"My name is Aoki Yamada, and I will be your homeroom teacher. Feel free to call me 'Aoki Sensei.' In most schools, multiple teachers teach different subjects, but at Tensei, it is different. A teacher who specializes in a certain program, for example, I specialize in science, so I will be teaching all required courses for the major. Of course, some of you have taken subjects that are not entirely necessary for this program. Those subjects will be taught by other teachers," said the teacher.
'Aoki Sensei had quite the monotone voice; she was wearing a black suit, had black hair and eyes. Her skin was pale, and she was relatively young and beautiful. Overall, she was quite dull, but I did not dislike that.'
Aoki Sensei continues, "Today, nothing will be taught as it is the first day. I have finished my introduction, so it is now time for all of you to introduce yourself to your classmates. When I call out your seat number, get up and say your name. If you want to say something about yourself, you can do that too, if not, it's fine."
Aoki called out seat numbers, and students began to introduce themselves. "Seat number 28, your turn," says Aoki Sensei. "Hello, my name is Tenji Yatogami, and it is a pleasure to meet you all."
Some student interrupts, "Are you related to the student council president as you both have the last name Yatogami?" Tenji responds, "Yes, I am Kazuki's brother." The class erupts, "Wow! We have a super genius in our class." Aoki Sensei interrupts, "Silence in the class." Her voice is not loud but very cold and commanding, which makes the whole class go quiet.
Tenji continues, "It seems that everyone here is aware of my sister's brilliance, but sorry to disappoint you guys; I am completely different from my sister. Unlike my sister, I am quite average. You might think I am lying or being humble, but what I am saying is the truth. You might not believe it right now, but as we spend more time together, you will realize the truth. Well, please be nice to the average me, as I would like to be good friends with everyone."
"That's right, everyone; Ten-kun is completely different from his sister. By that, I not only mean their intelligence but their personalities. Ten-kun is extremely nice and friendly compared to his sister. He is the chillest dude I know," says a person named Yoshida.
"Alright, everyone, quiet down. Your turn to speak is over. From now on, it is my turn. You can continue your conversation after," says Aoki Sensei. Aoki Sensei explains the curriculum. 'I am surprised Yoshida stood up for me after I ignored him and all the other acquaintances I knew from my middle school. Well, rather than ignoring them, all I did was forget their existence because of my hermit mindset. I guess I will have to escape my shell and venture into the world of extroverts again.'
The bell rings marking the start of recess. Yoshida and his group come to talk to Tenji. "Ten-kun, quite the man you have become during the winter break to completely ignore all your friends," says Yoshida teasing. "Ahh yes, during the winter break, I had an epiphany that said 'In this world solitude is the true form of life.' After I heard that, I abandoned everything that made me more than one," said Tenji sarcastically. "Yoshida, will you do the honors of translating Ten-kun's words?" said a girl named Mai. "Of course, ahem! What Ten-kun meant was that all winter he was so busy playing games and reading books that he became too lazy to contact anyone. Now that we are face-to-face, he is feeling awkward and shy to talk to us," said Yoshida while grinning. "THAT'S COMPLETELY WRONG, but I will let you guys misunderstand," said Tenji with a red face. "Well anyway, Ten-kun, how have you been? You are the only person in the group that hasn't been in contact with anyone," said Mai. "Kazuki forced me to study day and night for all winter so I could pass the entrance exams." "I guess that's understandable because of how hard the exam was," said a boy named Renji. "In the end, it seems your sacrifice was worth it," said a girl named Retsu. "Yes, even though Kazuki was super annoying, I am grateful," said Tenji. "I wish I had someone like Kazuki to teach me," said Yoshida.
A bunch of students interrupt the group's conversation. "Come on, guys, just because you guys know each other doesn't mean you don't have to make new friends," said one of the boys. "Of course, everyone is welcome to talk," said Yoshida. "OK then, I have a question: why are you guys referring to Tenji Yatogami as Ten?" said one of the girls. "I don't like the name Tenji, so people who know me refer to me as Ten. I would prefer if everyone did that," said Tenji. "Alright, we will refer to you as Ten-kun," said the classmates. The bell rings signaling the end of recess and the start of a new class. Everyone returns to their seats as Aoki-Sensei returns to the class. "As said in the morning, there will be no lessons today, but we will play some icebreaker games with each other. It is not mandatory to participate if you wish not to, but I recommend everyone should as you guys will be spending more time with each other more than your families," said Aoki-Sensei in her monotone voice. She continued, "You must have noticed a computer device on your desks. Log into them using your student IDs and passwords. And open your mail; there you will find a link which should direct you to a website with several games on them. We will play those games together." 'Quite the innovative way of forming relationships.' "This website is amazing; it has FPS, mystery, puzzles, sports, and other genres of games. Aoki-Sensei, did the school make this website?" asked Yoshida. "I am part of the school, so I suppose it's accurate to say that the school made it," answered Aoki Sensei. "Wait, are you implying that you made the website, Aoki Sensei?" asked Mai. "Yes, I played a role in the development," answered Aoki Sensei. "What sort of role did you play?" asked Tenji. "Well, I programmed the website and all the games on it," answered Aoki Sensei. "So you basically did everything," said Tenji. "No, not at all; I mean, the school did provide me with the internet and the computers," said Aoki Sensei. "Damn!" said the whole class. "Well, let's not get sidetracked. Everyone, I will give you five minutes to log in and enter the website. Then we will start playing," said Aoki Sensei
'We started playing the games. Due to the variety of genres, everyone had a game they liked or were good at, which helped everyone have fun and be engaged. The first game we played was like a personality quiz with visuals. According to the results of the first game, we were divided into groups fitting our personalities. The second game was concentration. The cards contained names of our classmates, which we had to match with their birthdays, hobbies, and such. In the FPS game, every time we killed the opponent, we had to collect their dog tags containing their information. We could trade the dog tags for weapons and ammunition. If you died, you would get a revival if you answered a quiz on all the dog tags. The games were all impressive, but the most impressive was Aoki Sensei who made them. To be able to code such programs effectively and creatively shows Aoki Sensei's brilliance. Of course, there were some flaws, but overall they can be overlooked because the games were not made by a large group but a single person. As an amateur programmer myself, I now see Aoki Sensei in a new light.'
"As class is ending, we shall conclude the icebreakers. This should be enough for all to have sufficient information about each other to become friends. If not, do not worry as we will do more icebreakers in the afternoon. The bell for lunch should ring soon. Wait patiently until then," said Aoki Sensei. Some students go to Aoki Sensei to praise her games or ask questions on the programming. Meanwhile, Tenji is talking to his friends. "Damn, Tenji! I know you said you were average and all, but I don't think I can believe that after you placed top three in all the games we played," said a new friend with blonde hair. "Well, as expected from a person who shut himself in the room and played games all winter," said Yoshida. "When I said average, I didn't say I was average at games," said Tenji. "If we played normal games, I wouldn't be that surprised, but Aoki Sensei's games are different. As they had stuff related to university math, literature, and science," said a new friend with a bowl-cut. "Do you seriously think that I understood the answers I got correct?" asked Tenji. "Of course, you understand them; if not, how else would you answer?" said the bowl-cut friend. "Well, that's the thing, I didn't understand the questions at all, but I got the correct answer because it was a game," said Tenji. "Would you care to explain?" asked Renji. "All games have patterns and goals. Same genres have similar patterns and goals. If you want to get the correct answer, you just have to find the answer most befitting in that pattern. For example, in the treasure hunt adventure game, we were given the wind speed, ocean current speed, mass and speed of the ship, latitudes of the treasure, and other numbers. According to those numbers, we had to choose an option which would lead us to the treasure. If we were to correctly calculate the location of the treasure using the numbers, we could easily choose the option, but there was a time limit which caused everyone to choose the wrong answer. I was able to choose the right answer not because I calculated all those numbers instantly, but because I saw one of the options that fit the clique of treasure hunts. Which was option C saying Kraken. And we all know that when pirates hunt for treasure, they always fight against the mythical creature Kraken." "Damn! Now I feel kind of dumb because I spent all that time calculating and got the answer wrong yet the answer was so simple," said Renji. "Well, the moral of the story is if you play too many games, you can see games in everything," said Yoshida. "Hahahahahaha." Everyone laughed. The bell rings. "Well, everyone, we need to find a new lunch spot," said Yoshida. Beep Tenji's phone buzzes. Tenji looks at his phone. 'Hmmm, a text message from Kazuki.' "Ten-kun, what are you doing? Let's go for lunch," said Mai. "Sorry, I can't join you," said Tenji. "Let me guess, your sister wants to eat with you," said Yoshida. "Exactly," said Tenji. "Well, go eat with your beautiful sister. I am not jealous at all," said Renji sarcastically. "Alright, I will see you guys later." As Tenji is walking, Yoshida yells "SISTER COMPLEX." 'Sighhhhhhhhhhh, can that guy embarrass me any more.'