Ken found himself back in his old homeroom, sitting by the window where he used to stare out the window and day dream about playing baseball professionally. How many times had he been reprimanded in class for not paying attention?
Just remembering his old self brought a wry smile to his face.
While the view was the same, things very much felt different. He was no longer a naive teenager who only thought about playing baseball, he felt more aware of his surroundings, almost as if a veil had been lifted from his eyes.
'Is it because I'm more mature? Or is it because I don't care what others think about me?' Ken mused inwardly, resting his face upon his hand.
Since he was not worried about such frivolous things, it allowed him to focus on important things. Perhaps the system also played a part in his social development and behavior?
Would he be as self confident if he did not have the system?
Probably not.
Ken let out a sigh. He decided to stop thinking about the what-if's and just accept things for how they were. If he got caught up asking such questions, he would lose the massive advantage he had gained from his regression.
A look of determination flashed on his features before he turned to the front of the classroom.
"Ah."
In the next row, a pair of beautiful blue eyes were staring at him for a brief moment. Long black hair suddenly filled his vision as the culprit turned back around at break-neck speed.
Ai Koyama felt her cheeks turning bright red as she stared at her desk in embarrassment.
'Oh no he saw me staring…' She despaired inwardly, covering her cheeks with her hands.
Ken was puzzled for a moment before letting out a wry smile. He thought it was ironic that in this life where he chose not to pursue this woman that she would show such an interest.
'Ahhh I'll never understand women.' Ken sighed.
"Wow, looks like you're pretty popular."
A voice knocked him out of his internal thoughts, coming from his right.
"Shiro, why are you looking at me like that." Ken said in a monotonous tone.
Shiro who looked like the personification of Avarice, unclenched his fists and let out a sigh, resigning himself to the continuation of his virgin status.
"It must be nice to be fawned over by girls…" He whined.
"Is it because you're tall?" He continued, looking Ken up and down.
Feeling such judgmental eyes upon him, Ken shuddered in response. While he didn't care what others thought about him, he sure didn't like being looked at in such a way by other men.
"Stop that. It's better if you're short anyway, it makes your life easier as a catcher." He responded.
Shiro seemed a little offended and was about to retort, however when he thought about it, it kind of made sense. Having to squat for hours each day would certainly be harder if he was any taller, or heavier for that matter.
Before they could continue their conversation, the sound of the door sliding open directed everyone's attention to the front of the class.
"Rise."
"Bow."
Despite it being the first day of high school, everyone complied out of habit, showing respect to the woman who had just walked into the classroom.
"Good morning everyone, please take your seats." The female teacher stated, her voice was pleasant to the ears, bringing with it a calming feeling.
"My name is Miss Aoba and I'll be the homeroom teacher for class 1-C" As she introduced herself, Miss Aoba began to write her name on the board with beautiful handwriting.
"Uwahh, she's so pretty."
A few whispers around the classroom complimented her looks and demeanor, however Ken was not fooled. While it was true that their homeroom teacher was a beauty, she had another side to her that had yet to be revealed.
Ken looked around the room, noticing that Shiro was staring at her with love hearts in his eyes.
"Mmph hehe" Ken couldn't help but let out a laugh before covering his mouth.
Shiro raised his eyebrow at Ken, but decided not to ask. His heart was beating fast just looking at the beautiful teacher that was in front of him.
"Now that I've introduced myself, we'll take attendance. When I call your name, please stand up and introduce yourself." Miss Aoba said with a smile.
"Kazuhiko."
An average looking boy with glasses and a bowl cut stood up from one of the desks at the front. If awkward was a person, then this was what it would look like.
"U-um. I'm Kazuhiko Amada. Nice to meet you all."
He said the words quickly, not even waiting for a response before sitting back down in a rush, causing a few giggles to break out in the class.
Ken too couldn't help but chuckle. Despite his awkwardness, Kazuhiko was very studious, consistently achieving the highest test scores in the class.
Thankfully the next few names that were called weren't nearly as nervous as the first, breaking the ice.
"Hi everyone, my name is Ai Koyama. I like western fashion and I will be applying to become a manager of the baseball club this year. I'll be in your care." Ai stood up and said her piece, her gaze floating over to Ken at the last moment before sitting down once more.
'Huh!? She's joining the baseball team as a manager?' Ken's eyes widened and his brain was struggling to process what he had just heard.
'W-What's happening? Wasn't Ai part of the Fashion club in his past life?' His mind raced for a while, not understanding what was going on.
First it was Shiro replacing Daichi in his class, and now even Ai's decisions had changed. Just what kind of impact did his decisions and actions have upon the timeline?
Ken was deep in thought as the next few names were called.
"Shiro Masuda."
Shiro, who was still staring at Miss Aoba dreamily, didn't seem to hear his name called.