The First Day Part-2

The class was over soon, though it's not like I paid much attention anyway. As the bell rang, Sayaka suddenly turned around in her seat, a beaming smile on her face.

"Be ready during lunch! I'll give you the tour and explain everything," she said excitedly.

"Tour?!" I blurted out without thinking, and then the memory hit me. The tour I had missed yesterday was scheduled for today. "Oh, right! The tour. Just tell me when you're free, and I'll come meet you."

Another teacher entered the room, and our conversation was cut short. The rest of the morning passed without anything special happening. This school definitely felt elite, but it wasn't so far out of my league that I couldn't handle it.

Then came lunch. I made my way to the school cafeteria, which was even more luxurious than the one in the dorm. It felt less like a cafeteria and more like an upscale buffet. I grabbed a simple sandwich and an omelet, even though there were countless other options. I had three reasons for my simple meal.

First, I had to meet Sayaka for the tour, and I wanted to finish my lunch quickly. Second, the cafeteria was packed, and I could feel the gazes of students who already knew who I was. The whispers about the "first TDATs transfer in seven years" were starting to get on my nerves. This wouldn't normally bother me, but there was a third, more pressing reason. I couldn't get the whole Riwa ordeal out of my mind. No matter how much I tried, I couldn't dismiss it as just a dream.

I finished my meal quickly and went to find Sayaka. I spotted her on the other side of the cafeteria; it seemed she had just finished her own lunch. She saw me, and I gave her a little wave.

She walked over, her face bright. "So, you ready?"

I nodded in approval, and we started walking. She showed me the various places on campus: the sports grounds, the gyms, the auditorium, the botanical garden, and the labs. It was clear that a single lunch break wouldn't be enough to cover everything.

"So this is the campus supermarket for various necessities, and you see that building down the road? That's the girls' dorm. We're about to run out of time, so all that remains is the practice building. Are you free after school today?" she asked.

"Yeah, I am," I replied, a sense of surprise in my voice. "But... a whole building filled with club rooms?"

"Buildings, actually," she corrected with a smile. "There are two of them, interconnected."

"I'm sorry for all the trouble," I said, feeling that it was the most necessary thing to say.

"No worries, it's my job," she said, her eyes closing in a cheerful smile as she led me back toward class.

I hesitated, then asked, "Umm... can I ask you something, Narukami-san?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Why is it that someone like you is doing the job of showing me around?" I couldn't contain my curiosity. No matter how much I thought about it, it was just too strange that such a high-ranking member of the student body was doing this. On this island, holding a high position in a student organization was a monumental achievement. So why did not just one, but two, of the most prominent students volunteer to show me around?

"I mean, I don't mean any disrespect by that," I elaborated. "It's just that it doesn't make any sense. A simple job like this could be done by anybody, so why you two?"

"Oh, that?" she replied without a moment's hesitation. "It's because Principal-sir asked us to."

The answer was more normal than I expected, but it only made me more curious.

"Why, though?" I pressed.

"Yeah, he asked both of us to show you around because he believed it's a rare occasion, so he wanted to put in the full effort for it. I mean, it was all over the news in Steelport City—it's that big of a deal. In fact, he assigned us both just in case one of us was busy; the other could take over. Emihime would be here, but she had to compile a report or something."

So that was it. I guess my mind was messed up after last night's dream. I kept moving toward the building until the bell rang, and we both rushed back to class. The rest of the day was uneventful until after school when I met up with Narukami-san again.

We were standing in an empty classroom, the afternoon sunlight streaming through the windows and illuminating dust motes in the air.

"Alright, let's head to the practice building now," Sayaka said, pulling her phone out to check the map.

But before she could take a step, the room began to shake. The floor beneath our feet dissolved into a vortex of swirling light and color, and a high-pitched ringing filled my ears. I reached out and grabbed Sayaka's hand just as the floor beneath us vanished completely. We were falling.

The world stabilized a moment later, and we were standing in an open field under a hazy, yellowish sky. The lush green grass was so tall it reached my waist, and the air was filled with the scent of wild herbs. Sayaka’s eyes were wide with shock, her hand still clutched in mine.

"Wha... what is this place?" she stammered.

I didn't have an answer. My heart was pounding, but my mind was a blank slate. Before I could process our surroundings, a loud snort echoed through the field, followed by the sound of something charging through the grass. A massive boar, its hide as black as night and its eyes glowing a malevolent red, burst out of the tall grass and charged directly at us.

"Look out!" Sayaka yelled, pushing me aside. 

"Is that a boar?" she asked in shock.

"Well it looks like it but it's not the one you would eat for dinner, I think"  I answered sarcastically

"Is it really the time for jokes?" She yelled at me.

"Sorry, I say weird jokes and smile when I am under stress" I said while smiling nervously and awkwardly.

"Anyways you go get some help I will buy you time." She said as prepared herself.

"What? No!" she didn't even wait for me to speak.

She held up her school bag, attempting to distract the enraged beast. But it was faster than she anticipated and she got hit, not completely but it must have hurt. She was lying at ground as i saw the boar preparing for another charge.

"Nooooo!!!" as I said that i felt a sudden change in the enviornment.

My body froze, but my mind started to race. The boar's charge seemed to slow, the world around me fading into a blurred haze of green and yellow. It felt as if time itself had stopped just for me. My feet moved on their own, walking forward as a jumble of unclear voices and shadows began to appear, swirling around me like specters. I began to mumble to myself, "What is this? What's going on?"

The shadows solidified. I saw a group of female figures, their voices echoing with a bitter, cold tone.

"I was just trying to be nice, did he really need to be that rude?"

"He is so full of himself."

Then, a group of male figures appeared.

"That guy is always over his head just because he's smarter than others."

"Just ignore him, man. That's what he deserves."

I knew these voices. They were people from my past, people I'd dismissed, people I'd been rude to. I tried to push through them, but they just swirled faster. Then, a new, more authoritative shadow appeared—an older man, a teacher or perhaps a family friend.

"Just apologize for your mistakes," the shadow said, his voice flat and full of disappointed judgment. "Why are you so stubborn when you stand for nothing?"

Suddenly, another voice cut through the noise, a female voice, gentle but firm. "Don't you feel bad?"

I looked behind me, and there I was. A perfect reflection of myself, but my face was twisted into a grimace of self-loathing. The world around me shattered into a thousand shards of glass, and as the pieces reformed, they created a solid wall of mirrors surrounding me in all eight directions, trapping me.

The voice spoke again from within the mirror walls. "Why do you always prioritize yourself?"

I mumbled, "What?"

"Don't you regret it?" the voice persisted.

"No," I answered immediately, my voice firm despite the panic in my chest.

"Is that truly what you believe?" the voice in the mirrors asked, and I could hear the doubt in my own voice.

I took a deep breath. I looked at the reflections of myself in the shattered mirrors. Each one held a different, critical expression. I knew they weren't wrong, not entirely. But they weren't right, either.

"I might be rude, and I might be arrogant," I said, my voice growing in confidence. "But I've never broken the heart of a nice person. The only people who've bitched about it were those who themselves had a much bigger ego. Many people have accepted me for who I am, and I will only change if I feel like I need to."

"Are you sure?" the voice asked one last time, a hint of desperation in its tone.

"Yes," I answered without hesitation. "I'm sure."

"Then... break free," the voice whispered.

With a roar, I started punching the glass, and as the mirrors shattered, new voices began to echo. These were different, filled with respect and admiration.

"No one is like Renji. That guy is a perfect combo of smart and devious."

"I wish I had the courage to stand gainst the society"

"Your methods might give you more trouble than they are worth but having that kind of conviction is important in life."

The glass shattered into dust, revealing a path forward, and the voices continued. I felt a power surge through me, an energy that was both mine and something entirely new and then I said the words......

"REVELATION"

*Scene change*

At the clock tower that Renji saw in his dream Riwa was sitting in her chair eyes closed and she suddenly gave a huge smile from ear to ear as she opened her eyes and as she looked at the giant clock her lips started to move,

"It has begun"

*Sayaka's POV*

"Ahh" I siad as I was rubbing her feet and she looked at the boar with fear as it was charging towards her again. A chain of thoughts started running through my mind,

'I don't even know what's happening right now? will I actually die here?'

'......'

"Mother"

As the boar jumped at me and I thought everything was coming to an end, something at a very speed collided with the boar. This made the boar rolling through the plains for quite a distance. As I turned my eyes away from the board I looked at clous of dust rising because of the collision and within that i saw which was unclear but I still blurted out,

"Renji?!"

To be continued...