Chapter 41: New Friend and The Gift

It was finally lunchtime and this time, Kazuya failed to escape. He had been concentrating too much on his studies that he didn't hear the school's bell sounding. Tomoyo finally noticed him and stared at him as if she was wronged. He ignored her and continued to read. He was hungry but he didn't feel like dealing with this robot right now.

"That's not very nice of you Mr. Nice guy. The person Shiroyuki-san has been saving the seat for was you right?" Kazuya finally closed his book and turned his gaze towards Takaya. "I feel like I've been tricked"

"You're not the only one. I felt the same when I was forced to take that seat" he remembered the day he transferred and got forced to sit there. "You have my gratitude for using your privileges to save me from it" Kazuya smiled, he found a good excuse to have a peaceful day without being stared at.

"Oh! I like you! You're pretty quick with your comebacks!" Takaya laughed and introduced himself. Kazuya responded with his own name. Takaya realized the connection between him and Tomoyo immediately after hearing his name. "Would you have yielded your seat if you were seated in any other seat Champion-san?" he curiously asked.

"I probably would, it's not like I mind sitting anywhere really. I just read books most of the time in class anyway" he replied without hesitation.

"You really have guts. I'm liking you even more. People are usually afraid of me when they see the badge on my uniform but like Shiroyuki-san, you're different" he patted Kazuya's shoulder.

"Why should I be afraid of you? Aren't you a student just like the rest of us? S class is a group of people who have busy schedules and come as guests to sit in on other classes. In my opinion, you guys are the ones who should be respectful. How would you feel if I pulled my weight around your house?" Takaya's mouth gaped. Kazuya raised a fine point which everyone who heard nodded to.

"You're absolutely right! Members of S class have a bad reputation because of people like that" Takaya laughed as if it didn't involve himself. "Let's go to the cafeteria to eat I'm starving" he urged.

The three of them went to the cafeteria. Takaya was surprised that Tomoyo actually went with them. He couldn't help but wonder what it could be about Kazuya that made her behavior change like that in the short time that he was gone. He knew that Kazuya took the recent kendo regional championship but was that really all?

"What are you staring at me for?" Kazuya looked at Takaya who had been staring at him for a while.

"I'm wondering what you did to make Shiroyuki-san follow you around like this" he bluntly replied.

"Why don't you ask her then?" he really didn't know. He had his suspicions but didn't want to consider them because he had no way of proving it.

"Do you think I'd get an answer?" everyone knew that aside from Kouzuki Kazuya in school, this robot girl would either nod or ignore a question directed at her.

"Fair point. Why are you even asking anyway?" Kazuya sighed. He hasn't made any progress in getting this girl to express herself in words at all.

"Because I want to know what she's thinking. if I get some insight on how Shiroyuki-san thinks then it will be easier for me to assume her in my acting. The part I need to play is perfect for her personality and it is challenging enough for me to tackle" Takaya smiled as the two turned to look at Tomoyo who was peacefully eating her meal.

"You're quite passionate about acting huh…" Kazuya commented.

"Of course I am. It's one thing to express a variety of emotions but to express almost none at all will take me to the next level. My mother was the one who told me to try practicing for such a role and I admire those who can do it because as an actor myself, those who can achieve that level are—"

*CLANK*

Takaya was interrupted when Tomoyo placed down her chopsticks. She had done this on purpose to get their attention. She pointed towards Kazuya after both turned to her as if trying to tell them something.

"(This girl remembers…)" Kazuya scratched his head. He knew what she was trying to say.

"Shiroyuki-san I can't understand…" Takaya also followed Kazuya's example and scratched his head.

*tug tug* she pulled on Kazuya's sleeve. She knew that he understood her already.

"She meant to say that I can help you because I can emulate her" Kazuya breathed in deeply and closed his eyes. The moment he opened them again, his face, demeanor, expression, eyes and they like were like Tomoyo's.

"This…" Takaya was speechless. He was going on about how being able to portray her was a milestone for him but Kazuya did it on a whim. This made him take another look at Kazuya. This was the very first time he tried to evaluate someone his own age and he was impressed. "You should be an actor!"

"No. Hell. no." he tried to imitate a robot while he was still in character.

"pfftt…" Takaya was caught off guard and stifled a laughter. He wanted to hear what Kazuya's impression of her speaking was but the unexpectedness of what he did seemed to fit. Even the impersonator himself found how ridiculous his impression was and stifled laughter could be heard when he turned away.

"…" Tomoyo stared at Kazuya. Even both boys could tell that this expressionless girl had developed a frown. This robot girl didn't like being made fun of. She was already heard talking by Kazuya a few times so she didn't appreciate such an impression.

"Hey, you shouldn't be upset. You should start talking so that I won't have to guess every time you try to communicate with me with your eyes" Kazuya turned back to face her after laughing.

"You communicate with Shiroyuki-san like that?" Takaya was the first to react.

"I talk to her normally. She usually just stares if she wants to relay something that can't be answered by a nod or a head shake so I got used to it more or less. I spent a lot of time with this girl in both training at the club and their dojo. Seeing her interact with her grandfather was a good reference so I think I'm accurate most of the time"

"That's great! That's even more of a sign of you being a very talented actor. To be able to read cues or communicate with just looking at another person's body language is definitely a great skill"

"Stop trying to convince me. Reading body language is even more useful in battles or in sports"

"All I want is to ask you to come meet the people in our theatre. They will have a more credible evaluation than me. I had chills when I saw you impersonating Shiroyuki-san and I trust my instincts" He tried to convince Kazuya.

"Well that's too bad. Even if I wanted to go, I have not the time to spare for such things. Exams are close, the nationals are after and a lot of other things I have to deal with at home"

"I'm not in a hurry. I'll wait when you're free but you have to give me your word that you'll go if you are"

"I doubt I'll be free but I'll give you that much" Kazuya really didn't have time because of everything he needed to accomplish. Just the addition of his new plan to make a company already overlapped with other plans so he needed to sacrifice a little time of his own development.

"Great! I'll take your word for it. Let's exchange contact numbers" The two exchanged contact information.

"…" Tomoyo stared at the development. She remembered she also was an owner of a cellphone but it was collecting dust in her bag. She wanted to exchange contact information with Kazuya as well. Kazuya noticed her stare and understood the look she was giving.

"You want to exchange contact information as well?" he didn't know that this girl had a cellphone until recently. With her acting as intermediary, he can send messages to Jirou via her. He didn't find anything wrong with giving him his number since she wouldn't be able to talk on the phone anyway.

"Whoa… you're really good at communicating with her Kazuya" Takaya gave him a look of admiration. Other people have tried communicating with her but a nod was as far as all those who tried got.

"Stop with the flattery. I won't respond to useless messages. I may not look like it but I'm pretty busy most of the time so if you don't have the patience to wait for a response, then don't bother sending me a message because I will immediately block you if you spam me with messages" he warned.

"Haha…" Takaya gave a dry laugh. He was definitely seen through.

The three continued to hang out until lunch break was over. Kazuya noticed a few people paying attention to him but he couldn't tell if they were observing them because of the attention grabbing S class member or if it was the usual observers. He figured that whoever commanded the Zako group now under his control had gotten wind of him going to school today.

The three returned to the classroom where Kazuya persuaded Tomoyo to let Takaya take his seat because he needed to study important books quietly. She stared at the boy sitting next to Kazuya as if wanting to let the poor boy vacate his seat.

"Go back to your seat" Kazuya told her but she ignored him. "I was supposed to give you the present I promised but since you won't even let me study in peace…" he stopped saying anything after he got her full attention.

"…" Tomoyo put out both of her hands and started at him with expectant eyes.

"Do you promise to let me study in peace?" he asked with a mischievous grin.

*nod nod*

"Alright then, turn around and close your eyes. If you open them without me telling you to then I won't be giving it to you today" he felt proud that he finally got her to listen without instilling fear.

*nod* Tomoyo turned around. She felt a little nervous especially after sensing him touching her ponytail.

Kazuya smiled and removed the bandage looking thing she used to tie up her hair. He took a shiny white ribbon from his bag and proceeded to tie her hair with it. The cloth itself was normal but it was inscribed with a spell to increase the wearer's concentration. He figured that this would help Tomoyo in her training so that she can quickly get used to activating her potential.

"Alright. You can open your eyes now"

"Here Shiroyuki-san I have a mirror with me" Takaya followed up and gave her a mirror. A cute white ribbon was now round on her hair and it suited her quite well.

"…" Tomoyo used her hand to touch the white ribbon on her head to make sure that it really was there. She didn't expect to be given this kind of present because Kazuya always referred to her as a robot. She turned towards Kazuya to thank him but he was immediately startled.

"So you can do it after all" Tomoyo was clearly showing a smile. Takaya and anyone who was facing her was taken off guard as well. This was the very first time they had seen this girl smile and it did not seem unnatural at all.

"?" Tomoyo tilted her head and wondered what he was talking about. Unfortunately, the smile had already gone and no one knew if they were going to see it again. Everyone who witnessed this came to the same conclusion though, the key to all this was Kazuya.

Because of the effectiveness of his present, Kazuya was able to peacefully study until school was over. Due to the upcoming exams, club activities have been banned. Kazuya was also taken home early because of this so he trained at home peacefully.

It was at night that he proceeded to his study to participate in the release of the game where the future of his upcoming company depended on. He remade the character he used in his previous life and felt quite nostalgic. He couldn't wait to meet his old friends again. This time he wouldn't start out as one of the people they helped but as a peer.

"It really is a different experience if you have a suitable machine" he sighed. He was able to quickly complete the tutorial and was now standing in the starter village where various people who also just started out.

He scanned the names of every player he saw as he went to complete the quests. He even went as far as taking the secret quests that even beta players failed to discover to improve his progress speed. This way, he can help the people he was indebted to by helping them in this lifetime. It was still early in the evening so a lot of people were playing. In order to not let his level get too high, Kazuya remained in town and started increasing his crafting proficiency.

[FriedKandule: Proficiency leveling? What a scrub] Kazuya noticed a person talking in general chat. His eyes narrowed as soon as he saw the name. This was the very first name he discovered that he knew. He had not met this person before but he heard a certain story about his friend's first day of logging on.

Kazuya had mixed feelings. He was glad that he had run into this person but worried that his presence may have changed what was supposed to happen so he quickly stopped and used a skill to hide himself. The class he picked was a quiet rogue that reflected his own reserved personality in his previous life. He then turned the character into a ninja for its second class but he had other plans this time around.

[Fried Kadule: Hmph! What a coward] the bulky swordsman character laughed and left the area. He didn't know that he was already being followed by the person he just insulted.

Kazuya didn't know when the people he was looking for would eventually play the game. The only reason he logged on now was because he heard of this story several times before. The first game his friend ever tried made her almost give up on it because of the bitter experience. It was only after a while that she decided to give the game another try.

He didn't want to miss the opportunity to meet today. The person may be an anonymous person playing an online character but he treated her as a real friend. He considered himself lucky even though the first character he was familiar with was repulsive. After watching the person and following him quietly, his perseverance finally paid off. He found the nostalgic name of the friend he looked forward to seeing.

"I finally found you, [Autumn Mist]"