The Day the Story Began

The azure sky rolled with pristine white clouds, and pink cherry blossoms blanketed the streets like snow. April in Tokyo resembled a vibrant watercolor painting that could brighten one's mood with just a glimpse.

However, Shimizu Yuu, who had lived here since childhood, had long grown tired of such scenery, and her current mood could only be described as rather gloomy.

Walking to school, Shimizu Yuu sighed like a wilted cabbage. Her request for an advance on her allowance had just been rejected by her mother, and her little piggy bank only had a few jingling coins left.

This meant she couldn't even afford to buy the latest volume of "Spirit Detective Notes" that she was currently obsessed with.

Of course, she didn't blame her mother; she just regretted her own previous lack of spending restraint...

Fortunately, Shimizu Yuu was naturally optimistic. After feeling sorry for herself for a brief moment, she immediately bounced back and began thinking of solutions.

For a high school student, there were only a few ways to get money: allowance, scholarships, or part-time work. Shimizu Yuu immediately ruled out scholarships - she knew herself well enough. Although she had stunning looks that could score 95 points and impressive kendo skills worth over 90 points, none of that changed the fact that she was essentially a poor student.

So really, there was only one option left for Shimizu Yuu.

Clenching her fair fist, Shimizu Yuu lifted her head with determination, her beautiful almond eyes sparkling with resolve. It was decided! She would quit the club activities this semester and work part-time after school!

The determination had just been made when doubt crept in the very next second, because at that moment of looking up, something familiar entered Shimizu Yuu's field of vision.

It was a book, with a vaguely familiar cover. A light bulb went off in Shimizu Yuu's head - wasn't that "Spirit Detective Notes"?! She quickly shifted her gaze to the person walking and reading.

The person wore the same school uniform as her, had a tall, straight posture, and from the side-back view, she could see a bit of their profile - fair skin and attractive features. Shimizu Yuu immediately recalled their name.

Hoshino Gen, her classmate!

Although the semester had just started, Shimizu Yuu had a very strong impression of this male classmate, though it had nothing to do with his behavior. After all, he usually just sat quietly at his desk reading books, so quiet that Shimizu Yuu had never even heard him speak!

Even when several female students tried to talk to him, attracted by his unfairly good looks from his mixed Japanese-English heritage, he would just stare at them with a smile until they walked away - quite an odd and low-key person.

But such a person had an extraordinary twin sister - the idol Hoshino Rin, who hadn't appeared at school since the entrance ceremony but remained the center of school gossip.

Yes, this guy had an incredibly cute idol sister! It was enough to drive one mad with jealousy!

But that wasn't the important part! The fact that he was also reading "Spirit Detective Notes" - could he be a fellow fan?! In that case, as his classmate, couldn't she just build a better relationship with him and borrow his books for free? Then she could avoid the hardship of working part-time and continue attending the kendo club with her good friend Suzuki Sawami, competing in the national tournament during summer break like in middle school...

At this thought, Shimizu Yuu's eyes began to sparkle. She took a few quick steps forward and called out loudly, "Hoshino-kun!"

The boy ahead paused his steps and turned slightly, fully revealing his doll-like, beautiful face to Shimizu Yuu. Especially that left eye, like a clear blue sapphire set in its socket, seemed to outshine even the azure sky above.

Oh, like his idol sister, he had those extremely rare heterochromatic eyes. Shimizu Yuu felt a bit envious - she wished she had such cool eyes too.

Meeting his heterochromatic gaze, Shimizu Yuu gathered her spirits and energetically ran up to Hoshino Gen's side, saying enthusiastically, "Hoshino-kun, so you take this route to school too? I've never seen you before!"

The boy just smiled at her, showing no intention of speaking.

Shimizu Yuu felt slightly awkward - here it came, the "death smile" as the girls in class called it, making people so uncomfortable they just wanted to get away quickly. But! For the sake of being able to read books without having to work part-time, she was determined to make him speak today!

Taking a small breath and suppressing the urge to curl her toes, Shimizu Yuu walked alongside Hoshino Gen while maintaining an even friendlier smile, "Do you also live in the neighborhood?"

The boy still only smiled, but he had closed his book, and at that moment, Shimizu Yuu could clearly see that what he held was indeed the latest volume of "Spirit Detective Notes" that she had been yearning for!

Her expression immediately changed to feigned surprise, with "I want it" practically written all over her face. Shimizu Yuu could barely contain her excitement as she said, "Ah! So you're reading this book too? I love it so much! Oh - you're already reading the latest volume? I just finished the previous one. I wonder if that grandmother from the Taisho Era ever got to meet her husband..."

Before Shimizu Yuu could finish speaking, Hoshino Gen's eyebrows suddenly twitched, and in a flash, he darted to her other side. Crouching down, he placed both hands on her shoulders and applied slight pressure to make her face away from him, widening the blocking area. In that split second, a car sped past, splashing brown mud from yesterday's rain puddles all over Shimizu Yuu's uniform and face.

Shimizu Yuu's expression turned blank. She stiffly turned to look at the completely clean Hoshino Gen behind her.

Hoshino Gen calmly handed "Spirit Detective Notes" to Shimizu Yuu with both hands, his face solemn: "Thank you."

With that, Hoshino Gen quickly stepped into a waiting taxi nearby, and in the blink of an eye, both he and the vehicle vanished from Shimizu Yuu's dazed and confused field of vision.

......

Shimizu Yuu was nearly furious, not just because Hoshino Gen had used her as a shield against the muddy water, but also because after going home to clean up and change clothes, she was, predictably, late! As punishment, she had to run several laps around the school's 400-meter track, nearly running out of breath by the end!

During the break after first period, Shimizu Yuu didn't even look at the latest volume of "Spirit Detective Notes" that she had been dying to read. Instead, she sat at her desk, glaring fiercely at a certain inconsiderate jerk sitting by the window in front of her.

That guy acts all cool and aloof at school, but he's actually the kind of scoundrel who would use a pretty girl as a mud shield!

"Yuu, why were you so late today... huh? What's wrong? Why do you look so angry?"

The voice of her good friend Suzuki Sawami rang in Shimizu Yuu's ears. She turned to see a well-figured, pretty girl standing before her with a curious expression.

When asked by her good friend, Shimizu Yuu's expression immediately crumpled. She didn't want to share her embarrassing experience, but seeing this, Suzuki Sawami's eyes followed Shimizu Yuu's previous line of sight, and a thoughtful look immediately appeared on her pretty face: "Did he bully you?"

Shimizu Yuu pouted, indicating she didn't want to talk about it.

However, Suzuki Sawami got excited, as if she couldn't wait to see some drama unfold: "What happened? Tell me quickly." Then, lowering her voice, she added provocatively, "If it's really something terrible, I have a way for you to get revenge!"

Hearing this, Shimizu Yuu, who already didn't want to talk about it, became even more hesitant. She furrowed her delicate brows and said quietly, "It's not really a big deal, let's forget about revenge..."

"Oh come on, if not revenge, at least teach him a small lesson. You can't just be a pushover and swallow this grievance like a turtle, can you?" Suzuki Sawami wouldn't let it go - partly to stand up for her friend, but also because the idea of messing with that handsome, quiet guy seemed quite interesting!

Being called a little turtle by her good friend was something Shimizu Yuu couldn't quite tolerate. She opened her mouth to speak but ended up just sighing, then proceeded to tell the whole story about how Hoshino Gen had used her as a shield against muddy water on the way to school, which had also caused her to be late.

After hearing this, Suzuki Sawami immediately slammed her hand on the desk and exclaimed indignantly, "That's too much! Is he even a man?!"

She was radiating righteousness and appeared ready to fight for her friend's honor. Of course, if her eyes hadn't been sparkling quite so brightly and her lips hadn't been curved up quite so high, it might have been more convincing.

The commotion drew the attention of many classmates, but Suzuki Sawami paid them no mind. She waved her small hand and patted Shimizu Yuu's shoulder, declaring, "Don't worry, this young lady will help you get revenge!"

"..." Shimizu Yuu gave her a sidelong glance.