"If we're paying a visit to Kaido-senpai... why are we here?"

After leaving the student council room, Kurosaki took me to Stark White to find Kaido. However, instead of going to his yacht, she brought me here, to the grand park.

"You know Kaido pretty well, don't you?"

"Eh... kind of. Sort of. Not really."

"Which one is it?"

"Look, it's complicated..."

"Fu fu. Well, you should at least know how he is when it comes to helping others, right?"

"Yeah. He doesn't help others... unless he likes them."

"Exactly."

"Does he like you, by any chance?"

"Probably not. We've barely spoken to each other, if not at all. The most I've talked to him was when he was with Kishou at the music shop. How about you?"

"...he hates my guts. He said if I ever tried stepping foot on his yacht again, he'd buy the island and publicly execute me. Oh, and he called me stupid multiple times."

"Aw, you poor thing... what did you even do to him?"

"I don't know... lose to him in a cardfight?"

"Wow. Good thing we came here first."

"Who are we even seeing exactly?"

"They should be around here somewhere..."

Like the free spirit she was, Kurosaki hummed as she took a detour, crossing into a hilly patch of grass. I stayed on the gravel path, following its direction towards the heart of the park.

"There's a path, you know."

"Where's the fun in that?"

As if to prove her point, Kurosaki walked further up the hill, scoping out the area using her high vantage point. I still had no idea who she was looking for.

"Ah, there he is."

Once she spotted that person, Kurosaki slid down the hill and walked over to them casually. I quietly followed, impressed by her athletics.

"Yo!"

She called out to two people sitting across each other at a table. As I came closer to them, I immediately recognised who they were.

"Oh hey, Kurosaki-san! What's up?"

It was Onibitenbu Sakate and Itteki Shin. Both of them were in casual wear and playing Vanguard.

"Nothing much, you?"

"Just killing time by beating Itteki-san's ass in Vanguard. You know, the usual."

"Hey, that's not true, you lost last game!"

"But I'm winning this game, aren't I?"

Onibitenbu and Itteki butted heads. Kurosaki laughed strangely.

"Fu fu, I see. You guys are messing around during exam season too, eh?"

"That just means we've properly studied for the finals. Besides, don't you do the same thing too?"

"Yeah, but I know I'll get an A regardless."

"You really are one confident chick..."

Onibitenbu sighed before turning around and noticing me. His eyes lit up when he saw me.

"Oh hey, Yuu-kun's here too!"

"Yo, Takanori-san! Long time no see, how's that ASR Luard doing?"

Joining in the greeting, Itteki waved at me. I raised my hand slightly at the two of them.

"Hey, Onibitenbu-senpai, Itteki-senpai. I put it away in a binder for safe keeping."

"That's so cruel! You're not even using it?"

"Luard is expensive to build."

In reality, I just chose to build Claret instead.

"Eh, fair enough. Drachma Red pockets really do run thin, ha ha ha..."

Itteki laughed grimly. Like me, he was also from Drachma Red, so he knew all too well about monetary struggles.

"What are you doing with Yuu-kun anyways? Is he your plus one or something?"

Onibitenbu turned to Kurosaki, who sat on the edge of their table.

"Is there a problem if I brought Takanori with me?"

"No, I just didn't expect you two to be together..."

"Fu fu. I mean, you're hanging out with a scoundrel like Itteki, aren't you? I think that's more questionable than Takanori."

"Hey! I may be dumb, but at least I'm fun to be around!"

Itteki interjected, defending himself. Onibitenbu nodded his head in agreement.

"Exactly. Meanwhile, Yuu-kun just looks depressed all the time."

I'm right here, you know...

"I don't know, I kind of like how calm and quiet he is."

"Maybe he's just scared of you."

"If he was, he would've ran away by now. You know how guys are around me."

"Fear can be expressed in many ways, you know? Including not being able to say no."

True. If Kurosaki asked me to do something, I probably wouldn't have the willpower to refuse. She was just that intimidating.

"Oh don't worry, I didn't force him into this. He came on his own volition."

I don't know about that... it was more accurate to say I came half-forced, or unwillingly, rather than by my own choice.

"I'm starting to doubt that by the look on his face."

Onibitenbu snickered. Kurosaki pouted.

"Alright, fine. I'll prove to you that Takanori came here by choice."

"And how are you going to do that?"

Kurosaki, smiling cryptically, turned to me.

"Takanori, change of plans."

"Huh...?"

"You're the one who's going to be doing all the talking now."

"...ah?"

"Wait, aren't you forcing him into talking now..."

Upon Onibitenbu's question, Kurosaki made a zip motion over her mouth. She was serious about this, huh...? I sighed.

"It's fine, Onibitenbu-senpai. I wanted to talk to you anyways."

"Oh, is that so?"

Kurosaki gave me a thumbs up and nodded. She looked way too proud of me right now. It was sort of embarrassing.

"Yeah... me and Kurosaki-senpai need your help."

"My help? Unless it's about cooking, I probably won't be of much use."

"That, or trivia about the Dragon Empire Branch Manager." Itteki said.

"His name is Ayato-sama and I want you to treat him with the respect he deserves, Itteki-san!"

"Oops."

Onibitenbu sighed, crossing his arms and turning back to me.

"So, what do you need help with?"

"Well... I was wondering if you would help us convince Kaido-senpai to..."

As I was speaking, my voice started to trail off in nervousness. Onibitenbu, not catching the last part of my request, raised an eyebrow.

"To what?"

I scratched the back of my head.

"...to expel someone."

As I muttered that, Onibitenbu's eyes widened.

"Huh? What? You want Kaido's help in expelling someone? Am I hearing that correctly?"

"Yeah... Kaido-senpai has the private points for it. Me and Kurosaki-senpai don't. That's why we want your help. He'll be more likely to do it if you're the one that's suggesting it. He'll listen to you."

"No wonder you came to me about it... I am his best friend, after all."

Onibitenbu, with a regretful smile, humble bragged about it.

"That, and one of your other friends is directly involved too."

Kurosaki spoke up, finally breaking her silence.

"Oh, welcome back to the conversation. What happened to letting Yuu-kun handle all the talking?"

"He was doing a great job, but I can do better."

"I'm starting to think you just like the sound of your own voice..."

"That too."

Kurosaki didn't even deny it. I'm starting to think she's some kind of narcissist...

"I have a lot of friends, so you're gonna have to be a bit more specific with that."

"Nibiiro."

"Eh? Suzui-kun's also wrapped up in this?"

"Yeah. I don't know if he told you, but this is related to that stalker in the 2nd Year."

"Oh, I heard about that. Suzui-kun was talking about it in the group chat yesterday."

"And for good reason. Today was that stalker's trial."

"Seriously? I'm assuming things went sour then... since you two came to me."

"Mhm. That stalker was supposed to be expelled as punishment, but he avoided it by paying 20 million Pr. Takanori wants to make things right by expelling them. The only way we'll be able to do that is with Kaido's big bucks."

"I see... Yuu-kun, who are you trying to expel?"

"...Oozora Yuudai. He's the one that's been stalking Shinomiya-senpai."

When I mentioned Shinomiya's name, Onibitenbu nodded in understanding.

"I see... Suzui-kun must be devastated right now."

"You should've seen his reaction. When Oozora paid it off, he couldn't stop screaming at him. He really wanted to avenge Shinomiya."

"Jeez... it's that bad? I don't think I've ever seen that guy get angry before. He's a pacifist and monk through and through."

"We should check up on him later." Itteki said.

"Yeah, we should."

I tightened my fists.

"It's frustrating, honestly... Oozora had a one way ticket out of GEN, then bought his way back in for a hefty price. It's not fair at all."

"People will really go to any lengths to survive, huh?"

"Yeah... I just want to make things right. A guy like him doesn't deserve to stay on the island. Not when he could easily stalk Shinomiya-senpai again. I don't want that to happen. I want her to feel safe again. That's why... Oozora has to go."

Onibitenbu nodded.

"Alright, I understand. I'll help you out."

"You... you will?"

"Yup. But on three conditions."

Onibitenbu grinned, raising three fingers. Just as I was beginning to grow hopeful as well...

"That's a lot of stipulations..."

"Dont worry, they're easy to do."

Somehow, I don't believe him.

"Firstly, I want you to start calling me by my first name, Sakate. Think you can do that much, Yuu-kun?"

"I could, but... that seems really unnecessary."

"Well, I call you Yuu-kun. Its cold if you don't call me by my first name too."

"I never gave you permission though. You just started calling me that on your own accord."

"Well, if you won't call me Sakate, then I guess my help's off the table."

"This is ridiculous..."

"C'mon Takanori, just call him Sakate. He prefers it that way anyways."

"Thank you Kurosaki-san! It's like Kaido, he prefers it when people call him his given name rather than his family name."

"But he has a legitimate reason for it though... I'd be annoyed too if every time someone said my name, I was reminded of my zillionaire father."

"Jeez, what do you have against calling me Sakate anyways?"

"Nothing really..."

"Then call me Sakate!"

"Okay, okay, fine..."

Did it really matter that much what I called him? Whatever. It was a small price to pay in the grand scheme of things.

"Secondly, I can only help you by getting on the yacht. You're going to have to do all the negotiating."

"Huh...? Wait, why?"

"I'm going to be honest with you, Yuu-kun. You're not going to get Oozora expelled by having me ask on your behalf. You have to be upfront and ask Kaido yourself."

"But... the whole point of getting your help is for you to ask since he'll listen to you."

"Wrong. He won't listen to me."

"...what?"

"Think about it. If I randomly came up to Kaido and asked him to expel someone for me, how likely do you think he'd do it?"

"It'd be unlikely... but if you explained the situation to him, I'm sure he'd understand."

"Why should he care? He has more important things to worry about than some stalker that's in a different year than him. I'm only helping out because I want to help out Suzui-kun. It's the same thing."

I clenched my fists.

"...so there's no point in getting your help, is there?"

"Well, if you show up unannounced, it'll piss Kaido off into buying the island, so you kind of need me to back you up here."

"Even so, he's not going to listen to me or Kurosaki-senpai. He'll just laugh at our request and refuse."

"Why do you think that? If you asked him earnestly, I'm sure he'd accept. Kaido isn't some heartless bastard."

"If I'm the one telling him, it'd fall on deaf ears. Kurosaki-senpai would probably have a better chance than I would..."

If anything, my request would probably backfire on me, and he'd expel me instead. That was the kind of person Kaido was.

"I don't think so. Kurosaki-san's barely talked to Kaido before. Meanwhile, you've met him on three different occasions. I'd say you have a better chance at convincing him than her."

"There's no way... it'd be impossible. Absolutely impossible."

"You never know unless you try."

"It's pointless to try when..."

For some reason, my throat tightened up on me. The words couldn't come out of my mouth. It was almost as if my body didn't want to finish what I was saying.

"...Kaido-senpai hates me."

Forcing myself, I managed to spit the words trapped in my throat out. I don't know why, but it hurt saying this aloud... Sakate frowned.

"Why do you think Kaido hates you?"

"...it's obvious, isn't it?"

"I've always got the impression he liked you."

I almost wanted to laugh at how ridiculous that statement was. Kaido, liking me? There's no way. The world would end before that ever happens.

"I think you've got the wrong idea."

"Nah. I think you're the one who's mistaken, Yuu-kun. Kaido wouldn't give his treasured Claret Sword Dragon to just anybody, you know?"

"...you know about that?"

"Everyone on the yacht does. He was really sad the night he gave it away, so Emma-chan comforted him about it."

An image of Emma patting Kaido while he cried on her lap popped into my mind.

"I kind of feel bad now. Maybe I should give it back to him..."

"Nah, don't bother. He'd be more offended if you tried to do that."

"Really...?"

"Really."

I sighed.

"I seriously don't understand how that guy's mind works..."

"And you don't have to. It's fine not to know. Hell, not even I know, and I'm his best friend. But I know one thing for certain. When it comes to Kaido, as long as you speak to him earnestly, he'll hear you out."

"...you think so?"

"I know so. For better or worse, I've been living with that asshole for three years. I think I know what I'm talking about."

Sakate grinned.

"Fine... I'll be upfront with my intentions and speak to him honestly."

"Attaboy, that's the spirit. Thirdly, for my final condition..."

For some reason, Sakate's face started blushing. Itteki gave him a deadpan stare.

"Oi, don't say what I think you're gonna say, Sakate-chan..."

"Help me hook up with Ayato-sama's younger sister, Demiza Taiga-san!"

"Oh my god, you really said it...!"

Itteki cringed in secondhand embarrassment while Sakate's eyes glimmered and sparkled in excitement.

"...huh? You want to date Taiga-san?"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Sakate had the hots for Taiga...?

"You're on a first name basis with her?! That's even better!"

"Hold on, why are you even asking this of me? Just go ask her out yourself."

"Because you're both friends and classmates with her, duh. Just be my wingman and put in a good word for me, I heard chicks love guys who can cook."

"If that was the case, you'd have a whole ass harem right now, fu fu." Kurosaki said.

"Shut it! I don't wanna hear it from you, Miss "I Scare Boys Away Because I'm Too High Ability"!"

"Hey, I'm single by choice. The same can't be said about you."

"Yeah Sakate-chan, this is pretty pathetic... even I managed to befriend a 1st Year girl." Itteki said.

"Only because you liked her huge melons!"

"That's just a bonus!"

Are they seriously talking about Yukina right now...?

"Oh, are you guys talking about Boobzilla?!"

And apparently Kurosaki didn't even know her name still.

"I mean... I can introduce you guys to each other if you want. Will that suffice?"

"That's perfect! I'll let my cooking do the rest, heh heh heh..."

Sakate cackled, puffing out his chest. Itteki sighed.

"Oh brother, now he's gone and got a big ego..."

I'm starting to see where he gets his influence from Kaido from...

"Oh sweet Taiga-chan, you shall be mine! Wait for me, my sweet Dragon Empire princess!"

Oi, don't start using her first name when you haven't even met her before... and she uses a United Sanctuary deck, not a Dragon Empire one.

I can't help but feel like this relationship between them will be a long and rocky one... ah, why am I always getting involved in other people's business when it comes to love? It's really annoying...

"Anyways... if you can do all three of those things for me, I'll help you out. How does that sound?"

It seemed simple enough... the hardest part would be having to speak to Kaido directly though. I don't know if I was ready to face him again properly, but I'm going to have to try my best for Shinomiya's sake.

"Yeah, that sounds good." Kurosaki said.

"And you, Yuu-kun?"

"Oh... uh, yeah. I can do that."

"Great! Looks like we have a deal then."

Sakate grinned.

"This is really happening, huh...?"

I breathed a sigh of relief, muttering to myself.

"Fu fu, indeed it is. Are you scared, Takanori?"

Kurosaki snuck up behind me, laughing strangely while placing her hands on my shoulders.

"Very... but I'm not going to let it show."

"That's what I like to hear."

She slapped my back before making her arms go akimbo.

"Shall we go, then?"

"Yeah... there's no time like the present."

"Lead the way, Sakate."

Together, me, Kurosaki, and Sakate all left to go find Kaido's yacht. Itteki went home, probably to meet up with Nibiiro to see if he was okay.