A Multiverse Tale: Hope in Another World!

"Hey, hey, Kitagawa-san, have you heard? That new transfer student, Takuma Kirie, who came yesterday—he's into cosplay too!"

"Seriously? That's wild! I totally pegged a Tokyo pretty boy like him as some super popular guy living his best life!" 

"No kidding, it's true! He even said he wants to draw… uh… Water Shadow Ninja? Yeah, I think that's the manga he mentioned!"

"Whoa, that's so cool!~" 

"Heh heh heh, Kitagawa-san, are you getting a little starry-eyed? If you're gonna make a move, you better act fast! Strike while the iron's hot and confess straight-up!" 

"Stop teasing me already~!" 

The vibrant, youthful chatter of the high school girls echoed down the school corridor, brimming with the energy of adolescence. 

Overhearing their lively exchange, Yotsuya Miko felt a flicker of distraction tugging at her mind. Almost instinctively, her thoughts drifted back to that day—the moment everything changed. 

--- 

The instant the transfer student named Takuma Kirie stepped into the classroom, the entire room erupted into chaos. There's an old saying: one woman equals five hundred ducks. Well, the moment that guy showed up, the hushed whispers and excited squeals from the girls suggested a cacophony of at least twenty or thirty thousand ducks. 

"Rena-chan, I'm in love…"

"He's so hot~~"

"With looks like that, it's a crime he's not debuting as an idol!"

"Should we ask for his LINE after class?~"

"Definitely! If we're slow, the girls from the other classes will snatch him up first!"

Compared to him, the average guys in the room didn't stand a chance. If Miko had to scrape together her meager stash of adjectives to describe him… 

He was like a protagonist straight out of a reader's wildest dreams—devastatingly handsome! A mop of soft, tousled black hair framed his face, paired with sharp, defined brows and piercing, starry eyes. His high-bridged nose and thin lips curved into a gentle, almost tender smile. He carried his schoolbag casually in his left hand, while his right held a half-read copy of The Little Prince by Saint-Exupéry, a bookmark tucked neatly between the pages. 

When the sunlight spilled over him that day, he looked like a figure stepping out of a painting—some refined young noble from a scholarly lineage. Whispers buzzed through the room as people speculated: Which aristocratic family did this guy come from?

But then, faced with the gleaming, predatory stares of the girls—eyes glinting like a pack of starving wolves—he opened his mouth and said: 

"I have no interest in ordinary humans. If any of you are aliens, time travelers, otherworlders, or superpowered beings, feel free to come talk to me!"

Cue the icy glare from their homeroom teacher—a woman as cold as a glacier and twice as intimidating—who fixed him with a look that could've killed.

"Takuma-kun, please speak properly!" 

Only after that reprimand from their stunning yet oppressive teacher did he finally behave. 

"Sorry, sorry, just messing around. I'm Takuma Kirie. I transferred to Shuchiin for various reasons, and I'm looking forward to getting along with everyone from now on!" 

With that, he scrawled his name on the blackboard in elegant, flowing strokes—an impeccable shoujin script—and effortlessly cemented himself as the school's new center of attention. 

In no time, he'd become the leading man in the romantic daydreams of most of the girls in class. Even Yotsuya Miko sometimes caught herself wondering… If I didn't have these abnormal eyes that can see ghosts… 

"Phew…" 

Miko let out a heavy sigh and quickly shook her head, banishing the rest of that thought from her mind. 

Being lucky enough to attend Shuchiin after its multi-school merger and reform, becoming a student at a prestigious academy—that's more than enough.

Those cheesy school romance fantasies? They've got nothing to do with someone like me… 

Muttering to herself internally, Miko slipped past the two chattering girls. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of one of them—a gorgeous blonde gal-type—and her already gloomy mood, soured by the ghastly spirit she'd seen that morning, sank even lower. 

"There's still time before class. Maybe I'll head to the rooftop and let the breeze clear my head." 

--- 

Morning. 

Takuma Kirie, his own mood equally dismal, trudged toward the rooftop, half-heartedly responding to classmates' greetings along the way.

When he'd transferred to this school yesterday, he'd been over the moon. Shuchiin Academy boasted names like Shinomiya Kaguya, Fujiwara Chika, Kirisu Mafuyu, and even the infamous five idiot quintuplets—characters he recognized from his past life. His excitement had been through the roof. 

After all, this version of Takuma Kirie was the perfect urban male lead. Top of his class, a sports prodigy, drop-dead gorgeous, and maxed out in every skill imaginable—composing, music, painting, kendo, cooking, you name it. As Tokyo's ultimate pretty boy, he was primed to shine in every situation, ready to sweep those beloved girls from his past-life fantasies off their feet. 

But then—! 

He never could've predicted that the long-haired girl who stayed behind with him for class duty would turn out to be… Yotsuya Miko! 

At first, Kirie clung to a shred of hope. A character tied to ghosts and the supernatural showing up in a slice-of-life multiverse? That's way too unscientific, right? 

But after some cheerful small talk, reality hit him like a truck. This girl was, without a doubt, the Yotsuya Miko—the one who could see vicious spirits. 

The moment he realized this world harbored supernatural forces, a chill gripped his heart. That night, he raced home and unleashed his hacking skills, scouring the internet for any trace of evidence. 

- "Shock! Two couples mysteriously vanish while visiting a shrine!" 

- "Urban Legend! A cursed videotape—everyone who watches it dies!" 

- "You won't believe this, but monsters were spotted roaming Tokyo streets!" 

- "Unveiled: What really happened at the [Taizan Fukun Festival] years ago?" 

- "Someone save me! The guys on our ski trip turned into ice statues overnight—there's a ghost!" 

And then… 

- "Heard the rumors? The Ministry of Internal Affairs teamed up with corporations to establish a 'Yin-Yang Agency.' One of our senpais got recruited!" 

Information he'd never paid attention to before now coalesced into a grim picture, and Kirie's heart sank to the pit of his stomach. 

Based on what he'd pieced together: 

About thirty years ago, mysterious forces began to awaken. At first, it was subtle—like seeds buried deep in the earth. But over the past decade, supernatural incidents had started cropping up across the world. Monsters roamed freely, the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons claimed lives, and rumors swirled of ancient, obscure gods across Japan demanding blood sacrifices at their shrines. 

Worse still, the phenomenon had escalated in recent years. Kirie couldn't help but wonder if, in just a few more, his carefree school life might fully morph into a world of spiritual resurgence. 

And when that happened? He, Takuma Kirie, might end up as just another nameless casualty in some random ghost parade or supernatural skirmish. 

The sudden shift in his worldview weighed heavily on him, draping his mind in a fog of confusion and dread. 

"Let's hit the rooftop and get some air…" 

Muttering to himself, Kirie pushed open the door to the rooftop. 

And in that very instant, a sight of sheer, unimaginable terror unfolded before his eyes!