Definitely The True Route

"Eh, you guys are still here?"

The silence that followed my previous actions is abruptly interrupted by Miya, who has just returned from the principal's office.

"Can you guys tell me where Class 1C is? I'm supposed to introduce myself to the teacher in the next subject..." she explains.

"Her! I mean her!" I point towards Miya, attempting to conceal my panic with minimal movements. "...the girl from earlier! her!"

"..eh? Mirin? What about her.." Nikki reverts back to his lazy demeanor.

"What were you guys talking about?" Miya asks, approaching me and Noa. I stand there frozen, while Noa, who is being approached, tilts her head as if avoiding the light, her face forming an expression like this > :o.

"He said I should try going on a date once in a while, so I can finish my homework," Nikki replies.

"Eugh, what's the correlation even be?"

"And then, because Noa seems like a nice girl, I thought of asking her. But for some reason, Kai intervened..." Nikki continues.

"I DID NOT INTERVENE!" My voice suddenly… cracked up.

Ah, but I recall that Noa holds some sort of moral responsibility as Nikki’s fans or something of that sort. So I suppose she would reject her as well. Thank goodness, the matter is resolved. "Besides, she probably doesn't even want to go. Just yesterday, she refused to come to your house alone. Don't think that simply by asking, all girls will say yes, you know? Right, Noa?"

I glance at Noa, who lowers her head in embarrassment, nervously rubbing her hands and knees together, showing no signs of refusal. "This girl..." I mutter to myself.

"...so why do you he should ask me instead?" This time, Miya's expression seemed more natural of her, devoid of pretense. Her gaze held a hint of cynicism as if she couldn't care less about my answer.

"Well... because, you know, you two were childhood friends... so I thought there might be a phase," I replied, my voice tinged with uncertainty. Miya's current demeanor somehow made me feel uneasy, as if I were walking on thin ice.

"What?" Nikki inquired. "I mean, Miya and I have actually dated before... hehe, back in our first year of middle school," he continued nonchalantly.

WHAT. Is the main story already over? Then what's left? The aftermath? The epilogue? Where's the progress in their supposed romance?

"Again, you're making that strange face..." Noa suddenly stared at me with vacant eyes, causing me to snap back to reality. I quickly tried to regain my composure and put on a normal expression. "Shut up," I muttered under my breath.

"I don't think Miya would help me with my homework... I mean... I remember how was it when we were dating, right, Miya? Do you want to hear about it, Kai?" He spoke again, and I couldn't help but retort, "No, you womanizer!"

Oh, perhaps I unintentionally struck a nerve with Miya. I swiftly turned around and offered an apology, but at that moment, Miya's expression—right when Nikki mentioned their past dating experience—resembled that of a shoujo manga heroine in the first chapter!

"You... you still remember about that, Nikki..-kaido?" Miya asked, her expression remaining unchanged.

Huh? What is this? Could it be...

Miya reached into her small bag and pulled out a slightly worn-out box.

She pulled out a pendant, its worn-out state adorned with tiny rust spots, revealing its age and modest value. Yet, inexplicably, the meticulously maintained pendant head, harboring something inside, gave it an air of preciousness.

"You still have yours?" she inquired, her gaze unwaveringly fixed on Nikki.

In an instant, Nikki's eyes seemed to succumb to the gravitational pull of his mind, immersing himself in a sea of past memories.

Through his countenance, I could almost envision the various places where Miya's pendant might be hidden. Corner of a storeroom, nestled by a flowing river, buried deep within the earth, or even salvaged from a garbage truck—the possibilities unfolded within Nikki's vivid imagination.

"Hehe, sorry," he murmured.

This guy.. He’s out.

✽✾✽

The second lesson began, and this time, it was homeroom teacher Kai who took charge of introducing the new student, Miya.

Miya introduced herself with grace, leaving the male students awestruck. There's no denying her beauty. If only I hadn't witnessed her true nature earlier, I might have been deceived by her friendly demeanor as well, after all, I’m one of the extras in this class too.

But, Nikki is not here. That guy... This moment should have been the opening chapter of his rom-com story! But well, i was certain he didn't qualify as the main character that i had imagined, so what do I care?

"Do you know anyone here, Miya?" the teacher asked.

"Yes, I talked with Kai over there... and... Noa," Miya pointed at both of us.

I and Noa exchanged the same bewildered expression, never expecting our names to be mentioned by the soon-to-be class prima donna on her first day of school.

"Well then... Kai, give up your seat for Miya. Take a spare chair from the classroom locker and place yourself at the back," said my beloved teacher, casually instructed.

"Oh, there's no need... it would be troublesome for Kai," thankfully, Miya declined.

"It's okay... it's a man's duty," That damn teacher just do the thumbs up nonchalantly without even looking at me.

That old hag!

As I stood up, a stone came flying from outside the building, entering through the window on my left side. There is a string on the stone that managed to catch onto the light fixture, but that didn't stop it. Instead, the window on the hallway side shattered.

The stone now floated, suspended by the string that held it. Like a pulley, it slowly descended toward my head, leaving behind a scrap of paper wrapped around it. However, the other students were too preoccupied with something else to notice, for the culprit of the throw-and-pulley act was in the schoolyard.

"Nikaido!!" the teacher shouted, calling out to Nikki who waved to the entire class.

That piece of paper contained a map and a timeline that Nikki had scribbled. It must be a message that I needed to deliver to Noa. How troublesome...

✽✾✽

As the lunch break approached, I was preparing to leave the classroom, surrounded by other students trying to cover the broken glass on the window with a large black cloth. That's when Noa called out to me. "Kai!"

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"I'm fine... oh, by the way, here," I handed her the paper.

Unexpectedly, Noa didn't display the facial expression I had anticipated.

"Aren't you supposed to be thrilled?" I asked.

"I don't know... it feels like I don't deserve it," she replied.

"Why? Have faith in yourself. A girl like you dating a cool guy like him is hardly an anomaly," I chimed in, attempting to boost her confidence.

"You think? Then what about…”

"Bye," I’m leaving, for good this time.

✽✾✽

"Kai!"

Damn it all, now it's Miya calling me.

"Are you alright?" she inquired, her eyes searching mine.

"Sorry about that, you had to change seats because of me, so..."

"Don't worry about it" I replied, i don’t even care less anymore "But, that guy Nikki suddenly disappeared… it must have disappointed you, right?"

"Huh? Oh, no, it's not like that..." Miya stuttered.

Ah, what is this? Her expression told a different tale from her words. Could it be that this route is the one...

"Given that you had a relationship with him, How about you tame him so he can come back to school? Otherwise, that teacher will keep targeting me you know," I tried to provoke her.

"Don't wanna. I've actually made up my mind to erase his presence from my life to move forward. Being stuck in the same class again is an unfortunate twist, but at least he won't be there all the time," she said firmly.

"Is that so," I concluded our conversation, bidding her farewell as I walked away. So that’s all—their ship had already sunk, beyond any hope of revival.

"By the way," she called out suddenly, halting my steps.

"Do you think.. do you think Nikki asked Noa out because.. there is something between them?"

Ah, perhaps not?

"Who knows? Why don't you tail them and find out?" I proposed, intrigued by the possibility.

"If I do that, Nikki would... forget it," Miya abruptly cut herself off, retracing her steps back toward the classroom.

What in the world...? Such a bothersome people.

✽✾✽

But with this, I’m totally done. All that remains is to allow this love triangle to spin and fade away, while I fade into obscurity.

Miya seems to have the upper hand, the odds in her favor. Considering their shared history, their plot is more promising.

But what about Noa? If Miya wins at this story, how will Noa take that...

✽✾✽

Suddenly, I started running. It felt like I had been fueled with problems and solutions, and my feet were moving towards a conclusion to execute.

There she stood—Miya, lingering outside the classroom, the window now concealed by a sweeping black cloth.

"Miya!" I called out, catching her off guard.

"A date... Let's go on the date, with them" I blurted out, half-shouting as I stopped right in front of her.

"Oh, that's... alright," she responded, immediately comprehending my intentions. A double date, involving Nikki and Noa, shall serve as the perfect resolution for all parties involved. Well, not me, but the three of them.

Suddenly, the black cloth that covered the class window fell down.

The students inside the classroom turned to us in shock, their expressions showing that they had overheard our conversation.

"EEEEEHHHH?" this is it, the extras' voices to conclude the scene.

But this time, I saw Noa just standing there not wearing the same expression as them. She's rather... concern?