As Bai Yuze watched the students on the bus, he recalled the original story. As he remembered it, there was a scene coming up where someone gave up their seat.
Bai Yuze wasn't a good student, but he was at least a kind-hearted young man with all-around good character. If it was within his power, he would definitely offer his seat.
Just then, a student with an expressionless face furrowed his brow and glanced in Bai Yuze's direction. When he saw Bai Yuze resting with his eyes closed, he looked away.
Bai Yuze sighed inwardly. As expected of the White Room's greatest masterpiece—his senses were as sharp as a beast's.
Thinking of that, he once again sent the original author his heartfelt regards. If only the author had been more skilled and had a more flexible mind, he wouldn't have written this book like some chaotic vocational-school brawl.
Ding-dong!
The bus stopped, and an old woman appeared inside.
Bai Yuze was startled! He nearly opened his eyes. The old woman had appeared out of nowhere, and stranger still, everyone else on the bus seemed not to notice her.
Or perhaps... in their eyes, she had been a passenger on the bus all along...
"Um... could someone give this old lady a seat?"
As angels, the virtue of respecting the elderly and caring for the young could earn them their pure white wings.
Kushida Kikyo supported the old woman, her face full of concern as she asked the people around them.
But everyone on the bus had one flaw or another. Some were indifferent, some wanted to help but were afraid of feeling awkward, and one person... was sitting in the priority seat...
Just then, a woman dressed like an office worker stepped forward. In the tone of an elder instructing a youngster, she spoke to the young man sitting in the priority seat.
"Don't you think you should give up your seat?"
"What a crazy question, lady! Why should I have to give up my seat?"
The young man chuckled and crossed his legs. Then, from who knew where, he pulled out a comb and began leisurely combing his thick blond hair, murmuring to himself every now and then...
"I'm so beautiful..."
That familiar tone and unmistakable vanity let Bai Yuze recognize Beautiful Bro at once.
When the office-dressed woman saw that the young man had no intention of giving up his seat, she raised her voice.
"Huh? You're sitting in the priority seat. Shouldn't you give it up for an older person?"
Despite the office-dressed woman's relentless insistence, Koenji remained perfectly composed.
"How perplexing. Even for a priority seat, there's no law requiring me to give it up, is there? Shouldn't it be my choice whether I offer it?"
Then Kushida Kikyo gently tried to persuade him.
"Um, is there a particular reason you don't want to give up your seat? Maybe you're not feeling well or something..."
Hearing Kushida's words made Bai Yuze even more wary of her.
On the surface, she was giving Koenji a way out, but in reality, she was putting him on the spot. Anyone could tell just by looking that Koenji was in good health. So tell me, did a strong, energetic person look sick to you?
Koenji smiled at Kushida's "concern," then replied.
"Thank you for your concern, beautiful young lady. My body is as beautiful as my face. I'm not like a fox girl, beautiful on the outside but rotten within. Of course, that's right! Exactly! Hahahaha!"
Koenji suddenly burst into loud laughter, as though he'd encountered something amusing. His behavior left Kushida Kikyo speechless. After all, in her eyes, Koenji seemed like a lunatic...
Bai Yuze wondered to himself.
Did Beautiful Bro see through Kushida's disguise? That's terrifying!
Just then, Bai Yuze felt someone tugging at his sleeve. Not wanting anyone to get suspicious, he opened his eyes and looked over at Kushida Kikyo.
Kushida gave him a pleading look, and Bai Yuze's heart skipped a beat... as if!
Bai Yuze thought, with this many people watching, you want me to talk Koenji into it? You might as well kill me!
Bai Yuze had already decided to stay out of it. He didn't care if Kushida held a grudge against him.
Just then, that heart-stopping feeling returned! It was even more intense than before!
Bai Yuze instinctively looked toward the old woman. Her rough hand was starting to lengthen... and her fingernails were growing before his very eyes!
The old woman's hand hung low, and the other people on the bus were looking away. Apart from Bai Yuze, no one saw the change...
Bang!
"Hey! You're going too far! Didn't your teachers ever teach you? You have to respect the elderly and care for the young! If everyone gives a little love, the world will become a better place!"
Bai Yuze suddenly stomped his foot, startling the people around him. But he directly raised the old woman's arm and pointed it at Koenji, his face full of righteous anger.
The people on the bus were so stunned that they thought the old woman was Bai Yuze's grandmother!
Koenji seemed a little surprised by Bai Yuze's behavior, but he remained calm.
"Oh? I thought you were an honest boy, but it turns out you act like an ape-man. That surprises me. Unfortunately, my teachers never taught me such boring things. And as for the world being a better place? Hahaha! That's the funniest joke I've ever heard!"
When Koenji continued to act exactly as before, Bai Yuze froze for a moment, then looked at the old woman's arm.
It was just as it had been before, without the slightest change.
The sight made Bai Yuze doubt himself. His mind filled with confusion.
What's going on? Could I have imagined it just now?
Bai Yuze was about to say something else, but Kushida and the office-dressed woman stopped him.
"Ha! Good for you, young man. I thought you were just like everyone else, standing by and doing nothing."
As the office-dressed woman praised Bai Yuze, she didn't forget to put down the other people on the bus.
That put Bai Yuze right in the line of fire!
In the onlookers' eyes, Bai Yuze had deliberately shown off and gotten them mocked in the process. So instead of blaming the woman, some of them turned their resentment toward Bai Yuze.
Feeling the atmosphere shift, Bai Yuze couldn't help but smile bitterly. He closed his eyes again, though in truth he was watching Ayanokouji's expression.
Seeing that Ayanokouji seemed just as calm, Bai Yuze thought it over.
Could I really have been mistaken? The White Room's greatest masterpiece didn't notice the old woman change, either?
It wasn't Ayanokouji's fault. The bus was packed with people. Forget the White Room's greatest masterpiece—even Yagami Light wouldn't have been able to see it!
Kushida Kikyo clasped her hands together and blinked at Bai Yuze.
Her expression conveyed gratitude and apology.
Just then, the old woman spoke in a hoarse voice.
"Children, let it go. These old bones are still sturdy. There's no need to go to all this trouble."
The old woman looked kindly at the three of them and comforted them.
"I'm sorry..."
For some reason, Bai Yuze apologized without thinking. But the words had already left his mouth, and there was no taking them back...
The old woman paused, then smiled kindly.
"It's all right, young man. To tell you the truth, I should be the one apologizing to you..."
The old woman's words surprised Bai Yuze, but what she said next confused him even more.
"Children, step back. I don't want you to get hurt."
The old woman still wore the same kindly expression, but her words left them bewildered.
Kushida wanted to ask something, but Bai Yuze grabbed her hand.
"Hey! Bai Yuze! You..."
Kushida was startled by his action, but before she could finish, Bai Yuze pulled the office-dressed woman over too. Then he shouted!
"Close your eyes! Whatever you feel, don't open them!"
The moment Bai Yuze finished speaking, squelch!
Inside the bus... all but the three of them were reduced to fragments of flesh, scattered across every corner.
The bus was instantly dyed blood-red, and Bai Yuze felt his face get smeared with blood...
Only three people on the bus remained intact...
Ding-dong!
The bus's announcement system came to life.
[Welcome to the world of the strange...]
Bzzzt!
Though Bai Yuze had closed his eyes, he could still see what had happened. Everyone on the bus except him and the other two had turned into jigsaw-puzzle pieces in an instant.
After the announcement stopped, the people who had become fragments were restored to their complete forms!
"A loop?" Bai Yuze murmured. "No! It's not a loop! Time's going backward, but we're keeping our memories!"
The old woman still smiled kindly, but Koenji's shocked expression and the other passengers' attempts to get away from her showed that what had just happened was real...
Ding-dong!
[The next stop is Advanced Nurturing High School!]
Before you continue