Chapter 1

Edited by: Mystic

The buzzing alarm sounded through the halls of the university as the mass of people made their ways out of the dorms and out into the parking lot. There was no pain, but that might have had more to do with this being a drill instead of an actual emergency.

A small figure hurried passed the large mass of people, sometimes being shoved by someone taller who hadn't seen them before bumping into them, letting out a soft 'sorry'.

Ai Yui was short for his age and rather small in size. Being only 4 foot 8 inches. He often was overlooked and would be pushed and shoved around by those who weren't really watching where they were walking.

He hated these drills because it always ended up as a challenge just trying to get out into the hall from his dorm room!

Letting out a sigh, Ai finally stepped out into the parking lot and went to find a spot with fewer people to wait until the roll call was done and he could return to his room and finish his homework.

Being a scholarship student that relied on his good grades to pay for his glasses, he didn't have time to be out here standing about not focusing.

Sure, if he didn't have to worry about losing his scholarship he'd have been happy to use this time to go out and just enjoy the beautiful day. But life wasn't so simple for him, if he failed to keep his top score, then he would be forced to leave the school of his dreams and return back to his parents house and do what they'd wanted him to do, which was private lessons and online schooling before entering his father's business to begin learning on how to run it for when he took over the ownership.

He had no wish to take over his father's company, nor did he want to go back to the house that had trapped him inside for almost all of his life. He worked hard to enter this school and was only able to attend because it was a prestige school, along with the fact that he didn't have to pay to go.

They might have been wealthy due to his father's company, but his parents believed that earning money for yourself was important, that and they wanted to control his life, so it was easier to do so if he didn't get money from them whenever he wanted. His childhood wasn't anything he liked to remember.

His mother was strict with what he ate and wore. Sometimes she would for some odd reason dress him up like a doll, and treat him as if he was a 'daughter' instead of a son. His father would always lecture him whenever she did this, making it his fault for being 'weak' and looking like a little girl than a boy.

He hated his parent's treatment of him. But what can one do? You didn't get to choose who your parents were, and they never really abused him physically. Maybe the mental abuse would be great if you actually took the time to look into it, but no one bothered with that.

Sighing, Ai Yui finally managed to make it back inside one the seniors in charge of roll call finally finished and dismissed them. The majority of the people standing outside decided to go out for the rest of the evening, having lost the will to continue whatever they were doing before.

He hurried inside and started to finish up his paper. It wasn't until he had begun to put up his books and notes that his roommate finally returned. Glancing to the door as the male entered, Ai Yui felt his heart hurt a bit while looking at the large male with a strong build. He basically looked like a muscle builder.

He wasn't too bulky that he'd seem like the hulk, but enough that he had a manly feel. Sadly his face was subpar in looks. Or he'd be one of the hottest guys in school from Ai Yui's viewpoint

"You finish the work? Can I see?" he asked as if it was normal to copy someone's work. He often did this, though Ai Yui always rejected him flatly. "You need to do it yourself instead of running off to work out. You can't always rely on others to do the work for you," he said with a frown. Dashi just laughed as he went to his side of the room and plopped onto the unmade bed. "So mean~" he teased before pulling his shirt that was wet with sweat. He was about to toss it when he got a glare from Ai so he just sat it at the end of his bed, "Lighten up." he muttered.

Ai Yui ignored him and went to sit on his own bed, pulling his legs up and pressing them over one another. He reached up to pull his hair that was rather long up into a sloppy bun.

He wanted to get it cut, to make it short like how a boy's hair should be, but his mother forbids it, and often would request pictures or video calls to make sure he didn't cut it. The reason she gave was it was something her family did, until marriage you weren't allowed to cut your hair, not even as a boy.

His father had argued for a short while before giving up so that he didn't have to listen to his wife nagging. "Ai, did you hear about the new game coming out?" Dashi said while putting on a clean shirt.

Ai tilted his head and glanced at the male, seeming confused. Normally he didn't care about games, but when he was a kid he tried one to play, he managed to enjoy a good few months into the game before his father found out and put him on house arrest. Even now he still didn't have a private laptop or phone. Both were from his parents and had locks on them so he couldn't install anything without their permission.

It was for school work only. It wasn't that bad before, but when they found him playing the game this was the end result. Dashi laughed remembering about his issue.

"Well, it's different from the laptops, it's a virtual reality game. It's separate, you put the helmet on and sensors and apparently you can be in the game as if it was all real. Feeling, smelling, tasting. All of it. What more is they are giving away free helmets to people who win a contest." he seemed annoyed about the contest which in turn confused Ai Yui

"What is it? The contests. I mean, you seem so unhappy." he stated as if confused. Dashi sighed before lying back on his bed. "It's a writing contest." the other said as if dejected. "You have to write up a scene for the game to use, something like that they will use and make into an animation. They want it to be written, and they have separate sections so some can do art while others just write, the top 3 from each group will get a helmet. I can't draw or write!" he laminated

Ai blinked a few times before tilting his head. "Anyone can apply?" he asked in a soft tone. He normally always did as told, and would try his hardest to not leave any reason for his parents to lecture him.

But he was in college now, he wasn't stuck in their home and as long as he didn't use the things they provided for him and stayed on top of his school work, then they couldn't stop him from playing again right? This was his chance, he has to do something for himself! He felt so happy.

Dashi sat up and looked at the smaller male with a look of smugness "Of course, I had the info if you wanna apply. If you when then I can maybe use it ah!" he said as if this was his plan all along. Ai Yui ignored him before getting the info he needed.

He asked Dashi about the game and learned about what settings and characters would be in it. Then he started out typing out his scene.

Being a top mark student had its perks, Ai was able to write out a very detailed and elegantly worded scene that even Dashi enjoyed reading and wanted to see put into motion. After making sure the structure was correct and there were no typos he sent it into the contest along with his information and mailing address.

The results would be drawn up in the next two weeks so he barely missed the deadline. Humming to himself, he went about the rest of his day in a better mood.