"So what Middle school are you guys going to?" Fuutarou asked his group of best friends.
"Tokyo Ikuei Japanese School. It's like a 2km distance from all of our houses including yours." Mikey explained.
" Oh, so it's just a short run then. "
"Can't wait when we can start dating and wear those cool black colored school uniforms." Baji muttered with a savage grin on his face.
" Speaking of uniforms, Mitsuya, how are the outfits coming along?" Draken asked the new addition to their friend group, Takashi Mitsuya, a young man with down turned lavender eyes and short silver-lilac hair.
"It's coming along nicely, Draken. But I don't have much time to work on it since I have to take care of Luna and Mana at the same time. " Mitsuya mentioned his two younger sisters. The gang nodded in understanding.
"Don't worry Taka-chan, you can take all year. We don't need it right now since we're still in elementary." Mikey grinned at him. Mitsuya nodded back at him.
"Mikey, I hear you can do the handstand pushup now." Mikey smirked and nodded back.
" Cool right? I got it down a few days ago." Mikey boasted proudly. Fuutarou grinned proudly at him.
"Too bad slowpoke, I got it down a few weeks ago! " Fuutarou taunted, making Mikey pout and huffed angrily.
"You and your cursed work ethic." Fuutarou snorted.
" You don't grow when you're comfortable, Mikey. It's not good to stop the grind. " Fuutarou advised him. Draken snorted.
"And is reading middle school textbooks a part of your grind too, Fuutarou?" Mikey smirked in amusement at Draken's words. By now, Fuutarou was by far the most academically achieved person out of all of them. Through him, they got their grades up from his tutoring.
" Hey, I was bored and decided to do some advanced reading. You can't blame a guy for wanting to prepare to be number 1 and to stay number 1." Fuutarou replied nonchalantly.
" Drop it you guys. You already know he's serious about keeping his end of the bargain with that Rena chick." Kazutora commented while looking at the clouds.
"Your love for her hasn't died down even for a bit too. Now I don't know much about it but that right there's definitely husband material." Baji grinned at Fuutarou who smirked back at him.
"Thanks Baji." Fuutarou muttered.
"Hey, you guys wanna go try out this new cafe? Apparently it went through a rebranding." Draken offered.
"What's the name?" Mikey asked him.
"Revival." Draken replied. Fuutarou raised an eyebrow.
"That's my dad's cafe." Fuutarou revealed. Mikey grinned and stood up from the grassy ground.
"Then what are we waiting for?! Let's go!! "
.....
" I forgot to tell you this, but the Black Dragon is in its Eighth Generation now, led by Izana Kurokawa." Shinichiro muttered while he and Fuutarou were fixing their respective motorbikes for the customers.
"Really? Sounds like you know the guy."
"Kid visited me and asked for my permission to inherit the Black Dragon. " Shinichiro explained. Fuutarou hummed.
" And when did that happen? " He asked Shinichiro.
"Two years ago." Shinichiro replied nonchalantly with a smirk on his face, making Fuutarou groan and palm his face.
"Two years ago? And now you just remember? You're an idiot sometimes, Shinichiro." Fuutarou grumbled, making Shinichiro chuckle a little.
"Sorry man, It just slipped my mind." Shinichiro gave a lame excuse. Fuutarou sighed and continued fixing the motorbike's engine.
How this man once ruled the underworld, he had no idea.
...
" My spot as the number one student should be guaranteed. But still, I gotta keep practicing." He muttered to himself after completing another set of mock test papers.
Mock tests are exams that are prepared on guidelines same as real exams. These follow the same pattern, set of questions, difficulty level, and also time limits. There are a range of mock tests available online. And he can also get mock test books from bookstores.
Before Fuutarou would feel the pressure, stress, and anxiety of exam day. He understood how intimidating and scary exams can be. But with these mock tests, hopefully the exams would be just another Tuesday for him. Fuutarou smirked, stretching his arms as he prepared to dive in another test paper.
"I can't be bothered about what others say anymore. A smart badass punk, that's what I'll be! "
.....
One year later, Fuutarou, now 13, was now in the first year of middle school. He was studying in the Tokyo Ikuei Japanese School with his group of best friends.
He came in first place in his elementary school's final exams. His drastic improvement was made his teachers and friends proud of how much he had achieved. He was even chosen to went on stage to deliver some sort of a valedictorian speech during the graduation ceremony.
"Bro... Kazutora.... What is that haircut? It doesn't suit you one bit! And you're a pretty handsome guy so why do you gotta ruin yourself like that?!" Kazutora gritted his teeth from Fuutarou's question.
"Shut up! I just wanna blend in!" Kazutora shouted back with an embarrassed blush on his face.
"Not with that tattoo you're not!" Fuutarou laughed loudly as they entered the gates to the middle school they're going to be studying in.
"Listen man, you gotta change your hairstyle, maybe dye them one day. Go ask Mitsuya, he knows more about fashion than I do. " Fuutarou pointed at Mitsuya who was waving at them.
"Tch, you and Mikey are pretty lucky. You two are Tokyo's strongest delinquents with no equal but each other. You guys can do whatever you want." Kazutora grumbled.
" Not everything, Kazutora. We're not at that level, not even close." Fuutarou mumbled back before he fist bumped Mitsuya as a greeting.
"Hey, what are you guys' goals in this school." Fuutarou asked calmly as they walked towards where Mikey and the rest of their friend group were.
" I heard this school's handicrafts club has no new members since the start of the year and is about to close down. I'm gonna try to become its president and revive it." Mitsuya answered with a confident smile on his face.
"Nice, how about you Kazutora?" Fuutarou asked him. Kazutora hummed as he looked at the sky.
"Get good grades and maybe start thinking about having a part time job. Then I'll earn enough to move me and my mom to a new house, away from that abusive bastard. " Kazutora explained while clenching his fists tightly. Fuutarou nodded, staying silent.
A year back, Kazutora had revealed to his friend group that he lived in an abusive household. He and his mother were abused by his father whenever he came home.
He recounted to them that his father said that his physical actions were disciplinary measures, Addin that Kazutora must be thankful for being able to live without inconvenience due to his sacrifices.
"Arrogant ass bitch. I'm gonna burn his BMW when he comes home. " Kazutora grumbled.
" What's this about burning your bastard of a dad's car, Kazutora? Count us all in when you actually have the guts to do it!" Baji patted Kazutora's back energetically. Kazutora smirked.
" When it comes to ruining his life, my guts are the biggest out of all of you guys. Right now, I just wanna focus on school." Kazutora replied confidently. Mikey approached him.
"You know Kazutora, if your mother wants a job she can get one in my dad's bakery. He's currently looking for an assistant baker to help him handle a part of the ungodly amount of baking he does everyday." Fuutarou offered.
"I'll tell her about it, my mom makes the best cakes, you guys can attest to that." Kazutora muttered. Fuutarou patted his back supportively.
"Oh right i forgot. Mitsuya, the progress of those outfits..... " Fuutarou looked at Mitsuya who nodded back, understanding what Fuutarou was trying to say.
" Don't worry Fuutarou, they're almost done." Mitsuya replied. Fuutarou nodded.
" Good, it's almost time we make our mark in the world of delinquency. But for now, let's enjoy our new middle school! "
" You sound too excited, Fuutarou. " Draken commented. Fuutarou smirked and looked at them.
"I'm excited because I'm gonna be number 1 in this school soon enough." Fuutarou explained. Draken snorted.
" Of course you're gonna be number 1 idiot, you read text books like they're storybooks. How the hell do you even do it?" Draken grumbled. Fuutarou chuckled and put a palm on his chest.
"Love."
"Goddammit not this Rena crap again!" Mikey's complaint caused Fuutarou and the others laugh loudly. Fuutarou smiled as he looked at his friends.
'I wonder if Rena is also studying right now....Haaa... I really miss you Rena....'
To be continued...