[COTE] Keep your head down!

The City speaks in noise—an amalgamation of tyres rounding over the asphalt, of conversations, of whispers...of people. It takes me a moment to realise I am not of it. At least not of this one. The scenes I see outside of the windows are foreign, the designs of the sidewalk, the architecture, the people. None are mine.

Another second and I realise the scene outside the windows implies a scene inside as well. My eyes chase my thoughts as they take in what is inside, what I am inside. And the answer soon follows, a bus I am inside a bus and there are others. Most are young people wearing high school uniforms. There is also a frustrated salary worker, who looked like the type to be arrested for things.

To add to all that an unsteady elderly lady stood in front of me, wobbling so badly I thought she was in danger of falling, all of that in an increasingly crowded bus as it took a stop to pick up more people.

Where the fuck?

My heartbeat grows louder till it deafens me. Prickly heat bubbles over my chest, as if a thousand ants were tearing at my skin. A maddening urge to rip into my skin—FUCKING CLAM DOWN! CALM The fuck down. Breathe, breathe and think.

My breathing still and push my eyes up, I need information. Looking over myself, I notice the time, the same as those kids around me, a uniform of khaki green plants, a white shirt and a dry-blood red button-up blazer. So, high school student? Moving my hands over my pockets, I dig for something, anything and I do not. Instead, my eyes catch the word penned into my left palm: 1-D.

So? 1-D, the hell is that? Some sort of— "Excuse me, but shouldn't you offer up your seat?" I am pulled out of thoughts, to the visage of two women, the elderly one and a younger one who stood beside her probably an office worker, they face away from me to the boy sitting opposite me, a young well-built and blond one at that.

"Hey, you there. Can't you see that this elderly woman is having trouble?" the office lady said.

She seemed to want the young man to offer up his seat and Her voice carried quite well throughout the quiet bus, attracting several people's attention.

"That's a really crazy question, lady," the boy said.

The office lady's fingers clenched, her hands bawled tightly over her bag's handle. Well, he had managed to piss her off it seems and he didn't intend to stop, "Why should I offer up my seat? There's no reason for me to do so."

Her voice went up a decibel. "You are sitting in a priority seat. It's natural to offer up those seats to the elderly."

"I don't understand. Priority seats are just that: priority seats. I have no legal obligation to move. Since I'm currently occupying this seat, I should be the one who determines whether or not I move. Am I supposed to give up my seat just because I'm young? Ha! That reasoning is nonsense." He speaks with a booming voice, confidence dripping with each word. Strange kid.

"I'm a healthy young man who certainly wouldn't find standing inconvenient. However, I'd expend more energy by standing than I would by sitting. I have no intention of doing such a pointless thing. Or are you suggesting I should act a bit livelier, I wonder?"

"Wh-what kind of attitude is that to take with your superiors?" she demanded.

"Superiors? Well, it's obvious that both you and the old woman there have been alive longer than I have. There can be no doubt about that. However, the word 'superior' implies that you're referring to someone of a higher position. In addition, we have another problem. Even though our ages are different, wouldn't you agree that you have an impertinent attitude and are being extremely rude?"

"Wha— You're a high schooler, aren't you?! You should be quiet and listen to what adults tell you!"

"It's f-fine, whatever…" the elderly woman mumbled. She didn't want any further commotion and tried to calm the office lady. But after being insulted by the high school student, the younger woman still seemed very upset. "This elderly woman is more perceptive than you, which is nice. Also, I haven't given up on Japanese society yet. Please enjoy your remaining years."

Japanese? Oh, you are fucking kidding me...oh god. At least I can understand what I am hearing.

The boy had finished speaking with the woman, so flashing a smile he slid on his headphones. He was done. That is not to say she was. She tried needling him further, but his smug, self-important attitude remained fixed.

In a sense the boy was correct, those seats were not legally for priority people, but principally speaking he was wrong. It came down to whether you cared for the latter or not. He didn't.

"I'm sorry…" Desperately fighting back her tears, the office lady apologized to the elderly woman.

"Um… I think that the lady is right." The woman received unexpected support from someone standing alongside her. The helper, a girl wearing my(?) high school uniform, gave her brave and frank opinion to the boy.

"And the new challenger is a pretty girl, eh? It would seem that I'm rather lucky with the fairer sex," the boy said.

"This poor woman appears to have been suffering for quite some time now. Won't you offer up your seat? While you might consider such courtesy unnecessary, I think it would contribute greatly to society." Crack! The boy snapped his fingers.

"A contribution to society, you say? Well, that is a rather interesting opinion. It's certainly true that offering up one's seat to the elderly could be viewed in such a positive light. Unfortunately, I have no interest in contributing to society. I care only for my satisfaction. Oh, and one more thing. You're asking me, the one in the priority seat, to give up his spot, but couldn't you simply ask one of the other people seated on this crowded bus? If you truly cared for the elderly, then something like priority seating would be a rather trivial concern, wouldn't you agree?" The boy's haughty attitude remained unchanged. Both the office lady and the elderly woman simply wore bitter smiles in response. However, the girl didn't back down.

"Everyone, please listen to me for just a moment. Won't someone give up their seat for this woman? It doesn't matter who. Please." The words that came out of her came out with energy, a cheer, and all of them coated with a lustre shined onto them by her smile.

I was not in a priority seat, but I was just a step away so when another working woman stood up a second later I was relieved, "E-excuse me. You can have mine." Sorry girls, I am in no condition for this.

"Thank you very much!" The elderly woman said as she took the seat, something that brought a smile to the woman and the girl.

Putting the whole thing out of my mind I kept my mind busy, trying to gather information, but alas there was nothing I could gather. Not even what 1-D meant. Maybe class identification?

Soon, the wheels of the bus started to slow and an announcement rang over the comms, "We are reaching the Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School. Please ready yourself I repeat, we are..."

When the bus stopped the kids started disembarking, and not having any real choice I followed. There was a good chance that given the fact that all of us wore the same thing and my circumstances, this was the correct choice.

Stepping out of the bus what greeted me was the back of the blond kid, he stood a hair taller than me and as he began to move, I tapped him on the shoulder. He looked back, his head half-turned, the same self-sure smile on his lips, "And do you have to say?"

"1-D?" I answered his question with one of my own, a vague one with a variety of answers but answers nonetheless. Most of which would help me.

"Ah! A classmate." He said, fully turning to me, "Tell me what is that you need? Or were you simply awestruck by my words, so much so that you had to come to me?"

Ignoring the self-congratulations, I moved up beside him. "Your philosophy, your seat, your choice. I just wanted to walk to class with someone who has a better sense of direction than me."

"Oh? And how did you recognise that?" He said as we started, him taking a step lead. "Though it would be odd if you didn't recognize my existence as a superior being."

I shrugged, "Well, you said it yourself. What is the name of this superior existence if I may?"

He smirked, "Ha! If you were of the fairer sex I might tell you."

If I wasn't used to narcissists my eyes would be rolling out of their sockets, "Nice to meet you Superior-Existence, my name is Inferior-Existence."

"You know Inferior-Existence-boy, acting cute does not suit men."

"I know, right?"

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[A/N: I would like to add that initially there won't be too many changes but they will accumulate later on. For example, 1.3 will be wacc.

Also, boy-man, Kouenjie is rather hard to write, as we have never really gotten an "under-the-hood" for him.]