Chapter 1 - New phone

Edited by Adlamung

...

The afternoon was clear with a few clouds in the sky that were seen by a young man looking at the window. One would call his location the protagonist seat but for the young man sitting on it would beg to differ. 

He appeared to have average looks that were neither too appealing nor too unpleasant having dark hair a staple of Asian roots. 

The young man wore a white polo shirt and black pants along with black leather shoes and dangling from his chest was a school ID.

It was written 'Ryuu Cinco', an unusual name with a mixture of Japanese and Filipino. He absentmindedly looked at the sky like an idiot which definitely did not remain unnoticed by his teacher who turned around and saw him not paying any attention. 

The teacher felt irritated wanting to scream at him for his action but smirk decided to do something better and went closer. Every student saw this and started whispering to each other.

"Young Cinco!"

Ryuu jumped a bit from the sudden shout of his teacher and turned his back while sweating bullets. He could see the fury from his teacher's wrinkling face and made him want to punch it. 

He hated the teacher for being too strict and being one of the teachers who only explained it once and expecting the student to know everything.

"Since you dare to ignore me, it would only mean that you understood our lesson?"

(E/N: Young master teacher lmfao)

He warily smiled and recalled how he barely studied anything after being busy with watching anime and reading manga. It still made him furious how Kimetsu No Yaiba ended. 

"Then, care to explain what are the ship names that Magellan used in his voyage!? !!"

The teacher slammed his hand into the desk looking at his student enjoying him struggling. Ryuu tried wracking his head trying to remember it but the only thing he could remember was the cliffhanger of the latest episode of Kimetsu No Yaiba.

"Uhmm...Trinidad….Santiago...what was the next one...wait...Conception...Antonio and….and…"

"And?"

"And…"

'Fuck! The hell is that last one!? God, I hate history!'

He curses at his misfortune feeling embarrassed as everyone else was gossiping. 

Ryuu knew he wouldn't be able to get the answer no matter how much he tried. 

[Victoria!]

Ryuu saw the answer behind his teacher and it came from a close friend of him,

Justine Reyes was a tomboy that was close to him since childhood and a feisty one which is why none of the students tried to stop her when she wrote the answer on the palm of her hand.

"Victoria! That's it!"

He yelled out taking the teacher by surprise who grew suspicious and turned around but nothing was there as Justine hid her hand before the teacher caught her.

The teacher looks at Ryuu who dryly laughs giving a squinting eye as if saying 'I'm on to you.' 

"You won't be lucky the next time. Pay attention! Your exam is coming soon and even if you have two weeks of Academic break doesn't mean you'll slack off!"

Ryuu sighed in relief looking at his best friend who gave a thumbs up and smirked. She leaned forward while he sat back into his seat.

"You own me one!"

"Yeah yeah but thanks for the help!"

"No problem, but let me guess you stayed up all night watching anime and reading manga?"

"Obviously. I can't just stop one episode, it should be one season!"

"Dude, that isn't healthy. At this point, you wouldn't get any chicks."

"True that but I'm young and still waiting for the right girl."

He leaned back while missing a frown from his best friend who was looking at herself before returning to Ryuu. 

"Well you have a point. Still, that doesn't justify staying up all night just to watch anime."

"Alright, Moooom. I'll try to stop staying up watching anime but still, no promises."

Ryuu said to make her relax knowing his friend would take her advice. She knew him too well and when he said something he'd do it.

"You two! I just said to pay attention! Alright, you two are in detention!"

(E/N: Bruh)

The teacher yelled and made them grow pale. In the end, the two of them did extra work until they were permitted to go home. Ryuu and Justine felt exhausted walking their way home. 

"That fucking teacher! He should go fuck himself! Like a single teacher can't teach all the subjects then how the fuck do they expect the student to understand every subject!?"

Ryuu ranted about being frustrated after what they went through. He doesn't necessarily hate learning, rather it was the personality of teachers that he hated.

"That's life."

"Then I wish that I live like an anime character! I don't care if I had to work out so long, cool shit happened! Life is boring when it's mundane."

"Dude like the old saying goes 'be careful what you wish for'. Even anime characters struggle, how do you expect to survive like them?"

Justine gave a valid point that made Ryuu give second thoughts about his fantasy. He knew that many anime worlds are extremely dangerous and wouldn't likely survive if he suddenly went to their world.

"You have a valid point but I do wish to just make things interesting. Maybe I'll get a dimensional chat group from my new phone later."

"Dimensional chat group? Is that some kind of anime?"

"No, it's a fanfic or fan story where some otaku just gets a chat group filled with anime characters and do some mission to the different anime world."

"Oh, that does sound interesting. Hehehe if it happens to you make sure to invite me hahaha."

Justine jokingly said, unknowingly putting herself in a bizarre adventure for the future. After a while, the two went their separate ways and Ryuu headed to his home. He soon arrives in a home made from scraps typically found in poor residents.

"Oh, Ryuu your home late!? Did something happen?"

He headed inside and was immediately greeted by a motherly woman who had a bit of weight but was still beautiful in her way.

"Nah, I and Justine just forgot to check the time. Sorry for making you worried."

"Is that so? Anyway, your dad needed to return to work but dropped this off for you. He apologizes for the late gift."

Her tone felt sad while a phone that was obviously second-hand but was better than the one he had. Ryuu smiled at the love of his parents.

"Thanks, mom. How about I go prepare dinner while you go ahead and rest."

"What!? No, you just got home and should be the one resting!?"

"No, it's fine, unlike you, I'm young and energetic. Just take a seat and rest, let me handle everything."

He took his mom who reluctantly sat down and took her son's offer while she watched who started doing the chores and prepared their dinner. 

Ryuu hadn't even taken the opportunity to change clothes or check his new phone and decided to at least repay his parents in the way he can. After a while, he finished doing everything and felt proud of himself.

"Alright mom, I'll go ahead and change into casual clothes."

He went into his room that didn't have anything special, only having a single bed, a closet, and a single desk. Ryuu went back to the side and changed his clothes into a black shirt and gray shorts. 

Ryuu finished and quickly went downstairs to eat with his mom. It was only the two of them which made him quite sad as he looked at his mom.

'I sweat if I could make dad work less then I'll do it! I don't want to see mom sad like this.'

He gave a small bow as the two of them enjoyed their dinner as much as they could. Ryuu talked about a few mundane topics to entertain his mom and cheer her up until they finished their meal and helped clean up their plates.

Ryuu returned to his room before glancing at the desk where the new phone was placed. He took the phone and examined what kind of brand it was but couldn't find any logo or anything.

He opened the phone and found it was reminiscent of a Realme brand of phones which made him smile knowing even if a second hand project would still fetch a high price with this kind of phone. 

"I should text dad."

Ryuu took out his old phone and started to give him a text rather than call knowing that he would be busy with his job.

[Thank you dad, hope you're doing well.]

He sent the message before placing it back in his pocket and started to play around with his new phone. Ryuu checked everything until stumbling upon an interesting app.

"Dimensional Chat Group?"