Connection 25: Enter Kaori Yuuzaki

"Where have you been, Mr. Katsuragi? Ditching a lady isn't very gentlemanly." Upon his return to the table where Mio and the others were sitting at, he was met with a rather cross Hinoki, arms crossed and brow furrowed. It would take a decent lie to get her off his case.

Before Keima could feed her said lie, Kusunoki spoke up, looking just as incensed as her sister as she pinched his side from under the table. Keima couldn't hold back his wince. "He probably ran off to talk to that dark-haired singer from earlier. I saw him staring at her while he was getting refreshments."

He felt half the people at the table stare daggers at him. That wasn't the kind of lie that he wanted to tell, but any other explanation he'd make up from that point onward would come off as an excuse, so Keima decided to just roll with the punches. As he rubbed his sore side, he said, "Yes, I asked if she had any performances any time soon. Admittedly, I'm not really into music, but she was incredible – I couldn't resist."

"Well," Yui said, one of the few not annoyed at Keima's actions, "we're going to have another event similar to this in two week's time, so you might be able to catch her there if she shows up. Speaking of which..."

Yui turned in her chair to face the girl beside her. She said, "Mio, have you decided?"

Keima saw the hesitation on Mio's face. "I-I'm not sure if I should keep doing this. In an hour and a half, I'm going to return to my small 1LDK apartment and continue living the life of a normal girl. Repeatedly going to these kinds of events makes me feel like a hanger-on."

"Mio Aoyama." Heads turned to the new girl, dazzling the table with her pearly whites. Her hand guiding her sidetail past her right shoulder, she looked as immaculate as the other girls in attendance, though her bright smile fell short in Keima's eyes. The smile, while wide, failed to lift her eyes, and once her hands returned and clasped each other, her knuckles were white. She was furious, though it astonished Keima that her voice failed to betray it. "It's a surprise to see you here."

Keima saw everyone grow tense. While the two Kasugas merely raised an eyebrow at the hostility they no doubt felt, the others at the table had wide eyes – they definitely knew the girl. Mio was the first to speak up, her voice shaky. "Kaori Yuuzaki. Good evening to you too. How's the family business?"

"It's been booming. The sudden lack of competition from a few years ago helped our small business grow into Maijima's main source of lighting products," the teenage aristocrat said, her voice so sweet it stung. "I suppose it's technically thanks to you and your late father-"

"Enough, Yuuzaki. You're harassing her," Yui said, her voice devoid of the warmth it usually held.

Kaori didn't look the least bit fazed, her smile still incandescent as she said, "Very well, Goidou, but I'll have you know that my father is still not fond of the Aoyamas, so I'm afraid we'll be forced to skip your gatherings if she keeps showing up to them."

"This is one of the things I don't miss from the old days," Mio said, looking at Keima and giving him a wistful smile. She stood up and said, "I can tell when I'm unwanted. Let's go, Keima."

"Right," Keima said, not even flinching as Mio clasped his elbow with her hand so she could drag him away without looking out of place.

Neither of them looked back.

Mio noted that the cab ride home felt tenser than the one from earlier in the evening. A shame, really, since Mio had been enjoying herself more than she would have expected. She had fun chatting with Yui and Takuya to the point that even Urara's curious glances failed to faze her. The two Kasuga girls appeared to be nice as well, though their rather aggressive attachment towards Keima weirded Mio out.

Mio leaned against the window that she sat next to and let out a huff. If only she didn't show up.

Keima broke her out of her stupor. "Who was that?"

"Kaori Yuuzaki. Her family owns the Yuuzaki Central Industries. We used to compete with them. Even putting aside our professional rivalry, she has hated Yui, Urara, and me ever since some stuff that happened in elementary. Normally, she'd bottle up her disdain and uncork it behind closed doors so as not to ruin relations with other companies, but I guess that now that I'm a nobody, she'd gladly push me away from the aristocrats' scene."

"Did you at least enjoy the party?"

"Why are you asking so many questions?"

"Is it a crime?"

"No, but it's definitely out of character." Mio pointed a finger at Keima. "You aren't the type to ask questions just to comfort someone. You're always business, Keima."

"I guess you aren't wrong. Still, I have enough human decency to check if you're okay," he lied. While Ayumi and Kanon would say that he was finally opening himself up to care and show empathy towards others, Keima refused to let go of his ideal – true detachment from the Real world. The deal with Kanon was just for financial security, and he only chose to help out Ayumi because he owed her… or was it because of her heroine-esque qualities? Even Keima wasn't all too sure.

Keima ignored the aching feeling in the back of his head that cried out against the notion.

Mio crossed her arms. "Well, Mister Empathy, thank you for your concern, but I am never going to attend those events ever again. This incident just proves that I'm not cut out for that life anymore."

"Even if it means growing apart from Yui and Urara?" Keima said, his stare growing more and more pointed. Mio found herself scooting away from him a centimeter. "They still want to be friends with you, Mio, and I know a way for you to keep attending high society events without threat of Yuuzaki's retaliation."

Mio raised her eyebrows as her sarcastic grin grew. "Oh really? Well, then, pray tell."

"That Endou person is your key. Judging from the conversation you had earlier with him, his father's company is similar to your late father's, hence they'd be going toe to toe with the Yuuzakis. Kaori wouldn't be able to leverage anything against him, so if you were to become his girlfriend, you'd have a free ticket back into the life you used to live. You do know he likes you, right?"

"Yes. He wears his heart on his sleeve. Won't do him any favors once he helps out the family business," Mio said, her antagonistic grin softening. She looked out the window as she continued. "However, I don't like him that way. It would do us both a disservice to go out with him the way I am now."

"I see."

Mio whipped her head back towards Keima, making him flinch. "How about you, Keima? Do those kinds of parties catch your interest? I can see that Yui holds enough interest in you to invite you to her next one."

"You should get your eyes checked. The relationship she and I share is purely platonic," Keima said, no blush appearing on his face. "Besides, I hate parties."

"Frank."

Keima looked away from her, and Mio could hear an audible gulp come out of him. "Speaking of frank, I won't mince words – I'm resigning, Mio."

Keima saw the color leave Mio's fair skin. Her mouth was agape, her lower lip trembling. Keima was perplexed. He hadn't expected this much dismay over quitting. "Oh, what happened? Are we not paying you enough? Were we working you too hard?"

"No, I just need to focus on school-related activities."

"Bullshit. You have the best grades in our year."

Her knowledge of his stellar academic records surprised Keima, though he refused to let it show. "It's a task from the student council. Can't be helped."

"Well," Mio said, hesitation in her voice as she shook her head, "I guess it can't."

The quiet was unsettling. As the cab rolled up to the curb outside Mio's place, the small part in the back of his head urged him to extend an olive branch towards the dispirited girl, and Keima obliged. "Well, if the LEDs act up again, you can still call on me. You have my email, right?"

"Y-yes," Mio said, getting out of the cab. Before closing the door, she said, "I guess this is goodbye for now, Keima."

"Mhm. Goodbye, Mio." She shut the door, and the cab pulled away from the curb. From the rear view window, Keima could see Mio staring at the cab as it left, the hurt in her eyes failing to ebb away.

Keima forced himself to push the thought of a distraught Mio out of his head. He needed to focus on the prep needed to face Kujou.

Monday

"I think lady luck is finally smiling on me," Ayumi cheered, staring at the scrap of paper in her hands with a bright smile. Scribbled onto it was the name and section of a random girl in the second year. Ayumi wasn't sure why the name sounded familiar to her, but she didn't really care. She finally got a break from grading papers, and all she had to do was show a new kid around the block and eat lunch with them. Ayumi knew she could finish the tour quickly and get to eat an early meal in return.

Her feet took her to the door two rooms away from 2-B, and Ayumi couldn't help but look at it longingly. Even if classes weren't ongoing at that moment, she wouldn't be able to just stride on in and check up on her friends. She'd be risking extra time in the slammer, after all. She tore her gaze away from 2-B and peeked her head into 2-D. Inside was Mister Kodama, giving what seemed to be a grueling lecture about the use of iambic pentameters in Shakespeare's plays. Ayumi coughed into her hand, catching his attention. "What is it, Takahara?"

"Pardon the intrusion, Mister Kodama, but I'm here for one Ayukawa. I've been told to show them around campus," Ayumi said, ignoring the eyeballs pointed her way. Many of them probably knew the incident, and acknowledging their stares would do nothing for her.

"You heard her, Ayukawa. You're excused, but make sure to catch up on the lesson. We'll be tackling Shylock's soliloquy tomorrow."

"Yes, Mister Kodama." Ayumi's eyes widened. She recognized the girl who stood up and approached her. Dark hair tied up with ribbons, pale complexion, and the deepest dark brown eyes she had ever seen - it could only belong to the girl she met last Saturday. Face to face, the girl said in a soft voice, "It's nice to see you again Ayumi."

"Likewise. Let's go," Ayumi said, trying her best to hold back her distaste when every cell in her body cried out in panic. This was the one girl that liked Keima just as much as she did. It disturbed her on an intrinsic level to have to pretend to be amiable with her. Earlier, Ayumi said that she wanted to get the tour done quickly in order to have lunch as soon as possible. Now, all she wanted was to get it over with. "This is the east school building. It serves to house the senior high students, though some of the unused rooms are occupied by the cultural art clubs. Next is the-"

"Um, sorry, but you're going too fast," Ayumi could barely hear. When she turned around to face Tenri, she noticed that there was a twenty meter gap between the two. "You started to break out into a brisk walk. I tried to keep up, but-"

"Oh, whoops." She walked back to Tenri's side.

"W-wait, can I show you something first?" Ayumi raised a brow as Tenri pulled a deck of playing cards out of seemingly nowhere.

"This better not be fifty-two card pickup."

Tenri looked blank-faced as she shuffled the deck, making a show of the fact that it wasn't phony in any way. Afterwards, she fanned out the cards, saying, "Eh, I don't know what that is, but this is different. Please pick a card, memorize it, then put it back."

Ayumi had no idea what Tenri's objective was, but she played along, picking a card near the left. She looked at it – an eight of hearts – and placed it back into the fanned out cards. Then, Tenri shuffled the deck and breathed in.

Tenri said, "Please, check your right pocket."

Ayumi did, sinking her hand into it and feeling a scrap of paper. As she pulled it out, she noticed that it was a chain of paper hearts totaling eight by the time she got all of the paper out of her pocket. She had to admit that her mind couldn't quite wrap her head around how Tenri knew what card she'd pick, how she had a paper chain of said card readied, and how she slipped it into her pocket without her noticing.

A small smile appeared "Was that your card?"

Ayumi couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "Yep. Cool trick, but why?"

"Sorry, but you seem to be really mad at me, and I hoped that a little magic trick would help out," Tenri said, looking at Ayumi with a good dose of the doe eyes. Ayumi felt an iota of irritation fade away. "Have I done something wrong?"

As they walked downstairs, Ayumi replied, "No."

"I know you don't like me because we both like Keima-kun," before Ayumi could respond, Tenri kept on talking, "but I was hoping that we could at least be friends."

"Eh?" Ayumi was more confused now than anything. "Why?"

Tenri broke eye contact, "Y-you seem like a nice person. Besides, I don't care who ends up with Keima-kun as long as he's happy about it."

Ayumi felt struck by guilt. Here she was, casting spite upon a girl who held no such malice towards her. Why did Ayumi not feel this last Saturday? Tenri appeared cool and confident, hammering away Keima's embarrassing seven-year-old boy escapades without breaking a sweat. This Tenri, however, didn't feel threatening. She was a bundle of joy, sure, but she didn't feel anything antagonizing from the 2-D girl.

"L-let's continue the tour, Tenri."

"I'm right behind you."

The bell signaled the end of classes and the start of club hours, and Keima burst out of the classroom, walking as fast as his legs could take him towards the other side of the east building. Monday was the day to start figuring out how to help Tsukiyo out.

As he made his way over to the Astronomy Club, he recalled what he had looked up the night before. It was easy enough – thanks to Mio, he knew to check out Yoko Kujou's wikipedia page. The page's info wasn't exhaustive, but it did detail her marriage life. She was married to a real estate agent, but they divorced seven years ago. Coupling that with the meager amount of info provided by the student council, he surmised that Tsukiyo was only ten when her family was torn apart. That had to be the reason why Tsukiyo became detached from others. Whether she lost faith in love or in people as a whole was something Keima would have to gauge with his own two eyes.

Putting his thoughts to the side momentarily as he arrived at the club's entrance, Keima reached out for the door and slid it aside.

The room was dark. Regal satin drapes kept light from illuminating the whole room, though the rays that managed to sneak through the cracks gave Keima enough visibility to inspect the room. If Kusunoki's clubroom was spartan, Tsukiyo's was well lived in. An expensive looking couch and an armchair were huddled around the center, giving off the vibe of a rich westerner's living room. One of the walls was lined with bookshelves, and a vanity stood against the wall opposite the books. As Keima weaved through the random baubles placed around the room, he couldn't help but think that this is what the room of a bookworm like Shiroi would probably look like. The only thing missing was a place to sleep on.

Oh, and its sole occupant was missing too.

"I forgot that she doesn't go here during club hours," Keima said, annoyed at the gap in his memory. He had tried to talk to Tsukiyo last Friday, and the same thing happened – nothing. It wasn't like him to forget such important details. He shook his head. He was the God of Conquests – he had no time to berate himself. Priority one – he needed to find Tsukiyo. That was easier said than done, however; he still had no idea where she could be.

As he dreaded the amount of legwork he'd have to do, he remembered what Shiori told the other day – he had lackeys that could do the menial tasks for him. He pulled out his phone, sending Shiori a picture of Tsukiyo along with instructions to look for the girl in question as he exited the clubroom.

"Well, I guess I better start looking too," Keima said to himself, pocketing the phone and walking away. "Where could she be-"

"Katsuragi." Keima looked behind him. Near the stairwell stood Urara Shiratori, hands on her hip, a glare on her face. "Just what are you after?"

Keima was actually confused, and he let it show on his face. "I don't get what you're insinuating."

As she took a few steps towards him, he noticed how empty the halls were. How much time had he spent in that room? "With Mio. And Yui. What are you trying to get out of them?"

"I tried to get nothing out of them. I just worked at Mio's bakery for a bit, and I ended up getting roped into Yui's shenanigans. I'm probably never gonna step into one of Yui's parties ever again," Keima said, meeting her gaze even as she stood just a handful of inches away from him. He noticed that he didn't have to crane his neck up or down – with the one-inch heels she had on, she was his height. He didn't know whether or not that was a sign that this confrontation was planned.

Urara's crimson lips curled into a smile, and though it was conventionally attractive, it failed to put him at ease. "So you haven't been pushing Mio back into high society."

"I don't think Mio longs for that kind of lifestyle," Keima said, "though Yui would disagree."

He saw Urara give him a once over, and apparently, she approved of whatever she saw as she gave him room to breathe once more. "Good. Although it's been a few years since her father's passing, as you saw last night, Mio Aoyama and her family have many detractors. While I have nothing against Mio, associating with her for prolonged periods may become a detriment to my reputation."

"Well, I hope you don't mind if I ask a question of my own. Why are you telling me this?"

"Well, Yui seems to be of the opinion that you'll be able to have Mio become one with the aristocracy once again, and I'm here to dissuade you. It's better for everyone if she were to never return, after all."

Keima saw the corner of her eye twitch ever so slightly – a classic nervous tic that would have gone unnoticed had he not been looking for that jerky motion specifically. "It wouldn't be better for Yui. She still wants to be friends with Mio, and thanks to her family duties, the only way that such a friendship could be sustained is if Mio also was an aristocrat."

"Sacrifice is as necessary as breathing in our society, Katsuragi," Urara said, breaking eye contact for the first time as she crossed her arms under her bust.

"It also wouldn't be better for you, I'd reckon," Keima said, and Urara flinched. "You want to be friends with her too."

"And on what grounds do you make such a claim?" Urara said, poking Keima in the chest. "I'll have you sued for libel."

"At the tea ceremony, you didn't tell Yui's mother that her daughter was up to no good," Keima said, taking a mental breath as he approached Urara, relishing in a small amount of glee as she backed up, her confident grin crumbling a bit.

"W-well-"

"You didn't even berate her for thinking that bringing Mio back into the fold was a stupid idea. In fact, you seemed to be hurt that you were left out of the planning process."

"B-but-"

"At the party, you kept sneaking glances towards Mio, hoping you would have the opportunity to chime in."

"S-still-"

"When Kaori was confronting Mio, your knuckles were white from stress-"

"That's enough," Urara said, slapping Keima across the face. The sound resonated through the hallway. "I-I would like nothing more than for the three of us to be friends, just like old times. I too am kept awake at night, wondering if there was anything I could do to save the company from collapsing without Yuuri Aoyama. I too have some of Mio's keepsakes on display. But..."

Urara quickly turned around, but the sniffles betrayed the tears streaking down her face.

"But it's not worth tainting my family's name to remain friends with her. I refuse to become another Aoyama."

Thanks for the edits, xellos.

Happy Anniversary, my dudes.