Prologue (c)

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Oh well, I suppose there is a bright side on this turn of events: at this pace I don't think I'll have to worry about being late for school.
We are close enough, now, and the streets are crowded with people wearing the uniforms of our school.
While running past several schoolmates at full speed, I recognize the distinctive silhouette of a common friend of ours.
Hitomi notices her as well, as she slows down and approaches her.

Hitomi: "Sumomo-chan! Good morning!"

Sumomo: "Good morning, Hitomi. Meito-kun too."

Meito: "Good *pant* morning *pant* Sumomo... *pant*"

How can Hitomi not be even a bit tired after running like that. Damn, she makes me look pathetic. Maybe I should seriously consider doing sports.
Anyway, this is Sumomo Takamiya, 17 years old.
Birth date: 10 May.
Zodiac Sign: Taurus.
Chinese Zodiac Sign: Rat.
Blood Type: AB.
Height: 1.64 m.
Weight: 55 kg.
Three sizes: 85-56-87.
Class: 3-A, Mitsugi Institute.
Member of the literature club.
Student rank placement: n° 18 with a score of 88
Only child of Ryuuzou and Megumi Takamiya (both employees).
Pet: Kuromaru (cat).
Best friend: Hitomi Gotsuji.
Favorite color: purple.
Favorite singer: Ayumu Yamazaki.
Favorite food: tuna sashimi.
Likes: reading, shopping, music, tennis.

Oh, and before you ask, the fact that I know that much about her is absolutely not suspicious.
There is no particular reason I remember any single detail about her, as there is no particular reason I'm collecting that kind of information.
I'm saying this because I don't want you to get the wrong idea that I have a crush on her or something.
Ha ha, who me? Please!
I totally have a crush on her, who am I kidding?!
She is the most beautiful girl in the school and she has a good natured and gentle personality. She has pretty good grades and she fares well in sports, but she never brags about that and she never makes an effort to stand out. She is spontaneous, but at the same time reserved. She is beloved and admired by all of her peers.
Indeed she is an angel descended from heaven to soothe the restless souls of mortal men.
I feel blessed just to be able to stand at her side and bathe in her divine light.
Her long and silky hair that smells like a tempest of flowers! Her deep and mysterious eyes that I could drown into! Her pink and perfectly shaped lips, those delicate rose petals! Her slender and elegant legs! Those well rounded and bouncing... boobs!
Please don't think little of me, every man has a weakness and Sumomo is mine. I just can't help but adore her. If my death could serve the purpose of making her smile, I would gladly relinquish my own life. That is the kind of man I am. Such is the extent of my love!
It is her that I dream about every night, and it is her angelic face I wish I could see first thing each morning.
If only I could tell her. If only I could make her understand how much I love her.
If only I could let her see the turmoil inside my heart. If only I could let her know how much this hurts...
But I can't.
And it's not just because I fear the consequences, it's not just because I don't want to risk to lose her as a friend. Well it's probably also because of that.
But the real reason is that I saw her that day.
I saw her with that man, and in that instant a piece of my heart withered and died.
Sumomo will never be mine.
But if that's how it is, I won't stand in the way of her happiness. I will be content staying by her side and rooting for her.
He, he, he... this is a cruel destiny that I intend to shoulder with stoicism and abnegation like a true samurai. I will face it with a bitterly smiling face and a hidden broken heart.
Anyway as much as I find Hitomi absolutely irritating, I cannot thank her enough for giving me the chance to know and become so close to Sumomo.
As you may have already noticed, we call each other by our fist names. That's how close we are.
That alone is reason enough for me to feel eternal gratitude towards my tomboyish childhood friend.
But still... I just can't understand how those two became friends in the first place. It is one of those universal mysteries that is destined to remain unanswered and unknowable by any scientific mean.
No matter which way you look at them, they have absolutely nothing in common. Except for maybe one thing: there is a sort of complicity between them, or maybe it is rivalry. It is probably something that as a boy I can't possibly fully understand.
Oh well, it's not like Hitomi is really a bad girl, she just happens to be a total bitch with me, for some reasons. But as far as I can tell, she is normally a pretty good company for any of her friends and the members of the basket club.
If you can pass on the fact that she can sometimes be very pushy... or that she never listens when you need to tell her something important... or that she has the bad habit of blackmailing people to make them do her biddings...
On retrospect, let me rethink my previous assessment. She is a bad girl! Absolutely, completely and unmistakably a bad girl!
Well, what really matters is that she is a good friend to Sumomo, and as long as she doesn't make her cry, I will permit their relationship and I will give it my blessing.

Hitomi: "Sumomo-chan, you need to help me and do something about this useless man."

Kh! What the hell is she trying to saying now, that devil woman!

Sumomo: "Hmm... what could the problem be?"

Hitomi: "We were walking and talking normally like every other day..."

Sumomo: "Hmm."

Hitomi: "And then he suddenly transformed into a ferocious beast! He begun staring at me with bloodshot eyes and drooling from his wolfish jaw..."

Sumomo: "Hmm."

Hitomi: "I was so scared! And so I started running away as fast as I could!"

Sumomo: "Hmm."

Hitomi: "But he kept following me like a lion who set his eyes on a weak and defenseless gazelle."

Sumomo: "Hmm."

Hitomi: "And I kept running and running and running! And he kept roaring, and growling and gnawing at the air!"

Sumomo: "Hmm."

Hitomi: "I was so scared I thought I would die!"

Sumomo: "Hmm. I think I understand the situation."

Meito: "Hi...to...miii..."

Sumomo: "Meito-kun, Hitomi is very pretty and her body is that of a woman now. So it's only natural that you feel an irresistible attraction. As a man you can't help it, but you must exercise self-restraint and you should never yield to your low instincts."

I'm dumbfounded.

Hitomi: "Ha ha ha! That's it! That's it! That's exactly what you said, Sumomo-chan! He's an useless and perverted old man! Ha ha ha ha!"

Meito: "W... w... whawhawhaaaat?!"

I just. Can't. Believe it.

Meito: "You're going to pay for this! I'll make you take back all of your lies! You serpent woman! You slithering fiend!"

Hitomi: "Help! The useless man is trying to savage me again!"

Hitomi quickly takes cover behind Sumomo and sticks out her tongue. How low! She knows that's an impenetrable defense against me! I'm overwhelmed with anger, but I cannot trespass the sacred terror field that encircles the girl that I secretly have a crush on.
How dare you, Hitomi! You may have defied my righteous wrath this time, but the day of reckoning shall come!

Sumomo: "It's all right, Hitomi. I will never allow this ferocious beast to lay its claws upon you!"

Meito: "Raaaawwwwrr!!!"

Hitomi: "Kyaaah! He's going berserk! We need to run for our lives!"

Sumomo: "Fear not! I will tame the beast with my powers!"

Sumomo raises her hand and reaches out for my head.
Right now, at this very moment, I'm being patted by the most beautiful girl in the world.
I'm in heaven...

Hitomi: "Uuuoooh! Amazing, Sumomo-chan! You tamed it! You tamed the ferocious beast!"

You can slander me as much as you want, Hitomi, I don't care! I'm too glad to be alive to care!
Sumomo laughs, and her mirth is like a symphony of a thousand crystal bells.

Meito: "Sumomo, you shouldn't let Hitomi get so close to you. She might infect you with her evil influence."

Hitomi: "What's with that? I thought you were tamed."

Meito: "I'm perfectly calm."

Hitomi: "Well, I don't like that attitude, useless man! If you're tamed you should be more servile and call me 'mistress'!"

Meito: "Like hell I will!"

Hitomi: "I'll make you!"

Meito: "You try that!"

That has to be a joke. There's absolutely no way she can make me call her that in front of Sumomo. I can barely restrain myself from bursting into laughter.
Yeah, try whatever you want, Hitomi, this time you can't win!
She gets close to me with a serious face and whispers something in my ear.

Hitomi: "I'll tell her everything about how you sneaked inside the infirmary when nobody was around, and how you successfully acquired the secret file of the physical examination concerning Sumomo."

My mind goes black, my heart skips a beat and my face goes pale.

Meito: "Uwawawawawawawawawa!!!"

I flail my arms hopelessly trying to catch Hitomi, but she already retreated. She's looking at me with a mischievous smile and a victorious glare.
I lost.

Meito: "What are your orders, my mistress?"

Sumomo: "Hmm? This looks fun! What did you tell him to convince him that quickly?"

Hitomi: "Oh well, you need to know that this useless man..."

Meito: "Mistress! The time is running low! As your faithful servant I cannot allow you to fall in disgrace by failing to attend your duties!"

I interrupt the conversation and urge Hitomi to speed up.
My ego is devastated, but it is a necessary sacrifice for a noble cause.

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