People often talk of the winners of life’s lottery. Hikari, was, undoubtedly, one such person. Grace, beauty, brain, and…well, perhaps not athleticism, but even then, many of her peers would say that it only added to her charm, being some sort of fragile princess that needed to be protected. A ‘Princess’ indeed, considering her family was also relatively well off, a modern-day ‘Noble Lady’ if there was one. Winner of life’s lottery is an apt description of Hikari Kasuga…a privileged person, in a more colloquial term.

As many of Japan’s affluent families with old money, Hikari’s family life upbringing was quite strict, the sort of traditional upbringing that contributed to her persona as a ‘Yamato Nadeshiko’, the ideal beauty. Something that stemmed from the family’s adherence to duty and responsibility. For her parents, this manifested in various charities, CSR, and other philanthropic endeavours to ‘give back’ and ‘contribute’ to society, a modern-day ‘noblesse oblige’, so to speak. The sort of thing that—while not their primary intention—made Hikari’s family quite beloved by many people.

Rather than enrolling in the very elite school one would expect, Hikari was enrolled in Hane High, the alma mater of her Mother, who came from a more humble background. Naturally, as a young child, being isolated in school due to living in a completely different world than many of her peers, she took to her parents' example of being beloved through philanthropy and came to the conclusion, ‘If I go about doing things in a way that would be liked by most people, then I can make friends. ’ This was the start of Hikari’s tendency to be a people pleaser.

It worked at first. ‘Hikari never said no when asked to substitute for cleaning duties,’ ‘Hikari is always willing to help everyone with homework,’ ‘Hikari will always accept Class Rep position and do all the errands everyone would find a bother.’ Such was the sort of thing that the student body would say about Hikari. Throughout elementary and middle school, Hikari’s reputation for being a gentle and amicable person made her the most popular kid in school, liked by just about everyone.

It all started to change once she entered High School, however. A complicated period of life, at the cusp of adulthood, Hikari’s actions started to be seen through a different lens than childhood innocence. It started small enough, with some of the girls saying that Hikari entered the ‘Miss Hane High' competition purely from ego, as she knew no one would be able to win against her’; the truth was that she was nominated by people in her class for bragging right that their class would have the Miss Hane High, a simple interclass rivalry not uncommonly found in High School. It did not, however, change how that might be perceived by others, especially as she went on to win the competition in a landslide vote.

What started as a small grievance eventually turned into a bigger narrative at the start of her second year, when a close friend of hers since Elementary School confessed her feelings to the then-popular Student Council President, only for the third year to reply, ‘Sorry, but I like Hikari.’ Hikari, who did not know of this until the next day, accepted the invitation to join the Student Council on the same day. The next day, said friend went on a tirade in front of her entire class, accusing her of intentionally having joined the Student Council knowing how she felt about the President. It was not entirely inaccurate, if Hikari was to be honest, as she knew of her friends' feelings and had an inkling that the President fancied her from the way he approached her. Still, in the end, having been a people pleaser for so long was unable to say no to the invitation when put on the spot. Thus, all she could say when confronted in such a manner was only to apologise, an apology that was harshly rejected.

An ‘underdog’ story of a cute, yet ordinary girl, being cruelly strung along by her much popular friend, who hides her ugly inner self behind a façade of beauty. It was an attractive narrative for the rumour mill of a High School. Especially when the popular friend of the narrative was someone in a position of privilege that would naturally be envied. It was easier—and more satisfying—to cast the seemingly Miss Perfect that was almost too good to be true as some sort of villain, who looked down on people from her seat at the top of the social totem pole, rather than the more complicated truth. Hikari rejecting the Student Council President when he confessed later only made matters worse, as she was now seen as ‘seeing herself as being too good for even the most popular guy in the school’

‘Hikari thinks she’s so good, being so helpful, isn’t she just humble-bragging how much better at everything than normal people she is?’ ‘Hikari is trying too hard to be a diligent Student Council Vice-President, she just likes to show that she can stay in the Council even after harshly rejecting the President’ ‘Hikari always rejects every guy who confesses to her, she probably just strings them along and rejects them anyway to show how popular she is.’ Far from the idolised reputation she had before, her reputation was now one that was envied. Begrudgingly admired, but isolated, with snide and backhanded insults thrown constantly.

The way she had habituated herself to behave turned against her, as the more she presented herself to be likeable, the more she was seen as a lying two-faced woman. It was at the moment she was most desperate for a reprieve from the false accusations constantly lobbed at her that she found herself noticing a strange application on her phone. A black crown adorned upon an eye, it asked a single question…

Osamu was born as the third of five children, with his father working in tech and his mother being a stay-at-home mom. While most of his family got along well and had great relationships with one another, Osamu fell through the cracks. It started with accidents, things like needing to wait extra time at places or being walked home by people who knew him because his family got mixed up in something and forgot to pick him up. Then it was things that were minor to some, but not to a developing child, such as forgetting a birthday, or forgetting a promise that was made.

After a while, Osamu decided that if his parents and siblings weren’t going to acknowledge him, he was going to do whatever he could to earn their attention. Between the ages of eight and thirteen, he spent a lot of time and effort in learning another language online, learning to read above his grade level, and excelling in school and extracurricular activities. Despite this, he still ended up forgotten, as the neglect grew worse and his siblings were increasingly favored, he had to learn how to cook because there would be days where his parents took the family out to eat and forgot him at the house.

At some point around entering middle school, Osamu snapped. He decided that if his own family wasn’t going to acknowledge him for doing well, then he would see if acting out got him any form of attention. So, he beat up a bully, got sent home, and received an earful from his mother about getting into fights. But being scolded was better than being outright ignored in the young Osamu’s mind. Which is where things started to take a turn.

Osamu started doing things to get attention and to piss off his parents, which started with hanging out with delinquents and getting into fights. The people he chose to surround himself with only encouraged Osamu to keep going down this path, and towards the end of middle school, Osamu had his first experience with being arrested. He was dragged home by a disappointed police officer for skipping curfew, minor theft, and evidence of underage drinking. Needless to say, his family weren’t thrilled.

During his first year of high school, Osamu got arrested another six times for various offences, including; assault, possession of an illegal substance, underage drinking, skipping curfew and attempted theft. But despite all of that, he never once resisted arrest, and due to his age and the low severity of his crimes, never spent more than a night in jail. The officers started to get to know him and have tried steering him down a different path, but so far, it isn’t working. One thing they have managed to convince him of, however, is that they know who he is, and if they catch him doing something, he was better off just coming quietly instead of trying to run.

At the tail end of his first year of high school, Osamu realized his life was just going downhill from here unless something changed. With a desperate desire in his heart, he left the school and checked his phone to find a strange app had appeared on it, asking him a question. “What Is Your Desire?” He thought it was strange, but being a dumb kid and having nothing to lose in his mind, he answered honestly.

The secret daughter of an idol and a tabloid reporter who had a one night stand gone wrong, Shirona was raised hidden from the public eye under the care of nannies and away from the parents who saw her as nothing but an unwanted burden. This isolation had persisted through the early years of her childhood as she was home schooled in her earlier years to keep anyone from knowing her existence. In those moments of isolation, Shirona’s brilliance will shine, learning subjects beyond her level and showing moments of precociousness due to never meeting anyone around her age. And despite having the ability to acquire anything she wanted if she just simply wished to, she longed for a life outside of the walls she lived in.

Her wish would soon be fulfilled when her aunt suddenly barged in, took custody of her and showed her the outside world. It is far larger than she imagined and definitely unfamiliar.

The next thing she would learn is that despite finally walking away, she is still utterly alone in this world. Her aunt tries her best but is obligated by her job to be away for extended periods at times. She could no longer recall when was the last time she talked to her so-called parents. As for finding friends, a combination of lack of experience and her precociousness torpedoed her initial attempts not to the point of people hating her but they were definitely wary.

Which is why she resorted to photography as it gives her an excuse to look and observe at people without looking too creepy. She might not be in the picture but being the girl behind the camera is enough for her.

Despite having justified reasons to be furious at her parents, Shirona can only find nothing but apathy to the people meant for strangers in its place. That realization unsettled Shirona and led her to exploring human emotions through the use of the app, secretly adding emotions to random people she observes until she was caught.

Kaoru's story isn't that unusual. His father knocked up his mother in a one-night stand and were wed out wedlock though by the time he was five years old, Kauro's mother walked out on them. His father was an abusive alcoholic with no prospects of getting a proper job and essentially made his son's life a living hell. Kauro's only solace were the books he'd be able to get from the library and the late-night movies when his father was passed out from a drunken stupor. Being a dumb kid he got it into his head that if he acted a certain way like those characters he saw in the moves or books then maybe his dad would love him more. After all, if his own father didn't like him then it was his fault, right?

In some ways it worked, at least he saw correlation rather than causation. There were times when his father would berate him less and wouldn't break his belongings though there were times when he would fly into a rage. There were times when Kauro would hide in his room during those bouts and he would escape further into the character that he made for himself, too young to realize that his efforts to make his father to love him were now causing him to separate from himself.

This went on until he was thirteen, when it all came to a head. One night his father became exceptionally drunk after losing his janitorial job and grew violent. He blamed his son for everything, that he was the starting point where things went wrong. Kauro locked himself in his room as his father kept pounding his door and screamed at him to "open the fuck up," eventually breaking the door down where things escalated even more. The boy felt his father's hands around his neck and felt the life being squeezed out of him as he was being suffocated. In a twist of fate, his father's pancreas burst from preexisting conditions worsened by excessive alcohol consumption and stress. His father did not survive and Kauro was taken in by his aunt's family and transferred to a different school.

For what its worth, his life did improve after that. His aunt had long tried to get custody over Kauro, but the courts ruled in his father's favor and his father did not want to let him go due to the welfare checks he was getting that were meant to be used for his son. So, in her custody he had actually had a healthy life for the first time ever, but the damage was done. Kauro acted like he was fine, putting on an act that made him popular with others around him, but in reality, it was a coping mechanism and an unhealthy one at that. It was easier to be a character; to be liked and popular, to live out someone else's life, and tell their story without having to form complicated ties and relationships. In other words, an unsatisfying hollow existence.

The only thing that he was truly passionate about were the books he read and eventually began to write his own stories at the encouragement of his aunt and post them online under the pseudonym Nevermore. However, the character that Kauro played wasn't a dedicated writer that locked himself in his room for hours or a lover of stories and literature. He was the trendy social butterfly that liked what you liked even in reality he hated it or hated you.

Life was joyless, but what was one to expect when you don't live your own life? Well, there was something strange that happened; an app with a black crown appeared on his phone and it couldn't be deleted. Out of curiosity, he opened it and was asked an interesting question. Rather than put off by this strange app he found it fascinating, like a story come to life.

A senior at Kengen University, majoring in Philosophy with a minor in Classics. Known for dismantling professors in debate—not out of arrogance, but reverence for truth. Raised in a household that prized silence over sincerity, he found refuge in Socratic inquiry. His awakening came not from rage, but from refusal: he would not lie to protect a corrupt mentor, and the truth he spoke shattered the world around him.

Ayo Suematsu’s reputation precedes her; being the sole child of Mikihiro Suematsu, a very influential politician, her life's been publicized far and wide across Japan.

Ayo was born to a single mother in Shōnai, a topic of many rumors since nobody knew who the father was. Her mother, Yuzuki Kikkawa, raised Ayo without complaint, doing her best to make sure she had a happy life. Ayo did, though she was often left alone as she grew from a toddler to a child, as her mother had to work to support them both. Because of this Ayo learned a lot of independence at an early age. Any questions she might've had about her dad were quick to dry up, since Yuzuki never told anything about him. For all intents and purposes Ayo only had a mom, and she was fine with that.

Ayo's simple life would, unfortunately, come to an end - Yuzuki died in an sudden accident. Ayo was just about to enter junior high, and her mother, the only person in the world she had, was ripped away from her... to say she was devastated would not be enough. With no other family to take her in, and the neighbors either unable or unwilling to, Ayo was all alone. Not knowing what to do she just stayed in her house, mourning her mother, for days (nearly two weeks) until word had finally reached a children's safety organization. Planning to take Ayo away from her home, now dirty and devoid of food, to an orphanage, she didn't have much choice and was resigned to her apparent fate. But just before her transfer was as good as done, a strange man in a suit appeared and took her away from them, for one simple reason: he was taking her to her father.

Since that day Ayo was under the care of Mikihiro Suematsu. The story of him recovering his abandoned daughter, what should be a scandal for someone of in his position, actually helped propel him higher in the political world, spun into his image as someone who connected with the "heart of Japan", the average person and their simple communities. And to that end Ayo was educated on how to act like a politician's daughter. Between that and the radical shift in her life, Ayo's teenage years were rough. She was basically a popularity stunt: every time she moved schools, it was newsworthy. Companies wanted her to be seen with their products. Ayo went from having only one person in her life to having pretty much everyone in her business.

Naturally, this led to Ayo becoming something of a troubled youth. While she didn't publicly act out, to "protect" her father's reputation, she was the cause of more than a few scandals in whatever private academies she would be sent to. From exam answers being leaked online to embarrassing photos finding their way around the halls, Ayo did all sorts of things just to feel like she had some control. Of course none of these scandals ever linked back to her, Mikihiro's connections to media outlets helping to erase her involvement whenever it would be obvious, and each time they happened she would be quietly pulled from the student body only to end up at another institution within the week.

At some point this back-and-forth between Ayo and her dad wore him down to where he would actually listen to her. Enough for Ayo to convince him to send her to a 'normal' school instead of these hoity-toity rich kid places. The compromise was that she'd spend her last year of school at Hane High - not quite the average student experience but at least one step away from the top. Maybe a little too late to matter, but Ayo enjoyed finally getting something she wanted.

Now she just had to get through one final year... and end up following in her father's footsteps anyways?

Born into a traditional household that valued restraint, diligence, and emotional composure, Hibiya stood out from an early age like a sore thumb. He wasn’t a bad kid—just an energetic one. He talked far more than he listened, and he plays around more than he studied. Thus, he frequently found himself on the receiving end of light but firm discipline, like a sharp tug to the ear, and a smack to the back of the legs. His family never hurt him out of cruelty, but expectations were clear, and Hibiya failed to meet them more often than not.

Where others were distant, he was expressive. Where others endured in silence, he complained loudly—but honestly. In a household that rarely spoke its feelings aloud, Hibiya’s presence was noisy, and strangely comforting. Even when scolded, he bounced back quickly, grinning as if nothing could truly weigh him down. It was this stubborn sincerity—this refusal to give up once he found something meaningful, that slowly earned him his family’s trust. They might not have understood him, but they believed in his ability to commit when it mattered. That belief crystallized when he discovered archery.

Archery was more than just a sport within his extended family, it was a legacy. A tradition passed down through generations, something that tied his immediate family to a wider, more conservative clan they had long felt distant from. Hibiya’s household was more open-minded than most, less rigid in worldview, but that difference had always left them somewhat isolated. Archery became the bridge. Through Hibiya’s dedication and natural talent, his family found themselves reconnecting with relatives who had once kept their distance. Gatherings became warmer. Conversations lasted longer. For once, Hibiya wasn’t the embarrassment, he was the pride of the family.

As he grew older, Hibiya matures into a calm individual. Not completely thought—his temper and dramatics never truly disappeared—but, he learned to have patience. Archery has gave him purpose. It gave him a place, and pride. That was why the accident destroyed everything. On his way to attend a major championship, disaster struck. Hibiya survived with a severe injury to his back—one that left him able to live normally, but unable to endure the strain required for competitive archery ever again. Worse still, the accident took his mother’s life.

In the aftermath, the clan split in two. Some rallied around Hibiya, recognizing his loss and defending him as both victim and survivor. Others, steeped in conservative values and unspoken resentment, saw him as a disgrace, a reminder of broken tradition, lost potential, and a legacy cut short. No one said it outright, but the implication hung heavy in every silence: If only he didn't pursued this path, if only he hadn't gone to the competition, things might have been different.

Hibiya couldn’t bear it. Caught between grief, guilt, and judgment, he withdrew from his family and remained in Tokyo under the excuse of “finding a new direction.” In truth, he had no idea what to do with himself. Archery had not just been a passion—it had been his purpose, his proof of worth, and the reason his family believed in him. Without archery, what remained of him? who is Hibiya Kazushige?