Inside the boys' class, Tateyama sat in the back seat with Hideki beside him and Mamoru sat beside Takuya in the most front row of the seats. Despite the fact that Homura was standing in front of the class, fiddling with the handle of her bag, the classmates were more interested in chatting with each other instead of listening to the teacher and their new classmate that already felt uncomfortable. Even without their eyes directed at her, Homura fidgeted and seeing her like this, the teacher was quick with his introduction.
Teacher Akio Sei, a bespectacled man with unkempt hair and a dark brown suit, tapped his teaching stick on his desk to get the attention of his students, "Well then," hsi voice was rather deep and rough, "Under medical and observatory reasons, we will be having a new student in our class for an unknown number of days. From orders given by the nurse and student council president, she will be duly monitored by the members of the Freelancer club," he looked expectantly at Homura, "May you kindly introduce yourself?"
Homura quickly nodded and gave a deep, formal bow in front of the class, nervous to be in front of so many people with their gazes directly aimed at her. She was mentally telling herself she could do this. If she managed to separate with Narita easily, there was no problem doing this, "Pleased to meet you... I-I am Akemi Homura..." she said, the volume of her voice raising between each word, "I-I look forward to being in this class. T-Thank you."
As Tateyama played with the phone that was hidden in his sleeve, Hideki rubbed his cheek that had just recovered from the wounds Homura had given him yesterday during her panic attack. He groaned and looked at Homura. At the back his mind, Hideki was constantly reminded of the fact that she was now like this mainly because of him, due to a personal habit of lingering on the past. It was a bad habit he always had as a kid, even till now.
Tateyama noticed that look of melancholy on his face again and patted him on the back to calm his thoughts down. He gave him a reassuring nod and it made him better, albeit only slightly.
"Thank you, Akemi. You may take a seat," Teacher Sei clapped and the rest of the students followed only because he did so.
Homura went ahead and could feel her classmates looking at her as she passed them. Fiddling in her seat which was at the back in next to Hideki and Tateyama, Homura placed her bag on the floor and tried to make herself comfortable on the chair. She was still uneasy being along with so many unrecognizable people, but she struggled to maintain her calm, repeatedly telling herself again that she could do this. The words from Teacher Sei's following math lecture didn't even reach her ears as she looked blankly at her textbook.
Absentmindedly twirling a pen in his hand, Hideki glanced aside to see Homura trembling just a bit. Worried about her well-being, he whispered to her, "You OK?"
"Y-Yes, I'm fine," she let out a breath of air, calming her nerves. Closing her book, Homura laid her head low so that the teacher wouldn't notice her talking in the middle of class, "Aren't you going to listen to the lecture?"
"If I wanna' fall asleep, I'd love to," Hideki deadpanned, slumped over on his table and placing a book up in front of him to hide from the teacher's view, "Besides, we did say we'd keep an eye on you. I need to make sure that you're all safe and sound. The last time you got loose and started panicking, you gave me black eye," he joked, pointing at a part of his face that was still sore.
Homura gave a small, innocent giggle that was almost heartening to hear, "W-Was it that bad?"
"Bad? Heh, I thought the boys in this school were tough. But you were tougher than any-"
"Hakamichi," a stern voice spoke from the front of the class.
The two redirected their attention to Teacher Sei who let out a sigh at the two's lack of attention to his lecture and readjusted his glasses that sat on the bridge of his nose. He sat back down on his chair, folded his arms and flatly inquired, "Hakamichi, do you know how many times I have caught you talking during class?" he sounded more tired than angry from the sound of his voice.
Hideki ruefully scratched the back of his head then replied in his usual sarcastic tone, "Does that include all the subjects with the other teachers?"
The teacher sighed again and shook his head. He didn't even bother sending him out to stand in the hallway with buckets of water in his hands anymore. Instead, Teacher Sei stood up and pointed his teaching stick at a hard mathematical question written on the board, "Would you like to give this question a try? I'm sure you could answer it if you were paying attention in class."
Silence, as Hideki gazed at the question with a puzzled and almost-defeated look. Homura felt like answering it for him since she got him caught, until a snore was heard throughout the classroom. Everyone looked at the source of the noise and noticed Tateyama, who was dozing off with an opened book on his head. Hideki and the other two boys realized he had been doing that since the start of the class and was surprisingly unnoticed until now. He had almost effortlessly blended into the background there.
The teacher walked up to him and tipped the book off his head. The sound of the book landing on the floor making Tateyama promptly lift his head off the table as he rubbed his eye and yawned, still half-asleep, "Lunch time?" he muttered.
"No, Ikezawa, but would you – along with Hakamichi – like to answer the problem I written on the board?" he asked bluntly, having caught Tateyama snoozing in class more than once. He wondered how he had not noticed him until now, too. At the front, Mamoru and Takuya were talking quietly enough that they weren't caught.
Tateyama looked at the board and then back at the teacher with a blunt look. Before he could give an answer, Homura cut in, "A-Actually," Homura reluctantly raised her hand, Teacher Sei's attention now on her, "I would like to try it, Teacher. I-It was my fault Hakamichi was talking just now."
Interested in seeing what her academic skills were like, Teacher Sei handed her the marker pen before gesturing her to the white board, "Please, do so."
Homura slowly walked to the front and faced the board. She looked at the almost-alien question in front of her and hesitantly raised to answer it. But when she started to actually write the question, it felt so easy. Despite the answer being absurdly long enough for the need of the holographic board to slide and create more blank spaces for Homura to write on, she effortlessly wrote down the answer as if was memorized in her head. She placed the marker on the teacher's desk and saw the baffled faces of the other students.
Teacher's face lit up and he gave a small congratulatory clap, "Very impressive, Akemi. You may take your seat. Thank you."
"Y-Yes, teacher," Homura gave a bow and went back to her table. Most of the students were impressed, although it made Homura feel a bit uncomfortable as she sat down, unused to getting so much attention. Back on her chair, she looked to Hideki and asked, "Did I do something wrong?"
"No. Not at all. But that was pretty damn surprising from someone who lost her memories," Hideki said it as a compliment, trying to not sound as offensive as he could, "I mean, wow. How did you know the answer?"
"I-It just came to me," Homura tried explaining, scratching her cheek and blushing slightly from his compliment, "I'm not even sure how I even did it."
During this moment, Tateyama took advantage of the situation and went back to sleep again. Unnoticed, again. The bell then rang a few minutes later and Teacher Sei finally dismissed the class, packing up his books and leaving the students with their 10-minute break before the next bell would signal the next class. During this break, some of the other students had approached Homura, all amazed from her act just now and curious about her.
Homura herself could not handle the pressure of so many people asking her questions at the same time, so Hideki and Mamoru had to cut in and shoo them away. They only listened because they were assigned to watch over Homura, but they at least understood the delicate situation she was in. Tateyama continued to doze off on his table while Homura attempted to hold a few conversations with Mamoru, Hideki and Takuya.
The bell had rung again and while Homura managed to go through the next lessons without any disturbance, the next subject – P.E – changed that, all because of one certain teacher who went by the name of Koshi Kuragawa. Suffice to say, most students suffered in his lessons that took place out in the field.
"Put your backs into it, you maggots! My long-gone grandfather – God rest his soul – is more alive and carries more spirit than any of you pathetic pieces of trash!" a harsh voice bellowed through the large track field at the back of the school, prompting all the boys – with the exception of Tateyama, who was sitting on the sidelines – to hurry up with their running and quit their whining. The loud taunts were punctuated by the harsh sound of the whistle around his neck, "Faster!"
"Teacher Kuragawa sure knows how to motivate his students, doesn't he?" Hideki deadpanned between gasps for air, feeling his lactic acid pour into his muscles as he began to tire out. His talking with Mamoru only earned him a few more laps and some shouting from their teacher.
"Hurry up, Hakamichi!" bellowed Kuragawa, a big, well-built teacher with a clean cut for hair as he wore a blue jumpsuit. Beside him, seniors Makoto and Takehito were monitoring the boys that were running for any potential recruits for the tournament, only to find none but panting, exhausted students trying desperately to finish their laps around the large track field, "How many times do I have to say it?! That's it, 3 more laps for all of you!" Kuragawa seemed to be enjoying this all too much.
While Mamoru and Hideki were practically suffering, this was just a mere breeze to Takuya, having done far worse in his concerts. Up ahead of the running group, Takuya's breathing was more balanced and easy compared to his friends' gasping demeanor. The quirky smile on his face had yet to wiped away from fatigue and if he wanted to, he could be running backwards just for the heck of it, "Don't worry! We're almost there!" he said confidently, already breaking ahead of the running group.
Mamoru, Hideki and most of the other boys had fallen to their knees once they reached the finish line, all of them panting for air on the orange track and thanking God above for ending their misery. Takuya went over and handed the two boys bottles of water which they accepted and chugged down immediately. They emptied the plastic bottles and crushed them in their palms.
Mamoru growled lowly in irritation, always hated physical activities such as these as they were his only weakness, "That... was... Hell."
It was now the girls' turn to run and the three noticed that Homura was first in line. Most of the girls behind her doubted her ability to run from the looks of her slim physique, while Hideki honestly couldn't help but stare at Homura who was dressed in the P.E uniform until Mamoru flicked him on the head. Mamoru sighed and looked at Takuya to see that he was doing the same as well. The action he took to get Takuya out of the daze he was in was a bit more that what he did to Hideki for some reason.
"So, you're the new student?" Kuragawa raised a brow and took a good look Homura, "You sure you want take part of the run?" the big man said with a combination of doubt and worry, not wanting to push a student who just had an accident yesterday even though she looked quite fine right now.
"Y-Yes, sir," Homura nodded, taking a look at Hideki and Takuya who gestured that she take this chance to rest on the sidelines instead. But Homura felt like she could at least try if she had managed to stay calm until now. She didn't want to be a bother to those around her and instead try to improve herself to help them, "I believe I can do this, Sir."
"Hmph, very well!" Kuragawa shouted, impressed by the look of faith he saw in Homura's eyes for a second there. Taking out a small whistle from his pocket, the girls took their positions behind the starting line and Kuragawa blew hard on his whistle, "Start!"
The boys, along with Tateyama who sat on the sidelines, watched as Homura bolted from the starting line like a flash of lightning, leaving the girls behind her surprised and in the dust as she began running at an impressive rate. She was even faster than Takuya, who cheered her on as Homura made her way around the track. It was only mere seconds until Homura reached the starting line again, the rest of the girls still at the halfway point of the track. Despite her fast running, Homura still felt energetic and had plenty of stamina left.
Kuragawa shot a smug look at the boys, a brow raised, "Now that, boys, is how you do it: fast, elegant, and right on time," he looked back at the raven-haired girl and puffed his chest, giving her a thumbs-up, "Your name's Homura, right? I'll try to remember that, unlike these maggots over here. Good job."
"T-Thank you, teacher," Homura gave a shy and embarrassed bow. Some of the other girls who finished a while later after her gave her looks of either jealousy or amazement. Some of them even began to whisper to each other about Homura and a maybe starting fawning over her.
"Go take a rest," Kuragawa then gave her an acknowledging nod and walked over to the boys, blowing his whistle before announcing, "Alright, maggots, warm-up is over! Takehito, Makoto, get the dodge-balls for these ladies over here! Unlike the other teachers, I play dodge ball the American way and I am absolutely fine with groin shots! Get ready, boys!"
Takehito saluted and Makoto beside him nodded, both of them heading to the storage shed to retrieve the required sports tools.
Hideki and Takuya gave a friendly wave at Homura before they went to the other side of the large, green field. Hideki groaned as he still felt like his muscles were sore, almost begging him to stop, drop and collapse on the ground, "Man, how did Akemi run like that?"
"Did you see the way she ran? She was even faster than me!" Takuya exclaimed as he sat down on the grass.
"I'm starting to wonder on just who she was before the accident. Her physical performance is astounding to say the least," Mamoru pondered and brought a finger to his chin before giving out his usual boasting, "But she's still inferior to me in academics, though, that is for sure."
"Congratulations," Hideki sarcastically replied. He was going to follow up his dry comment with a jab when he saw the enemy dodge-ball team getting ready on the far side. From what he could see, most of them were Gym Club members from other classrooms who were still pissed-off from being blackmailed yesterday by them. Hideki rubbed his sore arms, stating dryly, "Well, this is going to suck."
Takuya laughed nervously, standing up. He and Mamoru were never fans of dodge ball. Mamoru tried to assure his friends that they would be fine, but when he looked around saw that the team they were in mainly comprised of the less physically-strong of their class and the another one they shared P.E with. Mostly thin boys that looked like scared puppies and teens that looked fragile as toothpicks.
Mamoru only managed to let out one curse before the exercise began, "Bloody Hell."
Homura had went to the sidelines of the track field with a bottle of water in hand, sipping its cold contents to soothe her dry throat and thirst. Underneath one of the few trees that were growing around the field, Homura noticed Tateyama sitting under the shade with a few electronic tools surrounding him. When she got closer, he noticed her presence and then wordlessly turned back to his work which was Narita's broken phone. Tateyama was also still wearing the school uniform instead of the P.E uniform.
Homura went up to him quietly as so to not disturb him, meekly asking, "Can I sit here?"
He gave a quiet nod without looking and she sat down on the soft grass beside him. Looking at Tateyama as he skilfully pieced back together the phone, his hands were like a blur, switching between different tools, adjusting screws and his sharp eye checking out the new electronics and phone cover he used to replace the broken ones. He huffed and placed them down for a moment to lie back against the tree.
From the short glances Homura gave, she saw that Tateyama was looking at the other students as they ran on the field. The way he looked at them almost seemed to be envious, as far as she could tell from that unchanging expression Tateyama always had, "Ikezawa, why aren't you running with the others?" Homura asked out of curiosity. She almost thought she offended him when he sighed in response.
"It's nothing. Really," he shrugged and picked up the phone, continuing to fix it using a screwdriver, "Just something personal."
Homura gave another look at him; he seemed to be hiding something underneath that lazy exterior of his. Moving herself a bit closer again, she opened her mouth to speak. But when she tried asking again, she heard the sounds of footsteps approaching her and Homura turned around to see a group of girls behind her. A group which Tateyama glared at over his shoulder as they spoke to Homura, ignoring the boy beside her.
"Say, you're that new transfer student for our class, huh?" the one of the girls of the group asked with a face covered in sweat.
"Y-Yes, how may I help you?" Homura scuffled back a bit, the looks on their faces were not friendly at all and had her trembling.
"I heard you beat my record at the track just now," the tallest one, who seemed to be the leader of the group, glared at Homura as a scowl grew on her face. She almost looked like she hated the sight of Homura alone as her tone proved it, "You see, I don't like it when someone tries to one-up me here. So, why don't you come with us for a second, huh?" the girl stepped forward to forcibly grab Homura by the arm, but a hand suddenly snatched her by the wrist and caught her in a tight grip that made the tall girl yelp.
The hand belonged to Tateyama, who shot an intense glare at the girls that made them almost shiver. It was a look Homura never thought Tateyama could make before and honestly, even she was frightened by the way he was acting right now. He looked like he was about to break the girl's arm if he tightened his grip even further. But Tateyama, having noticed that he was scaring Homura as well, released the tall girl by the arm and shot one last glare at them to back off, "Get lost," he hissed.
"F-Fine, we're leaving," the tallest girl said, "We don't even want to be involved with anyone that's friends with the Freelancer club, anyway," rubbing her arm, she sent a glare at Homura before finally leaving with her group of friends.
The tense atmosphere finally thinning, Homura sighed in relief and looked back at Tateyama who continued fixing the phone. That passive look on his face had seemingly returned. Moving closer to him, she shyly whispered, "Thanks..." her words seemingly made Tateyama flinch, as if he had never heard those words from a girl his entire life.
"No need for that," Tateyama shrugged it off as he lifted up the phone in his hands to examine it. Homura saw that it was already fixed, completely clean without any scratch or damage. It even looked better than before it had been run over by a car, in fact. Looking at her, Tateyama tossed the phone into her hands, instructing, "Bring this to Miss Narita when you see her. Can you?"
"Alright," she nodded and pocketed the phone before Tateyama stood up and began walking away with his hands in his pockets. Homura felt like following him, but chose to stay because of class, "Where are you going?"
"Lunch time starts in 5 minutes. They're selling cake. Don't want to miss it. Tell the others I'll meet them in the club room."
She tilted her head curiously as he left and went back into the school with his electronic tools already with him. Some of the students noticeably walked out of his path when he got near them as if to avoid him, but Tateyama didn't even bother looking at them. What a strange boy, she thought, smiling to herself. He was a lot more sweeter than she first expected, and thought that maybe Tateyama just wasn't good with showing emotions to strangers. Picking herself up from the grass, Homura thought of rinsing her face in the bathroom and went to find Teacher Kuragawa so that she could ask for his permission.