Those bastards are here too.

The sound of my alarm clock drags my head out of the dreamless sleep. And here I was, hoping the events of yesterday were just a dream.

Just what the hell happened? Did I really get my ass beat by some chuunibyou vigilante with gloves on? How on Earth was she so fast? Who even was she? None of it makes a modicum of sense.

I look at the clock. 7:15. Guess I’ll have to think about it later, I have to be ready for school.

Thank god the vigilante girl didn’t kick my ass too hard, other than a bruise on my leg I’m pretty much uninjured. I don’t really feel like explaining new wounds to my friends again, considering how many times I’ve had to sidestep the truth with them already.

‘How’d you hurt yourself so bad, Fuji?’
‘Oh, y’know, smuggling drugs for the Yakuza, the usual.’

I can imagine that going over well. I guess, in a weird way, I should thank her. If she’d bloodied up my face it would have been much harder to come up with an excuse.

Not that she could have done so easily with those ridiculous gloves on. What sort of vigilante wears protective gloves? Does she think she’s just sparring or something? What a joke. And what sort of chuuni has kanji written on their gloves, too?

I only got a quick look since I was busy making sure they didn’t knock my teeth out, but I’m almost certain her left and right gloves had the words “judgement” and “execution” in gold on the top. God, I’m so embarrassed to have lost to someone who clearly never grew up from middle school.

But there’s no time to worry about all that now. I have places to be.

***

“Fuji, my dude, what’s with the sullen look?”
“Don’t I always have a sullen look?”
“Yeah, but it’s worse today.”

The person interrogating me first thing in the morning is my old friend Kou, someone I’ve known since elementary school. No one else would pick up on my slightly gloomier expression, but he knows me better than anyone else I’ve ever met. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he knows me better than I know myself.

“You’re only this evasive when you’re hiding something. C’mon, spill the beans. What’s on your mind man?”
“Nothin’ at all, I just didn’t sleep well last night.”

“You’re lying.”
“Oh, shove it.”

Technically I’m not lying. It’s not easy to sleep when you have something like that on your mind. But it’s certainly not the only reason I’m grumpier than usual. A certain weirdo vigilante is to blame for that.

“It’s quarter to nine in the morning, Kou, give the man some space.”

The voice comes from the doorway of the classroom. The third member of our idiot quartet has arrived. Ai, a girl we’ve grown close to only in the past year or so. She’s a blonde-haired delinquent who’s arrival before the first bell ring is frankly startling. I don’t remember the last time I saw her show up on time.

“Ai, you’re actually here for homeroom for once. Nice of you to join us.”
“Oh, shut it, Kou, it’s not like you’re a model student either.”
“No, but at least my attendance is above 50%.”

The two sneer at each other as Ai takes her seat in front of me. They may butt heads, but these two are closer than either cares to admit.

“Jokes aside, it’s rare to see you arrive before Tori. Happen to see here on the way in?” I ask, surprised at the absence of our fourth and least delinquent member.
“Toricchi? Nah, haven’t seen her. Unlike her to be la-”
“Hey guys! Sorry I’m later than usual, had a long night.”

Speak of the devil, and she shall appear. The last member of my band of miscreants, Jinsoku Tori, practically bursts through the classroom door. For someone who claims to have had a long night, she has far too much energy for the early morning.

“Would it kill ya to keep it down a little in the morning, Tori?”
“Man, who shit in your cereal, Fuji?”

As much as I consider this girl one of my closest friends, she is a royal pain in the ass at times. Especially in the mornings. How the hell someone can wake up and be this excitable so early is beyond me.

Still, there’s no one I’d trust more than her, even Kou. She may be completely over the top and bouncing-off-the-walls energetic, but she’s the most fiercely loyal person I’ve ever known. She wouldn’t hesitate to dive feet first into hell for her friends, so I’m happy to put up with her slightly annoying loudness and hyperactive attitude.

Not to mention that she’s incredibly pretty. Between her flowing black hair, spotless skin and beaming smile, she’s frankly far too attractive to be hanging out with me, dumb and dumber over here.

But then, considering how much of a weirdo she is, I suppose no group fits her better than ours. I was caught completely by surprise when she approached us after transferring in a few months ago, but the more of her personality I saw, the more I understood why a band of misfits was her first choice to associate with.

“Fuji’s down in the dumps this morning but he won’t tell me why.”
“Isn’t he always down in the dumps?”
“Yeah, but he’s worse this morning.”

As Tori takes the seat to the right of me, her and Kou talk about me as if I’m not here. I’m sat right between you, dickheads.

“For the love of god, Kou, I’m fine. Just a long night.”
“So both of you had long nights, eh?”
“Not together, you jackass.”

This shiptrash motherfucker. He’s been trying to get me and Tori together since the first week we met her, the meddling bastard. I’ll have to punch him one of these days.

“Ooh, isn’t today the day we get a new teacher, too?” Ai brings up something I had forgotten. For circumstances not explained to us, our old teacher handed in his resignation notice and fled the town, meaning a replacement was showing up today. Everyone in class seemed anxious to meet the new teacher, but something about the situation left a bad taste in my mouth.

“It’ll probably just be another old coot, dunno what you’re getting all worked up about.” Well, everyone except Kou, of course, who hasn’t got even the slightest modicum of respect for authority figures.
“I’m kinda excited to meet them. Yowamushi-sensei was a little meek, and I don’t think he liked me very much.”
“That’s cos you’re impossible to handle for anyone who’s not on speed, Tori.”

My jab earns me an eyeroll and a light smack over the head with a notepad, but considering she’s still smiling I doubt she’s particularly offended.

“Still, kinda weird, ain’t it?” Ai brings up the thing I’ve been silently thinking about the whole time. “Teach suddenly drops his guts and runs? He was always a bit of a coward, but even for Mucchi this is pretty surprising.”

“Maybe he got so sick of your nicknames that he fled.”
“Oh, shut it, Kou.”

The circumstances certainly are suspicious. Yowamushi-sensei had worked here for some 20 years. Surely if he was planning to quit he wouldn’t just drop his resignation on the principals desk and take off, right?

“Fudou? Fudou Fujiyama?”

My thoughts are cut off by an adult voice calling my name. Looking at the doorway, I see one of the school’s teaching assistants calling out to me.

“Yes?”
“Your new teacher is here, and he’s selected you to help him get to know the class. Could you please come out here and meet him?”
“Ah- sure. Be right there.”

Something about this feels really fishy. The strange vigilante girl from yesterday, the sudden disappearance of Yowamushi, the new teacher asking for me by name… I hope my hunch is incorrect.

“Fudou-san, this is your new teacher, Dojima Tatsu-sensei.”
“Pleasure to meet you, young Fudou-san. I hope you can assist me in becoming a teacher fit to replace Yowamushi-sensei.”

I fucking knew it. The deceptively kind smile on his face hides the true nature of this man. His outfit may be fitting of a teacher, but the dragon tattoo hidden under his sleeve is not.

This man is a high ranking member in the Seiryou clan. The Yakuza I work with.

The bastards are at my school.