Character keys:
Oda= Matsuda
Junji=Motohama
Kaori=Katase
Yui=Murayama
Right now John was the most nervous he had ever been before applying to this madhouse of a school, he had never been so nervous even when Issei and himself applied to the school, he had never been so nervous even when Issei and the two idiots with low self-discipline he called friends hid behind him, and he had to bail them out from a well-deserved beating for the crime of peeping from girls that had turned into wild beasts.
"Okay, Jun-kun, deep breaths" reassured a glass- wearing brunette, one of the perverts, named Motohama Oda, a brunette with messy hair and glasses, tried to reassure, but as much as tried he couldn't get his breathing under control.
"O-kun, can't you see the poor guy is about to have a panic attack?" replied another brunette with spiky hair, holding him by his underarms since his dark-haired friend seemed about to collapse.
"I would too, he is going to confess to Akeno-sama soon, if I was refused my poor heart wouldn't be able to handle it, I knew I should have brought the defibrillator!" commented a bald guy with squinted eyes, he was Matsuda Junji.
"Guys, just, pass me something to drink, and a plastic bag for all that is good" begged John, Issei gave him a water bottle which he drank in three sips and a plastic bag which he breathed on, looking intently to a raven haired girl eating lunch with three more people, said girl was nothing special, if not for the fact that she possessed a beauty that fully granted her the title of most popular girl in school, alongside her friend right next to her, and John was going to go and confess to her, he had every right to be nervous, so far every single boy who tried got his heart broken, and even then she had an aura of unapproachability, so strong nobody dared get close to her or her friends, John barely managed to calm himself down before speaking.
"Okay boys, I'm going to ask her to meet me somewhere discreet in the school, so we can have a talk in private, in case things go awry, I'm gonna try and get her to right behind the school, but just in case she proposes a different place, I want you guys to go at all the most isolated places of the school with cellphones at the ready".
"No worries, Ju-kun, even if you fail only four boys have approached Akeno-san, that alone will make you a legend, I'll buy you the next volume of One Piece and Full Metal Alchemist regardless of what happens".
"Thanks, Ise" John took another breath in the bag, "boys, from now on I'm going to go on a knife's edge, I will walk a fine wire between two fifty-story buildings and either make it from one end to the other or die trying, regardless of what happens I want you to know this, thank you for supporting me on this on those endless hours thinking of pickup lines and for me endless hours thinking of the best lines I could think of before chucking all of them to the trash because they were all cringe worthy and sucked, what I want to say is thank you" John bowed facing his friends.
"No problem, pal, you are an inspiration to all of us, now go, make a goddess fall in love" encouraged Junji.
'Goddess' thought John, he uttered a small prayer for encouragement and aid before taking a breath, he began to walk towards his crush, for the whole time it seemed as if his heart was on his throat, he could feel it thump on his chest like an engine valve, he could gradually hear the dining room be quiet as they noticed someone approach the raven-haired girl, as he eventually got next to her, seeing as she was still engrossed on her meal John thought no better than to clear his breath, the girl stopped and looked behind her, nailing her purple eyes to the boy, now barely containing his nervousness.
"Mmh, Ajitani-kun? Do you want something?" asked John's crush, John took two seconds to finally get enough composure to do something, he put his right-hand next to his mouth, the girl understood and with a courteous smile gave her ear to the boy.
"Can we go somewhere private, like, just behind the school building after school? There is something I must tell you".
The girl thought on his words for a few seconds after John leaned back, knowing that whatever John wanted to say he wanted it to be a secret she merely kept her smile and nodded, and for John it seemed like a huge weight left his shoulders, he bowed down and said his thanks, leaving the dining room immediately, right in the middle of the three expectant friends that could barely stay still.
"Okay, phase one is done, we are going behind the school building after school, so no need to go anywhere but there".
The three boys let out a sigh of relief.
"These last classes are gonna be the longest ones in my life" commented Issei.
"Well, let's get going".
Classes for the three boys really did go slow, for John in particular his feet were constantly tapping against the floor even when he tried to grab his legs still, he could also feel the glares from some students, when the bell rang, he immediately sprinted out of the classroom, uncaring of the weird stares he was getting, just behind him, he could see Issei and Junji right behind him, he ran towards the entrance and then around the school building, getting right behind it, he stopped and leaned against a wall wiping off his sweat, his friends were just behind him.
"Jun-kun, you almost forgot your bag!" exclaimed Issei, holding a black-red bag on his right hand.
"You gotta stop bringing so many books, what happens if your back breaks?" asked Oda.
"That's weight is nothing compared to the work at my dad's mechanic shop, anyway, remember, don't let Akeno see you, we don't want her getting the wrong idea, just, go to the entrance and come only when I tell you, I'll text Oda when I see her".
The three boys nodded, and they left the scene, meanwhile John leaned on the wall and tried to be calm about the whole situation, taking deep breaths, counting to 10 and even praying to all the saints he could think of, eventually though she came, coming from the other side of the narrow court she walked towards John, every step she took was one more beat per second in John's heart, slowing getting overwhelmed with nervousness and love, Akeno stopped right in front of him.
"Well, you had a long time to think about what you wanted to say, let's hear it, what do you need to tell me that has you so worked up?" she asked, that courteous smile still in her face, a thousand phrases came to John's mind and none of them were adequate, but he had to speak soon.
"Well," he started "I called you here because I have something to say that I wanted to ask ever since I saw you in that festival, out of everyone seeing the Writer's club performance you were the only one who took my short stories".
"Oh? You were the 'Lazy marker'?" asked Akeno, John smiled sheepishly, Akeno giggled "my, I was wondering who made such a charming little story, so it was you, Ajitani-kun?"
"Yeah, so, you have no idea how important that day was for me, so far only my parents have read my stories and well, I kind of didn't take them seriously because, well, your parents are the most biased people you know, so someone outside my family taking my story seriously, and liking it? That meant a lot, it motivated me to write more, even the president was impressed, until then you were the only one who believed I could write good stories, even though you didn't know who I was, the others thought they were merely passable, it's not my fault the Japanese cannon is hard to figure out. Every time I see you, I am reminded of that day, of the one person who believed in me, unaware of who I was".
John was pouring his heart out at this point, Akeno for the whole time stayed silent though she took one hand to her chest and clenched it, John didn't speak, trying to think of the best words for the situation, but he couldn't come up with anything, so he instead decided to do what his heart thought best.
"That's why I fell in love with you, Himejima-san, that's why I ask you to indulge me and go out with this wannabe writer!" he exclaimed, his heart pumping at a thousand a second, he didn't dare look up for seconds that seemed to take forever until his crush spoke.
"Look at me, Ajitani-kun" John looked at her and was surprised at what he saw, Akeno had a hand clenched on her chest and a light blush on her face, though her smile was still there, if even a bit enlarged, "you made a whole speech just to make a confession?" she asked, John nodded.
"I rehearsed but nothing that I rehearsed was good, I just said what felt best at this point" Akeno giggled.
"How cute, well, to be honest I also was very curious and interested on who was the one who wrote that story, of a young spelunker going into some caves only to find an ancient princess trapped in it when he was expecting treasure, how he ended up finding something better than gold or ancient texts, all guarded by an ancient dragon, saving the princess even though he was scared out of his mind" she related, John couldn't help but blush as she related his short story, "now I know him and I think my expectations were subverted" she commented.
"Oh, p-please, I don't think I'm that special" replied John bashfully.
"Nonsense, Ajitani-kun, I may not know that much from you, but that will soon change, but what I saw so far is a boy unlike many of the idiots of this school, you came here because your friends were coming too, did you, you didn't even know this was originally a female school, right?"
"Yeah, it was only after the fact, and even then, only after I asked I-my friends about it, and even then, it took about four days after the fact, I only went there because my friends were going and because it was the best school around" replied John, the raven-haired girl got closer to him.
"Many of the boys apply in hopes of getting a girlfriend, and I'm sure your friends aren't an exception, after all you yourself know that very much considering you shielded them from the Kendo Club, even when you knew you yourself could get beaten alongside them" John's eyes widened for a moment, Akeno appeared to have read his thoughts and giggled "you are not the only one who has been watching from afar, I did my own research as well, I also know they are waiting for you, one of them is preparing a box of tissues and a defibrillator, which would get him a talking-to by President Sona. The point is, I was just as interested in you as you were for me, because you are unlike any other man I have known, you are what I thought men could not be, even my best friend agreed with me" she took one of John's hands and smiled completely, a full-blown blush appearing on her face "I would be more than happy to go out with you, Ajitani-kun" the best case scenario happened, and being as expressive as he was John couldn't help but do the next thing, he screamed in joy, surprising even the normally collected Akeno, and surprised her even further when the boy grabbed her by the waist and spined around while laughing in joy, making the girl go completely red in confusion and bashfulness as the personality of the boy made a U turn.
For John this was the best day ever, then he remembered what he just did, but instead of finding a peeved Akeno to apologize too she found her still smiling, and her eyes filled with mirth and mischief "my oh my, how bold of you, Ajitani-kun, I didn't know you could be so forward, but I, myself, am not one to be outdone by my partner, especially one so shy as you" before he could think Akeno gave him a peck on the lips, it didn't last for even a second, but it was enough to reduce the boy to a blushing mess, emboldening his now girlfriend "aww, that's the Ajitani-kun I know and like" she commented with another giggle, "well, let's not dilly-dally any further, do you have your phone?" John nodded and gave her his phone where she wrote her phone number in his contacts, "Well, when do you think we can have a date?" that shook John out of his stupor.
"Oh, well, I can't go most of the days in the afternoon because I will be working in dad's workshop, but I think I can make something work on Sunday after Mass at 4:30, is that okay for you?"
"Oh, a Christian? That's so rare here in Japan, and you work, too?" asked the raven-haired girl.
"Well, my dad offered me to up my allowance if I helped him in the workshop when I was 13, I didn't mind because its mostly easy stuff where I don't even have to look busy, it's also how I learned how to properly smelt and forge metals, its basic and I still need dad to make sure I don't blow anything up, but I can make a kitchen knife" he replied.
"Mmh, well, in any case, yes, Sunday, 4:30 will be good for me, but I hope you don't mind if we walk and do things together starting next week too" John replied he didn't mind, "in that case" Akeno gave John a kiss on the cheeks "see you tomorrow, sweetie" she left the place, leaving John alone and shocked, he still couldn't believe it, he couldn't help pump his arms and jump once again, leaving the back of the school he was ambushed by his friends who were all shouting and hollering.
"Jun-kun, from this day onwards you have my eternal respect, you poured your heart out to a goddess, and she fell in love with you!" exclaimed Issei.
"What's better, you took her for a spin, and she kissed you! Who does that?"
It took John longer than he thought to calm down the boys, but he couldn't help but be infected with their happiness, why wouldn't he, he is at a very high peak in his life right now.
"Boys, drinks and dinner are on me if you wanna go out tonight, this deserves a celebration and I just received a big fat pay cheque from my dad for a job well done, if you are with me then I say that by 8:30 this night, let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die!"
"Yeaaaaaaah!" they all cheered and hollered.
They all left for the respective home and prepared all the homework they had for the week to be completely free for the weekend and this night, before he did that however, John went to talk with his parents, he found his mother, a native Japanese woman in her mid-thirties, with black hair, green eyes and wearing a green dress with a grey shirt.
"Mama today don't make any dinner for me, I'm going out with Ise and company" he announced to his mother, though her mother was at first suspicious he noticed the grin on his son.
"Oh, that's a smile if I ever saw one" came a voice from his side, John turned to see his father, a Spaniard in his late thirties with dark brown hair, a fit figure and wearing brown pants with a white shirt, his hands still having some remnants of soot, "I take it today was a good day, was it?" he asked, John nodded.
"Remember that girl I talked about?" he asked while grinning, his parents already knew where this was going.
"Oh, Jun-chan, I'm so proud of you! Do you have a photo? I want to see her!" exclaimed her mother.
"Later, mama, when I go on a date on Sunday after mass, I will see if I can get a photo of her".
"Please do, I'm very curious who is the girl that caught my boy's heart".
After some more chit-chat with his parents, John went into his room and prepared all of his homework for the week, and good thing he did, it took him almost all of the afternoon to do so, not counting the various breaks he made in between, but in the end he finished, right on time too since it was only an hour until he had to prepare and the ramen shop his friends and himself frequented was not close to his house at all, he changed himself into black pants and a red hoodie, he was checking himself in a mirror for any dirt or holes in his clothes before his mother called.
"Jun, your friends are here!"
"Coming, mama"
He went down to the kitchen and saw his friends in the kitchen, talking with his mother and father, despite their perverted antics, something he was trying to correct, with slow but steady success, his family was nothing but accommodating to the other boys, surprising the three of them since John came from a very religious family and inherited their attitude and faith. Being accustomed to their own culture they were very surprised when they came for the first time and John's mother greeted them each with a kiss on their cheeks and warm food from her homeland, their lack of faith notwithstanding, but once they got over the crucifixes and images at home and their own fear of strict parents that would have a permanent scowl on their face when looking at them, they warmed up to the little family and even offered to babysit John's little brother and sister whenever the older pair wanted to go out.
"So, Issei, Juanito, has told me he finally has a girlfriend, what can you tell me about her?" asked John's father, Issei's eyes lit up.
"Oh, Ju-kun has hit the goldmine with her, she isn't just any girl, she is one of the Great Princesses of Kuoh, Akeno Himejima, one of the most popular and beautiful girls in the academy!" ranted Issei.
"Yeah! She has a, uh, full body figure as if she was sculpted by a god, a hair as black as ebony and a smile that can make even the hardest of all hearts melt, and Jun-kun made her fall in love in the most ridiculous and charming manner ever!" continued Oda.
"Oh? How did Jun-chan make someone so high up fall in love with him?"
"She was the only one in the cultural festival last year who took his short story and reviewed it, now that I remember it made almost everyone in the school talk about how good his story was even when half of them didn't even read it, nevertheless it made her very interested in him so much so that apparently she had been sort of following us, she even saw him defending us from the Kendo Club, that day onwards we swore we would never peep on them again, even if it's hard and painful" Junji took a sip of water "long story short she accepted his confession and then Jun-kun does something and gets something the boys back at school would kill for, he lifts Akeno-san from her waist, and they started to spin, laughing as if he had just gotten married to the love of his life, then when they stop, she gives him a kiss on the lips!"
John's father started to laugh, holding his sides as he did so, while his wife giggled.
"Oh, he did the exact same thing I did with his mother, now I can't wait to meet her, but for now" he wiped of the tears from his eyes and calmed himself "you can go, the ramen shop is pretty far away yes?"
"Oh, right, well, thank you for having us, Suarez-san, Ajitani-san"
They said their goodbyes and the group of friends left John's house, they left for the centre of the city, a place they went since childhood.
"Ahhh, I love the smell of ramen in the afternoon".
"You are supposed to say it in the morning, O-kun" replied Issei with a deadpan before grinning "Oh I'm so taking the spicy selection".
"Really? Last time you did you almost crapped out your own guts and drank enough milk to dry several cows" commented Junji, Issei went red in embarrassment.
"It's not my fault, I underestimated how spicy it was!"
"You mean to tell me that you took ramen cooked with jalapeños and ghost pepper as seasoning, and you thought it wouldn't be too spicy for you?" Oda and Junji giggled at John's comment, Issei seethed at the unintentional taunt.
"I'll show you, I will get the spicy selection and I will not take it with milk, I have been practising for this very moment, if I can stop peeping on the Kendo club and stop watching porn then I can eat it whole!" declared the brunette, John turned to Oda and Junji.
"Boys, get the emergency number on a speed dial".
The quartet entered the ramen shop, the owner, a man in his mid-fifties, greeted them warmly.
"Little Issei and his band of troublemakers, and without their parents too! What can Rizu-san do for you boys?"
"I'll have the usual" replied John with a smile.
"So will I"
"Not me, get me The Dragon" declared Issei with a grin, surprising the man.
"The Dragon! You must feel confident, little Issei, are you boys celebrating something?" asked the man as he prepared to cook.
"Yeah!" exclaimed Oda "Jun-kun managed to get a girlfriend!" making John blush slightly.
"Oh?" grinned the man as he was making the noddles "do tell, who is the lucky gal?"
"She isn't just any gal, she is the most popular and beautiful girl in the school, her name is Akeno" the man widened his eyes at the name.
"Her? You got her?" he asked.
"Rizu-san, you know her?" asked Issei.
"Know her? She and her friends are regulars here, they come almost every afternoon, don't worry, I'll save you the embarrassment and not say your names aloud"
"Thank you Rizu-san"
They had their plates set down, steaming hot, Issei, Oda and Takumi said their thanks while John prayed a thanksgiving prayer.
"So, how did you meet her?" asked Rizu-san.
John told him the whole story on how he met Akeno, from the day at the cultural festival to when he finally had the courage to ask her out.
To Issei's credit he handled the spiciness of his Dragon surprisingly well, even if he was almost grunting through it all, but halfway through his ramen Issei's face began to flush, and he started to sweat heavily, everyone noticed it.
"Rizu-san, get some milk" ordered John, even as Issei was eating through the plate, enduring the feeling of his tongue being set on fire, Rizu-san put a glass of milk next to Issei, but the boy insisted on eating more and to everyone's surprise, he managed to eat the whole plate, he set the plate down after slurping the remains and grinned victoriously, the fact that his whole face was red, his eyes stung, and his sweat was getting his clothes wet didn't mar his sense of triumph at all.
"Well, you weren't joking Issei, you really did make it" commented Oda with amazement, Issei smiled before he downed the milk glass in one gulp and setting it down so hard everyone feared it might shatter.
John paid for everything with a smile even if he left the place with his wallet lighter, it was sundown, so everyone decided to go home and parted ways. John walked through the city with a smile.
'Today was a great day' he thought, nothing could truly ruin this, or so he thought, as he walked past an alleyway, he somehow started to get sleepy and collapsed on the cold floor, not even having enough time to be surprised or to see what was happening. After an indeterminate amount of time, he woke up in a dimly lit room, lit up by torches with blue fire, he was in the middle of some painted circle, and he could see masked people before him, his hands and legs were tied up but at the same time he couldn't feel the ropes which supposedly held him down.
'What is happening? Is this a cult? Did I get abducted?' he thought, he started to panic and mumbled loudly through the tape blocking his mouth, suddenly someone came from the front door, a tall figure wearing an ornate mask that sent shudders down his spine, but that wasn't the worst, the man was holding a knife, and he was speaking in a language that was making John's head hurt.
'Help, help, help! Someone, help, someone please help me, get me out of here!'
"Fear not" said the man in perfect English, attracting John's attention, "child, when this is over your soul shall be sent to the Lover's embrace, an eternity as her servant in her loving embrace is worth more than kingship over all the earthly nations" announced the man, the man then started to intone a chant in that strange language, a language that sounded both musical and grating, beautiful and terrifying, John's struggles became more desperate and as the man slowly lifted the knife, he started to cry and come to terms with his death, mentally saying a prayer to safeguard his soul, but as the man was about to plunge the knife into his heart and end the boy's life, something happened, the man stopped short of the boy's skin, he dropped the knife which only prickled the boy's skin, and he started to grab his head in pain, as did everyone.
First, they groaned, and then they screamed as if possessed by some spirit, some of the people started to bang their heads against the wall, screaming in that horrible tongue. John at that moment felt a presence, enveloping over him like a transparent blanket, the cultists then dropped dead like puppets whose strings had been cut, startling the boy, the presence left and John somehow knew that whatever was restraining him wasn't there anymore, but the fear kept him from standing up, scared that the cultists would wake up and sacrifice him, after a few seconds he did and his eyes wandered to the knife that the man was going to use to kill him, it was a knife made of something that looked like silver, both in its blade and handle, it had engravings on its blade that draw John's eyes towards it, had he not been as scared as he was he would have admired the craftsmanship, the knife was something not even his father would be able to make, but as scared as he was he just pocketed the knife and ran through the door, he ran to the end of a hallway and up some stairs, but he managed to exit the building, looking it from outside he saw it was an old apartment building, he deduced he was at the north of Kuoh, near the industrial district, but he didn't think more and just ran away.
John reached his home late into the night, he had spare keys, so he didn't have to worry about calling his probably sleeping parents, he opened the door, still in shock as to what happened to him, he went into his room and sat down on his bed.
"What just happened?" he muttered to himself, he lied down to try to sleep but try as he did, he could not stop thinking of what happened, of those strange people who tried to sacrifice him to an entity known as the Lover, when he finally did get to sleep he dreamed of strange dreams and nightmares, of dreams of great cities burning, of impossible weapons being fired against things with too many teeth, of worlds unknown and stars that should not exist.