On the wire-net-covered roof of Hoshizuki High School, a group of male students lounged in a loose circle, lazily passing a joint between them. The afternoon sun cast long shadows across the rooftop, its warmth tempered by the occasional gust of wind that carried wisps of smoke into the open sky. The conversation shifted from idle gossip to ridiculous debates about video games, sports, and women.
Oliver sat near the edge, leaning back on his hands, watching the ember glow as the joint made its way around. When it finally reached him, he took a slow, deliberate drag—not for the high, but for the faint ripple it sent through his dantian. The sensation was subtle, like a hidden current beneath still waters, but it was unmistakable. He exhaled slowly, letting the smoke dissipate into the air as he tried to make sense of it.
The bell rang in the distance, marking the end of lunch break. A collective groan rippled through the group as they reluctantly stretched and brushed off their uniforms.
"Ugh, I don't wanna go back to class," Kazu muttered, rolling his shoulders. "This was way better than listening to Fujimoto drone on about chemical bonds."
"Yeah, well, unless you wanna repeat the year, you better move your ass," another boy chuckled, shoving Kazu toward the rooftop exit.
As they started heading down, Oliver lingered for a moment, then turned to Kazu, keeping his tone light. "How much for a bag?"
Kazu blinked, then smirked. "Oh? You actually wanna buy some?"
Oliver shrugged. "Might as well. Got a price?"
Kazu tapped the tin in his pocket, considering. "Depends on the quality. You want the good shit or just something cheap?"
Oliver hesitated, but only for a second. If this stuff really could help his cultivation, he needed the best he could get.
"The good stuff."
Kazu gave a lazy nod. "Alright. I'll hook you up. We'll talk later after I'm done with study club..."
With that, they filed down the stairwell, slipping into the sea of students navigating the halls. The familiar scent of worn textbooks and floor polish replaced the smoke-laced air of the rooftop, and the distant hum of teachers lecturing through classroom doors signaled the return to routine.
Oliver made his way to his classroom, sliding into his usual seat near the back just as the teacher finished writing something incomprehensible on the board. He barely glanced at it—the high finally kicked in, making the writing nonsense to him—before turning to the girl beside him—Akari.
Tall, with voluminous blonde hair tied back in a high ponytail, she had sharp, mischievous eyes that always seemed to glint with some private, likely indecent joke. Her expression oozed confidence and playful danger—exactly the kind that got people into trouble.
The moment Oliver sat down, she leaned over, her voice low. "You reek of smoke."
"Gee, I wonder why," he muttered, adjusting his uniform.
Akari grinned, resting her chin on her hand. "Didn't think you were the type to get high. Should I be concerned? Or impressed?"
"Neither," Oliver said dryly.
"Did Kazu drag you into it?"
Oliver shook his head. "Not exactly. Just... trying something new."
She studied him for a moment, then smirked. "Well, whatever. If you turn into a burnout, don't expect me to carry your ass in the club meetings."
Oliver scoffed. "Right, because watching anime and arguing about Xianxia cultivation ranks is such a heavy burden."
Akari laughed under her breath, leaning back in her seat. "Hey, Asian culture is serious business. We built that club on a sacred foundation of watching trashy isekai and calling it 'research.'"
Oliver smirked. "And Ren somehow convinced the teachers it was legit."
"He's a goddamn miracle worker."
The teacher called for attention, and Akari sighed, flipping open her notebook with an exaggerated groan. Oliver followed suit, though his mind was elsewhere.
The lingering pulse in his dantian had multiplied, now rippling ever so often with each breath. If something as simple as smoking could trigger his Qi, what else was out there?
And just how far could he take this?
The lecture droned on in the background, but Oliver barely registered the words. His pen moved absently over his notebook, his thoughts consumed by the strange, and yet familiar sensation in his dantian.
But as Oliver sank deeper into his thoughts, a nudge to his arm pulled him back.
"You're doing that thing again," Akari whispered.
Oliver glanced at her. "What thing?"
"The brooding protagonist thing." She smirked, twirling her pen between her fingers. "I swear, sometimes I feel like you're gonna start monologuing about fate and destiny."
Oliver rolled his eyes. "And sometimes I feel like you should shut up and take notes."
Akari gasped, mock-offended. "How dare you. I am a diligent scholar of Asian culture, thank you very much."
"Right. That's why you spent all of last period reading a doujin under your textbook."
She grinned, completely shameless. "It was educational."
Oliver sighed. Despite everything, he couldn't help but relax a little. Akari was… Akari. Unapologetically herself, completely unbothered by anyone's judgment. It was strangely grounding.
She leaned in closer, voice dropping to a mischievous whisper.
"Anyway, your chūnibyō aside… can you do me a biiig favor, Oliver-kun~?"
He narrowed his eyes. "What kind of favor?"
Akari twirled her pen again, this time like she was winding up for a confession.
"Okay, so. That water park trip I was so hyped about?" She paused dramatically. "It wasn't just because I wanted to watch and take a few pics of girls playing in the water."
Oliver stared. "...Should I be worried where this is going?"
She continued, undeterred. "It's because… my little sister found out about my secret doujin collection."
He blinked. "Wait—what?"
"And before you ask, yes, those kinds of doujins."
Oliver gave her a slow side-glance. He wasn't sure where this story was going, or how it connected to the favor.
"So what does that have to do with the water park?"
Akari raised a finger like a professor delivering a thesis. "Well! I kinda panicked and told her the collection was for inspiration—for, uh, aesthetic ideas. For my boyfriend."
Oliver stared harder.
"She bought it!" Akari said proudly. "Started buying me new dresses and fashion magazines. My allowance even got upgraded!"
"You used the upgrade to buy more... 'inspirational materials,' didn't you."
"Guilty~." She winked. "It was going great for a while. But, you know... when your mom's favorite youngest daughter can't afford lunch for a week, things get noticed."
Oliver groaned. "Let me guess. She told your mom?"
"She spilled everything. Including the part about my 'foreign' boyfriend. Blond hair, blue eyes. From my class. Who's apparently pulling me out of my gyaru phase." She looked at him meaningfully.
He looked back. "...No."
"Oh, I'm not done," Akari said sweetly. "My mom was so happy, she bought tickets for a whole family amusement park trip and told me to bring my charming, world-changing boyfriend."
"And?"
"I told her you hate heights."
Oliver blinked. "I do?"
"And so! Mom very helpfully swapped the tickets for a family day at the water park instead. Only for someone—" she poked his shoulder, "—to turn me down."
He groaned again, louder this time. "So what now?"
"Well... when I told her you wouldn't make it, she said, and I quote, 'Then bring him over for dinner instead. I'll make his favorite!'"
"...She doesn't even know me."
"Exactly! She's very excited to."
Oliver stared at her, expression unreadable. "...So. Just to recap: your porn got discovered, you made up a boyfriend, that boyfriend is me, and now you want me to go to your house tonight, meet your family, and then break up with you in front of them?"
She clapped her hands together. "Exactly! So, you free to make a bad impression and break up with me over dinner?"
Oliver leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling.
"...Why am I friends with you again?"
"Because I'm cute, I bring snacks, and I have some pretty incriminating photos~."
"...Fine. But I'm ordering seconds, insulting your cooking, and pretending I have rabies."
"Perfect!" she grinned. "I knew I could count on you, Oliver-kun~."
Oliver sighed, rubbing his temple. "So… where do you live?"
"I'm busy after school," he said flatly. "And I don't have a phone."
She blinked, a little thrown. "...What do you mean you don't have a phone?"
"I mean," he replied, deadpan, "I don't have a phone."
"You live in a cave or something?"
"Just give me the address."
With a dramatic sigh, Akari tore a scrap of paper from her notebook and scribbled something quickly with a pink pen. She folded it neatly and slid it over like it was a top-secret document.
Oliver picked it up and read. His brow twitched. "That's like… thirty minutes from my place."
She leaned in, smiling innocently. "Then I guess that's good for me. Walk slow and leave exactly when you're supposed to be there for dinner."
"Time?"
"Ten o'clock."
Oliver stared at her. "...Tonight, not tomorrow, right?"
"Yup."
"So I need to sneak over to your house at ten p.m., pretend to be your boyfriend, and get dumped—or dump you—in front of your mom and sister? You know I wouldn't have bothered with this if I wasn't a little high," Oliver spoke. "But I'm guessing my treat in this is seeing how far I can push it with your family?"
Akari beamed. "Now you're getting it. And if you somehow could get my sister to like you, can you please film it?"
He stared at the paper. Then at her.
"...I'm telling your mom you collect tentacle doujins."
Her grin didn't even falter. "Joke's on you—she already found volume six."
Oliver groaned.
But pocketed the address anyway.