This evening, I had made plans to go out again with a certain someone. After being dropped off back to the Drachma Red area by Kaido, I went back to my dorm room to kill time until it was night.

I did some light studying and read a couple chapters of a light novel on my phone. Needless to say, it felt like my usual routine. But, at the same time, I felt like my everyday life had been shaken up a little bit.

This morning, I had gone out to play with Demiza and Ichinose. Then, I faced Kaido head on. Now, I'm going to finally reunite with Suzune, and be able to talk to her properly.

To my surprise, the place we were meeting in was somewhere I was very familiar with, at least when it was still in Tokyo. My aunt, Mikushicha Rina, owned a restaurant. During middle school, instead of going home, I would usually come by her place and help her out. Then when she closed up, she would drive me back home.

Unexpectedly however, she closed the restaurant down. I didn't hear about this in advance, and I felt a little betrayed about it. When I contacted her to ask about it, she said it was because she moved to a different location. This was back during my second year of middle school, and now, in my first year of high school, I finally know what happened to her restaurant.

Rina moved her restaurant from Tokyo to GEN Academy.

I didn't even realise it at first, because I never went outside. Her restaurant was located near Nishi Mall, in the generic area where no nation owns parts of it. Like a grey area, or a neutral zone. I have fond memories of spending time in that restaurant. It let me get away from... him, and I learnt a lot about cooking and business from Rina.

When it closed down, I had to return home straight away after school. During those times, I stayed holed up in my room and didn't communicate with anyone except my mom and little sister. Those days I spent alone weren't sad though. I was happy by myself. It's no different to how I'm living right now.

We arranged to have dinner at 7pm, so I left at 6:30pm. I took the bus to the mall, and walked around a bit, trying to find the restaurant.

About five minutes later, I found Rina's Restaurant, a family diner style restaurant, a bit west off Nishi Wall. I had never been outside in the island during night, so seeing the city lit up made it feel like a whole new atmosphere. It was strangely warm and welcoming.

I entered the restaurant. It was fairly busy, with lots of people eating at the table with cheery faces, talking to their friends. I think Matsushita and Sakigamiya were here too, sitting in the corner seats. Were they on a date?

A waitress walked up to me, and bowed. She looked no older than me. "Good evening, sir. Welcome to Rina's Restaurant. Have you made reservations?"

"Uh... sort of. I had a friend make a reservation for us. I'm Takanori Yuuto."

"Ah, yes, there was a reservation for a Takanori-sama." The waitress checked her tablet and nodded. "Perfect. Kinoshita-sama's waiting for you in private room 2. Shall I guide you?"

"Yeah. Thanks." I bowed.

I'm a little disappointed I won't be able to meet my aunt after all this time. Though, I guess I could request to see her. After all, me and Suzune used to visit her often after school while we were in elementary school. Suzune would always order a dessert and say that my aunt's cakes were the best.

I followed the waitress to the back of the restaurant, where we entered the second private room down the hall. The waitress opened the door for me, and I entered.

Immediately, my eyes fell upon my childhood friend. I nearly tripped over myself seeing Suzune dressed up for the evening. She was absolutely gorgeous, sitting at the table with an air of elegance. I was still wearing my shirt and chino pants from earlier, so I looked really pathetic in comparison.

"Suzune-chan..."

"Yuu-kun!" Suzune looked up at me, and stood with a bright smile. She ran over to me and immediately hugged me. I hugged her back gently. I'm pretty sure my heart was pounding.

"It's been a long time, Suzune-chan..." I said.

"I'm so glad... I'm so glad..." Suzune said, burying her head into my chest. My eyes widened slightly as I felt her warm tears fall onto my shirt.

"W-what's the matter?"

"I'm just... really happy to see you again..." She sobbed into my chest.

"Me too... I thought I'd never be able to meet you again."

The waitress was waiting respectfully at the door as me and Suzune had our moment together. After she had calmed down, Suzune took me by the hand and guided me to the table. Her hand was warm and trembling slightly.

As we sat down, the waitress walked up to us with a smile on her face. She passed out two menus. "I'm Tsuji Mariko, and I'll be waitress today. Here are your menus, sir, madam."

"Thank you..." Suzune said, wiping her eyes while picking up the menu.

"When you decide on your meal, please use this button to call me." Tsuji placed a pad with a button on the table, and bowed. She left the room after.

"Thank you." Suzune said.

"Thanks." I said.

I opened the menu, and felt a wave of nostalgia hit me. A lot of these items were on the menu from before Rina moved here. Some items were new, but they still looked tasty nonetheless.

"I'm sorry about how I treated you before..." Suzune said.

"You already apologised to me over message. It's fine."

"I still feel like I should tell you in person. After all, I called you some really bad things..."

"Why were you like that anyways? I mean, this was before how we knew how the school worked."

"When you called out to me, I didn't recognise you, so I thought someone was trying to insult me by calling me by my first name. Then, when you told me you were Yuu-kun, I recognised who you were, and I panicked... I continued to insult you, even though you looked so sad." Suzune looked away and bit her bottom lip. "I really regret it. If only I thought clearly that day, then I may have been able to spend time with you before it became looked down upon to play with E Class students."

It seems that a giant misunderstanding was the cause of both our troubles. Well, considering Suzune looks so grown up, I'm surprised I even recognised her in the first place. Not to mention, my face is pretty generic, so I should've expected her not to recognise me.

"I could've also handled it better since I put you in an uncomfortable position, so don't worry about it anymore. Plus, you were with your friends. It would've been weird if you acted friendly after they teased you like that."

"But those insults I called you by..."

"They didn't really hurt me, even back then. At least now, after eight years, we're finally reunited."

I gently lied for her sake, since I wanted to cheer her up. She looked incredibly sad right now.

"Yeah... even if we have to meet in secret, I still really want to be with you."

It was a difficult spot for Suzune. As she was one of the central female figures in C Class, she couldn't afford to be seen in public with an E Class student like me. If she did, there would be severe social consequences waiting for her. Unlike Ichinose, who doesn't really care about how people perceive her, Suzune cared deeply about how others perceived her. She wanted to keep up her headstrong appearance as a result.

She explained to me in messages that she was aiming to raise her class to B Class, but C Class had little cohesion. As she could bring most of the girls together because she was a social butterfly, she didn't want the influence she had in the class be lessened, just because she was seen with me. As a C Class student, it was unacceptable for her to play with someone from E Class.

I grasped that Suzune's mean side was just a front. Deep down, she was still the kind childhood friend I always knew.

"I decided I want to eat the oyakodon." Suzune said. "What are you going to order?"

"I'll probably go with omuraisu."

"That sounds good too. What drinks should we get?"

"This sparkling juice looks good."

"So many flavours..."

"Cherries and blackberries?"

"I don't really like cherry. How about strawberry and lemon?"

"That's fine with me."

"How did you settle into the school?" Suzune said as she pressed the button.

"At first I was pretty happy about it all. But now that I've basically been called a failure, I'm not really enjoying it anymore."

"I can only imagine how people treat you..."

"Well, people don't really target me since I blend into the background pretty easily. I think some of my classmates don't know my name..."

While I tried to frame it as a joke, the unfortunate reality was that this was actually the case.

"That's ignorant of them. I hope that you'll be okay while in E Class, because I don't want to see you getting hurt. Saying those things to you was bad enough. You don't deserve any of those words I said back then."

"Like I said, don't worry about it. I don't care about it anymore, because I know the reasons why. I'm more thankful that you didn't actually become a horrible person after all these years."

"Even if I did become a horrible person, I'd still find it in my heart to be kind to you, Yuu-kun. We were best friends in elementary school after all - I wouldn't forget about that so easily."

"Yeah... it still feels a little surreal, meeting you here. When you moved cities, it hit me pretty badly."

When she moved, we didn't exchange any contact information, so this really does feel like a stroke of fate. Our last day together was bittersweet... I went to visit her house one last time, and we played together for hours until evening came.

We exchanged secrets, tears and a promise. I had to go home at night. Suzune's smile as I waved goodbye to her through the car window was burnt into my memory as something I wanted to protect.

The next morning, she was gone.

Even now, I can still feel that wish to protect her smile burn up in my chest, even though I buried those kind of feelings deep inside me long ago. It feels strangely similar to that time when I saw Yukina get beat by Kaido...

"Me too... I was crying for days because I thought I'd never see you again." Suzune said.

"It was hard moving on."

"Yeah... but, at the same time, I don't regret it."

"You don't?"

"No. I think me moving is necessary, because I grew as a person from it."

"That's really mature of you to say."

"He he. We grew up a lot, huh? I didn't even recognise you, Yuu-kun. Though, you still have a baby face."

"I do?"

"Yeah! You look so much younger than other people, and your skin looks so soft and smooth compared to even the girls. I wish I could be blessed with such good looks."

I touched my cheek. I really didn't do anything special to it really, but I guess it was pretty soft. Good looks though... I guess she's never seen Matsushita. That guy easily beats me in the good looks department.

"I think you look good. Tonight, you look really stunning."

"E-eh? You think so? Thanks!" Suzune looked really happy when I complimented her looks. I don't usually compliment other people, so saying that line made me feel like an ikemen. "I-I kind of just chose a dress that I thought would look nice... that's all."

Suzune was being strangely bashful. I nodded at her cute behaviour. Abruptly, Tsuji entered the room.

"Excuse the intrusion." Tsuji said, going up to our table. "What would you two like?"

"I'd like one of the oyakodon please."

"I'll have omuraisu. Can we get the strawberry and lemon sparkling juice as a drink for both of us?"

"Of course. Would you like any dessert?"

"Oh, I didn't think about that... what should we get, Yuu-kun?" Suzune asked.

I thought about it, looking at the dessert section of the menu. "This ice cream jelly cake looks nice."

"Ah, the vanilla one piques my interest."

"Same here. We'll take two vanilla ice cream jelly cakes." I said.

"Alright. To check, you two ordered one oyakodon, one omuraisu, two strawberry lemon sparkling juice, and two vanilla ice cream jelly cakes?"

"Yep, that's our order." Suzune said.

"Thank you. It should take about fifteen minutes, so please sit tight." Tsuji left, so me and Suzune continued our conversation.

"You don't look too bad yourself." Suzune said.

"I got these clothes on discount online... I really need to expand my wardrobe."

"I think that suits you though. You've always been a passive person, so going out of your way to do more than necessary isn't like you."

She was certainly right about that. I give the bare minimum effort required and didn't expand my horizons at all. I really am a boring person.

"Although, you were strangely impressive in that fight against the 3rd Year."

"You watched that too?"

"Well, yeah. Almost everyone in our year has after all."

That doesn't inspire hope.

"Though, I didn't have any interest in the wars, so it was only when I heard your name get thrown around in my class that I got curious. I watched your feature fight, and you were really good in it! But after we found out that E Class is the worst class, people started saying some bad stuff about you."

"Like what?"

"They called you stuff like a trash cardfighter, and that you couldn't read cards. Some people said that you should switch clans because you didn't play Narukami properly. They were ripping you apart on all your "misplays", like when you didn't damage deny him with Gauntlet Buster."

"That's a boring strategy."

"Exactly! They have no idea what they're talking about, because I think you played beautifully. After all, if you did damage deny, the fight wouldn't have been as exciting, and that's one of the main appeals of it I think. Seeing you and senpai go back and forth trading blow after blow - that makes you really cool!"

"I didn't do anything that special. Most people remember Kaido-senpai, because he actually won, but no one remembers me."

"Then I'll be your number one cheerleader."

I imagined Suzune in a cheerleader outfit and involuntarily slapped my face.

"E-eh? Yuu-kun, are you okay?!"

"I'm fine."

"What was that slap about?!"

"Just... boy stuff."

Suzune gave a shifty glance and began giggling. "Say, you were having dirty thoughts, weren't you? Considering your old man was a total pervert, I was wondering when this side of you would crop up."

"...Suzune-chan. Let's not talk about him."

"O-oh... I'm sorry. Did something happen between you two?"

"...nothing, don't worry about it."

"Yuu-kun..." Suzune looked at me with a concerned face. "You had a really scary face there for a moment. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"If something bad happened, you can tell me."

"Thanks for the offer, but it's nothing really."

I felt like throwing up. Tsuji entered the room, placed our drinks down, and left. I took a quick sip to stomach my feelings down.

"Then... how's your family doing?" Suzune asked, taking a sip of her drink. "Ah! This is so refreshing!"

"Well, my mom's still working as a nurse at the hospital, but sometimes she goes and helps at the orphanage. Rei just entered her last year of middle school, and she's really pumped up to do well on her final exams. She asked mom to buy revision guides and everything."

"That's great for your little sister. Tell her that I said hi, and that I hope she studies well. Do you two still talk often?"

"No. I rarely talk to them ever since I came here."

"Really? I call my parents nearly everyday. They're so curious about my life here."

"Must be nice."

"Is that a hint of jealousy in your tone?"

"W-what? No."

"Yuu-kun, are you suffering from loneliness? I heard from Sakigamiya-san that the big three loners in your class was you, Ikeshigi-san and Kuuji-san."

She really butchered Ikesugi's and Kouji's names... did she even bother to remember them? I almost felt bad for Ikesugi and Kouji, but seeing as I got lumped in with them by my own classmates, I have no remorse.

"I'm not suffering from loneliness..."

"If you are, you can always talk to me after school. I would love to catch up some more."

"Really, I'm fine with just spending my time alone..."

"Actually, come to think of it, I never see you outside of school... did you become a shut-in or something?"

"U-uh..."

Suzune covered her mouth and bowed. "S-sorry... that was really bad of me to say."

"It's fine... I guess I did become a half shut-in? I don't really go out much."

"You're as passive as ever, Yuu-kun. We need to set up more secret meetings like this to get you out of the house!"

"Alternatively, I could just rise to C Class and be with you there."

"That would be great! Together, we'd definitely climb up to A Class!" As Suzune celebrated, Tsuji entered our room.

"Sorry for the wait. Here is your oyakodon and omuraisu." Tsuji said, placing the plate of omuraisu in front of me.

"Thank you." Suzune said. "This smells delicious."

"Thanks." I nodded and looked at the plate of food. Written in ketchup was the phrase "It's been a long time, Yuu-kun".

I remember that Aunt Rina would always write specialised messages to her regular customers on her omuraisu. Once again, she didn't fail to deliver. As a kid, watching her write with ketchup was always intriguing, since it was so difficult for me to do and it looked so mystical.

Suzune's bowl of oyakodon looked really good too. The way the egg and chicken mingled with each other on that bed of steaming hot rice brought me nostalgic memories of mom cooking this.

"When you're finished, please call for me again." Tsuji bowed and left.

"Thank you for the food!" Me and Suzune said. We began digging in, eating our dinner for the night.

"So good... your aunt's cooking became even better than the last time I remember!"

"Holy crap... this is tasty."

I knew Aunt Rina was already good at cooking, but I could really taste how much she's improved. She reached a new culinary level during the time between her moving location and me coming to GEN Academy. It seems that this school... no, this island's sole purpose was to improve everyone here. Not just the students.

I was enrolled among a vast array of elites. This environment was hyper competitive. How would an average student like me survive here?

"Say, earlier, didn't you say your mom helped worked at the orphanage?"

"Yeah."

"Did you know that two of the students in our year are actually from the orphanage?"

"Huh? Really?"

"Yep. One of them is the actual blood-related daughter of the owner. The other is one of the orphans, but the owner adopted him."

"Oh, who are they?"

"Ishima Tamaki-san from A Class is the blood-related daughter. Ishima Akihiro-san from E Class is the adopted orphan."

"He's in my class... to think he was an adopted orphan..."

I was really surprised at that fact. I thought the family name "Ishima" was familiar, but I couldn't recall where. Akihiro being an adopted orphan makes so much sense now... since I never really communicate with anyone, I barely knew anything about their personal lives.

I originally thought that Akihiro and Tamaki looked too different from one another to be siblings. Plus, unless they were twins, they couldn't be in the same year. To find out about Akihiro's circumstances like this felt a bit intrusive and embarrassing, but I'm glad that I know now. Since my mom goes to the orphanage often, I wonder if he knows who she is.

"Yuu-kun looks so shocked right now! I mean, it's pretty common knowledge. Tamaki-san explained it quite early on in April."

"I'm not interested in gossip. Or something like that."

"Well, I guess that's fair. I've just seen you with Akihiro-san before, so I thought that maybe you did know, but not about Tamaki-san, since she's in A Class."

"To be quite honest, I don't talk to many people. My knowledge on everyone else's affairs is very little."

"Well, I'm quite involved when it comes to the girls. I might tell you about some ridiculous stories actually."

"You got any good ones right now?"

"Eh... not really. The current "drama" involves me, so it's been a bit stressful. I know you probably have a poor perception of me anyways, and I don't want to talk about the situation all that much, since... I wanted to enjoy my evening with you to forget about it all."

If I were to make an educated guess on what it's about, I think it would be drama between her and Hono from my class. Perhaps even Houki (the girl with the Chinese bun hairstyle) is involved, since I know her and Suzune are close friends.

"Hey, that's fine. Whatever's going in your life isn't for my eyes anyways. I'm happy to play with you like this."

"Me too. Tonight's been so good... I don't want to ruin it." Suzune reached her hand out towards mine, and grabbed it. Her hand was icy cold. "Yuu-kun's hand is really warm..."

"S-Suzune-chan?"

"I..." Suzune squeezed my hand and shook her head. "Do you remember our promise?"

"I've held it close to my heart the entire time. I haven't forget it at all."

"Me too... one day, let's fulfil that promise."

"I'd love to." I squeezed her hand back.

"Right now's not a good time... sometime, for sure, in the future."

"Yeah... I swear I'll get to C Class and fulfil our promise."

"If necessary, I'll even drag myself to E Class. I want to be with you, Yuu-kun..."

"Don't do that. I'll climb out of that class for your sake. I promise."

"Don't make two promises... you know it gives you bad luck, right?"

"That's if you break one of them. I'm planning on keeping both."

"Yuu-kun..."

I gently wiped the tears running down her cheeks. Even though she was in a much better position then me at this school, she also had it a lot more rough than me.

As I chased after my selfish desires, Suzune was battling her own fights earnestly. Her life and my life were on completely parallel roads, yet we still crossed into one another through some stroke of fate.

In the end, my life really did come down to a coin flip. In that coin flip, I lost. I lost a path to the future that may have relieved some of Suzune's suffering.

I hate you, Mikazuchi-sensei.