Cruel Joke!

[Tomorrow is the math mid-term exam, I should review a little more before heading to sleep.] Thought Akai while solving some mathematical problems.

these equations are easy lets see..

... 24x2+25x−47=(−8x−3)(ax−2)−53

24x2+25x−47=−8ax2−3ax+16x+6−53

24x2+25x−47=−8ax2−3ax+16x−47

[The answer is.. −8a=24, or a=−3 as expected the value of "a" constant is -3]

One after another he kept solving equations with ease.

...

Akai Osamu a third year J & S Professional highschool student. Always ranked 1st at school. Either it was his elmentary school or preparatory school he never dropped down his position as rank one.

His short dark hair all along with his eye glasses reflect hidden arrogance. Unlike the usual book nerd, he is quite handsome though not by much. Body appearance is acceptable with height of 177 cm.

Unlike the usual student, he does not involve himself in unnecessary activities like playing MMO games or going to karoke with others. He most likely spends his time reading, practicing or studying. All due to his high intelligence that he can find it easy to remain at the top while having time to take care of his physical appearance.

He occupies the first seat in the middle row in his class and maintains few contacts among the other elite students. Usually exchanging few words with one or two of the elites in the class and doesnt bother himself with the others.

[Okay that should be enough.] With that he finished his studies, set up the alarm, and went to sleep.

...

[RING!] [RING!]

Uhhh.. He wakes up at 6:00 AM every morning, washes up, eats breakfast, and get dressed to go to school.

Once he arrives at school he heads straight to his class to prepare before the first period begins.

There at the other side of the door of class A-3 his eyes fell upon the typical scene of everyday where he hears the murmurs of his classmates that sound like hordes of bees flying and buzzing around.

"Akagi-kun, are you ready for the exam today.. I'm quiet nervous"

"Haha.. it is okay sana-chan, just concentrate and don't rush then all should be fine"

"Hey Minato, i'm already level 23 and recently i learned the rare skill; fire flower"

"whew.. that's impressive makoto, I actually.." Before he could finish speaking the surroundings got silenced by the sound of the door being shut and Akai walking in.

Everyone's gazes fell on him walking toward his seat then put on his headphones without saying a word.

The two fellows to his left and right sides nodded to him as if they indicated to say hello then looked back at the books in front of them as they seemed occupied reviewing some information.

Not even did 20 seconds pass by untill the murmuring sounds returned as if nothing happend.

"So Minato.. What were you saying?" Said Makoto seeing Minato still gazing at Akai.

"Whats wrong? do you have something to say to Aka.." Before he could finish his sentence he was interrupted by Minato. "Sorry Makoto, we will catch up later" With that he walked over toward Akai leaving Makoto who stood their for a moment before returning to his seat.

At this moment, Akai who was listening to some sort of relaxing music seemed to be pondering about something. [It is already the second half of the first semester. If I maintain my usual rate till the end of the year then joining Tokyo University will proceed smoothly as planned.]

[Hahaha.. it is almost within my reach. Only if i can speed up the process and take all the tests already... . ] Thought Akai with a glint in his eyes and arrogant smile on his face.

Suddenly, he felt an arm sneak around his shoulder and turned around to see Minato whose face revealed a carved playful smile. [Damn it is that guy Minato again.] Thought Akai when his cold eyes fell on Minato.

"Neh.. Akai, I say, why don't you join us today to hang out a lil bit and have fun.. you always studying, studying.. come on that must be boring" Said Minato after pulling out Akai's headphones.

"Minato! leave me alone, you have been sticking around me lately repeating the same nonsense. It is time for mid-term exams and I should not be fooling around" After moving Minato's hand away, he said with low arrogant voice.

Although he is not really worried about the tests as he already studied the whole syllabus and memorized all necessary information, he still thinks it is waste of time to hang around. He prefers reading books and getting various knowledge than wasting time.

"You really don't have 'fun' in your dictionary do you? sigh.. then at least join us in 'Path of Glory' so we can have a good time together. It is not really like you have to play it 24 hours. Around 3 hours a day is good enough. Plus, Im positive your smart-ass already studied most or even all of the syllabus and don't need to study except for 1-2 hours a day" Said Minato with a kind of crafty smile on his face.

[This guy is really bothersome. His marks is above average and he is kinda smart, However, he is no where to match me. I bet if he does not waste his time on these trivial matters he would score some good marks.]

"Hmph, instead of wasting your time on that game, you better focus more on studying maybe then you will be among the top 10" Said Akai with serious but arrogant look on his face.

Hearing this, Minato knew he could not persuade him as always so he decided to give up. "sigh.. you know! you should not be like this all of the time Akai. Although studying and real life matters are important, it is okay to have fun someti.." while he was speaking, the door of the class suddenly opened and the teacher got in.

"Anyway, we will talk later" Said Minato before returning to his seat.

Akai ignored him then switched attention to the teacher who started to take the attendance "Akagi Soichiro , Akai Osamu... " After sometime the teacher was done taking attendance.

"Okay, now open your history book on page..." The period began like usual as everyday until it was the time for the third period.

The math teacher entered the room with a sealed file that seems to contain papers inside.

He unsealed the file and and looked at the students "It is the time for the math exam, prepare yourselves before I start distributing the papers, the period of the exam is..." said the teacher casually.

Everyone was quiet during the exam. Some seemed to have little trouble solving the mathematical problems while other some did not show much of struggling expression.

However, Akai was the most expressionless as he dropped his pen after around 20 mins and waited for the time to end.

After another 25 mins the time was over and the teacher took the papers back.

Like that the rest of the day was coming to an end. When the bell rang declaring the end of the last period of the day, the student started packing to leave.

"Akai, wait for a minute" Said the teacher to akai after noticing he was about to leave.

This was the class teacher who teach social psychology and also responsible for class A-3.

"Yes Sensei?" Said Akai in a respective and firm tone.

"I know you don't need to hear this but i want to say that as long as you maintain you current pace then for sure Tokyo Uni. will be within the reach" Said the teacher with a hint of worry but also admiration.

"Sensei can rest assured, I wont let myself get distracted" Said Akai firmly reassuring his teacher after noticing his hidden meaning while also glancing with the back of his eyes at Minato.

"Good, you can leave now" Said the teacher while glancing at the door of the class.

Minato who was near them heard their conversation then gave Akai a meaningful look as their gazes met then he headed toward the door and left.

Some while after he left, Akai grabbed his backpack and left as well.

After what seemed about 30 minutes of walking he finally reached his house.

"I'm home!" Said Akai casually.

"Oh, kai-chan how was your exam today" Said an old lady who seemed to be 40 years of age. Her face was not as old as her age may indicate but rather appears to be in her mid-thirties with faint wrinkles.

"Ah, like usual it was very easy" Said Akai with his calm voice while heading to his room. "I will be upstairs in my room to have some rest" he said without stopping, moving upstairs toward his room.

Moments later, he entered his room and changed his clothes after taking a quick shower. Then he

went toward his studying desk and sat down on the chair.

After taking a random book and reading for about 30 minutes, he glanced toward his laptop and decided to surf the internet for various information about SAT.

While he was surfing the pages of internet, an ad showed up advertising 'Path of glory' the game Minato keep mentioning.

He glanced at the ad for few seconds and with a cold snort he ignored it. "What a joke, people fall for these fake games" feel ridicule and disgust he stopped his surfing and leaned backwards with his back and his head resting and relaxing.

He put his headphones on that was connected to his Smartphone and started to listen to the relaxing music while gradually falling a sleep.

Time slowly passed. After unknown amount of time, voices could be heard within the vicinity.

[Uhh.. what is that noise..?] Thought Akai while still half a sleep with closed eyes but was also feeling that something was off.

"move!" A faint voice along with other noises that seemed like horses closing in came from the distance.

Upon noticing the faint voice, Akai also felt cold air. He slowly opened his eyes to meet with the view of a clear blue sky.

Feeling like he was dreaming, he rubbed his eyes to only discover that the scenery did not change.

losing his wits by the sudden shock, he checked himself and his whereabouts to find that he was laying on a green plain surrounded by lush greenery and some trees. Upon noticing this, the feeling of uneasiness started to grow harder.

However, before he could analyze the situation he heard noise again about 50 meters away.

"MOVE!! QUICKLY MOVE!!" Shouted a middle-aged man who was riding on the back of a horse followed by other six people who seemed to be his companions.

Without further ado and seeing that the distance was getting shorter every second, he quickly dodged to the side as he watched the seven people riding horses move away into the distance.

Then he looked around and noticed he was atop of a small hill and far into the distance was a small town 400 hundred meters away where the horses were heading.

"Where am I!!!" with a shock on his face said the astonished Akai Osamu.

[If this is a dream then i pray to God that i wake up.. If not.. Then i fell for a joke, however, this joke is like no other but rather a 'Cruel Joke'.]

[Welcome, Akai-kun.. huhuhu..]

**