Chapter 1:

The Sakura Petals Were Screaming in the Rain

Cupids’ Errand: Romance UnBound


The school bell rang, resonating throughout the middle school. Thus signified the end of the first school day of the new school year.

The entrance ceremony was just conducted, introducing the fresh batch of middle school students to their principal, their teachers and their seniors both a year and two years above them.

With their hopeful eyes for their exciting new school year, some began packing their bags with their minds drifting to what clubs they might want to join while others already started forming friend groups of their own where they can talk about anything under the world.

A group of first-year girls were just about to step out of their classroom. They were making plans to go to the karaoke while giggling away at their common admiration for the same boy band. That was why they couldn’t see it coming.

“HEY, WATCH IT!”

So exclaimed the girl closest to the door who narrowly avoided collision with an incoming boy, sprinting at top speeds down the corridor.

It almost seemed like her exclamation fell on deaf ears when the boy didn’t even turn around and say something in response. The closest thing one would consider a “reaction” was his raised hand as he sped past but would the girls consider that an apology?

“What’s his problem!?”

She once again expressed her displeasure aloud while looking around at her friends, hoping that they would echo her annoyance on the matter. She got a few awkward nods instead, which was understandable since this was the first time they had seen each other.

“Fret not ladies, for that is a common phenomenon in our middle school~”

The girls had just left their classroom and were on their way out when a cheery voice answered them from behind.

They all collectively turned their heads, attracted to the innate magnetism residing in the voice and were greeted by an air of youthful exuberance of a boy not much older than them.

“That’s our “Honorary Member of the Going-Home Club”, Tsukimoto Senpai. He might be a third-year but no one has been able to beat his records in leaving school the fastest. Even I was surprised when he…”

The boy’s words trailed off as soon as he realised he had lost his audience. They were found in a trance-like state, having lost themselves in his dreamy eyes.

“Oh dear, I have done it again. How sinful of me~”

He tried hard to snap them back to reality but they would only chuckle away dumbly at his advances.

A soft rumble could be heard in the sky as dark clouds started to gather.

“Ah, the sky, are you sad too? It might be raining soon, I hope Senpai brought his umbrella~”

Those were the musings of the boy as he dragged the girls back on track with their original plans.

♡♡♡

Case in point, he did not.

Tsukimoto Ayato did not bring his umbrella to school today.

As he was walking home on a path next to a canal, rain began pouring down midway and he was stuck with no shelter to hide under.

Rain was seeping through his uniform, his shoes and right down to his very socks as he desperately tried to protect the contents of his bag by clasping it close to him, hoping his body could shield it from the rain.

As the torrential rainwater rushed in the canal beside him, his eyes caught something on the other side of the river bank.

It was not the blossoming cherry blossom trees lining the path of the opposite bank, nor was it the myriad of sakura petals blown into the wind.

Instead, what he saw so out of place was the small body of a girl, waiting underneath one of the cherry blossoms.

From afar, Ayato could only see her rounded glasses and the twin braids she tied her hair into. Her uniform would make her a student attending the same middle school too.

And just like him, she also did not bring an umbrella.

Despite so, she continued to stand, waiting patiently for something underneath that cherry blossom tree.

Normally, he would be defending his “Honorary Member of the Going-Home Club” title and bolted back home without a second thought but something was compelling him to stay even amidst the downpour.

The petals…

   They are screaming…

Was the only thing he could think of in the 20 minutes of him watching the girl from afar.

The rain only came down even harder, reducing visibility so much that he was only able to make out the general shape of the girl from where he was observing.

It was then that the girl finally departed from her spot. Seeing her back as she walked away conveyed a feeling rife with melancholy.

Yet it was also then that another figure came into view.

Running in the rain while stumbling twice, it came from the exact opposite direction as the girl who was making her leave.

The figure belonged to a boy who also came from the same school as the two of them.

Just when he seemed to have found the place he was looking for, he took a tumble and fell face-first onto the cold hard floor directly in front of the tree where the girl once stood but he forced himself up quickly even when blood was trickling down his cheeks.

He was greeted by the sakura tree with close to nary a cherry blossom remaining on its branches.

It didn’t take a genius to understand what was going on and it was all the more frustrating once Ayato did get the big picture.

The boy was so close,

And so is the girl.

Yet they seem like they are about to miss the meeting of their lifetime.

The petals in the wind were screaming…

   Just confess already…!

Was what went through Ayato’s mind.

That was when he saw it: A thread, no, thicker, a rope of pure crimson, hovering above their heads, joining them together no matter how far they were moving away from each other.

Wha…

He had no words for the unexplainable sight,

“YOU CAN SEE IT, CAN’T YOU!?”

But even his confusion was interrupted by a shout that pierced the storm.

He turned around but no one was there.

“There isn’t time! Grab my hand and think of the first thing you can when you hear the word “Cupid”!”

Immediately, he felt something slipping into his left hand and held it firmly. Compelled by the voice, he set his imagination ablaze.

Cupid. Cupid, Cupid!

And the thing he thought of was…

“WHY THE HECK IS A ROCKET LAUNCHER THE FIRST THING YOU CAN THINK OF!!”

His left hand now holds a rocket launcher ¾ the height of his body.

“SCREW IT!!! Bring the thing up and take aim at the two of them!”

His mind stopped thinking as his body followed through. He looked through the optical sight and spotted his targets.

“Now just repeat after me: RENAI ARMS TYPE 1, LOVE UNINHIBITED!”

“...”

Renai Arms…

Type 1…

Love Uninhibited…!!

“You need to shout them out loud, not just thinkー Woah there!”

Before the voice could finish its complaint, a projectile was launched from the weapon in his hand, with its trajectory dead set on the couple on the opposite bank.

The recoil from the launcher knocked it out of Ayato’s hands as he fumbled to regain his footing.

“Ouch… Hold me tight now, would you?”

So said the voice but his eyes were affixed to what was changing before their eyes.

At where the projectile was supposed to land, no explosions or destruction typical of an RPG was seen. Instead, it landed squarely in the area between the girl who was departing and the boy who was leaving, thereafter erupting into a million sakura petals.

It wasn’t clear if it was the result of the sudden change in surroundings, but the two can be seen stopping themselves in their tracks.

The girl turned her head first and instantly found the silhouette of the boy he was looking for.

The boy turned later but the moment he saw her, he began to walk towards her. His walk slowly transitioned into a jog before breaking into a full sprint as he put himself directly before the girl who waited.

“...”

“...”

Both were quiet but their hearts were beating louder than the pelting rain around them.

The boy mustered his courage,

“I… I have always, always liked you. Please, go out with me!”

And said the words that would change both of their lives forever.

“Good work out there, kid.”

Ayato returned to his senses and finally found the source of the voice speaking to him so far:

It belonged to a girl with short golden hair, smiling with an intensity that could evaporate the storm.

[End of Chapter]