"Seriously, why is this bathhouse so incredibly dirty?"
Inside the police academy's public bathhouse, looking at the messy tiled floor and walls, Matsuda Jinpei couldn't help but grimace.
The weather had been getting hotter lately, and the students had switched to short-sleeved uniforms, which at least saved them the trouble of rolling up their sleeves while cleaning.
Date Wataru replied, "Weren't they rehearsing for the sports festival yesterday? Students from so many classes rolled around in the mud on the training grounds, and it was done in the rain too. It would be a miracle if it wasn't dirty."
"Instructor Onizuka knew that perfectly well, which is exactly why he sent us here, right?"
"We can't help it. After all, he did say he was going to give us a bitter taste of reality."
The members of Onizuka class held their brushes, mops, and buckets, stepping barefoot onto the wet tiles. The image of being called into the office by their furious instructor not long ago flashed in their minds.
"You guys must have noticed it to some extent, right? Multiple instructors have already come to lodge complaints with me." Onizuka Hachizo crossed his arms, saying mercilessly, "To make up for the various bad deeds you have committed up until now, I order you to clean the bathhouse and locker rooms for an entire week!"
"W-What?!"
"Humph, if you slack off for even a single day, I will kick all six of you straight out of the academy. Be prepared."
"Is that kind of thing really that easy to pull off—?"
Ignoring the loud complaints of the group, the instructor dismissed them with a broad wave of his hand, ordering them to finish cleaning before the bathhouse opened at five in the afternoon.
"Finish cleaning by five? Are you kidding me?" Matsuda scrubbed the dirt in the tile crevices with force, his curly bangs sticking to his forehead due to sweat. "They should at least send a few more people over... What's more, Kuno, you jerk, you are genuinely not helping at all!"
"Did you forget? I'm a patient." The handsome black-haired, red-eyed youth sat on a small wooden stool nearby, crossing his legs and taking it completely easy. "Besides, didn't Jinpei say that if you make a bet, you accept the loss?"
"Don't even get me started on that. It's been so long already, and I see you looking way healthier than any of us."
Ever since White was exposed by Gin, he had taken it as a lesson and kept an extremely low profile, busy with family affairs and no longer causing trouble over on the Black Organization's side. Therefore, Gojo Satoru had no need to switch consciousness, let alone faint out of nowhere.
In the eyes of the others, his health had vastly improved, and there was nothing left to worry about. Despite that, Morofushi Hiromitsu still monitored him every single day to make sure he ate fewer sweets and more vegetables—as for how he fought a battle of wits against Hiromitsu, secretly throwing a portion of the vegetables into the system inventory, that was another story entirely.
"Curse it..." Matsuda bent over with a thoroughly annoyed look, continuing to scrub the floor. "If I knew, I would have bet on the Class Leader to win. Furuya is completely unreliable."
During the previous arrest techniques training class, because Furuya Rei lost to Date Wataru in their match, Matsuda was forced to agree to help Kuno clean for a day. Today happened to be the day to fulfill that promise.
Gojo rested his chin in his hand. "Right? Hmm... if I knew, I should have said a week instead."
"Hey, hey, I'm not deaf yet!" Furuya's protest mixed with Hagiwara's laughter, echoing through the quiet bathhouse.
Matsuda was just about to say something when his foot suddenly slipped. His entire body plunged forward, nearly falling right into the water.
"Whoa!"
Fortunately, Gojo had quick reflexes, reaching out to grab him firmly by the shoulder.
"Be careful, Jinpei~"
A single second before Matsuda could feel that this guy actually had a conscience after all, he heard another sentence: "If you get injured from a fall, who is going to help me clean?"
"...I'll kill you!"
In the empty space where Matsuda couldn't see, comments from the parallel world were refreshing constantly.
Ahhh, I finally waited long enough for the new chapter! I didn't expect it to start with cleaning a bathhouse, haha.
Here as a fan of everyone, cheering for the group of six~
Pfft, haha, the way Kuno sits on that tiny stool is so asking for a beating.
Innocent Rei: Why are you bringing me into this!
Kuno really knows exactly how to annoy Matsuda, hahaha.
I don't care, this specific dynamic is just so satisfying, haha.
Though he didn't have any good words to say, Matsuda's cleaning movements were exceptionally focused, as if proving that even if he lost the bet, he would absolutely never admit defeat.
Hagiwara wrung out his rag, water drops falling pit-a-pat into the bucket. "Seriously, were our bad deeds really that unforgivable?"
"Actually, I think it's nothing major, but... we did break quite a few academy rules." Date scrubbed the tiles, listing them off like a familiar checklist. "For instance, Furuya and Matsuda sneaking out of their rooms in the middle of the night to argue and fight, and we all helped cover it up together..."
"Even though it was to save Instructor Onizuka, we also used firearms and blades without permission..."
"Oh right, that last time at the convenience store gathering with students from the same year, dealing with a gang of robbers..."
Morofushi added, "And a while ago, Rei, Matsuda, and Hagiwara slammed on the gas to race a car, scratching the vehicle a companion had left in the instructor's care."
"That time was also to save a life, so it shouldn't count as a bad deed, right?" Hagiwara shook his head. "The car bumper was forcibly dragged, and the truck driver fainted due to a medical condition, leading to a rear-end collision... If the three of us hadn't reacted in time, things would have turned out terrible."
Then, he added with regret, "Sigh, it was the Mazda FD known as the Spirit of Zero, after all. Causing such a cool car to get damaged makes me feel a bit apologetic."
"The Spirit of Zero..." Gojo held his cheek, drawing out the last sound with deep meaning. "That sounds almost like it's Rei's exclusive vehicle?"
Since he had zero interest in driving, he didn't participate in that recent collision incident, simply acting as an observer and cheerleader alongside Hiromitsu.
One notable point was—the favorite ride of the future Furuya Rei was precisely a white Mazda FD.
"Right?" Morofushi also teased, "Rei really likes that car, doesn't he? After all, it shares his name, Zero."
Before Furuya could awkwardly deny it, Gojo spoke up with a wide grin, "Rei likes a car that shares his exact name. Isn't that super... cute~ Could it be that when you drive, you silently say lines like 'Spirit of Zero, lift off!' to yourself?"
"Ku-no-Hi-sa-no!" Furuya's earlobes turned red instantly. "What nonsense are you talking about!"
Ah, looking at him, it seems to be entirely true.
Come to think of it, Gin also liked to drink the alcohol that shared his exact code name... Having an obsession with things attached to one's name was perhaps a preference shared by many.
Hahaha, Rei, just admit it, you absolutely love it.
By the way, why doesn't Kuno like driving? Normally, at this age, shouldn't he be all over it?
Rei, I'm sorry, I was eating jelly and it accidentally flew straight onto your mouth, this whole thing is hilarious, let's do it again.
The panel where Hiromitsu is secretly laughing is way too cute!!
Spirit of Zero~ go go go, let's set off.
"Anyway... speaking of the sports festival this time, our class flag design looks beautiful." Furuya chose to shift the topic to his childhood friend. "As expected of Hiromitsu's design!"
"Ah, thank you!" Morofushi smiled happily. "I was actually worried that using a cherry blossom pattern might be too ordinary."
Hagiwara looked toward Matsuda, who had a piece of cloth wrapped around his body. "Huh, isn't that the one Jinpei has on him?"
"Yeah, it was finished this morning. I've been carrying it around, not leaving it for a single split second!" The moment the words left Matsuda's mouth, accompanied by the rustling sound of fabric shaking, the class flag unfurled completely.
Aside from the dark base fabric and the pink cherry blossom pattern, there were several large characters like "Onizuka Training Ground" dominating the top and "In Full Bloom" at the bottom. The color combination was thoroughly harmonious.
However, the design Hiromitsu made was slightly unusual. In the center of the traditionally accepted five-petaled cherry blossom, there was a round white dot, clearly in the shape of a flower pistil.
Japanese art focused deeply on blank space and suggestion, rather than pure realism and reproduction. Normally, because the simple outline of a cherry blossom was entirely sufficient to convey its meaning, details like the pistil were viewed by the general public as unnecessary additions.
Seeing the class flag look somewhat different from the original manga, Gojo faintly realized something.
"Actually, these five petals represent the five of us—"
"The Class Leader is the largest and most stable petal, Hagiwara is the petal with the most beautiful curve, Matsuda is the petal with the sharpest edge, Rei is the petal with the brightest color... As for me, I might be the most balanced petal."
"Hey, hey, cut it out. Morofushi, your grades are clearly better than mine, okay?" Matsuda grumbled, then glanced at the black-haired youth not far away, asking in a low voice, "Then... what about Kuno's position?"
Morofushi scratched his cheek, explaining with a bit of embarrassment, "After we decided on the cherry blossom design, I kept thinking that it would be great if cherry blossoms had six petals, because our Onizuka class cannot lack a single person."
"But later on, I felt this was perfectly fine too. Because... doesn't a cherry blossom still have a pistil?" His laughing, cat-like eyes looked toward Gojo. "This position completely belongs to Hisano, right?"
"Though he usually causes enough chaos to give everyone a headache, at critical moments... everyone will naturally protect the pistil together without even needing to talk about it."
Ahhh, Hiromitsu is way too good at this!! The whole pistil thing is touching my heart way too much!!
Cannot lack a single person! Just based on this sentence, it's absolutely impossible for any character to die.
Wow, so warm, my body that's been dead for eight hundred years suddenly gained warmth again.
Rational discussion: Is it because Kuno is the youngest that everyone takes such good care of him?
How should I put it, actually, it's precisely because he's a guy who completely needs people to look after him, haha.
Gojo didn't notice how the comments reacted, only snapping out of a temporary daze before returning to his usual careless tone. "Eh—really, really?"
Hagiwara let out a loud laugh, reaching out to rub his head directly. "Of course, we are five mature petals, we will take great care to protect the little pistil~"
Matsuda found it incredibly cheesy, raising his eyebrows. "Hey, Hagi, where exactly does this guy look like he needs protection!"
Furuya agreed, "Right? Last time at the convenience store, who was the one who kicked an armed criminal incredibly far away with a single blow?"
"But, if we absolutely have to put it that way..." He coughed, standing with his arms crossed. "As seniors, looking after a junior is completely natural."
Gojo hummed. "Rei, we are classmates from the same year, I absolutely won't acknowledge any talk about seniors and juniors, okay?"
Date slapped him on the shoulder. "No matter what, the six members of our class are indispensable, and this point will never change, right?"
Saying that, he squatted down to examine the class flag closely, but suddenly noticed something. "Huh? Why are there cat paw prints? And there's a bad smell too?"
"Uh, about that..."
It turned out that after Matsuda got the class flag, he wanted to show it off to the others, so he hung it outside the window. As a result, it was blown away by the wind and stepped on by a cat that happened to have poop on its paws.
After explaining the reason, he held up the class flag and looked at it carefully. "Look, the paw prints are right here... Huh? The one right on the pistil is the largest!"
Matsuda burst into a sudden laugh, "Hahahahaha! Kuno, you got covered in cat poop—"
Gojo: "..."
As expected, his family's Daifuku was still far more likeable.