Chapter Text
The start of the school year. While it may be a blessing to some, most saw it as a curse.
You were at your locker, with your best friends, Yoimiya and Ayaka. "Have you heard the rumors, [y/n]?" Yoimiya asks you in a rather hushed tone. You shake your head. "No, I haven't! What's going on?" Yoimiya lets out an exhale, clasping her hands. "Okay. This is going to shock you, [y/n]. Are you reeeallyyyy sure you want to hear?" You frantically nod your head, one hand on your laptop bag's strap, the other resting idly to your side. "Alright, I'll say it: Kunikuzushi is transferring to our class." You freeze. Kunikuzushi?! As in that one student who seems like he'd kill you just with a look?! No way! You hoped this was just a rumor. And even if it was true, there was no way you would be sitting next to HIM! Nope, no way!
Ayaka whispers to the both of you. "He was in class 1-B last year. Even Kujou Sara was too scared to interact with him." A chill goes down your spine. Kujou Sara?! The Student Council President's Secretary?! Now THIS was nuts! You had to pray for the seating to work out in your favor! "W-we'll be sitting together, right, Ayaka?" She sighs. "Bad news. If I recall, the teachers said something about new seating arrangements. We can only hope for the best.... and pray for the worst." Oh gods. This is going to be a long first day.
Stepping into your class, the scent of the cool morning breeze wafting in through open windows calms you. Taking your seat, Yoimiya sits to your right, and Ayaka to your left. You hoped the rumors weren't true. With nothing to do, you silently pray to the Myriad Gods that these would be your permanent seats. Looking over to Yoimiya, you ask her where Kunikuzushi is sitting. Looking to her back, Yoimiya gestures to the seat closest to the window, and the one furthest away from the teacher. Ah, that made sense. As the school bell rings, your teacher enters the room. Like always, you all stand up at her arrival. "Good morning, class!" She greets with a chipper smile. You all follow suit, bowing towards her and letting out a collective "Good morning, Ms. Yamada." She looks over to a paper she's holding. "Alright, class. We'll be trying something different this year! We'll be having arranged seats." You internally groan to yourself. You can only hope that the seating order would be as it already is. Ms. Yamada looks over at her seating chart, before announcing the arranged seats.
"Ms. Kujou, to the right of Ms. Sangonomiya!
Mr. Arataki, to the left of Ms. Raiden.
Ms. Kamisato, would you please move to the desk left of Ms. Naganohara?"
After most of the seating was complete, Ms. Yamada announced the name of the person you wanted the least to sit with you. You felt a lump form in the back of your throat. Alright, this seat would decide your fate for the rest of the year.
"Mr. Raiden, there's a seat here!"
The teacher pointed to the seat to your right.
Looks like this is going to be a long first day. At least Yoimiya sat at your left. That at least made things better, or so you thought. Kunikuzushi reluctantly sits next to you, and only then do you have the time to observe his features. His bright indigo eyes were framed by bold red eyeliner, and his dark amethyst hair had lighter-colored streaks mixed in. You wondered how he could pull off a bowl cut, but he somehow did. He seemed to wear a permanent expression of scorn, and whenever he looked at someone, his eyes would always narrow. Why does he even hate everyone? You lean over to Yoimiya, asking her the million-Mora question. "How does he even pull off a bowl cut? That's impossible!" Yoimiya shrugs. "I have no idea either." Adjusting the lapels of your blazer, you look at the teacher, who was writing something on the board. Facing Yoimiya again, you whisper a question in her ear. "Hey, why is Kunikuzushi kinda.... hot?"
Yoimiya flashes you a smug smirk. "Ooh, [y/n] has a crush on Kunikuzushi!" A light pink dusts your face as you tell Yoimiya to stop. "Don't worry, I was just kidding!" You take out your notebook, copying the notes your teacher was writing. It is then that you notice the purple sticky note on your desk.
Meet me once class is finished. You will be excused accordingly.
-Signed, Raiko Raiden
Looking over to the desk behind you, you see the source of the sticky note, none other than the Student Council President herself, Raiko Raiden. You flash her a small smile and she reciprocates it in turn, saying not a word.
The bell rings, and you stand outside of class. Raiko approaches you, her long hair flowing behind her. "Apologies if my brother dislikes you. He is rather introverted, after all. Worry not; you'll get used to him. If you have any further questions, I'm open for inquiry. I am usually not active on Discord due to my duties as Student Council President, but my tag is raiden⚡#0628."
You move onto your next period, desperately waiting for lunch. After what seemed to be an eternity of classes, the lunch bell finally rang. Taking your bento with you, you join your friends. "Wanna have lunch at the rooftop? It's more quiet and calming there!" Yoimiya offers. Accepting, the three of you climb up the stairs to the rooftop. From here, you can practically see the whole city! Spotting a nice place to sit down near the vending machines, you invite Yoimiya and Ayaka to your newfound lunch spot. "The vending machines are all ours! Heehee..."
That's when you spot Kunikuzushi himself, sitting with Raiko.
Paying no mind to him at first, you take out your coin pouch, filled with an adequate amount of Mora. "Who wants snacks?" Yoimiya instantly clings to you. "Oh gods, I forgot my coin pouch! Just the taiyaki-shaped monaka and a carton of matcha-flavored Dango Milk is fine by me." You let out a laugh. "Just that?" Ayaka puts a hand to her mouth and giggles, causing your blonde-haired friend to pout. "Hey!" You flash her a smug smile. "Payback for assuming I have a crush on Kunikuzushi." Inserting 5 mora into the slot, you press the buttons for Yoimiya's items of choice. After falling out from their slots and falling into the flap, Yoimiya collects the items. "Hey, [y/n], do I owe you anything?" Seemingly having thrown your earlier smugness off of the rooftop, you give Yoimiya a sunny smile. "No, you don't owe me anything. I don't charge friends." Yoimiya smiles, taking a bite out of the crisp, fish-shaped monaka with a sweet chocolate filling. "Hey, [y/n], they just released a new flavor of Dango Milk." Ayaka says. This immediately prompts Yoimiya to speed over to where the two of you are viewing the new flavor information on Ayaka's phone. "Momiji manju! Oh, that's new. I think I remember a poll being hosted for the new flavor."
Once you, Ayaka, and Yoimiya sit back down at your preferred spot, Yoimiya returns to eating her monaka and sipping on her Dango Milk. "Let me get this straight: you think that Raiden Kunikuzushi, that stuck-up rich bastard, Vice President of Inazuma High's Student Council, known for having a notoriously short temper, is kinda hot?!" A brilliant vermillion paints your face as you abashedly cover it with your hands. "H-hey! I was joking!" Yoimiya smirks at you. "Mmmhmmm, were you now? You were dead-serious when you asked me that question. If so, I'd gladly be your wingwoman! Heehee." Ayaka, much to your flustered dismay, follows her up. "Isn't he also the heir to Narukami Enterprises? My, I can't believe you've got a slight crush on him!" She says, her hand to her mouth as she finishes up her bento.
Ah, the illustrious Narukami Enterprises. A company that truly defined the meaning of the phrase "Jack of all trades, master of none". While its roots were in finance, it had many branches; including, surprisingly, food and drinks. They were the manufacturers of the very Dango Milk that Yoimiya was sipping on. You tense up. "And that.. smug, condescending fuck who can pull off a bowl cut is the heir.... to all that?!" Ayaka nods at you. "Yes, he is. And after browsing on Wikipedia, I've found out that the Raiden Family, on top of Narukami Enterprises, is an old-money family to begin with. In summary, you've got your eyes set on an ultra-rich, super-smug, vice-president heir of a crush!" Yoimiya says, following her friend up, her hand on her mouth in her signature thinking pose. You respond with a rather snarky reply. "Let me guess; he plays tennis at the country club on weekends, doesn't he?" Ayaka lets out a hearty chuckle, and Yoimiya bursts into an energetic guffaw. "THAT'S A GOOD ONE! [Y/N], YOU'RE A FUCKING GENIUS! SERIOUSLY, I NEED TO FIND OUT WHERE YOU GOT YOUR SENSE OF HUMOR!" You laugh alongside your friends, occasionally sending glances Kunikuzushi's way. The only time he reciprocates your gaze, he narrows his bright indigo eyes at you, as if to say "The fuck do you even want from me?"
After a few more classes, you, Ayaka, and Yoimiya parted ways. With a solemn, yet emotion-packed goodbye, you headed for the bike racks. As usual, no one was there, so you took your bike and started peddling towards your house. On the way, you notice what seems to be an elegant traditionally-styled mansion, with white walls surrounding it, their roofs painted elegant shades of deep violet. Mitsudomoe are painted on the outer walls, presumably because they are meant to be the kamon of the family who owns this mansion. A lone mon gate stands at the front, framing a small portion of what's behind the walls: An ornate garden, filled with momiji and sakura trees, their leaves yellowing a bit too early, and the mansion itself. Heading for home, you fail to notice the slick black limousine parking itself right in front of said mansion, dropping off a certain short-tempered, electric indigo-eyed seatmate of yours, and his younger sister, whom you had spoken to earlier in the day.