The next day passes by. I must have slept quite peacefully, because it feels as if every obstacle I’ve hurdled over was a build-up toward this achievement.

12:00 NN, Lunch Break

As if by instinct, each one of us in the group rises up from our chairs as soon as the school bell rings. Running through the hallways, our legs take us step by step.

The gateway to youth!

Finally, upon reaching the floor before the roof, we see that it has been blocked by hordes of desks yet again.

“Hey, haven’t we removed these before?” I reaffirm my suspicions.

“Yeah,” Takashi answers.

“Who on earth would voluntarily put each and every single one back?” Madoka asks.

“This has to be the work of the girls!” Katsuro accuses.

“That can’t be possible. I negotiated with them yesterday. My offer was a pretty good one.”

Though, I can’t really say that I can’t see where he’s coming from. So far, only our two groups have been fighting over it. Haven’t really seen anyone else…

Masaru voluntarily grabs one and tries to set them aside.

“Uh, is it me, or are there way more desks than usual?”

“No use about it,” I declare, “let’s go over the desks.”

“Crazy idea, but this is nothing compared to last time. Let’s go!”

“Yes!” Katsuro and Madoka cheer alongside him.

“Wait a minute!” a feminine voice interrupts us.

Stepping out from an unused classroom, she coughs.

“As if the desks weren’t enough of a preemptive warning, you five go ahead and ignore it.”

She was dressed appropriately with almost no folds. Brown hair, black eyes, even with rectangle glasses. Almost seems like your stuck-up classmate.

“Stalker?” I query.

“NO!”

“What right do you have to stop us, stalker?!” Madoka yells.

Out of her pocket, she takes a tucked armband which says ‘Public Morals Committee’.

“I hereby stop you in the name of the Public Morals Committee!”

“Shit,” I curse.

Because of her warning, we step down from our attempt to climb over the desks.

“Geez. I’ve received sightings from other people about people rushing up and down from classrooms, saying their fighting over the rooftop or something. To think it was you, hooligans.”

“…Other people?” Katsuro wonders, “Tell us the names of your informants.”

I look at him. He’s enraged with fiery eyes. Yikes, someone’s really angry.

“That information is confidential.”

“Tch.”

“You’re lucky it was me. Had it been any other member, or even someone of the Student Council, you five would have been reported straight to the Principal’s Office.”

We gulp nervously.

Damn it. We’ve been too vocal…

“For now, though. I’ll let you go with a warning…”

“R-Really?!” I react.

“…But, you’re gonna have to tell me the names of the people you know who will come here, too. If they get caught in a bad day, who knows what might happen? I’m doing you as a favor, so I could nip the bud.”

I voluntarily oblige.

“Konishi Yuka, Goda Rin, Tanimoto Ran, and Chinen Mari.”

“You gave them right away! I thought there was no bad blood?!” Masaru ponders.

“Hey, she’s right. If they get caught, who knows what might happen. We’re at her mercy.”

“Okay… Noted,” she utters, “I’m glad you boys acted on better judgement.”

Walking past us, she goes down the stairs.

“Oh yeah! I haven’t introduced myself yet, have I? My name is Yamanasahi Airi, President of the Public Morals Committee and also the Vice President of the Student Council. Hopefully, we’ll meet again in better circumstances boys~”

Her voice fades away and we wallow in defeat.

“FUCKING HELL! AFTER ALL WE DID?! IT GETS TAKEN AWAY!”

Student Council. How could I have overlooked you… I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!!!

“AHHH!!!”

“Maybe… Just maybe… the rooftop was all the friends we made all the way,” Katsuro utters profoundly.

Hearing his words, I grasp his shoulders firmly.

“Katsuro… That makes no sense at all.”

…

..

.

Kicked from our usual spot, we simply could not return to our usual place at the cafeteria. It was simply too commonplace. We settle upon a long bench.

“This has to be a joke.” I utter whilst drinking a can of orange soda, treating it like beer.

“Roof…” Takashi says with a gloomy expression.

“I know how it feels guys, but there’s nothing we can do about it. Besides! We’re all together! I’m sure anywhere would work as long as everyone is present!”

“I guess…” I reply.

The rooftop’s views are quite unmatched though… it’s the go-to spot for anime and visual novels for a reason.

Opening up our lunches, the succulent air that was trapped inside the bentos grace us with its fresh scent. Two claps in, we all chant.

“Thank you for the food.”

My meal was a pork gyoza with white rice, cucumber and sweet salad for vegetables, tamagoyaki as a side dish and anmitsu for dessert. Quite the full package, this time.

With the recent issue over, I’m at a loss of what topics to mull over. Actually, maybe I could use this time to talk about normal things.

Gulp.

“Hey guys, what do you all do at home?”

“Hm, for me, I read manga, watch anime, browse social media, and uh… that’s about it,” Masaru replies.

“I play gacha games all day,” Madoka utters.

“I play some niche games,” Katsuro responds.

“Visual novels and light novels,” Takashi says.

“Woah, Takashi! You actually read some visual novels? Light novels, too? You have my deep respect.”

He reacts with a thumbs-up and I decide to pry further.

“What visual novels have you played actually?”

“Thinking… Sabbat of the Witch, Dracu Riot, Senran Banka, and Café Stella.”

“Someone’s a big fan of Yuzusoft here,” Madoka replies.

“I’ve only played Café Stella and Senran Banka, so far. Could you make me a recommendation?”

“Sabbat of the Witch. Wakana, best girl.”

His eyes sparkle with passion.

“Isn’t Wakana the one with the shortest route?” Katsuro wonders.

Takashi nods.

“I much preferred Meguru, she just screamed perfect girlfriend material. She plays guitar, she’s short, she has a beautiful feminine voice, what more could you ask?”

“You played some too, Katsuro?” I inquire.

“Yeah, I love visual novels dude. Right now, I’m focusing on niche games.”

“Like what?”

“RPGMaker games. I was always intrigued about the self-contained worlds that were created in the medium. For example, there’s this game called LiEat and in theory, it shouldn’t have been anything special, yet the world and its charm simply hooked me! Do look into the author’s works, they’re named Miwashiba. There’s also Alicemare, Ib, Witch’s Heart, Corpse Party, to name a few.”

“Corpse Party was an RPGMaker game? I thought it was PSP?” Madoka asks.

“It was an RPGMaker, I think it was made around 1999? Not sure. Anyways, it was ported to various outlets such as what you just said, the PSP,” I respond, “Putting that aside… you actually had the guts to do Corpse Party?”

“It was quite irksome, brutal… and traumatizing… but I lived through it all.”

“It didn’t quite do that in my experience. It did hurt in the heart, especially the death scenes and the bad endings, but it’s probably because I can separate fiction and reality to a high degree that I’m somewhat desensitized to it. Maybe because it’s also pixels for the most part.”

“Fair point.”

Horror genre. It’s a genre I will have to come face eventually.

“Didn’t know you had such appreciation and passion. I respect that,” I tell Katsuro, “Before you moved on to RPGMakers, what visual novels did you go into?”

“I’ll recall… I tried some hardcore stuff like Saya no Uta, Maggot Baits, Euphoria… I’d like to say Higurashi, but I can’t really pair that with those. At a certain point, I also tried some niche ones.”

“Why are you so inclined to niche stories?”

“Because they’re away from the public eye, therefore there are no normies! Besides, I love to praise an underrated work, I find certain charm with it. With that aside… I don’t remember much of them, I did list them though, but it’s in my desktop. The names I remember are Shugaten! Sugarful Tempering~, Karakara and Miniature Garden.”

“I’ve never heard of those games ever.”

“Exactly my point.”

“I tried two visual novels only, I think they were Renai X Royale and Koikari,” Madoka joins in the conversation.

“Renai X Royale?!” I exclaim, “That game is the absolute best! That game made me laugh out my guts.”

“I do have one criticism with it though. Like for one, where the comedy excels, the romance is weak.”

“Hmm… I wouldn’t be so harsh, but I agree with the sentiment that the romance wasn’t its strength. Apart from Yuna, though. Her route, I think made up for that.”

“That! Yes! Despite being a side heroine, hers was most memorable to me! I much prefer Mari, though. Childhood friends will always hold a special place in my heart!”

“I’m glad you guys are my friends…”

I’m genuinely so teary-eyed.

Appreciation for stories are rare these days. I love these guys…

I connect my sentence.

“How about you Madoka, anything to share?”

“Me? Uh, I’m not sure. Do you guys even play gacha games?”

“Yeah, I do,” I answer.

“Mhm,” the rest of them respond.

“To begin with, I’m kind of in gacha hell.”

“Just how much gachas are you into…” Masaru worries.

“Huh, never counted them before. I’ll go list them… well, I have Blue Archive, Honkai: Star Rail, Fate/Grand Order, Zenless Zone Zero, Arknights, Azur Lane, Wuthering Waves, Princess Connect! Re:Dive, Limbus Company, and Nikke.”

By the sheer amount of games we have and the relentless amount of time you have to spend for these makes us look at him in pity.

“Wh-What’s wrong?” he ponders.

“Dude. You have good taste… but uh… don’t you think you should tone it down a bit?” I suggest.

“Yeah, this guy’s gone,” Katsuro utters, “No wonder he never has any money to spare whenever I ask him to.”

“Battle Passes are necessary!” he reasons out.

“Oh Madoka, how can you live perfectly fine leeching off your parents’ money? Tsk, tsk.”

“You’re the least qualified to say that! You spend money on figurines all the time!”

“Waifus are necessary for a man to thrive!”

“It would be fine if you didn’t have to spend a dang jar along with it! Like, what gives? What are you gonna fill that jar with? Kimchi?”

He whispers to me.

“Uh, does he know?”

I reply.

“No, he probably doesn’t.”

“No way, he doesn’t know?!”

“Am I missing something here?” Madoka interrogates us.

“Let’s scratch that, we’ve gone a little too off-topic…” I command.

“I read A Certain Magical Index,” Takashi declares.

Instantly, my attention is swayed.

“A Certain Magical Index? Are you serious? I follow that series, but isn’t that really long? You’d have to be real dedicated.”

“I’m up to date. Right at Genesis Testament.”

“The power scaling is absolutely crazy, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“What’s that series?” Katsuro asks.

“It’s an old school series. Not many people of this generation know it,” I tell him.

“Oh, I see.”

“Never heard of it either,” Madoka responds.

“You young ones nowadays,” I shake my head in disappointment, “All you do is follow the latest shounen. With no regard for the classics!”

“Don’t go speaking like an old man,” Masaru butts in, “There’s also nothing wrong with keeping up with the latest shounen! That’s what I do!”

“Wait, are we guys not going to talk about gacha games?” Madoka ponders.

Seeing eye-to-eye, I muster the courage to tell him, as his good friend, on what to do.

“Narrow it down to the games you’re actually passionate about. No way in hell you play that many and are constantly updated on each and every single one. We’ll talk once you do that.”

“Urgh… okay…”

If there is one truth to be said, it is that gacha games are time-consuming.

“What else have you gotten into, Takashi?”

“I’ve been reading the Monogatari Series lately. There’s wordplay. Lots. I like it,” he tells me.

“Ararararararagi is a funny protagonist. I like how unhinged he is.”

“Didn’t you mispronounce his name?”

“Sorry, I stuttered.”

“Don’t lie, that was on purpose.”

“I stuttered!’

“Wait, that wasn’t on purpose?!”

Thank you, Takashi… for going out of your way to go along with that skit… despite knowing how cringe it is to do it in real-life.

“Ah guys, sorry to cut the chatter, but our lunches are getting cold. Don’t let it bask in the air for much longer, who knows? A fly might drop.”

Just as he says that, a fly drops onto my meal.

“Oh look, a fly,” he points nonchalantly.

“My meal… MY MEAL!!!”

Immersion ruined, I cannot go back to the chat yet. I must deal with a greater issue at hand! Eyes on target. Locked in. The fly thankfully landed on my rice and not on any of the meals. Otherwise, I would have thrown out perfectly good nutritious meals. Since rice is composed of grains, the effect of what could’ve been whole chunks of gyoza, or just about anything else. Anyways, enough yapping. I need to actually take care of the problem at hand.

Picking up my chopsticks, I drive the fly away. Only to drop on my gyoza in the bink of an eye.

“SHIT! COME ON DUDE!”

Doing the same thing, this time, it flies to my anmitsu. To make matters worse, it keeps moving, like its covering the whole surface of my food.

HELL NAH. NO. NO. NO. YOU ARE NOT GETTING THE REST OF MY FOOD!

Even more desperate than ever, I actually use my hands to shoo it away, but it’s pretentious. It didn’t move in response to my antics. It only kept crawling around my disk, spreading disease, therefore lessening the amount that is edible.

No matter how much I blow at it, it remains intact. I think my whole box has been littered with its germs already.

“THIS PRICK.”

It’s no use. I resort to shaking my bento and only when I do it violently is when the problem is solved – which gave room for more problems, since I just spilled my whole lunch on Madoka.

“Ooh,” Katsuo comments.

“A-Ah, sorry, Madoka,” I apologize.

Urgh… it’s all over him.

It’s a little too late; however, I still try to salvage the situation by spraying alcohol on his face.

“H-HEY! CUT IT OUT PWEH!” he screams, “WHY AREN’T YOU TAKING THE FOOD OFF FIRST?!”

“Hm, I kind of acted on what came on my mind first, though, you’re right.”

I then clean him up, from top to bottom, wrap the food in a plastic and throw it in the appropriate trash bin.

“Um, I’m really sorry about that,” I tell him, “Hey, I’ll make it up to you!”

I go to the vending machine and buy a melon soda.

Vending machines make anyone happy! Well, they do for me anyway.

I opened the can to show at least some form of being a gentleman. Now wary of my surroundings, I judge the stability of the floor and look left and right.

Good. No distractions or incoming obstacles.

I tip-toe my way to him.

“What are you doing…” Madoka wonders.

“Just being careful… you can never be too sure.”

I look like a fool, but with my unluckiness and Author’s knowledge of my hatred, you’ll understand where I’m coming from.

Yeah… even with those precautions, I trip over… nothing. As a result, the melon soda splashes onto his face.

… What can I say to even redeem myself at this point? First, let’s apologize…

Getting up and confronting him, I see the current state he’s in.

“Oh… hm… I’m sorry…”

“No. Sorry is not going to cut it.”

Ahahaha… I sure had that one coming…

“I’m at your mercy…”

“There’s only a few questions I’m going to ask. My reaction will depend on your answer.”

Gulp.

I have absolutely no idea what he’s going to ask. I’m actually a bit nervous.

I brace myself.

“Hey Kibe… have you ever played Aokana: Four Rhythm Across the Blue?”

“Why, of course! It’s one of my favorite visual novels of all time! A certified classic. Why do you ask?”

He clears his throat.

“Who is your favorite waifu?”

And it delves into a waifu check. A contesting factor that has challenged and created disputes between man apart from shounen power-scaling. How should I answer?

He clarifies just as I think of this.

“Don’t try to appeal to me. Tell the truth.”

Gulp.

Because of that statement, there was no need to think much more and speak out my heart was all that was needed.

“… Kurashina Asuka, the main heroine.”

“Yeah, that’s it. We’re not friends anymore.”

“Oh. Oh well.”

END OF EPISODE 43, Beginning of Arc 3, Maytime Paradox Arc.