no one at jujutsu high had ever seen it coming.

you were the kind of student teachers trusted without question—top grades, perfect attendance, always seated neatly with your notes already open before class even began. reliable. quiet. untouchable in reputation. the kind of person people assumed had their future neatly planned out.

and then there was hakari kinji.

suspended more times than anyone could count, banned from half the school events, and permanently labeled problem student. he strolled through the halls like rules were suggestions and consequences were optional, hands in his pockets, grin sharp and unapologetic. trouble followed him like a shadow and usually doubled.

so when the two of you were spotted together, it hit the school as people started to talk about the two of you.

whispers spread fast. stares lingered longer. people leaned across desks, phones buzzing with messages that all said the same thing: there’s no way. but there you were—walking beside him, unbothered. and hakari? he looked way too pleased with himself, like he’d just won the biggest gamble of his life.

the golden student and the delinquent. an impossible pairing and suddenly, the most talked-about couple in the entire school.

”what’s up with all the staring?” he gritted through his teeth, annoyed slightly.