(A/N Notes: The first release of this month of April. And nothing much to say today)
It was early in the morning, and inside a bedroom, the light and sound of a phone ringing were the only two things disturbing what would otherwise be a dark and silent room. Next to the nightstand, where the phone rested, there was a bed. Subtle movements could be seen beneath the sheets, as if whoever was under them was trying to ignore the phone.
However, the sound and light of the phone only grew more annoying the longer it was ignored. The incessant noise of the device eventually won out sooner than expected, as a hand emerged from beneath the sheets—then an arm—as the hand reached toward the phone and picked it up.
Then a head emerged from under the sheets. The person was revealed to be a boy with short dark brown hair, except for a longer bang on the left side, which was colored a deep red-wine hue. He looked at the phone in his hand, checking the time… and saw with half-closed eyes that it was one hour earlier than the time he remembered setting.
"…"
Seeing the time and the message on the alarm, the boy could only scrunch his face in annoyance. He already had a few ideas about who the most likely culprit was. But with a combination of sleepiness and fatigue, he simply turned off the alarm, placed the phone back on the nightstand, turned away, and tried to go back to sleep.
The room returned to its previous silence and darkness, allowing the boy to drift off for a little longer. Just as his consciousness was beginning to fade…
Alarm ringing
The phone's alarm blasted to life once again, causing the boy to fully open his eyes as a surge of anger rushed through him toward the people he believed were behind the alarm. Now wide awake, he sat up and picked up his phone once more—only to see another alarm message, this one even more annoying than the last.
"… … …"
The boy opened his phone and looked at his alarms, only to see five more alarms, all set at ten-minute intervals, each containing a message for him. Naturally, he deleted all of them before setting a new one at the time he preferred to wake up. But in doing so, he now felt unable to fall back asleep. At the same time, as his anger began to subside, his exhaustion returned with full force.
"…Haa… I swear I'll kill those guys one day…"
With a hoarse voice, thick from sleep and fatigue, the boy muttered to himself before getting out of bed. He put on his glasses and languidly left his bedroom. Slowly, he made his way to the kitchen, where he prepared a simple breakfast for himself.
Unlike the breakfasts he had been having until now, this one had only him at the table. He was now living alone to attend high school. His breakfast was a quiet one, a stark contrast to the bustling mornings at his parents' home. And he found it…
Strangely refreshing—especially not having to hear the voices of his older sister and brother, which he had learned to tolerate. The two would often start bickering first thing in the morning over who would get the biggest loaf of bread—though it was never either of them.
Finishing his breakfast quickly, the boy returned to his bedroom, opened the curtains to let some light in, and began changing into his school uniform—a black gakuran.
But as he put on his uniform and looked at himself in the mirror, he noticed a certain jacket inside his wardrobe. For a brief moment… he considered wearing it, just to see how it would look over his uniform. However, he quickly shook his head, trying to dismiss the idea.
Still, he couldn't push the intrusive thought from his mind. The conflict between his desire to wear the jacket and the self-loathing at even thinking about it battled in his head. Before he knew it, he was already holding the sukajan jacket in his hands.
The boy looked at the jacket and took a deep breath before putting it on. When he looked at his reflection in the mirror… for a moment, he thought he looked pretty cool. Then, his expression broke into a trembling, embarrassed smile as his cheeks turned red from the shame of being reminded of a "cringe" past he desperately wanted to forget.
Unable to endure his embarrassment any longer, the boy took off the jacket and put it back in the wardrobe. After doing so, he stood in front of it for a few minutes, questioning himself for even putting it on in the first place. Once he had recovered from the embarrassment, he headed to the bathroom.
There, he picked up a small plastic box and looked at it with a trace of reluctance. He took a deep breath, removed his round glasses, and opened the box, revealing a pair of contact lenses.
The boy took another deep breath as his hesitation only grew. When he leaned closer to the mirror, his facial features came into sharper focus. It was a fairly ordinary face—perhaps leaning a little toward the cute side—but what stood out most was his heterochromia: a dark brown right eye and a hazel left eye. That particular feature had drawn the attention of people he could only describe as, at best, annoying and weird. Taking one final breath, he swallowed his second thoughts and focused on the contact lenses in his hands.
Carefully, he picked one up with his finger and brought it closer to his eye. But the closer it got, the stronger his hesitation became. And then…
He put the contact lens back in the box and took a deep breath to calm himself before trying again.
For the second attempt, he picked up the lens and brought it close to his eye. But this time… the lens slipped off his finger.
"Ah…"
And it fell right down the drain, never to be seen again.
"…"
The boy stared at the drain, then closed his eyes and took a long breath before looking at the box—which now held only one lens, his only pair. After a brief pause, he made a confident smirk, feeling oddly relieved to have the perfect excuse not to wear contact lenses.
Even though he was the one who had decided to start using them in high school to hide his heterochromia in the first place.
After that rather long and unproductive stint in the bathroom, which ultimately accomplished nothing, the boy went on to finish everything else he needed to do before leaving for school.
.
.
.
Around 30 minutes later
"Yawn… Haa…"
After entering the school grounds, the boy let out a yawn followed by a sigh, as the exhaustion from waking up earlier than he wanted began creeping back with full force. He continued taking slow, languid steps toward the main school building.
Once inside, he placed his outdoor shoes in the shoe rack and headed to the bulletin board near the entrance. There, he began scanning the classroom listings to find his assigned room. He slowly looked through the hundreds of names until he finally found his:
'Tanaka Takeru – Classroom 1-A'
Having found his assigned classroom, Takeru was faced with another problem… he had no idea where it was. And currently, he was far too tired to wander around hoping to find it through trial and error. So instead, he stepped to the side and began examining the school building map. Soon enough, he located his classroom.
With his route now set, Takeru resumed walking—his steps still heavy with fatigue—and made his way up the stairs toward his classroom, which fortunately wasn't far.
"Haa… I'm tired… … … Crash"
The moment he entered the classroom, Takeru walked over to his assigned desk—arranged in alphabetical order—and sat down. After mumbling a tired complaint, he immediately crashed onto the desk, falling asleep once more. He had already hit his limit.
.
.
.
As time passed, more and more students began to appear as the start of the school day slowly approached. Some came alone, others in groups, and a few arrived as couples holding hands. Each of them showed a variety of emotions and feelings about the beginning of the new school year. But once they crossed the school gates, they all shared the same reaction—surprise and fear.
"…" Glaring
All because of the mere presence of the head of the Public Morals Committee, Kurosawa Haruka, who was currently standing guard at the school gates, ready to catch anyone breaking school rules or arriving late on the first day of school. Her presence came as a bit of a surprise to the other second-years, as it showed her extreme dedication to her committee.
But it also reinforced the fear many still held toward Haruka. Plenty of students remembered their encounters with her the previous year, and her intimidating presence was only amplified by her towering height of 191 cm—especially unusual for a girl—and the wooden sword she carried, a gift from the previous president of the committee, who was known to everyone as La Generale. None of it helped make Haruka look any more approachable.
"Huff! Huff! Huff!"
Amidst the sea of walking students, a relatively tall boy with dark blue hair came running at full speed, his face marked by desperation. Naturally, Haruka didn't fail to notice.
"Oi! You there! No running on school grounds!"
With a powerful voice, she shouted, pointing her wooden sword directly at him.
"Hiii! I-I'm sorry! I promise I-I won't do it again, K-Kurosawa-sama!"
She successfully managed to stop the boy, who immediately cowered in fear under her gaze. But while she had gotten him to stop, her outburst also caused all the nearby students to freeze in place, each of them feeling their heartbeat spike from the scare brought on by Haruka's sudden, booming voice.
"You better do." Glaring
"Y-Yes!"
Having received only a warning, the boy quickly made his exit, walking at the fastest pace he could without breaking the rules. Meanwhile, Haruka returned to her original position.
"…"
As Haruka entertained those thoughts, all the students who had witnessed her roar-like shout refused to make eye contact with her. They silently vowed not to anger her and kept their distance. However, a few students reacted exactly as Haruka had hoped, somewhat.
"Kyaaaaaaaaa!!! Did you see that? Did you see that?!"
"Yes, I did! The Black Prince is just like the rumors said!"
"So cool, and with that always serious expression! Kurosawa-sama should definitely win this year's popularity vote!"
"!?"
At the loud shrieks and cheers coming from the girls crowded around the classroom windows, Takeru was jolted awake—utterly confused about what was going on. His senses were always sensitive upon waking, and the girls' loud voices sent a ringing sensation through his still-sleepy mind.
Seeing that the commotion showed no signs of calming down, Takeru started searching through his bag for his headphones. But the more he searched, the more it became clear he wouldn't find them. That's when he realized…
"Ah… I forgot them at the apartment…"
Takeru glanced between his school bag and the girls squealing by the windows, then checked the time on his phone. After a brief moment of thought, he decided to leave the classroom and find somewhere quieter to rest while he waited for the entrance ceremony to begin.
As he stepped into the hallway, Takeru noticed that it was surprisingly empty. Most of the students—just like the girls in his classroom—were crowded around the windows facing the front entrance of the school, all shouting loudly with excitement, even more so than before.
Takeru felt a bit curious about what had them so excited, but seeing how troublesome it would be to fight for a spot at the window—especially since the crowd was made up mostly of girls—he gave up on the idea. He simply guessed that they were swooning over some handsome guy, based on the bits of shouting he'd overheard and paid half attention to.
And so, Takeru continued on his way to find a quiet spot where he could wait and rest for a few more minutes.
.
.
.
"Kurosawa-kanchō, is everything alright? Did something happen?"
"Nanami-kaichō… No, nothing happened. I just warned a student who came in running earlier."
"Ah! I see. So that's why you shouted earlier... Very well, please keep up the good work as always, Kurosawa-kanchō."
"That's what I intend to do, Nanami-kaichō. So there's no need to worry."
"I see… Oh! And by the way, would you like to speak during the entrance ceremony as well, Kurosawa-kanchō? I'm sure everyone would be pleased to hear from you."
"… I will have to refuse, Nanami-kaichō. I am merely the head of the Public Morals Committee, and I'm only doing what's expected of me. This isn't something praiseworthy enough for such an honor. Besides… … …"
"It wouldn't be right for me to accept speaking time solely because of my position."
"I see… Scratches her cheek with a troubled expression Very well, if that's how you feel, Kurosawa-kanchō. Then I shall leave the matter here. Now, if you'll excuse me."
"Nods See you at the entrance ceremony, Nanami-kaichō."
"Yes, see you there as well, Kurosawa-kanchō."
As the two spoke near the school gates, a large crowd of students began gathering around them, keeping a respectful distance and remaining silent throughout their conversation. But once Yuriko began walking away, all the onlookers broke into screams and excited shouting at the sight of the Silver and Black School Princes speaking to each other.
Already used to such situations, Yuriko simply waved her hand with a handsome yet troubled smile, seeing how the students kept their distance. Naturally, the moment they saw her wave, the students erupted into even louder cheers—some even fainting from sheer excitement.
"…"
As Yuriko spoke to herself internally, she eventually reached the student council room—only to find someone else arriving at the same time.
"Oh! Good morning, Vice-President Daichi-san. It's good to see you."
The person Yuriko had just greeted was Yamamoto Daichi—a rather handsome boy with a serious demeanor, rectangular glasses, and short, dark blue hair in a tidy, disciplined style. One might assume Daichi was a strictly composed individual—if it weren't for one major flaw.
"A-Ah! G-Good morning, Y-Y-Yuriko-sama…"
"Did you just arrive at school, perchance, Daichi-san?"
"Ah… Y-Yeah… I… Erm… I e-ended up o-oversleeping b-because I pla— I mean, studied until late last night!… Ahaha!…"
"I see? Well, in any case, would you like to join me for a little tea time in the student council room, Daichi-san? While we wait for the entrance ceremony to start."
"Eh? Erm… W-Will it be j-just the t-two of us, b-by any chance?"
"Yes. I already greeted the other members earlier, but they all left the room a short while ago to attend to their own matters."
"I-I see…"
"…?" Gently smiles, slightly tilting her head to the side
"Erm… I-I'll have t-to refuse, Y-Yuriko-sama."
"Huh? Why?"
"Erm… I-I just r-remembered t-that I have s-something important to discuss w-with my friend!"
That flaw was that he was a massive coward—one who always let go of the rare chances he had to spend time alone with the girl he had a crush on. And just now, once again, he chose to run away instead of trying to get closer to Yuriko.
"Ah… … … Pouts Am I not your friend as well, Daichi-san?"
Yuriko remained standing in front of the student council room with an annoyed pout. All she could make of Daichi's refusal was that he didn't consider her a friend, even though they had spent almost an entire year working together as forced volunteers for the student council during their first year of high school. That was also the amount of time it had taken Daichi to start calling her by her first name—an effort made entirely by Yuriko alone.
With a sigh, she entered the room and walked to her desk, where she picked up the papers containing her speech. Yuriko looked at the papers in her hands, then at the empty room around her. She had originally planned to have some tea while revising her speech, but after Daichi's refusal, she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable staying in the room alone.
"… I guess I'll go to that place, then."
Hoping that a change of scenery would lift her mood, Yuriko left the student council room and made her way to one of her favorite spots at the school.
.
.
.
As Yuriko walked toward one of her favorite spots, she had to pass by the entrance to the gymnasium. Normally, she wouldn't pay much attention to it, but since today was the first day of school—and the entrance ceremony was going to be held there—she unconsciously glanced in the building's direction. When she did, she noticed someone walking toward the gymnasium entrance.
It was a dark brown-haired boy with a long red-wine left bang, who appeared a bit shorter than average. From what she could see and recall, she didn't remember seeing anyone like him during the past year at school, so she naturally concluded that he was most likely a new student.
"… … …"
Normally, Yuriko avoided calling out to people unnecessarily so as not to bother them. But right now, with Daichi's rejection still lingering in her mind—and with the former student council president no longer around to casually interact with her—Yuriko felt that this could be her only opportunity to get closer to someone who, hopefully, wasn't yet aware of her status as one of the school princes. Someone who wouldn't treat her too formally.
So, she quietly began walking toward the boy.
"… Pushes the door handle … Pushes the door handle again … It's locked, huh… I guess I'll just go find some other place to—"
"What are you doing?"
"UMMYYYYAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"
When Takeru suddenly heard a voice coming from right behind him, his immediate reaction was to scream, jump to the side, and turn to see who the voice belonged to—all while instinctively putting himself on guard in case of any suspicious movement. What he saw was a tall girl with silver hair, who was now smiling at him in clear surprise.
"…"
That was all Yuriko could think of as she continued staring at the boy in front of her. Thanks to his exaggerated reaction, she could almost imagine a pair of cat ears popping up on his head.
But for some reason, that wasn't the only reason she couldn't stop looking at him. Instead, she felt a strange sensation within herself—a feeling she couldn't quite identify… but one that felt surprisingly pleasant, as her lips slowly curved into a gentle smile.