"Love is inefficient."
Lad Tokai's eyes snapped open at exactly 6:00 a.m. He didn't need a second alarm. He never did. He reached for his phone, scanned the unread message from his long-distance girlfriend, and locked the screen without replying. He lift his left hand up and spread his fingers, "Life is about ambition, Connection only slows you down."
At the same moment, across the city, Niso Tanaka sat quietly at her kitchen table, stirring her black coffee. Her alarm had gone off fifteen minutes ago. She was already dressed. Her phone buzzed with a message that said:
"Good luck, Niso! I'm counting the hours until I see you again " She didn't reply. She sipped instead.
"Love is inefficient," she whispered, and got up to leave.
POV( Tokai)
Tokyo academy high the most prestigious school in Japan, the only high school that guarantees business college and employment.
The first period bell rang inside Class 2-A of Tokyo Academy High School, and all eyes were on the girl standing confidently at the front of the classroom.
"My name is Niso Tanaka," she announced. "Transferred from Meiji West. I look forward to crushing the academic records here — respectfully, of course."
A few students chuckled. Others raised eyebrows. She smiled without flinching.
"We'll see about that," someone whispered.
The homeroom teacher clapped her hands. "Thank you, Miss Tanaka. Please take a seat ah, we're still waiting for our other transfer student."
Cue the door sliding open, five minutes late.
"Apologies," Lad said, cool and flat. He stepped into the room like he owned the oxygen inside it. Dark hair. Pressed uniform. Calm face.
The teacher perked up. "Ah, perfect timing. Everyone, meet our second new student"
"Tokai. Lad Tokai." Transferred from Keikyu High.
He scanned the room, his eyes briefly meeting Niso's. She didn't blink. He didn't either.
"Sit wherever there's an open seat," the teacher said.
Tokai slid into a desk without comment, already pulling out a pen. Niso watched him from the corner of her eye.
Keikyu High? That school's brutal Tanaka in her mind
"Keikyu High is infamous for Cutthroat academics, relentless competition, and no room for weakness. Only the top ten students survives without burnout, and even they aren't guaranteed peace. Rumor has it that Keikyu turns students into machines. Machines with grades, not
feelings."
Meiji West huh ? So she's used to competing. Good, Meiji West's reputation is solid. The school is known for its regional debate championships and international science olympiad teams. They raise fighters, students who thrives on precision, performance, and pressure. If she came out on top there, then she wasn't just good. She was dangerous.
At the end of the lesson, the teacher clapped her hands again. "Now, a quick class matter before we wrap. We need a new class representative." Groans followed.
"We usually vote, but if someone wants to volunteer" "I do," said Niso. Calm, clear.
"Oh?" The teacher smiled. "Well, thank you—" "So do I," Tokai interrupted.
All heads turned.
Niso narrowed her eyes. "I didn't think you were the type to care about classroom politics."
"I don't," he replied. "But I care about control." The class erupted in murmurs.
The teacher, caught between pride and panic, said, "Well… looks like we'll vote after all."
And just like that, a rivalry was born.
At lunch, Niso Tanaka met her childhood friend, Miyo, at their usual spot under the cherry blossom tree. The two laughed over old memories, and Miyo gave Niso a reassuring squeeze as she carried her tray.
Across the courtyard, Lad Tokai sat opposite his childhood friend, Kai, in the bustling cafeteria. Kai leaned in, teasing Tokai about his icy demeanor, while Tokai cracked a rare, appreciative smile.
Meanwhile, in the quiet council chamber on the third floor, the student council president adjusted his glasses and glanced over the roster. "Two transfer students," he said to the vice president. "From Meiji West and Keikyu High. Keep an eye on them. I want weekly updates on their academic performance. If they're as good as the rumors suggest, they could be assets or
threats."
After lunch, it was gym class.
In the boys' locker room, the sound of sneakers squeaking and metal lockers clanging filled the air as students hurried to change. Tokai unbuttoned his school shirt and placed it neatly in his locker, moving with calm precision.
His phone buzzed on the bench.
Reen : "Only three more weeks, Lad. I miss you so much. Can we call tonight? Even just for a minute? "
He stared at the message, unread emotions swimming beneath his still face. He didn't reply.
Kai, tugging his gym shirt over his head, noticed the glow from the screen.
"Reen again?" he asked, nodding at the phone.
Tokai didn't say anything.
Kai whistled. "Man, you really are ice. She's trying hard."
Tokai shoved his phone into the locker and shut it without answering. "We're late."
The gymnasium was split in two.
Team Blue—the boys' team—took the left court.
Team Red—the girls' team—occupied the right.
The gym teacher blew the whistle. "Warm up, then scrimmage. First to twenty. Boys on the left, girls on the right. Let's see what our transfers can do."
The games began on both sides, almost like mirror matches.
On the girls' court, Niso Tanaka was in full controldirecting plays, slicing through defenders, her confidence unmistakable. She was fire and discipline rolled into one, and her teammates followed her lead. She stopped at the arc. Without hesitation, she launched a perfect threepointer. Swish.
On the other side of the gym, the boys' game paused mid-motion.
Just as the noise of Tanaka's shot echoed, Tokai caught the ball from Kai.
He took two calm dribbles, stepped just past the three-point line and fired.Swish.
Both balls hit the net at the same time.
Both sides of the gym went wild.
"Did you see that?!"
"They scored at the same second!"
The gym teacher raised an eyebrow and muttered to the assistant coach, "These two aren't normal students. They're competitors."
Across the court, Tanaka turned her head.
Her eyes locked with Tokai's.
Neither smiled. Neither nodded. But something passed between them unspoken and undeniable.
The echo of both nets swishing at once still lingered in the gym.
The girls' team clapped and laughed around Niso, some half-teasing, others wide-eyed.
"Whoa, Tanaka! That was insane!"
"You trying to make us all look bad or something?"
Miyo jogged up beside her, shaking her head with a crooked smile.
"Seriously? Did you have to show off like that?"
Niso breathed lightly, grabbing her water bottle from the bench.
"Wasn't showing off," she said casually, though her smirk betrayed her.
Miyo nudged her with an elbow. "Sure you weren't. Right when the boys were watching?"
Niso glanced toward the boys' court more specifically, toward Tokai.
He hadn't looked away from her since the shot.
Across the gym, the boys' team circled up to reset.
Kai slapped Tokai on the back, grinning.
"You would drop a three the exact second she did," he laughed. "Did you two coordinate that or are you just allergic to subtlety?"
Tokai walked toward the baseline, grabbing the ball off the bounce. "It was just timing."
Kai raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, right. Did you have to show off?"
Tokai paused, then replied flatly, "No."
Kai laughed again. "Man, I forgot you're literally incapable of admitting anything. That was a power move, and you know it."
Tokai said nothing, spinning the ball slowly in one hand as he glanced back across the court.
Niso was looking at him too.
Neither of them smiled.
But both of them knew exactly what just happened.
Two elite minds. Two perfectly timed shots.
And neither one was going to back down first.
The final whistle blew, and the students shuffled toward the locker rooms, buzzing about the game.
As Tokai and Kai walked side by side, the echo of the crowd's reaction still lingered.
"You do realize everyone's calling you the robot sniper now, right?" Kai said, laughing as he wiped sweat from his forehead.
Tokai didn't answer. He reached into his locker, grabbing a towel and pulling off his jersey with the same precise motion he used for everything.
Kai leaned against the locker. "Don't tell me you accidentally sank that three just as Tanaka did."
Tokai paused. "I didn't plan it."
Kai smirked. "But you enjoyed it."
For the briefest second, Tokai's lips twitched—not quite a smile, but close.
Meanwhile, in the girls' locker room, Miyo was giving Tanaka the same energy.
"Okay, you've definitely got something with that Tokai guy."
Tanaka zipped her gym bag without looking up. "I don't even know him."
Miyo raised a brow. "Right, but you two dropping threes in sync like a romance anime finale? Total coincidence?"
"I was just doing my job," Niso replied coolly. But her grip on the towel was a little too firm.
"You sure? 'Cause the tension between you two could choke a tree." Niso didn't respond. She closed her bag and stood.
But as they walked out of the locker room, she glanced toward the exit of the boys' hallway exactly as Tokai was stepping out. Their eyes met again.
Just for a second.
No words.
No reactions.
But neither of them looked away.
Student council meeting
The student council office was quiet too quiet for how chaotic the gym had just been.
Sunlight filtered through spotless windows, casting clean rectangles of light across stacks of reports, printouts, and polished wood desks.
The Student Council President, Hayato Arima, sat at the head of the long table, adjusting his pristine black-framed glasses. Not a single strand of hair on his head was out of place. He was the kind of person who took control of a room without saying a word.
The vice president, a calm and observant girl named Shiori, walked in with a clipboard.
"Report from Gym Class," she said, placing it in front of him.
Hayato glanced at it, flipping through the first page, then the next.
His eyes froze.
"Wait. They what?"
Shiori raised an eyebrow. "Scored synchronized three-pointers. Both from behind the line. Clean shots. Crowd lost it."
Hayato sat back in his chair, blinking once. Then twice. Then slowly grinning.
"So they're not just academically top-tier," he said under his breath. "They've got game, too."
"Tanaka leads like a general," Shiori added, flipping her own notes. "Tokai doesn't even talk, but the court listens when he moves. It was like watching two captains from different armies." Hayato leaned forward, tapping the table.
"We're going to win it all this year," he said, eyes gleaming. "The Student League, the National
Debate Trials, the Inter-Academy Sports Cup… everything."
Shiori tilted her head. "So… rivals, or allies?"
Hayato's grin widened. "That's what we're going to find out."
He stood, straightened his tie, and walked to the window, looking down at the students leaving the gym.
"Keep watching them," he said. "Those two will either build this school's legacy.
That night, both Niso Tanaka and Lad Tokai sat in their rooms—phones in hand, screens glowing softly in the quiet.
Tokai's Room – 10:43 PM
The light from his desk lamp cast long shadows over his perfectly stacked textbooks and colorcoded notebooks. His phone buzzed once.
Incoming call: Reen
He stared at it for a moment.
Then reluctantly answered.
"Lad!" Reen's voice was bright, sweet, too full of warmth for the coldness in his eyes. "You didn't text me back. I thought something happened." "I had gym," he said simply.
There was a pause. "That's all?"
"Yeah."
She sighed softly, trying to sound playful. "You know, you could at least pretend to miss me sometimes."
Tokai leaned back in his chair. "What would that change?" Another silence.
"I don't want to feel like I'm the only one holding this together, Lad." He didn't reply.
Eventually, she forced a small laugh. "Never mind. Just hearing your voice helps. I love you." "...You too," he said, barely above a whisper.
But his eyes drifted away from the screen.
And the only image flashing through his mind
Was a basketball arcing through the air… Right when Tanaka's had.
Tanaka's Room – 10:49 PM
Niso sat on her bed, laptop closed, lights dim. Her phone rested against her pillow when it buzzed.
Incoming call: Hiroshi
She picked it up with a sigh and answered.
"Hey, Niso!"
"Hey," she said flatly.
"Did you kill your first day? You probably scared the whole class, didn't you?"
"Just the boys," she said. "One in particular." "Oh? Should I be jealous?" he joked.
She didn't laugh. "He's irritating."
"You say that like it means nothing, but you sound tired." She didn't deny it.
"Anyway," Hiroshi continued, "I'm glad you're okay. I miss seeing you every day. I'm planning to visit in October."
"Right."
"I love you, you know."
Niso looked up at the ceiling. "I know."
Silence settled between them, and she didn't say it back.
Not because she didn't mean it.
But because she wasn't sure what she felt anymore.
In two different rooms, two different hearts beat slower.
Two distant relationships, built on time and promises.
Both Tokai and Tanaka ended their calls feeling the same thing.
Disconnected.
Not from their partners
But from the version of themselves that used to care.
Tokai stared at the blank screen. The soft hum of the city outside his window was the only sound in the room.
He leaned back, eyes drifting upward, and muttered under his breath:
"Love is a contract you didn't sign but are punished for breaking."
He turned off the lamp and lay in bed eyes open, mind elsewhere.
Tanaka placed her phone on her nightstand.
She didn't move for a long time. Her eyes traced the cracks in the ceiling. Then, quietly, almost like a confession to no one:
"Love is a feeling people use to delay their loneliness not cure it." She pulled the blanket over herself and turned away from the light.