First, Takeuchi led the class through warm-up exercises before diving into the day's agenda.
Yes, he was also the gym teacher.
Today's activity: the vaulting box, also known as "jumping the horse."
In the corner of the gym, a whiteboard stood where Takeuchi sketched out the sequence of exercises.
First, students would practice jumping over a classmate who was bent over, then progress to jumping over two classmates standing side by side, increasing the distance.
Finally, they'd form a line, with the first person continuously jumping over the others before bending over at the end to keep the cycle going.
After the human hurdles, they'd move on to the wooden vaulting boxes...
Once Takeuchi finished explaining, his gaze lingered on Nishimiya Shouko, and he frowned.
He'd been specifically warned that Nishimiya couldn't participate in strenuous activities, as it might worsen her hearing impairnt.
Nishimiya had been listening eagerly, excited to play "jumping the horse" with Kyousuke.
But when she noticed Takeuchi staring at her, she rembered her limitations and hung her head in disappointnt.
Takeuchi's prolonged silence caught the class's attention.
Following his gaze, they noticed Nishimiya and began whispering among themselves.
"Um, Nishimiya, while the class is doing the exercises, you can..." Takeuchi was about to suggest she sit on the sidelines to avoid any issues.
"Sensei, I'll take Nishimiya to play baseball with Class 1," Kyousuke interrupted, raising his hand.
"Alright, but make sure to keep an eye on her safety," Takeuchi replied, relieved to have soone else handle the situation.
"Let's go, Shouko," Kyousuke said, standing up and waving her over.
"Mhm!" Nishimiya nodded vigorously, her eyes lighting up with joy.
She had expected to spend another gym class sitting alone, watching her classmates have fun, just like at her previous schools.
But Kyousuke had surprised her by choosing to take her to play with another class instead of joining his own.
Breaking away from the group like this was usually frowned upon, and it could lead to being ostracized.
Plus, the other class might not welco them.
But Kyousuke wasn't worried.
He was already sowhat of an outsider in his own class, and the other class Sakura's class was no problem.
Sakura was practically the class mascot, well-liked by everyone.
Anyone she vouched for would be accepted.
"Sakura, we're here to play with you," Kyousuke said as he and Nishimiya approached Class 1's area.
Unlike the orderly lines of Class 2, Class 1 was chaotic, with students running around holding balls.
The so-called "baseball" was more of a casual ga ant to introduce kids to the sport.
They used lightweight rubber balls, and while so followed basic baseball rules, most just tossed the ball around or stood there dribbling it.
Sakura was with Takimoto Kyoko and a few other girls, passing the ball back and forth.
"Hey, Shouko, Kyousuke, what brings you here so early?" Sakura asked cheerfully.
"Our class is doing vaulting exercises, and Shouko can't participate, so I brought her here to play with you," Kyousuke explained.
"Got it! Co join us, Shouko!" Sakura said enthusiastically, introducing Nishimiya to her friends.
As Kyousuke had expected, Sakura's friends welcod Nishimiya warmly.
As Sakura explained the ga to Nishimiya, the latter couldn't help but be captivated by Sakura's boundless energy.
'She's like the sun,' Nishimiya thought.
"Kyousuke, aren't you going to join?" Sakura asked.
"Nah, I'll take a break. I'm exhausted from classes all day. Take good care of Shouko for ."
"Ugh, you're such a slacker. Gym class is for exercising!" Sakura stuck out her tongue playfully.
"Fine, I'll add an extra 500 ters to our run tomorrow."
"I take it back, Kyousuke-sama! Do you need to fan you while you nap?" Sakura joked.
Kyousuke waved her off without looking back and headed to the pile of mats at the edge of the gym.
He'd already planned to increase their training intensity, as both their physiques were ready for it.
"Oh no," Sakura muttered, hugging Nishimiya dramatically.
Nishimiya, unable to hear their conversation clearly, grew anxious.
"What's wrong? Did sothing happen? Are you okay, Yamauchi?"
"You're so cute, Shouko-chan. And call Sakura, okay? We're friends now, right?"
"Okay, but what happened? Did you and Kyousuke-kun have a fight?"
"No, no, don't worry. It's just..." Sakura explained how she and Kyousuke had been running together since they were kids.
"Starting tomorrow, we'll have to run an extra 500 ters. Ugh, I'll make Kyousuke bake a new dessert as compensation!"
"Kyousuke-kun can cook?" Nishimiya asked, surprised.
"Of course! Let tell you, Kyousuke can make..."
"Hey, Sakura! Co play already!" Takimoto Kyoko called out, interrupting them.
"Ah, sorry, sorry!" Sakura apologized, clasping her hands together.
"I'll tell you later, Shouko. Let's go play now!"
"Mhm!" Nishimiya nodded happily, following Sakura with a bright smile.
anwhile, Kyousuke had arranged a comfortable "bed" out of the mats and was already dozing off.
After a long day of studying and teaching Nishimiya, he was exhausted.
Unlike his classmates, who were full of energy during gym class, Kyousuke's adult soul just wanted to rest.
In his dream, soone called out to him. "What's your na?"
What's this? Kyousuke's eyes moved beneath his closed lids as if trying to see who was calling him.
"Your na is..." The fog in the dream began to clear, and he was almost able to see the figure.
Suddenly, a loud noise shattered the dream.
Annoyed, Kyousuke opened his eyes and looked toward the source of the commotion.
How long had he been asleep?
In the crowd, Nishimiya was on the ground, Sakura was grabbing Ishida Shouya by the collar, yelling angrily, and Takimoto Kyoko looked furious.
anwhile, Ueno Naoka was desperately trying to pull Ishida's arm back as he raised it to strike.
Kyousuke scrambled to his feet, not bothering to smooth out his wrinkled clothes, and rushed over.
"Sakura, what's going on?" he asked, pulling her behind him protectively.
"After free play started, Shouko said she had sothing to do. Then I heard a noise and ca over to see this guy push her down and try to hit her!" Sakura explained, clearly upset.
Oh right, Shouko.
Sakura quickly helped Shouko up, brushing the dust off her hands and pants.
"Shouko, are you okay? Are you hurt?" Sakura asked.
Despite being roughly pushed to the ground, Shouko smiled softly and shook her head.
"I'm fine. Thank you, Sakura."
Using simple gestures, Kyousuke conveyed her words to Sakura.
"Shouko, what happened?" Kyousuke asked.
Shouko lowered her head and bit her lip.
She couldn't tell him, it would only cause more trouble for Hojou.
"I'm fine, Kyousuke-kun. Let's go play baseball," she said, her voice barely audible.
Kyousuke wasn't about to let it go.
He turned to Ueno Naoka, who was still holding Ishida back.
"Ueno?"
Ueno, clearly annoyed, let go of Ishida and explained, "Shouko ca over and said sothing to Ishida, gesturing and handing him a piece of paper. Then he pushed her down. That's all I know."
Kyousuke scanned the gym.
Takeuchi was nowhere to be seen, and neither was Sakura's horoom teacher.
The gym was filled with students.
Then he spotted the piece of paper on the floor, the one Shouko had given to Ishida.
It stood out starkly against the gym's clean floor.
Picking it up, Kyousuke read the words: "I want to be your friend."
He looked at Shouko, who was still staring at the ground.
"Shouko..."
"I didn't want to cause more trouble for you, Kyousuke-kun. I thought if I could be friends with Ishida, everyone could get along," she whispered, then raised her voice so Kyousuke could hear her.
"Liar! If you have a problem, just say it!" Ishida shouted, his face twisted in anger.
Shouko flinched and took a step back.
"You're so silly. Friendship isn't sothing you force. Just focus on learning with , and that's enough to make happy," Kyousuke said, ruffling her hair.
He didn't know what else to say.
This clumsy girl was trying so hard to repay him in her own way.
She really is adorable, he thought. Well then...
"Ishida, let's fight. I know you've been wanting to punch ."
Since Shouko had approached Ishida first, Kyousuke didn't plan to make a big deal out of it.
He'd just settle things directly.
"Ha! You're on. I've been wanting to kick your ass for a while now, you arrogant jerk!" Ishida declared, charging at Kyousuke with his fist raised.
Nishimiya, still scared, tried to step in as a human shield, but Sakura held her back.
"Don't worry. Even if there were two of him, Kyousuke could take them down," Sakura said confidently, her eyes sparkling with excitent.
As Sakura had predicted, despite having no formal combat training, Kyousuke's physical fitness far surpassed Ishida's.
Plus, Kyousuke had the mind of an adult, allowing him to stay calm and think clearly during the fight.
When Ishida charged, Kyousuke simply lifted his foot and delivered a powerful kick to Ishida's stomach.
"Ugh!" Ishida was sent flying, landing on the ground and clutching his stomach, coughing violently.
If there hadn't been so many people around, Kyousuke might have followed up with more strikes.
Instead, he just stood there, watching Ishida curl up like a shrimp.
The gym fell silent as the students watched in shock.
For elentary schoolers, this was a bit too intense.
"Wow, Ishida, you're so la," Hirose Keisuke, one of Ishida's friends, sneered.
"Should we call an ambulance for you, Ishida?" Shimada Kazuki added.
"Aren't you Ishida's friends? Why aren't you helping him instead of mocking him?" Ueno snapped, running back into the crowd.
Seeing that Hirose and Shimada still weren't helping Ishida, Ueno gritted her teeth and tried to help him up herself.
"Get off ! You're just as bad as them! You hate Nishimiya too, don't you?" Ishida shouted, pushing Ueno away.
"Ishida, what are you talking about?" Ueno asked, wide-eyed.
"Isn't it true? Yesterday, when Nishimiya was reading aloud, you were so annoyed. That's why I did what I did to get back at her for you."
"What? That's not true at all..." Ueno protested.
"And Kawai Miki and the others—they all hate Nishimiya too."
"They call her a musclehead and say she can't read the room."
"But they all pretend to be nice."
"You're all disgusting!"
"Shimada, Hirose, didn't we all agree to ss with Nishimiya after school yesterday?"
Ishida's outburst turned the spotlight on the others he'd nad.
The classmates began pointing and whispering.
"How awful! I would never do sothing like that!" Kawai Miki, one of the bystanders, took off her glasses and started crying dramatically.
"Hey, Ishida, we didn't do that. I went to cram school after school yesterday," Shimada said.
"Ishida, stop making things up," Hirose added.
Ueno just sat on the ground, stunned, as Ishida continued to rant.
Kawai's performance seed to convince everyone that Ishida was lying, and the focus shifted back to him.
"You guys!" Ishida shouted, unable to believe what was happening.
"Hey, what's going on here?" Takeuchi finally appeared, though he probably wished he could've stayed in the eting he'd just left rather than deal with this ss.
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