What If- The Potential Routes of Ayano's Life
These are all 'What If' Scenarios that I've imagined at some point for Ayano Aishi The Emotionless Lover. I hope you enjoy! <3
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1. Ayano Had a Cult?
It all started with a flower.
The fact sounds bizarre, unreal. Who would have thought that Ayano’s Cult- that any cult, for that matter- could somehow start with a flower ?
It’s an...interesting story, that’s for sure.
You see, Ayano Aishi has never been something special. She was never someone that would cause a guy to stare in awe, or to make a girl envious of her. She was never really noticed, either. No, Ayano Aishi drifted through the sea of students, floating away as an afterthought. She was there, she did the work, and then she was gone. She didn’t stick around for clubs, didn’t offer to do anything out of the realm of average. The only thing she excelled in was her classes, but she never told anyone. Instead, Ayano took her scores and felt nothing, did nothing, just began to work on the next assignment.
So when Ayano Aishi moved from Buraza High to Akademi, she didn’t expect anything different. Nor did she hope for any change, because she felt no hope. Ayano Aishi was just an average, emotionless girl.
Well, the emotionless part may have been unusual, but nobody knew about it, nobody who wasn’t an Aishi. So to the world, Ayano was just average. Plain. Unassuming and unimportant.
Here, at Akademi High, one of the most prestigious schools in the country, Ayano made a change. On the day of the opening ceremony, she was walking by all of the club rooms. And one girl, Kokona Haruka, asked her to practice a scene with her. She was part of the Drama Club, and needed a partner to go through the lines.
Ayano has always gone through the lines of life, moved through the motions of routine, so doing so for a club made little difference. She agreed, and the two held their scripts and became two nameless characters, Ayano a bloodthirsty killer, Kokona the damsel in distress.
In another time, this interaction may have given Ayano a psychotic idea. It may have, perhaps, been the encouragement she needed to take down rivals in a lust for one boy’s love. But here, Ayano just felt content, and helped the third year girl.
And when they were done, Kokona beamed and said, “Wow, Ayano! You’re really good! You should join the Drama Club!”
Ayano agreed to join the club. She thought it would be a good way to pass the time.
And so, when she walked out of the school that day, a rose pin was slipped into her plain black hair.
It was just the beginning.
The first official week of school started without anything interesting occuring. On her walk, Ayano met two boys. Their names were Taro and Osano, and they were...interesting. Well, not really. Osano just complained the whole time, and Taro sighed and nodded along. Ayano wasn’t sure why the two hung out, but she didn’t say anything, walking just ahead of them so she didn’t have to make conversation.
By lunch on the first day, Kokona had found Ayano and was happily following the younger girl around, telling her stories about her time in the school and talking about what club time would entail. Ayano allowed the older girl to do so, not minding the company. And when Kokona announced that they were going to be ‘great friends,’ Ayano didn’t mind. After all, Ayano just wanted to be normal. And friendships were normal.
She should have noticed how close Kokona always stayed, sticking right beside her at any possible moment. In fact, the only time Kokona wasn’t practically glued to Ayano’s hip, one of them were auditioning for a play- one called Ivory Heart .
Ayano got the female lead. She wondered if this was especially interesting, because Kokona spent the rest of the day showering her with praise. She even walked Ayano home so that she could continue her non stop complimenting.
The next day went by in a similar fashion, and so did the next after that. In fact, the first week passed with most of Ayano’s spare moments being taken over by Kokona Haruka, who was more than happy to include Ayano in her friend group, which consisted of five other girls. Ayano played her part in life, returning compliments to Kokona and exchanging stories among the group. She got a new routine, and was content.
The next week brought change. And that change came in the form of Otohiko Meichi, who tripped on thin air and landed on the ground...with his head landing right where the gate was about to move.
Ayano hadn’t thought about her actions, she had simply pulled the boy up and out of the way before he became, well, a stain on the pavement. This, in return, led to him knocking her onto the ground, landing on top of her. He had quickly blushed and gotten off. The blush hadn’t gone away when Ayano had, heading to class as he shouted his gratitude behind her.
Soon after, Ayano began to see flashes of pink following her. If she was quick enough, she could see him as he ducked behind corners or snuck around a classmate, his eyes always shining and face as pink as his hair when he looked at her. Ayano brought up his behavior to Kokona, who brushed it off with a giggle.
“He just sees that you’re wonderful, Yan. Just like I do!” The girl had pulled Ayano into a hug then, and proceeded to pour praise onto the noirette once more.
So then there were two. And Ayano grew used to it, to the fleeting glances from the younger boy and the constant embraces from the older girl. It was just life, plain and simple.
Then the third came.
She’d been walking to the auditorium, Kokona latched onto her arm as per usual, when the Sport Club boys had been running on the track. One of them, Mantaro Sashimasu, was far behind the rest, and looked upset by how slow he was.
When he passed, all Ayano said was, “You’re doing great, keep it up.”
Mantaro had looked at her with a sparkle in his eyes, and his face reddened even more. But then he beamed and nodded, and picked up his pace.
The next day, the boy ran up to her before class, and proceeded to grill her about her hobbies, excitedly telling her about his in return. Ayano took this in stride, just like she always did. Her routine became more excitable, with two underclassmen and an older girl constantly following her.
So when she had a silent day, it was unusual. Of course, it didn’t last long.
Kokona had been sick that day, and Mantaro was determined to become stronger- for her, he had said, but Ayano hadn’t paid it any mind. And with Otohiko still sticking to his habits of watching from afar, Ayano decided to just have lunch alone on the rooftop.
And so she met Kyuji Konagawa. Kyuji was rather odd, and somewhat quiet, but he didn’t shy away from conversation. Instead, Kyuji had come up to Ayano, who’d been sitting in silence, and sat beside her. And as they ate, he occasionally filled the silence with whatever came to mind. He was a pleasant person, and when he admitted he used to be popular, Ayano wasn’t surprised.
She was when he explained why he wasn’t anymore.
“I realized that none of them really mattered,” Kyuji had stated, his eyes locked on Ayano. “Not really, not compared to you.”
Ayano wasn’t sure how to feel about that statement, because she couldn’t. So she thanked him, and then changed the topic. Kyuji let her talk about her classes, about her peers, about Drama Club, about anything she wanted. The more she said, the more he listened. It was as if he just wanted to hear what she said, as if that was all that he needed to survive.
Needless to say, when Kokona felt better the next day, Ayano was content to not have to talk so much. It was rather draining, to have so much attention on her.
But attention kept coming. And the next time it came, it was in its quietest form yet.
Geiju Tsuka, the Leader of the Art Club. Ayano had no recollection of doing anything to earn his attention, but one day she had spotted him watching her, sketching quickly as if inspired.
When she opened her locker that afternoon, a simple sketch of her laid within. It was fairly well done, albeit rushed. Ayano chalked it up to a simple rush of motivation for the artist, placed the drawing in her bag, and proceeded on her day.
Ayano began to wonder if his inspiration ever stopped when she found two more drawings the next day, and three more the day after.
And when the next Monday rolled around, Ayano figured that Geiju would have taken the two days to find a new subject.
He didn’t.
Ayano opened her locker that afternoon, and was greeted with hundreds, no, thousands of drawings of herself. They poured out of her locker, spilling onto the floor. Ayano was almost impressed that Geiju could even get them all in, but instead she just watched with an open mouth as they fell, spreading out across the tiles. They landed on other peoples’ shoes, and those people looked at the drawings in confusement. Ayano felt the same.
She didn’t know what to do with the drawings. She didn’t want them.
Kokona saw them, picked up one, and put it in her bag. Ayano watched Otohiko, Mantaro, and Kyuji do the same soon after.
When she spotted Shiromi Torayoshi grabbing a handful and clutching them to her heart, she felt even more confused.
Ayano tried to throw out the drawings. She severely underestimated the drawing speed that Geiju possessed. Each day, Ayano had to clean up the spillage of papers from her locker. After a week, she stopped using her locker. The papers eventually couldn’t fit into the locker, and Ayano began to see her face all over the school. From quick sketches to painted canvas, Ayano Aishi was on any spare surface. She was on the school walls, she was on other people’s lockers. Ayano found a few pictures of herself in her classroom.
In another week, Ayano’s face covered every inch of Akademi High. It got so bad, Geiju used Otohiko as a canvas. Ayano wasn’t sure what was worse: seeing a small sketch of herself on Otohiko’s forehead, or the excited look the boy got whenever he passed a mirror.
Both.
The art seemed to cause all of Ayano’s followers to join together, banded by a common cause: their obsession with the plain girl.
Ayano began to hear rumors of a cult in her name. The supposed Ayano Cult had taken over the Art room, where a perfect painting of her was fawned over as her six followers talked about how wonderful she was. The old Art Club members had left the club, instead going to the Occult Club, where worshipping made sense. Ayano heard the whispers of her peers and felt their sympathetic gazes, and did nothing.
Ayano did nothing, because she still didn’t care.
So Ayano had a cult, and her routine changed as it emerged. And when the six followed her blindly, adoring her at all times, Ayano didn’t bat an eye.
It was probably normal, anyways. And if it wasn’t, Ayano didn’t care anyways.
She was content.
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2. Osano Properly Confessed?
It was all rather...bizarre.
Yes, that was the right word for it.
You see, Ayano Aishi is a bit of a conundrum in her family. Everyone knew that, one day, she was going to find the man of her dreams and would spend the rest of her life with him. Everyone knew that there was someone for her, and she would never leave their side once she found them. Everyone knew that she would love.
They did not expect her to fall in love after she started dating, however, but life is a fickle mistress.
It started with a bang. Well, more precisely, it started with a crash, and Ayano fell to the ground after running into Taro Yamada, a third year at her new school. He’d helped her up, and everything had been normal. Normal meant bland, boring contentment, but that was fine. That was all Ayano expected, anyways.
And then he arrived. With annoyance in his tone, the orange-haired boy had yelled at Taro that they’d be late. She had tagged along with them, still unsuspecting of the future they’d have together.
Then Monday came, and so did he, upset that Taro wasn’t awake in time to walk to school together. But then he saw her, and they talked the whole way to school. Ayano enjoyed his company, and by the end of the day the boy, Osano, had promised to walk with her from then on and asked for her number. She gave it to him, not happily, but content.
And true to his word, Osano kept coming back. Tuesday brought him to her doorstop to wait, and then they walked to school together. His voice filled the silence, and Ayano appreciated it. She joined the Cooking Club, he seemed excited by this. Ayano felt like she’d found a friend, and that made her feel content.
With Wednesday came confusion, thanks to Kokona Haruka. She believed that Osano is her boyfriend, and Ayano set the story straight. Osano didn’t help with that, he just stood beside her as a blushing mess.
Ayano should have paid more attention to how Kokona hinted at how cute they would be together.
Thursday should have clued Ayano in. Osano had asked her to go to the movies, claiming that a friend cancelled on him. Ayano didn’t question it, or the fact that they’d been planning to see a romantic comedy. She just accepted Osano’s offer, and they went to see Tide after school.
Osano will forever hold what happened after over her head. He had tried to kiss her, but she, not knowing this, had simply stared at him until he leaned away.
Ayano still regrets not knowing, but she’s, luckily, had plenty of time to make up for that missed kiss.
Friday was the important day. The school believed in this myth, this idea that if one confessed their love under the cherry tree, their love would be reciprocated. Ayano knew of this myth, knew of how everyone felt.
She had hoped that, once she fell in love, she’d be able to muster up the courage to confess under that tree. After all, she’d need extra luck.
But that Friday, Ayano hadn’t thought of it. She’d made plans with Kokona to have a sleepover, yet when she opened her shoe locker, a note fell out. Kokona smirked at it, then quickly urged Ayano to, “Hurry up and read it already! What does it say, Yan?”
She felt...confused, reading the note. “Someone wants to see me under the cherry tree?” She’d said.
Kokona, of course, squealed. “Go on!” She had encouraged. “I’ll be waiting at the gate for you!”
Ayano had listened, and ran to the confession tree. And waiting at the top was her friend, Osano.
The confession itself was awkward. Osano had stuttered and blushed and fumbled through his words. Ayano had just stared at him, slowly realizing that she was being confessed to, she was the one who’d attracted someone who loved her.
It had taken her a moment to answer. And when she had, it had been somewhat unsure. Because it was new, it was unheard of. It was something Ayano had never foreseen being an option . She’d expected one outcome, and this wasn’t it.
She said yes. She agreed to go out with him.
She didn’t know what to expect. She didn’t know what she could expect. But she let Osano lead her through it, fumbling and stumbling together. They’d been two opposites: Osano trying to show her affection without letting his guard down, Ayano a blank slate.
But slowly, together, they changed. With Ayano’s reassurances, Osano learned to be open, learned to tell Ayano what he was thinking without feeling the need to insult her. And with Osano’s care...Ayano learned to feel.
It wasn’t all of a sudden. It came in steps, like most things in life do. Gradually, Ayano felt herself smiling without reason, laughing at jokes that made no sense. She found herself looking forwards to seeing Osano, and his smile, and his complaints and stories and all of the neverending things he had to say. She found herself filled with joy, found her cheeks warming up and her body feeling light.
Then she fell in love, and everything clicked. The world was colorful and bright, and nothing was more radiant than Osano Najimi, her official boyfriend of two months.
That had been an odd day for the both of them. Osano had walked into her house, ready to spend some time baking and making fun of reality tv shows, only to find her sobbing, eyes wide as she stared at a photo of them from their first real date. He had assumed the worst, that she regretted their relationship.
Instead of hearing that she wanted to break up with him, she had whispered in a shocked voice, “Osano, I think I’m in love with you.”
The next half an hour found the two of them on the floor, with Ayano doing the rambling for once. She spilled her family’s relationship with love, told Osano about her previous emotionless state.
The rest of the day was spent cuddling on the couch, with Osano reassuring her that he loved her and was happy to have her. And Ayano felt loved.
It was bizarre. In one week, Ayano’s life had changed in a way she never could have expected. And, maybe, if Osano hadn’t confessed that week, if he had backed down because he didn’t want to interfere with Ayano and Kokona heading home for their sleepover, life would’ve been different. Maybe Ayano never would’ve fallen in love, or maybe she would’ve had some weird harem.
But maybe’s don’t matter to Ayano.
All that matters to her is the life she’s created with Osano, the love of her life.
Smiling at her husband, Ayano feels love fill her heart.
Bizarre or not, this is what she holds dear to her heart, and she’d never trade this for the world.
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3. Ayano Had a Harem?
If you asked anyone at Akademi High School, "Hey, what's the most bizarre thing about your school?” They'd point to Ayano's harem.
Now, to the unobservant eye, they'd see nothing wrong. Just nine girls sitting around, with eight of them politely listening as the last one talked. But then the observer would start to notice oddities in the group, like the fact that the speaking girl seemed rather soulless, no matter what emotion she displayed. Or the fact that the group comprised of all sorts of people, from the Student Council president to the leader of the delinquents. Or, most importantly of all, just how...touchy all of the girls were with the blank eyed one.
The touches, too, ranged from girl to girl. Some, like Megami, only had polite hands. They placed a hand on Ayano's shoulder, or brushed away a stray hair. But then there was Hanako, who constantly clung to the noirette, and Osoro, who wrapped her arms around Ayano's waist and would pull Ayano into her lap. Of course, we can't forget Asu, who has a penchant for picking Ayano up bridal style and sprinting off with her.
Yes, Ayano’s harem is odd, and the students of Akademi have been baffled by it for the past ten weeks. Well, okay, the first week was fine, as it was just Osana pulling Ayano around. Everyone brushed it off as a new friendship, or Osana having changed love interests (it was quite obvious that Taro was being forgotten throughout all of this), and wished the girls luck in their heads. And then Amai returned, and she was constantly complimenting Ayano and offering her treats. This caught some eyes, but, again, many brushed off the small displays of affection.
Nobody could ignore Kizana's bold declaration of love, and how Ayano was the perfect Juliet for her. And it was impossible to pretend Kizana hadn’t changed the Shakespearian play to make Romeo into a girl, creating a lesbian love story for her and Ayano.
And nobody could pretend they didn't see Oka stalking Ayano, mumbling about hexes. They weren't even shocked when Ayano started talking to her, just like she did with the other girls.
And then came Asu, with her overenthusiasm and chaotic energy and need to impress Ayano whenever they passed. Many a student found themselves being lifted as Asu tried to demonstrate her strength to the uncaring noirette.
The sixth and seventh week were the oddest of all. When the substitute nurse and teacher tried getting close to Ayano, Akademi High had the pleasure of watching the previous five girls go feral . Amai was the worst of all. By Friday of each week, the substitutes were gone. Nobody is sure if they were fired or killed. Nobody asks.
Compared to that, the eighth week was rather tame. Osoro came to school and fell for Ayano immediately. Her act changed drastically, going from intimidating to flirting, and she started putting effort into her studies to seem like a better option for Ayano.
And then Hanako came in, a bouncing ray of sunshine who admired Ayano and did her best to become the "bestest girlfriend in the whole world." It was...actually rather adorable, and if Ayano didn't have six other girls tailing her, the Akademi kids would have enjoyed watching the dynamic.
The day that shocked everyone was the day Megami returned. Because she took one look at Ayano, kissed her forehead, and said, "I will protect you forever, Ayano. If you ever need anything , come to me."
Surprisingly, the harem ended there. So Ayano had eight girls who followed her around, ready to do anything to have their adoration returned. And yet Ayano seemed oblivious, or at the very least, apathetic to how they felt. Instead, the noirette took their exclamation of affections to be amiable, a sign of friendship.
It was, perhaps, the most bizarre part of all, but the students of Akademi High were numb to it all. One day, they presumed, something would come out of the whole mess, but for now, they watched on in confusion.
3816 words.