Our Invincible Protagonist (2)

The rest of the class's introductions had gone on pretty smoothly after that, and it wasn't long before Muramatsu-sensei began his opening lecture. Kotaka however, had his thoughts elsewhere.

He had figured that since everyone thought he was a delinquent already, he may as well try to perpetuate it further. If everything went according to plan, rumours would spread and his reputation would increase to the point where nobody would dare to mess with him. After all, he was new in town; and no one knew he was a chew toy back in his old neighbourhood. With everyone too scared to disturb him, he would finally be able to live in peace for a change. Still, he couldn't seem to shake a strange sense of uneasiness.

His eyes shifted toward his neighbour. Onimaru Godou, he said his name was. Said student was leaning back in his chair, his hands in his pockets and quite evidently not paying attention to anything the teacher was saying. He thought he had imagined it, but he was sure that Onimaru had stared at him before giving his introduction. Did he see through the ruse? And if so, was he going to do anything about it?

Onimaru had not spoken to him nor anyone else in class since the lecture started, but Kotaka wasn't sure if it was because he was waiting for the right time to confront him or because he just didn't care. Say what one would about his choice of headgear, he didn't act like someone who wore it just to be funny or unique. He carried himself with pride, confidence, and gave off the aura of someone not to be taken lightly. Kotaka could tell, he had seen plenty of guys with the same kind of feel.

Most of them were people he wound up being an errand boy to.

Onimaru was an unforeseen factor in Kotaka's plan for an ordinary life. He didn't count on encountering someone like him so early in the year. Still, if Onimaru really didn't care about him, then all he had to do was keep his distance until…

*SLAM*

The sudden bang made Kotaka jump, and the entire classroom went quiet. Onimaru was no longer in his seat. He was standing up, hands on each side of his desk.

"Is there a problem Onimaru?" Mr. Muramatsu raised his eyebrow, unfazed by his student's sudden outburst.

"Toilet." Onimaru muttered as he walking out the back door, slamming it shut.

"Huh…" said Muramatsu-sensei, with the same sleepy-eyed expression had had since the beginning of class, "As I was saying…"

If there was any doubt left in Kotaka's mind that Onimaru was bad news, it had vaporized into thin air. Leaving like that in the middle of class, during the first lecture of the first day of school? This guy was seriously hardcore bad.

Kotaka's goal was to strike the balance of being notorious enough to keep the small fries off his back, but not enough to attract the attention of the bigger fish. Onimaru was definitely a big fish, and it was going to make that balance all the more difficult to reach.

He had to think of something to keep Onimaru off his tail, and fast.

SSS

Onimaru did not return to class, and before long it was time for lunch. Kotaka decided to get something from the cafeteria as well as take the opportunity to have a look around the school. Munching on some Yakisoba bread, he was awestruck by the sheer size and variety of facilities on campus. He'd definitely made the right decision in picking this school to attend; he was going to enjoy living his next three years of peace here.

Thankfully, wherever Kotaka went Onimaru was nowhere in sight. This shouldn't really have surprised him since the school was so large. However, he wasn't about to drop his guard; Student Autonomy came at a price for Nakaba, as this meant students were also in charge of monitoring their own discipline. To his knowledge there were more than a few bad apples to be found here and he really didn't want a taste of them any time soon.

As Kotaka turned a corner into the clearing behind the main school building he froze. A student with wild blonde hair and a smug grin was blocking his path. Behind him were what looked like about a dozen guys, all with the same cocky smiles and wild hair as their leader.

"Hey you!"

Oh great.

"Hear you used to be a pretty big name back in your old town." The blond sneered, taking a few steps towards Kotaka, "Not that that means jack shit over here."

Kotaka's body tensed up instinctively, one of those bad apples had just fallen into his lap. Rumors in this school sure traveled quickly, He was expecting to draw the attention of the local gangs sooner or later but not this early. Memories of past encounters like this were quickly flashing through his mind.

"But…me and my guys here got a reputation to keep up, gotta show the other gangs we aren't going to be intimidated by newcomers." The blond snapped his fingers, and immediately Kotaka found himself surrounded on all sides, "Don't worry, we'll make this as painless as possible. Heh heh."

Normally Kotaka's first instinct would be to run away and never look back, but doing so would make his whole plan go up in flames. Not that he was planning on running; he had a way for dealing with situations like these. He stood up straight, put his hand in his pocket and spoke.

"You little shits got some nerve, interrupting my lunch for this bullshit." he snarled, taking a bite out of his bread. He had to put on a brave front, make it look like he wasn't intimidated in the least.

"Hey hey," the blond laughed nervously, "Is that any way to talk to your senpai?"

"Senpai?!" Kotaka shouted, slamming the remains of his lunch into the ground, "Don't make me laugh, weaklings are weaklings no matter what grade they're in."

The expressions on his attackers quickly changed from ones of bemusement to anger.

"What the hell?!" the blond growled, "Don't think you can get cocky with…"

Kotaka ignored the blond thug and continued to talk, "I just got through telling my class that I wanted to live my high school life without annoying interruptions like these." he lamented, rolling his head back with a resigned sigh, "Was it too much to ask for a little peace for once?"

Behind their clenched teeth and balled fists, Kotaka could see that some of them were starting to get a little hesitant. This tactic had worked somewhat well for him in the past, his face combined with carefully chosen words made it easy to scare people into leaving him alone. As long as he kept up the façade of being strong he would be able to get away from them scot free.

"Fine! You worms want to throw down? Well bring it on" Kotaka morphed his face into the same twisted expression he had used in class, shooting them all the most vicious and deranged glare he could give, "If you can handle it that is."

That seemed to do the trick, out of the corner of his eye Kotaka noticed that their knees were shaking ever so slightly, fear creeping into their outraged stares. Some were slowly lowering their fists and backing away.

"Hmph, that's what I thought." Kotaka smirked, he was home free, "Now get the hell out of my way you losers."

The gang members did what they were told, silently edging out a path for Kotaka to walk though. All except for one; The blond remained still, glowering at Kotaka. Kotaka didn't expect the leader of the group to be as easy to intimidate, but even so he saw the uncertainty in his eyes. He had to pick his next move carefully, it could either lift him out of this situation or throw him headfirst into a brawl.

Just one more push…

"Perhaps I didn't make myself clear…" Kotaka took a step forward, coming dangerously close to the blond's face. "Move. Before I really get mad." he hissed.

"You…" the blond jerked backward, raising his fist, "Don't screw with me you freaking freshman!"

"Aw Crap." He'd pushed too far, Kotaka thought to himself as he tightened his body and waited for the blow…

"Yo! Boss!"

The blond froze. Kotaka almost didn't recognize the voice because of how upbeat and cheerful the greeting was. The crowd shifted aside to reveal a familiar 'face'.

It was Onimaru Godou.

SSS