Arisu Sakayanagi's POV
My na is Arisu Sakayanagi. I've always taken pride in calling myself a genius, a prodigy, soone who surpasses every single one of my peers, even those far older than .
I believed no one could touch in terms of intellect, strategy, or talent. But life, as always, has a sick sense of humor. Because who would have thought that I'd run into soone who would flip my entire worldview upside down?
Soone who was smarter, stronger, and better than in every possible way and the most humiliating part? He ca from a background so far beneath mine that it should have been impossible for him to touch my level.
Yet he crushed .
While I was raised in the lap of luxury, pampered in a safe, stable environnt under the protection of my father's wealth and influence, he was clawing his way through the dirt.
His family was broken; his parents divorced, and he was raised by a single mother who could barely keep food on the table while raising three children with a ager inco.
That environnt should have destroyed him… and yet it didn't. It forged him. Made him sharper. Made him into soone who could raise his family's status with his own two hands single-handedly, without leaning on anyone.
I've read his works. I've studied his ideas. They were brilliant, mature beyond his years.
His art? Absolutely stunning, the kind of thing you could call a masterpiece without hesitation.
And it didn't stop there; his talent didn't have a "limit" that I could see.
Everything about him scread "born genius," the kind you can't manufacture in a lab.
He proved, with nothing but his existence, that the world has no place for artificial geniuses.
You're either born with it, or you're not.
And Takashi? He was born with it from day one.
That's why I say places like the White Room shouldn't even exist. The whole idea of "artificial genius" is a joke.
You can't manufacture talent the sa way you can't make soone genuinely beautiful by just slapping makeup on them.
The so-called "masterpiece" of the White Room, the one Professor Ayanouji bragged about, was nothing more than a late-bloor in my eyes, not an artificial genius.
Of course, I still call Ayanokouji a fake genius to his face. Old habits die hard. But deep down, I've already admitted to myself that he's the real deal, a genuine genius, just one who didn't fully awaken until later.
But that's the thing about people. So look plain and unimpressive when they're young, but grow into beauty later in life. Talent works the sa way. If you're born with it, it'll bloom eventually. If you're not, no amount of training will make it appear out of thin air.
From start to finish, the White Room is nothing but a scam.
And no, I didn't co to this conclusion on so half-baked whim. I've talked about it extensively with Takashi, and his insights made even more convinced.
He argued that the so-called "masterpiece" wasn't an artificially created genius, but simply a late bloor.
And honestly? Science and real-world logic back him up.
History is full of proof for this.
Even if I were the one placed in the White Room, no matter how smart I was, I'd never reach the so-called "peak of humanity" they demand.
Talent is one thing, but physique matters too. I have a heart condition. I struggle to walk. How would they "fix" that?
By brainwashing into thinking I could run marathons? By pretending a frail body could be molded into an athlete just through training? That's a fantasy.
It's laughable to think otherwise.
Everything is set at birth, your limits, your potential. You can push those limits higher, sure, but you can't turn an empty cup into an ocean.
At best, you can fill it to the edge.
But it'll never overflow.
A small bucket stays a small bucket, no matter how much water you pour in.
With it, too, my jealousy and malice, the burning desire to crush Takashi and prove that he was nothing more than an overrated fraud was completely swept away.
I found myself trapped, tangled, and utterly intoxicated by the way he spoke about the White Room and how talent is determined from birth.
It lined up perfectly with my own beliefs, my own worldview.
How could I possibly have the heart to crush soone who's the sa breed as ? The sa kind of monster in nature, thinking, and talent?
It's impossible.
Takashi-kun… day by day, you just keep growing more and more charming.
I can't hold back anymore…
I want to take you ho. I want to lock you away, keep you in my arms, force you to talk to day and night until the world outside forgets you exist.
Unfortunately, for now, that's just an idea I've buried deep in my mind… an idea I'll keep feeding until the right ti cos.
Still, our relationship seems to be getting better.
He even seems to see as more than just a friend now.
That's good.
No… that's perfect.
Because only this way can we be together forever.
And then, out of nowhere, he proposed the idea that we should be boyfriend and girlfriend.
How bold of you, Takashi-kun.
But I don't hate it. In fact, I love it.
We've known each other for three years now.
We t back in junior high… the day I first saw him in that park after stalking his social dia and investigating him for weeks.
That was the beginning of everything.
Now, we're almost ready to graduate from high school and we've just reached eighteen, old enough to enter college.
So I asked Takashi-kun, "Where will you be after this, Takashi-kun? What university will you choose?"
I'll follow him no matter where he goes. But first, I need to know.
"Advanced Nurturing Academy. Of course, only if they accept ," Takashi shrugged. "A lot of geniuses apply there and get rejected, but so average nobodies get in. Their acceptance seems random. Even people with below-average grades are accepted, but geniuses get turned away."
"It's not random, Takashi-kun," I told him calmly. "It's a place for nurturing those with potential, not for soone already fixed or fully developed."
"In that case, maybe it's not the place for ," he replied nonchalantly.
"No. You can go," I said sharply. "You must go, or I'll bite you."
I even leaned forward and bared my teeth at him in a playful threat.
He laughed and pinched my nose. "I heard it's a closed school… so, I have a small request, Arisu. Will you grant it for before we go?"
"What is it, Takashi-kun?" I asked softly.
He leaned in close, his breath warm against my ear, his voice low but deliberate. "Can we have sex?"
My face instantly flushed crimson. "That's… I…"
But he didn't wait for to answer.
His lips were already on mine, kissing softly at first, then deeper, pulling into the heat of it. I gave up trying to resist and lted into him, kissing back in the middle of the park.
It was our first kiss.
When we finally broke apart, he stroked my cheek, his touch gentle, almost tender. "Arisu-chan… where do you think we should go? My ho or yours?"
I blushed furiously, instantly understanding his aning.
"Uhm, Takashi-kun… how about one of my father's houses? It's quiet there… no one will bother us." I answered shyly, my voice trembling but my heart already agreeing to everything he wanted.
He chuckled, eyes gleaming. "Let's go then, Arisu-chan."
"Yes, Takashi-kun." I smiled, my pulse racing as I called a taxi, giving the driver the address of the secluded house.
This ti, he would be mine, and I would be his.
There would be no turning back.
...
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