"I'm home," announced Alisa after opening the front door to her apartment. Her older sister, Maria, poked her head out from the living room and welcomed her with a cheerful grin as gentle as a flower. Unlike the usually expressionless Alisa,Maria was almost always full of smiles.
"Welcome home,Alya."
She approached her sister while smiling from ear toear with arms wide open, then kissed her on her right cheek, then left, then right again before bringing her into a tight embrace. The sight would make yuri fans around the world squeal like pigs with delight.
"Hey,Masha."
Alisa patted her sister on the arm to get her to drop the passionate embrace,and while Maria did let go, she suddenly turned her smile into a disappointed pout.
"Come on, we're in Japan now. Call me big sister like they do here."
"Not happening."
Maria puffed out her cheeks even more at her sister's cold reply.In Russia,people would usually call their older siblings by their name, unlike in Japan,where they would call them big brother or big sister. Therefore, Alisa,being born in Russia, would call her sister by her nickname despite Maria's frequent requests to be called big sister.
"Sniffle... You can be so cold sometimes, Alya..."
Realizing her pouting face wasn't going to work, Maria put on an even more pitiful expression, but Alisa promptly looked away and sighed. This wasn't anything new, but she always felt bad whenever her sister made this face. That still didn't mean she would call her sister big sister, though. After all, she was more of the serious type, unlike her easygoing older sister. Itdidn't help that Alisa was taller, and they were only oneyear apart. She had even been the one to look after Maria over the years as if she were the older one. That was why Alisa hardly thought of Maria as her older sister.
Calling her big sister would make it sound like I was dependent on her, to boot...
There were other things Alisa might have been willing to call her, but Maria was not having it. At any rate, Alisa decided to ignore her sister as she took off her shoes and swapped them for her slippers, but Maria immediately tilted her head curiously and blinked a few times.
"Alya, are you in a bad mood?"
"No...?"
Alisa eyed Maria dubiously to hide how she was really feeling, but such tactics didn't work on her older sister.
"Uh-huh... Does it have something to do with him again? With Kuze?"
Alisa walked right past Maria and headed straight for the bathroom,aggravated by her sister's prying and the sparkle in her eyes.
"Nothing happened."
"You know you can't lie to me. I can read you like an open book. So...?What happened?"
Maria followed her sister around like a duckling and continued to pry. It wasn't until she made her way into Alisa's room, plopped herself down on a cushion on the floor, and begged that Alisa finally gave in. Alisa took a seat,still dressed in her school uniform, and confessed with aggravation:
"It really isn't a big deal, but...we had a little fight. That's all."
"Oooh! A fight!"
Maria's eyes lit up with joy, even though it wasn't the sort of thing one would normally be happy about.
"...What?" "Hee-hee! It's not every day you get into fights, after all! And with a boy,too."
"Yeah,I guess."
"Wow... There's finally a boy who has braved the frozen tundra around your heart."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Alisa furrowed her brow at her sister's vague implications until Maria replied with a knowing smirk:
"You like him, don't you? This Kuze boy."
"...Excuse me?"
Alisa sent her sister a piercing glare as if to clearly say,"What is wrong with you? Did you hit your head as a child or something?" before shaking her head with a sigh.
"I don't know where you got that idea...because there's nothing like that going on here.We're just..."
Alisa suddenly remembered the confused look on Masachika's face the previous day at lunch when he said they were friends.
"Yeah... We're friends." The memory made her smile with smug satisfaction.That made Maria's smirk grow even further.
"Oh,you are, huh? But why? I thought you hated laid-back slackers like him?"
"Because,uh..."
Maria's assumption was correct. Masachika was not very motivated and didn't take things seriously. He was just like the kind of people Alisa usually disliked. So why did she consider him to be a friend? Alisa began searching her memories for the answer.
"
The classroom filled with applause. There was only one person, a little girl,in the crowd who was biting her lip with her head down. It was Alisa. She was in the fourth grade at an elementary school in Vladivostok at the time. This was the moment she truly realized that she was different from the others, and it was all because of a research presentation her class did. The students in her class were put into groups of four or five, given a topic to research for the following two weeks, and asked to post their findings on a trifold presentation board that they would then present to the class. The topic for Alisa's group was local jobs. They had interviewed local shops and family businesses and learned about their lines of work. It was the sort of innocent, simple project typically done in elementary schools. However, Alisa had always put everything she had into her tasks, no matter what they were. She'd always had a strong fighting instinct, even at a young age, and had always strived to be the best. It was only natural that she would aim for the award of excellence, which was essentially first place for best presentation. Therefore, she put a tremendous amount of effort into the project in order to win. Every day after school, she interviewed local shops until dinnertime and ended up filling out an entire notebook after only her first week.She took every possible measure she could to make sure she was ready for the group meeting to discuss their findings. But when the day finally came around,she was astonished by what the other three group members said.
"
"
"
Their research seemed totally half-assed from Alisa's point of view. Even if they were to combine their findings, they still wouldn't have half as much information as Alisa. But the fact that they expressed absolutely no appreciation or worry made her more dumbfounded than mad. What really made her angry was when the three of them looked at Alisa's notebook.
"
"
"
They stared at her with astounded gazes and forced smiles as if they couldn't believe her.
Wait. I'm the bad guy here?
Right after that thought crossed Alisa's mind, anger began to well up from the pit of her stomach.
No, I didn't do anything wrong. All I did was take my assignment seriously.I shouldn't feel bad. They should feel bad.
She was instantly filled with rage and disgust, and she was still fartoo young to suppress those feelings.
"
"
It was this response from one of her male teammates that had pushed Alisa over the edge. She decided that she would use the final week to create the best possible presentation according to her standards. But there was only so much one person could do in a week, and she hadn't been able to finish the project with the amount of care she'd intended. And as a result, another team had received the award for excellence. Alisa could not understand why her classmates didn't take the project seriously. She could not understand how they could smile and laugh, not caring that they had just lost.
We wouldn't have lost if the others had worked as hard as me. In fact,we wouldn't have lost if I had just done the entire project all by myself from the very beginning! I'm not like them. I'm the only one who took my assignments seriously and put forth the effort. I'm the only one who wanted to win.
The moment Alisa realized this was the moment she stopped expecting anything from others.
Nobody is at my level. Nobody has the passion or motivation to do what I do. That is why I'm going to do things the way I want from now on. I'm not going to lose to the unmotivated. I'm not going to lose to people who didn't work for it. I'm going to reach new heights nobody has ever reached before while you all just fool around the whole day. I don't need anyone's help. I can do everything myself. If you are going to half-ass something or if you are only doing it because you must, then you are only going to slow me down.
Even after the years had gone by and Alisa had become slightly more skilled socialy, her fundamental view had not changed. If anything, these beliefs had only grown stronger. Every time she saw how unmotivated or academically challenged her classmates were, her disappointment in her peers grew until one day, she started unconsciously looking down on others. Once she realized this,she distanced herself from her peers to avoid any unnecessary friction. It was a lonely world. It was the sort of loneliness only felt by someone who had been born with the talent and fighting instinct that made them different from everyone else. After Alisa finished her second year of middle school, her father was sent to Japan for work and brought the family with him. Following her parents' advice,she ended up transferring to Seiren Academy, which was known as one of the best schools in all of Japan. She had vague expectations that she might finally be able to work among her equals and improve alongside them, but she was instantly let down after taking the school's proficiency and placement test.She was at the top of her class now. It was the first time she had been in Japan in five years, and she was a transfer student from abroad with absolutely no idea what the test was going to be like. And yet even with those disadvantages, she had been placed at the top of her class.
Huh... This is what they consider a high academic level? I'm all alone, even here.
Right as her heart was slowly filling with resignation, she met him. It was on her first day as a transfer student on the morning of April 1.
"Your Japanese is really good, Alisa. Did you use to live in Japan?"
"You're so pretty! I've never seen anyone with silver hair before."
"Hey,did you really pass that stupid-hard entrance exam for transfer students with ease?"
Her new classmates crowded around and made their curiosity no secret.Although she was a bit daunted by the attention, Alisa tried to handle the situation without being overly rude. Nothing good would come from getting close to someone when she would ultimately look down on them. She would only make them uncomfortable, and it would make her uncomfortable once she realized what she was doing. That was why Alisa was not planning on becoming friends with anyone.
"Oh,the first bell rang."
"Already? That was fast. Talk to you later, Alisa."
"Let's continue getting to know each other during the next break, okay?"
"Okay."
After watching her classmates sadly return to their seats,Alisa glanced at the seat next to hers.
"..."
Sitting there was a male student lying sprawled out over his desk as if he didn't have a care in the world, despite all the noise and excitement that'd been happening right by him. The boy's free-spirited nature piqued her curiosity, to say the least. Before she realized it, she was lightly shaking his shoulders. It was the first time she was the one trying to start a conversation with one of her classmates.
"Hey,uh...The bell rang,you know?"
"Mmm...Hmm?"
An ordinary,young male student with a blank look on his face slowly lifted his head. It was Masachika Kuze. Kuze and Kujou. They were assigned desks next to each other simply because their last names were close alphabetically. He turned his blank stare at Alisa, blinked several times, then tilted his head.
"Ohhh... You're the transfer student who spoke at the opening ceremony,right?"
"Yes. Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou. Nice to meet you."
"Right...I'm Masachika Kuze. Nice to meet you, too."
That was all he said before facing the front once more and stretchinghis back.A few moments went by before his eyes widened with realization, and he tapped the boy in front of him on the back.
"Yo,Hikaru. I had no idea you were here."
"Seriously? Takeshi is here,too, man."
"Oh,wow. You're right. I fell asleep, so I didn't even notice."
Alisa was somewhat taken by surprise to see him pleasantly chatting with his friend and showing absolutely no interest in her. Alisa knew that she was twice as good-looking as the average person, and she understood that good looks could be used as a weapon when building relationships, so of course she was conscious of improving her appearance. Although she didn't use any makeup,since it was against school rules, she still understood that she possessed a beauty that rivaled the average TV star. And while she wasn't interested in attracting the opposite sex, she understood that her appearance, especially her silver hair,garnered a lot of attention. That was why Masachika, basically the only person who didn't express any interest in her, made a significant impression. But she soon noticed something while watching him curiously. It wasn't that he was not interested in girls or other people. He was simply unmotivated about everything.He would forget his textbook. He would sleep in class. He would even panic and rush through his homework during the break only minutes before class started.He would try not to stand out during PE just so he could put forth as little effort as possible. There wasn't even a hint of motivation being emitted from his lifeless demeanor.
Even prestigious schools like this have a student like him, it seems.
Alisa completely lost interest in the boy who sat next toher after that. It wasn't until the school festival in September when that all changed. This would be the last middle school festival for the third-year students. While some of them were busy preparing for their high school entrance exams, Seiren Academy was an escalator school. This meant most students would automatically enter the academy's high school next semester, so there wasn't too much pressure to study hard. In fact, Takeshi, who was on the school-festival committee, suggested that his class do something huge for their last school festival, so they decided to do a haunted house. They were only highly motivated in the very beginning, though.Everyone had been excited during the planning phase, but their motivation dropped significantly when they discovered how mundane and difficult actually putting the haunted house together was. Alisa recognized this and was fully prepared to take on most of the work.
"Ouch!"
Alisa was still in the classroom after school and had started making the costumes all by herself when she suddenly pricked her finger with the needle and dropped everything. As a drop of blood emerged from the tip of her finger,she placed it in her mouth, sanitized it, then applied pressure until it stopped bleeding. She then placed a bandage over the wound so as to not get any blood on the costume she was making. This wasn't even the first prick. She already had five bandages wrapped around her fingers because she was inexperienced at sewing. And yet she continued working as she fought through the throbbing pain. She wasn't going to let something as insignificant as this stop her. If she was going to do it, she was going to do it right. That was what gave her the determination to pick up the needle once more and continue her task.
"Oh,hey.I figured you'd still be here."
The door to the classroom rattled as it suddenly opened. It was Masachika,who had almost immediately disappeared after homeroom was over.
"Kuze... What are you still doing here?"
"Eh. You know me," he replied evasively, glancing down at the documents in his hands. Alisa curiously followed his gaze, but she couldn't figure out what the documents were.
"Anyway, Kujou, you can go home now. We can finish that up tomorrow with the others," he added with a shrug, which slightly annoyed Alisa.
We're not going to finish in time if you keep putting it off like that. Besides,I wouldn't have to be doing this all by myselfifeveryone else actually helped.
"Don't worry about me. I'm going to work a little more on this before going home." Alisa sternly refused, letting her irritation get the best of her.
"Oh... All right. Cool." After Masachika took a seat at his desk and his eyes wandered a bit, he scratched his head a few times and casually said:
"I talked to the handicraft club, and they agreed to help make the costumes,so we should let them take over from here."
"Huh...?"
"And check this out."
Masachika handed Alisa the documents he was holding while she sat in a daze.
"I got permission to use the boardinghouse. I figured if we made it into an overnight event, it'd help motivate our classmates who are kind of losing steam."
"...?! But how did you...?"
"I talked to the student council. I used to be the vi-Ahem. I know the former president, so I asked her for a favor."
Alisa shot him a quizzical gaze as he corrected himself, but Masachika continued talking before she could ask him about it.
"Anyway,I promised to have a few of our guys help the handicraft club with some manual labor, so they agreed to help us. There are plenty of guys eager to show off to all those girls, so I'm sure we'll be fine there. Now, about preparing for the overnight workshop... Wel, I suppose Takeshi can take care of that stuff."
"Huh?"
"Anyway, just go home already, okay? There's no point for you to be working hard all by yourself like this."
Masachika's casual comment caused Alisa's pent-up emotions to instantly explode.
"There's 'no point'? Excuse me?"
Alisa was extremely stressed out after working so hard sewing, despite being a novice. She felt as if all her hard work was being made light of after Masachika, a slacker she looked down on, suddenly provided her with a solution. It tore down the barrier protecting her heart. Before Alisa realized it,she had slammed the half-made costume in her hands onto her desk,swiftly stood up, and glared sharply at Masachika.
"IfI-! If I'm going to be a part of this, then I want to do a good job! I don't want to go to the school festival with a half-assed haunted house! And I don't want to compromise no matter what!"
Even Alisa realized she was mostly just taking her anger out on him, but she couldn't stop herself."But...but I know this is me being selfish! I know nobody takes things as seriously as I do! That's why I'm working twice as hard to make up for it! Are you trying to say I'm wrong for wanting to do a good job?!"
She snapped at him as she allowed her feelings to get the best of her.It was the first time she had done something like this since elementary school. She was expressing raw emotion-something she usually hid. Masachika's eyes widened before he bluntly replied:
"You're dumping all your effortin the wrong places."
"Huh...?"
Alisa was taken aback by his unexpected, straightforward objection.Masachika looked her right in the eyes and quietly continued:
"You don't prep for the school festival on your own. You work together as a team,yeah? If you wanna contribute something good, then you don't just give up all because no one else seems motivated. You think of ways to get them motivated,y'know?"
Alisa instinctively wanted to look away from his unwavering gaze and indisputable argument, but her pride would not allow her. Instead, she glared right into his soul as if she wasn't going to back down. Before she could say anything else, however, Masachika swiftly averted his own gaze.
"...Uh, I guess I could've phrased that better. Sorry if I upset you. I know you've been working hard, and I'm not trying to downplay that at all."
"Ah..."
When Masachika slightly lowered his head, Alisa no longer knew what to do with her anger. He responded to her misdirected fury wth an apology,leaving her raised fist with no place to go. But what strangely flooded her with emotions and took her breath away was that single phrase: "I know you've been working hard."
"...I'm going home."
Those were the only words she managed to get out before she grabbed her bag and briskly left the classroom.
I can't...I can't believe him!
She desperately tried to suppress her countless whirling emotions as she headed for the school gate...and she pretended not to notice the grief, regret, and the hint of joy in the depths of her heart.