Yellow Experience

by Dualshock

Shiobana Haruno is by no means a normal student. He's a delinquent, really strong, feared, ostracized yet still intelligent. That changes when he's put into Kunugigaoka's Class 3-E, making him just another abnormal, different student on a mission to assassinate their Sensei. Haruno especially has to kill his Sensei, otherwise he can't fulfill his dream. Stand!Nagisa

19. Chapter 19: Better late than never

Yellow Experience

So, it's been ages. Yes, I'm still writing this story, but late updates like this might occur more often. There are 2 reasons for this. The first is, I'm a university student who's busy and has exam months twice a year, with February one of them. I had to begin studying hard from late January onwards. I value my artistic work, but my academic work takes precedence. The second reason is, I treat my own stories equally when it comes to publishing turns. Even if this story is the one I have the most enthusiasm for, I won't publish the next chapter until I publish a new chapter of my other stories. I have to be consistent and shouldn't neglect my other stories, since that'll only make them harder to write. So excuse me for that please. But I'm not lying when I say that if it's this fanfic's turn, I'll have it written quickly.

I do not own JoJo's Bizarre Adventure or Assassination Classroom

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Chapter 19: Better late than never

Good and bad memories had been made during Class 3-E's trip to Okinawa, but the time to return had come. For the second semester was beginning.

Save for a little incident with Takebayashi, which was resolved in just 2 days, things started off really well. The class studied, trained, assassinated at their own pace. All students had fun during their exclusive antics and adventures during class.

Things only got more or less serious on a certain day.

That day, following rumors of Isogai Yuuma working part-time at a restaurant, a few of his classmates went to visit him. Haruno was one of them, dragged along by Nagisa and Meg. Them, Hiroto and Kaede paid a visit to his restaurant as customers.

As of that moment, Yuuma was serving other customers, a few lower-middle-aged housewives coming to the shop only to see him actually.

"He's an ikemen (good looking guy who's well-mannered), isn't he?" Kaede observed, a little bit in awe.

"Yeah, he truly is." Meg acknowledged, admiring that well-mannered disposition. She wasn't ill-mannered at all, but he was ahead of her in the former department.

"Don't tell me you came here just to talk how much of an ikemen he is." the blond, having dyed his hair again, muttered in slight annoyance. He'd rather be somewhere else to be honest. Not that he had anything against Isogai.

"Of course not." the two girls rejected their notion, waving their hands sideways in front of their faces. They weren't interested in him in that way.

Though luckily, before that topic could expand, Yuuma came to serve them, redirecting the attention elsewhere. "You guys, don't lounge around with just one glass of black tea."

"Relax." Hiroto smirked at his best friend. "We're keeping your part-time job a secret for you."

"Okay okay, you're shaking this out of me." the waiter lightly smiled back, pouring in the tea. "It's nothing special, but have some extra."

"Heh, thanks." the delinquent chuckled. Maybe coming here wasn't all bad.

The tea was tasteful. They wondered if Isogai brewed it as well, since he was generally considered to be good at most things. Among Class E, he was one of the top students. One who could handle many situations flawlessly.

One example was Yuuma, having gone back to the kitchen and come out again, carrying 2 trays with a considerable number of plates and glasses on his palms, with one extra cup on top of his head.

"Not bad." Haruno commented, he himself a little impressed. "That's quite good, actually."

"Can you do that as well, Haruno-kun?" Meg wondered, not meant in a competitive way.

"Probably." the blond just said, not trying to brag or anything.

Then they heard a lady, a regular customer, speak up to Isogai. They'd been talking before, but because she sounded worried, the volume increased to the point the classmates could overhear. "Whaat? Your mother's condition got worse again?"

"Yes, somewhat." Yuuma politely replied, though with hints of discomfort in his voice. "It's just my mom and me at home, so I have to do what little I can to keep our expenses from going up. Although I did get caught by the school before and ran into a bit of trouble."

"…Hm?" This was quite something to hear for the delinquent, evident by his eyes widening slightly. He didn't comment anything, but paid mind to it. Turned out him and Isogai have the absence of a father in common. And the fact that they needed to do something on their own in order to not have money problems. But contrary to himself, Yuuma seemed to have a good relationship with his mother, a sore point for Haruno. And Haruno didn't feel the slightest bit of jealously towards his classmate for that, he was actually rather happy for him. Though it bothered him that he himself didn't get to have that luxury, which should be a given.

"Is everything okay?" the bluenette asked, perfectly knowing how the blond would react to such a topic.

Quickly waving his hand in negation, the delinquent assured him everything was fine. "It's nothing… But thanks for asking."

Haruno also overheard Maehara telling the girls that Isogai carefully selected bargain brand clothes as his street wear so he didn't appear poor. Yet another point in common, using fashion to mask their economic background. The blond deeply sympathized with the black-haired ikemen, but felt guilty for not doing so earlier. Had he noticed earlier, the two could've been good friends by now. His eyes lowered, showing some regret.

"Just look at his natural lady-killer ways." Hiroto pointed at Yuuma getting gently treated and praised by his housewife customers.

"He's an ikemen!" the girls praised, admiring him.

"Ah… The old ladies treat me like a little toy all the time too." Nagisa said, telling that this wasn't necessary pleasant to everyone.

"…" The delinquent said nothing at all. For he had no semi-familiar people treat him anywhere close to that. So while him and Isogai had many points in common, they almost had the same amount of differences, here the difference in reputation.

"Even now, he still gets love letters from the girls in the main school building."

Though hearing this, Haruno smiled to an unnoticeable degree. Romance on paper… He had less interest dealing with that than the spoken romance he was getting from girls in his class. He didn't pity Yuuma, but was glad in this regard to be different.

"There are certain things that only suit ikemens. That only suit Isogai-kun…" someone from the table across started saying, gathering the students' attention. "And Sensei."

'…What are you saying?' they thought, sweatdropping at Korosensei dressed as his ikemen student.

"The honey toast here is superb. Out of respect for this item, I am turning a blind eye to Isogai-kun's part-time job."

'Didn't ask, don't care.' the blond thought, rolling his eyes. The yellow man didn't HAVE to give his input all the time. 'Come to think of it, I haven't played the prank I promised yet. Thanks for coming here to remind me though, Korosensei.'

He let out a faint chuckle that appeared harmless. Little did anyone know of his true intention.

"But everyone, no matter how much of an ikemen he is, it doesn't bother you much, does it?" the octopus man curiously inquired, munching on his toast.

"Eh? Nope." everyone quickly and nonchalantly replied, not caring about that at all.

"Why's that?" Korosensei wondered, not meaning any harm.

"Well, you know, he's just a nice guy." Maehara answered with a neutral expression like the most normal thing in the world, tilting his head a bit.

The others, including the delinquent nodded to support that statement. Said delinquent especially agreed. He didn't get to where he is by jealousy. He believed that one of the worst things holding people back from achieving something they want was jealousy. 'Actions speak louder than words' is already a quote, but in this case, 'words' could be switched by 'thoughts'. To him, not feeling jealousy wasn't even about superiority, but about respect and a positive outlook.

Speaking of positivity, negativity entered the premise.

"Well, well, well…"

"The information was right. There's a student working here part-time."

"You can't be doing this, Isogai-kun~"

These guys meant trouble. As soon as they stepped foot in the restaurant, Yuuma's face twisted into one of shock. Fresh sweat broke out, his eyes and mouth widened at the act of being caught.

Other than Haruno himself, his group also experienced a visible feeling of surprise.

And finally, the main man behind this entered, his eyes sharp and condescending. Like a hunter who knew his prey was here. His face was shadowed, highlighting his shady intention.

"Well well well… This is your second serious offence against school regulations. I've misjudged you, Isogai-kun."

Asano Gakushuu and his boys from Class A. Always wanting to cause trouble for Class E, now even against individuals.

Anyone could see that they didn't come for a good purpose. They were clearly targeting Isogai as an individual. One of the housewifes fond of Yuuma stood up with a pointed index finger, irritated about these boys clearly causing him trouble. "Hey, you guys, what business do you have with Yuuma-chan…!"

"Excuse us…" the ikemen of Class 3-E spoke up to calm the outsider, walking over to the lady and talking charmingly to her. "I don't want to dye that beautiful face with the color of rage. This is a school matter, so we'll talk about this outside."

It worked. "Oh… okay…" In the end, the color of rage was similar to another color. One could say Sakakibara Ren wasn't truly nice, but he was still without a doubt charming.

'Outside, huh.' the blond thought, taking a sip out of his cup while watching the mainly involved with interested eyes. 'Let's see how it'll go, maybe coming along was a very good decision after all.'

That thought, the seated Kunugigaoka students raised their hips and followed the already standing students of the same school outside.

XXXXXXXXXX

With the focus only between the Kunugigaoka students, the important matter could be addressed. Isogai quickly stepped forward to resolve this as soon as possible, as the issue was really important to him.

"Asano… Can you keep this a secret? I can make a lot of money this month, and I really need it." Yuuma practically pleaded, in a difficult situation. He wasn't trying to sound or look forceful, but the sweat on him made him clear that he was in a quite detrimental position.

Gakushuu looked amused at his discovery forcing the lower-ranked student into a clinch, casually stroking his chin. In a clinch, people were more willing to follow the words of the other to save their situation. As an Asano, manipulating others was always the first resort.

"Let's see… If I can, I'd like to give you a chance as well." the orange-haired intentionally offered fake benevolence. He wanted them all to know he had Isogai by the balls and made fun of him.

'When Asano-kun is plotting something bad, he really looks just like the chairman.' Nagisa thought when looking at Gakushuu's manners.

His delinquent friend then placed his lower arm on his shoulder. "Heh, look at that Asano. He's probably thinking he's like his father when he does this. What a joke." Haruno mocked his rival, whispering it inside the bluenette's ear. Had he not whispered it, the orange-haired would forget Yuuma and direct his attention and new anger at the blond.

'Is this really how Haruno-kun thinks of Asano-kun?' the petite boy thought in disbelief, almost making a poker face. 'He's no rival to him at all!'

Back with the main actors, the one in the evil role spoke a few more mockingly generous words.

"Then why don't I throw out one condition? If you show me your fighting spirit, I'll pretend I didn't see anything." Gakushuu claimed, pointing his index finger skywards.

"…Fighting spirit?" Isogai repeated, not knowing what Asano meant. Though he didn't assume something good anyway.

'Fighting spirit?' the delinquent mentally repeated, extra emphasis on the violent word. That surely was interesting now.

Balling his fingers back together and knocking on his breast with his fist, the orange-haired explained what he meant. "You know, traditionally, more than anything, values those with strong spirits who'll go out into society and fight. A fighting spirit worthy enough to earn the respect of the institution to write off regulation violations. In order to show that…"

Though suddenly, even if for only less than a second, his eyes darted over to Haruno, showing his own signs of hesitation.

'Damn you Shiobana, I still have no other choice…'

"…how about defeating our class in the Boutaoshi game at the athletic festival?"

'Dammit!'

Even though it was his best shot, he was very, very wary of a certain addition to Class E. That blond boy excelled at physical activities, and excelling was merely an understatement. Sure, there were sports that the delinquent had no interest in, such as baseball, but they already tried that and still failed. Haruno hadn't shown any interest in ice hockey either, but it was summer, so… no.

Simply refusing a game and having Yuuma expelled would be too easy, but then he couldn't humiliate the E-Class, and even without that, he thought of the possibility that his damned rival Shiobana would somehow manage to make them look like the villains. Once again, the blond stood in the orange-haired's way.

Who coincidentally made his move. From behind, he approached his targeted classmate and gently placed his palm on his shoulder. Being touched from behind, Isogai's eyes jerked wide for an instant as a reflex. But when he turned his head, curious and surprised at the close support the delinquent was showing.

"Isogai, isn't Asano's sportsmanship amazing? To think he'd go this far to give you a chance to save yourself, and to even invite our class to the Boutaoshi game where we're usually excluded from." he sarcastically spoke, trying to provide Yuuma with some optimism and courage.

Haruno being right in front of Gakushuu, the latter was inwardly fuming. The corner of his mouth indicated that he wasn't pleased about meddling in his own affairs. 'Shiobana…'

Pressured from one side, Isogai was in a bad situation which could considerably worsen yet. But at the same time, he was lent support from the other sides, giving him the opportunity to look forward. He actually knew about Asano's tactics, but was unsure about the options the Student Council President presented him, since he knew him and his father would try to steer additional benefits to the already advantaged side. Though not only because he had to fight for his place at Kunugigaoka no matter what, but also because someone he was barely friends with was the first to sport him this directly and almost immediately. That aside, that supporter of his was usually right. So trusting him to accept the fishy offer, encouraged by him to accept the offer, Yuuma decided to agree to the orange-haired's condition.

And most importantly, he grew a smile.

"Asano-kun… I'm taking your offer." the ikemen announced, a supporting hand still on his shoulder. "Deciding this problem by a Boutaoshi match, a splendid idea. If I were to be defeated, I will unconditionally accept whatever awaits me."

'Splendid indeed.' the blond thought, bearing a content and confident smirk.

On the other side, Gakushuu tried to fully regain his inner composure. His palms were sweaty, but he was hiding them. 'Calm down… This is just because Shiobana dared come in front of my face and pressure me. Even if he wasn't here, and Isogai still accepted, I would've eventually thought of countermeasures against him anyway.'

"Very well… Hope for yourself that you won't regret your decision." Asano said, his voice clear of bitterness since he swallowed it all.

He turned away, gesturing at his followers. "Let's go guys, our job here is done."

"Coming after you, Asano."

"Yeah, let's leave this dumb place."

Throwing out some scoffing remarks, the A-Class members walked away.

Watching them leave, the E-Class members felt a wave of relaxation. Dealing with the haughty boys was stressful.

Hiroto stepped forward, approaching Yuuma and Haruno. "Now they've gone, but the issue still remains." he voiced out his concern. "Isogai-kun, do you really think we can win at the Boutaoshi? We have no experience at all."

"I was actually thinking the same thing, about the experience and if we can really win." Isogai answered frankly. "But there wasn't any other choice, and Haruno-kun was so supportive of me, so I was encourage to take that choice."

Speaking of the blond, the ikemen turned around to properly thank his supporter. "By the way, thanks, Haruno-kun. I really appreciate your encouragement."

"No problem." the delinquent spoke, showing Yuuma a nice smirk.

"Why, though?" Isogai wondered, a little shy but still grateful. "We're not super close."

Haruno leaned his head back a bit, assuming a more relaxed pose. "Coming to see you today, I learned some things about you." he explained, going to use his best and most charismatic vocabulary and phrasing. "You may not believe it, but I believe there are many similarities between us. I never knew nor thought of that before hearing more about you. So I grew to sympathize with you and decided to just help a nice guy."

"You think so?" Yuuma was very humble about praise, but still very grateful, appreciating the nice words. And the blond's talk about the similarities really interested him as well.

"Absolutely. I think it's such a shame that with all those similarities between us, I didn't get to know you a little closer earlier. We could've had some fun times up until now."

His talk really made Isogai think. Thinking about possibilities truly sounded interesting, and the delinquent's subtle friendship request was flattering too.

"But I suppose that's the difference between me who's a little too introverted, and a true ikemen like you who's more outgoing and even more approaching than approachable, the approachableness being already high."

These words sold him. Yuuma was a smart boy who could tell apart simple brownnosing and truly meant feelings. And Haruno truly meant what he said, being friendly and supportive to a boy he wanted to become friends with.

Really appreciating what the blond said and did, Isogai's warm and friendly eyes met with his, so did their hands for a handshake.

"You're quite cool yourself, Haruno-kun." Yuuma praised back. "Then, I suppose we'll see each other more often then?"

"Count on it."

Naturally, everything was seen by their fellow classmates. The girls commented on the happening, which the boys couldn't hear. To their ikemen-loving eyes, the image of the two leaders of Class 3-E shaking hands forming a new friendship was a true feast.

"Wow, Haruno-kun was totally like a true ikemen now!" Kaede praised, though without specific advanced interest.

"Totally! I rarely see him be like that, but when he is, it looks amazing!" Meg swooned over him. Though she liked either side of the delinquent anyway. The more ikemen-like side, and the less ikemen-like side.

But it wasn't Meg of the onlookers who liked that sight the most. Nagisa was the one who enjoyed seeing Haruno become friends with Yuuma the most. As one of his oldest friends, the bluenette knew the blond very well. He was an introverted boy who'd make few but close friends instead of many with weaker bonds. He'd make friends by being approached instead of approaching himself. But for the first time, the introverted Haruno made a friend by approaching that new friend. Seeing his best friend's personality and social competence evolve, Nagisa's lips curled into a content smile on their own.

The news about this fresh friendship between the ikemen would certainly spread among the other girls. And so would the news about the Boutaoshi game and Isogai's challenge, the next day during class.

XXXXXXXXXX

"What?! Isogai-kun is in danger of getting expelled?"

There was quite a commotion happening inside the classroom. Yuuma was the main figure, surrounded by his classmates worried about his future.

"That's terrible!"

"Why does the A-Class keep doing such things to us?"

"Yeah, it's true that I am facing this predicament." Isogai told, his classmates more than just a little upset at the news. Though he himself wouldn't falter, this was not a decisive measure. "But I can still turn it around by winning the Boutaoshi game at the athletic festival."

Hearing this, most classmates were immediately surprised, not having expected that to be mentioned.

"The Boutaoshi?"

It wasn't surprising, as even without any challenge, they didn't even consider the possibility of being invited anyway. Just like in the previous 2 years.

"Yeah, they said they'd turn a blind eye if we beat the A-Class." Hiroto confirmed in a tone trying to sound convincing, wanting to elevate the spirits of the others.

Since those weren't that high to begin with.

"Class A has 28 boys, our class has 17 boys. I can't see how that's supposed to be a fair fight." Takebayashi pointed out, readjusting his glasses. Most other boys didn't seem to like the circumstances of the game either.

"Well, Asano said that he'd report that we sent a written challenge in that case, claiming that he'll have it praised as an act of courage. But that aside, we have Haruno-kun!" Maehara defended, really hoping his points would motivate the other boys.

"Keh!" Terasaka spat out in irritation, lowering his eyebrows. "Anyone can see that he's planning on embarrassing us!"

Ryouma had a point, which the other boys could relate so well to. That's why they wanted nothing to do with what they considered a farce of a game.

"But isn't that exactly why we should participate, Terasaka?" Haruno spoke up, standing confidently with his arms crossed.

Terasaka turned his head towards the blond, having been addressed. "What?"

The delinquent bore another cool, manipulative expression with a large grin. "Asano wants to humiliate us. I mean, he is in the position to, his class has so many advantages over ours. And the entire school would like to see that humiliation…"

Listening to Haruno's statement, the eyes of all the boys other than Yuuma, and even the girls narrowed. This wasn't about the boys anymore, it was about the class. And they couldn't stand constantly being looked down on and made fun of, even if they could endure it and ignore it.

"…Are you just going to take that?"

And snap, everyone's eyes went back to normal width again. But their pupils became more intense, warrior-like even. Because the blond was speaking what they secretly wanted to hear deep inside.

"First they tried to manipulate and demoralize Takebayashi recently, now they're trying to have Isogai expelled. Don't you think they've gotten a little too cocky for our liking lately?"

He was only speaking the truth. Class 3-A was undeniably unreasonably mean to Class 3-E.

"Who knows what they'll do next, something even more wicked? Shouldn't we teach them a lesson in that case, not to take us lightly?"

Only he could strengthen the resolve of his entire class with words like this. That fighting spirit Asano Gakushuu was talking of the past day, he could have it all. For free.

"As for me" the delinquent concluded his well-planned speech, stepping right to the left of Isogai and wrapping his right arm around Yuuma's shoulder, "I'll be fighting side by side with our Isogai."

Silence followed Haruno's impressive speech that left the entire class astonished. His carefully crafted talk left a big and courageous impression on everyone.

Yuuma was one of the absolutely few people who could see through the Haruno's intent, other than Karma and Nagisa. He realized how manipulative the blond's words actually were. But he didn't, and couldn't, criticize him. For he saw no selfish agenda in the delinquent, only him wanting to help a boy he wanted to become good friends with. Honestly speaking, Isogai was touched at the effort Haruno was making for his case. How fast he was willed to help him.

Yuuma just couldn't help but smile, glad about the wonderful support. But first, he had to make sure the harsh feelings currently in the minds of his classmates would go away. "I… I appreciate what Haruno-kun is doing for me, so I'll fight with him, and anyone else who's willing to fight, side by side during the Boutaoshi." the ikemen said with a reasonable voice. "Though, the choice to come is up to you. If you doubt we can properly fight against the A-Class, then so be it. I won't force anyone to come with me."

Here lied the KEY difference between the two leaders of Class 3-E. They were both honest and treated others with the option of voluntariness. But one of them openly used sly manipulation for appeal, while the other's appeal WAS the use of no appeal at all. Isogai was just an all around nice guy who people would do things for if he just nicely asked them. No need for anything extra.

Rather quickly, the boys who could fight during the Boutaoshi became a bit more level-headed, while still maintaining most of their healthy fighting spirit.

Starting with Hiroto and Nagisa, they soon flocked to Yuuma's side with resolute but relaxed smirks.

"Heh heh, of course we'll be joining you."

"This is also a good opportunity to pay everything back to them."

"Though most importantly, we can't allow those petty schmucks to treat you however they please."

"Let's give them a whooping, ikemen!"

Enjoying the company of many more supporters, Isogai glanced at his first supporter, who returned him a wink.

'Was this part of your manipulation too?' he thought, smiling. 'Haruno-kun, you really are something else.'

The impressed ones included Korosensei and Karasuma, who were present when the blond gave his speech. Without a doubt, they both considered him to be even more convincing and influential in decision making than themselves.

But Yuuma wasn't there to be forgotten, because without him, the class wouldn't have become this dedicated towards the goal of resolving the issue.

Whatever that issue was, it certainly wasn't lack of support and determination.

XXXXXXXXXX

When Isogai was caught working his part-time job, the date was already close to the athletic festival. No opportunities for extra training, though the assassination training gave Class 3-E advantages over other classes anyway… though how many?

"Man, can't we just concentrate on the last Boutaoshi game?" the lazy Muramatsu and Yoshida asked, not really wanting to take part in the tournament.

"Yeah."

There were those who were lazy, and some who despite their special training, still weren't that athletically gifted, such as Takebayashi and Sugaya.

"Depends." the delinquent answered, surprising them as he arrived from behind. He really surprised them, 10 seconds ago they saw him together with Yuuma, who was quite a bit away from them.

"Are you trying to preserve your energy until the decisive last match?"

Koutarou nodded. "Yes, if we were to exert our energy now on the minor activities, we might be tired out by the time the Boutaoshi starts."

Looking at the four of them, Haruno could see that they were the weak links. But he didn't criticize them, since athletic prowess and its perception was naturally different from person to person. He only wanted to make sure they still had the motivation to fight properly during the Boutaoshi, even if they weren't very gifted in sports.

"I can see your point, but how about measuring your abilities first? If you leave out everything until the last game, then that game might prove to be too difficult. Don't you think?"

Sousuke opened his mouth, but closed it seconds after saying nothing. Taisei and Takuya didn't even raise their lips to begin with. What approach was right, what was the best? Theirs? Haruno's? They couldn't really answer that question.

"You're not sure, are you?" the blond asked a rethorical question, to which they all shook their heads.

Lack of certitude was indeed a weakness, but the delinquent wasn't going to rip off their heads for that.

"But you all want to help Isogai anyway, don't you?"

Raising their heads, the four nodded to Haruno while establishing eye contact as a way of showing they meant their will to help. Seeing their honesty, the blond's face grew a smile.

"Then do what you think will help Isogai the most." the delinquent told in a neutral but friendly tone, making them hold up their heads high, curious to hear more. "It doesn't matter how you do it, as long as it helps Isogai in the end. But act with confidence in yourselves, because only actions of confidence can contribute to saving Isogai."

Astonished by the simple but effective, straight to the point motivation of Haruno, the four exchanged glances, steeling their gazes and keeping their heads up high. No more dawdling around.

Without having to say anything, the blond trusted their resolve with an approving smirk and turned around, starting to walk away.

Humans are humans, and humans aren't perfect. Except for rare, rare cases, any group or team has weak links. Weak links are natural. Though the key to further strength is not to bash or neglect said weak links, but to encourage them to give their all regardless.

For few things being more true than the fact that weakness CAN be temporary and overcome.

XXXXXXXXXX

After many games and tournaments, some of which Class 3-E participated in, some of which they couldn't participate in, some of which they won, some of which they lost, it came to the turn of the athletic festival's spectacle: the Boutaoshi.

Yuuma had been observing his friends and classmates the entire tournament. He was one of the only ones who never took part in any game. They way they competed for his sake, it was an awesome feeling for him, even touching. But all that really mattered was that one, one crucial game.

His new delinquent friend, his biggest supporter so far, put his hand on his shoulder once more. "Remember, everyone's going to fight for you, class representative. Now it's time for you to take the lead and inspire."

Isogai, after receiving such enormous support, after having seen everyone willing to fight for his sake, all his doubts flew away like dandelions in the wind. Victory started seeming totally achievable.

Bearing a true smile, Yuuma stepped forward, in front of everyone. His way of walking emitted a feeling of security and leadership. And when he stopped, he powerfully raised his tightened fist up in the sky.

"Alright guys! Let's go in for the kill like always!" Isogai shouted, his voice powerful and charismatic.

"YES!"

Behind him, the guys he was leading postured themselves in stances giving off a feeling of strength. They were all ready, 100%.

On the opposite side, Gakushuu and his teammates did the same thing.

"Both teams line up!"

Then the announcer started commentating.

"Here are the rules for Kunugigaoka Junior High school athletic festival's Boutaoshi! The side that brings down their opponent's standing pole first wins!"

In Boutaoshi, both teams have 1 pillar each. The teams have to defend their own, and attack the opponent's to topple it. This game requires top level coordination.

"Grabbing is fine, but hitting and kicking aren't allowed! Use of weapons are also prohibited! Exceptions being, the one supporting either pole using their feet to chase people away, and using arms to tackle are both okay!"

"Furthermore, to clearly distinguish between the teams, Class A will be wearing hats and long sleeves!"

Those hats actually were headgear. Unsurprisingly, all the predictions of Class A being granted advantages turned out to be true.

With the announcer ending his talk, both sides assumed their positions. They both had planned the use of certain formations beforehand.

Class A's formations was a balanced formation between offense and defense. Additionally, 4 foreigners Asano had called to Japan for the purpose of the game were placed in good positions.

On that very side, the orange-haired was grinning confidently. 'Now I have done it. These guys will send all but one of Class E flying. With their small numbers, if they want to have a chance in victory, they have no choice but to abandon their defense and attack. And when they come in for the attack, we'll swallow them whole with this iron wall of a defense and crush them!'

He was so fixated on his vision of victory that he didn't pay any particular attention to the formation of the opposing side. At least until Koyama ripped him out of his thoughts with a taken aback, almost worried remark, pointing at the lower-ranked class.

"H- Hey… Does Class E not want to win?"

"?!" Gakushuu's vision was literally narrow up until this remark.

Meanwhile, Class E's formation was simple to say the least. 99% defense, with all but one surrounding the pillar, and one lone fighter standing out in front as the supposed attack. One who didn't have to be named.

The young Asano was amused and frustrated at the same time, reacting to their formation, not knowing if they were stupid and naive, or just mocking him.

'…Are you trying to lure me out? Or are you thinking he can take care of all of us?' he thought while looking at Yuuma. Though he also spared Haruno a glance. 'Or wait. Shiobana, that was your idea, no? Are you all buddy-buddy with Isogai now? Hmph, either way, I'll take care of both of you!'

"Attack unit, command F!" the orange-haired spoke, lowly but powerfully, initiating the first movement.

That unit, the Attack unit, included 4 normal japanese Class 3-E boys, and one tall, muscular foreigner. His name was Kevin, an American football player. Lead by him, they marched across the field towards Class 3-E.

Haruno, standing separated from the rest of his camp in front, could see details about Kevin first. His bulging veins and intense eyes with the nerves visible, within just one look, the blond deduced that the foreigner was juiced.

'Because this is but an inner-school athletic tournament, no one's going to make doping tests… Further cheating, eh?'

Luckily for the delinquent, he believed in the principle of reciprocity. If you cheat, don't complain when you're cheated back.

Having closed in enough, Kevin stopped in his tracks when the distance between himself and Haruno shortened to only 5 meters. His eyes glared intensely at the blond who appeared more relaxed.

"You, boy… you're in my way. I have to take you out." he conveyed in english, getting halfway in his rush stance.

"Is that so?" the delinquent responded with a confident smirk, speaking the same language. "Come, you're welcome to try. But don't slip on the juice."

All the nerves and veins visible in Kevin's white sclera became even redder. Roided people being more easily angered was a fact proven by himself there. "Cocky little shit… Making fun of me?"

What was more funny to Haruno was that other than Karma, no one else in their vicinity understood the joke. The others weren't even realizing why the foreigner got angry.

"You americans appreciate blunt and direct talk without any sugarcoating, right?"

"Yeah, what of it?" the american snarled, clearly having the first matter in mind.

His smirk widening, the blond cracked his knuckles. "Good, good. Then I'll tell you something. I already know Asano's goal is to crushingly defeat and humiliate our class, which he must've told you. Long story short, I intend to humiliate him instead, also as quick as possible." he said with a neutral voice. "We both want this game to be quickly over, so this is also in my interest. So yes, I did make fun of you. Please attack me, big man."

On top of being made fun of, the foreigner also felt not being taken seriously. As the representative of the junior national football team, he commanded great respect from his peers at home. He wasn't going to have that from a foreigner, who wasn't a foreigner in the country he was in, who on top of that, was shorter than him.

Twice as many veins bulged out on his skin compared to before. As a man of pride, he was bound to get angry. But Asano, his captain, had taken that into account. The angrier Kevin got, the more destructive his charges were. Even his teammates, including Gakushuu's lackey Seo stepped away from him.

"Let's see how tough you are after THIS!" Kevin yelled, his eyes twitching as he picked up speed in his short distance rush to tackle the blond.

Best attacking with his shoulders, Kevin rushed with his left shoulder forward, even slightly bending downwards. Anyone usually hit by this shoulder tackle would be blown away.

"[Ougon no tomodachi]" the delinquent whispered inaudibly, though not summoning his Stand. He rather used the Stand's energy than physicality in this case.

Bolstering his body, Haruno caught both shoulders of the American football player by focusing his life-giving Stand's boosting energy mainly on his feet for grip, and on his hands for stopping the swiping chunks of flesh from hitting him.

This act was met by surprise from all sides. The audience, his team, the opponent's team, and most importantly the foreigner himself.

"Whoa! Nice one, Haruno-kun!" his male teammates reacted, smiling at him.

"Impressive!"

"Haruno-kun's so strong!" his female classmates outside the game praised, a few hopping around with cheerleader gear.

"Go Haruno-kun! Go!"

Of course, the ones not supporting Class 3-E also reacted with surprise, though more with disbelief.

"Did… did he just stop Kevin-san?" a wide-eyed student of Class A uttered in shock, unable to believe his eyes.

"I- Impossible!" Seo Tomoya blurted out, sweating and gritting his teeth.

Seo and the other leading students of Class 3-A had one fear during the preparation of the game, just one. And that fear looked like it was becoming true.

"UNBELIEVABLE! The two powerhouses are at it!" the announcer fiercely commented throughout the arena. "Shiobana of Class E stopped the advance of Kevin-san! Who would've believed it!"

'Oh no…' the orange-haired on the other side of the field thought, clenching his teeth. 'Kevin is an actual elite! Even if Shiobana was stronger than him, he couldn't have stopped his tackle without budging at all! It's humanly not possible!'

Gakushuu was trying very hard to rationalize his miscalculation, even if he was technically correct. But what he didn't know, no, what all non-Stand users didn't know, was that no matter how true their assessments were, they couldn't do nothing about it.

So was the incomparable difference between people knowing about Stands and people not knowing.

"Ungh… H… how?" Kevin, struggling very hard despite pressing with his entire strength, asked, more and more veins bulging out. He couldn't move forward by even a centimeter.

Furthermore, he was dripping wet with sweat while Haruno didn't break any of his own. The blond smiled at the foreigner non-maliciously but still in a way wanting to defeat him.

"You wouldn't understand, but I guess there is an easy explanation." the delinquent told, earning frustrated curiosity from Kevin.

"What explanation?" Kevin grunted out, his voice having become raspy from being so stressed and exhausted.

The following words would be the final words Haruno would say to the football player before defeating him. With a grin, he moved his lips. "Call it some sort of natural doping."

After that, the blond opened his eyes wide in a flash, rapidly changing the positioning of his hands, making Kevin tackle the ground face forward.

Smack!

As a result, the burly american fainted on the ground, lying defeated.

Everyone watching was at a loss for words, because the switch happened in an instant.

"Wha-" a more than shocked Tomoya let out, his jaw dropping. As the closest to the two strong boys, he followed his instincts and slowly stepped away.

"Kevin-san from Team A out! I repeat, Kevin-san from Team A was taken out by Class E's Shiobana!" The way the announcer commentated on this gave off the more than true vibe that he was biased.

"Yes! Good one, Haruno-kun!" his teammates commended, making celebrating gestures.

"Wow! Sure showed him!"

Turning his head towards his teammates, the delinquent gave them a thumbs up.

"Leave everything to me." was the meaning of this.

As the captain, Yuuma returned the thumbs up, though this gesture represented not only his own gesture, but those of the entire team.

"Now…" Haruno muttered inaudibly, focusing on his next target. As he was an attacker, that was his job.

He already had someone in mind, but wasn't looking at his target. Said target suspected he was going to be targeted and secretly tried to retreat. But was too late doing so.

"GEHO!" In a flash, Seo took on the full brunt of his former classmate's sudden rapid speed tackle, getting knocked unconscious upon impact. He was even foaming from the mouth.

"HOW FAST! First Kevin-san and now Seo-kun! Class E's Shiobana looks like he's fixated on taking out his opponents with brute force!" the announcer dramatically reported.

In the Attack unit sent out by the orange-haired, there were originally 5 people. 2 of them, the big names, were taken out. And now the remaining 3 were being stared at by the opposing team's Ace.

"Fight… or flight?" the blond menacingly asked the remaining 3, scaring the heck out of them with a simple stare. That stare of his wasn't any serious stare he used on Chairman Asano, but rather a lightly threatening one he used on smaller fish. A stare that perfectly worked on those small fries, which inwardly amused the delinquent to no end.

"Waaaaaaah!" The trio lost it, running back to their camp with their arms flailing in the air behind their backs.

They safely fled back, averting conflict.

"Look! Class A's Attack unit is fleeing!"

"Yes!" Class E's girls cheered in the audience, fiercely making gestures of support.

Meanwhile, Gakushuu was fuming. His eyes twitched in severe irritation. No matter how you looked at it, fleeing from the enemy was shameful display. Haruno alone, his loathsome rival alone single-handedly was in the middle of embarrassing his more prestigious team.

'Shiobana, you…'

But not all hope was lost. As a (self-proclaimed) genius strategist, he couldn't be allowed to be intimidated and think of losing already.

'Calm down, calm down… Shiobana alone is a danger that must be taken care of immediately, that's the highest priority. All the others aren't that dangerous.' His eyes drastically narrowed. 'Shiobana alone has to go!'

"Everyone not defending our pole… surround and jump Shiobana." he ordered in a lowly tone, pointing at the target. He only maintained eye contact with his trusted strong foreigner friends. "Camille, José… do whatever it takes."

"Understood." the french boy and the brazilian boy nodded as they received the command, heading out."

'Sending out this many members is a great sacrifice… but a needed one.' he thought, aware that this would severely limit the movement potential of his squad. 'Shiobana… He's stronger than I thought! And not only that, it's certain he's intending to humiliate me for threatening his friend. But… as if I'm gonna let him! Know your place, you low-class, unsophisticated thug!'

"Oh, would you look at that! Half of Class A is appearing to switch on the offense! They're mobilizing in large numbers against Class E, and there is only one participant directly opposing them. How's this going to turn out?" The announcer was actually surprised this time.

Back on Class E's side, the boys were showing worry as they watched the deployment of a force about equal to their entire count.

"Wow, they're really packing out now…"

"How's Haruno gonna fare this time tho? This isn't a fight where he can fight to his fullest potential."

"Yeah, he's severely limited now. With clear rules, numbers swarming him is gonna be troublesome."

Isogai could also see the circumstances and how they would affect Haruno. But he wasn't as worried, since as a strategist, he was thinking of strategies to help out his friend. If his great benefactor was going to have trouble, Yuuma would definitely take action to return the favor and provide some help.

Bearing an optimistic and confident expression, he calmed down his classmates. "Everything's okay. Haruno-kun right now is trusting us, trusting us to be able to provide sufficient help to him if he needs it. So also trust yourself to be able to help adequately."

Class 3-E had actually never experienced a situation so dependent on trust before. Sure, in past events, there were still moments where trust was crucial, but not to this degree. Even if some situations were objectively more dangerous, the relevance of trust hadn't been that obvious. So in short, this was actually a great lesson.

"…Got it, Isogai-kun."

Again focusing back on the blond, the approaching opponent forces were really close. They were surrounding him while he wasn't moving a muscle.

"What an interesting sight! Class A's massive force has surrounded Class E's Shiobana. There's no way he can walk out of this one, what is he going to do?" The announcer commented with enthusiasm and interest, awaiting the next move.

In the human circle made by Class A, José was facing the delinquent, while Camille was standing behind him. They could close in anytime and sandwich him.

"Isogai-kun, when are we going to act?" another member from Team E asked, impatient about Haruno's situation. Because what the announcer said was true, he wasn't going to get out unless he used his Stand, which he wouldn't use against his opponents in a sports match.

"Be patient." Isogai advised, firmly looking forward. "When the time is right, we'll help!"

'Haruno-kun, how much of our help will you even need? But… Even if you are resilient, don't push yourself too much.'

The blond himself knew he had to be careful. José was already cracking his knuckles. What were they waiting for?

'Let's see how successfully my plan will turn out.'

"Attack!"

They had been waiting for Asano's order. All the time before, they'd just been staring daggers at him with malicious intent. Even all the weaker normal members seemed more confident and cocky with their numbers and not one but two powerful foreigners.

Hot on their feet, the squadron sprinted towards the delinquent. Sprinted with arms and shoulders forward, even shouting out war cries.

"Urraaaaaaaaa!"

He was one vs many, yet his face didn't change one bit. No emotions to show save for lack of fear and a hint of smugness. Stable eyes that wouldn't flinch or even blink.

'Time for… Operation Mass Chaos.'

Camille and José even jumped when they tackled Haruno. And then the other Team A members followed, removing the blond from everyone else's sight. They were swarming and amassing like a dome around the delinquent, concealing and even sealing him.

'Hah hah hah…! With this, Shiobana is soon going to suffocate and pass out. He's literally getting crushed right now!' the orange-haired thought, grinning at the imagination of his rival soon turning out to be lying unconscious on the floor, defeated by the superior Class 3-A.

"Slow down! Unbelievable! Team A attacked Shiobana like a pack of wolves! He literally can't be seen anymore! What is going on below the dome of students? When will we find out?" The announcer reached the peak of hype, impressed to death by this ongoing battle of one vs many.

And the hype perfectly carried over to the audience. Most were screaming even louder, either calling the display impressive or cheering for Class 3-A.

"Wooooo! Such a great show going on here!"

"This is by far the best game of the festival!"

"Go, Class A! Show this Shiobana punk who's the boss!"

Among the quieter ones of the audience were Class E's girls. Though they weren't staying quiet. On the contrary, they were loud with worry.

"Haruno-kun!"

"To take on this many…!"

"I believe in Haruno-kun, but this is still bad! He can't expect to get out of there 100% fine!"

Even Karasuma and Korosensei who refrained from commentary until now opened their mouths.

"This is insane! He's a one man army, but his arms are restrained!" Literally and figuratively. "Against such a swarm of enemies, he's bound to suffer some health! Under this dome of meat, breathing's got to be really hard. Not to mention that the opposing team's inner dome guys are likely to cheat with no one being able to see them."

"Indeed, Karasuma-sensei." the yellow man agreed, his smile slightly more narrow than usual in order to signify his concern. "Right now, Haruno-kun is playing a dangerous game, which he surely is aware of. Let's hope things go well for him."

In the end, though, the most worried of all were his teammates watching from the pillar. They watched with gulps, fresh sweat on their foreheads and tense, half-wide intensely focusing eyes.

Especially Karma and Nagisa were starting to urge Yuuma to take action and initiate a counter operation against the dome.

"Isogai-kun, we haven't seen Haruno for a while now!"

"What Karma-kun said! Who knows what Haruno-kun is going through this moment!"

"Yeah, do something already!"

"Isogai…"

Even the other team members were agreeing with the blond's best friends. They were thinking that the leader had to take responsibility now.

Though Yuuma, out of everyone, was the most conflicted about this. He wanted to help the most out of everyone, he really did. But at the same time, he believed that the true signal wasn't sent yet. That the delinquent would work a miracle and create the perfect opportunity for him to finally send help.

"I know, but…" Isogai wanted to protest, stressed himself as visible by his intense eyes, but gave in. At least partially. "Okay fine, just 5 more seconds!"

As a leader who had to keep the morale up and act in line with the will of his men, Yuuma just had to make some concessions to his simply more impatiently worried classmates. But his selfish desire to believe in a clear perfect opportunity still held true.

One…

No changes around the dome.

Two…

Some students seemed to push differently, but that still indicated nothing.

Three…

Hold on, the behavior of the outer dome guardians changed, they were pushing way harder now.

Four…

All of them were focusing on the dome. All their eyes were facing the dome. Not one of them was paying attention to the other Team E members.

Five!

It was evident that some sort of chaos was going on among the boys supposed to take care of Haruno. Something was going on under the dome, with the outer dome guys trying their hardest to counter that ongoing problem.

Waiting turned out to be fruitful for Isogai, since this was exactly like he imagined. Some sort of signal. 'Haruno-kun, you're amazing. To hold out this long against this horde and still send out some kind of signal… I was right to trust you!'

Yuuma was happy, Yuuma was grateful. A bright smile forming on his face signified all sorts of positive emotions. Though more striking was his pose when he raised his head and shoulders, his chin up high. Moreover, his eyes were clear and focused on one simple task:

To finally return Haruno the gesture of help.

"It's time…" he muttered in a quiet tone almost OOC for him. He was leader-like, but for the first time, acting like a strong leader.

Everyone, finally about to receive the command to go and help, readied themselves. Raising their shoulders, planting their feet in position to take off and run.

"Commence Operation Riptide."

The rival team occupied with the human dome in chaos had no idea what was coming to them.

Suddenly, when no one was expecting it, Team E sprinted towards the human dome with full speed, taking them by utter surprise.

Even the announcer was late with his commentary.

"HUH?! Did I just see that right? Out of the blue, Team E started attacking! Right now, they're attacking the human dome, which has been struggling internally for some seconds now. What are we going to witness?"

'WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!' watching safely from his pillar, Gakushuu was at a loss with his teammates when his plan was basically going up in smoke. He was gritting his teeth very hard, seething at his classmates allowing themselves to make such a huge mistake. He himself would've never done that.

Having arrived at the dome, Class E's boys were pulling the human dome's outer layer members away, starting to dismantle the human structure.

Second for second, the dome was getting smaller, with approximately 40% of the volume gone. But those guys who had the back of their shirt grabbed, forcibly pulled and tossed away, were starting to stand up again, with mean expressions on their faces. It seemed like they'd fight back, they were quite pissed.

"You bastards…"

"That's it!"

"You'll regret this!"

"Oho! Team A and Team E are about to face off directly! There's no avoiding this one! Who will come out on top?" the announcer reported, again brimming with excitement.

No kicking and punching allowed, but they could still fight, having already changed into fighting stances. They'd weaponize their headgear, subtly headbutting during tackle charges.

Though various members of Team E had their own tactics to legally fight against them.

Terasaka and Itona, having briefly exchanged glances, ran towards their attackers themselves, charging head forward against the stomach of their opponents.

"Hnnnnngh!"

"UUOOGH!"

Due to both their immense physical strength, they produced crash sounds when their tackles hit, as well as sent their opponents flying.

But they weren't sent flying in just any direction, their paths met. Both opponents crashed against each other with their backs and heads. And even though their headgear protected them from harsh injuries, the blunt trauma was enough to fully knock them out.

"WHAT A STRIKE! Using cooperation, tactics and power, Team E's Horibe and Terasaka knocked out two opponents in one strike!"

After the successful takedown, the two coolly high-fived each other.

"Holy shit!"

"That was so cool!"

Yoshida and Muramatsu were highly impressed by the powerful display of their friends. They both looked at each other with a grin, conveying that they wanted to try and imitate that move.

"Let's go!"

This duo also tried to execute this attack, but their opponents were smarter after witnessing the attack for the first time. In the end, they both comically ended up hurting each other more than their targets.

"Hey! Pull yourselves together!" Maehara complained at the two, chasing down his own target.

Said target himself was chasing after a target, namely Sugino.

Tomohito was running away from the A-Class student, but with a purpose. He had a certain path in mind.

From the other side, Mimura was also running away from a Class A student chasing him. All part of the plan.

Eventually, Kouki and Tomohito almost crashed against each other, running towards each other, but both jumped out the way to the side. Behind them, their chasers, reacting to their targets jumping out of the way, tried to slow down in order to avoid crashing against each other. Though their chasers didn't slow down, hitting them from behind and making the two crash against each other. Again, the blunt force was enough to render them unconscious.

"THIS IS MADNESS! Team E has done it again, taking out 2 more members of Team A with the power of collaboration and strategy!"

Using tactics such as these, based on working together, Class E took out opponent forces rather quickly.

'No! Goddammit, no!' Asano was fuming, almost digging into the flesh of his palms with his fingernails.

The crowd was loud, but not necessarily proud, since the team they were rooting for had taken a serious hit. Though the minority of the crowd, girls of a certain class, they were very proud!

"Yes! So many rival players taken out!"

"Go on! This is great!"

"Now we'll soon know about Haruno-kun's situation! Hope he's fine!"

With this done they were able to quickly proceed dismantling the middle layer of the human dome, pulling away and tossing the opposing students from behind. The dome shrunk by another 30%.

Though after that, all they needed was to take out the players from the middle layer. Because the inner layer consisted only of unconscious players already.

"HOLD ON! HOLD ON A SECOND! Team E has shrunk the dome even further, and now this?! What happened with all these players? Why are they unconscious?" The announcer sounded genuinely concerned there. He couldn't believe it, and so couldn't anyone laying their eyes on the scene.

Class E found it difficult to believe, too. Their jaws were all dropping.

"What in the…"

And the cause of this mess causing everyone immense disbelief emerged from the bottom of the pile, though even barely. Shiobana Haruno was not in a good shape. His hair messy, clothes rugged, all the bare skin full of bruises, a trickle of blood running from his nose and corner of his mouth, and him having visible difficulties breathing.

"Hahhh… Hahhh… Hahhh…" Every single person in the arena could hear him huffing so hard. Because he was barely in a better condition than those he took out.

Those he took out, partially consisted of big names. José and Camille the burly foreigners, Koyama and Araki of the '5 virtuosos', and the 3 remaining members of Team A's initial Attack force.

"THIS IS NUTS! Shiobana has eliminated José-san and Camille-san, not to mention Koyama-kun and Araki-kun! What on earth went down under that dome?!"

Totally taken aback, there was great uproar in the crowd. That was basically a giant-killing over there, with the demoted delinquent student with bad reputation taking down even more esteemed big-name students. Akin to a rebellion.

"Oh my god!"

"Tell me this isn't real…"

"M- Monster!"

People once again thought of Shiobana Haruno as someone to fear. As a monster. All people who barely knew him, they all thought of him that way. They were the majority.

But a minority that knew him better, felt really offended for his sake when they heared the word insulting the blond. Some girls really liking him got really irritated at the verbal treatment of the delinquent.

"That bitch over there calling Haruno-kun a monster… I wanna walk over to her and hit her."

"Same, really. They all focus on his personal self, rather than his action just now. So subjective."

"Even though his performance was so great! To have this much endurance, to be fine after going through so many enemies fighting you, that should be praised!"

Not to mention that they couldn't see the full extent of his state because he was so far away from them.

"Right, but in the end, I'm glad he's fine."

"Haruno-kun, stay strong a little longer please."

Class E's girls were proud about him coming out on top and still being conscious. So were his teachers.

The government agent, his mouth slightly open in awe, was nudged by a tentacle of the octopus man. The agent was spacing out a bit due to the impressiveness, but managed to turn his attention to his colleague after the little nudge. "Uh?"

"Karasuma-sensei…" Korosensei spoke to Tadaomi with his typical smile "What are you feeling right now"

"…" Karasuma briefly but pensively thought about the answer he'd give. Because he had a lot to say. "Well, first and foremost, I'm glad he made it out in one piece. He must've been kicked and punched a lot in secret, Class A's boys surely are like that. Not to mention that he had to deal with 2 extra strong foes. His fighting methods are restricted and even he has only 4 limbs… This is a straight masterpiece performance by a miracle worker."

Noticing the quiet, calm but clearly proud expression of the government agent, the yellow man silently giggled and pressed further.

"Indeed that's so, Haruno-kun is a one-in-a-lifetime student one doesn't come across often. To be his teacher, isn't that something to be… proud of?"

"It's not like I was the one who taught him his resilience." the agent argued in an effort to divert from the main implication, shrugging to feign ignorance."

"Maybe so… But you can't deny the influence you've had on that boy."

Cutting straight to the chase, the octopus man tried to get what he wanted, a pure and honest piece of Tadaomi's opinion. "We're both proud, aren't we? You've noticed yourself that compared to the beginning of the year, you're talking to each other more often, and on subtly friendlier terms. He isn't even late anymore when you have something important to say. Plus, he seems to have been influenced at least a tiny bit by your professionalism, don't you think?"

Sighing, Karasuma gave in. He couldn't deny it anymore. "Yes… I am aware that I managed to influence him a little, and that our teacher-student relationship improved. And yes… Aside from still being impressed by him on occasions like this, I can say that I feel very proud when I see him succeed."

"Nurufufufufufu. Maybe we aren't all that different, Karasuma-sensei. It's the inside that counts, right?"

For a joke like this, the government agent would've tried to stab Korosensei. But this time he didn't because the mood wasn't right. What the yellow man said was a thing the agent agreed with.

Meanwhile, the optimism and pride of Gakushuu was continuously fading. What he initially thought was a force strong enough to take care of his archrival, was wiped out by the very same guy. Not only did it diminish their fighting force by a great bit, their morale was also dwindling. 'No! To think he has done this…'

On his lower right, the only remaining member of the '5 virtuosos' other than himself, Sakakibara, was shivering in fear.

"Everyone is out cold…" Ren let out shakingly, proceeding to look at the orange-haired with intimidated eyes. "Asano-kun… It's over for us now, isn't it?"

"…" Gakushuu hesitated for some seconds before answering, almost breaking out in sweat. He was fully aware that his pride was getting torn down by Haruno, who was making the audience think Class A was putting on a terrible performance. It was embarrassing, truly was. But the last thing the Asano would do was to capitulate before the bitter end, his pride hadn't been broken to that extent yet.

So stopping to clench his teeth behind his lips hiding his deep frustration, he forced an authoritative expression onto his face, making another attempt at keeping the morale high. "Don't be stupid, Sakakibara! First of all, who do you think we are? If you want to admit defeat to that wretched class of lowlifes, then get out my class! And secondly, look at the amount of damage Shiobana has taken! He should be out of commission any second now. And once he's out, Class E's fighting power will plummet! Just continue defending our pole, Sang Hyuk is stronger than any Class E punk other than Shiobana!"

Listening to the orange-haired's rant, the virtuoso silently nodded and gulped, averting his gaze again. Him and all the other team members guarding the pole, in the end, did it out of respect for the defiant and unrelenting spirit of their leader who'd refuse to give up. Because even if they themselves knew that giving up would be more logical, they also knew that their pride would be broken into a million pieces. For the sake of not admitting defeat to a side they belittled, they stubbornly held on.

And finally, it was the turn of the main actors to react. All the boys had dropped jaws and flickering eyes, their disbelief was strong.

While from the beginning, they expected the blond to be still conscious, even if needing help, they neither expected his physical condition to turn out this bad, nor did they expect him to haven taken out this many opponents while undergoing such pressure. What the delinquent did turned out to be beyond their expectations.

"Incredible…"

"So intense…"

Seeing his wounds, Nagisa and Karma ran up to him, quickly standing by his shoulders to support him. Haruno had definitely seen better days.

"Haruno-kun, I-" they both wanted to say, but their friend interrupted them rather quickly.

"You don't need to say anything. For you did absolutely nothing wrong. I know you wanted to help me, which I truly appreciate, but this was for Isogai to decide. I don't blame anyone, since becoming like this was the consequence of my own decisions."

What the blond did was for the purpose of strengthening his team. If they were to blame themselves now, that mindset would mean the opposite of strength.

"But…" Both the redhead and the bluenette greatly respected their friend's monstrous damage resistance, but didn't want to see him take this much damage in the first place.

"It's okay, leave me be." the delinquent insisted, bearing a weak smile. "Actually, defeat all the remaining dome guys first, then come again, okay?"

Haruno never gave his friends proper orders except in actually dangerous situations. But he really wanted them to focus on the main objective instead of him. For that reason, the blond made an exception this time.

Speaking of the remaining dome guys, they had all ran back to their base already. With both the outermost and innermost members taken out, they were in the minority. And certainly not crazy enough to pick a fight like the outermost guys, seeing the results of that.

"…Actually, nevermind." the delinquent corrected himself, letting out a chuckle. "But anyways, this is what it means to be sacrifice oneself for the team."

Stared at by his teammates in awe and respect, Haruno showed them all a genuine and inspiring smile.

'What a man!'

'So manly!'

Yuuma then, unable to properly look his new friend in the eyes, only in the corners, stepped forward. The blond's influence could help him only so much without anything in return. Because Isogai didn't accept anything further for free. Even if the delinquent would go to such lengths for free to become his good friend, to save his new good friend, Yuuma wanted to give back something in return. But other than thanks, he really couldn't, which is why he blamed himself more than anyone.

"Haruno-kun… t… thanks for g… giving me the s… signal."

Touched by the sacrifice, by the pain and beatings Haruno took for his sake, Isogai would even cry if he wasn't in front of others.

Slowly reaching forward with his hand, the blond forcibly made Yuuma look in the center of his eyes by lifting his chin up with his fingers.

"Both the signal, and everything else, see it as a present from me to you. For free."

Knowing that Isogai wouldn't accept everything like this and would protest, ruining the mental boost the delinquent wanted to give him, he quickly added a few more lines to make this offer more acceptable.

"Anything that's remaining, though, that's something you gotta pay yourself. Do the last effort, the winning run, the most important part, yourself. For you're the leader, the captain, and the class representative." Haruno cleverly added, giving Yuuma a reason to accept.

Although Isogai knew the intent behind this speech, he also knew that the blond was right, not disagreeing. He knew that this was the least he could do.

So lightly leaning his left shoulder forward to touch with the delinquent's own left shoulder, and patting his back with his right arm, the ikemen expressed his thanks.

"Thanks for everything until now." His gratitude was heartfelt, for what Haruno went through was more than anyone else ever went through for his sake. "But you're right… I have to finish this myself."

Ideally, in an army, subordinates would fight with the determination to help their leader. In return, the leader would fight thinking of the subordinates. In this case, it was the very same. There was the first will to defend Yuuma's position in the school, the second will to humiliate Class A, and the third will to finish what Haruno started.

Isogai stepped forward, about to take command properly. While he was conflicted about winning after someone else took all the damage and pain for his sake, him not wanting to waste the very same troubles that were went through overweighed the former concern.

The blond even closed his eyes and sealed his lips while standing so that everyone else would stop paying attention to the unresponsive him and start paying attention to the new lead figure.

Soon, after a various looks of respect in his direction, and even salutes, everyone turned their faces, instead eyeing Isogai's back and further away, the opposing side's pillar.

"Everyone ready?" the ikemen asked the team behind his back, his eyes facing forward. Even if he disliked it, what had been done was done, damage taken was damage taken. At the very least, though he wasn't very fond of the principle since he didn't want suffering in the first place, he'd give it a 'purpose'. That purpose was victory.

"Yes." everyone slowly, quietly but firmly answered, all looking in the same direction.

It was ridiculous, not to mention more than enough for one person alone to do most of the job when they were supposed to do things together. But that only made them realize that they had to do that now, when there was still time. For the winning blow.

Eyes focused and crystal clear, Yuuma commenced the next and final move. "Operation… Swiping Bolt."

Upon the operation name being said, the legs of Team E got all speedy.

"Team E is making their move! They're now about to attack Team A's pole! Unforeseeable at the beginning of the game, the tides have now turned! What will Team A do to stop this?"

Seing them running towards their last stronghold, the orange-haired once again urged his teammates to stay calm and defend with all their might, although he was afraid inside.

"Don't give up, you hear me?! We can still turn this around if we achieve a defensive victory!" Gakushuu yelled, pressing his teeth together in stress. He knew it was a lie, it was unfolding before his eyes as they got closer and closer. Be it because of the delinquent or not, he realized that he underestimated Class 3-E.

'This isn't a fluke… I can only hope they do something stupid and fuck up now!'

About two thirds of Team E, spearheaded by Isogai, charged against the lower defense of Team A, shoulders forward. With their might, even if not completely, they managed to give the pillar a shock powerful enough for it to become leaning like the tower of Pisa.

"Team E attacked! Team A's pole has been moved! Can Team A possibly even recover from this?" His bias was there, but even the commentator mentioned the absolute state of Class A.

Most of the remaining third followed the first wave, giving the pillar an aftershock so that it became even more askew. All coming from the front, their combined force made it hard for the strong korean foreigner Sang Hyuk to reinforce.

And Asano, with the pillar leaning down by about 45 degrees, he couldn't even stand on the shoulders of his classmates anymore. He was actually hanging down from the pillar, holding onto the pillar with his arms wrapped around the round pole above his head.

That pose, it put him into a very difficult and embarrassing position. While his current pose made him look vulnerable, awkward and literally on the verge of losing, letting go would be worse, showing weakness in the form of giving up the struggle.

"WHOA! Things are looking dangerous for Asano-kun! He is holding onto the pole with his entire being! But if the pole were to be toppled now, it'd fall on top of him!"

"Class A is losing…"

"Against Class E…"

"This school's over, isn't it?"

The crowd grew pessimistic and depressed real fast. To see their favorites about to lose, the ones they wanted to watch lose about to win, it upset nearly all of them. And made their superiority complex crumble like dry biscuits.

Never in his life before had he been humiliated so much. In the game he choose himself! It was so bad, it didn't even matter to him if the humiliation ended sooner or later. But he could still save face, holding on until the bitter end. Because even if he couldn't avoid becoming the loser, he could avoid capitulating to Class E.

'You damn pests! To think I'll be losing to you…' the orange-haired wasn't even gritting nor showing his teeth anymore. All that was left of him as a facial expression. Were eyes flickering madly, like fire in the wind. And speaking of fire, the color of his face even surpassed fire, painted in the color of deep hot magma. 'As big as a shame it is… I have to make compromises. I'll be losing… BUT AT LEAST I WON'T RUN AWAY AND SURRENDER!'

Itona being the final member besides Haruno not attacking against the pillar, he used Terasaka's back to leap in the air, landing on top of the half-fallen pole. With him serving as the final impact, Class 3-E had officially toppled the enemy pillar, winning the Boutaoshi.

*Thud*

This was the sound of Gakushuu being buried beneath the wooden pillar, stubbornly refusing to let go. Despite how livid and fuming he was about the humiliating defeat, he was half-celebrating about him refusing to back down against the hated enemy's superior might.

'G… Giving up… is th… the last thing I'll… do against… those cursed… idiots…' he pieced together his thoughts, his physical and mental condition twice as bad as that of his 'rival' despite taking only a fourth the damage.

"…"

As the pillar fell, everyone was silent. Some were busy processing the loss of their favorite side. Others were merely breathing, waiting a little to build up enough energy to start celebrating soon.

An exciting tournament with high stakes, hidden objectives and a lot of hype ended, the die had been cast. And the results were visible to each and everyone.

"Congratulations for the victory… TEAM E! "

With the announcer breaking the silence, the sweating and heavily breathing members of Class 3-E, as well as their female counterparts in the audience, broke out in loud, lively, heartfelt celebrations of joy. Arms in the air, some hugging, this class had earned the right to taste the fruits of their victory.

"YEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! WE DID IT!"

"WE WON, WE WON!"

"ISOGAI, LOOK! YOU'RE SAVED NOW!"

Forming a large circle by uniting and wrapping their arms around their neighbours' shoulders, it turned into a celebration for everyone. Even the beat up Haruno could participate that way.

"Applause for the winners of the Boutaoshi!"

Albeit reluctantly, the audience originally rooting for the defeated side began clapping for the victors. Because despite their bias, they could still admit that victory was legitimate and fair. Not to mention impressive, given the difference in numbers.

Appearing calm but proud, Korosensei and Karasuma grinned at the sight of their students' results.

"At last, they won, eh?" the yellow man spoke to the more stoically grinning government agent.

"Exactly." the agent answered, but also gave more personal input. "Though victory is never certain. They could've lost midway by making mistakes, ruining their chemistry etc. But they didn't, which is the actual reason why they won. Victory isn't decided by the starting conditions, but only and only by consistent performance."

"Totally correct."

Tadaomi then stopped folding his arms and slapped the octopus man's tentacle away when he tried to pat him in a friendly manner.

"Oi! Don't get too friendly now, Korosensei."

"Nurufufufufufu." He tried.

Meanwhile, all the members of Team A who had passed out were getting carried out of the field by the still conscious members, as well as by the medical staff. With this, the pitch was left for the victorious side alone.

Equally celebrating, girls of a certain class started entering the field to celebrate together with their classmates of the opposite gender.

"Guys, RESPECT!"

"Nicely done, everyone!"

"Now Isogai-kun doesn't have to worry about anything anymore!"

By coming closer, the girls were also able to see the blond delinquent's wounds from a closer distance. In the midst of celebrating, they also became shocked to the point of dropping their smiles.

"But… Hey… You're not okay, are you, Haruno-kun?"

"That's right, shouldn't we take you to the nurse or something?"

Looking slightly better than before the match's conclusion, Haruno curled his lips, the blood already wiped away, into a light smirk.

"It's not a big deal anymore, really." he reassured them, trying to sound convincing. It was true that he lost a great amount of energy and had to rest, as well as eat and drink, but after all that, just healing himself like the most natural thing in the world wasn't a problem.

"Besides… I don't want to be away from everyone celebrating."

Everyone else of the boys didn't want him to be away either. Especially Yuuma, he wanted the blond to stay the most. For he had so much to talk about.

In the end, with some more arguments, the delinquent managed to convince the girls he was fine as is. Subsequently, him and Isogai walked a good few dozens of meters to the other end of the field, a bit away from everyone else.

This way, Yuuma could have his wish and finally have a more relaxed, more casual talk with his new close friend.

"Hey, uhm, thanks for everything again." Though the ikemen was still shy to some extent, his guilt about those sacrificial injuries, which didn't go away yet at that point, didn't quite go away either.

"Heh, no problem." Haruno smirked, giving him another thumbs up. "I'd do it again."

His guilt there, it immediately inwardly rubbed Isogai the wrong way. But in a sense, it gave him a good opportunity to initiate the kind of talk he wanted to talk about.

"I still wonder, though, why you volunteered that strongly to become my friend. You were much more introverted before."

Staring at the sky, the blond's smirk became slightly slimmer.

"You're right, I was. This actually changed on that very day." he stated, surprising the curious Yuuma. "If I hadn't come along that day, the change wouldn't have happened."

"How so?" the ikemen asked, very interested in that piece of causality. "What exactly caused the change? I know you said that you learned that we share some common things, and that you sympathized with me because of that, but, like… Could you please elaborate?"

The delinquent switched his focus back on his friend. Isogai wasn't the only one who just saw a good speaking opportunity. "For starters, that you live with just your mother and aren't quite wealthy."

"…"

Because Haruno was so famous in town, even Yuuma, who didn't like digging into other people's private affairs, had heard about some facts regarding the blond. How his single mother was a woman with a pretty low reputation in town, did things with a lot of different men, lived in a crappy apartment and was of the lowest economic class. Of course, he also knew that unlike with him and his own mother, the Shiobanas had a distant, terrible relationship. Practically strangers with only blood and name ties.

"Though luckily, you seem to have a good relationship with her." the delinquent added, making the thoughtful ikemen perk up slightly. "Am I wrong?"

"N- no, that's true." Isogai hesitantly answered, furrowing the back of his neck.

"And also, that you carefully choose your clothes to appear more wealthy than you are." Haruno brought up another similarity. "It's the same with me."

"…"

Awkwardly enough, Yuuma had nothing to say this time. He knew they both weren't proud about having to do that in the first place.

"You know, during primary school, I was quiet most of the time." the blond continued, his own spirits becoming lower by a bit. "Because I had no friends during that period, complaining about my troubles would've been useless. So I kept it all inside."

Inwardly, the ikemen was shivering at the discomforting imagination about how much young Haruno must've suffered psychologically.

He let the delinquent go on with his story, having become deeply interested.

"When Junior High started, after first thinking nothing would change, I befriended Karma and Nagisa. For the first time, I was something other than alone, learning about friendship. By having good times, I was distracted from my negative feelings. We shared talks about our own troubles, and got out some steam of complaints out of us."

"That's great." Isogai said with a supportive voice, glad that Haruno managed to experience better times.

"But in the end, our troubles weren't nearly as similar as the troubles of the two of us, Isogai." the blond went on, bearing some regret in his eyes. "My most fundamental troubles, I couldn't get them out of me the way I desired. If it was with you, then I might have had. That's why, after learning about our similarities, I regret not being such an approaching person. If I was, we would've already been friends for a long time."

"…"

Yuuma had even more trouble responding to this one. Indeed, they could've already become friends, experienced some fun things together, talked about their private troubles to be more at ease. He too regretted that wasted possibility. 'Indeed, such a shame.'

"Because even if you stop being alone, even if things become better, all the memories of the not so good times will forever remain."

That was true, really true. Isogai agreed so much with that conclusive statement, he couldn't believe himself how much he agreed. Negativity from past feelings and memories would never truly go away.

But… they could be pushed back and minimized by new, positive feelings and memories.

"I see, that was really insightful. I now completely understand why you wanted to become my friend." the ikemen started in a calm and warm tone. All his gratitude for the expulsion deal aside, he felt a deeper, more motivational reason to also strive to become close with the delinquent. "And I'm also more than happy to be proud of friendship, Haruno-kun."

Now Haruno's mood went back to joyful, after just being on the negative side. He could already feel the positive influence of the verbal commitment to their new friendship.

"Then… now it's my turn to be grateful to you, Isogai."

There were lost opportunities in the past 2 years, but now, after his own efforts of making new friends, new opportunities to make fun memories with would arise. Friendship was something beautiful everyone should strive for.

And as such, there were others coming for it.

"Sorry for interrupting you, but…"

"We're also here for the same purpose."

"Yes."

A few meters behind the two were Sugino, Terasaka and Itona.

Curious about their presence, the blond let out a remark after turning his head towards them.

"Eavesdropping?"

"Maybe."

"I wouldn't say so."

"I don't know."

'How indecisive, completely different responses.' Yuuma thought, mentally sweatdropping.

"The point is" Tomohito spoke while stepping forward, getting past his initial shyness "that we… also want to become better friends with you."

He was awfully honest and direct today, Sugino, totally different from his usual reserved self.

"T- That's right!" Ryouma immediately followed, his pure and prepared courage for this confession clearly readable. "Ever since that day, I… I've been fucking respecting you a lot, okay? That's why I also wanna be a closer friend."

"T… The same goes for me…" It was interesting to see how shy the white-haired was right there, compared to his previous personality.

"…"

The delinquent was thinking about how quick, but at the same time how prepared those formal friendship requests were. It was clear to him that they'd been wishing to become proper friends for a longer while now, but didn't ask all that time due to how introverted he used to be. But now that news came out that he himself asked Isogai to become friends with him, he was seen as more extroverted than before. That's why, even indirectly, just becoming more open and approaching provided him with even more friends.

"Very well, I see no reason to say no."

Having seen once how good it was to just go out and make friends by himself, Haruno generously granted them the same opportunity.

And to no surprise, they were all visibly happy and deeply grateful to be accepted.

Smiling to himself, the blond silently thought about how good change could be if done right.

'I have made a good choice… A choice I won't regret.'

Just then, the ikemen spoke up, changing the topic. "Uhm, guys, can you wait here please? I'll just go to the toilet real quick."

"Okay."

Yuuma started walking out of the pitch, approaching the restroom facilities. On his way there, a group of girls started talking to him.

"Isogai-senpai~!"

"You were so cool!"

Due to his general kindness, smart perception and good looks, Isogai was the only boy of Class 3-E girls from the main building didn't look down on. They'd be friendly to him, and him alone.

But this bothered Yuuma, since one of the girls in that group was the one that earlier called his friend a 'monster'. That didn't escape his ears then.

"Thanks." he merely muttered in response, maintaining a friendly voice but ignoring them. He was one of the most open-minded people out there, but wasn't accepting of bullying and judgmental name-calling. Especially not to his friends.

As leaders, the ikemen and the delinquent were different. Figuratively, one was a monster, the other not. One was feared, the other not. As leaders, they were polar opposites.

Though that didn't mean they couldn't become good friends with good personal chemistry.

XXXXXXXXXX

Somewhere completely else, someone was having some of the worst time of his life. He had just tasted a humiliating loss, and his face was hurt. A large band aid had been put on his nose.

Asano Gakushuu plus his 4 foreign friends were in the former's father's office, having to listen to him talking about said loss. And his words were anything but pleasant.

"Asano-kun… Do you realize what this means?"

The chairman's words were quiet, calm, but not friendly.

"They miraculously won a battle anyone would've considered disadvantageous. And for doing that, people have started to change their opinions of them. You know that this situation contrary to my educational objective, correct? By losing with your underhanded strategy, you've been counterproductive. Furthermore, their movements made it clear that they knew about your hidden objective. They used your goal of 'crushing them' against you. With clever tactics, flawless cooperation and even superior use of force to literally 'crush' you."

Mr. Asano was casually naming every flaw about his son's performance in a manner calmer than still waters.

"But above all else, once you lose, everything else becomes meaningless. I have never expected you to become such a failure of a leader. I didn't think had it in yourself to be such an excuse for a leader."

This piece of cold, unforgiving criticism went beyond criticism as a student. Gakuhou was addressing Gakushuu as his son there, not his student.

Which only made it all even more sour and unbearable for the orange-haired. His downcast face indicated who was the last person he wanted to see after the Boutaoshi's conclusion, even a certain former classmate would've been preferable to this individual.

Upon having the chairman's words translated, the only conscious strong foreigner at the end of the game, Sang Hyuk, decided to voice out his disagreements. "I disagree, Mr. Chairman."

"Hm?" Mr. Asano didn't think there could be any arguments worth taking seriously coming out of the korean boy's mouth, but reacted anyway.

"It's true that Asano lost, but he gave his all until the end. He did whatever it took, like calling us. He correctly assessed the main thread, whom in the end, even us couldn't take out, because that guy, he can't be a normal human."

"That's enough, Sang Hyuk." the orange-haired asked his tall friend to stop. While naturally bitter about the defeat, it was just facts. Shiobana apparently being some monster he severely underestimated all along, because he took his rivalry with him seriously, his pride didn't allow him to use that as an excuse.

"More importantly, even when our incoming defeat was clear, this guy refused to budge. He refused to surrender even when the pole was in danger of falling on him, ultimately facing it head on." Sang Hyuk continued, unintentionally using wording Gakushuu didn't like to hear. "He has a very strong spirit, who'll show you good results soon even if he didn't today. If you're his father, you should at least be praising his good points, and say something like 'There are lots of things you can learn from a loss'".

The younger Asano, while unable to excuse his loss, still softened his facial expression as a sign of gratitude. His friends where real friends, supporting him throughout a terrible experience, when his own father didn't.

Firmly placing his palm on his desk, the elder Asano rose from his seat, displaying a cold smile with closed eyes. Not good.

"I see… I'm moved by your opinion, Sang Hyuk-kun. Then, won't you teach me a lesson as well?"

"…?"

Gakuhou stretched his arm forward, pointing at the floor. "Let's have one match, any method allowed. If you make my knee touch the ground, it'll be your win." the chairman calmly but boldly proposed. "If I lose… Maybe I can learn from that loss as well."

Taking off his jacket, the korean looked at him in disbelief. "You want to take me on, one on one? What an immature old man."

"Ah, no no." Mr. Asano corrected, then instantly assuming a sinister, thin smile on his face. "All 4 of you at once. I'm sure the rest of you are still restless as well."

Taken aback, but not willing to refuse, they all incredulously glared at Gakuhou.

"Hey… Mr. Chairman, what happens from here on out… you won't make a fuss of it, no?"

"Of course not." he levelheadedly assured, cracking his knuckles. Though, that goes both ways."

When the two sides were ready to fight, the one left out was having a very bad feeling. Fresh sweat breaking out on his face, he decided to step back. For things would become dangerous.

XXXXXXXXXX

A few minutes later, blood was splattered all over the board chairman's office. Whoever lost had been beaten to within an inch of their consciousness.

"I'm sorry… So sorry… I apologize…" the loser weakly whimpered, crying tears of pain. His ego had just been reduced to nothingness.

The orange-haired was leaning on the wall, having retreated to distance himself from the monster who stomped his opponents without breaking a sweat. He was shaking, especially his knees, real fear showing in his eyes.

"You know… When I defeated a blackbelt in Karate, it was the third day since I started Karate." the monster started telling a story. "On the first day, I was beaten black and blue. An old man in his thirties, was defeated repeatedly until he doubled over, vomiting. I tasted ultimate defeat"

"Now, what do you think I did on the second day?" The monster asked a question, his eyes insanely intense.

Gakushuu didn't dare answering, his throat had been clogged by fear.

"I simply watched." was the answer. "While my body burned from unnatural flames of humiliation, I continued to observe the instructor that defeated me. I thought 'If I lose again next time, I'll probably die of madness'. That rage and fear, it lead to a never before had concentration to steal the instructor's techniques, and to devise a strategy for defeating him."

"And on the third day, I defeated him without letting him land a single blow." was the ultimate statement. "After that, it was a fight against the fear of 'losing again'. The instructor lost his composure and came after me, and I continued defeating him while stealing his techniques. A few days later, I improved enough to treat him like a child."

Gakuhou, done with telling about his personal story, approached his terror-stricken son who had backed away from him. "That's what it means to learn from a loss, but most people are just talk. They eventually forget about the loss without learning anything."

Sealing the orange-haired's last escape route by placing his hand on the wall next to his head, he closed in on his son's face, having a very clear sight of his sweating, tense face with wide, shivering eyes and heavily clenched teeth.

"Hey, Asano-kun… Even though you lost, why aren't you mad enough about it to die?"

From that close distance, inside the younger Asano's head, the face of his old man didn't look human anymore. With inhumanly intimidating behavior like that, Gakushuu would indeed madden.

'Father… Shiobana… What the hell's wrong with you freaks, you… monsters!'

On this day, Asano Gakushuu learned that the people troubling his peace of mind the most were more akin to monsters than humans. They both had the physical strength to make that argument, and were at the same wavelength mentally too.

Pressured like that, the orange-haired was at the verge of losing his mind. 'If I want to regain my previous superiority over Shiobana… If I want to show father my true worth and dominate him, then I FUCKING NEED POWER! Because I can't let it end like this… I CAN'T ALLOW THEM TO TRAMPLE ALL OVER ME!'

Staying in his cowering, weak position until Gakuhou let him go, Gakushuu swore vengeance. Because in the end, his father was 100% correct about the importance about having to learn about defeat. Maybe, that fear just now was equal to the fear his old men felt during that Karate lesson.

So going by that logic, this Asano would soon become stronger. Because something had fundamentally changed inside of him.

'Never again shall I be looked down upon like this… Never again. UNTIL I PAY BACK BOTH OF YOU, I WON'T STOP FOR NOTHING!'

---

Again, sorry for taking so long. But once you go to university/college, and have lots of work to do, there's only so much time. Though I have some good news regarding time. I currently have 3 stories ongoing, and one of them will end with its respective next chapter. After that, I can focus more on this one. Please be patient, I am genuinely happily investing time in this fanfic.

That stuff aside, I want to talk about the content. Giorno becoming more open, searching for friends on his own is meant as character development. Because him interacting only with Karma and Nagisa out of all the boys 99% of the time forever would be boring and lazy writing. Not only that, but I want to naturally make him more expressive without writing him to be OOC, and figured that new friendships would be a good way. I want to be more daring now, changing a lot compared to canon without making up too much bullshit.

And speaking of change, now that the plotline with Kaede has changed, I need another antagonist. For which I'll be using Gakushuu. He'll be an important character in the coming chapters. But not the next, which'll focus on Giorno's prank on Korosensei and his "talk".

Feel free to rate and review if you like to