The school skirt was still in my hands.
And I was still staring at it like it was criminal evidence.
I sighed slowly.
"…Let's just get this over with."
I took a breath, gathered what little courage I had, and pulled off the oversized t-shirt I'd slept in.
Then I froze.
Silence.
My chest shifted slightly with the movement.
My face erupted in heat.
"…No."
No no no.
This was not good for my mental stability.
I grabbed the dress shirt at full speed and threw it on in a near panic.
The buttons barely closed over my chest.
The shirt was a size too big, probably intentional, but my figure still showed through anyway.
Then came the skirt.
And honestly…
It fit this body way too well.
The blazer, on the other hand, was pretty loose.
Same with the shirt.
That hid my shape well enough.
I stared at myself in the mirror for a few seconds.
Oh.
Now I understood.
The original Aika had probably been trying to go unnoticed.
The oversized clothes were deliberate.
That left a strange feeling in my chest.
I fixed my silver hair as best I could in the mirror.
Tried to comb it into something decent.
But it still looked slightly messy.
Even so…
Still absurdly pretty.
I hate this body.
I grabbed the backpack dumped in the corner of the apartment.
I had no idea what I needed for school, but at least I was ready.
I unzipped it quickly.
Notebooks.
Pencil case.
Textbooks.
And a small wallet.
Inside I found:
some cash
a student ID
a regular ID
a train card
'Shimizu Aika.'
It still felt strange to read that name.
I packed everything back quickly and left the apartment.
The building was just as depressing inside as it was outside.
Rusted metal staircases.
Stained walls.
Old bikes piled up at the bottom.
When I stepped outside, the cold morning air hit my face.
I stopped for a few seconds and looked around.
Tokyo.
But not the nice part.
This neighborhood was gray.
Old.
Cramped.
Like the city had simply forgotten it existed.
"…What a depressing place."
PIIING.
[Adachi District, Tokyo.]
"Are you a GPS now too?"
The system ignored my comment.
[If you don't hurry you'll miss the train.]
"How helpful."
I started walking, following the map on the phone.
The streets were slowly filling with students and office workers.
And honestly…
Seeing people heading to work sent a chill down my spine.
I instinctively checked the time.
My brain was still expecting twenty unread messages from the boss screaming at me.
What a miserable thing to be traumatized by.
It took about ten minutes to reach the station.
And I almost regretted being reborn.
The station was packed.
Completely packed.
Hundreds of people moving like an emotionless human swarm.
"God… it's rush hour."
My corporate soul took critical damage.
I ended up boarding the train with the rest of the students.
And that's when I discovered another problem.
This body was too small.
One rough lurch of the train and I lost my balance immediately.
"Uwah—!"
I crashed into a salaryman.
"S-sorry…"
My voice came out soft.
Delicate.
Ridiculously cute.
The man turned red and looked away like he'd committed a crime.
"N-no worries."
…
Why did he react like that?
I spent twenty full minutes trapped in that railway hell trying to ignore:
the occasional stares
my own reflection in the windows
the fact that my silver hair was attracting way too much attention
The train finally arrived.
And after another ten minutes walking uphill…
There it was.
Ouka Municipal High School.
The school building stood in front of me under the gray morning sky.
I took a deep breath.
Who would've thought I'd end up back in high school after dying from overwork.
Life really hated my peace of mind.
I walked in trying to act normal.
Shoe locker area.
Hallways.
Lockers.
Student noise.
Surprisingly…
Nobody talked to me.
A few people glanced over before going back to their own business.
That was better.
Definitely better.
I didn't have the emotional bandwidth to improvise conversations.
I quickly checked the schedule on the phone.
Class 2-B.
Second floor.
I stopped outside the classroom and took a breath.
Okay.
Just walk in.
Act normal.
Don't do anything weird.
I opened the door.
"Good morning, Shimizu-san."
I blinked.
A girl with her brown hair pulled back was looking at me from near the entrance.
She had thin glasses and was holding a folder against her chest.
She was smiling slightly.
[Mei Hirano.]
[Class Representative.]
The window appeared in front of my eyes so naturally that I almost jumped.
I opened my eyes slowly.
…The system was still running outside the apartment.
And nobody else seemed to see it.
I looked around quickly.
Nobody reacted.
Nobody could see the floating windows.
Nobody heard the chimes.
Only me.
A chill ran down my spine.
This was real.
Completely real.
"Shimizu-san… are you okay?"
Mei's voice pulled me back.
"Oh! Yeah, yeah."
Improvise.
"Good morning."
I answered with more energy than she was expecting.
Mei blinked, caught off guard.
For a second she looked completely thrown.
Then she smiled softly.
"…It's good to see you again. You hadn't come in for a few days."
Right.
The old Aika had missed a lot of school.
"Yeah… I had some things going on."
The universal corporate non-answer.
It worked perfectly.
Mei nodded without pushing further.
Thank god.
I moved quickly into the classroom and found my seat.
It was at the back.
By the window.
I stared at the spot for a few seconds.
…
Of course.
The anime protagonist seat.
All I was missing was a childhood friend with a tsundere personality and the starter pack would be complete.
I sat down slowly.
Class started shortly after.
And honestly…
I didn't understand a damn thing.
The teacher was writing formulas on the board while I was barely managing to process the fact that:
I was alive
dead
reincarnated
in a female body
in high school
being threatened by a degenerate system
My life had gone off the rails way too fast.
I looked around the classroom.
Some students were sleeping.
Others were taking notes.
Others were whispering in the back.
Normal.
Disturbingly normal.
And that somehow made everything feel even stranger.
PIIING.
A window appeared in front of me.
[Main Mission Pending.]
[Time Remaining: 00:42:17]
I frowned.
Ignored it.
Kept watching the class.
The teacher kept talking.
Life kept being normal.
Maybe the system was exaggerating.
Right.
Probably just psychological pressure.
PIIING.
[00:31:03]
Ignored.
PIIING.
[00:19:44]
Ignored.
PIIING.
[00:10:12]
…Okay.
Maybe I shouldn't be ignoring it that much.
Class finally ended.
The teacher walked out.
Students started chatting while they waited for the next period.
Then the system exploded in front of my eyes.
[ALERT.]
The windows turned red.
[TIME REMAINING: 00:05:00]
[IMMINENT DEATH WARNING.]
My throat went dry.
"…Not this again…"
But this time it didn't sound convincing even to me.
Because my chest started hurting.
Again.
"…Oh."
Cold.
Heavy.
Exactly like right before I died.
The vitality bar appeared before my eyes.
[11%]
[10%]
My breathing became unsteady.
No.
No no no.
This was real.
I was ACTUALLY going to die.
I shot up so fast the chair nearly tipped over.
Several students turned to look at me, startled.
I didn't care.
I ran out of the classroom.
"S-Shimizu-san!"
I heard Mei's voice behind me.
Ignored it.
My chest hurt more with every second.
The countdown kept dropping.
[04:12]
"Shit…! Shit shit shit!"
I sprinted down the hallway, desperate, trying to think.
What the hell was I supposed to do?
Why didn't I listen to the system earlier?!
Damn degenerate platform!
I spotted a door.
BATHROOM.
I burst in.
And froze immediately.
Silence.
Three students were staring at me in horror.
One was standing at a urinal.
My brain took a full second to process it.
…
Oh.
Right.
I'm a girl now.
"AHHH I'M SO SORRY!!"
I bolted out while the guys shouted in confused panic behind me.
My dignity had just died again.
I spotted the girls' bathroom across the hall.
I went in immediately.
My chest was still hurting.
[02:31]
"Damn…"
I dove into the first open stall and locked the door.
My hands were shaking.
Cold sweat ran down the back of my neck.
The vitality bar kept dropping.
[7%]
I pulled out the phone.
Opened the front camera.
And suffered instant psychological damage.
The girl on screen looked way too cute even in a full panic.
"Focus!"
I quickly undid two buttons on the shirt.
My face was completely red.
"I'm going to sue the universe…"
First attempt.
CLICK.
The photo came out terrible.
I looked like a criminal sweating in a public bathroom.
"Again!"
Second attempt.
Too blurry.
[01:14]
"AHHH!"
Breathe.
Think.
My editor brain activated automatically.
Higher angle.
Better lighting.
Softer expression.
Use your eyes.
I slowly raised two fingers.
Winked.
Tried a shy smile.
CLICK.
Silence.
…
It looked absurdly good.
Damn it.
I opened the Lonely Fans app.
Username: @Lilac_Aika
Post.
My finger hovered over the button, trembling.
"I hate this so much…"
I pressed it.
Posted successfully.
PIIING.
[Mission Complete.]
[Reward Delivered: ¥10,000]
[Vitality Restored.]
The pain vanished instantly.
My chest stopped feeling like it was being crushed.
Air filled my lungs normally again.
I slumped down onto the toilet lid.
"…I survived."
I looked at the updated balance.
¥13,200.
Ten thousand yen.
For a single photo.
My old job paid thirteen thousand for a full day of destroying myself physically and mentally.
…
No wonder the internet was full of streamers dropping out of school.
I sat there for a few more seconds trying to calm down.
But then my stomach growled again.
Violently.
"…I'm still hungry."
I sighed in defeat.
"I want curry…"
I pocketed the phone and slowly walked out of the bathroom.
And then the phone vibrated.
Once.
Twice.
Ten times.
Thirty.
"Huh?"
The screen exploded with notifications.
[@KuroNeko89 started following you.]
[@Salaryman_Destroyed: "Oh my god…"]
[@TokyoGamer donated ¥5,000.]
[@MilkTeaLover: "THOSE EYES CANNOT BE REAL."]
[@VIP_Kuro: "I need more."]
[@LonelyFanatic: "BRO I FELL IN LOVE IN 4 SECONDS."]
[@DegenerateSensei: "Is that your school bathroom? Bold move…"]
My blood ran cold.
Wait.
Bathroom.
School.
Uniform.
I pulled up the photo quickly.
And there it was.
Perfectly visible.
The Ouka Municipal High School uniform.
A cold sweat ran down my spine.
The post kept blowing up.
More comments.
More followers.
More donations.
More people sharing the photo.
And if it kept spreading…
Someone would eventually recognize the uniform.
My breathing slowed.
Way down.
I looked at the phone.
Then at the school hallway full of students.
And finally understood something terrifying.
I had just turned my school life into a digital time bomb.