COTE | Reactions For Nerds

Prologue

"Ayanokōji-kun, I like you! Can you be my boyfriend?" Satō projected her desires with sincerity.

Though I wasn't far away, I could smell a lavender perfume emanating from her. Her blue eyes reflected the stars of the evening overcast, showcasing a unique innocence only possible for a youth.

She really wanted to date me, huh?

There were many factors that could hinder such a development in our relationship.

Where do we even begin?

Nagumo-senpai was rather aggressive, and would do anything to catch someone for a challenge. Because I was the only student trusted by the Elder Horikita, it led to a newfound interest in me, the enigmatic kōhai.

My father demanded me to return to the white room, but I displayed an unusual rebelliousness. My impudence may potentially bite me in the ass later on. Who knows?

In addition, Kei would get jealous and lose her effectiveness as a tool. I had put in a lot of work to get her to trust me, so losing that would be rather problematic.

Also, the other boys of our class would be struck with jealousy at the thought of me having a 'cute chick' as a girlfriend. Particularly Ike, Yamauchi and Miyamoto.

Although, it's not necessarily like I cares about their opinions.

Still, this was a lot to handle. Would I be able to survive this if I agreed to date Satō?

Probably not.

Or maybe I could...

"Sure. I will be your boyfriend and you will be my girlfriend."

Breaking away from my monotone fashion, I put in a little more emphasis in my statement. I yielded to her request simply because of my core characteristic: curiosity.

I was curious what Satō could offer me. It's not like she was a bad person, nor was she too boring.

Still, I'd have to deal with Kei later on.

Mental reminder: eliminate her source of apprehension when the time comes.

"Huh?" She couldn't believe it. Even though I admitted hanging out with her was fun, it wasn't exactly a guarantee of romantic success.

"You heard me clearly, Maya," I started with this attack.

I knew how special given names had become in Japan. Using someone's given name without honorifics could be interpreted either as a sign of disrespect, or a sign of closeness.

In my case, it was the latter.

"Ah... I see!"

It was human nature to respond with disbelief when something worked out in your favour, sort of like the way lottery winners would always display shock when informed of their newfound wealth.

I was not surprised by Maya's flustered state, since she was only a teenage girl. She was not a psychopath (like me), nor a deranged lunatic (Kushida), nor a compass-wielding devil (Horikita).

Just typical normalcy.

"Are you surprised?" I questioned the magenta-haired girl who was now smiling awkwardly.

She tried to speak, but no words were uttered. Instead, she nodded her head repeatedly like a cartoon character.

Okay, maybe she also has her weird points, but who doesn't?

"I have some business to attend to with someone. How about you head to my room?"

I handed her my keycard and kissed her on the cheek as I bid her farewell. I watched her strut away with a giant skip punctuating all her steps. It was the stride of a victor, an individual who had gotten what they wanted.

Unexpectedly, there was a warm feeling in my heart. This scene worked out in a way that affected me in a certain way.

I sat on the bench nearby and waited as rustling leaves resounded in my ears. I knew exactly who was eavesdropping on our exchange all this time.

The girl with golden hair tied into a ponytail -- Karuizawa Kei.

It was that girl I once commanded to spread her legs. Now, she was my tool, possessing obedience only to I.

"Sit next to me, Karuizawa. You're here for a reason, right?" I beckoned for her presence without as much as sparing a glance in her direction. She rose from her awkward position, clothing now ruffled.

"Okay..."

Once we were seated next to each other, silence took over for a good minute or two as the starry sky caught our attention. It was a perfect moment to be outside as it started raining snow.

December, the final month of each annual revolution around our sun. Many traditions exist globally in relation to this month.

Also, the folktales based on St. Nicholas from which the entity known as Santa Claus was born. According to these folktales, Santa Claus was an overweight man with a grey beard whose job was to deliver presents to children worldwide. In addition, it was when many Christians celebrated the birth of popular figure Jesus Christ. This did not actually mean that the twenty-fifth of December was Jesus' birthday, however.

One could go on all day about the stories people tell with regards to December.

"Karuizawa."

"Yes...?"

"Do you trust me?"

"Haah?! What the hell?! Of course I do! Why wouldn't I!?"

Okay, calm down. You don't need to shout, woman.

"I will be dating your friend from now on. I wonder what you think of it, truly."

"Kiyotaka... I'm jealous. If you date Satō-san, you won't have time to protect me, will you?"

This line of thinking was inevitable. She was still a parasite. All protection she had so far was only achieved by leeching onto stronger individuals. It just so happened that I was the one to show my strength, which was why she switched from Hirata to me.

This wasn't really a problem, but I needed to avoid disillusionment for now.

"Who do you need to be protected from? As far as I can tell, you're not in any danger. Unless Manabe and her friends started beef again?"

I knew this was not the case. Everyone wanted to avoid depleting their class points, so they wouldn't try to bully anyone when consequences waited at the doorstep. Plus, I doubted that Ryūen would allow them to do whatever they wanted anymore.

Apart from them, Karuizawa had no enemies —— this level of paranoia was very much unneeded.

I don't need to protect her from non-existent enemies. That would be stupid and inconvenient.

"Nope. They still glare at me whenever we cross paths, but nothing has sprouted since that time on the cruise ship," she said.

Exactly as expected. Even if you hate someone, you won't risk everything just to take them down unless there were clearcut benefits.

"Karuizawa," I began, my voice calm and measured. "I won't abandon my responsibilities, and I won't let anyone harm you. This new development doesn't change that. I can still protect you while dating Satō."

Karuizawa's eyes met mine, searching for reassurance. "Really?"

I nodded. "Yes. I'll ensure you're safe and that you're not alone. But you need to trust me on this and understand that I can handle more than one responsibility."

She let out a relieved sigh. "Thank you, Kiyotaka. I'm just not used to this, and I worry about losing the one person who's been there for me."

I put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I understand. It's natural to feel that way. But remember, I'm not abandoning you. We'll find a way to balance everything."

As we continued to talk, the snow fell gently around us, creating a serene atmosphere under the December sky. The challenges of our high school life were complicated, but I was determined to navigate them with my characteristic intelligence and composure.

All seemed destined, until a lightning flash struck our vicinity, plunging me into unconsciousness.

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Word count: 1282