Chapter 1: Another World

Cherry blossoms twirled in the air, blown by the wind, and landed steadily on the ground. Under the sunlight, the words “Tokyo Metropolitan Police Academy” seemed to glisten.

At the campus gate, people came and went. Most paused at the entrance for a moment before eagerly stepping into the campus, their faces openly displaying a mix of anxiety and anticipation, looking as if they couldn’t wait to embrace their upcoming campus life.

This made the boy squatting under the tree at the gate stand out even more.

“Damn it…”

Lifting his face from his arms, the person looked somewhere between a youth and a young man, with a fair and handsome face. His reddish-brown hair was slightly curly and seemed a bit messy, with a tuft stubbornly standing up on top of his head, swaying with his movements and refusing to lie flat.

He glanced at the school gate, then looked down at his light blue student uniform, and once again buried his face in his arms.

Kitagawa Ryusei muttered gloomily, “Surrounded by enemies…”

More and more people noticed him, and one or two even approached to ask if he needed help, which he declined with a listless tone.

After hesitating for a long time, Kitagawa Ryusei suddenly stood up as if he had made up his mind, his expression solemn as if he had resolved something, and he grabbed his luggage and charged forward.

—It’s just a police academy, what’s there to be afraid of!

*

A day ago, Kitagawa Ryusei was still a prospective cadre of the Port Mafia, leading a group of suit-clad subordinates in a firefight with smugglers who had encroached on Mafia interests, even sinking their ship.

But when he woke up, he found himself in an unfamiliar place and was informed that he was about to report to the police academy.

A Mafia member going to a police academy, is there a more outrageous April Fool’s joke than this??

Kitagawa Ryusei hurriedly investigated for a day, but found nothing.

His body was his own, with all the scars and old wounds intact; it wasn’t a supernatural ability, as the surrounding scenes and people were unbelievably real; and he couldn’t find a way back, nor did he receive any hints or threats.

After thinking it over, it seemed that he could do nothing but go with the flow.

Kitagawa Ryusei almost closed his eyes as he stepped into the police academy gate.

There was no obstruction, no crisis, and the pleasant scent of cherry blossoms filled the air around him.

Hey! This is a police academy! Can’t you be a little more vigilant? Is it really okay to let a Mafia member like him just waltz in??

Kitagawa Ryusei shouted helplessly in his heart, while the leaves rustled in the wind, as if in agreement or mockery.

“Hurry up, hurry up, we haven’t seen the dormitory yet!”

“Jinpei! Wait for me!”

A group of police academy students in light blue uniforms ran past like the wind, with one of them being pulled along, accidentally bumping into Kitagawa Ryusei’s suitcase.

Still feeling out of place, Kitagawa Ryusei reacted a beat too slow and was caught off guard, stumbling as he lost control of his suitcase.

“Sorry, sorry! Are you okay?” A young man with black hair and purple eyes quickly stopped, skillfully catching the suitcase, and turned back with an apologetic and concerned look.

After regaining his balance, the boy looked up and saw the uniformed student in front of him, whose eyes unconsciously revealed a smile, and his face was full of uncertainty as he said, “Uh… probably?”

The young man with purple eyes clearly didn’t understand what he meant: “What?”

“…Oh, no,” Kitagawa Ryusei was dazed for half a second before realizing what had happened. He immediately snapped back to attention, put on a standard smile, and faced his classmate:

“It’s no problem at all!”

The police academy student who accidentally bumped into him was momentarily stunned by the sunny smile, then awkwardly said, “As long as you’re okay, I’ll be going then.”

With that, he quickly ran towards his companion who had already walked far ahead.

Leaving behind two side-by-side figures and faint sounds of conversation.

Watching the two walk away, Kitagawa Ryusei stood in place, curiously raising two fingers to lift the corners of his mouth into a smile, then let them fall.

He murmured softly, almost inaudibly, with a hint of confusion, “Strange, isn’t this how you smile?”

Every time he showed this expression, his subordinates would become particularly agreeable, right?

Perhaps he wasn’t suited for friendly exchanges with these future police officers… He looked up, thinking calmly to himself.

After a long while, Kitagawa Ryusei shook off his jumbled thoughts, carefully checked his class information again, picked up his luggage, and walked in the direction the two police academy students had left.

“…Onizuka Class.”

Since he was here, he might as well settle in. What he needed to do now was to get himself settled and then investigate what was going on.

…It couldn’t get any worse than this!

*

“Zero! The instructor is coming, behave yourselves!”

At the assembly point, a young man with blue eyes and cat-like eyes lowered his voice, tightly gripping the arm of his childhood friend with golden hair and tanned skin.

The blond young man flailed his arms and legs, glaring fiercely with his gray-purple eyes at the person in front of him: “Hiro, let me go, I have to teach this guy a lesson today!”

The person being glared at, though locked in place by a friend’s arm, glared back defiantly, kicking the air with his long legs: “Who teaches who is still up for debate, you blond bastard!”

“Alright, alright, calm down, Jinpei,” the young man with purple eyes stood firm against his friend’s struggles, suppressing all his movements with one hand, and smiled as he comforted him: “Getting angry will give you wrinkles, you know.”

The two young men, both eager to put the other in their place, couldn’t move, and after exchanging a glance, reached a strange consensus—

Furuya Rei: I’ll deal with you tonight, you curly-haired bastard!

Matsuda Jinpei: Whoever doesn’t show up is a dog, you blond bastard!

By the time Kitagawa Ryusei arrived at the assembly point, the others had mostly quieted down.

Due to the commotion earlier, many people kept their distance, leaving a space around the four young men.

Not wanting to get too close to the future police officers, Kitagawa Ryusei hesitated and walked to the area with the lowest population density, trying to minimize his presence.

His gaze habitually swept over the faces of the four people in front of him.

Are the looks of Japan’s police recruits this high now?

Kitagawa Ryusei wondered.

The four people he saw each had their own striking features. Just the two he had briefly encountered earlier—

The young man with black hair and purple eyes was chatting with someone, his eyes always carrying a pool of laughter, looking very approachable; his companion, who looked a bit displeased, had slightly curly hair, sunglasses hanging from his collar, and a cold expression on his delicate face, which made Kitagawa Ryusei feel a sense of familiarity.

—A familiar Mafia vibe!

The other two young men, whose atmosphere didn’t match the first two, were equally striking in appearance.

The young man with cat-like eyes looked gentle and elegant, and when he noticed Kitagawa Ryusei’s gaze, he gave him a friendly smile; his companion, with a rare combination of blond hair and dark skin, had droopy round eyes, a youthful baby face, and a mixed-race look that was particularly eye-catching.

Although the other looked extremely innocent, Kitagawa Ryusei’s intuition told him that the black face of “Jinpei” was definitely provoked by this guy.

The two were almost the same color!

His gaze was unrestrained, with curiosity written all over it, making it hard for people not to notice.

Furuya Rei immediately spotted this person who seemed out of place with his surroundings.

Although wearing the same uniform, Kitagawa Ryusei appeared too fresh and innocent. With long limbs and reddish-brown hair that made his skin look even fairer, he gave the impression that he should be in high school drinking breakfast milk rather than at a police academy.

Even his pupils were lighter than those of ordinary Asians, Furuya Rei thought, as he unexpectedly met his gaze.

Kitagawa Ryusei, after scanning the area, began to estimate the strength of everyone present out of habit. Before he could retract his gaze, he sensed someone approaching from behind.

With a speed difficult to capture, he sidestepped, avoiding the hand reaching for his shoulder.

Turning around, he found a tall and sturdy police academy student, one hand suspended in mid-air, the other rubbing the back of his head, looking a bit surprised.

However, the other party didn’t seem to mind at all, smiling as he greeted, “Hello, I’m Date Wataru.”

With this cheerful greeting, many people looked over, noticing the person beside Date Wataru.

Suddenly becoming the focus of many police recruits, Kitagawa Ryusei unconsciously pressed his lips together, his body tense, ready to counterattack at any moment.

The last time he faced so many police officers was when dealing with a gemstone smuggling group…

“Kitagawa Ryusei, grew up in Yokohama, nice to meet you all.”

He controlled his reactive state, presenting a relaxed posture, and returned a bright smile to those who looked over.

*

On the first day of school, Kitagawa Ryusei had no intention of playing the role of a good student. As soon as night fell, he picked the right time to sneak out of the school.

What a joke, not running back to Yokohama on the first day was already the greatest respect he could give this world…

Of course, the absence of the Port Mafia in this world was also a major reason.

In any case, Kitagawa Ryusei ran away, and the first thing he did after leaving school was to change his clothes.

Folding his uniform neatly and storing it, he put on a black hoodie, the collar slightly askew, revealing his snow-white skin and half of his collarbone.

Only when the sharpness in his eyes masked the “naive” student vibe did he nod in satisfaction at the mirror.

There weren’t many pedestrians on the street at night. After walking a few hundred meters, Kitagawa Ryusei hailed a taxi and gave the driver the name of a nearby bar.

It was the most convenient place for him to gather information now.

And the closest place to the underworld.

Dim lighting cast ambiguous shadows on each customer’s face, the air filled with the mixed scent of smoke and alcohol, and the highball glasses on the bar counter glowed a beautiful amber under the warm yellow light.

At this moment, Kitagawa Ryusei’s aura blended magically with the environment. He sat naturally at the bar as if he were a regular, and despite his appearance being out of place, no one would think he was easy to deceive.

“What can I get you, sir?”

“A Gin Fizz, please,” Kitagawa Ryusei replied skillfully.

“Alright, please wait a moment.”

People around either whispered or laughed out loud, but all the sounds were eventually drowned out by the music from the phonograph.

Occasionally, someone tried to approach Kitagawa Ryusei, but he refused them one by one.

His fingers tapped on the bar, seemingly deep in thought.

Even though it was the same lighting, when it shone on him, there was a dreamy feeling as if he were detached from the world.

Today was his second day here, and Kitagawa Ryusei had tried calling familiar numbers, but all were disconnected.

Yokohama no longer had the building symbolizing the Port Mafia, and the only thing he could use was a bank card storing his years of salary from the Mafia.

He wondered if his supernatural ability was still there…

The fizzing sound of the Gin Fizz popped in his ears.

After pondering for a moment, Kitagawa Ryusei looked up at the bartender and asked his first question since arriving at the bar.

“Have you heard of Dazai Osamu?”

He chose the name most likely to yield information.

…

Ten minutes later, Kitagawa Ryusei left the bar, his steps somewhat unsteady.

He didn’t rush back but wandered to a bookstore, buying a few books recommended by the bartender.

…Nothing was more shocking than learning that his predecessor in this world had been dead for nearly half a century and had become a novelist…

Although he knew it couldn’t be the same person, Kitagawa Ryusei still fell into a dreamlike state.

Hugging the books, his eyes lost their earlier sharpness, even appearing a bit unfocused, he returned to the school the way he came, after changing back into his uniform.

Perhaps the shock was too great, Kitagawa Ryusei even forgot to check his surroundings in advance, using one hand to vault over the top of the wall, landing steadily with bent knees.

He hadn’t had time to brush off the dust from his palms when he heard a voice behind him—

“Hey, what are you doing here so late?”

Kitagawa Ryusei’s body stiffened as he slowly turned around.

Perhaps it was too far away, the person almost blended into the darkness. He couldn’t make out the face, only a head of striking blond hair, a mouthful of white teeth, and a pair of gray-purple eyes that absorbed and reflected all the surrounding light.

Getting a bit closer, Kitagawa Ryusei saw the large, frightening dark area around the seemingly half-closed right eye.

“—A ghost!!” he screamed.