001 - Not the Beginning of Fate
001 - Not the Beginning of Fate
Everyone knew Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School operated almost like a university. Talented students, charming classmates, and an elite school where meeting interesting people was practically guaranteed. What was there not to like?
Unlike the school system from his previous life, Japan divided its school year into three terms. It was April now, right at the start of the first term. It was also cherry blossom season.
Through the bus window, petals drifted down like pale pink clouds. Kai Saeki watched them for a while, but part of his mind was already wondering which class he'd end up in.
Class A was supposed to be for elite students, the best of the best both academically and physically. Then again, Arisu Sakayanagi had made it in despite her congenital heart condition.
If someone told Kai that Chairman Sakayanagi had not quietly pulled strings for her, he would have had trouble believing it. Although, when he thought about Yahiko Totsuka... Fine. Maybe it was easier to accept than he wanted to admit.
Class B was supposed to be the most cohesive class. In the original story, that was where Honami Ichinose had eventually been placed. But now, with his interference...
'Who knew?'
Class C was basically a collection of delinquents with one bookish girl mixed in, so there was no way he would be put there.
'Probably.'
'Who knew how this school sorted people?'
Class D was equal parts genius and disaster. Aside from the truly hopeless cases, it was filled with students who had frightening potential. If they could ever get their act together, surpassing Class A was not out of the question.
Still, being assigned to Class D meant there was some flaw too obvious to ignore. Something was wrong with them, in other words.
And who could say what would happen once those flaws were fixed? Kai glanced around the bus. Everything looked normal. There was no strange boy admiring himself in a mirror as if no one else existed. There was no adorable blond angel with curves no one could miss.
This was not the bus incident with the elderly woman. So everything was normal.
'Wasn't it?'
"You know," a familiar voice said from the seat beside him, "are you really going to keep staring out the window like that? Are you already tired of looking at me?"
Kai reluctantly drew his eyes away from the scenery and turned toward the girl who had spoken. Soft strawberry-blond hair. A faint citrus scent. A face pretty enough to be called angelic.
At the moment, her lips were set in a small pout, as if she wanted him to know she was displeased. Honami Ichinose. A true angel. Also his childhood friend.
"Sorry, sorry. The view really is beautiful."
Kai apologized immediately. It was one of the few tricks he had for dealing with girls.
"I'll forgive you. It's cherry blossom season, after all. But only this once, okay?"
Honami forgave him on the spot. She had not actually been angry. She had only wanted to see how he would react. Just as she'd thought... He was still the same. Still completely hopeless when it came to this sort of thing.
"Thank you for your mercy. Looks like we're almost there."
Kai pointed toward the enormous school gates up ahead.
"That really is extravagant. A gate that big must cost a fortune, right?"
Honami had prepared herself for the school, but even she was taken aback by the scale of it.
"This is the kind of school people criticize every other week for wasting public resources. A gate like that seems about right."
"And on top of that, the school doesn't charge tuition or special fees, and it covers all living expenses while students are enrolled."
That was exactly why Honami had chosen this school. She wanted to ease the burden on her family.
"Yeah. It would be even better if it weren't a closed, fully residential campus."
Kai sighed softly. In his previous life, back when he'd been a shut-in, it would not have bothered him. In this life... If he had a beautiful girl there with him, maybe it was not so bad?
"I hope we get put in the same class."
Honami took Kai's hand as they got off the bus.
"I hope so too. But let's go in and check first. Standing around imagining things won't change anything."
Kai gave a wry smile. Honami was a little too attached to him. If they did not end up in the same class, he had a feeling she might explode.
"Let me see, let me see..."
Still holding his hand, Honami pulled him onto campus. The first thing they saw was the notice board listing class assignments.
"Ah, found you! You're in Class B, and I'm..."
Her excitement faltered.
"I'm in Class A?"
Her face fell.
"How did that happen? Just thinking about not being in the same class as you already feels awful."
"We're still in the same school. We'll have plenty of chances to see each other, right?"
Kai tried to reassure her. To him, Honami was simply too fixated on this. They had been in the same class since elementary school. The odds of that continuing forever had always been absurdly low.
"Still... Class B, huh?"
Kai had assumed he would be placed in Class A. How had he ended up in Class B?
"Is something wrong with Class B?"
Honami did not understand his confusion.
"No, nothing. I was just thinking out loud."
Kai could not brush her off too casually. Honami could smell an evasion from a mile away. If she grew suspicious, he would have a real problem.
"We should hurry and meet our new classmates."
"You're right. Then I'll see you at the cafeteria for lunch!"
Kai made his way into the first-year Class B classroom with a sinking feeling. Come to think of it, besides Honami Ichinose and that Ryuji Kanzaki guy, who else had been in the original Class B? Kai could not remember.
Who paid that close attention to that part of the story? Most people were busy arguing over best-girl stocks. He found his seat. Second from the back, by the window.
'Perfect.'
"I'm Ryuji Kanzaki. I consider myself fairly capable in both academics and athletics. What about you?"
Kai sighed inwardly. Of course the person sitting to his right had to be him.
"Kai Saeki. Same as you. I'd say I'm pretty capable too."
He made no attempt to hide it. In his opinion, having talent and pretending otherwise was foolish.
"I see..."
Kanzaki adjusted his glasses. His gaze sharpened.
"What do you think of this school?"
"It's great. No tuition, no dorm fees, no extra expenses. Honestly, it's a paradise for dating."
Kai meant every word. This was the best possible place for romance. A closed campus. No interference from either side's parents. Long live free love.
"..."
"Never mind. I hope nothing unexpected happens."
Kanzaki sighed. Apparently, he had misjudged the boy. At first glance, Kai looked like a romance-brained idiot.
"Looks like the teacher is here."
Kai warned him. Chie Hoshinomiya, Class B's homeroom teacher, entered while leaning against the doorframe as if nursing a severe hangover. With her silky hair and youthful, petite appearance, it was easy to understand why she was popular with students.
Without the hangover expression and the teaching materials in her hands, no one would have guessed she was a homeroom teacher.
"Good morning, everyone," she said, cutting herself off with a hiccup. "I'm your homeroom teacher. At this school, your homeroom teacher won't change, so you'll be stuck with me for the next three years. The entrance ceremony is in an hour, so someone come up and hand out these materials..."
Kanzaki stepped up without hesitation, took the papers from her, and distributed them to the first student in each row so they could be passed back.
"Looks like we have an hour of free time."
Entrance ceremony in one hour? No. An hour to do whatever they wanted.
"Anything at school can be bought with the points on your student ID," she said, another hiccup slipping out. "Oh, right, your phone also serves as your student ID, so make sure you don't lose it."
"Each of you has received one hundred thousand points. Each point is worth one yen."
"Does anyone have questions? If you do, please don't ask them. I need to go deal with something in the bathroom first..."
Chie Hoshinomiya fled with one hand on the wall. After receiving the materials and watching their homeroom teacher's performance, Kai left the classroom and headed to Class A to check on Honami. She probably, most likely, maybe did not need him to worry.
When he arrived at Class A, he had barely had time to look for Honami before someone spoke to him.
"And you are...?"
'Great. He had caught the wrong person's attention immediately.'
Kai looked at the girl addressing him. The cane beside her gave away her identity. Arisu Sakayanagi. The final boss of Class A's internal conflicts and its resident chaos grenade.
"I'm Kai Saeki. I came to see how someone I've known for a long time is getting along with her new class."
Kai answered honestly. If he could avoid attracting Sakayanagi's attention, that would be ideal.
'Petite girls were not his type.'
"Is that so? Saeki, may I ask who this acquaintance is?"
Sakayanagi had no intention of letting him go so easily. A student appearing at the back door of another classroom at this time was far too strange. Did he not care how his own classmates saw him?
In Japan, first impressions with classmates on the first day mattered enormously. One wrong move could lead to... Best case, that meant three lonely years. As for the worst case...
Surely he did not want to be quietly ostracized.
"Honami Ichinose."
Kai knew he had rushed over too soon. He should not have come this early. It was only natural to be suspected. Not that he was afraid. It was just annoying.
After realizing he had been reborn into the world of Classroom of the Elite, Kai had trained like his life depended on it. To put it simply, Kai Saeki was ridiculously good at almost everything. Including the most important one: fighting.
No joke. Not training would have felt unsafe.
"You really are an idiot, aren't you?"
Arisu Sakayanagi gave her verdict without mercy. She had already lost interest. No matter how she looked at him, he was just another romance-brained fool.
"Ah! Kai! Sorry, everyone, I'll step away for just a moment."
The moment Honami noticed Kai at the back door, she stopped chatting with the girls she'd just met.
"It's fine, Ichinose! Good luck!"
The girls called after her encouragingly. Honami smiled and nodded to them, then hurried over to the classroom door.
"What are you doing here, Kai?"
"There was nothing to do in my classroom, so I came to see how you were getting along with everyone."
"Did you properly introduce yourself to your classmates?"
"...I don't think so."
Socializing was the one area Kai struggled with. Just like in his previous life, he was completely hopeless at it. Honami heard exactly the answer she had expected. There was a hint of reproach in her eyes, but her face bloomed into a smile.
"Then hurry back, Kai. I'll come find you at lunch."
"Fine."
The board had already shifted. Kai just had not realized how much.
x
x
x
If you're enjoying the story so far, consider supporting me on Patreon ❤️
You'll get weekly early access to chapters, along with some exclusive content:
https://www.patreon.com/cw/auroraclairevale
