"Yeah, I’m totally fine," Nehora said with a grin, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. His cheerful demeanor was a mask, and everyone could tell. He was in pain, but he didn’t want to admit it.
The others exchanged uncomfortable glances. Nehora’s face was a mess—there was no denying it. But they also knew better than to push him for answers. Nehora was stubborn.
"I''m totally fine! I’m so excited for today’s classes! Let’s go, guys. We don’t have time to stand around, or we’re going to be late if you don''t move butt''s !" Nehora urged, trying to keep his usual energy up, though his tone was slightly strained.
"Look who’s talking," Ejiro muttered under his breath, the sarcasm in his voice thick.
"Wait, what did he just say?" Kaira, blinked in confusion.
The next thing anyone knew, Nehora was knocked out cold by a punch from all girls. The others watched in stunned silence, their eyes wide in disbelief.
"But why?" Nehora groaned, rubbing the side of his head where he’d been hit, his dazed expression only adding to the chaos.
"You need to learn some manners when speaking in front of others," Kaira explained firmly, folding her arms across her chest.
Everyone stood there in stunned silence for a moment, before the sound of murmurs and quiet chuckles filled the air.
As they began to walk towards the academy’s main building, Nehora fell in step with the boys, still trying to shake off the blow to the head. "Hey, what did I say to them that they knocked me out?" he asked, genuinely confused.
"You can’t say things like butt in front of others—especially the girls," Senaro replied, shaking his head as though Nehora’s lack of social awareness was a well-known issue.
"Why? Don’t they have one?" Nehora asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked at the girls, who were walking ahead of him.
The girls immediately turned, and once again, Nehora found himself on the receiving end of another knockout blow. This time, it was Seira who landed the punch, and Nehora was sent sprawling to the ground.
"Sorry, I’m so sorry," Nehora stammered as he quickly got back to his feet, rubbing his jaw. "I didn’t mean anything by it! I swear!"
"Girls, I think we need to teach him a lesson," Seira said, a sly smile tugging at her lips.
The others laughed nervously, exchanging looks, but no one dared challenge the girls after their recent demonstration of strength.
As they neared the academy’s main building, Orasaki suddenly stopped. Her eyes narrowed. "Oh no, I forgot our class address slip back in the dorm."
"Third floor of the building, if you take a left, then take a right, and keep going straight ahead, that’s where our classroom is," Onaka said matter-of-factly, giving everyone a little wave.
"Wow, you''re a fast learner, Onaka," Kaira remarked, clearly impressed.
"Nah, nah," Onaka shrugged. "It wasn’t hard to remember. I mean, it’s all laid out in the academy map."
Inside the academy, the group moved swiftly toward the stairs. Ejiro gave a sigh of relief. "Now, let’s head to class."
"Yeah, let’s take the stairs," Nehora suggested eagerly, but Orasaki immediately shot him a sharp glance.
"We’re already late. If we follow you, there’s no way we’ll make it on time." Orasaki shook her head in disbelief, already pushing toward the elevator.
"Then I’ll just go alone through the stairs," Nehora said, smiling mischievously as he darted towards the stairwell.
Before he could make it very far, someone grabbed his shoulder. "You’re coming with us," Orasaki said, voice full of finality.
"No, I’m going through the stairs," Nehora retorted, not backing down.
"Did I give you an option to answer me?" Orasaki snapped, her voice sharp as steel. "Now, get into the elevator already."
The elevator door slid open, and everyone piled inside, with Nehora reluctantly joining them. As they reached the third floor, the group filed out of the elevator.
"According to Onaka, now we go this way," Myra said, pointing in the direction of the hallway.
"Wait, look guys what I found!" Nehora suddenly exclaimed, his eyes wide with excitement.
The others turned around to find Nehora grinning like a kid who had just found candy.
"Wow," everyone chorused as they followed him over to the large glass windows at the end of the hallway.
They stared out at the sprawling academy campus. The building stretched endlessly, its massive size dwarfing anything they’d seen before.
"The academy sure is huge. I can’t even see the end," Eiko commented, a look of awe in his eyes.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
"I have an idea," Nehora said suddenly, breaking the silence.
"An idea? What idea?" Myra asked, clearly curious.
A sinking feeling spread through Akasino’s chest. I have a bad feeling about this…
"Let’s go to the top floor," Nehora suggested with enthusiasm. "We’ll get a better view than from here!"
"This is the top floor," Onaka replied flatly, she stared at him. "You really need to stop getting ahead of yourself."
"Are you drunk or something?" Nehora shot back, an eyebrow arched in mock disbelief.
The girls immediately punched Nehora again, their expressions serious. "You really need to learn how to speak with others," they said in unison, clearly tired of his antics.
" But i didn''t said Butt this time." Nehora.
Girls beat nehora again.
"Third floor is the last floor students can access," Onaka explained. "The upper floors are off-limits to students without special permission."
"Why?" Nehora asked, looking genuinely curious.
"Because," Onaka continued, "the first, second, and third floors are for students to study. The upper floors are for the teachers'' labs and other administrative purposes."
"Yes, she’s right. Students aren’t allowed on the upper floors without a valid reason," a voice suddenly interrupted.
"Good morning, Katsegawa-sensei!" Everyone greeted in unison, standing up straighter.
"Morning, students," Katsegawa replied, her expression unreadable.
"Why? Just one time, please, sensei. Let us go to the top floor!" Nehora pleaded, his eyes wide and hopeful.
Orasaki shook her head. "Don’t be so stubborn. If we can’t go, we can’t." even though orasaki said that but was want to enjoy the view from the top floor herself.
Katsegawa looked at them all, then sighed. "Even I haven’t been to the top. Now, what’s your name again?" she asked, turning to Onaka.
"Uh, it’s Onaka," she replied, somewhat nervously.
"How do you know so much about the academy?" Katsegawa inquired, her gaze sharpening slightly.
"It’s all on our student ID''s," Onaka explained. "It has all the information about where we can and can’t go."
"You’re quite the learner," Katsegawa remarked, her tone grudgingly approving.
"Not really," Onaka muttered, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly.
"Now, let’s head to class," Katsegawa said, her tone signaling that the conversation was over.
They all moved toward the classroom, settling into their seats as the lesson began.
"Now then, let’s introduce ourselves. Once again, my name is Hinaka Katsegawa, and I’m your homeroom teacher." Katsegawa began the class as the students, one by one, introduced themselves.
"Now, let’s begin your first lesson," Katsegawa continued, her voice taking on a more serious tone. "As you all know, this academy was designed by the World Government. There are several academies like this one in each country and many other small acadmies in every country, but academies like CON are one of a kind. The purpose of these academy is to train students to discover their true potential, harness their powers, and use technology to enhance those abilities."
"Yes! After training here, we’ll become stronger than ever before!" Eiko exclaimed eagerly, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
"And become popular with the beauties!" Seko added with a wink, causing a few of the girls to roll their eyes.
"Everyone has powers," Katsegawa said, "but most don’t know how to control or even use them. The purpose of this academy is to help you unlock those abilities and use them wisely."
Sina raised her hand. "Excuse me, sensei, but what if someone uses their powers for bad things? What if we end up becoming a threat to others?"
"Why would we do that?" Myra replied, his voice defensive.
"You can’t predict the future," Sina countered, shaking her head.
Katsegawa paused, allowing the tension to build before she spoke.
“You’re right. I can’t guarantee that everyone will use their powers for good. But it largely depends on the environment in which they grew up. People learn from their surroundings. If someone is raised in a positive environment, they will see the world in a positive light and use their powers to help others.
“On the other hand, if they are raised in a negative environment, they may be less likely to do so—but that doesn’t mean they can’t change. That’s why academies like this one were created: to provide a good environment for the younger generation, so they don’t go down the wrong path.”
The students sat in silence, processing Katsegawa’s words.
"Now then, to see what you are good at and what you are laking into" Katsegawa continued, "you’re all going to the 4th floor to Lab 7. And remember do not wander around. Stay on your task."
"Okay, sensei, we won’t wander. We go straight to Lab 7," Nehora assured , his usual enthusiasm making a return.
The other students, however, exchanged skeptical looks. I doubt that, they thought in unison.
"Good to hear," Katsegawa said, giving them a final nod before she left the classroom.
As the students got up, a new question began to rise, How would they even get to the fourth floor?
"Hey wait Katsegawa sensei didn''t told us, how we gonna enter the fourth floor without it''s access?" Seira asked, her voice full of doubt.
"The students of this year are now allowed to go to the fourth floor," came an announcement over the speakers, confirming their suspicions.
But Nehora was already speeding up, determined to be the first to make it to the fourth floor. What awaited them there? Only time would tell.
"Woho! Let’s go!" Nehora shouted, a wide grin plastered across his face as he rushed toward the stairs, his footsteps echoing through the hall.
"Hey, slow down! We’re coming too!" Seko called out, hurrying after him, but Nehora was already halfway up the staircase, determined to be the first to reach the fourth floor.
"I have a bad feeling about this..." Akasino muttered under her breath, trailing behind the group
Nehora, oblivious to the tension in the air, bounded up the stairs two at a time, his energy never wavering.
"Hey, wait for me!" Seko shouted, trying to catch up, but Nehora was already far ahead.
"I’ll be the first one to get to the fourth floor!" Nehora called back over his shoulder, his voice filled with excitement and determination. His competitive spirit was in full force, and nothing was going to stop him now.
"What?!" Nehora exclaimed, his voice loud enough to reverberate through the empty hallway. "How did you guys get to the fourth floor before me?"
Senaro stepped out from behind him, an easy smile on his face. "We took the elevator to get here," he said casually, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Nehora’s jaw dropped in disbelief. "That’s cheating! You’re supposed to come up by the stairs!" His voice was half annoyed, half playful, but there was no hiding his frustration at being outpaced.
Tanaka shrugged, his arms crossed. "But we never agreed to your little ‘game,’ Nehora," he replied, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "Besides, getting to the fourth floor first isn’t exactly the most important thing."
"Yeah, yeah, you guys are all cheaters," Nehora muttered.
"Now, which way do we go?" Orasaki asked, her voice cutting through the playful banter. She looked around the fourth-floor hallway, her gaze sharp as ever.
A long silence fell over the group as they all stopped to think. Katsegawa had told them to go to Lab 7, but she hadn’t mentioned where it was located on the fourth floor. The group exchanged glances, but no one seemed to have any clue which direction to head in.
"Wait," Sina said, her voice rising with panic. "Katsegawa-sensei didn’t tell us which direction to go after we got to the fourth floor!"
Sina’s worry was palpable, and it quickly spread through the group. No one wanted to get lost on the fourth floor, especially when they weren’t supposed to be there in the first place.
To be continue..........