Takemi and Kazama entered the school together. Kazama walked as if he didn't care about anything, while Takemi kept her head slightly down. They were both late. The grounds were empty except for Taiga, who was outside roaming around, drinking soda and watching them enter from afar.

"Wow. Look at those lovebirds. They're late as shit, and look at the boy's face—he has no reaction at all. What a piece of shit. Guys like him are getting pretty girls like that," Taiga muttered to himself.

He squinted his eyes and focused more intently.

"Wait, wait, wait. That's Tachibana Takemi from section D, first year. What the fuck. How did that nobody land her? She's the most popular girl among the first years."

Taiga crushed the soda can and made an irritated face.

"Fuck this guy. If I meet him in the upcoming qualifiers, I'm just gonna beat him up out of pure spite."

He threw the can, which traveled in a linear motion and swerved perfectly into a dustbin on the opposite end of the field.

Takemi and Kazama were now changing their shoes at the entrance.

He didn't say a single word the entire way. He was just lost in his own thoughts. Or maybe he has a girlfriend and doesn't want to be seen talking to any other girl? Or maybe he's just socially awkward? I wonder what he's thinking.

If I see this Tanaka guy at night interfering with my work, I will electrocute the shit out of him.

They climbed the stairs and reached the outside of their classroom.

"Well, this would be me. Thanks again," Kazama said.

"Wait. You're also in 1-D?" Takemi asked.

"Well... yes."

"I've never noticed you before."

"Well, there are like 24 students. And the session started just two months ago."

"But still. Are your powers becoming invisible?"

"Why does everyone want to know what my powers are?"

The classroom sliding door opened.

"Well, if you two are done arguing and have already gotten over the fact that you're late, then I think it would be better if you would attend the lecture," Fujimoto-sensei said.

Kazama had a whatever reaction while Takemi got flustered and started blushing.

"That's rare. Tachibana, how did you get so late?" the teacher asked.

"Um... I woke up late, Sensei. Couldn't sleep last night for some reason. I'm sorry," Takemi replied.

"Oh! Take care of yourself, Tachibana. Don't stress yourself, and let me know if you need any help."

Takemi bowed deeply. "Thank you, Sensei. And I'm sorry for being late. Really sorry."

Takemi entered first. The students inside were surprised that she was late.

Kazama was about to enter, but Fujimoto-sensei stopped him by placing a rolled-up notebook on his chest.

"This is the 15th time you're late, Kazama. This won't work. You need to work on this, or you'll have to go to the principal and explain this tardiness."

I'm pretty sure she said it was the 10th last time. Well, whatever.

"I'm sorry, Sensei. Won't happen again," Kazama said.

Fujimoto returned to her desk while Kazama walked toward his seat. Students were whispering among themselves.

"Kazama is late again, hahahaha." "Tachibana-san was late as well." "Are they dating?"

Kazama didn't mind as he took his seat. He looked around at his classmates.

Why are these two idiots smiling like that?

"Hoho! You're not gonna explain that?" Kurogane asked with a grin.

"Explain what?" Kazama replied.

"Now don't act all shy."

"Fine, Kazama, keep your secrets. I thought since we were childhood friends you would tell me everything," Haruto added.

"What are you guys talking about?"

"You didn't tell us you were going out with Tachibana," Kurogane said.

"It's just a coincidence that we ended up entering the classroom at the same time," Kazama said, lying as if he was breathing.

I shouldn't reveal what actually happened to avoid complications.

"Well anyway. This is the first time Tachibana-san has been late," Haruto observed.

"I think we should ask Kazama about that as well," Kurogane suggested.

"And why would I know that?" Kazama asked.

"Well, you are the undisputed world heavyweight champion of being late," Kurogane replied.

Kazama exhaled with disappointment.

On the other side, Takemi was sitting beside her friends Kana and Sakura.

"Takemi-chan!" Kana called out.

"Hey. What's up!" Takemi responded.

"How come you were sooo late?" Kana asked.

"Yeah, Takemi. I was getting bored listening to Kana talking about her new shoes," Sakura added.

"Oh, I was not well last night and had trouble sleeping. I was thinking about taking a leave today," Takemi explained.

"Oh! Are you alright?" Sakura asked with concern.

"Let us know if you need anything," Kana added.

"Thanks, guys."

"Also, was Kazama gentle?" Kana asked with a mischievous smile.

"What?" Takemi replied, confused.

"I was wondering the same. All the boxes checked," Sakura said.

Takemi laughed nervously. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Yesterday you were fitter than that jersey number 7 footballer every guy idolizes. Couldn't sleep last night? And then showing up late with a guy?" Kana explained.

"That was a coincidence," Takemi protested.

Sakura pointed at Kazama talking to his friends. "I'm sure he's explaining the same things to his friends over there."

"I hope his friends are not as annoying as you are," Takemi said.

"I hope you—" Sakura started.

"Kinoshita Sakura!" Fujimoto-sensei called out.

"Yes, Sensei," Sakura replied.

"I have been calling out your name for some time."

"Sorry, Sensei."

"Anyway. Can you tell me what is the basic unit of electric charge?"

"Umm... basic unit... umm, I don't know, Sensei," Sakura answered hesitantly.

"Kinoshita, the Japanese Qualifiers are not far. And I hope you know that all the assessments are compulsory."

"Sorry, Sensei."

"Tachibana. Do you know the answer?"

"Yes, Sensei. It's Coulomb," Takemi answered confidently.

"Good. Now Kurogane, you answer me this. What happens to the resistance of a conductor as its temperature increases?"

"It decreases, I guess," Kurogane replied.

"Incorrect. Kazama?"

"For most conductors, the resistance increases as the temperature rises," Kazama answered.

The classroom was a bit shocked, as the students didn't expect that from Kazama.

"Very good," Fujimoto-sensei said, surprised.

She didn't expect Kazama to answer that and decided to throw in a more detailed question.

"Can you also explain how a current-carrying conductor generates a magnetic field around it?"

"When electric current flows through a conductor, it creates a magnetic field that forms concentric circles around the conductor, as described by the right-hand rule," Kazama explained.

"Impressive."

Fujimoto fake-coughed for a couple of seconds before asking a tougher question. "Why does a charged particle moving perpendicular to a magnetic field experience a force, and what is the direction of this force?"

"The particle experiences a force due to the Lorentz force. The direction of the force is perpendicular to both the velocity of the particle and the magnetic field, determined by the right-hand rule," Kazama answered.

Takemi looked at Kazama in astonishment, and Fujimoto-sensei's eyes widened as she hadn't expected him to answer this. Everyone was impressed.

Kazama sat down after impressively answering the questions.

"Way to go, Kazama. Didn't know we had a mini Nikola Tesla among us. Perhaps the New Age Tesla," Kurogane said admiringly.

"He does this sometimes. I don't think even Fujimoto-sensei herself possesses the knowledge Kazama has with respect to electricity and magnetism," Haruto added.

"The questions weren't that hard," Kazama replied modestly.

"Bro, I didn't know a single one," Kurogane admitted.

"Because you're dumb," Haruto said bluntly.

"Woah, didn't know Kazama-kun was a nerd," Kana observed.

"Well, Takemi has her perfect match now," Sakura teased.

"Hey! Stop it, you guys!" Takemi protested.

"We're just messing with you, Takemi," Sakura said with a grin.

"Yes, Takemi-chan. You know Sakura-chan's love life isn't that interesting, so we need something to gossip about," Kana added.

"I'm gonna kill you," Sakura threatened.

"Hee hee... By the way, I didn't expect Kazama to answer all the questions though," Kana continued.

"Maybe it was a one-time thing. Let's see how well he does in other subjects. We're yet to have our cycle and midterm tests, which will prove his actual worth," Sakura said with confidence.

The next period started, and the next teacher taught literature. At the end, they asked questions, and Kazama was unable to answer a single one. Takemi became a bit disappointed.

"Damn, Kazama. You're just washed," Kurogane with a disappointed face.

Kazama had no reaction but was a bit disappointed with himself.