Chapter 1-Collision

I ruined their lives.

I should never have met any of them.

I wish I hadn't cared for "M".

I wish I hadn't fallen for "K".

I wish I hadn't befriended "S".

I'm so damn stupid!

Why can't I delete my life and reboot a new game file like I could in Arcadia Fantasia?

I meddled in the romances of others; so I should just get kicked by a horse and die.

…

Not that it matters, but my name is Ashikaga Yuuki, and I am a first-year student at Sakakino High School. Unfortunately, my run of ill fortune started when I was born ten days early. I was sickly as a child and constant illnesses and lung issues stunted my growth. Starting at age ten, I started Karate lessons with my older sister Chie to combat—and eventually outgrew—the asthma. By the time I started middle school, the damage was already done. I am currently the shortest among the first-year boys… and shorter than most of the first-year girls as well. I guess you could call me a 'girly-man'. My hobbies have been in the nerdy or domestic categories, which did not enhance my appeal to girls at all. I can't grow facial hair at all, my voice still hasn't deepened at the age of fifteen, my skin is pale, and my body could easily pass for a flat-chested girl's. I have medium brown short hair that falls across my face in wisps, and my unremarkable reddish-brown eyes are concealed by Coke-bottomed glasses to correct my myopia. I wear the standard boys uniform featuring dark loafers, white dress shirts, maroon tie, and a charcoal jacket and pants combination. I am the very opposite of my revered bishounen Kasannoin-sempai; he is a man's man, and I am a weak sissy. To add insult to injury, my bossy neechan is a second-year and my senpai.

The last day of the first trimester at Sakakino, I sat alone in the art room with its sewing machine putting the final stitches in my costume. It was a hand-tailored white robe with gold trim paired with a red and gold obi based on my Arcadia Fantasia MMORPG female white mage avatar, Yuu. Of course, I carefully waited until I was practically the only student left in the building as we had been dismissed early. The only other sound besides the clacking of needle piercing through fabric was the girls' basketball team doing laps around the track outside. I was just wrapping up the finishing touches as a harsh rapping at the doorjamb jolted me back to reality. A grating voice mocked me sardonically, "Yo, nice dress, Ashikaga!"

I stuck my tongue out at my old middle school chum, Sawanaga Taisuke, and huffed. "It's a robe, not a dress. So did your friend pull it off or not, Sawanaga?" Sawanaga was gangly and homely, with a skinny face and an unruly mop of sandy brown hair. His beady grey-blue eyes fixated on the staff I had spent a month carving to resemble the healing stave used in the game. He snickered as he picked it up and appraised the carefully-carved runes and green and teal paint job. "You must have had so much fun playing with your stick."

Ugh. Could my friend ever go even five minutes without thinking about sex? I guess not. I made a well-placed jab to his shoulder, causing him to drop the stave into my other hand. "Ow! That hurt, you jerk!"

I ignored his whining. "Well?"

A second knock drew my attention, but this time my words died on my lips. Standing in the doorway was a boy my age holding a wrapped parcel. He was what you would call average-looking, with disordered black hair, light brown eyes, and fair skin. He was neither notably handsome nor ugly, but there was just something magnetic about his…aura, I guess you could call it. I quickly averted my gaze and went back to finishing the stitching.

I tried to suppress my mortified blush. Ever since I was twelve, I just knew I was different. I had discovered the horrible truth about my sexuality when I had snuck glances at my sister's Boy's Love manga. I knew that it was designed to titillate straight girls but I found myself captivated by the mind-blowing idea of a same-sex couple. Such a thought had never even crossed my mind before that epiphany. Of course, even in my fantasies I inevitably ended up the passive Uke to my imaginary dominant Seme boyfriend. I could never admit to anyone that I was bisexual, so I covered it up by focusing on transient crushes on my female schoolmates.

The boy I didn't know came into the room with a smirk and unwrapped the silver cast medallion that would top the staff. "Ashikaga, right? Will this do?"

I gingerly picked up the medallion and examined it from all sides, finding it to be surprisingly well-crafted. I took the fake ruby crystal out of my bag and snapped it into place in the central hole. I then mounted the medallion on the staff proper. I broke into a shy smile. It looked perfect. I bowed humbly. "Thank you, I…Itou-san, right?"

He tucked his hands into his pockets and nodded. "Yep. Itou Makoto."

Now I finally placed him. My other middle school friend, Kuroda Hikari, said that there was a boy in her class that girls secretly gushed over to the point where he was whispered about longingly as "Everybody's Makoto". I hadn't expected him to look this unremarkable but his inexplicable magnetism was starting to bother me.

I sighed as I placed two worn 2000-yen bills on the table. I had blown weeks of my allowance to pay for this key item. I complimented his work. "Nice job, Itou-san. I was surprised to hear from Sawanaga that you were this crafty."

He chuckled as he pocketed the money. "My mom got me into cloisonné-making and silver jewelry-making, too. It's easy and fun to do. It's also a hell of a lot cheaper than springing for White Day gifts for sure."

After placing my cosplay outfit and disassembled staff into a bag, I bowed humbly once again as a thank you. "I am in your debt, Itou-san."

"No biggie. Laters." He departed the room with Sawanaga in tow. I closed the door behind me and headed in the opposite direction as I knew my sister was waiting for me in the gym.

…

A flight down, I passed into the outdoor passageway where I spied a disturbance and overheard a loud argument right inside the gym entrance. It looked like a cluster of four or five girls. I could see that all the basketball girls inside doing drills were pointedly ignoring the disruption. I heard an aggravated voice pipe up, "I don't care about your problems with the school committee, Class rep. We're not helping you… with anything."

Her victim hung her head and spoke forlornly, "Gomenasai."

I quickly ducked behind the rolling basketball cart just outside of the gym and adjusted my glasses. I spied the bully ringleader and saw a tall tomboy with brown hair drawn up into a ponytail, and annoyed chocolate brown eyes boring into her quarry. Katou Otome, like all the girl basketball players, was wearing a grey-blue tracksuit with white racing stripes along the arms and legs. I hadn't interacted with any of Chie's teammates besides her obnoxious friends Ishibashi and Kira, but I knew Katou and her sycophant followers from their poisonous reputation. I couldn't be bothered to remember their names, so I silently nicknamed them 'Points', 'Spikes', and 'Headband'.

Katou sneered. "Seems like the princess is waiting for her prince on a white charger!" I heard that harpy and her bitch squad break out into taunting laughter.

I felt horror as I realized the girl receiving the dressing-down was the girl I had crushed on since the opening day ceremony. Katsura Kotonoha was more gorgeous than the rest of the girls in Sakakino HS put together. She was short and effortlessly pretty in a way the made every other girl in the school curse under their breaths. She had long, cascading locks of black hair, nearly translucent white skin, and expressive brick red eyes, and was also very… curvy. Her standard girl's uniform consisted of a white ruffled shirt with a maroon bow under a black jacket fastened with a pair of brass buttons, combined with a short black pleated skirt, thigh-high black stockings and her white school shoes. I had to help her… but how? What could one puny runt like me do?

The sandy blond 'Headband' gave Katsura a rough shove and sneered. "Don't get all uppity over your daddy's billions!"

Katsura staggered and pleaded, "Gomenasai, Mori-san." She started to sniffle.

'Points' huffed. "Overloaded with work and all you can do is cry?"

"Too bad, Katsura-san. I don't have a handkerchief. I guess you'll have to blow your nose on your sleeve," 'Spikes' jeered.

'Headband'…er, Mori snapped, "You're hopeless, Pheromone Girl! You seduced all the boys with that oversexed body and your massive boobs. Have you ever tried compensated dating? It's all you're good for!"

I ground my teeth in frustration, and then I saw the release latch on the ball transport door. I snickered evilly as I deftly pulled the release and pulled the door open.

They never knew what hit them.

Several dozen basketballs chaotically spilled out and bounded through the doorway scattering everywhere. The girls shooting hoops stopped cold and started laughing at Katou and her hapless lackeys as the stray balls fanned out to every corner of the gym.

"Katou! Get your bony ass over here," my sister screamed as she blew her stack.

I burst out into stifled giggles. Ah, poor Katou. You're screwed now. No one pisses my sister off and lives!

Katou sputtered in helpless fury, "B-but Ashikaga-sempai, it wasn't my fault that the-"

"Shut up, you clumsy oaf! You and your posse will have to pick up every ball and then run twenty laps!"

"But-"

Chie roared, "Now!"

Katou quivered with rage as she and her frantic friends started to chase down the stray orange basketballs. Their teammates started whistling and clapping sarcastically.

Katsura stood alone looking pale with shock. She shook her head and quietly started to tiptoe away. Her eyes widened as she spotted me crouching behind the cart.

I quickly blushed and averted my gaze. Then I steeled my nerve and brightly beamed at her. "Our secret, right, Katsura-san? Better get going."

"S-sure," she stammered, and broke into a run back into the academic wing.

I walked down the path and found a bench to sit on in the shade. I cheerfully hummed the theme to Arcadia Fantasia as I took out my PSP gaming console to kill some time until the ruckus died down. Ah, that was so sweet.

…

The sunlight was slanting low in the sky as my sister's practice wrapped up. I desperately wanted to ditch her and go home to log onto my MMORPG, but I needed Chie's help for something else. I already knew the rest of my pocket money would pay for a cake to satiate my sister's sweet tooth. Inevitably, I would have my arm twisted to pay a visit to Sweets Ohara, a popular confectionery owned by Kuroda's family. I frowned as a long shadow blocked the sunlight.

I glanced over to see a very…tiny girl. As I stood up, I very nearly asked if she was a lost middle school kid, until I registered she was wearing the Sakakino High School girl's uniform. Suddenly, her name clicked in my mind. This must be the same Kiyoura Setsuna that Sawanaga was constantly carping on about. I valued my privates, so I quickly realized it would be a terrible idea to reveal that he called her the "midget snark queen" behind her back. I weakly smiled and waved. "Hello, Kiyoura-san. Can I help you?"

Kiyoura was astonishingly small. She was even shorter than me! She was underdeveloped, with short black hair tied back by a crimson ribbon, and inquisitive brownish-red eyes. Her gaze narrowed as she spoke in a soft near-monotone, "Ashikara-san, it is my appointed duty by the school committee to make sure the campus is clear of students other than the sports teams."

"I, er…um…I was waiting for my sister to wrap up basketball practice. H-how did you know I don't play sports?"

Her penetrating gaze shot right through me. After an uncomfortable pause she remarked, "Lucky guess."

I bowed and chuckled. "You knew my name too."

"It was printed on your nametag when I saw you working in the school library."

I broke into a shaky smile and desperately tried to regain control of the conversation. "If you wanted to know about how I knew your name-"

She had the perfect poker face as she zinged me yet again. "Sawanaga blabbed about how much I annoy him, correct?"

I rubbed my scalp nervously as I gave up and sighed, "N-no offense, Kiyoura-san, but I'm beginning to kinda feel like a fool."

She nodded solemnly. "You don't need my assistance for that."

Ah. Now I realized why Sawanaga wanted to switch Class Reps between our classrooms. Utterly defeated, I fell into an embarrassed silence.

"Now you're wondering how a middle schooler can be a first year here," she remarked with a hint of melancholy in her voice.

Man, she could see through anyone. Maybe I was imagining her sad undertone. Still, I felt a pang of empathy that nudged me into being honest with her. I sighed. "Kiyoura-san, I've always been the runt. I usually get overlooked. No girl gives me a second glance. I'm as blind as a bat. Still, at least I've got my sister, even if she thinks of me as her gopher, and Sawanaga and Kuroda. They liven things up, even if they drive me crazy." I bowed respectfully. "I'm glad we finally had a chat. After all, you're the only one I can look in the eye without needing a stepladder."

I was astonished to see her placid façade nearly fall apart as she flashed a tiny but adorable smile for a millisecond. Wait, what? Had I imagined that? She nodded with a completely neutral expression as she bowed. "Take care over the summer break, Ashikaga-san."

"T-take care...Kiyoura-san."

She walked off, leaving me completely baffled.

…

I posed in front of my bedroom wall, resplendent in my White Mage robes and clutching my engraved completed heal stave topped with a silver disk with a glittering 'ruby' insert in its center. I also wore one of Chie's old padded bras to give me a fake bosom. As a final touch, a wig with auburn locks flowed over my face and shoulders. A brilliant flash blinded my weak eyesight, and then Chie exhaled a smoky sigh as she placed the ejected Polaroid onto my desk to develop.

I took off the wig and sat in my swivel chair to boot up my Arcadia Fantasia MMORPG.

Chie took another drag of her cigarette and noted snidely, "You really can pull off crossdressing. Maybe you should have been born a girl." She savored another spoonful of her cake.

I gawked at the fully developed photo and nodded slowly in agreement. I could swear I looked exactly like a girl. How manly…ugh. I opened up the dedicated desktop scanner, made a digital copy of my Avatar thumbnail, and uploaded it as my user profile image. I then waved her away. "Thanks for your help, neechan. I've got a mine full of monsters to help clear."

"Speaking of which, you really like that little rich girl, huh?"

How on earth did she know about my unspoken crush on Katsura? I panicked as I tried to deny her assertion. "Neechan, I don't know what-"

A sharp hand chop to my head jarred me into silence.

"Cut the crap, baka. I saw your little stunt with the ball cart today."

I groused, "Oww! Neechan, I don't-"

Chie raised her hand in a threatening manner with a sharp glare in her red-brown eyes. She shared my hair and eye colors, but the resemblance ended there. She towered over me, her hair was long and way, and her personality was caustic, confrontational, and snarky.

I pleaded, "Okay, okay, I was just helping her out of a pinch! I'm sorry I messed up your gym practice."

Her eyes bore into me, making my knees tremble slightly. Finally, she let me off the hook. "Look, I don't give a crap about that. That bitch Katou and her ass-kissing groupies needed a kick in the shins, anyway." She deposited some ash into an empty iced coffee can and smirked. "Want her phone number?"

"K-Katou-san's?!" Why would I want that bitch's number?

Again the hand chop to my head made me wince in pain.

I whined. "Owww! Neechan, stop it!"

Chie smirked. "Katou is a flat-chested tomboy. She's not at all like the short sweet cuties you lust after; I know you modeled your avatar after your 'ideal babe'."

I grumbled as I cleaned my glasses with a soft cloth. "My game only allows female healers. Besides, my guildmates think I roleplay a female white mage really well. Thanks for respecting my privacy, by the way." I crossed my arms as I pouted.

Chie shrugged and replied in a slightly bored tone, "So do you want Katsura's number or not?"

Crap. I clenched my fist as I knew this action was dangerously close to stalking. Who was I kidding; it was stalking. But I worshiped Katsura from afar for too long, and I knew someone as charismatic as Itou would just swoop in and snatch her up while I cowered in the shadows. I caved in to my base desires as I growled, "Do as you like, neechan." Now it was time for the other shoe to drop. What would be my sister's price?

Her face went from her faint scowl to a broad, giddy, gleeful grin. She crooned, "I always wanted a little sister to go shopping with… 'Yuu-chan'."

I knew this would end in tears. I'm so screwed.

*A/N: Special thanks for the edits and plot suggestions supplied by Belletrist Word Salad*