What is a wish?
In the purest sense of the word, a wish is a desire for something to happen. It might be out of one's reach or unlikely to occur, but it is the ethereal thread that weaves the fabric of human hopes and aspirations.
Wishes encompass human emotion, from the mundane to the extraordinary. From a fleeting thought to the driving force in pursuit of perfection. Wishes offer a glimpse into the soul and a glimmer of dreams and aspirations.
To wish is to be human.
Buildings, trees, and people, all passed by the bus—just like the books said.
All humans have wishes. Some wish for lifelong prosperity, others wish for great physical prowess, and still others wish for ripe, thoughtful minds. At the same time, wishes can be futile. Some wish for children, although their low fertility ensures they will never have children. Some wish for perfect love, never considering if that hypothetically perfect partner would wish for them.
Some wish to rise to gain the approval of their family, and thus emulate their family. Some were bro-cons and sis-cons, according to the Internet.
Some wish to become the strongest tyrant, striking fear into the hearts of those around them, while secretly caring about those they dominate. A tsundere, according to the Internet.
Some wish to hide past crimes, although they secretly agonize over small crimes like shoplifting.
Some wish to crush false genius, touting themselves as the true genius, while hobbling on a disabled leg and having the stature of a petulant child.
Do I have wishes?
The answer was simple. To wish is to be human. But to wish is also to have a weakness—to be defective.
In that place, those who had wishes were discarded. I was not discarded. Therefore, I do not have wishes.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that no one else was paying attention to the scenery that was flying by. It was a clear sign that they had seen it thousands of times before.
We were heading to Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing Highschool, with the express goal of creating the future leaders of Japan. It was funded by the government and boasted a one hundred percent acceptance rate to any college, company, or organization. Of course, this was based on my prior research, and what Matsuo had told me.
The bus was crowded, though, and an unstable, elderly woman wobbled in front of me. The bus shook, and she nearly fell over, but she impressively managed to keep her balance.
A young, well-built man had sat down in one of the priority seats. He wore the same uniform as mine, indicating he was a highschooler, and could possibly be in my class. He was combing his long, blonde hair, and leaning back without a care in the world.
"Excuse me, but shouldn't you offer your seat to her?"
My eyes shifted slightly, as another, younger woman stood next to the elderly woman. This one was an office worker, I could tell, with a glance at her attire.
"And why is that?" the young man retorted, a wide grin on his face that indicated he was enjoying the confrontation. He quirked an eyebrow, looking at the woman questioningly.
"You're sitting in a priority seat. One should always offer priority seats up to the elderly. Can't you see how she is struggling?" the office worker retorted. There was a clear tonal shift in her voice, from disbelief to conviction containing just a hint of that disbelief.
"Ah, but those are merely societal obligations, are they not?" the blonde-haired man wiggled an index finger at the office worker as if he were taunting her, "I have no legal obligation to offer up my seat at this moment. I am currently in this seat; therefore, I determine if I will give it up. And my answer is no."
He certainly didn't speak like a normal high school student, who should be around 15 years of age.
"Um- I think the lady is right."
The office worker woman received some unexpected help. It was a girl wearing my school's uniform, again. Another potential classmate. In fact, the entire bus was filled with boys and girls who looked my age and wore my school's uniform.
"Everyone, please listen to me for a moment."
The girl spoke loudly, and her voice carried through the bus, as people seemed to turn our way in curiosity.
"Could someone please give up their seat for this elderly woman? Anyone..."
What are wishes? Could I experience them? Love, hate, desire... They were all abstract things that I had never had the slightest glimpse of before.
Looking around, I could tell that no one was going to give up their seat. No one considered it necessary to give it up. They all shared the same outlook.
I stood up from my seat. It was vacant once again, just like before I had sat in it.
"You can have my seat."
"Thank you!" the elderly woman wobbled over, as I bent over, helping her into the seat.
This was my first act. I didn't know why I had done it—perhaps out of some desire to feel something. But the woman's gratitude did not stir any such feeling within me.
"I think that was a really good thing you did!"
It was the girl from earlier, who had tried to convince people to give up their seat. She had short, beige-colored hair, and gradient crimson eyes. She was well-endowed, and I struggled to keep my eyes on her face. She could easily be considered highly attractive.
Cuteness was a dangerous weapon. I made a mental note.
"Thank you."
"My name is Kushida Kikyō! What's yours?" she introduced herself, smiling.
And with that smile, all traces of cuteness disappeared.
It might not seem like that to others, but it was to me. There was something strange, about the smile. It could barely be noticed, but her smile was strained, to my eyes at least. Maybe it wasn't. Perhaps it was because I was not used to social interaction yet. The smile itself was off-putting, unnatural.
"My name is Ayanokōji Kiyotaka. Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too!" she smiled again, "I hope we can be in the same class, Ayanokōji-kun!"
I nodded, "Likewise, Kushida-san."
I sensed a gaze upon me. Curious, I turned my head. It was the young man who had refused to give up his seat. Our gazes met for the briefest of seconds, and he nodded, almost imperceptibly. I ignored him and held onto the railing on the ceiling of the bus. I closed my eyes, attempting to take a nap.
Soon enough, we arrived at our destination, and all the high school students on the bus began to disembark.
I stepped forward off the bus and began following the other students, who all seemed to be going towards the welcoming ceremony. Hopefully, it wouldn't be too troublesome.
-o-o-o-
What a troublesome ceremony it was. Class D was the most talkative, followed by C, then B, then A. Class A seemed entirely composed of model students.
For some reason, the young, blonde-haired man from before kept his gaze on me the entire time but did not approach me. Additionally, I felt the gaze of a short, lilac-haired girl, who I could barely see over the sea of heads. Both of these people, as well as me, were standing near the back. I had thought that standing near the back would attract the least attention. It seemed like the opposite had happened.
I entered my classroom, Class 1-D. Searching around for my nameplate, I eventually found it on the desk at the back of the classroom, next to the window. The protagonist's seat, as the Internet had called it.
Soon enough, my other classmates began filtering in one by one. They began interacting with each other, talking to each other, and making friends.
I looked around, trying to find a potential target to make my first friend. It appeared that the young, blonde-haired man was also in my class. He propped his feet up on his desk, and, leaning back, began combing his hair again. He hummed as if he were alone, and his eyes were closed.
I saw my seatmate: a red-eyed, black-haired girl. She was engrossed in her book, the title of which read "Crime and Punishment" and didn't seem to be trying to make any friends. She gave off an incredibly cold aura. Knowing I had to expand my social network if I wanted to survive in human society, I chose not to talk to this lone wolf.
But who would I talk to?
I settled my gaze on a group of three boys no more than a couple of feet away from my desk. A tall, red-haired student who had the look of a delinquent, a short rotund student wearing glasses, and a slender, short boy.
I steeled my nerves and approached them. Would they be my first friends at this school?
The short, slender, purple-haired boy was the first to notice me.
"Hello!" The other two turned to look in my direction.
"I'm Okitani Kyōsuke," he gestured towards the tall red-haired boy, "That's Sudō Ken," the boy grunted, "And this is Sotomura Hideo," the short, black-haired boy gave a wave.
It was incredible how smoothly he had introduced each of them. I was in awe.
"I'm Ayanokōji Kiyotaka. Nice to meet you."
"Yo, Ayanokōji, you like basketball?" Surprisingly, the red-haired boy was the first one to speak after my introduction.
"I've only played it a few times."
"A few times huh? That's cool. I'm trying out for the basketball team here," Sudō nodded confidently.
"What, are you trying to go pro?" I asked.
"You think I can't make it?" Sudō glared at me. Maybe it was the way I had phrased the question that seemed confrontational.
I shook my head in denial. "I think you look the part of a strong player. I'm sure you'll make it if you work hard enough and keep up your grades of course."
"O-Oh, yeah," Sudō scratched the back of his head, "Thanks Ayankōji."
Soon enough, the bell rang. At that precise moment, a woman strode into the classroom.
My initial impression was that she firmly believed in discipline. She wore a suit, with a black skirt and stockings, and she had long, brown hair tied into a ponytail.
"Good morning, students. My name is Chabashira Sae, and for the next three years, I will be the homeroom teacher for Class D."
Chabashira, huh? What a unique name.
"The entrance ceremony will be in the gymnasium one hour from now, but first, I will distribute written materials with information about this school's special rules. I will also hand out the admissions guide."
The students in the front seats passed back the familiar documents I'd received after being accepted.
I was already familiar with everything. Dormitories on school premises, forbidden outside contact, and excellent facilities.
"I will now hand out your student ID cards. By using your card, you can access any of the facilities on campus, purchase goods from the store, and so on. It acts like a credit card. However, it is imperative that you pay attention to the points you spend. At this school, you can use your points to buy anything. Anything located on school premises is available for purchase."
"Your student cards can be used simply by swiping them through the machine scanner. The method is simple, so you shouldn't get confused. Points are automatically deposited into your account on the first of every month. You should all have received 100,000 points already. Keep in mind that one point is worth one yen. No further explanation should be necessary."
The classroom erupted, as my classmates began cheering and shouting in jubilation and shock.
"Shocked by the number of points you've been given? This school evaluates its students' talents. Everyone here passed the entrance examination, which itself speaks to your value and potential. The amount you've received reflects the evaluation of your worth. You can use your points without restraint."
100,000 yen. That was how much the school valued us for having been admitted to the school this month. But that evaluation of 100,000 yen per month wasn't guaranteed. It seemed suspect.
Chabashira continued.
"After graduation, however, all of your points return to the school. Because it's impossible to exchange your points for cash, there's no advantage to saving them."
Interesting. So there wasn't anything backing up the one-point to one yen claim. Theoretically, the school could simply inject as many points as they wanted into this system.
It would cause rapid point inflation, though, as I assumed the stores and restaurants on campus were paid in yen. Teachers were most likely paid in yen as well or paid in points and could convert them to yen since they weren't receiving these 100,000 yen.
"Once points have been deposited into your account, it's up to you how to spend them. Do as you like."
An odd emphasis on freedom of choice. She was encouraging us to spend our points.
Why was she encouraging us to spend the points? Was it because we would obtain another 100,000 points next month? That didn't make sense, since there was no guarantee that we would obtain another 100,000 points.
Additionally, points could be useful in the future, since Chabashira had said we could use them to buy anything on campus.
"In the event that you don't want to spend your points, you may transfer them to someone else. However, extorting money from your peers is not allowed. This school monitors bullying very carefully."
As I entered the classroom, I had already made out the four cameras that hid in the shadows of the corners of the room.
"This is a paradise!" someone shouted in jubilation.
Indeed. This side of paradise was intriguing, to say the least.
It was obvious that the school would monitor classroom behavior by the four cameras in the corners of the room. 100,000 yen for 40 students in this class would amount to 4 million yen alone. Considering 3 years and 4 classes per year, the number of yen would amount to 48 million yen per month. 576 million yen per year. It was clearly far too much for a government to inject into a high school, even one as prestigious as this.
Moreover, injecting that much yen into the school every year would ultimately lead to inflation and lower the value of yen or points within the school itself, even if the points from graduating seniors were recycled.
"This school is awfully lenient..." the black-haired girl, who sat next to me, muttered under her breath.
I glanced at Sudō, Sotomura, and Okitani, who were all jumping and shouting. None of them doubted the absurdity of the school.
"Well, it appears no one has any questions," Chabashira said, "I hope that you enjoy your time here as students."
Strangely enough, she seemed to linger her gaze on me. I stared back at her.
What was she expecting me to do, enlighten these bumbling buffoons of their current situation?
Wasn't it obvious? Our allowance was 100,000 points per month, which could go up or down depending on our performance.
She sighed, before leaving the classroom.
"Everyone, can you please listen to me for a moment?"
A student with the air of an upstanding, young man stood up. His hair wasn't dyed; in fact, he looked more like an honors student. Based on his appearance alone, I could tell he wasn't a delinquent.
"Starting today, we're all going to be classmates. As such, I think it would be best for all of us to introduce ourselves and become good friends before the ceremony. I'll start then. My name is Hirata Yōsuke. Back in junior high, lots of people called me Yōsuke, so feel free to use my first name if you want! I guess my hobby is sports in general, but I like soccer. I'm planning on joining the soccer club here, too. Nice to meet you all!"
He had just done something incredible. He was outgoing, I could tell almost instantly. He had introduced himself almost effortlessly and talked about his love for soccer. His popularity had soared with that introduction. Why, the girl sitting next to him had hearts in her eyes! I could easily envision him becoming our class's motivating factor, to boost morale.
"Well, I'm next then, aren't I?"
Kushida, the cheerful girl from the bus, stood up.
"My name is Kushida Kikyō. None of my friends from junior high school made it to this school, so I'm alone here. I'd like to get to know all of your names and faces right away and become friends as soon as possible!"
While most people simply kept it concise and said a few words or sentences, Kushida continued to speak. It seemed as if she were extremely outgoing, perhaps even more so than Hirata himself.
"My first goal is to become friends with everyone. So, after we're finished with introductions, I'd love for you to share your contact information with me!"
"So, after school or during vacations, I want to make all sorts of memories with lots of people. Please feel free to invite me to lots and lots of events! Anyway, I've talked for a long time, so I'll end my introduction here."
I also took note of the young, blonde-haired boy's introduction.
He was Kōenji Rokusuke, the sole heir to the Kōenji Conglomerate. I had recognized his last name as an investor's last name, from the time we were in New York with that man. No wonder Kōenji had looked my way several times now. The Kōenji Conglomerate was certainly powerful.
Then there was Matsushita Chiaki. A relatively new, but still powerful family. I took note of the blue-eyed, brown-haired girl as well.
I found out that my black-haired seatmate's name was Horikita Suzune, and she was awfully cold.
One by one, my new classmates introduced themselves.
Sudō was a basketball player. Sotomura played lots of video games and was very enthusiastic about all sorts of technologies. Okitani liked anime and partying.
A voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
"Well, time for the next person," Hirata smiled at me, "Could you please introduce yourself?"
The chair rattled noisily as I stood.
"Um. My name is Ayanokōji Kiyotaka. And, uh...", I racked my brain, "I like piano and swimming. I might join those clubs. Um, I hope we can get along as a class."
I hadn't failed!
Everyone clapped, but not out of pity, and I felt kind of glad.
-o-o-o-
I left the classroom with three others: Okitani, Sudō, and Sotomura. A manly group of four.
We were strolling off to the mall, prepared to blunder our points away. Despite this, I felt a brotherly kindship resonating between the four of us. Sotomura and Okitani chatted away about anime and video games.
"Have you seen Death Note?"
"Yeah, of course! Light is crazy smart," Okitani exclaimed with stars in his eyes.
"Nah, L is better," Sudō jumped in. "Hey, Kōji, what do you think?"
Kōji? A nickname for me. My first nickname.
I shrugged. "I've never seen Death Note."
"Really??" Sotomura piped in, pushing his glasses up his nose, "You definitely need to see it. You sit in the protagonist's seat!"
"Oh yeah, that seat near the window!" Okitani smirked mischievously, "Imagine Kōji's some kind of mastermind born in a laboratory and is just hiding that genius underneath him."
I shivered instinctually. Was Okitani Kyōsuke from the Black Room or something?
"Damn. Now that I think of it, that could definitely happen," Sudō seemed to re-examine me with his eyes.
"He looks like that protagonist in the Classroom of the Elite!" Sotomura said enthusiastically.
The other two looked at him as if he had grown a second head. "I don't think that anime even exists..." Okitani trailed off, Sudō nodding his head and agreeing with him.
"I'm certain it does. Either way, Ayanokōji will be the protagonist of his own anime!" Sotomura nodded determinedly, "We will serve you well Kōji-sama!"
The other boys nodded along with him, laughing boisterously. I smiled internally. I was kind of glad to find friends on my first day. Who knows how isolated I would be if they hadn't adopted me into their group?
-o-o-o-
We left Keyaki Mall not all that poorer. Sudō had bought some workout clothes and headphones, and Sotomura a few video games. Okitani and I had not bought anything other than some headphones. None of my new friends seemed to want to splurge all of their points. I was thankful.
Next, we paid a visit to the convenience store, looking for food and groceries to buy. We agreed to meet up near the checkout and split our own four ways.
"Damn look at all the noodle cups here! With 100,000 points a month, we won't need to cook anything!"
I couldn't recognize the two noisy male students in front of me, so they weren't in my class. They were surprised, which meant they were first years. Since Chabashira had said that the school evaluates our worth, every first-year class must have received 100,000 points purely for being admitted to the school.
I picked up a noodle cup and examined the price tag. It said 156 yen, but I couldn't tell whether that was expensive or cheap. Even though the school had referred to its system as points, the prices were still listed in yen. The 1 point to 1 yen standard was something that couldn't fluctuate.
As I scouted around the area, I noticed a section labeled 'free'.
With a brief glance over it, my theory was confirmed. Some people didn't get that monthly allowance.
"You saw that too?" Okitani was on my right.
I nodded. "It's strange. Are these just contingency measures, or is it something else?"
"What do you mean?"
"It's hard to spend all 100,000 points in a month."
"What-"
"Oi, Ayanokōji, Okitani, whatchu guys talking about?"
I turned around, seeing Sudō Ken wave at me.
"Whatcha doing here, Ayanokōji?"
"Oh you know, just buying some groceries," I shrugged, "Be careful to not spend too much."
Sotomura glanced at the section labeled "Free".
"Yeah, I wouldn't want to eat any of that either." The four of them watched as a despondent upperclassman seemed to pick up some items from the area and trudge his way toward the checkout. His shoulders were slumped forward, and head lowered, like someone who was defeated.
"It can't hurt to save your points," I said. "Something might happen and you wouldn't be so well-off."
A chorus of yeses and nods poured forth, and we headed to the checkout.
There was a brief moment of silence, as we stood in the line, waiting our turn for the cashier.
I glanced at Sudō for a moment, wondering.
"Say, Sudō... would you like to go to the gym tomorrow? In the morning, at 6 AM?"
"Hah!" Sudō Ken laughed loudly, attracting the attention of all the other customers in line, "Do I? Of course I wanna hit the gym! Gotta keep these muscles in top-tier shape, Ayanokōji!" he flexed his bicep, "One hundred percent I'll go with you! I wanna see what you're capable of!"
Huh. Well, that was easy.
Sudō turned to my other two companions, "Okitani, Sotomura, do any of you want to go?"
They both shook their heads, and Sudō tsked.
"I need to watch the new episode of Classroom of the Elite." Sotmura nodded solemnly. He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye.
"I gotta focus on my grades man," Okitani whined, his purple-haired head bobbing up and down, "I was a star student in middle school, but I started slacking off like an idiot in junior high. Somehow, I still got into this school."
"For real? Man, I never had good grades," Sudō shrugged, "But I still got in."
The school evaluates its students' talents, Chabashira had said. "Talents" being all-encompassing. From quirky skills to athletics to academics, it seemed that this school wanted to balance talents.
As I was alone in my thoughts, I realized that we had made it to the front of the line. Okitani and Sotomura checked out with no problem.
"Eh?" Sudō felt around in his pockets, "I didn't bring my student ID. Damnit!"
"Can I just get it now and pay later?" he asked the cashier woman, who denied him.
Sudō grit his teeth. He seemed ready to fight, but I intervened. I placed a hand on his shoulder, as I pulled out my ID card.
"Don't worry, I'll pay for you."
"Really? I- thanks man."
Swiping the student ID card was as easy as that, and a silent Sudō and I made it outside.
"Ah, Ayanokōji-kun," he scratched the back of his head, embarrassed, "You didn't have to do that. I-I'll pay you back..."
"Don't worry about it," I retorted, "I have your back."
"Heh, thanks man. You're the best!"
The four of us re-grouped outside of the store, and we sat down at a nearby picnic table, ready to enjoy our ramen.
"Hey, you guys first years? This is our spot."
As Sudō began eating his ramen, five upperclassmen called out to us. They had come out of the same store we had and were carrying the same brand of noodle cups as Sudō.
"Who are you? I was already here. Just get lost." Sudō, who had been calm just a second ago, barked.
One of them laughed, smirking. "You guys hear this dumbass? 'Get lost', he says. What a cocky little bozo of a first year."
The three of them laughed in Sudō's face. Sudo placed his cup on the ground and then stood up. He cracked his knuckles.
"You tryna make fun of me or sum'?"
Sudō seemed to have a short fuse. He seemed to threaten anyone who would anger him or challenge him.
"You're awfully mouthy for a shitty little first-year kid, considering we're second-year students" another one of the upperclassmen retorted. "So get your ass out of here and get lost."
Sudoō didn't back down, looking unfazed at being outnumbered.
I sighed. I stepped up to them.
"Oh? Another first-year punk? Whatchu tryna do now? You think you can do a four-on-five?"
"We were already here," I stated.
"What class you in? Oh wait, never mind, I think I know. You, you're in Class D, aren't you?"
"Yeah, so what?" Sudō snapped.
The upperclassmen exchanged glances and burst into laughter.
"You hear that? He's in Class D! And he doesn't even know what's going on! I knew it! It was a dead giveaway!"
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean? Hey!" Sudō barked at them but received no response.
The boys grinned and stepped backward, still sending looks at each other.
"You poor things. Welp, since you're defective losers in Class D, I guess we'll let you off the hook, just for today. You'll be in hell soon, anyway."
"What class are you in?" I asked.
"Class 2-A, of course," they smirked at us, with an unknowing expression, "We're the best, unlike you defective asses at the bottom. Don't you worry, you'll be in hell soon."
"Don't go yet."
"Why? You tryna attack us, or sum'?" they grinned widely, turning to me.
I pulled out my phone, and their voices began playing from it. I stared silently at the upperclassmen.
The trio of Sudō, Okitani, and Sotomura looked at me in confusion.
The upperclassmen quickly understood, as they began paling. They looked at one another, worried.
The evidence was compelling. Their reaction, coupled with the free items we had seen at the store with despondent upperclassmen grabbing free items, and the absurd amounts of money that this school supposedly received from the government, was enough to confirm my theory.
"What if I gave this recording to the school? What would happen?" I wondered aloud.
"Y-You would be expelled for blackmail!" one of them tried to protest, as he pointed to a nearby camera overlooking them.
"We are conducting a legal transaction, for the mutual benefit of both parties."
The frightened upperclassmen exchanged looks with each other. Panic, disorder, fear.
"He's going to kill us..."
"Not if he doesn't know..." another one of them whispered back.
"He'll know!" one whispered furiously, "Might as well tell him instead of hiding it like idiots!"
"So, I want some points, you know?" They shrunk back. As expected.
"Y-You want private points?"
"Yes, you're going to transfer the points to me. How much do you have right now?"
The upperclassmen shivered.
In the end, I took all of their private points. The five of them gave me a combined 2 million points in profit. I had spent 2,000 of my points on some groceries, and another 10,000 on a new pair of headphones so I now had 2,088,000 points.
They really were scared of being discovered by the school. Not to mention whoever was in charge of Class 2-A, since I heard them whispering about it.
In exchange, I deleted the recording in front of their eyes. I could have made a copy before deleting it, but there was only so much you could extort from them.
"Wow..."
I turned around, seeing my three new friends gape at me in shock. Well, two of them. Sotomura looked at me like a proud father, as if he had expected this all along.
"As expected of Protagonist-kun!"
"What were you guys even talking about?" Sudō scratched his head, confused. "Whatever man, you really saved us there."
Okitani seemed to chew his bottom lip in thought, as he stared at the phone I held in my hand.
Some people consider endless traveling and vacationing to be a kind of paradise. Others consider video games, or shopping, to be a paradise.
This school was my paradise. At least on the surface.
-o-o-o-
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-thann