#gakuen chapter covers

[kimetsucollection]

[violetearuby]

☃️❄️

One Piece Gakuen - Chapter 40

[sabraeal]

don't speak boyshit, Chapter 10

[Read on AO3]

It’s not that Kamitami waits around for Kashima. People get that shit twisted all the time, thinking that they’re joined at the hip just because they’re in the same club a couple days a week, or have stupid kid brothers that like to run around together, or because he acted like some sort of emotional support dog for the first few months after that kid came to the academy. But that’s not why he lingers at the bike rack after practice, fussing at the gears as Kashima herds the skinny little bean sprout that passes for Kotaro out the school doors.

No, it’s because when he gets up, casually dusting off his uniform pants like this is all a happy accident, like he only just saw them wandering down the walkway with a purpose and not whole minutes ago, all he has to say is, “Heading out?” and Kashima replies, “Oh, Kamitani! I didn’t see you there! I guess if you don’t mind.”

He grunts at that, grumbles a bit, but that’s the thing— he doesn’t. Most people are effort, expecting him to do shit like talk and be nice— like he doesn’t have a dozen other things he’d rather be doing than shooting the shit with the boneheads in his class, or being cornered by a bunch of girls who think giggles are a good way to carry a conversation. But Kashima can keep one up all by himself, not expecting anything more than a grunt to tell him to keep going. All those nerds that study physics might say that perpetual motion is impossible, but that’s only because they’ve never seen Kashima on a real jag before midterms. Kid doesn’t even need air sometimes.

He’s quiet today though, letting Kotaro off his leash enough to scramble through some bushes. At least, as long as they stand there, staring at the quivering branches like they have any idea what that kid is up to in there. Which is fine with him; if he can’t count kids then he won’t feel that weird missed-step pitch and roll in his stomach, like something’s missing. Like it’s weird that Taka isn’t in orbit around him, some puny little moon determined to crash right into his planet’s surface, instead of the only thing he’d wanted for the last five years.

Kashima shifts like he might feel it too, like he’s done the mental math and come up one body short of normal. But he doesn’t say anything, doesn’t fill the air with chatter, telling him that it’s okay to have emotions, to mourn even the positive changes in his life. Doesn’t ask him stupid questions either— that’s what he likes about Kashima, honestly. The kid knows how to stay in his damn la—

“Kamitani?” His name sits high in Kashima’s mouth, strained even as he tries to look casual. “Are you avoiding Inomata-san?”

Well, there goes that. Time to find some new fucking friends.

“Kamitani?” Kashima cranes his huge eyes towards him, shock scrawled across every millimeter of white around them. “Are you?”

He’s not.

That’s the long and short of it. If that girl’s going around complaining that she can’t find him, well— that’s a skill issue. It’s not because he’s been making himself scarce whenever he hears the squeak of her school shoes rounding the corner, or because he’s been finding reasons to stay late at club just in case some nerd’s lurking around the bike rack, waiting to shake him down over her stupid questions. Kamitani isn’t just walking around, letting Inomata live rent-free in his head twenty-four-seven just because she wants to know what his type is.

At least, that’s what he should say. What he wants to, once he’s had some time to stew on it. But what he manages now is, “Shut up.”

A couple years ago that might have actually done it; might have made Kashima’s eyes get all big and watery and sent him scrambling for a safer kind of conversation. But tonight he only sighs, sending him the sort of look that makes Kamitani’s shoulders ache, begging to bow beneath the weight of his disappointment.

“If you don’t want to talk about it, you can just say so,” Kashima tells him, all prim, like shut up wasn’t clear enough. “But if you want my opinion—”

“I don’t.”

“—You should talk to her.” His gives the barest little shrug, like this is casual advice, something he probably hadn’t been working himself up to say all evening. “At least find out what she wants to tell you.”

“I already know what she wants.” What feature do you find most physically attractive in the opposite sex and why? “To annoy the shit out of me.”

“Kamitani.” There he goes again, giving him that look, like somehow he’s the wrong one here. “I’m sure it won’t be as bad as you think it will be.”

He’s right. It’ll be worse. “Easy for you to say.”

Kashima hums, unconvinced. “She’s a perfectly nice girl, if you’d just give her a chance. Which you’d know, if you’d just talk to her.”

Kid wouldn’t be so quick to say that if he was the one saddled with fifty short answer questions about what gets his dick hard. “Why should I? Because you think it’s the nice thing to do?”

 “Well, yes.” His head tilts, half-thoughtful, half-guilty. “That, and, er…Inomata-san isn’t exactly known for giving up…”

Ah, well. Kamitani grimaces. Kid does have a point. It’s just fifty questions, after all. No wrong answers. “I’ll think about it.”

*

Just fifty questions.

What traits besides the physical do you find desirable in the opposite sex?

Opinion shit, too. Simple stuff.

What would you consider the ‘perfect date?’

Easy as breathing.

Do you have a ‘type?’ If so, what is it?

Except it’s fucking impossible. Oh, sure, he’d given Kashima a metric ton of shit about letting some perfectly cute girl off because he didn’t know whether he liked her or not. Because he’d spent too much energy trying to figure it out, and he wanted to focus on being a good big brother, or whatever, but now—

Now he’s had two weeks to find out he doesn’t know shit about what he likes either. Just like back in first year, when Kashima cornered him with the sort of questions those stupid magazines asked idols, and all he’d been able to give him was his height and blood type. Only worse, because a third year should know his favorite food, or favorite color, or at least have a fucking opinion about whether he likes shy girls or sporty girls or whatever, and Kamitani—

Kamitani doesn’t. Even when he’s got his dick in his hand, it’s just whoever’s on the cover of the nearest magazines from the neck down. Nothing special, just breasts and butt and the idea of a warm body to make the whole thing go quicker. Real simple. Utilitarian, even. Reasonable.

It’s goddamn embarrassing, that’s what.

“I’m as bad as fucking Kashima,” he grunts, the heel of his hand the only thing keeping his forehead from meeting the desk. He’s half-tempted to let it go— a couple minutes of unconsciousness would be welcome with the way this day is going but—

“What’s up, Captain?” Saginuma’s grin can get him climbing walls on a good day, but right now one flash of it has him putting in real effort not to snap the arm resting between his seat and Kamitani’s desk. Be easy too; the kid doesn’t work out enough to give him more trouble than a toothpick. “Can’t figure out how to get the team to Koshien?”

“Shut up.” That gets his head up at least, even clears it a little. “I could win those games with my eyes closed.”

“Yeah, get real, Saginuma!” Hands clap down on his shoulders, shaking them the way Usokawa’s probably only seen through the TV screen. It takes a full count of ten for Kamitani to convince himself it’s not worth it to break his fingers too. “Kamitani’s got our season on lock. We’re going all the way to—”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it.” Saginuma waves him off, already bored. “But it begs that question doesn’t it? If our dear captain here isn’t biting his nails over plays, then just what has got him so stressed out?”

It’s bad enough that he has to suffer that idiot’s grin ratcheting wider, his stupid arm trespassing further into his personal bubble to support that shit-stirring lean— but it’s worse to see he’s got Usokawa doing the same thing, lenses flaring like some lame cartoon villain. Even Ebizawa’s half-turned in his seat.

“None of your business,” he snaps. Stupid move, since that only gets Ebizawa to turn the full way around, brows pitched high on his forehead. “I’m not stressed out.”

“Sure, of course. You’re just pulling your hair out for fun, like the rest of us.” Usokawa adjusts his glasses, too knowing. “Now come on, tell us what’s up.”

“Nothing.” It comes out too fast, too defensive. Might as well have put up a big sign saying, I’m hiding something. Bonehead move, since there’s no way he can asked these losers about—

Or maybe he could. Ebizawa’s had a string of girlfriends; nothing serious, just a few confessions that stretched into a handful of dates, petering out by the time they had to switch uniforms. Even Saginuma had a vague something over summer break second year, at least until the girl left him for the ghoul in 3-B’s haunted house during the culture festival. And Usokawa…

Well. Was Usokawa. Even if he’d never strung more than three words together in front of a girl, he had opinions about them. Not ones Kamitani cared to listen to, but he had them, at least. Unlike some people.

“Hey,” he grunts, scrubbing at the back of his head. “What’s your type?”

Kamitani’s not stupid— he expects the question to land like a bomb, devastating the conversation around it. He expects the silence, the glances that pass between Ebizawa and Saginuma, like there must be something wrong with their ears—

But he doesn’t expect Usokawa’s nearly instant, “B! Just like yours, right, Kamitani?”

It takes his brain a full ass minute to catch up. “I don’t care about your fucking blood type.”

Usokawa blinks. “But you said—?”

“He meant like with girls, idiot.” Ebizawa glances at him, like he can’t quite believe it himself. “Uh, right?”

His shoulders twitch, skin starting to itch right around his collar. “Whatever.”

“What? Really? Kamitani?” Sure, it’s not something he usually cares about, but there’s no reason for Usokawa to gape, pitch forward all slack-jawed like it’s some sort of shock. “Well, I like bookish girls with glasses and a soft side.”

Huh. F cups and a preference for bikinis would have been his guess for that perv, but that’s practically normal. Nice, almost.

“They always have the biggest breasts, after all,” Usokawa leers, and ah, there it is. The weird shit he’s been waiting for. “Plus they get all bashful during the beach chapters when they lose their—”

A well-timed cuff from Saginuma saves him from having to hear anymore about beach episodes. “He means three dimensional girls, idiot.”

“Hey, some of those games are fully rendered n—”

“The ones that aren’t programmed to take their tops off if you feed them enough cheesecake.”

“Oh, well, fine, I guess. In that case,” —Usokawa clears his throat, adjusting his tie for good measure— “my type is anyone who lets me touch them.”

“I said real girls,” Kamitani grunts. “Not non-existent.”

“I kind of like when they’re shy,” Saginuma offers, almost wistful. “Girls, I mean. Though I like them when they’re perky too. Energetic, you know. Or both, I guess.”

“They can’t be both shy and energetic,” Usokawa scoffs, like he’s some sort of expert. “Those are on two completely opposite sides of the same slider, like bookish and sporty—”

“I don’t know, some girls are shy until you get to know them.” Ebizawa shrugs, holding the only brain cell between the three of them. “And then they talk just as much as all the other girls. Sometimes even about the same stuff.”

“Yeah, Usokawa. Girls have layers.” Saginuma grins, adding, “At least the ones in 4D.”

“Hey, my waifus have layers too!” he insists, entirely too earnest. “Some of them even have seasonal outfits!”

Kamitani turns, putting both of those idiots at his back. “What about you?”

Ebizawa blinks. “Me?”

“You’re the only one out of these chucklefucks who’s managed to talk to more than one girl for ten minutes.” And have her keep his interest for longer than it takes the conversation to end. A superpower, as far as Kamitani’s concerned. “What’s your take?”

“Oh…er…” He runs a hand through the fluff of his hair. “I don’t really know. Ah…nice girls, I guess?”

“Nice girls?” Saginuma groans. “Really? All those girlfriends and that’s what you’re got? Girls that are nice to you?” He huffs, shaking his head. “Must be nice to be good looking.”

“T-they don’t have to be nice to me!” Ebizawa sputters, red splotching his cheeks. “Er, I mean…it’s nice, when they are. But I was thinking when they’re like…actually nice. The ones that are always supporting their friends, or uh…helping underclassmen with their work, or like…get chocolates for the whole class on Valentine’s Day—”

“Really?” Saginuma’s brows brush his hairline. “You want obligation chocolate?”

“I’m not saying that I—I want that! I just think it’s just nice that they’d think of everyone when—”

“Not everyone is too proud to take Kamitani’s seconds,” Usokawa sniffs. “Right, Ebizawa?”

“He doesn’t speak for me.” Ebizawa’s gaze cuts to him, desperate. “You know that, right? I don’t want any of your, er…ah….?”

“Actually, yeah.” Saginuma swings back around, forehead crumpled in disbelief. “What is with that, dude? Can’t you be at least a little grateful? Some of the ones you got last year were handmade.”

Annoyance itches up Kamitani’s spine, spiking his shoulders up around his ears. “I don’t like sweet shit. What’s hard to understand?”

“Yeah, but you could be nice about it.” Ebizawa flinches under his glare. “I’m just saying! Girls put in a lot of effort into that sort of stuff. It wouldn’t kill you to think about their feelings.”

“Why the hell do I care?” It’s not like any of those girls cared about his. None of them asked if they could shove their chocolates in his face; they just did it and hoped he’d think they were cute enough not to care that he couldn’t even put a name to a face. Like it wasn’t weird to have upperclassmen corner him with some half-baked confession when they hadn’t even spoken two words to each other. “I’m not interested in any of that sort of shit.”

His life’s complicated enough; the last thing he needs is to add some girl’s tender feelings to the mix. The hag’s bad enough as it is.

“Really?” Saginuma blinks, all wide-eyed, like this is some revelation or something. Like he hasn’t spent the last four years dodging every doe-eyed classmate that tried to get him on the roof alone, or every enterprising senpai that brought him a bento. “You know, now that I’m thinking of it— just what do you like in a girl?”

“Oh, hey, yeah!” Usokawa whips around in his seat, practically vibrating. “You’ve asked all of us, but you haven’t said— what’s your type, cap?”

It’s just his luck that every conversation in this classroom reaches a fucking lull just in time for Usokawa to put his personal business on blast. There’s not one head that doesn’t snap to their corner, the weight of thirty stares boring into into him and—

And Kamitani scowls. This isn’t just a mistake, it’s a fucking disaster.

“None of your business,” he grunts, already halfway out of his chair. There’s no plan once he gets out of it, just a certainty that anywhere he goes will be better than staying here, but—

Bing-bong ding-dong.

“All right, students,” Kumatsuka-sensei hums, quiet voice carrying beneath the last tolling note of the bell. “Time to take your seats.”

*

The thing is: he really doesn’t care about this shit. Perfect dates and blood types and whether someone’s chocolates end up on his desk out of obligation or not— none of that matters. The other guys might waste their time thinking about which girl in class fills out the uniform best, or who would look the cutest in a yukata, or whether they have a chance of getting either of them to kiss them on the school roof before the end of the year, but that’s not his problem.

A girlfriend’s inevitable; the kind of thing that’ll happen to him one day no matter how he feels about it. Worrying over when or how is like tearing his hair out over earthquakes that’ll hit in his thirties— absolutely useless, and completely out of his control. It’ll either wreck his whole life or it won’t; he doesn’t need to have an opinion about whether it’ll have a B or C cup when it does.

Or at least he didn’t, until now. Because now it’s weird that he hasn’t.

“Kamitani-senpai?” Chain link rattles as Sato settles against the batting cage next to his, arms folded just under the name stitched onto her windbreaker. “Got something on your mind?”

None of your business sits at the tip of his tongue— a reflex, really, a rock he’s always ready to throw— but there’s no one else here on the pitch, and if he’s being fair, it’s a manager’s job to ask that sort of thing. “No.”

“Senpai.” It huffs out of her, as close to a laugh as he’s heard from her. “The machine stopped pitching balls two minutes ago.”

The bat dips in his fingers, scuffing dirt across the plate. “Huh? Re—?”

A ball whiffs past— the perfect one, a real potential out-of-the park pitch— the whole cage rattling as chain link catches it instead of aluminum. Sato simply says. “No.”

Kamitani’s cleats kick up clay as he shifts, abandoning his hitter’s stance to scowl. Another pitch whizzes through, hitting the chain a little lower, and she adds, “But you didn’t notice one way or another, did you?”

Kid’s got him there. He sighs, leaning back until metal crowds him, worn enough to bow out and cradle his shoulders. Her head cocks, bobbed hair settling against the line of her jaw. Makes it look strong, like she belongs here, part of the team rather than just a cheerleader on the sidelines.

“Sato.” This time the machine’s really out, gears clucking across the pitch, whining and whirring until it finally shuts off. “You’re a girl.”

She blinks— real slow, mouth rucking up all weird too, weight shifting until she goes from at rest to potential energy all at once. “Is that what you were thinking about, senpai?”

“What?” It’s not like he needs to meditate on her bone structure to figure it out; the bust-to-waist ratio kinda gives it away. “No. I’m saying that you know what girls are thinking. Because you are one.”

Kamitani’s not the type to give ground, but he will give the kid this: he’s earned the epic side-eye she slants him, both brows hiked up to hit her hairline. Or at least, he assumes they are after he loses line-of-sight over the event horizon of her bangs. “I know what I’m thinking, at least.”

Good enough. “If you were asking a guy about his type, what would you want him to tell you?”

Sato stares. “Is someone asking you that kind of stuff, senpai?”

“Hypothetically,” he grunts, shoulders hunched. “What would a girl be looking for?”

There’s a pause— a long one; strained, like she’s coming up with answers he’ll never have the clearance to hear— before she says, “A boyfriend?”

“Not happening.” Not when his only qualification for this whole survey business is that he’s best friends with the idiot Inomata actually likes. “What else.”

“I don’t know about that, senpai.” Her nose scrunches up, all dubious. “Are you sure she doesn’t want you to say she’s your type?”

“Hell no.” Inomata might not know much about this shit, but even she’s not stupid enough to expect ‘high-maintenance know-it-all’ to rank at the top of anyone’s list. “This is…informational. Data, or whatever.”

“O…kay.” She fixes him with this look, one that says then-what-the-hell-are-we-doing-here-senpai, and, god, he should have just kept his mouth shut. “Then why can’t you just tell her what you’re into?”

Kamitani might be shit with his feelings or whatever, but even he knows that it’s frustration that makes his neck knot up so much it aches, that makes his fingers so stiff they practically crack as he drags his hat down, covering his face. “Forget it. This is stupid.”

“W-wait! Senpai”— there’s chain link between them, but Sato half-reaches out anyway, eyes wide— “do you not…? I mean, with girls, don’t you—?”

“Girls are hot.” There’s some heat behind it when he says it, a different kind of frustration funneling right out of his mouth, the kind that hits him when school skirts slip a little too far up a thigh, or when his elbow brushes past something that certainly isn’t a shoulder, but he’d rather die than let more of it out. “I just don’t think about it all the time.”

Sato blinks. “Oh. Okay. So you don’t really have a, er…?”

“I just don’t get what people want to hear,” he grounds out, folding his arms to hide the way his hands clench. “Like, what? That tits are good? Or that I care about some hobby or whatever? I don’t.”

“Ah, I…see. I think.” Her head tilts again, but this time it’s assessing, like she’s trying to figure out his fucking problem. “Maybe you should think of it like…what’s the first thing you notice about a girl when you look at her?”

Easy. How annoying she’s going to be until he finds a reason to walk away. “Legs?”

Sato coughs, like something’s gone down the wrong pipe. “Well. That’s a start.”

He frowns. “Doesn’t feel like it.”

Her grimace is all the answer he needs. “Okay, what if you thought about it more as…if you were going to date someone, senpai, what would you want them to be like?”

Nothing like the old hag, for one. “Normal.”

Sato’s whole face furrows, like not only is his answer shitty, but it has a stank to it too. “Normal.”

“Like they don’t get weird or whatever.” It’s self-explanatory, really, but Sato keeps staring at him like he belongs beneath a microscope. Or maybe on the bottom of her shoe. “You know what I mean. Girls are fine, but then they become girlfriends and just hang off a guy until something shakes ‘em off.”

“And that’s”— she hesitates— “bad?”

“Yeah,” he huffs. “Because then they wanna go on dates. Get all picky over who a guy talks to, even if it’s just for school stuff. Want to call them by their first name.”

Kamitani hadn’t even known Ebizawa had a name, not until his last two-month wonder came in with a special bento just for her Arata-kun. He could have died happy never knowing.

Sato sighs, hand rubbing over her face. “Senpai, are you even sure you want a girlfriend?”

“I’m not talking about me,” he grunts. “This for data or whatever.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, senpai” — she glances up at him, shaking her head— “but I think you’re an outlier.”

*

Outlier — that’s a nice way to put it, one even Kashima would be hard put to argue over. He’d try, of course, say a bunch of things about opportunity and responsibilities and everyone taking things at their own pace, but it wouldn’t change the facts:

It’s fucking stupid that he can’t figure this out.

“Hayato!” The hag doesn’t so much shout his name as let it reverberate through the whole house, practically shaking the floorboards just to get attention. “Hurry up! I’m leaving in ten.”

Kamitani grunts, wrist-deep in his shirt drawer. The same place he’s been standing for the past five fucking minutes, thinking about this shit instead of picking between long sleeves and short ones. Because that’s apparently where this whole disaster has put him— not able to think and function at the same time. “Give me a minute, woman!”

It’s Inomata’s fault. He’d been just fine before he looked at her stupid questions, but one flip through them has him so twisted up he’s struggling to put his arms through the right holes, taking no less than three tries to get the damn thing buttoned the right way and—

“Hayato!” His teeth clack down so tight he nearly scrapes a layer off his tongue. “Let’s go!”

“I’m coming,” he growls, shoving his shirt down into his pants. “I’m coming.”

His hands fumble the belt— someone needs to put him out of his fucking misery already— and it’s with one last glance in the mirror that he sees red and white stripes balled up in the corner. A half-tied, hopeless mess that’s probably been there since April, when the old taskmaster that ran this school insisted that everyone had to wear their full uniform to the Entrance Ceremony, and—

There’s a tie in our dress code. Even now he can see that sour sneer she gave him, all superior, like being top-spot in the Advanced Class made her better than him. As a third year, you might bother to wear one.

It’s stupid. He couldn’t be paid enough to care about what Inomata thinks about him. And still—

Still he snatches that tie and sling it over his neck. Let her fucking choke on that.

*

Lunch bell’s hardly rung before Saginuma’s hanging over his seat, phone shoved right up under his nose. “You guys seen this yet?”

Kamitani’s neck cranes back, the black blur on the screen resolving into a blur with shit on it. “Maybe,” he grunts, knocking Saginuma’s arm wide. “If you didn’t just shove it in my face.”

Kid doesn’t even break stride, just lets his phone settle between the four of them as he plows on. “It’s Onibaba’s Curse 3: The Cure, the sequel to Onibaba’s Curse—”

“I know how numbers work,” Kamitani grunts, glaring down at the screen. Not that there’s much on it— just black and some white figure, no less blurry at this distance. “What’s it got to do with me?”

“It’s playing at the theater in town right now.” Ebizawa and Usokawa are crowding in now, and Saginuma puffs up as he says, “We should go see it. I heard it’s even scarier than the first one, and that—”

“Nearly had Kashima climbing out of his skin,” Usokawa reminds him. It’s gleeful, the way he says it, a feature rather than a warning. “Sounds perfect.”

Kamitani catches the empty seat to his side and frowns. “Where the hell is Kashima, anyway? Didn’t he bring lunch today?”

“He did.” Usokawa turns wistful, one cheek propped up on his hand. “Probably made by that butler of his. Think he’ll let me have a slice of his omelet if I give him one of my hot dog octopuses?”

“No deal. That guy makes a whole aquarium’s worth of those suckers,” Saginuma sighs. “And they’re made from the really fancy dogs too.”

“Aw, but—”

“I didn’t ask about his hot dogs.” It comes out of him like a whip crack, a roll of thunder right before lightning strikes, but neither one of them does so much as jump, too caught up in dreaming about Saikawa’s stupid sausages. “Where’s Kashima?”

“He got called out by another girl again.” Ebizawa shakes his head, huffing, “This is, what? The third one this month? It’s not even summer break.”

“It’s third year, I’m telling you.” Usokawa’s eyes blink wide behind his glasses. “It makes the girls crazy. All of them are looking for their high school romance, and they’re taking no prisoners.”

Kamitani snorts. “Seems like they’re taking plenty of prisoners, actually.”

“Hey.” Ebizawa shifts in his seat, pitching himself up on one knee. “If we’re gonna get bread, we should probably get going.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Kamitani gets to his feet, rolling his shoulders to work the stiffness out of them. “I’m—��

“You!” School shoes squeal as they skid to a stop right in front of him, and oh, he knows that stomp too well to even need to glance above the knee-highs. “Don’t move.”

It’s nothing to smirk down into Inomata’s scowl, to straighten from his slouch and loom every last inch over her, enjoying the way her mouth only furrows further into her cheeks. “And what are you going to do—?”

About it, that’s what he should be saying. Maybe even with a real aggressive lean, feet planted so she can’t haul him off like she did last time. But she wraps a whole hand around his tie and tugs instead, and the thought rattles right out of him, ideas as dried up as his mouth.

“Come with me,” she grunts, another good yank driving him two steps after her. He barely makes it; the room tilts as Inomata herds him out, knees suddenly jelly, trembling, and—

And she’s got to be choking the life out of him. That’s why everything’s gone all swimmy, breath ragged like he’s run four kilometers without stopping for air.

“Hey.” He digs in his heels, hauling her up short. “Cut it out.”

She scowls up at him, knuckles still blanched to match the red and white wrapped around them. It’d be nothing to knock her away, to squeeze that wrist until her fingers untangled themselves, but instead he just stands there, stupid, as she snaps, “We don’t have all day.”

Kashima’s the kind of idiot that would just take it, that would stand here, letting his mouth work— babbling, probably— until she hauled him off. But Kamitani— Kamitani waits until he’s sure his knees will hold him before he yanks the tie from her grip, demanding, “Just where are we going?”

Inomata blinks— all slow, like he’s the idiot— and says, “The courtyard.”

He frowns. “What? Why?”

“What do you mean why?” She lifts the bag in her hand— a nice cloth one, the kind the rich kids always had wrapped around their parent-packed bentos— and says, “It’s lunch time.”

*

That girl might not have him on a leash anymore, but she still bullies him right down onto one of the courtyard’s empty benches. One of the last ones, by the looks of it; everywhere else is covered in couples, making doe-eyes at each other, feeding each other from their nearly compartmentalized meals. Thankfully they’re all too wrapped up with each other to notice when Inomata shoves a bento in his lap, a single sheet of printed paper balanced on top.

“What the hell is this about?” Kamitani grunts, glaring as she drops down beside him, her own bento perched in her lap. “I was gonna get bread.”

“This is better than bread,” she informs him primly, breaking apart her chopsticks with the same precision as she arranges the pleats on her skirt, a sharp charcoal horizon cutting across her knees. “This is a balanced meal.”

He glares down at the metal lid, dubious. “Curry bread is balanced. There’s meat. Bread. Stuff.”

“It’s really not. Now hurry up and eat.” Her chopstick stabs toward the paper he’s snatched up between his fingers. “You’ll need time to fill out the rubric.”

“The…?” It’s a grid, he realizes, staring down at the sheet. Flavor, one square says, while another below it reads, Mouth Feel. There’s other squares beside them too— comments, the first one reads, while the one after says, score—

A grading rubric. She’s given him a grading rubric for lunch.

“There’s something wrong with you, you know that?” he grumbles, flicking open the latch. “Something real unbalanced.”

“Well, if you can’t answer some simple questions” — simple, she says, like it would take a real moron to get caught up on question two. Like a hot-blooded high school boy should know what he likes when it bends over right in front of him— “then I’ll have to resort to acquiring useful data through other means.”

He snorts. “Like making me choke down your cooking?”

“Don’t scoff when you haven’t even looked at it.” Her chin lifts, all prideful, but he can’t help but notice she hasn’t opened hers either. “Maybe I’ve struggled with some of the…er…finer points of pastry, but even I can make a bento.”

“We’ll see,” he hums, giving her rubric a pointed glance. She swallows at that, real thick, the nerves starting show in the way her fingers clench against her own tin, and, well, he might as well put her out of her misery—

“What?” It’s barely more than an exhale, breathy as she leans closer, glancing between the open bento and the look on his face. “What’s wrong?”

“There’s vegetables in this.” Bell peppers, broccoli, and the worst offender: carrots. Big, thick slices too, laid right on top of his rice. Gross.

Her forehead furrows, mouth rucked up with annoyance. “There’s vegetables in curry too.”

He grunts, rolling the chopsticks in his hand, trying to figure out how to get to the actual food underneath. “Not ones I can see.”

Inomata stares at him, real nasty-like, as if he’s the problem, and not the girl who put vegetables in his lunch. “How are you one of this school’s top athletes? You eat like a garbage bin.”

“I’m a growing boy.” That’s what the hag always says at least, before shoving more bok choy onto his plate. Chopsticks clacking, he excavates the rice beneath a strip of nori, stopping to pick up fish and pickled radish before shoveling the whole thing into his mouth.

Inomata pitches forward, eyes wide. “Well?”

He shrugs, picking out a slice of carrot. “It’s edible.”

“Edible.” He might as well have said disgusting from the way she groans, a useless heap collapsed over her completely untouched lunch. “I don’t want it to be edible.”

Kamitani shovels in another bite— this one with pickled lotus— and it’s…passable. Nutritious, if not exactly mouthwatering. He’d probably finish the whole thing, if she let him stop talking long enough. “Considering some of the other stuff you’ve made, you should be happy I’m not calling a dentist.”

“The point isn’t just to not cause physical harm,” she grits out, still not eating. “It’s supposed to display the sort of skills that would make me…girlfriend material.”

Inomata slumps, hair falling forward in a solid black sheet, hiding her face like she’s that girl from Ringu. Dejected, that’s how she looks. Mortified too, knowing her. Completely hopeless.

It doesn’t fit on her. Same way that case of nerves didn’t in his house, making her look all coltish and lost, like some little kid, and—

And maybe there is something wrong with this bento after all, since he gets that weird pit in his stomach again, the kind that can’t be filled with more rice and a hefty dose of curry bread. His mouth rumples, wrinkling as the words shove themselves out between his teeth. “It’s not bad.”

Her head rolls toward him across her shoulders, fixing him with a flat stare. “Do you want to date me now?”

Ha. Now that's fucking funny. “It’d take more than a bento to do that.”

“That’s what I thought.” She sighs, straightening her spine along with her skirt. Only one of them needs it. “Well, if there’s something you’d actually like to eat, just make a note of it somewhere on the rubric. I won’t make any promises, but…I can take it into consideration.”

He glances up at her, fingers stiff where they settle against the chopsticks. “So this what we’re doing now? Bento?”

Her palms smooth over her already pristine pleats. “It seems the most obvious skill for improvement. Yagi-san said—”

“Yagi.” He nearly spits out the fish in his mouth. “You’re taking advice from that pervert?”

Red flares over her cheeks, splotchy and uneven, but her shoulders take on a defensive hike. “Well, I wouldn’t be, if someone had given me something else to go off of. But if there’s anyone who knows what a bento should be like…”

It would be the prince of third year, who had his pick. “Why are you so worried about what he thinks anyway? Shouldn’t you be making stuff Kashima likes?”

“Well, ideally— yes. But…” Her shoulders twitch, a flinch rather than a shrug. “It’s not as if I have a natural way to ask. We don’t…hang out outside of school hours.”

“Does anybody?” he grunts, so dry he nearly scorches his mouth. But she glances up at him, all reproachful, like she doesn’t know if he’s teasing her or Kashima, and there it is, that stupid knot again, lodged right in his gut. “Listen. We’re going to a movie this weekend.”

Inomata glances up at him, brows furrowed. “Huh?”

“The guys. All of us together.” There’s an itch between his shoulders he can only scratch with a shrug. “Kashima’s coming too.”

Or at least he will be, once Kamitani’s done with him.

“Oh.” Her head tilts, wary. “That’s…nice?”

He sighs, scrubbing a hand over his face. “What I’m trying to say is: it’d probably be fine if you came.”

“What?” She’s all eyes when she blinks, mouth falling slack. “You mean…really? And you wouldn’t mind?”

“Yeah.” He sets the chopsticks over the empty tin. “It’s fine or whatever.”

“Real—?”

“I said it’s fine, didn’t I?” he snaps. “Besides, I owe you for the lunch.”

“But…” Her mouth works, rounding over a half dozen words before she sits back, hands pressed flat against her untouched bento. “All right. Sure. I think I could make that work.”

She spares him the smallest, shyest glance. “T-thank—”

“Shut up,” he grunts. “Just eat your damn food already.”

*

“I-I don’t know.” Kashima’s pale when they finally corner him before homeroom, eyes darting all over like he’s looking for an exit. “I-I might have to look after Kotaro that day.”

“Kashima,” Saginuma groans, hands slapping to his face. “Come on. The headmistress can’t spare you for a day?”

“I mean, sure, but really…i-it’s fine.” He puts on that shaky little smile of his, and Kamitani knows: if he looked under the kid’s desk, his knees would be quivering. “B-besides, it’s not like those sorts of movies are, you know…my thing, really…”

Kamitani had assumed it would be him who had to lean in, him who had to put the nail in the coffin, but instead it’s Ebizawa, brows pitched to his hairline as he asked, “Oh, so you’re scared?”

“W-what? No.” He can’t tell whether Kashima is shaking his head or just having full body tremors. “I’d be perfectly happy to go, if it wasn’t for—”

“So you’re coming?” Kamitani doesn’t even flinch when the kid turns that betrayed look his way. He’ll thank him later. Probably. “The hag’s gonna have to get used to not having you around anyway. She won’t have all this free labor when you’ve got entrance exams.”

Or after, but he knows better than to say that. He’s not going to be the one that gets Kashima to chicken out of college just because it might be more than two doors down from his brother.

“I-I suppose so.” The kid straightens, nodding. “I’ll, ah, see what I can’t work out.”

“Hell yes!” Usokawa whoops. “The five of us, hitting the town—”

“About that.” Kamitani strives to keep his voice even as he says, “I’m bringing someone with me.”

Saginuma blinks. “Yeah, sure, man. Whatever. The more the merrier.”

“No problem at all!” Usokawa adds, as if he has any bearing on the answer. “Anyone you bring is sure to be cool!”

“Yeah.” Kamitani smothers a grimace. “We’ll see about that.”

[asongofstarkandtargaryen]

Zoro and Sanji playing cards at the cover of the newest One Piece Gakuen chapter:

[moongothic]

People often bring up the omake No Respect Time to use as Crocodad Propaganda, and y'know, I think there might be just a smidge more the omake can provide to Crocodad than what people have already discussed in the past

Like everyone's seen the comparisons between Crocodile and the anime screencaps of Don Luffyone, we all know how the two look so similar etc etc. But honestly, the resemblance is even more obvious (and hilarious) when you look at the OG manga version (Sidenote but Don Luffyone is the only one who smokes cigars in the omake... Everyone else has plain ol' cigarettes... That sure was a decision there Oda)

And yeah, you might be thinking I picked this mangacap of Crocodile in particular because the resemblance is the most obvious here and I have My Crocodad Agenda to push etc etc. But I will have you know that the original omake was from Log Book 5, which was published February 28th 2006. Meanwhile that Crocodile is from the cover of chapter 398, published February 6th 2006. So these were drawn by Oda around the same time. I didn't just cherry pick this cover page because it's convenient for my evil agenda, if these were drawn around the same time then the likelihood the resemblance is intentional does legitimately go up a little. (Also since they're both drawn by Oda instead of random animators, again, it's a bit less coincidental and could be a bit more intentional)

But as I said, I think there might be more to the omake than that.

In the past people have also pointed out and joked how a mere few months before Oda revealed Dragon was Luffy's father to us in the story (post-Enies Lobby), in the Monster Time-omake Luffy was depicted as a dragon.

Needless to say, people believe this was intentional foreshadowing (/trolling) to the Dragon reveal by Oda-- if not it'd be one hell of a coincidence at the very least.

The reason I'm bringing that up is that if people think it's safe to assume Oda was hinting at Luffy's heritage in one omake by making him a dragon like his father, then why couldn't Oda do the same in another omake (by making Luffy a mafia boss who smokes cigars like his father)? Keep in mind that Monster Time was published in May 2006 (in Log Book 7), just three months after No Respect Time. So again, these are from the same era. To me, that just makes the resemblance between Don Luffyone and Crocodile seem even less coincidental

Oh, but there's one more omake I want to bring up.

So people do often bring up Nerd!Luffy's appearance in One Piece Gakuen spin-off manga, pointing out how much he looks quite a lot like the Theoretical Child Oda gave to Crocodile in that one SBS. Yeah. So. 'Bout that.

There was this one omake called Red Hair of Class 3-Sea Time, in which Luffy was a loser ass nerd. And man, that resemblance

Like it's one thing when a spin-off manga drawn by a different artist does A Thing. It's another when Oda himself does it

[sueske]

hi girl i was wondering abt this picture of nart and sas and it's a funny one, they r dressed in highschool uniforms and um, it's kinda suggestive (nart is pulling up his pants and sas is like throwing up) i was wondering who tf drew it cuz it looks like kishis original art and I saw somewhere that it was official or sum. but I think it was way too much for it to be official art omg

It's from the Shippū! Konoha Gakuen Den! OVA made by SP.

...but it's not like Kishi himself didn't insinuate Sasuke giving Naruto a bj through his own art:

...and it's not like this suggestive imagery is used exclusively for Sasuke either:

...Kishi also insinuated other things by playing with the manga chapter covers and chapter contents:

...just going to drop some of his other N.S illustrations here:

...and if you're interested about what Kishi has to say about his own SNS illustrations well:

....'heads slightly tilted to the side' very reminiscent (and in the same position) as this:

You can also find more here. He's a funny man.

[koneko-chan-hai]

"He was about to turn away, when suddenly, he felt a soft weight on his shoulders, blocking the cold air. Startled, he looked up at Komaeda as he fixed the jacket, making sure that it could cover him properly."

Impulse and Circumstances

Rating:

Mature

Warnings:

No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories:

M/M

Fandoms:

Super Dangan Ronpa 2, Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School

Relationships:

Hinata Hajime/Komaeda Nagito, Kamukura Izuru/Nanami Chiaki, Chou Koukou Kyuu no Sagishi | Ultimate Imposter/Mioda Ibuki (mentioned), Kirigiri Kyoko/Naegi Makoto

Characters:

Hinata Hajime, Komaeda Nagito, Kamukura Izuru, Nanami Chiaki, Naegi Makoto, Tsumiki Mikan, Hinata Hajime's Parents, Soda Kazuichi, Kuzuryu Fuyuhiko, Pekoyama Peko, Ikusaba Mukuro, Munakata Kyosuke (Dangan Ronpa), Enoshima Junko, Kirigiri Kyoko, Hagakure Yasuhiro, Original Characters, Kirigiri Jin (mentioned)

Additional Tags:

Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Omega Hinata Hajime, Alpha Komaeda Nagito, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Positively Yours AU, Hinata Hajime and Kamukura Izuru Are Twins, Hinata Hajime and Kamukura Izuru are Separate People, Mpreg, Unplanned Pregnancy, One Night Stands, Strangers to Lovers, Established Relationship, for KamuNami, Rating May Change, Getting Together, Nagito is Makoto’s older brother, Tags May Change, Not Beta Read, Discussion of Abortion, Aged-Up Character(s), only Class 77 though, Mild Sexual Content, Miscommunication, Kamukura Izuru Has Feelings, Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Slow Burn

Summary:

“To some, those two lines could be the best news, the hope to create a family with their loved ones. To others, however, they could be the worst news.

Unfortunately, Hajime was part of the latter category.”

After years of celibacy, and after having his longtime feelings unrequited, Hajime decides to throw caution to the wind for one night. Needing to deal with the consequences of his actions, how can Hajime deal with the sudden interest of his one night stand towards him?

Words: 38,110 | Chapters: 8/? | Language: English | Updated: 2024-01-11

[lisutarid-a]

[Gakuen K] Fushimi Saruhiko Route Translation

Blue club's work

LIST OF CHAPTERS

[Translation under the cut]

Saya: (Phew. It is surprisingly difficult to use a hole punch)

Saya: (The holes are easily misaligned, and if you put in too much paper at once, the paper will wrinkled-up…)

Saya: (But I think it's almost done somehow)

Saya: Ah, Fushimi-kun. I'm almost done here.

Fushimi: …What are you doing?

Saya: Eh, I was asked by Munakata-senpai to do something for him…

Saya: It's the hole-punching task for binding materials in a file, I guess?

Fushimi: Are you going to bind this material to this file?

Saya: …Ah.

Fushimi: Haaah…You klutz.

Saya: The holes are upside down…The cover and the contents are upside down.

Saya: S-Sorry!!

Fushimi: Tsk…There's no point in apologizing to me.

Saya: Y-You're right.

Saya: (Fushimi-kun is mad at me, I need to redo everything fast)

Fushimi: What are you waiting for? Let's get done with it.

Saya: Eh…?

Fushimi: Are you deaf?

Saya: Could it be, that you're going to help me…?

Fushimi: Tsk. I don't have a choice. We were paired up.

Saya: Thank you!

Fushimi: I'll start on this side of the pile, you do that side.

Saya: Uhm! Understood.

Saya: Hey, Fushimi-kun.

Fushimi: Ha?

Saya: What kind of activities does Fushimi-kun always do in the Blue club---?

Fushimi: If you have time to move your mouth, move your hands.

Fushimi: Whose fault is it that this is happened?

Saya: Sorry…

Fushimi: This one's done.

Saya: I'm also finished.

Saya: All right. I guess that's all.

Saya: Fushimi-kun, thank you so much for helping me.

Fushimi: I only did it because I had no choice, since we were paired up.

Fushimi: I won't do it next time.

Saya: Uhm, I'll be careful.

Fushimi: Let's hurry up and go submit it to the President.

Saya: I was going to ask earlier, but what kind of activities does Fushimi-kun do in the Blue club?

Fushimi: Didn't you heard the explanation from the President?

Saya: Uhm, I hear it, but I got curious about what Fushimi-kun does.

Fushimi: Haah…Patrolling the school, suppressing fights, giving instructions on every activity of the club and so on.

Saya: Heeh…That's cool. It feels like special works that only Blue club can do.

Fushimi: There's nothing so special about my work. It's part of the job.

Saya: I mean, of course I understand that this is also an important part of the our job.

Saya: It's a job that requires the use of special abilities that I can't yet do, that's why I admire it.

Fushimi: …

Saya: I know I have to be more concern about my ability, but…

Saya: Now that I've been allowed to join the Blue club, I want to face it properly and be able to control it.

Saya: I just want to do the best I can here.

Fushimi: What are you saying…You're the one who's doing even this level of work wrong.

Saya: Ahaha…That's right.

Saya: Next time, I'll be careful not to make any mistakes and not to cause any trouble for Fushimi-kun.

Saya: Fushimi-kun, that's enough for here. Thanks for carrying it!

Saya: It's my fault it took so long, why don't you go home first, Fushimi-kun?

Fushimi: Huh? It's our job to report. I'll do it till then.

Saya: Understood. But I will be the one to explain the reason why it took me so long.

Fushimi: It's obvious. Come on, let's go.

Saya: Haaa…I'm glad I didn't have to answer any specific questions.

Fushimi: There couldn't be much of them since we got the job done.

Saya: That's right. I thought the Blue club would be more strict, so I'm relieved.

Fushimi: That's good then.

Saya: Ah, Fushimi-kun! Thanks for the help. See you tomorrow!

Saya: (…Even though it was my mistake and despite the fact that we were paired together, Fushimi-kun stayed with me until the end)

Saya: (Fushimi-kun is a very responsible person.)

Saya: (He's not very approachable, and his way of speaking is cold sometimes, but…)

Saya: (I'd like to talk to him more and get to know Fushimi-kun better)

[Prev chapter][Next chapter]

[alshamswelnahr]

52 demon slayer questions

1) Which chapter title do you find the most clever or fitting

2) Which character(s) in the manga do you believe is/are the most well-written and what makes them stand out to you

3) Which character introduction stands out the most to you and what makes it memorable

4) Whose character's conclusion impacted you the most and which one do you believe was the most skillfully crafted

5) Thoughts on "Kimetsu Gakuen" and your favorite character(s)/chapter(s)

6) Favorite character design (including: eyes, color scheme, hairstyle, attire)

7) Top three breathing styles

8) Which character has the most compelling backstory

9) Favorite sword or weapon design

10) Favorite original soundtrack/OP/ED

11) Name your top three favorite fights

12) Favorite anime adaptation change or added scene

13) Is there any scene, aspect, or a detail that you preferred in it's manga version over it's anime counterpart

14) Which sibling or familial bond is your favorite and what distinguishes it as your favorite

15) Which three panels do you find visually stunning and which three panels are your personal favorites

16) Standout quote/dialogue from the manga and what makes it special to you

17) Your favorite parallel or foil within the story

18) What do you think each Hashira/Upper Moon represents symbolically in the story

19) What moment(s) in the manga saddened you the most

20) Have you read the light novels and if so which story was your favorite

21) If you could add an extra manga arc what would it be about and where would it fit in the story

22) Share any headcanons you won't take any criticism on

23) Is there an element of the story you feel passionate enough about to write a thesis on

24) What is your favorite blood demon art

25) In your opinion who is the best-written demon and why

26) Which side character do you think deserved more spotlight

27) If a new Gaiden were released which Hashira would you want it to focus on

28) Your favorite volume cover/sketch and your favorite cover page/colored page

29) Favorite Taisho era whisper

30) How would you rank the story arcs

31) What is the most intriguing piece of lore or world-building element for you and what aspects would you like to see explored further

32) Name a moment in the manga you'd love to experience for the first time again

33) What is your opinion on the manga's ending

34) What initially drew you to watch or read the series

35) What message(s) do you believe kny is trying to convey to its readers, and what idea(s) you think it aims to explore throughout the story

36) What scene in the manga/anime do you find the funniest

37) How would you recommend this manga to someone who's never read it before

38) Which location/setting in the manga or anime do you find the most beautiful

39) Do you create fandom content like fanfiction or fanart and if so what kind

40) What is your favorite dynamic whether platonic or romantic

41) Are there any chapters or volumes you never get tired of rereading

42) What was the most surprising twist in the story for you

43) If you could switch two characters roles in the story (living or dead) would you and how would that affect the narrative

44) Which character did you have the biggest change of opinion about throughout the manga

45) Since love plays a central role in KNY which act or display of love touched your heart the most in the story

46) Do you own any Demon Slayer merch? If yes what items do you own

47) Is there an anime episode you could watch repeatedly without getting tired of it

48) Which version do you prefer watching: sub or dub? also which voice actor do you believe truly embodied their character or portrayed them most convincingly?

49) Does kny bring you comfort? If it does in what way or through which character do you find comfort

50) In demon slayer love's endurance surpasses death making it a story haunted by ghosts. Which one of them do you like the most and which interaction between the living and the dead stands out as your favorite

51) Is there a character that inspires you or whom you strive to be like and is there any you hope to never resemble

52) Lastly, out of Tanjiro's connections and empathies towards the characters, which bond or connection resonated with you the most and what was the reason behind that

[kumoriyami-xiuzhen]

Hakuoki SSL Hakuo Gakuen Story Vol 5. Okita Souji-hen Rainy After School

I found the tl of 薄桜鬼 遊戯録弐 秋の新選組大運動会！ so I'm planning on translating that next... but I don't know how much of it there is so I might do it in segments as I believe there are 5 "chapters". Maybe? I have an extremely vague recollection of how the story goes.

Anyway this story was originally published in 電撃GS杂志2014年7月号, and was the only one that didn't come with a new graphic.

Also sorry this is late... but I may have been watching Op.4, and I may have fallen asleep after doing so... 😅 and then I may have simply have had no motivation to rush translating.

Hakuoki SSL Hakuo Gakuen Story Vol 5. Okita Souji-hen Rainy After School

Translation by KumoriYami

It was in June.

A the first semester's exams approached at Hakuo Gakuen, the majority students rushed to prepare for their exams after their club activities. Among those clubs was the kendo club, which hadn't ended their activities any earlier, but continued its practice as scheduled. It was headed by the three people - second years Okita Sosuji, Saito Hajime, and Toudou Heisueke. The other second and first year students were all reluctant to accompany them for practice, but were studying during their breaks. As for why only the kendo club was doing this, Okita explained it as follows:

“Stopping club activities for the sake of dealing with exams, isn't that the same thing as being played around with by Hijikata-san, I super hate that.

"Because exams are meant to test your normal fortitude, isn't it strange to specifically study for these exams.

"Ah, it's a cool goal to be well-versed in literary and military arts. In that case, perhaps there will be female manager who will worry about us."

As soon as those words were spoken, Saito and Toudou had no choice but to accompay Okita for practice, until the midterm exams were about to begin. Eventually once the exam season started, all of the school's club activities were suspended, including the kendo club. A bored expression was on Oktia's face as he glanced around the empty dojo, lightly sighing as he walked to the door. This is a story that occurred right before the midterm exams began.

"Eh, it's raining..."

After changing his shoes at the door, Okita Souji, who was preparing to step out, stopped as he saw the raindrops falling from the gloomy skies. Because he didn't bring an umbrella, he had planned on picking up an umbrella that had been left behind in the umbrella rack by the door here and using it, however said umbrellas in the umbrella rack seemed to have remained unused for a long time, and were either covered in dust, or had its ribs snapped. Using such an umbrella on the way home would really upsetting, so he had no other option but to go home in the rain.

"If you catch a cold because of the rain and can't take the midterm exams, that would be an unavoidable casualty, right?"

As he was mumbling those words, eh was preparing to walk out into the rain.

"Um, Okita-senpai, where's your umbrella?"

Hearing someone call him, he turned around to see Yukimura Chizuru, who had just entered the school this year. standing there with a worried expression.

"Well, I didn't bring it. So I'll just be heading home in the rain."

"How can that be... you'll catch a cold. If you don't mind it, please use this umbrella."

Chizuru took out a collapsible umbrella from her bag and handed it to Souji.

"Thanks for your kindness, but what will you be doing if you lend me your umbrella?"

"I, uh, have... have a spare in the classroom..."

Seeing Chizuru glance around him, Souji gazed at her with a smile on his face.

"A spare umbrella... really?"

"Um.... that's really true..."

"Surely after you lent me your umbrella, you were intending to run over to the staff room and ask a teacher to let you borrow one of the dusty or broken umbrellas that were left by the door, right?"

"I... uh..."

Since he guessed what she was worrying about, Chizuru was speechless and lowered her head.

"I won't refuse if Chizuru-chan wants to lend your umrella anyway, if this results in Chizuru-chan needing to hold up one of those broken umbrellas and getting caught in the rain, I don't want to see that happening. That's why I don't want to borrow your umbrella."

“…………”

"But if Chizuru-chan wants to lend me her umbrella regardless, if you don't want me to get wet, the solution to this problem isn't impossible. How? Can you accept that!"

"Ye…. Yes, I'm willing to accept that!"

Hearing Souji's proposal, Chizuru lifted her head with eyes widened with happiness. "Obviously I didn't say what to do…." Souji bitterly laughed/forced a smile in his heart before taking Chizuru's collapsible umbrella and quickly opening it up.

"Then, we'll head home together."

"......Huh?"

"What's wrong? This is the only coordinated solution to the way we think."

"This, you mean to say..."

"Alright, let's go."

Without waiting for her response, Souji took Chizuru's hand and walked ou tthe door. Despite how the two walked as close to each other as possible so as to not get wet, Souji still leaned the umbrella as close to Chizuru as possible to prevent her from getting wet.

"Ah… Okita-senpai will get wet like that… I'll be fine."

Looking at Chizuru, who was pushing the handle of the umbrella into his direction while she spoke, Souji smiled happily.

"Hehe. If you don't want both of us to get wet, we have to move a bit closer."

After saying that, Okita tightly pressed their shoulders together, and Chizuru looked at him with a bewildered expression.

"Look, this way we won't get wet. Then let's go home."

Hearing what Souji said, Chizuru managed to squeeze a "yes" out of her mouth.

On their journey home, the heavy rain caused the temperature to drop, but where the two people touched was always warm.

【END】

That's the last of these stories. Still have more random SSL content lying around though...

[zotash]

ONE PIECE GAKUEN (ONE PIECE SCHOOL) Vol. 7 Cover

By Sohei Koji, released on July 4, 2023

It contains the chapter featuring Tashigi and Zoro that we previously posted about!

[kimetsucollection]

[everythingsinred]

My bf wants to pick up reading Gakuen Alice where the anime ends. It’s been a while since I’ve read it myself and I never actually finished it. Is the manga so different that it would be a bad idea to do that?

Hi!!

It's really cool your bf wants to pick up GA! I think it's a great manga and very fun and emotional to read <3

I guess my answer is that I would personally recommend starting from the beginning. The anime deviates a lot from the manga, sometimes for entire episodes, and the last arc with the circus is entirely anime-only so I think it could be confusing to go into the manga in the middle of the story after the anime. I think the relationships progress differently, and there's certain progress made with Mikan that the manga doesn't do like the anime does.

Though I would recommend starting from the beginning, if your bf still wants to go from where the anime leaves off, that would be Chapter 29, or with Volume 6. Chapter 28 covers the Kaname and Mr. Bear story, which is the last chapter the anime adapted, but keep in mind that the anime expands on this story a lot and adds some Mikan revelations on alice shapes that are less developed in the manga at that point. The last 4-5 episodes of the anime are entirely anime-only and there's liberties taken with Natsume's backstory as well as his relationship with both Ruka and Mikan and Mikan's friendship with Hotaru and Narumi-sensei and then also Narumi-sensei's backstory. (As you can see, there's a lot they added.)

I think it's easier to start from the beginning because it's only 28 chapters and it helps ease confusion later on when backstories are revealed and relationships get more developed. A lot of the anime-only content not just expands on manga content but contradicts it, so not knowing what was anime content and what was in the manga might create obstacles later on.

At the end of the day, though, that's each person's own call to make! If your bf decides to start at Chapter 29, just keep in mind that there's some contradictions.

Thanks for the question and tell your bf happy reading!

[emiehhsstuff]

HIGH & LOW: THE WORST SERIES

HANAOKA FUJIO X OC

CHAPTER 6: BAND AIDS

"Seriously? I'm surprised the old man agreed."

Yasushi stated while the girl was smiling widely in joy. 

"It took a lot of convincing, but he eventually agreed. Also, Granny did approve and so I already handed my transfer papers to Midori Gakuen. I'm starting tomorrow."

It had only been a week and a half of her supposedly temporary visit when Rikki announced that she'll be living with her brother for real this time. Currently, Yasushi and Kiyoshi have been helping her with her things to and settle in their apartment. Although unexpected, Yasushi didn't dislike the fact and is actually happy to be with his sister again. He just wouldn't admit it.

With a cheerful demeanor, she started to cook their dinner while Yasushi decided to take a short nap while waiting for the food, feeling exhausted after carrying his sister's belongings towards their apartment. Kiyoshi had already left earlier when his mother called him for an errand to run. 

...

"Hi everyone! I'm Nishikawa Rikki, please take care of me!"

Upon introducing herself, her new classmates greeted her with warm welcomes to which she was grateful for and took a seat by the window, not noticing the set of eyes staring intensely towards her direction. Surprisingly, a lot of them were friendly towards her, and she even managed to make friends, especially with an energetic girl named Kirisame Mio who surprisingly had the same interest of cooking like her.

They managed to get to know each other more as the day goes by and only separated when school was over since their direction home was opposite of each other. The good thing was Midori Gakuen is just a walking distance from their apartment that Rikki didn't need to take the bus, and so she walked home, thinking about what to cook for dinner when she bumped into something, or rather, someone.

"Oh? Ri-chan!!"

Hearing a familiar voice, she looked up to witness Fujio with his usual bright smile. She's been suspiciously bumping into him more often in the streets, but she didn't dislike it. Greeting the teen, her attention was caught with the fact that his face was covered in dirt and the side of his lip was bruised. Seeing his state, concern came into her. 

"Fujio! Are you okay? You have bruises on your face."

Looking away shyly, Fujio nodded with an awkward chuckle. Actually, he just had a short altercation just a few minutes ago when a group of smug looking guys had decided to mess with him but of course, they were all beaten to a pulp, although one was lucky enough to land a punch to his face and they actually rolled in the dirt which explains why he looked like a lost puppy in his state.

"Ah, just a scratch. I'm fine though! Anyway, it's nice to see you again, Ri-chan!"

"You know, it's not good to always get into fights. Here, come with me."

Her instinct to treat the injured had taken over and without a warning, Rikki took Fujio by surprise when she grabbed a hold of his wrist and headed into the direction of the convenience store where Fujio was initially headed to get some band aids and maybe some cup ramen since he is pretty hungry at this point, but it seems Rikki beat him to it. Unconsciously, he just stared at the girl in wonder while she scans the aisle for band aids and alcohol pads, not noticing the small smile he let out in the process. He only snapped out of it when Rikki again gently dragged him to sit by the bench outside of the store and asked for his permission so she can clean his wounds to which he slowly nodded, too entranced at her display of kindness.

"Here. That should do it. They ran out of the normal one's, and this yellow one is pretty cute. I hope you don't mind."

With a heartful laugh from her, Fujio didn't notice the yellow-colored duck designed band aid that she placed beside the side of his lip and on his left cheek. Too star struck at the girl and only managed to snap out of it in embarrassment when his stomach grumbled. The girl was also silent at first before laughing at him again.

"Sorry. I guess I'm hungry..."

He shyly stated while looking away. But hearing the girl laugh, he couldn't help but find her attractive, especially when she had a gentle touch to her, just like when she cleaned his wounds. He couldn't forget how light her hands were---

"Eh?! Sorry, I made you clean my wounds!"

For the third time, Rikki was again amused at how occupied he can be. She may look dense and has no sense of danger most of the times, but she is pretty observant. Besides, Fujio is pretty fun to tease, she learned that today when he easily blushes at his somewhat awkward ministrations. She couldn't help but question his brother's words when he would always ramble as to how shameless Fujio can be. The Fujio she is facing right now looks so timid and shy that it amuses her.

"It's okay. Actually, I'm used to cleaning wounds, especially from fights. Having a brother who always fights in a daily basis, you get used to it. At this point, I might even consider entering the medical field in the future with how much I get to witness wounds and treat them on a daily basis!"

"Then, you'd make a great doctor, I'm sure of it!"

"You think so?!"

"Yeah! If that happens, I'll run to you every moment I get injured!"

"Uh, I don't think that it is reassuring. Please don't get injured."

Without realizing it, the two had become comfortable with each other and Fujio went back to his usual jovial self, smiling and joking with the girl to which it really made her burst out in laughter with all his jokes and humor. The two not realizing how time went by and it got darker and darker, only when Rikki had sneezed that the two had realized the time and Fujio had noticed how she is lightly shivering with the cold. Both had decided to eat inside the convenience store earlier and now it was dark. 

"Here, take my jacket. Sorry, it's kind of dirty but it'll do."

Fujio offered his gakuran towards the shivering girl to which she didn't get to protest when the teen had already placed it on her, so she just thanked the ravenette. His kind gesture caught her attention which made her smile unconsciously when she suddenly remembered something and fished out her phone from her bag.

Rikki checked her phone and it actually had ten missed calls from Yasushi and four from Kiyoshi which made her panic. She forgot that she had turned her phone into silent mode just earlier.

"It got so late. Sorry Ri-chan! I held you back for too long!"

Fujio apologized and Rikki just shrug it off with a smile. 

"It's fine. Besides, I had fun. Let's hang out sometime again, okay?"

"Sure! I'll bring Tsukasa too if that's fine with you!"

"Really?! Then I'll be looking forward to it!"

The two had exchanged numbers and of course, Fujio insisted to accompany her home since he was mainly the reason why she got home late and despite her protests, in the end, she agreed. She had also called her brother back to which earned her a line of nagging and it was a close call since Yasushi was about to run the town over, looking for her. Thankfully, she calmed her brother down, although he sounded serious when he heard Fujio's name and that he is with her. He eventually ended the call in a serious notion of "Get home safe." which confused the girl, but Fujio could sense it.

"What's his problem?"

Fujio just chuckled, totally understanding what made Yasushi turn serious. Of course, if your sister is walking home at night with a delinquent like him, who wouldn't worry? Fujio can already see how the sibling's relationship works. Yasushi is indeed a big brother who's protective of his sister. 

He could already feel a fist aiming towards his face the moment he steps into Oya High in the morning.

...

And he wasn't wrong. 

"I told you we just became friends!"

"If you have any evil intentions towards her, I'll kill you!"

Upon arriving at their usual hang out, which is basically the rooftop, Tsukasa was greeted by an angry Yasushi and a scared looking Fujio who is currently raising his hands in the air like someone who is surrendering to a cop. He raised his brow at the sight.

"The hell is going on?"

Jamuo rushed to Tsukasa's side and explained everything in a mixture of panic and amusement.

Apparently, Yasushi had lunged at Fujio the moment he came which surprised the others who were present, mainly Nakagoshi, Tsuji, Shibaman, and even Todoroki, and also Jamuo and some of their buddies from Fujio and Tsukasa's Faction. Yasushi may be fight-crazed but his aura seemed kind of off which Todoroki had noticed. It wasn't just the usual playful fight that he would usually initiate. 

What intrigued them more was the reason of Yasushi's irritation. It was because of what happened between Fujio and his sister last night. He apparently didn't like that the two had known each other, thinking that Fujio might do something to his sister to which some of them didn't even think that Fujio would do something like hurting a girl. Nakagoshi even attempted to argue but Fujio stopped him. 

"Yasushi! That's enough. As much as I hate to admit it, you know yourself he can be trusted. Besides, Rikki would be really hurt if you keep driving everyone away from her."

Despite Kiyoshi lowering his voice into a whisper when he approached to stop his partner, Todoroki, who is the closest to the two had barely heard it, but he did. It made him raise a brow but decided not to interfere, besides, it isn't his business anyway. Although, he was a bit intrigued about Nishikawa Rikki, it seemed like there is more to her than meets the eye. The sole girl who entered Oya High without fear. 

Yasushi seemed to calm down and after some time, he's gone back to his usual self and the tension earlier had dissolved like there never was in the first place. Fujio then again mentioned how he wanted to hang out with Rikki again together with the others sometime much to Yasushi's irritation and refusal, but the others were also intrigued that they insisted to meet the girl too. In the end, Yasushi, deep inside, already trusted Fujio and the others although he would never admit it. Over his dead body.

In the midst of laughter, Jamuo couldn't even help but to point out how cute Fujio's yellow and duck designed band aids were that everyone agreed and teased the teen to which he suddenly remembered how he didn't notice it at first, or more likely he spaced out, when Rikki placed them on his face. He only knew of it when he went home, and despite the standout design and color, Fujio still wore the remaining band aids that Rikki got for him knowing how he might get teased for it later. It was actually Yasushi who instantly knew who gave him the band aids upon noticing the design because Rikki does love to use cute-designed band aids on him even with his protests and knowing how the two were together last night, it isn't impossible that it was Rikki who treated Fujio. This is because the girl has the instincts to treat the injured, no matter who they are to which Yasushi would always scold her for it because they might take advantage of her kindness. 

[asongofstarkandtargaryen]

The way Zoro is snow surfing on various occasions is such a #mood

( first image is from OP cover 29, the second from the most recent OP Gakuen chapter)

[smallpenguin19]

I colorized this moment, and edited it a bit.