Chapter 1: The strangely ordinary introduction

High school: it is said to be the most fun time in your life, a time where the spring of youth is strong and the sweet desires are stronger. They say it is the time where love blooms just as the cherry blossoms do. It is also said to be a time where friendship is strengthened when conflict arrives. For some, it is a time of happiness, for others melancholy. For me, however, it is neither.

Living in a place full of yokai and spirits, I was the odd one out. The people here believe that they're surrounded by supernatural beings or that they themselves are the supernatural. Even my school was said to have yokai enrolled as students, and yet, I don't see why. It made me think that everyone around me was an idiot. Thus, when I stepped inside the school gates, my impression of the school was already there.

Shiromoto Makoto; 15 years old; he's a freshmen here at Kirihana high. His brown hair, golden eyes and earphones on his neck attracted girls of all ages, and his bright aura gave a sense of coolness to those around him. Despite being a freshman, every student knew him. It was easy for people to trust him because he didn't look like someone who would lie. But if he had a weakness, it'd be his Paraphobia or fear of sexual perversion. Certainly, a person like him is perfect for the role of protagonist.

Unfortunately, he isn't. Instead you have me: Umenooji Hakura; 15 years old; a junior in the same school. My messy hair, pure black eyes and ridiculously large uniform was looked down by all the students, and my static aura made the students avoid me even more. Despite being the grandson of one of the founders of the school, nobody knew me. No one trusted me because I looked like a villain from a shounen manga, probably because I looked like a yokai... which I was definitely not. But the main reason why I couldn't talk to my fellow students was because I always thought that they were all crazy... Or maybe it's because they always made fun of me for not seeing what they really are. Sometimes, I even get labeled a heartless bastard for not seeing what made them unique: their tails, ears, horns, you name it.

It's funny how Mako and I were complete opposites and were, ironically, best friends. As far as I could remember, we've been friends ever since we were babies, literally. We grew up together, and for some reason, we were inseparable.

And so there he went, straight to his classroom, ready to meet all of his new classmates. Meanwhile, I was walking around school, killing time. I walked around for a while, and then I saw something so bizarre that it couldn't have been real. Behind the school's dojo was an unused building which I had never seen before. It was so suspicious because it wasn't there last year. The building was smaller than a classroom but bigger than a storage room. I was curious to see what was inside, however, the doors were locked.

"...What am I even doing?"

After having second thoughts, I decided to leave it alone and turned the other way. But as I was about to take a step away, I heard a creaking sound. I turned around and saw the door open. I took a peek inside and saw... nothing special, just some hurdles and nets. Disappointed, I closed the door and left.

I went back inside the school building, but not to go to the classroom. I went inside because I was looking for something fun to do. You may be wondering why I was skipping class. Well, personally, I find it a waste of time. The teachers kept repeating the same topic over and over that I got tired of it. And no, I wasn't a delinquent or anything. In fact, I was what you call a "special" student. I study really hard, but whenever I enter my classroom, everyone immediately looks at me with their dreaded eyes, like I didn't belong there. So after every class, I'd wait for the teacher to come out and I get supplementary lessons from them. Being the founder's grandson gave me those perks, and they couldn't turn a blind eye to their own student. So during class hours, I'd wander around the school.

Anyway, I was walking in the hallways when I saw a female student with short pink hair walk in front of me. She wore a sleeveless vest on top of her school uniform and a committee badge on her left arm.

As soon as she saw me, she asked "Why are you not in class?"

She looked at me with fierce eyes, and I could not respond. If there was one thing I wasn't good at (besides recognizing people's perks), it was talking to girls, especially those on my age bracket.

"Seriously..." she said, "Why is it so hard for guys to pay attention?"

Again, I could not respond, but I think I knew why guys had a hard time paying attention to her. She had... a great body, especially on her upper torso...

"Hey..." she said while leaning closer, "Why don't you talk?"

She was so close; looking at me intently with her bright eyes. But more importantly, I could almost see her cleavage. Afraid of what was in front of me, I ran the other way and avoided her.

Then next thing I knew, I was walking upstairs to the rooftop. All of a sudden, it seemed like a nice idea to take a nap on the rooftop. The wind cooling my head while the sun heats up the floor, making it warm and cozy... just thinking about it made me feel so calm and relaxed. Unfortunately, when I got there, it was already occupied by two students who appeared to be... kissing. I immediately left, disappointed and grossed out.

I went down to the school grounds once again, just going around the building. Then all of a sudden, a crowd suddenly gathered a mile away and ran towards me with sticks and bats. Aware of the situation, I ran away from them as fast as I could.

"Don't let him get away!" They exclaimed while chasing me.

This sort of thing happened a lot. The other students hated me because of my insensitivity. There was no point in asking them because they never gave me a chance to. All I could do was run away from them and hope they don't catch me. Then all of a sudden, the storage room from before opened once more. I took my chance and hid inside. I stayed hidden until the crowd passed by.

Gasping for air, I leaned on the door and sat down. Then I realized that there was something out of the ordinary right in front of me. It was a portal of some sort.

"Am I dreaming...?"

Could it be? Was I finally seeing something out of the ordinary? Anxious, I leaned in closer and dived into the strange portal. On the other side was a world which could only be seen in fairy tales. There were twisted columns scattered around, and the grass were almost golden. I continued walking forward when I saw a huge tent just suddenly appear out of nowhere. It was pretty western for me. Still, it was the first supernatural thing that I've ever seen.

I entered the tent to see what was inside, only to find out someone else was doing the same thing. I turned to my left and saw Makoto looking at the ceiling. He turned to his right and saw me. We were both confused.

"...What are you doing here?"

"I should be asking you that question!" he exclaimed.

Then, out of nowhere, a figure of a man drenched in white suddenly showed up with fireworks and poppers. He extended his arms to us and shouted, "Welcome to my shrine!"

And from that moment on, I knew my life was never going to be the same again...