Bab 18: A Fortuitous Encounter

At the Sacred Forest Academy's middle school building, Lee looked towards the elementary school department with an ugly expression. He had located Kazuya who was indeed wearing the uniform for the Sacred Forest Academy's elementary school followed by Shiroyuki Jirou's granddaughter.

"Just how did that dumb kid get transferred into this school?"

From how he knew Kazuya, he couldn't do it yet here he was. Everything changed the day Kazuya got taken to the hospital. The boy that followed him like a dog now turned against him. He didn't even get the chance to prepare but suddenly lost his connections to the Kouzuki corporation. It's CEO and her assistant which he had a crush on turned hostile towards him in a blink of an eye.

"It's that kid's fault. Even Kazuno-san hates me now"

He hit the wall and angrily glared at the boy. Kazuya of course noticed him a long time ago but waited for the right moment. He looked at Lee at the peak of his anger before sticking out his tongue and giving him the middle finger.

"bleh! (What can you do about it dumbass?)"

"(I'll kill you!)" he hit the wall again in anger.

Tomoyo who was watching felt fear but it wasn't as bad as the last time she experienced this. She tugged on Kazuya's sleeve before pulling him to go inside the kendo club. Kazuya laughed and smiled after seeing that she made some progress.

Today was Kazuya's second day at the club. He made such an impression on the first day that everyone had looked at him with respect. Some of them already confirmed the rumor about him beating Tomoyo but the moment they asked about it, the more they knew that it was not just simply beating her.

"Alright everyone is here. The tournament is drawing closer and I believe that we should start preparing our main team. I have consulted with people about the team's structure and have come up with a system to decide the regular positions" Miyamoto announced a challenge system. He called out the five people Kazuya picked out yesterday and told them that there were three slots for the team battles and two slots as reserves. It would be up to their results in matches against themselves on who would take the three slots.

To make it fair for everyone else, they could issue a challenge towards the chosen regulars but before anyone could challenge Tomoyo and Kazuya, they first needed beat one of the other regulars chosen. None of them found this unfair because they knew how good Tomoyo was. However, they were all curious about Kazuya's prowess since they have never seen him in action.

The three that ended up getting the regular slots were Nishida, the short haired girl named Ainu, and the female captain Sawada. The captain almost lost but she ended up beating the glasses boy that almost got her slot. She rested for a bit before walking towards the boy doing strange training exercises by himself on the side of the dojo.

"Kouzuki-kun can I ask for a match?"

"Are you sure? You stand a better chance against the robot girl if you showed the same intensity as you did when you fought that glasses boy"

"Robot girl? Do you mean Shiroyuki-san?" she giggled and was immediately intrigued.

"See… you knew who I meant immediately. She is indeed the robot girl" he replied. Tomoyo who was nearby finally got the confirmation that she was indeed the one he referred to as the robot girl.

"You're quite the interesting guy Kouzuki-kun. It does suit Shiroyuki-san well but… no one else but you would dare call her that"

"Is that so? It's true anyway she's like a robot"

"Do you even know my name Kouzuki-kun. I heard you call me 'tall girl' yesterday you know" she pouted.

"Can you blame me? Sensei asked for my opinion out of the blue on my first day here and none of you got to introduce yourselves captain" Kazuya shrugged his shoulders and stopped what he was doing. It seemed that this girl would not leave him to train in peace soon.

"Still, you should at least know the name of the captain of the club you joined"

"Uhh… Can't I just call you captain? (What's up with this girl?)" he felt a little awkward since this girl was acting like they were close.

"Nope~ I won't respond if you don't call me by name" she giggled.

"(I don't get this person. Why would I even need to call you?)" he gave a sigh inwardly. Luckily, he had learned a few things from Miyamoto so he calmed himself down.

"Listen well Kouzuki Kazuya-kun. My name is Sawada Mahiru so call me Mahiru okay?"

"Err… okay?"

"Okay who?" she gave him a look that wanted him to continue.

"Okay… Mahiru-senpai" he finally gave in.

"Good boy" she smiled but before she should try and pat his head a quiet figure stood in between the two.

"Are you here to show me your swing for the day?" Kazuya asked Tomoyo who stared at him

*shake shake*

Mahiru was amused. Her initial interest in Kazuya began when Tomoyo came with him to the club. Her interest kept piling up until she finally approached him with a legitimate reason to do so. To be honest, she was envious of Tomoyo because of her skills and standing. Even though she was older, she was no match for her, but it looks like she did have something that she was better at and that was communicating with other people.

"By the way Kouzuki-kun, do you mind if I call you by name?" Her interest in Kazuya increased more now that Tomoyo had given an unusual reaction. She didn't know why those two got along but she too wanted to get pointers from him.

"Do what you want? Can you two let me be? I still need to train" he saw no point in continuing his interaction with them.

"but you still haven't given me a match yet. I'm not asking because I think I can win but for two reasons; one, because I want to get some pointers from you and two, because I will be busy next year to get ready for middle school so I want to experience your skills firsthand" Mahiru didn't give up and requested a match.

"Hmm… very well. I would have just told you your flaws if it was only the first reason but I will agree to a spar this once since you're the captain Mahiru-senpai" he could feel her intent to battle by looking at her eyes.

The two of them instantly garnered attention as they stepped up to Miyamoto requesting to be their referee. He had already been observing them wearing an amused expression so he immediately agreed. Mahiru finished wearing her gear but was puzzled to find Kazuya waiting for her still without wearing any.

"Kazuya-kun? Why aren't you gearing up?" she turned towards Miyamoto who shook his head after meeting her gaze.

"Same rules with the robot girl. You win if you manage to hit me once. I wouldn't worry about me. You on the other hand tend to think too much which makes you hesitate Mahiru-senpai. That moment is a deadly opportunity for your opponent so it's best you get rid of it" he casually spoke and raised a hand holding the bamboo sword he brought with him.

The onlookers held their breath as Miyamoto began the match. Their captain may not be as good as the girl everyone now acknowledged as the 'robot girl' but she was still a student that was good enough to gain a scholarship from the academy for kendo.

Mahiru immediately dashed to take her opponent by surprise. She wanted to use her advantage in reach together with the surprise attack to catch Kazuya before he got a grasp of both her reach and her speed. Kazuya however, saw this coming and dodged in a manner that made it look very easy to do so.

"That was a nice try but you stopped right after I dodged. This is what I'm talking about. While it is good to think before you act, in times like this wherein a split second is enough to determine win or loss, just move according to instinct. Experience will gradually hone your skills so you will know if your decision was right or wrong afterwards"

The match continued and left everyone in awe. Kazuya would dodge every strike perfectly and would even give input as he did so. There was only one person that felt different and that was Tomoyo.

"…" she felt that it was unfair. It didn't take him much time to beat her and this person even went as far as to guide Mahiru while they were in the middle of the spar. This was what she wanted but Tomoyo knew that it would be hard in her current state since he only needed to make her feel that pressure and she would crumble down. Although she knew it, she still couldn't help but feel envious of Mahiru's lesson.

"Alright then. Now that I've pretty much covered the most important points. I'll show you a bit of my skills to fulfill your second reason" Kazuya wasted no time after speaking and immediately struck at Mahiru. His bamboo sword clashed with hers. Even if Mahiru was clearly the bigger person everyone was surprised when a single strike caused her to drop her weapon.

"Point Kazuya!"

"Ouch… did you really just hit me using a sword in one hand?" Mahiru looked at her trembling hands.

"My bad, I used the same amount of strength I did with the robot girl" Kazuya forgot that she was just an ordinary girl.

"It's okay. I was just surprised that it felt as strong as getting hit with a strike using two hands"

"is that so? Well I'll be a little bit gentler since the referees only need to hear a solid hit… or so I heard"

Needless to say, the second round ended in a flash. Mahiru got hit the moment the second round began and it left everyone speechless. Kazuya returned to his practice as Mahiru rested with a refreshed expression on her face.

"Thank you Kazuya-kun. I've certainly 'felt' your attack" she sweetly smiled.

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It was already time for them to go home but Tomoyo seemed a little off. She wasn't hurrying him like she did yesterday. Kazuya ignored it figured she must have been tired from the training. He had initially planned to increase the amount of exercises as she progressed, but she did so on her own. He silently praised her in his mind as they walked towards where Jirou was.

"Hmm? Did something happen? Why does my granddaughter look bothered?" Jirou immediately noticed Tomoyo's state.

"I don't know. Nothing really happened today but regular training. Maybe she's tired?"

"Hmm… maybe. Let's go for now"

They drove off. Kazuya didn't pay much attention to them and was looking at his surroundings. He expected to see Lee spying on them again but he was nowhere in sight. What he didn't know was that Lee was stuck in his own club training for the kendo tournament for middle school students. He would have been watching them but like their club, Lee's club were also deciding who the members that were going to attend the tournament were.

While they were driving home however, Kazuya saw something that caught his eye.

"(Isn't that mom's car? What is it doing in this neighborhood?)"

This was an unusual place for Kyouko to be in because this was where Mei lived. The car was parked right in front of her apartment building so he was immediately curious.

"What's wrong kid?"

"Can you stop the car grandpa Jirou? I saw mom's car over there. I'll be getting off here and go home with her"

"You're not going to the dojo? The tournament's coming up you know"

"I train during club hours, when I go to the dojo and after I do my homework just so you know" Kazuya reminded him. Jirou didn't doubt it at all because he already heard from Kyouko about it.

"Well fine. I can see that the car is indeed Kyouko-chan's so you can go"

"I'll see you guys tomorrow then" he got off and approached the car. He wondered what reason Kyouko would have to go over to Mei's messy apartment.

He touched the car's hood and felt no heat so he assumed that it had been parked for a while. Kazuya walked inside the building and went straight to Mei's apartment. He was curious if the passcode he knew back then would still work. He rang the doorbell and hid nearby to see if there was anyone inside.

Several tries yielded no result so he went on ahead and tried the passcode. During the time he lived here, the passcode was never changed. Kazuya had mixed feelings, he wanted the code he knew to work and not at the same time.

*click click clank* the door unlocked after giving out the nostalgic sound.

"Really big sis? This was the passcode I used for years…" he scratched his head and entered.

His heart was beating quickly because this was the original home that he recognized. he touched the wall and found the scratches on the wall that he had been curious about back then. Kazuya was also a bit surprised since the apartment had been much cleaner than he was used to. Clothes were still scattered everywhere but it was still about 50% less messy than the one on his memories when he first moved in.

"I'm glad to see that at least some things didn't change" he smiled and started to fold and pile up the scattered clothes out of reflex. He may have been away from this place for a while, but he still missed this place the most when he was summoned.

He found that most of the appliances were already missing but thought that with how Mei usually was, she would take forever to sort everything out before moving. After seeing his old home, one fact was confirmed, a lot of things changed for him and Mei when Kyouko died.

Mei lost her smile and seemed to have let herself go at home more than she already did. Kazuya of course was not happy to have realized it at all. He wanted the smiling Mei to not lose her current self. He was already making moves to change the future that ruined their lives. It was a long shot but he thought that there might have been some kind of hint here since he did not have memories of this place at his current age.

He was currently stuck. He regretted not asking much about what had happened before he lost his memories. The only thing he knew was that he and his mother were supposed to go on a trip together when the accident happened according to the doctors. If it had been just an accident, then what was the reason of the totally different treatment he got from Mei? Was it somehow his fault?

Kazuya was getting a bit impatient. He didn't like feeling helpless since he had already simulated what he would do in the future. Though, that was only counting what he would have done differently if he was given another chance. Here he was feeling helpless not wanting to lose the sudden change of his life.

*slide*

He turned at the familiar sound of the door opening

"Phew! I didn't expect to fall asleep in the—" Mei stopped in her tracks to rub her eyes. "I must still be asleep… my Kazu's here and tenderly holding onto my panties" she pinched herself and turned back to the boy awkwardly standing in her apartment.