Chapter 10: Jack and Devil

"My name is Jack Freshman"

With a deadpan expression.

"My name is Jack Freshman~★"

With the wink and peace sign.

"My name is Jack Freshman!♪"

With arms high up in the air and stars popping out of me.

I faced the mirror, again. Admiring my melodic voice as I changed the way I spoke, from cutesy to cheerful. Placing my hand in front of my face, I bended my body forward and my other arm hugging myself while my muscles expanded, crouching a little and then–

"You thought it was Jack, but it was actually me, Dio!"

...

"5/10, lacks the menacingly"

Taking off the oversized blazer I found, a person nearby finally decides to make her presence known. Without me realizing she was actually watching since the beginning.

"I didn't know you were into cosplaying, prez"

I snorted at my secretary and left her, despite my cool attitude, my heart was actually threatening to fly out of my chest.

As soon as I got out of the StuCo room, I ran away, I ran as far as I could.

"Is she a fucking ghost?!"

This was an ordinary day.

*

"Mr. Freshman, can you teach for me? I'm kind of busy computing grades..."

I gave our teacher the dumbest look I could pull off.

"You're pretty shameless, you know that?"

"I'm sorry, I'll make it up to you somehow"

He held out the textbook he had on his table with a wry smile, the other teachers of my year peeked from their respective cubicles and all held out a book too.

"Can you please teach for us too? I swear, the escalator system of this academy is a fault"

...

Saying nothing else, I silently took each textbooks while shaking my head, I gave them a scrutinizing look and made sure to slam the door shut when I left the faculty.

This was an ordinary day.

*

It was lunchtime, a momentary break from my sudden promotion to being a teacher. I sat on the roof, back leaning on the screen and solemnly eating bread, with shitty fillings.

"I should learn how to cook..."

The connoisseur me stared at the not even half eaten bread, despairing over the fact that I have another of it, same time as the bell rang, in other words, I'm going to be teaching my classmates hungry.

"This is ridiculous"

Standing up and dusting my butt, I headed for the trash can and was moments away from exiling the shitty bread when my peripheral vision caught sight of a figure hugging their their knees depressingly in the corner of the rooftop.

It was a familiar girl, wearing the Kuoh Academy's uniform, blonde hair tied into a pony tail with bangs covering the entirety of her left face. Other than her awful looking shoes, a little bit of observation with my 11 Intelligence could tell that she was sniffing, or rather crying.

"What the heck are you doing, the bell rung already"

She stayed in place.

"Oi, Shinra Koyuki, get to class"

"Ah? I'm sorry, I-i..."

Why does everyone stutter? Can't people in this world speak without stuttering?

I didn't entertain her gloomy expression and looked at her with disdain, not that I'm actually hating on her, it just works most of the time.

Then a dragon came.

GRRRUUUUUOWL!

For your information, that wasn't me.

"I'm sorry..."

Saying nothing more, I cancelled my bread's exile and threw them at the sobbing girl, I have no time to waste with the weak...heh.

For the record, I just wanted to say that for once.

"Tch, do as you please, I'm not the President at the moment anyways"

As I was about to go down the stairs, I stopped in place and gave her some reassurance, I'm worthless apathetic but not cruel. I'd help if possible, just not like some hero of justice.

"Bullying is a serious offense, if you know someone being bullied then report it"

This was an ordinary day.

*

"And so, if you want to act smart, use this long formula. If you want to finish your assignment quickly, then use the shortcut. They all have the same answer, any questions?"

I stood in front of the whiteboard, turning around to face my classmates and doing a mandatory "any questions" question.

A brave student raised his arms.

"King Prez, have you ever tried wearing a maid uniform?"

"Get out of my class"

He dejectedly started walking to the door but before he actually left, my feminine side decided to hijack me.

"But, you can always wait for the culture festival~♥"

...

"All of you get out"

That day, Kuoh had a new series that would stretch out all way to the future.

"Student Council Presidents Wearing Cute Clothes"

This was an ordinary day.

*

Tak!

"Pivot using the front soles of your feet and use your non dominant hand to further increase the power of your strikes"

I blocked a horizontal strike with my own practice sword, tip pointed downwards and holding it with one hand, then I took a wide step forward, tightly gripping the practice sword and smacking the spar partner strong and fast enough that the stick bended like it was jelly.

...

"H-Huh?"

I stopped the stick a few centimeters from his helmet, the wind pressure created by it made his kendo uniform flutter.

"Next!"

My cool appearance was a testimony to my acting skills.

I nearly killed the guy. Then, a boy raised his arms, he had blue hair that was either dyed or the boy was special, anyways–

–The next guy really did come...heh.

NO! BEGONE THOT JACK!

"Hm? You're new, name and grade?"

"Yamamoto Aoko, 1st year"

That got my eyebrow rising, a male with a female's name, reminds me of a certain swimming anime.

"Any achievements?"

"Middle school Kendo champion"

His voice was empty, just like someone who has a sob tale related to showing emotions or a traumatic experience.

"Very well, Yamamoto Aoko, can you hit the Platinum Prince?"

He stood up, it seems like he was already part of the kendo club, he had the uniform and stood up holding his practice sword.

"Not hit, defeat"

Oh no, don't do that!

He took a stance and walked slowly, getting closer to my range while also circling me. His eyes were watching my shoulders and feet, both were telltales for arm movement and leg movement.

Well, it only works if you CAN see them. I made a awfully poor stance, filled with countless openings and a particularly bad posture, Aoko, considering the champion that he says he is, saw it as a chance.

Except that it was more of a bait than anything.

Judging from the way he held his practice sword and his direction, I predicted his strike would be aiming for my head, probably wanting to humiliate me one way or the other.

"An opening–

He lowered his center of gravity, approaching me with his speed and sudden pause in mind as he pulled his practice sword back, both hands on the grip with his left foot forward.

In only 2 seconds, he got enough force to make a thrust for my left temple, he planted his feet firmly in the ground and launched his body, starting from the hips, to the subtle twist in his abs, finally ending with his shoulders to the wrist in a fluid textbook perfect motion of a sword thrust.

But, sadly.

"–Can be a dual edged blade"

I didn't dodge, that was too easy, nor did I parry, it was too light of a punishment.

Instead, I challenged his thrust with a thrust of my own using only a single hand, two tips of shinai touching perfectly but the winner was me obviously, pushing his stick and continuing on to point it as his neck.

His eyes grew wide in shock and... excitement?

Great, a battle maniac.

"How?"

I smiled amicably at him and placed down my practice sword.

"When you see a opening, what do you think of it as?"

"A weakness"

"True, but anything else?"

He gazed at the floor, he looked so serious that my feminine side wanted to...do something, thankfully the satisfaction from humilia- I mean, from teaching him was good enough.

"I don't know"

"A bait, young swallow"

"Bait?"

"Yes, a bait, a useful opening if I must say"

"But isn't an opening supposed to be bad?"

I sighed at his truly face value way of looking at things, how did this child even grow long enough as he did?

"An opening IS bad, but because it's bad, it's also very... predictable, so much so that you can guarantee your opponent to strike it 9 out of 10 time, the 10th being me"

Hey, I gotta raise his idol meter to me. This guy is going to keep the kendo club champions for 3 years straight. Now I just need a female kendoka.

"Predictable, is that why you knew despite having your eyes closed?"

Can't say I cheated and just have 15x more agility than a regular human that every thing actually looks slow if I focus for a bit now can I?

"Yes"

He looked at me, stars apparent in his eyes. And he bowed.

"Please teach me, sensei"

Yes! Hahaha! With this, the Kendo club is off my back for most of the time!

"Yorokobe shounen! The Platinum Prince himself will teach you, are you willing boy?"

...

He looked at me as if I was a person with something in the head.

"Sensei, I'm a girl"

This is an ordinary day.

*

"I'm a girl she says, sensei are you gender blind she says, hah! If everybody becomes gender blind then I'm possibly the only person to realize what a stick and hole can do!"

It was that time of the day where I walk home. Though I call it that, it's more or less me purposely giving cursing the entire world as I walk home.

No one cares though.

As soon as I arrived at my door, I ignored the white haired girl with devil wings and laid down on my bed...

"Wait what?!"

I sat up from my bed and looked at the girl who intruded my home.

...

Ok, this is not an ordinary day.