Chapter 1

PROLOGUE Chitose’s Peaceful, Uneventful World I was walking in the direction of the school gates with a cute girl I’d just met only an hour before. We were close enough to almost bump shoulders every now and then, and we were both aware of it. I guessed that we looked like a would-be couple who were just too scared to take that first step—or maybe a couple who had only started dating recently enough for it to still be awkward. The girl had a hint of stranger-like formality in her tone as she said, “Um… Thanks for earlier. You were a real lifesaver. You’re really good at studying, aren’t you, Chitose?” A warm, pre–spring break kind of breeze wafted past just then, bringing with it the sweet, clean, soapy scent of the girl by my side. “Don’t worry about it. It’s a personal policy of mine to never turn my back on a girl who needs a favor.” After school, I had been in the library studying for a test when the girl sitting next to me had started sneaking peeks at me. Then she turned to me and said, “Um, do you mind if I ask you a question?” She told me there were some math problems she didn’t understand. The school crest on her blazer was the same color as mine, indicating that we were in the same year in school, so I was familiar with the problems and able to explain the answers. “But you were in the middle of your own studying, weren’t you? Why did you spend so much time helping me out? After all, we’d never even spoken before today.” She stole a quick glance up at me as we walked along, side by side. “Well, you said you’d treat me to a coffee. It was a fair trade.” Apparently, that wasn’t enough for her. “Hmm… So if another student offered you coffee, you’d help them out in the exact same way? I don’t get it. Well, you’re always surrounded by pretty girls, so I guess someone ordinary like me doesn’t even register on your radar…” “Nope. If you were a guy, coffee wouldn’t cut it. He’d have to cover the bill for ramen if he wanted my help.” That’s what I told her, but I knew it wasn’t the kind of answer she was after. I thought I’d handled that pretty well, but as I glanced back down at the girl and took in her disappointed expression, I decided to add more of an explanation. “…Besides, anyone would look at you and see you’re pretty yourself. And your light-pink scrunchie is perfect for you.” An obvious blush spread across the girl’s cheeks. “Really?! Hey, Chitose, are you dating anyone right now?” “Sadly not. What about you?” “Uh, it’s kinda complicated…” The girl hesitated. “Hey!!!” Someone grabbed my shoulder from behind and yanked me backward violently, as if deliberately trying to prevent me from hearing the rest. “…” I stumbled but managed to stay upright, my arms flailing wildly as I turned around. There was a guy standing there. I didn’t know his name. He was much taller than my five foot seven, and he had an unconventional hairstyle held in place with wax. His eyebrows were shaved thin, and his unorthodox take on our uniform’s dress code was instantly attention-grabbing. His face was nothing special, but he had a “cool-guy” aura girls would probably like. If you asked me to categorize him as a popular kid or a nerd, he would definitely fall in the first category. “The heck do you think you’re doin’?!” The guy was pissed about something. I checked out his school crest and realized he was in the grade above ours. “Uh, I’m going on an after-school date with this cutie from my grade. What does it look like I’m doing?” I shrugged flippantly. Before the guy could react, the girl yelped. “What’s your problem?!” The guy took a step toward her, frowning and clearly irritated. “Excuse me? What’s your problem? You’ve got a boyfriend! What do you think you’re doing going off to hang out with some other guy? That’s Saku Chitose, a first year, you know. I hear he’s got his fingers in all the girls’ pies, if you know what I’m saying!” This guy seemed to know about me, but I was pretty sure I’d never met him before. For now, I’m calling him Jock Blocker. As I was chuckling to myself over that, the girl took a step toward Jock. “Chitose helped me out with studying, so I was just about to buy him a coffee in return. What, can I not study with people now?!” “Not with guys like him! I heard him calling you pretty just now. He says that to all the girls!” “You were sneaking up behind us listening? Gross!” I decided to interject. “Aww, c’mon! Don’t fight over little old me!” “…You think you’re funny?” Welp, that backfired. Now Jock Blocker’s ire was focused on me. “Keep your hands off other people’s girlfriends, got it?” Ah, so we’re doing this now. I sighed internally. It was obvious they were dating. I don’t know if their relationship was on the rocks already, or if I was just too darn handsome and charming, but it seemed like the girl was interested in me. And Jock Blocker did not like that. Clearly, he was lower on the school hierarchy than I was, and he barely even passed for good-looking. In my position as one of the most popular guys in the school, girls asked me out basically every day. Meaning he had to vent his anger at me for ensnaring his girlfriend. “Sorry, man, my bad. I didn’t realize she was already dating you. And you’re right, I do have a bad habit of calling girls cute. I just call it like I see it.” The entire time I was speaking, Jock Blocker’s face was darkening with rage. The girl looked embarrassed and kept sneaking glances at me. “She may be just another girl to you, but to me, she means a lot! She’s my girlfriend! I won’t let you treat her like a toy and break her heart!” Wow, look at this guy riding in on his white horse. Yeah, he probably wasn’t such a bad guy. Even the girl looked a little bit impressed by his manly speech. She was gazing at her boyfriend with something like wonder in her eyes. Now the kids who were coming out of the school on their way home were all staring at us. Here was a boyfriend, publicly proclaiming embarrassing, personal feelings in the name of protecting his girlfriend from a nefarious trickster. Deeply moved by said boyfriend’s gesture, the girl awakens as if from a bad dream to face reality. What a splendid scene. How fresh, how youthful, how…springlike. So I decided I’d better play my part, too. “Sure, I’d like to duke it out with you down at the riverbed, but I’m a lover, not a fighter. Still, you should be more careful. If she matters that much to you, you should take better care of her, so bad guys like me don’t come swarming.” Jock Blocker scowled and put his arm possessively around his girlfriend as if to say he didn’t need any advice from the likes of me. The girl was gazing at me. “Chitose…,” she said sadly. So I decided to throw her a bone. “As for you, when you get bored of this guy, I’ll be there to bring some excitement back into your life. Rain check on the after-school coffee date until then, yeah?” I gave her a twinkling grin and a wink, and Jock Blocker flung his schoolbag in my direction. “Screw you, dude!” “Ooh, scary.” I deflected the schoolbag easily, then dashed off toward the school gates with a jaunty wave. I wished them all the best for their future together. I guess. All I did was help a girl out with her studying when she asked me. It wasn’t my fault she caught feelings for me. And then her boyfriend ended up making me the bad guy. Oh well. This kind of thing happened all the time. I was feeling pretty good, though. I picked up speed, kicking up dirt behind me as I ran past all the other students who were making their way home. The sky above me was bright blue. The sun was blazing away, heralding the ending of winter and the coming of spring. The cool breeze felt good, even though it was full of dust coming from the sports field. Someone catching feelings for me. And someone else, out to get me. Yep, everything in my world was just as it should be…