It had all started about two years ago.
Ruri Morikawa was a girl with an expat mother who worked as a model and a father who worked as a diplomat. With platinum blonde hair, the same as her mother’s, a pair of lapis lazuli eyes that served as the basis for her name in kanji, and a Japanese face, this girl was born into a family with features that would make anybody pump their arms in triumph along with the other winners of the genetic lottery. However, it seemed as though that had used up most of her luck. Ruri was never able to live in any sort of peace. Instead, misfortune hounded her around every corner.
The start of these misfortunes, by Ruri’s own account, was undoubtedly triggered by living next door to one girl—Asahi Shinomiya. Since childhood, Ruri had sustained all sorts of damage due to Asahi garnering followers by the droves.
One had to wonder how many times Ruri had imagined how her life would have been different if she and Asahi hadn’t grown up together. Although Asahi and Ruri were the same age, not to mention both attractive from a young age, the people around them always coddled Asahi and singled her out for better treatment. Ruri was not by any means a bad-tempered child, but everyone favored Asahi for whatever reason—not just her teachers, but her classmates and their parents as well. The same people who pampered Asahi to a ridiculous degree would lash out at Ruri for similarly ridiculous reasons.
For instance: one time, Ruri got into a dumb squabble over toys with Asahi, and Ruri ended up the only one scolded. One would assume that since it was a spat between two children, both would be punished equally.
To add insult to injury, not only did Asahi secure her own toy, but she wanted Ruri’s as well. Despite her protests, she was not only scolded but she was told to give her own toy to Asahi. Although she was still a child, she could feel how unreasonable this all was.
Still in tears, the young Ruri handed the toy over, which prompted everyone to look at her as if she’d finally done the right thing.
She had no idea why they always put Asahi’s needs above her own. At the time, she was still very young, less angry over the situation and more suspicious over why she’d been singled out for this treatment in the first place.
There was another time, in grade school, when Asahi was envious over Ruri’s beautiful blonde hair and decided to dye her own the same color. Seeing as how the grade school had banned hair dyeing on the basis of it being harmful to children’s bodies, the teachers ended up talking to Asahi’s parents to explain the issue.
Normally, it would be proper to warn their parents about letting their child dye their hair in the future after explaining the school’s rules, but the one who ended up warned was the one person who wasn’t to blame—Ruri. She was told that everyone wanted to dye their hair because of Ruri’s hair —a completely spurious claim.
They demanded that Ruri make her hair black, explaining that dyeing your hair was prohibited in their school, which sent her jaw to the floor. Even though she tried to appeal, telling them that she was a natural blonde, the teachers wouldn’t listen.
Ultimately, she decided on wearing a black wig instead, but as soon as Asahi saw that, she nonchalantly asked, “Ruri-chan, did your hair get darker, or is it just me?”
(And exactly whose fault do you think it is that I’m in this mess to begin with?!) Ruri thought resentfully.
There was yet another time when they were all on a field trip and Ruri managed to shake free of Asahi, who would usually try to attach herself to her hip for whatever reason, and had relished in her liberation. Once it was time for everyone to gather and it was clear that Asahi had gotten lost, teachers and students alike all started to blame Ruri, asking her why she wasn’t keeping an eye on Asahi.
Ruri was Asahi’s childhood friend, not her caretaker. It was supposed to be the teachers’ job to keep watch over the students, so there was no reason why they should be blaming Ruri, who was in a different party on the trip to begin with.
Between the foreign-looking Ruri and the cute and charming Asahi, with her very Japanese features, Asahi probably seemed more approachable. That was what Ruri had convinced herself of from a young age, but since she was the victim of such blatant and unrelenting favoritism, it was inevitable that her personality would get a little twisted as a result. In fact, she should have been praised for not going down the wrong path entirely.
And so, as the years rolled on and Ruri grew into a nineteen-year-old university student, the fateful day that would greatly change the course of her life came upon her.
“Great, the coast is clear,” Ruri said, confirming that Asahi was nowhere in sight before quickly slipping outside, locking the front door and fleeing her home like a bat out of hell.
Ruri and Asahi had gone to all the same schools because they were next-door neighbors. The moment she truly regretted not going to a private school came during her high school entrance ceremony. She remembered being taken aback when she heard that many of her former classmates had gone the private school route instead. They’d even managed to get accepted into fancy girls’ schools with outrageous tuition costs—schools that would be absolutely impossible for Asahi’s family to afford given their financial situation. With that in mind, Ruri had enrolled at a high school with high tuition, but, somehow, there Asahi had been...
When Ruri asked her why, she was met with the unfortunate answer, “’Cause, it’s way better if I’m in the same school as you, Ruri-chan.” Ruri had reprimanded her, telling her to think about her parents’ finances, but she was met with a smile and a, “Oh, don’t worry. It’s fine.”