Takahashi trudged ho that day, dragging behind him the weight of a bruised ego. No, not just bruised—shattered. His friends had taken the hit too, but not like him. Not like this. His pride had been stomped on, spit on, and left for dead. Every step felt heavy, each breath like it burned his lungs. He clenched his fists tight, his nails digging into his palms until the sharp pain barely registered against the wave of frustration flooding through him. He needed to punch sothing, to break sothing. Anything.
The humiliation was suffocating, coiling around his throat like a noose, but that wasn't the only thing eating at him.
As he stomped down the sidewalk, head low and simring with rage, a familiar scene made him freeze mid-step. His stomach twisted. His jaw locked. Kouhei, that smug bastard, was strutting ho with his usual entourage of goddesses.
And fuck, they weren't just any girls.
At the front was Kiyohara Nagisa, the perfect gyaru with that effortless beauty and style that made every guy's head turn. Next to her walked Touyama Kozue, poised and elegant, like she belonged in so high-society tea party instead of a high school hallway. Sarushima Yuuna, graceful and serene, carried herself like royalty, every step deliberate and refined. And then there was her, Saonji Hina—the Ice Princess, cool and detached, her expression always unreadable, but that just made her beauty even more untouchable.
Sotis other mbers of the student council joined them, but this was the usual crew. It was a sight that left most guys feeling a mix of awe and envy.
Takahashi's teeth ground together so hard he thought they might crack. Envy clawed its way up his throat, hot and suffocating. It was like a flood, drowning him in bitterness and rage.
Why the fuck does he get it all?
He stared after them, fists trembling at his sides. "It should be . I'm the one who's supposed to be the main character here. How the hell does that otaku get everything while I get nothing?"
The anger was unbearable, a fire roaring in his chest, consuming him from the inside out. It wasn't fair. None of it was fair. He wasn't even a side character in this story. He was just a stepping stone—soone the main character trampled on before moving on to his next victory.
The thought made him bite down on his lip hard enough to draw blood. The sharp sting barely registered. All he could feel was the overwhelming frustration, the burning need to rip sothing apart.
But as much as he wanted to storm over and smash Kouhei's smug face in, he couldn't. Not after what happened earlier. Those moves Kouhei pulled—dodging every hit like it was child's play—weren't sothing Takahashi could comprehend. It didn't make sense. It wasn't normal.
While the rage still simred beneath his skin, he kept walking, lost in his bitter thoughts.
Then—bam!—soone slamd into him.
"O-Oh, sorry…" he mumbled, barely sparing them a glance.
Before he could step away, a hand shot out, shoving him back against the cold, hard wall. His eyes snapped up, wide with surprise, locking onto a gaze that froze him in place.
Dark hair frad the girl's face like shadows co to life, and her eyes… yes, her eyes were golden. They glowed with an intensity that sent a shiver down his spine. She wore the sa school uniform as him, but he didn't recognize her. How had he not noticed soone like her before?
Her beauty wasn't just striking—it was otherworldly, exotic in a way that made his heart race and his mind go blank. There was sothing magnetic about her, sothing dangerous. Those eyes… they pulled him in, stripping away all his rage and jealousy like they were nothing but smoke in the wind.
Takahashi's breathing hitched, chest rising and falling in shallow, ragged gasps. His legs felt weak, barely holding him up against the wall. The frustration that had been consuming him monts ago? Gone. All that remained was her.
She had him. Completely.
***
Kouhei's training session with Aria was in full swing. Right now, his focus was on slicing through a training dummy using a wooden sword. It sounded simple, but reality wasn't so kind. A wooden sword, blunt and solid, shouldn't have been able to cut through the dense, packed hay stuffed into a sack like it was butter. Aria, however, had already demonstrated that it could be done.
Now it was his turn, and Kouhei was giving it everything he had. Each swing of the wooden blade ca with a grunt of effort, sweat dripping down his face as he tried to mimic Aria's flawless form. Progress was slow but steady. Little by little, his strikes dug deeper.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity of practice, Kouhei managed to carve halfway through the dummy with a single swing. It wasn't a perfect slice—not yet—but it was a hell of a lot better than when he started.
"You've improved quite a bit in such a short amount of ti, Okumura-sama," Aria praised, stepping forward and handing him a towel. Her voice was calm but held a hint of pride.
Kouhei took the towel, wiping off the layer of sweat coating his chest and face. His shirt lay discarded nearby—he'd ditched it halfway through the session when the heat had gotten unbearable. Training topless wasn't sothing he normally did, but today it felt necessary.
"T-Thank you, Aria-san," he replied, his voice a little shaky as he tried to catch his breath.
Once he finished wiping down, Aria reached out, intending to take the towel back. But Kouhei hesitated. "I-I'll take care of it. I can toss it in the laundry later."
Aria tilted her head, looking genuinely confused. "But, Okumura-sama, it's my duty as the maid to handle these things," she said matter-of-factly.
"I an… yeah, I get that, but—" Kouhei fumbled over his words, unsure how to respond to her logic. Finally, he sighed, handing the towel over. "Okay, fine…"
Aria accepted it with a graceful nod, folding the towel so neatly it almost looked unused. With that, she turned and headed back inside to drop it off in the laundry room.
Kouhei let out a long breath, reaching for his shirt to put it back on when—
Thud!
Sothing soft pressed against his bare back, the unexpected contact sending a jolt through his entire body.
"E-Eh?"
Before he could process what was happening, a familiar voice spoke up, calm and cool as ever. "You looked so cool. I couldn't help but want to hug you," Hina said, her tone as monotone as usual, but there was a subtle sweetness beneath the words.
Kouhei froze. His brain short-circuited as he felt Hina's warmth against him. It didn't last long—just a brief mont—but it was enough to leave him completely stunned. She pulled away as quietly as she had appeared, giving him one last glance before heading back toward the mansion.
Kouhei dropped to the ground, his legs giving out beneath him. His heart pounded in his chest, his face burning bright red.
"That… surprised ," he muttered, still dazed. He touched the spot where Hina had hugged him, as if trying to convince himself it had really happened. "I can't believe Hina-san called cool…"
A soft, breathless chuckle escaped him as he leaned back against the ground, a goofy smile spreading across his face. He'd started this whole training thing hoping to impress Yuuna and Hina, but hearing those words from Hina? It felt like everything had just paid off.
"She's… so sweet," he whispered, completely lost in the mont.
Kouhei was lting, and there was no saving him now.
***
anwhile, on the second floor of the Saonji mansion, Kozue stood by the window, gazing down at the yard below. She hadn't ant to watch Kouhei's training, but when she caught sight of him almost slicing the training dummy in half, her eyes were drawn in despite herself.
It wasn't like she was interested or anything. No, of course not. It was purely coincidence that her room just happened to have the perfect view of the yard. And because of that unfortunate coincidence, she'd ended up witnessing Kouhei's progress.
Her brow furrowed as she realized how much his body had changed over the past month. His muscles had filled out, his movents sharper and more controlled. It caught her off guard. Way off guard.
'I-It's not like I'm impressed or anything,' she thought. 'I don't care at all. Not one bit.'
Her grip tightened on the curtain as she reminded herself of what she believed. He's still dangerous. Her gaze hardened. 'He's an evil person who's clearly brainwashed Hina and the President. I have to be careful around him. I need to make sure everyone else is careful too.'
Her thoughts drifted to Nagisa. Nagisa-san… The gyaru was the only one who hadn't fallen under Kouhei's spell yet, but even she seed to be getting closer to him. That couldn't happen. She had to put a stop to it. Sohow.
Kozue's heart pounded as old mories clawed their way to the surface, mories that filled her with distrust, anger, and fear. Her past had left her scarred, fueling her deep prejudice against n. It was why she hated Kouhei even though, deep down, she barely knew him.
And yet…
Sothing inside her was shifting. It was subtle, barely noticeable, but it was there.
Maybe… just maybe… Kouhei wasn't the sa as the man who had hurt her before.
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