Realistic or Modern [Heartfelt Lies] In Pursuit of Happiness

[Verite]

Heartfelt Lies Hub Thread
Character Sheets Thread

Cast
Zenritch as Shin Yukimura
Verite as Akiko Akiyama
Ehb as The Almighty GM

Theme
Stagnation

Synopsis
For a while, things seemed to be going well for Shin Yukimura. Over the course of the school year, he's become a bit more comfortable with himself, he's become more involved with his school and his fellow classmates, and he's enjoying a blissful relationship with his beloved girlfriend, Akiko Akiyama. However, good things must always come to an end. When Shin is met by a blast from the past in the form of his brother, who threatens his very way of life and everything he'd ever worked toward, the cool-headed and thoughtful young man Akiko had fallen in love with seemed to change in the blink of an eye.

Finally awarded the chance to prove to the world that he's worth something, worth more than what his family always thought of him, Shin obsessively dedicates his mind and body to his training in hopes of defeating his brother in a Kendo duel. But this single-minded obsession comes at perhaps a greater cost than he might have imagined as he ends up distancing himself more and more from Akiko and the connections he'd ended up fostering over the year, and eventually, both of them must ask themselves; how long can they keep this up? How much is Shin willing to give up to achieve his goals, and how far is Akiko willing to go to keep him from giving up too much?

​

---

Akiko Akiyama was not a fan of the Summer.

She felt much more comfortable under cold weather, which only exacerbated the belief other people held that she was some sort of modern day yuki-onna. Not that she really cared what most other people thought of her, though if there was one person to managed to warm her heart with his mere presence, it was her beloved boyfriend, Shin Yukimura, ace of the Kendo Club. Honestly, in retrospect, not even she could really fathom how the two of them had gotten together. It felt strange to remember, what felt like such a long time ago, the two of them were such introverted, quiet kids who never would have really stuck out of a crowd, and that's how they would have liked it. But then, maybe that was exactly why they were a good fit for each other. Both of them understood the value of the book beneath the cover, and perhaps took an interest in each other much earlier than either one of them would like to admit. Or at least, earlier than Akiko would like to admit.

Maybe it began with a nod of acknowledgement at each other's efforts. Maybe it began with her noticing Shin as one who spearheaded one of many investigations into that affair during the Tri-City Sports Festival, noting his righteous personality, noting to herself that maybe not all boys were so bad after all. Maybe it began when she watched him partake in the cavalry battle from afar and noticed his hard work take a toll on him as he struggled to come out on top, and despite herself, she'd found herself cheering him on from the crowds. All in the name of youthful spirit of course. Or maybe it began when she saw him take down an impossible horde of one hundred people in the interest of keeping the school up, to save it from being closed, how his passion and convictions broke through all of his opponents', and Akiko found herself thinking what an interesting guy he was. How cool he was in that moment. He was like a gallant hero straight out of a manga or light novel, and yet, maybe she'd keep that thought all to herself.

... If nothing else, she just hoped it didn't start when he saw her in the Maid Cafe Tournament. That was something she still couldn't really live down.

In any case, that was all back then, and this was now. Today, like any other day, Akiko sat in Homeroom, waiting for the teacher to come in and begin the first class. There were still a few minutes left before class was expected to begin, so the raven-haired maiden sat in her seat, notebook in front of her, and tried to jot down any ideas for the stories she liked to cook up in her mind. Whatever Shin was up to beforehand, when he'd enter the classroom with time to spare, Akiko would look over at his direction and give a small smile, a sight that hardly anyone else in the world had the privilege of seeing, along with a short wave.

"Oh, there you are. Good morning," she said calmly, leaning her head against her open palm, before quickly cutting to the chase of what she seemed to want to talk about. "Hey, do you know Fukumoto-san from Class 2-B? I was thinking she'd be interesting enough to use as a model for a character, maybe for a short story, but... I don't know."

And talking to Fukumoto herself would have been out of the question. Akiko had never been known to be the sociable type, certainly not someone who started conversations with other people. Granted, she had grown over the past few months, especially once she'd gotten together with Shin and grown comfortable with him, enough to talk freely with him and learn what it meant to "be herself" around someone else, but communication was still something she struggled with at large, at the end of it all.

 

[Zenritch]

Shin Yukimura​

Since the start of the new semester, Shin couldn't help but notice himself smiling more often than he used to. The past year has nothing been short of eventful, and things are seemingly looking up for him. The school had been saved indefinitely, he's at the very top of the rung when it comes to his grades, and he's won a few Kendo tournaments, both at the local and prefectural level. However, none of those laurels and accomplishments could match the sheer happiness he experienced when he started dating his beloved girlfriend, Akiko Akiyama, the budding novelist of the literature club. Getting in a relationship with Akiko was certainly an unexpected development for the purple-haired boy. If you asked him at the start of the previous school year, the quiet and introverted girl wasn't on the top of his list of girls that are girlfriend-material, and yet as the year progressed, so did their attraction towards each other. But when exactly did he start falling for her?

As he calmly walked on the corridor leading towards the second-year classrooms, Shin racked his brain for some answers. Perhaps it all began during the sports festival. When he could barely stand in the cavalry battle, much less move effectively to counter the opposing team, the loud, and frantic, yet enthusiastic cheering from Akiko managed to wash away his fatigue and allowed him to rally his teammates to victory. There was also that time when she stood up to a reporter that was basically stalking and harassing her. Shin saw the entire incident play out and he was impressed by the guts Akiko demonstrated during the encounter. Seeing the once-introverted girl break out of her shell little by little was a sight to behold and Shin couldn't help but be proud of her. He'd never admit it, but he also found Akiko extremely cute in her maid outfit during the Culture festival.

Whatever the case, he was glad to discover that they shared a mutual attraction for each other during the school dance, and they've been together ever since. Today was supposed to be another perfectly mundane day for Shin. Admittedly, it had gotten a lot hotter, thanks to the arrival of summer, though he was a bit grateful since he was already planning to ask Akiko out on a date after class.

"Maybe we should go to that newly-opened ice cream parlor downtown."

Upon entering the classroom, Shin instinctively scanned the room until he laid his eyes upon Akiko. He flashed her a gentle smile before heading towards her and taking the seat beside hers.

"I'd say good morning to you as well, but any time of day is great when I get to be with you." Shin said in a playful voice.

He calmly listened to his girlfriend's questions and smiled when he realized it's about one of her stories. Shin has always found Akiko's dedication to stories admirable since he can see a bit of himself on the girl, and admittedly she has a talent for writing. While he found her habit of observing people to be initially weird and unnerving, he does understand that it's one of the best ways of capturing someone's unfiltered personality and transferring it into one of her characters. He's even been on a few sessions with her and figuring out one's personality based on someone's actions and interactions alone was oddly satisfying and fulfilling.

"We've talked a couple of times, though I wouldn't really say that we're close. However, since she's practically the friendliest person in school, even despite what happened to her in the hot springs trip, then I can really see her as an interesting character for a story. I can talk to her later if you'd like?" Shin replied enthusiastically.

Not long after, the homeroom teacher arrived and announced that a new student would be transferring to their class. Immediately, the entire room was in uproar, with some of the boys and girls even making bets on whether the new student is a boy or a girl. Personally, Shin didn't care about the new student... until they entered the room.

Shin froze as he stared wide-eyed at the transfer student standing in front of the board. He quickly wrote the characters for his name and introduced himself.

"Good morning, commoners. My name is Himura Ayato. It's a privilege for you all to meet with someone born of high status such as yours truly." Ayato bowed mockingly in front of everyone before continuing his speech. "I came to this backwater, lousy excuse of a school not to partake in your primitive education system. No. I doubt anyone in this dump is a match for my natural talent and intellect."

Ayato merely chuckled as he drew the ire of the male students in the room.

"Anyway, the reason why I have graced your mundane lives with my presence is simple. My lousy excuse of a brother has dared to disturb the serenity of our family with his pathetic attempts at gaining fame and recognition. Thus, father has sent me to crush that insignificant gnat once and for all and truly make him learn his place." With a maniacal grin, the silver haired male pointed at Shin, drawing the attention of the rest of his classmates. "So struggle all you want, you filthy reject. I'll take everything away from you just as we've always done."

 

[Verite]

Akiko Akiyama​

"..."

Before Akiko could respond to Shin, the pleasantries seemed to abruptly come to an end as an unfamiliar -- unwelcome, even -- presence made his way into the classroom. Even before he'd uttered a single word, it was as though his very presence brought about a cold chill that afflicted the entire room, even a snow woman like Akiko. And then, when he finally did speak and introduce himself, it only went from bad to worse. Akiko may not have been particularly compatible with people she deemed too nice, but she had enough sense to recognize when someone ought to be avoided, and this guy fit the bill to a tee.

Whereas Ayato was able to quickly irritate the male students, it seemed that his boorish mannerisms -- and probably his appearance and the high-born way he carried himself -- managed to captivate the hearts of a few of the girls unfortunately. Even so, it was astonishing that he believed he could get away with the things he was saying, until he dared to directly address Shin in such a manner, while also giving away the secret of the matter; that they were brothers, and then it slowly began to click into place. Akiko was only just a little familiar with Shin's situation with his family; it didn't exactly make for good, casual conversation material, but the nature of their relationship did mean that they had an inkling of an idea of each other's baggage. Even at the time, Akiko felt just a bit foolish to be so affected by her absent father compared to Shin's baggage, even as he'd assuage her insecurities on the matter.

The point being that if this guy really was a part of the conglomerate that Shin had initially been born into, then he could in fact get away with everything he was saying. Wealthy conglomerates tended to be above the rules, but Akiko didn't care about that, especially if someone she cared for was being insulted like this.

"O-Oi!" The girl exclaimed at Ayato, banging an open palm against her desk as she sprung up to her feet as she felt a surge of anger swell up in her. Between the new student's provocative introduction and the infamous snow queen of Yuzu High reacting in such an adverse manner, who could say which was more surprising to the other students? Still, whatever else she'd wanted to say, the words were caught in her throat as she felt her heart drop. She'd spent so long playing the part of the passive observer, Akiko still struggled to articulate her feelings into words at the worst moments. "W-Who do you think...?!"

She wanted to ask who the hell Ayato thought he was, but the answer was obvious. He was from one of the biggest conglomerates in the country. His family probably already had a hold over the school that let him do as he pleased, but even so, this wasn't right. Still, she couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence, and before she knew it, the teacher had chastised her for her outburst and had her sit back down. Akiko could only obey, shooting Ayato a displeased look, before finally moving her gaze over to Shin, her face softening up in an instant as she looked at him with concern. "Shin..."

 

[Zenritch]

Shin Yukimura

​

Shin sat frozen on his seat throughout his brother's introduction. A cacophony of deafening thoughts race through his mind as he analyzed Ayato's message word for word.

"Why is he here?" "Why now?" "Have I really done so much already to draw attention from them?"

No, knowing his family, they would never have allowed the situation to get out of hand that much before they acted. However, the fact that his scumbag father sent one of his precious children to snuff the flames of rebellion Shin was trying to stoke meant that all his efforts were starting to catch on. Still, he wasn't sure if he felt honored that they've considered him as a threat, or mortified since he didn't feel like he's done nearly enough to face his father and siblings head-on.

However his feelings didn't matter one bit to Ayato. Not then when he was but a child trying to survive the absurd rules, expectations, and manipulations from their father, and certainly not now when he has openly declared war on Shin in front of the class.

It did tick him off a bit that Ayato had a lot of the girls basically licking the palm of his hand, despite his horrible personality. Though he did understand that most of them saw the opportunity to go after a handsome guy radiating influence and prestige. At the very least, he found allies in the vast majority of the male students who didn't take kindly to Ayato's arrogant attitude (though if he had to guess, the guys were motivated by jealousy more than anything else.)

Most importantly, he was glad that Akiko was trying hard to retaliate against Ayato, even though it looked like she was going to pop a vein in the process. The fact that he had someone who would get angry on his behalf made Shin somehow feel good inside, however he didn't want the person he cared about the most to get caught up in his messy family affairs until he managed to sort it out somehow. It was bad enough that they were starting to target him again so he certainly doesn't want them to go after her next.

"It's... fine, Akiko. Please... just ignore everything my older brother said. I'll take care of him... somehow." Shin did his best to reassure the black-haired girl though with all the doubts, insecurities, and thoughts in his mind, it somehow came out like he was reassuring himself instead.

Instead of the situation de-escalating, however, Ayato decided to take things too far when he marched towards Akiko and used his right hand to squeeze her mouth shut.

"I didn't give you permission to address me, maggot. Perhaps it's necessary to teach riffraff, such as yourself, their place in the pecking order."

As Ayato tried to grip Akiko's mouth shut, a hand violently swept away his own. He looked at the direction the arm came from and glared at the insect that dared to attack him, only to come face to face with an extremely pissed off Shin. He hadn't even realized that his brother had stood up and got between him and the commoner girl he was about to make an example out of.

"You can mock, humiliate, and hurt me all you'd like, Ayato, but if you dare harm a single hair on her body, I'll make sure you regret the day you stepped foot in this town." Shin said in a cold, monotone voice that unnerved everyone including Ayato, even if only by a few moments.

"Heh, looks like studying under the old fart after all these years has made your head bigger. Piece of advice, reject. Threats are only effective if you can make good on it. Though if you think you're better than me, then I'm willing to accept your challenge." With a smug look on his face, Ayato turns around and leaves before confiscating a seat from one of the students seated by the window.

After ensuring that Ayato was no longer a threat, Shin's expression softened as he looked at Akiko with concern. "Are you alright, Akiko? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

 

[Verite]

Akiko Akiyama
​

"?!"

Akiko could only let out a labored gasp as Ayato moved to shut her mouth, taken aback not only by the force in his hand but just the sheer audacity of the gesture to begin with. She was stunned frozen for a moment until Shin quickly intervened, needing to take a moment to recover her bearings. In Akiko's experience, historically, most people around her were often too intimidated to so much as even look at her, and yet this new guy had the gall to go after her like that.

Once Shin had managed to dispel the situation, almost with brute force, his voice quickly calmed her again as he focused his attention toward her once Ayato was dealt with for the moment. Akiko remained silent for a moment, looking past him and at the teacher at the front of the room, uncomfortably looking away from the situation. Sensei may have been a bit of a weak-willed man, but one was usually able to rely on him when students were getting rowdy, but it seemed that in the face of a certain influential conglomerate, even he was powerless against them, lest he risk his own job, or so the girl could only guess.

Putting her hand to her face, as if to rub the spot where Ayato had gripped her, Akiko nodded toward Shin. "I-I'm fine. He wishes he was tough enough to hurt me that easily," she cracked under her breath, taking any chance she could get to regain any semblance of dignity after the ordeal.

With Ayato's introduction technically over with now, the teacher finally elected to take this opportunity to proceed with homeroom as usual, ushering everyone who wasn't already in their seats to do so now so they could all proceed with the rest of the day.

---

The rest of the day mostly passed by like normal, as it did every day, aside from the buzz Ayato's every move made throughout Yuzu High. Though it was actually rather easy to avoid Ayato himself after the initial incident, there was little escaping that he was the talk of the town. Akiko herself was hardly much of a chipper person, but she was definitely in an even worse mood than usual for the rest of the day, more reminiscent of the person she was before the adventures of the Gender Relations Club. Still, the day eventually ended without much more drama, and she, for one, couldn't stand to be in the same building as Ayato another second.

After classes had ended, Akiko and Shin walked together toward her house. Such a scene wasn't uncommon; despite the image Akiko held of being a reserved, closed-off person, she was actually rather quite bold and magnanimous when she wanted to be, at least when it came to Shin, and it didn't take long into their relationship before the two of them spending time at her house became a common occurrence, especially with how inviting Akiko's mother turned out to be. She was like the opposite of her daughter; overly sociable, casual, and free-spirited. She took to Shin rather quickly and fully approved of his relationship with Akiko, even half-joking that at least now, the girl had someone looking after her while she was working out of town, and so, here they were now.

Tonight, also like usual, Akiko and Shin sat together in her bedroom. As high schoolers, such a gesture too might have been seen as unconscionable to anyone else, but Akiko didn't really consider it such a big deal, though she had enough sense of self-awareness that she kept the door open at all times, even when her mother wasn't home like tonight. Akiko's room itself was the complete opposite of one might have assumed initially, in the sense that it looked extremely "girly" to say the least. Bright pink wallpapers, neatly made bed, a small collection of cutesy plushes and keychains littered all over, the works. It was difficult to get around; Akiko Akiyama was just way more "girly" than she let on.

Moments like these, all Akiko usually cared to do was study or watch something with Shin, maybe innocently play with and tease him a bit, though tonight, the tension was a bit palpable to say the least. She avoided bringing up Ayato, but it was obvious that he was the elephant in the room that one of them had to address eventually. Still dressed in her uniform, sitting on the edge of her bed, Akiko crossed her legs and looked toward Shin with a thoughtful expression.

"Hey... um, how are you holding up?" She finally dared to ask, wanting to ease into the conversation they'd been avoiding for the past few hours. "Is that guy... really your brother?"