Inside the grand auditorium where the opening ceremony was being held, students and instructors were gathered, sitting in rigid, upright positions as they awaited the principal's address.
However, with a few minutes left before the start, the atmosphere remained somewhat relaxed, with no shortage of people whispering to one another in their seats.
The copper buttons on the collar of Jinpei Matsuda's deep-blue police uniform glinted slightly under the lights.
"...Seriously, why am I sitting right across from that blonde bastard?" He tossed a complaint toward Rei Furuya's sharp glare. "Oh, and his little sidekick—"
Before he could finish, Kenji Hagiwara gave one of his black curls a sharp tug.
"Ow! Dammit!"
"He's not a 'sidekick' or anything like that," the handsome youth with mid-length black hair corrected him. "One look tells you they're best friends, just like us."
"...Pull my hair again and I'm unfriending you," Matsuda snarled.
"Sorry~ But it's your own fault for never filtering your mouth, Jinpei-chan."
Hagiwara shrugged his shoulders. "It won't do you any good to be on bad terms with Furuya-kun. He was the top scorer of this year's entrance exam; his grades are ridiculously high. I bet he'll be the one giving the freshman representative speech in a moment."
"Of course, he's one of those headache-inducing overachievers..." Matsuda muttered under his breath, then suddenly remembered something.
"Wait, the 'Chief' student I heard about wasn't named Furuya."
He looked at Hagiwara with a look of malicious glee. "Did you get it wrong? Is the blonde idiot actually in last place?"
Hagiwara explained: "When the results first came out, I checked the website thoroughly. Rei Furuya is indeed number one, but he's tied for first. There's another guy with the exact same score. The name was... Kuno something?"
"Kuno-something-shi?"
"I remember now, it's Hisashi Kuno. Kuno Hisashi... 'Hisashi' as in 'hope.' Nice meaning."
He recalled the page from that day: "Both of them got perfect scores on the written exam, but their overall profile is different. Furuya's physical exam score was quite a bit lower than Kuno's. Well, there's no helping that—Kuno got a perfect score on the physical as well. Honestly, when I saw it, I thought it was absurd. With so many rigorous requirements, how could anyone get a perfect score across the board?"
Matsuda agreed: "Is that guy some kind of monster?" He considered himself near the top of the class, yet he only had a perfect score in mechanical engineering.
"So how did he end up tied with the blonde?"
"Hmm... it is strange." Hagiwara leaned in and whispered: "Apparently, Rei Furuya left him in the dust during the interview portion."
"The interview? You'd have to try to fail to do that poorly." Matsuda shook his head, baffled. "It's just a few random questions, isn't it?"
At that moment, two girls who had been stealing glances at them for a while found a gap to join the conversation and worked up the courage to approach.
"If you're talking about that, we actually know the inside scoop! Want to hear?"
"Eh? You guys know about Kuno?"
Hagiwara acted surprised but remained smooth: "Of course we want to hear. But it's a crime that I only just noticed such cute fellow classmates sitting nearby."
As Matsuda watched his childhood friend trigger the passive skill Irresistible Charisma, he wisely shut his mouth. "Oh, stop it—!"
The girls suppressed the urge to squeal and took turns revealing the gossip: "We heard Kuno-kun is an extremely eccentric person... Not only did he claim the written exam was easier than playing house, but during the practical combat phase, he actually threw Instructor Onizuka so hard he nearly ended up in the hospital!"
"But he really is amazing. He had the fastest time in the physical test and still got a perfect score."
"And, and! I heard that during the interview, he dismantled the lie detector right in front of the examiners!" One of the girls used exaggerated gestures. "He said something like, 'Real lies should be judged by heartbeats and eyes'..."
"...No wonder his interview score was so bad," Hagiwara lamented.
More like, how did he even pass?
Matsuda's eyes, however, lit up: "Dismantled a lie detector? Not bad, this guy. We might actually get along."
Hagiwara (face-palming): It must have been a real struggle for you to resist doing the same during your interview.
At that moment, the sound of the principal's footsteps approaching the podium was amplified through the speakers in the four corners of the hall. The instructor adjusting the microphone suddenly snapped to attention, followed by the rustling of fabric from the audience, sounding like wind blowing through a pine forest.
The stern yet kindly old principal stood in his crisp uniform, the cherry blossom police badge on his chest reflecting the silver in his hair. He gazed out at the freshmen along with the portraits of past principals hanging on the wall and smiled slightly.
"I am very glad to see you all here at the Tokyo Police Academy, choosing to become excellent police officers for the people."
"Sixty-two years ago, I sat exactly where you are sitting. Back then, the auditorium had no air conditioning. In the summer, sweat would soak our collars, and in the winter, our breath would frost the windows..."
The principal began with the history of the academy, but his speech was not as long-winded as expected.
Slowly, the freshmen began to listen more intently; some of the more emotional students even found their eyes turning red.
"...Once, a graduate died to protect a five-year-old child. His heart stopped at the very moment he shouted his final words: 'Run!' And the cherry blossom badges on your chests..." The old man pointed to his own badge. "...are forged from those very heartbeats."
"People ask, why is the blooming period of the cherry blossom so short?"
"Because the most beautiful bloom is never for the sake of the fruit. One day, when you find yourselves facing the barrel of a gun, I hope you remember..."
"The romance of a police officer lies in becoming the flash of fireworks that illuminates the abyss."
Having finished, the principal bowed to the freshmen, indicating the end of his speech.
Instantly, thunderous applause erupted from the crowd.
"Now then, it is time to hand the podium over to the younger generation. Hehe... this year's class is truly extraordinary, producing two geniuses tied for first place to serve as freshman representatives."
"Furuya Rei-kun, please come up to the stage first to deliver your address."
Upon hearing his name, the tan-haired youth straightened his tie and stood up immediately, ignoring the whispers coming from all around.
"That's Furuya? I thought anyone who could get scores that high would be non-human."
"Yeah... and he's really handsome too."
"His face doesn't look Japanese. Is he mixed?"
"He feels a bit distant..." When he stood tall behind the podium and his gray-purple eyes swept over the crowd, the whispers in the back rows receded like the tide.
"Hello everyone, I am Rei Furuya. It is a great honor to stand here today. What I want to say is..."
Watching his childhood friend speak eloquently on stage, Hiromitsu Morofushi couldn't help but feel a sense of shared pride. Across from them, however, Jinpei Matsuda looked like he was about to doze off.
Hagiwara nudged his elbow: "Jinpei-chan?"
Matsuda curled his lip: "It pisses me off seeing that guy act so high and mighty."
"Oh, come on... His speech is basically textbook-perfect. What are you unsatisfied with?"
Matsuda didn't care for the platitudes; he just stared at Rei's silhouette, calculating whether he should wait until the middle of the night to pick a fight with him, otherwise he wouldn't be able to settle his mind.
It wasn't until a few minutes later, as Rei's speech neared its end, that he joined in the applause, albeit reluctantly.
"...Fellow students, our reasons for standing here may differ, but we are all working toward the same goal. As the Principal said, the romance of the police lies in illuminating the abyss. It is our duty to make the people believe that there will always be someone willing to hold a lamp through the night for their peace."
"I hope that on the day of graduation, everyone can look back at today and have no regrets about their choice—thank you."
Even after Rei bowed and stepped down, the applause didn't stop immediately.
The content of his speech was truly inspiring; even those who had a bone to pick with him found it hard to find fault.
The principal kept nodding, praising Rei with a smile, and then cleared his throat.
"Next, we invite our other freshman representative, Hisashi Kuno-kun, to give his address."
Hearing the name he was interested in, Matsuda sat up a bit straighter and whispered to Hagiwara: "I bet his speech will be more fun than Furuya's."
As a fellow top-scorer, the discussion surrounding Hisashi Kuno was on par with Rei Furuya. In fact, the former was even more talked about due to his eccentric behavior, effectively cranking everyone's curiosity to the max.
However, they looked left and right, and even as the principal repeated the invitation a second time, no one made a move to take the stage.
For a moment, the auditorium fell into an eerie silence.
"...Hisashi Kuno-kun?"
Still no answer.
The principal and several instructors looked at each other, exchanging silent messages.
Did he not show up? Did he drop out?
No, that boy reported in very early this morning. He shouldn't have left the campus.
He didn't just fail to find the auditorium, did he?
With time being tight, the principal had no choice but to conclude: "Then... unfortunately, it seems Kuno-kun may have been delayed by some matter and couldn't make it to the opening ceremony. We won't wait for him."
"Next is the introduction of the instructors..."
Hearing this, Rei Furuya, who had returned to his seat after finishing his speech, let out a sigh.
He had actually really wanted to meet the guy. After all, he had never seen someone get a perfect score in everything except the interview. What if he wasn't delayed by 'some matter'?
A strange theory began to form in his mind.
Could Hisashi Kuno be incredibly socially anxious? Maybe he's afraid of speaking in front of people and skipped on purpose to avoid the speech? If so, the poor interview score made sense.
"That's a possibility, too."
Hearing Rei's murmur, Hiromitsu wondered: "What's a possibility?"
"Just—"
At that moment, they heard the soft groan of hinges from the auditorium's main doors.
Creak—
The dark mahogany doors were pushed open abruptly, and the wind from outside rushed in, swirling with several cherry blossom petals.
A youth with black hair and red eyes stood in the backlight, one hand leaning against the doorframe. The ends of his hair were messily tufted. Although he was wearing the police academy uniform somewhat properly, he gave off an immediate impression of being bold and casual.
He held a shopping bag from a sweets shop in his right hand, from which the wrappers of strawberry milk and a chocolate croissant were visible. He looked as if he had just finished a leisurely morning stroll.
"Eh~ Am I late?"
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