A year ago, he was invited to an academy in Japan because he had proven his intelligence. Added to that was his parents' fame in the country, which paved the way for him to take that step.
Now, he was arriving at Ketsueki, a strange academy harboring secrets he couldn't even begin to comprehend. Because behind every darkness, the true monsters people fear are always hiding. Fear of the dark was entirely valid, and within those walls, that was the rule.
He was nothing more than an "exchange student," someone who had to prove otherwise to gain access to the Skeleton. Even so, he had to maintain a façade to avoid suspicion. After all, he was just the "new guy" and the "foreigner" seeking acceptance in a society different from his own.
On the other hand, what Hikari knew was reflected behind those walls.
A boy named Kaito Ishikawa wasn't walking: he was gliding. His uniform was identical to the others', albeit less tidy, yet it seemed different, as if it were coronation attire. Walking beside him was Haruna Sato; she watched the students' pathetic march with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"Pathetic," Kaito muttered, more to himself than anyone else.
A first-year student stumbled in his haste to move out of the way and fell on his face. No one stopped to help him. Kaito didn't even turn his head.
Haruna raised an eyebrow. "They're like fish, Kaito. They smell the shark and scatter. Don't blame them for trying to survive."
"Survival is for those who deserve it," he declared.
He wasn't exactly the perfect example of a student; nevertheless, today he had a goal, driven by a possibility that had arisen a few days ago. That reason was Yui Tanaka, who dedicated herself to plant care and restocking thanks to her family's flower shop.
For Kaito, who preferred the gray and concrete of structures, that was a disturbance to his nature and his worldview.
Her mere presence was an insult to him. Not because she could threaten his status, but because she was a reminder that a world existed outside the walls of Ketsueki Academy, one where his surname wasn't law.
Three of Kaito's companions veered off from the main group; their intentions were too obvious, even seen from a distance. A young man with glasses watched them from the second floor, terrified.
Yui shrank back as she saw them approaching. She wasn't very tall, nor did she know how to measure her words, so her whole body seemed to become smaller.
"Look what we have here," said the leader of the trio, a brute named Ryota. "The little florist. Do you really think this dump needs your weeds?"
Yui shook her head, unable to articulate a word. Her hands were shaking so much that water from the watering can spilled onto her shoes.
"I... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be a bother."
The phrase seemed to enrage them. Ryota snatched the pot from her hands.
"Nuisances must be pulled out by the roots."
Just as Ryota raised the pot to smash it against the ground, a new variable entered the scene.
"Excuse me... I'm lost. I'm trying to find the library. Could you help me?" he said with a sheepish smile, addressing the thugs.
Ryota turned around. "Do I look like a tour guide? Get lost."
"Oh, I'm sorry," he said, looking genuinely bewildered. "I just thought that..."
He took a step back so as not to intrude, and his heel caught on the edge of a slightly raised stone slab.
And then, the universe bent its own rules.
The movement wasn't a simple fall. His body projected forward, straight toward Ryota. To avoid the collision, Daiki extended his arms, but instead of stopping himself, his left hand clumsily landed on the thug's shoulder. At the same time, his right foot, seeking a foothold that didn't exist, swept the legs of the second thug.
The sequence lasted less than two seconds.
The boy's hand, combined with the weight of the fall, pushed a bewildered Ryota against the tree standing to the side—the same one Yui watered every morning. The impact was followed by a wet, dull sound—a muffled pop—that sealed his fate: Ryota's shoulder was dislocated.
"I'm sorry! Oh my God, I am so sorry! I tripped! Are you okay?"
He turned toward Ryota, who was doubled over in pain, clutching his limp arm.
"Your shoulder! We have to go to the infirmary!"
He jumped up, completely ignoring the other two lying on the ground, and approached a petrified Yui.
"Please, can you help me carry him?"
Without waiting for an answer, he practically used her as a shield to distance himself from the leader writhing in pain on the ground.
Above, the boy with glasses watched the scene from the computer lab. Kenjiro hadn't moved for a second. His eyes were fixed on the exact spot where the heel had caught on the slab. His brain, processing everything rapidly, was working at an uncommon speed.
(The probabilities... the variables...)
That hadn't been chance. The angle, the weight, the nonexistent leverage point... everything had fit together with a precision impossible for a simple fall.
(Either it's the most perfect accident I've ever seen... or that guy just rewrote the outcome.)
Then, he took out a book.
(It wasn't a stumble. It was a solution. A three-variable equation, solved using the human body as an instrument.)
He put the book away and looked one last time.
(Who are you... foreigner?)