The morning sunlight poured through the shoji screens, casting a soft golden glow onto Kojiro's face, marked with a wild, teeth-bearing grin. Everyone in the classroom fidgeted in their seats due to the shock and confusion of Kojiro's sudden introduction.
"Alright, you sheep!" he shouted, slamming his palm onto the desk like a judge passing a sentence. "Before we do anything, it is necessary that I know who you all are. Introduce yourselves and tell me a bit about yourselves if you want! I must know the names of the sheep I will turn into lions!"
The room immediately groaned. Some students slouched in their seats, others looked away, but no one dared to challenge the wild-eyed man looking at each of them like a maniac.
Kojiro unsheathed his sword in a quick drawing motion, pointing its blade at a tall and muscular boy with blonde hair.
"You! With the biceps of Hidetada Yamagishi. Speak!"
The boy shot from his seat, grinning ear to ear, blue eyes practically glowing. "Ren Takagi, at your service! I like working out, fighting, eating, and... yeah! I came here so I could never be bored again!"
A ripple of laughter went through the class. Someone muttered, "Roidhead..."
Ren put his hand to his ear. "What was that? Roidhead? Ha!" He cracked up at a joke that was at his own expense and sat down.
Kojiro smiled like a delighted child. "Great. Strength and idioicy fused into one!"
One by one, the other students introduced themselves. Some were awkward, some timid, a few were even cocky, and a couple were questioning every life choice that led them to this point.
Daiki was definitely one of them.
At one point, Kojiro's finger landed on a quiet girl in the second row. "You! With the aura of a lamb. Give us your name!"
The girl shifted in her seat, voice barely above a whisper. "I'm... Yui Tsukiko. I came here because I want to become strong. Strong enough to protect people."
Her words trembled, but there was a strange, silent determination behind them. Daiki's eyes lingered toward her for a moment. Something about her seemed kinda familiar, but he couldn't place it just yet. He shook the thought away when Kojiro started to bark again.
Finally, he pointed to Daiki. He stood slowly, feeling the awkward weight of the class's eyes on him. "Uh... Daiki Fushino," he began, scratching the back of his neck. "I came here... mostly to survive. And, I guess, get stronger."
Daiki felt a bit uncomfortable saying that.
"Nice. Nice. Now that I know who you all are....." He pointed his sword skyward. "We will have... our first lesson!"
The blade sang as he swung it downwards, narrowly missing the front desk.
"LESSON ONE: DUELING!"
Gasps rippled through the class.
Kojiro's eyes gleamed. "Control is born from chaos, and chaos from clashing wills! Now that we've learned names, we must learn strength." His grin stretched ear to ear, eyes bursting with manic excitement. "Words are empty without the blood, sweat, and tears to back them."
A few students started panicking immediately.
"Wait, today?!"
"You can't do that!"
"We just got here!"
Kojiro continued without giving a single shit.
He marched to the nearest window and, with one wild front kick, sent it flying open. Glass rattled violently in the frame as a rush of fresh air swept in, and beyond, sprawled a massive battle arena of stone platforms, weapon racks, and scarred dirt.
Kojiro spread his arms wide, the wind tugging at his clothes like a stage curtain.
"Welcome to your classroom for today!"
No one moved.
No one even breathed.
Daiki stared at the arena, then at Kojro's insane arena.
...Yeah.
This place would ensure he died young.
Welcome to Class 1-F.