Heiji's House
"Heiji, where are my clothes?"
Kazuha paced back and forth across the room, her feet making a series of soft thuds on the wooden floor.
"What clothes?"
Heiji kept his eyes closed, trying his best to sleep.
"My school uniform! Classes start today." Kazuha glanced at Heiji, who was still in bed. She pouted and crawled onto the mattress. "Stop sleeping! We're going to be late."
Heiji reached out, pulled Kazuha into his arms, and gave her a light kiss on the lips. "There's still half an hour."
"Hmph! I still have to get dressed, comb my hair, and eat breakfast. There's no time!"
Kazuha rolled her eyes at Heiji and started running around the room again.
Osaka Kaiho Academy
Groups of boys and girls in school uniforms walked along the road, laughing and chatting.
"Wow, have you noticed? Heiji seems even more handsome than before." "I'm so jealous of Kazuha standing next to him."
As soon as Heiji and Kazuha appeared together, they immediately became the focus of the surrounding students. Kazuha hugged Heiji's arm tightly, glancing at the other girls. Her mouth pouted high. "Honestly, why are they always staring at Heiji?"
At Kaiho Academy, Heiji was already a high-profile figure. However, on a regular day, people didn't pay him an excessive amount of attention. Like a big star you see every day, the novelty eventually cools down. This was the only reason Heiji was willing to keep attending school; otherwise, if he was treated like a monkey in a zoo every day, he wouldn't come at all.
After class, Heiji sat in his seat, looking out the window with a bored expression.
"Hattori, you finally came to school." "President Yamada, is something up?"
Heiji looked up, slightly surprised. Yamada Ichiro was a member of the Kaiho Academy Kendo Club and also the club president.
"What do you mean 'is something up'? Did you forget that today is the day the Senshin High School Kendo Club comes to our academy for a match?" Yamada rolled his eyes helplessly.
"Senshin High?" Heiji frowned slightly.
"Yes. As the ace of our club, you're the only one who can handle Okita from Senshin High." "Okita Soshi... that guy is here too?"
Heiji remembered now. In his memory, this person seemed to be a fierce rival of the original Heiji in the world of kendo.
"Okita seems to have trained with national fencing athletes for a long time. He's become even stronger," Yamada said, looking shocked.
Heiji glanced at Yamada, a smile hooking up the corner of his mouth. "President Yamada seems to lack confidence."
"Hattori, you're the only one in the club who can rival Okita. If you don't show up, we really have no chance of winning," Yamada said with a bitter smile.
Just then, Kazuha and a group of girls walked in, laughing.
"Yamada, did you come to see Heiji for something?" Kazuha asked curiously. "Yeah, I wanted to ask Hattori to come back to the club and help us out," Yamada replied with a smile.
"Heiji, you haven't been to the kendo club in a long time." Kazuha blinked and looked at Heiji.
"Hattori, the people from Senshin High are here to challenge the club today. As the ace, aren't you going to make an appearance?" Nohara Jun, a close friend of Kazuha, chimed in.
"Really?" Kazuha's eyes lit up, and she looked at Heiji with a certain expectation.
Heiji glanced at her helplessly. "Dummy, don't look at me like that." He then turned to Yamada. "President Yamada, just call me when it starts."
Yamada's eyes sparkled, and he nodded excitedly.
"Hehe~" Kazuha gave a playful smile and sat down, hugging Heiji's arm tightly.
Afternoon: School Dismissal
The students began to leave the school. However, a large crowd gathered at the Kendo Club.
"Hah—!!!"
In the massive training hall, the two camps were clearly divided. In the middle was a circular arena where two people were currently in a fierce duel. Wooden swords clashed rapidly!
"Defeat him! Defeat Senshin Academy!" "Uekusa, work hard and take him down!"
The Kaiho Academy member, Uekusa, seemed to be injected with infinite power upon hearing the cheers. His wooden sword hooked at a strange angle and struck the Senshin member hard under the arm. The Senshin member immediately lost his ability to fight.
"Kaiho Academy wins!" "Oh yeah—!!!"
The crowd erupted.
"Heiji, look! We won again. Uekusa is amazing; he's defeated three people from Senshin High in a row!" Kazuha said excitedly.
Heiji smiled faintly. "It looks like I don't need to step in." "Hmph, Heiji is trying to run away."
Heiji's face darkened, and he pinched Kazuha's nose. "Dummy, I just think they're too weak."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Everyone at Kaiho Academy has such a big mouth? You win a few matches and think you're invincible?"
Unexpectedly, there were Senshin High students standing nearby. Kazuha looked around and stuck out her tongue. She leaned close to Heiji's ear and whispered, "Heiji, it looks like we've wandered into the Senshin High camp."
Heiji glanced indifferently at the people around him, ignoring their glares. He took Kazuha's hand and walked toward the players' bench.
Uekusa, having won three consecutive matches, was very excited. He stood in the center of the arena, soaking in the attention. Suddenly, the entire hall went quiet.
Uekusa blinked and looked toward the opponent's bench. Okita Soshi, the ace of Senshin High, had stood up and was heading toward two people.
"Who are those two?" Uekusa asked the person next to him. "You don't recognize him? He's from our academy!" "I know that! I mean, why is Okita being so serious?"
In Uekusa's heart, Okita Soshi was his ultimate goal—to defeat him and win the national championship.
"You don't even know Hattori Heiji?" "Is he famous?" Uekusa looked confused. The other student was speechless.
"Don't blame Uekusa. He just got back from abroad, so it's normal that he doesn't know Hattori," someone else explained. "Hattori Heiji is our ace. Only he can defeat Okita Soshi."
A flash of eagerness crossed Uekusa's eyes.
"Hattori, you finally showed up." Okita Soshi walked quickly toward Heiji.
Heiji scanned Okita and smiled faintly. "Okita, this is your last chance. If you don't beat me this time, you won't get another one."
"What do you mean?" Okita frowned. "I plan to quit the kendo club."
The people in the entire hall fell silent.
"Why?" Okita was clearly unhappy. "I seem to have found something more interesting." "Being a detective?"
Actually, that was just an excuse. Kendo was of no use for the missions issued by the system.
"Fine. This time, I'll grant your wish. Let's start!" Okita signaled for Heiji to change clothes and enter the arena.
At that moment, Uekusa suddenly stepped in to block the way.
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