Chap. 3 - The beginning of the adventure at Fukuro High School [1]

The cheerful atmosphere filled the room as everyone began to applaud, with the teachers being the most enthusiastic among them.

I was momentarily puzzled why they were giving such enthusiastic applause for a mischievous child.

But suddenly it dawned on me, tears of joy flowed from the teachers' eyes, radiant smiles on their faces.

The dark aura that had previously enveloped them slowly dissipated, replaced by the light of happiness emanating from within. Something beautiful seemed to be happening there.

But not for Ms. Celsi, she lowered her gaze. The cheerful aura she had while teaching now turned gloomy again.

[The Next Day]

I went to school as usual, of course, by now I was used to it.

Then I jumped, not expecting once again Hayden jumped along, causing us to collide again.

"Ouch... Again, you!" Hayden scoffed.

I laughed heartily, "haha..."

Hayden looked at me puzzled, raising an eyebrow. "A-are you going crazy?" He asked.

His eyes narrowed, as if trying to find an explanation from my expression.

Slowly, I started to stand up still with a laughing expression, wiping my clothes. My eyes looked teary.

Then I reached out my hand to help Hayden.

Hayden froze for a moment, his eyes fixed on me, illuminated by the sunlight.

His vision blurred slightly, making me look like a shadow reaching out. "You took so long, Hayden," I said.

Hayden blinked, as if trying to make sure what he was seeing was real.

Then Hayden accepted my offer, he stood up with a faint smile on his face.

The two of us walked to class together.

"What's your name yesterday?" He asked.

"Just call me Tomoe."

With sudden steps halted, Hayden looked at Tomoe seriously, "Tomoe, what is your purpose and why did you come here?" he asked firmly.

His face expressionless, reflecting deep interest in his question.

"My purpose is..." I smiled.

"What if I say to fill the empty seat?"

Hearing that, Hayden was stunned by my answer. Once again, he imagined I was a shadow of someone.

His eyes widened, his mouth opened slightly, as if not believing what he saw. "This is impossible," he murmured softly, his voice almost inaudible.

Hayden shook his head slowly, trying to dispel the doubts filling his mind.

"You mean to become a world leader, right?" Hayden sighed deeply, "I wouldn't be surprised if your goal is like that, everyone has the same dream."

I smiled at Hayden's statement.

"You're right." I smiled thinly, "Everyone also wants to be rich, but why can't they? Because they can't."

"So you mean you can?"

"Of course."

Hayden scratched his head.

"Then why are you here at this school?"

I used to think being number one was fun, but now it's not.

"Do you know what's fun about a position?"

Hayden felt even more confused, trying to rack his brains.

"The most enjoyable thing is the process. Everyone thinks about how to get rich, do they think about the process to achieve it?"

Hayden fell silent again.

I smiled, "Imagine this: Humans often think being like a butterfly is fun. Butterflies are beautiful and can fly freely. But, have you ever imagined that butterflies used to be just a caterpillar that could only wriggle?"

Hayden's eyes sparkled, and his face showed a deep understanding of what I was saying.

Like a flash of light illuminating a dark path, there was a feeling starting to grow in his heart, a deep understanding.

"My goal here is to start from zero."

With firm steps, I turned my body and walked towards class, Hayden immediately followed behind me, his steps in sync with mine.

Hayden's face beamed with an expression indicating he wanted to say something. His hands clenched, his mouth opened to say what was on his mind.

"T-Tomoe, I want to follow you. I want to see what the process is like." He said while closing his eyes.

Quickly, I ran towards the class without clearly hearing his words. There was something strange in the air, giving a feeling of uncertainty.

Hayden opened his head and started following me. "What's wrong?" Hayden asked.

"There's something weird here," I kept running.

"Weird?"

We kept running towards the class.

When we arrived there, Hayden and I stopped. I started to look around, but everything felt so strange.

My mind was filled with confusion as I tried to understand what was happening around us.

"Why are you like this, I didn't hear anything strange." Hayden scoffed.

"That's why it's strange." I thought hard, "Hayden, what day is it today?" I asked.

"Sunday, why?"

"Darn..."

[Sunday is a national holiday]

After that incident, Rey never showed up again, and its members seemed to change into ordinary students. I, suddenly considered as the new leader.

Although I never intended to be a leader, I shook my head slowly. "But it's okay," I muttered, "what can I do? It's already wet."

[TO BE CONTINUED]