Five years passed.
The lonely ten-year-old boy who once cried alone inside a dark apartment had slowly grown taller.
Now—
Itsuki Hayama was fifteen years old.
Morning sunlight slipped through the curtains of his room.
Itsuki slowly opened his remaining eye and stared at the ceiling for a few seconds before smiling faintly.
"…Finally."
He sat up from his bed and stretched lazily.
"My first day of high school…"
A small breath escaped his lips.
"My high school life finally starts today."
For a moment—
his smile weakened slightly.
"…I just hope nobody remembers what happened back then."
The regret never truly disappeared.
Even after five years.
That was why Itsuki had developed a strange habit—
whenever he talked to people…
he rarely looked directly at their faces.
He was afraid of seeing disappointment.
Afraid of seeing fear.
Afraid of seeing the reflection of the person he used to be.
---
Itsuki slowly stood in front of the mirror.
One side of his face looked normal.
The other—
empty beneath the black eyepatch.
He quietly touched the place where his missing eye once existed.
"…Half of me already died back then," he whispered.
His expression darkened slightly.
"Now I just have to kill the other half too."
But then—
he immediately shook his head.
"…No." "Not today."
He carefully adjusted his eyepatch before running downstairs.
---
The smell of breakfast filled the kitchen.
His aunt, Miyako Hayama, stood near the stove humming happily.
The moment she noticed him—
she grinned mischievously.
"Oho~" "First day of high school!"
Itsuki immediately sighed.
"Miyako-aunt…"
She pointed dramatically at him with the cooking chopsticks.
"Listen carefully, Itsuki!" "Get yourself a girlfriend!"
Itsuki nearly choked on air.
"At least flirt with one or two cute girls!"
"AUNT!"
She started laughing loudly.
"Ahh~ I still remember my first love during high school!"
She placed her hand dramatically against her forehead.
"That youthful excitement! That beautiful romance!"
Itsuki stared at her blankly.
Since living with me…
she's gotten way too energetic…
Miyako suddenly pointed toward the door.
"Now go!" "And enjoy your青春!"
"You literally just used the Japanese word for youth…"
---
A few minutes later—
Itsuki rode his bicycle through the morning streets.
The wind brushed softly against his hair.
But inside his head—
only one thought repeated itself endlessly.
Please…
don't let anyone from middle school be there…
---
Unfortunately—
life rarely listened.
---
The first-year entrance ceremony hall buzzed with excited voices.
Hundreds of new students filled the massive room.
Itsuki quietly sat near the back row while avoiding eye contact with everyone.
Then—
a voice echoed through the microphone.
"Now then."
A robotic feminine voice.
"Please welcome the top student of this year's entrance exams…"
Itsuki froze instantly.
"…Hotaru Tachibana."
Sweat immediately rolled down his neck.
No…
No no no…
Not again…
His breathing became uneven.
He lowered his head while tightly covering one ear.
The trauma still existed somewhere deep inside him.
Meanwhile—
a beautiful silver-haired girl calmly walked onto the stage.
Hotaru Tachibana.
Now fifteen years old.
Her long hair flowed softly behind her uniform.
One of her eyes remained slightly weaker than the other—
but both were visible now.
A small communication device hung near her neck.
Since Hotaru still couldn't properly speak or hear—
the device converted her written words into a calm robotic voice.
She stood in front of the microphone elegantly.
"Welcome, first-year students."
Her robotic voice echoed calmly throughout the hall.
"My name is Hotaru Tachibana."
"I am this year's entrance exam topper."
"And from today onward…"
A faint smile appeared on her face.
"I will also serve as the student council president."
The crowd immediately erupted into applause.
"From now on," she continued, "all of you are under my supervision."
---
Then suddenly—
her gaze stopped.
Down near the back row.
A familiar black eyepatch.
Itsuki immediately froze.
Hotaru quietly stared at him for a few seconds.
Then—
she picked up her notebook and wrote something.
The robotic voice echoed again.
"Itsuki Hayama." "Second-ranked student."
The entire hall turned toward him.
"Please come onto the stage and say a few words."
Itsuki's soul nearly left his body.
WHY?!
Slowly—
he walked toward the stage while trembling internally.
The moment he stood beside Hotaru—
he noticed something immediately.
Both of her eyes existed now.
But her gaze unconsciously kept drifting toward his missing eye.
Itsuki quietly grabbed the microphone.
"…Hello."
"My name is Itsuki Hayama."
The hall became silent.
"…Honestly…"
His fingers tightened slightly.
"I wasn't a good person during middle school."
A few students blinked in confusion.
"I bullied someone."
Hotaru froze slightly beside him.
"And now…" "I regret it every single day."
The hall became completely silent.
"So please…"
Itsuki lowered his head.
"If any of you ever become friends with me…"
"…be patient."
His voice trembled slightly.
"I'm scared that I might hurt people again."
The room remained speechless.
Then slowly—
some students began softly clapping.
Among them—
a cheerful-looking boy near the front row stared at Itsuki with shining eyes.
Beside him—
a beautiful short-haired girl looked emotional.
The boy whispered dramatically,
"That speech was amazing…"
The girl nodded slowly.
"…Yeah."
"Everyone makes mistakes when they're kids…"
"But not everyone admits it."
Hotaru quietly stared at Itsuki for a moment.
Then she wrote something inside her notebook.
"Thank you, Itsuki Hayama."
"Please return to your seat."
"And to all first-year students…"
"Good luck."
---
Soon—
the students entered their classrooms.
Class 1-A buzzed loudly with conversations.
The moment Itsuki entered—
the same cheerful boy immediately approached him.
"BRO!"
Itsuki flinched.
The boy grinned brightly.
"That speech seriously touched my soul!"
"My name is Ren Fujimoto!"
He dramatically pointed at himself.
"Future legendary best friend!"
Itsuki blinked slowly.
What kind of person is this…
Then—
the short-haired girl approached too.
She had beautiful brown eyes and short black hair reaching her shoulders.
"And I'm Yuna Aizawa," she said softly.
She smiled warmly.
"What you said earlier really touched me."
"Kids make mistakes."
"But growing up means trying to become better."
Then suddenly—
she extended her hand excitedly.
"Let's create a friend group!"
Ren immediately raised his fist.
"YES!"
Itsuki laughed nervously.
"…I didn't think my depressing speech would attract people."
---
A few minutes later—
the three sat together near the classroom windows.
Yuna suddenly pointed toward Itsuki's eyepatch curiously.
"By the way…"
"Why do you wear that eyepatch?"
Ren gasped dramatically.
"OHHH!" "Are you secretly trying to look like an anime protagonist?!"
Itsuki sighed.
"No…"
But before he could finish—
Yuna playfully lifted the eyepatch slightly.
Then—
she froze completely.
The empty side beneath it became visible.
Yuna's expression immediately turned pale.
"…Oh."
"…I'm sorry."
Itsuki quietly lowered the patch again.
"No." "It's not your fault."
His voice became softer.
"This is just… punishment for something I did long ago."
The atmosphere became heavy.
But then—
the classroom door suddenly opened.
Everyone turned.
Hotaru entered the classroom calmly.
Beside her stood another girl—
tall, sharp-eyed, and protective-looking.
Hotaru immediately noticed Itsuki talking with Yuna.
Her expression changed slightly.
She quickly wrote something into her notebook.
The robotic voice echoed through the classroom.
"Itsuki Hayama."
"Back in middle school, you bullied me."
The entire classroom froze instantly.
"And now that high school started…"
"…you're already trying to bully another girl?"
Itsuki panicked immediately.
"N-No!" "That's not what happened!"
Hotaru continued writing calmly.
"You haven't changed at all."
Yuna blinked rapidly.
"…Wait WHAT?!"
Ren looked between them dramatically.
"HOLD ON—" "THIS IS LORE!"
Itsuki desperately grabbed a notebook and quickly wrote back.
"No!" "I'm really sorry!"
"I regret everything now!"
Then slowly—
he hesitated before writing one final sentence.
"…Back then…"
"You always tried telling me something."
"But I never understood."
"What were you trying to say to me?"
Hotaru froze slightly.
Before she could answer—
the tall girl beside her suddenly stepped forward aggressively.
Her name was Akari Tachibana.
Hotaru's older sister.
She glared directly at Itsuki.
"You're trying to bully my sister again, aren't you?"
Itsuki immediately backed away.
"N-No!"
Akari cracked her knuckles threateningly.
"I swear if you make her cry again—"
CLAP!
Suddenly—
their classroom teacher entered while loudly clapping her hands.
A cheerful woman with long black hair smiled brightly.
"Alright students!" "Please sit down!"
Akari clicked her tongue.
"…I'll deal with you later."
Itsuki immediately felt his lifespan decrease.
And thus—
Itsuki Hayama's high school life officially began.
In the worst way possible.