"Mhmmmmm." An alarm went off as the time showed 5:30 and Sora sleepily got up and stretched. He sleepily made his way to the bathroom and proceeded to brush his teeth and wash his face. He put on a tracksuit and drank some water then went out for his daily run. Sora liked running in the morning. The nice summer morning felt good and the gray clouds covered the sky. It wasn't too bright but it wasn't too dark. Sora looked at the clouds as he ran down a small bridge.
Sora really liked this atmosphere. The river bed he was currently running by was beautiful in the early morning. The cold wind of the morning hitting his face was one of the few joys he experienced. He finally stopped at the time of 6:20. He decided to walk the rest of the way home since he wasn't very far.
"Sora-Chan." Sora stopped by to look at the view of the riverbed when a woman called out to him. He looked to see a beautiful middle aged woman. She had a gentle face and long braided hair. Her figure as well was nothing to scoff at as she had big breasts and a nice plump butt though Sora never cared about her looks and figure though he never tried to look at her that way it was hard not to see it. She was Rika Hiyama. A woman his mother used to talk to. They met when his mother went to the market to get groceries and they chatted for a while. Rika was a divorced woman who had a daughter that Sora hadn't seen. She checked in on Sora sometimes since her house was close to Sora's apartment.
"Hello Hiyama-San." Sora gave out his usual response to her in his standard tone. Rika walked over to him and gave him a towel.
"Here you go, Sora-Chan. Also can you please call me Rika-San? I've changed your diapers, you know?" Rika also handed him a cup of water of which Sora took and drank it like it was the most delicious thing ever. Sora gulped down the water and wiped off his sweat.
"Hiyama-San is what I'll call you. It's only polite to say that to an older person." Sora handed back the towel and water cup which Rika took back with a troubled smile. She put her finger to her chin and tilted her head while looking at Sora.
"Hmm really? I'll also accept Rika-Onee-Chan you know?" Rika was not young enough to be called Onee-Chan. She was already at the age of 37 she would more be suited to be called aunt.
"Hiyama-San I'm not little anymore. Plus you're too ol
"Hmm? What is it Sorata-Chan?" Sora quickly shut up at Rika's threateningly sweet smile. Sora wouldn't care normally and finish his sentence but Rika has known him since he was still a baby he still couldn't go against her. Rika was very doting towards Sora. Perhaps she was treating him as her own child since he assumed her daughter either didn't like her or didn't know that Rika was her mother.
Whenever the divorce was brought up she was sour and her face scrunched up. Sora also saw tears well up but she quickly made them disappear by changing the topic so no one would talk about it. Sora felt bad for her but Rika didn't like it whenever it was brought up so he never asked.
"By the way, Sora-Chan. How is school?" Rika asked while wringing the towel that Sora had wiped himself with.
"Same as always. Nothing really new." Sora answered. This was always the routine if Rika was awake at this time. She gives Sora a towel and water then asks about his life.
"I see. So you're still at the top of your school, yes? Good boy, good boy." Rika said and petted Sora's head. Whenever Sora did something that was praiseworthy this is what she did. Sora found it weird but he didn't necessarily dislike it. She petted him for a while until Sora said he had to leave to make breakfast and lunch for himself. Sora quickly said goodbye and rushed to his apartment.
Elise and Elias were most likely still asleep so he took a shower. His father liked baths but his mother used to argue that showers were better and he didn't feel like taking the time to take a bath. Sora finished his shower and put on some lounging clothes. The time was 7:05. Sora put on his apron and took out bacon, eggs, and sausages. He decided to make a regular breakfast,Elsie liked pancakes so he was gonna make it since he hadn't had it in a while.
He didn't like the pancake batters that came pre-made so made his own. He got melted butter then mixed it with flour, baking powder, milk, sugar and one egg. While he was mixing his batter he put toast in the toaster and put a griddle on the stove to preheat. Just then Elise sleepily walked into the living room.
"Good….morning sora." Elsie said, rubbing her eyes and yawning.
"Go wash your face. Wake up Elias as well." Sora said while taking the toast out of the toaster and flipping a pancake. Elise sleepily nodded and went to the hallway. Sora cracked some eggs in a pan with some butter and started stirring to make scrambled eggs. He already had the over-easy eggs cooked so he needed to make Elsie's.
"Ahhhhhhhh…" Elias, who was forcibly awakened byElsie, yawned loudly as he made his way into the kitchen with Elsie in tow.
"Pancakes. Well can't complain they're gonna taste good anyway." Elias said, looking at the plates on the table. Elias didn't really like pancakes; he liked waffles more. The same couldn't be said about Elsie. She loved pancakes but hated waffles. They both sat down in front of the plates with some orange juice and waited for Sora.
"""thanks for the food!!""" All three of them said and started eating. Elsie looked like she couldn't even wait and went for pancakes immediately.
"Wahhh. So good." Elsie said, eating the pancakes. She was practically in heaven. Eliasa didn't feel the same way but he still liked them. They were crispy the way Elsie liked them and Sora also preferred them like that.
"So where are you guys going today? Elias said something about leaving yesterday but I wasn't listening to him." Sora had come home late last night and since Elias and Elise had eaten out he didn't need to make anything. He was tired and Elias was saying something but as he said he didn't care and just hurried to sleep.
"We're going to explore! There are some cool monuments near us and hopefully I'll meet some hot Japanese chicks!" Elias said, drinking some tea. Elsie looked coldly at him but she decided to ignore him and talk.
"We're going to go around the city to some malls and arcades and maybe see some ancient monuments and visit some shrines I guess," Elsie said. She didn't seem too excited but she did want to explore. Sora could easily guess she'd love to just stay in doors since it was hot outside.
"I see. Make sure Elias doesn't scam some girl." Sora said calmly while making rolled egg with some miso soup for his lunch. Elsie nodded and continued to drink her tea. Elias put on a face as if he was offended and was objecting towards Sora, tarnishing his good reputation. Sora wondered in his thoughts 'what was even his reputation and when was it good?'
"Elsie, can you cook the rest of the soup? I'm going to prepare for school."
"Okay." Elsie agreed and got up from her seat. Sora thanked her and went to his room to get his uniform and wig. He put it on and started to put on his school uniform. He made sure some of the wig blocked his purple eye and only left the blue open. 'I look really gloomy don't I?' He looked at himself in the mirror and he really did look like a gloomy loner. Sorata found it weird how people thought he was a gloomy otaku since he didn't talk to anyone but in middle school nobody thought of him like that. He still remembers that stupid rumor where if they were able to make Sorata smile they would be blessed by the gods or something. He didn't remember the full wording but he remembered how annoying the rumor was as it caused more people to flock to him this time they did outrageous things.
'I feel bad for the otakus In our class. They're hated for no reason.' Sora thought. The otakus were looked down upon and some of the groups that weren't otakus even messed with the otakus. Sora thought they were assholes but he did nothing as it did not concern him. He didn't want their attention nor did he feel the need to help them. There was some quiet girl who had talked to him but he didn't really respond to her much.
Sora got his school bag and went to the kitchen to get his bento box and soup.
"I'm off, Elsie,Elias." Sora said before leaving, Elias and Elsie both said bye and he walked out the door. The school was 20 minutes away from his house and he usually took his time. School started at 8:30 the time was 7:50 currently so Sorata had no reason to hurry and decided to take his time.
"Stupid girl!!"
"She's so ugly! Hahahah! Look at her!"
"Right! She's an otaku too I bet the other gross otkaus have their turn fucking her!!"
"""hahahahahahahahah!!!!!"""
"I-Im S-Sorry."
"Shut up bitch! Just leave, gross otaku!"
"Yeah just leave already before we decide to do more worse stuff to you!"
"Gyahahahaha! Let's not waste our time on this gross person! Hey! Let's go talk to some boys!"
In a hallway 4 girls were in one place with one on the floor. The three girls were seniors and dressed in a flashy manner with their shirts open to show off their cleavage. They left and the girl on the ground was getting her stuff with an expression as though she was going to cry. She had shaggy hair and a small body. Standing at 145 cm she had long black hair, she didn't have curves to the level of the girls there and she wasn't dressed that way either.
She had a somewhat cute appearance. She had some elements that made her beautiful but the way her hair was unkempt and her posture didn't contribute towards her beauty. Still even with all that it was clear she was cute.
'Why? Why can't I be left alone? Are my hobbies so offensive towards them? Why is it wrong to like what I like?' The girl thought. Even though she did nothing to them they always picked on her for some reason. She never figured out why it was so bad to like something. She was quiet and a bookworm to the point that she rarely talked to anyone. The girl was practically sobbing as she picked up her books and put them in her bag. She got up and looked at her knees that were dirty from being pushed on the floor.
She got up and started to run towards her class to not be late and just as she turned the corner she ran into someone. She hit them and she fell back. 'Again? I hope this person does- huh?' She started to grimace at another possible bully but she stopped in her tracks when she saw who she bumped into. It was a boy with long black hair covering half of his face. Though some of his expression was covered she could tell it was the same expressionless face he always had on.
"Sorry." She bowed towards him though she didn't stutter like when she was talking to the other three girls. She knew, though he wasn't the most talkative person, he wasn't someone who would bully her. The boy looked at her and then sighed.
"Hah. Again?" The boy said looking at her appearance.
I-Im S-Sorry." The girl stuttered with a flustered voice. The boy looked at her weirdly before reprimanding her.
"Why are you apologizing ishikawa-San? You have no reason to." The boy or Sora said to her. Ishikawa Hikari was a girl who would sometimes talk to him either in class or in the library. Sora just assumed she thought he was an otaku as well. Sora sometimes answered back or just nodded to whatever she was saying. Around May was the time Sora figured out she was getting bullied. He mainly just gave her things to fix herself and he went on with his day. Perhaps these acts of kindness made her somewhat attached to Sorata but he didn't bother to notice or care.
"Here." Sora took out a handkerchief and handed it to Hikari. This wasn't the first time this exchange has happened. Whenever Sorata found her like this either in class or the library he'd give her a handkerchief. So often that he started to bring handkerchiefs on reflex.
"U-Uhm s-sor-
"Stop apologizing. Just say thank you."
"I-I see t-thank you. Suzuki-kun."
"You're welcome." She took the handkerchief and wiped herself. Hilari always apologized to Sorata every time he helped her. Sorata always rebuked her and told her to say thank you instead. Just like Sora said she had no reason to apologize Sora didn't need to do this for her he was doing it out of his own volition.
Finally, Hikari finished getting the dirt off her knees and part of her skirt. She handed the handkerchief back to Sorata and Sora took it back and put it in his bag.
"Well then, bye." Sora, seeing as their exchange was finished, decided to leave and do what he needed to do before heading to class. But before he was able to leave Hikari called out to him.
"U-Uhm S-Suzuki-Kun!" Hikari yelled, almost biting her tongue sora turned his head around to look back at her. He waited for her to continue though she was fidgeting with her cheeks slightly red.
"M-May I ask w-where you are going?" Hikari asked. She seemed to be hopeful of something.
"Library. I need to return a book." Sora said in his calm manner. Hearing his response, Hikari's facial expression seemed to be happy.
"M-May I go with you?!" Hikari said. Looking at her Sora could easily tell she had to muster up a lot of courage to ask him this. 'Why would she want to go with me? I know she spends a lot of time at the library. I always see her there whenever I go.' Sorata thought. Sorata, Hikari and a girl named Tsuki Yuuki were frequently seen in the library.
"Why?" Sora kinda had an idea of why she would want to come with him. She must've had a book that she had to return. It was the most obvious choice and he had seen her books fall out of her bag when he ran into her.
"I have to return a book! I was wondering if I could go with you? Do you perhaps not want me to come with you?" She had a somewhat sad and hopeful expression. There were no demerits if she came and the same could be said that there would be no merits if she came with Sorata
'Well it doesn't matter if she comes or not. I don't personally care if she follows or not.'
"I don't mind. Do what you wish." Sora said. 'She couldn't be much trouble could she? Besides, it's not like she bothers me.' Sora thought while resuming walking while Hikari walked up to walk next to him. The library was on the other side of the school and Sora's class was somewhat near the library so he didn't need to rush. They were walking at a leisure pace and other students passed but they ignored Sora and Hikari.
"Uhm. Suzuki-kun! May I ask what book you're returning?" Finally after 3 minutes of silence Hikari decided to speak up. Sora didn't know that Hikari was mustering up a lot of courage to talk to him. Hikari wasn't exactly unsociable, it's just that whenever she talked about her hobbies, most looked at her weirdly. It was a prestigious school so most thought anime and games were a distraction and useless.
Sora himself could talk to people easily even if he was antisocial in his current life. He spent 7 years of his life talking to other people. He just shut himself away from others. He was different from Hikari who wanted to talk to people but didn't have the courage. He didn't really care so he decided to take the two books he took out to show her.
"Here." He handed her the two books and Hikari took them to look at them. Hikari accepted them and read the titles.
"Ah! It's these books! I really really liked this one, the other one though was bad. The protagonist of the story is just insufferable. The other one though is amazing. I really like the romance and the way the female lead and male lead fell in love." Hikari said this with an excited tone different from her nervousness she showed earlier. 'If she was like this all the time I'm pretty sure everyone would try to talk to her.' Sora thought.
Hikari spoke about the book with a smile and happy tone. She looked really cute, Sora didn't pick up on others' emotional state or their likes and dislikes easily but even he could tell Hikari really liked light novels. The book in question was a typical Rom-com but not in the way that most are made these days. The Male protagonist was made to become a perfect human being by his parents. He was conceived between two geniuses for the sake of having a perfect human.
The male protagonist grew up secluded, made to do things that the people saw fit a perfect human being. The protagonist unluckily was born into a family that was extremely powerful, furthermore it was different from the current Japan sora lives in this Japan was one that still had an emperor that had more political power than everyone. The emperor was his grandfather.
The protagonist grew up learning everything about politics, human interaction, history, multiple languages and other things. If he did anything wrong then he'd be punished. He lived a life of black and white everything he did was expected of him. Nobody interacted with him as a human but they talked to him as a test subject. His parents treated him coldly and only talked to him while they taught him.
The protagonist found out about a school and he used his skills to get himself enrolled in a school and ran away from home. The school was a prestigious school that was made to teach nobles how to act and such they established rules. One of the past emperors had made it a royal decree that no one is allowed to interfere with the school, even the royal family.
At the school the Protagonist met the Female lead. An average girl with average grades and looks. The romance was something Sora didn't care about but apparently it was really good therefore it was well received by most and was even getting an anime.
The other one Sora didn't like either. The protagonist is the typical average high schooler but his personality is the problem. He hurts the Female lead with his low self-esteem. The protagonist thinks the world is unfair for not giving handsome looks, making him smart and he resents those with talents and above average looks but is scared to do anything to try anything.
He's hypocritical, vindictive, and manipulative. The way the author tries to frame it is that the protagonist is a person who wasn't blessed but the only one at fault is the protagonist. It's unknown why the Female lead is in love with him but her personality is naive and she loves the protagonist even after all he's done. Everyone practically hated this novel and the author didn't help by trying to justify the way the Protagonist acts.
"Oh I'm sorry. I was talking too much. Here you go."
"Don't worry about it." Hikari finally noticed what she was doing and blushed in embarrassment and handed Sorata the books back. Sora took it while saying it was no big deal. 'Yeah. She'd make others look away from even Emi if she was like this as always.' Sorata thought. Reinforcing what he already knew that Hikari was very cute when talking about what she likes.
Hikari asked questions and Sora either nodded or replied. This kept going on until they reached the library where they returned their books and made their way to class.
.
.
.
.
*bing Bong.
The school bell rang signaling it was time for lunch. The students ran towards the cafeteria to be the first to get while others took out their bentos. Sorata made his way out of the classroom but as he was heading towards his usual spot he noticed two people following him.
"So why are you following me?" Sora said as he looked back at the culprits. Emi and Miyu. Miyu looked happy to finally be acknowledged while Emi put on an awkward smile. It was clear Miyu was forcing her to come along.
"Miyu wanted to come with you!" 'Hah. Doesn't look like she's gonna take no for an answer will she? No, even if I decline she'll probably follow me and sit there under the pretense that she wanted to go there.' Sorata thought. He looked at the two and thought it was gonna be a longer lunch than usual.