~ Akihiko POV ~

"Wow, you're up early!" she exclaimed with a warm smile as she looked at me.

Ever since our parents passed away in an accident, my older sister has been taking care of me. She's been my rock and means everything to me.

My voice barely above a whisper, I mumbled, "Yeah, I was pretty shocked too." She giggled and motioned for me to come sit next to her while she ate sushi. I nodded.

I took a seat on the chair, placing my bag down beside me. Picking up my chopsticks, I began to enjoy a piece of sushi.

"Ane, this sushi is delicious! You make it just like Mom used to," I exclaimed with a smile. She grinned back at me and replied, "Of course! Mom taught me how to make it." I smiled widely, feeling grateful for her.

After a while, I finished my breakfast, wiped my mouth, and discarded the used tissue paper into the nearby trash can.

"Thanks for breakfast, Ane. I gotta head to school now," I said as I waved my hand goodbye. "Do you need a ride?" she asked. "No, I'm not running late today, so I'll walk," I replied. She nodded and got into her car.

She works for the company that pays for my high school tuition. She's the one who signs the checks.

I began to walk down the path, then picked up the pace and started running.

I'm in trouble if I don't run, I'll be late af!

I heard my name being called from behind by a familiar voice.

I heard someone call "Ah aki," so I turned my neck and saw that it was my friends. I walked over to them, trying to catch my breath. "What's going on?" I asked. "You're not late for the first time?" they asked in surprise. I nodded, but added, "I don't want to be late." They sighed.

"Shall we go together?" I asked, and everyone nodded. "Have you guys started working on the project?" one of them asked. "What project?" I replied, as everyone looked shocked.

"What? You don't know?" one of them spoke. I shook my head, indicating that I didn't know. They all sighed again.

"You should have known that. Don't be so careless," they said. I nodded in agreement. They are really good friends of mine. Their names are Haruki, Dai, Fuji, and Haru. After a few moments, we headed to the school gate.

Oh wow, I've never seen this before. What a view!

All the students were walking and talking like us. Soon, we went to our classroom. As I entered the class, everyone looked at me and got shocked.

A girl spoke, "Hey, look at this dumb guy. He isn't late today." I responded, "Thank you...wait...I'm not dumb!" The school bell rang and everyone immediately sat in their seats and kept quiet. The teacher entered the classroom.

Everyone, including me, stood up and greeted the teacher, "Good morning teacher." The teacher responded, "Yeah good morning. Sit down." I sat down. I saw a girl following the teacher.

The teacher asked the girl to introduce herself. She began, "Good morning, dear classmates. I'm a new student here. My name is Akari Kobayashi, and I'm 17 years old. Let's study hard together." As she finished, everybody clapped their hands.

Oh my goodness...who is she? She looks so cute and gorgeous!

My heart started racing as Akari sat down in the seat next to me. "So let's start our biology class," said the teacher. I took out my biology book and notebook. "Today, we're going to talk about..." I glanced over at Akari.

She's absolutely stunning, gorgeous, and beautiful. Is she an angel? I've never seen such a pretty girl in my entire life, and I doubt I'll ever see someone like her again.

"Hey"

I can't stop staring at her like this. I hope she doesn't notice, because if she does, she'll feel so embarrassed. I know I should stop staring, but my eyes don't want to.

Someone shouted 'Hey!' and it pulled me out of my weird thoughts. I looked in the direction of the voice.

Shit

"Oh, I'm sorry, teacher," I apologized. "You should focus on your studies and not let your mind wander." She gave a fake cough to emphasize her point.

A wave of giggles rippled through the room.

Ahh what a embarrassing moment

~~~~

As the class came to an end, the break time began.

My four friends and I are feeling bored and we can't stop yawning every minute.

"I'm so bored, guys. Let's do something," Fuji said. "How about we play Truth or Dare?" Haruki suggested. Everyone nodded in agreement.

I asked Dai to give me his bottle, and he took it out of the side pocket of his bag and handed it to me.

I spun the bottle and it landed on me. "Truth or dare?" Haru asked me. "Hm, dare," I replied. Then everyone started brainstorming funny dares.

Dai spoke up with a smirk on his face. "I have an idea," he said. I raised my eyebrows curiously. "Do you know that new girl? Go ask her to be your friend," he suggested.

I shouted in surprise "What?!". Haru teased me, "Why are you overreacting? We didn't tell you to ask her out." Fuji chimed in, giggling a little, 'Oh, come on, Haru. We all know Aki can't talk to any girl."

"No! I-I can talk. I'm fearless," I said in a fake cold voice. "Fearless or shameless?" I frowned. "Shut your mouth," I said in annoyance.

I quickly walked over to her. She was sitting on her chair, working on something.

I spoke nervously, "H-hey." She looked up at me and smiled, "Hello"

Oh no, she's looking at me. I want to run away, but I have to complete my dare. Ahh!

I stuttered, "I-I want to-" She looked confused. "You want anything from me?" she spoke. "Yeah, I-wa-nt you t-o be my f-f-friend," I spoke nervously. "Ahhh...okay. I also want to be your friend," she said, holding my hand.

Ahh you shouldn't do that Kobayashi-san.. I'm gonna die..

"What's wrong?" I shook my head. "By the way, what's your name, boy?" she asked me. "M-my name is Akihiko Yamagata," I replied. She smiled. "And my name is Akari Kobayashi," she spoke. "Okay...Kobayashi-san," I spoke. "Yes, you cute little Yamagata-san," she whispered.

Oh no..what she called me cute..

My cheeks were burning, and I was really red. She looked at me and giggled. "Hey, are you shy?" she spoke, as I shook my head no.

Fuck.. I'm shying that much cause she just called me cute , then what will I do if she will hug me...ahhh

My friends were watching me from the back and laughing at my every word and expression.

"Can we walk in the corridor together?" she asked with a cute expression. "Sure," I agreed, and we made our way out of the classroom.

"Aki, where are you headed?" Dai asked. I ignored him as if he were a stranger. "Ahh, at least finish the game?" Fuji shouted. I ignored him too. "I think he's completely smitten," Haruki said. "Crazy fucker," Haru muttered.

"So, I heard from someone that you're not good at studies," she questioned me. "Uh, yeah," I replied, and she giggled again. "I don't know if I should ask, but how much did you get in your recent test?" "Uh, 51%," I said. "Oh, that's a good score for me," she spoke.

Ohh so she is not good in studies like me.. great...

"So, what did you score on your recent test?" I asked her. She looked at me and replied, "98%." I widened my eyes.

~~~~~~

School's out and I'm in my room, watching anime as usual, and munching on an incredibly sweet and delicious chocolate cake.

"I really like Demon Slayer," I murmured to myself before dozing off.

TO BE CONTINUE