Volume 2, Chapter 3: Class Begins
You are reading the official Taiyouverse light novel, Reset!!! We Tried to Run an Anime Convention… and Broke the Universe!!! Volume 2: The Controversy Game. Follow Sunny and the Sun Squad as they navigate a new reality at a school academy where popularity, reputation, and mystery shape the future. The Taiyouverse is a fictional story universe connected to Taiyou Con. Each volume takes place in a different reality. For convention news and updates, visit our Updates section.For real convention event updates, go to our Updates.)
Previously on… Volume 2: The Controversy Game! The Sun Squad finally meets up, but Sunny is missing. Where did she go? Sunny finds herself going to her classroom with her new friends, Mina and Lily, in this reality and runs into a few surprises… including a familiar face and a brand new rival?
Sunny walked between Mina and Lily through the academy hallway while trying very hard not to look like a person whose entire understanding of reality had been flipped upside down, thrown into a blender, and served back to her with melon bread crumbs on top.
The hallway was wide enough for several groups of students to pass through at once, and somehow every single person seemed to be going somewhere important. Some students carried instrument cases while others balanced stacks of books or tablets against their chests. One group hurried past pushing a cart stacked with folded backdrops and rolls of fabric. Everyone hustled toward their destination talking about schedules, deadlines, and places to be.
Sunny did her best to match Mina and Lily’s pace because the fastest way to look suspicious was to keep stopping every ten seconds to stare at things that were apparently normal for everyone else.
Mina was talking about how class was boring as usual. Lily was complaining that the classroom was too far from the cafeteria and that whoever designed the academy clearly hated students who enjoyed a straightforward path to their destination.
Sunny smiled and responded, “clearly, right?!” As she kept walking she thought to herself, this was her new life. The academy was real. Mina and Lily thought she belonged here. Barrel cactuses were walking around like ordinary students. Sunny wondered if the rest of the group retained their memories like she did. However, she did not want to think of the possibility of every one of her close friends losing their memories from the past reality.
“Class is this way,” Mina said, pointing down a hallway that branched toward a set of double doors. “Try not to look so haunted when we walk in. Mr. Fujimoto can smell weakness before first period.”
Lily laughed and adjusted the strap of her bag. “He doesn’t smell weakness. He smells late assignments and people who think they can survive spring semester with vibes.” She looked over at Sunny and gave her a quick smile. “You’re fine, though. You always somehow pull things together.”
Sunny almost asked what things she supposedly pulled together, but she caught herself before the question left her mouth. She had already learned that asking the wrong question made Mina and Lily think she was joking, which was better than making them suspicious but still not useful. Instead, she smiled like she understood and kept walking. “Good to know my mysterious power is last-minute competence.”
“That’s not a mysterious power,” Mina said. “That’s just your entire personality during project season.”
Sunny was about to answer when she saw him. “What?” she muttered.
At first, her brain refused to accept what her eyes were showing her. At the far end of the hallway near a row of tall windows, a short round figure in a janitor uniform pushed a mop across the floor beside a yellow cleaning bucket. He hummed quietly as he worked, completely ignored by the students weaving around him. She knew exactly who was under that ridiculous janitor cap.
Evil King Barrel.
A flash of the last reality ripped through her mind before she could stop it. The images of the Delta Hotel under attack by the barrel cactus army were only a month old, and Sunny knew that she had just fought Evil King Barrel to save the universe just a few days ago. Sunny’s body moved before her thoughts caught up, and by the time Mina called her name, she was already sprinting down the hallway.
Students jumped out of her way as she charged forward, but Evil King Barrel still had his back turned. Sunny saw a chair sitting against the wall ahead of her, and in her head, the solution was obvious. She would clear it, close the distance, and tackle him before he could react. She planted her foot and jumped. In that next second, her body reminded her that whatever powers she had in the last world had not come with her. Her knee clipped the edge of the chair, the chair slid sideways, and Sunny’s arms swung wildly as she tried to recover from the weakest jump of her life.
She hit the floor hard enough to send a sting through both elbows.
The hallway went quiet around her for just long enough to make the embarrassment worse. Someone nearby made a small noise that sounded like they were trying not to laugh. A few students whispered her name.
Sunny stayed on the floor for a moment, partly because she needed to breathe and partly because she was hoping Evil King Barrel did not notice all the commotion.
A shadow fell over her. “Miss, are you all right?” the janitor asked.
Sunny lifted her head slowly. Evil King Barrel stood over her with a mop in one hand and a concerned expression that looked so ordinary it almost made her extremely suspicious. He offered his free hand to help her up. Sunny stared at it, then at him, trying to find even the smallest sign that he knew her. If he remembered the last reality, he gave nothing away. His eyes held no panic, no recognition, and no hidden rage.
“You really should not be running in the hallway,” he said as he stood there. His gaze moved to the chair lying crooked against the wall. “And you definitely should not be jumping over chairs.”
Sunny got up on her own accord and straightened her skirt without letting her eyes off of the janitor. Mina and Lily were still near the classroom doors, staring at her like they had just watched something that was totally unexpected. A few other students were pretending not to watch while absolutely eavesdropping on her in a nearby doorway. Sunny ignored all of them and kept her eyes locked on the janitor. “Who are you?”
“The school janitor,” Evil King Barrel answered.
“No,” Sunny said, lowering her voice. “What are you planning?”
He looked around the hallway as if wondering whether this was some kind of student prank. “I mop the floors, clean spills, replace trash bags, and occasionally rescue students from chairs. It is not a glamorous position, but someone must keep the academy presentable,” he chuckled.
Sunny searched his face again… Nothing. If he was acting, he was better at it than she wanted to admit. Sunny asked, “Then who am I?”
That question finally made him pause, but not in the way she hoped. He looked at her like she had asked whether the sky was still above them. “You are Sunny! Elite Number Eight. Everyone knows that.” He pointed toward one of the digital screens mounted along the hallway wall. The display cycled through announcements before flashing a ranking list, and there she was among the Elite 12: Honoka at number one, Ash at number four, Kenji at number five, Sunny at number eight, and Sakura at number twelve. Leon was nowhere on the list.
Sunny stood there glaring at him after looking at the scoreboard.
The janitor laughed nervously unsure what was happening and responded to her stare, “A person in your position should probably know when class is about to begin.”
Sunny looked back toward Mina and Lily down the hall. “Right,” she said as she stared at Evil King Barrel and started walking backwards. “Thanks.”
“Of course, Miss Sunny,” he replied, returning to his mop as if the conversation had been nothing more than a strange interruption in an otherwise normal morning. “Have a wonderful day!” said Evil King Barrel.
Sunny walked back toward Mina and Lily and into the classroom before either girl could start asking questions.
“Hey, Sunny!” someone said at the front of the room.
Another person shouted, “Good morning, Sunny!” He waved and then went back to what he was doing on his desk.
The classroom was larger than Sunny expected. Rows of wide desks curved slightly toward the front, where a large screen covered most of the wall behind the instructor’s podium. Tall windows lined the side of the room, letting in bright spring sunlight and a view of the campus below.
Sunny walked up to the window and looked down at cherry blossom trees below. “Wow, they’re beautiful.” She turned around to find her seat.
Students were already seated with tablets open, notebooks ready, or small project cases tucked under their desks. The room had the vibe of a class, but also a meeting room, and a production office. Lily sat at a seat next to the window, and Sunny sat at the desk behind her.
Mina dropped into the seat beside Sunny and asked, “So why did you run down the hallway and tried to jump over a chair? That looked like it really hurt when you fell on your face.”
Sunny leaned back in her seat and tried to sound casual. “I thought I saw someone I knew.”
Lily turned around and put her bag down with a grin. Then she raised her eyebrow and joked, “Someone who deserved a running jump over a chair?”
“It made sense at the time,” Sunny responded with a smile. She tapped her desk a few times with both her hands.
“It really did not look like it made sense from where I was standing,” Lily replied. “I swear you are full of surprises today.”
Before Mina could add anything worse, the classroom door closed at the front. A tall man in a charcoal vest stepped behind the podium with a tablet tucked under one arm. Conversations faded almost immediately. He did not take attendance, did not call names, and did not ask if everyone had survived spring break. He placed the tablet on the podium, adjusted the screen behind him, and began speaking like the entire class had been waiting for this meeting to start.
“Good morning,” he said. “Spring semester begins today, which means the academy expects all major student-led projects to move out of planning and into execution. Most of you already know your assignments, but we will review key agendas before we begin coursework. If your project is behind, consider this your final opportunity to correct that before your department starts asking questions none of us enjoy answering.”
Sunny sat still and listened. The teacher moved through the room with extreme efficiency, calling on students one by one while the screen behind him filled with project titles, deadlines, department tags, and progress markers. As she sat there, she thought to herself that she had no idea what her project was if the teacher started asking questions about it.
A student near the front reported on the spring music showcase and confirmed that rehearsal blocks had been approved. Another student discussed a humanoid robot that can clean the campus and complained about needing access to a larger testing area. A girl with silver glasses explained that the chemical research team needed more secure storage for a new compound being developed involving reactive materials, which made several nearby students shift away from her desk.
“Just don’t blow us all up,” the teacher remarked as he went onto the next student. “Ok, the motorsports showcase!”
Someone else then reported on a motorsports showcase, another on a fashion runway event, and another on a business pitch for a new travel company that sounded less like a school project and more like a terrifying competition where students begged investors for money before lunch.
Sunny listened carefully while pretending this was all review. This academy was not a normal school. That much had already been obvious, but hearing the teacher move through the agendas made it clearer. These students were not just taking classes. They were running events, building machines, planning showcases, competing for attention, and managing projects that sounded large enough to ruin someone’s semester if they failed. The teacher did not talk to them like children. He talked to them like young professionals who had already been given responsibility and were expected to survive it.
Then her name appeared on the screen.
Sunny — Taiyou Con
The classroom shifted toward Sunny. It was not loud, and nobody gasped or made a dramatic scene, but Sunny felt attention move toward her from several directions. Mina straightened slightly beside her. Lily’s expression changed into the look of someone waiting for a familiar show to start. Sunny looked at the screen and carefully arranged her face into the expression of a person who knew exactly what was happening.
“Sunny,” the teacher said. “Do not forget that you remain director of one of our major academy events this semester.”
Sunny’s brain caught on one word and refused to move past it. Director. She had been called Elite Number Eight by a janitor who may or may not have been Evil King Barrel, and now this teacher was telling her she was directing an academy event. She could feel Mina and Lily watching her, and somewhere in the back of her mind she knew she needed to answer like this was normal. “Yes, a director of an event,” she said in a cheery voice.
The teacher did not look amused. “Yes. The event. Taiyou Con.”
A few students laughed quietly. Sunny forced a smile so quickly that her cheeks almost hurt. “When it comes to Taiyou Con, I always give it 110%.”
“The academy expects this year’s Taiyou Con to be one of the strongest student-led productions in recent history,” the teacher looked through his notes and continued, either ignoring her strange response or choosing not to waste time on it. “The Mesa Convention Center contract has been approved since last semester, and you have your operating office is located on the fifth floor above this classroom. Your funding has been approved so please get started immediately with your team. Last thing I need is the committee coming down on me about delays.”
Sunny heard the words one by one. She wondered how she was the director of Taiyou Con again in this reality. She said to the teacher, “You won’t be disappointed!”
“I am the last person you need to worry about disappointing.”
“Everything is going according to plan,” Sunny responded.
“Make sure it does.” He moved on before she could respond, calling the next student and changing the screen to another project.
After all of the project reviews, the teacher transitioned into coursework as if he had not just casually dropped a convention onto Sunny’s lap. “For homeroom today, we will begin with Japanese language review. I understand some of you studied during break, and I understand some of you told yourselves you would study during break while watching anime and eating snacks instead.” A low wave of guilty laughter moved through the room. “Either way, open your materials. We will start from level one and see how quickly I regret trusting all of you.”
The rest of class passed in a strange blur. Sunny copied what Mina and Lily copied, repeated phrases when the class repeated them, and tried not to let her mind drift too far from the lesson. It was difficult. Every time the teacher wrote something on the screen, her thoughts slid back to the fifth floor office above them. Every time a student answered a question with confidence, Sunny wondered how long she had supposedly been attending this academy. Every time she glanced at the door, she half expected Evil King Barrel to roll past with his mop and pretend to be harmless again.
When class finally ended, the room broke into motion almost immediately. Students packed their bags and hurried toward whatever project had claimed their morning. Mina stretched both arms over her head and complained about Japanese being too early for her brain while Lily said her brain had never been early to anything. Then Mina turned toward her with a bright look that made Sunny instantly nervous.
“So,” Mina said, “fifth floor?”
Lily leaned over with a devilish grin. “You can’t act like you’re not excited. You got the office.”
Sunny picked up her bag slowly. “The office,” she repeated, testing the words like they might explain themselves if she said them carefully enough.
Mina gave her a look. “Are we doing the thing again where you pretend you forgot?”
Sunny smiled and said to the two of them, “I’m just in that mood today. First day back, and I think I’m changing it up a little bit. See what works.”
“That is such a director answer,” Lily said as they left the classroom together. “Annoying, vague, and somehow impossible to argue with.”
The hallway outside class was even busier than before. Students moved in opposite directions with the speed of racing rats. Mina and Lily walked with Sunny toward the elevators, still talking about the office and what they hoped had been stocked there. Mina wanted to see whether the academy had finally approved new display boards. Lily wanted to know if the snack cabinet had been restocked, which Mina insisted was not the point of an operating office but secretly seemed to care about too.
Sunny listened closely and collecting clues from their casual complaints. She didn’t know Mina and Lily were on Taiyou Con staff. Well, she didn’t know them before today.
They were almost to the elevator when the atmosphere changed. A few people slowed down their walk and started paying attention to a new presence. Mina’s conversation died halfway through a sentence, and Lily’s face took on the wary expression of someone who spot an enemy on approach.
A female student stepped into their path. She was gorgeous in a way that seemed almost unfair. Long pink hair fell straight down behind her shoulders, and every part of her uniform looked crisp and proper. Her makeup was soft but perfect, her posture elegant, and her smile had bad intentions behind it. “Well,” the girl said. “Look who finally showed up.”
Sunny knew immediately that this girl did not like her. There was no warmth in the greeting, only contempt stretched thin over her lips. Mina became quiet beside Sunny, and Lily suddenly crossed her arms. That was enough to tell Sunny this was not some random student being rude for fun.
“Rayne,” Lily said carefully.
Rayne did not look at Lily. Her eyes stayed on Sunny, sweeping over her with judgment disdain. “Congratulations.”
Sunny was confused. “For what?”
Rayne laughed softly. “Cute. You know what, you backstabber.”
Sunny felt Mina glance at her, which meant she had probably answered wrong. She recovered by giving Rayne a small smile. “I like to make sure we’re talking about the same thing.”
“Of course you do.” Rayne’s smile widened, but her eyes stayed cold. “Director of Taiyou Con. Fifth floor office.” She let each phrase settle before continuing, as if she was almost waiting for a response. “Must be nice.”
Sunny had no idea what to say. Not because Rayne had surprised her, but because the emotion behind every word felt personal in a way Sunny could not understand. Rayne sounded like someone that didn’t like her to the core.
Mina stepped in before the silence stretched too long. “What do you want?”
“Oh, you’re also here,” Rayne replied, finally glancing at Mina. Then she addressed Sunny again. “How does it feel to be chosen as the new director?”
Lily forced a laugh that did not sound like a laugh. “We have a lot to do.”
“I’m sure you do,” said Rayne without looking away from Sunny. “Big events take a lot of work. I am sure you will be up to the task.” Her smile sharpened again. “It’s lonely at the top.”
Sunny held her gaze, refusing to look away even though every instinct told her this conversation had landmines under it. “Thanks for the advice. I’m sure I will manage,” Sunny said with a smile.
Anger flashed across Rayne’s face. Then she put up a fake smile and walked past Sunny.
The three girls walked continued down the hallway without looking back and into the elevator. Inside the elevator, Sunny waited until the doors closed before speaking. “What’s her problem?”
Mina leaned against the side wall and groaned. “That was way too dramatic.”
Lily also leaned back against one of the elevator walls. “Rayne is taking it hard.”
Before Sunny could say anything, the elevator doors opened to the fifth floor. The three of them got out and walked toward the office. Sunny didn’t know where the office was, so she just followed along. The fifth floor was quieter than the classroom level, with wider corridors and large windows overlooking the campus. The walls displayed framed posters from past academy events, award plaques, and digital maps pointing toward different project offices. Mina led the way with the confidence of someone who had been here before.
“The way you pretended not to know why Rayne was upset,” Lily said to Sunny. “You made her so mad.” Lily giggled a bit. “She totally deserves it though.”
“It’s not Sunny’s fault though!” Mina chimed in. “Rayne is not good enough or even have enough CP to be put in charge of such a huge project like Taiyou Con. What does she expect? The school gives Taiyou Con to someone that’s not even ranked in the top 100? That’s insane. She should know better!”
Lily gave out a sigh and shook her head. “Yeah, we should just ignore her. She’s been weird about Taiyou Con ever since she didn’t get picked.”
“But Lily, she acts like I stole it from her,” said Sunny.
“That’s kind of how Rayne sees everything. If someone else gets attention, she thinks it was taken from her.”
“It’s not that big of a deal.”
“Not as big to you,” replied Lily. “You’re ranked number eight. But if she got it, her CP would have jumped so high, and she would have been the new rising star in school.”
Eventually, the girls stopped at a set of double glass doors that were labeled, Taiyou Con. Through the glass Sunny could see desks, screens, whiteboards, storage shelves, boxes, floor plans, and a long conference table covered with folders. She also saw a lounge area with comfortable couches and a refreshments area.
Mina walked up to the door and touched the etched Taiyou Con words on the glass. “Come on, Sunny. Unlock the door and let’s take a look. Lily and I still have class next period.”
Sunny was unsure how to unlock the door, so she stood there for a moment.
Mina waited for a moment and then turned around to face Sunny. “Come on, scan your student ID.” She gestured toward the scanner at the side of the door.
After checking her jacket pockets, she surprisingly found her student ID card with her photo on it. Sunny walked up to the scanner and placed the card next to the scanner. A green light LED lit up on the scanner after a moment.
Mina pushed the door open and walked inside. “Wow, you and your Taiyou Con staff have it good.”
The office was enormous. One wall was covered with maps of the Mesa Convention Center, each room marked with color-coded notes for stages, vendor halls, artist areas, panel rooms, registration, staff check-in, and emergency routes. Another wall displayed a giant calendar counting down to the event, with deadlines stacked so tightly that Sunny felt stressed just looking at them. Screens near the conference table rotated through attendance projections, marketing schedules, guest outreach lists, food vendor assignments, sponsorship decks, merchandise concepts, and budget summaries. Shelves held boxes of badges, lanyard samples, signage proofs, mockups, binders, and equipment labels. The whole place smelled faintly of paper, coffee, and the kind of organized panic Sunny associated with the week before a convention.
Lily immediately went to the cabinet and opened it. “Snacks are here.”
Mina slapped her arm lightly. “That’s not for us. It’s for Taiyou Con staff.”
“Oh please, they won’t miss one thing,” Lily replied, pulling out a small bag of crackers. She opened the bag and stuck two fingers inside.
“Wait, you’re not on staff?” Sunny asked as she turned toward them.
“Of course not!” They both said and laughed as they ate the crackers from the small bag.
“Right. Staff is already set most likely,” replied Sunny.
“Yeah, the academy should have sent you the list.” Lily started going through the snack cabinet again. “Mina and I would love to help you, but we got our own assignments, you know?”
“Our lives depend on it!” Mina screamed as she put her arms in the air. Then she returned to a calm demeanor and said to Sunny, “We would love to help, but our CP is riding on this semester’s project.”
Sunny nodded her head and walked slowly over to the Mesa Convention Center map hanging on the wall. Her fingers brushed over the printed map barely touching it. The building layout was exactly the same as she remembered it.
Then the front glass doors opened, and people started coming into the office.
Sunny turned around wondering who else had access to this place. Instead, Ash stood in the doorway with Honoka beside him. Behind them were Kenji, Leon, Sakura, Solar hovering near the ceiling, and Luna trotting around exploring the place. For a second, nobody said a word.
Ash spoke first. “Sunny?”
“Ash,” she said as she went over to her friends.
Honoka threw her arms up. “Finally! We have been looking everywhere for you.”
Leon walked around in disbelief and said, “Okay, hold on. We have an office? Why do we have an office? Why is it bigger than some apartments?”
“How did you find me?” Sunny asked.
Ash pointed down the hallway behind him. “We asked where Sunny was, and these students said you were probably in the Taiyou Con office.”
Kenji crossed his arms while studying one of the planning boards. “Then someone told us Taiyou Con Operations was on the fifth floor. Apparently, all of us are Taiyou Con staff too from what we heard.”
Sunny gestured around the office. “I am just as surprised as all of you.”
Mina and Lily stood near the snack cabinet, looking between Sunny and the newcomers with growing curiosity. “Are these people part of your staff?” Mina asked.
Sunny realized she needed to answer carefully. As far as Mina and Lily knew, these people probably had established roles in her life already. “Yeah,” she said. “They’re my team.”
Honoka smiled. “That sounds official. I like it.”
Lily walked up to the group in awe. “OMG, Honoka, Ash, Kenji…” she whispered and then turned to Sunny. “You have some Elite 12 on your team, and you didn’t tell me?!”
“I thought you knew?” said Sunny.
“Obviously not! This is like the coolest thing ever!” Mina walked up to Sunny. “Taiyou Con is going to be so cool this year. I can feel it.”
Lily and Mina headed off to their project meeting. Then the rest of the group and Sunny exchanged everything they learned so far at Taiyou Con Academy. Sunny told the group about retaining her memories, the cactus students, Mina and Lily, Evil King Barrel, and the fact that she was director of Taiyou Con.
Then Ash gave the shorter version of 2021, describing it as a gambling club where students wagered money or CP on games, longshot outcomes, and whatever strange predictions appeared on the board. Honoka proudly added that she was apparently the best player there, which made Sunny chuckle.
“Somehow, I’m not surprised with your luck.” Mina said.
Honoka placed a hand on her chest and laughed, “And I don’t even have my lucky hammer on me!”
“Speaking of weapons and powers,” Sunny said. “I don’t have any of my powers. I couldn’t even leap over a chair when I went after Evil King Barrel.”
“None of us do,” replied Sakura. “We are just normal people, apparently. I have all of my memories and knowledge but my body just doesn’t move or react the way that it should.”
“I wonder if anyone else remembers the last reality,” asked Leon.
Kenji moved to a giant safe attached to the wall and saw an ID scanner. “Until we find out what is really going on, we might as well play our part as Taiyou Con staff. It shouldn’t be that hard since we have been running Taiyou Con for years.” He decided to swipe his ID badge on the scanner and then the safe opened. “Guys, you should see this.”
Everyone walked over to the safe in front of Kenji.
Leon leaned over Kenji’s shoulder. “That is a lot of cash.”
Ash whistled softly. “Why is there so much cash here?”
Sakura picked up the clipboard in the safe and explained that this was the budget for Taiyou Con’s marketing, guest acquisition, snacks, etc. It was up to Sunny to determine how much cash to keep on hand or deposit into the Taiyou Con bank account.
“Does this mean we are going to make the next Taiyou Con amazing?” said Honoka.
“This might be our new lives now.” Sunny walked over to Honoka and put her hand on her shoulder. “So let’s treat it like it is the real thing.”
Honoka sighed, “Well, if this is the way things are going to be, it doesn’t seem too bad.” For the first time since reality changed, Sunny finally felt like things were somewhat normal again.
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Thanks for reading the Taiyou Con mascot light novel series — a fictional story for fans!! For real convention event updates, guest announcements and more, go to our Updates.
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