Daiki trudged into the cafeteria like a ghost.
He was tired.
Still embarrassed about his rank.
And about three minutes away from lying on the floor.
Ren came in forcefully dragging Yui from right behind.
The cafeteria was already booming with noise. First-years whispered anxiously, while second-years acted like this was something normal.
It probably was to them.
Daiki's eyes moved across the room like a hawk until he spotted Jin sitting alone at the table they always eat at, eating something that looked way too heavy for this hour.
Ren waved. "There he is!"
Yui frowned slightly. "You can... let go of me Ren."
Daiki inhaled. "Okay. Time to ask Jin what the hell is happening."
They marched up.
Jin didn't look up. "You're loud."
"We didn't even say anything yet!" Daiki protested.
"Your existence is just loud."
Ren finally let go of Yui and sat down with a huff. Yui followed more gently.
Daiki fell into the seat across from Jin.
Jin ate another bite, annoyingly calm. "So. Do you three need something...?"
Daiki pointed at him like a lawyer. "YOU. Info. Rankings. Inter-Exchange Event. Tell us everything you know."
Jin blinked once. "Why should I do that?"
"Because we're pathetic First-Years and you should care about us," Ren said instantly.
Daiki leaned forward like a child. "Please. We're desperate. We don't know anything. You're the only Second Year any of us know."
Jin paused... and finally sighed.
"...Fine."
Ren pumped his fist. "Yes!"
Jin set down his chopsticks.
"While you were running around Mushin City yesterday, we had our own ranking ceremony."
Daiki's eyes widened. "Wait—yours already happened?!"
Jin nodded. "Yup."
Daiki leaned even closer. "Okay then. What'd you get?"
Jin shrugged lightly. "...Fifth."
Daiki froze.
Ren somehow froze harder.
Yui blinked, stunned.
Then—
"FIFTH?!"
"FIFTH??!"
"AS IN FIIIIIIVE?!"
Ren stood up so fast his chair screeched awfully loud across the floor.
"YOU'RE IN THE TOP FIVE?!"
Daiki's shock just left him stunned in silence.
Even Yui's eyes widened. "That's... incredible Jin."
Jin stared at Ren blankly as he spiraled.
Suddenly, Daiki spoke up like a victim of trauma.
"Why is everyone I know ranked above me? Jin, I'm eighty-seven. I thought you were supposed to be on my level."
"I definitely never said that," Jin replied calmly.
Daiki slumped over the table. "This sucks. This actually fucking sucks."
Jin sipped his tea, slightly amused.
"You're being really dramatic, you know that, right?"
Daiki glared at him. "This whole time I've been treating you as an equal..!"
"That can still be true," Jin said.
Yui titled her head. "...That's easy for you to say. You must be really skilled."
Jin didn't look proud or smug. He simply nodded once.
"I've been part of this lifestyle for long," he said quietly. "Longer than you think. You're lucky, the First Years are getting babied this year."
"Lucky...?" Daiki echoed. "What's your definition of lucky?"
Jin pushed his tray away and stood. "Class starts soon. I wish you guys good luck."
Daiki frowned. "...Why'd you say it like that?"
Jin's mouth almost twitched into a grin.
"These next couple of weeks are gonna be tough. That's all I'm going to say."
And then he walked away.
Class 1-F — FIRST FLOOR
Daiki, Yui, and Ren shuffled into the classroom like death row prisoners walking to their chamber.
The rest of 1-F was already there, energy low and depressed from their ranks.
Ren whispered, "Mayyybe he'll go easy on us..."
"We're in last place," Daiki whispered. "He's going to have NOTHING nice to say."
The sliding door opened.
Kojiro-sensei strode inside like a storm given human form.
His eyes sliced through the class like the blade he carried.
He clasped his hands behind his back.
Then:
"Congratulations," Kojiro said.
Everyone blinked.
"You are officially," he continued, with strange, unhinged pride, "the shittest, lowest-performing class of the entire First-Year Division."
That made everyone slump lower into their seats.
Kojiro began pacing.
"Class 1-A stands proudly at the top. They are polished. Disciplined. Efficient. Ready to take on the Second Years."
A smirk sharply carved into his mouth.
"Class 1-B is the hungry pack, desperate to catch them. Class 1-C is the complacent middle, convinced that people give a damn about them."
He then pointed at them dramatically.
"And you—Class 1-F—are the lambs. The bottom of the barrel. The prey the entire school expects to be devoured without resistance."
Silence.
Nobody dared to even let out a breath.
Kojiro leaned forward, voice low yet predatory.
"The Inter-Exchange Event is in five weeks, at the end of the month. Every other class believes you will do nothing. That you will hide. Falter. Break."
His grin widened. Unsettling yet passionate
"Let those fools believe it."
Daiki's eyebrow raised.
And then....
Kojiro slammed his fist onto the podium and raised his voice.
"Your duty from now on is to shatter the natural order of this Institute."
The class jumped immediately.
"You will not quietly accept weakness, not on my watch. You will not bow your heads to anyone in this school. You will not curl up and die like lambs meant for slaughter."
He slammed his fist again.
"You will riot against their expectations!"
Daiki felt something spark in his chest.
Ren sat up straighter.
Yui's eyes lit up with determination.
Everyone could feel it.
Embers being set aflame.
Kojiro's voice rose, wild and alive:
"Every single one of you will sharpen yourselves until this school can no longer ignore your existence. When you enter the Inter-Exchange Event, I want the other classes to feel fear. Not pity."
He grinned like a madman.
"Become the chaos that this school needs."
The room was left silent.
He was terrifying.
But he was completely right.
Kojiro pointed toward the window that was still broken from last time.
"Training grounds. Now. If you truly want to climb out of the pit you're in, you must experience hell."
Daiki exhaled.
One by one, everyone slowly stood until...
Class 1-F was all together.
And for the first time since he came here, survival wasn't enough.
He wanted strength.