Onaka nodded thoughtfully and handed her a box. "That explains it. Here''s your belongings. Be careful next time with what you bring."


    Mira blinked, confused. "What do you… wait, did you saw it…?"


    "Actually, everyone saw it," Kalina said with a teasing grin.


    Mira''s face turned beet-red. Without thinking, she turned and punched Seko again.


    "Hey! What did I do?!" Seko, rubbing the spot where she hit him. "It was him who opened the box, not me!"


    "You two know each other?" Ejiro asked, raising an eyebrow.


    "Sadly, yeah," Mira muttered, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "We''ve been in the same class since middle school."


    "Hey, what do you mean sadly? I wasn''t happy to be in the same class as you either!" Seko retorted. "If you had such a problem with me, so why didn''t you change the school?"


    "Why should I do that ? You''re the one who should''ve been expelled back then!" Mira shot back, her fists clenched.


    "Oh yeah?" Seko smirked, raising an eyebrow.


    "Enough, you two!" Onaka interrupted, her voice cutting through the tension. "I think we have something more important to discuss."


    Mira blinked, a little taken aback. "Eh?"


    Onaka sighed. "We still haven''t found what Nehora is missing."


    Mira blinked again, now fully confused.


    "By the way Nehora, what''s that thing you''re missing?" Myra asked.


    "My mangas," Nehora answered, his voice completely serious.


    The group stood in stunned silence.


    "What?" Myra stared, wide-eyed. "Mangas? That''s what you missing?"


    Everyone''s eyes were on Nehora, who looked completely serious.


    Ejiro blinked. "Wait, you''re seriously telling me you''re missing your mangas? Of all things?!"


    "Yeah I''m sure I brought it but I didn''t found it anywhere…" Nehora muttered.


    Orasaki overflowing with fire.


    "Oh aho, now he''s done for," Other students.


    Suddenly, before Nehora could react, Orasaki''s fist shot out, hitting him square. Punch after punch followed, each one landing with brutal force, knocking Nehora to the floor.


    "But why?" Nehora gasped, barely able to catch his breath.


    Orasaki sneered down at him. "You did all this commotion for that stupid manga of yours," she spat, clearly disgusted.


    Nehora gritted his teeth, trying to push himself up. "Hey, how can you call a manga stupid? You don''t know the value of a manga—it''s everything to me!" His voice shook with emotion, but he stood his ground.


    Before Orasaki could respond, a calm voice echoed through the hall.


    "Nehora, you know that unnecessary things like manga, comics, or anything else that''s not related to your studies aren''t allowed in the Academy."Myra, speaking sternly but with a hint of sympathy.


    Nehora froze, his heart sinking. "What? But manga isn''t unnecessary! It''s part of my life!" he protested.


    Myra sighed, his expression softening just a little. "I know, but it won''t help us with our studies. That''s why it''s not allowed here."


    The words hit Nehora like a punch to the gut. "If they don''t allow manga, then I don''t wanna study here! Where''s the recognition? I''m leaving this Academy!" Nehora shouted, clenching his fists.


    "Here, if you open your phone and click on this icon, you can fill out your details and the reason why you''re leaving the Academy. After two hours, two people will come to escort you to the exit door." Onaka, who had been standing nearby, spoke up.


    Nehora''s eyes widened. "Thank you so much, you saved me. I''ll never forget this. Now where''s my phone?".


    But just as he was about to retrieve his phone, a fist slammed into his side—hard. Orasaki punched both Onaka and Nehora at once, knocking them both to the ground with one powerful blow.


    "Why me?" Onaka groaned, rubbing her head in shock, completely bewildered.


    "Why are you telling him that?!" Orasaki yelled, her anger flaring as she glared at Onaka.


    "I''m just helping him," Onaka said weakly.


    Orasaki''s expression darkened even further. "This isn''t called helping. And you…" She turned to Nehora, eyes narrowing dangerously. "You''re not going anywhere. No one''s bringing you your stupid manga or whatever it is."


    "Why not? I can go anywhere I want! You can''t stop me!"


    Orasaki''s eyes blazed with frustration. She stepped forward, her voice low and harsh. "Did you even know how hard students are working and training to get selected in this Academy? You''re gonna waste your parents'' money just like that for some stupid manga?"Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Nehora blinked, caught off guard by Orasaki''s words. "But I thought this Academy is free for study," he muttered, trying to make sense of it all.


    Orasaki let out an exasperated sigh. "I''m talking about your training institutions for the entrance exam! You know how expensive they are? We were preparing for a whole year just to pass the entrance exam. Are you really going to let all that hard work go to waste for a stupid manga?"


    Nehora''s eyes widened. "Wait, wait, wait… there''s a training institution for the entrance exam? And you all trained for a whole year just to pass the entrance exam?"


    Orasaki''s gaze darkened with frustration. "Of course we all did! We all worked hard, sacrificed so much, and now you''re just going to throw it all away over some silly manga?"


    Nehora felt his head spin. "But I didn''t know there was a training institution for the entrance exam…".


    Eh?. Everyone shocked.


    Everyone''s attention shifted to Nehora, who stood there with a look of complete nonchalance. It was as if the whole situation didn''t faze him at all.


    "There''s no way... He passed the without any training?" Nisa whispered.


    "No way! Nehora, what''s your score?" Nisa asked, now even more curious.


    "Eh? I don''t know," Nehora replied casually.


    "Can I check your cell phone?" Nisa asked, already pulling out her own phone to look up the score.


    "Yeah, sure." Nehora shrugged.


    Nisa unlocked Nehora''s phone and stared at the screen. Her eyes widened in shock. "No way!" she gasped, dropping her phone slightly in disbelief.


    "What''s going on? What did you find?" Orasaki asked, leaning over to peek at the screen.


    "He''s ranked third in the entire exam!" Nisa said, her voice almost trembling. "But how is this possible? How did he got third rank without training or study.?"


    The whole room was now in a state of shock. Nehora had achieved an incredible score with absolutely no preparation. That kind of thing simply wasn''t supposed to happen.


    "Take it easy, guys," Nehora said with a lazy grin, waving his hand dismissively. "You''re making a big deal out of nothing."


    "Because it is a big deal!" Everyone responded in unison, their voices laced with disbelief and jealousy.


    Seko speak up. "I hardly even got a passing score after two years of studying and training! And you achieved rank 3... without doing any of that? That doesn''t make any sense!"


    "Yeah, I can hardly believe it myself," Akasino added, frowning. "There must be some mistake with your results. We should ask the teachers to double-check it."


    Seko as he raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, hardly believe? I got passing marks with on my own brain and traning. That''s something I be proud of."


    Seko''s eyes narrowed, a vein popping on his forehead. "What, you think I didn''t work hard to get where I am? I''ve been busting my brains for years, and you just waltz in and ace the exam without even trying?"


    A small, teasing grin appeared on Akasino''s face as she turned toward Seko. "Uh, you have a brain? Sorry I thought you just had a hard drive CD full of pervy ideas in that skull of your''s."


    "Why you—!" Seko began to shout, but before he could finish, Nehora interrupted, his voice calm.


    "Look, even though I got rank 3, I''m still the same as all of you," Nehora said, shrugging. "We all have our strengths and weaknesses, right?"


    "But still," Tanaka said, looking Nehora up and down, "that score... it''s incredible. Everyone here''s been preparing for years."


    "That''s enough guys!" Nehora waved his hands to silence the group. "Come on, food''s getting cold. Let''s eat, and relax. Tomorrow''s our first day of classes. We don''t need to be stressing about this."


    Everyone sighed in unison, trying to let go of the shock and heading toward the dinner table.


    The next morning was filled with excitement. It was the first day of classes at the Academy, and everyone had high hopes for what the year would bring. The students were buzzing with anticipation, dressed in their new uniforms.


    "Hey, look at my new uniform! How do I look?" Kalina asked, twirling around with a grin.


    "You look awesome! Like an angel," Seko said, giving her a thumbs up.


    "Nobody asked you,"


    A rock flew on Seko right on the head.


    Kalina snapped, rolling her eyes, but there was a smile tugging at her lips. " Ahh an angle I''m an angle " Kalina inner thoughts.


    "Okay, okay, enough of this. Let''s go or we''ll be late for class!" Nisa called out, already heading toward the exit.


    "Hey, boys! What are you doing? Hurry up or we''ll be late!" Seko shouted, waving his arms at the group of boys who were taking their sweet time.


    "I said the same thing!" Nisa shot back, her voice playful but urgent.


    "No, you said that for the girls," Seko shot back. "I said it for the boys."


    "I said it for everyone!" Nisa retorted, crossing her arms.


    "You''re breaking the rules!" Seko said, raising an eyebrow.


    Nisa blinked. "How?"


    "Girls aren''t allowed to speak for boys!" Seko declared dramatically.


    "What? That''s not a rule we agreed on!" Nisa snapped.


    "Calm down, both of you," Onaka interjected, her voice trying to smooth over the tension.


    As everyone gathered in the hall, ready to head out, Orasaki took one look around.


    "Looks like everyone''s here," she said, her sharp eyes scanning the room.


    "Wait a minute," Ejiro piped up, "I think we''re missing someone."


    " Eh?" everyone looked around.


    "It''s Nehora!" Onaka said, looking at her watch. "He hasn''t come out of his room yet."


    "Don''t tell me that idiot is still sleeping!" Orasaki grumbled. Without waiting for a reply, she marched off toward Nehora''s room.


    "Hey, you can''t just walk around like that!" Seko called out, his voice cutting through the air as he tried to stop Orasaki from leaving the room.


    Orasaki shot him a cold, deathly glare, the kind that could freeze the blood in your veins. "What, you got a problem with that?" Her voice was low, dangerous.


    Seko immediately backed down, hands raised in mock surrender. "Ah, no. Go ahead..." He shifted his feet nervously, not wanting to be on the receiving end of her ire.


    The group of students behind him exchanged uneasy glances, the tension palpable in the air. They all knew what Orasaki was like. She wasn''t one to back down from anything. The sound of pounding, almost violent, from Nehora''s room echoed down the hallway. It was unmistakable, the kind of noise that made everyone uneasy.


    "She doesn''t care about anyone''s personal space," Ejiro muttered under his breath, rubbing the back of his neck.


    Thud. Another loud crash. It sounded like something—or someone—had been thrown across the room.


    "Poor Nehora," Myro sighed, shaking his head as though he could already picture the aftermath.


    Onaka raised an eyebrow. "It''s his own fault for not waking up when he was supposed to," she murmured, her tone laced with a little bit of annoyance.


    The pounding grew louder, and there was a sudden shout, followed by a noise that unmistakably resembled a slap.


    "Poor Nehora..." Tanaka whispered, his voice tinged with sympathy.


    Seko nodded in agreement. "She''s like walking hell itself..." He shuddered.


    After what seemed like an eternity of noise, the door to Nehora''s room swung open. Orasaki appeared, her usual calm expression firmly in place, though she was still holding Nehora by the collar, dragging him out of the room. Nehora, on the other hand, looked like he had been through a war. His face was battered, bruised, and swollen, as though he''d been hit by a freight train.


    "Good morning, everyone!" Nehora chirped cheerfully, as though nothing was wrong. His voice still carried the same infectious enthusiasm, even if his face didn''t match.


    "Morning..." Everyone responded in unison, but the concern was clear in their voices, even if they tried to hide it.


    "Nehora, are you feeling okay?" Seko asked, his voice cracking with worry as he took a step forward, his eyes wide as he looked at the state of his friend''s face.


    To be continue...........