Anime Crossover: Tokyo Reincarnation Game — Chapter 57

Chapter 57: Transfer Student Iwanaga Kotoko

Monday morning, 8:30 AM. Sunlight spilled through the tall windows of Shuchiin Academy’s Year 1 Class B, washing over the mahogany desks.

“Asuna~ Long time no see~”

The energetic, overly sweet voice cut through the morning chatter. Yuuki Asuna looked up from her desk to see Fujiwara Chika practically bouncing across the aisle, a bright smile plastered across her face. Asuna offered a gentle, amused smile in return.

“It has only been two days for the weekend. How is that a ‘long time no see’?”

“As the saying goes, a single day apart feels like three autumns~” Chika hummed, slipping into her seat. “This just proves how terribly I missed you~”

She hooked her satchel onto the side of her desk, then immediately spun around. Propping her chin on both hands, she leaned close, her eyes sparkling with unfiltered gossip.

“So… over the weekend… did you make any progress with Utsunomiya-san?”

“Progress?”

Asuna blinked, momentarily caught off guard. Then the implication registered. A faint heat touched her cheeks, and she shook her head with a helpless, wry smile.

“There is absolutely no progress whatsoever.”

“Really?” Chika narrowed her eyes playfully. “My love detective radar has already detected the distinct scent of a lie~”

Before Asuna could blink, Chika had somehow produced a plaid deerstalker hat, pulling it snugly over her pink hair, and popped a pipe-shaped candy into the corner of her mouth.

Faced with the sudden transformation of the self-proclaimed Love Detective, Asuna tried to steer the conversation away from her own racing heart.

“Really, nothing happened at all… Wait, you are always digging for gossip about me. Why don’t you ever talk about yourself?”

Chika tilted her head. The detective persona vanished, replaced by a perfectly innocent, sweet smile. “But I don’t have a boy I like.”

“What about in the past?”

“Never had one before, either.”

Asuna stared at her, utterly dumbfounded. ‘You have never even experienced a shred of romantic affection, yet you run around calling yourself a love detective? Isn’t that completely absurd?’

Swallowing her exasperation, Asuna leaned forward, genuinely curious. “Then what exactly is your type?”

“My type… hmm…”

Chika tapped her chin, chewing on her candy pipe as she fell into deep thought. After a few seconds, she raised a fair index finger, her smile brightening.

“Well, I do have a preference. I like someone a bit taller. I don’t have any strict demands for looks, though handsome is obviously better. But the absolute most critical thing is that they cannot be the weak, frail type. They need to have a fiercely dominant personality and a ruthless style of action. The kind of man who will take the initiative to attack me.” A faint blush dusted Chika’s cheeks as she giggled. “Honestly, if I could be aggressively devoured, that wouldn’t be bad either~”

Asuna sat frozen. The casual words echoed in her ears.

“Your standards are certainly… unique,” Asuna murmured, her voice slightly hollow. “Is there even anyone like that in our school…”

She stopped mid-sentence. Her breath caught in her throat.

A boy with a dominant personality. A ruthless style of action. Someone who takes the absolute initiative. Tall. Handsome.

Wasn’t that the exact definition of Asagiri?

Asuna stared at the giggling pink-haired girl in front of her, a sudden, chilling realization washing over her.

‘The love rival… was sitting right next to me this whole time?’

A little later, down the hall in the classroom of Year 1 Class A.

“Ahem. Before we officially begin the morning lesson, there is a matter I need to announce.”

Miwa Ashikaga stood behind the podium, her fitted suit immaculate, the morning light glinting off her gold-rimmed glasses. She swept a slow, authoritative gaze over the silent room.

“Starting today, a transfer student will be joining our class.”

A ripple of hushed murmurs instantly broke out across the room.

“A transfer student? Right now?”

Students exchanged bewildered glances. Shuchiin Academy was an elite institution with a rigid hierarchy. Mid-term transfers were practically unheard of, especially in the high school division, where every single seat was locked in long before the academic year even began.

And to bypass the lower classes and transfer directly into Class A?

Whoever this was, their backing had to be monstrous.

Ashikaga ignored the rising tide of speculation. She simply turned her head toward the open sliding door at the front of the room.

“Come in.”

Clack. Tap. Clack.

The distinct, rhythmic sound of a hard object striking the polished floor echoed into the room. A petite girl stepped over the threshold. She possessed an exquisitely delicate face, framed by soft hair, and leaned heavily on a stylish walking cane.

She moved slowly, handling the space until she stood beside the teacher’s podium, offering the stunned class a brilliant, sweet smile.

“Hello everyone. My name is Iwanaga Kotoko. Starting today, I will be a student in Class A. Please treat me well.”

The classroom erupted into furious, hushed whispers.

“What a beautiful girl… but… is she actually a high schooler?”

“She looks exactly like a middle school student…”

“What do you idiots know? This is the definition of a loli. A loli, understand?”

“Iwanaga Kotoko… That name sounds incredibly familiar. Where have I heard it before?”

Ignoring the chaotic chatter, Kotoko descended from the podium. She didn’t walk toward an empty desk. Instead, the rhythmic tapping of her cane led her straight down the aisle, stopping directly in front of Kaguya Shinomiya.

Though she wasn’t wearing her signature beret today, Kotoko reached up, mimicking the elegant motion of tipping a hat, and offered a flawless, aristocratic nod.

“Shinomiya. Long time no see.”

Kaguya looked up. Her crimson eyes were entirely devoid of surprise, her expression a mask of absolute, chilling calm.

“It really is you,” Kaguya stated, her tone flat and measured. “I am genuinely surprised you would lower yourself to study at Shuchiin Academy.”

Kotoko’s smile didn’t waver, but the words that left her mouth sent a shockwave through the listening students.

“Actually, I don’t like Shuchiin Academy at all. It is boring, decaying, and dreadfully old-fashioned. A sterile place with absolutely no sense of fun. Originally, I had zero intention of ever stepping foot in this school.”

Dead silence fell over Class A.

The students stared in sheer disbelief.

Wait… transfer student, are you seriously going that hard on your first day?

She possessed such a fragile, petite body. Such a sweet, doll-like face. Yet she was using that exact face to spit out the most aggressive, venomous insults imaginable?

Boring? Decaying? Old-fashioned?

To stand inside the most prestigious academy in the nation and mercilessly tear it down in public—this tiny girl’s mouth was practically a registered weapon.

“Since you look down on Shuchiin Academy with such disdain, why are you standing here?” Kaguya asked lightly, her face remaining a flawless sheet of ice. “Donating fifty billion yen to the school just to instantly secure a seat on the board of directors, then abusing that board privilege to force a transfer into the high school department, and specifically demanding placement in Class A. Your actions are logically contradictory to the garbage you just spouted.”

“Oh, you misunderstand,” Kotoko replied, her voice airy and unbothered. “I truly despise Shuchiin Academy. I only transferred into this decaying place for one single person.”

Leaving those words hanging in the air, Kotoko turned her back on the Shinomiya heiress.

Under the shocked, disbelieving stares of the entire class—and the silent, watchful gaze of the homeroom teacher—the petite girl walked straight toward the back corner of the room.

She stopped right beside Utsunomiya Asagiri, leaning on her cane, and tilted her head with an achingly sweet smile.

“As promised, I’ve come for you~”