(After school)

I walked home by myself since Ayano and Yan-kun would be with their lovers. When I got home, I took off my shoes, then dropped my bag off in my room.

"I thought today would never end." I said as I flopped on my bed. I closed my eyes and fell asleep, not realizing how exhausted I was.

(Flashback)

"Loser! Loser!" The bullies chanted as they taunted me. I was at the playground by myself as I sat on a swing. These bullies came out of nowhere and just started picking on me.

"Hey," I looked past the bullies as they turned around when a boy who looked familiar stood from afar. "Leave her alone." He commanded.

When I got a better look at the boy, I recognized him immediately. "The boy from the hospital?" I whispered. What's he doing here?

"Get lost! This has nothing to do with you!" One of the three bullies said. "I don't like repeating myself," The bullies took a step back in fear when the boy revealed a box cutter in his hand.

"Go." He said, and the bullies immediately ran off. I watched them run off, then looked at the boy as he put his box cutter away in his pocket.

I emotionlessly stared at him as he walked over to me. "Are you okay? They didn't hurt you, did they?" He asked, and I shook my head.

"Long time no see," I greeted. "Do you always carry a box cutter?"

"Sometimes. Mind if I sit by you?" He asked. I gave a small nod and he sat in the swing beside me. "Are you here by yourself often?"

"Sometimes," I answered. "When did you get out of the hospital?"

"A few days ago. What about you?"

"A week ago,"

Neither of us said anything as I stared off into space. "What's your name?" I asked. "Nemesis." He answered. "It's nice to meet you. I'm-"

"I know who you are, Amaya Aishi."

"How did you-"

"I got your name off the hospital record that was hanging on the wall of your room."

"When-"

"While you were sleeping."

"Are you reading my mind?"

"No, I just know what you're going to ask first."

"You're quick."

"And you're slow,"

I looked at him and noticed he was looking at me. "Do you think I'm weird? Creepy, even?" He asked.

"No." I answered while shaking my head. "Why?" He asked. "I don't know. I just don't think it's creepy or weird." I confirmed.

We both looked towards the sky as it began to rain. "Let's go." Nemesis-kun said as he took my hand. We ran away from the playground and down the street until we were in a house.

"Whose house is this?" I asked. "Mine," Nemesis-kun answered as he closed the door. "You can stay here until the rain stops."

"Will it be okay with your parents?" I asked."My parents aren't home." He said. "Oh." I replied. "Wait here. I'll get you a towel." Nemesis-kun said before leaving upstairs.

I stayed where I was and looked out the window as it continued to rain. I looked at Nemesis-kun when he came back down the stairs with two towels.

"Here." He said, hanging me a towel. "Thanks." I thanked and I took it, then used it to dry myself. "You can sit down, y'know? You don't have to stand." Nemesis-kun mentioned.

I gave him a nod, telling him I understood, then sat down on the couch. He sat beside me and turned on the TV. "You like cartoons, right?" He asked.

"Mm-hm," I answered. "You have a nice house."

"Thanks. Do you often get bullied?"

"Yes, but I'm used to it."

"Why do they bully you?"

"Because I'm... different. Incomplete,"

Nemesis-kun stared at me, as if wanting me to say more.

"Mother says I'm broken and said that it was normal, but my father took me to every doctor in town, trying to fix me. It was the same for my siblings. All three of us were broken. Empty. Different. Incomplete. My father wanted us to be a normal family, but I didn't know how. So, my siblings and I decided to play pretend."

"Play pretend?" Nemesis-kun asked.

"Yes. We pretended to be normal for the sake of my father and we became a happy family. However, it was different outside the house. At school, my siblings and I were mistreated by our classmates. They bullied us because we were strange to them. It went on for a long time." I explained, emotionlessly.

"How inconvenient." Nemesis-kun said. "It is." I confirmed. "Tell me more." He said. "You're really interested in a depressing, boring story?" I asked, looking at him.

"Yes," He said. I looked at him and I saw that he really was interested in hearing the story. "If you want the bullying to stop, don't you think you should try acting normal around them, too?"

"I've tried, but it's hard to act normal around them. It's hard to feel when you can't. For my brother and sister, it was easy for them to pretend. But for some reason, it felt difficult for me. Occasionally, I got used to the bullying, so I felt that what they were doing to me was... normal." I answered while looking at the floor.

"It must be hard." Nemesis-kun said. "Not really. Like I said, I'm used to it now, so it's fine." I said. "It's not fine. You shouldn't let them bully you like that." He replied.

"Then, what should I do? I can't maintain my "normal act" around them, so what is there left to do?" I asked.

I blinked and looked down at my hand when Nemesis-kun entwined his hand with mine. I also noticed he had scooted closer to me.

"Maybe I can help deal with the bullies." He offered. "How?" I asked. "Just leave it to me." Nemesis-kun said.

I wasn't entirely sure what he meant by that, but I trusted him for some odd reason. "Nemesis-kun, what about our game?" I asked.

"Hmm?"

"The game you said we were going to play. When do we start? What are the rules? We never did go over them."

"Now that you've mentioned it, let's go over them now."

"Okay."

"In this game, there will be no rules. The challenge is to try and eliminate the player before they eliminate you. By the end of the game, there will be a reward for the victor, and a punishment for the loser."

"What does the victor get if they win?"

"Anything they want."

I hummed in curiosity. "Anything I want?" I repeated, and he nodded his head. I got off the couch and went by the curtains before wrapping them around me.

"What are you doing?" Nemesis-kun asked. "I'm thinking about Mommy's words." I answered. "Her words?" He repeated.

"She said that one day, I'll find the person who will make me complete. Whenever I think about her words, I wonder about the future."

"Huh?" Nemesis-kun asked with a raised brow. "Nemesis-kun, how do you think I would look in a wedding dress?" I asked.

Nemesis-kun's face turned red as I emotionlessly stared at him. "Why are you asking me that?" He asked.

"Because I want your honest answer. Do you think I would look pretty in a wedding dress?"

"Let's stop talking about this."

"But I want to hear your opinion."

"I don't wanna talk about this right now."

"Would you be my Prince Charming if I wore one?"

"You should stop reading fairy tales."

(End of Flashback)