Typical disclaimer: I do not own Iris Zero, the characters, etc. Very much hope you enjoy this first chapter.
I made a decision, years ago, in order to protect myself. For I was born cursed, cursed to be different from all those other children with their irises. Standing out would be my sin, punishable by torture. So to stay alive, I would maintain minimum exposure. I would hide myself in plain sight; avoid those who would raise my exposure, and silently observe those around me. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd meet someone who could bring me to toss away my entire way of life. Then again, I didn't see myself becoming the villain either. – Takeru Kurosawa. July 12th, 2014.
July 2nd, 2014.
"Good morning Mizushima-san!" Koyuki Sasamori yelled while running towards her friend. Her grin was bright enough to light a room, let alone the front courtyard of the school. Almost immediately she stopped herself; realizing that everyone was not only looking at her, but more importantly at Toru. Months ago during that horrible instance when their friend Nanase Kuga became the "iris hunter," she asked Shinozuka to show her the truth that Toru had been hiding from her about the iris zero bullying. Realizing just how important it is for Toru to maintain his minimal exposure, she had decided she would stop drawing unwanted attention to her dear friend. She clearly was not doing a good job of it.
"Morning," Toru casually said as he passed her. Instantly, Koyuki's cheeks were dyed a sharp crimson. She knew that Toru responding to her theatric greeting would only raise his exposure levels, but he chose to anyways. She was so happy, but also scared. Scared that the feelings she wasn't ready to share with Toru would be obvious on her face. She was relieved that he continued to walk right by as he so typically does.
"That was some greeting, Toru!"
"Get that smirk off your face Hijiri." Toru said, dismissing his friend's energetic taunt. To Toru, it seemed as if Hijiri had made it some sort of mission to constantly pester Toru about every minute social interaction he had. Yes he could be useful in certain circumstances, and he was the first person to befriend Toru after he was exposed as an iris zero, but Hijiri seemed to take great pleasure from Toru's frustration.
"Toru, did you hear the rumor?" Hijiri asked Toru, hoping to play to his friend's curiosity.
"No." Toru answered, walking away without hesitation.
"That was brief," Harumi Tokita said jokingly while he walked beside Asahi Yuki, "Did you really expect Toru to bite?"
"Nope" Hijiri answered with a half grin on his face. The three were all accustomed to Toru's methodology. As long as it was something that didn't directly affect him, he would attempt to stay as far away as possible. Granted, he didn't have the option to do so when Koyuki was involved, but his instincts to flee were still sharp.
"The new student is transferring in today right Tokita-kun?" Asahi asked her companion. The aforementioned rumor was of course about this new student.
"Yes, it seems he's already arrived and is getting a tour around the school from Tanaka-sensei."
"I see, more importantly, what are you two doing together so early in the morning?" Hijiri said half-jokingly.
"It was a matter of fate, you see – OWW" Tokita began to say until he was knocked swiftly aside by Asahi.
"You really have the nerve to lie like that in front of me?!" Asahi said to the now-injured Tokita. "We just happened to bump into each other a little while ago, nothing more." While Asahi getting annoyed at Tokita's antics were old-hat, Hijiri found it somewhat interesting that Asahi choose to emphasize the words 'like that.' Looking closer at Asahi, he swore he noted a light shade of pink adorning her face. He made note to continue observing this interesting development in the future.
The three walked together towards their classrooms, until they spied Koyuki and Nanase talking to Tanaka-sensei and a slim boy standing behind him. His looks didn't scream the typical socially accepted views on handsome. In fact, his looks were almost nondescript. He wasn't very tall; his hair was average length in line with typical male fashion. It was as if someone had purposefully tried to adopt the most generic look humanly possible.
"So Sasamori-kun, Kuga-kun, if you two would show him around and help him adapt to school life here, it would be very helpful." Tanaka-sensei said to Koyuki and Nanase. Koyuki was the student council president and depended on by the faculty regularly. Nanase was a member of the student council, and apparently the new student was assigned to her class. Tanaka walked away, leaving the students to each other's mercy.
"So this must be the new student?" Asahi asked while giving her every day morning hug to Koyuki.
"Hello," spoke the new student. He didn't make eye contact with Asahi, choosing instead to look at the ground.
"This is Takeru Kurosawa," Koyuki said, believing that Takeru was simply responding shyly in response to Asahi's typical forwardness.
"It's nice to meet you Kurosawa-san," Tokita said, placing himself between Nanase and Takeru. He was very wary of men around his childhood friend, despite the fact he could clearly see that neither Nanase nor Takeru showed even a minuscule spec of interest in one another thanks to his iris.
"Where is Mizushima-kun?" Nanase asked Hijiri. Immediately she noticed the difference in the color rendered by her iris in Koyuki. She giggled to herself, in her mind of course, as she was rooting for Koyuki and Toru to be together.
"He's right…over there!" Hijiri exclaimed as he exposed Toru from his hiding spot. Hijiri already knew exactly where Toru would hide to maintain his minimum exposure early in the morning before heading to class. He was just that good.
"Toru get over here and say hello," Asahi commanded as she dragged Toru to meet the new student.
"Hi…my name is Toru Mizushima."
"Greetings…I'm Takeru Kurosawa."
The two boys shook hands. At that time, no one paid much attention. Asahi didn't spot tails on anyone, except Tokita of course. Nanase was busy looking at the vibrant pink wings Koyuki bore. Koyuki was looking at Toru, wondering what he was thinking at that exact moment. Tokita was just saying whatever would come to mind in order to tease Asahi. Toru himself was trying his best to maintain his low exposure all the while introducing himself to the new student. No one was worried…except Hijiri.
Two black butterflies whisked into thin air, as if melding themselves from the shadows. The first landed slowly, almost hesitatingly on Takeru. The other flew as if without direction until it landed with a slight bravado on Toru's shoulder. This was the sight Hijiri had dreadfully feared and painstakingly planned for since the first day he called the mysterious Toru Mizushima his friend. Hijiri was going to save his best friend, by any means necessary.