Later, on a very bright morning. Birds chirped through the cool air, with the sun shining on life on earth.
Ace woke up on a Tuesday. He rubbed his eyes, yawned, and then stretched his whole sore and stiff body.
He got down from his bed.
Thump! One of his toes throbbed red, having hit the study desk next to his window.
"Ouch..." He was in pain but didn't react too much due to exhaustion.
As he walked, for some reason, the wind seemed to try to divert his gaze toward the window, which showed several houses around him.
At that moment, Ace accidentally glanced toward the window, which revealed a neighbor changing clothes behind a curtain.
The longer he looked, the more the silhouette resembled the figure of an amazing woman.
When he realized, his cheeks flushed red, and he immediately left the room to go to the bathroom.
He would first grab a towel from the room next door, which was filled with messy clothes, fabrics, and dusty old items.
Checking the wall clock, it was still six in the morning. Ace squinted his eyes, his body still weak, then left the room.
Ace thought about taking a morning walk before school.
He felt he needed space to think.
Shortly after, he grabbed a jacket and trousers from his room.
Putting them on, he hurried down the stairs and walked toward the front door with a hollow feeling.
Suddenly, the cold air tickled his body as he opened the door, making him hug his shoulders from the chill.
. . .
Taking a moment before stepping further.
Ace saw the neighbor's house, the one he had seen behind the curtain earlier. A woman was putting on her shoes in the yard, getting ready for work.
Turns out, the figure was the person who had reprimanded him in the library two days ago.
The woman stood up, walked. Then, an unexpected meeting happened in the simple housing complex.
Ace saw, he felt, that gaze. It was as if the sun had transformed into a woman, illuminating his monotonous day.
The sound of chirping birds, the blowing cold wind—it all seemed to disappear.
Because of the presence of a woman, who awakened his buried feelings.
His body was bound by comfort, his eyes fixated on a vision that melted him half-consciously.
Long hair with soft, bright bangs made his heart race.
Ace swallowed—seeing those deep, gentle dark eyes, her pink lips, and her ideal curves.
And that... small dark spot under her left eye.
It looked ordinary, yet it healed a numb soul, planting seeds of hope to feel what love is again.
His body truly couldn't handle staring, but his eyes kept tracing that beautiful gaze.
Not long after, the woman quickly averted her eyes and hurried off toward the main road on foot.
Watching her walk away made Ace keep thinking about that warm gaze that could ignite his romantic imagination.
He lowered his head, letting out a long sigh.
Then Ace paused for a moment...
Deciding to immediately return home to get ready for school, his slightly annoyed expression crumpling his jacket as he clenched it, he grabbed his front door handle.
Because the feelings he had been trying to avoid had resurfaced due to an event sparked by his intention to get some fresh air.
He closed his house door slowly, yet opened his heart without even realizing it.
. . .
The sun was already blazing at twelve noon at Hakama School. Its light was now harsh for anyone to be under.
The lunch break bell rang. "Kringg!!"
In this class, people were busy with their own worlds, but it was different for Tsukishima, Ace, and Shoryu.
"Wow, Ace is quiet like that, like someone crying," said Shoryu with his unique and annoying face, observing Ace's unusual behavior.
Silent, sleeping on his desk, as if devoid of any spirit to live.
Meanwhile, Tsukishima was sprawled out, desperately looking for drinking water, his body drenched in sweat from the intense afternoon heat.
"Ughhh... Water, please..." His face was full of distress.
Then, he asked Shoryu.
"By the way, what's the name of that woman with dark pink hair who threw the adult magazine? I forgot." His tone grew weaker, unable to handle the heat and dehydration.
Then Shoryu yelled. "OI NANAO, TSUKISHIMA SAYS HE LIKES YOU!" He stood up and shouted enthusiastically.
"WHAT THE—" Tsukishima immediately stood up angrily, covering Shoryu's mouth with his arm.
But he was cut off by Ace, who sounded slightly irritated.
"Don't be loud," he muttered, still lying on his chair and desk.
Tsukishima, who was covering Shoryu's mouth, and even half the class were shocked.
Because Ace, who was usually the most blunt of anyone, suddenly used such a firm tone.
Tsukishima went silent, trying to hold back laughter. "Pftt... Ace? BWAHAHAHAHA!"
Shoryu took a piece of paper from his notebook and crumpled it.
Then, he shoved the wad of paper into Tsukishima's wide-open laughing mouth.
"Acebsbslelelllel!" Tsukishima mumbled incoherently, sounding very annoyed, while trying to get the paper out of his mouth.
Shoryu quickly went to Ace's seat near the window, where he was still hiding himself.
"Ace, what's wrong?" Shoryu pulled over an empty chair and sat next to Ace.
"Wanna hang out with me?" Shoryu hugged Ace, trying to lighten his mood.
Nanao suddenly appeared with a stack of books in her hands. "Shoryu, come with me. Handing in yesterday's math assignment."
Instantly, Ace and Shoryu's bodies twitched upon hearing about yesterday's math assignment.
Nanao looked at them with calculation in her eyes. "Haven't you guys done it?"
Shoryu smiled, then answered. "Not yet, but it's fine, I'll deliver them." Nanao let out a long sigh. "Oh boy, alright. Help me carry half of these books."
"They're heavy," Shoryu remarked, wondering how Nanao carried them all by herself before.
"Ace, keep breathing, I'll be right back." Finally, the two of them left the class, heading for the teachers' room.
. . .
Shoryu walked down the hallway, holding the books firmly. But for a moment, he noticed an unusual gaze that made his grip weaken.
The door to another classroom, previously full of laughter and chatter, fell silent as he passed.
Their stares seemed to scream, judging every step Shoryu took.
He looked down as more students stared, his face sweaty, an expression of sadness impossible to hide behind the stack of books...
Shoryu walked heavily, his eyes wide with confusion... "What's really happening?" he thought, trying to understand something he felt he had no right to understand.
Because... "Aren't I just delivering these books?"
But, "WHY IS EVERYONE LOOKING AT ME AS IF I'M A CRIMINAL SHOUTING PROUDLY IN THE MIDDLE OF A CROWD?"
Shoryu could no longer hear the wind, the sound of tearing paper, or pens dropping.
He only heard the friction of footsteps, like walking through flames burning innocent souls.
Nanao was confused by the silence. She scanned the surroundings, then looked back and was startled.
Seeing Shoryu, head bowed under the weight of irresponsible stares.
Nanao said, "Calm down, Shoryu. The books are heavy, you can do it if you focus on your own rhythm."
Shoryu took a breath, trying to calm down. However, his gaze stopped when he saw someone shifting their seat away from the classroom window.
. . .
Ace woke from his bad mood today, he kept muttering. "I just want to go home." But this time, he tried to accept everything, resisting the urge to complain to feel better.
As he stood up, for some reason, his mind kept being flooded with Shoryu's face, but... A gleaming gray shadow covered Shoryu's features, making it hard for him to visualize it clearly.
He sighed, trying his best to control his emotions while the class buzzed with gossip.
He mumbled, remembering something he hadn't told Shoryu yet. "Wait, I think I got slammed by Fallen yesterday... But why does my body feel no pain, as if I forgot."
"I need to talk to Shoryu about this." He immediately walked briskly, before Tsukishima could ask.
"You should rest. You just recovered... But where are all your injuries?" Tsukishima stood up, staring at Ace's whole body with utter bewilderment.
Ace mumbled happily, smiling. "Right? It's really weird."
Then, he ran out, shouting Shoryu's name, the sound echoing through the school hallways. Not finding Shoryu, he suddenly remembered that Shoryu was helping Nanao collect books in the teachers' room.
He immediately ran, drawing looks from many people for being so disruptive in the narrow hallway.
His breath was uneven, full of anticipation, imagining Shoryu's face full of disbelief.
As he arrived and entered the teachers' room.
. . .
"You will be expelled from this school, Shoryu." A voice no friend was ready to hear.
"Why, sir... I didn't do anything, I... I—"
The sound of a fist slamming the desk, "BHUKK!" while pointing at a wall-mounted TV showing something... "Can't you see this!"
"You think you're some conglomerate's kid here?! HUH?"
Shoryu fell silent, his head bowed as if pressed down by unjust judgment, his eyes full of fear.
"It's not... me."
Suddenly, almost all the teachers inside laughed. "BWAHAHAHA!"
Nanao could only stand still, watching Shoryu like this in front of the teachers... Her eyes couldn't lie. (Full of resentment.)
. . .
"Say that again." A soft, sharp, and painful voice, yet echoing through almost every corner of the teachers' room. All eyes turned toward the sound.
Ace... He stared sharply at the teacher who had laughed the loudest, while taking slow steps.
Shoryu was shocked, speechless, seeing Ace for the first time with a face so serious and full of anger. So was Nanao.
Ace took another step. "What are you laughing at...?"
Took another step. "Are... you all just like them..." He didn't blink. Stabbing everyone he saw.
...
The teacher who laughed at Shoryu started walking, approaching, then turned his intimidating body toward Ace.
"Even though our school is one of the top schools... Why are there students like you?"
He yelled so loudly his voice carried out of the room. "DO YOU SUPPORT CRIMINALITY?!"
This teacher grabbed Ace's shirt, his face furious, making some teachers try to intervene. "MR. ONA, ENOUGH!"
But Mr. Ona kept fueling the fire, the situation growing more chaotic and uncontrolled. "Quiet... This is a legal matter, they broke the rules!" Ace's face darkened.
Nanao shouted. "Sir, Shoryu might not have done it, there must be a misunderstanding!" She ran to help free Ace, who was being grabbed by Mr. Ona.
"Really, you too?!! This country is already rotting." He panted, feeling righteous.
"EVEN THE YOUTH ARE LIKE THIS!" His shout again brought security officers running.
Ace... He saw it all, felt it all. He was being stared at, judged... Especially when he saw Shoryu not defending him, saw Nanao trying to mediate.
Saw the teachers stabbing at his psyche, saw the officers who usually greeted him angrily trying to drag him out...
Tsukishima, he too just watched silently from outside the teachers' room. Ace stood alone, challenging a system that...
"You're fooled! You're being tricked! That news is character assassination!" Ace yelled back, pushing Nanao, the officers, and Mr. Ona away, sending them stumbling.
All eyes were on him. Ace stood still, full of resentment and rage.
He himself didn't know why. Wasn't he helping his friend? But why...
Ace shed a tear, his sharp eyes fixed on the fallen Mr. Ona.
"Get up! Earlier you spoke as if you hold the truth."
He pointed at Mr. Ona. "If it's really true, I DARE CHALLENGE THE TRUTH YOU'RE FLAUNTING!" Unfortunately, he was immediately restrained by teachers and officers.
Cornered, he called out to his friends with eyes pleading for help. "Shoryu... Tsukishima! Na... Nanao..."
He hoped, just this once... That his fragile hope would be waved at, held, and that he'd be helped when he needed it most...
Seeing everyone focused on him made his soul half-dead.
Yet, there was no response from his close friends, only blank stares that stabbed him like swords.
His body was roughly escorted out of the school. As if he was a troublemaker fighting everyone around him.
As he was being pushed out... Many students looked at him strangely, scornfully, disgustingly, disdainfully. Ace's gaze grew hollow, his spirit no longer fighting from extreme inner exhaustion, his body limp.
His pupils shrank. On the other side, Shoryu felt ashamed seeing Ace's hollow gaze being shoved out roughly. Tsukishima immediately ran to Shoryu and said.
"Are you okay?" He was panicking, his face trying to process everything, spacing out for a moment upon seeing Ace.
He felt a dissolving sadness, regretting not helping his cheerful friend who had changed.
...
Mr. Ona followed, smiling smugly to himself while holding his sore knee.
He felt victorious.
Not long after... "The truth will be revealed easily. I am the one who created you... I watch over you..." Ace's eyes were pale black, yet with bright white dots gleaming.
Making Mr. Ona scream, "AHHH!" He shuddered and fell upon seeing it...
His chest tightened, his breath heavy, his eyes felt stabbed.
Reiko shuddered, feeling a powerful sensation while buying candy at a store. She frowned.
Fallen, Torbunal, Yoshida, Ghoul.... They all shuddered, feeling something piercing their existence, while they were going about their usual activities.