The insistent, irritating trill of the alarm clock tore Jin from the embrace of sleep. He had set it the night before, mechanically following one of the rules drilled into his new memory: don't be late on the first day. Today was that very day. The day he officially transferred to Kuoh Academy — the place where, according to his memories from his past life, many key events of this world were set to unfold.
He sat up on the futon, running a hand through his hair. His body, rested and full of strength, showed not a hint of yesterday's fatigue. The uniform, neatly hung on the chair, settled perfectly onto his athletic frame, as if tailored to order. Black blazer, white shirt, trousers — a standard set that on him, however, looked like designer clothing.
In the kitchen, sipping cheap instant coffee, he counted the minutes until departure. Tick-tock. Time was inexorably drawing closer the moment when he would once again have to immerse himself in the very environment he had fled his entire past life. The school routine.
Unexpectedly, even to himself, he set the mug aside, collapsed onto the small sofa, buried his face in his hands, and let out a childish groan:
"I don't wanna go to school agaaaain..."
There was no trace of his usual cold indifference in his voice. It carried genuine, unfeigned anguish. He remembered just how suffocating that place was. Pointless lessons, hypocritical smiles, empty conversations, the need to conform, to be part of the system... The very thought made him shudder.
But the alarm on his phone beeped again, this time reminding him it was time to leave. Resigned to his fate, he sighed heavily, rose, and trudged toward the exit.
Slinging his nearly empty backpack over his shoulder and stifling a yawn with his hand, he ambled along the park toward the academy. The morning was clear and warm. The street gradually grew livelier: morning clerks in identical suits hurried past on their way to work, athletes jogged through the park. And the closer he got to the academy, the more students appeared, dressed in the same uniform as him.
Looking at this stream of students, Jin couldn't help noting that the overwhelming majority of them were girls. He recalled that, according to the plot, Kuoh Academy had once been an all-girls school and had only recently become co-ed. This fact explained the heightened, almost unhealthy attention he was beginning to feel directed at himself.
The academy rose atop a hill, majestic and unassailable. It was not merely a school building but an entire architectural ensemble, combining European austerity with Japanese elegance. Tall spires, arched windows, immaculately trimmed lawns. Everything screamed of prestige and hidden power.
And Jin knew perfectly well whose power that was. This town and this academy were not just a school, but territory divided between two influential demonic clans — Gremory and Sitri.
The closer he drew to the gates, the denser the flow of students became. And the more acutely he felt their gazes on him. His new senses worked like radar. He heard every whisper, every sigh, caught every shift in the heartbeats of the girls passing by.
"Look at him..."
"Is he a foreigner? Such clear skin..."
"Who is he?! I've never seen him before..."
"He's even cooler than Kiba-kun..."
Jin heard all of this and tried to ignore it; his face remained inscrutable, but irritation mounted inside. This world was utterly obsessed with appearances. He quickened his pace and headed for the school gates.
At the wrought-iron school gates, they were already waiting for him. Two girls stood out from the general crowd, not only because of the formal armbands on their sleeves, but also due to a completely different kind of energy. As he approached, they stepped forward to meet him and greeted him with a polite bow.
Jin narrowed his eyes slightly. Sona Sitri and Tsubaki Shinra. The heiress of a demonic clan and her loyal Queen.
"Izayoi Jin-san?" Sona's voice sounded level and businesslike-cold. She adjusted her glasses, her intelligent, stern gaze studyingly sweeping over his figure.
"That's me," Jin stopped, slipping his hands into his trouser pockets.
"My name is Sona Sitri, Student Council President. This is my vice-president, Tsubaki Shinra. It is our task to personally greet a transferred student. Your documents?"
While Sona examined the papers, Jin observed them with detached curiosity. Beautiful. Flawless. Sona possessed a cold, intellectual appeal, while the tall Tsubaki seemed the embodiment of traditional Japanese aesthetics. But behind this fragile human screen, Jin distinctly sensed the thick, heavy aura of beings of a different order.
"The documents are in order," Sona closed the folder. "We will escort you to the faculty office. But before that..."
She glanced sternly at the massive, full-sized headphones resting around Jin's neck.
"Kuoh Academy rules prohibit the wearing of extraneous accessories that are not part of the official uniform. Please remove them and put them in your bag."
A pause ensued. Tsubaki tensed, expecting the newcomer's obedient compliance. But Jin didn't even stir. A slow smirk — that same crooked, self-assured smirk that had driven thugs to hysteria just the night before — blossomed across his lips. He looked down at Sona — lazily, almost condescendingly.
"Rules," he drawled, making not the slightest move to touch the headphones. "Got it. Duly noted."
And without waiting for their reaction, he simply walked around the Student Council President and unhurriedly strode toward the main building, raising a hand in a lazy farewell gesture.
Sona and Tsubaki froze, their gazes following him.
"What... insolence," Tsubaki said quietly, frowning slightly.
Sona merely adjusted her glasses, her eyes narrowing. This newcomer was definitely not as simple as he seemed at first glance.
After meeting his homeroom teacher — a young, fussy woman — Jin found himself before the door of Class 2-B.
He paused, placing a palm on the cool handle. The point of no return. Behind this door lay the epicenter of the entire theater of the absurd into which he had stumbled.
The teacher, noticing his hesitation, smiled sympathetically.
"Don't worry, Izayoi-kun. We have a very friendly class; the students will definitely welcome you. Just take a deep breath..."
Jin smirked faintly at her naivety. Nerves? More like dull irritation at the necessity of playing out this farce. He pressed the handle and stepped resolutely into the classroom.
The buzzing room instantly fell silent. Dozens of eyes converged on his figure. Just as he remembered from "canon," the class was predominantly female. The sole exceptions were a pitiful trio of boys in the back row, whose bad reputation ran far ahead of them.
His gaze instantly picked out the main one. Hyoudou Issei. The current bearer of the Red Dragon's power, over whom worlds would tremble. Right now, though, he simply looked like a perverted, dim-witted teenager, drilling the new, overly attractive rival with envy and malice.
Jin met his eyes. In Jin's violet irises, a cold, overwhelming calculation flickered for a split second — the gaze with which a scientist regards a specimen. Issei instinctively flinched, went pale, and hurriedly buried himself in his desk, feeling an inexplicable, icy chill run down his spine.
"Please introduce yourself," the teacher prompted.
Jin swept the class with his sharp, attentive gaze.
"Izayoi Jin," his voice sounded even and confident, cutting through the classroom's silence like a blade. "Starting today, I'll be studying with you. I hope we get along."
Short. Formal. And slightly arrogant. When the girls heard his greeting, a new image crystallized in their minds, making their hearts skip a beat. His voice sounded confident, his gaze was sharp, and the atmosphere around him rendered him unapproachable. If Kiba Yuuto was their Prince Charming, then Jin was the Arrogant Prince standing alongside.
Kyaaaaaa! — some of them mentally squealed, feeling shivers run down their bodies.
Seeing how emotionally the denizens of this world behaved, how easily they created archetypes and succumbed to first impressions, an unexpected thought flickered through Jin's mind.
Huh. Not bad.