entry #20 | мåℓfυη¢тïση

━━━━༻ ♥ ༺━━━━

malfunction

01101000

━━━━༻ ♥ ༺━━━━

"How about we get some coffee?"

"I don't like coffee."

"What about some d—"

"I'm underage."

"Come on, let's—"

"No."

"Then—"

"No."

(Y/n) was on her way home and not really enjoying the sun that glared down at her with all its fiery wrath. It had been an uneventful walk to the bus stop, just the way she liked it, until a certain someone had the tendency to believe it was a great idea to interrupt her peaceful journey by following her.

Now she was currently on the bus with an unpleasant look on her face as she glowered stubbornly out the window with her bag acting as a barrier between her and her seatmate. Who is this stalker, you might ask? Isn't it obvious?

Who else would be smart enough to do such a thing besides the abominable snowman named Kieran Fujikawa?

"Why, do you have something planned at home?" He continued nagging her, unperturbed by her annoyed stance. "Isn't that boring? Come on, I'll introduce you to a nice place I found the other day—"

"No thanks," she shot his offer down. "Much obliged, but I'm very busy. Very, very busy." 'Busy doing my homework and sleeping for fifteen hours that is. Especially after popsicle.'

"Busy doing what? Studying? You don't possibly mean to spend your Friday and weekends...studying do you?"

"Maybe I do. Got a problem with that?"

Kieran looked both horrified and taken aback. "You...spend your weekends...doing school work?!"

"I said, I do. What's it to you?"

He shook his head sadly and passed a hand over his face. "You, koneko-chan, you really need a life," he sighed. "You are in Year 11 now! If you spend the rest of your life like this, you'll become a hermit, or an unmarried cat lady living alone in a shack! That would be a social disaster."

"Being an unmarried cat lady isn't that bad," (Y/n) murmured. "And you sound like one of those Plastic girls—or whatever they're called—calling everyone a social disaster."

"Excuse me, but I'm a very handsome and popular bachelor. My name isn't even Regina or Reginold."

'See what I mean about overconfident?' She rolled her eyes and rested her face on her hand. "All the Reginolds in the world would cry if you had their name," she muttered under her breath.

"Hmm? What did you say?"

"Nothing."

Kieran gave her a curious look before that indecipherable smile of his reappeared onto his face. He scratched the back of his neck. "About what you saw before..." He began sheepishly. "I'm sorry you had to see that. It was—"

"What I saw? I didn't see anything. What are you talking about?"

"You know, during lunch period," he frowned.

Her face remained unchanged. "I don't know what you're talking about. I think you've got the wrong person."

"Are you sure? I would never forget the face of a—"

"You have the wrong person."

"No, I—"

"The wrong person."

"Your replies are getting shorter and shorter!"

She made a vague noise from her throat and waved a hand dismissively. "To put it in layman's terms since you don't seem to understand, Mr. Snowman, I like organized things," (Y/n) said. "I prefer things I can control. You are the complete opposite, nevermind the things I don't remember not seeing you do in the classroom. So long story short, I'll have to reject your very kind offer."

In other words, "I don't give a f*ck about you and I'm not about to start associating myself with the likes of you, you juvenile delinquent," but with 50% less acrimony and 40% more sarcasm.

His face remained as unreadable as before, with a seemingly carefree expression and roguish smirk. But just a little, she saw a subtle change in that facade of his. A small crack in his mask, so small she wouldn't have noticed it had it not been for her sharp vision made keen from years of peering at tiny wires and computer parts. His smile just barely faltered for a brief second. But that was all it took for her to notice.

'Alright, just a little push and he'll be gone,' the (h/c)-haired girl cheered. 'I've heard more rumors about snowman here than zebra. And I swear, his rumors are far worse.' While she slept, she's picked on countless whispers from her classmates. And a lot of them included the white-haired male's long list of relationships. None of them long term or serious, and all of them ending in a heartbroken "breakup."

(Y/n) has seen and heard under her guise of slumber many girls consoling their friends after a painful rejection from the male. Or a group of girls beating up Kieran's newest girlfriend of the week. If his lover was popular and of high social standing, she'd be envied but never outright bullied. But if she was someone of a lower standing...

It was safe to say half of the school's transfers and dropouts were due to him. (Y/n) was sure he knew of all this; it's only in cliche stories and manhwas where the popular male protagonist is oblivious to the female drama behind the scenes.

'Basically speaking, he's the last person I want to associate myself with if I want a peaceful school life,' (Y/n) mused. 'I can't be too frank either since he has more influence than me. If he thinks he could continue with that game of his he thinks I don't know about, he's going to be sorely disappointed. I'm not about to let myself nor my friends appear on his list of the girls he's messed around with.'

'Whoever said my fatigue and laziness were my only reasons for my constant napping?'

Secretly, unbeknownst to even her closest friends, (Y/n) wasn't just a normal Fortuna Institute schoolgirl. She had another identity as the online profile of Wither403, the information goto for the school. She hosted a website named fortunalinks.onion on the dark web, where students can purchase information for money and favors.

(Y/n) made it a policy to never spread her website herself or sell other people's personal information. All she sold were the school's secrets. It started with little things, like materials to help students cheat on tests. Or slightly more expensive favors, like asking her, Wither403, to hack into a particular faculty member or student's computer.

Payment would either be in cash or favors. Personally, the (h/c)-haired girl preferred stocking up on favors but since she wished to remain anonymous, it wasn't very convenient. So only the riskiest jobs would be paid in favors.

Where am I going with this, you say? In her information network, it's a give and take system. There's a forum where classmates share dirty secrets freely under a pseudonym, giving them the impression of being free from suspicion. Of course, they don't know that (Y/n) could easily identify their IP address and track them down. With this website, she's able to gain copious information and link them to their respective names and faces.

It wasn't unsurprising to see more than 40% of those rumors tying back to the P4, but that wasn't her story to tell.

'Kieran Fujikawa,' her eyes narrowed at the white-haired male. 'In the entire P4, he's considered the most dangerous one. Most people think it's Leon, but in actuality, it's between him or Tristan. I've heard people say he's brought many families of his rivals to their knees and wiped out large corporations at a whim. Speaking of which, I'm pretty sure someone said he's been trying to crush Gemini for a while now. The Gemini CEO is Jas' dad, too.'

The golden-eyed male recovered swiftly from his momentary stupor and laughed it off. "Are you trying to get rid of me already, koneko-chan?" He laughed. "That really hurts. Girls shouldn't be so acerbic. It truly throws us guys off..."

His voice faded back into the background as (Y/n) absorbed herself back into her thoughts. 'I forget, what was the Fujikawa family responsible for? Maybe another IT company that rivals Gemini? No, there isn't any technology company that can compare to Gemini nowadays. Maybe it's a software or a hardware one. So he's helping his family business expand?'

'...On second thought, he probably doesn't have any deep motive. He's probably one of those rich heirs who believe the world revolves around them.' She stifled a groan. 'Gosh, I hate those types the most.'

A poke to her arm brought her out of her reflection. "Hey, are you listening?" Kieran continued nudging her. "Don't ignore me." He knocked the back of his hand against her head. "Woah, I think I just heard a hollow sound. Are you in there, koneko-chan?"

She swatted his hand away with a barely concealed scowl. "Thanks for your accompaniment, but this is my stop," she snapped. 'Actually, it isn't. I'm still a few stops away but whatever.' "And don't call me...whatever you called me!"

His grin grew wider. "Koneko-chan?"

"Yeah, that! I have a name, so use—actually, you don't have to. You can call me Townsperson B. Bye." (Y/n) grabbed her bag and attempted to step over his long legs to escape the bus. Unfortunately, Fortuna didn't want her to have her way that day.

She just had to trip over his limbs and nearly wipe the floor with her face. She quickly picked herself up like nothing happened and tried again.

"Kitten," his voice cut through the silence. She glanced back. "It means kitten."

"Yep, no way," (Y/n) shook her head rapidly. "That's so cliche. Do you know how many mangas Reese made me read where the male lead calls the heroine kitten? That's so cringy it's almost unbearable, so please don't."

It took her a moment to realize what she'd said. 'Crap,' she wanted to pull her head off. 'I said my thoughts out loud! Time to yeet myself outta here before I get slaughtered, exiled, or murdered. I don't boast a record of sprinting 100 meters in two minutes for nothing!'

As the (h/c)-haired girl tripped down the aisle and managed to dash through the closing bus doors, Kieran was left behind with growing feelings of confusion. 'I offered to push back the project to lessen her workload,' he thought. 'And even asked her out on a date. If I'm not being kind, I don't know what else it would be. Is that still not enough?'

A simple smile or word was usually enough for him to get what he wanted. And what he wanted was to be in control. He wanted control through love over first his dorm and then the school. Of course, it wasn't going to be easy; not with his childhood enemy Tristan Knight standing in the way.

It was easy for him to assert dominance over the male students by showing them that with him around, they had no chance of getting far in a relationship. If they wanted to have a "spring-filled high school career," they had to be on his good side.

So they had to like him. Everyone had to like him.

'But why didn't she?' His hands curled into fists on his knees as the bus began to pull away. 'I've presented myself well, I'm sure. I know the tastes and faces of every single person in this school...maybe I'm just not trying hard enough.'

His golden eyes followed the (h/c)-haired girl figure walking on the sidewalk until the bus pulled ahead of her. A devious smirk slowly spread across his lips as he propped his face onto a hand.

'Maybe I'm taking the wrong approach. I'll start by adhering to her likes and dislikes. Then, everyone will like, no, worship me.'

MAN:CHESTER

━━━━━༻ ❀ ༺━━━━━

αftєяѕ¢нσσℓ

In her hurry to get far away from a potential red flag, (Y/n) soon found herself lost. Very lost. Despite her confidence in her inner GPS being able to take her home, she discovered that she actually had no sense of direction. Yes, it took her more than a decade to finally realize that.

The neighborhood she had wandered into was unfamiliar. Everywhere she turned, there was nothing she recognized. The little corner store in the street across from her wasn't the same as the one a few blocks from her apartment. The pharmacy down the road had a different sign than the one she usually frequented. The street signs all pointed in different ways, with street names she didn't recognize.

It's official. She was lost.

'Maybe if I go north I'll find my way back home,' the (h/c)-haired girl considered all her remaining options carefully. 'Yeah, let's use the North Star—'

It was afternoon. There were no stars out.

'Dammit, Polaris. You've let me down. Okay, I know! I'll use the GPS on my phone!' She unzipped her bag immediately in search of the device. 'Phone? Uh, no phone. Phone here? No phone. Phone? No. Phone? Nope again. Um, well. I think I'm screwed.' She patted herself down anxiously and turned her pockets inside-out.

Just as she was about to give up, a flash of silver began falling down, about to hit the pavement. 'My phone!' She swiped it from mid-air before it could shatter on impact. (Y/n) released a sigh of relief and wiped the black screen with her sleeve. 'Whew, I almost lost my last connection to humanity. Time to use my trusty Google Maps—'

A popup appeared onto her screen. 'Network error detected,' it read.

'...Fudge bunnies. I guess I just have to take a wild guess and hope I go in the right direction,' she sighed. 'I'll go to a more populated place and ask someone who doesn't look sketchy. The people in this neighborhood look too shady.'

There weren't many people around her and those who were either wore dark hoods concealing their faces or low jeans that were nearly falling down. 'Is that a new fashion statement or something? Gotta ask Lucy later.'

She decided to walk straight just for the sake of it, and because she was a sane person. If she took too many turns, it would be hard for her to retrace her steps if a situation called for it. (Y/n) kept her eyes reluctantly peeled open in search for any familiar landmarks. The scenery remained relatively unchanged as she walked. Rows upon rows of suburban housing slowly fading into the more urban part of town. Streets bordered with trees and flowers, all marked with the "curb your dog" sign.

Being someone who lived in the city for more than half her life, she felt out of place in such a free space. It was too open, too quiet, too little people. For the first time in her life, she missed the busy chatter of the city.

She quickly grew tired. 'Should I hitchhike?' (Y/n) thought bitterly. 'Curse that snowman. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have to walk so much. Well, I guess it's not his fault. But who cares! I feel like blaming him anyway!'

Eventually, familiar apartments and tall buildings popped into view on the horizon. 'I've made it!' (Y/n) nearly shed tears of joy on the spot. 'I'm almost home! Just a little more...!'

The sound of something crashing into a hard surface made her flinch, nearly jumping out of her skin. 'W-what was that?' She turned around fearfully in search of the sound. 'Wait, why am I scared? It's probably a cat. Yep, that's normal.'

There was another crash accompanied by a grunt and a few faint swears. Judging from the sound alone, it appeared to be coming from a place fairly close to her. 'I'm so going to get jumped right now,' (Y/n) shuddered and she turned back to face the front. 'Maybe snowman hired some killers to get me, so I should just leave—'

Her eyes caught on the sight of a group of shady-looking men in an alley between two buildings. They noticed her presence and turned towards her with a murderous look. "Whatcha looking at, girlie?" One snarled. "Keep looking and I'll rip your eyes off."

'Fudging freaking gosh darn bunnies.' Wasn't she just the luckiest today?

"Um, I'm just passing by!" (Y/n) tried to appear as harmless as she could as she backed away slowly. "I didn't see any—" 'Wait a second,' she realized. 'All the female leads in the books say "I didn't see anything" and that gets them into more trouble. I should say something else.'

"I mean," she tried again. "I'm just passing by, haha. Nothing to see here...!" 'Urg, that wasn't what I wanted to say!'

A familiar face hidden in the shadows caught her attention. He noticed her staring and turned towards her. The male had a hood was drawn up over his head, a cigarette dangling from between his lips, and blood peppering his knuckles, but she'd recognize that face anywhere.

The cigarette fell to the ground as their eyes simultaneously widened. "Ah!" She pointed at him. "Ze—Leon!"

The men turned towards the black-haired male. "You know the chick, bro?" A particularly rugged-looking male questioned. "She's safe?"

Leon blinked out of his stupor and nodded. "Yeah."

'Bro,' (Y/n) thought incredulously. 'Brooo. What is even going on today?'

"So, um," she smiled awkwardly as she took another step back. Screw this, I'm out. "I'm just going to go now—"

"Yer ain't going anywhere, miss!"

When someone tells you to stop, who in their right minds would actually stop? (Y/n) only increased her pace and began to run faster. 'There's no way I'm getting myself involved with something like that! Was that a dead person I saw?! Oh my god, is my history partner a freaking GANGSTER?! Yooo, what is he's actually in the mafia? What if the rumors are true? I'm so sorry Reese for bringing him to your dorm!'

"Wait!" One of the men began to run after her until a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Leon pulled a new stick from the pack another man offered him and lit it. "Bro...?"

"Don't bother," the younger male said gruffly. "She won't say anything." He redirected his attention to the pile of groaning men at his feet. His expression betrayed nothing as he lifted a foot and slammed it down onto their faces, grinding it deeper into the dust. "Speak. Who sent you?"

A man merely smirked, revealing a bloody mouth full of missing teeth. There was a hateful glint in his dark eyes as he spat a wad of blood towards his assailants. "Yer old man wants ye back," he rasped. "Ye can't escape sir's orders. Don't think ye can run away for long, young mas—"

'Crack.' The man's eyes widened as if not believing the sight of his hand being wrenched into gruesome angles in front of him. He stared at the battered appendage in shock before a bloodcurdling scream burst out of him and he curled into a fetal position. Pain lanced down his arm in lightning-fast shocks, increasing with each kick Leon's men sent into his ribs.

The black-haired male removed the cigarette from his lips and crouched down into a squat. He wiped the splatter of blood from his face and ground the burning end of the stick into the man's face.

His expression was world-ending. "Tell that murderer to get the f*ck out of my life," he growled dangerously. "The next time I see him near my little brother, I will end his pathetic life with these two hands."

"Tell him it's a f*cking promise."