"Kid, don't forget your bag." The annoying man tossed the checked messenger bag to me and lit a cigarette from his suit pocket, exhaling a thick puff of smoke in front of me without a care.
"The school's official website specifically states that there will be a security check before enrollment. Why the extra step?" I casually took the bag, holding it in my hand, and asked.
"It's necessary~ You know how it is, none of the boy up there really have any trust in you, unless I do it myself, they won't feel at ease.
By the way, had it been a few years prior, I would have never thought that there is a day I would see you carrying a bag filled with normal stuff, kinda make you wonder what else could possibly happen in the future, doesn't it?"
"Did I ever bring something abnormal before?"
"You already know the answer to that in your heart, why bother asking?"
"Can I leave now?" I didn't intend to respond to his probing, just wanting to get away from him as soon as possible.
"Wait, there's one more thing I forgot to mention."
"What?"
"Didn't I mention the class assignment to you before? Recently, I received a notification that you've been transferred from Class D to Class B."
"... How long ago was that?"
"Well, let me think... It was shortly after you did the entrance exam."
"Why did my class change? is there something important for me to do in the new Class?"
"Nah, just luck, some big boss used their connection to put their kid into your original class, taking your original seat, so we got you relocated into another class, that's all."
Is it really as he said? If so, why didn't he just enter Class D directly instead of taking my seat? Since they choose give my seat to the kid rather than just adding one more, from the look of it, there's a max limit on how many student can be in a single class.
"That's pretty much it, sorry if it got your hope up." The man extinguished his cigarette and casually tossed it on the ground, kicking it a few times with his foot.
"You'll get fined for that." I made a half-hearted jab at him.
"I'll take care of it myself later. Well then, I wish you a safe journey."
"You should be saying that to yourself. After all, this extra mission is something you assigned to me, if you lie after this is over, your head will roll."
"You're so heartless. Even though I came to see you off."
Liar, you just wanted to make sure I didn't bring any firearm or explosive.
Ignoring his last farewell, I left my apartment and go to the bus station straight away.
Although the man didn't allow me to hack the government database to personally probe more information about the school, he did provide some details.
Kōdo Ikusei High School
That's the school name, it's a national high school located in Tokyo, Japan, renowned for its state-of-the-art facilities and an almost 100% college acceptance rate.
It's said that the school have a system that are unique, the only one in the world they say, that make the 100% college / working accepatance rate worth to be given to the students who graduate.
I've heard of boarding schools, but most of them are for staying and studying from Monday to Friday, with weekends for going home and leisure. I never thought about a boarding school where contact with the outside world is prohibited for three years, and from what I gathered, except for special circumstances, even contact with family members is not allowed.
In summary, I'll be completely cut off from the outside world, it's like being in prison for three years. From what some of the comments that I can see regarding the matter of isolation, most of the parents and potential students are feeling wary regarding their lack of communication if something went bad, however, I didn't feel panicked about this, after all, I've spent more than three years in a similar situation in the middle east before.
Rather than a mission in some prison, this sounds more like a vacation in an isolated island.
Additionally, this school only allows new students to bring items specified in the regulations.
In my backpack, aside from some necessary stationery, irrelevant books, and the required set of school uniforms, there's nothing else.
No bedding, household items, etc. If the school provides these, that would be great.
I strolled to the bus stop. It was early, and the bus I needed to take hadn't arrived yet, and the surroundings were quiet. Despite being spring, the street lacked any signs of life.
There were no people around, but there were 3 cameras installed in the upper corners.
Hmmm... The blind spot for the three of them are... Here.
I pretended to be a regular person waiting for the bus, I paced back and forth between the blind spot and the surveillance area, acting like I'm feeling annoyed and irritated due to the bus late arrival, taking out two items hidden under my tongue when I'm sure that the camera won't catch that.
These two item are one of the thing that I manage to smuggle past that annoying man, a mini bug, one that can be used to record audio, and a mini monitor, who are used to record only the visuals, thought none of them can store too much data
Different from the "mini" devices on the market, what I meant by mini was truly mini, it's not even the size of my pinky fingernail.
After cleaning them, I stuck them under the metal zipper of my messenger bag. Although I didn't think that I would need to use this in a school of all thing, it's better to be cautious.
Bzzt bzzt—
The air compressor of the bus released some air as I boarded the bus. The only one who are on the buses are just the bus driver, as the stop I was at was the first station, the starting point of the route. Looking at the empty seats, I pondered in my mind and finally chose to sit in the third-to-last row by the window.
I chose this seat because the emergency hammer was nearby. One couldn't predict what accidents might happen during the journey, it's best for one to prepare a way out in case of emergency.
After a while, the bus started moving. I gazed out the window at the scenery, bored. If I remember correctly, the route to the school is quite long. Instead of waiting idly like this, it's better to take a nap.
With a serene mindset, I fell into a deep sleep amidst the bumpy ride.
The nap didn't last long. My consciousness urged me to wake up quickly. I tried to force myself to succumb to the sudden desire, but unfortunately, I failed.
In the end, I could only reluctantly open my eyes.
When I opened my eyes, more passengers already boarded the bus, the amount of people inside the bus is almost the same as when it's during rush hour. I turned my head to the left and noticed that someone occupied the seat next to me, it's a girl with pink hair who wore a similar uniform to me.
Much to my shame, while her pink hair is the first thing that I noticed, her huge breast is the second one.
No one can blame me for that, this girl's at least a C cup, if not D or E.
"Ah, sorry, did I wake you up?" Upon noticing my movement, the pink haired girl stopped her actions of stuffing a book into her backpack and looked to me, looking concerned.
I observed her action carefully before responding with something that I head someone had said in the past.
"No, I woke up on my own. I got a perfect 8 hour of sleep last night, so my body is still full of energy, it's just a nap at best." I explained to the pink haired girl with a hint of a smile, trying to reassure her, though it didn't seem to impress her much.
"That's good. Speaking of which, because this is going to be my first day at high school, I didn't sleep well last night. It's always a bit hard to fall asleep because of the anxiety." She finished her task and continued chatting with me.
"I see." I don't.
"I've never gone to any free school before this, do you have any expectation about how it's going to be?" She turned her face to me with a smile, continuing her questioning.
"Hmm, what do you mean?"
"Eh? Aren't you also a new student at the Kōdo Ikusei High School like me?" She pointed at my clothes, and I looked down.
Ah, I forgot that from here on, I'm going to be a student.
"Sorry, I asked a stupid question. It's probably because I just woke up." I pretended to massage my temples, acting like I was trying to clear my mind a bit.
"It happens, I also feel groggy when I wake up." She didn't mock my response, instead showing understanding.
For a moment, I felt the sensation of tenderness.
"Well, if you ask any expectation, I don't think there's any? It felt like just another day at school." I replied to her previous question.
"Is that so? Then it seems like I'm overreact," she said.
"Perhaps, but these things vary from person to person, maybe yours is the normal one," I responded.
"Well then— since we're both freshmen, let me introduce myself first. My name is Honami Ichinose, a new student in Class B of the first year. Nice to meet you!" Ichinose turned her face towards me and flashed a sweet smile, the kind that would make anyone's heart skip a beat.
At that moment, I could fully see her entire face. Her pupils were a clear sky blue, free from any impurities. At the same time, a sense of displeasure emerged within me.
Don't misunderstand, it's not that I detested those who are pure; rather, what I detested is the reflection of myself in those clear pupils.
The image of a man filled to the brim with countless sin is something that couldn't be erased, no matter how many times I wash it.
However, come to think of it, it seems I have seen this girl before? Where was it....
My inner thoughts are quite complex at this moment, multiple thought that have nothing to do with my current situation floating around, but of course, I didn't show any of this on my face.
"My name's Luo Mu. Please to meet you," I nodded and responded to her greeting.
"Luo Mu? Isn't that Chinese? Are you an exchange student?" Ichinose put her index finger on her tempting lips, her eyes are wide and filled with curiosity, even those who are deaf can see her curiosity from looking nothing but her expression.
Ah, that's just breaking the rules isn't it? How come someone this adorable exist in this world?
"Despite my name, I'm actually born in Japan."
Despite the variety of the teacher, I'm 100% sure that the facility is located in Japan, since almost all of the word in the textbook they made us read are written in Japanese, so it's safe to assume I was born in there.
"Hmm... then, Luo-kun, what class are you in?"
I recalled his reminder before leaving.
"I'm also in Class B of the first year."
"Eh? That's great! We are going to be classmate then! I'm so glad~" she said, looking very happy, grasping my palm with both of her hand excitedly. I was startled by this sudden intimate gesture, and at the moment her hand reached out, I felt the urge to lash out and broke her neck, but I forced myself to stop my body from moving.
Reflexes are truly terrifying.
But still, this girl seemed to be very good at socializing, speaking of which, the sentence she just said seems a bit misleading. Does she not realize that the combination of the way she said it and the way she act would make pretty much any normal boy felt like she's trying to confess?
Even though I know such a thing is absolutely impossible, I couldn't stop the fantasy from happening. If that were the case, would I feel happy?
I harbored this question from the bottom of my heart.
"I didn't expect it either," I echoed to avoid an abrupt end and leaving a bad impression.
"Hey hey, Luo-kun, which middle school did you attend before?"
"Um...," I awkwardly scratched the back of my head.
"Ah, I'm sorry, is it a private matter? If so, don't force yourself," she seemed to realize that she might have touched on a taboo, her eyes showing obvious apology.
Ah, this girl's truly gentle, like an angel.
With that, I just needed to go along with her words to smoothly resolve the situation.
"It's not..."
"What's wrong then?"
Oops, I unconsciously blurted out while looking into her eyes.
"Um, well, actually, I don't know the name of the school I studied at..." I had to push forward with a brave face.
"Huh? You don't know the name of your middle school?" Ichinose looked puzzled.
"I know it's a bit strange, but it's true. Because most of the time, neither me nor my friend ever mentioned the name of the school. Maybe I remembered it at the beginning, but due to the lack of use over time, I forgot about it. It's just like how I would forget how to play a piano when the last time I touched it is 3 years ago."
"Is that so?" She looked at me strangely.
"Yeah, that's right. Although I don't remember the name of my school, I at least remember how to get there."
"I see...." she nodded a bit confusedly, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
Although Ichinose seemed to doubt the truthfulness of this matter, fortunately, she didn't dwell on the question and instead turned to the topic I brought up as a diversion.
"Did you learn how to play a piano?" she asked.
"Um, I've learned it a bit," I nodded, not denying it.
Learning Piano is one of the musical extra skill that the teacher force me to learn.
In today's society, whether children or adults, everyone learns extra skills, making those who don't learn seem extremely abnormal and inferior. I didn't know how the course of society's development had unfolded, but no matter what, those who followed the masses could be considered normal humans.
And in that place, having 20 or more extra skill, and learn 5 more in a single year, is the norm, so I'm not lying when I told that annoying man that I'm normal.
When I realized this, I didn't feel particularly pleased with society's progress.
"I also wanted to learn to play the piano, but due to some mishap, I don't have the time to do so," Ichinose said, I didn't really pay attention to her expresion when she said so, but it's easy to notice that she's a bit noticing felt melancholy when she said that.
"I heard there are some musical club in the school, maybe you can join one if you still want to learn it." I suggested.
"Ah! That's a good idea! Thanks Luo-kun." she said with renewed vigor, nodding her head at me with a bright smile on her face.
Her demeanor was truly gentle, enough to melt the ice cold heart of a cynical or callous person.
It's a pity, but my heart is not cold, just dead.
And thus, my three-year life spent before I plan my next suicide began on this public bus.
Tn: The Angel and a Blank Canvas have their first meeting on a bus, quite unassuming if you ask me.
Also, this is the image of Ichinose Honami, the Yandere
