Prologue
WE WERE ON A SCHOOL TRIP when it happened.
All of Okito Academy’s class 2-C was packed on a bus that wound its way through the mountains. Some were asleep, others played with their smartphones, some stared at themselves in little makeup mirrors or just sat there looking carsick. But the ones who stood out most were all together at the back of the bus.
“The Elites,” you could call them.
“Hey Takuto, introduce me to one of your girls some time, yeah?”
“You play too loose with them, Shougo. Don’t lie so often, and I’ll think about it.”
That was Kirihara Takuto. They say God doesn’t give with both hands, but this guy was handsome, charismatic, and good at everything he tried—top stats across the board. He was the sun our whole class revolved around. One word from him, and even the air would sit up and pay attention.
“Kirihara-kun, you’re such a good guy!” a few girls squealed in response.
If Kirihara Takuto was class 2-C’s main character, then Oyamada Shougo was his loyal sidekick. Standing by Kirihara’s side at all times, Oyamada was the delinquent yin to the golden boy’s yang, and his self-proclaimed best friend. He had a rough face and a reputation for making trouble. The only positive things you could say about the guy were that he had a good physique and knew his way around a fight. If you were ranking people on how generally unpleasant they were, he’d be near the top of the list.
The Kirihara and Oyamada duo ruled over all the popular kids in class.
“Why don’t you ever, like, go for any of us, Shougo?” one of the girls asked.
“You’re all too easy!” Oyamada replied.
“Aw, c’mon,” she sighed.
“If you’re gonna be flashy, you gotta at least beat the younger Takao sister!”
“Whoa, no way, are you kidding me?! She’s, like, barely even human! How do you expect a regular girl to compete with that?!”
“Heh, I guess you don’t have much to work with, huh? She was born with a hundred-mile head start on you there!” Oyamada taunted, clearly enjoying himself. He seemed more amped up than usual—must’ve been because of the school trip.
The girl he’d been talking about, on the other hand, sat quietly. The Takao sisters, a pair of twins who always stuck together, were famously weird. The older, Takao Hijiri, was a poised, impeccable beauty, while her younger sister, Takao Itsuki, was much flashier and more outgoing. They were another impressive, high-stat pair—Hijiri was the second smartest person in class, and Itsuki came in fourth on our last test, too. They were both athletic, with figures to match, and their beauty blew the rest of the class out of the water.
As long as you can ignore how weird they are, I thought.
“This view of the mountains could be a window to expand your imagination in extraordinary directions. Take a good look out there, Itsuki,” said Hijiri.
“I see it, Aneki,” her sister replied.
No matter how long I looked out the window, it all just looked normal to me.
Is there actually anything extraordinary out there? Can the Takao twins really see something I can’t?
Or maybe just Hijiri…I don’t think I’ve ever heard Itsuki disagree with her.
“Whoa! I said her name, and she didn’t even blink! Totally ignored! Oh man, she’s so cool!” Oyamada said excitedly.
“Could you be a little quieter back there, Oyamada-kun?” a clear voice rang out through the bus.
“Huh?”
“I’m trying to read.”
That was Sogou Ayaka, our class leader. Black hair with a headband, a pale complexion, pristine black tights—she was so good-looking that rumors had even spread about her at other schools, as had a few long shot photos passed around on instant messenger.
Rumor had it she was from a super rich family—an expensive car stopped at the gates every day to pick her up after school. She was trained in martial arts, and her academic skills put her at the top of the class. She wasn’t in a club, though she showed her athleticism in gym class—she’d even sub in sometimes at sports club tournaments when they needed her.
If Kirihara Takuto was the male protagonist of this story, Sogou Ayaka was the female lead.
“Whatcha reading, Sogou?” Oyamada taunted as he snatched the book away from her. “Still reading paper books nowadays—this a manga, or what? Oh, hey, a novel.” Nobody stopped him, of course—there weren’t many people in class 2-C even capable of talking back to him. He tore off the book cover to see what was underneath.
That idiot always goes too far…
“Give it back,” Sogou shot at him.
“‘The most incredible love story you’ll read this year’…?! Ooh, I gotta check this out!”
“I-I said, give it back!”
“Are you kidding me? Our number one student reads this kinda junk? Underneath it all, Ayaka-tan, you’re just a sweet little girl who reads romance novels!”
“S-so what?!”
“Ugh, so many freaking words! I could never get through this…my eyes…they’re falling off the page…my brain cells are dying…!”
“So give it back.”
“Huh, you want it back?” Oyamada teased. “Now, what should I do~? Maybe I’ll give it back if you trade R@IN IDs with me…?”
Truth was, Oyamada had a huge crush on Sogou, but he only showed it through that old, twisted form of affection where a guy picks on a girl to get her attention.
“Oyamada-kun, just give it back to me!” said Sogou.
She clearly didn’t realize what he really wanted—I’d always figured she was a little oblivious to that kind of thing.
R@IN was an instant messaging app—the most popular in the world. But you could only talk to a person on there if they allowed it, and Oyamada wanted Sogou to open up that door.
I’d probably look really cool if I rushed to her defense right now…
But I knew that was just an idle thought. A background character like me jumping to her defense would be about as useful as a strong breeze.
Nothing. Meaningless. Worthless.
LOSER used FUTILE GESTURE. It’s not very effective…