Changed? Well... ( he considers it— ) Nothing, really. I think I just realized... I didn't care what everyone else thought about me. It didn't matter what they whispered behind my back or even said to my face because...

If even one person could see through all that, and give me a chance— that was all I needed. ( and akira closes his eyes to smile at that, his simple truth. ) Ryuji had a bad reputation with the teachers too so, I guess you could say... from the first day I transferred to Shujin before we even knew it, we were in it together.