The Gatekeeper Chapter 1- The Life Of A Certain Riajuu.

"I-I like you... P-Please go out with me!!"

Why does this situation seem so strangely familiar?

Huh, Who am I? And why am I, despite being a guy, getting asked out by a girl?

Let's go with the introductions first, knowing me should provide some answers.

My name is Toru Itsuka, 16 years old, and currently a second-year at SP Academy. I am what society refers to as a 'popular guy'. The major contributing factor to my 'popularity' would probably be my looks.

To be perfectly honest, I won't describe myself as particularly good-looking, but contrary to my own opinion, I am deemed as the most attractive male in the entire school campus. 

SP Academy is factually one of the most prestigious academies across the entire continent, one which would generally cost a fortune to attend. The school is overflowing with children of the big shots of the political spectrum and financial industries across the world. Children from j.a.pan, as well as those from various countries attend this academy in order to get admission into the 'SP Iniversity' internally, through the escalator system. SP Academy provides education from middle school, all the way through university. 'SP University' is one of the top 10 universities in the whole world.

Typically, it would be impossible for me, a member of a middle-cla.s.s family, to enter this academy under any given circ.u.mstances, but due to my academic achievements all throughout my middle school and first year of high school, I was provided with a full scholars.h.i.+p and special entry into SP Academy. The biggest factor which led to this result was my result on the nation-wide compet.i.tive olympiad.

During the yearly nation-wide olympiad, every school sends their brightest and most capable students in order to show off their academic superiority publicly, at least, that's what occurs every year, but there was a certain irregularity in the exam conducted the previous year.

Last year, I was sent to partic.i.p.ate in the Olympiad under the pretense of it being just a mock exam. However, the difficulty of the exam was unexplainable for being just a mere mock exam, rousing my suspicions. I had just done my best to pa.s.s as I didn't have any clue as to the impact and importance of that particular exam 

The time-span in which the exam was conducted happened to be 3 days. On the same day as the last of the many exhausting exam, the results were announced. They were as expected, out of the 300,000 examinees, spots 2 through 40,000 were occupied by the students from various prestigious academies.

What was unexpected though was, a student from an average school, securing first place in the exam. I was the sole person to get a score of more than 700; maximum marks being 720. The exam committee organized 9 tests (3 tests each day), the maximum obtainable marks of each exam being 80, but due to the sheer difficulty of the tests, no other examinee was able to achieve a score exceeding 670.

A student from an average school getting a score of 703 sent the entirety of the exam committee in a huge turmoil. I was falsely accused of cheating, the authenticity of my school and myself came into question as well. After a thorough investigation, the accusations were finally lifted, and I was officially recognized as the triumphant compet.i.tor. 

Following the incident, I was approached by many reputable schools. On top of that, my mother had died around the same time, making it more difficult to bear everything.     

Currently, I reside with my father. I don't have any siblings or any kind of relatives whatsoever. My father and mother were both the sole child in their respective families, making any sort of relatives non-existent.

We are not poor or anything, on the contrary, we are pretty well-off for a middle-cla.s.s family. We live in a s.p.a.cious and luxurious two-storey house. In the adjoining plot, there exists a medium-sized restaurant which is filled to the brim with people throughout the day. 

The banner outside the restaurant reads 'Itsuka Diner', and is a diner owned by my family. It is not a particularly large or well-known establishment, however, in addition to the people residing in this town, customers from the neighbouring towns tend to dine here pretty often, making our restaurant quite lively and enjoyable. The main reason for the constant barrage of customers is my father's exemplary skills as a chef. And with my mother, they used to present a pretty formidable chef duo, resulting in the restaurant being a hot topic among the locals. Following my mother's death during the summer of the previous year, my father started working with some of his old disciples. 

Due to the guidance provided by my father and mother all throughout my childhood, I turned into quite a charm in the kitchen myself. Even after getting acknowledged for my skills, I never get to cook at our restaurant. I mainly work as the head waiter after I return home and complete my homework. I've begged my father countless times to have me help him in the kitchen, only to get rejected in the end. His reasoning always remained the same "Toru, you have to be out there, you draw female customers in like moths to a candle flame", where I am the 'candle flame', and female customers are 'moths'. It's so aggravatingly annoying as I can't refute that statement, statistically speaking, it is the complete and utter truth.

I add to the numbers of the staff as a waiter at around 7 PM, and take my leave at closing time: 11 PM. During the course of those 4 hours, the whole restaurant is filled with the joyful faces of female customers ranging from early teens to late twenties. Frankly speaking, none of the regular male customers dare to intrude during that time.

I stand at about 183 centimetres with violet-black hair, black eyes, a strong build with broad shoulders. I also have significant amount of muscles which are evenly distributed throughout my body, making me look neither 'ripped', nor 'weak'. With the looks, I also boast an ominous amount of strength (this is just the opinion of the students at my school). Neither did I undergo any kind of special training, nor have I ever followed a personal training regiment. The strength, stamina and physique I possess is thanks to my father. He has been working me to the bone ever since I turned 6 years old. In all likelihood, because of all the physical work and running around for 10 years, I built up a substantial amount of strength, stamina and endurance. 

I am not just a looker either. Ever since 3rd grade, I haven't been surpa.s.sed in any form of compet.i.tive activity I've partic.i.p.ated in. It's not that I am overly compet.i.tive, in all honesty, I am not compet.i.tive regarding anything. I've never study consistently, I just cram everything a day or two before the test and manage to emerge at the top. Every time I mention this fact to my friends, they just casually brush aside my argument with a simple 'sure you do'.  

When I transferred into the academy at the start of second-year, I was met with a lot of hatred and resentment from the male student body for not being from the upper echelons of the society. However, it was the exact opposite reaction from the female students; they received me with a very accommodating att.i.tude. That was the first time in my life that I had been appreciative of my physical features. Only my name, school, and score were released after the Olympiad, leaving the students at this school ignorant as to my ident.i.ty. And because of that, the girls too, looked down on me in regards to the school's curriculum. 

Everyone immediately judged me to be inferior to them in academic and intellectual prowess. And as I mentioned before, I haven't been outcla.s.sed in academics since I was a kid.

Being a mere second-year, I somehow managed to gather unwanted attention from the entirety of SP Academy, which, in addition to the High school, has Middle School and University departments as well. As I am now, I am hated by almost every guy studying in all the three factions. And it's not even because of my looks and superior academic abilities, it's because I am unbeaten in every kind of compet.i.tive activity this school hosts, which include activities like swimming, running, soccer, baseball, basketball, chess, cooking, debates, speeches, quizzes, and many more.

They called me a 'genius' and 'talented', disregarding my individuality. They resented me, hated me, and despised me. They said things like "look at that guy, he gets everything", and I couldn't argue, because I knew that it was the truth. I've always been good at everything I do. Even if it a new activity, I adapt to it immediately and surpa.s.s the one who is at the top. As a result, I stopped being compet.i.tive, I stopped aiming for the top spot, I stopped putting any extra effort, I just tried my best without actually trying my best. And despite not putting any amount of effort, I still managed to emerge the better one. So I stopped caring about people who looked at me with eyes full of resentment. I stopped caring about people who considered me a hindrance. I stopped caring about people who hated me. 

Having said that, I haven't once been subjected to immense physical harm since I enrolled in this school. One would expect me to be a prime target for bullies, and that would be completely accurate, I've been a target of bullying ever since the very first day, but I have never been harmed enough to cause even the slightest bit of disturbance in my daily life. I have always managed to successfully fend off all the bullies who specifically picked me as their target.

The male students from the university division have also been perpetrators of many attempts to bully me, and the reason that the university students have to bully a high school student is that the girls from university seem to have a special kind of attachment to me. Many female university students visit the high school campus to hang out with me, the distance between the university building and high school campus can be covered in about 10 minutes, making the high school division a go-to place for first and second-year university girls. The severe attempts from the grown-up university guys also haven't been able to bear any fruit. That would be because of my formidable physical prowess. Additionally, I have amazingly fast reflexes and mental processing to back me up. Because of these abilities, I haven't once been brought to my knees by the people who aim to cause me suffering, I certainly have been dealt bruises and scratches a lot of times, but they are insignificant compared to the damage I deal to the people who dare to incur my wrath. I have been responsible for the hospitalization of many students. Despite that, I've never been rebuked because of my retaliation being a clear case of self-defense. 

Because of my unnerving reputation in the school, I don't get approached by many guys, I have a very limited number of male friends. My male friends are guys who don't care about lineage and family and only see each other as 'students'. And speaking about friends, let's return to the situation at hand.

The girl standing in front of me is Suzune Ito, also a second-year and a student of cla.s.s 'C'. She is a rather attractive girl with pure black hair, long eyelashes and black-brown eyes, with a stature of about one head lower than mine, her hair extend to her waist with impressive dazzle. Her facial features can only be categorized as 'cute' and not 'beautiful'. Her personality is that of an angel, she always tends to help her peers with their life-related issues. Her father is an executive officer of a large conglomerate, I've been on friendly terms with her since my debut, and I knew that she held affectionate feelings towards me; However, I didn't expect her to confess, at least not out of the blue like this. I mentally heaved a sigh, I can hypothesize what must've happened. She was probably set up by 'her'. No, it's not even a probability, she definitely was set up her. I come to this conclusion not because of blind accusations, but because I can see her hair fluttering about from the corner of my eye. She is silently observing the situation from the wall behind Ito. 

Who is this 'her' I keep referring to? She can be characterized as my 'childhood best friend', her name is Haruki Hayakawa. We first met when both of us were 6 years old. She came to our restaurant along with her father, the Chairman of the Hayakawa group. The Hayakawa Group owns a chain of restaurants across Asia. Apparently, one of his friends who came to our restaurant to dine was dazzled by the remarkable food and the friendly environment, leading him to recommend our dinner for a contract with the Hayakawa group.  

Haruki and her father visited our diner to check out the place for themselves, and if deemed worthy, would offer us a chance to join the Hayakawa group. My father declined his offer instantly, but he welcomed Haruki and her father inside to dine.

They were mesmerized by the taste and quality of the food prepared by my father and mother. Haruki approached me while I was cleaning tables and thanked me for working hard despite being so young. It was then that my father introduced me to Haruki and her father. Haruki's face turned into a deep shade of red and she kept apologizing to me over and over. What betrayed my expectation was that my father and Haruki's father started getting along really nicely. Haruki and I became very close as well. We attended the same elementary school. We were inseparable during that time. We always hung out together, we would always go out together, and she would always cling to me.

We were ripped apart from each other once she started attending 'SP academy' in middle school (of which I didn't have any knowledge of). My father never told me anything, he always avoided my inquiries with vague answers. I a.s.sumed that she moved away because of some unfortunate family circ.u.mstances, and gave up on ever seeing her again.

But fate had a completely different thing planned for the both of us. Haruki and I b.u.mped into each other on the first day of school, this would be considered a scenario right out of a movie. I failed to recognize her. But she, with teary eyes, called me 'Toru' without any honorifics, I immediately knew that it was Haruki as she was the only other person except my parents who referred to me as 'Toru'. After we exchanged light greetings with puzzled faces, I lashed out at her for disappearing on me the way she did. She started apologizing with her head down and said that she wasn't strong enough to face me and say goodbye. I forgave her because she started crying like a baby while hugging me in front of a huge crowd.

We were a.s.signed to the same cla.s.s, and she is seated right beside me in homeroom. Right now, we are in the same cla.s.s, we always hang out together and she always clings to me. Everything feels exactly the same as it did back then, except for one little detail... Haruki, is the most popular girl in the whole school. I learned this the hard way when Haruki suddenly hugged me from behind in front of a group of uppercla.s.smen, and immediately afterwards, I was cornered by a bunch of guys claiming to be from the 'Hayakawa Fan Club'. Seemingly, Haruki is the most popular girl in the whole school because of her 'heavenly' beauty and display of her academic abilities throughout middle school. 

Having radiant light-pink hair which fall down all the way to her calves, a slender waistline accompanied by impressively feminine proportions, facial features which can only be described as angelic, pearly blue eyes and pure white skin which only compliments her enigmatic beauty, she truly is an oasis for the deserted heart of the male students. To be honest, I never saw it, her beauty I mean. For me, Haruki is just like a high-maintenance little sister. But, if I do look at her as a woman, she most definitely is an attractive one. Her charm won't be overshadowed by even those of models or actresses. 

At present, she acts as a mediating ent.i.ty between the girls and myself. I get confessed to on a weekly basis, and each girl is put up to it by Haruki. 

Guys whom I am familiar with, as well as whom I've never talked to come up to me with nervous faces and beg me to mediate between them and Haruki, to which I usually agree. But unlike when we are together, throughout the entire school, she is known as the 'Ice Queen'. She is confessed to as often as I am, however, compared to my 'finger cut' rejection, her rejection gives more of a 'spear to the abdomen' vibe. I am probably the only male allowed in her vicinity

She always retains the second spot in tests and other curricular activities, with the first place in my clutches. However, not once has she been upset with the result, she doesn't even seem fazed with me always one-upping her at everything. On the contrary, she always seems proud of me from the bottom of her heart. Despite being the 'Ice Queen' for the entire school, she is way too attached to me, fanning the flames of hatred that the guys hold towards me.

And, here she is, hiding behind the wall. At this point this just feels like dé·jà vu with the same scenario unfolding before my eyes every single week. With this, you kind of get the general picture of what my life is like. 

"Itsukkun, are you alright?"

With a sudden mention of my name, I snapped out of my standstill.

Ito called out to me with a worried look on her face.

"O-Oh yeah… I am fine. I was just processing the current situation"

I replied to her with a bitter smile. 

I can't tell her that I was just swimming in the river of nostalgia while being asked out. 

I don't panic or become fl.u.s.tered like any other guy would, reason being, I am way too used to women. In school, in the restaurant, and when I step outside for various personal reasons. I am exposed to women on a daily basis. Especially in the restaurant, female customers always ask me to attend to their tables, recommend dishes, answer their queries, and they also request me for various kinds of 'off-book' favors like ma.s.saging their shoulders, escorting them outside, conversing with them while they eat, going on dates with the ones close to my age etc. But I do get tipped a lot for all the awkwardness I have to endure.

And my father gives all the tips I receive to me rather than adding them to the restaurant's a.s.sets. Normally, there wouldn't be any problem with me receiving the tips issued to me. But during the weekends or holidays when I work full time, my tips occasionally exceed the restaurant's total income for the day. But my father just shrugs his shoulders and says "You deserve it." Well, it is because of him that I have these qualities, but whatever. At the very least, I never have a lack of money.

I continue the confrontation with Ito, whose face is covered in deep red from ear to ear.

"Ito-san, isn't this a bit sudden?'

She gasps and replies to me while panicking.

"U-U-Umm about t-that… I've liked you for a w-while now but I-I never managed to m-muster up the courage. Hayakawsan said that y-you'd be in a good mood and this would be my best chance to express my f-f-feelings."

Well, Haruki may be right about me being in a good mood. My father recently had an article written about him in a well-known magazine. The magazine published a very positive article about my Father and our family restaurant. Furthermore, they also mentioned me as the 'main attraction', with a photo of me and my father in front of our restaurant.  

"Well… I certainly am in a good mood, and you confessing to me is just like adding cherry on a cake. But I am really sorry… it wouldn't be possible for me to reciprocate your feelings, I can only see you as a friend. I hope this doesn't have any antagonizing effect on our relations.h.i.+p, and we can continue being good friends."

I bluntly declare this to the embarra.s.sed and vulnerable girl in front of me in a stoic voice. I don't desire any unnecessary repercussions by providing false hope.

Ito opens and closes her mouth several times, tear droplets start trickling down her red cheeks. Her shoulders drop and she says in a low voice while trembling.

"I-I Understand. *sob* I will t-try my best to continue being f-fr-friends with Itsukkun"

I have a sad expression while she says this. With sudden movement of her legs, she starts running.

She runs past me, in the opposite direction from where Haruki is hiding. Looks like she is going to the girl's washroom.

I lean with my back on the wall and recall the events that just occurred, trying to imagine a scenario where she wouldn't have been as hurt as she was. Nothing comes to my mind. It doesn't have any kind of emotional burden on me because of the repeated tears I witness each week, but it does feel awful for being the cause of those tears.

I truly am a horrible person. 

Sound of footsteps slowly approaching resounded in the now empty corridor. I didn't even turn my neck to check who it was. She leaned right beside me, her shoulder touching mine. She speaks in a voice that could be considered whispering.

"I thought that you actually considered her as a romantic interest..."

I calm the chaotic state of my mind and reply.

"And what gave you that idea, Haru?"

She gets comfortable and places her head on my shoulder. I can hear her breathing and feel her warmth. The month being December, this situation isn't that undesirable.   

"What's done is done. Let's leave it at that. Just try to act normally in front of her starting tomorrow. Okay?"  

This person is way too relaxed around me. 

"Aren't you way too comfortable around me?"

I avoid giving her a straight answer and throw a question at her instead, to which I already know the answer to.

"That's because, it's you, Toru."

The same answer as always, huh. Well I can't even retort, I am very comfortable around her as well. 

"I know, I know. Let's just go to cla.s.s. Or do you want to skip it?"

Haruki lifts her head up from my shoulder and stands upright. While fixing her uniform, she says.

"No… let's just go. Skipping the first cla.s.s of the day isn't the best idea. Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you something. I will be coming to your place tonight with some of my university friends. They say they want to 'observe' you while you work…" 

"Sure, I really don't mind. But don't go overboard or your father will kill me"

This is actually a common occurrence. Haruki brings her female companions to our restaurant pretty often. She says that the girls want to 'watch' me work. The girls are mostly from the high school and the university divisions.

Each time she comes, she is accompanied by a different set of girls. And as if joining the norm, they start staring at me with sparkling eyes, which makes me feel really uneasy. The problem is not that they are girls; I am used to girls staring at me all the time. The problem is that each one of the girls come from a very influential family, and having such important people eat at our medium-sized diner is pretty daunting to say the least.

"Yeah, he sure will. Hey, aren't you cold?"

Our school's uniform comprises of a white s.h.i.+rt, red blazer and black pants. As for girls, it is a knee-length black skirt with the same upper body ornaments. She asked me this because unlike Haruki, I am not wearing a sweater or any other winter gear. It is the month of December, and winter is at its peak, wearing a sweater and other winter gear is the norm. But unlike the rich and sheltered kids at my school, I am quite resistant to cold, this kind of cold doesn't hinder me in the slightest. Moreover, the school is covered in exquisite carpets and air-conditioners throughout the campus, making the temperature inside the building slightly higher than outside.

"Nah. I am fine. Let's get going or we'll be late."

"Fine."

We both head towards our cla.s.sroom, walking through this wide and majestic corridor feels nerve-racking even after spending so much time here. As soon as we enter our cla.s.s '2-A', the students present, avert their eyes from the chart hanging on the board and direct their piercing gaze towards us. We both look at each other, unable to determine the reason for our current commitment. We helplessly turn our necks in all directions as to infer the cause of such enmity, coincidentally, our sights are caught by the fluttering chart hanging on the board. Getting closer, we both examine it as to determine what it is and why has it caused the other students to look at us with such excessive hostility.

Both of us realize the reason behind the other students' gaze. We look at each other in the eyes, I smile wryly as Haruki drops her shoulder and heaves a loud sigh. Hanging on the board are the results of the end-of-the-term exams for our second semester. The top three students are as follows.

1st Place : Toru Itsuka - 499/500

2nd Place : Haruki Hayakawa - 489/500

3rd Place : Tatsuya Satō - 485/500

"10 marks, huh. The difference in our marks after previous exam was 4 marks. I thought for sure that this time I would finally be able to surpa.s.s you."

Haruki says this while scratching her cheeks in a cute cat-like manner.

"To be honest, I studied less than the last time. I just crammed everything on the day preceding the real thing, compared to two days of cramming for the previous exam."

I respond to her while my left hand brushes the back side of my head.

"Yeah, Yeah, I know… n.o.body believes you, but I know that you just cram everything before the day of the exam and still manage to get the top spot."

She raises her head and says so with a proud expression on her face. 

I don't know if it is something to be proud of. 

*BANG*

The door of the cla.s.s is violently flung open, the person who appears to be the responsible party is our homeroom teacher, Ms. Hanako.

"Following the announcement of the result, the remaining cla.s.ses are cancelled. You little brats are free to run home. Tomorrow is the closing ceremony, make sure to turn up on time or I'll keep you around even during winter vacation."

She is not the most polite person, but unquestionably, she is a splendid teacher.

As she leaves those departing words, cla.s.s is enveloped in an uproar. Students start gathering their belongings and start to head out the door.

"Let's start to head home as well, Haru"

I suggest this to the young woman beside me, who is still observing the chart with a look of achievement.

"Yup. Let's leave. I've gotta make preparations as well."

She stretches her hands high into the air, exposing her feminine curves to the entire cla.s.s. Ignoring the l.u.s.tful stares directed towards her body, she just walks to her seat and packs her bag energetically.

She is way too free-spirited.

I too, gather up my things and start heading towards the cla.s.s door where Haruki is waiting for me with a beautiful smile on her face, unbeknownst to the depressed look she had a few minutes ago. She grabs my left arm and we start walking. After a few minutes of idle chit-chat, we reach the school's entrance, I see off Haruki as she departs in an exquisite looking car.

I have lots of free time today... Let's just go and sleep on the soft gra.s.s near the river.

Deciding such, I start to walk towards the river. It certainly is cold, and I don't have any winter gear on me. After only a few minutes of walking, I reach my destination. I place my bag face down and lay my head on the bag, cold breeze is flowing around me, it grazes my skin in a gentle manner, chirping of birds can be heard from all directions and there are less people around than usual because of the cold. I would probably catch a severe cold if I were to sleep here, but this can be considered a perfect place and time to take a nap.

Relaxation is the priority I guess.   

I doze off while thinking of such matters.