Chapter 1:
Ai No Hormone
Some of the light peeked through the curtains, some remained outside in the atmosphere, some got reflected to the ceiling above, creating a wavy pattern. It was a hot summer day, with a week left for summer vacation.
Sparrows were chirping behind the windows, on top of the condenser of the AC that was installed in his room. The sound of the alarm became clearer and clearer as he woke up from his nightlong slumber.
He got himself up. His black hair was messy, his eyes were sunken down and his mind was still rebooting.
"... I only got three hours of sleep.", said he, before collapsing to his bed again, "When will this end? Can't I even sleep in peace?"
There was no time to waste, as school is going to start soon. Even though he was tired, he could not but get up and be ready for school.
"Oh, Shota? Did you get enough sleep?", asked her mom, as he was going downstairs.
"Not much mom. But I got fifteen minutes more than yesterday."
"That's basically nothing."
"It is still something."
"I think you should get it checked out soon."
"I told you. Take me to the doctor when summer vacation starts."
"Why not now? What's stopping you? Every time I want to take you to the doctor, you opt for it to be in the middle of vacation."
"It messes with my time schedule, I told you before."
"What can I do with you...", she said with a sigh, before resting her head on the palm of her hand with another hand supporting it.
With his eyes barely open, he managed to get himself to the washroom, where he brushed his teeth, half asleep. Yawning himself out of there, his eyes fell on the wall watch.
"8:50?! This is bad."
He rushed to the dinner table, sallowing up the sandwiches that his mom has prepared, before rushing upstairs to his room to take his backpack, where he choked on the sandwich that he swallowed without chewing.
"Shota!?", her mother noticed, before rushing to get a bottle of water to him, "How many times have I told you not to rush things up?"
"Sorry mom, theres no time to waste. Gotta hurry.", said he, before rushing downstairs and going outside wearing the white uniform of Shirakawa High School.
"Finally the storm has calmed down, huh?", said her mother, before returning back to doing her chores again.
He rushed through the hot and sunny day to his school. There was still a bit of time left. But this rush acts as a warmup for him to wake him up from sleeplessness.
Arriving at the school, he rushed through the crowded hallways to his classroom. Slamming the door open, he gasped for air, resting his one arm on his knees and the other on the door side.
"You are early, huh?", said Takashi.
"Am I?"
"Theres still thirty seconds left for class."
"That's good to hear."
"That was not a compliment."
He sat on the upper right corner of the classroom, also known as the main character seat. Which was ironic.
The teacher's speech, the birds chirping outside the window, the heat of the sun slowly became numb to him. His body twitched and his feet started to fidget on reflex.
"Shota, are you okay?", asked Takashi, being concerned.
"I-I am fine. Just need some fresh air..."
He got out of the classroom with the teachers permission. Immediately after closing the door, he collapsed on the floor. His face became red and his body warmth increased.
"It's happening again. I don't think I can handle this anymore."
It was a sudden fever for an unknown cause. He didn't know what it was amd thought it to be the result of his insomnia. But it was actually much more than that.
He somehow managed to carry himself to the nurse's office. He couldn't handle it anymore. He needed some rest.
"I happened again today?", asked the nurse.
"Yes..."
"You should really get it checked in."
"I will after school ends."
"Well then, take some rest. I will be arriving soon after.", said the nurse, before closing the door.
Shota fell down on the bed, staring st the ceiling fan, which was moving swiftly.
"I hate this..."
His fever didn't go down until the last period, when he got the courage and energy to get up and prepare to leave.
"Are you feeling well now?", asked Takashi, carrying his backpack.
"Yeah. I am fine."
Shota got up, stretching his arms in the air, not knowing how concerned the people surrounding him are.
As he was leaving the school premises, he saw the unusual sight of his mom driving her car to the school gates. He was confused.
"Get on."
"But where are we going?"
"To see the doctor."
"I told you, after school ends."
"No excuses. This is the third time I got a call from the school that you collapsed this week!"
"You should really go.", said Takashi.
"Not you too..."
He was forced to go to the hospital to get a check up on himself.
"I don't see any problems here...", the doctor was kinda confused. There was no sign of any abnormalities, but he is suffering from insomnia and sudden fevers.
"Is this 'that' disorder?", the doctor thought to himself, "No it can't be. It's super rare."
"But what if it is.", the doctor added to his wonder.
The doctor told the nurse to examine his blood and hormone levels and told them to come back when the report arrives.
"You report will be ready the day after tomorrow. You can collect it anytime that day.", said the nurse, while collecting the blood sample from Shota.
"I think I'm going to be exposed...", Shota said to himself.
In the rest of the two days remaining for school, he again collapsed on the last day, but he had to check up again tomorrow so he held it together until then.
It was nighttime when Shota's mom took him to the doctors appointment. Actually, the doctor had a night shift that day, for some unknown reasons. Upon reaching the hospital, they were presented with a kind of spooky vibe that could send down chills, that is of course if there were no people there. Hospitals are a common horror place after all.
Driving down to the parking lot, their eyes met a porche, which caught their attention.
"Look at that, someone that rich is coming to this hospital? Its a rare sight.", his mom said.
He just looked at the car, without saying anything. He didn't care in a way, but it was the first time for him to see a porche in real life.
"Cars are just a means of transport. It doesn't matter how fancy it is, is it?", he thought, before entering the hospital along with his mom.
Reaching to the front of the doctor's room, they came across the sitting area, where there was a guard and a lady, who was wearing a full red dress, with sunglasses on her eyes, with wavy white hair and using a phone.
Someone like this is not common, especially in a hospital like that. He couldn't help but be curious about it.
"Why were they here? Pretty sure that they can hire a personal doctor for themselves.", he thought.
As soon as the nurse noticed Shota's arrival, she took her to the doctor's office. Shota thought it to be a little rude, because to his knowledge, there was already another patient inside the office, and he didn't want to disturb them.
"The doctor told you to come here as soon as you arrive.", said the nurse, taking him in side the room, while his mother sat in the waiting room.
"Doctor, Shota has arrived.", the nurse said.
He saw the doctor, holding a report card, which was most probably his, leaning back on his chair, with another report card on his desk. But that didn't surprise him that much.
What she noticed is there was another person, whose presence could be noticed from every corner of the room. Her slim hands, white hair and her defenseless state made him to look at her in awe.
Dozing off in a sitting position, she finally opened her eyes, revealing a pure, ocean blue eyes woth no evil intent.
Shota became lost in her eyes in that moment. What is that? Is that the ocean or the sky? Or in between?
Her gaze locked on to the unusual face that she was seeing. Her eyes befell on his, which seemingly had no thought behind it. She was still sleepy, not knowing what to do. She was a sight to behold, it was as if she was sitting in a garden of flowers, in pure daylight, with the innocence of a butterfly and with eyes made of blue diamonds.
"I already introduced you to her before you came, so let me introduce you to her.", the doctor said, "This is Miyo. A fellow patient suffering the same problem as you."
"What the heck is happening?"
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