Zero's POV
After our fight, I pulled him up with my left hand so he wouldn’t stay seated on the floor, and then I withdrew it.
As soon as he stood up, I extended my left hand for a handshake, which he accepted wholeheartedly, and we introduced ourselves to each other.
“Miyuki, 1st year,” he said, smiling at me as if nothing had happened earlier.
“Zero, 1st year,” I introduced myself calmly while staring at him.
After introducing ourselves, I glanced around and noticed our classmates staring at me.
“Why don’t you introduce yourself to them?” Miyuki suggested, glancing at our classmates as well.
I followed his advice, and they accepted me wholeheartedly as their new classmate from that moment on.
While I was inside the classroom, Miyuki explained what was happening in this school after he treated the wound on his nose.
He told me that the third years run the entire school, doing whatever they want.
As first years, they suffer abuse from the upperclassmen, and all they can do is stay silent, not retaliating, knowing that things would only get worse if they fought back because they were scared.
“And what happens if you fight back against them?” I asked Miyuki while listening to his explanation.
“If we fight back, they’ll beat us all, even if just one of us stands up to them,” he answered with a sad tone.
“Sometimes, a few third years come in here, drag one of us first years away, and it takes a while for them to return. When they do come back, you can see bruises and wounds on their bodies. But when you ask them what happened, they just stay silent and shake their heads,” he explained at length, and I noticed him clenching his fists.
“So you’re just going to let the third years treat you first years like that?” I asked Miyuki, making him turn towards me.
He didn’t answer immediately but stood in front of me, staring at me seriously, and said:
“Now is not the right time to fight back, Zero. We can’t engage in battle in this situation. Why don’t you look at your classmates around us?” he said, and I glanced around.
I saw that most of the students in the room had fear and sadness in their eyes, as if they didn’t want to get punched or have any more bruises on their bodies.
“So, what should we do in this situation, Miyuki?” I asked because I couldn’t think of anything sensible beyond fighting.
“Now that you’re here, you might be the hope for every first-year student to change their fate because, when it comes to fighting, I’m sure you won’t go down easily,” Miyuki said unexpectedly.
“I didn’t know you could speak like that to boost someone’s morale,” I said with a grin, and he smiled back.
“Why don’t you be the one to speak now, to gain the trust and loyalty of all the students in this room?” he replied, leaving me unsure of what to do.
“Come on, stand up there and tell them your plan for this school,” he urged, and I found myself reluctantly standing in front of everyone.
They were all looking at me now, waiting for me to speak. I didn’t have anything prepared, but I might as well just say what’s on my mind. Whatever happens, happens.
“From now on, I’m going to make a name for myself in this school as a first-year, and I won’t let those jerk third years push me around. I’m here to be the Top Dog, not their servant,” I declared, and to my surprise, they started cheering inside the room, saying they were ready to fight alongside me because of the confidence I had just shown.
“Didn’t know you had it in you to speak like that,” Miyuki commented with a grin after hearing what I said.
I didn’t expect my words to have such an effect on them, but now they trusted me, and they were counting on me. I couldn’t let them down.
I turned to Miyuki and asked one thing.
“What’s the plan and the next step we should take?” I asked seriously, and he understood my intent.
“First of all, we need allies because there’s no way we can take on the third years with just the few of us,” he replied, looking at our fellow first years who were now fired up.
“And who do you have in mind for allies?” I asked Miyuki again.
“Our fellow first-year students who are often beaten up by the third years. Of course, they’re the ones most likely to help us,” he answered, and I agreed.
“But how do we convince them to join us?” I asked him.
“First, we need to gain their trust and loyalty,” he replied to my question.
I thought about how I could win over the other first years like me. Surely, they wouldn’t believe me if I told them I was going to be the Top Dog without proving myself first.
“I have to prove myself to them to earn the respect I deserve,” I said to Miyuki, and he nodded in agreement.
To be continued...