On the rumbling bus, Tsugikuni Shiki rested his chin on his hand, leaning his elbow against the window.
His eyes lazily watched the blurry scenery passing by.
The morning sun shone through the glass, wrapping him in a warm, golden glow.
Outside, the wind blew through the bright green leaves, making them rustle softly.
He comfortably narrowed his eyes, feeling the cool breeze brush his cheeks and letting the sunlight wash over his face.
Early April brought the perfect weather for a fresh start.
It chased away the terrible heat of summer and wiped out the freezing winter cold.
This is the kind of life humans are meant to live!
Thinking back on everything he had recently been through, tears almost came to Shiki’s eyes.
The bus he was riding wasn’t just going anywhere.
It was heading to the Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School.
Built jointly by the government and powerful corporations, the school sat on an artificial island right in the middle of the big city.
It was famous for having state of the art facilities and bragging about a 100% college entry and employment rate.
Honestly, Shiki scoffed at that 100% claim.
As someone who had been forced to work and support himself way too early in life, he wouldn’t say he had seen through all the world’s secrets, but he always kept his guard up.
After all, a person living entirely on their own had to act like a hedgehog—curled into a ball with its spikes out, leaving only its dark eyes to watch for danger.
Besides, the promises of politicians and capitalists were so “pure and holy” that even a dirty toilet would look fresh in comparison.
Shiki figured their so called perfect success rate just meant they expelled the students who couldn’t cut it, or quietly transferred them away.
That way, the numbers on paper stayed pretty.
They weren’t exactly lying, they were just playing with the math.
You can always trust the promises of politicians and capitalists.
So, why was he going to a school that was probably a giant scam?
He had two main reasons.
First, the school offered completely free tuition, food, and housing.
As someone born dirt poor, that deal alone was worth the risk.
Second, he was hiding.
More accurately, he was running from a few girls who had wanted to lock him in a basement.
His basic survival instincts left him no choice but to hide in a school that locked its students inside for three full years.
(TL:I don’t know but this got mention a lot, and the comment also mention it, maybe Shiki is a protag that is used for multiple fic at one, mind you the original author is writing three book at once, insane)
Thinking about all this made Shiki sigh at his short but chaotic teenage years.
Right as his thoughts drifted back to the dark room he was almost trapped in, the bus stopped, snapping him back to reality.
The doors opened to let passengers on and off.
Still slightly dazed, Shiki glanced at the front door.
A look of surprise quickly flashed across his face.
Maybe because the school was out of the way, only one passenger got on.
A girl stood at the front, wearing the red uniform shown in the school handbook.
She was undeniably cute.
With her pale skin, a delicate face that looked like it belonged to a fairy, and beautiful silver hair that seemed to catch the light, she gave off a dreamy, almost unreal vibe.
Her black beret completed the look.
But her appearance wasn’t what surprised him.
What really caught his eye was the cane she was leaning on.
Her shaky steps and frail figure made it look like she might collapse at any second.
(Three years of locked down management…did she really need to go to a rough place like that?) He wondered.
Her uniform proved she was going to the exact same school.
Shiki just couldn’t wrap his head around it.
No matter how you looked at her, she didn’t belong in a strict, isolated environment.
(If I punched her, she would probably cry for a really long time…) (TL:Bruh)
Brushing off his random thoughts, Shiki yawned and glanced around.
The bus was completely full.
There wasn’t a single empty seat left, and no one else was standing.
Standing there in the aisle, the frail girl looked like an unwelcome stranger in a crowded room.
Without a word, Shiki stood up, grabbed an overhead strap, and went right back to zoning out.
“Thank you for your help.
I didn’t expect to meet such a kind classmate on the very first day.
What a nice surprise.” Her voice was soft, perfectly polite, and entirely calm.
“What?” Shiki, who was still lost in thought, didn’t register it right away.
When he turned around, he saw the silver haired girl already sitting in his seat, looking up at him with a smile.
“Don’t want to admit it?
Or is this kind classmate just a little shy?
I can praise you more, you know.” She looked at him with such a gentle expression that Shiki actually felt a wave of motherly patience coming from her—like a mom teasing her stubborn kid.
What the heck!
How am I getting motherly vibes from this little brat!
(TL:Nah bro, Arisu is a certified mommy)
His mouth twitched.
Feeling like he was losing his mind, he kept his face totally blank and replied, “You’re overthinking it.
This is a priority seat, saved for people who need it.
Respecting the old and caring for the young is a basic virtue.
You should know that, right?”
He purposely hit the word “young” hard.
The insult was obvious.
The word “cute” usually implies someone is small.
After all, it’s hard to look at a tall, mature woman and call her cute; that’s sexy.
This girl was tiny.
Just eyeing her, she was barely 150 centimeters tall.
Her face was so youthful that Shiki seriously wondered if she had faked her age to skip grades.
If someone told him she was in elementary school, he’d believe it without a second thought.
The girl didn’t even blink.
She just covered her mouth and giggled, “Ara, it seems the kind hearted Panda-kun is a good boy.
Such wonderful morals deserve praise.”
Because he was so poor, Shiki had to work non stop to survive in Tokyo.
At the same time, he maintained perfect grades and still made time for anime and games.
People thought he was a superhuman.
The heavy price he paid, however, was the dark bags under his eyes.
From a distance, it looked like dark makeup—which was why she called him a panda.
As for why he bothered with games when he was already so tired?
Life was hard enough.
If he didn’t find ways to unwind, he would have grabbed a rope and ended things a long time ago.
The harder life gets, the more you have to find your own fun.
Otherwise, you just can’t keep moving forward.
Of course, with his crazy lifestyle, dropping dead from overwork was a real possibility.
But Shiki had already made peace with that.
Hearing her soft but sharp comeback, he realized she was the type who refused to lose.
Give her an opening, and she would strike back.
Shiki shamelessly leaned into it.
“Of course.
Ever since I was little, everyone agreed I was the ultimate role model.
My parents praised me for being a great son, my classmates loved me, and teachers adored my manners.
I get so many love letters my hands cramp up, and they’re never from the same person…”
His confident, non stop bragging actually caught the usually sharp girl off guard.
For a second, she just stared at him, totally unable to find a comeback.
When he finally finished, she stayed quiet for a moment.
Then, looking at him like she saw right through his nonsense, she smiled.
“Boys who lie aren’t good boys.
Let me introduce myself.
I am Sakayanagi Arisu.
Please take care of me for the next three years.”
“Alice (Arisu)?”
“Ara, I didn’t expect Panda-kun to be so friendly, using my first name right away.
But since you are the first schoolmate I’ve met, I’ll allow it.”
“Don’t just make things up.
I was just surprised your name sounds foreign.
Do all rich families like using foreign names now?”
“You flatter me.
My family is actually very ordinary.”
“I wasn’t praising you.
And do ordinary people even use the word ‘family’ like that?” Shiki retorted before introducing himself.
“Tsugikuni Shiki.
That’s my name.”
“Shiki?
Mmm, I’ll remember that”, Sakayanagi nodded seriously.
“Shouldn’t a normal person call me Tsugikuni?
Or is your family culture really just that weird?” Shiki sighed.
“Eh?
Aren’t we already close enough to use first names?” she gasped softly, covering her mouth in fake surprise.
Seeing right through her acting, Shiki gave her a deadpan look.
“No, we aren’t.
Keep it normal and use my last name.”
His strict, all business tone made him sound like a tired office worker.
Feeling slightly defeated, Sakayanagi let out a small sigh.
“Alright then, Shiki-kun.
Tell me, did you know me before this?” she asked curiously, completely ignoring his request.
“Please call me Tsugikuni”, he corrected her again.
Then, he looked her up and down.
His black eyes, shining like obsidian in the sunlight, were sharp and assessing.
Sakayanagi didn’t get angry at the rude stare like a normal girl would.
Instead, her cute little face just smiled back at him.
Shiki clicked his tongue in annoyance.
“Tch.”
“That’s very rude, you know.”
“Whatever.
I didn’t know you before this.
I’m just having bad luck today.”
“Is that so…” she hummed, not bothered by his attitude at all.
Instead, she leaned in with interest.
“Then why did Shiki-kun assume I come from money?
My body might be weak, but my mind is quite sharp, and my memory is excellent.
I remember almost everyone I meet.
But with Panda-kun’s unique look, I can’t find a single match in my head…”
She was genuinely curious about how he read her so easily.
“Is it really that hard to tell?” Shiki gave her a weird look.
“They say money raises people, and it’s true.
Your skin is so pale it looks like you’ve never touched the sun.
Since the second you got on, your vibe totally clashed with the bus.
Even with a bad leg, you sit with your back perfectly straight, which screams expensive etiquette classes.
You speak politely, but your face is totally relaxed—meaning you know you have power backing you up.
Simply put: classic rich kid arrogance.
Add that to the fact that your eyes look gentle but actually view everyone else as monkeys, and it’s obvious.
You’re a spoiled young lady who loves playing with people.”
Even though a rich girl taking a public bus was strange, the school was on an isolated artificial island.
They probably banned outside cars, so it made sense.
His total breakdown of her character made the always calm white haired loli freeze a bit.
Shiki didn’t think it was a big deal.
Surviving at the absolute bottom of society had trained his eyes.
Especially after surviving the trauma of almost being locked in a basement, he had developed a radar that could instantly spot whatever kind of monster was standing in front of him.
If only I had this radar sooner, Shiki thought, feeling the urge to cry again.
Then I never would have gotten tangled up with those weirdo band girls.
“Hehehe…” Sakayanagi dropped her polite, slightly fake smile.
Instead, she let out a genuinely thrilled laugh.
Her voice was sweet, sounding like a kid who had just been handed a giant lollipop, but it gave Shiki the absolute creeps.
“Just as I thought.
Meeting you really is wonderful,” she said, her calm composure returning as she locked eyes with him.
“I guess the next three years won’t be boring after all, Shiki-kun.”
“I’d be a lot happier if you stopped looking at me like a cat looking at a mouse.” Shiki sighed.
Showing weakness now wouldn’t save him.
Proud people like Sakayanagi only believed what they wanted to believe anyway.
Besides, having already dealt with several massive weirdos in his life, Shiki figured she was just a naturally wicked brat.
He just needed to treat her like a kid acting tough.
He felt pretty confident about that.
After all, what were the chances that the very first person he met on the first day of school was another total psycho?
(TL:Still is ref from his life before this book, which mean the older book of author *laugh*)
“I feel like Shiki-kun is thinking about something very rude right now…” Her soft voice drifted over, laced with a chilly warning.
“You’re overthinking it.
People with dirty minds think everything is dirty,” he shot back instinctively.
Catching himself, he quickly changed the subject.
“Is your health really okay?
Being stuck alone in an isolated school for three years…
that sounds rough.”
“Ara, it seems Shiki-kun really does care about me.
But please don’t worry.
I plan on making a friend or two.
When things get difficult, I’ll just have them handle it.”
“Friends?
Are you sure you don’t mean slaves?” Even though they had just met, he already saw her true colors.
She was a total little devil, complete with invisible bat wings.
“Shiki-kun”, Sakayanagi frowned slightly.
“You cannot treat your friends like tools.
You have to get along well with your classmates.”
Shiki: “…”
Why is she suddenly lecturing me?
And I never even said the word ‘tools’!
Still, under her strict gaze, Shiki feigned deep guilt.
“I’m so sorry.
I’m a terrible person for assuming you’d treat your future friends like slaves.
You clearly only treat them like tools.”
Sakayanagi nodded in satisfaction.
“Admitting your mistakes makes you a good boy.
You deserve praise.”
Shiki rolled his eyes.
Give her an inch, and she takes a mile.
Chatting back and forth, the bus drove down a long road, passed through the security gates of the artificial island, and took a few turns before finally arriving at the school.
With a soft rumble, the bus parked.
Shiki let out a sleepy yawn, turned around, and stepped off.
The moment his feet hit the pavement, a cool breeze washed over him, clearing away the stuffy air of the bus.
Feeling a bit more awake, he heard the clink of a metal cane behind him.
He glanced back at Sakayanagi.
“Need help?”
Standing at the bus doors, she blinked.
“If you are willing to assist a lady in need, I imagine she would be very happy.”
Shiki didn’t say a word.
This shorty really loves talking in circles.
Grumbling in his head, he took two steps back onto the bus.
While Sakayanagi stared at him in pure shock, he reached out, grabbed her under her arms, and lifted her straight up like a stuffed animal.
He spun around and gently placed her safely onto the pavement.
(TL:Cute)
With her feet finally on the ground, Sakayanagi stood there, completely frozen.