Chapter 1:

Chapter 1: The Legend of Bloody Twilight

My Peaceful Life as Bloody Twilight is GONE!

My name is Aoi Isuzu.

And my life is supposed to be peaceful.

That’s all I want.

Unfortunately, I’m walking down the main hallway of Hijiridono Academy, and it’s happening again.

The "Moses" effect.

Or, as my idiot childhood friend calls it, the "Red Sea-ing."

Students-boys and girls alike-see me turn the corner, and they literally jump against the lockers.

It’s like a silent, terrified wave.

A gap of five feet opens up around me, front, back, and sides.

Whispers erupt the second I pass.

"It's her..."

"Bloody Twilight..."

"Don't look her in the eye!"

"Did you hear? She apparently made the captain of the Kendo team cry yesterday just by glaring at him."

Tch.

Idiots. All of them.

I didn't just glare. I also told him his form is sloppy and he looks like a constipated frog. He asked for my opinion.

My hair, this stupidly long purple-black curtain, swings over my shoulder. I yank it back, my eyes scanning ahead.

I’m not a monster. I’m not a gangster. I’m just a 16-year-old girl who wants to get to class, get the #1 rank, and go home to play the new "Cybernetic Dawn" expansion.

Is that so much to ask?

Apparently.

The nickname "Bloody Twilight" - Chi no Tasogare - is so embarrassingly dramatic.

It sounds like something from one of those cringey vampire mangas Rika likes.

But... I don't exactly hate it.

If the name keeps annoying pests away, I'll take it.

Peace. That's the goal.

My peace is immediately shattered.

"A-O-I-CHAAAAAN!"

A human missile, all 175 centimeters of pure annoyance, slams into my back, latching on like a hyperactive koala.

I don’t even flinch. I just plant my feet, brace, and continue walking, now with a 60-kilo idiot on my back.

"Get off, Toujo."

"Nuh-uh! Not until you greet me properly! 'Good morning, Toujo-sama, the light of my life, the-URK!'"

I stop. His legs are dangling, so I just bend forward slightly, grab his ankle, and flip him over my shoulder.

He lands on the polished hallway floor with a thud that echoes.

The entire hallway goes dead silent.

A first-year girl lets out a tiny squeak and drops her textbook.

Toujo Shoji, my childhood friend and the bane of my existence, just lies there, starfish-ed on the floor, groaning.

"So mean, Aoi... My beautiful face..."

"Shut up. You’re blocking traffic."

"Aoi-chan! Toujo! Good morning!"

Another, much more welcome voice, chirps up.

Rika Shouji, Toujo’s younger sister, runs up, her long black hair bouncing. She’s only a year younger, a first-year, but she’s 100% cuter and 200% less annoying than her brother.

She beams at me, then scowls at her brother, who is still on the floor.

"Onii-chan! Get up! You’re embarrassing Aoi-chan again!"

"I am not!" Toujo scrambles to his feet, dusting off his uniform. "I am... uh... testing her reflexes! Which are, as always, inhuman! Seriously, Aoi, you're a cyborg, aren't you?"

I just glare at him.

He grins. "See? That's the 'Bloody Twilight' look! The one that makes babies cry and grown men wet themselves! It doesn't work on me, though. I'm immune!"

"That's because your brain is too smooth for fear to stick," Rika mutters, adjusting her bag.

"I HEARD THAT, RIKA!"

I leave them to bicker and start walking again. They scramble to catch up, flanking me.

Toujo slings an arm over my shoulder. "So, so, did you finish the history homework? The old man assigned, like, a novel. I fell asleep. Let me copy?"

I shove his arm off. "No."

"Ehhh?! Why not?! We’re childhood friends! It’s our destiny!"

"Your destiny is to fail."

"You're a demon! A beautiful, purple-haired demon!"

"Leave her alone, idiot brother," Rika says, linking her arm with mine. "Aoi-chan needs to focus. She has to keep her #1 rank, after all. Especially since that guy is always trying to take it."

I feel my eye twitch.

Rika doesn't even have to say the name.

Fuji Kenji.

The school's "Prince." The sports star. The "perfect" student.

And the only person in this entire school who dares to be my rival.

He's always #1 or #2. I'm always #1 or #2.

He smiles, and girls faint. He's polite. He's charming. He's humble.

He's everything I'm not.

And I cannot stand him.

He’s been my rival since middle school. I thought I'd be free of him in high school, but noooo, he had to follow me here.

"He's irrelevant," I say, my voice cold.

"Ooh," Toujo sings, wiggling his eyebrows. "The Ice Queen speaks. She 'cannot stand him,' which in Aoi-language means-"

I stop walking.

I turn my head, slowly, and give him the full, 100-megawatt "Bloody Twilight" glare.

His smile freezes.

"Which means... uh... she's gonna ace the test! Yeah! Go, Aoi! Fight! Win!" he sputters, giving me a weak thumbs-up.

Tch.

Pathetic.

We get to the shoe lockers.

I’m swapping my outdoor shoes when a shadow falls over me.

Oh, great. What now?

I look up.

It’s a second-year boy. I don't know his name. He's... generic. He’s blushing beet-red and holding a pink envelope.

Oh, no.

Not again.

"A-Aoi-san! Isuzu-san!" he stammers.

The hallway, which had just started to return to normal, goes silent again.

Even Toujo and Rika shut up.

"What?" My voice comes out flat.

"I... I really admire you! I think you're strong, and cool, and beautiful!" he blurts out, squeezing his eyes shut. He shoves the letter at me. "P-Please read this!"

I just stare at the letter.

A love letter.

For me.

What a drag.

I can feel everyone watching. Waiting.

The rumors are true. I do get confessions. A lot of them. From popular guys, rich guys, smart guys.

And my answer is always the same.

I look from the letter back to his face. He's peeking at me through one eye.

"No."

His face drops. "H-huh? But... you didn't even read-"

"I don't need to." I stand up, slamming my locker shut. The sound cracks through the silence.

"I am not 'cool' or 'strong' for you to admire," I say, my voice dropping. "I'm a troublemaker. I'm rebellious. I'm unfriendly."