An Encounter with Ichinose

Today was the unluckiest day of Ichinose Honami's life.

She had overslept and nearly been late in the morning, and during lunch, she had accidentally bumped into someone else's tray, spilling soup all over herself. In the afternoon, she went to attend the student council selection, only to be ruthlessly lectured by the president, Horikita Manabu, and left feeling utterly dejected.

She had known from the start that she didn't stand a chance, but she couldn't resist the enthusiasm of her classmates, who had all encouraged her to run for the student council, insisting she would surely succeed.

She, too, wanted to serve her class and her school with all her heart.

The thought of the disappointment her classmates would feel upon hearing the news made her feel quite depressed.

When she was assigned to Class B at the start of the school year, she had been full of ambition, determined to build good relationships with everyone and strive to solve every person's troubles so they could spend three happy years at the university.

She believed she had worked very hard.

Kanzaki Ryuji, a classmate, had once asked her why she worked so hard, but she hadn't told him the truth at the time, saying only that she felt happy when others were happy.

The actual reason was something only she knew.

But she dared not say it.

It wasn't a good thing.

The school was somewhat noisy in the afternoon, and she sat alone on a bench, feeling gloomy; the more she thought about it, the more dejected she felt.

Just then, she caught a glimpse of a figure walking past her, holding a rod-like object wrapped in black cloth. She looked up and couldn't help but widen her eyes.

It was an exceptionally handsome boy; his features seemed like a gift from the heavens. Each part of his face was perfect on its own, and combined, they were even more flawless.

His eyes, in particular, possessed the purity of a diamond while also carrying the warm luster of jade, making his entire face appear not only unpretentious but also radiating a warmth that made one want to draw closer to him.

Ichinose swore that she had never seen such a good-looking boy in her entire life.

She had seen people with similar looks, but mostly on television, and none possessed the unique temperament of the person before her.

He also looked somewhat familiar.

That's right!

Ichinose remembered the first-year handsome guy ranking her friend had shown her; this person seemed to be the one in first place.

He looked even better in person than in the photos.

As she watched him, she felt her terrible mood slowly fading away, leaving her feeling a bit vacant.

It was as if she had ascended to the clouds, feeling light and airy.

No wonder her mother said that women who looked at handsome men every day would live longer than others. If she were to take this person home... pfft, she meant marry him, wouldn't she be able to look at him every day?

No, no, no! Honami, what kind of silly fantasies are you having!?

How could she think such things about a stranger!

Ichinose patted her head, trying to shake off the unrealistic thought.

However, he was indeed very good-looking, so it wasn't really her fault, right? If only she could become friends with him.

She wondered if he would agree...

While she was lost in her wild thoughts, a puzzled voice rang out in front of her: "Are you looking at me?"

Only then did she realize that the boy had actually walked right up to her and was leaning over to examine her face. That handsome face was less than twenty centimeters away, and his warm breath occasionally brushed against her skin.

Ichinose's pupils dilated instantly, and she leaned back in fright, stammering, "W-what are you doing?"

"Nothing much, I was just curious why you kept staring at me so blankly."

"N-no, I wasn't, what are you... talking about? I wasn't staring..." The young girl's face flushed red.

Given her usual personality, she should have apologized by now, but for some reason, her heart was in a flutter, and the girl's bashfulness made her not want to admit her "crime" at all.

The two remained silent for a long time. Ichinose, who had looked away, couldn't help but glance back at him, only to see him watching her, motionless, his brows occasionally furrowing as if he were thinking about something.

Being scrutinized so openly, Ichinose couldn't hold it in anymore: "What are you looking at now?"

"I've been watched for a long time, so of course I have to look back. Hmm, young lady, you are indeed very cute."

"Oh, th-thank you."

Ichinose gripped her skirt tightly, her cheeks slightly flushed.

Feeling her heartbeat accelerating, Ichinose maintained her posture and slowly moved to the side of the bench until she was completely clear of his presence, then lowered her head and hurried away.

Watching her fleeing figure, Bai Ye couldn't help but smile.

"How interesting..."

He had, of course, recognized this cute pink-haired girl as the angel of Class B.

Shaking his head, he set aside this strange encounter and headed toward the shopping center.

Bai Ye circled the fountain and spotted a sleazy figure standing not far away.

When that person saw him, he trotted over, looking furious, and said: "Jingu, you actually dared to come?"

"Why wouldn't I dare? Give me a reason."

"Hmph, follow me then."

Yamauchi glared at him viciously and led the way.

The two bypassed the bustling streets and headed toward a secluded corner.

Less than five minutes later, the area was devoid of people, and Yamauchi turned around, pointing at him as he cursed: "Jingu, you stole my Kushida, and you're the reason I got beaten up like that the other day. I'm definitely getting my revenge today... Don't think I don't know that you were the one who hit me the most!"

Several days had passed, and Yamauchi's injuries had already healed, his ugly, sleazy face returning to its usual luster.

Looking at Yamauchi's thin frame, Bai Ye couldn't help but chuckle: "Just you?"

"And me!"

As the words fell, a sturdy boy with red hair stepped out from the corner. He looked at Bai Ye with a fierce, angry gaze, walking over step by step.

This red-haired boy was Sudo Ken from the "Three Idiots" group.

Sudo cursed as he approached: "Jingu, you're always calling me simple-minded and saying I can only be a substitute in basketball, right? I'm going to teach you a lesson right now."

"?"

Bai Ye rubbed his forehead and looked at Yamauchi in confusion, while the latter said haughtily: "That's right, Sudo. This guy spreads rumors about you every day. Look, he's still acting all arrogant, not taking you seriously at all!"

So it was you, Yamauchi.

He had been wondering how a guy like Sudo would come over to beat him up for no reason.

It was worth noting that although they were known as the "Three Idiots" in class, Sudo only joined them because he had no one else to talk to and they shared similar interests; in reality, Sudo didn't think much of the other two.

Or rather, he didn't think much of anyone in the class, except for Kushida.

He had also heard rumors about Sudo getting into a fight with upperclassmen shortly after school started.

Looking at his strong physique, Bai Ye estimated that an average student would be no match for him.

He sighed and looked at Sudo: "Tell me, Sudo, do you believe everything he says? Don't you realize why Yamauchi brought you here? It's because he wasn't confident he could beat me, so he called you to back him up. You're being used as a pawn and don't even know it. How pathetic."

"What!?"

Sudo looked at Yamauchi with annoyance, his eyes turning even fiercer.

"Don't listen to him, Sudo, we're friends..." Yamauchi stepped back, tripped over a stone, and landed hard on his backside, letting out an "ouch."

Bai Ye continued: "Sudo, Yamauchi was ostracized by the class a while ago. If people see you helping him so actively..."

"I'm not afraid of those people!" Sudo glared, though his tone softened. "Fine, you can go, Jingu. I'm going to beat this guy up next!"

"You finally understand... however."

Bai Ye changed his tone and unwrapped the black cloth from the object in his hand, slowly revealing a baseball bat.

"Although I didn't actually say those things, in my heart... that is exactly what I think. Sudo, Yamauchi is right about one thing: your brain really is simple, just like a gorilla's. Heh heh~"

"What did you say!?"

The anger Sudo had just suppressed flared up instantly, and his sturdy body lunged toward him.

"It's been a while since I've had a fight. This is a perfect chance to test how much my strength has improved." As Bai Ye spoke, there wasn't a trace of fear in his eyes as he looked at Sudo; there was even a hint of excitement.

After all, he was a former young master of the underworld. He had been exposed to it since childhood and had seen every kind of situation. In recent years, he had seen even more; scenes of murder were trivial to him. Under the old man's supervision, he had even slit the throats of those who attacked him and buried them.

The only thing was that he hated dismemberment, and the old man hadn't forced him to do it because he felt sorry for him.

Seeing the sudden change in his aura—the lazy, indifferent demeanor vanishing and being replaced by a heavy, almost tangible pressure—Sudo's legs couldn't help but tremble.

Looking at those emotionless eyes staring straight at him, Sudo shivered.

The next second, he shook his head.

"Stop putting on an act, Jingu. Let's see if I don't beat you into the ground."

His reason had been completely overtaken by his emotions, and he spread his arms and lunged at Bai Ye.

One minute later.