#17 Conflict

"Oh? You were in the store too, Iwamura-kun?"

Yuichi looked to the left and found Sudo squatting with his back against the store with his cup of instant noodles in hand.

"Sudo-kun? ...Are you sure you should eat that junk?" Yuichi played surprised to see him and then he asked him while looking at his food with a worried look.

"...Is there something wrong with it?" Sudo asked with a confused expression, although Sudo was very aggressive and short-tempered, he absolutely loved basketball and someone like Yuichi made him even more motivated. Sudo himself didn't know it yet but he actually admired Yuichi for being able to compete in 2 sports on a national level, of course among Junior High schoolers.

*Ding*

"Of course, there are many problems with eating that junk, not to mention right outside the store. At least eat it at home." Horikita walked out of the store and replied with obvious expression.

"I will be going now, I don't want to degrade myself by staying here any longer. Thank you for your time, Iwamura-kun." Horikita said with her proud look which completely pissed off Sudo.

"Haa?! What the hell do you mean degrade yourself, you from some kind of noble family or what?!" Sudo stood up and shouted at Horikita who was still facing Yuichi and Ayanakoji who just came out of the store.

"What's his problem? Suddenly getting angry like that..." Horikita completely ignored Sudo which pissed him even more as he wanted to approach Horikita but before he could Yuichi went ahead to defuse the situation.

"Sudo-kun, it's fine where you decide to eat however there is no need to get angry over a few words. By getting angry it only shows that you truly think that Horikita-san is above you. Sometimes ignoring people is the best response." Yuichi blocked Sudo's path and said with a reassuring smile.

While Ayanokoji tried to talk some sense into Horikita although he ultimately failed.

"Tch!" Sudo looked over Yuichi, Ayanokoji, Mei and Horikita before clicking his tongue in front of Yuichi and going back to his place in front of the store.

"Hmph, well, I recommend everyone not to spend your points mindlessly" Horikita said before throwing her head to the side, slowly leaving the group.

When Yuichi and others wanted to slowly leave too, a few students walked out of the store and approached Sudo and the group of 3 who was standing quite close to Sudo.

"Hey, you guys first years? This is our spot"

"Hah?! I was here first, get lost!" Sudo who was already upset due to the matter with Horikita snapped at them.

"Haha, 'get lost' he says. Aren't you a bit cocky for a freshman?" 3 of the upperclassmen laughed at Sudo's face seeing his short fuse.

"What the fuck did you just-" Sudo put his cup of instant noodles back on the ground before standing up, clearly not afraid of being outnumbered however he was interrupted by Yuichi who stepped between him and 3 upperclassmen.

"Hello, I apologize for taking your place however my friend was already here before you and this is the school's property so this "spot" can't be legally yours. Therefore, first come first served. Please bear with it and choose another place, there are numerous good spots to eat at." Yuichi politely said with closed eyes and a bright smile.

'Is he actually pushover? When I saw him play on the basketball court, he looked like a completely different person.' Sudo thought, slightly disappointed however he could still see that Yuichi got quite a muscle mass so, in the end, he thought that Yuichi just doesn't want to cause any problems right on the first day.

"Another first-year acting presumptuously in front of his Senpais. You guys are surely from Class D, right? You are defects so just get lost and give us our spot, you have no right to make decisions."

*Thud*

With that said, 3 of them threw their bags on the ground, intending to remain here no matter what.

'What a blatant discrimination' Yuichi thought. He already knew that those guys were here just to make trouble, if they really wanted to eat, they would simply find another spot or waited until Sudo finished eating.

"Actually, you are the ones acting presumptuously, Senpais. You assume the fact that you are older gives you power over us however that superiority over age is just an illusion. There are no school rules stating that we need to listen to the people who are a grade above us." Yuichi said with a wide friendly smile while pointing up with his index finger.

'This guy is pissing me off!' They immediately thought when they saw Yuichi's smile.

"With everything said, can you please finally...buzz off, Senpais" Yuichi said with a bright smile and closed eyes and when they heard him, one of the guys' mouth twitched as he raised his hand to punch Yuichi's face with his annoying smile.

"?!" Everyone was surprised by sudden switch made by Yuichi. One moment he was completely polite and another second later he told them to buzz off with the same polite smile still on his face.

"Yuichi-kun!" Mei shouted with a worried expression while Yuichi's polite smile changed to a sly smile as he opened his eyes, narrowing them as if he was daring them to continue.

*thud* However before the fist could hit his face, one of those upperclassmen caught his friend's fist in front of Yuichi's face.

"Are you out of your mind?!" He shouted at his friend with a horrified expression and both looked towards the security camera installed on the store building. The one who just almost punched Yuichi had horrified expression as he looked towards the Yuichi who once again had closed eyes and a bright smile.

'This guy was baiting me to hit him...He was intending to take the hit just to cause us troubles...This guy is nuts and dangerous.' The guy who almost punched Yuichi thought with cold sweat on his back.

"Yuichi-kun, are you alright?!" Mei immediately rushed to Yuichi's side to check on him even though she saw with her own eyes that he wasn't hit. Yuichi just nodded his head with a smile at Mei.

"...Whatever, you are just defects anyway. Soon enough you will experience the hell itself." One of them said before dragging his friends away.

'He was intending to take the hit without moving...Everyone would reflexively move even if they wouldn't be able to dodge the punch itself but they would still try to move out of danger's way or put their hands in front of their face to protect themself.' Ayanokoji thought and also went to check on Yuichi while secretly observing him.

"Dipshits!" Sudo muttered before sitting back down

'Still, it looks like Iwamura isn't what he seems to be. To be able to endure so much of their blattering and then tell them to buzz off with the same polite smile takes a lot of patience, however it also shows that even Iwamura can get angry despite trying to hide it. Although I thought that he would at least try to block that punch maybe it was his intention to get hit?' Sudo thought while glancing up at Yuichi who was waving at those 3 upperclassmen.

"...Thanks, I guess" Sudo said although no one was aware who he was thanking to...Be it Ayanokoji for buying his instant noodles or Yuichi for standing up for him even though it was unnecessary.

"No problem, we are friends, or not?" Yuichi said towards Sudo.

"...I guess we are...?" Sudo replied with a slightly awkward expression.

"Just make sure not to get angry at every person that will try to taunt you since discrimination seems to be quite a trend here." Yuichi said, preparing to leave.

Sudo nodded his head however it wasn't certain if he was even listening while eating.

"...Ayanokoji-kun, do you want to go back towards the dorms together or do you have other plans?" Yuichi turned at Ayanokoji who was pretty quiet the entire time.

"Hm? You want to go back with me?" He asked with a surprised expression before glancing at Mei who just nodded her head, unfortunately, she didn't get the meaning of his glance.

"If you have no plans, let's go back together" Yuichi said and started to slowly walk towards the 15 story building in the distance. Mei quickly followed after Yuichi and Ayanokoji just watched their backs for a few seconds before releasing a faint smile.

His smile lasted only for a few seconds before he turned at Sudo, nodding his head as a farewell before catching up to those 2.

.

.

"So...What made you come to this school, Ayanokoji-kun? That is if you don't mind telling me." Yuichi asked with a smile.

"Um, I don't have any particular reason other than higher education..." Ayanokoji replied, looking a bit startled by Yuichi's sudden question.