comment for motivation!

EXAMS HAD FINALLY ARRIVED. And you would have lied if you said you weren't nervous—because truthfully, you were. It wasn't just the stupid bet with Jun—actually, yes, it was the stupid bet with Jun because you feared you just wouldn't know how to comfort him after he lost.

But something—something, you knew—had obviously changed and shifted in the air. You were hesitant to place it into words, or describe it: but how else could you explain the way the student council's members' behavior shift? Before, you were convinced they would be playing some sort of sick game to thwart you and get you kicked out, but now, it almost seemed like they were...wooing you.

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"What's this?" You blinked your eyes at the sudden bouquet of flowers thrusted towards you. "What the hell is this?"

"Roses." Kaen winked at you. "It's roses, [Name]."

"Yeah, I can see that..." you poked around it. "Is it spiked? I remember some twisted faith fanfiction I read where the roses were just covered with blood."

"I don't know what you read, but that sounds morbid—amazing. You have great taste."

"Thanks?"

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"Let's go out on a date."

You sputtered—then your eyes sparkled.

"I never thought you would ask. Guess I'm not that bitchless after all. Why is everyone throwing themselves at me? You, Inei, of all people—?"

"I've done to honor the promise that you broke."

"Aw, how cute," you commented wryly. "You know, you have competition. Kaen brought me roses today."

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"Let's play a game, [Name]!" Saito slammed a gaming console onto your desk enthusiastically. "It's the second edition of Kanye or Hitler. You know, the game we played together?"

"I've got exams," you sighed melodramatically. "But sire, when it's done. You're a little late. Kaen and Inei just came."

"What? Ugh...annoying..."

"Sorry, try harder."

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"You made me Oreo ice cream? From scratch? What are you, Nara Smith? Well, I expected that of you, Daichi. Impressive. So what's this? A let's woo [Name] campaign that all of you are doing together?"

"You like cookies and cream, don't you? It's your favorite flavor."

You frowned. "When did I ever tell you this?"

"..."

"Wait, have you ever worn that shirt before? Look, I don't want to sound like a stalker, but..."

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Basically everyone, much to your horror (you were positively delighted since they were all incredibly good looking) had done just something for you. But you weren't about to let yet get into your way—you had something to win, and that included absolutely smashing that exam and making Jun lose the bet.

"I'm so not prepared," Haruka groaned, "holy shit, biology is going to kill me one day. Especially since it's a practical, and it's dissection. Like come on, I suck at using the knife..."

"It's not that hard. Imagine it's a human or something. Makes it less difficult."

"What?"

"What?" You shrugged. "It's really easy to dissect. I could teach you one day. Like you know, one on one?"

"To clarify, I won't be the one getting dissected right?"

"That has double meanings," Y/n raised an eyebrow, smiling. "The offer is on the table."

"No thanks. I think if I took you up on that, the student council would annihilate me. Can't believe they went from hating you to falling head over heels for you. It's insane to me—but you are crazy, and the student council has always been mad. First time they are breaking tradition, though."

"Huh," was all you said. You weren't really in the headspace to think about fucking multiple people right now. "You know everything, huh. Like a gossip source. Come to think of it, you never told me what Daichi did."

"That's not a conversation to have before the exam starts." Haruka frowned. "Come on, let's go. Actually, you know what? Let's go separately. Your idol friend hates it when you go with someone. He's terribly in love with you."

"Aw," you laughed, "come on. We're best friends..." you saw the incredulous look on his face. "Wait, holy shit, you're right. Why are you telling me this before the fucking exam?"

"You're okay to listen to murder than know that someone has feelings for you?"

"It's my avoidant personality. Murder is light, feelings aren't."

"...Okay." Haruka stared at you weirdly (pretty people shouldn't judge). "Whatever. I'll get going now. Good luck for the exam, [Name]."

"I hope you flunk yours," you said sweetly before you amended your answer. "That was a little too mean. I hope you pass yours with flying colors. Tanaka was asking me to go somewhere, but I bailed. Should be fine, right?"

"Fuck you."

"Gladly."

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—

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The exam was easy. Easy for you, anyways. Students came out of the exam with tears rolling down their cheeks and some had quite literally fainted and had to be escorted out by comfort dogs and ambulances. In the more extreme cases a student had almost and nearly committed arson and had to be detained by the police. To which he was released after paying bail, but that was irrelevant.

You wondered how Jun fared. You could pass, so now the question lies in whether you could ace it. Whether you could ace it well enough to attain top scores across the board. And while you were [Name] and you were confident in your abilities, Jun was a tough competitor.

"God, when are the scores going to come out?" You muttered aloud, exasperated. "How long does it take to mark a paper, anyways? Half of everything handed up was blank anyways."

"Probably about a week, or more." A voice behind you said, and you turned around.

"How was your exam, [Name]?"

"...Daichi." Not your top choice in being someone you currently wanted to meet, but hey, he was still as good looking and angelic as you remembered, and that gave him massive brownie points. "It was good," you shrugged, "not too bad. I ate some of the ice cream before it—it was good."

"Nice to hear," Daichi smiled at you once again and somehow you found yourself threatened by it—which was probably a first, since you knew no one could even compare to your level except Arata, "the rankings will be out soon. You have your bet with Jun, don't you?"

"You really know—everything—" you muttered under your breath. "Whether that's creepy or impressive, I don't know."

"Hmm." Daichi gave a non committal answer and instead looked around. "Do you have a minute?"

"Not really, I have to meet Arata."

And just for a second—just for a split second that only your eyes could discern, you saw how quickly his eyes darkened, and his expression became shadowed. You don't know yet what Haruka was referring to when he mentioned the whole mysterious incident three years ago. Because those eyes, as you knew, were the eyes of a murderer. They were the eyes of a trained killer.

"...I see." That look disappeared faster than it had even appeared. "Have fun, [Name]."

You looked at him warily and hesitantly. Daichi...Daichi...

What was his surname, again?

Suspicions were boiling within you, but hey, you should focus on your little date with Arata.

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—

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"How useless," Daichi murmured softly. His heel pressed onto the head of a whimpering student, and he gazed down coldly at him. Tanaka, right?

Useless, useless, useless!

"I asked you to do a simple favor for me. Bring [Name] out before that exam to meet with me. And now the opportunity is gone. Can you not even do such a simple thing? Need I remind you what happens with losers? Do I?"

"N-No, student council president..."

"But you still failed," he hissed sharply, "the fact remains that you failed, Tanaka. I ask you to come close with [Name], to lead him to me, but you remain a blundering fool. What happened with Itsuka three years year, do you know?"

Tanaka wanted to scream for help. Surely the other student council members knew of this madness, right, surely they would stop him, right?

"He died."

The realization was cold and deeply alarming to Tanaka. Oh, I might end up dying like the previous victims did. I might end up dead—!

"And now Arata shall sink his fangs into [Name]. He's clever. He knows about me, and that really won't do..." Daichi glanced at the door. "There is a mole in the student council who reports all my actions to Arata. Someone who is in desperate need of money, and who still hasn't realized his feelings for [Name]. I haven't tormented him enough."

Tanaka's eyes widened. Did he mean—

"How hard it is," Daichi sighed, ignoring when Tanaka started to cough heavily, "to like someone who everyone likes. I guess I have to start getting rid of the other competitors, don't I? After all, even when [Name] and Arata do get together, then I suppose I get rid of that idol. What do you think, Tanaka?"

The game, after all, was a disguise. A disguise for him to simply get rid of the student council—well, Arata was currently more important—and to win you. After all, you would remember him soon, just like you remembered Inei.

There was no reply.

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—

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"How were you born? That's what our professor asked us today," Arata grumbled. "All that philosophical stuff about the precious life, about...ugh. He would have a fit if he just knew what we were up to."

You two were walking side by side along the lockers—and you couldn't help but gaze longer at him. Was it just you, or did Arata actually look so...bright this morning, or had Haruta's words impacted you? You had always prided yourself on not being dense, and now with a white curveball (literally not straight) thrown at you, suddenly it felt like the whole world was crashing upon you.

Wait. I definitely know I'm not straight, and I am fond of Arata, so what does this mean?

Platonic or romantic, that was the real question. If someone asked you to kiss Arata, you would have totally done it. But then again if someone asked you to kiss Kaen, or Inei, or something—yeah, you would have done that too.

So Arata was just biding his time, just waiting? That was impressive, to a certain degree. His patience itself was already a green flag and unlike many people who were currently reading this, you actually liked green flags. And Daichi was a big red one despite all of his initial politeness and his prior good impression.

"How was I born? That's easy. Wait, actually, I don't know. My mom must have interacted three times with the sound. Such actions can only birth perfection."

"What?" Arata said in amusement, laughing. "What are you even talking about, [Name]?"

"Oh, you know. If you comment, you live with your third @. However, if you interact three times, you live a perfect life. In my mother's case, interacting three times birthed me. Actually the word interacting three times kind of has several meanings, but ignore me."

"Huh." Arata smiled at you, and hold on, were you just hyper aware of his feelings to the point you were—blushing—inwardly....? But you did blush at others too, though...this whole thing was a mess, and you wished Haruka never told you. Your mother would have been delighted at the prospect of you and Arata. "Anyways, how were your exams? I pity the person Jun will become after he sees that you won."

"Oh, he owes me a lot," you winked. "I still remember when he allowed Jack to take Terry away. I brought Terry to the exam in case someone tried to do something to me."

"Why would someone even try? Your reputation is terrifying enough."

"Precautions."

You stared at Arata a little harder. Yes, you always knew he was handsome, but had he always been this handsome...? Hm... he did look really fine...he was an idol, after all...

"Quit staring, [Name]. Is there something on my face?"

"You like me staring," you teased him. "No, but I think your face is a gift from heaven. Does someone really need to have such good facial proportions? I think not, Arata."

Pink coated his cheeks and he looked away. Adorable—wait, what? You really were going insane, god bless your muddled soul.

"Whatever," Arata mumbled under his breath. "I came here to tell you that my mother—your mother—wishes to hear from the both of us. And apparently some things are boiling up in the Kazuya Corporation. Mostly regarding the eldest heir. I have no idea what is going on, but from the sound and gist of it, it doesn't sound too pretty." He wrinkled his nose. "Think we might have a mission soon?"

Daichi Kazuya, stirring up trouble in his own organization. And because of his strong affections for you that rivaled Arata's. But unlike Arata, Daichi was willing to hurt you if it meant he could obtain you.

"Oh god, I hope," you blew out a breath, "after exams I really need a stress reliever. Would be better if we get to bring our guns and everything. Oh! And poison! Remember that drink we gave to the child trafficker? Now, that was impressive..." you trailed off.

See, Arata really made you comfortable. You could go on and on and yap about the stupidest things ever and he wouldn't even bat an eye! One more point than Daichi. Daichi was a headache—he was dangerous. He liked you to a certain extent: or was he just pretending, just like he had put on a mask of politeness and sweetness?

What was Daichi plotting, and who was he?

"Come on. Let's go grab lunch, [Name]."

"...Yeah, let's...."

"What's wrong?" Arata frowned. "Something on your mind?"

"...The student council's behavior has been really strange lately, hasn't it? Kaen giving me roses, Inei asking me for a date—hell, Daichi giving me food he made himself. Just a few days ago, I could have sworn they all wanted to get rid of me. The whole world must be falling apart." You mumbled on and on, "Daichi. He's strange. He's really strange. I think he's possibly..."

"Wait, the student members displayed their affections so—blatantly?" Arata totally ignored the last part and seemed to have fixated purely on the first part.

"Yeah, I guess. I've always known they liked me. Inei aka is my childhood friend to a certain extent and we made a whole marriage deal, Daichi god knows why, his behavior did a total 180—and Kaen probably likes me because I'm me. Which is cute, if I think about it. But Daichi...didn't you hear what I said before?"

"That Daichi is a totally suspicious character?"

"So you did bother to listen. He's someone I really can't analyze—why the frown, Arata?"

"You know what you're doing, aren't you?" His voice was almost a hiss and it startled you.

"What?"

"You, mentioning all those names about how they like you, about how Daichi is so interesting—about how he..." Arata looked pained, before he tore his eyes away. "[Name], you...you cannot be denser than a rock."

You cannot not know of my feelings for you, and you couldn't possibly not know who Daichi really is, right?

"Insulting, but—" you drew in a sharp breath. "Arata, I'm not doing it on purpose..." you softened. "I swear I'm not. Why would I try to gain your attention when I already know it's always on me?"

The words slipped out before you knew it. It was really endearing, now you realized, that you had always been Arata's first priority. And it was good; knowing you were someone's first.

"—[Name]—"

Arata sucked in a breath. Isn't this what he had promised himself, actually? That he would make a move before—before the others did...? Before his chance to be with you was ripped away? And now here you were, acknowledging it. Seeing his affections for you, bringing it out in the open. Because he loved you desperately and he loved you so much—that it hurt to even think of a possibility without you. Ultimately he wished for your happiness, and if your happiness lay with someone else, he would retreat.

But then a selfish part of him wanted you, for himself. He deserved you. And you deserved someone who would treat you like gold. Someone who would rightfully treat you the way you were: precious.

You smiled fondly at him.

"You're jealous, aren't you? That the others like me too."

Kaen and the others weren't even that big of rivals. Actually, yes, they all had potential—and judging from their interesting past, yes, they were all mentally insane in the head and if their affections spiraled into obsessions, Arata had no doubt they could possibly attempt to hurt you. But the only one with actual skill needed to take you down in his arsenal was Daichi, the student council president.

Future Leader of the Kazuya Corporation. It was good you didn't seem to have any attachment towards Daichi, only suspicion, but he was an obstacle that Arata needed to take down, no matter what. He was just too dangerous to be left alone.

And the new game...Arata wasn't stupid.

There was a mole on the student council—who luckily, needed money. And he had yet to realize his affections for [Name], and would easily sell information out. The game to claim you, to make you fall in love with them.

Arata needed to make his move now. Before you—set your sights—on someone else.

And if it meant that he would make enemies of Daichu, he didn't care. By right, weren't all of you enemies, always? The L/n corporation hated the Kazuya corporation.

But the question was; would you accept? Would you accept his feelings for you, or would you cast it away?

You frequently flirted with people, you—

"Yes," Arata said slowly, "yes, I am jealous. But if I told you that, would you treat me any differently?"

You looked at Arata. To be honest, yes, you dated to marry. And could you see a chance of a future relationship with him, one that—would end in a relationship?

Yes, you could. You could.

"Are you asking me if I like—if I love you?" You raised an eyebrow, "no, are you asking me if I would date you if you acknowledged your feelings?"

His, his, his.

Arata's finger thumbed over your cheek, and his gaze was strong, unwavering, not the slightest bit nervous. His touch was like searing heat, and sent pleasant warmth jolting up your spine. You could relish in it, you could see the unbridled affections he had for you so evident in his eyes.

His mouth opened to answer. "I'm asking exactly that."

You smiled slowly.

"Yes, I would."

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how was it? sorry I wasn't feeling the best and thus the shorter chapter, I apologise