The sun was shining brightly on the green lawns as Ayame strolled through them. It was a warm spring day, with only a light breeze to stir the trees' new leaves. The air smelled fresh, clean, and alive; it felt like summer had come early this year.

Ayame wore her usual uniform, which consisted of a long skirt that reached down beneath her knees, paired with a white blouse.

Her black hair was tied back in a tight ponytail. Her eyes were, for the most part, bright, but they looked tired.

She walked slowly across the grass, taking care not to step too hard or too lightly on any part of the ground lest she disturb some small animal hiding there. She didn't want to startle it away before she could find out what kind of creature it was.

A young woman wearing an unassuming outfit that would blend into most environments, walking calmly through the campus grounds. She entered the school building but did not go to the classroom. She was first ordered to go to the teacher's office as a transfer student. As soon as she stepped inside the room, the homeroom teacher noticed her. The teacher told her to follow her into the classroom a few minutes later. She announced the presence of a transfer student.

Ayame introduced herself and sat in the middle-back seat.

When the class had its 15-minute break, she tried talking to the boy beside him, "Hey, what's your name?" He did not respond and continued staring outside the window.

She asked again. "Hey, what's your name?" she asked. No response. "Do you have a last name I can call you by?" Still nothing. She gave up trying. Maybe another time.

The other girls in the classroom noticed she was talking to the weirdo in the class.

"Hey... don't talk to him. He's scary!" one girl said.

Another added, "I heard he killed his parents when he was younger."

They both giggled.

Ayame smiled at their comments. They weren't wrong about being scared—he wasn't normal by anyone's standards. He had a menacing presence. His gaze was like that of an eagle watching its prey. But still, he made a great choice of using nasty rumors to scare people to keep them away from bothering him. People avoided eye contact whenever possible and kept quiet around him, even more so than usual. It's not uncommon for people who don't fit in to be bullied, but even the bullies are afraid of him.

The other girls in the classroom began talking about their favorite romance movies and how cool their boyfriends were.

Ayame was still trying to make friends. She decided she'd talk more to her classmates so that maybe she could have someone to spend time with.

After the final bell rang for the end of the day, the students began gathering their belongings and leaving the classroom, ready to head home.

Ayame grabbed her bag and left the classroom without further incident. She walked her way to her house.

She kept trying to talk to him for the entire week, but she was ignored.

The weekdays had passed, and she had two days of free time. One of those days was today. She decided to use the opportunity wisely instead of spending all day sitting alone in her room. Instead, she went outside to wander aimlessly throughout the town. After getting lost once, she found herself walking past a park. Something strange happened there, but she couldn't figure out exactly what until she got closer. It was a group of older students, probably from high school, with bats, pipes, and metal poles.

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"Are they ganging up on someone?" Ayame wondered aloud. Then she spotted the victim. It was the weirdo classmate that sat in the window area beside her.

The group of older students suddenly shouted, "You really think you can with against our numbers!?" before rushing at him with their improvised weapons drawn.

There were so many of them, so the odds weren't good. However, Ayame's classmate was evading the group of upperclassmen's attacks without effort. He avoided several attacks while waiting for the opportunity. His movements were swift and agile, and he seemed to know precisely where each bat hit. When a few seconds passed, and no one managed to land a hit, the weird kid began attacking. Every time he attacked, one of the upperclassmen fell down to the ground. His attacks were not just fast and powerful. It was also very precise in targeting the weaknesses of the group assaulting him. The upperclassman with a pipe dashed forward, intending to strike the weird kid's neck from behind. As the pipe's shaft was about to hit, the weirdo kid suddenly rotated his body and avoided the pipe by a few centimeters. He grabbed the pipe-wielding upperclassman's head and sent a flying knee at his nose. This caused the upperclassman to let go of his weapon and fall down next to his friends.

The weird kid turned and faced the rest of the attackers. He stood still as if he was waiting for the other upperclassmen to make their move. "Come and get me," he taunted them. "Or are you afraid of me?". A low growl escaped the upperclassmen's throats. One after another, the upperclassmen came at him, trying to tackle him.

One of the boys ran toward him at full speed, brandishing a baseball bat in his hands. Suddenly, the strange guy moved to the side, avoiding the baseball bat, and moved closer to the man. He then hit the man's nose with his elbows. Blood began running down the man's face. The weird kid then kicked him in the stomach, causing him to bend double. With one swift punch, the man fell face down on the floor unconscious. He stood still, waiting for the others to make their moves. At that moment, another upperclassman jumped at him. The upperclassman threw a handful of dirt at him, hitting him in the head. The weird kid dodged easily, took the other upperclassman by surprise, and punched him in the throat. Blood spurted out of his mouth, and he fell onto the ground. That gave the others enough time to regain their wits and come to attack again. The weird kid danced around them while striking them repeatedly in the face. Blood spilled everywhere.

In just a few minutes, the group of upperclassmen had collapsed, and the floor, most of them unconscious, the lucky ones clutching their broken bodies.

Ayame walked closer to her weirdo classmate. She hesitated as she asked, "Hey... what's your name? Do you mind telling me now so we can be friends?" She extended her hand. "I'm Ayame."

Her weirdo classmate tilted his head and said, "You... you're that annoying girl in the school that won't shut the fuck up."

He sounded angry, yet his gaze seemed strangely calm. Ayame could feel his gaze piercing through her soul.

He stared at her for several seconds before turning away from her and walking toward his classroom. "Yuuto."

"What?" She looked back at him, confused. "You wanted to know my name, right? Well, my name is Yuuto Nanashi. Now that you got what you want, how about you leave me alone?" He said, without giving her a chance to reply. He walked away from the area and vanished from sight.

Two days later, Monday. Ayame attended the classes as usual. She waited for the 15-minute break and tried to talk to her classmate again, "Yuuto? Where did you learn to fight like that? You were amazing!" he did not respond and continued looking out the window. Ayame tried other ways to get his attention. She approached him and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, Yuuto! Hey!". She waved her hand in front of him and continued, "Can we be friends? Can you give me a nickname, please?" He still did not answer her.

The school ended, and they took their bags before exiting the room.

As Yuuto exited the campus, Ayame was behind him, following him out. Her classmates watched as she followed Yuuto, but none of them approached her. Even though Ayame knew that she was acting creepy, she didn't care. She wanted to get Yuuto to open up to her. She didn't understand why she was so interested in him. Perhaps because he was interesting? He was certainly different from everyone else in her life. Different in personality, different in appearance, different even attitude.

She followed her until Yuuto entered a building. It was a convenience store. Minutes passed by as she waited outside, away from the door, in case he found her. He finally exited the convenience store and started walking in a different direction. As Ayame followed him for quite a while, they both arrived at a park. "How long are you gonna keep following me?"

He stopped and stared at her, "If you're bored, you should go bother someone else. I am not interested in a conversation."