School Life

Sakuno and I got dressed in our more casual attire and left the dormitory building. After walking around the campus for a bit, we made our way to the courtyard in front of Yasuda Auditorium. It was there that the life of the college could really be seen.

Apart from the many stalls with students advertising their clubs, hundreds more were gathered in their own little circles, engaging in a plethora of activities.

"So this is the University of Tokyo," Sakuno whistled. "Pretty nice, pretty nice."

"Yeah," I agreed. "Even I was surprised at how vibrant it was. It's a good feeling, seeing all these people living their lives with smiles on their faces."

Sakuno bumped my shoulder. "You could say it's partially thanks to us. Who knows? Maybe one of those students wouldn't be here right now if it hadn't been for us."

"Maybe, but we'll never truly know."

"No, we won't. On a side note... You're noticing that too, right?"

"Yeah..."

Sakuno and I tried to play it off as best as we possibly could, but it was undeniable. As we stand here now, several eyes are watching us. Their heads twisted and looked at us as if they knew we didn't belong. They're not even trying to hide it.

"Have we been exposed?" Sakuno whispered.

"Unknown as of right now," I whispered back. "Do you have your gun on you?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Keep your guard up."

"Um... E-excuse me," said a voice from behind us.

Immediately, Sakuno and I turned around with our hands reaching for our waist, but the moment we saw who was there, our suspicions faded just as quickly.

It was a girl, along with a couple of her friends. They had their phones out with innocent faces that made it hard to believe they were attempting to engage in combat.

"Can we... help you?" Sakuno asked hesitantly.

"Uh... My friends and I were wondering..." she spoke softly. "Are you two... m-models?"

My mind immediately went blank, and I know it was the same case for Sakuno as well. We both slowly turned to each other with the dumbest looks.

"Models...?" I asked.

"Yeah, because... My friends and I thought that you two looked... really nice. A-and we haven't seen you around campus before."

I don't even know what to say to that. That's probably the first genuine compliment I've ever received in my life. Sakuno, on the other hand, quickly altered his expression to match the mood.

"Well, thank you, my lady," he smiled as he took the girl's hand. "Unfortunately, we aren't models, but we appreciate the fact that you thought so. If I may say so, you too are a sight for sore eyes."

With that, he planted a gentle peck on the girl's hand, causing all of her friends behind her to squeal with excitement.

"Can we know your names?" one of them asked.

"Sure!" Sakuno grinned. "The name's Sakuno. This here is my friend, Tsuki."

"Wow, those are such pretty names too."

"Right?"

"Can we get a picture with you two?" asked another.

"Sure thing! Oi, Tsuki. Come here."

I don't even know why I bothered listening to him. It took a couple of minutes for us to get the photo right because we were so tall compared to those girls.

While Sakuno had the brightest smile of them all, I could barely manage a small one. Taking pictures isn't the best thing for an assassin to do.

"Thank you so much!" the girls said.

Sakuno waved them goodbye. Anytime! You girls behave now."

"We will!"

And that was the end of that. The girls skipped off as if they had just finished a meet-and-greet with their favorite celebrities. Meanwhile, Sakuno looked a little too proud of what he had just done.

"Dang, my first day, and I'm already catching some attention," he chuckled. "Has this ever happened to you?"

"More times than I remember," I replied. "I suppose normal people just like taking random photos every now and then."

"... Are you being serious?"

"What?"

He let out a sigh before throwing his arm around my shoulder.

"Listen, Tsuki," he said. "There's only one reason why girls like them would ever ask to take a photo with you. Care to take a guess?"

"... How the hell should I know?" I mumbled after a short pause.

"Wow, you really are oblivious to a fault. It's because they think you're good-looking, my guy."

I then let out a sigh of my own as I pushed his arm away.

"That doesn't make any sense," I said.

"Eh?! Sure it does! Why else would they ask? Just think, now they're gonna go show their friends and maybe make a post on social media with that photo. Ain't that nice?"

"I wouldn't necessarily call plastering our faces on the internet 'nice.' If anything, it only serves to leave traces."

"Oh, lighten up a little, you killjoy. Think of it like this. Those photos are just an alibi to show that we're real students. Pretty solid, right?"

"I suppose so."

"Tch... You're never gonna get any friends if you keep that up."

"Not like I want any."

Suddenly, someone bumped into me from the side. I tilted my head down to see a familiar head of curly, wine hair. The girl looked up, allowing me to see those calm, hazel-brown eyes. Now that we were standing side by side, she seemed quite a bit shorter than me. Her head reached only up my shoulder.

"Ah... It's you," she said.

When I met her for the first time, I saw a sense of sadness within those eyes as she attempted to hide it behind a smile. However, today, it seems the façade was wiped clean, as she now had a concerning look of anxiety.

"Uh... Hey," I greeted her. "Are you okay?"

"Hm? Oh, yes... Sorry for bumping into you," she bowed her head and said. "I wasn't watching where I was going."

"That's fine. Actually, I should be the one apologizing to you."

"To me? What for?"

"I said something weird to you the other day. Sorry. I didn't mean to."

"Oh, that? It's okay. I thought nothing of it, so don't worry about it."

"Is that so? Well, since we cleared that up, I suppose I should be on my way."

"Ah, of course..."

What is this I'm sensing? Why does she seem so anxious? Even her words are strained and abnormally said with hesitation. I'm truly curious about what's bothering her, but it's not my place to ask or interfere.

"Oh, there she is!" a voice shouted. "Miss Taiyori!"

I turned around to see a group of boys running over to us, their faces red as if they had run far and wide to find her.

"Ah, so we have a popular one here, huh?" Sakuno scoffed.

My eyes tilted down to look at Ayaka. It was indiscernible at first, but after a few seconds, it became clear. Her body is shaking. She even refuses to turn around, so I can't assume that she's as excited to meet them as they are to meet her.

Why...?

"Finally," one of the boys said. "We've been looking for you everywhere."

"Is that so...? Ayaka muttered.

"Yeah. Remember last week when you told us you were gonna join us for a party? It's tonight, so we were wondering if you wanted to drink a little with us before it starts."

"Ah... About that. Forgive me, I don't think I'll be able to go."

"Eh? But you promised us!"

"I did, didn't I? Well, something came up."

"What? What is it? Can't it wait until tomorrow?"

"Hey, I said that something came up. Take the hint already."

Watching this all go down makes me want to vomit. The hell am I looking at? Is this how the normal world truly is? If so, then it's no different from the world that I came from. 

As for Ayaka, that was certainly unexpected. I've only seen her twice, and she didn't speak to me like that. Despite her sudden change in attitude, the boy continued his obnoxious behavior.

"Oh, come on, the party is only gonna happen tonight!" he said as he grabbed Ayaka's wrist. "Trust me, it'll be fun."

"What... Let go!"

Ayaka stood her ground, desperately attempting to force her hand away, but it wouldn't budge. The more it went on, the more I felt the merciless killer within me slowly emerging.

"Ran..." Sakuno whispered to me.

"Satsu," I replied with the same tone.

"Do something. Now. Before I do."

"I was already going to."

This has gone on for long enough. Even though I told myself that it wasn't any of my business, I couldn't let this go on for a second longer.