There's a reason people hate Mondays.

Toshi couldn't figure out what happened between the angel tapping into his soul and waking up in the back of Meiko's van. He managed to get a hold of Kingo and Ichikawa via text and they both confirmed that the arrest had been resolved, but they wanted to know where the hell he vanished to. Toshi wasn't sure how to explain everything so he dodged around the question by stating he tried to get his mom since he couldn't get her by phone and wound up getting lost.

Toshi was noticing that his emotions were at an all time high. Ever since he opened himself up to his 'inner Toshi', he had been feeling the most irrational bursts of emotions. It took a lot of effort to fight down his natural urge to suppress those feelings. Telling himself it was okay to be afraid was helping him get in tune with his past self, but it was nerve wracking. Toshi wanted to get to know the original Toshi better, and he was doing that by being exposed to his other self's feelings.

The raw, unmodified, intense feelings of a teen-age boy from a world where boys were encouraged to be emotional was a bit more than he bargained for.

To say it was crazy would be an understatement. He didn't want to surpress that side of himself anymore, but he also was finding it very distracting as he tried to accomplish things. He tried to find the police officer that abducted him, but the internet was zero help. Toshi was a bundle of nerves and desperately wanted to talk to Naora, but she wasn't available. Toshi's paranoia was at an all time high, but he didn't have any evidence that the angels were messing with his relationship with Naora, so he didn't do anything about it. 

Although he did leave his ToughTop at home.

Arriving at school, he was swarmed by all the boys he knew. However, they weren't as obsessed with him as Toshi thought they might have been. Instead they were all excited to discuss the latest gossip about Kingo.

Kingo's performance as a cheerleader was abominable. There was a baseball game on Saturday while Toshi was on his date. As they were trying to do the chants, Kingo kept flubbing the words. Eventually Ikemoto had to take over and run things.

What was bothering Toshi the most was the depths to which his friends sunk to make fun of Kingo. His clothing, his hair, his poor skin and how he really needed to cover up that zit on his chin. There wasn't a single aspect of Kingo's appearance or actions from Saturday that everyone wasn't criticizing. The more everyone talked, the more it started to tick Toshi off, but he kept his mouth shut, because it was better they were talking about this, then about his date with Meiko.

~I wonder why Kingo didn't talk about the game yesterday. Was it that unimportant to him, or did he not realize how bad he looked?~ Toshi was thinking about this as he made his way to his homeroom. He was so lost in thought, he didn't notice everyone had stopped talking until Kenko held up a hand to block his path. They all came to a halt right in front of their homeroom.

"Hold up. What's up with her?" Kenko jutted his chin down the hallway. Toshi turned to look and saw Meiko.

Meiko was normally a very quiet person who moved in a way where she just didn't take up much space. She wore clothing that could be best described as plain. Usually her hair was in a pony tail tight against her neck to keep it out of the way. She was the very definition of unassuming, at least until today.

She had a pony tail that stuck up and out, making her hair take up more of your attention by how it now swayed from side to side with every step. Meiko herself was taking up more space. She used to glide along the halls of the school, darting in and out of the crowd to get to her destination by the most efficient means possible. Today, she had SWAGGER.

She was wearing the very t-shirt that Toshi had bought for her, brand new blue jeans and bright white sneakers that were so new they squeaked on the floor as she walked. While you think wearing a T-Shirt that had a picture of Toshi and Meiko on it might be the most eye catching part of how she looked. You would be wrong.

The part that stood out the most was the fact she was smiling.

She wasn't just smirking, or trying to be pleasant. Oh no. This was a genuine, cat-who-ate-the-canary grin. The smile on her T-shirt was a grimace and looked forced, so it was the perfect picture to give everyone a contrast. There was nothing forced about how she looked now. Her expression could best be describes as Glee. Meiko was happy. For most people who knew Meiko, this was not unlike finding the end of a rainbow and discovering that, yes indeed, leprechauns are real and one was lounging around on a pot of gold.

In other words, it was just a myth that everyone was stunned to discover had come true.

And yet, here she was, walking down the hallway, waving and saying hi to people she knew as she walked past. Everyone she greeted waved back and with puzzled stares as she walked past. More than a few of them were wondering if she was killed and replaced by an alien.

Meiko approached the group and locked eyes with Toshi. As she walked up, she remained on the edge of the group, not pushing her way past the protective ring of boys around Toshi.  She seemed to possess an aura about her. It wasn't just confidence, but some sort of intangible energy that dominated everyone around her. By sheer presence alone and without a word from Meilo, the boys around Toshi stepped aside leaving Toshi exposed.

"Hey." Meiko lifted her chin slightly as she greeted him.

Toshi was surprised by the new Meiko and the only thing he could think of to say in return was, "Hey."

She ignored everyone else and kept staring at him, "I just wanted to say I had a great time on our date and see how your morning is going."

"Uhhh... fine. Doing fine. Date. Great date." Toshi blinked, "I enjoyed the date."

She nodded and didn't stop the smiling for even a second, "Cool. You free for lunch tomorrow?"

Toshi nodded, "Uh, we share the same period, right?"

She laughed and held a curled finger up under her nose to cover her lips. She nodded once while never breaking eye contact, "Yeah. We're in the same period. You free tomorrow?" She finally looked away to glance at Kenko and the other boys before returning her attention to Toshi, "I'm sure you've got plans for today."

Toshi opened his mouth, made several odd sounds as he scratched the back of his neck, Swayed his knees a bit then nodded, "Sure. Yeah. I'm free for lunch tomorrow."

Meiko clasped her hands behind her back as she stepped away, "Then it's a date." She turned to leave, but then looked back at Toshi, right in the eyes and said, "See you tomorrow, Magical Boy." Then turned and walked away with a spring her step and pride in her stride.

Every single boy watched her walk away. All of them could not help but notice that those new jeans she was wearing showed off her caboose quite nicely. As she finally stepped into her homeroom and out of line of sight, every one of them turned in unison to stare at Toshi. Kenko put a hand on Toshi's shoulder.

"We need to talk."

Kenko practically shoved him into their homeroom.

"NOW."