The First Meeting

Akira POV

Ten Years Ago

"Akira, wake up."

"What..." I said with a groggy voice. I turned to look at my alarm clock which read 6:00 AM. I was confused because everyone was supposed to wake up at 7:00 AM. I then turned to his caretaker.

"Why are you waking me up this early?"

"It's because of those tests all of you kids took yesterday, remember?"

The tests that I took yesterday flashed through my head. The tests were very strange, it involved questions that had to do with reaction time, memorization, mathematics, all sorts of things.

"Oh, those tests."

"Yeah, now get up, we're meeting someone."

"Oh... alright."

I reluctantly climbed out of his bed and followed one of my caretakers. As I followed the caretaker, red flags were going up in my head since I was the only child that was awake. We soon arrived at a room and we could hear a commotion coming from the room.

"Why are you choosing him of all people? We have other children that got higher scores than him. He's borderline average. Let me-"

"No. I chose him and you will not question my choice.'

"But... alright."

The door in front of me was suddenly opened and my eyes landed upon two people. The first person I saw was the head of the orphanage, but I didn't recognize the second person.

It was a man that had an intimidating aura and a stern look on his face. I wasn't sure what it was, but I knew for a fact that this was a man that held a tremendous amount of power.

I then cautiously walked up to the pair.

"Akira, this is 'professor Ayanokoji' and he has decided to adopt you. He will be your new caretaker now."

This was supposed to be the time where he jumped in joy, ecstatic about the fact that he was adopted and he was finally able to leave this orphanage, but it never came. This man did not give off the impression of being a good father. He had this foreboding feeling about him that was hard to ignore.

"I look forward to having you in my care."

What 'professor Ayanokoji' said did not bring me any comfort.

"You can come in now."

Another door suddenly opened and a child that I did not recognize walked into the room. Just like 'professor Ayanokoji,' this kid had an ominous feeling that couldn't be ignored. He had an emotionless expression and his eyes appeared lifeless. The child slowly walked up to me until we were standing face to face.

I couldn't take any more of the dead silent atmosphere so I blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"My name's Akira Nishida."

I then held out my hand so that I could shake hands with him.

He stared at my hand for a couple of seconds before looking back at me with his piercing yellow eyes. His stare was extremely unnerving.

I was about to retract my hand but he eventually took my hand. It was one of the most lifeless handshakes I have ever received.

"What's your name?"

He was silent for a couple of seconds before he answered, with no emotion in his voice.

"Kiyotaka Ayanokoji."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Present time

"Earth to Akira, are you there?"

"H-hm?"

"You have been staring at me for quite a while, is something on your mind?"

I look at my surroundings and realize Kiyotaka and I are walking to school since the day was unfortunately Monday. It's been three days since that incident with Kushida and Kiyotaka. After revealing myself to Kushida, I'm curious as to how she is going to act today in school.

"Oh, nothing."

"Come on tell me," Kiyotaka said as he looked at me with interest. I let out a chuckle before telling him: "Do you remember the day we met?"

Kiyotaka gave me a confused look.

"How could I forget? What made you think about that?"

I was hesitant for a couple of seconds before I abruptly threw my left arm around his shoulder.

"What are you doing?"

"We have been through a lot, haven't we?" I ignored his question as I looked at him with a smile. He let out a sigh before he replied.

"Yeah we have, it's been a long time, ten years to be exact."

"Doesn't it feel like a lifetime ago?"

"What do you mean?" Kiyotaka asked.

"I feel as if we were reborn into a new life. We left our old life back in that unspeakable place and restarted at this highschool." Understanding shined in Kiyotaka's eyes.

"Now that you mention it, yeah. We're now normal highschoolers living normal lives."

"Were nowhere near "normal highschoolers" Kiyo." I playfully pat Kiyo on the head and he gives me his deadpan version of a scowl.

Although we were able to leave that life behind, it didn't feel fully complete. We were missing someone.

To stop myself from letting my thoughts wander, I did something that surprised Kiyotaka and even me.

"Let's take a picture!"

"Huh?"

I take my phone out and aim it towards the two of us.

"Why do you suddenly want to take a picture?"

"To celebrate our reincarnation, to capture a moment of our new life!"

"I guess..." Kiyotaka sounded reluctant but in the end, he gave him. We both look at the camera and I took a couple of pictures. After that, I detach my left arm from his shoulder and look at the photos. From the corner of my eye, I could see Kiyotaka looking at my phone with interest.

In the picture, my left arm was around his shoulder and I was smiling brightly at the camera and although he was reluctant to take the picture, I could see a small smile on Kiyotaka's face. The lighting complimented our faces and to be honest, it was a good photo.

I show Kiyotaka the photo and he inspects the photo.

"It's sufficient enough."

"Do you want me to text it to you?"

"Sure." I sent him the photo and we began to talk about random things. I told him about this anime I was watching. It took place in a high school that surprisingly allowed students to gamble, in fact, it was encouraged. Although learning about the various games people throw their well-earned cash at was interesting, I watched mainly for the hot girls. Their insane reaction faces were quite strange and funny too.

We soon arrive in the classroom and there are only a few students there. Thankfully Horikita was already at her seat, I wouldn't want to repeat that morning I went to her room (not all of it, just some parts). We take our seats and I wave to Horikita, who gives me a nod before going back to her book.

"Good morning!" The class became more cheerful as Kushida walked into class.

"Morning you guys!" Kiyotaka waves to her while Horikita ignores her.

Kushida didn't even glance at me and unlike her other "good mornings," this one felt forced. To be honest, now that I have seen her other side, her nice behavior feels forced but this greeting felt more forced than usual. She didn't even look at me.

My theory was correct. My relationship with Kushida plummeted after I caught her in the act. I'll have to fix this and remind her about our "deal."

~~~~~~~~~~

Class ended and Kiyotaka and I were ready to go to the pharmacy to pick up my sleeping medication but we were stopped by something unexpected. As we were walking down the hall, I heard a voice call out my name.

"Yo Nishida!" I turned around to see Sudou of all people, fast walking towards us.

"Oh hey Sudou what's up?" I say with uncertainty.

"I was wondering do you want to go to the convenience store? There's something that I wanted to talk to you about."

"Don't you have basketball practice in like half an hour?"

"Yeah but this is important, and I don't mind being a couple minutes late. The couches are lenient." Sudou said in a heartbeat. This sounded like a rehearsed response but I was curious.

"Sure, we can go." I look to Kiyotaka and hold out the doctor's note.

"Can you..."

"Yeah, don't worry about it." Kiyotaka takes the paper and I let out a grateful sigh. Kiyotaka walks down the hallway.

Sudou and I begin to walk to the convenience store and it was kind of awkward since neither of us was attempting to start a conversation. I was hoping Sudou would be the one to do it but he appears to be thinking deeply about something.

"So what did you want to talk about?"

"Hm? Oh yeah about that... can we wait?"

"Uh sure?" I say with uncertainty.

We soon arrive at the convenience store and Sudou beelines towards the ramen section. I follow him and see that he is grabbing some ramen. Seeing him do that made me hungry so I went to grab one but he stopped me.

"This one's on me."

"Really? Are you sure you have enough points? I have enough."

"It's fine, my treat." I look at his hand to see that he was holding a cup of ramen. I soon realize it's the same type of ramen I bought for him on the first day of school. This was kind of symbolic and I was touched by this.

"Thanks, Sudou."

"N-no problem Think of this as my way of saying thanks for saving me from getting expelled," Sudou said while abruptly looking away.

Sudou bought me the ramen and we walked out of the convenience store towards the gym. I hear Sudou let out a deep sigh and I look towards him.

"Alright... I want to ask you something." I give Sudou a confused look.

"What is it?"

"Is there... any other reason as to why Horikita wanted to save me from getting expelled?"

"I'm not sure, she did say she did it because it would help her reach class A."

"Yeah, but is there any other reason as to why she would do it?"

What's he talking about-

Oh. Oh, I see...

Calling Sudou out on this wouldn't be a good idea so I decided to feign ignorance.

"Maybe, she may seem mean, but she's a textbook tsundere."

"What do you mean by that? And what the hell is a tsundere?"

"Nevermind that. Although getting to class A was her main reason, deep down she probably didn't want you to be expelled because she would miss having you around."

In reality, I don't even know if what I just said was true. Having a pissed off Sudou would be dangerous for me.

"That's good to hear, I knew there was another reason," Sudou said with a smug grin. He seemed satisfied with my answer so I was relieved. I barely talked to Sudou and I wanted to avoid another moment of awkward silence so I said the first thing that came to mind.

"How are you doing on the basketball club?"

"Oh, I am doing great! I may not be good at academics, but I am really good at sports and athletics, specifically basketball."

"Yeah I bet, you gave me the impression of someone being athletic the moment I saw you. How good are you?"

"Well I don't mean to brag or anything but I'm the best freshman right now."

"I'm not surprised. Have the coaches noticed your sufficient of a basketball player you are?"

"Yeah, I'm getting a lot of attention from the coaches and even the club advisor."

"Couches are one thing, but what's so special about the club advisor."

"Oh right your not in any clubs right?"

I shake my head no.

"Well, in that case, the basketball club advisor is in charge of the club itself. Determining who gets to participate in tournaments and stuff like that. You get the gist of it now?"

"Yeah, I get it now."

"Good. Anyway, because he has been paying close attention to me, I was thinking of asking him if I could be a regular for the summer tournament."

"Wow, that's really good Sudou. Congrats man."

"Heh, thanks. It's not guaranteed but it's definitely a possibility."

"When do you plan to ask him?"

"A week from now, next Monday." His faint smile turned into a scowl and the atmosphere suddenly became tense.

"Is something wrong?" I say with uncertainty. Sudou was silent before he responded

"Because of all the attention I am getting, I have been getting a lot of nasty looks from some people."

This caught my interest.

"Are you receiving nasty looks from everyone on the team?"

"Thankfully no. It's mainly from two people."

"Who are they?"

"Komiya and Kondou. You don't know them since they are from class C."

"I wouldn't pay too much attention to them. They are just envious of your skill." Sudou let out a laugh.

"You're damn right they are. They aren't even good at basketball."

We arrive at the gym and I thank him for the ramen before he walks into the gym.

As I walked back to my dorm, I went over what he said.

Those two guys from class C could provoke Sudou and make him do something stupid. It would be quite entertaining.

But still.

If that's the case...

I may have to prepare some countermeasures.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Third Person POV

Today was Friday and it's been a week since Sudou was almost expelled from school.

Kushida let out a sigh of relief when she realized classes have ended for the week. Being nice to everyone was stressed already but now, two classmates were aware of her other side.

And those two students were Kiyotaka Ayanokoji and Akira Nishida.

Ayanokoji wasn't the one she was worried about, she was worried about Nishida.

She saw another side of Nishida, a side that he has kept hidden from his other classmates. He also said she was going to be his "weapon." Kushida didn't know what he meant by that, but she dreaded finding out.

But that wasn't on her mind, right now, she just wanted to go back to her room and rest.

Or that's what she thought she was going to do until she heard a voice coming from behind her.

"Hey, Kushida." Kushida involuntarily twitches when he heard his voice. She let out a deep breath before turning around to face Nishida.

"Hi, Nishida-kun! Do you need anything?" Kushida wanted to turn around and run away but she was still in public so she had to keep her cheerful persona up. Akira was not wearing that psychotic smile he had last Friday. This time it was replaced with a pleasant one. Despite this, Kushida kept her guard up.

"Yeah, now that you mention it, I do need help with something."

"Are you sure you need help right now? I kind of want to-"

"Oh, you'll actually help? Awesome!"

"W-wait I didn't agree to-"

"Thank you so much Kushida! Meet me at the mall in like an hour. Thanks again!" Akira said this with a smile before walking out of the classroom with Ayanokoji. Kushida couldn't help but let out an exhausted sigh as she watched them exit the room. It was going to be a stressful day.

~~~~~~~~~

Kushida walked up to Akira, who was waiting outside of the technical store.

"Alright Nishida-kun, what do you want?"

"Jeez, why do you have to be so mean to me? I just want to cash in on the date that I won-"

"We both know the main reason you called me here was because of your "deal." Let's just get it over with so I can go home."

"Alright fine, that was the main reason. However, I do need help with other stuff also."

"Ugh fine... what do you need help with?"

"I need help with buying some new clothes."

"..."

Kushida stared at Akira with confusion before giving in.

"Ugh...fine."

Akira and Kushida begin their day of shopping. Considering that it is Friday after school and that there is only one large clothing store, the mall was packed with students. After slipping through the crowd, Akira and Nishida finally arrived at the men's section. Akira then began to look through some clothing while Kushida followed him.

Kushida checked her watch and let out a groan. It's been fifteen minutes and Akira hasn't chosen one shirt.

"Come on Nishida it's been fifteen minutes already, choose something."

"Sorry, I just don't know what to pick."

Kushida narrowed her eyes at Akira in suspicion. That was when something clicked in Kushida's head.

"Is this your first time shopping for clothes?"

"Hehe, was I that obvious?"

"Yeah, it looks like you have no idea what you are doing."

That was when another thing clicked in Kushida's head.

"Nishida-kun... is your school uniform the only pair of clothes you have?"

"Um... yes."

"What?!"

"Is it really that weird?"

"Yeah, it's super weird! Like how do you do your laundry? How do you wash your jacket, shirt, pants, under-"

A particular image popped into Kushida's head and she blushed furiously.

"What's wrong Kushida? Did a naughty image pop into your head?" Akira said with a snide grin.

"N-no!" Kushida was pinching Akira and he was laughing at her embarrassment. Although his laugh came from her embarrassment, his laugh was pleasant and Kushida couldn't help but smile.

"But seriously Nishida, that's really weird."

"Stop making fun of me," Akira said in a whiny voice.

"Alright, I'll stop. Here let me help, it's obvious your fashion sense is nonexistent." Kushida grabbed a pair of clothes and handed them to Akira.

"Go and try these on," Kushida said with a tone that wouldn't take no for an answer. Akira nodded and walked into the changing room.

After about a minute Akira walks out of the room and presents himself to Kushida.

"What do you think about it, I think it's a good look."

"..."

"Kushida are you there?"

"H-Huh? Oh, it looks nice."

Kushida was thankful that Akira didn't notice her blushing face since he was looking at himself in a mirror.

"We should get you like two more outfits."

"Really? Isn't one enough?"

"Do you really plan on wearing it every day?"

"..."

"That's what I thought. Now go on and try to find two more outfits." Akira obeyed Kushida and walked off. Kushida then walked to the women's section to look for her own clothes to buy.

As she was browsing, her mind drifted to Akira. She couldn't help but find him to be very strange. She didn't know why, but despite being sharp, he gave her the impression that he has never been to a public or private school before. He also didn't know anything about clothes. It's not like he's a person that has bad taste in clothing, he didn't even have any, he even said it's his first time shopping for clothes. Maybe he was a shut-in.

There's also his other side that she saw last Friday. It was a far cry from his nervous and awkward personality he usually displays. It was almost as if he had two personalities.

"Is that something that you want to buy?"

"Huh?" Kushida turned around to see Akira standing behind her. She then turned back to the jacket that she was staring at.

"Yeah but it's a little expensive."

The jacket Kushida was looking at was around 6,000 yen.

"I'll buy it for you."

"Oh you don't have to-"

"I insist." Kushida didn't have time to resist since Akira immediately took the jacket and walked to the cash register. Kushida caught up to Akira as he paid for the clothes. Once the pair walked out of the clothing store, Akira handed the jacket to Kushida.

"Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me, think of this as part of my apology."

"Apology, what do you mean?" Kushida looked at Akira with genuine confusion. Akira was silent before he replied.

"When I told you about the deal on Friday, I made it sound like you were going to be nothing but a pawn to me."

"But... isn't that what I am now?"

"Not exactly, you may be listening to my orders, you will be getting something out of this."

This immediately caught Kushida's attention.

"What will I be getting out of this?" Akira stopped dead in his tracks and turned around to face Kushida.

"I may have discovered your secret, but I will do everything in my power to keep it that way. As you work for me, I will protect you from anyone that tries to expose your secret or even tries to hurt you."

"W-what?" Kushida blushed and averted her gaze.

"You can't just say that after what you did to me."

"You didn't give me a choice, you were going to blackmail Kiyotaka and I had to react."

Akira let out a sigh.

"But I guess you have your doubts. I apologize for scaring you. It's just... when it comes to Kiyotaka... I get very protective." Kushida's rapid heart rate began to slow down after hearing this, but what he said was interesting.

Kushida was about to ask Akira a question but they arrived at the tech store.

"I gotta buy some things really quickly. You can look around or follow me if you want." Akira walked away, heading straight for the phone section. This caused Kushida to become curious since unlike the clothing store, Akira knew immediately what he wanted to buy.

After about a minute, Kushida decided to look for Akira but was surprised to see Akira already buying at the cash register. Akira soon walked up to Kushida and she couldn't help but look in his bag.

"What is it?"

"Why are you buying all of that stuff?" Kushida said while inspecting his bag.

"Oh, these? It's just for a little side project that I'm working on."

"If you say so..." Akira was met with a hesitant response. Kushida could not think of any reason as to why Akira decided to buy those items. Akira then checks the time on his phone which was 5:00 PM.

"I don't know about you but I'm pretty hungry, want to get some food?"

Kushida nodded her head and they walked towards a restaurant. The walk was silent before Kushida broke the silence.

"May I ask... why are you so protective and loyal to Ayanokoji-kun?"

Akira looked dumbfounded when he heard this question.

"He's my best friend, I've known him all of my life."

"That must be nice, having a best friend that you could rely on."

"You don't have someone like that? To be honest, I'm surprised."

"Why is that?"

"You're the most popular person in our class, I'm willing to bet you were really popular in middle school too."

"I-I was..."

"Did something happen?"

Akira was met with silence.

"It's fine if you don't want to tell me, I'll respect your wish."

"Thank you, I really appreciate it."

A comfortable silence enveloped their surroundings before Kushida asked another question.

"How long have you known Ayanokoji-kun?"

"Basically all of my life, I've known him since I was five years old."

"Oh wow. Where in Japan did you meet him?"

"I actually didn't meet him in Japan."

"Oh, where did you meet him?"

A small smile appeared on Akira's face.

"New York."

"That's amazing. Were your parents immigrants?"

"Yeah, they moved from Japan to America."

"Do you miss your parents?"

Akira's thoughts wandered.

"You worthless piece of shit! I should have fucking aborted you!"

Slap!

"Yeah I kind of miss them, they were really nice people."

"They were? Oh, you don't mean..."

"Yeah, they died when I was young."

A sad countenance appeared on Kushida's face.

"I'm sorry to hear that, it must have been hard."

"Good! Maybe their deaths will actually help me sleep at night."

"Yeah it was pretty hard, but I eventually learned to cope with it."

Kushida smiled upon hearing this.

"I bet they are very proud of how far you have come, I mean you were able to enroll in this school, the entrance exams were very hard."

"Thanks, Kushida."

Although there were no more conversations between the two as they walked to the restaurant, the silence that accompanied the two was by no means awkward.

They soon arrived at the restaurant and took their seats. A sound comes from Kushida's pocket and she pulls out her phone. As Kushida was texting back to the group chat, Akira looked at Kushida.

"What are you girls talking about?"

Kushida looked back at Akira and a smirk appeared on her face.

"Can't tell ya. It's a secret."

"Oh come on tell me." Akira began to pout which Kushida thought was kind of cute.

"Why should I? I bet you wouldn't tell me what the guys talk about."

Akira suddenly smirked.

"Try me."

He suddenly held out his phone to Kushida. Kushida was caught off guard by this and the smirk on Akira's face widened.

"Go on, you can look."

Kushida hesitantly took Akira's phone and looked through the group chats. None of them caught her eye until her eyes landed upon one list that stood out from the rest.

Best Boobs list.

Kushida suddenly became flustered.

"Y-You pervert!" Kushida threw Akira's phone at him who smoothly caught it.

"What? You were the one that was curious." The smug smirk was still present on Akira's face and Kushida wanted to wipe it off.

"I bet you were the one that proposed the idea of making that list. You always gave off a pervert vibe."

Now it was Akira's turn to become flustered and defensive.

"Nani!? Kushida I am many things, but I swear on my parent's grave that I am not a pervert! And secondly, you were the one-"

Akira stopped when Kushida let out a quiet cute laugh.

"Seeing you desperately defend yourself was quite entertaining."

"S-Shut up. I showed you what the guys talk about, it's only fair if you show me what the girls talk about."

"Nuh-huh."

"Please?" Akira tilts his head to the side with puppy eyes. After a couple of seconds, Kushida lets out a sigh.

"I suppose, come over here then," Kushida says as she pats the spot next to her. Akira gets up from his seat and sits next to Kushida.

"Right now this is the girl's most popular list."

Akira looks at Kushida's phone, which displays a list named the "ikemen list."

"You and Ayanokoji-kun are in the top five."

Ayanokoji-kun was in fifth place, Nishida-kun was in 4th place, and Hirata-kun was in third place.

Akira look surprised, he probably didn't expect girls to notice him that much.

"At first you and Ayanokoji-kun were tied in fourth place. There was a big debate on who should be in fourth place and who should be in fifth place. In the end, all the girls decided to put you in fourth place."

"I'm actually surprised."

"You were tied with Ayanokoji-kun because of your unique look. You're the only person in this school that has white skin, white hair, and red eyes. Some people thought it was hot. Here, let me show you the comments."

Kushida tilted the phone so that Akira could see what the girls said in the group chat:

<"I don't know, he's kind of a bookworm.">

<"What's wrong with that? He's probably really intelligent.">

<"Yeah, intelligent guys are a real turn-on.">

<"There's no doubt in my mind. I mean remember when he helped us at the study session? I probably wouldn't have passed if he wasn't there.">

<"Don't forget how cute he looked. Did you see how shy and humble he was when we thanked him? It was so adorable!">

<"Not to mention his red eyes, there so...">

<"Mysterious?">

<"Yeah! They give off an enigmatic vibe.">

<"Ok, maybe he's kinda hot.">

<"I don't know what drugs you're taking because he is super hot. He can come to my room anytime and-">

Kushida quickly scrolled down. There's no way she was going to let Akira see what that girl said. Kushida looked at Akira, who was blushing and had an embarrassing smile on his face. Kushida couldn't help but find this adorable.

"I never knew the girls found me attractive, but what caused me to beat Kiyotaka?"

"Wasn't it obvious? The girls were starting to favor you more when you first went to Hirata-kun's study session. You were bumped to fourth place after you started to attend Hirata's study sessions."

Akira suddenly looked shy and timid.

"I-I mean that couldn't have affected my placement that much."

"You have no idea. How have you not noticed the attention the girls have been giving you?"

Akira thought back and he realized Kushida was right. Girls have been looking at him and quickly averted their gaze when he caught them staring at him. Akira started to blush furiously when he came to this conclusion.

"You know Nishida, you would probably be one of the most popular guys if you made the effort to talk to people."

"Maybe but I'm not someone that can easily strike up a conversation like you or Hirata. Besides, someone has to take care of Kiyo."

The food soon arrived and the pair wasted no time and started to devour their food. Once they were done, they paid the bill and left the restaurant.

"Thanks for helping me find some clothes. Hopefully, people don't think I'm some kind of weirdo."

"Tch. Just because you bought clothes doesn't change the fact that you're a weirdo." Kushida teased.

"H-Huh?! I can't be that weird!"

Kushida let out a laugh because of how defensive Akira got. The pair was silent before Akira asked Kushida a question.

"Is it stressful?"

"What do you mean?" Kushida said with a confused look.

"Wearing the mask, keeping up your persona."

"O-Oh, yeah it can be."

"I could tell, you looked completely exhausted this entire week, I hope today helped you relieve some stress."

"Y-You did this for me?" Kushida could feel her cheeks heating up and averted her gaze.

"Thank you... today did really help." Akira smiled when he heard her say this.

"That's good to hear, there's also one more thing I wanted to say."

"What is it?" Kushida looked back at Akira. Akira stopped in his tracks and put his hands on her shoulders.

"W-What are you doing?" Kushida was starting to look flustered but Akira ignored it.

"Wearing your mask can be stressful, I get that, and every once in a while you have to let all of that stress out, right?"

"Y-Yeah." Kushida wasn't sure why Akira was asking her this.

"Well in that case, instead of going to that ledge at night and screaming profanities, come to me."

"What?"

"Let me be your outlet for your stress. Whenever you need to vent and let out whatever is stressing you out, come visit me. I'll listen to whatever you have to say."

"R-Really? You'd do that for me?" Akira gave Kushida a smile that radiated comfort.

"Of course, the last thing that I want is for my partner to be stressed out. Plus, I'm a good listener. Maybe I could give you advice on how to deal with it. I don't even have to say anything if you would prefer it that way. I could be your own free personal therapist."

"I don't know what to say..." Akira's statement left Kushida speechless.

"You don't have to say anything, just know that if you ever need someone to just scream your frustrations at, let that 'someone' be me."

"T-Thank you... I may take you up on that offer." Kushida smiled at Akira. It was a smile that was quite different from the smiles that she shows to everyone. Akira could tell that this smile was actually authentic and genuine.

"Your welcome. It's getting dark so we should head back."

Kushida nodded and the pair walked back to the dorms.

Kushida did not expect that she would enjoy this day as much as she did. At first, she dreaded the thought of hanging out with Akira but after today, she wouldn't mind.

She also learned that they were very similar in a variety of ways. They both have masks that they wear out in public to conceal their true identities. She felt like she could be her genuine, real self with Akira.

That was a very comforting thought for her.

~~~~~~~~~~

The pair soon arrived at Kushida's room. After the two exchanged their goodbyes and went their separate ways, Akira let out an exhausted sigh.

He was able to get quite a lot done today.

He successfully rebuilt his relationship with Kushida from the ground up. Because she trusted him now, she should be more willing to follow his orders in the future. He was also able to get the necessary tools he needed for the future.

He would also be lying if he said today wasn't a fun day. Spending the day with Kushida was surprisingly enjoyable.

But still, there was something that Kushida said that still bugged him.

"May I ask... why are you so protective and loyal to Ayanokoji-kun?"

Akira let out a scoff as if this was the most absurd question he has ever heard. Multiple thoughts began to flood into his head.

I mean, how could I not be protective and loyal to Kiyotaka.

He's my best friend.

And, like her...

He saved my life.