Takemi and Kazama entered the school together. Kazama strolled forward with his hands buried in his pockets, shoulders loose, his gaze drifting somewhere past the buildings as if the world around him didn't exist. Takemi kept her head slightly down, her light blue hair falling forward to partially obscure her face.
They were both late. The grounds were empty except for Taiga, who stood outside near the vending machines. He had spiky black hair which was like that due to a combination of gel and wax. He was around 6' in height and was roaming outside while most of the students were probably in their classrooms. He was the delinquent of delinquents.
He took a sip of his soda, amber eyes tracking their entrance from across the courtyard.
They're so late and that boy looks like he hasn't a care in the world, Taiga thought, his grip tightening on the can. Guys like him piss me off. They always get the pretty girl too. Damn, she's too pretty. Those light blue eyes. That hair and that figure. Why does it have to be this boring looking loser ?
He squinted, leaning forward for a better look. He slowly recognized the girl.
Wait, wait, wait. That's Tachibana Takemi from section D, first year. What the hell? How did that nobody land her? She's the most popular girl among the first years and also one of the prettiest, Taiga thought as his grip on the can tightened. Taiga's jaw clenched.
If I meet him in the upcoming qualifiers, I'm beating the shit out of him, Taiga thought as the aluminum can crumpled in his fist with a sharp crunch, soda dripping between his fingers onto the pavement.
He hurled the crushed can toward the far end of the field. It sailed through the air in a perfect arc, swerving slightly before dropping into a distant trash bin with a metallic clang.
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Takemi and Kazama were now changing their shoes at the entrance, the sound of lockers clicking open and shut echoing in the hallway. The hallway was empty and it was just the two of them.
He didn't say a single word the entire way. He was just lost in his own thoughts. Or maybe he has a girlfriend and doesn't want to be seen talking to any other girl? Or maybe he's just socially awkward? I wonder what he's thinking, Takemi thought, stealing a glance at him.
If I see this Tanaka guy at night interfering with my work, I'm going to electrocute the shit out of him, Kazama thought as he clenched his fist.
They climbed the stairs and reached the outside of their classroom. The wooden door had a brass plate that read "1-D."
"Well, this would be me. Thanks again," Kazama said.
"Wait. You're also in 1-D?" Takemi's eyes widened.
"Well... yes."
"I've never noticed you before," Takemi said, genuinely surprised while squinting her eyes. There were twenty four students in their section, but still she never once noticed him.
"Well, the session started just two months ago," Kazama replied with a shrug.
"But still. Are your powers becoming invisible?" Takemi asked. She was confused and started doubting herself.
"Why does everyone want to know what my powers are?" Kazama shot back, irritation creeping into his voice.
The classroom sliding door opened. The classroom had twenty two students inside.The room looked like any modern Japanese classroom at first glance - rows of desks arranged neatly, polished wooden floors, and tall glass windows lining the right side. Sunlight streamed through them, scattering across the room in clean, bright sheets. Embedded along the window frames were thin, shimmering safety seals with energy-dampening barriers designed to suppress stray powers. A discreet sensor strip ran along the ceiling, blinking faintly as it monitored any abilities activity.
On the left corner of the wall by the blackboard, there was a list with the current top 50 Japanese heroes on it. Shirai Takeru and Tanaka Kujou were both present on that list.
"Well, if you two are done arguing and have already gotten over the fact that you're late, then I think it would be better if you would attend class," Fujimoto-sensei said. She was a woman in her mid thirties with dark hair pulled into a neat bun.
Some of the students leaned from their desks to see what was going on.
"That's rare. Tachibana, how did you get so late?" the teacher asked, her tone softening.
"Um... I woke up late, Sensei. I couldn't sleep last night for some reason. I'm sorry," Takemi replied as she brushed a few strands of hair from her face.
"Oh! Take care of yourself, Tachibana. Don't stress yourself, and let me know if you need any help," Fujimoto-sensei said with genuine concern.
Takemi bowed deeply. "Thank you, Sensei. And I'm sorry for being late. Really sorry."
Takemi entered first. Several students looked up from their desks, eyebrows raised. A girl in the front row leaned over to whisper something to her neighbor, both of them glancing at Takemi with wide eyes. Kazama was about to enter, but Fujimoto-sensei stopped him by placing a rolled-up notebook against his chest.
"This is the fourth time you're late this week, Kazama. This won't work. You need to fix this, or you'll have to go to the principal and explain yourself," Fujimoto-sensei said firmly, drawing back the rolled notebook.
"I'm sorry, Sensei. Won't happen again," Kazama said, his tone flat and unconvincing.
Pretty sure she said it was the second time last week. Well, whatever, Kazama thought as he stepped past her.
Murmurs rose through the classroom as Kazama approached his seat. Students leaned toward each other, hands cupped near mouths.
"Kazama's late again," someone snickered.
"Tachibana-san was late as well."
"Are they dating?"
The whispers and murmurs continued. Takemi was not the type of student who would be late. And entering the classroom late with a student who had built up a reputation of being late surely sent everyone thinking and talking in the form of whispers and murmurs.
Kazama didn't react as he took his seat. He looked around at his classmates, his dark eyes landing on two familiar faces grinning at him from the adjacent desks. Why are these two idiots smiling like that?
"Hoho! You're not gonna explain that?" Kurogane asked with a wide grin, brushing his hair back with one hand. He had dark orange hair and an athletic build. He was 6' 1 and was also the star striker for the school's football team.
"Explain what?" Kazama replied with a neutral tone, while taking out his notebook and stationary.
"Now don't act all shy," Kurogane said with a grin, leaning forward on his desk.
"Fine, Kazama, keep your secrets," Haruto added, adjusting his glasses with a knowing smile. His neat brown hair and pressed uniform contrasted sharply with Kurogane's casual slouch. He was Kazama's oldest friend. They had known each other since kindergarten and by fate or choice, they were now in the same classroom.
"What are you guys talking about?" Kazama asked, genuinely confused.
"You didn't tell us you were going out with Tachibana," Kurogane said, with a lower tone such that only Kazama and Haruto could hear him.
"It's just a coincidence that we ended up entering the classroom at the same time," Kazama said smoothly, the lie coming easily.
I shouldn't reveal what actually happened. Kurogane would never let it go, and Haruto would analyze it to death and break it down to the smallest of details, Kazama thought.
"Well anyway. This is the first time Tachibana-san has been late," Haruto observed, while making a gesture in her direction. He redirected the conversation as he knew Kazama was not going to entertain any taunts right now and continuing it later on would be better.
"I think we should ask Kazama about that as well," Kurogane suggested, grinning again.
"And why would I know that?" Kazama asked, annoyed with eyes narrowing in irritation. He didn't want to waste any time on baseless questions.
"Well, you are the undisputed world heavyweight champion of being late," Kurogane replied with a small giggle.
Kazama let out a long breath through his nose and slumped slightly in his chair and chose not to entertain Kurogane's jokes. Haruto let out a small smile as he read Kazama perfectly.
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On the other side of the classroom, Takemi sat beside her friends Kana and Sakura near the windows.
"Takemi-chan! How come you were sooo late?" Kana asked, practically bouncing in her seat. She had short, curly hair dyed a light pink and wore colorful hair clips. She had a more open and bubbly personality.
"Yeah, Takemi. I was getting bored listening to Kana talking about her new shoes," Sakura added, flipping her long black ponytail over her shoulder.
"Oh, I wasn't well last night and had trouble sleeping. I was thinking about taking a leave today," Takemi explained while taking out her own set of stationary and notebook.
"Oh! Are you alright?" Sakura asked with concern.
"Let us know if you need anything," Kana added with a thumbs up gesture.
"Thanks, guys," Takemi said with a smile.
"Also, was Kazama gentle?" Kana asked with a mischievous smile.
"What?" Takemi replied, her brow furrowing slightly as she blinked in confusion. There was a brief pause before she gave Kana a puzzled look, unsure where that question even came from.
"I was wondering the same. All the boxes checked," Sakura said as she was noting the pointers for their assumption on the back of her notebook.
Takemi let out a small, uneasy chuckle, more out of confusion than amusement. "What are you guys even talking about?" she asked, glancing between them with raised brows, trying to read if they were serious or just messing with her.
"Yesterday you were as fit as an olympic gold medalist, couldn't sleep last night, and then showed up late with a guy?" Kana explained, counting on her fingers.
"That was a coincidence," Takemi protested. Her voice was a bit louder this time which made a few more surrounding students also give a look at her.
Sakura pointed at Kazama talking to his friends. "I'm sure he's explaining the same things to his friends over there."
"I hope his friends aren't as annoying as you are," Takemi muttered as she began to pout.
"I hope you….." Sakura started.
"Kinoshita Sakura!" Fujimoto-sensei called out sharply from the front. She'd been writing the day's objectives on the board and had just turned around.
"Yes, Sensei," Sakura replied quickly. She quickly stood up as the teacher calling out her name alarmed her.
"I've been calling your name," Fujimoto-sensei said, crossing her arms.
"Sorry, Sensei," Sakura replied, her cheeks reddening.
"Anyway. Can you tell me what is the basic unit of electric charge?" Fujimoto-sensei asked.
"Umm... basic unit... umm, I don't know, Sensei," Sakura answered hesitantly while looking here and there and making an awful attempt at thinking something.
"Kinoshita, the Japanese Qualifiers aren't far. And I hope you know that all the assessments are compulsory," Fujimoto-sensei told the whole classroom, her gaze sweeping across the students.
"Sorry, Sensei," Sakura said quietly.
"Okay, sit down then. Tachibana. Do you know the answer?" Fujimoto-sensei asked, now looking at Tachibana.
"Yes, Sensei. It's Coulomb," Takemi stood up and answered confidently.
"Good. Now Kurogane, you answer me this. What happens to the resistance of a conductor as its temperature increases?" Fujimoto-sensei asked as she quickly turned to the other side of the classroom.
"It decreases, I guess," Kurogane replied uncertainly as he stood up slowly and started rubbing the back of his head.
"Incorrect. Kazama?" Fujimoto-sensei's eyes shifted to him.
"For most conductors, the resistance increases as the temperature rises," Kazama stood up and answered without hesitation.
Students exchanged glances. Someone in the back leaned forward.
"Very good," Fujimoto-sensei said, a surprise flickering across her face. She paused, then decided to test him further. "Can you explain how a current-carrying conductor generates a magnetic field around it?"
"When electric current flows through a conductor, it creates a magnetic field that forms concentric circles around the conductor, as described by the right-hand rule," Kazama explained while also making gestures with his hands to explain his answer.
"Impressive," Fujimoto-sensei said, genuinely taken aback.
Fujimoto-sensei asked the next question to test Kazama even further. "Why does a charged particle moving perpendicular to a magnetic field experience a force, and what is the direction of this force?"
"The particle experiences a force due to the Lorentz force. The direction of the force is perpendicular to both the velocity of the particle and the magnetic field, determined by the right-hand rule," Kazama answered with a neutral expression, again using his hands to explain his understanding of the concept.
Takemi turned in her seat to look at Kazama, her eyes widening slightly. Around the room, more students had stopped whatever they were doing to pay attention.
"Okay…. you can sit down now", Fujimoto-sensei said, with a tone which felt like she had accepted defeat.
"Way to go, Kazama," Kurogane said admiringly. "Perhaps the New Age Tesla."
"I like when he does that. Made even Fujimoto-sensei look stunned," Haruto added with a small smile.
"The questions weren't that hard," Kazama replied modestly, turning the pages of his notebook and finally landing on the page where the topic was taught.
"Bro, I didn't know a single one," Kurogane admitted with a sad face.
"Because you're dumb," Haruto said bluntly.
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Fujimoto-sensei had turned back to the board to write formulas. Meanwhile on the other side of the room,. Kana leaned close to Sakura and Takemi, keeping her voice low.
"Woah, didn't know Kazama-kun could do that," Kana whispered, glancing over her shoulder at him.
"He really showed off there," Sakura murmured, hiding her mouth behind her hand.
Well, Takemi has her perfect match now, Sakura thought, fighting back a grin.
"Hey! Stop it, you guys!" Takemi whispered, her face heating up.
"We're just messing with you, Takemi," Sakura said with a barely contained smile.
"Yes, Takemi-chan. You know Sakura-chan's love life isn't that interesting, so we need something to gossip about," Kana added under her breath.
"I'm gonna kill you," Sakura hissed while making a gun gesture with her right hand.
"Hee hee... By the way, I didn't expect him to answer like that though," Kana continued.
"Maybe it was a one-time thing. Let's see how well he does in other subjects. We're yet to have our cycle and midterm tests, which will prove his actual worth," Sakura said with confidence.
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The next period started. Literature with Yamamoto-sensei, a thin man with wire-rimmed glasses who had a habit of pacing while he lectured. The classroom windows were open, letting in a warm breeze that rustled papers on desks.
Near the end of class, Yamamoto-sensei asked questions about the assigned reading. Kazama was called on twice and couldn't answer either question. He stared down at his desk, jaw tight.
Takemi watched him from across the room, her earlier curiosity deflating slightly.
"Damn, Kazama. You're just washed," Kurogane said quietly, shaking his head with disappointment.
Kazama said nothing but a slight disappointment was written on his face.