If Kaede wasn't feeling nervous, she certainly was now. She had never taken on such a form before- one that doesn't make ordinary mortals go mad just by looking at her- but in order to enroll in this school, she needed to conceal her true form. It wouldn't do any good if she ended up breaking her classmate's minds, after all.

Gripping her backpack, she took her first steps into the Ultimate Academy, her feet still unsteady. Compared to her vast, otherworldly true self, being confined to a human form felt unnatural. She felt like she was walking on eggshells with every movement, always being conscious of what every part of her was doing. It didn't help that she had no idea what her classmates were like, either. Given that Earth monsters were in the minority compared to humans, she expected them to be more understanding of her, though there was no guarantee.

One step, two steps. Her awkward, unsteady movements must have looked so strange to the other students. But she couldn't talk to them right now. She had to make sure that she didn't accidentally undo her own confinement. How could humans stand to be like this? She honestly didn't know. Silently, she checked the little device the school had provided her (a phone, they had called it), looking at the rules document that the headmaster had texted to her. All these rules were simple enough to understand- be kind to each other, don't litter, only those affiliated with the school are allowed in, things like that. The fact that there was an entire section on violence and weapons struck her as a tad odd, but perhaps this was just standard fare for schools to include. Something to be added, just in case it does happen. Given how protected the Academy was, though, this was unlikely to be an issue.

As she looked up from her phone, Kaede started to worry a little. This wasn't the way to the gym, was it? She sighed, frustrated with herself. Maybe she should have pulled up the map first. It was about time for the opening ceremony, too... Grumbling to herself, she pulled up the map this time, checking where she needed to go. It wasn't helpful that there wasn't a function that told her where she was exactly, but she'd have to make do. As she turned to head in the direction that she hoped would lead to the gym, she heard someone 'psst' her from the shadows.

"Hey... you're another student here, aren't you?" A girl with blue hair and round glasses spoke, motioning for Kaede to come closer. "If you're lost, I can probably help you..."

Kaede squinted at the offer, carefully stepping towards the shadowed girl. "I thought everyone would be at the gym by now..." She quietly commented. "Are you lost, too?"

"Oh, no... I'm not lost. I'd just rather not go, that's all." The blue-haired girl stated. "I've seen opening ceremonies a bunch of times in anime, so I don't think I'll be missing out on much." She fidgeted nervously with her hands. "Besides, big crowds kind of overwhelm me... It's just a lot to deal with, you know?"

Again, Kaede eyed this girl suspiciously, unsure of what to make of her. She looked normal- almost too normal, in fact. "...What's your name?" She asked, hoping to glean something else out of her.

"I'm Tsumugi Shirogane. If you were wondering, I'm this class's lottery winner." Tsumugi replied, frowning a little. "I'm just a plain old human... There's not much else to say about me. Honestly, I'm pretty nervous about being here..." She continued, before realizing what she had offered to Kaede. "Oh, yeah! If you're looking for the gym, you'll want to head over to the left a little ways. It shouldn't take too long for you to get there if you hurry."

In all honesty, Kaede had a ton of questions for this girl, but she didn't have the time to ask them. Unless... Impulsively, she grabbed Tsumugi's hand, yanking her in the direction that she pointed in.

"H-Hey! Wait, I didn't- Why are your hands so cold?!" Tsumugi exclaimed, struggling to free herself from Kaede's grasp. "I said I didn't want to- Ow!"

"Come on, we're gonna be late!" Kaede said, ignoring Tsumugi's pleas. "This is our best opportunity to meet our classmates, and I'm not letting you skip out on it!" She continued to run as fast as her body would allow until they had finally gotten to the gym, at which point she finally let Tsumugi go.

"Owww... You didn't have to be so rough...!" Tsumugi groaned, gently rubbing her hand. "Why'd you have to do that, anyways...? I told you I didn't want to go..."

"And that's exactly why I dragged you all the way here!" Kaede retorted, pushing open the doors to the gym. "You can't just hole up and avoid people forever, even if you are nervous! Come on, let's go inside!" Again, she roughly grabbed Tsumugi's hand, pulling her inside the gym.

There were all kinds of monsters there, with students separated by class. In the crowd, one could hear the ruffling of feathers, voices both melodious and unnerving, the clanking of metal, and other such noises. There were also a few more humans, one for each class. Maybe that was what Tsumugi meant by her being a lottery winner? Either way, the two of them took a seat in their designated section- class 53, near the podium at the front of the gym.

Kaede sighed in relief, looking around at her classmates. It seemed like the two of them weren't the only ones who were late- there was one more spot open out of the sixteen chairs set up in this section. Before she had time to question their absence, however, she heard the sound of the podium's microphone being tapped and instantly paid attention. The ceremony was beginning.

Throughout the speech, Kaede noticed Tsumugi nervously looking around the area. She had said that she didn't do well with crowds... perhaps she was looking for a way out. In an attempt to comfort her, Kaede gently placed her own hand on her new friend's hand, but this only caused Tsumugi to shiver even more nervously.

"Um... can you let go, please...? Your hand, it's... really cold." The human whispered, looking at Kaede but not maintaining eye contact. With a bit of hesitation, she let go, unsure of why Tsumugi was saying that she was cold. If anything, Tsumugi felt warm to the touch. Was being naturally warm a human thing? There was still a lot that she had to learn.

The rest of the ceremony was uneventful. After its conclusion, they were instructed to head to their dorms and get settled in. For the sake of protecting the students, they were to live on school grounds, where it was safe. There was also a strict curfew set into place- students could not leave school grounds past 9 PM without express permission from the headmaster, and had to be back at the school by 10 PM. A few of them argued that they could protect themselves, but these arguments were quickly shot down when monster hunters were brought up. It seemed that, despite the school's insistence on promoting the integration of monsters into human society, that there were still those who were... wary of them, to say the least.

Somewhere in all the commotion, Tsumugi had snuck away from Kaede, presumably to go hide in her dorm. Everyone else seemed to be heading in that direction, too... everyone except a green-haired boy, who was just standing there and swiping the screen of his own phone. Curiously, Kaede approached him, her steps less unsteady this time. "You're not going to your dorm?" She asked, tilting her head a bit.

"Ah... not yet, no." He said, putting his phone into his pocket. "I'm just texting a friend of mine. Don't want to get caught up in the crowd, either. Might lose an arm or two." He laughed casually. "Name's Rantaro Amami, by the way. And yours?"

At first, she felt a bit confused at his losing at arm comment, but didn't press the issue. "I'm Kaede Akamatsu!" She said proudly, extending her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Rantaro."

For a moment, he seemed to be scrutinizing her, though he quickly relented and shook her hand. Of particular note to her was that he wasn't quite as warm as Tsumugi felt, though he still seemed surprised by how cold she was. He raised his eyebrows for a moment, but didn't make a comment until he let go. "You seem kind of... unsteady. Are you okay?"

Kaede looked down for a moment. "Um, well... I'm just getting used to this body." She said awkwardly.

At that, Rantaro squinted, but didn't ask any more questions. "Alright, then. I might be here for a bit longer, so you should hurry and go if you want to catch up with everyone else." He smiled reassuringly, pulling his phone back out. "Don't let me slow you down."

"Well... okay! I'll see you later, then." Kaede waved back at him as she rushed out of the gym, pulling the map up on her own phone. She smiled, thinking about her new friends. And soon enough, she'd have even more! Coming to this planet was surely going to be worth it.