Eh? Ah, Sou. [Kise R.] ✓

「 一 」

「一 」 Never was a Girl with a Wicked Mind

Name: Nijimura Yohime 虹村 夜姫
Age at time of enrollment: 15
Birthday: 13th August
Assigned class: 1- C

Notes: Special considerations have been made for this student. She will be starting school late. - Principal, Shirabuki Ganta

—

People didn't greet her as she entered the school compound. Their whispers did.

It was not as if she expected any less.

—

" She's so scary! I heard she has no friends! "

" I heard that she has friends who are yakuza! "

" You know, I saw a couple of delinquents from Kazuna High limping away from her! They were at least twice her size! "

" The Vicious Queen! How scary! "

" A no good delinquent! How did she even get into Kaijou?! "

" I heard she blackmailed the principal to let her in! "

—

Was it sad that she started school three days ago and was all too used to the poorly concealed gossip already? She kind of thought it was.

Nijimura Yohime had an explanation for every single thing that supported her newly found image of being a delinquent.

First, she was mistakenly placed in 1-C— the second worst class in the entire level— because of some confusion in the admin office. This meant a struggling student was placed in 1-A (the college preparatory class) and she herself was placed into the remedial class.

Second, her late start to the school year. This was attributed to the fact that she moved down to the Kanagawa prefecture from Akita; and hence, needed time to unpack. This led into the matter of her bruises.

Not so much were they because of vicious battling with rival yakuza members but because of tripping over boxes and walking into doors in her new micro-apartment.

Finally... what else was she to do when a few annoying delinquents tried getting fresh with her? Let them?

She thought not.

Did anyone care about finding out the truth?

She thought not.

New student, late, strange, or not, she thought that the rich private school prats would at least have some sense between them to check before making her the new victim of the rumor mill.

Yohime guessed that she forgot that she was in high school and that, naturally, everyone— teenagers and teachers alike— would gossip about their chosen victim until they got bored.

It was exactly due to this brutal treatment from the populace that carved into her head a notion that would not be easily eradicated:

You're better off alone.

All through her class the girl with the sharp silver eyes dreamed with her eyes open. Doodling in her notebook, she was off in the clouds as she muted out every single scared look, snide side-glance and furtive whisper.

Nothing, nothing could break her bubble of peace.

" Nijimura Yohime...! "

That could.

Snapping up as if someone had doused her in cold water, her eyes were immediately attracted to the blackboard. Or rather, the words that were written on it. Poetry. Analysis. Project.

Pulling a face in distaste, she clicked her tongue. She literally rather be shot.  A group project so early on into the school year with the cherry on top being that it would be being partnered with a random member of a class that thought the worst her? Fun. Not.

And to think she was actually looking forward to starting high school not even a month ago.

" ... and Kise Ryouta! "

Yohime stiffened— along every other female in the room.

' Oh no. '

She was done for.

On the other side of the room, Kise Ryouta believed he had gotten lucky— incredibly lucky, in fact.

Despite the girl being a delinquent, Kise was sure that it wouldn't be a problem to deal with seeing that she was, after all, a girl. It made him the almost ideal partner for her. After all, no one (well except for a certain phantom) has ever refused him.

Now, all he needed to do was to see if she would try to push all the work to him or not and work his magic accordingly from there. And speaking of the devil:

" You're Kise-san, yes? " The tall girl asked, looking down at the seated model with a Mona Lisa-esque smile and her hands clasped together in front of her. Kise was mildly horrified as a thought struck him: what if Nijimura Yohime was a fangirl?

Worse, what if she was one of those troublesome, obsessive ones?

Despite the horrid notions, Kise plastered on one of his model smiles.

" Yep! You must be Nijimura-san, right? I hope that— " He was rudely cut off by the now stoic girl, her smile replaced with a hard line; one that twitched downwards ever so often with annoyance. Her tone was icy and clipped.

" Alright, I'll be completing the project. Alone. So, you can go do whatever it is that you do. Just don't bother me, " the girl paused, thinking for a moment before she added with a scowl: " Or talk to me for that matter. "

With that, Yohime was gone, stalking back to her seat with an air of unquestionable irritation, leaving a gaping blond in her wake.

The abruptness and coldness of the girl left him in a state of confusion, leaving him to curiously ponder who Yohime actually was and why she acted the way she did. The thought was soon forgotten. After all, even if it was achieved in a roundabout way he still got his desired outcome— his project partner doing all the work for him. He silently patted himself on the back, a job well done.

Yohime, however, simmered. She knew exactly what she was dealing with and what kind of treatment someone like him deserved.

The famous Kise Ryouta? In her eyes, he was no more than a tumultuous buffoon.

From what she had gathered from the bits and pieces of talk that circulated around the campus— of which 90% was heavily concentrated on him— it seemed that he was an excellent basketball player and even made first string within three days of his attendance at Kaijou. Truly, her scoffed, fortune most graciously favored fools.

She just couldn't help herself from disliking the blond boy wonder.

After all, she couldn't stand people who weren't genuine...

... and Kise Ryouta had one of the best fake smiles she had ever seen.