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"Me?"
Although Hiroshi was no stranger to the teacher's office, this was the first time he'd been summoned for such an odd reason.
He didn't put up a fight, though. After all, Shizuka Hiratsuka wasn't going to devour him, and his midday plan already involved meeting her. Well, not exactly his plan, it was more Rikka Takanashi's idea.
Who do you think the "Destructive Iron Fist" refers to? And what place do you think the "Domain of the Destructive Iron Fist" might be?
"Alright, let's get back to the lesson."
The brief interruption didn't derail the class much. Shizuka Hiratsuka resumed scribbling on the blackboard, her textbook in hand. Down below, Hachiman Hikigaya and Hiroshi Takeda sat quietly. Hachiman had more questions bubbling up, but one glance at Shizuka up on the podium convinced him to keep his mouth shut.
The clock ticked on until noon, when the bell signaled the end of class. Hiroshi trailed behind Shizuka Hiratsuka as they headed to her office.
"Teacher Shizuka, couldn't this wait until after I've had lunch?"
Hiroshi grumbled. Food was a basic need, and skipping a meal left him starving. But Shizuka, perched in her chair with her legs crossed, pulled a piece of bread from her desk drawer and tossed it his way.
"You usually just grab bread from the cafeteria for lunch anyway. This should do, right?"
"Teacher, I might be easy to please, but this isn't exactly how it's done."
Despite his protests, Hiroshi caught the bread and plopped down in a chair across from her.
Shizuka watched him settle in, a bit surprised by his compliance. "I half-expected you to make up some excuse and bolt."
"Why would I do that?"
Her lips twitched into a knowing smile. If Hiroshi was sitting there so calmly, he'd likely already handled the lunch delivery earlier that morning. Still, she played dumb. "Oh, I don't know, maybe because your little blonde girlfriend is waiting for you to bring her lunch?"
At that very moment, the "little blonde girlfriend" Shizuka mentioned was making her way toward Hiroshi's classroom, two pink lunch boxes tucked into her bag.
The two classrooms were a fair distance apart. As Eriri Sawamura walked the familiar route, she couldn't help but imagine Hiroshi popping up with the lunch boxes any second, just like he always did. But today, that didn't happen. She reached his classroom door without a sign of him.
Peering into the noisy room, Eriri took a deep breath and stepped inside.
There was no rule against students visiting other classes, so her presence wasn't out of place. Yet the moment she entered, all eyes turned to her. She was a stunning girl, and with Hiroshi's connection to her, it was impossible not to draw attention.
Students paused mid-bite, whether they were eating bread or digging into lunch boxes and stared. Hachiman Hikigaya, though, was the most floored. He couldn't recall the last time Eriri had come looking for Hiroshi on her own.
Why was he so sure she was here for Hiroshi? Come on, who else would she be looking for? Him?
"Wake up, wake up!"
Hachiman nudged Houtarou Oreki, who was slumped behind him. If Eriri was really here for Hiroshi, Hachiman didn't trust himself to handle it alone without spilling everything.
Houtarou stirred, lifting his head from the desk, half-expecting Hiroshi to be back with food. "What's going on?"
Hachiman pointed at Eriri, who had just stepped in. Houtarou didn't care much but stayed awake.
"Let's skip P.E. this afternoon."
Since she was here for Hiroshi, Houtarou figured he should pitch in as a good friend.
Meanwhile, Eriri stood at the door, scanning the room under everyone's gaze, searching for Hiroshi. It hit her then, after a month of school, she didn't even know where he sat.
Luckily, they'd gone to the same junior high, and thanks to Hiroshi, she at least knew Hachiman Hikigaya.
Her eyes swept the class, but Hiroshi was nowhere in sight. Giving up on the search, she walked straight to Hachiman and greeted him politely. "Long time no see, Hikigaya."
Hachiman nodded. He'd suspected she might show up this morning, which was why he'd roused Houtarou early.
Seeing his nod, Eriri pressed on. "Do you know where Hiroshi went?"
Hachiman gestured toward Hiroshi's seat. "Teacher Hiratsuka called him to her office. That's his spot."
He wasn't clueless. From the way Eriri kept glancing around when she walked in, it was obvious she had no idea where Hiroshi sat.
A pang of sympathy hit Hachiman for his friend. It wasn't a huge deal, but it spoke volumes about their dynamic. The relationship between Eriri and Hiroshi was lopsided; maybe she'd only come today because he hadn't delivered her lunch.
Hachiman stole a quick look at Rikka Takanashi's seat. 'Good thing she'd dashed off right after class; otherwise, things might've gotten messy.'
Eriri nodded at his answer and set the bag with the lunch boxes beside Hiroshi's desk. She turned to leave but paused, glancing back at Hachiman.
"Um..."
"Is Hiroshi sick or something today? I don't mean anything by it. I just noticed he didn't show up, so I thought I'd ask."
To most people, Eriri was the picture of a perfect lady, never letting her tsundere side slip. But that part of her was baked in, and a hint of it peeked through now.
Hachiman thought back to what Hiroshi had said in class. After a moment's consideration, he decided not to spill it and shook his head. "I don't know. You should ask him yourself when you get the chance."
'Was Hiroshi joking earlier?'
Eriri Sawamura gave a small nod and left the classroom. Only after she was gone did the room erupt into chatter.
"This is the first time I've seen Sawamura come looking for Takeda."
"Do you think it's because he didn't bring her food today? Is she worried?"
"Nah, she doesn't strike me as the type to toy with people."
"Yeah, and from what she said, it sounded like she thought something might be wrong with him."
"This is some good gossip!"
"Speaking of which, where's Takanashi-san? If she were here, this would be even juicier."
"No clue. She grabbed her lunch box and bolted the second class ended."
…..
As for where Rikka Takanashi had gone, she was of course in Shizuka Hiratsuka's office.
Hiroshi stood off to the side, nibbling on a half-eaten piece of bread, watching Rikka plop into the chair he'd just been using. She was digging into her lunch box with gusto. Sometimes, Hiroshi genuinely couldn't figure out Rikka's thought process. Sure, she'd told him to meet in Hiratsuka's office, but did she really have to barge in with her lunch box like that?
And by "barge in," he meant it literally; kicking the door open with her hip, cradling her lunch box, and yelling, "Hero! I'm here to rendezvous with you!"
It had jolted both Hiroshi and Shizuka, who'd been the only ones in the office at the time.
'Thank goodness no one else was around, or I would've died of embarrassment.'
"So… I'm just standing here munching on bread. Is that okay?"
"Does the Hero want some?"
"No, thanks. You go ahead."
Shizuka sat behind her desk, and honestly, having someone burst into her office like that should've irritated her. But her eyes were glued to Rikka's lunch box. Why did it look so familiar?
As Hiroshi's homeroom teacher, Shizuka knew all about his situation with Eriri Sawamura. She'd called him in over it more than once, not to stop him from pursuing romance, mind you. In Japan, high school relationships weren't frowned upon. Teachers usually stayed out of it; some even enjoyed the drama.
But Hiroshi was a special case. In just one month, Shizuka had picked up enough from stray rumors to know Eriri didn't care for him. He was the one stubbornly hanging on.
Even so, Shizuka could've ignored it. It was mutual; one side giving, the other taking. But Hiroshi had a talent for trouble. Just two days into the semester, he'd gotten into a fight and had to apologize in front of the entire school.
Thinking about it almost made Shizuka laugh out loud.
Right after the entrance exams, Hiroshi had for reasons unknown cornered five guys in the bathroom and beaten them up. An investigation later showed they'd provoked him first, but a fight was a fight, no matter who started it.
The five were expelled on the spot, while Hiroshi had to make a public apology. It had gone something like this:
The principal of Toyosaki Academy stood on the grand stage. After rattling off some standard opening remarks, he pivoted to Hiroshi's incident.
"This school isn't a playground for troublemakers!"
"A first-year student fighting just two days in; what a disgrace!"
"Complete disregard for school rules! Unacceptable!"
"Six students were involved. The other five have been expelled."
"I'm addressing this at the freshman assembly to make an example of it."
"Now, let's have Hiroshi Takeda come up and offer his self-criticism before the whole school."
The principal's words sparked a wave of whispers among the students.
The rumor of Hiroshi taking on five guys in the bathroom had only been a rumor among a few, but now the principal had broadcast it to everyone.
Seated next to Shizuka, Hiroshi stood slowly when his name was called.
"That's him?"
"I was expecting some punk with dyed hair."
"Wait, he's actually kind of handsome?"
Ignoring the murmurs, Hiroshi headed for the stage. Before he left, Shizuka leaned over. "Just read from the paper I gave you."
Hiroshi smiled and nodded, looking obedient. But the second he reached the stage, he stuffed the paper into his pocket.
He took the microphone from the principal and faced the crowd of over a thousand students. Since it was the freshman assembly, only first-years were there, so it wasn't too daunting.
Hiroshi wasn't fazed anyway. He'd been through worse.
He cleared his throat, glanced at the principal, and spoke into the mic.
"My name is Hiroshi Takeda. I'm sorry for taking up your time with this apology."
"I apologize for cornering five classmates in the bathroom and beating them up."
"I apologize for looking at them too long on my way past, which upset them and led to their provocation."
"I apologize for not owning up to it right away, which hurt their pride and turned it into a full-on fight."
"I apologize for using the bathroom during break and getting ambushed by those five, causing the brawl."
"And I'm also sorry for calling the police afterward, which got those five expelled."
His words left the hall dead silent. Students exchanged confused looks, unsure what to make of it.
Hold on…the principal called a one-against-five beatdown a "mutual fight"? Now it clicked why the other five were gone while Hiroshi only had to apologize.
It was all for appearances, a show to satisfy the outside world.
The principal snatched the microphone back, flustered. Shizuka, watching from the audience, couldn't decide whether to laugh or groan.
An apology? Sure, he'd said "sorry" plenty, but the sarcasm dripped from every word. Anyone could tell it was off, yet she couldn't do a thing about it.
"Ahem! It seems Hiroshi has deeply reflected on his mistakes."
Shizuka knew it was just a formality, but she hadn't expected it to be this shallow. The principal clearly wanted to brush it under the rug. If Hiroshi hadn't called the police, he might not have even mentioned it.
Hiroshi shrugged, playing innocent.
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