My name is Kaito Minase. I'm fifteen, and all I wanted from high school was a quiet, uneventful life. I live in Tokyo, in a two-story house.
Nothing fancy — just waking up, eating breakfast, watching a few football highlights, and going to school without anyone kicking down my door.
A reasonable dream… right?
At least until 7:03 AM.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
"Kaitooo! Good morning! Are you ready for a new school day?"
Mai's voice pierced through the house like a siren. I dragged myself out of bed, looking more like a disappointed father than a high school student.
"Why are you here so early…?"
She blinked at me, confused.
"Eh? School starts in thirty minutes."
I froze.
"…It's Monday?"
The realization hit me like a truck. I sprinted upstairs to wash my face and change, but of course, Mai followed me like a shadow.
It was a bit hard to find my things, as my room was all messy. The PC Monitor was on the floor, books were next to my bed, my school bag was thrown in the corner of the room. At least my school uniform was in its place.
Mai stood in my doorway with her hands on her hips, scanning my room like a detective at a crime scene.
"Seriously, Kaito… did a tornado pass through here last night?"
"It's called creative chaos."
"It's called you're hopeless."
She stepped over a pile of notebooks, nearly tripping on a stray football. I pretended not to notice.
"You know," she continued, "normal people fold their clothes. Or at least put them somewhere that isn't the floor."
"I was going to clean today."
"You say that every day."
She picked up my school jacket, shook off a pencil that was somehow stuck to it, and tossed it to me.
"Here. Wear this before the teacher thinks you slept in a dumpster."
I sighed, but a small part of me felt… weirdly warm. Mai always barged into my life like this — loud, chaotic, annoying — but she also filled the room with energy I didn't know I needed.
"Come on," she said, grabbing my wrist. "If we're late on the first day, I'll never forgive you."
"You're the one who woke me up by banging on my door."
"That's called love."
"It's called harassment."
She laughed, bright and carefree, and for a moment I forgot how tired I was.
I grabbed a piece of toast from the kitchen and ran out the door with her.
Mai pumped her fist. "Yaaay! We're in one of those cliché rom‑com moments!"
I pretended not to hear that.
The morning air was crisp, the kind that wakes you up even if your soul is still asleep. Mai walked ahead with her usual spring in her step, humming some anime opening under her breath.
"Why are you so energetic at this hour?" I muttered.
"It's the first day of high school! Aren't you excited?"
"I'm excited to go back to sleep."
She spun around and walked backward, facing me with a grin.
"You know, you could at least pretend to be cool. First impressions matter."
"I'm not trying to impress anyone."
"Liar. You always fix your hair when you think someone's watching."
"I do not."
"You totally do."
I looked away, ears burning. Mai giggled like she'd won a prize.
As we approached the school gates, students were gathering in groups, chatting, laughing, comparing uniforms. Mai slowed down a little, brushing her hair behind her ear.
"…It feels weird, doesn't it?" she said softly. "Starting something new."
"Yeah."
"But at least we're doing it together."
She smiled — not her usual teasing smile, but a small, genuine one.
I didn't know how to respond, so I just nodded.
We reached the classroom five minutes late. The moment we slid the door open, the teacher, Liana-sensei, stared at us...intrigued.
"Kaito… are you and Mai‑san finally together?"
"HUUUH?!"
I turned to Mai, and she was clinging to my arm like a koala.
Before I could shake her off, two voices erupted from the back of the room.
"W‑WHAT?! MAI, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
Akane and Kaguya stood up at the exact same time.
Mai looked at them innocently.
"What? We're childhood friends. This is normal. We used to do this all the time!"
Akane slammed her hands on her desk.
"WE'RE childhood friends too! And I never— I mean— it's not like I care!"
Akane… the gyaru with midnight‑black eyes and dark blue hair. My second childhood friend. We were both friends with Mai, and all of our houses were next to each other. She was always the careless one, hence I had to take care of her almost every day when we were playing. Either she got alone and was scared of the dark, or falling over when running with us...she was a klutz. But also a precious childhood friend.
We grew up together, she was very close and warm to me, but somewhere around two years ago, she switched into the "ice princess" she is now.
She still hasn't switched back.
Kaguya Mikose, on the other hand, was calm and elegant — the type of girl who could silence a room just by blinking. She had light blue eyes and black hair. Just what you'd expect from the so-called "goddess of the high school,", as students call her.
We'd known each other since junior school, we are close, but lately she'd been acting strangely around me, too. I wonder what's up with her.
Kaguya tilted her head.
"Kaito… isn't this quite the scene?"
I felt a cold shiver.
"It's not what it looks like! She grabbed me right before we walked in!"
Akane glared.
"And you expect us to believe that?"
Mai puffed her cheeks.
"I was just teasing him! I wanted to wake him up a bit."
The teacher sighed.
"Enough. Sort this drama out during break."
We returned to our seats — I sat between Akane and Kaguya, which was basically the worst possible place to be after what just happened.
Akane crossed her arms, bright red.
"Hmph."
Her mind was a complete mess. "What just happened?! Did she get the advantage on me? Is she together with Kaito now? Since when?! This can't be happening...I love him so much. Since we were kids, he was always my "hero", but I can never gather up the courage to ask him out. He's the most precious person for me...so why am I so mean to him..."
Kaguya gave me a sideways glance, her expression unreadable.
I sank into my seat, praying for the bell to save me.
Homeroom felt like it lasted ten hours. I got embarrassed in front of the whole class.
When the bell finally rang, Hikaru — my childhood friend and self‑proclaimed "idol‑looking guy" — approached me.
"Yo, Kaito. Free after school? Should we go practice Soccer? Karaoke?"
"Yeah, sure, let me get my—"
"Nope!" Mai appeared out of nowhere. "He's going on a date with me!"
"HUUUUUUUH?!"
Hikaru grinned.
"Oh, have fun, man!"
"It's not a date!"
But before I could explain, Mai clung to me again — even tighter than before.
Akane shot up from her seat.
"There's no way I'm letting you two go alone!"
She realized what she said and turned bright red.
Kaguya joined in, grabbing my other arm.
"W‑Well… if everyone is going, I suppose I'll come too."
I look at Kaguya in disbelief. Yes, we were close, but she never did this. As long as Mai goes, this was not unusual.
I stared at Hikaru with pleading eyes.
"Help."
He sighed.
"Alright, alright. Let's all go together."
Kaguya intervened, releasing herself from my arm.
"Speaking of which, I have a coupon for the Karaoke Place. Three hours for the price of one!
And just like that, my peaceful after‑school plans died.
The karaoke place was huge — neon lights, loud music, countless booths, the whole deal.
Akane was the most impressed. She never got to do karaoke with anyone, and the place looked fantastic.
"Wow, this karaoke place is so big! We really get to sing here now? Let's hurry!"
But before she takes another step, she trips on a small rock, and she starts falling. I rush to help her, but we both fall. And there I was, my hands landed somewhere they definitely shouldn't have. Her chest.
We froze.
She turned red.
Then, as usual…
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU PERVERT?!"
Her bag slammed into my face. I saw the afterlife for a moment. I landed like a dead soldier.
Hikaru helped me up after a few seconds, laughing. The girls went ahead.
"Man… how are you NOT in love with any of them? You've known each other for a long while now."
"I'm not! They're just friends! Childhood friends!"
"Sure. And I'm the Emperor of Japan. Fess' up."
"No. Not happening, we're just friends."
"And that's why Mai slept in your bed in the sixth grade?"
"IT'S ALL WRONG. SHE SNUCK IN MY HOUSE AND GOT IN BED WITH ME, I DID NOTHING."
(We were in the sixth grade. She snuck in my house because she felt alone and wanted to spend time with me, even though it was in the wrong manner.)
"And then, if it was really nothing, then why are you getting all defensive. You can't deceive me. And I know you don't give a damn about people you don't care about. I know you love all of them."
I stand there and wonder at Hikaru's genius mind work. He figured me out in a few seconds.
"Well…come on man, let's just get going with our plan. We need to have fun, not analyze our personalities."
The girls on the other hand, were having a hot discussion.
Kaguya started it.
"Akane...did you do that on purpose?"
"Of course not! I didn't see the rock..."
Mai looked funny at her.
"Haha...what a scene you caused. What did you think of it?"
"What do you mean?! Nothing...but...I guess it was kind of cool that he tried to save me from hurting myself..."
Kaguya looked relieved.
"Be more careful next time, girl."
We walk on the hallway, and enter the booth. The girls were already settled in.
Inside the booth, everyone took turns singing. I chose to sing last.
Akane chose a love song — and kept glancing at me.
"Why is he not looking at me?! I chose this song for him...you fool!"
Mai sang with suspicious enthusiasm.
"Look at me...come on..."
Kaguya's voice was soft and controlled.
"I'm having so much fun!"
Then it was my turn.
I picked a random song… and apparently that was enough to stun the entire room. As I finish the song, praises don't hesitate to appear.
As Kaito sings, a girl passes by their booth. Upon hearing his voice, she instantly stops for a second, and then eventually looks through the glass panel of the door.
Mai's jaw dropped.
"Kaito, that was amazing!"
Akane blinked twice.
"You don't remember he used to be called a star of voice acting when we were about 5 years old? He was featured in many movies and shows."
Kaguya was speechless, along with Hikaru. None of them ever heard my singing skills.
"That was amazing, Kaito!"
"Man, you're a great singer!"
"Thanks, you two."
The girl passing by picked herself up and went away.
Her eyes widened.
"Kaito‑kun…? So he was in the industry too… and Mai‑chan is here? This is perfect. I found the perfect gateway to him! "
She disappeared before anyone noticed her.
In the karaoke room, they are all chanting for Kaito.
"Encore! Encore!"
"Come on guys…let's just go home."
"Aww…"
"We'll come here again, don't worry."
Mai rose up from the couch.
"You better keep your promise!"
The karaoke session ends, and everyone goes home. It's already 8 PM, the sun has already set. We part ways at the train station with Hikaru and Kaguya, and there Akane, Mai and Kaito stay together. They lived next to each other after all.
Mai takes her goodbye first.
"Well, it was a pretty fun day! I hope all of our high school days will be just as fun as this one."
Akane responds sharply.
"You could say it was…fun. I really enjoyed our time together."
I smile at them.
"Yes, we haven't hung out in this formation for quite a while. It's been kind of too long. We should do this more often."
"Don't get ahead of yourself! It's not like it was special because of you or anything…"
"Yes, yes, sure. What about you Mai?"
"Sure, let's hang out more often! Let's do it like when we were kids!"
We all split up and go in our homes. We all lived alone, after all.
I lay in my bed after taking a shower and think about the day.
"Today was fun…but something doesn't sit right with me. Mai suddenly clinging on to me…and Akane getting embarrassed when I fall over her. Well, maybe I understand Akane but why does she feel so cold? I've always been nice to her…"
Kaito was always there for Akane during their childhood days. When Akane's grandmother died a few years ago, Kaito was the first one to go there. He started crying, saying he'll be there with her to get over it. Whenever they fell while playing, Kaito always rushed to help her. When she needed help to study, he always came to help her. She was especially close to him when they were younger, like a big brother and small sister. But something happened in the final grade of Junior High, just before going to High School. She started growing a bit cold towards him. And he never understood why.
Akane finally gets done with her bath, and lays in her bed. She's still embarrassed for what happened earlier, thinking about it endlessly.
"Why do I keep being so mean to him? He was always there for me when I needed him…I can't understand why I'm being a tsundere! I love him so much…yet I act cold and distant to him. I need to stop doing this as soon as I can, I need to stop this growing gap between us until it's too big to jump over. I want to be there for him always, like he was to me…and is Mai really on to him? I don't doubt that she likes him, especially knowing that she was so close and even slept together once in the second year of Junior high…aww man, I can't lose to her! I'm going to make Kaito mine! That's why I changed my style, and that's why I studied so hard to end up in the same high school as him! I'm definitely going to win him over…but I really can't muster up the courage to say it."
Akane starts crying.
"I…need to change myself and be more…nice to him. But how..."
Meanwhile, just as Mai was preparing to go to sleep, she received a text.
She looked very surprised.
"Huh? Mizuki texted me? Wha-WHAT?!"
It's about 7 AM. The night passed by in an instant.
I let out a long sigh and rub my face with both hands. The morning light leaking through the curtains felt unusually bright.
"…Get it together, Kaito," I muttered to myself.
But my heart didn't listen. Every time I thought about Akane's perfume lingering on my uniform, my chest tightened in a way I didn't understand — or maybe didn't want to understand.
I walked back into my room, still half-asleep, and stared at the mess I'd left last night. Clothes on the chair, textbooks on the floor, my phone charging at a weird angle… everything looked the same as always, yet somehow the atmosphere felt different. Maybe because I felt different.
I sat on the edge of my bed, letting my thoughts wander.
"Mai was acting strange yesterday… and Akane too. Even Kaguya grabbed my arm. Why is everyone suddenly—"
I stopped mid-sentence, shaking my head.
"No. I'm overthinking. It's just…first-day excitement. That's all."
Still, the memories kept replaying in my mind — Akane's flustered face, Mai's teasing grin, Kaguya's quiet stare. It was like my brain refused to give me a moment of peace.
I stood up and stretched, trying to shake off the lingering tension. The house was silent, the kind of silence that made every small sound echo — the hum of the fridge, the faint ticking of the clock, the soft rustle of my uniform as I moved.
Living alone had its perks, but mornings like this made the place feel a little too big.
I grabbed my bag, checked if I had my keys, and headed toward the door. My hand hovered over the doorknob for a moment.
"Please let today be normal, dear gods…"
I wasn't sure if I was praying or just begging the universe.
And then, I hear banging on my door. Who could it be?