Sora leaned back in his seat. His eyes closed, listening, watching, waiting.
That made this sound more important than it was. Really, Sora found out that Isogai was working at a cafe near school. So he invited Yuki to check it out with him.
Anyway, that spiraled into himself, Yuki, Maehara, Nagisa, Kayano, Okajima and Kataoka all sitting at a table, watching Isogai do his job like a bunch of stalkers.
Their eyes followed a waiter strolling past.
"Wow, he's Prince Charming!" Kayano said.
"He really is!" Yuki agreed.
"Should I be threatened?" Sora pondered.
"It's Isogai. Everyone should be." Yuki responded.
Sora nodded, she raised a valid point.
The waiter stopped walking and turned around as the bell tingled. "Welcome!" Isogai called with a smile. "Ah, always good to see you, Harada-san, Ito-san."
Two older women stood in the entranceway.
"How's it going, Yuma-chan?" one greeted.
The other raised a hand. "We come here more for you than the coffee!"
Isogai looked perplexed, then concerned. "Now don't say that. Wouldn't want the owner to head to the dark side."
The other students watched.
"So, a mocha for you, Harada-san, and a double-expresso for Ito-san? Our manager's special today is a nice chiffon cake."
"Ooh! We'll take two," one of the women answered.
"Thank you very much."
Isogai walked past the students' table again.
"Our leader really is a man among men," Maehara smirked.
"I could kill him," Okajima growled.
"He's simply too perfect." Sora agreed.
"You're sure making that one cup of tea last a while," Isogai commented, walking over.
Everyone brightened. Okajima's scowl turned into a smile.
"And why not? We are keeping your job secret, you know," Meahara drawled.
"I get it. A shakedown, eh?" He held up a teapot, winking and finger raised to his mouth. "If you'll take a second steep, this round's on me."
Nagisa and Kayano flushed with joy as their cups were refilled.
He's Prince Charming!
"Don't tell me your mum's feeling poorly again?" one of the women asked with concern.
"Yes, well..." Isogai winked. "It's just me and Mom, so I have to help out with the finances."
He's Prince Charming!
Kayano cried in disbelief, Nagisa's eyes sparkled and Okajima gritted his teeth like a caveman.
"Him being poor is his only negative," Maehara said fondly. "And he even turns that into a cool-guy advantage! He wears his bargain-basement clothes so neat and clean, they don't look cheap at all."
"He's Prince Charming!" everyone cried.
"He let me eat some of the goldfish he caught at the summer festival." Maehara continued. "And boy, can he cook a good!"
"He's Prince Charming!"
"And after he used the bathroom? The toilet paper was folded into a triangle!"
Kayano and Kataoka blushed. "He's Prince Charming!"
"Isn't that one a little weird?" Sora pondered.
"Shut up he's Prince Charming." Yuki shot back.
"Some things only suit cool guys like Isogai-kun...and me," disguised Koro-sensei said, chewing.
"What a m-" the students sweat-dropped. "What are you doing here?!"
"The honey toast here is divine!" He dug into it. "It's why I turn a blind-eye to Isogai-kun's part-time job."
The students sighed.
"You don't seem to be too upset about Isogai being such a man amongst men." Koro-sensei pointed out.
They raised their eyebrows. "Huh? No."
"Why is that?"
"Why?" Nagisa repeated. They all shared a look.
"Well, because he's a good guy, that's all," Maehara stated.
"Mmhm!" the rest nodded.
"Do we need another reason?"
Koro-sensei hummed in thought.
The doorbell chimed.
"Welcome!" Isogai greeted.
"Oh...? Oh, dear!" Araki jeered as he walked in with Koyama, laughing. "Our intel was right. There is a student working here!"
Isogai froze, mouth-agape.
"Isogai, you naughty boy!" Koyama mocked, now joined by Ren (Not Izumi) and Seo.
"This is your second major violation of the school rules," Asano joined them. "I expected better, Isogai."
Sora narrowed his eyes at this, didn't they have anything better to do? Like...homework? Or doing literally anything to look slightly less ugly?
"Sora please stop looking for murderous."
____________________
Outside the cafe, the students of E Class and the fearsome one (along with his idiot minions) faced each other.
"The last time we found out about your job, you went down to the E Class," Asano said. "It seems you've done no soul-searching since then."
"Can't you keep this quiet, Asano?" Isogai tried. "Just working this month will net me all the money I need."
Asano smirked. "Well, I would like to give you a chance, if I can."
"Oh? Does the trust fund baby have a heart after all? Let me guess, there's a catch that will make you look good right?" Sora quipped, taking a step closer, but being stopped by Isogai. The brown-haired student clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Alright—on one condition. Show me your fighting spirit and we'll pretend this never happened."
"My fighting spirit?" Isogai questioned.
"Per school tradition, those who possess a fighting spirit out in society are revered above all else." Asano gave a tight, closed-eyed smile. "A fighting spirit that garners enough respect to nullify a conduct violation. And to show that spirit..."
____________________
"Pole-toppling at the school festival?" someone asked, back at the classroom.
Maehara stood at the front of the girl-empty class. "Yep. If we beat the A Class, they'll let Isogai slide."
The class murmured.
"Tch," Terasaka spat. "Obviously, they're lookin' to embarrass us."
"So what do we do? If we say no, Isogai'll be penalized again," Sugino said. "Screw this up and he might even be expelled."
"I vote me and Karma just put on disguises and beat them up." Sora suggested.
"Why am I involved in this?" Karma asked.
"Are you saying you don't want to?"
"Don't put words in my mouth."
"That's a terrible idea!" Nagisa shouted
Isogai lowered his head. "No...you don't have to do any of this. You never know what Asano has up his sleeve. And I don't want anyone else getting expelled." He turned around and smiled. "And besides, I made this bed- I'll take responsibility and lie in it. Expel me for all I care! I can still pull off an assassination off school grounds!"
Everyone gaped. "Wha-What a..."
They stood up in protest. "What a horrible idea!"
"Huh?!" Isogai yelped, trying to block the various stationary being thrown at him.
"That's even worse than Sora's plan!" Yuki shouted, throwing a binder at him.
"Quit acting so self-satisfied, you cowlicked poor!" Terasaka shouted.
"Cowlicked poor?!" Isogai blanched.
Maehara walked over to his desk. "Don't overthink this, Isogai. We just have to beat those nerds at pole-toppling, right?" He raised a knife, then slammed it down on the desk. "We've got this in the bag!"
"We sure do," Mimura agreed as he walked. "We're practically lucky you got caught working!" He grabbed hold of the knife.
"This is our chance to pay 'em back for all their daily spite!" Terasaka took hold of the knife too. "Topple 'em, hell- we'll destroy 'em!"
"We have a class full of assassins against a bunch of spoiled brats born with silver spoons up their butts. Most of them can't even cook their own dinner." Sora pointed out.
"You can't either!" Maehara shouted.
More hands joined.
"Right, Big Man?" Maehara said.
"You guys..." Isogai stared at the hands as others gathered around. "Okay, let's do it!"
"Yeah!" they cheered, raising their fists in the air.
____________________
The sports oval was bustling with activity. Various festival signs, cheering people on, were shown as students cheered and lined up.
Kimura ran in first place in a race.
"Woo!" Koro-sensei sweated as he tried to take as many photos as possible, annoying his students behind him. He wore his coach outfit with a green blanket as a hood. "Awesome, Kimura-kun! Smile even bigger now! That's it, Justice!"
"He's like a mom..." Sora muttered.
"It's honestly kinda cute." Yuki added.
Hara panted, running down the track. Suddenly, spotting something, she gained determination.
The other bread-eating competitors were shocked to see her leap up perfectly and grab the bread with a large bite.
She inhaled the bread and regally walked through the finish line, stating, "Bread is for drinking."
"Too cool!" Class-E gasped.
"Yes—assassination has improved your physical fitness, balance, kinetic vision, and sense of distance." Koro-sensei looked through his camera.
Maehara and Okano ran the three-legged race together, his arm around her waist.
She pushed the arm away. "That's harassment!"
"This extraordinary competition is sure to show them off," Koro-sensei continued.
Kayano dived under a net and sped through it.
"Look how fast that runt is crawling through the net! Her body's got no resistance!" someone yelled.
"Each student's individuality will be their weapon. It's up to you how best to use that in pole-toppling, Isogai-kun." Koro-sensei turned to Isogai, who was reading a book. "What is it?"
Isogai closed the book. "Koro-sensei, no matter what anyone says, Asano is one amazing guy." He stared at the 'Pole-Toppling Strategy Book'. "I'm definitely no match for him."
Koro-sensei was quiet for a moment. "It's true that no matter how talented you are, once you're out in the world, there will always be someone better. Like he is."
"What now? If everyone gets hurt because of me..."
"But the thing is..." Koro-sensei aimed his camera at him. "Out in the world, one person has only so much power."
Okajima, Maehara, Terasaka, Takebayashi and Nagisa joined Isogai for the photo. "Yeah!"
Koro-sensei took the photo. "The power to command allies into battle: that's where you've got Asano-kun beat. If you find yourself in a pinch, everyone will fight alongside you." He tied a white bandana around Isogai's head. "That's your personal magnetism. And as for me, I'm glad I got to be your teacher instead of Asano-kun's."
Sora smirked at him.
"If I had Asano as my leader, I would probably quit and rejoin you if I'm being honest." Sora pointed out, shrugging softly at his friend. "Just think like that and you'll win."
He smiled brightly.
"Unlike Asano, you actually have friends!"
"That's a little harsh don't you think?" Itona muttered.
Isogai blushed and sighed. "Alright, guys! Let's go into this guns blazing—like always!"
"Yeah!" the Class-E boys cheered, running forward.
"Now for an exhibition match!" commentator, Araki, announced from the 'Broadcast Booth'. "Seems the E-Class has challenged the A-Class to a battle!"
Class A's team lined up. Four large, thick boys stood next to Asano.
"Okay, Kunugigaoka's elite—give 'em hell!"
Nagisa made a concerned noise from the Class E lineup."Foreigners?"
The thick boys flexed their muscles and smirked.
"That's gotta be against the rules!" Okajima cried.
"And in the spirit of cultural exchange, this exhibition match will include all our exchange students!" Araki broadcasted.
Maehara frowned and clenched his fist. "That Asano's being way too careful. Is that how badly he wants to win?"
Sora smirked. "It means he knows he could lose."
"Huh?"
"We're not just a joke to him anymore." Sora explained, taking a step forward.
This might actually be a bit challenging.
____________________
"So we're sure about this plan?" Sora asked, earning a nod from Isogai. Sora smirked in response. "Alright then."
Asano climbed to the top of the pile of students around the pole, standing upright.
Koyama pointed at the other team's more sparsely defended pole. "Oi—does the End Class even want to win? No one's on offence!"
"What's with the E-Class? They're going all-in on defence!" Araki commentated. "Might they be cowed by the skill gap? Let the battle begin!"
Isogai determinedly looked onwards.
Asano returned the glare. "Offence team, Plan F!" he said in English, thrusting an arm forward.
"Roger!" one of the exchange students answered before bounding forward.
"Woah! Here they come!" Sugaya rasped.
Yoshida, next to him, groaned, straining to hold the pole up. "Dammit!" He sprinted forward.
Muramatsu was close behind. "We're not just gonna roll over and take this!"
They collided with the American exchange student, who stopped and grabbed them both. He grunted and pushed them away, before shoving his body into them.
Muramatsu and Yoshida flew through the air and landed near the stands.
"Ouch..." Sora muttered.
"Two down!" Araki announced. "They've been flung out to the stands!"
The rest of Class-E and their teachers gasped as they watched from a distance.
"Th-This isn't good, Koro-sensei!" Kayano cried. "A tight defence doesn't matter if they just get picked off one by one!"
"You all worry so much." Yuki laughed, crossing her arms. "They have a plan...I hope."
"You don't sound all that confident either you know!" Fuwa pointed out.
"Why don't you fight instead of defending like a bunch of turtles?" the American exchange student asked in English, Seo behind him.
"Hmph. But you don't even understand me, do you."
"It's alright, man," Karma said in a bad southern American accent, surprising the large lad. "Why don't you attack instead of chatting away?"
"Hmph! Bring it on!" The exchange student surged forward with his team.
"Okay, guys. Now!" Isogai commanded. "Operation: Tentacles!"
The front row sprung into the air, then crashed down on the attackers.
Itona leaped to the top of the pole and grabbed on.
"Pin 'em down!" Isogai shouted and the pole was pushed down to an angle, keeping the attackers in place and giving Nagisa something to lounge on.
"The E-Class comes together with the weight of the pole!" Araki commentated. "Now this is intense! They're playing dirty!"
"Ain't no rule against usin' the pole as a weapon!" Terasaka grinned.
"Get off of me!" the American exchange student grumbled in English.
Terasaka pushed the pole down harder. "You're not goin' anywhere!"
Asano cupped his chin as he observed. "Guerilla teams on both flanks: Plan K!"
"Come on out! Attack team! Operation: Mucus!" He took off.
"Got it!" Maehara, Okajima, Kimura and Sugino grinned and ran after him, Karma close behind.
On the battle plan, symbols for Isogai and the E-Class Main Unit moved forward.
"Got 'em," Asano said with a confident smirk.
The Class-A teams turned around and followed the E-Class Main Unit.
Sora turned. A feint?
"Oh! They've chased after the E-Class and are back on the defensive!" Araki announced.
"An offensive fake-out?!" Okajima exclaimed whilst running.
Isogai and the others stopped as they were surrounded on all sides.
Back on the sports field, Isogai and his group exchanged looks and nods.
The A-Class drew closer on the battle plan.
"Ooh! Those E-Class losers are totally surrounded!" Takada mocked, in the bleachers.
"It's beatin' time!" Tanaka drawled, beside him.
Isogai's unit suddenly ran off the battle plan.
"H-Hey, wait! Ack!" Tanaka and Takada cried. Isogai leaped over the boundary fence as the spectators scattered."Why are they headed this way?!"
The rest of the unit jumped after him, except Karma, who leaned on the fence.
He waited until the A-Class was close, then swung backwards over the fence. One of the exchange students rammed into it. The students running behind rammed into him. Three of the exchange students climbed over the fence.
"The E-Class has begun fleeing to the stands!" Araki commentated.
An exchange student ran after Sugino, scattering chairs along the way. Maehara bounced from chair to chair. An exchange student tried to copy him, but was too slow. Karma landed on a chair, leaping away when an exchange student got too close. Sora meanwhile, was bouncing all over the place, essentially toying with the less athletic students that were after him.
"The whole place is in a panic!"
Karma stood up straight on another chair. "There are no rules about boundaries. Come on," he said in English, beckoning with a finger. "The whole school is a battlefield."
"What are you doing?" Ren yelled, behind the barrier. "Quick, stop them!"
Karma and Sora ran alongside each other.
"As much as I'd love to do this myself, I'm gonna put my faith in Isogai." Sora spoke, offering a fist bump to Karma. "Go ahead and raise some hell for me."
Karma smirked. "You got it."
Sora broke off from Karma on his own.
Karma evaded the A-Class' advances, hopping chair to chair. Kimura stopped sprinting as an attacker blocked him. Isogai vaulted over a chair, away from his assailants. Sora ducked between the grasp of multiple people.
"Akabane, Kimura, Isogai, and Hibiki! Keep an eye on those three in particular!" Asano ordered.
____________________
Isogai ran, glancing around, then jumped.
"Isogai! It's about that time!" Karma continued jumping and avoiding.
"Yep! So far, it's all according to plan!" Isogai straightened up with a proud smile.
Asano made a noise of surprise and stopped smirking.
Muramatsu and Yoshida sprinted towards the A-Class poll, bounding forward and latching onto Asano's waist, who grimaced. Muramatsu chuckled.
The E-Class spectators gasped.
Sora laughed.
"What?! Where did those two E-Class goons come from?!" Araki shouted.
Yoshida growled and tightened his grip on Asano. "We practiced taking blows 'til we were blue in the face."
"The only hard part was acting out that flight to the stands!" Muramatsu added.
"We're done running! Okay, team: Sonic!" Isogai shouted, springing off the fence
"Alright!" the rest of the unit called back. They grinned and pranced over the fence, running toward the A-Class pole.
The E-Class Main Unit lunged at Asano all at once. "Ack! They got right up in our faces!" A student yelled.
Asano was handled all over.
"Take that, Asano!" Muramatsu said.
Asano stayed silent.
"There might be fewer of us, but as long as we can get up here..." Yoshida began.
Asano smirked and threw his helmet off.
He grasped Yoshida's hand. He pulled it away and twisted it around, flipping Yoshida onto the ground.
Asano vaulted to the top of the pole. He used it as support to swing his body around and kick Muramatsu off.
Isogai and Karma gasped together.
The Class-E spectators gasped too.
"Does he know martial arts, too?!" Karasuma thought aloud.
Isogai snarled, staring down at Muramatsu.
"You and I are standing on the same stage," Asano told Isogai. Crouching atop the pole, he loomed over them. A shadow covered his face and his eyes blazed. "Surely you're prepared to get kicked off."
"Oh," Nagisa noticed the atmosphere change. Sora was by his side, leaning on the trapped A-Class students now.
"That's some final boss energy." Sora joked, cracking a smile. Even still, Izumi was way scarier.
The A-Class left in the bleachers started to run back home to their pole. Asano continued kicking the E-Class, bouncing up and down the pole. He did a flip mid-air. Isogai managed to block and dodge Asano's kicks, until a hard thrust pushed him off the edge.
He landed with a splat on the ground. But even so, Isogai stood, getting down on one knee he smiled. "Sora!"
"Well it's about time!" Sora laughed, sprinting twists Isogai at full speed. Launching off of him, he grabbed hold of the poll, gripping onto Asano.
Asano grunted. "Get off me-"
Sora grabbed him by the arms, stopping him from fighting back. "Oh come on Asano! Don't you know there's more to fighting than fancy moves?"
"Oh!" Asano and his pole shook from the heavy load. He started to come down.
"What?!" Araki cried.
Nagisa, Chiba, Sugaya and Mimura smiled as they pulled Asano's shirt.
"No! Not more E-Class reinforcements!" someone shouted.
Asano gritted his teeth and glared at Sora.
"Wait a second! Isn't that their defensive unit?" Ren (not Izumi) asked, standing midfield near Koyama.
"Which means..." Koyama muttered, looking to the right.
"The E-Class only has two men on defence?!" Tanaka cried.
Takebayashi was using his long body to hold up the pole at an angle, whilst Terasaka put his weight on the other side. In between them was the pile of A-Class students.
"How are they keeping them down?!" Takada sputtered.
Takebayashi pushed his glasses up. "Leverage."
"Lev-?"
"Leverage, is it?" Takada stated plainly.
"They seem perfectly happy with that answer." Terasaka's hand rested on a student's upper thigh.
"It's a stall, of course," Takebayashi said. "Us two can't really hold them all back."
He changed to English. "But you guys can't do anything without orders, can you? Maybe he still has an ace up his sleeve." He gave a sly grin. "I guess it's better to wait for his orders before you make any moves."
"Damn four-eyes!" the American exchange student exploded, in English.
"Asano!" Seo shrieked. "Your orders!"
"I can't give any orders!" Asano grunted.
Sora laughed. "And there's the issue right? Unlike your drones, we can actually think for ourselves Asano."
He pushed even closer.
"Because unlike you, our leader isn't solely focused on leaving everyone else behind!"
"Now the A-Class has assumed a defensive posture, too!" Araki commentated.
Several A-Class students tried to pull the E-Class off. Others were blocking Yoshida and Muramatsu.
"If they can hold out here, the E-Class will be out of options!"
Sora rolled his eyes at that. "Oh by the way, Asano..."
Asano grunted.
"I'm not the hero."
"Now!" Isogai barked. "Come on, Itona!"
From a fair distance away, Itona got into position. "Yep." He sprinted forward.
Koro-sensei laughed. "A secret weapon is meant to be saved for the last minute."
Itona stepped onto Isogai's ready hands. Isogai tossed him high into the air.
Itona kicked the pole's head, then sprung back up.
"Wahhh!" those on the pole cried out as it started to fall in what felt like slow motion.
Itona came back down, arms raised to strike. He latched onto the pole and pushed down.
Everyone falling with the pole braced themselves, except for a smiling Karma on the rear end.
There was a heavy thud, then a momentary silence. The rest of Class E watched, agape.
"Uh...er...the A-Class..." Tanaka spluttered.
"The E-Class..." Isogai raised his fist and grinned. "...wins!"
The E-Class cheered.
"Down with the king!" Yuki roared.
"How cool is that?! My kids are the coolest! Look this way, please!" Koro-sensei has his camera out again.
Karasuma sweat-dropped next to him.
"You did it, Isogai!" someone yelled.
Asano lay on the floor in stunned silence.
_____________________
Nagisa took a folded chair from Isogai.
"Isogai-kun!" a girl called. "You were so awesome!"
Sugaya and Kimura carried folded chairs.
"Oh, thanks!" Isogai replied. "Just don't try that at home."
The girls squealed.
"And the man amongst men strikes again." Sora joked, earning a laugh from Yuki.
"You were pretty cool too." Yuki offered. "But nobody is as cool as Isogai."
"I mean...yeah." Sora agreed.
"Damn that man-among-men!" Kimura and Sugaya growled, watching him walk away.
"It's like the whole mood's changed around here," Sugaya commented. "Especially with how the lower grades see the E-Class now."
Muramatsu leaned on the assembly entrance next to Yoshida and Nagisa. "Well, sure, with our team's huge upset!"
"You know..." Okajima giggled. "...we might be even more amazing than Asano and his gang."
Next to him, Fuwa nodded and Hazama stared at him from behind.
"Heh," Nagisa perked up, pigtails bouncing.
"You were pretty great to Itona. Real secret weapon material." Sora joked, patting Itona on the head.
For once, Itona didn't resist.
____________________
Isogai slid the sports storage door closed. Class-E surrounded him.
"Hey, check it out..." someone said. Everyone turned around.
"Oh- it's Asano," Hara said.
The Fearsome Onesome stood around a cart.
"Hey, Asano!" Maehara called. "You meant it, right? About keeping that secret?"
All of Class-E faced him.
"I never lie," Asano replied. "I don't resort to underhanded tactics, unlike you. But next time will be different. I'll chase you all into oblivion." He turned and walked away.
Sora clicked his tongue. "If you can seriously say that after today then you're a lost cause."
Asano was still for a moment. Before continuing on his way.
"Heh. Sore loser," Terasaka said.
"Hey, big words from a big loser fall on deaf ears!" Nakamura drawled.
"Don't sweat it." Maehara placed a hand on Isogai's shoulder. "He can't understand your struggle."
"No," Isogai disagreed. "It's not like I've gone through any more than he has."
Sora raised an eyebrow at that.
He smiled. "Today, with all of you helping me out, I was actually glad to be poor."
The class smiled back at him.
Sora watched Asano leave, a unknown expression on his face.