Ikeda Yuuki was rather at a loss. Spring had turned to summer, and now summer vacation was just a few weeks away. More than a month without school, and subsequently without any reason for a mere classmate to spend time with Nekoyama Michiru. And despite his best efforts, that was still all he was. A mere classmate, and nothing more. All throughout middle school, his perfect poise and princely charms had been more than enough to win over any girl he set his sights on. And it wasn’t as if his talents had deteriorated. Even here, in this enormous and deliberate gathering of oddballs, he had managed to attract a modest following of admirers. And yet to the Nekoyama heiress, even his best material seemed to have no more impact than a soft spring breeze. In all honesty, it wasn’t as though he was particularly interested in the heiress herself. Her tall stature and composed disposition was a far cry from the short, cheerful, bubbly girls he generally preferred. But that wasn’t the point. The point was that Nekoyama Michiru held the starring role in the enormous production that was her entire high school life. That meant that anyone who wasn’t a close friend or lover of the heiress was little more than an extra. And that simply wasn’t a role suitable for a man of his talents. But it was increasingly obvious that something was lacking in his performance. Despite his best efforts, his role in this drama currently amounted to little more than ‘Classmate C’. His performance was clearly lacking in impact, and he desperately needed to study the character of ‘Nekoyama Michiru’ to better adjust his performance to match her. As such, he had no choice but to covertly observe the heiress and her interactions with those who were closest to her. Subtly, of course. ‘Stalker’ might be a more impactful role than ‘Classmate C’, but it wasn’t exactly a prestigious one. Besides, it was already taken. “All right, everyone, it’s time for stretches and warm-ups! Pair up with someone who can help you stretch!” As the teacher called out, Mikawa Atsuko made her way over to Michiru as always. “Michiru! Wanna team up?” “Of course. I will be relying on your kind assistance as always, Miss Atsuko.” Atsuko smiled as the two of them worked through the familiar series of stretches. They had paired up for almost every single PE class since the second week of school, and going through the familiar motions made for a nice, relaxing opening to the class… Or at least, it used to. The summer sun blazed overhead, and even just stretching was enough to make the both of them start sweating. As they linked arms, back to back, Atsuko felt extremely aware of the way her damp skin was sticking slightly to Michiru’s. She leaned forward, pulling Michiru’s feet off the ground as she helped her stretch out her back muscles, but all she could think about was the feeling of Michiru’s back pressing against her own, her body heat passing through the two layers of thin, damp cloth like they weren’t even there. By the time they moved into the next exercise, Atsuko’s heart was beating like she’d already gone for a run. Michiru sat in front of her on the ground, and Atsuko gently pushed on her back to help her bend forward as much as possible. Michiru’s hair, neatly arranged into a high ponytail, fell forward, and Atsuko’s eyes were drawn to the smooth, flawless skin of her neck. As Michiru’s scent seemed to fill the world, Atsuko’s eyes couldn’t help but follow a bead of sweat as it trailed down Michiru’s neck and vanished down the front of her shirt… “Miss Atsuko, are you quite all right? We’ve been holding this pose for rather a long time.” Atsuko yanked her hands away from Michiru’s back as though it had suddenly turned burning hot. “Right! Sorry! I just lost focus for a moment there. It sure is hot out today, huh?” “It certainly is. And the moist air is making it awfully muggy, wouldn’t you say? I hear there might be a thunderstorm later today.” “Aw, man. Really? I hope it won’t arrive until after club activities.” Atsuko just about managed to keep her voice level as she continued to banter throughout the rest of the stretches and warm-ups. But she almost had to strain to hear Michiru’s soft tones over the noise of her pulse pounding in her ears… - Yuuki had specifically chosen a day when the boys had swim class and the girls were out on the track for PE to feign injury and sit out the class. Because one of the benches in the pool building was right next to a window that overlooked the track, so as he sat there to ‘observe the class’ he could keep an eye on the girls, and more specifically on Nekoyama Michiru. He certainly hadn’t missed Mikawa Atsuko’s efforts to grow closer to the heiress. She had rather forcefully inserted herself into Michiru’s social life, and had shown no signs of letting up. And the worst part was that Yuuki couldn’t even find any flaw in her methods. The initial approach had been perfectly in character for the hot-blooded, endlessly cheerful muscle-brain character Atsuko was playing, and the way she kept constantly accompanying and encouraging the heiress was fully appropriate for her character. At first, Yuuki could have sworn that Atsuko was acting this way just to spite him. He had made a rather provocative remark to her during dress rehearsal, after all. But now that he’d taken the time to closely study the way the two of them interacted, he rather suspected that Atsuko’s motivations were far more mundane. Rather than some sort of calculating seductress looking to settle a grudge, it seemed that Atsuko was just a love-struck young woman desperately trying to get closer to her crush. Which somehow just made it more irritating that she was doing so much better at it than him… “Man, you two are seriously saving my ass on this one. I’m barely scraping by as it is, and if I fail any of the end-of-term tests I can kiss my fun-filled summer vacation goodbye.” Michiru shot Ayako a gentle smile. Sumomo, on the other hand, just looked annoyed. “Think nothing of it, Miss Yaya. It’s only natural for friends to help each other at times like this.” “Look, I get why you roped Lady Nekoya…” Michiru’s smile fell, and Sumomo almost managed to keep her eye from twitching as she corrected herself. “I mean, I get why you roped Mimi into this, but why am I here as well?” “What are you talking about, Susu? Of course I’d invite you. We’re practically besties! Besides, you’re almost as smart as Mimi, and my dumb ass needs as many genius tutors as I can get my hands on.” Michiru put a hand on Ayako’s shoulder. “You mustn’t put yourself down like that, Miss Yaya. You couldn’t possibly have acquired such encyclopaedic knowledge of cosmetics and fashion if you were anywhere near as unintelligent as you claim to be. You simply need some help figuring out how to apply that intelligence and memorization ability to the matter of school subjects, that’s all.” “But it’s so booooring! It’s not like I’m trying not to learn or anything, but stuff like maths and physics and chemistry is just soooo dull and my brain just starts tuning it all out.” Sumomo tapped her foot as she considered her options. She wanted these study groups to be over with as soon as possible, and the more efficiently they managed to teach their clingy, needy, high-maintenance friend, the sooner she could go back to focusing on more important matters. The main problem was clearly one of motivation, but how could one motivate someone like… “If you manage to focus properly and pay attention to what we’re teaching you for the full two hours until it’s time to go home, I’ll let you give me a makeover.” Ayako’s head shot up, her eyes wide with shock and wonder. “Wait, are you for real? I thought you hated makeup and stuff?” “It’s not like I hate it, I just don’t care about it. Much like you don’t care about the sciences. But if it gets you motivated enough to study properly, I’ll put up with it.” “You’d do that just for me? Thanks Susu! I totes love you to bits!” Sumomo huffed. “It’s not like I’m particularly doing it for your sake. I simply want to get these study meetings over with as soon as possible so I can get back to working on my manuscript. I need to make sure it’s in a state that’s fit to print in time for the printer’s deadline.” “Oh, are you going to that big event all you nerds love so much? Comi-whatever?” “I am, yes. I managed to secure a table space for the second day, so I will be selling my original work for the first time.” “Oh, do you need an assistant? I’m sure I’d do great as an assistant! Besides, I wanna pay you back for helping me with my studies!” “My, what a splendid idea, Miss Yaya. I am still not at a level where I feel comfortable publishing my own original work in any kind of public space, so I would also be happy to offer my services as an assistant.” Sumomo hesitated. On the one hand, she still felt rather awkward about the way these two insisted on constantly involving themselves with her and her life. On the other hand, both Michiru and Ayako were almost frustratingly talented as artists, and she really could use the help… “Fine, but I’m warning you, it’s a Boy’s Love work, and it’s about as heavy as it can get without crossing the line into R-18 territory.” Ayako scoffed. “Did you really think that would be enough to put me off? I mean, sure, I might not have much interest in dudes, but that doesn’t mean it’s gonna ick me out to see a pair of them getting handsy or whatever.” “Very well, you can both work as my assistants after finals are done.” “Great! That means I get to hang out with Mimi and Susu all summer!” ”I am also rather looking forward to it. I am certain it will be a memorable experience.” Sumomo sighed, but despite herself she felt a smile tugging at her lips. “Studying comes first, though. Now focus!” Ayako saluted theatrically. “Yes ma’am!” - Yuuki stared blankly into the book in front of him as he listened to the conversation. He was sitting two tables away from the group so as to not attract their attention, but honestly he could probably have taken a seat at the opposite end of the library and still made out most of what was said. Neither Sumomo nor Ayako were exactly being mindful of the fact that they were in the school library. Not that anybody was going to say anything about it. After all, who would want to shush the heiress and her friends? Admittedly, Ayako’s nigh-instantaneous claim on the ‘best friend’ role had completely blindsided him. Oh, he had fully expected her to talk to the heiress. She was playing an ‘extroverted Gal’ character, after all, and there was no way she wouldn’t be talking to the person sitting next to her in class. But the seemingly effortless way she had managed to dye the heiress in her own colours was frankly shocking. By the end of the first week, the heiress was already eating lunch with Ayako almost every day, sporting flashy nail art and giving people cutesy nicknames. It was particularly galling because the ‘best friend’ role was one of the few roles that Yuuki would consider suitable for himself, but it was clear almost immediately that no power on this Earth was likely to budge Ayako from that position. This, unfortunately, really only left ‘lover’ and ‘rival’ as suitable alternatives, and so far the heiress showed no desire to compete in any arena where Yuuki could realistically pose as her rival. As for Sumomo, Yuuki wasn’t really sure what to make of the woman. She seemed largely uninterested in anything not directly related to gay men, and Yuuki was frankly baffled as to how she had become such a core figure in both Michiru’s and Ayako’s social lives. Presumably, the answer had to lie within the manga club, which Michiru had elected to join for some inscrutable reason. But there was no realistic way for him to properly investigate that den of weird nerds, so he supposed he would never know… Keith Clifford was one of the two people in school playing ‘Exchange Student’ roles. Not that he was actually an exchange student. He was born and raised in Japan, even if he didn’t look like it. His mother was half-Japanese and half-Danish, and his father was British, so his features were almost entirely European. It honestly bothered him a little to speak in heavily accented Japanese for the sake of his role, but a job was a job. Honestly, the production staff would probably have been happy with just about any blond, blue-eyed man with a foreign-sounding name. Compared to some of the people involved in this giant farce, Keith had barely received any direction beyond simply ‘try to seem foreign’. In the ludicrous spectacle centred around Nekoyama Michiru, Keith was basically just set-dressing. But the pay was good, and he got along well enough with the other members of the film club. The other members of the film club who actually bothered to show up, anyway. Matsumoto Taro barely ever showed up to club meetings any more. Too busy hanging out with that delinquent character. Now there was a friendship that had baffled the producer… Deep in thought, Keith didn’t notice the dropped tissue that lay on the floor in front of him. He yelped as his right foot completely slid out of his control, and closed his eyes in anticipation of the pain that would surely come as he fell over backwards… But the pain never came. A pair of fairly small but extremely steady hands caught him by the shoulders, supporting his weight as he clumsily worked to regain his footing. “Are you quite all right, Mr. Clifford?” Opening his eyes, Keith found himself in the arms of none other than Nekoyama Michiru. Her hair was in slight disarray, probably as a result of hurrying up to catch him as he fell, and her eyes met his with a look of gentle concern. “That looked like a bad slip. Do you think you can stand?” Keith flushed slightly as his position registered properly in his mind. “Ah, yes. I’m fine. Thank you very much, Miss Nekoyama.” “This nothing of it. Do you need me to escort you to the nurse’s office?” “Oh, no. Not at all. I’m fine. Thanks for offering, though.” “Of course. Good day to you, Mr. Clifford, and do take care.” Keith watched her leave with a slightly vacant expression on his face, his brain still racing to catch up with events. It took some time for his pulse to settle and his blush to recede. - Yuuki clicked his tongue in irritation as the blonde transfer student followed the departing heiress with his eyes. The last thing he needed was more competition. Nekoyama Michiru was popular enough as it was, and yet she couldn’t seem to stop going around charming people, to all appearances without even trying. Then again, maybe he was looking at this all wrong. Sure, Keith might end up becoming a rival for Michiru’s affections, but that didn’t mean he was without his uses. Lately, Yuuki had started to worry that maybe, just maybe, the heiress might be fully homosexual. She certainly wasn’t entirely straight, that much was for sure. And if it turned out that she really wasn’t interested in men that way, then pursuing her romantically might just end up getting him removed from the project altogether. That worry was one of the reasons he hadn’t been pursuing the heiress as blatantly as he usually would when he was interested in a woman. So if this blonde man ended up pursuing the heiress, it would be useful to keep an eye on Michiru’s reaction. It was a risky first step to take, given the circumstances, and Yuuki wouldn’t mind letting someone else be the first to take that risk. Yamashita Umi was hiding behind the vending machine in the corridor next to the front entrance. From here, she could just about make out the path that Nekoyama Michiru and her friends always took when they went to eat lunch outdoors, and on a lovely day like today, they almost always ate lunch outside. She wasn’t planning on getting in their way or anything, but she really wanted to just catch a glimpse of the lovely young woman and, more pressingly, the ring on her finger. She was actually wearing the ring! Umi almost hadn’t believed her eyes the first time she saw it. When she placed the ring inside an envelope along with an anonymous fan letter and put it in Michiru’s shoe cubby, she was almost certain that it would never actually be worn. But the next time Umi saw her, Nekoyama was wearing the ring! On her index finger rather than the ring finger, admittedly, but Umi didn’t mind. Just the fact that Michiru was wearing something that Umi had given her, even anonymously, was more than enough to make her happy. Since then, Umi couldn’t help but take every opportunity to try and watch Michiru. Even more so than before, which was honestly saying something. She just got so happy every time she saw the gleam of the ring on her fing… She yelped as a hand slammed against the wall right next to her head. Turning around with a jolt, she found Nekoyama Michiru standing right in front of her. The other woman was barely more than ten centimetres taller than Umi, but right now it felt as though she was towering over her. With the wall behind her, the vending machine on one side, Michiru’s arm on the other and Michiru herself in front, Umi was well and truly cornered. The mixture of nervousness and excitement that was welling up inside her was enough that she found it genuinely difficult to breathe. But she nevertheless managed to squeak out a few words. “Mi… Miss Nekoyama! Wha… What can I do for you?” “Oh, I simply wanted to thank you for the ring you gave me, Miss Yamashita. But every time I try to approach you lately you seem to run away.” “How did you… I mean, what ring would that be, Miss Nekoyama?” “Come now, there’s no need to be coy. Especially not when it’s such a lovely ring. Aquamarines may be fairly common gemstones, but this one truly is a rather beautiful sea-blue colour. And it’s held in such an eye-catching silver setting, stylized to look like a mountain range rising above that sea. Yamashita Umi, sea beneath the mountain. Not only that, but there’s a custom engraving beneath the setting in the shape of a cat’s head. As if to indicate that the mountain that said sea rests beneath is a cat mountain, Nekoyama. Of course I had to thank you for such a thoughtful and elaborate gift.” Umi’s head was spinning. She had never expected Michiru to figure out who the ring was from, and she definitely hadn’t expected her to so perfectly deduce the meaning of every facet of the gift. A part of her was happier than she had ever been in her entire life, but another part of her was terrified of what might happen next. Her breath came in short, shallow busts as her pulse thudded like a hammer in her chest. The world seemed to expand and contract at the same time as Michiru suddenly seemed to loom over her like a mountain. A tiny, choked squeak escaped her lips as the world grew dark around her. - Yuuki stared incredulously as the Nekoyama heiress caught the fainting young woman in her arms. With concern writ clear on her face, the heiress seemingly effortlessly picked Yamashita Umi up in a full princess carry, with one arm under the knees and the other supporting her back. As the heiress began to carry the smaller woman off towards the nurse’s office, Yuuki felt more defeated than ever before. Oh, not because of Yamashita Umi. That was old news. He had long been aware of the fact that Umi was basically stalking the heiress. Nor was it about the ring, or the fact that the heiress had so effortlessly deduced its meaning. If anything, he would have been rather disappointed in her if she hadn’t been able to figure out such obvious symbolism. No, the problem was with the heiress herself. This was the first time Yuuki had seen Michiru go so fully, blatantly on the offence, and it made him realize just how lacking he truly was. No wonder the heiress wouldn’t give him a shred of attention no matter how charming, princely or cool he was. She herself was twice as charming, twice as princely and far, far cooler than he would ever be. And while he had felt frustrated many times before since the school year started, this was the first time he actually felt inadequate. He realized now that his entire approach had been doomed from the start. He had tried to play a part in Michiru’s life that he would never, ever get, because that part was already being played by Michiru herself, and she was playing it better than he ever could. It was all over… Or maybe it wasn’t. Yes, his approach had been flawed, but that didn’t mean there was no way forward. Because if Michiru herself was playing the role he had been trying to play for her, then that meant that the role he had expected her to play was, in fact, unclaimed. So if the heiress was actually playing the Prince, then… It would require a complete change of tactics, of course. In matters of romance he had always been the pursuer, the active party, the lead. When it came to taking the role of the receiver, he frankly had no experience whatsoever. But if it was his only possible path to victory, then he was more than willing to learn.