"Yuuji Yamada is a lucky bastard"
Classmates muttered as he looked out at the school entrance, watching the most average, bland, boring boy in school walking to school yet again with a girl on each side of him. Over the last few months, Mekito Academy had laid witness to the development of their own student's romantic adventures.
"Man…the whole reason I joined the track team was to get closer to Yoshida-san. How was I supposed to know she was Yuuji's childhood friend?" a male classmate muttered to his stockier friend as his eyes followed the girl on Yuuji's right. "How am I supposed to compete against that?..."
The girl at Yuuji's right side grinned happily and spoke in a casual tone. "Hey Yuyu! I have to practice for a track meet next week, how about we go on a run after school? Like old times!".
Yuuji smiled at her eager look. Even after years apart Chihiro Yoshida was just the same as ever. It was this upbeat attitude of hers that made her so popular amongst the students of Mekito Academy. Well, that and her athletic accomplishments of course. Long, healthy legs complimented her athletic figure alongside her naturally bronze skin, a symbol of her Okinawan roots. Fluffy dark hair half-tied into a side ponytail stopped about at her chin and framed her face with wide eyes and light freckles.
"That sounds like fun, but I already told Suzuki i'd help her with dinner tonight." Yuuji said as he turned to pat the head of the petite girl on his left. The comparatively pale girl's doll- like face flushed with a pink hue as she clung tighter to his arm.
"Suzuki chan is cute as always~" The shorter and stockier of the two male classmates in the crowd of students admiring the scene mused. "If I had a little sister like that-"
"Dude." The taller student stared in disgust at his friend.
"Shut up Kenji, like you weren't practically creaming your pants over Yoshida a minute ago-" The student huffed, crossing his arms as his eyes locked onto the short girl at Yuuji's side.
Her long hair was tied into a lazy braid that looked like it would come undone in a strong wind. It's hue was such a pale lilac that in the sunlight it almost seemed white. Nevertheless the way the sunlight bounced off her hair made her almost look like a little angel with a permanent halo.
"They look nothing alike," the taller student commented. "Probably step-siblings or adopted, so I guess your weird incest fantasies are a bust Naoto"
"Heh" his friend chuckles. "Even so, she's so shy and avoidant of people at school it makes you wonder what she's like at home…. he's like an innocent fawn who scurries away at the slightest noise."
"You sound like you're going to end up on a registry or something someday-" Kenji sighs as his eyes trail towards a slender figure walking towards the school courtyard. Her long black hair trailing behind her like a cape. Her traditionally hime cut bangs stopped just a few centimeters above her icy blue eyes.
"Oh? Admiring the ice queen are we?" Naoto nudged his buddy, grinning impishly.
Yukina Murajima, the student council president, the smartest girl in school, the most intimidating girl in school. She was the beautiful overachieving daughter of a wealthy family, it even was rumored her family's home in Kyoto was a 200 year old Bukeyashiki said to have housed previous emperors.
"Careful, you don't want to become another one of her rejected suitors." Naoto teased and Kenji huffed. Among her many accolades, her most famous at school was her title as the "Ice queen". Her ability to immediately shut down any attempts at flirtation or courting her was famed around the school. At least once per month there'd be some poor sap who attempted to woo her, only to be coldly rejected.
Everyone knew about the Murajima clan's heiress and how her cold, professional attitude was dropped for no one. Except, of course-
"Hm? Yamada-san"
Yukina's head rose up ever so slightly in acknowledgement of Yuuji as he approached the courtyard. Her icy blue eyes looked at him through dark feathered eyelashes. As Yuuji waved happily at her and she nodded back politely.
"Good morning, Yamada-san." she remarked, her voice as soft and graceful like a cool breeze. A simple acknowledgement may not have seemed like much to most people, but to the students of Mekito academy, a simple greeting from the Ice Queen was quite an achievement in itself.
The peaceful morning scene was quickly shattered as the sound of quick footsteps approached and an accusatory voice exclaimed
"You idiot! Did you wake up late again?!"
Yuuji whipped his head around to look at the source of the familiar voice. Chuckling as he looked at the twin-tailed girl glaring up at him.
On the sidelines, Naoto hummed. "Ahh~ Akemi-chan, is it possible to be even cuter than Suzuki-chan?". Kenji huffed, "don't let her see you drooling. You'll get publicly berated if you're lucky…you'll land in the hospital if you're unlucky."
Naoto grinned, "that doesn't sound that bad…especially if she roundhouse kicks me in a skirt-"
"Please…please shut up." Kenji groaned.
Meanwhile, Kagari Akemi had her hands on her hips and a frustrated pout on her face as she looked up at Yuuji. Her long, coralline hair was tied up in long playful twintails, which were known to swish and dance in the air with her expressive movements. Her sharp, cat-like eyes were lined with black eyeliner and decorated with just a hint of glittery eyeshadow, her rose bud lips painted with a layer of pink gloss. Just enough makeup to emphasize her cutest features, but subtle enough to not be dresscoded.
As much as she would never admit it, it was clear how much time and effort she put into her appearance everyday. A few minutes of straightening her hair here, a touch of blush there, and if she was feeling extra trendy, perhaps a cute hairclip to decorate her bangs.Her trendy friends were hanging just a few steps behind her, giggling as they watched the scene unfold.
Kagari pouted as she muttered "...you kept me waiting….dummy…"
Yuuji chuckled, "That's my bad Kagari. Suzuki needed to wake me up today."
Suzuki, hearing this, hugged his arm, her eyes flickering down as she softly said. "I'm sorry big brother….I should've woken you up earlier."
Chihiro chirped "Suzu-chan you don't need to apologize! We all know how heavy of a sleeper Yuyu is!"
Yuuji met her comment with a lighthearted chuckle and Kagari crossed her arms with a huff.
"I suppose I can forgive you this time." She said before digging through her and holding out a bento box wrapped in pink cloth towards Yuuji. "Here", she huffed looking away with the ghost of a blush on her face.
"I-I was only wanting to give you this!"
Yuuji chuckled as he took the box with a smile, "Thank you Kagari, it was sweet of you to make this for me"
"Hmph!" Kagari huffed "it was nothing, I-I just had leftovers after making my lunch s-so…erm…"
"So you gave Yamada-san your sloppy leftovers? How 'thoughtful' " Yukina chided and Kagari's blush immediately dissipated and was replaced with an irritated look.
"Oh? Well I doubt you've ever cooked a day in your life Murajima-san! I'd like to see you make a bento box!"
Yukina met Kagari's angry gaze with her own deadpan stare " My family's personal chef is responsible for preparing my daily meals. I would be more than happy to allow Yamada-san to have dinner at my house sometime-"
"Of course you would say that you spoiled brat! But can your family buy you some class?"
At Kagari's response Yukina shot her an icy glare, the tension between the two was thick and palpable. Yuuji himself looked flustered as Suzuki clung to his arm. Eventually the tension was broken as Chihiro clapped her hands together.
"Murajima-san! Akemi-chan! Both of you are so nice to think about Yuyu-kun!" Chihiro smiled nervously and quickly looked at Yuuji. "Right Yuyu?"
"Oh yeah! Yeah! I really do appreciate the both of you!" Yuuji said, holding his arms up in a faux surrender in order to defuse the situation.
"Hmph" Kagari huffed as Yukina simply averted her gaze.
Naoto, watching the scene unfold, hummed " ah, girls are so cute when they are jealous hehe."
Kenji looked up and sighed "I'm wondering who he'll end up dating, I mean it's obvious they all like him"
"Ha! You sweet summer child…" Naoto scoffed "what we see here is the quintessential 'harem'! Why would he choose one girl when he already has four!"
"I guess…I wonder if Yuuji is really that type though?" Kenji muttered looking on as Yuuji, surrounded by the girls, entered the shoe locker area.
Suzuki fumbled with her shoe laces as Yuuji chuckled. "Is there something making you nervous Suzu-chan?"
Almost immediately the small girl's face flushed as her doe eyes darted to the ground. "It's just…you're so popular in just your second year of high school! Meanwhile It's been about a week for me since I started and…I haven't made any friends in my class…"
Yuuji looked at her with a softened expression of sympathy, as he patted her on the head affectionately. "Hey now, you still have plenty of time to get to know people! Everyone in your class is probably nervous too - have you tried talking to anyone? lately?"
Suzuki pouts and shakes her head "I…I can't. I freeze up every time I try."
Her eyes gaze up towards Yuuji, a small flush on her pale cheek as she tugs at the sleeves of her oversized zip-front hoodie. It was probably against the dresscode, but it was the one thing that brought her comfort when her "big brother" wasn't around — and at this point she seemed so invisible to her classmates it was unlikely she'd get noticed for it anyways.
"It's different when talking to you big brother…but I-I don't wanna be a burden…I feel bad clinging to your arm all the time."
"Suzu-chan! Don't ever say you're a burden!" He smiles "you're practically family, even though I think you can make lots of friends this year, your big brother will always be here for you!"
Suzuki's eyes widened, her her fluttering at the proclamation.
"Aughhh That's so sweet I'm gonna cry!" Chihiro exclaimed, poking her head out from the other side of the lockers.
"Oh uh…sorry for eavesdropping heh" Chihiro chuckled bashfully, Yuuji met her laughter with his own then smirked. "It's fine, 'not like you're the only one listening in"
An exclaimed gasp came from the other row of lockers, where Kagari stood with her back turned towards Yuuji and Suzuki. Obviously caught listening in, Yukina soon appeared as well with her usually deadpan expression.
"Could it be called eavesdropping if you are talking in the open? Perhaps some of us are just more perceptive to our surroundings."
Yuuji chortled at her comment before turning to unlock his locker, happy to have started another perfect day off with the girls he grew so close with over the last year. It seemed like this year would be another typical year for the group, however as his locker made a signature 'click' to open he saw something that caught him completely off guard.
Sitting there, on top of his school shoes, was a crisp white envelope sealed with a red heart sticker. He pulled it out to inspect it, certainly not what he would've expected to see first thing in the morning on his first week back at class.
All the girls around him quickly noticed his silence, however Chihiro was the first to pipe up. "Whatcha got there? Oh! Its note-" her sentence ended with a surprised gasp as he opened the note to read its contents. Yukina,Chihiro, and Kagari practically hovering over his shoulder as Suzuki's eyes were laser-focused on his expression.
His dark eyes flicked across the page, leaving a painfully stretched out moment of silence before he announced.
"It's…a love letter…from my secret admirer…they say they want to meet me under the cherry blossom tree this afternoon."
"W-what?! T-this isn't a joke dummy!"
"Hm?... Is that so?"
"Big bro?..."
"I…wow Yuuji! C-congrats…"
After their exclamations of shock, Immediately all of the girls' eyes darted amongst each other.
A love letter, a confession, a claim on Yuuji's heart.
Someone had broken the unspoken alliance between the four girls, someone was dashing for the finish line before they had even agreed to a race.
And now they only had until classes ended today to find out who it was.