Skin and Flesh

"You...!"

Koenji had lost his usual composure, leaving only a look of shock and disbelief on his face.

He pointed a trembling finger at the old woman, unable to ever forget the bone-chilling sensation he had just experienced...

"Could you please give up your seat, miss?"

Fearing a repeat of what had just happened, Bai Yuze spoke up in a hurry.

Koenji vacated the seat, his eyes fixed on the old woman the entire time, as if he had encountered a ferocious beast in the wilderness!

The old woman smiled, sat down in the priority seat as if it were only natural, and offered a word of praise.

"Young people these days are so sensible! Much better than our generation!"

With that, the old woman closed her eyes.

Her words left everyone on the bus in silence; they couldn't tell if she was faking amnesia or if she had truly lost her memory.

"I... I want to get off!"

Suddenly, a young boy cried out in a trembling voice, and his wail was like the final straw that broke the camel's back.

The people on the bus immediately erupted into chaos.

"Where's the driver?! Stop the bus! I want to get off!"

"I'm not going to school anymore! Stop the bus!"

"Mom! I want to go home! Waaah!"

The crowding inside the bus became even more intense, and although Kushida Kikyo was terrified, she still forced a smile to try and calm everyone down.

Soon, the people on the bus fell silent...

Because someone had discovered a problem.

There was no driver on this bus at all!

The interior was deathly quiet, and Bai Yuze was so shocked by the situation that he broke out in a cold sweat. Even more bizarrely, the woman in office attire who had been standing next to him just a moment ago had suddenly vanished.

For some reason, the feeling of being packed in like sardines had suddenly disappeared.

Bai Yuze looked around and noticed that the passengers were all keeping their distance from him. To be precise, they were all keeping their distance from the old woman who was sitting with her eyes closed.

Bai Yuze looked at the old woman before him, feeling that the whole situation was utterly absurd.

She looked frail enough to be blown over by the wind, yet she had been capable of killing every passenger on the bus in an instant. If Bai Yuze hadn't spoken up for her... he likely would have experienced the taste of death himself.

The familiar sensation of his clothes being tugged returned, and when Bai Yuze turned his head, he saw Kushida Kikyo looking tense.

He assumed she was frightened and was about to comfort her when she spoke first.

"Bai Yuze... do you get the feeling... that the old lady isn't breathing anymore..."

Kushida said this with a tremor in her voice, and her reaction made it clear she wasn't lying.

Bai Yuze realized it too. Indeed, the others didn't even dare to breathe loudly, and the bus was terrifyingly quiet; logically, the sound of the old woman's breathing should have been audible.

But Bai Yuze was standing right in front of her and couldn't hear a single breath. Could it be that monsters don't need to breathe?

Bai Yuze tentatively extended a finger beneath the old woman's nose. After checking several times, he confirmed that she was indeed not breathing.

Could this thing be dead?

Bai Yuze wondered, but he didn't dare touch her body directly. If the old woman were to suddenly lash out and kill again, the risk wouldn't be worth it...

Screech!

Clang!

The bus suddenly slammed on the brakes. Under the force of inertia, everyone lost their balance, and the old woman was no exception.

The collapsing crowd buried Bai Yuze and the old woman. By the time everyone had regained their footing, the front and back doors of the bus opened.

At the same time, an automated announcement played.

[Advanced Nurturing High School, we have arrived!]

Seeing the doors open, the passengers' faces lit up with joy.

"Ahhhhhhh!"

A girl's scream rang out right next to Bai Yuze's ear, so sharp he felt like his eardrum was about to burst.

"You... you... in your hand...!"

The girl was too shocked to finish her sentence, and the other passengers followed her gaze to Bai Yuze's hands.

There, Bai Yuze was clutching a corpse! No! It was a skin suit in the shape of an old woman! The internal organs had long since been hollowed out, leaving only this empty shell!

"Run!!!"

Someone shouted, and the people on the bus scrambled to get off.

Some seemed to have been scared out of their wits, howling as soon as they stepped off, while others clung to a tree and sobbed. Students getting off other buses stopped in their tracks, stunned by the sight.

Bai Yuze was left horrified by the skin suit in his own hands!

"Bai Yuze, hurry, run!"

Kushida Kikyo finished saying this and bolted off the bus.

Bai Yuze snapped back to reality, but his hand seemed to have brushed against something. He looked left and right, confirming that all the other students had fled the vehicle.

Suppressing his nausea, he reached his hand into the leather pouch; the strange sensation made his face contort in disgust.

Finally, he touched the object, and with a sharp tug, Bai Yuze pulled out a vermilion-colored sphere.

Without hesitation, he flipped himself out and scrambled away from the vehicle.

"Damn it! Why is there no signal on my phone?!"

"How did the bus disappear?! Even the road we came from is gone!"

"Are we forced to enter this school?!"

Some of the people who had gotten off the same bus as Bai Yuze complained in agony.

This left the students from other vehicles feeling confused; the road was clearly still there, wasn't it? Could the school have recruited a bunch of lunatics?

They didn't pay much mind to it, simply continuing their march toward Advanced Nurturing High School.

As for Bai Yuze, he collapsed onto the ground. Feeling the sunlight hitting his face once more, he nearly burst into tears on the spot; the feeling of surviving such a disaster was impossible to describe in any language.

"Bai Yuze, are you okay?"

The sweet voice paired with words of concern was as intoxicating as honey.

Bai Yuze quietly tucked the vermilion sphere into his pocket, then put on a shy expression to respond.

"Ahaha, thanks for your concern, Kushida. I'm perfectly fine!"

Hearing Bai Yuze's response, Kushida showed a look of relief.

"Yo! Boy! You seem to have some skills! Could it be that you discovered that monster from the very beginning? What a monster-like power of observation!"

Koenji had returned to his usual arrogant self, as if he hadn't just experienced the threat of death.

"What do you mean? I just wanted you to give up your seat, that's all."

Bai Yuze played dumb. He understood the principle that the tallest tree in the forest is the first to be broken by the wind; he had only acted to save his life, and now it was time to play the fool.

"Hahaha, how modest! It seems the future school life will definitely be very interesting!"

Koenji laughed loudly as he walked into Advanced Nurturing High School, completely ignoring the pitying looks from those around him who thought he was mentally deficient...

"Hey! You definitely discovered something, didn't you?"

Having just dealt with Koenji, Bai Yuze was stopped by someone else. He turned his head to see a girl with long hair and fox-like eyes questioning him.

"Uh... I've explained it clearly enough. I just wanted that guy to give up his seat..."

Knowing Horikita Suzune's personality well, Bai Yuze could only repeat what he had just said, and the result was exactly as he had expected.

Horikita Suzune pondered for a moment before saying.

"Fair enough. You don't look like a very smart person, either."

"Hey! That's rude!"

Even though he knew Horikita Suzune had a nasty personality and looked down on everyone, Bai Yuze was still irritated by her words.

Horikita Suzune didn't apologize, instead turning around and walking into Advanced Nurturing High School.

Bai Yuze: ...

"Ah... haha... what an interesting person... don't you think, Bai Yuze?"

Kushida Kikyo tried to lighten the mood, but inside, she was already incredibly agitated.

Hahahaha! Horikita, you bitch, the taste of death just now must have been unpleasant, right! To dare attend the same university as me—I'm going to destroy you, you bitch!

And this guy called Bai Yuze! He has such a gloomy, deathly aura; he's clearly just a pathetic shut-in. I feel like vomiting just being near someone like him! Who knows what kind of dumb luck he had to discover the identity of that old monster!

Kushida Kikyo blinked at Bai Yuze and then said playfully.

"Well then, Bai Yuze, I'll be heading in first!"

Kushida Kikyo finished speaking and entered the school.

Bai Yuze felt a sense of strangeness. Could it be that some of the buses were normal, and those on his bus were just plain unlucky?

He temporarily abandoned this thought and turned to start searching for a specific figure.

Just then, a voice devoid of any emotion came from behind Bai Yuze's neck.

"Are you... looking for me?"