The sun was hitting the windows of St. Jude's Academy, but all Akira could see was the glowing blue number in the corner of his eye.
[Current Shameless Points: 0] [Status: Critical - Time Stop Disabled]
"Dammit," Akira whispered, clutching his stomach. The 5,000 yen he 'borrowed' from Kenji had bought him a massive breakfast, but the Chrono-Trigger was hungry for something else. To get his power back, he had to do something "Shameless" in public.
He sat in the back of the classroom, watching Haruka, the Class President, give a presentation. She was perfect—smart, elegant, and completely out of his league.
[NEW MISSION: The Confession of a Loser.] [Objective: Shout your most embarrassing secret in front of the class.] [Reward: +150 Shameless Points.]
Are you kidding me? Akira thought. If I do that, my social life is officially dead. But then he looked at Kenji, who was currently mocking a smaller kid in the front row. He looked at his own torn sleeves. Without the watch, he was just a target. With it, he was a god.
He stood up suddenly, his chair screeching against the floor. The whole class, including Haruka, turned to look at him.
"Akira-kun?" Haruka blinked, tilting her head. "Do you have a question about the math proofs?"
Akira's face turned bright red. His heart was hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird.
"I... I..." He gulped. "I have spent the last three years secretly naming all the stray cats in the district after different types of expensive ramen because I was too poor to buy the real thing!"
The silence was deafening. A fly buzzed near the window. Then, a wave of snickering broke out, led by Kenji's booming laugh. "Ramen cats? Seriously, Tokiwa? You're even more pathetic than we thought!"
Akira wanted the floor to swallow him whole. But then, the golden chime rang in his ear.
[MISSION COMPLETE!] [REWARD: +150 Shameless Points Received.] [LEVEL UP: Time Stop Duration increased to 15 Seconds!]
He didn't care about the laughter. He felt the weight of the pocket watch in his pocket grow warm. He looked at Kenji, then at the chalkboard. A devious idea began to form.
"Oh, you think that's funny, Kenji?" Akira muttered under his breath, his hand reaching for the golden crown of the watch. "Let's see how funny it is when your pants decide to take a vacation."
CLICK.
The world froze. The laughter stopped mid-air. Akira stepped out from behind his desk, a predatory smirk on his face. He had 15 seconds this time. It was time for a little "redistribution" of dignity.