"A few more upperclassmen have invited me for coffee?"
"Well then, I shall take my leave."
Koenji stroked his bangs and spoke in a lazy tone, then gracefully turned to leave the classroom. Before stepping out, he paused, his gaze sweeping meaningfully over Kushida Kikyo before finally settling on Kiyomizu.
"My 'favor' is not as simple as just exchanging contact information."
"Please look forward to it, Kiyomizu-kun! Hahahahaha!"
Before his words had faded, Koenji's tall figure had disappeared, leaving behind a room of stunned silence. Rokusuke Koenji had always been flamboyant. His deliberately loud voice and hearty, infectious laughter had unsurprisingly reached the ears of the nearby students.
"What's that guy talking about?"
"What 'favor'? That's just nonsense."
"But, he's surprisingly popular with the upperclassmen! Maybe he'll introduce us to some girls!"
Kiyomizu hadn't expected someone as narcissistic as Rokusuke Koenji to be so popular with the senior girls from other classes. However, both giving up his seat and reporting the interviewers were just spontaneous actions on his part. He hadn't expected them to be interpreted as some kind of special treatment. As Koenji would put it, a beautiful misunderstanding.
(Having a guy wanting to 'repay a favor'... doesn't exactly make me happy.)
...
The gymnasium was now bustling with people. About a hundred students were gathered in small groups throughout the venue. Judging by their uniforms, most of them were first-years who had not yet joined a club. Kiyomizu found a long table at the entrance with promotional materials. He walked over and picked up a brochure from the neatly arranged stack.
Flipping through it, he saw introductions for various clubs:
[Judo Club] - National tournament top 8 for three consecutive years
[Baseball Club] - Koshien qualifiers top 4 last year
[Archery Club] - Has a current member of the junior national team
Each page was accompanied by photos of the club's activities. The seniors in their professional gear all had shiny medals pinned to their chests.
(The level of these clubs... is almost at the pre-national team level.)
His original plan to join a club and earn school points through his performance was completely shattered after seeing the profiles of these athletes. The groundwork demonstrations in judo, the batting stances in baseball, the perfect shooting forms in archery—every photo screamed professionalism.
(As a complete beginner, it's unlikely I can keep up with this level of training...)
The seniors began to take turns on stage introducing their clubs. Almost every club said something along the lines of "beginners are welcome." However, Kiyomizu felt that these seniors were probably just aiming for more funding. Generally, more members meant more funding. New students with no experience would likely just be used as errand runners if they joined.
"Hey! You there!" a loud voice called from the stage. "Want to come up and try some boxing?"
Kiyomizu snapped back to reality and saw a muscular senior on stage waving at him. A high school in Japan has a boxing club? Aren't they afraid of students getting hurt and not being able to attend class?
The gazes of the first-years in the audience all turned to him, making him the center of attention.
"Me...?" Kiyomizu pointed at himself. After receiving a confirmation, he nodded. "Alright, but I have no experience with boxing at all."
"Hahaha! There's a first time for everything!" the senior's hearty laughter echoed through the gym.
At the senior's enthusiastic invitation, Kiyomizu slowly walked up onto the stage. The senior tossed him a pair of red boxing gloves, the leather surface showing signs of use.
"Just try throwing a punch like that?" The senior took a defensive stance, his sturdy arms crossed over his chest, but he wasn't wearing any protective gear.
As Kiyomizu awkwardly tied the glove straps, he asked, "Is this really okay? Without protective gear..."
"Don't worry, don't worry!" the senior waved his hand dismissively. "Think of it as a special service for the new students! Come on! Don't hold back!"
Kiyomizu took a deep breath, his eyes suddenly becoming focused. He lowered his shoulders slightly, stepped forward with his left foot, and his right fist shot out like an arrow from a bow—
THUD!
Kiyomizu's straight punch slammed into the senior's crossed arms. The well-built upperclassman was sent staggering back several steps by the force of the blow.
"Ugh...!" the senior grunted, a deep red fist mark visibly appearing on his bronze-colored arms. He stared in disbelief, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. "That power... you've got to be kidding me... Are this year's first-years monsters?"
Before he could finish, his right arm, which he had used to block, began to tremble uncontrollably. By muscle memory, he made a professional boxer's instinctive reaction to pain—quickly pulling his arm back to his side. This subtle, professional movement caused a stir among the few knowledgeable onlookers, though most of the crowd was just jeering.
Laughter and jeers erupted from the audience. A few students whistled. "How much did you get paid for this act, senpai?"
"You're really going all out for recruitment!"
"Didn't he say he's never boxed before?"
The senior scratched his head, a slightly embarrassed but cheerful smile on his face. "Hahaha, you saw through me?" But when he turned to Kiyomizu, his expression was exceptionally serious. "But kid, the weight behind that punch is no joke." The senior flexed his still-numb arm. "You work out regularly, don't you?"
Before Kiyomizu could answer, the senior had already put a friendly arm around his shoulder. "Want to consider joining the boxing club? You'll have free access to all our imported gym equipment."
"Oh right! I forgot to ask. First-year, what's your class and name? You haven't joined any other clubs yet, right?"
"First-Year Class D, Kiyomizu Akira. I haven't joined a club yet."
"Ah... a first-year from Class D... I'll give you... 5,000 points... no, I'll give you 10,000 points a month as a subsidy!"
"There's a subsidy? But isn't it too late for me to start learning boxing now?"
"Not at all, not at all! The essence of combat sports is physical ability. Your foundation is incredibly solid. Even without technique, you can throw a punch that will bring an opponent to their knees."
"Trust me!" the senior suddenly leaned in close, his voice extremely low. "You're new here, so you don't know how this school works." He paused meaningfully. "This is a school that believes in might is right..."
Kiyomizu was taken aback. He distinctly remembered the student council president's resounding declaration at the opening ceremony: "merit is supreme."
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