In western Tokyo, the cherry blossoms were already in full bloom.
The morning sunlight spilled through thin clouds and onto the streets. Pink and white petals dotted the branches of the roadside trees, and when the breeze brushed past, a few petals drifted down like a gentle snowfall.
Several students in matching uniforms stood in front of the bus stop, looking down at their phones and chatting now and then.
Not far away, a bus bearing the Advanced Nurturing High School emblem slowly pulled up, its silver-white body gleaming in the sunlight.
The doors opened, and the students began boarding one after another.
A black-haired boy followed the crowd onto the bus at an unhurried pace.
He looked sixteen or seventeen, with regular features and a calm gaze. There was a steadiness about him that seemed beyond his years.
His name was Yuto Tsukishima. He was a transmigrator. In his previous life, he'd died a miserable death after dropping dead while watching pirated adult videos.
He took out his student ID and happily hummed to himself:
Advanced Nurturing High School.
A 100% college acceptance rate and a 100% employment rate.
It sounded like the kind of slogan a vocational school with too few applicants would use.
In the end, they either expelled the students who didn't measure up or shoved them into some factory or other.
Since this was a high school, they'd probably weed out the underperformers and promote some kind of cutthroat competition and social Darwinism.
But he didn't care much about that. Tuition was free while he attended, the faculty was excellent, and the facilities were first-rate.
More importantly, living on campus would save him a lot of commuting time and let him focus on learning the skills he was interested in.
Even if he couldn't graduate in the end, it wouldn't matter.
He could just repeat a year at another school and still go to college.
As a freeloader, what could possibly be more enticing than getting things for free?
The bus drove for about twenty minutes, and the number of passengers gradually increased.
Students boarded at every stop, and before long, the bus was nearly full.
Just then, the bus stopped again and the doors opened.
An old man with white hair tottered aboard.
He looked to be in his seventies. He held a cane, and his steps were unsteady.
He looked around, saw there were no empty seats, and steadied himself against a handrail in the aisle.
The bus started moving, and the old man swayed. He quickly grabbed the handrail.
"Um... could someone give this elderly gentleman a seat?"
The voice was soft and gentle, with a hint of pleading.
Tsukishima turned toward it and saw a generously endowed girl step forward.
"Please, the old man doesn't look well..."
She spoke again, her voice now edged with concern.
Tsukishima stood up and waved. "You can sit here."
The old man paused, then gave him a grateful smile.
"Ah, thank you, young man."
He slowly walked over and sat in the seat Tsukishima had given up.
"What a good kid... You don't find many young people like you these days."
Tsukishima smiled but said nothing.
"Thank you! You're so kind~"
Her voice was sweet, and her smile seemed sincere.
"My name is Kushida Kikyo. We'll be classmates from now on~"
Tsukishima smiled and nodded. "Just call me Tsukishima."
Kushida Kikyo... Why did that name sound so familiar?
The two chatted idly, and his gaze wandered around the bus.
Huh... Why did that man and woman look so familiar?
One was a long-haired, black-haired girl with a chilly expression. Her vibe reminded him of a character from an anime he'd watched in his previous life: Yukino Yukinoshita.
The other was a handsome guy with a blank, expressionless gaze. He looked a little gloomy.
And now there was this busty girl he was talking to, acting all sweet and friendly.
Why did this all feel so strangely familiar?
He quickly searched his memories, then decided to ignore it.
After all, it had nothing to do with a freeloader like him.
A few minutes later, the bus finally reached the school gates.
First, he needed to check his class assignment.
The school divided students into four classes, named A, B, C, and D.
Tsukishima checked his class: D.
By the time he got to the classroom, quite a few students were already there, chatting in small groups.
Kushida Kikyo was laughing and chatting with several girls. Her clear laughter drew the attention of quite a few boys.
"Tsukishima!"
Kushida spotted him right away and waved. "Come sit over here!"
Tsukishima readily accepted.
"Thanks for having me."
He walked over and sat beside Kushida.
"You're such a nice person, Tsukishima. You were the first to give up your seat on the bus, too," Kushida said with a bright smile. "There aren't many people like you these days."
Tsukishima waved a hand. "It was just a seat."
"Haha, you're so modest, Tsukishima~"
As they chatted, the classroom door opened again.
Their homeroom teacher walked in.
She looked to be around thirty, with long, light-brown hair and... well, quite a figure.
She walked up to the podium, picked up a piece of chalk, and wrote her name on the board.
"Hello, everyone. I'm your homeroom teacher, Sae Chabashira."
Her voice was calm, but her eyes held a sharp glint. After introducing herself, she began explaining the school rules.
Basically, the school's currency was "points." Students received 100,000 free points each month, weren't allowed to reveal school matters to outsiders, and the school operated on the principle of merit above all.
Tsukishima rolled his eyes. One hundred thousand a month? If there wasn't a catch, he'd eat his hat!
There was probably some kind of hidden assessment, with money deducted if you failed to meet the standards.
Maybe there was also some sort of competitive system. For instance, each grade might have a fixed pool of points, with the points of underperformers given to high achievers as a reward.
Or perhaps the points were based on monthly test scores: students above the average would get the full amount, those below it would have points deducted, and anyone who ran out would be expelled.
Still, getting 100,000 for free wasn't bad. He was confident his grades were decent, anyway.
The homeroom teacher left, and the classroom erupted into chatter.
The classroom erupted into chatter.
"Whoa! A hundred thousand points a month! That's the same as a hundred thousand yen!"
"We can buy whatever we want! This school is amazing!"
"Come on, let's check out the campus store!"
"Everyone, please quiet down..."
A boy stood up and clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention. He began organizing introductions.
Kiyotaka Ayanokouji, Horikita Suzune...
What the hell? Where had he ended up?
So he'd transmigrated into an anime after all.
What was this anime even about again?
He hadn't watched it, only heard of it. Apparently, the protagonist was counted alongside Hachiman Hikigaya and others as one of the "Four Kings of School." Why mention only Hachiman Hikigaya? Because he'd only watched that one...
Wasn't the protagonist some kind of robot?
Tsukishima thought about it for a moment, then gave up. What difference did it make if it was an anime?
He was just an extra and a freeloader.
Tsukishima lay down on his desk and watched a red-haired boy storm out of the room. He had no idea how an introduction had struck such a nerve. He just didn't get it.
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