The 14th Rejection

With the wind breezing gently and the last cherry blossoms dancing in the clear azure sky, the end of May was nearing.

“I love you! Please go out with me!”

“I am sorry but I cannot reciprocate your feelings.” Emma answered.

Behind the gym at Shinjuku's Tokubetsu High, Ichinose Kazuma, a second-year, was rejected for the 14th time by his crush Tachibana Emma who was in the same year as him.

“I-I see... I guess, I have to try my luck next time, huh?” he said awkwardly while scratching his head.

However, as the school's most popular girl and having the ability to draw everyone's attention to her, it was natural that many students would flock around her. Due to that, every time Kazuma confessed to her, they were surrounded by a crowd making him feel even more pressured.

Being too embarrassed, Kazuma gritted his teeth and ran for his life for the 14th time.

After he ran far enough from the school, his pace became more slower until he was just walking with a normal pace.

“Another day and yet another failure. Man, this sucks, haha...” he muttered to himself and let out a self-deprecating laugh.

As he looked into the sky, he reminisced about the first day they met each other. He recalled her angelic appearance but it was in particular her smile which he could not get off his mind.

It was her cute smile that made his heart beat faster. It was a pure smile that overwhelmed him. It was a contagious smile that made him smile as well. And it was that moment, where he realized that he fell in love with her.

Kazuma was a greedy and stubborn boy. Even though, he was not sure if it was too sudden to say it was love and even though, he was rejected by her many times since that day, he knew for certain that he wanted her by his side.

“-zuma? Hey, did the rejection make you deaf? ” someone asked behind him.

“?!”

He heard someone calling out for him. However, he knew that voice too well. Kazuma's face seemed slightly annoyed as he turned around.

“Hm? You're looking less depressed with each rejection. Nice progress!” the person said while she gave a thumb up and a sarcastic smile.

“Is this a compliment, Yui?” Kazuma sighed.

Nagisa Yui. She was in the same class as him and was also his neighbor. Although, their houses were right next to each other, they barely talked to each other until they were in the same class during their first year at high school.

She had shoulder-length black hair and crimson red eyes. Just like Emma, Yui's looks were more than enough to be considered as one of the top beauties at school. With a model like body like hers, Kazuma tried to catch a glimpse at her thighs, But unlike last time, he was caught.

“Where are you looking at?” Yui asked with a stern expression.

“Should I be honest with you? I looked at the newly and nicely made pavement under your feet. I even dare to say that in my entire life I haven't seen something as clean and beautiful as this pavement. Can't you see its elegance? Can't you see the love the workers put into it? I guess you can't! And it's because you are simply lacking the eyes for it. Don't worry many people turn a blind eye to art and you are sadly one of them.” he stated with an even sterner look.

“...”

She was speechless. Her stern face turned into one filled with disgust.

“Maybe I would have been less disgusted if you had just said 'your legs'...” she admitted.

“Sorry...” he said with a forced smile.

“Anyways, want to hang out at my home?” Yui asked casually.

“Sure.”

When they finally arrived at her house, she opened the door. At the entrance were no shoes to be spotted, meaning that besides them nobody was home.

Both took off their shoes and went to the living room.

“Want something to drink?” she asked.

“I guess I'll have some water.” he answered.

As she prepared the drinks, Kazuma sat on the couch and checked his phone. And like always, he did not receive any new messages.

“As social as always, are we?” Yui remarked sarcastically with a devilish grin.

“I don't care. I don't go to school to make friends.” he shrugged her off.

“Pfffff! S-sorry, but this is making me cringe.” she said while trying not to laugh.

Kazuma turned a bit red due to being embarrassed.

“You say that but here you are, hanging out at your friend's home after getting rejected by your crush.” she teased him as she walked around him in circles.

“First of all, anybody would have a crush on her. She's basically a goddess!” he clarified.

”And secondly, I think of you as a friend because you are an... exception... I guess.” he murmured shyly and embarrassed.

Yui was his first friend he made since starting high school.

“What did you say? I couldn't get the last part.” she said as she leaned with her ear closer on him.

“Ah. shut up! Where is my water?” he ignored her.

“Alright, alright. I think I should stop with the teasing for now. Here is your water.”

As she handed him his water, he snatched it from her quickly and chugged the water.

Meanwhile somewhere else, a group consisting of high school boys and girls were partying in a karaoke booth. While some were chatting with their friends, others were eating snacks or choosing what song they want to sing next.

In the center of that mob was a boy with dyed blonde slicked back hair and with two girls around his arms like he owned the whole place. Overall, his whole demeanor was arrogant. He had golden earrings matching his eye color and wore a smile that was not reaching his eyes.

“Hey, have ya heard already, Kirisaki-kun? We've a loser at our school who asked out the same girl for a month and got rejected for the 14th time today. Ain't that totally hilarious?” one of the girls sitting next to the boy commented.

“I know, right? He's kinda gross.” the other girl stated.

“Haha, is that so? What a pathetic virgin.” the boy said as he laughed.

While these three laughed. Another boy tried to join the conversation.

“What are you laughing about, Kirisaki-san?” the other boy asked.

“We were just talking about the boy who got rejected for the 14th time today.” one of the girls answered.

“Ah! You mean the 'Master of Rejections', right?” he asked.

“What's with that lame-ass nickname?” the girl commented.

“At school we're calling him like that. I mean, he got rejected 14 times already in a month.” he explained.

“But honestly, he sure has guts to confess to Tachibana-san so many times despite being rejected every time.”

As the boy mentioned the name of the girl who got confessed to, the entire mood in the booth changed for the worse.

Many of those gathered there, looked nervously into the same direction. The girls, who were sitting next to the person everyone focused on, slowly moved away. Not having a single clue to what happened, the boy restlessly looked around and then tried to identify where their gazes were fixed on. When he turned over, the blonde boy stood right before him. He looked with fierce eyes at the now nervously sweating boy and grabbed him by his collar.

“Tell me the name of the bastard who confessed to Emma.” the blonde boy ordered him.

“I-I-I think it was Ichinose. I-Ichinose Kazuma.” he stuttered.

Crash. Clatter.

Having heard the name, he shoved the boy and then kicked the table over where the drinks and snacks were placed. A huge mess was left on the floor.

“Seems like I was a tad too long absent from school...”

He was annoyed and sighed.

“Time to kick some ass!” he announced with a now aggressive and fierce demeanor.

“Yeaaah!!” the crowd shouted in unison.

It was 9pm. After having dinner at Yui's house, Kazuma decided to go home.

“Are you really fine?” Yui asked.

“Are you talking about my rejection? Then don't worry. After all, I'm the 'Master of Rejections'. As if I would get down from being rejected for the 14th time.” Kazuma answered while putting on his shoes at the entrance.

“I don't know if you should be proud about having such a title, haha...” she commented with a forced laugh.

“But honestly, I admire you. You still haven't given up yet on your crush despite her having a fiance.” she said.

“W-w-what?!” Kazuma asked hectically.

“Huh?” Yui reacted baffled.

Both of them stared at each other puzzled and shocked.