“Well that sure was something.” Kouji said as he and Waa were returning back to their table.

“Yeah.” She replied. “But, it was pretty fun.”

“It was…” He said, giving her a small fist bump. When they got back, Anastasia was wide awake. But now there was someone else missing. “Where’s Yuma?”

“She left for the bathroom.” That was when Anastasia woke up, so it wasn’t like she was left unattended. “But, that was a while ago.”

“A while?” That girl was slow, but surely she wouldn’t want to take her time getting back to familiar territory. “I guess I’ll go look for her.” Kouji told them.

“And if she’s still in the bathroom?” Waa questioned him. It wasn’t like he could just waltz in the women’s restroom without complaint.

“If she’s still in the bathroom, then I’m sure things are fine.” He answered, then left the two. However, things weren’t so rosy for the girl he was looking for.

“So, are you here by yourself?” Yuma’s a pretty girl, so she’d certainly get some attention here and there. Especially given that her presence was a rarity at a place like this. She was talking with a couple of boys that whose attention she caught.

Well, talking as in those two were doing that. She was standing quietly, just staring at them.

“Um, are you?” The boy asked again.

“Yeah, don’t be shy.” The other spoke up. “We’re not going to do anything mean.” She didn’t reply. Yuma had no idea what to do in this situation. Her mouth couldn’t find any words to get away from this situation. Thankfully, there was going to be a way to get her feelings to them.

“Leave her alone.” Kouji arrived to the area near the restrooms. He spotted her with a couple of boys, which immediately ticked him off on something being wrong.

“We’re not doing anything wrong.” One of them said. Kouji looked over to his friend. To anyone else’s eyes, she didn’t appear to be in any distress. In fact, she had on her usual face, as if nothing was wrong. But he was certain that she wasn’t a fan of this.

If he wasn’t going to be able to convince them that she was taking issue with this, then he was. Without warning to Yuma, he grabbed her hand.

“Because that’s my girlfriend you’re talking to.” Her heart skipped a beat upon hearing that. Obviously, he was just fooling those boys, so it wasn’t a genuine statement. However, the idea of him being her boyfriend made her heart rate jump up a little.

“Really now?” The other boy was a little skeptical over this display. The ploy is hardly a new plan.

“Yes.” Kouji stood firm in his declaration. His eyes shifted, showing off a subtle rage. It wasn’t like he was really angry, but from his younger days. The boy was aware of how to scare people off with a foreboding stance. “So I’d appreciate if you didn’t flirt with her.”

It worked. The boys backed off and left the two in peace. That allowed him to breath a sigh of relief.

“Are you all right?” He asked. To which Yuma answered in the affirmative. Kouji was about to let go of her hand, but she instead tightened her grip in response.

“Um… Just so we’re safe… Until we get back to the others.” That was the best excuse she could come up with, to answer his quizzing eyes. Seemed reasonable enough to him, so he held her hand until they got back to their table.

“We’re back.” He announced their return to the other girls. It appeared that the fun and games were done here. So heading out was the plan, especially now that there was something else that Kouji wanted to do.

It was clear after that little incident that Yuma really needed to be able to express her feelings. Let others know what’s up, so she doesn’t get stuck needing someone like him to save her. He needed to… Help her become more expressive.

“Sounds good to me.” Waa said, even though Kouji didn’t plan for the other two girls to come with him. It’s not like their presence would ruin anything, so he wasn’t going to stop them.

“Great, I think I know a good place to get some practice.” He led them out of the arcade to the next destination. Before going much further, Waa pulled Anastasia back a little behind the other two. There was something important to discuss.

“I doubt you’re that naive, so I’m sure you’ve noticed already.”

“If you are talking about what I think you are, then yes. I have noticed.”

“Right…” Waa scanned her eyes from left to right. “We’re being followed.”

***

They arrived to where Kouji wanted to bring them. Out into a little out of the way area that looked over the city. He had found it near when he first moved in. It was a beautiful place, one that under the right lights, would show off the true radiance of the city.

“No one seems to come around here, so we should be good here.” Kouji knew that some things were probably not something that such a reserved person like Yuma would want to do in public. So this was his master plan to acquire some privacy.

“So… What are you teaching me?” She asked. There was some concern inside of her, worried that he might go a little crazy in such a secluded area.

“Look, Yuma…” He explained to her that she was going to have to learn to stand up for herself. If her parents want her to go out more often, then chances are that someone like him isn’t always going to be around. So if someone gives her a tough time, or even just for normal conversation. Yuma was going to have to speak up.

“I’ll… Try.” She said. Kouji couldn’t tell if there was any confidence there, so he was going to have to work with little information.

“How about we start with yelling?” There’s no one here to disturb. So they could scream to their heart’s content. That sounded like a good place to start to get some energy. Kouji went first to show her, summoning out a monstrous roar that frightened the two girls watching this whole ordeal. “Your turn.”

“…” Yuma steadied herself, taking one deep breath in preparation. Then with all her might she let out… “Ahhhh…” Well, she let something out. Instead of roaring out like he did, it was more like a deadpan actor’s attempt of pretending to be scared.

“Nice job.” Waa commented. “You sure scared those flies by the trash can over there.”

“Okay, I think I have an idea.” Kouji switched gears, walking right up to her. Then without warning her of anything, started to poke around her body and face.

“What are you doing?” Anastasia asked him. It was simple, he was trying to get her upset a little. Surely, prodding her like this would annoy her enough to get mad, maybe even scream.

“Um, can you stop?” She asked, not enjoying this invasion of personal space.

“Make me.” Kouji challenged her, knowing that this should be where she drew the line. Yuma took another deep breath, then gave out her command.

“Stop…” He just stopped and looked at her. That was the deadest someone who was getting poked could possibly be. When trying to tell someone to stop. Again, kouji changed his plans.

“Well, then.” It was time for insults. “Yuma, who ever does your hair must be blind as a bat, because it looks atrocious.”

“But… I do my hair.” She said, touching it in response to his statement. “That hurt my feelings.” A single tear fell down her cheek.

“Great, we’re on the right track!” He noted it, clearly this is where he needed to be working on.

Meanwhile, the other two girls were overlooking this thing. However, there was something else in mind.

“Are they still there?” Waa asked, not taking her eyes off the people in front of her.

“Yes.” Thankfully, Anastasia had a makeup mirror that allowed them see without turning their heads. Whoever it was following them, they were patient. Also rather persistent at that too. “Who do you think it is?”

“It looks like a man, I’m not surprised that one of us has a stalker.” Waa answered. “After all, a couple of cute girls with just one guy. Surely that might get some people’s attention.”

“I do not believe he is here for us.” Anastasia replied, referring to the girls of this group. “There is something about this man. He does not seem to be looking at us, but he pays attention to Kouji.” There was also an odd resemblance, but she didn’t mention so to Waa. Especially with how unclear it was from this angle.

“Well, Kouji is cu… I mean, some people might find him attractive.” Waa warned her not to let her guard down. If that man really was after Kouji, for whatever reason, then they should be there for him. “Plus, we don’t know what he did at his old school.”

Back to the tutoring session, Kouji had hit a wall. He was certain that things were going to work when he saw that tear. Obviously this girl was capable of emotion, just that she had a hard time showing it.

“What else is there?” He loudly asked the question that he had no clue to answering. This girl, while she wasn’t the emotive type, there were certainly some tells of emotion. But he didn’t want traces, he wanted her to bring it out more. There’s only one thing left for him to try. It’s a good thing they’re out of the way, because to any bystander, this was going to look bad.

“Kouji…” He moved closer to her. Much more closer than Yuma was comfortable with. His face was mere centimeters away from hers, instinctively, she took a step back. He could tell that this was working. So she could get flustered over a boy getting into her personal space. Or was it him specifically?

“What are you doing?” Anastasia stood up, worried about his sudden moves towards Yuma. However, Waa pulled her back down, stopping her.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure that Kouji’s got a plan here.”

Kouji continued, matching Yuma step-for-step as she continued to try and build space between them. It was one thing, she thought, for her to want to see his face like this. But when he’s the one making the move, she got a little bashful.

“Kouji… Could you move away?” She asked him. Her voice failed to display the bashfulness in her body.

“Make me.” He repeated the challenge. All she had to do, was either push him back, or yell at him to stop. That’s it, but she was failing that test. Soon, she ran out of space to back up to. Now, she had her own back to the wall, with him right in front of her.

Kouji slammed his hand next to her head. Now he had the advantage over her, with an arm cornering her here. Yuma turned her head, to avoid his gaze. Mostly because his eyes were just to beautiful for her to look straight into, without getting a bit, excited.

“Are you going to tell me to back off?” He said again. Kouji was hoping that she’d do something by now. Because otherwise, he was going to have to stand awkwardly like this for a while.

“I would hope that you were better than this.” A man’s voice cut into this.

“What?” Caught up in all this, Anastasia wasn’t paying attention as the man had walked past her and Waa.

“I thought I told you to keep an eye on him.” Waa scolded her, as the two stood up. Ready to… Well, do something.

“Now step away from the girl.” The man commanded him. From his vantage point, he misunderstood Kouji’s intentions. However, that wasn’t real problem here.

“What are you doing here?” Kouji asked. His eyes shifted to that look again. The same one as back at the arcade. However, unlike back then. These ones were no mere act.