The train slowly came to a stop.
Ritsuka stepped onto the platform and stretched.
Today was Trinity.
The third school on his schedule.
He pulled out his phone and started his stream.
"Morning everyone."
The chat immediately woke up.
[Chat:]
"TRINITY DAY!"
"ANGEL SCHOOL!"
"MIKA SCHOOL!"
"CHAT, PLACE YOUR BETS"
"HOW LONG UNTIL SOMETHING EXPLODES"
Ritsuka rolled his eyes.
"Not every school explodes."
The chat responded instantly.
[Chat:]
"ABYDOS"
"MILLENNIUM"
"GEHENNA"
"..."
"Fair."
He began walking toward the academy.
And immediately paused.
The place was beautiful.
White stone buildings.
Green rooftops.
Large gardens.
Fountains.
Cathedrals.
Everything looked clean and elegant.
Compared to Gehenna's organized chaos, Trinity felt peaceful.
Almost holy.
Ritsuka looked around.
"...It looks like someone took a church and turned it into a school."
He glanced upward.
The students walking around had halos.
Many also had angel wings.
"Actually, no."
He corrected himself.
"It looks like someone took a church and turned it into an entire country."
The chat agreed.
[Chat:]
"THIS PLACE HAS MONEY"
"THEY SPENT THE ENTIRE BUDGET ON ARCHITECTURE"
"IT LOOKS LIKE A FINAL FANTASY CITY"
"THE STUDENTS LOOK LIKE NPCS WHO GIVE SIDE QUESTS"
Ritsuka continued walking.
Then spotted someone waving.
He recognized her immediately.
Pink hair.
Blue eyes.
A smile that usually meant trouble.
Mika.
She was standing near the entrance waiting for him.
The moment she saw him notice her, she waved harder.
Ritsuka raised a hand back.
"There she is."
The chat instantly exploded.
[Chat:]
"ROOMMATE!"
"ROOMMATE!"
"ROOMMATE!"
"THE WIFE IS HERE"
Mika's eye twitched.
She hadn't even reached him yet and was already annoyed.
A promising start.
She stopped in front of him and immediately pointed at his phone.
"Why are they calling me that?"
Ritsuka looked at the chat.
Then at Mika.
Then back at the chat.
"I genuinely don't know."
[Chat:]
"LIAR"
"LIAR"
"LIAR"
Mika groaned.
"I already regret agreeing to help you."
"You volunteered."
"I made a mistake."
"You make many of those."
"You're standing in front of one."
The chat lost it.
[Chat:]
"FRIENDLY FIRE"
"CRITICAL HIT"
"HE'S DEAD"
"ROOMMATE IS SAVAGE"
Ritsuka placed a hand over his heart.
"I can't believe you'd say that."
"I can."
"Fair."
Mika shook her head.
Then pointed toward the main campus.
"Come on."
"Hm?"
"You have classes."
"Right."
"And if I leave you alone for five minutes you'll somehow become friends with another school leader."
Ritsuka blinked.
"...That happened twice."
"Exactly."
The two started walking toward Trinity together.
Meanwhile, somewhere deeper within Trinity's administration building...
A certain tea-loving student council president looked up from her paperwork.
For some reason, she had the feeling that her peaceful day was about to become significantly less peaceful.
She wasn't sure why.
But experience told her to trust that feeling.
Mika and Ritsuka walked through the academy grounds.
Compared to Gehenna, Trinity felt like a completely different world.
The buildings looked more like cathedrals than schools.
Stained glass windows lined the hallways.
Paintings covered the walls.
Angels.
Saints.
Biblical scenes.
Even a painting of Jesus.
Ritsuka glanced around.
"Yep."
Mika looked at him.
"What?"
"This is definitely a Christian school."
"It took you this long to figure that out?"
"The giant church architecture gave me a hint."
Mika rolled her eyes.
The stream chat was busy arguing over whether the school looked beautiful or intimidating.
Then a voice interrupted them.
"My my~ and who do we have here~?"
Ritsuka turned.
And immediately understood why Mika suddenly looked annoyed.
The girl approaching them had long pink hair that faded into a lighter shade near the ends.
Bright green eyes.
A gentle smile.
And the kind of presence that felt dangerous despite looking completely harmless.
This was Hanako.
[Insert image of Urawa Hanako]
And judging by Mika's reaction...
Trouble.
Hanako stopped in front of them.
Her smile widened.
"Oh my~"
She leaned forward slightly.
"So you're the famous transfer student everyone has been talking about~?"
Ritsuka blinked.
Then blinked again.
For some reason, every sentence sounded like it had three different meanings.
And he wasn't sure any of them were safe.
Hanako tilted her head.
"You're even cuter than the rumors said~"
Ritsuka's brain immediately stalled.
Mika sighed.
"Oh no."
[Chat:]
"HE'S DEAD"
"CHAT WE LOST HIM"
"SYSTEM FAILURE"
"BRAIN.EXE HAS STOPPED RESPONDING"
"SHE'S TOO POWERFUL"
Hanako giggled.
A perfectly innocent sound.
Which somehow made it worse.
Ritsuka pointed at her.
"You."
Hanako smiled.
"Me~?"
"You talk weird."
Mika immediately looked away.
Hanako's smile somehow grew wider.
"Do I~?"
"Yes."
"Oh dear~"
She placed a hand against her cheek.
"That's embarrassing~"
Ritsuka had absolutely no idea if she was being serious.
Something told him she wasn't.
The problem was that she was so good at it that he couldn't prove it.
Which was somehow worse.
Hanako looked at Mika.
"Mika-chan~"
"What."
"You didn't tell me your roommate was fun~"
Mika immediately answered.
"Because I wanted peace."
"How cruel~"
"I know exactly what you're doing."
"Do you~?"
"Yes."
Hanako giggled again.
Ritsuka looked between the two.
"You two know each other?"
Both girls answered immediately.
"Unfortunately."
The synchronized response surprised even them.
For a moment they stared at each other.
Then Hanako laughed.
Mika groaned.
The chat was loving every second.
[Chat:]
"THEY SHARE ONE BRAIN CELL"
"PEAK FRIENDSHIP"
"MIKA LOOKS EXHAUSTED"
"HANAKO HAS BEEN HERE 30 SECONDS"
Hanako turned back toward Ritsuka.
Then her expression changed slightly.
Still playful.
But sharper.
More observant.
Ritsuka suddenly had the strange feeling he was being analyzed.
Not judged.
Analyzed.
Like she was trying to solve a puzzle.
Which fit what little he'd heard about her.
Because beneath the teasing and the jokes, Hanako is one of the smartest students in Trinity.
She deliberately keeps people at a distance through her outrageous behavior and playful double meanings.
Despite being intelligent enough that multiple major factions wanted her involved in their politics.
Hanako smiled again.
And the serious moment vanished.
"So~"
Ritsuka immediately became nervous.
That single word sounded dangerous.
"What?"
Hanako clasped her hands behind her back.
"Would you like me to show you around Trinity~?"
Mika immediately cut in.
"No."
Hanako looked offended.
"Why not~?"
"Because I know exactly what kind of tour you'd give him."
Hanako gasped dramatically.
"You wound me."
"I am trying."
Ritsuka looked between them.
Then looked at the chat.
Then looked back at them.
"...I have a feeling I should be scared."
Both girls answered immediately.
"Yes."
That was not reassuring.
Mika immediately froze.
"Oh no."
Ritsuka looked at her.
"What?"
Mika pointed behind Hanako.
"She's here."
"Who?"
A second girl came sprinting around the corner.
She had pink hair, a small halo, and the expression of someone who had already suffered enough today.
[Insert image of Koharu]
The moment she saw Hanako talking to Ritsuka, her face went pale.
Then red.
Then somehow redder.
"K-K-K-HANAKO!"
Hanako turned.
"Oh my~ Koharu-chan~"
Koharu immediately pointed accusingly.
"No!"
"No what~?"
"No whatever you're about to say!"
"But I haven't said anything yet~"
"THAT'S THE WORST PART!"
Ritsuka blinked.
"What is happening?"
Mika sighed.
"Welcome to Trinity."
Hanako smiled innocently.
Then took one step closer to Ritsuka.
Koharu immediately panicked.
"THAT'S LEWD!"
Ritsuka looked down.
"I'm literally standing."
"THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT BETTER!"
Hanako tilted her head.
"But Koharu-chan, we're only talking~"
Koharu looked like she was about to explode.
"THAT'S HOW IT STARTS!"
Ritsuka's brain stopped for a second.
"How does a conversation become—"
"DO NOT FINISH THAT SENTENCE!"
The chat was dying.
[Chat:]
"WHO IS THIS GIRL"
"SHE CAME OUT OF NOWHERE"
"SHE'S THE ANTI-HANAKO"
"SHE'S FOLLOWING HER LIKE A BOSS FIGHT MECHANIC"
"HANAKO SPAWNS KOHARU"
Hanako giggled.
Koharu pointed at Ritsuka.
"You!"
Ritsuka pointed at himself.
"Me?"
"Stay away from her!"
Hanako pouted.
"That's mean~"
"It's SELF-DEFENSE!"
Ritsuka looked between the two.
Then at Mika.
Then back at the two.
"Is she always like this?"
"Yes."
"Absolutely."
The answers came from Mika and Hanako simultaneously.
Koharu looked betrayed.
Hanako was infamous throughout Trinity for constantly teasing people with double meanings and making Koharu panic. Despite the chaos, the two are actually surprisingly close friends.
Hanako suddenly looked at Ritsuka.
"Oh my~"
Ritsuka immediately became nervous.
Every sentence started with that.
"And you're Sensei's son too~"
Koharu froze.
The hallway froze.
Mika froze.
Even the chat froze.
Hanako's smile widened.
"My my~"
Koharu immediately jumped between them.
"NO!"
"What?"
"NO!"
"What are we saying no to?"
"EVERYTHING!"
Ritsuka rubbed his forehead.
"I have been in Trinity for ten minutes."
"AND LOOK WHAT HAPPENED!"
"I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT HAPPENED!"
Hanako looked delighted.
Mika looked exhausted.
Koharu looked like she was one sentence away from cardiac arrest.
And Ritsuka was beginning to realize something.
Gehenna might have explosions.
But Trinity?
Trinity had Hanako.
Which might actually be more dangerous.
Mika had eventually managed to drag the group away from the hallway before Koharu gave herself an aneurysm.
Now they were actually touring Trinity.
Well...
Mostly.
Hanako had tagged along.
Koharu had followed Hanako.
And Ritsuka was beginning to suspect Koharu's actual club was "Professional Hanako Surveillance."
The four walked through Trinity's grounds.
Students passed them by.
Some greeted Mika.
Some greeted Hanako.
Most greeted Koharu.
Then immediately winced when she responded through her microphone.
"KOHARU-SAMA! GOOD MORNING!"
"GOOD MORNING!"
The poor girl's voice blasted through the microphone.
Three nearby students physically flinched.
Ritsuka watched them.
Then watched the students continue walking like nothing happened.
"..."
A few minutes later it happened again.
"HELLO KOHARU!"
"HELLO!"
Another group flinched.
One girl covered her ears.
Then immediately smiled and waved at Koharu anyway.
Ritsuka noticed something.
Nobody looked angry.
Nobody looked upset.
If anything, they seemed fond of her.
Just...
Very tired.
Ritsuka leaned toward Mika.
"Does everyone here know her?"
"Pretty much."
"And nobody minds the microphone?"
Mika looked at him.
"They mind the microphone."
Ahead of them Koharu was currently informing someone that running in the hallway was prohibited.
At maximum volume.
The student apologized from twenty meters away.
Ritsuka nodded.
"Yeah, I see it now."
Hanako smiled.
"Koharu-chan is very popular~"
Koharu immediately spun around.
"I AM NOT!"
"You are~"
"I'M NOT!"
A passing student waved.
"Good morning, Koharu!"
"GOOD MORNING!"
The student immediately covered her ears.
Then walked away smiling.
Ritsuka pointed.
"That."
Koharu froze.
"..."
"Nobody seems to dislike you."
"I..."
Another student walked by.
"Hi Koharu!"
"HI!"
The student nearly dropped her books.
Then gave her a thumbs up and kept walking.
Ritsuka pointed again.
"That."
Koharu's face turned red.
"Th-that's because they're nice!"
Mika smirked.
"Sure."
Hanako nodded.
"Definitely."
Koharu looked betrayed.
The funny part was that the more Ritsuka watched, the more obvious it became.
People weren't annoyed at Koharu.
They were annoyed at the microphone.
There was a difference.
The students clearly liked her.
She was hardworking.
Honest.
Reliable.
She just happened to communicate with the subtlety of an artillery strike.
The chat had noticed too.
[Chat:]
"THEY LOVE HER"
"THEY FEAR THE MIC"
"SEPARATE THE GIRL FROM THE SPEAKER"
"SHE'S A HUMAN FIRE ALARM"
"KOHARU IS ACTUALLY ADORABLE"
Koharu read that last message.
Then immediately turned red.
"I AM NOT ADORABLE!"
The chat exploded.
[Chat:]
"SHE READ IT"
"CRITICAL HIT"
"SHE TOOK DAMAGE"
"SHE'S ADORABLE"
"STOP SAYING THAT!"
Her microphone amplified the shout across half the courtyard.
A flock of birds took off from a nearby tree.
Everyone stared.
Koharu slowly lowered the microphone.
"..."
Ritsuka looked at Mika.
"How has nobody confiscated that thing?"
Mika looked at Koharu.
Then at the microphone.
Then back at Ritsuka.
"I think at this point it's legally part of her."
"Fair."
Ahead of them, Trinity's massive cathedral-like main building came into view.
Hanako's smile became a little more knowing.
Mika noticed.
And immediately groaned.
"Oh no."
Ritsuka looked between them.
"What?"
Hanako clasped her hands behind her back.
"Nothing~"
Koharu immediately pointed at Hanako.
"SHE'S LYING!"
"See?" Mika said.
"Now I'm worried."
And judging by Hanako's smile...
He probably should be.
The group continued walking through Trinity's grounds.
Koharu was still arguing with the chat.
Hanako was still enjoying that fact far too much.
Mika was wondering if it was too late to abandon both of them.
Then they spotted another student walking down the path.
She wore rectangular glasses and a grayish-white hoodie over her Trinity uniform.
A shield-shaped halo floated above her head.
Books were tucked under one arm.
She looked like she had somewhere important to be.
Mika raised a hand.
"Oh, there she is."
The girl stopped.
"Hm?"
Mika pointed.
"This is Mash Kyrielight, one of Trinity's newer students."
Mash looked over.
Then froze.
Ritsuka froze too.
"..."
"..."
Mika immediately noticed.
"Oh no."
Hanako noticed too.
"Oh my~"
Koharu noticed.
"...Why are they staring at each other?"
Mash blinked.
"Senpai?"
Ritsuka pointed at her.
"Mash?"
Mika's brain immediately rebooted.
"...You two know each other?"
Ritsuka nodded.
"She was my underclassmate in middle school."
Silence.
Mash adjusted her glasses.
"Three years."
"Three years."
Mika looked between them.
"You never mentioned this."
Ritsuka looked at her.
"You never asked."
"Fair."
Mash looked at Ritsuka.
Then smiled slightly.
A small smile.
The kind that appeared and disappeared quickly.
"I heard you transferred."
"And I heard you moved."
"I did."
Neither seemed surprised.
Which somehow made it weirder.
Hanako immediately appeared beside Mika.
Like a shark sensing blood in the water.
"My my~"
Mika groaned.
"Don't."
"You never mentioned having a cute underclassman~"
"Hanako."
"And she calls him Senpai~"
"Hanako."
"And they already know each other~"
"Hanako."
Mash blinked.
Then looked at Hanako.
Then at Ritsuka.
Then back at Hanako.
"...I feel like I'm missing context."
"You are."
"A lot of context."
Koharu immediately pointed her microphone.
"DO NOT LISTEN TO HER!"
Hanako looked offended.
"I haven't done anything~"
"THAT'S WHAT YOU ALWAYS SAY!"
Mash slowly turned toward Ritsuka.
"...Has school here always been like this?"
Ritsuka answered immediately.
"I've been here for twenty minutes."
"Fair."
For the first time, Mash laughed.
A small one.
But it was there.
Mika stared.
Ritsuka stared.
Mash noticed.
"...What?"
Ritsuka pointed.
"You laugh more now."
Mash blinked.
"Oh."
There was a brief pause.
Then she looked away.
"A little."
That answer was enough.
Because Ritsuka remembered her from middle school.
Back then, Mash had always been quiet.
Polite.
Hardworking.
The type of student who would help everyone else before helping herself.
Seeing her smile so naturally now...
It was nice.
Mash adjusted her glasses.
"You seem about the same."
Ritsuka laughed.
"I've been told that's not true."
"By who?"
"Everyone in Kivotos."
"Fair."
Hanako immediately inserted herself back into the conversation.
"So~"
Everyone groaned.
Even Koharu.
Hanako ignored them.
"How close were you two exactly~?"
Mash blinked.
Ritsuka blinked.
Mika pinched the bridge of her nose.
Koharu raised her microphone.
Hanako smiled.
And just like that...
The peaceful reunion was gone.
To be continue
Hope people like this Ch and Give me power stones and enjoy