The next day – Third Person Pov~
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Ryu slowly got out of bed, clutching his head as he sat on the edge of the mattress.
He’d barely slept.
Every time he closed his eyes, his mind kept circling back to the same things, being transmigrated into another world, becoming Ryu Takane, apparently being an orphan, and somehow having an ability called Overcome that he knew absolutely nothing about.
That last part bothered him more than he’d like to admit.
It was the only ability he’d been given, yet the information surrounding it had been nothing but question marks…
He had no idea what it did, what its limitations were, or whether it was even useful.
Still, there wasn’t much he could do about it right now…
“Whatever…” He muttered, tiredly to himself.
Ryu rubbed his eyes before standing up.
There was no point dwelling on it first thing in the morning.
He had school.
That thought immediately made him stop: “…School.”
He looked toward the uniform he’d prepared the night before.
Right.
He actually had to go…
Ryu quickly got himself ready, making sure his uniform looked presentable before grabbing the school bag that had been left for him.
He didn’t bother spending too much time worrying about his appearance.
There was only so much he could do when he barely knew what he was supposed to look like in the first place.
After checking the time, he hurried downstairs, grabbed something simple to eat, and left the house not long afterward.
The moment he stepped outside, however, he realized he’d made one rather important mistake.
He had absolutely no idea where the school was.
Ryu stood on the sidewalk, staring down the unfamiliar street: “…Ah, crap…”
He looked left.
Then right.
Nothing.
He hadn’t thought to check yesterday: “Great start, Ryu…”
He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.
There was no map, no phone that he knew how to use, and certainly nobody around to ask without immediately raising questions.
He was beginning to wonder if he should simply wander around until he found a school when he noticed a group of students further down the street.
They were wearing uniforms.
Ryu’s eyes immediately lit up: “Oh…”
He watched them for a moment.
Then he followed.
There wasn’t really another reasonable or logical option.
Keeping a reasonable distance, Ryu walked behind the group, trying his best not to look like some suspicious stranger stalking a bunch of teenagers.
Thankfully, they seemed too busy talking amongst themselves to notice him.
As they continued walking, Ryu began paying more attention to his surroundings.
The streets were already becoming busier, with other students heading in the same general direction.
Eventually, after following the group for several minutes, he caught sight of a large school building in the distance.
Ryu slowed slightly: “So that’s it…”
The school was considerably larger than he had expected…
The grounds were well-maintained, with a clean, orderly appearance and several buildings spread across the campus.
Even from outside, the place looked lively, with students entering through the gates in groups.
Ryu stared at it for a moment: “Huh…”
He couldn’t help comparing it to his old high school.: “…This place looks way better.” He quickly shook his head: “Not that it really matters.”
He followed the students through the gates, trying his best to blend in.
Thankfully, nobody stopped him, and before long he found himself inside the main building.
Then reality hit him again.
He didn’t know where his classroom was: “…Right.”
Ryu stood in the hallway, watching students move around him: ‘Of course…’
He had no idea what grade he was in, what class he belonged to, or even where he was supposed to go.
He looked around, hoping there might be some kind of sign.
Nothing immediately stood out.
Ryu sighed: “Okay…
Think.” Maybe there was something in his bag?
He quickly opened it and looked through the contents, but there wasn’t anything particularly useful.
Notebooks, pens, textbooks…
Then his eyes caught something sticking out from the top pocket.
“What the…
What’s this?” He pulled it out.
Only to find out it was…
Another note…?
Ryu stared at it for several seconds before eventually unfolding it.
§
2-B
§
…
He stared at the two characters and number: ‘2-B?
What’s this supposed to mean?’
Ryu tilted his head: ‘What am I supposed to do with that?’
He looked around again.
There were students walking through the halls, some entering classrooms while others stood around talking.
He couldn’t exactly walk up to someone and ask where 2-B was without making things awkward.
Then again…
“Ugh~ What choice do I have?” He muttered annoyed.
Ryu quickly stuffed the note into his pocket.
He started walking down the hallway, hoping he’d eventually find something that looked familiar.
He didn’t.
Still, he kept moving.
At the very least, he had a class number now.
That was better than nothing: “2-B…?”
He quietly repeated it to himself as he continued down the corridor;
“I’ll figure out what that means eventually.”
‘Hopefully.’ He thought to himself.
Because right now, Ryu Takane was officially a student at a school he knew nothing about, in a world he knew nothing about, with an ability he knew nothing about…
And he’d been here for less than twenty-four hours!
‘Yeah…’ He sighed: ‘This is gonna be a heck of a long day…’
…
Ryu kept walking around the building.
At first, he had absolutely no idea what he was looking for.
Every hallway seemed to look almost exactly the same, and the further he walked, the more he began to wonder if he’d somehow managed to get himself lost inside a school he’d only just entered…
He eventually started paying closer attention to the rooms he passed, particularly the small numbers displayed above each classroom door.
‘Wait…’ He stopped.
Ryu looked up at the number above the classroom he had just passed, then glanced back at the note in his pocket: “2-B…”
He looked at the number again: ‘Could it really be that simple?’
He walked a little further, checking the numbers above each door as he went.
Eventually, he found a section where the numbers seemed to correspond with the classes.
His eyes moved from one door to another until finally-
“2-B…”
There it was!
Ryu stood in front of the classroom for a moment, staring at the door: ‘Well…
I found it.’
He took a small breath before sliding the door open.
The first thing he noticed was the teacher standing near the front of the classroom.
She was already preparing something on her desk, but the moment the door opened, she looked toward him.
Her eyes lingered on Ryu for a moment before her expression seemed to brighten with recognition.
“You must be the transfer student.”
Ryu froze for half a second: ‘Transfer student…?’ Right.
Apparently, that was what he was supposed to be.
“I…
Yes.” That was all he could think of saying.
The teacher gave him a small smile and gestured toward the room: “Come in.
You can introduce yourself to everyone.” Ryu nodded and stepped inside.
The moment he walked toward the front of the classroom, he could feel everyone’s eyes following him.
Dozens of unfamiliar faces were staring directly at him, and for a brief moment, he wondered if this was where he was supposed to feel nervous.
Instead, he simply stood there.
‘Thank God I’m a grown man up top.’ He pondered.
If he were still his old age mentally, he probably would’ve been sweating bullets right now.
Having already experienced adulthood made standing in front of a bunch of teenagers feel surprisingly manageable.
He looked across the classroom before speaking: “My name is Ryu Takane.
I’m looking forward to getting along with everyone.”
That was it.
Short and simple.
He bowed slightly before straightening himself.
There were a few quiet reactions from the classroom, but nothing particularly noteworthy.
Ryu returned to the teacher’s side, waiting for whatever came next.
The teacher smiled before turning toward the class: “Alright, everyone.
Please make Ryu feel welcome.
I’m your homeroom teacher, Akiyama-sensei, so if you have any questions or problems, you can come to me.”
She then pointed toward an empty desk near the back of the classroom: “Ryu, you can sit over there.
The seat by the window should be free.”
Ryu followed her gesture: ‘Of course.’ It was the classic back window seat he’d seen the main protagonist of an anime take.
He almost wanted to laugh: “Alright.” He walked over and took his seat, placing his bag beside him.
From there, the morning passed much faster than he’d expected…
At first, Ryu was worried that he’d have trouble following along, but thankfully, most of the material wasn’t completely unfamiliar.
There were a few things he had to pay closer attention to, especially when it came to subjects and terminology he didn’t recognize, but he managed.
More importantly…
‘School is actually pretty fun.’ He leaned against his chair slightly as the teacher continued explaining the lesson.
It was strange.
He remembered his old school days differently.
Back then, he’d mostly thought about wanting to leave, wanting the day to end, wanting to get home and do something else.
Now, sitting here with the knowledge that he had somehow been given another chance at life, everything felt strangely…
nostalgic…
‘Funny how that works.’ He mused.
Things he once took for granted suddenly felt interesting.
Before he knew it, the bell rang.
Ryu blinked…
“Huh?” He looked toward the clock: ‘Already?’
Students immediately began moving around, talking among themselves as the classroom gradually became noisier.
Ryu stood up as well, figuring he should probably follow everyone else before he somehow got lost again.
He stepped into the hallway, casually walking with the other students while listening to the conversations around him…
Then he heard something that caught his attention;
“That’s the new transfer student, right?”
“Yeah.”
“He’s pretty unremarkable lookin’.”
…
Ryu’s eyebrow twitched: ‘U-Unremarkable…?’
He scoffed quietly: “Hmph.”
…They weren’t exactly wrong.
Ryu glanced down at himself: ‘I’m just some skinny seventeen-year-old with no idea what he’s doing.’ He shrugged: ‘Its a fair enough assessment…’
He continued following the flow of students until he eventually discovered where everyone seemed to be heading.
The cafeteria…
Ryu walked inside and looked around.
There were plenty of students lining up to get their meals, and a large board displayed the various food options and their prices.
Ryu reached into his pocket.
He had brought a decent amount of money with him, enough to get himself started, but he had no idea how expensive food was here: ‘Hopefully this is enough.’
He stepped toward the menu and began looking through the options.
Then his expression slowly became more complicated: ‘…Okay.’
He stared at the prices: ‘I’m starting to think I didn’t bring nearly as much as I thought…’
He had enough.
Barely…
At least, if he wanted something decent.
Ryu looked over the food options again, trying to figure out what everything was.
A lot of it looked completely unfamiliar, and he didn’t exactly want to waste what little money he had by buying something he wouldn’t enjoy.
He stood there for several seconds, visibly struggling.
Then a voice came from beside him: “You should get the honey bread, and the strawberry milk.”
Ryu blinked, and looked carefully: ‘Honey bread…
and strawberry milk?’
He looked at the menu once again.
Seeing the cost, it was surprisingly cheap: “…You’re right.”
He nodded slowly: “That’s actually pretty cheap.”
Ryu turned toward the person who had spoken.
And stopped: ‘…Whoa.’
The girl standing beside him had dark blue hair and hazel-brown eyes.
Her features were remarkably refined, almost to the point that Ryu briefly wondered if he’d somehow wandered into a different genre entirely…
‘She’s super pretty.’ That was his very first thought of her…
He quickly shook the thought away before looking back at her.
The girl seemed to notice his expression and gave him a small smile: “I’m glad I could help.”
Ryu nodded: “I’m Ryu Takane.
Thanks for the advice.
I really needed it.”
“No problem.” The girl said.
Ryu tilted his head slightly: “Why’d you help me, though?”
She looked at him for a moment before answering rather honestly: “To be honest…
You looked like you were having a really hard time deciding.”
Ryu’s expression stiffened: ‘Sheesh…
Was it really that obvious?’
“Was it that bad?” He said, this time out loud, somewhat embarrassed.
The girl chuckled softly: “Well…
Just a little.”
Ryu gave an awkward laugh: “Great…”
He glanced toward the line.
He was next, he turned to her quickly saying: “Well, thanks again.”
He quickly stepped forward and ordered the food she’d recommended, making sure he didn’t hold up the line.
When he turned around with his lunch, however, the girl was already gone.
Ryu looked around the cafeteria.
Realizing that she was gone: ‘Ah…’
He smiled faintly: ‘She must’ve been an angel.’
He shook his head at his own thought before finding a quieter place to eat.
There were already a few students sitting outside, but Ryu continued walking until he found a spot far enough away from everyone else to give himself some privacy.
He sat down, opened his lunch, and took his first bite.
His eyes widened: ‘…This is actually really good!?’ He took another bite.
Then another.
Before long, Ryu was practically stuffing his face: “Mm…”
‘Maybe this world isn’t so bad after all.’ Ryu continued eating, completely absorbed in his meal.
That was until he suddenly felt something looming over him.
Ryu slowly stopped chewing: ‘…Huh?’
He opened his eyes and looked up.
Standing in front of him was a tall boy accompanied by two other boys, with a couple of girls standing nearby.
The tallest of them easily exceeded 180 centimeters, making Ryu look even smaller by comparison…
Ryu swallowed his food and looked at them: “Can I help you?”
The tall youth smiled: “Of course, of course, yeah.
You can.”
He walked over and sat down beside Ryu before casually placing an arm around his neck.
Ryu stiffened: ‘This guy…
Isn’t he getting a little too close for comfort…?’ He thought.
Just as he thought so, the red haired youth only leaned in closer: “You’re obviously new around here, right?”
Ryu glanced toward him, before eventually nodding: “…Yeah.”
“Then I’ll give you some advice…” The youth’s expression changed slightly: “Stay away from the girl you met in the cafeteria.”
Ryu immediately understood where this was going…
‘Ah.’ He glanced at the others: ‘So that’s what this is.’ He realized.
Judging from their appearance, they looked like obvious delinquents…
He sighed internally: “Sure.”
The youth seemed satisfied with the answer.
He stood up, and gave Ryu a light pat on the shoulder: “Good…”
He smiled: “…Don’t let it happen again.”
Ryu stared at him…
There was a brief period of silence.
Then he asked: “What if I do…?”
The youth stopped.
For a moment, he didn’t move single muscle.
Then, he slowly looked up toward the sky and sighed: “…What?”
He turned back toward Ryu…
The smile was gone.
That’s when the change was visibly…
Th youths veins stood out slightly across his forehead as his expression hardened…
Ryu calmly looked back at him: ‘Well…’
He took another bite of his honey bread: ‘Guess I found my first problem…’
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End