Program 1: "Hello World!" ~ Welcome to the Academy

The sound of the alarm clock echoed throughout the spacious bedroom as the boy slept under the comfort of his velvet burgundy bedsheets. Jumping up from the bed with a hop, the boy was clearly not phased by blaring sound like many other high-school students. His mood was flamboyantly radiant and upbeat far beyond a normal schoolboy.

“What a glorious day!”

Takashi Fujiwara embraced the hour and headed for the window. Pulling back his curtains he greeted the sun as if it was an actually person.

“Good ’morrow, gallant sun. I bequeath thee humble thanks for thy rays of light that glisten down from the heavens.”

After giving his daily praise to the sun, earth and sky for allowing him to exist for another day, nimbly made his way to his closet. Grabbing the school uniform hanging neatly from one of the coat racks, he placed it on his bed and took a moment to admire it.

“Yes, a beautiful costume for the noble lead of this dramatic play. But first I must partake in the daily fest of the hour before the dawn.”

Rushing out of his room, Takashi made his way down the hall. The corridors were silent as he skipped merrily down the hallway to the dinning room where his family held their gatherings. Upon entering the enormous room, he was greeted by the warmth of his light-hearted mother.

“My darling Takashi, ’tis a joyous day for you, is it not?”

“Indeed mother. A journey into a veil of new light.”

Making his way over to the table, Takashi sat down and awaited for his mother to serve up the breakfast she had been preparing. Sitting at the head of the table and reading a newspaper was Takashi’s father who looked up for a moment.

“Cometh h’re my son so that I may behold the eye of which there is such jubilant beauty.”

Standing to his feet, Takashi rushed over to his father and gazed into his eyes. For a moment, he was silent as he stared back into his sea green eyes.

“Thou has become a man.”

“Truly, I am honoured, father.”

“Now, let us eat!”

Sitting back down at his seat, Takashi watched as his mother served him two plates of tempura. With the dish served fresh and hot, he was grateful that he had gone to bed early in order to get up and enjoy the meal before his eyes.

“Bless thee, mother. There is not a maiden that could hold a candle to you.”

Without saying another word, he dug into the meal that his mother had prepared. Within a few minutes he had finished both plates. After wiping his mouth with the napkin that placed off to the side, he looked to his mother and father.

“I shall now prepare for the curtain to arise.”

Rushing back into his room with speed of a loin, he quickly changed into his school uniform in record time. Growing up in the theatre and seeing behind the scenes of how plays were preformed had ingrained in him a desire to perfect the craft of quick-change. He had become reasonable well at it to the point that he could change into most outfits in roughly a minute. Once he was dressed and ready, he gathered his backpack which held all of his school supplies. Making his way to the front entrance, he slipped on his shoes while his mother and father stood there crying.

“Doth should not weep, dearth mother. I shall return.”

Opening the door, Takashi stepped out into the sunlight. As his foot made contact, he felt something under his foot that he had stepped in.

“Ah, shit!” Takashi exclaimed with his hands held out as if he was praising the sun.

“Must haveth been the dogs,” Takashi’s father said as he turned to his wife.

“Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?” Takaishi’s mother spoke.

The sounds of a great hound running through the coordor echoed until the dog came into sight. He was greater than a dane known as an English Mastiff and had a soft pelt fur of pure snow white. Sitting just a few metres from Takashi and his parents, the dog awaited his masters as it had been trained.

“Did thou shitteh on the front pouch?” Takashi’s father asked as he looked to the dog.

“Woofeh.”

“Ah, ’twas Juliet then.”

“Worry not, mother, father, Romeo. I shall be a fortuitous remind of this grand day.”

Without a care in the world, Takashi headed off for the bus stop. As he turned the street corner he was greeted by the baker who always had freshly baked bread ready for sell.

“Ah, Baker Lawrence. Good ’morrow to thee my good man. How fair thee?”

“It’s Ichikona you damn kid. I keep telling you to—”

“My apologises my dear Baker Lawrence but I shall bequeath thee a kind ear some other time. Upon this hour, I shall be cometh a man,” Takashi said as he continued skipping towards his destination.

After turning another street corner, he found himself at a bus stop. To his surprise, no one was in sight. Pulling out his pocket watch he looked at what time it was.

“Alas, I see. I have come before the hour of the mighty wagons. ’Tis nothing for me to do but wait.”

Standing there as still as stone, he waited for ten minutes until the bus pulled up and opened its door.

“Hail good sir. How are thou this fine ’morrow?”

“Uh… fine, I guess?”

“Exquisite. Glad to hear it.”

Takashi made his way past the bus driver and was prepared to take a seat.

“Sir, you need to pay a fee to ride.”

“Pray tell my good man, what is that?”

“You… give me money to ride the bus?”

“Ah! You require coin. One moment.”

Digging into his back left pocket, he pulled out his wallet.

“What is the coinage of which you are owed fair sir?”

“Uh… it’s two hundred yen.”

Without thinking, he pulled out a bill from his wallet and handed it to the bus driver. He was confused as the bus drive raised an eyebrow.

“Um… sir…”

“Is that not enough, my good man?”

“Well… this is a hundred dollar bill.”

“Shall I beseech my father to procure further compensation?”

“Uh, no! It’s fine. I just can’t give you any change back.”

“Worry not fair fellow. Keep it all as a token of our grand majeure this day.”

“Sir are you—”

“Keep I say! For our stars may never align once again.”

Takashi could see the happiness in the bus driver’s eyes. The bus driver stood to his feet and thanked him repeatedly. After their exchange, Takashi sat down in one of the many empty seats and await for the bus to depart. Once it was time for the bus to get going, it pulled out from the stop and headed for its designated point. He sat there in silence as the bus driver kept his eyes on the road. Traffic was light and before long, he could see the school come into sight. At the centre of the Myirai Prefecture was the Academic Institution of Magnificence Students – most often shortened as AIMS by the students.

The school was prestigious as he had seen in the brochure. It was a school for gifted minds to enter high-school in the event they passed an exam. In a sense, the school was on par with a top university and prepared students for life for university education to a degree. He had dreamed of getting into the school in hopes of furthering his education in theatre and the arts. Now, all he had to do was delicate himself to his studies.

Approaching the main gate, he noticed other students chatting about while partaking in various goods and foods. The school was different from other high-schools. He recalled that the main school building was at the centre of what was an island city which stood at the heart of the Myirai – a city within a city.

“Magnifique!”

The loud outburst forced all every gaze onto Takashi. He continued to spin merrily as if he had never seen a city before in his life. Strolling down the street in a gallivant stride, he had finally reached the main school building at which he would engage in academic nourishment of his brain. He spun around once more with a smile on his face. All his dreams had been realised. As he continued to exaggerate his movements and gestures, he felt something hit his arm. Turning to the converge point of distress, he could see a young girl. His heart skipped two hearts. The girl was dressed in the same school uniform but in a girl version. It was simple in its design consisting of a white dress shirt with a red tie, a plaid frilly red skirt with white loose-fitting leg warmmers over a pair of knee socks and black loafers. Her hair was styled in a pair cute pigtails and an earring could be seen on her left ear while two rings showed on his bottom right lip as clear as day.

“Mon cher, I apologise for my appalling display of barbarism.”

Takashi held out his hand as the girl gently grabbed it. Without any effort, he helped the girl to her feet and smiled.

“Are you hurt, my fair maiden?”

“Uh, no dude. It was just an honest mistake. I’m fine. Later.”

The girl quickly ran up the stairs for the front entrance of the main school building. Takashi could feel his heart beating faster has he watched the maiden in his eyes vanish from sight at the top of the stairwell.

“Truly a goddess has descended upon the realm. Who is this ashen haired angel that has graced the humble dirt with such beauty?”

“Hey buddy, is this your first time at the academy?” a student asked.

“Why, yes it is my good sir. I, Takashi Fujiwara, have been accepted into this academy to arise from the status of a lowly commoner and reign as a noble king!”

“Right…”

“My good man, do you know of that beautiful maid with the ashen hair?”

The student could only laugh aloud at what he was hearing.

“Have partaken in a funny joke my good sir?”

“No, no, sorry. I just… never mind. You were talking about Sora, right?”

“Sora. What beautiful name for a fair maiden. She is to be the affection of my desires. It is her in which I shall plant a seed of our future happiness.”

“Well, let me help you out there, stud. After school, ask her out. There is a single cherry blossom tree behind the academy building. It’s a place where every student goes to try their hand at asking her out. We’ve dubbed it as the place where dreams are shattered and die.”

“Truly, you are a righteous man for telling me this information. For your troubles, I shall compensate you, good sir.”

Takashi pulled out his wallet and handed the student a hundred dollar bill.

“Wait, is this…”

“Yes, ’tis a small stipend for your assistance.”

“I didn’t introduce myself, did I? The name is Makihara Yunose and I think I can help you bag your fair maiden there, Romeo.”

“Truly? Sir, you are kind, nay, you are a blessing from the heavens above!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll help you get your Juliet to go out with you if you just stick with me.”

“I shall be indebted to you good sir. As a token of my thanks, here is another stipend to moisten your trousers.”

Handing over another hundred dollar bill, Takashi smiled as he thought about the fair maiden who had the beautiful name of Sora. Prancing up the stairwell with gleeful pep in his step, he gazed upon the main school building and was in awe by its wondrous beauty. It was simple in its design and layered with red brick mortar that rose up to three floors. The were were a pristine white and contrasted the outside like an elegant manor. Making this way to the front entrance, the open door revealed a shoe-locker that was common for most schools in Japan.

Takashi could not help but stare at the maiden before him who was opening her shoe-locker. He watched as she slipped off her loafers and threw the white slippers onto the ground without much care. Everything about the way she moved her body, the placement of her foot as she kept her one foot planted firmly and the other on the ball. She had truly captivated him from his heart to his body. There was something about the way she moved her body which he could not explain. It felt as if he was watching a play unfold before his eyes as Sora slipped into the slippers and closed the locker before exiting stage right.

“Truly a goddess has bestowed herself upon this world.”

“Is that guy okay?” one student asked.

“Just don’t make eye contact. Pretend to ignore him,” a girl said as she started to slip her shoes off.

“Now, I most find the locker of which was granted to me by the king.”

Walking around the shoe-lockers for a moment, Takashi took note of the number he had been assigned and managed to find his locker in only a few short seconds.

“Ah! Wonderful, sixty-nine truly a glorious number.”

Removing his shoes, Takashi placed them into the locker and exchanged them for the slippers. Looking at the paper, he took note of his classroom number and made his way down the hall.

“Tally-ho!”

After ten minutes of trying to find his classroom, Takashi had finally gotten help from one of the teachers who seemed unphased by the flamboyant tone of his presence. Before the first bell could ring for school to start, he stood atop his desk with his arms wide open.

“Greeting, my astute academical peers. It is a pleasure to grace thine eyes upon such magnifique fellows and fair maidens. I am Takashi Fujiwara and truly it is an honour to be studying alongside all of you at this establishment of educational learning.”

Everyone was silent for moment as a single cricket chirped from its cage in the back corner. No one was sure as to what they should say or if they should speak at all. It took a few minutes before Makihara entered the classroom and translated to the best of his ability as to what Takashi had been saying.

“I see. Perhaps I need to redefine my speech for the modern era.”

“Yeah dude, you sound like you’re from a Shakespearian theatre or something,” one student said.

“Ah, that would be because my parents are playwrights and Shakespeare is something they have in common. So they often speak in an outlandish manner.”

“That explains the accent and speech.”

“I’ve been in the theatre since I was six and so the stage is in my heart.”

“And that explains the flamboyant way you express yourself.”

Before anyone could ask any more questions of Takashi the bell rang and everyone took their seats. While the teacher explained various things about the academy, Takashi could not keep his mind focused. His thoughts were clouded with the fair maiden that he had knocked over at the front of the school. He recalled every minutiae detail of her body from her bewildering eyes to her petite feet with toes that poked through her socks – engraving the outline of them down to the length of her toenails.

He had noted down everything about Sora in a small notebook. She was 16 years of age, in class 3-A, she stood at a height of 155 centimetres and a weight of 45 kilograms. Her birthday was on October 31 and her religious affiliation was Atheist. While her breast size was unknown to anyone in the school, her foot size was 23 centimetres. It was well known that Sora enjoyed video games, anime, manga, maids and cute clothes. Still, no one had been able to date Sora and nearly everyone that tried gave up after their first attempt. The few that did continue to try found themselves rejected at every turn. No one had been able to win the heart of the ashen maiden.

Takashi continued to remain optimistic in his pursuit of the maiden that had stolen his beating heart. He thought of various ideas to win her heart and realised he had overlooked a vital flaw in his thinking. Standing to his feet, he looked over to Makihara.

“Makihara!”

“We’re in the middle of class.”

“This is important. I forgot to write a letter to give to my beloved flower telling to meet me at the tree of which our love shall surely blossom.”

“Mister Fujiwara, perhaps you would like to come up to the board and do this example since my class seems to be boring to you,” the teacher said as she adjusted her glasses.

While the rest of the class giggled and laughed, Takashi made his way up to the blackboard and grabbed the piece of white chalk from the teacher’s hand.

“Now, find ‘x’ if you will, Mister Fujiwara.”

“Ah, but ‘x’ is right there. ’Tis but an easy problem, my dear teacher,” Takashi said as he pointed to the lowercase ‘x’ on the board.

“Let me rephrase the statement. Solve for the variable ‘x’ in the equation.”

“Why did thou not say so sooner. The answer is forty-two.”

The teacher could only rise an eyebrow at how fast Takashi had come up with the answer.

“And… how did you come to that answer?” the teacher asked.

“If I may?” Takashi asked as he made his way over to the other side of the board that had been untouched.

Starting at the top of the blackboard he wrote down every step he took to come to the answer from within his head. There was no words to describe what the teacher, nor the students were seeing. Takashi continued writing until half the board was covered with his steps as to how he came to the answer for a single question.

“Thus, I came to the answer that ‘x’ most be forty-two. ’Twas only the correct number.”

The teacher adjusted her glasses in amazement.

“Mister Fujiwara… exactly why haven’t you gained a doctorate in mathematics?”

“Alas, numbers are the bane of my existence.”

“You make that rather hard to believe. Tell me then, what is six plus six?”

“Pisces.”

In an instance the class was filled with laugher from the answer that Takashi had given.

“Okay, just… sit down for now Mister Fujiwara. Think about how to deal with your flower after my class.”

Takashi took his seat and tried his best to pay attention to the lecture the teacher was giving. The hours passed from class to class until the lunch bell rang. Taking a free moment to compose his thoughts, he turned to Makihara.

“Once I compose my vows of enamourment betwixt this ink and paper, I shall task you with the honour of seeing that the letter is safely delivered to the shoe-locker of the ashen maiden of amethyst eyes.”

“You can count on me my man,” Makihara said with a confident thumbs up.

“Oh my gosh, I want to see this cutie go out with Sora. Like, I ship them. Who’s with me?” one girl asked as she looked to the others in the class.

“Takashi and Sora, one true pairing,” another student said.

“I still think Sora and Riku should be together,” yet another student spoke out.

“What? No! We need Sora and Miss Borikohama. Truly the best couple.”

“In your dreams. We all know that Sora and Nakonime are made for each other.”

Various students continued to chat about the different pairings in their fantasies while Takashi composed his letter, pinned in an elegant handwriting worthy of being put on display in a museum. Once he was finished, he turned to Makihara.

“Now, Makihara, go and ensure the ashened maiden letter is placed in her shoe-locker.”

“On it!”

Without delay, Makihara exited the classroom and returned after a few minutes.

“Done.”

“Truly splendiferous my dear man. Ah. I should reward everyone in class for their efforts and believing in my grand journey into the garden of the wondrous delight.”

Pulling out his wallet, Takashi handed out one-hundred dollar bills to every one of his classmates. Once he had finished handing out money, he thought about everything he was going to Sora in order to win her heart. There was many things he still did not know about her but he was willing to learn even if it took him a thousand lifetimes. There was nothing that could stop him from confessing his true feelings to her.

The day continued on until it was time for school to be over. Some students stayed after school for clubs while others returned home or to the on-campus dorms. Takashi packed up his bag and turned to the students that had remained. Nearly everyone had stayed in order to support him.

“Truly, thank you all for staying to watch me unveil my feeling towards the ashen maiden who ran off with my heart. I shall now go forth and conquer her castle, plundering the depths of her abyss by lighting the way with my fortuitous magical enchantment.”

“I’m rooting for you, Takashi.”

“Yeah, break that trap card with your… spell… actually what where the rules to that card game again?”

“Who cares? Fujiwara, you can do it. Just remember even if your fair maiden is in a different castle just never give up.”

Students continued to cheer as Takashi made his way out the classroom. Making it to the shoe-lockers, he noticed that the letter was still sticking out of Sora’s locker which told him that she still had not left her classroom. Placing his slippers into his own shoe-locker and putting his shoes on, he quickly made his way to the tree behind the academy building. He could see that many students and even some teachers had made their way to watch as he displayed his true feelings to the girl that robbed him of his heart and thoughts. Even he was at a lost by just how many people had came to support him.

Standing under the tree, he waited for six whole minutes until he noticed Sora heading his way. Taking a moment to brush his hair, he gathered his thoughts and prepared himself for this moment. Standing before him was the ashen hair enchantress that had cast a spell upon him. She was radiant and even though she was casually looking down at her smartphone like she did not care to be their, made Takashi’s heart skip two beats. Clearing his throat, he dropped to one knee before Sora’s eyes.

“My beautiful maiden, from the moment I gazed upon your enchanting beauty, I was stricken with a curse. You have stolen my heart and I cannot be without you. Your eyes cast a cold gaze upon those that would stare into them. The roundness of your figure and firmly plum buttock calls forth a realm that no man shall ever touch. With thighs that scream to crush the necks of those under them, legs that strut past those which would lower their heads and petite feet that make them weep if only to kiss those toes that are hidden by the lustful white socks. Sora, my fair flower, you are truly a maiden that is beyond the realm of any woman, goddess or transcendent being of time. I can only hope that my humble offering of a lollipop will suffice as a tribute to your malignant beauty. Sora, will you do me the honour of making me the most happiest man in the world and be my girlfriend?”

Takashi stared into Sora’s eyes as he continued to hold out the lollipop. For a moment, Sora was unsure how to answer. She grabbed the lollipop after placing her phone in her jacket pocket that she had tied around her waisted. Gently scratching the right side of her cheek, she averted her eyes.

“So, uh… I’m not sure how exactly to say this but…”

Takashi could feel his heart start to pound.

“I’m a guy.”

The wind was silent as Takashi felt his heart stop.

“W-What?”

“Yup. Totally got the plumbing down there below this skirt. Anyway, thanks for the lollipop, that was sweet of you even if the other stuff was super creepy. Peace.”

Sora threw up a peace sign and walked away as he unwrapped the lollipop – along with Takashi’s understanding of his own sexuality.

“Oh, right. One more thing,” Sora said as he turned to look at Takashi.

Takashi was scared to move or speak. His body and mind did not allow him to do anything. Even the words that Sora spoke did not manage to reach his ears.

“Welcome to the academy. Laters.”

#

Sora Tokisaki unwrapped the lollipop and threw the paper into a nearby bin. Fitting the blue hard ball around his mouth, he allowed his tongue to envelop the blue-raspberry flavoured delight. Manoeuvring the lollipop by the stick with one hand, the other hand was free to pull out his smartphone. What was with that creep? I can’t believe he would stalk me to the point that he would take note of my body in such a way. Then again, some people are just horny like that, he thought as he turned the corner and headed for the main gate. After checking the time and a few messages on his phone, the sight of the gate came into view. Standing their with a smile her face was his childhood friend, Riku Ashineeko.

“So, how did it go, ashen maiden?”

“Don’t start calling me that, Riku.”

Without stopping, Sora continued to walk past Riku as she instinctively followed pace with him. She matched his footing step for step to the point that both of them could have been in marching band or the military.

“I just want to forget this day even happened.”

“You can’t expect everyone at school to forget. We all still remember that one guy who offered to buy your socks last year.”

“Yeah, that guy was totally a creeper.”

“Then there was the guy before that who wanted to buy your panties,” Riku said as she tried to recall the hundreds of other guys who had been rejected by Sora.

Sora had become known around the academy as the grand welcoming of the academy. Due to his feminine appearance and nearly girly nature, he was seen as a divine idol among both guys and girls. Many guys, upon coming to the academy for the first time, would become enthralled by his beauty to the point they would ask him out – only to be rejected on the spot. Before long, it became so common for new students that it was like a ritual among them. Some students and even teachers would make bets as to if a student had a shot or would get rejected. In some ways, it was a form of entertainment for them.

As time went on, he had simply accepted the onslaught of love letters from various guys who were all hoping make him their ‘girlfriend’ or marry him in the future. Every guy that tried often used the same sort of pick up lines or some platitude which had grown dull. There was also the fact that he was not interested in guys. There was only one guy in the world that he would have fallen up due to just how similar they were in both feminine appearance and interests. Yet, he would never get the chance to meet that person in a thousand lifetimes.

Continuing their walking pace down the street, Sora took note of a building that was closing down. It was originally a print shop that handled book design for authors but with the decline of paper media in favour of electronic digital media, the sell of book design services was on the brink of dying. The only companies able to even stay afloat were big name publishers that struggled to scrape by on book sales from various bookshops.

“Looks like that shop is done for.”

“Yeah, I wonder what will take its place,” Riku said as she pulled out her smartphone.

Turning the corner onto another street, Sora could see the dorm building coming into view. The building was far grandiose in its stature, standing at six stories tall and housing all of the third-year males. Across the street was the third-year dorms for the girls which had the same mirrored appearance.

“You want to grab a bite to eat, Sora?”

“Nah, I’m good. Laters.”

Breaking away from his childhood friend, Sora continued to lick and suck on the lollipop in his mouth until nothing remained. I’m surprised she didn’t make a joke about me blowing this lollipop like a Cyprian or something, he thought as he threw the stick into a nearby bin. Approaching the dormitory, he was greeted by the security guard who always watched the gate leading into the dorms. Curfew hours were from 21:00 to 03:00 at which time the gate would remained closed and unable to be opened unless in a dire state of emergency.

“Hey there, Tokisaki. Heard you rejected another new student today.”

Sora could only sigh.

“Is there anything that doesn’t get around at this academy? I swear, yo, it’s annoying as shit.”

The security guard could only laugh as he pulled out his phone.

“The video is going viral on the academy website. They even featured you in an article.”

“Seriously? That Journal Media Club has to much time on their hands to get articles out this quickly. It’s only been like an hour.”

“You should enjoy it while you can. Eventually, you will end up old like me and realise that life passed you by… and end up working as a job being a security guard… where you only make—”

“I don’t need to hear your sob story, dude. Just do what your heart desires or something,” Sora said as he tried to quickly break free from the engagement.

Leaving the man to his sorrows of a failed life, Sora made his way into the dorm yard and up to the building that housed the third-years. The dorm’s exterior was a simple slate grey brick with off-white coloured windows. Even if it did not appear state-of-the-art or futuristic, it was elegant and fancy. Unlike modern schools that made use of electronics to automate doors and such, the academy ensured the technology was used in a minimalist fashion. All the doors were simple locks that required a metal key of a unique shape to he inserted into the hole and turned to unlock it.

Opening the door to the dorms, Sora noticed there was no one in the common area which was generally a rare site to behold. The large room was often used for parties or social gatherings. Making his way to the back where the stairwell branched off into two, he made his way up the left side and ascended the spiralling square shaped stairs until he reached the sixth floor. Reaching his dorm room, he was greeted by the embrace of darkness and silence. Entering into the room and turning on the lights, he slipped off his shoes and stepped up onto the hardwood floor. The living room was plain in its appearance with a large double glass door at the north wall that led onto the balcony. Off to the north-west corner was a long desk that held one of Sora’s prized possessions, a Martianware gaming computer that was designed for long hours of play. Beyond that, the living room one had a single navy blue couch that could fit three people and a low-end coffee table that served better as a foot rest.

Untying his pink jacket from around his waist and fishing out his smartphone, Sora undid the ribbons holding his hair into two perfectly symmetrical pigtails and threw them onto the couch – along with the tie that had been choking him. Seating down on the couch for a moment he removed the leg-warmers and tossed them to the wall in his sight followed soon by removing his white knee-high socks.

“So hot. Dressing up like this is a pain sometimes.”

Sora placed his feet on the table and leaned back into the comfort of the couch as he allowed his toes to get some fresh air. Taking a moment to cool his body down from the heat, he stood to his feet.

“Time to get comfy.”

Unbuttoning his dress shirt and removing his skirt, Sora threw them onto the couch and headed for his bedroom. Contrast to the living room, his bedroom was caked in girly shades of pink with soft blue tones. Various figurines of maids and other girl stuffed animals littered the room. The three bookshelves against the back wall were filled with different light novels, manga and video games while his small wooden desk held some figurines of his most beloved characters. Heading over to his dresser that housed a few of his favourite outfits, he pulled out a simple cyan coloured tee-shirt that just barely fit him and a pair of black shorts that were comfortable to move it.

Even with his feminine appearance, Sora was still able to pull off a look at screamed cute and would have guys begging to be with him. Tying his hair back into a ponytail with one of the pink hair ties on his right wrist, he made his way back into the living and turned on his computer. His gaming space was one thing he was pound to have invested in. The Martianware Aurora R14 Ryzen had set him back by a lot but was worth it considering what he was able to play. Even if he never did any streaming, it was possible for him to do it along with gaming without any issues. Along with the gaming mouse and other various accessories, the cost was enough to cost him the price of an associates’ degree.

Navigating his desktop files and icons, he opened up the launcher that started a popular massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) called Phantasy Realm MMXIV that he had been playing since he was nine-years-old. While the game was old and fairly outdated, there was still a dedicated following of fans who played the game even after they had reached the level cap. Sora had put a lot of time and effort into the creation of his character, even going so far as having a well thought-out backstory which could have filled up a 300 page book.

His character was a beautiful cat-girl with long red hair that flowed down past her breasts. The top his character wore only barely covered her chest and exposed her flawless stomach. Her skirt was short and revealed her thighs with a frilly grater belt around the left thigh. She wore no shoes or socks and had a small toe ring on her second toe of the left foot. Sora had customised his character, whom he had named Alyisia, down to the last detail.

Even though he had beaten all the major quests and storylines, there was still various types of small events to take part in. While Sora hated the idea of socialisation in the real-world, video games were different. He could freely express himself and help others with his high level stats – as well as his end-game equipment. Still, he knew this wonderful world would not last forever. In one years time, the servers of the game would shut-down permanently. It was sad but he held no complaints as he enjoyed the game all these years.

The hours passed as he played the game without much of a break. After finding a good stopping point, Sora leaned back in his chair and looked at the time. Nearly seven hours had passed and he had not yet did any homework or read the new book he still had tucked away in its plastic wrapping on his bookshelf. Grabbing his jacket, he rummaged through the pockets until he found a sheet of paper that one of his teachers had printed out. It was mathematics homework that the substitute teacher had given out as mindless busy work.

Trying to straighten out the paper as best he could, Sora took the homework to his bedroom desk and sat down. He looked over the questions one by one. Most of the questions he understood to some degree but he felt no energy to answer them or think about them. After all, what was the point if he would never make use of the concepts in the real-world? Leaning back in his chair, he sighed heavily and closed his eyes.

“Why is mathematics so lame, dude? I’d rather just create video games. I don’t need maths for that. Mostly just need to play a ton of games and understand story. Drawing characters and settings would help too.”

Taking a moment to stretch, Sora stood to his feet.

“I’ll just do this tomorrow or something and sleep.”

After turning off the lights throughout his dorm room, Sora laid down on his bed and took a moment to look over his smartphone. He had numerous applications such as BodyBook, Chaos;Chord and Iscroller which were the popular ones many students used. Once he had checked over all his messages, he placed his phone on the end table and closed his eyes before drifting off to sleep.

Sora could feel the heat from under the covers. He was in a state of just waking up from a luscious dream which had caused massive thermal expansion in a sensitive place. There was little he could do as his body succumbed to the pleasure of rubbing against the soft fabric. Even if he was still in an odd superposition of being awake to know what was going on in his mind but his body refused to listen, he did not want it to stop – like he his body was being controlled by someone else. Gripping his pillow tightly, his mouth could not hold back the girly moan as he felt a wave of released from between his thighs. In that moment, he had gained control of his whole body. He continued to breathe heavily while trying to relax his body.

Upon removing the covers there was clear signs of what had happened. Well, I will need to wash these sheets later tonight, Sora thought as he took a moment to relax. His head felt a bit dizzy while his mouth was as dry as the Sahara Desert. Once he had gained his composure, he stood to his feet. Though he was ready to clean himself off, the effects of his morning exposure to a flooding of condensed milk made him move sluggishly through his room and out to the bathroom. After a few minutes of washing the carrot and changing into a new pair of underwear, he made his way into the living room to grab a bottle of water from his refrigerator. The cold fluid oozed down his throat in record time. I still feel thirsty, he thought as he grabbed the carton of milk.

Once he was finished forcing liquid down his throat, Sora made his way to his bedroom and picked up his phone. Crap, I need to get dressed if I want to make it in time. I’m surprised Riku hasn’t call or text yet, he thought as he took a moment to yawn and stretch his tired body. He did not get as much sleep as he normally got on average. Heading out to the living room, he put on his uniform as fast as he could while remaining conscious of his appearance. Deciding to forego the need of the hot leg-warmers, he put his white socks on and head back into his room to look himself over in the mirror. Striking a cute pose he confirmed that even without pigtails and leg-warmers he was still adorable. I’ll probably just tie my hair off on the left side today with that ribbon. Saves me the pain of styling up my hair into pigtails, he thought as he grabbed the ribbon from the living room. After tying off his hair on the left side, the sound of a message on his phone echoed throughout his room.

Rushing over to his phone he opened the message to see that Riku had sent a text asking him if he was up. He simply replied with, ‘That was not the only thing up’ and giggled as he continued to get dressed. Once he was finished, he looked at the homework on his desk and decided to throw it in the trash. Another ping notified Sora that he had a new message. Yeah, yeah, Riku stop acting like your mother who nags you constantly, he thought as he finished fixing himself up.

Once he was done, Sora headed for the exit. Tying his jacket around his waist and slipping on his shoes, he headed out to meet Riku and head for the main school building. Riku stood at the gates of the boy’s dorm and looked to Sora with a stare of annoyance.

“What?”

“You left me on ‘Read’ you jerk.”

“I was ensuring I was ready girl, damn, like chill your tits,” Sora said nonchalantly.

“See Sora, this is why you are single. If I was your girlfriend, I would not be happy.”

Sora yawned as he half paid attention to what Riku was saying.

“Glad you’re not my girlfriend then. I couldn’t put up with you.”

“Gah, you’re so… Sora, this is why only guys hit on you.”

Sora smirked as he playfully twirled the tip of his hair.

“Because I’m so damn cute!”

“No, because you are lewd and ill-mannered. Also, that last message which was clearly about your sexually charged love gun was so gross.”

“And this is why you can’t be my girlfriend. You’re just so lame, gah. Like, you realise you have been single for your whole life.”

“You’ve never had anyone either, Sora!”

Sora tried to hold back his laughter as Riku pouted in frustration.

“At least I kissed a girl,” Sora said with a sly grin.

“You kissed your older sister!”

“Yeah, I wanted to know what it was like so my sister let me kiss her cheek. Not like I had feelings for her, jeez. You need to get that vibrator out your ass and into your—”

“Sora Tokisaki, if you finish that sentence I will turn you into a girl!”

Sora could tell Riku was about to actually punch him from the way her face was. He decided to remain quiet as the two of them walked to school in silence. Once they had made it to the school-lockers, he removed his shoes and took the slippers out of the locker.

“Did you finish your homework you degenerate?”

“We had homework?” Sora asked as he placed his shoes in the locker and slipped on the slippers.

“Sora…”

“Hmm?”

“Look down at my feet.”

“Uh… Okay?”

Sora stared down at Riku’s feet to see that she was wearing a pair of black thigh-high socks.

“What do you see?”

“A perfect pair of toes that any guy would pay to stuck on.”

“Thank you but no. Now look me in the eyes.”

Sora gazed upon Riku’s eyes.

“If I was to kick you in your boy thingy right now, how would it feel?”

“It would hurt and I’d likely cry tears of blood.”

“Well, do your damn homework then! I can’t cheat off you if you never do it.”

Without another word, Riku slipped on her slippers as Sora stood there confused by the exchange.

“Wait… so, you’re just using me to cheat off of. That hardly seems fair.”

“Okay, since my seeing my feet was apparently not enough I’ll take you to a maid cafe one day. Just do your homework so I can cheat off you,” Riku said as she closed her shoe-locker.

Sora pulled out his smartphone and took note of the time as he and Riku made their way up the stairwell to the third floor. Entering into the classroom, he could here the chatter of some of the students discussing about their new home-room and mathematics teacher. Taking his seat by the window, he took the opportunity to try and get what rest he could before home-room started – at least that was his plan.

“I heard we would be getting a new teacher for our home-room and mathematics classes. I’m surprised it took them this long to find someone. What do you think, Sora?”

Turning to make eye contact with Riku, Sora had barely paid attention to what had been said. He noticed Riku was slipping off her shoe and trying to adjust it carefully.

“I don’t know. It doesn’t matter to me.”

Riku sighed as she finished adjusting her socks.

“You just are so pessimistic sometimes. Also, you better not have looked at my panties.”

“Please.”

“Or my thighs. I know you probably dream of me crushing you with my thighs.”

“Never did.”

Disengaging from the conversation, Sora stared out the window as he waited for the bell to ring. Students continued to shuffle in and chat among their various groups while others checked their smartphones. After a few minutes the bell rang and everyone in the classroom – aside from Sora – looked over to the door. Once the bell stopped, the sound of the door opening presented the grand arrival of the new home-room and maths teacher.

“Good morning! Please take your seats everyone,” the teacher said in a cheerful tone.

Sora could not help but turn in the direction of the voice. He had heard that tone before but failed to recalled where he had heard it. For a moment, time felt as if it had been frozen. There was so much to process that Sora had no words. Before his eyes was a short girl with the same ashen hair colour as his only dyed with pink tips. Her hair was tied off on the left side in the same fashion as his only with a pink ribbon instead of black. The girl had heavy black bags under her eyes and dressed in a black corset with lacy ribbons – a white lab coat over it that fell just to her knees. She was dressed in a black frilly skirt and a pair of white thigh-high socks. In short, she was the epitome of lust.

Yet, it was hard for him to believe what he was seeing. Likewise, the teacher was shocked by seeing Sora.

“Little brother?”

Everyone in the classroom was shocked by the word coming out of the teacher’s mouth. Without any warning, the teacher who had called Sora her brother rushed over to him with a smile on her face. Sora was unsure about what to say, think or even feel. Before the teacher could get to him, she fell on her face after tripping over her high-heels. Throwing off her shoes to the side, the teacher stood back up to her feet.

“I knew I shouldn’t have worn those death traps. Good riddance.”

“Is… that really you, big sis?”

Sora’s sister rushed over to his desk and hugged him tightly in a warm embrace.

“I can’t believe you’re here. We have so much to discuss!”

“We can talk after class,” Sora said as he pushed his sister away.

“Oh, right. I forgot I had to do that for a second,” Sora’s sister said with a giggle.

Sora watched as his sister made her way back to the front of the classroom and struck a gallant pose with her hands on her hips.

“Greetings to you all. I am Hime Tokisaki and I will be your home-room and mathematics teacher until you graduate.”

After the bell had rung for home-room to be over, Sora noticed his sister waving to him as she headed for the exit. He sighed as his brain continued to process everything. It had been roughly seven years since his older sister left overseas to attend university. She had never responded to his letters and when he tried to reach out on various messaging platforms there was never any reply – she did not even read them. Mixed feelings set in as he struggled to internally compartmentalise them. The emotions ranged from overjoyed knowing that his sister was fine to anger for never even bothering to talk to him when he needed her the most.

The hours passed as Sora struggled to get a grip on what he was feeling. After the bell for the second period rung, he sighed and stood to his feet. Riku was busy slipping her slippers back on and turned to Sora with a smile.

“I can’t wait to see what your sister will be like. Hopefully, she can teach us better than that substitute we had for a while.”

“You plan on talking or actually coming with me to get lunch? We only have about an hour or so.”

Sora continued to run through the thoughts in his head while heading down the hallway. At the shoe-lockers, he slipped off his slippers and put his shoes back on.

“You sure we will have time?”

“There’s a cafe just down the block. I figured I’d go there. They serve good noodles from what I heard.”

Closing the locker, Sora headed for the exit.

“Well, hold up. I need to get my shoes on,” Riku said as she rushed to put the slippers in her shoe-locker.

Putting one shoe on quickly, she started to hobble just to keep up with Sora who refused to stop. Before he could take another step, he noticed his sister standing in front of him with a cheerful expression on her face.

“Mind if I tag along?” Hime asked.

Using the brief second to put on her other shoe, Riku smiled as she tried to compose herself properly.

“Not at all, Miss Tokisaki.”

Hime giggled at the remark.

“Riku, please, just call me Hime. Makes things less awkward.”

Sora continued to stare at his sister with resentment in his eyes. He was reluctant to let her join them but there was little say in the matter since Riku was there. With a sigh, he walked past his sister.

“Let’s go then.”

Walking down the street in silence, Sora tried to quicken his pace as his older sister followed in step with him without fail. Riku continued to follow but started to fall out of sync after only a few seconds. The walk was short and in a few minutes he stood in front of the cafe that was said to have high-quality noodles. Entering into the small but charming little cafe, Sora took a seat at one of the tables while Hime sat down in the chair across from him while Riku took the one beside him.

The waitress greeted the three of them with a smile as she handed each of them a menu. Looking through the various choices, Sora noticed they had a few different types of ramen. All of these look good but which one should I get? Maybe I’ll just go with the simple beef ramen for now, he thought as he looked to the waitress.

“I’ll have the beef ramen and a soda.”

“I want the bowl of sushi and water,” Riku said.

“I want to redesign your menu…”

The waitress was silent for a moment as she tilted her head in confusion.

“Pardon?”

“Oh, sorry. I’ll just take a slice of ice-cream cake and a soda if you please,” Hime said with a smile as she handed the waitress the menu back without looking at it.

“All right, I’ll have your orders out soon.”

Sora averted his gaze from his sister’s eyes as he tried to engage in conversation. The waitress returned with the drinks and for a moment, things were quiet until Riku broke the silence.

“So, what did you do before coming to the academy?”

“Not much to tell. Just studied aboard and that was about it,” Hime said as she took a sip of her drink.

“You don’t have any cool stories to tell?”

“I mean, I did watch a guy down a keg of beer once and threw up soon after.”

Riku was unsure how to continue the conversation and remained silent while she sipped her water. Sora sipped his soda and wished that the food would hurry up. Some time passed before the food had finally arrived. Not wanting to engage in any more conversational manners, he silently ate his ramen while avoiding eye contact with his sister.

“Why did you decide to go into the field of mathematics?” Riku asked as she finished a piece of her sushi.

“I’ve always had a logical thinking mind and that loved applying mathematics to various types of problems in the real-world. It was my love of mathematics and science that lead me to wanting to become a teacher. I wanted students to enjoy the technical fields like I do without the overly complex methodologies seen in a textbook. Plus, I did not want student to be bored from lectures that simply droned on about those technical topics. While I studied in university, I figured there had to be a way to make learning fun without being so complex that it turned students off from ever wanting to learn the field.”

Impressed by Hime’s words, Riku’s eyes lit up like a star in the sky. Sora sighed and finished off the rest of this meal. Once the three of them were finished, they made their way back to the school.

“Next up is a lecture by yours truly! I hope you two are ready,” Hime said with a smile.

Slipping his shoes off at his locker, Sora had mixed feelings about his sister. There was a part of him that was happy to see his older sister but at the same time he felt upset for her lack of communication for so many years – only to finally show up out of the blue as if nothing had happened.

“I can’t wait, Miss Hime,” Riku said as she removed her shoes and placed them in the locker.

“Don’t get too excited. This is just the first day. I still have to evaluate how the class reacts.”

Sora made his way to the classroom without saying much of anything and tuned out Riku while she rambled on about what Hime’s class would be like. The class carried on like any other that he had be used to. Hours flew by until it was time to head back to the dorms. Declining the invitation to join Riku with her friends for karaoke, he returned to his dorm only to be met with his sister standing outside his room.

“You mind if we talk?”

Opening the door, Sora removed his shoes at the entrance while Hime did the same.

“So, what do you want to talk about?” Sora asked as he headed for his bedroom.

“About why I did not reach out to you,” Hime said with a hint of sadness in her tone.