Rustle, rustle...
In this season that belonged to spring, a gentle evening breeze suddenly swept through the cherry blossom trees in the park.
The blossoms danced through the air—it wouldn't have been an exaggeration to call it a shower of petals. They drifted down and landed on Kamigami Haruo.
After enduring the pain, he lay sprawled on the ground, gasping for breath.
The pink blossoms, famed for their gentleness, were now playfully disturbing his rest. His forehead itched, so he had no choice but to lift a hand and touch it.
That familiar sensation once again traveled through his skin and into his mind. He peeled off the sticky note again, sat up, crossed his legs, and read it.
"Instruction Manual:
This body's physical capabilities and sensory limits have been enhanced.
Since it was modified based on your original body, you'll need exercise, proper nutrition, and time to build a powerful physique. This body may have a low starting point, but its potential is very high!
Note: Until then, please don't use more strength than your body can handle, or there may be side effects. Goodbye ^_^"
"That's kind of sadistic."
After grumbling, Kamigami Haruo let out a long breath and lay back down. He calmed his racing heart, still unsettled by the adrenaline.
"But... it feels so good to know I'm really alive."
Still, if he kept lying there, he'd be spending the night as a vagrant.
So Kamigami Haruo braced himself with both hands and slowly stood up.
He stretched in place, testing how his body felt.
Unlike his old body, this one gave him a sense of comfort he'd never experienced before.
He clenched his fist hard. His grip strength didn't seem much different from before.
Remembering the sticky note's final warning, he tentatively decided to test it.
After trying for a while, he relaxed his left foot, focused his strength in his left leg, and pushed off hard.
The ground fell farther and farther away beneath him, but he was gritting his teeth in midair.
His left leg muscles were cramping from what he'd just done.
He endured the pain and adjusted his posture in midair, planning to land on his right leg.
Before he came down, he compared himself to the nearby building. His body's current limit seemed to be a little over two meters.
But he had no experience landing, and his right foot wobbled when it hit the ground. With nothing to support him, he lost his balance and pitched forward.
Thud!
Before he hit the ground, he managed to throw out both hands and catch himself.
His palms throbbed with pain, and he tasted blood from the cut at the left corner of his mouth.
His palms probably weren't badly hurt. The bones seemed sturdy enough.
But the corner of his mouth had been cut by a piece of park equipment, and it was bleeding badly.
Kamigami Haruo rolled over and sat on the ground, sighing.
Good thing his body had been modified. Otherwise, even his hands might've been broken. He'd gotten too cocky.
After resting for a while, he got up and limped toward a car parked by the road.
Using the reflection in its window, he got a good look at how his body had changed.
He looked much younger in the reflection. His stubble was gone, his skin was smooth, and he felt full of energy.
His body must have gotten a little younger when it was fused with the new one.
His black hair had grown a little longer and covered his eyes, making him look somewhat gloomy.
With the blood at the corner of his mouth, he looked like a murderer—even to himself.
His features were more defined, and the contours of his face stood out. He looked a little wild.
Sometimes, fate really was strange. He'd already looked a bit like Fushiguro Toji, and now the scar on his mouth made him look even more like him.
He tried moving around to inspect himself. His height seemed unchanged, but his build had changed.
He didn't have the muscles of an ancient Greek statue, as he'd imagined.
His muscles hadn't grown. If anything, the muscles he'd already had had shrunk, making him look almost skin and bones.
His reflexes, athletic ability, and five senses had all improved considerably.
In short, this body was like a newborn's. It needed proper nutrition to grow and exercise to develop.
He wiped at his mouth, but his hand was covered in blood, so he kept wiping with the back of it.
With the crisis over, he stood there thinking for a while, drawing up a list of goals in his head.
He was living in an unfamiliar world. First, he needed to gather information.
Then he'd find a way to fill his stomach, and after that, he'd train his body. He'd figure out the rest later.
He rubbed his growling stomach and pursed his lips, then instinctively reached for his phone.
But it had fallen out of his pocket when he took that tumble. It was now a battlefield casualty.
Since he was starting a new life, he might as well cut ties with his past.
With that thought, Kamigami Haruo tossed his phone into a nearby pile of trash.
He walked into the crowd and disappeared into the bright lights of Tokyo's nightlife.
A few days had passed since his body descended into this world.
During that time, with the help of Tokyo's generous do-gooders, Kamigami Haruo had managed to scrape by on the streets.
The people here were so nice. He loved them.
Especially the beautiful girl he'd met on his first night here, when he was so hungry he couldn't move. She was an angel.
He had a good memory and had been a shut-in, so he could speak Japanese well enough. Besides, he'd had plenty of chances to call people idiots over the last few days.
Kamigami Haruo had become a regular at the convenience store, where he kept an eye out for generous do-gooders.
Whenever he spotted delinquents in front of the convenience store, he'd find a way to provoke them—accidentally, of course.
If they were nice, he'd have to go find another target. If they weren't, he'd take them into an alley and borrow a little money.
But for Kamigami Haruo, even with his modified body, that money only covered his basic needs.
And that was before the fact that he couldn't afford to eat his fill at any of his three daily meals. He was hungry all the time.
It all started when Kamigami Haruo happened to catch sight of an old woman.
At the time, two men in black suits, both members of the yakuza, had grabbed the old woman and were trying to shove her into a car parked nearby.
He remembered complaining that the delinquents hadn't lent him enough money when two suited yakuza suddenly appeared in front of him.
They were doing bad things anyway. Why not let him rob the robbers?
So, barely able to stay conscious from hunger, Kamigami Haruo timidly approached them.
But he'd underestimated the yakuza's strength, and his hunger left him weak.
He'd kept struggling with the two men until he lost consciousness. In the end, he seemed to have held out until the old woman's rescuers arrived.
When Kamigami Haruo woke up again, he was lying in a hospital bed.
As soon as he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was a white ceiling.
He looked around at the luxurious hospital room and figured he'd hit the jackpot—a VIP suite.
He didn't seem to have any injuries. Seeing the IV drip beside him, he guessed that he'd passed out from malnutrition and been brought in.
When the nurse saw that Kamigami Haruo had woken up, she notified the old woman.
After a long while, the old woman arrived and immediately fussed over him, scolding him for being so reckless.
Kamigami Haruo realized she'd misunderstood what happened, but he didn't explain. She was clearly from a wealthy family, so she'd surely give him something in return.
He hadn't saved the old woman on purpose, but he could just pretend he had.
So Kamigami Haruo gradually steered the conversation toward his difficult circumstances.
When she found out that he had nowhere to live, the old woman immediately took out her phone and called in some favors.
After arranging to get him registered, she took him home to stay with her for a while.
The name on his new registration was chosen carelessly, just like the first half of Kamigami Haruo's life.
KAMITSUKASA HARUO.
A new spring, a new life. And Kamigami was the old woman's surname.
With the school year about to start, he was out for a curious look around when he overheard some students chatting as they passed by.
When he heard them mention a school called Advanced Nurturing High School, he couldn't help but pause.
It had produced a lot of talent for Tokyo, and its reputation was enormous. With the school year about to start, it was more popular than ever.
Full of anticipation, he searched online for the names of some familiar schools.
The results were disappointing. They all appeared to be schools from novels or anime.
Now that his difficult situation had been resolved, he didn't want to cause anyone trouble, and he wanted to pursue the real thing.
During one of his casual conversations with Grandmother Kamitsukasa, he told her he wanted to attend Advanced Nurturing High School. She agreed without a second thought.
Neither of them said it aloud, but they both understood that he'd repaid the favor he owed her.
Afterward, she told him about some of the school's hidden rules. Since they concerned Tokyo's future, anyone with a high enough position knew all about them.
Fortunately, school hadn't started yet. Otherwise, he would've had to wait until the following year to enroll.
Grandmother Kamitsukasa called in a few favors and arranged a special entrance exam for him, along with an interview to complete the formalities.
Since he'd been recommended through connections, he didn't need a recommendation from a middle school. His class placement would be decided by his written exam and interview.
With an influential person's recommendation, getting into Class A shouldn't have been a problem, just as it hadn't been for Yahiko Totsuka.
But Kamigami Haruo's terrible exam and interview results, combined with his blank academic record, ultimately landed him in Class D.
There were only a few days left until the start of school, so he could only take the place of a Class D student.
The school would provide compensation, and that settled the debt of gratitude once and for all.
Before you continue