Adrian's eyes opened to the soft morning light filtering through the curtains of his apartment. He lay there for a moment, staring at the ceiling, letting the events of the past two days settle in his mind.
Purchasing the hotel and losing his grinded points overnight still felt surreal, but nothing can be done by moping around.
He swung his legs out of bed and stood up, stretching his muscular frame. He walked to the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and splashed cold water on his face, feeling the coldness touch his face waking him fully. After drying his face off, he moved to the kitchen.
He cooked a simple but satisfying meal, the food had rice, a grilled piece of salmon, and a miso soup with tofu and green onions. He ate at the counter, savoring each bite while thinking over his plans for the day.
Once finished, he washed the dishes and soon after, went to the bathroom, brushed his teeth, and took a hot shower, letting the steam loosen his muscles. After a quick dry, he changed into his school uniform, and packed his lunch and sealed it neatly into a box.
It was a habit he had picked up quickly starting over as a student again in this world.
With his bag slung over one shoulder and the boxed food tucked inside, Adrian stepped out of the apartment and began the short walk to school.
The morning air was nice, the streets bustling with salarymen and students. The apartment was conveniently close to the school, so he enjoyed walking to it, using the time to clear his head and unwind a bit.
As he neared the school gates, he spotted familiar faces. A group of his regular non-important classmates chatting near the entrance. While he doesn't care about them, Adrian still raised a hand and waved casually, he had an image to protect.
They waved back with friendly smiles, calling out "Morning, Cross!"
He returned their greetings with a "Morning!" but didn't stop to chat, continuing his steady pace toward the school building.
Inside the classroom, the usual morning chatter filled the air. Adrian walked to his seat by the window and dropped his bag. Yukiko was already in her seat, arranging her notes.
"Morning, Yukiko." He said with an easy smile.
"Morning, Adrian." She replied, her voice warm. They had grown close enough over the past days to drop the formalities. "How was your weekend?"
"Pretty productive, I'd say." Adrian answered honestly, settling into his chair with a relaxed smile. "Yours?"
"Relaxed, mostly." Yukiko said, shrugging her shoulders.
"I helped my sister with some stuff at home, and I finally caught up on that drama I've been watching. What about you though? Did anything fun over the weekend?"
Adrian leaned back slightly, keeping his tone casual. "Nothing too crazy. Just handled some personal stuff and took a long walk around the area. This city still feels new to me sometimes."
Yukiko nodded, her expression softening a little. "I get that. It took me a while to get used to things here too when we moved. The food stalls near the station are pretty good though, you should try the takoyaki there sometime."
"I'll keep that in mind." He replied with a small grin. "You seem like you know all the good spots around here. Any recommendations for a cool guy like me?"
She laughed lightly, the sound was pleasing to the ears. "Maybe. But only if you promise not to drag me along as your personal navigator."
"Deal." Adrian said, chuckling along with her.
They chatted for a few more moments about small things, the new vending machine in the cafeteria, a funny story about a teacher from last week before suddenly Yukiko tilted her head curiously.
"By the way, did you finish the assignment for the late afternoon class? The history report one?"
Adrian paused, then chuckled sheepishly. "...I completely forgot. Haha."
Yukiko's eyes widened for a second before she giggled, covering her mouth. "Even mister popular can forget a simple assignment? I'm shocked."
He grinned, leaning back in his seat. "Guilty as charged. Think I could copy yours? I'll owe you a favor."
She shook her head, still smiling. "No need for that. We're friends, right? I'll help you out during lunch if you want."
She paused, tilting her head playfully. "Also, did you just spend the whole weekend playing around instead of doing homework? Mister Popular seems to have some flaws, huh?"
Adrian let out a low chuckle, raising an eyebrow. "Ouch. Straight for the throat. And here I thought you were the nice one in class."
"Nice doesn't mean blind." She shot back lightly, covering her mouth as she giggled.
"Your notes are always so messy anyway. If I let you copy mine, at least the teacher probably won't even notice it."
Adrian leaned in, pretending to look offended. "Hey, that's artistic expression, thank you very much." He said with a grin. "You should feel honored. Not everyone gets to witness greatness up close like this."
Yukiko burst out laughing, covering her mouth as her eyes sparkled with amusement.
"If that's supposed to be greatness, then I must be a genius to be able to read it." She gave him a playful side-eye.
They kept chatting for a few more minutes, trading small jabs back and forth about her neat, perfectly organized notes versus his rushed, messy ones, how she always wore a black sweatshirt over her school uniform, and how he always took off his cardigan the moment break time started.
Adrian decided to push a little. "Also, are you free after class today? I'd love to make it up to you properly, maybe grab something to eat."
Yukiko hesitated, then shook her head with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I already have plans with my two best friends."
"Oh? Best friends, huh?" Adrian leaned in slightly, keeping his tone playful.
"Anyone from our class? I don't see you being super close with anyone here besides me."
She laughed softly. "No, they're my childhood friends from middle school. We all ended up at this school, just in different classes."
Adrian nodded casually. "Cool. What are their names? Just curious, if I ever run into them, I'll know who to say hi to."
Yukiko raised an eyebrow at him for a brief second, before shrugging lightly and answered. "Nagisa and Chiaki Tsukamoto. They're in Class 2-B and 2-C."
Adrian put on a thoughtful expression. "Nagisa… If it's a gyaru with blonde hair, then yeah, I think I met her briefly when I just transferred. We talked quite a bit."
Yukiko's eyes widened. "Oh? I hope it wasn't anything bad."
"Nah, nothing bad." Adrian lied smoothly with a reassuring smile.
"She actually helped me with something small. I've been meaning to thank her properly. Think you could introduce us sometime? Or at least let me meet her after class?"
Yukiko looked a little confused but nodded. "Sure, I guess. She's usually with us after school, but…"
Before she could finish, the bell rang, signaling the start of class. The teacher walked in right on cue.
"Good morning class!"
Adrian leaned back in his seat, hiding a small, satisfied smirk as the lesson began.
'Perfect. Now I just need to get close and fit in with them. Once I'm in, I can control their entire dynamic from the inside.'
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AN: Ngl I feel like a chuunibyou writing this, I feel cringe hahaha.