章 1: The day it all began - I
A cool breeze gently brushed against a person's face as he basked in the warm sunlight streaming through the window. The classroom was noisy with Sensei's absence, but his mind was at peace as he enjoyed having his eyes closed and felt the refreshing autumn breeze.
He was Haru Fujiwara, a good-looking young man with brown hair and eyes, who considered himself the perfect third-year high school student.
Perfection, in his view, didn't necessarily apply to his studies, but rather to his achievement in sports.
In fact, he wasn't bad in studies either, but then he realized that the right mood was crucial to everything, and he never found it to study.
So, his grades fell like a waterfall. But he didn't care much since he was good in sports, and he had a good father.
'Damn it... Results are coming soon... he wouldn't disown me, right?.... Hopefully not.... Yes... be positive....' He thought while maintaining his peaceful session and trying to remove any unnecessary thoughts.
Having had this mindset in the final year of high school was certainly not ideal, but, according to him, he has a good father. However, there were others who failed to understand this and, constantly pestered him.
"Haru...The next class is about to begin. Please wake up."
'There goes my peaceful moment.' He thought inwardly.
Without bothering to open his eyes or turn his face towards the person who called out to him, Haru replied,
"This isn't sleeping, my dearest 'stepsister'. My face needs Vitamin D from the sun, so would you mind leaving me alone?"
"No, I can't leave you like this... Why do you always talk to me like that? I just care about you and you..." Her voice sounded bitter as she spoke.
Haru sighed inwardly and his feelings turned bitter as he heard her. But more than that, he felt a little annoyed and irritated, not because of her but for some other reason.
Knowing his peaceful time was gone; he lifted his head from the desk and gazed at his 'stepsister', Aki Fujiwara.
Aki was often likened to an earthly angel, with her oval face, silky black hair, and golden eyes radiating a breathtaking beauty. Haru couldn't deny that she was the most stunning girl he had ever seen, but the crucial fact remained—she was now his stepsister. (A/N : Aki's Image in paragraph comment)
"Why do you care so much about me anyways?" Haru asked her, forcing a smile on his face.
"What do you mean why? W-We're a family..." Her face fell into sadness as she spoke, noticing his forced smile.
It wasn't just her who was feeling sad, her expression made Haru inwardly feel bad. But for a reason, he couldn't show his true feelings, at least not to her. Before he could respond, he heard comments from his classmates, mostly boys.
"What a jerk."
"Why does he always treat her like this?"
"Aki is such a kind soul unlike that jerk."
"Seriously! If only I had a sister like that, I'd be so happy."
"Hah." Haru chuckled softly as he glanced at those who made the comments.
Annoyed by their words, he looked at them, and as he expected, they quickly turned away like scared kittens.
"Idiots." Haru muttered as he turned back to Aki, who stood in front of his desk with a sorrowful look, and he probably knew why.
"You know what? You're right, stepsister. We are a family and since we're one..." Haru stood up and continued with a small smile, concealing his true feelings, "Why don't you help me and tell Sensei that I'm not feeling well and will spend the whole day in the nurse's room?"
"Eh? A-Are you hurt somewhere?" Her sad expression shifted to shock and concern as she believed the lie Haru told her.
'Damn it... Why? Please hate me already...' Seeing her wholeheartedly believe and care for him while he was lying to her pained his heart.
As his classmates mentioned, he deserved to be called a d***, jerk, and a******. In fact, he wholeheartedly agreed with their assessment due to his behavior towards her, despite her kindness and good nature.
But he had to do it, or else he wouldn't be able to control his feelings.
"Ha-ha..." Haru forced a laugh, shaking his head. "No, it's not that serious. I think my face stayed in the sun for too long, and my head has started to hurt."
"Do you want me to help you to the nurse's office?" she asked with concern, her golden eyes filled with worry.
"Nope, it's fine." He quickly refused her, placing his hand on his desk-mate's shoulder. Haru continued with a smile, "Besides, I don't want my girlfriend to feel jealous."
Hearing his words, his desk-mate, or rather his 'girlfriend' Miami Kato, spoke up in amusement, "Finally, it's girlfriend time, huh? You're one hell of a 'boyfriend' to keep talking to a girl right in front of me."
Miami, much like Aki, was a beautiful girl with blond hair and captivating green eyes. However, her presence always seemed to pale in comparison to Aki's. Despite this, she remained highly popular among both boys and girls, which often irritated a few individuals, mostly boys, due to her being Haru's 'Girlfriend'.
"Miami-san... I just-"
"It's fine. It's fine." Before Aki could say anything else, Miami cut her off. She turned towards him, a small smirk playing on her lips as she continued, "You're both one family, why would I be jealous, right Haru?"
"I-I..." Aki opened her mouth to say something, but by looking at her face, Haru could tell she was struggling. Just seeing her expression was enough for him to understand what was happening inside her, and it didn't make him feel good.
So, he quickly said and started moving toward the door, "See, you don't have to worry about me, stepsister. I've got a good girlfriend."
"Ah! Don't drag me like this!! And Aki-chan! Don't worry about this idiot. Just leave it to me~" Miami spoke out as Haru pulled her outside with him.
Haru wasn't sure what kind of expression Aki was making or what emotions she was going through, but he felt like it was right to do this, at least for her and their parents' sake.
*****
"Good breeze..." Haru muttered as he inhaled the air at the rooftop.
"Jeez, so much for a headache. I didn't know the nurse's office was at the rooftop."
As he was enjoying the atmosphere, Miami's sarcastic voice came from behind. He didn't bother to reply and chose to enjoy his time. But then, she did something unexpected.
Haru suddenly felt two arms wrapped around his waist, and his back sensed the presence of a soft yet warm body.
Then, as she brought her lips close to his right ear while supporting her chin on his shoulder, she whispered, "Are you ignoring me, my dearest 'boyfriend'?"
"What are you doing?" He asked calmly.
Despite her clinging to him, it did not make his heart skip a beat or make him flustered; rather, it made him uncomfortable.
"Me?" Using her hand, she turned his face towards her. When their faces were just a few centimeters away, she then continued as if stating something obvious, "Playing the role of a 'Girlfriend'?"
'This vixen!' Haru thought, noticing the amusement visible in her eyes as she smirked at him. So, he said, "Fake, you mean."
"Maybe, this 'fake girlfriend' is actually just feeling jealous after seeing how you feel and care more about your stepsister than me." The smirk from her face did not go away as she said that while teasing him.
"Miami... please." Haru said, or rather pleaded for her to stop with her antics. Because he made their fake relationship for a reason, he was not in love with Miami and any such moves made by her, make him uncomfortable.
"Haha! Fine~~!"
After saying that, she separated herself from him, giving him a sense of peace.
"But seriously, you are no fun~! And, are you sure you are straight? The boys in our class would be begging with tears to get this sort of opportunity from me." She spoke out with a smug face while showcasing her beauty.
"Or, maybe you just aren't pretty enough for me." Haru retorted while shaking his head in amusement.
It's not that he doesn't enjoy a hug from the opposite gender, especially from someone like her, but whenever she hugs him like this, his mind just thinks of someone else making him really uncomfortable.
"Boo!" She extended her tongue toward him, making an amused yet angry expression, and then asked as she took out a pack of cigarettes from who-knows-where, "Need one?"
"How did you get another one so quickly?" Haru asked in bewilderment because just this morning itself, she was caught for having one.
"One of the perks of having a principal as a relative." She replied with a smug face.
Because of this very reason, after being scolded enough for many reasons, she was never strictly punished despite being caught multiple times smoking secretly.
Haru shook his head, choosing not to bother with her anymore but also not rejecting her offer. He moved away from her after taking one cigarette.
"Where are you going, leaving your poor girlfriend behind?" he heard her voice as he made his way up to a better place, the small tower platform with a huge water tank.
"To have my peace back, which I can't with you here," Haru replied as he ran towards the tower and jumped high enough to grab the edge, pulling his body upward effortlessly due to his athletic abilities.
Upon reaching the top, the view was one of the best, but since there wasn't any railing, it was also dangerous.
"I wish I could do that too," Miami voiced her dejection at not being able to climb, or rather her fear of heights.
Honestly, Haru could help her if he wanted to, but that would ruin his peace.
"Before that, get rid of your fat first," Haru chuckled as he retorted with a joke.
"Hmph! I am not fat! Idiot!"
"Yeah, right." He chuckled as he laid down on the platform and closed his eyes to enjoy the peaceful moment.
The breeze and silence enveloped him, and before long, sleepiness overtook him.
As he lay in peace, what he didn't know was the sky suddenly turned blood-red for a few seconds, a peculiar yet strange phenomenon.
But this was just the beginning.
Ting! Ting! Ting!
'Damn it! Who the hell is disturbing me now?'
Suddenly, strange sounds like message notifications started hitting his ears repeatedly, making him annoyed.
'Wait a second...' But then he realized something. His phone was already on silent before he came on the roof, so it was impossible for it to be his phone.
Ting! Ting! Ting!
Hearing the sounds persisting, Haru abruptly opened his eyes in confusion and became speechless at what he found in front of him.
[Ting!]
[WARNING!]
[WARNING!]
[WARNING!]
"The hell-!?" he was stupefied as he found himself seeing a hologram screen floating in front of him. Strange messages began appearing on the screen, leaving Haru utterly bewildered.
[WARNING!! The Ancient Prana has broken loose! The Earth will go under a terrifying change! BE AWARE!]
"Am I... dreaming?" Haru muttered and then pinched his cheeks. But the sharp pain confirmed that it was real.
[Initializing the System!]
[Please wait....]
[System downloading....]
[Please wait....]
As Haru extended his hand towards the floating screen in shock, his hand completely passed through it, and then the screen just disappeared.
"Am I hallucinating or what?" he questioned himself.
But before he could think or ponder further, a startling scream entered his ears.
"!!" Haru hurriedly stood up on the small platform, and as he looked beyond towards the school field, a chilling sight entered his eyes.
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