"Are you sure you don't want me to take you to school? Today is your first day in your new school after all."
"There's really no need, grandpa. I know how to get there myself."
"Sigh... I really don't know why you decided to transfer schools in your third year."
"I just wanted a new environment. That's really just about it."
"Guh..." Kaoru's head dripped with black lines on the side.
'What a man of action...' he thought.
Right after finishing breakfast, Wakana Gojo immediately went back to his room and changed into his new school uniform.
It is mainly composed of a long-sleeved button-down shirt with a green-blue necktie and similarly colored plaid pants.
Nothing too excessive for a school uniform.
He looked at the mirror and adjusted his necktie and collar, and then pulled his sleeves up slightly higher on both wrists, revealing his watch.
Having exercised all the time, his uniform really made his figure underneath more obvious, with his prominent shoulders making him look bigger.
Wakana looked himself up and down one more time and nodded with satisfaction.
"Perfect."
Grabbing his bag and running down the stairs, he put on his shoes and shouted.
"Grandpa, I'm going to school!"
Kaoru Gojo's head peeked from inside the living room as he waved his grandson goodbye.
"Have fun, Wakana. Make tons of friends, alright?"
Without looking back, Wakana waved and left.
Staring at the empty space where his grandson had just left, Kaoru sighed.
"Sometimes being too excellent seems to be quite a burden. That kid hasn't even brought back a single friend here yet."
...
Finally sitting in the train, Wakana looked outside the window and observed the view.
The morning in Saitama is quite eventful as usual.
On the streets that the train passed by below, one could see countless students ranging from elementary to high school, all heading to their respective destinations.
Despite gazing below, however, Wakana's mind was in a totally different place now, thinking of his grandpa's words earlier.
"A hobby, huh."
He started to think about what he could potentially do, until suddenly, a sharp voice sounded at a seat not far from his.
"Didn't I tell you to get lost?"
Turning his attention to the sound, he saw a girl seated, wearing a uniform of similar design to his, and two older men, high school students, standing in front of the seated girl.
Wakana's gaze lingered on the girl longer than it should've.
The girl was extremely beautiful.
She had a slim figure and fair skin.
She wore pink colored eye contacts, long, glittery bubblegum-pink acrylic nails, which seemed to match her peach pink eye shadow, glossy pink lips, and face blush.
Her hair was long, reaching up to her waist. She had blonde hair that transitioned to pinkish-red at the tips, and had side-swept bangs that covered a majority of her forehead and eyebrows.
From one side of her face, he could see a couple of piercings on her ears.
"A gyaru," Wakana muttered.
He looked at the girl's expression, which showed annoyance at the two high school boys bothering her.
Listening in to their conversation, it seemed like the two were trying to hit on her, and despite being repeatedly rejected, they seemingly did not want to give up.
"Come on, cutie. What's your name? You're from Kashiwanoha, aren't you? I recognize your uniform."
Seeing the two boys ignore her words, the girl seemed to flare up.
"Are you deaf or something? Can't you understand simple words?"
Unfortunately, her words seem to fall on deaf ears once more as the two continued to ask questions.
Seeing that the high schoolers still continued to harass her, Wakana Gojo knew he couldn't just stand by and watch anymore.
He picked up his bag and started walking towards the three, stopping in front of the two boys.
"Huh? Who the hell are you?"
The two of them looked up at the unfamiliar Wakana towering in front of them.
In fact, Wakana was quite taller than the high school boys in front of him.
Even though he had just turned 14 last month, his height was already 180cm.
Significantly more than the two who seemed to be around 170cm.
"Get out of here and stop bothering her," he said in the scariest tone his throat could muster.
"You—"
"I said, leave! Or are you both deaf?"
Wakana lowered his head closer towards the two, making them take a step back.
"...Tch. Let's go."
Finally backing down, one of the two pulled the other into another train compartment and left.
"Haaa..."
Hearing the sigh of relief behind him, Wakana Gojo turned around and finally saw the girl up close.
In his mind, there was only one word to describe what he saw.
Beautiful.
...
"Are you deaf or something? Can't you understand simple words?"
A red mark appeared on Marin's forehead as she stared at the two high school boys in front of her, annoyingly.
Why don't these types of guys know when to give up?
Unfortunately for her, the two kept trying to ask her even more questions, not paying any attention to her rejection.
Just as she was about to stand up and try to switch compartments to see if they would leave her alone, a wide back suddenly appeared in front of her, blocking the two boys.
"Get out of here and stop bothering her," she soon heard.
'Is he protecting me?' Marin observed the boy's back in front of her.
Her gaze slowly fell onto his trousers, which shared the same color and pattern as her skirt.
Someone from the same school as her?
"You—"
"I said, leave! Or are you both deaf?"
The boy in front of her seemed to be threatening them now.
Finally, she heard what she had been waiting for.
"...Tch. Let's go."
The two boys who were harassing her earlier finally turned and left the compartment.
'Yatta! Great job!' she inwardly cheered.
"Haaa..."
Seeing that the two boys had finally left, Marin let out a sigh of relief.
Only then did Wakana finally turn around and look towards her.
As soon as their gazes met, time seemed to slow around.
So handsome.
...
Wakana Gojo was the first to snap out of it.
He stared directly into the girl's pink colored eyes.
"Are you okay?"
"...Huh? Oh... Oh! Y-yeah!"
Next was Marin's turn to snap out of her trance.
She turned her head to the side and covered her face.
'W-w-what am I doing?!?!'
"Are you sure?"
Seeing her reaction, Wakana felt a bit concerned about the girl's well-being.
"Huh?" Marin turned her attention back to Wakana and nodded profusely.
"Yep! I'm totally fine! Don't worry!"
As if wanting to prove it to him, she raised her hands and did a V-shape with her fingers.
"Well... alright. I'll be going back to my seat now."
Seemingly able to confirm what she said, Wakana nodded and started to walk back to his seat.
Although he was quite interested in getting to know this girl in front of him, he didn't want to seem similar to the high school boys he had just kicked away.
Marin noticed that Wakana was leaving and immediately called out.
"Wait!"
"Huh?" Wakana turned around and asked. "What's wrong?"
"Uh..." Realizing what she had done, Marin started to think of an excuse. "Can you sit beside me instead? I'm afraid those two earlier might come back."
Wakana pondered for a while and gave an understanding nod.
"Okay. Please excuse me."
He immediately walked back and sat down one seat away from her.
Seeing this, Marin felt a little happy.
"My name is Marin Kitagawa. Are you also attending Kashiwanoha Junior High?"
She leaned forward towards him and immediately introduced herself.
Turning his gaze towards the girl leaning in front of him, something immediately attracted Wakana's eyes.
His eyes lowered a little and saw that two mounds had appeared just below the girl's head.
"Ahem."
Wakana immediately turned his head to his front and cleared his throat.
"My name is Wakana Gojo. And yes, I'm attending Kashiwanoha Junior High too."
'Why's he acting strange all of a sudden?' Marin tilted her head in confusion.
"Gojo-kun, huh? How come I've never seen you before? Granted, there are hundreds of students in our school, but someone good-looking like you should've been at least popular, right?"
"Actually, I just transferred this year."
"Really?! Which year will you be in?"
"Third year."
"That's the same as me!"
...
Soon, the two of them kept chatting with each other and unknowingly arrived at their stop.
Feeling like he had known her a bit enough, Wakana decided to invite her to walk together.
"Would you walk to school together, Kitagawa-san?"
Hearing this, Marin Kitagawa put on an embarrassed expression.
"Sorry, Gojo-kun, but I'm supposed to meet my friends nearby to buy some breakfast together..."
"Oh... I see."
Hearing her answer, Wakana Gojo felt a bit disappointed, not knowing whether it was the truth or whether she just didn't want to be seen walking together with a boy.
Regardless, he just calmly nodded.
"I'll go first then. Thanks for the chat, Kitagawa-san."
"Mhm. Thank you for saving me earlier as well."
"See you then." Gojo turned around and started walking towards the direction of the school.
Watching him walk away, Marin seemed to suddenly feel a little uneasy and immediately called him out.
"Gojo-kun!"
Wakana turned around and saw Marin waving her hands towards him.
"I'll come look for you later, alright?!"
Wakana smiled and waved back.
"I'll be waiting."