In the modern world, where monster attacks caused by gate breaks have become a regular occurrence...
The Hunter Association's specialized school for hunter training is designed to function as a shelter in times of emergency.
In cases like Kazami High School, where classes became impossible due to a monster attack, the academy lent out its vast land for classes to resume.
Takeru, Sawamura, and Araki were accepted into Ouran Academy and would now resume their studies.
Ouran Academy—Class 2C
Unlike the laid-back atmosphere of Kazami High, the teacher in front of the class wore a neatly tailored suit and addressed the students from the podium with a serious tone.
"In our class, we will be accepting three students from Kazami High School, which was affected by the monster attack. They are not only citizens whom we hunters must protect, but also peers who will be studying alongside us."
The atmosphere was calm, and the students, befitting their elite status, exuded seriousness.
Standing at the front of the class were Takeru, Sawamura, and Araki.
—Why am I stuck here with this monster, Kusanagi…?
—I’m happy to be with Kusanagi-kun, but why does Araki have to be here too…?
—Why these three…?
Araki, who had been beaten up by Takeru; Sawamura, who had been bullied by Araki; and Takeru, who wanted to hide his power, all stood awkwardly before the class.
"Now, please introduce yourselves," the teacher said.
"…Araki."
"I-I’m Sawamura!"
"…Kusanagi."
Feeling the tension in the air, they gave their introductions. Meanwhile, Takeru recalled the news about the recent Unknown incident.
In the morning, they were given a school tour.
That afternoon, Takeru and Sawamura walked down the hallway on their way to the cafeteria.
"Ouran Academy is amazing! Of course, the most famous person here is the youngest S-rank hunter, Takamine, but many top professionals have graduated from here too! The elite students gathered from all over the country are said to be stronger than most pros already! Even small guilds that can’t afford buildings use this place as an office, and all the equipment is state-of-the-art… It’s just so impressive!"
Sawamura, who had always admired hunters, had transformed from his usual calm self into an excited fanboy.
Takeru had initially thought about responding, but seeing how much fun Sawamura was having with his enthusiastic chatter, he decided to just nod along, letting him enjoy himself.
—Still…
As Takeru glanced around, he noticed that many students were carrying weapons, perhaps ready to fight at a moment’s notice.
—Are those the small guild hunters Sawamura mentioned?
Outside, in the training grounds, heavily armed hunters who were clearly not students were practicing with weapons and magic.
"The gate break at Kazami High School was resolved by Hunter Takamine, who just happened to be nearby. According to the students who were saved, her beauty and strength were fitting of her title, the Valkyrie."
Sawamura continued to rave about Sakura, but then his tone suddenly changed.
"Oh, by the way, Kusanagi-kun, did you get a chance to meet Hunter Takamine?"
"!—Huh, why do you ask?"
Takeru was caught off guard by the sudden mention of Sakura. No one else should have known that she had come to his house recently…
"Hunter Takamine asked for your address so she could return your phone, right?"
"Oh… yeah, she came to my house and I thanked her."
Takeru realized that Sawamura had been the one who gave Sakura his address, and everything made sense now.
"Wow, that’s amazing. She’s even more beautiful than she looks on TV or in magazines… I’m so jealous! Hey, did you exchange contact info?"
"Ha-haha… no, of course not…"
"Right… If you did, I don’t think I could ever forgive you, Kusanagi-kun…"
"!—"
The intensity in Sawamura’s eyes, glaring through his glasses, was so different from his usual gentle demeanor that it made Takeru tense up.
But Sawamura quickly returned to his usual cheerful self.
"Just kidding! Stuff like that only happens in manga, right?"
"Y-yeah, that’s right."
—But he was serious just now… I need to make sure he never finds out that we exchanged contact info.
"By the way, there’s a rumor that Hunter Takamine has a pretty extreme fan club here at the academy, so be careful."
"Be careful? What do you mean by that—"
"If people find out that she personally brought your phone back… oh, speak of the devil."
Sakura walked toward them from the other end of the hall.
She wasn’t surrounded by anyone, but her presence alone drew envious stares from those around her.
Seeing this, Sawamura’s excitement returned.
"Wow, she really does seem like an unattainable beauty here at Ouran Academy too."
"Yeah, seems that way."
—Does she not have any friends?
Takeru thought somewhat rudely as they walked toward each other. When Sakura noticed Takeru, she smiled softly.
Not wanting to be rude after she had gone out of her way to return his phone, Takeru gave her a small nod in return.
They passed each other without exchanging words, but moments later, Sawamura grabbed Takeru’s shoulder, showing him an intense look up close.
"Hey, Kusanagi-kun? What was that?"
"What do you mean?"
"She smiled at you, didn’t she? The famous cool and distant Takamine smiled at you like, 'Our relationship is a secret,' or something!"
—He’s reading way too much into that smile.
But since Takeru was asking her to keep his identity a secret, he couldn’t deny that Sawamura wasn’t entirely wrong.
"T-that’s not it. Come on, let’s hurry to the cafeteria before we’re late for the afternoon classes."
"Hey, wait, I’m not done talking yet!"
Sawamura chased after Takeru as they walked away, while the students of Ouran Academy continued to watch Takeru's back in awe.
After School.
Takeru had turned down Sawamura's offer to go home together and was now in Sakura's office to report on the enemy he encountered deep within the Red Gate.
"So, you entered the gate?"
"Ugh..."
"You defeated the boss and even blocked an attack from a mysterious enemy capable of destroying the entire forest..."
Only authorized hunters are allowed to enter Black Gates. For an ordinary person without a hunter's license to enter is nothing short of a suicide mission.
With these thoughts, Sakura stared at Takeru with a stern expression, cornering him with her words.
With a flick of her finger, a display appeared in front of Takeru. It showed footage from the aftermath of the recent incident, with a headline that read: "Unknown Irregular: What Is His Identity?"
"This is the result, isn’t it? So, what do you have to say, 'Irregular'-san?"
"Please stop calling me that!"
The video showed an interview with Chika, the thief from Wind Guard.
"I don’t know his true identity. His face was hidden. But the person who saved me, when I had lost all hope and thought I was going to die, was undoubtedly a savior!"
Seeing the video, Takeru averted his gaze awkwardly.
"The Hunter Association is in an uproar over this incident. Everyone is asking, 'Who is this Irregular?'"
"No need to make such a big deal out of it..."
At Takeru’s words, Sakura's expression turned stern.
"A Black Gate's magic power can reveal the strength of the boss inside. The gate in this case was rated D-class... meaning Wind Guard should have been able to handle it without any issues."
—Come to think of it, they were awfully confident for a team about to take on a life-threatening gate…
Sakura's words reminded Takeru of how self-assured Wind Guard had been.
"However, the actual boss was an A-class Cyclops."
"…"
"Had things gone as expected, this would have ended as a tragic accident in which promising hunters were lost."
The screen returned to the Irregular headline. TV programs debated whether he was friend or foe, but if he were indeed an enemy, he would pose an overwhelming threat to the Hunter Association.
"The real issue is that an 'unaffiliated intruder'—someone not part of the Hunter Association—just 'happened' to be present during this incident."
"Ugh…"
"And if the powerful enemy you mentioned also existed…"
Takeru couldn’t refute being called an intruder and found himself at a loss for words.
"Did you still think this isn’t something worth making a fuss over?"
"S-sorry..."
Understanding what Sakura wanted to say, Takeru apologized sincerely. Seeing that, she looked a little troubled and then bowed her head.
"…No, I also said too much. I’m sorry."
"Huh?"
"Your actions to save people, Kusanagi-kun, were undoubtedly the right thing to do. However..."
Sakura glanced briefly at the "family photo without parents" on her desk and then looked straight at Takeru.
"No matter how special your power may be, you, who desire peace, are an 'ordinary person' who deserves to be protected."
"…"
—This person...
"I promised, didn’t I? That I would protect your normal life."
She smiled softly.
"Leave the dangerous stuff to us hunters. After all, you have parents who are worried about you…"
Leaving Sakura’s office, Takeru walked through the wide courtyard.
"Takamine-san… she’s really a good person."
—I can understand why she has a fan club.
"But still… aren’t gates showing up way too often around me?"
A red gate appeared right in front of him. By now, with so many gates popping up, Takeru was getting used to it.
A horde of goblins came rushing out. While they weren’t a threat, he knew he had to take them down. Just as he was about to move, four students rushed out and started hunting the goblins.
The large goblin, clearly the boss of the gate, swung its massive sword and charged toward Takeru.
"Ki-shaaa!"
Angry over the death of its underlings, it roared and raised its sword. But just as it was about to swing down, a spear pierced its heart from behind.
The spear, after stabbing the heart, stopped just in front of Takeru.
"G…guh…"
The spear was pulled out, and the hobgoblin collapsed to the ground.
"Whew, that was close! Sorry if I startled you!"
Emerging from behind the fallen goblin was a handsome male student holding a spear. His refined looks and carefree attitude showed no hint of remorse.
"Well, thanks to you, my uniform didn’t get dirty, so I’m fine."
"Uniform?"
The hobgoblin had a clean hole drilled through it. Normally, stabbing the heart would cause pieces of flesh and blood to splatter everywhere, but the male student’s ultra-high-speed thrust had efficiently bored a hole, leaving no mess behind.
Even with the spear stopping right in front of him, Takeru, who had perfectly followed its movement, reacted calmly. But for an "ordinary person," such a response would have been highly unusual.
"I see, your uniform really is clean."
Despite having just faced a life-threatening situation, Takeru was more concerned about his clothes. The male student, impressed by this, showed a thoughtful expression.
"Interesting."
With a grin, the student snapped his fingers. That was the signal for the other students to gather around him near Byodoin Temple, where they knelt in formation.
—Huh?
Takeru was dumbfounded by their sudden bizarre behavior. Then, the male student pointed his spear at him.
"Second-year at Kazami High School, Kusanagi Takeru!"
"Why are you using my full name…?"
"As a sign of respect! After all, from now on, you’ll be our comrade!"
"…Comrade?"
As Takeru expressed his confusion, the kneeling students stood up and stepped forward.
"This man’s name is Byodoin Souma!"
"The rightful successor of the Byodoin spear technique!"
"A genius hunter who became A-rank at a young age!"
"And—"
One by one, Byodoin’s followers shouted out.
Finally, when it was his turn, Byodoin raised his spear and shouted loudly:
"The president of Takamine Sakura’s fan club, Ouran-kai!"
Overwhelmed by the sheer absurdity of the information, Takeru found himself unsure how to respond. Byodoin and his followers seemed satisfied with the way things had gone.
"O-oh…"
At a loss for words and clearly confused, Takeru quickly sent a message to Sakura: "Courtyard, help."
