"Would you be my boyfriend?" asked Suzuki, my seatmate.

Why would she ask me to be her boyfriend? I mean, we've barely ever talked. Don't get me wrong, she's cute and all, but I've only been at this school for two weeks. This is my third week, and she's already asking me out.

Despite my skepticism, I had to answer. The only words I could muster were:

"Sure, why not."

After I replied to her confession, she blushed and then bolted out of the classroom, her pink hair bouncing as she ran. I guess she lost all her confidence. To think I'd be asked out in my third week of school, and on a Monday of all days.

Not that I particularly dislike Mondays or anything—they're just as bad as any other day of the week.

Ring, ring, ring!!!

I hurried to class as the lunch break ended. As I reached my seat, I remembered that I had missed lunch. My stomach grumbled in protest, and I couldn't help but feel annoyed.

Why did she ask me out, though?

I glanced toward her, hoping to gauge her intentions, but she just smiled at me. I had to admit, she's pretty cute. And coming from someone who's met people from all over the world, that's saying something.

Still, I know nothing about her. I guess it's best to stay cautious.

I turned to the window, watching the clouds lazily drift by. They looked so majestic and...

"Nakamura," the teacher's sharp voice cut through my thoughts, dragging me back to reality. "If you're so distracted, let's see if your English is as sharp as your daydreaming skills."

She scribbled something on the board with a smirk. The sentence she wrote down seemed more like a riddle than a translation exercise:

"The early bird catches the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese."

This wasn't your average sentence for translation. It required nuance, cultural awareness, and a bit of wit—something even native speakers might struggle with.

I approached the board, trying not to groan audibly.

After analyzing the phrase, I translated it as best as I could. The classroom fell silent.

The teacher's reaction was a mix of shock and frustration. She hesitated before saying, "You may return to your seat."

I made my way back, trying to ignore the growing whispers around me. Were they impressed or just gossiping? Either way, I'd prefer to stay under the radar. I really hate standing out as it leads to more work, in fact that is why despite the fact my only friends are Hiro and Kisaragi, I won't try really hard to make new ones.

I guess I was supposed to be an example of why you should pay attention in class. The thing is, I was listening—I just didn't look like it. The teacher had been explaining noun phrases, not idioms.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully until, after school, Mrs. Kobayashi, the English teacher, called me to her office.

On my way there, I briefly considered telling Kisaragi about Suzuki's confession. It would probably make me feel special. Hiro would be another option, but with his connections to girls, it might be counterproductive.

As I turned a corner, I accidentally bumped into a student—one I assumed to be a senpai.

"I'm sorry," I said, looking up apologetically.

"What species of idiot are you?" she snapped, glaring at me with pure disdain.

I've never been called an idiot before. It's always been "prodigy" or something similar. This was... oddly refreshing, though this senpai seemed like she wanted to eat me alive.

"Uh..." I managed to reply.

"Oh, not only are you an idiot, but you're a man. It makes so much sense. All I have to do now is kill you."

Well, that escalated quickly. What kind of inhumane person is this?

"Umm, don't you think that's a bit extreme?" I said, taking a cautious step back.

For wild animals like tigers, backing away slowly is supposed to help. Maybe it would work on her too.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Caught. Looks like I'd have to make a run for it.

I bolted, and to my shock, she kept up with me. Granted, I wasn't running at full speed—maybe 40%—but still, she managed to stay on my heels. She must be an athlete, a good one at that. After a few frantic turns around the block, I managed to slip into Mrs. Kobayashi's office.

Panting, I shut the door behind me.

When I turned, I found Mrs. Kobayashi fast asleep at her desk.

I walked over and gently tapped her shoulder. She groaned and sat up abruptly, her eyes widening in shock when she saw me. She flinched so hard she fell back, hitting her head on the wall.

"Are you okay?" I asked, concerned.

"Nooo... Why'd you sneak up on me?" she groaned, rubbing her head.

"Sorry about that."

"It's fine. So, why are you here?"

"You called me."

"Uhh... Oh, right!" She cleared her throat, trying to regain her composure. "I wanted to talk to you about daydreaming in class."

"..."

She launched into a story about her own school days. Apparently, she used to daydream a lot too, but she was always with friends, so even when she got in trouble, it didn't bother her.

At some point, a boy asked her out. She turned him down, preferring to focus on her friends. He later asked out one of her friends, who accepted. Tragically, her friend ended up targeted by a gang because of her association with the boy and was killed.

"Well, that's the story. Now, shoo~ shoo~" she said, waving me out of her office before I could ask any questions.

What kind of bizarre story was that? Not only was it cryptic, but it also felt like a colossal waste of time.

Back in the classroom, I found Suzuki asleep at my desk.

I tapped her shoulder lightly, and unlike Mrs. Kobayashi, she grinned as she woke up.

"Suzuki."

"Yes?"

"Why are you smiling?"

"I'm just happy to see my boyfriend waking me up."

I blushed slightly, quickly grabbing my stuff and heading for the door.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"To my dorm room."

"What about our date?"

"What date?"

"The one we're supposed to have."

"The one you haven't told me about?"

"Ye...ah."

A date. I'd never been on one, but I knew the general idea: two people, potentially interested in each other, going out to have fun and deepen their bond.

"So, are we going now?"

"Yeah, let's."

She stood, and we walked side by side. I tried to assess her as we went, noting her behavior and mannerisms. I guess old habits die hard.

From the direction we were heading, it seemed she was taking me to the mall.

"So, Nakamura what are your hobbies?"

"Oh, you know stuff like... um existing, yeah existing."

I don't actually have a real hobby though what I said isn't exactly a lie. I enjoy just being left alone and just doing nothing.

"Oh, I enjoy baking."

"Oh ok."

After that we went quiet. The reason I'm being so dry is because I'm still assessing this girl, why does she like me it makes no sense.

I've been boring and frankly uninteresting, yet she is supposedly in love with me rather infatuated, so I'll just continue to be like this until she shows her true colors, but what if I'm wron—

"Nakamura, do you have any friends?" Suzuki continued abruptly breaking the silence.

"Yeah, I have two."

"Are they in our class?"

"No."

"Are they female?"

I detected malice in her tone. Thankfully, I didn't have any female friends, so it should be fine.

"No."

"Okay, good."

"Why did you—"

Before I could finish, the platinum-haired beast appeared in front of us.

What are the odds I'd run into her twice in one day?

"What an unappealing encounter?" She said glaring at me.

That's my line!!! Why am I in this unfortunate situation? Did I do something wrong... Oh right I happened to bump into her well let's just see what she'll do.

"Suzuki, why are you with this man?"

"He's my boyfriend also he has a name it's Nakamura."

As Suzuki said those words, the platinum-haired girl eyes lit up then she looked at then I saw a grin starting form at the corners at her mouth. Why though?

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"So, it seems I've met an important man but at the end of the day a man is still a man."

It seems this girl has a deep hatred for men, but seems she is more tamed than before maybe because Suzuki is here. I wonder what could be the cause for her hatred.

"Well, we would like to continue our date?" Suzuki said, looking clearly annoyed.

Why is Suzuki being hostile? Maybe I was looking too deep into it, I mean we are having date so that might be the reason for the anger.

"Ok see you too later especially you, Mr. Important Man." The platinum-haired girl left grinning at Suzuki and me—specifically me. Why is she intrigued me? In fact, why do people seem to know me?

Does someone tell them about me? Someone in power maybe but why is it so vague almost like the school is hiding something from me?

"Let's continue our date." Suzuki said smiling cheerfully.

We went to the mall without a hitch. I was actually surprised that Suzuki isn't surrounded by her friends, she is quite the social magnet in class.

You could say it's bad luck that she's my seat mate. Most of the time that I come back from break; my seat is quite crowded. To be honest, it kind of gets on my nerves.

At any rate I've gotten used to it, I mean it's not like I have many friends that will come to visit. Enough with the negative talk, I have two friends and I even have a girlfriend so that is at least good enough.

We got to the mall, just from outside it looked glamourous but on stepping inside it was something else. The air-conditioning was neither too cold nor too warm, it was in all basically perfect but Suzuki was just quiet.

Even after we entered the mall, Suzuki didn't say where we were going, and unfortunately, the school map didn't explain the inside. It left me—the reader hanging.

Talk about useless.

Though I wasn't angry, I mean, the mall was five stories and I was happy to discover it myself. From boutiques to general-purpose stores, I was in awe, as I'd never been to the mall.

Though I've memorized the map, I've only gone to the dorms, the school, and the convenience store.

Is someone following me? It seems Suzuki hasn't noticed, I'll humor them. Let's see what they want. What if it's a stalker? I mean Suzuki is popular but I doubt with all the school's camera that they won't notice, I mean they even boast about safety.

After some time, Suzuki took me to a café on the fourth floor named Palate.

She took me to a seat by the window. Her friends were on the table.

After we sat down, they went to discuss make-up and other feminine subjects, I kept quiet following one of the best principles; Do not speak until spoken to. I may or may not be adopting that principle because of a certain white-haired girl that told me to drink bleach.

After a while a friend that was supposedly called Aiko spoke to me.

"You've been really quiet why don't you join? Don't tell us you're scared?"

This is my chance to truly assess Suzuki. If I flirt with her friends, will she react?

"Why won't I be nervous when there are so many beautiful girls in front of me?"

As I said that, Suzuki's two friends blushed momentarily. It was cheesy but should be more than enough for a Japanese adolescent female, at least one that hasn't dated yet.

As I said those words, Suzuki deadpanned at me as if saying, 'Do your worst.' I backed down after that but still behaved as sociably as possible. It's not like I can't be sociable; it's just I hate the spotlight.

After that, we all went shopping but I went to use the toilet to finally meet the person tailing me.

They didn't enter the restroom with me, maybe it's a girl. Wait don't tell me...

After I left the restroom, I saw the person waiting outside, it seemed my theory was right, begrudgingly so.

It was the platinum-haired girl, how am I so unlucky?

"Can I help you?"

"Let's have a chat."

"Uhh..." I said contemplating my answer.

"If you say no, I'll have no other choice but to kill you."

So basically, I have no other choice but to hear her out, let's just get this over with.

"I agree to this chat."

After that she led me to an elevator. So it seems, we were not talking on this floor.

The elevator was quite cramped, and I might have unintentionally inappropriately touched the platinum-haired girl though she said nothing, I'm guessing because we were in a crowd though she seemed like someone who would always do what they liked regardless of the situation.

We reached the ground we were going to—the fifth floor, the rooftop—it was a garden. It was luscious and held the world's rarest trees—or at least that was what it seemed.

She led me to a bench and sat me down beside her.

"Nakamura, what are your intentions on Suzuki?"

"Nothing."

"Then why are you dating her?"

"She's the one who asked me out."

"But you accepted her confession."

"It was the heat of the moment."

"I see... but Nakamura Eiya, I swear one thing." She said standing up to leave. "If you try to harm Aiya then I, Takamine Hoshiko will take on you, Satou Gotou, and any other man."

It seems she's serious about this but what does Satou Gotou, the school president have to do with all of this? I feel there is something I don't know yet, a crucial detail.

Let's try and get that information, I feel it's important.

"Why did you mention, Satou is he someone important?"

"..." She just averted her gaze and stared at the ground.

"Takamine-senpai, how is Satou involve—"

"Oh Nakamura what's up."

I was interrupted by Kisaragi, he seemed he was with a brown-haired Mexican boy.

"Uh..." I said trying to continue my conversation with Takamine but she already left.

After I exchanged pleasantries with Kisaragi, I went to meet up with Suzuki. She was angry that I left her and her friends. She led me back to that café.

"I'm sorry I just happened to meet a friend of mine." I said looking down.

"Was that person male?"

"Yes, I can confirm the person was masculine in gender."

"And all you did was just meet up with that friend?"

"Yes, that was all I did."

Of course this was a lie but there was no point in telling her until I figure out what's going on.

After our date, I just went back to dorm room. I laid on my bed thinking on what has happened and started to drift to sleep until I received a call—it had no call ID.

In this school, your name will show when you call unless you use another account but that's not possible as it is directly linked to your school ID, though SIM can be tracked so you wouldn't like that option but it's possible to call with no SIM.

It couldn't also be a call outside the school as the government as specific cell-towers made for the purpose of this school, moreover the phone only picks up signals from those specific cell-tower.

The only other method is through E-sim which only staff can use—excluding teaching staff, therefore the caller is using a special kind of software, let's hear what they have to say.

"Wow, you picked up so fast what was that, three seconds? Don't tell you're not scared." I'm not entirely sure since we haven't talked since the first day of school, but this is definitely the voice of Kagura.

"Why are calling me?" I replied in monotone.

"I want you to break up with Suzuki."

"And if I say no—"

"You'll get expelled."

How do those two things correlate? Needless to say, she got my attention.

"Why is that?"

She cut the call. Now I have no answers.

The next day I came to class early so I could confront Kagura. She must have gone through great lengths to do what she did, to be found so easily would definitely shock her.

As to why I came early, it is because of two reasons;

She is a vice president so out of pure assumption, she should come early with Ito to clean the class.

But in the case that I am wrong, at least I would be the first person to intercept her when she comes, though that is if she isn't with friends.

When I arrived class I saw Ito cleaning alone, it would be bad if only him cleaned the class but I highly doubt but now that I'm here I pretty much have to help him.

"Hey Nakamura, you're early today. Don't suppose there's a special occasion?" He grinned at me.

"Oh, not really. Need a hand?"

"Na don't worry Kagura is on her way. But thanks anyway."

"No don't worry it's also my class after all."

"If you insist then okay."

This works in my favor, if I've already cleaned the class then Kagura won't need to do anything which is exactly what I need.

"So, what should I do?"

"Uh, just arrange the chairs I've pretty much done everything else."

There was silence as I arranged the chairs, after Ito was done with cleaning the board he joined in and helped me. After we were done, he let out a sigh of relief and then sat at his desk. I sat on the seat beside him, basically hinting that we should talk.

"Nakamura, so how is your experience at this school?"

"Frankly it's underwhelming, don't get me wrong I love being free and all but the school system feels to easy."

'The best way to get the right answer is not to ask a question, but to say the wrong answer.' This is a law— originally an internet law, it was popularized by Steven McGeady, a former intel executive and he credited it to Ward Cunningham, the creator of the first wiki—WikiWikiWeb.

Though it mostly applies to an internet setting, it can work in this kind of setting though it has a chance of not working on some people.

"Easy? Isn't that way too much of an understatement?"

"How so? As far I've seen this school is way too lenient."

"You do know that a student was expelled from this very class."

"That could be for a number of things."

"It was for failure in the exam we had last term." Ito said looking away with regret in his eyes.

"I know it's a touchy subject, but I want to know how I'm wrong it can also me, as your classmate."

"Kobayashi was a kind boy though a little bit perverted, so some girls disliked him." He paused momentarily then continued. "During the exam, he went against one of the rules that prohibited telling information to people, and that led to..." Ito just stared sadly at the ground then finally continued. "Worst of all, I'm the one who told him to do it. I-I-I thought he'd blame me for his expulsion. Shin just said I should tell everyone that he's throwing in the towel early." He grimaced slightly.

So just for breaking one of the rules you could get expelled, talk about strict though that might just apply to exams.

"I see, thanks for telling me it looked hard to do."

"Yeah though because of him, we passed though barely."

"I see."

"I AM HERE!!!" Kagura said sliding into the class. "Ito, do you know that reference?"

"Uh, no." He replied quickly, trying to cover up his sadness.

"Oh, hey Nakamura."

"Hey, uh Kagura can we talk?"

"Ok, let's talk."

"It's about Suzuki."

If I say it like that then it's more than a good reason for Ito to not be interested. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy that's interested in other people's business.

"Uh sure, let's not talk here."

"Do you have any other place that we could talk?"

"Yeah, follow me."

She led me to the library, took me to a secluded place, and sat me down beside her. She probably thought I was lost because of her phone call, and I contacted her for her opinion. She's in for a shock.

"I'll start by saying I know it was you who called me."

"What?" The smug look on her face turned into pure shock as she probably thought her plan was foolproof.

I mean who would just figure out your voice like that, especially when you're not close.

"So will you deny?"

"..." She glared at me.

"Why'd you ask me to break up with Suzuki?"

"Why won't I? We have a 'ten asset' and you think I'll let Aiya throw that away, no I won't."

'Ten asset?' Is she referring to me? What does she mean by 'throw away'?

"Ka—"

The bell rang before I could continue, and she just left. Classes went by quickly and I was about to go to the cafeteria when a person yanked my clothes—it was Suzuki's friend, she was accompanied by another one of Suzuki's friends and Hayashi. They led me to their table and sat me down.

"Nakamura, Suzuki told us you and her were dating. We're here to confirm."

"We are, but can I know all your names."

"Oh right, introductions. The name's Yoshida Aiko."

"Mine's Kato Yua and don't you forget it."

"My name is Hayashi Nanase."

"Now back to questions, how did you and Aiya start dating?" Yoshida said with anticipation.

"Uh, I just accepted her confession and that's about it."

"Nakamura, I think you made a grammatical mistake don't you mean when you asked Aiya out she accepted your confession?"

"Yoshida, I made no mistake, she's the one who asked me out."

"That makes no sen—Oh I see, Aiya asked you to fake being her boyfriend to prank us."

What kind of logic is that? So, she chooses to deny the truth. Well, if she doesn't believe it doesn't matter, I mean I gain nor lose anything.

"Aiko, why don't we call Aiya over and ask her?" Kato intercepted as Hayashi watched us—more specifically, she watched me.

The thing is whenever I look towards her, she looks away. After a while, Aiya came over to the table and sat beside me.

"Aiya sorry to ask weird questions but did you ask Nakamura out?" Yoshida asked.

You had no problem dragging me here but suddenly when it's her turn you add 'sorry'.

"Yeah." Suzuki replied.

"So, he wasn't lying." Kato mumbled in shock.

After that, they went to girl talk and tuned out my ears thinking about Kagura and the fact she doesn't want to tell me. I mean on one hand I don't want to force her to tell me but on another hand, I wanna know why she doesn't want me dating Aiya.

After some time I got tired of thinking and just went to the library, I feel so happy I started making lunch though might have been motivation since my balance is 63,900 RP.

I got a book and sat at the table where a black-haired girl with glasses was, I wanted to test something. I was reading a classic—Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky. I wasn't reading it cuz it was interesting or anything.

I read because it was good at starting arguments, the arguments which at a statement along the lines of; 'If I were Raskolnikov, I wouldn't turn myself in.'

Which then ignites the flame for arguments, which is why I audibly said this.

"If I were Raskolnikov, I wouldn't turn myself in."

Though I said that the girl remained quiet. It seems I need to be proactive.

"Hey, what do you think of this book don't you agree with my statement."

"Talk about an attention-seeker."

"Huh?"

"Nakamura or whatever your name is—I know you were seeking my attention; the question is why?" The black-haired girl glared furiously.

Time to make my leave. I've got what I need, I knew it though it was kinda obvious. Now I know for sure that some people know about me, but the how and why is still a mystery.

As for how I know, that's why I came here. That girl looked like a shut-in and that was what I needed. I mean I might have been overthinking it as it's possible that my awkward introduction, but I doubt she has more than 3 friends so how would she know me unless I was popular.

"Nakamura, earth to Nakamura. Don't think you can weasel your way out of this."

"I won't, I promise. I was thinking of what to say, well I'll be truthful I talked to you because... well I just wanted to talk." I said feigning nervousness.

"Oh, is that right? Well then ok." She said grinning slightly. "I mean if you want to talk to me, how can I stop you? So, let's—"

I stood up to leave but the girl held unto my shirt.

"M-My name's Fujimoto Misaki, see you tomorrow." She grinned shyly.

I grinned back and left for class, I stared out the window of course. I was thinking about that black-haired girl. Should I come tomorrow? I mean why not? Yeah, I guess I'll come.

After school, some boys came to me for some advice. They probably think I made Suzuki fall in love with me, not knowing I have no idea why she fell in love with me. What's really surprising is how fast it spread.

I went to hide in the school garden from the crowd of the boys, after 30 minutes I went to the school gate and saw Suzuki waiting for me. I broke a golden rule; 'Never keep a girl waiting.'

"Nakamura, you're late do you know how long I had to wait? Meanie." She pouted cutely.

"Sorry, Suzuki."

"Just call me Aiya."

"Ok Aiya but call me Eiya in turn."

"Huh? I expected at least a blush."

"You do know that we are not in an anime, right?"

"Yeah E-E-Eiya I know." She stuttered while blushing. "Now let's go on a date."

And this began our daily routine—though I didn't visit Fujimoto again because I was preoccupied with Suzu—Aiya I mean. This was the end to my peaceful life, it got replaced with life full of dates.