His and Her Story Has Begun

After the chaotic events of last year, I thought to myself that I won't be finding friends anytime soon in my life, let alone rivals, but a girl changed that fate and inevitably became the one and only person that I started working my hardest to beat. She goes by the name of Matsumoto Misaki.

Her strawberry fragrance lingers in the air, easily recognizable from afar, gives her an unmistakable presence, as if it announces the arrival of the “ice princess”, or so her classmates used to call her half-jokingly half-seriously.

Her commanding aura and unmatched talents allowed her to carve her path through the ranks of Kurogane High School. Despite her reputation as a cold and distant loner, she boldly vied for the school’s highest accolades, unbothered by the risks to her image.

She excels in so many fields that I might pass out before I finish listing them all. She used to be the president of the literature club that she revived, and later convinced the student council president herself to join said club where she also wrote some of the best novels that, without any exaggeration, could rival those of professional authors, before shutting the club down once and for all.

Yet, despite her brilliance, she struggles in sports due to medical conditions.

a sharp eyed, frozen skeptic, yet fragile cored persona meticulously built from layers of delicacy help constructing the identity of the top student of our prestigious school, and possibly, one of the greatest students in the history of the school; that’s the type of student Matsumoto Misaki is.

“And what does a prominent figure like this Matsumoto have to do with a deplorable piece of scum like you”

“She might be a better student than I am, I mean, comparing my results in all of the 6 subjects to hers is simply unfair, but...did you call me a deplorable piece of scum just now?”

I laughed—loudly, too loudly.

he tilted his head slightly to the left.

“So that’s Matsumoto-san in a nutshell huh?”

I said, looking a bit muddled

“This is the girl that will transfer to our class this year, should we bring something with us to greet her with?”

“Maybe bring a flower—or a flamethrower. One might thaw the ice princess faster than the other.”

I said, half-jokingly

He ignored my statement, and rather cupped his cheeks with both hands, rocking back and forth, humming a song that sounded a bit familiar.

“And what exactly made Matsumoto’s name so...significant that you’d ask about her past?” He asked

“Nothing in particular. Just an impulsive curiosity, I guess.”

“Seeing you get interested in someone other than yourself is quite unusual, what sparked the curiosity, would like to share?”

“It’s not like I particularly care it’s just...” I stopped, it started to feel like I'm defending myself or something so I chose to simply shut up

“Typical of you huh?”

He said teasingly

I was annoyed so I got up and took my seat near the window and sat idly looking outside.

As I was lost in my own thoughts, I notice a silhouette of a girl drawn on the cloudy glass of the door, The figure extended a hand toward the handle. she reaches it and then turns it to reveal her appearance, a beautiful girl with a delicate and soft appearance walks in, moving gracefully. The whole class went silent, as she gets closer and closer to the teacher’s table, she then stops, scans the faces of everyone in the class.

She opens her mouth.

“My name is Matsumoto Misaki, I will look forward to working with you.”

She then lets a gentle smile.

As far as you can tell there is nothing out of the ordinary with this story. Well, I'm not trying to pull any punches as to deceive you into thinking otherwise, but I'm going to simply let things play out in front of you, because the story doesn’t revolve around me to begin with.

Not at all.

This isn’t a romantic tale, nor an idealized fantasy.

And Kurogane High School is far from being an ordinary one.

For reasons cloaked in mystery, it has become a breeding ground for curses—misfortunes that quietly take root and spread like weeds.

Someone should step up and put an end to those misfortunes

This is a story of characters imitating real people, this is a story about love, about betrayal, about distinguishing what’s genuine and what’s fake.

This is a story of four individuals navigating their final year of high school.

And most importantly, this is a story about the girl who looped in time

The door creaks open.

"Hello," she says, her voice clear yet soft, "my name is Matsumoto Misaki. Pleased to meet you."

The words hang in the air, and for a brief moment, it feels like a déjà vu—like I’ve heard them before. But I can’t place when.

She smiles gently, the same smile, the same soft presence.