Hikaru, a 16-year-old boy, stood shorter and a bit chubbier than his peers, with jet-black hair and fair skin. He attended a prestigious high school, but life there was far from pleasant. Bullied for his appearance and intelligence, he felt like an outcast.
One day, as he walked down the hallway, he was suddenly yanked into an empty classroom by a bully and received a sharp kick to the face.
"H-hey!" Hikaru protested weakly.
"You dare shout at me?" the bully growled.
"Pfft, he doesn't know who he's dealing with," snickered another bully.
"I'm sorry," Hikaru muttered, trying to appease them.
"That's a good boy," one of the bullies sneered.
"Please let me go," Hikaru pleaded.
Without mercy, one bully kicked Hikaru out of the classroom. He fell to the floor, blood dripping from his nose.
"Hey, what happened to your face?" a concerned voice called out.
Hikaru looked up to see Hina, the most popular and beautiful girl in his class. She had noticed him and seemed genuinely worried.
"H-Hina... What a shame you have to see me like this," Hikaru stammered, surprised that she was talking to him for the first time.
"You know my name? But that doesn't matter right now," Hina replied, focused on his injury.
"You don't need to worry about me. I fell down the stairs," Hikaru lied.
"Really?" Hina asked skeptically.
"Yeah, it's okay," Hikaru insisted.
"Alright," Hina said, unconvinced but letting it go.
Hikaru got up, grateful for her concern. "T-thanks for worrying about me," he said.
"Don't worry about it. I'm just glad you're okay. Anyway, see you tomorrow," Hina said with a smile as she waved and walked away.
Hikaru stood there, blushing. The most popular and prettiest girl in his class had spoken to him. She was the first friend he had made at this school. As he left, he couldn't stop thinking about her.
"Hina... she actually spoke to me. But what am I thinking? It's not like she'll have any feelings for me or any boy at all," Hikaru mused, trying to temper his excitement.
On his way home, Hikaru noticed a blue stone on the ground. He ignored it and walked past, but a voice called out.
"So you're just gonna act like you didn't see me?" the voice said.
"Huh? W-who's there?" Hikaru looked around, confused. "There was no one behind me on my way here. Is someone following me?"
"Pfft, look at the ground," the voice directed.
"Blue, you idiot! Blue!" the voice urged.
"No way... is that stone talking to me?" Hikaru wondered aloud.
"Yes, of course I am," the stone replied.
Terrified, Hikaru started running. "What is that!?" he shouted.
The stone flew up and hit Hikaru on the head. "Ouch!" he exclaimed.
"Listen to me—" the stone began, but Hikaru kicked it away and kept running.
"Oh, so that's how you wanna play, huh?" the stone said, creating clones of itself and pelting Hikaru until he fell to the ground.
"Ouch, hey, cut it out!" Hikaru yelled.
"Finally, you've come to your senses. Now listen to me. Take me to your house," the stone commanded.
"And who in the world are you? What in the world are you?" Hikaru asked, bewildered.
"[Sigh] Doesn't matter, just call me Stone," it replied.
"What do you want from me?" Hikaru asked, still confused.
"Well, take me to your house first, and we'll talk about it. You don't want people to think you're weird, do you?" the stone reasoned.
After giving it some thought, Hikaru decided to take the stone home.
"Nice place," the stone commented as they arrived.
"So we're here now. Begin," Hikaru demanded.
"Alright. I'm not an ordinary stone. I'm not from this world. My world got destroyed during a battle with my creator. To ensure that me and the other stones weren't destroyed, we were transported here. But not everyone can see or hear us because they don't meet our requirements," the stone explained.
"Requirements?" Hikaru asked, puzzled.
"Don't act like you don't know what that means," the stone retorted.
"No, I'm not acting like I don't know. I do know what it means, but I don't understand how I meet your requirements," Hikaru clarified.
"You'll understand later," the stone assured him.
"Let me guess, I'll be the one to find out myself?" Hikaru sighed.
"Yes," the stone confirmed.
Hikaru walked downstairs and out of the house.
"Hey, where are you going?" the stone called after him.
The stone then appeared inside Hikaru's pocket.
"Huh?" Hikaru was startled.
"Fuse with me," the stone suggested.
"Hey, I'm not falling for that. You'll just take over my body whenever you want," Hikaru protested.
"Well, no. You're the one who'll be using my power," the stone clarified.
"Huh?" Hikaru was left speechless, wondering what this newfound power would bring.