Act: 3
Subconsciously he had taken note of what she said but the only thing that was on his mind right now had been the heartbreaking truth of becoming a 2 Star.
After walking away from the exam hall, he starts to daydream, reminiscing on his past while at the same time holding a lifeless expression wishing to see them again.
Making his way back to class, he started to think about what Hano had mentioned to everyone during his speech.
"..."
"It can't be... ... after all... Hano even said it himself, you can still become a great Ranker despite what your Star Number is..."
"Once again, I'm useless.. sorry dad... sorry mom I couldn't fu-"
*Boing!*
"A-ah"
A young lady's voice can be heard shouting in my direction.
"Watch out where you're going!?"
"..."
"Hey! Are you even listening to me?"
Shizu lifts his head up and is greeted with an immense, no better yet a remarkable sight, two things that had left Shizu's face with rosy cheeks which could not be taken lightly.
"Achem!"
"My eyes are up here, not down there."
Embarrassed, Shizu force's out some words.
"Sor-rry.. I- didn't mean to. I wasn't paying too much attention."
After getting a clearer look Shizu realized the mistake he had made, this wasn't any ordinary girl, in fact, she so happens to be the popular girl- Chisaka Hinako.
The sweet scent, pink hair that had reached all the way to her hips, and the scarlet-colored eyes, out of everyone to bump into why does it have to be her, can it get any worse.
"Hm.. I thought I recognized you? Weren't you waiting in line not too long ago in the exam hall talking to that hyperactive kid?"
Oh my! There's no way she's talking to me for this long and not to mention she had been watching me! Taku. Flustered with the situation, Shizu randomly blurts out.
"Mm-my name's Shizu!"
'Shoot! Why did I say that, what if she thinks I'm weird.. or something worse-'
"The name is Chisaka Hinako, some of my friends just call me Chisa for short, but for you, you can call me Hinako if you want."
"huh."
Shizu's eyes widen as he stares at Hinako with a gentle smile on her face.
"Is that a no..?"
Hinako's face drops as a sad expression starts to form.
"huh.. Wait! No, my bad, I will call you Hinako if you're really ok with it."
Shizu still flustered a bit, noticing the sad expression disappearing and the smile coming back. I just hope that she doesn't ask about my Star and we can just remain fr-
"By the way what's your Star Number?"
"huh."
'Great, I should've known this was coming. I can picture it now, A 2 Star, pff what a waste of my time.'
"I- I'm a 2 Star and the name of my ability Is Resurrection."
'Here it comes...'
"Resurrection? That's super cool! You can bring people back from the dead. Anyone would be blessed to have you on their team!"
"I'm a 5 Star"
'Hehe.. I already know that, insert sad face.'
"The name of my ability is Petal Storm, I guess what they say is true. Unique abilities have something to do with you personally. But would you mind if we exchange phone numbers?"
"Of course! Let me grab my phone really quick."
Shizu and Hinako end up exchanging phone numbers and Hinako then makes her way back to class before the bell rings. While walking away she turns around and shouts out without noticing she caused a minor scene.
"Cya later Shizu! Also, you should totally sign up for the Colosseum, I'm also participating in it."
"I will! And bye.."
'Now I'm surprised that she wanted my phone number, what if she lik- no, no, no, I can't get ahead of myself now all she wants to do is be friends, right?'
Departing from his previous location. He walks over to the bulletin board in search of signing up for the Colosseum. After a bit of looking around, he finds the piece of paper that had a bunch of students' names written down.
It wasn't any surprise when he found Taku and Hinako's names written down, what had caught Shizu's eye was that Hano's name was on it and so was Daichi, the school's delinquent.
"I sure wouldn't be surprised if he got himself a high Star Number, I better write my name down and train before it starts in 2 months."
"Huh? It also says here frequent practice battles are being held in following stages, which one is located outside on the court and the other inside."
"I wonder what Taku will say after I tell him I'm a 2 Star..."
- - - -
Shizu walks into his Quest studies class and notices Taku sitting peacefully looking outside the window. I wonder what he's thinking about, shortly Taku looks over and sees that it was Shizu who entered the classroom.
"Hey, Shizu!"
As Taku began waving his hand, calling me over in his direction.
"Sup.. so, I noticed that you signed up for the Colosseum match, are you excited?"
"Excited! Excited can't be the only words to describe how much fun this is going to be. By the way, what did you get for your Star Number? Knowing you I bet it's 4 like me or even higher."
"…"
"Heh.. My Star Num-"
*Ding, Dong*
A lady with short blonde hair can be seen entering the classroom who looked to be in her mid-30's, which happened to be our teacher. Ito Sensei.
"Students please get into your seats. I know that today is a big day for all of you after just receiving your Star Numbers, but we must continue where we left off about Quest's, and then we can soon move onto Ranker roles."
I wonder what Taku will say after I tell him I'm a 2 Star…?
Meanwhile, in the student council office, Hano can be seen sitting alone with a bunch of papers scattered on his desk that contains individual information about students. Except he's staring at one particular student the most.
- - - -
[ Data Sheet ]
Name: Last- Unknown First- Shizu
Gender: (M) Birth: June 6
Ethnicity: Japanese
Race: Human
Star Number: 2 ( Updated )
Ranker Class: Unknown Subclass: Unknown
Stats: Unknown
- - - -
"Shizu. A 2 Star? Maybe I was wrong about you?"
"Ah-choo!"
'Hinako? Could she be thinking about me... Nah there's no way that she would, I mean we're just friends after all.. Or could she?'
- - - -
*Ding, Dong*
Right when class ended Taku swiftly stood up and grabbed my arm, rushing me out of the classroom.
"Whoa, where are we going!"
"Isn't it obvious? The indoor practice battleground, I'm challenging you to a 1v1!"
"Wait! What!"
After arriving at the bottom level of Yoko-High. In front of the two boys stood a huge stadium that had a ring around it made of concrete and the base flooring covered lightly with sand.
Taku slowly looks in my direction with a big grin on his face.
"Let's go!"
There seemed to be a crowd of people here indicating that they had already fought and seeing Taku running towards the ring I had no other choice but to follow him.
There I saw myself 10 feet apart, face to face with Taku.
"I will be your announcer for this practice round, the rules are simple first to knock one out or get knockout the ring wins. Can I have both of your names please?"
"Shizu!"
"Taku!"
"Thank you both and the match will now begin!"
"3"
No matter what my Star Number is-
"2"
I'll find a way-
"1"
I can't lose-
"FIGHT!"
Shizu and Taku both take off dashing at each other and shouting in sync.
"I will win!"