Continuing on from where we last were, our heroes headed to Ike-sensei's lab, located on the laboratory facilities on the ground floor, to perform a practical involving density.

Yuuto's POV:

The science wing is pristine as ever. They keep the area pretty clean, probably because of all the dangerous experiments and practicals that probably go around here... during break and lunch, no one really hangs out around here, but the labs are always open for students to come study science or perform practicals. I really do miss this sort of freedom in this school.

If it were just me and Nora coming here alone, I'd feel more anxious of the people that come here. Being a science focused facility, a lot of smart, academic students would be here, ready to mock us for our E Class placement. However, with Yukimura at the helm of our group, I doubt no one would have the gall to insult us. He'd react by beating them up.

Nora knocked on the door of Ike-sensei's lab.

"Another one? Today's especially busy, isn't it?"

Ike-sensei's upbeat voice was loud. We could hear it even standing just outside. As the door slid open, Ike-sensei stood there with a surprised look on his face.

Now, Ike-sensei was a peculiar man. He rode a fine line between being good looking and a mad scientist really well. He dressed extremely casually, with a green jumper over a white button shirt. He wore brown slack pants with a belt that couldn't be seen, since his shirt was untucked over it.

Being an avid bodybuilder in his spare time, Ike-sensei's body was more muscular than the average man, but his face was dreary and his long hair was unkempt, yet fell into place very stylishly since it was parted down the middle. Spending much of his time in front of a monitor meant his eyesight deteriorated, so he wore glasses over his baggy but welcoming eyes.

All that was missing was his signature lab coat he always paraded around. Was this a rare glimpse of his normal self?

"Oh, Nora-san, Yukimura-san and Takanori-san! What a pleasant surprise, I didn't expect any of you to show up here! Please, come in, come in. What's your science queries then?"

Yeah, he was an ecstatic fellow that looked positively. I didn't mind it that much, though. It was a clear contrast to Chabashira-sensei, who I'm most used to. Her reserved, cold nature meant she didn't speak out much and kept her distance from us. This teacher felt like he wanted to become friends with you and show you how wonderful science is.

"Umm, I'm trying to help... Yukimura-kun learn what density is..." Nora began speaking timidly. I decided to step in to save him the trouble.

"We're at the practical stage, so we were wondering if it was okay to use the lab to perform our practical?"

"By all means, go ahead. Remember to wear goggles." Ike-sensei took three pairs of goggles and handed it to us.

Just before I was about to put it on, I noticed that there were two other people in the lab. A girl and someone with androgynous looks. Based on their shoulder to hip ratio, I determined they were also a girl.

"Who're those two?" Yukimura unabashedly pointed at them. The two students were working on an experiment together, wearing lab coats and goggles over heir uniform. I was also curious.

"That's Ibarada Rena-chan and Ryuukou Asa-san. They're both some of my best students." Ike-sensei said. This time, he was back with slicked hair and a lab coat on. This is what I meant by borderline good looking and mad scientist. One moment he's normal, the next he's... well, a mad scientist.

"Upperclassman, huh? They're not half bad looking." Yukimura laughed.

Nora was looking through the cupboards and scratched his cheek.

"Which practical are you doing?" Ike-sensei asked Nora.

"The measuring density for regular and irregular objects..."

"Nya, what a coincidence. We're doing it right now." One of the girls, who was shorter, turned around and looked at us. She had long violet hair and black gloves on. Notably, her tie was red.

"Why don't you guys come join us?" The other girl, who looked androgynous, looked at us with a sharp gaze. She had piercings all over her ears and short blonde hair that made her look like a boy. In comparison, her tie was yellow.

"Is it... really okay?" Nora asked timidly. The violet haired girl smiled devilishly. Ah, it looks like she caught a prey.

"Ahn~ a shy one, hmm? Of course it's okay. Science is a team effort. I'm Ibarada Rena, a 3rd Year in Drachma Red."

A 3rd Year? So she's one of the 72 students who landed in E Class that Kaido told me about. If she's one of Ike-sensei's best students, why is she in that class? Perhaps she's like Yukimura, excels in science, but fails miserably in every other aspect.

"Yuda-Ryuukou Asa. But Ryuukou's just fine. I'm 2nd Year Ultima Yellow."

So she's in Ike-sensei's homeroom class. She must also be in Adachi's class as well. She seems like the no nonsense type... serious and hardy. Who would've thought she was good at science.

"C'mon, let's join them. Less work for us anyways." Yukimura said. "I'm Yukimura Fudou, a Drachma Red 1st Year."

"O-okay..." Nora's face was flushed. He was really embarrassed, huh. "Nora Takayuki... Drachma Red 1st Year."

"Takanori Yuuto. 1st Year Drachma Red."

"Nora? Nee, by any chance, is Nora Hideaki your older brother?" Ibarada asked.

"Umm... yeah... that's him." Nora replied. He didn't sound very happy.

"Talk about a small world. Hideaki-san was my senpai when I first came here. We even dated. That guy was amazing." Ibarada lamented on her old school days. Her cheeks went all red too.

"Woah, you have an older brother?" Yukimura said.

"Um... yeah..."

"Actually, Hideaki-san also mentioned having two older brothers. But he never mentioned having a younger one." Ibarada said.

"Nora Natsuhisa, Nora Haruya, and Nora Hideaki. They were all wonderful young men who started in A Class and graduated in A Class. Extremely talented and were very well versed in what they did." Ike-sensei said. "It was a pleasure teaching them, as it is to teach you, Nora Takayuki-san."

Interestingly, each name had to related to a season. Natsuhisa relates to summer. Haruya relates to spring. Hideaki relates to autumn. Takayuki relates to winter.

However, Nora, at this point, grew reclusive and his face went gloomy. His eyes averted everyone else's, and he held his arms close to his body.

"Woah, that's some legacy you've got to live up to, Nora." Yukimura said. "Wait, if all your older brothers are in A Class, how come you ended up in E Class?"

Nora gulped. He couldn't say a word. It looked like he was paralysed from the throat down.

"I..." He weakly choked up. "I..."

Ike-sensei stroked his stubbled chin and looked at his watch.

"Utto! We should should really get on with the practical! Break's going to end soon!"

What a compassionate teacher. Ike-sensei recognised the uncomfortable atmosphere and swiftly changed it to help Nora.

"Nya, we should hurry. There's no point in lamenting over students that have graduated, even if they're older siblings of Nora-chan there."

Ibarada seemed like a cheeky type too. She'd already relegated Nora with a chan honorific. I'm scared what will happen to my name.

I did feel bad for Nora. He was suffering in his own way because of his family. That... I could relate to.

"It must be pressuring for you." Ryuukou said that off-handedly.

"So what's all this equipment you've got set up?" Yukimura asked.

"This? We measured this cube's mass on a scale and worked out its volume using a ruler." Ibarada said.

Ibarada placed a ruler against the cube, measuring it's length, width and height. It was 5cm for each side. She then multiplied all three values together and got her volume: 125 cm^3.

"Could you write that down, Yukimura-chan?" She asked, handing Yukimura a notebook.

"Chan...?" Yukimura muttered, scribbling the number in the redrawn table.

"For future reference, there're various ways of measuring volume for different types of shapes. For example, the equation to measure a sphere's volume is 4/3 x pi x diameter/2^2." Ryuukou said as she took the cube and measured its mass. "Please note that it's 200 grams."

Yukimura scribbled that down. It looked like he was actually paying attention for once. Nora was at the back, observing quietly. Ike-sensei was also there, watching the girls do the practical.

"With our mass and volume, we can figure out the density of this cube." Ibarada entered into her cute, pink, cat calculator: 200 g divided by 125 cm^3. The result came up 1.6 g/cm^3.

"Yukimura-san, do you know how to convert this to kilograms?" Ryuukou asked. Her voice was strangely deep.

"M-multiply by 1000?" Yukimura took a crap shot guess.

"Correct. So the end result is 1,600 kg/m^3. That's not difficult, is it?"

"No... it's damn easy, actually."

"In that case, how would you measure this?" Ibarada showed him a toy cat. Yukimura raised an eyebrow.

"Eh? You want me to figure out the density of that thing?"

"Yes. So, how do you figure out the mass and volume of this object, nyan?"

"Uh... you measure the mass by putting it on the scale."

"Yes." Ibarada first "zero" the balance of the top pan balance, and placed the toy on it. "It's 970 grams."

Yukimura noted that down.

"How do you figure out the volume then, Yukimura-chan?"

"Measure the length, width and height and multiply it all together?" He shrugged.

"Wrong. You use this."

Ibarada pulled out a Eureka can (also known as a displacement can) and slammed it in front of Yukimura. It was a can with a spout coming off of it.

"O-oi... what the hell is that... it looks like a watering can!"

"It functions similarly." Ryuukou laughed.

"Yukimura-chan, fill this with water." Ibarada handed him the Eureka can.

"Sure..." Yukimura headed over to the tap and filled the can, with the spout facing his direction.

Bad idea. As the water rose up to the spout, it squirted downwards, hitting Yukimura all over the stomach with water.

"Agh, shit, what the fuck?!" Yukimura screamed by the surprise attack from the Eureka can. He dropped the can in the sink and stared at his soaked shirt. "God damn, my shirt's all wet now! What kind of joke for a practical is this, Ibarada?!"

In a furious fit, Yukimura scooped up the can in the sink and tossed it at Ibarada, sending water flying all over her face and torso. The can was blocked swiftly by Ike-sensei's forearm, and it fell to the floor with a clunk.

Yukimura huffed, before his pupils dilated. He laughed nervously and backed off. Ike-sensei... his eyes were shining red! This is bad!

"Rest in peace, you idiot." Ryuukou said with snark. We both knew what Ike-sensei was capable of... yes, when something remotely related to conflict breaks out, he becomes... a gorilla of a professor.

"Yukimura Fudou-san..." Ike-sensei's deep, growling voice boomed throughout the lab, reverberating and piercing our ears. He was definitely serious...

"I-Ike-sensei... I... I can explain!!" Even the almighty and tough Yukimura couldn't stand up to this man... no, this savage animal.

Ike-sensei walked towards Yukimura with a hunched back, and his arms positioned like a gorilla. Backing Yukimura up into a corner, he flexed his muscles, causing his lab coat to tear right off him, and his jumper to stretch to the point it nearly unravelled itself.

Each bulge and muscle was clearly defined on his body... his face became the embodiment of hell... a smokescreen of darkness enveloped the laboratory... we were all gonna die, thanks to Yukimura's reckless actions.

"Have mercy..." Yukimura pleaded, falling to the floor.

"NEVER... EVER... ACT... LIKE... THAT... IN... MY... LAB... EVER... AGAIN!!!" Ike-sensei warned him. "THIS... IS... A... LAB... FOOLING... AROUND... WILL... NOT... BE... TOLERATED!!!"

With each word, it felt like an earthquake shook us all. Yukimura nodded desperately, wanting to escape the terrifying situation he was in.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Ibarada-senpai, I'm sorry for throwing water on you! Please don't kill me Ike-sensei! I want to live! I want to live!"

Ike-sensei immediately returned back to normal.

"Apology accepted. Play more nice, Yukimura-san." He helped the trembling Yukimura up. "Oh, looks like my lab coat broke again. I'll go get a new one."

Ike-sensei opened his cupboard, which was filled with copies of lab coats in his size only. He slipped one on and returned back to us with a happy smile, as if what just happened never occurred. Seriously, was I watching some kind of sad comedy anime or something?

Ibarada stood there with a deadpan expression while water dripped off the ends of her lab coat and hair. Yukimura handed her a towel.

"Thank you." Ibarada took it and dried herself off. "Now, you're only meant to fill the Eureka can up to the spout. Otherwise it will leak out and... well." She began giggling.

"Don't remind me, damn it." Yukimura took the towel and wiped his shirt down. He picked the can up off the floor and filled it up, placing it on the table, all without getting any on himself this time.

"We'll need this measuring cylinder, tripod and gauze as well." Ibarada took out the other necessary equipment. "We'll place the gauze on the tripod so the Eureka can go on the gauze. Afterwards, we'll place the measuring cylinder under the spout. Got that, Yukimura-chan?"

"Yeah, I got that."

"Now, here's where the science comes in. When you place an object into a can of water, the water that is displaced is equal to the volume of the object you put in the water. In other words, the displaced water occupied the same amount of space that the object you just put in did, thus meaning their volumes are the same."

Ibarada gave a clear explanation on how it worked. Even someone like Yukimura could understand how simple it was.

"In fact, this is why it's called a Eureka can. Do you know Archimedes, the famous Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor and astronomer?" She asked, dropping the toy cat in the Eureka can.

Yukimura nodded. "He did all that...?" He muttered.

"One day, he was summoned by the king of Sicily to investigate whether or not the king had been cheated by a goldsmith. The king gave the goldsmith the exact amount of gold needed to make the crown, but when he got it, he felt as though the goldsmith slipped silver into the crown and kept some of the gold for himself." Ibarada said, squatting to become eye level with the measuring cylinder.

The water in the cylinder began displacing, pouring out of the spout, and into the cylinder.

"Uh... so what does this have to do with Eureka cans?" Yukimura asked.

"Archimedes accepted the challenge, but the condition was he couldn't do any damage to the crown. So it's not like he could break it down and see whether or not silver was actually inside it. The solution to his problem came to him while he was taking a bath."

"A bath? What?" Yukimura gave her a look like she was an alien.

"Umu. Archimedes noticed that the water in his bathtub overflowed as he immersed himself into the tub. When that happened, he realised that the amount of water he displaced was equal to how much of his body was immersed. This discovery excited him so much, he jumped out of the bath tub, and started running through the streets, naked, shouting "Eureka!". This is why we call it a "Eureka can"."

"Bwa ha ha ha ha! That old man ran naked through the streets?! That's where this can's name comes from?! What poor people had to look at his junk?! Ha ha ha ha!" Yukimura was howling over the admittedly funny story.

Even Ike-sensei and Ryuukou chuckled. Nora however was still off somewhere else, and wasn't paying attention.

"The best thoughts come during a bath. With this new revelation, he was able to compare the density of the gold and crown, and it turned out the goldsmith has cheated the king. As a result, the goldsmith was executed." Ibarada took the measuring cylinder and looked at it. "The volume is 340 cm^3."

Yukimura noted that down, still giggling over the story.

"So to find the density, you divide 970 by 340?" He asked.

"Umu. You got the hang of this." Ibarada punched in the numbers into a calculator: 970 g / 340cm^3. Ibarada cringed at what had displayed on her calculator. It was an ugly number with way too many recurring decimals.

2.852941176... so and so forth... recurring. She chose to round it up to three decimal places, leaving us with the result: 2.853 g/cm^3. To turn it into kg/m^3, you multiplied it by 1,000, so the final result of our experiment is: 2,853 kg/m^3. A happy ending for everyone... mostly.

"Now, importantly, we have to evaluate our practical." Ike-sensei said. "Ryuukou-san, you take the reigns, you're good at this stuff."

"Right. Our experiment has been a success. We've found our density can be measured for regular solids and irregular solids. The densities calculated are subject to experimental error for numerous reasons. It could be because our top pan balance wasn't calibrated correctly, the resolution of the measuring cylinders wasn't clear, thus leading to muddied numbers, or the Eureka can wasn't set up correctly so the amount displaced could be skewed." Ryuukou said.

"Talk about being negative..." Yukimura muttered, handing the notebook back to Ibarada.

"However, with a second and third trial, we can eliminate these variables and come to a conclusive result. Due to time restriction, unfortunately we cannot find an average result. The experiments we performed on was a wood cube and Ibarada-senpai's toy cat. We found their densities to be 1,600 kg/m^3 and 2,853 kg/m^3. The toy cat's density could be inaccurate due to rounding it up, and it is not an exact measurement. The actual value was a number with many recurring decimal places which is why we chose to round it. The only hazard was the possibility that water could spill from the displacement can, which happened on two occasions. The consequence could be slipping and falling, however this was avoided thankfully. To control this hazard, we used a measuring cylinder to collect displaced water and prevent spills. Ike-sensei, was that a thorough enough evaluation for you?"

Ryuukou was an extremely smooth talker, showing astounding judgment on the situation and reporting it in a cool, matter-of-fact way. She remembered and recalled all the necessary parts of the experiment and even gave a hazard to boot. I was impressed.

"Nyan, good one as always, Asa-san." Ibarada said, taking off her goggles. "I hope you boys learnt something from this."

"I sure did." Yukimura lifted his goggles onto his forehead. "Didn't know science could be so simple, funny and interesting."

"You don't seem like the studious type, but you have an affinity for science. I can tell."

"Huh? Me and science? You got it mistaken Ibarada, I'm no good with science. I just get it 'cuz it's simple and I can understand it no problem. You're just measuring and dividing after all. I'm a sporty type through and through."

Yukimura was an honest person, for better or worse.

"Ahn, I dunno about that. You grasped the situation very well. Perhaps spend more time around here. Biology, chemistry, physics... all of it's a wonderful, wacky world that's not been explored completely. If someone like you, who can adapt quickly, were to become good at science, I think you'd make for a wonderful researcher and partner."

Yukimura's face turned red. Ibarada complimented him sincerely, even though he acted out in anger and threw water on her. Well, she didn't really care in the end, so I guess she's one of the laidback type of people.

Becoming embarrassed, Yukimura looked away and scratched the back of his neck.

"Uh... thanks for the words, I guess."

"If it's coming from Ibarada-senpai, it means something, Yukimura-san. She doesn't compliment people often." Ryuukou said.

Yukimura nodded, and put his hands into his pockets.

"We should be taking our leave. Thanks for today guys. It was fun." He said. It seemed he liked learning today.

"I hope to see you three again some time soon." Ibarada said, smiling. You could see one of her canines sticking out cutely.

"Come back to Ike's laboratory anytime!" Ike-sensei laughed and pulled us in for a group hug.

Nora was surprised, Ibarada deadpanned, Ryuukou groaned and I... I just let this gorilla of a teacher suffocate all the air out of me...

However, for the first time, I saw Yukimura smile gently. A smile without bad intentions, arrogance or cockiness. A smile made of pure bliss.

Maybe he isn't such a failure as we first thought he was.