Chapter Text
"This voucher entitles the bearer to One Personal Favour from Kiyotaka Ishamaru"
Ishimaru breathed a small sigh of relief as he finished the calligraphy. He didn't have much natural talent for it. But then again he'd never had much natural talent for anything, he'd got better at it the same way he got better at everything else: effort and practise.
Especially practise writing the previous phrase, along with "This voucher entitles the bearer to One Hours Tutoring from Kiyotaka Ishimaru", "This voucher entitles the bearer to One Room Cleaned by Kiyotaka Ishimaru" and "This voucher entitles the bearer to One Weeks Laundry Cleaned by Kiyotaka Ishimaru".
It was embarrassing, really. He wished dearly that he could come up with better presents for his classmates, it was one of the many things his previous ones had thought was so awful about him. But his family didn't have spare money and he was even worse at arts and craft than he was at calligraphy. His only practical choice was promising them his time.
Not that anyone had ever held him to his promises before. Most of his classmates had just thrown the painstakingly hand-made books in the bin, or ripped them up to make spit wads to shoot at his head. He'd still made them of course. As he'd told his new classmates when he'd reminded them about tomorrow, birthdays were important to people, and it would be rude to ignore them completely. (Even if his birthday taking place in the holidays meant that they all tended to forget his.)
So here he was, a high school student making a childish voucher booklet for his classmate's birthday. He wondered how Oogami would react. To be frank, even though the martial artist hadn’t caused any trouble since they started school, he was still scared of how she would react to being given such a...cheap present. What was the martial artist equivalent of a spit wad? Something fatal maybe?
He shook his head, he was being ridiculous. Oogami would probably just throw it in the bin. Then he'd briefly consider fishing it back out and re-using it on the next student's birthday. But he wouldn't, he always made a new booklet each time.
He needed the calligraphy practise.
Sakura was feeling slightly... uncomfortable. She'd not expected so many of her classmates to remember it was her birthday today. But so far every single one of them had wished her a Happy Birthday, although she'd thought some of them might have been... Coerced maybe? Perhaps Hina had been trying too hard to convince the others to like her?
Speaking of which...
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAKURA!" Hina ran into the dining room, a tray in one hand and a package in the other. "I got you a protein shake! And a present!" She put both on the table in front of her.
"Did you also remind everyone about my birthday?" Sakura asked.
"Oh, uh...ha ha! No that wasn't me." Hina was embarrassed, "I actually needed to be reminded as well...Sorry..."
"Ah, don't worry. We've not known each other long enough for me to expect anyone to remember it, that you decided to get me a present at all is appreciated.”
"Aww, thanks!" Hina replied. "But speaking of the present, open it! Open it!"
She opened it, it was a case of protein deluxe X. She hadn't realised it was available in the shops here. "Where did you get this?"
"Fujisaki-chan helped me order it through the internet!" Hina bounced happily. "It wasn't even that expensive really..."
That was good to hear. She quizzed Hina on online orders for a while, before realising that Ishimaru was nervously standing ramrod straight by their sides, waiting for them to finish talking.
"Good morning Ishimaru-kun?" It was unusual for the hall monitor to approach her.
"Good morning Oogami-kun! And Happy Birthday!" He saluted. “And good morning Asahina-chan”
Oogami-kun? That was unfortunate. It wasn't the first time she'd been mistaken for a man, but it was always difficult trying to find a way to correct them without making them think she was upset and frightening them.
"...Sakura's a girl as well." Hina said bluntly. That probably wasn't the right way.
Ishimaru's eyes went wide and his face went pale. "I'M SO SORRY!" He bowed deeply. "Please accept this present and my apologies and I hope you have a good day, goodbye!" He dropped a thin envelope onto the table in front of her, and speed walked away, looking horrified.
AAAAAHHHHH! HOW could he have DONE that!? And on her birthday no less! He KNEW she was female, but seeing her chatting to Hina so happily had reminded him of classmates who were dating, and she was the most muscular student in their class, and then she'd called him kun and he wasn't used to that either...
Urg, and now here he was trying to justify his rudeness! There was no excuse! That had just been terrible of him! And they were probably going to tell the whole class to. So much for maybe making some friends now he was in high school! Perhaps he'd be lucky and Oogmai would rather just punch him for the insult...
He got to class, sat down and pulled out a book to hide his face in. Why did he have to be so awful...
"Geez! How'd he remember your birthday but not that you're a girl?" Hina asked as Ishimaru left the dining room.
"Perhaps he was reminded by the same person you were." Sakura suggested.
"Err, no. He WAS the person who reminded me. And everyone else in class..." Hina explained, looking embarrassed again. "He kept going on about how disheartening it would be for you if we all ignored it..."
Hmm. She hadn't expected the hall monitor to be the sort who would worry about that kind of thing. So far anything that could be considered even a minor distraction to studying had been frowned upon by the overly-intense boy. He did seem to place a lot of importance on tradition though, perhaps that was why?
She looked at the envelope in her hand. It felt too flimsy to be a card. "What do you think's in it?" Hina asked, peering at it over her shoulder. "Bet it's school related!"
"Hmm, let see." Sakura opened the envelope. Inside was a set of 5 pieces of plain paper that had been stapled together to make a booklet. The cover read "Happy Birthday Oogami-chan!" in intricately curled letters.
"Oogami-chan?" Hina noticed the different honorific.
"It must have been a slip of the tongue, then." She realised. How unfortunate. Accepting a birthday present would have been a good way to have a casual conversation with him, and then perhaps he might have helped convince the others to stop being so fearful of her. Hopefully she would get another chance soon.
"Geez! Why didn't he just say so?" Hina wondered, "Anyway, what's in the book? Is it study notes or something?"
She flipped the page, in the same intricate writing it read "This voucher entitles the bearer to One Hours Tutoring by Kiyotaka Ishimaru". The paper had been pieced down the side with a pin to make it easy to remove from the book. The others pages were similar "entitling the bearer" to laundry, room cleaning and "One Personal Favour" from Ishimaru.
"He made favour vouchers?" Hina asked, slightly incredulously.
"Favour vouchers?" Sakura asked. She'd never seen anything like this.
"You never did that? My brother and I make them every mother and father's day. The idea is you write stuff like "One room cleaned" or "One lawn mowed" or maybe even "No being a brat today!" and then they can give you them later to get you to do the stuff on them." Hina chuckled, "We don't write quite this well though..."
"I see, so Ishimaru's present is to offer to help me with things." She confirmed. "But what does "one personal favour" include?"
"I dunno, it's kinda vague...You'd probably have to ask Ishimaru."
That seemed like the best plan, hopefully this time the conversation wouldn't end with him fleeing.
Unfortunately, the day passed without her getting a chance to talk to the prefect. They didn't share any classes and each time she'd spotted him outside of them he'd either been busy reprimanding trouble makers or one of their classmates had stopped her to wish her Happy Birthday. Hopefully tomorrow, when she was no longer the centre of attention, she'd have the chance to ask about the voucher.
"Goodnight Sakura!" Hina waved happily as she made her way to her own room.
"Goodnight Hina." Sakura replied, as she entered her own. The feeling of a sheet of paper under her feet made her pause. It seemed someone had left her a note. She picked it up to read it.
"Happy Birthday Oogami! Enjoy it because it will be your last! You will pay for humiliating the Murusame family name! I'll come for you when you least expect it!"
Murusame? The family of swordsmen was familiar to Sakura, she'd defeated their current champion a month ago, but he had seemed amicable enough about the result. This was likely some lower branch member who'd lost money betting on the match. Certainly not worth worrying anyone else over. She'd best keep her guard up until he made his attempt though.
It was unfortunate that she wasn't more familiar with fighting swordsmen. It would be useful to have an idea of how he might approach.
Wait, didn't Ishimaru practise Kendo? Perhaps she was in need of a personal favour…
Ishimaru walked through the school corridors a little faster than usual. He’d not slept well last night and it had taken him longer than it should have to get up and dressed as a result. He really should have apologised to Oogami yesterday, but every time he’d seen her in the corridors either another of their classmates had been saying Happy Birthday (using the correct honorific) or he’d been in the middle of dealing with troublemakers and too cowardly to follow her afterwards. At least nobody had mentioned it yet. Maybe she and Asahina would keep it quiet? Or perhaps everyone was just laughing at him behind his back…
He headed through the dining hall towards the kitchen. Today he would definitely apologise to her! He just needed to have breakfast first… He turned around the corner to where the rice and vegetables (that were completely free to take! This school was wonderful!) were kept and collided with something solid. Since when had there been a pillar there?
He stepped back and looked, it wasn’t a pillar it was “Oogami!” He exclaimed. Then realised he was being rude again “-CHAN! Oogami-chan!” That was better!...Except now she was staring incredulously because he’d just careened into her and then yelled her name like a lunatic hadn’t he? “Ah! I’M SO SORRY!” He bowed.
“It’s fine. That looked like it hurt you more than myself, are you alright?”
“Y-yes thank you!” He said as he straightened, and would have done even if it wasn’t true. But then he remembered he had something else to apologise for and bowed again. “And I’m so sorry!”
“…Ishimaru, you just said that. You need to go to the nurse’s office…”
“NO! I mean for yesterday!” He explained.
“Ah, that. It’s fine. I realise it was just a temporary slip. Please don’t worry about it.” …Was that it? She wasn’t upset? He been so rude! If he’d done that at his old school he’d have found himself pushed into lockers constantly for weeks. “There is, however, another matter I’d like to discuss with you, perhaps we could eat together? I’ll make food if you could prepare tea?”
He nodded, too shocked at the invitation for words and set about making one of the free varieties of green tea.
“Mmm! This is delicious! You’re a good cook!” Ishimaru told her, as he started digging into the rice eagerly.
That surprised her. It was a simple dish and she’d realised after giving him his food that she’d added her usual amount of bonito flakes, which was much more than people usually added (she liked the extra protein) she’d also given Ishimaru a larger portion than he was used to, if his trouble keeping the rice from spilling out of the sides of the bowl was anything to go by, but he was making his way through it with gusto.
Unfortunately she couldn’t say the same about his tea making ability. He’d made the pot incredibly weak by her tastes. She didn’t mention it though, more people were entering the dining room and she didn’t want to draw attention by eliciting another panicked apology from the boy. He was only just starting to calm down.
Ishimaru finished the bowl of food and poured himself another cup of tea, his hold on it shifting awkwardly. “Err…So, what was it you wanted to discuss?” He asked, nervously.
She pulled the voucher from her pocket. “I wanted to discuss this “personal favour”, how does it work exactly?”
His face lit up in surprise. “I, err, I guess it depends on what favour you want? And when? I mean I’ll try to do whatever it is at your convenience but I do have my other responsibilities…” He trailed off awkwardly. He didn’t seem to be too sure about this either, perhaps this was the first time someone had asked him?
“I see. I would like you to help me with a training exercise. It would be best if I didn’t know if advance when you were going to do it.” She explained.
“Well that sounds perfectly reasonable!” He said, happy to help. “What exactly do you need me to do?”
“You practise Kendo, don’t you? Do you have your own sword?” He nodded. “I’d like you to sneak up on me and hit me with it without me noticing.”
Ishimaru’s face paled with shock. “What? No! I couldn’t possibly do that!” He shouted, aghast, which unfortunately attracted the attention of several other students. “What benefit does me hurting you have for your training?”
“It’s to help me gain awareness of my surroundings.” She explained “And besides, you don’t have to hurt me. Just a light sparring level.” He looked confused, so she quickly backhanded his arm as an example. Enough to be felt but not enough to cause pain beyond a light sting. “Something like that.”
“I…I’m not sure that’s possible in Kendo…” What? It was perfectly possible. It was expected for any martial artist to learn to control the strength of their hits. “I’m sorry, I’ll have to think about this!” He bowed his head.
“That’s understandable. I know it’s an odd request. But if you do decide to help me, please don’t tell me you are. It will give you more of chance…” She put the voucher back in her pocket, bowed and headed to class. Leaving the prefect looking thoughtful.
Later that evening, Ishimaru was looking at this sword. It was a cheap bamboo shinai that he’d had since early middle school, although it had originally been his father’s. There was tape keeping it together in the middle. He was trying to decide if he could hit a girl with it.
Admittedly, the girl was far stronger than him and she’d specifically asked him to do so, but he still felt that it would be wrong to sneak up on a classmate and hurt her!
Well, hit her, he should say. She’d seemed to think it was possible to strike someone without really hurting them. He’d never had that happen in his lessons at school though. Usually he’d been paired against someone older and stronger than himself, who had no qualms about pummelling someone weaken than them, at least not if that someone was him (everyone in his home town had a reason to hate the Ishimarus).
His first lesson had been the worse, he’d gone in with childish fantasies of himself, in a flowing red scarf like the heroes in his mother’s stories, standing proud and performing forms with grace and precision. He’d come out crying from the sting of bruises forming over his body and wrists, and dizzy from the hits on his head, even with the helmet on.
He’d kept the lessons up for a few years, but eventually the constant beatings and lack of improvement (He couldn’t remember if he’d ever actually scored a point again anyone) drove him to quit sparring and work on his forms (which he’d always enjoyed) quietly in the safety of his home.
Still, it wouldn’t do to dwell on the past. Oogami had asked him for a favour! He should at least consider it… Perhaps if he could manage to hit himself lightly then he could try to fulfil her request?
He considered how to go about the attempt, and settled for sitting on the bed with his legs stretched out ahead of him so he could strike his shin. Hesitantly, he tapped the area with the sword. It didn’t hurt, but could hardly be considered a “strike”! Gripping his sword in both hands, he raised it and attempted what he considered a normal strike. Ouch! Ok that was too hard!
He slowed it down so it didn’t hurt, then tried to practise swinging quickly but slowing down at the last second… That seemed to work well and after a few tried he was confident that he could consistently perform a strike without it being too painful. Perhaps he could help Oogami after all…
She was walking down the hall chatting to Hina when Ishimaru decided to try his first attempt.
It had been obvious he was going to attempt to do so, as he’d been carrying his shinai with him all day and glancing at her occasionally. His booted feet thumped loudly as he switched from his usual walk into a fighting stance and quickstepped down the hallway.
“Hina, move ahead of me a bit please…” She gently pushed her friends back to move her out of harm’s way, just in case Ishimaru’s accuracy was as bad as his stealth.
As he approached, she listened for his movements, to determine where he’d aim his hit. She needn’t had bothered.
“MEN!” Ishimaru gave the traditional kiai for a headstrike. She sighed as she reached a hand up behind her to catch the sword. At least Ishimaru had been on target, and judging from the pressure of the sword in her hand he would have only given her a small tap on the head if she hadn’t stopped him.
However, she’d need him to work on his stealth if he was going to give her any idea of what to expect from the Murusame member who’d threatened her. She pulled the sword out of his hands and turned, intending to give him a small tap with it to signify she’d “won” as her father often did when they trained…
His sword had been pulled out of his hands. Why had that happened?
Ah, that was right, they’d put their safety gear away after class, when suddenly Ochida, a large boy several years older than him, had yanked his shinai out of his hands.
“Please give me my sword back, Ochida-sama, I have to go home now.”
“Screw you Ishimaru!” He’d been pushed backwards onto the benches lining the storeroom. “I didn’t get to pummel you during class today, so I’m going to enjoy it now!”
“No! Please! Don’t hurt me!” He yelled uselessly as he raised his hands over his face.
“No! Please! Don’t hurt me!” Ishimaru suddenly cried out, legs trembling and hands desperately hiding his face. Did she really frighten him that much? She knew her appearance was intimidating, but she thought Ishimaru had begun to be less fearful of her at least.
“What’re you crying about!? You just tried to whack Sakura in the head with that thing!” Hina yelled at him.
“Uuuhh?” Ishimaru opened his eyes, confused. “What…Why…Oh. I’m at Hope’s Peak aren’t I?”
“Yes and you just tried to whack Sakura with a big stick!”
“Hina… It’s alright, I asked him to.” She explained. “Ishimaru, do I scare you that badly?”
“Ah…No… It was just…I suddenly remembered something from my old Kendo classes…” He bowed suddenly. “I apologise for my overreaction! And for failing to hit you!”
That was concerning, that something violent enough to have that effect on him happened in a dojo. No wonder he’d not believed Kendo strikes could be controlled.
“Not hitting her isn’t something you should be apologising for!” Hina scolded him, “If you’d hit her it would have really hurt!”
“No, it wouldn’t have. It would have been more like this…” She took advantage of Ishimaru’s distraction to strike his shoulder with the sword, with roughly the amount of force he would have used.
“Ah! You can tell how hard I’d have struck?” Ishimaru’s asked. “I’m glad it was only that much! I’d practised on myself but I wasn’t sure…”
“I appreciate that you practised.” Sakura told him, “Though you need to change your approach dramatically.”
“Err…How so?” Could he really not see what he’d done wrong? Maybe he wasn’t the right person to ask to be stealthy.
“Well… Carrying your sword with you makes it obvious you’re planning an attack, as your clothes are too tight to conceal a sword, you should try to hide it somewhere near to the area where you intend to attack.” Ishimaru nodded. “Also in your boots, moving in stance is noisy, you should just walk calmly.” She added, handing him his sword.
“Thank you! Oogami-chan! I will take that on board for my next attempt!” He turned to leave.
“And Ishimaru-kun?” He turned back to face her. “Don’t Kiai next time.”
“B-but if I don’t Kiai I don’t score points!”
Definitely not the right person to ask to be stealthy…
Ishimaru was getting ready for his second attempt. He’d realised after the first one that he’d have to come up with a better plan. That was why he was in socks, leaning against the wall of his room, with the door propped open ever-so-slightly with an eraser so he could hear who was walking past his room, but his door would still look closed.
His class had ended slightly before hers, and he knew she usually came back to her room to change into her training gear. Once she came past (he was lucky to have a room right by the corridor entrance), he’d slip out the door and run softly up and hit her. Like a ninja!
He tried to keep his breathing soft so he’d hear her, trying not to notice how thrilling it felt to be this sneaky. After a few minutes he held his breath as he heard heavy footsteps go past his door. This was it! He pushed the door and ran up the hall, sword raised ready to strike.
The first problem with this plan he noticed was that even in socks his running was spectacularly noisy! This caused his intended victim to turn around for him to see the second problem, which was that he was charging full pelt not at Oogami, but at Mondo Oowada. He stopped short.
“Oowada! What are you doing here! You’re supposed to be in detention!”
“What? So you were gonna hit me with a fucking stick!” The biker was understandably annoyed.
“It’s a shinai! And no, I thought you were Oogami-chan.” He explained.
“What? You were try and whack the Og…Oogami with that thing?” Mondo stumbled over his usual derogatory name for their classmate as he looked over his own shoulder. This caused Ishimaru to turn and notice the third problem with his plan, which was that Oogami had seen him come out of the door and was now inspecting how he’d propped it open. So much for re-trying that plan.
“Hmm, I didn’t realise the doors could be propped open like this. I take it you can hear from inside this way?”
“Err…Yes. It’s not noticeable from outside unless you’re actively looking for it.” He explained. “There have been several cases of students doing it to avoid the door locking automatically behind them if they forget their keys. Of course that can lead to their rooms being vulnerable so I usually unblock the door when I notice it.”
“I see…” Oogami muttered.
He heard footsteps behind him, Oowada was attempting to slink off while he was distracted. “Oowada! You still have detention!”
“Well, you just ran in the halls!” Oowada snapped back at him, “How’s about we both keep mum?”
Oh, Gods! He had just run in the halls, hadn’t he? And now this thug was trying to blackmail him! Urg!
“Nonsense! I will escort you to detention and then serve it as well!” He said, double checking he had his keys before unblocking his door and grabbing the biker by the hand to drag him down the corridor.
“Urg! How’s a prissy little nerd like you so strong!?” Oowada griped as he attempted to drag his feet to no avail. Even without the extra inch of height from his boots he still had no issue propelling the delinquent forward. “And why the hell didn’t the Ogre pummel you for tryin’a whack her with a stick?”
“Her name is Oogami!” He snapped, “She’s far less of an Ogre than you are, you violent hooligan!”
“Tch! Fine! Why’d Oogami not pummel you for tryin’a whack her with a stick?”
“She asked me to! It’s a training exercise to increase her awareness of her surroundings!”
“Wait, she asked ya to sneak up on her and whack her with a stick!? That’s nuts!” They arrived outside the classroom. “And are ya seriously gonna give yourself detention? C’mon! No one’s going to know if we both sneak off back to our rooms!” He pleaded, pathetically.
“You’d know! And even worse, I’d know I’d used a position of power for my own benefit!” He grimaced at the thought… that was what everyone hated their family for, wasn’t it? “I’ll never do that!”
“Dammit! You’re as nuts as the Ogre!”
“Neither of us is mentally deficient! We’re just dedicated!” He suddenly had a good idea of a way to try and get the message through to his most troublesome classmate. “And that is how a “prissy little nerd” like myself got so strong!” He opened the door and dragged Mondo through it.
“Tch! Fuck you asshole!” Mondo muttered under his breath as they entered. Perhaps his father was right and there really were some people who just wouldn’t listen?
Hmm, perhaps Ishimaru could be of help with this after all. She’d learnt about the room doors at least. An unsecured room like that would be a potential place for an assailant to ambush her. She’d have to keep an eye on the doors more closely. If nothing else it seemed Ishimaru had a good understanding of this unfamiliar school and how one could hide in it.
She walked through the busy crowd, keeping an eye on her surroundings for anyone suspicious. No one stood out. But suddenly she felt a tell-tale rush of air behind her. Someone had a sword raised above her shoulder! It must be the Murusame member! Instinctively she crouched low and swung a leg out to sweep her assailant.
Her foot struck a familiar, tall black boot and Ishimaru fell to the floor with a thump. He panicked again and held his sword protectively in front of his face for a moment before opening his eyes and realising he wasn’t being attacked.
“I…I apologise! I over reacted again.” He said, still trembling slightly.
“I apologise as well. You approached so stealthily I thought I was actually under attack and I hit back on instinct.” She explained, as she extended a hand to help him up. “How did you approach? And where was your sword kept? I haven’t seen you carrying it today.”
He paused, then accepted her hand and stood. “I’ll tell you if you tell me how you could tell what I was doing?” He offered. “I thought I’d done that perfectly!”
“You probably did for one of your skill level.” Sakura told him. “But I was on guard and noticed the air movement from your sword.”
“So…So I’d have had to hit you without moving my sword?” Ishimaru asked, despairingly. “How is that possible?”
“It’s not that you have to avoid moving, it’s that you need to catch me off guard.” Sakura explained.
“Mmph…” Ishimaru probably had no idea if there even was a time she would be off guard. She wasn’t aware of one herself.
“And your answers?” Sakura prompted him.
“I hid behind Coach Nekomaru.” Ishimaru told her. She’d have to be more diligent with the larger students around. “And as for the sword, I’ll show you.” He led her to a gap between two lockers that had some cleaning supplies in it. He adjust the supplied and put the sword down behind them, hiding it from view. So she’d have to be careful of random items in unusual places as well then.
“Thank you Ishimaru, this has been very useful.” She told him. “I’m looking forward to your next attempt.”
He wasn’t looking forward to his next attempt. How was he ever supposed to know if she was or wasn’t on guard! She hadn’t looked that cautious when he’d tried yesterday but she’d still made a fool of him so easily! And then he’d had a flashback to the time several of his class had tripped him over and attacked him in a circle. He certainly didn’t want another one of those!
Ah, and there was Oogami now, walking and listening to Asahina after their morning workout. He should at least wave, shouldn’t he? They’d talked enough he could consider her an acquaintance, right?
He waved to Oogami as they passed. No response. Apparently not then. Or perhaps she was being sarcastic when she’d said he was helpful? Maybe she was getting sick of his clumsy failures?
“Uhh…Hey, Ishimaru?” Said a concerned voice to his right. It was Naegi, the lucky student from his class. He was an average student in most respects, except his ability to socialise. Ishimaru had had several pangs of envy over the last fortnight at how easily the boy seemed to be able to carry on conversations with most of the other students in their class, a feat he apparently couldn’t even manage with one of them. Still, perhaps this would be a chance to have one of those conversations himself.
“Ah, Naegi-kun!” Making sure to get the right honorific. “Can I help you with something?” He saluted, and then instantly regretted it. Naegi never saluted did he? Would he think it was overbearing?
“No, I’m fine, Ishimaru!” Naegi smiled, well, that was something! “I just wanted to say not to let those two ignoring you just now bother you too much. They’re always like that after working out together!”
“…Always?” That could be his chance! “And they always come down this corridor, don’t they?”
“Uhh, yeah. Usually.” Naegi confirmed, “Anyway, a group of us are going to go to the rec room after class…”
“I’m sorry Naegi-kun, could this wait? I’ve suddenly realised I have something I need to do urgently!”
“Uh…Ok Ishimaru.” Naegi seemed disappointed with his rudeness, but it couldn’t be helped. He had an attack to plan! “Just don’t work too hard!” The luckster added.
“There’s no such thing!” He snapped instinctively, then regretted it again. Naegi wouldn’t want to talk to him if he was always snapping at people to work, would he?
Luckily, Naegi didn’t take offense, instead just laughing and patting him on the arm. “Haha! Well, maybe not for you! You’re special! See you tomorrow!” He walked away.
“But I’m really not…!” He sighed as he realised Naegi was already out of earshot, he hated when people said that. There was nothing special about him, he just put the effort in. And so could everyone else if they’d stop depreciating themselves!
Still, first things first. He could encourage Naegi to realise his potential after he’d fulfilled his favour to Oogami.
Right, this is it! He thought the next morning as he waited for Oogami and Asahina to pass him by and then took his broken shinai out of his locker. He quickly stuck it back together with tape like he’d practised last night and looked for someone he could hide behind as he made his approach.
Oowada was the only obvious candidate, but someone was already following him pretty closely… How annoying! It didn’t even look like a student! He was wearing baggy clothes and no shoes, just socks! Really, he ought to write a detention slip just for that! Let alone how suspiciously he was behaving, skulking behind Oowada and reaching for something under his shirt…
Ishimaru suddenly realised the strange man was acting the exact same way he had been intending to. Was he trying to attack Oogami? He started following from a distance, he didn’t want to accuse the man without proof but…
Suddenly, as Mondo drew close to Oogami and Asahina, the man darted out from behind him…
“Oogami! OOGAMIII! BEHIND YOU!” If he was wrong he could apologise later! He ran forwards with his sword raised, planning to aim for a wrist hit to disarm the stranger.
The stranger turned to face him, which was good! He wouldn’t hurt Oogami now! And his hand was still under his shirt, so Ishimaru had the initiative! He reach the man and brought his sword down to hit the man’s wrist, aiming perfectly!
His sword didn’t connect. He realised this as the momentum of his swing carried him too far forward and he almost tripped, only just managing to right himself and stand back up in a fighting stance.
He looked at his sword, there was a clean cut right the way through it, just below where the tape had been…
She was walking along in a post-workout glow, listening to Hina talking. “So, I was wondering if it’d be possible to make cakes or donuts with protein powder instead of some of the flour! Y’know, so it’d be a treat but also not completely terrib…”
“OOGAMIII! BEHIND YOU!” Ishimaru was suddenly yelling as he ran up the hallway. She turned around, just in time to witness Ishimaru running with his sword raised high and bearing down on an unfamiliar man who was stood a few meters away from her and had just turned to face Ishimaru. She recognised the stranger’s stance, it was one the Murusames often used when preparing a quick-draw strike.
She moved to intercept, but too late. With a barely-perceptible move, the stranger had drawn his sword, slicing Ishimaru’s shinai in two and given him a cut on his right arm, in the process. The stranger then twisted his stance in preparation for a thrust. That one she did manage to intercept, grabbing the wrist of his sword arm with her left so she could spin him around and punch him out with her right.
The stranger, who she vaguely recognised from the fight again the Murusame champion, crumpled in a heap.
She looked over to Ishimaru. He was staring at his broken sword, then suddenly clutched his throat and passed out with a whimper.
His sword was in two parts. How had that happened?
Ah right, he’d managed to block Ochida’s attack for once, but his sword had snapped under the pressure.
“Ah… Father’s shinai!” He said sadly.
“Hah! It’s a cheap piece of crap, just like you!” The larger boy laughed.
“Ishimaru, Ochida. Continue your sparring.” Their teacher scolded them.
“Ah, my apologies sir! My sword has broken!” He bowed in apology.
“I said continue.” His teacher replied.
“B-but how…?” He was gesturing to his sword, surely his teacher could see there was no benefit to continuing now?
His teacher sighed “Ochida, shut him up…”
“SIR!” Ochida shouted respectfully before yelling “TSUKI!” The Kiai for a throat strike.
But he was wearing the kit without a throat guard! They’d said no Tsuki! That didn’t stop the strike slamming into his throat. He fell to his knees, gasping for air.
“Point to Ochida.” He heard his teacher announce. This wasn’t fair! How was he ever supposed to improve himself in these conditions!?
He curled himself into a ball to try and protect himself and hide his tears. Just in time to hear Ochida Kiai “MEN!”
He couldn’t keep doing this…For the first time in his life, he was going to give up…
“Nnnghh…” Ishimaru finally stirred. Fortunately his injury hadn’t been severe. He’d have trouble using his right arm from a while, but nothing permanent. He’d mostly just passed out from shock, according to the nurse.
Hina and Naegi (who had gone to the trouble of collecting notes for Ishimaru) sat up from their chairs to peer at the prefect as he woke up.
His eyes opened. “Do you remember what happened, Ishimaru-kun?” Hina asked him, gently.
“My sword broke…and sensei ordered Ochida to continue attacking me… That’s why I quit sparring”
What!? His teacher ordered another student to attack him while he was defenceless!? What a waste Ishimaru had been on that dojo! What could he have possibly done to deserve such contempt!?
“Was Ochida that guy Oogami-chan punched?” Naegi asked, confused.
“Uhh… No. Ishimaru-kun, you’re in Hope’s Peak now!” Hina reminded him.
Ishimaru’s brow furrowed for a moment. “Oh! I remember I was going to attack Oogami-chan…But then someone else was…Ah! Oogami-chan! Are you alright!” His flew over to hers.
“I am unharmed, thanks to you, Ishimaru-kun.” She told him, and he smiled with relief. “We’ve been more concerned about you.”
“Ah! Y-yes! I…I over reacted again, didn’t I?” He said, guiltily. “I apolo…”
“Don’t.” She told him, standing up and bowing deeply. “You aren’t the one who should apologise. I got you involved in a fight that was my responsibility and you were hurt as a result. I’m the one at fault here. I am sorry.”
“B-but there was no way for you know you’d be attacked!” Ishimaru insisted.
“No. I received a letter from him on my birthday, warning me that he would do so at some point.” She explained. “I was arrogant and didn’t think it was enough of a threat to warn the school, but decided to use your offer of a favour to ask you to try to attack me so I could determine what he might try.”
“I see. You shouldn’t have done that.” He said.
“Indeed. I am sor…”
“If you’d just told me someone was going to attack you I’d have been more than happy to help you prepare! You didn’t need to use the voucher at all!”
She stared, she hadn’t been expecting that response at all. “But…Your arm…”
“But if you hadn’t asked for my help you might be dead!” Ishimaru said, rather more jovially than was probably appropriate. “Stopping that is worth far more than my arm! After all you’re my…err…classmate!”
Had he wanted to say “friend”? His eyes had dropped to stare intensely at the sheets in front of him, and his cheek were turning red. She wondered if he’d even had anyone he could even think of as a classmate before. Let alone a friend.
“In that case, as your classmate I have a different favour to ask of you.” She said, passing him the voucher that had started this whole affair off.
“Err…Of course, what can I help you with?” He asked,
“When you have recovered, I would like you to begin sparring with me regularly.” His face paled. “I promise I won’t hurt you. I want to see you get stronger, so we can do a better job of protecting our classmates.”
“Well…Ok then! I…I’ll try not to over react as much!”
“Thank you, now try to rest.” She told him. “I’ll visit you tomorrow.”
“And if you can’t sleep, I got your next week’s work for you!” She heard Naegi tell him as she left.
“A whole week!? Why did they give you that much?”
“Well, that’s how long you’re supposed to stay here for?”
“WHAT!? I can’t stay in the here for a whole WEEK!”
Something told her Ishimaru wasn’t going to be doing much resting during his recovery.
Four days! Four days he’d ended up stuck in that bed being unable to get on with anything study the notes Naegi had collected for him. At least that meant he was three days ahead of class, but he was four days behind in all his other duties, which included…
“Oowada! You’ve missed several days of detention!”
He’d caught the biker slinking out of the woodwork room he was becoming prone to goofing off in.
“Goddammit! Naegi said we had a week before we had to hear you’re fuckin’ voice again…”
“Well unfortunately for you I’m too dedicated to my duties to be lounging in bed all week!” He boasted, feeling triumphant to be up and about again. “Now we have detention to serve!”
“Wait, you too? Whadidya do this time?”
“You saw it. I ran in the halls again.”
“What? When…?” He could practically see the gears turning slowly in the biker’s brain “You mean when that nutcase tried to off the Ogr…Oogami!?”
“Correct!”
“You’re punishing yourself for that!? What you got some weird detention fetish or sumthin’?”
“I do NOT have ANY “weird fetishes” and I would appreciate if you keep such insinuations to yourself!” He snapped, he’d hardly be able to make Prime Minister if allegations like that started going around…
“Geez, it was a joke, ya weirdo! I just meant don’t you get off detention ‘cos you did it to save her life or nuthin’?”
“I didn’t check. Oogami’s my classmate and I’m more than willing to sit through an hour of detention to have helped her!” Oowada rolled his eyes. “Now quit stalling and come along!” He grabbed the biker’s wrist with his right hand and pulled…
“NNGH!” Pain shot through the wound on his arm and he sank to his knees as stars flashed in his head.
“You fuckin’ dumbass! You can’t “dedication” your body into healing quicker!” Oowada mocked him and pulled him up by his left hand and starting dragging him down the corridor.
He instinctively dragged his feet, to no avail. “What are you doing? Where are we going?”
“Detention, dumbass!”
“What!? Why are you…?”
“What? You think I’m gonna make a guy who oughta be in hospital drag me around!?” He snapped, “Even I’ve got standards, asshole!”
Huh. Maybe he could listen after all…