The first day of school was always intimidating. At least, this was what he was told.
Daichi fidgeted with his satchel as he sat on one of many plastic chairs outside of the chancellor's private office. His mother was inside, leaving him alone with the students that flitted in and out of the school's main office, picking up schedules or items for teachers. They stared at him and he did his best to smile warmly at them all.
There was a part of him that believed it made no difference in what he did to appear friendly to them. The other part said to stay confident and to do his best.
The latter task was easier said than done. In the school's burgundy blazer and tan pants, Daichi had hoped to fit in just a smidgen before he was tossed into the school. However, it was his face that made him stood out and made him a commodity among the students.
"You're all set, Daichi." He stood up when his mother walked out of the office. She held out a piece of paper to him. She struggled to let it go, no matter how much he tried to tug and pull it from her grasp. "Are you sure that this is what you want? It's not too late to pull you out of the school."
Daichi smiled. "Mother, I will be fine. This is what I want. There is nothing you need to worry about."
Even at age sixteen, Daichi towered over his mother. She was such a small thing and he saw now more than ever that she was. She was so small and fragile. It was a wonder that she managed to come all the way to the school to sign him up.
His mother sniffled. She looked ready to burst into tears in front of everyone in the office. Daichi pulled out his handkerchief from his back pocket, handing it to her.
"Oh, no, dear. You'll need it," she said through another sniffle. Finally, she let go of the paper, allowing Daichi to fold it and slip it into his breast pocket. "I'll see you when you get home. Please try to have a good day today."
Daichi laughed. "Mother..." He pulled her into a hug, placing his chin on top of her head. "You'll see. Everything will be fine." He felt her nod against his shoulder and they pulled apart.
He smiled at her, assuring her even more that things would play out correctly. Daichi had an arm wrapped around her shoulders as he walked her back to the entrance of the school. Like the gentleman that he was, he waited until his mother was out of sight before pulling his schedule back out.
Looking at it with a quick glance, he deduced that the lessons would be relatively easy.
Since he was a child, Daichi Misawa was always home-schooled. It was something that his mother and father always wanted for their child. Perhaps they wanted to minimize his stress by keeping his learning environment close to home. Perhaps they had their own standards that they wanted for him that the school's curriculum couldn't keep up with.
He learned all that there was to learn as a child and then some. It was clear that Daichi had an intellectual caliber to rival even college students. His parents wanted there to be a challenge and his teachers challenged him to the best of their ability. Daichi was capable of flooring them with his intelligence every time.
In the end, Daichi wanted a challenge; he wanted to do something that he knew his parents wouldn't allow him to do: go to school with students of his age. It took many months of convincing from both Daichi and his personal teachers to urge his parents to allow it.
When they did, it was still a while before he could start a new semester.
Daichi could attend a college if he so chose to—his intelligence allowed him to make such a decision. He turned that offer down immediately. The whole point of this "exercise" was to meet teenagers his own friends—to make some friends for once in his life. He couldn't continue to call his grandmother or his parents as his friends.
So, his admittance into the 11th grade of one of the most prestigious schools in the city went through. Today would be his first day and, needless to say, excitement flowed through him. And nervousness.
With the list in hand, Daichi climbed the stairs and wandered through the school for his first class. To have science in the morning was a blessing for him. Out of all his subjects, he excelled the most in science. Science and math were the two subjects he knew he could do better than anyone.
Deep down, he hoped to impress not only his teachers but his fellow peers, as well.
Standing before the door to his classroom, Daichi took in a deep breath. He could handle this.
Daichi grabbed the handle and walked into the classroom.
The hushed voices discussing gossip or the lesson quieted immediately. Daichi felt like he was on display. He could feel his temperature rising as if he was under a spotlight. As he walked further into the room, he could feel their eyes on him. The teacher was waiting patiently for him in front of the board, a smile plastered on his face.
"Hello, sir," Daichi greeted, returning the smile. "I believe I'll be your new student starting today."
The teacher's smile never faltered. Daichi always thought that a teacher would be frustrated if a new student—or any student—interrupted a lesson. However, this teacher was calm and kind. He could feel a pleasant feeling radiating from him. It made him feel a bit more relaxed.
"Ah, yes, Mr. Samejime has told me about you. Now, let's see..." The teacher walked over to his desk and shuffled through some papers. Daichi tried not to look at the other students staring at him. "Ah! Here it is. Daichi Misawa, correct?" At Daichi's nod, he laughed. "It's wonderful to meet you. I'm Mr. Daitokuji."
"It's wonderful to meet you, too, sir."
"Why don't you have a seat..." Mr. Daitokuji peered over the heads of his students until he pointed to an empty chair somewhere in the middle. "Why don't you go ahead and take a seat over there?"
Daichi walked down the rows of students in their seats. He refused to meet any of their gazes, unsure of what the looks on their faces would mean. He slipped once, though. Daichi faltered beside the student's desk before urging himself to walk until he got to his seat. As soon as he sat down, the lesson began again.
Studying and school were never a problem for Daichi. He stayed alert throughout the day and time usually went by fast. His lesson would start and the next thing he knew was that it was time for his teacher to leave.
This time was different. Intrigue had struck him by the student who caught his eye moments ago. Daichi looked down the rows of students, doing his best to not fall out of his seat.
Finally, he spotted the student sitting a few seats away. His hair was awfully spikey, making it seem strange compared to his perfectly pressed uniform. Daichi found himself wondering what kind of person he was.
"Can anyone tell me the answer?" Mr. Daitokuji said, piercing through Daichi's thoughts. He peered over the students, waiting for a hand to shoot up. Even when no one did, he didn't stop smiling. Daichi wondered if there was anything that could stop him from doing so. "Manjoume? Do you believe you can give us the answer we're looking for?"
The very boy he was staring at scoffed. Daichi had never heard of anyone being so rude to a teacher before outside of a television show. "No. I don't.
Mr. Daitokuji hummed, but he didn't seem disappointed. "A shame. Anyone else? I don't want to have to run around the classroom picking victims up."
Daichi looked at the board. When he first walked into the class, he hadn't paid attention to it. His attention was focused on the teacher and keeping his shaking nerves down. Seeing it now, the answer came to him and it was clear. He boldly raised his hand, waiting for his teacher to call on him before giving the correct answer.
Mr. Daitokuji's beaming expression rivaled those of his home-schooled teachers. "Excellent, Misawa! It's wonderful to see we have another genius in our class. Be sure to get along well with Manjoume. You two could go on and become great rivals or great friends one day." He turned around and continued the lesson.
His classmates continued their murmuring and Daichi knew he heard his name mentioned a few times. While he was sure that he hadn't done anything wrong, it still felt as if he did. He dared to peek down the row of classmates before him, finding the boy—Manjoume—staring at him over his shoulder.
Daichi felt immediately exposed and slouched in his seat, hiding away from Manjoume. His eyes darted everywhere to avoid looking at him. When he thought that Manjoume wasn't looking anymore, he was proven wrong and had to look elsewhere again.
Finally, Manjoume turned his attention back to the lesson at hand and Daichi felt at ease. He straightened himself out, vowing to ignore whatever his fellow students were saying about him and focus on the classwork.
After the incident, the class went by quickly. Every question that Mr. Daitokuji said, Daichi answered them in a timely manner. The last thing he wanted was to not allow others the chance of answering the question. Only when he was sure that they wouldn't raise their hands did he raise his own to move on with the lesson.
Every time, with every correct answer, Manjoume looked back at him for minutes before returning his gaze to the front of the class. Whenever he did, Daichi felt naked under his gaze, almost like Manjoume was picking him apart with those stormy grey eyes and dissecting him to see how he worked. Never before had Daichi ever been nervous during tests or classroom work, but Manjoume made him feel those emotions for a completely different reason.
It was unnerving.
With the class over, students shoved their belongings into their bags and fled from the classroom. Daichi remained in his seat until the last student left. He didn't want to be crushed by everyone trying to get to their next lesson and he didn't want to bump into anyone.
He got up and only made it to the door when Mr. Daitokuji spoke, "Daichi! One moment please."
Daichi tried to keep his worry at bay. He hadn't done anything wrong in today's lesson. After all, he was the only student that had bothered to say anything during the lesson. Daichi walked back to the teacher's desk, waiting patiently to be spoken to again.
Mr. Daitokuji finished erasing the board and smiled at him. "Thank you for participating on your first day. I may have one of the best students in the 11th grade in my class, but as you can see, he hardly raises his hand to answer." Mr. Daitokuji placed a hand on Daichi's shoulder and squeezed, a friendly gesture that Daichi hadn't expected. "It'll be nice to have a student as good as you in the school."
Daichi smiled. "I'll do my best, sir.
"I'm glad. Now, run off to your next class."
He waved at him as he hurried out of the classroom. Daichi still had time before his next class, but it wouldn't do well to be late on his first day of school. On his paper, he had History for the next two periods of classes. While it wasn't his strongest subject, Daichi was determined to make the best of his time there. He navigated his way through the floors and passed classrooms until he found the exact one. A group of students stood by the closed door. And there sat Manjoume, sitting down away from the door with his cellphone in hand.
What were the odds of them having two classes in a row with each other?
Daichi moved to the opposite wall and sat down on the ground. The teacher must be late, a concept that Daichi didn't think was possible in a private school, much less a high school. It gave him a chance to go over what he knew so far and deduce if he was going to need it for this class. His home-school teachers always kept him above the grade so he shouldn't have a problem. That didn't stop his nerves from feeling like he was on fire.
He took a deep breath, an attempt to quell his nerves, and looked out over the waiting students.
Once more, he found Manjoume staring at him.
Just like before, Daichi felt like an exposed nerve. It felt different from how the other students looked at him. He couldn't figure out what he had done to earn Manjoume's attention. All he did was answer a few questions in class and nothing more. That didn't seem like a real reason to stare at Daichi—especially the way Manjoume was staring at him. It felt... intimidating.
"Morning, class!" A teacher sprinted down the hall, skidding to a stop in front of the door. She pulled out a set of keys and unlocked it. "Let's get this class started. We have a lot to cover today."
Everyone filed in, Manjoume at the front of the line and Daichi in the back. It felt almost safer to keep his distance from him.
History was almost the same as science. Daichi still answered questions, but so did Manjoume. It seemed like a race between the two of them—who could answer the question first and how many they would rack up between them. Whispers filled the room of an unspoken competition happening between him and Manjoume. There were claims that now Manjoume had a rival to compete with during tests and then some.
High-school gossip was something that Daichi would have to get used to. Expecting it was one thing, but being the center of it was another experience. He tried not to let steal his attention away from his work. That was the one thing he vowed not to do when he was accepted into the school.
In his following classes, Daichi found that Manjoume was not in them. The relief this gave him was great since he now didn't have to hear anyone whispering about him. Well, he still did, but this kind of talk was different. No one compared him to Manjoume or talked about his education. Their whispers were more about how he was a new student and wondering about him. That was something Daichi could handle.
His earlier discomfort soon disappeared, forgotten beneath the workload of school.
Lunch arrived and students from every room escaped, desperate to fill their stomachs after a long morning. Daichi was no exception. He was nervous this morning and he couldn't find the strength in him to eat anything besides a single slice of buttered toast. With his fear of the day gone, Daichi could fill his stomach and the rest of his day would go by smoothly.
"Hey, you're the new guy, right?"
The voice was feminine and Daichi surely wasn't expecting it to hear it next to him. He jumped and looked at the source. A smiling blonde haired girl walked beside him now. "Oh, hello. I suppose you can say I'm new. I'm Daichi Misawa. And you are?"
"I'm Asuka Tenjōin," Asuka answered. "I'm actually in a few of your classes, but I don't think you've noticed me like I've noticed you. Rumors are spreading pretty fast that you're the smartest kid in the 11th grade."
"Rumors?" Daichi questioned. It was hard to fight back the frown threatening his features.
"Mhm." Asuka shoved her hands into her blazer pockets. "It's a big school, but the moment the students get the smallest bit of gossip, it'll spread like the plague. Ironically, sometimes the gossip is just as deadly. There's even talk about how you're smarter than Manjoume."
There was that name again.
Daichi wished he could understand what he felt when he saw or heard about Manjoume. It felt dark and intimidating, but something else. It was complicated and an emotion that he hadn't had to deal with before. With no other classes with him, Daichi assumed the worse of the feeling was over. Clearly, it wouldn't be the case for as long as Daichi remained in the school.
"Asuka, may I ask you something?"
"Absolutely. Just think of me as your new friend from here on out," Asuka answered. She pulled her hand out to pat Daichi's back. "You look like you could use a friend for these trying times, but save it until we get lunch, okay? There are some friends I want you to meet, and I'm sure you're just as starving as I am."
At Daichi's surprised look, Asuka laughed.
"What? You didn't expect to make any friends today?" Asuka questioned. "I'm not going to let you go through that. You'll get lonely in no time if you didn't make any today."
Daichi gave her a warm smile. It felt nice to have made his first friend of the year. It gave him something to follow back on when his parents asked him how his day was. He could see his mother already, anxiously waiting on the couch, worrying a ball of yarn between her fingers. It would be nice to put her worries to rest. Daichi wouldn't want to worry her after today.
The lunchroom was loud. Daichi hadn't expected it to be this loud. It rattled his nerves from being in the new environment, but Asuka placed a calming hand on his arm. She motioned for him to follow her to the large line of students awaiting their turn to be fed.
"So, what's your question?" Asuka asked. She grabbed a tray for herself and handed one to Daichi.
Daichi clenched the tray in his fists. "It's about Manjoume."
She looked back at him, frowning. "What about him? Did he do something bad to you already?"
He arched an eyebrow at this. From the way Asuka worded it, it seemed that Manjoume had done something of the like before. "Has he done it to another new student?"
"At times." Asuka sighed. They moved further down the line. "It's not just an issue with new students, so don't take it too much to heart. Most of Manjoume's issues relied on intelligence. Since he is—well, was the smartest in our grade, he's got a bit of a territorial issue about it."
Daichi assumed as much. Although Manjoume had never glared at him, he still stared with an emotion he couldn't pinpoint. "Does he treat others in the same score bracket the same way?"
She smiled at the lunch workers as they filled her tray with various and appetizing dishes. Daichi did the same when they reached his. "I wish he would try. I was the second smartest before you showed up. He never so much as paid me a glance other than a wink or congratulations. I think he's intimidated by me." Asuka chuckled. "I can't see why, though."
Daichi felt that she knew exactly why if Manjoume was intimidated by her.
"Right now, you're the first or second smartest student in our grade," Asuka said as they got off the line. "Personally, I think you're in first place and I'm not the only one who thinks so. Nearly everyone in our grade is talking about it. Word travels fast and I bet Manjoume is blowing a gasket about it."
"I wouldn't want him to feel threatened by my arrival, Asuka," Daichi muttered. That was the last thing that Daichi wanted.
"Don't worry about him. Continue to do what you're doing and relax. If Manjoume has an issue with you, he can tell you himself. There's no meat on those weak arms of his. You'll be safe." Asuka rushed over to a table and sat down when a seat was cleared for her. "Come on and take a seat. I'll introduce you to the gang."
Daichi approached the crowded table. Asuka had pulled a seat over from a barely empty table and settled it between her and a boy with long brown hair. He squeezed in between them, setting his tray out of the way so it wouldn't bother any of theirs. Looking over the table, Daichi took in the small group: two boys and two girls. The girls looked admirably at Asuka while, by a miraculous stroke of skill, stared lovingly at the boy on Daichis left. While the boy beside him was flirtatious and winked at every passing girl, the other one with dark blue hair looked stern to the point where he seemed unapproachable.
"Everyone," Asuka started, wrapping her arm around Daichi's shoulders, "I present to you Daichi Misawa, the new guy."
Daichi smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you all."
Asuka waved her hand to the two girls. "Junko and Momoe are my best friends. Fubuki on your left is my brother and he's in the 12th grade. Ryou is the top student in the 12th grade. You two might be able to get along."
Ryou interlaced his fingers together and stared at Daichi almost critically. "I've heard a lot about you already."
Daichi knew that rumors of his arrival would have spread to the other grades by now. It seemed like a foolish fancy to believe that it wouldn't. He could only imagine what the younger grades were saying about him. Only motivational things, he hoped. "I apologize for any foul-mouthed rumors you may have heard."
Suddenly, Ryou smiled and Daichi could see his expression softening. "You have no reason to apologize. They've been nothing but good talk about your intelligence."
"Ryou's right," Fubuki said. He had a mouth full of mashed potatoes in his mouth, flicking pieces of it onto the table. "I always thought it was time for Manjoume to be kicked off his pedestal and stop claiming himself as king of the school. I was hoping it would be Asuka, but alas. You'll have to do."
The table agreed and Daichi found himself growing uncomfortable about the direction the conversation was headed. The last thing he wanted to do was talk ill of Manjoume before they got the chance to know each other. It was up to Daichi alone to agree with the rumors or continue to believe that Manjoume was a good person deep inside. At the moment, he continued to go with his belief.
Asuka, who had been watching him with interest, sensed that Daichi was uncomfortable with the topic. "Let's talk about something else. By now, Daichi's probably sick of hearing about all this. I know I am."
Without another word, the topic was changed by the other two girls. Daichi smiled at Asuka who smiled back at him. He appreciated her effort to make him more comfortable.
The day passed on without another problem. In a few other classes, he spotted Asuka and the girls. At times he sat with them, but other times he sat alone. His thoughts were too clouded with not only the lessons before him but also the situation involving Manjoume—if one could call it a situation.
He wouldn't tell Asuka how he contemplated earning Manjoume's trust and friendship. She seemed put off by the idea of Manjoume being friendly in the first place. Daichi was confident that she would tell him to forget about him and move on. There were other friends he could make within the school that would appreciate him.
Daichi saw Manjoume in the halls, though, and how he shunned everyone he passed by. To him, it seemed like he lived a lonely life.
The school day was over and the bell rang clearly throughout the building. Students escaped their rooms quicker than they had for lunch. Daichi weaved through the sea of them, making sure he didn't crash into the walls or support beams. He had no intention of returning home just yet. His mother would be expecting him and she may worry if he didn't return home on time. He would need to make it up to her when he had the chance.
Daichi wanted to see Mr. Daitokuji before he went home. There were many things about the school he felt would be answered better if he talked to him. Mr. Daitokuji didn't seem like the oldest teacher in the school, but he was the friendliest to him so far. It was his best bet.
He arrived at his science classroom just as Mr. Daitokuji was locking the door. "Good afternoon, Mr. Daitokuji," Daichi greeted.
Mr. Daitokuji was still smiling and Daichi wondered if his cheeks were starting to hurt. "It's nice to see you again, Daichi. How has your first day been? Not too terrible, I hope."
Daichi smiled. "It went well with few casualties."
"I suppose it involves Manjoume, hm?" Mr. Daitokuji chuckled at Daichis grim expression. "Come with me. We can talk about it as we walk." They fell into step with each other, walking down the nearly empty halls. "Has anyone talked about him to you?"
"I made friends with Asuka Tenjōin today," Daichi answered, "and she was able to fill me in on the kind of person he is. They weren't kind words."
"I don't blame them." Mr. Daitokuji sighed. "Manjoume has not had a good reputation since he entered our school. Students could tell that he was smarter than those in his grade and he didn't hesitate to use it to his advantage. Of course, that is not a proper way to make any friends."
"I've noticed he usually travels the halls alone. It doesn't seem like he's interested in making any friends, either."
"But?"
Daichi frowned. "There should be some way to reach a middle ground with him. We're both intelligent people. I'm sure I can figure something out."
Mr. Daitokuji laughed. "Your fighting spirit is admirable, Daichi, but don't be too disappointed when you see it is a lost cause. You're the top student now, even if it'll take Manjoume a while to realize that. Your baton of friendship may take a while to be picked up—or perhaps he won't take it at all. It's something you should expect to see."
In the back of his mind, Asuka's voice agreed with Mr. Daitokuji. She had expressed before that Daichi shouldn't waste his time on Manjoume, but that only fueled a fire to try and befriend him. Daichi couldn't explain why he felt the urge to do so. Perhaps it was his grandmother telling him to be kind to everyone."
"Well... then I hope you don't mind me trying."
"You can always try and I admire your resolve." Mr. Daitokuji took on a stern look, the first that Daichi had seen of today. "Others in the school might think your efforts would be pointless. I'm sure you will be fine, though."
Daichi tried not to think about how grim his situation had become. While everyone else had a grim outlook on how things would play out between him and Manjoume, he kept a positive one. It would be the only thing that would keep him going until he completed his goal—or until he decided it was a lost cause.
They stopped in front of the teacher's lounge and parted ways. By now, the halls were void of students. Daichi saw it as no better time than to look around the school. Asuka hadn't had a chance to give him a tour of the school and she couldn't when their classes were over. Daichi liked being alone when he learned his surroundings. He wouldn't want to bother Asuka all the time or disturb classes because he was late.
Daichi learned every inch of the school. It amazed him to see how big it was. It didn't seem that way from the front, and one would need to either be inside the school or walk around its gated perimeter. The more Daichi explored, the more he fell in love with the school. Perhaps it was filled with rumors of his arrival and students who might not enjoy his presence, but they didn't matter in the end. He was here to further his education.
"Oh..."
He froze on the stairs, staring down its spiraling mass. Daichi hadn't expected to hear anything by his own footsteps or perhaps the footsteps of a teacher coming up the stairs. The sound—sounds came from past the ground floor.
Now, Daichi never saw himself as someone with a curious nature outside of science. He was taught to keep his nose out of trouble and to walk away from it if it didn't involve him. Clearly, he was doing a lot of things that were completely different from what he was taught. He would need to keep this to himself so that he wouldn't worry his mother even more than he already did.
The sounds grew louder as Daichi quietly moved down the steps, peeking around the corner to see the source.
Nothing in his imagination could prepare him for what he saw.
Manjoume was pressed against the wall, his pants down to the middle of his thigh and his blazer draped over the railing. Another student was pressed up against his back, his hips colliding over and over again with Manjoume's. Daichi didn't need a sex education class to know that they were having sex. It seemed almost too cliche for students to have sex in their school.
Manjoume slammed his hand against the wall and groaned. "Come on. You can do better than that."
The other student chuckled and moved faster against Manjoume. "What's got you all so irritated? You're more of a tight ass than usual today."
"I had a bad day, okay?"
"Bet it had something to do with that new student, huh?"
Daichi bit down on his tongue to keep himself from gasping.
"Shut up! He's nothing special," Manjoume said with a groan. "I'll show him when the time comes."
"Yeah," the other student said as he buried his face into Manjoume's black hair. "I know you will."
Daichi wasn't sure why he hadn't run away the moment he was vaguely mentioned. In fact, he should have run away the moment he found Manjoume in such an undignified position. He shouldn't be here, witnessing Manjoume having sex with another student.
He made the decision to leave too late.
Manjoume stared at him, cold gray eyes catching his own. Daichi couldn't speak—he couldn't move. All he could do was stare at Manjoume staring back at him as their fellow classmate moved against him.
Then Manjoume smirked, sending a chill through Daichi's body. He gave a particularly loud moan, one that might draw even more unwanted attention than just Daichi's. It was the catalyst that forced Daichi to finally move and sprint back up the stairs. It didn't matter that his footsteps echoed in the stairwell. Manjoume knew that he was there and now the other student would know, too. Or perhaps Manjoume would keep his little peep show to himself.
Daichi couldn't say. He wanted to get home and erase the scene from his mind.