Ichinose Honami : Route D

Vol 1 Prologue I : Future

"Yes, Mashima-Sensei, I remember that day and all the students who came into the school smiling," I said.

After all, it is our responsibility as instructors to provide these students with all of the guidance they need to lead to a successful future, and remembering them in their thoughts is also an important duty of a good instructor.

"So, Chairman Sakyanagi, what do you want to talk about?" he inquired as to why I had summoned him.

"Well, Mashima-sensei, I'd like your opinion on the students this year, just like last time," I said, encouraging him to share his thoughts on the new class.

"Well, there appear to be a lot of unique students this year, Chairman," he said, referring to my daughter and a Class C student, both of them he find intriguing.

But I had a doubt that he is not complementing my daughter because of my position, so I went ahead and asked him about him.

"So, Mashima-sensei, I have a question for you," I said, adding, "Do you have any reservations about adding my daughter to your class?"

"Huh. What exactly are you on about, Chairman?, I personally checked her records and she is a genius. So, as far as I am concerned, I don't have any doubts about her place in my class," he replied to my question.

"Well, that's encouraging, I was concerned that you might think she got that placement because of my position as chairman of this school," I told him.

"Nonsense, Chairman, I've known you for far too long to judge you," he replied.

"Thank you, Mashima-kun," I said, adding, "so, what are your thoughts on other classes, particularly this year's Class D?"

"All of the classes have many talented individuals this year, Chairman," he responded, continuing his observation. "Although it is always like that, Class D usually has the most talent in school, but it's a shame that they weren't able to shine and capitalise on their talents in previous years." He came to an end with his conclusion.

"You are correct. However, the system was designed in such a way that we instructors are unable to directly intervene and guide students in their problems. It is their responsibility to identify and correct any deficiencies." I said.

"Yes, Chairman. For example, this year there are 4-5 students in this class who could easily have been in Class A, but their flaws are preventing them from reaching their full potential." He responded to me, and I agreed.

"Yes, Mashima-kun, this year's Class D may even outperform yours when you were a student," I said.

"I believe that as well, but they would also need a leader like him if they were to pull something like that off," he replied calmly.

"Yes, he was an incredible student, and it was a shame that your class was unable to break the curse of Class D," I said, adding, "Your batch was when I started my career as Chairman of school, and I was surprised by the level of students at this school, and your batch was exceptionally the best batch we had until that time."

"Yes. Although I am not one to dwell on the past, I still believe we had a good chance of reaching our goal." "Although it's all in the past and we can't change it, leaving the memories where they belong is the best course of action we can take," he sighed.

"I completely agree with you, Mashima-kun, but I doubt those two would agree with us on this," I replied, slightly chuckling.

"Hahaha, I believe the world will end before those two reach an agreement," he responded.

"I don't know what I would have done if it hadn't been for you, Mashima-kun." I sighed as I remembered how handful those two can be.

"Don't worry, Chairman; they may harbour grudges against one another, but I don't think they're stupid enough to intervene directly in the lives of students and try to manipulate them." He responded, assuaging my fears.