The school bus, carrying the second-year C class of Ogi Ten Academy, rumbled along the winding mountain road. Some students slept, others scrolled through their phones, a few looked a little queasy, and one was busy fixing her makeup.
But the real action was happening at the back of the bus. The popular group, as they were known, had gathered there.
"Hey, Takuto, next time introduce me to some of the girls you know!"
"Shogo, you're way too casual with girls! You need to be more sincere!"
Takuto Kirihara, blessed with both brains and good looks, was a natural heartthrob. He excelled at everything, and his words carried a certain weight that changed the atmosphere around him.
"No wonder everyone loves Takuto, he's so genuine and reliable!"
Several girls nearby chimed in with enthusiastic agreement. Takuto was the undisputed star of 2C, the central figure around which the class revolved.
Beside him sat Shogo Oyamada, his self-proclaimed "best friend" (though some might argue he was more of a sidekick). Shogo was your typical delinquent, rough around the edges, with a sharp tongue and a knack for getting into trouble. His only redeeming qualities were his strong build, fighting skills, and perhaps a talent for being downright sneaky.
The class's trendsetters, both boys and girls, hung on Takuto and Shogo's every word.
"Why don't you just date us, Shogo?"
"You guys are so easy!"
"I'm so disappointed..."
"If you want to go for the 'hot girl' look, you've got to beat out the Takao sisters first!"
"No way! That girl's not even human! Who can compete with a non-human?"
"It's just that the Takao sisters have a natural advantage, they're incredibly beautiful!"
Shogo's boisterous voice filled the bus. He seemed even more excited than usual, probably due to the field trip. Meanwhile, the subject of their conversation, the Takao sisters, remained silent.
The Takao sisters, known for their quirky personalities, were inseparable.
Takao Sei, the older sister, was a cool beauty.
Takao Itsuki, the younger, was a fiery, captivating beauty.
Both were incredibly talented. Sei was second in the class academically, and Itsuki, no slouch herself, was fourth in the last exam. They were also athletic stars, excelling at every sport. They were stunning, both in face and figure.
Besides their eccentricities, there wasn't much else to say about them.
"The mountain scenery is so inspiring, it makes you think about the beauty beyond our daily lives. You should appreciate it too, Itsuki!"
"I know, Sister."
The Takao sisters were definitely unusual. I couldn't see anything special about the scenery myself. How could anyone find beauty beyond their everyday lives in this? Or maybe... Sei genuinely saw something different.
I'd never seen Itsuki disobey her sister.
"Whoa! Takao-san is so strong! I just called her by her first name, and she's totally ignoring it! Awesome! So cool!"
"Oyamada-kun, could you please be quiet?"
A clear voice cut through the commotion.
"Oh?"
"I'm trying to read."
"What's the matter, Togo? You're trying to kill the mood with that attitude, aren't you?"
Ayaka Togo, the class president, was so beautiful that she was a topic of conversation even at other schools. There were countless stolen photos of her on social media.
Black hair, a headband, alabaster skin, and black stockings. Rumor had it she was a super-rich heiress, picked up after school in a luxury car.
She was naturally gifted at everything. She beat out Sei to take first place in the class, and even though she wasn't in any clubs, she'd proven her athletic abilities numerous times in gym class. It was said she sometimes even played for other clubs.
If Takuto was the class's male lead, then Ayaka Togo was undoubtedly the female lead!
"Speaking of which, Tokiwa, what are you reading?"
Oyamada snatched the paperback from Tokiwa's hands.
"Wait, stop it!"
Ugh... that guy Oyamada, he actually ripped off the book cover. That's going too far!
But nobody stopped him. It was to be expected. Few students in 2C dared to say anything to Oyamada.
"Still reading paper books in this day and age? That's hilarious! Is it manga? Whoa, it's a novel!"
"Give it back!"
"'This year's most anticipated romance novel'!? Wow, I really want to know what it's about!"
"Give it back, I said!"
"No, no, no, this is the most unexpected thing this semester! What? Ayaka-chan, you're actually a romance novel-loving sweetheart?"
"Is, is there something wrong with that!?"
"Whoa! No way!? The whole thing is one long paragraph, no line breaks! I can't read that! My eyes, my eyes are getting blurry! My brain cells are dying!"
"Then give it back already!"
"Huh? What to do? Ah, if you'll swap with me on R＠IN, I'll give you the book back, how about that?"
Everyone could see that Oyamada liked Tokiwa. No doubt, his current behavior was bullying the girl he liked. A twisted expression of affection, reminiscent of something from a bygone era. That being said—
"Oyamada-kun, please stop it!"
Tokiwa herself seemed completely unaware of Oyamada's feelings. I'd always suspected she was a bit slow on the uptake, but this…
By the way, R＠IN is a messaging app. It has the largest market share in the world. When using R＠IN, you can't send messages or chat unless the other person "allows" it. Simply put, Oyamada was using this opportunity to pressure Tokiwa into allowing him to add her as a friend.
… If I were to just interrupt him right now, it would be pretty cool, wouldn't it? But, as a "background character" like me, even if I stepped in, it would just be noise to them. No effect. NOTHING. Empty. Meaningless.
It might even make things worse. And going up against Oyamada would put me at a huge disadvantage.
If even Tokiwa, who holds a high position in the class hierarchy, can't stand up to him, then nobody else can either.
Besides, Tokiwa seemed different today.
Hmm? Her face is a little red? … Ah, I see. She's embarrassed because she was caught reading a romance novel? That's why she can't be as cool and assertive as usual.
"..."
Maybe it's because she's shy, but I think she looks kind of cute. And—
"Oyamada, give it back!"
She seems a little pitiful.
"What?"
"What?"
The second "what" was my voice.
Strange? I… what? Why did I stand up?
"Morigami Terukazu? Uh, you… what? What's wrong with you?"
No wonder Oyamada was startled.
Because I, Terukazu Morigami, a mere background character in the class, suddenly spoke up to warn him.
The atmosphere in the bus instantly became very strange. Everyone was staring at me. Uncomfortable sweat broke out on my skin.
"No, it's just… Tokiwa-san seems really, really upset…"
"Super—"
"Huh?"
Oyamada trembled all over. Like fresh jelly that had just been poured onto a plate.
"Super, super, super—super cool! You're way too cool! Cool MAN! MAN!"
Oyamada pointed at me excitedly. His attitude was completely mocking me.
"What? Morigami, are you doing this because you have a crush on Tokiwa? Is that it? Morigami-senpai… so you couldn't help but show off in front of her? Huh? What was that just now? The background character's counterattack?"
"Morigami-san…?"
Tokiwa's face met my gaze. She had an indescribable expression on her face.
Should I interpret that expression as positive or negative?
If the former is the correct answer, I'd be happy, of course.
Speaking of which—this agonizing situation. In this situation, what would be the right answer for Terukazu Morigami to do?
Just then—
"Give her the book back, Shogo!"
It was Takuto Kirihara who intervened. Even Oyamada, who feared nothing, didn't dare to treat this opponent lightly.
"That's not important, Takuto! Let's have some fun with Morigami-senpai, who's transformed into a cool MAN, and pass the time?"
"No, I'm not going to bother him. I'm not interested in someone like Morigami."
"Whoa!? You're super cold, Takuto! Damn! I'm just not as cool as you! So that's the biggest difference between us?"
"Oyamada, you can leave Morigami alone, but you better give the book back to Tokiwa! I hate your kind of behavior."
Everyone simultaneously cast longing glances at Kirihara. Mostly girls. Whispers of "Kirihara-kun is so kind!" and other favorable comments could be heard. Oyamada patted Tokiwa's shoulder with the back of the paperback.
"Sorry, Tokiwa♪ I got carried away. You're the best, can you forgive me?"
Tokiwa snatched the paperback back and glared fiercely at Oyamada.
Oyamada struck a pose of surrender.
"I, I'm sorry…"
Tokiwa remained silent, her anger palpable, as she stuffed the book into her bag. She seemed to have lost her desire to read it.
Tokiwa Ayaka is not only excellent at academics and beautiful, but she also knows ancient martial arts (I think it was ancient martial arts).
She once effortlessly subdued Oyamada with ancient martial arts.
Since then, Oyamada had inexplicably developed a fear of Tokiwa. At the same time, he seemed to have fallen for her.
Kirihara put on his headphones and started listening to music.
Oyamada returned to his seat and plopped down. Then—
"Ugh!"
Oyamada suddenly kicked the back of the seat in front of him. The sudden action startled most of the students. The bus driver's shoulders twitched in fright. I was also taken aback.
Only Takuto Kirihara, Ayaka Togo, and the Takao sisters remained unfazed.
Speaking of the twins, they didn't even react at all.
"An-chan~?"
The person sitting in the seat that was kicked was a timid boy.
Oyamada approached the boy and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Oyamada-kun, what, what's the matter…?"
Anchihiro.
An is the one who gets bullied. Now Oyamada has his sights set on him.
It happened on the first day we became second-year students.
An accidentally spilled Oyamada's juice. The juice happened to spill onto Oyamada's smartphone, causing it to malfunction. But An insisted back then that he wasn't at fault. And his mistake was not understanding who his opponent was. From that day on, An was targeted by Oyamada.
"You, you scared me when you kicked that just now…"
"That self-righteous Morigami-senpai acted like a hero, but you just sat there like it was none of your business, making the whole thing cold. I'm pissed! Hey, do you have something to say about that!? You jerk! When someone's talking to you, you look them in the eye!"
"I, I don't have anything to say…"
"Don't be ridiculous! You're just a 2C nobody, nobody will think you're mute if you don't speak! Shut up!"
"..."
"Answer me!"
"Yes, I understand…"
Does he want him to shut up, or does he want him to answer? Can't he just pick one? Oyamada is really strange.
"Hey, Oyamada? Don't go too far, okay? These days, if you go too far and make him commit suicide, I'm going to be in trouble! An, I'm asking you too! If you're going to commit suicide, wait until someone else becomes your homeroom teacher, okay?"
Tamo Tsurugi, the homeroom teacher.
Physical education teacher. He's gentle with girls, strict with boys. No, let me correct myself. He's only gentle with cute girls.
As a man, Tsurugi is only interested in the few who are at the top of the class hierarchy. Simply put, he wants pawns he can use to control the class. Conversely, he's only interested in pawns he can use.
Therefore, his attitude towards different students varies greatly.
Equality. It's a word that sounds incredibly hollow in this classroom.
There are different classes within our class. They exist all the time, and there's nothing anyone can do about it.
"I understand, I'll behave myself. Sorry~"
Oyamada was joking, but he still obeyed the teacher.
Oyamada is very good at dealing with teachers and adults.
He'll also try hard to please others, except for his targets.
This is to completely block off any escape routes, leaving the target with nowhere to go.
And that's why Oyamada's encirclement is flawless.
Oyamada made a show of apologizing, using a blatant tone of mockery.
"Sorry~ An-chan! I'll reflect on my actions for one minute!"
He was unabashed, showing no sign of shame.
Oyamada spread his limbs and slumped back into his seat.
"Ah~ ah~ ah~! Thanks to that self-proclaimed protagonist, Morigami-senpai, all the most heart-stopping moments of this fun school trip have gone cold~! I've been completely affected this time—"
At that moment.
Without any warning—
A white light burst forth, filling the bus.