Part 1
"He's spending way too much time with Horikita..."
Absentmindedly, I scrolled through my phone, reading through the messages under the forum post of the boy's popularity poll. As barely a week had passed, the poll was solely based on looks.
Unsurprisingly, Hirata, our class' 'Mr. Popular' is ranked pretty high on that poll. He was a rather handsome guy, after all. More specifically, good-looking in a generic harem protagonist kind of way. If our life would've been a light novel, he would probably be a harem protagonist...or not. He doesn't seem like that kind of person.
What was surprising, however, was that Ayanokoji was only ranked 5th. From what I've seen, he was undisputedly the most handsome guy among the first years, but I guess preferences played a major role in such things.
That and his gloomy aura were probably also a factor in why he ranked a little lower.
Turning off my phone, I leaned back in my chair and sighed.
Today was supposed to be the day when the conference for all the school clubs was held, so I wanted to take a look at them with him together. Unfortunately, he already had some plans with Horikita. From what he told me they had met on the bus, which somehow created a bond between them or something.
I wonder if they're dating.
I mean he is the only one she's talking to, so that would certainly explain her weird behavior. Though it sometimes also seem like she was trying to talk to me, I was always too busy to pay more attention to that. And by busy, I mean going to my room and taking a nap as soon as possible.
I was never in a club before, so I was quite curious about how the conference will go, but it seems like I have to go alone.
"Haaaah..."
Another sigh escaped my lips as I sunk into a river of boredom.
With an apathetic gaze, I scanned through the room, watching my classmates chatter about all different kinds of things ranging from appointments to meet up at the mall to a new game that just came out.
I wonder if I should tell them about the possibility of all our actions getting rated. While I do enjoy sharing information and teaching people, that is only if the people are also willing to listen to me and look at our class now...I doubted it.
With the exception of only a few students, most of my classmates acted like immature brats, not paying attention to the classes and skipping whenever they wanted.
Seriously, even if we weren't monitored, why would you act like this when you deliberately chose to go to this school by yourself? They can't possibly think that they could earn the benefits of a government-funded school by slacking off, right?
Shaking off the thoughts, which were worsening my mood, I diverted my attention elsewhere. Maybe I should try going to the mall like everyone else? There is still some time left until the conference...
As I pondered what to do, my eyes wandered through the room and finally lingered on a specific pink-haired girl.
Sakura Airi.
My next victim. Since the beginning of our school life, I had never seen her talk with someone before, which led me to the conclusion she had no friends or at least not anyone in this class or school. It was probably due to her timid personality. Otherwise, she would've gotten fairly popular by now due to her looks alone.
But that wasn't the thing that made me pay attention to her a little more. A few days ago, Sakura let her glasses fall and as I it landed right next to me, I picked them up for her. However, I could immediately tell that the weight of the glasses was a little off.
It was lighter than normal prescription glasses. At least lighter than the glasses my aunt wears, it gave me the suspicion that she might wear fake glasses. However, that wasn't enough for me to be sure.
I could be mistaken after all.
What made me sure that they were fake glasses, however, were two different things I noticed. First, there wasn't a curvature in the lenses and second, when she wore her glasses again, she looked at me to thank me.
At that moment I could see the reflection of myself in her eyes, but it appeared to be a little off. The reflection of my eyes in her glasses was not in the same direction as her actual eyes, which confirmed that she indeed was wearing fake glasses.
The only question left is why she is wearing those.
As I spent a major part of my free time hanging out with my only friend, Ayanokoji, I hadn't given it much further thought, but as he's not here right now, I really am kind of curious why she wears those.
Does she have a reason to hide her identity? If so, then why? Due to her being popular? Or due to her being in danger?
The only way to know was to extract the information right out of her myself. There was also the possibility of asking someone else, but it doesn't seem like anybody here is particularly close to her, so that would probably be a waste of time.
Making up my decision, I walked over to her and tapped her on the shoulder. She was sitting on her seat and playing with her phone. At least that's what it seemed like to me, but right as she noticed that I was getting closer to her, I could observe how she quickly turned off her phone.
How interesting.
"Uhm...H-Hirano?"
She seemed startled by me. It seems like she didn't expect me to come to her directly, but still chose to turn off her phone. Was her secret something that important that she would go so far as turn off her phone when somebody goes into her near proximity?
"Hey, Sakura."
With a small smile, I waved at her.
"H-Hello Hirano-san."
"No need to be so formal, Sakura. I'm not a fan of all these honorifics anyway. Just call me by my first name, Sia."
"A..alright, Sia."
Her voice was trembling as she spoke to me and she couldn't even maintain eye contact. Looking at her face right now, I could observe it slightly reddening, which could be an indicator of an increased heartbeat. As it seems, she is rather nervous when talking to me.
Perhaps...does she have social anxiety?
"W..why did want you talk to me..?"
"Oh, that's because I'm interested in you."
"W-what?!"
Widening her eyes, Sakura blushed as she let out a surprised yell. However, she quickly calmed herself down, her body language returning to a reclusive posture, when she realized that everyone was looking at her.
Well, she was rather loud after all.
Sakura continued in a quiet tone while facing the ground in embarrassment.
"W-why are you interested in me?"
"It's just because you're alone all the time."
And your fake glasses.
"So I just wanted to learn more about you."
It wasn't a lie. I just left some parts out, but I was essentially still telling the truth. I'm also not hiding enough information that the meaning of my words could be changed, so I was still morally in the right...I think.
"In me?...I don't know what to say....sorry."
She looked down and to the left, which is commonly associated with accessing information or memories.
"That's alright. I don't need you to be the most talkative person." Tilting my head to the side, I gently scratched my cheek. "Well, I'm also an introvert, so I'm also not the most talkative person."
Even so, I would consider myself more social compared to people like Horikita, Ayanokoji, or Sakura. I liked talking to people. Just not for long.
"I see..." Sakura nodded hesitantly. ".--I'll be in your care then."
"You sure are." I flashed her a faint smile. "Let's go to the mall then. And right after that to the club conference."
"To the mall?! But isn't it alwaysys crowded there?"
I rolled my eyes.
"Come on. It'll be alright."
Part 2
It was in fact not alright.
I had already considered the possibility of it being crowded, but knowing something and actually experiencing it was something entirely different.
It's only natural that the mall would be crowded by boys and girls alike, as many of the first-years are convinced that our monthly allowance was around 100.000 points. And with that many people, it is also only natural that the mall is also quite noisy.
Those were all things that I had known, but going to the mall with a female acquaintance was partly also an impulsive decision of mine. Sakura reminded me of one of those idols I sometimes saw on my social media page, so I wanted to try and dress her up. Who knows? She might actually be one of those teenage girls in a high school romcom, who gets a major glow-up by taking off her glasses...pff.
As if something like this would actually happen. I should stop getting caught up in such unrealistic scenarios and focus on the present.
Anyway, I and Sakura have decided to change our plans and go to a convenience store. What exactly we're doing here? I'm not entirely sure myself, but at least it's more or less quiet here. The perfect place to chat about useless things.
The only problem is that I don't know what to talk about.
"...you seem to be pretty popular with the boys, Sia."
Fortunately, I wasn't the one who started talking, but her. Though the topic she chose was kind of strange.
"Is that so? Why do you think that?"
"...I overheard some of the boys talking about you. They talked about how you were the perfect combination of hot, cool, and cute and how pretty you are..."
Hearing her tell me about the way people talked about me weirded me out. I certainly didn't like it.
"Really? That's disgusting."
Even though she hadn't mentioned any names, I could already guess that it was Ike and Yamauchi. These two had a concerning habit of loudly talking about girls, which was kind of creepy in my opinion.
I had hoped that they would skip me, as I didn't have much of a presence in the class and only talked to Ayanokoji, but it seemed like I wasn't lucky enough to escape their grasp.
"...yes..I agree..."
"Mhm. Why did you mention that anyway?"
"It's just..it's kind of admirable how easily people seem to like you."
I raised a brow. "They do?"
"Yes." She nodded. "If it wasn't for Ayanokoji-kun I'm sure more people would have approached you...it's amazing how you're able to seem so approachble while rarely speaking."
"Is it because of your social anxiety? Do you also want people to talk to you?"
"H-huh?!"
My straightforward question surprised her, causing her to take a step back. With a widened and confused gaze, she looked at me as if she wanted to ask me how I know about her social anxiety.
"It's pretty obvious if that's what you wanted to ask me. If we exclude your obvious nervosity, the way you panic when talking to people is not normal."
"Ah, I see..."
For some reason, she seemed dejected after hearing my words. Have I said something hurtful? Seeing that she was seemingly hurt by something, I decided to try to cheer her up.
"I..I'm not saying that that's a bad thing though. Everybody has their own share of strengths and weaknesses and progresses at their own pace. As long as it's something you can improve, you mustn't give up. Just take your time and try to take small steps. Even if you're only a percent better than you of yesterday, it's still noteworthy progress."
Even though I tried cheering her up, I just ended up rambling. I really wasn't good at these things.
Unsurprisingly, Sakura just blankly stared at me speechless. Have I said something so stupid she couldn't comprehend it?
A strange feeling inside of me caused me to turn my head away, not looking at her. Is this a feeling of embarrassment?
I expected her to complain about my useless advice, but she didn't. Instead, when I turned around, she faced me with a smile. With flushed cheeks, that resembled the color of roses and a wide, beautiful smile she opened her mouth.
"Thank you." She said.
"A...anyway." I averted my gaze, not knowing how to respond to her unexpected reaction. "We don't have much time left. Let's hurry up and go to the place where the conference is being held."
Distracted by my own thoughts, I blindly walked forward, not realizing what was happening in my environment.
"S-Sia wait!"
Sakura called out to me, but it was already too late.
Bump
I accidentally walked into a girl, causing the both of us to fall to the ground. Shaking my head, I regained my senses rather quickly and looked over to the girl, who was still sitting on the ground.
I quickly stood up and lent her a hand, trying to apologize for my inattentive behavior.
"I'm sorry for bumping into you."
However, the purple-haired girl slapped my hand away before putting some kind of snack I've seen inside this store into her bag.
"Tsk. Watch where you're going."
The purple-haired girl only answered with understandable annoyance and walked away. From the place I was standing, I could see how she walked out of the store.
"Sia, are you okay!"
Sakura approached me only a second later, asking me if I was alright. I only nodded in response, but my mind was preoccupied with something else.
"Hey, Sakura..."
"Yes, SIa? Are you hurt somewhere? Tell me where it hurts, please!"
"No, that's not it...I just wanted to ask something."
"Yes?"
"Is there some kind of system in this store that lets you get things for free? More specifically snacks?"
"Huh?" Sakura looked surprised by my question. "Well, there are some things you can get for free here, but snacks are certainly not part of it."
"I see..."
Part 3
We soon arrived at the gymnasium, seemingly just in time for the speech of our student council president. At least that's what I had guessed, as he is the only person on the stage right now. He might've been some club representative but he didn't wear any special sports uniform, so I quickly dismissed that possibility.
The gymnasium was enveloped in a tense atmosphere, as the assumed student council president started speaking. With his slender approximately 178 cm and his black hair, he didn't quite make an intimidating impression, but the way he controlled the mood of the room was a little impressive to me.
"My name is Horikita Manabu, and I am the student council president."
Horikita? Is he perhaps related to the Horikita of our class? They do look similar after all. It must probably be stressful for her to be related to someone who managed to become student council president, as such a school, huh?
"The student council is also looking for first-years to replace the graduating third-years. There are no strict requirements to apply for the position, but those who are interested should not be affiliated with any other clubs. Generally, we do not accept any candidate involved in other clubs."
His tone was soft, but the mood was still tense. He alone silenced the whole gym.
It wasn't his position as the student council president that gave him that powerbut he himself possessed that powerful aura. His presence alone dominated the whole gym.
"Also, we, the student council, are not looking for anyone that has a naive way of thinking. Not only will that kind of person fail to get elected, they will inevitably become a stain to this school. The student council is only responsible for regulating the students, but the school expects much more. Those of you that understand can become potential candidates."
After that unwavering speech, he walked off the stage and exited the building.
Because no one dared to speak, none of the students spoke up when he left the gym. The students didn't know what would happen if they tried to talk.
"Everyone, thank you for coming. With that, the club fair is over. We will now open the reception area for anyone interested in joining. The reception area will only be open until the end of April, so anyone interested after then can bring applications directly to the club."
With the help of the chairman, the tense atmosphere slowly disappeared.
Afterwards, the club representatives opened the reception area.
"That was scary..."
Sakura let out a deep sigh of relief after the tense atmosphere calmed down. Just as almost any other student in the gym, she felt oppressed by the domineering aura or student council president gave off.
"Not really. But we can at least go and take a look now."
I simply dismissed her comment, as my mind was preoccupied with something else. The representatives of the clubs were seemingly recruiting first years, but the most noticeable recruitment was that of the soccer club.
A large crowd was gathered at that place right after the president left, creating a wall of people that was almost impossible to see through.
"Why are there so many people gathered?" Sakura asked me in a quiet tone, as she looked in the same direction I did.
"I wonder..." Taking a step back forward, I impulsively followed my curiosity and walked toward the crowd. Sakura followed me right after, grabbing me by my wrist, as she didn't want to get lost in the crowd.
"Please don't leave me here all by myself, Sia. You wanted me to come here."
"Oh, y..yeah. I'm sorry, I forgot."
And with that short conversation, I forced Sakura and me to shove ourselves right through the crowd to take a look at what was happening.
"Please join the soccer club!"
One of the senpai's bowed down to two students, seemingly first years. One of them is an average-sized young man with blue eyes and a blonde hair mullet with blue streaks at the end of his hair. He also has blue rose tattoos on his neck, which makes him look like a playboy.
And the other one is of a similar size, maybe slightly shorter, with reddish brown hair and slim green eyes that are framed by an array of long lower lashes. His cold gaze reminded me of Ayanokoji, though less gloomy.
"Hey, what do you think Sae~. Should we join them?" The playboy-looking guy asked the Ayanokoji rip-off.
"Tsk. None of them could receive one of my passes anyway, so why bother?"
"But Sae, this is our only chance of playing soccer during the three years we're here. And remember, our Coach said that it's a minimal requirement to join one of the top teams."
"By going to a Japanese school and playing Japanese soccer? Don't fuck with me, Kaiser. This is ridiculous."
While the guy named, Kaiser sounded playful, Sae was direct and harsh as he practically spat out those words, showcasing his hate for Japan. Even though he seemed to have some foreign features, he still seemed partly Japanese to me, so his hate for Japan was a little confusing.
"...but alright...It's the only way for us to train our skills in those three years, so I guess it's the only way."
"That's what I would like to hear, Sae~"
With a cheerful expression, he turned to the delighted expressions of the senpai, flashing him a wide and friendly smile.
"Have you heard him? He said he'll join and I will too."
Kaiser paused for a second.
"Under one condition of course."
Seeing the way Sae acted and the fact he seemed to at least respect Kaiser, I had some suspicions about what would happen next.
"Kniet euch vor mir nieder und fleht darum." (Kneel down and beg for it.) He said coldly in german as his expression darkened.
It is a language I accidentally learned while reading a german book, so I could understand what he said.
The senpai however did not and was surprised by his sudden change of voice. I thought about translating it for them but chose to refrain as I didn't want to step into such a situation.
"That's enough Kaiser. It's not worth forcing them to do something like that."
Putting a hand on Kaiser's shoulder, Sae calmed him down. Kaiser seemed disappointed for a moment, before just nodding dejectedly.
"I guess you're right. Let's just go."
Turning around he took a step forward, before pausing, looking back at the Senpai.
"You can register us into your club, Senpai~"
And with those words, they both disappeared into the crowd and soon after the crowd disappeared, leaving only me, Sakura, a few soccer club members and a few familiar faces behind.
"Tsk. What's so great about them anyway?"
Sudo, who stood next to Ayanokoji a few metres away from me, complained as he clicked his tongue.
Ike and Yamauchi who were also with them agreed with him. It seems like they didn't even realize we were present.
"Yeah, what's so special about those ikemen anyway!" Ike joined in.
"Yeah! What do you think about it, Ayanokoji?...Ayanokoji?"
However, Ayanokoji didn't answer, as he seemingly wasn't paying attention to them. Instead, he was looking at me with his usual apathetic gaze.
Realizing that, I took Sakura by the wrist and pulled her with me.
"Come on, Sakura. Let's go to them."
"Huh? But there's S-Sudou..."
"Come on, he can't be that bad."
I would actually classify both, Yamauchi and Ike as worse, but Ayanokoji was also there, so it was worth it, I guess.
"Yo." He said to me after I came closer, lazily waving with one of his hands while the other one was still in his pocket.
"Yahallo~" I responded jokingly with a small smile on my face.
Sakura didn't say anything, but Ike and Yamauchi, who noticed our presence greeted us.
"Oh, hi Hirano and Sakura~," Ike and Yamauchi both said in equally disgustingly blissful voices. I knit my eyebrow in slight irritation but chose to not judge them too early anyway.
Ike looked at me with a strange gaze, opening his mouth as he seemingly wanted to say something, but stopped and shivered as if he suddenly felt a spider crawling down his neck.
Focusing my attention back to Ayanokoji, I could notice that something has changed compared to before, but I couldn't put my finger on what exactly changed.
Maybe it was just my imagination then.
Sudo, also gradually seemed to notice us, but didn't stop his rant about those two guys.
"Oh, Hirano, Sakura, you're also here? Have you seen those guys? Just who are they anyways?"
He seemed to be genuinely irritated by their behaviour, which I could understand to a certain extent, as he is also an athlete. That kind of behaviour is probably unacceptable for him.
"Itoshi Sae and Michael Kaiser." I answered his question with a disinterested tone.
"You know them?" Sudo asked surprised, seemingly not expecting a genuine answer to his previous question.
"Yeah. Itoshi Sae and Michael Kaiser from Class 1A. They are both in first and second place respectively on the 'ikemen ranking'."
"Tch. As expected of them." Ike's expression darkened, as he spat out those words. I looked over to Ayanokoji, whose expression has seemingly worsened.
I still couldn't put my finger on what exactly had changed though.
"Do you find them handsome too, Sia?" Ayanokoji asked me.
It was certainly an unexpected question, but not a weird one. I guessed that it was only natural he wanted to know who I voted for in that ranking. I wouldn't tell him I voted for him, though. That would be strange.
"I guess. They are objectively attractive, after all."
"I see."
And again, his expression darkened. However, this time I noticed that his eyes narrowed veeeeeeery slightly.
Did I say something wrong?