Prologue: Encounter

"I thought I had this in the bag…"

"How could this have happened…? I practiced so hard…"

"He got first place again? Tsk. I bet he barely even practiced."

"My dad told me that I'm wasting his time if I don't win… I can't take it… I don't want

to play anymore…"

These kinds of comments had always followed Masachika, even from an early age, but

he started really noticing it after he began living with his paternal grandparents.

"He gets to be the last performer again? Sounds like the teacher's playing favorites."

"I heard his family is well-off, so the teacher probably has to."

"Why was my child not chosen?! This is rigged!"

"Come on. Can't we put that kid in some kind of hall of fame so he can retire? We need

to give other kids a chance to win, too…"

It was a maelstrom of despair—the cries of the unrewarded. There were people around

Masachika who did not hide their hostility. They shunned him. After leaving the Suou

residence, he no longer had to desperately attempt to please his family, which meant he

could focus on other activities. However, that came at the cost of noticing how much others

despised him.

"Sigh. It's not fair. It must be nice being a piano prodigy."

Those were the words of another performer after yet another piano competition ended

with Masachika in first place.

"It's not fair." Perhaps it wasn't. Masachika had always practiced for a decent amount

of time, and then he would get results that exceeded the amount of time he spent on it. Never

had he felt distressed or defeated. He had never hit a wall, and he never felt as if there were

any obstacles in his way, either. Furthermore, he was able to accomplish what most people

couldn't—no matter how hard they tried—with one hand tied behind his back. Ever since he

was a small child, he had participated in far more after-school activities than his peers, and

he always ended up being the best among them.

When he took swimming lessons, he was the fastest swimmer, and when he did karate,

he got his black belt far sooner than kids who trained every day. Whenever there was a

piano competition, he had the privilege of being the last to perform, and in calligraphy class,

his work was always displayed on the wall where it could be seen by everyone. However,

none of these activities were actually things he enjoyed. There was never any passion. He

simply wished to meet his grandfather's expectations. He wanted his mother to praise him.

He needed to reassure his sister. That was it. That was it…

Wait… Then why am I still doing this?

He would never be praised by his mother again. His grandfather would forever be

disappointed in him. Plus, there was no way he was going to give his sister any relief after

he'd lashed out at school. So what was the point of using this "unfair" prodigy mind of his to

trample on the hard work of others? He pondered this question…until it eventually hit him.

"If it's pointless…then I should just quit."

There were most likely countless people who had to choke back their tearsin the shadows

of Masachika's radiant success. These were people who were passionate about what they did

and went through soul-draining hardshipsto reach that point. Masachika, however, ignorantly

crushed their dreams without even noticing the noble sacrifices they'd made to get to where

they were.

"…I feel empty."

All these activities felt meaningless, and having no passion for anything he did left him

feeling empty. Every victory he ever had was hollow.

"Masachika, you have to get moving. It's time for swim practice."

Even when his grandmother came to his room to get him, he felt nothing.

"…I'm not going."

"What? Oh… Okay. You're taking the day off? Then—"

"I'm never going back. I'm quitting. I'm quitting everything."

"…Oh. Well, if that's what you want, then maybe it's a good thing," said his

grandmother, seeming to have picked up on his apathetic mood. She neither forbade nor

questioned him. She simply agreed, and that kindness she showed made him extremely

uncomfortable.

After sneaking out of the house, Masachika walked aimlessly around town until he

eventually heard something loud and exciting coming from the shopping district: an arcade.

Video games, huh?

He thought back to conversations he'd heard his classmates having at school.

Apparently, most elementary school kids around his age were obsessed with video games.

Meanwhile, Masachika had never even touched one, since Gensei claimed they were evil.

"…"

His urge to rebel against his grandfathersuddenly began to swell in the pit of hisstomach,

and he slowly drifted toward the arcade. The first thing that caught his eye was a zombie

game, which he promptly decided to try. At first, he didn't understand how to play and

immediately died, but he started to get the hang of it on his fourth try, and by his seventh

attempt, he already managed to beat the last boss. The final cutscene wasfollowed by a screen

displaying his score: a B rank.

"…Interesting. So the less damage I take and the fewer bullets I use, the higher my

score."

He was surprised that he beat the game so easily, but then he realized that this was where

the true fun began. On a test, all he did was answer the questions, but now he needed to focus

on fixing his mistakes and improving his overall grade. That was the real challenge here.

"Well, I guess I might as well go for a perfect score."

Since there was no one behind him waiting to play, he decided to continue until he was

satisfied with hisscore, and once he finally got that perfectscore, he saw his name beautifully

displayed at the top of the high score list.

"…I guess that's it."

His interest instantly faded. He walked over to the claw-machine corner, but it only took

a few tries before he got the hang of it, and he ended up mindlessly emptying the machines

of their prizes. Plus, it wasn't like he wanted any of the prizes, so after grabbing as many

as he could, he started passing them out to the people who had gathered around to watch.

This continued for days and days, until he was eventually banned from all the arcades in the

neighborhood.

"Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised with all the rumors going around…"

That's what he told himself to feel better, but the frustration in his heart didn't fade. It

was as if being exceptional excluded him from having fun, and no matter how hard he tried,

he couldn't dispel that dreary thought.

"Sigh… What should I do with this now?"

Masachika gazed at the giant teddy bear in his arms and sighed. It was a prize from one

of the claw machines that he happened to be holding when he was kicked out of the arcade.

Returning the prize would be a pain in the ass, so he decided to hang on to it…but this was

obviously a prize made for little girls. Yuki couldn't have any stuffed animals because of her

asthma, so the only person he could give it to would be Ayano. That said, he wasn't planning

on returning to the Suou residence anytime soon, so he had no idea when he would see her

next. He didn't know how he would even go about giving it to her, either.

"…Maybe I'll just give it to Grandma," he muttered to himself. That was when he

realized he was standing in front of a park with lots of playground equipment. His eyes

naturally wandered around until he noticed a group of five girls around his age, but his gaze

was especially drawn to one of them.

I-is that an angel…?

Masachika briefly lost himself in a trance. That was a testament to how ethereally

beautiful this girl was. Her snow-white skin reflected light. Her soft, long golden locks

complemented her twinkling blue eyes. Her charm almost took his breath away. However,

that adorable face was currently clouded with confusion and sorrow as she seemed to be

desperately pleading.

"No…that…uh, to…do?"

"I have no idea what you're trying to say."

"Come on, Maria. Speak Japanese."

The little girl was desperately trying to speak in halting Japanese with a heavy accent

while the others stood around her and watched with malicious grins. Nevertheless, she

continued to try her hardest to convey her feelings. Regardless, they continued to pick on

her, deliberately trying to make her panic, even though they probably already had a good

idea of what she wanted to say.

"I have no idea what you're saying."

"Your Japanese is terrible."

As Masachika watched them harass her, he suddenly got a sense of déjà vu, and he

frowned at the mean-spirited grins of the four monsters laughing at the little girl. These were

the venomous expressions of people who were trying to hurt someone far more exceptional

than them. They despised this anomaly, just like Masachika's persistent classmates who

wouldn't leave him alone until he ended up having to resort to violence.

"<I hate this… They don't understand me at all…>"

The little girl eventually began to sob, murmuring in Russian through her tears, but that

only made it worse. It was as if these four vultures had been waiting for this moment.

"Whoooa! I seriously have no idea what she's saying."

"Has she never heard the phrase, 'When in Rome'? I guess a foreigner like her wouldn't

understand."

"Sigh… Come on, girls. We tried, but she just doesn't want to talk to us. Come on. Let's

go play without her."

"Good idea."

After insulting her to her face, the four spiteful girls ran off, leaving their sobbing peer

behind to squeeze her skirt tightly with both hands and tremble in silence.

"…"

The thought of chasing after the four girls and kicking them as hard as he could crossed

Masachika's mind after he witnessed the disturbing sight, but he managed to get his anger

under control, and he shifted hisfocusto the lonely little girl instead. She stood there, pressing

her light-pink lips together as if bravely suppressing her tears. The sight was far too much for

Masachika's heart to bear, prompting him to unconsciously walk over to her and use what

limited Russian he knew.

"<Are you…okay?>"

The girl swiftly lifted her chin, and her moist eyes opened wide as she stared at

Masachika in disbelief.

"<Wait… Did you…?>"

"<Russian. I speak. A little?>"

Calling his Russian poor would be a compliment, since all he could do was string a few

wordstogether. Nevertheless, the little girl'sface lit up, and her entire body seemed to vibrate

with what had to be excitement and joy.

"<Wait. You can speak Russian? Wow! You're so smart!>"

"…!"

He honestly didn't understand everything she said, but from the words he did know, he

could tell that she was complimenting him a lot. The genuine praise and her glittering eyes

touched Masachika's heart, and it was something he hadn't been expecting.

"<I'm Masha!>"

"Huh…?"

"<Masha! >"

But in the midst of his uncertainty, the little girl mirthfully introduced herself with a

beaming smile. Although he first thought she was saying a Russian word that he didn't know,

he soon realized what she was saying when she asked:

"<What's your name?>"

"Huh…? Oh, your name! Uh… Ma…?"

"<Masha! >"

"Macha?"

"<Ma. Sha.>"

"Oh, Masha?"

After the little girl, Masha, cheerfully nodded back numerous times, she took his hand

and began to trace the following words on his palm as she spoke:

"<What's your name?>"

"Oh… Masachika. Masachika Suou."

"<Mashachika Shuou?>"

"Masachika. Ma. Sa. Chi. Ka."

"…! Masaaachika!"

"Y-yeah? Good enough, I guess?"

Masachika nodded, though he was baffled by how she mispronounced his name. Masha's

smiling gaze lowered, and she asked:

"<Who's that?>"

"Huh?"

"<What's his name?>"

"…? Oh!"

After a brief pause, he realized that she was asking for the teddy bear's name, which

made him blush because this angel thought that he was a little boy who carried a teddy bear

with him wherever he went. That was a misunderstanding far too embarrassing for a kid his

age.

"No…! Uh… Arcade! Do you know arcades? Video game arcade."

Her reaction told him that she had no idea what he was talking about, so he once again

tried to utilize what few Russian words he could remember.

"<Present… Game. Present. Don't want. Present for you.>"

"<…? What? You're giving this to me?>"

"<For you.>"

When he pushed the teddy bear into her arms, Masha seemed puzzled for a moment, but

it wasn't long before her lips curled.

"<Wow! Really? Thank you so much! He's cute. ♡>"

Seeing the girl affectionately squeeze the teddy bear as if she had never been happier in

her entire life almost made Masachika feel like he was being hugged. He promptly looked

away while his heart was filled with indescribable embarrassment and joy, and Masha once

again asked:

"<So? What's his name?>"

"<No. No name.>"

"<Really? Hmm… Then I'm going to name you Samuel the Third!>"

"…"

Although he couldn't understand much of what she was saying, he somehow knew she

was giving the teddy bear a very unique name, so he smiled awkwardly. Masha then took his

hand and looked toward the climbing dome.

"<Masaaachika, let's play!>"

"Uh…?"

"<Race you!>"

"Wh-what…? Uh…"

Masachika hurried to keep up as Masha led him by the hand. The little girl he'd thought

was an angel turned out to be a simple, innocent child, but it was that cherubic smile of hers

that flipped his world upside down. There was no disgust in her eyes, unlike the expressions

he was used to seeing. He could feel his dry, cracked heartslowly being healed by playing and

talking with Masha, and he wanted to talk with her more. He wanted to show off to her more.

Crossing paths with Masha encouraged Masachika to start watching Russian movies

with his grandfather—something he was never really interested in before—and he did so with

enthusiasm. He even gradually began participating in after-school activities again despite

quitting once already. Perhaps he viewed Masha as a replacement for his mother. Maybe he

craved praise, acknowledgment, and acceptance from her—all things that his mother never

gave him.

Regardless, there was no question about it: This was love.

"<What's wrong, Masuchika?>"

"<Uh… Do you think could stop calling me that? It sounds like a Russian boy's< p>

name.>"

"<Really? Then what should I call you?>"

"<Maybe we could at least shorten my name to make it sound more Japanese? Like a< p>

nickname?>"

"<All right… I'll start calling you Sah, then!>"

"<No, that's— Seriously?>"

That's the part of your pronunciation I'm trying to fix, thought Masachika with a wry

smile. Masha leaned in closer with a beaming grin.

"<What about me?>"

"Huh?"

"<What about my nickname?>"

Masha's already your nickname. There was no reason to shorten her nickname and give

her a new one…but he swallowed those thoughts the moment he saw her eyes twinkling with

excitement.

"Hmm…"

The first idea that popped into his head was simply adding -chan to the end of her name

to make it sound more Japanese, but it was far too embarrassing for a little boy to do that…

"<Come on. What's my nickname?>"

"Errr…"

Any thought of backing down was purged from his mind the moment he once again saw

how excited she was. So he averted his gaze, timidly opened his mouth, and replied:

"<All right. I'll call you—>"