"I suppose thats it for today, its getting a bit late already." KZ said, glancing at his alarm clock, "Its been fun chat, but I'll see you all tomorrow!"

"See you K!"

"i wish i had some of your free time"

"nooo i wanted more"

The young fellow looked at the chat one last time, smiled and waved to signal goodbye. His hands, controlling a mouse cursor that hovered over the button labeled End Stream, pressed onto the left button of the little computer accessory.

---

"Good Morning. Im Daiki Akezawa, Nice to meet you."

The young teenager speaking was Daiki Akezawa , a 16 year old ***** student.

Daiki Akezawa wasn't your typical high school student. In fact, he was barely a student at all in the eyes of his peers.

Daiki made it his mission to blend in and hid behind his classmates' shadows. He hated the idea of showing off. Instead, he wore oversized hoodies, ugly glasses with thick lenses, and kept his hair deliberately messy with bangs that would occasionally hide his crimson-stained pupils. He never smiled too brightly, never did anything considered outstanding, and most importantly, never let anyone suspect that he was the famous KZ.

To the world, KZ was the star of the virtual world—cool, confident, and the definition of "effortlessly perfect." With almost half a hundred million subscribers on his MeTube channel, KZ was adored by everyone, and everyone liked his humor, style, and skills. But the Daiki Akezawa sitting in Class 2-B was an entirely different person.

"You know, KZ lives near our area," A male student said.

"Its not good to lie, you know. You could have at least made it a bit more believable."

"But I'm not! Someone saw KZ in the streets just a while ago."

"That doesnt necessarily mean he lives here, and it could be a fake, or a cosplayer." The other classmate mumbled. "And besides, KZ doesn't stream during this time of day, so i assume he's gotta be somewhere with an opposite time zone as ours."

Daiki overheard this exchange, and as the center of attention for the topic, he couldnt help but be proud of himself. He wanted to brag about him actually being KZ, but he thought of something before his face lost its remaining vitality.

------

"Akezawa-san, could you please stop slouching?" Kaito Aizawa, the homeroom teacher, called from the front of the classroom. "We're in the middle of a lesson, not a nap."

Daiki, slouched in his seat with his head down, stood up in response with his hair messier than before as he wiped the drool from his face.

He had spent the night awake once again, completing a new game that a company had given him as a beta release for a sponsorship.

With both his body and mind strained from the fatigue, he accidentally let his guard down and dozed off right before break.

He didn't really care about what was being taught at school--at least, not today.

"Im sorry, Aizawa-sama." Kaito slowly stuttered those words, "It wont happen again."

"Its almost break time, couldnt you have endured it for just a little bit longer?"

Daiki heard some classmates whispering, but he didnt pay much attention to them.

He didn't want to start a quarrel with them, so he sat back down and did his best to ignore some nasty words his classmates might have said.

But that was easier said than done.

From the corner of his eye, Daiki noticed Haruka Fujimoto, the class' popular girl, laughing silently with her friends at the front of the room.

She had almond-colored strands of hair. It was short and wavy, and her sparkling eyes seemed to resembled pink diamonds. She wasn't as tall as Daiki, though. In fact, she was on the average sidein the height department.

Haruka was by far the most beautiful girl Kaito had seen, but she was the last person Kaito wanted to deal with.

Ever since the first day of school, she had taken quite a strange interest in him, constantly poking fun at his "unique" style--his facade.

"Hey, Akezawa-san," Haruka said loudly, enough to draw the attention of everyone in the room.

"You really should consider doing something with that hair. I mean, you look like you rolled out of bed."

The class snickered. Daiki sighed, not even bothering to glance up at her.

Thanks for the advice, Haruka. I'll get right on that, He thought.

Daiki didn't answer. He looked at Haruka and gave a quick stern look. Daiki then glanced outside the window, where he saw students sitting under the shadow of the trees, eating their lunches.

He wasn't about to talk back at her, especially when an argument with the class idol would give him a bad impression, enough to put him on the radar of other boys. That was one of the last things he ever wanted to happen.

"All right, that's enough." The teacher interrupted.

The bell rang, signaling the end of class. Daiki grabbed his bag and made a beeline for the door, but before he could escape, Haruka intercepted him.

"Hey, don't go yet. I want to talk to you."

"I'm sorry. I'm really hungry, so could you let me go?" Daiki, who genuinely was longing for the comfort of his stomach, answered in a trembling voice--but Haruka stepped in front of him, blocking his path.

"It wont take a while now, come on." she said, folding her arms. "You're a bit of an enigma, Akezawa-san."

Daiki raised an eyebrow under his now brown hair, glistening from the ceiling light. "Um, what do you mean?"

"It's just that.." Haruka continued, "You've never even talked to anyone else. What's your deal? As the class president, I cant just let you guys be all alone--not when you're arguably in the most important phase of your life. Not everyone gets this opportunity, you know?"

"I suppose so," Daiki answered. "..but I prefer being alone. I dont really see the appeal to talk to others, so please excuse m-"

"-Im just saying, not everyone gets this opportunity." Haruka cut him off.

"However..."

"...You're hiding something, arent you?"

Haruka said, leaning in a little closer. "You act like you don't care about anything, and yet you're at the top in terms of studies. I dont know what you're going through, but just know that we can lend you a shoulder,"

Haruka slowly pointed at him.

"In fact, you kind of remind me of someone, even if theres a huge contrast between you two."

She continued, "You know, KZ? The MeTuber? He's exactly like you. Looks like he doesn't care, but underneath it all… he's way more than he seems. I bet you're just like him."

Daiki froze in place, his was already heart pounding.

His stomach churned, both from the shock and his hunger. He felt his heart skip a beat from those words.

Haruka was onto him—well, not exactly.

She had no idea that he was KZ. But the fact that she was comparing him to the online persona he worked so hard to conceal made his skin crawl.

"Huh." Daiki said, masking his uneasiness behind a word. "I'd be glad to be like him, even if only a bit. Being all carefree and cheerful. But thats not the case here. I just dont want to stand out."

"Is that so?"

Haruka narrowed her eyes and pouted her cheeks, seemingly annoyed. "I wont budge you and force an answer out of you." She smiled brightly and let out a little chuckle. "Until then, see you later, Akezawa-san."

"I suppose so. We're classmates after all." Daiki mumbled as he walked out of the room, his heart still racing. Haruka had hit too close.

He knows Haruka was being considerate, but the fact she even mentioned KZ at all gave him the chills.

The last thing he wanted was for everyone to find out his real identity.

Daiki walked through the corridor, walking past classroom after classroom, sneaking a glance through each opened door frame. He saw male and female students in groups bunched up and eating together, leaving him dismayed as he had no one to eat lunch with.

I suppose this is a price I must pay. He thought.

Daiki was never great with other people. He could never keep up with whatever conversation other students might start up, and even then, he could never find the opportunity to join in.

But that was all fine for Daiki. He'd rather keep his distance from people if it meant he would be keeping his secret.

"Akezawa-san! Wait up!"

Daiki looked back and saw a classmate of his. It was Yuki Sato, a short, slightly effeminate boy who always seemed to give off a delicate vibe. His messy brown hair, though unkempt, somehow always managed to look effortlessly styled, and his oversized sweater hung loosely over his frame. Despite the unintentional femininity in his appearance, Yuki was known to be approachable and friendly—traits Daiki was never particularly good at handling.

Yuki's light footsteps somehow sounded louder than the chattering students in the hall as he jogged up to Daiki, a friendly smile tugging at his lips. "Hey, Akezawa-san, you heading to lunch?"

Daiki nodded, though his stomach was already turning at the thought of eating with someone. "Y-yeah. What's up?"

Yuki didn't seem to notice Daiki's internal dismay. "Ah, well, we were assigned to work together for that project in history class. You were dozing off while Aizawa-sama assigned the pairs, so I figured I'd talk about what we're doing for it."

Daiki's stomach felt even more uncomfortable as he realizes he hadn't grasped the severity of dozing off in class.

Yuki continued, clearly excited to talk about their upcoming task. "I was thinking we could divide the work. You could handle the research portion, maybe gather the info on the historical figures we're supposed to present, and I can focus on putting everything together in a neat little presentation. How does that sound? It'll save us time, and we won't have to worry about scrambling at the last minute, right?"

Daiki felt his eyelids droop slightly as he zoned out again. His stomach rumbled again, the thought of food pulling him from the conversation. Still, he had to nod in agreement. His idea of "working together" usually involved minimal effort and a lot of quiet. Research? That was something he could handle alone. The presentation aspect? Not so much, but he was okay with Yuki doing most of the talking.

"Sounds good," Daiki said, his voice quiet but clear. "I'll get started on the research tonight."

Yuki's face lit up with a relieved expression. "Awesome! Thanks, Akezawa-san! I'll start planning the slides after you send me the script. We'll make a great team."

Daiki didn't have the heart to tell him that he was more focused on avoiding attention than actually collaborating on a team. Instead, he simply nodded again and took a step toward the cafeteria.

​

As he walked away, his thoughts returned to the uneasy feeling that had been growing inside him since Haruka's comment about KZ. It was like a small crack in the wall he'd built around his real identity. He thought, Would Yuki ever figure it out? Would anyone else figure it out? Would everyone figure it out? The idea of being exposed was starting to feel more and more real, and it unsettled him more than he cared to admit.

Daiki paused, suddenly realizing how far off he'd been in his thoughts. Haruka hadn't said what he thought she did, and her words weren't meant to cause him worry. As the weight lifted from his mind, he felt his mood improve, and his stomach grumbled in reminder. Lunch was waiting. Even though school pressures still hung over him, he could at least find some comfort in eating alone.