The sun shone brightly in the sky with a few clouds floating above the Earth. A slight cool breeze whisked in the air, cooling the warm atmosphere. The weather forecast had predicted today would be a warm, yet cool day. The leaves and branches of the trees had stood slightly still as light winds were expected that day; and silence had enveloped the middle school area.

Aichi seemingly gazed out the window holding the side of his face in the palm of his hand. His mind wandered not paying any mind to the lecture going on in the classroom. He mentally sighed dreamily, closing his eyes and a smile graced his lips dreaming of far off places, daring sword fights, magical spells, a prince in disguise….

"Aichi Sendou…."

"…."

A loud whack at the boy's desk snapped him out of his fantasies making the boy whip his head, glancing upward at his teacher who stood beside his desk. Aichi gave a sheepish, apologetic smile as Mr. Mark gave an awkward, yet irritated cough before speaking.

"Nice to see you back on planet Earth," he joked calmly. "Now, would you like to answer question number eleven?"

"Um… what was the question?" Aichi asked, confused and slightly embarrassed. A few students in the classroom chuckled.

His teacher gave him a quizzical look before a sigh escaped his slightly parted lips. "It was part of your homework last night. I'm guessing you don't know." He turned his heel heading to the front of the classroom calling on a girl to answer the question.

Aichi slammed his forehead onto his desk hiding his red face of embarrassment as teasing laughter from his classmates that sat next him rang his ears. He prayed for school to end soon so he could rush home, lock himself in his room, and bury his head under his pillow separating himself from the world.

As if his prayers were answered, the school bell rang signaling the end of class and school. The blue-haired boy released a sigh of relief. Students gathered their belongings and headed towards the exit with the teacher reminding of tonight's homework. Aichi followed suit of his classmates before heading towards the locker room with Morikawa and Izaki tailing beside him.

"You embarrassed yourself in front of the entire class again, Aichi," Morikawa remarked, hands folded behind his head. Izaki mentally nudged him as he hushed the raven boy's name.

Aichi only frowned, mentally sighing. Morikawa didn't need to remind him of what happened earlier he mused irritably, hiding a hint of annoyance in front of his friends. He turned the dial right to left decoding the number code to open his lock. At the last number, the lock was released to let him open his locker. His cerulean orbs widened slightly with flushed cheeks before mentally sighing seeing of what was left in his locker.

A heart-shaped box of chocolates and a bouquet of red roses that was wrapped in glossy-like pearl-colored wrapper, ribbons tied around the wrapper with a bow adorned for a decorative touch. A piece of paper was tied to a string that led to the hidden stems behind the roses. The piece of paper read:

To my beloved Princess Aichi,

Hope this will make your day bright after a long, grueling day in school~

Hearts, kisses, and 100 times more kisses and hearts, bunnies, and sweet candies!

Lots of love,

Your handsome Prince,

Ren.

Most girls would squeal in delight if their crush or boyfriend had left such gift as a surprise, however, for Aichi was not like any of those girls. He first wondered how Ren Suzugamori, national champion of Vanguard tournaments who won numerous tournaments in how many years in a row, found his locker. Not to mention why Ren liked a noobie such as himself. The redhead would have chosen someone else, but that didn't work out that well. What did Ren see in Aichi that attract him so much to go lovesick over him? Aichi knew that he doesn't hold the same feelings as Ren.

"That Ren gave you another bouquet and chocolates, again?" Morikawa remarked loudly, almost in disbelief. Izaki glanced to the side murmuring, "no joke, Sherlock." the loud boy didn't seem to hear the brunette.

Aichi took out the bouquet and box of chocolates staring at them for a moment. The roses did smell nice and wondered if he should drop them off at his paternal grandfather's grave. His relative had passed away in the past year. He had received bouquets every week ever since he started 9th grade and had donated them as decorations for classrooms. He was nervous of explaining the bouquets to his mother and Emi, but he was able to hide the facts of giving it to them on certain "special" days. It may be a bit of an ungrateful act, he thought, but what was he supposed to do with all those flowers? They were too beautiful to waste. And Ren did not suspect any of his actions.

Aichi handed the chocolates to Morikawa. "You can eat them. I just… don't want to eat too much after lunch a bit awhile ago."

Without a second thought, Morikawa snatched the box out of the boy's hands and began to shove the chocolates in the his mouth. "Hey Aichi, you sure you don't want any? These are the best chocolates!"

"I'm sure," he replied sheepishly. Izaki studied him for a moment and sensed something is still bothering him. He snapped out of his thoughts when Morikawa shoved the box at him before giving Aichi a hard push towards the exit.

"Mor-Morikawa-kun!" Aichi said with a start.

"Time to start playing some Vanguard!"

"M-Morikawa-kun!" Aichi stammered as Morikawa continued to push him down the sidewalk. Aichi felt slightly embarrassed from the looks the citizens were giving them, but the raven-haired didn't seem to notice. The trio didn't notice as they passed by a blonde teen carrying a bag of groceries.

The blonde teen paused in his tracks for a moment to watch the trio walk down the sidewalk until they were no longer in earshot or eyeshot. He stared at them blankly, but his vision was mostly on Aichi. He slightly pursed his lips as he mused,

"Just me, or do I have a hunch that boy would help milord?"

After a moment passed, he shrugged off the thought and soon he entered the forest no one had dared enter heading towards the abandoned manor.