Apparition

Prologue

Hirata's POV

It was the first day of my new beginning here at Advanced Nurturing High School. I was lucky to have been accepted at all, but... I shouldn't have been accepted. With my circumstances, it was nearly impossible to find a high school that would allow me to attend, lest their reputation would be damaged by the rumors that would follow wherever I went. I was ashamed of who I'd become. I was offered an opportunity to start over, so I took it after a long period of contemplation. Besides, I... needed to get away from everyone, from that neighborhood.

Because of my inaction against those bullies, he — my dearest childhood friend — was gone forever. Because of them, I would never be able to see his sunny, dazzling smile anymore. I crossed the line and made an unforgivable mistake that I realized too late. I didn't want to be that despicable person. I refuse to let everything happen all over again.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts and took a step inside my classroom, eager to see the classmates I would be learning with for the rest of my three years here. From what I could see, they seemed like an... interesting bunch. Sitting around some of the desks were a cluster of boys surrounding a talkative brown-haired boy, gleefully chatting with each other about their hobbies. I intended to approach them but hesitated when they started making crude remarks without any shame. I'll try to get along with them... later. Surely that wasn't their whole personality? I had noticed quite a few of the girls looking at me for some reason, so I gave them a smile and wave. Hopefully, I could make friends with the girls at the very least.

My eyes swept across the room and located my nameplate, which happened to be situated on the desk of the leftmost seat in the second row. It looked like my seatmates weren't here yet, so I looked around the room for more interesting characters to get to know. A tall, blond-haired boy entered through the door frame and nodded in satisfaction after looking around the classroom. He propped his feet up on his desk lackadaisically and took out a nail file from the pocket on his blazer to shape his fingernails. A bespectacled boy was chatting with a rather energetic-looking boy about their luck in being accepted into this school.

Quite a few girls were surrounding a rather cute, beige short-haired girl, chatting animatedly about their favorite genre of literature and movies. Another girl's clique seemed to be forming too around another cute girl, her blonde hair styled up in a ponytail, chattering about the latest fashion. She definitely stood out compared to the other girls, appearing to be of European descent. She appeared to be my seatmate, so I intended to get along with her. Our eyes met for a moment before we looked away from each other. She really was cute.

I looked behind me to see a beautiful girl, her sable-colored hair flowing like a river in waves, her bangs framing her ruby-colored eyes. She was diligently reading a novel with a name I could barely make out. My eyes squinted... 'Crime and Punishment'? Internally, I couldn't help but shiver. I did not know the content of such a book, but the title suggested something far more sinister. Even with the ominous vibes emanating from such a person, I intended to befriend her. Looking to her left, I saw a seat occupied by a rather ordinary boy with no distinguishing features that I couldn't help but frown at. It felt like something — no, someone was missing. Maybe my old friend would have occupied that seat if he wasn't...

The seats all soon filled out, and a minute later, the bell rang, signaling the beginning of homeroom. A stunningly beautiful woman in a suit with a serious countenance strode into the room, my classmates' conversations gradually decreasing into soft murmurs, unwilling to make a bad impression on our sensei. Well, other than that blond-haired man nonchalantly filing his nails without a care in the world.

"Good morning, students. I am your instructor for Class D, Chabashira Sae. I teach Japanese. In this school, we do not switch classes every year. These will be your classmates for the rest of your stay here until you graduate. It is a pleasure to meet you. After homeroom today, you are free to spend your time however you like because classes begin tomorrow. I will now distribute pamphlets about the school's special rules and the admission guide. Please read it carefully,"