Welcome to Avengers Academy! ~The Romantic Misadventures of Former Heroes~ - Shocking Transfer Student and a Spinning-Wheels Tuesday

The day before, after school, their homeroom teacher Seto had mentioned a "transfer student," and the word hadn't left Tooru's mind since. He didn't know why. It was just a transfer student. And yet, something deep in his chest felt restless, and he couldn't sleep well that night. He even had a strange dream. A dream where something like a red and gold robot was flying through the sky, and he was inside it. Tuesday morning. Tooru arrived at the classroom earlier than usual. The May sunlight streaming through the windows illuminated the rows of desks in straight lines. "Tooru, you're early today." Makoto, in the seat next to him, widened his eyes behind his glasses. "Yeah, I just woke up for some reason." Tooru put his bag on his desk and tried to smile as normally as possible. But inside, he couldn't settle down. (Why, though? It's just a transfer student, right?) He noticed his palms were a little sweaty and secretly wiped them on his pants pockets. Just then, Suzu entered the classroom. Her long black hair swayed gently, and she wore her usual perfect smile. "Good morning, Tooru-kun. You seem kind of fidgety today." "Huh? No way!" When Tooru hurriedly denied it, Suzu tilted her head slightly and peered intently into his eyes. (This girl... she really does see through everything, doesn't she...?) In the back seat of the classroom, Miyabi rested her cheek on her hand, watching the scene with amusement. She twirled her ponytail around her finger, a smile playing only at the corners of her mouth. "Hmm, Tooru, you're full of energy this morning." "Shut up, Miyabi. This has nothing to do with you." When Tooru shot back, Miyabi just shrugged and laughed. The bell rang. Their homeroom teacher Seto opened the front door and walked in. A thirty-two-year-old Japanese literature teacher with the attendance book in hand. She always wore a gentle smile, but today she seemed somehow more cheerful than usual. "Alright, everyone take your seats." The buzzing classroom gradually fell silent. Unconsciously, Tooru clenched his fists under his desk. (Something's... coming...) "As I mentioned yesterday, we have a new classmate joining us starting today." Seto nodded toward the hallway. "Come on in." The door opened. —In that instant. Tooru's vision warped and twisted. Last night's dream flashed back in his mind. An exploding battlefield. Shouts flying back and forth. A red-haired woman desperately protecting someone. (What... is this...) The person who entered the classroom was a girl. She was about Tooru's shoulder height. Slender, but with a perfectly straight posture. Her brownish hair was cut neatly at her shoulders, and from beneath her bangs, eyes that seemed full of strong will surveyed the class. Morimoto Ai. The moment he saw the name she wrote on the blackboard, something jolted right through the center of Tooru's chest. (Why... do I know her?) He should have been meeting her for the first time. And yet, he knew her. He knew this face, this way of standing. Where? When? He couldn't remember. But his body remembered. His heart skipped a strange beat. He realized the fist he'd clenched under his desk was trembling faintly. "I'm Morimoto Ai. It's nice to meet you all." Her voice was lower than he'd expected, and calm. Tooru glanced over at Makoto beside him. Makoto was also staring intently at Ai. The face of the usually composed class president was clearly shaken. "Tooru... just now, did you..." Makoto murmured in a hoarse voice. "Yeah... me too." He couldn't properly explain what he meant by "me too." But it seemed to have gotten through to Makoto. Makoto nodded silently. "Alright, Morimoto-san's seat will be... let's see, the very back by the window." Ai gave a slight nod and headed toward the designated seat. Her walking figure was efficient and beautiful. Quiet footsteps like a cat's, yet with a certain strength somewhere within. Tooru couldn't take his eyes off her. —During break. The moment the bell rang, Tooru stood up almost reflexively. (I've gotta go talk to her, right?! This is a no-brainer!) He didn't know why. But the urge that he had to speak to her propelled his body forward. "Hey, Morimoto! I'm Tomioka Tooru. Nice to meet you!" He called out with forceful energy. His voice cracked. And that wasn't all. Trying to raise his right hand, he dramatically lost his balance. CRASH! Flutter, flutter, flutter! His arm hit the stack of textbooks piled on Ai's desk, sending everything spilling onto the floor. Japanese, math, science, social studies. Textbooks and notebooks scattered spectacularly across the classroom floor. "Ah..." For a moment, the classroom fell dead silent. And then— "Bwahahaha!" "Tooru totally screwed up!" Laughter erupted. Tooru's face went bright red. Heat rushed all the way to the tips of his ears, and sweat burst out. "S-sorry! I'll pick them up right now!" He frantically crouched down to the floor. Trying to pick up the textbooks, his hands trembled and couldn't grip them properly. (This is the worst. Why does this happen to me?!) As he gathered the scattered textbooks from the floor, Tooru blamed himself in his heart. Ai looked down at Tooru with an expressionless face. "It's fine." A short, curt phrase. And then, Ai also crouched down and began picking up the scattered textbooks. "No, I did this, so I'll pick them up!" "Don't worry about it. They just got scattered." Saying that, Ai began gathering the textbooks briskly. She was efficient. No hesitation. Tooru looked at her fingertips. Her nails were cut short, and there were faint scars on the back of her hand. Was she in a sports club? But it wasn't just that. Something more— "Thanks. That's fine now." Ai stood up. Tooru hurriedly tried to stand up too, and banged his head on the leg of the desk. THUNK! "Oww!" Laughter erupted in the classroom again. "Tooru, what's with you today?!" "That's the guy who tries to look cool in front of the girl he likes and fails." Hearing Miyabi's voice, Tooru's face grew even hotter. (Shut up, Miyabi! But... she's right, so I can't say anything back...) Ai glanced at Tooru. Expressionless. But for just a fleeting moment, it seemed to Tooru that the corners of her mouth relaxed. —Lunch break. Tooru was slumped over his desk. (*Sigh...* The worst first impression ever...) He couldn't even bring himself to open his lunchbox. Every time he remembered his morning blunder, he wanted to bang his head against the desk. Just then. He noticed something happening in the corner of the classroom. Makoto was standing in front of Ai's seat. His back perfectly straight, in a posture almost like a soldier's. "Morimoto-san. If there's anything you don't understand, please ask me, the class president. I will assist you with anything." Makoto's voice was so overly serious it was unnatural. A stiff tone, as if he were reading a textbook aloud in monotone. Ai's eyes widened just a little. "...You don't have to be so formal." "No, but, my responsibility as class president—" "I'd be happier if you just talked to me normally." When Ai said that coolly, Makoto was at a loss for words. "...Understood. I'll do that." Makoto dropped his shoulders a little and returned to his own seat. Watching that, Tooru felt a restlessness in his chest. (Is Makoto... interested in Ai-chan?) Thinking that, he felt somehow irritated. Makoto was his best friend. But— (I couldn't do it right, and Makoto's talking to her.) Maybe it was jealousy. But Tooru couldn't yet put a name to that feeling. "Hey, hey, did you see that?" Before he knew it, Miyabi was standing beside Tooru. "Whoa! When did you—!" "I've been here for a while. You just didn't notice." Grinning, Miyabi sat down on Tooru's desk. "The class president was pretty desperate too, huh." "That's not... Makoto was just doing what's natural as class president..." "Hmm. And you're okay with that, Tooru?" Miyabi's eyes glinted sharply. "W-what do you mean by that?!" "Nothing at all. But things are getting interesting." Saying that, Miyabi skipped back to her own seat. Tooru let out a sigh. (Miyabi... she's definitely plotting something...) —After school. The drama club room was in a corner of the old AV room. Costumes and props were crammed into every available space, and it always smelled dusty. "Miyabi, do you have a moment?" Closing the club room door, Suzu erased her usual perfect smile. "Oh my, Suzu-chan, what's with that face?" Leaning against a costume rack, Miyabi asked with amusement. "You saw Tooru-kun today, didn't you." "Of course I did. That was amazing. Textbooks everywhere, thunk on the desk. Top-tier comedy." "That's not what I mean." Suzu's voice dropped a little lower. "Those eyes. Tooru-kun's eyes when he looked at Morimoto Ai." Suzu gripped her own arm tightly. "Those were the eyes of someone remembering. Reacting to memories of a past life." "Meaning?" "Tooru-kun is Tony. There's no mistake. And Morimoto Ai is Natasha... the reincarnation of Black Widow." Miyabi smiled slowly. "I see. So that's why Tooru was so ridiculously tense." "She will be the biggest obstacle for me." Suzu's eyes narrowed. "So first, I want to gather information. What kind of girl Morimoto Ai is, what she likes, what she dislikes. Could you look into it through the girls' groups in class?" "Of course, sure. Leave it to me." Miyabi readily agreed. But her eyes seemed to be thinking about something else entirely. "But you know, Suzu-chan. If you burn too hot, it stops being fun, you know?" "What do you mean?" "Love should be enjoyed more freely. I just want everyone to enjoy the present without being crushed by the burdens of their past lives." Saying that, Miyabi pulled a flamboyant feather decoration from the costume rack. "Well, I'll be enjoying things in my own way, though." Suzu stared intently at Miyabi's face. "...I never know what you're thinking." "That's my specialty." Between the two of them, dust from the costumes drifted softly in the air. —In front of the school gate. Tooru had been waiting for Ai the whole time. Watching the waves of students heading home, he stood leaning against the gate pillar. (I have to apologize properly.) He wanted to properly apologize again for his morning blunder. And also— (I want to talk to her more.) He didn't know why. But he desperately wanted to talk to Ai. Eventually, Ai came out of the school building. She was alone. Her bag slung over her shoulder, she walked straight ahead. "Ah, Morimoto-san!" Tooru ran up to her. Ai stopped walking and looked up at Tooru. "...You were still here?" "About this morning, I'm really sorry! Spilling your textbooks, banging my head on the desk, it was seriously the worst, right? That was my fault, I was nervous, I don't know why, but I was super nervous—" He started talking fast. Excuse-like words poured out of his mouth without stopping. "So, um, I'm not usually like this—" "You don't have to worry about it so much." Ai opened her mouth. "The textbooks just got scattered. Books don't break, so it's fine." "B-but..." When Tooru tried to press further, Ai raised her eyebrows just slightly. "It really is fine. Besides." Ai paused for a moment. The setting sun dyed her profile orange. The wind blew, and her bangs swayed softly. "You're the first person who's tried to talk to me so much on the first day. Thank you." The corners of Ai's mouth lifted just a tiny bit. It wasn't big enough to call a smile. But it was definitely a faint smile. The moment Tooru saw that face— Something deep in his chest grew tight and hot. Words wouldn't come out. His mind went completely blank, and he could do nothing but stare at Ai's face. "See you." Ai turned around and walked away into the sunset. Tooru couldn't move for a while. (This is bad...) His h

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Episode 2

Name: Welcome to Avengers Academy! ~The Romantic Misadventures of Former Heroes~
Author: Novelia

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