Chapter Text
The morning in Makochi were peaceful as usual as Sakura walked around the town, receiving a few greetings from the townsfolk along with some gifts as thanks for protecting the town. Even though he received this kind of treatment every single day, he still wasn't used to it and quietly muttered, "Thanks," as he walked past them.
After a few minutes of walking, he arrived at Photos with several gifts from the townsfolk in his hands. As he stepped inside, he noticed Suo and Nirei already there, enjoying their breakfast.
"Good morning Sakura-san! Did you get enough sleep last night?" Nirei asked the moment he noticed Sakura's presence.
“Good morning, Sakura-kun. As expected of our captain, you’re already out here collecting gifts from the townsfolk this early in the morning.” Suo said with his usual sly smile. “You really are popular, huh?”
Sakura’s face instantly turned bright red. “S-Shut your mouth!! It’s not like I told them to give me all this stuff!!” he snapped before glaring at Suo. “And what’s that supposed to mean, huh?! You making fun of me?!” Grumbling under his breath, he dropped himself onto the counter seat.
“Eh~ I would never make fun of you. After all, you’re just too easy to tease,” Suo Hayato said before calmly sipping his tea as if he had done nothing wrong.
Before Sakura could respond, a plate of omurice was suddenly placed in front of him.
“If you want to fight, take it outside. Don’t make a mess in the café,” Kotoha Tachibana said while glaring at Sakura and Suo before returning to her work.
Sakura decided to drop the argument, knowing it would only go on forever, and the last thing he wanted was to get scolded first thing in the morning. He quietly ate his omurice while listening to the conversation between his two vice-captains, occasionally chiming in himself.
“Oh! Did you guys see the group chat? Apparently, an exchange student will be joining our class today. I’m really excited to meet him!! I heard he’s from one of the most famous schools for academics. I hope we can become friends with him,” Nirei said excitedly.
Sakura frowned slightly after hearing that. It wasn’t that he disliked the idea of an exchange student — he simply couldn’t understand why someone would want to transfer into Furin High School.
To outsiders, Furin was still nothing more than a school full of delinquents, unaware that the school had already changed.
“Oh, really? Umemiya didn’t tell me anything about an exchange student. It’s also kind of hard to believe someone would want to come to Furin High School. After all, people outside the town still think it’s just a bad school full of delinquents…” Kotoha said while cleaning the kitchen before glancing at Sakura with a teasing smile. “Just like someone did during their first visit here.”
Sakura kept eating without responding, pretending not to hear her teasing. Still, the redness on his face stubbornly refused to fade. Nirei and Suo tried their best to hold back their laughter, not wanting to make their captain even more embarrassed. After finishing his food, Sakura quickly stood up and headed straight for the door, his face still slightly red. “I-I’m going to school first!!” he shouted without turning around as he grabbed the bag that filled with the gifts. “If you guys wanna keep messing around, then I’m seriously leaving you behind this time!! So hurry up already, idiots!!”
“My, my~ our captain is getting embarrassed again,” Suo hummed teasingly as he watched Sakura practically flee toward the door. “At this rate, he really might leave us behind. Let’s go, Nirei-kun, before he actually leaves without us.” Nirei quickly shouted a goodbye to Kotoha before hurrying after his two friends.
The trio made their way to school together, with Sakura walking a few steps ahead while trying his best to ignore Suo’s constant teasing from behind.
“Sakura-kun, you’re still red, you know,” Suo pointed out innocently.
“S-Shut up!!” Sakura immediately snapped without even turning around, causing Nirei to laugh nervously beside them.
The familiar sounds of the bustling town filled the streets as the three continued walking toward Furin High School, completely unaware that today would turn out far more interesting than they expected.
The classroom was filled with laughter and chatter as the trio walked in. They headed straight to their seats while their classmates greeted them with cheerful good mornings as they passed by.
Sakura walked over to the teacher’s desk and placed the gifts from the townsfolk on top of it, already knowing his classmates would end up sharing them anyway.
“Oi, Sakura brought us snacks again!”
“Thanks, Sakura!”
“The townsfolk really love our captain, huh?”
Laughter immediately spread across the classroom as several students gathered around the desk.
“S-shut the hell up,” Sakura grumbled with a low growl, clearly embarrassed by all the attention as he returned to his seat near the window.
As soon as he sat down, Sakura noticed Kiryu and Tsugeura had already joined Suo and Nirei in some kind of conversation he couldn’t quite follow. The only thing he managed to hear was Tsugeura passionately talking about “exercise” while Nirei, as usual, hurriedly wrote everything down.
Deciding to ignore them, Sakura turned his attention toward the window instead. His eyes landed on a student with blue hair walking through the school gate, wearing a uniform he didn’t recognize.
Maybe that’s the exchange student, Sakura thought quietly to himself.
Bzzt—
The sound of static echoed from the speakers before a voice rang throughout the entire school.“GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE!!! I HOPE ALL OF YOU SLEPT WELL LAST NIGHT!” Umemiya’s usual energetic voice echoed throughout the entire school through the speakers. In the background, a faint voice that sounded like Hiragi could be heard reminding him to lower his volume.
“Oh, my bad!” Umemiya laughed loudly. “Anyway, I just wanted to wish everyone a great day today and remind you all to stay healthy! Oh, and anyone who doesn’t have patrol duty can come to the rooftop after school for some bonding time!!! This batch of tomatoes is one I’m especially proud of, so you guys have to—”
“JUST GET TO THE POINT, DUMBASS!!!” Hiragi’s voice suddenly roared through the speakers, cutting Umemiya off. “DO YOU REALIZE FIRST PERIOD ALREADY STARTED?!”
“Geez, Hiragi is grumpy as always…” Umemiya muttered before quickly continuing. “Anyway! As you all heard, we have an exchange student joining our school today! I hope you guys can get along with him and accept him as one of us!”. His tone softened slightly, though his energy still remained.
“And finally — protect this town and everyone in it, because they trusted us!”. A brief pause followed before his loud voice echoed once more through the speakers. “THAT’S ALL!!! AND SORRY FOR THE LONG ANNOUNCEMENT!!!”
Bzzt—
As the announcement ended, their homeroom teacher, Mr. Aoi, entered the classroom. Everyone quickly returned to their seats, even Sugishita finally waking up from his nap. As the class captain, Sakura immediately stood up and called out firmly,
“Stand! Bow! Good morning, Mr. Aoi!”
“GOOD MORNING, MR. AOI!” the class greeted in unison, their voices echoing throughout the classroom.
“Good morning, everyone,” Mr. Aoi said as he placed his books on the desk. “As you heard from Umemiya earlier, we have an exchange student joining our class today. Try not to traumatize him before first period even ends, and help him adjust to the school.” Once everyone sat back down, Mr. Aoi glanced toward the classroom door. “Alright, you can come in now.” The classroom door slowly slid open, immediately catching everyone’s attention. “This is the exchange student I mentioned earlier,” Mr. Aoi said before stepping aside. “Go ahead and introduce yourself.”
The exchange student quietly stepped into the classroom, immediately drawing everyone’s attention to his blue hair and matching eyes. He looked harmless — too harmless, honestly — making the entire class wonder why someone like him would choose to come to Furin High School. As if sharing the exact same thought, the classroom remained unusually quiet while the boy stopped in the middle of the room. For a brief moment, dozens of curious eyes stayed fixed on him. Looking slightly anxious under everyone’s stare, the boy gave a polite ninety-degree bow before straightening himself again.
“Hello, everyone. My name is Shiota Nagisa. I’m looking forward to studying with all of you for the next six months.”
The moment he finished introducing himself, the classroom fell completely silent.
Then—
“YOU?!”
A shocked voice suddenly broke the silence.
SAKURA POV
As soon as I sat down, I looked out the window, not really paying much attention to the new kid. Honestly, I doubted someone from outside Makochi would want to be friends with me anyway. My experiences with people outside the town had never exactly been good. Well, except for the people here. The people of Makochi accepted me for who I was. And so did everyone at Furin High School. And there were also those guys. The people who treated me almost the same way the people in Makochi did. I really hoped I’d get to meet them again someday...
“Hello, everyone. My name is Shiota Nagisa. I’m looking forward to studying with all of you for the next six months.”
Hearing that voice made me immediately turn toward the front of the classroom — and freeze.
There, standing in front of the class, was someone from my past.
Ah… he really hasn’t changed at all. Still short, I thought automatically before my eyes widened slightly.
Wait a minute—
“YOU?!”
The shout escaped my mouth before I could stop it. The entire class immediately turned to stare at me, but I could only look at the boy standing at the front of the classroom.
Nagisa.
My friend from junior high.
WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING HERE?!