Recently in school, sightings of anti-smoking campaign posters have been pasted all over the class and corridors of the Year One block.

Kakuta sensei nodded at his posters as he walked down the corridor with another teacher proudly. "I realised that more of the Year Ones – especially those who make trouble – have been smoking. I decided that in the name of good health, this must be stopped! I'm sure that my posters will do the trick."

Sakamoto walked by Kakuta sensei and overheard the teacher. He adjusted his glasses.

On his way back to class, he crossed the paths of some Year One delinquents who were pointing at the posters and laughing.

"As if we'll stop smoking because of these posters! Ha!"

He didn't say anything, only made his way to the candy dispenser and bought a few packs of gum.

Afterwards, he went back to his class.

"Oh, it's Sakamoto!" Atsushi said. "Yo!"

He didn't reply. Instead, he took out a few pieces of different coloured gum.

Ken-Ken and Mario guffawed. "Gum? Middle schoolers eat these stuff-"

They trailed off as Sakamoto moved his hands gracefully, using the small pieces of gum to create a larger piece of gum. He gently placed it in his mouth, and a blew a bubble that reflected the colours of the rainbow.

The class stared at him in amazement.

The bubble popped, and multi-coloured sparkles filled the class. The girls gasped, eyes sparkling.

"Beautiful!" they cried.

"Cool-!" the boys said in awed silence.

Atsushi stood up, eyes shining and cheeks flushed. "Sakamoto! Teach me how to do that!"

- X -

Days following that, Kabuta sensei nodded approvingly as he walked along the corridors with another teacher. "More Year Ones have been starting chewing gum. The rate of them smoking have dropped dramatically! This must be because of my campaign!"

He pumped his fist in the air determinedly. "I shall make it my mission to stop smoking in school totally! Now that I covered the Year Ones, I shall move on to the Year Twos!"

With that, he plastered the same posters all around the Year Two block.

Sakamoto overheard the teacher's words again. He observed a bunch of Year Two delinquents passing by the posters, laughing the moment they saw it.

"Look, Hayabusa-san!" they guffawed. "As if we will stop smoking because of some poster! Ha!"

Hayabusa rolled his eyes and continued walking forward. The delinquents trailed after him, sighing at how cool Hayabusa is.

"Hayabusa-san, please tell me! How is it that you're able to so effortlessly top your classes?"

Hayabusa didn't reply. He wasn't paying attention, for he just crossed paths with Midori.

"Hello, senpai!" Midori beamed at him.

"Midori Miho," he said. A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips as she walked passed him.

The delinquent who was ignored was crestfallen.

The other delinquent laughed. "Looks like senpai ignored you for that little Miho! This shows how important you are!"

The first delinquent clenched his fist in determination. "I will be as cool as Hayabusa-san! Then he'll see my importance!"

Sakamoto observed the scene in front of him while adjusting his glasses.

- X -

After school, Sakamoto went to the Midori Jinja and offered incense while praying.

"Oh," Midori said. "Not much people do that nowadays."

He offered incense in such a spiritual and graceful way that he attracted the attention of all worshippers, prompting them to all offer incense as well.

Midori coughed, overwhelmed by the smoke.

- X -

The next day in school, Midori was secretly texting Hayabusa again during lunch. They were talking about classmates and friends, and Midori revealed to him that it's a little lonely for her during lunch as she didn't have very close friends in class.

'After all, I spend most of my time after school in the shrine and not hanging out with classmates. (LOL)'

Hayabusa replied. 'You can always come and find me during breaks.'

A few minutes after Hayabusa sent out that text, he saw Midori come up to him.

"Hi senpai!" she said, taking a seat next to him on the bench.

He nodded at her. "How did you know where to find me?" After all, he was at the rooftop, and not many people go there.

She smiled. "I asked your fans where you are, of course!"

"And how did you know they were 'my fans'?"

"They all wear jackets the way you do, senpai." She snickered. "Cropped jackets."

Hayabusa glanced down as his school jacket. The hem was short, and it only reached his chest.

"Well," he retorted. "At least I'm not the one walking around with two ribbons in my hair."

"Oh? At least it looks cute on me." She looked pointedly at his braids in his ponytail. "But then again... I can say the same for you, senpai."

"You have it coming straight if you think I let you walk out alive after calling me that."

They silently looked at each other for a moment before she burst out laughing. Hayabusa snorted in a quiet laugh before taking a puff of his cigarette.

Midori started coughing. Hayabusa made a move to put out his cigarette.

"No, no," she protested while coughing. "It's fine! I've just been hypersensitive to smoke lately. A lot of people been offering incense at the shrine suddenly. Don't worry about it."

He didn't say anything.

- X -

The following day, the Year Twos started noticing that Hayabusa stopped smoking and asked him about it.

He took a sip from his carton of juice. "Some people are hypersensitive to smoke. It's a hassle to suddenly stop smoking in front of them, so I decided to just quit totally."

They looked at him adoringly, close to tears. "Senpai! You're so thoughtful! So cool!"

- X -

"Say," Kabuta sensei after that while walking down the corridor with another teacher. "I noticed that a lot of Year Twos stopped smoking, too! It must be because of my campaign. It's a success!"

Sakamoto heard him and adjusted his glasses, allowing a smile to grace his features. "Secret Technique: Tackling the Leader."

"Ya know," one of the Year One delinquents who happened to be a huge fan of Hayabusa said to another on one fine day. "I don't think anyone has beaten up Sakamoto before."

The other nodded. "I heard that Atsushi of his class tried once. Didn't work out, I think."

The first delinquent nodded. "Why don't we do it?"

So they decided to try.

- X -

When school started, they lurked around the lockers, waiting for Sakamoto to appear. The moment he did, they lunged at him.

Sakamoto knelt down to adjust his indoor shoes, neatly sidestepping the two. The two delinquents hit the lockers right smack in the face.

During break, they saw him walking pass the courtyard. This time, they lunged at him with their fists outstretched and ready to hit him.

Sakamoto glanced up at the tree he was walking by and spotted a sparrow on its branches.

"Bird-san," he said.

Just as the delinquents' fists were about to touch him, he gracefully leaped up onto the branches and high up the tree, eager to converse with the sparrow. The delinquents' ended up punching the tree.

"This time," the two delinquents said while waiting at a corridor after break. "We'll get him!"

They ran towards Sakamoto from two directions – one from the back and another from the front, ready to hit him for once and for all.

Sakamoto knelt to the ground, as if playing limbo, and effortlessly sailed passed through the gap between the front delinquents' legs. The two delinquents ended up colliding with each other.

- X -

"Sakamoto did this to you?" Hayabusa's eyebrows raised.

The two delinquents nodded pathetically, choking on fake sobs. They certainly looked pathetic, with their red faces, bruised knuckles, and blue-blacks all over their bodies.

"Senpai!" they cried. "Please, avenge us! Knock him up real bad!"

Hayabusa wasn't convinced. He didn't think Sakamoto would actually hurt anyone, and he didn't think that it was that easy for anyone to actually lay a finger on Sakamoto.

He was about to refuse the two when Maruyama spoke up.

"Come on, Hayabusa," he sneered. "What happened to you promising the Year Ones that you'll always look out for them once they present you with their loyalty?"

Hayabusa sighed, and decided to just punch Sakamoto once for the sake of pacifying his juniors after classes end for the day.

- X -

"Katagi-chan," Fujita called after classes ended for the day. "Could you stay for a bit? You're on cleaning duty today."

"Alright!" she replied, picking up a broom, and started to sweep the front of the class.

Sakamoto took his bag and walked outside towards the front of the door. As he left, he slid the door shut after him, allowing Midori to clean the class without worrying about the dust escaping outside.

"Yo, Sakamoto," Hayabusa said as he walked down to corridor towards Sakamoto, gaining speed as he did so. "I heard from my boys that you roughed them up a bit today. I'm here to return the favour!"

He lunged towards Sakamoto with his fist extended as he said that. Sakamoto adjusted his glasses, and side stepped. Just as he stepped away from the classroom door, it was slid open by Midori who just finished sweeping the front of the class.

Hayabusa's eyes widened as his momentum caused him to be unable to skid to a sudden stop. Midori looked up from her sweeping and gasped.

The bell at the end of Omamori charm Hayabusa kept in his jacket pocket rang.

There was flurry of motion and impact, followed by a loud thud. Those in the classroom and outside crowded around the doorway area, looking at the scene in front of them.

Hayabusa had collided straight into Midori, and the impact sent both of them flying backwards and onto the floor of the classroom. Midori landed on her back, and Hayabusa landed on top of her, his legs straddling hers, and his palms on either side of her head, effectively caging her body within his frame.

Most importantly, his lips were on hers.

They stared at each other in shock, neither moving from their position. The class hooted and squealed.

"Kya~!" the girls shrieked.

"Whoo senpai!" Atsushi shouted, pumping his fist in the air.

"My, my," Sakamoto mused to himself, adjusting his glasses again. "Isn't it a good thing that no teachers are around?"

Hayabusa jolted back to reality at the sound of their voices. With his hands, he hoisted his upper body above Midori's, breaking out of their accidental kiss.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Midori blinked at him. "Senpai, could you… stand?"

His cheeks colored, and he quickly got up, offering his hand to her and helping her to feet as well. She dusted her skirt, and Hayabusa cleared his throat.

She grabbed her broom off the floor and said, "Oh, look at the dust! I still need to clean the class. Could you and your fans leave, senpai? I need to hurry so I can go back to the shrine. I'm sure worshippers are dying to pray to god, haha."

She was rambling – something she never does - , and she turned her back to him while pretending to be busy sweeping the inside of the class. She heard Hayabusa mutter a quick 'right' before he left. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and blood rushed to her cheeks.

"Oh my!" some girls ran up to her, crowding around her. "That was sooo romantic! You got to kiss one of the most handsome guys in school, and he's even our senpai! You're so lucky, Katagi-chan!"

Midori's fingers touched her lips, face still flushed from the memory. 'That… was my first kiss.'

(Of course, this incident did not change anything between them. They still continued texting, bumping into each other in school, and sometimes having lunch together. They continued their strange kouhai-senpai friendship as per normal, with the memory of their accidental first kiss bright in their minds.)

"Come, girls," Aina said to Yagi and Tanaka one day in school before lessons began. "Let me teach you one of Aina-chan's lesser talked about, but still effective way of getting boys to chase after you!"

The three of them sat around Aina's table, and the moment she said that, Yagi and Tanaka placed away their magazine and mirror, looking at her in interest.

"See," Aina said, folding her hands on top of her table. "For boys to want to chase you, they first have to see you as girlfriend material."

Yagi and Tanaka nodded in rapt attention.

"There are many ways to let boys see you as girlfriend material. But to achieve that, you have to first and foremost understand what does it mean to be in a relationship." She flipped her pigtails behind her shoulders, smirking. "To do that, you have to learn how to identify a couple in a relationship."

They blinked.

Yagi scratched the back of her head. "I was following you really well, Aina-san, until you said the part about learning how to identify a couple."

Tanaka nodded in agreement.

"Most girls would overlook this step. But it's so important! Think about it – to be a good literature student, you have to first understand what makes a writing a piece of literature, and how to identify trashy books from literature works."

"Ah," Tanaka said, pondering over her words. "That makes sense."

Aina smirked again. "I have done research and come up with three top signs of when two people are a couple. Once you learn this, you will be able to channel this knowledge, and then boys will see you as girlfriend material!"

Yagi and Tanaka clapped, thoroughly convinced.

"The first sign that two people are in a relationship is when they text each other regularly, even if it means using their phones secretly in class."

They heard a muffled giggle from the front of the class. They turned, only to see Midori secretly using her phone under the table, her fingers dancing across the screen.

"Say," Yagi said in a low whisper as the three girls' huddled together. "Katagi is always using her phone, isn't she?"

"Maybe she's a gamer," Tanaka whispered back.

"Only one way to find out." Aina stood up and skipped to Midori, Yagi and Tanaka following in toll.

"Katagi-chan~!" Aina said in her high pitched girly voice. "You looked so cute while texting! What's the joke you're laughing at?"

Midori hid her phone under the table, and answered while smiling in bliss, "My friend was just insulting the way I text with emoticons."

'That's something to feel happy about?!' The three girls thought in shock.

Aina recomposed herself. "Your friend sounds cool! But not as cool as Sakamoto-kun. Who is your friend?"

Midori smiled, casting her eyes downwards, dismissively replying that it's just a friend from school.

The three girls went back to Aina's desk, huddling close together.

"I don't see Katagi really having close friends in our class," Tanaka said.

"Maybe from another class?" Yagi whispered back.

"No. I never really see her talking to those from our year." Aina stood up, determined. "It must be someone from a different year!"

The two girls gasped, watching Aina as she skipped towards the delinquents in class, asking them something cutely. Ken-Ken and Mario blushed, eagerly replying to her. A few moments later, Aina walked back to her desk, smirking.

"Well?" Yagi and Tanaka probed.

"There's only one person Katagi is close enough to text regularly." Her eyes flashed. "Hayabusa-senpai from Year Two! Apparently she has a crush on him!"

They gasped again.

"... Shrine maidens can have crushes?" Tanake wondered.

"Now that we know the first step of identifying a couple, what should we do?" Yagi asked.

"Stupid!" Tanake said. "We learn from that!" Her gaze fell to Sakamoto, who was sitting at his table, looking at a sparrow outside of the window.

The three sighed, looking at him in a daze.

"Right." Aina stood up again. "I will ask Sakamoto-kun for his number!"

She went back to him. "Sakamoto-kun~! Can Aina-chan have your number?" She twiddled with her fingers cutely. "Sometimes Aina-chan doesn't know how to do homework… and Aina-chan would love to ask you for help!"

Sakakmoto glanced at her before adjusting his glasses. "Sorry, I am afraid I do not own a phone."

Aina trailed back to her seat dejectedly. Then she sat up straight. "It's okay! Aina-chan still have two tricks up her sleeve!"

Lunchtime rolled about, and the three girls regrouped at Aina's table once more.

"The second sign is if the two spend lunch together once in a while."

The three turned their gaze towards Midori. She took out her bento and quickly left the class. The three girls nodded, stood up, and tried to follow her.

"Aina-chan!" Mario called. "Where are you going?"

Yagi and Tanaka gritted their teeth in annoyance.

"Aina-chan is just... Following Katagi-chan! We heard that she's on her way to feed birds! Aina-chan loves birds!"

Yagi and Tanaka nodded, and the three left the class.

Mario and Ken-Ken looked at Atsushi. "Acchan, let's follow them!"

Atsushi looked unconvinced. He was about to reject them when he saw Sakamoto stand up, walking towards the door.

"Sakamoto-kun," Kubota called. "Where are you going?"

"I want to see the birds too. I have brought bread for them."

Kubota trailed after him, and the two left the class.

Atsushi stood up, declaring that they saw indeed follow the girls (and Sakamoto).

Thus, the eight of them stealthily followed each other, until they found themselves at a rooftop. They peered from the corner of a wall, trying to see what – and who – Midori was laughing lunch with.

"Your head is blocking me-!" Tanaka hissed to Aina.

"Shush!" Aina hissed back, craning her neck. "A bit more, and I can see who she is sitting on the bench with- Oh!"

"What?" all eight heads craned their necks.

They were met with the sight of Midori sitting on a bench, with no other than Hayabusa next to her. They were eating – her, a bento, and him, a lunch pack sandwich – and Midori was talking to him. At some point, rice got on her side of her mouth.

Hayabusa pointed at it, and Midori laughed. His hand reached out, touching her cheek, and with his thumb, he got the rice off. She smiled at him, her eyes making half-moons. He gave her a small smile in return.

The girls sighed dreamily. Mario and Ken-Ken were busy jotting down notes. Sakamoto adjusted his glasses, observing disappointedly that there were no birds before walking his way back to class. Kubota followed after him.

- X -

By the time Midori returned to class, the eight of them had already gotten back a while ago. The moment she stepped into class, the three girls ran up to her, forming a crowd around her.

"Katagi-chan~! We saw you having lunch with Hayabusa senpai - when we happened to go to the roof by chance!"

"Yeah! By chance!"

"Are you guys dating?"

"Huh? Eh…" she smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck. "We just had lunch together… how does that make us dating…?"

"But if you have lunch with someone, it means that you're likely to be dating them~"

"Eh?! I'm pretty sure he just sees me as a kouhai..."

As the three girls continued pestering Midori, Kubota looked at Sakamoto in confusion.

"Those girls are sure making a fuss. We have lunch together everyday, does that make us a couple?"

Sakamoto smiled, adjusting his glasses.

Atsushi, overhearing that, stood up in shock. He marched straight to Sakamoto's table, jabbing a finger in his direction.

"Sakamoto! Do you think you're better than us! From now onwards, I shall eat lunch with you too! That'll teach you!"

"Go, Acchan!" Mario and Ken-Ken hooted.

"Aina-chan wants to have lunch with Sakamoto-kun too!"Aina cried, her attention directed back to Sakamoto.

"Us too, us too!" the girls in the class chorused.

"Understood," Sakamoto said calmly, unwrapping his Onigri so stylishly that the girls in the class decided that they loved Onigri.

- X -

"The third sign," Aina said to Yagi and Tanaka as school ended for the day, putting her books in her bag. "... is the final sign to tell if two people are in a relationship. It is… if they walk home together."

The moment she said that, the door slid open, and someone walked into the class. The three gasped as they saw Hayabusa walk in.

"Hayabusa-senpai!" Atsushi cried.

Hayabusa gave him a nod before walking straight to where Midori was. "Midori Miho. I'm thinking of going to the shrine."

She smiled. "I'm just about to make my way there!"

The two of them left class together, and the three girls hurriedly ran to the windows. From the window, they saw the pair walking out of the school together.

"They did all three!" Yagi exclaimed. "They text each other, they had lunch together…"

"… and since the shrine is technically Katagi's home," Tanaka followed. "It means they're walking home together too!"

"I think this means that Katagi is really in a relationship with Hayabusa-senpai! Aina-chan is never wrong!"

(Of course, the joke is on her – Midori and Hayabusa were not dating, they just had a strange kouhai-senpai friendship.)

"Those girls are so funny," Kubota said to Sakamoto while slinging his bag over his shoulder. "We walk home together too. We're not dating."

Sakamoto adjusted his glasses, picking up his bag. "Well then, Kubota, shall we go?"

Atsushi looked at the pair in shock before running up to them. "Sakamoto! I'm not done with you! I'll walk home with you from now on! That'll teach you!"

"Teach what?" Kubota asked, confused.

Kubota's question was ignored. The girls in the class started clamouring to walk home with Sakamoto too.

And that was how Sakamoto left the school with nearly the whole class following after him.