A Sincere Dream

Prologue

Now, I am in my second year of High School. I made friends—although not a lot—in the past year.

Horikita. Kei. Ichinose. Hiyori. Keisei. Akito. Haruka. Airi. 

The people I consider friends, and the ones that I value my time with.

For the wish of Matsuo-san, I became friends with them, and cherished them, so that Matsuo-san's sacrifice can be of worth.

"Hey, Ayanokouji-kun..." I looked up, and noticed my seatmate Matsushita calling out to me.

"Hm?"

"Did you eat lunch yet? You've been at your desk since lunch break started!" She exclaimed.

"Eh... Did I sleep?" I then let out a yawn. "Odd, I don't really fall asleep until midnight."

"Anyways! You don't seem like you ate yet, so hurry up!" She said.

"Yes yes..."

I took my lunch box out of my bag and quickly started shoving food into my mouth.

Matsushita kept looking at me with a concerned face.

I slowly started feeling somewhat uncomfortable, so I decided to ask her about it.

"... What is it?"

"A-ah! Sorry! I was just curious."

"Hm? About what?" I asked.

"O-oh... In your sleep you mentioned an... um... "Matsuo-san"?"

"Oh. Uh, just an old acquaintance." I replied.

"I see... Ah. Sorry, it was just that you never talk about yourself, so I was just curious... since y'know... We basically know nothing about your past."

"I see. Well, yeah. Just an old acquaintance."

"Hmm... Alright. Anyways, what do you think of the new special exam?"

"Eh... I just personally think that it may be harder, since we are in Class D. It's going to be harder to pair up the less academically-capable with good partners."

"Yes, especially with the idiot tri— idiot duo."

"Hmm, well, Sudou has been improving a lot as of lately. But it will still be hard to find him a partner. But in any case, no matter who it is, it's going to be hard to find anyone a partner compared to the other classes. Due to, well, being in Class D."

"Yeah, that's for sure. We might end up having to ask Class 1D in the end. The other classes will be likely taken by Class A and B."

"Well, it is all up to Horikita in the end." I stated.

Just as I said that, a girl with red eyes and short black hair entered the classroom.

"There you are, Ayanokouji-kun." She said.

"... Speak of the devil." Matsushita stated.

"Ayanokouji-kun, we've been looking for you all lunch-break. Where were you?"

"... Sleeping. Here." I stated, shrugging my shoulders.

"..." Horikita did not say anything.

"Yo." Sudou walked into the classroom. "Suzune, you find Ayanokouji?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I did. He was sleeping here the entire time." Horikita responded.

"... Bruh."

"Hah... Ayanokouji-kun. We are struggling to find partners for, err, them. Yet here you are, sleeping."

"Can't blame me. I was sooo stressed from dealing with your crap." I tried to say in a sarcastic tone.

"Excuse me?" She pulled out a compass.

"N-nothing... I said I was so stressed, that I needed a nap."

Then, from behind Horikita and Sudou, a tall man with a muscular physique called out to us.

"Oi oi oi, you fucking piece of sloth-shit, how about you get up from your fucking seat n' talk to us, because y'all magots are going to cooperate with us."

"Huh? Who the fuck are you?" Sudou called out to him.

"Shut the fuck up you dog! Jesus fucking christ, the first thing I get when I walk in here is get a fucking dog barking at my ass." He yelled. "Anyways, the name's Housen. N' like I said, y'all are going to fucking cooperate with us, or get your asses pummeled."

"Housen-kun. I suggest you don't start a fight here."

A girl with long blonde hair and blue eyes walked into the classroom. 

She glanced over at me. Her eye twitched slightly, as she momentarily shot me a look of anger.

Ah... She seems... Familiar.

"So, Housen-kun. What exactly do you want with our class?" Horikita asked.

"Huh? Did I not say that you fucking bozo, I said. Cooperate. With. Us. You fucking bitch."

"Oi! Don't call Suzune a bitch!" Sudou yelled at him.

"Oh yeah?! She'll definitely become my bitch after she chocks on my fucking nuts! You hear me, fucking bitch of a dog?!" 

"You fucking bastard, that's it!" Sudou yelled as he started running at him.

Housen dodged Sudou's attack, and threw a knee at his Sudou's stomach.

Sudou collapsed on the floor in agony.

"Yeah! Get down on all fours like a good little puppy!" Housen kneeled down and looked down at him.

But, that's not what I was paying attention to.

I kept staring at the girl with blonde hair and blue eyes in front of me.

She caught onto my gaze, and stared right back at me in the eyes.

As the sounds of Horikita trying to calm Sudou down slowly faded from my ears, the girl in front of me progressively looked much more uncomfortable and averted her eyes.

I interrupted my own silence as I said—

"Nanase Tsubasa."