"This old man doesn't know how to do anything right," Hitomi grumbled through her teeth, crossing her arms with obvious annoyance.
"What's going on now?" Derek asked, lazily leaning back in his chair, resting the back of his head on his interlocked hands.
"I had an incredible idea. I wanted us to study at the same school; a perfect plan to spend most of our time together."
Derek twisted his lips, holding back the urge to complain. For him, the idea of being stuck in a classroom studying wasn't exactly a "great plan," but he stayed silent. He let out an internal sigh of relief when he realized Hitomi's plan had failed, though his joy didn't last long. The girl's next words wiped the smile off his face.
"That idiot enrolled you in another school. He registered you at Ishiyama High School."
Derek was about to tell her to forget about it, that he had absolutely no intention of setting foot in a school, when a spark of recognition flashed in his mind. The name "Ishiyama" felt strangely familiar, but no matter how much he searched his memory, he couldn't place it.
"Tsk, supposedly it was the best he could get. If it weren't for Shidou Reiichi helping me find you, I would've already beaten that old man up," Hitomi continued, shaking a fist threateningly.
Derek remained lost in thought, trying to figure out which work or world that name belonged to. Curiosity began to outweigh his disdain for studying.
"Here, this is yours," Hitomi said, tossing an orange envelope toward him.
Derek raised an eyebrow and opened it. Inside, he found several official documents. «Oh, an ID». He remembered Hitomi had promised to help him with legal paperwork. It seemed that this Shidou Reiichi guy was more useful than he looked.
"Hello everyone! I hope you missed me," Karura announced, walking into the apartment with her usual carefree attitude. She kicked off her shoes in one motion and, without warning, sat down on Derek's lap.
Hitomi shot her a sharp glare but simply snorted without saying anything.
"What's wrong? Why the long faces?" Karura asked, noticing the tense atmosphere.
Hitomi explained the situation about the school. Karura let out a mocking laugh.
"Tsk, why didn't you ask me? It would've been a piece of cake. Don't worry, I'll fix this," she said, proudly patting her chest.
"Hey… do you know Ishiyama High School?" Derek asked.
Hitomi shrugged; aside from occasional fights and her previous search for her "frozen boyfriend," the rest of the world was irrelevant to her. Karura, on the other hand, placed a finger on her chin thoughtfully, until her eyes lit up.
"I've heard it has another name: "The School of Delinquents". It's basically a nest of vandals and gang members."
Hearing that, Hitomi exploded in anger.
"Shit! Does that old man think my boyfriend is a delinquent to send him there?"
"Also," Karura continued, "they say there's a monstrously strong guy there. Someone named Tatsumi Oga. He's known as the most feared juvenile delinquent in Ishiyama. They call him "The Ogre of Fury" because of his brute strength and ruthless fighting style."
Hitomi let out a whistle of amazement. If there was someone strong, the school was starting to sound less bad to her. But Derek had a completely different reaction.
Upon hearing "Ogre of Fury," his mind connected the dots. First, he thought: «Does this guy think he's the Ogre's adopted son or something?». The second thing he wondered was how he was still alive using that nickname in a city where Yujiro Hanma lived. But the third… the third was the shock of remembering where that name came from.
He shot up suddenly, causing Karura to fall backward onto the floor.
"Hey! What's your problem?" she complained, standing up and brushing dust off her backside in annoyance.
«Damn… if it's that place, everything changes. The power level of this world just shot into space», Derek thought, his smile widening by the second. Instead of fear or caution, excitement surged through his veins like electricity.
"Hehe, sorry, sweetheart," Derek said, pulling Karura in to give her a kiss as an apology, leaving her speechless and blushing.
"It's fine… but what was that reaction about?" she asked, confused. Hitomi was also watching him curiously.
"It's nothing, really," Derek replied, a dangerous smile forming on his face. "I think that school is much more interesting than I expected. I can't wait to start classes."
Both girls nodded, convinced that his interest was due to that guy, Tatsumi Oga. But they were wrong. Derek wasn't thinking about juvenile delinquents; he was thinking about certain demons, and the mere idea of fighting them made his blood boil.
«This world just keeps getting more interesting», he concluded mentally, his gaze fixed on an invisible point, filled with an insatiable thirst for battle.