A/N: Hello, everyone!

I'm sorry for the long hiatus, college is hell, everything is hell, even the latest chapters of Citrus are hell! I just want them to love each other but I guess love isn't really easy.

Anyway, I tried to write a new fanfic entitled the "One Month Challenge", I wrote it in my free time because, just once, I want Mei to be the one to take the lead. I hope you like it! It might take months for the update.~

I'm also sorry I haven't continued my other work, "Intertwined", I still don't have the right ideas for it. I'll continue it in the future, if I can. :D

Additional note: Since this is an AU, they are not sisters in this fic. Once again, Yuzu has a different surname, "Miyamura".

x

"Rise. Bow. Class dismissed."

"Haaaaaaaaah…"

Yuzu's exhale was filled with relief. Her last class felt like almost an eternity to end, adding the boring old voice of her professor for unnecessary headache. She massaged her head slowly as possible as she sunk herself again to her beloved chair and table. Closing her eyes, the day felt longer than usual, especially with so many things boggling inside her mind.

"Yo! Yuzu!" She heard a heavy but excited hand slamming the table she is currently resting into. She did not even bother looking at the perpetrator, since only one person could ever earn that kind of cheerful and enthusiastic voice.

"Come shopping with me."

"Don't wanna."

"There's a sale."

"Not in the mood."

"What the hell happened to you?"

"Many things."

"With that kind of answering, you'll never get a lover, you know?"

"I know."

Yuzu leaned forward and boringly rested her head on her free hand currently placed on the desk.

"I already got dumped. Don't worry."

"Serves you r.. Wait.." At first, it's a just a normal, casual mouth widening, then her breathing slowly staggered, and finally, so suddenly, her eyes widened like she had seen a 1000 year old ghost. "Wait, What?! Really?! How come I don't know this?! When?! How?! Wait! Why!?" Harumi shifted closer to whisper. "The guy from class 2-C?"

"Yeah. Yesterday." The dejected blonde uttered as she glanced at the window beside her with a downcast eyes. "Haha… damn. This sucks."

This really sucks.

Her recent breakup was not what like she had experienced before. She definitely liked the guy, if stated in teenager terms, she considered that guy to be almost her dream guy. Like a normal high school woman, she thought herself to be a princess, with him as her perfect, charming, fitting prince.
It was almost a bliss.
But yesterday, her fairy tale dream life was shattered.

"He told me I wasn't the person he thought I was."

Harumi grimaced. "Oh." She looked at the blonde with the sternest expression she could ever muster. "I'm sorry, I said something I shouldn't have."
Yuzu blinked several times before flashing a gentle smile at her best friend. "Hey there, young lady. It's okay." She was happy Harumi was concerned about her.
That was enough.

That mattered to her more than anything and anybody else.

"Hmmmmm! I feel refreshed!" Yuzu excitedly stretched. She will be happy for her best friend. She doesn't want her to worry.

"Damn that asshole, Watch his neck, Harumin. I'll definitely get a serious lover next time and make him regret that he dumped me!"

The brunette smiled after releasing a heavy breathing. She was extremely relieved that her best friend is finally cheering up. Her determined smile gave her the cue to continue her jokes and her random little rants.
Unbeknownst to them, that statement is the start of something so unexpected.

"Hah! If you want a serious lover, then I bet you won't even last an hour with the One Month Challenge!"

"…One Month Challenge?" Yuzu interrupted her. Is that a game?

"What's that?"

"Huh?" Harumi grabbed the collar of Yuzu's uniform and jerked her forward. "Huh?!" She almost shouted loud enough for her eardrums to crack and crumble. "You don't know that?!"

"Wha…" She was stunned with Harumi's sudden outburst. This was unusual. "I-I won't ask you if I know!" Was that something so important and popular for her to panic like that?

After calming herself for some long seconds, she finally inquired. "So, enlighten me, please. What is that very intriguing One Month Challenge that I "should have known"?"

Harumi released her grip and sighed heavily. "How the hell are you not aware, that's the number one talk of the school right now…" After calming herself down after a few exhales and adjusting her wrinkled necktie due to her outburst, she followed. "Anyway, it's also called the 'Aihara Mei Challenge'. They said that if you confess your love to her, no matter who you are, she will go out with you. But of course, there's a huge twist to that." Harumi tapped the blonde's shoulders repeatedly. "No one has ever dated her for more than a month."

"O-One month?!" Now it's Yuzu's turn to shout. "Wait... Wait, wait, wait, wait. 'Aihara Mei'? Isn't that our…"

"Yes. Our Student Council President."

Aihara Mei.

The Aihara Mei.

If all the male population in their school was asked who the most beautiful woman within their academy is, majority will definitely answer her name, with or without girlfriend. She was also the top one of their batch, awarded as the most responsible student, add the athletic skills, her wealth, her gracefulness, her perplexing features and many many many more factors, she is, no doubt, the epitome of what every man loved.

"Wow… wait, why? I mean, that is Aihara Mei, the perfect extreme ever-so-gorgeous goddess of this academy, yet no one even lasted for a single month?"

Harumi crossed her arms while facing the blonde. "Yeah, honestly, I was surprised too. But from what I've heard, Tomoda, the guy sitting in front, was crying like a little pig last week because Prez dumped her after dating him for only three weeks."

"Damn." Yuzu lowered her head. "That's awful." Yuzu muttered silently. She tightly curled her fingers.

"I know, right? And now, they're betting for Yamada of class 2-B if he can date the Prez for longer than 3 weeks."

Harumi raised her shoulder to express her disgust. "It quickly turned into a betting game."

"..."

"Hmm?" Harumi noticed the silent reply of the blonde. Turning to her direction, she was astonished to see the other person wearing a dark horrified expression. This was the first time she saw Yuzu with that kind of face. She was definitely not pleased with the latest gossip.

"How could they…" She clenched her fist tighter. She was devastated with the news, even if she was not involved, she was entirely offended. The way they played with human emotions, the way they treated relationships like a game, as someone whose heart was recently broken for treating love seriously, this event, for her, was extremely disappointing. "…How could they even play with people's feelings like that…"
Harumi noticed the trembling fists of the other. This is not good.

"Hey, Yuzu-"

"Harumi! You're on a cleaning duty today!"

"Argh, damn, wrong timing!" Harumi angrily muttered. "I'm coming! Yuzu, calm down and stay here, okay? I'll just go throw the trash out. I'll be back in bit!" Harumi hurriedly ran to the shouting classmate of theirs and quickly apologized.

"Okay." Yuzu sadly smiled. She tried to divert her attention to the scenery outside the window to calm herself down, but it's not working. She was too disturbed with the 'One Month Challenge' that even the beautiful dancing of the leaves can't even make her heart and mind at ease.
Aihara Mei had everything: Looks, fame, intelligence, admiration. Everyone would definitely want her. She can have anyone she wanted, yet no one even lasted longer than a month.
She firmly believed that having those qualities will give her the things she really wanted, but it looks like she was completely wrong. It even reached up to the point that she had to hurt the people who loved her and people betting on her, it's not even a healthy challenge anymore.
No matter what her reasons are for dating someone not longer than a month, for accepting every given confession, planting people false hopes that someone as gorgeous as her can finally love someone like them, no matter what angle you look at it, it's just…

"…feels so wrong." Yuzu furiously, weakly whispered.

x

1st week: Monday

"Ugh." Yuzu grumbled while carrying a huge black bag of trash.
It's Monday, the perfect day for shopping at the perfect store with the perfect sale discount, yet here she was, dragging some big bag of trash in the middle of a cold November. The fact that she was a part of the cleaning duty every Monday was the only one thing she forgot of all the other information that she can forget.

"Haaah, heavens, is the goddess of bad luck my hidden guardian angel?" Yuzu exasperatedly sighed as she threw the said trash bag at the schoolyard's enormous trash pit.

"Finally! One work done!" Yuzu finally smiled like a little kid after the hard work. She imagined herself mall-ing around with Harumi, feeling every clothing with the biggest sale was enough for her to be excited like this. She strolled clumsily while humming a happy little tune then walked at nearest narrow alleyway closer to the stairs and turned right-

"Please, we can still fix this…" A man's voice echoed all throughout the hallway.
Judging from the loudness of his voice, it's safe to assume that he was at the alleyway under the stairs.
A lover's quarrel? Yuzu can't help but hide and listen because of the small distance between the stairs and the couple. Maybe she'll just stay quiet and listen for a while until the coast is clear to avoid distraction and appearance or her presence and they might apprehend her.

"Please..." The young man desperately pleaded. "Please give me one more chance. I love you, I really do. Please.." His voice filled with desperation and melancholy. Yuzu can feel the man's pain just by listening to the sound of his voice. If she's the girl, she'll definitely on the spot forgive the guy, hug him and kiss him and-

"No."

Yet, the reply was brief and concise. The seriousness of the other's voice was enough to make the hidden blonde cringe. That voice, Yuzu thought, was enough proof that the girl really had enough.

"But-"

"I'm sorry." The girl heaved a short breath. "I'm sorry for the past few days, but no matter what I do, I…" After a short pause, she continued. "I really can't fall in love with you."

After a while, soft sobs can be heard from a distance. The guy must really be devastated, devastated enough to cry for a girl.
'I hope I can also find a guy like that.' Yuzu gloomily thought.

"I'm so sorry." The girl said, followed by a hurried set of footsteps coming closer to Yuzu's direction.

Closer.

'What?!' Closer.

'Damn, damn, damn, damn, I'll be discovered!' Yuzu can feel her breathing stopped for a while. Her blood flowing rapidly. Cold sweat was forming.

She can almost feel the nearing presence.

Shit!

'I don't want to be discovered!' Surprisingly, the god of bad luck must have had a lunch break that time, the rejected man, crying, ran so fast that he did not even notice the hiding her one bit.

"Oh, dear God." Yuzu silently sweared.

How many times had she sweared for just a small soul-wrecking moment?
Just when Yuzu was about to exhale out of relief, an unrelenting voice, loud enough, went all the way to the deepest portion of her ears.

"I'm sorry to break your eavesdropping moment, but up until when are you going to hide there?"

"Geh.." Yuzu peeked at the corner of the wall to look at the woman of her concern.

To be greeted by a pair of cold blue eyes, to be greeted by a long, beautiful, swaying black hair,
To be greeted by the Student Council President, to be greeted by the girl of every man's dreams, to be greeted by Aihara Mei. To be greeted by the Aihara Mei.
Yuzu was stunned. Her ice-like cerulean eyes never left her. She felt like she was being analyzed by the greatest government official present in their country. She was extremely trembling to death.
But why does she eye her like that? 'Ah!' Only one reason came to her mind.

"I promise!" Yuzu shouted like a soldier in a middle of a life and death battle, earning a raised eyebrow from the raven-haired. Yuzu pressed on. "I-I swore my life that I won't tell anyone of what I heard, felt, smelled, saw and tasted earlier! E-Even to my best friend! Even to my mother! I promise, President! Please don't suspend me!"

Mei watched the brief and peculiar spectacle presented as emotionless as possible. After the blonde's speech. She lifelessly looked around and answered. "Don't bother. It doesn't matter, regardless."

"…Huh?"

"It's not like I hide this information from everybody. It doesn't even matter if the news spreads."

The student council president walked closer to the shorter girl. "But, if you'll keep your word of silence, then, you'll have my gratitude." She then walked past Yuzu like she's an unneeded stone in a middle of a lifeless park.
Despite the ill treatment, all of which was supposed to be the correct sequence of events. She should left Mei alone. She should not be concerned. After all, she doesn't have the right to interfere with her business, even if it means people are hurting one by one.
She doesn't have the right to meddle, but the said reason was the main cause of what was bugging her for the past few days.
If she won't act right now, she will definitely regret it sooner or later.
This is her only chance.
After a little bit of distance, the silence too fragile was broken too easily into shreds and pieces.

"Wait."

"…?" Mei's steps were halted. She was not even bothered to turn around.

Wow, Yuzu thought. Who would have thought that the academy's gorgeous goddess was a cold-blooded jerk? Nevertheless, she still needs to talk to Mei. She needs to, for her peace of mind.

For her belief of love. For her pride.

She angrily clenched her fists.

"You really have no plans of stopping this?"

"…Stopping what?" Her head slightly turned.

"This irrational challenge of yours, this stupid 'One Month Challenge' of yours." Yuzu turned her head around to look at the petrified raven-haired. "I don't know the reason why you're doing this, but I'm almost a hundred percent sure this challenge is not a solution."
Mei then slowly completely turned around. Finally.

Her attention was finally into her. "I don't know what you're talking about." Mei raised her head around to meet the eyes of the young blonde. "Also, what I'm doing is none of your concern, Miyamura."

Yuzu gritted her teeth. "Yeah, I know,"

I damn know.

I know I'm not authorized to meddle, that's why I have to fight.

"But a classmate of mine was hurting! As a friend and as a human with a functioning common sense and emotions, I can't just let it be!" She can feel pain from her palm, she was clenching too hard.

She was unnecessarily hurting.

Mei narrowed her eyes. "He chose it."

"..What?"

"He chose to be hurt. Hurting is a consequence of loving after all, and he loved me." She flipped her hair, swaying almost too perfect. "Hurting them is not a part of my intentions. I tried to reciprocate their feelings, I really do, but no matter what I do, It's useless. I can't."

"You can't?" Yuzu angrily marched at the person of her concern. "That's your shitty reason of breaking up with countless people after accepting their confession?!" She furiously faced her eye to eye. "If you can't love that person, then stop accepting every love confession given to you, damn it! You're hurting them rather than helping!"

Mei tried to avoid the blonde's emerald eyes. She had no strength for useless fight backs. "...I had no choice. They told me they love me."

"Only that?!" Yuzu gritted her teeth. "Only that reason?!"

She was getting irritated as every second passes by.
But her irritation faded after muttering a line that will suddenly change their fate.
Maybe she was just too angry to process everything at the moment. Maybe she was just too offended at the Student Council President's senseless reasonings. Maybe she was just too tired of the unfairness of the world. Or maybe she was just too defenseless and careless.
She doesn't, she won't and she will never know the answer.
None, even a little bit, did she know, that muttering that line will be the end of something.
and none, even a little bit, did she know, that muttering that line will be the start of everything.

"Then, if I'll confess to you right now, will you go out with me?"

Mei at first presented an blank and stoned expression. Slowly deciphering the muttered words from the angry blonde, after a few ten long seconds, her eyes started to widen and widen until her eyes tremble and started to hurt out of disbelief.
Despite the unnoticed peculiar reaction from the latter, The blonde continued. "You won't, right? See? You can't love everybody who loves you! You'll just plant false hopes to people that you can love any kind of people but in the end, you can't! That's why.." Yuzu painfully looked downward. "That's why.. Stop this, please.. It's too unfair.."

Silence slowly engulfed the tensed alleyway. One, two, ten seconds had passed and still, no response from the taller girl.
'I said everything I want to say.' Yuzu thought. If she doesn't want to answer then she'll let her be.
'I did everything I can. This is enough.'
Yuzu slightly bowed to the person in front of her. "That's all. I-I'm sorry for the disturbance... and thank you very much." After that short farewell speech, she hurriedly stride away from Mei, thinking that she needs to get away as soon as possible, since she decided that she will never ever talk to her again.
This will be the last time that they will interact, she doesn't want to purge herself deeper into Mei's life anymore. This will definitely be the last time, she thought.
But then again, she only thought.
All of her plans were suddenly ruined with a simple reply from the dark haired woman.

"I can."

"...What?"

Yuzu slowly turned around. The air around them tremendously changed.

"I accept your challenge."

"Wha..?" She has a bad feeling about this. "..What challenge..?"

Yuzu was never good in predictions. Her guess were solely based on her gut feelings and never did she rely on theoretical aspects. She had never won in a lottery game even once, She always guessed the weather wrong, her zodiac sign's lucky predictions never came true, her guesses about life situations always seems to lead to failure, that's how bad she was in guesses and predictions.
But for some indescribable reasons, she felt like her prediction that her guardian angel is the goddess of misfortune seems to be the right answer this time.
Especially after hearing the reply of the woman in front of her.

"Starting today, I'll go out with you, and you will be my lover."

...What?

She said it with the most determined look and voice that she could give.

What?

Her eyes gravely piercing her like she was an enemy, her target to be later destroyed.

Wait.

What?!

"Wait! Wait, wait, wait, wait! L-L-Lover!? Wait! That's not what I-"

Mei interrupted her by authoritatively flipping her hair as she walked past the stoned blonde. Without giving much further ado, she replied. "I'll pick you up every weekday mornings. I'm the Student Council President so you need to wake up earlier. We'll talk about our class dismissal some other moment. We'll have plenty of our time, after all."
Yuzu was getting dizzier as every word leaves the lips of the latter. This can't be happening, right?
Before stepping outside the alleyway, Mei turned her head around enough to see the blonde. "Well then, see you later, Miyamura Yuzu."
The devastated young blonde terrifyingly watched as Mei disappeared from the distance. She can't move, nor speak due to unprocessed events and a shocking conclusion.
Everything went by so fast that she can't follow what's going on anymore.
For the first time in seventeen years, she predicted confidently, she was almost sure that things will definitely happen the way that she imagined. For the first time, she was right.
But her being right did not make her happy in the slightest.
Damn, she thought. The goddess of misfortune must have been having a field day for all of this.
She could only muttered one line after the mark of the start of her daily living nightmare.

"You're.. joking.. right?"

And thus, the challenge begins.