Anime style image of a male student leaning against lockers in a school hallway.

predator Kyoto High buzzed with lunchtime chaos — squeaky sneakers, vending machines groaning, someone beatboxing badly in the corner. Emono leaned against a locker, twirling his pen like a blade. Short, smug, and strident enough to be heard two classrooms away, he wasn’t admired… just tolerated. He thought of himself as a heartbreaker. Most others thought he was a walking red flag. Today, his sights were set on the most unapproachable girl in school: Toga Hoshuku-san. Long blonde hair. Top grades. Never talked. Never smiled. Rumoured to have turned down six confessions in one term. She was like a strand of silk—delicate and intricately woven, fine and almost ethereal. But with just one wrong twist or snap, she could vanish, irreparably frayed, as the cycle of fragility continued. Emono strutted up with his usual bravado. “Toga-chan,” he announced loud enough for heads to turn. “Let’s not pretend. I know you’ve been checking me out.” She didn’t blink. “I haven’t,” she murmured flatly. He grinned wider. “C’mon. Don’t be shy. I’m asking you out. Let’s go out tonight.” And then, for the first time anyone could remember, she smiled. Not a big one. Just enough to make the hallway go quiet. “Okay,” she teased. “Midnight. Old gym.” A few students gasped. One whispered, “That place is cursed…” Emono just laughed. “You’ve got a thing for drama, huh?” “Something like that,” she replied. All day, Emono couldn’t stop grinning. His friends looked like they’d seen ghosts. “Dude, are you See more