The entire morning, new players like Katou gumi and Aki Tomoya had been cramming like their lives depended on it.
Reality, however, was rciless. The third-years were already deep into practical ninjutsu training. Expecting a bunch of newcors who couldn't even define Chakra to keep pace? Laughable.
By the ti the morning bell rang, even Mouri Ran, who had solid grades back in the real world, felt like she'd been listening to a foreign language.
Aki Tomoya and Yuigahama Yui, neither of whom had ever been strong students, fared far worse.
At noon, the class scattered in twos and threes.
So pulled out boxed lunches from ho. Others headed for the school store to grab bread and call it a al.
Makoto Nishikado stepped out of the classroom with Akizuki Airi in tow.
"M-Makoto... Airi!"
A familiar voice, thick with tears, called out behind them.
They turned. Standing there was a girl with long chestnut hair and a delicate, almost fragile air about her. She looked about nine years old.
"S-Sis?!" Akizuki Airi's eyes went wide.
The next instant, Akizuki Marina threw herself into Makoto's arms. Tears spilled down her cheeks. "Makoto... I... I was so scared..."
He patted her back gently. "It's fine. I'm right here, aren't I?"
The normie clique happened to step outside for lunch at exactly the wrong mont to witness the scene.
"That girl... isn't she Akizuki Marina from the second year? Akizuki Airi's older sister?" Miura Yumiko said, surprised.
Tobe Kakeru glanced at Makoto with a flicker of envy.
Two sisters, huh... that guy's really got it made.
Then another thought hit him: Now that I've crossed over too, if I can learn what they teach here, maybe I could also...
"Looks like it's not just our grade that got pulled in," Hayama Hayato murmured, half to himself.
"You'd be right about that, Hayama-kun."
A familiar voice ca from behind.
Hayama and Yukinoshita Yukino spun around. A girl of about twelve stood watching them with a smile, her features strikingly similar to Yukino's.
"Sis?!" Yukino blurted.
"Haruno?!" Hayama was stunned.
Yukinoshita Haruno flashed a playful peace sign. "Sixth-year student at the Ninja Academy, Yukinoshita Haruno. Pleasure to et you."
Yukino and Hayama stared, mouths hanging open wide enough to catch flies.
Even her...
Haruno's gaze drifted past them, landing on Makoto in the distance. A knowing smile curled her lips. "So this is the source of your strength, Makoto?"
He glanced at her and didn't bother answering.
Without another word, he turned and headed for the school store, the Akizuki sisters trailing behind him.
Yukino leaned closer to her sister, brow furrowed. "You seem awfully familiar with him."
"Well, during the month you were living on your own, he's been staying at our house."
Haruno dropped the line like it was nothing. Every pair of eyes in earshot went wide.
She shrugged. "Long story. I'll fill you in later."
Then she placed both hands on her little sister's shoulders, beaming. "Yukino, I hear you've been doing great in class. How about tutoring your big sister? Otherwise I'm going to flunk out."
When she'd first crossed over, Haruno had panicked too.
But she was a grown woman who'd cut her teeth in the business world. Composure ca back fast.
By the end of her first class, she'd already chard her classmates into sharing every useful piece of intel they had.
Learning she was a sixth-year about to graduate while her little sister was a top-performing third-year, her first instinct had been obvious: get Yukino to tutor her.
Supernatural power. Who wouldn't want to master it?
And honestly... rather than let their mother treat Makoto as the Yukinoshita family's 'pillar of support', Haruno would rather take on that role herself.
Because sothing about that guy told her he was no good.
Back in the classroom after buying bread, Makoto sat with the Akizuki sisters and Katou gumi.
He noticed that the "background heroine" squad had gained a new mber: a child-sized version of Kasumigaoka Utaha.
Well, well. It's not just the Oregairu cast. The Saekano crew is all here too.
"Makoto," Marina began softly. "You and Airi have been in this world for two years now, right? This is my first ti, and I'm so far behind... could you help study?"
Her assigned identity was a fourth-year student, yet she didn't even know how to mold Chakra.
He thought it over. "Go see Iruka-sensei after school today. Apply to repeat a year and drop into our class. I'll tutor you after hours."
Marina's face lit up. She nodded eagerly.
Back in the real world, she'd always regretted not being in the sa grade as Makoto. They'd barely had any ti together at school.
Who would've guessed that crossing into another world would grant that wish?
"I'm applying to repeat too."
Kasumigaoka Utaha cut in.
Like Marina, she'd been assigned as a fourth-year, one grade above Makoto and the others. Without dropping down, keeping up was hopeless.
Besides, being in a strange world, staying close to people she knew offered at least a shred of comfort.
Across the room, Yukinoshita Yukino sat beside Haruno, her gaze on Makoto growing colder by the minute.
She'd already heard from her sister what had happened at ho during the month she'd been away.
The very person she'd been trying to track down had beco the one her mother wanted to rely on.
I have to get stronger.
The vow crystallized silently inside her.
She refused to let so thug who wielded power however he pleased have any ties to her family.
Afternoon. Physical training.
Aki Tomoya and Kinoshita Kazuya, the kind of shut-ins who never exercised, were destroyed within minutes.
Hayama and Tobe, at least, were mbers of the soccer club and had so baseline fitness. They were half-dead by the end, but they kept up.
Haruno, in the sixth-year group, ran sowhere in the middle of the pack.
She stole a glance at her little sister, who held a steady position near the front, and a wry thought crossed her mind: This might be the first ti I've ever lost to you, Yukino.
Her sister had spent her whole life trying to beat her at sothing. Who would've thought that dream would co true in another world?
After the run ca shuriken drills and sparring. More punishnt for the newcors.
The results were posted:
Makoto Nishikado: first place in every category. Total domination.
Yukinoshita Yukino: upper-middle.
Akizuki Airi and Eriri: upper-middle, though a notch below Yukino.
Hikigaya Hachiman and Ichinose Chizuru: middle of the pack.
Every other new player: dead last.
Iruka stared at the score sheet, massaging his temples. "At this rate, nearly half the class is going to be held back..."
Yukino bit her lip, resolve burning brighter in her eyes.
This wasn't just about keeping that bastard away from her mother anymore. She wanted this power for herself too, to fulfill her own dream.
A world of absolute justice. Absolute righteousness.
"Alright, school's out for the..."
Iruka stopped mid-sentence, rembering sothing. "Oh, right. Akizuki, Sawamura, Mouri, and Yukinoshita, your parents have been located. The school has already contacted them to co pick you up."
The nad students froze.
Their parents... had been pulled into this world too?
Joy spread across the faces of the Akizuki sisters and Eriri.
But Yukinoshita Yukino?
She nearly blacked out from rage.
She had just resolved to grow stronger. To beco the Yukinoshita family's true asset. To keep Makoto Nishikado, that absolute bastard, far away from her mother.
And now her mother had crossed over too?!
Recalling everything Haruno had told her, Yukino couldn't stop herself from shooting a glance at Makoto, her expression twisting into sothing indescribable.
Dammit!
Stay away from my mother!
_____________________
*The Bonus Chapter*
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