Kaito Fujimura had always dreamed of being noticed—but this wasn't how he imagined it.
Monday morning came faster than expected. As he trudged toward school, he clutched his bag with both hands like it was a lifeline. He kept glancing over his shoulder, half expecting Arisa to appear in a puff of smoke and demand he buff her shoes or sacrifice a goat.
Instead, she greeted him with a smile.
A real smile.
In front of everyone.
"Kaito-kun," Arisa said in her crystal-clear voice, standing at the shoe lockers like a noblewoman waiting for her knight. "Thank you for coming early. I need you."
The entire hallway froze.
Eyes. So many eyes. Kaito could feel their pupils burrowing into his soul.
"Uh," he said eloquently.
Arisa leaned in, her whisper tickling his ear. "Locker room. East wing. Three minutes. Bring the pouch."
She was gone before he could respond, leaving only a faint trail of lavender and ruin in her wake.
The hallway erupted into whispers.
"You know Kanzuki-sama?"
"Did she just—did she flirt with him?"
"He must be a secret heir or something. Or blackmailing her. Has to be."
Kaito pressed his forehead to his locker and groaned. He wasn't ready for this level of social combustion.
The pouch she'd referred to sat in the bottom of his backpack: a sleek velvet bag containing her black earrings—those earrings. Arisa had given them to him Friday evening with instructions:
"Keep them safe. Don't wear them. Don't look into mirrors while holding them. Don't let them near salt. And absolutely no microwaves."
He didn't ask.
He just nodded like a traumatised assistant in a magical girl anime.
In the east wing locker room—a space long abandoned for renovations that never happened—Arisa was waiting. The room smelled like rust and lemon-scented cleaner. Sunlight leaked in through the dusty glass panels, catching particles of floating dust like falling stars.
Kaito arrived panting.
"Why do we have to meet here?"
"No one comes here," Arisa replied coolly, tugging her blazer straight. "And it's closer to the barrier anchor."
He blinked. "The what?"
She ignored that. "Now, hand them over."
With shaky fingers, Kaito pulled the velvet pouch from his bag. "You know, there are less terrifying ways to share jewellery. Like Etsy."
She smirked, untying the pouch with a practised ease. "Aren't you adapting quickly?"
Kaito crossed his arms. "I still don't know what any of this is."
"You don't need to. You're not a summoner. You're a keeper."
He muttered, "I don't even know what that means."
Arisa gently removed the earrings—black as onyx, veins of crimson pulsing like tiny heartbeats. Kaito looked away.
"When I put these on," she said, voice now serious, "time folds around me. My memory resets. My body can warp local fields. But none of it is stable without a keeper present."
"Warp fields? Resetting time? This is so above my pay grade."
"You're not being paid."
"Exactly!"
She rolled her eyes. "Which is why we're setting rules."
"Great," Kaito muttered, pulling out a notebook. "Rules for being an accessory caddy to a magical time-queen. This is what my therapist warned me about."
THE KEEPER'S RULES
(as dictated by Arisa Kanzuki, and scribbled frantically by Kaito)
Never lie to Arisa while in the presence of the earrings. They react to dishonesty. Always be within ten meters when she wears them. Proximity maintains the tether.Never touch the earrings directly. Use gloves. Or chopsticks. Or a sock puppet. Anything.Do not record resets. (Kaito didn't ask why. He already had nightmares.)No public earring swaps. Especially not in front of clubrooms, bathrooms, or vending machines.Keep this role secret. No exceptions. Not from teachers, classmates, or—
"Aya?" a voice called from the hallway.
Kaito flinched. The notebook slipped from his hands and hit the floor with a slap.
Arisa raised an eyebrow. "Aya?"
The door creaked open. In stepped Aya Takanashi—short, spunky, and armed with bubblegum and curiosity. Kaito's childhood friend. Possibly his only friend.
Her eyes darted between the two of them.
Kaito. Standing awkwardly with a velvet pouch.
Arisa. Holding glittering black earrings with gloved hands.
The mood. Intense. Mysterious. Slightly glowy.
"...Am I interrupting a ritual?" Aya asked flatly.
Arisa straightened, her face already shifting into its well-practised public mask.
"Aya!" Kaito squeaked. "It's not what it looks like."
"It looks like you're either joining a cult or dating the student council president in secret."
Arisa stepped forward smoothly. "Takanashi-san, correct? Kaito mentioned you."
"Did he?" Aya tilted her head. "He barely mentions lunch."
Arisa smiled, stepping between them. "This was just student council business. Kaito's helping us organise… inventory."
"Inventory?" Aya echoed, narrowing her eyes. "In a locker room. With earrings."
"I'm… in charge of accessory logistics now," Kaito said quickly. "It's, uh, a niche role."
Aya stared at him like he'd grown an extra ear.
Arisa clapped her hands gently. "Well, thank you for the delivery, Kaito. I'll see you in the council room later."
Dismissed.
Aya dragged Kaito out by the wrist before he could stammer another word.
Outside, under the sakura trees, Aya let go and folded her arms.
"You're being weird."
Kaito shrugged helplessly. "When am I not weird?"
"Okay, weirder. And secretive. And flinchy." She poked his chest. "You jumped like you touched an electric fence when I showed up."
"I was startled."
"You were hiding something."
He paused. "I'm not hiding. I'm just… helping Arisa."
Aya leaned in. "Is she threatening you?"
"No!"
"Did she cast a love spell?"
"No!"
"...Are you her rebound accessory boy-toy after a vampire breakup?"
"That's… weirdly specific."
"I read things."
Kaito sighed. "Aya, it's complicated."
"I'm your best friend," she said quietly. "If something's wrong, tell me."
He looked away.
Aya stared at him for a long moment before softening. "Okay. But if you're in some freaky danger, blink twice and I'll tase her."
"You own a taser?"
"I borrowed one. Temporarily."
Kaito smiled for the first time that day. "Thanks."
That night, he returned home exhausted. He flopped on his bed and stared at the ceiling.
What had he become?
An accessory keeper for a secret time-warping student council queen?
What even was his life anymore?
Yet beneath the panic and confusion… a strange thought crept in.
He wasn't invisible anymore.
And not just because people had seen him with Arisa.
But because, for the first time in forever, he mattered