Chapter Text
Ayanokouji POV Ayanokouji’s room
Breasts pressing on my chest. Breaths softly brushing my skin. Bare bodies on top of each other.
‘Die, ikemen!’
I could just hear the single boys in school curse at me if they learn that this is how I’m starting my day. Even I, who is still learning about human relationships, can acknowledge that I am fortunate to spend my highschool days with a cute girlfriend.
Seeing her sleeping soundly, it paints a sharp contrast to the gyaru persona she wears in school. Her face had no trace of makeup but oddly enough, she is more charming this way. She looks seductively innocent in her vulnerable state that you’ll want to either protect her or attack her.
I wonder why, even though this is not unpleasant at all, watching this sight still does not move my heart?
Would it make a difference if it were a different woman on top of me right now—Ichinose, perhaps? Or Hiyori? What about Horikita?
“Kei, wake up.”
Even though it is Sunday and we don’t have classes, I’m not too keen on staying in bed all day. Kei stirs and upon seeing my face, she flashes a smile and greets me.
“Hey, we haven’t gone out in a while. How about we have breakfast at Keiyaki mall? After that we can just check out other shops. Pretty please?”
We were already together the entire night yet she still wants to spend the day on a date with me. Kei’s parasitic nature is at its peak. Although it is not unpleasant like I said, it does take away a lot of time that I’d rather spend doing something else.
“Fine. Why don’t you get in the shower?”
“Let’s take one together!”
I guess I can indulge her for now.
___
3rd Person POV A cafe in Keiyaki Mall
Nagumo Miyabi is bored. Ever since his senior Horikita Manabu had graduated, he hasn’t had any exciting competition to get him motivated. Just when he thought he finally had a kouhai that could challenge him, the brat would not even take him seriously.
Who knew the ultimate battle he’s been jerking off to for months would turn out to be so boring and meaningless?
Sigh.
“Miyabi-kun is not having fun?”
“Don’t mind me. I was just wondering how to make our final exam more exciting.”
He flashes a smile that stops any further questions. He is once again surrounded by girls who wanted to play with him. He doesn’t mind, he’s still a healthy teenage boy after all. Yet this has also become routinary that the girls are all starting to look and smell the same to him.
He can’t wait for the remaining weeks of his highschool life to be over and get into the same college where Horikita Manabu is currently enrolled in. Perhaps then, he can feel alive once more.
Such were his thoughts when out of the corner of his eyes he saw the apathetic kouhai enter the cafe with a blonde petite girl latched in his arm. He laughed mentally at this, how he is able to recognize his rival from just his silhouette, not unlike a maiden in love who gets conscious whenever their crush is around.
He watched them order food and sit in one of the corners. The boyfriend kept a stoic expression while the girlfriend across from him was merrily chatting away, hands gesturing in the air showing how excited she was with her story. In contrast, the boy was more focused on his food.
Nagumo knows he doesn't care about her. It’s not like he doesn’t understand having superficial relationships—he’s had his fair share of those. What baffles him is why Ayanokouji is still with Karuizawa when he seems to despise going on dates with her.
Now that could be interesting. Maybe he can get an idea what goes on inside that psycho’s head. Or maybe he’ll find something about the gyaru that makes it hard to let her go.
He declined the girls’ invitation to go shopping. Made up a lie about having to do something else. Well maybe it wasn’t a lie. He just wanted to watch the young couple for a bit longer.
Ayanokouji took out his phone after finishing his meal. Looks like he received a message and showed the screen to Karuizawa whose expression changed from gleeful to troubled. She seemed to be complaining then she pouted, puffing her left cheek. Heh, now that is cute.
Even the monster didn’t seem completely immune to this attack as he patted her head in response. He’s saying something, probably trying to comfort her? Then she nodded her head reluctantly, but her gaze remained on the uneaten food on her plate. He then stood up from his chair and headed to the door.
Oi, is he just going to leave her alone in the middle of their date?
Nagumo had to bite his tongue to stop himself from cackling. He’s been called evil, womanizer, and all sorts of names before but what the brat did makes him a saint in comparison.
He approached Karuizawa after her boyfriend exited the cafe. He sat on the same chair that Ayanokouji occupied.
“Your coffee has turned cold.”
It startled the girl who just noticed his presence. He could see tears forming from the corners of her eyes but she quickly composed herself and glared at him.
“What do you want, senpai?”
Wow. She’s really not scared to talk to him. He thought the same when she was the only one who intervened when he was talking to Ayanokouji during their double date.
“Relax. I just wanted to talk.”
“If you’re just trying to harass me, Kiyotaka will—”
“I’m not. You must have heard from him, right? There’s nothing I can do anymore. Besides, I’ll be graduating soon.”
Karuizawa furrowed her eyebrows, searching for lies in Nagumo’s words before turning away saying “Hmp!”
What was that? I wanna eat her.
“So, what urgent matter did he have to attend to that he had to leave you here?”
Hearing this, Karuizawa felt a lump form in her throat. But she can’t have a breakdown here. Not in front of Nagumo-senpai.
“B-book.”
“Excuse me?”
Breathing evenly is becoming a challenge but she found the words to explain further.
“There’s a new book from an author he likes. He went to the bookstore to buy it.”
“You’re telling me, he left his girlfriend alone so he could buy a book?” This time he couldn’t help a smirk from forming on his lips. “You’re joking, right?”
“T-that.. He said it’s hard to get a copy, that it might get sold out. They’ve been waiting for it for months or something..”
“They?”
Karuizawa’s face has visibly darkened. Ah, that must be who sent him the message. It’s not hard to fill in the blanks now.
“A woman?”
She was not aware that she had been clenching her fists on the table so tightly that her knuckles had turned white.
“He can have friends, you know? He invited me but I’m just not interested in books. I.. I’ll just feel out of place.”
A sound reasoning. But to Nagumo who had plenty of experience with women, it wasn’t hard to see through what’s really going on. She didn’t want to seem needy. No, she is afraid she will be thrown away if she doesn’t let him do as he pleases. Something similar must have transpired before. Oh yeah, he heard they had a cold war during the holidays. Perhaps it was then?
“So you’re saying you trust him?”
“Isn’t that obvious?!”
How feisty.
Yet he could tell by the way that she dressed up that this is not how she planned their day to go at all. Not when the upper part of her breasts are peeking from her off-shoulder top, her collarbones inviting you to take a bite. Nagumo licked his lips that seemed to have dried since they were talking.
“Right. Wow, I envy Ayanokouji. I don’t know other girls who can be as understanding.” He reached out to touch her still clenched fist. “He’s really lucky to have you. If it were me, I would have been slapped at the mention of leaving a date to go with another woman. I’m sure he’s just really excited to buy a book. You’re very kind, Kei .”
He withdrew his hand and pulled out a napkin from the table. He took a pen from his dress shirt pocket and wrote on it.
“I’m sure even if I ask for your number, you won’t give it. But here’s mine. I only have a few weeks left in this school but if you have no one else to talk to...”
He placed the napkin under Karuizawa’s coffee cup and winked at her.
Nagumo took his leave after that. That should be enough for now. Now he just had to wait. Wait for the prey to take the bait.
___
3rd Person POV Keiyaki mall
There are only two bookstores in Keiyaki mall. And with how Nagumo could easily spot Ayanokouji’s shadow, he’s sure to find him right away if he really went to where he said he was going.
At least the part about buying a book didn’t seem to be a code for something else more obscene. He found him lining up at the cashier holding a book. He waited for him to exit the store, noticing the silver-haired girl walking beside him who was also carrying the same paper bag, before approaching him to talk.
“Yo, Ayanokouji! It’s been a while.”
If he was annoyed at the sight of Nagumo, it didn’t show on Ayanokouji’s face. He knew he was being watched since he entered the cafe with Kei.
“Can I help you, Nagumo-senpai?”
“I was hoping you could spare some time to talk?”
“Can it wait? We were just planning to go to a restaurant to—”
“Didn’t you just leave Karuizawa-san from your breakfast date? You’re hungry again?”
Despite masking it as a joke on his big appetite, it made the girl beside Ayanokouji flinch upon hearing this.
“Uhm, I didn’t mean to disturb your date with Karuizawa-san. Did I upset her?”
“I received her permission. Don’t worry about it.”
Permission . Nagumo almost snorted at the word. No way the depressed girl sitting alone in the corner of a cafe willingly gave her permission. She just felt like she had no choice.
“Is it a bad time after all? Should we meet later?” Nagumo knows he can’t be denied now but asked anyway.
“Ah! No, I think I’ll just go home for now. I’m also excited to read the book we just bought.” Smiling nervously, Hiyori assured them that she was fine going ahead. She bowed to the two young men before leaving.
“So, what is it?”
“Why don’t we move somewhere with less people?”
Ayanokouji followed him until they arrived at an alley behind one of the buildings.
“Sorry about all that. I was just really curious, you see.” Nagumo placed his hands in his pockets as he continued. “You said you don’t care about her so why are you still dating Karuizawa?”
“I don’t think Nagumo-senpai can judge me about my love affair.”
“Touché, but you know what I mean. You don’t look like you're enjoying your time with her. You left your date to be with that bookworm. You’re often seen at the gym with Honami. You spend a lot of time with Suzune.”
“What are you getting at?”
“If you just wanted a casual fling, there are other girls you are more compatible with.”
“Is it that hard to imagine that maybe Kei is just my type?”
“Come on.” Nagumo narrowed his eyes. “I’m graduating soon but we didn’t really have a proper battle. Consider it a consolation, or a farewell gift to me.”
Ayanokouji considered bluffing for a moment but knowing Nagumo, he will see through it. Besides, he was also curious at how the older boy would react.
“She’s useful.”
“You seduced her so she would help in your plans?”
“No. She was already useful before we dated. But now she’s helping me with something personal.”
“And what is that?”
“...Love.”
“Pardon?”
“I didn’t know what love is and I wanted to experience it. She was the closest to me at that time.”
“...”
“...”
“...Pft!”
“Oi.”
“PWAHAHAHAHAHA!!”
Despite his blank face, Ayanokouji was actually offended by this reaction. His methods may be considered cruel or manipulative, but he sincerely wanted to learn about love.
“Haha, sorry.. I just..” Nagumo was hugging the sides of his stomach. It all sounded too sappy for him. He dramatically wiped an imaginary tear after catching his breath. “Alright. I get it. As a senpai, I should help you.”
“Help me?”
Ayanokouji cocked his head to the side as Nagumo stared at him. Then Nagumo walked closer, invading his space, until he was pinned to the wall. Ayanokouji was wondering where all this was going when Nagumo placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Let me help you. Fall in love.”
A warm and gentle breeze passed by.
Ayanokouji blinked once.
Twice.
“I’m sorry senpai. Although I am not prejudiced, I can't return your feelings.”
“Huh? What are you-”
“It all makes sense now why you were always chasing after Manabu-senpai. But I don’t swing that way.”
“I’m asking what the heck are you talking about?!”
“I’m saying I’m straight, senpai.”
“So am I, asshole!”
The fact that they can feel each other’s breath on their faces was not very convincing but Ayanokouji decided to let it go.
“I was just saying I will help you learn about love, like you wanted.” Nagumo finally withdrew his definitely-not-gay hand and crossed his arms. “Tell me, how do you expect love to feel like? Do you think you’re making progress with Karuizawa?”
“My heart has not been swayed ever since we started dating.”
“Heart, huh? So that’s how you think of love.”
“Then, how do you define love, senpai?”
“I wonder.” Nagumo snickered. “But I find definitions can be vague. What makes a table different from a chair? If I sit on the table and put my food on the chair, do their definitions still fit? At what point does a puppy get to be called a dog?”
It’s not like Ayanokouji didn’t understand what he was saying. Almost everything in life is on a spectrum. Infatuation may evolve into love. But he was certain that he did not feel anywhere within that spectrum when he was with Kei. He was comfortable with her, but it was no different from when you are with a close friend. He gets aroused when they engage in intimate activities, but he can do that with other women too.
“Well, you already answered my questions. I’ll let you be.”
Nagumo walked away. He waved a hand as Ayanokouji watched his retreating back, still wondering what was the point of all that.
___
TIMESKIP
Karuizawa POV Ayanokouji’s room
This is the third time, you know?
The third long pink strand of hair that I found in his room. And this time it’s on the bed.
You’d think after that incident with Amasawa he would be more careful. I know him. He’s not the type to make the same mistake. He’s very meticulous in his planning and he cleans thoroughly every time we do it.
So why is it that I keep finding another girl’s hair in his room?
It’s deliberate. It’s a test.
He’s waiting for me to confront him. But I’m sure if I do, he will just turn tables. He will give a believable story that would make him look innocent, and me a paranoid bitch of a girlfriend.
Or perhaps he won’t deny it? Maybe he’ll admit he’s having an affair with someone else then break up with me?
Maybe he won’t even respond at all! Just stare at me with that bored expression on his face, watch me stomp my feet and leave the room without trying to stop me.
Argh! All these thoughts are hurting my head. Worst of all, there’s no one I can talk to about this. Not Satou. Not Mori. What exactly should I say?
“Look, there’s a strand of hair in his room so he wants to break up with me!”
I’ll look crazy. I’m going crazy.
“What would you like for dinner, Kei?”
Speak of the devil.
“I think I’ll stay in my room tonight.” I don’t wanna see you right now.
“What’s wrong? You look pale.”
“Uhm, I’m just tired from the study group. You know me, I get dizzy when I read too much.” It’s you! You are what’s stressing me!
“Don’t push yourself too hard.”
“Uhn! That’s why I think I should go so I can rest. Good night, Kiyotaka!”
___
Karuizawa POV Karuizawa’s room
I ran out of his room. Was I too obvious? No time to think. I rushed into the bathroom and hurled my guts out, the entire place warping around me.
Why is this happening? Just when I thought I was finally free from my past—not afraid to be bullied, surrounded by friends, a lover by my side—I found myself alone and helpless once more. Was I simply destined to be used and abused all my life?
I washed up and changed my clothes, desperate to do anything that would distract me from my depressing thoughts. Maybe I could buy some takeouts for dinner. I grabbed my small shoulder bag but when I opened it to put my phone and wallet inside, I noticed a crumpled napkin in it.
Taking the napkin and opening it, the memories of that ruined date came to mind. I wonder, what would have happened if I didn’t allow him to go? Would he have left me regardless? Would it have ended in another fight that will last for weeks?
I stared at the numbers written on it, Nagumo-senpai’s voice echoing in my head.
“If you have no one else to talk to…”
I dialed the numbers without thinking. Before I knew it, the call went through.
“Hello?”
“...”
I must have stopped breathing. Wait, what am I doing? No, I should hang up!
“Kei?”
Buh!
It’s the second time now! How is he just casually calling me by my first name? And how did he know it was me?
“S-sorry for disturbing you, senpai. I’ll hang up—”
“Have you eaten?”
“Eh?”
“I just got into my room and I haven’t eaten yet. Would you like to join me?”
“Why.. What did.. In your room??”
“Is that a problem?”
“Of course?! You’re inviting a girl into your room!”
“I see.. Does Ayanokouji never let other girls into his room?”
I clutched my phone tightly and clenched my teeth at this question. Girls come and go in his room, so it should be fine if I enter another guy’s room, right?
“I mean, it’s not a problem.”
“Then go to the third years’ dorm in 20 minutes. I’ll text you my room number. Don’t worry about the third years who will see you, they won’t spread any weird rumors. See ya!”
Geh! He hung up without even waiting for my answer!
Should I go? I mean, I’m already dressed up. I was going to buy dinner anyway. It’s kinda rude to not show up when I’m the one who gave him a call in the first place, I think?
Ah mou. Stop overthinking, Kei! It’s just dinner!
___