Three years passed.
Year 6663.
K High University felt no different from before—same wide classrooms, same layered hierarchy where strength, influence, and background decided everything long before grades ever mattered.
Vaibhav and Alicia sat near the last rows of their classroom.
Alicia was calm, posture straight, eyes focused on the book in front of her. Vaibhav sat beside her, expression neutral, hands resting loosely on the desk. He looked detached, as if the room around him barely existed.
That calm didn't last.
Chairs scraped.
Footsteps stopped too close.
A shadow fell across Vaibhav's desk.
Riken Takahashi stood there, one foot casually placed on the chair in front of him, elbows resting lazily on his knee. Sixteen years old, sharp eyes, a grin that carried more arrogance than humor.
Behind him stood Kael Draven and four others—students who followed power like dogs followed scent.
To the side, leaning against another desk, stood Jinshi Takahashi—seventeen, composed, eyes lowered respectfully toward the girl beside him.
And that girl—
Elara Nethyra.
She didn't need to speak to command attention.
Her presence alone quieted the surrounding students. Long dark hair, flawless features, cold eyes that carried the certainty of someone who had never been told "no" in her life.
The young lady of the Nethyra Clan.
The most beautiful girl in K High University.
Riken smirked.
"Well well," he said, tapping Vaibhav's desk lightly. "Still sitting here like you belong?"
Alicia looked up.
Her eyes hardened.
Vaibhav didn't react.
That annoyed Riken more than fear ever could.
"What?" Riken sneered. "Too scared to answer?"
Kael laughed quietly.
"Young lady Elara doesn't like seeing trash cluttering around her," Kael added.
Elara didn't correct him.
She simply watched—arms crossed, expression unreadable, gaze fixed on Vaibhav as if he were something beneath consideration.
Alicia clenched her fingers.
"Leave us alone," she said.
Riken turned toward her, grin widening. "Oh? The pretty one speaks."
The tension in the room thickened.
Then—
A familiar voice cut through it.
"Whoa."
Everyone turned.
Shin stood at the classroom door, hands in his pockets, posture relaxed, eyes sharp with recognition.
He looked at the scene—Riken's foot on the desk, Elara standing with quiet authority, Vaibhav unmoving, Alicia tense.
A crooked smile formed on his face.
"Damn," Shin said casually.
"What a nostalgic scene."
He tilted his head, eyes glinting.
"…The exact same thing happened one year ago."
The room went silent.
One year ago.
Year 6662.
The day Vaibhav, Alicia, and Shin joined K High University's highschool division, the atmosphere shifted almost immediately.
It started as whispers.
Then turned into stares.
Then into obsession.
Alicia's presence spread through the campus faster than schedules or class lists ever could. Beautiful, composed, distant—students talked, compared, exaggerated. By the end of the the day, everyone knew her name.
And someone else noticed too.
Elara Nethyra.
Jealousy didn't show on her face. It never did. But the fact that attention had shifted—even slightly—was enough.
So she came.
Not alone.
Jinshi Takahashi walked a step behind her, posture respectful, eyes lowered. Riken Takahashi followed with Kael Draven and four others, their expressions already carrying mockery.
They found Vaibhav, Alicia, and Shin near the side of the building—quiet, unguarded.
Riken spoke first.
"So," he said lazily, eyes flicking between them, "you're the new ones."
Alicia stayed silent.
Vaibhav said nothing.
That irritated them.
Kael scoffed. "What, mute?"
Riken leaned closer to Vaibhav. "Hey, loser. At least look at us when we talk."
Vaibhav didn't react.
Didn't clench his fists. Didn't glare. Didn't even blink.
That calm turned into fuel.
"Pathetic," Riken muttered. "Can't even stand up for himself."
Jinshi watched, expression unreadable.
Then—
Shin moved.
Fast.
No warning.
No buildup.
His fist slammed straight into Jinshi's jaw.
The sound cracked through the air.
Jinshi staggered back before he even understood what happened, crashing into the wall.
Riken barely had time to turn.
Shin was already there.
A punch to the ribs.
A knee to the stomach.
Riken folded with a sharp gasp.
Kael shouted and rushed forward—
Bad idea.
Shin grabbed him by the collar and smashed his face into the concrete.
Once.
Twice.
Kael dropped.
The four others froze.
Then it was Elara's turn.
She stepped forward, eyes burning with fury.
"Do you know who I am?" she said coldly.
"I am the young lady of the Nethyra Clan."
Shin looked at her.
Then smiled.
"So what?" he said lightly.
"I'm egalitarian. I believe in equality."
His fist drove into her stomach.
Elara's breath left her in a broken gasp.
Before she could recover—
Smack.
The slap echoed.
She stumbled back, stunned.
That was it.
Shin didn't stop.
He tore through the rest of them with brutal efficiency—elbows, fists, kicks. No hesitation. No mercy.
Minutes later—
Everyone was on the ground.
Groaning. Coughing. Bleeding.
Shin looked down at them, hands in his pockets, expression bored.
"Good," he said.
"Dogs should be on the ground like that."
He pointed at them.
"Now give me all the money you've got."
They hesitated.
Shin turned and kicked Jinshi's face hard enough to snap his head sideways.
"What the f*ck are you waiting for?" he snapped.
"I said—GIVE ME YOUR MONEY."
They scrambled.
Elara, shaking with rage, threw her card down. "Twenty U.C."
Jinshi followed. "Ten."
Riken coughed. "Seven."
Kael groaned. "Five."
The others added theirs—three, one, one, one.
Shin crouched and counted.
"Twenty plus ten plus seven plus five plus three plus one plus one plus one…"
He nodded. "Forty-eight U.C."
Then he scooped up the Bitcoins.
"Sixty plus fifty plus forty… total three U.C."
He stood up straight.
Satisfied.
"Now," Shin said calmly, stepping back,
"get the f*ck out of here."
They didn't argue.
They ran.
And that—
Was the first time the name Shinosuke Nohara became something Elara Nethyra would never forget.
That evening, the Nethyra estate was quiet—too quiet.
Elara Nethyra stood in the inner hall, her posture rigid, hands clenched at her sides. The polished floor reflected the tall windows and the sigil of the clan carved into the far wall. Across from her sat her mother.
Seraphine Nethyra.
Elegant. Composed. Dangerous in the way only people with real power could be.
Elara spoke first, her voice tight with restrained fury.
"They humiliated me."
Seraphine didn't react immediately. She poured tea with unhurried precision, steam curling gently into the air.
"Explain," she said.
Elara recounted everything—Alicia's arrival, the attention, Vaibhav's silence, Shin's sudden violence. The punches. The slap. The money. Her jaw tightened as she reached the end.
Seraphine listened without interruption.
When Elara finished, the room was silent.
After a moment, Seraphine set the cup down.
"Bring me an elite," she said calmly. "I want information. Everything."
An Nethyra elite was summoned immediately.
Two hours passed.
Elara paced.
When the elite finally returned, his expression was different—no arrogance, no confidence. He leaned close to Seraphine and whispered.
Just a few words.
Seraphine froze.
For the first time, the mask cracked.
Her fingers tightened slightly around the teacup.
"…I see," she said quietly.
The elite bowed and withdrew.
Elara stepped forward. "Mother?"
Seraphine looked at her daughter.
"You will not involve yourself with Shinosuke Nohara," she said firmly.
Elara's eyes widened. "What?"
"His background is not simple," Seraphine continued. "Not politically. Not socially. Not existentially."
Elara clenched her fists. "He attacked me."
"And you will let it go," Seraphine replied coldly. "This is not something you can win."
She paused, then added, almost reluctantly,
"As for Vaibhav and Alicia—there is nothing special in their records. No powerful lineage. No political weight. Their backgrounds are… ordinary."
Elara frowned. "Then why—"
"You can do anything with them," Seraphine cut in. "But leave Shinosuke Nohara alone."
Elara looked away, nails digging into her palm.
Humiliated.
Angry.
But for the first time—
Afraid.
Because if her mother—who never backed down—
Was telling her to retreat—
Then whatever stood behind Shinosuke Nohara was far more dangerous than bruises and broken pride.
Back in the present, the classroom felt tense.
Shin stood in front of them with his hands in his pockets, head tilted slightly, eyes half-lidded like he was bored.
"Do you guys remember," he asked casually, "what I did to you last year?"
The bullies stiffened.
Riken swallowed. Kael took a step back without realizing it. The others exchanged panicked glances.
Shin smiled.
That was all the warning they got.
He moved.
It wasn't flashy. Just clean, brutal efficiency.
A punch dropped one instantly. An elbow sent another crashing into the lockers. A kick swept the legs out from under Riken, followed by a stomp that knocked the air out of his lungs. Kael tried to run—Shin grabbed his collar and slammed him face-first into the wall.
In less than a minute, all of them were on the ground.
Groaning. Coughing. Broken pride scattered everywhere.
Shin crouched and held out his hand.
"Money," he said calmly.
No hesitation this time.
They emptied their pockets in a hurry—U.C., bitcoins, whatever they had. Shin took it all, counted quickly, then stood.
"Good," he said. "Now get lost."
They didn't argue.
They ran.
As if the devil himself had told them to leave.
A few minutes later, the bell rang.
Class began.
First period was a male teacher's period.
Shin collapsed onto his desk the moment attendance ended and fell asleep like a switch had been flipped.
Second period was a female teacher's.
Shin woke up instantly.
Back straight. Books open. Pen ready.
He answered questions. Nodded politely. Looked like a model student.
Vaibhav stared in disbelief.
Third period was another male teacher's period.
Shin slept.
In the fourth period a male teacher came.
Shin was still sleeping.
After school, Shin left with Vaibhav and Alicia.
They headed straight to Lin Xuan's house.
The moment they arrived, Shin dropped onto a chair like he owned the place.
"Big Sister Yan'er," he called out shamelessly, "I'm starving."
Yan'er sighed but went to the kitchen anyway.
Food came out quickly.
Shin ate like he'd been starved for days.
Daichi joined in halfway through, and within minutes it turned into a silent war—chopsticks clashing, plates shifting, food disappearing at alarming speed.
"HEY—that was mine!" Shin shouted.
"Too slow," Daichi replied, already chewing.
By the time Yan'er returned, most of the dishes were empty.
"…You two are impossible," she said.
Satisfied, Shin finally stood up.
"I'm heading out," he said lazily.
On the way home, he stopped at a shop and bought a new jacket and shoes—nothing fancy, just things he liked.
That night, after dinner, he lay on his bed with his phone pressed to his ear.
Nanao's voice came through the speaker.
He grinned.
The conversation drifted—teasing, laughter, half-serious flirting.