Chapter Text
The first day of school is usually a very important day for the average student. You see what class you're in, if you know anyone in it from the get go, you get to know some teachers and maybe get an inkling of an idea of what's in store for you for the following years at the respective institution. Indeed, a very important day for the average student. So how does it feel for someone considered an elite? Whether they are or not in the long run, remains to be seen. But for now, everyone enters as an elite. For now.
A rather plain looking student boarded one of the buses that would take him to his destination , sporting a rather eye-catching red jacket that was leading down to the green colored pants. A certainly more eccentric school uniform compared to his previous mostly gray one. Then again, someone attending the prestigious Kunugigaoka Junior High probably had more pressing matters to keep track of. And for the particular few of Class E of said school, well... their last year there was unlike any other of any student that ever was. Indeed, a very eccentric uniform for the rather reserved Yuma Isogai.
It's fortunate that his new school for the following 3 years, the Advanced Nurturing High School, once admitted to based on the entrance exams, didn't really require tuition funds. In other words, a blessing for Isogai 's rather poor family. As such, the only thing he needed to do was dedicate himself entirely to his studies and graduate happily. So far, the smile on his face was a contrast to the rest of the students wearing the same attire. Most seemed either lost in their thoughts, or adopted a somewhat uncaring nature, perhaps natural considering they were going to school of all places. No one seemed acquainted with one another yet, or perhaps they were just being mindful of the few, but still present, regular people who probably had different destinations than their institution.
Alas, what got everyone's attention eventually was the rather loud yet confident boasting of a male student, of some foreign descent.
"And what is the difference between regular and priority seats to begin with? Should my stamina and health be offered in place of others' simply by means of a tacked on word? Truly nonsense."
It seemed he had quite the concern regarding inequalities, and even stranger and mind boggling ways of showcasing it. But amongst all his avant-gardist way of talking, his mind was definitely set on keeping the seat he occupied, despite the pleas of a fellow female student.
To Isogai, one of humble background, these ideals of what could very well be his future classmates seemed esoteric. Standing, such as he was, could certainly be tiring, but he wouldn't go as far as to say that justifies selfishness to this degree. Besides, him standing is technically still leagues better than not being on the bus at all, a thought that brought him much joy once he cast his eyes on the window, to spot a familiar face, sprinting alongside it, to reach the next stop before the bus would stop at it and leave without him.
{You could have just gotten on the bus with me from the get go. Always doing things your way, Shinzo.}
The teen in question, seemingly of some degree of foreign descent as well, and rather more extravagant than the uniform he was wearing, judging by the piercings on his ears, could have gotten on the bus a lot earlier. But that would have come at the cost of a good run till the next stop. In that regard, to him, the people standing on the bus were the ones missing out. And besides, cardio AND leg day at the same time? I'd call that a steal. Even so, with the school isolated on an island, it would be far-fetched to expect him to run all the way there. Fortunately, the next bus stop was coming up, in fact, the last one before the bus headed to the school itself.
"Ah. That hits all the good spots!" The boy by the name of Shinzo Masaki stretched his hands lightly after boarding. "Yo, Isogai. Been a few busy weeks, hasn't it?", he greeted his friends, being perhaps the only 2 people on board with prior history so far.
"It flew by quite fast, for me. With helping my family here and there. In a way, it's still surreal that he's gone."
"Yeah... I know how it feels.", he rubbed his piercing slightly. "It's been a good year all things considered. So here's hope for another one. Just like he taught us."
"I doubt any new year would top it. That being said, are you sure your piercings are allowed in school? I know you got away with them due to the class we were in previously but-"
"I haven't seen much regarding forbidding this sort of staff, to be honest. Besides, it's a boarding school right? It's not like they'll follow me 24/7 to tell me to take them off. I'll be fine."
To anyone else, a lot of their conversation would feel like background noise. Who is 'he'? Why the piercings? Who cares if they're strangers, right? Well, we'll see how that pans out.
With the island and the school respectively coming into view, it began to sink in just how much of a big deal this new chapter of their life was about to be, as you certainly mistake it for the project of a new satellite city rather than a teaching institution. And with each new student that was preparing to get off the bus once they reached it, Shinzo quickly scanned each person passing by, even earning a ... somewhat of an approval nod from the blond preaching about his health earlier, which only left the boy confused. Granted, he was perhaps the only other person he's seen so far that could relate to his non-japanese struggles, supposedly. And most likely won't be the last.
"What is it?" His quick eye tracking paused on a specific female student, who seemed to have taken offense to his not at all ill-intended scouting. A black haired girl, with a braided portion of her hair to the side, held by a white ribon. He may be around a head taller than her, but she did seem quite the straight-faced type. In other words, probably a challenge to handle on a regular basis, at least at first glance.
His reactionary response was to tilt his head innocently, like a kitten who's perplexed, but that didn't seem to amuse the girl. "Why were you looking at me so sheepishly?" she pressed on.
"Oh, I like you.", Masaki responded, perhaps, in his typical 'straight to the point' way, unaware that the girl's first instinct would be to think he's hitting on her. Or maybe he was aware from the beginning and wanted to poke at her, similarly to how one can still love cats while covered in claw scratches.
"What? I do not have time for such distractions.", she brushed him aside and continued her way towards the main school entrance.
"Guess you weren't her type after all.", Isogai chimed in, rather used to his friend's shenanigans by this point.
"Nah nah nah. She just said she doesn't want to be distracted. We're barely getting started."
"Are you even serious about it? Or is this just you amusing yourself again? You weren't the playboy type last time we saw each other."
"Hey. Don't insult me like that." he pointed at Yuma, "I ain't letting myself fall to such a level. I was just looking around to see who else was coming to the school. But since she reacted, I might as well play along."
"Sometimes I'm not sure who's a bigger handful, you or Karma."
"Ah, that's easy. Karma. And by miles.", he broke into an ear to ear grin, somewhat reminiscent of the stunt his now best friend would pull sometimes. "I mean, I am willing to bet he'd do something that would at least get him close to expulsion from this place."
"Maybe. But leave it to him to always weasel his way out of tight situations.", Isogai shared the sentiment regarding their ex classmate. "Now come on, let's see what class we're in. For all we know, we might not be together this year."
"Don't jinx us like that, man."
"Would it be alright if I joined you as well?", a third, female, voice chipped in from behind the duo walking in front. This time a girl with shorter hair, but more well endowed , you could say. "Ah. My name is Kushida Kikyo, nice to meet you."
She seemed the complete opposite of the previous interaction. Bright, cheerful and well mannered. Perhaps the only oddity would be that she approached the 2 first. As usually Isogai is deemed too plain and blends into the background, while Shinzo's piercings and overall foreign look tends to make people avoid him.
"I'm Isogai Yuma, and this here is my friend."
"Shinzo Masaki. Sup."
"Friend? So I was right. You do know each other. It's comforting to know not everyone will act like a stranger around here."
"I mean...we're still strangers though.", Masaki was quick to point out. "But I guess it's easier to approach people after you've witnessed how they treat others close to them."
"Yes! Exactly. I suppose you wouldn't mind me joining you till the class arrangements and the entrance ceremony, right? It feels rather lonely around so far."
Isogai glanced quickly at his friend, who only shrugged, rather willing to accept either outcome. And with no real reason to say no - "Sure. It's our pleasure."
"Thank you!"
And so, the now trio proceeded further into the school, with Kushida bringing up the previous altercation with the priority seat on the line and eventually switching the topic to how the 2 boys knew each other.
"So you both went to Kunugigaoka Junior High? I heard it's pretty demanding as a school. You must be pretty good to have graduated from there."
"Well, what you've heard is mostly right.", Masaki affirmed.
Publicly, you could say Class E wasn't even taken into account when talking about Kunugigaoka Junior High. So the norm when one hears that you graduated from said school is to assume you were in the upper echelons of it. Otherwise, you'd have no reason to brag about it. Unless, of course, you lucked out on the homeroom teacher, but those were details that didn't concern her.
Once finally in front of the class listings, the 3 began scouring the papers to see their names. There were around 40 students per class, meaning 160 per year, quite a number. Naturally, the boys started from the bottom up, out of habit, which is where one of them had his fears confirmed.
"Looks like I'm class D, and you too, Kushida-san.", Isogai informed his now classmate.
The girls in question didn't seem that bothered about the placement, and Isogai didn't really care which class he was going to be in to begin with. For Masaki, however, the year was about to turn south.
"What do you mean I'm not in class D?", his brows furrowed, as he seemed frustrated with the outcome. Going up a letter, he quickly scanned class C, only to be left disappointed once more. "Oh, don't tell me I got class A man..."
"You do know the higher the class, the better, right Shinzo-kun?"
But the boy's scowl only seemed to grow further, until he finally spotted his name. "Shinzo Masaki", on the list for class 1-B. "Man, this is stupid...", he complained.
Kushida couldn't really decide what perplexed her more. The rather disappointed Masaki despite the pretty good class he was put in, or Isogai who was having quite the laugh at his expense.
"I told you to not jinx it, Isogai! Look what you did."
"Is being separated such a big deal?", the girl decided to pose the question.
"Hmm? Nah, it ain't about that. It's just more fun to start at the bottom and rise, than having to play defense from the get go. Now it's just going to be boring...", the teen was dejected.
"Sorry, Kushida-san. For him, the journey means a lot more than just the destination. That being said, you have to live with it. Remember? Being dealt a bad hand-"
"-Isn't grounds to fold in real life. I know. I know. Guess I'll see what's there to salvage from this. See you after the entrance ceremony and homeroom, Isogai.", he waved as he left to get to his designated spot in the gym hall, specific to his class, completely shrugging off Kushida in the process.
"Sigh. Sorry about him. He's been going at his own pace."
"No, it's fine. It really shows his western side. You know where he is from?"
"Japan. He was born here. But I think his mother is European, but unsure from where exactly."
"Hmmm. I guess we'll see a lot more unique students at the school, considering its reputation. But we should get going too."
Said and done, they too walked to their respective class section for the entrance ceremony, perhaps even listening with more enthusiasm to the entrance ceremony speech held by the student council president, Horikita Manabu, as he introduced himself. But for our half-foreign class 1-B student, besides the second round of quick scouting for faces around his general vicinity, some words stood out.
{"In this school everything is decided by merit" huh? I've heard that song and dance before, prez, but I'll see for myself how well that meritocracy holds up. Nothing ventured, nothing gained after all. Right, Koro-sensei?}
To be continued...