Chapter 1: Introduction
"I really don't want to do this! I can't even think of a topic!" Aima sighs, taking a chug out of her drink while Misaki scoffs. "You mean that one project you're supposed to do by the end of the year?" Misaki asks, grabbing a towel and wiping the sweat from her neck. "Yeah, I have no clue what to do it on!" Aima says, clicking her drink closed before setting it back down. "How about the school's volleyball team? The boys are really hot!" Misaki suggests as I begin stretching my legs out, barely listening in. "Ohh! That's a great idea! But like, what should I make it on?" Aima says, beginning to stretch with me while Misaki tosses her towel on her bag. "I don't know! I can't give you all the clues on your project, you gotta do some things by yourself." Misaki scoffs, beginning her own stretches as I move on to stretch my arms out. "Who's the hottest?" Aima asks, though Misaki just shakes her head. "Too many conflicting opinions, plus not much of a challenge." Misaki sighs as I finally finish my stretches, doing a couple hops to get my blood flowing. "Well what can I do? 'who's the best kisser on the volleyball team?'" Aima says jokingly, before her eyes light up, making me smile.
"No… Yes! That's perfect, I can have a competition to see who's the best kisser!" Aima says, snapping her fingers as she begins bouncing around. "I can do so many tests, like, who's the best French kisser, who sets the mood best! Oh it'd be so fun!" Aima laughs, getting so hyper before Misaki shakes her head. "Yeah, and you actually expect them to agree to do such a silly competition?" Misaki scoffs, making Aima deflate a little. "I mean, we can always ask, it won't hurt." Aima mumbles, though Misaki turns and stares at her. "Excuse me, 'we'? Did I agree to help?" Misaki asks, making Aima flinch before she turns hopeful eyes to me. "Kimiko! Why don't you do it?" Aima asks cheerfully as I eject the music disk into the stereo, putting it back in it's case. "You want me to ask?" I ask, turning back and raising an eyebrow at her. "Yeah! In return, I'll take you to that one cafe you like and buy you anything you want!" Aima says, reminding me of the cafe I had been enjoying, thinking of all the sweets and drinks they had that I could enjoy. "Oh… Okay, but you're coming with me." I say, though she lets out a slow sigh. "I can't today! I already have plans." Aima says, though I just shrug my shoulders.
"Then let's just do it tomorrow after school. We're all sweaty from the workout anyways, and they'll probably agree if you already have the tests you want to do in mind." I suggest, Aima smiling at me as she grabs her bag. "That's a great idea! I'll get the proposal together and we'll go over it tomorrow! See you guys!" Aima says before she dashes out, leaving me and Misaki alone. "That girl never thinks things through." Misaki mumbles, though I just shrug and grab my towel, brushing the sweat off. "Yeah, but it's kind of refreshing how passionate she is. She just gets so into things, it makes you get excited too." I say, Misaki giving me her own smile. "Yeah, that's true, but then again we also have to deal with her messes. I mean, really, finding out who's the best kisser? How is she going to do that?" Misaki laughs as I begin packing my things. "Well, she'll find a way, but that's if they even accept. I mean, come on, let's be reasonable; who would accept such a competition?" I say, offering Misaki a smile as she grabs her bag. "You never know, maybe you'll get stuck kissing every boy in the volleyball team. Don't get herpes!" Misaki says, both of us getting a hearty laugh off her joke.
"Okay, so, if they say yes, we're going to do a competition over the span of 4 weeks! The first week we'll have the initial "control kiss", which will determine on a basic level who is the best kisser. The second week, we'll have date kisses, where the boys prepare a date which they end off with a sweet kiss. The third week we'll have french kisses, obviously. Fourth week is the ultimate competition, the boys will go all out to see if they can manage to give the ultimate kiss!" Aima says excitedly, pointing all over her calendar as she gives me a big grin. "This is gonna be so fun! I can't wait to ask!" She laughs, her eyes twinkling as she rolls up her calendar. "I can't believe you knocked out the whole plan in one night, I mean, you even got an agreement form in order." I mumble, itching my cheek as Aima practically bounces in her chair. "Well yeah! You were right! It's best to have everything prepared so they know what they're getting into, so they're more likely to agree. I mean, I'm really excited to find out myself!" Aima says, giving me all the paperwork which I put in my bag. "That's if they even agree." I giggle, Aima sighing as she deflates on her desk.
"Excuse me! Can we have a moment of your time?" Aima called into the gym, barely peeking her head in. I stood beside her, my arms crossed and my leg kicked up on a post. "Sure! Come on in!" Someone called, though Aima just grabbed my hand and pushed me in. "Jeez Aima." I muttered back at her as she hid back behind the door. A man with a confident smile approached me, holding out a hand to shake. "I'm Daichi Sawamura, the captain of this volleyball team. Coach Ukai is currently out at the moment, did you need him for something?" The man says as I take his hand, sharing a firm handshake. "Kimiko Suzuki. No, actually, I… we actually wanted to discuss something with your team, if that's alright?" I ask, pulling my hand away and shoving them in my pockets. "With the team?" Daichi asks, his hand falling to his side as he raises an eyebrow at me. "You see, my friend, Aima, has this school project she wants to do… She wants the members of your volleyball team to have a competition." I say, pulling out the paperwork from earlier and handing it to Daichi. "A competition you say? What kind?" Another man calls, flashing a grin as Daichi slowly reads over the paper.
"A kissing competition?" Daichi mutters, sparing a glance up at me and raising an eyebrow. "It's her idea, she's super excited about it and once she sets her mind to it, well… yeah." I laugh softly as the boy from earlier storms over, taking the paperwork and reading over it. "Wait, for real? A kissing competition! That sounds fun! I'm down! Ryunosuke Tanaka, where do I sign?" He laughs, flipping through the pages as I spare a glance out the door. "The last page I believe." I say, honestly surprised someone agreed, though I see Aima doing a little dance by the door. "Hey guys! Who wants to have a competition over who kisses best!" Ryunosuke asks, waving the paper in the air as I pull out a pen and hand it to him. "Wait, a kissing competition?" Another person calls, running over and snatching the paperwork before Ryunosuke can sign, reading over it. "Oh hell yeah, I'm down! I'll put you to shame, ryu!" The person says, snatching the pen and signing his name on one of the lines. "The heck you will! I'll drag you through the dirt, Noya!" Ryu says, taking the paperwork back and signing it next. The two begin to bicker as Ryu hands the paperwork back to me.
"I guess I can't talk those two out of it." Daichi sighs, reaching up and itching behind his ear. "I honestly thought no one would, I'm sure Aima's going wild." I admit, both of us sharing a knowing smile. "Whoa! A kissing competition? Is the captain in on it?" Another boy says, running over and reaching a hand for the paperwork. "No, I'm not." Daichi sighs as I hand the boy the paperwork, watching as he reads it over before signing. "Aw, that sucks, this really seems like fun! No shame if you're scared of losing though." The boy says, offering the paper to his friend though I see a tick appear on Daichi's forehead. "I doubt anyone could be a worse kisser than you, runt." The boy scoffs, slowly reading through the pages. "I'd surely beat all of you in this competition! I mean, come on, I played volleyball on a girl's team." Hinata says, another tick forming on Daichi's forehead as the boy flips to the last page and signs. "I'd like to see you try to beat me, dumbass." The boy says, grinning as he hands back the paperwork, as I reach to take it, another person takes it before I can. "A kissing competition? Really? That's what all the fuss is about?" Another boy scoffs, shaking his head
"What, you think you got the skills to beat me, you four eyed jerk face? You're better off sitting it out with the captain." Hinata says, both Daichi and the boy seem to snap. The boy signs the back page, giving it to Daichi who also signs. "Woah, Daichi is actually participating? What even is it?" Another man says, coming over and taking the paperwork from Daichi, reading it over. "Hm. A kissing competition huh?" The man says, itching his chin before flipping to the list. "Wow! Looks like all the fun people are competing." He chuckles before also signing, giving the paperwork to the man beside him. "You sign up too, Suga." He says, watching as his friend Suga signs, giving the paperwork back to me. "Well then, I'll be taking this back to my friend. I'm sure she's probably passed out from excitement outside the door." I laugh, turning to leave though someone grabs my hand, pulling me back in. "Hold on! What about the first kiss?" Ryu says, grinning at me as he pins me against the door, beginning to lean down. "Uh, that isn't till later in the week, after Aima gets all your information together." I say, ducking out of his arms and brushing my hair behind my ear.
"I'll be going now, we'll be in touch." I say as I slide out the door, not even bothering to lift my head as my cheeks were already burning. "Kimiko! How many people signed up? How many!" Aima practically screams in excitement as I step out, making me jump out of my skin. "Jeez Aima! I literally just got out, hold your horses!" I say, hearing the boys inside chuckling as I give her the paperwork. She frantically flips to the last page and squeals in excitement, reading it over and over. "8 of them! Oh my gosh, they actually signed up! I can't believe it, thank you Kimiko!" She says, flailing the paperwork around as we start walking to the dance room. "Yeah, yeah, they did all the convincing themselves. Those guys are competitive." I mutter, seeming to make Aima glow. "That makes the game even more exciting, I can't wait to tell Misaki! Oh, by the way, she won't be coming today, I sent her on a quest for the sake of the contest." Aima says, though I raise an eyebrow at her. "Misaki went on a "quest" for your contest? What kind of quest?" I ask, though she just smiles at me. "That's on a need to know basis, my dear Kimiko." She giggles, though I just shrug it off.
We finally get to the dance room and change into our outfits before stretching our bodies. "Okay, since Misaki isn't here, we'll go ahead and run 'Side to side' together, then we'll work on our solo's in turns. That sound good?" I ask, Aima nodding as she gets in the mood. I press play on the music, taking my position and waiting for our que. Like clockwork, Aima and I begin moving together, letting the music flow through us as we dance to the beat. It was always so exhilarating, hearing the music, the way it made my body light up, the feelings it gave me. My body moving, expressing myself through the song, the things the song made me do; I never wanted to stop, the music was so freeing. "Excuse me! It's Daichi Sawamura, I hate to interrupt, but uh… I forgot to give you my contact info, so we can get a hold of each other in case you try to find us and we're not at the gym." Daichi says after we finish dancing, so I glance over at Aima. "That's you, I'm going to run my solo first." I say, making her scoff as she jogs over to the stereo, replaying the song for me before walking over to Daichi. I ran through the moves, enjoying the music as I danced to my heart's content.
"Hey Kimiko, you can go ahead and run through a couple dances! We're working out some stuff." Aima called as I finished my routine, though I wouldn't refuse the chance to keep my blood flowing. Hopping up, I kicked off my shoes and ran to my bag, pulling out my high heels, sliding them on. I pulled the disk from the stereo, closing it before hooking my phone up to the blue tooth, playing my playlist. I set my phone down, stepping to the center of the room as the music began playing. "Oh my gosh, yes girl! You're in for a treat, Sawamura-kun, Kimiko brought the heels out! Come in, come in! You should watch this!" Aima says, though I'm already starting to dance to 'pour it up'. I close my eyes, enjoying the beat of the music, dancing it through perfectly. Aima starts giggling, covering her mouth as I keep dancing, the blood pounding through me with every move. I finish dancing, sitting back on the ground and waving at Aima, who quickly dashes over to my phone, clicking the next button. I spare a glance over at Daichi who quickly averts his gaze, though I notice him gulp nervously. "This one's better to watch on the ground! Come, sit!" Aima says, dragging Daichi in front of me and forcing him to sit. 'On the way'
I get into position, the song beginning as I start dancing again, slower this time. This time, I keep my eyes open, watching Daichi as he watches my every move. This time, he doesn't bother hiding; he openly admires every move of my body, hungrily waiting for the next. Thrill heightens my moves, becoming more sensual, knowing someone was enjoying my dance. I finally finish off, smiling at Daichi who begins clapping, Aima running over to the stereo once again. "This is the last one! I hope you all enjoy it!" Aima chirps, clapping excitedly as I once again get into position, rolling my eyes at her antics. I dance again, feeling the dance run through my veins, knowing every move I make is perfect; true to the name of the song, I had motivation. I liked to show off, after all; especially when it came to my dance. I finally finish, panting for air as I get up, walking over to Daichi, seeming to surprise him, though I just grab my water bottle beside him. "Aima, had you told me you wanted to put on a show, you could have just invited the rest in." I say, taking a long drink of my water as I cool down. "What? I have no clue what you mean." Aima says innocently, pausing my phone so no more songs play.
"So if I asked you if I could use the pole or ribbons, you wouldn't have them come sneaking in through the window?" I say, Aima's eyes widening as she claps her hands to her mouth. "Oh my, you wouldn't! Would you? You're so wonderful when you do that! Please, if you do, let them all watch!" Aima says, making me laugh as I begin stretching out. "Yo! I didn't know you could dance! That was awesome! No, better than awesome!" Ryu says from the window, which was cracked open for circulation. From the beginning of my solo dances they had been here, probably having followed Daichi. "Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Perhaps next time, Aima will let you come in to watch." I say, though Daichi gets up and scrambles to the window. "What? Is everyone here? I thought I told you to practice while I was gone!" Daichi says, Ryu flinching as the captain glares at them. "But we were practicing! See, we've got the volleyballs here, but Noya got a nosebleed." Ryu says, pointing over to Noya whose cheeks are beet red, holding his nose. "Hey, Nishinoya-kun, come here." I call, making him perk up as I grab my clean towel and water bottle, walking over to the window.
In one swift motion, I open the window and hop out, walking over to Noya and opening my towel. "Let me see." I say, gently prying his hand away from his nose and taking a look. "It doesn't look broken. Were you hit hard?" I ask, sprinkling some water onto the corner of my towel and using it to wipe the blood from his nose so I could see better. "Huh? Oh! No! It wasn't… uh… No." he says, his gaze dropping as he purses his lips. "Well I'm glad you weren't hurt. Here, hold this to your nose and apply pressure till the bleeding stops, and use this to rinse the blood from your hand. You should have said something earlier, silly goose." I say, offering him the water bottle and towel which he gladly takes. "Noya, you lucky bastard! Getting all pampered plus getting to use the water bottle she just drank out of!" Ryu says, seeming to make Noya's whole face turn beet red. "I don't see why that's a big deal? I'd do it for anyone." I ask, crossing my arms as Ryu just grins at me before smacking himself in the nose. "Hey! My nose got hurt too, can you take care of it? Please?" Ryu says, making me laugh though Daichi just reaches through the window and grabs his nose.
"Go back to the gym, all of you. I'm sorry for the inconvenience Suzuki-chan, they'll replace your towel I promise." Daichi says, the boys all beginning to head back to the gym as I take my water bottle back from Noya. "Thank you, Suzuki-chan." He mumbles, his nose buried deep in my towel as he stares at the ground. "Be careful, okay? And it's fine Sawamura-senpai, I always have a spare since Aima always forgets hers." I say, Noya's eyes dart up to look at mine. "Senpai? Daichi is your senpai?" Noya asks, so I nod and gesture to Aima. "Aima and Misaki, our other dancer, are in their third year. I'm a second year foreign exchange student." I admit, Noya seemed to light up. "I'm in my second year too! That's so cool!" Noya says, giving me a beaming smile. "Yeah, ha ha! Please take care of me!" I say, smiling at him as his face turns beet red again. "You better head on, your teammates are leaving you behind." I say, pointing to the others chatting in the far distance. "Oh! Yeah, see you around, Suzuki-chan!" Noya says before dashing off, trying to catch up. I shake my head, a faint smile on my face as I climb onto the windowsill.
"That's quite the team you got there, Senpai." I say when I notice Daichi was once again watching my every move. "Yes, they're quite the handful. But when they're on the court, there's no stopping us." He says, offering me a kind smile. "I'll take your word for it." I laugh, tapping off my feet to get rid of any excess dust. "You'll be getting to know them pretty well yourself, Kimiko! After all, they're all going to be kissing you." Aima chirps, so I whip to look over at her, my jaw dropping. I drop my water bottle, but Daichi easily reaches out and catches it. "No no no, Aima, that was not part of the agreement!" I hiss, climbing into the room and scrambling over to her. "Hey hey, it's not that bad? They're all cute, and considering their confidence, they're probably good at kissing." Aima laughs, though I grab her by the shoulders and begin shaking her. "That's not the problem, Aima! It's just- I-I'm not experienced like that!" I say, my cheeks burning- of course, I'd practiced on my own fingers, but I'd never actually kissed anyone. "It's not about your kissing skills, it's about theirs! I would do it myself, but I'd probably get too out of hand, and Misaki has a boyfriend!" Aima says, placing her hand on my shoulder.
"Well, I have to dance!" I squeak, though Aima just grins at me. "Girl, that's straight bull. Your dancing needs no work, you should have seen the boys! What did I tell you about those boots? The boys were panting and drooling all over!" Aima says, Daichi clearing his throat, making me jump as I forgot he was there. "The boots really flatter your legs, and your dancing was fantastic. I'll personally make sure that my boys don't step out of line in this competition." Daichi says confidently, handing me my water bottle which I take. "Thank you senpai, I appreciate the sentiment, but that's not really the problem here." I say, wiping my sweaty hands on my jeans. "What is the problem?" Aima asks, so I spare a glance at Daichi before leaning to whisper in her ear. "I've never kissed anyone before, and that's a lot of boys!" I whisper, pulling away as my cheeks burn like they're on fire. "Oh. Ohh! You're so silly Kimiko! This will be a great experience, I promise you! The captain promised that the boys won't step out of line, what could it hurt?" Aima laughs, gently patting my shoulder. "Oh I don't know, my purity!" I hiss, throwing my hands in the air as Daichi coughs, covering his mouth as his cheeks turn pink.
"Suzuki-chan, I will definitely make sure that there is no sex involved in this entire challenge, unless you explicitly say otherwise." Daichi says, clearing his throat and itching the back of his neck. My whole face feels like it's on fire as Aima just grins at me. "You see? Problem solved. It's a senpai's job to take care of their kohai, and we're both going to be looking out for you." Aima says, so I groan and bury my face in my hands. "Okay, hear me out. There will be… 32 kisses, 8 dates, and I'll even toss in all the food and snacks you want for the rest of the year. Even from that one cafe you like!" Aima says, so I slowly take a deep breath, peeking out to glare at her. "And that's a promise?" I grumble, Aima raising her hand as a pledge. "I mean, I can't promise that there won't be retakes, add ons, mess ups or delays, but I can promise I'll make it all up to you! You'll be doing me a major favor, Kimiko!" Aima says, clapping her hands together and giving me puppy eyes. "You aren't really making a good case for yourself." I groan as I roll my eyes, Daichi letting out a laugh. "Oh come on Kimiko! Once in a lifetime opportunity! You might be missing out!" Aima sighs, placing her hands on my arms.
"The whole team will also be rooting for you, they'll probably even try to buy or bribe their way into first place. Of course, I'd appreciate it if it was all fair, but they'll probably be willing to do quite a few things for extra points." Daichi says, Aima's eyes lighting up with ideas. "That should be a category too! Whoever treats you the best in their free time! That way they'll all be really sweet to you and treat you well!" Aima says, clapping excitedly as I roll my eyes. "See? This is an add on, I know you Aima, there's gonna be a lot of those." I sigh, though the idea of being spoiled by 8 cute guys wasn't that opposing. Plus free snacks for a year? That'd be a lot of saved money. And it's not like we'd be having… sex… unless I really wanted to. "I'll be sure to take really good care of you, Suzuki-chan. If you ever feel like it's too much, just tell me and I'll call the boys off immediately. I think they're already set on it being you, anyway. I know for sure it wouldn't be the same for me if it's not you." Daichi says, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder as Aima oohs. "I guess… but we're going to be going over rules, on paper." I sigh, Aima cheering as Daichi grins happily.
"Rule number one! No sex unless Kimiko says so! Number two! If Kimiko says stop, stop immediately and back off! Rule number three, Kimiko will be giving each of the contestants a nickname so it's easier to keep track! Rule number four! No giving out Kimiko's information or contact info without permission from Kimiko, or if it's pertaining to the competition, my consent!" Aima says, though I lift my hand so she pauses. "They're going to have my phone number and contact information?" I ask, and she nods, flipping to a page in the contract. "For the date kiss, so they can get a hold of you if need be! And of course, if they want to treat you." Aima says, winking at me though I sigh and wave her on. "Number five! If you plan to have Kimiko overnight, you must notify me and Kimiko must be comfortable with doing so." Aima says, though I groan and drop my head into my hands. "What kind of rule is that? I mean, I appreciate it, but like, am I really going to be staying overnight?" I ask, though Daichi reaches over and pats my shoulder. "Actually, that one was my idea. It's more of a just in case scenario." Daichi says, so I peek out of my hands and raise an eyebrow at him.
"Sometimes we have training camps and such, and if that's the case it can cut down the time for the competition majorly. It'll be easier to think ahead of time and just have it in mind that you might tag along to the camps. We also went deeper into clarity on that rule, like, you get to pick where you stay, no funny business unless you say so, and I'll be nearby at all times to step in." Daichi says, so I slowly set my hands in my lap and nod for Aima to continue. "We went more into depth in all of these really! We're just giving you the gist of it, for instance, it's also stated here that at all times the boys must have protection on hand. Just in case." Aima says, though I practically choke as my cheeks turn red. "You're saying that the entire time I'm going to be with these guys, they're going to be packing a condom?" I squeak, though Aima just grins, raising an eyebrow at me. "Would you rather they not?" She giggles, Daichi himself choking though my jaw drops. "Wait, what? No! I mean, I-I don't know! It just feels like it's going to put an idea of me being easy in their head!" I say, bringing my legs onto the chair and laying my chin on them, covering my face.
"No, not at all Suzuki-chan, we're just looking out for you in every way possible. I'm going to be going over all these rules in detail with each participant, and I'll be sure to clarify that you're not like that." Daichi says, giving me some relief as I uncover my face. He offers me a kind smile, patting my shoulder. "Though we do have to ask, are you on birth control?" Aima asks, and I slap my hands back on my face, letting out a low groan. "Oh my gosh this is so… Why did I agree to this? Yes, I am on birth control, I have an implant." I relent, scrubbing my hands over my face as Aima laughs at my antics. "The boys are all being tested for STDs also, so you don't need to worry about that. They'll be disqualified if they have any." Daichi says, and I just take a slow deep breath, nodding my head as they continue reading the rules, though I just barely glaze over the paper myself. I might as well get it over with, the approximate 32 kisses, 8 dates- I might as well just keep my head low, get it done and over with and go back to my dancing. I would have to keep my time schedule open for the next month, or at least not make any specific plans. I pause, tapping the table to get Aima's attention.
"Um, if possible, can we add in a rule? No contacting me on Fridays or 6-7pm, unless discussed ahead of time." I mumble, Aima raising an eyebrow though she flips to the last page and adds it on. "Okay, it's added on." Aima says, though she waits for me to continue. "Also, I'd like to add an emergency contact in case anything happens. Aima, I'll be using you as an emergency contact for…" I say, leaving it hanging as she nods her head. "I understand, don't worry Kimiko. If anything happens, I'll be the first to let you know." Aima says, writing another rule down with her name and phone number just in case something happens to me, plus a note stating not to eavesdrop on the conversations or intervene in case it's an emergency. "Thank you, Aima." I mumble, though she just reaches out and squeezes my hand tightly. "Of course Kimiko." She says, giving me a moment before continuing to read the rules. Daichi looks between us, seemingly confused by the exchange though Aima doesn't bother to explain. I don't explain either since I had just met Daichi, but Aima was my best friend, and she knew everything about me. We finish going over the rules and I reluctantly sign, sealing my fate.
I head home, reading over my copy of the rules again, though my eyes just glaze over it. I was surprised I agreed to this, but if Aima really held up her end of the bargain, I'd be getting free snacks for the year, and that's more money I could put back so mom wouldn't have to work so hard. Just the possibility was enough to make my heart soar, thinking of how she'll be able to buy herself lunches at work. It would be hard to explain everything to her, but she was always with my brother or at work, never coming home except to sleep. More often than not she'd stay overnight with my brother though, making sure he was okay. Of course I missed her, she was my mother, but my brother needed her more. I sigh as I step in the house, taking off my shoes before going to put my dance bag away. I did a load of laundry, cleaned my dishes from that morning and then began preparing dinner for two, eating my portion in silence. "Not today either huh?" I mumbled, wrapping up the other plate and sticking it in the fridge. I decided to write her a note explaining that for the next month I would be busy and if she needed me to contact Aima; I texted it to her also, just in case she didn't see.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone