The start of the school and the new life

Part 1.

And so, they entered the school.

At first, both Ren and Kuriko were surprised by how big the schoolyard was. They had never seen a place that big in a school before.

Ren imagined that it could fit a soccer field within. And it probably could if not for the other constructions scattered around.

Anyway, since it was exaggeratedly big, Ren and Kuriko got lost.

No one was there, plus they had no idea where to go.

The siblings started to wander around the area, searching for other people. They ended their search after 5 minutes as they could not find anyone.

"What is happening!? Where is everyone!? Are we really going to be late on the first day of school!?" Shouted Kuriko, enraged.

"Calm down. We're not going to be late."

"You're saying this, but you're also worried, aren't you?"

"Well, I'd be lying if I said I'm not."

Immediately after saying that, Ren spotted something. It was a wall with many papers and posters glued to it.

While the enraged Kuriko was arguing with him, Ren paid her no heed and advanced towards the wall in question, leaving her speaking with the air.

Shortly after he read all the papers, he highlighted a specific one. It was then that Kuriko finally noticed that her brother was gone and came after him.

"Hey, don't leave me talking to myself!"

"Sorry. But, look at this," Ren pointed to a specific paper on the wall. It's saying: 'to all the new students, please head to the gymnasium to participate in the New Year's initiation ceremony," he read. "So we're supposed to go to the gymnasium, huh."

"The gymnasium? But where is it located, though."

"Don't ask me. I'm as lost as you are," Ren briefly sighed. "So, what are we going to do now?"

The two were near one of the buildings that occupied the open space. The entrance was closed, so they had no way to know what was inside.

However, as Ren wondered what could be within, a loud sound resounded through his ears.

He questioned what happened, but he discovered it right after.

Someone was slowly opening the building entrance from the inside. Its friction on the ground resulted in a loud metallic noise.

When it finally opened, it revealed a situation which Ren could not help but feel surprised. In resume, there were tons of people, all wearing scholar uniforms. If one counted everyone, the numbers would most likely reach the thousands.

The one opening the door was some muscular guy in a P.E. suit, probably a teacher.

"I guess there is the gymnasium."

"Yeah. I agree."

With a slight nod, Ren entered the building along with Kuriko.

Part 2.

He could not hear anything. There was only the stuffy sound of thousands of people speaking simultaneously.

Ren could see Kuriko moving her lips beside him, but even so close, he could not hear at all.

So instead of trying to talk back, Ren just grabbed Kuriko's hand and led her to the nearest seats. She kept moving her lips, this time with an angry face, but he still heard nothing.

Kuriko must have noticed that Ren could not hear her and gave up.

But when they sat, the sound vanished.

Ren thought he had gotten deaf due to an excess of sound, but that was not it.

There was a single girl behind the podium with a microphone attached.

She was a girl who had a poorly-developed body and short black hair.

He had not gotten deaf. Instead, everybody that was talking stopped the moment the unknown girl arrived.

"Good morning. And thank you all for coming today!" The girl announced as if to break the silence. "For those who do not know me, my name is Yukihira Ayumi, the student council vice president."

There was no other voice, only hers.

"I hope all of you can enjoy your life as a student here." Yukihira Ayumi started shouting like a captain of a pirate ship, "I am here to help! We are here to help! The duty as a member of the student council is to seek for everyone's good. If you need help, you must seek help! We will be there for you!"

Although the podium had a microphone, she continued shouting her speech for a few long minutes. When it finally ended, she quietly finished her speech with a piece of advice, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦. 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.

After shouting for so much, she must have tired her throat because she finished rather quietly.

And with a motion like that of a bow, she slowly left the podium.

CLAP! Someone suddenly clapped.

CLAP! CLAP! CLAP! CLAP! CLAP! CLAP! In an instant, claps filled that vast space, with the sound echoing through the walls.

"Whoa! That speech was pretty good!" Someone said.

"It's the first time seeing her, but I already like her!" Another person complemented.

"That was great!" A student near Ren added.

"How can someone stand still shouting for so long?" Ren wondered.

"I don't know. But that was quite good. It made me feel a little more excited."

Distracted, Ren did not notice the new girl that had appeared behind the podium. She contrasted a lot from the other; she had a strangely well-developed body and long blond hair. Also, a smile that gave a mature feeling, and yet, was overflowing with kindness.

And similar to what that Ayumi girl did, she slowly moved her lips.

"Hello… I am student's council president, Miyamoto Hana," the smile she wielded on her face got wider. "As Ayumi-san said, we are here to help. Unfortunately, there is nothing much I can say that she hasn't already said. So…" She continued explaining a few rules of the school, to which Ren could not pay attention. By the time he focused again, the girl had already finished. "Thank you for your attention, and now, please listen to what the principal has to say."

It seemed that she could not say what she had wanted to say, but she did not look sad.

After that, a mid-age man appeared. He was the school principal, and he basically congratulated the students and wished for a good year.

The ceremony ended with a few more uninteresting speeches. Ren and Kuriko quickly left the gymnasium, but at some point, they had been separated, guided to their respective classrooms by their teachers.

Kuriko was a first-grader, and Ren second.

Part 3.

Without delay, Ren walked to his classroom with a group of other students. Nothing seemed uncommon. But that idea got crushed when he looked behind him. In the group, two familiar girls were chatting idly.

(Miyamoto Hana and Yukihira Ayumi were their names? So they're second years, huh? And in my class too.)

Ren gave passage, and the girls passed by him while lively talking. They ignored him completely, though it seemed the shorter girl nodded to him.

He briefly sighed.

Keeping his (a little hurt) feelings within him, he walked down the classroom to his place, the table near the window.

The bell immediately rang, and an adult woman came entering the classroom.

She had dead fish eyes that appeared strangely on high alert. Her other notable characteristics would be her magnificent hair that reached her shoulders and a fancy chest.

"Okay, you little pests. I will be your homeroom teacher for this year. Some of you may already know me, but I'm Yoshida Yoshino. Don't bother me, and you should be safe."

At first glance, Yoshida Yoshino seemed to be someone who had walked through the depths of hell and saw things an ordinary human could not handle seeing.

Her sharp eyes could stab through one's soul, and she could make one unconscious with just her killing intent. She was someone with whom Ren did not want to be enemies.

But of course, all of that was Ren's imagination.

"Open your textbook on page 9. I'll explain how the classes will work," she said in an annoyed manner

Ren hurriedly searched for his textbook inside his backpack but only found air and his pencil case.

(Oh.)

He forgot his lecturing book on the first day of school.

What a shame.

"Sensei, I... forgot my book," Ren said, slightly raising his hand to draw attention.

"What? Seriously?" Yoshida sighed indignantly. "Well, since it's the first day of school, I'll forgive you, but just today." She continued, raising her voice, "anyone that didn't bring the book, please pair up with the person by your side."

Ren saw other people placing their tables together, which made him happy, realizing he was not alone.

He looked at his right side. A short girl waved at him with a bright smile.

"You are Yukihira Ayumi, right? Sorry for bothering you," Ren said, placing his table next to hers.

"Not a problem! Not at all! It's a pleasure helping you!"

It looked like she brought her table even closer.

"You already know me, for sure. But, what's your name?"

"I'm Suzuki Ren. Nice to meet you."

"Ah! Suzuki. Nice to meet you too!"

She seemed overly excited.

"Hm, you don't seem to be from this town... I've never seen you here."

"Yeah, I came to this city together with my sister some days ago."

"I see..."

"You, back there, shut up!" Yoshida ordered, and the students had to obey.

"Yes!"

"Sorry!"

Part 4.

"Ah! So this is how I have to do it?" Ren exclaimed.

"Exactly."

They were currently in the break time. Ayumi was helping Ren with some math questions he had had difficulty doing.

"Yukihira-san, you're amazing!" Ren praised. "You resolved this problem so easily!"

"Do-don't praise so much," Ayumi said while bashfully scratching her cheeks and averting her gaze.

"Um, as expected of Ayumi, you can get along with everyone."

It was then that a voice joined their conversation.

"President?" Ayumi asked, surprised at the unexpected voice that joined the conversation.

"Hello, Ayumi. I wanted to see the new student, but I see you already did so," stated the student council president, Miyamoto Hana.

"Yeah! He is Suzuki Ren. Say hi to her!"

"Uh... H-hello, Miyamoto-san?"

"Oh, how are you, Suzuki-san?"

"Well, I'm fine."

"Hey, Suzuki, I wanted to talk with president about this, but since she's already here, I'll tell you the idea I had as well."

"What is it, Ayumi?"

"You see, Suzuki isn't from here, so why don't we show him the town?"

"Oh, I didn't know that. That is a great idea! But, what do you think, Suzuki-san?"

The conversation proceeded basically without him, so he could only agree, "That would be a great help. I only know the places that are near my apartment," Ren gave a self-deprecating laugh. "If it's okay for you, could you do that right after school?"

"Let me think... I don't know whether we have something to do or not."

"No need to worry. We can do it."

"Is that so? Okay then."

"Thanks."

"No problem, helping a student is the student council's duty after all," Hana said with the usual smile she always had. "Anyway, the break will end soon, so I should go back to my seat. It was nice to meet you, Suzuki-san."

Hana made her toward her place, waving at Ren and Ayumi.

Part 5.

"Ahhh! It's finally over," said a girl, stretching her arms upwards.

"Yeah, I'm tired of this," answered another girl.

They had been near Ren's seat since the start. They kept talking after that, but Ren did not mind. At the moment, he was organizing his backpack that had only a thin notebook and a simple pencil case.

Beside him was Yukihira Ayumi.

"Aren't you ready yet?"

"Just a second... This seal is quite hard to close."

And beside her was Miyamoto Hana.

"Suzuki-san, do you need any help?"

"No. It's almost—done!"

"Let's go then."

"Sure."

Together, they left the classroom, eventually reaching the schoolyards. Ren spotted Kuriko, who leaned against a wall, waiting for him.

"Hey, Kuriko! Over here!"

Answering Ren's call, Kuriko came running with a smile on her face.

"Onii-chan?"

"There, she is my little sister, Suzuki Kuriko."

"Pleasure to meet you, hmm... How should I call you?" Hana said with a questioning look. She already called Ren by the surname, and it would be awkward if she addressed Kuriko in the same way.

"I don't mind you calling me by my name..." Kuriko tilted her head to the side as if questioning something, "but, wait a minute, aren't you the people from the student council? What are you two doing with my brother?"

"Kuriko, Yukihira-san and Miyamoto-san will do us the favor of showing us the town," Ren answered.

"Ah, is that so? Nice."

With all things set, Ayumi walked in front of the group as if taking the lead. She shouted, "Come on, follow me!"

Like a child playing in a playground, she started running ahead of the group.

However, reality trampled over her dream with a small rock in the middle of the path. As she ran, she accidentally kicked it and tripped.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Everyone felt silent.

Ayumi tripped on a rock and fell pathetically on the ground.

"A-are you okay, Ayumi?" Hana was the first to say something.

Seeing that comical happening, Ren did not try to hold his laughter. He did not find it funny at all.

He could only feel sad for her.

Ayumi had just tried to look cool.

She slowly got up.

She did not hurt her face. When she was just about to fall, Ayumi reflexively put her hands in front of her, avoiding an even more pathetic fall.

Her face was bright red, and small tears were dropping from her eyes. Ren knew those tears were not due to physical pain.

"Are you okay?" Hana asked again and tried to comfort her friend.

"Y-yes..." Ayumi forcibly laughed, "Hahaha, I tripped."

She downcasted her eyes and went to the back of the group.

It was astonishing how humans could have their humor changed so fast.

Hana went to the front of the group as if she had taken Ayumi's place.

"Let's pretend nothing happened. So, follow me!"

Part 6.

Their "tour" around the city had been enjoyable.

They went to diverse places, libraries, bowling centers, cinemas, parks, restaurants, etc. Of course, they did not have that much time, so they only passed to know the place.

Even with Ayumi's situation, after a few minutes, everyone had forgotten that.

They were now at the entrance of a cafe.

"Miyamoto-senpai, is this the cafe you had told us?"

"Yes. It simply has the best cake in the world."

"Yes! Kuriko-chan, you will surely like it!" Ayumi added.

"Ahh! You're making me excited!"

The three girls quickly entered the establishment, leaving Ren.

However, by the time he thought of following them, a human head peeked from the door.

It was Ayumi's.

"You're not coming, Suzuki?" She said, looking unhappy.

"Y-yes, just a sec."

"Hm? What is it, with that surprised face?"

"Ah, it's nothing."

"Then, hurry, come."

That attitude of hers was simple but made Ren happy.

Maybe that had been only the "duty" of a student council member, but that did not matter now.

Ren entered. He headed to the table where the three girls were. They had already made their orders, and now, they were waiting.

"Miyamoto-san, could I ask a question?" Ren said.

"What is it, Suzuki-san?".

"Uh, I noticed that your behavior is way different than I had expected."

"What do you mean?"

"You see, back on the initiation ceremony, you had acted all formal. You looked like a past century Nobel."

Hana placed her hands on her chin as if thinking. "Hm... Of course, I'd do that. I was in front of the whole school." She sighed in exasperation, "Though I had created a wonderful speech for today, Ayumi took all the fame..."

Ayumi lightly shuddered.

"Gh. I already apologized for that!"

"I know, I know," Hana shrugged. "Anyway, you deserve that. After all, you spent days without sleeping working on what you'd say."

"How do you know that!?"

"You were thinking aloud."

Their orders arrived before Ayumi could raise her voice to complain.

Part 7.

"You were correct! Their meal was so good!" Kuriko affirmed cheerfully.

"Right? And eating with friends makes it so much better!"

"Yes! Haha!"

Ayumi cleared her throat, and everyone paid attention to her.

"We have one last destiny. Follow me."

Ayumi started walking in the other direction, and the group went after her.

"Hey, Yukihira-senpai, what is this place you're taking us?

"Ah, it's like a historical place or something like that. It's a place that I find very enjoyable, my personal taste, though.."

Chatting while walking, they reached it. It looked like a mountain, but it had a long stairway that led upwards. The group climbed it. Kuriko and Hana had some difficulty but managed to climb it all.

Arriving below something that resembled a 𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘪 gate, Ren caught sight of something.

"Is that a shrine?"

"Yes. It was the local temple years ago," Ayumi replied.

Advancing towards the shrine grounds, Ren dropped his shoulders when he took a closer look at the building. It was old, falling to pieces. Only a few structures had survived.

Ren speculated that it had probably been an important place for the population. But it had been completely forgotten, and it was now slowly deteriorating.

"As you see, the shrine itself is falling apart. Well, what I wanted to show you isn't that, though." Ayumi raised her index finger as if explaining, "It's behind that building."

"Behind? We're quite high up here, so I'd guess it's some nice view?"

"Precisely! It might sound lame, but it's actually interesting!"

"I've already seen that view so many times, but yet I can't help but find it amazing every single time I see it," remarked Hana.

"I'm getting eager to see it! Let's go!" Kuriko said as she ran in that direction.

"Wa-wait for us, Kuriko-chan!" Ayumi ran after her.

"Wait, Kuriko-chan. Aren't you tired after climbing all those stairs!?" Hana tried to run after her. She looked like she would pass out, so Ren lent her his shoulder.

"Woah!"

"What a view, I must say."

"Hehe, isn't it amazing?"

Ayumi puffed her chest proudly.

"And with this, our trip is done!"

"Ahn!? It's already over?" Kuriko complained.

"I think so. We showed everything you'll need to live in this town."

"Is that so... Well then, thank you."

So now we have to go home. Would you like to come with us?"

"Of course! What about you, Onii-chan?"

"Sure, I'll go with you. But—"

Ren was about to say something but suddenly stopped mid-sentence. His abrupt change of tone worried the group.

"What happened, Suzuki-san?"

"Dammit, I forgot my bike at school..."

"You forgot it!? Haha!" Kuriko could not abstain from laughing. "Onii-chan, I thought you had left the bike there on purpose!"

"Why are you laughing?! Ahh! I can't believe this!"

"So... You will head back to school and take it back?"

"I guess I have no choice. I'll see you at home, Kuriko."

"Suzuki, in that case, I will help you."

"Haha, don't mind it. I can do it myself. I know the way back. I think..."

"Well... Okay then, goodbye to you."

Ayumi waved her hand.

"See you tomorrow, Suzuki-san."

Hana bowed.

"See you at home then, Onii-chan."

"Right, see you."

The girls left the local, leaving Ren alone.

Being alone in a place like that passed quite a strange mood. Ren could feel an odd feeling. He guessed it was because of the nature that was so nearby. To blow away that feeling, he looked at that view one more time.

"Seriously, what a view," he rejoiced upon seeing all those houses and buildings. It seemed so small up here.

He slowly turned back and walked toward the stairs. He could not leave his treasured bike degenerating at the school.