people pleaser | nishimura riki

1. encounter

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮

Although she had transferred to this school a semester ago, there were still moments when she would find herself asking for directions to places she had been to many times.

However, who could blame her? With the main school building being 3 stories tall, excluding the rooftop, one would mistake such a place to be a palace than a school. It made sense though, the school was ranked first in the whole country with many great successors graduating from the same school; the superiority was privileged.

"AIRA STOP!" A feminine voice echoed across the corridor along with fastened footsteps, hinting at desperation. That voice belonged to Remi, her first friend. Though she was technically her senior, being one year older, Aira still saw her as her friend nonetheless.

It was fortunate Aira stopped right on time before the staircases, though she was confused because she knew where she was going this time without asking for help. She also knew her arms were beginning to lose its initial energy. As if the books were absorbing all her strength.

As she waited for Remi to walk toward her, she felt quite awkward standing right by the staircase. And so, deciding to step aside in case of blocking the way, her life had flashed before her eyes.

She felt her posture losing balance; within that moment, she realised she had taken the wrong turn and missed a step.

Instead of waiting for the pain to come, her only thought was 'how would the others view me? ' Her arms never gave up on the books as she hugged them tightly. Like it was her duty to protect them.

However, the longing pain never came as she felt a strong grip around her upper arm, counteracting the direction she was initially falling to.

"You're really putting the books over your safety." An unfamiliar husky voice muttered under his breath which she had caught on. She had in fact prioritised the books before her life.

Why?

Processing the moment, it wasn't long until the hand that pulled her back to gravity had let go. Her eyes shifted towards her saviour, only to reveal a stranger with the sharpest yet prettiest eyes she had ever seen. 

Foreigner?

She admired the prominent features on his face as she wondered if Aphrodite herself had personally structured his visuals.

"Thank you." She whispered, embarrassed for multiple reasons. Not only had she almost damaged her classmate's book, but she had also almost broken some of her bones, and now she was staring at the stranger that saved her for too long.

"Do they all belong to you?" His voice was like strawberries dipped in chocolate; sweet but heavy.

"No, only one of them." She nervously spoke as she watched him take the first book of the stack. The one that belonged to her. 

"Yours?" He asked, sending her to bewilderment as she wondered if it was his luck or his instinct that led him to ask. How did he know?

Aira only nodded before watching him putting it back to where it was originally and pocketing both his hands into his hoodie. She noticed how out of uniform that boy was as the hood laid over his head, covering a portion of his head. 

"I guess your friend came to help." He spoke before walking away.

Remi really took her sweet time walking across the corridor.

The interaction between them was not significant enough to catch attentions, yet most of their attention was glued onto him. It was like time had frozen and he was the only one capable of living within the present.

"No way." Remi covered her mouth which hung low in shock. "He really came back..." Her head finally turned towards Aira who was as perplexed as she could be.

"Who...?" Aira furrowed her brows as she felt the tension of her arms lighten with Remi taking half the stacked books to her hand.

"Nishimura." Remi replied. Though she had technically answered her question, she wasn't going to understand with only his surname given.

"Everyone in the school knows him," Remi stated before looking straight into the younger girl's soul. "including you." 

And so, that was Aira's very first encounter with the renowned mysterious boy.

Kim Aira's first meeting with Nishimura.

19 May, 2024.