Chapter 04: 私

I put my hand on the smooth metal doorknob and gripping it softy, rotated it counter clockwise. I closed my eyes, bracing myself for the onslaught of questions, before opening the door and taking a step forward.

"Good morning, Hyakimono-sensei! Sorry for being late yet again." we announced in unison. Our homeroom teacher took a deep breath before scolding, "This is the sixth time you've been late this school year. I might've forgiven you if this was your first or even your second time, but six times. SIX times. Look at your classmates, none of them have been late twice. In fact, the most they've been late this school year is one time."

It was then at that moment when he noticed Izune standing behind us. "Oh, Izune Makabe, aren't you the new transfer student?" Upon hearing Izune's confirmation, he continued, "And why were you late...? Your old teacher told me that you were a good student who was always early to school and turning in assignments."

"W-well, I guess I lost track of time. Sorry for troubling you, sensei." Izune murmured with downcast eyes. Putting his hand behind his head, Hyakimono-sensei let out a loud sigh, before saying, "It's alright. After all, it's your first time unlike these two brats here." Upon saying these two brats, he gave us a nasty glare.

He then continued, "Considering all the good comments and praises Fukinaru-sensei gave you, I'll forgive you for being late this time by giving you a lighter punishment. However, I'll have to strictly punish you the next time you're late. For your punishment, just wipe the blackboards clean after class."

The very next instance, I was hit headfirst by a sudden eruption of dark aura. I could swear that his eyes were glowing a neon blood-red and I began to shudder. He then turned his gaze towards us, accompanied by a menacing smile.

"Sooo... considering that this is your sixth time, I'll have to strictly punish you in compliance with this school's teacher handbook." Upon notifying us of that, he calmly strolled back to his desk before reaching into the desk cabinet and pulling out a plain, blue handbook.

Raising the handbook up to his chin, he started speed-flipping through it. Locating the page he needed, Hyakimono-sensei thoughtfully read through it before turning to us. "According to the Zee handbook of proper punishments, you two will have to clean the school pool as punishment for being late six times."

"U-umm..." Izune suddenly spoke up trying to get the attention of the teacher. "Yes?" replied our sensei. "I think it's unfair for Akihiro and Kyuki to have to clean the school pool by themselves. Truthfully, I was the reason they were late. If they hadn't encountered me, they probably wouldn't have been late."

"That's why, I feel that it is only fair if I have to clean the school pool with them." The class suddenly erupted into a flurry of whispers.

Male 1: "Holy shit, I would love to have a girlfriend like that! I mean like, who wouldn't want such a

caring and noble girlfriend."

Female 2: Squeals, "Did you just hear that? Makabe-san just called Yamada and Shinoya by their first

names!"

Male 3: "I don't believe it, why would Makabe-san call them Akihiro and Kyuki."

Female 4: "Deshou, isn't Akihiro the super perverted guy who asks every girl he thinks is hot out?"

Female 5: Nods, "He's asked me out before. All we did was work on a group project together for one

day, but he still asked me out without even getting to really know me."

Female 4: "What about Shinoya? I've heard some nasty rumors about him before. Apparently, he's

the guy who would dropkick girls with the claim of gender equality."

Female 5: "Well, I guess that's true, but Shinoya's not so bad. In fact, he's quite good looking. I for

one, wouldn't mind hanging out with him if he wasn't best friends with

Yamada."

Female 2: "Plus, I also heard that he has one of the top grades of our year."

Female 4: "He does? I've never seen his name on the top exam rankings though."

Female 2: "Have you seen his exam scores though? Every single one of them is near 50. To purposely

get a 50 on every test, you would need to know nearly all the correct answers. Not to

mention that 50% is the lowest grade you can get to not fail."

Female 4: "Why would he get a 50 on every exam though? There's really no point if he could get a

100% instead."

Female 5: "No idea, but considering his personality... it would probably be to not attract attention. If

he had taken the number one spot at our school, he would've gained a lot of attention."

Female 4: "Won't people notice that he scored 50 on every single exam though?"

Female 2: "Nope! Most people would only look at the top 10 scorers. I only saw his score after

specifically scanning the list for Shinoya's score."

Female 5: "Oooo, for what reason? Do you have a crush on him?"

Female 2: "Not really, I was just curious about his exam score, since he basically fails any quizzes or

tests our sensei gives us."

"Ahem!" coughed Hyakimono-sensei. "If you would please keep the chattering to a minimum." Then turning to Izune, he replied, "Ah, so that's the case. If you really want to, feel free to go help them."

Giving off a cheerful smile, Izune quipped, "Thank you sensei." Then she questioned, "Uhm, sensei...? Where do I sit?" "Ah sorry about this, we still haven't done your introduction to the class." answered Hyakimono-sensei.

Turning to the class, Hyakimono announced, "So today, we'll be having a new transfer student from another class. I hope you will get along with her."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Izune Makabe from Class 4a, I hope we'll get along," announced Izune Makabe.