A dream...
I always have the same dream.
A young man with silver hair, as majestic as light itself, levitates in the sky. Fourteen wings spread behind him, seven on each side. Each pair bears a different color, forming seven radiant pairs.
In his hand is a long spear.
A black substance drips from its tip.
The same black substance falls from his feet.
His gaze...
His gaze remains fixed on the horizon.
Was it grief?
Or was it sorrow?
Even I don't know.
All I know is that beneath him lie hundreds...
No...
Thousands of corpses, piled upon one another as though they were the monument to his victory.
It should have been a terrifying sight.
Yet...
The one thing I could never forget...
...was the look in his eyes.
And then...
The dream faded.
"Ugh..." I groaned as I clutched my head. "Again... What was that dream? And why do I always get such a terrible headache after seeing it?"
I slowly got out of bed and glanced at the clock.
5:00 a.m.
Perfect. I had woken up five minutes before my alarm, even though I could have slept for another five minutes.
The dream messed up my sleep again, huh?
Unacceptable.
After washing my face, I changed into a warm hoodie before heading toward the front door and putting on my shoes.
Just before leaving, my eyes fell on an old photograph hanging on the wall.
It was a picture from my childhood at the orphanage.
I was smiling together with the other children.
Among them stood a girl with long blonde hair and green eyes.
A small smile formed on my face.
"Don't worry, guys," I murmured. "I'll do my best."
Stepping outside, the cool morning air greeted me.
The streets were still quiet.
Most people were probably still asleep, while others were just beginning to prepare for work.
As for me...
This was my usual routine.
First, I delivered newspapers around the neighborhood on my bike. Thankfully, the owner had lent me his old bicycle, which I named Dullahan.
Kind of cool, right?
The Headless Horseman rides a headless horse.
The difference is...
I still have my head.
"Haha..."
...
Yeah.
That wasn't funny.
The job wasn't difficult, but it paid enough to cover my daily expenses and my monthly rent.
After that came a light workout.
Just enough to keep my body in shape.
Then I'd head home, take a shower, and have breakfast.
Which usually meant a cup of instant ramen.
Hey, I don't have the money for fancy meals.
After that, I'd leave for school.
Nothing special.
Just another ordinary day.
Or at least...
That was what I hoped for.
Which was quickly ruined as I walked toward Kuoh Academy.
Girls along the street kept glancing at me, some even openly stared.
It made me uncomfortable.
Hmm?
How was I able to attend a prestigious school while living on a financial disaster that forced me to survive on instant ramen with different flavors just to keep my meals from getting boring?
Simple.
Scholarship.
I'm not an idiot.
Strangely enough, the scholarship was originally offered by the Principal himself.
He claimed it was because Kuoh Academy needed more male students after transitioning from an all-girls academy into a public one.
I didn't like that reason.
So, I applied for the normal academic scholarship instead.
I studied, earned the grades, and got in on my own merits.
It was much better than accepting whatever special treatment the Principal had in mind.
But...
Why was I alone?
Weren't there plenty of girls walking in the same direction as me just a moment ago?
...
Wait.
Don't tell me...
Yeah... I was lost.
The embarrassing part wasn't that I couldn't remember the way.
The problem was that my usual route for my part-time job was completely different from the road to school.
I'd only come to Kuoh Academy once before, when I applied for the scholarship.
Back then, the Principal had picked me up from the orphanage, and afterward I never had the chance to explore Kuoh Town.
So... on my very first day of school...
I got lost.
"Oh my~ It's rare to see someone from my school walking down this street."
A soothing voice came from behind me.
At the same time, the soft scent of lavender drifted through the air, stirring a strange sense of familiarity within me.
I turned around to see who it was.
"Are you, perhaps, a first-year student?"
She was a beautiful young woman with a voluptuous figure, very long black hair, and violet eyes.
Her hair was tied into a long ponytail that reached almost to the ground. Two strands of hair curved backward from the top of her head, while an orange ribbon held the ponytail neatly in place.
"Yeah..." I nodded. "I'm a first-year, and honestly, I'm lost. This is only my second time coming to Kuoh Academy, so I'm still not familiar with the town."
"Oh my~ A troubled junior of mine." She smiled warmly. "As your senpai, I'll help you. You didn't take the wrong road, by the way. It's just that our students rarely use this one because it's a detour from the main road."
"I see..." I replied plainly. "Then, I'm very grateful for your help, Senpai."
"Hmm~" She hummed softly, looking rather pleased. "I like it when my juniors call me 'Senpai.'"
I don't know why but my danger alarm is alerting me.
Is she a baddie?
Yeah... she's definitely a baddie.
As we walked together, chatting casually, I couldn't ignore the faint scent of lavender surrounding her.
If it were just perfume, it shouldn't linger this long...
So why?
And more importantly...
Why does it feel so familiar?
"Anyway," I said, forcing the thought aside. "I'm Kazuki Sakuragi. It's nice to finally know your name, Senpai."
"It's Akeno," She smiled warmly. "Akeno Himejima."
"Himejima-senpai, then..."
"Akeno."
"Hime—"
"It's Akeno," she repeated, her eyes gently closed as she smiled. There wasn't the slightest hint of backing down.
I mean, come on.
We literally just met.
With a quiet sigh, I surrendered.
"Akeno-senpai, then."
"Mhm~" she hummed in satisfaction. "It's nice to meet you, Kazu-kun."
She offered me her hand.
"Already giving me a nickname?" I sighed again before accepting the handshake. "It's a pleasure to meet you too, Akeno-senpai."
The moment our hands met, she froze for the briefest instant. After only a few shakes, she gently withdrew her hand and stared at it for a second before looking back at me.
"What's wrong?"
"Ah... no, it's nothing," she replied with a small, awkward laugh. "I suppose... it's my first time holding a boy's hand. You're rather lucky, aren't you~?"
I looked at her for a moment. "...I don't know why, but that sounded like a very obvious lie, Senpai."
"Aw~ You're no fun, Kazu-kun."
I simply smiled and continued walking beside Akeno-senpai toward Kuoh Academy.
A new town.
A scholarship.
A part-time job to keep a roof over my head.
And new people to meet.
At that moment, I believed it would be nothing more than an ordinary school life.
...
I couldn't have been more wrong, right?