Chapter 1: Rules x Intrigue

There are only some rules you need to follow in order to live peacefully.
Be happy as people don’t like seeing sad faces.
Be agreeable as disagreeable behaviors makes things worse.
Follow what others deem “correct” or “proper” as not doing so leads to unnecessary conflict.

That’s how I have survived.
“Good god Tachi, I knew you had an affair!”
“Who told you to pry on my phone you little…”
It was the norm. I wasn’t bothered. Numb perhaps. Completely and utterly. They were good to me after all. Just not good with each other.
20 years of marriage. I wondered what kept them together.
“I will leave for my parents house this instant!”
“Go, at least I will have some moments of peace and quiet!”
My dad wasn’t wrong. I mean neither of them was correct in the first place. Even I knew it was just a work colleague, not to mention he didn’t have an affair. Though I wouldn’t have been surprised if it would become that one of these days.

Under all this, I was getting ready for school. They were going to fight. It was the norm, their daily ritual.

I remember being part of it. I remember standing and stopping them countless times. Made things worse. It used to become an exchange of whose side I was taking at that point.
If anything, I lost the ability to even react or care. I cared for them and the best way to reduce the drama was simply not to react. I went downstairs. My Mom was at the door leaving.

“She is leaving again, why?”
The useless, senseless voice in my head rang its tune. I tried paying no attention to it, however.
The breakfast was on the table. My father was in his office clothes. Betting on whether to take the phone call or respond to Mum.

I knew what I needed to do. I sat at the table and ate breakfast. In the next moment she was gone. Probably would be back in 10 days or so, maybe a week if we were lucky.

My father sat as well.
“So what happened?” it was time to de-escalate the situation, or he wouldn’t be able to perform well in his office.
He narrated the usual skirmish. A small thing, so silly that I felt embarrassed even naming it. Past grievances, the escalation that followed and the result.
Pretty standard.
His mood improved a bit. I got up went to school.
The paths were cold, and most trains to Forman high were 30 minutes due.

My father offered to drive me. I refused. I needed my music and the time alone.
Lied about the schedules and meeting up with some mates.

If I were to act depressed, it would have made it worse.
My emotions were manageable as well. Music walks and the lonesome path to school made it a piece of cake.

I arrived at the stations, and it took me 10 more minutes to reach my decision. The path forward was a 3-minute walk. The walk was filled with the smell of fauna and the crickets singing. They weren’t usually this loud, but the aftereffects of rain last night rang true.
“Hey, sleepy head!” Someone tapped from the back.
A girl in her late teens wearing a standard red sailor moon uniform. My glasses fell, almost.
“Hinata, you are never careful, I was about to fall.”
“But you didn’t. Scratch that, did you do the assignment last night? I totally forgot.”
“No I am not sharing my work. I have a reputation to maintain.” I replied.
“Please Makoto just this once.”
“We were almost caught last time. You know the policy regarding plagiarism, not to mention you are smart enough to do it on your own. It’s on you to be frank.”
“I was going to treat you to a strawberry short cake.”
My ears twitched.
“But I suppose…”
I quickly handed her the notebook. She snatched it without wasting a single second.
Didn’t suspect anything as usual.
Well, I knew how to act around people after all. We reached the school.

I was greeted by my usual classmates on the path. Everyone loved a cheerful nerdy face. One that was good at sports as well. The guys loved me for my athleticism, the girls according to Hinata liked me cause “I wasn’t a monkey like the rest of the guys.” Her words.
I wasn’t crazy popular though. It was just that I had no haters.
No one here was a best friend or anything but still people whom I could rely on.

All a product of my carefully crafted rules. The bell rang and, in a few moments, Miss Yamaguchi, our homeroom teacher, made her way into the classroom. Her professional attire was a thing of professionalism. A baby pink blouse, sharp glasses and an air that terrified us all.
She wasn’t to bad though. I liked her for example. She was easy to handle unlike most.
“Settle down I have an announcement to make.” She spoke almost immediately.
Announcement? This was new.
“A new transfer student would be joining you guys.”

And then this “entity” entered.
His energy was nothing like I had seen before. He walked slowly, as if every step was a careful stroke in a painting, he was in the process of making. He looked down, in a gesture that could only be described as modest. His features weren’t too bad either.
But this simple gesture, something as normal as him walking to the desk, had us awestruck.
It was simply graceful.
He took a moment to study us all.
“Would you like to introduce yourself?” Miss Yamaguchi’s voice snapped me out of this hypnotic spell.
The brown-haired boy nodded.
“My name is Minato; I have transferred here from Kyoto. I hope to get along with all of you.”
Not even the full name nor the school’s name. Though we didn’t protest. It was his choice.

“Be careful of him”
The voice came back.
And in that moment our eyes met. He held the gaze for second. I didn’t know what it meant that time. And I pretended not to care.
However, even with all the rules, I couldn’t help but be intrigued by this new face.