COTE: Class D's Masked Guardian

Vol 1. Chapter 5.5 - Reminisce

The entrance ceremony had ended, and we were now free to go shopping or leave for our dorms. I opted for the latter. My day had been exhausting, and I had no private points to use anyway, thanks to my deal with Chabashira. For the month, I would have to live with no points whatsoever. I'm sure I could find some way of gaining them, but at the moment, I was way too tired. This would mean that I had to skip out on both lunch and dinner.

Maybe I should have just sacrificed Chabashira instead?

When I made it into the elevator, I took the chance to observe the handbook that the receptionist had given me. There was nothing too strange there; only things about times for garbage disposals, a message about making too much noise, and an attempt at deterring you from using too much water or electricity.

Curiously enough, however, we were not required to pay the electricity, gas, or water bills. How devious. Acting like a lenient and heavenly school just to crush the dreams of the students in the second month. I had no problems with this, though. The reactions of the other classes were sure to be interesting.

After scanning the handbook, I looked up to notice that a girl had entered the elevator. The school had implemented co-ed dormitories, meaning that the girls and boys would be living in the same building. Of course, the rules did state very clearly that inappropriate activities and romantic relationships were forbidden.

In other words, sex was a big no-no.

The elevator doors opened on the fourth floor, and I stepped out of them and walked towards room 401, my dorm room. I stood in front of the door and took a deep breath.

Okay, stop for a moment, compose yourself, and here we go!

I turned the key and opened the door. The room was about 8 tatami mats big, or about 12.5 square metres. Thankfully, there was already a bed, accompanied with a pillow and a blanket. I didn't have to sleep on the floor then, how wonderful.

It was currently around 4-5 pm, I didn't exactly know when, since I didn't have a clock, and I had powered off my phone to charge it. If I were to at least somewhat keep to my schedule, I still had 5 hours before I needed to sleep. It was a good opportunity to workout, as I had nothing else to do. I had never expected freedom to be so boring, but it beats the suffocating feel of the White Room.

After two hours of constant push ups and sit ups, I decided to call it a day and took a shower in preparation for sleep. As the warm water hit my skin, I inadvertently sighed. In the White Room, our showers and baths would only be either freezing cold or unbearably hot - there was no in between. They claimed that it was to expose us to extreme temperatures, but the reactions of the instructors when they heard the screaming of the children whenever they took a shower told me that they also just wanted to torture us. Cruel, yes, but at least I did learn to cope with the extreme heat and cold, and now I could take an ice bath and not react in any way whatsoever.

After having the perfectly temperature-regulated shower, I surrendered myself to bed-chan, third best girl behind peaceful-life chan and sleep-chan.

"What a day..." I muttered.

This school was interesting, to say the least. The premise of class competitions may deter others, but for me, it made things even more interesting and made me even more glad that I came here. Originally, I had come here for one reason. Contact with the outside world was forbidden, meaning that that man couldn't contact me. While I had no doubts that he would make attempts to expel me, I was confident that he would not be able to do so.

Matsuo had said that this place was the only place that could get me away from him, and I trusted the kind-hearted butler. When he recommended this school as a way to gain my freedom, I accepted right away. There was no way I could stand to spend anymore years within those sterile rooms again. 

My contact with Matsuo, Eichiro, and Tsubasa had completely changed me. The heartless monster I once was had changed into a human with at least some heart. While my mentality and philosophy ingrained by that man could not be completely vanquished from my system, I was still making steps to bettering myself as a human being. No matter how small they were, I was still making progress, and that gave me hope. Hope that I could, indeed, change.

And I only had Matsuo and my two friends to thank for this hope. My stay at the mansion had been something that I never knew I needed. I knew nothing about the outside world, apart from my trip to New York, and things I had read in books. The outside world was more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. My time with Matsuo, Eichiro and Tsubasa had brought colour to my white void of a life.

Over time, I had started to see Matsuo as a father, something that surprised me when I realised it. It was obvious that he also thought of me as his second son beside Eichiro. I will be forever grateful to Matsuo for giving me a purpose, and a person I could recognise as my father. He had given me this chance for freedom, and I would not throw it away.

Haah, isn't freedom simply the best? I almost didn't want to graduate, but I still wanted to see Matsuo, Eichiro and Tsubasa, so I couldn't stay here forever. But, I would still spend three years here, and I would live them to the fullest.

I felt my lips curl upward; I was smiling. I was happy. My three years in this school would bring me many new experiences, and I was excited for it.

Slowly, my body succumbed to exhaustion, and I finally fell asleep.