Light rapidly faded away as the darkness began to swallow him. Hajime Nagumo’s face twisted in terror as he stared at the vanishing light above him. He desperately shot out his hand, grasping at the light he knew he could never truly grab hold of. He felt his nether regions tense up as he fell freely through the darkness.

The chasm he’d fallen into was so deep that it seemed almost as if he was falling down to the pits of hell. And the light he was staring at was the portal to the world of the living. He’d fallen down a massive tear in the earth while he’d been exploring a dungeon. The hole was so deep that he kept falling long after the tiny pinprick of light had shrunk to nothing but suddenly he heard someone voice.

“Hajimee!” he couldn’t saw the owner voice but he familiar with the owner voice, his best friend.

Baka, you should only save girl in dungeon not a boy he thought  as with nothing but the sound of wind rushing past accompanying them plunge to the hellish depths below.

Let us turn back the clock a bit and recount how they found themselves in a world that was far too cruel and heartless for the word “fantasy” to be an accurate descriptor. After all, the harsh events they had experienced, and were still experiencing, were a bit too bereft of the wonderful hopes and dreams one imagined when they heard that word.

Monday also often dub as Monster Day, the winner of “the depressing day of the week” award. After all most people without doubt, sighing heavily as they lamented the beginning of the week (even though technically Sunday is the first day of the week) and the end of their week end. Hajime Nagumo was no exception. However, in his case, his depression was multiplied by the fact that school not just pain but a veritable hell. The only silver lining in that hell was the existence of his best friend.

 As always, Hajime barely managed to arrive just before the bell for first period rang. He somehow managed to steady his sleep-deprived and opened the door to his classroom. He found himself on the receiving end of multitude of scornful glares annoyed tongue clicks from majority of the male student as soon as he set foot in the classroom. At least, none of the female gave him stare of contempt except some stare from rotten women (Fujuoshi). It seemed, his best friend wasn’t here, what a bad luck Hajime thought.

Hajime did his best to ignore his classmate, went to his seat. But as always, there were a few students who couldn’t resist the opportunity to needle him especially now, since Hajime’s best friend wasn’t here.

“Sup, you gross otaku stay up all night playing video games again? I bet you were playing porn games the whole times”

“Wow what a creep. What kind disgusting perverts stays up all night playing porn games?”

The boys all laughed, as if they found that statement somehow hilarious except some boys who definitely fake their laugh. The student who’d firs called out Hajime was Daisuke Hiyama, the ringleader of Hajime’s tormentors. Daisuke never seemed to tire of teasing Hajime, as he always went up search a time when Hajime not with his best friend on daily basis. The one who were laughing wickedly next to him were Yoshoki Saito, Reichi Kondou, and Shinji Nakano. It was those four who’d always made Hajime’s school life miserable.

As Hiyama had stated earlier, Hajime was indeed an otaku. But he wasn’t particularly ugly or obnoxious, so the moniker gross otaku hardly did him justice. His hair was cropped short and kept tidy. Plus, it wasn’t as if he had a communication problem of any sort either. Sure, he wasn’t the most talkative guy around, but he had no problem responding to people who talked to him. He was a quiet person overall, but not to the point where it could be considered gloomy. He just happened to have an interest in a very specific set of media—namely manga, novels, video games, and movies.

While it was true that public opinion of otakus hadn’t been very positive as of late, at most being an otaku usually earned you a few looked, not that kind of targeted bullying. So why did all the male students hate Hajime so and why did few rotten female students looked Hajime with glint?

The answer was simple.

“Good morning, Nagumo-kun! You barely made it on time today too. I think you should at least make an effort to come earlier.” One of the girls smiled softly as she walked up to Hajime. She was one of the few people in the whole school who treated him kindly, and also the reason everyone hated him.

 

Kaori Shirasaki, one of the most popular girls in school, and beautiful enough to be considered a goddess by many. She had sleek, black hair that went all the way down to her waist, and large alluring eyes filled with kindness. Her small nose sat perfectly upon her face, and her pink lips were the epitome of perfection.

 

She always seemed to have a smile on her face, and her knack for looking after others combined with her strong sense of responsibility made her one of the most respected students at Hajime’s school. Moreover, she was tolerant and understanding to a fault, to the point where no one had ever even seen her look unhappy before. And, for whatever reason, Kaori had taken an interest in Hajime. Most people assumed Hajime was a terrible student because he always slept in class due to his frequent all-nighters (in truth, he had pretty average grades). And, since Kaori was always looking after other students, they believed that was the reason she talked to him. Had her overtures convinced Hajime to become a better student, or had he naturally been a better looking guy, the other kids might not have minded Kaori’s interest in him as much. As it was, though, he was sadly as average looking as one could get, and his favorite motto was “hobbies over real life,” so obviously his attitude toward school had shown no signs of improvement either. As it was, the other average looking male students of his class couldn’t stand the fact that Hajime was so close to Kaori. “Why him and not us!?” they thought. Meanwhile, the other girls simply thought he was being rude to Kaori. They were unhappy that he wasn’t even attempting to reform his habits except some rotten female student (Fujuoshi).

 

“A-Ah, good morning, Shirasaki-san,” Hajime’s face stiffened up as he felt the bloodthirsty glares of his fellow classmates, and he awkwardly returned Kaori’s greeting.

 

In contrast, Kaori smiled happily as she looked at him. Why do you always look at me like that!? Hajime despaired as he felt the gazes of his classmate burn into him.

 

Hajime was honestly bewildered. He didn’t understand why the most beautiful girl in school cared about a guy like him. To him, it seemed like there had to have been something more than just her natural disposition to help others.

 

Of course, he wasn’t so conceited as to believe she might possibly have any romantic interest in him. Hajime was well aware of the fact that he’d given up a great deal of things to live a life fully devoted to his hobbies. He knew his grades utterly average. There were a whole host of guys better than him who far more suited to be her partner, even just among her acquaintances including Hajime’s best friend, which was why he found her behavior so puzzling.

 

Honestly, I just wish you’d realize you’re the reason everyone hates me right now! Hajime screamed inside his head. However, he didn’t give voice to his thoughts. He knew that some of his classmates would no doubt drag him out behind the gym once classes were over if he ever dared to do so... despite Yuuya would never allowed them to do that. The moment Hajime finished his conversation with Kaori, 3 new people walked up to them. They’d been watching the two of them like vultures, waiting for him to finish talking. Among this new group was of course one of the “better guys” who’d been mentioned previously. Before they could say something though, someone open the classroom door.

The one who open the classroom door was Yuuya Yaegashi, Hajime’s best friend from middle schools. Unlike Hajime, Yuuya’s black hair has wild style, coupled with his hawk-shaped eye make him look scary. Standing 175 cm tall slender yet quite notable muscles didn’t help at all. Yet, he gave reliable aura that drawn people on him. He was the reason rotten female students looked at Hajime with glint eyes, because Hajime’s bellow average height and slightly feminine face (Due Hajime inherited more of his mother’s face) and contrast between them were heaven for their eyes (If rotten female students know how Yuuya meet Hajime, they probably would have nosebleed).

Hiyama’s group clicked their tongue when they saw Yuuya, after all, he always in their way and protected Hajime. Not mention, Yuuya was a champion in kendo tournament and never lost a single match in kendo tournament, that why they too scared to antagonize him. Saw Yuuya, the only female in group who watched Kaori giving bashful smile to Yuuya and stand beside him.

“Good morning, Nagumo-kun. Must be rough staying up that late every day,”

“Looking after him again, Kaori? You’re really too nice for your own good,”

“Seriously, Talking to a failure like him is total waste of time,”

The only person who had properly greeted Hajime out of three was Shizuku Yaegashi, Kaori's best friend and daughter of Yaegashi family who adopted Yuuya. Shizuku’s black hair was tied back in her trademark ponytail. He almond-shaped eyes give her sharp look, but deep within her gaze dwelled bottomless kindness that made her look cool.

Standing 172 cm tall, she was taller than most other girl in class and even taller than Hajime. Combined with her well-built body, made her seem like a dignified samurai and it really apt analogy as her family actually ran a dojo that taught the Yaegashi style, and Shizuku herself was a genius swordswoman (According to her grandfather) who had never lost a single match in kendo tournament (her swordsmanship on par with Yuuya). In fact, she’d been featured in magazines before and had a rather rabid fan base something that always bothered her. The press even took to calling her the modern samurai beauty. Many of the younger female students and even older women had started calling her onee-sama in an almost worshiping manner. And because of this Kaori and Shizuku become a heaven sight for rotten female student.

 

The guy who’d greeted Kaori with that rather cliched line about her kindness was Kouki Amanogawa. He was perfect in almost every way. Great at sports, handsome, and had outstanding grades to boot. Even his name sounded heroic. Written with the characters for “light” and “radiance,” it gave off a rather dazzling impression.

 

He had flowing brown hair, soft features, stood 180 centimeters tall, and despite his slender frame still had noticeable muscles. He was kind to everyone he met, and had a strong sense of justice (or so he thought anyway.)

 

Like Shizuku and Yuuya, he’d attended the Yaegashi dojo since he was in elementary school (two years after Yuuya got adopted) and was skilled to always rank 2 in national tournaments, always lost to Yuuya which he lamented. He, Yuuya, and Shizuku were childhood friends. Dozens of girls had fallen for him, but because he was always hanging around Shizuku and Kaori, very few had ever worked up the courage to confess. However, he still received at least two confessions a month from girls that didn’t go to Hajime’s school, a real Casanova through and through.  

 The last guy, who’d lazily added on his own comments to Kouki’s line, was Ryutarou Sakagami, Kouki’s best friend. Ryutarou had short, trimmed hair and a gaze that seemed at once both cheerful and stern. He stood 190 centimeters tall, and had a massive, bear-like frame. As his build suggested, he was a musclehead who didn’t have much delicacy. Because of his love for hard work and hot-blooded actions, he disliked Hajime, who spent all his time in school sleeping.

“Yo, Hajime, did they bother you again,” Yuuya couldn’t help to worried about Hajime as he looked at Hiyama’s group with disdain look. If it not because he needed to gave some news to teachers, he would wait until Hajime arrive at classroom.

“Don’t worry Yuuya,” as he gave Yuuya reassured look. Some of Kouki and Shizuku fans glare on him that screaming, “How dare you ignore Kouki and Shizuku like that, huh!” (Poor Ryutarou) yet, 1 rotten female student thought “Sasuga Uke, I must share this to everyone”

“Good morning Yaegashi-san, Amanogawa-kun, and Sakagami-kun. Heh, well, you know as they say, ’you reap what you sow’. It’s my fault for staying up all the time,” Hajime smiled wryly as he greeted Shizuku and others. Yet, some of Yaegashi fans still had looked that screaming “What give you the right to talk to Yaegashi-san so casually like that, huh!?” in the end you can satisfy everyone, after all. Not mention Shizuku was popular as Kaori, they were even known as Twin Goddess in this school.

“If you realize it’s a problem, shouldn’t you try and fix it? I don’t think it’s fair to Kaori to keep letting her spoil you. She doesn’t have time to always be looking after you either.” Kouki warned Hajime sternly

Kouki also clearly thought Hajime was a failure of a student who was simply squandering Kaori’s kindness. Hajime desperately wanted to shout out She hasn’t been spoiling me! And in fact, I’d really rather she leave me alone!, but he knew if he did his classmates would “escort” him somewhere quiet after school if his best friend wasn’t here. Kouki was the kind of person who always thought he was right too, so Hajime simply shut his mouth and didn’t utter a single response. Both Yuuya and Shizuku sigh mentally when Kouki bad habit acted out again.

“Cut it out, Kouki. Hajime already have plan for his future,”

Exactly Hajime really wanted to shout this. After all, Hajime already decide to make his hobbies the centerpiece of his life. His father was a game designer and his mother a Shojou manga author, so he had worked part-time at both his parent workplace to gain experience in the field.

With Hajime experience and interests, most employers were interested in as he required no extra training, and his plan for the future were perfectly laid out. That why Yuuya sure Hajime treat his life seriously, which was why Hajime didn’t see need to change his habits. And if Kaori hadn’t started poking her nose into his school life, he would have been able to quietly graduate school without attracting any attention to himself (it already failed when he was Yuuya’s best friend though) 

“Don’t forget I defeat you using technique based on Hajime’s Manga,”

Kouki could only grimace when Yuuya poking at the fact he always lost to him in kendo match.

“The only one that could recreate it only you though,”

Hajime remember when Yuuya successfully reenact certain Assassin sword skill. He really remembered it really well since he heard Yuuya muttered “I guess I could only do 2 strike at the same times instead 3” no, no, no in the first time it weird to did that as he retort to his best friend who had more cheating existence than Kouki in swordsmanship.

“I couldn’t do that if you not tell me though,”

Yuuya offer his fist to Hajime which he met with his own fist. As they show their bromance, someone felt envious with it.

“Mo~, I wanted to talk to Hajime too!” The whole classroom broke out in an uproar at those words and Kaori’s putting face. If looks could kill, Hajime would have died a hundred times over from the withering glares he received from the male students. They ground their teeth as they glowered at him.    

Meanwhile the bell chimes. Aiko, the mid-twenties social studies teacher as well their homeroom teacher entered the classroom. She stood only 140 cm tall, combined with a baby face and her hair kept in a neat bob cut made her really popular with student.

“I have important new to all of you, Yuuya-kun and Shizuku-chan come forward, please!”