Kaikyu (1)
Shinnosuke arrived at Onizuka's office, casually found a chair, and sat down. Then he asked Onizuka, who was in front of him.
"When are we—Shinnosuke arrived at Onizuka's office, casually found a chair, and sat down. Then he asked Onizuka, who was in front of him.
"When do we start? Don't tell me I'm doing this alone..."
Eikichi Onizuka glanced at him and lit a cigarette.
"There's one more person. He'll be here any minute."
No sooner had he spoken than the office door was pushed open, and a strongly built man entered.
"Sorry, Teacher Onizuka. Something came up and held me up a little."
Eikichi Onizuka waved it off and introduced the newcomer to Shinnosuke.
"This is Seki Kiriko, a second-year and the basketball club captain. Get acquainted, you two."
Seki Kiriko spoke up.
"You're Shinnosuke Nohara, right? I've heard a lot about you."
Shinnosuke was taken aback. Inoue Ryushi had told him about this man before. He was famous among the second-years and much stronger than Inoue and Sugihara Kei.
"You flatter me, Senpai Seki..."
Eikichi Onizuka gave the two of them a meaningful look and spoke.
"The principal should have told you about the situation, especially you, Seki. You took part in last year's exchange with Kaikyu too."
"This year's exchange came out of the blue. Kaikyu proposed another off-campus exchange with Aofuji High, and they want each side to send only two people."
Seki Kiriko thought for a moment before speaking.
"I heard Kaikyu's previous boss got kicked out. The ones running Kaikyu now are a pair of partners."
"One's called Takeshi Sagara, and the other's Satoshi Katagiri. Those two are extremely dangerous. If they managed to become Kaikyu's top dogs, they must be incredibly strong! Nine times out of ten, they'll be the ones coming to the off-campus exchange!"
Shinnosuke looked at the rugged man in surprise. The guy looked big and burly, but he was unexpectedly observant... Meanwhile, Sugihara Kei looked sharp, but he was reckless as hell.
Eikichi Onizuka glanced up at the clock on the wall, got to his feet, and addressed the two of them with dead-fish eyes and an impatient expression.
"It's about time. If there are no problems, let's go. We're the ones going over to challenge them this time. What a pain... They were the ones who proposed the exchange, but we still have to go to them..."
Before long, a beat-up car stopped outside Kaikyu High School. The doors opened, and Shinnosuke and Seki Kiriko got out, dropped straight to their knees, and puked their guts out...
Both of them had the same thought: they would never ride in Eikichi Onizuka's car again...
It took them quite a while to recover. Pale-faced, they followed Eikichi Onizuka inside.
Just as he had imagined, the school buildings around them were dilapidated, the walls were covered in graffiti, and the athletic field was completely deserted. It was a far cry from the cheerful atmosphere at Aofuji High. Can anything good come out of this dump? Shinnosuke thought.
Suddenly, a tall, thin man in a suit walked toward them with a smile. He was middle-aged or older, with a full head of white hair. Shinnosuke took one look at him. There were so many wrinkles on his face that even a fly wouldn't dare land on it...
The man spoke with a beaming smile.
"Ah, Teacher Onizuka, it's been a long time! Thank you for coming all this way. Come, let me take you to my office for a while!"
Eikichi Onizuka nodded. No matter how impatient he was, he couldn't forget his manners... Let's just get this over with...
Once they were seated in the office, Kaikyu's principal fussed over them, making Onizuka and the others rather uncomfortable.
After a round of pleasantries, they finally got down to business.
"Ever since our exchange last year, I've been thinking about it constantly. After all sorts of efforts on my part, we finally have a chance to meet and hold another exchange with your school this year! Come in!"
The office door opened, and two people in gray Kaikyu uniforms entered, standing behind Kaikyu's principal, one on each side.
The one on the left had a defiant look and blond hair slicked back. He kept shooting provocative looks at Shinnosuke and the others.
His companion to the right looked at least 190 centimeters tall, a full head taller than Shinnosuke. His black hair was also slicked back, and he wore a serious expression. His uniform, however, was styled like a trench coat.
Shinnosuke rubbed his chin. Should I get one when I go back? It looks damn stylish, but Aofuji's dark green is a bit of a turnoff...
Kaikyu's principal rubbed his hands together.
"Come, come, let me introduce them. These two are our student representatives from Kaikyu, Takeshi Sagara and Satoshi Katagiri."
"They're also outstanding students at our school. The two of them will compete in this exchange. Hehe... friendship first, competition second! I hope they can establish a good relationship with the students from Green Vine!"
Takeshi Sagara licked his lips at Shinnosuke, his face full of provocation.
The sight sent a chill through Shinnosuke. He stepped back and waved a hand at him.
"Um... I don't discriminate against gay people, really, I don't... But I don't like men, and your boyfriend's right beside you. Please have some self-respect, buddy..."
The remark left both of them stunned for a long moment. When they finally caught on, their faces turned livid with anger.
Satoshi Katagiri snorted coldly.
"I hope your moves are as nimble as your tongue."
Takeshi Sagara looked at Shinnosuke, his face contorted.
"In a moment, I'm going to tear your mouth apart and knock your teeth out one by one!!!"
Shinnosuke stepped back and hid behind Eikichi Onizuka. He shook his arm, bit his lower lip gently, and put on a fragile expression.
"Hey, hey, Teacher Onizuka, they're so scary~"
Everyone present twitched. Seki Kiriko looked at Onizuka, his eyes seemingly asking, Is this guy always like this???
Onizuka turned his face away without changing his expression. Inside his leather shoes, his toes curled uncontrollably against the soles, making a "creak, creak" sound...