I stood surrounded by a shroud of misty fog in an unfamiliar place. In the distance, a petite figure gradually made its way towards me. Their footsteps echoed as they neared and each step revealed distinguishing features of the person approaching. Dark, black hair and an uncanny pair of pale violet eyes. It was Luna. I opened my mouth to greet her but was interrupted.

"Did you honestly think for one second that I would go out with a loser like you?" Luna crossed her arms in front of her. "Are you that deluded? Who the hell do you think you are?"

"L-Luna..." I stuttered.

I was speachless. The words that came out of her pink lips stung me in the chest painfully. Luna was always so nice and polite in class, how could she be this mean now? Was this her true self?

My eyes began to water and I covered my face instinctively, feeling like an idiot.

"I really liked you…" I muttered.

Luna looked at me disbelievingly.

"Ryo, don't be delusional. There's just no way I could go out with someone like you." She said, looking me up and down with disgust. "Look at you... you're just so... average."

Luna sighed and turned her back on me.

"W-wait!" I called out.

"Bye Ryo." She said, walking away.

"Wait, Luna!" I called again and reached a hand forward.

She flicked a short wave without turning back.

I tried to run after her but her figure quickly disappeared into the darkness.

"Luna!"

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I swung my body up from the bed, jolting up from the nightmare. I was panting unevenly and my back stuck to my pajamas, soaked in hot sweat.

I lifted a hand to my eyes and felt tears, surprising myself. I had actually cried in real life... over a dream.

"Oh man." I muttered, shaking my head. "This has to be a joke..."

I pulled myself out of the bed wearily and noticed my phone flashing by my bedside. Apparently I had missed a call from my best friend; Eiji. He was in the same grade as me and not so coincidentally we shared all the same classes. Probably because we chose the same subjects. I guess he wanted to know how my confession went—

Suddenly I was jolted with the memory of the confession and I quickly raised a hand to my lips, feeling perplexed. Had I really kissed Luna? The most popular girl at school? A feeling of absurdity crashed over me but the details of the confession flashed vividly in my mind. I could remember Luna's soft lips pressing onto mine, the feeling of her body against me, the smell of her conditioner on her hair...

I shook my head violently, trying to bring myself back to reality.

The question remained however... why? I racked my brain for an answer but the best that I could come up with was that this was all a joke. I grimaced at the thought. I would have to ask her about the ordeal next time I see her. There was no way for me to contact Luna other than at school. I didn't have her number and today was a weekend so that means there was no school. I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth, my mind still in a drunken haze from thinking about the kiss.

Half-way through brushing, I heard a gentle knocking at the door.

I looked at the clock. It was still pretty early in the morning. Who could be knocking at this time? Could it be Eiji? I grinned sheepishly at the thought. Eiji was going to drop his jaw if he heard about how my confession with Luna went. The bastard didn't have any confidence in me, although I couldn't really blame him. Luna was known to have rejected anyone that has ever asked her out.

I walked to the front door, opened it and found myself choking on toothpaste. Standing outside the door was... Luna. She was dressed in her casual attire, not her school uniform and her hair was tied up so that long streaks fell on the sides of her head. On the opposite hand, I was dressed in my boxers with the handle of a toothbrush sticking out of my mouth.

"Hey Ryo." Luna smiled energetically.

I froze in my place. Luna was the last person on the planet that I would expect to knock on my door. What the hell was she doing here? She looked dazzling in her casual clothes. I had only ever saw her in uniform but this was something else.

"L-Luna?" I stammered, my cheeks flushing. "What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to see you, Ryo..." Luna said, she glanced down for a second and noticed my boxers. Her face reddened. "Is this a bad time?"

"N-no." I said quickly. I moved to the side of the door.

"Do... you want to... uh, come in?" I asked, rubbing the back of my head. "I just need to get changed first."

"R-really, you're inviting me in?"

"Yeah..."

I moved further away from the door, giving her space to walk in. Luna walked past me and I was drowned in her scent. She always smelled really nice for some reason. I swallowed and closed the door behind her.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Luna was looking around the small living room, studying everything as though it was extremely interesting.

"Just wait over there." I croaked nodding my head over at the kotatsu table.

"Okay." Luna nodded shyly in response as she walked over to the kotatsu table. She sat down obligingly, and I walked into the bathroom, feeling like a robot.

As soon as I got in, my body went on full blast. What the hell was she doing here? I spat out the toothpaste from my mouth and rinsed as fast as I could. I was in a complete rush, I didn't want to make her wait. Luna was the first girl to ever visit my apartment apart from my mother who had came to visit once—my mother lived in Okinawa with my father. My parents had sent me to Tokyo to get a better education but I spent most of my time sleeping in class or playing arcades.

My mind was still frantic thinking about Luna. I had only just confessed yesterday and here she was, at my house the very next day. It didn't seem to make sense but quite frankly I didn't really care. I was just ecstatic to see her again. I pulled on a pair of jeans and slipped into the best shirt I could find in the bathroom. I looked in the mirror. Something needed to be done about the hair.

Grabbing a comb and a handful of gel, I began a frenzied assault on my hair. When the ordeal was over I sprayed on some deodorant. There. Now I was presentable, fresh and smelled somewhat acceptable. I placed a hand on the doorknob of the closed door between the bathroom and the living room. My heart was racing at the thought of having to talk to Luna. I stood there for a few more seconds before I mustered the courage to open the door.

Luna was sitting down on the kotatsu table her small, delicate hands flicking through a stash of magazines she had found.

I walked out from the bathroom, moving towards her and I froze feeling my heart drop. Those weren't just any magazines, they were my ero magazines. I could see the slight outline of what could only be a naked girl on the page she was staring intently at.

I contemplated going back into the bathroom and waiting for a few more minutes but I was already half-way to the table. It took several more seconds before I resumed walking from my frozen state and sat down on the seat in front of Luna.

Luna jumped startled by my presence and hastily slid the magazine back under the kotatsu table with a look of embarrassment on her face. She was silent and I was silent.

"So," I coughed finally. "What did you wanted?"

Luna shifted uncomfortably in her seat, her face red. "I thought I would get to know you more since we are going out together, right?"

"Oh." My mouth replied. And that was it. Nothing else came out. My mind had froze, refusing to work as the word going out echoed again and again in my mind.

"Oh?" Luna repeated upon not hearing anything else. She looked nervous. "Don't you think we should get to know each other more?"

"Yes, we should." My head nodded without thinking. She waited for me to make an additional comment but I didn't.

"I was thinking we should go on a date." She said.

"Huh?" I apologised and shook my head. "Sorry, I didn't catch that."

"I said we should go on a date."

I stared dumbfounded at Luna. So it was true that she liked me? I was completely stumped. What was I suppose to say in a situation like this? I had never went out with a girl before and the first kiss I had was just yesterday. Everything seemed to moving so fast.

"S-sure." I answered.

I waited for her to say more but she sat silently, twirling her dark hair with a nervous look.

That's when I realised I was supposed to be the one to think of something!—but nothing came to mind. If I had known she was coming to my apartment, I would had spent an entire day organising something in complete detail. What did Luna even like? Where does she usually go for fun? I knew practically nothing about her.

Suddenly I felt panic creeping up on me. What if this was a test? A test to see if I could entertain her? And perhaps if I failed, she would think I was boring and stop seeing me? With that thought in mind, I got up quickly and opened the door.

"Let's go." I said.

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We ended up at a park across my flat. Luna was following behind me while I pretended to have a clue what I was doing. Damn it. What the hell was I doing here? I couldn't even bring myself to hold her hand. I felt pathetic.

I looked around hoping for a ray of inspiration. There were children playing in the playgrounds, a group of elderlies having a conversation and a group of guys on the side by the road.

I took a seat down at the closest bench and Luna sat besides me. We both stared out at the scenery.

My head was in a complete mess and I had no idea what I was doing at all. I peeked to my side and to my surprise Luna had a happy look on her face. I felt warmth spreading through my body and I turned back to face the scenery. She was actually enjoying herself. Had I struck gold by choosing to go to a park? Perhaps she was a tree hugger?

"Ryo…?" Luna was looking down, tapping her fingers together. "What do you like to eat, Ryo? Next time I come over I'll bring you food."

I was ecstatic at the idea. Luna cooking food for me? I felt like I was in a dream. I opened my mouth to answer when the group of guys in the park surrounded us.

"That's a cute girlfriend you have there." One of them sneered, and the rest laughed. There were six of them in total, all of them older than me. The one who sneered had short hair and held a cigarette to his mouth. They spelt bad news. I looked up at them in dismay as the one who sneered blew smoke into our faces.

I coughed, waving the smoke away as I flinched back. What did they want with us? Were they going to rob us? I didn't even have any money on me. Heck, even if I did it wouldn't be much.

"Leave us alone." I said pathetically. I glanced at Luna but her eyes were hidden behind her hair. I had to protect her. Maybe if I grabbed her hand and ran… no, there were too many of them. But I couldn't possibly fight them either. I had only ever been in one or two fights in my life and all they involved were a few seconds of shoving and name calling before a teacher interfered. I'm not sure if they even counted as fights. Shit. Why were we so unlucky? I didn't care about myself but I needed to make sure Luna could get away safely.

"Woah, sorry. I guess we will leave you alone." He said, lifting his hands up, then he reached into his pockets and pulled out a knife. "Just kidding."

My heart leaped at the sight of the knife and I flinched backwards instinctively. These guys were serious, they were the real deal, there was no doubt about it. I could feel my legs shaking and sweat building up on my back.

"Hey, Kaiji. Just knock the kid out and let's grab the girl, man. I can't wait to have some fun with her." A taller male at the back said licking his lips. The others nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, Kaiji." A male next to the taller one said. "Why are you wasting your breath on him? He's just a highschool kid."

"I don't like the look of that kid. Maybe we should give him a cut on his face to remember this day." Another laughed as he pulled his own knife out.

I looked around the park desperately, but everyone else was leaving at the sign of danger. I couldn't believe it. Even the parents were just taking their kids and leaving. Is nobody going to help? Call the police? Something? Sweat was gathering on my face and I gripped my palms tight.

"So that's how it's going down kiddo." The man they were calling Kaiji said. "Don't worry though, we will give her back to you when we're done."

I could hear the others snickering as the second guy who pulled out a knife walked towards me. He reached a hand out and tried to grab my shoulder.

All of a sudden, Luna pushed me out of the way and stepped forward from the bench.

"What—"

He was cut short when Luna did a slashing movement across his neck. He fell backwards into the grass and suddenly blood sprayed out of his neck.