Disclaimer: (Read chapter 3's)

"Huff… huff… huff…"

My throat felt sorely parched as I breathed raggedly from all the quick moving I've done so far. Thankfully, the weather was kind today as a cool breeze carried over the empty tennis courts, rustling fallen leaves and calming fanning over me. I can feel my hair ruffling in the wind as I blank-mindedly bounced the tennis ball off my hand.

It's nice. Lunch time, I mean. It's relaxing since no one's around and it's even more relieving to just let loose. The quietness of having some time to myself was therapeutic compared to the chattering atmosphere back in the classroom. Just me getting into my flow. Just like how my silat instructor taught me.

"Hup!" I heaved my racket into the tennis ball as I started another round against my only partner that was willing to practice with me; the wall.

The small yellow-green ball ricocheted off the wall and quickly shot back towards me. Explosively, I reached out with my racket and swatted the ball back. I continued that session, solely focused on just receiving and sending the ball back and forth for as long as I can.

You have a new match.

As I played against myself, that thought came back up again. And when it did, I missed the ball that went whizzing by my head. Darn, and I was just getting into my rhythm too! Oh well, I might as well take another break.

Now where'd that ball go? Man, this would be so much better if I could get an actual partner. At least they would move. Hmm, oh there it is! It just bounced off and rolled away to… Oh.

I spotted my ball as it rolled to someone's feet, someone who I knew but at the same time didn't. Seeing him sitting absentmindedly on the steps made me pause in my steps. Suddenly, Hiratsuka-sensei's suggestion earlier popped back in my head.

[Before the first period started.]

Alright, now I gotta head to class! I made sure that all my belongings were with me as I slung my school bag over my shoulder. It was kinda crowded around the lockers but since I didn't have a large frame, making my way through was pretty easy.

I was just about to turn into the hall when I stopped abruptly. Walking suddenly right in front of me while talking into a phone was none other than my Modern Japanese teacher, Hiratsuka-sensei.

"Yes, sir… I'll report his progress as he goes… Okay, bye sir." I heard her mumble as she hung up. Though when she stepped by me, she turned towards me and I saw her grey eyes light up. "Ah, perfect timing too."

What did she mean by that? Judging by her predatory grin, I instinctively raised my awareness.

"Good morning, Totsuka." Hiratsuka-sensei greeted politely.

"Morning, Hiratsuka-sensei." I smiled back.

"Did you just have morning practice?"

"No, not today."

"Oh, then it must've a real treat to sleep in, eh?" I lightly snicker at her little banter. Hiratsuka-sensei was always the more approachable teacher out of the others. "Say, how's the tennis club doing?"

Great! Or that's at least what I wish I could say. It's neither obvious nor a secret but the tennis club isn't the most liveliest club in school. In fact, since our third years are graduating soon, most of our members took leave to put more focus on their subjects. It kinda sucks but I understand they have better priorities. At this point, the club is nothing more than just a recreational activity rather than being a competitive sport.

"It's fine." I answered her modestly. "All the other tennis members are doing alright so far since the third years asked for leave to focus on their upcoming exams. But that just means we also have to work just as hard to make up for the loss of manpower!"

"Hahaha! That's the spirit!" Hiratsuka-sensei cheered along with me. "What about any matches? Have you guys been able to organize a meet with any of the other schools?"

"Eh, well we haven't tried setting one up. Everyone in the club seems to be fine with the way things are right now. Plus, I don't think we're all that motivated to compete, hehe."

"Mmm, I suppose so."

She and I passed a couple of other students, some gave her greetings, mainly from the boys and I received some as well, mostly from girls embarrassingly enough. Some of them even called me a 'prince' much to my chagrin.

"Listen, how'd you feel if I can get you a match?" I curiously turned my head towards my teacher. Her tone was more hushed yet her attention was yielded to whatever was in front of us.

"Huh? What do you mean, Hiratsuka-sensei?" Last time I checked, Hiratsuka-sensei had no influence in Sobu's tennis club. What interest could she have to offer me?

"Well," She quickly scanned around us as her voice took on a lower pitch that was only clearly meant for me to hear. "You've heard of the rumors going around lately? Particularly about some third years getting beaten up?"

Ah, I've heard recently how some older students decided to pick on a student. Apparently they were all beaten even though there were more of them. Whoever held them back must be a pretty strong person. Heck, the only other thing that was notable about the guy was his, I think they said, 'dead-fish eyes'. Heh, I wonder how those guys reacted. But these were just rumors, so I don't know what really happened. But why is Hiratsuka-sensei asking me about it? Unless…

"Um, yeah. Kind of." I hesitantly replied. For all I know, she could be fishing and anything I say could be used against me unknowingly. She is still a teacher after all. "But how are those rumors related to tennis?"

"Because those rumors are true, more or less." Hiratsuka-sensei casually confirmed, earning a double take from me.

"How do you know?" Shouldn't a teacher not exacerbate rumors? All I got from her was a knowing smile.

"I saw it happen and," She whistled slowly. "They got served pretty royally."

"Whoa." I muttered. There's someone that strong? He definitely has to have made a big splash on their radar. "But what does a couple of delinquents have to do with tennis, sensei?"

Hiratsuka-sensei laughed. But it sounded hollow. It was mocking, almost.

"You see, I know about that." She motioned with her hands. About what? Yet with dread, I had an inkling of what she meant. "As we both know, this school is renowned for its academic prestige."

It was only her and I in the hall. I hadn't realized that most of the students were now gone, out of sight and most likely out of earshot.

"But like any high class society, there's always an underground industry lurking as well."

We stood still. I narrowed my own eyes slightly as I took a cautious gulp.

"Totsuka, I know all about the Sobu fight club."

The Sobu fight club. Or as others like to jokingly call it, the SFC. It wasn't an official club because it wasn't offered as a choice on the class selection sheets. No, the SFC didn't 'exist'. Sure, sports such as wrestling, rugby and other physical activities were offered, but not everyone wanted to do those. Instead, like how stand users attract other stand users, people with an itch to brawl somehow find each other. It's like a person has some sort of instinct that just lets them recognize other fighters among us. Odd, I know, but there's no other way of explaining it. Sometimes I can tell who's fists are toughened and who's aren't…

So Hiratsuka-sensei knew. But how'd she find out? Did some rat us out? No, none of us are like that. The SFC was a way of setting hierarchy. It set an order among us, a sense of placement. Did she sniff us out on her own?

"I don't kn-" I attempted to deny.

"There's no need to deny it, Totsuka." Can't say I didn't try feigning ignorance. Hiratsuka-sensei's a lot sharper than I thought. "Don't worry, I'm not here to tell you all to stop it. After all, I have no proof that it's happening right?" She gave me a wink.

Unsure of how to respond, I just nodded my head uncertainly.

"Okay sensei…" I slowly responded to her. "Then what do you need from me?"

She blew out a breath of air as she eased up.

"Jeez, you make it sound as if I'm blackmailing you." Eh, well… "Look, six third years getting bodied isn't that normal, even among the SFC. Tell me, who's got that much skill to take on six guys and come out almost scratch free? Not a lot of people right?"

In response to her rhetoric, I could only give her a nod. Since she knew more than she let on, I figured I'd at least string along with what Hiratsuka-sensei's telling me. This feels like one of the late 1900s American spy movies where Hiratsuka-sensei is the cheeky informat and I'm some sort of rebel planning to upend some big organization.

"I know for a fact that some of the SFC guys have already taken notice. Some are just itching to try this new guy out. Others, well, I'm sure there's bound to be an uproar in your guys' little club."

In my head, I knew she wasn't wrong. There's a lot of prideful guys in the SFC. Imagine hearing some unknown guy just taking down half a dozen guys almost easily. I bet some of them are downright aggravated that some nobody would be considered better than them. Hahaha! Now I'm really curious to check this guy out.

I let myself smile a bit as I looked at Hiratsuka-sensei.

"Yeah, I know the others won't be too happy that there's someone new on the block. I, for one, don't mind that though. To be honest, other than those guys, there's just not much of a challenge anymore." Just the thought of this person causing commotion among the SFC could be a fun thing to see happen. "So I'm assuming you want me to try to take this guy on? Who is he?"

She shook her head knowingly.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Not so fast." Hiratsuka-sensei wagged a finger at me. Darnit, of course she wouldn't make it that easy for me. "Even if I gave you a name, what difference will that make?"

I clicked my tongue in annoyance. This was a new fighter in the SFC, whether this person wanted to be in or not. Of course there'd be little to no information about him yet other than his recent feat.

"Well, how am I going to know it's him?" I frowned slightly.

"Hmm, you already do." I felt my right eye twitch at her very 'helpful' hint. My displeasure must've been visible to her as she smirked and continued. "Tell you what, you might just run across him during lunch. You usually practice at the courts during lunch, right?" Hiratsuka-sensei quirked a brow.

"Yes."

"Then you'll definitely come across him."

"Fine." I relented. "But why?"

As great as a teacher Hiratsuka-sensei is, I'm not naive enough to think that there isn't a single person without some sort of ulterior motive. What's her angle?

"Huh? What do you mean?" Now she tilted her head at me.

"Why are you telling me this?"

I saw her purse her lips as she took a moment before answering me.

"It's to help someone grow."

Her cryptic answer was of no benefit to answering me. But I'm not going to bother deciphering what she means either. It doesn't matter if it means finally getting a challenge.

"Hmm, okay…" I hummed out. We both resumed our trek towards class. At the back of my head, I was feeling a little excited for lunch to come.

[Present time.]

I was breathing lightly as I took the final steps in approaching my fellow classmate. Due to his moderate build combined with his constant dead expression, it works well to make him seem intimidating and most students don't even try to approach him. Well, I don't even think they want to in the first place. Some even said that he could be part of a gang. Though I was never bothered by him personally. Rather, I was curious since he doesn't really talk to others. Maybe I can find out more today.

"Ah, Hikigaya-kun!" I called out to him. His head tilted up and as it did, his long messy hair parted a bit to reveal his careless grey eyes.

"This your ball?" He turned his hand around as he looked at my tennis ball like he was inspecting a rare rock.

"Yeah. Sorry if I disturbed your lunch. Hehehe…" I scratched the back of my neck lamely.

"Nah, it's no problem. I just finished eating anyway." He got up and dusted whatever dirt was on him.

"Oh, that's good then."

Hikigaya-kun simply nodded. Then unexpectedly, he tossed back my tennis ball quite suddenly. Well, more like threw as there was a bit of force behind his pass. I barely had time to react.

"Oh? Nice reflex."

Was he testing me? No, there's no way but the tiny smirk on his mouth was telling me otherwise. Was Hikigaya-kun the one Hiratsuka-sensei was telling me about?

"Eh, heheh, aw thanks! I guess my tennis training has its merits you know, hahaha!" I forced out cheerily.

Gah! I'm so cringe! I wouldn't even be surprised if Hikigaya-kun became off-put by me. When I peeked my eyes at him, I swear I saw a tinting of pink on his cheeks. Ah noooo, I might be embarrassing him too!

"Yeah…" He coughed. "Well, keep up the hard work, uh…"

He was giving me a quizzical look. Then I realized why he trailed off.

"Saika Totsuka. Did you forget who I am?" I couldn't resist frowning at him. "Mou, I sit right behind you!"

"You do?" Although when he said that, it was barely audible. He really doesn't know! Is this really the guy who took down six third years? "Ah, yeah that's right. My bad, I don't normally look behind me."

"Geez!"

His index finger scratched his cheek sheepishly as I fumed at him.

"As an apology, there are two things you can do for me!"

"Huh?" His eyes squinted in bewilderment. "But-"

"Are you really going to deny me after forgetting who I am?" I gave him my best threatening look of intimidation. In return, I saw the same light shade of pink on his cheeks. Ha, my intimidation must be working.

"Alright, whatever." He tiredly sighed.

"First," Okay, my face felt really warm now that I think about how ridiculous this might actually sound. "Let me c-call you Hachiman!"

…

…

…

"Ah, that… doesn't sound bad." I heard him mumble.

"And second," If he's what I think he is, then things will definitely get even more unpredictable but maybe interesting. "Have you heard the rumors?"

A momentary pause came between us.

"What rumors?"

Though as he replied, his dead-looking eyes warily narrowed at me. For a reason I can't really explain, the relaxed aura that I thought he had quickly felt something more… dangerous. In my eyes, he didn't look like Hachiman Hikigaya. No. The person, wait that's wrong, the beast standing in front of me was giving off something far more intimidating. Humans have survived for so long because of their innate abilities to preserve their lives from threats. Our instincts have always proven to be the best factor for survival. I'm no different than them at the current moment. Half of me is screaming to get the heck away, but the other half…

Belatedly, I realized I was tingling. Was I in fear? Am I actually that scared of him? My heart was beating so fast that I wasn't sure of what I was feeling. But it didn't seem… bad.

"You know," I clenched the sides of my P.E. shorts in an effort to stop my trembling. "Our senpais got beaten up. People have been talking about it a lot in the past few days."

"Oh? I guess those fools have nothing better to talk about."

He was still emitting an uncomfortable sense. Yet, and maybe foolishly, I kept talking.

"Eheheh, well they have been saying that one student took them all down. Isn't that kind of amazing?" I told him with mock awe. "I heard that this student looked like a delinquent. Some say that his eyes looked scary…"

If I didn't have his attention before, I certainly have it now. And sheesh, he was giving me such a scary look! Scary Hachiman!

"Scary eyes, huh?" He noxiously grunted. However, I barely heard his low mumble. "What else did they say, that I look like a Yakuza? They're just a bunch of snobs, the lot of them."

He snorted scornfully.

"No, no, they didn't say anything like that!" I pretended to wave my hands frantically. Inside, I can imagine my consciousness smiling. "Although, I didn't say they were talking about you though."

Hachiman visibly stiffened up after I caught his slip up. The weird ominous tension earlier briefly swept by only to return heavier than before.

"What do you want?" His abrupt succinctness took me slightly off guard. His directness was unexpected and plain crude. But there's no point dancing anymore around the fire.

"Were you the one who took our senpais down?" I still had a sliver of anxiousness but it wasn't like the nervous kind.

"If I was, nothing changes. This is just a rumor. And rumors have no solid basis since there is no evidence."

It was sound logic. Words are words. Nothing more, nothing less.

"So you were the one who took them down." I said to him.

"Let's say that I did. What will you do about it?"

Never before had I been scrutinized by such intensive eyes as those of Hachiman. If other SFC guys were to confront him, I'm willing to bet almost half of them would fold away from his mere stifling presence alone. It's difficult to obtain such authority among us since competition can be brutal, but those who achieve it are rightfully the strongest of the strong. The so-called 'Pillars'. And Hachiman definitely seemed strong.

But as wicked as I can be, I enjoy crushing those who think they are.

Unconsciously, my lips curved upwards.

"Nothing," I said very offhandedly. "Absolutely nothing."

I wasn't scared of Hachiman. He made me react in a way that other challengers haven't made me feel in a while. I still kept my smile, albeit I lessened it.

Our standstill elongated the tension between us. Seconds passed yet neither of us dared to move. Like those old movies that I saw about the American wild west, a random tumbleweed would get its screen time right about now as the cowboys stared each other down. It was just a matter of a quick draw to break this stiffness.

"Hey, I think-" I dashed in immediately before I continued my sentence. I darted low and swiftly, and I sent a left hook at his legs. I made contact but surprisingly he purposely met my fist with his right lower leg to stop my full swing.

Darn! He's not quick enough to dodge out of the way but his thinking is faster than my actions.

He swatted my arm away as we both cautiously stepped back. But I wasn't going to give him a breather.

I bolted at him with my right arm cocked back for a heavy punch. Hachiman didn't have time again for a proper counter, so predictably, he raised both of his arms in a guard. Little did he know that my arm was just a feint. I swung down and let my momentum spin me on the balls of my right foot.

In a reverse left hook kick, my leg rounded high as I latched the back of my knee on his forearms. With my greater momentum, he was forced to yield his guard, leaving his torso and head wide open. Following through, I sent a speeding open palm towards his face. I barely nicked him as he tilted his head to the side just in time.

Hachiman backstepped as my move finished. Unfortunately for him, I wasn't letting up.

"Oh no you don't!"

He tried to check kick me away but my reaction was faster. I jumped slightly with a forward sidekick, finally landing a solid connection to his torso.

"Guhg!" I heard him grunt.

My bigger opponent fell on his behind as he tumbled back on the ground.

"I'm impressed that you were standing after the first move. I'd have most guys on the ground." I commented.

"Well I'm not like most guys." He driedly replied as he picked himself back up. He rolled his neck and shoulders as he got in a basic fighting stance. "Besides, you just got a head start. Now I'm ready. Though if you don't keep fast enough, I'll beat you." When he said that, a mask of seriousness donned his face and his grey eyes became as intense as ever.

"Don't worry." I was feeling cheeky. "It'll be over before you know it."

Again, I rushed him. He sent out a front kick in an effort to stop me but I sidestepped quickly into his flank and gave quick body shots to his back. Yet he took my strikes like nothing and whipped a backhanded fist at me. With my left palm, I slapped back his arm and simultaneously thrusted into his exposed side with my right palm heavily.

"Gah!" Hachiman gasped as he stumbled forward away from me. Still not relenting, I advanced right away. His back was vulnerable and I took the opportunity to land a forward jumping kick.

I was quick. I never gave him any chances to hit me as he swung, countered, kicked, anything to contact me as I weaved and parried speedily. He struck out an arm, I smack it out of the way. He thrusts out a kick, I simply raise my guard as I strike back at the same time.

Center chest.

Lower shins.

Left waist. Right waist.

Arms.

Anywhere where I can hit him.

It never mattered how big the guys I went up against were. As long as I reacted fast enough and hit them where it hurts the most as efficiently as possible, then I was nigh unbeatable. Many of the SFC guys thought they could easily beat me because I was small. Yet, my size was anything but a disadvantage. Combined with their arrogant thinking, I easily ended up being amongst the top within the SFC. Many have challenged me, however only a handful have ever beaten me fully.

Parrying another punch with my right elbow, I thrusted my left palm into Hachiman's chest, pushing him back. Despite relentlessly attacking him, I still needed to catch my breath. Besides, I was still a bit exhausted from my tennis session earlier too. The damage that he's accumulated so far should already be getting to him.

As slightly winded as I am, Hachiman didn't look any better. His uniform was ruffled as the hems of his dress shirt hung out of his pants. His blazer was all dirtied from being rolled around. His tie was quite loose. A sheen of sweat glistened on his forehead as he breathed pretty heavily. One of his hands laid tenderly on his right waist, gingerly soothing it.

A small smirk broke out on my lips. Hahaha, this is fun! It's been so long that someone other than a Pillar has managed to make me work this much than before. I wish I could keep this fight going.

Hachiman, you're strong. But that's precisely the reason why I'm going to end this now.

Satisfied that I've regained some of my energy, I bursted towards him again. This time, I lashed out a mid kick with as much force as I can give, intending to at least cripple his already exhausted state.

But to my confusion, he let my leg meet his side torso willingly as a grunt escaped him. Only for me to realize that he didn't budge from the impact. Instead, his arm clamped down firmly onto my leg as his other free limb snatched up my track jacket forcefully. We made a brief glance of eye contact and the image of the momentary madness that I saw in his eyes embedded itself in my mind.

With herculean strength that I never thought he'd be capable of, he swung me over his body as he slammed me into the ground hard.

"AACK!" I yelped hurtfully.

The pain was pretty bad to say the least. But I wasn't given respite as Hachiman pulled me up again and he did another throw over his shoulder as I met the unforgiving ground the second time. My mind was swimming in dizziness from the impacts as my body worked crazily to numb the pain. Next thing I knew, extreme agony erupted as I felt something hard wedge brutally into my stomach.

Holy crap! Hachiman's punch felt as hard as an unbreakable diamond.

I wheezed achingly as I desperately inhaled whatever lost oxygen Hachiman knocked out of me. I thought he was practically finished. I hit him in all of his vital points so many times that he shouldn't even be standing. Heck, most guys would be in the infirmary since I've long ago stopped holding back against him! This is unreal.

"H-How?" I rasped. My body felt horrible. I couldn't hunch over to nurse my stomach nor turn over and relieve my back. The amount of force he used on me was overwhelming. "Instead of you, I'm the one laying on the ground." A laugh escaped me though it hurt as my body rattled in ache.

My classmate just loomed over me neutrally. Gone was the suffocating aura he had and in its place was his usual disinterested attitude. He then crouched next to me and tilted his head. He had some scuff marks but he looked to just be exhausted. Annoyingly enough, he started poking me like I was some sort of dead animal. Gah! This is kind of embarrassing! Thank god the other guys aren't here to see this.

"I told you. I'll beat you if you don't keep fast enough." He tiredly said.

Somehow, I get the feeling that he wasn't saying that to rub it in. I guess he was just keeping his word then. That… made me happy.

"Hahahaha- urk!" I cringed as my back reminded me of the agony it's suffering.

"You're a weird one, Totsuka." I saw Hachiman looking at me questionably.

"What? No, no, no!" I quickly spoke back. "Also, did you have to slam me down really hard? My back is killing me! Not to mention that brutal punch of yours. Didn't you ever learn to pull your punches?!"

All I got was a deadpan expression adorning his face.

"But you kept hitting me nonstop. Do you have any idea how annoying that is?" Hachiman furrowed his eyebrows at me.

I decided to look away from him as I felt some heat rise to my face. Then I saw a hand float into my view.

"Huh?" I looked to where the hand came from and saw a sheepish looking Hachiman turned away from me. If I wasn't as dazed, I swear I could see a dusting of pink on his cheeks.

"I can least help you to the infirmary." He grumbled.

He didn't seem apologetic but his behavior was sincere albeit shown in an awkward manner. It was surreal actually. Others have been put off by his indifference. Most people don't even try to interact with him because he looked like a delinquent. And he always went about his lonesome. Now here we are. I was the one who provoked him and yet he was offering me help. He really wasn't a bad person.

"Hahaha, okay!" I clasped his outstretched hand with mine. Very abruptly, he stood up and pulled me along. Unfortunately, that was not the smartest thing I've done. "AAHG!"

"Oh, woops."

Gosh darnit, my back!

I yawned boredly as I stared at the blank ceiling of the infirmary. It's been a few hours since the end of lunch and after Hachiman had brought me here. It was difficult for me to move since my back got pretty bruised, no thanks to a certain someone. My whole entire torso was wrapped in medical tape as I still felt the ache, although it was dampened by the motrin I took.

Man, I wish I could talk with Hachiman right now. I wanted to get to know him better after earlier. To be able to keep standing even after the vicious abuse I gave him, there was no doubt about his strength. I wanted to know how he was able to keep standing.

Hmm, from my angle I could barely make out the time on the clock nearby. It looks like the time for school had ended as I saw the hands past the three o'clock position. I let out a sigh.

There was no one else in the nursery apart from the nurse herself. She was a kind woman but I get the feeling that she is a bit ditzy. I mean, she's had to have suspected something with the amount of times a guy from the SFC came in here. But she never said a word about it.

Just then, I heard the door to the infirmary slide open and followed by a pair of heels clacking on the floor. Turning my head minimally, I caught sight of my Modern Japanese teacher making her way towards me. And to my slight surprise, I saw someone else following her.

What's he doing here?

"Wow, you look like you were put through the wringer." Hiratsuka-sensei commented.

"Dang, Totsuka! You don't look so comfortable, hahaha!" The big guy next Hiratsuka-sensei whistled.

"Eh, it kind of hurts to move a bit." I replied.

"So, the 'Relentless Prince' has been bested." Hiratsuka-sensei smiled. Most would think she was mocking me, but the expression on her face was more akin to… fondness.

"Whoa…" The other guy mouthed. "This guy has got to be pretty strong. Dude, who is this guy?"

I looked to Hiratsuka-sensei to see what her reaction would be. She simply shrugged her shoulders to me and talked.

"I already told him most of what I told you earlier. You can tell him if you want."

The other student was looking back and forth between us as I took a moment to collect my thoughts. Should I tell him what I know? If I do, then Hachiman would have a larger target on his back. I know he can handle himself against most SFC fighters, but there are those that I think are too much to handle. Like watching something others haven't seen, I need to be careful and not spoil too much.

Besides, it would be kind of cheating to let it all out and I still want to see Hachiman get stronger.

"He's in our class." I finally said. He made a funny face as he concentrated hard to deduce who it could be. It was pretty amusing for me.

"Eh? Is it Tobe?"

"No."

He was certainly difficult to fight against, but Tobe-kun can't disable me like Hachiman did. He didn't have that much devastating strength.

"Ooka?"

I shook my head. Ooka-kun hits fast and solidly but lacks durability. He got lucky off of me one time…

"What?! Then it's gotta be Hayato!" The big guy lightly slapped his fist into his palm.

I smiled wryly as I shook my head again. Exasperation weighed him down and I chuckled at his disbelief. Even Hiratsuka-sensei had that amused smile on her face as she watched her student struggle in solving the mystery man.

"I'll give you a hint. He sits right in front of me." It took a moment but the dawn of realization hit my classmate as he finally figured out who took me down.

"No way…" He muttered disbelievingly. "Him?"

I beamed at him to show how serious I was.

"This is the guy who fought six third years and won that we're talking about!" He continued. "He did this to you?!"

"Yep!" I nodded. "He's better than most of the SFC fighters."

My fellow classmate's mouth opened into an 'o' shape. But then he bumped his fists together as a wide smile spread across his face. He looked like a goofy child. A pretty buff goofy child, hahaha!

"Yosh! Sensei, I'm super excited to go against him now!" He giddily exclaimed.

Hiratsuka-sensei smirked knowingly.

"He beat Totsuka, the number one of the three princes of Sobu's fight club." She gave a moment for her words to sink in for the taller guy. "If Totsuka ended up like this, he won't go any easier on you."

"I know. But knowing that there's someone strong, especially someone who I didn't expect, I really want to see how good they are. There aren't a lot of people who can't beat me and it gets boring sometimes. Maybe he can give me a challenge."

Both Hiratsuka-sensei and I looked at him with impressiveness. I completely empathize with him after all. There's just something thrilling about tackling an obstacle that really forces you to give it your all. It's really no fun to just get something over with.

"He's strong." I told my classmate. "So don't hold back on him or he'll crush you like he did me."

If it was possible, the smile on his face grew even wider. The Ninth Pillar, Yamato 'The Vise' Aoki nodded at me.

"I'll take him down!"

Saika 'The Relentless Prince' Totsuka, Second Year Sobu Student

Height: 163 cm

Weight: 63 kg

Fighting Style: Silat

Silat involves the use of animal-like movements to contribute to a smooth "flow". Hence, parrying is an integral aspect of the martial arts. Another notable aspect is its use of open palms. Open palms are mainly used for both defensive and offensive capabilities as well as it being a safer striking option. The fighting style usually excels in close-quarters-combat and is extremely effective. Due to its infighting nature, it can be rendered useless to more superior CQC martial arts such as wrestling and grappling. Yet, it is still formidable to deal heavy damage if the practitioner is skilled enough to target vital areas. Excess power is not needed but rather precision and speed are what makes this fighting style efficient. In combination to Saika Totsuka's build and tennis background, it is an ideal fighting style for him.

AN:

Can't say much other than sorry for the wait, eheh. Almost a damn month! Unbelievable, I am...

The last few weeks have been getting harder for me since work has been physically taxing and school was just mentally draining especially as the semester gets close to an end. That just made it difficult for me to write much since I basically had little to no motivation. Though whenever I had inspiration to write, it was sporadic and I never wrote more than a few hundred words at a time.

On another note, things are progressing a bit in this chapter. May have hit and miss on some things but I can't get them all. Also, for those who are not aware, in the Oregairu wikia, Yamato didn't have a surname. So the Yamato here is still the "canon" Yamato, I just gave him one but it wasn't at random. The surname does have some relevance to the story, and if you do a little bit of research and deduction, you might find out a bit of Yamato in this story before I even release the next chapter, whenever that may be. The same goes for Ooka too, but he will come later.

Date Updated Oct. 25, 2020

Stay safe.

Scribere, out-