Chapter 5: Friends

“Sorry, Instructor! Although it was to save someone, we really shouldn’t have acted rashly without knowing the situation on site!”

Just as he stepped into the office, Kitagawa Ryusei took the initiative.

The five people beside him were still clueless about what was happening and cast puzzled glances at him.

Wasn’t the normal procedure to first let Onizuka Kyokan scold them harshly, then try to argue their way out, and finally accept the punishment obediently?

The five of them were at a loss.

Before they could say anything, Onizuka Hachizo was already at a loss for words: “…”

Kitagawa Ryusei’s next words were softer: “I was reckless in this matter, but fortunately, nothing unexpected happened. I’m willing to accept the punishment for it.”

“…” Onizuka Hachizo opened his mouth, unable to think of what to say, and could only close it again. After repeating this a few times, he suspiciously looked at the innocent-looking red-brown-haired young man in front of him, feeling that something was off.

Turning to look at the other five, each of them was wide-eyed and slack-jawed, as if they had learned something new.

If it weren’t for the wrong timing, Onizuka Hachizo suspected these five brats might even applaud and cheer.

“What are you winking at each other for! You guys are really a handful!”

Onizuka Kyokan decisively chose to skip over Kitagawa Ryusei and directed his anger at the others: “Furuya, Matsuda, you two just left the office this afternoon. What did you promise me then?!”

The shout made Furuya Rei instinctively stand at attention, one arm resting directly on Matsuda Jinpei’s shoulder, and he replied loudly and clearly: “Report, Instructor! I’m getting along well with Matsuda now!”

Matsuda Jinpei’s facial muscles twitched slightly, and from his expression, it seemed he wanted to twist someone’s arm off, but he also replied loudly: “Yes, Instructor Onizuka!”

Both of them had symmetrical band-aids on their faces, and although they looked like a forced pair, their aura was indeed more harmonious than when they left in the morning.

Onizuka Hachizo, who was at a loss for words: “…”

Before he could think of something to deal with these brats, he saw, as if one after another, the class leader he had carefully selected also stood up:

“Sorry, Instructor! As the class leader, I failed to ‘remind my classmates to be safe,’ resulting in three classmates getting injured at the start of the term. I also admit my mistake.”

Onizuka Hachizo: “…”

Originally, these guys could say one thing to choke him ten times, but now, even that “one thing” was choked back.

However, this time it wasn’t really their fault. Saving people is a good thing; he just wanted them to learn a lesson and not rush into danger so recklessly.

Thinking of this, he simply closed his eyes and waved them away: “Go, go, go, you bunch of troublemakers!”

“Thank you, Instructor!”

The five of them quickly supported Kitagawa Ryusei and left without looking back.

As soon as the door closed, the six of them simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief, exchanged glances, and then burst into laughter.

“Hahaha, I can’t take it anymore. I really wanted to take a picture of the instructor’s expression just now. It would be so epic to look at after graduation, hahaha.”

“Not bad, Ryusei, I didn’t expect you to be so skilled!”

Kitagawa Ryusei tried to restrain his laughter to avoid pulling on his injuries, and amidst the chaos, he didn’t know whose hand he grabbed for support to stand up straight, trying to be modest: “Keep it low-key, just speaking from experience.”

To be honest, this “I don’t quite understand, but if you’re this angry, it must be my fault” attitude really works wonders against middle-aged bosses.

Especially effective when paired with a “tough on the outside, soft on the inside” personality!

Furuya Rei, being pulled by him, looked at the “injured” yet lively young man with a mix of fear and admiration for his vitality.

He reached out both hands to steady him.

“Alright, alright, everyone go back and rest early. We still have classes tomorrow,” in the end, it was Morofushi Hiromitsu who stopped the group, pushing them towards the dormitory: “Now we have three injured people.”

Hagiwara Kenji placed a hand on one of the “injured” shoulders and teased with a smile: “Got it, by the way, little Morofushi really looks like a mom now!”

At this hour, there weren’t many students passing by the office building, only some faculty members coming and going.

Everyone had been through a lot that day and indeed needed to return to the dormitory to calm down and rest well.

The others escorted Kitagawa Ryusei to the door.

Matsuda Jinpei: “Remember not to let the wound get wet!”

Hagiwara Kenji: “Rest early, Ryusei.”

Morofushi Hiromitsu: “If you need anything, you can find me. I’m in room 144.”

Date Wataru: “If you can’t make it to morning training tomorrow, just take a leave!”

After giving their reminders, they headed towards their rooms down the corridor.

Kitagawa Ryusei didn’t rush inside but stopped at the door, his gaze falling on the blond young man who was a step behind them.

Furuya Rei handed over the milk in his hand, instinctively explaining as he met his gaze: “I noticed you didn’t eat much tonight, so I bought this from the vending machine downstairs.”

“Thanks,” Kitagawa Ryusei accepted it. The can of milk wasn’t as cold as he expected, probably still carrying Furuya Rei’s body heat. Suddenly, he remembered something and asked, “Do you believe in gods, Furuya-kun?”

Not knowing why he asked this, Furuya Rei answered honestly: “I don’t believe in them. I’d rather rely on my own efforts than on gods.”

Perhaps worried that this might offend Kitagawa Ryusei’s beliefs, Furuya Rei paused and added a rare playful remark: “But if the gods could improve Japan’s safety index, I might regret what I said today!”

Kitagawa Ryusei instantly had a half-moon eye expression: “…You’re really straightforward, future Officer Furuya.”

Furuya Rei responded with a smile: “Compared to Officer Kitagawa, who bravely saved someone today, I’m still a bit lacking.”

The warm yellow light in the corridor added a soft glow to the young man’s blond hair, and his eyes, not too saturated, sparkled with an irresistible vitality.

Being looked at with such eyes, Kitagawa Ryusei slowly widened his eyes, stunned: “Eh?”

Perhaps the young man’s dazed look was amusing, combined with his baby face and red-brown curly hair, Furuya Rei couldn’t help but think of a red-brown toy poodle.

He quickly turned his head, trying not to laugh out loud in front of him.

Kitagawa Ryusei was still feeling complicated about being called “Officer,” and by the time he reacted, Furuya Rei had already waved at him and was heading to his dormitory.

“Rest early and have a good dream.”

The voice-activated lights, which had already dimmed, lit up one by one with his steps. The blond young man’s figure, trained to be upright, gradually shrank in Kitagawa Ryusei’s eyes.

He lowered his head, no longer looking at Furuya Rei walking away or the four who had already disappeared, and gripped the milk in his hand, lost in thought.

Question: Knowing that the four peers around him will face misfortune someday in the future, what should he do?

Kitagawa Ryusei pushed open the door and went inside, placing the crutch that had been forced on him by the bed.

The room was dark, with the moon outside as the only light source, making Kitagawa Ryusei’s face appear indistinct in the dim moonlight.

He hooked his left finger around the pull tab of the can and exerted a little force.

The sound of metal friction echoed in the room, and with a “psst” of air, the sweet milk released a tempting, warm, and rich milky aroma.

Conclusion: He would never allow his friends to die in front of him again.

*

The next day was the long-awaited shooting class.

“What you have in your hands is a Sakura revolver, with a total of five bullets.”

In the practical training hall, Onizuka Kyokan scanned the students one by one with his hands behind his back: “I hope everyone has remembered what was taught in class just now.”

Most students were handling a real gun for the first time, curiously holding it and admiring it.

Kitagawa Ryusei, however, was uninterested, weighing the revolver in his hand with one hand, and then turned to report: “Instructor! There’s something wrong with this gun.”

Onizuka Hachizo, half-believing, walked over, took the gun, and checked it for a moment: “…It really is. Have you handled guns before?”

More than just handled… In the Port Mafia, Kitagawa Ryusei’s physical skills and stamina weren’t outstanding, so he didn’t bother to put much effort into them, instead focusing on firearms.

Guns, explosives… He always believed that under absolute firepower, any gap in physical skills wasn’t a threat.

“I studied a bit while interning in Italy.” Kitagawa Ryusei replied with a smile.

Onizuka Hachizo had only asked casually and then said: “I’ll report the issue, but it’s too late to apply for another one now. You’ll have to wait for the second round to practice.”

“No problem, Instructor!”

Kitagawa Ryusei wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about shooting training and even found it more interesting to watch others practice.

In front of the shooting target, Furuya Rei wore noise-canceling headphones, his blond hair pressed down softly.

His gun-holding posture was very standard, without the nervousness and excitement of a first-timer, his gaze firm, locked onto the target.

“Bang, bang, bang!”

As expected, all five bullets hit the target.

Sensing someone watching him, Furuya Rei turned around, his gaze still sharp from the shooting.

Kitagawa Ryusei, caught red-handed while peeking, didn’t feel guilty at all, even clapping as if he had received a command.

…Like a trained seal at an aquarium. Furuya Rei suppressed this strange metaphor in his head.

“Want to give it a try?” he asked as he approached.

“Sure,” Kitagawa Ryusei, after greeting Onizuka Kyokan, took the gun and skillfully loaded the bullets.

The content from the theory class hadn’t really stuck in his mind, so Kitagawa Ryusei relied on muscle memory to raise the gun with one hand.

His attitude was so casual that it seemed calm and composed, making people unconsciously believe in him.

“You brat—” Onizuka Hachizo caught a glimpse of this scene from the corner of his eye, and before he could get angry, the bullets had already been fired.

“Bang! Bang, bang!”

All five bullets hit the bullseye.

The surrounding people looked at him as if he were some kind of monster.

Furuya could do it because of his talent and strong learning ability, but what about Kitagawa Ryusei? Were they being too serious??

“…Is this how I taught you to hold a gun?” Onizuka Kyokan was once again at a loss for words, his voice dropping by more than an octave.

The originally cool and neat gun-retracting action was interrupted by this voice, and Kitagawa Ryusei paused, blinking innocently: “It’s because the instructor taught so well that I grasped the essence right away!”

“Is that so?” Now it was Onizuka Hachizo’s turn to be unsure.

He scanned the surrounding students, each with their own unique posture and dismal scores, a “ten” character vein popping on his forehead: “I guess you’re just talking nonsense!”

Faced with these two students, one he didn’t know how to address, and the other, besides being a handful, didn’t really have anything to say.

Onizuka Hachizo felt that if he continued, his mood would be in jeopardy, so he decisively turned to scold others: “What are you looking at! Is the target on my head?!”

Behind him, Furuya Rei and Kitagawa Ryusei exchanged a glance, both seeing the barely suppressed amusement in each other’s eyes.

“You’re amazing, Furuya-kun.”

“You too, Kitagawa-kun.”

On the other side of the training ground, a few familiar heads were gathered, seemingly discussing something, and the two of them walked over to find it was Matsuda Jinpei and Morofushi Hiromitsu.

Furuya Rei couldn’t help but be curious: “Hiro, what are you guys talking about?”

“It’s about the recent cases of young girls being murdered,” Morofushi Hiromitsu looked up at the two and explained: “The class leader and I noticed that the places where these girls went missing are not far from the school. We don’t know if it’s just a coincidence…”