Chapter 1 : The Confession

Chapter 1 : The Confession

“Lies are easier to believe when they wear the face of someone you trust.” – Adam

Spring at Miyahara High School 

Miyahara High looked almost to peaceful under the April sun. The Cherry blossom petals drifted like fragile lies through the air, brushing against the windows of the Class 2–B, Inside, the desks scraped, sneakers squeaking through the class, and half-laughed jokes echoing off the chalk-dusted walls. The air felt restless, it seemed as the spring has started working it's strange Magic.

 Akane Hayasaka sat near the window, hands folded, back straight , the perfect model of a diligent girl. Her hair was simple brown framed perfectly around her face, not a strand out of place. Her bag sat on her desk, still zipped shut. She ignored the classroom to stare at the courtyard, watching students pair off like they were desperate to fall in love. No one really noticed her much, except teachers who loved her quiet discipline. She didn’t ask questions. She didn’t start trouble. She didn’t break rules. But she also didn’t let anyone close enough to matter.

Riku Inoue did.

Akane and Riku were childhood friends. They have known eachother since their kindergarten . He was full with energy and very little shame. His tended to smile first before his thoughts. He has a laugh that was impossible to ignore. he was a guy who would wave at everyone and remembered random trivia like the teachers' birthdays. if Akane was the quiet one, he was the noise that filled the space. And today, he looked nervous. Dangerously nervous.

Adam noticed.

Adam sat in the back corner of the classroom. where sunlight didn’t quite reach him. His uniform was perfectly pressed. It was loosely worn, as if he arranged it to look like he didn't care. His sleeves were pulled down till his wrists. And his collar was raised high against his neck. He said nothing. But also saw everything.

Adam had a sharp, angular face and a jaw that was always set in a hard line. His hair was dark in color and very unruly, his hair was hanging in his eyes. The real problem was his eyes. His eyes were a distinct, smoky gray that didn't even reflect any light. His eyes were totally unreadable. He has his own way of watching people–silent and unblinking–that made anyone fell that their secrets were written on their forehead.

His skin was pale–the kind of skin that burned in ten minutes of direct sun contact–so he covered it up. His Blazer was buttoned to the chin, sleeves pulled down to his knuckles even in the heat. It was not for the sun, It was an armor. He never let anybody have a look at his wrists. His intention was to keep it that way.

Adam never spoke much. When he did, his voice was low, which forced people to lean in if the wanted to hear him. It was a power move, though most of them just thought he was a shy boy. Because of his name and the way he kept himself. He was also a Transferred student, so most people assumed he was foreign. He never tried corrected them. He believed that being misunderstood was easier than explaining himself. He existed on the periphery of the class, like a side character that appears in someone else's Story. Unimportant. Unnoticed.

But Adam noticed everything.

When Riku glanced at Akane, his jaw twitched with nerves, Adam stopped taking notes, he did not like a predator; he looked very bored. But his focus had narrowed entirely on the two of them.Lunch arrived, and the classroom dissolved into chaos. The hallway was flooded by the students. They seemed desperate for a break.
Akane stood up ready to have her lunch outside, slinging her bag over her shoulder. Before she could reach the classroom door, Riku called out her name.
"Hey Akane," he said, "You got a second?"
She blinked. “Sure.”
“Can you come outside? I just… I need to talk to you.”
Adam noticed it, but he didn't follow them. That would be amateur. Instead, he took the long route, he looped around the school building to the vending machine near the gym. He Bought a Matcha, and leaned against the humming metal machine, and just listened. The acoustics were perfect here; voices drifted right around the corner.
Riku was standing beneath the cherry blossom tree with Akane. It was looking like a cheesy romance manga scene–Pink petals were falling, wind blowing.
“I’ve been thinking,” Riku began, voice wobbling like a wire under tension. “For a while now, I mean. Since… probably middle school. I like you,
Akane. Like, really like you.” Akane’s eyes widened just a fraction. She didn’t step back. She didn’t gasp.
She tilted her head, processing it in real time. “I… Riku, I didn’t expect that.” “I know,” he said quickly. “I mean, I’m not pressuring you. I just… I wanted to be honest. For once.”
There was a long pause between them. The only sound that was the wind rattling the leaves overheard.
“I appreciate you saying it,” she finally replied. “But I need time. I’m not sure how I feel yet.”Something in Riku’s shoulders relaxed, but not completely. “it’s fine. It’s totally fine. I just wanted you to know.”
Adam’s lips quirked at the edge. Not a smile. Something sharper.
Adam had disappeared into the hallways towards his class.
Akane Returned to the classroom, and sat on her seat, her face was blank, Riku acted Normal, he was laughing too loud at joke from the boys nearby, slapping a desk like it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard.
Adam slipped back into the classroom moments before the final bell.
Everyone one sat back at their seats, this is when their homeroom teacher, Mr. Sakamoto entered the classroom, he stood up at the front gesturing towards the board with a piece of chalk in one hand and a half-drunk cup of coffee in the other.
“Alright, folks. Club showcase is next week. Time to pretend you care about something other than your phones. Fill out the forms. Join a team. Impress your future spouses.”A ripple of lazy laughter rolled through the class.
Adam sat with one hand supporting his chin, eyes drifting slowly between two people: Riku, tapping his pen nervously against the desk behind Akane. And Akane, staring so hard at her planner she might’ve burned holes in the page. He listened to the silence between them. That was always where the truth lived, in the things unsaid.
In his mind, he began to stack the facts like matchsticks:Riku was too soft. The kind of person who'd break when the script didn’t go his way.Akane was guarding something. Not her heart,no, that had already started to slip. But something older. A loneliness, maybe. A hollowness she didn’t want anyone else to see.
Adam didn’t believe in love. Not anymore.Love was a lie people told to make abandonment sound romantic.Love was what his mother whispered just before she coughed up blood.Love was his sister’s promise, still echoing in his ears after she left him behind.Love was his father saying, “I do this because I care,” before lighting a cigarette and pretending not to see Adam flinch. So no. He didn’t trust love. But he did trust patterns. Weakness. Opportunity.
The final bell rang, and the class scattered like frightened birds. Riku chased after his friends. Akane moved slower, more deliberate.
Adam stayed behind.
When the hallway was mostly empty, he walked to Akane’s locker. His hand slipped a folded note between her books. Just one line, written in calm, mechanical script:
“Come to the literature club room. Alone.”
Then he walked away, disappearing into the stairwell shadows before anyone saw him leave.Akane reached her locker minutes later. The note fluttered out, catching the breeze like a secret that wanted to be free.
She read it once. Said nothing. But her fingers closed around it tightly. And somewhere above, on the second-floor balcony,
Adam watched with the faintest flicker of something in his eyes.

The trap was set, the game would begin.