"Haaaah." Akira yawned.

He was wearing his gray tracksuit again as he walked up to school.

Today, unlike usual, he isn't walking with Akio nor Ana.

The two of them went to school earlier to prepare for their match today so he wasn't able to walk with them.

He had his hands in his pockets as he kept to his thoughts.

'Those girls were so pushy...'

Yesterday, he accidentally bumped to a certain girl on his way to the bench.

He apologized to her and offered to lend her his hand.

Akira prepared his self back then to take any harsh words that may come from her mouth due to Akira unintentionally hurting her.

He knew it was his fault for not paying attention and was genuinely apologetic.

For some reason though, the girl he spoke with wasn't mad at all; instead, she looked happy that she bumped with him, as if she was glad it occurred to her.

Akira didn't understand what she was trying to do though, since he never expected something like that would ever happen.

["So, like, what's your name?" asked Rina.

She was twirling her blonde dyed hair's tips on her fingertips as she told him that with a seductive smile.

Behind her, her gyaru friends were whispering to each other and giggling as if they seen something interesting.

"... W-well, why does that matter?"

Akira didn't understand what she was up to, so he questioned her intentions.

"Oh silly, I just want to know more about you! Don't you want to know more about me?"

"Uhh... I don't really..."

"You hurt me like A LOT there, so the least you can do is at least tell me your name."

"A-Akira... Ishikawa Akira...and I'm really sorry about that."

"Oh, it's fine, baby. Can I like, get your number by the way?"

"... Uhh... Why though? Why do you need my number..."

She then slightly bent over and squeezed her chest to emphasize them to Akira.

"You know... just because... Don't be such a downer. I promise you won't regret it."

"... Uhh..well...]

He had complicated feelings about what happened back there.

'She's...'

Akira then remembered the sight of her cleavage in his mind.

'...really...amazing though... in certain ways...'

"GOOD-"

Suddenly, as he was caught up in his imagination, Megumi's loud voice was heard next to his ear.

'Wah!'

He suddenly tripped and stumbled down to the side because of his surprise.

"...morning, Akira!"

As if she just greeted him normally, she gave him a friendly smile.

She was wearing her tracksuit with her hands behind her back as she did this.

"W-what was that for?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why'd you shout in my ear?"

"Hmmm...?"

As if trying to act innocent she kept her big smile.

'Goddammit. If you weren't so cute, I would have stayed angry.'

She then stretched her hand and showed it to Akira, gesturing him to grab it.

"Haaah." He sighed.

Akira reached for her hand, about to accept her help, when suddenly...

*poossh*

Izanagi quickly teleported between, causing Akira to pat his head.

""WAH!""

The two of them, suddenly screamed of shock seeing him appear like that.

Akira and Megumi backed away a little, feeling a bit shaken.

"What's the matter? Did I interrupt your lover's moment there for a second?", asked Izanagi.

He was crouched down in front of him, as if trying to match his eye level.

"Why'd you suddenly appear? You need to cut that crap, dude. I almost got a heart attack.", said Akira.

"I just came to inform you about the incident near the entrance."

"... What do you mean?"

"Well, I won't go into too much detail about it, but knowing you, you'll probably just avoid it. I just came by to tell you to check it out."

"What are you-"

*ppwwwoossshh*

Izanagi suddenly teleported away before Akira could finish.

"That bastard..."

Akira felt curious about what he said, so he decided to stand up and rush at the entrance like he asked him to.

Megumi, although confused as well, tried to match Akira's pace from behind.

As they continued quickly walking, a certain scene was unfolded in their eyes.

'What's with all the people?'

There was a lot of people crowded before the school's entrance.

Students of different years were all gathered around the area, as if they were watching some sort of show in the middle.

'What the hell...?'

Curious, Akira decided to push through some people, Megumi followed suit.

The ones they pushed through seemed surprised seeing them, and let them through.

"... I- um..."

"Your power is incomparable, this I know...but without proving it to thyself, I won't approve of you winning against my queen."

Ai and the now face mask wearing Kishi, were stood right in front of each other.

Kishi was carrying a sword placed in a scabbard on her right hip with her belt and had her hands on it, as if she was preparing for battle, while Ai stood there, with a nervous expression, confused about what was going on.

"Ummm... I-I didn't win against Avaron-san...she forfeited-"

"Without your ability, my true form wouldn't have been compromised. I don't believe your petty facade. Prove to me that your win was worthy!"

Akira and Megumi was greeted by this unusual scene when they arrived.

"She sure has a unique way of expressing herself.", said a random student behind them.

Akira had a merciful incredulous expression, as if he knew what he was seeing was weird, but felt empathy for her.

"...b-but...w-we can't-"

"If you don't want to strike first, I'll do it!"

Kishi quickly pulled out her sword and ran at Ai.

"Hiiih!", shrieked Ai.

Kishi aimed the tip of the sword's handle at her, aiming for her head.

The sword was quickly swung down before Ai's head, but before it could reach her-

"KISHI-CHAN!"

Avaron, who came out of the crowd suddenly called out her name.

Her hand stopped as she turned her sight at Avaron, and trembled.

"O-onee-sama!", said Kishi.

"Didn't I tell you to not cause a scene?", replied Avaron.

"...b-but...she beat us, nee-sama! I-I just want to get some v-vengeance-"

"Kishi."

Avaron crossed her arms and stared at Kishi with a face full of anger.

"...b-but...n-nee-sama-"

Avaron walked towards her and suddenly grabbed her by her mask.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! N-nee-sama-!"

"Let's go."

"... n-nee-sama, if you keep pulling like that...th-they'll see my face...!"

"If you don't come with me, I'll tear it off."

"...o-okay..."

Feeling threatened by Avaron's words, Kishi decided to just follow Avaron towards the arena.

The crowd backed away and made a path for Avaron and Kishi to walk through as they went to go to the arena.

'Guess that's been taken care of.'

""Aichi, you alright?""

Both Megumi and Koka came worried about Ai due to what happened.

'I should go...'

"Hey, Ishikawa Akira, right?"

Suddenly though, a random student came to call on Akira.

"I've seen your battle last week. That was really cool! How'd you do that last attack?"

"... W-what are you-"

"Did your brother teach you that?", asked another random student.

"W-well..."

"How many shields can you spawn?"

"Why didn't you use your healing ability?"

"Did Inoue Kazuki use some sort of hidden power?"

"How'd you defend against his attacks?"

As if Akira was some kind of popular celebrity, lots of the students from the crowd approached him and asked him questions.

'Goddammit! The fuck's going on-'

"How strong can you get?"

"What's the longest time you can use your love power for?"

"Can you weaken animals?"

"You were so cool!"

He turned back to see the three girls being crowded around by people too.

'Don't tell me... that bastard, Izanagi...!'

A lot of people kept approaching and asking them questions, more and more gathered around to speak with them.

Akira felt really awkward and anxious as people kept urging him.

'... Izanagi...

GODDAMN YOU!'

Akira could only curse at him from his thoughts as he tried to calm people down.

__________________________________________________

"Well, someone looks stressed out.", said Ken.

Akira sat on the very edge of the audience seats with his legs spread as if trying to monopolize the seats.

His body like limp as an air of complete defeat rise from him.

He had an exhausted expression, as if he just experienced something that sucked his soul out of him.

"Goddamn that Izanagi! Where the hell is that bastard?"

Akira, although he was still tired, lashed out his anger to Ken.

"He isn't here. You have to give it up, he's just giving you a heads up about what'll happen the next few days."

"A heads up?"

"Didn't you know?"

Ken crossed his arms as he explained to Akira.

"You and some of the others fought during the final matches last week, right? Most of the other years, parents, professionals and teachers watched it and were impressed by the strategies and techniques you guys did back there, you guys are basically celebrities for a while."

Akira raised his eyebrow at this.

"Weren't you part of the final matches too?"

Ken started scratching the back of his neck, hearing this.

"...well, of course a few people came to question me...but you know what happened, right?"

Akira's eyes slightly widened as he remembered.

He turned away from him and showed an awkward expression as he did.

"Ah..yeah. Sorry about that."

'I forgot... He was beaten by Inoue and his partner immediately. I shouldn't have brought it up...'

Akira then turned to look behind him.

There, sat Megumi, Koka and Ai who looked really withered as well.

Next to them was Sora, Eiko, Hana and Mitsuko.

Besides Ken and Akira, were Takumi and Kami, the others weren't there.

They were all seated in the audience seats this time, so they didn't really need to stick with their classmates, but due to their friendship, they decided to sit close to each other.

'Inoue's not here, huh. Figures.'

Akira looked for Inoue behind them and found that he wasn't there.

"They made a rule where no one is allowed to disturb the competitors until after their tournament ends, so we were free from them for a while. I bet the next few days, higher year students would litter around us due to their curiosity and admiration."

"So we're basically just short time celebrities, since after the second year matches, they'll be the ones in the spotlight.",

"That's the gist of it."

"Haaah.", Akira sighed.

"By the way, where's Keima and the others?", he asked.

"Keima's with his girlfriend, you know, that Android ability user."

"...yeah..."

'I still can't believe a twerp like him got a hot girlfriend.'

"Daichi's probably with his other artsy friends from other classes, I heard he was planning to make a 'masterpiece' with them."

"What about Ryuu and Yurei?"

"Ryuu's still looking for Tomo, I don't really know where they are now though. Izanagi's with his girlfriend-"

"What...?"

Akira interrupted Ken with a surprised look.

"Yeah. His partner back in the competition. I think her name was Honda Kirai."

'...Even Izanagi's got a girlfriend now...'

Akira couldn't help but show an incredulous expression to this.

"Guess almost every guy in our class has a girlfriend, huh Akira?" said Kami from his seat.

"You..."

"Yeah, that's right, Ishikawa."

Suddenly, as Kami teased Akira, a certain figure came by next to Akira and teased him as well.

He turned to see Chiyo, who had her tracksuit unzipped at the top, showing off her cleavage.

"You...what are you-"

"Excuse me."

Chiyo suddenly nudged Akira closer to Ken as to free a seat for her.

She then sat down with a friendly smile and turned to Akira.

"Didn't you hear that? You really should get a girlfriend now, loverboy." said Chiyo.

"Shut up... Why the hell are you here anyways? Aren't you supposed to be with Kimura-san?"

"She said she's gonna skip today to continue her protest."

'Oh yeah...'

Suddenly, the figure of Maiki wearing a white shirt and a hat that said save the trees on it flashed in his mind.

'She's still there, huh.'

"So when are you gonna confess your undying love to me, huh?", said Chiyo.

She had a mocking but seducting look as if she was making fun of Akira's case.

"When I drop dead. Wait for it."

"Oh come on. Girls don't like tsundere guys, don't you know?"

"I'm not being tsundere!"

"After all we've been together?"

Akira felt cornered and embarrassed by Chiyo's taunts. It felt as if she was trying to make him feel uncomfortable just for he fun of it.

"You two...seem really close so suddenly, Akira.", said Kami.

Kami and Ken were showing awkward and scared faces, as if they were caught between some sort of battlefield.

"What do you mean close? She's just-"

As Akira tried to explained the situation to them, an aura of hatred grew behind their seats.

Megumi and Koka, who were both resting in their chairs, started showing killing intent.

Ai was just sat there with a pouting expression.

"...I've even seen your cute sleeping face, and you're just gonna throw me away like that..?"

Chiyo acted hurt as if she was just dumped by an ex-lover.

"Th-that was her fault! She came into my room and-"

"I can't forget how you leered at my body from head to toe when I wore that skimpy night gown from your home."

"I-I didn't stare...!"

"You were so caught up with my beauty, that you gave in to your primal desires!"

"You-"

"What? Don't tell me you don't think I'm a beauty?", asked Chiyo as she closed in on Akira and crossed her arms, emphasizing her cleavage.

She showed him a seductive teasing expression, as if trying to get a positive response from him.

"Uh... W-well ....."

Akira showed an awkward expression.

He knew he couldn't deny that Chiyo was a beauty. Not only did her black long hair, although slightly dyed, look long and smooth.

Her pale smooth skin, her long eyelashes, her cute smile and bombshell figure, made her look as if she was a model herself.

"What's the matter?"

"...y-you..."

Even Sora and the others started feeling fearful as Megumi and Koka's killing intent grew larger.

Their sweat started pouring like rain as the two glared at Akira and Chiyo.

"Hey, Akirachi!"

Suddenly though, a familiar voice interrupted them.

Akira turned to the voice, to see Eiji, walking down the stairs and calling for his attention.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"Are you busy? I'll talk to you later then-"

Seeing Akira and Chiyo close to each other, Eiji thought he was interrupting something, so he decided to go back, but...

"I'll go!"

Akira quickly stood from his seat and jolted away towards Eiji's side.

"You sure? Aren't you-"

"Let's just go!"

They quickly left the scene due to Akira rushing.

______________________________________

"You've got another girl? You're really something aren't you?" said Eiji.

Ejj and Akira were stood next to the vending machine, in front of each other, as they held their drinks.

They stood next to the corner of the wall, next to the first floor classroom exterior walls.

Akira had a soft drink can in his hands, while Eiji had tea.

"She isn't 'my girl'. And I've never had one. I don't know what you're on about.", said Akira, as he took a sip.

"You sure don't change, don't you?"

"The hell do you mean?"

"You're still a clueless idiot."

"Huh? Why the fuck am I clueless idiot?"

"You need to learn that by yourself."

"What are you-"

"Anyways, about why I called you here-"

"You aren't even gonna answer my question?"

"I just wanted to tell you-"

"..."

'He really just does what he wants, huh?'

Akira put his hand on the back of his neck as he thought so.

"Thank you."

Akira's eyes slightly widened as he heard that.

"What?"

"Thank you, Akirachi."

"Uhhh...

...why?"

"What do you mean, why? Isn't it obvious?"

Akira was extremely confused about why he was thanking him.

"Is this about the finals? We lost, right? I wasn't able to help you much."

"... Without your help, my mom wouldn't have been cured."

"...but I wasn't the one who helped you. It was-"

"Tamiko, I know."

"..."

Akira showed a confused expression as he listened to him.

The day after their fight with Kazuki, Ai and Tamiko were announced as the winners of the SS tournament for the first years.

This lead to them being given all sorts of prizes, including the large money prize that was split between the two of them.

Tamiko, wanting to help Eiji with his mother's predicament, decided to offer him the money to help her recover.

If it wasn't for her, his mother might have never been cured and things would have been the same.

Akira and Eiji faced the tournament in hopes that they'll win and use the prize to aid Eiji's mother.

The thing was though, Akira and Eiji were defeated in their match between Kazuki and Jun, and this led to them not being able to accomplish their first goal.

"We lost. And that's partly my fault, I don't think you have to thank me-"

"Don't you remember the thing you told me in the cafe we went to?"

"What thing?"

"About how you didn't want to participate in the first place?"

["Well...you see. We are still from the support course, and I'm betting they're probably not gonna let a support take the spotlight since that'd embarass the savior.

...They're probably gonna give us supports some sort of restriction or handicap so as to not get in the savior's way to shine...

And besides...

Someone out there's planning to kill me."]

"You didn't want to join the tournament but agreed immediately when I told you about her condition... I'm really grateful."

"There's no point. I fucked it up. I was still beaten by Kazuki. I wasn't much help in the end."

"If it weren't for us, there would be more enemies Tamiko and your classmate would have to face. We lessened their numbers and helped them win."

"That isn't much to be proud of. And most of the battles, it was you who beat them."

"You also introduced me to learning a new ability, that was something I'm thankful for as well."

"You should thank Akio for that. Not me. All I did was tell him our predicament."

"And besides...

The reason Jun and Inoue-san forfeit was because of you, right?"

"..."

Akira felt a bit awkward hearing him say this.

It was true he riled up Kazuki to get him to think clearly about what happened to his father, but he didn't expect Kazuki to actually forfeit from the tournament.

"You even showed something flashy in the end. Even though you fell unconscious, you were able to beat the crap out of Inoue-san. The reason we lost is because I wasn't strong enough. And I wasn't able to win against Jun. I'm...well, sorry about that as well."

'That last attack I did, huh?...'

Akira deliberated for a second and pulled out his right hand from his pocket to stare at it.

'... That really was...

...surprising...'

"I just want to thank you, Akirachi. That's why that drink's my treat."

Akira slightly raised his eyebrow and turned his sight at Eiji.

"Huh? I thought you'd probably offer more than that."

"I bet if I did, you won't even accept it."

"...

...you got me."

Akira showed a confident grin as he said that.

"You were really strong out there. And if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have stayed strong as well. You were even able to face Inoue-san's grudge against you head-on.

Someday, I know I'll have to face against Jun as well. I guess I was just a bit of a coward back there."

"So what now? You still gonna cry about our loss?"

"Of course not! Next year, I'll definitely be the winner then. No matter if you're still my partner or not then."

"You're on."

The two seemed to kept with their friendly chat although they had opposite attitudes.

"Are you gonna go back to the arena? The matches are almost over. Your brother's match is over as well, right? The outcome wasn't really a shock. If you walk back there, you know what's coming to you."

"Are you?"

"Well, Tamiko's probably waiting for me. So I have to be the bigger man and save her like her personal bodyguard."

"You two really seem close. It sort of bums me out how Takumi's little sister has to be friends with a retard like you."

"Hey now, cut me some slack. And I think you're misunderstanding something. Tamiko's not just my friend."

Akira showed a confused expression as he heard this as well.

"... You're not friends?"

"Of course. Friends won't just give their friend that much money that easy."

"Then why did she-"

"Tamiko's my girlfriend, Akirachi."

Akira's eyes widened.

"What."

"I can't believe you still haven't realized that. Didn't you know? The reason why Jun and I don't get along is because we liked the same girl."

"..."

"What?"

In Akira's mind, the figure of both Eiji and Tamiko walking together flashed.

Eiji might be a slightly attractive guy, and Tamiko might match him in terms of looks, but their personalities are way different.

Tamiko always had this deadpan expression on her face, and Akira couldn't even imagine how she looks like when she smiles.

Eiji, was the complete opposite of this though, and would always show his friendly bright smile and talk about whatever comes to his mind.

To Akira, they're the most incompatible match.

"Oh come on, I might be a bit crazy, but that doesn't mean I'm not great. I'm quite popular, you know?"

"That's a lie."

"Hey!"

"Haah.", Akira then sighed.

"Guess I shouldn't just pry into your relationship."

"We're the best pair out there!", bragged Eiji.

"So are you gonna go back?"

"Yeah. See you sometime again, baby!"

"Hey!"

Eiji quickly ran away before Akira could retort against his teasing.

"..."

He waved as he ran back to the simulators.

'Guess I should be going. If I don't want to be crowded by people again.'

Akira turned back to exit, planning to skip watching the last matches...

When suddenly-

"Mind if I join you?"

Footsteps were heard as the figure went to show herself.

Akira turned back to see who the voice was from.

It was Chiyo, who was showing a friendly smile.

"You... What are you doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious? I came here for you.", said Chiyo, as she close in on Akira.

"Yeah, cut the crap. What do you want?"

"Let's go home together."

Akira tilted his head with a skeptical expression.

"Why?"

"Isn't it obvious? I want to spend some time with you."

Chiyo showed Akira a caring expression as she closed in on him.

"W-why would you-"

*tuk*

"GUH!"

Chiyo suddenly flicked her index finger on Akira's forehead.

"Kidding, I just want to see Akiko-sama again."

Chiyo giggled as she said this and turned back to walk towards the exit.

Akira, feeling a bit annoyed, followed after her.

"If you just wanted to see my mom, why were you hiding behind the corner the whole time?"

"What? What do you mean? You must be hallucinating, Ishikawa."

"I heard you-"

Akira kept trying to pace with Chiyo, but she was walking way faster than him.

He kept getting left behind.

"HEY! GET BACK HERE!"

__________________________________________________

Akira was sweating and was walking with a tired expression as he paced next to Chiyo.

Chiyo just showed him a friendly smile as he did so.

They were in what seems to be a City area, about to head near a convenience store.

"You...damn you..."

"Hmm...? Is something wrong?"

Akira kept panting as he walked forward.

Earlier, he had to keep trying to match Chiyo's pace just to follow her.

She would stop randomly and sometimes go real fast.

This made even the fit figured Akira lose his breathe.

It took him long to realize...

...that Chiyo was just creating illusions of herself.

'Dammit. This chick's all sorts of trouble.'

"You're really something, Ishikawa. It took you so long to realize I was just messing with you."

"...shut...up."

"Well, you deserved that for questioning why a pretty lady like myself needs to be escorted by a gentleman."

"...lady, my ass."

*PAK*

"Ow!"

Chiyo suddenly slapped Akira's back as he said this.

"Why? Are you saying I can't be a lady?"

"With that attitude, I doubt it."

"Hmm. Well, I'd bet if I wore a pretty dress like a noble, you'd probably drop your jaw."

"That'd be an unusual sight."

*PAK*

"OW!"

Again, Chiyo slapped Akira's back with an irritated look.

Akira started rubbing his sore back as they continued forward.

"Anyways, why were you behind that corner in the first place?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"You shouldn't be eavesdropping other people's conversations."

"I was just tired and came back from the bathroom. I never eavesdropped on you guys-"

"Bullshit. I heard your footsteps, you know. You were behind there the whole time."

"..."

Akira and Chiyo continued to walk through the area, closing in the convenience store.

They walked pass what seems to be a dark alleyway.

"Hey. Come on, at least try answering me-"

*TANG*

The sound of light metal falling was heard in the alleyway, this caused Akira to stop in his tracks.

"Is something wrong?" Chiyo asked.

Akira's fist clenched as he stood there.

"Hey, sorry about this...but can you buy me a drink from that convenience store?"

"...really? You're gonna make the lady buy it for you?"

"Come on, it's just for a second. I'll pay for it. Just wait for me there."

"..."

Chiyo showed Akira a skeptical look, but then bent over and showed him a friendly smile again.

"Anything for you, master."

She then turned back and headed to the convenience store.

Akira's eyes then turned towards the alleyway.

__________________________________________________

"Come on, just stop resisting."

"This will be over quick if you could just stop bitching around!"

"Mmmphhh! Mmmppphhh! Mmph!"

Two muscular men wearing trendy casual dress shirts were holding down what seems to be a highschool girl.

They seemed to be two decently clothed people, although they were both showing lewd and desperate expressions.

The highschool girl kept trying to push them away. She had a look of fear in her eyes as tears dripped down, but she kept resisting against them.

One of the men was desperately trying to spread her legs while the other was holding her arms and forcing the towel in her mouth.

They were in what seems to be a small deadend in an alley.

It was a place not many people go to, so there was no one there to intervene.

Near them was a littered trashcan that was accidentally kicked by the girl when she tried pushing them away.

"Come on, come to daddy."

The man, overpowering the woman,was able to get her legs spread open.

He immediately pushed his lower body near her.

She kept trying to kick him, but he didn't budge.

He then started to unbuckle his belt.

"Don't worry. We'll make sure you'll be having fun."

He grinned as he finally got his belt unbuckled.

"Really? Can I join in?"

Suddenly, as the scene went on, Akira's voice was heard as he walked in with a serious expression.

He seemed to have taken off his tracksuit's shirt and was wearing a black T-shirt.

He had his tracksuit over his right shoulder that he was carrying with his right hand.

"...oh hello.", said the guy who had his belt unbuckled.

"Well, if you want to join in, sure. Just wait your turn and be quiet.", he continued.

"Oh really?"

*crack*

Akira started stepping closer to them as he threw his shirt to he side and cracked his fists.

"Sorry, I'm just really impatient. How about you guys just fuck off?"

The guy, seeing that Akira was trying to be aggressive, stood up.

The girl tried freeing herself, but the guy holding her suddenly grabbed her and wrapped his arms around her neck and below her chest.

He kept the towel in her mouth to shut her up as well.

"I think it would be better if you just wait for a bit.", the guy said as he scratched his neck and showed a friendly smile.

"You see, we got to her first. It won't be fair if you go first, would it?"

"...oh..well...

How about I go for you first then."

"Hmm? What did you say-"

*BAAAAAAAMM*

"GAAAAHH!"

Suddenly, as the guy kept talking, Akira quickly swung his fist at his face as if he just threw a baseball.

His fist glowed green as if his ability triggered by itself.

The guy's body quickly crashed on the wall next to the two, rendering him unconscious.

The girl and the guy holding her down widened their eyes as they saw this.

"Phew..."

Akira shook off his hand as if it was a hot object.

"Guess he's really just some weak piece of shit after all."

The guy holding the girl down, seeing this, suddenly put his arms around the girls neck and face.

"Don't move! If you try to do something, I'm killing her off!"

Akira just kept a straight face seeing this and put his hands in his pockets.

Suddenly...

*BAAAAAAAMM*

"GAAAAHH!!"

A shield was suddenly spawned behind his head, smashing his head to the ground.

"Uhh... Kkk!!"

The highschool girl, who was trembling of fear, looked at Akira with terror and quickly ran away passing by his side, as if she trying to slip away from his grasp.

Akira could only watch her back as she ran away with tears I her eyes.

'...Guess I'm being reported again, huh? I have some explaining to do to Aunt Kana as well.'

"Haaah."

Akira sighed as he took the tracksuit he left on the ground.

'I should at least make a believable excuse so I could get away from illusion girl for now.'

He pulled the tracksuit on his back and put it on.

As he zipped it though, he noticed something.

"You sure have a way with words."

Chiyo, who seemed to have watched the scene from the corner came to see Akira.

"Aren't you supposed to be buying me a drink?"

"Making a lady buy for you. You're just as gentlemanly as ever."

"At least I'm not the one who has a habit of eavesdropping other people's conversations."

"Seems like a really special conversation you had here."

After finishing zipping his tracksuit up, Akira sat down on the ground and crossed his legs.

"You should go ahead. You probably already know the way there. I'll stay here for a bit."

"What are you planning? Beating them again once they regain consciousness?"

"That would just be more work for me. I'm sure that girl who ran earlier has probably called the authorities on us. Just go. I'll talk to them when they come here."

"…"

Chiyo made a confused and irritated expression as she looked at Akira.

"She would call the authorities even on you?"

"She probably did. I've been in these kinds of situations a lot of times."

"…why didn't you try explaining it to her earlier?"

"Didn't you see? She ran away scared and thought she just slipped past another delinquent who was planning to hurt her. I would tell her what I did if I could, but she didn't stay long enough for me to talk to her about it."

"Are you just gonna let her think that way?"

"The guys in the police station know me. There wouldn't me much of a problem. My uncle would probably scold me again though."

"…but you saved her, and she doesn't know it!"

"What do you want me to do? Force her to recognize my efforts? Ask a reward for what I did? I don't want to deal with shit like that. Some of the delinquents in this area already know me as trouble. Some of them though, think I'm one of them. If word comes around that some punk around here's a well loved hero by the people, they aren't just gonna stand by and let me walk straight. Besides, with my face, people won't believe that story. The police don't want me interfering with their shit either."

"…You're really something, Ishikawa."

Chiyo said so while showing him a worried look.

"I've learned to not care about whatever the fuck others think. They can spread whatever rumor they want, as long as it doesn't hurt anyone close to me."

"…"

Chiyo showed him a serious look, a look Akira never seen her make before.

"I could kind of understand that too…" Chiyo mumbled with a low voice.

"What did you say?"

"...Nothing."

"You should go ahead. My mom might be busy again tomorrow so just go and meet her already."

"You sure you're fine here?"

The usual Chiyo would usually just mess around with Akira, but today, she's just showing her genuine concern about his well-being.

"Yeah. Don't worry about it. Just go."

"…okay…"

Chiyo started pacing towards the corner and stopped as her face was hid on the wall.

Her hand was placed on the wall as she was just about to continue her path out of the alleyway, but before she did-

"By the way…"

Akira couldn't see her face from where she stood, so he wasn't able to see her expression.

"You don't have to worry about whatever others say. I believe you."

Just like that, Chiyo continued on her way.

"Heh."

Akira just sat there with a slight grin as he snickered.

'Guess she can be sweet sometimes after all.'

The sound of police sirens were heard from the distance.

__________________________________________________

*Monster Slayer 3*

A certain container with the characters 'Monster Slayer 3' was written on it. Behind the word was a realistic medieval suited man holding a sword and a gun with all sorts of monsters behind him.

'The graphics are good, but is it worth it?'

Akira was inside what seems to be a game store in a mall browsing some games.

He was holding onto one as he scanned it.

'If I bought this, the money mom gave me would all be wasted.'

Akiko made a promise to Akira that if he escorted her, she'll buy him a new game.

She stayed true to Akira, although she just gave him the money to do so and not bought the game herself.

She knew Akira would probably like it better if he picked the game he wanted himself and not her.

If she bought it, she'd probably just pick the one with the cutest cover.

'It's still bothers me how they let me go easily...'

Earlier, Akira was supposed to be convicted by the police in their station again.

…but today, they were for some reason, really lenient with punishing Akira.

["Aren't you gonna take me with them too?", asked Akira.

They were in the alleyway he saved the girl in as he asked the officers who were cuffing the two men about why they weren't including him as a criminal just like always.

"Did she realize I was trying to save her?"

"No, the victim quickly reported us about how three delinquents tried to assault her."

Akira scratched the back of his head from this statement.

"Then why aren't you cuffing me with them? Aren't you gonna scold me again about how I shouldn't try to act like some sort of vigilante?"

"We've got more serious matters to attend to."

The officers continued on as they pushed the two delinquents away.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing you should know, kid."

They continued on until they were out of the alleyway and pushed the two punks in the police car.

"…you can't just leave me out of this, Tooru. I need to know!"

The officer quickly came into the driver's seat and turned the car on.

"That's officer Tooru, Ishikawa."

The car then drove quickly, leaving Akira behind.

'What the hell is going on?']

He kept his eyes on the game as he thought about it.

'…Something unusual's been going on these past few days...'

"Hey!"

As Akira was caught up in hit thoughts though, a certain figure suddenly grabbed his shoulder.

He turned to see who it was.

"I can't believe I'd see you again so soon!"

The girl he bumped with yesterday, Rina, was stood there, smiling.

She was wearing a skimpy tube dress, a pink offshoulder on top that reveals her flat belly and a miniskirt, as she kept her eyes on Akira's face.

Her arms were behind her back as she greeted him.

"…oh…it's uhh… you…"

"It's me alright! Did you miss me?"

"…uhh...well…"

"What are you looking at there?"

She closed in on Akira and grabbed his arm, squishing her large chest onto it.

"Monster Slayer 3? It's a game, right? What's it about?"

"W-well…it's about…you know…m-monster slaying…"

Akira couldn't help but blush and stare at her cleavage from the corner of his eyes.

"A-actually…"

Akira suddenly gently pulled her arm away from him and slid back a little.

"I-I need to check this in now…so uhh-"

"It's fine. I'll wait for you outside."

"Wait, what I meant is-"

She walked her way out of the store.

Akira kept his eyes on her back as she left.

'She's just as pushy as before...'

He couldn't help but slightly peek at her large butt as her short skirt slightly showed the bottom part of it.

'…'

Akira suddenly shook his head as he did so.

'Goddammit. I feel as if I'm back to puberty again. What's wrong with me? Why the hell am I feeling so amorous recently.'

"Sir?"

The woman on the counter asked on Akira's condition.

"Uhh..sorry. I wanna buy this."

From outside the store, Rina stood there, checking her phone.

Her eyes were stuck on it as if something was bothering her.

"Hey, so do you need something?"

Akira, who's carrying the game he bought walked towards her.

"Hey! So about that- can we go somewhere?"

"Huh?"

__________________________________________________

A lot of gaming machines were seen in the place.

Arcade games of all kinds were there, dancing games, fighting games, crane games.

A lot of students, adults and others were situated there playing with the machines.

"Looks fun, right? How about we play a game?", asked Rina.

She trotted excitedly inside the area while urging Akira to come in.

Akira though, didn't look as excited as her.

'The arcade?'

He had a incredulous, distasteful expression on his face, as if he didn't like the idea of being in an arcade.

'… I felt guilty because I bumped into her yesterday...but I really don't wanna be here.'

"Hey, I think I should go. I don't really think me being here is a good idea."

"What? Is there something wrong? Don't tell me you're just gonna leave a girl alone in a place like this."

Akira really didn't want to do so, due to the fact that people usually deem him as a scary delinquent due to his appearance.

A lot of delinquents usually hang around the arcade, and him being there might push his bad rep even lower.

He thought he'd probably just be a nuisance to the people there.

"It's just an arcade.. What are you talking about?"

"There's lots of bad people here! What if some bad man hurts me! What would poor me do?"

"I don't think that'll-"

Suddenly, from the corner of Akira's eye, he saw a few highschool delinquents who had their uniforms unbuttoned as they eyed Rina.

'…She is wearing that skimpy outfit. Of course she'll attract the attention of men around.'

"Whatever. So, what do you want me to do?"

"… Let's go nuts!"

She suggested with a playful smile.

__________________________________________________

*ZZZZIIIWWWW*

*ZZZZIIIWWWW*

*ZZZZZIIIWWWW*

Zombies left and right came running towards the screen, but lasers were shot against them.

"Take that! And that!"

"Sh-shit!"

Akira's character on the screen suddenly died.

"Haah! I win!"

"That was just beginner's luck. You wouldn't have beaten me if I played for real."

Akira felt frustrated about being beaten by a rookie, but kept a confident expression as to save face, although he was sweating with exhaustion.

"Really? Then we should try that one next!"

"What? Wait-"

Suddenly Rina grabbed Akira's arm and pulled him towards a different arcade game.

They played fighting games, ball games, and a lot more.

Shooting away through waves of virtual monsters, driving around the virtual roads, beating each other with their virtual characters.

Rina kept pulling Akira to different games and challenged him.

Akira, being the stubborn guy that he is, took the challenge though and kept playing.

__________________________________________________

Time passed and they got to play so much.

"No."

"Come on, this is the last one. I promise."

"No. Please. Anything but that!"

Rina kept trying to pull Akira to play a dance game.

There was a mat on the floor with arrows pointed to six directions that players need to step on to play.

Rina was already on one and was trying to pull Akira to play the game.

"It'll be fun! Don't worry about it!"

"It's not gonna be fun! Please spare me this, woman!"

"I'll give you a kiss if you play."

"I- wait, what-"

Suddenly Akira was pulled on the mat as she quickly started the match on the screen.

A few people started gathering, planning to watch them.

"Wait… I can't dance. Please-"

"Then that means you lose then."

As if he heard something he didn't want to, Akira's eyes suddenly turned serious.

"Lose? Do you know who you're talking to?"

"I've beaten you in every game so far."

Feeling a bit annoyed, Akira showed a determined face.

"Tch. I'm gonna destroy you."

"I'd like to see you try."

Akira, although embarrassed, tried his best as the game started.

He sweated nervously and awkwardly failed a lot of times.

Stepping on the mat and posing weirdly, Akira kept doing so although he showed a bashful expression.

People around seemed amused by this.

Men who watched blushed as Tina's skimpy outfit would sometimes slip out slightly. Her cleavage and underwear would sometimes show up as she danced.

Just like that they kept playing.

__________________________________________________

"Haaaah haaah haaaah."

Akira was panting as he sat next to the dancing game.

"You gave it your best effort there."

Rina walked towards him and handed him soda in a can.

"You still can't beat the dance master though!"

She smiled at him as he sat there.

"You're really…something….haah."

Akira then opened the can and sipped through it.

"Now that I beat you…are you gonna give me your number now?"

Rina pulled her phone from her skirt's pocket and showed it to Akira.

"Uhh..about that…actually..."

"Okay okay. I guess I'll ask again sometime else."

Akira wanted to tell her something, but decided not to do so.

Drinking the last sip, Akira stood up and stretched himself.

"Still, I don't understand why you'd just hang out with a stranger you randomly met."

Looking around, Akira saw a trash can nearby. He crushed the can he was holding and aimed to throw it at there.

"Isn't it obvious?"

His eyes were fixated towards the trash can, planning to shoot the soda can inside.

Finally, he was about to throw it…

"It's because I love you."

*PANG!*

The can that Akira threw missed and hit beside the trash can.

His eyes were wide of shock as he turned to the girl.

"W-what did you say?"

"I said I love you, silly."

Akira felt really nervous and confused as she said that.

"I-I think you're just delusional. I mean…we just met yesterday."

"Yes. And that's when I fell for you. It was love at first sight."

His cheeks flushed of embarrassment.

"M-miss… I think you're getting it wrong."

"And what am I getting wrong here, huh?"

She closed in on Akira's face and showed him a caring smile.

"W-well...uhhh…I uhhh…"

"Hehehe."

She then put her index finger on Akira's forehead.

"You're so cute."

Seeing her do this, reminded him of Chiyo.

The figure of Chiyo doing what she was doing flashed in his mind.

"Meet me here again tomorrow, okay?"

She waved at Akira and turned around to leave.

"Wait! I-"

She left before Akira could even finish his sentence.

He stood there, with an embarrassed face, reaching his hand out to her, but she was already gone.

'… What the hell.…'

He could only drop his jaw at the thought that another girl, who he just met, fell for him.

__________________________________________________

"Take this!"

"GUH!"

Inside the arena, were two pairs battling against each other.

They were both not familiar to Akira, so he just sat there, uninterested.

"Akira, hey. Earth to Akira."

Kami kept calling out Akira's name as he sat there.

He had a blank face, as if something incredibly shocking just happened to him.

"What's the matter?", asked Ken.

Unlike yesterday, Kami was now beside Akira.

Ken was sat next to Kami, with Takumi beside him.

Chiyo was seen nowhere. It seemed as if she was absent.

"He's been like that all morning. It's as if he's been cursed or something."

"Think something amusing happened to him?"

"Probably. I never saw him look like that since Abe-san's confession."

Akira's eyes suddenly widen as he heard this.

"Wait. How the fuck did you know that…?"

He turned his sight towards Kami, who had an eager smile on his face.

"He's finally back to normal mode."

Behind him were the girls, Keima and his girlfriend.

"What happened to you? Did you finally learn to make use of your moronic intelligence?"

He was playing his PSP, as well as his girlfriend.

"Shut the fuck up! What about you? You were so busy being all lovey dovey with your girlfriend, huh?"

"Sh-she's not my girlfriend! We just happen to be with each other, you know!"

"Oh, don't be shy, Kei-chan."

"Sh-shut up!"

Akira looked at them with an awkward but envious expression.

'If I accept her confession, do we become like that too?'

"So what's the deal? Something epic happened?", asked Kami.

"… It's nothing. You're better off not knowing."

"Oh really?"

He showed a devious grin, as if he was planning something.

"You sure you don't want to tell us?"

"Uh…shut up…"

'Shit… He's at it again!'

Kami is one of the worst friends he could ever speak with in these types of scenarios.

Not only is he really socially adequate, he's also reliable when it comes to forcing his friends to tell their secrets to him.

Akira has told him countless of things that he didn't want anyone to know, just by Kami's sheer charisma.

He knew he'd be a real pain in the ass.

"How about I tell them about the time you used to wear bandages-"

"w-WHAT do you mean? I can't hear you."

"What about the time you gave-"

"SHUT your mouth, Kami. I don't think anyone here cares about what you want to say."

"Oh, I bet everyone here wants to know..."

"You-"

"If you really don't want to tell them, how about we make a deal."

"…. Deal?"

"Yeah, a deal. If you agree, I won't pry any further."

Kami leaned in and put his shoulder around Akira, and whispered to his ear.

"What do you want?"

"It's nothing much. How about you just agree already? It's a fair deal if you don't want anyone to find out about whatever happened to you."

"… what is it?"

"It's simple actually. All I want is…

…for all of us to have a study group in your house!"

Akira raised an eyebrow at this.

"What? Why?"

"What do you mean why? I just want to see your place. Something the matter?"

"No! Why the hell do you want to see my home anyways?"

"I told you it's nothing. I just think the mayhem between the girls would be amusing to watch."

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Just let us go. You're not gonna lose anything."

"No!"

Akira was annoyed.

Truthfully, he was a little joyed that he has a friend who wants to visit his house.

…but the thing is…

Akira's room is still filled with his chuunibyou stuff.

A large sword, black posters, light novels, manga covered in black.

Lots of anime merchandise were there and it made it look like a room made for a young boy who was still going through his 'I was born from another world's phase.

He never wanted anyone to find out about this, and if anyone does, he'll probably die of embarrassment.

The only people besides his family who figured out about his room, was Strategiser, X-tinct and Chiyo.

None of them have spread news about his chuunibyou tendencies, and he does not want to create a chance for it to ever happen.

"Hah. Well, alright."

Kami sighed and let go of the topic.

Akira felt confused about this though.

"Wait. You're just gonna accept me rejecting you?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

"…but you-"

"Do you want me to push on the topic further?"

"Well no…but…"

"Then it's fine. Don't worry about it."

Kami then turned to Ken and started chatting with him as well.

'What?'

__________________________________________________

"Thanks for hanging out with me again."

Rina smiled at Akira as they walked next to each other.

They were just exiting the arcade at that time.

She was wearing a long cardigan with a skimpy top below, her cardigan was so long, it made it look like she wasn't wearing anything underneath.

Below, she was wearing denim shorts.

Just like yesterday, they went there to play.

"Well… I couldn't just reject you…so…"

"Tomorrow, let's go back to the mall. Meet me there at this time again!"

"Wait!"

She suddenly ran forward as she waved at Akira.

'She's just so goddamn pushy… It's so hard to reject her…'

Akira could only walk back to his place as she let her be.

__________________________________________________

He was staring at his palm, as he opened the door to their house.

'Huh? It's open.'

He turned the knob and went inside.

"So to get this, you use this equation here and-"

'Voices? Are those Akio's classmates. I should quietly pass them. Wouldn't want to scare them away.'

Akira silently walked from the entrance and was about to pass the living room.

From the corner of his eye, familiar figures were seen in the living room.

He continued forward with a straight face and was about to walk up the stairs when he realized…

'Wait…that's…'

He quickly ran back to see who he saw back in the living room.

"Y-YOU GUYS!?"

"Heya, Akira!"

"A-akira-sama, w-welcome b-back!"

"Nice to see you, Ishikawa!"

"Hey, Akio's brother!"

Megumi, Ai, Koka, Sora, Ken, Kami, Takumi, Eiko, Hana, Eiji, Tamiko, Ana and a few higher year students were sat on the table, with their notes opened.

'Shit…'

End of Chapter 27

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