to advance or retreat.
He hadn't expected the underage kid to be this reasonable.
Mediator No.1, Hagiwara Kenji, immediately smiled and slung an arm around Jinpei's shoulders.
"It's fine, it's fine. This guy brought it on himself. Let me introduce myself, my name's Hagiwara Kenji, twenty-one years old."
Mediator No.2, Morofushi, quickly followed up.
"I'm Hiromitsu Morofushi. This is Furuya Rei. We're both twenty-one too, same age as you."
Ritsu was just about to introduce himself when Hagiwara waved his hand with a grin.
"As for you, both Jinpei and I already know. Sasajima Ritsu, eighteen years old. You passed the exam with a perfect score and have been called the future star of the police world. Height 186 centimeters, weight—"
"Hagiwara… you can stop now." Jinpei glared at him with half-lidded eyes. Don't make it sound like he know all that stuff too, he doesn't!
Morofushi honestly hadn't expected them to have looked up Ritsu's information. Turning to Jinpei curiously, he asked,
"So what's your name?"
Seeing Jinpei remain silent, Hagiwara quickly jabbed his elbow into his waist.
Jinpei grimaced and rubbed the spot before looking away and muttering,
"Matsuda Jinpei. Same age as that guy next to me."
Rei kept a cold expression and said nothing. He hadn't calmed down yet.
Just as the atmosphere was about to become tense again, the classroom door was pushed open once more.
A young man with a buzz cut and a somewhat mature-looking face stepped inside. He stood nearly six feet three inches tall, with thick eyebrows that gave him the impression of someone very loyal and straightforward.
"Hm? Am I the last one?"
"Instructor Onizuka, hello!"
After seeing his appearance, Morofushi didn't think much about it and immediately gave a standard ninety-degree bow. When he straightened up, he found the buzz-cut man at the doorway staring at him with a puzzled expression.
"Were you talking to me?"
"Huh? Aren't you Instructor Onizuka?"
The two stared at each other for a moment before the buzz-cut young man burst into laughter.
"Do I really look that old?" he said, pointing to his face. "I'm Wataru Date, twenty-one years old, same as you guys. I'm also a trainee in Onizuka's class."
Ritsu turned his head toward Morofushi, who had covered his face. His skin was visibly turning red, he always reacted like that when he got embarrassed.
After everyone introduced themselves again, the classroom door opened once more. A middle-aged man with a square face walked in wearing a light blue police uniform, carrying a black plastic bag.
His triangular eyes gave off a very unfriendly impression.
The deep smile lines on his face curved like large brackets, and his hairstyle somehow made him resemble an owl. Inside, Hagiwara was already crying.
'A gentle instructor is definitely impossible… I just hope the punishments aren't too harsh.'
Hachizō Onizuka looked around the room with a stern face. After scanning every student's face, he raised his voice.
"For the next six months, I will be responsible for the thirty of you! My name is Hachizō Onizuka. You don't need to know anything else about me!"
His powerful voice echoed throughout the classroom with almost surround-sound intensity.
"As for the next matter, we need to appoint a class leader. Any volunteers?"
Silence filled the room.
Ritsu noticed the instructor's gaze land on him. Without changing his expression, he subtly hid behind Morofushi. He had absolutely no desire to become class leader.
In truth, Onizuka already had someone in mind.
Among this group of excellent students, the top scorer Sasajima Ritsu was actually not suitable for class leader. His young age made it easy for others not to take him seriously. Furthermore, he spoke very little, while a class leader needed to communicate constantly with other trainees. So he was the first to be eliminated.
Matsuda Jinpei, definitely eliminated. During the interview he had made the outrageous statement that he became a police officer "so he could punch the Police Commissioner General." He clearly wasn't the cooperative type. Besides, earlier he had been hiding in the classroom next door and had already provoked two people. How could such a troublemaker become class leader?
Hagiwara Kenji had demonstrated excellent insight and communication skills during the interview and exam. However, after the interview ended he had immediately been seen chatting up female applicants. Someone who used such talents to flirt obviously wasn't suited for the role either.
Hiromitsu Morofushi had a very gentle personality and a strong sense of justice. His older brother was also an outstanding detective in Nagano Prefecture, making him a near-perfect candidate. Unfortunately, the case involving his parents had left psychological trauma. During the interview, simply mentioning the incident had caused him to lose control of his emotions slightly, so he couldn't be chosen either.
After considering everything, the only one left was Wataru Date, whose overall ability ranked just behind Ritsu and Rei. His sense of justice was just as strong as the others', and he was the type who would happily help an elderly lady cross the street. He also possessed good leadership skills.
His only flaw was that he still held a grudge over his father's resignation.
"Since no one is willing to volunteer, I'll appoint someone," Onizuka said, fixing his gaze on Date.
"Wataru Date, step forward!"
"Yes, sir!"
"From today on, you are the class leader of Onizuka's class. Understood?"
"Understood!"
Onizuka handed the black plastic bag to Date and instructed him,
"Distribute the items inside to everyone. Put your phones into this box for collection. After that, you're dismissed."
"Yes, sir!"