Chapter Text
A new student has transferred to PK Academy, Aoki Hikari. Her name is written on the chalkboard as she stands next to Hairo Kineshi, the class representative.
“Everyone, please welcome the new transfer student, Aoki Hikari,” Hario announces, his hands gesturing to her, "A fresh face to see after a refreshing summer break!"
As the student's gazes move to Aoki, she nervously smiles and waves. The pressure of people’s eyes on her feels unnerving. Her sharp grey eyes quickly look at the other students, trying to get a sense of who she’ll be spending her time learning with. As she looks around, her eyes linger on a pink-haired boy, who seems to be staring right back at her with a subtle hint of surprise in his eyes. Aoki quickly averts her gaze to the other students when they make eye contact.
She doesn’t just look like muscle and a pair of eyeballs to Saiki; she looks human, unlike everyone else. Her long black hair, her light skin, her soft lips, her eyelashes. Who is this girl, and why does she look so normal?
Saiki quietly sighs as he tries to focus back on the moment. He’ll have to figure this girl out later. He crosses his arms and leans on his desk as the girl starts to talk.
“Hello everyone, my name is Aoki Hikari. I hope we can become good friends!” She says calmly, her voice quiet and balanced. Once she finishes speaking, she does a small bow and instinctively looks over at the teacher.
The teacher gives Aoki a small applause, “Nice introduction, Aoki. You can go sit at the empty desk next to Teruhashi Kokomi.” He instructs Aoki as he points at Teruhashi Kokomi, a beautiful, blue-haired girl who sits at the back of the classroom.
Aoki nods in understanding and walks over to the empty desk, her footsteps light and quick. As she sits down, she glances at Teruhashi. Her gaze is almost analytic as if she was trying to get a read on who Teruhashi is as a person, but her cold gaze quickly turns into a gentle gaze like she realizes she’s being watched by others.
Teruhashi’s blue eyes meet Aoki’s grey eyes with a gentle gaze. Yet she feels mildly intimidated by Aoki’s analyzing gaze, but keeps on her ‘perfect girl’ face.
A small smile appears on Aoki’s soft lips, “Nice to meet you, Teruhashi.” Aoki whispers in an attempt not to be disruptive but also to be kind to one of her classmates.
Teruhashi nods and smiles, “Nice meeting you as well, Aoki.” She says sweetly, her voice quiet in an attempt not to be disruptive despite the fact that she wouldn’t get in trouble for it since she’s the prettiest girl in school and the teachers favor her.
As the two focus back on the lesson, occasionally sharing comments, several minutes go by, and Aoki can’t help but get the feeling she’s being stared at. Her sharp grey eyes look around for the person who’s staring at her. Aoki quickly finds them; it’s that pink-haired boy again. Why does he keep staring at her directly when there are plenty of other people to look at?
Aoki stares back at him but tries to keep her attention on what the teacher is saying, not wanting to miss anything important. Her sharp grey eyes locked onto the pink-haired boy's red, maybe purple eyes? She notices his green glasses that make his eye color hard to tell, and his odd alien antennas that somewhat look like hair clips at first glance.
Saiki’s mind spirals with concern and curiosity about this new girl. Why can he see her as a normal human, like how people look in photos? As pretty as she is, it’s still odd that Saiki can see her, and it weirds him out, but he’s curious about her. Why is her mind so quiet but loud? What is her personality like? So, by accident, he’s ended up staring at Aoki with a blank gaze.
After a few minutes of staring, Aoki quietly sighs and looks away from Saiki. The palm of her left hand holds her head up as she pays attention to the teacher. A random Pierce the Veil song starts to play in her head, ‘Even when I’m not with you, I’m still with you. Even when I can’t see you, I still feel you. Even when I can’t touch you, I pretend to. Even when I’m not with you, I’m still with you’. A section of the lyrics is in a constant loop in Aoki’s mind, the guitar that plays is gentle and the singer's voice is soothing.
Her mind wanders, but she keeps trying to focus and not think about random situations and that song. The idea of her sitting on a bench next to someone and looking at the stars, someone kissing the scars on her legs, singing with a group of friends on a road trip, walking with someone under the same umbrella, dancing with friends in the pouring rain. All of these ideas entertain her creative side, and her yearn for stability.
“I need to focus on the teacher, and that stuff would never happen. Why can’t I fucking focus right now? Did I not take my meds this morning?” Aoki thinks to herself, readjusting her head in her hand. Anger boils up in her mind as her thoughts destroy her focus. The idea of her forgetting to take her mind fills her with dread and fear of how her mother will react if she notices when she gets home.
Suddenly, Teruhashi taps her on the shoulder. A quiet squeak escapes from Aoki as she flinches and looks over at Teruhashi. Her mind snapped out of the anger she had before.
Teruhashi covers her mouth and giggles at Aoki's squeak, “Do you want to eat lunch with me and one of my friends? We normally sit over here while we eat lunch.” She asks with curiosity.
Aoki nods, “I’d love to, it’s been a bit since I’ve had people to eat lunch with.” Aoki says with a chuckle.
——————-
Aoki sits at her and Teruhashi’s desk with Yumehara Chyio, Teruhashi’s closest friend. All three of them have their lunches out on the two desks. Their bento boxes are nicely packed and offer a diverse range of food, from fried rice and hot dogs cut into shapes to sushi and vegetables.
Yumehara glances at Aoki’s lunch, “Did your mom cut your hot dogs into octopuses? That’s super cute!” She exclaims with genuine awe. A smile appears on Yumehara’s face.
Aoki shakes her head and chuckles, “No, I make my own lunches. I just cut them up for fun, plus they look cute.” She says calmly, her voice quiet and balanced. Aoki grabs one of the hotdog octopuses with her chopsticks and holds it up, wanting to quickly pass the topic that she makes her lunches.
“Do you want one, Yumehara?” Aoki asks curiously, slightly tilting her head.
As Aoki holds up one of her hotdog octopuses, Yumehara’s eyes almost sparkle in excitement. “Oh my god, yeah! Gimme that thing!” She says with a laugh. She grabs the hotdog octopus with her chopsticks and quickly bites into the hotdog octopus, biting its ‘head’ off.
Teruhashi and Aoki both chuckle at the sight of Yumehara biting its ‘head’ off. “Chiyo, you cruel girl! You ate its head!” Teruhashi jokes, following it up with a laugh. Her laugh is sweet and quiet; if a perfect laugh had a definition, it would be Teruhashi’s laugh.
As Yumehara finishes eating the hotdog octopus, she looks at Teruhashi. “Don’t make me feel bad! I am not a cruel girl!” Yumehara exclaims, making a jokingly offended ‘hmph’ noise afterward.
The three of them start to laugh. Teruhashi’s laugh is quiet yet genuine, while Yumehara’s laugh can be heard from the other side of the room. Aoki’s laugh was just in the middle, finding their banter amusing but not trying to disrupt the other students in the classroom who were eating their lunch.
After a few seconds of laughing, Teruhashi turns to Aoki, a hint of curiosity in her eyes. “I know it’s only your first day here, but like, do you think any of the guys in the class are hot?” She questions, a grin quickly appearing on her face.
Aoki pauses for a moment before shaking her head, “I mean, I find some of the guys interesting, as in I want to get to know them, but no one was noticeably attractive though.” Aoki says thoughtfully, “Oh, and some guy was staring at me nearly the entire class time, and we made eye contact when I gave my introduction. I don’t know what his name is, but he looked pretty cool.”
Aoki’s sharp grey eyes glance at the other two before looking down at her lunch, not noticing their surprised expressions. She uses her right hand to push some of her black hair behind her ear. As she moves her chopsticks, which are holding onto some fried rice, into her mouth.
Aoki finally looks up at the other two and sees their surprised expression. “What? Did I say something wrong?” She quietly questions after chewing. Anxiety ramps up in Aoki’s mind for a moment.
“You made eye contact with the same guy twice!?” The two exclaim in surprise, their eyes wide and staring directly at Aoki.
Aoki nods, “Yeah? I've made eye contact with guys like that multiple times in the past, so I don't understand all the fuss.” She explains calmly, brushing it off without a second thought.
Silence fills the air for a moment as the two continue staring at Aoki. Aoki’s eyes go back and forth between the two, trying to understand what they’re getting at. After a few seconds of thinking, she finally realizes.
“You guys want me to describe him or something?” She asked quietly, her eyebrows furrowing.
When the two nod with intrigue, Aoki quietly sighs. She puts her chopsticks down and crosses her arms under her chest. “Well, for starters, he had pink hair, what i think was purple eyes, and a bored expression on his face at first but I couldn’t tell if he was either surprised or curious about something,” Aoki explains, recalling the two times she’s looked at the guy.
Teruhashi and Yumehara’s eyes light up, “That’s Saiki!” Teruhashi says, “I like him though, so keep your distance from him, Aoki.”
The territorial tone in Teruhashi throws Yumehara and Aoki off, but they ignore it.
“I didn’t plan on getting close, so don’t worry about me.” Aoki says as she shrugs, “Though, I do wanna ask, what do you like about him?”
A light blush appears on Teruhashi’s face as she avoids eye contact with Aoki. “It’s-.. It’s hard to explain, but I like him.” Teruhashi admits, hiding her face from the two.
Aoki and Yumehara pause for a moment and glance at each other. It’s hard to explain, but she likes him. What sense does that make? Aoki puts her chopsticks down and crosses her arms under her chest. Her sharp, grey eyes look at Teruhashi with a neutral gaze.
“So, you like the idea of him?” Aoki questions, tilting her head.
“I mean, I like how he looks, but I don’t really know what his personality is like, besides the fact that he never seems interested,” Teruhashi explains with a light blush still on her face.
A quiet sigh escapes from Aoki’s mouth, “So, you like the fantasy of what his personality could be?” She asks.
Teruhashi looks at Aoki, but her gaze is filled with confusion. “I guess? He’s like everything the guys who ask me out aren’t, and he isn’t at my fingertips immediately, so the challenge is nice.” Teruhashi admits. Her voice and thoughts were fueled by confusion.
“So, Aoki, what caused you to transfer here?” Yumehara asks with a sigh, wanting to move on from the awkward conversation.
Aoki pauses for a moment before speaking, “Well, both of my parents are in the military, so we tend to move around every 2-3 years, and PK Academy just happened to be the closest, and probably nicest school, to my house. Not really a crazy story.” She explains calmly, her voice quiet and balanced. She sits still in her chair with her arms crossed as she looks at Yumehara.
A smile appears on Yumehara's face, “That’s super cool! Where did you live before? Was it in Japan or somewhere else?” She asks curiously, but there’s obvious excitement in her voice.
“Last time we moved it was to Nanjo, which is pretty close to Okinawa. We’ve never moved outside of Japan, but my parents have gone to a bunch of places over the years.” Aoki answers, “Though, due to them being gone most of the time, I’m home alone all the time, which I don't mind.”
Despite Aoki’s voice being relaxed and her words saying that she doesn’t mind being home alone all the time, it’s obvious, to Saiki at least, since he can feel that static of emotions coming from her, that there’s a burning sensation in her heart that’s filled with the desire to not be alone. Yet, she acts like it’s fine, saying it’s nice when it’s the exact opposite. It slowly kills her on the inside, no matter what.
Aoki’s grey eyes look at Yumehara and Teruhashi with a neutral yet mildly confused gaze, and Yumehara and Teruhashi look at her in awe. Aoki slightly tilts her head, “What? Why do you two look so amazed?” She asks nervously, her arms slightly tightening.
“I’d love to be home alone all the time! My mom is always home and barely lets me do anything.” Yumehara complains, rolling her eyes in annoyance.
Teruhashi looks at Yumehara and points her finger at her, “Same! My brother is super overprotective, and it’s so annoying!” Teruhashi exclaims with an aggravated voice.
“Having family constantly at home definitely seems—“ The lunch bell loudly rings throughout the school— “Oh. Well, uh, I guess lunch break is over. We'll have to talk more later.” Aoki says with a defeated chuckle, slightly lowering her head. She only got to take a few bites from her lunch while talking to Teruhashi and Yumehara.
—————-
Aoki crouches down in front of her locker, placing her bag down next to her. She quickly enters ‘41026’ into the lock and then opens the door. She grabs her black sneakers and goes to put them on, but suddenly pauses.
“I should probably say thank you to Hairo for introducing me to the class. Is that something normal to do...?“ Aoki thinks to herself, “Eh, fuck it. If he thinks I’m weird, he thinks I’m weird. Doesn’t really matter.”
Aoki puts on her black sneakers and stands up, grabbing her bag in the process. Her sharp grey eyes look around for Hairo, but she doesn’t see him anywhere in the entrance of the school. A quiet sigh escapes her lips as she spots Takahashi and his friends, Jaga and Shuuji.
Her footsteps are light and quick as she walks over to them. She looks at Takahashi, “Hey, um, do you maybe know where Hairo is at the moment? I wanna talk to him about something.” Aoki asks quietly, a nervous smile appearing on her soft lips. Her voice is somewhat more ‘gentle’ than before due to her trying not to come off as intimidating.
The three look over at her with mild surprise, not expecting her to say anything to them. Aoki’s anxiety skyrockets as they look at her. A light layer of blush appears on the three’s faces as their thoughts are turned to a slightly perverted side.
“Uhh, I’m not sure. You could probably ask Nendou; they’re pretty competitive with each other. At least Hairo is.” Takahashi answers, slightly waving his hands at chest height.
Aoki tilts her head, and a small question mark appears next to her head, “Sorry, but who is Nendou?” She asks cluelessly.
Takahashi waves his hands quicker, “You know that tall guy in our class with the butt chin and mohawk? That’s Nendou.” His voice is shaky as more blush appears on his face.
Aoki nods, “Oh, okay, I’ll go look for him, I guess.” She says calmly. Aoki turns around and walks away, going out the front entrance of the school. What was she thinking, asking him out of all people?
Once Aoki is a couple of steps away, Takahashi looks over at Shuuji and Jaga. “Dude, that girl was so cute. Not as cute as Teruhashi, but she’s cute like a puppy.” Takahashi whispers to the other two.
The three of them look over at Aoki and start to giggle as the blush on their face thickens. Aoki glances back at them, sensing their eyes on them. They suddenly look away once they notice her looking back at them, but they continue giggling.
Aoki’s eyebrows furrow at the sight, “What were they giggling about?” She questions quietly as she pushes open the front doors of the school, “Whatever, I’ll talk to Hairo tomorrow.”