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Aoi Akane's schedule for weekdays was pretty much the same as that of an ordinary student. He'd rather not count the times he did his part as a member of the clock keepers (being slaved and tortured). Other than that, his primary cause of concern was the amount of boys hoping to catch his beloved Akane Aoi by the gate. It was amusing, really. Who were they to assume that they deserved to be less than 5 meters close to her?
“Wow, how obsessed.”
He's heard that line more times than he could remember, and not once did it bother him. Akane didn't give a single care in the world to how others saw him. All that mattered was that Ao-chan was smiling, far away from the reaches of the vile high school boys who wished to lay their hands on her.
Akane Aoi—she was Akane's first and only love. Her beauty made him, along with a lot of others, at a loss for words. Due to this, there were a lot of times that she nearly got into danger. Thankfully, Akane was there to save her—just as always.
Sometimes he couldn't help but think that maybe Aoi also thought that just as always, he was there for her. If so, he could die happy. If not, then okay—there was nothing for him to lose.
Most of the boys loved her. She was stunning, gentle, and kind—the perfect girlfriend. Girls, on the contrary, despised her. She was more or less enemy no. 1, someone who “seduced” boys to act at her bidding. The no. 1 example for this was no other than Akane himself. He'd rather be called a knight, although he got the title of “henchman” instead. There were exaggerated rumors during middle school that they made a blood pact: Akane had to follow Aoi's orders and protect her while Aoi—he wasn't really sure what part she played in the deal. He just assumed that others thought he was being manipulated by her.
In spite of Aoi's gentle smile, even as gossipers passed by, Akane could see the tiniest bit of doubt appear in her eyes. It made her want to wrap her in an embrace, reassure her that she was more than an angel than those gossipers would ever be. But he couldn't. Aoi made it clear, though not directly saying it, that she didn't want to be reminded of the words they said. Akane merely smiled back, doing his best to make sure Aoi didn't notice how enraged he was.
All because of that one moment—it was an accident, really—that Akane saw his beloved at her weakest.
It happened during the first year of middle school. Akane had been such a moron to forget his umbrella at home on the very day a storm was said to arrive. Naturally, the other students were prepared. Some were even fetched by their parents. As soon as class ended, the reddish brown-haired boy had tried to find someone who owned an umbrella. Aoi most likely had her mom waiting for her by the gate, so he wouldn't need to make sure she left school safely.
For now, he couldn't do anything. His power to stop time only worked inside the campus. That meant that the once he took a step outside the school gates, he would still get wet. Akane was the only person in the classroom, though there was a bag lying on the floor. At least he knew he wasn't the only one left in the whole campus. He'd rather not head to the clock keepers because of boredom.
The longer he stared at the window, the strong the storm seemed to become.
He could at least walk around the campus to waste time. With his glasses on, there was no need for him to worry about any of the apparitions bugging him. Akane could remember Mirai joking about how she and the rest of the school mysteries would throw a welcome party for him. The thought of it sent shivers down his spine. There was absolutely no way he could bear being the same room as the rest of the school mysteries.
While walking through the hallways, Akane was surprised to see a group of girls walking from the opposite direction. Seeing as he didn't recognize their faces, they were probably second years or third years.
“She really is as stuck-up as they made her out to be.”
“Did you see the way she looked at us? Her stare gives me the creeps. She smiles and acts kind but you can feel her eyes boring holes into your body. What a creep.”
“I wonder what others see in her? She's just some girl playing princess. What was her name again?”
Akane had planned to go forward, just as he always did. Then one of the girls said something that made him stop in his tracks.
“Akane, Akane Aoi?”
The sound of his indoor shoes made caused some of the girls to turn his way. Akane found himself clenching his fists. Stuck-up? A creep? Playing princess? All those descriptions didn't match his Ao-chan at all. Without thinking twice, he clicked his tongue—catching the attention of the girls.
“You guys messed with her, didn't you?”
The girl in the middle of the group snickered. “What's it to you? What, you have some crush on her as well?”
“Hm, aren't you Aoi Akane-san?” another one of them asked. “Wow, what a knight in shining armor.”
Her remark elicited a laugh from her other friends. One of them stepped forward, grinning from ear-to-ear. “Aren't you too old to be playing prince? Your eyesight must be bad since you like her.”
As much as he wanted to, Akane couldn't lash out at them. They were girls. Even though they weren't Aoi, he knew better than to treat them badly. Dealing with girls was more problematic than dealing with guys. Girls had a way to twist his actions with their words and fake tears—definitely a much more formidable opponent than guys.
“Where is she?”
“Hm? Who told you we did anything to her? Aren't you judging us too much?”
One glare from Akane was enough to make all of them flinch. “Do I need to repeat myself? Where is she?”
The girl in the middle avoided his eyes. She then chuckled. “At the top of the tower. Need I say more?”
Without another word, Akane dashed towards the rooftop. How could they leave Aoi in the rain? Now that he thought about it, the last time he saw Aoi cry was during kindergarten. The reason? He couldn't remember. All he knew was that she refused to tell him about it. When he opened the door to the rooftop, Akane's eyes widened. Aoi was laying on the cemented ground. If her arm wasn't outstretched in the air, he would've thought she was unconscious.
“Ao-chan!” His voice caused her to flinch.
“A-Akane-kun?” Her voice cracked. The sound of it was enough to make tears fill Akane's eyes. He had failed to protect her. If only he was there, then maybe she wouldn't be broken like this.
As gently as he could, Akane carried Aoi to the doorway back inside the school. Tears were endlessly streaming down her dull eyes. For the first time in his life, Akane found the love of his life clutching at him; it was as if he would disappear if she were to let him go. While Aoi's form shivered against his, Akane brushed her bangs away from her eyes. He remained silent. He didn't know what to say.
The Aoi in front of him wasn't concealing anything. There was no problem with that at all, she was still the Aoi he loved.
“Akane-kun...” she trailed off.
He shook his head. “There's no need for you to speak. Cry, if you want. I can always pretend I didn't see this.” He slowly wrapped his arms around her in an embrace. It seemed that was the last thing she needed to break down into tears. Akane drew circles behind her back while humming her favorite song. The sooner she calmed down, the sooner he calmed down. He may not have laid a finger on the girls earlier, but that didn't mean he was going to let them off the hook.
Sobs wracked the girl's body. She returned the embrace Akane gave her tighter than he expected it to be.
“I—they, they s-suddenly called m-me here.” She was struggling to control her breaths. “T-They called me n-names, saying h-how I d-decie-deceived everyone.”
Akane gritted his teeth. He shut his eyes, comforting himself with the sound of their heartbeats.
“T-To be ho-honest, I didn't r-really care a-about that. B-But one t-thing they s-said seemed to g-get i-in my n-nerves.” A few moments passed before Aoi continued speaking. “T-They s-said that y-you w-would get s-sick of me and l-leave me. To be h-honest, I've been g-getting tired of p-prete-pretending. S-Sometimes, I f-find myself think-thinking w-what if you s-suddenly left? W-What if Nene-chan d-didn't like me a-anymore?”
Her words made Akane choke on thin air. Aoi pulled away from him, gazing at him with wide eyes. His reaction didn't seem to help her since she continued on crying. Akane put his hands on the girl's shoulders. The two of them were staring straight into each other's eyes.
“Of all the things that you could've believed—” He let out a sigh. “—you chose that. Ao-chan, you don't need to be scared.” Akane flashed her a smile. “I'll always be there for you. The same is true with Yashiro-san. Your happiness is my priority, do you understand? At least listen to me instead of listening to them.”
Aoi was at a loss for words; she could only nod her head.
“Now, let's get you a spare of clothes before you catch a cold.”
That time, as soon as Monday arrived, the group of girls who gossiped about Aoi were at the principal's office. Aoi returned to her former self, as if her calm demeanor hadn't shattered in front of Akane's eyes. Akane went along with her, pretending as if nothing happened. Now, three years later, everything seemed to be happening again.
While making his way to the student council room, Akane accidentally overheard some of the second years talking about Aoi. They had whispered to each other how she was meeting some students near the practice garden. The boy couldn't care less if the student council president, Minamoto Teru, tortured him later for not showing up—for now, his first priority was to make sure Aoi was okay.
Akane bolted outside the building, eyes flickering here and there for a familiar head of indigo hair. His heart leapt at the sight of the said group of students cornering his beloved Aoi. He was more than ready to scare them off when he heard Aoi speaking.
“Hm? Akane-kun was the one who told me he'd never leave my side. I don't think you all are being trustworthy.”
One of the girls shook her head. “Can't you get it through that thick skull of yours that nobody likes you?”
Aoi merely smiled at them. She cupped her cheek, tilting her head to the side. “Akane-kun likes me, thank you very much.”
Sure. It was true. Everyone at school knew it, even the teachers. Still, Akane couldn't help but feel the heat rushing to his face. It was a whole different matter hearing Aoi herself say that. A sense of pride filled his chest and he decided to listen to them on the meantime.
“Are you sure he isn't just playing with you? Akane-san is still a boy, Aoi-san.”
“It seems that your perspective of boys has no exceptions. Mine has. I'll make it clear to you all that I'm not hanging out with Nene-chan because she's pitiful, and she isn't friends with me either because she's thirsty for fame. Akane-kun loves me for who I am, even if I am as ugly as you say.”
His hour long pep talk that rainy day sure worked wonders for Aoi. The group of students eventually left her, muttering under their breaths at how stupid the school princess was. Akane-kun memorized every face. He had come to the conclusion that the principal's office was going to expect some visitors soon.
“Akane-kun, I know you're there.”
Oh. He was caught.
“Ao-chan! Are you okay?” Much to his surprise, Aoi was grinning from ear-to-ear. He approached her, inspecting to see if she had any wounds. “Don't listen to them, please. They clearly don't know what they're talking about. Plus!” He folded his arms. “You're not ugly at all! You'll always be the most beautiful girl to me!”
Aoi giggled. “5 out of 100. What an improvement.” Her lips formed into a thin line. They remained silent for a few minutes before Aoi sighed. “Smiling like this gets tiring sometimes, but I guess it's not as tiring when you're here, Akane-kun.”
“Why's that?” Akane asked, ignoring the blush on his cheeks.
“You're the only person I can act like this with.” Her words caught him by surprise, yet it seemed like she had something else up her sleeve. Aoi pulled on Akane's arm. The gesture was enough for Akane to level his face with Aoi's.
Then she did it. She pressed a kiss against his cheek. Akane wanted to stop time right there and then, but surprise had taken over his system. Even as Aoi made her way back inside the building, Akane was frozen in his spot. His heart felt like it was going to burst, his stomach was filled with butterflies, and his face was as hot as the onigiri he made earlier.
Sure enough, Akane Aoi was the only one for him.