Tokiya Ichinose - An unusual kind of person

I get up around sunrise and prepare everything according to what I need at the time.
Depending on the occasion, I may go for a jog or I may get ready for the lessons that day.
My brain is active in the morning, so I can’t let that time go to waste.
Maximizing our inherent potential makes all the difference in the progress of our work.
As time is limited, it’s in our best interest to operate as efficiently as possible.
However, when an outsider is involved, it’s not always easy to get it right.
My roommate always prevents me from going to bed on time and he did it again last night.
He’s a really noisy guy. He said he couldn't sleep due to his excitement over yesterday's entrance ceremony. What is he, an elementary school student?
I would've been able to handle him if he’d stayed in our room, but instead, he went home for a bit the day before and even went as far as calling me in the middle of the night.
At first, it was just about checking what we needed for the ceremony, but...
If he had called just to get information, I would have appreciated it if he’d kept the conversation short.
… And, well, that explained why I was somewhat sleep-deprived.
"Give me a break. I've been feeling off since this morning, and what’s more, entrance ceremonies are a waste of time. I’d rather start the lessons right away."
I'd prefer to catch up on my sleep than go out for that kind of event.
I pulled the key to my room out of my pocket and, for a moment, really thought about going back.
"Hey, yer HAYATO, right? What’re ya doin’ in a place like this?"
"What does His Royal Highness Sir Idol want with this training school? Huh? Are ya making fun of us?"
When I raised my head, I found myself surrounded by a couple of ruffians.
"You’re mistaken. I’m HAYATO’s younger brother. I’m not HAYATO himself."
I answered politely and tried to leave.
However….
"HAYATO’s younger brother? Pfft, so yer sayin’ ya got into this school through yer connections, huh."
No matter how little I wanted to be involved with people like them, it seemed like I got myself tangled into a fight one way or another.
It was a bit bothersome.
"No, I got in through my own abilities."
"Or was it yer pretty face? That HAYATO guy’s quite a looker, but he had the nerve to let the fame get to his head."
One of the men came up to me.
"What can I do to convince you? I don’t really have the spare time for idle chit-chat."
"Shit, yer lookin’ down on us. Give me that, ha—!"
The person in front of me snatched the key from my hand and flung it away with all his strength.
"Again, such childish bullying…."
I sighed involuntarily.
"Don’cha talk back! This school is a battle of real abilities! There’s no way I’m gonna lose to a guy like you with connections here and there. Guys, let’s go!"
The person who appeared to be the leader cursed and left. The rest followed after him.
That really was troublesome.
However, they say that the nail that sticks out gets hammered down, so this much was to be expected.
"Well then, let’s look for this key."
What a lot of unnecessary work…. But, I had to go find it.
Regardless of how much I couldn’t stomach the guy I had to share a room with, that dorm was still my room.
However, it was going to be difficult wading through that overgrown lawn to find that one small key.
"… I think it should be around here somewhere…."
I was searching helplessly and by no means could I find the key.
I sighed.
Just when I thought I should just give up….
"Are you looking for something...?"
A single girl spoke out.
Even though several people had passed by since I started looking, pretending not to notice me, it seemed like there were still amiable people who would talk to me.
"Yeah…. Somewhat…. I dropped the key to my room."
I turned around, and as soon as she saw me, the girl's eyes grew wide with surprise.
It looked like I had gotten mistaken for HAYATO again. It was the usual reaction. I’m used to it by now and it’s not something that can be helped….
Though surprised, she seemed convinced by my explanation.
She even found and picked up the key. I guess she wasn’t a bad person.
On the other hand, not being a bad person and being a suitable partner are two different things.
To think that the girl from this morning would be my partner….
Seeing as Saotome-san chose her, there must be something interesting about her…. But at first glance, she just seemed unreliable.
She was incredibly timid and kept bowing her head.
The entertainment world is a relentless place. If you don’t have even a shred of diplomacy, you’ll easily end up being crushed by it.
Even if she did have talent, could someone like her really make it?
It's better not to pursue something from the start than to have a hard time and end up falling behind.
"… I will do whatever it takes to debut. Facing this with half-hearted resolve is an inconvenience to me. Please call off this partnership at once."
I was confronting her harshly on purpose.
If that was enough to discourage her, then she would be useless as my partner.
However, contrary to my assumptions, she refused to back down.
It seemed like there was some resolve in her, at least.
However, it was still too early to be hopeful.
I'd have to monitor and assess her a little more to make sure….
It would be a pain if she were to fail right before our debut.
And so, shortly after I started observing her, she got stuck during her introduction.
I wondered if this meek girl, who was so shy she couldn’t properly introduce herself, was fit to be my partner.
I had to admit it was extremely worrying.
"How about you just state your name for now?"
I suppose it happened because Ren and I came to her rescue.
The girls in our class threw jealous and cruel words at her. That would be a setback for the faint-hearted.
I am harassed simply for being HAYATO’s younger brother.
Since she partnered up with me, I thought she might get even harsher words thrown at her in the future. She had a lot on her shoulders.
But it was like she didn’t even notice.
She seemed more concerned that she’d caused trouble for her classmates by slowing down the introductions than over the heartless words that were directed at her.
Is she… dense?
It would be an advantage if she isn’t affected by slander and yet….
She’s unusual.
I'm not prepared to be faced with this kind of person.
I have no other choice.
Let’s see how it goes for a little longer.