The morning sunlight slipped through the windows, casting lazy gold lines across the polished school floors. Somewhere down the hallway, a burst of laughter echoed, light and bright.
And, like always, the very center of that brightness, the reason people even smiled a little wider was Kai, Riko.
Who was Kai, Riko?
She was... that girl.
The girl every other girl secretly wanted to be.
Her uniform always looked perfectly pressed, like something out of a commercial. Her snowy white hair, so soft it seemed to catch the light itself, spilled over her shoulders in graceful waves. When she walked past, golden eyes calm and steady, people stopped. They blinked.
They stared, wondering how someone could seem so effortlessly perfect.
But Riko's glow wasn't just skin-deep.
She was smart, almost unfairly so. The kind of smart that landed her at the top of every class without breaking a sweat. Teachers praised her. Students respected her.
And if that wasn't enough, she could pick up any sport in hours. Give her a ball, a bat, even a fencing foil, within a day, she'd be good enough to stand alongside the best players. Fast, calculating, fearless.
People admired her abilities, envied her grace, but what made them love her... was her heart.
Kai, Riko never ignored a single person.
She remembered names, even the shy ones. She stayed after class to help pick up chairs. She volunteered for every event, every committee, every thankless job nobody else wanted.
She made everyone feel like they belonged, like they mattered.
It was no wonder they called her the school's Angel.
An Angel with gleaming white hair, golden eyes, and a soul so warm it wrapped around you like the sun itself.
But not everyone worshiped Angels.
Stomp.
Stomp.
Stomp.
That was the only sound echoing down the now-quiet hallway, the sharp, furious slaps of Riko's shoes against the floor.
Heads turned. A few students pressed their backs flat against the lockers to avoid the oncoming storm.
"Hey, watch it!" someone yelped, jumping aside.
"Oh my God what's her deal."
"Wait no way is that...Riko?"
Muttered complaints followed her like a trail of sparks, but Riko didn't even glance at them. She was too busy shoving up the sleeves of her uniform jacket, her teeth grinding together in frustration.
He was going to pay.
Another unfortunate shoulder clipped against hers, she didn't even bother to apologize.
"I swear," she muttered under her breath, "he is going to pay."
At last, she found it.
Class 2-B.
Without hesitation, she grabbed the sliding door and flung it open with a violent CLACK that rattled the glass panes.
Students jerked in their seats, startled by the sudden intrusion. Some gasped, others blinked rapidly at the sight of her, the perfect Kai, Riko. Standing in the doorway, looking ready to commit murder.
She threw out her arms, gripping both sides of the doorframe, effectively blocking anyone from entering or escaping.
Her golden eyes scanned the room, sharp as daggers.
"Where is he?" she demanded, white hair falling into her face like a veil of fury.
There was a brief, stunned silence.
A few students whispered, "Who?" Others just sat frozen, as if afraid to move.
And then...
Without even lifting his head, a boy in the far corner of the room scratched something lazily onto his notebook. His deep-purple hair caught the light as he tilted his head, and a slow, smug grin spread across his face.
"I'd say," he said casually, flipping his notebook around to show her a rough sketch of a monstrous, snarling girl with wild hair and sharp fangs, "it looks just like you. Don't you think?"
The room seemed to tilt sideways.
Riko's fists clenched at her sides, shaking with a rage so thick she could barely breathe.
Without thinking, she stormed across the classroom, the air itself seeming to vibrate with the heat of her anger.
Desks rattled in her wake. Students flinched away.
In two strides, she reached him, Hoshina, Soshiro.
And slammed her hand down onto his desk so hard the notebooks jumped.
The boy didn't flinch.
Not even a blink.
He simply smiled, unfazed, as she ripped the notebook from his hands and hurled it across the room with a satisfying whump.
"Do you want to die?!" she hissed, her voice low and trembling with fury.
Hoshina tilted his head slightly, as if actually pondering the question.
"Hmm. I've already got plans today," he said finally. "Think we could reschedule? I just don't think I could fit you in."
Riko saw red.
Without thinking, she grabbed the front of his shirt and yanked him up, so close their noses almost touched.
Her golden eyes blazed into his narrow ruby ones, searching for some flicker of fear, but there was none.
Only amusement.
"Why?" she demanded, her voice cracking slightly. "Why are you spreading lies about me? Why are you doing this? I hardly even know you! What could you possibly gain from this?!"
He chuckled, deep and lazy.
"You looked too happy all the time," he said with a shrug. "It's unnatural. Smiling that much... being that nice... it's fake."
Riko froze, her fingers still twisted in his shirt.
No, he was wrong. Of course he was wrong.
Wasn't he?
"I'm not like these mindless idiots," he went on, his voice dropping just for her. "I can see it. Every laugh, every kind word, it's all fake. Everything you do is a lie."
No.
No, that's not true.
I really mean it when I help people. I—
Before she could find the words, Hoshina smiled, sharp and cruel.
"I got tired of seeing that fake-ass smile. It pisses me off. Your laugh makes my skin crawl. Your positivity is repulsive. Honestly, this angry, teeth-baring, hair-disheveled woman grabbing me by the throat? This looks more like the real you."
Something inside her cracked.
She let go of him, stumbling back a step, bumping into a desk behind her.
The room felt too bright, too hot, too many eyes pressing down on her.
Her hands shook as she smoothed down her skirt, forcing her expression back into something polite. Perfect.
She straightened her back and looked him dead in the eyes.
"I'm sorry you're such a miserable person," she said, her voice cold. "But I'm not like you. I..."
Her voice faltered.
Who was she, really?
Hoshina's smile widened, as if he could hear her silent doubt.
"I know who you are, Kai, Riko," he said softly. "The question is... do you?"
He turned his head lazily toward the doorway.
"Looks like your boyfriend's here," he added with a sly grin. "Finished his 'tutoring lessons' early today."
Riko's fists clenched by her sides.
Humiliation and anger warred in her chest.
She held her head high. "I pity you, Hoshina, Soshiro," she said, voice trembling only slightly.
Hoshina gave a playful little wave as she turned on her heel and left.
But behind that carefree smirk, something dark flickered.
He hated that word.
He hated it more than anything.
'Pity.'