《If i had emotions, would the world seem more beautiful?》 Prologue "Its uncomfortable to talk to you..." , "Why don''t you react properly?", "Read the atmosphere a little would you? Damn...". No less than a dozen times had i heard those words pierce my ears time and time again. I had always wondered, if i were normal, if i was to be able to convey my emotions and feel again, would anything change for me? Would i be able to view the world in a much sparkling manner? Countless of books of various different Genre had always described how beautiful the world is, how cruel, merciless, blissful and beautiful it is, but yet the only world i could see is a blank and monotonous world, devoid of any emotions or colors. "Say Yuusuke, i know that you aren''t really enjoying your time here in High School. I heard the rumors quite often, ''mood-breaker'', ''can''t read the atmosphere, ''the weirdo'', the dead kid''. It sure looks like you have quite the reputation here." "Hah...That''s the first time i ever heard the those. And besides, i''m complete content with my current situation now, So you don''t really have to worry about me that much Kouda-Sensei. I had said in a monotonous tone with a simple blank on my face.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. "Don''t you have a club you are in, or at least interested in? "I''m a full-fledged member of the Go-Home-Club." "....You know.. That''s not the answer i was looking for. Have you made a single friend yet during your time here? It has only been 2 months since you came to this school but yet the rumors about you are everywhere" Mr Kouda reluctantly commented with a frown and a slight hint of dissatisfaction in his eyes. "Seeing that i go home straight away right after school, i don''t really see the need for me to make a friend. My friends are the various books on my shelf at home and my bed. And i am not interested in joining a club that doesn''t fit me, i would just kill the atmosphere there." "Sigh.....It doesn''t look like you will change anytime soon, that''s all i have for you today. You can go to your ''club'' now. I will see you next week again" "Understood. Thanks for your time Kouda-Sensei" i briefly thank before i proceed to walk out of the staff room." "You know Yuusuke? If there isn''t a club you like here, why don''t you make one of your own then? Well not that you will be keen to do it." With the sudden farewell comment made by Kouda-sensei, i stopped dead in my tracks and blanked out for a few seconds before proceeding to resume exiting the staff room. Right before i left the classroom, my mind had me muttered a few words that i also did not expect. "....i will think about it..." As i was closing the door, i could hear Kouda-sensei letting out a small sound of shock to my statement. Chapter 1.1 : The Fated Meeting ¡°Beep-beep, beep-beep¡± Waking up to the familiar sound of my phone¡¯s alarm, I reluctantly got up from my bed and proceeded to do my morning routine of washing up. As I brush my teeth, I saw my everyday ruffled hair and what one would describe as ¡®dead fish¡¯s eyes¡±. On a normal day, I wouldn¡¯t have bothered to my appearance at all and head straight to school but today was different. I decided to at least make my hair presentable, after all¡­ ¡°I need to find members for my club huh, wonder who might join. I¡¯m getting a little excited over this¡± I spoke out to myself, although getting a little excited was next to impossible, considering how I have lost the ability to feel anything. After my wash up, I swiftly put on my uniform, took the sandwich I made yesterday evening out from the fridge and started heading to the door. As I opened my house door, I instinctively spoke the familiar words one would hear in any household. ¡°I¡¯m going out¡­¡± Heading out towards the train station, I let out a small sigh and thought to myself. What was the point of the greetings and goodbyes at home¡­ when I don¡¯t have anyone to say it to anymore. I took a brief look at my phone and noticed the time. 7.30 a.m. The duration for me to reach the school from my house to the school will take approximately an hour or more. Yup, I¡¯m going to be late today. Rushing towards the train station to make the timing so to prevent my tardiness from school. I somehow managed to squeeze my way through the fully packed train towards my school. At this rate, if I take the alleyway shortcut to school, I might just make it on time. ¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø As I walked out from the train station, I was listening to apparently what was considered to be the current hit song by the band Chelsia. A music group that specialised in pop and consist of four cute high school girls. I had always heard the people in my class talk about the band and recently about the new single that I¡¯m currently listening to. According to the talk around people, this song is supposed to be a song that actually gets you excited and pump your adrenaline. However, for me who is listening to the song, all I could hear was just the difference in their pitches of their voice and the occasional increase in volume. Maybe I was just using this song as a premise of me trying to be ¡®excited¡¯ for today. I proceeded to the alleyway shortcut I was going to use to get to school. Although¡­ it was probably due to me walking blindly and having my earphones in my ears that I couldn¡¯t hear the commotion that was going on in the alleyway. By the time I looked up and noticed, I was already right in front of them. One look and I knew, I have gotten into something I had most definitely wanted to avoid.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The scene that was right in front of me was something like it was straight out of a classic school manga that one would read. 3 high school guys were cornering a high school girl in a dark alleyway next to the school. I had wanted to turn back and pretended I saw nothing, but looking at my phone. Time now, ¡®8.27a.m.¡¯. I can¡¯t just sully my perfect attendance record due to some classic story scene. Being who I am, I began to walk past them as if it was the most natural thing in the world, ignoring the commotion. ¡°Hey you!¡± Although he was saying that in quite the loud voice with a gruntled look on his face. It fell on deaf ears due to the almighty music playing ear plugs also known as the earphones. ¡°I said wait a second u punk!¡± I felt a hand grab my shoulder from behind and yanked me back. Turning around, the one who grabbed me was a crimson coloured hair guy, who was almost as tall as me at 179cm. He glared into my eyes with his red ones and began to yell at me. ¡°Quite the little punk you are, ignoring me and all.¡± ¡°Do you have anything you need?¡± I casually said as if I was speaking to a stranger while taking off my earphones. ¡°Anything I need? Ha¡­ Hahahaha! You walked passed me and didn¡¯t even greet or even bowed? Who do you think I am?! I¡¯m the top dog of the school, Miwasaki Ken!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I never heard of you. Now if you will excuse me, I wouldn¡¯t want to be late for school¡± I boldly replied to his disclamation with a straight and bored face. This thug-like guy was smirking while he proceeded to grab me by the collar. ¡°Now listen here you piece of shit. No one, and I mean No one ever mocks me and gets away with it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± ¡°You tell him!¡± The two other guys standing there churned in as he screamed in my face. ¡°You are dead meat, why don¡¯t we have a quick ¡®workout¡¯ before I take my time to enjoy the girl?¡± ¡°¡­umm¡­¡± ¡°Huh? You got something to say punk?¡± ¡°¡­¡­you guys. You guys are going to be late for school you know?¡± Miwasaki stared at me with a dumbstruck face as I stated the facts. ¡°Hahahah! You¡¯re one hell of a fella! Who cares about being late for damn school, I will take all day even as long as I get to have some fun!¡± ¡°Hmm, but¡­ Today¡¯s teacher at the gate is Masaki-Sensei though. Are you sure you want to be late?¡± ¡°W-What?!¡± ¡°Shit we gotta go guys! Masaki-Sensei is the one teacher I don¡¯t wanna piss off!¡± Miwasaki exclaimed as he reached for his bag and proceeded to dash towards the school. ¡°Hey! Wait up Ken!¡± ¡°Damn! We will remember you!¡± Seeing the 3 guys making a full speed dash towards the school, I was once again reminded of how scary the P.E teacher Masaki Ojiro is. Feared by students, admired by teachers and athlete. The previous National Karate and Aikido two-time champion, Masaki Ojiro, is one to be feared. ¡°H-Hey you.¡± ¡°T-ha¡­.¡± ¡°What a bunch of nonsense¡­I¡¯m gonna be late aren¡¯t I?¡± I briefly muttered while putting my earphones back off. Coincidentally, the words of the girl behind me didn¡¯t reach my ears in time as the music continued blasting. I picked up the pace and began to brisk walk towards the school as well. ¡°W-What?¡± ¡°Ah I¡¯m going to be late too!¡± The girl behind, flowing red hair in a ponytail with long eyelashes and average height was looking dazed by my sudden comment as I walked away. After a few seconds she also picked up her bag and dashed towards the school. ¡°¡­just who was that weirdo anyways?¡± ¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø¡ø Chapter 1.2: The Realization As the bell that signalled the start of the homeroom period sounded, I just made it to the door of my classroom,1-B. ¡°Alright get to your own seats everyone, homerooms¡¯ starting now.¡± Many a few students were shifting back to their original seats, some were rushing their work while others were preoccupied with their own stuff. As for me, I began to take out the latest hit-selling mystery novel, ¡°The Casket¡±. If one were to ask what my favourite genre of any novels were, it would definitely be the Mystery genre. Why is that you ask? Simple, of all the genres out there, mystery is the only one I will be able to fully grasp and without the need for any feelings. Romance flicks would require one to understand the characters feelings, action would involve bonds, friendship and the like. But mystery? It simply allows readers to read and find out about all the tricks and reasons behind each and all mystery. ¡°Kanjouu.¡± ¡°Here¡­¡± I replied to our homeroom teacher Kouda-Sensei instinctively while still being occupied with the book. It took awhile before the he finished marking the attendance and moved on to teach literature. Throughout the classroom, I could see various students taking notes, some were sleeping, and a few were sneakily eating their lunch. I wasn¡¯t exactly a good student as well so I was pretending to pay attention while thinking about after school. Now that I think about it, what do I actually need to do to start a club. Going by procedures, I need at least 3 members and an advisor. I am pretty sure Kouda-Sensei isn¡¯t in charge of any clubs so he could be my advisor. The main problem is ¡­ members. Who would actually want to join a random club with no goals and most importantly, with the school reject. ¡°Should I just give it up?¡± As I said that, a thought ran through my mind. ¡°Wait a second, why did I want to start a club in the first place?¡± A whim? But that¡¯s also not feasible, I would not have been feeling curious enough to start a club. Unless¡­ I was feeling curious about starting it? In any case, this is the first time since then that I had felt something resembling an emotion. No, I can¡¯t just give up the club now, I will not stop trying to find members¡­. ¡°Tak!¡± A pure white chalk flew across the classroom and had hit me straight in the forehead. ¡°Kanjouu¡­ Even if you are pretending, your eyes give it away.¡± Kouda-Sensei said as he mercilessly threw the chalk at me. The classroom was followed by little giggles and some loud laughter. ¡°That goes for the rest of you who are eating or sleeping. The chalk¡¯s next target will be you.¡± After that sentence, the class went silent once again. I guess I will think about the rest after school, for now I better pay attention before my forehead gets any more red. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ¡°Ring!!¡± The bell of lunch break started, and a single girl walked out of classroom 1-A. ¡°Psst, hey look at her!¡± ¡°Woah Red hair, that¡¯s rare¡± ¡°So slender¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m so jealous¡± ¡°Is she the rumoured transfer student?¡± Various voices and murmurs echoed the hallways as a mesmerizing figure strolled pass. ¡°What a worst first day it is, getting mugged and now having rumours.¡± ¡°Where is that guy from this morning¡­ According to his tie, I¡¯m pretty sure he is a first year like me.¡± The scarlet headed girl roamed throughout the first-year floor before stopping abruptly outside the window. ¡°This is¡­1-B. So, he¡¯s there huh?¡±Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. As I was reading my book while having my earphones on, I could subtly see the various eyes of the classroom looking outside. Not that I will have any interest, nor will it concern me. I avoided looking at continued my book. That is until I see all their eyes focus on me. And then my shoulders were lightly tapped by a slender hand. ¡°Hey you.¡± ¡°¡­.? ¡­Me?¡± ¡°Who else would I be talking to you?¡± I was taken back by the sudden conversation and the stranger that was in front of me. ¡°Come with me, I have something to talk to you about.¡± ¡°No thanks. I don¡¯t even know you.¡± A straight reply. Although I may sound harsh, but that might be what anybody would do if a random stranger would talk to them. ¡°D-Don¡¯t know me? You already forgot I see. Anyways I still need you to come with me.¡± With that sentence, she dragged me by the collar and began to pull me out as her scarlet red hair was swaying and smacked me face first. All eyes of the students both inside and outside were staring straight at us. What did I get myself into this time, I don¡¯t like where this is going. ¡°What, What? Is this¡­a confession?¡± ¡°No way, the school reject?¡± ¡°Curse you!¡± ¡°Why him of all people???¡± ¡°¡­you sure seem hated.¡± She said softly to me as she dragged me away. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX I found myself at the rooftop of the science building on the other side not before long. I am still thinking of the aftermath of this with the various glares of the guys and the new rumors popping up. But first, I need to find out what this girl wants. ¡°Umm, do I know you from somewhere?¡± ¡°Sigh¡­ you really didn¡¯t remember. The girl from this morning.¡± ¡°The girl from¡­Ah!¡± I exclaimed out as I recalled the spectacle this morning in the alleyway near school. I knew I should not have taken that shortcut even if it meant being late. That just brought more trouble. ¡°Anyways, I called you out here for one and one reason only.¡± ¡°And that would be? I don¡¯t think I did anything that would require you to hunt me down.¡± ¡°I want to thank you. That¡¯s all.¡± ¡°W-what?¡± What was this girl talking about? You mean, she searched for me without knowing my name, found me, made a huge scene and dragged me out all the way here just to thank me? ¡°I¡¯m sorry to say this, but for what purpose?¡± Anyone who hears this would react just like I did, feel a little surprised and ask what did I do to deserve her thanks. ¡°You got me out of a bind, I was going towards school through this alleyway as it seems like I would be late and I got cornered by the 3 of them.¡± Ah she was just like me, taking that alleyway to avoid being late and getting into trouble. Perhaps that particular alleyway is cursed. ¡°But why thank me? I didn¡¯t really do anything.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong. I just can¡¯t leave a debt unpaid for, no matter how minor or insignificant it was and truth be told you did help prevent me from being late. So, I guess my thanks was for that?¡± This girl, she was just thanking me due to her own sense of righteousness, I guess people like her do appear in this world. Come to think of it, a girl that stands out as much as her, I don¡¯t think I ever seen her before. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s your name? I don¡¯t think I heard it or even seen you before.¡± ¡°Sigh. You can¡¯t possibly have seen me before, after all I just transferred today.¡± Transferring just 4 months into the first year of school, what in the world made her do that? ¡°The names¡¯ Honoka Miyano. Nice to meet you.¡± ¡°Kanjouu Yuusuke¡­ the same to you.¡± ¡°But seriously though, just by dragging you out, you sure attracted a lot of attention, is it because of what people were calling you, what was it¡­the school reject?¡± ¡°Ahhhh, that is true too but it isn¡¯t why they were staring.¡± ¡°Hm? Then why did they stare.¡± ¡°Well, if one sees the beautiful transfer student suddenly dragging the school¡¯s lowest student out, they would stare¡± ¡°W-wha...¡± Her cheeks dyed a slight flush of red as she spoke. ¡°Ahem, anyways why did they call you the reject?¡± ¡°Ah, that is because¡­¡± I began to tell her about how I was treated how I am due to me being unsocial and the mood killer. ¡°Hm I see. But you don¡¯t seem so bad now do you?¡± ¡°Maybe to you, but that might be because today¡¯s the first day you know me¡± Lunch break was almost over and I would really like to get back to my class now. That is to hopefully solve all the people that would approach me before class start. More importantly, after school I will have to think of what my club does. Wait a minute. My club needed members didn¡¯t I, I guess it wouldn¡¯t hurt to ask her. ¡°Hey Honoka-san.¡± ¡°Just Honoka is fine.¡± ¡°Alright, Honoka. Are you interested in any of the clubs now by chance?¡± ¡°I got to see the clubs on the school webpage, but I didn¡¯t see anything I wanted. Why do you ask?¡± ¡°Well¡­ the thing is, I¡¯m trying to start my own club and I need members, 3 to be exact.¡± ¡°Heeehh. What kind of club is it about? If it seems interesting I might join.¡± ¡°That¡­ I didn¡¯t get that far yet¡­¡± ¡°Pfhh¡­Hahahaha! You invited me to your non-existent club that you didn¡¯t think about yet. What is it with you? Hahahah!¡± She burst into laughter towards my sentence and began to look like she might choke on her own laughter. ¡°T-that is¡­I have no words¡­¡± ¡°Hahaha! Sorry sorry. I got carried away.¡± She tried her best to stop laughing while wiping away a few tears in her eyes. ¡°You are interesting! I¡¯m down for your ¡®club¡¯ that you want to create¡­Pfh!¡± She burst into another fit of laughter after she accepted my invite. Wait¡­accepted my invite? ¡°Y-you really will be in my club?¡± ¡°Yeah sure!¡± ¡°Without knowing even what its¡¯ about?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the fun part!¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Really¡± She gave off a bright smile towards my exclamation of surprised at her acceptance to my club. With that, the current ¡®Unnamed¡¯ club has currently 2 members. That went exceptionally better than I expected it to be. I already got 2 out of 3 members before school even ended.¡¯ Today sure was a fulfilling day. With the sudden dragging out of the classroom by Honoka and the various surprises I got. Yeah, surprises¡­Surprises? I felt¡­surprised? Now that I think of it, this is the second time since then that I felt yet another emotion again. Maybe I am on the right track. Maybe I could regain what was lost if I continue what I¡¯m doing. I better thank Kouda-Sensei for his suggestion and ask him to be our advisor. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Chapter 1.3: A Troubling Future ¡°But on a side note, do you have any idea for what you want to do for your club?¡± ¡°For now, it at least shouldn¡¯t clash with another existing club. Although, I want a club where we would all enjoy together, rather than a club I thought of on the spot.¡± ¡°A club where we could all get along huh?¡± As we discussed about what the mysterious unnamed club should be about, lunchbreak flew passed instantly. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s the bell. We had better get back to our classrooms.¡± ¡°Yea, I wouldn¡¯t want to miss P.E class, my teacher is one to be feared. I guess I will see you around?¡± ¡°I got an idea, lets exchange IDs, that way we could meet up after school!¡± ¡°Alright¡± As we had our little exchange of contacts, we both made our separate ways to class and waved goodbye. ¡°Heehhh. I wonder what¡¯s the relationship between those two.¡± A shadowy figure murmured while lurking in the shadows of the corridor. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ¡°ANOTHER 3 LAPS AROUND THE FIELDS!!!¡± A resounding voice echoed throughout the tracks on the school field. ¡°Damn, is it just me or is Masaoni more ticked off than usual today?¡± ¡°You said it, Masaoni is just venting his anger on us at this point¡± I solemnly agree. Today, Masaoni feels more agitated than usual and that only means one thing for us students. Absolute exercise with no rest. This Masaoni we are talking about is our P.E. teacher, Masaki Oniru Sensei, always know as the ogre teacher, hence Masaoni. In the end, it is just a bad pun. After running endlessly without rest for almost 30 mins, we finally collapse on the ground after the runs. ¡°Damn it! Why is it that only the guys have to run while the girls get to play volleyball!¡± ¡°I want to play volleyball with girls too!¡± ¡°You don¡¯t want to play volleyball, you just wanna ogle the girls.¡± ¡°Aha, you said it.¡± Various complains and conversations were going about as the guys of 1-B were sprawled on the ground in exhaustion. Even I was collapsed on the ground despite being proud of my fitness and stamina. I guess without proper pacing and regular breaks under the hot sun, the heat got to me. Masaki-Sensei then took a sit before us and spoke. ¡°Listen up you punks. Todays run was tiring as heck wasn¡¯t it? Especially under the blazing sun today. There¡¯s no doubt that you will collapse from exhaustion.¡± ¡°If you knew that why would you make us do this sensei!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± The various retaliating statements of students were heard throughout the field. ¡°Ahem!... there is a good reason for this. There will be a time¡­when you are faced with harsh conditions, when you feel exhausted, when you want to give up.¡± ¡°But the point is to never give in. As a famous philosopher once said, ¡°It is the various experience in life which builds a strong foundation.¡± And today is one of those experience¡± ¡°AND THAT¡¯S WHY!¡± Masaoni burst into a huge voice after the loss speech while looking all be it dejected with his head drooping low.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°¡­even if¡­you get rejected, ITS NOT THE END. YOU WILL FIND SOMEONE ONE DAY!¡± ¡°THAT¡¯S JUST ABOUT YOU AIN¡¯T IT!¡± ¡°WHATS WITH THE MOTIVATING SPEECH THEN¡± ¡°IT¡¯S JUST THAT YOU GOT DUMPED AGAIN!¡± ¡°YOU MEAN YOU MADE US RUN FOR THIS?¡± ¡°Unbelievable¡­¡± The whole group of the guys including me were complaining and shouting back at the teacher. Turns out, he was feeling agitated and dejected after getting shot down by his date yesterday. And he was using this chance to vent his frustration on us. ¡°Quiet! You guys don¡¯t know how it feels to be single and alone at my age!¡± The noisy bickering lasted for awhile longer before we were made to run again until P.E ended. ¡°Hahhh. I feel even more exhausted today¡­¡± Of all days, it had to be today that this happened during P.E. I still have to ask Kouda-Sensei after school for being my advisor. Oh, and I have to meet up with Honoka to discuss about the club. ¡°Haa...¡± I let out yet another wholesome sigh as I walked back towards the classrooms after changing. And as I was opening the door¡­ ¡°He¡¯s back¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s time boys.¡± In a swift moment, all the guys in the class moved and surrounded me when I reached my seat. ¡°Hey Kanjouu!¡± ¡°Tell us¡­What¡¯s your deal with the hot transfer student?¡± ¡°Yea, you two looked super friendly with each other¡± ¡°Ogata here saw the two of you talking and laughing together on the rooftop. So, spit it out, what is going on between you two?¡± A barrage of question bombarded me and before I even have time to think and answer one, another follows. ¡°We don¡¯t have anything going on, we just met today¡­As for our relationship¡­ I guess you could say we are part of the same club¡­?¡± ¡°Club? What club?¡± ¡°Umm¡­that¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Huh?¡± At that moment, the memories of P.E class just now flew into my mind. I begin to recall Masaoni¡¯s words and speech. ¡°¡°It is the various experience in life which builds a strong foundation¡­¡± Experience, to experience all sorts of matters in this world and to build a foundation. A foundation could mean many different things for each individual, and for me, that would be the foundation on emotions. As I thought that, I blurted out. ¡°T-the Experience club¡­¡± ¡°Experience club?¡± ¡°Did we have a club like that in this school?¡± ¡°Not that I know of¡­¡± ¡°Could he be lying?¡± ¡°No¡­ It¡¯s a new club that was recently created, Honoka joined¡­¡± ¡°Honoka?!¡± ¡°Honoka-san¡­ joined the club as she wasn¡¯t interested in any of the club here and she wanted to try something new.¡± ¡°That sure sounds fishy¡­¡± ¡°So basically, there¡¯s nothing going on between the two of you.¡± ¡°N-no¡­¡± ¡°Good. A girl like her shouldn¡¯t be standing next to a no-good nobody like you.¡± How¡­ how did a questioning suddenly turn into an insult session for me I wonder. The various agreements and insults flew around the classroom that even some of the girls started to join in. As they were still surrounding me while talking, I couldn¡¯t bring myself to take out a book, put on my earphones and ignore them. The atmosphere would have literally killed me, yet an ironic exchange for the ¡®mood killer¡¯ himself. The cycle continued till the maths teacher Hitoka-Sensei came in and told everyone to get back to their seats. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ¡°Deng, ding.¡± The sound of the bell signalling the end of school echoed throughout the hallway and classrooms. I immediately packed my belongings and made my way swiftly out of the classroom. If I had stayed in there any longer, I feared that I would be surrounded again. I should probably go and ask Kouda-Sensei about the advisor role. Oh, and I should tell Honoka that I¡¯m doing that first. ¡°I will be at the staff room asking about the advisor. And sent.¡± I hope she will see this and maybe decide where to meet if we want to. ¡°Ding.¡± Fast! A reply from Honoka came no less than a minute after I sent mine. ¡°Hmm, ¡®let¡¯s meet outside the school gates, text me when you¡¯re done.¡¯¡± I better hurry up and not keep Honoka waiting. ¡°That¡¯s impossible.¡± ¡°Huh¡­?¡± As soon as I reached the staff room. I asked for Kouda-Sensei and told him about our club and requested him to be our advisor. But, an instant rejection. ¡°Although I¡¯m currently not in charge of any clubs, I was told that starting next month, I would be the head of clubs, so I can¡¯t really be an advisor to your club. I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°B-but¡­you¡¯re the only teacher that I can think of to be our advisor.¡± ¡°Well, maybe u can gather members first and I will see what I can¡­¡± ¡°If it is about members I already have one, the transfer student Honoka said she wanted to join my club.¡± ¡°What¡­I see, I underestimated you. I thought you were half-kidding about the club thing. But to think you already managed to get a member¡­¡± ¡°Alright, I will see what I can do. Give me a moment¡± Hearing that Kouda-Sensei couldn¡¯t be our advisor was a little disappointing, however he is trying his best to help me form my club. I guess I should be grateful to him. ¡°Ah ha! I found a teacher that might take up your request.¡± ¡°Who is it?¡± ¡°Second-year literature teacher Mitsuki Honda¡± ¡°Mitsuki-Sensei?¡± That name was overly familiar, more like that there was no way I hasn¡¯t heard of his name before. Known for being a dashing and handsome young teacher, he has the girls of all the years going after him and flirting with him. Although the teacher in question isn¡¯t really friendly with the students. I guess you could say that¡¯s the cool and mysterious part about him? ¡°He isn¡¯t in charge of any clubs and if it¡¯s him¡­ he will probably be your advisor.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s him? How do you know?¡± ¡°Once you know him, you will understand¡± ¡°Hahh.¡± ¡°Well, you could ask him tomorrow, he already went home due to personal matters today.¡± ¡°Alright. Thank you, Kouda-Sensei, for your help. I will treat you sometime. I have a feeling this won¡¯t end well for me at all. The mysterious and cool handsome teacher, the beautiful transfer student, and the reject of the school. This only spell trouble for me. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Chapter 1.4: Acceptance and the Guest ¡°The experience club huh?¡± ¡°¡­yea. I kind of came up with it on the spur.¡± ¡°Hmm but you got the name and all, whatcha gonna be doing in the club though.¡± Our conversation continued as we were consuming our dinner at the Big Waltz burger joint. After leaving the staff room, I met up with Honoka outside of school and we went to catch some dinner. ¡°Mhhm. But seriously, this is some real good food!¡± ¡°¡­wha? Isn¡¯t this quite normal for the city food¡± ¡°Yea¡­Where I¡¯m from, we don¡¯t see this kind of food often or in fact at all. It¡¯s always the usual, bread, pasta or other stuff.¡± ¡°That sounds fancy¡­¡± ¡°Thanks for showing me around today, I just moved here and I was really confused on what to eat and where to go. Ahaha.¡± ¡°¡­Repayment¡­for accepting my club.¡± ¡°Oh come on, what¡¯s with you and whispering today!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not used to this. I usually buy my food home to eat, and definitely not eating here with someone.¡± ¡°Ahaha you will get used to it. So, back to the topic, any ideas for the club?¡± True. I needed to solidify what I had wanted for my club if I were to really make it. The name is stuck as the Experience club, so it¡¯s gotta be something linked to that. In the first place, I wanted to make this club in order to regain my emotions and it seems to be working so far. I was surprised by Honoka and even felt excited about the club. Maybe¡­just maybe¡­ Nah it shouldn¡¯t be possible. ¡°Sorry, I can¡¯t think of anything right now. But I promise to think through it tonight¡± ¡°Ahaha that¡¯s quite alright. You could take your time. By the way, about the advisor you said that would be ours. What sort of person is he?¡± ¡°Ah¡­. He¡¯s¡­sort of the mysterious type of guy. He¡¯s handsome and cool, he takes care of his students and he doesn¡¯t talk about himself much. Not to mention, he¡¯s actually quite young, he¡¯s probably only 3 or 4 years above us. I heard he skipped grades.¡± ¡°Heh, sounds like he¡¯s a good guy!¡± ¡°And that¡¯s also why he is so popular, he has almost one-third of the school girls going for him.¡± ¡°Hey, maybe those girls chasing him will join the club! Ahahahha!¡± ¡°I hope not. All they will do is talk about Mitsuki-Sensei all day.¡± ¡°I guess that¡¯s true too¡­Oh, look at the time, my mom wanted me to be home by 8 today.¡± ¡°Well I guess we should continue this conversation tomorrow then. I will accompany you home¡­¡± ¡°Hmm it¡¯s right around the corner surprisingly so I think that¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Alright then¡± As soon as we cleared our trays, we got our stuff and began to make our way back. We were both walking out towards the main street before we made our separate ways. Or¡­at least that¡¯s what is supposed to happen. ¡°You know, I said you don¡¯t have to accompany me back home.¡± ¡°I know that, it¡¯s just¡­ my house is the same direction.¡± ¡°Heh, what a coincidence. What if we were actually neighbours? That would be hilarious!¡± No, it wasn¡¯t. ¡°That¡¯s my house here!¡± ¡°Heh¡­so these things do happen in real life as well¡­¡± I guess this was seriously one hell of a coincidence but it sure wasn¡¯t hilarious. ¡°I guess you were right. Because that¡¯s my house right there.¡± ¡°No way.¡± ¡°I heard from my mom that the house beside was not occupied. The lights are never on and no one ever sees anyone leaving here.¡± Ahhh. That could be because I always go to school early, come home early and spend my time alone here. But seriously, do people actually think my house was vacant the whole time? I was pretty sure I do turn on the lights some time. Although not all the time¡­¡± ¡°Well, your mom should be waiting for you as it¡¯s almost 8.¡± ¡°Oh! You are right, we will talk later. See you tomorrow!¡± ¡°Yea.¡± Honoka dashed into her house with a loud shout of greetings as she got back. Seeing that scene unfold, I felt none but uneasy. Maybe because I could not do the same. I walked into my house and immediately turned on all the lights. ¡°I got to annihilate the rumours of the house being vacant, don¡¯t I?¡± Sitting on my bed, I began linking all that I have now. I want to feel emotions, the club name, the only other member and the mysterious young teacher. Just what kind of club would this gathering of people who stand out in good or bad ways do? After meeting Honoka, I felt that I was able to feel surprised and excited. I thought that was because I was looking forward to the club, or was it actually because of Honoka?You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Could it be¡­Honoka was a very cheerful and outgoing person, could she have influenced my behaviour? I don¡¯t have any proof, but I also don¡¯t have any other leads to what made me feel that way. Maybe I could make a club where I will gather people who just might be able to influence my emotions into regaining them back¡­Yea¡­ that could work. For people with different personalities to gather, we could experience what normal High school students would do. But we need a catch for the club, I don¡¯t think the school will accept our club if it is just a gathering of people. Maybe, we can experience different events? Sports, activities, social work and maybe even producing stuff. That way we can ¡®experience¡¯ different things and it would increase our school image if we do good. Yea. That sounds good. I should tell Honoka tomorrow. ¡°Well, I should probably get to bed now, I need to go to school again tomorrow anyways.¡± Getting tired of thinking the various stuff through, I fell into a deep slumber. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ¡°Deng dong!¡± I woke up reluctantly and walked to the door. And when I opened it, I was greeted with a scarlet red sight.¡± ¡°Morning!¡± Puzzled as I am, I had my half-open eyes stare at the source of the red voice. The figure was dressed in the same school uniform at my school, she had her hair done in a ponytail and was carrying her school bag. ¡°Honoka¡­?¡±¡± ¡°Yeap, that¡¯s me! Morning, let¡¯s go to school!¡± ¡°I was woken by the statement. No, it wasn¡¯t the invitation to walk to school, but rather the timing of it. I stared back at the clock in my house. 5.30 A.M. ¡°It¡¯s still early out though, school doesn¡¯t start till 7.30.¡± ¡°Hm? But don¡¯t you go to school early?¡± ¡°I do but it¡¯s too early¡­Sigh¡­ give me a few minutes, I will get ready.¡± As I said my reply in a gruntled voice, I invited her in to take a seat while I got ready. ¡°Heh, those are sure an impressive number of awards, the house is so big.¡± ¡°Does he live alone in here? It just seems so¡­empty¡­¡± ¡°But surprisingly, he looked quite good with his hair ruffled up compared to his hair being let down like yesterday.¡± In a few minutes, I came downstairs with my school bag and presented everyday gloomy self to Honoka. ¡°You know¡­you look better with your hair up.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t really matter to be honest, I go home straight almost every day so I didn¡¯t bother to mess with my hair.¡± ¡°Heh, what a waste, well let¡¯s go! If we are lucky, who was that again? Mits¡­Matsu¡­Mee¡­Ah! Matsuko Sensei!¡± ¡°Mitsuki-Sensei. You got it right the first time, how did you get Matsuko Sensei from anyways?¡± ¡°ahaha¡­ sorry.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Hey Honoka. I thought about the club and I think I know what I want to do already.¡± ¡°Hehhh. Let¡¯s hear it!¡± ¡°I want to make a club where people of various personality gather and we could do various things that we all never did before. And for club activity logs, we could write a report on the stuff we did¡± ¡°Hmm. That sounds interesting! A club where people experience life together huh? Yea that sounds great!¡± ¡°Thanks, now we only need to get Mitsuki-Sensei as our advisor and find another member, we could officially start the club¡± ¡°Then I hope Mitsuki-Sensei would do it then!¡± I told Honoka about what I wanted to do for the club, leaving out my own motives and felt a little embarrassed about what I just said. We reached the school in less than 30 minutes. No matter how you look at it, we were way too early for this. But I also heard that Mitsuki-Sensei comes to school early. Maybe I will get lucky. ¡°Knock-knock. Excuse me¡­ Is Mitsuki-Sensei in here?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Is he here?¡± ¡°It seems not.¡± The staff room was quite dark as the curtains were still closed and the lights were off, I took a glance around the room and realised that Mitsuki-Sensei wasn¡¯t in and then I closed the door. ¡°¡­What do you want?¡± ¡°!?¡± ¡°You were looking for me?¡± Out of nowhere seemingly, a tall figure appeared out of the corner of the room and greeted me. ¡°M-mitsuki-Sensei?¡± ¡°Yea¡­¡± ¡°Um¡­we are here for the thing about you being an advisor for our club.¡± ¡°Ah¡­the thing Kouda-Senpai said¡± As usual, Mitsuki-Sensei¡¯s dazzling platinum hair shone brightly as he spoke to us. I was taken back that I didn¡¯t spot him despite his hair in the room. ¡°So¡­What¡¯s your club about?¡± ¡°So¡­¡± Me and Honoka explained the gist of the club and what we wanted to do to Mitsuki-Sensei. He listened to every word silently with a blank stare that I was unsure if he was actually listening. And after we spoke, he just stood there for a while before speaking. ¡°Regarding your club and goals¡­ I cannot be your advisor just yet.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± We both said simultaneously ¡°Before I decide, I want to speak to Kanjouu-san alone. If you would please, Honoka-san¡± ¡°Ah. Sure, I will be at my class then Kanjouu, see you later!¡± After Honoka left, I was brought into a counselling room inside the staff room. There, Mitsuki-sensei sat me down bringing tea and taking a seat himself. ¡°Regarding being an advisor, I have one condition.¡± ¡°¡­that is?¡± ¡°I want you to tell me your true motives for forming the club.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I heard from Kouda-Senpai, the events that led to you wanting to form the club so suddenly didn¡¯t make sense, especially if it¡¯s you who always stays away from people, wanting to make a club with people of different personalities.¡± ¡°T-that is¡­¡± Seeing how Mitsuki-Sensei was staring straight into my eyes with his aqua ones, as if he was looking into my soul. I decided to tell him the true reason for the club. ¡°I see¡­ to regain what was once lost.¡± ¡°If I may ask, what made you lose them in the first place?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I see, people have their reasons for not wanting to say it, but I hope you could tell me one day.¡± I silently nodded as he was questioning me. ¡°Alright. I will do it.¡± ¡°¡­huh?¡± ¡°I said I will do it¡± He nonchalantly said while sipping his tea. ¡°R-Really?!¡± ¡°Yea, I wanted to after hearing about your club and you.¡± ¡°But w-why?¡± Seeing my bewildered look, Mitsuki-sensei gave a gentle smile and spoke. ¡°Because it seems interesting. Haha.¡± Ah. I know why Kouda-Sensei said he would take on my request now. It was because it seemed like an interesting idea. And I somehow sense that Mitsuki-Sensei is very interested in anything that is interesting, be it the club or myself. After thanking him for his acceptance, he told me that although he would be the advisor, he still needed one last member for the club to form. Hearing that, I texted Honoka about the what Mitsuki-Sensei said and asked if she wanted to meet after school. ¡°Sorry! Today I forgot I have to help my parents and sister move in to the house, so I might go home early today!¡± Seeing how she told me through text, she must have really forgotten about it. I could sort of picture her panicked face as she remembered it. Seeing that there was nothing I could do, I decided to go straight home after school today.¡± ¡°Tsk! First was the transfer student, and now it¡¯s the school loser! Why just them! Even though I¡¯ve been trying to get closer to him!¡± ¡°I swear I will get him someday. Curse you Kanjouu!¡± The Mysterious figure murmured to herself again as she saw me leaving the staff room as Mitsuki-Sensei gave off a gentle smile. ¡°Kuhhh!!! He never showed that smile before! ... Just what are you Kanjouu Yuusuke.¡± The day flew by faster than usual and as I was exiting the class, I could see a panicked Honoka dashing at full speed to the entrance. I also began to make my way home slowly. Oh yea. I should probably get something for Honoka and her family as a welcoming gift. Thinking that, I went to the supermarket and bought a box of branded cookies for them. And as I was nearing my house, I could see the various delivery truck going along. ¡°I guess now isn¡¯t the right time to give it to them yet, I can do that later¡± I then proceeded into my own home next to theirs. Wanting to open the door, I felt that it has been opened and tampered with. ¡°Eh?¡± I always remember that I would twist the doorknob to a certain extent and today it was moved. Feeling a bit nervous, I opened the door and entered my living room. ¡°Welcome back Master Yuusuke. I have brought some news for you.¡± A man dressed in a butler uniform with white hair and a buff build was greeting me by the living room. He wore white gloves and was quite tall, he seemed taller and bigger than Masaoni-sensei. ¡°¡­Alfred¡­¡± XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Chapter 2.1: The Past and The Tragedy The time dates back to roughly 10 years ago from now. 2008 February to be exact. At that time, my 6-year-old self still was overflowing with emotions. I was just like any other kid around the block, laughing, playing and smiling away without a care in the world. ¡°Yuusuke. Come here.¡± I still remember my eyes beaming away whenever I heard my mother¡¯s voice. ¡°Mother!¡± ¡°There, there, that¡¯s a good boy,¡± She would often caress my head and it made me feel really comfortable and almost enough to make me fall asleep. Although it is coming from me, my mother was an individual who was considered to be an unreachable flower, she had shinning platinum hair who oceanic blue eyes like mine, anyone who had saw her would all stop dead in their tracks and stare. That was my mother and how beautiful she was. Her looks were not the only thing that was beautiful. She had a wonderful and caring personality. She was the type of women who could not even leave a stray cat go hungry, she would care for absolutely anyone, even her enemies. Although she rarely had any except for those who were envious of her looks, I spent my childhood much clinging to my mother. I was what one would consider a Mommy¡¯s boy, I often cry not wanting to leave her side, and I would look like the happiest thing alive when I see her after leaving. This was the norm for me and my family. My family consisted of 5, Mother, Father, Big Brother, Big Sister and myself. We had always got along and never quarrelled. From the outside eyes, we were what one would consider the perfect family. My Dad is the Owner of the well-known Schrwaz incorporation. It was not an exaggeration to say that some of Japan right now would not be it without the company. Hence, we were quite well-off in terms of living conditions. My Dad was a doting father to my sister and a proud father of his sons. He had often considered to have my Big brother Kyousuke to take over his company one day and Kyousuke would often agree to as well. Kyousuke was an intelligent person and a well liked one as well. He was always the top of his class and popular with others. As he was 7 years older than me, he often would spoil me rotten with gifts and affection. My Big Sister was 6 years older than me and she in no way loses out to my brother. She was a bright and cheerful person who everyone trusted and liked. Not to boot, she is popular enough to have almost 1 to 2 confessions every single day, although not that one ever got through. She would often tell us about how the guys keep coming after her even after she let them down gently and she would sigh and appear frustrated by this. She treats me very well and play with me often, she also inherited my mother¡¯s beautiful genes and put herself into a whole different league than other girls her age. My mother had always liked cooking, she was working at my Father¡¯s company before they got married. She went on and retired to be a housewife after their marriage. Her dishes that she served was always delicious and would often get praises by many. Although, we have servants and chefs for our meals, she is friendly with the kitchen staff enough that she would cook with them. Although that was more on the Kitchen staff giving in to her persistence of wanting to cook and decided to corporate. Although, the happy times would never last. When I was 5, my brother collapsed one day at home. After rushing to the hospital immediately and having multiple doctors look at what¡¯s wrong. He was diagnosed with Leukemia. Hearing the new, my parents and sister were devastated, although the me at that time was too young to understand what exactly happened. All I know was that seeing my mother begin to cry and curse at herself made me started bawling as well. According to the doctor, my brother actually was in the later stages of Leukemia and he had a small margin to survive even with a bone marrow transplant. The days we had with Kyousuke was limited and we knew it. After the diagnosis, my mother would bring me and my sister to visit Kyousuke almost every day. My sister Tsubasa would try to hold back her feelings and not make my brother any sadder despite him knowing of his impending doom. Throughout the course of his stay in the hospital, many different people came to visit him. Some with the same uniform, some with different and even many teachers would patronise him in his hospital room. It was the sign that he was well loved and received wherever he was. As for me, I would still smile brightly every time we went to visit my brother. He would read me books, play toys with me and tell stories to me and my sister. I was oblivious to his situation and often found myself wondering why my brother was staying in a different place than myself. But I got rid of that feeling as I found that being able to play with Kyousuke every day was really great. After a few months, nearing the end of 2007 December, my brother was nearing his last minutes. All of our families and friends gathered to see him off. I could see the people there beginning to tear up and some couldn¡¯t hold back their tears and had to stand outside. ¡°Although my life was short, I enjoyed every single moment of it. To my friends and my teachers. I may be leaving earlier than all of you now, but do try your best to forget me and move on¡­ I believe that your life will still go on to greater heights.¡± ¡°Father, I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t live long enough to fulfil my promise of taking over the company¡­¡±Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°You idiot son¡­What are you saying at this time¡­¡± I could see my father closing his eyes and tearing up while desperately forcing those words out of his mouth. ¡°Mother, what happened to me was yet another fate of my life. Do not blame yourself for what happened to me. You still have Tsubasa and Yuusuke in your life¡­So don¡¯t be hung up on me¡± My mother was bawling beside my brother and had her arms wrapped around him while softly murmuring. ¡°I¡¯m¡­Sorry¡­I¡¯m¡­Sorry¡± ¡°Tsubasa, after all this, you will be the Big sister of the house now. You have to be responsible as an older sibling and take real good care of Yuusuke for me. Can you do that?¡± ¡°¡­.um¡­¡± Tsubasa managed to agree as she was holding back her feelings. ¡°And to my favourite Yuusuke¡­Your big brother will be going to a faraway place now and might not come back¡­Can you promise me you will be a good kid and protect the house for me?¡± ¡°Yea!!!¡± I was the only one who was oblivious to what was happening to my brother and answered like I would to him any other day. ¡°That¡¯s a good boy.¡± ¡°I guess this is it, thanks for all the memories you guys¡­I guess this is Goodbye¡­¡± 4.24 P.M, 16th December 2008, my Big brother Kyousuke has peacefully passed on¡­ XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX A day after the scene at the hospital, my family held Kyousuke¡¯s funeral. Many friends of my brother, my sister and my parents as well as teachers attended it. It was awfully silent throughout the funeral except for the occasional weeping and crying that echoed through the funeral hall. I was still being myself and sitting at a corner playing with my toys as my sister watched over me. ¡°Tsubasa nee-chan, where is mother?¡± ¡°Mother is not feeling very well now, so she is resting somewhere¡­¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go visit her!¡± ¡°Yuusuke¡­be a good boy and wait for her, she is sooo sick that people cannot visit her now¡­¡± Seeing that Tsubasa had a dejected face as she said that, my young self, decided to not pursue the matter anymore. As the funeral hall was full of people walking around, I couldn¡¯t see either my Father nor my Mother anywhere. After the reception, we had went moved to another location with only close friends and families. It was there where I saw my mother again. My mother, Euphino, was paler than usual, she also looked vaguely skinner. I could tell as I often spend my time hugging her. I proceeded to hold my mother¡¯s hands and my mother, she just took a glance at me smiling at her and gave a weak smile back before facing the coffin again. We were watching my brother Kyousuke¡¯s cremation. As the coffin was entering the cremation device, the people there started bawling and calling out Kyousuke¡¯s name. In spite of all this, I turned to my mother who was crying as well. ¡°Mother? ... When is Big Bro coming back?¡± Hearing what I said, my mother¡¯s knees collapse and she hugged me tightly, so tight in fact that it hurt a bit. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­I¡¯m sorry¡­Kyousuke¡­Yuusuke.¡± Hearing my mother¡¯s sobbing voice and my brother¡¯s name, I also started to bawl. The cremation lasted a bit longer and after that. One by one, the people offered their condolences one last time to my Father, who was the only one barely able to keep hold of his composure, before the left weeping and sobbing. My mother was still collapsed on the ground and so was my sister who was hugging my mother. My father decided to calm my mother down. ¡°¡­Let¡¯s go¡­¡± He gently lifted my mother up and then we left the cremation hall. Never to see my brother ever again. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX A few weeks after the funeral. My Father had returned to work, my sister returned to school and I was at home with Mother. Father had looked perfectly fine and went to work, although he must be hurting inside and didn¡¯t want to show it due to his pride. My sister was looking dejected still but she still looked better than before, she went to school as per normal and came home to play with me. I realised that she was now spoiling me even more and caring for me even more and I had always wondered why the change but ignored it as I enjoyed the company. As for my mother¡­ my mother¡­ Ever since she returned from the funeral, she had changed. She didn¡¯t play with me anymore and not even gave me her time even as I called out to her. Whenever I went to pester her to play, she would order the maids or butler to carry me away. She also started to cook less than usual, sometimes even scolding the chefs for not doing their jobs. And on the rare occasions she did cook, the meals were nothing close to delicious, they were often plain and it tasted bad. The maids, butlers and chefs knew she was depressed still and didn¡¯t take her insults and words to heart. One day, I asked my mother to cook for me and called in the butler and told him to ask the chef to cook it for me. ¡°No!!! I want mother to cook it, I want mother to cook it!¡± As my pestering continued on, Mother gave in and decided to cook for me. The meal that day tasted worse than any other meal she had prepared. As a child, tasting that, I blurted out. ¡°¡­This food is bad¡­¡± ¡°Slap!¡± That¡­that was the first time ever in my life, that Mother had hit me. ¡°First! You asked me to cook! And now you complain about it being bad! Just what do you want!¡± Hearing the mother who had always cared and adored me say that as she hit me, I was devastated and bawled out loud, ¡°Alfred! Get him out of here!¡± ¡°Understood Madame. Let¡¯s go, Yuusuke-Sama.¡± Alfred, the head butler and the longest working butler in our house lifted me up and carried me away. A few months later, my mother remained the same. No, remained the same wouldn¡¯t cut it, she had turned worse. Seeing that she began to eat less and cursed more, my Father was concerned and had confronted her. During the night that he confronted her, it was the first day I heard them quarrel. The next day, my Father had left for work yet again, and my sister for school. As for me, I now play in a different room as I didn¡¯t get close to my mother after the incident. However, today she came to find me, at first, I thought that she had returned to the loving mother I once knew and came to play. But I was never more wrong¡­ Upon entering the room, she would just say it straight to my face. ¡°Why¡­Why isn¡¯t it you, WHY WAS IT KYOUSUKE AND NOT YOU!¡± As she screamed those words, they echoed through my head, and I got startled and started to cry. ¡°WHAT RIGHT DO YOU HAVE TO CRY?! HOW COULD YOU STILL SMILE AFTER WHAT HAS HAPPENED?!¡± My mother continued her screaming and began to hit me with a nearby club. She continued berating and insulting me as she hit me endlessly with the club. A gold club to be exact. I was starting to bleed out and began to feel numb from the beating after a while longer. As it continued on, I eventually stopped crying and accepted being hit. It was then that Alfred knocked down the door and held Euphino back. Apparently, Euphino had locked the door before she did all this and hearing the noise from here, the maids informed Father and Alfred before Alfred came here and Father rushed back from work. I didn¡¯t really recall what happened after that as I slowly began to lose consciousness. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Chapter 2.2: The Agony and The Starting Point I opened my eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling in an unfamiliar room. ¡°Where¡­is this?¡± As I gradually looked around the room, I could see machines, curtains, window and a door. I remembered this place, I saw it once before after all. It was a room in a hospital. Looking to the side, I saw a feminine figure sitting there, I jerked when I made out the figure to be Mother. Feeling shocked by my sudden jerk, the figure grabbed hold of my hands. ¡°Yuusuke! You are awake! Father, Father, Yuusuke is awake!¡± Father? Mother can¡¯t possibly be calling Father¡­Father. As I looked closer, I made out the figure. It was Tsubasa, my sister, I had saw her as Mother due to her hair colour. Hearing the news, my father rushed into the room with a doctor. The doctor than began various checks on me. ¡°Do you feel any pain?¡± ¡°Pain¡­No. I don¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°I know you must feel shocked after what happened, maybe even traumatised by fear, but don¡¯t worry, we are here to help you.¡± ¡°Shocked? Fear? ¡­ I¡¯m sorry, what do those feel like again? ¡°?!¡± Hearing my statement, my sister, father and the doctor all looked like they were in disbelief. ¡°Hey doctor¡­speaking of pain, what does pain feel like again?¡± ¡°E-Excuse me for a moment¡± The doctor proceeded to took out a small wooden hammer and began to gently hit some of my pressure points. ¡°Do you feel any pain from this?¡± ¡°N-no?¡± ¡°T-that¡¯s¡­¡± After that, the doctor brought my Father out and were talking outside. Apparently, all the points he hit were supposed to inflict at least some sort of pain to me but I didn¡¯t even as much flinch. ¡°So, what are you trying to say doctor?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid, that your son¡¯s sense of nerves and feelings that is connected to his brain may have been severed¡­¡± ¡°What kind of nonsense are you spouting!¡± ¡°Even if you ask me¡­This is a case never seen b-b-before and even if you go to other doctors, they will say the same thing¡­¡± ¡°That is¡­¡± Seeing them conversing outside, I pondered what was happening, I turned to my sister. ¡°Hey Tsubasa Nee-chan, where¡¯s Mother?¡± ¡°Mother is¡­in a hospital too¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really remember much after Mother entered the room. If she is sick, we should go visit her!¡± ¡°Ah¡­ Mother is not sick, she is just tired and resting now, we will go see her another day.¡± ¡°Okay¡­¡± After that, my Father didn¡¯t believe the doctor¡¯s words and took me to see various doctors, even some globally-renowned doctors and they all said the same thing. All except one. It was a young doctor, Miyazuki Kenji. He was a world-renowned doctor who was recognised for his unmatched genius mind. ¡°He appears to have lost his sense of feelings and maybe even emotions as well.¡± ¡°Yet another doctor with the same answer, no matter I will find¡­¡± ¡°But, he may be able to gain it back.¡± ¡°What are you implying?¡± ¡°From what I heard from you, it is very possible that the incident had caused him to feel various emotions all at once and to have it be betrayed as well as the continuous beating that might have caused it. He could still have some emotions left inside of him that we do not know of.¡± ¡°He is my child, no matter what happens to him, I will not let him remain this way. Please¡­please help him.¡± Seeing my Father slowly looking down and begging the doctor, I voiced out after the long conversation. ¡°Father, that¡¯s¡­embarrassing¡­¡± ¡°Heh, see? You will never know what is going on with him.¡± ¡°I¡­I trust you. What should I do?¡± ¡°For the time being, try to stimulate all the emotions that is possible with him and see if he could feel any of it and maybe come for regular check-ups.¡± ¡°Th¡ªRing!!!¡± It was then that there was a sound that rang throughout the hallway we were in. It was Father¡¯s phone.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°Sorry, let me take this for a moment.¡± As Father began to move aside for his phone call. Miyazuki-Sensei crouched down and talked to me. ¡°Hey there. Would you like a candy?¡± ¡°Sure¡­¡± ¡°What a monotonous voice ahaha. How about this, if you want the candy, you have to give me a bright smile!¡± ¡°A smile? I will try¡± As soon as I said that I would try, I began to make my mouth curve to smile and I realised. ¡°Sensei¡­how does a smile look like?¡± ¡°! ...I see. It¡¯s like this see?¡± He showed me a bright smile as he smiled at me. Seeing how he was smiling, I used my hands and pulled my mouth upwards to make somewhat of a smile. ¡°Well, that¡¯s for starters I guess. Good job!¡± He passed me the candy as promised and I received it and thought nothing of it. ¡°W-what did you say...?¡± ¡°Euphino is¡­Euphino¡­¡± I turned to look at my Father who was utterly shocked and devastated ¡°What do you mean Euphino won¡¯t answer you and open the door!¡± ¡°I¡¯m heading there right now!¡± As he hangs up the phone, he picked up his belongings and grabbed my hand. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Kenji-Sensei, you would have to excuse us for today.¡± ¡°No worries, it seemed urgent. See you again Yuusuke-Kun¡± He waved us goodbye as my Father dragged me away and into his car. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Minutes later, we arrived at yet another building which also resembled a hospital. The name plate had said ¡°Matsuzawa Mental Hospital¡± My Father was seemingly in a hurry as he dragged me in with him. We arrived at the reception counter. ¡°Take care of the boy here. Lead me to where she is. Wait for me Euphino.¡± As I saw my Father running towards the inner area of the hospital, I was thinking to myself. What emotions would Father had been feeling now? I told father I felt embarrassed and that was true at that moment. Maybe what the various doctors say about me not having emotions was a lie? Feeling a little curious, I decided to follow my father to my mother and tell her all that has happened. I knew Mother was in here as Father said her name a lot. I waited for the chance and slipped away from the receptionist and began dashing and chasing after my father. As I ran, I heard loud shouting and banging and decided to venture towards that instead. ¡°Euphino! Euphino! Can you hear me? It¡¯s me! Your Husband Kuzano!¡± The source of the shouting that I discovered was my Father. He was surrounded by a group of people who appeared to be the staff of this said hospital. Father was desperately banging on the door and everyone was looking at him. I decided to sneakily creep up towards what was transpiring. And as I reached near Father and behind the group of staff. ¡°That¡¯s it! I¡¯m breaking this god damn door!¡± ¡°Baam!¡± In multiple shoulder thrust, Father had knocked open the door, feeling excited and a little delighted to see Mother, I rushed forward before Father did. ¡°Mother!!!¡± ¡°Yuusuke what are you doing here!¡± The scene that I saw when I went through the door. It was utter hell on earth. Shrivelled pillowcases, a messy room, broken vases, flipped tables and chairs, feathers of pillow everywhere, and my mother¡­ ¡°Mother--¡­.M¡ªMother?¡± My Mother was at the dead centre of the room, she was looking down and looked really pale. ¡°Mother?¡± I then realised, Mother was standing¡­ A rope hanged from the ceiling pipe and at the noose of it was mother¡¯s neck. ¡°Eu¡­Euphi¡­Euphino¡­¡± ¡°NOOOOO!!!!!!¡± My father rushed forward towards my mother and began to hug her. Various screams of fear and terror by the staff accompanied Father. ¡°M..Mother?¡± ¡°EUPHI!!!!!!!!¡± At that moment, I felt nothing, and then a memory shot through my brain. The memories of mother beating me half to death with a golf club, the memories of the loving mother that played with me, and the gruesome sight of the mother in front of me. I, Kanjouu Yuusuke, at that point, fainted. March 27th 2008, Kanjouu Euphino had passed away. Cause of death, Suffocation from suicide. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX I woke up in yet another hospital room. This time, I felt, really empty, as if nothing in the world mattered to me. And then, I recalled the memories of the incident. I screamed. Doctors and nurses came into the room and injected a syringe into me to calm me down. And then I fell asleep yet again. This time when I woke up, I felt someone¡¯s hands on me. It was Tsubasa. ¡°Tsubasa Nee?¡± ¡°Yuusuke¡­You are awake¡­¡± I saw my sister¡¯s face as she began to lift her head up and spoke to me. Those were the eyes of someone who had cried endlessly just recently, those were the face of someone trying to be strong when they themselves are the weakest right now. ¡°Nee-chan¡­ Where is Mother?¡± My sister began to uncontrollably sob and hugged me. ¡°Mother is¡­Mother is with Big bro Kyousuke now¡­¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about a thing Yuusuke, I will be here for you.¡± I finally realised what my sister meant only a few months later. ¡°So how are you feeling? Yuusuke-kun.¡± ¡°hahh¡­ nothing in particular. ¡°Ahaha I see.¡± ¡°Maybe a little embarrassed by the way you are examining me naked.¡± ¡°I see. At least you still have your feeling of embarrassment.¡± ¡°Is that a good thing?¡± ¡°Who knows? Only time will tell.¡± Miyazuki was examining me a few months after I was discharged from the hospital. ¡°We have been through various tests now, although it still seems like the only emotion you retained was embarrassment.¡± ¡°Hahh¡­ I¡¯m not sure what you mean by only retained emotion.¡± ¡°In the first place, Isn¡¯t this normal for everyone?¡± ¡°Ahaha, not quite. But don¡¯t worry you will regain it one day, I believe it. ¡°Do you really think so?¡± ¡°I do. You will meet various people and have various encounters and one day, you will be able to express your emotions again. After the examination, I went out of the examination room, only to have Alfred, our butler, pick me up. ¡°It¡¯s time to head home, Yuusuke-Sama.¡± Ever since the day my mother died. Father had been very distant from us. He seemed more colder and stricter. He had often reprimand Tsubasa and me for the tiniest things. Our household was still as big as ever although there were only 3 people living in the various rooms. The Butlers and maids were living in a different quarter from us. One day, I decided to ask Father what he had wanted for lunch so I could tell the head chef. As soon as I entered the study Father was in. ¡°Father, what would you like for lunch today?¡± Father appeared to be taken aback when he saw me there. ¡°Eu¡­¡± ¡°Eu?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing, nevermind.¡± These occurrences happened time after time and I could see that Father didn¡¯t like to see me. Perhaps looking at me had triggered the memories of the incident and made father remembered about my Mother. Ever since that day, I began to distance myself away from Father as well as Sister as I believed that I would just kill the mood whenever I¡¯m around. It was 5 years later that I decided to speak to Father once more. I was about to start middle school soon and my sister was halfway into her Collage school. ¡°Father, I want to speak to you about something.¡± ¡°¡­What is it?¡± ¡°I¡­I want to move out.¡± ¡°¡­I see.¡± ¡°I believe you would find that okay as well.¡± ¡°I will give you the necessary money and allowance to live alone.¡± ¡°That is fine. I will move out as soon as I find a place. Don¡¯t worry, I know how to take care of myself. I have seen the chefs at work and the maids cleaning. I know how to handle all the chores already.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± ¡°If that is all, I will be leaving.¡± ¡°¡­Sorry for this Yuusuke¡­¡± And that was how I began to live alone in a 4-room apartment by myself, doing all the cleaning and housework alone too and sometimes getting the occasional visits from my sister. 3 years passed by in a flash and I¡¯m currently in high-school. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ¡°Alfred¡­¡± ¡°I have brought news for you from Kuzano-Sama.¡± ¡°From Father?¡± ¡°Yes, he wishes to speak to you after a long time. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Chapter 2.3: The Reconciliation and A New Friend? ¡°Schrrr!¡± A sudden jerk woke me up from my nap in a car. The car was anything but ordinary, it was a limousine coloured in full black with silver coatings and a statue of an eagle at the hood of the car. ¡°We have arrived, Yuusuke-Sama¡± The familiar voice of Alfred made jogged my memory. That¡¯s right, I came back to this place, to the place that I once forsaken. I stepped out of the car and I came to a stop in front of a gigantic pearl white mansion. It was quite a spectacle to see as it stood out from its¡¯ surroundings. I begin to slowly recall my memories here and decided to walk the path I remember, to meet my Father. As I walked inside, I was politely greeted by servants that were busy doing their work. I walked through the hallway and saw new paintings, vases and even carpet and eventually, I reached the study of the man who had wanted to meet me. ¡°You wanted to see me? Father.¡±th as ¡°Yuu¡­¡± ¡°¡­How have you been¡­? ¡°I¡¯m doing fine, I still am going to school and my results are ranked 3rd.¡± ¡°I see.¡± The short and silent conversation continued between me and my Father as I faced him while his chair was still facing the other direction. ¡°Yuu¡­I¡¯ve been thinking¡­¡± ¡°Would you¡­No. Could you¡­move back together with us in the main house? We could live as a family again.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The sudden invitation would have shocked anyone but I had just stood there and thought. After I considered the possibilities. ¡°I¡¯m afraid not Father.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°It is not because of what has happened in the past, but rather what happened recently.¡± ¡°That would be?¡± ¡°I decided to start a club in school the other day, and I met this girl who was a transfer student. As we were talking about the club formation, she invoked emotions that I had presumed were lost.¡± Hearing my claim, the chair that was still the whole conversation spun around rapidly and the figure that sat there rose. ¡°You mean¡­You¡­You got your feelings back?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know yet. But I am sure I felt an emotion close to what I believed was excited and surprised.¡± ¡°That-that¡¯s just great¡­¡± ¡°As I do not know what had triggered this change in me, I definitely wouldn¡¯t want to move from where I stay now.¡± ¡°I see.¡± I could see a face of relief and happiness that showed on my Father¡¯s face albeit him being silent throughout. ¡°Have you been keeping contact with your doctor?¡± ¡°Not since I last saw him 3 months ago.¡± ¡°You should meet and tell him about this, maybe he would know something.¡± ¡°I will do so. Is there anything else you need me for?¡± ¡°¡­would you¡­like to stay for dinner?¡± ¡°Alright.¡± That night, the dinner that was placed on the table seemed extravagant to me as it has been a long time since I ate food as luxurious as this on a daily basis. Although I was unsure whether this was normal for them now.¡± ¡°Woah, Dad. The chefs sure went all out on tonight¡¯s dinner! How about it Yuu.¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°It¡¯s delicious.¡± Seeing how silent we were during the meal. Tsubasa who came back from her university broke it by telling me how the food was better than usual and how rare it was to see me in the house. She also told me many stories about herself during university. Including how she was caught skipping her class, by her class¡¯s teacher who was also skipping the class. After my dinner, I prepared myself to go home and was about to board the car back to my house. ¡°Yuu, are you sure you don¡¯t want to come back here?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure. Right now, I don¡¯t want to leave that house, but maybe someday, I will be back here with you.¡± Alfred began to drive me home after I said my goodbyes to Tsubasa and Father. No, Dad. ¡°Someday¡­he really might have gained back more emotions than he thought.¡± XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ¡°Kerp!¡± Another day I closed the doors to my house and began to head towards school. I was not going to risk being late again and encountering another situation like the one before. ¡°Hiyo!¡± As I exit my house, I was greeted by Honoka casually. ¡°What a coincidence huh? Well, let¡¯s go together!¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going ahead mom!¡± As she said her goodbyes, she ran up to me who walked on ahead of her and we slowly trekked our way to the train station. ¡°So¡­what was that car yesterday?¡± The car Honoka was referring to was the limousine Alfred drove here. I presumed that the car belonged to Honoka¡¯s family as it was parked in between our houses. ¡°That¡­was my dad¡¯s car.¡± ¡°Heh¡­ You know, it¡¯s really rare to see a limousine like that in the street. I was wondering what kind of person it belonged too and then I saw you board the car with this huge guy.¡± ¡°You saw that?¡± ¡°You bet I did! I was shocked when it happened, I thought you were getting kidnapped Ahaha!¡± Our casual chatter continued on as we reached the train station. Today didn¡¯t seem to be as crowded as usual and we reached school quite fast. ¡°Alright then, I have to get to class, my friends are waiting for me there.¡± ¡°¡­no way.¡± ¡°What? You shocked that I have friends?¡± ¡°I¡¯m shocked you were able to do what I couldn¡¯t do in 3 months in less than a week¡± ¡°What is that, you are weird ahaha.¡± ¡°See you after school!¡± I was actually taken aback that Honoka had already made friends. Something I couldn¡¯t do despite being here a lot longer than her. I guess this just show how easy-going and social Honoka is. Now that I think about it, am I really suited to be her friend? I guess I will find out later. ¡°Hey!¡± I turned around, only to see yet another girl who shouted at me in a loud voice. ¡°You¡­What is your relationship with that person?!¡± This girl had short bobbed hair that was gleaming purple which complemented her purple eyes. She also wore some fashionable earrings. She flipped her hair and tucked it behind her ears and continued glaring at me. ¡°That person?¡± ¡°Yes, that person!¡± She must mean Honoka, but who was she? Could she be one of Honoka¡¯s new found friend? Maybe she didn¡¯t like the fact that Honoka and I came to school together. Well that would make sense. A popular and beautiful to boot, transfer student. Chatting happily and coming to school together with the school¡¯s lowest and unsocial student, figure her friend would not like it. But to think she would come up and confront me about it. ¡°You¡­you sure looked like you were having fun talking the other day¡­¡± She spoke the sentence in a deeper and fiercer voice. Did she see me and Honoka talking about the club the other day? ¡°Even though when we talked, it didn¡¯t look at fun as yours¡­¡± Fun? I guess from some other perspective, we might seem to be having fun talking about our club seeing how Honoka was laughing a lot.¡± ¡°More over¡­the most unforgivable thing you did¡­¡± Unforgivable? I don¡¯t recall anything I did that was unforgivable.¡± ¡°You¡­YOU MADE HIM SMILE!¡± Smile? Well Honoka was mostly laughing at me when I was talk¡­¡­wait¡­Him?¡± ¡°Even though¡­Even though he never smiled at anyone else before¡­¡± ¡°w-wait¡­¡± ¡°How could you take his first away?!¡± ¡°Stop! I shouted in an attempt to stop her from her continuous berating. ¡°Who is this ¡®him¡¯ you are speaking of? ¡°Who? Of course, its Mitsuki-Sensei!¡± ¡°Mitsuki-Sensei?¡± ¡°Yesterday! I saw you two! You were talking happily in the staff lounge and he smiled at you when you left!¡± I recalled yesterdays¡¯ event and thought of how Mitsuki-Sensei smiled at me and sent me off. ¡°Even though¡­even though I came earlier than you¡­¡± Even earlier than me? I was pretty sure there was close to no one at school yesterday morning.¡± ¡°I was waiting for him to come out of the staff room¡­and then I could pretend to fall in front of him. Finally, he would carry me to the nurse office and we could have talked!¡± ¡°W-what?¡± ¡°And you ruined it!¡± ¡°Not to mention that transfer student redhead! She was definitely ogling Mitsuki-Sensei yesterday. She has some nerve, to chase after Mitsuki-Sensei right after she transferred. She should get in line!¡± ¡°Ogling? Get in line? What are you talking about? ¡°I¡¯m talking about Mitsuki-Sensei!¡± ¡°I know that.¡± ¡°Some nerve the group of you have! Trying to steal Mitsuki-Sensei!¡± ¡°As if the girls in the school weren¡¯t enough, now we have the school loser who made him smile and another top-class beauty trying to steal him.¡± Top class beauty? I guess she really thinks highly of Honoka. Honoka is definitely a top-class beauty but the purple hair girl in front of me sure doesn¡¯t lose out. Especially¡­my eyes could not help but wonder to the bulge that stuck out from her chest. ¡°Mitsuki-Sensei is supposed to be mine! I won¡¯t let you guys steal him!¡± ¡°Like I was trying to say, I have no idea what you are talking about, we were never trying to steal him!¡± ¡°Shut up, shut up, Shut up!¡± Another day and yet another weird person showed up in front of me. First it was a delinquent, next it was a transfer beauty followed by the cool and mysterious. And now we have an over passionate maniac! Just what in the world is happening to me and my surroundings¡­ XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Chapter 2.4: A New Member ¡°Hey! I¡¯m not done talking here!¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I know you can hear me!¡± I chose what every normal person would have done in that situation¡­I decided to simply walk away from it and pretended I hear nothing. ¡°I¡­said¡­Wait!¡± ¡°Thud!¡± In a swift moment, I found myself lying on the floor of the hallway. All I could see was the pure white ceiling and the windows on the size. ¡°...Heavy¡­¡± ¡°How rude! To call a pure maiden like me heavy! Don¡¯t you have a little bit of delicacy?!¡± ¡°No.¡± I answered immediately with a stoic face. It was true after all, for me to not be able to feel emotions from a young age, there is no way I would know what one would consider delicacy. ¡°W-what!¡± ¡°Ring!¡± The bell that signalled the start of homeroom has sounded and we were still in the hallways.¡± ¡°AH! Today¡¯s homeroom is supposed to be taken over by Mitsuki-Sensei! How could I forget?¡± ¡°Y-you, you better not run after school, I will find you!¡± ¡°Wait for me! Mitsuki-Sensei!¡± She went away as quickly as she came. One moment she was berating me, the other on top of me and the next thing you know, she is already gone. Seeing how I was fairly late for homeroom as well, I quickly got up and made a dash for my class. ¡°You¡¯re late.¡± ¡°K-Kurenai-Sensei?¡± ¡°Kouda-Sensei is out sick today so I am in charge of your homeroom, I hope you are ready for your consequences of being late.¡± ¡°Get to your seats, you will see me after school.¡± Kurenai Hana, a big busted long black hair teacher in our school, she has a very strict personality but deep down, a very caring heart. Due to her beautiful looks, strict personality and being a teacher, she has a small group of passionate fans, not that she knows of. ¡°What are you still standing there for? Get to your seat. Now.¡± I have a feeling today is just not my day. Meeting two people I don¡¯t think I can deal with, and to top it off, having to see both of them after school. I¡¯m pretty sure I can book it for the mysterious girl this morning, but I definitely don¡¯t want to run from Kurenai-sensei. It would be a double death sentence from her and her fans. Mostly from her fans thinking I didn¡¯t like Kurenai sensei¡¯s punishment. I have to text Honoka and tell her I will be late, I guess. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ¡°So, tell me honestly, what was the reason you were late?¡± ¡°I was captured, mobbed and pushed down by a mysterious girl in our school in the morning.¡± ¡°Sigh¡­You know, if you give a simple excuse like the train was late, I could have forgiven you, but this is too farfetched.¡±Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°I only told the truth, Your honour.¡± ¡°Who is ¡®Your Honour¡¯ you punk.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t you just tell me what was the real reason?¡± Kurenai-Sensei inches closer to me and spoke in a softer voice. If it were to be any other guy in my position, they probably would have consented and told the truth, but it won¡¯t work on me and I already had been telling the truth. Besides a lot of guys will die to be in my position right now, so I have no place to complain. ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°Good boy.¡± ¡°I was captured, mobbed and pushed down by a mysterious girl in school this morning.¡± ¡°Sigh¡­Fine, it¡¯s your win. Just make sure you aren¡¯t late again for whatever reason it is.¡± ¡°I will do that. I will make sure I am never late again due to being captured, mobbed, and ¡­¡± ¡°Enough. Get out of here, you are giving me a headache.¡± ¡°Have a good day, Kurenai-Sensei.¡± I said to her with a slight bow before exiting the room. As I exited the room, I could see a group of boys at the corner of my eyes looking at me. They must be the fan group of Kurenai-Sensei. It¡¯s a good thing they didn¡¯t see what transpired inside. I told Honoka to meet at Big Waltz again so I better get going. I put on my outdoor shoes and began to walk towards the school gate. I made sure to put extra attention in avoiding the girl from this morning. ¡°What took you so long? I¡¯ve been waiting here for an hour!¡± ¡°Geh¡­¡± As soon as I left the school gate, the girl was there. ¡°You made a beautiful girl like me wait, other boys would be jealous.¡± True, she was quite attractive and the way she waited for me outside the school gate made it seem like a couple waiting for each other. ¡°You couldn¡¯t possibly be¡­ trying to run away?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I was spot on, wasn¡¯t I? I¡¯m not going to let you run.¡± ¡°I¡¯m actually meeting someone now at Big Waltz¡± ¡°Could it be the transfer student?¡± ¡°¡­no¡­¡± ¡°Sigh¡­ You may think you¡¯re lying but your face and words give it all away.¡± ¡°That¡¯s it. I¡¯m coming with you.¡± How did it come to this? Is she a ninja? I avoided all eyes and made it seem like l already left school. So how did she find me. How am I going to explain to Honoka who she is, considering she might hate Honoka. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ¡°So that¡¯s how you ended up coming here with her?¡± ¡°My name is Honshou Kagura! Before anything else, what is your relationship with Mitsuki-Sensei?¡± Honshou Kagura, I heard rumours about her as well. She is a first-year student in Class B and she is fairly popular due to her good looks and body. She is envied and hated by many girls. ¡°Mitsuki-Sensei?¡± ¡°YES MITSUKI-SENSEI!¡± ¡°Ah you mean¡­¡± ¡°Wait Honoka! Don¡¯t tell her that!¡± ¡°¡­our club advisor?¡± Ah. It¡¯s over. I¡¯m never going to get the end of her now. ¡°A-A-A-Advisor???!¡± ¡°Yea! It¡¯s a club that me and Yuu formed recently! The experience club!¡± ¡°E-experience club. C-c-c-club advisor. Mitsuki-Sensei¡­¡± Honshou-san suddenly turned around and stared at me before she firmly grasped my hands. ¡°I have decided! I¡¯m joining the club!¡± Yup I knew it, it definitely came to this. ¡°What¡¯s your purpose of joining?¡± ¡°So that I can see Mitsuki-Sensei everyday of course!¡± ¡°Straight to the point huh?¡± ¡°Glad to have you then Houshou-san!¡± ¡°I¡¯m also keeping my eye on you, so you would not steal him.¡± ¡°Ahaha. That probably won¡¯t happen. Besides, I think you might find the club fun in the future! Even Mitsuki-Sensei said it was interesting.¡± ¡°Mitsuki-Sensei did? W-well then, I will look forward to it.¡± ¡°Good to have you then.¡± And all of a sudden, we have a new member to our roster. With this, we can finally officiate our club. Come to think of it, it wasn¡¯t even hard to find a member, despite her reason being personal. ¡°Alright then, I will report to Mitsuki-Sensei tomorrow after school to officiate our club.¡± ¡°I will come with you!¡± ¡°Instant response¡­¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s all go!¡± ¡°Geh, you are coming too?¡± ¡°Ahaha, it¡¯s the official start of this club I so have to go!¡± ¡°Tch!¡± The conversation continued as we ate our dinner with our new member. As usual, Honoka sure adapted fast and was talking leisurely with Houshou-san already, heck she was calling her Kagura already. As for me, I still found it awkward to speak out there. And just like that, we were ready to go home. ¡°Alright then let¡¯s go back together Yuu!¡± ¡°¡­go back together?!¡± ¡°What is the relationship between you two?!¡± ¡°W-we are¡­¡± ¡°Neighbour! It was really surprising to me as well, I found out just the other day after moving.¡± ¡°Um¡­Sorry, I have something to do after this. I have to meet someone so I can¡¯t go back with you.¡± ¡°Oh, alright then. Then I guess Kagura is going together with me.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t get too overly familiar!¡± Houshou-san seemed to be blushing a little as Honoka grabbed her arms and tugged it while being familiar with her. ¡°Well, then I will make my way first.¡± ¡°See you tomorrow Yuu!¡± ¡°Yea.¡± ¡°Remember to invite me to see Mitsuki-Sensei as well.¡± ¡°I will do so.¡± After that, I made my separate ways from them, still seeing them linking arms and laughing leisurely from a distance. ¡°I have to go see Kenji-Sensei now, I promised Dad after all.¡± I made my way to the familiar hospital that I woke up in twice and been to multiple times. It¡¯s been awhile since I last saw Kenji-Sensei, I bet he would be shocked to hear my story like Dad said. ¡°Oh. Isn¡¯t that Yuu!¡± Turning around, I saw a familiar face. Kenji-Sensei was standing right there with a Cream Puff in one hand and a drink in the other. ¡°Looks like I don¡¯t have to go all the way to the Hospital.¡± XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Chapter 2.5: The beginning ¡°So, how are things?¡± ¡°Mostly same as usual, but there is something that happened recently.¡± ¡°Hoh? Now that¡¯s rare, usually you would just tell me it¡¯s normal and leave¡± ¡°I¡­might have gained back some of the lost emotions.¡± ¡°Heh?¡± ¡°W-Wait-t-t. You gained back some emotions?¡± Kenji-Sensei seems genuinely shocked at my statement, his words started to fumble as he tried to speak. ¡°That¡¯s great news! I-I-I mean, that is really great!¡± ¡°But it is only a small fraction.¡± ¡°Do you know what caused this change? What were the emotions that you gained back? When did this happen?¡± I was bombarded with a barrage of questions by Kenji-Sensei. Even someone like me that couldn¡¯t feel anything could see Kenji-Sensei was genuinely happy for me and was really curious to find out why, all while having that child-like bright smile on his face. ¡°I recently, felt¡­surprised and excited.¡± ¡°Heh¡­Tell me more. What could have caused it?¡± ¡°I met the transfer student.¡± ¡°Transfer student?¡± ¡°Yeah. She has long scarlet hair tied up in a ponytail as well as blazing crimson eyes.¡± ¡°She? Is she pretty?¡± ¡°I guess you could say that, she seems popular despite just arriving here.¡± ¡°Heh¡­I see, I see.¡± ¡°Why are you making that face?¡± ¡°Hm? What face?¡± ¡°That. That exact face that is grinning from side to side.¡± ¡°Ahaha. It¡¯s nothing. So, what¡¯s this particular girl¡¯s name?¡± ¡°Honoka. She turned out to be my neighbour.¡± ¡°Last name?¡± ¡°Yeah. Her first name is Miyano.¡± ¡°You seem fairly close to her¡± ¡°Do I? I guess we are in the same club after all.¡± ¡°Same club?!¡± Y-Y-You are in a club?¡± Kenji-Sensei seemed more surprised at the fact that I was in a club than anything else. ¡°Yeah. I started the club and she joined it along with another girl.¡± ¡°You¡­created the club?¡± ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s called the Experience club¡± ¡°Ah. That could be taken in a lot of different ways.¡± ¡°I guess you could say that.¡± ¡°But really huh. A club. And with two girls no less.¡± ¡°So, tell me. What¡¯s the deal with you and this Honoka girl?¡± Kenji-sensei nudged me with his elbow while asking me with a voice that sounded as if he were making fun of me. ¡°There¡¯s nothing.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yeah. There is nothing going on. We just go to school together and back considering we are neighbours and in the same club.¡± ¡°Together eh. That sounds fishy. Did you guys go on a date yet?¡± ¡°No. We aren¡¯t in that kind of relationship, we just had dinner at the nearby Big Waltz.¡± ¡°Dinner huh. The two of you, a boy and girl, having dinner together after school. Isn¡¯t that a date?¡± ¡°Huh? What kind of logic is that. We are just friends that¡¯s all.¡±This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Really.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to reply to that anymore.¡± ¡°Ahaha. Sorry, let me get back to topic. So, you gained back the emotion of surprised and excited. You realised this when you met this Honoka girl.¡± ¡°That¡¯s about right.¡± ¡°Let me guess. Is this Honoka girl a cheerful and outgoing girl.¡± ¡°¡­How did you know?¡± ¡°Aha. I hit the mark?¡± True Honoka can be considered to be outgoing as she as a very cheerful personality. ¡°Maybe, just maybe¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°You could have gained back those emotions due to the influence of being around Honoka.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I¡¯m being serious, this encounter you had with Honoka who has a very outgoing personality, may have just drawn out your locked emotions form within you.¡± ¡°That is¡­¡± ¡°That would mean that by being around her, you gained back these lost emotions.¡± ¡°That would mean that if you were to hang out with more people with various personalities such as these, you could just regain what was once lost.¡± Hearing what Kenii-Sensei said, I began wondering. Could some part in me thought the same when I wanted to make the club? Meeting Honoka was a complete coincidence but that changed something in me. The Experience Club. I could make it a club with collection of various people with differing personalities, all stashed into one club and enjoying different activities together. ¡°I think you are on the right track here Yuusuke.¡± ¡°You mean about the club?¡± ¡°Yea. You should keep this up and try to interact with more people. Maybe the reason you didn¡¯t gain back your emotions till now was due to shutting your heart off from the world.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Anyways, this seems like good progress. I have to go now but do keep me updated on any news changing.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± ¡°Well, good luck with club.¡± Seeing Kenji- Sensei picked up his belongings and begin walking away, I bowed and said goodbye. ¡°Oh, one more thing.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Keep me updated on your relationship with Honoka too.¡± Kenji-Sensei snickered as he gave off a smug face filled with mischief when he said that. ¡°Buzz off.¡± ¡°Ahaha. I mean it!¡± XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ¡°Kanjouu Yuusuke, Honoka Miyano, Honshou Kagura and Advisor Mitsuki Honda. Alright, everything seems to be in order. I as the head of all clubs, Kouda Kentarou approve your request for your club.¡± ¡°Well, with that said. Nice to meet you, Kanjouu-kun, Honoka-san, Honshou-san.¡± ¡°M-M-Mitsuki-Sensei s-s-said my n-n-n-name!¡± ¡°Nice to meet you too teach!¡± ¡°The same to you.¡± Mitsuki Sensei and the rest of us were gathered in front of Kouda-Sensei, the new head of the clubs early in the morning to officiate the club. ¡°Honda. The club room assigned to your club would be¡­the hidden sleep room of yours.¡± ¡°Hm? What are you talking about?¡± ¡°I¡¯m talking about the hidden room of the club building that you use to sleep in between lessons.¡± ¡°Oh¡­that room¡­¡± ¡°Here are the keys. You are in charge now.¡± ¡°Roger that Kouda-Senpai.¡± It was a little surprising to see Kouda-Sensei scolding Mitsuki-Sensei as well as finding out Mitsuki-Sensei has a hidden room that he uses to sleep. ¡°Well, you kids are lucky. The secret room of mine has all that we need. 2 Couches, chairs, snacks and tables.¡± ¡°Just where did you find the furniture and time to make that place Mitsuki-Sensei?¡± ¡°That is a secret.¡± ¡°Now get back to class and we will meet there after school.¡± As the three of us left for each of our classes, I could see Mitsuki-Sensei slowly heading towards the club building. He must be getting ready to hide some stuff or sleep till his lessons. After school, I began to make my way to the club building, while walking there, I could see Honoka clinging onto Honshou¡¯s arms as they walked towards the building. Honshou made a face that looks as if she were annoyed at Honoka. Honoka was smiling and talking to Honshou while they walked. They sure got close together fast. Honoka then turned her head and saw me. ¡°Hey Yuu!¡± As she shouted at me, Honshou turned around. ¡°Tch. More pest.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you too Honshou-San.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not here to make friends with you. I¡¯m here for Mitsuki-Sensei.¡± ¡°Aha. Kagura sure only talks about Mitsuki-Sensei.¡± Kagura. They are already on first-name basis. Girls sure are powerful at making friends. We found ourselves outside the club room in a matter of minutes. We could see the newly put sign ¡®Keiken-bu (Experience club)¡¯ hanged outside the door. I knocked slightly on the door before we opened it. As we walked into the room. Curtains by the windows, a small fridge, A large couch in the middle, tables with utensils and even a microwave and multiple chairs. ¡°This¡­is our club room?¡± ¡°Hoho. It sure is fancy. Are all clubrooms like that here?¡± ¡°No, this is way too nice for a clubroom, did we get the right room?¡± ¡°We got it right alright. A-after all, M-M-Mitsuki-Sensei is asleep right there.¡± Honshou seemed fairly excited and breathing a bit heavily while staring at Mitsuki-Sensei, who was dead asleep right on the couch with a book covering his face. ¡°A-A-A picture¡­ I have to take one.¡± ¡°Kagura, that¡¯s too much.¡± ¡°Miyano take the book off.¡± ¡°Huh? But.¡± ¡°TAKE IT OFF.¡± Hearing Honshou¡¯s excitement. Honoka reluctantly shrugged her head and lifted the book off Mitsuki-Sensei¡¯s face. As Honshou slowly walked towards Mitsuki-Sensei with a camera in her hand¡­A camera? Where did she pull that out of? Doraxmxn? ¡°Click!¡± As her camera shutter fired off. Mitsuki-Sensei slowly opened his eyes. ¡°Oh, you guys are here¡­¡± ¡°Afternoon Mitsuki-Sensei!¡± ¡°What is this room?¡± I began to ask Mitsuki-Sensei while ogling the room with its fancy setup. ¡°This¡­is my hidden paradise in school, and it is now the KeikenBu¡¯s clubroom.¡± ¡°How did you manage to get a whole fridge and microwave in here?¡± ¡°Sensei¡¯s sources and lips are sealed.¡± ¡°Oh, but the room might get some vistis from Kurenai-Sensei and Masaki-Sensei sometimes.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°They use this room to cool off as it comes with air-conditioning and a large couch.¡± ¡°Air-c-c-conditioning? Just how well equipped is this room.¡± Looking around, some of the stuff here isn¡¯t even found in the teacher¡¯s lounge. It¡¯s amazing how Mitsuki-Sensei managed to get all the stuff here. It was fancy enough to warrant visits from the strict teachers like Kurenai-Sensei and Masaoni. ¡°Now, lets begin our club activities.¡± Seeing Mitsuki-Sensei sit upright and began talking seriously really made him seem more mysterious due to all the things he managed to do to this room. His serious mood doesn¡¯t match his bedhair right after waking up. ¡°C-C-Cute¡­¡± Honshou was sneakily trying to take photos of Mitsuki-Sensei¡¯s bedhair. Seeing Honoka, Honshou and Mitsuki-Sensei gathering with me in this room really made me realise. ¡°Our club activities is officially going to begin.¡± XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Chapter 3.1: Sweets and Sugar Lunchtime. It was the one period during school hours where students gather with friends from other classes, clubs and even their own classes to talk and eat. I for one disliked the idea of mingling around during lunchtime. I preferred to keep to myself during lunch hours by sitting at my seat located in the corner of the classroom. Earphones on both my ears, connected to my phone that was conveniently placed on the table and with a book in my hands. That was how I, Kanjouu Yuusuke, would spend every day of my lunch period during school. Spending time alone gave a tranquil feeling and long-awaited peace. However, that peace didn¡¯t last long on this particular day. As sudden and loud as a thunder strike, the door to my class was slammed open. It was loud to the point I could hear it personally despite my headphones. All eyes in the class naturally turned to the doors. Usually, in these cases, I would mind my own business and went on to read my book. ¡°Yo Yuu! Let¡¯s eat!¡± I guess there was no escaping this one. My long-awaited peace was disturbed by 2 girls that had opened the class''s doors. A red-haired beauty holding a lunchbox in one arm and dragging yet another girl in the other. ¡°Hey Miyano, let me go!¡± The one that was dragged around was not at all inferior to the red-haired girl. Donning purple hair herself, the two girls stood out in the class along with the loud sound they made. As soon as the red-haired girl shouted my names, I could feel countless gazes from my classmates on me. Even if I wanted to pretend that I didn¡¯t feel their piercing gazes, I could not possibly do so. I then decided the best course of action was to pretend that I did not hear them. Doing so, I continued my book, flipping yet another page and ignoring my surroundings. Just as I thought that would settle it, the sound of my favorite singer disappeared and I felt that my headphones were yanked off. ¡°Hey Yuu, let¡¯s eat!¡± As if she knew that I was pretending. She gave off a cold smile and a slight twitch as she repeated the words. ¡°¡­why all of the sudden, Honoka?¡± The red-haired girl was indeed Honoka, she approached me in the classroom and invited me for lunch, along with the purple-haired girl who was Honshou¡± ¡°Well, I thought we could eat as a club for a change.¡± Hearing Honoka declare that, the class that was silent began to raise its volume. Countless whispering, murmurs that were discussing the ¡®club¡¯ that was mentioned as well as the occasional insults about myself sounded throughout the class. ¡°Alright¡­Let¡¯s change the location.¡± Wanting to get out of the classroom to avoid any more gossip, I suggested a change of locations, and within minutes, we were at our club room at the other building. ¡°So, explain to me why you guys came here for lunch?¡± ¡°Well, we needed a place that we could sit and relax, so what better place than here.¡± ¡°I-I-I came here to see y-y-you¡­¡± ¡°I wanted to avoid the attention.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be stingy Mitsuki-Sensei, I will give you some of my lunch.¡± ¡°M-M-Mine as well!¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s just perfect, I hadn¡¯t eaten yet and was feeling hungry, I will take this as compensation then.¡± ¡°Ah, my wiener!¡± Although the noise here was comparable to the classroom, it didn¡¯t contain the gazes and disdain from my classmates, this was the compromise that I would accept in order to find a place to eat my lunch. Deciding to join in on the three of them eating lunch, I began to open my wrapped bento that I grabbed before coming here. As I opened it up and wanted to start eating, the room fell silent with a hint of curiosity in the air. I turned around to see the three of them who were merrily talking up till now, staring intensely at my lunchbox contents. ¡°What a luxurious lunchbox¡­¡± ¡°Must be a girl or at least family¡± ¡°T-to think that Kanjouu-Kun would have a girl¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± The three of them had their own remarks on the contents of my lunch. It was a neatly packed lunch with the usual rice, topped with seaweed. Sides included egg rolls, takoyaki, karaage, and even some vegetables. ¡°I made it myself.¡± ¡°!¡± The three who were staring all looked as if they had heard something impossible. ¡°Yuu¡­You cooked this¡­?¡± ¡°Hey, I got confidence in my own cooking skills at least. After all, to live alone, I had to learn how to cook.¡± ¡°Wait, you live alone? No way! In that huge of a house?¡± ¡°Well, there were circumstances.¡± As Honoka was questioning me about my living conditions, Honshou swooped in with her chopsticks and took a piece of my Karaage and put it in her mouth. ¡°Ah.¡± After her rash actions, she fell dead silent. ¡°Impossible.¡± The rest of us who were watching her all wondered what she meant unti Mitsuki-Sensei broke the silence. ¡°What do you mean by that, Honshou-san.¡± ¡°I-t¡­¡± ¡°It?¡± ¡°It¡¯s too¡­¡±Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°It¡¯s too¡­?¡± ¡°It¡¯s too delicious! There¡¯s no way you could have cooked it by yourself! I refused to accept it!¡± ¡°W-what¡­¡± Hearing her loud disclamation, everyone was taken aback for a moment. It didn¡¯t take long before Honoka and Mitsuki-Sensei each took their own share of my lunch and ate it. ¡°No way, It¡¯s really good! You made this, Yuu?¡± ¡°I must say¡­I¡¯m impressed Yuusuke.¡± ¡°I wish you guys would stop eating my lunch while complimenting me.¡± ¡°Ahaha, I will share mine with you.¡± ¡°Yuusuke-Kun, did you take cooking lessons or something?¡± ¡°No, I simply watched chefs from a young age and tried my hand at cooking.¡± ¡°And you got this good at it?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say I¡¯m good at cooking dishes, if anything, my specialty would be making desserts and sweets.¡± ¡°Desserts!¡± ¡°Sweets!¡± Hearing those words, the eyes of the girls in the room began to shine brightly. They both looked at me with hopeful looks in their eyes. If it was only Honoka, I would understand. But to think Honshou who seemed that she would rather die than get along with me actually looked hopefully at me. ¡°¡­if you would like, I could make and bring some tomorrow? ¡°Please Do!¡± As if they had planned this out from the start, the two girls grasped each other¡¯s hands and said it in unison. The Lunch continued on as they continued to eat my lunch and comment on it. Before long, the break was over and we were each making our way back to class. ¡°Huh¡­isn¡¯t that kid the one from that day¡­ and her¡­.¡± A red-haired guy who had a wild look was walking along the corridor when he saw me and the rest walking together. He looked as if he were eavesdropping and following us. ¡°Remember Yuu, tomorrow for sure!¡± ¡°I got it already, Honoka.¡± As we continued to walk into our classroom, the guy at the back looked a little flushed on his cheeks. ¡°So¡­her name¡¯s Honoka huh?¡± XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX The next day, it was already after school and the members of the Keikenbu were gathered in the clubroom already. I was just arriving at the room after running an errand for my teacher. As I opened the door, I saw the two girls seated on the chairs and there was a long table all ready with plates, utensils and most of all, the anticipating eyes of the girls. ¡°Alright, I get it. Here you go. As I said that to ease their excitement, I took out a box from the bag that I had brought today. ¡°I made a cheesecake today as I didn¡¯t have much ingredients to work with so you would have to make do with that.¡± Opening the box revealed the contents inside. It was a bright yellow and white cake that looked as if it were still bouncing. Despite it being a long while since bringing it from home, the cake was still surprisingly cold as it emits cold air when opened. This was because I had asked Kouda-sensei for permission to store these in the teacher¡¯s fridge when I visited him this morning. ¡°Woah¡­¡± Everyone including Mitsuki-Sensei let out a small sound of amazement at the spongy white cake in front of them. Mitsuki-Sensei saw the cold air that was emitted and looked as if he understood what I did. ¡°So that was I was smelling this morning¡­¡± ¡°ITADAKIMASU!¡± In a flash, the girls had already divided the cake and were readying themselves to eat it. I simply watched the scene unfold before me as I took a chair and sat down myself. ¡°So sweet!¡± ¡°So soft¡­¡± ¡°Yet¡­so delicious!¡± Watching them eat the cake I made had given me a little nostalgia whereby I first made cakes and asked Tsubasa to try it out for me. Hearing the reactions of the girls in front of me really reminded me of when my sister first ate the cakes. If she were here, she would definitely say something like ¡°So, my brother¡¯s hidden baking talent has been discovered¡­¡± That was the kind of person she was. Honoka and Honshou were both munching on the cake without a care in the world. Especially Honshou, I would have expected her to be a little embarrassed showing this side of her to Mitsuki-Sensei, but could the power of cakes have changed her? Mitsuki-Sensei, on the other hand, was eating his share of the cake at the corner of the room discreetly. I decided to take a slice and eat it myself. As I raise my fork and sliced the cake, a small part was cut out rather easily. Putting it in my mouth had made me shiver a little due to the cold surface of the cake with a little cream still left on my lips. As I ate the cake, the flavor of the cheese came out strongly and enveloped my mouth, it was sweet yet not too sweet, fluffy yet not too soft. After gulping the cake down, I licked the rear ends of my lips and drank some water. The girls in front of me had also subsequently finished theirs. ¡°Ahh. That was blissful.¡± ¡°I have to agree.¡± ¡°Glad that you liked it!¡± ¡°Yuu!¡± Honoka had suddenly sat up and grabbed a hold of my hands. ¡°You have to make more for us sometime! And teach me how to make it someday!¡± ¡°¡­alright alright, I will.¡± ¡°A-Ahem. I hate to admit this, but the cake was delightful.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± Even Honshou was impressed enough that she would thank me, could this be the cake speaking? Or her hunger? ¡°Well, I¡¯m impressed. I guess you weren¡¯t lying when you said sweets and desserts were your specialties.¡± Hearing the constant praise from them had no effect on me, I couldn¡¯t get what was so delicious about the cake I had made except the fact that it was a cake. Although, not showing some kind of emotion would raise the suspicions of them and I had faked a smile before I knew it. Being able to fake a smile was a very useful skill taught to be by Kenji-sensei. He told me I could use it to get out of unwanted situations. ¡°So¡­are these your club activities?¡± Mitsuki-Sensei had suddenly sprung the question on us. True, even I had been wondering as well. The club was created on a whim with no solid goal in mind, would the club activities be fine like this. ¡°That¡¯s it!¡± ¡°Yuu, I know what we can do as a club!¡± Hearing Honoka speak out to me in response to Mitsuki-Sensei¡¯s question broke my fake smile. ¡°As the Keikenbu, we can experience and learn how to bake cakes as good as you! You could teach us!¡± ¡°Hoh, that sounds like a great idea Honoka-san¡± ¡°I-If Mitsuki-Sensei says so.¡± ¡°That¡¯s settled! Our first club activities would be having Yuu teach us how to bake!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have a say in this?¡± ¡°Alright then, but first. It¡¯s getting quite late, so you guys should head home and continue this tomorrow.¡± ¡°Alright, Yuu, Kagura. Let¡¯s go home together.¡± ¡°Ah¡­actually, I needed to do something for Kouda-Sensei before I go, you guys head home first.¡± ¡°Hmm? Alright then, let¡¯s go Kagura!¡± ¡°H-hey, don¡¯t pull me!¡± As the club dispersed, I made my way down to the main building where my classroom was located. I was tasked to go take something from the class and return it to Kouda-Sensei after school but I had forgotten about it. As I was walking by, a hand appeared and grabbed my shoulder. ¡°Hey, we need to talk.¡± Looking back, I saw the wild red-haired guy that was harassing Honoka on the day we first met. ¡°Sorry, I have something to do.¡± ¡°I said wait a minute!¡± As I pulled away from his grab, he used his right hand to again grab my arms, but this time, harder. Maybe it was reflex, or maybe it was experience. Either way, in that single moment, I took a hold of his arm and had swung it behind him and pinned him on the wall. ¡°Ouch! It hurts damn it!¡± Realizing what I had done, I quickly let go of him and apologized. ¡°You¡­you¡¯re pretty strong.¡± ¡°Well, I guess.¡± ¡°Anyways, I wanted to ask.¡± ¡°W-w-what¡¯s your relationship with Honoka-san¡± As he stuttered to ask me a question, his face had turned a bright red, it could have been just the sunset but I determined it wasn¡¯t. ¡°We are just friends in the same club.¡± ¡°Friends¡­you guys seem pretty close though¡± ¡°What¡¯s that gonna do with you?¡± ¡°H-huh?¡± Seeing him flinch at my remark, I had figured out the reason for his actions. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t happen to¡­like Honoka would you?¡± ¡°Huh?! What are you talkzing about?!¡± He bit his tongue¡­ ¡°If you had liked her, why did you harass her on her first day?¡± ¡°H-h-harass her?¡± ¡°Weren¡¯t you and 3 other guys ganging up on her at the alleyway last time?¡± ¡°T-t-that wasn¡¯t the case! My buddies were just teasing me and wanted to make me confess to the girl!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± After that, I heard him out. Turns out, he had seen Honoka before on the streets and had fell in love with her at first sight, and after finding out she transferred here, his friends teased him by trying to make him confess to her on the spot, thus leading to him ¡®surrounding¡¯ her. All in all, it was a misunderstanding. Even I, could not contain my surprise at the fact that it was a misunderstanding which the feeling was rather new to me after I regained it. ¡°So¡­what do you want to do?¡± ¡°I want to get closer to her of course¡­¡± Seeing him blush and whisper despite his wild and menacing appearance that screams delinquent really made me wonder why he would dress up and act like one. ¡°I got an idea for you.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Join our club, the Keikenbu.¡± ¡°Kei¡­kenbu?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a new club we formed together, we are always looking for new members. And besides, isn¡¯t this the best chance for you to get closer to her?¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± ¡°Not a bad idea, right?¡± ¡°I got it, I will join.¡± ¡°Alright then, see you tomorrow at the entrance to the club building, I will bring you there.¡± ¡°Heh, for the rumored school loser, you are an interesting fella.¡± ¡°Well, thanks for that.¡± XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Chapter 3.2: House Visit ¡°Miii ¨C yano!¡± ¡°Wah!... A-Anna?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go eat after school.¡± It was the end of the last period and Honoka was packing her bag when the person named Anna had rested her petite body on her. Akii Anna, yet another famed girl who is in the same class as Honoka. Although Akii is famous in school, no, rather than famous, you could call her an infamous person. Akii Anna is what would one call a Gyaru or Gal for short. She had blonde hair that covers till the nape of her neck. Her hair was let down on the left while her right was held up by a pin, showing off her aqua blue eyes. Her tie was loosely tied and the first few buttons of her shirt were unbuttoned, showing off a slight cleavage and her underwear. Her skirt was also shorter than the average length, making her ¡®appealing¡¯ in a sort of ways. Anyone who had laid eyes on her would simply describe her as ¡®erotic¡¯. She was in the same class as Honoka and made friends with her almost immediately. It could be due to their similar personality. ¡°Ah, sorry I have club today.¡± ¡°Hm? Club? Since when did you join a club?¡± ¡°Recently. It¡¯s called the Keikenbu.¡± ¡°Heh. What do you guys do?¡± ¡°Well, for starters, today we are making cakes? I guess.¡± ¡°Hahaha! What¡¯s with that? Are you guys the Keikenbu or the cooking club?! Aha!¡± ¡°Heh heh. What if I told you the one teaching us actually makes the cake better than the one at the mall?¡± ¡°You¡¯re kidding.¡± ¡°I¡¯m serious.¡± ¡°Heh. Well, let¡¯s go then.¡± ¡°Huh? To where?¡± ¡°The club of course.¡± ¡°Huh?! W-wait Anna!¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°What do you mean go to the club? Are you planning to join us?¡± ¡°Hm? Well, it does sound interesting, and I¡¯m interested in the chef you are talking about.¡± ¡°Ahh. Fine. Let¡¯s go, I will explain things to them. ¡°Speaking of which¡­What was your name again?¡± ¡°Huh?! You mean you forgot mine?¡± ¡°Well, I wasn¡¯t really paying attention back then.¡± ¡°Sigh¡­Miwasaki Ken. That¡¯s my name.¡± ¡°So, where¡¯s this club room of yours again?¡± ¡°Hm? The far end of the second floor of the club building, Mitsuki-sensei gave us the place.¡± ¡°Geh. Mitsuki?¡± ¡°Yeah, Mitsuki-sensei, our club advisor.¡± ¡°Club advisor?!¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s just I don¡¯t get along well with that guy. It¡¯s like he can peek into my heart.¡± ¡°Ah. I just remembered.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I was going to teach Honoka and Honshou how to bake cakes today.¡± ¡°You¡­can cook?¡± ¡°Yea, it¡¯s like a hobby of mine. If you are going to come, you have to join us.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­Honoka in an apron huh?¡± ¡°We are baking.¡± ¡°I-I know that!¡± As Ken and I were walking towards the clubroom, we had passed by the bridge connecting the two buildings. The school was filled with the sound of shouts, talking and hitting sounds. The resounding sounds of baseball bats hitting the ball, the shouts of athletic club members running ringed through my ears. ¡°There sure are a lot of sports clubs.¡± ¡°Well, yea. Didn¡¯t you know? Our school¡¯s famous for these things.¡± ¡°You look well-built Ken, aren¡¯t you in any of the clubs?¡± ¡°Nah, I like to work out, but I don¡¯t like to commit to a sport.¡± ¡°What about you? Those moves of yours just now, aren¡¯t you going to join a martial arts club?¡± ¡°I had my fair share of martial arts already.¡± In truth, I once had Alfred teach me how to fight. Dad was worried about me living alone and wanted to have Alfred stay with me to guard me, but I refused and instead I asked Alfred to teach me. That way I could live alone and not worry Dad. Alfred has a black belt in Aikido, Judo, and Karate. Up till now, I still don¡¯t have a clue on his identity and his relationship with Dad. ¡°We are here.¡± ¡°Ah. Yuu.¡± Hearing the familiar voice calling out to me as I was about to open the door, I turned around and see Honoka standing next to a blonde haired girl. ¡°Honoka¡­and who might that be?¡±¡¯ ¡°I could say the same thing about the guy behind you.¡±Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°H-H-Hono¡­¡± ¡°Heh¡­Is this the teacher you are talking about Miya?¡± ¡°Huh? Oh yea, this is Kanjouu Yuusuke.¡± ¡°Hi there, I¡¯m Akii Anna. You can just call me Anna, Yuu-kun.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you, Akii-san¡± ¡°Sigh¡­stubborn, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Hey, Yuu. Who¡¯s that?¡± ¡°You mean him? Wait, you don¡¯t recognize him?¡± ¡°Have we met before?¡± ¡°I-I-I¡­¡± ¡°Ahaha. Ken, what are you blushing for?¡± ¡°Ken, you know Akii-san?¡± ¡°H-Huh? Y-yea, we were from the same middle school.¡± ¡°So, Honoka, what¡¯s Akii doing here.¡± ¡°She wants to look at the club. What about him?¡± ¡°He¡¯s joining the club, apparently.¡± Seeing how Ken still couldn¡¯t speak a word in front of Honoka while Akii was just laughing at him, I decided to enter the clubroom first and make them follow suit. ¡°So¡­ It seems like our guest increased. But it is surprising to see you here, Ken.¡± ¡°Mitsuki¡­¡± ¡°Mitsuki-Sensei, Ken is joining the club and Akii-san is¡­¡± ¡°Hmm¡­Alright, I will join the club as well!¡± ¡°Huh?! Wait a second, Anna, are you serious?¡± ¡°Heh¡­why? Is there a reason you don¡¯t want me here?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t, but¡­¡± As Honoka was panicking at the sudden declaration, she glanced in my direction. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t mind, would ya? Yuu-kun.¡± As Anna announced that she was joining the club, she approached me slowly. Too close for comfort. I backed away a little bit, lightly knocking into the chair behind me. Anna had continue approaching me and I felt that I had to give an answer. ¡°Sigh¡­Sure.¡± ¡°Alright! It¡¯s decided then. Nice to be with you, Miya!¡± As Mitsuki-sensei looked at the scene that was unfolding in front of him, he let out a small sigh as he shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Clack!¡± ¡°Geh¡­There are more people now¡­¡± ¡°Ah. Kagura.¡± ¡°Miyano, who are all these people¡­W-Wait, Akii Anna?!¡± ¡°Ah, now there is a familiar face. How are you doing Kagura-chan?¡± ¡°Y-You haven¡¯t done anything to anyone here yet have you?!¡± ¡°Huh, whatever do you mean?¡± The moment Honshou entered the room, she looked shocked to see Akii in here. Perhaps they know each other before this, and her words¡­Should I be worried about anything Akii could do in here? Honshou was glancing at Mitsuki-Sensei and Akii repeatedly when Mitsuki-Sensei just gave off a smile while Akii was snickering by herself. ¡°Um¡­Yuusuke. About the cooking lesson today you were to have. Where were you planning to have it?¡± ¡°Ah.¡± ¡°Click.¡± ¡°Sigh¡­Make yourself at home.¡± ¡°Pardon us.¡± ¡°Yuu, where are your family?¡± ¡°I¡­live alone.¡± ¡°No way! Yuu-kun, you live here alone?!¡± Hearing Honoka ask about my family made me jump a little and Akii was just gasping while looking around the house like others. Truthfully, my house was too big. The house could be said to be bigger than Honoka¡¯s house right next door, and they have a family of 5. Entering the doorway, the wooden shoe shelves by the side were practically empty, all except for 2 pairs of my own shoe. The living room was well furnished and equipped as well, there was a long couch that no matter how you look at it, wasn¡¯t for one person. A large screen television was facing the couch and by the living room was a huge kitchen. The large kitchen was at the courtesy of Tsubasa who had asked father to build it larger as she knew I often cooked for a hobby. As everyone was done being mesmerized by the state of my house, I began to take out the necessary utensils and ingredients for the cake. Cream cheese, crumbs, sugar, butter. All the ingredients were lined up. Jugs, bowls, mixers and such were also promptly placed onto the table. I specifically took out multiple sets to allow for all of them to try their hand at baking. Honoka and the others were staring at me slowly preparing the items when I saw that Akii was nowhere to be found. Suspecting something was up, I went up to my room. ¡°Sigh¡­ and what do you think you are doing?¡± ¡°Ah. Ahaha. You got me.¡± My suspicions were spot on when I found Akii crawling around my room looking for something. Although, I could not exactly praise the way she was doing it. The skirt of our school was unusually short and Akii, who shorten the skirt, even more, was kneeling and crawling about, almost showing off some other things. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be crawling around in a short skirt like that, much less in a guy¡¯s room.¡± ¡°Hehh¡­and why is that? What I do and what I wear is my business though.¡± Looking at Akii¡¯s face, I knew that she wasn¡¯t feeling remorseful at all. In fact, she was snickering while making a comment. ¡°Whatever you are trying to find, I don¡¯t think you will find it in the house.¡± ¡°Oh really? Then what is this certain picture I found?¡± Akii pulled out a photograph and flashed it to me. It was a picture of Tsubasa, wearing comfortable homewear with a tank top, burying me in her chest while she took a selfie. When did Tsubasa manage to sneak this into my room? I should have hidden it. ¡°Heh, so you have pictures like these.¡± ¡°That is my sister¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure it is. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t tell the others.¡± ¡°Sigh¡­if that¡¯s all, come downstairs already. In any case, we are starting our club activities and you are technically a member already.¡± ¡°Ah, of course on one condition.¡± ¡°Sigh¡­are you even listening to me speak, Akii-sa¡­¡± ¡°Stop! Anna.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Call me Anna.¡± ¡°And why should I?¡± ¡°Click.¡± At the moment I replied her, Akii had already taken out her phone and snapped a photo of the picture. ¡°Hehe. If not, I will spread this in school.¡± ¡°¡­You¡­are blackmailing me?¡± ¡°Of course not. It¡¯s called negotiations, Yuu-kun!¡± ¡°Sigh. Get downstairs Aki¡­¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°Sigh¡­Anna, get downstairs.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± ¡°Alright, the first step to making a good cake is to treat everything with care.¡± ¡°First, we will blend the crumbs by putting the crackers into the blender. After, the crust if finely grounded, stir in sugar and salt in a bowl.¡± ¡°Next, we will mix it with the butter and melt the butter.¡± ¡°Ohh¡­¡± As I was going through the necessary steps for the cheesecake, everyone was silent and just watched diligently. Anna looked as if she knew how to do it already by giving off a slight smirk. ¡°Alright, now you guys try. Beat the cream cheese and sugar with the mixer.¡± As they started to beat the mix, I looked around at their progress. Honoka was struggling a little to mix the ingredients and Honshou was doing it wildly. Ken was switching between sneaking a peek at Honoka and mixing the batter. Anna was¡­ ¡°You¡­are good¡­¡± ¡°Heh, surprising isn¡¯t it?¡± Baking is actually also a hobby of mine. Guess we have something in common huh, Yuu?¡± ¡°Ah. Yuu, how do you do it so smoothly?¡± ¡°Here.¡± ¡°You must gentle tilt the bowl a little while making rounds around the batter slowly. That way, you can get off the chunks and make it smoother.¡± Going around and teaching each of them how to make the cheesecake was harder than expected. Mostly, it was troublesome due to Honshou mixing everything wildly despite her image, while spilling everything everywhere. In the end, the bowl was swung so hard that everything had spilled, and we had to remake it. ¡°Come on¡­.¡± ¡°Ding!¡± ¡° ¨C It¡¯s done!- ¡° As we took out the cake from the oven. The cake was already looking great. The texture of the cake was a golden brown and it looked as if it was alive, bouncing all over the place. ¡°Alright. Now, to finish it off, we spread the top with the sour cream mixture made just now¡­and we are done.¡± After preparing the cake. Everyone looked really impressed with their results. We then cut one of the cakes while putting the others in the fridge. ¡°DELICIOUS!!!!!¡± ¡°So soft, yet fluffy!¡± ¡°Hmm, this is good!¡± ¡°It¡¯s better than the cakes I make, that¡¯s for sure. Nice job, Yuu!¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome, Akii¡­¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Sigh¡­Anna.¡± ¡°Heh? ¨C . Upon calling Anna, everyone turned around and stared at the two of us. ¡°Anna?¡± ¡°Since when did you guys get close enough to be on first-name basis?¡± ¡°Hehe. I had my ways.¡± ¡°Ah! Yuu, how could you call Anna by her name and refused mine.¡± ¡°I was¡­¡± Wanting to tell the truth to them, I glanced at Anna who had already pulled out her phone. She waved the picture around at me and gave off a slight smirk while sticking her tongue out. ¡°It isn¡¯t like that Honok¡­¡± ¡°Miyano!¡± ¡°Geh...¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°Sigh¡­Alright, I got it already.¡± ¡°¡­Miyano¡­¡± ¡°Um! That sounds nicer than just Honoka. Why don¡¯t you take this chance to call Kagura by her name too?¡± ¡°Not a chance!¡± ¡°Well, you have your answer Miyano.¡± ¡°U-Um! C-Can I-I-I call you Miyano too?¡± ¡°Sure! We are all in the same club anyways, Ken-kun!¡± Seeing how Ken¡¯s face broke off into a smile and his faced turned a bright red that it compliments his hair, I simply sigh at the way he presented himself in front of his one-sided crush. Anna, on the other hand, was laughing behind me and trying to stifle it. ¡°We got to let Mitsuki-Sensei try this tomorrow! Too bad he couldn¡¯t leave the school due to duties.¡± ¡°Yea¡­¡± ¡°YUU!!!!! I¡¯m here to visit!!¡± ¡°Heh? Who¡¯s that Yuu? Weren¡¯t you living alone?¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Chapter 3.3: The Makeover ¡°Klack.¡± The sound of the high heels that Tsubasa had taken off at the entrance, echoed into our ears. ¡°Hm? Shoes¡­?¡± As Tsubasa glanced at the multiple pairs of shoes arranged neatly by the doorway, she made her way towards the living room and kitchen, where we were. ¡°Yuu. Are you here?¡± ¡°¡­Tsubasa¡­¡± ¡°A beautiful girl.¡± The 4 of them who were in the room all said in harmony. ¡°Ahh. The women in the picture.¡± Seeing Tsubasa as she entered the room, Anna immediately saw her as the same Tsubasa who was in the picture she found. ¡°Picture¡­?¡± As Miyano heard Anna talk about a picture, Kagura went ahead and took the photo which Anna was hiding behind her. Curiously, the 3 others had gathered around and looked at the picture. They turned their heads towards Tsubasa and yet again at the picture. Making sure that they were the same person. ¡°¡­No¡­Way¡­Yuu¡­.¡± Tsubasa was murmuring in a small voice when I was trying to claim back the photo from the others. As I turned around, I saw my sister silently sobbing while she looked at us. Although at this point, I was sure this was another one of her exaggerated acts. ¡°You brought friends over¡­This is¡­¡± ¡°Hey miss. What¡¯s your relationship with Yuu?¡± Anna casually walked up towards Tsubasa and began to question her. Meanwhile, Miyano, Kagura and Ken were looking at Tsubasa, wanting to hear the answer to the question as well. Tsubasa walked up to me, grabs me by the head and begin to ruffle my hair. ¡°Hey¡­Tsubasa, cut it out.¡± ¡°Good for you, isn¡¯t it? Yuu.¡± The others looked surprised by her sudden actions and before they were able to speak up. ¡°Ah. Sorry for the late introduction. I¡¯m Kanjouu Tsubasa. The sister of this guy right here.¡± ¡°¡­sister?¡± XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ¡°Heh¡­ So, you guys are part of the same club.¡± ¡°Yup we are.¡± Somehow, the scene unfolding before me seems to be way too strange. What was supposed to be just a baking lesson, turned to the members of the Keikenbu, sitting around my sister as she answers all their questions. Miyano was also replying to whatever questions my sister had for her, making Tsubsa glance over at me every now and then as I never told her or my family of my actions often. ¡°And Yuu over here was the one who started it. Heh¡­.¡± Seeing her give off a slight smirk, similarly to the one Anna had while glancing at me. I looked off elsewhere, trying to avoid eye contact. ¡°Yuu over here never tells me anything about himself. I will be counting on you girls to report to me!¡± ¡°You got it.¡± ¡°Seems like fun, isn¡¯t it, Yuu?¡± Yet again, a nerve wrecking promise was made between my sister and the girls. Wait, since when did they get so close? They looked like they had been friends for a long time now. Could this be the power of girls yet again or could it just have been Tsubasa. Then again, Tsubasa had never had any trouble getting along with someone. Platinum Blonde hair, flowing all the way down to her waist, crystal blue eyes that looked as clear as the ocean and eyelashes long enough to make you wonder if they were real. With how Tsubasa looked, one would think she was a celebrity. This was another one of the reasons why she could make friends with people easily. ¡°Ahem. So, why did you come here, Tsubasa?¡± ¡°What, do I need a reason to visit my little brother?¡± ¡°You know that¡¯s not what I meant.¡± Tsubasa had never come here without reasons. Sometimes, it would be just to visit me, others would be to crash at the huge house that obviously should not be for one person and at times, she would come here to request me to help with something. Currently, it was just me and Tsubasa in the living room. As it was getting late already, the rest of them decided to call it a day and went home. ¡°Hehe. I want to crash here for a few days, work is quite far from home and your place is closer.¡± ¡°Sigh, I knew it would be something like that.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it fine? Tomorrow is a weekend anyways, we could head out together.¡± ¡°I am planning to stay at home all day tomorrow¡± ¡°So, its decided then. We are going shopping tomorrow.¡± ¡°¡­Did you even hear what I said?¡±Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! As usual, Tsubasa did what she wanted and couldn¡¯t take no for an answer. My weekend where I should be getting some peace and quiet alone at home had been ruined by her sudden appearance. Tsubasa had already made plans for me to go shopping without even a word of my opinion and went on to shower and sleep. It looks like tomorrow will be another hectic day. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX As usual, per my morning routine. I was getting ready to go for a run around the park for exercise. ¡°Good morning.¡± Turning around, I saw Tsubasa who was also dressed in sports attire like me. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°Hm? I¡¯m going to run with you obviously.¡± ¡°I would rather not, you will draw too much attention¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°¡­sigh.¡± A beautiful girl who doesn¡¯t know the power of her appeal. It is a sin. ¡°Fine, let¡¯s get going. As we are jogging around the park, the onlookers increase rapidly with all of them staring at Tsubasa, be it a guy or a girl, the elderly or even the children. Of course, the one in question does not suspect a single thing and continues to run normally. ¡°The stares hurt¡­¡± ¡°Hm? What was that you said?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± We stopped by a park bench and took a small break. The sight of Tsubasa who had her hair tied up in a ponytail, revealing her bare nape while gulping down the bottle of water in her hand had garnered much attention from the people here. ¡°Phwaa¡­ So how is school these days?¡± ¡°Same as usual¡­¡± ¡°Even though you started a club?¡± ¡°Nothing much had changed yet.¡± Tsubasa and begun to ask about my club and school life recently like she always does whenever she meets me. However, this time, she sat up straight suddenly and began to ask. ¡°So, which one of the 3 girls is your type?¡± ¡°Pffh! *Cough cough¡± Due to the sudden question, the water which I was gulping down from the bottle all came gushing out like a fountain. ¡°W-What?¡± ¡°Like I said, which one of the 3, Miyano, Kagura or Anna. Who do you like?¡± ¡°Like? You should know fully well I can¡¯t feel emotions like those.¡± ¡°Hehe. True, but you would still have one or two you fancy or are interested in huh?¡± ¡°¡­That¡¯s ridiculous¡­¡± ¡°Is it now?¡± ¡°Kagura seems like she got her mind somewhere else. Miyano looks super cheerful and a great girl. However, that friend of yours, Ken was it? He¡¯s in love with her, isn¡¯t he?¡± Just by meeting them for the first time and barely talking to them. She already has a grasp of each of their personality and interest. What a fearsome woman. ¡°And Anna, hmm. She seems like the type who will dominate over you and knowing you, you probably wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything about it.¡± Hearing what Tsubasa said made me think back to yesterday¡¯s events where Anna had controlled everything from making me question her actions and appearance to teasing me about the picture as well as manipulating me to call her name. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Hit the nail, did it?¡± After our break, we headed home, and I laid on bed right after my shower. ¡°Yuu! Let¡¯s go.¡± Before I even got comfortable on my own bed, Tsubasa slams open the door in a new outfit and approached me. ¡°Go where?¡± ¡°Shopping of course.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t agree to it.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to¡± As she quickly assures me that I have no way out of this, she grabs me by the hand and dragged me along. Within an hour, I found myself at the shopping mall. ¡°This is the popular mall where everyone gets their clothes shopping done.¡± ¡°Okay¡­ but what are you telling me for?¡± ¡°You are the one who is going to be buying clothes of course.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I brought you out here to get some clothes and fix your hair¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to, I¡¯m fine the way I am.¡± ¡°Well I¡¯m not, I want my brother to look good too, your sense of fashion is way too bad.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ¡°Hmm, this might look good on you.¡± In a flash, I was being used as a mannequin with Tsubasa putting all sorts of clothing on me. ¡°This could be good¡­Ah, but that looks nicer, but this too¡­¡± ¡°Sigh¡­what did I get myself into.¡± Feeling even more tired by Tsubasa¡¯s action, I let out a small sigh and a familiar voice had rung out behind me. ¡°I¡¯m back Mom.¡± The petite voice and the way the person said it, I was sure I had heard the owner of this voice somewhere. ¡°Alright, just put it on the counter.¡± The voice seems to belong the daughter of the owner of the store. I turned around to the counter behind me to discern the owner of the voice. ¡°Ah¡± ¡°Ah¡± Looking surprised by each other¡¯s appearance. I called out to the familiar figure. ¡°Anna¡­?¡± ¡°Yuu? What are you doing here?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­is that Anna-chan I see over there?¡± ¡°Ah. Tsubasa-san is here too. What are you all doing?¡± ¡°I brought Yuu here for a makeover¡± ¡°I never agreed to it.¡± ¡°A makeover?¡± ¡°Yup, some new clothes and a haircut.¡± ¡°Am I being ignored¡­¡± After seeing Me and Tsubasa, Anna began to talk to Tsubasa about why we are here. As if I was gone from the picture, they continued conversing until¡­ ¡°If it is for Yuu, then these clothes would fit I think.¡± ¡°Oh, you are right. And with those pants. Alright, Yuu. Go try these on.¡± Being inched by Tsubasa and Anna who was shoving the clothes in my hands, I went into the changing room. ¡°You work here Anna-chan?¡± ¡°Yup. I¡¯m helping my Mom when I¡¯m free. Clothes are a passion of mine you see. ¡°Anna, could you pass the tape by the counter?¡± ¡°Got it.¡± The voice that reached out to Anna was her Mom. A tall slender build, with blonde hair like her daughter and even shorter hair, but, fitting her so well. I finally found out where Anna might have gotten her attitude from. From seeing how her Mom had interacted with the customers and Anna, it was like how she would act in school. ¡°I¡¯m done.¡± Coming out of the changing room, Anna and Tsubasa was looking at me in the set of clothing they had chosen. ¡°Ohhh¡­¡± ¡°Not bad at all.¡± ¡°Yuu, come here a little¡± Tsubasa had pulled me closer and out of the changing room, she began to style up my hair by pulling it backwards and styling it to the side. ¡°¡­That¡¯s Yuu?¡± Anna had exclaimed out at me by the time Tsubasa was done. ¡°Who¡¯s this, Anna?¡± ¡°Ah, Mom. He¡¯s my friend from club at school.¡± ¡°Hmm, not a bad body build and face¡± Anna¡¯s Mom began to eye around my body after her customers left. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m Akii Kanade, Anna¡¯s Mom.¡± ¡°Hah¡­nice to meet you.¡± ¡°More importantly, I think these would look better with your style and build.¡± Just like how Anna and my Tsubasa had acted, Kanade-san had began taking some clothing and compared it to my current one. Like Mother, like daughter, I guess. ¡°Ho¡­ that is good taste there.¡± The repeating sequence of me trying on clothes and their conversation had continued for a few more minutes before we began to take the clothes to the counter to pay, ¡°Sigh¡­¡± ¡°Seeing how you are Anna¡¯s friends, I will give you a discount.¡± ¡°Heh¡­Thanks miss. Your clothes here are excellent, I will patronise more.¡± ¡°Hehe, that¡¯s a promise.¡± It seems like Tsubasa would kick off well with Kanade-san in terms of clothing and apparel. ¡°Hey, Tsubasa-san. You said Yuu wanted to get a haircut, didn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t say tha¡­¡± ¡°Yea.¡± ¡°Let me bring you to the best salon here.¡± ¡°Oh, that would be a great help.¡± Before long, I would find myself in the middle of a salon with Tsubasa telling the hairstylist what to do with my hair. ¡°Sigh¡­ do I not have any say in any of these?¡± Before long, the stylist began snipping off my hair and styling it. After roughly half an hour, I was sent to wash my hair before coming back for the final touches. Tsubasa and Anna went off to get a drink while I was cutting my hair and I was told to meet them at the store again. After a little while, my hair was all done, and I was in the new clothing I got due to some of the hair that got into the one I wore out. I began to head back towards the store. Walking pass the whole mall, I saw how crowded it was. Bright stores with salespeople walking about. As I was walking towards the store, I began to feel a lot of eyes on me. ¡®Is my haircut bad or something?¡¯ I had thought to myself. It was after a long walk that I had arrived back at the store. ¡°Hey, Tsubasa, I¡¯m done already.¡± ¡°Oh, let me se¡­¡± ¡°Hm, Yuu is done with the haircut? Let¡¯s see here.¡± ¡°W-what¡­¡± ¡°Yuu¡­is that you?¡± Tsubasa had called out to me as she was eyeing my appearance. ¡°Huh? What are you going on about now?¡± ¡°Yuu, you look really different¡­¡± ¡°Is it that bad?¡± ¡°Take a look.¡± Anna began to pull me towards the full body mirror in the shop. Even then, I could feel multiple pairs of eyes on me from the customers in the shop. I then came to a stop in front of the mirror, ready to see just how bad could it be. ¡°W-what¡­¡± XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX