But the next second the classroom door swung open and Matsuda ran inside.
"Naritu! My name's Matsuda!"
After that he found him again in the hallway and offered to go to the next class together. Then he looked into the toilet stall and shouted, "Naritu! Do you have a stomach ache?"
Why is he following me everywhere?
At that moment Matsuda was walking behind him and shouting, "Naritu, wait!"
Naritu looked at his watch again and thought, it's so late. I have to get rid of him somehow. It's time to go to cram school. If I change location quickly, he won't follow me any more.
Some time later — Toi Preparatory School, before the exam.
Naritu walked on and then heard Matsuda's voice behind him.
"Wow, Naritu! You go to these classes?" He came closer, smiling happily, and added, "I heard even getting in here is difficult. This is amazing."
Naritu cursed silently. Is he even trying? He followed me all the way here. His face began to sweat. He found out about my prep school. He could spread rumours in Shaon, and they in turn could come after the prep school. Then I'd be expelled instantly. This is bad.
He turned sharply to Matsuda and asked why he kept pestering him.
Matsuda opened his backpack and said that he wanted to show him this.
He can't hear me at all. Wait — what is that?
He looked at the book Matsuda was holding, then looked away, and suddenly noticed one of the teachers.
Naritu noticed the injuries on Matsuda's face and thought that this was bad. He grabbed his hand and pulled him in the opposite direction, saying that if anyone found out he had been getting into fights in front of the school, he would be finished. If I'm mistakenly considered a problem student, he thought, I'll be expelled from the cram school immediately.
When they were a safe distance away, Naritu said, "Hey, Matsuda. If I'm not mistaken — can you stop stalking me?"
Matsuda looked surprised. "Why?"
"And about me going to cram school. Couldn't you just keep it to yourself?"
"I get it," Matsuda replied at once. "So it's our secret."
Good, Naritu thought. He's surprisingly obedient.
But Matsuda immediately added that in exchange for his silence, he wanted him to participate in the Freshman War.
He handed Naritu a book about the history of Shaon.
The Freshman War. Now that I remember, that title was on the board.
Naritu scratched his head awkwardly. "What is this?"
"What? You don't know?" Matsuda exclaimed. "It's the main event of the year."
Of course I don't know, Naritu thought awkwardly.
Matsuda opened the book and began to explain. "The Freshman War, in simple terms, is a tournament. A battle for the title of strongest student among the freshmen. It's an annual tradition, and everything about it is incredibly exciting."
"I see," Naritu replied.
Then he happened to notice his own photograph glued onto the spread of the book, and he froze.
Wait.
"Who is actually participating in this?" he asked.
"Well, of course," Matsuda said enthusiastically, "you are. Naritu."
Naritu looked at him in surprise. "The Freshman War."
Matsuda smiled broadly. "Yeah, that's right."
"No," Naritu said immediately. "I'm not participating."
"What?" Matsuda cried.
Naritu looked at his wristwatch. "Four fifty-five. Yeah, it's about time. Classes are starting soon, so I'm going. See you tomorrow."
He took a few steps forward. Matsuda held out his hand after him and shouted, "Hey! Naritu, wait!"
The Freshman War was an unofficial event passed down through generations at Shaon High School. Each first-year class nominated a representative, and they competed against one another, putting the honour of their class on the line. The strongest was awarded the title of Supreme Freshman, thus proving which class possessed the greatest power. The winner naturally gained control of the entire freshman hierarchy, and the losers and their classes were deprived of the right to oppose him. It was an all-out struggle for dominance and power, like wild animals fighting for territory. As for refusing to fight — except in special cases, it automatically equated to last place.
This was a world where the strongest survived.
The next day, the school hallways were full of talk about Naritu.
One student said in surprise, "Really? He's competing for class two?"
Naritu was inside the classroom at Shaon High School, first year, class two. He calmly filled out his notebook while the conversations around him continued.
"No way. He looks so weak."
"And they say that four-eyes guy is actually strong."
"I heard he took out two people at once without even breaking a sweat."
"Oh, and yesterday he instantly stopped a fight when someone was about to get beaten up. That's according to the person he helped."
"Was he really that tough?"
A few guys even peered through the classroom window to get a better look at him.
Naritu gritted his teeth. How noisy. Why did they even decide to send me to this stupid competition? I just didn't want the lesson to be interrupted, so I stopped that fight. That's all. And helping Matsuda wasn't that hard. I never intended to take part in this stupid Freshman War.
Meanwhile, in the class, one of the students muttered, "Either way, he was chosen. For now we've got no choice but to trust him. The bearded guy has always been the coolest one in this class. If even he says the four-eyes guy is going, then we'll have to accept it."
The other one added nervously, "But seriously, will everything be okay? Our class's reputation and the standing of the whole first year depend on this guy. If he loses, then all of us—"
After a while a voice came over the loudspeaker. A student at the microphone shouted, "The first round of the Freshman War starts at two thirty p.m. and will last until four thirty p.m. Get ready, worms."
At that moment Naritu got up from his desk and thought, it's probably time to go. Four twenty is the perfect time to leave.