Maya Fujimoto loved order. Schedules, plans, neatly stacked papers, her world thrived on them.
Which was why the sight in front of her made her blood pressure spike.
"Tanaka!" she barked across the gym.
Kai looked up lazily from where he was lounging on a folded-up table, hands behind his head, legs stretched out like he owned the place. He smirked. "What's up, Princess?"
"You were supposed to help set up the banners for tomorrow's assembly!"
"I did," he said, gesturing vaguely at a half-hanging banner that was clinging to the wall by one pathetic strip of tape.
"That does not count!"
"Looks fine from here."
Maya stormed over, clipboard in hand. "It's crooked, it's upside-down, and it's spelled wrong!"
"Details, details."
Her eye twitched. "It says 'WELCEM STUDENTS.'"
Kai glanced at it, unbothered. "Eh. Gives it personality."
"Do you want the principal to have a heart attack?!"
Before Kai could answer, a smooth voice cut in.
"Relax, Maya. I'll fix it."
Maya turned to see Satoshi Hayama, golden boy, top scorer, every parent's dream—already climbing a ladder to peel the banner down. His neat uniform contrasted painfully with Kai's half-worn blazer and untucked shirt.
"See?" Satoshi smiled down at her. "Some of us still take this seriously."
Maya's shoulders eased. "Thank you, Hayama."
Kai made a low whistling sound. "Wow. Teacher's pet to the rescue."
Satoshi shot him a cool look. "Some of us don't make everything a joke, Tanaka."
The air sparked between them, invisible but unmistakable.
Maya stepped in quickly, clipboard raised like a shield. "Alright, enough. Both of you. This is student council work, not a—"
"Oh, let them fight," another voice chimed in, honey-sweet and laced with poison.
Reina Arisawa, head of the cheer squad and unofficial queen bee, sauntered over, her glossy hair bouncing perfectly with every step. She rested a manicured hand on Kai's shoulder, tilting her head with a sly smile.
"Honestly, Maya, I don't know why you're wasting your time. Some people just… don't belong in student council." Her eyes flicked to Kai, then back at Maya, with a look that dared her to argue.
Maya's grip on her clipboard tightened. "Everyone belongs if they put in the effort."
Reina's smile sharpened. "Right. But some of us have… standards."
Kai, who had been quiet through Reina's jab, suddenly slid off the table and stepped forward. His smirk was still there, but it didn't reach his eyes.
"Funny thing about standards," he drawled. "Most of the people bragging about theirs don't actually live up to them."
Reina blinked, caught off guard.
Maya's breath hitched. Wait...did he just… defend me?
The tension between Kai, Satoshi, and Reina simmered, while Maya stood in the middle, realizing this was only the beginning of her headaches.
The air in the gym tightened like a stretched rubber band, every student within earshot sensing a scene about to unfold.
Satoshi descended the ladder, calm as ever, but his jaw was set. He brushed imaginary dust from his blazer before fixing Kai with a level stare.
"Some of us work hard to make this school better," Satoshi said evenly. "Others just drag it down."
"Oh, here we go," Kai muttered, rolling his eyes. "Do you practice those speeches in the mirror, or does it just come naturally?"
Reina giggled, leaning closer to Kai's arm. "Don't be jealous, Tanaka. Not everyone can be student council president material."
Maya stepped between them, her clipboard raised like a traffic sign. "That's enough!"
But it was like shouting into a storm.
Kai tilted his head at Satoshi, smirk widening. "President material, huh? Guess that makes me the school's nightmare."
"At least you're self-aware," Satoshi replied coolly.
Students nearby snickered. Someone whispered, "Uh oh…"
Maya's pulse spiked. "Both of you....stop turning this into a circus!"
Kai ignored her. "Tell you what, Hayama. Why don't we settle this? If I screw up the council's event tomorrow, I'll quit. Gone. No more nightmare."
Gasps rippled across the gym. Even Reina's smile faltered.
Maya's jaw dropped. "You can't just—"
Kai turned to her, smirk sharp as ever. "Or… if I don't screw up, you admit I'm more than just your class clown."
Maya's brain short-circuited. "W-what?!"
"Scared?" Kai teased, eyes locked on hers.
The students buzzed, whispers growing louder. Tanaka's challenging the class rep? This is going to be good.
Satoshi frowned, stepping closer. "This isn't about dares or games. We're trying to set an example—"
"Which is boring as hell," Kai cut in. "Come on, Rep. What do you say? Wanna bet on me?"
The room seemed to hold its breath.
Maya's grip tightened on her clipboard until her knuckles whitened. He was doing it again—turning her order into chaos, pulling everyone into his orbit like it was a game. And yet… her heart pounded, half from fury, half from something else entirely.
But still.....her throat went dry. All eyes were on her, waiting for the class rep to deliver her ruling.
"This is ridiculous," she said finally, forcing authority into her voice. "The student council isn't a playground for your bets, Tanaka. We have rules—"
"Yeah, yeah. Rules." Kai stepped closer, smirk curling like he was enjoying every second. "Thing is, Rep, rules don't mean anything if nobody actually believes in the person making them."
The jab hit sharper than she expected. Her chest tightened, but she held her ground. "Then follow them for once instead of wasting everyone's time!"
Kai tilted his head, his grin sly and reckless. "Tell you what. Tomorrow's assembly. If it goes smoothly, you admit I'm not hopeless. If it crashes and burns, I'm out of your hair for good."
Gasps and murmurs rippled again. Some students leaned forward like they were watching a drama on TV.
Reina smirked, sliding her hand off Kai's arm to rest it on her hip. "Oh, I love this. Poor Maya… if he fails, you'll lose your little council toy. If he succeeds, you'll have to admit you misjudged him. Either way, you're cornered."
Maya's jaw clenched. "This isn't a game!"
Kai leaned in, so close his voice brushed against her ear, low enough only she could hear:
"Feels like one to me. And you're my favorite opponent."
Her face heated, traitorously. She took a sharp step back. "Fine," she snapped, more loudly than she meant to. "Tomorrow. If you screw this up, you're done."
The students erupted, cheers, laughter, whispers.
Kai's grin stretched wide, victorious. "That's my girl."
Maya's heart nearly jumped out of her chest. He did NOT just call me that in front of everyone.
Reina's eyes narrowed, lips pursing into a calculating smile. She wasn't going to let this little challenge end without tipping the scales.
Satoshi, meanwhile, looked between them, his brow furrowed. For the first time, his calm mask cracked with something like unease.
Maya tightened her grip on her clipboard until it creaked. She had just walked straight into Tanaka Kai's game… and the worst part was, some small, reckless part of her wanted to see what he would do with it.
The next morning, the gym buzzed with restless energy. Rows of students filled the bleachers, teachers patrolled the aisles, and the stage gleamed under bright lights. The annual student assembly was supposed to be smooth, formal, predictable.
But Maya couldn't shake the sinking feeling in her stomach.
She checked her clipboard for the tenth time, barking quiet orders at the underclassmen setting up props. "Make sure the microphones are stable. And the seating chart, where's the seating chart?!"
"Maya."
She turned. Satoshi was there, calm and composed as always, holding out a neatly folded chart. "Relax. I already handled it."
Relief flickered across her face. "Thank you, Hayama. At least someone's reliable."
Her gaze darted across the gym. No sign of Kai. Her jaw tightened. Of course he'd bail. Of course he'd...
"Yo."
She nearly dropped her clipboard. Kai strolled in like he owned the place, blazer half off, tie missing, carrying, was that a stack of cue cards?
"You're late!" she hissed, rushing over.
He flashed a grin. "Fashionably."
"Do you even know your part?!"
He leaned down until his mouth was by her ear, smirk curling. "Guess you'll just have to watch and find out."
Before she could explode, the principal stepped up to the podium. The assembly began.
To her horror, Kai didn't just wing it. He owned it.
When his turn came to introduce the sports clubs, instead of stumbling through the stiff script, he tossed the cue cards aside and launched into a cocky, effortlessly charming speech.
"Join basketball if you want glory. Join soccer if you want drama. And if you're into waking up at 5 a.m. for punishment, track's looking for recruits."
The students roared with laughter. Even the teachers cracked reluctant smiles.
Maya sat frozen in her chair, torn between wanting to strangle him for breaking script and… grudgingly admitting he had the entire gym eating out of his hand.
Satoshi's jaw tightened beside her. Reina, meanwhile, leaned forward with narrowed eyes, lips pursed.
When Kai finished, he shot Maya a quick wink from the stage.
And just like that, the bet was sealed.
After the assembly, Maya cornered him behind the curtains. "You—! You completely disregarded the plan!"
"And crushed it," he said smugly. "Admit it, Princess. You were impressed."
"I was horrified!" she snapped.
"Sure." His grin widened. "Your face said otherwise."
Maya's cheeks flamed. "You are infuriating."
"And yet," he said, leaning just close enough to make her breath catch, "you can't take your eyes off me."
Before she could retort, he slipped past her, hands in pockets, humming like he'd just scored the winning goal.
Maya glared after him, her clipboard trembling in her grip.
This wasn't over. Not by a long shot.