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Nagi Seishiro isn’t your typical high schooler. He has no big, lofty goals, no interest in romance, and no desire to make friends. So, when he finds an invite on his desk for a big Halloween bash hosted by the richest kid in school, he has no interest in attending. While the rest of his classmates are buzzing with excitement over the party, Nagi finds the whole ordeal a pain. Dancing? Too much of a hassle and makes him sweaty. Fancy food? Digesting is a bother. Girls in costumes? He never had any interest in women anyway. He’d rather spend the evening at home napping and gaming.
Or so he thought. As he games on the roof during lunch, he hears the host of said party come onto the roof, hyping up a group of eager students for his party.
“The party is going to be amazing, guys! We’re having an idol group do a live performance, a 30-foot chocolate fountain, rock climbing, a portrait artist, a photo booth, an early release of the new Just Dance, Zombie Slayerz, and Mario Party games, a…” The rich kid continues speaking, but Nagi tunes it out, thinking about one detail that caught his attention.
The new Zombie Slayerz game? As in Zombie Slayerz 2? How did Rich-kun manage to get an early copy? The game isn’t set to release until next year. Nagi already preordered it, as he enjoyed the last one, but he would like to play it sooner rather than later. Suddenly, the idea of attending the party doesn’t sound too bad. I’ll just go, check out the game, and leave, Nagi decides.
“Oh, and remember!” Rich-kun warns. “Everyone must wear a costume to enter! It’s a Halloween party, after all!”
What a pain, Nagi thinks. Guess I have to figure out a costume first.
. . .
When Nagi finally arrives at the party gates, the event is already in full swing, with flashing lights and booming music emanating from the mansion. He’s glad he remembered his student ID since the guard at the entrance looks skeptical, doubting if he’s really a Hakuho student due to his drab costume consisting of simple white bunny ears paired with an all-white hoodie and sweatpants. Once he’s finally allowed to step inside, a few partygoers give him bewildered looks. Whether these looks are from his lack of enthusiasm or boring costume, that’s anyone’s guess, but regardless, they soon return their attention to the lively party around them. The party is huge, with signs directing guests to different sections. Passing by the photo booth, dance floor, stage, and lavish buffet, Nagi heads straight for the gaming room.
When he enters, he sees a crowd of students playing the new Just Dance. All the furniture is pushed to the wall to allow the maximum amount of space for dancing.
Couldn’t they have gone to the dance floor if they wanted to dance? Nagi thinks, annoyed. While he does like to game, he was never too much into Just Dance. If it involves sweating, he has no interest. He wonders when they’ll be done so he can play his game.
“Are they finishing soon?” He asks an observer at the side of the room. “I wanna play Zombie Slayerz 2.”
“Nah, dude. I think that starts later. It’s on the itinerary.” The boy hands Nagi a printed itinerary for the night.
Gaming Room
7 pm-9 pm- Just Dance 20XX
9 pm-10 pm- Zombie Slayerz 2
10 pm- 12 pm- Mario Party Galaxy Stars
It’s 7:30 now, so Nagi has a considerable amount of time to kill. He wishes the itinerary had been given with the invitation so he could’ve shown up later. Ah, well, it's a pain to think about it now. Guess I have to occupy myself until then.
He goes to the buffet, heading straight to the dessert section, and grabs a croissant and a mochi donut. He knows he says digesting is a pain, but he still needs to eat, especially if he will be here longer than he thought. He takes a seat and eats as he games on his phone. To his annoyance, the people around him are talking too loudly, and the resonating music from the idol performance next door is too much to bear. He quickly finishes his plate and tries to find a quieter spot. However, this task proves difficult as all rooms seem to be filled with hyped-up teenagers.
Just as he’s about to give up, he sees two hand-in-hand teens storm out of a room labeled fortune telling, angrily muttering about how 'that fake fortune teller knows nothing.' Nagi peeks inside, and it downright looks cozy. It’s full of big, soft bean bags and plush sofas in a dimly lit room. It seems like a perfect place to lie low until Nagi’s game starts. Plus, there’s only one other person in the room, who Nagi assumes is the previously mentioned fortune teller from his colorful garb and crystal ball. Nagi goes in and sits on a bean bag, taking out his phone to play his games. Before he can play, though, the fortune in the room approaches him.
“Hello, have you come for your fortune?”
“Nah, I’m good,” Nagi replies. “I’m just here to chill.” The man makes a sour face in response to this.
“Well, all those who enter here must get their fortune read or leave,” The fortune teller snips.
“Ugh, fine, what's my fortune?” Nagi sighs.
“That’s more like it,” the fortune teller smiles. He moves his hand mystically around his crystal ball before confidently saying, “You will fall in love at first kiss tonight.”
“Sorry, fortune-sensei, that’s not happening.” Nagi explains, “I’m just here to try a new video game and leave.”
“Choose not to believe me if you want, but my fortunes always come true,” the fortune teller says proudly. “I told that couple that just stormed out that they will break up soon. It made them quite angry. Sometimes people don’t want to hear the truth.”
“Ah, I think fortune tellers are supposed to say more vague things, like ‘you have success in your future’ or something,” Nagi suggests. “If you say specific things like that and they don't come true, people will know you’re a quack.”
“You don’t have to worry about something like that when you’re the real deal,” the man grins.
“If you say so.” Nagi gives up, not wanting to argue with this eccentric man. Fall in love with someone at first kiss? Not only would something like that not happen to him, but the idea that anyone can fall in love with a stranger for a mere kiss is a myth. A fairytale. Something that's only in the movies. If that fortune teller doesn’t want to be unemployed, he'd better change his material. Nagi thinks. Not that it's my problem, though. Nagi takes out his phone and entertains himself until 8:30.
I’ll try to get there a little early just in case other people want to play too, he thinks. Nagi migrates back to the gaming room, where the inhabitants are not gaming at all. All the furniture is still pushed to the room's corners, and his classmates are sitting in a big circle with a bottle in the center. The one person he recognizes in the circle is the purple-haired party host, who is very clearly the center of attention. He’s dressed in a sleek, deep purple suit paired with a shimmering vest that perfectly complements his vibrant purple hair, from which similarly colored cat ears peek out. The school prince's natural feline features and luxurious suit turn what should be a simple cat costume into a Halloween showstopper only he can pull off.
As Nagi enters the room, people quickly try to kick him out.
“I don’t think there's any more room in the circle for you to join,” One boy says, gesturing at Nagi to leave.
“Ah! He can have my seat, then!” The rich heir cheers. He quickly springs up from the ground, heading towards the door as if desperate to leave, causing a commotion.
“No, we can make space!” One girl yells.
“Yeah, we can fit him!” Another one joins.
“Stay, Reo-sama!” Another begs.
“Actually, I'm here for–” Nagi tries to say.
“Sit here!” One girl yells, pointing next to her. Both Nagi and Reo sit down in the circle with a sigh. Well, at least once this game is over, Nagi will hopefully be first in line to play the game he wants.
They’re playing an alternate version of spin the bottle, where you either kiss each other or, if one person refuses to kiss the other, the refuser must do a dare. The bottle lands on Nagi several times, with every guy or girl choosing to do a dare instead of kissing him. Fine by Nagi. His feelings aren't hurt. The only reason Nagi doesn't back out is that he would much rather kiss someone than do a dare. It’s less of a hassle. On the flip side, Reo keeps on having the bottle land on him, and each time, whether male or female, beautiful or ugly, Reo is the one who backs out and does a dare. Looks like he doesn't want to kiss anyone, Nagi thinks.
The game goes on for a long time, stretching past 9 pm. Nagi mutters about whether they can play Zombie Slayerz 2, but the girls next to him hiss back that the game isn’t stopping until someone kisses Reo-sama.
Geez, if that’s the case, I'll be here all night. What a hassle. 9 pm turns to 9:30 pm, which turns to 9:55 pm. Nagi is anxiously toe-tapping to play his game. His turn is up, and he spins the bottle, which lands on Reo.
Well, I know he’s not kissing anyone. Nagi sits back down in his part of the circle and takes out his phone.
“Erm, Nagi, was it?” Nagi hears. He looks up from his phone, seeing Reo in the middle of the circle, where people go to kiss. “Are you coming to kiss me, or are you doing a dare?”
Huh? Nagi’s eyes widen. Does this guy want to kiss him? He looks around the circle to see that the boys and girls have similarly shocked expressions.
“I’m coming,” Nagi mutters. He goes to the center of the circle, and unlike the enthusiastic chanting when other people had kissed, the room stays dead silent, watching Nagi and Reo. Nagi moves first, gently pressing his lips against Reo’s. The moment their lips touch, Nagi feels like an electric current has been sent through his body, causing his heart rate to increase and his stomach to flutter. Reo's lips are welcoming, soft, and warm. Being this close to Reo lets Nagi smell the expensive vanilla perfume Reo is wearing. It feels nice.
As they part, Nagi feels a blush creep on his face, which is mirrored on Reo’s face. At least I’m not the only one flustered. They keep around six inches from each other’s faces and eye each other curiously for a few seconds. Nagi looks at Reo’s lips and licks his own. He tastes Reo’s strawberry chapstick, tasting sweet like their kiss. He feels slightly tempted to pull Reo in for another kiss, but sees the shocked faces around them from the corner of his eye, which Reo seems to notice, too.
“U-um…” Reo stammers for a second, looking around the room. “Who wants to play the new Mario Party?” Reo jumps up excitedly, breaking the silence in the room. The students cheer, grateful that the bizarre display is over. They head over to the gaming console, moving the furniture back and discussing who will play first. Meanwhile, Nagi still sits on the floor, processing what just happened.
“Oh, I think I figured it out!” One guy announces as he powers on the gaming system. “Reo kissed that guy because no one else in the room was willing to kiss him!”
“Aw! He must have felt bad for him!” A girl wistfully sighs, placing her hand over her heart.
“He’s so compassionate for the less fortunate!” Another squeals.
“That’s our prince!” Another girl cheers. With the Hakuho students' attention successfully diverted away from the two, Reo reaches out his hand.
“Are you okay, Nagi?” Reo asks.
“Yeah,” Nagi grasps Reo’s hand, letting himself be helped up. Once he’s standing, neither of them tries to let go of the other’s hand.
“You're a big guy, huh?” Reo smiles, looking up at him. Something about the sight of Reo smiling up at him makes Nagi feel strange.
“You’re pretty big, too,” he replies. Nagi is taller, but Reo is only a few centimeters shorter than him. He’s probably not used to looking up at people, Nagi thinks. For a big guy, though, he’s surprisingly cute. Nagi might be starting to understand Reo's appeal.
“Wanna go for a walk?” Reo asks, giving Nagi’s hand a squeeze.
It’s not like there’s anything else he wants to do here. The time slot for the game he wanted to play has ended. Nagi nods and lets Reo lead the way. Reo still holds Nagi’s hand as they weave through people, making sure not to lose him. Many people try to stop Reo to talk to him, but he expertly offers a curt greeting and moves on.
After an exhausting shuffle through the mansion, the duo reaches a plain-looking door. Reo takes a key from his pocket and opens it, revealing a small, secluded garden within the mansion. It’s dimly lit with lush greenery, flowers, and fountains galore. No one else seems to have access to this place, which is a shame since Nagi thinks this is the most beautiful scenery he’s seen tonight.
“I set this place aside so I’d have somewhere to be alone. Believe it or not, people even try to chat to me while I go to the bathroom,” Reo grouses. “I need space sometimes.”
“That sounds like a pain.” While he may be rich, Reo’s life may not be as easy as Nagi initially thought.
“Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't. I try to make the best of any situation,” Reo says with a smile.
“Why do you even throw this party at all? Don’t you get enough of this at school?” Nagi asks. “If I were you, I'd try to spend as little time with them as possible.”
“Well, this may look like just a party, but Hakuho is one of the top prep schools in the country. Many people here will inherit some of the biggest businesses in Japan. Hosting things like this is a form of networking. In twenty years' time, our classmates will remember the good time they had here, and I’ll get my returns in business deals,” Reo explains.
“That sounds like a lot of work,” Nagi sighs. Reo sits down on a stone bench in front of a rose bush, patting the seat next to him for Nagi to join.
"Yeah, it can be. Some of them can be real pieces of work to put up with. Speaking of, don’t listen to what they said earlier! I didn’t kiss you out of pity! I wouldn’t do that. I did it because the other people in the room are obsessed with me. I didn’t want to encourage any of their delusions by kissing any of them, but they dragged me into the game, and I had to play.”
Ah, so that’s why Reo dragged me here, to explain himself. Nagi’s teenage boy mind jumped to the idea that he was dragged here to kiss more.
“It’s fine. I wouldn’t have minded if you did it out of pity anyway.” Nagi shrugs. “ I never really cared about romance. I never even kissed anyone before that…”
“That’s not the right attitude to have about your first kiss!” Reo scolds him. “It should’ve been private and romantic, not in a spin the bottle circle!”
“Eh, it's not that big of a deal,” Nagi assures him. This guy really gets fired up, he thinks.
“It is a big deal!” Reo fumes. “ That was my first kiss, too!”
“It was?” Nagi says, surprised. Reo seems too popular to never have kissed someone before.
“Yeah, and you’re treating it like it was nothing! I know I said I didn’t want to kiss someone obsessed with me, but it would've been nice for the person I kissed to at least liked it!”
“I did like it, though,” Nagi admits.
“Really?” Reo questions. “You don’t have to say that to make me feel better, Nagi.”
“I’m not just saying it to make you feel better. Yeah, I never really cared about romance before, but your lips were soft, and you smelled good, and the kiss made my insides feel weird. That means I liked it, right?”
“W-well, yes, that means you liked it,” Reo stammers. He’s used to getting compliments, but something about Nagi’s honesty makes him flustered. “If I’m being honest, I liked it too. I mean, I don’t have anyone I like at school or anything, so I didn’t mind it being with you. But I would’ve liked my first kiss to at least happen in some romantic place! Like here! This is like a fairytale first kiss spot.”
“Then…” Nagi hesitates before suggesting, “Why don't we redo our first kiss here?”
“What?” Reo raised an eyebrow, amused. “First kisses aren’t something that can be redone.”
“Why not? Here’s more romantic, right?” Nagi argues. “There's a five-second rule for food. Why can’t there be a fifteen-minute rule for kissing?”
“You’re a strange guy, Nagi,” Reo laughs. I guess that’s better than him being grossed out, Nagi thinks. He knew that was a long shot. Nagi is about to stand up to leave when Reo grabs onto his sleeve.
“Hey, don’t leave me waiting again,” Reo flirts. “Let’s do it.”
“You want to kiss me?” Nagi asks, puzzled. “But… you just called me strange.”
“You are strange, and I want to kiss you!” Reo grins. “I like interesting people.”
“Oh,” Nagi replies. Reo might be a little strange, too, Nagi realizes. But that doesn’t stop him from wanting to kiss him either. “Then let’s do it.”
Reo tucks his hair behind his ear, closes his eyes, and leans towards Nagi. Nagi leans in, too, only closing his eyes the moment his lips touch Reo’s. After pressing their lips together for five seconds, Nagi supposes he should pull away. Really, he likes how it feels, but he doesn’t want to make it awkward by sitting there for too long. As he parts his lips from Reo’s, he feels hands on his neck pulling him in and Reo’s lips against his again. His hands move to Reo’s waist, holding on as they exchange short and sweet kisses. Though the kisses are chaste, to Nagi and Reo, who have never kissed before tonight, each touch is exhilarating.
Reo pulls back first, whispering, “We should probably stop before someone catches us.”
“Okay,” Nagi pouts. He’d like to keep going, but he’d rather not be caught kissing the school prince in a romantic garden.
“When you pout, you look more like a sad puppy than a bunny,” Reo laughs. “Hey, I just realized we're matching! We both dressed as animals!”
“Your outfit looks really fancy, though,” Nagi says. He wouldn’t really say they’re “matching,” considering how much better Reo looks like him.
“You like it? I’m an aristo-cat. Get it?” Reo explains excitedly. “Do you want to try on something fancy, too? I have spare costumes you can try on! You can be my bunny butler–my bun-ler.”
“No, it's probably really stuffy and uncomfortable,” Nagi says. A stuffy suit definitely would feel too awkward to wear for Nagi, who typically wears oversized clothing.
“Cheap suits are uncomfortable, but luxury suits are made of soft fabrics!” Reo explains. “My outfit is probably just as comfy as yours!”
“Eh, still, it seems like a hassle to put on…” Nagi trails off. If Reo offered to help dress Nagi, he’d have no issue with the fancy outfit. Nagi would suggest that, but asking a guy he just met to look at him half-naked might be putting it on a bit heavy.
“I like you,” Reo beams. “Most people never turn down anything I suggest. I would’ve liked to dress you up, but it’s fine. You look cute with your bunny ears, messy hair, and casual clothes combo anyway.”
“You look cute too,” Nagi says simply. He’s not the flirty type, so he leaves it at that. However, his simple words are enough to make Reo blush.
“A-are you liking the party?” Reo asks, changing the subject. “No offense, but you don't exactly seem like the party type.”
“Well, it was kinda a pain before. It was super loud and crowded, but it isn't too bad now.” Nagi says. “Earlier, I met a weirdo fortune teller. He told me that…” Nagi stops, remembering his fortune.
“He told you what?” Reo asks, intrigued. “I was unsure about hiring him, but I thought a fortune teller would be good for the Halloween theme.”
“He told me that I was going to fall in love with someone at first kiss tonight…” Nagi mutters.
“Well? Was he right? Are you in love with me now?” Reo teases. Nagi doesn’t respond, but he does blush. Reo adds, “I’m just kidding, Nagi. So if you aren’t into parties, why’d you come?”
“The game Zombie Slayerz 2. I wanted to play it. I overheard you talk about it in school.”
“Oh! And you didn’t even get to play it!” Reo exclaims. “I’m such a bad host!”
“It’s okay.”
“No, it's not okay!” Reo insists. “Are you free tomorrow, Nagi?”
“Uh, yeah?” Nagi never has any plans.
“Then come over to my place tomorrow. We’ll play together!” Reo gleams.
“Eh, you don't have to…”
“No arguments!” Reo rebuts. “It’s a date!”
A date? Just as Nagi is about to ask for clarification about what Reo means by ‘a date,’ he hears the noise of people entering the garden.
“Reo?” One calls out.
“I could’ve sworn I saw him come this way…” Another says curiously.
“It’s pretty in here!” A third swoons.
“Busted, huh?” Reo sighs. “ I’ll see you tomorrow, Nagi.” Reo presses a kiss on Nagi’s cheek and heads to the garden entrance. Greeting the intruders, Reo explains he was just getting fresh air and quickly ushers them back out to the party with him. Nagi sits alone in the garden, processing everything that just happened. He ghosts his hands over his lips and cheek, mind full of the memories of Reo’s kisses. I’ll fall in love at first kiss, huh? This is one myth that Nagi wouldn’t mind making real.