Flickering Flame (A Kaguya-sama : Love is War x OC fanfic)

Chapter 2 : Enter, Hayasaka!

"I'm off!" 

A simple saying that can be heard any morning now echoes throughout the hall of an apartment complex residing in Japan's Minato Ward. It was around 6:30 in the morning, at the time when most people are supposedly heading off to work, or students preparing for their upcoming school session. And the Shirakawa household wasn't an exception.

"Man, I'm freezing..." Said Eiji as he went off towards his school after closing his apartment's door, not forgetting to say goodbye to his aunt and cousin. Though February can typically be counted as Spring, he still can't tolerate the Winter residue that made him shiver right off the bat. Instinctively, he blew into his hands before rubbing them together, generating heat to warm up a part of his freezing body. 

While walking down the street on his way towards a nearby bus stop, Eiji began to ponder about what led to yesterday's event, when he was tracking down the identity of that anonymous sender. It wasn't exactly anonymous, as one could say, since they still have enough decency to sign their name at the end of the letter. 

Of course, Eiji knew people around him enough, but he didn't take the possibility that the sender was in his class into consideration. He thought it was just some random kouhai or senpai, at most a guy their age but in Miyuki's class, or just a random second-year class down the hallway. He wasn't expecting Kaguya to go and ask a certain someone in their class to write a love letter just for exposing his jealous side. 'Was she desperate for Miyuki to lose...' Eiji asked no one in particular.

'...or is she denying her own feelings for him? After all, I've known the Shirogane prodigy for a while, and he wasn't someone you'd call straightforward when it comes to love. This game that the two of them are playing... are they both aware it's one that no one wins...?'

It didn't take him long enough to recognize that he has already arrived at the school campus, just barely 15 minutes before the bell rang. Cutting that line of thought, Eiji ran deeper into Shuchi'in Academy, not once slowing down just to reach his classroom. 

.

.

.

Mondays weren't Eiji's favorite day, nor was it up any sane person's alley. Just bearing the thought of starting an entire week filled with work after a very relaxing and much-needed weekend holiday always squeezed the life force out of him. And just when Eiji thought today couldn't get any worse...

"Mr. Shirakawa. Since you're so enthusiastic, why don't you step up here and show the class how it's done?" The teacher's voice emitted from above him, her strict yet sarcastic tone of voice awoke Eiji from his short slumber. Hearing her request, the ravenette just nodded his head lazily, before slouching towards the blackboard behind said middle-aged woman, accepting the small piece of white chalk that she offered in order to begin his process of solving the present issue. His mind wasn't 100% back from the clouds yet, but for the Shirakawa boy, this equation is but a speck of dust, waiting for him to swipe it from existence. Within a blink of an eye, the results were presented in front of everyone, shocking most of the class' students, as well as earning him a hum of approval from his teacher. 

The 67th General Affairs Officer isn't one to be called stupid, nor was his academic capability something to be messed with either, as he stated. Last time he checked, Eiji ranked somewhere around the top 20 of Shuchi'in's entire leaderboard. Because of that, a fairly decent amount of students asked him to be their tutor, and his reputation grew a little during that period. 

"Thank you, Mr. Shirakawa. You may return to your seat." She said nonchalantly, as if she had witnessed a display like so countless times. Well, who can blame her? She was tied to teach a class that literally consists of a duo of prodigies, thus it's obvious that she'll grow tired of this at a certain time mark. She watched as Eiji sat down on his seat shortly before continuing her lesson.