The silence that had momentarily blanketed the second-year classroom at Kuoh Academy following Marika Tachibana's dramatic declaration was shattered by an explosion of sound. It was as if a dam of collective disbelief had burst, unleashing a torrent of shrieks, gasps, and incredulous whispers.
"WHAAAAAT?!" The word, a multi-voiced chorus of utter shock, seemed to physically buffet Ren Takakura. "His bride?!" "Takakura-kun? Seriously?" "A promise from ten years ago? What is this, a manga?" "She's so… intense!"
Ren felt his face burning with a heat that had nothing to do with his Dying Will Flames. He wanted the floor to open up and swallow him whole, to transport him to another dimension, preferably one without self-proclaimed childhood fiancées with terrifyingly bright orange hair. He was frozen in place, his mind a complete blank, staring at Marika Tachibana who was still beaming at him with an expression of unwavering, almost fanatical adoration.
"Ren-sama!" Marika chirped again, seemingly oblivious to the pandemonium she had unleashed, or perhaps reveling in it. "Aren't you just overjoyed? I've counted the days, you know! All three thousand, six hundred and fifty-two of them, give or take a few for leap years! For this moment! Our reunion!"
From across the room, Chitoge Kirisaki had shot to her feet, her chair scraping loudly against the floor. Her face was a thundercloud of fury and disbelief. "Boyfriend is one thing, Takakura," she hissed, her voice dangerously low, though it was nearly drowned out by the general uproar. "But fiancée? Since when were you capable of making promises to anyone, let alone keeping them for ten years without accidentally setting them on fire? And who in the blazes is this orange-haired… interloper?!" Her hands were clenched into fists, and for a moment, Ren genuinely feared she might vault over the desks to physically confront Marika.
Kosaki Onodera, sweet, gentle Kosaki, looked like she was about to faint. Her face was pale, her eyes wide with a mixture of shock and a dawning, heartbreaking confusion as she looked from Marika to Ren and back again. Her lips trembled slightly, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't find the words.
Beside her, Haru Onodera was a study in protective rage. Her pigtails seemed to vibrate with indignation, her fists clenched, her glare fixed on Marika with an intensity that could melt steel. "Nee-chan! Don't listen to her! This is… this is clearly some kind of mistake! Or a very cruel prank! Takakura-senpai wouldn't… he couldn't… he's too… too…" She seemed to struggle for the right word, finally settling on, "…too much of a mess to have a fiancée!" While perhaps not the most flattering defense, Ren appreciated the sentiment, or at least, the intent.
Tsugumi Seishirou, for the first time since Ren had met her, looked genuinely, utterly bewildered. Her usually impassive professional composure had completely shattered. Her mouth was slightly agape, her sharp eyes darting between Ren, Marika, and Chitoge, as if trying to process a data stream that had become hopelessly corrupted and was now actively trying to fry her circuits. Even she, a highly trained bodyguard accustomed to the often-bizarre world of yakuza politics, seemed unprepared for this level of sheer, unadulterated romantic chaos.
Ren himself could only stare at Marika Tachibana, his mind still a complete blank. A promise? Ten years ago? His bride? He had absolutely no memory of this. None whatsoever. He searched the furthest recesses of his childhood memories – both from this current life and the fragmented echoes of his past one – and came up with nothing. No orange-haired girl, no childhood pacts, no betrothals. Was this another side effect of his reincarnation? Had his past life involved making legally binding marriage promises as a seven-year-old?
Marika, oblivious to the shockwaves her declaration had sent through the classroom (or perhaps, more accurately, reveling in them), simply beamed at Ren, her eyes sparkling with what appeared to be genuine, if somewhat alarming, adoration. "Oh, Ren-sama, don't look so surprised! I knew you wouldn't have forgotten our precious, sacred promise! I've been waiting for this day for so, so long!" She then, to Ren's utter horror and the collective gasp of the entire class, leaned forward as if to embrace him, her arms outstretched.
Ren scrambled backwards with a yelp, his chair screeching loudly as it scraped against the linoleum floor, nearly toppling over in his haste to escape the impending contact. "Wait! Hold on! Tachibana-san! I… I really think there's been a huge misunderstanding! A colossal one! I don't remember any promise! I don't even know who you are!"
Marika just giggled, a bright, tinkling sound that somehow managed to be both charming and deeply unsettling. "Oh, Ren-sama, you always were such a tease! So playful! But don't worry your handsome little head about it, I'll remind you of everything! We have our whole lives ahead of us to reminisce, after all!"
The classroom door slid open with a decisive rattle, and their homeroom teacher, a perpetually harassed-looking man named Mr. Tanaka, stepped in, his expression one of weary resignation even before he fully took in the scene of utter pandemonium. "What in the name of… What is all this commotion? Tachibana-san, Takakura-kun, is there a problem?"
Marika spun around to face the teacher, her smile unwavering. "No problem at all, Tanaka-sensei!" she chirped brightly. "I was just reacquainting myself with my beloved fiancé, Ren-sama! It's been ten long years, you see!"
Mr. Tanaka stared at her, then at Ren (who looked like he was about to have a panic attack), then at the rest of the stunned, whispering class. He sighed, a long, suffering sound that spoke of years spent dealing with the inexplicable dramas of teenagers. "Right. Fiancé. Of course. Tachibana-san, perhaps you could take your seat? And everyone else, settle down! The lesson is about to begin. We have a lot of history to cover. Actual, verifiable history, preferably."
The immediate crisis in the classroom had been momentarily quelled by the teacher's intervention, but the aftershocks of Marika Tachibana's declaration were just beginning to ripple through Kuoh Academy, and through Ren Takakura's already impossibly complicated life.