Chapter 1: Welcome to Kunugigaoka

"No mom don't leave me!"

A small hand reached hopelessly towards the retreating figure of a woman cradling a purse. As the woman got further, the purse turned into a baby and the woman now had another man accompanying her. The woman turned around and smiled sweetly at the owner of the small hand and was beginning to walk towards her when- thud.

Her body fell to the ground.

She was dead.

Her blood was everywhere, warming up the small hands.

Those hands that had tried so desperately to grab her were now the hands that cradled the corpse of the woman as she took her final breath, the sweet smile still on her face.

And then there was red.

So much red.

Red…

Red…

Red…

.

.

.

Emerald eyes fluttered open, the orbs reflecting the golden light of the morning sun streaming through the window. Birds chirped merrily and the wind blew gently but the girl was quaking in fear as sweat pooled around her and absorbed into her bedsheets. As her erratic breathing died down, she lifted her head off her pillow and swung her feet over the edge of her bed. She made her way to the washroom, her long pink hair sticking to her back as she filled the sink with cold water. She splashed her face with the water, washing away the sweat, and looked up at her reflection in the mirror.

Another day, another school. She thought as she wiped her pale skin with the fluffy yellow towel.

She peeled her wet nightgown off and threw it into the hamper before she began to put on her new school uniform. As she pulled on the blouse she looked around the room. The walls that were painted a mint green had posters of models. Totally normal for someone her age. But there seemed to be many pictures of one particular model.

Nobody will notice. It's okay.

Teddy bears sat in the corner of her room. But the eyes were missing from one bear.

Just a childhood accident.

Her closet was filled with many stylish clothes. But in the back sat an entire row of different school uniforms.

My parents moved around a lot because of their work.

She turned to look at the clock on her bedside table which read 6:34 A.M.

Shoot. I can't be late on my first day at school. Guess I won't be eating breakfast. She thought as she hurriedly dressed and went down the stairs. She picked up the bento she made herself the night before and put it in her bag as her other hand pulled on her shoes. She grabbed her pink, bear-printed lanyard attached to her keys and ran for the school, but not before locking her door and checking multiple times that the door was locked.

The keys on her lanyard jangled loudly around her neck as she ran to the gate of the ever prim and proper Kunugigaoka. Her pink hair fluttering behind her added to her grace as she approached the gate without any sign of fatigue. She stopped her run to check her watch.

6:50 A.M. I made it with time to spare. Maybe I should check in with the principal before school starts so I know which classes I'm supposed to go-

Her thoughts were interrupted as two people crashed into her from behind sending all three of them falling.

"Oy, watch were you're-" A boy began saying before he caught sight of the girl's face.

Immediately his pudgy face blushed and he stopped talking, confusing his lanky friend. The lanky one adjusted his glasses and made eye contact with the girl until he too began blushing a vibrant red. Both boys quickly got up and offered their hands to the girl, while glaring at each other as if it were a disgrace for the other to even think about offering their hand to the girl. The girl simply helped herself up and patted the dust off before bowing to the two boys who still had their hands out. She continued on her way into the school ignoring the stares she got from the other students.

"Have you seen that girl before?"

"No. I would have remembered if someone that beautiful went to our school. She's probably new. I hope she's not in Class E."

"Yeah. As long as she's not in E-as-in-End Class everything about her would be perfect."

Class E huh. Guess I just found which class I want to get into.

The girl walked into the main building with a map in hand, searching for the chairman's office. As she walked through the corridors, all eyes were on her as the other students gazed, enchanted by her beauty. By the time she had made it to the office, a crowd had begun following her, only to be stopped by the fear of meeting the chairman. The girl lifted a fist to knock on the door when the door opened to reveal the one and only Gakuho Asano. If he was surprised to see the transfer student mid-knock or the crowd of people following her, he didn't show it.

"It seems you have found my office, transfer student. I was worried you would get lost so I was just about to go out and welcome you at the gates." He smiled in what should have been a friendly way, but instead spread fear into his students.

One look at his eyes and the girl knew. This isn't someone to be trusted.

"Now, about your class placement. With your grades, you could easily be placed into Class A wh-"

He was interrupted by the girl bowing her head and saying "Please put me into Class E."

All around her it was dead silent.

Until the chairman broke it with his sinister laughter. No one dared join him.

"Very well. If you insist on being a failure, I will allow you to be a failure. Your class, your only class, is on the mountain one kilometer from here. This means I will not be seeing your downfall. Such a pity. Now if you follow this woman, she will assist you in adjusting to the interesting education system we have for Class E"

A woman clad in all black emerged from the office and led the girl to her class. The crowd of people split through the middle like the red sea as the woman explained to the girl where her class was. As the girl reached the end of the hallway, the chairman called out to her.

"Oh, by the way. Welcome to Kunugigaoka Junior High Kojima, Kumiko."