Almost Near

The atmosphere was tense somehow. It made me restless. It was like being inside a confined room with no windows to pass on air. Time passed on, and we were now on a remote highway, seemingly free of vehicles.

Dead silence. I brought my eyes to the glass panels and saw an entire ocean encompassing the east side of Inazuma.

"Huh, so the school seems to be located on the high grounds of the far east," I muttered to myself.

I thought it would be in the middle of the metropolis where everything was happening. I'd seen news of Erosion appearing many times in the central region.

Not much was known about the phenomenon. We only knew that it would appear as a crimson ray of light pointing towards the empyrean, and that was it. Normally, citizens would be evacuated minutes after its emergence, reporters would be restricted from the area, and Repulsors would arrive at the location as soon as possible to resolve the issue.

In light of this, having a central position would be auspicious in many ways: combat training if capable, fast dispatch, and experimental tactics. However, the safety of students was a priority; furthermore, similar to the school's discreet nature online, surely the location would be somewhere isolated enough to remain undisturbed by the public. At least, there were two lines of thought.

Further down the highway, we went off to a separate road. The lack of trees and the vastness of the field reminded me of the countryside depicted in many movies.

There was an electronic clock displayed on the head of the bus. Not only that, there were other numbers displayed as well. It was similar to dashboards in train stations or airports. It was 7:30 AM already, so we should arrive at the school soon.

Saki was still sleeping on my shoulder. It felt extremely sore, but at the same time, I couldn't feel anything. Lasting any longer would not be good, so I pinched her cheeks to wake her up. It didn't wake her up, but she leaned her head to the window now, problem solved.

I rotated my affected shoulder to relieve the stiffness. The exercise helped but not completely. Still, I couldn't hope for much when it got pressed for more than an hour.

Later, we went through multiple road curves that were surrounded by a vast field on the right and a knoll with trees on the left. It repeated time and again until we crossed another bridge. However, this time was different.

This bridge was going across the ocean, not along with it. It was breathtaking enough for everybody to be on the edge of their seats. Everyone was leaning towards the windows to see it. I grabbed Saki by her shoulders and shook gently to wake her up.

"Hey, Hiryu-kun," she covered her yawn before speaking.

"I suppose you had a good sleep?"

"Yeah, I gotta admit…sleeping after you wake up early is one of the best feelings ever."

"At the expense of my perfectly fine shoulder, yes, it should feel good," I stared at her with void eyes.

"Oh… Did I sleep on your shoulder for that long? Sorry," she nervously giggled.

"I'm kidding, no need to be tense about it. Anyway, you should look behind you. I thought you might be interested in seeing something."

She turned her attention to the windows. Her eyes widened and filled with eagerness. She then climbed through me and rose up with her arms like a seal to see the opposite side.

"Woah… We are in the middle of the ocean."

"I didn't expect the school would be on the ocean surface."

The bridge seemed endless. Suspender cables went by so fast they overlapped each other. Everyone was fully awake for the grand reveal of the school. Not that I had any prior exposure to schools in general, but an event where everybody was excited to see their school was highly unlikely. No, it would be the opposite.

Not exactly the opposite, since many loved befriending people or being independent. Whatever the reason, it still wouldn't explain the excitement on the bus that day. I could sense the intensity emitting from them.

"How do you build stuff on the ocean anyway?" Saki suddenly asked.

"Don't know. Must have taken years to plan and build this construct."

"If that's the case, why don't they build on the actual ground and soil?"

"You're asking too many questions, Saki. I can't answer them all."

"Aw, come on. It's only a friendly discussion about some nonsensical topics."

"Anyway, we should arrive there in about 10 minutes. Fix your disheveled hair."

"Would you do it for me, Hiryu-kun?" her eyes opened wide.

"No."

I tried to style her hair once per request, and it did not go well. After that incident, whenever she asked to do her hair, I rejected her request immediately.

"Come on! It wasn't as bad as you thought," she encouraged me to try again, even though it was perplexing why she wanted to take the risk of having me as a personal hairdresser.

"I don't need you to style it. It only needs a slight fix. Much easier this time, yeah?"

Hearing those sweetened words, I hesitantly accepted my fate, "Alright. It's a start to a new life, after all. I plan to create an exotic hairstyle for you exclusively for this event."

"What? What is your plan?" she stared at me suspiciously.

"Nothing special. I figured since first impressions would be essential, why don't I make you stand out more?"

"You're teasing me, aren't you?"

"Why would I be? You solicited me for my mastery of hairdressing. It's going to be a special hairstyle for your first day at school."

Little by little, I wiggled out of this bizarre situation by daunting her, telling her that I would create something that came from an experiment. I knew Saki wouldn't go this far just to ruin her appearance, especially if it was the start of a school year.

"NO! I'm kidding, hehe… I could do it myself. You sit back, okay?" she frantically answered and immediately backpedaled, just as I predicted.

"Sure. If you say so. Ask me if you need help with anything."

"That won't be needed! Relax until we arrive, Hiryu-kun."

"Alright."

Though I was entertaining the idea of actually making her hair appear ridiculous, it probably wouldn't work because she looked gorgeous in every single hairstyle I saw her in.