Welcome to Niji-sanji Academy! Haru Kaida's Clumsy Love Classroom - My first love scattered with the cherry blossoms, and a strange senpai appeared.

The smell of baking cookies woke me up. It was still pitch black outside. Five in the morning, in the dorm's tiny kitchen, with no one else around. Kaida Haru pulled the strings of his apron tight. " Alright..." He peered into the oven. The sweet scent of butter tickled his nose. Heart-shaped cookies, perfectly golden-brown. The rise was a little uneven, but whatever. He reached in to pull out the tray, and his hand slipped. "Hot!" His fingertip touched the metal sheet with a sharp sizzle. Instinctively, he pressed his finger to his earlobe. Cold. A few tears pricked at his eyes. Back in middle school, his little sister had given obligatory chocolates to a boy in her class, only to get nothing in return on White Day. She'd cried. Seeing that, he'd wanted to make her smile somehow, so he'd started baking. At first, he couldn't even make cookies without burning them. But he got better, little by little, until one day his sister said, "Your cookies are the best, big brother." Now, this was his one and only weapon. Outside the window, the stars were still shining. This was Verdia Island, an artificial island floating in Tokyo Bay. The entire island was the Niji-sanji Academy campus, and everyone around him came from wealthy families. Special scholarship students like him—there were only five in the whole grade. Tuition was free, but if his grades slipped, he'd lose his spot. It always felt like he couldn't breathe. But these cookies—they were what kept him going. The one thing that could make someone smile. The only thing— He took out a wrapping bag. Tied it with a pale blue ribbon. It ended up a little crooked, but he didn't mind. The recipient was a third-year senpai. Someone who was always reading in the library, who'd say "hello" in a calm, gentle voice. He didn't even know their name. But that was fine. Because today, after the graduation ceremony, he was going to confess. —His heart was pounding. Clutching the wrapped cookies to his chest, Haru returned to his room. Room 107. A slightly cramped room for scholarship students. Just a bed, a desk, and a closet. On the wall, a letter from his sister was pinned up. "Do your best, big brother." Time to change into his uniform. Navy blazer, white shirt, maroon necktie—ah, it's crooked. He straightened his tie in front of the mirror and looked at his own face. Slightly unruly dark brown hair. Round brown eyes. A small beauty mark under his left eye. Height: 165 centimeters. Yeah, he really was plain. " ...Well, whatever." He'd probably get rejected anyway. Even so, that was fine. He just wanted to tell them how he felt. That was all. * * * The graduation ceremony ended. Third-years came streaming out of the gymnasium. Girls clutching colorful bouquets hugged their parents and cried. The boys laughed, looking a little embarrassed. Haru hurried through the school building and headed for the southern side of campus: Breeze Hill. A confession spot, lined with a hundred cherry trees in full bloom. By academy tradition, if you were going to confess to someone, it had to be on this hill. Doing it anywhere else was considered "low-class." What a weird rule. He walked beneath the row of cherry trees. Every time the wind blew, petals fluttered down like a pink carpet. He sat on a bench near the observation deck and waited for his senpai. His heart was so loud. Thump-thump, thump-thump. Was he really okay? Did the cookies taste weird? He had a feeling his tie was still crooked. " Once I hand this over, my love will either end... or begin." Either way, he wouldn't have any regrets. Having made that decision, he lifted his head. —That was when it happened. In the distance, he saw his senpai. Wearing a black graduation hakama, holding a bouquet. But they weren't alone. Someone was beside them. Fluffy honey-blonde hair. A glamorous hairstyle with braids along the sides. Large emerald-green eyes, sparkling brightly. It was Hoshikawa Sara. Sara was the most popular girl in their grade. Her family owned the major cosmetics company "Hoshikawa Cosmetics," and she was always cheerful, able to get along with anyone instantly—the very embodiment of a youkya. She lived in a completely different world from him. Why was Sara with his senpai? The two of them stopped in front of the observation deck. Haru hid behind a cherry tree about thirty meters away and held his breath. Sara spun around to stand in front of the senpai. The hem of her skirt swayed softly. " Senpai! Congratulations on graduating!" Her voice sounded strangely distant. Sara held out her bouquet and said with a beaming smile, " I've always really liked you! If it's okay... please go out with me!" —Huh? His mind went completely blank. The senpai looked a little surprised, but then smiled right away. And accepted the bouquet. "...Thank you. I'd been interested in you too." The two of them were laughing together. Cherry blossoms drifted down, as if blessing them. Haru stood frozen in place. He squeezed the package of cookies in his hand. The wrapping crinkled. His feet wouldn't move. He couldn't even make a sound. Sara looked so genuinely happy. With that sparkling smile, she moved to loop her arm around the senpai's, then stopped, looking a little embarrassed. Even that gesture was adorable. Ah, I see. Of course they'd fall for someone like Sara. Someone like me never stood a chance after all. The two of them descended from the observation deck and walked in his direction. Haru hurriedly pressed himself against the trunk of the cherry tree. Footsteps passing by. Laughter. Growing distant. He was alone. A cherry blossom petal landed on his shoulder. Softly, as if caressing him. The back of his nose stung. But he didn't cry. He didn't have the right to cry. Because from the very beginning, this was just his own one-sided crush. " ...I see." His voice trembled, just a little. * * * " Well, congratulations on your broken heart." Suddenly, a voice came from behind him. He nearly jumped out of his skin. He spun around in a panic. Someone was sitting on the bench next to him. A slender male student with smooth silver hair tied lightly at the nape of his neck. The hair on the sides fell over his face, making his eyes a little hard to see. But his narrow, sharp, almond-shaped eyes were clearly visible. Reddish-brown pupils, staring straight at him. At his lips, a carton of strawberry milk. He grinned around the straw. "Man, that was quite a show. I saw the whole thing." " Huh... um, who are you...?" "Kenmochi Touya. Third-year. Technically, your senpai." When Kenmochi-senpai stood up, he was much taller than Haru. At least 178 centimeters. He looked Haru up and down with a gaze that seemed to look right through him. As if appraising his worth. " You're a scholarship student, right? Kaida Haru-kun." " H-how do you know that...?" "I know most things about this academy. I run the underground site." " Underground site...?" "You don't know it? The Oshigoto Club. It's a hidden page for the academy. We take on any request from students. Everything from romantic maneuvering to exam prep to interpersonal negotiations. A whole variety." Senpai sucked the last of the milk through the straw with a slurp and tossed the empty carton into the trash bin beside the bench. A perfect shot. "And the commission fee isn't money. It's stuff like running three laps around the school grounds barefoot, or eating the nasty cafeteria food for a week straight. Gag-worthy payments, basically." None of this made any sense. But somehow, it didn't feel like he was lying. " It's been a while since I've seen someone as pure as you, the type who wears everything on their face." Senpai said that and laughed, looking thoroughly amused. "Your face when Hoshikawa Sara stole your senpai just now—that was priceless. In that moment, something inside you came crashing down, didn't it? I absolutely love that about people. That exact thing." Damn. What an incredibly irritating way to put it. But Haru couldn't say anything back. " So, Kaida-kun." Senpai's expression suddenly turned serious. His eyes glinted sharply. " How about cooperating with my love experiment?" "...Experiment?" "That's right. You're a fascinating test subject. For the next week, I want you to show me how you change." There wasn't even a gap to refuse. Senpai grabbed Haru's arm firmly and started striding forward. " H-hey, wait! Where are we going?!" "My room. It's called Room Zero. Oh, and don't worry—it's a properly secret location." There wasn't a single reassuring element in that sentence. * * * He was taken to the basement of the main building. At the back of the first-floor janitorial supply room, there was a hidden door. What he'd thought was an ordinary wall slid open. " Wha— what is this...?" "A secret base. Every guy's dream, right?" The inside was more spacious than he'd expected. A room of about thirty square meters, with three computers, a whiteboard, an old sofa, and a small refrigerator. The walls were covered in sticky notes, with various names and dates scribbled on them. This was the Oshigoto Club's headquarters. " This is where I manage requests from all over the academy. Though, ninety percent of the clients are just rich people killing time." Senpai picked up a tablet and swiped the screen. "Right now, there are three hundred and five active requests. —And here." He held the tablet out in front of Haru. Written on it was this: ──────────────── Tsukino Mito (Student Council President) I want you to turn Kaida Haru into the most popular guy at the academy within one week. Special allowance from the student council budget. However, the Oshigoto Club's commission fee will be paid separately in "gag payment." ──────────────── "............Huh?" His mouth hung open. Tsukino Mito—that genius who became student council president as a second-year. Why would someone like her... want him? A popular guy? No, no, that's impossible. " The next request stars you as the main character, Kaida Haru-kun." Senpai grinned mischievously. " So, for one week, you're going to be my guinea pig. Refusing is pointless. You're already in the palm of my hand." He took another carton of strawberry milk from the refrigerator. Stabbed the straw in, and slurped. Haru couldn't respond. Because every escape route was completely blocked off. " ...Haaah." His sigh dissolved into the air. In the windowless basement, only the quiet hum of the computer fans could be heard. Was something about to begin from here? He didn't know. But there was one thing he understood. His high school life, apparently starting today, had been twisted in a completely outrageous direction. The cherry blossoms had fallen, and his first love had fallen with them. And in their place, one weird senpai had appeared before his eyes. —There was no escape.

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Episode 1

Name: Welcome to Niji-sanji Academy! Haru Kaida's Clumsy Love Classroom
Author: Novelia

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