Arisu Sakayanagi's POV
My name is Arisu Sakayanagi. I've always taken pride in calling myself a genius, a prodigy, someone who surpasses every single one of my peers, even those far older than me.
I believed no one could touch me in terms of intellect, strategy, or talent. But life, as always, has a sick sense of humor. Because who would have thought that I'd run into someone who would flip my entire worldview upside down?
Someone who was smarter, stronger, and better than me in every possible way and the most humiliating part? He came from a background so far beneath mine that it should have been impossible for him to touch my level.
Yet he crushed me.
While I was raised in the lap of luxury, pampered in a safe, stable environment under the protection of my father's wealth and influence, he was clawing his way through the dirt.
His family was broken; his parents divorced, and he was raised by a single mother who could barely keep food on the table while raising three children with a meager income.
That environment should have destroyed him… and yet it didn't. It forged him. Made him sharper. Made him into someone who could raise his family's status with his own two hands single-handedly, without leaning on anyone.
I've read his works. I've studied his ideas. They were brilliant, mature beyond his years.
His art? Absolutely stunning, the kind of thing you could call a masterpiece without hesitation.
And it didn't stop there; his talent didn't have a "limit" that I could see.
Everything about him screamed "born genius," the kind you can't manufacture in a lab.
He proved, with nothing but his existence, that the world has no place for artificial geniuses.
You're either born with it, or you're not.
And Takashi? He was born with it from day one.
That's why I say places like the White Room shouldn't even exist. The whole idea of "artificial genius" is a joke.
You can't manufacture talent the same way you can't make someone genuinely beautiful by just slapping makeup on them.
The so-called "masterpiece" of the White Room, the one Professor Ayanouji bragged about, was nothing more than a late-bloomer in my eyes, not an artificial genius.
Of course, I still call Ayanokouji a fake genius to his face. Old habits die hard. But deep down, I've already admitted to myself that he's the real deal, a genuine genius, just one who didn't fully awaken until later.
But that's the thing about people. Some look plain and unimpressive when they're young, but grow into beauty later in life. Talent works the same way. If you're born with it, it'll bloom eventually. If you're not, no amount of training will make it appear out of thin air.
From start to finish, the White Room is nothing but a scam.
And no, I didn't come to this conclusion on some half-baked whim. I've talked about it extensively with Takashi, and his insights made me even more convinced.
He argued that the so-called "masterpiece" wasn't an artificially created genius, but simply a late bloomer.
And honestly? Science and real-world logic back him up.
History is full of proof for this.
Even if I were the one placed in the White Room, no matter how smart I was, I'd never reach the so-called "peak of humanity" they demand.
Talent is one thing, but physique matters too. I have a heart condition. I struggle to walk. How would they "fix" that?
By brainwashing me into thinking I could run marathons? By pretending a frail body could be molded into an athlete just through training? That's a fantasy.
It's laughable to think otherwise.
Everything is set at birth, your limits, your potential. You can push those limits higher, sure, but you can't turn an empty cup into an ocean.
At best, you can fill it to the edge.
But it'll never overflow.
A small bucket stays a small bucket, no matter how much water you pour in.
With it, too, my jealousy and malice, the burning desire to crush Takashi and prove that he was nothing more than an overrated fraud was completely swept away.
I found myself trapped, tangled, and utterly intoxicated by the way he spoke about the White Room and how talent is determined from birth.
It lined up perfectly with my own beliefs, my own worldview.
How could I possibly have the heart to crush someone who's the same breed as me? The same kind of monster in nature, thinking, and talent?
It's impossible.
Takashi-kun… day by day, you just keep growing more and more charming.
I can't hold back anymore…
I want to take you home. I want to lock you away, keep you in my arms, force you to talk to me day and night until the world outside forgets you exist.
Unfortunately, for now, that's just an idea I've buried deep in my mind… an idea I'll keep feeding until the right time comes.
Still, our relationship seems to be getting better.
He even seems to see me as more than just a friend now.
That's good.
No… that's perfect.
Because only this way can we be together forever.
And then, out of nowhere, he proposed the idea that we should be boyfriend and girlfriend.
How bold of you, Takashi-kun.
But I don't hate it. In fact, I love it.
We've known each other for three years now.
We met back in junior high… the day I first saw him in that park after stalking his social media and investigating him for weeks.
That was the beginning of everything.
Now, we're almost ready to graduate from high school and we've just reached eighteen, old enough to enter college.
So I asked Takashi-kun, "Where will you be after this, Takashi-kun? What university will you choose?"
I'll follow him no matter where he goes. But first, I need to know.
"Advanced Nurturing Academy. Of course, only if they accept me," Takashi shrugged. "A lot of geniuses apply there and get rejected, but some average nobodies get in. Their acceptance seems random. Even people with below-average grades are accepted, but geniuses get turned away."
"It's not random, Takashi-kun," I told him calmly. "It's a place for nurturing those with potential, not for someone already fixed or fully developed."
"In that case, maybe it's not the place for me," he replied nonchalantly.
"No. You can go," I said sharply. "You must go, or I'll bite you."
I even leaned forward and bared my teeth at him in a playful threat.
He laughed and pinched my nose. "I heard it's a closed school… so, I have a small request, Arisu. Will you grant it for me before we go?"
"What is it, Takashi-kun?" I asked softly.
He leaned in close, his breath warm against my ear, his voice low but deliberate. "Can we have sex?"
My face instantly flushed crimson. "That's… I…"
But he didn't wait for me to answer.
His lips were already on mine, kissing me softly at first, then deeper, pulling me into the heat of it. I gave up trying to resist and melted into him, kissing back in the middle of the park.
It was our first kiss.
When we finally broke apart, he stroked my cheek, his touch gentle, almost tender. "Arisu-chan… where do you think we should go? My home or yours?"
I blushed furiously, instantly understanding his meaning.
"Uhm, Takashi-kun… how about one of my father's houses? It's quiet there… no one will bother us." I answered shyly, my voice trembling but my heart already agreeing to everything he wanted.
He chuckled, eyes gleaming. "Let's go then, Arisu-chan."
"Yes, Takashi-kun." I smiled, my pulse racing as I called a taxi, giving the driver the address of the secluded house.
This time, he would be mine, and I would be his.
There would be no turning back.
...
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