The Beauty of a Curse

Talking echoed outside Iscodaya's isolated mind as he finished the assignment given to him last period. The muffled sounds of Yusuke and his friends joking around were ones he was familiar with after staying on Earth for a little over five months.

As he finished writing the last symbol for his assignment, he sighed as he laid his pencil down and began to put his books back in his bag. “You’ve already done the assignment?” A shy voice called, taking Iscodaya out of his mind.

“Yeah,” he responded, his eyes turning to a very pretty girl, “I’d rather do it here than at home.” The girl, Rin Kirishima, nodded at Iscodaya’s reasoning.

“I understand, but all you do is do assignments during lunchtime, you barely have any time for yourself,” she expressed. Iscodaya was already used to this behavior from the friend group’s little princess, but every time she showed concern, the Prince couldn’t stop thinking of another little royal in his life.

Iscodaya instinctively chuckled as he laid his head on his palm. “Don’t worry too much about me,” he responded in a way he would always do with Senodaya. Rin couldn’t help but be taken aback by Iscodaya’s behavior towards her, for it was like how her older cousins regarded her.

But as Rin nodded and Iscodaya grinned, he noticed no annoying teasing happening towards him. However, as he turned to the main friend group, he could see why. Kei was talking to Yusuke, her affection one no one saw but the young Prince. “Such an idiot,” he thought, as he knew how much it hurt having unrequited feelings.

For there was one was Princess Iscodaya knew loved his older brother, yet she never told him, leaving her hurt in the long run. But Iscodaya found something strange with his body, for every time Kei and Yusuke would touch either playfully or accidentally, he found that he would internally flinch.

“Is this some kind of hex? Did that coward king curse me?” He thought as he continued to stare. But when Kei turned to him, he saw that her playful smile came back; he saw her walking towards him, causing Iscodaya’s face to grimace.

“Are you finished with your homework, Mr. Kousa?” She playfully asked. But before the two went back and forth again, two people entered the classroom. Iscodaya turned to see that it was his servant Kaus, and one of Kei’s friends, Yuuma, the closest one to the blue-haired swordsman aside from Yusuke.

Their faces bore a shocked expression as they approached the group. Iscodaya paid it no mind, as they might’ve just heard a school rumor, “Did you get my juice?” He asked, opening his palm to Kaus. The swordsman gave a boxed juice to his Prince, but he also brought something else.

“Iscodaya,” he called as the Prince stuck the straw into the box. He turned to Kaus as he began to drink, “I got a confession,” he remarked, causing Iscodaya’s eyes to roll.

Kaus was a very popular guy in school, so confessions came almost weekly. But this one was one he told Iscodaya about, so it must’ve been interesting, “Oh yeah? Tell me about it?”

Kaus and Yuuma hesitated to speak, but in the end, the human boy was the one who said it, “It’s not for Kaus… It’s for you.” A silence came over the few people near them, as Iscodaya almost spat out his drink. Kei watched in shock.

“Are you kidding me?” She asked, her tone mischievous, “Are they deaf? Blind? Both?” But this joking question of hers caused Iscodaya to give her a pinch in the arm. He was a bit flustered, as this was genuinely unexpected.

“Is she someone I know?” He asked, causing Yuuma to nod.

“Yeah, it’s Erika Yamori,” as Yuuma said those words, Iscodaya gave him a questioning gaze. “Look man, I don’t know why, okay, she just walked up to me and Kaus and told us that she liked you and wanted to talk to you after school.” Erika Yamori was a very popular girl in the school, she was pretty, kind, but also had a cool aura around her.

As the school day went on, Iscodaya was thinking of his upcoming conversation with Yamori. He was planning to reject her, for forming that close of a relationship with a human is too dangerous. So, as the orange sky replaced the blue, and the students began to go back home, Iscodaya walked to the back of the school, bringing a certain someone.

“So why am I with you here?” Kei asked, as she walked alongside the boy. Iscodaya quickly glared at her.

“Because Kaus is with Yuuma in his kendo practice, Yusuke is in baseball practice, and Rin is trying to study,” Iscodaya pointedly responded, causing Kei to give him the stinkeye.

“I was actually going to study with Rin, so why did you pick me?” She asked, but not a second later.

“Because I don’t want to inconvenience Rin, and you still owe me after I gave you my legendary character FOR FREE, might I add,” The boy sassily replied before continuing. “But the main reason I brought you here is in case Yamori spreads false rumors about me after I reject her.”

Hearing this, Kei was taken aback by Iscodaya’s planning, but she had no time to question it as they arrived at Yamori’s meeting area. Iscodaya instructed Kei to bring out his phone and record the audio as he turned the corner.

There, sitting underneath the trees, was Yamori, a greeting smile on her face as she saw Iscodaya come in. “Oh, you actually came,” she stated, causing Iscodaya’s typical cold stare to break a bit.

But he quickly recovered as he replied, “I mean, it would be pretty disrespectful if I didn’t.” Hearing this, Yamori smiled. Iscodaya really got to see her beauty and charm, but just like always, he wasn’t affected.

“So~ I think you know why I asked you to be here,” she stated, causing Iscodaya to nod. “Kousa… I like you.” A soft silence came over the two, as Iscodaya had forgotten all the words he had planned to say. So, instead, his heart spoke.

“...Thank you, but I am sorry. I cannot reciprocate your feelings.” Iscodaya’s voice was soft and gentle, one he thought he couldn’t make. But as Iscodaya was expecting Yamori to get angry at him, when he saw her face, she was still smiling.

“I see… well, thank you for considering it, even for a second,” she exclaimed, standing up from her sitting position, “See you around.” But something about her expression left Iscodaya’s mind swirling, someone so pure as her, rejected, by a mere stain.

“Why did you even like me?” Iscodaya asked, his head down in shame, as it was also heard through his voice. Both Kei and Yamori were a bit stunned by the question, but after a few seconds, Yamori smiled yet again—such a pure smile.

“That is why I like you,” she responded, causing Iscodaya to face her, questioning what she meant. “Truthfully, the first time I saw you, I really didn’t like you at first. You were unapproachable, rude, and always ordered Irom around. But the more I saw you, the more I observed how beautiful you really are.”

Iscodaya’s eyes widened as Yamori let out her heart, like a maiden truly in love.

“The little things you do, such as cleaning around to lessen the load on whoever is cleaning the room, having patience if people ask you for tutoring, and taking care of the people who hang around you, even when they do not notice. When I see you do these things, I can’t help but like you. Because I see in how you treat yourself, with pushing people away, you don’t see how beautiful you are, and I… wanted to be the one who constantly reminded you.” Yamori’s words pierced deep into the heart of Iscodaya, as he had never seen himself as beautiful.

“I-I’m sorry,” Iscodaya reiterated, clearly ashamed, but Yamori walked up to him, before tapping his shoulders.

“Then, let’s come to an agreement,” She suggested, “For me to forgive you for breaking my heart, you go off and stop pushing people away. Because I know full well, you have a very beautiful personality.”