Air brakes squeal. The heavy bus lurches to a halt at the drop-off zone. Pressurized air hisses out as the pneumatic doors slide open. A cool morning breeze floods the stagnant cabin, carrying the crisp scent of spring cherry blossoms mixed with raw exhaust.
Stepping down onto the pavement, Tal adjusts the canvas strap of his shoulder bag.
Hundreds of students spill from the transit vehicles parked along the curb. They form a dense mass of identical fresh uniforms. Leather shoes scrape loudly against the asphalt.
Up ahead waits a gate formed from natural rock. It stands as the campus boundary. Tal walks smoothly through the gaps in the crowd and keeps his eyes forward while his boots crunch on scattered loose gravel.
Just a few meters away, a boy with messy brown hair stops dead in his tracks.
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka stares up at the imposing stone archway.
The Japanese government had created the Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School with the express purpose of developing future leaders. This will be my school from now on.
Okay, stop for a moment. Take a deep breath. All right, here we go!
"Wait!"
A sharp voice slices through the dull roar of the incoming freshmen. Tal slows his walking pace just a fraction, not stopping. He lets his red blazer brush against passing shoulders as he listens.
The girl from the bus commute marches up behind Ayanokouji and plants her feet firmly on the pavement.
Horikita Suzune narrows her eyes.
"You were looking at me. Why?" she asks.
Ayanokouji turns around. His expression remains flat.
"Sorry. I guess I was just interested, is all. I mean, you didn't think about giving up your seat to the old woman, did you?"
"That's right. I didn't consider giving it up. Is there something wrong with that?"
"Oh, no, not at all. I didn't intend to give up my seat, either. In fact, I firmly abide by the philosophy of letting sleeping dogs lie. I dislike trouble."
Around them, oblivious students continue to stream past the rock pillars. Slipping into a pocket of empty space near the edge of the path, Tal stays within earshot. He maintains a steady, quiet rhythm to his steps. Horikita tilts her chin up, her tone turning visibly colder.
"You dislike trouble? Then I don't think you and I are anything alike. I didn't give up my seat because I thought it would be pointless. That's all."
"But doesn't that seem worse than just not liking trouble?"
"Perhaps. I'm simply acting according to my own beliefs. That's different from someone who just dislikes trouble, like you. I don't want to spend any time around people like you."
"I feel the same way," Ayanokouji mutters.
I had only wanted to share my opinion, but I wasn't too keen on going back and forth with her like this.
A weary sigh escapes them both. They turn away from each other and proceed to walk in the same direction toward the main building.
Tal walks right past them. The tension between the two awkward students dissolves into the loud background noise of the busy courtyard.
He keeps his focus on the large school building ahead and never turns his head.
Walking through the wide hallways of the first-year building, Tal finds the door marked Class D and steps inside. The room looks entirely standard, with rows of wooden desks facing a clean chalkboard.
Staring at that dark green surface confirms it. I am in the Light Novel universe, not the anime. The anime featured a sleek whiteboard, but here, a dusty blackboard dominates the front wall. It makes absolutely no sense. A highly funded, government-backed school would never use a cheap chalkboard. It should be a digital screen, or a whiteboard at the very least. The first time I read the LN, my eyebrow actually twitched. Why would an elite school use a blackboard? I almost dropped the book back then over the logical leap, but I'm glad I didn't. In the second year, the blackboard gets replaced.