Eramis8: Haha, well we all know that he still doesn't years later :D


Chapter 9

"What are you going to force me into this time?" Yu asked with annoyance as Guren came to him with another sheet of paper. Last time, it had been the dreaded cafeteria socializing incident. If it got any worse than that, the black-haired boy figured he was going to find someone else to help him with his revenge.

"Since you were uncooperative last time in a group, we – I mean I – figured that it might be better for a one-on-one introduction session," Guren had obviously stumbled over a few things, but what was he thinking? How is that even remotely a good idea?

"Sounds better than last time, but no thanks. I don't need…" Yu trailed off when he realized Guren was writing on said piece of paper that he had brought. In fact, it seemed like the lieutenant had brought a whole packet of papers. The man's current actions could only mean one thing. "Are you seriously writing down my answers?"

"Hey, it wasn't my idea, but she insisted I had to." Guren continued to write down what he said, making an uncomfortable silence follow. Why did he keep referring to things that he wouldn't answer?

"Hey, who's this 'she' you keep talking about?" Way to be blunt, but Yu already had a short fuse that day. He wasn't sure why – probably lack of sleep and just waking up on the wrong side of the bed in general – but he didn't want this to go on any longer than it had to.

"Hmm?" Guren glanced up from writing, giving him a look. "You don't get to know everything from the get-go. That's why rankings exist."

"I can't understand what you're talking about when you don't explain things. You're that complicated."

Yu sent an annoyed jab at the lieutenant, wishing that the older man would leave him alone. Once he did, the boy figured that he would at least try and sleep. The nightmares didn't bother him during the day, but wasn't that basically turning his sleeping schedule to one similar to a vampire?

"Fine," Guren sighed in defeat, looking like he didn't have much patience today either. Something – or someone – must have gotten on his nerves. "She's a friend of mine that's working with another kid your age."

The black-haired boy was silent for a moment, surprise entering him. Another kid his age? What was that supposed to mean? For once, his interest was caught by something different.

"What does that have to do with my assignment?" Yu used the word 'assignment' loosely; it seemed like that's what Guren would call anything in order to trick him into whatever it was he wanted.

"Like I said: a one-on-one introduction."

"So, I just have to talk to… the other kid." Now that the boy thought about it, he didn't know anything about whoever he was supposed to talk to. Sure, the idea of 'bonding' with someone else still made him nervous, but maybe it wouldn't be as bad.

"The kid's a boy, but I wouldn't expect you two to have much in common except for tragic backstories." Yu decided to ignore the whole 'backstories' comment. He didn't have the energy to get into another fight today. "Apparently, Yoichi is really sensitive, empathetic, extremely apologetic, and a crybaby. You guys will get along just fine."

Guren didn't sound too sure of the idea himself, but Yu figured that the lieutenant was only highlighting the bad aspects. Still, he wasn't quite sure about meeting this kid. "You sure make me want to go through with this," the sarcastic comment was ignored by Guren, who stood up a moment later, seemingly done with his writing.

"Well, you don't have much of a choice on the matter. You have a while to think about it." As Guren walked out of the room, the black-haired boy thought he heard the man mumble something else. "Besides, she's still trying to convince the kid to go through with this."

Yu stared at where the lieutenant had been, disbelief running through him as he flopped down on his bed. Another social interaction he would have to go through with… Unless – and I really hope this is true – whoever this 'Yoichi' is chickens out…


Well, another short (and late!) chapter, but this one was the big reveal! For anyone who guessed on the 'guest' character, Yoichi will be appearing in Chapter 12! Yes, we are talking about the same brunette archer from the anime (and manga), so you may have a few questions like… how in the world does this even work in the timeline? Wouldn't Yu and Yoichi remember each other if they had met at a younger age? To answer that, well… not everything in the Grains of Sand series is canon, but AnimeWolfGirl16 and I are trying to make it as much as we can (without much influence from the prequel series). Except for one big, really major thing I might have messed up on, but you guys won't have to worry about it unless you end up reading Yoichi's story :) As for their encounter, certain… things occur that make this event still possible, but I don't want to spoil everything, so you will just have to wait! Now I would like to know, did anyone guess correctly?

-AnimeWolfGirl9