Time After Time - an Ikemen Sengoku fanfiction

Chapter 1

I am not your normal average girl. And by that, I don't mean that I have superpower, nor am I an excellent individual of society.

I just can't fit in anywhere.

At school, I am a nerd who wants to get absolute scores in every subject. I stay away from parties, sororities, clubs or any "fun" things that other kids do. I am a nervous wreck when it comes to communication, but I also have a high esteem that deems myself greater than anyone else. There are times I feel like I can conquer the world, but there are times I feel like a worthless human being.

There is also one more thing that sets me out from the rest of my circle: I love otome games. I love shoujo mangas. I love reading love stories that are too good for real life. I had many past relationships, but they all ended shortly because those guys could never live up to all my 3D boyfriends. I'm a Virgo, so that makes me a perfectionist. My boyfriend should be someone who can take care of me, have confident in himself, yet not too much confidence that he would appear cocky, and must be cold to other girls but at the same time a sweetheart to me.

"Andddd you really think a guy like that exists."

My best friend interrupted me cynically, raising her eyebrows through the phone screen.

"Sorry to burst your bubbles, honey, but this is America. Guys want to have sex with you on the first date, and they will dump you afterward! Keep holding onto those traditional Asian values won't get you anywhere!"

Oh, have I told you I'm from Southeast Asia? Where people blush just from holding hands, and kissing is a sacred thing?

My bestie wasn't wrong - this is America, and people don't do that here.

"I might as well stay single for the rest of my life." I groaned.

"Oh really? I'll wait and see how long you can prolong this 'Single' status. Good night."

I waved at my screen as the video call ended.

I was going through a somewhat mild depression phrase at that time. My best friend who studied in the East coast was diagnosed with moderate depression, which was serious enough that she had to cut off from all social media accounts, friends, and even schoolwork. We were both attending universities, and with the pressure from our families half a planet away, along with the solitude of not having anyone who could understand and share what we were going through, put us at the verge of abhorring life any moment.

Letting out a long sigh, I turned off the lights and opened the dating game on mobile phone. At nights like these, when I had millions of questions about where my life had gone wrong, the game always managed to soothe me and bring me a good night sleep.

Whatever. Who needed a real guy, when she could just hang out with fictional handsome characters?

The next morning, I woke up to a loud thud.

Is the cat sneaking into my room again? She'd better not be jumping up and down on my-

I swallowed as I see him on my floor. The face that I recognized too well. Why, I have been staring at that face for hours for the past few months, watching him move through my phone screen, spouting out romantic lines.

"You can't be-"

The person sitting on the floor wore a confused expression on his face, his hazelnut eyes stares back at me, his voice saying nothing yet made me felt like he had voice his many questions.

"Hideyoshi Toyotomi??"

Hideyoshi's eyes sparked a light of recognition, which immediately faded.