Between Blackmail and Castration: My High School Life Was Over Before It Even Began

Haruto Shinohara was just your average high school guy—until his mother married Airi Shimizu’s father, turning his world completely upside down.Haruto and Airi used to date a year ago, but a massive misunderstanding blew the whole relationship to pieces.First day of classHaruto claimed his rightful territory in the ultimate protagonist seat: the back left corner by the window. Naturally, Airi sat right next to him.'I can’t focus on class at all with Airi staring a hole into the side of my face!' Haruto panicked internally. 'She’s radiating this suffocating pressure... Great. Now this complete lunatic is my step-sister, and my life is officially turning into a living hell.'Seated directly in front of him was a girl named Asuka Natsume, a certified, textbook tsundere.Then came lunch break.Everyone had evacuated the classroom except for Asuka Natsume and, of course, Haruto Shinohara.Before Haruto could even slide out of his seat, Asuka turned around. Her crimson eyes locked onto him, and she slammed both hands onto his desk."I know your secret! I have all the proof saved on my phone. If you don't want the whole school finding out that Airi is your ex-girlfriend and your new sister, you're going to pretend to be my boyfriend!"Haruto broke out in a cold sweat. His heart hammered against his ribs as his eyebrows shot up in sheer terror.Having dropped her nuclear bombshell, Asuka strode out of the room with a triumphant smirk. A second later, Airi glided inside. Sweeping over to Haruto’s desk with a gentle waft of sweet shampoo, she leaned down and whispered softly into his ear with a serene voice:"If you cheat on me, I swear I’ll castrate you."Haruto looked like he was about to suffer a fatal heart attack right then and there from the sheer psychological warfare. He was literally running out of oxygen.Airi flashed him a sweet, docile smile and casually strolled away as if she hadn't just threatened his manhood.'I’m dead!' Haruto thought, burying his face in both hands, elbows propped on the desk. 'I am so ridiculously dead. This is a complete dead end.'Gathering what little sanity he had left, Haruto finally pulled himself together, left the classroom, and shuffled down the hallway.'I still can't believe what just happened. First, the girl sitting in front of me threatens to expose my secret. Then Airi barges in like a total psycho and threatens to chop off my lower half. I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place.'He dragged his feet all the way to the bathroom, leaned over the sink, and splashed cold water onto his face, trying desperately to digest the chaotic chain of events from this interminable lunch break.He stared at his reflection in the mirror above the sink. Drops of cold water dripped down his face, mingling with the nervous sweat from moments ago.Resting his palms against the cool porcelain, he let out a long, heavy sigh."Come on, pull it together, Haruto," he muttered to himself, desperately scraping for whatever logic he had left. "Think logically. I need a plan to maneuver out of this mess and survive the chaos."He weighed his two abysmal options.'Option A: I reject Asuka Natsume’s blackmail. She leaks my secret to the whole school, and both Airi and I suffer total social death.''Option B: I give in to the blackmail, start fake-dating Asuka, and suffer a very real, very painful physical death,' Haruto concluded, letting out a hollow, humorless laugh.'Splendid. High school life really is a wonderful dream.'He pulled out a handkerchief, dried his face, and adjusted the collar of his school uniform.Bottom line: if he wanted to make it out of this school year alive, he needed to figure out two things fast. First, how on earth Asuka got those photos on her phone. Second—and way more importantly—how to keep Airi Shimizu completely in the dark so she wouldn't realize he was being blackmailed.Just as Haruto reached for the doorknob to head back out and face the rest of the break, the phone in his pants pocket buzzed.BZZZ…A notification lit up his screen. It was a message from Asuka Natsume:> [Asuka]: "Break is almost over, IDIOT! Meet me behind the art club building right now. If you take more than 5 minutes, I hit send on the class group chat!"> > Haruto’s stomach twisted into a hard knot. The countdown to his personal apocalypse had officially begun.He shoved his phone back into his pocket so fast he nearly dropped it on the wet bathroom tile, then bolted. He had less than five minutes to reach the rendezvous point before his social life was completely atomized in a group chat.Haruto sprinted down the hallway, weaving past students chatting peacefully in the corridors. Beneath his open uniform blazer, the bold block letters on his favorite gray shirt—“KEEP CALM AND PRETEND EVERYTHING IS FINE”—seemed to openly mock his current state of mind. He was anything but calm.He flew down the stairs, burst out of the main building, and sprinted toward the art club's annex, tucked away behind a dense thicket of trees. Stopping just short of the destination to catch his breath, he checked his watch. One minute and thirty seconds left.'Great. Made it... though I honestly thought my lungs were gonna burst.'"You’re late, idiot!"The sharp voice barked from behind a large bush as Asuka Natsume stepped into view. Arms crossed, uniform skirt sitting just a fraction higher than regulation, her twin red pigtails swayed in rhythm with her impatience. Crimson eyes glared at him, radiating a volatile mix of annoyance and... closely guarded nervousness."I said five minutes! Do you think I have all day to stand around waiting for you?!" she snapped, taking a step toward him and thrusting an accusing finger directly at his chest."I made it here in three minutes and thirty seconds, Natsume-san..." Haruto wheezed, raising his hands in surrender as he tried to keep his voice as placid as possible. "Now, please, just tell me: what is this fake-dating nonsense really about? And where did you get those photos?"Asuka let out a smug, triumphant smirk, though a bright pink flush crept up her cheeks—a detail she tried to hide by abruptly jerking her head away. She whipped out her smartphone, tapped the screen a few times, and turned it toward him.The image on the screen was crisp and crystal clear: a photo of Haruto and Airi walking through their front gate together last week. Airi was clinging to his arm in an excessively affectionate way, while Haruto sported his signature look of utter despair."I live in the same neighborhood, remember?" Asuka puffed her chest up, oozing smug self-importance. "I spotted you two last week. And since I already knew Airi Shimizu transferred here as your new sister, connecting the dots wasn't rocket science. If the student council and our classmates find out Miss Perfect was your ex and now lives under the same roof as you... well, the rumors aren't gonna be very pretty for you, are they?"Haruto swallowed hard. Asuka’s logic was morally bankrupt, but as far as his high school reputation was concerned, it was a live hand grenade."Okay, but why a fake relationship?" he asked, pulling a confused frown. "If you’re blackmailing me, why not demand money, or make me do your homework? Why pretend to be my girlfriend?""W-Why?!" Asuka’s entire face instantly detonated into a deep, scarlet red. She jumped back a step, flailing her arms around awkwardly. "D-Don’t ask stupid questions! It’s obviously to... to keep those annoying guys from the sports clubs off my back! It’s purely a strategic front! You should be thanking me on your knees for not dropping that photo straight into the class chat!"'She’s lying. Or at least, half of that is a total cop-out excuse,' Haruto thought, catching the trace of panic flashing across those bright red eyes.Before he could push back and attempt to negotiate the terms of his survival, the soft, rhythmic sound of approaching footsteps echoed down the gravel path behind them."My, my... what an interesting little gathering."Haruto felt a wave of pure arctic ice flash straight down his spine. The voice was sweet, soft, and terrifyingly familiar.He froze on the spot, his joints locking up instantly. Slowly, like a rusted mechanical doll, he creaked his head around toward the sound.Emerging from behind the building was Airi Shimizu. She stood there with her hands delicately folded in front of her uniform skirt, an angelic, flawless smile plastered on her face. However, her eyes—usually a warm, deep violet—were completely hollow. There was absolutely no light in them."A-Airi?!" Haruto choked out, his voice cracking on the syllables.Asuka Natsume whipped her head around, her twin reddish-orange pigtails slicing through the air. The fierce, blackmailing confidence she had displayed just seconds ago vanished in an instant, replaced by a pale look of sheer panic. "Shimizu...?! How long have you been standing there?!""Oh, not long at all," Airi replied. Her voice maintained a serene, melodic cadence that stood in horrifying contrast to the suffocating, heavy aura bleeding off her body. She took a step forward, the gravel crunching softly under her shoes. "Just long enough to hear all about secrets, photos, and... a certain strategic front."She came to a halt just a few paces away, her gaze flickering between Haruto's trembling frame and Asuka's flushed, panicked face. Then, Airi tilted her head slightly, her smile widening by a fraction of a millimeter."So, Haruto..." Airi whispered, her eyes locking onto his with sniper-like precision. "Care to explain what kind of game you two are playing behind the art club building? I certainly hope it doesn't involve breaking the promise we made in the classroom earlier. You remember what happens if we break it, don't you?"Haruto’s mind went entirely blank. His stomach didn't just twist into a knot—it plummeted straight through the floorboards. He glanced at Asuka, who was biting her lower lip, completely speechbound. Then he looked back at Airi, whose aura practically screamed imminent execution.'I’m doomed,' Haruto thought, a single drop of cold sweat rolling down his neck. 'Option A leads to social suicide. Option B leads to physical castration. And right now, it looks like Option C is being murdered right here in the schoolyard.'Suddenly, the warning chime for the next period echoed across the entire campus, its loud ring reverberating like a death knell for Haruto Shinohara’s high school life.
[ END OF CHAPTER 1 ]