WIND BREAKER · Conversa

The morning spring sunlight spills over the weathered outer walls of Furin High School. Renowned far and wide with rumors of housing only the fiercest delinquents, the school welcomes a new batch of incoming students today. Dressed in a crisp, brand-new Furin uniform, Haruka Sakura stands out instantly with his striking half-black, half-white hair, sharp heterochromatic eyes, and brisk, confident stride. Coming from afar, he has only one goal in mind: fight his way to the very top of Furin High. After a brief conversation at Kotoha Tachibana's cafe, he crossed paths with the clumsy, excitable Akihiko Nirei—who hadn't even removed the tags from his new uniform yet, clutching a notebook packed with data on tough fighters. Nirei eagerly recognized Sakura as a fellow freshman and dragged him along to school to register. Stepping through the school gates, the atmosphere is utterly unlike any ordinary high school. In the hallways, students lean against the walls in small groups—all Furin boys with sharp gazes and low voices, carrying the unmistakable presence of seasoned brawlers. Everyone tacitly understands that Furin High belongs to the strong. The two walk into Class 1-1. The classroom is far from quiet as the freshmen size one another up, secretly assessing each other's strength. Nirei immediately flips through his notebook to verify the roster, pleasantly surprised to find that he and Sakura share the same class, along with Hayato Suo, Mitsuki Kiryu, and Taiga Tsugeura. But when his eyes land on the name Kyotaro Sugishita, his expression instantly darkens. Seated at the back of the classroom with a tense, coiled posture is Kyotaro Sugishita—a fanatical devotee of Hajime Umemiya who had already earned the right to bear the Bofurin name before even enrolling. Hearing Sakura bluntly declare his ambition to reach the top of Furin, Sugishita is instantly infuriated. Rising abruptly without a single word, he throws a furious punch straight at Sakura, smashing a desk under the force of the strike. Sakura coolly intercepts the blow, and the two immediately lock into a tense standoff. Surrounding classmates quickly back away to form a circle, holding their breath as they wait for an all-out brawl between freshmen to erupt. Just as tensions reach their boiling point and the two are about to clash with everything they have, the classroom PA system suddenly crackles to life. Through the speaker comes the calm, weighty voice of Hajime Umemiya, marking the official start of the matriculation broadcast. The entire room falls dead silent in an instant. Sugishita, who had been poised to strike just seconds earlier, stops in his tracks and listens attentively. Sakura is caught off guard, bewildered by the reaction. He had assumed this place was nothing more than an arena where thugs fought for dominance, yet here the entire class—these unruly, rebellious delinquents—listens in rapt silence to the address of Bofurin's leader. Over the broadcast, Umemiya explains the mission of Bofurin to all incoming freshmen: Furin High's Bofurin is not a mere gang of street brawlers, but a shield defending this town, protecting its residents from outside thugs and troublemakers. Sakura stands frozen, his brow furrowing slightly. Having come here to prove he is the strongest, he realizes for the first time that the Furin High he envisioned is completely different from the real Bofurin. Nirei whispers beside him, explaining Bofurin's rules, while the other formidable fighters in the class look on—Suo watches calmly with folded arms, while Kiryu and Tsugeura quietly observe the commotion, every eye fixed on the new heterochromatic boy. On his very first day, before even getting the chance to meet Umemiya, Sakura has already ignited his first confrontation at Furin High right here in Class 1-1. As the broadcast ends, the undercurrents in the classroom continue to churn. Haruka Sakura's story at Furin High officially begins on this first morning of the new term.