The Entrance Exams Are Finally Upon Us, Part 1

(Dazai Crowley's POV)

Present Day, Place - The City of Cheshire.

The beginning of August.

Today marks the end of summer vacation, and now a brand new school year is about to begin.

Right now though, I'm hitching a ride on a train.

The clear sky and the passing scenery made this ride quite relaxing, if I do say so myself. Because of that, I had fallen asleep at some point.

"Dazai."

Admist my slumber, my sister, Alice called out to me. However, no response came in turn.

"Dazai."

Still no response.

Alice sighs.

"If you don't wake up, I'll stuff a marker up your nose."

"—I would appreciate it if you didn't."

Scared of her threats, I force myself awake.

As I opened my eyes, I was suddenly blinded by the sunlight that peered through our window.

It took a moment, but I was able to readjust. With that said though, I yawned a little.

"Are we there yet?" I asked her, sluggishly.

"Almost, from the looks of it." said my cousin, Roy.

As he said that, I glanced outside the window. It seems like what he said was true. The train's speed started dropping, slowly.

Suddenly though, as if to declare it's arrival, the train blowed its horn loudly.

It was then a small arce of land and large school looking buildings came into view.

"So this is Cerulean Academy? It's not exactly what I imagined." Alice asked, disappointed.

At first glance, it definitely didn't seem like anything spectacular.

But that was only because we was comparing it to something that it simply was not.

"No, I don't think this is Cerulean. This place should just a testing ground of sorts."

"...Testing grounds, huh. I see, so this is where it all begins for us." Alice replied.

I could sense the uncertainty in my sister's expression. The pressure must be getting to her.

There is only one reason why we are. And that is to take one particular test. The Entrance Exams.

"How are you feeling, Alice?"

"I'm alright, I guess."

"Do you think you're prepared for this?"

She immediately went silent.

"To be truthful, I don't know. I mean, I studied as best as I could, but I guess in the end—"

"—So you think you will fail?"

"H—hey now, I didn't say all that!!"

"Oh?"

"It's just—I don't want to fall behind you guys..."

[ "Every future applicant is eligible for the Entrance Exams, ONLY ONCE per year." ]

This was one of the rules stated in the student handbooks that the school issued us prior.

Highschool lasts for four years, but the three of us have already spent two before arriving here.

In other words, if Alice fails to get accepted here this year, she would have to graduate all by herself next time around.

That being said though—

"You don't need to be so stressed about it. If you fail here, you can simply take it again next year. It's no big deal." Roy replied.

However, Alice threw him a rather foul look.

"If the three of us are going in at the same time, then the three of us are going to graduate at the same time. And that's the end of that."

Roy sighed.

"Right, why do I even bother?"

It seems that, even to this day, Alice still holds on to the idea of not wanting to be "outshined".

Well, if I was to consider myself, I suppose I could understand where she is coming from...

"And what about you, Roy? Are you feeling confident about this?" I asked him.

Instead of replying though, he simply threw me a sideways glance.

"Dazai, you of all people, should know that I'm never confident with anything about myself."

"Roy..." Alice mumbled aloud in sympathy.

"Personally, I couldn't care less whether I win or lose. Even if I don't get into Cerulean ever, I'll still live my life the way I please." He further stated.

"I see. If that's how you truly feel, then I suppose you're free to do as you wish." I replied.

"—However, there's something I want you to always remember Roy."

"Oh yeah? And what's that?"

"To live on without a dream is to not live at all."

Silence befell our compartment.

"—Hmph."

Suddenly though, the train started slowing down. It seems like we were finally coming to a stop.

"Looks like it's time, huh."

"Seems like it."

Realizing this fact, the three of us started gathering our things before leaving.

As for me though—

"You guys go on ahead. I'll catch up."

"Where are you going?" Alice asked me.

"I need to go get Yamato. You know how much of a heavy sleeper she can be."

"Oh yeah, it'd be bad if she slept past our stop."

Exactly.

"Just don't take too long." Roy replied.

"Right. I'll see you guys by the platform."

As I said that, I grabbed my bag and walked off.

After slowly maneuvering my way through the train, I stopped at one cabin in particular.

Surprisingly though, after twisting the knob, I realized the door was unlocked.

"That girl is way too careless..."

Mumbling a little to myself, I entered inside.

There, I noticed the white haired sleeping beauty sleeping peacefully in her chair. Her head leaning against the warm window.

"Hey, Yamato. Wake up.", I said, while nudging her a little in her sleep.

No response.

Yep, just like I thought, she's out like a light.

Sigh.

"Mmmh..."

Suddenly, Yamato turned her head a little towards me in her sleep. Her eyes slowly opening.

"Dazai....?", she said, while still being half asleep.

"Hey, wake up. We're here."

"—Not yet. Five more minutes atleast…."

As she said that, she suddenly turned her body towards me and grabbed me in her sleep.

What am I, a body pillow?

Shoot, I can feel her breasts clinging on to me....

Still, I'll have to admit though, Yamato's face is quite adorable when she is sleeping.

Unfortunately though, there's no time to cuddle.

I pull her cheeks.

"Will you wake up already? We're going to be late because of you."

Still no response. God, this is getting tedious. Is this how Alice felt when she tried waking me up?

Sigh.

Sorry, Yamato. I didn't want to do this, but you leave me no other choice.

I flick her forehead. Hard.

"—Ow!!"

There we go.

Suddenly, Yamato's head jerks backwards in pain.

"...Oi, what was that for!?"

Angered, she grabbed me by the face.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Just stop pulling my cheeks already, will you?"

"Huh, oh look. We're already here."

Thankfully, Yamato caught a glimpse outside and realized we had finally arrived at our destination.

"Yeah. It's almost time too. You ready?"

"Of course I am."

Speaking out confidently, she flashed me a bright smile as if to tell me she was excited.

It was enough to make me grin a little.

"Just don't get cocky."

"Yeah, yeah."

As she said that, Yamato grabbed her bag and the two of us left from the compartment.

After disembarking from the train, we later rendezvoused with Roy and Alice on the platform.

It was then did we truly grasp the idea of how many other students like us were here at once.

"Wow, there really are a lot of people here..."

"Yeah, and it's making me feel quite uncomfortable." Roy replied.

Spoken like a true introvert.

Suddenly though, Yamato smacked her fists together. Her eyes lit up with a fiery expression.

"So all of these guys are basically our enemies, right?"

"Yeah, it seems like it. I'm sure we'll be fighting tooth and nail against them." I replied.

Cerulean Academy is a prestigious academy, one willing to accept anyone from all walks of life.

That being said though, there's only so many students a school can handle by themselves.

Most of us might not be able to make the cut.

In a battle to win over attendance, everyone will be gunning for victory.

In short, it's a battle between students.

Alice gulped out of intimidation.

"That's an awful lot of people we'll be competing against—..." She mumbled aloud.

Most likely seeing this large crowd with her own two eyes was giving her a little anxiety.

I tapped her shoulder twice.

"—Dazai?"

"Relax, it'll be fine."

"You think so?"

"We been through worse, haven't we?"

"I mean, yeah, but still..."

"Then don't worry about them. If you just focus on yourself and give it your all, I'm sure it will be fine."

Roy sighs and rubs the back of his neck.

"Win or lose, it doesn't matter at the end. So there's no need to stress over the outcome."

"Okay, Mr. Nihilist."

"Oi."

Alice chuckled. That's good. I hoped that eased her worries, even if only by a little.

Suddenly, Yamato smashed her fists together.

"Hah, what really doesn't matter is the numbers of our enemies. No matter how many they send at us, I'll just knock them all down flat. So don't you worry, Alice!"

"We're not going to war though..."

"...We're just taking a test, dumbass."

Exactly.

"Oh, shut it you two. C'mon Alice, let's go."

"U—Uh, right!"

I chuckle a little.

"What's got you laughing?"

"Ah, it's nothing. C'mon, let's go catch up with them."

"...Okay."

I'll admit, the feeling of tension and pressure that hung high in the atmosphere was so intense, it would be quite intimidating to the faint of heart.

However, as her brother, I know that Alice is strong enough to take that brave step forward.

* * * * * * * * * * *

"It's hot…." Yamato complained.

Indeed.

The small beads of sweat that oozed off our pores was most unpleasant.

Though summer was officially over, bits and pieces of the seasonal heat still seemed to linger on the following weeks after. As such, standing outside in line was a little taxing for our health.

Though it was bearable for now, if things keep up like this however, we might just pass out.

Previously we did have access to some shade when we were down by the station, but now that we had arrived closer to the school building, we were forced to stand out underneath the open sun.

"And this line isn't getting any shorter either..."

I'm not exactly sure why, but for some odd reason, it seems students like us who had recently arrived here were not allowed to go inside the building yet.

Instead, we were shuffled through into long lines where we were forced to wait. One to which was moving quite slowly, might I add.

"I wonder if there's a set number of people they're allowing inside at once." Roy wondered.

"Most likely. They're probably maintaining a rotating schedule to keep the line moving."

"What makes you say that?" Alice asked.

I pointed in a certain direction.

It was hard to tell since it was quite far away from where we're standing, but I could see several students boarding another train off in the distance.

Around the time the train over there took off, the line over here would move forward, though ever so slightly.

"First in, first out, huh. Thats pretty efficient."

It is, but unfortunately when it comes to handling this many students, it's biggest flaw is the wait time. No wonder Dad told us to get up early....

Yamato sighs.

"Hey, Dazai? What time is it?"

I pull out my phone and check the time.

"Nine forty seven."

"Wait, are you telling me that we've been standing out here for a whole hour!?"

"Yeah."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Yeah."

"Really!?"

"No."

She immediately pulls my cheeks.

"Ugh, at this rate, I'm going to melt. Alice, do you got anything to drink?"

"No, but Roy does."

"Eh!?"

When Yamato turned to look behind her, she noticed Roy carrying a small bottle of water.

"Why are you looking at me like that for?"

"Since when did you get your hands on that!?"

"I bought it at the station."

"Seriously!? Share some with me."

"What? Ew, no. Go buy your own."

"Ew!? Why, I oughta—!!"

While the two of them began fooling around, I noticed that the line had started moving a little.

Ignoring my friends, I continued on forward.

Got to say though, it's pretty cramped with all these people around. With hardly any space for any of us to maneuver, people are bound to bump into each other by accident.

In fact, speaking of which…

"Oh, my bad. I didn't see you there."

Amidst the bustling movement of the crowd, one boy wearing glasses had bumped into me.

"You're good."

I'm surprised he even took the time to apologize instead of trying to march on like everyone else.

"Man, it's pretty crowded in here…"

"...Tell me about it."

"So, uh, you're taking the Entrance Exams too right? Is there a wish you're trying to fulfill?"

"Something like that."

[ "Any students who graduate from Cerulean Academy with "flying colors" will be granted one wish, so as long as it is humanly possible." ]

Unlike most schools, Cerulean Academy possess great influence over the political world. As such, they hold the power to fulfill worldly desires to a certain degree. Money, fame, power; granting them one or all of the above was all within their realm of capability.

"What about you?" I asked him.

The boy's expression changed.

"Well, you see my little sister is very sick right now. But paying for her treatment very expensive in this day and age. So I'm hoping to graduate from here and have the school pay for the cost."

"So you're giving away your one wish to save the life of another, huh. How noble."

"Of course. After all, a brother's job is to protect their little sister no matter the cost."

The moment he said that, some rather unfortunate memories came to mind.

Since those were events I wasn't too particularly fond of, I decided to shake it off and move on.

"I agree. Well, best of luck to you."

"You too man. I hope you also get what you're looking for as well." He replied.

With that said, he slapped my back and walked away.

Once I was certain the guy was gone, I reached my hand underneath the back of my shirt.

"—Yep, I figured."

There, in the upper collar of my shirt, I felt a certain something that didn't belong there.

I pulled it out and noticed a large folded paper tapped on the inside of my shirt.

So this is the power of sleight of hand, huh.

After unfolding the paper, I read the the first two or three sentences written on it.

Immediately confirming what it was, I folded the paper back up and hid it far from sight.

The paper in which was subtly slipped onto my back contained answers to a couple of questions that I know for certain will be on the test today.

[ "Cheating is prohibited." ]

Obviously.

If I get caught with this, I would get into a lot trouble.

There's a limited amount of students Cerulean Academy can only accept at once.

All the others will be forced to retry next year.

The Entrance Exams is simply designed to help naturally filter down those students.

In addition to the Entrance Exams, these cheat sheets are the perfect weapons one can use to thin out the enemy numbers, therefore increasing one's own chance of success.

To put it simply, it's perfect for knocking some of the competition out the running.

Though if I was to look at it in a roundabout way, I suppose this is also a good thing for me.

The less people that are here, the less I need to worry about. However, in order to ensure my own survival, I need to make sure I don't get caught in anybody else's crosshairs.