Chapter 10 - The Reason I Started Watching Him

If someone asked me when it started…

I wouldn’t be able to answer.

Not because I don’t remember.

But because the answer is embarrassing.

And embarrassing memories are the kind your brain politely suggests you delete.

Unfortunately, mine refuses.

So here we are.

Let’s rewind.

Not to yesterday.

Not to last week.

Further back.

Before the ears.

Before the tail.

Before the mission.

Before the strange being that called itself a “Wish God.”

Back when I was just Kuro Akamine.

The quiet girl in the corner of the classroom.

Which, for the record, is not a dramatic title.

It’s just accurate.

Every class has one.

The background character.

The one people vaguely recognize but never really talk to.

That was me.

Not because people hated me.

Not because they bullied me.

No.

That would at least make things interesting.

I was simply…

Unnecessary.

Conversations happened around me.

Friend groups formed around me.

Life continued around me.

And I existed slightly outside of it.

Like an NPC that hadn’t been programmed with dialogue yet.

Honestly, I didn’t mind.

Silence is comfortable.

Silence doesn’t ask questions.

Silence doesn’t expect you to smile when you don’t feel like smiling.

But silence has one weakness.

It gives you too much time to observe people.

And when you observe people long enough…

You start noticing strange things.

Like him.

Rei Hoshizaki.

Now, if you looked at him from a distance, you’d probably label him something simple.

Average.

Not the smartest.

Not the most popular.

Not the class clown.

Just…

There.

Which is exactly why he caught my attention.

Because average people don’t usually do strange things.

But Rei Hoshizaki did.

A lot.

For example—

The first time I really noticed him was during the second week of school.

A girl dropped her bag near the door.

Books scattered everywhere.

No one reacted.

People stepped around the books.

Conversations continued.

And then—

Rei walked over.

Picked them up.

Handed them back.

And said something incredibly stupid.

“Careful. Gravity is working today.”

The girl laughed.

Which confused me.

It wasn’t a funny joke.

It barely qualified as a joke at all.

But she laughed.

Rei laughed too.

Then he walked back to his seat like nothing happened.

No dramatic moment.

No attempt to show off.

He just did it.

And that was strange.

Because most people in school operate on an invisible rule.

Only help people when someone is watching.

Rei didn’t seem to care whether anyone was watching.

Which made him…

Interesting.

So I started observing him.

Not in a creepy way.

Okay maybe a little in a creepy way.

But strictly for research purposes.

Probably.

I noticed patterns.

He helped people.

But never bragged about it.

He made jokes.

But never tried to be the center of attention.

He talked to everyone the same way.

Popular people.

Quiet people.

Teachers.

Even the stray cat that sometimes sat outside the school gate.

Actually…

Especially the cat.

I once watched him spend five minutes talking to that cat.

Five minutes.

About what?

I have no idea.

But the cat seemed invested in the conversation.

Which says something about his communication skills.

And then one day…

Something even stranger happened.

I dropped my pen.

A small event.

A meaningless event.

The kind that disappears into the background noise of daily life.

The pen rolled under my desk.

I leaned down to grab it.

But someone picked it up first.

Rei.

He placed it on my desk.

And smiled.

“Your escapee.”

That was all he said.

Then he walked away.

No follow-up conversation.

No awkward attempt to talk to the quiet girl.

Just that.

Simple.

Normal.

Which was the problem.

Because people don’t usually treat the quiet girl normally.

They either ignore you completely.

Or they act strangely polite.

Rei did neither.

He treated me like I existed.

Which, strangely enough…

Was rare.

That was the moment I started paying attention to him more.

Not because I liked him.

That would be ridiculous.

I was simply curious.

Yes.

Curious.

That’s the official explanation.

And I’m sticking to it.

Then the Wish God appeared.

And everything became complicated.

Ears.

Tail.

Mission.

“Make him fall in love.”

When the god gave me the target’s name, I expected anyone.

Anyone at all.

But when I saw it—

Rei Hoshizaki.

The one person I had been quietly observing for months.

The one person who treated me like I was normal.

Which raised an important question.

Was it coincidence?

Or was the Wish God messing with me?

Honestly…

I still don’t know.

But the real problem started afterward.

Because missions are supposed to be simple.

Step one: get close.

Step two: make the target fall in love.

Step three: mission complete.

Logical.

Efficient.

But the Wish God forgot one critical detail.

Cat ears are extremely inconvenient when you're trying to hide your emotions.

And my tail…

Is a traitor.

Every time Rei talks to me—

It moves.

Every time he laughs—

It reacts.

Every time he chooses to sit beside me instead of doing something else—

It becomes impossible to ignore.

Which is annoying.

Very annoying.

Because it means something dangerous is happening.

The mission isn’t one-sided anymore.

And the worst part?

Rei doesn’t even realize it.

He thinks he’s teasing me.

He thinks he’s winning.

But he has no idea.

No idea that long before the mission began…

I was already watching him.

Already noticing the small things.

Already wondering why someone like him—

Someone so effortlessly kind—

Could exist in a world where most people pretend not to notice each other.

Which means the real problem isn't the mission.

The real problem is this:

The Wish God told me to make Rei Hoshizaki fall in love with me.

But what the Wish God didn’t consider…

Is that I might have already started losing that battle.

Long before the mission even began.

And if that’s true…

Then this mission was never fair to begin with.

For him.

Or for me

If someone asked me when it started…

I wouldn’t be able to answer.

Not because I don’t remember.

But because the answer is embarrassing.

And embarrassing memories are the kind your brain politely suggests you delete.

Unfortunately, mine refuses.

So here we are.

Let’s rewind.

Not to yesterday.

Not to last week.

Further back.

Before the ears.

Before the tail.

Before the mission.

Before the strange being that called itself a “Wish God.”

Back when I was just Kuro Akamine.

The quiet girl in the corner of the classroom.

Which, for the record, is not a dramatic title.

It’s just accurate.

Every class has one.

The background character.

The one people vaguely recognize but never really talk to.

That was me.

Not because people hated me.

Not because they bullied me.

No.

That would at least make things interesting.

I was simply…

Unnecessary.

Conversations happened around me.

Friend groups formed around me.

Life continued around me.

And I existed slightly outside of it.

Like an NPC that hadn’t been programmed with dialogue yet.

Honestly, I didn’t mind.

Silence is comfortable.

Silence doesn’t ask questions.

Silence doesn’t expect you to smile when you don’t feel like smiling.

But silence has one weakness.

It gives you too much time to observe people.

And when you observe people long enough…

You start noticing strange things.

Like him.

Rei Hoshizaki.

Now, if you looked at him from a distance, you’d probably label him something simple.

Average.

Not the smartest.

Not the most popular.

Not the class clown.

Just…

There.

Which is exactly why he caught my attention.

Because average people don’t usually do strange things.

But Rei Hoshizaki did.

A lot.

For example—

The first time I really noticed him was during the second week of school.

A girl dropped her bag near the door.

Books scattered everywhere.

No one reacted.

People stepped around the books.

Conversations continued.

And then—

Rei walked over.

Picked them up.

Handed them back.

And said something incredibly stupid.

“Careful. Gravity is working today.”

The girl laughed.

Which confused me.

It wasn’t a funny joke.

It barely qualified as a joke at all.

But she laughed.

Rei laughed too.

Then he walked back to his seat like nothing happened.

No dramatic moment.

No attempt to show off.

He just did it.

And that was strange.

Because most people in school operate on an invisible rule.

Only help people when someone is watching.

Rei didn’t seem to care whether anyone was watching.

Which made him…

Interesting.

So I started observing him.

Not in a creepy way.

Okay maybe a little in a creepy way.

But strictly for research purposes.

Probably.

I noticed patterns.

He helped people.

But never bragged about it.

He made jokes.

But never tried to be the center of attention.

He talked to everyone the same way.

Popular people.

Quiet people.

Teachers.

Even the stray cat that sometimes sat outside the school gate.

Actually…

Especially the cat.

I once watched him spend five minutes talking to that cat.

Five minutes.

About what?

I have no idea.

But the cat seemed invested in the conversation.

Which says something about his communication skills.

And then one day…

Something even stranger happened.

I dropped my pen.

A small event.

A meaningless event.

The kind that disappears into the background noise of daily life.

The pen rolled under my desk.

I leaned down to grab it.

But someone picked it up first.

Rei.

He placed it on my desk.

And smiled.

“Your escapee.”

That was all he said.

Then he walked away.

No follow-up conversation.

No awkward attempt to talk to the quiet girl.

Just that.

Simple.

Normal.

Which was the problem.

Because people don’t usually treat the quiet girl normally.

They either ignore you completely.

Or they act strangely polite.

Rei did neither.

He treated me like I existed.

Which, strangely enough…

Was rare.

That was the moment I started paying attention to him more.

Not because I liked him.

That would be ridiculous.

I was simply curious.

Yes.

Curious.

That’s the official explanation.

And I’m sticking to it.

Then the Wish God appeared.

And everything became complicated.

Ears.

Tail.

Mission.

“Make him fall in love.”

When the god gave me the target’s name, I expected anyone.

Anyone at all.

But when I saw it—

Rei Hoshizaki.

The one person I had been quietly observing for months.

The one person who treated me like I was normal.

Which raised an important question.

Was it coincidence?

Or was the Wish God messing with me?

Honestly…

I still don’t know.

But the real problem started afterward.

Because missions are supposed to be simple.

Step one: get close.

Step two: make the target fall in love.

Step three: mission complete.

Logical.

Efficient.

But the Wish God forgot one critical detail.

Cat ears are extremely inconvenient when you're trying to hide your emotions.

And my tail…

Is a traitor.

Every time Rei talks to me—

It moves.

Every time he laughs—

It reacts.

Every time he chooses to sit beside me instead of doing something else—

It becomes impossible to ignore.

Which is annoying.

Very annoying.

Because it means something dangerous is happening.

The mission isn’t one-sided anymore.

And the worst part?

Rei doesn’t even realize it.

He thinks he’s teasing me.

He thinks he’s winning.

But he has no idea.

No idea that long before the mission began…

I was already watching him.

Already noticing the small things.

Already wondering why someone like him—

Someone so effortlessly kind—

Could exist in a world where most people pretend not to notice each other.

Which means the real problem isn't the mission.

The real problem is this:

The Wish God told me to make Rei Hoshizaki fall in love with me.

But what the Wish God didn’t consider…

Is that I might have already started losing that battle.

Long before the mission even began.

And if that’s true…

Then this mission was never fair to begin with.

For him.

Or for me