After everyone sat at their desks, the door opened again and a middle-aged man with black hair and sunglasses walked in.
Teacher Takeda - "Hello everyone, I'm Haruto Takeda, and I will be your teacher from now on. I hope we will have a great time together. Seeing all the new faces makes me happy, but it would be better to know you a little, so how about we start by introducing ourselves?"
The teacher smiled and looked at everyone.
Students started to introduce themselves.
Mio - "Hello, nice to meet you too! I'm Mio Takamine, and im really good at sports! I hope we'll have a great time too!"
She sat down.
Finally, Haruki stood up, but he was nervous.
Haruki - "Hello everyone, I'm Haruki Kurozawa, nice to meet you too. I don't really have any talents that I know about, and uhh.. and I really like uhh.."
Haruki felt everyone's gaze on him. He could hear giggles and whispers, but in reality, everyone was silent and patiently waiting for him to finish. It was his anxiety that made him feel that way.
After noticing Kurozawa's nervousness, Daiki stood up and cut him off. Haruki sat down.
Daiki - "Hello everyone, my name is Daiki Shiranami. I'm good at drawing and I like to read. My dream is to become the best chef in my family someday! Also, does anyone know how to repair a bike?"
Teacher Takeda - "Alright, now that I know a little more about all of you, I'm glad I have such an interesting class. I'm sure we'll have a great time together. I'm not really good at giving speeches, so you're free to go. See you!"
Everyone stood up and left with their newly met friends. Mio went to her group. Haruki sat still for about three minutes at his desk.
"Damn, I'm pathetic." He said to himself and stood up.
As he walked out of the classroom, he heard someone behind him. It was Daiki, leaning against the wall.
Daiki - "Yo, do you have some free time? Wanna grab something to eat?"
Haruki turns around and looks at him, startled.
Haruki - "Sorry, i don't..."
Haruki looked away. He wanted to push him away like he always did everyone else. But then he remembered that Daiki called him a friend.
Haruki - "Or actually, you know what? Let's go. I'm starving."
As they were walking down the stairs, Haruki spoke.
Haruki - "Thanks for earlier."
Daiki - "No problem, that's what friends are for, right?"
Haruki looked at him, and after a while he smiled.
Haruki - "Yeah."
-
After some time, they arrived at Daiki's favorite burger spot.
Daiki - "We're here. You can eat the best burgers in town here, I guarantee it."
Haruki - "You guarantee? That's a bold move, but if you say so, then let's see."
They went inside, and went to the nearest empty table.
Haruki looked around and saw three guys sitting at a table in the corner, laughing and talking loudly. And throwing paper balls at two girls sitting behind them. Haruki took a step toward the guys, but Daiki stopped him.
Daiki - "It'll be better if we leave them alone. That's Ginjo's gang. They're known for stealing and destroying people's stuff. I don't want them to destroy this place too."
Haruki - "Why can't the police step in?"
Daiki - "Ginjo's got people and money. It's meaningless to lock them up, they'll be out in a day anyway."
They both sat down and ordered some food.
After a short wait, their order arrived, and they started eating.
Haruki - "Whoa, This burger is incredible. No wonder you like eating here."
Daiki - "Right? I told you, so-"
Then suddenly, the guys from earlier, approached their table.
Gang Member - "Hey you. We saw you staring at us. Got a problem? We can solve it right now."
He started laughing with the other gang members.
Daiki looked a little scared. But Haruki didn't even flinch. And he spoke up, after seeing Daiki's reaction.
Haruki - "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I'll be more careful next time."
Gang Member - "Oh, what a shame."
The gang member looked at Daiki with a disgusted expression.
Gang Member - "You're here too? How's your bike, huh? Stopping without brakes must be difficult, right? Poor guy."
They laughed again.
Haruki realized it was them who had taken the brakes off Daiki's bike.
One of the gang members reached for Daiki's hair.
Gang Member - "What's your name? Carrot?"
They laughed again.
Haruki saw it and quickly stood up and grabbed the guy's wrist firmly.
Haruki - "Keep your hands to yourself."
He softened his grip and let go.
Just as Haruki thought they wouldn't do anything, the same guy grabbed Daiki with his other hand.
Haruki grabbed him by the back of the head and slammed his face onto the table. Then, he grabbed a fork and was about to throw it at the other guy when a voice called out behind him.
It was a policeman.
The Policeman - "What's happening here?"
The gang members stood up and ran away.
The policeman approached Haruki and Daiki.
Daiki was sitting, looking down at the floor. Haruki was still holding the fork.
The Policeman – "What are you doing with that fork, may I ask?"
Haruki - "Uhh I was about to go return it and ask for a clean one haha.. ha.."
Haruki smiled awkwardly.
The Policeman - "Yeah, sure. What you did here was bold, but dangerous. I know you wanted to protect your friend, but it could've ended with both of you beaten up if I hadn't stepped in. I'll let you go with a warning, but be careful next time."
He patted Haruki on the shoulder and walked away. Haruki sat down.
Haruki - "Are you alright? Were they the ones who took off your brakes?"
Daiki - "Yeah, I'm alright. Thanks, a lot. And yeah, it was them."
Haruki - "Is there a reason why they did that?"
Daiki - "No, I mean... I did walk into one of them last time, but it was an accident. These guys are a pain in the ass, really."
Haruki - "Yeah, I see. It's getting late. Let's get going."
Daiki Shiranami - "Right."
They walked out of the restaurant.
After some time of walking and chatting, Haruki stopped.
Haruki - "My place is this way. See you tomorrow."
Daiki - "See ya!"
They both headed their separate ways.
As Haruki walked, he was lost in thought.
Haruki - "That was a close one."
He said to himself.
Suddenly, someone grabbed him and covered his mouth, dragging him into a dark alley. Haruki wanted to scream but couldn't.
The person threw him on the ground.
Haruki coughed and looked up. It was the policeman from earlier, or at least, it seemed like it.
Haruki - "Wh- *cough* what are you doing?! Who are you?!"
??? - "Relax. I'm not a bad guy."
The policeman's entire appearance changed in an instant. Standing before Haruki now was a man slightly taller than him, wearing a black robe with white glowing lines and markings across the sleeves.
Haruki - "What the-"
??? - "Alright, listen kid. You want the full version or the short one?"
After a moment of hesitation, Haruki answered.
Haruki - "The shor-"
??? - "Of course you want the short version."
The man got serious.
??? - "As you can see, I'm not from around here. I arrived here with some of my colleagues. Each of us was sent to different countries. We're looking for strong allies. There's a war coming, kid. A massacre. A tragedy. In about a year or two, everyone and everything you love will be wiped out. Do you understand?"
Haruki understood the seriousness of the situation.
Haruki - "I understand, but I'm just a human, not some superhero."
??? - "I know. That's why we brought this."
The man showed Haruki a pen, but it wasn't ordinary. It had a sharp end, like a scalpel.
Haruki - "What's that?"
??? - "It's a pen, can't you see? Now, write your name on your wrist."
Haruki was confused at first. But after a moment, he understood. He started writing his name, cutting into his skin with the pen. Blood began to drip from his hand.
When he finished, the pen turned into dust.
The man took a step back.
??? - "Now, let the magic happen."
A strong wind swirled around Haruki. Then, an enormous amount of aura bursted out of him. Walls trembled, and windows cracked.
??? - "Whoa."
He smiled.
??? - "This kid is gonna be interesting."
After a while, all of the released energy came back to Haruki's body. Then he felt dizzy and collapsed to the ground.