Nana's POV (June, 2005 – New Timeline)
It was the year 2005 when Keisuke and I were in our final/senior year in middle school. And just like how he had promised two years back, he took his studies very seriously into consideration and didn't get held back in the same grade this time around. I was happy for him, really. Keisuke was motivated and worked super, duper, extra hard in school so he didn't have to get held back again. He stayed true to his word and was still stuck with it.
It was already 3:25 PM in the afternoon and our classes had just come to an end for today. As soon as the teacher left the classroom, I stood up from my seat and went up to Keisuke's desk while the other students were making their way out of the room. Today, the teacher gave our test papers back to us and I wanted to know how Keisuke did in his exams.
"Japanese language – 30, English language – 45, Science – 35, Social Studies – 50, Mathematics – 40..." I quietly read out the scores of the ravenette boy, a sweat drop forming on my head, leaving me utterly speechless. "Keisuke, you failed in every subject... Just how...?"
The said boy with his long raven locks tied up in a high ponytail, still wearing his dorky-ass goofy glasses like how he did in the previous timeline, crossed his arms over his chest and let out a huff in displeasure.
"I got too cocky last time..." Keisuke stated with a frowning yet distressed face. "I was so full of myself that I thought maybe I could get through this exam without your help or your study sessions... But unfortunately, I fucking couldn't do it. If I don't pass next week's makeup exam, I'll have to spend the entire summer vacation in supplementary classes. I can't do this."
Keisuke clicked his tongue in annoyance and I gave him a soft concerned look. In my defense, I did try to help him out with this exam but Keisuke declined my offer and said that he would try to study on his own. He wanted to pass the tests without my help. I understood that he was trying to be more independent and didn't want to bother me, but that plan of his obviously didn't work out and rather backfired him.
"Tsk! At this rate, I will miss the summer Toman meetings." He added, slightly shaking his head. "I can't even go to the Musashi Festival with you this year. Nor can we go touring in Shonan. Nana, you do realize how much this means to me, right?!"
"Yes, I know. It means a lot." I replied in all seriousness, nodding my head.
This time, on our summer vacation, Keisuke and I decided to go to Shonan, just the two of us, alone. It was a region situated along the coast of Sagami Bay in Kanagawa Prefecture, central Japan. It was located beside the Sagami River and about 60 kilometers southwest of Tokyo. As both Keisuke and I loved the ocean, beaches, and relaxing atmosphere, we thought Shonan was definitely the place to be. In our opinion, Shonan was Japan's most laidback, stylish, and cool surfer's paradise which deserves to be called the "California of Japan".
Thinking about it, there were so many things we decided to see and places we wanted to visit once we went to Shonan this summer – Enoshima Island, Enoshima Aquarium, the Enoden Railway Station, Mt. Fuji, the Route 134, Kugenuma Beach, Chigasaki Beach, Komaya Park, the Ryukoji Temple, Koibito No Oka (aka the Lover's Hill) – and so many other more. If Keisuke took his makeup tests next week and failed once again, then we wouldn't be able to go there just as we planned. And I couldn't let that happen.
"Please help me study, Nana?" Keisuke requested with pouty lips and I let out a giggle in amusement.
"You don't need to request me, Kei..." I stated with a smile before grabbing his hand and walking out of the classroom together. "I promised you that I'll help you study, right? So, let's do this."
"Do you have any club work today? If not, then wanna go and study at the library now?" he asked as he intertwined the fingers of our holding hands. "I was thinking of getting some problems solved by you. Also, I need to clear a few doubts regarding the last math test."
"Sure. I'm free now. We can study at the library." I reassured him with a smile again.
As we walked down the hallway hand in hand and were making our way toward the school library, we came across a certain blonde-haired individual on our path. It was Chifuyu Matsuno (who was in his 2nd year in middle school at this moment in time).
Keisuke and I reunited with Chifuyu at the beginning of the last year, when we started the 1st semester of our 2nd year while Chifuyu newly joined the school as a freshman. And when I said reunite, it meant that Chifuyu had obtained his old memories from the previous timelines as well, just like me and Keisuke. It was overwhelming when we met Chifuyu again. He was with us through thick and thin whatever the situation was from day one. He was our ride-or-die buddy, so meeting him once again in this new timeline was nostalgic, it was heartwarming.
"Ah, Baji-san, Nana-san! Heading back home together?" Chifuyu called out with a brightened-up smile, jogging up to us.
"Oh, hey, Chifuyu!" I chuckled softly at his puppy-like behavior. "No, we're actually heading toward the library now. Keisuke and I decided to study there for a while."
"Let me guess... Baji-san failed his tests again?" Chifuyu asked before looking over at Keisuke with a teasing smirk. "Still can't believe you actually didn't get held back in this timeline, Baji-san."
"Oi, I'm gonna fucking murder your ass, Chifuyu!" Keisuke growled out in a threatening tone but we knew he meant no harm.
"Anyways, where are you heading now, Chifuyu?" I asked, slightly tilting my head to the side.
"Takemitchy called me just a few minutes ago. He, Kisaki, Hanma, and Kazutora, are all handing out at McDonald's. They're asking me to join them, so I'm heading out there. They asked me to bring you guys too, but it seems like you're busy..." Chifuyu trailed off with a sheepish smile.
"Well, yeah. Can't be helped." I smiled back and then raised an eyebrow. "But seriously? McDonald's again? Don't you guys get tired of it?"
"That's our usual hangout spot though." Keisuke chimed in with a small smirk and threw his right arm around me, draping it on my shoulders. "Nana and I would've joined you guys, but my makeup exam is more important."
"Right! I understand! I won't waste any more of your time." Chifuyu responded back with a toothy grin as he was about to walk away. "I'll get going then..."
"Wait, Chifuyu!" I quickly called out, making the said boy look back at me. "There's something I was meaning to ask you... Do you still feel wary about Kisaki and Hanma?"
It was something I wanted to ask Chifuyu for a while now because of his budding friendship with Kisaki and Hanma.
"Not really. Not anymore." Chifuyu replied with a small shrug and a warm smile appeared on his face. "Given how they were in the previous timeline, I always keep my guard on whenever they're around. But then yet again, things are different now. Kisaki is different. Hanma too. So there's no need to be afraid of them anymore is what I think."
"That's right. If Takemitchy assured us that things are different now, then I'm sure we don't need to panic so much. We should've more faith in our friends." Keisuke chimed in a reassuring tone, smiling down at me.
"Yeah, you're right..." I smiled back. "As long as Takemichi is involved, I'm sure it'll go well..."
Besides Keisuke and Chifuyu, I believe in Takemichi the most... If he says it's okay, then maybe it is...
After that, once Keisuke and I had settled down in the library to study, he suddenly remembered something and then spoke up to me.
"Hey, are you working on the school fest for this year too?" Keisuke asked and I shrugged in response.
"Don't know. They didn't form the committee yet. We'll know who's gonna be in charge of the preparation process once they form the committee." I replied, letting out a small sigh before giving Keisuke a curious look. "Why are you asking this? You wanna join the decoration group or something?"
"I never took participation in preparing for school fest or shit before. Looks fun though, not gonna lie." Keisuke responded and a mischievous smirk formed on my face.
"But remember that one time you once helped out your class, hmm?" I asked in a teasing tone, causing Keisuke to look at me with a slightly frowning face.
Flashback (2004 – the previous timeline)
It was when Keisuke, Chifuyu, and Ryusei Sato were in 1st year of middle school while I was in my 2nd year back in the previous timeline.
"Nana Senpai!" a familiar feminine voice called out from behind me.
I was in the middle of working on the decorations for the upcoming school fest, busy with my group mates when a girl named Himari from Keisuke's class came up to me with a hopeful look in her eyes.
"Hm, Himari? What is it?" I asked her in a kind tone.
"Um, I wanted to ask you a favor..." Himari stated with a sheepish chuckle while rubbing the back of her neck. "Can you ask Baji-kun to help us out for the school fest, please?"
"Keisuke? What do you want him for?" I asked in confusion yet feeling curious at the same time.
"Our class has decided to set up a cosplay café. And we are kinda short on staff, so we were thinking of asking Baji-kun to be one of our waiters." She explained.
And that's when a mischievous idea came to my mind.
"So it's like that, huh? I think I have a perfect plan for this..." I stated before explaining the plan to her.
A few minutes later, after gathering up all the courage they needed, Himari and her friends went up to Keisuke with bright smiles on their faces.
"Baji-kun! We are having a cosplay café for the school festival! Do it for us, please! Cosplay!" Himari requested Keisuke who was sitting at his desk, studying quietly all by himself.
"Huh? Why should I?" Keisuke asked, furrowing his eyebrows a bit.
"Because you have a nice figure. We thought you would look good!" Himari replied, smiling brightly and her friends also agreed with her. "Please? Baji-kun, help us out."
But Keisuke simply stared at them with a frowning face and remind silent as he didn't know what to tell them or what to think of their sudden request.
"Say, Baji-kun... I heard Nana Senpai is really busy with the school fest now and so she can't help you with your studies at the moment, yeah? Also, you have a major test next week, right? If you do it, I'll help you study! Please!" Himari requested him again, throwing this bait toward him.
And that piqued his interest.
"Are you serious?" Keisuke asked in surprise, the frown on his face dropping.
"If you wear a policeman's uniform, I'll help you with the Japanese Language. Or if you dress up as a vampire, I'll help you with Science. Alien for Social Studies. And cat for English. And if you wanna learn Math... wear a female sailor's suit!" Himari explained the deal with a smug face and this caused a dark shadow slowly fall onto Keisuke's face, making him contemplate this deal.
Meanwhile, when this was all happening inside the classroom, Chifuyu, Ryusei, and I stood and watched the whole scene play out from the doorway with curiosity.
"There's no way Keisuke-kun will agree to this. He would never dress up like that." Ryusei stated in a confirmed tone.
"You never know, Ryusei..." I responded back, smirking and this made the said boy give me a confused look.
And seemed like the plan actually worked because, on the day of the school fest, we found Keisuke wearing a female sailor outfit and working as a waiter at the café. Even Chifuyu was there with him as well, also wearing that outfit with a blonde bob-cut wig on his head.
And seeing this left Ryusei completely petrified and me a giggling mess.
"Welcome~!!!" Keisuke and Chifuyu greeted us with wide grins, excited, and this shocked Ryusei even more.
"Three iced coffees!!" Keisuke called the orders out loud, with a tray in his hand and it seemed like Keisuke was actually taking his job as a waiter very seriously despite him wearing a sailor outfit.
"I'll be right with you, Baji-san!" Chifuyu called out happily from the other side of the room, supporting Keisuke with his job.
"No, you're in a different class to him, Chifuyu..." Ryusei deadpanned at the blonde boy while I continued to laugh at the scene.
Flashback ended
"Hey, you tricked me into doing that! And I'm not doing that same shit again." Keisuke snapped at me with an angry yet pouty face and I let out an amused giggle.
"Okay, fine. I'm sorry, all right? I will never do that again, promise." I smiled softly at him in response before opening the math book. "Let's start our study session, okay?"
And from there, the marathon of our study sessions started which would continue for a whole week. After school at the library, at Keisuke's place, at the Sano residence – we continued to study hard day in and day out, not taking a proper break to rest. After all, there was no way in hell I could let Keisuke fail his tests again and then miss out on our Shonan trip.
"Nana, you haven't been getting enough sleep." A tired Keisuke pointed out with guilt in his tone as we were working on some mathematical problems after school in the class.
"Don't worry about that..." I reassured him with a tired smile, leaning my head on the palm of my hand as I noticed the dark bags under his eyes. "Just concentrate on the mathematic exercise I just taught you now."
And as we were about to go back to solving the exercises, our homeroom teacher walked into the classroom with a smile on his face.
"What's this, Baji-kun? You're actually making an effort? And you're taking help from Osaki-kun again? Just how much are you gonna bother her?" the teacher asked with a taunting smile.
Upon hearing those words, a sad, frustrated expression took over Keisuke's features and this really annoyed me.
"Keisuke's my childhood best friend, sensei. So I don't mind helping him out. Rather I'm very happy that he's working so hard. Keisuke's a diligent student, sensei. He'll do just fine, I'm sure of it." I stated in a snappy tone with a frowning face and the teacher found my words really amusing.
"We'll see about that, Osaki-kun." he replied, smirking again and then looking back at Keisuke again. "Too bad you're gonna have to have supplementary lessons, Baji-kun. You'll have to give up your summer vacation this year. I'll be waiting for you with lots of homework."
And with that, the teacher walked away from there while giggling to himself.
"That fucking evil teacher... I'll kill his ass off one day..." I grumbled under my breath, cussing the teacher in my mind. "What kind of teacher is he? He should be happy with his student's progress, not curse them like this and wish for their failure..."
"Nana..." Keisuke called out in an unusual monotone voice who was staring down at his textbooks and I looked back at him again.
"Yeah? What is it?" I asked and that's when all hell broke loose.
Immediately a menacing frown formed on his face and it looked as if he was about to burn the entire world down in one go if he had the chance.
"Where is my summer vacation?!!" Keisuke snapped out through his gritted teeth, scowling deeply at his textbooks and notes while clenching his pencil in his fist.
Oh shit!! This is not good at all!!
"Keisuke, calm down. Please don't worry about that. Just keep up the good work." I panicked, trying to cool him down but nothing seemed to work on him.
"Where's my oasis?! Where's my youth?!!" he yelled out again as he tossed his books away and then stomped out of the classroom angrily, even taking off his glasses and throwing them to the ground.
Wasting no time, I quickly picked up his books from the ground and carefully packed our bags and stuff before walking out of the classroom as well, following the ravenette boy from behind.
"Keisuke!" I called out in concern, finally catching up to him as we walked down the streets of Shibuya. "Studying too much made you delirious! Just calm down already!"
"I won't be able to concentrate on these supplementary exams unless I punch someone, Nana!!" Keisuke declared as he growled out, radiating menacing energy from his body.
"Huh?" I asked in confusion, concerned as I watched him literally burn in rage and fury.
And just then as we walked down the path, we noticed three individuals on the walkway. One of them was unfamiliar to us but the other two were someone we knew. Mantaro Suno and Gen Kokubunji – they were the imposters who were impersonating Manjiro and Draken, pretending to be them, and trying to exploit their names. Keisuke heard about them a few weeks ago and even tried to catch them but failed that one time.
"Those guys... They are the impostors from the other day!" Keisuke scowled, recognizing the imposters, getting ever more furious. "For real! Last time they got away and I couldn't catch them!"
I noticed the imposters were all beaten and bruised up, kneeling on the ground while the other unknown individual was bossing them around while typing something on his cell phone.
"Come on you guys! hurry up and-" The unknown guy was talking to the imposters when he suddenly noticed our presence. "Huh? The fuck's up with you? Scram! I'm busy disciplining my slaves-"
But the guy didn't even get to finish his sentence before Keisuke threw a powerful punch in his face and knocked him out cold immediately. And as soon as the guy fell unconscious on the ground, the imposters stood up and came up to us.
"Huh?! You are Baji-san?! Why are you helping us?" they asked him in confusion.
"I was drowsy, so I just punched him in the face, you stupid son of a bitch." Keisuke snarled out in a threatening tone. "You two want a piece of the action too, huh?"
"Keisuke, you actually punched the wrong guy here." I calmly pointed out.
Keisuke's original plan was to beat the crap out of the imposters but in the end, due to his own anger and drowsiness, he ended up punching the other unknown guy by mistake.
"No. he was right in front of me..." Keisuke countered back tiredly before realizing his mistake. "Well, yeah, but... I feel so much better after I punched one of them. I'm so ready for tomorrow's exam. Let's go, Nana."
And with that, Keisuke took my hand and started to walk away from the scene with me, leaving the imposters shocked and confused while the other guy was unconscious on the ground.
Keisuke's a bit messed up in the head... But... it's okay, I guess...?
But it seemed like the punching technique did kinda worked its miracles and Keisuke ended up passing all his makeup tests the next day.
"Way to go!! I passed!!" Keisuke cheered happily after that evil teacher gave back the exam sheets.
"Yeh!! You passed!!" I cheered as well, throwing my arms around Keisuke, and hugging him.
Meanwhile, at the corner, the evil teacher shivered with a distressed look on his face while he held the exam sheets in his hands, still finding it unbelievable that Keisuke had actually passed the makeup exam.
Sucks to be him, I guess...