Chapter 1: Prologue

Summary: In which Ishikawa falls for someone after Hori turns him down. Only that Ishikawa increasingly becomes interested in the person closest to Hori, Izumi Miyamura. And it happened one day, after summer vacation was over. Prologue takes place during episode 1 of the Anime.

Author's Note: Dear readers, the entire story is told from Tooru's Point Of View. Please Enjoy!

It happened one day, after summer vacation was over. We were back in class when my sweet Hori started sneaking off during lunch, and then I found out that she was having secret meetings with Miyamura.

I would find them by the stairs, talking or yelling quietly like a married couple. Or inside the classroom, texting each other, I could just tell because I happened to catch a glimpse of her name on the chat of his phone as I walked by.

But then, one week, they both dropped all pretense and started chatting away while standing outside of the classroom balcony, front view for everyone to see.

I could only conclude they were dating. Even Yuki, from our friend group, made a comment about it.

"Wow, I never imagined that those two would end up spending so much time together." Yuki said from her desk.

It was the understatement of the year.

I glanced over to a classmate. It was self-study time, but some were quick to forget that. "Hey, didn't you mention you wanted Hori's notes?" I said to him for the sake of distracting Hori away from Miyamura.

"Ah! That's right!" He turned to the balcony and waved. "Yo Hori! You'd mind if I borrow your notes!"

"Me too!" Another one of our classmates joined in.

Hori let go of the balcony railing and turned. "Seriously, stop relying on others so much." Her voice was as sweet and kind as ever.

"Thank you, Hori!"

"Whoa, Ishikawa. Nice move?"

"I do whatever a guy in love gotta do."

I gave Yuki a nod and walked off, towards Miyamura. After settling next to him outside the balcony, is when I realized perhaps there really is trouble in paradise. Something was definitely wrong with the nerdy otaku guy. He looked like he was stressed about something. He was leaning against the balcony, arms resting, staring up ahead.

It's incredible he didn't even notice me until I spoke up.

"She's really popular, you know" I said, to try and get his attention.

"Who? You mean Hori? Yeah. It makes sense. People who excel in academics are impressive."

I made a face. This guy was totally in his head as he had yet to look at me. Still, it was easy for me to sound friendly, since I have yet to confirm the truth. But that attitude of him was starting to piss me off, to the point I forgot about how stressed he previously looked.

"Miyamura." I said, this time I made sure to sound serious, to the point he stopped staring ahead.

"Yes?" He finally looked at me. This time, it was me that leaned against the balcony.

"You seem to be getting along with Hori recently. Are you two dating?" I was surprised how expressive Miyamura had become as he made all kinds of hand gestures to wave the question off. It hadn't been my intention to sound so…I don't know.

"What! No! There's no way we would be dating!" I didn't react as he continued to wave his hands about, while I was still sizing him up. Now that we were up close, I had a feeling that his long hair and glasses were hiding something. Then I remembered he was a creepy Otaku. I tried not to be too judgmental though.

I gave him a side glance. There was probably doubt in my voice as I said my thoughts out loud.

"I thought so. You don't look good together." I blurted out. These words surprised even me. Man, I sounded so sour.

"Hori is… too good for me…"

When I heard those words, I immediately felt like a prick. The dude seriously has some kind of self-esteem issue and I felt bad for possibly inflicting more. I pretended I didn't hear him mumble.

To ease the tension, I laughed. I patted him on the back but he refused to meet my eyes, his expression hiding behind his long hair.

"Speak louder, please! Miyamura, use your words!"

He shrugged away from me. "Ishikawa, you like Hori, don't you?"

Damn, he was so quick to catch on! I gotta keep it cool. Stand my ground. But I ended up flailing about, my composure totally out of whack.

"So-so what if I do?" It was supposed to sound like a challenge, but I ended up just panicking.

"Wait. I was right? That's why you glared at me whenever I talked to Hori!"

"That's right. So…"

So please stop talking to her…I wanted to say.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know you liked Hori!" He almost said at the top of his lungs.

I felt my entire face turn red and my hands impulsively reached out to him.

"I know I asked you to use your words, but not like this, Miyamura!" His eyes widened when I covered his mouth. "So don't be so loud, you idiot!"

"I'm sorry! I'm really sorry." He said, his voice muffled since I still had my hand covering his mouth. But when he apologized against the palm of my hand, his voice felt like tickling feathers. One of my classmate's voices snapped me out of it, and soon I was standing six feet away from Miyamura.

"Hey, what are you guys doing? The next period is PE." Shuu said, and he had already changed into his uniform.

We looked at each other, his expression mimicking mine.

"Whaaaaaaaaat?!"

We both dashed out of the balcony, then across the classroom, and out the door in a hurry. I glanced over my shoulder to see Miyamura also running close behind me, his expression now less panicked. Luckily there was no student council patrolling the hallways.

When we got to the boy's locker room, Miyamura had disappeared with his gym clothes and changed somewhere else. I didn't spare a second thought because my mind had been filled with scenarios of asking Hiro out. It was when I had changed out of my shirt that Miyamura appeared next to me, zipping up his winter gym sweater. Mind you it was still summer outside. Was this guy nuts?

His sense of urgency decreased as he let out a sigh, taking his sweet time folding his uniform away into the wooden cubbie. "We're going to be late anyway so we might as well take our time."

I looked at his sweater and asked, "Come to think of it, now that we're getting to know each other, what's with the winter uniform every day?"

"That's because… I can't stand the cold."

"You're sweating buckets my dude."

"Well, I shouldn't be telling you this…" He paused, and gripped his sweater near the heart, showing some kind of soft side. I merely raised a brow, waiting for his next sentence. "...Only Hori has seen what's underneath this shirt!"

"Hori?! Why?!" I gaped, feeling betrayed. I said goodbye to our brief friendship right then. Sayonara Miyamura-kun-bastard. But he ignored the tone of accusation in my voice and kept on.

"If you tell the teachers it would be troubling if someone finds out. So please help keep it a secret."

"The last thing I am is a snitch!" I said defensively, though what I was feeling was extreme curiosity. Miyamura was going to show me something Hori had seen. I wondered what it could be. Was it scars? Cuts? Or a knife wound? As these thoughts rushed through my stupid head he was unzipping his gym sweater.

I can't describe the dumb sounds I made right there and then. I didn't know Miyamura was this toned. I had thought he was more like a twig underneath the baggy uniform.

I started to forget what brought this on in the first place, and wasn't sure what I was supposed to be looking out for as I stared at his skin. There were no scars, cuts or knife wounds. It wasn't until Miyamura revealed half of his upper body that my mind went blank. After seeing his tattoos, suddenly I was sure this dude was not the nerdy Otaku the class thought him to be.

"...Are those things real? Dude we're only in high school and you've gotten that much ink done?"

"Yeah."

I stepped close and inspected the awesome designs starting from his arm, side, and down to his torso. I crouched down in front of him. Upon closer inspection it looked like it was based on the art of the Ainu, the indigenous people of the northern Japanese island. What the heck was even the story?

However, I finally understood that there was only one conclusion to all of this.

"Holy shit! You really can't wear the summer uniform like this-"

"-That's right."

"The design is pretty sick though." I straightened back up and decided to back off when realizing I was so close I could smell whatever cologne he uses. "It's unbelievable though. I honestly thought you were some gloomy and creepy nerd. I seemed to have been mistaken."

"You are basically right, except that I'm not a nerd. It's fine." Miyamura said as he zipped his jacket back up and turned to look elsewhere with the most solemn expression I've ever seen.

But looking at his side profile, the dude even had lashes that were so long and noticeable underneath his glasses. Now that I had a closer look, he's kind of good-looking. His hair still sucks though.

He turned to look at me, but I only blinked at his question. "So, are we having gym class in the stadium?" He asked again.

Maybe it is because Miyamura had allowed me into his secret, and into his space that I rudely pushed boundaries by inspecting what hid underneath his hair. I took a fist full of it and lifted his fringes like I was holding up some kind of curtains. Does Hori like this kind of look? His face was really attractive. I continued to mess with his feathery hair. There was a lot of it, yet had little weight to it. Dude probably doesn't use any hair products in it.

He gaped at me, looking horrified by my actions. But you know me, that's just who I am.

"Would you stop! Your messing up my hair!" He squeaked out. But I wasn't done noticing things. I was sure that my vision wasn't messing with me. In the process of discovery, I ended up with my forehead almost pressed against his own.

"No way! You have a crap ton of piercings too!?"

"Shhhhh! Shut up!" Miyamura said, bringing his index finger to motion me silence.

I finally took a step back and let my poor classmate breathe. I sometimes forget that I can be overbearing.

"Miyamura."

"What?"

I removed his glasses and grinned. I wanted to know if these were cosmetics or real. It was the second time he let out a squeak as I tried on his glasses. I felt myself laugh as he looked horrified. Man, what about him was even real? Did he have to hide behind so many lies?

I took off the glasses and passed them back to him, no longer interested in P.E class.

"Let's ditch the gym. I have a lot of questions I want to ask."

"Why?"

"Because we're super late anyways." Is not like I could tell him that I was interested in knowing what kind of person Hori likes.

Miyamura looked hesitant at first. But while he stared at his glasses, he pocketed them and nodded slightly my way.

Even as we were standing on the rooftop, there was no beginning and end to the things I wanted to ask. Miyamura sat on the small edge of the rooftop, against the wired gated enclosure keeping us inside a cage. He looked over at me as if waiting for me to talk.

"You're one strange dude, did you know that? Why get so many piercings and tattoos if you're just going to hide." Mayamura was really intriguing. This is the most we have talked in a day, but he kept getting more and more interesting by the minute. No wonder Hori likes him. "You shouldn't have gotten them if you're going to hide them."

"It was already done before I realized it. Don't you have those moments too when you act on impulse?"

"Yeah, but not those kinds of things!" I felt myself sigh, and I wasn't sure how long I had been holding onto the gates. "Look, I won't tell anyone if you want to keep it a secret. But what I wanna know is how you and Hori suddenly became besties overnight."

To be honest at the time, I wasn't wondering at all because I felt it first hand. Somehow, it all made so much sense as to why Hori would be attracted to Miyamura.

"It wasn't really that sudden. It started a while ago. Besides, it's more like she doesn't mind being around me. We are really just friends. It's nothing for you to worry about."

I glanced at Miyamura, but really, I couldn't take my eyes off him. His dark flowy hair and the way it moved with the wind. That bastard was really too handsome compared to me. I wonder if he had momentarily ditched the glasses to show it off. But right then I had made up my mind.

"Cool. Then you don't mind if I ask her out. Is that okay?"

"Why are you asking me? Come on man, you don't need my permission to ask her out."

"Well, I just thought I had to. It just felt right."

"That's up to Hori to decide. It's not my place."

It was hard to trust his answer when the guy wears more than one face.

The sound of the wind got louder. Then there it was again, that look in Miyamura's face. Solemn. Maybe even lonely. I pretended I didn't notice it. The guy was really a great one. It was obvious he didn't want me coming to take her away. If Hori and I start dating, he knows he'll be in the way.

"So every day after school, Hori has something to do." I began. "So, since you're her close friend, can you help me out and try to have her hear me out? I'm going to ask her today after school ends."

"Sure." Miramuya stood up and stretched, looking aloof and indifferent. I understood why he got up to leave. The bells had been ringing.

I saw Yuki's wrath coming from a mile away from skipping P.E. Normally I'm in charge of tidying up afterwards, but since I wasn't there, she had to pick up my slack. I didn't hear a word she was saying but I knew best to just apologize. Even though Yuki was yelling I tried to keep my ears strained to the conversation Hori and Miyamura were having right behind us.

Yuki finally went ahead and left me alone. I glanced over at Miyamura and gave him a nod. He took the hint and sped ahead, trying to break away from Hori so that I can have an opening. When the two walked past me, I called out her name.

"Hori."

"What?" She seemed annoyed that I had interrupted her conversation with Miyamura. That should've been the first red flags of the outcome.

"I have something to tell you. Do you have time after school?"

"After school?" She seemed to consider it, but when she realized Miyamura had left her behind, she called out to him. "Wait! Miyamura!"

He turned around and smiled. "Hori. I will pick Sota up from school. Just listen to what Ishikawa has to say. He sounds pretty serious."

Hori looked disappointed, but still kindly agreed to stay behind in the classroom.

After experiencing two consecutive red flags, I had a strong sense of what Hori's response would be. Despite this, I stupidly decided to confess to her, fully aware of the likely outcome and what it would be. Even though Hori responded with kindness and gentleness, her rejection still caused me immense pain. My stupid mouth kept moving, seeking further hoping for closure.

"...So do you have someone you like?" I asked her.

"Yes, that's why I can't accept your feelings and have to turn them down."

"Is it because of Miyamura?" I asked.

She regarded me with a mixture of sympathy and surprise. "Ah, so you know… I guess it's really that obvious huh? Is that why you were suddenly spending so much time with him?"

Her words felt sharp and cold, as if they had been carved into my heart.

"Well, I found out a lot of interesting things, and secrets. The guy has major self esteem issues. He thinks you're too good for him so he avoids being seen around you. Something about ruining your reputation."

"Eh? Miyamura really said that…?" Hori looked just as hurt as I felt. She wordlessly grabbed her bag and left the classroom in silence.

I regretted my words immediately, feeling like an asshole for saying all of that. But my broken heart couldn't let it go without one final fight and that's how I ended up saying all of that to her. It was a matter of time before I would see if Hori and Miyamura would become closer or drift further apart.