WE ARE CONNECTED

I woke up in my room, head still buzzing from the fight.

The first thing I saw was Sakura sitting on a chair right next to my bed.

I groaned. “What the heck are you doing in my room?”

She puffed her cheeks. “Really, Hira-kun? That’s the first thing you say when you wake up? Not ‘thanks for watching over me’? Not even ‘good morning’? Ugh!” She cupped her hands around her mouth. “Everyone! He’s awake!”

Before I could even blink, the door burst open. My room was suddenly filled with Class F.

“Great,” I muttered. “More people.”

Talia stepped forward, smiling warmly. “You’ve been out for two hours, Hikaru. Sakura stayed by your side the whole time.”

I turned to look at Sakura. “Don’t you have a life?”

Her face turned red. “Hira-kun! You could’ve just said ‘thank you,’ you know!”

Jackson ignored the drama and leaned in eagerly. “What was that thing you did in the test, Hikaru?”

“Jackson, give him a break,” Talia scolded.

But the whole class was staring at me. Their curiosity was burning holes through my skin.

I sighed. “Fine. I didn’t plan to explain this, but you all need to know.”

The room went silent.

“On my right hand, I have the symbol for Love. On my left, the symbol for Hate. I won’t explain the left hand because… well, even I don’t fully understand it.” I raised my hands slightly, showing the gloves. “If I remove these specially forged gloves, my personality shifts, and my power spikes. The extent of that increase depends on how many people I have in my Social Network.”

“Social… network?” Jackson tilted his head.

“Not the one you’re thinking of,” I muttered. “It’s a network of people I’ve connected to. I connect by giving them a fist bump as you saw during the fight. Once connected, I can draw strength from their emotions, share my aura with them, and even communicate telepathically.”

Their jaws practically dropped.

“My ability comes from the Five Emotion Gods of the Kage Clan,” I continued. “Aeres, God of Anger. Light, God of Fear. Siwoo, God of Disgust. Ariana, Goddess of Sadness. And Burakku, Goddess of Happiness.”

(And the prophecy… yeah, they don’t need to know about that part yet.)

Talia’s eyes brightened. “Why not add all of us, Hikaru? That way our entire class will be connected. It could seal our bond.”

Bond? That word again. Mom was right. This school is insane.

Still, I stretched my fist forward. One by one, they all bumped it.

Suddenly, a woman’s voice echoed in my head:

“Multiple connections confirmed. Social Network advanced. Stage Three achieved.”

Stage three? Wait....when did I even hit stage two?!

Sakura jumped up with a huge grin. “I guess we’re all connected now!”

Sakura cheered, bouncing like she’d just won the lottery. “We’re all connected now! Squad F is officially bonded!”

“Bonded, huh?” Yuki smirked. “That means Sakura can torment Hira-kun on a telepathic level now.”

“What?!” I shot him a glare.

Sakura’s eyes sparkled mischievously. “Ohhh, imagine it. Whenever Hira-kun tries to nap in class, I’ll just scream in his head: ‘Wake up, lazybones!’”

The class burst out laughing.

“Not happening,” I muttered. “I’ll just mute you.”

“Can you even do that?” Jackson tilted his head, genuinely curious.

“…No,” I admitted.

“Then it’s settled,” Talia said with mock seriousness. “Sakura is the voice of discipline in Hikaru’s mind.”

“Discipline? More like the voice of annoyance.”

“Hey!” Sakura puffed her cheeks again. “You should be honored to have me in your head.”

“I’d rather fight another flaming skull gorilla than live with your commentary 24/7.”

That earned another round of laughter. Even Mikio, quiet as ever, scribbled in flames: ‘She wins.’

“Traitor!” I pointed at him.

He shrugged, writing lazily: ‘Majority vote.’

Fuji smirked. “Face it, Hikaru. You might be the strongest in Class F, but when it comes to arguments…”

“…you’re already dead,” Yuki finished, laughing.

I slumped back on the bed, covering my face with a pillow. “I regret ever connecting with you people.”

“Too late now,” Sakura sang, leaning on my shoulder. “You’re stuck with us, Hira-kun. Forever”

The entire class roared with laughter again, and for once even though they were all against me, I didn’t feel as annoyed as I pretended to be.

But I couldn't help wondering whether we made it to the next stage and if we did, I wonder what's in store for us.

Author’s Note:

Hikaru: Can someone explain why every single one of you thinks it’s funny to bully me? I save the class, carry the trial, and somehow my “reward” is becoming the class punching bag. Great. Just great.

Sakura: Don’t listen to him, everyone! Hira-kun is secretly happy we’re all connected now. He just doesn’t know how to say “thank you.” Right, Hira-kun? smiles sweetly

Hikaru: …I’d rather fight ten Daigos than admit that.

Mikio: writes in flames: “He is happy.”

Hikaru: You’re supposed to be on my side!!

Sakura: Hehe, thank you for reading! Get ready, because from here on, Class F is one big family… which means Hira-kun can’t escape us anymore

Mikio: writes in flames: “Next chapter will be fun.”