章節 2: An eventful day
Koujo was totally being devoured by girls with questions but he found himself an excuse and escaped the classroom. The first thing he did after leaving the classroom was to search for Ichirou.
Akari followed him out of curiosity as to why he would act like this? Who is he searching for? Questions like that triggered the curiosity cat inside her so she followed him. He searched for Ichirou everywhere! Restroom, cafeteria, play ground, gym, library and even the auditorium! But he couldn't find Ichirou.
The bell was about to ring and he thought that Ichirou must have gone back to class. Suddenly, he remembered that he missed a place! The rooftop! He hurried to the rooftop followed by Akari from a distance. He ran fast, but Akari managed to keep up her speed too.
He reached the rooftop and opened the door then right before his eyes! There is.....nothing. Koujo sighed, "Looks like I'll have to catch him some other time" he said while scratching his head.
He turned to leave and saw Akari on the steps, panting heavily. "Umeno san, are you alright? Why did you run after me?" he asked with a concerned tone. Akari said while panting, "Haaaa... Haaaa... Why did you run like that anyway? I thought something was wrong and you might need some help, so I followed you".
Koujo smiled, "I'm sorry for worrying you like that Umeno san, it's just that I was searching for someone....." he said. Akari asked, "Were you searching for Ich chan by any chance?"
Koujo got confused, "Ich....chan? Who might that be?". Akari realized what she just said, "Oh I'm sorry, it's just how I used to call him back in the days but you may know him as Ichirou".
Koujo then hold her hands and asked, "Do you know him!?" his eyes looked very serious. Akari's face flushed as she said, "Wha- wha- what are you doing!?".
And just as the situation couldn't get any worse, two girls passed by and saw Koujo holding Akari's hand.
"Ah! Sorry for interrupting! You guys can continue~" one of the girl said and two of them walked away. "Ah! It seems they misunderstood something! We have to stop them before they go around spreading weird rumors!" Akari said .
She was about to go after them but Koujo stopped her by grabbing her hand, "Umeno san, this is really important! Do you know about him or not?". Akari was about to shout at him but stopped after seeing the seriousness in his eyes.
She was about to speak but the bell rang. "Not good, the class is going to start! We have to hurry back!" she said as she escaped his grip and started running. Koujo tried to stop her but she just ran as she said, "Don't worry! We will talk after school in the school backyard!". Koujo did not say anything and just smiled as he hurried back to class.
Akari reached the class hurriedly and to her luck the teacher has yet to arrive. She walked to her place and sit down then looked at where Ichirou sits. To her surprise, Ichirou is sitting there and gazing out the window like he always does. Akari thought, 'When did he arrive!?'.
While she was thinking about how he arrived before her without even crossing her on the way, he was thinking, 'Who would have thought that the one I defeated and caused a huge scene in EO would be the famous second year female magnet? Do I have a luck for attracting trouble my way or something? It was a good thing I was always alone that I got used to move without being noticed or else he would have found that it was me who defeated him or he may have already found out! Who cares? As long as it's not a pain in the ass I'll just ignore it like I'm specialized to do so'.
The teacher then arrived at the classroom. All students then stand up and bowed at him then sit down. The teacher started the class. While Ichirou was always looking out the window, he is very attentive when the class starts. The teacher didn't ask him any questions but he knows that only he is the very attentive student in the class and for that reason he won't ask any questions.
Ichirou is very silent in the class that hid presence is always ignored by others. No one takes the initiative to talk with him nor does he. In the lunch period, he just goes to his very own spot near the ground where he always finds it peaceful and quiet to eat lunch. It did take him quite an effort to escape from Akari and her bombardment of questions, but he managed to shove her off.
He somehow managed to survive another normal yet tiring day in the school and packed his things up. He put on his jacket and was about to leave but Akari stopped him, "Hey, Ich chan~! Let's go home together!".
He just ignored and walked past her like she was nothing to him. She froze in time after witnessing something like that. She was asked out by countless guys! No one treated her like she was nothing or gave her a cold shoulder yet he did! He's a God! (I am for creating someone like him!).
He walked out of the class but another problem got in his way. Koujo was standing beside the door outside the classroom, surrounded by girls of course. The girls were clearly nagging him but he "handled" them professionally with a smile on his face.
Saito walked passed him just like that and Koujo tried to get out of the encirclement as he called out to him, "Mikagawa san! Wait! I want to talk with you about something!". Ichirou just out on his headphones and ignored him like he was just a leaf on the roadside.
Ichirou walked down the stairs while hearing the song. He walked to his shoe locker and took his shoes out and put them on. He didn't wait for anyone and just walked right out of the main gate.
While he left the school, Akari and Koujo met each other as promised. "So? What did you want to know about Ich chan?" Akari asked him. Koujo became serious and said, "You play EO right? Then you should know about the player named "Benkei" don't you?".
Akari nod her head and said, "There is no one on EO who don't know about him after your defeat and moreover, he's a Legend league player and one of the top brass! There is no way I wouldn't know about him!". Koujo nod his head and said, "That's right! He's a strong and powerful player with a talent for strategies!".
"What does boasting about him have to do with Ich chan?" Akari asked. Koujo said, "It does! I think your friend is "Benkei" and I'm pretty sure about it!". Akari was totally stunned, "What are you talking about!? Ich chan is "Benkei"? That Legend league Samurai "Benkei"!? There is no way he is that guy!".
Koujo said, "Look at how he is, he doesn't interact with others at all! Just like him! and moreover, his gaze at me when he walked past me today...it was just like the time when I faced off with Benkei on the final battle he also gave me a cold look that sent shivers down spine, I can never forget that look in my life!" his voice had a tinge of fear added to it.
Akari laughed and said, "Come on! Do you really believe that? That lazy guy giving you a cold look? He would say that it's waste of energy to do something like that, he's that lazy now!". Truth to be said, she is totally stunned when she heard his reason. His final battle against Benkei is very famous in EO due to Benkei personally facing off Koujo's character "Vermilion".
Vermilion is considered as one of the Legend league player due to him being an awesome spear user and also a high level player. He is also the ruler of a powerful Kingdom which ranks third in Kingdom ranking. If he is feeling scared like a kid seeing an angry dog for the first time, then this is not a coincidence.
Akari then remembered something and said, "His little sister, Hikari chan, she told me that he always locks up inside his room and play video game and never come out unless it was for eating for something else! If what you say is true then there is a high chance of him being Benkei!". Koujo didn't know whether he should be happy or scared. He felt a bit happy that he could get a chance to get along with a legendary player but at the same time he felt a bit scared to face that demon head on again, he was feeling a bit conflicted inside.
Akari said, "Don't worry, I'll check on him and tell you tomorrow". Koujo smiled, "Thank you Umeno san and sorry for troubling you like this" he said.
Akari waved her hand and said, "Don't sweat it, we are game buddies anyway! So it's only normal to help each other". Koujo said with the same smile on his face, "Than I'll be counting on you, Umeno san".
Akari just smiled and walked away but that smile she gave him left a string on his heart. Koujo just smiled as he looked at the sky, "I wonder how this is going to end?".
Ichirou reached the train station long ago and waited for the crowd to lessen. It was getting a bit late when the third train arrived. Ichirou would have gotten on the second train but he saw Akari rushing in and getting in the train so he waited for the third one for the sake of his peace.
He got in the train and his mood quickly brightened up, there was way too less people inside. He causally walked to one of the seats and sit down while hearing songs in his headphones. It was first time for him to ride such a peaceful train in a long time. Every time whenever he takes the train to go somewhere, it will always be crowed and his peaceful time always will always be ruined.
But now, it was very quiet and nothing but the sound of wind could be heard. He was having a time of his life. He thought about the thing he always thinks about, 'Should I get along with others or just stay a lone wolf like always? It's becoming a bit hard to be alone everyday, maybe I should just find someone to be friends with me but at the same time I don't want them to be like those in the past.....what should I do?' he thought about the same thing.
He then gave up on that and changed his track of thinking, 'Well who cares? I got friends in EO and that's more than enough for me! Plus I gotta formulate plans for us after the Beta closes and official launch! We got to hold a meeting today I guess? Well I'll just ask their opinion' he looked out the window. The buildings passed quickly but they are still visible.
The train reached his stop and he got out. After leaving the station, he didn't go straight to his home but went to the convenience store. He walked to where the eggs were kept and grabbed two boxes then head towards the freezer. He opened the door and grabbed two big bottles.
He then head to the counter to pay the bill but he saw a girl with the same uniform as his school. He looked at her, she looked like the shy type and her hair was dropping till her eyes, he couldn't clearly see her face but he could more or less tell that she is his type, the loner one.
He didn't care about it and just waited till she finished paying her bills. She took out her purse and paid the bill but the women on the counter said, "Ah, there is still a 100 yen less". "Eh!?" the girl started to panic and searched her purse for money but she couldn't find it.
Inchirou couldn't take it anymore! He was already late for home and this girl is making him even more late. He just walked past her as he took out his wallet.
He took a 100 yen and paid, "Just finish it already, I'm running late". The girl was shocked but the women in the counter grinned, "Ara Ara, Aren't you being a bit gentlemanly today Ichirou kun? Did something good happen or is there any other reason to it?".
Ichirou couldn't take it anymore and said, "Leave me alone will you? I just escaped troublesome girl today and I'm running late to home, do I need any other reason not to finish this quick?". The women sighed, "Looks like you had a productive day? Waste that saved energy of yours sometimes or it might just exploded you know?".
Ichirou said, "If I get caught up in an explosion then I'll call the fire service so you don't have to worry about it and scan these items soon, I got work to do". "Hai hai" she then gave the girl's bill to her and scanned Ichirou's purchase.
Ichirou paid up and walked out convenience store with a bag in his hand. The moment he turned left after exiting the store, he saw the girl waiting outside. She turned towards him when she saw him come out and said in a timid, "Umm..... Mikagawa kun, thank you for what you did today".
Ichirou couldn't clearly hear her, "Huh? What is it? If you don't have anything to say then just move out of the way!" he gave her a cold stare. "Eh!!!!!" the girl panicked again and ran away. "The heck was that?" Ichirou said. He didn't care much and just headed straight home.
When he reached his house, he saw her sister's angry face the first thing after opening the door. "Onii chan, do you know what time it is?" she asked with her hands folded, looking like a drill Sargent.
Looking at his Loli sister trying to act all big and mighty, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He just gave her the shopping bag and walked passed her. "Oii, I'm talking to you here! Don't just ignore me like you ignore others!" she said.
Ichirou replied with a laugh, "Sorry, it's just I feel like I'll die laughing if I were to argue with you". She gritted her teeth and said, "Tch, you are always like this! Whenever I try to shout you you just shut me up! I hate this!" she started pouting.
Ichirou sighed and walked back to her. He rubbed her head with a smile on his face, "Hai hai, you do a great job in it and I praise you for it". She looked at him with doggy eyes, "Really?". He couldn't take it anymore but controlled himself and said, "Really! And where's Mom and Dad?".
"Dad gone overseas like always and Mom got a deadline coming up so she won't be coming home for two days or so she said" Hikari said. "Is that so? Then I guess it's just us for dinner today?" Ichirou asked.
She shrugged, "It's not like we have a family dinner everyday anyway". Both of them laughed and he said, "Ok, I'll go finish my work and come down for dinner".
"Hai~ I'll make something great for dinner and you better do my homework as payment!" she said while sticking her tongue out, it looked kinda cute. He just waved his hand and walked upstairs then started writing both his and bid sister's homework.
After dinner they both did the dishes together and Hikari asked, "Hey Onii chan, how was school today? Did anything good happen?" her tone clearly had expectations. He answered in his casual tone, "Tiring than usual because of you and another girl".
"Huh!!!!!!!!!!!! How could you say that! Do you know how hard it was to get Akari chan's number? Yet you are telling that we made your day tiring?" Hikari shouted. "Don't shout like that! She didn't do anything good to me at all! She just disturbed my peace for the whole morning! And that other girl at the convenience store! How do you think it went!?" he said.
Hikari's sensor caught something interesting, "Onii chan, who is the other girl? Don't tell me you actually managed to get a friend!? How could this be!? Did my lazy bum Onii chan finally realized the youth and found himself a girlfriend!?". Ichirou said, "Hikari san, I think you should stop walking in the clouds and come back to earth soon".
Hikari became normal and said, "Right? There is no way on earth that my Onii chan has the guts to get himself a girlfriend". Ichirou said with fake tears, "Have some faith in your brother for gods sake!".
"I would if you were a "normal" high schooler, but you never come out of that energy saving mode if yours" she said as she finish the final plate. Ichirou gave up and said, "I'm going back to my room and your note is on your desk, I finished everything, good night" he waved his hand and head to his room. "Good night Onii chan" Hikari said as he head to her room.
Ichirou didn't sleep after getting back to his room but he connected his NvG to the router and put the helmet on as he lay on his bed. He closed his eyes and said, "Eclipse Online".
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