"I just want to be friends."

…

Shirogane was stunned for a moment because of my words. That was understandable. Even Takeshi, who had been awkwardly observing our argument from the side, blinked and looked at me with surprise.

There wasn't anything strange with such a reaction. I would have looked at myself suspiciously as well were I to hear something like that. But what could I do? It wasn't' really me who was trying to be friendly with that bastard. It was the magazine, or, more precisely, the character it forced me to play.

And being friends was the most logical choice, after all. If friend-like activities give me Points, then it was logical for me to try to get friendly with that guy… Even though he's really an annoying idiot.

Shirogane just stood there for some time, trying to comprehend what exactly I had said. After a few moments, he answered:

"As if I will be… With a Gaijin."

Can friends punch each other? Because I am on the edge right now.

"But," oh, now that's interesting.

"If that's the tradition… Okay, I'll go."

It worked!

I sighed.

Takeshi, still being a little confused, made a wide smile.

Suddenly, I heard some noise from the window. I turned to the glass, but there was nothing behind it. Strange…

We walked out into the hallway and locked the Dojo.

Then, as a very silent and awkward trio, we walked out of the building and went toward the schoolyard before the mountain road.

The weather was good and warm. Summer was just around the corner. The rays of the sun were falling on my head, and my hair felt hot when I brushed them…

Suddenly, when the road down the mountain appeared on the horizon, Takeshi froze. His eyes became attentive at first, then serious.

I shifted my gaze toward where he was looking and saw a boy standing in the middle of a sunny desolate yard, dressed in all black.

He wasn't from our school. I was sure of it because our uniform was green. The boy noticed us and started walking toward me and everyone else. Soon, I finally saw his face. Turned out, he wasn't as young as I had assumed it first. Rather than that, we were about the same age. He was simply short.

A black wooden sword was hanging on his waist.

"The hell is he?" asked Shirogane.

The unknown person approached us and looked at Takeshi.

"Haven't seen you for a long time," he said in a calm and cold voice.

The guy had black hair and sharp eyes.

Takeshi slowly nodded.

"Yes…"

"Are these new members?" asked the boy and swiftly gazed at Shirogane and me. Siro was very annoyed by his dismissive look, so he said:

"Who are…" but he couldn't finish his words. Suddenly, Siro stumbled away and almost fell to the ground.

The boy in black extended his sword right toward the guy's face. His move was so fast that I couldn't even see him drawing his weapon.

The boy then smirked, lowered the sword, and said:

"Couldn't find anyone besides this trash?"

…To tell you the truth, I'm not really fond of hearing curses directed at me. If it was any other day I would have told him off, probably by mentioning his height — short people usually very sensitive about that subject.

Right now, however, trying to be careful I looked at him with my special eyes:

[Str: D-

End: E+

Int: C+

SA:

Kendo: C-]

I frowned. Almost everything about him was just a little higher than average. Apart from the kendo skill that was very high… It was on the C- level. Takeshi, if his hand was not broken, would have had about the same degree of mastery.

As expected from a villain…

Yes, a VILLAIN.

Soon after the appearance of that guy, the clown in my head shouted:

'Attention, attention, Villain-type characters are getting closer.'

...Wait. Did he say characters?

And right away after asking that question in my mind, I heard a voice:

"Couldn't find anyone there… hey! Here you are!"

One more person started approaching us. It was a guy, much taller than the first one. His hair was black and long, and his face was white, and there was a smile on it. Once that person appeared, Takeshi became very tense. He gripped the hilt of his sword.

"Long time no see," said the taller guy. Unlike his shorter counterpart, he was looking very friendly. Several seconds of awkward silence later, Takeshi somewhat relaxed and nodded.

"Yes…"

"Sorry for visiting you out of nowhere… I just thought that we should greet you and congratulate with the beginning of a new year!"

"The manager told us to check all the rivaling teams," said the shorter guy, and right away the taller person stepped on his foot.

The shorty winced.

"By the way, how is your injury? Is everything okay?" asked the taller guy while looking at Takeshi.

"Ah, yes… It is… It should heal by the end of the month."

"Oh, so soon? That's good… You could even make it to the tournament, then. Too bad that… By the way, are these two the new members of yours?"

He gazed at Siro, who was being strangely silent after seeing that guy, and me.

"Not bad", said the long-haired person.

It was a compliment, and yet, somewhat, it felt even more dismissing than the 'trash' said by his friend. The shorty's words were filled with genuine disdain, while this guy's... They were hollow. Some people look at you from above; others stand so high and think so much of themselves that they virtually can't see you down below...