A/N: I don't know much about judo nor about fighting so I'll just throw in judo terms and hope for the best lol.
4:59 P.M. Gymnasium
After class ended for the day, I headed to the gymnasium alone. That reminds me that I don't have any too-I mean, friends to hang out with, but no need to hurry as school just started.
Nearly all of the students assembled there were freshmen. There were about a hundred people waiting around. I stood near the back of the room and waited for the fair to begin. While waiting, I glanced over the pamphlet that students received upon entering the gymnasium. The pamphlet contained detailed information about club activities.
"My, what an unpleasant coincidence," said the person beside me. Just from the voice I can tell that it's Horikita. Seems like I haven't bullied her enough.
"Shut up, or do you want me to destroy your other compass as well?" I responded.
Once again, I have discombobulated her and she wore a nonplussed expression on her face. Ignoring her, I returned to the pamphlet.
The clubs on the pamphlet were very detailed and all of them looked very fancy. It had a wide range of clubs from tea ceremony to baseball. I'd expect nothing less from a top-tier institution.
"Thank you all for waiting, first-year students. We will now begin the club fair. A representative from each club will explain their function. My name is Tachibana, the student council secretary and the club fair's organizer. It's nice to meet you all."
Tachibana's hair was tied in two buns and was purple? Who the fuck has purple hair? Does every student in this school just have some weird quirky hair color? What's next, someone with strawberry blonde hair comes up? (A/N: Ha, I bet you thought Ichinose would appear right now, but author tricked you.)
After Tachibana delivered the opening remarks, representatives of each club lined up on the stage. It was quite a diverse crowd. The club representatives included everything from burly athletes in judo uniforms to students dressed in beautiful kimonos. Wait, there's judo? Looks like I'm in luck.
"Hey, if you want to get a fresh start, why not try joining an athletic club? The judo club looks good, doesn't it? That upperclassman looks kind, and I'm sure he'd encourage you," offered Horikita. Damn, she knows me well doesn't she.
"Yeah sure why not, wanna join with me?" I earnestly asked her.
"That was supposed to be sarcastic but whatever," Horikita huffed. Apparently I misunderstood her intentions.
A girl dressed in archery gear stepped onto the stage. "Hello, my name is Hashigaki, the captain of the archery club. Many students may be under the impression that archery is an old-fashioned, simple activity, but it is actually a fun and rewarding sport. We welcome beginners with open arms. If you're interested, please consider joining."
"What is this, Kaguya-sama: Love is War? We have guns these days, what's the point of archery?" exclaimed some weeb in the crowd. Although you certainly don't have to join a club for practical reasons, you could always do it for fun or as a hobby. As I saw it he just wanted to make a Love is War reference for no apparent reason at all other than add to the total word cou-
"Please do not interrupt Hashigaki-san's speech, it's very rude," Tachibana reprimanded calmly.
As the seniors continued introducing their respective clubs one after the other, I saw Horikita suddenly tense. She looked at the stage, her face pale. She looks like she just lost her entire compass collection. When she has this expression all her brain cells seemingly disappear, so I didn't bother to bother her.
As the upperclassmen finished their introductions, they walked off the stage and headed toward an area where some plain tables had been set up. Probably a reception area designed to accept new members. Eventually, everyone walked off until only one person remained. Everyone focused their attention upon him, and I realized that Horikita had been staring at that specific person this whole time.
He appeared to be about 170 centimeters in height, so he wasn't very tall. He was slender, with sleek black hair. He wore sharp glasses and had a piercing, calculating gaze. Standing in front of the microphone, he calmly looked around at the first-year students. When his gaze landed on Horikita, he looked slightly surprised but maintained his composure.
However, he just stood there and didn't talk at all.
"Do your best!"
"Did you forget to bring your notecards?"
"I came."
The first-year students hurled comments at him. That last comment was slightly concerning. However, the upperclassman stood on the stage calmly, without trembling. The laughter and comments didn't seem to faze him. When the laughter had reached a crescendo, it suddenly died. He wore an apathetic expression.
"What's with this guy?" remarked an astonished student. The gymnasium buzzed with people talking, yet the boy on the stage still did not move. He simply stood there, quiet and motionless, staring fixedly at the crowd. Horikita stared back at the student with an intense gaze, not breaking her line of sight even for a second.
The relaxed atmosphere gradually changed, and things took an unexpected turn. It was as if some chemical reaction had taken place. An unbelievably tense, quiet mood gripped the entire gymnasium. Even though no orders had been given, the silence was so terrible that it seemed to have gagged everyone. Not a single student looked able to open his or her mouth. The silence continued for about thirty seconds or so...
Then, the student started his speech, slowly scanning the crowd.
"I'm the student council president. My name is Horikita Manabu," he said.
Horikita? I guess this guy is probably Horikita's older brother. Maybe Horikita has a brother complex? I thought that shit only existed in anime.
"The student council is looking to recruit potential candidates among the first-year students to replace the graduating third years. Although no special qualifications are required for candidacy, we humbly ask that those considering application not be involved in other club activities. We generally do not accept students involved elsewhere."
He spoke in a soft tone, but the tension around us was so thick it felt like you could cut it with a knife. He had managed to silence over a hundred new students in that spacious gymnasium. Of course, it wasn't his position as student council president that granted him this deference. That was simply Horikita Manabu's power. His presence dominated everyone around him.
"Furthermore, we in the student council do not wish to appoint anyone who possesses a naive outlook. Not only would such a person not be elected, he or she would sully the sanctity of this school. It is the student council's right and duty to enforce and amend the rules, but the school expects more than that. We gladly welcome those of you who understand this."
He didn't pause even once during his eloquent speech. Immediately after finishing, he hopped off the stage and left the gymnasium. None of the first-year students could utter a single word as we watched him go. We didn't know what would've happened if we'd tried to talk. Everyone in the room shared the same thought, apparently.
"Thank you all for coming. The club fair has ended. We will now open the reception area to anyone interested in signing up. Also, registration will be open until the end of April, so if any student wishes to join at a later date, we ask that you please bring the application form directly to the club you wish to join."
Thanks to the laid-back organizer, the tension in the air dissipated. Afterwards, the third-year students who'd introduced their respective clubs started taking application.
I left the paralyzed Horikita and went to the reception area, as I couldn't care less about her mental state. If she breaks down because of her brother or broken compass, then honestly there's no hope for her.
"Hi, I'd like to sign up for the judo club," I said to the upperclassman. He looked kind of like a gorilla, but I kept those thoughts to myself.
"Sure! Here's the paper and pen. Have you ever practiced judo before, or are you a complete beginner?" inquired the upperclassman.
"Yes I have, I like to think that I'm quite good at judo," I responded.
"What color is your belt?"
"White." Technically I wasn't lying, everything I wore in the white room was white. I also didn't understand why he asked for the color of my belt instead of my rank. After all, there were many different systems so belt color doesn't really say much.
The upperclassman gave a nod of approval. "My name is Musashi Goda, but everyone just calls me Harambe."
A/N: Yeah it's the chad from Mob Psycho 100
"Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. Nice to meet you too." While I was confused why his nickname seemed to have nothing to do with his actual name, another student came up behind me. Seems like another student wanted to join the judo club as well.
"My name is Satou Kazuma! I'd like to join the judo club please!"
"I see. Do you have any experience in judo?" asked Harambe.
"Nope. In fact I'm quite unfit. However I do wanna learn how to dropkick someone, so that's why I came here. As an advocate for true gender equality, it's an important skill to learn."
I couldn't make the connection between dropkicking someone and gender equality, but I guess everyone thinks differently.
"Sadly dropkicks don't exist in judo; it would be something you would learn in karate," Harambe replied.
"Aww, but there's no karate club here! Do you teach anything interesting at all?"
"Judo is a martial art that doesn't include striking; it's full-on grappling. So while you can't punch or kick anyone, you can throw your opponent onto the floor. I'd say it's pretty useful even if you don't have the best body, so I recommend that you join anyways," Harambe explained.
"I see, I see. I guess I'll join then," Satou said in a resigned tone.
"Great! I guess we have two new members this year! My name is Musashi Goda, but everyone just calls me Harambe. I look forward to working with you!" Harambe said in a very energetic tone.
"Likewise," I said.
However, Satou didn't respond and just laughed hysterically when he heard Harambe. Is this some gimmick I'm too uncultured to understand? Harambe just raised an eyebrow at him.
"Clubs start tomorrow, so I'll see both of you there when the time comes."
Both of us exchanged a few more pleasantries with Harambe and we left for the dorms together.
"Hey, what's your name? I never managed to catch it," Satou asked. "Also you can call me Kazuma, I prefer it that way."
"Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. Nice to meet you Kazuma. I guess you can call me Kiyotaka as well." He seemed like a good person and was also easy to talk to, but I can sense that he's one of those comedy relief characters that every show has. At first I thought it would be Yamauchi but he's too dumb to make an actual joke. He's also too annoying to be a joke.
"So Kiyotaka, which class are you in?"
"Class D."
"Class D? More like Class Deez nuts ha!" Looking at my expressionless face Kazuma quickly apologized. "I'm sorry that was a bad joke wasn't it?"
"No, it's fine. I just have trouble expressing myself," I told him. "Which class are you in Kazuma?"
"Ugh, I'm in Class C. There's this Ryueen guy in our class who took over the class on the first day. Honestly he's like a tyrant, and I guess another reason I joined the judo club was because of his violent behavior."
Kazuma continued to rant about Ryueen's antics, which was honestly pretty similar to mines.
"However, I can tell he cares about gender equality as well, so I don't have too much of a problem with him. As long he leaves me alone that's all that really matters." It seems like I've found another like-minded individual who simps for peaceful life-chan.
"Well I can't really say I disagree with this Ryueen guy. Although he uses slightly forceful methods, it sounds like your class is full of wimps so he's probably the best candidate for the leader of your class."
I gave him my thoughts on the matter, and I was interested to see what he would do with the information.
"Leader of the class? You mean like class representative? I mean I guess my classmates are wimps, but I don't really see the purpose of it. Seems to me he's just a dickhead for fun," Kazuma replied.
I see, so his attitude is a mix of Koenji's and mine. Doing things just for fun and not giving a shit about what else happens. I do wonder if he's just violent or if he has figured out some of the S System like I did.
Eventually we reached the dorms together, and Kazuma's room was 402, right next to mines.
"Looks like we're neighbours," remarked Kazuma.
"Indeed, such is the power of plot convenience," I responded.
We both went into our separate rooms and checked in for the night a couple hours later.
Time Skip
The second day of classes wasn't much better than the first one. Idiots like Yamauchi and Miyamoto were somehow late to every class. I'm not sure whether to commend them for having the balls to go against me, but they're probably nonexistent anyways.
After insulting their entire existence in front of the class, I went to the judo club room and arrived 5 minutes early. Kazuma soon arrived after me.
"Yo Kiyotaka, are ya excited? I wonder just how good at judo you are. You do seem quite fit," Kazuma said while appraising my body.
"Hmm, I do exercise quite often I suppose," I gave a vague response.
Another person soon entered and I recognized him as the senpai I met on the first day of school.
"Oh, it's you, you're the one who sold me bandages on the first day of school right?" It seems like his ankle has mostly healed after the two days at school. "My name is John Lee. It's a pleasure to meet you again."
John Lee? I guess he's Chinese.
"Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. I'm surprised you're not mad at me for selling you bandages at such a high price."
"I think it's alright, you just made the best out of the situation and I was able to heal my ankle because of that. So I think I should thank you instead."
I couldn't tell if this John guy was rich or just stupidly naive, but he seems like a nice guy as well. Who knows, maybe I can be friends with everyone in the judo club. While my original plan was to throw people on the ground for an hour straight every day just for fun, maybe I found some actual decent people in this school.
Harambe entered one minute before clubs started and greeted us. "Yo, John, Ayanokouji, Satou, looks like you're all here, let's get started then!"
"Wait there's only four people in this club? Without us first years you would've had to disband the club!" exclaimed Kazuma.
"That's right, a lot of the club members graduated this year leaving all the clubs desperate for more freshmen. It's totally not lazy writing on the author's part," Harambe replied. It seems like everyone in this club can somehow break the fourth wall.
Harambe and John started teaching Kazuma the basics of judo, since he was the only beginner here. We spent 30 minutes training how to fall on the ground properly. I haven't practiced this in quite a while so this was a nice refresher. This technique is useful in fights as it allows you to fall without getting hurt, so you can quickly get back up and run or fight back. Of course, since nobody can make me fall anyways, this wasn't too useful for me.
When I joined this club I thought I would have to beat up a bunch of people in the club tournament style, but instead it was just the three of us teaching Kazuma. The other two were surprised at how good of a teacher I was, but they weren't too bad themselves.
Finally, just before club ended Kazuma managed to lift the heavy Harambe and balance him on his back, before throwing him down onto the mat.
"Phew, man I'm beat," Kazuma moaned. He was sweating all over and looked like he could pass out any moment.
"Great job my comrades! Tomorrow we'll engage in duels, so rest up!" Harambe directed that last statement towards Kazuma. I wondered where all his enthusiasm comes from. All in all, it was fun to talk with these guys. I guess this is what youth is all about, huh?
A/N
2901 words
So not much Savagekouji in this chapter. I decided to make everyone in the judo club nice and friendly because there's already 39 people for Kiyo to roast in his class XD. It serves as a nice breather from all the stupidity and insults that constantly harasses him every day.
I decided to include some characters from other animes as well, hope you don't mind. I did this because it would be easier to remember their names and I don't have to go through the trouble of creating original characters.
As always, hope you enjoyed, and see you next chapter!