It's been more than a few weeks since I've lived in my new apartment in Nagazora, and if I'm being honest... life doesn't get any easier. In fact, it is getting more and more difficult, but somehow I face this difficulty like there is no tomorrow. Yes, I enjoyed it.
Tomorrow is school day, and what have I done so far? I usually wake up at four o'clock as usual, exercise, stretch, and train myself by honing all my self-defense skills, then take a shower. After finishing my morning activities, I had breakfast, went around the city of Nagazora where I lived so that I could get a clear picture of this big city.
And let me tell you, oh my... This city is so big, like... no joke. It reach to the point where I saw there was a big wall that I don't know what it was for, But that adds to the impression of how big and how influential this developed city is.
From the looks of it, there are lots of things you can do in this big city. I don't know what I will do in the future... but what is certain is that I got a part-time job to pay the rent for my apartment.
Every afternoon until evening, I will work at my part-time job. Which, surprise,,, is a fast food place. Again. But I'm grateful regardless, because the place is also very close to my apartment so what can I complain about? Then I spend the evening either relaxing or going straight for the sleep.
And this continued until today arrived. The day before the school day starts. Starting the morning with a water, I then use my sports clothes to go out. The cold air in the morning is breakfast every day for me to train my endurance. I usually run a few kilometers around my apartment.
After doing that, I arrived at the empty warehouse that I often used to practice. I warm up and stretch to make my muscles flexible if the warm-up I did before running wasn't enough. There are many things I do here, such as push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, even throwing punches and kicks.
Feeling tired I went back to the apartment to rest and drink, after getting enough rest I cleaned myself of sweat by taking a shower. After all these activities were finished, as usual I prepared my breakfast. I was curious about my cooking skills so I cooked a new type of food, and I can say it was a success which is worrying.
Sometimes im kinda afraid of my own perfection, regardless. I finished my food and was confused about what to do. My part-time work schedule won't start until this afternoon, so I'm confused about what I want to do during this time.
Finally, after thinking for a long time, I decided to...!
Sleep. And sleep i did.
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Timeskip brought to you by... Chibi Kouta who fell asleep on the sofa in a sleeping princess position.
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It was already afternoon in Nagazora, visible from the traffic jams, and many people were coming home from work. And here I am on my simple bicycle, on my way to work. It didn't take long before I finally arrived, and parked my bicycle in an unusual place. I went straight into the kitchen and... Wow.
To say that it was busy could be said to be quite an understatement, whatever it is. I finally changed into my work clothes and met a senior who said that they would help me today...
"Hello Kouta, what made you come so late?" Said a woman with tied black hair and familiar red eyes.
"..." I rubbed my eyes silently several times before finally speaking. "Hanabi-san... how in the... nevermind lemme go to the cashier." Sighing, i gave up on questioning why the hell is she doing in here.
Laughing a little at my behavior, Hanabi-san just patted my shoulder and said "I just happened to be able to work here, you know? So you don't need to think about it, okay?"
"Hai... hai... understandable." I said ignoring her, walking away. I was now at the cashier and saw a line of customers wanting to order. Coincidentally the cashier looked at me.
"Ah! Kiddo! What a coincidence, I have a task for you. This is an order from some customers, tell those who haven't worked about this ok? Of course, you can help like usual."
In short, I did just that. 'It looks like my part-time work day won't be much different from my previous part-time work, so let's just do it.' I muttered to myself, before finally involving myself in my busy schedule as usual.
Helping most of my co-workers in cooking, we managed to serve almost dozens of people in a time that couldn't be called short neither long. This continued until night fell, and I was surprised by the total number of customers who had been served today.
The restaurant still looked busy but my work time was over because I was just helping and filling my free time, I saw Hanabi-san approaching me. "Wanting to go home already?"
"Yeah... I only work part time here so I asked the boss for a four hour shift. That's all." I said nonchalantly as usual "Hanabi-san, are you working full time job at this place?"
"I told you about not having to think about it, right?" This woman who likes to joke is now glaring at me, with no particular reason.
"Right... I forgot... Then see you tomorrow."
"Wait a minute... Isn't it school day tomorrow?"
"Yes? So what?" I looked at the red-eyed woman.
"You know, forget it. I sometimes forget that my co-worker is a workaholic."
Taking one last look at the woman before leaving, I said "Okay then... bye."
And that's my part-time job, finished at seven o'clock in the evening. I returned to the apartment by bicycle even though the distance was not that far from my apartment.
When I arrived at the apartment, I did my usual thing, like taking a shower after work. Have dinner, wash your face and brush your teeth. Before I finally went to sleep at ten o'clock.
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The day arrived, the day I would go to school. It was six o'clock, and I was already wearing Chiba Academy's school clothes. If I'm honest, I feel like I'm going to an elite school just by wearing it. However, experiencing Dejavu of this feeling. I shook my head and lowered my expectations.
'Every school has shortcomings. So what differentiates the best school from my old school is just the environment.' I thought that morning.
Carrying my old middle school bag, I started walking towards Chiba Academy. Nothing interesting happened, apart from the streets starting to get busy with cars and students heading to their respective schools.
Ignoring this, I arrived at the school gate and you could say... this school is big. Oh my goodness. However, knowing this school, there must be very limited students who can enter the building. Like, don't you see it? This is an elite school, obviously the number of students is limited.
But who could blame him? Anyway, I went in and looked for my class. And just before I entered, someone tapped my shoulder. Knowing who it was, I didn't look back and just confirmed it.
"Good morning Hikaru."
"Morning, Kouta. You seem excited for school today." And sure enough, it was Hikaru Kobayashi who was currently behind me.
"I mean... How couldnt i? It's the first day of school, at an elite school, you know? We are just a few students who are lucky enough to enter this school, especially since the person who accepted us is the CEO of a world-class company."
"Hehe... You're right, this is an elite school huh? I'm really nervous now considering that fact." Hikaru said with a thump.
"Just relax bro, it's still the first day. And the only thing you need to worry about is the first impression, other than that you'll be safe all day."
"Yeah... You're right... First impression..." Haruto muttered nervously.
"Calm down Hikaru-chan~ Kou-senpai is there to help you if you are being bullied." I said in a joking tone.
Obviously, I found Hikaru frowning at me joking so casually. "Friend." He said sarcastically.
Hearing him say that, I couldn't help myself but laugh. I mean come on! He was a shy student, and imagine if people knew him well and he talked like this. They will definitely have a very different impression from when they first met him.
Nonetheless, I put my head down, before giving my hand a rest while looking at Hikaru who could only sigh at his best friend's behavior. "As usual, wake me up when it's the time, okay?"
Looking at me with a cynical look, he could only respond simply. "Okay..." It feels like force, but I'll accept it.
But before I fell asleep, I faced Hikaru again. Makes him confused. "Hey... I'm just joking, don't take my words to heart. I know you've changed, but don't be so cynical. If you think that's too much, I'm sorry. You know I'm not the type to call people with a strange names, right?"
Coming from the bottom of my heart, I really feel guilty if for example seeing Hikaru like that. Hikaru, who heard my words, was suddenly surprised before finally smiling as usual. "Yes, I know. Thank you."
That's all I needed before I finally fell asleep. In the classroom...
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The class looked very busy, and coincidentally... many people were talking about the beautiful girl to Kouta's right. I was quite curious about this girl, she looks like someone with a very kind and loving character. Reminds me of my mother, for some reason.
I also heard that a student had just left class, came back in and told me that our class teacher had arrived. Everyone sat in their respective places, and I woke up my friend who was fast asleep. I'm even confused about how he can fall asleep so easily in so many places, I don't know. Was that pure talent that he had?
"Psst, hey wake up." I whispered to Quota, and fortunately. He woke up with just a whisper, unlike when he was in middle school.
"OK kids, attention please." A woman in her mid-twenties, looks like she will be the teacher of this class for the next year. "Let me introduce myself, my name is Sawa Takigawa. You can call me Sawa-sensei, and I will be teaching this class for your next school year. Does anyone mind?"
"""No, Sawa-sensei.""" Said most of the students in class.
"Okay, then how about we start with introductions. Starting from... Ah~ You!" Sawa-sensei pointed her pointing finger at me.
"Me... Me?!?!" I said in disbelief.
"Yup, please come forward, handsome red-haired boy." Sawa-sensei teased.
I stood up while gathering courage, and for a moment looked back. Only to see Kuota smiling evilly at me, in his relaxed position. Pouting, I just glared at him in annoyance before I finally stepped forward. 'Just watch out, you!!!'
'Just relax... besides... im not one who's gonna judge you here, the class is.' Somehow I could understand his gaze trying to say such words.
Arriving in front of the class, I started to introducing myself. "H... Hi! Nice to... Nice to meet you all here! My name is Hikari Kobayashi, and my... and my hobbies are reading a... a book! I like reading a book! And... I... Hope we can get to know each other more. Thats all from me... thank you."
I said nervously while bowing, after the stiff introduction. I could hear a lot of whispering, especially from girls. "He's cute!" "Adorable!" "I wonder what kind of food he likes..."
Hearing that, I could only return to the bench where I was sitting. Sawa-sensei clapped his hands, getting the attention of the whole class. "Okay, thank you Hikaru. I hope you can make good friends with all your new friends here. So! Anyone want to come forward?"
Many students were whispering whether they wanted to introduce themselves now or wait to be appointed. I looked at Kouta and he seemed to be wearing some kind of scarf? And moving forward while STYLING his hair with just his hands, at this point I'm even confused about what to say.
Kouta is seen with his toss-up bangs, and also looks like an actor at the front of the class. "My name is Horiuchi Kouta, originally from the humble town of Utashinai. I am honored to attend this school, and all of you should be happy because the Star of the Stars of the Stars has chosen this class. And to top it all of, nice to meet you all." He said arrogantly, before bowing himself politely.
"And I hope to get to know you all better." He said again, while throwing a kiss at the girls. Which made most of them scream uncontrollably.
Sawa-sensei was seen shaking his head and just patting Kuota on the shoulder while calming the chaotic class. "Okay everyone, please calm down." After saying that, the class finally returned to calm. "By the way... This is my number. Call me if you have... Whatever "assignment" you want to talk about."
"MOU!!! Sensei! That's cheating!" "You can't be like that!" "That's against the rules you know!!" As soon as Kouta returned to his seat, the class became chaotic again. The perpetrator of this chaos just scratched his head as if he was washing his hair, returning his hair to his previously iconic messy hairstyle.
"How is it?" asked the bast- i mean my friend, to me personally.
"Show off..."
And the class never went silent until finally the girl next to Kouta stood up, as a sign that, she want to introduce herself to the class. After seeing her figure properly, I couldn't prepare anything to see the girl with my own two eyes. Her figure is Angelic, Her aura is very bright, the girl's long dark purple hair is very beautiful and charming, and her dark blue eyes really captivate a man's heart.
The girl is now seen starting her self-introduction "Good morning everyone, my name is Raiden Mei. I hope I can get to know all of you better." She said enthusiastically, for some reason my heart skipped a beat seeing the smile of that beautiful girl.
I couldn't help my face which was starting to heat up, and my breathing was starting to get heavy. Am I going to die? And at a glance, I could see the girl. Raiden Mei-san, smiled at me. And that's when my mind went blank. Not being able to process what is happening right now.
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Yo... Is he ok? Hikaru stopped responding to me after the girl next to me introduced herself to the class, and this went on until the point where almost everyone had introduced themselves. Even though there's nothing that catches my attention... but thats not the point. The point is that what worries me right now is this red-haired boy, whose consciousness exists in which realm on the face of this conceiveable universe.
I'm tired of waiting, looks like I'll have to use "that" technique. "Hikaru Nakamura?"
"Yes?" He said instantly, turning to face me with a gaze filled with confidence.
"Look who's narcissistic now? Hypocrite. Besides... have you ever played chess in your life? Because I have a feeling that you don't."
"I... Do?" Lies. The lie was obvious.
"You know... forget it. Now what I want to discuss is not that, but this." I pointed at several boys in this class who had been looking at the two of us with jealousy.
"Oh... no... Kouta, will that be a proble-"
"Pfft, obviously not Hikaru-chan~ Do you believe on what your friend says?"
"They keep looking at me instead of looking at you... Is that a good sign?"
"For me? Yes, that means they don't see any of my worth. For you? Good luck with that i guess?" ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
"Good grief... You know, let's focus on studying. Maybe a little lesson at this elite school will cheer me up."
"Okay buddy... Whatever you say." And with that, Hikaru and I are now focusing ourselves on the beginning of learning on our first day of school.
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The school bell rang indicating that class was over and it was time for lunch. Kouta and I could finally rest in relief after learning which could be said to be quite ordinary.
"So... Kouta... what do you think about this school?" I asked my best friend whose eyes were almost open.
Controlling himself from yawning he answered "7/10, no different from schools in general. The conditions of the students are a little bit worse, and the saving point here is that their environment is not as bad as military schools."
"I see... Wait a minute... How bad are the conditions in military schools really?"
"If I take one case, there is a senior who lacks work. He decides to burn his junior because he is annoyed and bored." Kouta said indifferently.
"Wow... Very balanced comparison... And for me to think you drew conclusions from the first few hours of class is very... impressive."
"Hikaru, you are friends with someone who questions the existence of his life and overanalyzes everything. I guess assessing the sociology of this school is a normal thing for him to do, don't you think? Hikaru?"
"Yeah... You're right... Hehe..." I don't even know how to respond, after all sociology? I just found out that such knowledge exists.
I could see Kouta standing up from his seat reaching out his hand to me "Come on, I'm curious about this whole school. Wouldn't it be helpful if we knew the whole school?"
Smiling, I took his hand and said "Okay. Come on, partner." Responding to my smile, he pulled me from my bench and made me stand, while following him. Walking around this school.
You can see the cafeteria is quite full of students here, Kouta and I can only sigh and immediately take the empty seats.
"Geez... Luckily my mother always prepared lunch for me, If not, I don't know whether I'll have time to eat lunch or not. Isn't that right Kouta?"
"I don't know, I just drink water and I think that's enough." He said while sipping his water.
We shared jokes and laughter until finally the class bell rang, indicating that it was classtime again. And if I'm honest, Kouta is right. The lesson hours here and the classes are not much different from schools in general, the only difference is perhaps the environment is a bit tolerable.
And finally the afternoon arrived, indicating that school was over. I saw Kouta who seemed to be in a hurry to go home, not like usual but maybe he had something to do. And I decided to go home too, there was a crowd near the school gate.
At first I didn't really care why this could be a problem for me, but there I saw Raiden Mei-san. She looked very uncomfortable and the crowd.
"Raiden-san! Can I have your number? Please~"
"Be my lover! I will definitely take good care of you!"
"I-I..." It looks like Mei-san is very stressed out with all this crowd blocking her, if only someone could help her. If only Kouta were here... If only... If... only?
Then, someone suddenly grabbed Mei's wrist. The girl was unable to respond before she was pulled out of the crowd. "Move!" I said firmly, before breaking through all the students in the way and arriving at the front gate.
'Stupid! What was I thinking?!?! Jumping suddenly without thinking any further?' My mind screamed, I really wanted to know why I suddenly decided that.
I could feel a lot of protest coming from the crowd, but who cares? After a few moments of unrest from the crowd, it finally began to subside with all the students finally returning to their respective homes
Leaving me and Mei-san. Sighing heavily, I finally brought my attention to the girl next to me. "Raiden-san, are you okay...?"
"Yeah... I'm fine... thanks for earlier." Said the girl with a smile.
"Eh... Um... You're welcome! Besides... b-besides... it's only natural for me to help someone in need, right?" I responded with my best effort, of course I got a little giggle from the heiress.
"You're not used to socializing, are you?" And honestly, I was offended. And my heart was pierced by a sharp invisible arrow, even though it had been strengthened by a certain quite person who was secretly is a sarcastic bastard. I couldn't help myself, except feeling a little mentally down.
"I don't really want to talk about it..."
Mei-san smiled at my behavior, before finally asking. "But you seem familiar with Horiuchi-san."
"Oh? That guy? If it weren't for the fact that I've known him since middle school, maybe I would have thought he was an anti-social kid. However, he proved to me that introverts who rarely talk have socialization skills that are not much weaker than extroverts. I sometimes get annoyed with his behavior." Sighs came out of my mouth about all the things I knew from Kouta.
However, even that was followed by a smile. "Even so, he is my first friend. And I can say that he is the best friend you could have." After talking at length, I could see Mei-san who was listening well. And when I realized, it was too late.
"Ah, I'm sorry, I just-"
"It's okay, it's okay. I just found you to be quite a unique person, with an equally unique relationship."
"Wait...really?"
"Yeah... that's something I couldn't even dream of getting." From her words just now, it can be seen that there is sadness reflected in Mei-san's eyes.
"Raiden-san..." I don't know what I can do other than just mumble her name.
Hearing these murmurs, Mei-san shook her head then faced me again with a smile. "Ahem! Thank you again Kobayashi-san! It may not be much, but it might help you."
I could also see that Mei-san was withdrawing cash from her bag. Stunned, I couldn't bring myself to refuse her gift. In a low and disappointed tone, I said "Thank you, Raiden-san..."
The sound of a luxury car caught both of our attention, and Mei-san saw this as a sign to go home. "Ah! My driver has arrived, I'll go home first, okay? Kobayashi-san?"
"Ah... Yeah, see you tomorrow."
"See you!" With that, the heiress had boarded her luxury car and left the school. Leaving me alone here with the money she gave me. But remembering something, I immediately ran somewhere with all my strength. Coincidentally, it's in the same direction as Mei-san's luxury car.
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"H... Hi! Nice to... Nice to meet you all here! My name is Hikari Kobayashi, and my... and my hobbies are reading a... a book! I like reading a book! And... I... Hope we can get to know each other more. Thats all from me... thank you."
...
"My name is Horiuchi Kouta, originally from the humble town of Utashinai. I am honored to attend this school, and all of you should be happy because the Star of the Stars of the Stars has chosen this class. And to top it all of, nice to meet you all."
...
"Eh... Um... You're welcome! Besides... b-besides... it's only natural for me to help someone in need, right?"
...
"But you seem familiar with Horiuchi-san."
"Oh? That guy? If it weren't for the fact that I've known him since middle school, maybe I would have thought he was an anti-social kid. However, he proved to me that introverts who rarely talk have socialization skills that are not much weaker than extroverts. I sometimes get annoyed with his behavior."
"Even so, he is my first friend. And I can say that he is the best friend you could have."
...
"Mei-sama? Mei-sama?" My driver called my name over and over again, until I finally came to my senses.
"Ah! Yes?"
"Is Mei-sama okay? Because you seem to be daydreaming since earlier, and you didn't answer me for a while ago."
"Oh... Actually I was just thinking about something..."
"Is that so? In that case... what about the first day of school?"
"...I found it interesting, although not much different from school in general."
"Really, I thought a prestigious school like Chiba would give Mei-sama a surprise, but apparently not, huh?"
Ignoring my driver, I accidentally saw a familiar figure from outside the car window. And seen Hikaru-san? Who was giving a money to the homeless man. The same money I gave him.
I never thought that someone would donate money that they had just earned so easily, and yet I saw it now. I could see the innocent boy who helped the homeless person, even with a sincere smile on his face, it made my view change towards the boy.
He's very... Different
So different compared to everyone I've ever known, I wonder why he accepted the money if he was going to give it to someone else in the end. Tommorow, huh?
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"Kouta! After you're done cooking, can you give it to the sixth table?"
"Sure thing!"
"Kouta! The seventh table ordered hot tea, make sure you bring it without a spilling a single!"
"Working on it!"
"Kouta." "Kouta!" "KOUTA!" "Kouta~"
It could be seen that today was a busy day, and I cant believe that i need to do this work until the evening. Crowded customers and work that must be done quickly and precisely, make everyone involved and clearly overwhelmed.
Of course... Not with me, because I already have experience with things like this. And facing something like this after finishing school in addition, made my senior colleagues amazed. Considering I'm just a high school student.
Today could be said to be truly extraordinary, considering that I work in a medium-sized restaurant as my part-time job. We managed to serve almost a thousand customers, and most of them were teenagers from what I could see.
Until finally evening arrived, and of course there were still lots of customers. In fact, the numbers are not too different from when I just arrived. Everyone was overwhelmed, except me who had to go home.
My part time work is over, but when i see all my coworkers. I got to thinking... 'Two more hours won't make a difference, right?' And solidifying my choice, I sacrificed my study time to help. Which of course was greatly appreciated by my colleagues, but the response they gave was completely unexpected.
"Ah! No need to bother, after all today is just your first day of school, right?"
"That's right! You don't need to burden yourself just because we're tired, this is a natural thing we have to do as restaurant workers, right?"
"They're right, Kouta. Students like you only need to focus on the learning at hand, and at the same time... it might be a shame if we let our juniors take the spotlight."
"Hanabi-san, everyone..." I was stunned to see their efforts to persist in holding back their fatigue, and as if I had placed hope in them, I then turned around. "If so, don't let there be a reduction in performance, okay? Even though I'm not there."
"What are you? Some kind of hero? Don't worry, we can definitely get through it. Isn't that right guys!?!?" Hanabi-san's cheers encouraging her colleagues.
"""Yes! That's right!"""
"Then... I'll see you guys tomorrow, and good luck."
"Be careful on the road!" And just like that, my work shift ended as usual.
When I got home, I could feel the fatigue creeping up my back. Decided that a shower would freshen me up, so that's what I did. Next, I opened souvenirs from my colleagues in the form of their cooking for me as a form of thanks.
I enjoyed it all and saved some for breakfast the next day, and I can say I was quite satisfied and full. Feeling that my energy was full again, I went to my room and opened my notebook to remember all the lessons I had learned and... nothing. I have learned everything since middle school.
I tried to find something I could do before it finally hit ten o'clock in the evening, which indicates that it is time to sleep. Going to the bathroom to relieve myself, brushing my teeth and washing a face. It's a habit that at this point I don't need to bother mentioning, right?
. . . !
And after doing all that, my final destination today is bed. Laying my body on the soft, comfortable mattress, oh my god, my goodness. I felt a comfort that invited drowsiness to make me fall asleep.
But before I really fell asleep, at the point where I was just about to close my eyes. I could feel a tense dark aura, making me reflexively get up from my bed. Looking around my room, only to be greeted by a dark sight that was caused by me turning off the lights in my room.
I accidentally mumbled. "Just my feelings?"
I could feel that it wasn't just a passing bad feeling, but it was a feeling of being watched by "something". Something that has been with me for a long time at this point.
I don't know if I'm just overanalyzing things again or if my "feeling" is right. I chose to lie down again, and decided to end the day by... sleeping.
...
...
...
A black figure was seen coming into Kouta's room, he was right next to Kouta who was now fast asleep. The figure didn't say anything, apart from stroking the burnt wound next to Kouta's left eyebrow.
"You've already been wounded, and no medicine will cure that. Not conventional medicine at least, and you know that kid... Mwahahhahahahahah!!!"
Once again, the figure and his voice disappeared into the night. The next day Kouta woke up as usual, with Kouta now stroking his scar. "Father? No… this is... more familiar… but who?"
To be continued...