Chapter Text
To Nagi Seishiro the world was entirely too sharp, too loud, and required far too much effort. If it took too much work, he didnt want it.
Nagi was the boy who was practically invisible. He never stood out never answered questions and always seemed to blend into the background. He was also a victim of bullying. Every day was just a hassle. Nagi didnt fight back. He never did. If he didn't move, if he didnt speak, the bullies eventually get bored of hitting a wall. Maybe they would eventually leave him alone.
How long more can i live this way..?
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Reo Mikage was suffocating in a perfectly tailored life.
Every single day was a pre-scripted rehearsal for a future he didn't want. His grades were perfect, his athletic scores were flawless, and his family’s wealth guaranteed him absolute security. But it was all so terribly boring. He walked through the crowded halls of Hakuho High School surrounded by people who wore fake smiles, everyone trying to grab a piece of the Mikage name.
He wanted something real. He wanted a dream so big and chaotic that his father's money couldn't just buy it for him. He wanted something for himself that money couldn't buy. Something that he actually had to work for.
He wanted a treasure just for himself.
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[Nagi]
The metal locker door was always freezing against the back of his neck.
A group of bullies stood over him. Nagi Seishiro didn't look at them. In fact he was completely zoned out. This was his tactic, completely disassociate and wait for the bullies to find something else to punch. As for right now he was stuck under their scrutinizing gaze.
A rough hand slammed against the locker right next to Nagi's ear. The loud CLANG reverberated through his skull, a sharp, unpleasant vibration that made him want to shut his eyes and sleep for a hundred years. Nagi let his body go entirely limp. He dropped his weight like a sack of laundry, letting his spine slide down the cold metal until his knees almost touched the floor.
The bullies paused watching a group of the 'popular boys' walk pass.
"Hey, isn't that Reo Mikage?"
The grip on Nagi’s collar loosened slightly. He didn't move. He kept his head down, staring blankly at the scuffed floorboards, but his eyes tracked a pair of pristine, expensive leather shoes walking smoothly through the corridor.
Surrounding those shoes was a flock of laughing, loud students. And at the center of them was Reo Mikage. The heir. The golden boy who had everything. Nagi squeezed his eyes shut, a familiar, sinking dread settling in his stomach. If someone as influential as Mikage noticed him, it would only mean more trouble, more expectations, and more energy he didn't have.
Something Nagi couldn’t explain made him look up and for a split second caught the boy called Reo’s eye. It was a bright purple. His warm smile and kind eyes seemed to catch Nagi off guard. As the boy looked at him he caught something like pity in those beautiful purple eyes. He chest felt weird.
A punch brought him back to his senses. Back to earth and his miserable life. But the boys warm smile and vivid eyes was all he could dream of for the next few weeks. Instead of getting annoyed, it made a faint almost imperceptible smile appear on his face something nothing else in his life had ever achieved.
Nagi only knew one thing for sure. Reo Mikage was different. He just didnt know why.
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[Reo]
Reo Mikage knew how to navigate a crowd. He moved through the chaotic hallway of Hakuho High School like a king inspecting his court, flanked by a dozen popular students whose names he barely remembered. He wore his usual charismatic smile, tossing out effortless, polite laughs at jokes that didn't actually amuse him. It was all a script. He was just playing the part of the perfect, wealthy heir.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, the script broke.
Near the row of rusted metal lockers, a blur of messy white hair caught his attention. Reo’s smile instantly faltered, the practiced warmth dropping from his face.
A boy who was easily a head taller than everyone else in the corridor was cornered against a locker. Another boy slammed his hand against the metal door with a heavy, aggressive CLANG that made several nearby students flinch.
He was about to continue walking when something caught his eye. Maybe it was his snowy white hair that Reo had a sudden urge to brush his fingers through. Or was it his deep stormy gray eyes that was so perfect in every way.
The bullies left dumping the boys schoolbag contents on top of his head. A notebook slipped out landing near Reo's feet. A name scribbled in lazy handwriting. Nagi Seishiro.
Nagi Seishiro, Reo thought, memorizing the name he had seen on the boy's notebook. A slow, determined smile crept back onto his face, his eyes shining like polished jewels in the dim hallway light. Just wait. I'm going to pull you out of the dark.