Unxxpected Twin

Chapter 1

The mid-May air in Osaka hung thick with the promise of summer, a humid blanket that even the campus's advanced climate-control arrays struggled to entirely dissipate. Beneath the glassine domes that shimmered over academic plazas and between the ancient, stone-carved torii gates leading to the university's older philosophical departments, life pulsed with electric intensity. Holographic banners, advertising everything from neural-interface study aids to zero-gravity kendo clubs, rippled silently in an artificial breeze above the heads of students. Automated cleaning drones, shaped like oversized scarab beetles, hummed along the polished pathways, occasionally nudging discarded bio-plastic bento boxes.

Students, a kaleidoscope of fashion from flowing traditional robes to skin-tight neuro-suits, moved in currents across the smart-paved quadrangles. Many clutched translucent data-slates, their faces illuminated by glowing text or real-time 3D models of complex equations. The rhythmic thrum of distant construction on a new fusion lab blended with the cascade of synthetic waterfall features, creating a uniquely Osakan symphony of old and new. Laughter, sharp and quick, cut through the academic murmur, usually rising from the cafeteria or the burgeoning e-sports arena.

But today, a different kind of tension threaded the usual pre-finals anxiety. Hiroshi Tanaka sat on a smooth, recycled-material bench tucked just off the main thoroughfare, ostensibly reviewing molecular diagrams on his tablet. In reality, his dark eyes, quick and sharp, scanned the movement around the campus's central fountain—a multi-tiered cascade of water and light that shimmered with reactive holograms. Four freshmen underclassmen. Slightly clueless. Perfect timing, he thought, a smirk tugging at his lips.

Weeks of observation had revealed their predictable patterns: the pauses at the fountain, the way they lingered before cutting across the grass to their next lecture. The target group, currently arguing over a projected circuit diagram, were exactly on schedule. They stopped at the fountain's edge, oblivious.

Then, with a theatrical whoosh of displaced air, the serene holographic koi vanished. In their place, a colossal, pixelated octopus erupted from the water, tentacles flailing wildly. It roared—a deep, resonant sound that rattled the air—and its holographic suckers, the size of dinner plates, seemed to reach for the startled freshmen. Their data-slate clattered to the ground as they shrieked, stumbling backward over each other in a tangle of limbs and textbooks.

Beautiful chaos, Hiroshi thought, stifling a laugh. Never gets old.

Other students jumped back, some laughing, some genuinely startled, as the holographic kraken continued its dramatic, water-splashing display. Hiroshi's grin widened into full delight.

"Glorious," he murmured, then quickly composed an expression of innocent bewilderment as three familiar figures approached, drawn by the commotion.

The kraken's final roar faded into the campus's ambient hum. A collective breath of surprise gave way to laughter rippling from the fountain. Hiroshi watched, genuinely pleased, as the flustered first-years began gathering their fallen data-slates and books.

"You have to be a madman to think of that in the middle of finals," a familiar voice called out, exhaustion and amusement mixed together. Yuuki Kobayashi appeared, hands in pockets, soft smile on his face. He looked from the disheveled freshmen to Hiroshi, shaking his head. "Honestly, Hiroshi, you might have held off a few more days at least."

"Those freshmen seemed to need me providing the necessary jolt to their stagnant thought patterns," Hiroshi replied with a casual shrug, perfectly timed.

Takashi Ito followed, brow furrowed but with a hint of exasperation and amusement. "You've got a knack for timing," he said, gesturing toward the fountain with a half-smile. "It's clever, I'll give you that—but maybe a little... theatrical for finals week?" His voice carried curiosity and subtle teasing, grounded in personality rather than cold logic.