The Elite Class was never a place whose doors opened to everyone.Even within the Celestials' Academy,it was treated as a separate space—closer to a final judgment than to a classroom.
The air inside was different.Heavier.As if the powers themselves knew they were being watched.
The students seated there barely reacted when the instructor entered.Those who reached this placeno longer needed to prove respect.
Sheena sat calmly in the front row,her back straight, her gaze steady.Beside her, Iris leaned lazily against her chair,her indifference only apparent—her eyes followed every movement.
There was no open rivalry between them.Everyone knew the truth:no matter how the rankings shifted,first place had never truly left their hands.
The instructor spoke in a formal tone:"Before we begin… there is a new addition to the class."
Something subtle stirred in the room.Not curiosity—but unspoken objection.
"As you know, this class accepts only thosewho have clearly demonstrated a response."
He paused,then continued:
"But in rare cases… a different decision is made."
Sheena did not move.Iris merely raised an eyebrow.
The door opened.
What entered did not resemble the elite.No overflowing energy.No presence that imposed itself.
Just… a person.
Ordinary clothes.Measured steps.A face searching for no one.
The silence that followed was not shock,but denial.
"This is the new student,"the instructor said."Ozuki."
No further explanation.
The room did not respond to him.The air did not shift.It was as if the class itselfrefused to acknowledge his existence.
Quiet whispers began to spread.Not hostile—but confused.
"Is that really… him?""Where is his response?""Seriously?"
Iris leaned slightly forward."I don't feel anything,"she said under her breath.
Sheena did not answer immediately.She was looking at him—not as someone weak,but as a void.
"That's worse,"she finally said.
I did not feel myself enter the room.Only the sounds changed.
They grew louder.Then suddenly stopped.
That pause…was familiar.
It meant I had arrived somewhereI did not belong.
I did not know where to sit,or whether sitting was even required.So I waited.
The silence around me was not merciful.It weighed me.
They said this place was for the strong.Yet I felt nothing different.No fear.No awe.
Only that old sensation—that I was a mistake left uncorrected.
I had rarely heard my name.And now that I did,it did not feel like mine.
As if they were calling something else—something that merely resembled me.
I sat where I was told.I did not look up.I did not raise my head.
Sitting or standing—neither changed anything.
In the Elite Class,they saw him as a problem.
And within it,Ozuki looked at no one.
A world built on recognition,and a person who never asked for it.
How long does this world need…to decidethat it does not want him?