...Not the best move. Within ten seconds of my high school life, I'd drawn more attention than I ever wanted.
"KOJI!" A voice called out from the crowd.
Here we go.
"Morning! You're joining the volleyball club, right?" asked a panting upperclassman.
"Uh, yeah, sure. And you are?"
"Kenjiro. Captain of the volleyball team. Looking forward to having you as a starter!"
Whispers buzzed around us.
"Can't wait to help us dominate nationals," I said with a grin.
Kenjiro laughed. "Let's focus on winning Tokyo first, superstar."
"Fair point. See you at the welcome ceremony, Kenjiro!"
As he jogged off, I thought, Energetic guy.
I'd done well in volleyball—two tournaments, two MVPs. It wasn't like I cared about fame, but being good at sports couldn't hurt my chances with Akemi.
Suddenly, a mob of students swarmed me.
"Join the math club!"
"No, we need you in the dance club!"
"You'd be the perfect mid-laner for our gaming team!"
"Hollywood needs an actor like you—join the drama club!"
"Shut up! He's the best guitarist in school—join the music club!"
"You idiots, he's the greatest under-17 fighter we've seen! He belongs with us!"
"SILENCE!" a teacher roared, cutting through the chaos.
Everyone froze.
"The freshman needs to attend the welcome ceremony. Leave him alone."
The teacher walked past me, slipping a note into my bag.
"Join the creative writing club, the best club at Kokusai High. – Prof. Tatsuo"
...Yeah, that guy's an animal too.
No matter what club I join, my goal is clear: I'll find out which club Akemi is in and join it. Simple.
"Good morning, everyone. I'm Principal Fumiko, and today, we'll have a speech from our Student Council President, Akemi, who's currently in her third year. Akemi, please come up to the stage."
Applause erupts from the crowd.
"Student Council President? She's in her third year? Crap," Koji thought.
Okay, calm down. Sure, she's older, but if a 51-year age gap didn't scare me off, a two-year gap won't either. I just need to figure out which club she's in and join it. No big deal.
"First of all, welcome to all our new students. I'm grateful for the opportunity to lead the student council of such a prestigious school. I hope we all have a great year, full of dedication and success."
Honestly, I couldn't focus on anything she said. I was too busy staring into her eyes, trying to confirm if they were real. I've been burned before. Back in sixth grade, I fell for a girl wearing colored contacts. Word got out about my obsession during a game, and the next day, every girl in my class had different-colored eyes.
Like the naïve little kid I was, I thought God was rewarding me—or maybe Santa had finally granted my Christmas wish after three years of asking for girls with heterochromia. That wish got me sent to a psychologist, but it was worth it.
When I found out they were all wearing contacts, I felt a level of pain I'd never experienced before. It was like my mom telling me I was adopted. For a few minutes, I lost faith in humanity—and God. I even contemplated finding the tallest accessible building in the city and jumping off.
That tragic moment was also when the devil herself, Midori, stole my first kiss. That witch, with her pitiful beauty score of 3—an abysmal rating—I'll never forgive her. I scrubbed my mouth with bleach when I got home and ended up in the hospital.
The speech ended, and everyone was sent to their classrooms.
I know, I know—the story of Midori probably upset all of you. It's cruel to do something like that to a kid; she should've been jailed for at least 20 years. But, over time, I managed to forgive her—mainly because I've finally found the woman of my dreams. With her by my side, I could even forgive my parents' potential murderer. A man with a goddess in his life has no reason to pick fights, after all.
Koji entered the classroom. Thanks to all the sports he'd done, his confident stride made him the first to arrive.
Normally, I'd sit and analyze every girl's eyes as they walked in. But I don't need to do that anymore. I just need to figure out how to win Akemi's heart.
A group of three girls entered the room. Among them was a girl with long, shiny pink hair, holding two books against her chest. She glanced at Koji, and he noticed something.
No way in hell.
Complete heterochromia. Another one. One eye was blue, the other yellow like amber—a classic combo, like an '80s hit song. My God, my heart's going to explode. It perfectly complements her long pink hair—a timeless elegance that leaves anyone awestruck. Another perfect score. Two in the same school? This can't be real. I'm losing it.
Then a girl who radiated queen-like energy entered, exuding elegance and superiority. Her blonde hair was styled in a chic fashion, in addition to a green beret, enhanced with two analogous colors. But she is wearing sunglasses.
How the hell am I supposed to evaluate her beauty if she's wearing sunglasses indoors? What a weirdo. Whatever, I don't care. I already have two perfect scores. Nothing could surprise me more than that.
A crowd of students poured in. Koji, having trained his whole life to quickly assess every girl's eyes, acted on instinct. That's when he spotted another anomaly.
Three?! In the same school?!
Two blue eyes, but one lighter than the other, subtle, like French art, two lakes with different sources. It's not aggressive like the other two, but beauty sometimes lies in subtlety, another perfect score.
Koji's heart started pounding, his forehead dripping with sweat as he looked down.
"Hey, are you okay?" asked the blonde girl next to him.
"Y-Yeah, I just need to check something," Koji stammered, clearly unwell.
I need to confirm, my skill "Eye Color Palette Scanner" is an extremely strong skill, but it doesn't have protection against the damn contact lenses... I need to prove it.
As much as Koji longed for more heterochromia, he felt his heart couldn't take it. He was on the verge of collapse, knowing this girl's reveal could change everything.
"Hi, I'm Koji," he said, pale as a ghost.
"Ew! You look like a dark-arts zombie! Is this school's curse getting to you?" the girl responded, just putting on an eye patch with an orange star.
A weirdo. I'll just check her eyes quickly. The visible one is the lightest blue, so pretty. Everything hinges on this.
Koji pulled up her eyepatch, revealing the other blue eye. His heart clenched but soon relaxed.
An impostor. That's a soft-contact lens. They're more flexible than high-prescription ones, so she probably wears them for aesthetic reasons. She must have chuunibyou, thinking it gives her special powers.
"Gyah!" the girl yelped.
"Oops! My bad, I'm kinda clumsy," Koji said, scratching the back of his head.
For some reason, the girl blushed, covering her eye with both hands as she returned to her seat and slouched back in her chair.
"Phew! Even though I wish she had heterochromia, I'm sure that'd be the end of me if she did. I've already seen so much divine beauty that I'd probably die if I saw more."
"It's too dark in here. Do they turn the lights on in the morning, or just rely on natural light, Koji?" asked the blonde girl beside him.
"They do. But you could take off those sunglasses too, y'know. That'd help."
"Oh, right! I forgot I was wearing them!"
Koji turned to her—and what he saw made his legs wobble. When she removed her sunglasses, she revealed a pair of completely heterochromic eyes unlike anything he'd ever seen. One was amber, the other violet. Both were natural. No contacts.
God is real.
"Sorry, what?"
Those were the last words Koji heard before fainting on his first day of school.
END OF CHAPTER 2