Chapter 57: Study Group
Hub World, Earth, Japan, Tokyo.
After breakfast, Tatsuo and Kasumi boarded the elevator before heading down to the lobby. As soon as the doors opened, they saw a young woman with fuchsia-colored hair coming out of another nearby elevator.
"Oh, It's Yusa-San." Tatsuo said after noticing the young woman, Yusa Emi. "Good morning."
"Huh?" Emi exclaimed when she heard her name.
Turning her head, she saw Tatsuo and Kasumi, who were on their way to their schools.
"Oh, you're... um... Soramoto-Kun, right?" Emi asked. Though she remembered Tatsuo's face, she did not feel as confident about his name.
"That's right." Tatsuo replied with a smile. "I haven't seen you since the day you moved in. How's everything going for you."
"OH... Things are good." Emi replied. "I start my first day at work today."
"Congratulations." Tatsuo replied.
'Hmm... How did she have the money to move in here a week ago if she just got a job?' Tatsuo asked himself. 'I guess she hypnotized the people that work here so that she wouldn't be on the streets.'
"And who is this with you?" Emi asked.
"Oh, this is my Nee-San, Tenshin Kasumi." Tatsuo replied.
"Huh? Tenshin... But your..." Emi asked in confusion.
"I was adopted." Kasumi replied gently.
"Oh... Um... Sorry..." Emi said, feeling a bit awkward.
"Don't worry about it." Kasumi said as a smile spread on her face. "I have a wonderful family now. And I wouldn't trade it for the world."
"I see." Emi replied as she was infected by Kasumi's smile. "Well then, I'm happy for you."
"Anyway, we should get going." Tatsuo said. "We don't wanna be late for school."
Hearing that, Emi looked down at the watch on her left wrist. And when she saw the time, she visibly panicked.
"Oh no! I was already a little late." Emi said as she started running. "Sorry, you two, I'll see you later. I can't be late for my first day of work!"
As Emi ran off, Tatsuo and Kasumi started moving leisurely. And once she was no longer in their line of sight, Kasumi shook her head.
"She seems quite careless." Kasumi said. "But she seems nice. How did you meet her, Tatsuo-Kun?"
In response, Tatsuo shrugged his shoulders.
"You remember when you guys shooed me away on my birthday?" Tatsuo asked. He then continued after receiving a nod from Kasumi. "Well, I ran into her when I walked out of the building. She was moving in back then, and I offered to help her take her stuff up to her apartment. But she rejected me."
"I see." Kasumi replied as she looked in the direction Emi ran off in. "By the way, did you sense it?"
"Yeah, I did." Tatsuo replied with a nod. "I couldn't feel it before. But she's got a strange [Energy] inside of her. It's really pure... Almost... Holy?"
'Even if I couldn't sense it, I already knew about it.' Tatsuo thought to himself. 'But after sensing it, it was interesting. Not only does it feel holier than thou, but it also feels different than the mana I felt in the ICDS Universe.'
Not long after that short conversation, Tatsuo and Kasumi split up to head to their own schools. While Kasumi went towards the subway station, Tatsuo continued to walk to his middle school.
Along the way, Tatsuo read the [Dimensional Chat] from last night, after he went to sleep. And he found the conversations between James, Alfonzo, Elicia, and Sumire rather interesting.
"So, that James guy really is from a High School DxD AU." Tatsuo muttered to himself. "And in that world, he's one of the Satans. On top of that, he surpassed Sirzechs Lucifer to be named the strongest Devil in the Underworld."
"Oh, and there are quite a few crossovers in his world." Tatsuo continued as he continued to read through the chat. "He's got people from Rosario + Vampire, Fate, Devil May Cry, Tenshura, Tenchi Muyo: War on Geminar, and Gintama in his peerage. Damn, that's pretty cool."
When he read the next part about James' world, Tatsuo's eyes opened wide.
"What? Are peerages like Lays chips?" Tatsuo asked in dumbfounded amazement. "You can't have just one, or something? And this one has even more crossovers. Let's see, More Rosario + Vampire, Fairy Tail, Irregular at Magic High School, and Yu Yu Hakusho. Damn, I wanna go to that world."
By then, Tatsuo reached the gates of his middle school. When he did, he drew the attention of everyone who had not entered the school building yet.
"O.M.G.! It's Soramoto-Kun!" A girl shouted. "He's so handsome. He doesn't have a girlfriend, does he?"
"Even if he doesn't, you don't have a chance." Another girl said sharply. "He spends all his time with Tsukamoto-San from his class. And you can't compare to her, at all."
"He talks to Chiho-Chan a lot, too." A third girl added.
"*Sigh* I really don't have a chance, do I?" The first girl asked in a downcast tone. "Tsukamoto-San is the prettiest girl in the school, and Chiho-Chan as the biggest boobs in school. *Sigh* What are average girls like me supposed to do?"
"Just watch from afar and enjoy." A fourth girl said while patting the first girl on the shoulder. "That's what the rest of us do. Just be happy with what you have."
"*Sigh* I guess that's all I can do." The first girl said while shaking her head before going back to watching Tatsuo.
At the same time, all the boys were glaring at Tatsuo with jealousy. However, no one had the intention of starting anything. Especially since Tatsuo had rejected every confession he received since he transferred into the school. And he did it so politely that no one could find any fault with him.
Tatsuo, on the other hand, paid none of these people any attention. Instead, he just continued into the school building, changed his shoes at the shoe lockers, and made his way to his classroom. All the while, he continued reading the conversation from the [Dimensional Chat].
"And just like they said, Alfonzo and Lici are from the same world." Tatsuo mumbled to himself. "And it's a Fairy Tail world. And unsurprisingly, they're in Fairy Tail. But it seems like they have a lot of crossovers, too. My Bride is a mermaid, My Dress Up Darling, Bleach, Naruto, HOTD, Persona 3, and a few others. I wanna go there, too. I'd like to see the Irene Belserion and Erza Scarlet from theirs and James' world meet, too."
At this point, Tatsuo walked into his classroom, drawing another wave of attention. However, there was someone who spoke to him that he could not ignore.
"Good morning, Soramoto-Kun." Yakumo, who's seat was in front of Tatsuo's, said when Tatsuo approached his desk.
"Good morning, Tsukamoto-San." Tatsuo said with a smile. "How are you this morning?"
"I'm fine." Yakumo said softly. "By the way, did something happen over the weekend? You seem... different."
"Nah, not really." Tatsuo replied with a smile.
Though Tatsuo's expression did not give away what he was thinking, he narrowed his eyes in his mind.
'She's sharp.' Tatsuo thought to himself. 'Well, I guess it makes sense. She does have telepathic abilities. I wonder what would happen if those abilities were trained. Maybe she'd gain some mutant-like psionic abilities like Jean Gray or something.'
"How are you preparations for midterms?" Yakumo asked, pulling Tatsuo out of his thoughts.
Immediately, Tatsuo's expression turned awkward. Although he knew he would have no issue with tests at a middle school level, he had completely forgotten about midterms after spending several months in the ICDS Universe.
Seeing Tatsuo's expression, Yakumo completely misunderstood him.
"If you're having trouble with your studies, would you like to have a study group with me?" Yakumo asked.
'It's probably hard for him.' Yakumo thought to herself. 'He did transfer in after the beginning of the term, after all.'
Seeing the sincere wish to help in Yakumo's eyes, Tatsuo did not have the heart to tell her that he would be fine.
"Sure." Tatsuo said with a smile. "I don't think I'll do that badly, though. I just haven't started revising for the tests yet."
"Then, you can come to my house after school." Yakumo said. "We can study together for this week. IF that's okay with you."
As Yakumo was making her offer, Chiho entered the classroom. And she just so happened to overhear Tatsuo and Yakumo's conversation. Then, she ran over to their seats.
"You two are going to have a study group?" Chiho asked cheerfully. "Oh, good morning, Tsukamoto-San, Soramoto-Kun."
"Good morning, Sasaki-San." Yakumo replied without much change in her expression.
"Hey, Sasaki-San." Tatsuo said with a smile. "Good morning."
"Anyway, if you're having a study group, can I come, too?" Chiho asked.
Instead of replying immediately, Tatsuo turned to Yakumo. She invited him to her house, after all. So, it was her call.
"I don't mind." Yakumo replied. "You can come with us after school."
"Great." Chiho replied. "I already took this week off from work so I could study. Now, having someone to study with should help my grades even more."
*Ding!* *Dong!* *Dong!* *Ding!*
Just then, the bell signaling the beginning of the school day rang. As a result, Chiho had to run back to her own desk while Tatsuo and Yakumo simply turned towards the front of the classroom just in time to see a middle-aged man, their homeroom teacher, step through the door.
Like that, the school day went on uneventfully. As a result, Tatsuo had time to read the rest of the chat and chat with James and Sumire. Unfortunately, he did not have the opportunity to talk to Alfonzo and Elicia. It seemed they had stuff to do.
When the day eventually ended, Tatsuo packed up his school supplies. Then, he waited for Chiho and Yakumo to do the same. While waiting, he called his mother.
{"Tatsu-Kun, hello."} Mai said as she answered Sumire's phone. {"Sumire-Sama is a little busy right now. But you can talk to me, aren't you happy."}
"I guess." Tatsuo replied. "Anyway, can you pass my mom a message?"
{"Of course."} Mai said cheerfully.
"Thanks, Mai-Nee." Tatsuo said. "Can you tell her that I'll be going to study with some friends after school this week? Midterms are coming up next week. And we're having a study group to prepare."
This time, Mai did not respond immediately. And that caused Tatsuo a bit of confusion.
{"Your friends, are they... girls?"} Mai asked in a solemn tone.
"Uh.. Yeah." Tatsuo replied. At the same time, he understood exactly why Mai's tone changed and she took a moment to reply. "You met them on my birthday. Tsukamoto-San and Sasaki-San. We'll be studying at Tsukamoto-San's house."
"Wahh~~~~~!" Mai started crying immediately after hearing Tatsuo's explanation. {"Tatsu-Kun, you're going to another woman? Why? What about our promise to get married after you graduate from high school?"}
"*Sigh* I don't remember making any promises like that, MaiNee." Tatsuo said tiredly.
{"How could you forget!?"} Mai said dramatically. {"How could you forget that summer afternoon under the cherry blossom tree?"}
"*Sigh* Mai-Nee, please just let Mom know that I'll be home late today and every day this week." Tatsuo said while shaking his head.
{"Tatsu-Kun! Don't throw me away, Tatsu-Kun!"} Mai wailed. {"I promise, whatever I did, I'll change. Just---"}
Before Mai could really get going, Tatsuo decisively hung up on her.
"Is everything okay?" Yakumo asked In a concerned tone.
"Yeah, Mai-Nee is just up to her usual antics." Tatsuo replied.
"Oh, she's the one who stared at me with the really scary look right?" Chiho asked as she approached the two.
"Yeah, that's her." Tatsuo said, sounding almost too tired to study with the girls tonight. "Anyway, let's go."
"Okay." Yakumo replied. "I called my Nee-San during the lunch break. So, she knows we'll be there. She'll be studying with her friends from school, too. They even offered to help us if we needed it."
"Wow! That's really nice." Chiho exclaimed.
"Yes, their nice people." Yakumo replied with a nod. "Anyway, shall we go?"
"Sure." Tatsuo replied with a shrug.
"Yeah! Let's go!" Chiho said energetically.
With that, Tatsuo, Chiho, and Yakumo left the classroom and made their way out of the school. Then, they started walking towards Yakumo's house, which was roughly the same distance as Tatsuo's apartment from the school.
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