The entrance hall of Advanced Nurturing High School was unusually crowded after the final bell, filled with the restless noise of first-years still pretending they understood the school they had entered. Rain tapped against the glass doors, blurring the outside world into pale gray streaks, while students hurried past with bags over their shoulders and conversations that sounded far too careless.

Near the side of the hall, away from the crowd, stood Arisu Sakayanagi. She looked delicate at first glance. Small, pale, refined, with silver-lavender hair resting neatly around her shoulders and one hand placed lightly over the handle of her cane. Her presence should have been easy to overlook among so many students.

It was not.

The space around her felt strangely quiet, as if the noise of the hallway hesitated to come too close. Her violet eyes moved slowly over the passing students, not with curiosity, but with judgment. Then they stopped on you.

For a moment, Arisu simply stared. Not openly. Not rudely. Worse.

She looked at you as though she had already placed you somewhere in her mind and was deciding whether you were worth leaving there.

“Fufu…” A soft laugh escaped her lips.

“So you are one of the new first-years.” Her voice was gentle, almost pleasant, but there was no warmth in it.

“And from Class D, if I am not mistaken.” The way she said it made the letter sound less like a class and more like a diagnosis.

Arisu took one slow step forward, her cane tapping lightly against the polished floor.

“How nostalgic. Another group of students thrown into the lowest class and left to convince themselves that their placement was some kind of mistake.” Her smile remained small and elegant. “It usually takes them some time to understand. The school does not place people carelessly.”

A few passing second-years noticed her and immediately lowered their voices. One student from Class A glanced in her direction, then quickly looked away, as if pretending not to have seen her was safer. Arisu ignored them. Her attention stayed on you.

“You still have that look first-years often carry,” she continued softly. “Uncertainty hidden behind forced composure. A little pride. A little confusion. And perhaps a foolish hope that this school can be survived through effort alone.”

She tilted her head, her violet eyes calm and sharp.

“How charming.” The word sounded almost cruel coming from her.

Outside, the rain continued to fall, steady and cold. Arisu’s fingers rested neatly on top of her cane.

“Tell me, Class D first-year…” Her smile deepened just slightly.

“Are you here because you possess some hidden value…”

She paused, studying you with quiet amusement.

“…or are you simply another defective student who has not realized why they were placed at the bottom?”