"Well, this is it..." Arata sighed, his black hair swaying behind him as his crimson eyes gazed upon the bold letters that told him of where he currently was.
[Chiba Academy]
He was now standing right outside the gate, the school year had just started and people were coming.
"My new school..." He said with an unhappy expression on his face.
He stepped inside the school premises while lamenting his horrible fate and the future that Otto had chosen for him.
'I'll cut that damn simp later!' Arata vowed.
•••
The previous day...
"WHAT?!!" Arata exclaimed.
Did he just hear that right ? Were his ears deceiving him ? Did Otto really just say what he thinks he said ? There's no way right ? There's no way Otto Apocalypse actually went through the effort of enrolling Arata in a high school, right?!
"Oh, I did~" He answered, as if he could perfectly read Arata's mind, making veins bulge on his forehead.
"Oh, did you now ?" He smiled sweetly, eyes closed and seemingly happy.
"And pray tell, why would you do such a thing ?"
"Well, we don't know how long it's going to take for you to actually find the Box of God. So, instead of dedicating you every waking hour to searching for it, I decided to let you settle into Nagazora with a student identity! And don't worry, I've also provided you with a fake identity and a large surplus of money as well. And a house. And a car." Otto happily explained all the things he did and all the expenses he covered on Arata's behalf.
"You can thank me later~" He smugly states.
Arata's eyebrows twitch.
"With all due respect, as much as I appreciate the house, and the car, and the money. I fail to see why I need to go to high school."
"You've never been to high school, right?" He asked.
"Not in this life, no!"
"Then it's time for the next step, isn't it ?"
"But I don't plan on going to college?" Arata raised, his expression turning into one of confusion.
He was more than willing to dedicate his life and afterlife to just facing the Honkai and the Mahavidya. He saw absolutely no merit in high school.
What's the point in going to high school if he wasn't going to bother going to college? It's not like he was going to actually get a job or anything! He already had a mission to complete and a profession to do.
And since when were boys even allowed in Chiba Academy?!
"Also, last I checked, isn't Chiba Academy a girls-only school ?" He questioned.
"It was a girls-only school that became co-ed recently. So you don't have to worry! Although the male-to-female population ratio won't be in your favour." Otto shrugged and leaned back on his chair, adding a smug saying at the end.
"But then again, when has it ever ? After all, the male population in this world is already low to begin with."
That's right.
By nature, men had naturally weaker resistance to the honkai than women. This was a fact of their biology that nobody knew the reason for.
And thanks to the presence of the Eternal Moon, honkai disasters and Adishakti fluctuations were extremely common in this world. In fact, the Adishakti from the moon provided the Earth with so much energy over the past fifty thousand years, that there were rivers of energy underground. There was basically a limitless wellspring of honkai energy underground capable of supplying energy to the entire world.
And due to the harsh nature of the honkai as well as its abundance, the male population quickly dwindled.
The low population of males combined with the fact that Chiba Academy was just an all-girls school till last year, did not paint a nice picture. There was an extremely high chance that he may end up being the only guy in Chiba Academy this year, which really did not sit well with him. So to say, he was very uncomfortable about such a thing.
"And all the students here are rich kids." He added, making Arata slam his face into his palm and contemplate his own fate.
'I really hate this. I reeally hope I'm not the only guy.'
The idea that he needed to actually study lessons and do homework did not sit well with him either. It would take away from the time he could've used to locate the Black Box.
As far as Arata was concerned, this entire thing was a waste of time with no merits whatsoever.
But what disturbed him the most, was this weird pull he was feeling from the school. His heart throbbing beneath his ribcage, as he felt some kind of supernatural attraction to this location.
The sense of familiarity he had with Nagazora City, he felt even more within Chiba Academy.
"And besides; the daughter of the head of ME Corp, Raiden Mei, is also attending the school. You could build a close relationship with someone like her, after all, you were recommended by her father." Otto suggested, making Arata crane his neck backwards and stare up at the sky with a puzzled expression on his face.
"I'm sorry, who ?"
And why does that name sound familiar?
"Ah, my bad. I forgot you were horrible with names."
•••
And so, that is how Kurokami Arata ended up in Chiba Academy.
With his bag, he simply walked in through the front gate. There were other students as well nearby, and without a doubt he had garnered their attention. He was aware of the states he was getting. He could feel those looks directed towards him. No doubt surprised by the presence of a boy like him on campus.
Arata ignored all the stares he received and entered the building he believed he should be in. He has no real idea what the layout of this high school was, yet his feet carried him through it accurately.
He looked around and tilted his head, as if he did not know where to go next.
So, he simply walked over to one lady and questioned her about the location of his classroom — Class 1-A.
The student in question was clearly a senior, who was utterly surprised by the presence of a boy in the school.
"Oh, u-um... Just go that way, then take a right. The second room on the left side, that's Class 1-A." She stammered in between, unable to take her eyes off the handsome male kouhai. She stared at him as if he were a rare specimen.
"Thank you." He expressed his gratitude and followed her directions, turning the corner and going right, leaving behind a shocked girl who still was coming to terms with the fact that such a handsome-looking boy would also be attending this school.
"Holy shit..." She whispered.
Meanwhile, Arata had already approached the classroom, staring up at the sign saying [1-A], signifying that this was the class he was assigned to.
He stared at the door for a while, before sighing and raising his hand to knock at the door.
He was not really early or anything. After all, his lack of directions really does put him in a pinch at times. He wasn't late though, but the teacher was already in the classroom.
"Come in!" He heard the teacher's voice on the other side, then opened the door to enter the classroom.
He closed the door behind him and stared at the teacher, who seemed pleased by his presence.
"Oh, I didn't know the new transfer student was such a handsome young man!" Arata rolled his eyes at those words.
"Welcome to Chiba Academy. I am Kashiwa Aiko, and I will be your teacher. Please, step forward and introduce yourself to the classroom."
Arata sighed, because he could see that every single one of his classmates were girls, as expected.
....how wonderful...
Arata was utterly dead inside, but he didn't show it. Instead, he took a breath and turned to face the crowd.
"Greetings to you all, it is nice to meet you. I am Kurokami Arata. I look forward to being your classmate. Please take care of me." I introduced myself before bowing politely to my classmates.
He could already hear some whispers being passed around about him, but he paid them no heed. Also, he ignored the hungry stares from a vast majority of the girls in the classroom.
"Don't worry, Kurokami-kun, we'll take great care of you!" One of the girls said, making Arata grimace further and placing a hand on his neck.
"Oh, yes we will." The homeroom teacher agreed.
'I want to leave...'
"Kurokami-kun, you can sit down next to Raiden-san, over there. She is seated by the window." She pointed at the seat, which was still empty, right next to a beautiful girl.
"Awh! I hoped I could sit next to the Queen of Thunder!"
"I wish he was next to me..."
"Both Kurokami-kun and Raiden-san, together?! I don't think my heart can handle that much sweet!"
Arata ignored all those comments and simply plopped himself down on his seat, next to the one known as Raiden Mei.
He was getting his stuff out of his bag, when a voice called out to him, making him look at the girl seated next to him. "Kurokami-san?"
Arata perked up at the voice and looked at his partner, the most beautiful woman he had seen till date. It wasn't anything he was entranced by, but her beauty was on a different level compared to her classmates.
Dark blue eyes that held warmth and comfort. Dark purple hair that was strikingly distinct in its appearance.
When he looked at her, he momentarily froze. He felt a change within him, a feeling of longing and a sense of deja vu. Where had he seen that face before ? It looks so familiar...
"Raiden Mei." She introduced herself, smiling at Arata softly. "I hope we can be friends. And I hope you have a wonderful time here at Chiba."
Arata stared at her for a bit, transfixed by her smile. His gaze on her didn't leave, because his sharp eyes had caught something in its gaze.
He noticed the honkai within her. Or rather, the fluctuations of a dormant honkai core.
'This girl is a possible herrscher...' Arata made a mental note to remain vigilant when it came to this one.
He smiled back at Mei and said, "It's nice to meet you as well. I would love to be your friend."
'Though, I won't stick around for any large-scale group gatherings.'
For some odd reason, Arata liked that smile of hers. It was an unknown feeling deep within him, as if giving him a vivid sense of deja vu. He did not find the source, but he paid it no mind. He simply smiled back at her and focused on the class that the teacher had started taking.
Too bad he was distracted by the hushed whispers amongst the girls.
A group of whispers that may or may not include lines like:
"Kurokami-kun looks so handsome... I think my heart's racing! I've never felt this way before..."
"Did you see his eyes ? They're so beautiful."
"I could get lost in those eyes. I wish he would glare at me with them."
"Let's try to bring him with us! I'm sure my mom will be pleased as well."
"I heard Kurokami-kun has connections to the government... I need to befriend him!"
Arata really wanted to go home...
Of course they would be like this. They were all teenagers, still too young to be mature and far too hormonal for their own good.
Some were simply horny and wanted a handsome man like him in their lives. Not to mention he was filthy rich (thanks to Otto) and apparently had political say (a fake identity, also thanks to Otto).
Some simply wanted to get close to him for more power. They were all rich anyway, but being close to people richer than them was always a good thing. And him having political power was a great bonus.
Arata chose to ignore everything that they said.
After all, they were but mere teenagers who were born and brought up in spoiled, privileged environments. He did not want to get mixed up with such people.
But he would absolutely save them from the honkai, even if he grows to genuinely dislike them. He was literally here on a mission to save the world from an unstable world-ending calamity.
Although the technical term for classification of the Mahavidya were as Vipralopa Class honkai beasts.
But then again, the power of a honkai beast usually scales with the advancement of civilization, which is different in the case of the Mahavidya. Hence why Otto opted for a much simpler approach and simply deemed them as "Mahavidya Class", a secret class of honkai beasts, all born as fragments of the same source.
Mahavidya's themselves are top secret; only high ranking officials as well as people with connections to them, would know about their existence.
And he is the only person who can save the world from [Dhumavati].
Because like he always used to say— "the best way to defeat the honkai is with the honkai itself".
And it was up to him, to destroy the miserable beast. It was up to him to assimilate the beast into himself, as he is meant to and destined to do.
'As a fellow Mahavidya host myself, it is up to me to prevent this calamity from happening. I am the only one who can.'
•••
Meanwhile, inside an office room in Schicksal, a blonde man with green eyes was seen lounging about with a smile that signified his rampant excitement.
"The first step has been made... Kurokami Arata has entered Chiba Academy. Now it's only a matter of time. But so far, I've only been given this much information..." Otto tapped his fingers and bent back on his chair, looking back with a cynical smile.
"And now what ? You haven't filled me in on what comes next." He questioned.
"Patience, Otto Apocalypse. All you need to know now, is that Kurokami-sama must grow close to Raiden Mei. That is all." A female voice replied, in a deadpan tone.
Sitting on a chair at the edge of the room was a little girl. She was petite and visibly young-looking, with light grey hair styles in distinct drill-shaped ponytails and piercing red eyes.
"Well then, I do hope you can fill me as later, Prometheus."