Edition Date: 08/11/2026
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Early next morning, Ayumi and I go to school together in an ordinary fashion — meaning no Ayumi riding on my back as I whoosh across the streets.
On the way there, we come across students, quite a few of which speak about the previous day's incident. I find it concerning, but also realize there isn't much I can do. What's done is done. At this point, I can only hope that a raid team won't suddenly appear to take me in.
Eventually, we arrive at Ayumi's building. After bidding her farewell, I head to mine.
Oh, right. Nao said something about Yusa transferring to our school today. I already have a bad feeling about this...
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"Hey, have you heard? There is a rumor that Yusarin will be transferring to our class!" I hear a student proclaim excitedly.
"It's true! I overheard the staff talking about it!" another one adds.
As expected. The topic of the class is mostly about Yusa. Well, better that than conspiracy theories about yesterday's incident.
Eventually, it is time for the first class to start. Our homeroom teacher enters the classroom and promptly announces, "Everyone, pay attention! We have a new student transferring here today. As her new classmates, you ought to take good care of her."
The class immediately goes so silent that you could hear a pin drop. Then, I hear a few students mutter in anticipation — things like "I knew it!" and "Told you so!"
Yusa enters the classroom, walks to the center, and introduces herself. And just like that, all hell breaks loose. Screaming, shouting, whistling, and loud proclamations of "I am your biggest fan!"
Heck, one student is standing on his seat and dancing.
"Everyone, be quiet! You there! Stop dancing and sit properly!" the teacher attempts to pacify the class, to no avail.
Yusa, for her part, has been just standing there as she observes the chaos. But then, she raises her finger and places it against her lips. The next thing I know, the chaotic atmosphere dies down in seconds.
"I may not be able to attend school on some days due to work, but I'd like to enjoy high school life with all of you."
A certain weirdo begins to chant "Yusarin" repeatedly while throwing his arm up, as if inciting a crowd. It works, as the rest of the class joins in on it.
Our poor teacher slams a book onto his desk before yelling, "Be quiet!"
This went just about as well as I was expecting it to. Lesson learned: Never underestimate the impact an idol has on the masses...
With the fiasco finally over (for now, anyway), the teacher instructs Yusa about where she is supposed to sit, which just so happens to be an empty seat to the right of Nao.
Wait, what happened to the student that was supposed to sit there? When I came to this class, the only empty seat was the one I now have. Did Nao pull strings?
Yusa walks to her desk, and once she's close enough, Nao speaks without sparing her a glance, "Nice to meet you."
In response to her nonchalance, Yusa just smiles and replies while bowing slightly, "Yes! I'm sure I will trouble you a lot, but please take care of me!"
I don't find anything wrong with the interaction, but that doesn't seem to the case for the rest of the class, given how they whisper about her being rude and conceited.
Color me surprised, our student council president is not popular with the students...
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Once the bell signifying the start of lunch rings, students all flock to Yusa and speak of their "achievements", such as: buying her CDs, merchandise, watching her live shows, and such.
This goes on until Nao suddenly moves in, grasps Yusa's hand, and pulls her away while saying, "Kurobane, come with us immediately to the student council room."
As expected, the students react quite negatively to that, though Nao doesn't seem to care as she simply instructs Joijiro and me to follow her.
A short while later, we arrive at the student council room. The moment we step in, Joijiro's 'fanboy' switch is flipped on. Yusa humors him and praises him for his 'endeavors', but then asks, "What are we doing here?"
All of a sudden, Joijiro breaks out of his trance and dons a look of pity. He then adjusts his glasses with the tip of his finger and says, "A helper will be joining us in a moment. However, I hope you can prepare mentally to not be startled by his unusual guise."
Yusa turns nervous at the odd 'warning'.
Then, we hear the sound of a door opening, followed by the entry of a soaked friend.
Back when I saw it, I just felt the sight was odd. Now, Yusa? She's absolutely terrified if her pale face is anything to go by as moves behind Nao.
The soaked guy is pretty much unbothered and just goes through the usual procedure, stating, "The ability is... Telekinesis."
With that said, he promptly exits the room. It takes some time, but Yusa eventually calms down and asks, "What was that?"
I take it upon me to explain as I point at the table, "There is an ability user where the drop of water landed on the map. That's how we found you."
Nao checks the spot keenly, before loudly cheering, "Bingo!"
She then moves to a drawer and pulls out a newspaper before laying it on the table for us all to see. The headline is about a new rising star in baseball.
Nao tells us about how she's been investigating the guy. She then grabs her camera, unmounts the SD card, and walks toward the DVD player in the room.
Once everything's set up, we find ourselves watching a recording of a baseball game.
In the clip, the guy pitches the ball with a curve that only pros should be capable of. Well, either that or someone immensely talented.
But then, Nao explains that what he's doing shouldn't be possible, given that the way he holds the ball is for a straight throw, not a curved one.
So, she suspects him to be using telekinesis to curve its path as it soars through the air, huh?
"He's using telekinesis to change its course?" I ask.
Nao nods. With that, it was decided that we were going to the school he belonged to in order to meet him in person.
"Before we go, I have something to ask you." Nao says as her eyes bore into me. Then, she changes the video for another: a recording of yesterday.
In the recording, golden veins are extending from my eyes in all directions. I suppose that's when I used Paragon's Eyes.
"Care to tell us what went down yesterday for you to hastily rush off into the dark, and then when we finally catch up to you, you look like this?"
I suppose it's about time they asked. It was inevitable, so I had already thought of an 'explanation'.
"Yesterday, I felt a suspicious gaze on us, as if we were being watched from the shadows. I looked around and saw somebody hurriedly fleeing, so I ran after him."
The best way to get attention off myself is to divide said attention. So…
"As I was pursuing him, he used special abilities. Your special abilities. His speed was comparable to Joijiro's, and he could turn invisible, though I suspect it only appeared that way for me. That wasn't all, as he even manifested flames to blind me and managed to get away."
Seeing that I was done recounting, Nao asks, "What about the collapsed building? The light that blinded and burned people? And most importantly, your appearance in the tape?"
I act a bit unsure as I respond. "When I was chasing the man, my arm suddenly began to glow. The next thing I knew, there were veins extending from the tip of my fingers all the way to my shoulder. I moved my hand, and the building in front of me collapsed..."
It is the truth, though not the complete version. I make it sound like I had no awareness of my powers, which admittedly is true in a sense.
After that, I explain off the rest of what happened in the same manner — essentially going with the idea of "I kind of did it, but not on purpose and I don't know how."
Nao contemplates for a while before she looks in the eyes and seriously says, "It doesn't matter how you got the powers, but from now on you must restrain it so that it doesn't do any more damage."
I nod in affirmation, a solemn look on my face.
That's how our gathering comes to an end, and we leave the school for where our newest "target" is at.