Chapter Text
"Souls never die, but always on quitting one abode pass to another. All things change, nothing perishes. The soul passes hither and thither, occupying now this body, now that... As a wax is stamped with certain figures, then melted, then stamped anew with others, yet it is always the same wax. So, the Soul being always the same, yet wears at different times different forms."
—Pythagoras
It's the year 2118 in Kawasaki City. The rising sun was kicking off another busy day for the local residents. Employees began to open up shop, while students of different grades were starting the first day of the school year.
One such student was a fifteen-year-old boy named Tsutomu Nakai, who preferred to go by Tomu. From the moment he was accepted into Satozakura High School, he vowed to make a strong impression on his soon-to-be classmates. He planned out the perfect first day guide for the past month, one that he knew was foolproof. The plan was as followed.
- Read about cool and popular guys in manga.
- Get a bunch of fashionable clothes to wear in case of after school hangouts.
- Go to the barber for a big haircut debut.
- Introduce yourself to your class in a way that screams positive attention.
- Try to push the idea of an occult club during lunch and after school.
So far Tomu had completed the first three steps on the list. He spent the past few weeks learning about all the cool and popular guys while also trying to copy their fashion. And just yesterday, he sacrificed his bland hairstyle for a spiked undercut. He told the barber he wanted something cool for his haircut debut and apparently that was the cool look in mind. He even made sure he had enough money for the hair wax that was used. All that was left was to leave a positive impression on his classmates.
At the moment, Tomu was getting dressed in his black blazer-style school uniform. He was somewhat uncomfortable about wearing ties, so he opted to loosen it a little. Luckily he woke up early so he could check if he was presentable and not have to worry about being late. So once he finished getting dressed, he checked his reflection in his full-body mirror to see if everything was alright. Same light brown eyes, same three small moles on his face (two near his right eyebrow and one on the left corner of his mouth), same pink hair styled in an undercut waiting to be spiked-
...Wait a minute.
Pink hair?
Tomu's mind went into panic as he checked his reflection. This can't be right... Last night he went to bed with black hair, not pink. He could only stare at his reflection as his face became pale. Then without warning, a single thought appeared in his head.
Everyone will think he dyed his hair for school.
"CRAP!" Tomu panicked, tugging on his suddenly vibrant locks. "Crapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrap..."
A knock on his bedroom door snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Are you okay, Tsutomu?" a woman's voice asked from outside the room. "I heard a scream."
Tomu knew he didn't have time to dye his hair black. "...I'm fine, Aunt Haru," he lied, picking up his canister of hair wax.
"Well you better hurry up," Haru replied. "You wouldn't want to be late on your first day of school."
Tomu could hear the sound of footsteps fading as he spiked his hair. Remembering what the barber said, he took out a small amount with his index finger, rubbed it onto his palm, clasped his hands and rubbed them together, and finger-combed the wax into his hair, making sure the unshaven portion was slightly spiked. While the color was totally unexpected, at least the cut was the same as yesterday.
Giving one last check at his reflection, the newly-dubbed pinkette let out a sigh before grinning. Despite the little hiccup in his plan, it was finally time to head over to school.
Most high schoolers would usually walk to school, with the occasional rich ones being escorted by a driver. But for Tomu, he preferred getting to school by bike. He made sure he memorized the route from his house to Satozakura last night and even took possible detours in mind to avoid being late. That was a key detail in leaving a good impression on the school's faculty. This was a high school that was very strict when it came to the students. Every single teacher had to keep a close eye on possible troublemakers, so any signs of deviating from model student behavior would instantly be seen as suspicious. Luckily there wasn't a policy against biking, so the pinkette was presumably in the clear.
So far it seemed to be smooth sailing. Tomu's eyes widened in excitement as he saw Satozakura become more visible as other students started to fill the walkways, ones in similar blazer-style uniforms. While the shirts, jackets, and ties were identical, boys wore pants and dress shoes and girls worse skirts and Mary Jane’s. Yet it seemed Tomu was the only student who preferred to use a bike, as nearly everyone was walking.
But then things started to take a turn when Tomu noticed one particular student was stopped by a teacher right near the school gate. Worse, this student just so happened to be right in the pinkette's biking path. Not wanting to brake in case of a possible mishap (no thanks to his bike being a little worn), he did something a little impulsive to avoid a collision.
He screamed.
"GET OUTTA THE WAY!!!"
The student looked alarmed as stepped aside, just as Tomu sped past the school gate. And for a split second, time seemed to slow down as the two students made direct eye contact. This other student had long dark brown hair that reached their waist, making it hard to tell if they were a boy or a girl. Yet for Tomu, something inside him clicked, like he had met this particular student in a similar way. But how? Did he see them in passing without realizing it...?
CRASH!
Before Tomu could even process his confusion, he failed to realize he had accidentally biked into a tree within the school gate. Luckily there were no big injuries on his body, so only his bike was the sole casualty. So brushing aside the long-haired student, he parked the slightly-damaged bike in the rack and attached it with a chain before heading into the school. Yet little did he know that there were of a pair of eyes staring at him during his mild panic...
Despite that initial scuffle, Tomu first day of school seemed to go off without a hitch. After the morning assembly greeting first years and returning students, he figured out his class number (1-E) and headed to the room. There was also desk placement and luckily, he got a seat close to the front, exactly where all the cool kids hung out. But his luck seemed to run out when he realized who was also in his class.
"Sup, Tomu," a girl greeted with a smirk and half-wave, proudly sitting in the seat directly behind his.
Tomu sighed. "Hey, Yasu..." he responded.
This girl was Yasu Ishii, Tomu's cousin. She was a typical high schooler with neck-length black hair and bright orange eyes. She had forego the standard tie and had the top button of her dress shirt undone, fitting for a delinquent like her. But the reason why Tomu wasn't happy was because this was a girl who loved to tease him nonstop. And given his current look, he just knew she found another reason to keep going.
"So why'd you decide to make your big haircut debut with pink dye?" Yasu asked.
"It's not my fault!" Tomu shouted as he made his way to his seat. "I woke up looking like this!"
"You sure it wasn't part of this 'grand plan' of yours?" Yasu joked. "Cause a commotion by painting a target on your head?"
"I'm serious!" Tomu insisted. "I just wanna become one of the coolest kids at school! This..." He gestured to his hair. "...wasn't part of my foolproof guide!"
"Suuuuure it was..." Yasu trolled as she tried hard not to laugh out loud.
Tomu was about to respond when the school bell rang before he could open his mouth. A woman who was apparently going to be his homeroom teacher entered and wrote her name on the chalkboard.
"Welcome to your first day as a Satozakura student," the woman spoke. "I am Ms. Endou, your homeroom teacher."
Tomu leaned back just a bit, satisfied that his initial suspicion was correct. Ms. Endou then proceeded to talk about the standard rules of this school, which he already knew as well. Don't be a troublemaker, the school faculty carefully monitors all students, blah blah blah... Like he didn't know that already. In fact, given how his classmates all looked bored, everyone knew about the strict reputation. No one knew why, but it's not like that mattered. It was common knowledge at this point.
"Now that you're all aware of the rules, let's start with a brief introduction of all of you," Ms. Endou instructed. "Let's start with the pink-haired boy."
That caught Tomu's attention, so he was quick to stand up. "Tsutomu Nakai!" he greeted with a sharp bow. "I'm into the occult and paranormal! This is an honor!"
And there it was. The super-cool introduction the pinkette had worked on. Short and to the point, while also depicting positive attention. Sure enough, he could see a few pleased looks as he stood to his full height and sat back down. Step four in his foolproof guide was complete, with a bit of step five thrown in just in case.
One by one, the rest of the class made their introductions (including Yasu, who demonstrated her laid back attitude). But as each student introduced themselves, Tomu soon realized there was one seat in the back that had remained vacant. What was that for? Did the classroom have one too many desks or was there an absent student? If there was such an absence, why on the first day? There were too many questions surrounding this one oddity.
Eventually all of the students made their introductions. "Before we begin, I would like to inform you that there is one other student joining the class," Ms. Endou revealed. "He appears to be running late, so-"
Then as if on cue, the classroom door slammed open. Time seemed to slow down once more as someone familiar entered the classroom. It was the same student as before, except their long hair was tied up in a bun by a single white ribbon. Now that Tomu wasn't rushing around like before, he got a better look at this student. They were so, so beautiful with olive green eyes and long eyelashes. They seemed to be wearing pants and dress shoes with their uniform, which only further confused him. Was this a girl who preferred to wear the boy's uniform or a boy with feminine features? Either way, it seemed this student's arrival left quite an impact on the other students just by showing up as there were hushed whispers heard throughout the room.
"Sorry I'm late," the student apologized, speaking in a soft yet raspy voice. "I was scolded for my appearance as soon as I entered."
"It's fine," Ms. Endou replied. She addressed the class. "This is the classmate I had spoke about, the young man who had arrived late." She turned towards the student. "Please introduce yourself."
The student, who was apparently male, faced the classroom with a somewhat reserved stance. "My name is Asumi Shimada," he spoke. "I hope we can get along."
"Thank you, Mr. Shimada," Ms. Endou said. "Now please take your seat so we can begin today's lessons."
As Asumi made his way to the back of the class, he quickly noticed Tomu and walked towards his desk. Time slowed down once more, yet the hushed whispers of girls were very noticeable.
"He's so pretty!"
"I wish I had long eyelashes like his!"
"What does he look like with his hair down?"
Once Asumi was right next to Tomu, he glanced downwards and slammed his hand on the desk, catching the pinkette's attention. The two boys made eye contact again, but this time, Tomu felt a little nervous. Not because of that strange feeling of deja vu, but the fact that this boy he supposedly just met was so close to him. But with his foolproof guide in mind, he had to speak up or things would only get awkward.
"Can I help you?" Tomu asked.
But then Asumi replied with his own question. "Do I know you?" he spoke.
That got Tomu to shut up. His eyes widened as that simple four-letter sentence echoed in his head. So it wasn't just him who was feeling strange. This Asumi person seemed to also recognize him. But why? What was it that made the pinkette feel so...so...
Relieved?
...
...Relief?
Where did that come from?
Luckily a single throat clear from Yasu snapped the two boys back to reality, allowing Asumi to take his seat. Yet as Ms. Endou began today's lesson, Tomu still thought back to that strange feeling towards Asumi. Why was it relief of all emotions? The two had just met, so why would he be so happy to see this long-haired beauty? Regardless, it seemed said beauty had already make quite an impression on others, quickly becoming a popular student just by showing up.
So much for that strong first impression.