The moment Riku Kazehaya walked into school that morning, it was like someone had dropped a bomb.
Whispers. Giggles. Stares that lasted a second too long.
Girls surrounded him like honeybees drawn to sugar.
"Riku-kun, what shampoo do you use?"
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
"Your eyes are so pretty… are those lenses?"
Riku blinked, utterly stunned. "I just recovered from a fever... What the hell is happening?"
One girl leaned in playfully. "You looked so average before… but outside of school, you're hot!"
Another whispered, "I saw the picture Shizuka-chan posted… hoodie off, veins out— unfair!"
Before things got out of hand
"Oi. Move."
A strong hand yanked Riku out of the crowd by his collar and dragged him down the hallway.
He stumbled behind until they ducked into the old AV room, barely avoiding the curious eyes of classmates.
SLAM.
The door shut. Jin Morikawa, his best friend and chaos manager, locked it.
"Dude," Jin exhaled. "I had to save your ass."
Riku raised an eyebrow. "From girls?"
"From Aika Hoshino, you idiot!"
Riku peeked through the cracked window.
Sure enough, standing down the hall — elegant and unreadable — was Aika.
She held her phone loosely, lips curled into a soft smile. But her eyes?
They were sharp, deadly calm, and locked straight on the AV room door.
Jin whistled. "You're dead."
"I know," Riku muttered.
Later That Day – At Their Apartment
The silence on the walk home was deafening.
Riku opened the door and Punch, their tiny fluffy white puppy, came barreling toward them.
The little dog wagged his tail and immediately started biting at Riku's joggers again.
"Hey, buddy," Riku chuckled, picking him up. "Still my number one fan?"
Aika finally spoke.
"He's dumb."
"Huh?"
"I said he's dumb," Aika repeated. "If he had a brain, he'd glare at those girls too."
Riku sighed and flopped onto the couch. "Look, I didn't ask for any of that."
She crossed her arms. "You know what pisses me off?"
"That I got attention?"
"No," she snapped. "That none of them even looked at you before. Not one."
Riku stayed quiet.
"But now that you're the hot mystery boxer guy, they're lining up. Like I don't already have dibs."
"…You got dibs, huh?"
"Full claim," Aika smirked. "Name, number, soul — mine."
Before he could respond, there was a knock at the door.
Riku groaned. "Haruka Minami?"
Aika opened the door, already annoyed.
Standing there in gym gear and a towel slung around her neck was Haruka, captain of the boxing club and resident tomboy.
"Yo. Hope I'm not interrupting anything," Haruka said casually. "Came to ask if Riku could help demonstrate peek-a-boo and long guard tomorrow. Gotta show the first-years what real technique looks like."
Aika narrowed her eyes. "You want to borrow my boyfriend?"
Haruka shrugged. "Just for one training session."
"You can take him," Aika said sweetly, "if you beat me in a fight."
Haruka blinked. "Wait—what?"
"You heard me."
Riku facepalmed. "Can we not fight everyone who breathes near me?"
Punch let out a bark, hopping up on the couch like he agreed with Aika.
Haruka smirked. "Damn, even the dog's territorial. Well, if you ever get tired of her," she said, looking Riku dead in the eye, "I live on the second floor. Alone."
Aika slammed the door.
"She wishes," she muttered, stomping into the kitchen.
"She's not that bad," Riku said, mostly to calm her down.
Aika looked over her shoulder. "Next time she touches your abs, I'm breaking fingers."
Punch barked again in full support, wagging his tail like a tiny bodyguard.
Riku sat down, pulling the hoodie over his head.
"…Even Punch's on your side."
"Of course," Aika said smugly, arms crossed. "Boys know who their queen is."
To be continued...