A soft chuckle parted from the male. But, rather than one out of harmless amusement, it sounded like it was mocking you. "How predictable," he said.

"Aren't you a fortune teller. What are you doing anyway?"

"I'm offering my assistance in moving some appliances to the home ec room. I'm feeling generous today, so I'll let you tag along and have a chance to talk to me." He chuckled. "It's not like you'll be able get a chance to on your own anyway."

His polite words masked with an arrogant undertone was basically an invitation for you to throw hands. The amount of will power it took to refrain yourself from doing so was impressive, you were surprised that you were able to follow the male to the teacher's staff room so peacefully.

A friendly smile settled on Shichirou's lips and he politely knocked on the door. "Suzuki-sensei, I'm here to take the boxes," he said, voice sweet and kind. "Ah, and I brought a friend as well. She kindly offered to help."

You wanted to roll your eyes at his words. "Sorry for intruding," you apologised with a sheepish smile.

A woman looked up from her desk. When her sights landed on Shichirou, a wide smile stretched across her lips and she immediately dropped whatever she was doing. You honestly wouldn't be surprised if the male had the entire staff room wrapped around his finger.

"Shichirou-san! Glad to see you here," she exclaimed happily before looking over to you. "A friend, that's great! What's your name?"

"(L/n) (Y/n)," you replied. "Nice to meet you."

"The new student, right? It's nice to meet you too." She laughed heartily. "After all, a friend of Shichirou must be a good student."

"She's also trying out for the student council," Shichirou added. "I admire her courage."

Stopping yourself from shooting an annoyed glance shouldn't be hard, but it was especially difficult when it came to the purple haired male. You buried that urge with a lightheaded chuckle. You thanked the male with a friendly tone––in which you wanted to gag at––while he accepted your thanks with an even friendlier tone.

Oblivious to the tension between you both, the teacher gestured to the boxes. "Right! Here they are. There aren't too many, you can make it in one trip if you stack them up."

Those were appliances, right? Considering the school you were in, weren't they expensive?

"Uh, what if we drop them?" you asked.

The teacher laughed and waved her hand dismissively at you. "Oh, I bet you two will be fine. Besides, if it's too heavy for you, you can just ask Shichirou-san."

Isn't she a little too carefree?

You shrugged and didn't think too much of it, guess this school was rich enough that if you broke something it wouldn't be a huge deal. You bent down and picked up a box, surprisingly it felt pretty light.

Confused, you asked, "Suzuki-sensei, what's inside this?"

"Oh, I think yours has all the pots and pans. They're pretty heavy, do you want to hand it over to Shichirou-san?"

You shook your head. "Uh, no. It's fine," you responded. "Actually, I think I can carry another one."

The teacher clapped her hands. "Really? Great! We'll be able to finish it in one run then."

"Hey, Shichirou-san, can you stack one of the boxes on here please?" you asked.

The male nodded and did as you asked. While placing one of the boxes on top of the one you were holding, he whispered, "be sure not to drop it from showing off."

This time, you actually rolled your eyes. "Your jealousy is showing, need me to help you hide it?"

After Shichirou grabbed the rest of the boxes, the two of you excused yourself and exited the staffroom. Aside from the occasional greetings from students passing by in the hallway, it was silence walking with the male for the most part.

"I never expected for you to resolve things with Utari-san so soon."

You immediately glanced over to Shichirou. Narrowing your eyes, you said, "that's unnaturally straight forward of you."

"Caught your attention, didn't I?" he mused. "But, I do wonder how you managed to pull that off."

"I thought you knew everything," you replied. "Weren't you trying to pry into our relationship during lunch the other day?"

"You noticed? Hm, and here I thought I was disguising it well." Actually, Kashi was the one who noticed it. But, you didn't bother correcting Shichirou. "You're correct, I was curious. You can't blame me. After all, something very interesting went on between the two of you."

Your body tensed at his words. "What?"

The male smiled. "Did you really think a simple phone call would distract me that much? I saw you turn a corner and you seemed to be in a bit of a rush."

You were reminded of when you found out about Kasumi's upcoming death. Thinking about it again wasn't a pleasant experience, the amount of apprehension and fear you felt back then was not something you wanted to experience ever again. But, of course, you knew that was wishful thinking.

"It was an intriguing sight," he continued. "Kasumi-san stormed out and I tried following her only to not find anything of interest. Then, when you and I parted ways, I waited until you left the vicinity to check the school again. That was when I saw Utari-san walking out with Aimi-san. Piecing together what potentially occurred was quite difficult, especially since a lot of my speculation was based off on educated guesses. So, I wanted to find out more."

What the hell. Just how much effort was this guy willing to spend prying into everyone's business? Actually, if you considered how he viewed others, he was likely searching for an opportunity to find some sort of way to use the situation to his advantage. You shouldn't be surprised by his actions.

"And, you're telling me because...?"

"I just wanted to let you know, that's all."

"What?"

When the two of you reached the classroom and headed inside, the male suddenly stopped walking, causing you to do the same right behind him. "(L/n)-san, I'll ask you a question. Do you think I'm challenging you?"

"Well, you're not exactly asking for my hand in marriage, are you?"

If the male was annoyed at your response, he didn't show it.

"At first I also believed that you were someone that I would have to compete against. However, I realised later that approach of mine was flawed."

"What do you mean?"

Despite the male keeping a respectable proximity between the two of you, the way he glanced back at you directly into your eyes made it feel like he was violating your privacy.

"You're not even worth competing against, you're really no competition. So, I don't mind giving you information or revealing my motives. It would make no difference," he said, voice light and calm. His tone in no way matched the discourteous implications behind his words. "You can't win against me, so I don't need to waste too much of my efforts on you. (L/n)-san, I realised that I don't hate you at all." He smiled courteously. "I just don't care about you."

You thought you had grown used to, or at least some sort of tolerance, with the male's contrasting manner of speaking to you. However, what he said to you now was completely unexpected of him. You tried to get out a response, but you didn't know what to say.

The male chuckled at your silence as he settled the boxes down. "What? Did you think because you knew my true colours made you special or something?" He walked towards the door to exit and sent one final glance at you. "Ah, the student council speech is closely approaching, good luck with it. I hope to see you succeed."

The sound of Shichirou's footsteps began fading away. You remained in the classroom, silent and still. To say that you were exasperated was a bit of a vague term. You couldn't care less of the male's perception of you. What got on your nerves was the sheer arrogance that he displayed through his words. He acted as if he was some superior being that had the authority to measure the worth of others.

You took in a sharp breath and slowly breathed out to quell your anger. Shichirou was someone that was crafty and cunning, allowing your anger to affect you is basically giving him the victory. And, that would made you even angrier.

But, still. I want to punch him so hard right now.

You regretted not saying anything, but maybe that was the best course of action. You left the classroom and made your way back to the cafeteria. You weren't sure if Shichirou was also heading back there, but it'd sure be awkward to sit back down on the table if he was there.

As you approached the cafeteria, you raised an eyebrow at how quiet it was. Usually, by this point you would be hearing chatter from afar. You cautiously entered and surveyed the area. Everyone's attention seemed to be pinned on a specific table and your gaze eventually followed where everyone was looking at.

Forest green eyes widening in surprise, dark brown hair drenched in water, and uniform soaked; it was Kasumi sitting on her table. In front of her, you recognised there to be the two girls that always stuck around Kasumi. You couldn't see their expressions, but you saw that one of them was holding an empty cup.

Whispers swept through the crowd of students.

"Is she going to lash out at them?"

"Haha, serves her right. The only two people who bothered with her ended up back stabbing her in the end."

"I bet she'll try and expel them."

Those were the types of whispers that floated around. In addition, some people quietly snickered under their breaths, some looked at the scene in concern but made no efforts to act, others tried to ignore it, and many watched in anticipation.

Startling you, Kasumi suddenly stood up and slammed her palms against the table. Her head was down and she didn't say a word. She was quiet for a moment before she swiftly walked past the two girls. The female briefly made eye contact with you before she pushed you aside to exit the cafeteria.

What happened here?

You looked at the two girls. They had the proudest and most satisfied grins on their faces, the sight made you shoot an annoyed glare in their direction. You then quickly left the cafeteria entrance before anyone would notice you. You assumed that Kasumi would go to the bathroom so you made your way on over there.

As you were walking, you suddenly pause.

Wait, why were you going after her? You weren't her friend, and she clearly had something against you. So, why?

You established with yourself that you had more important things to focus on. Befriending Kasumi wasn't necessary. You knew this fact very well, but why did you feel so bothered letting this all go under your radar?

"Here's the thing about Kasumi-san, I find her personality to be kind of refreshing."

You said that to Kashi, didn't you?

So, what exactly do you think of her? Someone you needed to protect? Someone you had temporary fun with? Or someone you genuinely wanted to be friends with? You didn't know. When you thought about it, conflicting thoughts and emotions welcomed you.

But, you supposed that was a valid enough reason why you should go after her. You'll try to figure it out, you'll try to figure out where exactly your feelings lie when it comes to her.

Nodding to yourself, you entered the girls bathroom. And, sure enough, you spotted a familiar brunette by the sink. She was in the middle of washing off her makeup and she stopped when she heard the sound of a door opening. Her eyes snapped to the door and there was a moment of silence that suspended between the two of you. The female tore her gaze away from you and dried her face, no words were exchanged.

You really didn't plan this through, huh. "Uhm, Kasumi-san––"

"Get out."

You should've expected such a response. "A little rude to say that. I wanted to wash my face as well."

The female sighed exasperatedly. "Then why the hell are you standing there?"

"Good point."

You walked over to the sink beside the brunette. Glancing at her mirror, you realised that this was the first time that you've seen her without makeup. She looked different without her dark red lipstick, black eyeliner, and mascara. However, you still thought she still looked beautiful. There was just a different charm to her this time.

"What happened back there?" you asked.

"It's none of your business."

"Yeah, but I'm curious."

"Stop asking questions." Kasumi glared at you. "Learn to read the mood."

You paused at her last few words and remembered that you had said something similar to her back at the rooftop when you were trying to get her to leave.

"Ah, now I know why you're mad at me."

"You're assuming that I liked you in the first place?"

You laughed at that. "Fair enough. I guess my flowers didn't do much, huh?"

The female flinched before she scoffed and promptly turned off the tap. She mumbled something under her breath that you couldn't hear and left your side to dry her hands. You could tell she was rushing things to get out as soon as possible.

"I'm sorry."

The female looked at you in disbelief. "What?"

"I was in the heat of the moment, I didn't really mean what I said. At the time, I was very cautious and on edge around Utari-san and it led to me saying something that could've come off as insensitive," you explained. "I shouldn't have taken it out on you. So, sorry."

"I..." The female paused for a moment. "Whatever. Now that you've cleared your guilt, don't ever talk to me again."

"Aw, c'mon. You're being unreasonable here."

"Do I need to be? I never asked for you to be like this. Just talk behind my back like everyone else, that'll be less annoying." You didn't respond to that and Kasumi rolled her eyes. "If you're going to pity me don't."

"No, no. It's just that I have decided to be extremely annoying to you." You winked playfully at her. "Sorry, but you're going to have to deal with me not talking behind your back."

"What the hell? Just leave me alone!"

"But, what if I said I wanted to be friends with you?"

"For the last time, I don't want to be friends with you."

You blinked. "So, you're saying you'll choose those two girls over me? Seriously? Wow, for someone so pretty your standards are extremely low."

The female fluttered her eyes, flustered by your sneaky compliment. "What––are you trying to get on my nerves even more by bringing that up?"

"Of course not, I'm saying that I'll be a much better option as a friend."

There was a short period of silence and you almost thought that Kasumi was going to walk out on you right then and there. The female sighed and crossed her arms. "Why?"

Since you had fully prepared yourself for another onslaught of insults from the student, her question caught you off guard.

"Hm, how I explain this..." You thought about it for a moment. "I choose who I want to be friends with carefully. In a school like this, a lot of the students will be friends with me and expect something out of it. For example, my family's association with baking.

Being honest here, I have no confidence if I can live up to the expectations set up for me. I don't want to be friends with people who will grow disappointed if they find out that I'm not what they expect, or pretend to be friends with me to get something out of it. So, that was why you caught my eye."

You smiled at her. "I find your blunt and straightforward nature refreshing. I don't have to worry about what you think of me because you clearly tell me that yourself. Even if you blatantly say you hate me, at least I know that it's the truth."

Now that you've said it out loud, you realised just how much you meant your words. After having dealt with Kashi and currently are dealing with Shichirou, you simply wanted someone who wouldn't make your thoughts run at a million miles per hour with every interaction. Someone who you could interact with on a daily basis without any worries.

"Of course, I'm not going to overlook the fact that you bully others, an example being the incident with Aimi's desk," you said. "I don't condone it. But, I'd like to someday hear your reasonings behind it."

"There are others out there that you can be friends with that can be straightforward or whatever," Kasumi snapped. "Don't...don't make me out to be someone better than I actually am and stop making things so complicated. If someone seems bad, you avoid them. You're wasting your time trying to get to know me better, you'll just be disappointed."

You paused for a moment. Though the female's words were still cold and her tone just as harsh as ever, she was having a hard time looking directly into your eyes and some of the implications behind her words seem to mean more than they led on.

"Well, you can't tell me what to do," you said playfully. "Though, I can't really force you to be my friend. But, just so you know, the offer is always on the table." You walked past her and opened the door. Sending her one last glance, you smiled and said, "And, who knows? Maybe we can even be more than friends."

The female looked at you in disbelief and a tint of red suffused her cheeks. "Get out!"

With a cheerful laugh, you quickly closed the bathroom door. If you hadn't, then you were pretty sure you would've gotten hit.

"I think that went well." You chuckled to yourself. "Gotta get out of here fast before she kills me thought."

Just as you said that, the bell for the end of lunch rang. With such an eventful lunch, you were actually looking forward to class.



===



"Okay, I'm going to go home and I'm going to actually write down notes like I said I would."

The rest of your day had gone by pretty smoothly and you were currently on your way home. The weekends were approaching so you were definitely looking forward to not seeing Shichirou for two days, but you still needed to work on your student council speech so you couldn't exactly relax just yet.

"That's right, I still need to figure out a way to use the new feature while doing my speech."

Maybe your best bet was to nail memorising your speech so that you could comfortably use the feature. However, you weren't too confident in your ability to present in front of the entire school. What if you earn odd stares from the crowd if you happened to have trouble using the feature during the speech?

Well, considering that I need to protect the students, I think earning a few odd stares would be fine. You just hoped that even if you mess up the speech that you'd at least obtain the necessary information.

[ The weekends are approaching! Hey, hey. Wanna go on a date? I know a bunch of good spots ]

You blinked in surprise. "Oh, hey. And, I can't. I'm busy with the student council speech."

[ Man, you're boring ]

[ I'll help you then! ]

"No."

[ How little faith do you have in me? ]

"...Do I have to answer that?"

[ >:,) ]

You snapped your fingers. "Oh, right! Why didn't you tell me that combining those two features would make me pass out?" you asked. "That could've been dangerous for me!"

[ Oh, I forgot. Oops. ]

"..."

[ C'mon, don't get mad. You got a chance to talk to that idol right? ]

You weren't convinced.

[ Ack, okay fine. I'll give you some compensation ]

You smiled. "Go on."

[ I feel so used right now ]

[ Anyways, would you like a hint regarding the consequences of failure? ]

"Well, I mean, I assume it's either that or nothing."

[ You know me so well ]

"Please just get to the point."

[ Wow, okay. You could at least pretend to like me. Moving on, the consequence if you fail––meaning, if someone died either directly or indirectly due to the male lead, connects to your past ]

You raised an eyebrow. "You're not giving me much to work with here."

[ But, I am giving you another option ]

"Another option?"

[ If you ever get desperate in wanting to know your past, you could result to failure ]

You narrowed your eyes at the insinuation behind those words. "So, you're saying to let someone die." There was a short pause. For a second there, you could envision the person chuckling in amusement. "What are the consequences?"

[ You wouldn't understand at your current state where you don't even have a single shred of an idea about your past. But, let's just say, it's something you would consider worse than death ]

Something worse than death? What could that possibly be?

"Well, I don't plan to fail. So you can throw that out the window."

[ Confidence, I like that. Well, good luck in this chapter. I'll have fun watching~ ]

The holographic screen promptly shut off and you released a long sigh. Talking with them was always such a tiring task. And, not to mention, you now had one other thing to stress about. Your past and the consequence you'd face if you were to fail were connected, in just what way exactly?

You looked down to your palms. Just who were you in your past life? What kind of life did you live? Did your personality back then differ from now? If you had met people like Shichirou with your memories, would you have had a harder or easier time?

Interrupting your thoughts, you felt something tap your foot. You looked down and saw that a basketball had rolled to you. Picking it up, you searched the area for its owner. Thankfully, it didn't take long for someone to approach you.

"Oh, is this yours?" you asked as you looked up at the individual. Your eyes widened when you saw who was in front of you.

"Yeah, that's mine. Thanks." The male extended his hand out to take the ball. He raised an eyebrow when you simply stood there, not handing the ball back. "What're you staring at?"

Dark brown hair, sharp forest green eyes, and facial features similar to a certain brunette you knew. Was he a relative of Kasumi? Wait, actually, didn't Kasumi have a brother?

The male raised an eyebrow and waved a hand over your face. "The hell are you staring at me for? Creeping me out here."

A pointed way of speaking with no filter. Yup, he was her brother alright. You quickly returned the basketball. "Oh, I was caught off guard a little. You look like someone I know."

The male looked at your uniform. "Are you talking about Himari? You go to the same school as her, right?"

"I mean, yeah."

"How's she doing?"

Oh man, what a complicated question given what happened during lunch.

"I'm not that close to her, but something happened at lunch today. Her 'friends' spilt water on her," you explained. "Don't ask for the details because I don't know as well."

If he's similar to Kasumi in terms of personality, he wouldn't like it if you beat around the bush. Might as well be straightforward and tell him exactly what happened.

At your words, the male sighed. "Man, she's still getting into trouble? I told her to cut that out."

"Cut what out?"

Kasumi's brother threw the basketball up in the air and swiftly caught it before gesturing to you to follow him. "I don't feel like standing around and explaining. How good are you at shooting?"

"I honestly don't know."

"Seriously? You've never played before?" It was a short walk when the male brought you to a basketball court. "Well, whatever. Here." He threw the ball to you. "Give it a try."

"Uh, okay." You didn't expect to have a basketball session with Kasumi's brother after school, but here you were. You aimed for the hoop and the ball ended hitting the top edge of the backboard. So, in conclusion, it was nowhere near the hoop. "I think that went well."

The male swiftly caught the ball that bounced off the backboard. "That was terrible."

"Thank you. Anyway, what do you mean you told her to 'cut it out'?"

The male narrowed his eyes at you. "You're awfully nosey for someone who isn't close with her."

You couldn't help but feel a little intimidated when he said that. You supposed it was because he appeared physically imposing. Not only was the male taller than all the guys you've encountered so far, but his physique wasn't anything to sneeze at. Broad shoulders, toned arms, a defined waist, a shirt that did a better job emphasising his muscles rather than hiding them; the male clearly had an athletic build. You did not doubt that he had the strength to throw you across the globe with a flick of a finger.

"Sorry if that came off as rude," you said. "But, it's on you for piquing my curiosity."

The brunette shot the ball perfectly in the hoop and passed the ball to you. To no one's surprise, you missed again on your attempt.

"She's going around and being an ass to everyone, wouldn't it be obvious something like this was going to happen? It pisses me off, why is she doing something so stupid?" He made another perfect perfect shot and you watched in envy. "I told her many times to just hang out with me if she has no one else, but then she goes and befriends the shittest people you could ask to be friends with."

You looked at him in surprise. Though his words appeared very harsh and pretty cruel at first glance, you believed that his frustration derived from the fact that he genuinely cared about the female.

As you pondered over the thought, the ball rolled to the ground. You picked it up and attempted another shot. You missed again, but you swore you were a millimeter closer this time. The ball bounced back to you and you decided to give it another try.

"Truth be told, I tried befriending her on several occasions. I even bought her flowers." You laughed. "We're not friends yet, but..." You tried shooting again but missed, as expected. "Even if I keep failing, I don't think I'll give up. It just requires patience. So, in your situation, I believe that you need to approach the situation with an open mind, even if it gets frustrating sometimes. You have to at least try to understand where the other person is coming from or else it won't get anyone anywhere."

Though your words were meant for him, you also came to your own realisation about your feelings towards Kasumi. Yes, she can be difficult to deal with and befriending her took many extra steps. But, you were willing to take those extra steps. Why? It wasn't anything complicated really, you liked her. And, you believed that she isn't as bad as she makes herself out to be. And, you would be lying if you didn't feel sympathy for her situation.

Kasumi's brother remained silent and you were caught off guard when you heard the male laugh loudly out of nowhere.

"You know what? I like you."

Hold on, what. "Woah, woah. Where did that come from?"

The male looked at you as if you had asked why one plus one equaled to two. "What do you mean? If someone looks like a good person, it's normal to like them."

"What if I'm like––secretly a complete jerk or something?"

He shrugged. "Then, I'll just change my opinion. No big deal," he said. "Hey, let's exchange numbers."

You did as he said. Out of everyone you've met, he was by far the easiest person to befriend. You were baffled at how one simple conversation got you his phone number.

"Oh shit, I forgot to ask. What's your name?"

"(L/n) (Y/n)."

The male added you into his contacts. "Kasumi Kai, but just call me Kai."

"Wh––really?" You had just met him and you were already past formalities?

"I just said you could."

"Then you can just call me (Y/n)," you said with a chuckle. "So...we're friends now?"

"Why're you making it sound so complicated? Yeah, we're friends. Even if you suck at basketball."

Well, you have been dealing with pretty complicated people for the past few days. "Hey, I suck only at shooting. I think. I'm pretty sure."

Kai laughed at your words, it didn't sound euphonious like Kashi's or sweetly pleasant to the ear like Shichirou's, but it had its own charm in regards to how free and untroubled it sounded.

"Doesn't matter, you'll never be able to beat me either way," he said with a confident grin. "I'm the best basketball player I know."

"It sucks that I can't even argue with that because you're probably correct."

"Hah! Of course, when am I ever wrong?" The male picked up his basketball and checked his watch. "Oh, I need to get going for a shooting."

"A shooting?"

"Yeah, they wanna feature me in a sports magazine or something. I wasn't really paying attention. Welp, I'll catch you at school next week."

At school? You wondered why he was absent for the first week. "Uh, yeah. See you."

When the male had left the area, you looked at the basketball hoop then at your phone with your newly added contact. You did not expect to encounter Kasumi's brother, let alone befriend him. Pocketing your phone, you continued your way to your home.

"The student council speech is next week..." you mumbled.

You had a feeling that next week was going to involve even more stress than this week. With three times the amount of deaths than the first chapter and a new penalty added to your disposal, you could only imagine what wreck of a week was in store for you.