Kurayami Kuroe

When they got to the classroom themselves, that's when Satoshi realized that the girl who manipulated the superhero Lariat right by the school gate was actually one of their classmates. The reason why they didn't recognize her was that she was wearing a hood and a mask on the first day of school. She was probably sick with the flu and didn't want anyone getting it but it served another purpose back then. To the others, it's as if the girl was a new student who just transferred even though such wasn't the case.

Due to the attention she was getting from everyone, she leaned forward and covered her face with her hands as if that would redirect everyone's attention to something else. Well, she shouldn't have caused such a ruckus in front of the school gate if she didn't want to be the talk of the classroom. But then again, she didn't have a choice but to do it. She didn't want to reveal her superpowers to the SAO after all.

"Hey, um, Kuroe-san, right?" Satoshi called out. He didn't know what to tell the girl. The only reason why he tried talking to her was that he had the same thought as hers. "I also didn't... " Satoshi then shifted into a whisper. "I also didn't put my superpowers on my form. If that makes you feel any better."

"Well, no. The principal is probably trying to decide what to do with me right now. Sigh~ I know I didn't have to do this but... if I can't do it then where's the freedom in that? It's not like I'm entitled to give them personal information about myself." She muttered, still covering her face with her arms as she rested on her desk. "These guys are fools. They're freely handing out their strengths and weaknesses to the government as if that would help them. And if worse comes to worst, what would the government do for them in return? Of course, send them out and wait for them to die. It's not like the government's giving them privileges or something. They only give superheroes more opportunities to risk their lives."

Satoshi could feel great resentment coming from Kuroe even though she wasn't making any contact at all. "If you say it that way, then I guess that's how it is. You're right about everything else except for one thing. You know, there are a lot of superheroes who wouldn't think twice about risking their lives and there are those who are willing to die for someone else, something like that. I know where you're getting at but it's their choice to make, just like how we choose our own choices ourselves."

"Yeah, right." She responded indifferently. Satoshi

"All right, let's start homeroom!" Knighthawk entered the room with a light expression on his face, totally forgetting what happened the previous day. But unbeknownst to the students, he was actually trying to hide his worries from everyone because currently, every superhero who is able was sent to outer space to fend off the slimes who were trying to invade the planet. Although he wasn't part of the crusade since he had to be present as a homeroom teacher in the USA, he was still greatly worried for all his acquaintances and friends who were currently fighting.

"First, let's address the fill-up form that was sent to you yesterday. You were asked to fill it up, right? Let's see here." Knighthawk said in a monotonous manner as if his mind was someplace else. He carefully went over every paper to see if everything was accurate. He still doesn't know why the government would do such a thing to superheroes but then again, he wasn't affected by it so who was he to complain? After all, he doesn't have any superpowers in the first place.

"Onigashima Midori, Midoriyama Satoshi, and Kurayami Kuroe— the three of you— meet me at my office later on." Knighthawk said without even batting an eye. Well, the three of them already knew why they were being called to his office, and that was because they didn't fill-up the form properly.

As for everyone, however, they wondered why the three of them were being called to the office? Was it because they were going to get a scholarship? Were they going to get an internship recommendation? Did they excel more compared to everyone else? All those questions invaded everyone's mind due to the competitive atmosphere amongst high schooler superheroes. The homeroom had already started and yet they couldn't focus on it... especially Hiroshi, who had always wanted to be a step ahead of Satoshi every time.

The homeroom subject this time consisted of the rules and regulations and etiquette when it comes to being on-field. Things like confirming to the superhero if he needed help or not, or not getting anyone else's target were the primary discussions of the topic. Knighthawk seemed to be enthusiastic about it as well since he had a lot of experience on-field as a policeman then and as a superhero now.

Satoshi drowsily flipped through his textbook while trying to remain awake. Everything that Knighthawk was discussing had already been imprinted in his mind long before entered school. His parents had already drilled it into his memory when he was young. 'Even if I were sleeping, I'd have nailed all the rules and regulations there is when it comes to being on-field.' He said to himself as he let himself doze off. He didn't really care if Knighthawk would catch him red-handed and if Knighthawk were to challenge him with a question regarding the subject, he was confident that he would be able to answer it.

"Hey, Satoshi." Someone called from beside him, tapping him on the shoulder.

"Uh, yes?" He sleepily asked, only to find that it was Kuroe calling out to him.

"Can we share textbooks? I forgot mine at home." She whispered.

"Well, it's not like I can refuse, can I?" Satoshi sighed, bringing his desk closer to Kuroe so they could share textbooks. He could still clearly remember what happened to Lariat when he refused to accept Kuroe's fill-up form this morning.