(Ake’s Viewpoint)

  The white-haired boy continued to stare up at me with his golden eyes, his bangs covering half of his face.

  “I hear you already ran into some trouble earlier and I’m deeply sorry for that. Unfortunately, I can’t really do anything about the other classes, but I did consult with the class representative over there about it.”

  His eyes seemed to study me from head to toe and for a moment, it seemed like he was eyeing my breasts. But he quickly shook his head, as if he realized what he was doing.

  Yuruichi cleared his throat and smiled back at me. “Nice to meet you, too. As I said earlier, my name is Yoiyami Yuruichi. And uhh… Thanks, but I don’t think that guy will bother me again.”

  I stared at him intently.

  ~Uhh.. Oh no. What do I say next!?

  I cleared my throat this time, placing my hand on my hip as I tried to mimic Mashiro’s confidence.

  “Anyway, I am your class representative, so I’m in charge of the wellbeing of my fellow students here. If you need anything and I mean anything, you come to me. Got that?”

  “...Right.”

  I frowned at him as he stared at my face. His answer was rather short. Though, considering the situation, it wasn’t that surprising

  Ding dong. The bell rang once more.

  ~Ah! That’s right!

  I clapped my hands together as I remembered what the teacher asked of me earlier.

  “Perfect timing. Mister Morita did want me to show you around after homeroom, so let’s get to it, shall we?”

  I smiled and quickly grabbed a hold of his hand. I dragged him out the classroom, ignoring both his pleas and the comments of the other students.

  ~This’ll go great! I can do this!

  “Let’s go to the nurse’s office first!”

  ~The rumors people come up with these days. That video was rather convincing, I’ll admit but that’s no reason to antagonize this poor kid.

  Glancing back, I noticed a lack of resistance so I decided to loosen my grip after a bit. As we continued to walk, I glanced at him even more. I could tell he was paying close attention to the signs as we continued.

  I stopped at the nurse’s office and showed him around. I made sure to tell Yuruichi to come here if he ever felt like he was pushing himself too hard.

  But his guard never seemed to drop. However, his reactions and questions made it clear that he was just like any other human boy. They were so human in fact, it was a bit amusing.

  ~Is the nurse cute? Is that really what he was worried about? He’s so adorable! How can anyone in their right mind be afraid of this boy?

  I headed for the door, opening it once more.

  “Let’s see. Next I think I’ll show you the cafeteria. Nutrition is important, after a—”

  “LIbrary.” The boy spoke up suddenly.

  “Huh…?” I stopped, startled by his sudden demand. “...You want to see the library?”

  “Uh… Y-yeah… Can we… go to the library next…?” The boy averted his gaze. He appeared a bit embarrassed.

  ~So… cute!

  I smiled at him happily, stifling a laugh.

  “Alright. Library it is.”

  Ake stepped back into the hallway, waiting for me to follow. Her smile hadn’t faded — if anything, it softened, like she was pleased I’d spoken up at all.

  I stepped out and lead him down the hall. The library was a bit farther away, but that was fine. I was happy to see he seemed to be becoming more comfortable with me.

  The library suited him well. He did seem like the type to like quiet spaces. Though, i found myself speaking this aloud before I even realized it.

  ~Why, though? There’s just something about him that’s soothing…

  ~Soothing… Oh crap. She’s usually here isn’t she…?

  I stopped for a moment, deciding to warn Yuruichi about Mashiro in the best way I could think of.

  Then we continued onwards, til we arrived at the library.

  As expected, Mashiro was there, just as chaotic and as vibrant as she’s always been.

  “Huehuehue.” Her usual laugh broke the silence.

  “Why, if it isn’t the legendary transfer student and the radiant honor student of the student council?” Mashiro said with a big smirk on her face as she continued her ridiculous laughter.

  That was how the new transfer met Mashiro.

  It wasn’t the worst but I was hoping that he didn’t have to meet her so soon like I did— that maybe he’d be to adjust to school life before getting swallowed by her chaos.

  I did my best to reprimand her as Raneko usually would but it was clear that Yuruichi was starting to get overwhelmed.

  I grabbed him by the hand and pulled him away, dragging him all the way to the cafeteria.

  Ake finally came to a halt as we entered a large area with massive windows to one side, looking out to the fields. A long series of counters segregating what appeared to be a kitchen from the rest of the area was located on the opposite end of the room.

  Ake spoke in between breathes, her hands on her knees as she struggled to stand up straight. “This- This is the cafeteria. It’s pretty big, so… Huff… It’s hard to miss.”

  I managed to stand up straight and I looked at the boy. But his eyes fixated on the glass windows lining the outer wall of the cafeteria.

  ~Glass… windows…? WIndows…

  My mind flashed to the video, the shadow in the window behind Yuruichi.

  Yuruichi had quickly turned away from me, from the windows. He crouched down low and head his head for a moment.

  He was scared. Terrified. Horrified, even.

  I turned to look at the glass. But there was nothing there. I couldn’t even see my own reflection from this distance.

  ~Is he afraid… of the reflections?

  I kneeled down and placed my hand gently on his shoulder.

  The boy took two long deep breaths. He stood to his feet and turned around, but his eyes were shut tight.

  “Uhh… So Ake… What did Mashiro mean by ‘club’?” He asked.

  I looked at him. Curious as why he were asking me that.

  Then I noticed, his hands were shaking. But as soon as I noticed, Yuruichi stuffed them into his pockets.

  He knew as well.

  I frowned. It was deeply concerning how scared he was.

  “You’re interested in clubs, huh? Well a club is usually formed by a group of students with a common interest. Though, at the student council we won’t usually officially recognize a club unless they have at least four registered members and a set goal in mind.”

  All I could do was answer his question.

  I gently placed my hand against his chest.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  I could feel his heart beating hard and fast.

  I clutched my fingers lightly around his shirt and began to pull him. He seemed to walk along with it, so I continued to do so— leading him far away from this large room filled with windows.

  ~Where could I take him that would feel safe for him?

  Yuruichi continued to ask questions. I did my best to answer each of them with a calm voice. It was difficult, as it felt like my own voice was going to break.

  His fear was no ordinary fear. One could go as far as calling it a phobia.

  It was not unheard of to have a phobia of reflective surfaces, of your own reflection, or simply of mirrors.

  I kept pulling him along and answering his questions. Eventually, I found myself at the student council room.

  ~Why here?

  I asked myself that, as I couldn’t imagine why the student council felt like the place to go. There was nobody there at the time and there was still a window.

  I opened the door and slowly pulled Yuruichi inside.

  ~I’ll just cover all the glass up.

  I pulled the curtains closed and looked around for something to cover the glass on the shelves with. Luckily, I found some cloth leftover in a school festival supply drawer, lots of it too. I used that and some duck tape to block off all the reflective surfaces I could find.

  I then told Yuruichi he could open his eyes and slowly, but surely he began to calm down.

  Soon his sister and mister Morita came to check on him. His sister was taking him home for the day. It was for the best, I’m sure.

  ~I only hope I was of help with him.

  Mia looked around the room, seeing the glass being covered. She flashed me a smile and greeted me happily.

  It was as if she was satisfied with my actions. Maybe she gone through the same thing with Yuruichi at home.

  She called the boy “Yoiya”. A cute nickname, for sure.

  ~Perhaps I’ll use it.

  And so I invited Yoiya to come to the student council room for lunch every day.

  …

  [ Two Weeks Before Midterms: December 1st ]

  Almost two months have passed since I met Yoiya and so much has happened.

  He has visited the student council to meet me during lunch every day, and every interaction with him has been enjoyable. He always has the cutest reactions and his expressions have been becoming warmer every day, even more so now that he’s joined the Tea Time Book Club.

  Though, we’ve gotten rather close. Ashura has been teasing me about it lately, reminding me how he prophesied that we’d get along.

  “I knew it. I figured that how things would have played out. You just seemed the type to protect a lost puppy. But if you don’t claim him quick, things can get messy.”

  Or so he told me with that usual grin on his face.

  I could understand what he was getting at but I didn’t really want to listen to him.

  However, lately, Yoiya’s been looking rather tired— like he hasn’t been getting enough rest.

  I invited him to a study session earlier today and here he was sitting beside me but he was clearly dozing off.

  That aside, there was something strange about him. I always knew that but it was even more apparent now.

  He was answering things using the textbook word for word. Topics the class hasn’t even covered yet.

  Crrk.

  The chair slid over. And when I looked over, Yoiya was suddenly on the ground, asleep. His face was filled with pain as he curled up into a ball.

  “S-stay away…” He mumbled in his sleep, coughing.

  I immediately called the teacher and got him to the nurse’s office. I stayed with him all day, skipping all my classes.

  He did not wake up til later that afternoon…

  On top of that, he seemed to be hiding something… But what?

  I clenched my hands to my chest.

  ~Yoiya… why won’t you tell me?

  …

  [One Week Before Midterms: December 9th]

  The next week passed by in a flash.

  News came to the student council about the Tea Time Book Club’s next Comiket participation. They had finally decided on it.

  “You’re telling me this later than last year.” Ashura said, smiling innocently at Mashiro.

  “Ahhh… Yeah… Sorry about that!” Mashiro chuckled. “But don’t worry. We’re gonna hit it big this year! Because we have the perfect protagonist!”

  I had listened in to their conversation this morning. Yoiya was to be the manga protagonist for their next submission to Comiket. It was decided they were going to write a reincarnation romance.

  ~A romance… with Yoiya in it? I’ll have to check this out…

  My mind shifted around throughout the first half of classes.

  ~Yoiya…

  For some reason, all I could think about was Yoiya.

  He still looked rather tired in class, and he was avoiding staring at the window too much as usual. He’s also been bringing larger lunches lately, so I’ve started to do the same— hoping to help feed him.

  ~I don’t really know how eating more food helps but it seems to ease his worries a bit. So I’ll support him in any way I can.

  Lunch came by and Yoiya once again came to visit me at the student council.

  We discussed the Tea Time Book Club’s plans to make him a protagonist and— something new happened. It was something I’ve never seen Yoiya do before.

  I was feeding him my lunch. Rather insistently— I’m still not sure why I was so insistent about it, either.

  But I went to check his temperature by pressing our foreheads together.

  Yoiya’s face lit up. It was bright red.

  I looked away as well, covering my face to hide my own embarrassment. The moment I noticed him blush from how close we were, I couldn’t help but do the same.

  ~What is this feeling?

  ~More importantly, why is Yoiya making that face all the sudden?

  I glanced over at him.

  ~Did… Yoiya… fall in love with someone???

  ~“But if you don’t claim him quick, things can get messy.”

  Ashura’s words echoed in my mind.

  ~If so… who?

  …

  [Day 1 of Winter Comiket; December 30th]

  The venue for Comiket had begun and I had arrived there early with a forest-green scarf and light blue sweater on to battle the winter breeze.

  There, I ended up meeting up with the rest of the Tea Time Book Club but—

  “Where’s Yoiya?” I asked. He was clearly missing from the group.

  Raneko pinched his nose and looked at his phone. “He’s late.”

  “Maybe… he… overslept…?” Rea said softly.

  Rea was speaking a lot more lately. Which was surprising.

  ~Was it because of Yoiya entering the picture? Could it be…?

  “He could have ended up in some kind of epic battle on the way here!” Mashiro shouted out, clearly fired up about it.

  “B-battle…?” I repeated, my voice slightly cracking.

  Suddenly, I was extremely worried. I pressed my palm against my chest.

  ~Yoiya…

  Thankfully, Mia dropped off Yoiya at the venue later on that day, an hour past noon. Mashiro dragged him to their booth but he looked clearly tired— like he really had been through some kind of battle.

  Mashiro joked about it. Raneko just seemed relieved he arrived. Eliba showed a tiny bit of concern, I think?

  But Rea— Rea seemed to be the most concerned. She stayed close to Yoiya the whole time, even as Mashiro instinctively thrust him into sales.

  Her logic did make sense. Their two most adorable members would make great salespeople but I was worried for Yoiya’s sake.

  I tried my best to keep an eye on them.

  I don’t know if I would call it fortunate or unfortunate. The crowd around the booth was so thick and busy, I wasn’t able to keep my focus on them.

  Yoiya suddenly disappeared and Rea seemed to be in a panic.

  I broke away from the crowd and ran over to her immediately.

  “Where’s Yoiya?” I said, breathing heavily even though it was only a short distance away.

  “I… I don’t… know…” Rea muttered, her soft expression wrought with worry. She grabbed me by the sleeve, just as I seen her do with Yoiya a few times. “Please… help…” She murmured her request with tears swelling in the corners of her eyes.

  I knew immediately what I needed to do. I placed my hand gently on her shoulder and forced a smile. The brightest, most confident smile I could muster. A smile that would put even Mashiro to shame.

  “Okay.” I pointed to the right. “You look that way.” Then pointed to the left. “I’ll look this way. We’ll find him if we work together, I’m sure.”

  Rea gave me a nod and started to run into the crowd to the right. I let out a deep breath and ran to the left.

  I kept running and running, looking around frantically.

  “Yoiya! Yoiya!” I shouted. But there was no answer.

  ~Why did I call his name? Knowing him, he’s probably huddled up in a corner now. He’s probably overwhelmed again… I have to find him.

  But I couldn’t find him. I made a whole lap around the venue, but nothing. Eventually I found myself headed in Rea’s direction.

  And when I arrived, I found him laying in her lap. His face peaceful as ever.

  My heart dropped.

  I was relieved, but my heart dropped.

  Rea gently brushed her hand against Yoiya’s pearl-white hair and caught a tear from his shut eyes.

  Yoiya looked relaxed. More than I’ve ever seen him been.

  After a few hours, Yoiya woke up.

  I forced a smile, clutching my chest as I greeted him alongside Rea. He stood to his feet and tried to hoist Rea up but ended up falling.

  I caught Rea from behind, chuckling as I tried to ignore how they reacted to each other— their intimate blushes, the awkward silence.

  Mashiro came and fetched them and I had them go on ahead. Yoiya stopped for a moment, but I brushed him off.

  As he ran off after Rea, disappearing into the crowd, I realized something.

  “Yoiya… I… love you.”

  I softly spoke the words aloud just as Yoiya completely vanished from my sight.