At Tokyo Station, on the rapid line of the Man of Totalservice Line, over thirty Tokyo University students in casual clothes gathered in groups of three or five, chatting among themselves.
"I'm really sorry for troubling everyone this time. When I have time, I'll treat everyone to a meal."
Haruno wore a pair of athletic-style long pants, her short hair neat and sleek, radiating a heroic and energetic air as she flitted through the crowd like a butterfly, greeting the smaller groups one by one.
"It's no trouble at all. If Yukinoshita-senpai gives an order, how could we disobey?"
"Looking forward to Yukinoshita-senpai's treat!"
"What does senpai want to eat?"
"What I want to eat doesn't matter. When the time comes, everyone can make suggestions and vote together."
"Won't we eat you into bankruptcy then, Yukinoshita-senpai?"
"If you can eat me into bankruptcy, you better work for it."
"Damn, so Yukinoshita-senpai is secretly a rich lady. My apologies!"
"..."
After chatting with a few students, Haruno looked around, as if searching for someone.
"Yukinoshita-senpai, are you looking for Fujiwara-kun? We just messaged him. He said he's almost here."
A first-year said teasingly.
The others started winking knowingly.
Haruno had always had a good relationship with Toru, and with how forward she was being, even someone blind could see she was interested in him.
If it were an ordinary student, being pursued by someone like Haruno—beautiful, elegant, with a good family background—would be a dream come true.
But if the one being pursued was Toru, things weren't so simple.
Haruno didn't mind the teasing. She'd already made her intentions clear, so there was no point pretending to be shy.
At that moment, a figure approached in the distance. Her eyes lit up, and she walked out of the crowd to greet him.
"Good morning, Toru-kun."
"Good morning senpai."
"I thought you weren't coming."
Her tone held a trace of complaint.
"How could that be? I promised you, unless it's something really serious, I'll always show up."
"Oh~ So there are still things more important than me."
Haruno stretched out her words, half teasing, half playing coy.
But in the next moment, she beamed, grabbed Toru's sleeve, and ran off with him. "Come on, the train's coming soon."
At the station platform, everyone greeted Toru.
There was a clear respect in their tone.
Even though he had barely shown up at the Karate Club since the first day, his presence alone naturally made him the center of attention.
Sano Kazunari, the Karate Club president, tall and imposing, walked straight toward him.
The other members instantly tensed.
President, can't you just leave Fujiwara alone?
He's killed people before. Even if your karate is strong, it's nothing compared to Toru.
They thought Sano was unconvinced and had come to challenge him again. But to their surprise, when he reached Toru, he first glanced at Haruno, showed a trace of regret, then bowed slightly.
"Fujiwara-kun, do you remember what I mentioned before about the National Karate Tournament?"
"I do. Why?"
"If you're still interested in participating, my dojo can help you register directly. That way, there won't be any rank requirements. However, the preliminary rounds will likely be held in Chiba."
"You're from Chiba?"
"Yes. My family and the Yukinoshita family have always had a good relationship."
Sano glanced at Haruno, his expression slightly bitter.
He and Haruno were the same age. Given the close relationship between their families, it wouldn't be wrong to call them childhood friends.
But Sano had always seen Haruno as a little sister—until he fell in love for the first time and suddenly realized she was a beauty.
Confident in his ability, having reached the top eight in the National Karate Tournament, a student of Tokyo University, good family background, and childhood friendship, he thought winning her over would be easy.
Things didn't go as he expected.
Haruno always kept a certain distance, treating him like a friend and nothing more. She even rejected him outright.
Sano once thought he just wasn't being sincere enough, so he kept chasing.
Until he got slapped by Toru.
That slap was a wake-up call. Haruno simply didn't like him. No matter how hard he tried, it was useless. In fact, his persistence was already annoying her.
It was just that Haruno's personality wasn't one to outright sever ties. She quietly endured it.
After realizing all this, Sano decided to give up on romance and focus on his career.
Never hit a smiling face. Sano had learned his lesson. Now, seeing his sincere attitude, Toru nodded. "Then I'll trouble you, President Sano."
"Not at all! Not at all!"
Sano was overjoyed.
Anything that could bring honor, get him in the media, or let the Japanese public remember his name—Toru would actively pursue it and show off.
It was all part of preparing for politics down the line.
Of course, some things that couldn't be publicized... could only be enjoyed privately.
After Sano left, the train arrived and everyone boarded.
Since this wasn't the starting station, there were no seats. Toru and Haruno stood on the side opposite the train doors, holding the overhead straps.
"Karate's gotten really popular in Japan recently. The number of applicants for the national tournament has increased a lot. The preliminaries are especially troublesome, with many rounds of screening."
Haruno stood facing Toru, letting him catch a subtle fragrance from her.
"What are you trying to say senpai?"
"If you're going to Chiba for prelims, it'll be a pain going back and forth. You can stay at my place. My Mom will definitely welcome you."
Haruno gently tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.
"Your place is pretty big?"
"My place is plenty big. There are more than enough rooms for you."
Haruno clearly didn't get the joke behind Toru's comment.
"Alright then. If I need to stay in Chiba, I'll take you up on that offer."
"I better let Mom know in advance so she can prepare."
"It's not confirmed yet."
"For a guest as important as you, we must prepare early."
Haruno smiled with her lips closed.
...
Half an hour later, they arrived at a station in Chiba Prefecture.
Sobu High had sent a school bus to pick up the Tokyo University students.
On the bus, Toru and Haruno sat together, with Manabu in the row ahead.
"Horikita, did you arrange this with your old school?" Toru asked.
Horikita adjusted his glasses. "It was a teacher from Advanced Nurturing High School who contacted me. They wanted help connecting with other schools to explore new teaching methods."
"I also have to thank Yukinoshita-senpai. If it were just me, I wouldn't have been able to rally the Tokyo University students."
Toru nodded to himself. Advanced Nurturing wasn't just here for a sports exchange with Sobu. Their real target was the prestige of Tokyo University.
They had a poor reputation in the high school circuit, but Tokyo University didn't care about that.
"Horikita-kun, no need to flatter me. Everyone's here to have fun. I'm just happy to be part of it." Haruno smiled.
Toru figured that Haruno was probably serious—she might've just wanted to liven things up and have fun.
Another twenty minutes passed before they arrived at their destination: Chiba Prefecture's well-known public high school, Sobu High.
The school was fully decorated with lanterns and banners. Signs hung at the gate welcomed the Tokyo University students to Sobu's sports festival.
The banners were huge, the characters oversized, like they were afraid no one would notice.
Even though this event wasn't officially recognized by Tokyo University, just something organized by student clubs, Sobu still gave it their all.
Look—students from Japan's top university are coming to our high school festival. Isn't that face?
Parents choosing high schools for their kids, how about Sobu? Enroll here and you get a chance to meet Japan's top talents!
The bus entered the school and parked in an open area.
The Tokyo University students were hyped.
"Look, actual JK girls!"
"Brothers, this is your chance. Let's see who can hook up with a kohai."
The boys were fired up, blood rushing.
The girls scoffed. "Try seducing any of them and we're calling the police."
"Come on, we were high schoolers just last year!"
"Yeah, if a kohai confesses to me, can I really reject her? That would break her heart."
The Tokyo University students stood tall, confident, eager.
And they had reason to be confident. In a school like Sobu, only one or two students might get into Tokyo University a year—some years, none at all.
But the moment they stepped off the bus, their faces fell.
They did hear girls cheering... but none of it was for them.
"Wow, it's Fujiwara-sama!"
"Fujiwara-sama, look here, over here!!"
"So handsome!! I thought he looked good in the video, but in real life he's even better!"
"Fujiwara-sama, can I take a picture?!"
"I... I want to get a room with you!!!"
No one knew which bold high school girl shouted that, but the moment she did, everything went quiet.
Then—
"Hahahahaha!!"
"Damn, who said that?! So bold!"
"I think it was a third-year senpai."
"I... I kinda want to get a room with Fujiwara-sama too..."
"..."
The entire scene spiraled into chaos.
"You're really popular."
The smile in Haruno's eyes never faded, but her words were full of vinegar.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)