The next day at the academy began with deceptive calm. The lessons drifted by one after another, lulling Jin into his usual state of half-slumber. He sat at his seat by the window, watching the lazy dance of the clouds, his brain automatically, almost without his participation, absorbing the information the teacher droned on about at the board. This world, for all its brightness, still couldn't offer him anything that truly captured his attention.
When the bell rang for the lunch break, he headed to the cafeteria without a second thought. Lunch at Kuoh Academy wasn't just edible—it was luxurious. And, most importantly, completely free for students. Jin, still remembering the taste of cheap instant ramen and the emptiness of his wallet, had no intention of missing an opportunity to save money on food.
He grabbed a tray with steaming curry and rice, took an empty four-person table in the corner, and began to eat. As expected, his figure instantly became the center of attention. Many of the girls, whispering shyly at their own tables, were clearly drawn to the three empty seats next to him, but his detached, almost icy demeanor and "Haughty Prince" reputation acted as an invisible barrier. They were hesitant to act, afraid of rejection.
Suddenly, with a loud clatter, a tray landed on the opposite side of the table, right in front of Jin, followed by its owner—Hyoudou Issei.
"Whew, made it! Grabbed the last katsudon!" he announced cheerfully, plopping into the chair.
Instantly, all the admiring and curious gazes that had been directed at Jin turned to ones of contempt and venom, focusing on Issei. It looked as if the girls were contemplating something wicked; if looks could incinerate, Issei would have been reduced to a pile of ash.
Issei himself, however, was completely oblivious to this threatening aura. He was literally glowing with happiness and had been since morning. Jin immediately suspected that this behavior was directly related to yesterday's meeting at the bridge. His loyal companions, Matsuda and Motohama, were nowhere to be seen. As Jin later found out, they had been caught smuggling porn magazines onto academy grounds, and someone from the Student Council had made an example of them. 'Let's pray for their souls,' Jin thought, detached, picking at his rice with a fork.
Issei didn't rush to explain what was going on. He was devouring his katsudon with gusto, trying his best to attract Jin's attention. He sighed, smiled dreamily, shot meaningful glances at Jin, and uttered phrases like:
"Ah, spring... a time for love and romance..." "I wonder if the stars at night are as beautiful as her eyes?" "It feels like fate itself brought us together..."
Jin stubbornly ignored him. But Issei was persistent. Tired of this one-man show, Jin slowly chewed a piece of chicken, swallowed, and, pretending to be even slightly interested, raised a blank gaze to him. "What's up?"
Even though it was a very lethargic reaction, it was enough. The joyous Issei didn't even notice his tone and immediately began dumping information on him as if from a dump truck.
"Jin! You won't believe it! It's incredible! Yesterday... yesterday I met her! The girl of my dreams!" his eyes shone like two searchlights. "Her name is Amano Yuuma! She's so cute, so beautiful, so shy! We got to talking, and..." he made a dramatic pause, "...we have a date this weekend! A real date!"
He talked about how he had won her over with his "irresistible charisma" and "manly charm." 'Yeah, right,' Jin snorted internally, lazily stirring the curry on his plate. 'More like with your obsessive persistence.'
"Looks like love came to me first, Jin!" the conceited Issei continued. "But don't you worry! I'm sure there's a cutie out there for you too! The important thing is to keep your chin up!"
Jin only honored him with a blank stare and said tiredly, "Right..."
Issei, having unleashed his first wave of euphoria, finally got to the main point. "Listen, Jin... I have a favor to ask. You're the popular guy, you look cool, girls are crazy about you. Help me plan the date! I've... well, you know... never been on a real date. I don't want to mess it up! What should I wear? Where should I take her? What should we talk about?"
A strange, puzzled-embarrassed expression appeared on Jin's face. The request caught him off guard. Matters of the heart. He, with his meager experience from his past life—which amounted to practically zero—and a complete lack of interest in it in his current one, knew about as much about dating as he did about quantum physics. That is, nothing.
But he saw Issei looking at him with the sincere, hopeful eyes of a puppy. And, not wanting to show his weakness and incompetence in such a seemingly elementary matter, he decided to improvise on the fly, dishing out scraps of knowledge gleaned from old movies and manga.
"Hm, a date, huh..." he tried to make his voice sound confident and wise, like an experienced guru. "Well, it's simple. The main thing is not to overdo it."
"Not overdo it?" Issei leaned forward, hanging on every word.
"First, clothes," Jin began, trying to look confident. "Wear something light. So you don't sweat like a pig if you have to walk a lot. Sweat is not charismatic. No bright, flashy colors. And, God forbid, no anime prints. Simplicity shows confidence. Got it?"
"Simplicity... confidence..." Issei repeated like a mantra, committing it to memory. "Got it!"
"Second, the place," Jin continued, his brain working furiously. "If the girl is shy or timid, don't drag her to the movies or an expensive restaurant right away. It creates pressure. Take a walk in the park, go on some rides, hit the arcade. You need a shared activity that creates common memories and gives you things to talk about. You don't need to try and impress her, you just need to have fun together."
"Have fun together..." Issei nodded so vigorously it looked like his head might fall off. "Genius! Jin, you're a dating god!"
Jin just sighed internally. So far, his improv was working. He was about to continue sharing his "wisdom" when a group of girls approached their table. There were four of them, and a couple of them, if Jin's memory served, were in their class. He thought their names were Katase and Murayama.
A tall girl with a stern face and short-cropped hair stepped forward.
"Izayoi Jin-san?" she asked, her voice firm and confident. "I'm Murayama, captain of the kendo club."
Issei immediately tried to butt into the conversation, adopting a protective stance. "Excuse us, but we're busy here! Discussing very important man-business!"
But he was completely ignored. The girls didn't even spare him a glance. Issei quietly sat back down, looking a bit dejected.
"I heard from Yuuto that you managed to impress him," Murayama continued, addressing Jin. "He said the new guy has an excellent grip. That's important in kendo, and we're interested."
The other girls nodded in agreement, looking at Jin with curiosity. "We'd like to invite you to our dojo," she said. "Just out of interest. To see how you move. Maybe you'll like it."
The invitation was unexpected. Jin thought for a moment. Kendo? It could be a good way to test his body control and reflexes in a more formalized setting. Besides, it was something new. And anything new was better than the old boredom.
"Alright," he nodded. "I'm in." "Excellent!" Murayama visibly brightened, a shadow of a smile even flickering on her stern face. "Then we'll see you after school!"
They made the arrangement, and the girls, whispering excitedly, moved away from the table and began to celebrate their small victory.
Watching the departing crowd, Jin sat back down. He saw the dejected Issei, who was still smarting from his total failure as a "conversationalist." Jin smiled warmly, almost friendly.
"Oh, all this attention," he said with a light, barely perceptible irony, subtly teasing Issei about his recent performance about "love having arrived." "It's such a heavy burden, isn't it?"