Our Ordinary Lives

Chapter 1 - Bus encounter

Ayanokoji POV:

Today is the first day of my new life attending Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School. Waiting for the bus with me is the man I respect the most and the man who saved me from the White Room. After Matsuo helped me escape from That Man he enrolled me into this school as a form of protection. ANHS is one of the most prestigious schools in all of Japan, and is also perfect for me as it is completly isolated from the outside world. Isolated from him. It's truly fascinating how Matsuo made the decision to help me, despite the inevitability that That Man would retaliate. He knew that there would be a potential danger to his life yet he continued. It was all so illogical.

I was engrossed in my thoughts when Matsuo decided to break the silence between us.

Matsuo: "Kiyotaka, I understand that this is your first time living outside of the White Room, and it can be quite intimidating. But trust me, you have nothing to worry about. I have full faith in your abilities, and I know you'll excel here. I want you to know that I genuinely care about your well-being. That's why I took the risk to save you."

Kiyotaka: "Thank you, Matsuo. The only thing I desire now is a peaceful life for the next three years. I appreciate the freedom you've given me, even if its duration is limited," I responded, my voice devoid of the emotion.

For an ordinary person, Matsuo's words would have given them hope. Filled with hope and joy at the opportunity that they had been given. But not me. My experiences in the White Room had stripped away such emotions, leaving behind a cold detachment that made it difficult for me to fully embrace the situation. Though I understood the significance of Matsuo's actions, and his genuine care for my well-being, I don't think that after the White Room, I'd ever be able to be happy again. Nevertheless, the next three years would be a great chance for me to learn about what I once had. Learn to feel emotions again.

As the bus arrived at our designated spot, its doors swung open, revealing a bustling scene of commuters and fellow students from ANHS. Matsuo, wearing an encouraging smile, gestured for me to board. I did and crossed the threshold which marked the beginning of my temporary freedom.

Matsuo: "I'll see you in three years Kiyotaka, stay safe and enjoy your time."

To those last words I responded by simply nodding and maintained my poker face. I knew those words were hollow. Matsuo had lied to me. We both knew that by the end of my first year, he would be dead.

I took a seat next to a girl with a blue-purple-ish hair color, who was for some strange reason covering her face seemingly lost in her own thoughts, and began thinking about my newly aquired freedom. I have been outside the White Room before, but never under my own conditions. I was always directed by White Room instructors or my father. Now I was alone, I could make my own choices, be someone who wasn't at the center of everything. I could learn something that place could never teach me, emotions. Fascinating.

As I peered out the window, my gaze wandered across Tokyo and the multitude of people who inhabited it. The colors that adorned the surroundings were a stark contrast to the sterile white walls of the White Room that had been my life for the past 16 years. It struck me how people could live in such vibrancy and yet harbor sadness within their hearts. They were fortunate, in a way, to experience a world so rich in hues and emotions. I truly was a defective human being after all, not being able to understand the struggles of others. I was a Masterpiece in academics, physical abilities, and manipulation yet I failed at the fundementals that everyone around me has. Being someone worth living. I was merely a tool, a weapon, a blank slate that had been molded into the monster than I am. I will never be able to feel the connections that others do, I will always be a stranger to this world.