When Isagi pushed open the front door, he did it with the same automatic care as always, but he immediately noticed the house was no longer silent. The smell of freshly brewed coffee filled the air, and there was movement coming from the kitchen; clear proof that his parents had already started the morning.
He took off his earphones and hung them around his neck as he walked into the living room.
The moment he stepped in, Iyo turned first, holding a steaming mug of coffee in her hands.
"Good morning, Yoichi…" she said with a gentle smile.
Isagi nodded back.
"Good morning, Mom."
Issei appeared right behind her, closing his laptop and adjusting his glasses.
"Back from training already? Good morning, son."
"Good morning, Dad. I just finished a little while ago."
Iyo rested a hand on her hip, wearing that usual half-worried look.
"You wake up so early… Are you sure you're eating properly?"
"Yes, Mom. I already had breakfast," Isagi replied calmly. "Before I left. Now I'm going to take a quick shower and change for school."
The couple answered in unison:
"Alright."
After the shower and already dressed in his Ichinan uniform, Isagi went up to his room, grabbed his backpack, then headed downstairs. The backpack felt solid on his shoulder; he straightened his collar as he walked into the living room.
"I'm heading out…" he announced, slipping the earphones back around his neck.
Iyo stepped closer.
"Have a good day at school, sweetheart."
Issei raised a hand in a simple wave.
"Study hard. And be careful on the way."
Isagi slipped on his shoes, opened the door, and answered with his usual calm:
"I will. See you later."
"See you!"
"See you!"
Their voices overlapped behind him as Isagi stepped outside and walked calmly down the street toward Ichinan Academy.
He walked the quiet streets at his usual steady pace.
About twenty minutes later, the wide silhouette of Ichinan Academy appeared ahead, bathed in the still-soft morning light. The gates were already open, and the flow of students was picking up; some rushing, some chatting, others just operating on Monday-morning autopilot.
The moment he stepped onto campus, Isagi noticed the stares. It wasn't new; ever since the last match, he'd easily become the most popular guy in school. Still, he kept his expression calm and his pace unchanged.
"Good morning, Isagi-kun!"
"Ah! Morning, Isagi!"
"Good morninggg…"
Several students greeted him; some with enthusiasm, others with that restrained tone of someone trying not to look too eager. Isagi returned each one with a polite nod, his usual calm on full display, though the occasional raised eyebrow betrayed that he still wasn't completely used to all the attention.
Then came the girls.
Some walked in groups, whispering and blushing at the same time.
"H-he really is handsome up close…"
"Oh my god, he looked this way…"
"Shh! Walk like it's forbidden to get too close!"
Others, shyer, just dipped their heads quickly; Isagi responded with a small wave, enough to leave two or three frozen in place for half a second.
He kept moving, entering the main hallway until he reached the shoe lockers. He stopped in front of his, spun the little combination lock, and lifted the metal door.
And then… romantic disaster struck.
Paf!
An avalanche of colorful envelopes poured straight onto his feet; dozens, no, hundreds of letters tumbling out like someone had dumped a bucket of handmade paper.
For one moment, nobody breathed.
Isagi leaned slightly forward, his face frozen in a mix of quiet surprise and discreet disbelief; the kind of reaction only someone extremely calm could manage in the face of such absurdity.
The students around them widened their eyes.
"I-I knew he was popular, but… all that?"
"That almost looks illegal…"
"My god, how many girls…?"
Isagi opened his mouth as if to say something; and said nothing. Because behind him, someone let out a long, drawn-out sigh loaded with pure existential exhaustion.
"Isagi… why… do these things always happen around you?"
The voice was unmistakable.
Houtarou Oreki, one of his best friends and a member of the school's Classic Literature Club.
Isagi turned and found him leaning against the wall with the slouched posture of someone who had woken up, come to school, and was already tired of existing.
His uniform was perfectly ordinary: shirt neatly buttoned, blazer slightly crooked, dark-brown hair naturally messy; not on purpose, but because Oreki wouldn't bother fixing it. His gray-green eyes carried the same sleepy, annoyed glint that advertised his life philosophy: *If I don't have to do it, I won't. If I do… I'll do the bare minimum.*
He stared at the mountain of letters scattered on the floor like he was looking at the greatest bureaucratic nightmare humanity had ever produced.
"…Just looking at this is giving me a headache," he muttered.
Isagi blinked a few times, trying to gather his thoughts.
"I… didn't know there were this many."
"Of course you didn't." Oreki shuffled over with his slow, almost lazily excessive steps. "You never notice anything. It's tragically impressive."
He stopped beside Isagi, looked at the floor, crossed his arms, and sighed again; deeper this time.
"Want help picking them up?"
Isagi, who knew him far too well, instantly understood what the question really meant:
If he said no, Oreki would pretend nothing happened and walk away. If he said yes, Oreki would complain the whole time but help anyway.
Isagi took a deep breath.
"…I think I'm going to need it."
Oreki slowly closed his eyes, as if accepting his defeat to the universe.
"I knew you were going to say that."
A few students watched from afar, impressed by the "friendship" between the two; after all, Isagi was only good at soccer, and he was pretty lazy in class too, so it made sense they'd become friends…
Oreki crouched down, picked up a letter, eyed the shiny pink envelope, made a slight face, and muttered:
"If any of these are perfumed, I'm out."
Isagi let out a soft sigh that was half-laugh, half-resignation.
And so, while half the hallway pretended not to stare and the other half stared way too much, Isagi and his best friend began gathering the avalanche of love confessions as if it were just another normal morning at Ichinan Academy.
A few minutes later, Isagi set his backpack on the floor, took a deep breath, and looked at the absurd pile of envelopes; all stacked, folded, reorganized, and miraculously crammed into the limited space of the fabric.
Miracle? No.
Sheer stubbornness and willpower.
He yanked the zipper shut with a firm tug. The sharp sound echoed down the hallway.
"Done…"
"Miraculous," Oreki commented, raising an eyebrow. "If I tried that, I would've given up by the third letter."
"You'd give up before even opening the locker…" Isagi countered naturally.
Oreki looked away with the resigned honesty of someone who had no intention of denying it.
"…Possibly."
They started walking side by side down the main corridor.
Isagi's backpack now felt like it weighed two tons, but his expression didn't change. Oreki, meanwhile, walked with his characteristic slowness, each step calculated to expend the least possible life energy.
Isagi glanced sideways.
"Oreki, why did you miss so much school last month? I barely saw you…"
The sleepy-eyed boy sighed before even answering, as if the question alone was too much effort.
"My battery was addicted to the charger."
Isagi blinked.
"…What?"
"I didn't want to get out of bed," Oreki explained with absolute directness, hands in his pockets. "I took advantage of my sister being away traveling, as usual, and switched to energy-saving mode."
Isagi stared at him for a few seconds, unable to decide whether to laugh, scold, or just accept that as the most normal thing possible coming from him.
"…So you spent an entire month… lying down?"
"Not the entire month." Oreki thought for a second. "There was one day I got up to read the newspaper."
"And then?"
"Took a nap."
Isagi gave a faint smile.
Very Oreki.
His friend continued, not looking the least bit embarrassed:
"Tomoe went on a long trip. The old man too. So I was home alone. Light coffee, newspaper, nap. Occasionally a manga if it looked interesting. Perfect life."
"…You really live like an eighty-year-old man."
"And proudly," Oreki replied without hesitation. "The world would be a better place if people rested more."
Isagi shook his head, holding back a quiet laugh as they turned the corner.
A few students passed them and looked twice; Isagi for the obvious reasons, and Oreki for looking like he hadn't slept in days. Which, of course, was a huge lie: he'd slept from seven last night straight through until this morning before reluctantly deciding to come to school.
"At least you're back now," Isagi commented.
"Only because the school sent a letter," Oreki muttered with an even deeper sigh. "And because Tomoe yelled at me over the phone from the other side of the planet."
Isagi could picture Tomoe trying to "recharge" her lazy brother through a call. His predecessor had met her a few times, so it made sense. In the end, only she seemed to really know how to handle that eternally lazy friend.
"You still prefer lightly roasted coffee? Or did your taste change in the last month?" he asked, remembering the last time he'd been over.
"Of course," Oreki answered instantly. "If you show up with that bitter stuff you like, I'll kick you out."
Isagi sighed…
The two continued down Ichinan's hallway, walking like they were stuck in an eternal loop of low energy and high discipline:
One carrying a backpack stuffed with romantic confessions.
The other carrying only the weight of existing.
A strangely perfect duo.
Of course, one was still missing.
Because wherever Isagi was, and wherever Oreki was dragged by the gravitational pull of social obligation against his will, the third member of that unlikely trio would inevitably appear.
Masashika Kuze showed up at the end of the corridor, looking like he'd woken up five minutes ago even though he was perfectly put together. He walked with a light stretch, arms raised above his head, body lengthening as he let out a lazy sigh; not quite like Oreki's, but the natural kind of sigh from someone who lived on routine, discipline, and a touch of school boredom.
His brown hair was perfectly in place, as always, and his firm, expressive, slightly serious gaze swept the hallway before landing on the two of them.
"Yo," he said, raising a hand in a short greeting.
"Morning, Isagi. Morning, Oreki."
Isagi returned it.
"Morning, Kuze."
Oreki gave the tiniest possible wave, as if moving his neck was an Olympic sacrifice.
"…Morning."
Kuze walked up at an easy pace, adjusted his backpack strap, then tilted his chin toward Isagi with a faint smile.
"I watched the match yesterday."
Even Oreki raised an eyebrow at that; not out of interest, but because it was rare for Kuze to start a conversation this early.
"You looked like a pro out there, Isagi. Before long you'll be just like that famous player who showed up a while back, Itoshi Sae, right?" Kuze continued, straight to the point.
Isagi blinked and said with a sigh:
"…I'm still a bit far from Itoshi Sae's level… but thanks, Kuze."
Oreki let out a low, almost inaudible "hm," making it clear that morning compliments required more energy than he wanted to spend before nine.
Kuze, on the other hand, kept his steady gaze on Isagi, like he was sizing up a promising athlete without any romanticizing; just acknowledging merit when he saw it.
"Far from Sae, huh?" Kuze repeated, crossing his arms. "You say that, but… yesterday you owned the entire pitch by yourself. If that's not pro level, I don't know what is."
Isagi just gave a small smile.
Oreki trailed a step behind them, his expression saying everything without words: *If you start talking sports before first period, I'm going to fall asleep standing.*
Kuze then let out a soft "ah," as if remembering something he'd meant to mention from the start.
"By the way…" He glanced to the side, scratching the back of his neck. "Yuki was really excited about yesterday's match."
Isagi turned to him.
"She was?"
"Yeah." Kuze nodded. "She almost stayed after the game to congratulate you in person. Only didn't because she had a student-council meeting…"
Oreki sighed.
One of those long, suffering sighs full of meaning… and silent judgment.
Kuze sighed right after, his more resigned, almost brotherly.
Isagi looked between the two of them, completely lost about that weird synchronized moment.
"…I'll thank her for the support later," he said with his usual calm, as if he were just commenting on the weather.
"He doesn't notice the obvious stuff, but on the pitch he turns into a human radar…" Oreki remarked.
Kuze let out a short, dry, almost imperceptible chuckle.
"Yeah. Off the field he's surprisingly oblivious."
Isagi gave a brief, almost ironic smile; the kind he gave when he knew he was being teased but didn't have the energy to come up with anything clever in return.
"Oblivious, huh… You two talk like I live on another planet."
Oreki answered without turning his head, eyes fixed forward:
"Not another planet. Just… a distant satellite."
Kuze nodded with complete seriousness.
"Very distant."
Isagi huffed, but the smile didn't fade.
"My mistake for hanging out with two lazy bums, then…"
"And yet you still do," Oreki shot back with his usual lazy honesty.
"A recurring error," Kuze finished, as if reading from a medical chart.
"You two are impossible today…" Isagi murmured calmly.
They continued down the main hallway, passing rows of lockers as the flow of students grew heavier. Curious glances, discreet whispers, and pats on the back for Isagi; a tense greeting or two for Kuze; and practically no one dared speak to Oreki, whose "please do not interact" aura worked better than any warning sign.
When they reached the building's fork, the almost-automatic parting happened.
Kuze stopped first, adjusting his backpack strap.
"My classroom's this way. See you guys at break."
Oreki gave the tiniest possible wave; for him, that counted as a "later."
Kuze disappeared down the corridor.
Isagi sighed and turned to Oreki.
"And you?"
Oreki slowly looked at his own classroom door, as if staring down divine punishment.
"Right here. Unfortunately."
Isagi raised an eyebrow.
"As always, you act like studying is torture."
Oreki answered without hesitation:
"It is."
Isagi's eyes narrowed.
"See you at lunch, then?"
"If I survive that long."
"You will."
"Far too optimistic for such a long morning."
Isagi let out a light laugh, shifted the ridiculous backpack full of love letters on his shoulder, took a few steps sideways, and tilted his chin toward his own classroom.
"Later, Oreki."
Oreki raised a hand in a wave that looked like it required more energy than he currently possessed.
"Later."
And just like that, after walking together as they always did, the unlikely trio split up, each heading to their own path, routine, and personal energy level for another day at Ichinan Academy.
________________________
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