On the Bus

"Wow, Yuto, you got first place this time!" Yuki beamed at Yuto, as if she were even happier about him coming in first than she would have been if she had.

But Yuto didn't answer Yuki right away. He found Kiyotaka. "You're better than this, Kiyotaka. Why did you hold back and let me take first place?"

Kiyotaka was a man of few words, and at first, he didn't even seem inclined to answer.

Caught between the two, Yuki tried to mediate, but didn't know what to do.

Only when he could no longer stand Yuto's stern gaze did Kiyotaka finally respond, his expression still as unreadable as ever.

"I didn't hold back. That's my true ability. Congratulations."

April 1. The sky was hazy, and the cherry blossoms were in full bloom.

Amasawa Yuto sat on the bus to school, swaying with the motion of the vehicle.

He gazed out the window to kill time. The streetscape steadily slid away behind him.

I sure am remembering some pointless things. I should be in a pretty good mood right now.

Most of the passengers were students wearing the same uniform as him. It looked like they were all incoming freshmen.

Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School had been founded by the government to nurture the young people who would support the country in the future. It was the school Amasawa Yuto was about to attend.

Apparently, the White Room had been established to counter this school.

Unfortunately, Ayanokoji Atsuomi hadn't lived to see his son, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, graduate from the White Room.

And Ayanokouji Kiyotaka hadn't escaped the fate of a great man, either.

If he had lived, he would surely have graduated from the White Room.

Would Professor Suzukake not have killed himself if he hadn't thought of himself as a one-of-a-kind masterpiece?

Yuto couldn't help wondering.

"Um... hello?"

Yuto was lost in thought and hadn't noticed the girl who'd boarded at the latest stop and sat down beside him.

"There... weren't any other seats..." The girl wore the same uniform as him: the same red blazer, though the girls' uniform came with a white pleated skirt, while the boys' had green trousers.

She seemed a little flustered, as if she felt awkward sitting next to a boy. She explained that she'd sat there because all the other seats were taken.

Yuto glanced around. The bus had still been half empty a few stops ago, but now there wasn't a single seat left.

There was no elderly woman who needed a seat, no blond pretty boy sitting with his legs crossed, and no short-haired girl with a dual personality urging everyone to give up their seats.

"Don't worry about it."

At Yuto's words, the girl finally looked relieved, and her voice relaxed at once.

She had a lovely figure and delicate features, and her long, lustrous pink hair fell smoothly to her waist. Beneath her bangs were clear, lively blue eyes. Her delicate nose and slightly upturned lips all marked her as a vibrant, youthful beauty.

Yuto barely remembered the plot anymore, but he was sure he didn't know her. She was a character he'd never seen in the anime.

Even the background characters in Classroom of the Elite were gorgeous. Any random girl he hadn't seen before could pass for the school's most beautiful.

"Our uniforms are the same." The girl pointed to her own uniform, then to Yuto's, and gave him a warm, soothing smile.

They sat close together. The space between the seats on the bus was narrow, so they were practically pressed against each other.

Yuto thought he caught a faint citrus scent, perhaps from her shampoo.

Yuto was no stranger to being close to girls. His younger sister, Amasawa Ichika, was very clingy. Even though the back seat of their Rolls-Royce was spacious, she often pressed herself against him and liked to hug his arm.

Perhaps she'd mistaken Yuto's silence for something else. The girl hurriedly introduced herself. "My name's Ichinose Honami. I thought we'd be going to the same school, so I wanted to say, 'Please take care of me.'"

That made Yuto even more suspicious.

Ichinose Honami? How had he not recognized her?

His memories gradually came back to him.

Wait, weren't you supposed to have orange-blond hair? Why do you have pink hair?

Yuto suddenly realized that staying silent for so long had been rude, and quickly replied, "I'm Amasawa Yuto. Sorry, I was thinking about something and got distracted."

"No, no, I'm the one who should apologize. I'm just a little excited about the first day of school. Ahaha..."

"Hey, hey, are you introducing yourselves? I'm Amikura Mako. I want to join in too!"

A lively, energetic girl sitting in the row ahead suddenly turned around and joined the conversation. Her smooth black hair was tied in a high ponytail.

Amasawa Yuto didn't recognize the name. Either she was a background character with no role to play, or she was a character the anime had cut—or hadn't gotten around to yet.

The two girls clearly had more in common with each other than either of them did with Amasawa Yuto. They chatted animatedly, as if they'd forgotten he was there. They didn't look like two girls meeting for the first time at all; they seemed more like old friends.

Amasawa Yuto quietly listened to them talk about their favorite clothes, desserts, and other things, feeling awkwardly out of place.

Maybe it was a mistake to decide at the last minute to come to school alone today...

Thinking about the scolding he'd surely get from Tsubaki Yuki later, Amasawa Yuto couldn't help regretting his spur-of-the-moment prank.

Suddenly, the two girls stopped talking. Amikura Mako turned to Amasawa Yuto. "I just heard your name. Was it Amasawa Yuto?"

"Yeah. Why?" Amasawa Yuto could pretty much guess what she was about to say.

Sure enough.

"Ah, I knew it! Is it that Amasawa?" Amikura Mako suddenly grew excited, as if she'd uncovered some incredible secret.

"Yeah, probably the one you're thinking of." Amasawa Yuto decided there was no point in hiding it and admitted it outright.

"What are you talking about? Which Amasawa, Amikura?" Ichinose Honami clearly hadn't caught on—or maybe she didn't know.

"That Amasawa, Ichinose!" Amikura Mako leaned closer to her mysteriously. "The Amasawa from the Amasawa Conglomerate. You seriously didn't know?"

"Huh... Whaaat?!" Ichinose nearly jumped out of her seat like a startled little animal.

W-what kind of development is this? On the first day of school, the cool, distant guy sitting next to me turns out to be a secret super-rich heir?

As the three of them chatted, the bus announced its stop.

"Advanced Nurturing High School. Please exit through the rear door. Please pay with cash or a transit card when boarding. Please move to the rear of the bus."

"You two go ahead," Amasawa Yuto said quietly.

"Amasawa is surprisingly easygoing," Ichinose Honami said.

"And quite the gentleman," Amikura Mako added.

No, I just want to avoid a certain girl glaring at me from the school gates.

Amasawa Yuto had already spotted her, and guilt welled up inside him.