Hanato's Perspective
One week.
It had already been an entire week since the battle at Tokyo Tower.
Seven days had passed since Tokyo witnessed its first true monster attack.
Seven days since the mysterious heroes known as Shina and Hirito appeared before the public.
And surprisingly...
The city had remained peaceful.
No new monsters.
No mysterious disappearances.
No reports of corruption.
No sign of Vetrex.
It was almost unsettling.
The silence felt too perfect.
Like the calm before another storm.
The morning sky stretched across Tokyo in shades of pale blue, with thin clouds lazily drifting overhead. The sun had barely risen above the horizon, bathing the quiet streets in warm golden light. A cool breeze carried the scent of fresh bread from a nearby bakery while birds perched on electrical wires chirped cheerfully.
To anyone else...
It looked like an ordinary morning.
To me...
It felt suspicious.
I walked with both hands tucked inside my pockets, taking my usual route toward school. My backpack rested casually over one shoulder while my expression remained as indifferent as ever.
"I still can't believe they actually made a fan page..."
I muttered under my breath.
Ryuhou's tiny black head poked out from inside my school bag, hidden beneath the zipper so nobody could see him.
His crimson eyes looked around curiously.
"You've been thinking about that all week."
"I haven't."
"You have."
"I haven't."
"You smiled yesterday while reading it."
"I was laughing."
"At what?"
"...The comments."
Ryuhou tilted his head.
"The ones calling Shina your princess?"
"..."
"..."
"...Shut up."
The tiny dragon burst into laughter.
"I knew it!"
"You actually liked giving her that flower."
"I didn't."
"You absolutely did."
"It was just a thank-you gift."
"A thank-you gift?"
Ryuhou grinned mischievously.
"With a yellow tulip?"
"..."
"...I picked the closest flower."
"Convenient."
I sighed.
Arguing with Ryuhou had become pointless.
Ever since we formed the Essence Link, he somehow knew exactly what I was thinking half the time.
It was incredibly annoying.
"Master."
"What?"
"You've been smiling."
"..."
"I have not."
"You have."
"..."
I quickly looked away.
Fortunately...
Ryuhou couldn't stop laughing long enough to tease me further.
The streets slowly became busier as students wearing different school uniforms made their way toward nearby campuses.
Some recognized me.
Not because I was Hirito.
Thankfully.
Just because my family owned one of the largest companies in Tokyo.
A few students greeted me politely.
I simply nodded in return.
It wasn't long before the familiar gates of Kisaragi High School appeared in the distance.
I glanced at my watch.
6:30 A.M.
"..."
"I'm early."
Very early.
Classes wouldn't begin for almost an hour.
Normally...
Only a handful of students arrived this early.
Mostly athletes.
Student council members.
Or people trying to finish homework before class.
Today should have been quiet.
Instead...
Something immediately caught my attention.
"...Huh?"
There were far too many people.
Students crowded around the front gate.
Teachers stood outside instead of inside the faculty building.
Several school staff members whispered among themselves with worried expressions.
Even passing pedestrians had stopped walking to stare.
The atmosphere felt...
Wrong.
I frowned.
"What happened?"
Ryuhou carefully peeked out from inside my bag.
"...Something's happened."
"I noticed."
The crowd continued growing.
Curiosity finally got the better of me.
I walked toward the entrance.
Students noticed me arriving.
"Hanato!"
"Move over."
"Let him through."
The crowd slowly parted.
I stepped forward.
Then...
I stopped.
"..."
"...What?"
For the first time in years...
I found myself genuinely speechless.
The entire school...
Looked like someone had dumped thousands of gallons of paint across every building.
Bright red streaks covered classroom windows.
Blue paint dripped down concrete walls like waterfalls.
Green handprints stretched across hallways.
Purple splatters covered pillars.
Yellow streaks reached all the way up the three-story building.
Even the school emblem...
Had been completely painted over.
"..."
"...Who..."
"...did this?"
It wasn't random.
The paint looked intentional.
Almost...
Artistic.
Huge swirls crossed the administration building.
Spirals climbed staircases.
Even the courtyard trees had colorful streaks running along their trunks.
It looked less like ordinary vandalism...
And more like an enormous painting exhibition.
Unfortunately...
It was our school.
Teachers stood frozen.
Some covered their mouths in disbelief.
Others immediately began taking photographs.
The vice principal looked ready to faint.
"This..."
"...This is unbelievable."
One janitor desperately tried washing a nearby wall.
The paint didn't come off.
"...It won't wash away!"
Another teacher rubbed part of the wall with a wet cloth.
Nothing happened.
"It's stuck..."
"How is this possible?"
Students began whispering among themselves.
"When did this happen?"
"It looked normal yesterday."
"Did someone seriously paint the entire school overnight?"
"There's no way."
"It would've taken dozens of people."
"Maybe it was a prank."
"No prank could do all this."
Ryuhou quietly spoke inside my mind.
"Master."
"...I know."
"This doesn't feel ordinary."
I slowly scanned every building.
"..."
"...You're thinking the same thing."
The tiny dragon nodded.
"Negative energy."
"I can feel traces of it."
My expression immediately darkened.
"...Don't tell me."
"We can't be certain yet."
"But stay alert."
If Ryuhou could sense lingering corruption...
Then this wasn't ordinary vandalism.
Someone...
Or something...
Had likely caused it.
More teachers continued arriving.
Each one reacted exactly the same way.
Shock.
Confusion.
Disbelief.
Even students known for causing trouble looked completely stunned.
No one seemed responsible.
At least...
Not openly.
Several police officers eventually arrived near the front gate.
They began photographing the damaged buildings while interviewing school staff.
The principal soon emerged from the administration building.
His usually neat suit looked disheveled.
Dark circles rested beneath his eyes.
He stared silently at the colorful buildings before taking a deep breath.
Moments later...
The outdoor speakers crackled to life.
"Attention all students and faculty."
The conversations immediately died down.
"This is Principal Takahashi speaking."
Everyone looked toward the administration building.
The principal adjusted the microphone.
His voice remained calm...
But the concern underneath was impossible to hide.
"Due to the incident discovered this morning..."
"All students are required to proceed immediately to the gymnasium."
A wave of whispers spread across the crowd.
"The gym?"
"What's happening?"
"Are classes cancelled?"
The principal continued.
"Please remain calm."
"Teachers will guide each class to the gym in an orderly manner."
"Until further notice, nobody is permitted to enter the classroom buildings."
The murmuring only grew louder.
Then...
The principal hesitated.
Just for a moment.
Before speaking again.
"After examining the situation..."
"We currently believe this act of vandalism may have been committed by one or more students."
The entire crowd gasped.
"What?!"
"A student?"
"No way!"
"Who could even do something like this?"
"It had to happen overnight!"
"That's impossible!"
The principal raised one hand.
"At this time, we are not accusing anyone."
"However, we ask everyone to cooperate fully while the school investigates the incident."
"If anyone has information regarding what happened last night, please report it immediately."
"Thank you."
The announcement ended.
Silence lingered for several long seconds.
Then...
The campus exploded into conversation.
Students immediately formed small groups.
Speculation spread like wildfire.
"I bet it was the art club."
"No way."
"They'd never vandalize school property."
"Maybe it was an outside gang."
"But the principal said students."
"I heard security cameras stopped working."
"Seriously?"
"I don't know."
"I'm just repeating what someone told me."
Ryuhou slowly climbed onto my shoulder, invisible to everyone else.
His tiny eyes remained fixed on the colorful school building.
"Master..."
"...Yeah?"
"This isn't over."
I quietly nodded.
Neither of us could explain it yet.
But deep inside...
Something felt wrong.
The peaceful week Tokyo had enjoyed...
Had just come to an end.
And somewhere...
Hidden beneath layers of colorful paint...
The scent of corruption had begun to spread once more.
Three days.
It had only been three days.
Three long, exhausting days.
Yet somehow, every single morning began exactly the same way.
With another disaster.
The school grounds that had once looked spotless were beginning to resemble an abandoned ruin.
Paint stained nearly every visible surface.
Walls...
Windows...
Lockers...
The sidewalks...
Even the bronze statue of the school's founder standing proudly in front of the administration building had become a victim, colorful streaks of red, blue, green, and black dripping down its face like melted wax.
The janitors had worked tirelessly every afternoon.
Buckets of water.
Industrial cleaning chemicals.
Pressure washers.
Hours upon hours of scrubbing.
Only for everything to be destroyed again the following morning.
Nobody understood how.
Security cameras somehow malfunctioned every single night.
The campus gates remained locked.
There were no signs of forced entry.
No footprints.
No fingerprints.
Nothing.
It was as though a ghost wandered the campus after sunset with cans of paint in its hands.
Rumors spread throughout the entire school.
"It has to be a student."
"No way... maybe it's some crazy artist."
"I heard it's a curse."
"My cousin says it's a phantom."
"Maybe it's revenge."
Every theory sounded crazier than the last.
Even I had started wondering if this somehow involved another corrupted victim.
Earlier that morning...
The principal had gathered every student and teacher inside the gymnasium once again.
The atmosphere felt unusually heavy.
No one laughed.
No one whispered.
Nearly a thousand students sat quietly while teachers stood around the edges of the massive gym.
At exactly eight o'clock...
The principal stepped onto the stage.
His usually warm expression had vanished.
Instead...
He looked disappointed.
Not angry.
Just...
Disappointed.
That somehow felt worse.
He adjusted the microphone before speaking.
"...Students."
His voice echoed throughout the silent gym.
"I wish we were meeting under happier circumstances."
He paused.
His eyes slowly swept across every section of students.
"For three consecutive mornings..."
"Our school has been vandalized."
Murmurs spread across the crowd.
He raised one hand.
Silence immediately returned.
"I understand that many of you are frustrated."
"So are your teachers."
"So are our janitors."
"So am I."
He sighed quietly.
"Our maintenance staff worked until nearly eight o'clock last night."
"They stayed overtime."
"They missed dinner with their families."
"They spent hours cleaning every wall and every classroom."
"They did their very best."
"And this morning..."
He looked down briefly.
"...everything was destroyed again."
Many students lowered their heads.
Even the usually carefree troublemakers had become quiet.
The principal continued.
"I have always believed that education is about more than mathematics..."
"More than science..."
"More than history..."
"It is about becoming good people."
His words carried weight.
"It is about honesty."
"Responsibility."
"Integrity."
"And doing what is right even when no one is watching."
He folded both hands together.
"If the person responsible is listening..."
"I am asking you..."
"No..."
"I am begging you."
He bowed his head slightly.
"Please confess."
A wave of surprise spread through the students.
The principal...
Was bowing.
"I am not asking because I wish to punish you."
"I am asking because I believe people deserve a second chance when they choose to do the right thing."
He slowly straightened himself.
"If you made a mistake..."
"Own it."
"If you're struggling..."
"Talk to us."
"If you're angry..."
"We will listen."
"But continuing this..."
He looked toward the gym windows where part of the freshly cleaned building could be seen.
"...helps no one."
Another pause.
"If anyone has information—no matter how small..."
"We will be placing an anonymous tip box inside the cafeteria."
"You do not need to write your name."
"You do not need to identify yourself."
"If you know something..."
"Please help us."
His voice softened.
"Our school is our second home."
"Let's protect it together."
For several seconds...
Nobody spoke.
The gym remained completely silent.
Then...
Applause.
Slow.
Respectful.
One teacher started it.
Then another.
Soon the entire gym echoed with clapping.
Even I found myself applauding.
The principal really did care.
Unfortunately...
His speech accomplished absolutely nothing.
Because the following morning...
The school had been vandalized again.
That afternoon...
Classes had finally ended.
The janitors once again worked tirelessly across campus.
Teachers volunteered to help.
Even some students offered assistance.
Large hoses sprayed water across the pavement.
The smell of fresh paint remover filled the air.
Brushes scraped against concrete.
By sunset...
The school looked perfect again.
Almost as though nothing had happened.
Our homeroom teacher, Ms. Temi, had assigned every student a small campus responsibility for the week.
Mine...
Was watering the flower beds behind the school.
Lucky me.
I stood near the back garden with a watering hose in one hand.
Rows of colorful flowers stretched along the fence.
Roses.
Tulips.
Marigolds.
Lavender.
At least this job was peaceful.
Water gently flowed over the soil.
The afternoon breeze carried the scent of wet earth through the air.
For the first time all day...
Everything felt calm.
Maybe...
Just maybe...
Tomorrow would finally be normal.
"...Hmm?"
Something moved near the back fence.
I stopped watering immediately.
At first...
I assumed it was another student.
But then I noticed something strange.
A silhouette.
Standing behind one of the maintenance sheds.
The figure wore a dark hoodie.
About my height.
Their face remained hidden beneath the hood.
One arm repeatedly moved back and forth.
Shhhh...
Shhhh...
A familiar metallic spraying sound reached my ears.
Spray paint.
My eyes widened.
"No way..."
The silhouette stepped aside just enough for me to see.
Fresh blue paint spread across the newly cleaned wall.
Large sweeping strokes.
The vandal.
Without thinking...
I shouted.
"HEY!!"
The figure froze.
For one brief second...
Time itself seemed to stop.
Slowly...
The mysterious person turned around.
The hood shifted just enough for sunlight to reach their face.
I couldn't clearly see their features.
But...
I saw their eyes.
One eye...
Brilliant blue.
The other...
Golden amber.
Different-colored eyes.
Heterochromia.
I had never seen eyes like that before.
The mysterious figure stared directly at me.
Neither of us moved.
Then...
"...Tch."
A soft voice escaped beneath the hood.
A girl's voice.
Young.
Probably around my age.
Before I could react—
She spun around.
And ran.
"Stop!!"
I threw the watering hose aside and sprinted after her.
She vaulted over a flower bed with incredible agility.
I chased her around the maintenance building.
She jumped over a low fence without slowing down.
"What the—?!"
I followed.
She raced through the narrow alley behind the gymnasium.
I nearly caught up.
Only a few meters separated us.
"Wait!!"
She glanced back only once.
The hood fluttered.
Again...
Those strange mismatched eyes met mine.
Then she accelerated.
She was unbelievably fast.
Far faster than any ordinary student should have been.
She cleared another fence in one smooth movement.
I jumped after her.
My shoes slammed against the pavement.
People walking nearby turned in surprise as we sprinted past them.
"What is going on?"
"Someone's running!"
"Catch her!"
The chase spilled out of the school grounds and into the surrounding streets.
She weaved through pedestrians effortlessly.
I followed as closely as I could.
Traffic lights.
Crosswalks.
Convenience stores.
Residential streets.
She knew exactly where she was going.
It was almost like...
She had planned an escape route beforehand.
"Damn it!"
I pushed harder.
My lungs burned.
My legs screamed in protest.
Yet the distance between us continued growing.
She darted into a crowded shopping district.
People filled the sidewalks.
A delivery truck blocked part of the road.
For only a second...
I lost sight of her.
I shoved past the crowd.
Turned the corner.
"...!"
Empty.
She was gone.
I looked left.
Right.
Behind buildings.
Side streets.
Nothing.
It was as though she had disappeared into thin air.
I stood there breathing heavily.
"...I lost her."
Frustration welled inside me.
I had finally found the vandal.
The person responsible for three days of chaos.
And they escaped.
Still...
One thing echoed inside my mind.
A girl...
About my height...
With one blue eye...
And one golden eye.
Whoever she was...
She wasn't just some ordinary delinquent.
And somehow...
I had the unsettling feeling...
This mystery was only just beginning.