Chapter Text
People whispered around him as he walked with a confident stride into the school.
The closer he got to the main hall, the louder the murmurs became; he could hear his name being mentioned a couple of times, which made him smile even more.
Medusa High School, one of the most prestigious academic institutions in the country, and he, as a Nanami, of course he would go. Francois had accompanied him to the entrance gate on the school grounds, wishing him a productive and peaceful day. The word "peaceful" was not in his vocabulary.
Ryusui advanced to the first-year lines, looking for his respective section. 1-A. Of course, the best one. He lined up right behind a boy with upward-styled green and blonde hair who seemed to shatter every existing law of physics. He found him interesting immediately—undoubtedly a specimen worth observing later.
His gaze, expert at locating what he desired, began to sweep the main hall with precision. He ignored the bustle of the freshmen and the imposing structures of the vaulted ceiling, searching for one single thing: the corner where the third-year students gathered. He was looking for that characteristic tanned skin and that jet-black hair that, finally, shared the same space as him.
Principal Xeno made his appearance in an elegant black suit and began the presentation and welcome to the new students, wishing them an "elegant" year; the assembly was everything it was expected to be—long, full of encouraging words, and finally, the dismissal. The student body began to stream out through the large doors of the place, heading to their respective classrooms to start the first day of school.
When he arrived at the classroom, several classmates automatically approached him, wanting to strike up a conversation, a connection; of course, everyone wanted one with the Nanami conglomerate. Out of the corner of his eye, he could notice the same boy with the upward hair focused on his phone, picking his ear with his pinky finger. Truly interesting.
Recess finally arrived and Ryusui didn't waste a single second; he left the classroom, deliberately ignoring everyone who called his name. He made his way through the crowded hallways as if he had a radar installed, ignoring the curious glances he attracted along with the continuous murmur.
His objective was clear: the third-year wing.
Finally, he was in the same high school as Sai; he would share a whole entire year with him. To say he was excited was an understatement; he could feel his heart beating with anticipation and his lips curving into a full smile without his permission.
He stood in front of the door that had 3-A written at the top. He inhaled a breath of air deep enough to give him courage and opened the door. Automatically, eyes fell upon him to see who the intruder was entering unannounced. Ryusui scanned the place with his copper eyes in search of his brother.
And there was Sai, standing with his back to him, his uniform just as neat as his own; he was deeply concentrated on a book he held with both hands, so much so that he hadn't noticed his arrival.
"Sai!" Ryusui greeted enthusiastically upon seeing his brother. He approached him with hurried steps.
Sai flinched noticeably upon hearing his name and slowly turned his gaze toward him. A calm smile greeted him back, and Ryusui felt he couldn't be happier.
"Ryusui." With that, Sai turned completely toward him.
"We're together! Now we can see each other more often!" Ryusui said enthusiastically; after all, he hadn't seen Sai as regularly as he wished, since Mr. Nanami sent Sai to advanced math tutors every chance he got.
"Yes." Sai nodded with a smile; he really wasn't a man of many words, but the few he spoke were enough. Then Sai opened his eyes wide as he felt a touch on his shoulder.
A soft, crystalline laugh echoed behind the black-haired boy. Ryusui narrowed his eyes, trying to identify the figure who, due to Sai's height, remained hidden from his view. Sai turned his head back, making space for the person behind him.
"Aren't you going to introduce me?" asked a voice laced with amusement, a playful note that seemed to settle directly into Ryusui's nervous system.
"Yes, sorry!" Sai replied with his usual anxiety and moved so the mysterious figure could be seen. "Ryusui, this is Ukyo Saionji. Ukyo, this is Ryusui, my little brother, he's in first year."
Ryusui's world came to a dead stop.
His brain, usually capable of managing and calculating risks in seconds, suffered a forced reboot. He had been surrounded by models and celebrities his whole life, but no one, absolutely no one, possessed the light emanating from the person in front of him.
He had green eyes, large and round, with a natural brightness that made them stand out above anything else in the room. His hair—white, short, and fluffy—seemed to catch the midday light filtering through the windows, framing his face in an ethereal halo. When Ukyo gave him a kind smile, Ryusui felt as if a professional boxer had punched him in the chest, leaving him breathless.
"Sai's younger brother!" said the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. His voice was low, vibrant, and sweet. "Finally we meet. Sai talks a lot about you, Nanami-kun."
Ukyo's voice didn't just reach his ears; it vibrated in his chest like a frequency he didn't know he could feel. It was soft, like the sound of a breeze through leaves, and it was the final touch that completely dismantled all of Ryusui's composure.
His heart was beating so hard he could feel it pounding against his ribs and lungs; his face felt so hot it could surely rival a fever, and his hands began to sweat.
The silence that followed was suffocating. His brain, usually capable of articulating any response in seconds, was totally blank. He tried to summon his most charismatic facade, the one he used to negotiate with the world, but he only found an absolute void tinged with a green color.
"SAY SOMETHING! REACT!", he ordered himself mentally, feeling humiliated by his own paralysis. "You are Ryusui, you can't just stand there like an idiot in front of him!"
But, for the first time in his life, his charisma had abandoned him.
"Ryusui?" Sai asked, frowning with concern upon seeing his brother rigid, his face as red as his own tie, staring intently at Ukyo.
No answer. Ryusui couldn't find a way to make his brain and his mouth agree.
"Sai? Is your brother okay?" Ukyo leaned forward, concerned, shortening the distance and inadvertently causing Ryusui's pulse to skyrocket even more. "His heart is beating very fast, I can hear it from here."
Ryusui tried to force a smile, desperate to regain his composure. "HA HA! I'm completely fine! Don't worry about me!", he practiced fiercely in his mind, but upon opening his mouth, only a barely audible whisper came out:
"I... fine. Ukyo."
The white-haired boy let out a sing-song laugh, warm and genuine, which Ryusui burned into his memory at that exact instant. "Yes, that's me, Nanami-kun," Ukyo replied with a flash of amusement in his eyes. "Though you should call me Saionji-senpai, don't you think?"
Ryusui Nanami fell—metaphorically and physically—in that very instant. His legs simply decided they could no longer support the weight of so much beauty, and he collapsed right there, in the middle of the third-year classroom, surrounded by students watching the scene in absolute confusion. All because of a smile and a sentence that put him in his place.
"Ryusui!" Sai's voice was the last thing his ears registered before the world turned black.
But, even in the void, in that absolute and embarrassing darkness into which he had fallen, a single thought persisted, firm and bright as a star:
"I want him."
—
Ryusui’s room was a sanctuary of order and elegance, surrounded by various protected scale models, but at that moment, the Nanami heir seemed to have forgotten any trace of composure.
Ryusui was lying face down on his bed, burying his face in desperation against a goose-feather pillow while letting out a muffled, high-pitched sound that, if anyone heard it, they would swear belonged to a schoolgirl in the middle of a teenage crush crisis.
“It’s the end, Francois!” he shouted against the fabric, kicking his legs in the air like a toddler. “I have ruined my reputation! Nanami Ryusui, the man who wants everything in existence, fainting like a nobody in front of everyone!”
Francois, who stood by the door with a tea tray and a damp cloth, maintained a stoic expression, though a small smile adorned their lips.
“Young master, if I may say so,” Francois began in their impeccable tone. “I do not believe anyone would dare doubt your reputation, let alone your ambitions, over a small fainting spell.”
Ryusui turned over sharply, hugging the pillow against his chest with a determined look, even though his cheeks were still burning as if he had just run a marathon. “I had never felt this way before. It was as if the world itself had decided to stop just for him. And I cannot leave it at that!”
He stood up, pacing around the room with a renewed energy as his mind began to chart a new plan. His copper eyes shone with that spark of determination that always appeared when he set a goal for himself.
“Tomorrow…” he murmured, clenching his fist in front of his chest. “Tomorrow I will return to that classroom. This time, there will be no fainting. This time, I am going to talk to him properly. You’ll see, Francois! I will prove to you that I can talk to him!”
Francois lowered their gaze, making an elegant bow and hiding their joy at seeing their young master so… passionate. “As you command, Ryusui-sama. I will prepare the most impeccable uniform for tomorrow.”
Ryusui threw himself back onto the bed, hiding his blushing face in the pillow once more. "Tomorrow..."