First Problem Solved

Emma and I walked back down the hallway, the atmosphere feeling a bit lighter than before. She kept glancing at me with a mix of gratitude and embarrassment, still processing what had just happened. I could tell she was trying to keep her usual tough exterior, but the faint smile on her lips told me she was thankful for my help.

As we reached the door to Mrs. Mori's classroom, Emma hesitated for a moment. She took a deep breath, straightened her posture, and pushed the door open. The room was filled with the familiar scent of paint and graphite, the quiet hum of creativity buzzing through the air. A few students looked up as we entered, but most were focused on their projects.

Mrs. Mori, standing near her desk, glanced our way and gave a small nod. "Glad to see you two back. I was starting to worry."

Emma brushed her bangs back, trying to act nonchalant. "Yeah, yeah. No need to worry, Mrs. Mori. We're fine."

I shot Mrs. Mori a reassuring smile before making my way over to our table. Otsuki was there, looking up from her sketchpad with a relieved expression.

"Welcome back, you two," she said softly. "Are you okay, Emma?"

Emma paused, a hint of vulnerability slipping through her usual bravado. "I'm fine. Thanks for asking, Otsuki." She hesitated, then added, "Sorry for making a scene earlier."

Otsuki shook her head. "You don't need to apologize. I'm just glad you're okay."

I pulled out my chair and sat down next to Emma, noticing the mess Reiko had left on her desk. Her sketchbook was still smeared with streaks of paint, and the torn pages lay crumpled at the edge of the table. Emma stared at it for a moment, her earlier confidence waning slightly. I could see how much the ruined project bothered her, and I didn't want to let Reiko have the last word.

"Hey," I said, nudging her arm gently. "How about we start over? You've still got time to come up with something amazing. I'll even help you, if you want."

Emma blinked at me, clearly surprised by the offer. "Help? What, you draw too?" She sounded skeptical, but there was a hint of curiosity in her voice.

I grinned, pulling out my own sketchpad. "I might not be as good as you, but I can hold my own. Besides, I'm pretty sure we can make something awesome together. Maybe something with… anime characters?"

Emma's eyes lit up at the mention of anime. "You mean it? You'd help me draw characters? I didn't think you'd be into that," She tilted her head, a tiny, hopeful smile forming on her lips.

"I'm more than happy to draw anime with you, although I know I'm not as skilled at you at it," I said, pretending to be casual about it. "And I might've picked up a few tricks along the way."

Emma finally let out a small laugh, the first real one I'd heard from her today. "Alright then, Motosaki. Let's see what you've got. If you're gonna help me, you better not mess up my aesthetic."

I picked up a pencil and started sketching on a fresh page, glancing at Emma's expression to gauge her reaction. "How about we make this a team project? We could do a whole group of characters transforming, like your original idea. Maybe each one represents a different kind of transformation."

Emma's eyes sparkled with renewed excitement. "That… actually sounds cool. We could have one character getting stronger, another finding confidence, and maybe one who's, like, discovering who they are."

As she spoke, I could see her creativity starting to flow again. The frustration from earlier was slowly melting away, replaced by that familiar spark she had when talking about things she loved. It was like she was already seeing the finished piece in her head, imagining all the little details.

Otsuki, who had been quietly watching, smiled. "I'm glad to see you back in your element, Emma. And Motosaki, that's a wonderful idea. I think it suits the theme perfectly."

Emma glanced at Otsuki, then back at me. "Alright, it's settled. We're making this thing a masterpiece. But just so you know, if it ends up looking bad, I'm blaming you," she said, giving me a playful smirk.

"Fair enough," I replied, already starting to sketch out the rough outlines of a character. "But it won't look bad. Not with both of us working on it."

For the next hour, the classroom around us seemed to fade away as we worked. Emma and I sketched side by side, trading ideas, making jokes, and sometimes bickering over the tiniest details. She'd suggest a pose, and I'd try to improve it; I'd draw a face, and she'd tweak the expression until it was just right. It felt natural, like we'd been doing this together for years, even though we'd only met a short while ago.

At one point, Emma looked over at my drawing and paused. "Okay, I'll admit it… You're pretty good." She quickly added, "But I'm still better."

I laughed, shaking my head. "I wouldn't expect anything less from the Great and Mighty Emma Chisaki."

Emma chuckled, her mood visibly lighter. "Damn right."

{Chapter 7: First Problem Solved}

The bell rang, dismissing the class and everything began gathering their belongings. Emma, Otsuki, and I began packing our things and got up to leave the class with everyone else. The three of us began to traverse down the halls, chatting with one another along the way to the entrance to meet with Aisha, Rebecca, and Naomi.

"So, you're the Heir of the Nagagami Clan? That's actually pretty cool honestly," I said, slinging my bag over my shoulder as I walked in between Emma and Otsuki.

Otsuki smiled at me, her pace matching mine as we made our way through the sea of peers in the halls. "While it is nice, it doesn't come without its responsibilites. I am to uphold family standards and expectations. My family is very wealthy and we even have ties within the history of Japan."

"Otsuki is actually ranked Number One in the entire school! She's deemed a Prodigy and because of her upbringings she's also known as the Perfection of Matsugaya High," Emma added, smiling proudly at Otsuki and giggled softly.

Otsuki blushed slightly at Emma's words. "I mean...I wouldn't say all of that..~ However she's right about my ranking within the school. I am top five on the list."

I smiled at Otsuki, impressed by her achievements. "That's actually pretty cool. Ahh, I remember those days being top of my class as well~ Upholding a certain standard due to my old man being top of his class too," I reminisced, placing my hands on the back of my head.

Emma laughed, shaking her head. "You might've been top of your class in the Eagle's Domain, but here, it ain't easy getting up there in the ranks even with your intelligence. You might made it to Class A-1, but to really climb the ranks you gotta put in the drive and work!"

"Mhm, well spoken from someone in Class A-2," I teased, a smug smile playing on my lips.

Emma groaned and struck my side with a punch, albeit a weak one. I couldn't help but to laugh as she hit me, knowing my tease got to her. It was cute seeing her flustered from my teasing, her face becoming pink and rosy. Otsuki couldn't help but to laugh as well, already enjoying the dynamic between me and Emma.

The three of us continued forward, walking down the stairs to get down to the first floor of the building. We stepped outside the building, meeting up with Aisha, Rebecca, and Naomi near the entrance of the campus.

"Becca!~ We're here!" Emma called out, being loud and animated as usual as she hurried toward the girls.

Rebecca turned toward Emma, smiling at her and held her bag behind her back. "Emma~ How was art class? Any new sketches and art pieces?"

"Hecks yeah!~" Emma giggled, taking out her sketchbook from her bag then flipped through the pages to show Rebecca the new project she and I were working on. "Motosaki helped with the poses and effects..~"

"Ooo~ Sailor Moon, my favorite anime~ I didn't know Motosaki was into Sailor Moon," Rebecca giggled as she looked at the artwork with Emma.

I smiled at the two then walked toward Aisha, gently wrapping my arm around her shoulder and let out a soft sigh. "What a day..."

Aisha giggled softly, wrapping her arm around my waist and looked up at me. "So, how was it? Did you have fun in art class?"

I looked down at Aisha, a soft chuckle escaping my lips. "It was pretty cool. A lot different from Mr. Lee's art class in America, but overall, I enjoyed it."

"That's all that matters~ As long as you had a great first day, I'm happy~" Aisha said, beaming a smile at me then glanced at Otsuki and Emma. "Oh yeah, me and the girls were planning to go to town to get something to eat, did you three wanna join?"

"Sure, I've got some time on my hands," Otsuki nodded, smiling at Aisha.

"You already know I'm joining! Maybe we can try out that new burger joint that opened last week, Sengoku Diner!" Emma said, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "They are doing an grand opening collab and a celebrity from America is helping with its opening!"

"That does sound good," Naomi said, her stomach growling in agreement.

Aisha smiled at us, nodding her head. "Alright, then it's settled. Sengoku Diner is a go!"

With our plans in motion, we began to head out, but heard a bit of commotion behind us. Curious, we looked back and noticed Reiko and Satori approaching us, a few guys following behind Satori. Once I noticed them, I let out a soft sigh, lowering my head.

"Hey~ I hope you didn't think we were just gonna let you leave the campus without a proper send off. After what you did to my boyfriend, you deserve everything that's going to happen to you," Reiko sneered, crossing her arms with her entourage behind her nodding in agreement.

Aisha glanced at Satori and his crew then glanced at me. "Saki, don't tell me you're already gaining enemies. What did you do to them?"

"Defend myself and Emma. Reiko was bullying Emma and all I did was defend her but she stuck her boyfriend on me and I beat him fair and square. Not my problem that they can't accept a loss," I said, shrugging my shoulders lightly.

"I hope you know those guys aren't just any group of guys. They are a Delinquent Gang known as The Hounds. They are dangerous, and some of them are athletes..!" Rebecca called out, holding Emma closely as she felt Emma hold onto her.

I glanced back at Rebecca and Emma then turned my gaze to Satori and his Hounds. "So what's this? Planning to jump me because you couldn't win in a one on one? And I thought gangs in America had no pride and honor, but I guess I was wrong."

Satori stared at me, smirking as he rested his kendo stick along his shoulder. "You mess with my girlfriend, you mess with all of us essentially. You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us."

I shook my head and rubbed the back of my neck, sighing softly. "Geez...it's just my first day. You all couldn't let this go until I was a week in?"

"Enough talking. It's time for your punishment for messing with the Hounds. Go ahead and sick him, boys," Satori said, pointing at me with his kendo stick.

I watched as his goons rushed toward me then dodged the first attack from a swing of a baseball bat. Scanning my surroundings, I noticed the next attack, evading a kick then grabbed the second guy's collar, pulling him in front of me. The second gang member groaned as he took a blow to his torso from a baseball bat.

"Oh shit, my bad Ren!" The guy with the baseball bat exclaimed, slightly lowering his guard.

"Kenji, watch out!" The next gang member called out, pointing at me.

Kenji looked up, grunting heavily as I clobbered him with a powerful jab to his face. I disarmed him quickly then took him to the ground with a grapple. Turning around, I swiftly reacted to the next strike with a swift dodge. I swung the baseball bat, striking the guy on his stomach, causing him to crumble to the ground and clutch his stomach.

"Motosaki! Behind you!" Aisha called out, pointing at Satori.

I moved to the side and struck his stomach with a back kick, stunning him. I turned around with a swift roundhouse kick to his jaw then began using my father's CQC training to land a barrage of staggering blows to his body. The last guy rushed behind me with his crowbar, and my gut told me to dodge.

Listening to my gut, I moved to the side and looked back at the last guy. He swung at me again, but I caught the crowbar and pulled him toward me. Wrapping my arm around his, I flipped him onto his back then stepped on his chest, knocking the wind out of him.

Reiko watched in disbelief, her jaw dropping in shock. 'No way...no way he beat The Hounds by himself...'

"Whoa...he actually beat all of them..." Emma said in awe, her eyes sparkling in awe and admiration.

Aisha smiled at me and let out a soft sigh of relief. "It's that military training that his dad put him through since he was 14..~ It's made him pretty impressive in fights like these."

Due to the commotion, the Headmistress of Matsugaya was notified of the fight and walked outside with a few security guards, noticing the aftermath. She looked at me then at Satori and his gang on the ground.

"You. You did this?" The Headmistress asked, pointing at me.

I looked at the Headmistress then let out a soft exhale. "I did. I was merely defending myself. I didn't mean to stir up any trouble."

The Headmistress crossed her arms as she looked at me, her expression a mix of impress and disbelief. Casting aside her feelings, she ordered the guards to get Satori and his crew up to send them to the infirmary.

"Since this was self defense, I will only let you slide for now. This school has a zero tolerance for violence as it could bring down our reputation. However, thank you for dealing with those hooligans. Have a nice rest of your day," She said, making her way off back to the building to write a report on Satori and his gang.

Reiko grit her teeth then scoffed, walking by us and leaving the campus. "Let's go ladies...can't believe this bullcrap."

I watched as Reiko's entourage followed behind her like ducklings, following behind Reiko as if she was a leading duck. I turned back to Aisha and the others, smiling at them. "Well, there's that. How about we head out and get something to eat?"

The girls smiled at me, nodding and together we began making our way off the campus as well. Each of them began gossiping about my performance again The Hounds, their praises and giggles inflating my ego just a bit. I was also rather impressed with myself, mentally patting myself on the back.