"C'mon sir, my hair's natural. I got it from my father. I'm not going to pretend to be someone I'm biologically not just to 'fit in' this school." Fuutarou, in the middle of an interview, argued with a teacher of Asahiyama High School, currently the high school he was currently trying to enroll in.
"It's not that I don't trust you. But it's a long process trying to convince the board to make you an exception. I'm just trying to save you from the disciplinary actions the school will take."
"You know that I can easily go to another school right? With grades such as mine, I'm sure they'll gladly welcome me with open arms." The teacher widened his eyes a little, knowing what tactics Fuutarou was using. The blonde in front of him was literally one of the nation's most gifted students, scoring a hundred in all subjects without fail since the start of middle school.
Elite students bring prestige, and despite appearances, Fuutarou is clearly disciplined, hardworking, and embodies the school's academic ideals as said in his behavioral report. At this point, hair color becomes impossible to defend as 'necessary for order', not to mention the embarrassment the school would receive.
The teacher wasn't going to lose this diamond in front of him soon. And so, he made a compromise. "How about this, for the first year here, you will dye your hair into an acceptable color. Then you will continue performing in your academics as usual, while I will try to get the board to make you an exception."
"If I succeed, you will only have to sign some paperwork before returning to your original hair color. You help me by behaving and performing, and I'll help you by making an appeal. How about it?" Fuutarou hummed, rubbing his chin in thought. It sounds like a hassle to be honest, but Asahiyama High School is the best school in the prefecture. If he was to get into an extremely prestigious college or university, this was the place to go.
'You know, I've always wondered what it was like to have mom's hair color.' Fuutarou mused before looking at the teacher.
" You have a deal. But the most I'll wait is a year and a half. If my hair isn't back to blonde by then, I'll be waving at you guys at court."
"I-i see. I'll try my best."
...
"Maybe it aint that bad after all..." He stared at the reflection in the mirror as he muttered to himself, his hair now the color black.
"I still don't get why you have to do all of this. You should've just went for another school." He looked at Mitsuya who had helped him with dying his hair.
"I promised Rena—"
"Oh hell nahhh not this again....." Mitsuya palmed his face as Fuutarou.
"I promised her that we would meet each other at the top. And that's what I intend to do no matter what."
"Yeah whatever man... Just pay me already and get out of my house." Fuutarou rolled his eyes, slapping the cash on Mitsuya's hand.
"Yeah yeah whatever...."
.....
"Number 1 again. " Fuutarou muttered and casually threw the midterm exams report card away. Ever since he started studying in Asahiyama High School, Fuutarou quickly rose to the top academically and stayed there for all eternity. He did make some friends but that was it. His school life was getting boring very quickly.
He laid on his futon and yawned. Raiha laid on her own futon beside his, as today they decided to have a sleepover at Fuutarou's room. Over the years, after his father purchased a new house, Raiha has matured a lot and is now essentially the head of the family. She takes care of financial matters(taxes, budget etc) and cooks for the family.
Her and Fuutarou's mother's absence forced her to unfortunately spend more time at household matters, leaving her to hold back a lot of things a child normally does. Even when both of them have grown up significantly, they're closed than ever. Raiha is basically Fuutarou's confidant when Isanari is out at work. She's mature enough for Fuutarou to share the stuff he does and give her own thoughts on the matter.
"You look bored, big bro. I thought you would be more happy to get number 1." Raiha commented. Fuutarou sighed.
" When you reach the top and stay there, you'll get bored of the view eventually. There's nothing else exciting going on in my life. The only thing that gets me going is spending time with you, dad, working in Shinichiro's bike shop and hanging out with the gang. But now as I see it, I'm losing my interest in governing Tokyo Manji." Fuutarou explained. Raiha hummed.
" Where do you think Rena is right now, big bro? " Raiha wondered. Fuutarou chuckled.
"Wherever she is, I hope she's keeping up her end of our promise. If not then when we meet again, I'll see what I can do to help her." Fuutarou replied seriously. Raiha sat up and grinned at him.
" You know big bro? You're very kind. I'm sure when Rena sees you again, she'll be surprised at how much you've grown as a person."
" Yeah... maybe.... That's if I ever meet her again...."
"Hey! Don't lose hope big bro! I know you can do it!"
.....
"Maybe I should consider tutoring." Fuutarou muttered as he and Shinichiro were eating ramen together. .
"It ain't easy transitioning jobs. The hard part about tutoring is finding students." Shinichiro pointed out. Fuutarou shrugged and looked at his bowl of ramen.
"Well the gang comes to me for academic related questions. Maybe I should charge them for it..." He chuckled to himself.
" I'm only considering the job since tutoring pays a lot. " Shinichiro shrugged.
" If you wanna do it, I'm supporting your decision. I'm not gonna be salty if my friend wants to switch jobs. " He replied.
"Hey, tutoring isn't an everyday thing right? One tutoring session should only take a couple of hours. So I should still be able to work at your bike shop while doing that." Fuutarou pointed out.
"That is unless you wanna die of too much stress. " Shinichiro joked.
"You definitely are salty, Shinichiro."
"Me? Salty? Never! I'm always sweet....to women that is."
"Do you even realize that you scare the women away..... "
To be continued...
(Its happening!!!)