Many classrooms and clubs were operating at Fujimi, just like any other school in Japan.
Takashi had been saddled with the punishment of cleaning every clubroom after the brawl that had broken out at the school's exit once classes ended.
"Would you like to come with me to the mall?" a girl he barely knew and had almost no interaction with suddenly asked while he was chatting with Shizuka, keeping her company in the faculty room.
"Aren't you Yuki Miku?"
She was cataloged as the hottest girl in the entire school, though the reputation that followed her was about the worst.
"Don't pretend you don't know my name, Takashi Komuro," she pouted like an innocent girl.
"And you say it well—do you want to miss the chance to have a date with the hottest girl in Fujimi?" She herself knew about the rumors circulating about her.
"Sorry, Miku-san, but Takashi-kun already has plans for the rest of the afternoon," Shizuka replied—defending what was hers, rather.
"Takashi-kun?" Curiosity piqued her interest. "Sensei, the way you call my kouhai makes it sound like you treat him as if he were your boyfriend."
"Well..." She wanted to make it clear that Komuro was her boyfriend, but at the same time, she knew that if she said so to the school's problematic student, everything could go wrong.
"Y-you're mistaken, Miku-san. A teacher and a student can't have a relationship. It's immoral and unethical by academic standards." How she wanted to scream, grab Takashi, and declare that yes, he was her boyfriend. As for him, he said nothing; he let Shizuka's words do the work.
"Then you won't mind if I take him, Sensei." She latched onto Takashi's arm and dragged him along as if he were her dance partner heading onto the floor.
Rage and jealousy filled Marikawa as she watched a student walk away with her boyfriend, but she couldn't say anything. As she herself had said, if it were discovered that a teacher and a student were having a romantic relationship, it would be punishable.
"Are you okay, Shizuka?"
"Oh, Kyoko-chan." The second-year science teacher appeared. She was leaving the faculty room when she saw the nurse staring jealously at someone, which caught her attention.
Shizuka always showed herself cheerful every day and at any moment. "Yes, everything's fine."
"Well, it doesn't look like it," remarked Hayashi Kyoko, the name of Fujimi's auburn-haired science teacher. The woman then looked where her younger coworker, three years younger than her, was watching Komuro being dragged away by Yuki, so to speak.
"What does Miku Yuki want with Komuro?" She knew the boy; she knew he skipped certain classes but wasn't a bad student, not bad enough to be so close to the academy's most problematic girl, which was worrisome.
"Can you explain to me what's going on, Yuki?" Komuro asked after seeing how the other students watched them and murmured among themselves. It must have been unheard of to see an ordinary guy like him going out with a girl as gallant as her.
The orange-haired girl kept clinging to Takashi's arm, her head resting on the boy's shoulder. She looked pleased and in love, making the students—both girls and boys—believe the two were a couple. Some were incredulous while others were jealous.
"My boyfriend is worried about what others think of our relationship," she announced to everyone.
"Hold on." Now he understood a little better the game Miku was playing. He was about to confront her when Saya's voice appeared on Takashi's radar. She didn't seem to be having a good time, however.
"Let go of me already, you bastard!" Takashi saw Saya trying to shake off the academy's troublemaking bully, who had grabbed her forcefully by the arm with bad intentions, his three other friends surrounding Takagi's daughter menacingly.
"Stop fighting. Don't worry, we're going to have fun, right, boys?" Tsunouda said. He had yanked Saya by the arm and placed his other hand on the girl's hips, intending to slide it lower regardless of being at the academy in front of everyone.
'What are they doing?' she screamed internally while looking back, where everyone displayed fear at Tsunouda's presence. He was the most feared in the school; even she had avoided him until he unexpectedly came for her. 'They're not going to do anything. Please... someone help me... Takashi!'
"Hey, who gave you permission to touch her?" Takashi appeared, pulling Tsunouda's hand away before he inappropriately touched Takagi. "You'd better let her go, idiots."
"Look who decided to show up. How does it feel to fuck the biggest slut in school as your girlfriend?" Tsunouda exclaimed.
"Tsunouda, enough!" Yuki shouted from behind Komuro.
Hearing that, Takashi only glared angrily at Yuki, who showed remorse.
"I don't know what the hell you guys are up to, so I'll just say this: get lost and leave her alone." He took Saya by her shoulders and pulled her away from the bully and his friends like a guardian.
On Takagi's face, she looked at Komuro with a sparkle as he forcefully took hold of her. He was about to take Saya away when…
"You're not satisfied fucking Yuki; you want to fuck this bitch too?" That didn't sit well with him. Nevertheless, he let Tsunouda explain. "Miku told me she's going out with you, which I thought was a stupid joke until I saw you two." He had seen them like the rest of the school did when they left.
"Since you took the hottest girl in school from me, I figured I'd take your pretty bitch friend from you."
"Then you've sealed your own death, asshole," he declared.
He had turned his back, only to spin around and have Takashi land a closed-fist punch right to Tsunouda's wretched face in front of everyone.
Bang!! Whoaa!!!
Everyone was stunned. What no one had ever dared do against the school's bully, someone had finally done, and his name was Komuro Takashi.
Tsunouda's head snapped back, a thin line of blood visible while his buddies stared in disbelief.
"Arghh!" Tsunouda cried out in pain as he recovered. His fingers touched his nose and came away stained with blood. "Damn you..."
"No one lays a hand on Saya or any other girl I know, much less calls her a bitch." He planted himself in front of him.
"I'll see about that..."
It was stupid on Tsunouda's part to counterattack Takashi, and his friends went after their boss to help him. Despite having no fighting training whatsoever, he proved strong enough to take on the school's four troublemakers alone.
"Takashi!" Saya screamed as she watched them surround him, believing they would finish him off.
"Tsunouda, stop!" Miku yelled at the conflict she had caused.
The students remained frozen, unable to tear their eyes from the fight. Further back, Shizuka and Kyoko were aghast as soon as the students began brawling. But it was Hayashi who regained her composure and went to get help from her fellow teachers to handle the problem.
To be continued…