You’ll know soon enough

It was the end of class and Eiji was deep in thought.

– I should probably start recruiting some members for the club, but how do I introduce it to people? – Eiji hit a dead end. – I don’t think anyone would just be interested in a martial art from Hungary. I don’t think they know where Hungary is…

He leaned back in his chair, tapping on his desk.

– Maybe I could ask the two of them to join… What were their names? Something with “F” and the other one I completely forgot. – Eiji tried hard to remember, but still couldn’t. – Damn it! I can’t even remember the first few letters!– Eiji was angry internally, but didn’t let it show. – Whatever, I’ll just talk to them about it and if they want to join then that’s that I guess…

He stood up from his chair and walked out the classroom.

– Whatever, I’ll just wait for Masato to get better and then we’ll start recruiting members together…

He went up the stairs, onto the roof.

– At least no one’s here.

The roof was empty, with only Eiji walking to sit down at the rails, cross-legged. He leaned his back against them, deep in thought.

– I should also look for a teacher that would sponsor the club… Maybe a sports teacher?

As he was thinking, his ears suddenly flickered and he noticed the sound of someone’s footsteps, walking up the stairs.

– Now, who could this be? – Eiji thought while standing up.

He walked towards the door and before the footsteps reached the top of the stairs, he summoned a power in his mind.

– Froghopper.

An inner force gathered in his legs as he squatted down slightly, then jumped on the roof above the stairs. The concrete roof thudded softly with his landing. From up there, the breeze was cooler, making Eiji’s hair sway ever so slightly.

The footsteps reached the top of the stairs, but stopped. Eiji could hear someone taking heavy breaths.

– Damn these stairs! – a boy’s voice entered Eiji’s ears.

He crouched down at the edge of the roof, above the door, waiting for the boy to open the door. Then, the metal handle rattled and a mop of black, messy hair appeared under Eiji’s vision.

– Now who could you be? – Eiji thought, still crouching silently above the doorway.

The boy was looking around, like he was searching for someone.

– Where could he be, I swear I saw him coming up here!

He was still looking around when Eiji talked.

– If you’re looking for someone, I’m the only one here, so go elsewhere. – he said, still crouching.

The boy turned over, surprised.

– I was actually looking for you, Takemura-kun! – he said.

Suddenly, a weird expression appeared on Eiji’s face.

– What does he want? Who is he? – he thought, but still replied. – Why?

– I wanted to talk to you about Araki-san… – the boy said, looking down.

– What about her? – Eiji asked in a neutral tone. – Isn’t she the girl that sits by me? – he thought.

– Are you two… going out? – the boy said, still looking down.

– What? – Eiji blurted out, but he quickly calmed down. – No, why would you think that? – he said in a calmer tone.

– It’s just the way she always smiles at you… I sit two seats behind you in class, I can see it all… – the boy said in a downcast tone.

– Wait, you’re in my class? – Eiji squinted his eyes.

– You didn’t know that?!

– No, not really. What’s your name? – Eiji said.

– I’m Noguchi Jun, can’t believe you didn’t even know we’re in the same class…

– Whatever. – Eiji hopped down from the roof. – Is that all?
– Well, I also have one more question… – Jun was nervous. – Do you… like Araki-san?

Eiji suddenly laughed.

– What’s up with these stupid questions? – he said. – I can’t even remember her name, how could I like her? – he added in a bitter tone. – Names slip away from me all the time, how could I even make friends here? – he thought.

A few seconds passed, and none of them said anything.

– Is that all? – Eiji said, turning around.

He started opening the door when Jun’s voice stopped him.

– Well, the thing is… I like Araki-san, almost everyone knows, except her. I’ve liked her since middle school but could never confess to her…

When he finished talking and looked at Eiji, all he saw was the door closing. He quickly scrambled to the door and opened it. Eiji was already down 4 steps.

– Takemura-kun, wait! – Jun said with a nervous tone.

– Why? – Eiji said without stopping. -- It’s got nothing to do with me.

He walked down the stairs while Jun was stunned for a second.

– What do I do? He just got up and left! – Jun thought. – I’ll just have to talk to him until he answers! – he became determined.

He chased after Eiji, who was already on the hallway of the 2nd floor, walking towards the classroom. He was bumping into people on the way, constantly apologizing.

– What’s up with him?

– Look where you’re going.

He caught up to Eiji when he was about 2 meters from the classroom.

– Takemura-kun, wait! – Jun said, trying to grab Eiji’s arm.

Eiji acted before he could think, dodging to the right. Jun stumbled forward when Eiji grabbed his forearm with his right hand, and pressed on his shoulder with his left hand. Jun kneeled to the ground, making a pained expression.

– What happened?

– Are they fighting?

A small crowd gathered around the two of them, no one knowing what happened. Eiji quickly realized his situation.

– Geci! I acted before I could think, what now? – he thought.

His thoughts moved like lightning until he finally found a solution.

– There’s no way around it, then… – he sighed, thinking to himself.

He let go of Jun and helped him stand up. He then took a deep breath.

– I’ll get you out of this mess, but you’ll have to help me too. – he quickly whispered into Jun’s ear.

He then turned towards the people around him.

– Hello everyone, what you just saw was a demonstration from the Baranta club that will start this year. – he announced in a voice that could be heard by everyone. – They’ve probably never even heard the word. – Eiji thought. – But no problem, this sure piqued their curiosity.

As soon as Eiji finished saying his first sentence, people’s voices could be heard.

– Baranta? What’s that?

– Will I also be able to do that?

– Scary…

– If you are interested, you can talk to me, Takemura Eiji of class 1-B. – Eiji said then quickly turned to Jun. – What’s your name again? – he whispered.

– Noguchi Jun. – Jun said, with a dazed expression.

– Or you can also talk to Noguchi Jun of class 1-B. Thank you for your attention everyone. – Eiji said.

He then went inside his classroom with Jun behind him, while murmurs could be heard on the hallways.

– That was close… – Eiji thought, letting out a breath of turbid air.

– What did you get me into, Takemura-kun? – Jun said, dumbfounded.

– You’ll be the treasurer of the Baranta club. – Eiji said, walking towards his desk.

– I don’t even know what Baranta is! – Jun said in a desperate tone.

– You’ll know soon enough. – Eiji said while sitting down. – Meanwhile, you could thank me for saving you, I could have just beaten you up and left you there. What would that girl think of you then? – he added, looking out the window.

– But!

– I’ll tell you everything after school, now go back to your seat. – Eiji said.

– What if I don’t want to join? – Jun asked.

– I can just drag you out to the hallways and beat you up. – Eiji said while staring into Jun’s eyes.

He then looked back to the window.

– Just kidding, if you don’t want to, you don’t have to. I can’t force you, after all.

– I guess I’ll see you after school, then… – Jun said reluctantly, walking back towards his desk.

– Just remember, Noguchi-kun, if you choose the dance, you must face the music. – Eiji said.

– What’s this about dance and music? – Jun turned back to Eiji.

– Nothing, also, think about a teacher that could sponsor our club. – Eiji was leaning back in his chair.

– I will. – Jun said, sitting down at his desk.

Eiji looked out the window.

– This was… unexpected… But I gained a member. Just three more to go… and then the real work begins.

Author’s note:

Thank you for reading this week's chapter!

I’m sorry for not posting a chapter for a while, I was just a bit busy, but I’m back and I’ll try my best to publish at least two chapters a week.

With lots of passion,

𐲖𐲉 LE