The sixth month of the year is two thousand twenty four.

  The morning sun had risen with scorching rays, and the dry wind was blowing like a dragon's breath from the depths of the earth.

  Students piled up at the school gate, sweating in the stifling heat; some were carrying small electronic fans, while others were waving their books to get some air into their tired faces.

  Amidst this scene, Haruki calmly strode toward the school's open doors, with Fuji to his right, chewing his sandwich greedily, and Hiroshi to his left, clutching his math textbook, deep in thought.

  Fuji finished the last bite of his sandwich, turned to Hiroshi and noticed his strange immersion, and smiled wryly.

  "What exactly are you doing, trying to memorize the shape of numbers?"

  Haruki chuckled at the remark, while Hiroshi slammed his book shut and turned sharply toward Fuji, his eyes narrowed.

  "Excuse me, did either of you even bother to open a book?"

  "Me? Not a chance."

  Fuji replied with blunt seriousness, as if he took pride in his complete lack of studying.

  Exams never really mattered to him.

  His true dream was to become a football star, and everything else was just noise.

  Hiroshi smirked mockingly.

  "And what else is new? It's not like you've ever studied. You only pass thanks to your so-called good manners-if those even exist."

  Fuji didn't seem to care much about Hiroshi's jab.

  Hiroshi then turned his gaze to Haruki, who looked a little tense and embarrassed.

  Avoiding Hiroshi's critical eyes, he mumbled under his breath.

  "Look... I did open the book, okay? But when I saw the problems, I couldn't make sense of a thing. It felt like some witch's curse meant to doom an entire city. I swear my head literally started to ache."

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  Hiroshi tilted his head slightly, squinting at him.

  "And what did you do then?"

  Haruki scratched the back of his neck, clearly nervous.

  "I closed it... and took a nap. A long one."

  Hiroshi slapped his own forehead in frustration, his head already pounding from Haruki's nonsense and raised his voice as he scolded him.

  "You idiot! How do you expect to become a doctor when you can't even get through a math test?!"

  Haruki lowered his head, his expression wounded like a puppy that had just been kicked.

  The three of them continued down the school's wide hallways, surrounded by the usual chaos of students chatting loudly about everything from the latest movies to the juiciest gossip.

  In this place, you could find all kinds of people: the good, the bad, and everything in between.

  Among the noise and scattered chatter, Haruki caught the voice of a classmate, Akagi, speaking to a friend in a bitter tone laced with hatred for his parents.

  "Dude, they're controlling my life... I can't wait until I'm eighteen. I'm going to leave them alone!"

  Haruki pressed his lips together, something deep inside him stirring without him quite knowing why.

  Before he realized what he was doing, his legs had already led him toward Akagi, and he tapped him on the shoulder.

  Akagi turned immediately, raising an eyebrow in surprise.

  He and Haruki weren't close, so Akagi was confused about why he was being approached.

  Haruki forced a polite smile and said gently.

  "Excuse me... I heard you talking badly about your parents. I didn't want to interfere, but... you should respect that they've taken care of you since the day you were born."

  Akagi furrowed his brows in annoyance. He clearly wasn't someone who took advice well. He shoved Haruki back and snapped.

  "What business is it of yours?!"

  Haruki was startled by the aggressive reaction. He didn't like Akagi's tone or behavior.

  He stepped forward and pushed him back with enough force to knock him to the ground, then shouted.

  "I'm just giving you advice! You're dismissing everything your parents have done for you just because they're trying to protect you! There are people who would give anything to have their parents with them... You ungrateful jerk!"

  Some students began gathering around the commotion, drawn by the noise in the hallway.

  Fuji rushed forward, pushing through the crowd of students trying to reach Haruki.

  Haruki turned toward him, distracted, unaware that Akagi had already gotten back to his feet, his fist clenched so tightly his knuckles had turned white, rage burning in his eyes.

  Akagi stormed toward Haruki, while Fuji's eyes widened in alarm ,he realized he wouldn't reach him in time.

  He shouted at the top of his lungs.

  "Haruki! Watch out!"

  Haruki turned in Akagi's direction, just in time to see a fist hurtling toward his face.

  He instinctively closed his eyes, bracing for the hit, but...

  Seconds passed.

  Nothing happened.

  He cautiously peeked with one eye, only to find the fist still hovering inches from his face completely frozen in mid-air.

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