From Today It's My Turn!! · Conversa

Takashi Mitsuhashi stood at the entrance of the barbershop. Just as he put his hand on the doorknob, another hand reached over, and both of them gripped the handle of the glass door at the same time. Mitsuhashi turned his head. Standing beside him was a boy wearing the exact same school uniform, with clean black hair and an honest-looking face—looking just like Mitsuhashi himself in the mirror three days ago. The two made eye contact, took half a step back almost simultaneously, and each made an "after you" gesture. Mitsuhashi muttered "Who is this guy?" in his mind, but politely offered a pleasantry. The other boy politely replied as well, then stepped aside to let him through. Mitsuhashi entered the shop first. The lights in the barbershop were very bright. The owner walked out from the back room, his slicked-back hair styled meticulously. He didn't look like a barber, but rather like a retired mob boss. Mitsuhashi sat down on the chair and announced with full energy, "I want to dye my hair blond and get the most arrogant delinquent hairstyle ever!" The owner picked up the barber cape, gave it a shake, and spoke in a flat tone, "You shouldn't go fighting with others, you know. Don't go looking for that beast-king-like delinquent leader just to become the boss of the school." Mitsuhashi hummed and hawed in perfunctory agreement, his mind filled with the image of himself making a grand entrance with a head of blonde hair. The owner said nothing more, gave the cape another shake, and got to work. At the entrance of the neighboring shop, the boy from earlier also pushed the door and walked in. The next morning, Nanya High School, Class 2-C. Mitsuhashi stood on the podium with a head of fluffy, curly blonde hair, scanning the class—everyone was staring at him, and the dramatic effect was fully achieved. Just as the corners of his mouth began to curl up, the classroom door slid open again, and the homeroom teacher, Mr. Mukunoki, poked his head in. "This one is also a transfer student." Mitsuhashi turned his head and froze—standing at the door was the boy from the barbershop yesterday, sporting a sky-piercing spiky hairstyle a hundred times more exaggerated than yesterday, looking like a porcupine that had just been struck by lightning. The other boy saw him too, and his expression froze in exactly the same way. The two locked eyes on the podium, the exact same thought flashing through their minds at the same time—*This guy knows I was still a good student yesterday.* Mitsuhashi squeezed out a fierce expression, and the other boy immediately tensed his face and glared back. The entire class watched in dead silence as these two transfer students with drastically different hairstyles faced off like fighting roosters. No one knew that, deep down, they were both actually terrified—two guys who were just ordinary students yesterday, now sporting fresh delinquent hairstyles, crossing paths in this classroom today. <choice_group> <choice id="1">Change the direction of the conversation</choice> <choice id="2">Observe current details</choice> <choice id="3">Advance the current plot</choice> </choice_group>