Chapter 1 – Meiko POVA huge castle in the sky.
I was floating on air - no, flying. I had golden wings on my back, and I soared through the air.
It was a great experience, until...
A green book hit my head.
I instantly opened my eyes and straightened my body.
"Miss Haigo, I'd appreciate it if the world you were dreaming of was about Geometry." My Geometry teacher, Miki, didn't seem to be amused. My classmates were laughing at me, like I've become a class clown.
"Sorry, Miki-sensei, I'll be sure to concentrate next time." I put my hands together and bowed. "I'm really sorry, Sensei!"
"Well..." She suddenly paused to look at the clock. "It's about time for lunch, isn't it? I'm going to dismiss you early." She smiled and looked at the class.
"Yeah! That's Miki-sensei for you!" "Great!"
"Then, class representative, if you would kindly..."
The class representative stood up. "Stand. Bow." "Thank you for teaching us!"
The moment Miki-sensei left the room, I instantly checked my phone. No new messages... But a lot of missed calls. 21 of them. All from one person.
"Yo, Meiko. You've got guts to sleep during Geo." A blue-haired boy approached me, smiling.
"You're one to talk, Kaito. You practically flooded my call inbox."
Kaito laughed for a bit. "I'm giving so much effort for you, yet you don't appreciate it? Sigh."
"EFFORT?" I shouted. "Where was the effort in such a thing?"
"You know that your phone vibrates when it receives a call, right?"
"Yeah. Why do you ask, though?"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk."
"What?"
"You really are stupid, Meiko. It's to wake you up, of course."
"Waking me up?" He has a point there. "Well… thank you."
"Hahaha!" He laughed so hard that it pissed me off. "You actually believed me?"
"Eh?"
"You think I'd do such a thing for you? Of course, I only did it so your phone would be confiscated."
Alright, I'm really pissed off. I know that he wouldn't do such a thing for me, yet I still believed him. How stupid of me.
"Both of you are in high spirits again." A pink-haired girl approached us.
"You should have seen her face when she believed my story, Luka. It was a masterpiece."
"Yeah, yeah. Still, Mei-chan, it's rare of you to sleep in class. Have you been okay recently?" Luka said, ignoring Kaito.
"Thanks for ignoring me, Luka."
"Thanks for the concern. Now that you've mentioned it, I've been getting less sleep lately."
"I really thank you for ignoring me."
"Why? Playing online games, perhaps?"
"Nope, I figured I'd study for a while. The tests are coming up, I don't want to get bad grades."
"How long are you going to ignore me?"
"Since when did you get low grades?"
"Since like, last school year."
"So you're really planning to ignore me."
"By the way, Luka, it's been bothering me for a while but..."
"What is it?"
"I hear a voice... and it isn't ours..."
"What the!"
"Don't treat me like I'm invisible!" Kaito hit my head with another Geometry book. "Can we just eat?"
"Sure, sure."
After classes, Luka, Kaito, and I were hanging out at the usual place - at the school gardens. (By the way, I slept during the afternoon classes - none of the teachers seemed to notice.)
"What are we going to do today, Kaito, Luka?" I was bored. Really bored. I wanted to do something.
"Luka, give some suggestions, I'm tired of thinking after that surprise test in History." Kaito seemed really worn out.
"How about... Let's hang out at your place, Kai-kun."
"Eh? Why at my place? Can't we just go to your place, Luka?"
"Just for a change. We always hang out at my house. Plus Onii-chan needs to study for some pretests."
"I don't mind but..."
"But?"
"Well, whatever. I don't have anything to do today."
"But what are we going to do at Kaito's place?"
"Let's watch a movie." So she planned this from the start...
"What movie? Anything but porn is okay with me."
Luka pulled out a CD from her bag. The title of the movie is "The Dark Repulser." From the cover, it looks like a horror movie.
"That's horror, right?" Kaito backed out a bit. "That's HORROR, right?"
"Kukuku, maybe, Kaito, are you scared?"
"T-t-that's impossible..."
"Hey, you guys!" Something – no, someone was approaching us. That person was wearing a pure, white garment, and had long, dark blackish-purple hair covering his/her whole face.
That person suddenly crawled towards us.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Kaito screamed at the top of his lungs and grabbed me by the hand. The both of us fell down – In a dirt puddle.
"Hey, Gakupo. Good afternoon." Luka greeted the horror movie protagonist.
"Yo, everyone. Sorry to scare you, Kaito." He smirked.
"You… You planned all of this, didn't you, Gakupo?" Kaito immediately stood up. "Meiko, how long are you going to sit down there? You're gonna get dirty."
"It's not my fault."
"Here." He stretched out his hand to me.
"You're going to take it back once I got it."
"I won't, I promise." His eyes were serious, so I took his hand. He helped me stand up and brushed the dirt off my clothes using his handkerchief.
"The dirt won't come of that easily, you know?" Luka said.
"How about going somewhere to change first?" Gakupo added. "Are you going out today?"
"Yeah, we planned to go to my place. Are you coming with us?" Luka looked at him with gleaming eyes.
"Sorry, I can't today. I have kendo practice." He patted Luka's head. "Next time, okay? But now… Who's house is nearest?"
"Mine." Kaito raised his hand.
"Well, Kaito, could you let Meiko use your shower for a bit? And so she can wash her clothes."
"Eehh?" Kaito and I shouted at the same time.
"Well… it's a bit practical… I guess…" Kaito added.
"Then go ahead, both of you, and enjoy your date – no, day!" Luka was obviously happy. She will pay for this!
When we reached Kaito's house, it was already 5:30 PM.
Kaito went straight into his room, while I just sat down in the living room.
I think he's forgotten that I'm here for a bath and a change of clothing.
Well, whatever.
I knocked in front of his room.
"Kaito, can I use the shower?"
No answer.
"Kaito? I'm coming in!"
I opened the door.
His room was surprisingly tidy. The clothes weren't scattered, porn mags weren't on the floor, and the bedsheets seem organized.
But I saw nobody inside the room.
"Where could he be…" I muttered to myself.
I went around the room and saw a white door with a sign saying, 'Door'.
A closet? A secret room?
I opened it to make sure, and when I did, I saw something… something weird.
"Meiko? Since when were you interested in seeing my naked body?"
I immediately walked outside the room, which was his own private bathroom!
I slammed the door and shouted, "If you're going to take a bath, lock the doors!"
"Sorry, it's been a habit of mine."
Well, since he lives alone, I guess he doesn't care about these stuff.
"But still, you know there's a girl in your house!"
"Well, sorry about that." He went out of the bathroom, wearing clothes. Good thing.
"Whatever! I'm going to use the main bathroom!" I started walking towards the living room, but he stopped me.
"You… don't have a change of clothes, right?"
"Eh…"
He was right. I didn't have a change of clothes.
I left my PE uniform at school, and my extra clothes were in my gym locker.
"Borrow some from here…" He said.
"Your clothes? Don't mess with me; they're for boys."
"Hmm? I didn't mean those types of clothes…"
He opened his closet and revealed a hidden compartment – filled with girl's clothes.
"Eh? Why do you have these kind of stuff with you…"
"Well, my sisters love dressing up…"
"You have sisters?"
"Yeah, two of them. An older one and a younger one."
"I never knew that…"
"Anyway, just choose something from here and go use the shower."
"Sure…"
Hmm…
There are several dresses, but I'd rather pick something that is easy to move in.
I spotted a fashionable red top and matching denim pants in a corner.
"Can I take this?"
"Sure. Take anything."
"I'm going to take a shower, excuse me for a while."
After taking a shower, I changed clothes and got ready to go home.
"Well then, thanks a lot for today, Kaito. I'll be going."
"Wait."
"Hmm?"
"I'll take you home."
On the way home, it was dark and silent – it isn't surprising, since it's already 7 PM.
He didn't speak a word. He wasn't the usual Kaito – the outgoing and sadistic Kaito that I knew.
How do I say so?
He held my hand.