Chapter 37: The Tenth Playthrough (8)

September 1st, sunny.

Autumn has arrived, and the temperature is gradually getting cooler.

The three of them sat by the classroom window, enjoying the breeze, chatting aimlessly about topics from their student days, just like any other ordinary student.

For example, exams and grades.

"Aaaaaah—" Kenji Hagiwara yelled, slumped over his desk, "I can't roll it anymore! I really can't roll it anymore! Hagi-chan gives up! Please, please don't drag me down with you! Do you know what I've been through these past five months? Waaaaah—"

"What?! There's less than a month left until graduation, are you going to give up now?" Matsuda Jinpei looked speechlessly at his childhood friend who had to go crazy every few days but still persisted until now.

As he spoke, the curly-haired youth couldn't help but grit his teeth and clench his fists, revealing an incredibly terrifying villainous face as he said, "We can't lose! We absolutely can't lose to those childhood friends! Come on, Hagi! We'll prove to everyone who the strongest childhood friends really are!"

Date Wataru, speechless, gave a half-moon-shaped glance: "Is that the point? I don't really understand you childhood friends."

"Shut up, you life winner with a girlfriend!" The two glared at him simultaneously.

"Hehe~" Date Kou laughed triumphantly.

"Damn it! Do you know what everyone else calls us? They call us gorillas! Five gorillas!" Kenji Hagiwara slammed his fist on the table in grief and indignation. "I even got laughed at at a mixer because of this, sob sob..."

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he swiftly turned around, grabbed Date Wataru's hand, and said earnestly, "Squad leader! Squad leader, you absolutely have to beat Kofuruya at the sports meet this time! It's all up to you!"

Although the five of them now occupy the top five positions in the police academy, leaving everyone else far behind, even among the five of them, there are different levels.

Aside from the childhood friends, the most persistent one was undoubtedly class monitor Date Wataru. He did indeed maintain his second-place position in the police academy, preventing the fiercely pursuing Morofushi Kagemitsu from actually being pushed down.

"Although I really want to say 'Leave it to me, I'll definitely beat Furuya this time,'" Date Wataru's expression turned serious for less than a second, then he helplessly spread his hands and said, "But I haven't beaten him even once yet."

He picked up the test paper on the table, shook it, and sighed, "I lost again this time."

This exam was really difficult. Many top students only got around 80 points. It was already shocking that Date Wataru got 96 points, but Furuya Rei got a perfect score, which was simply outrageous.

Ida Kou felt a little frustrated, but his resentment and competitiveness never diminished and even grew stronger.

He really tried his best, he'd never worked this hard before, but no matter what, he still couldn't beat that guy.

Whether it was law, psychology, sociology, literature, or judo, kendo, arrest techniques, shooting, or computers, marathons, or football, or even when playing various games together, he never won once.

Even his only successful arrest was due to the opponent's soft heart and failure to attack his injured leg in time, which led to his counterattack and death, but that was not a true victory at all.

Rei Furuya, the top student at the police academy, is a blond-haired, dark-skinned mixed-race individual with a strikingly beautiful appearance and an extremely serious and earnest personality.

Ida Wataru initially noticed him because he and his girlfriend Natalie had similar experiences. They were both people who were pointed at, ridiculed, and ostracized by others because of their mixed-race identity and appearance. So, as the class representative, Ida Wataru couldn't help but take extra care of him.

He never expected that the guy was not the type to suffer a loss, and was even more powerful than he had imagined. He also had a very interesting personality, so they gradually became good friends and rivals.

Yes, rival. While Date Wataru takes great care of him in daily life, he also regards him as his strongest rival in class and in battle.

Compared to Date Wataru's towering two-meter height and powerful muscles, the blond youth's physique was so slender that it made people worry and wonder where his strength came from. Yet, no matter what, he couldn't beat that guy, which was truly unbelievable.

However, even though that person was already so strong, he was more serious and hardworking than anyone else, never slacking off in his training regardless of the weather, constantly and actively learning more new knowledge, and his eyes were always burning brightly.

To be honest, Ida was really shocked.

His philosophy has always been that only the strong can successfully uphold justice, so he is very strict with himself. He originally thought he had already worked hard enough.

But as long as you look at that blond youth, at that person who, even though he's called a genius, works harder and more diligently than anyone else, no one can say that they've already worked hard enough.

Whenever Ida Wataru sees him studying and training so diligently, he feels his own motivation ignited, and without realizing it, he's been working just as hard as he has now.

Even if he only faces repeated failures, he will continue to strive to surpass that person next time and will never give up.

Even when he sometimes felt that the other person was training and developing them from a completely different level than engaging in friendly competition, he was surprised not to feel offended or angry, perhaps because those eyes were truly sincere and earnest.

He could sense how much that person valued them.

Five months have passed, and these days of passionate and hard-working training with like-minded teammates have made me feel surprisingly relaxed. My heart is filled with everyone's laughter and playful banter, as well as the fulfilling feeling of getting stronger little by little.

Gradually, the importance of this process of working together with everyone surpassed the importance of the result of "winning".

Wataru Date also knew that although Kenji Hagiwara and Jinpei Matsuda were always grumbling, they were actually very happy.

Although it was only five months, which is nothing in the 22 years of their lives, the five of them miraculously built an extraordinary and deep friendship.

Perhaps this is fate. Some people can spend decades together without developing any feelings for each other, while others can become an important part of one's life after only knowing each other for a few months.

Oh, maybe it's also because they were just too noisy and unlucky, and together they experienced a lot of dangerous and exciting events that others would find outrageous.

Thinking of this, Date Wataru couldn't help but sigh.

“While it’s good to work hard like this, I’m still a little worried,” he said.

“What are you worried about? That blond bastard? Are you worried he’ll wipe us out?” Matsuda Jinpei said.

Date Wataru took a toothpick from the table and chewed on it, tilting his head to look at the azure sky outside the window: "Because Furuya is just too reckless and reckless, I can't help but worry that one day he might become too confident and do something reckless, and accidentally die somewhere when we're not paying attention... After all, even a policeman only has one life; once it's gone, it's gone forever."

This is why he couldn't rest easy and always couldn't help but keep an eye on the blond youth. He felt he couldn't just leave him alone, and even suspected that if the other man disappeared, he was doing something dangerous behind their backs.

Matsuda Jinpei choked for a moment: "It can't be that bad, can it? He wouldn't go that far, especially with Master Jing watching over him. He wouldn't dare to really do something reckless, would he?"

Kenji Hagiwara raised his hand in rebuttal: "Why wouldn't he dare? He even dared to drive his car onto the train tracks! Even Hagi-chan wouldn't dare to drive like that!"

Matsuda Jinpei: "..."

Ah, he remembered.

That happened back in June.

Hagi was trying to save a girl from being harassed by gangsters when he was cornered on the street and almost attacked with knives. Luckily, Zero arrived in his instructor's white Mazda and rescued both of them.

Then, they engaged in a dangerous and thrilling car chase with the gang members on the street.

Finally, Zero managed to shake off the gang by driving his car onto a train track. After returning to the police academy and telling his instructors, he led the team in devising a plan to wipe out the arrogant gang.

Of course, the instructor's white Mazda was also vandalized by them for the second time, which led the instructor to refuse to let them touch his car again, causing Hagi to cry for a long time.

However, he remembered that Hagi seemed even happier and more excited about Zero's driving skills. Zero was even happier after saying that he was inspired by Zero's last racing session, and they excitedly made a promise to race together after graduation.

Thinking of this, Matsuda Jinpei rolled his eyes, staring at his childhood friend with dead fish eyes: "Speaking of reckless driving, Hagi, you're the least qualified person to say Zero is recklessly courting death, aren't you?"

"Hehe~" Kenji Hagiwara started acting silly and cute.

However, just as Kenji Hagiwara wouldn't tell him not to touch bombs because they're dangerous, Jinpei Matsuda wouldn't tell him to stop racing because it's dangerous.

"You guys have the nerve to say that? When you two, Hagiwara and Matsuda, first started taking Furuya for a race, Morofushi and I were stunned. It was definitely that time that led Furuya astray!" Date Wataru glared at Hagiwara Kenji, who continued to play dumb.

"And then there was that time, in May, when we went out for a field investigation simulation class, and in the building where the simulated crime scene was located, we actually discovered a real robbery, infighting, and murder case..."

Ida Kou was lost in memories.

"At the time, we didn't know they were robbers who had been on the run from a previous robbery. When we chased after them, we didn't expect they had accomplices and guns. We thought we were really going to be done for."

"Yeah, it was terrifying! Luckily, Kofuruya arrived in time to save the class monitor. We also quickly ran over and subdued the remaining two robbers in the building. It was a close call, and we even did a great job." Kenji Hagiwara remembered it too; in fact, it was really hard to forget.

“That’s true!” Date Wataru couldn’t help but slam his fist on the table. “But Furuya jumped straight from the building next door to my building! Although the two buildings weren’t so far apart that they couldn’t be crossed, it was the seventh floor! And the windows were closed! When he smashed the glass and broke in, even the robbers were stunned! It really scared me to death! What if he hadn’t been able to jump over and had fallen?!”

"Ah...that's true..."

Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji couldn't help but cover their faces. In the heat of the moment, they hadn't thought much about it, and now that they thought about it, it was indeed a bit too reckless. No wonder Instructor Onizuka was so angry that he wanted to hit them.

"What are you talking about? I think I heard Zero's name?" Morofushi Kagemitsu walked into the classroom and sat down next to them curiously.

"We were talking about just how much our top-ranked blond teacher at the police academy knows, and how many times he's gotten himself into trouble in just five months," Matsuda Jinpei briefly summarized the things they had just discussed.

"Was he like this since he was a child? That kind of outrageous perfectionism and obsession with being a top student?" Matsuda Jinpei concluded with a rather curious interview with Morofushi Kagemitsu, his childhood friend.

"Hmm, more or less." Morofushi Kagemitsu tilted his head and smiled. "Zero has won championships in both skiing and tennis at junior tournaments."

"What?! That bastard! How can there be such a perfect man! Is there nothing he can't do?!" Kenji Hagiwara was greatly shocked.

“There must be some, after all, Zero is human too.” Morofushi Hiromitsu smiled, then lowered his head and thought seriously: “For example…for example…for example…”

The other three: "..."

"Okay, stop. If you really can't remember, you don't have to say it. Seriously, it hurts even more, waah. Hgai-chan's most popular throne is almost taken away by Furuya, sob sob sob..." Hagiwara Kenji covered his face and pretended to cry.

After being mocked by his childhood friend Jinpei, he pretended to be sad and turned to look out the window. Suddenly, a striking and familiar golden color flashed in his keen vision.

Kenji Hagiwara took a closer look and immediately called out to the other three, "Hey, come quick! Is Furuya being harassed again?"

The three of them immediately went to the window to look down and found that the blond youth carrying a pile of documents was indeed blocking several people who did not look very friendly.

Ida Kou turned around and went downstairs.

"Shouldn't we go check on Morofushi?" Kenji Hagiwara asked.

Zhu Fujingguang smiled and shook his head: "It's alright, the class monitor has already gone over."

"Was Furuya always this prone to getting into trouble since he was little?" Kenji Hagiwara asked again.

Morobuchi Kagemitsu nodded helplessly once again.

Kenji Hagiwara leaned against the window, watching what was happening below, and sighed: "It's because Furuya is so outstanding in every way, and he seems to have a very good temper too."

"What nonsense are you talking about? His twisted personality and explosive temper are considered good?" Matsuda Jinpei's expression turned icy as he retorted, "Isn't it just that his innocent droopy eyes and baby face give others the illusion that he's easy to bully? And his overly serious and earnest personality really makes him look like he deserves a beating."

Kenji Hagiwara thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

Even they, actually really enjoy teasing Furuya.

Morofushi Kagemitsu: "..."

"That's because you haven't seen the aura of 'Bourbon'," he thought to himself.

Meanwhile, Date-kun had already arrived at the scene.

Seeing the two-meter-tall, strong man with a dark face who was even more intimidating than the instructor approaching, the group of men immediately chuckled and ran away.

“You…” Date Wataru sighed and ruffled the blond honor student’s neat short hair. “You can’t always be so soft-hearted and indecisive, Furuya. Sometimes you have to be a bit tougher on some people.”

The blond youth's serious, furrowed brow melted away instantly, and he even blushed a little embarrassedly: "Wait, I already told you not to touch my head, and I've already been very firm in my stance. They wouldn't dare to do anything; they're just making sarcastic remarks."

Ida Wataru withdrew his hand, laughed, and then put his arm around his neck and walked towards the classroom: "I know they're all guys who judge by appearances, so I solved the problem as soon as I stepped in, and you don't have to actually fight with them. In any case, if you're always fighting in the police academy, it won't be good for your future."

Rei Furuya couldn't help but laugh, and looked up at him earnestly to thank him: "Yes, so I've always been grateful to you, Class President. So far, the only person I've ever punched and actually fought with is Matsuda."

Looking into those earnest eyes filled with smiles and trust, Date Wataru couldn't help but laugh too.

That's why he can't completely let go of this guy.

Slender yet incredibly strong, beautiful yet extremely serious, with grand and unwavering beliefs, upright and strict yet gentle and kind, willing to risk her life for important friends—this reckless individual will likely remain unchanged no matter how much time and hardship she endures.

There's really no way around it; as the class monitor and as a friend, it seems like he'll continue to worry indefinitely.