I sigh. Meeting all these people has been tiring, but it’s finally over. I’ll be joining Lance’s group! It’s great that I’ll be able to enjoy a large room despite Hiro screwing things up for me.

Suddenly, I think of Luna. I don’t know why her, but it leaves me with an unsettling feeling behind my chest. Luna went to get supplies to make me soup, but I had to spend the last couple of hours meeting these prospective new teams and probably missed her cooking that she prepared especially for me. Meanwhile, I’ve been with Daisy… Hmm… I wonder what Luna’s chest feels like?

“Hey, Kaister.”

“Whoa!” I interject. I didn’t realize I was on the first floor already.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. It’s rare to see you thinking so hard. What were you thinking about?” Drugo asks.

“Oh, nothing much, really, haha. I was meeting some potential teams to join, so I was thinking about which one to go with,” I answer, walking alongside Drugo.

“How’d that go?”

“Good,” I say. “I’ve decided on a team to join.”

“Congratulations, Kai! I know you’ll fit well with them.”

“Thanks. Nevermind that, what’re you up to?”

“I’m picking up some notes Hiroster left in his room. He’s been cooped up in the library studying.”

“I see,” I say. That’s usually the last place I would think of to find Hiro. I’ve never seen him study.

“I know you’ve already resolved to leave us, but can you listen to a story?” Drugo asks as we enter our home. There’s no one else here.

Drugo asking for something? That’s rare. Emdos’s book can wait. I sit down at the table and respond, “Sure.”

Drugo takes a seat across from me. He wears a slight frown with his head tilted down somewhat, and his hands crossed on the table. He looks more serious than his usual self, so I should pay attention.

“I grew up in the slums and lived on the streets there as a young child. I don’t remember if I ever had parents, and I did whatever it took to survive. I was a street beggar and stole food from shops any chance I got. On the bad days, I ate from the garbage.”

I widen my eyes. Drugo, stealing food?

“It wasn’t until I was seven years old that someone from an orphanage found me, and they took me in. There were a lot of kids there already. Around twenty at the time. They were a poor institution, so there wasn’t much food, but it was better than my previous lifestyle. There were several times I tried to take more food, though the director caught me every time. He told me not to do it again. I told him what he wanted to hear. I wasn’t actually sorry because I was starving. I did it again and again, until one day, the director threatened he would beat me if I did it again.”

It was only a week later when my stomach growled in the middle of the night. So, I snuck out of bed, into the kitchen, and ate until I was full. The next morning, there wasn’t enough to feed everyone. It was clear that someone had eaten the food overnight. The director shook his head and looked at me with an angry expression. He asked if I had eaten it, but I denied it. I didn’t want to be punished. All the kids gave me a nasty look.”

Then suddenly, someone said, ‘It was me. I ate it ‘cause I was hungry. Does anyone have a problem with that?!’ Everyone’s expressions lightened up, and the attention veered away from me. The director took him to another room and punished him. We all could hear the crackling of a whip from the other side of the building.”

My mind puts together who this individual could be. It can only be one person. “Was that Hiro?”

“Yup. After that day, I became good friends with him. He gave me a portion of his food every day, despite that there was already little to go around. From that day on, I decided I wouldn’t be dishonest anymore. Over the next few years, I thought Hiroster was invincible. He was always cheerful and saw the upside to every situation. He made each day less painful to live for the rest of us.”

Stolen novel; please report.

That is until one day, a year before we attended the Academy, I discovered him bawling. He didn’t hear me, and I listened quietly. At first, I didn’t think it was him because it wasn’t like him at all. He was supposed to be invincible, but he wasn’t. I don’t know his background before he came to the orphanage. We didn’t talk much about our past. I don’t like to think about how I lived either. I think he was sad because there were a lot of kids who ended up getting adopted. I remember him telling me a little bit about that process. He never mentioned that he was interested.”

The next day, Hiroster became twice as energetic. He really took things up a notch and, at times, made a fool of himself, but he didn’t care. He always laughed it off. Since I didn’t want to tell him that I heard what happened the day before, I never brought it up. I went along with it. Eventually, he thought up the idea of going to the Academy. You know the story from there.”

“I see.” So, he’s saying that Hiro wasn’t always like that? He adopted his current personality to keep himself from feeling sad. Thinking back to the second group I visited, maybe it’s also to keep other people from feeling the way he did. His presence often brings good vibes to our team.

“I haven’t seen Hiroster down since that day he let out his tears, until this morning. What happened really hit him hard. I want you to understand that he meant well. I know you’ve made your decision, but I hope you’ll reconsider. At the very least, reconcile with Hiroster and stay friends.”

I thought Hiro and Drugo were total opposites until he told me his story. They’re similar in a lot of ways. It’s just hard to see from an outside perspective. I reply, “Yeah, I will.”

“Well, I shouldn’t keep Hiroster waiting too long,” Drugo says and stands up.

“Wait,” I say. “Do you mind if I drop off his notes instead?”

Drugo smiles. “Of course not. I’d appreciate it if you’re willing.”

“Yeah, I’ll take care of it,” I say and walk into Hiro’s room.

This place is a mess. There are sheets of paper on the ground and on the bed. I presume these are his notes and start picking them up. I read what’s written on each one as I do it.

These notes are awful. Hiro was studying from these? Some of this information is entirely incorrect. I don’t know where he got these from.

Wait a minute. I remember what Hiro said about spending all night on his presentation, but perhaps he was actually studying for the test with these notes? If they were still scattered, that must mean he knew he didn’t pass and continued to study.

I sigh. I really wish Hiro admitted that he was having trouble with the material. I suppose with the way Sitos and I were acting about the exam, it might’ve put him in an uncomfortable situation to ask for help. He didn’t want to bother us because he didn’t know that he needed to pass for the competition. He was okay with failing individually, halting his own progression. I was wrong to think he didn’t study.

I pick up his scattered notes and make my way to the library within the Academy. I find the orange-haired idiot sitting by himself at one of the tables.

How should I apologize? What should I say? I don’t think I should linger around an apology for too long. Hiro wouldn’t want that, considering what happened in his past. I’ll play it off and move on.

A group of three boys approaches him, so I stay out of view and wait. I recognize them from our class. They were sitting by Rune.

“Hey, idiot,” one of them says.

“Thanks fer being such a moron that ya got us second place,” another says. “How does it feel to be dumped by the genius?

“You’re a donkey!”

“A dumbass donkey!”

They all laugh while Hiro says nothing. His head stays lowered, focused on the book in front of him.

“Dumbass donkey! Dumbass donkey! Dumbass donkey! they chant.

Enough is enough. I come out of hiding and walk toward them.

The moment those four guys notice me, I exclaim, “Hey! Only I’m allowed to call him a dumbass. Piss off.”

Their faces practically turn white, and they run off without another word.

“Oh. Hey, Kai. Ya didn’t need ta do that. They didn’t really bother me,” Hiro says with a grin.

You liar. If Drugo hadn’t told me what he did, I wouldn’t have known. I set his notes on the table. “Here are your notes.”

“Thanks, man. Sorry again that I failed ya.”

“Don’t worry about it. I don’t care anymore. But, you have to promise me that you have to speak up if you’re having trouble with anything in class from now on. You’re not allowed to pretend that you know everything. You gotta do this for me because I got a higher score than you.”

“What—whaddaya mean? Aren’tcha skippin’ a year?”

“Well…two years actually. I’ve decided to join a 4th year team. I’m about to grab my things and move to their room.”

“Oh…well congrats!” Hiro exclaims and stands up.

Don’t look at with me with those eyes. I know you’re not happy about this. I force a smile. “Thanks.”

He puts an arm around me and says, “That’s big news, we should celebrate!”

I force a chuckle. “Yeah, we should. Why don’t you grab your things and go back? I’ll help you study for a bit before I move out.”

“Okay, I’d love that!” he exclaims while scrambling his things together. Afterward, we walk back to the living quarters.