Wake up already—!!!
A shrill, headache-inducing voice blasted through the room like a sonic attack.
"Seriously, get up now! If you don't move it, you'll be late for the first day of school!"
The voice was sharp, nagging, and painfully familiar.
"You stay up every night like this. One of these days you're going to regret it, you know?"
With a sharp tug, the curtains were yanked open.
Sunlight exploded into the room.
"Ugh—!"
Lock groaned and rolled over, squinting as the brightness stabbed straight into his eyes. He lifted a hand to rub his face, barely awake.
"You're up? Good. Get dressed. There's bread and milk in the hall," the woman said briskly. "And don't be late."
"Yeah… yeah… got it…"
He answered on autopilot, eyes still closed.
"I'm heading out. I've got work," she added while stepping out the door. "Honestly, when will I ever get a break…"
Her heels clicked down the hallway. A car horn honked outside. Then—silence.
Lock slowly opened his eyes.
"…Huh?"
The ceiling stared back at him.
This room felt familiar. Way too familiar.
"…I didn't die?"
He sat up abruptly, heart pounding.
"Wait. Don't tell me this is… reincarnation?"
The word barely left his mouth before he froze.
"…Hold on."
He spoke again.
Perfect Japanese.
"…Why am I speaking Japanese like it's normal?"
A pause.
Then another, quieter realization followed.
"…That's embarrassing."
Memories flooded in—two sets of them. One short, boring life that ended without warning. And another that belonged to this body: school, a nagging mom, endless late nights.
"So I really worked myself to death," Lock muttered, stretching his stiff back. "Explains why everything hurts."
He dragged himself to the mirror.
The face staring back wasn't bad—black hair, clear eyes, nothing freakish.
"…Alright. Could've been worse."
At least he still looked human.
Whatever this was, he didn't have time to think about it. The first day of school, I waited for no reincarnated souls.
Lock got dressed, splashed water on his face, grabbed his bag, shoved a slice of bread into his mouth, and took off with milk in hand.
Click.
Door shut.
He jogged down the street, chewing and swallowing between breaths.
"Hah… hah…"
Finally, he skidded to a stop in front of the school gates.
"…Made it."
He looked up.
Kuoh Academy.
His brain stalled.
"…Kuoh?"
Something clicked.
Hard.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
This wasn't just any school.
This was that school.
The one crawling with devils, angels, fallen angels, and other things that could erase humans by accident. The place where normal people existed purely as background decoration.
Lock rubbed his face.
"Out of all places… I land here?"
Before he could spiral any further, a hand suddenly slapped down on his shoulder.
"—?!"
He nearly jumped out of his skin.
"Ah—sorry! Didn't mean to scare you!"
The guy behind him laughed awkwardly, scratching his head. Red shirt under the uniform. Loud voice. Zero sense of personal space.
"I thought I was the only one almost late!"
Lock stared at him.
"…Of course."
That face was unmistakable.
"Hey! I'm Hyoudou Issei! Nice to meet you!"
Lock sighed internally and bowed slightly out of habit.
"Lock. Nice to meet you."
"You're a student here too, right?" Issei asked, eyes sparkling.
"Yeah," Lock said. "Apparently, this place used to be an all-girls school."
"What? Seriously?!" Issei's eyes lit up. "Then we're brothers in suffering!"
He laughed and slapped Lock on the shoulder like they'd known each other for years.
Lock forced a smile.
Great. This guy.
They walked through the gates together as cherry blossoms drifted down, coating the path in pink. The school grounds were absurdly clean and way too pretty for a place hiding monsters.
Lock glanced around, uneasy.
So this was Kuoh Academy.
The Gremory family's backyard.
"…The flowers really are something," he muttered.
"Huh?" Issei looked at him. "They bloom every year, don't they?"
"…Never mind," Lock said quickly. "Let's go before we're actually late."
"Hey! You two!"
The security guard waved them in impatiently.
"Get moving! First day already and you're slacking!"
"Yes, sir!" Issei shouted back, jogging ahead.
Lock followed, eyes sharp, thoughts racing.
Reincarnated or not…
This school was dangerous.
And he'd just walked straight into it.
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